Reformation No Enemy, Title page – Letter to the priests
REFORMATION NO ENEMIE.
Or a true DISCOVRSE, betweene the Biſhops and the Deſirers of Reformation: WHEREIN Is plainely laid open the preſent corrupt government of our Church, and the deſired forme of Government plainely proved by the word of GOD.
PROV. 24. Verſ. 24.
Hee that ſaith vntounto the wicked thou art righteous, him ſhall the people Curſe: Nations ſhall abhorre him.
Printed in the yeare, 1641.
A man of worſhip, to the men of worſhip, that is Martin Mar-prelate gentleman, Primate, and Metropolitane of all the Martins whereſoever, To the Iohn of all the Sir Iohns, and to the reſt of the terrible Prieſts ſaith, have among you once againe, my clergie maſters.
For,
O Brethren, there is ſuch a deale of love grown of late I perceive, betweene you and me, that although I would be negligent in ſending my Piſtles unto you: yet I ſee you cannot forget me, I thought you to be very kind when you ſent your Purſivaunts about the Country to ſeeke for me. But now that you your ſelves have taken the paines to write, this is out of all cry. Why it paſſes to thinke what loving and carefull Brethren I have, who although I cannot be gotten, to tell them where I am, becauſe I love not the ayre of the Clinke or Gatehouſe in this cold time of Winter, and by reaſon of my buſineſſe in Piſtle-making, will notwithſtanding make it known vntounto the world, that they have a moneths mind towards me, now truly brethren, J find you kind, why ye doe not know what a pleaſure you have done me. My worſhips bookes were vnknowne to many, before you allowed T. C. to admoniſh the people of England to take heed, that if they loved you, they would make much of their Prelates, and the chiefe of the Clergie. Now many ſeeke after my bookes, more then ever they did. Againe, ſome knew not that our brother Iohn of Fulham, was ſo good vntounto the porter of his gate, as to make the poore blind honeſt ſoule, to be a dum Miniſter. Many did not know, either that Amen, is as much as by my faith, and ſo that our Saviour Chriſt ever ſware by his faith, or that bowling and eating of the Sabboth, are of the ſame nature: that Biſhops may as lawfully make blind guydes, as David might eate of the Shew bread, or that father Thomas Tul-trimmer of Wincheſter, good old ſtudent, is a maſter of Arts of 45. yeares ſtanding. Many I ſay, were ignorant of theſe things, and many other pretty toyes, vntill you wrote this pretty booke, beſides whatſoever you overpaſſe in my writings, and did not gainſay, that I hope will be iudged to be true, and ſo Iohn a Bridges his treaſon out of the 448 page of his booke, you grant to be true. Your ſelves you deny not to be petty Popes, the Biſhop of ſir Davids in Wales, you deny not to have two wives, with an hundred other things which you doe not gainſay, ſo that the reader may judge that I am true of my word, and vſe not to lye like Biſhops, and this hath greatly commended my worſhips good dealing. But in your confutation of my book, you have ſhewed reverend Martin to be true peny indeed, for you have confirmed, rather then confuted him. So that brethren, the pleaſure which you have done vntounto me, is out of all ſcotche and notche. And ſhould not I againe be as ready to pleaſure you? Nay, then I ſhould be as vngratefull towards my good brethren (as Iohn of Cant. is to Thomas Cartwright. The which Iohn, although hee hath beene greatly favoured by the ſaid Thomas, in that Thomas hath now theſe many yeares let him alone and ſaid nothing vntounto him, for not anſwering his bookes, yet is not aſhamed to make a ſecret compariſon, betweene himſelfe and Thomas Cartwright- As who ſay, Iohn of Lambehith, were as learned as Thomas Cartwright. What ſay you old deane Iohn a Bridges, have not you ſhewed your ſelfe thankefull vntounto his Majeſtie, in overthrowing his ſupremacie in the 448 page of your book. I will lay on load on your ſkincoat for this geare anon:
And I will have my penyworths of all of your brethren ere I have done with you, for this paines which your T. C. hath taken with me. This is the Puritans craft, in procuring me to be confuted I know: Ile be even with them, to a crafty whoreſons brethren Biſhop, did you thinke, becauſe the puritans T. C. did ſet Iohn of Cant. at a nonplus, and gave him the overthrow, that therefore your T. C. alias Thomas Cooper Biſhop of Wincheſter, or Thomas Cooke his Chaplaine, could ſet me at a nonplus, ſimple fellowes, me thinkes he ſhould not.
J geſſe your T, C. to be Thomas Cooper (but I doe not peremptorily affirme it) becauſe the modeſt old ſtudent of 52. yeares ſtanding, ſetteth Wincheſter after Lincolne and Rocheſter in the contents of his booke, which blaſphemy, would not have beene tollerated by them that ſaw and allowed the booke, vnleſſe Miſtreſſe Coopers huſband had beene the author of it.
Secondly, becauſe this T. C, the author of this booke is a Biſhop, and therefore Thomas Cooper he is a Biſhop, becauſe hee reckoneth himſelfe charged amongſt others, with thoſe crimes whereof none are accuſed but Biſhops alone, pag. 101. lin. 26. Ha olde Martin, yet I ſee thou haſt it in thee, thou wilt enter into the bowels of the cauſe in hand I perceive. Nay if you will commend me, I will give you more reaſons yet. The ſtile and the phraſe is very like her huſbands, that was ſometimes wont to write vntounto Doctor Day of Welles. You ſee I can doe it indeed. Againe, none would be ſo groſhead as to gather, becauſe my reverence telleth Deane Iohn, that hee ſhall have twenty fiſts about his eares more then his owne (whereby J meant indeed, that many would write againſt him, by reaſon of his bomination learning, which otherwiſe never meant to take pen in hand) that J threatned him with blowes, and to deale by ſtafford law; whereas that was farre from my meaning, & could by no meanes be gathered out of my words, but onelyonly by him that pronounced Enlogeni for Eulogin in the pulpit, and by him whom a Papiſt made to beleeve, that the Greek word Eulogein, that is to give thankes, ſignifieth to make a croſſe in the forhead: py hy hy hy. I cannot but laugh, py hy hy hy. I cannot but laugh, to thinke that an old ſoaking ſtudent in this learned age, is not aſhamed to be ſo impudant as to preſume to deale with a Papiſt, when he hath no grue in his pocket. But I promiſe you Sir, it is no ſhame to be a L-Biſhop if a man could, though he were as vnlearned as Iohn of Gloceſter, or William of Liechfeld, And I tell you true, our brother Weſtcheſter, had as live play twenty nobles in a night, at Priemeero on the cards, as trouble himſelfe with any Pulpit labour, and yet hee thinks himſelfe to be a ſufficient Biſhop. What a Biſhop ſuch a cardplaier? A Biſhop play 20 nobles in a night? Why a round threpence ſerveth the turne to make good ſport 3 or foure nights amongſt honeſt neighbours, and take heed of it brother Weſtcheſter: it is an vnlawfull game if you will believe me. For in Winter it is no matter to take a little ſport for an odde caſt braces of twenty nobles when the weather is foule, that men cannot goe abroad to bowles, or to ſhoote? What would you have men take no recreation: Yea but it is an old ſaid ſaw, enough is as good as a feaſt, and recreations muſt not be made a trade and an occupation, ka maſter Martin Mar-prelate, Itell you true brother mine, though J have as good a gift in piſtle making, as you have at Prieme… ro, and farre more delight then you can have at your cards, for the love I beare to my brethren, yet I dare not vſe this ſport, and cards I tell you though they be without hornes, yet they are parlous beaſts, be they lawfull or vnlawfull take heed of them for all that. For you cannot vſe them but you muſt needs ſay your brother T. C. his Amen, that is, ſweare by your faith, many a time in the night, well I will never ſtand argling the matter any more with you, if you will leave your card-playing ſo it is, if you will not, truſt to it, it will bee the worſe for you.
I muſt goe ſimply and plainely to worke with my brethren, that have publiſhed T. C. Whoſoever have publiſhed that booke, they have ſo hooped the Biſhops tubs, that they have made them to ſmell farre more odious then ever they did, even in the noſtrels of all men. The booke is of 252 pages; the drift thereof is to confute certaine printed and publiſhed libels, you beſtow not full 50 pages in the anſwer of any thing that ever was publiſhed in print, the reſt are beſtowed to maintain the belly, and to confute: what thinke you? Even the ſlanderous inventions of your owne braines for the moſt part. As that it is not lawfull for his Maieſtie to allot any lands vntounto the maintenance of the Miniſter, or the Miniſter to live upon lands for this purpoſe allotted unto him, but is to content himſelfe with a ſmall penſion, and ſo ſmall, as he have nothing to leave for his wife and children after him (for whom hee is not to be carefull, but to reſt on Gods providence) and is to require no more but foode and raiment, that in poverty hee might be anſwerable vntounto our Saviour Chriſt and his Apoſtles, in the confutation of theſe points, and the Scriptures corruptly applied to prove them, there is beſtowed above 100 pages of this Booke, that is, from the 149 vntounto the end. Well T. C. whoſoever thou art, and whatſoever Martin is, neither thou, nor any man or woman in England ſhall know while you live, ſuſpect and trouble as many as you will, and therefore ſave your mony in ſceking for him, for it may be he is nearer you then you are ware of. But whoſoever thou art I ſay, thou ſheweſt thy ſelfe to be a moſt notorious wicked ſtanderer, in fathering theſe things vponupon thoſe whem they call Puritans, which never any enioying common ſenſe would affirme. And bring me him, or ſet downe his-name and his reaſons that holdeth any of the former points confuted in thy booke, and I will prove him to be vtterly bereaved of his wits, and his confuter to be either ſtarke mad; or a ſtarke enemy to all religion, yea to his Majeſtie and the ſtate, of this Kingdome, No no, T. C. Puritans hold no ſuch points, it were well for Biſhops, that their adverſaries were thus fottiſh. They might then juſtly incenſe his Maieſtie and the ſtate againſt them, if they were of this mind. Theſe objections, in the confutation whereof, thou haſt beſtowed ſo much time, are ſo farre from having any Puritan to be their author, as whoſoever teadeth the booke, were he as blockheaded as Thomas of Wincheſter himſelfe, he may eaſily know them to be obiections onelyonly invented by the author of the booke himſelfe. For although he be an impudent wretch, yet dareth hee not ſet them downe, as writings of any other, for then he would have deſcribed the author and the booke by ſome audient.
The Puritans indeed hold it vnlawfull fot a Miniſter to have ſuch temporall …newes, as whereby 10 miniſters might be well maintained, vnleſſe the ſaid revenews come vntounto him by inheritance.
They hold it alſo vnlawfull, for any ſtate to beſtowe the livings of many miniſters vponupon one alone, eſpecially when there is ſuch want of Miniſters livings.
They hold it vnlawfull for any miniſter to be Lord over his brethren, and they hold it vnlawfull for any ſtate to tolerate ſuch vnderunder their government, becauſe it is vnlawfull for ſtates, to tolerate men in thoſe places whereinto the word hath forbidden them to enter.
They affirme that our Saviour Chriſt hath forbidden all miniſters to be Lords, Luke 22.25. And the Apoſtle Peter, ſheweth them to be none of Gods Miniſters, which are Lords over Gods heritage, as you Biſhops are, and would be accounted. Theſe things T. C. you ſhould have confuted, and not troubled your ſelfe, to execute the fruites of your owne braines, as an enemy to the ſtate, And in theſe points, I doe challenge you T. C. and you Deane Iohn, and you Iohn Whitgift, and you Doctor Cooſins, and you Doctor Capcaſe (Copcoat I thinke your name be) and as many elſe, as have or dare write in the defence of the eſtabliſhed church government, if you cannot confute my former aſſertions, you doe but in vaine think to maintain your ſelves by ſlanders, in fathering vponupon the Puritans the offſprings of your own blockheads. And aſſure your ſelves, I will ſo be ſcoop, if you cānot defend your ſelves in theſe points, as all the world ſhall cry ſhame vponupon you, you thinke prettely to eſcape the point of your Antichriſtian callings, by giving out that Puritans hold it vnlawfull for his Maieſtie to leave any lands for the vſe of the miniſters maintenance, J cannot but commend you. for I promiſe you, you can ſhift of an haynous accuſation very prettily,
A true man bringeth vnanſwerable witneſſes againſt a robber by the high way ſide, and deſireth the Judge, that the law may proceed againſt him, Oh no my Lord ſaith the thiefe, in any caſe let not me be dealt with. For theſe mine accuſers have given out, that you are a drunkard or they have committed Treaſon againſt the ſtate, therefore I pray you beleeve my ſlander againſt them, that they may be executed, ſo when I come to my tryall, I ſhall be ſure to have no accuſers. A very pretty way to eſcape, if a man could tell how to bring the matter about. Now brethren Biſhops, your manner of dealing is even the very ſame. The puritans ſay truly, that all Lord Biſhops are petty Antichriſts, and therefore that the Magiſtrates ought to thruſt you out of the common-wealth. Now of all loves ſay the Biſhops, let not our places bee called in queſtion, but rather credit our ſlanders againſt the Puritans, whereby, if men would beleeve vsus when wee lye, we would beare the world in hand, that theſe our accuſers are Malecontents and ſottiſh men, holding it unlawfull for the Magiſtrate to allot any lands for the Miniſters portion, and unlawfull for the Miniſter to provide for his family. And therefore you muſt not give eare to the accuſations of any ſuch men againſt us. And ſo wee ſhall be ſure to be acquitted. But brethren doe you thinke to be thus cleared? Why the Puritans hold no ſuch points as you lay to their charge. Though they did, as they do not, yet that were no ſufficient reaſō, why you being petty Popes, ſhould be maintained in a Chriſtian common-wealth. Anſwer the reaſons that I brought againſt you otherwiſe. Come off you Biſhops, leave your thouſands, and content your ſelves with your hundreds, ſaith Iohn of London. So that you doe plainely ſee, that your Cooper T. C. is but a deceitfull workeman, and if you commit the hooping of your Biſhopricks vntounto him, they will ſo leake in a ſhort ſpace, as they ſhall be able to keep never a Lord Biſhop in them. And this may ſerve for an anſwere vntounto the latter part of your booke, by way of an Interim, vntill more worke for Cooper bee publiſhed.