The character of a right malignant.:

THE CHARACTER OF A RIGHT MALIGNANT.

HEE is one that professes love to the Protestant Religion; but hatred to all that Party through Europe, which maintaine it. He confesses that the Irish Re∣bels were too blame for massa∣cring 200000. Protestants: yet he cannot chuse but wish them good successe against all that oppose them, especially against the Scots. Indeed that is the Nation, which, of all other, he most hates, ever since they entred into Covenant with Eng∣land for maintaining and settting right the Reli∣gion, Laws, and Liberties of both Kingdomes.

The Spaniard hee loves better then Englishmen heretofore used to doe, by reason of some hopes that hee has of their doing good in Ireland, and is much reconciled to the French, because he thinks they will invade England. The Netherlanders out old friends and confederates, he would extreme∣ly hate, but only that he thinks there is a faction among them, which are not very right to Eng∣land. He protests openly that he much condemns those Lords and Commons who betraied their trust, and left the Parliament, because else he thinks this sad War had not beene: but yet he hates all those Lords and Commons, who continue here at Westminster, only for doing that which he con∣demns the other for not doing: and now he ho∣nours those, whom he confesses to be the causes of the Warre; and railes dayly against the other side, because there is no Peace. Those, that say he hates a Parliament, doe him great wrong; for he sayes he loves a right Parliament, which is such an one as claimes no power at all; but is a thing of bare advice, and l••sse jurisdiction then any infe∣riour Court of judicature in England. He loves his freedome, and would be loath to be a slave; but he verily beleeves that the King may lawfully take a∣way whatsoever he hath, and dispose of all mens

fortunes and persons at his pleasure. Hee does not think that the King of England is as absolute a Monarch as any in the world: but he thinks that the King may doe what he will; and that nei∣ther a Parliament, nor any humane power may resist him in it. These are his hourely disputes, and yet sometimes he will not understand them to be his own tenets: but for all this his Majesty is not much beholding to him, for he swears that if he thought the King would do any thing against our Religion, Lawes and Liberties, hee would himselfe (though a Parliament may not doe it) beare Armes against him, and verily beleeves that those Lords & Gentlemen, that now fight against the Parliament, would do the same; as if he thoght it more derogatory, or lesse safe for his Majesty to bee fairly kept in the right way by a lawfull con∣vention of the Estates in Parliament, whose advice he ought to follow, then to be afterwards enforced to it by such arms, as no man will doubt to call re∣bellious; or as if it were not more lawfull for the Parlia. to stand now in the gap against the procee∣dings of the Kings evill counsellors whilst there is such a gap legally and fairly open, then for private persons to force open such a gap herafter by rebel∣lious

Armes. Hee acknowledges that Queene Elizabeth was a glorious Prince; but of all her actions, hee remembers none so well as that, when shee seized Wentworth in the Parliament House, and committed him to prison. He loves those Members of the House which are now gone away from it; and among others, those who at first stood fiercely for the Commonwealth, and were since taken off by honours, and preferments from the King. But those which have still conti∣nued constant to their first positions he disparages and sayes it was, because the King would not take them off by such honours and preferments; and that which they did, was done upon such hopes: so that he honours those which have apparently been corrupted to forsake the Parliament, and condemns those which have not done it, because he thinkes they would have done it; and has no reason to thinke so but by seeing the quite con∣trary: It appears therefore that hee accounts de∣serting the Parliament upon such ends to bee a fault: for else he would not charge it by his con∣jecture upon those men here, whom by that conje∣cture he labours to disparage; and yet loves that

fault in the others: when hee wants actions to condemne the Parliament side for, he does it up∣on his owne suppositions. He calls those Hypo∣crites, who lead a godly life: and though he thinks it a great uncharitablenesse in those godly men to censure him for living loosely; hee thinkes it no uncharity in himselfe to censure them for profes∣sing godlinesse: he pryes narrowly to finde faults on th•• side, and publishes them with great eager∣nesse: but when hee findes vertuous actions in∣stead of faults, hee sayes they were done for sini∣ster ends. When Generall Lesley was likely to take Newcastle, he was every where prophesying what cruelty the Scots would use in pillaging the Towne: but when it was apparent what extraor∣dinary humanity the Scots shewed there, though it had cost them a sharpe assault to winne, he said they did it for subtle ends, though he could name none, being equally unjust in his first false suppo∣sition, as in his last false aspersion upon a good action; it being as impossible that any good deed on this side should gaine his applause, as that any bad one at the other side should incurre his cen∣sure. There are some sinnes, which he acknow∣ledges

to bee very usuall at the other side, and thinks nothing of it: and yet the same sinnes, when he findes them committed at this side, hee mightily condemnes and jeers; which is a tacite acknowledgement that the profession of this side is more vertuous, and vice more repugnant to it then to the other: there is no vice can make him out of love with that side, which he now adheres to, though in other things he shews little constan∣cy, for there are no positions held by the Parlia∣side, which he now so much contradicts, as those which himselfe held foure yeares ago: nor no great persons in State, whom hee then hated, as supposing them evill instruments in the government, whom hee does not now ap∣plaud, though they continue the same men. But would you see more of his constancy? The barbarous cruelty of the Irish Rebels he detested much about November was three yeares, but within a yeare after hee became much reconciled to them, and did not only spare to condemn them himselfe, but accounted it a great cruelty and un∣charitablenesse in the Protestants here to bee so bitter against them: but about a yeare after that,

they became friends, and those Rebels and he both of a side: neither in reason, for favouring of those Irish, can he be thought loyall to His Majesty. For seeing it must needs be granted the King had the greatest losse of al men, when so many of his own subjects and of his owne Religion were cruelly butchered: those that took, and still take the Kings losse most to heart, are the truest and most loyall subjects to him, and therefore the Parliament, who are still enemies to those Rebels, and desirous to revenge their brethrens blood (which undoubted∣ly cryes aloud to God) must be better Protestants and truer Subjects then those that joyn with them, and fight or wish at the same side. The Paradoxes which he holds are very strange; as namely, that those Armies which fight against the Parliament, fight for the Protestant Religion; and yet that no Papists domesticke or forreine but have reason to adhere to that side, rather then to the other. That a Parliament would destroy the liberties and privi∣ledges of it selfe, with other paradoxes of the same kinde, of which nothing can so well enforme you as his owne discourses: for unlesse you take them from himself, they are too strange for another man to beleeve, much more to invent.

FINIS.