The Devils Patriarch, Illustration – To the reader
Innocnt the 11 Pope of Rome. London Printed for J: Dunton at ye black Raven in ye Poultrey
THE DEVILS PATRIARCK, OR A Full and Impartial Account Of the NOTORIOUS LIFE Of this Preſent Pope of Rome INNOCENT the 11th.
Wherein is newly Diſcovered his Riſe and Reign; The Time and Manner of his being choſen Pope; His Prime Proceſſion, Conſecration and Coronation; The Splendour and Grandeur of his Court; His moſt Eminent and Gainful Cheats, by which he Gulls the ſilly People; His Secret and Open Tranſactions with the Papiſts in England, Scotland, France and Ireland, and other Proteſtant Countreys to this very day; Together with the Reſt of the Helliſh Policies and Infamous Actions of his wicked Life.
Written by an Eminent Pen to Revive the Remembrance of the almoſt forgotten Plot againſt the Life of his Sacred Majeſty and the Proteſtant Religion.
Entered according to Order.
LONDON, Printed for John Dunton at the Black-Raven in the Poultrey. 1683.
THE PREFACE TO THE READER.
Candid and Curteous Reader,
WHen a ſuddain and ſurprizing Invaſion is made upon us by a Foreign Power, every Right-thinking Mind cannot but Judg it high time to Fire our Beacons. Aeſops Witty Wiſdom, (in his Fable of the Shepherd-Boy, that cry'd out falſly, as well as frequently, [The Wolf comes, the Wolf comes, Help, Help.] to the People,) hath in the Apologues Moral a very ſhrewd Congruity, with our preſent Caſe, though there wants not alſo ſome Diſparity.
(1.) The Congruity conſiſts in theſe particulars,
Firſt, Every Shepherd ſhould be careful to preſerve the Flock committed to his Charge; ſo ought every Myſtical, as well as the Literal Shepherd, (whether foreign aut foreign, Young or Old,) to be.
Secondly, Both ought to cry out of Probable and Approaching Dangers. It was not at all Improbable, that the Wolf was a coming, becauſe he us'd frequently to do ſo.
Thirdly, When Dangers be both Probable and Approaching, (for 'tis the Nature of the Beaſt to worry the Sheep,) then 'tis the Duy of Both, not only to Cry out, but to Crave Help from the Peoples Hands, yea to quicken up their Aſſiſtance with ſtrong and Reiterated Outcrys, That the Abaddon, (a bad one indeed,) the Apollyon, or Devouring Beaſt, is juſt a coming.
Fourthly, All Hands are few enough to Help the Lord againſt this Mighty, (yea in the Romiſh phraſe, Almighty,) Beaſt.
Fifthly, All private Works muſt be left, (both in City and Countrey,) for ſtopping the ſtrong Current of a Publick and Common Calamity.
Sixthly, As the Sheep of Aeſops Shepherd were Grazing, [in eminentiori Loco,] upon Lofty Mountains, yet not Inacceſſible to the Wolf: So the Sheep, which Goſpel-Shepherds are feeding, and which the Romiſh Wolf would Worry, are likewiſe Grazing upon the Holy-Hill of Zion, the higheſt of all Hills, yet not ſo high, but, when the Sins of the Sheep do open a paſſage, becomes Acceſſible to the Wolf alſo. Where the Beaſt hath been before, Treading down the Green Paſtures, and fouling the Reſidue with his foul Feet, he hath ſome hope for returning thither again, eſpecially, ſeeing the Neſt-Egg of Romiſh Reliques is ſtill left behind to encourage his Return: Bloody Biſhop Bonner could once Briskly Brag, Such as like to Sup our Broth, we will make them love to Eat our Beef too: God grant us a good Deliverance from ſuch Barbarous Butchers, and Beaſtly Butcheries, from that Brutiſh People, Skilful to Deſtroy.
(2.) As to the Diſparity,
Firſt, The Outcry of Aeſops Shepherd-Boy was only, [Joci gratià,] a falſe Holloe for Sport-ſake, a Boyiſh-Trick, playing the Wag with the Maſters of the Sheep, to whom he was but an Hireling-Servant: But the Outcry of our Shepherds have been ever more Real and Serious, from the many Eſſays and Attempts, which Rome has really made to Reduce (as Colemans Phraſe is,) this Northern Hereſie to her Obedience: She hath all along, ever ſince the Reformation of Religion here, with all her Fraud and Force, with all Her Craft and Cruelty endeavoured to reenter with her Deformation of it, and to Recover both her Neſt, and her Neſt-Egg, from which ſhe was forced.
Secondly, Our Outcry hath not been made by ſome one Novice, or of many Novices only, but alſo of the moſt Grave, moſt Judicious, and moſt Thinking Diſcerning Fathers of the Sheepfold, who, with Moſes, could eſpye the very firſt Outgoings of Wrath, and, with Elijah could Obſerve a Black Cloud, though no bigger than a Mans Hand: All theſe at Sundry Times, and in Divers Manners, have foreign, as with one Mouth Sounded Loud Alarms.
Thirdly, Though thoſe call'd in to be Aſſiſtants againſt the Wolf, in the Fable, [nihil eſſe comperiebant,] found nothing of real Danger. Yet thoſe call'd together to Aſſiſt againſt the Wolf of Romes Incurſions, have upon undenyable grounds found out a Real Danger, Witneſs His Majeſty and Privy-Councils Reiterated Proclamations, the Unanimous Votes of Four Succeſſive Parliaments, (all call'd upon for their Aſſiſtants, &c.) The Forms of Prayer, Compoſed and Impoſed by the Biſhops, for the Faſt appointed by Authority, upon the Account of the Popiſh Plot, as alſo the Murder of Juſtice Godfrey, and the Juſt Execution of ſome Grand Conſpirators.
Fourthly, The Sheep-worrying Beaſt in the Fable, is expreſly call'd a Wolf only, though there be other Beaſts as obnoxious to Sheep. But this Molock of Rome is ſuch a Bloudy Beaſt, as no Name could ſufficiently expreſs his Bloud-Thirſtineſs. Hereupon (1.) Daniel calls the Firſt Beaſt, (or Aſſyrian Empire,) a Lyon. The Second, (the Medo-Perſian,) a Bear. The Third, (the Graecian,) a Leopard. But the Fourth, to wit, (the Roman Empire,) he calls a Beaſt in general, (without any name,) as if Exceeding, (as well as Including,) the Savage Nature of all the Three former, Dan. 7.4, 5, 6, 7, 23. (2.) John alſo, (as well as Daniel,) calls him a Beaſt in the general, (without, becauſe above any Name,) yet makes he him a Monſtrous Beaſt, Compounded of all the Three Beaſts aforeſaid, as having the Feet of a Bear, the Mouth of a Lyon, Himſelf like a Leopard, and the Dragon giving him Power, Revel. 13.2. And though Rome Heathen hath done much againſt Chriſts Sheep, Slaying its Thouſands, yet Rome Anti-Chriſtian hath done more, and far out-done it in Slaying its Ten Thouſands: So that this Beaſt, (above all Names,) is a Beaſt with a Witneſs, an Hyperbolical Behemoth, as if many Beaſts made up One, (ſo the Hebrew Plural Faeminine ſignifies,) far beyond the moſt Bloud-Thirſty Wolf, yea the moſt Savage Cannibal, for Eating the Fleſh and Drinking the Bloud of Poor Proteſtants, even to an high Inebriation, as the Sequel will more fully Demonſtate: Take but this Taſt here, 'Tis credibly Related, That in the ſpace of Eight Hundred Years, this Monſtrous Beaſt, (who hath all Cruelties Concentred in him,) hath been the Death of Twelve Millions of Chriſtians. Idaea Reform. Antichr. Tom. 1. Part 2. Sect. 2. Cap. 6. To Inſtance only one Specimen of this Pourtray'd Beaſt in this place, to wit, Pope Julius the Second, (who was turn'd up Trump, and Triumph'd in the Chair of Peſtilence, in the Fifteenth Century) that made a ſhift to Worry (in Seven Years ſpace of his Papacy) no fewer than Seven Hundred Thouſand Sheep. See Baleus de Actis Rom. pontif. lib. 7. 'Tis one of Luthers Divine Raptures, that Cain (the Firſt-Born of the Devils Patriarks) ſhall be Murdering his Brother Abel to the end of the World: and the Older he groweth, the more Bloud-Thirſty he becometh: This Romiſh Runnet (as is commonly ſaid of the Common in Dairy Houſes) the Older it is, it grows ſo much the Stronger. If the Beaſt were ſo Bloudy in that Century aforementioned, how much more may he be expected in this preſent Pope. Seeing [Morſus moribundae Beſtiae ſunt maximè mortiferi,] The loſt Bitings of a Dying Beaſt are moſtly moſt Deadly: and whether this be yet paſt, Sub Judice lis eſt, 'tis a matter of Controverſie, and if not, I would ask my Countrymen Proteſtants, Is this a Beaſt fit to be Courted into England? which is indeed the Bloudy Scarlet-Colour'd Whore, that better deſerveth to he Carted out of it, and out of the World alſo.
Fifthly, It doth not appear, that the Wolf in the Fable was ever reſtrained from any Attempts by thoſe frequent outcries for Aſſiſtance, ſeeing the Report of his approaching was falſe until the laſt. But this Beaſt of Rome hath had many ſignal and ſingular reſtraints by King and Parliament, &c. But above all, by an Inviſible and an Over-ruling Hand; ſo that ſhe hath been conſtrained to alter her Methods, and to take new Meaſures, Foiſting her dead Brats into the Boſom of Innocent Proteſtants, which though it need not the Wiſdom of a Solomon to Diſcover, yet requireth it the Power of a Parliament more fully to Determine, in a way of Vindicative Juſtice.
Sixtly and Laſtly, I wiſh with all my Soul, that there may be found more Diſparity than Congruity in the Cataſtrophe and Cloſure of the Fable, as Relating to our preſent Caſe. The Apologue indeed concludeth thus, that whereas the Husbandmen had been oft abuſed by the falſe Alarms of the Boy, leaving their Ploughs ſtanding Idle in the Field to deliver the Sheep when there was no Danger, then the Wolf coming in good earneſt, the Boy cries out, but was not believed by them, whom he had ſo oft deceived, hereupon the Wolf prevails againſt the Boy, Worries the Sheep without reſiſtance, Gluts himſelf with their Fleſh and Bloud, and eſcapes away ſcotfree, without ſo much as a blow for that unparallel'd miſcheif: The Moral of this laſt part is, as Solomon, with his wonderful Wiſdom, helps us to Interpret it, ſaying, Woe be to that Land, that hath [foreign, ovium Paſtorem] no wiſer than a Child, Eccl. 10.16. Alas, He is not able, (though never ſo willing) to Deliver his Flock, &c. Solomon ſaith alſo, But in multitude of Councellors there is ſafety, Prov. 11.14. This Shepherds Boy had ſo much Wit in him, as to call in more helping Hands to his own, though he did oft cry ſo Childiſhly, and at laſt (through his own fooliſh fraud) fruitleſly without ſucceſs. We have had many loud Alarms Trumpeted out, crying, [The Romiſh Wolf is coming, Help, Help,] and though none of the many have been falſe outcries, as before, yet would to God the Helping Husbandmen may not (through ſo many Diſappointments) grow weary of Appearing, ſo let the Devouring Beaſt have his Blond-Thirſty Luſt ſatiated upon the Proteſtant-Sheep, and all this without any reſiſtance and oppoſition. But though this Apologue of Aeſops be thus ſignificantly ſuitable in its Moral, yet have we a Divine Parable (to Wit, that of Jothams, Judg. 9.) that infinitely Tranſcends it in its ſignal and ſingular Signature as to our preſent Calamitous Condition. Bloudy Abimeleck (a baſe Baſtard) Uſurps the Kingdom, which by ſubtle practiſing upon his Kinsfolk and the Men of Shechem he craftily compaſſed, and (by the help of his vile Vagrants and Villanous Followers, Hired with the Treaſure of Baal-Berith) as cruelly conſtituted the Foundation of it, in Murdering (like a bloudy Tyrant) Seventy Innocent, and all Legitimate Competitors to make his way to the Throne, Good Jotham onelyonly eſcaping, He takes the boldneſs (notwithſtanding his Perſonal Danger) to make his mind (yea and Gods too) known to the Men of Shechem from the top of Mount Gerizim (that Bleſſing, not Mount Ebal that Curſing Mountain) Before he took to his Heels, and fled from the Tyrant. As this Sacred Apologue of Jotham's, (who, though but a young Man, was vir bonus, dicendi peritus, a good Man, and a good Orator, one that could declare his Mind fitly, and durſt do it Freely, being [foreign] Inſpired of Gods Spirit) doth therefore far (I ſay) Tranſcend the aforeſaid Fable of Aeſop, ſo it more highly merits a larger Deſcant upon it, were I not bound up to the Narrow Limits of a Short and yet Succinct Preface. Hereupon, all that I am Allowed to Add, is, to let the Iugenious Reader know, that the Hebrew Doctors do Underſtand by the Fig-Tree in the Parable, Renowned Deborah their Delivereſs, as by the Olive-tree Othniel, or Ehud, and by the Fruitful Vine, Gideon with his Numerous Off-ſpring; what is meant by the Bramble needs not much Explication, it being not a Tree, but a Shrub (the Product of Gods Curſe upon the Earth, Gen. 3.17, 18.) Prickly, Barren, Baſe, Abject, good for nothing, but to Stop Gaps, or Kindle a Fire: Abimeleck was a Right Bramble indeed, who grew in the baſe Hedg-Row of a Contemptible Concuhine, who horribly ſcratch'd and drew Bloud to purpoſe, when once he had (by the help of Baal-Beriths Treaſure) ſcrambl'd up to a Dominion over Iſrael, whereunto he was Handed by his hired Beggerly Raſcals, and Debauched Deſperado's: The foreign or Moral Hereof (as to us) is obvious to every common Underſtanding, and neither the Explication, nor the Application is any matter of Difficulty: I ſhall therefore conclude my Praeliminary part with this pathetical Epiphonema, as a Golden Key to open the Myſtery of Iniquity: Oh England, England, Thou haſt had thy Delivering Deborah (Queen Elizabeth) who ſaved thee in Gods Hand from the Curſed Canaanites, that delt cruelly with thee in the Marian Days, Thou haſt alſo had thy Othniels, Ehuds who did ſtab the Red Letter Cauſe with their very Pens (as King James) excellently and unanſwerably Accompliſhed, though he was but left handed for the Sword, having for his Motto [Rex pacificus] which one wittely Engliſhed [put up thy Dagger Jamy] And ſome Abuſive wits limn'd his Picture with a Padlock upon his Sword, yet his Learned Writing did ſo effectually vindicate his undoubted Right againſt Pope Paul the Fifth, that there was no need of Martial Warring (Cedant Arma Togae, &c.) There was no occaſion for Mars, where Minerva was his Bellona; which made his Un-Holineſs Decline the Encounter: Thou haſt likewiſe had thy Gideon with a fruitful Ofspring, ſtout Aſſertors of the Reformed Religion, ſhouldſt thou? now forſake the Fitneſs, the Fatneſs, and the Fruitfulneſs of thy Truly. Noble Figtree, Olive and Vine (which indeed hath cheered God and Man) and at laſt embrace a Baſe Bramble, that exotick, dry, empty, Saples Kex and Weed of a Forraign Power, to wit, that of the Man of Sin, the Son of Perdition and the wicked one, which is the threefold Black-Brand, wherewith Antichriſt is Stigmatized by the Holy Ghoſt. How far this threefold Character agreeth with the Pope; See the Man of Sin, lib. 1, chap. 4. Foulis Hiſtory of Romiſh Treaſons and Uſurpations per totum, and Neſſes Diſcovery of Antichriſt, pag. 55. to 63. &c. what their own Authours Report of them may be beſt believed: That this Babyloniſh Brat is a Baſtard like the Bramble Abimeleck, and and not Legitimate, or Heaven-born, their own very Creatures are conſtrained to Confeſs.
As Firſt, Platina, who was the Pope's own Secretary, and Keeper of the Vatican-Library, yea a Writer by Commiſſion from Pope Sixtus the Fourth.
Secondly, Benno Uſpergenſis, one of Romes own Cardinals.
Thirdly, And Math. Pariſienſis a Benedictin Monk of the Monaſtary of St. Albans here in England, All theſe three (none of them writing out of Prejudice, ſo they would have bewray'd their own Neſt, but Impartially and in Truth) doe Unanimouſly Deſcribe the Popes to be Limbs of the Devil; the laſt of which Relates, How [Diabolus, & Inferorum Contubernium, &c.] that the Devil and All his Helliſh Crew Wrote Gratulatory Letters to the Pope and his Clergy, for ſending more Souls to Hell, than ever went before, Math. Paris Hiſt. Angl. Guil. Conqueſt. Anno. 1072. pag. 10. Yea none of them can deny, but that ſome of the Popes ſold themſelves to the Deuil for their obtaining of the Popedom by his Craft. Therefore the Men of Shechem or England need no Jotham to Proclaim to them, (ſeeing the very Romaniſts themſelves ſay enough) that if in Truth ye Anoint this Pope to have Dominion over you, and Return again to put your Truſt in his shadow, ye will be not onelyonly Notoriouſly diſapointed in your Shelter under ſuch a Shadow (for the Bramble-Buſh cannot yeild any good Shade; the ſilly Sheep flying to it for ſhelter, are ſure to loſe part of their Fleece, if not of their Fleſh too) But alſo a Fire will flow fiercely forth from this Baſe Bramble to Devour you, and your talleſt Cedars: This one Terraefilius or Baſtard will deſtroy all your trueborn Sons: He that hath but half an eye, may both ſee and foreſee the Matchleſs miſcheifs that muſt be its Conſequences, which they that are ſo Hot for a Popiſh Succeſſour (while they yet profeſs themſelves to be good Proteſtants) doe not Duly and Truly Conſider. But I muſt not detain you too long in the Porch, for fear of your catching cold. Having Diſpatched the Prologue, conſiſting of a Double Apologue, (which may be further Illuſtrated and Applyed in the Epilogue) Let me now hand you to the Houſe it ſelf, wherein you may take a plain Proſpect of this preſent Pope limn'd to the life in his Right Red Vermilion Colours.