Doctor Hills Reasons for Upholding of Papistry Unmasked, To the reader
To the Christian Reader.
IT is now about one yeare and a halfe agone, that beeing intreated to aunswere this Pamphlet, which is more fraught with malice and bitter speaking then with truth or learning, in behalfe of my poore countrey-men abused by these Seminarians, I vndertooke it. And albeit for the whole yeere following I was sufficiently burthened with my ordinary businesse, & therein for the space of 9. or 10. weeks, sicke and much weakened with a sharpe and vehement fever: yet my desire to dispell these foggy mists of Popery was such, that within the compasse of that time, I drew vp the first Copy of an Answere to 16. of these Romish Reasons. Wherein rather desiring to giuegive to the Reader a substantial then a flight satisfaction, I found by probable coniecture that even so much would grow to a reasonable volume: and the like course heere-after being taken with the latter part of D. Hils book, there also might arise a work of like proportion. VponUpon this conceit I fell to revising & writing out to the Presse that which formerly I had done, and therein by Gods blessing I went so farre, that now 6. moneths since I finished so much as heere is published, some few interlacings only excepted. But when I shoulde hauehave proceeded to the perfecting vp of the other sixe, a burthē was by my honorable Patrone imposed vpō me, which togither with my necessary imploimēts at Winchester since that time, hath so put me frō cōtēplatiō & kept me in cōtinual actiō, that I scant hauehave bin able to sustaine the waight of the daily cōtingent, & perpetually incūbent busines, as is apparant to every mā acquainted with mine estate. And in as much as yet for a time I'am not like to be freed from that charge, I am put to this difficulty, that either till I hauehave more leysure; I must stay the Answere to these tenne Chapters, being now completed by the Printer, or I must send these forth without their fellowes, which is much cō trary to my former purpose.
Notwithstanding at the last I hauehave resolued vponupon the latter of these two courses, being the rather inclined thervnto, because a learned man of the other Vnivetsity hath lately vn-quartered the whole Quartron of D. Hils Reasons, which peradventure in the iudgement of many men may seeme so good a satisfaction to that which the adversarie hath obiected, that my future labours in this Argument may very well be spared. For this cause my purpose is, (giving way to my present necessarie services) to attend and expect for a while, the iudgement and Censure of men wise and learned in our Church, and afterwarde to proceede or not proceede as occasion hall require. In the meane time I may say, that the mainest and principallest bulwarkes of the Romish religion are these, which I hauehave already assaulted: and it is as easie a matter to go forward with the rest, as it hath beene to deale with these. Before persons which are wilfully ignoraunt, or perverse togither with their learning, Popery may bear some shew; but with such as hauehave the skill to displaye it, or the grace to endure the dismasking of it, it is but a painted Iesabell. Only herein the vnsearchable iudgement of God is to bee admired, and his waies which are past finding out are to be wondered at, and that with amasement and astonishment, that there should yet be so many, who hauehave eies and see not, & eares and heare not, yea harts and vnderstand not, but still go forward to make vp the number of the servitors of the beast, and of the traine of Antichrist, who must hauehave some to adore him till the dissolution of the worlde. But to the ende that such among our Popish Countrey-men as are ordained to salvation, may be plucked out of the fire, it behoveth vsus who are the Ministers of the Gospell to be diligent in preaching the Gospell to such as wil heare, and in writing, for such as will reade, that they may know and beleeue and be saved. For the better accomplishing wherof, and for the instruction of the ignorant, who most readylie are seduced, I hauehave taken these paines, endevouring to deliver plainely and without obscurity that which I hauehave to saie: And for the cleering of all my Doctors both general and particular suggestions, tracing him step by step, & besides discussing the maine drifte of his Reasons, togither with the validity of those Arguments, which others for the strengthening of the Romane perfidiousnesse, doe or may rest therevpon. And yet in fitting my selfe to the capacity of the vnlearned, I hauehave not beene altogither forgetful to giuegive some cōtentment to men of more knowledge, wherin how farre I hauehave gone, it is not for me, but for others to iudge.
But whereas I hauehave once made mention, of the expelling of the Iesuites out of Fraunce, and the sharpe Edict which was there against thē; and now the report is strong, that vponupon some cōditions they are restored thither again, (to the truth wherof in particular, I must ingenuously cō fesse, that I cannot yet attaine) the difference of time being waighed will easily aunswere for that matter, it beeing certainelie here-tofore one waie, and nowe peradventure another. In respect whereof it is not amisse to know, that as it was longer agone that the Copy writtē for the Presse was finished, so it is fiue moneths since that the Printer began with this booke, howsoever sometimes this worke hath beene interrupted, one while with the danger of the Pestilence, which of late hath beene so generally spreade, & another while with the publishing of divers other linal tracts, which the present occasion did offer. And this also may serue for Answer to another point, wherin my charity presumed more quietnes in some men amōgst vsus, thē thē selues are willing to yeeld correspōdence vntounto. Nevertheles I trust that this is but a fit, & that time and experience will giuegive rest to the most vnquiet and restlesse soirits.
Lastly I earnestly intreate al Romishly affected English men & women, that they be not so ready to harken to Iesuits & Seminary men, as here-tofore they hauehave bin, & to follow their lures either in spirituall or temporall matters. What they can say for their Idolatry & superstitiō is long since known, neither hauehave they yet brought ought of moment, but hath received answer. And for their other behaviour, whither it be cōmēdable & Christiā, or no, let their own books between the vnited & dis-vnited Priests shew, wherin of late so copiously & so liuely they hauehave disciphered each other. But if this will not serue the turne, let the practises of two Priests lately displayed & cōfested by thē selues at Winchester, make all men take heede of them. It is hard to say whether their attempts were more traiterous against their Soveraigne, or trecherous against their frends & men of their owne Religion. I take no pleasure to speak ill of those which are dead, & whose bodies have endured the stroke of Iustice according to their deserts. But since these thīgs were not done in a corner, but as matters exēplary to al the land, & they cā no way be concealed, let. me make the vse of thē, for which …od ordained thē, that is to warne other mē of that which was disclosed there. VnderUnder a colour of doing service to our most gracious Soveraigne, Watson drewe on his frēds to horrible attemptes of treasō against their Lord & King. Some of thē telleth, that his Maty, must be assisted against the Puritans, some other, that it must be against the lesuits: whē indeed it was nothing els, but to set the whole kingdome into cōbustiō, to the alteratiō of the state & the effusiō of much bloude, that himself (a base & meane cōpaniō) might be possessed with the greatest office of Englād, & other his complices with the next. It was no marveil that with shame & cōfusiō of face he did hāge down his head, whē his own folowers too propēse before to seditiō & tumults; did personally but most deservedly reproch him for so intrapping thē. Now how were Papists in that actiō lead blindfold, when leaving their own vocatiōs, their houses, wives & childrē, they could be perswaded to daūce after the pipe of Preests putting them into facts of so high… nature, & that in such troups they wold advēture vpō thē? I say in such t…oupes, because the two Priests being returned frō those coūtries where their acquaintance lay, made it knowne to a special person of the cōspiracy, that they had 500. men ready to acte that which they had formerly plotted, and instantly mooved him, that it might expeditely be done. And that this was not altogither vnlikely, is plain by the opē speech of Clarke at the barre, who professed that he could bring two hūdred mē, viz. to acte such their pretended devises for their Catholik cause: & yet Clarke was the lesse active Preest of the two If these felowes in a matter of that high quality spake false (which some will imagine) what trust may their favourites give them, in other their relations? If they spake true, how feareful is the case of such as listen vntounto them, who so soone, & vnderunder such faire coulours may be circumvented? But how mercifull in the meane time, is the proceeding of his blessed Maiestie, who questioneth not with severity of iustice al those who were intangled in some circumstāces of that attempt (it being no hard matter to have them discovered) but affoordeth much more clemency then other Princes in like cases have done. Let them magnify the mercy of the Lord, and his Annointed, and let them thinke and speake honorably of the Ienity of the State, which rather spareth' men apparantly ill deserving then questioneth any who are tolerably innocent. And for the restlet them seriously take heede of such as have beene nouzeled vnderunder Cardinal Allen, Persons, Barret, Worthington and their adherents, least they temporally bring ruine on their houses and bodies, and eternally on their soules. God wil not evermore beare those, who shut their eies and stop their eares against the truth. The Lord direct vsus in his owne waies, & call home such as wilfully or by ignorance have gone astray, that at lēgth they may bee reduced to the sheepe-folde of Christ Iesus, to whom with his Father, and their blessed spirite bee praise for evermore,
Amen.
End of the text · Archbishop George Abbot, Doctor Hills Reasons for Upholding of Papistry Unmasked (1604)