III.

But who are these English Protestants that communicate DISCOURSE so freely with schismatics? Nay, he names none. We must take it upon his word. Are they peradventure the greater and the sounder part of the English Church? Neither the one nor the other. Let him look into our Church, and see how many of our principal divines have lost their dignities 155 and benefices, only because they would not take a schismatical covenant, without any other relation to the wars. Let him take a view of our Universities, and see how few of our old Professors, or Rectors and Fellows of Colleges, he finds left therein. God said of the Church of Israel, that He had 're- [1 Kings xix. 18.] served to Himself seven thousand, that had not bowed their knees unto Baal.' I hope I may say of the Church of England, that there are not only seven thousand, but seventy times seven thousand, that mourn in secret, and wish their "heads were waters" and their " eyes [a] fountain of tears," [Jerem. that they "might weep day and night" for the devastation and desolation of the city of their God.

ix. 1.]

v. 18.]

And if that hard weapon necessity have enforced any (perhaps with an intention to do good or prevent evil) to comply further than was meet, I do not doubt but they pray with Naaman, The Lord be merciful to me in this thing.' Sup- [2 Kings pose that some persons of the English communion do go sometimes to their meetings;-it may be out of conscience, to hear a sermon; it may be out of curiosity, as men go to see May-games, or monsters at fairs; it may be, that they may be the better able to confute them, as St. Paul went into their heathenish temples at Athens, and viewed their altars [Acts xvii. and read their inscriptions, yet without any approbation of 23.]

their idolatrous devotions;-is this to "communicate with schismatics?" or what doth this concern the Church of England?

CHAP. I.

A REPLY TO THE FIRST CHAPTER OF THE SURVEY.

PART
I.

[The first thing observable in R. C.'s

Survey.]

Objections against the

point of

colourable,

SECTION THE FIRST.

How this chapter comes to be called 'a Survey of the first chapter of my Vindication,' I do not understand; unless it be by an antiphrasis, the contrary way, because he doth not survey it. If it had not been for the title, and one passage therein, I should not have known whither to have referred it. In the first place he taxeth me for an omission, that I "tell not why the objection of schism seemeth more forcible against the English Church than the objection of heresy." And to supply my supposed defect, he is favourably pleased to set it down himself. "The true reason whereof” (saith he) "is because heresy is a matter of doctrine," which "is not so evident as the matter of schism, which is a visible matter of fact, namely a visible separation in communion of Sacraments and public worship of Gody."

I confess I did not think of producing reasons before the Church of question was stated; but if he will needs have it to be thus, England in before we inquire why it is so, we ought first to inquire wheschism are ther it be so. For my part I do not believe, that either their not forcible. objections in point of heresy or in point of schism are so "forcible" against the Church of England. So he would have me to give a reason of a non-entity, which hath neither reason nor being. All that I said was this, that there is nothing more "colourably" objected to the Church of England, "at first sight, to strangers unacquainted with our affairs, or to such natives, as have looked but superficially upon the case, than schism"." Here are three restrictions, "colourably," "at first sight," "to strangers." "Colourably," that is, not "forcibly," nor yet so much as truly. He who doubteth of it, may do well to try if he can warm his hands at a glow-worm. "At first sight," that is, not by force, but rather by deception of the sight. So fresh-water seamen 'at first sight' think the shore leaves them, "terræque urbesque

III.

recedunt;" but straightways they find their error, that it is DISCOURSE they who leave the shore. "To strangers," &c. that is, to unskilful judges. A true diamond and a counterfeit do seem both alike to an unexperienced person. Strangers did believe easily the Athenian fables of bulls and minotaurs in Crete; but the Cretans knew better,-that they were but fictitious devices. The seeming strength lieth not in the objections themselves, but in the incapacity of the judges.

But to his reason, the more things are remote from the matter, and divested of all circumstances of time and place and persons, the more demonstrable they are. That is the reason why mathematicians do boast, that their principles are so evident, that they do not persuade but compel men to believe. Yet in the matter of fact, and in the application of 156 these evident rules, where every particular circumstance doth require a new consideration, how easily do they err? insomuch as let twenty geometricians measure over the same plot of ground, hardly two of them shall agree exactly. So it seemeth, that an error in point of doctrine may be more easily and more evidently convinced than an error in matter of fact. He saith, "the separation is visible." True: but whether the separation be criminous; whether party made the first separation; whether there was just cause of separation; whether side gave the cause; whether the Keys did err in separating; whether there was not a former separation of the one party from the pure primitive Church, which produced the second separation; whether they who separated themselves or others without just cause, do err invincibly or not; whether they be ready to submit themselves to the sentence of the Catholic Church;-is not so easy to be discerned. How many separations have sprung about elections or jurisdiction or precedency, all which rites are most intricate, and yet the knowledge of the schism depends altogether upon them. This 'Surveyor' himself confesseth, that a Church "may be really heretical or schismatical, and yet morally a true Church, because she is invincibly ignorant of her heresy or schism, . . . in which case it is no schism but a necessary duty to separate from her." In this very case proposed by him

PART self, I desire to know how it is so easy by the only view of the separation to judge or conclude of the schism.

I.

But the true ground, why schism is more probably objected to the Church of England than heresy, is a false but prejudicate opinion, that the bishop of Rome is the right Patriarch of Britain, that we deserted him, and that the dif

rights; ferences between us are about Patriarchal sites; all which, with sundry other such like mistaken grounds, are evidently cleared to be otherwise in the "Vindication."

[The second thing

Survey.]

This is all that concerns my first chapter. The rest is voluntary.

The next thing observable in his "Survey" is, that "Proobservable testants confess, that they have separated themselves not in R. C.'s only from the Roman Church, but also from all other Christian Churches in the communion of the Sacraments and public worship of God;" and "that no cause but necessity of salvation can justify such a separation from the crime of schism: and it must needs seem hard to prove that it was... necessary for the salvation of Protestants, to make. . such a separation from all Churches in the world; as if there had been no Christian Church, in whose communion" in Sacraments "they could find salvation; whence it will follow, that at that time there was no true Church of God upon earthd." For proof of the first point,—that Protestants have separated from all Christian Churches,-he produceth Calvin, Chillingworth, and a treatise of his own.

Authors

ought to be cited fully

fully.

It were to be wished, that Professors of Theology would not cite their testimonies upon trust, where the authors and faith- themselves may easily be had (only "impossibility is stronger than necessity," as the Spartan boy once answered the old senator after the Laconical manner); and that they would cite their authors fully and faithfully, not by halves, without adding to, or new moulding, their authorities according to their own fancies or interest. It may seem ludicrous, but it was a sad truth, of a noble English gentleman, sent ambassador into foreign parts, and with him an honourable spy under the notion of a companion, by whom he was accused

III.

at his return to have spoken such and such things at such D.SCOURSE and such times. The gentleman pleaded ingenuously for himself, that it might be he had spoken some of those things, or it might be all those things, but never any one of them in that order nor in that sense. 'I have,' said he, several suits of apparel, of purple cloth, of green velvet, of white and black satin. If one should put my two purple sleeves to my green velvet doublet, and make my hose, the one of white satin, the other of black, and then swear that it was my apparel; they who did not know me, might judge me a strange man.' To disorder authorities, to contract or enlarge them, to misapply them besides the scope, contrary to the sense, of the author, is not more discommendable than common. I have seen large volumes containing some hundreds of controversies (as was pretended) between Protestants and Papists, and among them all not above five or six that I could own; as if they desired that the whole woven Coat of Christ should be torn more in sunder than it is, or that they might have the honour to conquer so many fictitious monsters of their own making. I have 157 seen authorities mangled and misapplied, just like the ambassador's clothes, so as the right authors would hardly have been able to know them. So much prejudice, and partiality, and a habit of alteration, is able to do, like a tongue infected with choler, which makes the sweetest meats to taste bitter; or like coloured glass, which makes every object we see through it to appear of the same colour.

Wherefore I do intreat R. C. to save himself and me and the reader so much labour and trouble for the future, by forbearing to charge the private errors or opinions of particular persons (it skilleth not much whether) upon the Church of England; the most of which were mere strangers to our affairs, and many of them died before controversies were rightly stated or truly understood, for none of which the Church of England is any way obliged to be responsible : and likewise by forbearing to make so many empty references, to what he believes or pretends to have proved in some of his other books; 'see the "Author of the Protestant Religion;" 'see the "Distinction of Fundamentals and not Fundamentals;"''see the "Sufficient Proposer of Faith;"'