Irenicum to the Lover of Truth and Peace, Chapter 24
CHAP. XXVI.
The fifth dividing practice,The 5. dividing practice. The asperſing and ſeeking to blast the credits of thoſe men whom the Lord uſes to be instruments of good.
THis may be done you know otherwiſe then by the tongue: This hath beene an old dividing way, if wee can blaſt the cheife of a party, we ſhall doe well enough with the reſt, wherefore let us make as ill interpretations of what they doe as poſſible we can; let us faſten as ill things upon them as we can have any colour or pretence for; let reports be raiſed, fomented and ſpread, whether they be true or no, it makes no matter, ſomething will ſtick.Fortiter calumniare, aliquid haerebit. Jer. 20. 10. Report, ſay they, and we will report it; doe but raiſe a report, let us be able to ſay wee heard it, or there was a Letter writ about ſuch a thing, and wee will boldly aſſert it and divulge it; the very apprehenſion of it will prevaile with many howſoever, theſe men ſhall not have that eſteeme in the hearts of men ſo generally as heretofore they have had, and if we once get downe their eſteeme, we ſhall doe well enough with their cauſe; if we can meet with any bold ſpirit that will venture to encounter with them in this, that will dare to take upon him to gather up, or make, or aggravate, or wreſt reports, or doe any thing that may render them otherwiſe in the thoughts and hearts of men then hitherto they have beene, we ſhall break them, it is but one or two venturing the hard thoughts of men to make an experiment, ſome may bee found fit for ſuch a buſineſſe, we will finde out wayes to encourage them; if their hearts begin to faile, we will apply warme cloathes to them, we will one way or other ſupport them; this muſt be done, or elſe whatſoever we doe will be to no purpoſe; ſomething or other muſt be found to ſerve our ends in this. Doth Moſes prevaile too much in the hearts of the people? ſomething muſt be found againſt him; if we can finde nothing againſt himſelfe, yet we will finde ſomething againſt his wife, Shee is an Ethiopian woman, Numb. 12 1. and yet who was ſhe but the daughter of Jethro, to whom he had been married many yeers before? for an Ethiopian and a Midianitiſh woman are all one; but now we are reſolved to pick out whatever we can get information of, though it be in things done many yeers ſince, when they were in the Univerſity, when they lived in ſuch or ſuch places in times of old, it will ſerve our turne, we may faſten it upon them, Prov. 16. 27. An ungodly man diggeth up evill, and in his lips there is a burning fire: If he hath nothing above ground, he will digge ſomething up, though it be what both by God and man hath been buried long ſince.
David was a publike inſtrument of God for much good, yet Pſalm. 31. 1. Hee was a reproach amongst his enemies, but especially amongst his neighbours. Nehemiah raiſed up by God for great ſervice, what dirt was caſt upon him? he was accuſed of ſedition and Rebellion.Exiſtimet omnis publica calamitatis, omnis popularis in commodi Chriſtianos eſse cauſam; ſi Tyberis aſcendit in maenia; ſi Nilus non aſcendit in arva, ſi coelum …etit, ſi terra movet, ſi fames, ſi lues, ſtatim ad Leones acclamatur, Tertul. Apol. adverſ. Gentes cap. 39. Paul a peſtilent fellow, hee and his company with him turned the world upſide downe; what evill can be deviſed, but was faſtened upon the Chriſtians in the Primitive times? They charge them for being the cauſe of all their miſery; if they have ill weather, if the Rivers overflow, if Nilus does not flow, if there be any earthquake, plague, famine, hale the Chriſtians to the Lions: At their meetings they ſaid they made Thyeſtes ſuppers, who invited his brother to a ſupper, and preſented him a diſh of his owne fleſh, a limbe of his Sonne: Many ſuch abominable things were faſtened upon them as are not fit to be named. Tertul tells the Chriſtians, that they were Fun…mbulones, like men upon a rope, if they went one ſtept awry, they were in danger to be undone by it, ſo narrowly did their enemies watch them, and ſo maliciouſly did they aggravate all their miſcarriages. Thus the moſt eminent after his time, as Athanaſius, he was as miſerably aſperſed as ever poore man in this world, by the Arrian party, they rendred him moſt odious to his friends, and ſtrangers.
In the beginning of Reformation, the Waldenſes were ſo aſperſed, that the ſtory ſayes of them, there was not one Arrow in the quiver of malice, but it was drawne forth and ſhot at them. Luther, Tam magnus apud ami…os ut fere deus factus; tam vituperatus ab inimicis, ut mirum fuit ne cum terra devoraret.Calvin, Beza, Oecolampadius, Bullinger, and the reſt are by ſome in writing rendred the moſt black and vile pieces that the earth bore, both in their lives and deaths. I find it recorded of Zuinglius, that he was a man ſo eminent, as his friends made him almoſt a God; and ſo traduced by his enemies, that one would wonder the earth did not open and ſwallow up ſuch a man. The like dealings did that worthy inſtrument of God Mr. Knox finde, who in Queene Maries time fled with divers others to Frankford; when men of vile contentious ſpirits could not prevaile againſt him any other way, they ſought to aſperſe him, and that ſo maliciouſly, as his life was in danger, accuſing him to the Governours of Frankford, for a Sermon preached in England; in which the Emperour was concerned: The words were theſe, O England, England, if thou wilt obſtinately r…urne into Egypt, that is, if thou contracting marriage, confederacy or league with ſuch Princes as doe maintaine and advance Idolatry, ſuch as the Emperour who is no leſſe enemy to Chriſt then Nero; if for the pleaſure of ſuch Princes, thou returne to thine old abhominations, then aſſuredly, O England, thou ſhalt be plagued and be brought to deſolation, by the meanes of thoſe whoſe favour thou ſeekeſt.
The ſame meaſure did thoſe worthy men of God meete with, who ſought after Reformation in Queene Elizabeths dayes, they called Mr. Cartwright an Anabaptiſt, and whatſoever evill there was in any opinion in thoſe times, they faſtned it upon him. Mr. Ʋdall was accuſed for his life, and condemned to be hanged for writing, That if the Parliament did not bring in the Government of Chriſt, Chriſt himſelfe would bring it in by ſome meanes that would make their hearts to ake; or to that effect; meaning, as he expounded the words, Christ would in ſome way of judgement make way to ſet up his own government in the Land, but they wreſted the words to a ſeditious ſenſe, as if he had meant to conſpire to raiſe a force, and by violence of Armes to make the Parliament to yeeld to that way of Government that he conceived to be Christs, juſtly like thoſe accuſations that are amongſt us at this day, that if ſuch kinde of men cannot have the liberty of their way granted to them, ſeeing they have, or hope to have the Sword in their hand, they will take it to themſelves, and defend themſelves alſo in it.
Only in this they goe beyond the bitterneſſe of the Prelaticall party, they wreſted what was ſaid or written, theſe feigne what was never ſaid or written; who are the fire-brands amongſt us, if not ſuch men as theſe? as fire-brands plucked out of the fire, and now they ſeeke to fire thoſe who plucked them out; but if this be too hot, what will you call them? what will you ſay of them? O is this the fruit of all prayers for them, reliefe of them, reſpect to them!
Tanta ne vos generis tenuit fiducia vestri?
Sed motas praeſta… componere lites.
Whoſoever ſhall reade that Booke of Bancroft, entituled, Dangerous Poſitions, publiſhed and practiſed by thoſe who pretend Reformation for the Presbyteriall Government, ſhall find the whole ſubject of the booke to be the blaſting the names of the moſt eminent godly Miniſters that lived in thoſe times, rendring them to the State, as men not fit to be ſuffered in any Chriſtian Common-wealth. The State at that time being wholly for Prelacie, and diſcountenancing that way of government theſe men ſought for, their adverſaries thought they might be bold to take what liberty they pleaſed, to calumniate, traduce, and to render them as vile as poſſible they might, there was no ſuch way to keepe them downe as this; in this, they being like thoſe in the Primitive times, who put the Chriſtians into Beares and Tygers skins, and then caſt them to the Dogges to be devoured.
Let the ſervants of God but appeare as they are, they will gaine reverentiall reſpect even from the multitude; but when theſe ugly things are put upon them, they are prepared to be the objects of their fury.
I have read in Suetonius of the cruelty of Tiberius, Quia more tradito nefas eſſet virgines ſtrangulari vitiatae prius à carnifice, de in ſtrangulatae. Suet. Tybe…us, num. 61.who becauſe it was unlawfull that Virgins ſhould not be put to death, cauſed the Hang-man to raviſh them, and then to execute them: This is the cruelty of ſome amongſt us, they can doe ſome men no hurt, but by offering violence firſt to their names, and if they be defiled, then they thinke they may doe any thing with them. Of ſuch as theſe are who make diviſions amongſt us in ſo ungodly a way as this, all that I ſhall further ſay, is, The Lord rebuke them.
As for the Servants of God they commit their names and wayes to God, knowing that the Lord takes care of their names as well as their ſoules. If dirt be caſt upon a mud wall it ſticks, but if upon Marble, it ſoon waſhes or moulders away. God will in time juſtifie his ſervants even in your conſciences, by the conſtancie of their peaceable carriage toward men, and their gracious holy walking with their God; onelyonly take you heed that you involve not your ſelves in the guilt of that wrong that is done unto them by readineſſe of your ſpirits to cloſe with, and take content in what evill you heare of thoſe whom God accounts faithfull.