99
Vestra doctrina est, nisi princeps vobis ex animo sit, quantumvis legitimus hæres sit, regno excludi, alium eligi posse. Posse dixi? immo oportere. Hæc Clementina vestra fuit. Bishop Andrews of the Papists, Tort. Tort. p. 327.
100
So p. 381, 382. "If others do but stand on their guard to keep their lives and families from the bloody rage of their enemies, seeking to put whole towns and provinces of them to the sword, against all law and reason, and to disturb the kingdoms in the minority of the right governors: or if they defend their ancient and christian liberties, covenanted and agreed on by those princes, to whom they first submitted themselves, and ever since confirmed and allowed by the kings that have succeeded: if in either of these two cases the godly require their right, and offer no wrong, impugn not their princes, but only save their own lives, you cry, Rebellious heretics, rebellious Calvinists, fury, frenzy, mutiny; and I know not what. You may pursue, depose, and murder princes, when the bishop of Rome biddeth you, and that without breach of duty, law, or conscience, to God or man, as you vaunt, though neither life nor limbs of yours be touched. We may not so much as beseech princes that we may be used like subjects, not like slaves; like men, not like beasts, that we may be convented by laws before judges, not murdered in corners by inquisitors. We may not so much as hide our heads, nor pull our necks out of the greedy jaws of that Romish wolf, but the foam of your unclean mouth is ready to call us by all the names you can devise." So far Bilson.
101
Rom. xv. 1-4.
102
Bishop Bilson ubi sup. p. 259. As bishops ought to discern which is truth before they teach; so must the people discern who teacheth right before they believe. Pag. 261, 262. Princes as well as others must yield obedience to bishops speaking the word of God; but if bishops pass their commission, and speak beside the word of God, what they list, both prince and people may despise them. See him further, p. 259-262, proving that all have a
103
Cicero saith, that every good man was in his heart, or as much as in him lay, one that killed Cæsar.
104
1 Pet. iv. 12.
105
Luke xiv. 9, 33.
106
Ungebantur reges non per dominum, sed qui cæteris crudeliores existerent, et paulo post ab unctoribus non pro veri examinatione, trucidabantar, aliis electis trucioribus. Gildas de exc. Brit.
107
Rom. xiv.; xv. 1; Gal. vi. 1-4; James iii. 15-17; Tit. iii. 2.
108
Luke xx. 18; Matt. xxi. 42, 44; Acts iv. 11; 1 Pet. ii. 7, 8; Zech. xii. 3.
109
Read the lives of all the philosophers, orators, and famous men of Greece or Rome, and try whether the christians or they were more for monarchy. Arcesilaus regum neminem magnopere coluit: quamobrem legatione ad Antigonum fungens pro patria, nihil obtinuit. Hesich. in Arces. It is one of Thales's sayings in Laert. Quid difficile? Regem vidisse tyrannum senem. Chrysippus videtur aspernator regum modice fuisse. Quod cum tam multa scripserit (libros 705.) nulli unquam regi quicquam adscripserit. Seneca saith (Traged. de Here. fur.) perilously, Victima haud ulla amplior potest, magisque opima mactari Jovi, Quam rex iniquus. Cicero pro Milon. Non se obstrinxit scelere siquis tyrannum occidat, quamvis familiarem. Et 5. Tusc. Nulla nobis cum tyrannis societas est, neque est contra naturam spoliare eum quem honestum est necare. Plura habet similia.
110
See Bilson of Subject, p. 525, 526. Proving from Chrysostom, Hilary, Origen, that pastors may use no force or terror, but only persuasion, to recover their wandering sheep. Bilson, ibid. p. 541. Parliaments have been kept by the king and his barons, the clergy wholly excluded, and yet their acts and statutes good: and when the bishops were present, their voices from the Conquest to this day were never negative. By God's law you have nothing to do with making laws for kingdoms and commonwealths: you may teach, you may not command: persuasion is your part, compulsion is the prince's, &c. Thus Bishop Bilson. So p. 358.
111
1 Pet. ii. 16; Gal. v. 13; 2 Pet. ii. 19; Gal. iv. 26; 2 Cor. iii. 17.
112
Having spoken of this controversy, in my "Life of Faith," as an easy thing, in which I thought we were really agreed, while we seemed to differ, which I called a pitiful case, some brethren (who say nothing against the truth of what I said) are offended at me as speaking too confidently, and calling that so easy which Bishop Sanderson and so many others did make a greater matter of; I retract the words, if they be unsuitable either to the matter or the readers: but as to the matter and the truth of the words, I desire the reader but to consider how easy a case Mr. P. maketh of it, Eccl. Pol. and how heinous a matter he maketh of our supposed dissent: and if after all this it shall appear, that the nonconformists do not at all differ from Hooker, Bilson, and the generality of the conformists in this point, let him that is willing to be represented as odious and intolerable to rulers and to mankind, for that in which we do not differ, proceed to backbite me for saying that it is a pitiful case; and pretending that we are agreed.
113
It is not Mr. Humphrey alone that hath written that laws bind not in conscience to obedience which are against the public good. The greatest casuists say the same, excepting the case of scandal: he that would see this in them may choose but these two special authors, Bapt. Fragos. de Regimine Reipublicæ, and Greg. Sayrus in his Clavis Regia, and in them he shall find enough more cited. Though I think some further cautions would make it more satisfactory.
114
Legum mihi placet autoritas; sed earum usus hominum nequitia depravatur: itaque piguit perdiscere, quo inhoneste uti nollem, et honeste vix possem, etsi vellem. Petrarch. in vita sua.
115
Male se rectum putat, qui regulam summæ rectitudinis ignorat. Ambros. de Offic.
116
It was an ill time when Petr. Bless. said, "Officium officialium est hodie jura confundere, lites suscitare, transactiones rescindere, dilationes innectere, supprimere veritatem, fovere mendacium, quæstum sequi, æquitatem vendere, inhiare actionibus, versutias concinnare."
117
Bias fertur in causis orandis summus atque vehementissimus fuisse, bonam tamen in partem dicendi vim exercere solitum. Laert. p. 53. Justum est homines justitiam diligere; non autem justitiam propter homines postponere. Gregor. Reg. Justitia non novit patrem, vel matrem; veritatem novit; personam non novit; Deum imitatur. – Cassian. Plutarch saith, that Callicratidas being offered a great sum of money (of which he had great need to pay his seamen) if he would do an unjust act, refused: to whom saith Cleander his counsellor, "Ego profecto hæc accepissem, si fuissem Callicratidas." He answered, "Ego accepissem, si fuissem Cleander."
118
Facile est justitiam homini justissimo.
119
Vix potest negligere, qui novit æquitatem: nec facile erroris vitio fordescit, quem doctrina purgaverit. Cassiodor.
120
Chilon in Laert. p. 43. (mihi) saith, Sibi non esse conscium in tota vita ingratitudinis: una tamen re se modice moveri, quod cum semel inter amicos illi judicandum esset, neque contra jus agere aliquid vellet, persuaserit amico judicium a se provocaret, ut si nimirum utrumque et legem et amicum servaret. This was his injustice of which he repented.
121
As overvaluing men's own understandings in religion, is the ruin of souls and churches; so overvaluing men's raw, unexperienced apprehensions in physic costeth multitudes their lives. I know not whether a few able, judicious, experienced physicians cure more or the rest kill more.
122
Many of the greatest divines have given God great thanks for their schoolmasters, and left their names on record with honour, as Calvin did by Corderius, Beza by Melchior Volmarius, &c.
123
Neander in Chron. p. 104.
124
And though I ignore not that it is a much more fashionable and celebrated practice in young gentlemen to kill men, than to cure them; and that mistaken mortals think it to be the noblest exercise of virtue, to destroy the noblest workmanship of nature, (and indeed in some few cases, the requisiteness and danger of destructive valour, may make its actions become a virtuous patriot,) yet when I