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time, through their base allurements, and at length fell mad, till, by a great

miracle shewn from God, she was delivered.

O Israel, trust in the Lord, for in the Lord there is mercy, and with

him is plenteous redemption. Psal. cxxx.

London, printed, 1641. Quarto, containing six pages

Rome for Canterbury: Or, a true Relation of the Birth and Life of William

Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury. Together with the whole manner of his

proceeding, both in the Star-chamber, High-commission Court, and in his

own house; and some observations of him in the Tower. Dedicated to all

the Arminian tribe, or Canterburian faction, in the year of grace, 1641.

Whereunto is annexed a postscript in verse. Printed in the year 1641.

Quarto, containing eight pages.

Sir Thomas Roe's Speech in Parliament; wherein he sheweth the cause of

the decay of coin and trade in this land, especially of merchants trade. And

also propoundeth a way to the house, how they may be increased. Printed

in the year 1641. Quarto, containing twelve pages

A true Description, or rather a Parallel between Cardinal Wolsey, Arch-

bishop of York, and William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury. Printed in

the year 1641. Quarto, containing eight pages

The Bill of Attainder that passed against Thomas, Earl of Strafford. Printed

for J. A. 1641. Quarto, containing six pages

The Accusation and Impeachment of William Laud, Archbishop of Canter-

bury, by the House of Commons, in maintenance of the accusations where-

by he standeth charged with high-treason. Printed anno dom. 1641.

Quarto, containing eight pages

Leicester's Commonwealth fully epitomised; conceived, spoken, and publish-

ed, with most earnest profestation of all dutiful good-will and affection

towards this realm, for whose good only it is made common to many. Con-

tracted in a most brief, exact, and compendious way, with the full sense,

and whole meaning of the former book, every fragment of sense being inter-

posed. With a pleasant description of the first original of the controversies

betwixt the two houses of York and Lancaster. Quarto, containing sixteen

pages

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THAT A WOMAN, CALLED JOAN, WAS POPE OF ROME;

Against the Surmises and Objections made to the Contrary,

By Robert Bellarmine and Cæsar Baronius, Cardinals: Florimondus Ramondus, N. D. and other Popish Writers,

Impudently denying the same.

BY ALEXANDER COOKE.

London, printed by John Haviland, for William Garrat; and are to be sold at his shop in Paul's Church-yard, at the sign of the Bull's Head. 1625. Quarto, containing one hundred and forty pages.

To the most Reverend Father in God, Tobias, my Lord Archbishop of York's Grace, Primate and Metropolitan of England.

IT is lamentable to consider how many stars are fallen of late from heaven, how many goddesses on earth have departed from the faith, and given heed unto the spirit of errors and doctrines of slanderers, to wit, the Papists; yet, methinks, it is no matter of wonderment, because we read, that, 2 If men receive not the love of the truth, that they might be saved, God, in his justice, will give them strong delusions to

1 This is the 191st number of the Catalogue of Pamphlets in the Harleian Library.
21. 2 Thess. ii. 10, 11.

believe lyes, that they may be damned': for few or none of these late apostates, for any thing I can learn, were ever in love with the truth. Among us they were, but they were not of us, as now appears by their departing from us; for, if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; doubtless, they would never have fallen to popery. For, though popery be managed after the most politick manner, yet, in itself, it is a gross religion; and the perfecters thereof as shameless men in avowing manifest untruths, and denying known truths, as ever set pen to paper; all which it is as casy to prove, as to object against them. But my purpose, at this time, is, to lay open their shame in denying known truths; which, though it may be shewed by divers particulars, as, namely, by 'Parsons's and Bishop's denying that they call their Pope their Lord God; by Bellarmine's denying that any Jesuit had any hand in the powder-treason; by their 'general denying that Pope Honorius the First was an heretick, and by such like; yet most apparently their impudency appears in denying the report of Pope Joan, which is proved by a cloud of witnesses, in this discourse (which I make bold to present unto your Grace) for they are driven to feign, to forge, to cog, to play the fools, and, in plain English, to lye all manner of lyes for the covering of their shame in this. Onuphrius, Harding, Saunders, Cope, Genebrard, Bellarmine, Bernartius, Florimondus, Papyrius Masso, Baronius, Parsons, and divers others, who have joined hand in hand, with purpose to carry this cause away by a strong hand, are so intangled in it, that it is with them, as with birds in the lime-twigs, which stick the faster in, by how much they flutter the more to get out. Which if your Grace, upon perusing at your best leisure, shall find true, my humble desire is, that you will give me leave to publish it under your Grace's name; partly, that, by it, the simpler sort (for I write not for the learned) may have a taste, by this, of the honesty, or rather dishonesty, of Papists, in handling of points in controversy; and, partly, that it may be a testimony of that reverent respect, which I acknowledge due to such church-governors, as your Grace is, who give atendance unto reading, which the apostle willed Timothy to do, and, after the example of the ancient bishops, preach often, drawing on others, not by words only, but by example also, to performance of like exercises. Hereafter, if it please God, that health and means of books serve, I shall light on some more profitable argument. In the mean while, I pray God strengthen your Grace's hands to the finishing of the Lord's work, in the province wherein you sit, as one of the seven angels in the seven churches mentioned in the Revelation; that, by your Grace's means, the epha, wherein popish wickedness sitteth, may be lifted up between the earth and the heaven, and carried out of the north into the land of Sinar, and set there upon his own place.

Your Grace's at Commandment,

ALEXANDER COOKE.

1 N. D. In his Warnword to Sir Francis Hastings's Watchword, Encounter I. cap. 2.
In his Reproof of Dr. Abbot's Defence of Mr. Perkins's Preface to the Reader, p. 10.
3 Apologia ad lib. Jacob. Mag. Britan. Regis, cap. xv. p. 208.
4 Bellarin. Paron. Pighius, &c.

5] 1 Tim, iv. 13.

To the Popish, or Catholick Reader.

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PAPIST, or Catholick, chuse whether name thou hast a mind to (for, though I know, that, of late years, thou art proud of both, even of the name 'papist, as well as of the name catholick, yet I envy thee neither; only I would have thee remember, that that firebrand of hell, Hildebrand, commonly called Gregory the Seventh, was the first man who challenged it, as his sole right, to be called Papa, that is Pope, whence thou art called papist; and that divers are of opinion, as 'Hugo de Victore noteth, that, in some sense, the devil might be called a catholick.) I offer unto thee here a discourse touching Pope Joan, (if thou darest read it, for fear of falling into thy Pope's curse) whose popedom I will make good unto thee, not by the testimonies of Pantaleon, and Functius, and Sleidan, and Illyricus, and Constantius Phrygio, and John Bale, and Robert Barnes, because thou hast condemned their persons, and their books too, to hell; but by the testimonies of thy brethren, the sons of thy own mother, because as one saith, firmum est genus probationis, quod etiam ab adversario sumitur, ut veritas etiam ab inimicis veritatis probetur: That is a strong proof, which is wrung out of the adversary, when the enemies of truth are driven to bear witness unto the truth.' And, as 'another, Amici contra amicum, & inimici pro inimico, invincible testimonium est: which sounds, as I conceive it, thus: The testimony of a papist aganist a papist, and the testimony of a papist for a protestant, is without exception.' The reason why I have framed it in way of dialogue, was, that I might meet more fully with all the cavils, which thy proctors use in pleading of this case; and that it might be better understood of common readers, who are sooner gulled with continued discourses. If I have spoken truly, I would have thee bear witness with me unto the truth; if otherwise, I am content thou strike me: for, though I hold thy pa-pism, in so me respect, to be worse than atheism, agreeably to a speech fathered upon Epiphanius, χείρων ή κακοπισία τῆς ἁπιςίας, heresy is worse than infidelity, and, by consequent, thyself a dangerous neighbour to dwell by; because, as one of thy own doctors writes, certè periculosius est cum hæreticis, quam cum samaritanis quam cum gentilibus, aut Mahumetanis agere: It is, questionless, more dangerous to dwell by an heretick, than to dwell by a Samaritan, by an Heathen, by a Turk:' yet I am not so far out of love with thee, but I can be content to learn of thee, as St. Augustine did of Tyconius the heretick, if thou canst teach me. Yea, I profess, that, though it may be gathered out of "Campian, thy champion and Tyburn-martyr, that thou believest one heaven cannot hold

8

1 Baron. Annot. in Martyrol. Rom. Octob. 16. b. Lorinus in Act. Apost. cap. xx. vers. 30. Anastasius Cochelet. Palæstrita Honoris D. Hallensis pro Lipsio, cap. i. pag. 6.

2 Bellarm. Lib. iv. de Ecclesia, cap. 4. Rhem. Annot. in Act. xi. 26. in Martyrol. Rom. Jan. 10. c. 4 Annot. in 1 ad Cor. xiii. prohibit.

3 Baron. Annot. 5 In indice Lib.

6 Novatian. de Trinitate, cap. 18. num. 86. inter Opera Tertulliani, 7 Vives de Instrumento Probabilitatis. 8 Maldonat in Johan. iv. 9. Retract. cap. 18. 10 Ratio. 10.

9 Lib. ii.

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believe lyes, that they may be damned': for few or none of these late apostates, for any thing I can learn, were ever in love with the truth. Among us they were, but they were not of us, as now appears by their departing from us; for, if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; doubtless, they would never have fallen to popery. For, though popery be managed after the most politick manner, yet, in itself, it is a gross religion; and the perfecters thereof as shameless men in avowing manifest untruths, and denying known truths, as ever set pen to paper; all which it is as casy to prove, as to object against them. But my purpose, at this time, is, to lay open their shame in denying known truths; which, though it may be shewed by divers particulars, as, namely, by 'Parsons's and Bishop's denying that they call their Pope their Lord God; by Bellarmine's denying that any Jesuit had any hand in the powder-treason; by their 'general denying that Pope Honorius the First was an heretick, and by such like; yet most apparently their impudency appears in denying the report of Pope Joan, which is proved by a cloud of witnesses, in this discourse (which I make bold to present unto your Grace) for they are driven to feign, to forge, to cog, to play the fools, and, in plain English, to lye all manner of lyes for the covering of their shame in this. Onuphrius, Harding, Saunders, Cope, Genebrard, Bellarmine, Bernartius, Florimondus, Papyrius Masso, Baronius, Parsons, and divers others, who have joined hand in hand, with purpose to carry this cause away by a strong hand, are so intangled in it, that it is with them, as with birds in the lime-twigs, which stick the faster in, by how much they flutter the more to get out. Which if your Grace, upon perusing at your best leisure, shall find true, my humble desire is, that you will give me leave to publish it under your Grace's name; partly, that, by it, the simpler sort (for I write not for the learned) may have a taste, by this, of the honesty, or rather dishonesty, of Papists, in handling of points in controversy; and, partly, that it may be a testimony of that reverent respect, which I acknowledge due to such church-governors, as your Grace is, who give atendance unto reading, which the apostle willed Timothy to do, and, after the example of the ancient bishops, preach often, drawing on others, not by words only, but by example also, to performance of like exercises. Hereafter, if it please God, that health and means of books serve, I shall light on some more profitable argument. In the mean while, I pray God strengthen your Grace's hands to the finishing of the Lord's work, in the province wherein you sit, as one of the seven angels in the seven churches mentioned in the Revelation; that, by your Grace's means, the epha, wherein popish wickedness sitteth, may be lifted up between the earth and the heaven, and carried out of the north into the land of Sinar, and set there upon his own place.

Your Grace's at Commandment,

ALEXANDER COOKE.

1 N. D. In his Warnword to Sir Francis Hastings's Watchword, Encounter I. cap. 2. In his Reproof of Dr. Abbot's Defence of Mr. Perkins's Preface to the Reader, p. 10. 3 Apologia ad lib. Jacob Mag. Britan. Regis, cap. xv. p. 208.

4 Bellarm. Paron. Pighius, &c.

5] 1 Tim, iv. 13,

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