An Apology to my Lord Treasurer, Apology
An Apologie to my Lorde Treaſorer: touching a ſpeach vttered vntounto his Lordſhip by my Lord of C.
MY duetie remembred to your Lordſhip. I receyued your Lordſhips aunſwere: why your Lordſhips performed not your promiſe ſent vntounto me, by Maiſter D. Caeſar: for that the Archbiſhop ſaide: that I had written a booke ſlaunderous and erroneous. I muſt needes confeſſe, that your exception is ſage: whyle the Archbiſhop is not forced to alter his wordes. And I might be holden dull, if demaunding recompence of twentie yeares trauels, with the principall approbatiō of the beſt, & the beſt learned in the Realme, I would take my Lordes Graces ſpeaches for a gracious recompence, and full rewarde: or thinke ſuch dealings honorable: or my Lord to be ſuch a ſcholler, that one of my leaſure in ſtudie, ſhould yeeld vntounto. Wherefore I muſt craue leaue to call his Grace into iudgement. And your Honours ſhalbe my iudges: I will ſeeke no better. Thus I pleade: His Grace denyed to my agent, that he ſaide, I had written erroneous: but ſaid, that he ſayde, I had written to the Queene vntruely. So, if his Grace doeth not ſtande to his wordes, his teſtimonie cannot in anie honour be my hinderance. Iudge, I pray your Lordſhip, whether I ſay true: or not. Nowe it remayneth, I aunſwere for my writing to the Queene of his Graces determination, whether I can defende my ſelfe or not. Firſt, this I hope will appeare by writing: that I ſent vntounto his Lordſhip (by Maiſter Mulcaſter) a full declaration of the controuerſie betwixt D.R. and my ſelf: that determining vponupon ſo much, the ſtrife he ſhould end. I layd downe the controverſies in three ſequeles. The firſt was: Whether Iudah was vnderunder Perſia but an hundred and thirtie yeares, or two hundred yeares. Now therein ſeeing D. R. and I agreed that after Zerobabel built the temple: the time to Alexander was not an hundred yeares: ſo the time betwixt Babels fall and the Temple building, was to be tried: whether it were two and thirtie yeares, or 107. yeares, by both falling to newe particulars: That, I cleare by nyne and fortie thouſand argumentes at once. For, 49000. thouſand returned, Eſr. 2. and in Eſra 6. the returned buylt vp the Temple. D. R. muſt proue howe manie died: and if the greater halfe wholly had died, or almoſt all, yet two, only Zorobabel and Ioſuah had bene enough for me: both named returners & aliue all the while. Thus much his Grace (I trowe) could not chuſe but ſee. And all Oxford will graunt that thus much ouerturneth my aduerſarie. So reaſon would warrant me to write of his Grace, that whiche he could not omit without eternal ſhame. I hope her Maieſty will not be angry with me, for ſpeaking the beſt of her Archb. that which common entendement would require anie man to holde true. By this your temporall Honours will ſee, that his ſpirituall Grace diſgraceth not me: but his owne grace, the Queenes Maieſty, & the maieſty of Gods grace: not acknowledging his goodnes: which in 49000. Iewes liues, in fewe wordes burnes all Heathen Libraries. Although his Grace hauing receyued 50000. poundes of the Church, at the leaſt, knew not of him ſelfe, howe the onelyonly life of Zorobabel, or the only of Ioſuah, of Nehemiah, of Ezra, of Mardochai, of Aggai, of Zachari, ouerthrewe all Heathen ſtudy-glory: yet when he ſawe that D.R. marked the ſequell ſchollerlike: & was driuen to invent newe opinions againſt all the world and reaſon: I hope his Grace will not pleade that he ſawe not which way the determination muſt paſſe: or ſeeing contemned his duetie. And if he doe, I truſt her Maieſtie will tell him what it is to holde the place of an Archb. vnable to perform that which is eaſie: that a Bachler of art would confidently iudge. And thus I hope your Lordſhips will not thinke it reaſon that I ſhould loſe all that recōpence, which for twentie yeares paynes by the Queenes honour of Gouernement ſhould befal me: for commending one of your owne ordre, and neare the Church: that he was not farre from God herein: but ſharp-eyed, true, learned, and honorable. Truely, Syr, I thought it no great paynes to affoord a man of high place good wordes, with all aduantage of warrant: for honoring ſuch as her Maieſtie preferred, tendering the quietnes of the Church. Although in my conſcience I knewe that his Grace had but ſmall ſkill in difficulties about the Bible: as hee ſheweth in complayning that he was commended. To countenance our common weale, I ſpoke that which his bodily eyes ſawe: though not the eyes of this minde: and had three reporters from him, to ſpeake that commendation, which of humanitie I would affoord him. My aduerſarie D. R. affoordeth me as good wordes as anie can beſtowe on anie ſcholler. And if I did not confeſſe that he was the firſt, that hazarded his fame to trye: whether the millions of chriſtians, that folowed Iewes on the captiuitie bookes all ſauing Daniel: and on him followed Heathen vnreconciliable: muſt burne all their agreement, either with the Iewes, or all their innumerable writings after the Heathē, if I giuegive not him this high commendation, I ſhould doe him iniurie. All muſt confeſſe that hee ſhewed learning that carried an whole Vniuerſitie ſixe yeares after him: & an Archb. to deny his owne decree: and to be guiltie of denying all ancient grauntes: and cōmon reaſon, for the ſpace of the Temples building, a moſt famous diuinitie ſtorie: & ſuch as, of which a Church man could not with any honour be ignorant. The Pericles that ſo could lighten, thunder, & mingle Graecia, as D. R. did, muſt needes be holden pericles and full of glorie. As I muſt affoorde him all good ſpeach: ſo I would hauehave affoorded vntounto his Grace: but that he doeth plague me for commending his learning, care of trueth, and regard of his honour.
The ſecond ſequel, which followed vponupon the firſt: or, as the vſer will, the firſt vponupon it, was for Daniels Chronicle of foure hundred and ninetie yeres. Thus it faſteneth vntounto the other:
If it be but foure hundred and ninetie yeares from Daniels prayer vntounto our Lordes death,
Iudah was but an hundred and thirtie yeares vnderunder Perſia: for we both agree vponupon three hundred & ſixtie yeares following, vntounto the eighteenth yere of Tiberius.
But, OnelyOnly foure hundred & ninetie yeres are from Daniels prayer at the Euening offring vntounto our Lords death: Therefore
Iuda was vnderunder Perſia but hundred & thirtie yeares.
My aduerſarie denied the aſſumption: for which I will tell a ſtorie howe he was brought to graunt it. A modeſt learned man of Oxford came to me, with one Edward Phynees, a ſeruant of my honorable Patrone, whoſe reaſt is in Paradiſe, Henry the late Earle of Huntingdon: whom my pen muſt honour, for that he was ſo deepe for iudgement in the chiefe heads of all the Bible, ſo ſyncere for affection in the hart of Religion, that he is not like euer to be ſoone ouermatched by any. But for my ſyllogiſme. A good ſcholer of Oxford came to be reſolued in our cōtrouerſie: telling that he marked howe I vſed mine aduerſarie reuerentlie, and was no worſe vſed by him. But ſayde to the matter: Our D. hath turned all againſt you: all of all degrees. Then ſayde I, Your ſelfe ſhall turne to me againſt them preſently: if you will ſpeake your conſcience. God forbid (quoth he) that I ſhould ſtriue againſt the light. Then I: Marke the narration whence my demaunde ſhall ariſe. Daniel prayeth at three a clocke: or Euening offering the nineth houre by Iewes, Act. 4. when Gabriel fleeth to him: and promiſeth to teach him wiſedome: and ſayth: Seauentie ſeauens of yeares are pared out to bring in Eternall redemption. Herevpon followeth my demaunde: Speake before God and his Angels, whence muſt the beginning be taken: Doubtles, ſayeth he, from Daniels prayer: And where endeth it? Doubtles at our Lordes death. Then ſaide I: Commende me to your D. and tell him from me, that when he hath weyghed all, he will iudge that hee may as well denie all Religion, as make any other limites. VponUpon his ſpeach the learned man ſayth in his lecture booke: That by all argumentes of Scripture, the time ſhould begin from the firſt of Darius or Cyrus, as I taught: and Septuaginta ſeptimanis cōpletis exciſus eſt Christus. So your Lordſhip ſeeth that he graunteth my aſſumption: and the whole controuerſie. My Lords Grace hath ſeene his wordes in print: and may not pleade ignorance. Nowe the D. conſydering what an infinite cōpanie of bookes he ſhould condemne, all the Weſt for two thouſand yeares recordes: and not ſeeing the millions of Iewes, and all Heathen in particulars to be with me, & all the Bibles frame: ſought a kinde of cure, and ſayde: Reſtat confirmandum per ſeptuaginta ſeptimanas non poſſe intelligi annos quadringentos nonaginta: ſed alium aliquem numerum incertum per certum. VponUpon this commeth a third ſequell, which I was to fall into by the prouocation of D. R. his deniall. A chayning of yeares is from Adam to Cyrus: which ſheweth that thence it muſt be propre: as no wiſe goldſmith beginneth a chaine but to make it vp: and breaking off in any one place, diſannulleth the vſe of all. Then ſaide he: The time is not chayned thither, from Adams fall to Babels. VponUpon that I wrote a booke, prouing this propoſition: He that denieth the Scripture to hauehave a certen recorde of times from the creation to the redemption, may as well denie that the ſunne hath brightnes. And that booke I ſent vntounto his Grace, which he ſawe, and ſent me great thankes: with a promiſe that what ſo euer his worde could further me, I ſhould hauehave it. Nowe your Lordſhip knoweth that duetie required him to determine, whether I was deceyued or not: and to hauehave taught me better, if I had bene deceyued. And his Grace knoweth that I ſtande reſolute to defende this: that if he ſaye it is erroneous, in an Epiſtle to the Queene, he ſawe alreadie a ſharpe replie. In which Epiſtle I write theſe wordes: If it pleaſe your Maieſtie to cauſe both your Archbiſhops and both Vniuerſities to determine: I dare aſſure your Highnes, that, while the ſunne ſhineth they will not denie (ſeeing what profe is brought) that God hath recorded the time certeinlie from the creation to the redemption. Here had bene a place for his Grace to hauehave foyled me, for euer: if by learning hee could ſhewe that I was deceyued. But he ſawe that D.R. whom Oxford men thinke to be not his Graces inferiour, (further compariſon I will relinquiſh) would full quicklie hauehave tryed, if learning could ouermatch the poſition ſet down. Thus by the matter your Lordſhip ſeeth what his Grace muſt buckle with. And whether he forgate his determination, or three commenders of his learned cenſure, & honorable ſpeaches towards me, miſtoke him: that little forceth, for the Queene to knowe: neyther is it trauerſable, or matteriall for our ſtate. This muſt be holdē the ſubſtāce of the matter: whether if his Grace deny that God hath recorded in ſcripture the worldes age from the creation to the redemption. I may iuſtly accuſe him, for concluding againſt Chriſt his Religion. For eueryevery mans hart can tell, it is good that the recorde were in ſcripture. And ſeeing nothing is omitted in the perfect booke which is good to be there: his Grace ſhould think that there it was: though he can not tell where. And although it is made eaſie nowe to ſee, and ſoone learned: yet to cleare eueryevery parcell, it was not an eaſie matter. And I knowe a King, to whom if I had dedicated ſuch a trauel, I ſhould hauehave had thankes: and ſo I ſhould hauehave had of the Queene: but that the L. Chauncelour and his Grace both diſgraced the worke whiche neither vnderſtoode. Your Lordſhip promiſed me that you would cauſe his Grace to determine the controuerſie, betwixt D. R. and my ſelfe. But I was ſure that you would be deceyued. Likewiſe my Lord Keeper hauing ſeene the marrowe of all that which cōcerneth the bones of this ſtrife, brought into an eaſie view and taſt, promiſed that he alſo would cauſe his Grace to determine. And I knew that he ſhould be no leſſe deceyued. The matter was brought paſt all colour of ſtrife: and cōfirmed for eueryevery ioint by ancient vnbeleeuing Iewes teſtimonie, which vnvincible trueth forced to affoord. And nowe if it pleaſe your Lordſhips both to vrge his Grace to laye downe in writing the contradictorie to anie poſition of mine: then, if I make it not as eaſie for him to reackon all the tyles in Lambeth, eueryevery one, as the erroures which will followe his Graces aſſertion: your Lordſhippes may affirme, that I hauehave not dew regard of trueth: and, but ſmall grace in ſtudy to marke ſequelles and appendances in abſurdities. This kinde of ſpeach his G. muſt warrant: by a narration whiche may here be fitt. M. Mulcaſter, who caryed the declaration of D.R. his cauſe and mine, with a full anatomy of the matter: returned to the right worſhipful M. Peter Oſborne this meſſage: how his G. had determined: with what honorable ſpeaches: how he ſaid: that he knew my ſtudies earneſt, then twentie yeares, in a path vntroden ſince the Apoſtles time: to cleare the narratiōs of ſcripture: by time, place, & perſon: wherin he that croſſed me once, would be caught in a thouſand abſurdities. They liue yet in the familie who heard him ſpeake and doe all this well remē ber. Thus I thought good to defende his Graces cenſure euen againſt him ſelfe: as in my Epiſtle to the Queene I wrote as fearing no replier: That I refuſed not to abide al diſgrace, if my paynes were not found true for the ſtory, and profitable for the quietnes of the Realme. And thus your Honour may ſee, that I hauehave not written of his G. ſlaunderous, nor of the trueth erroneous. Neither did I commend him to countenance my cauſe, by his authoritie in learning: but to countenaunce her Maieſties high preferred ſcholler: and to ſhew that I envied not his lot, though he hath receyued fiftie thouſande pounde more then one, whom fiftie thouſand thinke to hauehave honored the originall trueth more then he with bare latin ſtudies could doe poſſiblie.
Your Lordſhips to commaund, HVGH BROVGHTON.
End of the text · Hugh Broughton, An Apology to my Lord Treasurer (1597)