Hidden Works of Darkness Brought to Public Light, Frontispiece – Dedication
PROVERBS 11. 8.
The Righteous is delivered out of Trouble, and the wicked commeth in his stead.
A. The Arch-bishop of Canterbury.
B. The Gentleman Usher with his Black-Rod.
C. The Lieutenant of the Tower. D. The Bishops Councell.
E. The Clarke that reads the Evidence.
F. The Table where the Books and Papers given in evidence lay.
G. The Members of the House of Commons, and Mr. Prynne standing in the midst of them. H. Mr. Henry Burton.
I. I. I. The Witnesses, Mistris Bastwick. Mr. Baker the Messenger.
K. K. K. The People and Auditors, within and without the Barre.
L. L. The LORDS. M. M. The Judges and Assistants.
N. The Speaker of the Lords House. T. The Hangings of 88. S. Mich. Spark.
HIDDEN WORKES OF DARKENES Brought to Publike Light, OR, A NECESSARY INTRODVCTION TO THE HISTORY OF THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBVRIE'S TRIALL.
Discovering to the WORLD the severall secret dangerous Plots, Practises, Proceedings of the POPE and his Confederates, both at Home and in Forraigne Parts, to undermine the Protestant Religion, usher the whole Body of Popery into our Church, and reduce all our REALMS to their ancient Vassalage to the Sea of Rome, by insensible steps and degrees; from the first Marriage Treaty with Spaine, Anno 1617. till this present. Together with the true Originals of the late Scottish Troubles, Irish Rebellion and English civill Warres: Manifested by sundry Instructions, Articles, Letters, Intelligences, Warrants, Buls of Popes, Petitions of Parliament, Proclamations, Examinations, and other Papers, found among Secretary Windebankes, Master Thomas Windebankes, the Lord Cottingtons and Arch-bishop of Canterburies Writings, and some late intercepted Letters from Forraigne Parts.
By WILLIAM PRYNNE of Lincolnes-Inne, Esq.
DAN. 2. 22, 23, 28.
There is a God in Heaven that revealeth secrets; he revealeth the deep and secret things; he knoweth what is in the darknesse, and the light dwelleth with him: I thanke thee and praise thee O thou God of my Fathers, who hast given me wisdome and might, and hast made knowne unto me what we desired of thee; for thou hast made knowne unto us the Kings matter.
It is Ordered by the Committee of the house of Commons concerning printing, that this Booke, intituled (Hidden works of Darknesse brought to publike light) be printed by Michael Sparke senior. IOHN WHITE.
LONDON: Printed by Thomas Brudenell for Michael Sparke senior, dwelling in Green-Arbour in the Old-bailey, at the signe of the blew Bible. 1645.
TO THE HIGH AND HONORABLE COVRT OF PARLIAMENT.
HAVING not long since presented your Honourable Assembly with A Breviate of the Arch-bishop of Canterburie's Life, extracted out of his owne Diary and Writings: I have been since much importuned by divers Members of both Houses, to set forth a compleat History of his Crimes and Tryall, with all needfull Ingredients thereunto. Whereupon, I deemed it very expedient (by way of Prologue, or necessary Introduction to that Work) first, to compile and publish this following Peece (which here I humbly tender to your honourable Patronage) the materials whereof could not be conveniently inserted into the Passages of his Tryal, though much conducing to the cleering of your Exemplary Iustice in your equitable Proceedings and righteous Judgement against him, newly executed on his person.
Your Honours, in these my rude Collections (faithfully extracted out of many thousand scattered papers, the perusall and digesting whereof into order hath cost me no little pains) may behold as in a Mirrour, many hidden, or forgotten Romish Plots of darknes brought to Publike Light and Memory (from the first Marriage Treaty with Spaine, in the yeere 1617. till this present) to undermine our Protestant Religion, reduce both us and all our Dominions back to Rome by insensible degrees; together with the severall Policie, A…ifices, Negotiations, Conspiracies used, and Instruments imployed between the Pope, his Confederates and Us, to accomplish this long-agitated Designe; and hereby cleerly discover the true Originals, the Principall Contrivers of all the late unhappy Commotions, Warres, Massacres, Desolations within our three distracted Kingdomes, now weltring in their owne blood; with those mutuall Negotiations we have held with Rome, not onelyonly of late yeers, but continued till this very instant even for Cardinals Cap… and such like Pontifician Wares.
His Majesty and your Honourable Assembly are (blessed be God) now at last (after three yeeres bloody intestine Warres) upon a desirable Treaty of Peace, which I shall cordially implore theaHeb. 13. 20. God of Peace effectually to crown with a most happy issue: towards the reall atchievement wherof, I humbly conceive these seasonable Collections may contribute some assistance; One of the neerest wayes to procure a settled, lasting Peace on Earth, being first (by sincere Repentance and Reformation) to make our peace with Heaven, and then to provide effectuall Remedies against the various Treacheries, Conspiracies, Policies of the common Enemies of our Peace on Earth, and principall Contrivers of all our present Combustions; (to wit, the Pope and his Confederates) which I have here apparently detected, to the end they may with more facility be prevented by your honourable Vigilancy for the future.
As we must havebSee Bishop Hals, No peace with Rome. no peace with Rome, so we cannot possibly expect any peace from her: Yea, the more we endeavour Reconciliation with this Babylonish S…rumpet (the grand Designe of many late past yeers, and now) the remoter shall we be from any reall Peace and Unity among our selves, as we have seen by dear-bought experience: and it must necessarily be so, since c2 Cor. 6. 14 15, 16.Light and Darknesse, Truth and Errour, Christ and Antichrist, the Sonnes of God and Children of Belial, can never be cordially reconciled by all the Policies or Contrivements of men; dGen. 3. 15. Gal. 4. 29. Prov. 29. 27.God himselfe having put an everlasting irreconcileable Enmity, Antipathy between them.
If therefore your Honours ever hope to enjoy a sincere, solid, durable Peace in our Churches or Realmes, you must now use all extraordinary Care and Vigilancy to provide sufficient remedies against all the Popes and his Confsederates Devices, stratagems, Engines, Instruments, who else will perpetually embroile us with fresh Conspiracies, Treasons, Rebellions, Powderplors, Warres, till they have wrought their owne or our utter ruine, as many late Experiments (under which our whole three Kingdomes now bleed and languish) abundantly demonstrate. It therefore much concernes your Honours and our Realms in your intended Treaty, as much as in You lyes, to provide the surest and most effectuall Remedies against this viperous Generation of Romish Incendiaries, without which we can neither expect any substantiall Peace for the present, nor en…oy any lasting Tranquility for the future; and, blessed be God, who hath long since put it into your zealous, pious hearts, to endeavour to effect it.
It may be some Court-Sycophants, Objectmay deem these Discoveries very unseasonable, yea perchance dishonourable (in some particulars) to his Majesty in his fore-past Proceedings, and suggest so much to his Highnesse, or your Honours.
To which I answer;Answer that the Discovery of all Plots, Dangers is then most seasonable, most advantagious, when we are by speciall Lawes or Treaties to establish future Remedies against them. It is over b…st searching festred wounds to the very bottome, and letting out all their corruption, when we are ready to incarne or glutinate them; else, if we citatrize before we sound them to the bottome, they will soone fester or break out againe with greater paine and danger then before: As for the pretended wounding of his Majesties honour, or his former proceedings by this Discovery, as it was most remote from my loyall heart and intentions in its Collection and Publication, so I hope his gracious Majesty and all faithfull Councellours about him (who bear any reall affection to his Highnesse, Religion, our bleeding Kingdoms, or really intend to close up their wounds by the approaching Treaty) will be so far from resenting these Detections to be any reall eclipse of his Majesties honour (purposely compiled to discover bona fide to his Highnesse and others, by what Romish Stratagems, Pollicies, Councels, Instruments they have been for sundry by-past yeers seduced, circumvented, abused, miscounselled, to the Kingdomes, Churches, Religions almost utter desolation, and ingul…ed in those bloody Civill Wars, Massacres, which have turned most of our pleasant Fields into Acheldama's and Golgotha's) that they will interpret these timely Discoveries of them (of which, perchance they have bin hitherto ignorant or unobservant) the dSee here p. 91.highest expression both of my Duty, Loyalty to his Majesty, and my dearest Country, or at least a faithfull impartiall discharge of that solemn Covenant & Protestation We all have taken by your Honours Injunctions, which oblige me in poynt of Conscience, of Fidelity to bring them unto publike knowledge; yea, I should in truth have violated both my Alleagiance and Covenant, had I concealed them at such a time as this, when Gods admirable Providence had unexpectedly brought them to my hands: Since therefore the wisest King that ever reigned, yea, the King of Kings himselfe hath assured me,ePro. 16. 13. That righteous lips are the delight of Kings, and they love him that speaketh right; I doubt not but his Majesty and all true-hearted Protestants about him, together with your Honours, will deem this Publication a speciall Act of my Loyallest, Sincerest Service to his Majesty and all his Realmes, which through Gods effectuall bssileng on them, may much conduce to their future Tranquility, Felicity, the things here principally aimed at.
I shall therefore become an humble Suitor to your Honours, to accept of these Collections (which I have with no small labour extracted, digested into method, whiles others have been taking their naturall rests) as a pledge of my reallest Affection to my Country, his Majesty, Religion, Parliaments: yea, as a seasonable Preparative (not to be slightly read over as matter of meere Newes, but seriously perused, as a Discovery of highest consequence) to your intended much efflagitated Treaty of Peace: and as a necessary Introduction to the History of your Patient, upright, unparalelled Tryall of, and righteous Judgement against that Arch-Incendiary and Enemy of our Peace, Religion, Lawes, Parliaments (some of whose Seditious Popish practises are here lightly glanced at, others more fully detected, the rest reserved for their proper Place) who hath received with much Mercy and Moderation the due reward of his treasonable, violent, bloody, Romish Councels and Actions. I shall daily supplicate the God of Recompence that the effusion of his most Nocent blood by the AXE of Justice may put a speedy period to the spilling of any more Protestant blood by that sword of civill War, which his Councels, Innovations, Oppressions first unsheathed, and his seconds, the Romanists, have since kept drawne and brandished among us, almost to the depopulation of our whole three Kingdomes.
fHeb. 13 20, 21.Now the God of Peace that brought againe from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepheard of the Sheep, through the blood of the everlasting Covenant, make you perfect in every good work, to doe his will, working in you that which is wel-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, and gLuk. 1. 79.guide all your feet aright in the way of Peace, you are now entring into; that the end of it may be Peace indeed, and hIsa. 32. 17, 18.the effect of it, quietnesse and assurance for ever, that so we may henceforth dwell in sure dwellings, and rest in quiet and peaceable Habitations; which is, and shall be the Prayer,
Of your Honours daily Orator and Servant WILLIAM PRYNNE.