Answer to a Book, Part 7
VII. VponUpon the Queens departure.
TO this Argument we shall soon have said; for what concerns it us to hear a Husband divul… his Houshold privacies, extolling to others the ver… tues of his Wife; an infirmity not seldom incident to those who have least cause. But how good shee was a Wife, was to himself, and be it left to his own fancy; how bad a Subject, is not much disputed. And being such, it need be made no wonder, though shee left a Protestant Kingdom with as little honour as her Mother left a Popish.
That this Is the first example of any Protestant Subjects that hauehave tak'n up Armes against thir King a Protestant, can be to Protestants no dishonour; when it shal be heard that he first levied Warr on them, and to the interest of Papists more then of Protestants. He might have giv'n yet the precedence of making warr upon him to the subjects of his own Nation; who had twice oppos'd him in the op'n Feild, long ere the English found it necessary to doe the like. And how groundless, how dissembl'd is that feare, least shee, who for so many yeares had bin averse from the Religion of her Husband, and every yeare more and more, before these disturbances broke out, should for them be now the more alienated from that to which we never heard shee was inclin'd. But if the feare of her Delinquency and that Justice which the Protestants demanded on her, was any cause of heralienating the more, to have gain'd her by indirect means had bin no advantage to Religion; much less then was the detriment to loose her furder off. It had bin happy if his own actions had not giv'n cause of more scandal to the Protestants, then what they did against her could justly scandalize any Papist.
Them who accus'd her, well anough known to be the Parlament, he censures for Men yet to seeke thir Religion, whether Doctrine, Discipline, or good manners; the rest he soothes with the name of true English Protestants, a meer scismatical name, yet he so great an enemy of Scism.
He ascribes Rudeness and barbarity worse then Indian to the English Parlament, and all vertue to his Wife, in straines that come almost to Sonnetting: How fitt to govern men, undervaluing and aspersing the great Counsel of his Kingdom, in comparison of one Woman. Examples are not farr to seek, how great mischeif and dishonour hath befall'n to Nations under the Government of effeminate and Uxorious Magistrates. Who being themselves govern'd and overswaid at home under a Feminine usurpation, cannot but be farr short of spirit and autority without dores, to govern a whole Nation.
Her tarrying heer he could not think safe among them who were shaking hands with Allegiance to lay faster hold on Religion; and taxes them of a duty rather then a crime, it being just to obey God rather then Man, and impossible to serve two Maisters. I would they had quite shak'n off what they stood shaking hands with; the fault was in thir courage, not in thir cause.
In his Prayer, he prayes that The disloyaltie of his Protestant Subjects may not be a hindrance to her love of the true Religion; and never prays that the dissoluteness of his Court, the scandals of his Clergy, the unsoundness of his own judgement, the lukewarmness of his life, his Letter of compliance to the Pope, his permitting Agents at Rome, the Popes Nuntio, and her Jesuited Mother here, may not be found in the sight of God farr greater hindrances to her conversion.
But this had bin a suttle Prayer indeed, and well pray'd, though as duely as a Pater-noster, if it could have charm'd us to sit still, and have Religion and our Liberties one by one snatch'd from us, for fear least rising to defend our selves, wee should fright the Queen a stiff Papist from turning Protestant. As if the way to make his Queen a Protestant had bin to make his Subjects more then half way Papists.
He prays next That his constancy may be an antidote against the poyson of other mens example. His constancy in what? Not in Religion, for it is op'nly known that her Religion wrought more upon him, then his Religion upon her, and his op'n favouring of Papists, and his hatred of them call'd Puritants, the ministers also that prayd in Churches for her Conversion, being checkt from Court, made most men suspect she had quite perverted him. But what is it that the blindness of hypocrisy dares not doe? It dares pray, and thinks to hide that from the eyes of God, which it cannot hide from the op'n view of man.