The Levites Scourge, Section 5 – Section 6
SECT. V. That the Doctor was no Intelligencer or Spie.
MAulicus, wee have traced your Intelligence from the Parliament to the Assemblie,Brit. p. 45. and found your Mercurie in the habit of a Doctor, but he confessed the hope of a Deanerie seduced him.
Nay, rather we have traced a cunning Merchant from the Beare at Bridge-foot to Kennington, Ans.from Kennington to the close Committee, from the close Committee to Oxford, from Oxford to the Court of Wards, and from thence to the Leaguer at Saint Albans: Egregiam verò laudem, let it be recorded to the everlasting prayse of the agents that beare themselves upon the close Committee, that by fraud and falsehood they have entrapped Simplicitie, betrayed Loyaltie; and rewarded Treacherie; before they put the Doctor into the habit of an Intelligencer, they transformed themselves into Angels of light. As for the Doctors confessing, that the hope of a Deanerie seduced him, thy word will be taken for no more then thy weekely intelligence brings thee in; produce but one witnesse for it, though as copped a Round-head as thy selfe, and I will confesse thee to be an honest man. But thou hast a Patent to Lye; and whatsoever thou printest in thy weekly Curranto's, though never so grossely absur'd and palpably false, after thou hast got M. Whites hand to it, no man can say, black is thine eye.
Yea, but the Doctor is charged to be a Spie and Intelligencer to Oxford, by the report made to the House of Commons, which here followeth.
A Letter of Doctor Featley's intercepted, going to Oxford to the Primate of Armagh, wherin were contained great imputations upon the proceedings of the Assembly, and diverse Members both of the Assembly and Parliament, whereby it appeares that he is a Spie and Intelligencer to Oxford: The Letter was read before the Committee, and the Doctor called to his Answer, who confessed all the materiall points in it, &c. Septemb. 29. 1643.
This report of the Chaire-man, may be reduced to this Syllogisme.
Whosoever sends a Letter to the Primate of Armagh, containing great imputations upon the Members of the Assembly and Parliament, is a Spie and Intelligencer to Oxford, and ought to be deprived of both his Livings, Bookes, and Libertie.
But the Doctor sent a Letter to the Primate of Armagh, &c.
Ergo, he ought to be deprived of his Livings, Bookes, and Libertie; as it followeth there in the Sentence.
Here the Conclusion is in Ferio, or in Bocardo rather. But the premisses are both false,The name of a Mood in the third Figure, and also of a Prison. and it will cost the Reporter hot water to make good either of them.
For first, the originall Letter, was never shewed to the Doctor, nor acknowledged by him, nor any witnesse produced, to testifie that it was written by him; and therefore can be no evidence against him in any Court where Astrea sits.Ovid. M…tam. l. 1. terras Astraea reliquit. See the gentle Lash, p. 5.
Secondly, The Transcript upon which the Committee proceeded, disagreeth with the originall in diverse materiall points, as is proved elsewhere: Neither was there any Faith at all made before the Doctor, to convince him, that the Letter read before the Committee was a true Transcript.
Thirdly, in that Letter there was no imputation, great or small, layd upon the Members of the Assembly, or Parliament; unlesse it be an imputation to say, That the Prolocutors dayly prayer was the best and truest Diurnall, for that he had a speciall gift to pray, not so much ex tempore as de tempore.
Fourthly, The great imputations spoken of, wee desire that the Reporter, for his reputation sake, would specifie: For either they were true, or false: If they were true, why are nor the Members of the Assembly and Parliament questioned, and punished for them? if they were false, why was not the Doctor put to his proofe, and in case he failed, censured as a slanderer? There's a Pad in the Straw; Aliquid latet quod non patet.
Fifthly, To send a Letter from one Member of the Assembly to another, is not to be a Spie or Intelligencer to the adverse partie: But such a one was the Primate of Armagh, not onelyonly a Member of the Assembly, chosen by the joynt Votes of the whole House of Commons, but a Member at that time in such grace with the Assembly, that he was often alledged with great honour and respect both by the Assessors and others, especially in debating the Article of Christs descent into Hell.
Sixtly, foreign, one Swallow makes not a Summer, nor one act a habit, nor one link a Chain, nor one flower a garland, nor one rotten grain a corrupt Pomegranat; nor doth one Letter sent to Wickham, lying in the Road to Oxon. make a Spie or Intelligencer to Oxford, and more then one Letter the Docto… never dictated, and that also intercepted; how then can he be a Spie? For the Letter intercepted could give no intelligence to Oxon, being stayed at London.
Seventhly, Resolves of a Synod and conclusions de side, are no secrets of State; neither is the imparting of them to a most religious, learned, and every way accomplished Bishop, betraying secrets to an enemie, but consulting an Oracle in Theologicall disputes of as great difficultie as moment.
Eightly, Whereas it is said, that the Doctor confessed all the materiall points in the transcript▪ it is most untrue: for the main and onelyonly materiall point▪ concerning aspersions layd upon Members of the Assembly and Parliament, was never so much as put to the Doctor, much lesse confessed by him; and for the truth hereof, he appealeth to the whole Committee for Examinations.
Lastly, to return to thee, Sir Britanicus, Civicus, or Scoticus, for thou art a man omnium nominum & horarum; tell me in good earnest, what is the Trade, or Profession, or Mysterie, whereby thou livest? Is it not to be a Citie-Spie, and Intelligencer? And why may it not be as lawfull for the Doctor to send Theologicall Truths to Oxford, as for thee every week Civill Lyes to all parts of the Kingdom? And because it is said, thou art either Cornutus, or Cornificius, I very much entreat thee, in the last place, to dissolve this Dilemma or Cornutum argumentum.
Either the Letter sent by the Doctor to the Primate of Armagh, contained in it matter of offence and scandall, or not; Ad partes, which of the horns wilt thou take? hold off; if thou sayest the Letter contained no matter of offence or scandall, thou sayest just nothing in the defence of the justice of the Committee or Parliament; if thou sayest that it contained any just matter of offence or scandall, and in that regard ought not to have been published, to the disgrace of the Assembly or Parliament: Why did not those of the close Committee, when it was in their hands suppresse it? Why did they send the originall Letter to Oxford, wherby it is now made publique, and exposed to the view of all men? Certainly, if the bare sending of that Letter to Oxford, make a man a Spie and Intelligencer, and guiltie of I know not what capitall Crime, as S. Austine argued against the Devills ambiguous oracles, Sors ipsa referenda est ad sortem, so I may truely say, and make it good by the Recorders logick and the Parliaments Cens…re ▪ that those of the close Committee, who after they had perused the Letter and taken a Copie, delivered it to the Messenger to conveigh it with all speed to Oxford, deserve to be close committed, and sent by the Serjeant at Arms Petri ad vincula. O utinam: nec enim lex justior ulla est, quam necis artifices arte perire suâ.
SECT. VI. Aulicus truely relates the Doctors reasons alleadged against the New Covenant, in the open Assemblie.
HE tells us of Doctor Featley's exception against our Oath,Brit. pag. 67. he framed some wished reasons and arguments, and pinned them on the Doctors sleeve and would make them his, but they are not satisfactorie enough.
I pray thee, Britanicus, Ans.shew us the long Pinne wherewith he pinned those reasons to the Doctors sleeve, reaching from Christ-Church or All-Souls in Oxford, to Peter-house in London; and because thy brow is made of the same Metall with that Pinne, go boldly to the house of Peers, and enquire of the Lord Say and Wharton, and after into the house of Commons, and demand of M. Rouse and White, and lastly into the Assemblie, and ask of M. Case and Calamie, whether the Doctor did not openly propound those reasons in the Assemblie a fortnight before, that so often produced and much traduced Letter was sent to the Primate of Armagh, out of which Aulicus transcribed those reasons verbatim. Yea, but these reasons are not sufficient enough, they were sufficient enough to convince them who took the Oath, and to confound thee, Britanicus: if they were insufficient, why all this while hast not thou or some of them discovered the weaknesse and insufficiencie of them?
The Doctor could have alleadged many other reasons, both against the Covenant in generall, and that clause in particular, which may be in due time produced after the former reasons have been any way impeached or infringed by any colourable answer: till then thy silence, and theirs whom it so deeply concerns to dissolve them, as that they may dis-ingage themselves from perjurie, argues plainly they are to you unanswerable.