The Nature and Use of Things Indifferent, Argument 18
XIIX. ARGVMENT.
Supplicat.The high Court of Parliament is bound ſpecially to open their mouth for the dumbe, to iudge righteouſly, to iudge the afflicted and the poore, to giuegive ſtrong wine to him that is ready to periſh; and not to contemne the iudgement of the meaneſt Subiect.
Ergo, They are bound ſpecially to reſtore the refractarie Miniſters.
ANSVVERE.
I.
THis Argument is parallel, Anſwere.& the very ſame with the 8. Argument before, and is there anſwered.
II.
In one word. I grant the Antecedent, and deny the Conſequence: becauſe the refractarie Miniſters are not ſuch, as are ſpecified in the Antecedent, as is often declared before.
The Defender replies. Reply.This is the Concluſion of all, which the Notarie and Anſwerer vnaptly call a distinct Argument. Neither is there any thing heere anſwered requiring replie, then hath been already made.
Reioynder.I hauehave followed the Auctor of the Supplication in numbering his Arguments, who in the beginning of this Argument or Concluſion (terme it what you will for me) pag. 28. of the Supplication, layeth downe this number [18.] and ſo goeth on with the Paragraph, as he had done in all the Arguments before, adding their proper number. And had not I reaſon to take it for a diſtinct Argument, being ſo laid downe by the Auctor? But let it be, as indeed all the reſt are no Argumēts, a goodly CONCLVSION forſooth, the Defender ſeeth nothing in the Anſwere worthy a Reply, nor I any thing in the Reply worthy a Reioynder.
AND thus hauehave I encountered with IGNORANCE it ſelfe, ioyned with extreame MALICE, paſſions wherewith the Defender ſeemeth to be notoriouſly qualified. Firſt, his IGNORANCE is palpable, in that he hath neither Arte to diſpute, nor Stile to diſcourſe, nor Iudgemēt to diſcerne ſuch matters as he handleth: al which are euidently confirmed, I. By his immethodicall and euil-featured thapſodie, being full of vaine tautologies, and farſed with much friuolous and idle talke, as it were of a diſcraſied braine, leſt his Booke (forſooth) might be termed a TRIOBOLAR PAMPHLET, or a TVVO-LEAVED LIBELL, as himſelfe ſeemeth to confeſſe (pag. 17.) II. By his ſenſeleſſe Periods, and groſſe Soleciſmes euen in the Engliſh tongue: as (pag. 38) The Auctor is able to defend his meaning, or ready to yeeld better reaſon TO THE CONTRARIE; alſo (pag. 46.) The Cauſe why wee are put out, is not FOR RESPECT of our ſelues, but FOR FEARE of ſinning against God; and (pag. 58) Except you meane NOT the cauſe of the Ministers; and (pag. 150.) Let the contrarietie of the Anſwerer, to almost IN his whole Anſwere written, be obſerued, &c. III. By his abſurd Paradoxes, which no Diuine euer maintained before him: as (pag. 34.) The Kingdome of heauen conſisteth in the ABVSE of outward things; alſo (pag. 36.) The libertie of Preaching doth NOT PROPERLY belong to the Ministerie of the Gospell; and (pag. 120.) A Miniſter out of his Miniſterie, is NO MINISTER: there are many more ſuch examples, but I labour to be ſhort.
Secondly, his MALICE is apparent in eueryevery page, yea almoſt in eueryevery line of his Defence, wherein hee ſcorneth, and reproacheth, and ſlaundereth, not only my poore ſelfe (whom he extreamely hateth for no other cauſe, but becauſe I am not of his faction) but alſo all the reuerend Prelats and Magiſtrates of this Land, yea the whole Church of God amongſt vsus, as we hauehave heard alreadie.
When I had firſt peruſed ouer this vile and diſgracefull Libell, I could but maruel at the impudencie of the Defender, that in ſo learned an age, durſt preſume to publiſh ſo fillie a worke: Whereupon I purpoſed to hauehave paſſed it ouer with ſilence, as diſdaining to accept ſo Ignorant a Man for my Antagoniſt, and to encounter with ſuch, as with an Aduerſarie, whom it were fitter to inſtruct, as a Schoole-boy. But when I had better conſidered the humor of the refractarie faction, who embrace eueryevery Sentence proceeding from their RABBINES, as an ORACLE, be it neuer ſo abſurd; and perceiued the Booke it ſelfe, to bee preiudiciall to his Maieſties auctoritie and Lawes, to the peace of GODS Church, and propagation of the Goſpell, I was perſwaded (for this once) to take a litle labour to ſhew the Defēders folly in his weaker Defence of ſo weake Arguments; which I hauehave done as briefely as I could: for why ſhould I ſpeake much of a Diſcourſe ſo little worth?
And heere I openly teſtifie, and plainely profeſſe, both vntounto the Defender, and to all others of his ſtraine; that if hereafter any of them ſhall ſet vponupon, or attempt any thing againſt any Booke or Writing of mine; if they ſhall doe it in the common Idiome of the Engliſh, I will paſſe it ouer with ſilence, and not vouchſafe them any Anſwere: and this, 1. Becauſe it is not fit and conuenient that this Controuerſie, being moued only amongſt Scholers, and no way concerning the Lay-people, ſhould be vulgarly handled, to the increaſe of factions and part-takings in the Church. 2. Becauſe that, hauing other imployments more neceſſarie for theſe times, by this meanes I ſhall be free from being troubled with the tedious prating, the clamorous and ſcornefull gybing of eueryevery DVNSE, that can but chatte Engliſh.
Wherefore I require and adiure you (my reuerend Brethren) as you tender the quietnes of the Church, yea and your owne honeſt reputation, that hereafter (if you be not yet ſatisfied) you will write in the LATINE tongue, which is the tongue of the Learned, and not in the ENGLISH, to fill the Common-peoples heads with idle and vaine queſtions: Which reaſonable requeſt, if you ſhall refuſe to yeeld vntounto, ſurely it will be thought that all you do, is but ad faciendum populum, and alſo that you are but ignorant and vnlearned men, not able to write in Latine, as indeed all the DISCIPLINARIANS in Engliſh are reported to be: I ſpeake not this of all that ſtand out for the Ceremonies, among whom there are ſome whom I reuerence for their gifts; but of the giddie Preſbyterians, ſuch as this ſimple Defender is, who could bee contented theſe twelue monethes, to ſuffer my Booke De Adiaphoris, to paſſe vnanſwered, becauſe it was written in Latine, but no ſooner came there any thing vnderunder my name in Engliſh, but preſently he ſet vponupon it, according vntounto the Prouerb, Who more bold, then blind Bayard?
The Lord heale the wounds of his Church, appeaſe this inteſtine diſſention among Brethren, and grant that wee may do all things to the glory of his holy Name.
APOCAI. 7.12.
Amen. Praiſe, and Glorie, and Wiſedom, and Thankes, and Honor, and Power, and Might, be vntounto our GOD for euermore. Amen.
FINIS.
End of the text · Gabriel Powel, The Nature and Use of Things Indifferent (1607)