Works of Hooker, Letter 1
The Copy of a Letter writ to Mr. Walton, by Dr. King, Lord Bishop of Chichester.
Honest ISAAC,
THough a Familiarity of Forty years continuance, and the constant experience of your Love, even in the worst times, be sufficient to indear our Friendship: yet, I must confess my affection much improved, not onelyonly by evidences of private respect to those very many that know and love you, but by your new demonstration of a Publick Spirit, testified in a diligent, true, and useful Collection of so many Material Passages as you have now afforded me in the Life of Venerable Mr. Hooker; Of which, since desired by such a Friend as yourself, I shall not deny to give the Testimony of what I know concerning him and his learned Books; but shall first here take a fair occasion to tell you, that you have been happy in chusing to write the Lives of three such Persons, as Posterity hath just cause to honour; which they will do the more for the true Relation of them by your happy Pen: of all which I shall give you my unfeigned Censure.
I shall begin with my most dear and incomparable Friend Dr. Donne, late Dean of St. Pauls Church, who not only trusted me as his Executor, but three days before his death delivered into my hands those excellent Sermons of his which are now made publick: professing before Dr. Winniff, Dr. Montford, and I think your self then present at his bed-side, that it was by my restless importunity that he had prepared them for the Press; together with which (as his best Legacy) he gave me all his Sermon-Notes, and his other Papers, containing an Extract of near Fifteen hundred Authors. How these were got out of my hands, you, who were the Messenger for them, and how lost both to me and your self, is not now seasonable to complain: but, since they did miscarry, I am glad that the general Demonstration of his Worth was so fairly preserved, and represented to the World by your Pen in the History of his Life; indeed so well, that beside others, the best Critick of our later time (Mr. Iohn Hales of Eaton Colledge) affirm'd to me, He had not seen a Life written with more advantage to the Subject, or more reputation to the Writer, than that of Dr. Donnes.
After the performance of this task for Dr.Donne, you undertook the like office for our Friend Sir Henry Wolton, betwixt which two there was a Friendship begun in Oxford, continued in their various Travels, and more confirm'd in the religious Friendship of Age: and doubtless this excellent Person had writ the Life of Dr. Donne, if Death had not prevented him; by which means, his and your Pre-collections for that Work, fell to the happy manage of your Pen: A Work, which you would have declin'd, if imperious perswasions had not been stronger then your modest resolutions against it. And I am thus far glad, that the first Life was so impos'd upon you, because it gave an unadvoidable cause of writing the second; If not, 'tis too probable we had wanted both, which had been a prejudice to all lovers of Honor and ingenuous Learning. And let me not leave my Friend Sir Henry without this Testimony added to yours, That he was a Man of as florid a Wit, and elegant a Pen, as any former, or ours, which in that kinde is a most excellent Age, hath ever produced.
And now having made this voluntary observation of our two deceased Friends, I proceed to satisfie your desire concerning what I know and believe of the ever-memorable Mr. Hooker, who was Schismaticorum Malleius, so great a Champion for the Church of Englands Rights, against the Factious Torrent of Separatists that then ran high against Church-Discipline, and in his unanswerable Books continues still to be so against the unquiet Disciples of their Schism, which now under other names carry on their design; and who (as the proper Heirs of their Irrational Zeal) would again rake into the scarce-closed Wounds of a newly bleeding State and Church.
And first, though I dare not say I knew Mr. Hooker; yet, as our Ecclesiastical History reports to the honor of Igna…ius, That he lived in the time of St. Iohn, and had seen him in his childhood; so I also joy, that in my minority I have often seen Mr. Hooker with my Father, then Lord Bishop of London, from whom, and others at that time, I have heard most of the material passages which you relate in the History of his Life; and, from my Father received such a Character of his Learning, Humility, and other Vertues, that like Jewels of unvaluable price, they still cast such a lustre as Envy or the Rust of Time shall never darken. From my Father I have also heard all the circumstances of the Plot to defame him; and how Sir Edwin Sandys outwitted his Accusers, and gained their confession; and could give an account of each particular of that Plot, by that I judge it fitter to be forgotten, and rot in the same Grave with the malicious Authors. I may not omit to declare, That my Fathers knowledge of Mr. Hooker was occasioned by the Learned Dr. Iohn Spencer, who after the death of Mr. Hooker, was so careful to preserve his unvaluable Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Books of ECCLESIASTICAL POLITT, and his other Writings, that he procured Henry Iackson, then of Corpus-Christi Colledge, to transcribe for him all Mr. Hookers remaining written Papers, many of which were imperfect; for his Study had been rifled or worse used by Mr. Clark, and another of principles too like his: But as these Papers were, they were endeavored to be compleated by his dear Friend Dr. Spencer, who bequeathed them as a precious Legacy to my Father; after whose death they rested in my hand, till Dr. Abbot, then Archbishop of Canterbury, commanded them out of my custody, authorising Dr. Iohn Barkham, (his Lordships Chaplain) to require and bring them to him to Lambeth: At which time I have heard they were put into the Bishops Library, and that they remained there till the Martyrdom of Archbishop Laud, and were then by the Brethren of that Faction given with the Library to Hugh Peters, as a reward for his remarkable service in those sad times of the Churches confusion: And though they could hardly fall into a fouler hand, yet there wanted not other endeavors to corrupt and make them speak that Language, for which the Faction then fought; which was, To subject the Soveraign Power to the People. I need not strive to vindicate Mr. Hooker in this particular; his known Loyalty to his Prince whilst he lived, the sorrow expressed by King Iames for his death; the value our late Soveraign (of ever-blessed Memory) put upon his Works, & now the singular Character of his worth given by you in the passages of his life, (especially in your Appendix to it) do sufficiently clear him from that imputation: And I am glad you mention how much value Robert Stapleton, Pope Clement the Eighth, and other eminent Men of the Romish perswasion, have put upon his Books, having been told the same in my youth by persons of worth that have travelled Italy. Lastly, I must again congratulate this undertaking of yours, as now more proper to you then any other person, by reason of your long knowledge and alliance to the worthy family of the Cranmers (my old friends also) who have been men of noted wisdom, especially Mr. George Cranmer, whose prudence added to that of Sir Edwin Sandys, proved very useful in the compleating of Mr. Hookers matchless Books; one of their Letters I herewith send you to make use of, if you think fit. And let me say further, you merit much from many of Mr. Hookers best friends then living; namely, from the ever-renowned Archb. Whitgist, of whose imcomparable worth, with the Character of the times, you have given us a more short and significant account then I have received from any other Pen. You have done much for Sir Henry Savile, his contemporary and familiar friend; amongst the surviving Monuments of whose Learning (give me leave to tell you so) two are omitted; his Edition of Euclid, but especially his Translation of King Iames his Apology for the Oath of Allegeance, into elegant Latine: Which flying in that dress as far as Rome, was by the Pope and Conclave sent unto Franciscus Snarez to Salamanca (he then residing there as President of that Colledge) with a command to answer it. When he had perfected the work (which he calls Defensio Fidei Catholica,) it was transmitted to Rome for a view of the Inquisitors; who according to their custom blotted out what they pleased, and (as Mr. Hooker hath been used since his death) added whatsoever might advance the Popes Supremacy, or carry on their own interest, commonly coupling together Dep…nere & Occidere, the deposing and killing of Princes: Which cruel and unchristian Language Mr. Iohn Salikell (his Amanuensis, when he wrote at Salamanca, but since a Convert, living long in my Fathers-house) often professed, the good old man (whose Piety and Charity Mr. Salikell magnified much) not onelyonly disavowed, but detested. Not to trouble you further, your Reader (if according to your desire my approbation of your work carries any weight) will finde many just Reasons to thank you for it; and for this circumstance here mentioned (not known to many) may happily apprehend one to thank him, who is,
Chichester Novemb. 13. 15.
Sir, Your ever-faithful and affectionate Old Friend, Henry Chichester.