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The Caluinisticall preacher, when hee hath gotten his honest abused and misguided flocke about him,1 will cry out against mee for this Popish collection, and call God and them to witnesse, that he doth daily in his Sermons exhort men to good workes, and to obedi∣ence to the Kings MAIESTIE: and am not I and my brethren
(sayeth he) as2 honest and as ciuill men as any Papist of them all? for mine owne part3 I will not accuse any Caluinist though I could, neither can I excuse all Papists though I would: Iliacos inter mu∣ros peccatur & extra: But I must neuer forget that most true and wise obseruation, which the noble and learned4 Sir Francis Bacon maketh in one of his first Essayes, viz. [that all5 Schismatikes vtterly failing in the precepts of the first Table, concerning the Religion and worship of God, haue necessitie in policie to make a good shew of the second Table, by their ciuill and demure conuersation toward men: for otherwise they should at the first appeare to bee, as afterwards they shew themselues to be, altogether out of their ten Commande∣ments: and so men would bee as much ashamed to follow them at the first, as they are at the last.] It is a sure rule of policie, that in euery mutation of State, the authors of the change will for a while shew themselues honest, rather of spite then of conscience, that they may disgrace those whome they haue suppressed: but it doth neuer hold in the6 next generation. You scarce heare of a Puritan father, but his sonne7 proues either a8 Catholke, or an Atheist. Muti∣nous souldiers whiles the enemy is in the field will bee orderly, not for loue of their general; but for feare of their enemy: but if they be not held in the ancient discipline of warres, they will vpon the least truce or cessation quickly shew themselues.
By this it ap∣peares you inten∣ded the publi∣shing of your letter at the wri∣ting of it.
M. Doctour himselfe in the 8. Section of his 1. Chapter. confes∣seth, that hee knoweth diuers very honest men of these Prea∣chers.
Hauing made them before the Seeds-men of Se∣dition, and Au∣thours of all er∣rour in doctrine, and corruption in manners, it is then good time of day to tell vs you will not ac∣cuse them.
Sir Francis Bacon is more be∣holding to you for quoting his Essayes, then S. Matth▪ for al∣ledging his Gos∣pel, or S. Paul for his Epistles: but I am sure he is too noble a Gentleman, to hold it any com∣mendation to be quoted or commended by such as your selfe.
If they vtterly faile in the Precepts of the first Table, they may well be called Heretikes, rather then Schismatikes.
Since the first reformation, aboue a generation hath passed, and yet by your owne acknowledgement there remaine diuers very honest men euen among those whome you labour most to disgrace.
In your construction a Puritan and a Calui∣nist are reciprocall▪ and you make all the reformed Netherlanders, the Heluetians, the French, and the greatest part of the English to be Caluinists: so that the greatest part of all their sonnes must proue Papists or Athe∣ists, or else your obseruation failes.
Reformers you tell ••s before commonly degenerate in the next generation, and here you shew vs, how by turning Papists or Atheists, as if Papi••me, and Atheisme were so neere of kinne, or ••o resembling in condition, that the one might easily be mistaken, for the other; or th•• one prepared away to the other.