Defense of the People of England, Preface
THE AUTHOR'S Preface.
ALTHO I fear, leſt, if in defending the People of England, I ſhould be as copious in Words, and empty of Matter, as moſt Men think Salmaſius has been in his Defence of the King; I might ſeem to deſerve juſtly to be accounted a verboſe and ſilly Defender; yet ſince no Man thinks himſelf obliged to make ſo much haſte, tho in the handling but of any ordinary Subject, as not to premiſe ſome Introduction at leaſt, according as the weight of his Subject requires; if I take the ſame courſe in handling well-nigh the greateſt Subject that ever was, without being too tedious in it, I am in hopes of attaining two things, which indeed I earneſtly deſire: The one, not to be at all wanting, as far as in me lies, to this moſt Noble Cauſe, and moſt worthy to be recorded to all future Ages. The other, That I ſhall appear to have avoided my ſelf, that frivolouſneſs of Matter, and redundancy of Words, which I find fault with in my Antagoniſt. For I am about to diſcourſe of Matters, neither inconſiderable nor common, but how a moſt Potent King, after he had trampled upon the Laws of the Nation, and given a ſhock to its Religion, and was ruling at his own Will and Pleaſure, was at laſt ſubdu'd in the Field by his own Subjects, who had undergone a long Slavery under him; how afterwards he was caſt into Priſon, and when he gave no ground, either by Words or Actions, to hope better things of him, he was finally by the Supreme Council of the Kingdom condemned to dye, and beheaded before the very Gates of the Palace. I ſhall likewiſe relate, (which will much conduce to the eaſing mens minds of a great Superſtition,) by what Right, eſpecially according to our Law, this Judgment was given, and all theſe Matters tranſacted; and ſhall eaſily defend my Valiant and Worthy Countrymen, and who have extremely well deſerved of all Subjects and Nations in the World, from the moſt wicked Calumities both of Domeſtick and Foreign Railers, and eſpecially from the Reproaches of this moſt vain and empty Sophiſter, who ſets up for a Captain and Ringleader to all the reſt. For what King's Majeſty ſitting upon an Exalted Throne, ever ſhone ſo brightly, as that of the People of England then did, when ſhaking off that old Superſtition, which had prevailed a long time, they gave Judgment upon the King himſelf, or rather upon an Enemy, who had been their King, caught as it were in a Net by his own Laws (who alone of all Mortals challenged to himſelf impunity by a Divine Right) and ſcrupled not to inflict the ſame puniſhment upon him himſelf, being guilty, which he would have inflicted upon any other. But why do I mention theſe things as performed by the People? which almoſt open their Voice themſelves, and teſtify the Preſence of God throughout. Who, as often as it ſeems good to his Infinite Wiſdom, uſes to throw down proud and unruly Kings, exalting themſelves above the Condition of Humane Nature, and utterly to ex…irpate them and all their Family. By his manifeſt Impulſe being ſet on work to recover our almoſt loſt Liberty, following him as our Guide, and adoring the impreſſes of his Divine Power manifeſted upon all occaſions, we went on in no obſcure, but an illuſtrious Paſſage, pointed out, and made plain to us by God himſelf. Which things, if I ſhould ſo much as hope by any diligence or ability of mine, such as it is, to diſcourſe of as I ought to do, and commit them ſo to writing, as perhaps all Nations and all Ages may read them, it would be a very vain thing in me. For what ſtile can be auguſt and magnificent enough, what man has parts ſufficient to undertake ſo great a Task? ſince we find by Experience, that in ſo many Ages as are gone over the World, there has been but here and there a man found, who has been able worthily to recount the Actions of Great Heroes, and Potent States; can any man have ſo good an opinion of himſelf, as to think himſelf capable to reach theſe glorious and wonderful Works of Almighty God, by any Language, by any ſtile of his? Which Enterprize, though ſome of the moſt Eminent Perſons in our Commonwealth have prevailed upon me by their Authority to undertake, and would have it be my buſineſs to vindicate with my Pen againſt Envy and Calumny (which are proof againſt Arms) thoſe Glorious Performances of theirs (whoſe opinion of me I take as a very great honour, that they ſhould pitch upon me before others to be ſerviceable in this kind to thoſe moſt Valiant Deliverers of my Native-Countrey; and true it is, that from my very youth I have been bent extremely upon ſuch ſort of Studies, as inclin'd me, if not to do great things my ſelf, at leaſt to celebrate thoſe that did) yet as having no confidence in any ſuch Advantages, I have recourſe to the Divine Aſſiſtance; And invoke the Great and Holy God, the Giver of all good Gifts, that I may as ſubſtantially, and as truly, diſcuſs and refute the Sawcineſs and Lies of this Foreign Declamator, as our Noble Generals piouſly and ſucceſsfully by force of Arms broke the King's Pride, and his unruly Domineering, and afterwards put an end to both by inflicting a memorable Puniſhment upon himſelf; and as throughly as a ſingle perſon did with caſe but of late confute and confound the King himſelf, riſing as it were from the Grave, and recommending himſelf to the People in a Book publiſh'd after his death, with new Artiſices and Allurements of Words and Expreſſions. Which Antagoniſt of mine, though he be a Foreigner, and, though he deny it a thouſand times over, but a poor Grammarian; yet not contented with the Salary due to him in that Capacity, choſe to turn a Pragmatical Coxcomb; and not only to intrude in State-Affairs, but into the Affairs of a Foreign State: tho he brings along with him neither Modeſty, nor Underſtanding, …or any other qualification requiſite in ſo great an Arbitrator, but Sawcineſs, and a little Grammar only. Indeed, if he had publiſh'd here, and in Engliſh, the ſame things that he has now wrote in Latin ſuch as it is, I think no man would have thought it worth while to return an Anſwer to them, but would partly deſpiſe them as common, and exploded over and over already, and partly abhor them as ſordid and Tyrannical Maxims, not to be endured even by the moſt abject of Slaves; Nay, men that have even ſided with the King, would have had theſe thoughts of his Book. But ſince he has ſwol'n it to a conſiderable bulk, and diſpers'd it amongſt Foreigners, who are altogether ignorant of our Affairs and Conſtitution; it's ſit that they who miſtake them, ſhould be better informed; and that he, who is ſo very forward to ſpeak ill of others, ſhould be treated in his own kind. If it be asked, why we did not then attack him ſooner, why we ſuffered him to triumph ſo long, and pride himſelf in our ſilence? For others I am not to anſwer; for my ſelf I can boldly ſay, That I had neither had words nor Arguments long to ſeek, for the defence of ſo good a Cauſe, if I had enjoyed ſuch a meaſure of health, as would have endur'd the fatigue of writing. And being but yet weak in Body, I am forced to write by piece-meal, and break off almoſt every hour, though the Subject be ſuch as requires an unintermitted ſtudy and intenſeneſs of mind. But though this bodily Indiſpoſition may be a hindrance to me in ſetting forth the juſt Praiſes of my moſt worthy Countreymen, who have been the Saviours of their Native Country, and whoſe Exploits, worthy of Immortality, are already famous all the World over; yet I hope it will be no difficult matter for me to defend them from the Inſolence of this ſilly little Scholar, and from that ſawey Tongue of his at leaſt. Nature and Laws would be in an ill caſe, if Slavery ſhould find what to ſay for it ſelf, and liberty be mute: and if Tyrants ſhould find men to plead for them, and they that can maſter and vanquiſh Tyrants, ſhould not be able to find Advocates: And it were a deplorable thing indeed, if the Reaſon Mankind is endu'd withal, and which is the gift of God, ſhould not furniſh more Arguments for mens Preſervation, for their Deliverance, and, as much as the nature of the thing will bear, for making them equal to one another, than for their oppreſſion, and for their utter ruine under the Domineering Power of One ſingle Perſon. Let me therefore enter upon this Noble Cauſe with a chearfulneſs, grounded upon this Aſſurance, That my Adverſary's Cauſe is maintain'd by nothing but Fraud, Fallacy, Ignorance and Barbarity; whereas mine has Light, Truth, Reaſon, the Practice and the Learning of the beſt Ages of the World, of its ſide.
But now, having ſaid enough for an Introduction, ſince we have to do with Criticks; let us in the firſt place conſider the Title of this Choice Piece: Defenſio Regia pro Car. Primo, ad Car. Secundum. A Royal Defence (or the King's Defence) for Charles the Firſt to Charles the Second. You undertake a wonderful piece of work, whoever you are; to plead the Father's Cauſe before his own Son: a hundred to one but you carry it. But I ſummon you, Salmaſius, who heretofore ſculk'd under a wrong name, and now go by no name at all, to appear before another Tribunal, and before other Judges, where perhaps you may not hear thoſe little Applauſes, which you uſe to be ſo fond of in your School. But why this Royal Defence dedicated to the King's own Son? We need not put him to the torture; he confeſſes why. At the King, charge, ſays he. O mercenary and chargeable Advocate! could you not afford to write a Defence for Charles the Father, whom you pretend to have been the beſt of Kings, to Charles the Son, the moſt indigent of all Kings, but it muſt be at the poor King's own Charge? But though you are a Knave, you would not make your ſelf ridiculous, in calling it the King's Defence; for you having ſold it, it is no longer yours, but the King's indeed: who bought it at the price of a hundred Jacobuſſes, a great Sum for a poor King to disburſe. I know very well what I ſay; and 'tis well enough known who brought the Gold, and the Purſe wrought with Beads: We know who ſaw you reach out greedy fiſts, under pretence of embracing the King's Chaplain, who brought the Preſent, but indeed to embrace the Preſent it ſelf, and by accepting it to exhauſt almoſt all the King's Treaſury.
But now the man comes himſelf, the Door creaks; the Actor comes upon the Stage.
In ſilence now, and with attention wait,
That yee may learn what th' Eunuch has to prate.
Terent.
For whatever the matter's with him, he bluſters more than ordinary. A horrible meſſage had lately ſtruck our Ears, but our minds more, with a heinous wound concerning a Parricide committed in England in the Perſon of a King, by a wicked Conſpiracy of Sacrilegious men. Indeed that horrible Meſſage muſt either have had a much longer Sword, than that which Peter drew, or thoſe Ears muſt have been of a wonderful length, that it could wound at ſuch a diſtance; for it could not ſo much as in the leaſt offend any Ears but thoſe of an Aſs. For what harm is it to you, that are Foreigners? are any of you hurt by it, if we amongſt our ſelves put our own Enemies, our own Traytors to death, be they Commoners, Noble men, or Kings? Do you, Salmaſius, let alone, what does not concern you; for I have a horrible Meſſage to bring of you too; which I'm miſtaken if it ſtrike not a more heinous wound into the Ears of all Grammarians and Criticks, provided they have any Learning and Delicacy in them: To wit, your crowding ſo many Barbarous Expreſſions together in one period in the perſon of (Ariſtarchus) a Grammarian, and that ſo great a Critick as you, hired at the King's charge to write a Defence of the King his Father, ſhould not only ſet ſo fulſome a Preface before it, much like thoſe Lamentable Ditties, that uſed to be ſung at Funerals, and which can move compaſſion in none but a Cox-comb; but in the very firſt ſentence ſhould provoke your Readers to laughter with ſo many Barbariſms all at once. Perſona Regir, you cry. Where do you find any ſuch Latin? Or are you telling us ſome tale or other of a Perkin Warchick, who taking upon him the Perſon of a King, has, forſooth! committed ſome horrible Parricide in England? Which expreſſion, though dropping careleſly from your Pen, has more truth in it, than you are aware of. For a Tyrant is but like a King upon a tage a man in a Vizor, and acting the part of a K…ng in a Play; he is not really a King. But as for thes… Galliciſms, that are ſo frequent in your Book, I w…t laſh you for them my ſelf, for I am not at leiſure; but ſhall deliver you over to your fellow Grammarians, to be laught to ſcorn and whipt by them. What follows is much more heinous, that what was decreed by our Supreme Magiſtrates to be done to the King ſhould be ſaid by you to have been done by a wicked Conſpiracy of Sacrilegious perſons. Have you the impudence, you Rogue, to talk at this rate of the Acts and Decrees of the chief Magiſtrates of a Nation that lately was a moſt Potent Kingdom, and is now a more Potent Commonwealth? Whoſe proceedings no Ring ever took upon him by word of mouth, or otherwiſe to vilifie and ſet at nought. The Illuſtrious States of Holland therefore, the Genuine Off ſpring of thoſe Deliverers of their Country, have deſervedly by their Edict condemn'd to utter darkneſs this Defence of Tyrants, ſo pernicious to the Liberty of all Nations; the Author of which every free State ought to forbid their Country, or to baniſh out of it; and that State particularly, that feeds with a Stipend ſo ungrateful and ſo ſavage an Enemy to their Commonwealth; whoſe very Fundamentals and the cauſes of their becoming a free State, this Fellow endeavours to undermine, as well as ours; and at one and the ſame time to ſubvert both; and loads with Calumnies the moſt worthy Aſſerters of Liberty there, under our Names. Conſider with your ſelves, ye moſt Illuſtrious States of the United Netherlands, who it was that put this Aſſerter of Kingly Power upon ſetting Pen to Paper; who it was, that but lately began to play Rex in your Country; what Counſels were taken, what endeavours uſed, and what diſturbances enſued thereupon in Holland; and to what paſs things might have been brought by this time; how Slavery and a new Maſter were ready prepar'd for you, and how near expiring that Liberty of yours, aſſerted and vindicated by ſo many years War and Toil, would have been, e're now, if it had not taken breath again by the timely death of a certain raſh young Gentleman. But our Author begins to ſtrut again, and to feign wonderful Tragedies; Whomſoever this dreadful news reacht (to wit, the news of Salmaſius his Parricidial Barbariſms) all of a ſudden, as if they had been ſtruck with lightning, their hair ſtood an end, and their tongues clove to the roof of their mouth, Which let Natural Philoſophers take notice of (for this ſecret in nature was never diſcovered before) that lightning makes mens hair ſtand an end. But who knows not that little effeminate minds are apt to be amaz'd at the news of any extiaordinary great Action; and that then they ſhow themſelves to be what they really were before, no better than ſo many Stocks. Some could not refrain from tears; ſome little Women at Court, I ſuppoſe, or if there be any more effeminate than they, of whoſe number Salmaſius himſelf being one, is by a new Metamorphoſis become a Fountain near akin to his Name (Salmacis) and with his counterfeit flood of tears prepared over night, endeavours to emaſculate generous minds: I adviſe therefore, and wiſh them to have a care,
—Infamis ne quem malè fortibus undis
Salmacis Enervet.—
—Ne, ſi vir cum venerit, exeat indè
Semivir, & tactis ſubitò molleſcat in undis.
Abſtain, as Manhood you eſteem,
From Salmacis pernicious Stream:
If but one moment there you ſtay,
Too dear you'l for your Bathing pay,—
Depart nor Man nor Woman, but a Sight
Diſgracing both, a loath'd Hermaphrodite.
They that had more courage (which yet the expreſſes in miſerable bald Latin, as if he could not ſo much as ſpeak of men of courage and Magnanimity in proper words) were ſet on fire with indignation to that degree, that they could hardly contain themſelves. Thoſe furious Hectors we value not of a ruſh. We have been accuſtomed to rout ſuch Bullies in the Field with a true ſober courage, a courage becoming men that can contain themſelves, and are in their right Wits. There were none that did not curſe the Authors of ſo Horrible a Villany. But yet, you ſay, their tongues clove to the roof of their mouths; and if you mean this of our Fugitives only, I wiſh they had clove there to this day; for we know very well, that there's nothing more common with them, than to have their mouths full of Curſes and Imprecations, which indeed all good men abominate, but withal deſpiſe. As for others, it's hardly credible, that when they heard the news of our having inflicted a Capital Puniſhment upon the King, there ſhould any be found, eſpecially in a Free State, ſo naturally adapted to Slavory, as either to ſpeak ill of us, or ſo much as to cenſure what we had done: Nay, 'tis highly probable, that all good men applauded us, and gave God thanks for ſo illuſtrious, ſo exalted a piece of Juſtice; and for a caution ſo very uſeful to other Princes. In the mean time, as for thoſe fierce, thoſe ſteel hearted men, that, you ſay, take on for, and bewall ſo pitifully, the lamentable and wonderful death of I know not who; them, I ſay, together with their tinkling Advocate, the dulleſt that ever appeared, ſince the Name of a King was born and known in the world, we ſhall e'en let whine on, till they cry their eyes out. But in the mean time, what School-boy, what little inſignificant Monk could not have made a more elegant Speech for the King, and in better Latin than this Royal Advocate has done? But it would be folly in me to make ſuch particular Animadverſions upon his Childiſhneſs and Frenzies throughout his Book, as I do here upon a few in the beginning of it; which yet I would be willing enough to do (for we hear, that he is ſwollen with Pride and Conceit to the utmoſt degree imaginable) if the ill-put-together and immethodical bulk of his book did not protect him: He was reſolved to take a courſe like the Soldier in Terence, to ſave his Bacon; and it was very cunning in him to ſtuff his Book with ſo much Childiſhneſs, and so many ſilly whimſies, that it might nauſeate the smarteſt man in the world to death, to take notice of 'em all. Only I thought it might not be amiſs to give a ſpecimen of him in the Preface; and to let the ſerious Reader have a taſte of him at firſt, that he might gueſs by the firſt diſh that's serv'd up, how noble an Entertainment the reſt are like to make; and that he may imagine within himſelf what an infinite number of Fooleries and Impertinencies, muſt heeds be heaped up together in the body of the Book, when they ſtand ſo thick in the very Entrance into it, where of all other places they ought to have been ſhunned. His tittle-tattle that follows, and his Sermons fit for nothing but to be worm eaten, I can eaſily paſs by; as for any thing in them relating to us, we doubt not in the leaſt, but that what has been written and publiſhed by Authority of Parliament, will have far greater weight with all wiſe and ſober men, than the Calumnies and Lies of one ſingle impudent little Fellow; who being hired by our Fugitives, their Countrey's Enemies, has ſcrap'd together, and not ſcrupled to publiſh in Print, whatever little Story any one of them that employed him, put into his head. And that all men may plainly ſee how little conſcience he makes of ſetting down any thing right or wrong, good or bad, I deſire no other Witneſs than Salmaſius himſelf. In his book, entituled, Apparatus contra Primatum Papae, he ſays, There are moſt weighty Reaſons why the Church ought to lay aſide Epiſcopacy, and return to the Apostolical Inſtitution of Presbyters: That a far greater …iſchief has been introduced into the Church by E… copacy, than the Schiſms themſelves were, which were before apprehended: That the Plague which Epiſcopacy introduced, depreſſed the whole body of the Church under a miſerable Tyranny: Nay, had put a yoke even upon the necks of Kings and Princes: That it would be more beneficial to the Church, if the whole Hierarchy it ſelf, were extirpated, than if the Pope only, who is the Head of it, were laid aſide, page 160. That it would be very much for the good of the Church, if Epiſcocy were taken away, together with the Papacy: That if Epiſcopacy were once taken down, the Papacy would fall of it ſelf, as being founded upon it, page 171. He ſays he can ſhow very good reaſons why Epiſcopacy ought to be put down in thoſe Kingdoms that have renounced the Pope's Supremacy; but that he can ſee no reaſon for retaining it there: That a Reformation is not entire, that is defective in this point: That no reaſon can be alledged, no probable cauſe aſſigned, why the Supremacy of the Pope being once diſowned, Epiſcopacy ſhould notwithſtanding be retained, page 197. Tho he had wro…e all this, and a great deal more to this effect, but four years ago, he is now become ſo vain and ſo impudent withal, as to accuſe the Parliament of England, for not only turning the Biſhops out of the Houſe of Lords, but for aboliſhing Epiſcopacy it ſelf. Nay, he perſuades us to receive Epiſcopacy, and defends it by the very ſame Reaſons and Arguments, which with a great deal of earneſtneſs he had confuted himſelf in that former Book; to wit, That Biſhops were neceſſary, and ought to have been retained, to prevent the ſpringing up of a Thouſand pernicious Sects and Hereſies. Crafty Turn-coat! Are you not aſham'd to ſhift hands thus in things that are Sacred, and (I had almoſt ſaid) to betray the Church; whoſe moſt ſolemn Inſtitutions you ſeem to have asserted and vindicated with ſo much noiſe, that when it ſhould ſeem for your intereſt to change ſides, you might undo and ſubvert all again with the more diſgrace and infamy to your ſelf. It's notoriouſly known, That when both Houſes of Parliament, being extremely deſirous to Reform the Church of England by the pattern of other Reformed Churches, had reſolved to aboliſh Epiſcopacy, the King firſt interpoſed, and afterwards waged War againſt them chiefly for that very cauſe; which proved fatal to him. Go now and …oaſt of your having Defended the King; who, that you might the better defend him, do now openly betray and impugn the Cauſe of the Church, whoſe Defence you your ſelf had formerly undertaken; and whoſe ſevereſt Cenſures ought to be inflicted upon you. As for the preſent form of our Government, ſince ſuch a Foreign inſignificant Profeſſor as you, having laid aſide your Boxes and Desks, ſtufft with nothing but Trifles, which you might have ſpent your time better in putting into order, will needs turn buſie-body, and be troubleſome in other mens matters, I ſhall return you this anſwer, or rather not to you, but to them that are wiſer than your self, viz. That the Form of it is ſuch as our preſent diſtractions will admit of; not ſuch as were to be wiſh'd, but ſuch as the obſtinate Diviſions that are amongſt us, will bear. What State ſoever is peſtered with Factions, and defends it ſelf by Force of Arms, is very juſt in having regard to thoſe only that are found and untainted, and in overlooking or ſecluding the reſt, be they of the Nobility or the common people; nay, though profiting by experience, they ſhould refuſe to be governed any longer either by a King or a … of Lords. But in railing at that Supreme Council, as you call it, and at the Chair man thére, you make your ſelf very Ridiculous; for that Council is not the Supreme Council, as you dream it is, but appointed by Authority of Parliament, for a certain time only; and conſiſting of …orty Perſons, for the moſt part Members of Parliament, any one of whom may be Preſident, if the reſt Vote him into the Chair. And there is nothing more common, than for our Parliaments to appoint Committees of their own Members; who, when ſo appointed, have Power to meet where they pleaſe, and hold a kind of a little Parliament amongſt themſelves. And the moſt weighty Affairs are often referred to them, for Expedition and Secreſie; the care of the Navy, the Army, the Treaſury; in ſhort, all things whatſoever, relating either to War or Peace. Whether this be called a Council, or any thing elſe, the thing is ancient, though the name may be new; and it is ſuch an Inſtitution, as no Government can be duly adminiſtred without it. As for our putting the King to death, and changing the Government, forbear your bawling, don't ſpit your Venom, till going along with you through every Chapter, I ſhow, whether you will or no, by what Law. by what Right and Juſtice, all that was done. But if you inſiſt to know by what Right, by what Law; by that Law, I tell you, which God and Nature have enacted, viz. that whatever things are for the Univerſal Good of the Whole State, are for that reaſon lawful and juſt. So wiſe Men of old uſed to anſwer ſuch as you. You find fault with us for Repealing Laws, that had obtained for ſo many years; but you do not tell as, whether thoſe Laws were good or bad, nor if you did, ſhould we heed what you ſaid; for, you buiſy Puppy, what have you to do with our Laws? I wiſh our Magiſtrates had …ed more than they have, both Laws and …wyers; if they had, they would have conſulted the Intereſt of the Chriſtian Religion, and that of the People better then they have done. It frets you, That Hob-goblins, Sons of the Earth, ſcarce Gentlemen at home, ſcarce known to their own Countrymen, ſhould preſume to do ſuch things. But you ought to have remembred, what not only the Scriptures, but Horace would have taught you, viz.—
—Valet ima ſummis
Mutare & inſignem attenuat Deus
Obſcura promens, &c.
The Power that did create, can change the Scene
Of things, make mean of great, and great of mean;
The brighteſt Glory can Eclipſe with Night,
And place the moſt obſcure in dazling Light.
But take this into the Bargain: ſome of thoſe, who you ſay are ſcarce Gentlemen, are not at all inferiour in birth to any of your party; others, whoſe Anceſtors were not Noble, have taken a courſe to attain to true Nobility by their own Induſtry and Vertue, and are not inferior to men of the Nobleſt Deſcent; and had rather be … …ns of the Earth, provided to be their own Earth. (their own Native Country) and …ct like Men at home, then being deſtitute of Houſe or Land, to relieve the neceſſities of Nature in a Foreign Country, by ſelling of Smoke as thou doſt, an inconſiderable Fellow, and a J…ck-ſtraw, and who dep…ndeſt upon the good will of thy Maſters for a poor St…pend; for whom it were better to forgo thy travelling, and return to thy own Kindred and Country-men, if thou hadſt not this one piece of Cunning, to babble out ſome ſilly Prelections and Fooleries at ſo good a rate amongſt Foreigners. You find fault with our Magiſtrates for admitting ſuch a Common-ſhore of all ſorts of Sects; Why ſhould they not? It belongs to the Church to caſt them out of the Communion of the faithful; not to the Magiſtrate to Baniſh them the Country, provided they do not offend againſt the Civil Laws of the State. Men at firſt united into Civil Societies, that they might live ſafely and enjoy their Liberty, without being wrong'd or oppreſt; that they might live Religiouſly, and according to the Doctrine of Chriſtianity, they united themſelves into Churches. Civil Societies have Laws, and Churches have a Diſcipline, peculiar to themſelves, and far differing from each other. And this has been the occaſion of ſo many Wars in Chriſtendom; to wit, becauſe the Civil Magiſtrate and the Church confounded their Juriſdictions. And therefore we do not admit of the Popiſh Sect, ſo as to tolerate Papiſts at all; for we do not look upon that as a Religion but rather as an Hierarchical Tyranny, under a …loak of Religion, cloath'd with the Spoils of the Civil Power, which it has uſurp'd to it ſelf contrary to our Saviour's own Doctrine. As for the Independents, we never had any ſuch amongſt us, as you deſcribe; they that we call Independents are only ſuch as hold that no Claſſes or Synods have a Superiority over any particular Church, and that therefore they ought all to be pluckt up by the roots, as Branches, or rather as the very Trunk of Hierarchy it ſelf; which is your own opinion too. And from hence it was that the name of Independents prevailed amongſt the Vulgar. The reſt of your Preface is taken up in endeavouring not only to ſtir up the hatred of all Kings and Monarchs againſt us, but to perſwade them to make a General War upon us. Mithridates of old, though in a different cauſe, endeavoured to ſtir up all Princes to make War upon the Romans, by laying to their charge almoſt juſt the ſame things, that you do to ours: viz. that the Romans aim'd at nothing but the Subverſion of all Kingdoms, that they had no regard to any thing, whether Sacred or Civil, that from their very firſt riſe they never enjoy'd any thing, but what they had acquir'd by force, that they were Robbers, and the greateſt Enemies in the world to Monarchy: Thus Mithridates expreſt himſelf in a Letter to Arſaces King of the Parthians. But how came you, whoſe buſineſs it it is to make ſilly Speeches from your Desk, to have the Confidence to imagine, that by your perſuaſions to take up Arms, and ſounding an Alarm as it were, you ſhould be able ſo much as to influence a King amongſt Boys at play; eſpecially, with ſo ſhrill a Voice, and unsavoury Breath, that I believe, if you were to have been the Trumpeter, not ſo much as Homer's Mice would have waged War againſt the Frogs. So little do we fear, you Slug, you, any War or Danger from Foreign Princes, through your ſilly Rhetorick, who accuſe us to them, juſt as if you were at play, That we toſs Kings heads like Balls; play at Bowls with Crowns; and regard Scepters no more then if they were Fool's Staves with heads on. But you in the mean time, you ſilly Logerhead, deſerve to have your Bones well-thraſh'd with a Fool's ſtaff, for thinking to ſtir up Kings and Princes to War by ſuch Childiſh Arguments. Then you cry aloud to all Nations, who, I know full well, will never heed what you ſay. You call upon that Wretched and Barbarous Crew of Iriſh Rebels too, to aſſert the King's Party. Which one thing is ſufficient evidence how much you are both a Fool, and a Knave, and how you out-do almoſt all Mankind in Villany, Impudence, and Madneſs, who ſcruple not to implore the Loyalty and Aid of an execrable People, devoted to the Slaughter, whom the King himſelf always abhorr'd, or ſo pretended, to have any thing to do with, by reaſon of the guilt of ſo much innocent Blood, which they had contracted. And that very perfidiouſneſs and Cruelty, which he endeavoured as much as he could to conceal, and to clear himſelf from any ſuſpition of, you the moſt villanous of Mortals, as fearing neither God nor Man, voluntarily and openly take upon your ſelf. Go on then, undertake the Kings Defence at the Encouragement, and by the Aſſiſtance of the Iriſh: You take care, and ſo you might well, leſt any ſhould imagine that you were about to bereave Cicero or Demoſthenes of the praiſe due to their Eloquence, by telling us before hand, that you conceive you ought not to ſpeak like an Orator. 'Tis wiſely ſaid of a Fool; you conceive you ought not to do what is not in your Power to do; and who that knows any thing of you, ever expects any thing like an Orator from you? Who neither uſes, nor is able to publiſh any thing that's Elaborate, Diſtinct, or has ſo much as Senſe in it; but like a ſecond Criſpin, or that little Grecian, Tzetzes, ſo you do but write a great deal, take no pains to write well, nor could write any thing well, though you took never ſo much pains. This Cauſe ſhall be argued (ſay you) in the hearing, and as it were before the Tribunal of all Mankind. That's what we like ſo well, that we could now wiſh, we had a diſcreet and intelligent Adverſary, and not ſuch a hair-brain'd Blunderbuſs as you, to deal with. You conclude very Tragically, like Ajax in his Raving. I will proclaim to Heaven and Earth the Injuſtice, the Villany, the Perfidiouſneſs and Cruelty of theſe Men, and will deliver them over convicted to all Poſterity. O Flowers! that ſuch a witleſs, ſenſeleſs Bawler, one that was born but to ſpoil or tranſcribe good Authors, ſhould think himſelf able to writ any thing of his own, that will reach Poſterity; Whom together with his frivolous Scribles the very next Age will bury in Oblivion; unleſs this Defence of the King perhaps may be beholden to the Anſwer I give to it, for being looked into now and then. And I would entreat the Illuſtrious States of Holland to take off their Prohibition, and ſuffer the Book to be publickly ſold. For when I have detected the Vanity, Ignorance, and Falſhood, that it is full of, the farther it ſpreads, the more effectually it will be ſuppreſt. Now, let us hear how he Convicts us.