A N
ARGUMENT
That according to the Covenant
of Eternal Life revealed in the Scrip■
tures , Man may be tranflated
from hence into that Eternal
Life, without palling through
Death, altho the Humane Na~
ture of C H\J S T himfelf could
not be thus trandatcd till he had
paffed through Death.
• Nec vanis ere elite verbis ;
jjfpicite en ! /acute/; fidem Confpeffas,
Anno Dom. 1700,
( 3 )
" The PREFACE.
day, while the reft of the People were at their De-
votion.
And perhaps it way feem more odd in me to
holt out an Argument in Divinity (as a Bone of
Contention) into the World, at a time when the
reft of Mankind are fo deeply engaged in Secular
Affairs.
But he that regardeth the Wind will never
fow ; and he that waiteth for Times and Seafons
will never do Buftnefs.
And as that feeming whimfical Man faid to
them that reproved him , He that made me
whole, the fame faid unto me, Take up thy
Bed and walk:
So fay 1 to them that affront me , He that re=
vealed this unto me, the fame bad me tell it a-
broad, as a watch-word to be given out from otse
to another ( every Man to his Fellow) as faft as
he receives it: Let him that heareth fay,
Come!
And having thus delivered my part of the
Meffage, 1 look upon my felf to have no more to
do with it afterwards than you have.
0 them that knew not the reafon, it
look'd like a Whym for the Man in
the Gofpelto walkabout the ftreets with
his Bed upon his Back on the Sabbath-
A 2
But
. <«>
But hereby I fhall know whether this Doctrine be
mine or no. If it be not mine, it will Jink, and fall,,
and die : But if it be his that 1 think 'tis, it will
kindle it felf like a Firebrand from one to another,
till it hath fet the World in Arms againfl Death.
And having thu'S left the decifion of the truth of
it to the fuccefs, I begin to feel my felf more eajy
under it.
And as the four Leprous Men faid to one ano -
ther in the Gate of Samaria; If we fit here, we
are fure to die with Famine, and if we go into
the Camp of the Syrians, we can but die by the
Sword : So I have faid to my felf; If I fubmitto
Death, 1 am fure to die j and ij I oppofe it, I can
but be kill'd and die.
And JJjould I be baffled in this Effay, I can lofe
nothing by it, but that little Credit with the World
which lvalue not in comparifon of this Attempt.
And as thofefour defperateMen venturing them-
felves upon this Refolution, did thereupon find that
they had been before more afraid than hurt: So in
making this Sally againft Death, methinks I have
difcover'd it to be rather a Bugbear than an Enemy.
And therefore as they having filled themfelyes
with Blunder, thought it their Duty to go and
tell the news to them that were ready to perijh ■' So
I can't fatisfy my felf to eat my Morfel alone,
without communicating to them who 1 know (with
my felf) mufi, by reajon of Death, be all their
life-time fubjecl to Bondage.
And as their glad Tidings of plenty was never
the left welcome to the Kjng and People of ifrael,
fir.
( 5 )
for being brought to them by Men poor and mife~
table: So if my News be true in it J elf, why fhould
it fare the worfe for b^ing told by the greateft of
Sinners ?
And perhaps this qualifies me to be the Mef-
fenger, left one more holy fhoud feem to be honoured
with in for his ojvn perfonal Sanftity.
I remember a fudden Retort once given me by
a Lady (to whom I excufed this my Emulation by
the Example of Enoch) But you are not fo
good as he was; for Enoch walked with
God. t
And this might have puzled me, had not Paul
(in his Lift of Worthys) counted upon the Tran-
flation of Enoch as done by Faith: By Faith £-
nocb was tranflated that he fhould not fee
Death.
Why then if I have as good a Faith for this
purpofe as be had, I am in this point ( quoad
hoc ) as good a Man as he was, tho I fall fhort of
him in all his other Qualities.
Nor is it to be expected that any Affembly of
Divines fhould be employed in fuch a Bufmefs as
this.
They inclofe themfelves within the Pale of their,
own Church, and whoever briaks through that
Fence is profecuted as a Trejpafter upon their ftt-
rifdiclion.
And thus the Jewifh Priefts excommunicated
a Layman for teaching them Religion , Thou
waft altogether born in Sin, and doft thou
teach us ? and they cajl him out.
But
( « )
But he that had opened his Eyes, took him in.
And fuch an exchange I jhould reckon no great
misfortune.
But is it not a jhame, That this Enoch, in
the beginning of Time, fo long before the receipt of
the Promife, jhould attain to that faith in Chrijl
which we, that have fen him crucifed before our
eyes, think a Sin to offer at ?
But having been tempted to commit this Sin
(like a true Mother's Child of my grand Parent
Eve) I would tempt my Friends to do fo too.
And all I ask of them is this ;
Having abfir a fled the ftudy of feven years
Reclufe into lefs than two hours reading, I only
defre the perufal of it at a time of leifure, when
Men and Women defgn to be ferious, and think
mojl of themfelves.
And then I flatter my felf that they will find
it not the moft unpleafant hour that ever they
/pent in their Life.
For this I know, that nothing is more pleafant
to us than News • and what I have faid, was ne-
ver faid by Man before.
And this I know, that (notwith(landing the de-
fell ion of our Natures) nothing is more pleafant to
Alan than Truth. And what 1 have (aid is true:
And a Truth that all theGainfayers fhall not be
able to refift. Tho it be in contradiction to the
mofl received Truth in the World, That all Men
muft die.
An
( 7 )
An Argument proving, That ac-
cording to the Covenant of
Eternal Life revealed in the
Scriptures,. Man maybe tranf
lated from hence into that Eter•>
nal Life, & c,
A N T E obittrn felix nemo, fupremaque fata,
is a fi&ion ot Poets-
And that old Motto (worn upon Tomb-
ftones) Death is the Gate of Life , is a Lie.
By which Men decoy one another into Death, taking
it to be a thorough-fare into Eternal Life; Whereas
it is juft fo far out of the way.
For die when we will,and be buried when we will,
and lie in the Grave as long as we will, we muft all
return from thence and ftand again upon the Earth
before we can afcend into the Heavens- Nine itur
ad
Now the Aflertion of Chrift concerning himfelf
was, that Man by him may live for ever.
And this is that Magnetick which hath drawn the
World after him.
For as he faid to us, Except your Righteoufnefs exceed
the Righteoufnefs of the Scribes and Pharifees,ye fhall in no
wife enter into the Kingdom of God : So we may fay of
him ; Except his words exceed the words of com-
mon Men, what fhould we follow him for ?
And thus, when he asked his Difciples if they
would leave him ? they asked him again, Whither
fhall we go ? Thou hajl the words of Eternal Life j which
w one elfe pretends to- Now
/
( 8 )
Now if thefe words of his are words only, then
was he an Impoftor, and his Dodrine is falfe.
But if this Afiertion of himfelf be true, That Man
by him may live for ever: Then all our Attempts be-
neath this are mean and cowardly, as counting our [elves
unworthy of Eternal Life.
The Objedion made againft him when he affirmed
it was, The Cujlom of the World to the contrary. > Abraham
is dead, the Prophets are dead, whom make (I thou thy felf
to be ?
And I am not unaware that this Cuftom of the
World to die, hath gained fuch a prevalency over
our Minds* by prepofleffing us of the neceffity of
Death, that it ftands ready to fwallow my Argument
whole without digefting it.
For if the cuftom of Bondage derived upon Man
but for a few Generations, doth fo enure him to fub-
jedion, that he thinks it Jure divino , and all attempts
againft it to be Rebellion:
How much more may I exped that this attempt
againft Death (which hath had fo much a longer
pofiefiion over Man) will be accounted mad-
nefs ?
But as a learned Man faid, That the Pride of wo-
men comes from the bafenefs of Men j and the courage of
Cowards from others more Cowards: So I may fay, That
the Dominion of Death is fupported by our fear of it , by
which it hath bullied the World to this day.
And therefore before I fall upon the dired proof
of my Argument, I'll offer an anfwer to the Cuftom
of the World againft me.
Cuftom it felf, without a Reafon for it, is an Ar-
gument only to Fools.
Nor can the Life or Death of one Man be affigned
as the caufe of the Life or Daeth of another, un-
tefs the fame thing happen to them both.
Abraham
( 9 )
Abraham it dead, and the Prophets are dead! What
then ?
Why ! Abraham died of Age (as the Folk call it)
he gave Hp the Gboft, being an old Man and full of Tears.
And the Prophets were many of them knock'd
on the head, Te have floned the Prophets.
Muft it therefore follow that either of thefe
Deaths muft happen to me, or that becaufe they
died of one death, I muft die of another ?
Suppofe my Mother died in Childbed, muft I
therefore do fo too ? Or that my Father was hang'd,
muft I therefore be drown'd ?
Abraham is dead, and the Prophets are dead. What
then ?
Why Abraham had a Son of his own begetting
at a hundred years old, upon a Woman of ninety ;
had an Army of Men born in his own Hbuie;
Flocks and Herds without number, and a whole
Country of his own to feed them in. And the
Prophets were Favourites of Heaven, could raile
the Dead, and kill the Living. Muft therefore any
of thefe Gifts happen to me ? Why then if I muft
not partake with Abraham and the Prophets in their
Bleflings, why muft I partake with them in their
Deaths ?
Nor did Abraham die, becaufe the Prophets died 5
nor did the Prophets die, becaufe Abraham died.
Then if their Deaths had no effedts upon one
another, why fhould they have any efett upon me ?
And as the Life or Death of one Man, is no
caufe of the Life or Death of another i fo the mul-
titude of Examples don't alter the cafe.
The Life or Death of all the World except one
Man, can be no caufe of the Life or Death of that
one Man.
Almoft this very cafe once happen'd in the
World, when the Flood deftroyed all but eighc
B Perfons 5
-wMUvr
( 10 )
Perfons •, and yet this was no Argument that thofe
eight maft be drowned too; nor was the preferva-
tion of them any Argument for the prefervation of
the reft.
We have heard of a hundred thoufand Men (lain
in Battel, and yet this was no Argument for the
death of any other Man who was not (Iain in it.
Wherefore the Cuftom of the World to die, is
no Argument one way or other.
But becaufe I know that Cuftom it felf is admit-
ted as an evidence of Title, upon prefumption
that this Cuftom had once a reafonable Com-
mencement, and that this Reafon doth continue;
therefore it is incumbent upon me to anfwer this
Cuftom, by (hewing
The Time and Reafon of its Commencement:
And that this Reafon is determined.
Which if I do (hew, then the bare Cuftom of
the World to die, ought no longer to be admitted
as a Title againft Life.
Firft then, I do admit the Cuftom or Pofleffion
of Death over the World, to be as followeth, viz.
That Death did reign from Adam to Mofes, by An
uninterrupted pofeffion y over all Men y Women, and Chil~
dren, created or born (except one Breach made upon it in
that time by Enoch.)
And hath reigned from Mofes unto this day by the like
uninterrupted pofeffion ( except one other Breach made up-
tn it in this time by Elijah.)
And this is as ftrong a Pofleffion as can be alledged
againft me.
To anfwer this I muft (hew, That this Cuftom or
Pofleffion of Death had_ a reafonable Commence-
ment, which was the Original of it.
To avoid this Pofleffion I muft (hew, That this
Reafon is determined, and that therefore this Pof-
feflion ought to be no longer admitted as a Title
againft Life. The
( II )
The Religion of the World now is, That Man k
hom to die. But from the beginning it was not fo;
for Man was made to live: God made not Death
till Man brought it upon himfelf by his Delin-
quency.
Adam Rood as fair for Life as Death, and fairer
too, becaufe he was in the adual poffeffion of
Life, as Tenant thereof at the Will of God - , and
had an opportunity to have made that Title perpe-
tual by the Tree of Life which flood before him,
with the Tree of Knowledg of Good and Evil,
And here 'tis obfervable how the fame ad of
Man is made the condition both of his Life and
Death.
Put forth thy hand, and pull, and eat, and die,
Or, Put forth thy hand, and pull, and eat, and live
for ever.
So little doth God efteem the Work of Man in
order to his own Salvation.
The Lord Bacon , defcanting upon the Fall of
Man, expreffes it thus '• That Man made a total d:~
fehlion from God, prefuming to Imagine that the Com~
mandments and Prohibitions of God were not the Rules of
Good and Evil, hut that Good and Evil had their own
Principles and Beginningsand that Man lujled after the
knowledg of thofc imagined Beginnings]--to the end to de~
pend no more upon GodPs Will revealed, hut upon himfelf
and his own Light as a God 5 than which there could not
be a Sin more oppofite to the whole Law of God.
For 'tis not to be conceived that there was any
Phyfical Virtue in either of thefe Trees, whereby
to caufe Life or Death: But God having fandified
them by thofe two different Names, he was ob-
liged to make good his own Charaders of them,
by commanding the whole Creation to ad in fuch a
manner, as that Man fhould feel the effeds of this
Word, according to which of the Trees he firft put
forth his hand. B * And
( 12 )
And it is yet more ftrange, that Man having
Life and Death fet before him at the fame time and
place, and both to be had upon the fame condition,
fhar.he Ihould Angle out his own Death, and leave
the Tree of Life untouched-
And what is further ftrange, even after his eledti-
on of Death he had an interval of time before his
expulfion out of Paradife , to have retrieved his Fate,
by putting forth his band to the Tree of Life } and
that yet he omitted this too.
But by all this it is manifeft, That as the Form
or Perfon of Man, in his firft Creation, was ca-
pable of Eternal Life without dying-, fo the Fall of
Man which happen'd to him after his Creation,
hath not difabled his Perfon from that capacity of
Eternal Life.
And therefore durft Man, even then, have broken
through the Cherubim and flaming Sword ; or
could he now any way come at the Tree of Life,
he muft yet live for ever, notwithftanding his Sin
committed in Paradife, and his expulfion out of it.
Buc this Tree of Life now feems loft to Man;
And fo he remains under the Curfe of that other
Tree, In the day that thou eatefl thereof^ thou J,halt
die.
Which Sentence of the Law is the caufe of the
death of Man, and was the Commencement of
the Cuftom of Death in the World as the Origioal
of it-
And by the Force of this Law Death hath kept
the pofteflion (before admitted) to this day.
For tho this Law was deliver'd to Adam before
Eve was made, and in it there are no exprefs words
to bind her, or the Iffue begotten between them;
yet it did not only bind him and her, and all their
Defendants, but even the whole Creation under
them: for tho this Law was delivered to Adam in
his
C m)
his fingle Perfon, yet it was fo delivered to him in
his Politick Capacity as Head of the whole Crea-
tion, and the great Truflee for them all.
And thus Mam underftood it, for he had told
it Eve (as a thing that concern'd her as well as him-
felO of which (he took notice, and repeated it to
the Serpent in the Dialogue between them.
And as Mam thus underftood it, fo God declared
it immediately after the Fall.
To the Woman he faid, I will greatly multiply thy Sor-
row, &C. To the Man he faid, Cur fed be the Ground
for thy fake , &C.
And God having thus explained himfelf, lieim-
mediately commanded Nature to turn upon Man,
to execute the Sentence of this Curfe upon them.
And under this Command Nature hath adted ever
fince, which is an Inverfion of it from its original
Infticution.
Nature was formed by a Law fuperior to it
(which is called the Law of the Creation ) Let
there be Light, and there was Light. And being thus
made by a Law, God immediately gave it another
Law to adt by •, by which the Earth watered it
felf, and brought forth Fruit without the labour of
Man or Beafl.
But upon Man's Delinquency, God fuperfeded
thl*> courfe of Nature, and put it under another
Law, whereby the whole Creation (lands inverted
at this day. So that all thefe common Events which
now happen in the World, tho they are become
natural according to Nature thus inverted, yet from
the beginning they were not fo.
Death was a ftrange word to Adam 5 for tho he
did underftand ic to be a determination of his Being,
yet he did not apprehend in what manner his Being
fhould befo determined, nor howhefhould make
his Exit out of the World, having never feen one
Example of ir. And
C 14 )
And this made the Sentence of Death more terri-
ble to them, becaufe they did not know what God
was going to pronounce againft them.
But God finding the Man and his Wife hid among .
the Trees of the Garden for fear of him, he hinted
to them their Redemption (by the Seed of the Wo-
man) in the clofe of the Curfe againft the Serpent,
before ever he came to denounce their own Sentence
againft them •, which fupported them under the ter-
ror of it, and without which they had funk down
dead in the place.
And thus Chrift (as he faith) is the Life of the
World, tho they don't know it. For had it not been
for this, God had executed Man in the Fadh
Adam by this very adt of Delinquency, and the
Sentence upon it, flood attainted, and became a
dead Man in Law, tbo he was not executed till a-
bout nine hundred years afterwards; and during
that Interval, he begat Sons and Daughters, and
perform'd all other Adts of Life.
From which it is obfervabie, that the change of
a Man's State (tho it doth at one inftant afcertain
his Fate one way or other) yet it doth not work fo
fudden a change in his Perfon or AfFedfions.
Eve after her eating, and Adam before his eating
of the Forbidden Tree, were in two different States
from one another, the in the State of Death, and
he in the State of Life •, and yet this did not prefent-
]y change their Affedtions one to another. Which
put the Cafe much harder upon him than it was be-
fore upon her.
For the by her very Creation was made fo much
a part of himfelf (from his paffton of Love to her)
that he could not be happy while the was miferable:
and hence perhaps we read of no other Argument
the ufed to him for breach of the Command, than
that {he had dor.e it before him,
C 1 5 )
The violation of her Happinefs did fo much affed
him by a fympathy with her, that all his other En-
joyments could do him no good. And therefore
fince he thought it impoffible for her to return into
the fame State with him, rather than be parted
from her, he cliofe to hazard himfelf in the fame
State with her.
The Philofophers fay, Man and Woman are one
Creature in two pieces. And as fuch God gave
them one common Name before he made them,
Let us make Man, aid let Them have dominion, &c.
And this is ftill retained as a common Name to them
both in all Languages. But their Offence was ac
laft joint and feveral.
Now the Articles of the Curfe denounced again#
thofe our common Anceftors for this their Offence
is the Law of Death, and is the State under which
the World ftands at this day, and from which we
can never be redeemed but by being difcharged
from this Law.
The falling of which Curfe upon Mankind, as
dependents from thofe our common Anceftors, is
the Foundation of all the Laws of Man in the like
cafe.
For that Parents have power by their own Adts
to bind their Iffue before they are born, is the Law
of all the World, becaufe every Man hath his Heirs
in him. And thus Levi is faid to have been in the
Loins of his great Grandfather, and to have paid
Tithes in him four Generations before he was born.
And thus all the Dependants of Efau and facob
are faid to be in their Mother's Womb, while they
were: Two Nations ftrugled in her Womb.
And that the Birth of every Man within any
Country doth fubjedl: him to the Laws of that Coun-
try, is the Law of all Nations.
And
( 20 )
And without thefe Conceffions there could be
no Laws, becaufe elfe every Man muft have a par-
ticular Law delivered him for himfelf: which .being
a publick Inconvenience, cannot be admitted in the
nature of Laws.
And thus this Law of Death fell upon Chrift
himfelf, as a Defcendant from the fame common
Anceftors.
Chrift had two defcents in his Birth: One was
his natural defcent from the Virgin Mary his real ,
Mother. The other his legal defcent from Jofefi his
fuppofed Father.
But in his Genealogy fet down by two Evange-
lifts, this legal defcent by Jofefh is only counted up-
on, without taking any notice of his defcent by his
Mother's fide: Becaufe this defcent by fofeph was
his legitimate defcent according to that Law, which
makes all the Iftue of the Woman born during the
Coverture, to be the Iftue of the Husband; al-
though it be notorioufly known, that in Fadt it
were begotten by another.
And this is our Law at this day, alrho the Iftue
be born but one day after the Efpoufals- And the
Canon Law is much ftronger •, for that makes the
Iftue born of the Woman before Marriage (let
them be begotten by whom fhe will, unlefs by a
former Husband in Wedlock) to be the Iftue of
the Husband to whom fhe is afterward married.
And therefore Chrift having fuch a Father-in-Law
as this, his delcent muft be accounted from his Fa-
ther-in-Law, and not from his Mother, becaufe all
legal defcents are accounted from the Father, and
not from die Mother.
When the eleven Tribes were polled in the Wil-
dernefs ot Sinai y they gave account of their Pedigrees
after their Families, by the Houfe of their Fathers , with-
out taking any notice of their defcent by their Mo-
thers
( 21 )
thers fide. And fo did they of the Tribe of Levi y
who were numbered after them.
Wherefore, I fay, the bufinefs of the Evangelifts
being to fhew fuch a defcent in Chrift, by which the
Curfe of the Law might fall upon him in his Birth,
they muft fhew a defcent upon which the Law
might operate. For as this is a Law, all Proceed*
ings thereupon are according to Law.
And hence it is obfervable, that his being born of
a Virgin efpoufed, and not of a fingle Virgin, was
not accidental, but defigned: For as it was neceffa-
ry that he fhould be born of a pure Virgin, to pre-
fervehis Nature from the defilements of the Hu-
manity; fo it was neceffary that he fhould be born
of a Virgin efpoufed, to derive upon himfelf the
Curfe of the Law by a legal Father. For which
purpofe it was neceflary that the Birth of Chrift
fhould (in the terms of the Evangelift) be on this
wife, and no otherwife.
And as this peculiar Genealogy of Chrift was not
accidental, but defigned, the Quality of his defcent
was fo too.
There are mutual courtefies and civilities ufad
amongft Equals; but he that accepteth Riches or
Honour from another, doth thereby acknowledg llfcn
£0 be his Superior ; for the lejfer is blejfed of the greater.
Wherefore when -Abraham had refcued the Plun-
der taken from the Sodomites , he permitted the young
Men that fought with him. to eat and drink of the
Provifions, and his three Confederates that affifted
him to take their Portion of the Goods *, but for
his own part, taking himfelf to be as good a Man
as the then King of Sodom, he fcorned to accept
from him the value of a Shoe Latchet, left it fhould
be faid he made Abraham rick
So tho Chrift in the days of his flefh behaved him-
felf with all the freedom of Converfation; The Son
C of
( 22 )
of Man came eating and drinking ; aod when little Za-
chetu climb'd up a Tree to fee him, he frankly invi-
ted himfelf to dine with him: Yet knowing himfelf
to be the Son of God, he neither could nor would
receive any Dignity from Man *, 1 receive not Honour
from Man,
And thus knowing his real defcent to be from
Above, lam from Above ; it was equal tohimtobe
reputed the Son of a King or a Carpenter.
But he rather chofe the latter, becaufe being him-
(elf a King, lam a King \ he would not accept his
immediate defcent from another King, left it fhould
be faid that that made him King.
David often vaunted of him as his defcendant, to
come twice fourteen Generations before he was born.
And Abraham rejoiced to fee his day.
But he was fo far from valuing himfelf upon thefe
great Anceftors, one a King, and the other a King's
Fellow, that he rather feemed to difown them;
Before Abraham teas, I am. If David called m$
Lord., how am 1 his Son ?
He made no other ufe of his Royal Pedigree, but
to convey by them a corrupted defcent from Adam ;
who (landing attainted of Treafon againft Heaven,
Chrift himfelf under this Attainder was baptized in
his own Blood to reftore the reft of Mankind into
the glorious Liberty of the Sons of God : For Chrift
himfelf, thus falling under the Law, became as guil-
ty of the breach of it as any common Man (not-,
withftanding his perfonalHolinefs.)
For we are none of us guilty of this Sin in Fadft,
but only by conftrudtion of Law in the Article of
pur Birth, which falls upon us before we know
Good or Evil; and fo it did upon the Humanity of
Chrift.
And this Law thus falling upon him, was as juft
a caufe of his Death as it is of ours. Nor can his
Deatb
( 25 )
Death be afligned to any other caufe but this-
This Death of Chrift was the moft unlikely thing
that ever happened in the World: His Difciples
could not believe it till they faw it.
He did not die of x^ge, being about thirty three
at his Death.
He did not die of natural Infirmity, having the
power of Health, by which he preferved his own,
and reftored others.
He did not die in Battel •, For his Kingdom was not
of this World, elfe would his Servants have fought that be
jfhould not have been delivered unto the Jews.
He did not die by any fudden Accident, the Angels
having charge over him, left he fhould dafh his foot againft
a ftone.
He did not miftder himfelf, but made all his Hf-
forts to efcape, the greateft of which was his asking
his Life of God. Nor was he murdered by others,
becaufe there was a form of Laiv in doing it-
And yet he was not executed by Law, becaufe
there was no Law then in being by which he could be
executed for the Crime of which he flood accufed.
The time that Chrift lived in the World, was af-
ter the deftrudtion of the fewifh Monarchy, and du-
ring the continuance of the Roman Conque'ft, under
which the Jewifh Nation being then Subjects, were
permitted the exercife of their Religion and Prieft-
hood, but not of the Civil Power which they had
while their Monarchy was in being.
So that if a few had committed any Offence a-
gainft the fewifh Law, which was not an Offencfc
againft the Roman Law, he was liable to no other
Punifhment than theCenfureof the Jewifh Church.
And this was the Cafe of Chrift. He being of
the fewijh Nation, was accufed of Blafphemy, which
was Death by their Law but being not fo by the
Roman Law, the Priefts were at a lofs how to get a
formal Sentence againft him. C * And
( 24 )
And therefore when Pilate firft demanded of them
his Accufation, they gave for Anfwer, Were he not a
Malefattor* roe would not have delivered him unto thee 5
expecting to have had him condemned upon their
Honour: having indeed brought him in fuch a pickle
as would have half hang'd any Man upon the view.
But we know Pilate s Reply to that, and to their
Accufation when they offer'd it.
And confidering (in the fequel of the Hiftory) the
Warning fent to Pilate by a MefTage from Heaven,
his own Inclinations to obey it, and the former Af-
fedlions of the People towards him, who had their
Ele&ion to redeem him againft a common Rogue, it
feem'd impoflible that he lhould have been executed.
Who can affign the Caufe why Herod and Pilate*
fews and Romans , Priefts and People (who were each
at odds with one another in other matters) fhould all
fall in together to condemn innocent Blood ? That
themoftexadf Worfhipper of God fhould be accu-
fed lor a Blafphemer 1 That he that refufed to be a
King, fhould be arraigned for a Traitor I
Such was the Death of Chrift, without a Prece-
dent, without a Name, without a Reafon, without a
Caufe- They hated me without a Caufe. But they were
all again'ft him, becaufe God was againft him.
And this he told Pilate , without which he declared
he would not have furrender'd himfelf. mtye notyhat
1 can even now call to my Heavenly Father, and he (hall
fend me more than twelve Legions of Angels5 but how then
(hall the Scripture be fulfilled ?
His Hands were bound, and his Feet were in the
Stocks, that he was not at liberty to defend himfelf;
being fallen under that Law which neceflitated him
to die- And thus his Death is exclaim'd as equally
miraculous with his Birth. He was wonderful in his
Death, like Mofes: And who can declare his Genera-
tion ?
All
( 25 )
All other Caufes of Death are but fecond Caufes,
which may or may not happen, and againft which a
Man may make his defence. But this general Law of
Death is a Flail, againft which there is no defence 5
for if one Execution don't reach us, another will;
they that remain of the Peftilence (hall the Sword
devour, and they that efcape the Sword fliall be
confum'd with Famine.
Whatever is the immediate Caufe is but the Exe-
cutioner to the firft Command. It was foah that fee
Uriah in the Front of the Battel, and th z Ammonites
that flew him •, but it was David that kill'd him.
Thou haft killed Uriah the Hittite, and haft (lain him
•with the Sword of the Children of Ammon,
And having thus lhewn how this Law (which
was the Commencement of the Pofleflion of Death
over the World) did defcend and fall upon Chrift,
and was the caufe of his Death: It is next incum-
bent upon me tofhew,
That this Law is taken away by his Death, and
confequently that the long Pofleflion of Death over
the World can be no longer a Title againft Life.
But when I fay this Law is taken away, I don't
mean that the words of it are taken away, for they
remain with us to this day, and being matter of
Record muft remain for ever •* But that it is fatisfied
by other matter of Record, by which the force of
it is gone.
And I call that Law taken away which is fatif-
fled. Law fatisfied is no Law: as a Debt fatisfied
is no Debt.
Now the fpecifick Demand of the Law was
Death: And the Death of a Man: And the Death
of Man made under the Law.
And therefore Chrift, to qualify himfelf for this
Undertaking, became Man in the manner and form
beforementioned; for had he affumed the Human
Nature
< 29 )
Nature by any other entrance into it, he had not
come under the Law, and therefore could not have
been put to anfwer it ,* For what the Law fays, it fays
to them that are under it.
And hence the Genealogy of Qu'ift is a funda-
mental part of Eternal Life.
For Chrift had vifited the World once before un-
der the Name of Melchifedeck •, but not then making
his entrance by a Father or Mother, but affirming
the Humanity immediately (like the appearances of
Angels) the Law could not reach him for want of
a legal Genealogy from Mam by which it might
attaint him, and therefore Ire then returned to
Heaven without hurt (as feveral appearances of
Angels in the forms of Men had done before him.)
But in his coming in the Flefh purfuant to this
Covenant of Eternal Life, He took not on him the Na-
tare of Angels, hut the Seed of Abraham.
And having thus qualified himfelf to be a SubjeCt
to the Law,he as fuch did fuffer under it by his Death,
by which he perform'd the literal Sentence of the
Law, l» the day thou eatefh thereof thou fhalt die. Which
yet he might have done, and not have given the
Law Satisfaction for Millions of Men before him
had undergone the literal Sentence of the Law by
dying under it, and yet the Law was neverthelefs
diflatisfied with them and others.
But he declar'd, It is fnifhed, before he gave up
the Ghoft.
And this is the difference between his Death and
ours •• Man dies under the Execution of the Law,
before he can give Satisfaction to the Jufticeof it 5
but this Son of Man gave Satisfaction to the Juftice
of the Law before the extremity of the Execution
could reach him-
And this he did by the dignity of his Perfon:
For this Law \^as not fuch a Qvil Contract, that the
Breach
( JO )
Breach of it could be fatisfied with Mony. But
it was a Law of Honour, the Breach whereof re-
quired perfonal Satisfaction for the molt impudent
Affront, and the higheft ACl of Ingratitude to
God-
Men charge God as a Humorift, for condemning
the whole Race of Mankind for fo fmall an Offence
as eating a little forbidden Fruit. But this is their
ignorance of the Laws of Honour and Gratitude;
by which the {lighter the thing demanded is> the
greater the Affront in refufing it.
Had Vavld asked the Inheritance of Nd&afs Efface,"
he had rendered himfelf as odious as 4hab did when
he demanded Naboth's Vineyard. But hisRequeft
being only for fome ordinary Provifion (in com-
mon with Sheep-Ihearers) therefufalof it rendered
Nabal a Churl not fit to live.
So Naamans Servant faid to his Mailer, Had the
Prophet bid thee do fome great thing, reouldjl thou not have
done it ? How much more when he only faith , JVafh and
be clean ?
Man by his very Creation enter'd into the La-
bours of God himfelf, without one thought of his
own, and at the firfl moment of his being became
Lord of the Univerfe, which was adapted to his
Enjoyments and Pleafures-
And God left him in pofleflion of it all, upon his
parol of Honour only, that he would acknowledg
it to be held of God 5 and as the Token of this
Tenure, that he would only forbear one com-
mon Tree (for it feems to be no more till it be-
came otherwifeby his eating of it) withal telling
him, that if he did eat of it, his Life fhould go for
it. Not that God thought his Life fatisfaCtion, but
it was all the Satisfaction God could have of him 5
it was rather a Refentment of the Affront, than any
Satisfaction for it.
( 3 )
By which God Hiew'd, that if Man had had more
than his Life to give, God would have had ic of
him. And therefore to fignify the height of this
Refentment, God raifes Man from the Dead to de-
mand further Satisfaction of him.
Death is a commitment to the Prifon of the
Grave till the Judgment of the great Day; and
then the grand Habeas Corfu! will iffue, to the Earth
and to the Sea, to give up their Dead to remove the
Bodies, with the caufe of their Commitment: And
as thefeCaufesfhall appear, they fhall either be re-
leafed, or elfe fentenced to the common Goal of
Hell, there to remain until Satisfaction.
Such was the Refentment of defpifed Love; and
yet this was a Refentment without Malice. For as
God maintained his Refentment under all his Love,
fo he maintained his Love under all his Refent-
ment.
For his Love being a Love of Kindnefs flowing
from the generofiry of his own Nature, could not
be diminifhed by any Art of Man. And yet his
Honour being concerned to maintain the Truth of
his Word, he could not falfify that to gratify his
own Affedion.
And thus he bore tire Paflion of his own Law,'
till he had found out a Salvo for his Honour by that
Son of Man who gave him Satisfaction all at once
by the dignity of his Perfon-
Perfonal Satisfactions by the Laws of Honour are
efteemed fufficient or not fufficient, according to
the equality or inequality between the Perfons who
give and take the Affront.
Therefore God to vindicate his Honour thus
affronted, was obliged to find out a Perfon (for
that purpofe) equal to himfelf, who was affronted.
The invention of which is called the manifold
wifdom of God The Invention ic felf being the higheft
Expreffi-
( H )
Expreflion of the deepeft Love: And theExecu-
tion of this Invention (in the Death of Chrift )
being the deepeft Refentment of the higheft Affront.
Which Death of Chrift did neverthekfs furmounc
all the Demands made upon him. '
_ For as much as his Perfon was fuperiour in dig-
nity to the Human Nature, fo much the Satisfa&ion
by his Death furmounted the Offence of Man.
And thus (I fay) tf&s Law being fulfilled and
over fatisfied by Chrift in his Death, was and is
taken away, fo that there was no fucii Law in being
againft him after his Refurre&ion.
He was made under the Law by his Birth, but
he did not arife under it, having taken it away by
his Death. And having thus taken away the Law
by his Death, the Life regain d by him in his Re-
furredlion was by Con que ft.
He met with no quarter from God nor Man :
God would not fave him from Death, tho he ask'd
him, and therefore he refcu'd himfelf from it. ^
He pray'd to be preferv'a from Death before it
came upon him, but he crav'd no Aid againft the
Power of it towards his Refurre&ion. Deftroy this
Body, and I "mill raife it in three days. Die he knew
he muft; buc rife he knew he could.
And the reafon of his RefurreCtion was, becaufe
Death could hold him no longer: For it was not
fojfible that he ftoould be held any longer of it.
And this he did, not in contradiction to the
Will of God: For God having executed the Law
upon him by his Death, he did not oppofe him in
his RefurreCtion. And therefore tho lie could not
come down from the Crofs, becaufe the Will of
God was then againft him, yet he could arife from
the dead, becaufe the Will of God did not then
oppofe him.
And fo God leaving him to himfelf, he conquered
- D Death.
(54)
Death. By which, according to all the Laws of
Conqueft, the Law of Death is taken away.
For by the Laws of Conqueft, the Laws of the
Conquered are ipfo fatto taken away by the very
Conqueft: and all Records and Writings that re-
main of them are of no more force than waft Paper.
The Law of Death (as I have Laid) remains in
words, and will remain for ever; but it had no more
force againft Ch;ift after his Refurredion, than if
it had never been made. And from hence the Title
of Chrift to Eternal Life is become abfolute.
By abfolute, I mean difcharged from all Tenure
or Condition, and confequently from all Forfeiture.
And this is the Title of Conquerors, who hold
of none but themfelves, becaufe they receive their
Right from none but their Arms: And is in oppo-
fition to the firft Title of Life delivered to ridam,
which was held by Tenure, as being receiv'd from
God 5 and being fo held, it became forfeited to him
of whom it was held, according to the Laws of
Tenure.
But Chrift receiving his Life in his Refurredion
from none but himfelf-, 1 lay down my Life of my felfy
and I take it up again* ft is now his Own without
Tenure, and therefore is abfolute, and cannot be
forfeited.
And as his Title to Life is thus become abfolute
by Conqueft: So the duration of it is become Eter-
nal, by being annexed to the Perfon of the God-
head.
A Man may have an abfolute Title, and yet that
Title may be but for a time.
Life is call'd Temporal or Eternal, according to
the Perfons or Things to which it is annexed or
united.
The Life of Vegetables and Animals is called a
Temporal; jLife, becaufe ic. is annexed to things
which
( JS )
which have a Temporal Duration."
And thus, according to our Laws, whatever is an-
nexed to the Perfon of a Man, is adjudged to have
continuance during his Life.
So that if Land be convey'd to & Man indefinite-
ly, without naming any time how long he (hall hold
it, he has (without more faying) an Eftate for
Life, becaufe his Eftate is annexed to his Perfon,
which is faid to have continuance for his Life.
And hence the Life of Chrift regained by the
Cpnqueft of his Refurredtion, being annexed to
the Perfon of his Godhead, which is eternal, doth
thereby become Eternal Life; for the Life of God
and Eternal Life are fynonymous Terms.
And thus Chrift ever fince his Refurredtion did
and doth ftand feized of an abfolute and indefezible
Eftate of Eternal Life, without any Tenure or Con-
dition, or other matter or thing to change or deter-
mine it for ever.
And I had reafon thus to aflert the Title of
Chrift at large.
Becaufe this is the Title by and under which I
am going! to affirm my Argument, and to claim
Eternal Life for my felf and all the World.
Had Chrift thus become Man, and died and rofe
again, all voluntarily, to try an Experiment, he had
only faved his own Life, and left all the World to
fhift for themfelves.
But this would have been Knight-Errantry in
tempting God, againft which he hath fufficiently,
declared himfelf.
And yet when I fay he did it voluntarily, I done
mean that he did it unwillingly: For as he did it
with all franknefs and generolity of his Will, 1 lay
down my Life of my felf , fo he did it with the higheft
aflfedfion of Love to Mankind. Greater Love than
Ms hath no Man, that he lay down his Life for his Friend.
D % But;
(J«)
But I mean, he did not do it purely voluntarily,
without a necefftty of doing it 5 and a Confidera-
tion for it.
Firft then 5 There was a Necefftty upon God
himfelf. •:/
God told slduM, that if he did eat, he fhottld die.
The Devil told fw, that they might eat, and not die.
And thefe were the fir ft words fpokenro Man by
God or the Devil •, upon the truth or falfhood
whereof the very Beings of them both were to de-
pend for ever. For whichever of them .could maim
tain the Truth of his Word againft the other, he
muff have been God, and the other the Devil.
And therefore God having turned the Lie upon
the Devil, he is from thence called a Liar from the
beginning* • and the Father of it, and will never be
believed again for ever.
God could not have difpenfed with his Word,
without complementing the Devil with his God-
head, in taking the Lie upon himfelf ; and this he
could not do : For God cannot lie without Undeifying
himfelf -, and this he can't do, becaufe all his Quali-
ties being of his Efience, he can't change them.
That Gpd cannot change, is not a deficiency in
his Nature, but the Perfection of his Efience, which
can be nothing but himfelf. For as it is the happi-
sefs of imperfect Beings t.o he capable of change, in
order to be made better i fo it is the happinefs of
perfect Beings to be incapable of change whereby
to.be made worfe.
Man can lie, becaufe he can't fpeak Truth s there's
nothing that a Man can fay, but what he can unfay
and.falfify by the change of his Mind, which he can
change only becaufe he can't fix it:.as a Man that
hath a broken Arm can.turn it every way, becaufe
he can't fix it no way.
Nothing but an abfolute Power can be abfolute in
v any
( 37 )
any thing; therefore Man having no abfolute Pow-
er, can'c abfolutely determine his own Will •, every
change of which inbje&s him to a Lie, either by
falfifying his former Refolutions, or his prefent In-
clinations. But God having an abfolute Power to
determine his own Will, he could not change it at-
ter he had (o determined it 5 for what is fix'd can't
be changed.
Wherefore God could not difpenfe with the
Breach of his Law to pardon it. Which was not
for want of Mercy in God, for he hath and doth
daily pardon ten thoufand times, the Sins committed
by Man againft the moral Law, which feem as great
Offences as this.
Becaufe the moral Law hath in it felf a defea-
zance or condition annexed to it at the time of the
firfl delivering of it. Except ye repent ye (hall perifh.
By which this Law may be fulfilled without a per-
formance of it in fpecie , by doing another thing
which is admitted to be done inftead of it.
A defeazance is not the fame thing with the thing
to be defeated, but fomething collateral to it. And
thus Repentance, which is not a performance of the
Moral Law, is neverthelefs accepted inftead of it.
But in this Law delivered to Mam, there was no
fuch condition annexed to it at the firft delivery.
The words are abfolute; In the day that thou eateft
thereof thou fhalt die , which leaves no room for Re-
pentance. Adam did repent, but he found no place
for it, he could not find any words, of the Law to
which he could apply his Repentance to do him any
good.
And when a Deed hath no defeazance or condi-
tion annexed to it at the time of the firft delivery,
it can't be added to it afterwards.
And hence tho this Law delivered to Adam, was
at the time of the firft delivery a Law of Life and
Death1,
( 4S )
Death, yet the Law of Life being ended by breach
of the Condition, there was then nothing left but
the Law of Death, which became abfolute without
any condition.
And this put God upon a necefiity of executing
the Sentence of the-Law upon Man in facie , or
making himfelf a Liar which he could not do, and
therefore the necefiity upon him was abfolute.
Which Necefiity was (all the while) a contradiction
to his Nature, which is Love to Man. God is Love.
And this divided him againft himfelf, and laid him
under a necefiity of finding out an Invention tore-
concile his Truth to his Love, and his Love to his
Trutifi'
And this Necefiity upon God, drew a Necefficy
upon Chrift to come and execute this Invention, be-
caufe none could do it but himfelf-
Now there being fuch a Necefiity for Chrift's af-
fuming the Humane Nature, and dying under it,
there was a Covenant made between him and the
Father, previous to his coming in the Flefh, which
is called the Covenant of Eternal Life , and is the Hifto"
ry of the Scriptures, altho it be not fet down alto-
gether in any one place-
Rich Metals, and precious Stones, don't lie to-
gether in heaps above ground 5 but being fo valuable
when found, Men think it worth their while to dig
down for them in all places where they have any pro-
bability of finding them.
Then if the way and manner of attaining Eternal
Life, doth lie in fo narrow a Volume as the Bible
(Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have Eter-
»al Life) fhall we not think it worth our while to
fearchit through for that precious Stone with a new
Name, which none can read but they that have it ?
And this is a more pleafant Labour than the
fearch for other Jewels 5 for there we meet with no-.
thing
( 49 )
thing of pleafure or profit, till we find the very
thing we feek for. _ But in making this enquiry, we
divert our felves with knovvledg all the way we go.
Nor did God think any one Man, or any one
Age of the World, worthy to have the whole of
this Covenant revealed to them all at once. He
was 4000 Years from Adam to Chrift, delivering it
in Types and Shadows to 62 Generations of Men,
who pafled their Age in that time.
But having thus prefaced it at fundry times, and in
divers manners to our Fathers by the Propheti, he at lafl
Jpoke it to us by his Son.
In which thefe parts do appear:
I. The Date.
z. The Parties.
3, The Contents and Confederation,
4. The Sealing and Execution.
y. The TVitneffes.
6. The Ceremony required of Man, whereby to execute
it on his part, and take the advantage of it.
1. The Date. This was before the Foundation of
the World. I was fet up from ever la fling : Before
Abraham was, 1 am. God who created all things by fey
fits Chrifl, the Lamb Jlain before the Foundation of the
World.
The priority of which Date prevents any prein-
cumbrance that could be made of Eternal Life:
which is more than can be faid of any Titles araongft-
Men.
2. The Parties. It was between him and the Fa-
ther. Lo, J corns to do thy Will, OGod. J» the Volume
of the Book ** written of me. I will give thee the He a-
then for thy Poffejjio» t and the utmofl parts of the Earth
for thins Inheritance,
( 5° )
The fu-ft Text tells us what he came to do, and in
putfuance of what Agreement. The other, what
he was to have for doing it, and who he was to have
it from. Now Gad being the undoubted Author
of Eternal Life, there can be no hazard- in this Title
for want of a light Perfon to make the Grant;
which is more than can be faid of any Titles amongft
Men.
3. The Contents and Confederation. That if he be-
came bound, we fhould be made free. He gave hie
Life a Ranfom for many.
Chrift well knew what Man flood bound to under
the Law of Death: And did as well know, that if
he himfelf ever came under that Law,he muft there-
by become bound to the fame: And that if he
fhould come under the Law, before he made an
agreement previous to it, he fhould be concluded
by the Law to fuffer under it upon his account, and
thereby be incapacitated to capitulate with God
about ir.
For the Life of a Man attainted (as Chrift was the
firft moment of his Birth) is forfeited to the Law,
and therefore after that he could not have been at
liberty to treat With God concerning that Law.
And thereupon he would not become charged
with this Law till he had made this Covenant: That
rue that were before charged with it, might thereby be dife-
charged from it. By which he was to be neither
Surety nor Bail for Man.
For in both thefe the Principals ftill remain liable,
and the Sureties ftand only hazarded with them, and
have a Remedy over againft them. Which had been
a difhonourableEngagemenc for the Dignity of fo
great a Perfon.
And therefore he offered himfelf a Ranfom or
nothing, to be delivered in exchange for the Cap-
tives, whereby he alone flood bound- And
( 51 )
And as fuch he was accepted : I have trodden the
Wine-prefs alone, and none of all the People with me.
And therefore when he was taken, there was not
a Man taken with him. I am Jefus of Nazareth whom
ye fee\, let thefe therefore go their way.
And this was thehigheft Honour that God could
put upon him, to accept him a Ranfom for the
whole World. And yet this was not an Honour
above his Merit: for as in Debts by Civil Contract,
'tis not the Multitude but the Solvency of the Deb-
tors that makes the Payment; fo in the Laws of
Ranfom, 'tis not the Number but the Dignity of the
Perfons that is valued in the Exchange.
And hence this Son of Man being more worth
than ten thoufands of the People, his Death was a
greater Honour to the Law, than if all the World
befides had died under it.
And could Man from hence underftand the force
of the Covenant of Eternal Life, he might fee him-
felf difcharged from Death in the very moment the
Law fell upon Chrift (which was die inftant of his
Birth) becaufe Man was to be ipfa fallo releafed up-
on Chrift's becoming bound. And after that it was
no matter to Man whether Chrift had ever given
Satisfaction to God or not 5 we might have laid to
God, Loo\_ thou to that.
For God by this Covenant having once accepted
Chrift for a Ranfom, Man could never after that
have been retaken by any Law of Reprizal, altho
the Ranfom had efcaped- As foon as the Ram was
caught in the Thicket , the Sacrifice that before lay,
bound upon the Altar was let loofe.
Not that the coming of Chrift in the Flefh was
the Satisfaction, but God was thereby fure of his
Satisfaction. For as certain as Chrift by his Birth
became a living Child in faCt, fo certain did he that
moment become a dead Man in Law.
£ But
( 52 )
But yet all that I have hitherto faid, doth not a-
mount to inflate Man into the fame Title of Eter-
nal Life, which Chrift had after his Refurredtion :
Becaufe a mere Ranfom doth in it felf amount to no
more than to red ore us to the fame Liberty which
we had before we were Captive.
And then this Ranfom by Chrift would only have
reinftated Man into that Law of Life conditional, in
which Adam ftood before the Fall.
But God having found out this Salvo for his Ho-
nour by that Man Chrift Jefus, he did at the fame
time find that this would not only do but over-do all
that Man had mifdone. And that this fuperabun-
dancy might not run in wafte, God did declare that,
for this, Man fhould have Eternal Life, abfolute as
Chrift himfelf had it.
And hence Eternal Life is called the Gift of God
through otir Lord and Saviour Jefus Chrift , over and a*
bove our Redemption.
So that now by this Covenant of Eternal Life, we
are not only ranfomed from that Law under which
we fell in Adam, but are delivered over into a State
and Title which we never had before the Fall, wT.
that abfolute and indefeafible Eftate of Eternal Life,
in which Chrift was inftalled by his Refurredtion
from the dead.
And this Redemption from one Law, and Deli-
verance over into another, are both done at the fame
inftant without any Interval of Time palling be-
tween them- As in Conveyances amongft Men,
the Title vefts and devefts from one to another, by
one and the fame Adt.
And hence this Covenant is not called the Cove-
nant of Redemption, but the Covenant of EternaL
Life, as the moft worthy Title. And therefore he
that takes any thing by this Covenant, muft take
Eternal Life or nothing.
A
( S3 )
A Believer is never fpoken of with a lefs addi-
tion than Eternal Life He that believeth on the Son of
God hath everlafting Life.
And thus it is in Conveyances among Men ; what-
ever is contain'd in the Deed can't be divided, but
muft pafs altogether by the Execution of that Deed,
(which as to this now Hands nexc in order.)
4. The Sealing and Execution \ for let the Contents
of a Writing be what it will, it is neither Deed nor
Covenant till it is executed.
This Covenant of Eternal Life being thus formed
in Heaven, was afterwards fealed and executed by
God himfelf according to all the Forms and Cere-
monies of Titles among Men. For God having
eftabliih'd Eternal Life by a Law, he hath ufed all
the Ceremonies of Law to make a Title to it-
Every Law prefcribes its own Ceremonies by
which it is to be executed.
The Ceremony (as I have faid) by which the
Law of Death is executed upon Man, is his Birth-
The Ceremony by which the fews received the
Law of Mofes was Circumcifion. And the Cere-
mony by which the Covenant of Eternal Life was
executed by God, is the Blood of Chrift.
And now I am come to that Point thac hath puz-
led the whole World.
What! Eat the Flefh, and drin\the Blood of a Man,
and be faved ?
That this Covenant (hould be fealed is agreeable
to all other Titles amongft Men. But that it (hould
be fealed with the Blood of Chrift, feems very pe-
culiar.
And yet we (hall find even this alfo to be moft
futable to the common ufe of Seals amongft Men.
We caufe our Seals to be imprefled with the moft
memorable Enfign* of Honour that can be afiigned
E 2 to
( 54 )
f o our Families, whereby they may be remember'd,
every time the Deed is ihown. And arr.ongft tbefe,
we efteem thofe moft honourable which are gain'd
in the Field with the iofs or hazard of our Lives.
Why then 1 here's the Son of God thrown down
from Heaven in the form of a Man, as a Champion
againft Death and Hell, {lain in the open field, be-
fore the Face of Men and Angels, in the Quarrel
and Defence of his Friends. And after that dif-
playing himfelf again, with all his Wounds about
him : Reach hither thy Finger, and behold my Hands ;
and reach hither thy Hand, and thrufl it into my fide.
Now firft I challenge the Hero 's to (how fuch
Scars of Honour as theie. And then I defy the He-*
raids to match it, for a Coat of Arms. Such a
Champion, and fuch a Caufe s fuch a Combat, and
fuch a Conqueft.
And therefore (of all.things in Heaven and Earth)
God hath chofen out the Blood of Chrift to be the
Seal of the Covenant of Eternal Life: That as often
■as Man fees the Seal of that Covenant, he may re-
member the fate of that day. As often as ye do this,
do it in remembrance of me.
The place of the execution of this Covenant was
upon Earth, which Inftance hath put me upon many
thoughts by the by.
The firft Notion of a God is, that he is equal to
himfelf in all his Attributes; and it feemeth Blafphe-
my in Man of hinftelf to fuppofe any Inequality in
his Maker.
But God having owned fomething which he va-
lues himfelf upon more than all the reft •, Man hath
thereby leave fo to conceive of him. Now he hath
magnified his Word above all his Name. And in that
Word he hath bound himfelf by an Oath to per-
form this Covenant: Once have 1 /worn by my Holinefs,
that I will not lie mto David.
And
C <>5 )
And of all parts of this (as well as other Cove-
nants) the Sealing is the greateft Solemnity.
This Covenant then being fealed by God himfelf
upon this Globe of Ground, I can't but think thac
Man is to pafs through his greateft Change in the
fame place: But I'll fay no more of that till I have
done my Argument.
5. The Witneffes to the Execution. And thefe Were
firft accidental, and they were the whole World.
The found thereof is gone through the whole Earth j for
this thing was not done in a Corner.
Secondly, The dirett witnefs , and that was himfelf:
For this end was I horn, and for this end came I into the
World, to bear Witnefs unto the Truth. For as lie did
not depend upon the Teftimony of John to tell the
World who he was, having a greater Teftimony of ,
his own Works; fo he doth not depend upon Man
to witnefs this Covenant, having attefted it himfelf,
in his own Blood.
And this is after the manner of Kings, witnefs our
felves , becaufe they can't have a greater: And like
God himfelf, who fwears by Himfelf, becaufe he can't
fwear by a greater.
6. The Ceremony by which this Covenant is to be exe-
cuted by Man. This Covenant being thus executed
by God himfelf, and attefted in the Blood of Chrift,
ftands ready to be executed by Man on his part-
And this is alfo agreeable to the Forms of Title
amongft Men, who can take no benefit of a Deed
but by acceptance of it.
We diftinguilh our Deeds by two Titles!
1 ft. An Indenture , in which all the Parties muft
be named.
zdly. A Deed Roll , in which the Parties need not
be named, but are defcribed by the firft Prefcrip-
tion
( )
tion of the Deed : As if the Deed begins, To ati,
Perfons who jha.ll fubfcribe thefe prefents ; then every
one by bis Subfcription becomes a Party, to take the
benefit of all that is contained in chat Deed for the
Su'ofcribers.
Now in this Covenant of Eternal Life the Parties
are not named, hut every Man is fo defcribed that
he is at liberty to make bimfelf a Party to it.
The words of this Prefcription are,
T. Poficive. He that eateth my Flefh, and drinketh
tfij Blood, hath Eternal Life.
z\ Negative. Except ye eat the Flefh, and drink the.
Blood of the Son of Man, ye have no Life in you.
Which Prefcription doth not refpedt his Blood as
Blood only, but as that Blood is made the Seal of
this Covenant. This Cup is the New Teftament in my
Blood.
We don't feal Wax as Wax, but as it is annexed
to die Deed, and made the Seal thereof. For the
Sealing the fame piece of Wax at large feparate
from the Deed, fignifies nothing.
And hence it is not the Wax that fandtifies the
Deed, but the Deed that fandlifies the Wax. For if
Lead or any other malleable Subftance be annexed to
the Deed, and imprefled with the Seals, it is as
effe&ual as if it were Wax.
And hence Chrift himfelf doth own, that it was
the Sanction and Million of God upon him that
made him the Redeemer of the World: Say ye of
him whom God hath fanBified and fent into the World, that
he blafphemeth, hecaufe he faith he is the Son of God
For him hath God the Father feaied, And hence that
great Cognomen Chrifl is added to his proper Name
of fefits. And thus die Kings of Ifrael receiv'd their
Sandiion by the Anointing of the Prophets.
The diftindtion between things Holy and Com-
mon, Sacred agd Civil, is the Appointment of
God
( 57 )
God put upon the one, and not upon the other.
The things ufed in Ceremonies are in themfelves
indifferent and infignificant but by the Sanction of
thofeLavvs by which they are made Ceremonies,
they become the moft neceflary and effentiai Parts
of the Law.
Such were the things ufed in the Sacrifices of the
Mofaical Law, fooiifh and infignificant in them-
felves 5 but being fet in order according to the forms
of that Law, they became Sanctions to one another.
The Gold of the Temple, the Wood of the Altar,
and the Flefh of Beafts were all common things till
they were ufed according to the Temple-Laws * and
then and there the Temple fandtified the Gold, and
the Altar fandtified the Gift.
So 'tis in our Law, a Writing is nothing, and
Wax is nothing, and a Seal is nothing, they are but
Cyphers in themfelves 5 but if the Wax be put to
the Writing, and the Seal to the Wax, this makes
the Writing to be a Deed, and is the form of a
Title.
Men in their private Stations may argue with one
another pro & con as long as they pleafe, without
doing good or hurt: But the Ay or No of one of
thefe Men given in a Court of Legiflature, may
turn the Fate of a Kingdom.
And the more flight and plain thefe Ceremonies
are by which Titles are executed, the more furethe
Title is that is to come from them, becaufe they can
neither be miftaken nor forgotten.
We think it an extravagant humour in God to
diftinguifh Men to be faved or damned, only for
believing or not believing in Chrifl. But may we
not think it as extravagant in us to diftinguifh our
felves to have, or not have, a thoufand Pounds a
year, only for fealing, or not fealing a Deed ?
Should we not call our telyes fools for refufing
to
( 58 )
to put fotth our hands to a piece of Parchment, and
take it off again, to get an Eftate by ? And yet we
think our felves wife in refufing Eternal Life, be-
caufe we may have it upon fuch eafy Terms.
For tho from the politive Words of this Prefcrip-
tion, the fealing and executing this Covenant of
Eternal Life by Man (without more faying or doing)
gives him as perfed a Title to Eternal Life, as the
fealing of a Deed among Men can make to the
Lands contain'd in it •• Yet from the negative words
of the Prefcription, there can be no Title to this
Eternal Life without the compliance with this Ce-
remony- For if Man can have any other Title to
Eternal Life than according to this Covenant, this
Covenant don't give him a Title to it.
No Deed gives Man a Title, that leaves any parr,
of the Title at large out of the Deed. If the Grantor
referves any of the Tide tohimfelf, then the Grantee
hath no perfect Title.
But God hath excepted nothing out of this Co-
venant, but his own Perfonal Life: For when it is
/aid, That he hath put all things under him, it is manifefi
that he is excepted who hath put all things under him.
Wherefore all the other parts of Eternal Life are
fubjed to this way of Life by Jefus Chrift. And
hence all other attempts for Heaven are accounted
Sin. He that entereth not in by the Door but climbeth Hp
feme ether way, is a Thief and a Robber, and comes for to
fteal.
And having thus opened this Covenant,
Firft, I put it upon the Profeflion of Divinity to
deny one word of the Fad, as I have repeated it.
Next, I challenge the Science of the Law to fhew
fuch another Title as this.
And then I defy the Logicians to deny my Argu-
ment; Of which this is the Abftrad.
That the Law delivered to Adam before the Fall } is
the
i
( 59 )
the Original Caufe of Death in the World.
That this Law is taken away by the Death of Chrijl.
That therefore the Legal Power of Death is gone.
And I am fo far from chinking this Covenant of
Eternal Life to be an Allufion to the forms of Title
amongft Men, that I rather adore it as the Prece-
dent for them all, from which our imperfed Forms
v are taken: Believing with that great Apoftle, That
the things on Earth are but the Patterns of things in the
Heavens y where the Originals are heft.
BV T why then doth Death remain in the World ?
Why, becaufe Man knows not the way of
Life? The way of Life they have not known.
► Or (as I faid at the beginning) that Death main-
tains its dominion over us by our fear of it: Having
no other right to remain with us, but becaufe our
Faith is not yet come to us 5 When the Son of Man
comes, (hail he find Faith upon the Earth ?
Man is a Beaft of Burden that knows not his
OWn ftrength, in the virtue of tl9 Death, and the Power
of the RefserreElion of Chrijl. Which Ignorance doth
r not proceed from want of Revelation of the Truth,
but from our negled to ftudy, and inaptitude to
I believe it: O Fools', and (low of heart to believe all that
the Prophets have fpoken.
Unbelief don't go by reafon or dint of Argu-
ment, but is a fort of Melancholy-Madnefs, by
which if we once fancy our felves bound, it hath
the fame effed upon us as if we really were fo,^
It is like the noife of War heard in the Camp
of the Syrians , which made them fly when na
one purfued : Or like thac pofleffion of fear which
fHll kept the befieged within the Garifon, tho the
Enemy had left the Field.
F Death
( 6 ° )
Death is like Satan, who appears to none but
them that ate afraid of him • Refift the bevil, and. he
will fiy from you. Or like Tyrants and faucyPeda-
gogues, whofe former Cruelties render them ter-
rible to thofe who have been under their lafh, after
they are freed from it;
^ecaufe Death had once dominion over us> we
think it hath and muft have it ftill.
And this I find within my felf, that tho I can't
deny one Word I have faid in Fatt or Argument,
vet I can't maintain my belief of it, without ma-
kin ( g it more familiar to my underftanding, by turn-
ing it up and down in my thoughts, and ruminating
upon fome proceedings already made upon it in the ,
World.
Some Specimens whereof Til prefent to the Reader. v
The Motto of the Religion of the World is (as
f nave faid) Mors j.vaua Vita, Death is the Gate of
Life.
1 Now, I fay, if we do by this mean the Death of
Chrift, then we are in the right. But if by this we
mean our own Death , then we are in the wrong. The
Death of Chrift was neceflary for him and us both, ■»!
becaufe the Covenant of Life would not take eftedl
but by his Death, which in the Covenant hath two <
Capacities-
i ft. As it was the confideration upon which the
Covenant was made-
idly. As it was the Ceremony by which it was
executed.
But all this being over and done, the Death of
Man is wholly ufelefs, and ferves to no intent or
purpofe, in order to Eternal Life, nor ever did.
And could we diftinguifh between the change of
our State, and the change of our Perfons and Places •,
this
( 61 )
this Do&rime would be more plain to us.
By State I always mean Title j to that when 1
fay a Maa is in the State of Life, I mean he is by
Law intituled to live •, and when I fay he is in the
ftate of Death,I mean he is by Law appointed to die.
Now a Man may change his State, without change
of his Perfon or Place. ChrUt by his Death and
Refurredtion did pafs under an invilible change of
his State, by being difcharged from that Law of
Death to which he flood before fubjebted by
his Birth, and being tranflated into that Law of Life
which he gained by his Refurrebtion.
Which tho it were only a legal or invifibleTranf-
lation, he was thereby as fafe from Death as he
is now, being afcended and fitting at the right Hand
of God. And yet his Perfon remained here un-
changed 5 Behold my Hands and my Feet, that it is I
my [elf. Thefe were Marks of Honour that could
not be counterfeit.
And that fome did not know him, is (kid to be
from their Unbelief, or that their Eyes were holden
that they fhould not know him.
But tho this change of his State in an inftant, did
not work fo fudden an alteration in his Perfon, yet
it did intitle his Perfon to a change for the better,
which Title he had not before his Death.
Chrift was as perfed in his Nature and his Prin-
ciples before Death as he was afterwards •, and yet
he could not then make his immediate Paflage to
Heaven by way of Tranflation, becaufe he was
fallerj under that Law, which did oblige him to the
common Fate ot Death.
But having once fuffered this, and thereby, and
by his Refutredion, delivered himfelf from that
'Law which had obliged him to it: He then flood
perfedly qualified to make his Exit by way of
Tranflation. And therefore having done all he had
F 2 to
( <5* )
to do upon Earth, he claimed a right of reentrance
into his former Glory without dying any more: /
have fini/hed the }Vorl{ thou gave ft tne to do : Now glorify
v:e with that Glory which I had with thee before the tVorld
began.
And thereupon God fent him down one of the
Chariots of Heaven to convey him thither, as he
had done before to thole two Heroes of old (whom
I have excepted out of the polfelfion of Death) up-
on this their Faith in him, before they faw him.
B/effed are they that have not feen y and yet have believed.
Now I fay this, that as Chrift did thus change his
State upon Earth, without change of his Perfon or
Place •, fo Man may do too, with this difference,
that tho Chrift palled this change by his own Death
and RefurredUon, yet we can't do it by our own
Death and Refurre&ion, but rauft do it by palling
through the Death and Refurrettion of Chrift in that
legal Form prefctib'd by the Covenant of Eternal
Life; becaufe his Death and not ours, is made the
Seal of that Covenant.
And this Man may do, without any real Death
or Refurre&ion of his own.
If the Death and Refurre&ion of Chrift be the
Palfage into Eternal Life, then he that is palled
this, is pafted into Eternal Life, whether he himfelf
ever died or not.
And for us to think to imitate Chrift in attaining
Eternal Life by palling through Death, becaufe
Chrift did fo, fhews us to be as ignorant of the
Law of Eternal Life, as a Man would feem of our
Laws, who feeing another intituled to an Eftate by
fealing of a piece of Wax upon a piece of Parch-
ment, Ihou'd think to get the fame himfelf, by do-
ing the fame thing upon other pieces of the like of
his own putting together.
For my own part (I thank God) I have already
made
()
made this fo familiar to my felf, that could I pafs
through an adtual Death and Refurredtion of my own
without Pain, I would not value the Experiment as
any thing towards Salvation, further than this, that I
fhould thereby know that there is nothing in it. And
of this I am as well fatisfied by the Experiments made
upon others, as if it were upon my felf.
When Chrift had open'd the Eyes of the Man
born blind, the People were ready to interrogate
him to death; What? Hon? Where? When did he
CUre you ? what did he fay to you ? What did he do to
you ? What did you fee fir ft ? what did you feel fir ft ?
But he knew no more of the matter than they did :
Only that, whereas 1 was blind, now 1 fee.
So when the People flockt about Lazarus, expedfc-
ing to hear from him fome news of the other World,
he could give them no other accountof it,than,
as lam Lad, now I am alive. He was neither richer
nor wifer by his Refurredtion, nor could learn by
that how to efcape another Death, but died again,
and might have thus died and rofe, and rofe and died
a hundred times, without any change of his State.
Wherefore Samuel ask'd Saul, Why doft thou difquiet
me to bring me up ? What wouldft thou have with
me ? Is it to fee me ? Why here I am, an old Man
h a Mantle , as thou haft feen me a hundred times.
Wouldft thou talk with me ? Why thou knowft
what I have told thee over and over, the Lord is de-
parted from thee, and hath rent the Kingdom out of thy
hand ; and fo I tell you now, and more I cannot fay.
If Men will not believe Mofes and the Prophets
while they are living, why fhould we fancy we (hall
rather believe them when rifen from the Dead ? If
they fay the fame things over again, it is Imperti-
nence •, and fhould they contradift themfelves, how
could we believe them ?
We have ftrange Conceptions of Death and Re-
furred ion
( 74 )
furredtion as long as we are on this fide them : Bue
when we have once palled through. and find our
felves much the fame as we were before, we lhali
be at as much lofs about it as we are now.
And if the Death of others who have died before
us, have put us into fuch a fear of Death that we
lhall di e too, I can't conceive how our own Death
fhould difchargeus of that fear after ourRefurredtion,
but that it fhould rather augment it i for what we
have once felt, we are ever after more afraid of feel-
ing again. The burnt Child dreads the Fire.
And yet far be it from me to fay that Man may
not attain to Eternal Life tho he Ihould die 5 for the
Text runs double, I am the RefurreEHon and the Life \
he that liveth and believeth on me (hall never die, and tho
he were dead he (hall live. But this I fay, that by this
Very Text there is a nearer way of entring into Eter-
nal Life than by the way of Death and Refurre&ion.
Whatever Circumftances a Man is under at the
time of his Faith, God is bound upon his Fidelity
to make good this Text to him according to which
part of it he builds his Faith upon.
If he be dead, then there's a necelfity for a Re-
furre&ion. But if he be alive, there's no occafion
for Death or Refurredtion either.
Nor doth this Text maintain two Religions, but
two Articles of Faith in the fame Religion.
But this I do apprehend, that the Article of Faith
for a prefent Life without dying is a higher Article
of Faith than that which expedts Death and Refur-
redtioni becaufe I palled through this lalf Article
long before the other (which I am now arguing for)
ever enter'd into my thoughts.
I once courted Death, as Elijah did under rhe Ju-
niper-Tree in the Wildernefs, when he requeued for
himfelf to die, and fa id, Now, Lord, take away my Life,
for I am not better than my Fathers. Which fhsws that
he
( 75 )
he was not educated in this Faith of Trariflatibn, but
attained ic afterwards by ftudy.
For no Man can comprehend the heights and
depths of the Gofpel at his firft entrance into it.
And in point Of Order, the la ft Etimy to be deftroyed is
Death.
The firft Eflay of Faith is againft Hell, thattho
we fhoulddie we might not be damned. And the
fall afTurance of this is more than moft Men attain
to before Death overtakes them, which makes
Death a Terror to them.
But they that do attain to this afTurance before
they go hence, cnn fing a Requiem at their Death.
Lord, now letteft thou thy Servant depart in peace, for
mine Eyes have feen thy Salvation.
And if God takes them at their words, they lie
down in the Faith of the Refurre&ion of the Juft.
But whenever he pleafes to continue them (after this
attainment) much longer above ground, that Time
feems to them an Interval of perfect leifere (as A-
lexander's did to him after his Conqueft) till at laft
efpying Death it felf, they fall upon it as an Enemy
that muft be conquered one time or other through
Faith in Chrift.
And for this caufe there feems a refpite of time
intended to be allotted to Believers after the firft
RefurreCfion, and before the Diflblution of the
World, for perfe&ing that Faith which they began
before their Death, and which they could not at-
tain to in the firft reach of Life. For Death being
but a difcontinuance of Life 5 whejefler Men leave
off at their Death, they muft begin at their Refer-
re&ion.
The Believers already dead are not afcended into
the Heavens j for David is not afcended into the Hea-
vens. Nor fliall they afcend after their Referre&i-
on, till they have attaint to this Faith of Tranflaci-
on.
(7* )
on. And by that very Faith they (hall be then con-
vinced, that if they had had that Faith before, they
need not have died.
The Story of Lazarus makes this plain.
His two Sifters faid to Chrift, that if he had beta
there., their Brother had not died.
And others that flood by faid, Could not this Map
that of ened the Eyes of the blind, have even caufed that
this Man fhould not have died ?
And Martha faid further, That whatever Chrift
would yet ash. °f Cod, God would give it him i By which
fhe declared her Faith to be, that Chrift could raife
her Brother prefently.
Now thefe People had not thefe Articles of Fakh
from any Religion then commonly received amongft
them: But obferving the Miracles Chrift had done
before, they could not beat it out ol their heads, but
that he could have prevented the Death of Lazarus,
and could then raife him prefently. Both which
were right and rational Conclufions, and did form a
true Religion in them.
But when Chrift clofed in with them upon it, and
offered to make it good by railing the dead Man
prefently, they all fell to recanting their Faith ; one
cry'd, He flinketh, and the other, He hath been dead
four days , and thereupon defired him to defift.
And the reafon of the Recantation is evident.
The common Religion then received amongft them
concerning the Refurre&ion was (what we ftill re-
tain) That there will be a Refurretlion at the lafl dqr.
And this having gain'd an Impreflion upon them
from the force of Education, was too ftrong for
that fingle Irapreffion which fell upon their Minds
from their own Obfervation only. And therefore
they thought it fafer to renounce their own Faith
than the Religion delivered them by their Parents.
But Chrift by doing the thing, did convince them
that
( 77 ) ,
tJiat their own Faith and Opinion of him was right.
And yet he did not fay that the Religion delivered
them by their Parents was wrong: For that there
will be a Refurredtion at the lalt day, in which all
they that are not before that time railed, /hall then
arife. Bat what he faid (by this Test) was, that
this Refurreciion at the lad: day doth not prevent a
prefent Refurredtion from Death, nor an immediate
Tranflation without Death, to them whofe Faith is
ready to receive it.
We muft all be changed, but we need not all die
in order to be changed; for 'tis not Death than
works our Ghange, but the Death and Refurredti-
on of Chrift, which we may pafs through without
Death.
Paul was of tills Religion, that we may be changed
without Death, We {ball not all die, but we [hall all be
changed.
And yet tho he had deliver'd this to be his Faith
in general,he did not attain to iuch a particular know-
ledg of the way and manner of it, fo as to prevent
his own Death. And his Confeflion tells us the rea^
fon of his failure, That he had not yet attained the Re- {
furreSlion of the Dead, but mas preffing after it.
But tho he was taken away in this purfuit, he hath
not loft his labour, but is goc fo much nearer tor the
mark, and at his Refurredtion will be fo far before-
hand with them that never ftudied it-
He had but a late Converfion, and after that was
detained in the ftudy of another part of Divinity, the t
confirming the Neva Teflanient by the Old, and making
them anfmer one another } in which he feems to have
fpent himfelf, and from whence all Students in Di-
vinity after him have Rood upon his Shoulders: For.
this is a Point previous to the Faith of Tranflariom
and muft be learn'd before it in order to it.
And this his preffing (tho he did not attain) hath
G much
X j8 ).
much encouraged me to make this Inquiry, oeing
well allured that he would not have thus purfued ir,
had he not apprehended more in it than the vulgar
Opinion is about it.
We don't think our felves fit to deal with one
another in Human Affairs till our Age of one and
twenty. But to deal with our Maker thus offended,
to counter-plot the Malice of fallen Angels, and to
refcue our felves from eternal Ruin, we are generally
as well qualified for before we can fpeak plain, as all
our Life-time after.
Children'can fay over their Religion at four or five
years old, and their Parents that taught them can do
no more at four or five and fifty. For Religion be-
ing preach'd to them as a Myftery, they are forbid
to think of underftauding it. Gracnm eft, nw poteft -
iegi.
The common Creed of the Chriftian Religion
may be learn'd in an hour. And one day's Philofo-
phy will teach a Man to die.
But to know the Virtus of the Death and Power of the
Rtfurrettion of cbrifi, is a Science calculated for the
ftudyof Men and Angels forever.
BU T if Man may be thus chang'd without Death,
and that it is of no ufe to him in order to Eter-
nai Life: What then is Death? Or, Whereunto
ferveth it ?
What is it ? Why 'tis a misfortune fallen upon
Man from the beginning, and_ from which he hath
lio't yet dared to attempt his recovery. And it
lerves as a Spe&ram to fright us into a little better
life than (perhaps) we fhould lead without it-
Tho God hath formed this Covenant of Eternal
Life againft Death? Man (till maintains a Covenant
with
( 79 )
with iti They have made an Agreement with Death and
Bell. By way of compofition, to fubmit to Death,
in hopes, by that obedience, to efcape Hell.
And under this Oath of Allegiance we think our ,
felves bound never to rebel againfl: ir.
The ftudy of Pliilofophy, is to teach Men to die
from the Obfervations of Nature.
The Profeffion of Divinity, is to inforce this
Dodrine from Revelation.
And the Science of the Law, is to fettle our civil
Affairs purfuant to thefe Refoiutions.
The old Men are making their laft Wills and
Teftaments: And the young are expediting the exe-
cution of them by the death of the Teftators.
And thus,
Mortis ad exemplum tottts componitw Or his.
Httft ■
Now what one Man dares raife a Fadion againfl:
Sp the whole World thus conftituted under the Politi-
iiSo(o' cal Government of Death ?
Why butl if the Truth of Religion be defined
. nf :-i by the number of Profeffors •, then the Mahometan
f C r t[- is fafer than the Chriftian, and the Romljh than the
Protejlant,
The majority of Votes in Civil Affairs may! cor.-
elude our right, but it don't thereby convince our
Judgment. Nor aie our Rights thereby concluded
further than for that Turn only.
And thus it is in the whole Scheme of Govern-
ment.
In the Power EleSlive. The majoricy of Eledors
conclude the minority for that Turn only.
In the Power Legislative. The majority of the Le-
giflators make a Law but their Succeffors are not
by this precluded from repealing that Law. by ano-
ther majority.
In the Power Judicial. The opinion of the M a i°"
G \ • lity
(So)
lity make a Rule in Law, but their Succeffors may
alter thofe Rules by the like Majority. Which
hath made much difference between Opinions An-
tient and Modern-
And cho thefe feem (and indeed are) incertain-
ties in the Law, yet the policy of Man can't form a
better: Becaufethofe Lavys of judgments which are
good at the time of the making, may come to be o-
iherwife by things that may happen in revolution of
time.
And therefore none but God himfelf (who alone
foreknows Times and Seafons) can effablifh an
Eternal Law.
When the vaffnefs of Empire in the Terjian Mo-
narchy had raifed a Pride in their Kings to arrogate
tothemfeives this Power it proved but a Fallacy.
And thus when Hadajfah (the Queen) had pre-
vailed upon Ahafuerus , to reverfe his Decree for the
Maffacre of the Jews*, the Scribes (who were the
Lawyers in thofe days) foon found out an Evafion
of the Law to fute the change of the King's Mind.
• They let the former Proclamation for the Maffacre
go as it was : And iffued out another, granting the
few liberty to ffand for their Lives with force of
Arms.
And thus both thefe Decrees were executed with
the lofs of about 75000 Men flain on one fide. And
yet (forfoorh) thefe two Proclamations fo contrary
to one another, and iff'ued within lefs than three
months one of the other, muff bear the Sacred
Name of Eternal Lam for the Honour of the King
that made them.
This! inftance to drew, that the Policy of Man
can't confticute an Eternal Law.
And from hence (I fay) I am not fo much con-
eerned for the prefent Opinion of the World againft
becaufe being but the Opinion of Men, it is
fubjedt
C 81 )
'fubje& to a change. And I know the time when the
whole World were of another Opinion.
Adam and Eve had no fear of Death till they fell
under the Law of Death. And could their Pofte-
rity, who are fallen under this Law with them, ap-
Ereliend their deliverance from it into the Law of
,ife, they would all be converted in a day.
I was under this Law of Death once; and while
I lay under it, I felt the terror of it, till I had de-
livered my felf from it by thofe thoughts that muff
convince them that have them. And in this thing
only I wifh (for their fakes) that all Men were as
I am.
Nor do I yet think my felf obliged in this Argu-
ment to difpute all the reft of the World by Unites.
For in Matters of Faith Men aggregate into Church-
es and Gaffes, where we may argue with a whole
Clan of them at once.
Now for Children and Madmen, and all the Na :
tions that know not God, nor call upon his Name,
I am no more capable of difeuffing this Point with
them, than with Creatures wholly deprived of
Speech. But for the whole Cbriftian World pro-
fefiing their Religion from Revelation, I'll venture
to encounter them all at once, and that in their own
Creed, which I know they can run over as faft as a
Mariner doth the Points of the Compafs.
But if after that we would but catechife our felves
a little in it, we fhall find that when we come to
the main Point, our Faith will be like the Athenians
Worfhip , We believe we know not what.
You believe in God, and in Jefiu Chrijl his Son our Lord;
born of the Virgin, fuffered under Pontius Pilate ; cruel-
fied, dead, buried} rofe again the third day, afcended into
Heaven, fitting at the right Hand of God : and from thence
v (hall come to judg the living and the dead,
Very well! this is a full defcription of the PLfort
in
( 82 )
in whom you place your Faith. But what is it
that you do or would believe of him, or in him ?
Why, we believe him for our Saviour.
Save you ! from what ?
Why ! from our Sins.
Why, what hurt will Sin do you ?
Why, it roiil kill us.
How do you know ?
Why, the Law of God faith fo In the day thou eateft
thereof thou {halt die._
Why, but then will not this Saviour fave you
from this Law, and from this Death ?
No, no, he'll fave us from Sin.
Why then it feems you have got a Pardon for
Horfe-fteaiing, witha#»» obft ante to be hang'd.
Do but fee now, what a Jeftyou have made of
your Faith. And yet I defy the Order of Prieft-
hood to form a better Creed than this, without ad-
mitting the Truth of my Argument: Or to make
fenfe of their own Faith without adding mine to it-
It is much eafier to make a Creed, than to be-
lieveit after it is made; Nor can any Man really
believe any part of the Gofpel that doth not believe
it all. ^ For it is a Dodrine fo dependant upon it
felf, that unlefs we know the whole of it from the
beginning to the end, we can't know the ufe or
reafon of any part of it.
Wherefore (notwithftanding this Inundation of
Death in the World, and the infedion of fear con-
traded upon Man from* hence) I am not afrighted
from reaffirming my Affertion at the beginning.
That this long Poffeffton of Death over Man, is a
Pcffeffton againft Right.
That the length of this Pojfejjlon is no fore'dojure of .
the Right of Man to Life.
And that he that dares profecute his Claim with, ejfett,
tp.ty recover this Right, and avoid that Poffeffton.
And
(SO
And that he that is got through the Death and
Relurredtion of Chrift, hath had judgment againft
Death, and execution of Eternal Life.
Chrift by the inftant of his Refurredtion, flood
diflolved from all his former Relations to the World
neither could tie die any more, being become a
Child of the Rcfurrettion. For tho he did arife with
the fame Body with which he died, yet that rifen
Body was not the Son of the Virgin Mary, becaufe
he had aftumed it by a new Power, and in another,
manner than that by which he was firft born.
The Body with which he lay down in the GraveJ
was of no more ufe to him in his Refurre&ion,
than fo much other common Matter; for he was
put to add Life to it by his own [Power, which he
could have done to any other matter as well as that.
The prefect Bodies of Men laid down in the
Grave, are of no ufe to God in the Refurredtion,
Therefore he permits them to be diflolved into any
other Forms, knowing that he can give the old
Forms again to any other Matter, by_ thofe Cha-
ra&ers of them which remain with him. God #
able out of thefe Stones to raife up Children unto Abia*
ham.
And in this he refembles himfelf to a Potter,
who takes no care to preferve his broken Pots for
any other ufe of them becaufe having the Moulds
by him, he can make feveral Veffels of the fame
Figure out of one Earth as well as another. And
tho all the VeiTels of the fame Mould are not the fame
in identity of Matter, yet being the fame in Form,
they are the fame to allgufes, intents, and purpofes.
And hence tho the Dead ihall not arife with the
fame identity of Matter with which they died, yet
being in the fame Form, they will not know them-
(elves from themfelves, being the fame to all ufes,
intents, and purpofes.
But
r
■
( S 4 )
But in this God is fo curious an Artift, that he
keeps a feveral Character in Heaven for every Fi-
gure of Man on Earth, by which (as the Apoftle
faith) every Seed Jhall receive its own Body.
Whereas we (like Fac-fmik Mechanicks) make
one Mould ferve for a thoufand Figures.
But then as God (in the Refurredtion) is not
bound up to ufe the fame Matter, neither is he
obliged to ufe a different Matter. Whenever the
Body to be raifed doth remain fo intire from Cor-
ruption that the form of it is not fpoiled, God ufes
. that form again (as it is) without compofing any
other Matter.
Thus he did with the Body of Chrift, according
to that Promife, Thou wilt not leave my Soul in Grave y
nor fuffer thy holy One to fee Corruption. And thus
Chrift did with the Bodies he raifed in the days of
his Flefh.
All which I inftance ftill to {hew the Infignifican-
cy of Death one way or other, in order to Eter-
rial Life 5 and that the Death of Man works no
change in him.
To make this ftill more plain, confider when and
where the Predeftination of God is executed upon
Man.
Chrift faid, Rejoice in this, that your Names are
written in the Book. of Life . Which he would not'
have commanded Man upon Earth, if the know-
ledg of it (which feems to be the top of Man's
Ambition) were not attainable here.
Now this being part of the fecrec Will of God
(as his own Memorandums of what he intends to do)
it can't be (hewn to Man by Infpedtion.
But when God comes to execute this fecret Will,
then it becomes pare of his revealed Will, which
belongs tO Man: Secret things belong to God, but things
revealed)
( 85)
revealed, to us and to our Children,
And the time of the Execution of this Decree
being the inftance of our Faith in Chrift ; /is many
as were ordained to Eternal Life believed: We may by
this be as fure that our Names are written in the
Book of Life, as if we had wroteit with our own
hands. And that this inftant of Faith is the time
of the execution of this Decree, appears by what
Chrift faid to the Thief on the Crofs} This day [halt>
thou be with me in Paradife.
From whence fome think themfelves oblig'd to
believe a feparate Exigence of the Soul from the
Body by Death : For (fay they ) fomething of
this Man did immediately go into Paradife, and we
fee his Body remains here •• Ergo , his Soul went.
Whereas Chrift did notfpeak this of the Perfon,
but the State of the Man.
Chrift and he were both under the fame State
before they were executed, which was the Law of
Death. And that very day they both exchanged this
State into the Syte of Life; Chrift by his own
Death, and the Man by Faith in him; tho the
Perfon of Chrift went one way, and his another.
So from the words of David, Thou wilt not leave
my Soul in Grave ; there was a Conception rais'd of
the feparate Exiftence of the Soul: For (think we)
the Body of David is in the Grave; Ergo, his Soul
is gone to Heaven by it felf.
But Peter evinced this Do&rine as erroneous, by
(hewing that David fpoke prophetically of the Re-
furre&ion of Chrift, in which the word Soul com-
prehends his whole human Life , which did die and rife -
together. And that it is tranflated Soul , is an Angli-
cifm y not underftood in other Languages, which
have no other word for Soul but the fame which is
for Life. As 'tis ufual for fome peculiar Countries
to have an odd Name for a common thing, which is
H not
< 86)
not vulgarly known in any othdt parts of the lame
Kingdom.
See how-Man's Life came to him at firft. God
firft formed the Figure of Man's Body in common
Earth (from whence Men alfo form Figures of one
another.)
Then to this Figure God added Life, by breath-
log it into him from himfelf, whereby this inani-
mate Body became a living one.
But in this Compofition the Spirit is fo perfectly
mixed with, and diffufed through the whole Body,
that w| can't now fay which is Spirit , nor which is
Earth , but the whole is one mire living Creature. As
in ievened Dough, we can't fay which is the Leven,
nor which is the Dough.
But God who fit ft infufed this Life, can extract
it out again, and leave the Body as it was before
this Life was thus put into ir. And this form of
Death God chofe for Man. Dujl thott art , and unto
Duft (hah thou return.
God unmakes Man juft as he made him: He takes
him to pieces like a jointed Tool, he draws in his
Breath to himfeif, and leaves the Lump to the Ele-
meets of which it was at firft compofed, which by
degrees lofes its very Form, and takes its place again
in common with other Matter.
And thus the Spirit returns to God_ that gave it!;
for the remainder of the Spirit is with him. But
in this return, the Spirit of Man maintains no felf-
exiftence, having furrender'd it feif into the Ocean
of Life, from whence" it firft flow'd. When Ri-
vers return into the Sea, they are no more Rivers,
but iofe their Name and Property, being merged
in the Ocean of their original Fountain.
And yet God doth retain in his Memory the parti-
cuSar Characters or Ideas of every inftance of Life,
which lie doth foextraCfc, from whence (in the day
of
( s 7 )
of the reftitution of all things) every Body fhall
m have its own Spirit, and every Spirit its own Body,
But to return to my Argument (whence I have a
God little digrefled, ro defcant upon this Opinion of the
m felf-exiftence of the Soul.)
of ok If this Man that was crucified with Chrift, did
immediately become in the fame ftate with him,
rat how comes it that he lies ftiil in the Grave, while
ink Chrift is afcended into the Heavens ?
To this I fay, that tho this Man's firft Fakh did
thus qualify him for a change of State, yet he had
le^dr' npc proceeded far enough in this Faith to qualify
#1 himfek for an immediate Tranflacion of his Perfcn 3
n, fa but this he muft expeCt with the reft of them who
Uu ^ ave died i® th e Faith with him, and who will
not now attain that Perfection till after the Ilefur-
OT2/ S tsdtion for there's no raorhjn the Grave.
ibefoik Man * s as u P on his firft Faith in Chrift, as if
toil ' ie vvere Heaven, but he don't know it. And
mk God will not deliver out Eternal Life to Man
fafter than he makes him underftand it 3 for the
^ knowledg of Eternal Life is the EfTence of it.
jUjjnj; This is Eternal Life, to kfow God and Jefus Chrift.
Every.Man pofleifes as much of Eternal Life as
1 he knows 3 and he knows as much as he poflefletb,
ft'.'ft, and no more. And what the refidue of Eternal
ual " Life is beyond our prefent knowledg, it hath not en-
j, ter'd into the Heart of Man to conceive : For no Matl
£ can know till he dorh know.
' (■-• And hence the different Gifts of Faith by God
0r bellowed upon Mam are incommunicable to ofte
rv another. \
". ; Abraham was fingled out by God as the Father
of the Faithful, and yet he never attained the Faith-
111 -' of Tranflation, which his Progenitor Enoch had done
■ before him.
Tl EHJha was an Eye -witnefs of Elijah^ Tranflation,
fj Ha and
of *
( 88 )
and had a double portion of his Spirit given him,
by which he wrought Miracles on others 5 and yet
after all he died the common Death of Man, haying
not attained to the Faith of his Matter in that point.
And thus the Apoftles themfelves, who raifed o-
thers from the dead through Faith in Chrift:, did not
yet attain this Faith to prevent themfelves from
Death.
Whence I fay, that God in the diftribution of
Eternal Life doth not give any part of it to Man,
contrary to his own Opinion and Apprehenfion of it.
And this is futable to the dealings of Men with
one another. If an illiterate Man be to feal a Deed,
which he can't read, and another takes upon him
to read it to him, and reads it in other words than
what are written, the Law will adjudg the Execu-
don of it to be in the fenfe read, and not in the
words written ; becaufe he that fealed it did fo un-
derftand it.
So when the common Preachers of the Chriftian
Religion do adminitter the Blood of Chrift to their
Communicants in the Sacrament, as fignificant on-
ly to fave them from Hell after Death, but as in-
effe&ual againft Death it felf: How fhould the Peo-
pie (who perhaps think themfelves obliged to fwear
in verba Maglftri) have any higher Conceptions of it?
And thus, like Priefts like People.
As it is delivered them, fo they underftand it.
And as they underftand it, fo they receive it.
And as they receive it, fo it hath effed upon them.
According to thy Faith be it unto thee.
Which Faith (I fay) is Knowledg, not by fight,
but by evidence of things not feen, of which we
may have ftronger Notions than by our Eye-fight.
The Face of a, Man gives us but a fuperficial
knowledg of him, but his Works and Writings
tell us his Principles and Capacities.
And
C s 9 )
And thus Man knows God by his Word and his
Works: Nor doth God offer himfelf to Man in any
way aukward to human underftanding.
The reafon why I believe that this Dodlrine I am
averting is true, is, beeaufe God hath faid it. But
yet I could not thus affert it by Argument, if I did
not conceive it with more felf-convidtion than I have
from any Maxims or Pofitions in human Science.
Whenever Chrift fpeaks of Life and Refurre&i-
on, he means his own 5 1 am the Refurrettion and the
Life. And if we would thus underftand him, this
Do&rine would be plain to us whether we would or
no. But our Heads are to full of our own bufinefs,
that we can't think of any Death or Refurre&ion
but that of our own Perfons.
And thus we are at crofs purpofes with him 5 afc
Men are with one another, when one talks of Chalky
and another of Cheefe.
Chrift faith, they that attain that Life, and the Re-
furreSlion from the Dead, can die no more, being the
Children of the Refurrettion.
Now here we fancy prefently,that when the Per-
fons of Men have been once dead and rifen again,
they can die no more. But this is falfe , for Laza-
rus and the others raifed by Miracles did not there-
by become the Children of the Refurredlion, but
remain d ftill the Children. of this World, and as
fuch died again.
But Chrift by his Refurre&ion did thereby be-
come a child of the RefurreBm , and did not, nor
could then after die any more.
And therefore whoever can attain this Refurrecti-
on, can die no more neither. And this is attainable
by knowledg acquired in ftudy, like Attainments in
other Sciences.
The perfedtipn of any Science is a Myftery to the
firft beginners in it 9 and hence 'tis in vain to fpeak
Wjfdom to any but the perfect. Now
C 9° )
Now the Covenant of Eternal Life is a Law of
it felf, and a Science of it felf, which can never be
known by the ftudy of any other Science but it felf.
It is a Science out of Man's way, being a pure lumen-
tlon of God. Man knows no more how to fave him-
felf, than he did to create himfelf.
But to raife Man's ambition,to learn this, God
graduates him upon his degrees of Knowledgin it,
and gives him Badges of Honour as belonging to
that Degree, as Men do to one another in other Sci-
ences.
And thus the \nowledg of the Virtue of the Death and
the Power of the Refurreftion of Chrift, makes a Degree
in this Science. Upon the attainment whereof, a
Man gains the Title of a Child of the Refurrtclion. To
which Title doth belong this Badg of Honour, To
die no more , but to make our Exit by way of Tranfla-
tion, as Chrift himfelf (who was the firft of this
Order ) did before us.
And this World being the Academy to educate
Man for Heaven ; none (hall ever enter there till
they have taken this Degree here- But when once
they have pafled this, they can never after be de-
graded again, to be turned down amongft the Dead
(as the fallen Angels were from Heaven) becaufe
they hold by the Title of the Captain of their Salvation,
which is abfolute and indefeazible.
Take one Thoughc more, which feems plainer
than all the reft.
It is faid, We that are alive at his coming, [hall be
caught up together in the Air with him 3 and we are
commanded to be always ready for the fecond com-
ingof Chrift.
Then if Death be neceftary to qualify us for this
fecond coming of Chrift, the next thing we all have
to do, is to kill our felves that we may be fo far in
our
( 9 1 )
our way: Unlefs we do exped that he fhould flay
for us (when he comes) while we die and rife again,
which he hath declared he will not do. For the leaft
flay for the greater.
This long interval of time between his firft and
fecond coming, is allowed for the preaching of the
Gofpel. The Go/pel mufi firfi be preached through the
whole World as a Witnefs to all Nations, and then fhall
*J;e_ End be. But every Man, as faft as he hears of it,
is in the mean time at liberty to imbrace it, without
flaying for them that are to come after him.
The Law and the Prophets were until John but fince
the days of John the Baptift. the Kingdom of Heaven is
preached, and every Man prejfeth into it.
We are not confined to the Religion of the old
World, nor to expedt the fuccefs of the latter days
by the fecond coming of Chrift, but are at liberty
jevery moment, to enter into the Kingdom of Hea-
yen as faft as we can bring our Faith up to it.
That he delays his fecond coming, is not that he
hath any more to do in order to Man's Salvation :
For as to that he declared it flnifhed before ever he
yielded to Death. But the World is not ready to
receive him, and till then the Heavens muft contain
him- Whence this is called the Day of his Patience.
But this doth not prohibit them that are ready, to
come to him where he is. Come, for all things are
now ready.
He then was, and ftill is ready for the Refurre&i-
On of the Dead. The hour is coming, and now is, when
the Dead fhall hear the Voice of the Son of God ■, and they
that hear fhall live. Where we fee, the Emphafis
of the Refurre&ion is noc placed in any point of
Titncy but in the hearing of that Vnee, be it when it
will.
And 'tis obfervable that in all the Miracles
wrought by him upon the Bodies of the Dead, he
- ufed
( 9 2 )
ufed different words of command, according to the
different Circumftances which the Perfons to be
raifed were then under.
The Son of the Widow of Nal» 1 and the Daugh-
terof faints (being both dead, and neither buried)
when he firft came to them, he only faid to them,
Arife. But Lazarus being in the Grave, he faid to
him, Come forth.
And he did not only give different words of Com-
mand, but prefixed to each Command a particular
defcription of the very Perfon he call'd for. He
touched the Bier of the Widow's Son, and faid,
TomgMan arife: And took the Ruler's Daughter by
the hand, and faid, Maid, arife And Lazarus he cal-
led by his Name; Which were Injun&ions to the
reft of the Dead to lie ftill till he called 'em.
For as he himfelf obferved in two other Inftan-
Ces, That there were many Widows in the dags of the Fa-
mine 5 but unto none of them was the Prophet fent, [aye
unto the Woman of Sarepta: -And many Lepers in the days
of Elifha the Prophet, but none of them were cleanfed fave
Naaman the Syrian : So many young Men and Maids
were dead and buried in thole days of the Son of Man,
but none of them were raifed fave thofe he call'd for.
Nor did thefe arife together, nor any one of them
by virtue of the Word of Command given to the
other of them, but every one, in his own order (as
they were named and called.)
Nor fhall there a Man or Woman arife from the
Dead for ever, till the Son of God calls them by their
Name. And whoever after that dares ftay for his
Fellows, fhall never be call'd again.
They that were firft bidden to the Feaft, and re-
fufed ro come, were not again admitted with them
that accepted the Invitation, but ftand barr'd for
ever by that dreadful Sentence, They fhall never tafie
of my Supper.
And
C 9? )
And yet they did not refufe it by a flat denial, but
with the ufual Complement •> That they were other-
ways ingag'd.
But if he would not admit the Son of a dead Man
to go bac\ and burj his Father } Dare we ask him leave
(after he had call'd us to Eternal Life) to go and lie
with our dead Fathers, and our dead Mothers, till
the Refurre&ion at the laft Day ? Let the Dead bury
the Dead: And the Dead lie with the Dead: And
the reft of the Living go lie with them. I'll follow;
him that was dead, and is alive, and lives for ever.
Nor can I think who I (hould ftay for. Will any
one, purfuing after Wealth, wait for a Beggar ? Or
he that's flying for his Life, keep pace with a Crip-
pie ?
Why then ftiould a Man, afpiring after Heaven,
ftay for Petty-Canons and Veftry-men?
I remember the beft bred Man that ever was in
the World, commended Publicans and Harlots for en-
tring into the Kingdom of God before them that thought
themfelves their betters. And therefore he that ftands
complementing, with the Door of Eternal Life in his
hand, offering the Ceremony to others to go before
him, (hewshimfelf no Courtier of Heaven.
And tho now I am fingle, yet I believe that this
Translation of Faith without Death, will be general,
before the general Change ( Paul (peaks of) (hall
come; And that then, and not before, (hall be the
Refurre&ion of the Juft ( which is call'd the firft
Refurredtion.)
And after that the Dead fo arifen, with the Living
then alive, (hall have learnt this Faith,, (which (hall
qualify them to be caught up together in the Air)
then (hall the general Refurrection of the Dead be.
After which Time fhall be no more.
But I expedl that the beginning of this Faith (like
all other parts of the Kingdom of Heaven) will be
l V\m
( 94 )
like a grain of Muftard-feed, fpreading itfelfby de-
gtees till it overfhadow the whole Earth.
And fince the things concerning him muft have an end,
in order to that they muft have a beginning.
But whoever leads the Van, will make the World
ftart: And muft expe&, for himfelf, to walk up
and down (like Cain ) with a Mark in his forehead,
and run the Gauntlet for an Ifbmaelite, having every
Man's Hand againft him, becaufe his Hand is againft;
every Man: Than which nothing is more averfe to
my Temper.
And this makes me think of publifhing, with as
much regret as he that ran away from his Errand
when fent to Ninivek But being juft going to crofs
the Water, I dare not leave this behind me undone,
left a Tempeft fend me back again to do it. And to
fhelter my felf a little (tho I know my Speech would
betray me) I left the Title Page Anonymous.
Nor do I think that any thing would now extort
my Name from me, but the dread of the Sentence *
He that is afhamed of me , and of my words, before Men, of
him will I be afhamed before my Father and his Angels:
For fear of which I dare not but fubfcribe my Ar-
gument, tho with a trembling hand. Having felt
two Powers within me all the while I have been a-
bout it ; one bids me write , and the other bobs my
Elbow.
But f nee I have wrote this (as Pilate did his In-
fcription) without confulting any one thing elfe a-
bout it} I'll be asabfolute in mine as he was in his.
What 1 have written I have written. And after this Pll
never write again, but fpend the refidue of my days
in Adlion (contrary to the regular profeflion of
Religion.)
And having purfued that Command, feek. firfl the
Kingdom of God I yet expect the performance of
that promife, To receive in this Life an hundred fold,
and in the World to come Life Ever I a fling. I
/
( 95 )
by& I have a great deal of Bufinefs yet in this World,
without doing of which Heaven it felf would be un-
eafy to me: And therefore do depend, that I fhall
not be taken hence in the midft of my days, before
World I have done all my Heart's defire.
alk up But when that is done, I know no Bufinefs I have
rehead, with the Dead, and therefore do as much depend
; even th^ I (hall not go hence by returning to the Duft,
iagaitif which is the Sentence of that Law from which I
Ktfeto claim a Difcharge: But that I fhall make my Exit by
way of Tranflation, which I claim as a dignity belong-
, witls ing to that Degree in the Science cf Eternal Life, of
sErii which I profefs my felf a Graduat, according to the
t0 cr0 [j true intent and meaning of the Covenant of Eternal
undone. Life reveal d in the Scriptures,
y M i ■ And if after this, I die like other Men, I declare
Mir my , t0 die of no Religion.
^ And in this let no one be concern'd for me as a
WKtor E)efperade : For I am not going to renounce the o-
ther parts of our Religion, but to add another Ar-
tide of Faith to it, without which I can't understand
^ the reft.
" j And if I lofe this additional Article by failing in
, F this Attempt, I have as much Religion left ftill as
, ^ they chat pity me.
llj ' Nor have I in all this fpoken prefumptuoufly, or
from fancy, having faid nothing but what he that
1 hisla* made me faid before me. And if it be poflible to
'A:, believe too much in God, I defire to be guilcy of
5 l that Sin.
15 ! r I dread no Hell, but the Sentence prepared againft
' them that defpife the Gofpel.
Behold! ye Defpifers, and wonder, and perifb. Be-
tlion • hold what 1 Behold Men coming from the Eaft, and
from the Weft, to fit down in the Kingdom of God } and you
your felves fbut out.
I 2 Shut
(9 O
Shut out from what! To be (hut out from Virtue
and Holinefs, fufiice and Truth, perhaps WOllld be no
uneafinefs to us all: but to be (hut out from an eternal
Draught of an eternal Stream of Love, from the Marriage
Leaf of the Kings Son, from the view of his Bride adorn d
in her Glory, and from all the fey s of Nuptials for evert,
this will be a Torment created by Man to himfelf
through Unbelief, beyond the Exquifition of Ty-
rants, or the Exquifition of Devils.
It feems conceivable that Man by his change into
the other World, will not lofe any fpecies of his
prefent Affedtions, or have any new ones added to
them: But that all thofe Paffions which are now
begun in him, will there increafe upon him for ever.
He that is holy, let him be holy fill and he that is filthy,
let him be filthy fill.
And then tho Man cannot now conceive by what ^
Objedls his Paffions or Affedtions will he thus aug-'
mented, yet by his prefent feeling of them, he may
conceive the nature (tho not the perfedtion) of his |
future Joys or Torments.
Did you ever feel a fit of Envy ? Multiply that by
thoufands till you want a Name of Number, and
then call that the thoufandth thoufandth part of one
of the Torments of Hell.
Did you ever feel a Pang of Love ? Spend your days"
in Algebra , and carry on the Account of it to Hea-
ven, and there add to that for ever, till your Defire
fail , and you 11 ne're begin to fum the Total.
All Life is Motion, and therefore cannot be eter-
nal without an eternal Motion. For whenever it
comes to ftagnate, the Patient rots, and ftinks, and
dies.
The moft pleafant Enjoyments (being kept long
in our hands) pall our Appetites to them. And hence
the fmalleft addition to what we had before, feems
greater Riches to us than all our former Poffeffions.
And
( 97 )
And every new Thought that falls Into our Stu-
dies, proves a greater Diverfion to us than all our
former Knowledg.
Now in all Inventions of Men towards'Perpe-
tuity of Motion, they never attempt any thing be-
yond a Circle, which moving it felf by Rotation
comes to the fame place again.
But the Motion calculated for the maintenance of
Eternal Life, is made to move in a dirett Afcent for
even in every reach of which, we fee, and tafte,
and feel what we never did before. The water that
J (hall give him, Jhall he a Spring of living Water, rijing
tip to EverlafiingLife.
But behold! ye Defpifers, and wonder.
Wonder at what! Wonder to fee Paradife loft
with the Tree of Life in the midft of it.
Wonder and curfe at Adam for an original Faft,
who in the length of one day never fo much as
thought to put forth his hand, for him and us, and
pull, and eat, and live for ever.
Wonder at and damn our felves for Fools of the
laft Imprefiion, that in the fpace of feventeen hun-
dred years never fo much as thought to put forth
pur hands, every one for himfelf, and feal and
execute the Covenant of Eternal Life, and live' for
ever.
But behold I ye Defpifers, and wonder, and perifh.
Perifh how ! Why perifh under the fame Malice
againfl the Son of God for ever. They blafphemed
God, and yet repented not to give him Glory, being eon-
eluded under Unbelief, from the day of Adjourn-
ment of Time into Eternity , proclaimed by the laft
of the feven Heralds of Angels, who fetting his
right foot upon the Sea, and his left foot upon the Earth,
lifted up his hand to Heaven, and fwere by him that lives
for ever, That 7 ime (hotild be no longer»
AND
( 9 8)
' .t •
—
k N D now bear with me a little, while I pre-
V pare my felf for being ftiown as a Monfter.
Tis no news for Believers and Unbelievers to
be the Admiration of one another. They wondered
at his Works, and he marvelled at their Unbelief.
And, this is a marvellous thing that ye know not whence
he is, who hath of end the Eyes of one born blind.
Therefore to be even with the World at once,
he that wonders at my Faith , I wonder tt his Unbelief.
And ftare at me as long as you will, I am fure
that neither my Phyfiognomy, Sins, nor Misfor-
tones, can make me look fo unlikely to be tranflated
as my Redeemer was to be hangd.
And tho perhaps I may be the fport of fome, yet
I can'c but think (and fay again) that whoever is
defigned for Happinefs will meet with fome of that
Pleafure in reading which I have had in writing
and whoever are not fo appointed, no one can la-
ment them more than I do.
Nor can I think how any Man that is right in his
Religion, can be wrong in his Morals, which are
all fet to right in him, as an incident to his Faith.
The Blood of Chrift hath an incident quality,
which cleanfeth from Sin. But this quality is fub-
fequent and accidental to that legal Sa&ion, and
fir ft Appointment of it, to ta\e away the Law of
Death.
And he that underftands this aright, never makes
any ufe of his own perfonal Virtues as an Argu-
ment for his own Salvation, left God fhould over-
balance againft him with his Sins.
Nor doth God ever objed a Man's own perfonal
Sins to him in the day of his Faith, becaufe Chrift
had no Credit given him for his perfonal Holinefs
in
( 99 )
in the Day of his Death. And therefore till I am
more finful than he was holy, my Sins are no Ob-
je&ion againfit my Faith.
And becaufe in him is all my Hope, I care not
(almoft) what I am my felf.
This I know from abroad, that wifdm is tetter
than Tolly:
Earneft than Jeft:
Love than Hatred:
Riches than Poverty:
Health than Sicknefs:
A virtuous Woman than a Whore:
And an honeft Man than a Knave.
And when now and then I caft my Eyes within
me ; (I thank God) I find Cruelty, Covetoufnefs
and Enyy departed from me. I can't envy a Man
of Merit, becaufe the Labourer is worthy of his Hire.
And as long as I maintain a perfedt Friendship
with my felf, I can be no more a Rival to ano-
ther plac'd above his Defert, than a beautiful Fe-
male is to one of her own Sex, harder favour'd, and
finer dreft.
And as I thus envy no Man, I can't think my felf
big enough for any one to envy me. But if they
do, I keep an Anfwer within my Confcience to all
the Hatred and Malice of Man againft me; They
hate me without a Caufe.
Befides this, I fay no more to any one concerning
Religion or Morality either.
And if any one hath ought of either to fay to
me, whenever they fhall pleafe to make that as pub-
lick as I have done this, I'll read it.
But what they fhall not think worth their wri-
ting, I fhall not think worth my hearing.
It is obferv'd in the Mathematicks, that the
Pra&ice doth not always anfwer the Theory- And
that therefore there is no dependance upon the mere
Noti-
OnSverslty
library
( IOO )
Notions of it, as they lie in the Brain, .without
putting them together in the form of a Tool or In-
ftrumenr, to fee how all things fit.
Upon which, whole fets of thoughts have been
loft, and the Student fet at large again.
And thismademediftruftmy own thoughts till I
had put them together, to fee how they would look
in the form of an Argument.
But in doing of this (I thank God) I have found
every Joint and Article to come into its own place,
and fall in with, and fute one another to a hair's
breadth (beyond my expectation ) Orelfelcould
not have had the confidence to produce this as an
Engine in Divinity, to convey Man from Earth to
Heaven.
And (to give every one their due) this Ad van-
tage I have had by Enoch and Elijah 5 that tho nei-
ther of them have left the form of their Faith be-
hind them, yet their doing the thing before me,
heartned me on to ftudy out the Invention my felf.
And as I never did, nor will, defire any Man to
confinehimfelf to my Underftanding 5 fo in making
this Inquiry, I have fet no bounds to my thoughts,
but the very word of Revelation, without regarding
the Opinion of other Men about it. Not but thac
there are flights in other Sciences that feem as
extravagant to vulgar Apprehenfions as this doth,
and yet they are evincible by^ Demonftration.
Every Bungler can do bufinefs with buftling and
main ftrength, but the perfection of Science is to do
the hardeft things with the leaft labour.
A Mathematician, by a right poficion of his Power
at a due diftance from the Center, will move a weight
by the force of one hand, which five hundred Men
heaving at it all together clofe upon the Center,
can't ftir.
* And
( loi )
. And according to this Art, it cannot be denied,
That the whole weight of this Terreftrial Globe is
moveable by the ftrength of a Hair, and the force
of a Man's Breath, only by getting far enough off
from the Center before he gives the puff.
And tho this can't be done by Man, for want of
a place thus to ftand in 5 yet the demonfiration of
it to our undemanding, caufes us to adore the Wif-
dom and Happinefs of the Architect of Nature,
and Ruler of the World, who fitting upon the Hea-
bens, can reign the Earth with a twined Thread.
And this prompts us to believe, that God can do
other impoffible things, and teach Man to do them
too. He that believeth on me, (hall do greater Wor\s
than thefe: Not by his own Labour, but by putting
the Labour-Oar upon God.
Men may dig and carry till their Hearts ake, to
remove a Mountain 5 but the Engine of Faith draws
down the Power of God, which removes it all at
once.
Iam not making my felf Wings to fly to Hea-
ven with, bu3 only making my felf ready for that
Conveyance which fhall be fent me. In which I
don't pretend any Privilege above other Men that:
are of will be ready with me: Which (it feems,
they fay themfelves) they are not, nor fhall be, till
the Refurre&ion at die M Day.
But remember that Samuel came up in his old
Mantle i which makes me think you'll return much
as you went.
However let us part Friends, and every one make
thebeftof his way. And if I fhould lofe my felf
in this untrodden Path of Life, I can ftili find out
the beaten Road of Death blindfold.
And as I would not allure any Man, Woman, or
Child, to venture themfelves with me till they fee
my fuccefs; So their Company would do me no
K good:
( 102 )
good .■ For every one muft attain ic by their own
Faith- ' . .
And if this Faith will do, I have it 5 and if it
\vill not do in me, it will nop do in them ; for God
is no refpe&er of Perfons- And yet had I a mind
to juggle,! would not put the decifion upon fo blunt
a Point.'
I can write (and talk too) as foft as other Men,
With fubmifliw to better Judgments ; and I leave it to
you, Gentlemen. I am but one, and I always difirufi my
felf, I only hint my thoughts : Toull fleafe to confider,
whether you will not think that it may feem to deferve
your Confider at ion.
This is a taking way of fpeaking : But much
good may do them that ufe it; I don't defire to
take it from them, tho 'tis the fafeft way, becaufe
there can be no advantage taken of it to do them-
(elves any hurt Nor any one elfe any good,. '*>
But as I Have more refpeft for my felf than to
trouble the World with common Difcourfes, fo I
have more reverence for Mankind, than to hazard
the meaneft Figure of ic with any Novelty, but
what I will firft pawn my Life to try the Truth or
Falfhood of ir.
And tho I do own. That the very Daring of this .
Eflay, is too great an Honour for me to be guilty
, of; yet I know there is that gratitude left in Man,
thatfince 1 am willing to take the fhame of my
own Miftake, they will not begrudg me the refulc
of my faccefs.
If therefore (as I have faid before) afcer this, I
go the way of my Fathers-, I freely wave that haughty
(£piraph:
hiagr.is tamer, excidit Aufis.
And ioflead of that, knock under Table, That Sa-
tan hath be?ni/ed me to Play the Fool with my felf.
' ~ In
( 1©? )
In which however he hath fhew'd his Matter-piece 5
for I defy the whole Clan of Hell to form another
Lie fo like to Truth as this is.
But if I ad my Motto, and go the waj of an Eagle
in the Air, then have I plaid a Trump upon Death,
and ttiew'd my felf a Match for the Devil.
And while I am thus fighting with Death and
Hell, it looks a little like foul play for Flefh and
Blood to interpofe themfelv.es againfl: me.
But if any one hath fpite enough to give me a
polt, thinking to falfify my Faith, by taking away
my Life, I only defire them firffc to qualify them-
felves for my Executioners, by taking this fhorc
Tefi in their own Confciences.
Whoever thinks that any thing herein contained is not
fair dealing with God and Man (and giving the Devil
bimfelf his due) let him, or her, burn this Book,
and cafi a Stone at him that wrote it.
Mr. AS GILL's
DEFENCE
UPON HIS
EXPULSION
FROM
The Hou se of Commons
of Great Britain in 1707.
With an INTRODUCTION,
and a POSTSCRIPT.
Quicquid agunt Homines, nojiri e(t Farrago
Libelli.
LONDON ;
Printed, and Sold by A. Baldwin in Warwick
Lane. m. dcc.xii.
Price 1 s.
I 1
I • • . r- r -
'
-- - s
>
.
( J )
THE
INTRODUCTION.
THAT my Motto may not remain a Riddle
to my Reader, VU explain it.
I intend this Print as an Epitome of the
Thoughts and Ad ions of Men,
According to that grofs Dm/ion of Things left by
, Paol,
Things Temporal and Things Eternal.
7l>i5 Introduttion and the Defence in the Sequel, is
an Abftratt from my own Study relating to the eternal
State of Man.
And tbo it is not neceffary that all Men (honld have
the fame Thoughts with me,
Tet it is of the laft Concern to every Man and Wo»
, man in the World, to have fome Thoughts or ether of it»
< The Poftfcript relates to Things Temporal, being a
Story of the Times ;
An Abfiraff of a Projeft, to put a Trick upon Ett*
rope.
Which I have exposed in Raillery, by placing that
Jef at the Top, which in this Projed lies in the Bottom.
But jhould the Jefi prove true, the Conference will
be the worfi of Eameft.
And they fay 'tis laid deep, and that Cunning
Men are in it.
But if it be not deeper than HeO, there 's one above
can fee as far as that.
J A a Whs
(4)
Who bath turned the Fool (I won't fay upon as cun-
nmg Men at are in thin Projett, becaufe Comparifons
are odious) but upon as cunning Men as thofe Times
afforded
The Wifemen of the Eajl, Magicians, Afirologers,
and Southfayers, Men learned in all the Learning of
the Egyptians (who were then the Vniverfity of the
World )
Arid tho of the firft Rank too, he call'd them Fools
to their faces, when he had done :
The Princes of Zoan are Fools.
But this was a great while ago.
And they fay Miracles are ceafed.
I can't tell that ! but I am fure there are fome
Fools left fiill:
Of which I am one , (not undcrftanding my own In-
ten ft.)
I can lofe no Place or Profit by the Peace \ and the
Rents oj the EJlate (the prefent Jntereft whereof I'd
call my own till 'tis taken from me, and befides which
I have little elfe to live upon) are to increafe 400 1.
per annum, upon the Determination of the War.
And yet were my Opinion demanded upon it , I find
tfty felf much in the Cafe of Tom Connor of Ireland,
who being demanded to give Judgment upon a Game
at-Back-Gammon,/aid, Why, nay truly, if I muft
give my Opinion One way or other, then I tell you
plainly, 1 don't know what to fay to it. -
But I'll tell you a Story.
A Gentleman that bad a black Horfe too high mettle,
and a white one too dull,
Put,them both mto his Jocky's hands to temper them
together.
The Jacky kept them two for himfelf,
And brought his Mafier One PyetJ one of loth
their Colours. ,
But the Gentleman (upon an Effay) told the Jocky,
Tt>ere was a little too much of the White left
ftii Now
( 5 )
Novo whether the Emperor was advanced fo high, or
the French King reduced fo /on?, tJut it Wtfdugb time
for the Ballanceof Europe to interpofe, when they did;
is a Con/ideration two degrees above my Ten.
Tut fincc it is impujp,ble for thofe that hold the Bal*
lances of Kingdoms and States always (or indeed at
any time) to poife them to a hair's-breadtb }
1 fhuuid (for my felf) wifh that the Advantage that
tnuft inevitably happen from the Inequality, might ra-
ther be given to thofe we think Our Friends, than to
tlpem that we arp fure are our Enemies.
And (of the two Evils) that his moft Chriflian
Majefty fhould rather have a little too much of the
White put into.him, than a great deal too much of
the Black left in.him.
Nor can J yet think the School-Boys Law any foul
Play,
That whoever gets the other down, may give him
the Riling-Blow.
And when Ahab King of Ifrael, out of a Compli-
ment to his Brother Benhadad King of Syria, (whom
Cod had put into his bands for Dcjlruftion) let him
go •, be had no Thanks from Heaven for that Civility.
But did not I once fay , I would never write again ?
Tes! But there are three things you mufl never
lelieve :
A Bifhop, when he faith Nolo Epifcopare 5
A Speaker, while he is difabling himfelf for the
Chair
And an Author, when he faith he'll never write
again.
And (if you will have Solomon'* Number of a
fourth,)
A Man that cries , Noverint Univerfi, when he's
going to borrow Mony.
I am
<«>
IAm now in the fifth Year of my Expulfion from
the Houfe of Commons of Great Britain, as Au-
thor of the Treatife, to which I then made, The
Sequel, my Defence.
To which Defence, I was admitted and heard
(in my place) with all the Freedom and Patience,
and under all the Silence and Attention, that I
could then defire, or could now ask for, in cafe I
were to make the fame there over again.
Which I fo mention, as my Recognition of the
Juftice and Candour of that Houfe.
And 1 know, 1 was then fo heard (by many of
the Auditors my Judges) with kind Wilhes for
me, That I would have temper'd my Defence with
fome fuch complacent Recantation or pleafant Ex-
cufes, as -might have prevented the Sentence that
fell upon roe.
For which they then had (what I fhall ever re-
t3in) the grateful Memory of a disbanded Mem-
ber, tho I can't flatter my felf with hopes either
to know them every one, or to have opportunity
to return my perfonal Acknowledgments to them
that I do.
And whether any of the reft came there pre-
poffefs'd with contrary Refolutions, is what I can't
know (if I would) nor would know (if 1 could.)
And for that Gentleman himfelf that accus'd
me, if he did it in the Sincerity of his Zeal (to do
God good Service) I can't but efteem him worthy of
Commendation (whether that Zeal were according
to Knowledg or not.)
And if he did it with another Intention (of
which I do not accufe him) he hath taken the
worft part on himfelf, and left the Right-hand of
Fellow fhip to me, who could have no other Pre-
fence to it. For
( 7)
For by that Golden Rule (in Almoner/hip) deli-
ver'd out by our Saviour,
'Zt5 better to give than to receive \
The Inverfe thereof holds good in Injuries,
'T'vs better to take 'em than give ''em.
And then (ipfo Judice) I have the Afcendant upon
him (whether I will or no.)
For as he himfelf was then pleasM to declare,
That 1 never owd him any Mony \
So I appeal to his own Conscience, whether ever
I gave him any juft Occafion, To pay me any Malice.
But leaving the Thoughts of every Man's Heart
to himfelf, till the Day when the Secrets of Men /hall
be reveal'd;
That I was then well expel'd, I do for my
felf own.
(And if any one elfe denies it, I am ready to
prove it: Experto crede Roberto.)
It being the undoubted Right of that Houfe, to
determine the Qualifications of their own Mem-
bers, from whofe Judgment therein, there lies no
Appeal.
And tho their own Votes authorize me to fay,
That the Sentence againft me did not pafs flemine
Contradicentc ;
Yet the Refolution being carry'd by the Majority
among themfelves,
The Numbers in the Divifion are not fuppos'd to
be known abroad.
And fo (according to the Legiflative Laws) the
Sentence ftands the intire Judgment of the whole.
And tho for me now to publifh that Divifion,
would be a thing perhaps infignificant in it felf,
Yet they that tell Tales out of School ufe to be
whipt when they come in again.
And tho I Ihould never make my Return to that
Houfe, I Ihould render my felf unworthy of the
Privileges I enjoy'd while I was in it, by paying
any
< 8 )
any' lefe deference to it becanfe I nm out of it:
Like difcarded Courtiers turn'd Ph'ilofophers;
Befpifim the Marty they can't get, arid the- Places
they could not hey.
•T>UT after this Recognition pf the Rights of
13 that Houfe, as being both the'folgand ultimate
Judges of their own Members :
Yet I never heard it, either Refolded or Inftflid
<ih by them, That they were or are, either the fate or
tilthnate Judges of Truth.
The great Capital Queftion of the World is,
tfdiat Pilate (more by Chance than'any good Cun-
fling) once put to pur Saviour, What is Truth ?
Arid had he had the MannerS to ftay for an An-
fwer, he might have been thought to ask it with
a DeEflre to knpw it.
But his Head [jfc feems.) was thfen fo full tjf
Cares ahd FfeatS of keeping or lofing 'his Office" ih
the Government, that all other things went in at
'one Ear, and outat the other with him.
(Add yet, 'tis{ilaih, thishonefi: Mafr had rather
have kept a good Conlcience thaft contradtyd a
v bad one, if -there had been no other difference in
the cafe.)
' "Bui:' (without "thank 's to Mr. Pi\dte for his Quef-
tion) our Saviour hath elfewhere left US' the Record
of the Anfwer from liis own mouth, Thy Word ts
Truth.
' By which it is evident, That God hath not dele-
.gated>f appropriated the Tryal of Truth to,arfy
Churches or Jffembiies in the World (either Claffi-
calox lay,~)
But hath. delivered out the Record of his own.
Word, as that Toucb-fione which every Man and
* " ' Woman
( 9 )
Woman in the World may carry about them (if
they pleafe.)
And tho Profeflors of the common Rank (and
Men otherwife engag'd in Bufinefs) do rather con-
tent themfeives with taking their Religion at fe-
cond hand, from them that preach or write it ;
Yet the bell and rnoft noble Chriftians do not
from thence give their ultimate A dent, tiil they
have examin'd and compar'd it with the Ori-
ginal.
And thus the Berean Auditors fin the firfl: Preach-
ing of the Gofpel) are diltinguilh'd as more noble
than the Theffalonians,
In that they received the Word with all Readinefs of
Mind, and fearcb'd the Scriptures daily, whether thofe
things were fo.
They were as fwift to bear as the Theffalonians,
but flower in Judgment.
And (indeed) he that intends to believe (as he
fliould do) can't fay his Creed fo faff to himfelf, as
another that only reads it to him.
And tho it be the Office of the Miniftsrs in the
Churches of God to read and expound the Scrip-
tures to their Auditors,
Yet after that, for any Churches or A'{femblies
(either Clerical or Lay) to forbid the People their
dernier Refort to the Word of God it felf,
Is to ufurp to themfelves that Judicature of Truth,
which God hath lodg'd in his own Word, and his
own Spirit, teaching the Believers of it the fame
Word over again: He /hall take of mine, and fhew
it unto you.
The firfl; Revelation of the Gofpel in the literal
Words of it to our Senfes, is calPd the Revelation
of Chrift to us.
The Revelation of Jefus Chrift, which God gave unto
him to fhew unto his Servants.
B
Eut
( 10 )
But the fecond Revelation of it by the Spirit of
God taking up the fame Word again, and confirm-
ingitto our Underftanding, is call'd, The Revela-
tion of Chrifl in us :
That it would pleafe tbe Heavenly Father to reveal
his Son in us.
For tho the firfl Revelation of it, by the Word
it felf, be common to all, the Sound thereof is gone
thro the whole Earth \
Yet the fecend Revelation by the Spirit, is an
Accident to Believers only :
And mult therefore remain an Amufement to
the reft of the World, being that white Stone with a
new Name, which none can read but they thai have it.
And therefore whenever Believers do but fo
much as mention it, they gain from the reft of
Mankind the names of Entbuftafls , as Pretenders t$>
new Revelations.
Which Afperfion is as falfe as fcandalous.
For as the Apoftles, in their day, founded their
Dodtrines upon the Predictions of Mofes and the
Prophets \
S aying none other things than Mofes and the Pro-
phets did fay fhould come :
So no Believer in Chrift can fince claim, or doth
pretend to any other Revelation than what is hand-
ed down to the Churches of God, from the Records
thereof written by Mofes and the Prophets, Evan-
gelifts and Apoftles.
Both which, now recorded together, our Sa-
viour, by giving the addition of New to the laft
(This Cup is the New Teflament in my Blood) hath
made and call'd, Tbe Old and New Teflament.
In that he faith a New Covenant, he hath made the
firfl Old■
But the Revelation infilled on by Believers, as
an Incident to their Faith in Chrift, (If any Man
bath not tbe Spirit of Chrift, be is none of his) is what
is
JSasaKSsgsaaaMa
( II )
is call'd in Scripture, The Evidence and Demonjlra'
tion of the Spirit.
Which is not perform'd by him by a Revelation
of any new Word;
Nor yet by a bare Remembrance of the old one.
Bat (with that Remembrance) alfo leading a Be-
liever up and down the Scriptures, to confirm to
him every part by tie whole, and the whole by e-
very part, teaching him to compare Spiritual Things
with Spirituals.
Of the Way and Method whereof, the manner of
L defcribing the New Jerufalem , in the Vifion of £«-
hiel, is a molt lively Emblem.
Where the Prophet is carry'd up and down for-
wards and backwards, and backwards and forwards
again, from one Gate to another, to give him a
perfeft View of it in all its Afpe&s.
From whence he hath left the Plan behind him,
} with the addition of its Name, in the lalt words of
his Vifion, The Lord w there.
Nor is a Believer himfelf merely pallive in this
Operation of the Spirit, but is made a Co-workec
with him.
For which our Saviour hath fet us our Task,
Search the Scriptures.
What, without an Index ?
Yes, fcriptum eft is a fufficient Quotation for the
Preacher.
The Vbi is the Peoples Bufinefs.
Tho we are all to help one another at that, eve-
ry one in his own way.
And thus every Student in Divinity ftands oblig'd
for any fuch Ailiftance ready made to his hands \
Which otherwife would have took up too great
part of his time.
But as he that reftshis Religion in a bare Index,
or Quotation of Texts, will make but a fuperficial
Divine :
B 2 So
( 12 )
So on the other hand, he that will not be at the
fir ft pains of reading the Bible, muft not expe&
the Spirit of God to diftate it to him.
For to them that never read or heard of the
Word of God before, how fhould the Spirit of
God remember it again to them ?
Nor indeed is this way and manner of Attain-
mentof Knowfed-g in the Science of eternal Life,
other than what is requifite to the Attainment of
Knowledg in all other Sciences, viz.. By Labour and
Study.
Nor doth the Spirit of God abfent himfelf from
the Students of all honeft Sciences in the World :
fie teacheth my Hands to war-, and my Fingers to
fight.
He taught Noah to build, and the Jfraelites to in-
camp.
He teacheth the Plowman to fow, and the Artifi-
cers their Trades in Brafs and Bugle-work.
For all Wifdom is of God.
Nor doth any Believer in Chrift pretend to a
better Faculty that way than any other Man.
And if he hath feem'd to make any further Ad-
vances in it, than the common Obfervations of it,
'tis becaufe it hath fallen in his way to fpend more
Time and pains about it.
•And for that dlfo, 'tis more than two to one,
that he owes his Thanks to his Neceflities mc/re than
his Inclinations.
For' were Believers themfelves always left at
large to their own Difpofal of their'Time and Parts,
'they would not bellow fo much of either in the
Study of Divinity, as is requifite to the Knowledg
of it.
And for this J3od is pleas'd fometimes to fend
thfcm i to Defarts, Banifhments and Prifons.
Elijah to be fed by the Ravens
And
C M )
And John the Baptijl with Locufts and Wild-
Honey.
Paul a Prifoner to Rome \
And John the Evangelifl an Exile into Patmos.
Where one writes Epiftles, and the other his
Vifion.
And without Controverfy the Gofpel in all Ages
would have more Cuftomers, could they fall into
the account of it in a more fummary way,
(In an Evening-Fifit,
Or at Table-Talk,
Or while a Land-Tax Bill is reading)
Without interfering with their other BuHnefs or
Studies.
Much of this appears in the Cafe of Nicodetnus,
who being a Man in Pofi and Figure , thought it be-
neath his Charafter to ftand in the Croud of our
Saviour's common Auditors;
And therefore introduc'd himfelf to him, in an
Evening-Vifit, and carry'd with him a handfome
and refpeftful Preamble, ready made for that pur-
pofe, with an Intent to have been let into the Se-
cret of our Saviour's Mejfiahfhip all at once.
But our Saviour, to cut him Ihort, fent him back
to the ABC of Religion :
Except a Man be born again, he cannot fee the King-
dom of God.
And withal told him, that he ought to have
known that before he came there :
Art thou a Ma(ler of lfrael, and knoveeft not thefe
things ?
I have that Charity for all the World to believe,
that it is every Man's Defire to come to the Know-
ledg of the Truth , and be fav'd*
But this is the Mifchief of it, that we are all of us
apt (too foon) to think our felves either too young
or too old, too wife or too bufy, too good or too
great (or too fomething or other) to learn it.
Catus
( *4 )
Cat as amat Pifcem, fed non vult tangere flume vs.
But did Filh fwim above Water, Men would all turn
Gats.
Or were but the Gifts of God to be bought with
dry Mony (without Study or Lofs of Time) the
great Pains-Takers of the World would all turn
Simon Magm\ \ who having got a great Eftate by
the Devil, propos'd to the Apoftles to lay out
fome part of it with them in the Purchafe of a
lhare in the Holy Ghofl.
And as I have this Charity for ail the World,
that they had rather have the Spirit of God than
the Spirit of the Devil (if there were no Trouble
in the Exchange
So 1 have that Charity for all Profeflors in the
Chriftian Religion, that they would not upbraid
one another with pretence of Entbufiafm , in cafe
they had right Apprehenfions of the Spirit of God,
promis'd by Chrift to all his Believers.
But 1 am forry to fay, that there is a Generation
of Profeflors among us, who feem to give occafion
for this Offence,
By feating the Life of Religion in what they call
the Light within them ,
Which they endeavour to exprefs by a difmal
Tone of their own making, and then call it, The
Groans of the Spirit.
By which they have rendered the Sounds of their
Congregations by day, like the Noifes of Cat-bowl-
ings in the Night;
Or like the hideous Cry of a Pil-hal -boool , at an
Irifh Funeral :
Both which Expreffions 1 would have fpar'd, but
that 1 think they deferve them, fcr counterfeiting
the Spirit of God.
Nor
Cm)
Nor do I yet write this without Charity for
their Congregations (in whom I have both Friends
and Relations.)
And fo (indeed) have I of the Roman Catholick
Religion, not only many of my belt Friends, but
belt and deareft Relations.
For the Laity in which Church, I have alio a
large Charity} from whofe Perfons or Eftates I
would not diminifh a Hair of their Heads, or de-
prive them of an Acre of their Land.
(But yet I don't think my felf oblig'd to make
proof of it, by giving them mine, only to try whe-
ther they'l thank me for it or no •,
Or to play Tricks with my own Neck, by put-
ting it under their Feet, to inform my felf whe-
ther they wear Sparrowbills in their Shoes or no.)
A keen Hunter, purfuing his Game, rides over
the Hedges and Lands of his beft Friends j
And a blunt Author, in purfuit of Truth, knows
no Man after the Fltfh , till his Chace is over.
For a Man to think what he writes , may befpeafc
his Prudence j
But to write what he thinks , belt opens his Prin-
ciples.
But now while thefe miftaken People in our
Countries are pleafing themfelves with this Jgnvs
fatuiis of a Light within them , inftead of the true
Spirit of God ;
Yonder deluded (or rather deluding) Priejls at
Pome, by a different Fancy, equally extravagant,
have long fince disbanded the Spirit of God out of
their Churches:
As having no further occafion for his Teftimony,
fince they have goE the Monopoly of Truth lodg'd
in their own Pontifex (by which their Church can't
err if they would.)
And
( 16 )
And yet Peter himfelf, the firft of that Order,
after his Confecration to that Infallibility, commit-
ted more Blunders and Miftakes, and receiv'd from
our Saviour more publick Rebukes for them, than
any one of all the other Apoftles (except Judas
that betray'd him.)
Their Creed for this Infallibility is:
1. That Peter was one of the twelve Apoftles.
And that's the only Article in it that's true.
2. That he was the fir ft of the twelve.
Now in counting them over again (10th Mat-
thew) after they had been call'd, Peter is put down
firft, and Judas Ifcariot laft.
But in the firft calling them (i Mar\) Andrew
(Peter's Brother) was jointly call'd with him (call;-
ing their Nets) and James and John being in the
next Ship, were then call'd alfo.
But firft call'd, or firft counted, don't fignify a
Farthing •, our Saviour allowing no Diftin&ions a-
rnong them •,
Be that is greateft among you, let him be leafi :
The firft /hall be laft, and the laft firft.
But what do I write Scripture to Rome for ?
Let them take him, as they would have him.
Simon Peter , Brother of Andrew (firft of the
twelve Apoftles.)
So much for his Apoftolical FunSion only.
Now for his Pontifical Confecration.
In id Matth. our Saviour puts a Queftion to all
his Difciples in general (without naming one more
than another) Whom fay ye that I am ?
Up ftands Peter , and makes himfelf their Fore-
man \
Thou art Chrift the Son of the Living God.
That was well faid, but no more than what all
the reft believ'd, and gave their Silence for Con-
fent.
But
C 17 )
But Peter having fpoken it, our Saviour replies,
Thou art Peter, and upon this Rock I will build my
Church.
By which our Saviour affirm'd, That what Peter
had confefs'd was true, That he was Chrifi, the Son
of the Living God, and that his Church ffiould be
built upon that Foundation-
And fo he faith elfewhere (in the Negative) If
ye believe not that I am he, ye (hall die in your Sins.
And fo faith Paul , in the Affirmative, And are
built upon the Foundation of the Apojlles and Prophets,
Jefus Cbrift bimfelf being the chief Corner-Stone.
And becaufe our Saviour, and Paul, and the
whole Bible have faid fo, the Proteftant Churches
fay fo too.
And Paul faith elfewhere (in the Negative alfo)
Other Foundation can no Man lay.
But it feems Paul was miftaken, not having
found out the Jingle of Peter's Name (Cephas •,)
Which is the Rock of the Romifh Church.
But if that be all, why not Father Peter , or Pe-
ter-Power of Ireland , as well as Simon Peter (An-
drew's Brother) for their Names return'd into the
Greek are Cephas, as well as his ?
Well, but let them take their Pontifex, and his
Name with him, and all his Keys and Tools of in-
fallibility about him, and then lee what they'l make
of him.
In the 18th Verfe are the words of his Confe-
cration; 9
And in the 19th the Inveftiture of the Keys (the
Feofmentof his Office.)
By which he is fet up for an infallible Pontiff,
and now fee how he behaves himfelf in this Office.
In the 21 Jl our Saviour addrefiing himfelf to all
his Difciples in general again, tells them, He muft
be kill'd, and rife again the third Day :
Up ftands again this now (infallible) Foreman,
C " And
( 18 )
And as the fitft Inftance of his Infallibility, he
gives our Saviour the Lye, # or (at bell) told hi til
he did not know what he talk'dof:
Be. it far from thee, Lord } this fhall not be unto
thee. And how came he off?
As he deferv'd, Get thee behind me Satan.
What already! Peter made Pope in the 18th
Verfe, and converted to a Devil (by the Devil in
him J in the 21 ft.
Well, there's the firft Inftance of Papal InfaUi-
bility.
But perhaps this was but an Eflay ; then go on
to the next:
AH ye fhall be offended becaufe of methvs Night.
Up ftands Foreman again (for being impetuous in
his Temper, he would never let any one fpeak but
himfelf, or at leaft till he had done})
And now his Infallibility is arriv'd to that height,
that he tells our Saviour, he fcorns his words } for
let who would leave him, he would ftand by him
with his Life and Fortune, contra omnes Gentes (ay
marry would he f) and to clinch that, raps out (a
Swinger of Palfive-Obedience,) Tho 1 fhould die
with thee, yet will 1 not deny thee:
And about two hours after, deny'd him three
times, in one hour, or thereabouts (with fome-
thing elfe into the Bargain ;)
And this is the fecond Inftance of Papal InfaUi-
bility.
The thfrd was the drawing his Sword in his Maf-
ter's Defence, which tho it was a Zeal, yet a mif-
taken one, and betray'd his Fallibility } Te know
not what Spirit ye are of.
Which three Inftances in this their firft Ponti-
fex, feem to intitle his Succeflors to Infallibility,
with about a" much reafon as an old Bencher of the
Middle -Temple intitled himfelf to Chivalry, by
three Duels he brag'd of.
In
( i9 )
In the firft he had a Diih of Coffee flung in his
Face.
In the fecond was kick'd under a Table.
And in the third they quarrel'd, but did not fight.
By which I am not ridiculing Peter with his Mif-
takes, but them that have chofen either him or any
other Man in the World as a Precedent of Infalli-
bility } (Humanum ejl err are.)
For Peter himfelf (whofe Denial of Chrifl pro-
ceeded not from Shame but Fear) recover'd that
Fright, furviv'd his Miftakes, liv'd a Great Apoftle,
and died a noble Martyr for the Caufe :
But with no more Thoughts of being canoniz'd
for a Pope, than I have to be ordain'd for a Bifhop.
Nor doth the Pope himfelf believe his own In-
fallibility any more than I do.
The Priefts of Rome have the leaft to do in their
own Religion :
They only make Creeds, and leave the Laity to
believe them.
And tho they have no Foundation for this Infal-
libility in their Church :
Yet the pretence of it, is the only Support for
their other Articles ;
Which tho never fo contrary to human Reafon,
yet their Laity muft call themfelves Creditors of
them as rr«e, becaufe their Church that faid them
can't lye.
For to give them their Due, they do not demand
from their Confeffants really to believe what is
told them }
But only to fay they do.
And thus, as the other Pretenders to a Light
within themfelves, have brought a Scandal upon
the name of the Spirit of God :
So thefe Projectors of an implicit Faith in their
own Church, have thereby caft a Scandal upon true
Faith in Chrijl , as if the fame were only a hidden
C 2 credulous
( 20 )
credulous Confidence in the Words offer'd to our
Senfes, without firffc admitting the Report of it
to be made to the Underflanding.
Than which nothing is more a Reverfe to Faith.
For as in the Mofaicai Law the clean Beafts are
diftinguifh'd by chewing the Cud (as being moll
wholefom for Man's Body. )
So our Saviour, in delivering out the Gofpel for
Man's Salvation, prefcrib'd him to take it in firft
by his Senfes, and from thence to let it defcend to
his intelleftual faculties •, that fo by Thought and
Study it might be digefted within him into Know-
ledg, and from thence produc'd into Faith.
Let thefe Sayings /ink down into your Hearts.
Faith (or Credit) is not the firft Aft incident to
our human Faculties.
1 don't credit a Man the firft time I fee him ;
But that Credit arifeth from a knowledg of him.
Saying our Prayers is the laft Exercife in regular
Religion ^
Who/oever calltth on the name of the Lord, fhaU be
fav-d.
But there are three Climaxes in Religion prece-
dent to that:
How /hall they call on him, whom they have not be-
liev'd ?
And how (hall they believe on him, of whom they
have not heard?
And how Jhall they hear without a Preacher ?
The Road of Knowledg in Man lies from the
Senfes down to the Heart, and from thence up a-
gain to the Mouth : That as it enter'd in by one Or-
gan, it may come out at another.
With the Heart Man believes, and with the Mouth
C'onfeffion is made unto Salvation.
1 believed, and therefore have J fpoken.
And this Belief proceeds from Knowledg:
We know whom we worfhip
1
( 21 )
1 know whom I have believ'd.
The nearelt Definition of Faith (next to it felf)
feems to be, An Affent of the IVill, upon a ConviSion
of the Under funding.
But now thefe Projettors of this implicit Faith,
in the Infallibility of their own Church, drive their
Creditors before them, making them break thro
(or skip over) their Senfes, to force an Affent up-
on their Will, without giving them Liberty or
Leifure to confult their own Underftandings, whe-
ther the thing propos'd be true or falfe.
And, in truth, to tne the Priefts of Rome , in
their Adminiftration of the Sacrament of the
Lord's Supper, act more like Apothecaries than
Divines j
Taking and giving it in Pills and Potions, as the
real Flefh and Blood of Chrift :
By which they would convert their Patients
(with themfelves) into Cannibals ^
Who having firft imbib'd this previous Opiate of
Infallibility, to lull afleep their Senles (as being of
noufein Religion) they fwailow all the ether Pills
down whole after it.
And with this Loddanum (prepar'd by the Devil,
the Doftor of Lyes) have thefe Mountebanks of the
World intoxicated Generations of Men and Wo-
men, of all Ranks, Degrees and Callings:
Some of them (otherwife) ot the belt Senfe and
Parts •,
Brave in their Nature, generous in their Temper,
honell Neighbours, and good Friends ^
Jufi: in their Dealings, courteous in Behaviour,
and pleafant in their Converfation.
But let all their other Accomplilhments be what
they will, they mull all ftand redue'd to one com-
mon Level in their Religion,
To aft like Madmen .*
For
( 22 )
For what is the difference between one Man that
hath loft his Senfes, and another that muft not ufe
them ?
Ede & Crede is the Word of Command,
Ask no Queftions in Religion.
Believe neither Hands, Eyes, Ears, Touch or
Tafte.
But is not this the Reverfe of Knowledg ?
And what is that but Nonfenfe ?
Nor have 1 given thefe hard Names to their
Priefthood (as Quacks of the Devil) or to their
Laity as Lunaticks, from any perfonal Hatred I
bear to the firft, or Difrefpeft to the laft }
But rather from a Rage with my felf, that I
can't find out whence this Infatuation comes.
As indeed I am too apt to do, when hunting afcer
a Key or a Paper that I can't find, I fall a curfing the
poor Devil as the Thief or Conjurer, till I have
convinc'd my felf that I have done him wrong, by
finding at laft the Key in my own Pocket, and
(perhaps) the Paper in my own Hands all the
while.
But this feems to have been a little natural to
better Men than I am.
When the Galatians had firft receiv'd the Gof-
pel, and were afterwards turning again to the Law
of Works,
The Apoftle could afcribe this Tack-about to no-
thing but the Infatuation of the Devil, and fo falls
into an Exclamation :
O foolifh Galatians! who hath bewitched you ? that
ye defire again to be in Bondage.
For in truth the Devil (being the Father of Lyes)
all other Falfhoods do fome way or other proceed
from him, tho Man cannot perceive how.
And (as ic happens) this bewitch'd Tack-about,
which the Galatians were then going to make, is
the very Herefy of the Church of Rome }
Who
( 2 r)
Who make no other ufe of the Gofpel in their
Religion, than the bare Name of Jefus Chrift in
their Devotions :
Forming the Scheme of their Salvation from a
Journal of their own Works,
And that kept too, upon the foot of a falfe
Arithmetick ;
Counting upon a Repetition of the fame Words,
as a Multiplication of Duty:
As if a Man were the richer for telling over his
own Mony.
A Shilling counted twenty times is but twelve
Pence,
And Ave Maria repeated a hundred times, is but
Ave Maria ftill,
And Pater nofler faid over never fo often is but
one Prayer.
But all this adds to the Admiration ftill;
How this Heterodox Plan of Religion,
Founded on a Fallacy,
and
Ending in a Jeft,
fhould yet prevail upon the World :
Which I muft therefore attribute, not to their
Do&rine, but their Polity ;
In the Conveniency of their Convents for the
Maintenance and Education of Youth :
There entering them into the Practice of their
Religion (with an outward Shew of Devotion)
before their adult Age of Capacity to form any
Judgment of the Principles.
And being thus once enter'd into a Religion (and
taken a little Pains in it) they grow afterwards like
a Defendant in Chancery, who, having heard his
Anfwer read, faid, There were fome things in it
not true ; however, fiirce it was ingrofsYJ, he would
fwearit as it was, rather than give the Clerk any
trouble to alter it.
BUT
( 24 )
BU T fince they have done this good thing, to
promote a bad Caufe,
1 wifh the Proteftant Countries would think of
fome fuch Conveniency to promote a good one.
By which Proteftant, 1 mean
The Church of England , founded upon the thir-
ty nine Articles, and all other Proteftant Churches
in the World, who profefs the Belief of their Sal-
vation, by that Gift of God Jefus Cbrijl, in Prote-
ftation againft the open and manifeft Adherence to
the Law of Works by the Church of Rome. ,
The firft Teft deliver'd out by the ApbTtles, to
diftinguilh Chriftians from Antichriftians, was a
ConfeiTion or Denial of Chrijl come in the Flefh.
Every Spirit that confeffeth that Jefus Cbriji is come
in the Flefh, is of God ,
And every Spirit that confeffeth not that Jefus Chrijl
is come in the Flefh, vs not of God.
And as they had receiv'd Inftru&ions for this
Teft from that Rock of Truth, Thou art Chrijl the
Son of the Living God :
So they would never admit that broad Founda-
tion of Truth to be redue'd intoany narrower Com-
pafs, by any Names or Diftin&ions in the Churches
of God.
When Paul and Peter had had foine difference
(which was foon rcconcil'd,)
The Corinthians would prefently have fplit it in-
to a Faction, of Paulites and Peterites:
But Paul put a ftop to that, from an eternal Ar-
gutnent that will never be worn out;
Was Paul crucify d for you ? or were ye baptized
in the name of Paul ?
All the Return that God demands, or that Man
can give for Salvation by Jefus Chrift, is Thanks;
Thanks
C 4{ )
fce to God through our Lord and Saviour Je-
Wherefore the naming of any other Mediators
(or Mediums of Salvation) between God and Man,
(whether Saints or Angels in Heaven, or Men or
Things on Earth) is an ungrateful Detainer of
part of that Thanks from God, by a Mifapplication
of it to the Creatures.
And that I may be explicit in this (for my felf
at leaft) the Abftra&of my Creed isfiiort:
I believe in Jefus Cbrift, who was delivered for our
Offences, and Tabs'd again for our Juflification.
And if any Church or Aflembly in the World
(Claflical or Lay) can convince me that they were
thus crucifyd for me, I'll ftrike him out, and put
them in.
But till then I will not interline any thing be-
tween my Faith and him that died for me, and in
tvhofe Name J was baptized.
And from this negative Principle againft Dif-
tintlions in the Churches of Chrift, Paul left it as
his Recommendation to them all, To firive together
for the Faith of the Gofpel.
In which there is neither Jew nor Greek, Barba-
rian, Scythian, Bond or Free t being all one in Chrifi,
one Fold under one Shepherd.
(And hence Paul , as much as he well could,
declin'dto baptize with his own Hands, left they
fhould name him in their Religion.)
And thus it lafted while the Apoftles were the
Preachers of the Gofpel:
But Tempora mutantur , Time feems to have
chang'd that Complexion.
And inftead of firiving together for the Faith of
the Gofpel (againft the common Oppofers of it,)
We feem rather to be ftriving afunder what to
call it.
D
And
< 26 )
And in this Conteft we have ty'd our felves
(like Sampfon's Foxes) Tail to Tail, to burn our
own Corn.
Thisisoneof the Days of the Divifion of five
predi&ed by our Saviour.
But whoever comes by the worft in the Scuffle,
they that have given, the firft Occafion of the Of-
fence, (land accountable to God for the Confe-
quences.
But fhould I launch out that way here, I fhould
run into a Divifion againfl my felf,
By wandring from my prefent Theme of the true
Nature of Faith.
To return to which: If the Patriots of this Im-
$licit Faith would fhelter themfelves for it under
the Umbrage of our Saviour 's Sayings":"
For, tranfplanting Trees and Mountains into the Sea
by a . Grain of Faith (as of a Muflard-Seed.)
As if it were in the feature of Faith to do all
things immediately without a Medium:
Or as if any fort of Faith would ferve for all
fort of Bufinefs.
Both thefe Glofles or Conftru&ions are the direft
Reverfe of thofe Texts. ,
For this Grain of Faith is elfewhere (by the Spi-
rit of God in Paul) calPd All Faith :
Tbo I had All Faith, fo that I could remove Maun-
tains.
Whereby it feems that this One Grain is an Ah-
fir aft of the Whole of Faith.
And Faith being the Refult of Knowledg, this
All Faith mufl: be the Refult of the Knowledg of all
Science (both in Heaven and Earth.)
And then 'tis rational to conceive that whoever
could attain to that univerfal Knowledg, it would
be eafy and natural for him, both to believe and to
do thofe now-feeming impofiible Things.
But
( 27 )
But this univerfal Knowledg being not attain-
able by Man,
This All Faith- is not imitable or to be attempted
by him,
The extreme Notions in any Science, tho they
are futable to the Students Underftanding, accor-
ding to the Rules in that Science}
Yet they are not practicable by them.
From the Study and Theory of the Mathema-
ticks 'tis rati.onal to conceive that the whole World
is movable by the Strength of a Hair, and the
Force of a Man's Breath:
And yet the Prattice of it is not to be attempted
by Man, for want of a place to ftand in far enough
diftant from the Center, without which the thing
cannot be thought feafible.
But yet this Conception gives us a jult Admira-
tionof the Power and Wifdom of the Author of
Nature and Ruler of the World, who fitting upon
the Circle of the Heavens, can reign the Earth
with a twined Thred.
And therefore our Saviour did not mention this
extreme Notion of Faith as a thing to be attempted
by Man.
But having before reported to his Auditors fome
lefs degrees of Faith, both neceflary for them and
attainable by them ;
And they receiving that Report (with admira-
tion) as incredible things :
Our Saviour, to take off that Wonder, names
this extreme Notion of Faith, as a thing much more
ftrange than all the former, and yet not ftranger
than true.
And thus while they ftood in admiration at him
for having rais'dfomeof the Dead, and promifing
toraifemore;
Marvel not at this (faith he) for the hour, is coming
when all that are in the Graves {hall hear my Voice and
came forth. 2 And
( 28 )
And tho this extreme Notion of Faith be oat of
the re*ch of our Practice,
T7 >i it 1 ru not out-go our Reafon, according to
tin of Faith.
For as c vei y Faith (or Credit) that a Man bath
attamVi to is the Refhlt of fome Knowledg or o-
ther"-, To that whoever hath attain'd thatKnowledg
hath that Faith (for whatever a Man knows, he
cannot but believe :)
So this AU Faith being the Refult of all Knowledg,
'tis eafy to conceive that whoever had once at-
tain'd to all that Knowledg, nothing couid be dif-
ficult to him.
And thus, tho this extreme Notion in the Science
of Faith be intelligible only and not imitable j
Yet the letter degrees of Knowledg in that
Science are both intelligible and imitable.
But this Knowledg is acquir'd by taking in the
firft Notices of Things at our Senfes, which having
an immediate Communication with the intelle&ual
Faculties, do hand thofe Notices down to them as
faft as they receive them.
And thus the Ear is faid to try Words, by re-
porting them to the Underftanding, and leaving
them to be judg'd of there.
And hence Man is call'd a rational Creature, not
from acting without his Senfes,
But as making his Appeal from his Senfes to his
\lnderftanding as the ultimate Judg.
And thus tho there have been Inftances in the
World of fome born blind, and fome born deaf,
and fome born dumb, and fome born deaf and
<|umb •,
Yet I never heard or read of an Inftance of ofce
born both deaf and blind,
Nor can conceive how Man could be capable of
Knowledg under fuch a double Incapacity.
The
( 29 )
The Spirit of God (by John) hath left a mighty
prolifick Expreffion of the Way and Manner of
Communication of Science unto Man:
What we have feen and heard, and our Hands have
handled of the Word of Life, that declare we unto you.
What we have firft taken in by our own Senfes,
and by Thought and Study have converted into
Knowledg within our felves;
That we now deliver out again to your Senfes,
that you by like Thought and Study may alfo turn
the fame to Knowledg within your felves:
And fo hand it down from one to another, to
the continual Edifying the Churches of God ;
Every one adding fomethingof his own Thoughts
to what he before receiv'd :
Whereby the Word (like Corn fown) grows
more prolifick every time the Seed is call into the
Ground.
By which Climax in Learning 'tis natural to fup-
pofe, that the Succelfion of Students may and ought
to be wifer than their Teachers:
Dottier indigne, per quem non dottier alter.
And therefore whatever Churches or Afiembli.es
do attempt to put a Reftraint upon this Prolifick-
nefs of the Word of God in the World,
They do hereby aft reverfe to all our Saviour's
Parables and Refemblances of it; as Afuftard-Seed
planted, Corn fown, and Levcn infus'd :
And do attempt thereby (as much as in them
lies) to fetter the Spirit of God j
Of which the Church of Rome are the Ring-
leaders,
Locking him up (as they fancy) under the Keys
of their own Church ;
That as they havenooccafion for him themfelves,
they may alfo render him ufelefs to others:
7hey
( 3° >
They enter not in themfelves, and they that would
enter in they hinder.
BUT 'tis given out that their Priefts are now
haFd 'atwork again in writing Books in de-
fence of their Church, and to make it as plain a/s
a Pike-Staff that the Proteftant Religion is a Herefy
deriv'd from Judas Ifcariot.
With all my heart ! I am no more afraid of the
coming out'of Popifh Books, than the Lord Mayor
was of the ftarting'of a Hare.
(Tho I don't defire the Authors fliould bring'era
to Dover unlefs they'l firft fubjeft themfelves to be
fearch'd at Calais for Fire-balls.)
And indeed he mult be but a Cockny in his own
Religion, that is afraid of Books in any other.
Not but that there' is extant on Record an Apo-
ftolical Precedent for burning wicked Books :
A£ts 19. And tnany that believed came and con-
feffed and Jhewed their Deeds : Many alfo of them that
ufed curious Arts, brought their Books together, and
burned them before all Men j and they counted the Price
of--them, and found it 50000 Pieces of Silver: fo
mightily grew the Word of God, and prevailed.
Here's the greateft Bonfire of Books that ever I*
heard of.*
f&rwhb were the Executioners ?
Not Sheriffs.nor their Hangmen:
But the Owners themfelves, who had ufed 'em,
(and perhaps fomethat wrote 'em.")
By the 1 Mofaical Law, the Witoelfes againft a
Criminal (who had feen the Fa&) were to call the
firft Stone :
So here the Spirit of God, by the Preaching of
the Apoftles, having convifted the Confciences of
the Auditors of their former Delufions, they all
came
(?«)
came in together as voluntary WitnefTes againft
themfelves y and in deteftation of their former
Works of the Devil, brought their Conjuring-Books
with them, and there burnt them with their own
hands before, the face of all then prefent.
And by this alfo (indeed) the Apoltles have left
themfelves as a Precedent for Perfecutors of He-
refy.
Only they us'd a different way of Torture from
thofe that have fucceeded them.
The Priefts of Rome firfl fet fire to the Skin ;
But the Apoltles always gave the firit Prick at
the Heart.
Afts 2. Novo when they beard this, they were prick'd
at the heart, and faid unto. Peter and the refl of the
ulpojlles, Men and Brethren, what /hall we do ?
And thus the Apoltles by that firft Sermon (af-
ter our Saviour's Afcenfion) Itab'd 3000 Hereticks
at once y
And Peter and ,fohn about 5000 more at their
next.
Now let but the modern Profecutors of He-
refy give th? Heretick one home Thrult' at the
Heart,by convincing his Confidence from the Word
©f God that he is in the wrong y
And he'l let fell his Pen, and run and fetch bis
own Books, and as a Witnefs againlt himfe'lf, be
the firft Man in the world to fet 'em on fire with
his own hands, and fave the Hangman a labour.
And (to give all Men their due) I. can't but
mention what feems to me a laudable Cultom in
the Jewijh Sy nagogues y
That after the Services of their own jChurch
were over (by reading of the Law and the' prophets)
their Pulpits were left free for any other Preachers
of Religion:
A&s
(s 2 y
A&s 15. And after the reading of the Law and the
Prophets, the Rulers of the Synagogue fent unto them,
faying , Ye Men and Brethren , if ye have any Word of
Exhortation for the People, fay on.
By which Ad million the Chriftian Religion was
at firft by our Saviour himfelf, and afterwards by
his Apoftles, preach'd unto the World, before
there were any other fix 'd Congregations for it.
Tho after that, when the Priefts found the Apo-
files had ard would out-preach them, they fell
foul on 'em, and pull'd 'em out by head and ears.
But by this they gain'd no Credit to their own
Church, but rather a Diftruft that they could not
maintain it any longer againft the Apoftles Doc-
trine.
And therefore the great Civilian, Gamaliel , ad-
vis'd 'em to let the Apoftles alone:
For (faid he) if this Counfel or Work be of Men,
it will come to nought (of it felf;)
But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it, left
haply ye he found even to fight againft God : 'Tia
hard to kick againft the Pricks.
Nor indeed will the burning of Books cancel the
Contents of 'em.
When the old Book-burners had got a parcel of
combuftible Stationers-Ware out of Paul's Church-
yard,and fetthem on fire in Smitbfield, they fancy'd
they had burnt the Bible.
But this their way was their Folly .*
For the Word of God is a Salamander :
Not all the Cedars of Lebanon , nor the Trees of
the Foreft of Carmel , no nor all the Flames of
Mount lAEtna, can extinguiih one Word of the
Old or New Teftament:
Heaven and Earth /hall pafs away, but my Word
fhall not pafs away.
And indeed there feerus but one effe&ual way to
cancel any Books
To
(- n )
To get the People never to read 'em.
From which Maxim, the Poet bid defiance to the
World to cancel what he had wrote:
- Quod fiec Jovh ira, nec tgnes,
Nec potent ferritin, nec rcdax abokre vetujlai j
Ore legar Populi.
By which Quotation, I am not exalting my felf
With that great Poet (and Prophet too") as fancying
to be famous by the Report of a few of myowrt
Words :
But if what I was then accus'd for, had never
been read ;
What f now publifh, could never have been wrote.
Therefore if any Mifchief comes on it, let the
Readers bear the blame of this, as I did of that.
For in truth what I now do in publilhing that
Defence, is to gratify fome Demands made upon
me as a Right to the World ; to make my Defence
as publick as my Accufation.
And I alfo think I may claim the fame as a Right
to my felf:
For my Arraignment and Condemnation being
made publick, I feem to have a Right as a Crimi-
nal (whether I could claim it as a Member or no)
to add my Defence.
For that tho then being a Member, I was admit-
ted to that Defence in my Place *,
Yet I fo made it in the nature of a Plea to an
Arraignment, as if I had been at their Bar : and
as fuch, it was then no Debates of that Houfe, nor
is the publilhing of it now any Breach of their Pri-
vilege (as I humbly apprehend.)
And therefore I have endeavour'd as well as I
can to comply with the Importunity of them that
defire it,
E By
' * T
( H )
By which I have prefented my Readers with a
Maidenhead, being the firft thing (of its kind)
that ever I did as I was bid.
And after all, 1 efteem what I now do rather a
thing of Curiofity than Neceffity.
For 'tis not the Defence of any Pofition that
alters the Right or Wrong of it.
A bad Caufe may be well defended, and a good
one loft for want of it:
But that muft proceed from fome Deceptio Pifus
upon the Judges.
For Truth it felf is abfolute and inflexible, and
cannot be wrefted into Falfhood:
And the Reverfe of this, is true of a Lye
which tho never fo well told, or turn'd into ever
fo many ihapes, remains a Lye ftill.
Therefore if my Argument were falfe, it is not
any Defence I then did or now could make to it,
can convert it into Truth.
For that reafon alfo I am not much concern'd,
whether what I now report be a literal Repetition
of what 1 then faid ;
Nor matters that to my felf or the Reader,
whether it be or not,:
For 'tis not what I did fay, but what I might
have faid, or what the Argument it felf will bear.
And therefore 1 keep an Anfwer ready for any
one that contradids me, as a falfe Reporter :
What I did not fay then , I fay novo.
Nor do I call it a Repetition, being of a thing
now near five Years fince j
And in which I then took no other Afiiftance
but the under-ftroking (in one of the Books I held
in my hand) the particular Paragraphs to which
the Exceptions were taken, by the Report of the
Committee.
But I'll endeavour to purfue the Method I then
took, of which (with feveral, if not molt of the
Ex-
( 35 )
Expreffions) I have ftill a Memory.
And if I have omitted fome things, and added
others, the Readers mufc e'en put one againft t'o-
ther ; like a certain Member that excus 'd himfelf
for voting wrong in one Quejlion , by voting right
in another.
_ And if after this long Introdu&ion, the mali-
cious Queftion lhould come out,
Quid dignum tanto feret bic promtffor kiatu ?
I muft give much fuch an Anfwer as King Charles
the Second's Taylor did, when his Majefty ask'd.
him what he was ufed to fay to the Priefc, when he
went to Confelfion : An pleafe your Majefty, 1 tell
bim lama Taylor.
Now an pleafe my Readers, / am an Author:
And you muft know that we Authors, when once
we put Pen to Paper (like that or other Taylors
that can't make Bills without putting in Buckram)
can fcarce tell a Man what a clock 'tis, without alfo
entertaining him with fome Tale of the Planets, or
Letture upon the Zodiack, (if he'll ftay to hear us.)
THE
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.
( 37 )
THE
DEFENCE-
IN an Interval of Privilege in 1707. being un- „
der an Arreft, I remov'd my felf by Habeas
Corpus to the Fleet,
In the Sefiion following, upon Application
to the Honfe, I was by their Order demanded out
of Cuftody (by their Serjeant at Arms with the
Mace) on Tuefday 16 Decemb. 1707.
And took my place in the Houfe on the morrow.'
But between my Application and Difcharge,
there was an Accufation brought into the Houfe
againft me, as Author of a Treatife (publiih'd fe-
ven years before) intitled, An Argument proving
that according to the Covenant of eternal Life reveaPd
in the Scriptures, Man may be tranjlated from hence
into that eternal Life without pafiing thro Death, altho
the human Nature of Chrifl himj'elf could not be thus
' tranjlated, till be had paffed thro Death.
And a Committee being appointed to examine
it, the Chairman had reported feveral Paragraphs
therein, ( afterwards refolved Profane and Blafpbemous 9
highly refitttmg upon thet hritttan Religion.)
hurfday, t8 Decemb. 1707. was appointed for
hearing my Defence:
For which I attended in mv place.
When the Report was read:
And
CP )
And the Chairman moving for me to withdraw •,
To prevent his Motion being feconded and put
to the Queftion,
I flood up and made my Defence to the purport .
following.
Mr. Speaker,
THIS Day calls me to fomething I am both
unapt and averfe to, Preaching.
For tho (as you fee) f have vented Tome of my
Thoughts in Religion-,
Yet I appeal to my Converfation, whether I ufe
to make that the Subjeft of my Difcourfe.
However, that I may not let this Accufation go
againft me by a Nihil dicit, I ftand up to make my
Defence.
I have heard it from without doors, that I in-
tended to withdraw my-felf from this Day's Teft,
and be gone.
Which would have given them that faid it an op-
portunity to boaft, That they bad once fpo^en Truth %
But (qvto me fata ruunt) I'll give no man occa-
fion to write Fugam fecit upon my Grave-flone.
Tobefurethe Argument I have advanc'd (and
which now lies before you) feems a little more fo-
reign than ordinary, elfe this Houfe had had fome
other Bulinefs for this Day.
And having been ask'd more than twice (with
Admiration of Friends and Foes) How jhch a thing
could come into my Head ?
I have intended (as part of my Defence) to
make as Candida Narrative as I can of theHifto-
rical part of this Production.
How it came into my Head ;
And after that (as well as I can) how it came
out of my Head :
And
( 39 )
And after that, I'll endeavour to trace it, how
it came into this Houfe.
How 'twill come out again, I begin to guefs;
but that the Houfe knows (at prefent) better than
I do.
I thank God I had a Religious Education by ho-
neft Parents, from whom I early learnt the Letters
of the Scripture.
And my further Education in the World led me
into the Congregations, foraetimes of the Church of
England , and fometimes of the Diflenters, (of nei-
ther of which I repent.)
But about the time of my Admiflion to the Bar,
I met with a great Lofs from an Adventure I had
made, with an Intent to have rais'd my Fortune.
This put me under a voluntary Confinement to
my Chamber in the Temple for fome years:
Where with fome few Books of the Law (tho
more than 1 ever read) 1 had a Book of Law and
Gofpel both, which we call the Bible.
f Jufl as I faid this Word, the Black Rod knocked
at the door : And upon Return of the Houfe, the
Speaker calling to me to go on, I proceeded.3
I was faying I had a Bible :
And upon fome Reviews of it, I obferv'd feve-
ral things which I had not before.
And more efpecially that particular Text from
whence I trac'd out this Argument as warranted
from it (as I really did and do believe: )
I am the RefurretTion and the Life.
He that bclieveth in me, tho be were dead, he fhdU
live.
And he that liveth and lelieveth in me /hall never
die.
And thus this Thought firlt came into my Head.
But
< 4o )
Bat after this, it was a great while a coming
out.
I was long afraid of my own Thoughts, left
they were my own only ; and as fuch a Delufion.
However, I began to try thera with Pen, Ink,
and Paper:
And thinking as I wrote that they feem'd fome-
thing plainer and plainer every time I went over
them,
I refolv'd to form them into an Argument, to fee
how they would bear upon the proof:
Till at laft 1 had tranfcrib'd what I am now ac-
cus'd of.
But writing an ill hand, I refolv'd on a further
Experiment to fee how what I had wrote would
look in Print.
On this I gave the Printer my Copy, with Mony
for his own Labour, to print off fome few for my
felf, and keep the Prefs fecret.
But I remember before he got half way thro,
he told me his Men fancy'd 1 was a little craz'd :
In which I alfo fancy'd he fpoke one word for
them and two for himfelf.
However I bid him go on.
And at laft it had fb rais'd his Fancy, that he
defir'd ray leave to print off one Edition at the
rifque of his own Charge, faying, He thought fome
of the Anabaptifts would believe it firft, or fome
fuch word.
1 being juft then going for Ireland , admitted
him; with this lnjunftion, That he fliould not
publifh thera till I was got clear out of Middlefex.
Which 1 believe he might obferve: tho by what
1 heard afterwards, they were all about Town by
that time I got to St. Jlbans.
And the Book was in Ireland almoft as foon as I
was (for a Man's Works will follow him) with a
noife after me, that I was goneawsy mad.
And
C 41 )
And there I receiv'd the firft Rebukes from my
Friends \ and amongft the reft, that it would pre-
vent my Pra&ice.
But really (as it happen'd) I think it promo-
ted it.
For People coming into Court, to fee me as a
Monfter, and hearing me talk like a Man, I foon
fell into my fliare of Practice with them that were
known before me.
But having laid out my Acquifitions there in a
Purchafe, and being chofen a Member of that Houfe
of Commons-,
And the Seflions being begun while I was in Mm-
fier, I met the News on the Road that my Book
was burnt by Order of the Houfe.
Then I knew all the reft.
However, I took the Oaths, and my Place in the
Hoafe, till 1 was expel'd in four days.
And about four days after, a Petition was deli-
ver'dto the Houfe againft me, as having purchas'd
Lord Kenmarc's forfeited Eftate (with my own Mo-
ny) for fome other People.
But they could not tell who, and fo their Peti-
tion was rejefted, and their Evidence laugh'd at.
But by this I found that I had not been expel'd
the Houfe for my Book , but for my Bargain , which
fome thought too good for me.
Good or bad, 1 bought it fairly, and got the
Purchafe-Mony honeftly.
But I can obferve fome of the fame Perfons that
had a hand in that Petition, now are lolliciting in
your Lobby with my Book about'em.
And thus I havetrac'd it into my Head and out
of my Head :
And into Ireland , and back again into your Lobby.
But how it came into your Houfe (and juft at
this time too) your worthy Chairman knows beft.
F
This
( 42 )
This is now the fourth Parliament in which I
have had the Honour to be a Member of this Houfe
with that Gentleman, fince I publilh'd this Argu-
ment (which hath not remain'd a Secret.)
And I have alfo formerly had the Honour of
that intimate Converfation with him, that I once
thought (and fo did others too) that he would not
have been the laft to read what I wrote.
Therefore I might wonder that his Zeal had not
been fooner kindled, but that indeed I have ob-
ferv'd fome Confciences feem to have been turn'd
inlide out more than once in four Parliaments.
However fince he hath been pleas'd to fay as if
this Traft of mine never before fell under his Ob-
fervation, 1 give him my intire Credit in it, con-
trary to my own Opinion; (tho you fee I believe
what no one elfe doth.)
However be that as'twill :
Here it h now, and I am demanded to anfwer it.
And I do acknowledg the Juftice and Candour
of this Houfe, in admitting me to that Defence,
before they proceed to any further Cenfure than
the Report of the Committee.
W hich is what I was prevented to do in another
Houfe:
Who having condemn'd and executed the Book
without hearing me,
There was nothing left between that and .my
Expulfion, but to prove me the Author :
Which no one can think I intended to difown,
when I bad publilh'd it with my Name to it.
Yet as it happen'd, 1 had then an Opportunity
to put them upon the proof of it.
The Printer having fold off his firft Edition,
broke the Prefs.
And the Demands for more putting him upon a
fecond, he committed in that above thirty Erratas
from the firft.
And
( 4? )
And my Accufer in Ireland (who I hear is fince
promoted Secretary to the French Prophets) hav-
ing one of this fecond Edition in his hand, de-
manded of me a Categorical Anfwer, Wluther I
iva/s the Author ?
To which I reply'd, That I was Author of a
Treatife written upon that Argument:
But that if I muft be Categorical, what he then
fhew'd me was not a Print from my Copy.
And therefore fince he had accus'd me of (a
Crime higher than High Treafon) Blafphemy
I did demand it as the Jultice of the Houfe,
that they would not admit any lefs Evidence to con-
vift me of this Crime, than if I flood indifted of
High Treafon.
Upon this, up flood two Volunteer Evidence.
The firft a Gentleman of the Law, who at my
coming to Ireland (about three Years before) had
invited me to dine,with him at bis own Houfe,
(where I never was either before or after.)
And his Evidence was, That there wax then fome
jocular Difcourfe about a Booh.
The other was a Member (with whom I had a
Suit of Law) and his Evidence was, That I had
turned about upon my heel, and faid I had wrote a Bookj
and did not care who knew it.
And upon this Evidence I was expel'd that Houfe
for Blafphemy.
But mine happens to be an old Cafe.
When Naboth was envy'd for his Vineyard, the
Crime invented to take it from him, was Blaf-
phemy.
And the Conviction was by two. fliort Evidences:
Naboth blafphem'd God and the King.
But tho my Accufation before this Houfe be now
the fame as was then before that \
Yet I have not (nor ought) to put this Houfe
to the trouble of Evidence of the Fact,, fince they
F 2 have
C 44 )
have been pleas'd to admit rae to a Defence, be-
fore they proceed to a Judgment of the Crime.
And this throws me dire&ly upon this Defence
to defend my felf (as well as I can) againft the
Accufation, by {hewing that this fad fo done by me
doth not amount to the Crimes cbargd upon me for it.
I find the Report of the Committee (now before
you) is not level'd at the Argument it felf which
1 have advancM \
Nor yet againft theTreatife I have publilh'd to
prove it:
But againft fome Expreffions I have us'd in that
Proof,
And which I intend to give particular An-
fwers to.
But there is foraething elfe laid to my charge
(as my Defign in publishing that Argument) of
higher Concern to me than any Expreffions in the
Treatife, or any Cenfure that can fall on me for it.
As if I had wrote it, with a malicious Intention
to expofe the Scriptures as falfe, becaufe they feem'd
to contain what I.have aflerted.
And that therefore if that Afiertion did not hold
true, the Scripture mull be falfe.
Now whether this was my Intention or no, there
is but one Witnefs in Heaven or Earth can prove:
And that is He that made me,
And in wbofe Prefence J now ft and ,
And who vs able to fir ike me dead in my place.
And to him I now appeal for the Truth of what
I proteft againft :
That I never did write or publifh that A'rgu-
ment or Treatife upon it, with any Intention to
expofe the Scriptures.
But on the contrary (tho I was aware that I
might be liable to that Cenfure, and which I knew
not how to avoid) 1 did both write and publifh
it, under a firm Belief of the Truth of the Scriptures:
And
C 45 )
And with a Belief (under that) That what !
have afferted in that Argument, is within that
Truth.
And if it be not, then I am miftaken in my Ar-
gument, and the Scripture remains true :
Let God be true, and every Man a Lyar.
And having made this Proteftation, I am not
much concern'd whether lam believ'd in it or no.
I had rather tell a Truth, than be believ'd in a
Lye at any time.
But having made this Proteft againft an Accufa-
tion greater than the Charge in the Report,
'Tis time for me to come to the Report it felf.
But by what I apprehend from the nature of the
Exceptions thereby taken,
I may firft offer one general Anfwer to moft, if
not all of 'em, before 1 defcend to Particulars.
I do own that in that Treatife (the Subjed
whereof relates to eternal Salvation) 1 have ufed
fome familiar Expreflions of common things-
Which I did with intent to be fooner read, and
more readily underftood :
All Men in the World being (in this thing) like
Children
Moft affeded with what is fpoken in their own
Dialed.
From whence any one of our Saviour's fhort
Parables, in comparing the Kingdom of God to
fmall and trivial things, hath prov'd more inftruc-
tive in Religion and Morality, than all the Works
and Orations of the learned Philofophers.
And hence Paul excufeth himfelf not only for
common, but rude Expreflions: law rude in Speech^
but I fpeak after the manner of Men.
And having thus guarded my felf with this ge-
neral Protedion,
i I will
( 4* )
I will go over every Paragraph in the Report,
and give foine particular Anfwer to what I ap-
prehend to be the Exceptions taken to them.
The firft Paragraph excepted to, is in pag.7.
Now the Affertion of Cbrift concerning himfelf was.
That Man by bim may live for ever.
And th'vs vs that Magnetic^, that bath drawn the
World after him.
Anfw. That he did fo aflert himfelf, no one can
deny, without denying the Scriptures-
Therefore the Exception mult run againft the
Confequence which 1 l^ave drawn from it, That
this is that Magnetick which hath drawn the World
after him.
Now had the worthy Chairman but taken in the
two next Paragraphs with that he hath excepted to,
he had found an Inftance of what I faid, in our Sa-
viour's own Diiciples •, who, when he ask'd them,
Whether they would leave bim ? they for Reply ask'd
him again, Whither JbaU we go ? Thou bait the Words
of eternal Life.
Which no one elfe pretends to.
And our Saviour himfelf elfewhere declar'd that
he would never have expefred to have been be-
Ifcv'd on as the MeJJiab , if he had not done more
than all that came before him :
If I had not done among them the Worbs which none
ether did, they had not bad Sin.
And he himfelf is elfewhere taken notice of, as
having an Eye to the Recompence of Reward :
Who for the Joy that was fet before him, endured the
Crofs , and defps'd the Shame.
And after this, 1 hope'tis no Affront to fuppofe
the worthy Chairman himfelf (without being a
Mercenary) expefts fome R.eward or other for this
day's Service: For doth any Man fervc God for
( 47 )
The fecond is in pag. 8.
Now if thofe Words of his are Words only, then was
he an Impoftor , and bis Doftrine is falfe.
But if this Affertion of himfelf be true, 7'hat Man
by him may live for ever , then all our Attempts be-
neath this are mean and cowardly, as counting our
felves unworthy of eternal Life.
Anfw. From hence the worthy Chairman was
pleas'd to fay that I call'd our Saviour an Im-
poftor.
But now fee how he hath drawn the Conviction
upon himfelf.
What I have fir ft faid, is no more than that if
our Saviour's Words are not true, they are falfe.
And will any one deny that ?
And this was the Teft that he had put upon him-
felf, Which of you convinceth me of Sin ?
But I thank God I have not taken that Con-
viftion upon me, to fay that what he hath faid is
falfe, and that therefore he is an Impoftor :
But on the contrary, have made it the whole
Drift of my Treatife to depend upon his Word as
Truth,
Therefore the worthy Chairman accufing me of
calling our Saviour Impoftor, cannot maintain that
Accusation, without concluding in himfelf that
what our Saviour hath faid is falfe.
Ergo, Lie is Witnefs againfl himfelf!, that be hath
call'd our Saviour an Impoftor.
With which I do not yet recriminate him, be-
caufe 1 wot he did it ignorantly.
But had not his Zeal ftifled his Charity j he would
not have inverted my words to charge me with
that from them, which is no ways contain'd in
them.
The
( 4« )
The third is inpag. 24.
Such was the Death of Chrifl without a Precedent,
without a Name, without a Reafon, without a Caufe :
They hated me without a Caufe.
But they were all againfl him, becaufe God was a-
gainfl him.
Now 1 can't conceive that this Exception is to
the firft words of the Paragraph, which I have
well avouch'd from our Saviour's Vindication of
himfelf: They hated me without a Caufe.
Therefore 1 muft apply the Exception to the laft
words •, But they were all againfl him, becaufe God
was againfl him.
Anfw. Now if this Saying wants any Explana-
tion from me, I did and do mean by it, That the
Will of God was fo determin'd and refolv'd for
the offering up of the eternal Sacrifice of his own
Son as a Ranfom for the World, that all the other
Power in Heaven and Earth could not oppofeit.
Father, if it be thy Will, let this Cup pafs from me;
But it was evident that it was not his Will 5 for
that that Cup did not pafs from him.
But if this Evidence by way of Argument will
not fatisfy the worthy Chairman, without fome
direft ExprefiTion that God was then againft his
own Son, as it happens 1 can quote him two in
one Text:
Awake, O Sword, againfl my Shepherd, and againfl
the Man that vs my Fellow, faith the Lord of FJofls.
Now I leave it to the worthy Chairman to find
out another Fellow for the Lord of Hofts than that
Emanuel•, ana if he can't, then I have avouch'd
that Aflertion, That God was againfl him.
The fourth is in pag. 3Q.
Men charge God as an Humorift for condemning
the whole Race of Mankind for fo fmall an Offence as
eating a little forbidden Fruit.
Anfw.
( 49 )
Anfw. Now I cannot fipd where to apply the
Exception, but to the word Humourift.
And as to that, I ana not fetting up for an In-
former, nor did I eyer hear any Man or Woman
call God Humourift.
Nor have I faid that I did.
But that they have charg'd him as a Humourift, I
have more than once heard.
The Fall of Man being recorded to us in the
Bible, we give our liletit Alfent to it in our Reli-
gious Congregations* and publick Affe.rablies.
v But by following' fome of the fame Men into
v their familiar Converfations, we may hear this
Hiftory of the Fall treated as a Romance, rather
than a facred Record.
And that I have from hence colle&ed this word
Humourift , I am excus'd at leaft (if not juftify'd)
by a harder Expreflion than this, ufed by Paul: The
Foolifhnefs of God. '
By which he himfelf did not charge God with
Foolifilnefs, nor yet ofFer'd himfelf an Evidence
againft any one elfe that faid fo.
But having by Converfation found that Men (by
a half reading of the Scriptures) did look upon the
Ceremonies and Sacrifices of the Mofaical Law as
trivial and infignificant things, and from thence
> feem to charge God with Folly for commanding
i them :
Therefore to anfwer them in their own Lan-
guage, he told them what they thought Fooliftmefs
was wifer than all their Wifdom : The Fooliftmefs of
God is wifer than the Wifdom of Man.
And to imitate Paul as well as I could in this
way, my next Paragraph is to turn the Fool upon
Man } As being ignorant of tbs Laws of Honour and
Gratitude, by which the flighter the thing demanded
is, the greater the Affront in refufing it.
G
But
( 5° )
But by cutting Texts and Paragraphs into two in
the middle, the worthy Chairman might have
charg'd the Penmen of the Scripture it felf with
Blafphemy.
The fifth is in pag. 35.
Had Chrift thus become Man, and died and rofe a-
gain all voluntarily, to try an Experiment, be bad only
faved bit own Life, and left all the World to fhift for
tbemfelves.
But tbis would have been Knight-Errantry in tempt-
ing God, againjl which be hath fufficiently declared
htmfelf.
Anfw. Now I cannot conceive how the Excep-
tioncan lie againft the Argument.
Therefore I muft apply it to the Expreffion of
Knight Errantry, which is the hazarding of a Man's
Perfon only to Jhew hvs Parts or Aftivity to the Spetta-
tors, without doing any good by it either to them or
himfelf.
And a Piece of this Knight-Errantry was once
propos'd to our Saviour by the Devil:
If thou be the Son of God, cajl thy felf down from
hence •, for it is written, He /hall give his Angels charge
over thee, left at any time thou dafh thy Foot againft
a Stone.
But our Saviour convi&ed this to be falfe Lo-
gick, as a falfe Conclufion drawn from true Pre-
mifes.
For that tho Chrift was the Son of God, and that
whit the Devil had quoted of him from the Scrip-
ture was true, That the Angels had charge over him \
Yet the Conclufion from thence of the Devil's
own making, That be might in confidence thereof caft
himfelf down headlong, was falfe, as every thing he
fpeaketh of himfelf is, (when hefpeaketh a Lye,
he fpeaketh of himfelf)
And
( 5 1 ) ].
And of this our Saviour convicted him by the
Quotation of another Text, not in contradiction to
the Text quoted by the Devil, but in contradiction
of his own falfe Conclufion from it.
It is written again, Thou /halt not tempt the Lord
thy God.
By which I have avouched what I have affected,
That our Saviour hath fufficiently declar'd himfelf
againft ICnight-Errantry in tempting God.
And for the Expreflion it felf, it is only an Ab-
ftrad in two Words of what would have taken
three Lines by defining it at large.
The fixth is in pag. 36.
God told Adam that if he did eat, he fhould die.
The Devil told Eve that thsy might eat and not die.
And tbefe were the firjl words fpoken to Man by God
or the Devil, upon the Truth or Falfhood whereof the
very Beings of them both were to depend for ever.
For whichever of them could maintain the Truth of
h'js Word againft the other, he muft have been God and
the other the Devil.
And therefore Gad having turned the Lye upon the De~
vil, he is from thence call a a Lyar from the beginning,
and the Father of ft, and will never be believed again
for ever.
God could not have difpens'd with his Word without
complementing the Devil with his Godbead y in taking
the Lye upon himfelf. And this he could not do, for
God cannot lye, without undeifying himfelf: and this be
can't do y becaufe all bis Qualities being of bis EjfencCy
be can't change them.
Anfw. As for the Fad, what God faid to Adam,
and what the Devil faid to Eve, I had it out of
Gene/is.
And my whole Defcant upon it, is no more than,
That God is true, and can't lye j and that he will not
give this Glory to another.
s G 2 Which
( 52 )
Which is too plain a Truth to be calPd an Ar-
gument.
But I do guefs that the Offence may be taken at
the word Compliment , which I take to be an offi-
cious quitting of a Refpeft due to a Man's felf,
and offering it to another that hath no pretence
to it.
And this God hath for himfelf declar'd that he
will never do : 1 will not give my GloryAo another.
And why the expreffing this or any other thing
by an Abftraft in one word inftead of a Definition
in thirty fhould be Blafphemy, I can't fee.
The feventh is in pag. 51.
And after that it was no matter to Man, whether
Chrijl had ever given Satvsfattion to God or not; we
might have faid to God, Look thou to that.
Anfw • The Argument I have here advanc'd, is,
That God having accepted Chrijl as a Ranfom for
the World , Man according to the Laws of Ranfom
was legally difcharg'd from his Captivity, the
moment the Ranfom was deliver'd in exchange.
And- that God having fo accepted Chrift, Man
could never after that have been retaken by any
Law of Reprizals, altho the Ranfom had either
efcap'd or not given God Satisfa&ion.
Then come the words, We might have faid to
God, Look thou to that.
Now it will not be deny'd me, that according
to all the Cartels of Exchange among Men, my
Argument is true ,
And that the words, Look thou to that , might
have been faid by one Man to another in that cafe.
Apd God bath been pleas'd in condefcenfion to
human Underftanding to admit Man to ufe the like
way of Reafoning with him, as we do with one
another : Come let us reafon together.
And
(53)
And he hath alfo elfewhere been pleas'd to de-
clare his Averfion to thofe fort of Informers, that
watch for Iniquity, to 'make a Man an Offender for
a Word.
The eighth is in pag. 78.
We don't think our felves fit to deal with one ano-
ther in human Affairs till our Age of 21. But to deal
with our Maker thus offended, to counterplot the Malice
of fallen Angels, and torefcue our felves from eternal
Ruin, we are generally as well qualify'd for before we
can fpeak plain, as all our Life-time after.
Anfw. I wilh what I have here faid were falfe.
But I am afraid 'tis generally too true : And I
have given my reafon for it in th.e next Paragraph.
Children can fay over their Religion at four or five
years old, and their Barents that taught'em can do no
more at four or five and fifty.
Our Saviour in his day thought it no Slander to
compare fome of the Dignitaries of thofe Times to
Children (and that not at their Books or Schools,
but at their Plays and Paftimes) Te are like Children
in the Market-places.
The ninth is in pag. 82.
This is a full Defcription of the Perfon in whom
you place your Faith. But what is it that you do
or would believe of him or in him?
Why we believe him as our Saviour.
Save you from what ?
Why from our Sins.
Why what hurt will Sin do you?
Why it will kill us.
How do you know ?
Why the Law of God faith fo, In the day thou eatefl
thereof thou fhalt die.
Why but then will not this Saviour fave you
from thi$ Law and from this Death ?
No,
\
( 54 )
No y mo, he'll fdve us from Sin.
Why then, it feerns, you have got a Pardon
for Horfe-fleating with a Non-Obflante to be hang'd.
Do but fee now what a Jeft you have made of
your Faith.
And yet I defy the Order of Prieflbood to form
a better Creed than this , or to make fenfe of their
own Faith without adding mine to it.
It is much eaftcr to make a Creedy than to believe
it after it is made.
Anfw. By what I have here faid, I have not in-
linuated any thing againfl the common Creed of
the Chriftian Religion;
But am endeavouring to advance it up to the
Fall:
Believing that as the whole Humanity fell in
'Adam, fo the whole Humanity is rais'd in Chrift.
As in Adam all died, fo in Cbrijl are all made alive.
And forefeeing I Ihould be hooted at, I thought
to begin firft:
To fhew that whoever does profefs a Belief in
the Fall, cannot rationally deny this Redemption
by the Refurre&ion.
And to expofe the contrary, I have ufed an Ex-
preflion of Horfe-Jlealingy which perhaps may feem
rude.
But when I remember our Saviour's Comparifon
of himfelf to a Thief, The Son of Man comes as a
Thief in the Night , that he might be the more rea-
dily underftood by his Auditors :
I hope my Expreffion of Horfe-Jlealing with in-
tent to be the fooner underftOod by my Readers,
can't be accounted Blafphemy.
And as to the Accufation from the laft words:
It is much eafier to make a Creed than to believe it
after it is made.
I fpeak for my felf: I find it fo.
/' • ®
L, But
( 55 )
But I alfo find by this that I have no good Luck
for an Author.
The great Accufation againft me for publifhing
this Argument, is, That / am too nimble in my Faith.
And now, as one of the Inftances of it, I am
here charg'd of being too flow.
Like thofe poor Children in the Markets, when-
ever they piped, their Fellows were dogged ; and
whenever they mourn'd, their Fellows laugh'd.
The tenth is in pag. 95.
But when that is done, I know no bufinefs I have
with the Dead, and therefore do depend that I (hall not
go hence'by returning to the Dufi, which is the Sentence
of that Law from which 1 claim a Difcbarge.
But that I /hall make my Exit by way of Tranfla-
tion y which 1 claim as a Dignity belonging to that De-
gree in the Science of eternal Life y tf which 1 profefs
my felf a Graduate, according to the true Intent and
Meaning of the Covenant of eternal Life reveal'd in
the Scriptures.
And if after this I die likp other Men, I declare my
felf to die of no Religion.
Anfw. What I have faid in the firfl: Paragraphs,
is from a Dependance that my Argument is well
grounded.
And for the lafl: words (of which I have heard
fo much) Tliat if I am mi/taken in this Dependance,
/ fhaU die of no Religion \
I need not have faid it.
But better fay it than do it.
And that I did fay it with better hopes of my
felf, the fubfequent Paragraphs have explain'd.
And in the Interim I hope I live of one.
And if I am yet miftaken in that, I do fur-
ther depend that God will reveal even this unto me.
Tha
C 56 )
The eleventh andlaftis in.pag.~98. (in a fort of
Poftfcript I added after my Argument.)
Therefore to be even with the World at once, he that
wonders at my Faith, J wonder at his Vnbelief.
And flare at me as long as you will , I am fure that
neither my Phyfiognomy, Sins, nor Misfortunes can
make me look fo unlikely to be tranflated, as my Re~
deemer was to be hanged.
Anfw. When my Accufer in Ireland produc'd the
Book againft me in that Houfe, he fingled out this
Jaft Word as an Inftance inflar Omnium of the Blaf-
phemy of all the reft, that I had reported our Sa-
viour to be hang'd.
Eut he faid, that fince the publilhing of the Ar-
gument, 1 had invented an Excufe, that it was a
Miftake in the Printer, for that in my Copy it was
changed. 1
And I do alfo believe that this Expreffion is now
calculated to bethelaft of the Exceptions, as the
Pin-Basket upon me of what I can neither anfwer
•nor excufe.
To this I gave that Accufer his Anfwer then,
That he had taken the Story reverfe.
For that in truth my Copy was hang'd , but the
Printer fending me the firft Impreffion chang'd , I
ftruck out the c as an Error.
And now I'll give this worthy Chairman his
Anfwer here :
That my Saviour was hang'd, I can't deny with-
out being afham'd of the Crofs of Chrift.
Peter indeed in his Confeffion of it hath added
on a Tree: Whom ye flew, and hang'd on a Tree.
And if this be Blafphemy to fay our Saviour
was hang'd , I'll advance it one degree higher :
That he was not only hang'd, but that he muft
be hang'd , or elfe he had not fulfil'd the Scrip-
tures.
Indeed
( 57 )
Indeed the common Expreflion of the manner of
his Execution unto Death, is Crucifixion , which
was the Pain i but that was done by a Sufpenfion
alfo, which was the Shame.
In which Shame was included that Curfe of the
Law which he was to undergo.
He was made a Curfe for us.
For cur fed is every one that hangeth upon a Tree.
Tho this was but a nominal Curfe neither j for
an honeft Man might be hang'd then (as he may
now.)
^ But our Saviour being to fulfil all Righteoufnefs,
t was to undergo the Shame of this Curfe, as well as
the Torture of the Crofs :
'Who endured the Crofs, and defpifed the Shame.
And by this I find I have presented the worthy
Chairman with one Point of Divinity a little above
the ftrain of what he hath met with in all the Re-
ligions he hath dealt in.
And as to my wondering at the Unbelief of
them that wonder at my Faith, I can't ftill but
wonder that a Man fhould be expel'd two Houfes of
Commons in two Chriftian Kingdoms, for pro-
fefling his Faith in Jefus Chrift according to the
Scriptures. However, I muft let that pafs.
i And now I have thus gone thro all the Para-
graphs (in the Report) to which I find the Ex-
ceptions taken, and given fuch Anfwers to them
as have occur'd to my Thoughts, with fuch Me-
mory as I have had :
Yet after this, if by any of thofe Expreffions I
have really given offence to any well-meaning
Chriftian, I am forry for it, tho I had no ill In-
tention in it.
But if any Man be captious to take Exception for
Exception fake, I am not concern'd.
H No
( *8)
No Man can draw an Anfwer but what another
may except to, if he pleafes.
And had all thofe Expreflions now excepted to
by the Report, been left out of the Book, there
would have been enough of others remaining in,
as liable to fuch Exceptions as thefe ate.
But I fuppofe thefe ate thought fufficient to do
the Bufiiiefs intended.
However, I will acknowledg you have given me
the opportunity of making this Defence to them,
(with all the Patience and Attention that I could de-
fire) after which I am not to detain the Houfe from
their own Proceedings upon it.
I know there is a Form of previous Queftions
before the main one, Whether I jhall be expefd this
Houfe ?
But as I never yet flood up to fpeak to order,' if
that Queftion were now firft put, I fhould not dp-
pofe it.
But before the Debates begin, I hope I may ob-
ferve this :
That what I am now accus'd of, is no Mifde-
meanour of my felf in this Houfe.
I neither wrote nor read that Treatife (now be-
fore you) within thefe Walls. 7 '
And that it comes here now, is none of my
fault.
So that to difqualify me from my Place, you muft
attribute fome Defeat to my Perlbn.
And to make the proof of that eafy (befidesbe-
ing Author of that Book) 1 do acknowledg my felf
the worft Member in this Houfe.
Which methinks ihoutd feem rtiy Prote&ion to
be kept in it.
For if you intend it a Handing Order for the
Worft Member always to go out firft y
Methinks every one fhould lay his Hand upon his
Heart, lelt he fhould be'fhe Proximus ardet.
For
( 59 )
For 'tis no Breach of Privilege to fay we are all'
Sinners.
But when you, have expel'd me for writing an ill
Book, can ye reftore me to my Place again, if I
ihould write, a good one ?,
If not, I may fay to you as Diogenes did to
Alexander \ Don't take that from me, which you can't,
give to me.
Wifemen generally think it proper to give Rea-
fons for their ^ftions, but they alfo generally
efteem it a Mafter-piece of that Wifdom to keep
I the true Re.afon to themfelves.
I efteem my owp Cafe plain apd Ihort.
I was expel'd one Houfe for having too much
Land.
And I am going to be expel'd another, for hav-
ing too little MoRy-
And tho I have had fome Forefight of this Fate,
> I hope I have not made ufe of it, in taking any
more Freedom in my Defence than becomes a iMem«
ber (which I yet am.)
And if any thing "hath fallen from me exceeding
that Duty, I hope it will be pardon'd me, from
that Concern I may well be fuppos'd to be now
under.
And were.another in my place, perhaps he would
not have been much more methodical than I have
been.
But if I may yet ask one Queftion more,
Pray what is this blafphemous jCrime I here ftand
charg'd with ?
A Belief of what we all profcfs, or at leafl what no
one can deny.
Jf the Death of the Body be included in the Fall,
why vs not the Life of the Body included in . the Re-
demotion ?
And what if 1 have a firmer Belief of this than
fome others have ? Am I therefore a Elaftbcmcf ?
H 2 Or
( 6o )
Or would they that believe lefs, take it well of
me to call them fo ?
Our Saviour in his day took notice of fome of
little Faith and fome of great Faith, without ftigraa-
tizing either of them with Blafphemy for it.
But I don't know how'tis ! We are fallen into
fuch a fort of Uniformity, that we would fain turn
Religion into a Tyrant's Bed, Torturing one another
into our own Size of it only.
But it grows late^ and I ask but one Saying more
to take leave of my Friends with.
I do believe that had I turn'd this Defence into a
Recantation , I had prevented my Expulfton.
But I have referv'd my laft words, as my ulti-
mate Reafon againft that Recantation.
He that durfl: write that Book, dares not
deny it.
AN D what then ?
Why then they call'd for Candles;
And I went away by the Light of 'em.
And after the previous Queftion, and other
ufual Ceremonies (as 1 fuppofe) 1 was expend the
Houfe.
And from thence I retir'd to a Chamber I once
had in th eTtmple.
And from thence I afterwards furrender'd my
felf in Difchargeof my Bail.
And have fince continn'd under Confinement :
And under that Confinement God hath been alfo
pleafed to take away the Defire of mine Eyes with
a Stroke.
Which hath (however) drown'd all my other
Troubles at once (for the lefs are merged in the
greater.)
Qui
( 61 )
<jj)ui venit hie flu&us, flutfus fuperetninet omnes.
And fince I have mention'd her, I'll relate this
of her.
She having been educated a Proteftant of the
Church of England by a Lady her Grandmother,
(her immediate Parents and other Relations being
Roman Catholicks;)
An honeft Gentleman of the Romi/h Perfuafion,
who knew her Family, prefented her (while (he was
my Fellow-Prifoner) with a large Folio Volume
(being the Hiftory of the Saints canoniz'd in that
Church) for her reading:
With Intention (as 1 found) to incline her that
way. With which (delighting in Reading) Iheen-
tertain'd her felf till (he had gone thro it.
And fome time after that, (he told me that lhe
had before fome Thoughts towards that Religion-,
But that the reading that Hiftory had confirm'd
her againft it.
And in truth were I to prefcribe an Antidote
againft Popery, 1 can't think of a better than to
have that Legend reprinted, and read in Proteftant
Churches.
And yet (he would never read the Book I was
expel'd for, till after my laft Expuliion.
But then reading it thro, told me (he was recon-
cil'd to the Reafons of it, tho (he could not fay
(he believ'd it.
However, (he faid fomething of her own
Thoughts with it, that hath given me the Satif-
fa£tion that (he vs dead in Cbrift, and thereby lure
of her part in the firft Refurreftion: The dead in
Chrift [hall arife firft.
And this Pars deceffa mei leaving me half dead
(while (he femains in the Grave) hath fince drawn
pie (in diving after her) into a nearer View and
more
( *2 )
more familiar (tho more unufuai) Thoughts of
thahfirft Refurre&ion than ever! had before.
From whence I now find that nothing lefs than
that Fluttus decuinanus would have caft. me upon or
qualify'd me for this Theme (if yet I am fo qua-
lify'di) ; c r gf i >
And from hence I am advancing that common
■Article in our Greed, The RefumClion of the Dead,
into a profefs'd Study.
From the Refute of which Study, I have already
advanc'd an Afjertion , which (ihould b vent alone)
peihaps would find no better Quarter in the World
than what 1 have advanc'd already.
And yet (tho I fay it, that perhaps Ihould not)
It hath one Quality we are all fond of, It is
News:
And another we all Ihould be fond of, It is good
News,
(Or at leaft good to them that are fo, For to the
Froward all things are• froward.)
But the Queftion behind is, Whether, it be true ?
But knowing that the Onus probandi lies upon the
AlTertor •,
And having that Word of Life by me, from
whence (I think) I colle&ed it:
I am from thence advancing that Aflertion into a
Treatifcalfo, whereby to prove it in fpecialForm.
Not by Arguments of Wit or Sophiftry, but from
the Evidence and Demonftration of the Truth, as
it is in Jeftts.
Which Ihould I accompliih (with the Succefs I
aim at) I would not be prevented from publiihing
that Edition to gain more than I loft by my for-
mer y nor for more than Balak ever intended to
give, or that Balaam could expeft to receive, for
curfing the People of Ifrael, if God had not fpoil'd
that Bargain,
And
j: ^ >
And yet without expetting (for ray felf) any
Preferment in Church or State for doing it ;
And tho 1 know this Overture coming from my
hands, will go for another Projeft ;
Yet I find it as old as the New Testament.
If by any means I may attain the Refurrettion of ihe
Dead.
And tho Paul d id not then fo attain, (Not at if
I had already attained:)
Yet he died in his Calling, and will ftand fo
much the nearer chat Mark, at his Refurre&ion.
But if Paul , with that Effufion of the Spirit upon
hinr (in common with the other Apoftles) and that
fuperabundant Revelation given him (above them
all) by that Rapture into things unutterable, did
not To attain in that his day :
Whence (hould I, a mere Lay (and that none of
the beft neither) without any Funttion upon me,
expect to perfect what he left fo undone ?
For who can come after the King ?
But in purfuit'of this Study 1 have already found
(what I had not before obferv'd,)
That there are fome means fince left us towards
this Attainment, which Paul had not in his day.
For that there do nbw remain extant unto the
World (bound up with that now one intire Re-
cord of the Bible) two famous Records Of the
Refurreftion, that never came to Paul'* hands; -
And for want whereof (perhaps) he might not
then fo attain-
But having now ; this Intelligence of them, and
fearing that (in the Day of Account) I may have
a fpecial Surcharge made upon me for thefe addi-
tional Talents and further Revelations:
And bearing in mind the dreadful Fate of that
cautious infuring Servant, who took fo much cure
to redeliver what he had receiv'd in flatu quo , as he
had it, that it might-not be faid to be the worfe for
his keeping: I
( «4 )
I have rather adventur'd to defile thofe Sacred
Records with my own Study and Thoughts upon
them, than to think of returning them (wrapt up
in a Napkin) clean and untouch'd.
But whether ever I (hall accomplifh (to my own
Satisfa&ion) what I am now fo engag'd in at home,
and from thence fend it to make a noife abroad,
(for no Man doth any thing in fecret, and (or but) be
himfelf feeketh to be known openly J I do not yet know :
and when, or whether, I (hall, I can't tell.
But, till I do, I'D pleafe ray felf to be laugh'd at
by this cautious infurtng World , as tainted with a
Frenzy of dealing in Reverfions and Contingencies.
However (in the mean time) I would not be
thought to be (pending this Interval of my Days
(by my felf) in beating the Air, under a dry Ex-
pe&ancy only of a thing fo feemingly remote as the
Refurre&ion of the Dead.
(Like Courtiers-Extraordinary , fretting out their
Soles, with Attendances in Ante-Rooms, for Things
or Places no more intended to be given them, than
perhaps they are fit to have 'em.)
For tho 1 (hould fall (hort of the Attainment I
am attempting,
The Attempt it felf hath tranflated my Prifon
into a Paradife \
Treating me with Food, and enamouring me with
Pleafures that Man knows not of.
From whence 1 hope I may (without Vanity) fay,
——— Dens nobis b&c Otia fecit,
the
(*5 )
THE
POSTSCRIPT.
A Certain Husband of Hampfhire having
marry'd a Wife (a little upon the fu-
nior) and living twenty Miles diftanc
from her, faid,
That tho be did not ufe to go to fee her, yet, to {hero
bis Love to her, he did write to her fometimes, and to
let her know that he wai well.
Now this Diltemper (which, as you have feen,~
firft came into my Head) having fince fallen into
my Heels, hath difabled me to go abroad.
But to Ihew my Love to the World, 1 have fent
this Noverint Vniverfi out among 'em, to let them
know that I am well (at this prefent Writing) ex-
cept thefe Bonds.
And as for the principal Queftion in all Buffnefs,
CuiBono? what Advantage I propofe to my felf by
this Publication ? I'll tell 'em a Story.
A Man that (without Succefs) had try'd all Long-
Lane , to fell or pawn his Cloke, calling it flightly
on his (houlders, let it fall on the ground, and was
walking away.
But the Boys calling after him to take it up a-
gain, he fell a curling:
What neither buy my Cloke, nor lend me any Mony
nor let me leave it in your ?
I Now
(#■) .
Now by what I am doing,' I neither expeft to pay
rny own Debts, nor get any other Man's Place.
Only I defire the Favour of the World to give
me a little Houfe-room (without doors,)
That T may but leave my Cloke in their Lane.
And yet 1 expedt it won't lie there long neither
(tho it be but for the Rarity only.)
An Edition in Religion is as great a Rarity du-
ring Reformations in Government, as a mill'd
Half-Crown was during the Regulation of the
Coin \ which made a Man in Wilt/hire (as'tis faid)
ride fix miles from home to Marlborough to fee one.
Then coming out in my name, it will go for a
Projgft of courfe ? which all love to fee, and fome
to be in, tho they are alham'd to own it.
But that I may not father more tfian 1 beget,
I do difclaim being Author of a Pamphlet, in-
titled, A Ero]e£i dedicated not , &C. but to the Vnbe-
lievmg Chif at, the Grecian.
Nor did fever fee it, till I had been more than
on.ee charg'd to have wrote it.
And having thus difclaim'd this Project to the
Grecians,
f believe I {hall not be much fufpe&ed to have
any^ hand in a late ProjcCt now on foot among the
Latins.
Tho, were it riot for" the Defign, I confefs I
could like the Scene Well enough, having a ridicu-
lous Cacbinnm to any thing that's Comical'.
For, as I was faying, were not the'Defign Tra-
gicfllf the Figure it'felf would make any Company
lp'ljt their, fides with laughing.
What dye think It' is ?
..A.EJroteftant made by the Pope.
'A Thing like a King, difguis'd in a French Mask,
to, ^ive,the beper opportunity to fome of his Sub-
jetts (thhtwoulcl be.) to pull off their Engli/h ft-
A
C 4j 1
A LiUe-bo-lefo of the Church of Rome, difpens'd
with to counterfeit that Herefy abroad which he
hkfh'fworn to "extirpate at borne (as he calls it, if
e'er he gets there.)
A Clerk of a Market, for holding the Ballarice^f
Europe, by Patent from the French King, under a
Tenure to load all the Grift to his Mafter's Mill,
on pain to forfeit his Office.
A Pretender to the Throne of Great Britain, who
hath already taken upon him to fell the Flower-de-
Luces out of the Crown to pay for his Bed and
Board at St. Getmains ; and is now pawning the
Lions (with the Harp) to purchafe his Paffage to
St. James's. '
By which Offer to fpiit ( Alienam Coronam) ano-
tfter's Crown (as the fham Mother did another Wo-
man's Child) he hath betray'd his. own Neft, and
given a natural Evidence againft himfelf (more
than a thoufand Witneffes) for a Pretender.
But were he remov'd as far from the Hearts of
all her Majefty's Subjects, as the Proteftant Succef-
fiori lies near her own }
Inftead of obliging him to depart the French Do-
minions , he fhould have my Confent, never To come
out of 'em.
Caelum^ non animum mutat. ■
But fure his Holinefs at Rome- don't read ourSta-
tutes of Weflminjler'.
•For elfe (faving his Infallibility's Prefence) he
would not think,
By giving his Pupil a Difpenfation to turn Pro-
teftant, to qualify him for the Truft of the Crown
of Great Britain ; under which no Occaftonal Cm-
formifi (tho but from one Proteftant Church to ano-
ther different in Ceremonials only) is admitted to
the Truft of a Bailiff of a Borough.
I 2 Tut
C 68 >
But when his Santtity doth fend him, I defire one
fmall Favour into the bargain (if it be not too
much trouble to him, and I'll do as much for him
another time)
Only to fend with him a Superfcription upon
him (in Red Letters) Cf)i0 fg a :
To prevent any Miftakes in my felf and other
fuch-like ignorant and malicious People.
And if he would alfo fpare a word or two of
the Time and Manner of his Convet fion, it might
be a great Satisfa&ion to fcrupulous Gonfciences.
Tho, I confefs, I ask it on a fecular account.
In 1703. when I made that filly Purchafe in Ire-
land (with my own Mony, for the ufe of other
People, as they fay j)
A certain fenfible Roman Gatholick (then aged
Forty Years or upwards) fell under a Fit of Gon-
viftion of his paft Errors in that Church.
This hung upon him till he had qualify'd him-
felf into a Leafe-Taker.
But having got into pofleffion of forae Lands I
leafed to him, and I gone into England , he out-
law'd me in Ireland , in an Aftion of Covenant, to
difable me to foe him in Adions of Debt, and hath
never paid any Rent fince.
Now what I fear is, That if yonder-bother-Occa-
fional-Conformift (hould ever come to be my Land-
lord, I lhall be outlaw'd on the Crown-fide too.
Then what a fine £.*~/«e-Condition fhall I be in,
between Landlord and Tenant J
O! but they tell me there's to be an ASl of Oblivion.
And that's no more than what's neceflary, to
turn the Scandal of Pretenfion to a Right of Rcjlo-
ration.
As fome poor People in Ireland affeft to call
themfelves Old Proprietors , tho they or their Fa-
milies never had any Land there.
But
( *9 )
But whenever that Aft comes out, I jfhall know
whereabouts to look for my Name in it, without
reading it all over.
And I fuppofe alfo, tbey'l fend a Declaration for
Liberty of Confcience along with him :
For that's as neceflary for a Popilh Pretender to
a Proteftant Crown, as 'tis for a French Privateer
to fail with Englifh Colours.
But I don'c expeft it to extend to the liberty I
have taken with him, and fo that will be of little
ufeto me neither.
And perhaps they that have a further Depen-
dance upon it, may find this Liberty of Confcience to
be but Hobfon'srChoice at lafl",
To turn Papijls, or have their Throats cut.
But the Tragical part (you know) never comes
till all the Sport is over :
Sero fapiunt Phryges.
After this, they tell me, there's one thing not
quite fettled yet •, How the Subjefts /hall break their
Oaths without for/wearing thcmfelves.
But this (they fay) will be made eafy too.
For fay they (mark this now !)
We have abjur'd the Pretender, that's Fatt.
But if he hath a Right, he's no Pretender \ that's
Law.
And whether he hath or no, no one will fay to
the contrary when he comes here.
Ergo (fay they) when we abjur'd the Pretender,
we abjur'd No body •, that's Logick.
Which puts me in mind of a Liverpool-Merchant,
who upon a Debate (in a great Room at Wcflmin-
fier) let fall a Cafe of Confcience (almoftthe fame
with this in point) violently fufpefted to be his
own.
On occafion of the Aft prohibiting the Importa-
tion of French Goods from Scotland after the Union,
This
( 7° )
This Merchant (as it feera'd) had made Oath,
That fome Goods imported by him were not
imported from Scotland to England after the Union
and yet he did admit ip faft, that the fame Goods
were imported from Edinburgh to London (ox Liver-
fool) fince the Union.
But faid he (mark this now, for here comes the
Parallel
By . the Union there were no fuch Places left in -
the World as England ox Scotland either, being
both then converted into Great Britain.
By which I obferve (by the way) that one Man
may (with the lefs Offence) take upon him to blow
two Kingdoms out of the World, by the Breath of
one affidavit;
Than another, fo much as mention the poflibi-
lity of removing one Mountain of them into the
Sea by Faith.
(But that's not to this purpoTe.)
But they fay there will be a quicker way than all
this to difcharge the Subjects of their Oaths:
By burning the Records of that, and all other riff-raff
Stuff fince the Revolution.
And if they do, as good burn 'em in Smithfield,
and £ave fome Faggots.
But it feems, this is not to be talk'd of, at pre-
fent, till they are got clear of the Hanover Sue-
ceffion.
But that, they fay, they have dead-fure :
For his Ele&oral Highnefs lets a Layman fay Grace
at his Table.
Ay, marry Sir ! that's a Fundamental indeed !
To admit a Layman to do any thing that's good.
And if they want one to prove it, they can't
have a fitter Fellow in the two Kingdoms than
Teige Cronine of Killarny.
But I had rather find forty Shillings than fome of
our People here fnould know it.
And
( 7 1 )
And tho I can't make fo free with his Highnefs,
I could find in my heart to fend one of thefe to his
Ivy-Chaplain, to let him know that if he don't leave
off his Grace there, his Mafter (or Family) are
like to have no Meat here, (if Tome of we can
help it.)
But notwithftanding that (without being re-
tain'd) I believe I can quote a Cafe in his High-
nefs's favour,
Of the belt Layman that ever was in the World,
that always faid his own Grace :
Jefusof Nazareth j for fo he was pleas'd to own
himfelf: I am Jefus of Nazareth whom ye feek.
Our Saviour (to qualify him to offer up that
eternal Sacrifice of himfelf) was by God made a
Priefl for ever after the Order of Melchifedeck.
For as Paul faith, That a Prieft mufl always have
fomething to offer ■, fo every Offering mult be by a
Priefl.
But this eternal Confecration of the Meffiah was
to a myltical and invifjble Priellhood only 5
And not of the Order of Aaron.
Our Saviour being the Lion of the Tribe of Ju-
dah, Of which Tribe no man gave attendance at the
Jltar.
And as fuch, he neither was qualify'd for, or
ever took upon him any Order, Fundtion, or Ha-
bit in the 'Levitical Priellhood, or ever receiv'd
Tythes, or baptized.
But all the Days of his Incarnation lived as a
Layman upon the Earth.
And yet he always faid his own Grace.
And if this be one of the Articles againlt the
Hanover Succejfton,
Haud timeant fe jam nequeant defendcre Crimen
Cum tanto commune———
But
( 7 2 )
But I warrant (if the Truth were known too)
his Highnefs prays by himfelf in his own Clofet ;
as (they fay) King William would do.
But why all this Pickering at the Hannover Sue
cejjion ?
An honeft Colonel going (with King William's
Army) into Ireland, and being there invited (by
fome old Friends) into that of King James's, faid
(in his ftammering way)
Tour K -—Kee King's a Papijl,
And h'vs Mony's Copper.
Now if the Partners in this Project would be but
as blunt (and half as honeft) as this Colonel,
They might (without Hammering) ftrike their
Twelve all together:
Tour Hannover SucceJJion is Protefiant,
And they are fo proud of their Title, that we can't
handle their Coin.
Proteftant ! Ay, but what Proteftant? fay they.
To admit two publick Popilh Churches in his
Country ?
Yes! according to Treaty with the Emperor.
And how many hundred private Popilh Chappels
have we in our Country ?
But fince ( as it feems) the Houfe of Hanover
are turning Papifts, thefe Projedtors are cooking up
their Pretender into a Proteftant, To ply Next-Oars
with him.
For ali that thefe modeft Men feem to ask at
prefeut, is only to have the Crown fet at large
again :
Then catch a/s catch can.
But all this Cucumber-work of Converlion might
have been as well fav'd.
For as for thefe Adventurers of Soul and Body
in this Projedt of Perjury and Treafon, they would
have liked the Man better without it.
And
c 73 )
And For them that intend to abide by their
Oaths to her Majefty and the Hanover Socceffion,
they won't take him with it.
Oaths! why, fay they, we took Oaths to thfc
late King James.
And perhaps I did too-
And had he not difcharg'd me, by forfeiting his
Crown in violating his Coronation-Oath, I could
not have difcharg'd my felf of it.
O ! but, fay they, what can't a Parliament do?
Why a Parliament can't repeal the Ten Cora-
mandments
Of which the third is one:
Thou /halt not take the Name of the Lord thy God
in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltlefs that
taketh his Name in vain.
The Name of God is in all the Oaths and Abju-
rations taken by her Majefty's Subjeds for main-
taining the Pofleffion of the Crown in Her Majejly,
and the Succeffion thereof (for want of her Royal
Iflue) in the Houfe of Hanover.
And as long as that Name of God remains in
them, Men may think of making Ducks and Drakes
of their Confciences as they pleafe \ but God has
declar'd himfelf before-hand in the Negative, that
he will never give his Royal Affent to avoid or
evade 'em :
The Lord will not hold him guiltlefs that taketh his
Name in vain.
And remember, 'Tts hard to kick againfi the Pricks.
By which I am not fuggefting any fuch Thought
or Intention in any part of the Legiflature:
But am only ecchoing the Humours of thefe Pro-
je&ors that would have it fo.
Who are turning and winding, and handing up
and down their Project in all fhapes and figures, to
try how it will take, and what is likely to be the
belt handle to begin it at.
K Tho
( 74 )
Tho there feems a Preliminary among them not
yet adjufted, Who Jhall be the Cats-foot in this.
For tho the Proje&ion may be laid by them
that have fomethiQg to get, s
They had rather have it executed by others that
have nothing to lofe.
Fools make Feajls, and Wifemen eat'em :
And Wifemen make Plots , and leave Fools to be
caught in'em.
But perhaps the Reader thinks I am writing with
Pigs in my belly : We's and They^s.
Can I name any in this Projed ?
But one:
(Nor defire to know more ; for if I did, I mult
either be guilty of Mifprilion of Treafon, or turn
Informer.)
But that One is as big as Two, Lewvs the XlVth.
And to prove it upon him, I have more than
ten thoufand Witnefies.
Her Majelty her felf (like King David, worth
more than ten thoufands of the People)
In her Speech to the Parliament, OElob. 27. 1705.
. Who is certainly engaged to extirpate cur Reli-
gion, as well as to reduce tbefe Kingdoms to Slavery,
And in her Speech, Aprils. 1708. If ever the
Defsgn of a Popifh Pretender, bred up in the Principles
of the mofl Arbitrary Government, fhould take place.
Which Charaders will remain as indelible upon
them as the Skin upon the nAEthiops, or the Spot
upon the Leopard.
And 'tis not their taking a particular fancy to
three or four People of our Country, will convince
us of their Love to the Britifh Nation.
The Elders of the Jews did not recommend the
Centurion to our Saviour, as a private Friend to
any one of their Families;
But as a publick Benefador :
tie loveth our Nation, and hath built us a Synagogue,
Now
( 75 )
Now if his French Majefty would be Britifhly-
pleat'd to remit us fome of the Spanifh Rents, thac
his Grandfon pays him out of the Weft-Indies, to
build our fifty Proteftant Churches with , or to take off
our Window-Tax, (which he was the Occafion of •,)
It would be a mighty Illumination of his good
Intentions to our Church and State, and a juft
Caufe to recommend him to any good Offices to be
done for him here.
Or if it be not his way to trumpet before hvs Alms,
But to give all his Gifts in fecret;
Then it feems reafonahle that every one Ihould
be equally inform'd in private :
By fome of thofe Round Arguments , (which in-
deed, they fay, would make a Cat fpeakfor him.)
Ingots of Gold , fplit into Louidor's , are the cloven
Tongues by which he whofe Image and Superfcription vs
upon them , talks all Languages.
By thefe he hath for twenty years paft (and ftill
is) holding forth in High-Dutch againft theTolera'
tionof the Proteftant Religion in Hungary.
By thefe (in a third hand) he hath been labour-
ingfrom time to time to convert the Ottoman Port
to the Gallick Faith ••
To change their Confidences with their Almanacks,
And to break their Truces once a Tear.
By thefe he himfelf once broke the Triple League,
contracted for Defence of the Proteftant Religion.
And by thefe he is now contracting another, for
extirpating it out of the World :
To be compos'd of himfelf and his Tenant of the
Weft-Indies as one.
To which they want but one tqorc to make up
the third :
And that I did hear too •,
But 1 have a bad Memory, and won't tell it agaiq.
But which way foever he may feparate his In?
terefts,
■fc i tfis
( 7 6 )
His Love Teems equal unto all:
Having no other Diftin&ions in his AfFe&ions,
than that he bateth one lefs than another.
And were it in his Will and Power to change his
Nature, and advance his Chara&er to his Title
Jl4o(i Chrijlian ;
Yet we all know that avovtfd Maxim of State-
Policy , committed to him, as the Alchoran for his
Defpotick^ Government at home, and his Incyeafe of
Power abroad: ^
Never to be Tenant for Life to his own Word j
But to hold it Durante Beneplacito only,
-The Church of Rome (as I underftand) have two
Sets of Oaths;
Religious and Politick.
The Oaths and rows of Religion they make to fit
tight and ftrait upon their Cuitomers, becaufe when
once they have put them on, they are never to pull
them off again, (for Maintenance of Holy Church.)
But the Politick Oaths they cut out (like Riding-
Coats with loofeSleeves) to flip off and on, as there
x is occaiion.
And by this Diftin&ion, I hear, that Tome of
our nice Cafui/ls , have given their Opinions of all
our Oaths and Abjurations fince the Revolution, as
Politick Things only,
(Taken to get or keep Places by.)
And that if the Jurors themfelves do but fay fo,
all others mull ftand concluded by that Caption:
for that every thing is as 'tis taken.
From which Maxim, a Civilian argu'd for his
Client (who had taken a Dutch Merchant-Man for
a French Pri&e,)
That it was a French Ship , becanfe his Client had
taken her for one:
And every thing is as "'tis taken.
But this brings to my mind one of the Stories in
that Hiftory of CanonizCd Saints mention'd in the
Introdu&iom A
( 77 )
A Proteftant (as it feems) having been bury'd
(by Health) in the next Grave to one of thofe Ca-
nonizdd Saints,
A Catholick going to pay his Devotion to the
Saint's Sbrine \
By miftake kneel'd and fell at it upon the Pro-
teftant's Grave:
From whence he heard aVpice,
The Saint you pray to lodgeth next me but I am
an unfortunate Protefiant, bury'd hereby fiealtb, and
now in Hell for a Heretick.
By which the poor Heretick feera'd honeft, (tho
fimple:)
For had be had fome of this Civilian's Law, or
thofe Projetfors Cunning,
He might (by the Catbolick's Miftake) have
made himfelf the Saint, and his next Neighbour
the Heretick:
For every thing w eus 'tis taken.
But tho (as I told you before) I don't know the
Partners in thisProjeft,
Yet I know who made it.
But that I won't tell you neither, till I have told
you another Story,
Of a Trovoman of Herefordfhire :
Who ufing the Houfe of an old rich Attorny
(that had gain'd among the common People the
Reputation of a Conjurer
And obferving the Kitchin-Chimney well hung
with Bacon, flipt in, in the dusk of the Evening,
and hid himfelf in a Back-Room, till all the Family
were in bed and afleep.
Then fteals away a Flitch, and fhuts the Door
after him.
But the Court being wall'd, and the Night very
dark, he walk'd round and round, and could not
find the Gate:
Which
( 7* )
Which confirm'd him that this fame Attorny
was certainly a Conjurer, and that he would make
the Trowman walkabout with the Bacon on his
back till he had feen him, (which is there efteem'd
the infeparable Faculty of a Conjurer.)
Upon which the Trowman invents this Stra-
tagem :
He falls knocking at the door till a Servant-Maid
faid, Who's there ?
The Trowman knowing the Attorny to be cove-
tous as well as cunning,
Tell your Mafter (faith he) I have a Prefent for
bim.
The Maid (thinking that a welcome Errand)
waked her Mafter, and lighted him a Candle •,
With which he goes down and opens the Door :
Where the Fellow ftanding with the Flitch on
his back, faid, Sir, 1 have brought you a Prefent of
a Flitch of Bacon.
From whence came it? (faith the Attorny.)
Nay, from the Devil I think (faith the Trowman)
for I am bewitch'd with it.
On that the Attorny flaps to the Door in a
Rage, with a Get you gone you Rogue you, I'll have
no Prefents from the Devil.
But the Attorny had feen the Trowman, and the
Trowman (by the light of the Attorny's Candle)
had feen the Gate, which was all he then wanted.
Now evermore as long as you live,
Whenever you fee A Protejlant made by the Pope,
Or A Clerk.of a Market by the French King \
Beware Hawk! 'T'vs a Prefent fent from the Devil,
(let who will be the Meflenger.)
And the Devil's Name is Legion.
And to tell you the truth,
The only thing 1 like of theprojeft, is,
That the Devil vs in it:
(For God and the Devil are never on the fame
fide.) And
( 79 )
And to tell you a Secret,
1 intend this as a Trap for the Legion.
They that are out of this Projetf, will not be
offended with my Pojlfcript.
And for them that are in it, I exped no better
Language from 'em than an ugly Woman gives to
her Looking-Glafs.
BU T they fay, Talk of the Devil and he'll ap-
pear.
And I think fo too.
For juft as 1 had ended this for the Prefs,
I read News from abroad, that this Royal Pre-
tender is defcended into a Duke of Gloucefter (at
laft.)
Now what the Devil means by this whimfical
Turn in his Projed, I can't tell.
But if 1 have any Skill at Conjuration, it is thus:
This Pretender can't longer continue his afj'umed
Cbarafter of a King, without feeming to run muck
as well againft the prefent Regnant as tjie Hanover
Succejfion.
Therefore to take off that Jlfpett, they are
giving him a New Fiz.ard.
For (as I told you at fir ft) he is to be a Proteus
(or Poflure-Clark) to appear in all Figures and
Shapes, as there (hall be occafion.
And in this modelt Habit of Du\e only perhaps
(like the Trowman) he may (one dusk Evening
or other) be dipt in at one of our Back-Doors j
With a Commidion for Lieutenant-Colonel in
one Pocket,
And a Breviat for Colonel in the other, when-
ever the Regiment falls in hand:
(And you know a Man may be made a Serjeant
at Law and a Judg all in a day.)
And
( 8o )
And having Mony about him (or perhaps being
made Receiver of another's Penfion for his own
ufe 0
He may, in that Interval, be contracting a good
Charafter opon himfelf:
For a Civil Man,
Keeping a good Table,
With a regular Oeconomy \
Courteous to his Guefls ',
All his Attendants Protectants (both Clerical and
Lay,)
Not a Priefi or Papijl about bim :
(No, they muft go to St. James's to drefs Turky-
" E H S )
Speaking mighty kindly of all ber Majejly s Subjeffs,
(With an Abfalom's Wifh, that he were but their
King to ufe 'em kinder.)
Why now fay his Admirers, After all this,
What hindretb why this Man fhoutd not be bap*
tized ?
What hindretb why we floould not keep this Duke
here for our King (in cafe of her Majefty's Dernife?)
For thefe Projectors would have you to know,
that they are none of Blood's Gang , To [leal the
Crown till her Majejly bath done wtth it.
No, no, they never mention their Projeft but
with a Parenthefts of (a Salvo Jure to her Majejly
for Life.)
However let them keep their Remainder-Man
where he is, till that Demife-Day come, and then
I hope we fhall never fee bim here:
Or at leaflr, we (hall have a Jephthah's- Argument
againfl: him That if he had no Right to the Pojfejfton,
be can have none to the Reverfton.
Tho I expert that he that fends him, will fend
fome of his Ratio ultima Regum with him, that
won't hearken to JfyfcfbiJkVArgument, unlefs we
alfo have fome of Jephtbatis-Men to perfuade 'em.
But
( Si )
But who can help that ?
By the fame (and with as good) reafon, he may
fend over one of the Serjeants of his Guards for our
King.
However, Vim Vi repeUere licet , is an old Law
not yet repeal'd.
But it would be ill Manners to fall a Priz.?-
fighting in our Sovereign Lady's Prefence.
Let her Majeity therefore enjoy the Blejfing which
that good King Hezekiah contented himfelf with :
Peace and Truth in her days.
Peace feems near:
But (he can have no more of Truth than what is
left of it.
Truth hath met with fuch Ufage in the World,
that it feems to be flying after Juftice : Terras
jdjlraa reliquit.
The Prophets in the Old Teflament were knock'd
on the head for telling the Truth : Te have Jloned the
Prophets.
And when that Oracle of Truth it felf came into
the World, he died a Martyr to it upon the fpot:
For th'vs end came I into this World, to bear vritnefs
unto the Truth.
And how his Apoftles and Martyrs have fared
llnce, we have all heard.
There are two Trades I would never advifeany
Man to put his Son apprentice to :
A Poet, who makes it his Profeffion to invent
Lyes j
And an Author who thinks it his Duty to tell
Truth.
Tho perhaps I have vented fopie Truths that had
been better let alone.
But I write a running Hand, and can no more
keep a Secret than a Man in a Diabethes can hold
his Water.
L But
(.84)
But if yonder-fame What-d y ye-caU-him (for he
hath got fo many Names upon him, that no one
knows what to call him) mult come among us$
Let him come under the fame Name,
That her Majefty hath call'd him by,
And that the Parliament have attainted him by,
And that her Subje&s have abjur'd him by,
(And what he really is)
A Popifh Pretender :
That we may know, Who and who are together.
Duke of Gloucefter! Here's a double Coarant put
upon us indeed!
A Popifh Pretender attainted for a Cheat, (and
dead in Law) ever fince 13 Gulielmi 3.
/ Starts up again (11 Anna Regina) for a Protcflant
Duke of Gloucefter, as an Heir-Apparent to the Crown.
(Why ay! what elfe Man 1)
This is thefe Proje&ors Springing-Vfe , trump'd
up on a Monday-Adorning to take place upon a C011-
tingency, which (when all other things are ready)
they have a Secret to produce into an Event by 1
Saturday-Night, (if the Old-Tide-Waiters for Popifh
Succeffors han't loft their Old-Tricks.J
Duke of Gloucefter! for all Ufes, Intents, and
Purpofes.
Duke of Gloucefter in the firft Scene, that he may
play the Butcher of Gloucefter in the laft !
But let 'em tofs and turn their Pan cake as often
as they will, 'tis the fame Batter ft ill.
And whoever are Contrivers, Aiders, or Abet-
tors, for bringing in this Popifh Pretender into any
of her Majefty's Dominions, in Pofleflion, Rever-
Jjon, or Expectancy, under any Name, Title or
Pretence whatfoever \ they are Betrayers of their
t Country, and Confpirators againft her Majefty's Per-
fon and Government, and the Rightful Succeflion
of her Ctown.
i '
Indeed
\
C 8* )
Indeed were he profcribed with an Hundred Thou-
fand Pounds for his Head, If ever he's found upon
Dover-fide ;
I Ihould not care how foon he took up his Lodg-
ings at Calais.
We have abundance of poor Seamen that would
be glad to meet with a By-Job (befides their four
Pounds per ntenfem.)
And tho 1 am but a poor Man,
And every thing I fay goes for a Jefl;
If they that talk fo much of Earneft would but
get a Claufe of fix Lines for this Profcription clapt
into the next Land-Tax Bill,
I can procure City-Security to indemnify the
Kingdom (againft ever paying the Head Mony)
for lefs than five Shillings in the Pound.
And a Hundred Thoufand Families of her Ma-
jefly's Subjects would fleep the quieter in their Beds
for if.
And for my own part, let him then call himfelf
what he would, l'de never draw my Pen againft
him again:
Being fatisfy'd, that (tho perhaps he may now
come without calling,)
In that cafe he would be invited twice, before
he came once.
And if any one's angry with me (as I know fome
will) for all or any the Premifes aforefaid, It is
however without a Caufe.
I have not rais'd any Jealoufies in my own Head,
to infufethem into other Mens Hearts.
Nor am calling Mifts before their Eyes, but try-
ing to clear'em.
Nor would I cry Fire , if I did not fmell Smoke.
If there is no Defign of bringing in this Crown*
Cutter and Flower-de-Luce-Seller among us,
What hafre we been fpending ail this Blood and
Treafure to keep him out for ?
L i And
( »4 )
And do we think him any the further from us,
for our coming nearer to him ?
Like the two Irifhmen that run face to face (in
the Mall) to try who fliould meet firft.
Nor am I officious in this, being no more than
what I am bound to by my Allegiance:
To do my utmofl Endeavour to difcover and prevent
all Traitorous Confpiracies.
And now I think on't, I'll give the Printer a
Hint, (if he hath a fpare Page left) to clap the
Oath upon it (directed s Anna Regince) for the
Benefit of thePublick:
Fancying thatfome took it without Reading,
And that fome others have forgot it.
Not that I expedt (by all this) to convert one of
thefe Projeftors into an honejt Man.
But I may chance to give an Item to others to
think 'em Knaves.
However I have difcharg'd my felf, in telling all
J know:
And a little more too \ for being got into this
Game of Blindmans-Buff , I can't expeft to hit every
thing I guefs at-
But would my Readers (or but three or four of
them 1 am juft now thinking of) tell but half what
they know, th'vs Secret would foon be out.
• - Non hac mibi Crimina fingi
Scit bene Tydides» - ■—
And Scit bene Tydides
And Scit bene Tydides-
But Urn legit hac?
Nay, let the Printer look to that now.
Tho I fancy this won't lie dormant feven years
(as it feems my former did.)
For in fpite of 'em all, 1 have an Author's-Trici
left ft ill.
When
( »S">
When I write,
(Whether I am believ'd or bely'd for'*,
Lauded or laugh'd at,
Loved or hated,
Blefs'd or curs'd)
I will be read:
Ore legar Populi. •—
And I write this in Autumn, left the Winter
prove too hot for it.
For Truth is not to be fpoken at aU times.
The
( 8«")
The Form of the Oath dire&ed
by the A£t i 0 Jnn<e (Regince.
I A. B. do truly and fsncerely Acknowledge Profefs, Tef-
tify, and Declare in my Confcience, before God and
tbe World, "That our Sovereign Lady Queen ANNE
is Lawful and Rightful Queen of thin Realm, and of all
other her Majefly's Dominions and Countries thereunto
belonging. And I do folemnly and Jsncerely declare,
That I do believe in my Confcience, thqt the Perfon pre-
tended to be Prince of Wales, during the Life of the
late King James, and fsnce h'vs Deceafe pretending to
be, and taking upon himfelf the Stile and Title of King
of England, by the Name of James the Tloird, hath
not any Right or Title whatfoever to the Crown of this
Realm, or any other the Dominions thereto belonging :
And I do Renounce, Refufe and Abjure any Allegiance
or Obedience to him. And I do Swear,, That I will bear
Faith and true Allegiance to her Majefty Queen ANNE,
and Her will defend to the utmofi of my power, againfi \
aU Traitorous Confpiracies and Attempts whatfoever t /
which Jhall be made againfi her Perfon, Crown, or Dig-
nity. And I will do my befi Endeavour to difclofc and
make known to ber Majefiy, and her Succeffors, all
Treafons and Traitorous Confpiracies, which [ JJjall
know to be againfi Her, or any of them. And I do
faithfully promife, to the utmojl of my power, to Sup-
port , Maintain, and Defend the Limitation and Sue-
cejfion of the Crown againfi him the faid James, and all
Other Perfons whatfoever, cvs the fame is and ftands li-
mited by an A3, intitled , An Ad declaring the
Rights and Liberties of the Subjed, and fettling
the
('87 )
the Succefiion of the Crown, to her prefent Majejly\
and the Heirs of her Body, being Protejlants : And 06
the fame, by one other Aft, intitled , An A£t for the
further Limitation of the Crown, and better Se-
curing the Rights and Liberties of the Subjeft, is
and flands limited after the Deceafe of her Majejly,
and for Default of Jffue of her Adajefy, to the Princefs
Sophia, Eltftorefs and Eutchefs Ecwager of Hano-
ver, and the Heirs of her Body being Protejlants. And
aU thefe things I do plainly and fincerely Achnowledg
and Swear, according to thefe exprefs Words by me
fpoken, and according to the plain and common Senfe
and Vnderjlanding of the fame IVords, without any
Equivocation, mental fvajion, or fecret Befervation
rvbatfoever. And J do make this Recognition, Acknow-
lodgment, Abjuration, Renunciation, and Promife,
Heartily, Willingly and truly, upon the true Faith of
aCbriJlian.
So Help me God.
]
F I N I S.
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JDFE^TlS EM ENT.
MR. A S 01L L de ^Jure Divino: or an Afiertion proving
That the Title of the Houfe of Hanover to the Sue-
cefliou of the Britifl) Monarchy (on Failure of Iffue of her
Prelent !Jftajefty) is a Title Hereditary and of Divine In-
ftitution. The Second Edition. Pwce 6 d.
An Effay for the Prefs, written by the fame Author.
Price i d.
Both Sold by A. Baldwin in Warwick,-Lane.
LONDON,
Printed for A. Baldwin near the
Oxford'Arms in Warwick:Lane. 1712.
( 2 )
A N
ESS A
FOR T H E
P R E S S
THAT there fhould be a Rcflraint
upon the Prefs, feems a Matter of
Neceffity : But the Manner of if,
a Matter of Debate.
The Ufe and Intent of Printing, is (the
fame with that of Preaching) for communi-
eating our Thoughts to others.
A z And
( 4 )
A nd there is equal Reafon (in it felf) for
fuppreffing the one as the other.
But this Communication being the natu-
ral Right of Mankind (as fociable Crea-
tures, and all embark'd in one common Sal-
vation) the fuppreffing of either of thefe,
is taking arvay the Childrens Bread.
And in this Communication, Printing is
more diffufive than Speaking.
In the beginning of the Gofpel, for calling
the Gentiles, the Spirit of God interpreted
the firft Preaching of it to every Auditor in
his own Language.
And fince that miraculous Communication
of it hath ceas'd,
It pleas'd God in his own Time to have
dictated to Man the Invention of Printing,
to fupply the place of-it.
By which what is at firft publifh'd in
one Language only, is made intelligible to
all others by Tranflations.
And tho feveral Errors have and will be
vented by the Occafion of this Invention;
this is no more an Argument againft the In-
veniion it felf, than the growing of Tares
among Wheat, is an Argument againft fow-
ing of Corn. ; ' ' ' ". ~ : .
Nor any more a Reafon for fuppreffing it
by a Law, than it would be for [hutting
up
( 5 )
up the Church-Doors, becaufe Hypocrites
croud into the Church with true Worfhip-
pers.
Whenever the Sons of God came to pre-
fent themfelves before the Lord, Satan would
joftle in among them, and prefenc himfelf
before the Lord alfo.
And yet we don't hear that they quitted
their Devotitn upon it.
And as Satan ufed our Saviour himfelf
fo:
Have not I chofen you Twelve, and one of
you is a Devil.
So it will be to the Bod of the World.
Wherefore to me, the Clergy of the Church
of England f in admitting their Auditors to
the Sacraments without any perfonal Exa-
mination, feem more Orthodox with that
Handing Rule, Let every Man examine him-
[elf than the Minifters of thofe Diflenting
Congregations, that firft put each Commu-
nicant to a Teft of Experience ; there being
no fuch Teft neceflary in the Churches of
God.
Nor are they thereby fecure of what they
intend, (to have none among them but true
Believers.)
r ( 6 )
A Hypocrite will ftand and fit, and knee!
and pray, as the People of God.
And I am apt to believe, that upon fuch
a Teft, the Pharifee by giving himfelf fo
many diftinguifhing Characters, might have
hadAdmiffion; and the poor Publican, that
had nothing to fay for himfelf to God or
Man, but Lord have mercy upon me a Sinner
might have been excluded.
And as by the common Rules of Juftice,
'tis better ten Guilty efcape, than one Inno-
cent fuffer :
So in common Charity among Chriftians,
it is a lefs Error to admit ten unworthy, than
to exclude one believing, Communicant.
And by' the like Rules both of Juftice and
Charity to Mankind, 'tis fafer to fuffer ten
Errors to be vented, than ^oe neceffary
Truth conceal'd.
For Man is not bound to embrace the Er-
rors; but 'tis at his peril, to come to the
Knowledg of the Truth in Matters of Sal-
vation.
When Virgil (by Refleftion on his own
Works) finding fome things imperfefl:, had
devifed them to the Flames, the Roman Em-
peror ftrain'd a Point of Law to preferve
them from that Sentence.
Frangatur
C 7 )
Frangatur Legum pot ins veneranda Po-
tejlas.
Rather than Maro [hall in Fire hum,
Let Laws, themfelves be casi into the Urn.
All which is hinted as Reafons againft
reftraining the Prefs, by fubjeCting it to a
Licence.
And the Project of a Tax upon it, feems
Im practicable.
But the prefent Licentioufnefs being chief-
ly occafion'd by concealing the Names of the
Authors:
The moft juft and natural Remedy, feems
by prohibiting the Prints without the Names
of the Authors to them.
As the Prefs is now ufed, it is a Paper-
Inquifition; by which any Man may be ar-
raign'd, judg'd, and condemn'd (ay, and
broad Hints given for his Execution too)
without ever knowing his Accufers.
If this be objeCled to, as an imperfeCl
Remedy; for that, notwithftanding this,
things may be clandeftinely printed and
difpers'd :
So they may under the Reftraint by Li-
cence.
• .No
( 8 )
No Prohibitions of human Laws can to-
tally extirpate the Evils prohibited, but ferve
only to reftrain the frequent Commiflion of
them.
When Men have once taught their Beafts
to refrain trefpaffing upon their Neighbours
Lands,
Then may they.expefl to teach their Fel-
low-Creatures to ceafe from Sin.
in the mean time, they muft content them-
felves with driving the Offenders into Corners,
(as they do their Cartel into Pounds.)
E I K I S.
Mr. ASG ILL's
APOLOGY
F O R A N
OMISSION
IN HIS
L ate P ublication.
LONDON,
Printed for A. Baldwin near the Oxford-Arms
in fVarjvick-Lanc, M. DCC/XIII.
Price 3 d f .
2 K AY £ IK M
r
O l i A
;t t a o i
K O I 2 21M O
2 • f ;; 2
:
e-
3? •;
J& ■ : •. ' :
( i)
TT-
THE
APOLOGY
vv
1TH0V T Offence to,the Law,
J hope 1 may tell a piece of an
old Story of a Welfh Judg.
Who being to condemn a Pri-
foner, conv'ttt of a Capital Crime, gave this
Sentence upon him:
Look you ! you Prifoner at the Bar !
Your Country have found you guilty.
And the Sentence of the Law is,
That you go from hence to the place from
whence you came,
And from thence to the place of Execu-
tion :
And fo I wifh Mercy to your Soul.
Upon which the Goaler was carrying away the
Prifoner.
But a Jufice of Peace next the Judg, whiff
per*d him;
Tour Lordfbip hath omitted a material part
of the Sentence:
J A 2 That
( 4 )
' That when he comes to the place of Exe-
cution, he is to be hang'd.
And, Well remember'd ! faid the fudg.
And on that calls out,
Hark ye, you Goaler ! bring that Fellow
back again :
Then faid, Look you, Friend 1 you muft
be hang'd too.
Now jmcsSny late Publication , I have met
with this Reproof , from feme of my Readers;
'Tis true, you have added to your Poft-
fcript the fpetiai Oath of Abjuration, as a
Memorandum againft Perjury •,
But you have omitted a material A& of
Parliament, that makes the fame Offence
High Treafon too.
And well remembered (faid 1).
And tho I can't recal my Publication,
Fll fend this Three-penny Meffenger after it.
Hark ye, you honesl Men! that intend to
forfwear your felves y
I am no Judg, nor have any Commiffion to
pronounce Sentence;
But if you'I confult your Alphabet, you*I
M
lhat Treafon and the Triangle near Pad-
dington, both begin with the fame Letter.
Tou know what I mean: A Word to the
Wife !
And (whether you or any one elfe believe me
tr no) I did not omit this Intelligence out of my
late
(1)
late Publication, with any Intention to find an
Occafion for this Apology.
But finding by other of my Readers, that
the Oath I did fubjoin to that Publication, was
a Novelty to them ;
1 do not know but feveral things in the Se-
quel may be fo too.
And tho all her Majefifs Subjefts are not
equal to one another in their own diflintt Qua-
- lities and Efiates;
Tet they being ail equally fubjetf to he* Ma-
jefiy and the Laws,
It feems reafonable that all ffjould be equally
informed what thofe Laws are.
And Laws bound up together in large Vo-
lumes being not every one*s reading,
A more brief Communication of them feems
no Prejudice to the Publick.
And thii I make my Apology for the Sequel\
An
V -
( 6)
An Extract of feveral
Acis of Parliament relating
to the Settlement of the
Crown, the Rights and Li-
berties of the Subjecl, and
the Security of the Prote-
Jlant Religion, as by Law
eflablijhed.
iW.&sm. Jn JCl foir Declaring the Rights and Li-
cap! 2/' berties of the Subjects, and Settling the
Succejjion of the O 'own.,
1 HE Lords and Commons in Par-
liamenc having firfl: claim'd, de-
|| manded, and infilled upon (as the
undoubted Rights and Liberties
of the Subjects of England) feveral Articles,
therein mention'd to have been violated by
the late King James, by the Affillance of
divers
( 7 )
divers evil Councilors, &e. in order to Tub-
Vert and extirpate the Proteftant Religion,
and the Laws and Liberties of the Kingdom :
The Crown is fettled upon their then Ma-
jefties King William and Queen Mary, and
the Survivor of them.
Remainder to the Heirs of the Body of
Queen Mary.
Remainder to her prefent Majefty (then
Princefs of Denmark) and the Heirs of her
Body.
Remainder to the Heirs of the Body of
King William.
Excluding all Papifts, or marrying Pa-
pifts: And in fuel/ cafe the Crown to dc-
lcend to the next Proteftant in the Settle-
ment.
1 An Aft for the frequent Meeting and Sitting
of Parliaments. cap * 2 *
THAT a Parliament fhall be holden once
in three Years at the leaft.
And none to continue longer than three
Years, to be accounted from the Day on
which (by the Writ of Summons) the Par-
liament is to meet.
After
( 8 )
After the Death of Queen Mary , and of
Prince William late Duke of Glousejler :
3 An Aft for the further Limitation of the
2 , Crown, &c.
r "pHF. Crown (after the Deceafe of his
then Majefty King William , and of her
prefent Majefty, and in default of Iffue of
her Majefty and of the faid King William)
is fettled upon the Princefs Sophia , Ele&refs
and Dutchefs Dowager of Hanover (Daugh-
ter of Princefs Elizabeth , late Queen of Bo-
hernia , who was Daughter of King James the
Firft) and the Heirs of her Body being Pro-
teftants.
Provided, That each in that Succeflion
fhall join in Communion with the Church
of England as by Law eftablifh'd.
And if not a Native of England , this Na-
tion not to be oblig'd to engage in any War,
for Defence of any Dominions not belonging
to the Crown of England , (without Confent
of Parliament.)
And that none but Natives (except bora
of Englijh Parents) fhall then be
Of the Privy-Council,
Or Members of either Houfe,
Or enjoy any Office or Place of Truft
Civil or Military,
Or
6
v
( 9 )
Or have any Grant of Lands or Heredi-
taments from the Crown.
And Judges Commiffions to be Quamdia
fe bene gefferint.
And no Pardon under the Great Seal plead-
able to an Impeachment by Commons in Par-
- liament.
An Acl for the Attainder of the Pretended r ? & 14
Prince of Wales of High Treafon. w " 3, c *
Xtf H E R E A S the Pretended Prince of
Wales hath, fince the Deceafe of the
late King James, by the Incitation and En-
couragement of the French King (being bred
up and inftru&ed to introduce the Romifb
Superftition and French Government into
thefe your Majefty's Kingdoms) openly and
traitoroufly, with defign to dethrone your
Majefty, affumed the Name and Title of
James the Third, King of England, Scotland,
and Ireland , and caus'd himlelf to be fo pro-
claim'd in the Kingdom of France, in mani-
feft Violation of your Majefty's moft Lawful
and Rightful Title to the Crown of thefe
Realms, and of the feveral Acts of Parlia-
ment made, as well for Recognizing of the
fame, as for Settling the Succeflion of the
Crown, contrary to the Duty of his Alle-
giance, and to the difturbing of the Peace of
thefe your Majefty's Kingdoms: To the end
£1 therefore
( °1 )
therefore that your Majefty's good and loyal
People of England affembled in Parliament
may, in the moft folemn manner, exprefs
their utmoft Refentment of fo great an In-
dignity done to your Majefty's moft Sacred
Perfon and Government; and that the faid
Traitor may be brought the more certainly
and fpeedily to condign Punifbment: May it
pleafe your Majefty that it may be enaQed,
and be it enabled by the King's moft Excellent
Majefty,by and with the Advice and Ccnfent
of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and ^
Commons in this prefent Parliament affem-
bled, and by the Authority of the fame,
That the faid pretended Prince of Wales
ftand and be convifted and attainted of High
Treafon, and that he fuffer Pains of Death,
and incur all Forfeitures as a Traitor con-
viQed and attainted <pf High Treafon.
II. And for preventing traitorous Corre-
fpondence between your Majefty's SubjeQs,
and the faid pretended Prince of Wales, or his .
Adherents, be it further enaQed by the Au-
thority aforefaid, That if any of the Sub-
je£ls of the Crown of England, from and
after the firft Day of March , one thoufand
feven hundred and one, (hall, within this
Realm or without, hold, entertain, or keep
any Intelligence or Correfpondence in Perfon,
or by Letters, Meflages, or otherwife, with
the faid pretended Prince of Wales , or with
any Perfon or. Perfons employ'd by him,
knowing
( «,< )
knowing fuch Perfon to be fo employ'd; or
fhall by Bill of Exchange, or other wife, re-
rait or pay any Surn or Sums of Mony for
the Ufe or Service of the faid pretended
Prince of Wales, knowing fuch Mony to be
for fuch Ufe or Service ; fuch Perfon fo of-
fending, being lawfully convifred, fhall be
taken, deem'd, and adjudg'd to be guilty of
High Treafon, and fhall fufffer and forfeit as
in Cafes of High Treafon.
III. And be it further enacted, That where
any of the Offences againft this Aft fhall be
committed out of this Realm, the fame may
bealledg'd and laid, enquir'd of, and try'd,
in any County of this Kingdom of England.
An AEl for further Security of his Majefifs 13 & 14
Perfon and the SucceJJion of the Crown , &c. w ' 3 ' L ""
ENafls the Oath of Abjuration; and to
maintain the Crown according to the
two Afts of Settlement, &c. makes it High
Treafon to endeavour to deprive her prefent
Majefty (then Princefs of Denmark) from
her then Succeflion to the Crown.
B 2 An
{ II )
i Anne; An Jfcl to declare the Alteration in the Oath of
XW- Aljorttim, &c.
fion conti-
m'i from VC T HEREBY the Form of that Oath is
*i)eath. g ' S altered, by inferting her Majefty in-
ftead of his late Majefty ; viz.
1A.B. do truly and fincerely acknowledg,
profefs, teftify, and declare in my Con-
fcience, before God and the World, That
our Sovereign Lady Queen ANNE is Law-
ful and Rightful Queen of this Realm, and
of all other her Majefty's Dominions and
Countries thereunto belonging. And I do
folemnly and fincerely declare, That I do
believe in my Confcience, that the Perfon
pretended to be Prince of Wales , during the
Life of the late King fames , and finee his
Deceafe pretending to be, and taking upon
himfelf the Stile and Title of King of Eng-
land , by the Name of fames the Third, hath
not any Right or Title whatfoever to the
Crown of this Realm, or any other the Do-
minions thereto belonging : And I do re-
nounce, refufe and abjure any Allegiance or
Obedience to him. And I do fwear, That
I will bear Faith and true Allegiance to her
Majefiy Queen ANNE , and Her will de-
fend to the utmoft of my power, againft all
traitorous Confpiracies and Attempts what-
fc>ever ?
( >3 )
foever, which fhall be made againft her Per-
fon, Crown, or Dignity. And I will do
my beft Endeavour to difclofe and make
known to her Majefty, and her Succeffors,
all Treafons and Traitorous Confpiracies,
which I fhall know to be againft Her, or
any of them. And I do faithfully promife,
to the utmoft of my power, to fupport,
maintain, and defend the Limitation and Sue-
ceffion of the Crown againft him the faid
James , and all other Perfons whatfoever, as
the fame is and ftands limited by an Ad, in-
titled, An Att declaring the Rights and Li-
herties of the Subject^ and fettling the Saccef
fion of the Crown , to her prefent Majefty,
and the Heirs of her Body, being Prote-
ftants : And as the fame, by one other Ad,
intitled, An Act for the further Limitation of
the Crown, and better fecuring the Rights and
Liberties of the Subjeff, is and ftands limited
after the Deceafe of her Majefty, and for
Default of Iffue of her Majefty, to the
Princefs Sophia , Eledrefs and Dutchefs Dow-'
agerof Hannover , and the Heirs of her Body
being Proteftants. And all thefe things I do
plainly and fincerely acknowledg and fwqar,
according to thefe exprefs Words by me
fpoken, and according to the plain and com-
mon Senfe and Underftanding of the fame
Words, without any Equivocation, mental
Evafion, or fecret Refervation whatfoever.
And I do make this Recognition, Acknow-
Jedgmenr,
f 14 )
ledgment, Abjuration, Renunciation, and
Promife, heartily, willingly, and truly, up-
on the true Faith of a Chriftian.
So help me God.
This is the Oath added to the Pojtfcript to
the Defence, but is here inferted again in its
proper place.
x Anne, An 4ft f or enlarging the Time for taking the
Thefiljl Oaths, 8cc.
Par Hit-
went fan- Sect. IS made High Treafon, by any
Te? m I Overt ARy to attempt to deprive
Mr. or hinder the next in Succeffion to the Crown,
according to the two A&s of Settlement.
4 Anne, An Act naturalizing the Princefs Sophia and
cap. 4. t j oe Jjj ae 0 J- } Jer B 0 cly y
Exclufive of Papifts.
4 Anne, An Alt for the better Security of her Ma-
ca P« jefifs Perfon and Government, and of the
Succefjion to the Crown in the Proteflant
Line.
j |" IS made High Treafon to affirm by
Writing or Print, That her Majefty is
not Rightful Queen; or that the pretended
Prince
\
!f|
( f* )
Prince of Wales, or any other Perfon, have
Right, other than according to the two Ads
of Settlement.
And Premunire to affirm the fame, by
Preaching, Teaching, or advifedly Speaking,
And in cafe of her Majefty's Demife,
The Parliament then in being,
The Privy-Council,
Lord Chancellor or Keeper,
Lord Treafurer,
Lord Prefident of the Council,
Lord Privy-Seal,
Lord High Admiaal,
And all Great Officers of the Queen's
Houfhold,
And all Officers Civil and Military,
Are to continue fix Months, unlefs fooner
alter'd by the Succelfor.
And the Privy-Council with all convenient
fpeed to proclaim the next Proteftant Sue-
ceffor (according to the faid Ads of Settle-
ment) on pain of High Treafon.
And all Officers refufing their Commands
therein made guilty of High Treafom
And if fuch next Succeffor be then out of
the Realm,
1. The ArchBp of Canterbury, ^
2. Lord Chancellor or Keeper, / r .
Lord Treafurer, v. t ; rr , P il
4. Lord Prefident of the Council/ •
5. Lord Privy-Seal, \
6. Lord High Admiral, ^
. And
( 16 )
And 7. Lord Chief Juftice of the Queen's-
Bench for the time being,
Shall be Lords J > ft ices in the name of
the Succeffor, to execute ali Afts of Govern-
merit.
And that the next Succefior (at any time
during her prefent Majefty's Life) by three
Inftruments under Hand and Seal, may ap-
point other Perfon/ (being natural-born Sub-
jefts of England) to be added to the other
feven Lords Juftfces, of which the Majority
(not lefs than-five) may aft.
Of which three Inftruments,
The Succeffor's Refident fhall have one.
The Archbifhop of Canterbury one.
Lord Chancellor or Keeper one.
And in cafe of her Majefty's Death with-
out riTue,
To be open'd in Privy-Council.
If no fuch Nomination, then the other
feven Lords Juftices to aft :
But not to diffolve the Parliament without
direction of the Succeftor:
Nor to affent to any Bill for altering the
Aft: i \ & 14 Car. 2. for Uniformity of Com-
mon-Prayer, &c. on pain of High Trea-
fon.
\ 17 )
A Previous Att to the Act of Union, for Se- 5 Annc a
curing the Church of England as by Lam wp ' 5 '
efiablifhed.
pNa3s, That the A3 15 Eliz. for the
Miniftersof the Church to be of found
Religion ;
And the A3 1 $ Car. 2. for Uniformity of
Common-Prayer, &c. (other than the Clau-
fes repealed)
Shall remain in full force :
And that this A3 fhall be a fundamental
part of the Union, and be exprefs'd in the
A3 of Union.
The Act of Union. 5 Anne,
cap. §.
PNa3s, according to the fecond Article,
That the Succeffion to the Monarchy of
^ the United Kingdom of Great Britain,
(After her Majefty, and in default of her
Royal Iifue)
Be and remain to the Princefs Sophia , and
the Heirs of her Body being Proteftants:
Exclufive of Papifts, or Perfons marrying
Papifts, according to the former A3s of Set-
tlement of the Crown of England.
And confirms (inh^c verba) the previous
A3 for fecuring the Church of England.
c ; with
f '*
( »« )
With a previous A61 (in hac verba) for
fecuring the Proteftant Religion and Presby-
rerian Church-Government in Scotland.
And according to the 25th Article, all
Laws or Statutes in either Kingdom, incon-
fiftent with the Articles of Union, are de-
clar'd void.
6 Anne, f or Security of her Majefl/s Perfon
cdp " 7 " * and Government, and the Succtjjion of the
Crown of Great Britain in the Proteftant
Line.
ENafts the fame Claufes of Treafon and
Premunire, and the fame Oath of Abju-
ration, in relation to the United Crown of
Great Britain , as is before (4 Anne) for the
Crown of England.
And that the Aft 6IV. 8c M. for frequent
Parliaments in England , {hall extend to Great
Britain.
And that any Nomination of additional
Lords Juftices, already made by the next
Succefior, {hall hold good for Great Britain.
Jft
( 1 9 )
An Aft for better Security of her Majejlfs Per- 6 Anne »
*C fon and Government , &c. cjp ' 1
'ONa&s the taking the Oath of Abjuration
by Officers in Scotland , as was before in
England.
And two Juftices there may fummon any
Perfon, and tender the Oath":
And Refufers adjudg'd Popifh Recufants
convift.
Aci for further Provifion for the Election of 6 & me »
the fxteen Peers in Scotland. Cap '
A L L the Peers (Ele&ors) are to take the
Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy,
And fubfcribe the Declaration,
And take the Abjuration-Oath.
And no Perfon at any Ele&ion for Mem- scft. 13.
hers of the Houfe of Commons for England,
or Scotland, refufing to take the Abjuration-
Oath (which may be tender'd by the Sheriff
or chief Perfon taking the Poll) to be ad-
mitted to vote.
c 2 NOW
y i
( 10 )
NO W tho I underfiand that fome Peo-
pie are pleased to be fo very angry with
my late Publication, as to wifh me
dead for it, (more ways than one ;)
Pet 1 am not fo angry with them.
For that (in truth) it is thofe Laws them-
felves (which 1 have here extracted) that thefi
angry Men wijb dead, (tho not exclufive of me,
as J verily believe them.)
Here's a fine Bundle of Revolution-Craft
indeed! (fay they,)
Not Jo much as a Chance or a Loop-hole left
for a popifl) ^UCCeBb? to Jhew his Parts here,
(tho he fhoula be of the Right Line
Or tho we Jhould ever fo much long for
him;
And Jhould be fo big with Expectations of
him, that we Jhould mifcarry for want of him.
But (Thanks to our Stars) thefe Laws (for
all theje Men) are alive and in good health :
J faw'em all but yefierday. ^
And that my fingle Evidence may not be
taken }
2 fend
'
( 11 y
I fend out this fecond Appearance of them]
to all to whom thefe Prefents fball come.
And tho I have heard old People tell Stories
of fecond Apparitions that ufe to fright Folks,
Don't be afraid of \em, Readers :
Thofe Laws will bite no body but thofe that
play naughty Tricksy in telling Lyes and for-
/wearing themfelves.
And even for thofe Malecontents that don't
like 'em, they have a proper Remedy againjl
them, (if they pleafe to take it:)
For which I can quote them a Cafe in point.
A very fat Gentleman (who was advis'd by
his Phyficians that his Health depended much
upon Sleep) lodging near a Watch-houfe, from
whence he was frequently dijlurb'd with noftur-
nal Commotions (anglice Noifes in the
Night, for I intend this Three-penny Cut for
the common People) gave a Lawyer three Gui-
»eas for his Advice ;
Whether he could not oblige' the Conjlable to
remove his Watch.
The Lawyer told him, That was a Point not
yet fettled in the Law -Books :
But this the Lawyer was clear in,
That his Client might move his Lodging.
Now 'tis very probable, that thefe Alls of
Parliament for fettling and fecuring the Crown
in the Proteflant Line of the Royal Family f
may difturb fome Perfons, who are advis'd by
their own Confciences, that their chief Depen-
dencies are upon a jpOplfi; ^ttCCCUO?.
( 22 )
But what of all that ?
Muft the Laws and Rights of the Crown,
and the Security of the Protejlant Religion, and
the Subjects under it, be facrific'd to the Hu-
mours of a few Men, who would have it fo ?
And fo ('for foot h) hecaufe Jome People of
our Parifh don't care to eat Flejh in Lent, all
the rejl of their Neighbours mujl, in compliment
to them y throw tbetr Beef and Mutton to the
Dogs:
And becaufe there are Jome infeffed Invalids
in an Army, all the rejl mujl quit the Camp.
No! no! there's a fhorter Cut for a Cure
than this I
They that are difcontented with the Laws of
their Country, may depart in contempt of the
Courts that made 'em :
There's room enough upon the Continent.
And the fame contrary Winds that hinder
them from bringing their Mahomet hither, will
waft them over to him.
And fo thefe infetfed angry Men may em-
bark for Removal of their Lodgings as foon as
they pleafe.
And for thofe that are in health and good-
humour, 'tis better for them to be jogged out
of their Sleep now and then with a little Noife y
than to be caught napping in a Lethargy.
But methwks they begin to trim a little, to
compound their Projection.
Do but try ottr Man (fay they) upon an
W'J; ' >;i
See
< 2$ )
See for Love, -and buy for Mony.
Not altogether unlike a Fellow about Town
fame Tears ago, that pretended to teach all
Wind-Mufick upon a Tobacco-Pipe, for two
Guineas a-piece; And if any of his Scholars
did not like the Trick when they faw it, they
fhould have one of their Guineas again.
But for my own part, 1 have but little
Mony, and can't fpare half of it, to fee a Trick
that I know already.
And they that are fond of that Speculation,
may (for Sixpence) fee The Character of a
^Opiflj SllCCetfO?, lately publifh'd, without be-
ing at the expence of trying the Experiment.
But I {hall raife more Cboler by this way
of Writing.
For Writing and Reading are in themfelves
commendable things.
But 'tis the way of Writing at which the
Offence is taken.
And this is the Misfortune of an Author,
That unlefs fome are angry with him, none
are pleas'd.
Which puts him under this Dilemma,
That he mujl either ruin hirnjelf or his
Printer.
But to prevent either (as far as I can) I
would rather turn Trimmer, and compound too.
And to end all Quarrels with my Readers,
(if they pleafe to accept the Propofal)
(.And
( 24 )
(And to fhiw withal that 1 am 7to Dogma' 1
tied Author)
I now fay to them all (in Print J what I
cnce did to one of them (by Word of Mouthf)
Whoever meets with any thing in what I
fqblifbj which they don't like,
. ' ' r*v A 4 % ■ \ i*
Let 'em ftrike it out;
But to take of part of the .O&lum fromme>
They fay others write like me y
In fljort Paragraphs:
(An eafy part of a Mimick)
But with all my heart!
1 dont care who writes like me 9
So 1 don't write like them.
THE
PRETENDER 'S
DECLARATION
ABSTRACTED
From two Anonymous Pamphlets:
The One Intitled,
JUS SACRUM-,
Memoirs of the CijebaUet &L
With fome Memoirs of two other
Cljefcalters in the
Reign of King Henry VII.
Written by Mr. A S G IL L.
LONDON, Printed for A. Baldwin in Warwick*
Lane. M. DCC. XIIL
Price 6d.
And the Other.
( 3 )
The 'Pretender*s Declaration
Abjlracledj &c.
THESE two anonymous Pieces coming
out both at the fame time, and pub-
lifh'd by the fame Perfon, and fuited
together (as a Scabbard to a Dagger)
may be fuppos'd to have been written by the fame
Author.
And perhaps cunningly divided (as he thought)
to evade a double Treafon :
Whether that be fo or not, they are Arrows
from the fame Quiver.
And the Difference is no more, than that in
conjunction they are High Treafon, within two
Claufesof the Adt, 4 Anne cap.S.
And being feparated, the Jus Sacrum of it felf
is High Treafon within one of them.
Bythefirftof thofe two Claufes, it is declar'd
High Treafon, to affirm by Writing or Printing,
That her prefent Majejty is not Rightful £fueen of thefe
Realms , or that any other Perfon hath a Right, other
than according to the two late APIs of Settlement of
the Crown.
And by the laft of thofe two Claufft, 'tis made
High Treafon, By Writing or Print to affirm, That
the Kings and Queens of England, with the Parlia-
A 2 mfHf,
( 4 >
went, cannot limif and bind the Crown, and the Stic
cqflion thereof.
Now (you mull know) that our Author's Me*
tnoirs is the Heraldry of his Chevalier St. George
blazoning him out as the Legitimate Son and Heir
of the late King fames II.
And under this Charafter, the Jus Sacrum hath
avouch'd him to be the lawful King of thtffe Realms
according to the Laws of God,
of Nature,
the Civil Law and
Common Law.
Which is palpable Treafon, within the firlfc
Claufe of the Aft, as affirming that her prefent Ma-
fifty is not Rightful Queen: But ttat this Chevalier
St. George hath that Right, contrary to both Afts
of Settlement.
But without this Conjunftion, the Jus Sacrum
of it felf is an elaborate and repeated Affirmance
That no Power on Earth can limit, alter, $r fettle the
Crown, from the next of kin to the laft Regnant.
Which is a palpable Treafon within the lafi:
Claufe of the Aft, as affirming, That the Kings
and Queens of this Realm, with the Parliament, can-
not limit and bind the Crown, and the Succejfton
thereof.
Now whether the Author be ignorant of thefe
two late Afts of Settlement of the Crown (which'
are not the firft, fecond, or third Afts, by which
the Crown hath been fettled by Parliament.)
Or whether he may think himfelf a bold Man
for incurring HighTreafon, in vindication of his
injur'd Hero, (as he calls him) I can't tell.
But if that be the Cafe, perhaps 1 think my
felf as bold a Man in telling him of it: (Confide-
rails Confiderandis,)
However,
( 5 )
However, I am fure to get a PJace by it: I
can't mifs being put into one of the Examiners,
and advertis'd in the Pojl-Boy.
But becaufe our Author hath given himfelf the
Airs of arraigning the Laws of the Kingdom, as
repugnant to the Laws of God *,
He (hall not have Silence for Confent , nor the
pleafure to fay,
Pudet, bac opprobria vobvs,
Et dici potuijfe, & non potuijfe refelli.
Tho had his Tinge went no deeper than the
Perfon of his Chevalier (who hath hitherto fpent
his Reign abroad to get himfelf reputed of the
Royal Family at home, without advancing to any
higher Character than a Pretender) perhaps I
might have let it went with him , (as we fay in
Ireland.)
But this Holy Thing call'd Jus Sacrum is calcu-
lated as a perpetual Almanack for the Succellion
of the whole Royal Family \ interdi&ing (with
pretended Anathema's of Scripture) the Houfe
of Hannover from the Crown, till all the other
intermediate Relations, between her prefent Ma-
jelly and that Houfe, are fpent.
YOU mud know that Jus Sacrum in Latin , is
Anglice, Indefeafible Hereditary Right.
But our Author (for brevity fake) hath fill'd
up his Title-Page with englilhingof it: viz..
Or a Difcourfe whereby it is fully prov'd and de-
monjlrated, That no Prince ought to be deprived of his
natural Right on account of Religion , &c.
But
( 6 )
But (by way of Interruption) fince our Author
begins with natural Right , I would ask him a na-
twral Queftion, Whether in his Et Catera he hath
couch'd natural Infirmities.
Becaufe if he hath, I can contradift him with-
out going any farther:
By citing a Cafe of a King depos'd for Le-
profy.
2 Chron. 2 6. And Uzziah the King was a Leper
unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a feveral
Houfe , being a Leper, for he was cut off from the
Houfe of the Lord, and Jotham his Son was over the
King's Houfe, judging the People of the Land.
Now let our Author go on.
To make good the Promife of his Title-Page,
he lays down three Pofitions.
j. That Monarchy is of divine Inftitution.
2. That Hereditary Succeflion to that Monar-
chy is ordain d by God.
3. That Kings are accountable to none but
God, and therefore cannot be diverted of their
Kingdoms or Charatters, but by God himfelf.
Which Pofitions he affumes to prove,
By the Laws of God,
of Nature,
Civil Law and
Common Law. ,
And with all this he happens to ken Logick,
even to an Enthymeme.
Now (bear witnefs) that 1 am not going fur-
ther to contraditt his lacred Notions, neither his
poftta nor Pofitiva, Pofiulata nor Pefiilentia, Pre-
mifes nor Conclufions:
But (hall leave them all as I found them (ne-
celfary Ufage of wearing and tearing, reading and
obferving only excepted.)
But
( 7 r )
But tho I am not going to contradid him, I
hope 'tis no offence to Ihew how he hath contra-
dided himfelf.
Being fo unlucky in his Quotations, that the
fame Texts he brings to prove forae one of his
Pofitions, do always contradid fome other of his
Pofitions, and fo overthrow the Englifh of his Jus
Sacrum.
To be fure he begins with Scripture,
(In nomine Domini incipit omne malum.)
\ .
Text i. By me Kings reign, and Princes decree
JuJlice.
Then if they decree Injuftice, God difownsthem
on account of their Religion, &c.
Text 2. Samuel faid to Saul, The Lord bath rent
the Kingdom from tbee t and given it to a Neighbour
of thine.
Then Saul 1 s Kingdom was not Hereditary, and
was taken from him on account of his Religion,
&c. being not a Man after God's own heart, as his
Neighbour David was.
Text 3. 1 anoihted thee King over the Houfe of
Ifrael, and gave thee the Houfe of Ifrael and Judah.
And yet David had then fix or feven elder Bro-
thers, who (according to our Author's Jus Sacrum)
ought to have taken the Sceptre before him.
Text 4. Solomon fwore, As the Lord liveth, xvho
hath fet me on the Throne of David my Father.
But Solomon being but a younger Son of David
by a feventh Venter, while Adonijah and other
elder Brothers were living ; where then is the
Birthright (which our Author faith God always
favours ?)
Text 5. God faid to Jeroboam, I will rend the
Kingdom from the hand of Solomon, and give ten
Tribes to thee.
Contrary
(8 )
Contrary to the Right of Reboboam , Son and
Heir of Solomon , if this Jus Sacrum be true.
Text 6. The Lord fhall raife up a King over Ifrael,
who fhall cut off the Houfe of Jeroboam that day.
'Tis Cod that raifetb the Poor out of the Dufi, and
lifteth up the Beggar from the Dunghil to Jet him
among Princes, and to make him inherit the Throne
of Glory.
If Beggars then may be made Princes by Inhe-
ritance, what may not Princes be made (vice
verfa ?)
Text 7. David faid, God was his Shield and Pro-
tettor, who fubdu'd his People under him.
And yet David was forc'd to fight, not only for
his Conquefts, but for his own Kingdom, again!!:
his own Son.
Text 8. There is no Power but of God ; whofoever
refifieth the Power, refifieth the Ordinance of God.
But it doth not therefore follow, that God ne-
ver ordain'd any Power but that of Kings j or
that it is lawful to refift all other Powers but
Kings.
FROM thefe Texts our Author, by way of
Tranfition, paffeth over to Inftances of
Kings.
1 ft Inftance. We find Kingly Power invefled in the
four Kings that invaded the five that livd in the
Plain of Gomorrah.
And why not in the five as well as the four ?
. Tho perhaps our Author is cunning •, for it
feems the five were beat, till Abraham retcu'd them
from the four Conquerors, with 318 Men of his
own Family :
Which
( 9 )
Which (hews thofe Kings were not very great
Monarchs.
Nor (in truth) were the other eight any more
than Subjefts, or Homagers to Chedarlaomer , till
they revolted.
Nor doth it appear that they had their. Com-
million immediately from Heaven, as our Author
would make all Kings to have.
And therefore methinks fo great a Champion
fbr Monarchy (hould have chofe out fome other
Balis of it than this Example.
2d Inltance. That Abimelech was King of Gera.
Pharaoh King of Egypt.
Melchifedeck King of Salem-
Mofes King in Jcfhurun.
But I don't find him pofitive, That either Mel-
chifedeck or Mofes' s Kingdoms were Hereditary }
tho 1 believe he might have been fatisfy'd that
they were not, and perhaps neither of them real
(but only myftical) Kingdoms.
But to make amends for that, he 's confident the
Afiyrian Monarchy defcended from Father to Son for-
1300 Tears, from Nimrod the firfi King, without
interruption.
Then Nimrod himfelf had not his Kingdom by
Inheritance.
Nor doth he feem to have had much Jus-Sacrum
Blood in his Veins, being defcended of the ac-
curfed Race of Ham , deltin'd nnto Servitude.
Curfcd be Canaan, a Servant of Servants fhaU he
be unto b'vs Brethren.
FROM thefe Infiances of Kings, our Juthor makes
a Tranfition to the Judges that fucccjfively fuc-
ceeded Moles \ of which there being but one at a
time , he infers Cod's conftant Defignation for Mo-
narchv. B But
( lO )
But how he can conclude an Hereditary Monar-
thy from a Succeflive Eledtive Juftice-Ihip, is beyond
my Logick.
But this he faith was before the Civil Govern-
ment was well fettled \ but that when God came
to fettle it, he appointed Saul a King.
And this is the fecond time that he hath quoted
Saul , appointed a King for Life only, as an In-
fiance of Hereditary Monarchy.
From thence he pafleth on to David and hjs Seed.
Then he quotes the Prophecy of Jacob , That
the Monarchy Ihould be Hereditary in the Tribe
of Judah.
The Sceptre Jhall not depart from Judah, nor a
Lawgiver from between h'vs feet, until Shiloh come. v
1 his happens to be no news to me, becaufe
long before this Jus Sacrum came out, from this
Entail of the Jewifh Sceptre, I publiflfd a fhort
Treatife, *
That the Title of the Houfe of Hannover to the
contingent Succejfion of the Britilh Monarchy, is a
Title Hereditary and of Divine Inftitution :
As being conformable to this Inftitution of the
Jewifh Monarchy ; befides which, there is not ano-
ther extant by any fpecial Ordination of God
(altlio all are by his divine Permidion and Pro-
vidence.)
But this Entail of the Sceptre was to the Tribe
of Judah in general, without fpecial Limitations
to the firft and other Sons.
And as it was at firft entail'd in the general, fo it
was afterwards executed in the alternative, fome-
time in the eld,er, and fometime in the younger.
And in the firft Inftance of this Execution, the
whole Race of Shelah (then the elder Houfe of
Judah) were pafs'd by, and the Sceptre deliver'd
to the Defcendant of Pharez. (the younger Houfe)
who
( 11 )
who ever after retein'd it till the Diflolution of
that Monarchy.
Which I prefume doth not qnadrate with what
our Author would have, by his general Maxim,
That God always favours the Right of the Firfl-born,
(Always fometitnes.)
Tho the words ftri&ly are true,
That God doth always favour the Right of the
Firflborn.
And fo he doth the Right of the fecond, and
the Right of the third, and all the reft:
For Jhall not the Judg of all the Earth do Right ?
But the queftion is what that Right is.
The two Tables deliver'd by God to Mofes upon
Mount Sinai, are an Abftraft: of the whole moral
Law, which is eternal, and not abolifh'd by the
Death of Chrift.
I came not todeflroy the Law, but to fulfil.
But with this eternal Law there is recorded a
Law of Ceremonies and Sacrifices, and divers o-
ther Precepts, which were made but temporary
only.
The Law of Ceremonies and Sacrifices was abo-
lilh'd by the offering up of that eternal Sacrifice of
Chrift.
And feveral other Precepts were prefcrib'd for
the life of the Jewifh Nation only.
Some of which are fince become Sin :
As that of one Brother's marrying another
Brothers Wife.
Amongft thefe temporary Laws was that Law of
the Birthright, by which the eldeft Son was to
have a double Portion only, or twice as much as
any one of the reft.
But this being but a temporal Law, not incor-
porated into the eternal Law of the Decalogue, is
not obligatory to the whole World, as the mora!
Law is.
B 2 But
{ 12 )
But is changeable, according to the Times or
Places in which Men happen to be born or to live.
And even in that there is Variety too.
As in England there are divers Inheritances, of
which fome defcend to the eldeft, fome to the
youngeft, and fome to all the Sons alike.
And the old Cuftom of Thaniftry in Ireland (de-
tur digniori) left the Eftate to the moft worthy
of the Family.
Which (in truth) was generally interpreted to
him that had the greateft power to keep it from
aj] the reft.
And for a quite contrary reafon, the Borough-
Englifh gave it to the youngeft Son, as moft un-
able to help himfelf.
But there being fuch Diverhties of Inheritances,
no one can determine what is the Right of elder
or younger, without diftinguiJhing according to
the Times and Places where they are born and live.
BUT our Author (to do every thing extraor-
dinary) hath quoted Inftances in younger Sons,
to prove the Birthright of the elder.
1. That Abraham obtained the Promife of the King-
dorn for Ifaac his Firft-korn Son.
Now (in truth) Ifaac was his laft-born, and
born after Abraham and Sarah had quitted all hopes
of Iflue.
2. That this Promife was renewed to Ifaac for his
Son Jacob.
And yetjfacobhad then an elder Brother.
3. That Jacob propbef/d of the Kingdom for Judah.
And yet Judah was but a fourth Son, ana feems
to have the Nomination of the Sceptre fallen to
him", in default of his three elder Brothers:
Reuben for Inceft, and Simeon and Levi for
Bloodlhed. '
. y xj' Jt
/
c '? 5
So that thefe three were fet afide on account
of Religion, &c.
By which our Author feems cruelly to mangle
his Jus Sacrum of Birth- fight.
BUT to make out for this (and becaufe Juntta
yavant) he faith that Priefthood wasHeredi-
tary as well as Monarchy, and that the Son or
neareft Kinfman always fucceeded the Father, till
Arijlobulus thruft out his elder Brother Hircanus.
Which I prefume our Author don't relate hifto-
rically only, but by way of Inftruftion, that this
Succeflion in Priefthood may be reviv'd.
And then theeldeft Son of an Archbilhop muft
be always Archbilhop:
And fo for Bilhops, Deans, and the inferiour
Clergy.
And if no Sons, then the Fun&ion to go to
Daughters j for our Author makes all Inheritances
alike, and depends much on the Daughters of
Zelophehad , who inherited to their Father in de-
fault of his Iftue Male.
Tho this won't fuit with Monarchy neither, un-
lefs he would have all Daughters to inherit the
Crown together as Coheirs.
Which may convince us, That the Jura Corona
or Laws of the Monarchy, and thofe of paternal
Inheritances, are not fuited to anfwer one another
in every point.
BU T to follow our Author :
From the Old Teftament he makes a Tranfi-
tion to the New.
And firft he is mightily pleas'd with the Law,
which the Farmers of the Vineyard had got among
them;
(<4 )
themfelves : Th'vs is the Heir, let us kill hint, and we
Jhall have the Inheritance.
Which our Author faith thefe Farmers had
from the Light of Nature.
For, faith he, it is not to be prcfum'd that they
were skilful in human Laws.
And in my Confcience I believe fo too.
Nor doth our Author feem over-skilful in Di-
vine Laws.
For that, in fad, there never were any fuch
Men in the World "as thefe Farmers*, our Saviour
putting forth this (as other Parables) by way of
*s£nigma''Si and not as real things.
Another Quotation he takes from our Saviour,
The Children of the Kingdom /hall be fhut out.
From whence he infers that God may tran/late
Kingdoms from one Family to another, but not Man.
But doth not God ad by Man ?
And if all Power be of God, then what is done
by the Power of Man, is done by the Power of
God.
BUT of all Texts he feems to cling clofeft to
that ot Paul} If 5o«s, then Heirs.
But this implies there mull be fomething for the
Sons to inherit to, which another Apoltle hath
elfewhere fignify'd \ To an Inheritance incorruptible,
and that fadeth not away, referv'd in Heaven for you.
But there are no fuch Indefeafible Inheritances
among Men.
Man hath nothing on earth but what is corrup-
tible and changeable by Time and Plac&: Time
and Chance happen to everything under the Sun.
Temper a mutantur, quoquenos mutamur in Hits.
FROM
ft
( iy )
FROM thefe Texts (as the Laws of God) he
makes a Tranlition to the Law of Nature.
By which he faith, 'Tis natural for Men to fro-
vide for their Children.
-And for this he appeals to every Man's natural j4f-
fedion, That if he had never fo much Poffejfions, he
would leave them all to his Children.
What, all to his eldeft Son only ? For if not,
it don't fuit our Author's purpofe.
And in truth, natural Affedtion would be but
a random Title to Eftates, and perhaps to King-
doms too.
Maximilian the Emperor having twoGrandfons,
Charles and Ferdinand , had intended the Kingdom
of Spain for Ferdinand (whom he beft loved> but
was difappointed.
FROM the Law of Nature, our Author pafieth
to the Civil Law-
By which he faith that the Prince (much lefs the
People who are under his Subjedion) cannot take away
the Succeffion that belongs to his lawful Heir.
But this don't fay that the Prince and People to-
gether cannot.
Nor is there any Succeflion belongs to the Heir,
unlefs the Predecefibr leaves him fomething to
fucceed to.
Then he falls into his Jus Sacrum again, That
Kingdoms are given by God , &c.
But here he betrays the Shortnefs of his Me-
mory.
For firft he faith, The Right of Succeffion is a
publick. -Agreement between Prince and People, which
obligeth both Parties.
Whereas
\
( 16 )
Whereas afterwards he affirms, There's no On-
ginal Contract between King and People} and that all
the King faith or doth to them is purely voluntary, but
that what they fay or do to him is binding.
2. By this his Civil-Law-Law, he hath made it
out, That the Renunciation of Philip Duke of Anjou
to the Crown of France is voidagainft his Jffue.
Which I fuppofe is a Slip beyond our Author's
prefent Commiffion.
Tho (with our Author's leave) I apprehend
the Maxim of the Civil Law to be a Reverfe to
what he would have.
The Civilians fay, Hocredes fatti, non nati.
No man is born an Heir, any farther than the
Laws of his Country make him fo.
And by their Law, if a Father by Will faith,
£make A. B. my Heir\ that A. B. (tho a ftranger
in Blood) Ihall inherit the Eftate againft the Son.
Which (hews that the Inheritance is annex'd to
the Right of the Eftate, and not to the Perfon of
the Son ; who during the Life of the Father hath
only a Chance to be Heir or no Heir, as the
Eftate ihall be either left to him or difpos'd from
him.
FROM the Civil Law our Author pa(feth over to
the Statute Laws of all Kingdoms, but what are
EleCiive.
But whence came Elective Kingdoms, if all be
Hereditary ?
But be faith he fhould fwell his Pafnphlet too big,
to enumerate all the Laws of this Kingdom in favour
of Hereditary Right, from the Conqueror to the Revo-
lution in 1688.
An Emphatical Year ! But what need of Sta-
tute Laws in favour of a thing that can't be other-
wiik? (as he faith.) For
C 17 )
For Inftances he quotes,
1. That William the Conqueror tool care to have
'Allegiance twice fworn to him and his Heirs.
That was to him and his SuccelTors, Heirs of the
Kingdom j which happen'd to be William his
younger, and not Robert his eldeft Son.
2d Inftance. That William Rufus got the Subjctts
to fwear allegiance to him, being jealous of their Af-
fettions to his eldeft Brother Robert} Reafons of State
inducing him to thofe Meafures.
O-ho ! Now we have got to a fifth Law, Re a-
fons of State: Anglice, Arcana Imperii, to rule the
other four by.
But William Rufus having no Iffue , our Author
faith he'll fay no more of him, or any of his Succeffors,
till Henry VIII.
Why if he won't, I can't help it:
But if he won't, I will.
For that neither this William Rufus,
Nor Henry I. (his younger Brother)
Nor King Stephen,
Nor King John,
Nor Henry IV, V, or VI.
Nor Richard III.
Nor Henry VII. (without conjun&ion with his
Queen) did either of them fucceed to the Grown
of England , according to the Right of our Author's
Jus Sacrum.
For that during each of their Reigns there was
in being one or other of the Royal Family nearer
ally'd in Blood to the Crown, according to the
Right of paternal Inheritances in England.
But thefe Breaches came to be heal'd in the
Perfon of Henry VIII.
8y which I am fallen in with my Author againy
where I find he hath met with fomething he is
mighty fond of, and hath made it his Pin-basket
of Inftances.
G He
( '8 )
He faith, that by the Adi: 25 Hen. 8. the Re-
mainder in the Crown (after default of Queen
Elizabeth's IfTue) is limited to the right Heirs of King
Henry VIII. for ever, by courfe of Inheritance, cos the
Crown of England hath been accuflom'd and ought
to go.
Which Statute (he faith) the Lords and Com-
mons took an Oath to defend :
And which, he faith, hath not been repeal'd.
For (faith he) tho fome neceffary Laws have been
fmce made made for the Security of our Religion and
Civil Rights, yet the Right of Inheritance is Jlill in
force.
For (faith he again) if the Right of SucceJJton
could be taken away, it might be ask'd by what Right
the Kings of England afjume the Title of Kings of
France, when by the Confent of all the Efiates of
France, the Succejfion of that Kingdom wot adjudg'd
to Philip de Valois againfl Edward III. when other-
wife by the Common Law the Kingdom wot due to Ed-
ward III. <25 Heir of his Mother.
Now by our Author's lulty Skip from William
Rufus to Elenry VIII. and his Blazoning this Statute
at large, and printing tire words f_A S THE
CROWN OF ENGLAND E1ATH BEEN
ACCVSTOM" D AND OVGHT TO CO~\
in great Letters •, and faying that this Statute was
fworn to and never repeal'd ;
1 find he hath fingled it out as a Standard for his
Chevalier, to demand the Crown of England by, as
Heir at Law to Henry VIII. according to that Set-
tlement which the Lords and Commons theft
fwore to.
But thofe Lords and Commons are dead.
And the prefent Lords and Commons have fwore
to the prefent Settlements:
Which are no ways contradi&ory, but purfuant
to that Settlement in Henry V III.
When-
( 19 )
Whenever g Fee (or perpetual Eftate) is li-
suited, the word Heirs is inferted, without which
the Fee will not pafs.
But this is fo inferted as a word of Limitation
only, without giving any Title or Property, ei-
ther in Pofleffion or Reverfion, to the Son or next
of kin to him to whom the Eftate is fo limited.
For whenever a Remainder in Fee is limited to
a Man and his Heirs, he himfelf, without his
Heirs, may limit away that Fee again to whom
he pleafeth. i
So in this Cafe of the Crown, where the Re-
mainder is limited to Henry VIII. and his Heirs,
that Remainder remains fubjeft and liable to be
limited again by the like Legiflative Power, by
which the former Remainder was limited.
And purfuant thereunto, that Remainder hath
been again limited by the two late Afts of Set-
tlement.
By which there is nothing left for our Author's
Chevalier, tho he were the Perfon that he would
have us think he is.
Nor is there any Right of the Crown left to
defcend to any of the Royal Family, but to whom
the fame is limited by the prefent Settlements.
And fuch Limitations of Inheritances away from
thofe who would otherwife have a Right to fuc-
ceed, are allow'd in all Eftates of Inheritance.
For 'tis not what the Father lived feizdd of , but
what he died feizdd of only , that defcends to the
Son.
Therefore if this Chevalier St. George , (or any
one elfe for whom our Author writes) are coming
to claim any Inheritance of the Crown from Hen-
ry VIII. he may inform them (if he pleafeth) that
'tis otherwife difpos'd of.
And by the fame, and with as good reafon as
they would claim the Crown as limited to Hen-
c 2 r y
( 20 )
ry VIII. and his Heirs, they may alfo claim all
the Crown and Abby-Lands, of which the fame
Henry VIII. was ever feiz'd to him and his Heirs.
And as for the Kings of England affuming the
Title of Kings of France , notwithftanding it was
deter min'd againft Edward III. by the States of
Trance ;
Neither Edward III. nor any King or Queen of
England ever join'd with the States of France in
that Determination : and therefore the Kings
and Queens of England are no more bound by the
Ads of the States of France (done without their
Confent) than they would by any pretended Ads
in England without their Royal Aflent.
BUT to return to our Author, he tells us
that he hath now difcharg'd what he promis'd
to prove, That Hereditary Succeffion to a Monar-
chy is of Divine Inftituticn.
From whence he faith, It neceffarily follows that
neither their Elections or Title are owing to the Voice of
the People •, which make* them independent of their Ap~
probation or Dijlike, and confequently not accountable
to them.
But as neceflary a Confequence as it is, yet I
find he thinks it neceflary to try to prove it over*
again.
For th'vs he faith,- It is a Maxim in our Law, as
antie-nt as our Confiitution, That the King can do no
Wrong.
By which our Author would have us underfbnd,
That tho a King fhould happen to do that which
would be wrong in another Man, yet that the
King, by his doing it, converts that Wrong into
Right, according to that antieqt and laudable
Ma. xt 111:
Turpi a
( *1 )
Turpid Cerdoni, Kolefos Brutofque decelunti
But this Maxim in our Conftitution, That the
King can do no Wrong , is'well grounded :
For that there are known Laws of the Kingdom
futable to our Conftitution, by which the King is
to govern, and which if he obferves he cannot err :
And whatever he afts againft them, is void and
goes for nothing.
THEN our Author falls to enumerating the
ufual Texts for Duty and Reverence to
Kings.
Which he faith the Republicans would attribute to
good Kings only.
But he confutes them by faying, That tho God
may in h'vs Rewards and Punifhments dijiinguifh be-
tween good and bad Kings •,
Yet that there is no fuch dijtin&ion to be made by
the People, who are to love and obey their Kings all
alike, good or bad, merciful or cruel.
Why ay! for you know Subjects are but a par-
eel of Dogs or Swine: And you alfo know what's
as good for a Sow as a Pancake.
But befides he tells us, That we ought to be more
eafy under a Tyrant's Government, becaufe he is ap-
pointed by God to punifh the Sins of the People :
In the nature of Coafeffors to enjoin Penance.
THENCE he proceeds to the Coronation-
Oath.
'T*« granted (faith he) that when Kings are fet on
the Throne, they aye accuftom'd to take ah Oath: (for
fafliion-fakc, it feems.)
JRut
( 22 )
But to whom ? Not to the People, but to God alone t
who is the fole Avenger of the Breach of it. So the
Judgment of its Violation is to be refer*d not to the
People, but to God to whom the Oath is taken.
But , faith he, the People fwear exprefly to tbS
King, fo as the People are bound to the King and his
Heirs for ever.
And yet , faith he, none of the Subjects are puniflPd
for Perjury in breaking their Oath \ but for violating
the King's Laws and Royal Majefiy.
Wherefore (faith he) the Oath is not mutual (as
is given out by Men of pernicious Principles:)
But the King fwears to God,
And the People fwear by God to the King.
And if fwearing were not a Sin, I would fwear
that here are forae of the niceft Diftin&ions of
Swearing and Forfwearing that ever I heard of.
But the Abftraft of the whole is this :
That Perjury in a King is a Sin againjl God, but no
Sin againjl Man.
And that Perjury in a SubjeCi is a Sin againjl Man,
but no Sin againjl God.
But what a Republican King was Henry V. (not
the leaft Glory of the Norman Race) who refus'd
to accept the Homage tender'd him by the No-
bles and Commons, till he had firft taken his
Coronation-Oath ?
Giving them thanks for their Good-will, but
faying, That he would by no means accept of their
Tenders, till he was crown'd, and had taken on himfelf
evs fcrious Obligations to be a good King , as he could
lawfully defire fhould be laid upon them to be loyal
SubjeHs.
And when Charles V. of Spain infilled to have
Allegiance fworn to him before he fwore to the
Obfervance of the Laws, there arofe a Conteft,
which was at laft accommodated by fome par-
ticul^r
( 2} )
ticular Perfons firft fwearing Allegiance before
his Coronation-Oath, and the reft afterwards.
n
BUT our Author (to diftinguifh Kings out of
their Oaths) hath more Diftin&ions ft ill.
There are (faith he) two forts of Limitations j
one by Concejfion, and the other by Coercion:
And that all the Ails of Kings are Limitations of
Concejftons only.
He allows that a King may if he pleafe (like God)
limit himfelf to bis Subjeils by way of Concejjion only,
by granting them fuch and fu.cb Laws :
Which he faith is all the Original Contrail between
King and People.
And which yet (he faith) is neither Original
nor Contrail.
Not Original, becaufe Laws are made by Kings :
Therefore (faith he) Kings mufl be before Laws.
And had he flung but one Bar's length further,
That Kings were before Men too , he had made his
Sacrum a Sacrijftmum.
But God ordain'd a Law for the Kings of //-
rael (Deut. 17.) above 300 Years before they had
a King.
Which Law the Kings at their Coronation fwore
to obferve as the Jura Corome,
2 Chron. 23. Then they brought out the King's
Son, and put on him the Crown, and gave him the
Tefiimony, and MADE him King.
BU T our Author makes a fpecial Challenge to
produce the Law that made the firfl King in
England.
Why (in promptu caufa efi) The Law of Arms.
All
( 24 )
All Governments arofe at firfl: by Accident or
Occafion, and increas'd by degrees to what
they are..
Nimrod was a Huntfman before he was a King;
And from killing of Beafts, he became a Con-
queror of Men.
He began to be a mighty one in the Earth, he was a
mighty Hunter before the Lord•
And the firfl: Kings by Increafe of Power grow-
ing formidable to their Neighbours, put their
Neighbours upon chufing Kings (or Generals) to
match their Enemies.
And thus the Jfraelites once chofe Jepbthah :
And for the Succefs they had under Gideon t they
offer'd to chufe him King, and entail it on his
Family.
Rule thou over us, thou and thy Son, and thy Son 's
Son •, for thou hafl delivered as from the hand of
Midian.
But Gideon refus'd it.
But Wars breaking out again and again upon
them, they ask'd of God a King to go in and out
before them, and fight their Battels like other Nations.
And thus the Romans in time of War chofe a
Di&ator for General, till at laft one of thofe Ge-
nerals detaining, by Force, the Power firfl: deli-
ver'd him by Confent, made himfelf Emperor.
And thus 'tis faid that thofe Saxons in Germany
(before their Invafion of Britain) were govern'd
by twelve Cantons, who in time of War chofe one
General.
And having got footing here, they at firfl; can-
ton'd out the Country into eight Kingdoms.
Which was foon reduc'd to feven, call'd the
Heptarchy.
And after that, the feven to fix.
Then the fix to two.
And
( )
And laffc of all, the two to one, by King Eg-
bert -j who is therefore faid to be the firfl Monarch
of England.
And there's a Categorical Anfwer to our Au-
thor's Queftion '■> By what Law the firfl King of
England was made ?
BUT to return to our Author, who hath
more News for us ftiD.
The laft he told us, was, That the King's
Oath to the People was not mutual.
Now he tells us, That the Laws which the King
males are no Contrails, nor binding to him, being
wholly Concejflons on his fide.
And for an Inftance he cites Magna Charta
which he faith begins our Statute-Book, and is folely
from the King, of his mere and free VVill.
And fo, forfooth ! becaufe this Magna Charta
Hands firfl: in Mr. Keeble' s Statute-Book , there muft
never have been any Laws or Statutes in England
before.
Whereas the Articles in this Charter were the
antient Rights demanded by the Peers, and aliow'd
by Henry 11. and King John , and after confirmed
by Henry 111. and his Succeflbrs.
And if our Author had read it through, he
had found the lalt words to be Ratify , Approve,
and Confirm.
BU T our Author, from all thefe nice Diftinc-
tions hath made a flat Concluhon :
That the fole Legiflative Power is in the King.
For which he cites the Form of the A£b:
Be it mailed by the King, by the Advice of the
Lords, and the humble Petition of the Commons , &c.
D And
(2 6 )
And he hath put his &c. in a lucky place: for
the very next words are, And by the Authority of
the fame.
Which words are inferted in all the A&s back-
wards to i Edw. 4.
And from thence backwards, there are words
that amount to it.
And 'tis ftrange that none of the Kings or
Queens of England ever underftood their own Pre-
rogative, till this Chevalier's Attorny-General
found it out.
But never too old to learn :
Better late than never.
This may foon be alter'd when the Chevalier
comes.
'Tis but changing the Writs of Summons to
Parliament into fo many Subpoena's ad Tejlifican-
dum , for the Peers and Commons to come and
witnefs fuch Laws, as the King is going to make
by himfelf.
And when they come, to be employ'd as Scrive-
ners and Clerks to draw and ingrofs them.
But the Title of the Mony-BiLls muft be alter'd :
And inftead of, An A3 for granting an Aid to
bis Majefly, for the vfes therein mention'd j
It muft be, An A3 for granting an Aid by his
Majefly, from his Subje3s to himfelf, for fuch Vfes as
he fhall think fit.
And as for the Coronation-Oatb, fince 'tis a
thing only between God and the King, 'tis no
matter to the Subjefts to know the Contents,
And fo the King may either take it in private,
or let it alone, (as he pleafeth) and celebrate
his Coronation as a Lord-Mayor's Shew only.
BUT
( 27 )
BU T after all this, our Author hath Plumbs in
his pocket for us.
He tells us, That tbo the King is not bound,
By any Oaths that he takes,
Or Laws that he makes \
Being all hut free Concefjions only :
(And fo he that gives them can take them away)
Tet he faith, that if bit King be kept in good humour,
and not otherwife provok'd by rebellious Wives, Chil-
dren, or Servants \
That 'tvs likely he may be kind to his Subjetfs: ■
But that they have no other way for it.
Why then 1 wilh him a good Corn-cutter.
But why rebellious Wives put fo clofe with
Servants ?
This Courtfliip won't gain Female Profelytes.
A Blefled Reformation !
The King to be A-la-mode de Trance,
And the Husband A-la-mode de Spain.
BU T fince our Author hath fo admirably per-
form'd his part, in making good his Title-
Page ;
I'll affifl him with a Call: of my Office, to draw
his Chevalier's Declaration for him in form, from
the Model and Maxims of his Jus Sacrum:
That 1 may make good my Title-Page too,
D 2
The
( 28 )
The TretendeT s Declaration.
JAMES the Third (by virtue of Depolitions
taken in Chancery) of England, Scotland , (but
not France) and Ireland , Chevalier.
Whereas one William Henry Najfau , with di-
vers tumultuous and malicious People, did in the
Year i<S88. make a Revolution ; by continuance
whereof We have been hitherto kept out of thefe
Kingdoms, contrary to all Juftice and Equity :
In tender Confideration whereof, and for that
fuch matters are properly relievable by Declara-
tions, and a particular A d of Oblivion with ge-
neral Exceptions:
We therefore of the Premifes not being igno-
rant, do hereby of our certain Knowledg and
Remembrance publilh and declare Our felves to be
the fole rightful King of thefe Realms (except
France as aforefaid) againft all Occupyers and Pof-
feffors thereof.
And do thereupon demand admittance there-
unto, without Fraud or further Delay, accor-
ding to the true Intent and Meaning of thefe Pre-
fents, and of two late Pamphlets publilh'd on our
behalf; the one intitled Jus Sacrum ; and the o-
ther, Memoirs of the Chevalier St. George.
And whereas we have been inform'd, that fince
the faid Revolution in 1688. and alfo aforetime
for the fpaceof 500 Years laft paft and upwards,
the Crown and Royal Dignity of our faid Realms
have been from time to time invaded and in-
croach'd upon by divers riotous Aflemblies, who
have taken on them to frame and devife certain
things call'd Statutes, or Ads of Parliament,
therein faid to be enaded by the Authority of the
King,
2k
( 19 )
King, Lords, and Commons, in manifeft diminn-
tion of the fole Legiflative Power of the King:
Therefore in Vindication of fuch our Right,
We do hereby declare, That all and every the
things aforefaid, call'd Ads or Statutes, made or
faid to be made by Authority of Parliament, to
have been totally void ab origine. And therefore
do legiflate and enad, That all the pretended Re-
cords thereof be and are hereby abrogated, re-
peal'd and annul'd, to all Intents and Purpofes
whatfoever, (necelfary Ufes only excepted.)
And for preventing the like Abufes for the fu-
ture, We do hereby of our felves and by our
felves, in our own Perfon, and as a Noun Sub-
ftantive only, enad and legiflate, That from
henceforth, inftead of the Forms aforefaid, all
Ads of Legiflature Ihall run in Form following,
viz..
Be it enaSed by the Kings mofi Excellent Majefly,
with himfelf and by himfelf, of h'vs own mere Will and
Pleafure, without any Advice or Confent of the Lords
Spiritual or Temporal, or Commons, either in or out
of Parliament, or Authority of the fame) That, &c.
And We do hereby, of our felves as aforefaid,
legiflate, That to the Coronation-Oath Ihall be
added this Claufe :
Provided neverthelefs that this Oath fhall be no
ways binding to the Crown, for preferving any Laws,
Rights, or Liberties of Church or State therein men-
tion'd ) the fame Oath being an AS of Conceffion only,
and not of Obligation: And that the Kiolation thereof
fhall not be efleem'd any Sin againfl our Neighbour.
And whereas the Titles of Crowns are no ways
alienable from their Heirs •, now purfuant to the
laid Maxim, and for Value receiv'd from his moft
Chriftian Majefty Lewis XIV. We do for us and
our Heirs grant and renounce the Right and Title
of
( 3° )
of the Crown of France to his faid moll Chriftian
Majefty and his Heirs.
And for quieting the Minds of cur loving Sub-
jefte againft Fears of our Difpleafure for things
pafl, We do hereby declare, That all and every
of thera who (hall without Fraud or further De-
lay cotne in and fubmit themfelves to our abfolute
Pleafure and Difpofal, fhall have our Royal Grant
of Conceflion to enjoy their Lives and Eftates
during our Royal Will and Pleafure, (and Good
Humour.)
fExcept all and every Perfon or Perfons, who
in Council, Field, or Garifon, either in England,
Scotland , or Ireland , were any ways advifing, aid-
ing or abetting the faid Revolution in 1688.
And except all Perfons, who fince the 13th. of
February 1688. have voted in either Houfe of Par-
liameno in England, Scotland , or Ireland.
And all other Officers, Civil or Military, who
have taken the Oaths of Abjuration \ (other than
fuch of them who fhall abjure the fame back again.)
And except atl Perfons, who by Writing or
Printing, Thought, Word, or Deed, have de-
fam'd Us and our Title.
And except all Proteftants whatfoever (not be-
ing Jacobites.)
And except all fuch Perfon or Perfons, as We
fhall from time to time think fit to except by
Name, on account of their Religion,
Some
( 3 l )
Some MEMOIRS of Two
CfjebaitetS ®t. (Scojgr
Reign of Henry VII.
AL L Pretenders have an equal Liberty (with
Poets or Painters) to cad themselves what
they pleafe.
And our Author having calPd his Pretender Cheva-
lier St. George, 1 call mine fo too.
*
KING Edward III. had four Sons, neither of
which came to the Crown j but the Defcen-
dants of each of them did.
r . Edward the Black Prince of Wales , who had
Iflue Richard U.
2. Lionel Duke of Clarence , from whofe Daugh-
ter and Heir defcended Edward IV.
3 . John Duke of Lancajler , whofe Son Henry
came to be Henry IV.
4. Edmund Duke of York, from whom Edward
IV. was defcended by the Father's fide.
RichardU. being depos'd, and Lionel Duke of
Clarence and John Duke of Lancajler dead, Hen-
ry (Son of John Duke of Lancajler) was invited
to accept the Crown-, which he did by the name
of Henry IV.
And left it to Henry V.
Who left it to Henry VI.
Which
( 3» >
Which three Henrys were call'd the Line of
Lancafier.
Tho during their Reigns there were Heirs of
the elder Houfe of Clarence intermarry'd into the
Houfeof York*
But in the Reign of Henry VI. Richard Duke of
Yorl^ began the Civil Wars between the two Houfes.
Who being flain in Battel, Edward his Son pro-
fecuting his Claim, recover'd the Crown (from
Henry VI.) and died feiz'd of it by the name of
Edward IV.
Leaving two Sons, EdwardV. and Richard Duke
of York , and a Daughter Elizabeth , and other
Daughters j
And a Nephew, Edward Plantagenet , (Son of
George Duke of Clarence , his next Brother :)
And Richard Duke of Gloucefier his youngeft
Brother, and two Sifters, (or fome fay Aunts;)
Elizabeth marry'd to the Duke of Suffolk and
Margaret to the Duke of Burgundy.
Edward V. was proclaim'd ■, but before he was
crown'd, Richard Duke of Gloucefier ufurp'd the
Throne, by the name of Richard III.
Secur'd his Nephews EdwardV. and Richard
Duke of York , under ground;
And fent his Niece Elizabeth and Nephew Plan-
tagenet Prifoners to //Mfrow-Caftle in York/hire:
And was in queft after Henry Earl of Richmond
(a remaining Defcendant of John Duke of Lan-
cafier by his third Wife) upon which the Earl
elcap'd to Flanders.
But King Richard having by this Ufurpation and
Tyranny render'd himfelf odious to the People,
they fent an Invitation to the Earl of Richmond
to come and accept the Crown, and to marry
Lady Elizabeth , King Edward' s eldeft Daughter.
Which the Earl accepted ^ and landing with an
Army of 2000 Men, and being join'd by others,
gave King Richard battel at Bofworth- Field in
Leicefier-
( 35 )
Leicejlerfhire , 22 Augufl 1485. where King Ri-
chard was flain, and the Earl proclaim'd King by
the name of Henry VII.
Before he left the Country, he fent for Lady
Elizabeth and Edward Piantagenet from Hutton-
Caftle, and fent the Lady to the Qua«n Dowager
her Mother, but Piantagenet Prifoner to the Tower.
In OClober following the King was crown'd,
and the Crown entail'd by Parliament on him and
the Heirs of his Body, without any Entail of the
Reverfion.
The 18th of January following he marry'd Lady
Elizabeth.
But the delaying her Coronation, and impri-
foning Edward Piantagenet , had difgufted the Peo-
pie, and gave them an Imprelfion of him, as hav-
ingan Averfion to the Houfe of York, whofe Right
they prefer'd to his.
And in order to blaft his Title, it was rumour'd
about that Richard Duke of York was not murder'd
with his Brother Edward V. but permitted to
Cfcape, and wasftill living.
To carry on this Project, one Simon an Oxford
Prieft undertook to get Duke Richard perfonated
by (one of the Prieft's Pupils, afprightly Lad of
about the Duke's Age) Lambert Simnel a Baker's
Son.
But another Rumour arifing about the fame
time, that Edward Piantagenet was efcap'd out of
the Tower, (which feem'd more probable than the
Refurre&ion of Duke Richard •■,)
Simon transform'd his Pupil Simnel from Duke
Richard to Edward Piantagenet.
By which, Simon ('tis faid) aim'd at a Bi-
Ihoprick.
The Sifters of Edward IV. (fomefay Aunts) be-
ing in the Projett to trip up King Henry's heels,
that the Crown might revert to the Boule of fprk.
E For
( 34 )
For tho Simon buoy'd up Simnel with hopes of
a Grown for himfelf, the Lad was only fingled
out for a Tool to run the Gauntlet of Fortune.
But this being a Scene that would aft better a-
broad than at home, Simon fail'd with his Simnel
into Ireland , where the Affeftion for the Houfe of
Tork was higheft :
Where 'tis faid they made the firft Addrefs to
the Earl of Kildare Lord Deputy, who being (or
feeming) pofiefs'd with the Pretence as true, firft
communicated it to the Nobles, and after let it
take vent among the People:
Who (as the Hiftory faith) either out of Af-
feftion to the Houfe of Tork , or Pride to give
England a King, proclaim'd Simnel King at Dub-
lin, by the name of EdwardW.
King Henry (upon this News) to convince the
People of the Cheat, caus'd Edward Plantagenet
on a Sunday to be brought from the Tower to
Paul's Church in good Habit ■, where feveral No-
bles and Gentlemen of his Acquaintance con-
vers'd with him.
Which convinc'd the People in London •, but the
Irifh turn'd the Impofture upon the King, as if
he had drefs'd up a counterfeit Plantagenet in Eng-
land to refemble theirs in Ireland.
And knowing that John Earl of Lincoln (Son
and Heir to Elizabeth , eldeft Sifter or Aunt of Ed-
ward IV-. by the Duke of Suffolk) had fome thoughts
of the Crown, the Irifh fent to him to come and
join their Plantagenet.
The Earl having alfo receiv'd Letters about it
from his Aunt the Dutchefs of Burgundy , fails
over to her in Flanders:
Where it was confulted, that if Simnel fuc-
ceeded againft the King, he Ihould be detefted as
a Counterfeit, and the true Plantagenet fet up.
In
( 35 )
In order to this, the Dutchefs furnifh'd Ships,
and fent 2000 Almain Soldiers to Ireland under
Colonel Swan , to affilt Simnel who upon their
Arrival was crown'd King at Dublin.
King Henry hearing that the Dutchefs of Eur-
gundy and Earl of Lincoln were at the bottom,
found he mull fight for the Crown again.
Simnel with his Army under four Generals, the
Earls of Lincoln and Kildare , Lord Lovel , and
Swart^ landing at Fouldnefs in Lanca/hire , was join'd
by Sir Thomas Broughton :
And gave the King battel at Stokefield near
Newark i
Where the King had the Victory ;
The four Generals kill'd,
Simnel and Simon taken prifoners.
Simnel (known to be only a Tool) the King
would not put to death, but firft put him a Servant
in his Kitchin, and afterwards made him a Falconer.
Simon was committed to Prifon, and never
heard of.
And this was the Succefs of that firfi: Chevalier.
BUT about five Years after (the Hiftory faith)
the King began again to be haunted with the
Ghoft: of Richard Duke of York , rais'd by Dutchefs
Margaret \ who had Spies abroad to find out
handfom Youths to make Plantagenets or Dukes of
York of.
For which there was brought to her a Son of Pe-
ter Osbcck , or bVarbec%( a Convert Jew of Tour nay ^
marry'd to Katherine de Faro) whole Bufinefs had
drawn him and his Wife to London in Edward lV's
Reign.
During which, this Son was born, and being
known in Court, the King had honour'd him to
gofiip his Son by the name of Peter } afterwards
E 2 call'a
\
( ?<? )
caU'd by the diminutive Name of Peterkin or
Perkin.
And having perfe&ly learnt the Engli/h Tongue,
and being a comely crafty Lad, was brought to
the Dutchefs:
Who keeping him with her in fecret, inftru&ed
him in the common and fecret Paflages of King
Edward's Family \
And defcrib'd to him the Perfonages of the
King and Queen, and all their Children, and of
feveral Courtiers and Servants at that time :
Adding to him Promifes of the Crown, if he
fucceeded.
And with thefe Accomplifiiments intended to
fend him to Ireland , at a time when King Henry
Ihould be at war with France.
But that he might not be fufpe&ed by coming
dire&'.y from Flanders -,
She fent him with a Privado to Portugal , to ex-
pedt further Orders:
Where he had continued about a Year, when
King Henry haddeclar'd War againft France.
Then Ihe fent him Dire&ions to fail for Ire-
land, where he landed at Cork, afTuming the Per-
fon of Duke Richard.
And drawing in Accomplices, he wrote Letters
to the Earls of Defmond and Ktldare to come to
his Aid, (the Originals whereof the Hiftory faith
are extant.)
Sometime before this, the Dutchefs bad gain'd
to her Stephen Frion (King Henry's Secretary for
French) who on difcontent was fled to Charles
King of France.
The French King (ready t » embrace all Advan-
tages againft King Henry , and infligated by the
Dutchefs and Frion) fent Frion and one Lucas as
Ambafladors to Perkin, inviting him to France, as
refolving to aid him againft King Henry.
Psrkin
( t>7 )
Perkjnex alted withfo great an Ally, fails from
Ireland to France :
Where he was receiv'd and lodg'd in State, by
the name of the Duke of Tori , and a Guard af-
fign'd to his Perfon.
And the Courtiers (to pleafe the King) feem'd
to take it as real.
And thither came to him about an hundred
Gentlemen f 'om England.
But the Hiitory faith, that all this on the French
King's part was but a Trick, to bring King Henry
to a Peace.
And therefore upon the Entrance on the Peace at
BuUoign, Perkin was warn'd away :
Who thereupon return'd to the Dutchefs in
Flanders , pretending (to all but the Dutchefs) to
be caft there by various Fortunes, as never there
before \
The Dutchefs feeming to make him as ftrange
to her, faying, She had been taught Wit by Simnel,
how to give credit to any more counterfeit Stuff:
And (in Company) would pofe him with hard
Questions, whether he were the Duke.
But then being fatisfy'd with his Anfwers, (he
feem'd tranfported with aftonilhraent at his Deli-
verance, as if rifen from the dead, and referv'd
by Providence for fome great Fortune.
And his Difmiflion from France (he magnify'd as
the greateft Teftimony of his Sincerity, as being
fo confiderable a Perfon, that the two Kings made
him a Bargain of the Peace.
All which Perkin atted fo well, that he was ge-
nerally believ'd the real Duke-, the Dutchefs calling
him Nephew, and affigning him a Guard of thirty
Halberdeers.
This News came blazing to England , that Duke
Richard w as certainly alive.
And
( 38 )
And Sir William Stanly and others (in difguft
with the King) efpous'd Perkin's Caufe, and lent
over Sir Robert Clifford and another to Flanders,
to give more certain Intelligence.
Sir Robert Clifford fent back word, that he knew
the Perfon of Duke Richard *, and that this was the
very Duke.
Upon this, things feem'd tending to a Revolt.
But King Henry , to deteft the Counterfeit, fent
Spies into Flanders , and lifted out Perkin's Paren-
tage abroad, and his Correfpondents in England
and elfewhere.
And by degrees the King won off Sir Robert
Clifford , who knew molt of the Secret.
Then the King fent Ambalfadors to the Duke
of Burgundy , to deliver Perkin :
Which the Duke excus'd, as being upon the
Lands of his Mother-in-Law the Dutchefs's Dow-
ry, where Ihe was abfolute.
Whereupon the King banilh'd the Flemings out of
England , and the Duke the Englifh out of Flanders.
But the King knowing that Perkin muft depend
more upon his Complices at home than abroad,
executed feveral of them.
And Sir Robert Clifford coming to England , and
impeaching Sir William Stanly , he was beheaded.
Perkin finding his Friends going down the wind,
refolv'd to pafs into England, and to try his Fate,
by fe.'ing up his Standard on theCoafts of Kent :
where he arriv'd and call anchor near Sandwich in
July , with a defpicable number of Defperadoes of
feveral Nations.
And to found the Affe&ionsof the People, fent
fome of his Men on Ihore, boafting of the Power
that was to follow.
But mod of .them were kill'd by the Kentifh
Men, and i 50 taken prifoners, who were after-
wards executed.
Perkin
( ?9 )
Perkin hereupon returns to Flanders, and from
thence again to Ireland.
But finding things there fettled againft him, he
was advis'd to feek Aid from the King of Scot-
land , (ill-affe&ed to King Henry.)
And getting Letters of Recommendation from
Maximilian and the French King, he arriv'd in
Scotland with a good Company, and was there ho-
nourably receiv'd by James IV. in prefence of his
Nobles.
Before whom Perkin made a Declaration or Nar-
ration (almoft half as long as our Author's Jus
Sacrum) afierting himfelf the right Richard.
But faid, as to the manner of his Efcape, it was
fit to pafs in filence, in refpeft to fome living
and fome dead.
Comparing himfelf to little Joas , fav'd alive
from the Tyranny of Athaliah.
['Let Pretenders alone for quoting Scripture."]
And focaft himfelf into King James's Arms, for
Aid to recover his Kingdom of England.
To which the King anfwer'd, That whatever he
■were, he Jhould not repent him of putting himfelf into
h'vs hands.
And after entertain'd him as Duke of York , and
marry'd him to the Earl of Huntley's Daughter,
the King's Kinfwoman.
Not long after, King James with an Army (and
Perkin with him) enter'd Northumberland.
And Perkin fent a Proclamation before him, in
the name of Richard Duke of York , true Inheritor
of the Crown of England:
Therein offering a thoufand Pounds, and a hun-
dred Marks per ann. for taking or killing King
Henry, (by the name of one Henry Tudor.)
But King James obferving none of the Country
flocking in to Perkin , thought he would prove of
no ufe to him in that Expedition :
And
( 4° )
And fo proceeded no further than Northumber-
land, which heravag'd with his Army.
At which Perkin (to fhew himfelf the true Pa-
rent of his Country) told King James, That he had
rather lofe h'vs Kingdom, than purcbafe it with the
Blood of h'vs Subjetfs.
To which King James reply'd, (half in fport)
That he doubted he was careful for what was none of
hit own.
However, Perkin returns with King James into
Scotland.
During this, the Cornifh Men in England rebel'd,
and came up towards London j but were routed at
Blackbeath:
And the Scots invade England again j but on a
Truce contracted, Perkin left Scotland , and with
his Lady and fome Followers landed again in Ireland.
Where the Cornifh Men fent to him to come
into Cornwal.
Which he did, landing with about 120 Men at
Whitfons-Bay:
To whom were gather'd about 3000 more.
Upon this, he puts forth a new Declaration,
with Inve&ives againfl: King Henry , and large Pro-
mifes to the Subjedts:
Stiling himfelf Richard IV. King of England.
And firfl they befiege Exeter •, but the Forces of
the Country coming againit them, they remove to
Taunton.
From Taunton he fled by night with about fixty
Men, and took SanCtuary at Bewly in Hampfhire.
King Henry leaving a guard on the San&uary,
fent for the Lady Katherinc G our don (Perkin's
Wife) and entertain'd her honourably, and gave
her an Eftate for her Life.
And Perkin fubmitting to quit SanCluary, was
afterwards brought to Court, but not into the
King's prefence *, tho the King (for Curiofity)
faw him out of the Window. And
( 4 l )
And whcrt the King went for London, Perkin
Was brought after him with a Guard, and led on
horfe-back to the Tower, and fo back to Wejl-
minjler \
And examin'd as to his Pedigree, but not his
Accomplices.
Efcaping from his Keeper, he was retaken, and
put in the Stocks \ where he read his Confeffion,
And was then fent Prifoner to the Tower.
There getting to Edward Plantagenet , he put
him, as 'tis faid, upon a Projedt for making their
Efcapes;
Which being difcover'd, Perkin was foon after
executed at Tyburn forTreafon, where he read
again his Confeffion, and took it upon his Death
to be true.
And thus ended this fecond Chevalier.
EVward Plantagenet was foon after arraign'd and
beheaded.
Which the People thought hard Ufage.
And in him the Male Line of the Plantagencts
ended.
NOW if I am ask'd what I have repeated
thefe old Stories for ?
1 can't well tell.
But by it we fee that Pretenders to Crowns are
no new things.
And to have great Perfons at home and abroad
abetting them (fome knowingly and fome igno-
rantly, fome cunningly and fome fooliffily, fome
for one end and fome for another, and fome for no
end at all but Variety) is alfo no new thing.
F - And
( 4 2 )
And the Hiftory tells us. That Perkin had fo
poffefs'd the People with his Pretenfion, that he
hirafelf began to fufped whether it was not true.
And there's another Hiftorian would ftill have
his Readers think, That this Perkin Osbeck was not
Perkin Osbeck, but the very Richard Duke of York
which he affurrfd to be.
But it feems the Majority in thofe days were of
another mind, (and with good reafon.)
Now this feems fomething of the Cafe of the
prefent Chevalier.
Some thirfk him the real Son of King James and
his Queen :
Others think there was Legerdemain in the
Midwifery, (notwithftanding the Depofitions in
our Author's Memoirs) and efpecially fince his
Birth was fo certainly predicted to be a Male, and
reported about Town two hours before the time
of Delivery in the Depofitions.
Others think there was a Change in the Cradle,
of which there are violent Sufpicions in Print.
And fome others are not much concern'd or
careful in this matter one way or other : with this
difference only, That were there no Sufpicion in
hisPerfon, his Blood would have protected him
from the Language he hath drawn on himfelf by
affirming the Crown.
But be the Fad of his Birth as it will, he is but
a Pretender r to the Crown without Right, being
legally excluded : (befides his Attainder.)
And that with the higheft reafon, if there were
no other, (as a Papift.)
A Difabiiity to which her Majefty hath fub-
je&ed her own Iffue, fhould they fall under it:
And by which all the intermediate Relations
between her Majefty and the Houfe of Hannover
do hand excluded, without any Affront or Dif-
honour to thenfi
Our
( 4? )
A \
Our Author indeed has prefer'd his JmSadrum
as an Indi&ment againft thofe Settlements, for
ftealing the Crown from his Chevalier ; in hopes
(as Ihould feem) one time or other to get a pack'd
Jury, who may find it Billa Vera.
But as bad as thofe Adts of Settlement are
treated, I am glad we have them:
And that we had them when we had: and that
there is a Proteftant Branch of the Royal Family
left (as a Teil-Tree) to inherit the contingent Sue-
ceffion of the Crown.
And tho (to fave our Author's Longing to
know by what Law the firft King of England was
made) I took occafion to mention Monarchy as an
Acceflionof Power, proceeding by gradation from
lefler Governments •,
I am not thereby railing a Difiike of Monar-
chy, or wilhing a Return of it into any other
Government.
But on the contrary, admiring that Perfection
of Policy in the Conftitution of the Monarchy of
Great Britain , by which the Head is cemented to
the Members, in the compleat Body Politick of
Queen, (or King) Lords and Commons.
And from this Conftitution it is faid. That the
Kings (or Queens) of England never die.
For that tho their Perfonsdie like other Men,
Yet the Body Politick furviving, the SuccelTor
immediately fills the Throne, without any new
Ele&ion.
For which reafon, the Kings, Queens, and Par-
liaraents of England have been fo careful not to
leave that Succelfion doubtful.
And therefore to prevent the Defcent of the
Crown to any but Proteftants, the late Acts o,t
Settlement were made.
And this is the Hook which King William left in
the Pope's Nofe;
F 2 And
/
( 44 >
And which her prefent Majefty hath happily
clench'd by the Union, with the Succellion of the
Crown in the Proteftant Line.
And now becaufe his Holinefs's Bulls (inParcb-
ment under the leaden Seal of the Fifherman) are not
at prefent current in our Country,
His Emiflaries fquib them abroad in Papers and
Pamphlets of Jus Sacrum, &c. curfing and damn-
ing all the Laws and Law-makers difabling Ca-
tholicks from the Crown on account of their Re-
ligion.
And yet thofe Holy Fathers (and Holy Sons) of
Rome, would never let the Proteftant Kings of
France reft on the Throne, till they had declar'd
themfelves Papifts •, and after that, murder'd
them, as being not cruel enough to Hereticks.
And yet again they would now difpenfe with
their Catholick Chevalier to. turn Heretick, to
bring the Crown of Great Britain again under the
Pope's paw,
CAny thing to get foroe Peter-Pence in an ho-
neft way.)
And yet in both thefe Extremes they would be
efteem'd infallible.
And tho they ufe but little Scripture at home,
they are very copious in it abroad :
And tho they pray in Latin only, they can curfe
in all Languages when things don't go their way.
Otherwife they are good-humour'd (as our Au-
thor faith his Chevalier will be, when he is
pleas'd.)
And fo is fome body elfe ;
From whom, Libera not Domine.
And after all this, perhaps fome of the Preten-
der's now pretended Friends may have no better
Thoughts for him, than thofe Pretender's pre-
tended Friends then had for them •, who (had they
fucceeded to dethrone the then King) were (at
belt)
( 45 )
beft) only to be paid for a&ing, and fent home
again with fomething to drink their Mailers and
MiftrefTes Health that employ'd them there being
then other Takers ready for the Crown, of whofe
Perfons there was no fufpicion.
Nor do I think that all this Dull is now rais'd
fo much to fet up the Pretender, as to pull dow»
(the Bulwark of the Church and State; the two
late A£ts for Settlement of the Crown.
Againft which, fuch Do&rines as this Jus Set-
crum are fpread about, hoping the People will
of themfelves make the proper Application when
time ferves.
And I hope fo too.
But I remember an ingenious Gentleman, who
X fancying he had found out the perpetual Motion
in the Mathematicks, had all the parts of his
Scheme fram'd in pieces by the Mechanicks: but
being put together, he difcover'd one Fault in it,
That it would not go.
Now I mull needs fay, that thefe Jus Sacrumsj
&c. are pretty ingenious things j but being exa-
min'd by the Teft, they difcover one Fault in
themfelves, 7 hat they are not true.
A Country Farmer obferv'd, That he never knew
a Man do a good Day^s Work, that eat two Mejfes
of Porridge to his Breakfafi.
And I believe one might hold odds of Six to
Four, That a Man who begins his Argument in a
Triangle of two Adje&ives to one Subftantive,
writes himfelf out of breath before he has done.
SnMeaftbte-iJereiittarp
Etgijt,
Is a pretty Amufemeut enough for a Motto upon
a Sun-Dial.
But when the Inventors of it try to explain ir, ■
and tell what they would have by it, it terminates
in a Jell; Definit
(4* )
Definit in pifcem Mulier fomofa fupernel
Bat that I may not take all the Quarrel on
my felf:
If thefe Jus-Sacrum Divines can convince the
Lawyers, I'll knock under table.
The Lawyers have a common Term among
them, of being feiz.ed of an lndefeafible Eft ate of
Inheritance.
But they fay with it, That whoever is fo feiz'd,
may alienate that Inheritance from his Son or Heir
apparent, without their Confent} For that every
Man hath his Heirs in him.
But thefe Jus-Sacrum Lawyers deny that *, and
fay; That the Inheritance is lodg'd in the Son or
Heir expedant, who cannot be defeated of that
Expedancy by Father or Anceftors.
But Ihould thefe Gentlemen turn this their Law
into Pradice, and ride about as Attorneys-1 tine-
rant, delivering Ejedraents againft all the Lands
in the Kingdom alienated by Anceftors from their
Heirs ex pedant:
Would they not deferve (think you) to be in-
dided for Barretors ?
Why then Ihould the Legiflature be condemn'd,
for declaring thofe to be Traitors who attempt to
difturb the Peace of the Realm, by libelling the
Settlements of the Crown ?
But won't they turn the Libel upon me ?
If they do, I have fon affault demefne for it; They
began firft.
They have had their Saying,
. And 1 have had mine.
And if they claim Privilege (as Plaintiffs) to
have the Reply, I fubmit to the Court.
But if I don't miftake them, they are but as
Coventry-Bowlers, who play their beft at firft.
THE END.
THE
SUCCESSION
O F T H E
Houfe of Hannover
VINDICATED,
AGAINST
The PRETENDER 'S
Second Declaration in Folio,
intitled, The Hereditary (Right of the
Crown of England afferted , &c.
Ad Populum Phaleras, ego te intus, & in
Cute novi.
Written by Mr. Asgill.
Cfje @>rcono cnttton.
LONDON,
Printed for J. R oberts at the Oxford-
Arms in Warwick-Lane. M.DCC.XIY.
(Price One Shilling.)
( 3 )
The Succejfion of the Houfe of
Hannover vindicated\ &c.
A BOUT this time Twelvemonth (as
/\ I remember, be the fame more or
J \ lefs) there came out two anony-
mous Pamphlets:
The one intitled, Jus Sacrum;
Apd the other, Memoirs of the Chevalier
St. George.
From which, in conjunction, I then took
liberty to publifh the Pretender's Declaration 3
according to the Rules and Maxims therein
prefcrib'd for him.
Now by another late Anonymous in Folio ?
I find the two former were but the Jackal 9
giving notice that the Lion was coming.
I remember then a Rumour, that they
were rumaging hard for the Will of King
Henry the Eighth.
And lo 1 now they have found it! as a holy
Relique', referv'd from ^ges and Generations
paft, to be reveal'd juft at this time, when
they think they have fo pat an occafion for it.
But
( 4 )
But the Finders demanding twelve Shillings
a head for the fight of it, I have pirated it
at twelve Fence:
For which, I am advis'd the Author cannot
have his Law againft me, without fetting his
Name to his Folio.
Which if he had, perhaps he was con-
fcious of fame Law againft him, for High
Treafon (or thereabouts) in libelling the Set-
tlements of the Crown by Parliament.
For tho he is fo wife, in his tenth Page, as
not to difpute himfelf the Power of the Par-
liament, in limiting the Inheritance of the
Crown;
Yet he is fo cunning to fpend the reft of his
Pages, in offering fuch Reafons, as he hath,
to perl'uade every one elfe, both to difpute and
deny that Power.
(Not much unlike a Man or two, I know,
who are themfelves very zealous for the Sue-
ceflion of the Houfe of Hannover , but hate
every one elfe that is fo.)
But as Children ufe to keep their Plumbs to
the laft, fo our Author (after all his Prelimi-
nary Reafons) hath kept the Will of King
Henry the Eighth as a Stone in his Sleeve, for
the Pin Basket or Clencher to all the reft.
And with this he feems to hug himfelf, as
having caught the Kingdom in a Dilemma (An-
ghee , aWhy-not.)
For, faith he, King Henry the Eighth hav
ing a Power by Parliament to limit the Sue-
t ceflion
( 5 )
ceffion of the Crown (upon failure of his
ownlflue) did, by his Will, limit the fame
away from the Heirs of his elde Siller,
Queen of Scotland, to the Heirs of his youn-
ger Sifter, Queen of France (by her fecond
Husband, Charles Brandon Duke of Suffolk.)
And yet, faith he, you know that the
Crown hath been ever fince held and en-
joy'd by King James the Firft, and his De-
fcendants, as Heirs to the Queen of Scotland.
This is what he faith.
From whence he would have his Readers
think (for as for himfelf, he profefles to deal
only in matters of Faft) either that the Par-
liamentary Limitation then made of the
Crown to the Heirs of the younger Sifter,
was void againft the Heirs of the elder j or
elfe that King James the Firft, and his De-
fcendants, have been Ufurpers only, againft
that Limitation.
And our Author hath defcended fo far into
this matter, as to name the Earls of Derby , the
Defendants of the Queen of France.
Now, thinks our Author, no one dares
be fo hardy, as to arraign her Majefty's Ti-
tie to the Crown, by fetting up the Earls of
Derby as Competitors:
Ergo (thinks he again) the Revolution-
Men muft knock under Table, and give up
the prefent Settlements of the Crown, as void
againft the next Heirs.
And
And then our Author, and his Folks, know,
(or think they know) what they have to do
next.
Now (tho I have a perfonal Honour for
the Earl of Derby) I intirely fail in with our
Author's Fancy, that neither the Earls of
Derby ^ or any other of her Majefty's Subje&s,
have thoughts of them as her Competitors,
under the Will of Henry the Eighth.
And yet I'll wreftle a Fall with our Author,
before I give him his Conclufion \
That therefore the Parliamentary Settlements
of the Crown were, or are, either void or tU
legal.
And tho I have, as yet, the Laws of the
Kingdom on my fide, to give our Author a
fhorter Conviftion :
Yet becaufe we Authors are to fence fair,
with Pen, Ink, and Paper only, I freely wave
all carnal Weapons;
And as Prize-Fighters fhake Hands before
they go to Blows;
I'll make all juft Acknowledgments of the
Author (tho unknown) before I attack his
Treatife.
Tirjl , I do believe that what he hath done
was not of his own head, but that the hand
of Joab is in all this.
Secondly , I do acknowledg he hath given
to his Treatife a Title antient, grave and lau-
dable, talking about Hereditary Right ; and
after
\
( 7 )
after that, he hath adorn'd it with the Stile
of an Orator, the Language of a Gentleman,
and an Air of Temper, with marginal Notes
and Quotations of antient things, and all o-
ther Commodities and Appurtenances belong-
ing to a Twelve-Shilling Folio.
But after all this, I don't repent my Motto,
in allufion to the Treatife it felf;
Ad Populum Phaleras.
Something like a Horfe, and not a Horfe , in
Horfe Trappings.
And as it was the Saying of a Reverend
Divine, Whenever I fight, 1 care not whether 1
have any Weapon in my own hand, provided my
Antagonift hath one:
So I feel my felf a little encourag'd to this
Encounter, that tho I my felf am unarm'd
(not having accefs to Biblioth. Harley. and o-
ther Libraries, quoted by our Author, out of
which he feems to have been furnifh'd) yet
if I mifs not my aim, I fhall either wreft
his own Weapons from him, or turn the Points
upon him. •
OUR
( 8 )
OUR Author feems to publifh his
Treatife, in confutation of Dr.
HigdenV Fierv of the Englifh Con-
fiitution.
From whence our Author ftates the Quef-
tion to be, Whether Inheritance or Pojfefjion is y
by the Conjlitution, the Right to the Englifh
Monarchy :
And immediately danceth into the diftinc-
tion of Kings de faffo, and Kings de jure,
fram'd by the Houfe of Tork againft the Houfe
of Lancajler.
'Tis true (faith our Author) the Do&or
acknowledgeth in plain Terms, That the Crown
is Hereditary;
But then, faith he, the Do£tor alfo afTerts,
That this Inheritance may be limited by Par-
liament:
Which our Author promifeth nottodifpute.
(No ; Tace is Latin for a Candle.)
But in the fame Paragraph, he would have
it feem both incoherent and ridiculous, That
this Inheritance jhould be limited by Parliament;
And hath made his whole 1 reatife a Libel
upon any fuch Parliamentary Settlements.
He faith, the Generality of all Men under-
ftand, by an Hereditary Right, A Monar-
chy entaWd on one Family, and defending fuc-
cejfively
\
( 9 )
cefjively to the feveral Heirs of it; fuch as the
Monarchies of France, Spain, Portugal, &c.
and all other Hereditary Dominions of the World.
And fuch , faith he, is the Englifh Monarchy
governed fucceffively above nine hundred years by
the fame Royal Family; which , he faith, hath the
advantage for Antiquity above any in the World.
Remark. ' Now being a little prone to
4 Contradiction, I do deny that tjie Mo-
* narchy of France is always defcendible to
4 the next Heir, according to the underftand-
4 ing of Heirs in our Law (which I conceive
£ is the Senfe our Author means in his Pofi-
4 tion :) for the Inheritance of the Crown of
4 France is qualify'd by the Salick Law, as
4 they call it, to prevent the Crown from de-
4 fcending to any Female, tho next in Blood.
4 And in fuch cafe the Crown is to go to
c the next Male of the Royal Family, whe-
4 ther lineal or collateral; who cannot pro-
4 perly be call'd the Heir, becaufe the Fe-
4 male, as next in Blood, is Heir at Common
4 Law.
4 And therefore the Crown, in that cafe,
4 doth not come to that Male by Defcent, ac-
4 cording to Common Law, but by a fpecial
4 Law of that Kingdom. Therefore if our
4 Author would have the Monarchy of Eng-
4 land to be model'd by that of Irance, he
c muft introduce the Salick Law; by which,
4 I fay, the Crown would not be always de-
4 fcendible to the next in Blood, according to
B ' ' our
( lO )
4 our Author's Definition of Hereditary Right.
4 And fo our Author hath ftumbled at the
4 Threshold.'
ND our Author, in further contradic-
ti®n to his firft Pofition, and to Ihew
us that this Lineal Defcent is not always to
take place, hath quoted feveral Inftances,
wherein the fame hath been interrupted, and
that for juft Reafons.
1. By a Difpofition of the Crown by the
prefent Regnant from the next Heir.
2. By a Ceffion or Submiffion of the next
Heir himfelf.
Remark. 4 Why then, before I go any far-
4 ther, I'll take our Author at his word, That
< this Inheritance is not indefeasible :
4 For which I thank him, as the firft of his
4 Order that ever I found fo defperate as to
4 part with that Adje&ive.
4 And I call it defperate, becaufe that be-
4 ing yielded, the Conteft is at an end.
4 That the Crown of England is heredita-
4 ry in the Royal Family, and defcendible
4 from one of them to another, unlefs that
4 Defcent be prevented, I as freely own as our
6 Author can alfert.
4 But that this Defcent may be lawfully pre-
4 vented, by Tranflation of the Crown from
4 the
( 11 )
the next Heir apparent, to fome other of
4 the. fame Royal Family, is as effential a part
4 of the Conftitution as the other; and our
4 Author hath fo acknowledg'd it.
4 And had he ended his Treatife here, I
4 had never begun mine.
4 But he having gone out of his way (to
4 ferve a prefent Turn) as foon as that is
4 over, he eats his words, and would have
4 his dear In defeasible again: which he fhall nor,
* if I can help it; or at leaft, as I find him
4 apoftatizing, I'll give him a gentle Jog now
4 and then.'
YO U muft know that Dr. Higder? s Ge-
neral Pofition (as our Author tells us)
is,
That the People of England fubmitted to the
thirteen Kjngs, who, from the Conqueft to Kjng
Henry the Seventh, came to the Throne with-
out Hereditary Right; as well as to the fix He-
reditary Kjngs, who reign'd in that Period.
Remark. 4 Now our Author having hung
4 out his Title-Page, as a Sign of fhewing the
4 Conftitution of the Monarchy to be Here-
* ditary, he thought, perhaps, if he admit-
4 ted thirteen in nineteen in that Conftitu-
4 tion to be Non-Hereditary, it would be a Pre-
4 fcription of a general Rule, with fewer In-
B 2 4 ftances
( 11 )
4 fiances for it, than there are Exceptions a-
4 gainft it.
4 Therefore our Author's firft Stratagem,
4 is to get from the Doftor fo many of his
4 thirteen Non-Hereditary Kings, as will
4 make the Author's fix Hereditary Kings to
4 be the Majority.
4 And this he hath done, by converting four
4 of the Doftor's thirteen Non-Hereditary
4 into Hereditary Kings; which added to
4 our Author's fix Hereditary, makes them
4 ten: and then the Do£lor hath but nine,
4 and our Author hath the Majority:
4 And fo Captue, Capta, Captum ;
4 The Do&or's overcome in Arithmetick.
4 But to gain this Vi&ory, our Author is
4 forc'd to fufpend his Adjective lndefeazible,
4 without which he could not work this Con-
4 verfion of Non-Hereditary into Hereditary
4 Kings j as will appear by the Sequel.'
U R Author tells us, that the Do&or,
by Hereditary Kjtigs , means only fuch
as held the Crown by Proximity of Blood;
and by Non-Hereditary, fuch as plac'd them-
felves in the Throne, when others, nearer
related by Defcent, were living.
But faith our Author, the Do&or fhould
have known, that Hereditary had a different
figni-
< 1$ )
fignification, in antient writing, than he hath
affign'd to it.
For faith our Author, tho William the
Conqueror was not the next of kin to Edward
the Confelfor, yet he well raaintain'd himfelf
to be King Edward's Heir, and to have the
Title of the Crown Hereditary to him by
King Edward's Will.
And our Author faith, a Succeffor by Will
is an Heir, in the Language of the Civil Law :
And faith, that many of the Do&or's
Friends have taken it ill, that the word Htre-
ditary fhould be appropriated only to fuch as
fucceeded by Proximity of Blood.
Remark. ' Now whether the Doctor and I
< are Friends or no, I can't tell;
4 But in this Point I court our Author's
< Friendfhip, by intirely agreeing with him,
< That Hereditary Title is not confn'd to Proxi-
4 mity of Blood only'
ND to pufh it farther, our Author
faith, it is a Truth never call 'd in
queftion, that many of our Kings, fince the
Conqueft, were generally efteem'd rightful
Succelfors, tho they were not the next Heirs
by Blood to the Crown.
Remark. 4 Nor ever fha 11 be call'd in quef-
4 tion by me.'
AND
( '4 )
AN D then our Author begins to cate-
chize the Do&or, Whether in this He-
reditary Monarchy of England, there was not
antiently a Power in the Crown to interrupt and
limit the Lineal Succeffion, by the Exclufion of
the Right Heir ?
Remark. 4 I can't anfwer for the Do&or :
* But giving our Author the Queftion (at pre-
4 fent) That the Kjngs of England had this
4 Power , I may ask him another, Whether, a
4 fortiori, the Kings and Queens, with their
' Parliaments, have not the fame Power ftill ?
4 And if not, how they came to lofe it ?'
THEN our Author interrogates the
Doftor again, Whether the Confent and
CeJJion of the next rightful Heir, is not fuffi-
dent to convey the Right to a Prince, who wanted
a Title by Proximity of Blood ?
Remark. 4 Why then, if the Crown be any
4 way transferrable from the next Heir Appa-
4 rent, theDefcertfof it cannot be indefeasible,
4 or neceflary.'
THEN
( *5 )
THEN our Author (taking thefe his
Pojlulata for granted) further de-
mands of the Doftor, Whether it is not poffi-
ble that the general Obedience paid to fever al of
the thirteen Kjngs, c a/I'd by the Doff or Non-
Hereditary, might not be fo paid them as Kjngs
Hereditary, tho not by Proximity in Blood ?
For the Doflor, faith he, makes no quef-
tion, but that it hath been the undoubted Right
of our modern Kjngs, with Confent of Parlia-
ment, to interrupt the Lined Succeffion, by Ex-
clufon of the right Heir ; and fo univerfally ad-
mitted in the Reigns of Henry the Eighth, and
Queen Elizabeth.
Now, faith our Author, 1 look upon this as
a good Ground of Prefumption, that their Pre-
decejfors had the fame Authority.
And as an lnftance of this, he quotes the
Predeceffors of the Kings, who, by their Iaft
Wills, ufually difpos'd the Crown from the
next in Blood to it.
Remark. ' But methinks to argue, Becaufe
' the Kings may do it by Confent of Parlia-
£ ment, that therefore they may do it without,
* is to make the Parliament of Great Britain,
' a Parliament of Paris ; which is, I prefume,
I what our Author, &c. are driving at.'
BUT
C 16 )
BU T from thefe general Propofitions, our
Author defcends to particular Inftances,
how Kings of England , not Hereditary by
Proximity of Blood, yet became fo by other
means.
And begins his Calendar with William Duke
of Normandy (whom he calls, The Conqueror)
and affirms him a lawful Kjng, becauje Kjng
Edward the Confejfor, the Saxon Kjng, had ap-
pointed him for his Succeffor.
For the Truth of this, he quotes Gul. Picta-
vienfis (one of the Conqueror's Chaplains.)
And yet, in the precedent Page, he faith,
that this fame Chaplain tells us, That upon the
Conqueror's Landing, King Harold (who had
feiz'd the Crown on the Death of King Ed-
ward) fent a Meffenger to the Conqueror,
That Kjng Edward had bequeathed the Crown
to Harold.
From whence, faith our Author, it is evi-
dent, that the Difpute between them was not
about the Validity of the Donation, but which
of the Donations fhould have the Precedency.
Remark . 4 And from whence I think it is
4 alfo as evident, how precarious and peril-
4 lous it is for Kings or Subjects to admit the
4 Crown to be alienable by the Will or Do-
4 nation of the laft Regnant, if it were for no
4 other
C '7 )
other reafon than the multiplying Compe-.
titors; who would not likely fubmit their
Pretences to Probates in Do£lors-Commons,
Or Trials in Wefiminjler-Hall ; but in the
open Field, where thefe Competitors de-
cided their Claims with the Blood of Ha-
rold, and 70000 Subjefis (lain on his fide.*
AN D our Author, to juftify this Dona-
tion of Edward the Confeffor to the
Duke of Normandy , faith, It was no incon-
fiderate Aft, nor the fole efleft of his own
Will, being ratify'd by the exprefs Affent of
the Nobility and People of England , and no-
tify'd to the Duke in a particular Embafly for
that purpofe ; fo that it muft be look'd upon
as a Publick Aft of the whole Kingdom.
And he faith, that the Conqueror having
this Title, appeafd to the Laws of England,
for deciding the Quarrel between him and
Harold.
Remark. ' And good reafon he had for it,
4 as our Author hath related it. And why
* then have not all his SuccelTors, on whom
4 the Crown is confer'd by the King, No-
4 bility and Commons, as good Right to the
4 fame, whether fuch Succeffor be next in
4 Proximity of Blood, or not?'
C
NAY,
( 18 )
NA Y, and more than all this, our Au-
thor doth admit that King Edward him-
felf, who made this Donation of the Crown,
had no Right to it by Proximity of Blood;
the I flue of Edmtwd Ironjide (the late King,
and his elder Brother) being then living.
And notwithftanding his want ofProximi-
ty in Blood, our Author retains his Aflertion,
That this Edward the Confeflor had not only
a juft Hereditary Right to the Crown, but
had alfo a Right to tranflate the fame from
the IlTue of his elder Brother (who were next
in Blood) to William Duke of Normandy.
Remark. 4 And yet this William Duke of
4 Normandy (had he been Legitimate at home)
4 was not of the Royal Blood to the Crown
4 of England , nor had any poffibility to in-
4 herit the fame by Descent; having no other
4 Relation to the Saxon Kings, than an Affi-
4 nity by the Marriage of Emma his Aunt,
4 whom King Etbelred took for his fecond
4 Wife, by whom he had Edward the Con-
4 feflor,
4 Upon which I would graft a Queftion:
4 If the Crown be lawfully transferra-
4 ble from the Royal Family t©#a^'Stranger
4 in Blood ; is it not an Argument, a foytiori,
4 that the fame Crown may be lawfully tranf-
i laced
( *9 )
4 iated from one Branch of the fame Royal
* Family to another ?'
BUT that our Author's Readers may not
be at a lofs to know how Edward the
Confeffor had an Hereditary Right without
Proximity of Blood, our Author hath reveal'd
(or invented) a Secret which perhaps may
prove as great a Rarity as the Will of King
Henry the Eighth.
You muft know, that upon the Death of
King Ethelred (Father of Edward the Confef-
for) there were two Claims put in for the
Crown ; the one by Edmund Ironfide , Son of
Ethelred by his firft Queen ; and the other by
Canutus (Son of Swayne King of Denmark.)
And after feveral Battels, to prevent filed-
ding more Blood, it was agreed to decide the
Conteft by a fingle Duel, between Edmund
and Canutua.
And to prevent that, it was afterwards a-
greed, that the Kingdom fiiould be divided
between them; or (as others fay) the Duel
was fought, and that Canutes finding himfelf
^wounded or overmatch'd, demanded a Parly,
and thereby obtained the Partition, which was
fo held during their joint Lives.
And Edmund dying firft (leaving Iflfue Ed-
ward and Edmund) Canutus claim'd the whole
C 2 by
( zo )
by Survivorfhip, on pretence that the Parti-
don was not to go to the Iffue of either.
And fent Edmund? s Sons to his Brother
(King of Denmark) to be murder'd ; but his
Brother abhorring the Fa£f, and to preferve
them, fent them to the King of Hungary,
where young Edmund died, and Edward mar-
ry'd the Queen of Hungary's Sifter, by whom
he had Iffue Edgar At he ling.
And Canutus having marry'd Emma (King
Ethelred?s fecond Queen) Mother to Edward
the Confeffor, fhe, to fecure him from Canu-
tus , fent him to her Brother the Duke of
Normandy , where he retir'd into a Convent,
and fo was calPd the Confeffor.
On the Death of Canutus, Edward return'd
to England , and was elefted King, notwith-
Handing his Nephew Edward, and Edgar his
Son, were before him in Blood.
And having reign'd twenty Years, without
Iffue by his Queen (Daughter of Godwin Earl
of Kjnt) he fent to Hungary for his Nephew
Edward and his Son, intending them for his
Succeffors.
Edward , foon after his Arrival, died, leaving
young Edgar , then next in Blood to the
Crown.
Now, faith our Author, tho Edward the
Confeffor did come to the Crown without an
Hereditary Right (his Brother's Iffue being
before him in Blood :)
Yet,
( 11 )
Yet, faith he, Edward took the Crown,
with an intent to preferve it for his Brother's
Iffue; and therefore taking it with an Here-
ditary Intention, for the ufe of another, he
thereby gain'd an Hereditary Right to it for
the ufe of himfelf, and fo was an Hereditary
King (if I collect right our Author's Rea-
foning.)
And he prefcribes this Hereditary Intention
as an univerfal Salvo for the wounded Con-
fciences of any Poffeffors of a Crown, who
hold the fame with fuch Hereditary Intention,
altho they are not next in Blood to it.
And tells us in what Cafes this Salvo is pro-
perly to be apply'd :
As when (faith he) the prefent Regnant,
for want of Power and Opportunity of doing
Right to the lawful Heir, is forc'd to endure
the Burden of a Crown, which he would
gladly eafe himfelf of upon a proper occa-
fion.
Remark. (' Then it feems there are occafio-
£ nal Regnants, as well as occafional Confor-
c mitts.')
As when (faith our Author) the rightful
Heir is abroad in a different Kingdom, and
perhaps at the Difpofal of a foreign Prince,
on whofe Will and Pleafure his Return to his
Country depends.
Remark. i As fuppofe now (for example)
6 in France or Lorain (as a Man may fay.')
Now,
( 21 )
Now, faith our Author, when the Poffef-
for of a Throne hath this to plead for him-
felf (which he faith was the Cafe of Edward
the Confeffor, for any thing that can be al-
Iedg'd to the contrary) then our Author ap-
peals to the moft cenforious Judges, whether
fuch a Perfon be only a King de fatfo; for
our Author lays it down as a Maxim in Go-
vernment, That "'tis the Intent that makes the
Vfurpation.
Remark. 4 Now to fpeak well of the Dead,
4 it feems to me (from the Hiftory) that King
4 Edward the Confeffor did fend for his Bro-
4 ther's Iffue, with intent they fhould be his
4 Succeffors.
4 But by the fame Hiftory it feems alfo to
4 me, that he did not declare this Intention,
4 till after twenty years of matrimonial Ex-
4 perience, without Succefs of Iffue.
4 And as burdenfom as the Crown fat upon
4 him, it feems, by the Hiftory, that he did
4 not intend his Nephews fhould eafe him of
4 it, till he could hold it no longer.
4 Now whether this Intention of Right,
4 being only in Reverfion after his Death, did
4 purge his Diffeizin by wrong (if it were fo)
4 during his Life, I muft fubmit to fuch nice
4 Cafuifts as our Author.'
AND
( *3 )
AN D after all, it feems this Hereditary
Intention was never executed by him;
for inftead of leaving the Crown to his Ne-
phews, lie left it to William Duke of Normandy,
as our Author faith.
For which our Author gives this as the
Reafon j That Prince Edward the Nephew dy-
ing, leaving Edgar Atheling his Son young;
and King Edward perceiving Edgar unquali-
fy'd for the Crown (as well by the Infirmities
of his Mind as Body) enter'd into an Alliance
with William Duke of Normandy , and made
it his Bufinefs to fecure the Crown to him,
as beft able to defend it againft Harold (Son
of Earl Godwin) who afpir'd after it.
Remark. ' Then it feems, that in cafe of
* an Incapacity in the Heir Apparent to the
4 Crown, it is lawful to tranflate it to fome o-
4 ther more capable, according to the Law of
4 Thanejlry, Detur Digniori. 1
BU T our Author fighting cunning, would
not allow this neither (if he could help
it;) for, faith he, I don't mention this as if
the Qualities of Edgar, how mean foever,
could
BU T our Author won't let it reft here
neither.
What, faith he, if I fhould add, that Ed'
gar himfelf was fenfible it was his Intereft to
decline the poffeffion of the Crown, and
therefore comply'd with his Uncle's Settle-
ment of it ?
Remark . 4 Why let him add it if he will,
4 but let him let me add this to it; That then
4 this Edgar was one of thefirft Fops that ever
' thought himfelf fo, and was naturally en-
' dow'd with a bnowledg, which one of the
4 beft
( J 4 )
could deftroy his Hereditary Right, but only
to (hew, that thefe were efteem'd good and
fufficient Reafons to keep him out of the
Throne.
Remark. 4 Well, with all my heart! Take it
4 fo then, that tho the Hereditary Right to
4 the Crown remain'd in Edgar , yet it was
4 no wrong to keep him out of it, and never
4 let him come in to it.
4 A rid fo it feems that Edward the ConfefTor,
4 and William Duke of Normandy , did Prince
4 Edgar no wrong; for they only tranflated
4 the Crown and Crown-Lands, with the
4 Appurtenances, from him, but left the Right
4 thereof ftill to remain in him; (an inno-
4 cent fort of Novel-Diffeifin.)'
f *5 )
4 beft and wifeft of Princes pray'd for; Lord, t
4 tench me to know my Errors.
4 And as great a Milk-fop as our Author
* would make this young Prince, the Hiftories
* ftilehim, in his own day, The Darling of
4 the Englifh Nation.
4 And as much as he declin'd the Crown,
* he was declar'd King by the Saxon Nobility,
4 and headed their Armies in two Battles
4 againft King William.
4 But 'tis true (as our Author tells us)
4 that Edgar was beat (a Banding Argu-
* mentof Folly !)'
AN D this poor Prince muft not reft here
neither.
What faith our Author, if it fhould ap-
pear that this Edgar had not fo good a Title as
is pretended, but that King Edward the Con-
felTor himfelf was all along the true Proprie-
tor of the Crown heenjoy'd, and might dif-
pofe of it as he pleas'd ? I hope then, faith
our Author, there was no wrong done to Ed-
gar, by calling the Duke of Normandy to the
Succeffion.
Remark. 4 I don't fay there was; but then,
4 I fay, our Author hath done wrong both to
4 Prince Edgar , and alfo to his Readers, by
4 not telling this at firft: for if it be as he
D \ faith,
( 26 )
c faith, he might have left Edgar out of the
* Cafe, without abufing him in his Grave, as
4 he hath done.'
NO W fee how he brings this about:
He tells us, as the Truth is, that Ed-
gads Claim was from Edmund Ironfide his
Grandfather, elder Brother to Edward the
ConfefTor.
And that Edmund having been reduc'd to
Extremities, did, by Advice of his People,
confent to a Partition-Treaty, before men-
tion'd, whereby the whole Kingdom was di~
vided between him and Canutua (the Danijb
King.)
And that Canutus furviving Edmund , the
Nobility and Bifhops declared upon Oath, that
Canutus was intitled to the whole; and they
took their Oaths to him, without any regard 1
to the Sons of Edmund , whom they deny'd to
be their Kings.
And from thence our Author is pofitive,
that Edgar Atbding had no juft Pretenfions
to the Crown of England.
Remark. 4 Some Pages before our Author
6 afierted the Hereditary Right of the Crown
e always to have remained in Edgar.
< But now, it feems, that Right gave him
£ no Pretenfions to claim it.
* By
( 27 )
* By which he hath explain'd his Title-
4 Page, The Hereditary Right of the Crown of
4 England afferted , to be a Right without a
4 Remedy
N D our Author hath found another Ti-
He faith that Hardicanute t the next prece-
dent King to Edward the Confeffor (being his
Half-Brother by Queen Emma ) appointed him
his Heir and Succeffor; by which Donation,
King Edward had a Title to difpofe of the
Crown.
Remark. 4 And I never heard of King or
4 Subjeft with fo many Titles as this King
4 Edward (unlefs he were a Spaniard.')
XET our Author would not have this
King Edward think, that he hath taken
is pains in refpeft to him only, he being
none of the nineteen Kings in our Author's
Calendar.
But having affum'd to prove the Conftitu-
tion of the Monarchy to be Hereditary only,
our Author thought it would look like a
Blot in the Scutcheon, to let the firft Inftance
tie for Edward the Confeifor ftill:
D 2
in
( 28 )
in the Calendar go for a Non-Hereditary
King.
And yet having no way to get the Con-
queror from the Doctor's thirteen, but by the
Donation of Edward the Confeffor, our Author
hath taken all this pains to wafh King Edward
clean firft.
To do which, he hath accumulated Titles
upon him, which perhaps King Edward himfelf
never thought of.
And fo in truth he hath for William the
Conqueror ; who, tho he might make the Do-
nation of King Edward a Pretence to initiate
himfelf to the Throne; yet he is faid, on his
Death-Bed, to own his AccelTion to the Crown
not to any Right of Inheritance, but by the
InftinQ; of God, and Fate of War.
AND our Author further, to clear the
Conqueror from any wrong done to
Edgar, faith, The Conqueror only difpoffefs'd
Harold, who had no Right.
But that, after that, it could not be expec-
ted that he fhould place Edgar in the Throne,
whom the Subjects had before rejefted.
Remark. * And yet our Author would per-
4 fuade as many of her Majefty's Subje&s as
\ he can, to accept a Perfon they have abjur'd.'
THEN
( 19 )
THEN our Author faith, he having done
thus much for William the Conqueror,
he'll do as much for his Son William Rufm his
Succeffor, tho he were but,his fecond Son.
And this he doth in a trice, taking it for
granted that the Kings had power to name
their Succeffors:
For that the Conqueror nam'd his Son Wil-
Ham for his Succeffor to the Crown of Eng-
land , our Author faith, cannot be controverted
by thofe that are acquainted with the Englifb
Hiftory.
Remark. 4 I am not fo well acquainted as
4 our Author with the Hiftory ; but I find
4 fome Obfervations upon it, That the Con-
4 queror faid he would nor take upon him to
4 difpofe his Crown, but wifh'd that his Son
4 William might enjoy it: and William firft
4 coming, had it, and held it againft Robert
4 his elder Brother, and his Iffue (for he had
4 a Son.)
4 Nor ami calling the Title of William the
4 Second in queftion :
4 But defire our Author to remember, that
4 this Succeffion of William the Second was
4 another Tranflation of the Crown, from
* the next in Blood, to another of the Royal
4 Family.'
AND
( 5° )
N D in affirmance of thisTranflation as
juft and legal, our Author faith him-
feif, that tho Robert demanded the Crown by
Inheritance as eldeft Son, the Englijb Subje£ts
(who valu'd themfelves upon their Fidelity)
adher'd to Rufus , as having the better Title.
Remark. 4 Ay ! and I hope that (maugre
4 all that our Author hath faid, and others
< have done to the contrary) there are, and
* will be left of Englijb } Scotch , and Jrijh Sub-
4 jefr, more than 50000 Men, who have not
4 bow'd the Knee to Baal ; and who valuing
4 themfelves upon their Oaths and Allegiance
4 to her Majefty and the Hannover Succeflion,
4 will affert their Fidelity to the Crown, ac-
4 cording to the prefent Settlements thereof in
4 the Royal Family, againft all Pretenders (ei-
4 ther by Proximity of Blood, or without it.')
AN D to clench the Crown in the Norman
Line, our Author brings in the poor
Saxon Pricne Edgar , as refigning his Birthright
again to William Rufus.
Remark.
/
< ;« )
Remark. 4 And that was more than need,
* if our Author's Law be right, That the
* fir ft Refignation of Edgar to William the Fa-
4 ther, had ipfo faffo transfer'd the Inheri-
* tance of it to the Norman Line.'
AN D thus our Author hath adjudg'd it
again in his next Inftance of King Hen-
ry the Firft.
Was not (faith he) Robert, the eldeft Son,
legally excluded, by his Father's Gift of the
Crown to Rufus ?
And did not that juftify Henry's Claim
after Rufus?
And upon this our Author declares Henry
the Firft, a King de jure.
For, faith our Author, muft we fuppofe
that the Conqueror, provok'd by Robert's Re-
bellion, and difcerning him uncapable for Go-
vernment, intended only a fbort Sufpenfion of
his Right, to revive upon the Death of Rufus ?
Remark. 4 I trow not: but then let our Au-
' thor ftill remember, that Incapacities for Go-
1 vernment are juft Caufes for tranflating the
4 Crown from the next in Blood, to fome o-
* ther of the Royal Family.'
AND
( 1* )
-
AND our Author not only juftifies the
Title of Henry the Firft againft his el-
der Brother ( Robert Duke of Normandy) to
the Crown of England:
But alfo commends it as a laudable A&ion
in Henry the Firft (upon complaint made to
him by Duke Robert's Norman Subjects) to
fetch him by force out of that Dukedom, and
confine him in England , to his Death, as inca-
ble of Government.
Remark. 4 N. B. A Prince by Hereditary
* Birthright, lawfully depofed for Male-ad-
4 miniftration (ipfo Authore Judice.f
KING Stephen ftanding next in the Ca-
lendar to Henry the Firft, our Author
leaves him to the Doftor, as an errant King
de fafto only.
AN D from him pafleth to Henry the Se-
cond, whom he affirms to be a King de
jure , tho the Emprefs Maud his Mother,
Daughter
( 35 )
Daughter and Heir to Henry the Fir/1) was
then living, and before him in Blood to the
Norman Line ; and altho the King of Scotland,
was then next in Blood to the Saxon Line, as
defcended from the Sifter of Edgar Jtheling.
Becaufe our Author faith,
That the Emprefs refign'd her Right to
Henry her Son :
And the Houfe of Scotland did not claim
the Crown, but allow'd Henry to be King.
N D thus our Author hath gain'd from
the Do £tor four of his thirteen Non-
Hereditary Kings; which added to the fix
before Hereditary, makes ten for our Author,
and leaves the Docftor but nine of the nineteen.
And our Author having thus theAfcendant
by Majority, he feems a little carelefs for any
more.
And faith he don't think himfelf oblig'd
to follow the Doclor thro the whole Lift, fince
the Doclor hath not taken much notice of
them himfelf.
However, King John /landing next in his
way, as one of the Doctor's thirteen, our Au-
thor feems to give him a Caft of his Office, to-
wards making him Hereditary.
As if he had been appointed Succe/Tor by
(the then laft Regnant) Richard the Fit ft, his
elder Brother.
E
Or
( 34 )
Or that his Nephew Arthur (Son of Jejfe.
ry , his next elder Brother, being then next in
Blood) had furrender'd to him.
But Eleanor, Sifter of Arthur , being alfo
living, our Author leaves this King John,
of the Doubtful Gender, whether de fatfo or
de jure , and gives the Doftor a Licence to
take him if he pleafeth.
Remark. " 4 But if Richard the Firft could
4 and did difpofe the Crown from his Ne-
4 phew Arthur to King John, and that Arthur
4 alfo remitted to him; why (hould our Au-
4 thor leave King John a more doubtful Title,
4 than he did to William the Firft, and his two
4 younger Sons William zw&'Henry, whom he
4 hath made Hereditary Kings in the fame
* manner ?
4 Therefore had not our Author made for
4 himfelf the Majority before, and would have
* exerted his Faculty for King John alfo; I
4 queftion not but King John would have
4 come out as rightful a King (in our Au-
4 thor's former Senfe of the Matter) as any of
* his Predeceflors.
4 But we Authors (like Poets or Painters)
4 draw our Patients, as we fancy, for the pre-
4 fentTurn.
4 By which it happens, de mortuis ;
4 Sometimes nil niji honum,
4 And fometimes nil nifi malum.
FROM
< 35 )
FROM King John our Author makes a
Tranfition to the Houfe of Lane after.
(By which, I conje&ure, he hath skip'd o-
ver two more of the Doffior's thirteen.
Fir ft, Henry the Third, who.continu'd the
pofleffion of the Throne agaihfi: Eleanor , the
then next in Blood to Richard the Firft.
Secondly, Edward the Third, who came to
the Crown by the Depofition of his Father,
Edward the Second.)
The firft King of the Houfe of Lancafter
was Henry the Fourth (Son of John Duke of
Lancafter) who came to the Crown by De-
pofition of Richard the Second ; and after the
Death of Richard , held the fame againft Ed-
mund Mortimer Earl of March, Heir of Phi-
lippa , Daughter and Heir of Lionel Duke of
Clarence (elder Brother to the Duke of Lan-
cafter.)
And him our Author gives up to the Do&or,
as an errant King de fafto only.
FTER this, he takes occafion (by the
way) to anfwer the Doftor's Chaf
lenge, To name any Nonjurors in the Reigns of
Kjngs de fafto.
To which our Author faith, That there
were no fuch Tefts then on foot (as there
E 2
have
./ )
have been fince) to oblige the SubjeQs to any
fuch Oaths.
Which if there had, our Author don't doubt
but we had heard of many Non-Jurors againft
thofe De-facio Kings.
And for thofe that had taken Oaths to Hen-
rj the Fourth, our Author faith, they did not
think themfelves bound thereby, and fo took
Arms againft him, he having firft broken his
Oaths to them.
Remark . £ Why then, it feems, the Breach
4 of the King's Oath to the People, abfolves
* them from their Allegiance to him.'
BU T our Author defending from Henry
the Fourth to Henry the Fifth, doth con-
iels, that after the Submiffion made to him
by Edmund Earl" of March (the then next
in Blood to Richard the Second) Henry the
Fifth had fome Foundation of Title to the
Crown, during the Earl of March's Life.
Remark. 4 But (if I don't very much forget)
4 our Author did before affirm the Submiffion
£ of Edgar Jtheling to William the Firft, to
4 have been a good Tranflation of the Crown
4 from the S.txon to the Norman Line, not on-
4 ly againft Edgar himfelf, but his Sifter Queen
i of Scotland , and all their Defcendants.
4 And (if I don't a little more forget) our
4 Author alfo affirm'd in mighty ftrong Terms,
4 That the firft Exclufion of Robert Duke of
4 Nor-
( 57
4 Normandy from the Crown of England , by
4 the Entry and Enjoyment of William Rufns
4 his younger Brother, was a good Exclufion,
4 not only of Robert , but of his Defcendants
4 alfo ; and that Henry the Firft, his youngeft
4 Brother, had thereby a good Title againft
4 them.
4 And therefore had William the Second (or
4 Henry the Firft) and Henry the Fifth, hap-
4 pen'd to have chang'd .Places with one ano-
4 ther in our Author's Calendar, they had had
4 an equal Chance to have chang'd Titles too.'
FROM Henry the Fifth, our Author de-
fcends to Henry the Sixth (his Son.)
And here he begins to play the Cafuift about
taking and breaking of Oaths, in his manage-
ment of the Conteft between the Houfes of
York and Lancajler.
And hath left a Recipe for taking Oaths of
State, which (being duly obferv'd) can nei-
ther do the Subjects that take them any hurt,
nor the Sovereigns, to whom they are fworn,
any good.
Our Author confefleth that Richard Duke
of York , and his Son ^afterwards Edward the
Fourth) (the Claimants of the Crown for the
Houfe of York, in right of the Houfe of Cla-
rence) had often folemnly taken Oaths of Al-
legiance to Henry the Sixth (of the Houfe of
Lancajler.)
Which,
( 38 )
Which, our Author faith, they ought not to
have done, to have gain'd the World :
Yet, faith he, when the Oaths were taken,
the Spiritual Law relieved thern in the Non-ob-
fervance of thofe Oaths, and the Pope adually
granted them a Difpenfation; which, our
Author faith, was then thought a fufficient
Abfolution.
Remrak. 4 And perhaps that Thought is not
4 quite out of fafbion yet.
N D our Author faith further, That Ri-
chard Duke of Tork was not only this
way abfolv'd from his own Oaths, but that
immediately upon his Claim of the Crown a-
gainft Henry the Sixth, all the Subjects were
ipfo faffo difcharg'd of their Oaths to Henry
the Sixth.
Remark. 4 By which our Author hath ad-
e mitted, that the Subjefts are not bound by
4 their Oaths to the prefent Regnant, any Ion-
4 ger than he can maintain himfeif in the Pof-
4 feffion of the Throne.'
BU T, faith our Author, perhaps it may
be demanded, How it is poffible for a
right Heir to a Crown to refign his Title to
it, if the Submiffion of Richard Duke of Tork
(by fwearing Allegiance to Henry the Sixth)
was not a fufficient Refignation of the Crown ?
To
( 39 >
To this our Author anfwers, That a legal
and, effectual Refignation of the Crown can only
he made before, and with the Concurrence of the
three EJlates of the Realm.
Remark. ' And yet our Author hath not been
4 pleas'd to tell us of any fuch Refignation
4 by Edgar Atheling to William the Firfi.
4 But hath affirmed, the perfonal Submif-
4 fion of Edgar by himfelf (tho that were but
4 a Patience upon Forced to have been a
4 good Refignation of his Right of the Crown
4 to W^illiam theFirft.
4 By which Remark, I am not offering my
4 Opinion, which of thefe two Contraries are
4 right:
But can't help thinking, That one of them
4 mufi be wrong.
4 And indeed our Author hath been as libe-
4 ral in multiplying Opinions to himfelf, as he
4 did Titles to Edward the Confelfor.'
OU R Author having follow'd thefe
three Henry's of Lancafter out of the
Saddle, by Edward the Fourth's mounting the
Throne, he takes a good deal of pains to tell
us what errant Ufurpers thefe three Henry's
were call'd, in A&s of Parliament of Edward
the Fourth.
Tho I think our Author hath alfo told us,
that Henry the Sixth (upon his temporary Re-
accefs
( 4° ^
accefs to the Throne) retaliated the Language
to the Houfe of Tork.
Remark. 4 And fo they might have done to
4 the end of the Chapter, upon the alterna-
4 tive Recefs and Re-accefs of one another
4 (if it had fo happen'd ;) but calling Names
' neither gives nor takes away Titles.'
AND our Author alfo is very elaborate,
about telling us what Afrs of Parlia-
ment of the three Henrfs were confirm'd,
and what others repeal'd by the Parliaments
in Edward the Fourth :
And cites an Inftance of a National Debt
contracted upon Parliament-Security, then in
danger of being defeated, had not Kjng Edward,
by his Jlffent, intitled it to a legal Payment.
Upon which he makes this fhrewd Remark,
Perhaps (faith he) this was for carrying on
a War againfi France.
Remark. 4 Not that the Hiftory (our Author
4 quotes) tells him fo ;
4 But perhaps our Author is let into a Se-
4 cret, for paying the Publick Debts without
t (if his Card comes up Trump.')
FROM Edward the Fourth, our Au-
thor palfeth to Richard the Third, whom
he leaves to the Do&or as a King defaflo only.
4*
But
( 4 l )
But yet (cur Author faith) that as to
Henry the Seventh (his SuccefTor) he was a
King de jure , as every King de failo is to his
SuccefTor, who hath no better Title.
And therefore he faith, That Henry the Se-
venth took care to reverfe fuch A£ls of Ri-
chard the Third, as he had a mind to get
rid of.
And then he tells us, That the Reafon why
the Ads of Richard the Third, and Henry the
Seventh have ftill continu'd in force, is, for
that Henry the Eighth, in refped to his Father
Henry the Seventh, would not make him an
Ufurper, by repealing his Ads; and that none
of his Succelfors have fince given themfelves
the Trouble of calling them in queftion.
Remark. ' From whence feveral remarkable
4 things do arife :
' Firjl , That a SuccefTor of a King, by re-
* pealing the Ads of his PredecefTor, doth
* thereby make him an Ufurper.
4 Secondly , That all the Ads of Richard the
4 Third and Henry the Seventh are ftill liable
4 to be call'd in queftion, by any one that
' thinks them to his Difadvantage.
' Which would make a fine Gap in the
4 Laws and Titles of the Kingdom.
AN D yet after all this, our Author faith,
That Henry the Seventh, from the time
of the Marriage of Queen Elizabeth (Heir of
F the
( 4 2 )
the Houfe of Tork) undoubtedly became a
King de jure.
Remark. ' The firft and laft Inftance I ever
' heard of, where the Marriage of a Queen
4 doth ipfo fatfo make a Man a King, and a
i King de jure too.'
AN D more than that, our Author faith,
That Henry the Seventh, from the firft
entrance of his Reign, to his Marriage, might
be look'd upon as having a prefumptive Right
to the Allegiance of the People, as he had ob-
lig'd himfelf to marry that Princefs.
Remark. 1 More Novelties ftill! But then,
c methinks, our Author hath left no Interval,
£ in which he could call Henry the Seventh a
£ King de fatfo only.'
AFTER this, our Author comes to wage
Law with the Do&or, upon the Sta-
tute of 11 Hen. 7. By which none are to be at-
tainted or forfeit for Jerving the Kjng., for the
time being, in his Wars.
Which, he faith, the Doflior conftrues as
intended for a King de faffo.
But our Author, it feems, would mean it
fome other way:
And he faith, that Henry the Seventh pro-
cur'd this A&, left Perkin Warbeck fhould have
beaten
( 45 )
beaten him, and hang'd up his Subjefds for
adhering to him.
And he faith, that if Richard the Third had
but had fuch a Law for indemnifying them
that fought for him, they could not poffibly
have been attainted by Henry the Seventh:
For that Henry the Seventh being at fii ft
but an Ufurper, he could not have attainted
his PredecefTor (tho an Ufurper) left a'third
Ufurper (Perkin) fhould have attainted him.
Which, our Author faith, Perkin could not
have done, without violating the Laws he
was bound by :
But yet he faith, that a King de jare-w ould
not have been bound by this Act.
Remark. ' Why then, it feems, that Ufur-
4 pers only are bound by Laws ; and Kings de
* jure at liberty to break them.
AN D now our Author tells his Readers,
he is at liberty to releafe them from any
farther Trouble, in anfwer to the Doftor,
having fo fully confuted him.
But faith, that the Doctor having gone a
little out of the way, to ajfert the Right of
the Legijlative Power in limiting the Succeffion
of the Crown , our Author will follow him,
in examining fome Hiftorical Paffages quoted
by the Do&or.
But our Author (whether out of modefty
or fear) promifeth to confine himfelf to mat-
F 2 ter
( 44 )
ter of Faff, without qucfioning the Power oj
Parliaments to limit the Succfffion.
Remark. 4 And I promife thatl would have
4 believ'd him, had not his whole Folio been
* one continu'd Queftion againft that Power.'
AN D by way of Preliminary, he faith,
That all that he fhall obferve upon Baft,
is, that whatever Power Kings, with their
Parliaments, may have de jure , upon fuch oc-
cations; it is however true in fact, that no
Aft of Limitation could yet effeftually ex-
elude the next Heir by Proximity of Blood:
But that, fooner or later, Providence hath hi-
therto fo order'd it, that thofe who were firft
in the Line of Defcent, have at length gain'd
the Crown, notwithflandingall Parliamentary
Provifions to the contrary.
Remark. ' Or (to put our Author's Princi-
4 pies into fewer words) The Parliaments may
4 make fuch Acts if they pleafe, but they fgnify
€ nothing after they are made.'
HE faith, he believes it will be allow'd
him, that we have no Laws extant of
this nature before Henry the Fourth ; by which
the Succeffion was fettled upon his four Sons,
and their Heirs.
Remark. 4 And yet while our Author was
4 making Hereditary Kings, he made the
4 Will
( 45 >
4 Will of the laft Regnant to be a good Law,
4 for effeOiually excluding the next Heirs by
4 Blood, and all their Defendants, from in-
4 heriting the Crown, and for tranflating it
4 upon others more remote ; witnefs his In-
4 fiances in Edward the ConfefTor, and the
e three firft Norman Kings.'
THEN our Author faith, the next Sta-
tute made in the Reign of Henry the
Sixth for entailing the Crown (in default of
his IfTue) on the Duke of Clarence (the youn-
ger Brother of Edward the Fourth) did not
laft long, being null'd by King Edward the
Fourth's Acceftion to the Throne.
Remark.' 4 Nor did that Throne fucceed to
4 King Edward's Sons, nor had ever probably
4 return'd to his Daughter, without the Aid
4 of Henry the Seventh, with the People of
1 England
THEN our Author faith, That Henry
the Seventh procur'd an A& for en-
tailing the Crown on his IfTue, for which our
Author faith there was no occafion, for that
they would have had the Right by their Mo-
ther.
Remark. ' But their Mother might have died
4 without Ilfue, and Henry the Seventh have
4 had other IfTue, and then this A& had not
' been
( 4^ )
4 been impertinent ; and the Legiflators, by
4 the making of it, declar'd their Opinion,
4 that they had power to do it.'
BU T our Author having laid thefe In-
ftances as a Bridg or Train to his main
Cafe of King Henry the Eighth, he paffeth o-
ver to thar.
King Henry the Eighth, 'in the 35 th of his
Reign, had an Aft pafs'd for eftablifhing the
Succeflion of the Crown, whereby (on fai-
lure of his own Iflue) he was impower'd to
limit the Succeflion of the Crown to whom
he pleas'd, either by Letters Patent, or by his
laft Will fign'd by him.
Now our Author hath treated his Readers
with Evidence of a Will made by King Henry
the Eighth, whereby he limited that contin-
gent Succeflion to the Heirs of his younger
Sifter, Queen Dowager of France (by Charles
Brandon Duke of Suffolk , her fecond Huf.
band.)
Notwithftanding which, our Author faith,
That after the Death of Queen Elizabeth (the
laft Iflue of Henry the Eighth) the Crown of
England hath been held and enjoy'd by 'James
the Firft, and his Defendants, as Heirs to
the Queen of Scotland , eldeft Sifter of Henry
the Eighth.
And from hence he would draw an inevi-
table Conctuiion, That King James the Firft
afcended
( 47 )
afcended the Throne of England, direftly con-
trary to the Order of Succeflion appointed by
Aft of Parliament.
And our Author faith, That by the Aft of
Recognition, i Jac. it is expreiJv faid, That
immediately upon the Death of Queen Eliza-
beth , the Crown did, by Inherent Birthright,
and lawful and undoubted SuccefTion, defcend
and come to the faid King James.
And this our Author faith was the original
Contract
Nor will our Author allow, that Queen
Mary, or Elizabeth , had, or claimed, any Ti-
tie to the Crown by the Afts of Settlement,
but were both of them legitimate, and inheri-
ted the Crown by that Right.
And after abundance of more Sayings of
his own, and Quotations from others, he tells
his Readers, That he hath prefented them
with Paffages and Teftimonies of the Laws,
which clearly prove againft Dr. Higden, That
Kjngs de fafto were never conJidePd, in our
ConjHtution, as juB and legal Proprietors of
the Kjngdom they pojfejs'd.
HAVING thus gone through the Law,
he follows the Doftor into the Scrip-
tures.
And firfi: he would fhew the Doftor to be
of the Religion with Sbimgi, who curs'd Da-
vid
(48;
vid (a King de jure) on prefumption that
Abfalom would foon be King de fatfo.
Remark. 4 And 'tis not much unlikely that
* our Author and his Shimeites would not
* fpend their Anathemas fo boldly againft the
* Proteftant Succeffion, if they had not fome
4 prefumption of a Popifh one.'
AND our Author would alfo refemble
the Do&or to Hujhai , who counter-
feited a Defertion from David to Abfalom , as
likely to be then a King de fatto ; bringing
this Saying with him, Whom the Lord and this
People chuj'e, his will 1 be.
Remark. 4 Tho Hujhai faid this in counter-
4 feit to Jbfalom, he did it in fincerity to Da•
4 vid (his Matter.) Whether that be a Sin
4 in a Privy Counfellor, I won't aflume to
4 determine; but believe I may fay, that the
4 contrary is not a Duty.
4 And as to the Saying it felf, if our ^u-
4 thor, and his Friends, don't like it for Di-
4 vinity, let them take the Reverfe of it for
4 their Motto, Whom the Lord and this People
4 re)eft, his will 1 be)
BUT our Author allows to the Do&or,
that the Submiffion of the Jews to foreign
Conquerors was lawful ; For this , faith he,
was the Appointment of God.
4* Remark.
(4 9 )
Remark. ( And fo was the Revolt of the
4 ten Tribes from Rehoboam , upon his Threats
* of Tyranny,'
FROM the Old Teftament, our Author
follows the Doctor into the New, upon
our Saviour's Refolution about paying Tribute
to Caftar.
From whence, he faith, the Doctor hath
infer'd, that our Saviour ask'd no other Quel*
tion, but who was in poffeffion of the Go-
vernment: and thereupon determin'd that Tri-
bute ftiould be paid him, without inquiring
into his Title.
And tho our Author agrees with the Do&or,
that Tribute was lawfully paid to C*far y with'
out enquiring into his Title :
Yet (for what reafon I know not) he feems
to take Offence at him, for mentioning the Ro-
man Powers to have been gain'd by Conqueft.
And tho our Author hath before abfolv'd
the Houfe of York from their Oaths to the
Houfe of Lane after, as taken by fear or force:
Yet now he arraigns both Kings and Sub-
je£ts for violating their Oaths and Promifes, on
any occaiion whatfoever.
As Francis , the French King, for violating
his Oaths to the Emperor (tho given under
Durefs in Prifon;)
And King Henry the Eighth, for annulling
his Marriage with Ann of Cleves , on pretence
G that
( 5° )
that he had not given an inward Confent
to it.
And at lafb concludes his Treatife with the
Text in the Prophet, denouncing God's Judg-
ments againft the Jews , for Violation of their
Oaths to the King of Bab)Ion.
Remark. ' And yet after all this, our Au-
i thor would perfuade the Subjefts of Great
' Britain and Ireland to aft againft their
4 Oaths; as if God had chang'd his Mind fince
£ thofe Days, and that tho the Jews were to
* keep their Oaths to the Kings of Babylon,
' the Chriftians may break theirs to her Maje-
1 fty,and the Proteftant Succeflion in the Houfe
( of Hannover.'
HAVING
(5«;
HAVING thus attended and ob-
ferv'd our Author thro his Treatife
in his own way, I humbly crave
leave of a few farther Obfervations
in my way.
In which I'll endeavour to put my words a
little clofer together, than our Author hath
done his; left I fall under the like Inconfifteu-
ces, which I have prefum'd to obferve in him.
Our Author hath taken a large Circumfe-
rence to come at the Will of Hepry the Eighth,
made purfuant to an Acl of Parliament.
And this he hath quoted as an Inftance and
Argument, againft Limitations of the Inheri-
tance of the Crown by Parliament:
Whereas he could not have quoted an In-
ftance or Argument ftronger for them.
And by the fame Inftance he hath alfo fub-
verted his firft Polition, That the Kings of
England, had a Power of difpofing the Crown
by Will.
I prefume our Author will not fcruple to
allow Henry the Eighth to have been a King
Hereditary and de jure , and withal as appre-
henfive of the Powers and Prerogatives of
the Crown, as any of his Predeceffors.
And yet it is moft evident, that this King
did not think he had a Right in himfelf to
G 2 difpofe
difflofe the Crown, either by Letters Patent
or Will, without Confent of both Houfes of
Parliament:
Elfe what occafion had he to procure Afts
of Parliament in that behalf ?
And 'tis alfo as evident, that he did efteem,
that the Inheritance and Succeflion of the
Crown might be limited by Parliament; elfe
to what purpofe were there two fucceflive
Aft s made for that purpofe?
And from the Sequel of the Hiftory, it is
alfo evident, that after this King's Death, the
Parliamentary Settlements of the Crown,
made in his Reign, were held and efieem'd
good and effeftual to thofe that claim'd under
them, againft all Pretenders to the contrary.
By the Statute of Edward the Sixth, cap. 12.
all Ufurpationsof the Crown againft the Aft
of 35 Hen. 8. are made High Treafon.
And when the Duke of Northumberland
(who had marry'd his Son to the Lady Jane
Grey) had prevail'd upon King Edward the
Sixth to nominate that Lady by Will for his
Succeffor, the Judges, and other the King's
Council, told him in exprefs Terms, That
fuch Defignation would be of no force againft
the Aft of Settlement; by which the Crown
(in cafe of King Edward's Death without If-
fue) was limited to his two Sifters, the Ladies
Mary and Elizabeth.
And
C 5? )
And after his Death, Queen Mary and Eli-
zabeth fucceffively enjoy'd the Crown, ac-
cording to that Settlement.
And tho our Author is very pofitive, that
they had no occafion of that Aft, being both
legitimate Defcendants of Henry the Eighth ;
yet it is plain, that King Henry the Eighth,
and his Divines and Lawyers, in thofe days,
were not fo clear in this Point.
And after the Death of Queen Mary (which
was conceal'd for fome time) it was agreed
by both Houfes of Parliament, That Queen
Elizabeth fhould be froclaim'd, according to the
AH of Settlement of 5 5 Hen. 8.
And in the Aft of Recognition of her
Right, 1 Eliz. the fame Aft of Settlement is
refer'd to.
And after that, in the 1 5th of her Reign, it
is by another Aft made High Treafon, during
her Life, to affirm, That the Laws and Statutes
do not bind the Right of the Crown, and the
Defcent, Limitation, Inheritance and Govern-
went thereof.
But why then (perhaps would our Author
fay) did Queen Elizabeth favour the Royal
Family of Scotland , as the next in Blood to the
Crown of England , againft this very Aft of
Settlement of 3 5 H. 8 ?
Why, who (but our Author) faith that fhe
did?
Or if fhe had, her Majefty's Affeftion did
not change the Law.
That
( 54 )
That the Royal Family of Scotland were
then next in Blood to the Crown, no one can
deny.
And that Queen Elizabeth'' s Inclination was,
that King James the Firft fhould fucceed her
accordingly, the Hiftories give reafon to be-
lieve.
But all this was confonant to the Aft of Set-
tlement of 3 H. 8. which had limited the
Crown no farther than the Iffue of King Hen-
rj the Eighth ; upon failure whereof, the
Crown was left to defcend to his next collate-
ral Heir (unlefs he fhould otherwife limit the
fame by Letters Patent, or Will.)
And there being no Claim made under any
fu'ch Letters Patent, or Will, the Crown
(upon the Death of Queen Elizabeth without
Jffue) came by Defcent to King James the
Firft, as collateral Heir to Henry the Eighth :
and he held the fame accordingly, and was fo
recogniz'd by Parliament, no Title appearing
againft him to the contrary.
For as to the pretended Will of Henry the
Eighth, our Author tells us, it was loft or fup-
prefs'd in Queen Mary's Reign, fifty years be-
fore any Claim could have been made under it,
And fo was all one as if never made; De
non exijlentibiu & non apparentibus, eadem tit
Ratio , fay the Lawyers.
And had King James the Firft let the
Throne lie vacant for above thefe hundred
years paft, till our Author had found this
Will
( 55 )
Will, 'tis likely the Monarchy had been con-
founded long fince.
And all the Evidence our Author hath now
offer'd of it (with which he would puzzle
the Title of two Kingdoms') would not be
admitted, in WeJlminfer'Hall , for recovery of
two Acres of Land by one Subjefl from ano-
ther.
And what our Author hath faid of it,
proves moft ftrongly again ft him the very
thing he would argue from it, viz. That the
Settlements of the Crown by Parliament are void
againfi the next Heir.
He hath prefented us with a Speech, pre-
par'd by Mr. John Hales, on behalf of the
Houfeof Suffolk in 1563. (which was about
the 5th of Queen Elizabeth, and about feven-
teen years after the making the fuppos'd Will)
in which Mr. Hales infilled, ' That there
* was a Settlement of the Crown by Parlia-
* ment, which the Subjeds had fworn toob-
* ferve.
'And faid, that if King Henry had made a
' Will, purfuant to the Statute, then it was
* without all doubt that the Subje&s were
' bound to accept them for Kings or Queens,
' that were nam'd in it; becaufe, he faith, it
' was done with Confent of the whole
' Realm, confirm'd by Oaths, which being
' not contrary to God's Laws, nor the Laws
' of Nature, and being in the Subjeffo Power
* to obferve and keep, they ought not in any
' wife
( 5* )
4 wife to alter or break: for, faith he, the
4 Judgment of the Lord is certain, That he
4 will not hold him guiltlefs that taketh his Name
* in vain.
And fo he concludes, 4 That the Aft and
4 Will is a Bar and Exclufion to all others, be
4 they never fo near of Blood (if any there
4 be.')
And then, in his Complaint of the defa-
cing and deftroying this Will, and the Record
thereof, in Queen Mary's Reign, he faith, 4 It
4 could be done with no other Intent, but for
4 that they knew the Will to be lawful (being
4 purfuant to the Aft: for he faith elfe-
4 where, that otherwife by Law the King
4 could not have done it.)
Now unlefs fome one (whom I will not
name) had ow'd our Author and his People
a fbame, I can't imagine whence they fhould
have been fo infatuated, as to have trump'd up
fucha Precedent as this, againlL the Lirnita-
tion of the Crown by Parliament.
But Mr. Hales , after this, feeming to defpair
of producing this Will, whereby to make a
Claim under it, he Lames another Pretence
of Title for the Houfe of Suffolk, againft
the Pleirs of the Houfe of Scotland } as not
born within the Allegiance of the King of
England.'
And clofes his Speech with his Opinion,
That the Right of the Crown (i«n cafe of
Queen Elizabeth's Death without IiTue) was
to
( 57 )
f o come to Kjthe'rine, Daughter of Frances;
eldefl: Daughter of Mary Queen of France.
But befides this private Speech, our Author
hath not told us of any other Claim made by
the Houfe of Suffolk.
And our Author himfelf elfewhere takes
notice of fomeReafons again# any Claim that
could be made under the Lady Frances , and
, feems to name the Defendants of Lady Flea-
nor (the now Earls of Derby) the only Per-
fons-who could have claim'd under the Will,
in cafe they could have produc'd it.
But there is not the leaft footftep of Hiftory,
or fpark of Evidence, in all this Story, that
any Claim, under this Will, was ever wav'd
or declin'd, or rejected or over-rul'd, as being
void or illegal again# the next Heir.
And as to the Aft of Recognition, i Jac.
declaring the Crown to have come to him by
inherent Birthright and la wful Succeffion, it is
no more or other than the Truth was 5 there
appearing no Parliamentary Settlement to the
contrary.
Indeed had there been, in that Aft of Re-
cognition, any Non obfiante of the Aft of 3 $
H. 8. (which I don't find there is) our Author
had had fomething to fay for his Hypothefis.
And as for his calling this Aft of Recogni-
tion the original Contraft, I never before un-
derftood a Recognition to be an Original.
But our Author knows beft: And indeed I
ought not to difcourage him as a new Begin-
H ner,
< J«) _
ner, being the firft Man of his Kidney, that I
ever heard allow of any original Contract
between King and People.
But, methinks, his fixing the original Con-
trad: at fuch a didance from the Original of
the Monarchy, is fomething like a late Author
I know, who inferted his Podfcript in the
middle of his Book.
After all this, our Author hath kept a Dernier
Refort ; That tho, according to the Laws of -
the Kingdom, the Inheritance of the Crown
may be limited by Parliament, yet he would
fugged that thefe Laws are .not warranted by
the Laws Divine. And faith, That whene-
ver fuch Ads have been made, for diverting
the Crown from the next in Blood, they have
not laded long, e'er Providence hath return'd
it again to the right Line.
Now this leads me to fomething I have faid
elfewhere, relating to the Jewifh Monarchy,
indituted by God himfelf, in that compendious
Charter of it deliver'd out in the Prophecy
of Jacob :
The Scepter fball not depart from Judah, nor
a Lawgiver from between his Feet t until Shiloh
come.
By which the fird Nomination of the
Scepter fell upon Judah, a fourth Son, in de-
fault of his three elder Brothers.
Reuben for Inced,*
And
Simeon and Levi for Murder.
And
( 59 )
And by the fame Nomination, the Scepter
is entail'd upon the Tribe of Judab only,
whereby that became the Royal Tribe, ex-
clufive of all the other Tribes, who, in dif-
tin&ion to that, were declar'd Subje&s, with
an Allegiance prefcrib'd for them to that Tribe
as their Sovereign :
Thou art be whom thy Brethren jhall praije,
thy Father's Children jhall bow down before thee.
But tho, by this Entail, the Scepter was fo
appropriated to that Tribe, that it could not
go to any of the reft, there being no collate-
ral Entail of it to any of the other Tribes.
Yet this Entail was firft general to the whole
Tribe, without any fpecial Limitation of it
to any particular Family of that Tribe, or any
fpecial Iffue of that Family.
And this gave every Family of that Tribe
fome expe&ancy of it, and poffibility for it,
till it came to be executed in the Family of
Jejfe.
Yet during this Interval, from the Nomi-
nation to the Execution of this Entail, Judab,
upon all occafions, had the federal Pofts of
Honour aflignM to them as the lj(oyal Tribe.
j ludah had the firft of the fpur Standards,
under which the eleven Tribes march'd and
incamp'd (to cover the Tribe of Levi , who
encompafs'd the Tabernacle) in the Wilder-
nefs of Sinai.
And after the Death of Jojbua, Judab led
the Van againft the reft of the unconquer'd
C an a an it es ; He And
( 60 )
Arid fo they did, after that, in the three
Eattels againft the Benjamites.
But in t&e twelfth Generation from the Fro-
phecy, when God came to execute this En-
tail in the Family of Jtjfe, .be pals'd by the
elder Houfeof Judah , and pitched upon the
younger for the Royal Family.
F° r J e Jfe was descended from Pharez , Son
of Judah by a fecond Venter ; whilft Shelah,
the youngeft Son of Judah by a former Ven-
ter, had a numerous Iffue, which were then
the elder Houfe of Judah y Er and Onan, his
two elder Brothers, dying without Ilfue.
And of this Family of JeJfe, God again
fingled out David, the yoimgeft Son, for the
Scepter. . , '
And thus the Scepter' was divided from the
Birthright, and the Birthright from the Seep-
ter, as well in the fir ft Creation of the Ho-
pour upon Judah, as in the execution of it in
David.
And then upon David God entail'd again,
upon him and hisllfue in general:
The Lord hath jworn unto David, Of the
Emir of thy Body will 1 fet upon thy Throne.
Which was not a fpecial Entail, always to
go to the Fir ft-born, or next in Blood :
And as an Evidence of this, the fiift Sue-
cefllion of the Crown from David came to So-
lomon a younger Son :
And from Solomon there was but one De-
icenr, before the ten Tribes revolted, who
never
( 61 )
never returned again to the Crown of Jadab,
but continu'd a feparate Kingdom, till they
were tranfpianted out of Samaria into Affyria.
From whence it is evident, That tho the
Conftitution of this Monarchy were heredita-
ry in general, yet the Crown was not by this
confin'd or neceffitated always to go to the
next in Blood.
And indeed fiich a Neceflity would fubvert
the Nature and Intention of Government in
the World.
Our Saviour hath told us, The Sabbath was
made for Man, and not Man for the Sabbath,
From whence is to be infer'd, That KJngs
were made for the People t and not the People for
KJngs; .
For if God requires no Service of Man,
but what is for Man's own Ufe and Benefit •
How can Kings demand more of their Sub-
je£ls, without arrogating to themfelves fome-
thing above God ?
Now the Intent of Government being for
the Good of the Community, the Sovereigns
are the Royal Truftees for the whole, and for
that purpofearea Body Politick, invefted with
all the Dignities and Prerogatives of the
Crown, and the Allegiance of the Subje&s,
to enable them to execute that Truft, and to
maintain and defend them in the execution
of it.
But if the Succeflionof this Truft and Dig-
nity muft of neceffity always come to the next
of
( <?2 )
of Kin to the lafl: Regnant (be his Capacities or
Incapacities what they will) then it may fo
happen, that the Throne may be fo filPd, that
this Truft cannot be executed, and fo the In-
tent of Government is fruftrated.
Therefore to prevent any fuch Accident, the
Kings and Parliaments of England, have al-
ways had the power to limit the Succeffion of
the Crown, as they fliall judg befl for the
Prefervation of the Monarchy, and the Laws
and Religion of the Kingdom.
And this is no Derogation to the Honour of
the Crown, or the Rights of the Royal Fa-
mily ; but for the better Prefervation of them-
felves, and the Subje&s under them.
And fuch Tranflations of the Crown are
no Novelties in the Enghjh Monarchy.
From Egbert, the firft Saxon Monarch, the
Crown of England (fubjeft to the Danijb In-
vafions) continu'd in his Lineage, till the In-
vafion by the Normans.
But during this Continuance, it frequently
happen'd, that the Brothers of the laft Reg-
nant were prefer'd to the Crown before his
Sons (when Minors, and as fuch incapable to
defend the Kingdom againft foreign Invaders.)
And for that reafon alfo Athelfian , tho an
illegitimate Son of King Edward (the elder)
was, by unanimous Election, made King be-
lore Edmund , a legitimate Son (then a Mi-
nor.)
And
( <>5 )
And fuch an Incapacity our Author hath
fuggefted of Edgar Atheling , the laft Prince of
the Saxon Line ; for which reafon he hath juf-
tify'd the TVanflation of the Crown of Eng-
land from -him to William Duke of Nor-
tnandy.
And for Incapacity for Government' in Ro-
bert Duke of Normandy , our Author hath
juftify'd the Tranflation of the Crown from
him to his younger Brothers.
But here, I perceive, our Author and I are
to part, upon our Difference in two Articles :
Firft, By what Power the Crown may be
thus tranflated, upon occafion.
Secondly, What is a juft Occafion for fuch
Tranflation.
This Power of Tranflation of the Crown,
our Author would have to be in the Kings, by
themfelves only, who, he faith, had antiently
a Power of dilpofing the Crown by Will.
Now I have heard the Lawyers fay, That
the King cannot, by Will, difpofe the Jewels
of the Crown ; but that the fame fhall, non
objlante fuch Devife, go to the Succeffor, in
right of the Crown.
And I believe I could quote a late Cafe for
that, where fome Jewels of the Crown were
adjudg'd totheSucceflor, againft the Executor
of the laft Regnant.
Now either this Law, reftraining the King's
difpofing the Jewels of the Crown, muft be
wrong or elfe I can't fee how our Author's
Law,
\
( ^4
Law, for the King's Difpofal of the Crown
it felf, fhould be right.
And we have King Henry the. Eighth, and
the Lawyers of his days of this Opinion, That
the King, by himfelf, could not difpofe of
the Crown, but by Parliament.
And, by the way, the Power given King
Henry the Eighth, by Parliament, was not
for difpofing the immediate Succeflion of the
Crown, but only a remote Contingency in
it, which was not then likely to happen (tho
afterwards it did happen.)
But letting our Author take his own way,
that the Kings of England could, by Will,
difpofe the Crown from the next Heir;
Why is he fo much offended, That the
Kings and Queens, with their Parliaments,
fhould fince do the like ?
Whoever had the Will of the King only
for their Title to the Crown, our Author
would have to be Kings Hereditary :
And yet whoever derive Title thereunto by
the Will of King and Parliament, our Author
would make Ufurpers.
And fo I am under the Misfortune of differ-
ing from our Author, by what Power the
Crown may be tranflated from the next in
Blood.
And for the Reafons or Caufes for which
the Crown may be fo transfer'd, Ihavefmall
hopes of any better Agreement.
t
Our
( )
Our Author hath allow'd the Infancy, and
other natural Incapacities in Edgar Atheling 9
gpod Caufes for transferring the Crown of
England from him to William Duke of Nor-
mandy , a Stranger in Blood to it.
And hath allow'd the Indifpofitions for Go-
vernment in Robert Duke of Normandy , good
Caufe for taking his Dukedom from him, and
him from his Dukedom.
But after this, I know he won't allow the
Popifh Religion any Incapacity for a Succeflor
to a Proteftant Kingdom :
And fo m rather differ with him in Si-
lence, than ask him the Queftion.
But I take liberty to think with my felf,
that if this be not an Incapacity, nothing
elfe is.
Tho, I own, I never faw a Popifti Succef^
for in my Life (nor ever fhall, I hope.)
But I have feen a Popifh Predeccffor, which
fhall ferve me for a Looking-Glafs.
And had I then been in a neighbouring
Kingdom (where I have been fince) I might
have feen fomething more, of a good Man con-
verted by his Religion to what 1 will not name.
Therefore they that both faw and felt the
Effe£!s of that there, may be excus'd, if they
feem now a little more apprehenfive than fome
of us on this fide the Water: Ihe burnt Child
dreads the Fire.
I
ANS5
( 66 )
N D fince our Author would make his
Court to Providence, as favouring his
Side, I hope I may (without Offence") ob-
ferve what feems to have a favourable AfpeQ:
on our fide.
This Proteftant Branch of the Royal Fa-
mily abroad, feems to have been, by a fpeciaj
Pfadd of Providence, preferv'd (as a Teil-
Tree) for ingrafting the Crown upon it.
But as the Building of the Temple of Jeru-
falem, was too great a Work to have the Ho-
nour of it corifer'd upon any one Man; and
therefore God firft put into the Heart of Da-
vid to frame the Model, and provide the Ma-
tefials of Gold and Silver ; and after him,
inftru&ed Solomon , his Succeffor, to build and
finifh it:
So we may hope it was by the good Will of
God, that his late Majefty King William laid
the firft foundation of this Succeflion, by en-
tailihg the Reverfion of the Crown of Eng-
land upon the Princefs Sophia, and her IfTue
(being Proteftants:) And clofing his Life with
r .his Afrion, he (lik eSampfon) became a Vic-
tor in his Death, furmounting the Glories of
his Reign.
But after him, the Confummation of this
Settlement feems to have been referv'd for her
prefent
<67 )
prefent Majefty, who accomplifh'd the fame?
by the Union of the two Kingdoms, together
with this Succeflion.
And fince that, fhe hath been pleas'd to ex-
prefs her intire Complacency and Satisfaction
in fo doing, in moft affectionate Terms, in
. the Preamble of her Letters Patent, creating
the Electoral Prince of Hannover Duke ol
Cambridge.
A Copy whereof (with an Englijb -Tranfli-
tion) is fubjoin'd :
Which may animate her Subjects to recog-
nize and avow all the fhare they had in it.
And to appear, the rather, the more zea-
lousfor it, becaufethe Adverfariesare fo zea-
lous againft it; as the only thing which in-
terfer.es with their ProjeCts.
And therefore they leave no Stone unturn'd
(at home or abroad) to feek Pretences to
avoid it.
And finding this Settlement cemented with
the Oaths and Allegiance of the Subjects,
thefe honeft Cafuifts are crying about their
Antidote againft Perjury;
(Whereof our Author, in his Folio, hath
prefented us a Specimen, call'd the Spiritual
Law (Anglice, Absolution by a Priefl.)
And would perfuade their Patients to try
the Experiment, for fake of the Cure only ;
without propofing any other Advantage by
the Adventure.
I 2 They
< <58 )
They would have the Britons and Hjber-
mans turn Galatians, defiring again to be in
Bondage ; and to exchange their Religion and
Liberties (which they have defended with fo
much Blood and Treafure) for Superftition
and Slavery, only in Compliment to be in
the fame Fafhion with their Neighbours:
Inticing them to burn their own Houfes,
and fay they are in Jeft ; or that they do it
with an Hereditary Intention , on behalf of the
next of Kin.
Our Author would prefcribe the Right of
the Crown always to defcend fucceflively to
the next in Blood.
And hath threaten'd all Limitations of it
to the contrary, with Anathema's of Provi-
dence.
Now if our Author would (as an Addi-
tion to his former Labours) take the pains
to fpend fome of his leifure Hours in vifit-
ing her Majefty's Subjects, and inftrufting
them in relation to the Settlements of their
own Eftates in their private Families; and by
impiegnating his Principles of Hereditary
Right into them, perfuade them, for Con-
fcience fake, to transform thofe Settlements
into our Author's Model (as they will an-
fwer the contrary at their peril) then I fhould
think he had gain'd fome Profelytes.
All or molt of the Eftates of the Nobility
and Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland , as
well Proteftants as Papifts, either have been,
or
(&9 )
or are, held and enjoy'd, under Settlements
made, upon the frfi Son, and the Heirs Males
&f his Body :
And for default of fuch Iffae, To the fecond
Son, and the Heirs Males of his Body:
And fo on, to all the other Sons in Tail-
Male.
Now all thefe Limitations over to the
younger Sons, carry the Eflates away from
the Daughters of the elder, who, being next
in Blood by Defcent, are the Heirs at Com-
mon Law, and as fuch would have inherited
the Eftate, had it not been limited from them
to the younger Sons:
And therefore, according to our Author's
Principles of Birthright, thefe Tranflations of
the Inheritances from the Daughters are
wrongful, and the Inheritances ought to be
reftor'd to them.
Now if this be true, and that Charity and
Reformation ought to begin at home, then
it would be a Breach of the Golden Rule in
Chriftianity (to do as tve would be done by)
for any Perfons, holding their Eftates under
fuch Settlements, to find fault with the Set-
tlements of the Crown by Parliament, till
they had redrefs'd the Grievances occafion'd
by" fuch Settlements in their own Families,,
and reftor'd their Eftates to the next in Blood,
to whom the Eftates would havedefcended, if
they had not been otherwife limited.
But
But whenever they pleafe to quit their pri-
vateEftates, and deftroy the Settlements in
their own Families, they may, with a better
Grace, difpute againft fuch like Settlements
of the Crown.
But till they fhall pleafe to put this Tejl
upon themfelves, I can't fee how they can
fhew their Male-content againft the prefent
Settlements thereof by Parliament, without
expofing themfelves to the Cenfure in the Gof-
pel, of fpying a Moth in their Brother's Eye,
while they keep the Beam in their oven.
Tho the Truth is (or at leaft I hope it is)
that (unlefs fome Sons of Baalam who are hirM
to curfe) mod of thefe Malecontents are either
old Proprietors, or in the State of Nature; to
whom, perhaps, any Change may feem ra-
ther better than their prefent Condition.
Nor have I faid any thing with intent to
get Converts among them.
But perceiving this Folio to have been
drawn and publilh'd as an Indi&ment againft
the prefent Settlements of the Crown, with
intent (if poflible) to corrupt the Minds of
her Majefty's Subje&s with Prejudices a-
gainft them, I would not let it pafs in fi-
lence, without bearing my Teftimony a*
gainft it.
And tho (as I faid at firft) I have yet
Law enough on my fide, to fay, That what-
ever the late King, or her prefent Majefty,
with
( 71 )
with their Parliaments, have done in this
Cafe, was jujt, becaufe they did it :
Yet I rather choofe to fay, They did it, be-
taufe it was juji.
PRE
PREAMBLE to the Duke
of Cambridge's PATENT.
CV M ferenijjima domus RleEt oralis Brunf-
vico-Luneburgenfs e regia Majorum nof-
trorum Jlirpe oriunda fit, & avita reg-
net (ft nos fine prole decefferimus) fecund lira
]eges auftoritate noftra fancitas, occupare de~
beat; cumque tamen enixe cupiamus, ut pree-
dilila Domits ferenijjima non minus amicitia no-
bis, quam /anguine & fcederibus, devinciatur I
Nos, pro fmgulari noflro erga illam affectu,
chariffimum confanguineum noftrum Geo. Auguf-
turn, ferenijjimi Eletforis {ilium fummis bono-
ribus augere decrevimus. Et quamvis tanti
Principis filiusunicus patriis finibus excedere,
fine gravi rerum periculo, non poffit; his
prxcipue temporibus, quibus vicini Status tarn
violentis tempejlatibus perturbantur : ut tamen
rebus nojtris & confiliis, qua licet, honoris &
nominis authoritate, etiam abfeas, quodammo-
do interfit, ilium Barium hujus regni numero
adfcribi jujjimus. Hx illi erunt primitive fu-
premx ijlius dignitatis, ad quam (nobis, nojlrif
< 7? )
que omnibus optantibus) deftinatur : ut, ornatus
dehinc nobiliffimi hujufce regni titulis, quos Re-
git fanguinis Principes femper ambierunt, nof
tratem fe effe gefiiat. Vos inter en Barones,
VicecomiteSy Comites, Mirchtones, Duces, vo-
bis gratulemini, quod tint£ fpei princeps, Ger-
mania decus & delicU, fan&iflima: noftrge Reli-
gionis vindex, 8c Libertatis public# propug-
pator, vobis olim imperaturus, e vobis interim
unuSj in vejlros Je or dines referri amet 1 &c.
WHEREAS the moft Serene Elec-
toral Houfe of Brunfivick-Lunen-
burgh is fprung from the Royal
Stock of our Anceftors, and in cafe of our
Death without Iflue, ought, ( According to
Laws ratiff d by our Authority) to enjoy the
Kingdoms of their Progenitors; yet as we
earneftly defire that the faid moft Serene
Houfe fliould no lefsbe ty'd to us by Friend-
fhip, than by Blood and Alliances; we, ac-
cording to our fingular Affe&ion towards the
fame, have decreed to grace, with the higheft
Honours, our moft dear Coufin, George Au-
guftus, Son to the moft Serene Ele&or. And
alt ho the only Son of fo great a Prince cannot
go out of his native Country without the utmojt
danger , efpecially at this time, when the
K
nejgh-
( 74 )
neighbouring States are toft with fuch vio*
lentTempefts; to the end neverthelefs, that
tp much as poffible, he may, by the Authority
of his Name and Dignity, tho abfent , be in a
manner prefent in our Parliament and Coon-
cils , we have order'd him to be added to the
number of the Peers of this Realm, This
will be to him an Earned of that Supreme
Dignity, to which (according to ours, and
the Wilhes of all our Subjefts) he's deftin'd:
that being henceforth adorn'd with the Titles
of this moft noble Kingdom, which the Prin-
cesof the Blood Royal have always courted,
he may be proud to be ours. You therefore
the Barons, Vifcounts, Earls, MarquilTes, and
Dukes, congratulate with your felves, that a
Prince of fo great Hopes, the Ornament and
Darling of Germany , the Defender of our. moft
Holy Religion, and the Aflertor of publick
Libejrty, one that is hereafter to govern you,
and' till then is one of you, fhould now de-
light to be veiled with the fame Honours with
you, &c.
N. B. That her Majefty's Recital of the
Houfe of Brunjivick- Lunenburgb 1 s being fprung
from the Royal Stock of her Anceftors, doth
include as well the late Defcent of the Prin-
cefs Sophia from King James theFirft, as the
antient Defcent of his Ele&orai Highnefs
f rom King Henry the Second, by Maud , his
eldeft
( 75 )
eldeft Daughter, marry'd to Henry, then
Duke of Saxony , from whom the Houfe of
Hannover is defcended: By which that Illuf-
trious Houfe is of the Royal Blood of Eng~
land, as well on the Father's as the Mother's
fide.
FINIS.
An Account of the Courts of Pruffiu am! Hannover j
fent in a Letter to a Miniftef of State in Holland. Dedi-
cated to his Grace the Duke of Somerset. Price i s.
The Ordinances, Statutes, &c. of the King of Prujjia's
Royal Academy at Berlin. Price 6 d.
The Elector Palatine's Declaration in favour of his Pro-
teftant Subjefts, as 'twas notify'd to her Majefty. With
an Account of thofe Grievances about Religion, which
are now fo happily redreft by his Ele&oral Highnefs.
Price 6 d.
AH 3 publifh'd by Mr. Toland, and fold by J, Roberts,
B OOh C«S written by John Afgill Efy and,
fold by J. Roberts in Warwick Lane.
AN Argument concerning Tranllation. Price i s.
The Jure Divino of the Houfe of Hannover. Price
6 d.
An Effay for the Prefs. Price i d.
Mr. Afgill' s Defence on his Expulfion from the Houfe of
Commonsof Great Britain in 1707. With an Introduction
and a Poftfcripr, relating to Tome Religious and Political
Affairs in the Year 1712. Price 1 s.
Mr. AfgilTs Apology for anOmiflion in his laft Publica-
tnio ; containing an ExtraCt of all the Laws for fettling
and fecuring the Hannover Succeflion. Price 3 d.
The Pretender's Declaration abftraCted from two ano-
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other, Memoirs of the Chevalier De St. George. With
Memoirs of two other Chevaliers in the Reign of Henry
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TH E Character of a Popilh Succeffor, and what Great
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Preface. Price 6 d.
Two Original Canto's of Spencer , defign'd as part of his
Fairy Queen, but never printed: Now made publick by
Heftor Ironfide Efq^ The Third Edition.
A Collection of Treaties, Manifeftos, Declarations of
War, Renunciations, and other publick Papers, from the
Reign of Henry VII. to the Year 1713. In two Volumes.'
With proper Introductions.
Pliny's Panegyrick on the Emperor Trajan, tranflated
from the Latin. Dedicated to her Royal Highnefs the
Princefs Sophia of Hannover.
The Medleys for the Year 1711. To which are pre*
fcx'd the five Whig-Examiners.
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IT-jrfhxOesfern University Library
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