Letters, Title page – To the reader
Certaine Letters OF HENRY IEANES Miniſter of Gods word AT CHEDZOY. AND Dr IEREMY TAYLOR Concerning A paſſage of his, in his further Explication of Originall ſin.
OXFORD, Printed by HEN: HALL for THO: ROBINSON, 1660.
Dr Taylor in his further explication of the doctrine of originall ſin, pag. 496.
THat every man is inclined to evill, ſome more, ſome leſſe, but all in ſome inſtances; is very true: and it is an effect, or condition of nature, but no ſinne properly; 1: becauſe that which is unavoidable is not a ſinne; 2: becauſe it is accidentall to nature, not intrinſecall, and eſſentiall; 3: It is ſuperinduc'd to nature, and is after it, &c.
To the unprejudiced Reader.
I ſhall only give thee a briefe narrative of the occaſion of the enſuing letters: one Mr T. C. of Bridgwater being at my houſe, brake out into extraordinary, (that I ſay not exceſsive, and Hyperbolicall) prayſes of Dr Ieremy Taylor; I expreſſed my concurrence with him in great part; nay I came nothing behind him in the juſt cōmendations of his admirable wit, great parts, quick and elegant pen, his abilites in Criticall learning, and his profound skil in antiquity: but notwithſtanding all this I profeſſed my diſſent from ſome of his opinions which I judged to be erroneous; and I inſtanced in his doctrine of originall ſin; now his further explication of this lay then cauſually in the window (as I take it) which hereupon I took up, and turned unto the paſſage now under debate, and ſhewed unto Mr T. C. that therein was groſse nonſenſe, and blaſphemy; he for his own part, with a great deale of modeſty, forthwith declined all further diſpute of the buſineſse, but withal he told me, that he would, If I ſo pleaſed, give Dr Taylor notice of what I ſaid; whereunto I agreed, and in a ſhort time he brought me from the Dr a faire, and civill invitation to ſend him my exceptions, and with it a promiſe of a candid reception of them; whereupon I drew them up in a letter unto Mr T. C. the Copy whereof followeth.