The works of Francis Bacon, lord chancellor of England.

OF CHURCH CONTROVERSIES. 417
possess rich benefices; and some invectives against I consider seriously and attentively, how near they
the idle and monastical continuance within the are unto them, with whom, I know, they will not
universities, by those who had livings to be resi- join. It is very hard to affirrn, that the discipline,
dent upon; and such like abuses. Thence they which they say we want, is one of the essential
went on to condemn the government of bishops as parts of the worship of God; and not to affirm
a hierarchy remaining to us of the corruptions withal, that the people themselves, upon peril of
of the Roman church, and to except to sundry in- salvation, without staying for the magistrate, are
stitutions in the church, as not sufficiently de- to gather themselves into it. I demand, if a civil
livered from the pollutions of former times. And, state receive the preaching of the word and
lastly, they are advanced to define of an only and baptism, and interdict and exclude the sacrament
perpetual form of policy in the church; which, of the Lord's Supper, were not men bound upon
without consideration of possibility, and foresight danger of their souls to draw themselves to conof peril, and perturbation of the church and state, gregations, wherein they might celebrate this
must be erected and planted by the magistrate. mystery, and not to content themselves with that
Here they stay. Others, not able to keep foot- part of God's worship which the magistrate had
ing in so steep ground, descend farther; That the authorized t This I speak, not to draw them into
same must be entered into and accepted of the the mislike of others, but into a more deep conpeople, at their peril, without the attending of the sideration of themselves:, Fortasse non redeunt
establishment of authority. And so in the mean quia suum progressum non intelligunt."
time they refuse to communicate with us, reput- Again, to my lords the bishops I say, that it is
ing us to have no church. This has been the pro- hard for them to avoid blame, in the opinion of an
gression of that side: I mean of the generality. indifferent person, in standing so precisely upon
For, I know, some persons being of the nature, altering nothing; ",leges, novis legibus non renot only to love extremities, but also to fall to creatoe, acescunt;" laws, not refreshed with new
them without degrees, were at the highest strain laws, wax sour. "6 Qui mala non permutat, in
at the first. bonis non perseverat;" without change of ill, a
The other part, which maintaineth the present man cannot continue the good. To take away
government of the church, hath not kept one tenor many abuses, supplanteth not good orders, but
neither. First, those ceremonies which were pre- establisheth them. "' Morosa moris retentio, res
tended to be corrupt, they maintained to be things turbulenta est, nque ac novitas;" a contentious
indifferent, and opposed the examples of the good retaining of custom is a turbulent thing, as well
times of the church to that challenge which was as innovation. A good husband is ever pruning
made unto them, because they were used in the in his vineyard or his field; not unseasonably,
later superstitious times. Then were they also indeed, not unskilfully, but lightly; he findeth
content mildly to acknowledge many imperfec- ever somewhat to do. We have heard of no offers
tions in the church: as tares come up amongst of the bishops of bills in parliament; which, no
the corn: which yet, according to the wisdom doubt, proceeding from them to whom it properly
taught by our Saviour, were not with strife to be belongeth, would have everywhere received acpulled up, lest it might spoil and supplant the ceptation. Their own constitutions and orders
good corn, but to grow on together till the harvest. have reformed them little. Is nothing amiss!
After, they grew to a more absolute defence and C(an any man defend the use of excommunication
maintenance of all the orders of the church, and as a base process to lackey up and down for duties
stiffly to hold, that nothing was to be innovated; and fees; it being a precursory judgment of the
partly because it needed not, partly because it latter dayt.
would make a breach upon the rest. Hence, ex- Is there no mean to train and nurse up minisasperated through contentions, they are fallen to a ters, for the yield of the universities will not serve,
direct condemnation of the contrary part, as of a though they were never so well governed; to
sect. Yea, and some indiscreet persons have been train them, I say, not to preach, for that every
bold in open preaching to use dishonourable and nman confidently adventureth to do, but to preach
derogatory speech and censure of the churches soundly, and to handle the Scriptures with wisabroad; and that so far, as some of our men, as I dom and judgment 1 I know prophesying was
have heard, ordained in foreign parts, have been subject to great abuse, and would be more abused
pronounced to be no lawful ministers. Thus we see now; because heat of contentions is increased:
thebeginnings-were mnodest, but the extremes are but I say the only reason of the abuse was, beviolent; so as there is almost as great a distance cause there was admitted to it a popular auditory;
now of either side from itself, as was at the first of and it was not contained within a private conferone from the other. And, surely, though my mean- ence of ministers. Other things might be spoken
ing and scope be not, as I said before, to enter into of. I pray God to inspire the bishops with a ferthe controversies themselves, yet I do admonish the vent love and care of the people; and that they
maintainers of the alone discipline, to weigh and may not so much urge things in controversy, as
VOL. II. -53