Against Human Ceremonies in Gods Worship, Part 1 · Chapter 1
CAP. I.
FIrst touching the title of D. B. his reioynder.
In which two things are observable: First; that he stileth the reply a Pamphlet of a namelesse author: in disgrace, as clearly appeareth in his second part, pag. 38. where he stileth not onelyonly the replyer, but many others, for this very cause, Libellers: But it cannot be esteemed any disgrace,Its lawfull for an author in case, not to set his name to his work. for any writing upon just occasion, to want the name of the author, without involving, many excellent Divines, and divers pennmen also of holy Scripture, in the same blame. As for the terme Pamphlet, I understand it, as noting a little contemptible writing: But the worth of a writing doth not consist, in bulk and belly, but in synewes, veynes, and arteryes, which with good blood and spirits, may be couched into a little body: If he meane by Pamphlet the same which after, he expresseth in the terme of scurrilous, that is as I take it, ful of jesting, without respect of the persons: he hath to deale with. My answ: is: That if the Rep: had written to the convocation house, an Epistle with this Inscription, To the superstitious fathers of the Church of England: as the Def: entituleth his epistle to us, to his superstitions Brethren, (and yet this Rej: is not ashamed to adopt, this scurrility, and make it his owne childe, by maintaining of it, even against the very nature of D. Burgesse) there had beene more occasion of such a censure, then now is found, in all the Replye, as after shall appeare.
The Repl: doth not any where to my remembrance, vilifie the person of his adversary, but only his arguments, and answeres, together with the vyle courses of our Hierarchy, in which kynd of jesting the Rej: his scurrility is far greater, then the Repl: saving the difference, which ariseth out of the outward greatnes of Prelats, and the poore condition of them, which are oppressed by them. Now the Repl: is no admirer of Bs. persons, nether are disputations acquainted, with such court lāguage, as they are used unto: If it please your Lordship &c. but such is the condition of those, that have to doe with Prelats, that they are usually censured either for scurrility, or flattery, and there is no doubt, but some will accuse the Rej: as much of flattery in blazing his Diocesans Admirable wisdome, as he doth the Repl: of scurrility, though I will not: Those who write against Prelats, are wont to expect such a censure from them & theirs.Sic Zwingl…us de seditionum authoribus in Epist. non dubito fore, complures, qui lectis vel auditis his omnibus: tandem ecquid hi… scurra vult, dicturi sunt. So Zwinglius in his Epistle touching the authors of sedition I doubt not, saith he, but ther will be many, who having heard or read all these things, at length will be ready to say, what meant this scoffer? Calvin among others, was often accused of the same fault, not onelyonly by those, whom he calls usually, cornutos Episcopos, horned Bishops, but even by their diminutive aemulators among the Lutherans, his answere therefore unto Westphalus about this imputation may serve the Replyer. It is easy for Ioachymus to obiect against me, the odious tarturs of unseemely scurrility, Facile est Ioachim…, nigrum insalsae scurrilitatis, & sycophanticae mordaci …is falem, m…hi objicere sed aeque mihi próptum est, uno verbo diluere ej…s calumnians, si aspiara, reperui …egé, quid tam odiose traducit &c. Q…d enim facerem, quia vel silentio, prodenda fuisset alioqui veritas, vel placida mollique actione, dando… timiditatis ac diffidentiae signum ult. admo. ad Westph. in princip.and slanderous bitternes of language, but it is as easy for me, to wipe away that calumny of his with one word &c. For what course should I take, since either the truth should have beene betrayed in silence, or otherwise by an easy and toothlesse expression, the suspition of fearfulnes and distrust would have beene discovered.
And in very deed, let any indifferent man judge, of duplicate page duplicate page this imputation by any place of the Reply, where the Rej. noteth scurrility, and he shall fynd the Rej. him …elf, far more guilty: As for example pag. 63. in few lynes he may fynde these five termes packed together: It is a manifest untruth and calumny: It is a ridiculous supposition: It is a malitious surmise: It is a scurrilous bundle: It is to ingraft himself into affections which he calls consciences: These are baser termes, then are to be found in any one place, or (I think) in all the course of the Rep: And what is the occasion of them? forsooth, the Repl. sayd, the Prelats have power, to suspend, deprive, excommunicate nonconformists, at their pleasure: that the Defend: called for further help from Buckingham: that the Defend: may be acquired at a better Bishoprick: In the former whereof, ther is nothing sayd, which the Rej. could with colour denye, before he himself had added for matter of accusation, interpretations of his own imagining: And in the last, there is nothing so much suspected of the defendant, D. B. himself knoweth, that it is scandalously true, almost of all Bishops, viz, that they ayme at greater Bishopricks: But on the other syde, what honesty is there, in adding unto the replyers words. Further then the Lawe of the State and Church require: And yet that also is true, de facto, though not de jure, that the Prelats take power to themselves, more then the lawes require: What charity or religion is ther in slighting the consciences of all that hold with the Repl? as if they pretended conscience upon perverse affections: What wisdome is ther? in talking of the Repl. ambition, …o ingraft him self, into the affection of a few poore people, from whom he cannot expect either gayne or worldly credit? This I am sure of, that the Repl. being twice putt out of all meanes of living, for that cause, never in those extremities gayned from that party, the Rej. speaketh of, so much as the Emoluments of a tenn pound Prebendary, which the Rej. so much slighteth Pag. 15. As for his credit, untill he either putt his name to his book, or seek by other meanes to have …it knowne, it cannot without injury be objected, that he sought it.
The other thing to be noted in Rej. title, is, that in opposition to a namelesse Author, he nameth himself with such a name or title, as neither by our Prelates rules, nor by the Scriptures doth admitt a good construction. Pastor of Sutton Coldfeild in Warwickshire, Our booke of ordination acknowledgeth no such pastors, from whencealso it is, that in our convocation-church-language, we never heare of a Pastor of one Parish alone, None of our divines in the Synod of Dort, would take to themselves that tittle, though most others did in their subscription. D. Andrewes an ArchBishop in esteeme, censureth this title for a Novelty. The names of Pastor and (in this sense also) of calling, N…vitia sun… & Pastor…, (hoc quidem, sensu) & vocation…s nomina, veteres niquam leg. 59. indigitas…e voce hac, quicurabant parochias distinc tas, Resp. ad. Epist. 1. Mo….are mere noveltyes, nor shall you read, that the Auncients ever stiled in these termes, any, who take the charge of distinct parishes: The Scripture indeed doth warrant this title, even to D. Burgesse, (and I do not detract it from him,) but not in such a manner as he taketh it: For wher he writeth in defence of a Lord Bishop over that Diocesse, where Sutton Coldfeild is contained, as a part: and every Ecclesiasticall Bishop is a Pastor, he seemeth in one breath, to take and resigne his pastorall office: If he say, that this varietie is by humaine institution. D. Andrewes resp. ad Ep. 3.Ergo in regiminis forma, divinum jus nō est, ac tum Amstelodamo be…e sit. Moll. will take him up: It seemes then, there is no divine right, in ordering the frame of the government of the Church, and then wel-fare Amsterdam: which our Hierachicall men do so much traduce and despise. If he shall say, that one is a Lord Pastor, and the other a ministeriall Pastor, inferior, and subordinate to him, especially in Iurisdiction, then I would have him consider, what D. Fulke saith against Allen, of the Popes pardons Pag. 381. God hath made all Pastors stewards of his houshould, and dispensers of his misteries: And if every Pastor over his charge, be a steward of Gods mysteries, why hath he not the Key of Iurisdiction over his parish, in as large and ample manner, as the Bishop hath over his Diocesse, or the Pope? seing the Keyes are not given to one, but to unitye, as the fathers teach: why should the Bishops and the Pope have two Keyes, and they but one: resolve these things (sayth he to Allen, and I to D. B.) out of the Holy Scripture. It might be here also required how a faithfull Pastor can defend a Bishop or Bishops, in obtruding humaine ceremonies upon that church, whereof he is pastor, and so partake in the obtruding of them. Certainly this is not agreeable, to the commissiō of Pastors,Quae mandavi ego, non quae mandabitis non adinvenictis vos. Cajetan in loc. who are to teach only that, which Christ hath commanded to observe: Which I have commanded, Matth. 28. not what ye shall commaund or invent. Caietan upon the place. Neither is it to preserve the Church, from the dominion of usurpers.