Reply to a Book, Reply
AN APOLOGETICALL REPLY To a booke called An anſvver to unjuſt Complaints &c. THE TITLE PAGE EXAMINED.
AN anſvver] Every man ſhall kiſſe his lipps that anſwereth right words, ſayth Salomon.Prov. 24.26. 3 Things required in a right anſwer.
He that will anſwer complaints made againſt him, with right words, muſt be mindfull eſpecially of three things.
Firſt, for his perſonall qualification; that he be innocent of the particulars charged upon him. Let him make his anſwer, firſt, to his owne conſcience, in the ſight of God, and then,2 Cor: 1.12. from a good conſcience bearing witnes of his integrity, let him make his anſwer to men, as if he were making it to our Lord Ieſus Chriſt, before Angels and men, in that great day,Luke 12.2 Prov. 15.23. Gen. 30.3.2. when covered things ſhall he revealed & hidden things ſhall be made knowne. Thus, ſhall a man have joy by the anſwer of his mouth, and ſhall be able to ſay, as Iacob did to Laban, my righteouſnes ſhall anſwer for me in time to come.
Secondly, for the matter of the anſwer; that it be true and ſatisfying. True, by a double conformity, both of the ſpeech with the mind, that he ſpeake as he thinketh, and of the mind with the thing, that he thinke as the thing is. Alſo it muſt be ſatiſfying, that, is ſufficient clearly to take away the ſtrength of all the allegations produced by the Plaintiff to prove him guilty: elſe it is not worthy to be called an anſwer to complaints.
Coll. 4.6.Thirdly, for the manner of it; that the rule propounded by the Apoſtle be obſerved. Let your ſpeech be always with grace, ſeaſoned with ſalt, that ye may know how ye ought to anſwer every one. Where it is injoyned, that our ſpeech be well filled & well ſeaſoned. It is well filled, when it expreſſeth the ſanctifying graces of the Spirit, as the fruits of the earth are then full ripe when they have attayned to the perfection of their kind. The beſt riſe of a right anſwer is from a gracious heart, which is thē declared to be a good treaſure, when it ſendeth forth good things, & to be full of goodnes, when good ſpeeches flow from the abundance within, & to be filled with the Spirit, when the words expreſſe the delightfull,Gal. 5.22. and amiable ſweetnes of thoſe fruicts of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, long ſuffering, gentlenes, goodnes, fayth, meeknes, temperance, and ſuch like: Cant: 4.16.which are very pleaſing to Chriſt, (whom, for that cauſe, the Church inviteth to come into his gardē & eate his pleaſant fruicts) and very delightfull to good men; as the ſavour of that oyntment, which Mary poured on the head of Chriſt, was to thoſe that were in the houſe. Thus an anſwer is well filled. And it is well ſeaſoned, when it expreſſeth godly wiſdome, and chriſtian prudence, or diſcretion, which inableth a man to obſerve a due proportion to the cauſes, perſons, times, places and whatſoever circumſtances are conſiderable. As, that harſh ſpeeches be forborne, where a ſoft anſwer ſhould be given, that a freind be not wounded as an enimy, nor he reviled as an abject, who ſhould be honoured as a brother, & that the anſwer, which ſhould ſerve to mend the garment, doth not make the rent worſe.
How much theſe three requiſites are to he wiſhed for in this pretended anſwer, the wiſe hearted reader, I doubt not, ſeeth, with ſorrow, and will more clearly, when he ſhall have compared this Reply, and it together, in all paſſages. In the meane time; however, in a large acceptation of the word (as Antwoorde, in dutch, is Ander woorden) this may be called an anſwer: Yet, in ſtrict and accurate conſideration of it, I cannot acknowledge this to be an anſwer, but muſt ſay, that it will appeare;Facile patior injuriam, ſi eſt vacua a contumeliâ Pac: Habet quendam aculeum contumelia, quem prudentes, ac viri boni diff…cilè pa ti poſſunt. Cic: either to be leſſe then an anſwer to the written complaints of …he members, and to my wrighting (if by anſwer he meane the diſproving of particulars in them) for he doth not truely & punctually relate matters, but ſubtilly evade the diſcovery of them: or elſe it is more then an anſwer to the printed pamphlet, if, by anſwer, he meane the revenge, or the requitall of one ill turne with another. for, if the publiſhing of thoſe complaints, in print, was an injury (as I freely profeſſed it to be, in my protestation) yet he ſhould not have anſwered it with contumely, and that againſt thoſe, who are innocent of that fact, as all are, againſt whom he wrighteth (exept. W. B.) ſo that inſtead of an anſwer to cleare his innocency, the Reader ſhall find him indeavouring to repell a leſſe injury, by doing a greater injury; as Diogenes would tread downe Platoes pride, alio faſtu. But amongſt Chriſtians theſe things ought not ſo to be: much leſſe towards fellow ſervants and brethen, leaſt of all from the Paſtor towards his flock. Jeſus Chriſt our Lord did not thus, nor his Diſciples, nor thoſe ancient beleivers, who, for his ſake, were killed all the day long. my deſire and purpoſe, in this Reply,1. Pet. 2.23. is to follow his example, who being reviled, reviled not againe, when he ſuffered, threatned not, but cōmitted it to him that judgeth righteouſly.
To the unjust complaint.] A complaint is unjuſt in 4 caſes.A complaint is a ſorrowfull declaration of the thing that greiveth a man. Thus to doe is not (in it ſelfe ſimply conſidered) unjuſt, it being founded in a principle of naturall aequity, allowed and warranted by all lawes Divine and humaine. So then, to complaine of injuries is not unjuſt: unleſſe it be, Firſt, without juſt cauſe; as when the plaintiff cannot prove the charge to be true. Thus thoſe Jewes unjuſtly layed many greivous complaints againſt Paul, Act. 25.7 2.which they could not prove. or, Secondly, unleſſe the complaint be made to thoſe, to whom, by right, the cogniſance of the cauſe belongeth not; as when a man goeth about as a talebearer revealing ſecrets, Pro. 20.19 2. Cor. 12 20:whether it be done in way of whiſpering or of backbiting. or, Thirdly, whē it is done with an evill intent, more for the hurt of the party thē for the redreſſe of the greivance: as when Doeg the Edomite came & told Saul & ſaid unto him, David is come to the houſe of Ahimelech; 1. Sam. 22 9.to incenſe Saul againſt Ahimelech and David, as if they conſpired againſt the King. Jn which reſpect David truely ſaid of him: thou loveſt evill more thē good, Pſal. 52.3& lying rather then to ſpeak righteouſnes. or, laſtly, when the complaint ſtrecheth the injury by many exaggerations beyond and above the nature of it and maketh it ſeeme more haynous & worſe then it is;Scelus tu illud vocas Tubero. Cur iſto nomine iſta cauſa ad huc caruit? Alji enim errorem appellant, alij timorem, qui durius; ſpem, cupiditatem, odium, pertinatiā, qui graviſſimè; temeritatém. Scelus praeter te, ad huc nemo Cic. as, when every infirmity is made a ſcandall, & every offēce a crime, & every petite errour a wickednes; as Tully chargeth Tubero in the caſe of Ligarius.
Now it would be inquired, in which of theſe fowre reſpects the Anſwerer affirmeth the complaint (as it was delivered by the members in wrighting to the Conſiſtory) to be unjuſt? If he ſay, in the firſt; then he muſt ſhew the inſufficiency of their proofes, which the indifferent reader will ſee that he hath not done, if he ſhall compare the Reply and anſwer together.
If he ſay, the complaint is unjuſt in the ſecond reſpect; it muſt be ſhewed that the cogniſance of a Church-greivance, referred to them by the members, doth not belong to the Conſiſtory, which, I ſuppoſe, he will not undertake. If he ſay the complaint is unjuſt, in the 3. reſpect; their owne proteſtation, in the concluſion of the greivances, will anſwer for them, that their end in taking that courſe, was, that ſome lawfull courſe might be taken by the Elders, for the redreſſe of thoſe greivances, and, in caſe that ſhould be neglected, to free them ſelves from the guilt of thoſe evills, when they ſhould have done their uttermoſt indeavours for the redreſſe of the ſame. If he ſay; the complaint is unjuſt in the fourth reſpect, as too much aggravating the offēce; the Anſwerer himſelfe cleareth thē thereof, in the preface of his booke, where he juſtifyeth the harſheſt expreſſiōs uſed by the Complainants, & the very title of the printed pāphlet, which many miſlike: ſaying, If the cōplaints be juſt, then is the title juſt, being framed according to the contents & ſpec…all ſubject of the booke &c. It remayneth therefore, that he find ſome other reſpect, in which the complaints may be ſaid to be unjuſt; elſe it will be concluded that the are juſt, notwithſtanding any thing ſaid by him to the contrary, in that pretended anſwer, & that him ſelfe hath dealt unjuſtly in calling them unjuſt complaints.
Of W. B. & of ſuch others as hauehave ſubſcribed theeunto] Here it would be inquired what copy of the complaints the Anſwerer meaneth? If he meane the written copy: why doth he mētiō only W.B. name, cōcealing the reſt, ſeeing they all ſubſcribed it as well as he? If he meane the printed copy (which I call the pamphlet;) why are the other ſubſcribers joyned with him, ſeeing they knew not of it before it was publiſhed, & freely expreſſed their diſlike of it afterward? If the publiſhing of it only be the injury, where of he complaineth; why are the ſubſcribers blamed, who knew not of it nor approved it? If the ſubſcription to the written copy be the offence; what did W. B. more then the reſt that he is named alone? This Riddle needeth an Oedipus. Is it, becauſe though he be formoſt in standing; yet he is the leaſt in underſtanding, and by the printer of the Browniſts noated to be a Simplician, as the Anſwerer ſcoffingly and injuriouſly declareth, in his praeface? If ſo; no man will prayſe his fortitude; howſoever they may his policy, who chalengeth ſo weake an Antagoniſt to the feild. Or is it, that the Reader may apprehend that to be ſome weake jury which hath ſuch a foreman; that ſo he may ſlight the complaint the more, for W.B. ſake? If ſo; the Reader is abuſed. For, neither was the complaint ſubſcribed by him alone, but by the reſt, (many whereof the Anſwerer knoweth to be no Simplicians) nor were the reſt induced to complaine, or ſubſcribe the complaint exhibited in Conſiſtory, by his example or perſwaſion. Secondly, ſuppoſe they had bene weaker men then they are: it is not ſafe for any man, upon ſuch a praejudice, to ſlight theire complaints, ſeing the Lord doth otherwiſe, who ſaith, For the oppreſſion of the poore: Pſal. 12.5.for the ſighing of the needy, now will I ariſe (ſaith the Lord) I will ſet him in ſafety from him that puffeth at him. In which laſt word [puffeth at him] is expreſſed both the pride and policy of thoſe that oppreſſe the poore and needy. And commonly circumventing wits, and ſcornfull ſpirits goe together;Prov. 29.8. Epheſ. 6.9 Prov. 24.23. foreign Lucian. de Sect. ſo Salomon joyneth them, in a Proverbe, ſaying, Scornfull men bring a citty into a ſnare. And as there is not reſpect of perſons with God, ſo, for men, it is not good to have reſpect of perſons in judgement. which even the Areopagites diſcerned by the glimmering twilight of nature, & therefore gave judgement in the night, that they might not obſerve the perſons of the ſpeakers, but attend to the things ſpoken by them. And the Chriſtian reader, I hope, will be aſhamed that the beſt of the heathen ſhould goe beyond him, in ſuch a point of Iuſtice.
Alſo an anſwer to Mr. J. D.] As he did anſwer them, ſo he hath anſwered me alſo, that is, boath alike untruely, unfitly, inſufficiently: yet, with this difference, that upon me alone he hath ſpent more bitternes and gall, then upon them altogether; which the underſtanding Reader will eaſily apprehend to be an argument of his guilt and weaknes to manadge his cauſe, in thoſe paſſages that concerne me. For commonly, when reaſon and judgement is unable to help, then the paſſions grow tumultuous, and riſe up diſorderly, at leaſt, to make a noyſe, with impotent clamours, as bores and peſants ſometimes confuſedly aſſemble, and, with hideous ſhoutings, thinck to affright the enimy, or to give others occaſion to thinck they have the victory. But here I have a few queſtions to propounde.
1. Quaere. Why this Anſwerer mentioneth my name, in the title page of his booke? Is it, becauſe I am mentioned in the printed pamphlet? But, he knoweth, I proteſted againſt that, in print, in favour of him, though he hath ill requited me.
2. Quaere, Why he wrighteth it ſo at length, both there, and throughout his whole booke? Js it to ingratiate himſelfe with any, by oppoſing me?
3. Quaere, concerning the matter of his anſwer: 1. whether any report of paſſages made by me, in that wrighting, be proved untrue by him? 2. Whether the Scriptures alleadged by me be faythfully handled by him, or doe not ſerve fully to the purpoſe, for which I produced them? and whether all of them be alleadged by me againſt the baptiſme of ſome infants, as he pretendeth? and why he anſwerth not other paſſages, in that letter to the Claſſis, but only inſiſteth upon 2. or 3. texts of Scripture, in the pretended purpoſe whereof he abuſeth his Reader? and what end he had in pretending to anſwer, in ſuch a manner, my proteſtation, which was made in his favour?
4. Quaere. Why he compelleth me thus to conteſt with him, in print, ſeing, he knoweth, I have declined all contention with him, by wrighting, or word?
5. Quaere. Why he bringeth others upon the ſtage alſo, both Reverend miniſters (dead and farr abſent) and the Elders of his owne Church, when he pretendeth only to anſwer W. B. and I. D? If he ſay, the Complainants mentioned theire names; who knoweth not, how eaſily and fairely he might have declined any ſpeech about them, at leaſt,Sect. 5. p. 28. Sect. 6. p. 32. Sect. 28. p: 76. 77. tending to their reproach, notwithſtanding that? Yea, de factô, he hath declined the ſame, in the caſes of other men. Why might not alike anſwer have ſerved, concerning thoſe alſo?
6. Quaere, Why, ſeing he would anſwer me, without cauſe, in print, did he not anſwer my threefold wrighting, by it ſelfe, or refer me to the anſwer of the complaints, or the Complainants to the anſwer of my wrighting, in caſes paralell and coincident, but ſo implicateth and involveth the one in the other, that he compelleth me to reply upon almoſt his whole booke? His anſwer to theſe I expect, in his reply.