The countermine, or, A short but true discovery of the dangerous principles and secret practices of the dissenting party, especially the Presbyterians shewing that religion is pretended but rebellion is intended : and in order thereto, the foundation of monarchy in the state and episcopacy in the church are undermined / by one who does passionately wish the prosperity of the Church, his King and country.

CHAP. II. Of the Policy of the Enemies of the Church and State, to amuse us with the old Stratagem of Fears and Jealousies of the danger of Popery. Hereby they in∣gratiate themselves with the Common People. The improbability that the Romish Perswasion and Government should ever be established again in these Nations: if it has of late increased amongst us, we are obliged for it to Dis∣senters, who have made those breaches by which those Enemies enter. By these Fears and Jealousies, which they sow in the minds of the People, they endea∣vour to make them hate the present Go∣vernment and Governours, both in Church and State, perswading them they are Popishly inclined and Anti∣christian, and thus secretly undermine the foundation of Monarchy and Epis∣copacy.

IT is no uncommon Stratagem in War, to make false Assaults against a be∣sieged Place, thereby to call away the

perplexed Defendants from that place where the Storm is intended in good ear∣nest. It were well if this were not our case: and truly the present face and po∣sture of our Affairs does not look much unlike it; for though there seems to be the greatest distance betwixt Rome and Geneva, yet herein they both agree, that they are our common Enemies: and whilst the bolder Roman openly threa∣tens us with an Assault, the crafty Pres∣byterian, with his Confederate Separa∣tists, are busie at the Mine; and I be∣lieve it is not my single Opinion, That more places, otherways impregnable, have submitted to the Will of the Con∣querour by that Artifice, than by the open fury of the Cannon. And so dan∣gerous is the practice of that invention in a Politick sense, that how contemptible soever an Enemy may appear, if in that Design they make an undiscovered pro∣gress, there will never want some despe∣rate Faux's to spring their Mines; which if they succeed, will blow up all from the very Foundations, and bury the best built Government in the World in its own Ashes and Ruines.

I have read of a City whose Walls were overthrown, without any other Enemies or Engines, than the under∣mining Moles. Whether true or fabu∣lous, it matters not: sure I am if it be meerly a Fable, the Moral may not be unuseful to us; and though the Com∣parison may be odious, yet it is but too agreeable to a sort of men, whose rest∣less and mischievous Tempers and Opi∣nions hurry them blindly on, to the ac∣complishment of their ill Designs, by secret and underhand Practices, so long as they are out of hopes to effect them by open Force and Violence.

BUT they must know they are not so secret or secure as they imagine; and there are a great many amongst them∣selves, who contribute not a little to our assistance in Countermining of them: And if I might advise them, they should not only be extreamly cautelous how they intrust one another with the GRAND DESIGN and SECRET, but even how they trust themselves: for Treachery and Baseness are so natural to them, that they cannot forbear be∣traying themselves; and let them Swear

or Forswear, Protest and Verily as often as they please, yet at one time or another their speeches will discover them to be Galileans: and I fear, just such as he was before he obeyed the summons of the Cock, to go out and weep bitterly, which they have likewise need to do.

ONE of the greatest Arts, by which they secure themselves, whilst they a∣muse us, is to perswade the world of a strange growth and encrease of Popery amongst us; and that they are the only persons who stand in the Breach; and by their Long Prayers, by their sound and Evangelical Doctrine, give a check to that threatning Deluge and Inundation. This does extremely ingratiate them with the Common People, to whom the Name of Popery is far more terrible than that of Mahumetanism: and to make these Fears and Jealousies appear something more probable, and not only conjectural, they do not scruple the lowdest Calumnies, and plainly enough to intimate, that all things are in the greatest forwardness to entertain this dreadful Revolution. All the eminent Prelates and Doctors of the Church, being as they affirm, favou∣rably

inclined to that Faith; and some of them already suspected to be secretly of that Perswasion. All our Prayers, Cere∣monies, Altars, Bowings, Vestments, and the other Decencies of Religious Wor∣ship, are already Popish and Antichristi∣an: and hereby they do not only establish these Fears and Jealousies, the Prologues to greater Mischiefs; but render all the Publick Service of God suspected, if not odious amongst the Populace.

AND I doubt not, but if a late Act of Parliament against Treasonable Lan∣guage, and some little Love they have for their Lives and Estates, did not re∣press their Insolence, they would fix their Calumnies and Slanders upon the Per∣sons of the highest Character in the Na∣tion: And it is neither Duty nor Allegi∣ance nor Modesty, but fear and self-love which does prohibit them from proceed∣ing so high.

NOW to my apprehension there is nothing does more plainly manifest the Vanity of these Fears and Jealousies (and that they have another Design in disper∣sing them abroad) than the use which they constantly employ them in. And that is this:

THEY find by certain Experience, that to accuse any Persons, or any parts of our Worship of Superstition or Pope∣ry, is an Expedient that never yet fail'd to render them contemptible and hated to the Multitude: which is a clear De∣monstration that the Universal Genius of these Nations is an Enemy to that Per∣swasion. Nor will the Romish Religion ever recover any tolerable credit, so long as the Cruelties of Queen Mary's Reign, the Spanish Invasion in Eighty Eight, and those threatned Inhumanities, the Powder-Treason, the Inquisition, or the late horrid Rebellion and Massacre in Ire∣land, which influenced that in England, are either remembred or feared. All which makes it strongly improbable, That any Prince or Government, either in Church or State, (who must of neces∣sity consult their own interest in the quiet and welfare of their People) should at∣tempt to introduce that Religion, to which the People their Subjects, of all Degrees and Conditions, discover such a general aversion, and universal detesta∣tion; and which therefore must create infinite troubles and most desperate In∣conveniences.

AND if it be well considered, we shall find that the Jesuites, and all the Ro∣mish Factors have not been able for this last Century, so effectually to serve the interest of their own Affairs, as these Persons have done; and if the Papists have made many or considerable Proselytes, possibly they owe them to those Divisions which these men have made in our Church, and not to any strength of Arguments they are able to produce, to con∣vince them of any Errouts either in our Doctrine or Discipline. And though he must be a great Stranger in the Romish Transactions, who is ignorant how great Dissentions, Heats, and Animosities are amongst the Religious of their several Orders; and how great differences even about their main Question of Transub∣stantiation, there are amongst their Do∣ctors; nay how great Dissentions have been amongst the Popes themselves, not∣withstanding their pretended Infallibili∣ty: yet the great Motive they make use of to induce any person to return to the

Faith and Obedience of the Church of Rome, is the strange Discords and Divi∣sions which are amongst us, and the great Unity which is (as they falsly boast) only to be found amongst them; which Unity they urge as an infallible Mark of the true Church.

BUT as I believe the Presbyterian, or any other Dissenter, has no real Design or Intention to oblige the Church of Rome, though there is no doubt to be made, but that by their Divisions they do extremely advance the Roman Interest and Affairs; so I am satisfied that their aim is only to amuse us, and please the People, till such time as they have made their Party strong enough against the Church of England, of which they are in reality more afraid, than they are ei∣ther of the Pope or Turk, and could they but once come to be uppermost, and have the power of the Sword, they would be so far from being afraid of St. Peter's double Dagger, that if the Pope did not civilly leave them to the management of their own Affairs, they would hazard to make the triple Diadem shake; and I know they have strong hopes to destroy

the Kingdom of Antichrist, which when they had finished at home, they might have a temptation, having an easier pas∣sage through the Streights, than Hanni∣bal had over the Alps, to invade Peter's Patrimony, and burn the great Whore of Babylon with fire, and fulfil all the Prophecies in the Revelations, without the assistance of Kings, though there 'tis said that they shall do it.

NOW if any persons will be so ad∣venturous to follow me, I will endea∣vour to lead them through their subterra∣nean▪ Passages, and shew their Contri∣vances, and their secret Mines and Ma∣gazines of that white Powder, which though it makes no noise, yet is not a whit less dangerous than that for which we celebrate the fifth day of November; and which will at one blow overturn all▪ Root and Branch of Liturgy, Episcopacy, Monarchy, and Liberty.

Notes

• S. Peter. Mat. 26.75.
• Hinc spar∣gere voces In vulgum ambiguas; & quaerere conscius arma.
• Some persons are strange∣ly mistaken, if the Con∣cilium de propaganda fide at Rome has not been very helpful in set∣ting those Divisions a∣mongst us; for they know well enough what that means, Divide & Impe∣ra, which employment these Dissenters take out of their hands, as being the greater Artists in this Mystery of Iniquity.