Brief Account of One Suggestion of the Romanist, Chapter 5 · Section 1
SECT. I.
S. W's Reflexion on his fourteen Grounds. The whole matter devolved to this test, the truth or falshood of these grounds; A Recapitulation of the returns made to them, and a brief view of the state of our Controversie. The method of the remaining Strictures, and the motives to it.
1. HAving laid down these his (no lesse than) fourteen Grounds, and thereby, as he thinks, given his Reader a competent number of praejudices to our cause, and instilled seeds of praegnant kindnesse to his, he yet contents not himself, without assuring him again at parting, that these Grounds will themselves lay open the whole case clearly to the ordinary Readers, and inform the more prudent ones, that nothing is or can be said by D. H. of a force and clearnesse comparable to that of their possession, and that of Oral Tradition, which they ever claimed for their tenour, from which also we disclaimed, when we reformed in this point of the Popes Supremacy, so that little more remains to be performed by S. W. but to manifest the Doctors shallow weaknesses and trivial impertinencies—]
2. With this resolution of his I shall not refuse so farre to comply, as to acknowledge, that if his Grounds had approved themselves as they promised, demonstrative, the consequence would have been as he praetends, and all farther Replies or Discoveries have proved superfluous; For if Possession, and Oral Tradition be such irrefragable tenures, and both of them be proved or granted to be on the Romanists side, our denying the Popes Supremacy, and so the Extinguishing Act, must needs be acknowledged, in Clements style, not only foreign, but foreign and foreign, more than Schisme, even sedition and rebellion it selfe, the casting our Soveraign, the Pope, out of his Dominions.
3. To this therefore, as to the grand issue, I acknowledge the matter to be duely brought by S. W. and consequently am obliged to stand to the triall on these terms of the quaestion thus stated; And if they can so manage their argument fetch'd from Oral Tradition, as thereby to demonstrate the Popes continual possession in the supreme universal Pastorship by succession from St. Peter, and so derivation from Christ, I am humble enough to confesse, and impartial enough no pronounce, that our cause is finally lost; But if in this praetended Demonstration S. W. hath miscarryed, and failed to perform in the least degree, what in the highest he promised, and if in this my Reply to his fourteen Grounds (wherein the very quintessence of his cause is by his own confession comprised, and by his own Limbek extracted) it hath competently appeared that he hath thus miscarried, the united force of both his admired mediums, Possession, and Tradition Reversed, amounting to little more, than their present Churches assuming, without proof it is so, and S. W's assuming (on no other proof, but their so teaching) that it must be so, and cannot possibly be otherwise; If over and above, it have in passing, been cleared in the first times, that the praetended universal Pastorship was not so much as praetended to by any Pope, nor by any the first General Councels allowed, nay denyed, and so, under characters of the greatest detestation, disowned personally, by Popes, both for themselves and all others; If yet farther it hath been competently testified that their possession in England was never admitted under that title, which alone S. W's Doctrine, and interest exacts, but at the utmost on such claims, as the Kings of England might as well exclude as admit; And if after all this, it were still the Pope that first cast off the King by his severe censures, and praecipitated, inexorable Bull, and so made it impossible, that the King should be guilty of this sin of breaking communion, or separation; (to all which I shall be allowed to hope, that the Testimonies are praegnant, and though, from necessity of the matter, wordish in S. W's style, yet withall neither dead nor mute) There will then be little colour of praetense for the charge of Schisme against us, and not much more for the appendant, but slighter suggestion, that either King Henries lust (as S. W. hath it) or his sacrilege and covetousnesse, (as others more colourably) began our Reformation, since the Pope, that dispensed with him to marry his Brothers wife (against the expresse command of God)*Lev. XVIII. 16. repeated to the Jewes, but first given to all the sonnes of Adam and Noah) and with Cardinal Wolsey, to pull down the lesser Monasteries, was first, if not principally (and so more) chargeable with it. And if our God of purest eyes, who hateth and punisheth all these sins, hath also by his over-ruling hand made use of them to chastise the provocations of the Church, and to introduce that more pure unmix'd profession of truth, which had long been incumbred, and defaced under some rubbish, we may adore his justice, and wisdome, and goodnesse also, and not allow our selves to divert from so necessary a duty, and take up aeternal complaints, and disputes, instead of it.
4. It is certain the practice of all known duties, and the ministring to the Church of God in those things, wherein the inward beauty of Religion consists, particularly the foreign and foreign, as the Apostle styles it aemulation and ambition, and eager constant pursuing of an universal peace and charity among Christians is a much more decent imployment for the greatest wits, or most dignified Praelates, than an insatiate contention for power, or grandeur, and our Saviours example and Doctrine have establish'd it beyond objection, that he that will the first of all, must not only in an affected title, but in reality be the servant of all.
5. Meanwhile on these praemisses, more largely deduced in these forego…ng debates, and now thus briefly recapitulated, I shall not ask his leave to conclude and assume, that the Defense of our Church in point of Schisme (which was the Original ingagement) remains wholly unmoved, and undisturbed by his renewed attempts, and having so farre acquitted our selves, as to all, that our persecuted Mother is concerned in, I shall professe to have so little sollicitude for my self, or respect to S. W's slanders and contumelies, and captious returns, which he here calls manifestations of my shallow weaknesses, and trivial impertinencies, but in his Index hath set out in the louder styles of Absurdities, Abuses, Blasphemies, Cavils, Contradictions, False dealings, Ignorances, Omissions of necessary duty, Bringing Testimonies for, that are against, &c. (All which summed up by him are but so many hundreds of Essayes of his Chymical faculty in extracting streams, if not Oceans out of Pumice stones) as not to account it my interest to lavish and mispend my own, and the Readers hours and patience, in surveighing all his subtilties of this kinde.
6. It is to be expected that they that are not able to support their cause, will adorn it, as well as they can, if it be but with the names, or pictures of their praetended Captives, and having avowed their obligation to defame their adversary, proceed to do it as dexterously and undiscernibly, and to that end as confidently, and triumphantly, as they are able; and herein I acknowledge S. W. hath acquitted himself to be a great Master of his Art, having on the one first part of my Replies to the Cath. Gent. and the Disarmer (beyond which he hath not proceeded) represented such an Army of conquer'd, a Catologue of scattered forces, that to vindicate them from his aspersions, and misrepresentations, and shew him or others, that it was but his dream, wherein they were routed, and from whence their supposed names and misfortunes were transcribed and ingrossed in his Inventory, would require many more sheets, than he hath spent in his Dispatcher (which being added to the large but necessary examination of his grounds, would advance to an enormous bulk) the discovering of frauds and injustices being a work of much more time, than the contriving them, unlesse the injured person satisfie himself with that part of the Gospel method, of foreign, leaving his innocence to be approved to God and man by its own lustre, and referring it to every mans eyes whether S. W. be as terrible, or the Doctor as deformed, as he is painted.
7 In this I shall have the lesse reason to be sollicitous, having in the first Chapter given (on purpose to gain liberty to spare the like afterward) a competent number of foreign, what trust or heed is due to this Accuser, nor indeed can I imagine that 'tis expected by any, that I should still give the Reader and my self the same exercise, or vary it so impertinently, as to pursue or trace his steps through all his several following Sections, either in things which are now by degrees so farre removed, as to be wholly extrinsecal to the main quaestion, or which belonging to it, own their certain dependence on the Grounds, which we have thus largely and particularly refuted, or which are sufficiently cleared, already in the former answers, for that were actum agere, to recite what hath already been said, and 'tis more for the Readers ease as well as mine, that he review or remember what he hath formerly read, than that he be sated with repetitions.
8. I shall now more cursorily surveigh some part at least of the remainder of his Reply, not giving it that measure of consideration, which his Grounds have been allowed; And should I attend him but to the end of his first part, I should therein imitate him, who hath satisfied himself with the first of the three parts of mine, leaving the farre greater untouch'd. But if leisure from more important businesse permit, I may probably enough, whilest these sheets seek their passage into the light, proceed to that which follows also, so farre as to tire both my self, and the Reader, if it be but to give him a fuller view of S. W's dealings (scarce to be parallel'd by any other) some more of the lineaments of a new-fashion'd Controvertist, which being done I shall willingly, if there be ought behinde, leave it to do its utmost being secure that they which are willing not to be deceived, will compare, before they judge, and not think the worse of David, that Goliah revileth him, nor of this cause, that there is a Chancery bill, a bedroll of boasts or cavils brought in against it, never an one of which to him that hath leasure and candor to compare and examine, will be found to have the least solidity, in it.