A Witty Encounter, Letter 3

A Witty Encounter · Letter 3

p. 45THE REPLY OF Monſieur du Moulin, To Monſieur de Balzac.

SIR,

I Had long ere this anſwer'd your Letters, had they bin in my cuſtodye, but they ran vp and downe the Citty p. 46a long time, every Man being deſirous of a Coppie, and from the Citty they paſſed to the Villages, where the Plague had ſcatter'd us. For although in all your writings the force, and vivacity of your Wit ſhines forth being ſeaſon'd with p. 47grace, and ſweetnes, yet in theſe Letters we find you have ſurpaſſed your ſelfe, ſo elaborate is the ſtile, & the conception ſtrong, lofty & delightfull. They are both conſpicuous, and the Solidity takes not away the clearenes, in w^ch you are moſt unlike p. 48many writers of theſe times, who through many thornes give a ſmall light, ſuch as a glaſſe ſends forth being placed in a Bryer. Wherefore in reiecting the praiſes which I aſcribed to your Pen, you ſhew by effect that you merit them: For p. 49you refuſe the title of Eloquent with ſo much Eloquence, that it ſeemes you have endeavoured to prove that your modeſty is uniuſt, & to accuſe me as defective in your praiſe. If you deſire beleife, you muſt change your Stile, & that you may be perſwaſive p. 50become Barbarous. It would bee much to my diſadvantage to inſiſt upon every part of your Letter. I dare not enter with you into theſe liſts, for I never made profeſſion of Elegant ſpeech, it ſufficeth me to be underſtood, the Scope p. 51of my writing, not being to tickle the Eare, but to peirce the Conſcience. It is a priviledge they have who maintaine the true Doctrine, that their Incongruities paſſe for Elegancies, making Barbariſme, and Truth ſociable: for as the Red, and p. 52Blew Flowers growing amid'ſt the Corne are pleaſing to the ſight, but detrimentall to the Harueſt: So the inſertion of Rethoricall ornaments into good, & ſound Doctrines diminiſheth the fruite of inſtruction, and makes us inſteed of reliſhing the matter p. 53to dwell upon the words, and poize the Periods. Theſe flowers muſt fall before the Fruit Flouriſh. A downe right phraſe often times makes a far greater impreſſion. I may adde that it is be hoofefull in ſuch caſes ſometimes to apply ſtrong reprehenſions. p. 54Here to uſe flowers of Retoricke is as if a man ſhould whip his Children with a Noſe-gay. It is for falſe Religions to borrow theſe evaſions. As in their Churches and Ceremonies they deſire ſplendor, ſo they require a lofty & artificiall Language. p. 55They are in this like to a Woman all gliſtering with Diamonds, but wanting her eyes. I ſpeake this Sir, in way of anſwer to the offenſive praiſes w^ch you too liberally beſtow upon me. You applaud in me the rare quality of lying, & of defending a p. 56bad cauſe w^th dexterity, and Stratagems, having neither right, nor authority. You affirme alſo that I uphold an opinion which hath loſt its Verdure, being in the declination, and to praiſe me to the height you ſay, I am able to give Sedition the face of p. 57a iuſt Warre, which dexterity in ſeduſing you ranke amongſt the gifts of God, & have in it great eſteeme. Thus in tickling you pricke me, & raiſe me to a high and Eminent Seate, having firſt begrim'd and diſfigur'd mee. Pardon me Sir, if I p. 58tell you that there is no blame which is not more tollerable then theſe praiſes. To imploy Art and induſtry, to defend Error ſerves to no other purpoſe, then to goe to Hell with a better grace, to ſweeten poyſon, & to damne himſelfe, and others p. 59with greater dexterity. It were a thouſand times better for ſuch a man to be dumbe then ſo unfortunatly Eloquent, & to be the moſt ſottiſh amongſt men, then to be Maſter of ſuch an ingenious perverſity. He ſhould make a wrong eſtimate who p. 60ſhould number a fradulent Eloquence, amongſt the gifts of God, whereas, indeed, it is the Divell himſelfe, who ſharpens the tongue and Pen of ſuch a Man, and lends him Armes to Warre againſt God himſelfe. In a word, you give me ſuch praiſes p. 61as Homer beſtowed on Paris when he comended the faireneſſe of his haire, but withall makes him the ruine of his country. If Riches, Benefices, and Penſions were on our ſide to be obtayned, then you had ſome colour to thinke that a Spirit p. 62ambitious of Eminency might be intifed by theſe baites to defend a bad cauſe. But (Poverty, & ignominy being the inſeparable companions of our profeſſion) to abandon Vertue, without receiving a reward, were to looſe Piety, p. 63& common ſence together. Whereas you ſay our Religion hath loſt the louely title of new: I anſwer, that it is impoſſible it ſhould looſe that it never had: But if it were, or had bin new, this can not be aſcribed to it as a grace, but as a marke, or Scarre, p. 64left it by Novelty, which may impart a grace to habits, or ſauces, but not to the Doctrine of Salvation. Italy is deſervedly upbraided with it, where the New Saints rob the Old of Glory, & the Romiſh Church, in w^ch the Pope vaunts, he hath power to alter p. 65that which God hath commanded in his word, & to make new Articles of Faith who not being able to ſay with St Peter, Silver, and Gold have I none, makes uſe of his Fiſher-boate to trafique, & cauſeth his Keyes to Iingle, whoſe Lockes hee p. 66hath changed. From this head the defluction is fallen upon the Body of the Clergy. He hath brought againe the Banke into the Temple, & leaving out the Dominicall letter, gives him ſelfe over to the Golden number. From hence it proceedes p. 67that all things with him are vendible, even God himſelfe, and the remiſſion of Sins, & that private Maſſes are onelyonly ſaid for the Soules of thoſe who have beene beneficiall to the Church. A rich man can not dye at a cheape rate, ingenious Auarice p. 68having found out a way to extract from the very Sepulchers. There ſcarcely can be a greater change then of a ſpirituall Monarchy, to make a Temporall. But our Religion is the pure, & antient Chriſtianity, being onelyonly new in this, that it rejects p. 69all Novelty, & eſteems all Doctrine as new, which was not from the beginning. Celeſtiall Truth being brought into the world by the Sonne of GOD himſelfe, the violence, & commotion of the people have no more ſtrength to withſtand it, then p. 70have the Winds to divert the rayes of the Sun. Wherefore I make an Augury cleane contrary to yours, and in ſteede of the declination you ſpeake of aſſure my ſelfe that it will flouriſh, & with its luſtre penetrate, & diſperſe the darkeneſſe of the p. 71Age. And I wonder how you can flatter your ſelfe, with ſo vaine a hope in a time wherein our Religion receives ſo ample an increaſe in the Nether-lands, and in Germany, even in the Greek Churches, conforming themſelves to our confeſſion, p. 72drawne thereto by the cleare Evidence of Truth. It is without doubt one part of the praiſe you reſerue for the King of Sweed, that he did contribute to ſo good a worke, whoſe Clemency (beſides his Valour & ſucceſſe) you will extoll in that p. 73in all places by him conquer'd, he uſed no violence againſt the Roman Clergy, but ſpared the Ieſuits themſelves, although they teach the Murther of Princes, & that their Schooles have Produced ſoe many King-killers. Theſe have not long agoe p. 74called this King Antichrist, now in their Colledges compoſe panegyricks in his praiſe. If our Churches in France ſuffer any diminution, that is not cauſed by vertue of the contrary party, but by the avarice of ſome of our Nobility, which impaires p. 75their Dignity, in making them liſten to this, Tibi Dato, propounded by that grim Docter to the Sonne of God. Againſt the force of Iron and Steele many have ſufficiently armed themſelves, but not againſt that of Silver, & in this Golden p. 76Age a bag of Piſtolets is of great weight, and put in ballance againſt Conſcience it ſelfe often outweighs it. But the Church is no more weakened by this, then is a Body by Vomiting a worme, or voiding putrifaction. Pride, Vanity, and Avarice, p. 77are more conveniently lodg'd in the Temple of an Jdol, then in the Houſe of God. True it is that they of your party, doe ſpeak of our Religion with great diſdayne, as of a Cauſe deplored, which notwithſtanding hath often raiſ'd it ſelfe p. 78from the very ground. They ſpeake of us, as if we enterpriſed to undermine the Alpes with a Pin, or to run a Lyon through w^th a ſtraw. They defile, & deforme us with Iniuries, and deale w^th us, as Whilome did the Enemies of the Goſpell, who clad the p. 79Martirs in skinnes of wild Beaſts, to animate the Dogge to teare, and devoure them. Thus they diſfigure us, & ſet us out like Monſters, to incenſe the People againſt us. But the Sonne of GOD hath prepar'd us to indure this diſgrace, he himſelfe having p. 80paſſ'd through the like trialls. And we ought not to leſſen, much leſſe looſe our Courage, ſince it is Gods cauſe, who can turne hinderances into helpes, and through impoſſibilities cut out, and plaine himſelfe a way. I promiſe my ſelfe ſo much from p. 81your goodnes & Prudency, that you will beare with me if I be very ſenſible in this Point, for you are too cleere ſighted not to diſcerne the weakeneſſe of your cauſe, having a long time liv'd in Rome, where examples of Vices mingle themſelves p. 82with Deciſions of faith, where the Iewes (Enemies to the name of Christ) live in peace, but the Chriſtians, & the Faithfull are condemned to the Fire; where in Lent the Shambles are ſhut, & the Stewes open, where the Penitents whip themſelves p. 83in publique for the ſinnes of others; where there is an Ordinary Traffique of Annats, Benefices, Diſpenſations, & Abſolutions, & I remember to have read in one of your Letters, that it is good fiſhing there, & that you diſtinguiſh between p. 84the Roman Religion & the Papall Court, leaſt the corruption of the one ſhould prove a prejudice to the othet. Yet doth this Court Governe, and give rules to that Religion. An excellent Wit as yours, will not be fetter'd with ſuch Childiſh opinions. p. 85You have no doubt a more nice, & delicate Religion then the Vulgar, and of that which your Church ordaines take but ſo much as is agreeable to your humour. Without queſtion you laugh at the Hipocondriacall devotion of them p. 86who adore Bones, and kiſſe, and cloth, Images, & turning the Conſecrated Graines repeat prayers by Art, in words which they vnderſtand not. Aſſuredly you judge it not fit, that Service ſhould be ſaid in an unknowne Tongue, as if God were become p. 87to men a Barbarian, or the Pope had forbidden God himſelfe to ſpeake French. At Rome you might have ſeene Altars to w^ch the Pope hath faſtned Pardons of a hundred & two hundred Thouſand yeares, w^th as many Quarantaines, & the p. 88faculty of delivering a Soule out of Purgatory. You have ſeene the Superſtitious madneſſe of the People, who come two or three hundred Leagues to a Iubily, to have remiſſion of their Sins, which God preſents to us at home by the Doctrine of the Goſpell. p. 89You are not ignorant from what ground the Pope derives this Liberality, which is that he treaſures up the ſuperabundancy of Faſts, of Buildings, of Pilgrimages, of Saints, & of Munkes, & turnes them into ſatisfaction for the Sins of others. p. 90When at Rome you cool'd your Chamber with an artificiall Gale, able to give a Ship way, & aſcended your Coach onelyonly to croſſe the ſtreete, you thought little of theſe Superſtitions. If you will be ſo curious as to peruſe the Miſſall, and read there p. 91the cautions, & Rubriques, which provide for inconueniences, in caſe the Wind ſhould carry God away, or the Rats eate Ieſus Chriſt, or the Preiſt diſgorge him, certainely you will then excuſe us, and ſay, It is no wonder that theſe poore people p. 92can hardly diſgeſt theſe things, being noe way correſpondent to the dignity of the ſonne of God. Upon two Points we cheifly inſiſt, the one is the ſucceſſion of the Pope in the Apoſtolate, & Primacy of Saint Peter: and the other is the office w^ch the Preiſts p. 93aſſume to themſelves, of being Sacrificers of the Body of Chriſt, yet could we never obtaine a proofe of the inſtitution of theſe two tenents by the word of God. But of theſe matters too much is already ſaid, from which ſuperfluity I had abſtain'd, had p. 94not you provoked me to it, To the remainder of your Letter I ſubſcribe. Obedience to our Soveraignes is a thing juſt, and neceſſary. To find out occaſion of Rebellion either in a mans owne Religion or in that of his King is to make inſurrections p. 95to defend Religion by courſes condemned by the ſame Religion. Such as theſe being perplexed in their owne particular affaires, hope to find eaſe in troubled waters, and to ſave themſelves amidſt a Confuſion. Never yet did the p. 96cauſe of God advance it ſelfe that way. Moſes had power to inflict greiuious puniſhments on Aegypt, & her King, notwithſtanding he would never deliver the children of Iſraell out of Aegypt without the permiſſion of the King. I am of p. 97opinion that in Civill affaires it is more expedient for the people to have a bad Maſter, then none at all. How much then are we bound (having a good and mercifull Prince) to tender him faith and obedience? who in pardoning us hath p. 98not done like thoſe, whoſe Clemency is attended by diſdaine, eſteeming their offendours not worthy their anger. But hee hath in this followed his owne naturall inclination, which leads him not onelyonly to Pardon, but to benefit, ſo that to be p. 99Conquer'd by him is an advantage. For the reſt, I never beleeved that there can be a worſe State then an Anarchy, where every one is a Slave, becauſe every one is a Maſter, and where exceſſe of Liberty is cauſe of ſervitude: For this Liberty p. 100brings with it Licentiouſneſſe, and Licentiouſneſſe Confuſion, & Confuſion ſervitude. As the hand were an improper member, if all the Fingers were of a juſt length: ſo a multitude of equall perſons can not move without diſcommodity. Your p. 101Maxime that the change even of the worſt Lawes is dangerous, holds good in all ſave in matters of Religion. To ſubject our ſelves by docility to Lawes w^ch leade directly to Hell were to breake the Lawes Divine; neither can they who p. 102make ſuch Lawes ſecure before GOD thoſe that obey them. But where onelyonly the loſſe of Goods, and Life is in queſtion, there it is better to put on an unjuſt Yoke, then to be free'd by the diſturbance of the Publique Peace, & rebellion againſt p. 103our Soveraigne: for the force of humane Lawes doth not conſiſt in this, that they are juſt, but in this, that they are Lawes, and ordain'd by him, who hath authority. And though ſome things in them are unjuſt, yet it is juſt to obey them. There p. 104are many States w^ch have enjoyed a long time Peace, and proſperity under unjuſt Lawes duely obſerved, and other ſome there are, who living under good Lawes ill obſerv'd, have fallen into Ruine & confuſion. This Peace, and Proſperity is ever p. 105to be found more firme and durable in a Monarchy, then in any other forme of State, for this is the only civil government which imitates the univerſal government of the world, where there is but one Maſter, & all other states when they are come p. 106to a full growth, muſt of neceſſity be reduc'd to this. And amongſt the Monarchies which at this day have a ſubſiſtence, that of France excells both for antiquity & good lawes. That this State is well compoſ'd, the unſtable humour of p. 107our Nation addicted to Innovation is an evident proofe w^ch (had not the frame beene firme and the edifice well cimented) had ere this vtterly ſubverted the Kingdome. Being borne under this Monarchy, we deſire the proſperity of it, & wiſh p. 108that the Crowne of our Kings, may be like that of an Egge, which alwayes as in Age, ſo in growth increaſeth. Were our Religion generally received in France, the royall Maieſty would be the more exalted, & his power more then by halfe p. 109augmented: for then the Pope would pretend no longer to have power over the Life, & Crowne of our Kings, nor would boaſt any more that their depoſition depends on his Beck. There would then be in France no other Iuſtice then the Kings, p. 110Contentions ariſing on this ſide the Alpes would no more bee decided at Rome ▪ their Clergy ſhould bee ſubiect to the Ciuill Lawes & ſhould be iuſticeable before the Royall Iudges. The Silver of the Kingdome ſhoulde no longer be exhauſted, p. 111and bee ſent to Rome in Exchange for Annates, Diſpenſations, and Pardons. Soe much Land of the Nobles poſſeſſed by the Clergy now lying dead, ſhould owe the ſame ſervice, and Tributes to the King, as doe other Lands in the poſſeſſion p. 112of the Nobility. To be briefe, I dare affirme, that the principall cauſe why wee are hated, is, that we defend by the word of GOD, the right of our Kings againſt the Uſurpation of Popes, who make them kiſſe their Pantaple, and under colour p. 113of Pennance, inflict on them Corporall puniſhments. But this is our unhappines, that as the Scripture is a booke hidden from our Kings, ſo in that which concernes the liberty, and independency of their Crownes, they learn p. 114nothing, but from thoſe the Pope holds tied by the Belly. But I have proceeded too farre The pleaſure that I take in entertaining you, makes me forge that I write an Epiſtle, not a booke, and hath carried me beyond my lymitts. p. 115That clauſe of your Letter wherein you ſay I am able to give Sedition the face of a juſt Warre, hath incited me to take a kind of Revenge in tormenting you w^th the length of my Letters. That ſhall not hinder me from p. 116admiring the Beauty and Vigour of yout Witt. I honour the gifts of GOD where ever I find them. On the other ſide I hope the ſmall tartnes, and ſharpneſſe of my ſtile ſhall not deprive p. 117him of your good Graces who honours you, and is Monſieur,

Your thrice Humble▪ and thrice Obedient Servant, Du Moulin.

FINIS.

Errata.

EPiſtle p. 2. line 12. for of the likabillity, r. not of the like ability ibid. l. 16. A full point after Fe…ther. Epiſt. p. 7. l. 20. a full point after Inuectives. p. 3. l. 4. for Bridle r. bridg… p. 10. l. 6. read. Sweade. p. 11. l. 3.4. r. … limming the picture of a King. p 16 l. 11 a full point after not. p 48. l. 2 fo…mies r. times p. 71. l. 9. for, even in the Greeke Churches, r. even the Greeke Churches. p. 73. l. 11, for theſe have reade, theſe who have. p. 78. l 3. for dogge. r. dogs. p. 85. l. 11. r. Hypocondriacall. p. 88. l. 7. reade, hindred.

End of the text · Pierre du Moulin Sr, A Witty Encounter (1636)