Scrinia sacra; secrets of empire, in letters of illustrious persons. A supplement of the Cabala. In which business of the same quality and grandeur is contained: with many famous passages of the late reigns of K. Henry 8. Q. Elizabeth, K. James, and K. Charls.

Sir Francis Walsingham Secretary, to Monsieur Critoy Secretary of France.

SIR,

WHereas you desire to be advertised touching the proceedings here in Ecclesiastical causes, because you seem to note in them some in∣constancie and variation, as if we somtimes inclined to one side, somtimes to another, and as if that clemencie and lenity were not used of late, that was used in the beginning; all which you impute to your own superficial understanding of the affairs of this State, having notwithstanding her Majesties doing in singular reverence, as the real pledges which she hath given unto the world of her sincerity in Religion, and of her wisdom in Government well meriteth: I am glad of this occasion to impart that little I know in that matter to you, both for your own satisfaction, and to the end you may make use thereof towards any that shall not be so modestly and so reasonably minded as you are. I find therefore her Ma∣jesties proceedings to have been grounded upon two principles.

1. The one, That consciences are not to forced, but to be won and reduced by the force of truth, with the aid of time and the use of all good means of instruction and perswasion.

2. The other, That the Causes of Conscience wherein they exceed their bounds, and grow to be matter of faction, lose their nature; and that Soveraign Prince ought distinctly to punish the practice in con∣tempt, though coloured with the pretence of Conscience and Re∣ligion.

According to these principles, her Majesty at her coming to the Crown, utterly disliking the tyranny of Rome, which had used by terror and rigor to settle commandments of mens faiths and consciences, though as a Prince of great wisdom and magnanimity she suffered but the exer∣cise of one Religion, yet her proceedings towards the Papists was with great lenity, expecting the good effects which time might work in them: And therefore her Majesty revived not the Laws made in the 28. and 35. of her Fathers reign, whereby the Oath of Supremacie might have been offered at the Kings pleasure to any Subject, though he kept his consci∣ence never so modestly to himself; and the refusal to take the same oath without further circumstance was made Treason. But contrariwise her Majesty not liking to make windows into mens hearts & secret thoughts, except the abundance of them did overflow into overt and express acts or affirmations, tempered her Laws so as it restraineth every manifest disobedience in impugning and impeaching advisedly and maliciously her Majesties supreme power, maintaining and extolling a foraign jurisdi∣ction. And as for the Oath, it was altered by her Majesty into a more gratefull form, the hardness of the name and appellation of Supreme Head was removed, and the penalty of the refusal thereof turned only into disablement to take any promotion, or to exercise any charge, and yet with liberty of being reinvested therein if any man should accept thereof during his life. But after when Pius Quintus had excommuni∣cated her Majesty, and the Bulls of Excommunication were published in London, whereby her Majesty was in a sort proscribed; and that there∣upon as upon a principal motive or preparative followed the Rebellion in the North: yet because the ill humours of the Realm were by that Rebellion partly purged, and that she feared at that time no foreign in∣vasion, and much less the attempt of any within the Realm not backed by some potent succour from without, she contented herself to make a Law against that special case of bringing and publishing of any Bulls or the like Instruments, whereunto was added a prohibition upon pain not of treason, but of an inferior degree of punishment against the bringing in of Agnus Dei, hallowed bread, and such other merchandise of Rome, as are well known not to be any essential part of the Romish religion, but only to be used in practise as Love-tokens to inchant the peoples affections from their allegiance to their natural Soveraign. In all other points her Majesty continued her former lenity: but when about the 20. year of her reign she had discovered in the King of Spain an intention to invade her Dominions, and that a principal point of the plot was to prepare a party within the Realm that might adhere to the Foreigner; and that the Seminaries began to blossom and to send forth daily Priests

and professed men, who should by vow taken at Shrift reconcile her Sub∣jects from their obedience, yea & bind many of them to attempt against her Majesties sacred person; and that by the poyson which they spread, the humours of most Papists were altered, and that they were no more Papists in conscience and of softness, but Papists in faction; then were there new Laws made for the punishment of such as should submit them∣selves to such reconcilements or renunciations of obedience. And be∣cause it was a Treason carried in the clouds, and in wonderfull secresie, and came seldom to light, and that there was no presuspition thereof so great as the Recusants to come to Divine Service, because it was set down by their Decrees, that to come to Church before reconcilement was absolutely heretical and damnable: Therefore there were added Laws containing punishment pecuniary against such Recusants, not to enforce Conscience, but to enfeeble and impoverish the means of those of whom it resteth indifferent and ambiguous whether they were recon∣ciled or no. And when notwithstanding all this provision this poyson was dispersed so secretly, as that there was no means to stay it but by restraining the Merchants that brought it in; then lastly there was added another Law, whereby such seditious Priests of new erection were exiled, and those that were at that time within the Land shipped over, and so commanded to keep hence upon pain of Treason.

This hath been the proceeding, though intermingled not only with sundry examples of her Majesties grace towards such as in her wisdom she knew to be Papists in conscience, and not in faction and singularity, but also with an ordinary mitigation towards the offenders in the highest degree committed by Law, if they would but protest that in case this Realm should be invaded with a foreign Army by the Popes authority for the Catholique cause, as they term it, they would take party with her Majesty, and not adhere to her enemies. For the other part which have been offensive to this State, though in other degree, which named them∣selves Reformers, and we commonly call Puritans, this hath been the proceeding towards them a great while: When they inveighed against such abuses in the Church, as Pluralities, Non-residence, and the like; their zeal was not condemned, only their violence was sometimes cen∣sured: When they refused the use of some Ceremonies and Rites as su∣perstitious, they were tolerated with much connivencie and gentleness; yea when they called in question the Superiority of Bishops, and pre∣tended to bring a Democracie into the Church, yet their Propositions were heard, considered, and by contrary writings debated and discussed. Yet all this while it was perceived that their course was dangerous and very popular: As because Papistry was odious, therefore it was ever in

their mouths, that they sought to purge the Church from the reliques of Popery, a thing acceptable to the People, who love ever to run from one extreme to another. Because multitudes of Rogues, and Poverty were an eye-sore and dislike to every man, therefore they put it into the Peoples head, that if Discipline were plaintive, there should be no Beg∣gers nor Vagabonds; a thing very plausible. And in like manner they promise the people many other impossible wonders of their Discipline. Besides they opened the People a way to Government by their Consisto∣ry & Presbytery, a thing though in consequence no less prejudicial to the liberties of private men then to the soveraignty of Princes, yet in the first shew very popular. Nevertheless this (except it were in some few that entred into extreme contempt) was borne with, because they pretended but in dutifull manner to make Propositions, and to leave it to the Pro∣vidence of God, and the authority of the Magistrate. But now of late years, when there issued from them a Colony of those that affirmed the consent of the Magistrate was not to be attended▪ when under pretence of a Confession to avoid slanders and imputations, they combined them∣selves by Classes and Subscriptions; when they descended into that vile and base means of defacing the Government of the Church by ridiculous Pasquils; when they began to make many Subjects in doubt to take an Oath, which is one of the fundamental points of Justice in this Land and in all places; when they began both to vaunt of their strength and num∣ber of their partizans and followers, and to use the communications that their Cause would prevail, though with uprore and violence; then it appeared to be no more zeal, no more conscience, but meer faction and division: And therefore though the State were compelled to hold somwhat a harder hand to restrain them then before, yet it was with as great moderation as the peace of the Church and State could permit. And therefore to conclude, consider uprightly of these matters, and you shall see her Majesty is no Temporizer in Religion. It is not the success abroad, nor the change of servants here at home can alter her; only as the things themselves alter, so she applied her religious wisdom to cor∣respond unto them, still retaining the two rules before mentioned in dealing tenderly with consciences, and yet in discovering Faction from Conscience. Farewell.

Your loving Friend, Francis Walsingham.