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SELDEN'S TABLE-TALK
" There is more weighty bullion fenfe in this book, than I ever found in the fame number of pages of any uninfpired writer."
Coleridge.
Mytens Pinrit .
lUman Sad/i'
JOH^ SEILDEK,
irc.c\ -urivxcs xrjv i~^iv6zc\.jy
HE TABLE-TALK
OF JOHN SELDEN ESQ,
WITH A BIOGRAPHICAL PREFACE AND NOTES BY S. W. SINGER ESQ^
LONDON
WILLIAM PICKERING
1847 l\0^^
Biographical Preface.
OTHING can be more inter- efting than this little book^ containing a lively pidlure of the opinions and converfation of one of the moft eminent fcholars and moft diftinguifhed patriots England has produced ; living at a period the moft eventful of our hiftory. There are few volumes of its fize fo pregnant with fenfe, combined with the moft profound learning ; it is impoftible to open it with- out finding fome important fa6t or dif- cuflion, fomething pradtically ufeful and applicable to the bufinefs of life. It may be faid of it, as of that exquifite little manual, Bacon's Eftays, " after the twen-
Biographical Preface.
tieth perufal one feldom fails to remark in it fomething overlooked before."
Such were my feelings and expreffions eight and twenty years fmce, in giving to the world an edition of Selden's Table Talk, which has long been numbered in the lift of fcarce books, and that opinion time has fully confirmed. It was with infinite fatisfadlion therefore I found that one whofe opinion may be fafely taken as the higheft authority, had as fully appre- ciated its worth. Coleridge thus empha- tically exprefies himfelf : '' There is more weighty bullion fenfe in this book, than I ever found in the fame number of pages of any uninfpired writer." And in a note on the article Parliament, he writes : *^ Ex- cellent ! O ! to have been with Selden over his glafs of wine, making every ac- cident, an outlet and a vehicle of wif- dom." *
Its merits had not efcaped the notice of Johnfon, though in politics oppofed to much that it inculcates, for in reply to an
* Coleridge's Literary Remains, vol. ii. pp. 361-2.
Biographical Preface.
Vll
obfervation of Bofwell, in praife of the French Ana, he faid : " A few of them are ^ood, but we have one book of that kind better than any of them — Selden's Table-talk." *
The colledlor and recorder of thefe Aurea Di£fa, the Reverend Richard Mil- ward, was for many years Selden's Aman- uenfis ; he had graduated at Trinity College, Cambridge, and fubfequently became Re6lor of Little Braxted, in Ef- fex, upon the prefentation of its then patron, the Earl of Pembroke. He was alfo inftalled a Canon of Windfor, in 1666, and died in 1680.
From the dedication to Selden's Ex- ecutors, it will be obvious that Milward intended it for publication, but it did not iflue from the prefs until nine years after his death. Among the Harleian MSS. in the Britifh Mufeum (13 15. pi. 42. 6.) is a written copy of this work, on which is the following note by Lord Oxford :
* Bofwell's Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides, p. 321.
Biographical Preface.
"This book was given in i68 — by Charles Earl of Dorfet to a Bookfeller in Fleet Street, in order to have it printed, but the bookfeller delaying to have it done, Mr. Thomas Rymer fold a copy he procured to Mr. Churchill,* who printed
It.
j>
pr? f* T f
' The authors of a literary journal gave at the timet an opinion againft the au- thority of the book, on the ground that it contained many things unworthy of a man of Selden's erudition, and at variance with his principles and pra6lice. Dr. Wilkins, the editor of his works, has adopted this opinion, but we may fairly fufped that his own political bias may have influenced this decilion. The com- pilation has fuch a complete and unaf- fefted air of genuinenefs, that we can have no hefitation in giving credit to the
* No edition that I have feen has the name of Churchill as publiiher. That which has always been confidered the firft, is in fmall 4to. 60 pages, and profeflcs to be " Printed for E. Smith, in the year MDCLXXXIX."
f The Lcipfic "Ads of the Learned/'
Biographical Preface.
IX
aflertion of Milward, who fays that '' It was faithfully committed to writing, from time to time, during the long period of twenty years, in which he enjoyed the opportunity of daily hearing his (Selden's) difcourfe, and of recording the excellent things that fell from him." He appeals to the executors and friends of Selden, for the fadl that fuch was the manner of his patron's converfation, and fays that they will quickly perceive them to be his by the familiar illuftrations wherewith they are fet off, and in which way they know he was fo happy. This dedicatory appeal to the moft intimate friends of Selden, is furely a fufficient teftimonial to the vera- city of his affertion, and to the genuine authority of the work.
It was poffibly thought that the fa- miliar and fometimes homely manner in which many of the fubjedls difcuffed are illuftrated, was not fuch as might have been expected from a profound fcholar; but Selden, with all his learning, was a man of the world, familiar with the ordinary fcenes of common life, and knew how to
Biographical Preface.
bring abftrufe fubjeds home to the bufinefs and bofoms of men of ordinary capacity, ill a manner at once perfpicuous and agreeable. .-r^'N \v.
" He was a perfon (fays his friend Lord Clarendon) whom no charadler can flatter, or tranfmit in any expreffions equal to his merit and virtue. He was of fuch ftupendous learning in all kinds, and in all languages, that a man would have thought he had been entirely con- verfant among books, and had never fpent an hour but in reading and writing ; yet his humanity, courtefy, and affability were fuch, that he would have been thought to have been bred in the befl courts, but that his good nature, charity, and delight in doing good, and in communicating all he knew, exceeded that breeding. His ftyle in all his writings feems harfh and fome- times obfcure,* which is not wholly to be imputed to the abftrufe fubjeds of
• Aubrey fays ; ** in his younger years he afFeded obfcurity of ftyle, which, after, he quite left off, and wrote perfpicuoufly."
Biographical Preface.
which he commonly treated, but to a lit- tle undervaluing of ftyle, and too much propenfity to the language of antiquity ; but in his converjation he was the moft clear diJcourJeVy and had the beft faculty of making hard things eajy^ and of prejenting them to the underfianding, of any man that hath been known, Mr. Hyde was wont to fay that he valued himfelf upon no- thing more than upon having had Mr. Selden's acquaintance from the time he was very young. If he had fome infirmi- ties with other men, they were weighed down with wonderful and prodigious ex- cellencies in the other fcale."* It has been juftly obferved that it affords tefli- mony in favour of both, that after their feparation in the public path of politics, their friendfhip remained unaltered, and that Hyde on every occafion flood forth in defence of Selden's confcientious con- du6t.
Selden was born at Salvington, a ham- let in the parifh of wefl Tarring, on the
* Lord Clarendon's Life by himfelf, Fol. Ed. p. i6.
XI
Biographical Preface.
coaft of SufTex, not far from Worthing. The cottage in which he firft faw the light was then known as Lacies, and is at- tached to a farm of about 80 acres. When vifited in the year 1834, no relic of Sel- dtn remained .but an infcriptlon on the infide of the lintel of the entrance door- way, confifting of the following Latin diftich, faid to have been compofed by him when only i o years old :
Gr ATVS Honeste mih • no clavDaR inito sedeb'
FVR ABEAS : NO SV FACTA SOLVTA TIBI.*
Aubrey, who has left fome gofTipIng ma- terials for a life of Selden, fays that his father was "a yeomanly man of about 40/. per annum," that he played well on the violin, in which he took delight ; and at Chriftmas time, to pleafe himfelf and his neighbours, would play to them as they danced. In the parlfh regifler of Weft
* /. e. Honeft friend, welcome to me I will not be clofed, enter and be feated.
Thief! begone, I am not open to thee.
Johnson's Memoirs of Selden.
Biographical Preface. xiii
Tarring, is this entry : " 1584, John, the Sonne of John Selden, the Minflrell, was baptized the 20th day of December." So that there is fome reafon to conclude that his father occafionally exercifed his mufical talent profeffionally. Indeed Aubrey tells us that " My old Lady Cotton (wife to Sir Robert Cotton) was one time at Sir Thomas Alford's in Suflex, at dinner in Chriftmas time, and Mr. J. Selden (then a young ftudent) fate at the lower end of the table, who was lookt upon then to be of parts extraordinary, and fomebody afking who he was, 'twas replied, — his fon that is playing on the violin in the hall."
Wood fays that it was his father's mu- fical talent that gained him his wife, who was the daughter and heirefs of Thomas Baker of Rufhington, and defcended from a knightly family of that name in Kent. Her fortune was probably fmall, for Selden's fifter feems to have married humbly ; her hufband appears to have exercifed the profeffion of a mulician at Chichefter, and being an invalid with a large family, had a penfion of about 25/.
XIV
Biographical Preface.
per annum, Selden being one of the con- tributors to his necelTities.
Selden received the iirft rudiments of Education at the free-fchool of Chichefter, under Hugh Barker, afterwards a diftin- guifhed civilian ; and that he was an apt fcholar appears from his early proficiency, for he was admitted a ftudent of Hart Hall, Oxford, when only fourteen years old. Wood tells us that he was indebted to Dr. Juxon for his exhibition ; and that he was a great favourite with Mr. Barker, who recommended him to his brother Anthony, a fellow of New College, who with John Young, another fellow of the fame college, aflifted him in his ftudies.
He remained at Oxford about four years, and in 1602 he repaired to London, and entered himfelf at Cliffords Inn : here he commenced his ftudy of the law ; and in May, 1 604, he removed to the Inner Tem- ple; his chamber was in an upper ftory, in Paper Buildings, having the advantage of a fmall gallery to walk in, and looking toward the garden.
His early proficiency appears to have
Biographical Preface.
recommended him to the notice of Sir Robert Cotton, for whom he is faid to have copied records, and to whom he be- came clofely attached ; to this early inter- courfe moid probably may be attributed his prediledion for antiquarian purfuits.
It was at this period of his life that, from being devoted to fimilar ftudies, he formed acquaintance, which afterwards ripened into friendship, with fome of his eminent cotemporaries, among whom may be named Henry Rolle, afterwards Lord Chief Juftice ; Sir Edward Littleton, af- terwards Lord Keeper ; Sir Edward Her- bert, fubfequently Attorney General ; and Sir Thomas Gardiner, who became Re- corder of London ; " It was the conftant and almoft daily courfe (fays Wood) of thofe great traders in learning, to bring in their acquefts as it were in a common ftock, by natural communication, whereby each of them, in a great meafure, became the participant and common pofTefTor of each other's learning and knowledge." He alfo formed intimate friendfhips with two of the moft diftinguifhed men of his time.
XV
xvi Biographical Preface.
Camden, and Ben Jonfon, and purfued his ftudies in conjundion with one lefs known, Mr. Edward Heyward, of Reepham in Norfolk. The virtue and learning of this his " beloved friend and chamber-fellow" he fpeaks of in high terms.
He became fo fedulous a ftudent, and his proficiency was fo well known that he was foon in extenfive pradice as a cham- ber counfel and conveyancer ; but he does not feem to have appeared frequently at the bar. His devotion to his profeffion did not prevent him from purfuing his literary occupations with affiduity, and at the early age of twenty -two he had com- pleted his DifTertation on the Civil Go- vernment of Britain before the Norman Conqueft, which, imperfed as it may now be thought, was ftill an aftonifhing per- formance for the age at which it was com- pofed.*
In 1 6 lo we find him purfuing the fame
* It was not however publiflied until i6i 5, when it was printed at Frankfort under the title of Ana- Ic6la Anglo-Britanniccyn. The preface is dated 1607, and it is dedicated to Sir Robert Cotton.
Biographical Preface.
courfe of ftudy^ the fruits of which were given to the world under the titles of " England s EpinomiSy' and '*" Jani Anglo- rum fades altera" the firft in Englifh, the latter in Latin, illuftrative of the ftate and progrefs of Englifh law, from the earlieft times to the end of the reign of Henry the Second.
In the fame year he publifhed his EfTay on " The Duel, or Single Combat," in which he confines his attention chiefly to the forms and ceremonies attending judi- cial combats fince the Norman Conqueft.
In 1 6 13 he furnifhed the Englifh notes to the firft eighteen fongs of Drayton's Po- ly olbion : the prodigious number of the re- ferences in thefe notes manifeft his learn- ing and aftiduity. His intimacy with Drayton and Browne, as well as Jonfon, perhaps arofe from thofe focial mieetings at the Mermaid^ Tavern, in Friday Street, where, in 1603 a club had been
* Seidell's intimacy with Jonfon, Drayton, and Browne, might give us reafon to fuppofe that in his earlier years poetry had fome fhare of his attention, but he does not appear to have been a very fucceff-
xvn
XVlll
Biographical Preface.
eftabliihed by Sir Walter Raleigh, at which thofe interefting "wit-combats" be- tween Shakefpeare and Jonfon took place, thus alluded to by Beaumont in his letter to Jonfon :
What things have we feen Done at the Mermaid ! Heard words that have been So nimble, and io full of fubtle flame. As if that every one from whom they came Had meant to put his whole wit in a jeft.
His intenfe application appears to have
ful votary of the Mufes, and but few of his attempts in verfe have been preferved, the reader may not be difpleafed to have a fpecimen, in his complimentar) tributes to Donne and Browne.
The following lines were addrefled to Drayton :
Mkbae/f I muft admire thee, (but to praife were vain What ev'ry tailing-palate fo approves) Thy Martial Pyrrhic, and thy Epic ftrain Digcfling Wars with heart-uniting Loves. The two firft Authors of what is compof'd In this round fyftem all ; its ancient lore All Arts in Difcords and Concents are clof'd ; When fouls unwing'd Adrafta's laws reftore To th' Earth, for reparation of their flights. Scholars the firrt, Muficians, Lovers make.
Biographical Preface.
XIX
very materially injured his healthy for in the dedication of his " Titles of Honor/' publifhed in 1 6 1 4, to his friend Mr. Ed- ward Hey ward, he fays, " Some years fince it was iinifhed, wanting only in fome parts my laft hand ; which was then prevented by my dangerous and tedious fickneffe ; " from this attack he attributes his recovery to the fkill and care of Doc- tor Robert Floyd, (or Fludd) the cele- brated Roiicrufian philofopher, who is
The next rank deftinate to Mars his Knights, (The following rabble meaner titles take,) I fee thy temples crown'd with Phoebus' rites :
Thy Bays to th' eye with Lilly mix'd and Rofe,
As to the eare a Diapafon clofe.
John Selden.
Drayton's Poems, 1610, Where thefe verfes are followed by panegyrical lines by Edward Hey ward " To his friend the Author."
There are verfes in Greek, Latin, and Englifh, by Selden, prefixed to Browne's Britannia's Paftorals (the firft part in fm. folio was printed I believe in 161 3. the fecond Edit, in fm. 4to. in 1625).
It is remarkable that Selden's verfes are alfo here followed by fome by Edward Heyward, and indeed almoll all the commendatory verfes prefixed are by
Biographical Preface.
faid to have infured the efficacy of his nof- trums by the myftical incantations he
Members of the Inner and Middle Temple. Browne was himfelf of the Inner Temple.
In
Bucolica G. Broun. Quod, per feceffus Ruftici otia, Licuit ad Amic. and Bon. Liter, amantifs.
Anacreonticum
KcxXXos o-oy Kv^Epsicc, &c. i6 lines.
Ad Amoris Numina
Quin voflrum Paphie, Anteros, Erofque, &c. 40 lines.
By the Same. So much a Stranger my Severer Mufe Is not to Love-ftrains, or a Sheepwards Reed, But that She knows fome rites of Phcebus' dues. Of Pan, of Pallas, and^her Sifters meed. Read and commend She durft thefe tun'd elTaies Of Him that loves her (She hath ever found Her Studies as one circle) Next She prays His Readers be with Rofe and Myrtle crown'd ! No Willow touch them ! As his Bales* are free From wrong of Bolts, fo may their Chaplets be !
J. Selderii Juris C.
* Bales (faire Readers) being the materials oi Poets garlands, (as Myrtle and Rofes are for enjoying Lovers y and the fruitlefs Willow for them which your unconftancie, too oft, makes moft unhappy) are fup- pofed not fubjeft to any hurt of Jupiters Thunder- bolts, as other trees are.
Biographical Preface.
XXI
muttered over his patients. Returning to his ftudies with freih zeft and re- newed vigour, he fays, " Thus I employed the breathing times which from the fo different ftudies of my profeffion, were allowed me. Nor hath the proverbial af- fertion that the Lady Common Lavj muft lye alone ^ ever wrought with me."
Selden prefixed to this book fome Greek verfes addreffed to " That fmgular Glory of our Nation and Light of Britaine, M. Camden Clarenceux/' and the highly complimentary epiftle by Ben Jonfon which is fubjoined to this preface.'* In the Year 1617 he contributed the marginal
* In the preface to the firft edition we have the following interefting notice of his intimacy with Ben Jonfon: "When I was to ufe [a pafTage out of Euripides his Oreftes] not having at hand the Scho- liaft, out of whom I hoped fome aid, I went, for this purpofe, to fee it in the well furnifht librarie of my beloved friend that fingular Poet M. Ben. Jonfon, whofe fpecial worth in literature, accurate judgement, and performance, known only to that Fezu wliich are truly able to know him, hath had from me, ever fmce I began to learn, an increafing admiration," The motto to this edition was from Lucilius : Per-
XXll
Biographical Preface.
notes to Purchas's Pilgrimage, and a fhort paper, '' Of the Jews fometime living in England," and the fame year produced his celebrated work, " De Diis Syris ; " the Prolegomena treats of the Geography of Syria, of the Hebrew Language, and the origin and progrefs of Polytheifm, and the two Syntagmata embrace the hiftory of the Syrian deities.
He tells us that previoufly to the year 1618, purfuing an uncontrolled habit of ftudy, full of ambition and hope, he de- termined to write, among other works, a Hiftory of Tithes, a Diatribe on the
Jium non euro legere : Lalium Decimum volo. It is alfo furnifhed with a lift of the Authors cited, and excellent Indexes, an advantage which the Second edition publifhed in folio in 1631 does not poffefs.
To this Second edition, which is fo much enlarged as to conftitute it almoft a new work ; another de- dication is prefixed, hut ftill to his " moft beloved friend Edward Hey ward," now ftiled " Of Cardef- ton in Norfolk, Efquire." The commendatory verfes of Ben jonfon were alfo retained. In a copy in my poflefTion, which appears to have belonged to Sir Thomas Cotton, the following manufcript verfes
Biographical Preface.
Birthday of Chrift, and upon the Domi- nion of the Sea. The Hiftory of Tithes was printed in 16185 being duly hcenfed for the prefs ; but even previous to its publication, prejudice feems to have been raifed againft it, and it no fooner appeared than it excited the difpleafure of the court, and the bench of Bifhops, with the honourable exception of the excellent and pious Lancelot Andrewes, Bifhop of Win- chefter.
" As foon as it was printed and public," fays Selden, " divers were ready to pub- liih that it was written to prove that
are on a blank leaf facing the title, and are again re- peated, in the fame hand writing, after the verfes of Ben Jonfon. They will ferve to fhow in what very high efteem Selden was held by his cotemporaries, though they have no other merit :
Selden the greate ! there hardly is a name More loudely founded by the trumpe of Fame. Th' annals of learning's Commonwealth doe tell Of no Prince there, whofe worth doth more excell.
W. M. The price of this folio appears to have been xvi Sh. bound.
xxni
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Biographical Preface.
Tithes were not Jure divino ; fome that it was written to prove, nay, that it had proved, that no tithes at all were due ; others that I had concluded that, queftion- lefs, laymen might, with good confcience, detain impropriated churches ; others that it was exprefsly againft the tithes of Lon- don." The work however was written with a far different intention. The fad is that it was a purely Hiftorical Inquiry, and he fays, " I doubted not but that it would have been acceptable to every in- genuous Chriftian, and efpecially to the clergy, to whofe difputations and deter- minations I refolved to leave the point of the divine right of tithes, and keep myfelf to the hiftorical part." In this expectation he was bitterly deceived, it brought forth a hoft of anfwers and animadveriions, the moft marked of which were thofe of Dr. Tillcfley, Archdeacon of Rochester, and Dr. Montague, afterwards Bifhop of Norwich. It had been fo mifreprefented to the King, that Selden was fummoned to appear be- fore him with his work ; he repaired to Theobalds, where the King then was, ac-
Biographical Preface.
companied by his friends Ben Jonfon and Edward Heyward, " being," as he fays, "entirely a ftranger to the court, and known perfonally there to a very few." The King admitted him to a conference, and defcanted fometimes learnedly, fome- times humoroufly, and at other times angrily upon various paflages of his work ; but dwelt particularly on the apoftolic appointment of the anniverfary of Chrift's Nativity, faying that he fufpeded Selden agreed with thofe contentious Scots, who refufed to obferve any particular day ; and upon Selden obferving that this was fo far from his opinion that he thought the 25th of December might by calculation be proved to be the proper day, he was commanded to write an effay on the fub- jedl, which injun6tion he afterwards com- plied with. He had another conference with the King at Whitehall, and thought from his reception that the matter would reft there, but he was foon after fummoned be- fore the Privy Council, and before the High Commiffion Court, and was obliged to iign a declaration that he was in error
XXVI
Biographical Preface.
in offering any argument againft the right of maintenance Jure divino of the minif- ters of the gofpel. His work was fup- preffed, and the King faid to him : " If you or your friends write any thing againft Dr. Montague's confutation I will throw you into prifon." He tells us that the declaration he figned was drawn up through the favour of fome lords of the High Commiffion, that it was true he was forry for having pubhfhed it, becaufe it had given offence, but that there was not the lefs truth in it becaufe he was forry for publifhing it.*
He had fpoken in this work of the un- limited liberty and confident daring of
* It will be feen by referring to the article Tithes in the following volume at page 209, that forty years afterwards Selden had the fatisfaftion of knowing that the clergy fought and found their beft defence in his perfecuted volume. In 1653 the Houfe of Commons in confequence of petitions prefented to them inftituted an enquiry about the abolition of Tithes ; the Kentifh petition defiring that " that Jewifh and Antichriilian bondage and burden on the eftates and confcicnces of the godly might ceafe." And Dr. Langbaine, in a letter to Selden, thus ex-
Biographical Preface.
thofe who had interpreted the paflage of Revelation which ailigns 666 as the num- ber of the beaft, and praifed the judgment and modefty of Calvin, who had de- clared that he could not underftand that obfcure book ; and as it happened that the pedantic James had himfelf attempted to expound the myftic meaning, it is ob- vious that this tended to aggravate his anger. Selden was called upon to ex- plain what he meant by this obfervation, and in doing fo he made fome compli- ments to the King which have been con- fidered as derogatory of his better judg- ment, and unworthy of him.
prelles himfelf: "Upon occafion of the bufinefs of Tithes now under conlideration, fome, whom it more nearly concerns have been pleafed to inquire of me what might be faid as to the civil rights to them, to whom I was not able to give any better dire6lion than by fending them to your Hi/lory. Haply it may feem llrange to them, yet I am not out of hopes, but that work, (like Peleus' hafta) which was looked upon as a piece that ftruck deepeft againft the divine, will afford the ftrongefl arguments for the civil right : and if that be made the iifue, I do not defpair of the caufe."
xxvn
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Biographical Preface.
In the ftruggle between James and the Houfe of Commons, they had addrefled to him a petition of grievances, in which their fear of the Papifts and complaints of extravap-ance were the chief features; when it was fent, together with a remon- ftrance, by twelve members of the Houfe, the King refufed to receive the petition, and returned a harfh anfwer to the re- monftrance. The Houfe in confequence refolved not to grant him any fupplies until their complaints were attended to, and the King adjourned and finally dif- folved the parliament. Before the ad- journment the Houfe entered a proteft on their Journals, previously confulting Sel- den, who, though not a member, was in- troduced and fpoke with true patriotic feeling on the fubjedl ; and certainly ad- vifed, if he did not draw up, the protefta- tation, which the enraged and baffled King afterwards tore with his own hand from the Journals of the Houfe.
In the fame tyrannic fpirit the Impo- tent monarch wreaked his vengeance upon thofe who were confidered to have been
Biographical Preface. xxix
the chief movers, and, upon warrants iifTued by the Privy Council, Sir Edward Coke, and Sir Robert Philips were com- mitted to the Tower ; and the Earl of Southampton, Sir Edward Sandys, Mr. Pym, Mr. Mallory, and Selden, to other places of confinement. The v/arrant for Selden's imprifonment diredled his com- mittal to the Tower, and prohibited his having communication with any body but thofe who had the charge of his perfon ; but he was retained in the cuftody of the Sheriff (Robert Ducie), who lodged him in his own houfe, and treated him liberally and indulgently ; to the reftraint from in- tercourfe with his friends the prohibition" of the free ufe of his books was added, but the Sheriff indulged him with the ufe of two works, one of them the MS. of Eadmer's Hiftory, which he afterwards publifhed.
His confinement was however of little more than a month's duration. Hackett has printed a letter of 'Lord Keeper Wil- liams to Buckingham, in favour of the liberation of Lord Southampton and Sel-
Biographical Preface.
den, and this application prevailed, or the court, though willing, found that it had no power to punifh ; and after an exami- nation before the Privy Council, where Selden feems to have been again proteded by Bifhop Andrewes, he was liberated on the 1 8th of July.
In 162 1 the Houfe of Peers honoured him with their requeft that he would com- pofe a work on their Privileges, to which he appears feduloufly to have applied himfelf ; the refult of his refearches was probably communicated to the Houfe long before, but the work itfelf " 'The Privileges of the Baronage of England " was not publifhed until 1642.
In 1623 he publifhed his edition of Eadmer's Hifloria Novorum, five fui Se- ciili^ librtfex.^^ the notes to which contain much curious legal and hiftorical matter.
* Sir Henry Spelman is bufie about the impreffion of his Gloffary, and Mr. Selden of his Eadmerus, which will be finifhed within three or four days ; together with his notes, and the Laws of the Con- queror ; the comparing whereof with the copy of Crowland, was the caufe of this long Hay; for they
Biographical Preface. xxxl
James had in vain endeavoured to re- pleniih his exchequer by having recourfe to what were then ftrangely mifcalled Benevolences, but this fpecies of extortion was not found efFedlive, and he was, at the commencement of the year 1624, con- ftrained again to fummon a parhament, in which Selden fat as one of the reprefenta- tives for Lancafter. Dr. Aikin thinks it moft probable that "he owed his eledlion for this borough to his reputation as an able fupporter of popular rights, when mem- bers were chofen rather for their public principles tKan for private connedlions."
Selden, though he does not appear to have taken much part in the debates of this fefTion, was an adlive and valuable member of the celebrated Eledlion Com- mittee, of which Sergeant Glanville pub- lifhed the Report, and among its other members were Sir Edward Coke, Noy,
could not get the book hither, though they had many promifes, but were fain to fend one to Crow- land to compare things.
Sir H. Bourgchier to Ulher, April 16, 1622.
XXXll
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Pym, and Finch* The reader need not be reminded that to this committee the nation owes one of the ftrongeft bulwarks of its liberties in the eftablifhment of the independence of the Houfe of Commons, in the right of jurifdidion over the elec- tions of its members : it alfo eftablifhed that the right of eleftion is in thofe who pofiefs property within the precinds of Boroughs, and not founded upon the royal grant.
Selden's time was now fo fully occupied, that he refufed to take upon him the duties of Reader of Lyon's Iiin, to which he had been nominated by the benchers of the Inner Temple, and was in confe- quence fined in the fum of twenty pounds, and difabled from being called to the bench or to be Reader of the Inner Tem- ple, but the latter part of the order was refcinded in 1632 when he became a a bencher of that Society.*
* The following letter to Archbilhop Ufher will fhow how ardently he ftill purfued his literary re- fearches :
Biographical Preface.
In the firft parliament that was called at the commencement of the reign of Charles the Firft, Selden fat as one of the reprefentatives of Great Bedwin, and in the fecond parliament which the King was conftrained by his neceftities to call, Selden took an a6live part in the proceed- ings for the impeachment of the favourite
To the Moft Reverend James Uflier, Archbifhop of Armagh.
My Lord,
It was moft glad news^ to me to hear of your fo forward recovery, and I Ihall pray for the addition of ftrength to it, fo that you may the eafier go on ftill in the advancement of that commonwealth of learning wherein you fo guide us. I humbly thank your Lordfhip for your inftrudlions touching the Samaritan Bible, and the books. I have returned the Saxon Annals again, as you defired, with this fuit, that if you have more of them (for thefe are very flight ones) and the old Book of Ely, Hiftoria Joru- allenfts, the Saxon Evangelift, the Book of Worcef- ter, the Book of Mailrofs, or any of them, you will be pleafed to fend me them all, or as many as you have of them by you, and what elfe you have of the Hiftory of Scotland and Ireland, and they fhall be returned at your pleafure. If you have a Saxon Bede, I befeech you let that be one alfo. If I have
I
xxxni
XXXIV
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Buckingham, which the King defeated by difTolving the Parliament.
In 1627 we find him pleading for the difcharge from prifon of Sir Edward Hampden, one of thofe patriotic men who had reiifted the illegal mode to which the King had reforted for raifing fupplies. His argument was able and forcible, and
any thing here of the reft, or ought elfe that your
Lordfhip requires for any prefent ufe, I fliall mofl
readily fend them to you, and fhall ever be
Your LordQiip's moft affeftionate Servant,
J. Selden. Sept. 14, 1625,
Wreft.
There is a hope (as Sir Robert Cotton tells me) that a very ancient Greek MS. copy of the Council of Nice, the firll of them of that name, is to be had fomewhere in Huntingdonfhire ; I thought it was a piece of news that would be acceptable to your Lordfhip; he is in chace for it.
The Archbilhop had written on this letter : Sept. 19. Sent him upon this ; Annales Latini Sax- onici, the Book of Mailros, Forduni Scotichronic. Fragment. Scotic. Annal. ad finem Ivonis Carnot. Fragment. Annalium Abb. B. Marise Virginis Dub- lin. Annales Hiberniae Thomae Cafe. The Book of Hoath. Pcmbrig's Annals MS.
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XXXV
though the judges then decided agalnfl it, later deciiions have fhown that it was equally corredl.
In the Parliament which aflembled in March 1628 he appears to have been again returned for Lancafler, and various committees were appointed to enquire into the public grievances ; of one of thefe, whofe bufinefs was to enquire into the proceedings adopted refpeding the writs of Habeas Corpus moved for in the cafe of thofe who had refilled the uncon- stitutional meafure of forced loans under the name of Benevolences, Selden made the report. He alfo took a diftinguiihed part in the debates on the fubjed, and efta- blifhed incontrovertibly the illegality of committals without the caufe of imprifon- ment being exprefled ; the railing money by impofitions without the confent of the Parliament; and eftablifhed indifputably the right of Habeas Corpus in every cafe of imprifonment.*
* The fpeech may be found in the Parliamentary Hiftory, vol. vii. p. 415. See alfo Ruih worth's
XXXVl
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Four refolutions of the Houfe were pafTed embodying thefe opinions ; a con- ference with the Lords was held, which terminated in the produdion of the me- morable Petition of Right, in framing which Selden took an adive part.
His fpeech upon this occafion is a mafterly and unanfwerable efFufion. He had confulted and copied with his own hand all the records v/hich bore upon the queftion, with unexampled diligence, and with that confidence which can only be infpired by a confcioufnefs of being in the right. He defied the Attorney General to controvert any one of his pofitions. He laid before the Lords the copies of the records he had made, and they or- dered them to be compared v/ith the ori- ginals ; in the courfe of this comparifon
colle6lions, vol. i. p. 530, and Selden's Works, vol. iii. p. 1 9 5 8 . It has alfo been given by Mr. Johnfon in his "Memoirs of Selden, and notices of the political conteft during his time," Lond. 1835, a work to which, together with Dr. Aikin's Life of Selden, 1 have frequently been indebted for the materials of this fkctch.
Biographical Preface.
fome of them were found deficient or de- ftroyed, and there was an imbecile at- tempt of the court party through the Earl of Suffolk to implicate Selden ; but that Lord afterwards denied that he had ufed the criminatory exprefTions which feveral members had heard him utter : the com- mittee, notwithflanding this denial, re- quefled the Lords to vifit the Earl with fuch punifhment as he deferved for having brought a moft unjuft and fcandalous charge againfl Selden.
Two remonftrances were alfo prepared and prefented, one of them againfl the Duke of Buckingham, as the principal caufe of the evils complained of, with a requefl that he might be removed from authority, from attendance upon the King, and that judgment fhould be made againfl him upon his impeachment in the lafl: parliament. The other declared that the impofl of tonnage and poundage was no prerogative of the Crown, but was always granted to the King by Parliament. In the difcuffion and preparation of thefc, Selden took a prominent part. The King
xxxvn
XXXVlll
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received them with marked impatience, and after the bill of Subfidies was paffed he diiTolved the Parliament. Selden had been fome time previoufly appointed fo- licitor and fteward to the Earl of Kent, and he now retired to that nobleman's feat, Wreft, in Bedfordfhire, where he quietly purfued his literary occupations, which appear to have been at all times to him more congenial than the ftrife of po- litics, in which he mixed rather out of a fenfe of his duty to his country, than from any predilection for a public life. The fruits of his retirement were two treatifes " Of the Original of Ecclefiaftical Jurif- didion of Teftaments," and "Of the Dif- pofition or Adminiftration of Inteftates Goods," which may have been fuggefted to him by difcuffions in Parliament on the King's right to the property of baftards who die inteftate.
Upon the arrival of the Arundelian Marbles in this country, Selden's friend. Sir Robert Cotton, requefled him to ex- amine them, and he entered upon the tafk with all the enthufiafm of a confum-
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mate antiquary ; being in the courfe of his inveftigations affifted by two eminent fcholarSj Patrick Young, and Richard James. He now gave to the world the fruit of his labours under the title of '^ Marmora Arundeliana, five Saxa Gr^ca Incifa." The work was dedicated to his companion in his inquiries, Patrick Young, and the preface makes grateful mention of the advantage he had enjoyed in com- piling the work, in the quiet retirement of Wreft,* by the favour of the Earl and Countefs of Kent. Though, as may well be fuppofed, not free from faults, rather attributable to the defedlive ftate of Epi-
* Lady Kent, who was one of the three daugh- ters and coheireffes of Gilbert Talbot, Earl of Shrewf- bury, feems to have been an efpecial favourer of learning and literature, for we are told that Butler, the author of Hudibras, was among thofe to whom while living fhe extended her favours ; and it was at her houfe, his biographer tells us, ** he had not only the opportunity to confult all manner of books, but to converfe alfo with that great living-library of learning the great Mr. Selden." May we not con- jedlure that Butler owed this favour to Selden hi m- felf?
XXXIX
xl Biographical Preface.
graphic Science at that time, than to any want of fkill in the inquirer, this work is another honourable teftimonial of the com- prehenfive learning and adtive induftry of this extraordinary man.
The Parliament re-aiTembled on the 20th of January, 1629, ^^^ ^^^ conducft of the Court fince the difiblution had been fuch as to add to the difiatisfadion of the Commons. Laud, who had been ac- counted a fchifmatic and inclined to arbi- trary meafures, was made Bifhop of Lon- don, and became the organ of the Court. Montague was made Bifhop of Chichef- ter, and Wentworth had been feduced to abandon the popular caufe and raifed to the Peerage. Added to thefe afts of ir- ritation, the tonnage and poundage had been levied without the confent of the Parliament, and the goods of Mr. Rolls, one of the members, had been feized for refifting the payment of this illegal im- pofition.
Selden took a very ad.Ve part in the inquiries which were inftituted ; he had hitherto exprefTed himfelf leniently about
Biographical Preface.
the court meafures, but his patriotic fpirit was now excited, and he indignantly ex- claimed, when a plea of miftake in the cafe of Mr. Rolls was urged : ^^ This is not to be reckoned an error, but is quef- tionlefs done purpofely to affront us, and of this our own lenity is the caufe." And when it was fuggefted that the advifers of the King were mofi: in fault, he faid : '^If there be any near the King that mifinter- pret our aftions, let the curfe light on them, and not on us. I believe it is high time to right ourfelves, and until we vin- dicate ourfelves in this it will be in vain for us to fit here."
The violation of the petition of right had ihewn that the King was not be trufted, that he had now no regard to the obfervance of the laws, and the Commons continued to urge ftrongly their com- plaints of religious and political griev- ances ; during this feffion the court party were frequently the aggreflbrs ; and at length an attempt was made to controul the freedom of the Houfe of Commons, by commanding the Speaker to adjourn
xli
xlii Biographical Preface.
it. Sir John Finch^ the Speaker, ^as a mere tool of the court party, and his con- du6t on this occafion was at once errone- ous and pufillanimous, the tumult in the Houfe was extreme, the Speaker was for- cibly detained in the chair until three proteftations v/ere read, declaring that whoever caufed an innovation of religion, advifed the impofition of tonnage and poundage without the afTent of Parliament, or whoever voluntarily paid it, if levied without fuch fanftion, would be a capital enemy of his country, and a betrayer of its liberty. The Houfe then adjourned. The King, hearing of thefe proceedings, fent a meffenger to command the Sergeant to bring away the mace; the Houfe of courfe would not allow it. He then fent a fummons to them by the Ufher of the Black Rod, but he was denied admittance. At laft he fent a guard to force the door, but the Houfe had rifen before it arrived.
Eight days after, March loth, 1629, he diiTolved the Parliament, addreffing only the Lords, and in alluding to the
Biographical Preface.
xliii
Commons, he faid, among them were, "fome vipers and evil affefted perfons, who muft look for their reward."
Nine of the members of the Houfe, who had been moft adlive on this occa- fion, were fummoned to appear before the Privy Council ; Selden was among the number ; the feven who appeared were committed to the Tower. The ftudies of Sir John Eliot, of Denzil Hollis, and of Selden were fealed up ; and the other two members were foon after apprehended and committed to the King's Bench Prifon. Nothing can exceed the folly and illegality of the whole of thefe proceedings, but the baffled defpotifm purfued its courfe with the utmoft feverity ; Selden and the other prifoners were not only reftridled from in- tercourfe with their friends, but even de- nied the ufe of books and writing mate- rials, for nearly three months. At length Selden obtained permiflion to ufe fuch books as he could obtain from his friends or the bookfellers, and he procured the Bible, the two Talmuds, fome later Tal- mudifts and Lucian. He fays " alfo I
xli^
Biographical Preface.
extorted by entreaty from the Governor (Sir Allan Apfley) the ufe of pens, ink and paper ; but of paper only nineteen fheets which were at hand were allowed, each of which were to be figned with the initials of the Governor, that it might be afcertained eafily how much and what I wrote : nor did I dare to ufe any other. On thefe, during my prifon leifure, I co- pied many extradls from the above-named books, which extrads I have now in my pofTefTion, thus figned and bound to- gether."
It is evident that the court party found that they were in the wrong, and not likely to obtain their objedl by fuch mea- fures, and agents were employed to en- deavour to prevail upon the prifoners to fue for acquittal ; without effedl.^' The judges had informed the King that as the offences charged againft them were not capital, they ought to be admitted to bail
■* One of the agents fent to the prifoners in the Tower upon this occafion was Dr. Mofely. See § 4 in the article Clergy in the Table-talk.
Biographical Preface.
xlv
on giving fecurity for their good beha- viour, and they gave their judgment ac- cordingly pn the firfi day of Michaelmas term. Selden, for himfelf and for his fel- low prifoners, replied that they demanded to be bailed in point of right, and that they could not affent to the finding of fureties for good behaviour without com- promifing the privileges of parliament. He fubfequently obferved that the judges were themfelves confcious that the prifon- ers had done nothing that required them to enter into thefe recognizances, that it would have been condudt unv/orthy of themfelves to have complied, and that they were determined that the jufl liberty of the Englifh people fhould not be in- fringed by their acquiefcence.
They were confequently remanded to prifon, and Selden, Hollis, Valentine, and Eliot were proceeded againft by infonna- tion in the Court of King's Bench ; they excepted to the jurifdi6lion of the court, as the offences were alleged to have been committed in parliament. This plea was overruled, and judgment was finally given.
X
Ivi
Biographical Preface.
" That they fhould be Imprironed, and not dehvered until they had found fecurity for their good behaviour^ and made a fub- miffion and acknowledgment of their of- fences."
The condu6t of Selden and his fellov; fufferer. Sir John Eliot,* on this occaiion was that of heroic martyrs to the facred caufe of liberty ; a hoft of friends among whom were Henry, afterwards Earl of Bath, Robert, Earl of EfTex, Sir Robert Cotton
* Sir John Eliot, not lefs diftinguilhed for refplen- dent talents, than patriotic ardour, had been pre- vioufly imprifoned in the Tower for the part he took in the impeachment of the Duke of Buckingham in 1628. The condition of his liberation was now to be a fine of 2000/., and though ''warned that the confinement was killing him, he fuffered and died with magnanimity. He thought, and wrote, and wept with anxiety for the welfare of his orphan boys, but he refolved to leave them his example, as well as his precepts to excite them to live worthily." The noble houfe of St. Germains may well be proud of fuch an illuftrious anceftor, and Gibbon (who was related to it) in his own figurative language, might have exhorted the Eliots to confider the conduft of Sir John as " the brighteft jewel of their co- ronet."
Biographical Preface.
and his Ton Thomas, were ready to be Sel- den's fureties, and urged him to comply, but thefe entreaties, and the threats of inter- minable imprifonment, v/ith which he was menaced even by the Chief Juftice, were unavailing ; and, though four of the pri- foners had compromifed with the oppref- fors, he adhered firmly to his purpofe.
While he was yet in prifon, a further perfecution was contrived in the fhape of an information in the Star Chamber, againfl him and his friend Sir Robert Cotton, and Gilbert Barrell, for intend- ing to raife feditious rumours about the King and his Government, by framing, contriving and writing " a falfe, feditious and peftilent difcourfe." This difcourfe was a jeu d'efprit, written by Sir Robert Dudley (the well known author of the Arcano del Mare). The manufcript of which being in the library of Sir Robert Cotton, and copies being traced to the pofTefTion of Selden and Barrell, they, as well as the Earls of Bedford, Somerfet, and Clare, were implicated, until it was clearly proved in court to have been writ-
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xlviii Biographical Preface.
ten by Dudley. The title was ^^ A Pro- pofition for his Majefly's Service, to bridle the impertinency of Parliament," and it was evidently intended as a fatire upon the fpirit of the Stuart government by recommending the moft abfurd fyftem of defpotic mifrule.*
Notwithstanding the failure to prove the chief charge, inftead of honeftly ac- quitting the defendants, the Lord Keeper Coventry told the court that out of the King's grace, and his joy at the birth of a fon, he would not proceed to demand fentence, but would pardon them. A bafe charge was however trumped up againft Sir Robert Cotton, that he had records and evidences in his library be- longing to the King, and Commiffioners were appointed to fearch his library, and withdraw from it all fuch. This was a
* There is a copy among the Harleian MSS. to which are appended fome particulars of the profecu- tion, and a further account may be found in Sir Simon D'Ewes's Journal, and in the Gentleman's Magazine, vol. xxxvii. p. 335. It is printed in the firft volume of Rufliworth.
death blow to that excellent perfon, he is faid to have declined in health from that day, and to have frequently declared that they had broken his heart by locking up his library from him v/ithout rendering any reafon. He died in 1631.
The court probably weary of a fruitlefs conteft v/ith men v/ho were determined not to furrender their rights^ at length found it expedient to relax their angry feverity; thofe who were confined in the Tower v/ere releafed from clofe confine- ment, and allowed fuch liberty as could be enjoyed within the walls, and were permitted to have free communication with their friends; they were however made to pay for this indulgence, their diet, which had been hitherto at the ex- penfe of the ftate, being flopped.
Selden and Mr. Strode a fhort time afterward obtained their removal by ha- beas corpus to the Marfhalfea, and though Selden was detained there until May, 1630, he was allowed to go without the walls as often as he wifhed ; and the plague foon after raging in the neigh-
Biographical Preface.
bourhood of that prifon, Selden obtained permifTion to be removed to the Gate- houfe at Weftminfter, and at length was allowed to vifit the Earl of Kent, at Wreft, where he foon recovered his health and fpirits.
Flis retirement was not however long undifturbed; at Michaelmas term the judges complained to the Lord Treafurer of his removal without their concurrence, and he was confequently remanded to his previous place of imprifonment; but in May, 1 63 1 5 his legal fervices being re- quired in fome law fuits between the Earls of Arundel, Pembroke, Kent and Shrewfbury, the two firft named, by their influence, obtained his liberation, when he was only required to give bail for his ap- pearance, and finally in 1634, upon his petition, he was difcharged.
Befide the condu6t of thefe fuits which related to the fucceffion to fome eftates and the baronies of Grey and Ruthyn, Selden was retained as counfel for Lord Reay in his charge of treafon againft David Ramfay, which afterward gave rife
Biographical Preface.
to the curious proceedings in the Earl Marfhal's Court for a trial by iingle com- bat ; but when the day was appointed the King forbade the encounter.*
While confined in the Marfbalfea Sel- den employed his time in compofing his treatife " De Succeilionibus in Bona De- Fundli ad Leges Ebrasorum/' which was lirft printed in 1634, and an enlarged edi- tion was pubiifhed in 1636, when an efTay
* I have a curious cotemporary MS. account of thefe proceedings which bears the following infcrip- tion:
" The manner of the proceeding betweene Donald L. Reay & David Ramfay, Efqr. Their coming to & carriage at their Tryall beginning upon Munday, Novemb. 28. 1631, Before Robt. Earle of Lindfay, L. Conflable, & Thomas Earle of Arundell & Surrey, L. Marfliall of England, Philip Earle of Pembroke & Montgomery L. Chamberlaine of His Majeilie's Houfehold, Edward E. of Dorfet L. Chamberlaine of the Qu. James Earl of Carlifle E. of Montgrave, Earle of Morten, Vifcount Wimbledon, Vifcount Wentworth, Vifcount Falkeland, and Sir Henry Martin Knight. In the painted chamber neere to the upper houfe of Parliamt." To which is ap- pended an interelling account of" The waie of Duels before the King."
li
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on the ecclefiaftical polity of the Hebrews, entitled " De Succeffionibus in Pontifica- tumEbrsorum," was added, which appears to have been v/ritten in his retirement at Wreft, in the fummer of 1634. Both works were again printed, with additions, at Leyden, in 1638. Indeed almoil: all Selden's learned difquifitions were imme- diately reprinted on the Continent, the editions being fometimes fuperintended by himfelf, and fometimes by diftinguifhed continental fcholars. Thefe works were dedicated to Archbifhop Laud, as a token of gratitude for the aiTiftance he had af- forded Selden in obtaining m^aterials for their compofition.
The paffion for thofe fmgular pageants termed Mafques, which had diftinguifhed the Court of James, and which had made Wilfon defcribe it as *' a continued Maf- karado," prevailed no lefs in that of Charles ; thefe the puritan party confidered as " finful and utterly unlawful to Chrif- tians," as Prynne expreffes it in his Hif- triomaftix, a large volum^e levelled againft thefe courtly amufements, in common
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with all theatrical exhibitions, and it was probably to difclaim any participation in thefe puritanic views that the four Inns of Court united in exhibiting a mafque be- fore the King and Queen, in 1633, the poetry of which was by Ben Jonfon, the fcenic decorations by Inigo Jones, and Selden affifted Lord Bacon in fettling the dreffes and devices. Whitelocke had the arrangement of the mufic, and in his memorials, he has left us an amufmg re- cord of its condud:, in which he compla- cently obferves, " It was fo performed, that it excelled any previously heard in England. The dances, figures, proper- ties, voices, inftruments, fongs, airs, com- pofures and adions, paffed without any failure ; the fcenes were mofi: curious and coftly." But fie tranfit, ^*^this earthly pomp and glory, if not vanity, was foon pafTed and gone as if it had never been."
In the year 1609, Grotius publifhed his *^Mare Liberum," maintaining that the fea is a territory open and free to the ufe of all nations, but obvioufly intended as a defence of the maritime rights of the
liii
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Dutch. This incited Selden to the com- pofition of an anfwer, which he entitled ^^ Mare Claufum," the intention of which may be gathered from its enlarged title thus interpreted: ''The Clofed Sea; or Two Books concerning the Dominion of the Sea. In the firft, it is demonftrated that the fea, by the law of nature and of nations, is not common to mankind, but is capable of private dominion, or pro- perty, equally with the land. In the fe- cond, it is maintained that the King of Great Britain is Lord of the circumfluent fea, as an infeperable and perpetual ap- pendage of the Britifh Empire." In the fummer of 1618, purfuant to the royal command, Selden prepared it for the prefs, and it was laid before the King, who referred it to Sir Henry Martin, Judge of the Admiralty Court, by whom it was ap- proved. Buckingham fent for Selden, and was about to write the Imprimatur, when fuddenly laying dov/n the pen, he faid " The King fhall do this with his own hand in honour of the v/ork," and forth- with brought Selden to the royal prefence ;
't^
\»
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Iv
the Monarch was about to fign, but fud- denly remarked : " I recoiled fomething is faid here concerning the North Sea which may difpleafe my brother, of Den- mark^ whom I would not now offend, be- caufe I owe him a large fum of money, and intend fhortly to borrow a larger." Selden was accordingly ordered to alter this paffage, but on returning with his manufcript, found it fo difficult to obtain an audience that he withdrew. The work was laid afide until the year 1635, v/hen the Dutch having monopolifed the Northern Filhery, and their right to take herrings on our fhores being difputed, the work of Grotius and fome other publica- tions iffued from the Elzevir prefs in de- fence of their claim. Selden's work was mentioned to King Charles, and he com- manded its publication after a revifal by the author, and a previous examination by the King and fome of his minifters. The following minute of Privy council will ihew how fatisfadtory and important the work was confidered : " His Majefty, this day in council, taking into confideration
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a book lately publifhed by John Selden, Efq. entitled ' Mare Claufum, feu Domi- nio Maris/ written at the King's com- mand, which he hath done with great induftry, learning, and judgment, and hath afierted the right of the Crov/n of England to the dominion of the Britifh Seas ; the King requires one of the faid books to be kept in the Council cheft, another in the Court of Exchecquer, and a third in the court of Admxiralty, as faith- ful and ftrong evidence to the dominion of the Britifh Seas."
The Mare Claufum was tranflated into Englifh by Marchmont Needham, and publifhed in 1652, with an appendix of additional documents by Prefident Brad- fhaw, and an improved verfion by J. H. was again printed in 1663.
We have but little recorded of Selden's occupations from 1635 ^^ 1640; thefe years were moft probably occupied by lite- rary and forenfic employments, of which, refearches into legal antiquities formed at leaft a part, for his treatife " De Jure Natural! et Gentium juxta difciplinam
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Ivii
Ebr^eorum" was publifhed in the latter year.
The feries of arbitrary and oppreffive a61:s of mifgovernment which mark this period, may be found recorded in the pages of Clarendon, of Whitelocke, of Rufh worth, and Frankly n, the fafts being the fame though viewed in different lights according to the prejudices of the writer. The oppreffions of the Council Board and of the Star Chamber ; the iniquitous mock-trials of Prynne, Burton, and Baft- wick, and the ftill more iniquitous pun- iftiments with which they were vifited; the perfecution of Biftiop Williams, who had been Lord Keeper, for daring to op- pofe the plans of Laud and Buckingham ; but above all the a6live endeavours to fubjugate the religious opinions of the people, and the illegal attempts at raifing fupplies, are fome of the diftinguiftiing features of thefe times, when arbitrary at- tempts were made to govern without a parliament.
Baffled in all his endeavours to reple- nifh his exchecquer, the King was at
Ivili I Biographical Preface.
length conftrained to fummon a parlia- ment, which met In April, 1640; but of this Selden was not a member, and indeed it was diflblved at the end of three weeks, though reprefented by Clarendon as "ex- ceedingly difpofed to pleafe the ICing and do him iervice." And the fame hiftorian exprefTes his opinion of the evil confe- quences of thefe frequent and abrupt dif- folutions, as meafures unreafonable, un- fkilful, and precipitate. The King and his people parting at thefe feafons with no other refped and charity one towards the other, than perfons who never meant to meet but in their own defence ; and he laments the traitorous councils that fo- mented this mutual miftruft. He tells us that within an hour after the diflblu- tion, he met Oliver St. John, who though ufually taciturn and melancholy, was now fmiling and communicative, faying that " he forefaw that the progrefs of events was all well ; that affairs muft be worfe before they. were better; that the parlia- ment juft terminated would never have done what was neceffary."
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The fame arbitrary and illegal courfe continued, fhip-money was levied with feverity, forced loans exadled, propofals were made to debafe the currency, and the Government even had recourfe to the fwindling pradtice of purchafing goods on credit and felling them at a lofs for ready money. The war which had been re- commenced to coerce the Scottish people did not profper, the King's army was more difpofed to join the Scots than to draw their fwords in his fervice, and de- feat was the confequence.
Thus circumftanced, the King was con- ftrained to fummon another parliament, which met on the 3rd of November; of which it has been faid, " that many thought it would never have a beginning, and afterward that it would never have ended." The memorable a6ls of this Long parliament, many of which entitle it to the gratitude of the country, will be fa- miliar to every reader of our hiftory.
Selden's high Reputation at this period is evinced by his being unanimously cho- fen as reprefentative for the Univerfity of
lix
Ix
• Biographical Preface.
Oxford, and no ftronger proof can be given that he was regarded by the King's party as not unfriendly to the caufe of Monarchy. Indeed the moderate courfe he purfued had been fo far mifliaken, that Laud had declared that he would bring him over : Noy and Wentv/orth had been fuccefsfuUy tampered with, and it was pre- fumed that one who had been their com- panion was not made of fterner ftuir.
On the firft day of the meeting of this Parliam.entj Selden was nominated one of the committee to attend to the petitions againft the Earl Marfhal's Court, which had been promoted by Hyde, and which terminated in its abolifhment.
He was alfo appointed one of the com- mittee of twenty-four, appointed to draw up a declaration or remonftrance on the ftate of the nation, and this paper which contained a full and energetic expofure of grievances, gave occafion to Hyde to an- nounce his defertion to the Court party, by publifhing a reply to it ; and henceforth Selden was feparated from his friend in the public path of politics, though to the
Biographical Preface. Ixi
credit of both, their friendfhip remained unaltered, and Hyde on all occafions ftood forth in defence of Selden's confcientious conduce.
It appears that Selden was included by the Houfe in the lift of thofe who were defigned to be Strafford's accufers, and his name occurs in all the committees ap- pointed to fearch for precedents, and other preliminary arrangements, but he was not one of thofe appointed to condudl the pro- fecution; from which circumftance it has been prefumed that, in his judgment, the evidence againft this unfortunate noble- man was never fatisfadlory. Franklyn exprefsly fays that Lord Digby and Sel- den v/ere convinced by the Earl's defence, and left the profecution when the Bill of Attainder was introduced. They were in th^ minority of 59 who voted againft it, and were honoured by the rabble with the epithets of Straffordians and betrayers of their country.
Selden's name is found in the lifts of various committees at this time, and efpe- cially on thofe appointed to examine into
Ixii
Biographical Preface.
the illegal proceedings in the exchecquer refpedting fhip-money ; and upon the treaty with the Scotch at Ripon ; and on the appointment of a Cuftos Regni during the King's abfence in Scotland.
But his moft prominent poiition was the part he took when the ftate of the Eftablifhed Church was brought before the Houfe. In the declaration of griev- ances, thofe relating to religion and eccle- fiaftical affairs were chief features, and now met with earneft attention. The clergy, as Selden himfelf remarks, were never more learned ; no man taxed them with ignorance, but they had worfe faults. They were too inattentive to their religi- ous duties, and interfered too much with political affairs.
During the fufpenfion of parliaments, a convocation of the clergy had drawn up new canons and ordinances, and the Houfe now appointed a committee, of which Selden was a member, to inquire into thefe matters. Clarendon juflly obferves that " The convocation made canons, which it thought it might do ; and gave
Biographical Preface.
fubfidies out of parliament, and enjoined oaths, which certainly it might not do : in a word did many things which in the beft of times might have been queflioned, and therefore were fure to be queflioned in the worft, and drew the fame prejudice upon the whole body of the clergy, to which before only fome few clergymen were expofed."
While fome from political, and others from theological motives were bent upon overthrowing the Church Eftablifhment, Selden purfued that temperate courfe which fhews that he was friendly to its dodlrines and difcipline, and only an enemy to the abufe of eccleiiaftical power in whatever hands it may be placed.
The Members of the Convocation, and efpecially the prelates, were juftly alarmed at the propofed inquiry, and a letter from Laud to Selden on this occafion, written in an humble and imploratory ftrain, evinces the terror excited from the con- fcioufnefs of having exercifed with little moderation the powers with which an ar- bitrary government had invefted them.
ixni
Ixiv
Biographical Preface.
Upon the prefentation of a remon- flrance to Parliament from certain fedla- rian minifters refpeding church govern- ment, Rufhworth has preferved to us a curious fpecimen of the kind of logoma- chy* which fometimes took place. Sel- den had protefted againft the difcufTion of religious topics in the Houfe, and the de- bate proceeded upon the right of bifhops to fufpend the inferior clergy from, the performance of their minifterial duties. In oppofition to this Sir Harbottle Grim- ftone employed the following logic : '^ That Bifhops are Jure divino is a queftion ; that Archbifhops are not Jure divino is out of queftion. Now, that Bifhops who are
* Upon one occaiion an Alderman (probably Pennington) faid, '* Mr. Speaker, there are fo many clamours againft fuch and fuch of the Prelates, that we fhall never be quiet till we have no more Bifhops." Upon this Selden rofe and defired the Houfe to ob- ferve, ** what grievous complaints there were for high mifdemeanors, againft fuch and fuch of the Al- dermen ; and therefore, by a parity of reafon, it is my humble motion that we have no more Aldermen."
L'Eftrange's Reflections upon Poggius's Fable of a Prieft and Epiphany, part i. 364.
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queftioned whether Jure divino^ or Arch- I bifhops, who out of queflion are not Jure divino, fhould fufpend Minifters that are Jure divinOy I leave to be confidered."
To which Selden replied with great pleafantry and dialedic fkill : '^ That the convocation is Jure divino is a queftion ; that parliaments are not Jure divino is out of queftion ; that religion is Jure di- vino there is no queflion. Now^, Sir, that the convocation, which is queftionable whether Jure divino^ and parliaments, which out of queftion are not Jure divino^ fhould meddle with religion, which, quef- tionlefs is Jure divino^ I leave to your coniideration ! "
Sir Harbottle, purfuing his argument, obferved, ^^ that Archbifhops are not Bi- fhops." To which Selden rejoined, '^ that is no otherwife true than that judges are no lawyers, and aldermen no citizens."
Dr. Aikin has obferved, that " Selden well knew there was a ftanding committee of religion in parliament, and that the ec- clefiaftical difcipline and government, if not the dodrines of the Church, were re-
Ixv
Ixvi Biographical Preface.
garded by a large party as proper fub- je6ts of parliamentary dlfcuffion^ and that therefore this was mere dialedical fenc-
ing."
A declaration againfl: Epifcopacy was
read in the Houfe on the 31ft January,
1 64 1, and though Selden ufed all his learning and reafoning to defeat it, his oppofition was vain, for the bifhops were deprived of their feats in parliament, and the clergy profcribed from holding any civil office, early in the following month. The abolition of Epifcopacy followed, which was finally voted in September,
1642, as Selden had foretold.
Though nov/ fo adllvely engaged in the great political ftruggle, Selden feems to have ftill found time for his favourite literary purfuits, and one of his mofl: ela- borate works was publifhed in 1640. This was the treatife, " De Jure Naturali et Gentium juxta difciplinam Ebr^orum." The defign is fuppofed to have been fug- gefted by the celebrated work of Grotius, " De Jure Belli et Pacis," but its fubjed and method are totally different, and its
Biographical Prefac
mottOj from Lucretius : *^ Loca nullius ante tritajolo, ^cT claims for its fubjedl the merit of entire novelty. It is without a dedication, a circumftance which indi- cates the dubious complexion of the time of its appearance, but the preface prefents an analyfis of the work, which the variety of its matter, and intricacy of its arrange- ment rendered highly neceffary. " It was Selden's profefTed objedl to exhibit Jewifh law as laid down by the Jewilfh writers themfelves, he was therefore conftrained in fome meafure to follow their method, and it cannot be denied that he has made his work a valuable repertory of all that hif- tory or tradition has preferved concerning the Hebrev/ inftitutions, before and after the Mofaic difpenfation. In that view it has been much commended, both at home and abroad, and it made a large addition to the reputation he already pofTeffed for in- defatigable induflry and profound erudi- tion. An abridgment was publiihed by Buddeus, at Halle, in 1695."*
Ixvii
Allan's Life of Selden, p. in
Ixviii
Biographical Preface.
Mil ton has incidentally given his opi- nion of this work and its author, in his ^' Areopagitica/' addrelTed to the Parlia- ment, which it may not be uninterefting to annex : ^^ Bad meals will fcarce breed good nourishment in the healthieft con- co6lion : but herein the difference is of bad books, that they to a difcreet and ju- dicious reader ferve in many refpedls to difcover, to confute, to forewarn, to illuf- trate, whereof what better witnefs can ye exped I fhould produce than one of your own now fitting in parliament, the chief of learned men reputed in this land, Mr. Selden, whofe volume of natural and na- tional laws proves, not only by great au- thorities brought together, but by exqui- lite reafons, and theorems almoft mathe- matically demonftrative, that all opinions, yea errors, known, read, and collated are of main fervice and afTiftance toward the fpeedy attainment of what is trued." The allufion is to the firft chapter of Selden's work, where he has thought it neceflary to accumulate a mafs of authority in juf- tification of publifhing to the world a va-
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riety of diiFerent and contradidlory opi- nions; Milton has alfo mentioned Sel- den's work with high eulogy in his ^^ Doc- trine and Difcipline of Divorce^" chap. 22.
Selden's name appears among thofe members of the Houfe of Commons, who figned a proteftation in May, 1641, that they would maintain the proteftant re- ligion according to the dodlrine of the Church of England, and would defend the perfon and authority of the King, the privileges of parliament and the rights of the fubjed. In this proteftation almoft the whole Houfe concurred, and it was probably only intended to obviate any charge of unconflitutional intentions.*
The reader need not now be told that Selden was in politics ever inclined to moderation, and that leagued with a few true lovers of their country, not lefs de- ferving of, though lefs known to fame than thofe who figure prominently in its annals, he purfued a temperate and thoughtful courfe, as a legiflator and a
* Aikin, p. 113. - _
Ixix
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riety of different and contradidory opi- nions. Milton has alfo mentioned Sel- den's work with high eulogy in his " Doc- trine and Difcipline of Divorce," chap. 22. Sclden's name appears among thofe members of the Houfe of Commons, who figned a proteftation in May, 1641, that they would maintain the proteftant re- ligion according to the docflrine of the Church of England, and would defend the perfon and authority of the King, the privileges of parliament and the rights of the fubjed. In this proteftation almoft the whole Houfe concurred, and it was probably only intended to obviate any charge of unconftitutional intentions.* The reader need not now be told that 1 was in politics ever inclined to moderation, and that leagued with a few true lovers of their countr)', not lefs de- ferving of, though lefs known to fame ' than thofe who figure prominently in its lals, he purfued a temperate and ughtful courfc, as a legiflator and a
^
• Aikin, p. 113.
i
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if/
Ixx
Biographical Preface.
(
patriot. It was at the lodgings of Pym and of Selden that the leaders of the mo- derate party met to arrange the courfe to be purfued in Parliament, as the more violent oppofers of the Government met in a fimilar manner at the houfes of Cromwell, Hafelrigge, and Oliver St.
John.
With thefe moderate views, Selden was enabled fometimes to reftrain the violence occafionally offered to the legal courfe of juftice, and when it was once propofed that the pay of fome officers fufpeded of plotting againft the Parliament fhould ceafe,^ he reminded the houfe that as there was no judgment or charge paffed againft them, they could not have incurred a forfeiture.
The advantage which the King's affairs would have gained from the influence of the party to which Selden belonged, was
* An account of this tranfadion may be found in a letter of Secretary Nicholas to Charles I. printed in Evelyn's Memoirs, vol. v. pp. 11-12, and in the Pari. Hift. ix. 531. Johnfon's Mem. of Selden, p. 268.
Biographical Preface.
defeated by the ill-advifed impeachments of the five members, for alleged oiFences committed by them in their places as members of Parliament, and by the fubfe- quent attempt to feize them, which muft be familiar to the reader of our annals. By this flagrant breach of the privilege of Parliament, and the violent and illegal procedure which marked it, a fpirit was roufed which gave an afcendancy to the more violent oppofitionifts. A committee was appointed to fit within the precinds of London protedled by a guard of citi- zens, to decide upon the remonftrances and reports of fub-committees ; to one of which Selden was nominated, to whom was deputed the examination of the viola- tion of the privileges and the framing a petition to the King.
A proclamation directing the appre- henfion of the five members was drawn up by order of Charles, which the Lord Keeper Lyttleton refufed to feal; it was however placed upon Whitehall Gate, but was fupprefi^ed by order of Parliament in a few days.
Ixxi
Ixxii
Biographical Preface.
Charles had now removed to York, and from thence. Lord Clarendon relates, " fent an order to the Lord Falkland, to require the feal from the Lord Keeper, though he was not refolved to what hand to commit it." The Lord Chief Juftice Banks and Selden were mentioned by him to Culpepper and Hyde, whofe opinion he required. Banks was not thought equal to the charge in times of fuch tur- bulence, and " they did not doubt Mr. Selden's affedion to the King, but they knew him fo well that they concluded he would abfolutely refufe the place if it was offered to him. He was in years, and of tender conftitution ; he had long enjoyed his eafe, which he loved; was rich, and would not have miade a journey to York, or have lain out of his own bed for any preferment, which he had never affec5l- ed."*
* The following letter given from the Harding MSS. in the Biogr. Brittan. fully confirms Lord Clarendon's opinion. Selden was always oppofed to the King's friends being abfent from Parliament, v. Table Talk, The King, § 8 :
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The Parliament feem to have obtained information of this overture^ for on the 4th of February, a peremptory order was ifTued for Mr. Selden and others to attend within three days at fartheft, and to con-
Ixxiii
Mr. Selden to the Marquis of Hertford. My Lord,
I received from his moft excellent Majefly a com- mand for my waiting on him at York, and he is moft gracioufly pleafed to fay that I fhould make as much hafte as my health will permit. I have been for many weeks, my Lord, very ill, and am ftill fo infirm that I have not fo much as any hope of being able to travel, much lefs fuch a journey. Yet, if that were all, I would willingly venture any lofs of my- felf rather than not perform my duty to his Majefty. But if I were able to come, I call God to witnefs, I have no appreheniion of any pofTibility of doing his Majefty fervice there. On the other fide, it is moft probable, or rather apparent that a member of the Houfe of Commons, and of my condition, by coming thither, might thereby foon be a caufe of fome very fenfible difturbance ; by this name I call whatfoever will at this time (as this would) doubtlefs occafion fome further or other difference betwixt his Majefty and that Houfe. My legal and humble affedlions to his Majefty and his fervice are, and fhall be, as great and as hearty as any man's, and therefore, when I am able I fhall really exprefs them. But I befeech your Lordfhip be pleafed, upon what I have repre-
Ixxlv Biographical Preface.
tinue their fervice at the Houfe.* Dr. Aikin has juftly obferved '^ that if princi- ple can be inferred from adlions^ it could fcarcely be expedled that Selden was pre- pared to quit the parliamentary party, in whofe meafures he had for the moft part concurred, and join the royalifts, whom he had oppofed." And in the ftruggle which enfued between the King and the Parliament refpedling the Militia, and the Commiffion of Array, the part he took makes it evident that his principles were far from wavering.
Lord Clarendon's account of his con- duct on this occafion will make this evi- dent ; he fays, " Mr. Selden had in the debate upon the Commiffion of Array in the Houfe of Commons, declared himfelf very pofitively and with much fharpnefs
fented, to preferve me from his Majefty's difpleafure, which I hope too from his moft excellent goodnefs towards me. Your Lordfhip's great and continued fa- vours to me embolden me to make this fuit, which granted will be a fmgular happinefs to
Your Lordfhip's, &c. "* Journal of the H. of C. ii. 955.
Biographical Preface. Ixxv
againft it, as a thing exprefsly without any authority of law, the ftatute upon which it was grounded being, as he faid, re- pealed ; and difcourfed very much on the ill confequences which might refult from fubmitting to it. He anfwered the argu- ments which had been ufed to fupport it ; and ealily prevailed with the Houfe not to like a proceeding which they knew was intended to do them hurt, and to lefTen their authority. But his authority and reputation prevailed much farther than the Houfe, and begat a prejudice againft it in many well affeded men without doors. When the King was informed of it, he was much troubled, having looked upon Mr. Selden as well difpofed to his fervice : and the Lord Falkland, with his Majefty's leave, writ a friendly letter to Mr. Selden, to know the reafon why in fuch a conjundlure he would oppofe the fubmiffion to the CommifTion of Array, which no body could deny to have its ori- ginal from law, and which many learned men ftill believed to be very legal, to make way for the eftablifhment of an
Ixxvi
Biographical Preface.
ordinance which had no manner of pre- tence to right ? He anfwered this letter very frankly, as a man who believed him- felf in the right upon the Commiffion of Array, and that the arguments he had ufed againft it could not be anfwered; fumming up thofe arguments in as few words as they could be comprehended in. But there he did as frankly inveigh againft the Ordinance for the Militia, which he faid ^ was without a fhadow of law or pretence of precedent, and moft deftrudlive to the government of the king- dom : ' and he did acknowledge, ' that he had been the more inclined to make that difcourfe in the Houfe againft the Com- miffion, that he might with the more freedom argue againft the Ordinance : and was moft confident that he fhould likewife overthrow the Ordinance, which he con- feffed, could be lefs fupported; and he did believe it would be much better if both were rejeded, than if either of them ftiould ftand and remain uncontrouled.' But his confidence deceived him ; and he quickly found that they who fuffered
Biographical Preface. Ixxvii
themfelves to be entirely governed by his reafon, when thofe conclufions refulted from it which contributed to their own de- fignSj would not be at all guided by it, or fubmit to it, when it perfuaded that which contradi6led and would difappoint thofe defigns. And fo, upon the day appointed for the debate of their ordinance, when he applied all his faculties to the convincing them of the illegality and monftroufnefs of it, by arguments at leaft as clear and demonftrable as his former had been, they made no impreffion upon them, but were eafily anfwered by thofe who with mofl: paffion infifted upon their own fenfe." *
Whitelocke fays " that Selden and di- vers other gentlemen of great parts and intereft, accepted commiffions of lieuten- ancy, and continued their fervice in Par- liament." If Selden did accept a deputy lieutenancy, he was certainly not perfon- ally adive in the office, for other occupa- tions detained him in London. He was one of a committee formed on the 23rd
* Clarendon's Hill. v. i. p. 517. fol. ed.
Ixxvi
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ordinance which had no manner of pre- tence to right ? He anfwered this letter very frankly, as a man who believed him- felf in the right upon the Commiffion of Array, and that the arguments he had ufed againft it could not be anfwered; fumming up thofe arguments in as few words as they could be comprehended in. But there he did as frankly inveigh againft the Ordinance for the Militia, which he faid ' was without a fhadow of law or pretence of precedent, and moft deftru6tive to the government of the king- dom : ' and he did acknowledge, ' that he had been the more inclined to make that difcourfe in the Houfe againft the Com- miffion, that he might with the more freedom argue againft the Ordinance : and was moft confident that he ftiould likewife overthrow the Ordinance, which he con- feifed, could be lefs fupported; and he did believe it would be much better if both were rejefted, than if either of them ftiould ftand and remain uncontrouled.' But his confidence deceived him ; and he quickly found that they who fuft^ered
Biographical Preface. Ixxvii
themfelves to be entirely governed by his reafon, when thofe conclufions refulted from it which contributed to their own de- figns, would not be at all guided by it, or fubmit to it, when it perfuaded that which contradidted and would difappoint thofe deiigns. And fo, upon the day appointed for the debate of their ordinance, when he applied all his faculties to the convincing them of the illegality and monftroufnefs of it, by arguments at leaft as clear and demonftrable as his former had been, they made no impreffion upon them, but were eafily anfwered by thofe who with moft pafTion infifled upon their own fenfe." *
Whitelocke fays " that Selden and di- vers other gentlemen of great parts and intereft, accepted commifTions of lieuten- ancy, and continued their fervice in Par- liament." If Selden did accept a deputy lieutenancy, he was certainly not perfon- ally adive in the office, for other occupa- tions detained him in London. He was one of a committee formed on the 23rd
* Clarendon's Hift. v. i. p. 517. fol. ed.
Ixxx
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to be prelLyterSj with the injundion that when the patriarchate fhould become va- cant, they fhould choofe onelqf their number, and confecrate him patriarch by the imposition of their hands, at the fame time eleding aperfon to fill his place in the prelbytery : fo that there fhould always be 12 prefbyters, the patriarch being reckoned as one ; and that this mode continued in pradlice to the time of the Patriarch Alexander, who diredled that thenceforth on the deceafe of a patriarch, a new one fhould be ordained by an af- fembly of bifhops.^'
The publication of this piece involved Selden in hoftilities with the zealous ad- vocates of Epifcopacy, both Proteftant and Roman Catholic ; but the Englifh epifcopalian party do not then appear to have entered into the controverfy, they had too much already upon their hands in contending with their more formidable adverfary the parliament. f
* Aikin's Life of Selden, p. 123. et feq.
f It was the caufe of truth rather than of prefbyteri-
Biographical Preface.
The calm and difpafTionate moderation of Selden and the refiftance he occafionally offered to violent meafures, caufed fome of the popular leaders to hold him in fuf- picion. When the plot for introducing the royal forces into London, and difarm- ing the Militia was difcovered, and Wal- ler, the poet, (a principal confpirator) was examined before the Houfe, he was afked whether Selden, Whitelocke and others named ¥/ere acquainted with the defign. To which he replied, "that they were not, but that he did come one evening to
anifm which incited Selden to this publication, for in many parts of his other works he exprefsly favours epifcopacy. And it is remarkable enough that Pococke did not much afFeft the tafic of tranflation, being an Epifcopalian. The authority of Eutychius has been fince much invalidated by Morinus, Renaudot, Ham- mond, Walton, and Pearfon. See Twell's Life of Pococke, p. 216-17. Ed. 18 16. Selden probably caufed it to be publilhed, becaufe it favoured his own opinion that the government of the Church, as much as the government of the reft of the ftate, is fubjed to the will of the legiHature. See the article " Bi- fhops out of Parliament " in the Table Talk. Pro- voft Baillie and Baxter reprefent Selden as the head
Ixxxi
In
Ixxxil
Biographical Preface.
Seidell's ftudy, where Whitelock and Pier- point then were with Selden, on purpofe to impart it to them all ; and fpeaking of fuch a thing in general terms, thefe gen- tlemen did fo inveigh againft any fuch thing, as treachery and bafenefs, and that which might be the occalion of ihedding much blood, that he durft not for the re- fped he had for Selden and the reft, com- municate any of the particulars to them ; but was almoft diftieartened himfelf to proceed in it."*
In June, 1643, ^^ ordinance was made
of the Ernjlians, i. e. of thofe who confider the Church to be part of the civil pplit}^ of a ftate : they were fo named after Thomas Eraftus, a Swifs phyii- cian, who was for rellraining the ecclefiaflical power from all Temporal jurifdiclion. The title of his work, which is exceedingly rare, is " Explicatio Gra- viffimae Quaeftionis utrum Excommunicatio, quatenus Religionem intelligentes et amplexantes, a Sacramen- torum ufu, propter admilTum facinus arcet; man- dato nitatur Divino, an excogitata fit ab homini- bus." 4to. Pefclavii, 1589. Selden has manifefted in feveral places of the Table Talk, and elfewhere, his acquaintance with this volume.
* Whitclock's Mem. p. 66.
Biographical Preface.
for afTembling a fynod of divines * and laymen at Henry VII. chapel in Weft- minfter "to fettle the government and liturgy of the Church of England." Among the lay members, were Selden and White- locke, and we are told by the latter that " Selden fpoke admirably and confuted them in their own learning, and fome- times when they had cited a text of fcrip- ture to prove their aifertion, he would tell
* The AiTembly of Divines confifted of lo peers, 20 members of the Houfe of Commons, about 20 epifcopal divines, and 100 other perfons, moil of which were prefbyterians, a few independents, and fome to reprefent the Kirk of Scotland. Few of the epifcopal divines ever, attended, and thofe who did foon left them. Clarendon fays *' except thefe few epifcopal divines the reft were all declared enemies to the Church of England ; fome of them infamous in their lives and converfation ; moft of them of very mean parts in learning, if not of fcandalous igno- rance, and of no other reputation than of malice to the Church of England." Baxter, on the contrary, fays. They were men of eminent learning, godlinefs, minifterial abilities, and fidelity, and that as far as he was able to judge, the Chriftian world iince the days of the Apoftles, had never a fynod of more excellent divines, than this fynod and the fynod of Dort.
Ixxxiii
'1
Ixxxiv
Biographical Preface.
them ^ perhaps in your little pocket bibles with gilt leaves, (which they would often pull out and read) the tranflation may be thus, but the Greek or Hebrew figni- fies thus and thus/ and fo would filence them."
Baillie, Principal of the Univerfity of Glafgow, one of the Scotch deputies to this afTembly, has graphically defcribed it, and tells us that " thofe who fpeak ha- rangue long and learnedly. I do mar- vel at the very accurate replies that many of them ufually make." * Sermons, prayer and failing were part of their ordinary difcipline, and the fame writer gives us the account of a day which he defignates '^ fpending from nine to five very gra- cioufly."— " After Dr. TwifTe, (the pro- locutor) had begun with a fhort prayer, Mr. Marfhall prayed large two hours. After, Mr. Arrowfmith preached an hour, then a pfalm ; thereafter Mr. Vines prayed nearly two hours, and Mr. Palmer preached an hour, and Mr. Seaman prayed near
* Baillie's Letters and Journals, i. 369.
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two hours^ then a pfalm ; after, Mr. Hen- derfon preached, and Dr. TwifTe clofed with a ihort prayer and blefling.
But their patient perfeverance in devo- tion did not unfit them for convivial enjoyment when it offered. At an en- tertainment given by the Corporation of London, to the two Houfes of Parliament and the afTembly, at Taylor's Hall, in January, 1644, Baillie informs us '^'^ the feaft was very great, valued at 4000/. rlierling, yet we had no defert, nor mufic, but drums and trumpets. All was con- cluded with a pfalm, whereof Dr. Burgefs read the line ! There was no excefs in any we heard of. The Speaker of the Houfe of Commons drank to the Lords in the name of all the Commons of En.o--
o
land. The Lords flood up every one with his glafs, for they reprefent none but them.felves, and drank to the Commons.'' In fuch fantailic forms did the preva- lent religious enthufiafm manifefl itfelf, and fome it rendered infane; many were doubtlefs fincere well-meaning men, but the garb of fanaticifm was afTumed by
Ixxxv
i\
Ixxxvi
Biographical Preface.
many profligate worthlefs wretches. The title of puritan is faid to have been far- caftically given in allufion to the fuper- lative innocency and fpirituality which the chief of them profefled, but it was firft appHed about the year 1559 to thofe who fought to purify the worfhip and dif- cipline of the Church from what they conceived to be relics of Papiftry. It was the fafhion of the time to wear the hair in flowing locks, but the puritans " cut their hair fo clofe that it would fcarce cover their ears; many cut it quite clofe round their heads with fo many little peaks that it was fomething ridiculous to behold," and this acquired them the name of Roundheads. Mrs. Hutchinfon fays " that though her huflDand aded with the Puritan party, they would not allow him to be religious, becaufe his hair was not in their cut." * Selden is reported to have faid " he trufted he was not either mad enough or foolifli enough to deferve the name of Puritan." He was certainly
Memoirs of Col. Hutchinfon, p. 100.
Biographical Preface.
no friend to the fynod.* The Jure dl- vino queftion lafted 30 days, the Eraftians did not except againfl: a prefbyterial go- vernment as a political inftitution proper
ixxxvn
* Sir John Birkenhead in his ''AfTembly man" fays, "What opinion the learned Mr. Selden had of them, appears from the following account : The Houfe of Parliament once made a queftion, whether they had beft admit Archbifhop Ufher to the Af- fembly of divines ? He faid they had as good enquire, whether they had beft admit Inigo Jones, the King's Architeft, to the company of moufe-trap makers:" and again, "Mr. Selden vifits the AlTembly, as Per- fians ufed, to fee wild alTes fight : when the Com- mons have tired him with their new law, thefe bre- thren refrefti him with their mad gofpel : They lately were gravelled betwixt Jerufalem and Jericho, they knew not the diftance between thofe two places ; one cried 20 miles, another ten. It was concluded feven for this reafon, that fifti was brought from Jericho to Jerufalem-market : Mr. Selden fmiled and faid, perhaps the fifh was fait fifti, and fo ftopped their mouths."
Cleveland in a poem entitled " The mixt AfTem- bly," thus alludes to Selden's fuperiority over thofe with whom he had to contend in this Synod :
Thus every Ghibelline has got his Guelf ; But Selden he's a Galliard by himfelf ; And well may be ; there's more Divines in him. Than in all this their Jewilh Sanhedrim.
Ixxxviii
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to be eftablifhed by the civil magi ftrate, but they were decidedly againft the claim of a divine right, Selden with the reft was of this mind, apprehending that preft)ytery would prove as arbitrary and tyrannical as prelacy if it came in with a divine claim.
Among the few epifcopalians nomi- nated members of the afiembly was Sel- den's early friend the learned and liberal Archbiftiop Uftier; their intimacy com- menced in the year 1609^ when Uiher, then Profeftbr of Divinity at Trinity Col- lege Dublin, was in London purchaiing books for its library. Ufher not only declined to take part in the proceedings of the aflembly, as it was conftituted, but maintained by all means in his power the reafonablenefs of the eftabliftied form of Church Government. Having preached againft the authority and purpofe of the fynod, he drew down upon himfelf the difpleafure of the Parliament, an ordi- nance was made for the conftfcation of his library, then in Chelfea College, and it v/ould have been fold and difperfed had not Selden obtained permiftion for Dr.
Biographical Preface.
ixxxix
Featly, a member of the fynod, to pur- chafe it as if for his own ufe for a trifling fum. In June, 1646, he performed an- other adl of kindnefs to his venerable friend, who was called before a board of examiners at Weftminfter, and required to take the negative oath which was im- pofed upon all who had been adherents of the King. Ufher defired time to con- sider of it, and being difmifled for that time, he was fpared the necefTity of a fe- cond appearance, by the exertions of Sel- den and his other parliamentary friends who obtained permifTion for him to retire into the country.
By a vote of the Houfe, November 8, 1643, Selden was appointed Keeper of the Records in the Tower ; an office for which he was. peculiarly fitted, and which pro- bably furnifhed him with an excufe for gradually withdrawing from the political vortex, where he found himfelfalmoft alone in his pofition as a moderator. Yet upon important occafions he was ftill to be found at his poll as long as he thought he could be ufeful. We are not informed how
xc Biographical Preface.
long he retained the office of Keeper of the Records, but it was probably refigned on the paffing of the Self denying Ordi- nance in 1645.
In February, 1645-6, he fubfcribed the folemn league and covenant; he had ufed his beft endeavours to preferve the mon- arcbial form of government, and a mo- derate epifcopacy, but it was now evident that the caufe of both was loft, and the train of events which had precipitated the fall of both, had probably fhewn him that further refiftance was vain.
The attainder and trial of Archbifhop Laud now took place, and Selden appears to have taken no part in that tranfacflion ; yet, when the parliamentary Commiftion- ers had feized upon the Archbifhop's En- dowment of the Arabick Profeftbrfhip at Oxford, he exerted himfelf to obtain its reftitution, which he ultimately effeded about the middle of 1647.
In 1644 he printed his chronological work, *^ De Anno Civili Veteris Eccleiias, feu Republicas Judaicas, Differtatio," in which are difcufled all the points relative
Biographical Preface.
to the Jewifh Calendar, derived from the Talmudifts or traditional writers of the Jewifh Church, and difplaying the author's ufual profundity of erudition. The pre- face points out the importance of the en- quiry to the right underftanding of the fcriptures and the neceffity of reforting to thefe fources of elucidation.
In April, 1645, a committee of fix Lords and twelve Commoners being ap- pointed to condu6t the bufinefs of the Admiralty, Selden was nominated one of the commiffioners ; but before they en- tered upon the duties of their office, the plan was altered, probably in confequence of the pafling of the Self denying Ordi- nance, and three commiffioners feledled from the whole number were invefted with the power. Selden was not one of the three named.
In May of this year, the Houfe of Commons entered an order on their jour- nals ^^ for Mr. Selden to bring in an Or- dinance for regulating the Herald's office, and the Heraldry of the Kingdom," and upon a debate on an ordinance for dif-
xci
xcii I Biographical Preface.
charging the wardfhip of the heirs of Sir Chriftopher Wray, who had died in the fervice of the ParHament, the abufes and opprefTions incident to wardfhips were fo forcibly pointed out by Selden, Maynard, St. John, Whitelocke, and other lawyers, that it gave rife to an order for the aboli- tion of the Court of Wards and its feudal appendages. The vote was paffed by the Commons, fandioned by the Lords, and ordered to be printed in the courfe of one day.
Upon the death of Dr. Eden, mafter of Trinity Hall, in Cambridge, in Auguft, 1645, Selden was unanimoufly chofen to fucceed him, with fuch univerfal approba- tion as added much to the honour con- ferred by the choice. Selden declined the charge as he had all other honourable charges that fought his acceptance. He was now in years, was rich, he loved his literary leifure, and he was connected with the fifter univerfity ; thefe may be con- ceived fufficient motives for the refufal of an honour which few men would have declined. But though he declined this
Biographical Preface. xciii
intimate connexion with the Univerfity of Cambridge, he was ever ready to do it fimilar fervices to thofe he had ren- dered to Oxford. Dr. Bancroft had left his library to his fuccefTors in the See of Canterbury on condition that his fuccef- for fhould give fecurity that he would leave it entire and without diminution to the next Archbifhop in fucceffion ; but in cafe of refufal to give fuch fecurity, he bequeathed it to Chelfea College, then building, if that building fhould be finifhed within fix years after his deceafe. If this did not occur his library was to go to the Univerfity of Cambridge. The order of Bifhops being abolifhed, and Chelfea Col- lege abandoned, Selden fuggefted to the Univerfity that their right to the books had arifen on the contingent remainder. It confequently petitioned the Upper Houfe, and Selden pleaded for them fo fuccefsfully that the Univerfity obtained an order not only for Dr. Bancroft's books, but for thofe of his fuccefibr, Archbifiiop Abbot. They were however re-claimed for Lam- beth, by Archbifhop Juxon, afte): the re-
xciv Biographical Preface.
ftoration, ftill Selden's interference had prevented their difperfion, and preferved them for their original deftination.
D'Ifraeli has remarked that the repub- licans of England like thofe of France in the next century, were infeded with a hatred of literature and the arts ; he af- ferts that the burning of the Records in the Tower was certainly propofed ; and that a fpeech of Selden's put a ftop to thefe incendiaries.*
The fame fanatic fpirit placed the Uni- verfities in danger of abolition, or at any rate of fpoliation, and reftridlion. Brad- fhaw propofed an immediate vifitation for this purpofe, and Selden fuccefsfully ob- je6led to the injuftice of fuch a proceed- ing, before the Univerfity had provided itfelf with legal afliftance ; and in order to be of more effe6lual ufe, he obtained in 1647 ^^^ appointment of one of the Par- liamentary Viiitors of the Univerlity of Oxford.
A letter from Dr. Gerard Langbaine
* Curiofities of Literature, 2nd feries, iii. 446.
Biographical Preface. xcv
provoft of Queen's College exprefTes the warmeft gratitude of the Univerfity for this interpofition in its favour. " We are all abundantly fatisfied in your unwearied care and pafTionate endeavours for our prefervation. We know and confefs,
— Si Pergama dextra
Defend! poterant, etiam hac defenfa fuiffent.
Of this we are confident, that (next un- der God's) it muft be imputed to your extraordinary providence that we have flood thus long : you have been the only belli mora^ and
Quicquid apud noflrae ceffatum eft moenia Troj^, Hedloris.
I cannot add ^^nesque, for you had no fecond,
: — manu viftoria Graium
By your good a6ls, and prudent manage, our fix-months hath been fpun unto two years, and it hath been thus far verified upon us, by your means, nee capti potuere
capi." *
Leland's Colleftanea, by Hearne, v. 2 8 2 . Three
xcvi Biographical Preface.
In 1 646, Selden gave to the world one of the moft curious and intereftlng of his works, entitled, " Uxor Ebraica ; feu de Nuptiis et Divortiis ex Jure Civili, id eft, Divino et Talmudico, veterum Ebrasorum, Libri tres."
Having in his former work on Jewifh natural and international law, treated of every thing relating to the Hebrew matri- monial regulations that came under thofe two heads, in this work he completed his fubjedt, adding all that relates to it from what he terms their civil law, that is, the matrimonial rites and ceremonies, cuftoms and inftitutions proper to their nation, and derived from the Levitical law, or from the ancient ordinances of their rulers. He adds what he calls the ftupendous dodlrines of the Karaites re- fpeding inceft ; and incidental notices of the modes of contradling and difibiving marriages among Pagans, Mahomedans,
other letters, written in Latin to him in the name of his Ah?ia mater , are preferved by Dr. Wilkins, and alfo two letters from the Univerfity of Cambridge, thanking him for his fervices.
Biographical Preface. ^cvil
and Chriftians in the Eaft and Weft, which have been either derived from Jewifh cuf- toms or appear to refemble them.*
In 1647, ^^ publifhed from a MS. in the Cotton library, the valuable old law treatife entitled " Fleta," fo named from being compiled by its anonymous author while confined in the Fleet prifon, moft probably in the reign of Edward ift. It is divided into fix books ; the firft treat- ing of pleas of the crown ; the fecond gives a full and curious account of the royal houfehold, &c. illuftrative of the hiftory of thofe times, and the remaining books contain the pradice of the courts of judicature, the forms of writs, explana- tions of law-terms and the like.
Selden's preface contains many curious particulars relating to the early writers on the laws of England, Bradon, Britton, Fleta, and Thornton, and of the ufe vv^hich v/as made of the Imperial and Juftinian Codes in England.
A vote paiTed the Floufe of Commons
* Aikin's Life of Selden, 138.
xviii Biographical Preface.
in 1 646-7, awarding to Selden and feveral others of his political aiTociates during the reign of arbitrary power, the fum of five thoufand pounds each " for their fufferings for oppofing the illegalities of that time." Wood reports that fome fay Selden re- fufed this grant, and faid that he could not out of confcience take it ; but Walker, in his Hiftory of Independency, fays that Selden received half the money voted to him ; and on the Journals of the Houfe there are two entries ordering payment of the moieties on the nth of May, and nth of November, 1647. Selden, in a pecuniary point of view, certainly did not want this recompenfe, and probably did not receive the fecond payment, for as Wood's authority obferves, "his mind was as great as his learning, full of generofity, and har- bouring nothing that feemed bafe."
One of the laft adls of Selden's political life was conne6led with the laft effort to effedl a reconciliation between the King and the Parliament, in which he had doubtlefs taken an a6live and earneft part. On the iith of December, Selden went
Biographical Preface. xclx
up with a meflage to the Lords from the Commons, defiring their confent to four bills; concerning the management of the army and navy ; for juftifying the pro- ceedings of parliament in the late war ; concerning the peerage; and the adjourn- ment of both houfes; which were to be prefented to his majefty for his affent. And when the Scotch Commiflioners de- fired that thefe bills might be communi- cated to them, Selden again appeared at the bar of the Houfe of Lords with two refolutions, vindicating, from fuch inter- ference, the independence of Parliament. But now perceiving that all was hope- lefs, that a military defpotifm and the King's ruin were inevitable, he, however unwilling, withdrew to thofe fludies which had ever occupied all the leifure he could command ; yet in 1 649, ftill folicitous for the interefts of learning, a vote being palTed for the prefervation of the books and medals in the palace at St. James's, he perfuaded his friend Whitelocke to ac- cept the office, in order to prevent their being pillaged or difperfed.
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It is faid that when the Eikon Bafilike appeared, its influence in winning favour to the royal caufe was fo much feared, that an anfwer to it was deemed highly eflential, and that Cromwell, more than once, inftigated him both perfonally, and by his friends, to undertake the tafk, which he unhefitatingly declined ; and it was eventually replied to by Milton in his " Iconoclafl:es," his republican principles making him not averfe to it.
In 1650, he fent to the prefs the iirft part of a work v/hich he had written above twelve years before, but kept by him to corredl and enlarge. This was his ample treatife '^ De Synedriis et Prefedluris Ju- ridicis Veterum Ebrasorum." It was in- tended to comprife every thing recorded relating to the Sanhedrim or Juridical Courts of the Jews both before and after the promulgation of the Mofaic law, with collateral notices of fimilar inftitutions in modern times and countries. In this firfl; part he confiders largely the fubjed of excommunication, or the penal interdidion by ecclefiaftical authority of participation
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Cl
in facred rites^ a power to the aflumption of which he had already fhewn himfelf a decided adverfary.
His preface almoft entirely relates to this fubje(5l ; a peculiarly interefting one at the time^ and the following paflage is remarkable. Speaking of the divine right of excommunication claimed by different churches, he fays, "This claim has not a few ajffertors as well Romanifts, as Non- romanift Epifcopalians, and Prefbyterians, which latter infift upon it much more po- fitively, and carry it much farther in their own favour ; for after having, in their manner, inveighed againft this power in papal and epifcopal hands, they have, as it were, cut it into fhreds and portioned it out among themfelves, with a vaft accef- fion from that authority, which they fo con- fidently attribute to their own order."
The firfl book brings the fubjedl down to the giving of the law at Mount Sinai. It was followed three years afterward by a fecond book, comprifing the judicial hif- tory of the Jews to the defhrudion of the Temple. A third which propofed to
cii Biographical Preface.
treat of the great Sanhedrim was left in- complete, and was not printed till after his death.*
In 1652, he contributed a preface to the colleftion of ten monkifh hiftorians known as the Script ores pofi Bedam; he was not the editor, but communicated fome collations of MSS. from the Cotton library, and occafionally looked over the proof fheets. In his preface he endeavours to prove that the hiftory of Simeon Dun- el menfis was really compofed by Turgot, Prior of the Monastery of Durham, and Bifhop of St. Andrews ; Simeon's claim has been however reafferted by Thomas Rudd, Keeper of the Durham library. Selden incidentally gives fome account of the Keledie or Culdees of Scotland, who long afforded an example of prefbyterial ordination, without the intervention of a bifhop.
The laft of his writings was a defence of himfelf, refpe6ling the compofition of the " Mare Claufum," againft Theodore
* Aikin's Life of Selden, pp. 146-7-8.
Biographical Preface. ciii
Grafwinckelj a Dutch Jurift, who in an anfwer to Burgus on the Dominion of the Genoefe Sea, had mentioned Selden and his motives for compofing the Mare Gau- fum in terms highly oifeniive to our illuf- trious countryman. It is dated from his houfe in Whitefriars, May i, 1653, and is chiefly valuable for the particulars it affords of fome of the events of his life^ efpecially relating to his different impri- fonments. The motto indicates the keen feelings from which it fprang :
" Contameliam nee fords poteft, nee ingenuus pad."
The infirmities of age now began to gain ground upon him, and he became fenfible that his end was approaching ; on the loth of November, 1654, he addreffed the following fhort note to his friend Whitelocke, then Keeper of the Great Seal:
My Lord,
I am a moft humble fuitor to your
Lordfhip that you would be pleafed that
I might have your prefence for a little
time to-morrow, or next day. Thus
CIV
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much wearies the moft weak hand and body of
Your Lordfhip's moft humble fervant,
J. Selden.
Nov. lo, 1654, Whitefryars.
Thefe were probably the laft lines he wrote. Whitelocke " went to him and was advifed with about fettling his eftate and altering his will, and to be one of his executors ; but his weaknefs fo increafed, that his intentions were prevented." He died on the laft day of November, 1654; within 1 6 days of the completion of his 70th year. According to Aubrey the difeafe which terminated his exiftence was dropfy. Death feems to have approached him without its terrofs,* for his life had been well fpent, and he had virtuoufly and confcientiouftv aimed at the welfare of his country, and the promulgation of truth.
A ftiort time before his death, it is re- lated, he fent one afternoon for his friends Archbiftiop Uftier, and Dr. Langbaine,
* Aubrey tells us that he had his funeral fcutcheons prepared fome months before he died.
Biographical Preface. cv
and upon that occafion uttered thefe me- morable words : '* That he had furveyed moft parts of the learning that was among the fons of men ; that he had his ftudy full of books and papers of moft fubje6ls in the world ; yet at that time he could not recoiled: any paftage out of thofe in- finite books and manufcripts he was maf- ter of, wherein he could reft his foul, fave out of the Holy Scriptures ; wherein the moft remarkable paftage that lay moft upon his fpirit, was Titus ii. ii, 12, 13, 14, 15."* The import of thefe verfes is
* I have quoted this anecdote from Bifhop Lloyd's " Fair Warnings to a Carelefs World," 1682, p. 140. It is repeated in a work attributed to George, Earl of Berkley, entitled " Hiftorical Applications, and occafional meditations upon feveral fubjefts ; " the firft edition of which was printed in 1670. But we learn from the preface to Lloyd's book, that part of it was printed in 1655, both at London and York, and that the edition of 1682 was enlarged and pub- liftied at a pious perfon's (Dr. T's.) earneft requeft. In the margin of " Fair Warnings " we have the following note : " From Do6lor Ufher's mouth, whom he delired to preach at his funeral, and to give him the facraments ; at the celebration whereof a great fcholar, as it is commonly reported, coming
cvi Biographical Preface.
obedience to the commands of God, and faith in the redeeming facrifice of our Sa- viour. Truths which Selden therefore
in, flared, faying, * I thought Selden had more learn- ing, judgment, and fpirit, than to ftoop to obfolete forms.' " It is prefaced too, thus : " Mafter Selden, who had comprehended all the learning and know- ledge that is either among the Jews, Heathens, or Chriilians ; and fufpe6led hy many of too little regard for religion, one afternoon before he died, &c." Later editions of the ** Fair Warnings " were given, pro- bably by a bookfeller's fraud, under the name of Dr. Woodward. A goffiping llory is told by Aubrey, that " when Selden was near death ; the minifter (Mr. Johnfon) was coming to aflbile him : Mr, Hobbes happened to be there ; fay'd he, * What, will you that have wrote like a man, now die like a woman ? ' So the minifter was not let in." This filly ftory has probably the fame vague origin as that of Lloyd, in which the great fcholar probably is meant to delignate Hobbes.
That Selden was a firm believer in Chriftianity cannot be doubted, and we are told by Baxter, his cotemporary, " The Hobbians and other infidels would have perfuaded the world that Selden was of their mind, but Sir Matthew Hale, his intimate friend and executor, affured me that Selden was an earneft profeflbr of the Chriftian faith, and fo angry an adverfary to Hobbes, that he hath rated him out the room." Baxter's Diary, by Sih'e/ler,pt. 3, 48.
Biographical Preface. cvii
regarded as the efTence of the Chriftian revelation ; thefe had probably been the rule and guide of his life; content with the religion of the Bible, and difgufted with the fanatic fpirit of fed:arian bigotry, contentious about unefTential points of do6lrine, and hurling damnation upon thofe who differed from them in the mofl; immaterial particulars.
He had himfelf prepared an epitaph in Latin, which is interefting as it records his eftimate of his own charader ; Dr. Aikin has given us the following verfion of it : after mentioning his admiffion to the Society of the Inner Temple, it pro- ceeds thus : '' He applied himfelf to the ftudies of the place neither remifsly nor unfuccefsfully ; but indulging his natural difpoiition, and little fitted for the buftle of courts, he betook himfelf to other ftu- dies as an enquirer. He was happy in friendftiips with fome of the beft, moft learned, and illuftrious of each order ; but not without the heavy enmity of fome in- temperate adverfaries of truth and genuine liberty ; under v/hich he feverely but man-
CVIU
Biographical Preface.
fully fuffered. He ferved as burgefs in feveral parliaments, both in thofe which had a King, and which had none." *
Aubrey thus records the laft honours paid to his mortal remains : '^ On Thurs- day the 14th of Deer, he was magnifi- cently buryed in the Temple Church. His Executors invited all the parliament men, all the benchers, and great officers. All the Judges had mourning, as alfo an abundance of perfons of quality. His grave was about i o foot deepe or better ; walled up a good way with bricks, of which alfo the bottome was paved, but the fides at the bottome for about two foot high were of black polifiied marble, wherein his coffin ^covered with black bayes) lyeth, and upon that wall of mar- ble was prefently let downe a huge black marble fi:one of great thicknefi'e, with this infcription :
Hie jacet Corpus Johannis Seldeni qui obiit 30 die Novembris, 1654.
1. , ■
* Marchmont Needham, making mention of this epitaph in his Mercurius Politicus, fays, "it was well he did it, for no man elfe could do it for him."
Biographical Preface.
Over this was turned an arch of brick, (for the houfe would not lofe their ground) and upon that was throwne the earth, &c. and on the furface lieth another faire grave ftone of black marble with this infcription :
I. Seldenvs I. C. heic fitus eft.
There is a coate of arms on the flat mar- ble, but it is indeed that of his mother, for he had none of his owne, though he fo well deferved it. 'Tis ftrange (me thinke) that he would not have one."
A mural monument to his memory was fubfequently placed in the circular part of the Church.
His friend Archbifhop Uflier, at the requeft of his executors, preached his fu- neral fermon, and among the eulogies which according to cuflom it contained, he faid, " that he looked upon the deceafed as fo great a fcholar, that himfelfe was fcarce worthy to carry his books after him."
The Mafter of the Temple (Richard Johnfon) read the burial fervice according
cix
ex Biographical Preface.
to the form of the New Diredory, and added at the clofe, '^ if learning could have kept a man alive, this our brother had not died."
In perfon Selden was tall, being in height about fix feet, his face was thin and oval, and the whole head not very large. His nofe was long, and inclining to one fide. His eyes were grey, and full and prominent.
He kept a plentiful table, which was never without the fociety of learned guefts. Though himfelf temperate in eating and drinking, he was accuflomed to fay jocu- larly '* I will keep myfelf warm and moifl as long as I live, for I fhall be cold and dry when I am dead." ^ His intimate friend Whitelocke fays, " his mind was as great as his learning : he v/as as hofpitable and generous as any man, and as good company to thofe whom he liked." Dr. Wilkins tells us that he could occafionally afTume an ungracious aufterity of counte- nance and manners, and this, as Dr. Aikin
•
* Aubrey.
Biographical Preface.
juftly obferves, " is not extraordinary and may be eafily pardoned, for the perfecu- tions he had undergone, and the weighty concerns in which he was engaged, joined to a naturally ferious difpofition, would be likely to produce that effed:. In a period of civil difcord, levity ought to give more offence to a thinking man than feverity ; and it is a mark rather of an unfeeling than of a kind difpofition, to appear eafy and cheerful while friends and country are expofed to the moft lamentable diflrefs." * His generofity was not confined to his convivial hours. Meric Cafaubon was re- lieved by him with a confiderable fum in time of need. He fubfcribed largely to the publication of Walton's Polyglot. He was the patron of Kelly when purfu- ing his antiquarian travels, and Afhmole and Farington the antiquarians. He had deteded the merits of Hale while yet a flripling, and continued, though much his fenior, his unwavering friend. f
* Aikin's Life of Selden, p. i6i.
f Johnfon's Memoirs of Selden, p. 353,
CXI
cxii Biographical Preface.
It could not be expeded that^ immerfed as he was in bufinefs and ferious ftudies, he fhould always be ready to receive vic- tors. When called upon by ftrangers, Aubrey fays, '^ he had a flight fluff or filk kind of falfe carpet to caft over the table where he read and his papers lay, fo that he needed not to difplace his books or papers." And we are told by Colo- mies, that when Ifaac Voflius was fome- time afcending his ftaircafe to pay him a vifit, when he was engaged in fome deep refearchj Selden would call out to him from the top that he was not at lei- fure for converfation.
After the death of the Earl of Kent in 1639, Selden appears to have been do- mefticated with his widow both at Wrefl in Bedfordfliire, and White Friars in Lon- don. Elizabeth, Countefs dowager of Kent, was daughter and coheir of Gilbert Talbot, Earl of Shrewfbury, and was em- inent for her piety and virtue. Aubrey tells us that Selden " was married to the Countefs, but never owned the marriage till after her death, upon fome law ac-
Biographical Preface.
count. He never kept any fervant pecu- liar, but my lady's were all at his com- mand ; he lived with her in ^dibus Car- meliticis (White- friars), which was, be- fore the conflagration, a noble dwelling."
The fame gofliping authority tells us, " he would write fometimes, when notions came into his head, to preferve them, un- der his barber's hands. When he died his barber faid, he had a great mind to know his will, for, faid he, ' I never knew a wife man make a wife will.' "
When Lady Kent died, in 1651, fhe appointed Selden her executor, bequeathed to him the Friary Houfe in White-friars, and it is thought that he derived from her the chief part of the confiderable property he pofTefled, which at his death was efti- mated at 40,000/.
He told his intimate friend. Sir Bennet Hofkyns, that he had no body to make his heir, except it were a milkmaid, and that fuch people did not know what to do with a great eftate." *
* Aubrey ; who adds as a memorandum : "Bifhop
cxni
cxiv Biographical Preface.
We confequently find that he bequeath- ed to each of his nieces and nephews one hundred pounds, and to various other perfons fmall legacies as tokens of his re- gard, and the remainder of his fortune to his four executors. Thefe were Lord Chief Juftice Hale, Chief Juftice Vaughan, Rowland Jukes, and Edward Heywood, Efquires. He left the plate and a dia- mond hat band, v/hich had belonged to the Earls of Kent, to Mr. Grey Longue- ville, as a heir loom, he being nephew to the laft Earl.
It had been his original intention to leave his library to the Univerfity of Ox- ford, but having taken umbrage at being required to give fecurity for the fafe re- turn of a manufcript in the Bodleian Li- brary, of which he delii^ed the loan, he expunged the bequeft,* and left the whole
Grofteft of Lincoln told his brother, who afked him to make him a great man ; ' Brother,' laid he, * if your plough is broken, I'll pay the mending of it ; or if an ox is dead, I'll pay for another ; but a plough- man I found you, and a ploughman I'll leave you." * It muft be confefled that he feems to have taken
Biographical Preface.
with the exception of fome Arabic works on medicine given the College of Phyfi- cians, to the difpofal of his executors. He defired them ^^ rather to part the books among themfelves, or otherwife difpofe of them, for fome public ufe, than put them to any common fale," and fug- gefted *' fome convenient library public, or of fome college in one of the Univer- fities."
His executors confidering themfelves "as the executors not of his anger but his will," after fele(5ling fome of the books, and offering them to the benchers of the Inner Temple as the foundation of a law library, prefented the remainder together with his mufeum to the Univerfity of Oxford, according to their original de- ftination. And as the benchers of the Inner Temple delayed to provide a place
offence unreafonably, for it appears that the Univer- fity had made a fpecial regulation in his favour, that he might have any three books from the hbrary at a time, upon giving a bond that they fhould be re- turned within a year.
cxv
Biographical Preface.
of depofit for the books, the whole collec- tiorij comprifing more than 8000 volumes were conveyed to Oxford, one of the terms of the gift being that they fhould be for ever kept together, and in a diftind body, with the title of, Mr. Selden's Library. The Books arrived in September, 1659, and are preferved in a feparate apartment of the Bodleian Library. In opening fome of them, feveral pairs of fpedacles were found, which Selden muft have put in and forgotten where he had placed them.
The marbles had arrived in the previous June, and were finally arranged in one of the fchools. An infcription in front of the Divinity fchool, testified the grati- tude of the academical body for thefe do- nations.
One of his biographers has very truly faid, ^^ There can fcarcely be a lefs dif- putable mark of integrity and worthinefs in an individual than his fucceeding in fe- curing the ^ golden opinions ' of parties oppofed to each other in contending for the fame obje6l, and concerning which
Biographical Preface.
obje6l that individual is known by them to differ from them both. Now of all contentions, hiftory affords uniform tefli- mony that none are fo jealous and im- placable as thofe in which are involved the religious opinions and the temporal pre-eminence of the difputants. Ming- ling in fuch contentions, Selden paffed his life a prominent a6tor in them all, and yet fo moderate, confiftent, and talented was his courfe, that although occalionally fupporting and oppofing each, the ex- tremes of the conflidling parties looked up to him and fought the aid of his abili-
ties.
" *
His literary merit was liberally acknow- ledged by thofe continental fcholars befl able to appreciate it ; Grotius, Salmafius Bochart, G. VofTius, Gronovius and Da- niel Heinfius are a few among the diftin- guifhed lifl of his encomiafts, and though his works are probably little read at the prefent day, becaufe the additions he made to the ftock of learning have been
*
Johnfon's Memoirs of Selden, p. 342.
cxvn
CXVlll
Biographical Preface,
made available by more modern writers and compilers, he muft ever be accounted one of the chief literary ornaments of this country, nor has perhaps Europe produced a fcholar of more profound and varied erudition.
His parliamentary charadler has been thus ably fketched by an anonymous wri- ter.* " Selden was a member of the long parliament, and took an adlive and ufeful part in many important difculTions and tranfadlions. He appears to have been regarded fomewhat in the light of a valu- able piece of national property, like a mufeum, or great public library, reforted to, as a matter of courfe, and a matter of right, in all the numerous cafes in which afliftance was wanted from any part of the whole compafs of legal and hiftorical learn- ing. He appeared in the national council not fo much the reprefentative of the con- temporary inhabitants of a particular city, as of all the people of all paft ages ; con-
* It appeared in fome periodical to which I have loll the reference.
Biographical Preface.
CXIX
cerning whom, and whofe inftitutions, he was deemed to know whatever was to be known, and to be able to furnifh whatever, within (o vafl: a retrofpedt, was of a nature to give light and authority in the decifion of questions arifing in a doubtful and ha- zardous ftate of the national affairs.'*
But as Mr. Seward fays, " after all, the moft endearing part of Selden's cha- rader is elegantly touched by himfelf in the choice of his motto : ''
Liberty concerning all things.
S. W. S.
MICKLEHAM, Dec. 8, 1846.
The following Commendatory Verfes are juh joined^ not fo much for their merit as to afford confir- matory evidence of the high Efteem in which Selden was held by his Cotemporaries.
BEN. JONSON
To his Honor'd Friend Mr. John Selden,
Health,
T KNOW to whom I write : Here I am fure, -^ Thoug-h I be fhort, I cannot be obfcure. Lefs fhall I for the art or dreffing care, Since, naked, beft Truth and the Graces are. Your Booke, my Selden, I have read, and much Was trufted, that you thought my judgment fuch To afk it : though, in moft of works, it be A penance, — where a man may not be free, — Rather than Office. When it doth, or may Chance, that the Friend's affe61ion proves allay Unto the cenfure. Yours all need doth fly Of this fo vicious humanity : Than which, there is not unto Studie'' a more Pernicious Enemy. We fee, before
Commendatory Verfes.
CXXl
A many' of Books, even good judgments wound
Themfelves, through favouring that, is there not found j
But I to yours, far from this fault, fhall do j
Not fly the crime, but the fufpicion too :
Though I confefs (as every mufe hath err'd,
And mine not leafl:) I have too oft preferred
Men paft their terms j and praif 'd fome names too much.
But 'twas with purpofe to have made them fuch.
Since, being deceived, I turn a fliarper eye
Upon myfelf, and afk to whom, and why,
And what I write ? and vex it many days
Before men get a verfe, much lefs a praife j
So that my reader is aflured, I now
Mean what I fpeak, and ftill will keep that vow.
Stand forth my obje6l, then. You that have been
Ever at home, yet have all countries feen j
And like a compafs, keeping one foot ftill
Upon your centre, do your circle fill
Of general knowledge ; watch'd men, manners too,
Heard what times paft have faid, feen what ours do !
Which grace ftiall I make love to firft ? your fkill
Or faith in things ? or is't your wealth and will
T' inform and teach ? or your unwearied pain
Of gathering ? bounty in pouring out again ?
What fables have you vexM, what truth redeem'd,
Antiquities fearch'd, opinions difefteem'd,
Impoftures branded, and authorities urg'd !
What blots and errors have you watched and purg'd
Records and Authors of ! how re<51:ified
Times, manners, cuftoms ! innovations fpied !
Sought out the fountains, fources, creeks, paths, ways,
And noted the beginnings and decays !
Where is that nominal mark, or real rite,
Form, aft, or enfign, that hath Tcaped your fight ?
How are traditions there examined ! how
Conjeftures retrieved ! and a ftory now
And then of times (befides the bare condu6l
Of what it tells us) weav'd in to inftm61: !
I wonder'd at the richnefs, but am loft,
To fee the workmanfhip fo exceed the coft !
To mark the excellent feafoning of your ftyle
And manly elocution ! not one while
With horror rough, then rioting with wit ;
But to the fubjeft ftill the colours fit.
In fharpnefs of all fearch, wifdom choice,
Newnefs of fenfe, antiquity of voice !
I yield, I yield. The matter of your praife
Flows in upon me, and I cannot raife
A bank againft it 5 nothing but the round
Large clafp of Nature fuch a wit can bound.
Monarch in letters ! 'monorft the Titles lliown
Of others honors, thus enjoy thy own.
I firft falute thee fo ; and gratulate
With that thy ftyle, thy keeping of thy ftate ;
In offering this thy work to no great name.
That would perhaps, have praif 'd and thank'd the fame.
But nought beyond. He, thou haft given it to,
Thy learned chamber-fellow, knows to do
It true refpe61:s : he will not only love.
Embrace, and cherifti j but he can approve
And eftimate thy pains, as having wrought
In the fame mines of knowledge, and thence brought
Humanity enough to be a friend.
And ftrength to be a champion, and defend
Thy gift 'gainft envy. O how I do count
Among my comings in, and fee it mount.
The gain of two fuch friendlhips ! Heyward and
Selden ! two names that fo much underftand !
On whom I could take up, and ne'er abufe
The credit, that would furnifli a tenth mufe !
But here's no time nor place my wealth to tell,
You both are modeft. So am I. Farewell.
Commendatory Verfes.
On the Death of the Learned Mr. John Selden.
SO fell the facred Sybill, when of old Infpir'd with more than mortal breaft could hold, The gazing multitude ftood doubtful by Whether to call it Death or Extafie : She fdent lies, and now the Nations find No Oracles but the Leaves fhe left behind.
Monarch of Time and Arts, who traveirdft o'er New worlds of knowledge, undefcried before, And haft on everlafting columns writ, The utmoft bounds of Learnincr and of Wit. Had^ft thou been more like us, or we like thee, We might add fomething to thy memory. Now thy own Tongues muft fpeak thee, and thy praife Be from thofe Monuments thyfelf did'ft raife j And all thofe Titles * thou did'ft once difplay, Muft yield thee Titles greater far than they.
Time which had wings till now, and was not known To have a Being but by being gone. You did arreft his motion, and have lent A way to make him fixt and permanent ; Whilft by your labours Ages paft appear. And all at once we view a Plato's year.
A6lions and Fables were retrievM by you. All that was done, and what was not done too. Which in your breaft did comprehended lye As in the bofom of Eternity j
* Titles of Honor.
CXXlll
CXXIV
Commendatory Verfes.
You purg'd Records and * Authors from their i-uft, And fitted Pearls out of Rabbinick dull. By you the Syrian Gods f do live and grow To be Immortal, fnice you made them fo. Infcriptions, Medals, Satues | look frefh ftill, Taking new brafs and marble from your quill ; Which fo unravels time, that now we do Live our own Age, and our Forefathers' too. And thus enlarged, by your difcoveries, can Make that an ell, which Nature made a fpan.
If then we judge, that to preferve the State Of things, is every moment to create. The World's thus half your creature, whilft it Hands Refcued to memory by your learned Hands. And unto you, now fearlefs of decay, Times paft owe more than Times to come can pay.
How might you claim your Country's juft applaufe. When you ftood fquare and upright as your caufe In doubtful times, nor ever would forego Fair Tioith and Right, whofe bounds you beft did know.
You in the Tower did ftand another Tower, Firm to yourfelf and us, whilft jealous power Your very foul imprifon'd, that no thought By books might enter, nor by pen get out j And ftrip'd of all befides, left you confined To the one volume of your own vaft Mind ; There Virtue and ftrift Honor paft the guard. Your only friends that could not be debarr'd j And dwelt in your retirement ; arm'd with thefe You ftood forth more than Admiral of our Seas j
* Eadmerus. Fleta. -j- De Diis Syris. X Marmora Arundeliana.
Commendatory Verfes.
cxxv
Your Hands enclof'd the Wat'ry Plains,* and thus Was no lefs Fence to them, than they to us j Teaching our Ships to conquer, while each fight Is but a Comment on thofe books you write.
No foul difgraces, nor the worft of things Made you like him (whofe Anger Homer lings) Slack in your Country's Quarrel, who adore. Their Champion now, their Martyr heretofore : Still with yourfelf contending, whether you Could bravelier fuffer, or could bravelier do. We afk not now for Anceftors, nor care Tho' Selden do no kindred boaft, nor Heir, Such worth beft ftands alone, and joys to be To th' felf at once both Founder and Pofterity. As when old Nilus who with bounteous flows Waters an hundred Nations as he goes. Scattering rich Harvelts keep his Sacred Head Amoncrft the Clouds ftill undifcovered.
Be it now thy Oxford's Pride, that having gone Through Eaft and Weft, no Art, nor Tongue unknown ; Laden with Spoils thou hang'ft thy Arms up here. But fefft thy great Example every where.
Thus when thy Monument fhall itfelf lie dead, And thy own Epitaph f no more be read, When all thy Statues fhall be worn out fo, That even Selden fhould not Selden know j Ages to come fhall in thy Virtue fhare : He that dies well makes all the world his Heir.
R. Bathurft, T. Co. Oxon.
Decembr. 19, 54. Dryden's Mifcellanies, Part iii. 44.
* Mare Claufum.
■\ His Epitaph, made by himfelf, in the Temple Church.
CXXVl
Commendatory Verfes.
To the profoundly Learned, and unparalleVd Antiquary,
John Selden, Esquire.
THOU living Library, the admiration Of this our Borean Clime, who know'ft each Nation Their Cuftoms trivial, or authenticall. All which thou has narrated with fuch fkill, That more then Camden's all admire thy O^ill, Scaliger's but a Pupil unto thee, (The very Bafis of Antiquitie) Sufficient chara6lers to exprelTe all things Thou haft, nor need'ft thou Metaphorick wings : For all the Earth is thine, a Cafpian fea Thou art, and all Brookes fally into thee. But like the Ocean, thou giv'ft back far more To thofe clear fprings, than thou receiv'ft before. From thee true living Wifdome doth proceed, Thou haft the art of Eloquence indeed. What bold prefumption it is then in me To dedicate my Epigrams to thee, Yet fo I dare to do, that all may know I wilh the cenfure of the rigid'ft brow.
Epigrams, Theological, Philofophical, and Roman- tick, p. 170, &c. by S. Shepard, Lond. Pr. by G. D. for Thomas Bucknell at the Signe of the Golden Lion in Duck Lane.
Table-Talk:
BEING THE
DISCOURSES
OF
John Selden^ Efq.
Being His Senfe of various Matters of
Weight and high Confequence ;
relating efpecially to
RELIGION and STATE.
Diftingue Tempora,
LONDON:
Printed for E. Smith, in the Year
M DC LXXXIX.
TO THE HONOURABLE
MR. JUSTICE HALES,
One of the Judges of the Common- Pleas ;
And to the much Honoured
Edward Heywood, John Vaughan, and Rowland Jewks, Efqs.
Moft worthy Gentlemen,
ERE you not Executors to that Perfon, who (while he liv'd) was the Glory of the Nation ; yet I am Confident any thing of his would find Acceptance with you, and truly the Senfe and No- tion here is wholly his, and mofr of the Words. I had the opportunity to hear his Difcourfe twenty Years together, and
cxxx
The Epiftle Dedicatory.
left all thofe Excellent things that ufually fell from him might be loft, fome of them from time to time I faithfully committed to Writing, which here digefted into this Method, I humbly prefent to your Hands ; you will quickly perceive them to be his by the familiar Illuftrations wherewith they are fet off, and in which way you know he was fo happy, that with a mar- velous delight to thofe that heard him he would prefently convey the higheft Points of Religion, and the moft important Af- fairs of State to an ordinary apprehenfion. In reading be pleafed to diftinguifh Times, and in your Fancy carry along with you, the When and the JVhy many of thefe things were fpoken ; this will give them the more Life, and the fmarter Relifti. 'Tis poftible the Entertainment you find in them, may render you the more inclinable to pardon the Prefump- tion of
Tour moft Obliged and
moft Humble Servant
Rl. MiLWARD.
CXXXl
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
BBIES, Priories
Articles .
Baptlfm .
Ballard
Bible, Scripture Bifhops before the Parliament Bifhops in the Parliament Bilhops out of the Parliament Books, Authors Canon Law .... Ceremony .... Chancellor .... Changing Sides
Charity
Chrlftmas . ■ . Chrlftlans .... Church ....
Church of Rome Churches ....
City
Clergy ....
Commiflion, High Commons, Houfe of Confeflion .... Competency Conjunftion, Great Confcience .... Confecrated Places Contrafts .... Council ....
Page
I 3
4 6
7
12
15
22
28 31 31
32
33 34 35 36
37
39
40
41 42
44
45 46
47 48
48
50 52 53
CXXXll
Table of Contents.
Page
Convocation 54
Creed 55
Damnation 55
Devils ^j
Denial, Self Duell . Epitaph Equity
60
61
63
... 64
Evil Speaking 65
Excommunication Faith and Works
^7
71
Failing Days 71
Fathers and Sons 73
Fines 73
Free-will 74.
Friars 74
Friends 75
Genealogy of Chrift 76
Gentlemen 77
Gold 78
Hall 79
Hell 80
Holy Days 81
Humility 82
Idolatry . . . 83
Jews 83
Invincible Ignorance 84
Images 85
Imperial Conftitutions 87
Imprifonment 87
Incendiaries 88
Independency 89
Indifferent Things 90
Intereft, Public 91
Invention, Human 92
Judgments 93
]^^g^ • 94
Juggling 95
Jurifdiftion 9^
Jus Divinum 96
King . . . . • 97
King of England 99
Table of Contents.
CXXXlll
King, The
Knights Service
Land
Language
Law
Law of Nature . . . .
Learning
Lefturers . . . . ,
Libels
Liturgy
Lords in the Parliament Lords before the Parliament Marriage .... Marriage of Coufm-Germans Meafure of Thinsrs . Men, Difference of . Minifter Divine Money ....
Moral Honefty . . . .
Mortgage
Number ....
Oaths
Oracles ....
Opinion ....
Parity
Parliament . . Parfon ....
Patience ...'..
Peace
Penance
People
Pleafure .... Philofophy • . . .
Poetry ..,..,
Pope
Popery
Power, State
Prayer
Preaching ....
Predeftination
Preferment
Praemunire . . . ,
Page
[02
[05 :o5
[o6
[o8
lO
II 13
14
14-
15 i6
18
[21
:22
[2-3
30
32
33
33
34-
38
39 [4.1
141 E45
t46
t4-7 t48 [49
51
52 54- 58
59
[63 :66
75 76
79
CXXXIV
Table of Contents.
Page
Prerogative i8o
Prefbytery i8i
Priefts of Rome . . . . . . . 183
Prophecies • 185
Proverbs 185
Qjaeftion 186
Reafbn 186
Retaliation 188
Reverence . 188
Refidency, Non . 189
Religion 190
Sabbath 197
Sacrament . . .. .. . . . 198
Salvation • . 199
State 200
Superftition 201
Subfidies 201
Simony 202
Ship-Money 203
Synod Aflembly . . . . . . . 204
Thankfgiving . 207
Tithes . . . 208
Trade . 210
Tradition 211
Tranfubftantiation 212
Traitor 213
Trinity 213
Truth .214
Trial 215
Univerfity 217
Vows 218
Ufury 218
Ufes, Pious 219
War 220
Witches 225
Wife 225
Wifdom 226
Wit 228
Women 229
Year 231
Zelots ,233
The Difcourfes of
John Seidell, Efq,
Abbies^ Priories^ ^c.
I HE unwillingnefs of the Monks to part Vv^ith their Land, will fall out to be juft nothing, becaufe they were yielded up to the King by a Supreme Hand, {viz.) a Parliament. If a King conquer another Country, the People are loath to lofe their Lands, yet no Divine will deny, but the King may give them to whom he pleafe. If a Parliament make a Law concerning Leather, or any other Commodity, you and I for Example are Parliament-Men,
B
Difcourfes, or
perhaps in refped to our own private In- tereft, we are againft it, yet the major part conclude it, we are then involved, and the Law is good.
2. When the Founder of Abbies laid a Curfe upon thofe that fhould take away thofe Lands, I would fain know what Power they had to curfe me : 'Tis not the Curfes that come from the Poor, or from any Body, that hurt me, becaufe they come from them, but becaufe I do fomething ill againft them that deferves God fhould curfe me for it. On the other fide, 'tis not a Man's bleffing me that makes me bleffed, he only declares me to be fo, and if I do well I fhall be blefled, whether any blefs me or not.
3. At the time of DifTolution, they were tender in taking from the Abbots and Priors their Lands and their Houfes, till they furrendered them (as moft of them did) indeed the Prior of St. John's^ Sir Richard Wefton^ being a ftout Man, got into France^ and flood out a whole Year, at lafl fubmitted, and the King took in that Priory alfo, to which the Temple
belonged, and many other Houfes in Eng- land^ they did not then cry no Abbots, no Priors, as we do now no Bifhops, no Bifhops,
4. Henry the Fifth put away the Friars, Aliens, and feized to himfelf 100,000/. a Year, and therefore they were not the Proteftants only that took away Church Lands.
5 . In Queen Elizabeth's time, when all the Abbies were pulled down, all good Works defaced, then the Preachers muft cry up Juftification by Faith, not by good Works.
Articles.
I HE nine and thirty Articles are much another thing in Latin^ (in which tongue they were made) than they are tranflated into Englijh ; they were made at three feveral Convocations, and con- firmed by Ad of Parliament fix or feven times after. There is a Secret concern- ing them; Of late Minifl:ers have fub-
4
Difcourfes, or
fcribed to all of them, but by Ad of Parliament that confirmed them, they ought only to fubfcribe to thofe Articles which contain matter of Faith, and the Dodtrine of the Sacraments, as appears by the firft Subfcriptions. But Bifhop Bancroft (in the Convocation held in King James's days) he began it, that Minifters fhould fubfcribe to three Things, to the King's Supremacy, to the Com- mon Prayer, and to the Thirty-nine Articles ; many of them do not contain matter of Faith. Is it matter of Faith how the Church fhould be governed ? Whether Infants fhould be baptized? Whether we have any Property in our Goods ? i^c.
Baptifm.
WAS a good way to perfuade Men to be chriftened, to tell them that they had a Foul- nefs about them, viz. Origi- nal Sin, that could not be wafhed away but by Baptifm. .^•^'
Table-talk.
2. The Baptifing of Children with us, does only prepare a Child againft he comes to be a Man, to underftand what Chrifti- anity means. In the Church of Rome y'lt has this Effeft, it frees Children from Hell. They fay they go into Limbus Infantum. It fucceeds Circumcifion, and we are fure the Child understood nothing of that at eight Days old ; why then may not we as reafonably baptife a Child at that Age ? In England of late years I ever thought the Parfon baptized his own Fingers ra- ther than the Child.
3. In the Primitive Times they had God-fathers to fee the Children brought up in the Chriftian Religion, becaufe many times, when the Father was a Chrif- tian, the Mother was not, and fometimes, when the Mother was a Chriftian, the Father was not, and therefore they made choice of two or more that were Chrif- tians to fee their Children brought up in that Faith.
Difcourfes, or
Bajlard.
IS faid the 23^. of T) enter on. 2. \A Baftard JJiall not en- ter into the Congregation of the Lordy even to the tenth Gefieration.l Non ingredietur in Ec cleft am Domini, he fhall not enter into the Church. The meaning of the Phrafe is^ he fhall not marry a Jewifh Woman. But upon this grofsly miftaken ; a Baftard at this Day in the Church of Rome, without a Difpenfation, cannot take Orders ; the thing haply well enough where 'tis fo fettled; but it is upon a Miftake, (the Place having no reference to the Church) appears plainly by what follows at the third Verfe \An Ammonite or Moabite fhall not enter into the Congregation of the Lord, even to the tenth Generation^ Now you know with the Jews an Ammonite or a Moabite could never be a Prieft ; becaufe their Priefts were born fo, not made.
Table-talk.
Bible^ Scripture.
IS a great Queftion how we know Scripture to be Scrip- ture, whether by the Church, or by Man's private Spirit : Let me afk you, how I know any thing? how I know this Carpet to be green ? Firft, becaufe fomebody told me it was green : that you call the Church in your Way. Then after I have been told it is green, when I fee that Colour again, I know it to be green, my own eyes tell me it is green, that you call the private Spirit.
2. The EngliJJi Tranflation of the Bible is the beft Tranflation in the World, and renders the Senfe of the Original beft, taking in for the Englifh Tranflation, the Bifhop's Bible as well as King James's. The Tranflation in King James's time took an excellent way. That Part of the Bible was given to him who was moft excellent in fuch a Tongue (as the Apocry- pha to Andrew Downs) and then they
■ /
8 Difcourfes, or
met together^ and one read the Tranfla- tion, the reft holding in their Hands fome Bible, either of the learned Tongues, or French^ Spani/hy Italian, etc. if they found any Fault, they fpoke ; if not he read on.
3. There is no Book fo tranflated as the Bible for the purpofe. If I tranflate a French Book into Englijh, I turn it into Engli/h Phrafe, not into French Englijh. \Il fait froid'] I fay it is cold, not, it makes cold ; but the Bible is rather tranf- lated into Engli/h Words than into Eng- li/h Phrafe. The Hebraijms are kept, and the Phrafe of that Language is kept : As for Example, [He uncovered her Shame] which is well enough, fo long as Scholars have to do with it ; but when it comes among the Common People, Lord, what Gear do they make of it !
4. Scrutamini Scripturas, Thefe two Words have undone the World ; becaufe Chrift fpake it to his Difciples ; therefore we muft all, Men, Women and Children, read and interpret the Scripture. ^^^
5. Henry the Eighth made a Law,
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that all Men might read the Scripture, except Servants ; but no Woman, except Ladies and Gentlewomen, who had Lei- fure and might afk fomebody the Mean- ing. The Law was repealed in Edward the Sixth's Days.
6. Lay-men have beft interpreted the hard places in the Bible, fuch as Johannes PicuSj Scaliger^ Grotius, SalmaJiuSy Hein-
Jius, &c.
7. If you afk which of Era/mus, Beza, or Grotius did beft upon the New Tefta- ment, 'tis an idle Queftion ; For they all did well in their Way. Erajmus broke down the firft Brick, Beza added many things, and Grotius added much to him, in whom we have either fomething new, or fomething heightened that was faid before, and fo 'twas neceffary to have them all three.
8. The Text ferves only to guefs by, we muft fatisfy ourfelves fully out of the Authors that lived about thofe times.
9. In interpreting the Scripture, many do as if a Man fhould fee one have ten Pounds, which he reckoned by i, 2, 3,
lO
Difcourfes, or
4j 5? 6, 7, 8j 9, lo: meaning four was but four Units, and five five Units, &'c. and that he had in all but ten Pounds ; the other that fees him, takes not the Figures together as he doth, but picks here and there, and thereupon reports, that he hath five Pounds in one Bag, and fix Pounds in another Bag, and nine Pounds in another Bag, <y^. when as in truth he hath but ten Pounds in all. So we pick out a Text, here and there, to make it ferve our turn ; whereas if we take it altogether, and confider what went before and what followed after, we fhould find it meant no fuch thing.
lo. Make no more Allegories in Scrip- ture than needs muft, the Fathers were too frequent in them, they indeed before they fully underflood the literal Senfe, looked out for an Allegory. The Folly whereof you may conceive thus : Here at the firfl fight appears to me in my Window a Glafs and a Book ; I take it for granted 'tis a Glafs and a Book, thereupon, I go about to tell you what , they fignify ; afterwards upon nearer
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view, they prove no fuch thing ; one is a Box made like a Book, the other is a Pi6lure made like a Glafs ; where's now my Allegory ?
1 1 . When Men meddle with the literal Text, the Queftion is, where they fhould flop : In this Cafe, a Man muft venture his Difcretion, and do his beft to fatisfy himfelf and others in^thofe Places where he doubts, for although we call the Scrip- ture the Word of God (as it is) yet it was writ by a Man, a mercenary Man, whofe Copy, either might be falfe or he might make it falfe : For Example, here were a thoufand Bibles printed in England with the Text thus, \Thou /halt commit Adultery'] the Word [not] left out ; might not this Text be mended ?
12. The Scripture may have more Senfes befides the Literal ; becaufe God underftands all things at once ; but a Man's Writing has but one true Senfe, which is that which the Author meant when he writ it.
13. When you meet with feveral Read- ings of the Text, take heed you admit
II
12
Difcourfes, or
nothing againft the 'Tenets of your Church; but do as if you were going over a Bridge^ be fure you hold faft by the Rail, and then you may dance here and there as you pleafe ; be fure you keep to what is fettled^ and then you may flourifh upon your various Ledlions.
14. The Apocrypha is bound with the Bibles of all Churches that have been hitherto. Why fhould we leave it out ? The Church of Rome has her Apocrypha (viz.) Sufanna and Bell and the Dragon^ which fhe does not efteem equally with the reft of thofe Books that we call Apocrypha,
Bijhops before the P arlimnent .
BISHOP as a Bifhop, had never any Ecclefiaftical Ju- rifdi(5lion ; for as foon as he was Ele£fus Confirmatus^ that isj after the three Proclamations in Bow-Churchy he might exercife Jurifdic- tion, before he was confecrated : yet till then he was no Biftiop, neither could he
Table-talk. 13
give Orders. Befides, Suffragans were Bifhops, and they never claimed any Ju- rifdidion.
2. Anciently the Noblemen lay within the City for Safety and Security. The \a Bifliops' Houfes were by the Water fide, becaufe they were held facred Perfons which nobody would hurt.
3. There was fome Senfe for Commen- dams at firft, when there was a Living void, and never a Clerk to ferve it, the Bifhops were to keep it till they found a fit Man, but now 'tis a Trick for the Bifhop to keep it for himfelf.
4. For a Bifhop to preach, tis to do other Folks' Office, as if the Steward of ' the Houfe fhould execute the Porter's or the Cook's Place : 'Tis his Bufinefs to fee that they and all other about the Houfe perform their Duties.
5. That which is thought to have done the Bifhops hurt, is their going about to bring Men to a blind Obedience, impofing things upon them [though perhaps fmall and well enough] without preparing them, and infinuathig into their Reafons and
\
14
Difcourfes, or
Fancies. Every Man loves to know his Commander. I wear thofe Gloves ; but perhaps if an Alderman fhould command me, I ihould think much to do it : What has he to do with me ? Or if he has, peradventure I do not know it. This jumping upon things at firfl Dafh will deftroy all : To keep up Friendship, there muft be little AddrefTes and Appli- cations, whereas Bluntnefs Spoils it quickly: To keep up the Hierarchy, there muft be little Applications made to Men, they muft be brought on by little and little. So in the Primitive Times the Power was gained, and fo it muft be continued. Scaliger faid of Erajmus ; Si minor ejfe voluit^ major fuijfet. So we may fay of the Biftiops, Si minores eJfe voluerint^ majores fuijfent.
6. The Biftiops were too hafty, elfe with a difcreet flownefs they might have had what they aimed at : The old Story of the Fellow, that told the Gentleman, he might get to fuch a Place, if he did not ride too faft, would have fitted their turn.
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15
7. For a Bifhop to cite an old Canon to ftrengthen his new Articles, is, as if a Lawyer fhould plead an old Statute that has been repealed God knows how long.
Bijhops in the Parlimnent.
ISHOPS have the fame Right to fit in Parliament as the beft Earls and Barons, that is, thofe that were made by Writ : If you alk one of them \_Arundel, Oxford, Northumberland'] why they fit in the Houfe ? they can only fay, their Fa- thers fate there before them, and their Grandfather before him, ^c. And fo fay the Bifhops, he that was a Bifhop of this Place before me, fate in the Houfe, and he that was a Bifhop before him, ^c. . Indeed your later Earls and Barons have \ a it expreffed in their Patents, that they fhall be called to the Parliament. Objec- tion, but the Lords fit there by Blood, the Bifhops not. Anjwer, 'Tis true, they fit not there both the fame way, yet that
^^ Difcourfes, or
takes not away the Bifhop's Right : If I am a Parfon of a Parifh^ I have as much Right to my Glebe and Tithe^ as you have to your Land which your Anceftors have had in that Parifh Eight Hundred Years.
2. The Bifhops were not Barons, be- caufe they had Baronies annexed to their Bijfhopricks (for few of them had fo, un- lefs the old ones, Canterbury. Winchefter^ Durham^ etc. the new ere6ted we are fure had none, as Glouceftery Feter borough^ etc. befides few of the Temporal Lords had any Baronies). But they are Barons, be- caufe they are called by Writ to the Par- liament, and Bifhops were in the Parlia- ment ever fince there was any mention, or fign of a Parliament in England.
3. Bifhops may be judged by the Peers, though in time of Popery it never happened, becaufe they pretended they were not obnoxious to a Secular Court; but their way was to cry Ego Jum Frater 'Domini Pap^e^ I am Brother to my Lord the Pope, and therefore take not myfelf to be judged by you ; in this Cafe they
Table-ta^k. 17
impanelled a Middlefex Jury, and dif- patched the B^^^nefs.
4. Whether may Bifhops be prefent m Cafes of Blood ? Anjw. That they had a Right to give Votes, appears by this, al- ways when they did go out, they left a Proxy, and in the time of the Abbots, one Man had 10, 20 or 30 Voices. In Richard the Second's time, there was a Proteftation againft the Canons, by which they were forbidden to be prefent in cafe of Blood. The Statute o{ 25th of Henry the Eighth may go a great way in this Buiinefs. The Clergy were forbidden to ufe or cite any Canon, i^c. but in the latter end of the Statute, there was a Claufe, that fuch Canons that were in ufage in this Kingdom, fhould be in force till the thirty-two CommifTioners appointed fhould make others, provided they were not contrary to the King's Supremacy. Now the Queftion will be, whether thefe Canons for Blood were in ufe in this Kingdom or no ? the contrary whereof may appear by many Precedents in i^. 3. and H, 7. and the beginning of //. 8. in
1 8 Difcourfes, or
which time there were more attainted than fince, or fcarce before : The Canons of Irregularity of Blood v/ere never receiv'd in England y but upon pleafure. If a Lay- Lord was attainted;, the Bifhops afTented to his Condemning, and were always pre- fent at the pafnng of the Bill of Attainder. But if a Spiritual Lord, they went out, as if they car'd not whofe Head was cut off, fo none of their own. In thofe Days, the Bifhops being of great Houfes, were often entangled with the Lords in Mat- ters of Treafon. But when d'ye hear of a Bifhop a Traitor now ?
5. You would not have Bifhops med- dle with Temporal Affairs, think who you are that fay it. If a Papift, they do in your Church ; if an Engli/h Proteftant, they do among you ; if a Prefbyterian, where you have no Bifhops, you mean your Prefbyterian Lay-Elders fhould meddle with Temporal Affairs as w^ell as Spiritual. Befides, all Jurifdidlion is Tem- poral, and in no Church, but they have fome Jurifdi6lion or other. The Quef- tion then will be reduced to Magis and
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Minus ; They meddle more in one Church than in another.
6. Ohjeulion. Bifhops give not their Votes by Blood in Parliament, but by an Office annexed to them, which being taken away they ceafe to vote, therefore there is not the fame reafon for them as for Temporal Lords. Anjw. We do not pretend they have that Power the fame way, but they have a Right : He that has an Office in Weftminfter-Hall for his Life, the Office is as much his, as his Land is his that hath Land by Inherit- ance.
7. Whether had the inferior Clergy ever any thing to do in the Parliament ? AnJw. No, no otherwife than thus. There were certain of the Clergy that ufed to affiemble near the Parliament, with whom the Bifhops, upon occafion might confult (but there were none of the Convocation, as 'twas afterwards fettled, (viz.) the Dean, the Arch-Deacon, one for the Chapter, and two for the Diocefs) but it happened by continuance of time (to fave Charges and Trouble) their Voices and
20
Difcoiirfes, or
the Confent of the whole Clergy were in- volved in the Bifhops, and at this Day the Bifhops' Writs run, to bring all thefe to the Parliament, but the Bifhops them- felves ftand for all.
8. Bifhops were formerly one of thefe two Conditions, either Men bred Canon- ifts and Civilians, fent up and down Am- bafTadors to Rome and other Parts, and fo by their Merit came to that Greatnefs, or elfe great Noble Men's Sons, Brothers, and Nephews, and fo born to govern the State : Now they are of a low Condition, their Education nothing of that way ; he gets a Living, and then a greater Living, and then a greater than that, and fo comes to govern. -^ ^^
9. Bifhops are now unfit to Govern, becaufe of their Learning, they are bred up in another Law, they run to the Text for fomething done amongfl: the Jews that nothing concerns England ; 'tis juft as if a Man would have a Kettle, and he would not go to our Brazier to have it made, as they make Kettles, but he would have it made as Hiram made his
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Brafs-work, who wrought in Solomon's Temple.
10. To take away Bifhops' VoteSj Is but the beginning to take them away ; for then they can be no longer ufeful to the King or State. 'Tis but like the little Wimble, to let in the greater Auger. Ohje^ion. But they are but for their Life, and that makes them always go for the King as he will have them. Anjwer. This is againfl: a double Charity, for you muft always fappofe a bad King and bad Bifhops. Then again, whether will a Man be fooner content, himfelf fhould be made a Slave, or his Son after him ? [when we talk of our Children we mean our- felves,] befides, they that have Poflerity are more obliged to the King, than they that are only for themfelves, in all the reafon in the World.
1 1 . How fhall the Clergy be in the Parliament, if the Bifhops are taken away .^ Anjwer, By the Laity, becaufe the Bi- fhops, in whom the reft of the Clergy are included, are fent to the taking away their own Votes, by being involv'd in the ma-
Difcourfes, or
jor Part of the Houfe. This follows na- turally.
12. The Bifhops being put out of the Houfe, whom will they lay the fault upon now ? When the Dog is beat out of the Room, where will they lay the ftink?
Bifhops out of the P arliame7U .
N the beginning Bifhops and Prefbyters were alike, like the Gentlemen in the Coun- try, whereof one is made Deputy Lieutenant, and another Juftice of Peace, fo one is made a Bifhop, another a Dean ; and that kind of Government by Archbifhops, and Bifhops no doubt came in, in imitation of the Temporal Government, not Jure Divino. In time of the Roman Empire, where they had a Legatus, there they placed an Archbifhop, where they had a Re6lor, there a Bifhop, that every one might be inftruded in Chriflianity, which now they had received into the Empire.
Table-talk.
2. They that fpeak ingenioufly of Bi- fhops and Prefbyters, fay, that a Bifhop is a great Prefbyter, and, during the time of his being Bifhop, above a Prefbyter : as your Prefident of the College of Phy- ficians, is above the reft, yet he himfelf is no more than a Doftor of Phyfic.
3. The Words [Bifhop and Prefbyter] are promifcuoufly ufed, that is confefted by all ; and though the Word [Bifhop] be in Timothy and Titus ^ yet that will not prove the Bifhops ought to have a Jurif- didlion over the Prefbyter, though Timothy or Titus had by the Order that was given them : fomebody muft take care of the reft, and that Jurifdidion was but to Ex- communicate, and that was but to tell them they fhould come no more into their Company. Or grant they did make Canons one for another, before they came to be in the State, does it follow they muft do fo when the State has receiv'd them into it ? What if Timothy had power in EphefuSy and T'itus in Crete over the Prejhyters ? Does it follow therefore the Bifhops muft have the fame in England ?
24
Difcourfes, or
Mufl we be govern'd like Ephejus and Crete ?
4. However fome of the Bifhops pre- tend to be Jure Divino, yet the Pra6tice of the Kingdom had ever been otherwife^ for whatever Bifhops do otherwife than the Law permits, Weftminfter Hall can control, or fend them to abfolve, ^c.
5. He that goes about to prove Bifhops Jure Divino, does as a Man that having a Sword, fhall ftrike it againft an Anvil, if he ftrike it awhile there, he may per- adventure loofen It, tho' It be never fo well riveted, 'twill ferve to ftrike another Sword (or cut Flefh) but not againft an Anvil.
6. If you fhould fay you hold your Land by Mofes' or God's Law, and would try It by that, you may perhaps lofe, but by the Law of the Kingdom you are fure of It; fo may the Biftiops by this Plea of Jure Divino lofe all. The Pope had as good a Title by the Law of England as could be had, had he not left that, and claimed by Power from God.
7. There Is no Government enjoln'd
Table-talk. 25
by Example, but by Precept ; it does not follow we muft have Bifhops ftill, be- caufe we have had them fo long. They are equally mad who fay Bifhops are fo Jure Drcino that they muft be continued, and they v/ho fay they are fo Antichriftian, that they m.uft be put away, all is as the State pleafes.
8. To have no Minifters, but Preft^y- ters, 'tis as if in the Temporal State they fhould have no Officers but Conftables. Biftiops do beft ftand with Monarchy, that as amongft the Laity, you have Dukes, Lords, Lieutenants, Judges, ^c. to fend down the King's Pleafure to his Subje6ls ; fo you have Bifhops to govern the inferior Clergy : Thefe upon occafion may addrefs themfelves to the King, otherwife every Perfon of the Parifti muft come, and run up to the Court.
9. The Proteftants have no Bifhops in France^ becaufe they live in a Catholic Country, and they will not have Catholic Bifhops; therefore they muft govern themfelves as well as they may.
10. What is that to the purpofe, to
^6 Difcourfes, or
what End were Bifhops' Lands given to them at firfl: ? you muft look to the Law and Cuftom of the Place. What is that to any Temporal Lord's Eftate, how Lands were firft divided, or how in Wil- liam the Conqueror's Days ? And if Men at firft were juggled out of their Eftates, yet they are rightly their^ Succeftbrs. If my Father cheat a Man, and he confent to it, the Inheritance is rightly mine.
1 1 . If there be no Bifhops, there muft be fomething elfe, which has the Power of Biftiops, though it be in many, and then had you not as good keep them ? If you will have no Half-Crowns, but only fingle Pence, yet Thirty fingle Pence are half a Crown ; and then had you not as good keep both ? But the Biftiops have done ill, 'tv/as the Men, not the Fundlion; As if you ftiould fay, you would have no more Half-Crowns, becaufe they were ftolen, when the Truth is they were not ftolen becaufe they were Half-Crowns, but becaufe they were Money, and light in a Thief's hand.
12. They that would pull down the
Table-talk. . 27
Bifhops and ere6t a new way of Govern- ment, do as he that pulls down an old Houfe, and builds another in another Fafhion ; there's a great deal of do, and a great deal of trouble : the old rub- blfh mufl: be carried away, and new ma- terials mufl: be brought ; Workmen muft be provided, and perhaps the old one would have ferv'd as well.
13. If the Parliament and Frejhyterian Party jQiould difpute, who fhould be Judge ? Indeed in the beginning of Queen Elizabeth, there was fuch a difference, between the Proteftants and Papifts, and Sir Nicholas Bacon, Lord Chancellor, was appointed to be Judge, but the Conclufion was, the ftronger Party carried it : For fo Religion was brought into Kingdoms, fo it has been continued, and fo it may be caft out, when the State pleafes.
14. 'Twill be great Difcouragement to Scholars, that Bifhops ihould be put down : For now the Father can fay to his Son, and the Tutor to his Pupil, Study hard, and you /hall have Vocem et Sedem in Parlia- mento ; then it mufl: be. Study hard, and
28
• Difcourfes, or
you jJiall have a hundred a year^ if you pie of e your Parifli. Objecf. But they that enter into the Ministry for Preferment, are like Judas that look'd after the Bag. Anfw, It may be fo, if they turn Scholars at Judas' s Age ; but what Arguments will they ufe to perfuade them to follov/ their Books while they are young.
Books^ Authors,
HE giving a Bookjeller his Price for his Books has this Advantage, he that will do fo, fhall have the refufal of whatfoever comes to his hand, and fo by that means get many things, which other- wife he never fhould have feen. So 'tis in giving a Bawd her Price.
2. In buying Books or other Commo- dities, 'tis not always the beft way to bid half fo much as the feller afks : witnefs the Country fellow that went to buy two [fhove-] groat Shillings,* they afk'd him
* The reader will recolledt Falllaff's "Quoit him
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29
three Shillings, and he bade them Eigh- teen pence.
3. They counted the Price of the Books (^A^s 19. 19.) and found Fifty Thoufand Pieces of Silver, that is fo many Sextertii, or fo many Three-half-pence of our Money, about Three Hundred pound Sterling.
4. Popifh Books teach and inform, what we know, we know much out of them. The Fathers, Church Story, School- men, all may pafs for Popifh Books, and if you take away them, what Learning will you leave ? Befides who mufl: be Judge ? The CufLomer or the Waiter ? If he difallows a Book, it muft not be brought into the Kingdom, then Lord have mercy upon all Scholars. Thefe Puritan Preachers, if they have any things good, they have it out of Popifh Books, tho' they will not acknowledge it, for fear of difpleafmg the People : he is a
down, Bardolph, like 3. Jhove-groat Shilling^ Mal- ter Slender's coll him "two fliillings and twopence a piece." S. W. S.
30 Difcourfes, or
poor Divine that cannot fever the good from the bad.
5. 'Tis good to have Tranflations, be- caufe they ferve as a Comment, fo far as the Judgment of the Man goes.
6. In anfwering a Book, 'tis beft to be fhort, otherwife he that I write againft will fufpedl I intend to weary him, not to fatisfy him. Beiides in being long I fhall give my Adverfary a huge advan- tage, fomewhere or other he will pick a hole.
7. In quoting of Books, quote fuch Authors as are ufually read, others you may read for your own Satisfaction, but not name them.
8. Quoting of Authors is mofl: for matter of Fad:, and then I cite* them as I would produce a Witnefs, fometimes for a free ExprefTion, and then I give the Au- thor his due, and gain myfelf praife by reading him.
9. To quote a Modern Dutch Man, where I may ufe a Claffic Author, is as if
* The firft and iecond editions have write. Evidently an error.
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I were to juftify my Reputation, and I neglecft all Perfons of Note and Quality that know me, and bring the Teftimonial of the Scullion in the Kitchen, u/],^,^^
Canon Law,
F I would ftudy the Canon Law as it is ufed in England^ I muft ftudy the Heads here in ufe, then go to the Pradli- cers in thofe Courts where that Law is pradliced, and know their Cuftoms, fo for all the Study in the World.
■ Ceremo7ty^
EREMONY keeps up all things ; 'Tis like a Penny- Glafs to a rich Spirit, or fome excellent Water, without it the Water were fpilt, the Spirit loft.
2. Of all people Ladies have no reafon to cry down Ceremonies ; for they take themfelves flighted without it. And were
Difcourfes, or
they not ufed with Ceremony, with Com- pliments and Addrefles, with Legs and KifTing of Hands, they were the piti- fulleft Creatures in the World ; but yet methinks to kifs their Hands after their Lips, as fome do, is like little Boys, that after they eat the Apple, fall to the Paring, out of a Love they have to the Apple.
Chancellor,
HE Bifhop is not to fit with a Chancellor in his Court (as being a thing either beneath him or befide him) no more than the King is to fit in the Kmg's- Bench when he has made a Lord-Chief- Juftice.
2. The Chancellor govern'd in the Church, who was a Lay-man : And there- fore 'tis falfe which they charge the Bi- fhops with, that they challenge fole Jurif- didtion. For the Bifhop can no more put out the Chancellor than the Chancellor the Bifnop. They were many of them made Chancellors for their Lives, and he is the
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fitteft Man to govern, becaufe Divinity fo overwhelms the reft.
Changing Sides.
IS the Trial of a Man to fee if he will change his fide ; and if he be fo weak as to change once, he will change again. Your Country Fellows have a way to try if a Man be weak in the Hams, by coming behind him and giving him a Blow una- wares, if he bend once, he will bend again.
2. The Lords that fall from the Kinof after they have got Eftates by bafe Flat- tery at Court, and now pretend Con- fcience, do as a Vintner, that when he firft fets up, you may bring your Wench to his Houfe, and do your things there ; but when he grows Rich, he turns con- fcientious, and will fell no Wine upon the Sabbath-day.
3. Colonel Goring ferving firft the one fide and then the other, did like a good Miller that knows how to grind which way foever the Wind ftts.
Difcourfes, or
4. After Luther had made a Combuf- tion in Germany about Religion, he was fent to by the Fofe^ to be taken off, and offer'd any Preferment in the Church, that he would make choice of: Luther anfweredj if he had ofFer'd half as much at iirftj he would have accepted it ; but now he had gone fo far, he could not come back. In Truth he had made him- felf a greater thing than they could make him ; the German Princes courted him, he was become the Author of a Se6l ever after to be called Lutherans. So have our Preachers done that are againfl: the Bifhops ; they have made themfelves greater with the people than they can be made the other way ; and therefore there is the lefs probability of bringing them off.
Charity.
HARITY to Strangers is en- join'd in the Text ; by Stran- gers is there underftood thofe that are not of our own Kin, Strangers to your Blood; not thofe you
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cannot tell whence they come, that is, to be charitable to your Neighbours whom you know to be honeft poor People.
Chrijlmas.
HRISTMAS fucceeds the
Saturnalia, the fame time, the
fame number of Holy-days,
then the Mafter waited upon
the Servant like the Lord of Mi/rule.
1. Our Meats and our Sports (much of them) have Relation to Church- works. The Coffin of our Chrijlmas -Vits in fhape long, is in Imitation of the Cratch ; our choofing Kings and Queens on Twelfth- Night, hath reference to the three Kings. So likewife our eating of Fritters, whip- ping of Tops, roafting of Herrings, Jack of Lents, i^c, they were all in Imitation of Church-works, Emblems of Martyr- dom. Our Tanfies at Eajler have refer- ence to the bitter Herbs ; tho' at the fame time 'twas always the Fafhion for a Man to have a Gammon of Bacon to fhow himfelf to be no Jew.
3^ Difcourfes, or
Chrijlians,
|N the High-Church of y^T/^- faleniy the Chriftians were but another Se6l of Jews, that did believe the Mejjias was come. To be called^ was nothing elfe, but to become a Chriftian, to have the Name of a Chriftian, it being their own Language : For among the Jews, when they made a Dodor of Law^ 'twas faid he was called.
2. The Turks tell their People of a Heaven where there is fenfible Pleafure_, but of a Hell where they fhall fuffer they don't know what. The Chriftians quite invert this Order, they tell us of a Hell where we fhall feel fenfible Pain, but of a Heaven where we fhall enjoy we can't tell what.
3. Why did the Heathens objedl to the Chriftians, that they worfhip an Afs's Head ? You muft know, that to a Hea- then, a Jew and a Chriftian were all
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one, that they regarded him not, fo he was not one of them. Now that of the Afs's Head might proceed from fuch a Miftake as this ; by the Jews' Law, all the Firftlings of Cattle were to be offered to God, except a young Afs, which was to be redeemed, a Heathen being prefent, and feeing young Calves and young Lambs kill'd at their Sacrifices, only young Affes redeem'd, might very well think they had that filly Beaft in fome high Eftimation, and thence might im- agine they worfhipped it as a God.
Church.
ERETOFORE the Kingdom let the Church alone, let them do what they would, becaufe^^ they had fomething elfe to think of, (viz.) Wars ; but now in time of Peace, we begin to examine aj[l things^ wTir Tiave' notKmg But what we like, grow dainty and wanton, juft as in a Family when the Heir ufes to go a hunting, he
l!
34
Difcourfes, or
4. After Luther had made a Combuf- tion in Germany about Religion, he was fent to by the Pope^ to be taken off, and offer'd any Preferment in the Church, that he would make choice of: Luther anfwered, if he had offered half as much at firft, he would have accepted it ; but now he had gone fo far, he could not come back. In Truth he had made him- felf a greater thing than they could make him ; the German Princes courted him, he was become the Author of a Se6l ever after to be called Lutherans, So have our Preachers done that are againft the Bifhops ; they have made themfelves greater with the people than they can be made the other way ; and therefore there is the lefs probability of bringing them off.
Charity,
HARITY to Strangers is en- join'd in the Text ; by Stran- gers is there underftood thofe that are not of our own Kin, Strangers to your Blood ; not thofe you
•' \
be cr.i--'
them] hitx \ TlieC(fc
ofLe::
doir.. ence :; fame *-
a Mar. - • lowing^
'^'- k was -', and K Churcli, )f: htk tfasmucli ted it; but could not [ 2iade him- could make sated him, • ^ever ^3 kve i2iinft the ...litlm "c; can be -^cre there ' them
,^:sen- '•^vStran-
\«]
■■-roll
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cannot tell whence they come, that is, to be charitable to your Neighbours whom you know to be honeft poor People.
Chrijlmas.
HRISTMAS fucceeds the
Saturnalia, the fame time, the
fame number of Holy-days,
then the Mafter waited upon
the Servant like the Lord of Mi/rule.
2. Our Meats and our Sports (much of them) have Relation to Church-works. The Coffin of our Chrijlmas-Yits in fhape long, is in Imitation of the Cratch ; our choofing Kings and Queens on Twelfth- Night, hath reference to the three Kings. So likewife our eating of Fritters, whip- ping of Tops, roafting of Herrings, Jack of Lents, (^c. they were all in Imitation of Church-works, Emblems of Martyr- dom. Our Tanfies at Eafter have refer- ence to the bitter Herbs ; tho' at the fame time 'twas always the Fafhion for a Man to have a Gammon of Bacon to fhow himfelf to be no Jew,
36
C
Difcourfes, or
T
Chrijlii
tans.
N the High-Church of Jeru- Jalem^ the Chriftians were but another Sedl of Jews^ that did believe the Mejfias was come. To be called^ was nothing elfe, but to become a Chriftian, to have the Name of a Chriftian^ it being their own Language : For among the Jews^ when they made a Dodor of Law, 'twas faid he was called.
2. The Turks tell their People of a Heaven where there is feniible Pleafure, but of a Hell where they fhall fufFer they don't know what. The Chriftians quite invert this Order, they tell us of a Hell where we fhall feel fenfible Pain, but of a Heaven where we fhall enjoy we can't tell what.
3. Why did the Heathens objedt to the ChriftianSj that they worfhip an Afs's Head ? You muft know, that to a Hea- then, a Jew and a Chriftian were all
tiefr .
andfei Lunhs L-
think- highl'
lofPrr
,.?Tr-
.iiifvV
^\
^tiich
.1 own
to
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one, that they regarded him not, fo he was not one of them. Now that of the Afs's Head might proceed from fuch a Miftake as this ; by the Jews' Law, all the Firftlings of Cattle were to be offered to God, except a young Afs, which was to be redeemed, a Heathen being prefent, and feeing young Calves and young Lambs kill'd at their Sacrifices, only young AfTes redeem'd, might very well think they had that filly Beafl in fome high Eflimation, and thence might im- agine they worfhipped it as a God.
Church.
ERETOFORE the Kingdom let the Church alone, let them do what they would, becaufe they had fomething elfe to" think of, {viz.) Wars ; but now in time of Peace, we begin to exaxnine all things, wnrirave nothing but what we^ Hke, grow dainty and" wanton, jufl as in a Family when the Heir ufes to go a hunting, he
In
r •
38
Difcourfes, or
never coniiders how his Meal is dreft, takes a bit, and away ; but when he flays within, then he grows curious, he does not like this, nor he does not like that, he will have his Meat drefl his own way, or per- adventure he will drefs it himfelf.
1. It hath ever been the game of the Church when the King will let the Church have no Power to cry down the King and cry up the Church : But when the Church can make ufe of the King's Power, then to bring all under the King's Prerogative, the Catholics of England go one way, and the Court-Clergy an- other. ___ -..,
3. A glorious Church is like a magni- ficent Feaft, there is all the Variety that may be, but every one choofes out a Difh or two that he likes, and lets the refl alone : how glorious foever the Church is, every one choofes out of it his own Re-- ligion, by which he governs himfelf, atid lets the reft alone. /
4. The Laws of the Church^are moft favourable to the Church, becaufe they were the Church's own making ; as the
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Heralds are the beft Gentlemen, becaufe they make their own Pedigree.
5. There is a Queftion about that Ar- ticle, concerning the Power of the Church, whether thefe Words [of having Power in Controverfies of Faith] were not ftolen in, but 'tis moft certain they were in the Book of Articles that was confirm'd, though in fome Editions they have been left out : But the Article before tells you, who the Church is, not the Clergy, but C(stus fidelium.
Church of Rome.
EFORE a Juggler's Tricks are difcover'd we admire him, and give him Money, but afterwards we care not for them ; fo 'twas before the Difcovery of the Juggling of the Church of Rome,
1. Catholics fay, we out of our Charity believe they of the Church of Rome may be faved : But they do not believe fo of us. Therefore their Church is bet-
40
Difcourfes, or
ter according to ourfelves : Firft^ fome of them no doubt, believe as well of us, as we do of them, but they mufl not fay fo : Befides, is that an Argument their Church is better than ours becaufe it has lefs Charity ?
3. One of the Church of Rome will not come to our Prayers, does that argue he doth not like them ? I would fain fee a Catholic leave his Dinner, becaufe a No- bleman's Chaplain fays Grace, nor haply would he leave the Prayers of the Church, if going to Church were not made a Mark of Diflin6lion between a Proteftant and a Papift,
Churches.
HE Way coming into our great Churches, was anciently at the Weft-Door, that Men might fee the Altar, and all
the Church before them, the other Doors
were but Pofterns.
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City.
HAT makes a City ? Whe- ther a Bifhopric or any of that nature ?
Anjwer, 'Tis according to the firft Charter which made them a Corporation. If they are incorporated by Name of Civitas, they are a City, if by the name of Burguniy then they are a Borough.
2. The Lord Mayor of London by their firft Charter, was to be prefented to the King, in his abfence, to the Lord Chief Judiciary of England, afterwards to the Lord Chancellor, now to the Barons of the Exchequer; but ftill there was a Refervation, that for their Honour they fhould come once a Year to the King, as they do ftill.
Difcourfes, or
Clergy.
HOUGH a Clergyman have no Faults of his own, yet the Faults of the whole Tribe ihall be laid upon him, fo that he fhall be fure not to lack.
2. The Clergy would have us believe them againft our own Reafon, as the Wo- man would have had her Hufband againft his own Eyes : What ! will you believe your own Eyes before your own fweet Wife?
3. The Condition of the Clergy to- wards their Prince, and the Condition of the Phyfician is all one : The Phyficians tell the Prince they have Agrick and Rhubarb, good for him, and good for his Subjedls' Bodies ; upon this he gives them leave to ufe it ; but if it prove naught, then away with it, they fhall ufe it no more : So the Clergy tell the Prince they have Phyjfic good for his Soul, and good for the Souls of his People ; upon that
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he admits them : But when he finds by Experience they both trouble him and his People, he will have no more to do with them, what is that to them, or any body elfe, if a King will not go to Hea- ven.
4. A Clergyman goes not a dram further than this, you ought to obey your Prince in general ; [if he does he is loft] how to obey him, you muft be informed by thofe whofe ProfefTion it is to tell you. The Parfon of the Tower, (a good dif- creet Man) told Dr. Mofely, (who was fent to me and the reft of the Gentlemen committed the 3^. Caroli, to perfuade us to fubmit to the King) that he found no fuch Words as [Parliament, Habeas Cor- pus. Return^ Tower, &c.], Neither in the Fathers, nor the Schoolmen, nor in the Text; and therefore for his part he be- lieved he underftood nothing of the Bufi- nefs. A Satire upon all thofe Clergymen that meddle with Matters they do not un- derftand.
5. All confefs there never was a more learned Clergy, no Man taxes them with
Difcourfes, or
Ignorance. But to talk of that, Is like the fellow that was a great Wencher ; he wifh'd God would forgive him his Lechery, and lay Ufury to his Charge. The Clergy have worfe Faults.
6. The Clergy and Laity together are never like to do well, 'tis as if a Man were to make an excellent Feaft, and fhould have his Apothecary and his Phy- fician come into the Kitchen : The Cooks if they were let alone would make excel- lent Meat, but then comes the Apothe- cary and he puts Rhubarb into one Sauce and Agarick into another Sauce. Chain up the Clergy on both fides.
High Commijfion.
^lEN cry out upon the High CommifTion, as if the Clergy- men only had to do in it, when I believe there are more Lay-men in CommifTion there, t}ian Clergy-men ; if the Lay-men will not come, whofe fault is that ? So of the
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45
Star-Chamber, the People think the Bi- fhops, only, cenfur'd Pririy Burton, and Baft wick ^ when there were but two there, and one fpake not in his own Caufe.
Houfe of Commons.
HERE be but two Erroneous Opinions in the Houfe of Commons : That the Lords fit only for themfelves, when the Truth is, they fit as well for the Com- monwealth. The Knights and Burgefles fit for themfelves and others, fome for more, fome for fewer, and what is the Reafon ? becaufe the Room will not hold all ; the Lords being few, they all come, and imagine the Room able to hold all the Commons of England, then the Knights and BurgefTes would fit no otherwife than the Lords do. The fecond Error is, that the Houfe of Commons are to beorin to give Subfidies, yet if the Lords diiTent they can give no Money.
2. The Houfe of Commons is called
^t^a^M*^
46
Difcourfes, or
the Lower Houfe, in twenty A(5ls of Parliament, but what are twenty Adls of Parliament amongft Friends ?
3 . The Form of a Charge runs thus, / Accuje in the Name of all the Commons of England, how then can any man be as a Witnefs, when every Man is made the Accufer ?
•-.^
ConfeJJty
ton.
N time of Parliament it ufed to be one of the firft things the Houfe did, to Petition the King that his Confeflbr might be removed, as fearing either his Power with the King, or elfe, left he fhould reveal to the Pope what the Houfe was in doing, as no doubt he did, when the Catholic Caufe was concerned.
2. The Difference between us and the Papifts is, we both allow Contrition, but the Papifts make Confeftion a part of Contrition ; they fay a Man is not fuffici- ently contrite, till he confefs his Sins to a Prieft.
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3. Why fhould I think a Prieft will not reveal ConfefTion^ 1 am fure he will do any thing that is forbidden him, haply not {o often as I, the utmoft Punifhment is Deprivation ; and how can it be proved, that ever any Man revealed ConfefTion, when there is no Witnefs ? And no Man can be Witnefs in his own Caufe. A mere Gullery, There was a time when 'twas public in the Church, and that is much againft their Auricular Confeffion.
Competency.
HAT which is a Competency for one Man, is not enough for another, no more than that which will keep one Man warm, will keep another Man warm ; one Man can go in Doublet and Hofe, when another Man cannot be without a Cloak, and yet have no more Clothes than is neceffary for him.
Difcourfes, or
Great Conjunction,
HE greateft Conjundion of Satan and 'Jupiter^ happens but once in eight Hundred Years, and therefore Aftrolo- gerSj can make no Experiments of it, nor foretel what it means, (not but that the Stars may mean fomething, but we can- not tell what) becaufe we cannot come at them. Suppofe a Planet were a Simple, or an Herb, how could a Phyfician tell the Virtue of that Simple, unlefs he could come at it, to apply it ?
Co7ifcience,
E that hath a Scrupulous Con- fcience, is like a Horfe that is not well weigh'd, he ftarts at every Bird that flies out of the Hedge.
2. A knowing Man will do that, which a tender Confcience Man dares not do.
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49
by reafon of his Ignorance, the other knows there is no hurt, as a Child is afraid to go into the dark, when a Man is not, becaufe he knows there is no
D
anger.
3. If we once come to leave that out- loofe, as to pretend Confcience againfl Law, who knows what inconvenience may follow ? For thus, Suppofe an Anahaptift comes and takes my Horfe, I Sue him, he tells me he did according to his Con- fcience, his Confcience tells him all things are common amongft the Saints, what is mine is his ; therefore you do ill to make fuch a Law: If any Man takes another's Horfe he fhall be hanged. What can I fay to this Man ? He does according to his Confcience. Why is not he as honeft a Man as he that pretends a Ceremony eftablifhed by Law, is againfl his Con- fcience ? Generally to pretend Confcience againfl Law is dangerous, in fome Cafes haply we may.
4. Some men make it a Cafe of Con- fcience, whether a Man may have a Pigeon-houfe, becaufe his Pigeons eat
E
DifcourfeSj or
other Folks' Corn. But there is no fuch thing as Confcience in the Buiinefs, the Matter is, whether he be a Man of fuch Quality, that the State allows him to have a Dove-houfe, if fo, there's an end of the bufinefs, his Pigeons have a right to eat where they pleafe themfelves.
Confecrated Places,
HE Jews had a peculiar way of confecrating things to God, which we have not.
1. Under the Law, God, who was Mafter of all, made choice of a Temple to worfliip in, where he was more efpecially prefent : Juft as the Maf- ter of the Houfe, who owns all the Houfe, makes choice of one Chamber to lie in, which is called the Mailer's Chamber ; but under the Gofpel there was no fuch thing, Temples and Churches are fet apart for the conveniency of Men to Worfhip in ; they cannot meet upon the Point of a Needle, but God himfelf makes no choice.
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3. All things are God's already, we can give him no right by confecrating any, that he had not before, only we fet it apart to his Service. Juft as a Gardener brings his Lord and Mafter a Bafket of Apri- cocks, and prefents them, his Lord thanks him, perhaps gives him fomething for his pains, and yet the Apricocks were as much his Lord's before as now.
4. What is Confecrated, is given to fome particular man, to do God Service, not given to God, but given to Man, to ferve God : And there's not any thing. Lands, or Goods, but fome Men or other have it in their Power to dilpofe of as they pleafe. The faying things Confecrated cannot be taken away, makes men afraid of Confe- cration.
5. Yet Confecration has this Power, when a Man has Confecrated any thing to God, he cannot of himfelf take it away.
51
Difcourfes, or
Contracts,
F our Fathers have loft their Liberty, why may not we labour to regain it ? Anfw. We muft look to the Con- tradj if that be rightly made we muft ftand to it ; if we once grant we may recede from Contrails, upon any incon- veniency that may afterwards happen, we lliall have no Bargain kept. If I fell you a Horfe, and do not like my Bargain, I will have my Horfe again.
2. Keep your Contrails, fo far a Di- vine goes, but how to make our Contracfts is left to ourfelves ; and as we agree upon the conveying of this Houfe, or that Land, fo it muft be. If you offer me a Hundred Pounds for my Glove, I tell you what my Glove is, a plain Glove, pretend no Virtue in it, the Glove is my own, I profefs not to fell Gloves, and we agree for an hundred Pounds, I do not know why I may not with a fafe Con-
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S3
fcience take it. The want of that com- mon Obvious Diftindlion of Jus pr^cepti- vuniy and Jus permijjivumy does much trouble Men.
3. Lady Kent Articled with Sir Edward Herbert J that he fhould come to her when fhe fent for him^ and ftay with her as long as fhe would have him, to which he fet his hand; then he Articled with her, That he fhould go away when he pleafed, and ftay away as long as he pleafed, to which fhe fet her hand. This is the Epitome of all the Contradls in the World, betwixt Man and Man, betwixt Prince and Subjedl, they keep them as long as they like them, and no longer.
CounciL
HEY talk (but blafphemoufly enough) that the Holy Ghoft is Prefident of their General Councils, when the Truth is, the odd Man is ftill the Holy Ghoft.
Difcourfes, or
Convocation,
HEN the King fends his Writ for a Parliament^ he fends for two Knights for a Shire, and u two BurgefTes for a Corpora- tion : But when he fends, for two Arch- Bifhops for a Convocation, he commands them to affemble the whole Clergy, but they out of Cuflom amongft themfelves fend to the Bifhops of their Provinces, to will them to bring two Clerks for a Dio- cefe, the Dean, one for the Chapter, and the Arch-Deacons ; but to the King every Clergyman is there prefent.
1. We having nothing fo nearly ex- prefTes the Power of a Convocation, in refpedl of a Parliament, as a Court-Leet, where they have a Power to make By- Laws, as they call them ; as that a Man fhall put fo many Cows, or Sheep in the Common, but they can make nothing that is contrary to the Laws of the King- dom.
Vi
\
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■**/jx
Creed.
THANASIUS'S Creed is the fhorteft, take away the Pre- face, and the Force, and the Conclufion, which are not .part of the Creed. Iri the Nicene Creed it is '^'fKHAv^c-zV-v, I believe in the Church ; tefffow, as ourCornrnoh-pfaytr Kas It^ I believe one Catholic and Apoftolic Church : they like not Creeds, becaufe they would have no Forms of Faith, as they have none of Prayer, though there be more reafon for the one, than for the other.
Damnation.
F the Phyiician fees you eat any thing that is not good for your Body, to keep you from it, he cries 'tis Poifon ; if the Divine fees you do any thing that is hurt- ful for your Soul, to keep you from it, he cries you are damned.
\
:^
S6 Difcourfes, or
2. To preach long, loud, and Damna- tion, is the way to be cried up. We love a Man that damns us, and we run after him aorain to fave us. If a Man had a fore Leg, and he fhould go to an Honeft Judicious Chirurgeon, and he fhould only bid him keep it warm, and anoint with fuch an Oil (an Oil well known) that would do the Cure, haply he would not much regard him, becaufe he knows the Medicine beforehand an ordinary Medi- cine. But if he fhould go to a Surgeon that fhould tell him, your Leg will Gan- grene within three days, and it mufl be cut off, and you will die, unlefs you do fomething that I could tell you, what liflening there would be to this Man ; Oh, for the Lord's Sake, tell me what this is, I will give you any content for your pains.
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57
Devils,
HY have we none pofTeft with Devils in England ? The old Anfwer is, the Proteilants the Devil hath already, and the Papifts are fo Holy, he dares not meddle with them. Why, then beyond Seas where a Nun is pofTeft, when a Huguenot comes into the Church, does not the Devil hunt them out ? The Prieft teaches him, you never faw the Devil throw up a Nun's coats, mark that, the Prieft will not fuf- fer it, for then the People will fpit at him.
2. Cafting out Devils is mere Jug- gling ; they never caft out any but what they firft caft in. They do it where for Reverence no Man fhall dare to examine it, they do it in a Corner, in a Mortife- hole, not in the Market-place. They do nothing but what may be done by Art, they make the Devil fly out of the Win- dow, in the Likenefs of a Bat or a Rat, why
58 -Difcourfes, or
do they not hold him ? Why in the Likenefs of a Bat, or a Rat, or fome Crea- ture ? That is, why not in fome fhape we paint him in, with Claws and Horns ? By this trick they gain much, gain upon Men's Fancies, and fo are reverenced : and certainly if the Prieft deliver me from him that is my moil deadly Enemy, I have all the reafon in the World to reverence him. Objeofion, But if this be Juggling, why do they punifh Impoftures ? Anfwer. For great reafon, becaufe they do not play their part well, and for fear others fhould dif- cover them ; and fo all of them ought to be of the fame Trade.
3. A Perfon of Quality came to my Chamber in the Temple^ and told me he had two Devils in his Head [I wondered what he meant] and juft at that time, one of them bid him kill me, [with that I be- gun to be afraid, and thought he was mad] he faid he knew I could cure him ; and therefore entreated me to give him fomething ; for he was refolved he would go to no body elfe. I perceiving what an Opinion he had of me, and that 'twas only
Table-talk.
59
Melancholy that troubled him, took hhn in hand, warranted him, if he would fol- low my dire6lions to cure him in a fhort time. I defired him to let me be alone about an hour, and then to come again, which he was very willing to. In the meantime I got a Card, and lapped it up handfome in a Piece of TafFata, and put Strings to the TafFata, and when he came, gave it him to hang about his Neck, withal charged him, that he fhould not diforder himfelf neither with eating or drinking, but eat very little of Supper, and fay his Prayers duly when he went to Bed, and I made no Queilion but he would be well in three or four Days. Within that time I went to Dinner to his Houfe, and afked him how he did ? He faid he was much better, but not perfedlly well, or in truth he had not dealt clearly with me. He had four Devils in his head, and he perceived two of them were gone, with that which I had given him, but the other two troubled him ftill. Well, faid I, I am glad two of them are gone, I make no doubt but to get away the other
Go Difcoiirfes, or
tv/o likewife ; fo I gave him another thing to hang about his Neck. Three Days after he came to me to my Chamber and profeft he was now as well as ever he was in his Life, and did extremely thank me for the great Care I had taken of him. I fearing left he might relapfe into the like Diftemper, told him that there was none but myfelf, and one Phy- fician more in the whole Town that could cure the Devils in the Head, and that was Dr. Harvey (whom I had prepared), and wifhed him if ever he found himfelf ill in my Abfence, to go to him, for he could cure his Difeafe as well as mvfelf. The Gentleman lived many Years and was never troubled after.
Self Denial.
lis much the Do6lrine of the times, that Men fhould not pleafe themfelves, but deny themfelves every thing they take delight in ; not look upon Beauty,
Table-talk.
wear no good Clothes, eat no good Meat (f^c. which feems the greateft Accufation that can be upon the Maker of all good things. If they be not to be ufed, why did God make them ? The truth is, they that preach againft them, cannot make ufe of them theirfelves, and then again, they get Efteem by feeming to contemn them.; But mark it while you live, if ^ey do not pleafe themfelves as much as they can, and we live more by Example
I than
recept.
jt«trtnio»«»«™
6i
./
Duel/.
DUELL may ftill be grant- ed in fome Cafes by the Law of England, and only there. That the Church allowed it Anciently, appears by this, in their pub- lic Liturgies there were Prayers appointed for the Duelifts to fay, the Judge ufed to bid them go to fuch a Church and pray, zfjc. But whether is this Lawful ? If you grant any War Lawful, I make no doubt but to convince it. War is Lawful, be-
62
Difcourfes, or
caufe God is the only Judge between two^ that is Supreme. Now if a Difference happen between two Subjedls, and it can- not be decided by Human Teftimony, why may they not put it to God to Judge between them by the Permiflion of the Prince ? Nay, what if we fhould bring it down for Argument's fake, to the Swordmen. One gives me the Lie, 'tis a great difgrace to take it, the Law has made no Provifion to give Remedy for the Injury (If you can fuppofe any thing an Injury for which the Law gives no Remedy) why am not I in this Cafe Su- preme, and may therefore right myfelf.
1. A Duke ought to fight with a Gen- tleman ; the Reafon is this, the Gentleman will fay to the Duke *tis True, you hold a higher Place in the State than I ; there's a great diftance between you and me, but your Dignity does not Privilege you to do me an Injury ; as foon as ever you do me an Injury, you make yourfelf my equal, and as you are my equal I chal- lenge you, and in fenfe the Duke is bound to Anfwer him. This will give you fome
Table-talk.
63
Light to underftand the Quarrel betwixt a Prince and his Subjedls ; though there be a vail Diftance between him and them, and they are to obey him, according to their Contrad, yet he hath no power to do them an Injury ; then they think themfelves as much bound to vindicate their Right, as they are to obey his Law- ful Commands ; nor is there any other meafure of Juftice left upon Earth but Arms,
Epitaph,
N Epitaph muft be made fit for the Perfon for whom it is made ; for a Man to fay all the Excellent things that can be faid upon one, and call that his Epitaph, is as if a Painter fhould make the hand- fomeft Piece he can poflibly make, and fay 'twas my Pidlure. It holds in a Funeral Sermon.
^*
Table-talk.
ght to underftand the Quarrel betsvixt
Prince and his Subjecfls ; though there
: a vaft Diftance bet\vcen him and them,
id they are to obey him, according to
leir Contra(5l, yet he hath no power to
o them an Injury ; then they think
icmfclves as much bound to vindicate
heir Right, as they are to obey his Law-
ul Commands ; nor is there any other
ncafure of Jullice left upon Earth but
Arms,
■J
mors
ill
eral
63
i i
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"-.
/
Difcourfes, or
Equity,
OyiTY in Law, is the fame that the Spirit is in Rehgion, what every one pleafes to make it ; fometimes they go according to Confcience, fometimes ac- cording to Lav/, fometimes according to the Rule of Court '
2rr -Equity is a Roguifh thing, for Law
we have a meafure, know what to truft to. Equity is according to the Confcience of him that is Chancellor, and as that is larger or narrower, fo is Equity. 'Tis all one as if they fhould make the Standard for the meafure, we call [a Foot] a Chancellor's Foot, what an uncertain Meafure would this be ? One Chancellor has a long Foot, another a fhort Foot, a Third an indif- ferent Foot : 'Tis the fame thing in the Chancellor's Confcience.
3. That faying, Do as you would be done to, is often mifunderftood, for 'tis not thus meant, that I a private Man
Table-talk.
fhould do to you a private Man, as I would have you to me, but do, as we have agreed to do one to another by pub- lic Agreement. If the Prifoner fhould afk the Judge, whether he would be con- tent to be hanged, were he in his cafe, he would anfwer no. Then fays the Prifoner, do as you would be done to ; neither of them muft do as private Men, but the Judge mufl do by him as they have publicly agreed, that is both Judge and Prifoner have confented to a Law, that if either of them ileal, they fhall be hanged.
Rvil Speaking,
E that fpeaks ill of another, commonly before he is aware, makes himfelf fuch a one as he fpeaks againft ; for if he had Civility or Breeding he would for- bear fuch kind of Language.
2. A gallant Man is above ill words : an Example we have in the old Lord of Saltjhury (who was a great wife Man).
66 Difcourfes, or
Stone had call'd fome Lord about Court, Fool, the Lord complains, and has Stone whipt ; Stone cries, I might have called my Lord of Salijhury Fool often enough, before he would have had me whipt.
3. Speak not ill of a great Enemy, but rather give him good words, that he may ufe you the better, if you chance to fall into his Hands : the Spaniard did this when he was dying ; his ConfeiTor told him (to work him to Repentance) how the Devil tormented the wicked that went to Hell : the Spaniard replying, called the Devil my Lord. I hope my Lord the Devil is not fo cruel, his ConfefTor reproved him. Excufe me faid the Tion^ for calling him fo, I know not into what Hands I may fall, and if I happen into his, I hope he will ufe me the better for giving him good words.
Table-talk.
Kxcommunication .
HAT place they bring for Excommunication [put away from among yourfelves that wicked Perfon, i Cor. 5 Cha. 13 Verje^ is corrupted in the Greek for it fhould bcj TO tsovv^i^qv^ put away that Evil from amongytrtifnot to'j -sjovvj^ov, that
Evil Perfon, befides, d -siovvi^o? is the Devil in Scripture, and it may be fo taken there ; and there is a new Edition of Theodoret come out, that has it right to tsqmy^^qv, 'Tis true the Chriftians before the Civil State became Chriftian, did by Covenant and Agreement fet down how they fhould live, and he that did not obferve what they agreed upon, fhould come no more amongft them, that is, be Excommuni- cated. Such Men are fpoken of by the Apoftle \_Romans i. 31.] whom he calls a(jVv^6Tovg acii da-Tsov^oyg, the vulgar has it, Incompojitos, et fine feeder e the laft word is pretty well, but the firfl: not at all. Ori-
lick airsini^
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68
Difcourfes, or
I
/
gen in his Book againfl Celfus, fpeaks of the Chriftiansj avvkUvj : the Tranflation renders it Conventus, as it fignifies a Meeting, when it is plain it fignifies a Covenant, and the Englijh Bible turned the other Word well, Covenant-breakers. Pliny tells us, the Chriftians took an Oath amongft themfelves to live thus, and thus.
2. The other place \T>ic Ecclefi^ Matth. 18,17.] tell the Churchy is but a weak Ground to raife Excommunication upon, efpecially from the Sacrament, the lefler Excommunication, fmce when that was fpoken, the Sacrament was [not*] inilituted. The Jews' Ecclefia was their Sanhedrim, their Court : fo that the meaning is, if after once or twice Jdmonition, this Brother will not be reclaimed, bring him thither. ? . The firft Excommunication was 180 Years after Chrift, and that by Vi6tor, Bi- X.fhop of Rome : But that was no more than this, that they fhould Communicate
* The word not is erroneoufly omitted in all previous editions.
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and receive the Sacrament amongft them- felveSj not with thofe of the other Opinion : The Controverfy, (as I take it,) being about the Feaft of Eafter. Men do not care for Excommunication, becaufe they are fhut out of the Church, or delivered up to Sat an J but becaufe the Law of the Kingdom takes hold of them, after fo many Days a Man cannot Sue, no not for his Wife, if you take her from him ; and there may be as much reafon, to grant it for a fmall Fault, if there be con- tumacy, as for a great one. In Weftmin- fter Hall you may Out-law a Man for forty Shillings, which is their Excommu- nication, and you can do no more for Forty Thoufand Pound.
4. When Confiantine became Chriftian, he fo fell in love with the Clergy, that he let them be Judges of all things ; but that continued not above three or four Years, by reafon they were to be Judges of Matters they under ftood not, and then they were allowed to meddle with nothing but Religion ; all Jurifdidion belonged to him, and he fcanted them out as much
69
I
■i
I
yo Difcourfes, or
as he pleafed, and fo things have iince continued. They Excommunicate for three or four Things, matters concerning Adultery, Tythes, Wills, ^r. which is the civil Punifhment the State allows for fuch Faults. If a Bifhop Excommuni- cate a Man for what he ought not, the Judge has Power to abfolve, and punifh the Bifhop : if they had that Jurifdidlion from God, why does not the Church Ex- communicate for Murder, for Theft ? If the Civil Power might take away all but three Things, why may they not take them away too ? If this Excommunication were taken away, the Prefbyters would be quiet ; 'tis that they have a mind to, 'tis that they would fain be at. Like the Wench that was to be Married ; fhe afked her Mother when 'twas done, if fhe fhould go to Bed prefently : no, fays her Mother, you muft dine firft, and then to Bed Mother ? no you muft dance after Dinner, and then to Bed Mother ? no, you muft go to Supper, and then to bed Mother, &c.
Table-talk.
Faith and JVorh,
WAS an unhappy Divifion that has been made between Faith and Works : tho' in my Intelled: I may divide them, juft as in the Candle, I know there is both Light and Heat. But yet put out the Candle, and they are both gone, one remains not without the other : So 'tis betwixt Faith and Works ; nay, in a right Conception Fides eft opuSj if I believe a thing becaufe I am commanded, that is Opus,
Fajling-Days.
!1HAT the Church debars us one Day, fhe gives us leave to take out in another. Firft we fail:, and then we feaft ; firft there is a Carnival, and then a Lent. 2. Whether do Human Laws bind the
71
72
Difcourfes, or
Confcience ? If they do^ 'tis a way to en- fnare : If we fay they do not, we open the Door to difobedience. Anjw. In this Cafe we muft look to the Juftice of the LaWj and intention of the Law-giver : if there be no Juftice in the Law, 'tis not to be obeyed : if the intention of the Law- giver be abfolute, our obedience muft be fo too. If the intention of the Law-giver enjoin a Penalty as a Compenfation for the Breach of the Law, I ftn not if I fubmit to the Penalty : if it enjoin a Pe- nalty, as a further enforcement of Obedi- ence to the Law, then ought I to obferve it, which may be known by the often re- petition of the Law. The way of faft- ing is enjoined unto them, who yet do not obferve it : The Law enjoins a Pe- nalty as an enforcement to Obedience ; which intention appears by the often call- ing upon us, to keep that Law by the King and the Difpenfation of the Church to fjch as are not able to keep it, as young Children, old Folks, difeafed Men,
Table-talk.
Fathers and So7is.
jT hath ever been the way for Fathers, to bind their Sons, to ftrengthen this by the Law of the Land : every one at Twelve Years of Age is to take the Oath of Allegiance in Court- Leets, whereby he fwears Obedience to the King.
Fi72es.
HE old Law was, that when a Man was Fined, he was to be Fined Salvo ContenementOy fo as his Countenance might be fafe, taking Countenance in the fame fenfe as your Countryman does, when he fays, if you will come unto my Houfe, I will fhow you the beft Countenance I can, that is, not the beft Face, but the beft Entertainment. The meaning of the Law was, that fo much ftiould be taken
Difcourfes, or
from a Man, fuch a gobbet fliced off, that yet notwithftanding he might live in the fame Rank and Condition he hved in be- fore ; but now they fine men ten times more than they are worth.
E
m.
ree-wi
HE Puritans who will allow no Free-will at all, but God does all, yet will allow the Subjed his Liberty to do, or not to do, notwithftanding the King, the God upon Earth. The ArminianSy who hold v/e have Free-will, yet fay, when we come to the King, there muft be all Obe- dience, and no Liberty to be ftood for.
Friars.
HE Friars fay they poflefs nothing, whofe then are the Lands they hold? not their Superior's, he hath vowed Poverty as well as they, whofe then ? To
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anfwer this, 'twas decreed they fhould fay they were the Pope's. And why muft the Friars be more perfed: than the Pope himfelf ?
2. If there had been no Friars Chrijien- dom might have continued quiet, and things remained at a flay.
If there had been no Ledlurers (which fucceed the Friars in their way) the Church of England might have ftood, and flourifht at this Day.
Friends.
LD Friends are beft. King James ufed to call for his old Shoes, they were eafieft for his Feet.
Difcoiirfes, or
Genealogy of Chrifi.
HEY that fay the Reafon why JqfepJis Pedigree is fet down, and not Marfs^ is, becaufe the Defcent from the Mother is loft, and fwallowed up, fay fomething ; but yet if a JewiJIi Woman, married with a Gentile J they only took Notice of the Mother, not of the Father ; but they that fay they were both of a Tribe, fay nothing ; for the Tribes might marry one with another, and the Law againft it was only Temporary, in the time while JoJJiua was dividing the Land, left the being fo long about it, there might be a confufion. 2. That Chrift was the Son of Jcfeph is moft exadily true. For though he was the Son of God, yet with the JewSy if any Man kept a Child, and brought him up, and called him Son, he was taken for his Son ; and his Land (if he had any) was to defcend upon him ; and therefore the Genealogy of y^^^A isjuftly fet down.
Table-talk.
Ge7itle7nen.
HAT a Gentleman is, 'tis hard with us to define ; in other Countries he is known by his Privileges ; in Weft- minJler-Udll he is one that is reputed one; in the Court of Honour, he that hath Arms. The King cannot make a Gentleman of Blood [what have you faid] nor God Almighty, but he can make a Gentleman by Creation. If you afk which is the better of thefe two. Civilly, the Gentlemian of Blood, Morally, the Gentleman by Creation may be the better ; for the other may be a Debauched Man, this a Perfon of worth.
2. Gentlemen have ever been more Temperate in their Religion, than the common People, as having more Reafon, the others running in a hurry. In the beginning of Chriftianity, the Fathers writ Contra genteSj and Contra Gentiles they were all one : But after all were
78 Difcourfes, or
Chriftians, the better fort of People flill retained the Name of Gentiles, through- out the four Provinces of the Roman Em- pire ; as Gentil-homme in French^ Gentil huomo in Italian^ Gentil-homhre in Span- i/hj and Gentil-man in Englifli : And they, no queftion, being Perfons of Quality, kept up thofe Feafts which we borrow from the Gentiles ; as Ckrifimas, Candle- mas y May -day, &c. continuing what was not diredly againft Chriftianity, which the common People would never have endured.
Gold.
'HERE are two Reafons, why
thefe Words {J ejus autem tranfiens per medium eorum ibat) were about our old Gold : the one is, htz2iu(t Ripley , the Alchy- mift, when he made Gold in the ^tower, the firft time he found it he fpoke thefe Words \_per medium eorum~\ that is, per medium Ignis et Sulphuris. The other, becaufe thefe Words were thought to be a Charm,
Table-talk. 79
and that they did bind whatfoever they were written upon, fo that a Man could not take it away. To this Reafon I ra- ther indine.
Hall.
HE Hall was the Place where the great Lord ufed to eat, (wherefore elfewere the Halls made fo big ?) Where he faw all his Servants and Tenants about him. He eat not in private, except in time of ficknefs ; when once he became a thing cooped up, all his greatnefs was fpoiled. Nay the King himfelf ufed to eat in the Hall, and his Lords fat with him, and then he underftood Men.
Difcourfes, or
Hell.
HERE are two Texts for Chrlft's defcending into Hell: The one FJal, i6. The other Acts the id. where the Bible that was in ufe when the Thirty- Nine Articles were made has it {Hell.) But the Bible that was in Queen Eliza- hetJis time, v/hen the Articles were con- firmed, reads it {Grave), and fo it con- tinued till the new Translation in King James's time, and then 'tis Hell again. But by this we may gather the Church of Eyigland declined as much as they could, the defcent, otherwife they never would have altered the Bible.
2. \He dejcended into HeW] this may be the Interpretation of it. He may be dead and buried, then his Soul afcended into Heaven. Afterwards he defcended again into Hell, that is, into the Grave, to fetch his Body, and to rife again. The Ground of this Interpretation is taken
Table-talk.
from the Platonick Learning, who held a Metempfychoiis, and when the foul did de- fcend from Heaven to take another Body, they called it Kccrx (idciv elg cc^viv taking aSiig^ for the lower World, the State of Mortality : Now the firft Chriftians many of them were Platonick Philofophers, and no queftion fpake fuch Language as was then underflood amongft them. To un- derftand by //<?// the Grave is no Tautology, becaufe the Creed firft tells what Chrift fuffered, He was Crucified, Dead, and Bu- ried; then it tells us what he did. He defcended into Hell, the third day he rofe again, he ajc ended, &c.
Holy Days.
HEY fay the Church impofes Holy-Days, there's no fuch thing, though the Number of Holy-days is fet down in fome of our Common-Prayer Books. Yet that has relation to an A6t of Parlia- ment, which forbids the keeping of any
,8 1
Difcourfes, or
Holy-Days in time of Popery ; but thofe that are kept^ are kept by the Cuftom of the Country, and I hope you will not fay the Church impofes that.
Humility.
UMILITY is a Virtue all preach, none pra6life, and yet every body is content to hear. The Mafter thinks it good Dodlrine for his Servant, the Laity for the Clergy, and the Clergy for the Laity. 1, There is Humilitas qu^edam in Vitio, If a Man does not take notice of that excellency and perfedlion that is in him- felf, how can he be thankful to God, who is the Author of all excellency and perfedion ? Nay, if a Man hath too mean an Opinion of himfelf, 'twill ren- der him unferviceable both to God and Man.
3. Pride may be allowed to this or that degree, elfe a Man cannot keep up his Dignity. In Gluttony there muft be
Table-talk.
Eating, in Drunkennefs there muft be drinking ; 'tis not the eating, nor 'tis not the drinking that is to be blamed, but the Excefs. So in Pride.
Idolatry.
DOLATRY is in a Man's own thought, not in the Opinion of another. Put cafe I bow to the Altar, why- am I guilty of Idolatry ? becaufe a ftander by thinks fo ? I am fure I do not believe the Altar to be God, and the God I worihip may be bow'd to in all Places, and at all times.
J'
ews.
OD at the firft gave Laws to all Mankind, but afterwards he gave peculiar Laws to the Jews, which they were only to obferve. Juft as we have the Common
84 Difcourfes, or
Law for all England^ and yet you have fome Corporations, that befides that have pecu- liar Laws and Privileges to themfelves.
2. Talk what you will of the Jews^ that they are curfed, they thrive where e'er they come, they are able to oblige the Prince of their Country, by lending him Money ; none of them beg, they keep together, and for their being hated, my life for yours, Chriftians hate one another as much.
hivincihle Ignorance.
^IIS all one to me if I am told of Chrift, or fome Myftery of Chriftianity, if I am not capable of underftanding, as if I am not told at all, my Ignorance is as invincible, and therefore 'tis vain to call their Ignorance only invincible, who never were told of Chrift. The trick of it is to advance the Prieft, whilft the Church of Rome fays a Man muft be
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85
told of Chrlft by one thus and thus or- dained.
Images,
HE Papifts taking away the fecond [Commandment], is not haply fo horrid a thing, nor fo unreafonable amongft Chriftians as we make it : For the Jews could make no figure of God, but they muft commit Idolatry, becaufe he had taken no fhape ; but fince the AfTumption of our flefh, we know what fhape to pic- ture God in. Nor do I know why we may not make his Image, provided we be fure what it is : as we fay St. Luke took the pidure of the Virgin Mary^ and St. Veronica of our Saviour. Otherwife it would be no honour to the King, to make a Pi6lure, and call it the King's Pidure, when 'tis nothing like him.
2. Though the learned Papifts pray not to Images, yet 'tis to be feared the ignorant do ; as appears by that Story of St. Nicholas in Spain. A Countryman
86
Difcourfes, or
ufed to offer dally to St. Nicholas's Image, at length by mifchance the Image was broken, and a new one made of his own Plum- Tree ; after that the Man forebore, being complained of to his Ordinary, he anfwered, 'tis true, he ufed to offer to the old Image, but to the new he could not find in his heart, becaufe he knew 'twas a piece of his own Plum-Tree. You fee what Opinion this Man had of the Image, and to this tended the bowing of their Images, the twinkling of their Eyes, the Virgin's Milk, ^c. Had they only meant reprefentations, a Pi6lure would have done as well as thefe Tricks. It may be with us in England they do not worfhip Images, becaufe living amongft Protef- tants they are either laughed out of it, or beaten out of it by fhock of Argument. 3. 'Tis a difcreet way concerning Pic- tures in Churches, to fet up no new, nor to pull down no old.
Table-talk.
87
Imperial Conjlitutions.
HEY fay Imperial Conftltu- tions did only confirm the Canons of the Church ; but that is not fo, for they in- flided PuniiKmentj when the Canons never did (viz.) If a Man converted a Chriftian to be a JeWy he was to forfeit his Eftate, and lofe his Life. In Valen- tine's Novels, 'tis faid, Conftat Epifcopus Forum Legibus non habere, et judicant tantum de Religione,
Imprifonment,
IR Kenelm Digby was feveral times taken and let go again, at laft imprifoned in JVin- chefter Houfe, I can com- pare him to nothing but a great Fifh that we catch and let go again, but ftill he
88
Difcourfes, or
will come to the Bait; at laft therefore we put him into fome great Pond for Store.
Licendiaries.
ANCY to yourfelf a Man fets the City on Fire at Cripple- gate^ and that Fire continues, \ by means of others, till it come to White-Friars, and then he that began it would fain quench it, does not he deferve to be punifhed moft that firft fet the City on Fire ? So 'tis with the Incen- diaries of the State. They that firfl: fet it on Fire, [by Monopolizing, Foreft Bufi- nefs, Imprifoning Parliament Men tertio Caroli, ^c.'\ are now become regenerate, and would fain quench the Fire ; certainly they deferve moft to be punifhed, for being the firft Caufe of our Diftradions.
Table-talk.
another.
Indepeiidency.
NDEPENDENCY is In ufe at Amfterdaniy where forty Churches or Congregations have nothing to do one with And 'tis no queftion agreeable to the Primitive times, before the Em- peror became Chriftian : For either we muft fay every Church governed itfelf, or elfe we muft fall upon that old foolifh Rock, that St. Peter and his Succeftbrs governed all ; but when the Civil State became Chriftian, they appointed who ITiould govern them, before they governed by agreement and confent : if you will not do this, you ftiall come no more amongft us, but both the Independent Man, and the Prefbyterian Man, do equally exclude the Civil Power, though after a different manner.
2. The Independents may as well plead, they fhould not be fubjedl to Temporal Things, not come before a Conftable, or
Difcourfes, or
a Juftice of Peace, as they plead they fhould not be Subje6l in Spiritual things, becaufe St. Paul fays, It is Jo, that there is not a wife Man amongst you ?
3. The Pope challenges all Churches to be under him, the King and the two Archbifhops challenge all the Church of England to be under them. The Pref- byterian Man divides the Kingdom into as many Churches as there be Prefby- teries, and your Independent would have every Congregation a Church by itfelf.
Things Indifferent.
iN time of a Parliament, when things are under debate, they are indifferent, but in a Church or State fettled, there's nothing left indifferent.
Table-talk.
Public Interejl,
LL might go well in the Common -Wealth, if every one in the Parliament would lay down his own Intereft, and aim at the general good. If a man were lick and the whole College of Phy- ficians ihould come to him, and admin- ifter feverally, haply fo long as they ob- ferved the Rules of Art he might recover, but if one of them had a great deal of Scamony by him, he muft put off that, therefore he prefcribes Scamony. An- other had a great deal of Rhubarb, and he muft put off that, and therefore he prefcribes Rhubarb, ef^. then would cer- tainly kill the Man. We deftroy the Common- Wealth, while we preferve our own private Interefts, and negledl the public.
92
Difcourfes, or
Human Invention,
OU fay there muft be no Human Invention in the Church, nothing but the pure Word. Anjwer. If I give any Expofition, but what is exprefled in the Text, that is my Invention ; if you give another Expofition, that is your In- vention, and both are Human. For Ex- ample, fuppofe the Word [Egg] were in the Text, I fay, 'tis meant an Hen-Egg, you fay a Goofe-Egg, neither of thefe are expreft, therefore they are Human In- ventions, and I am fure the newer the In- vention the worfe; old Inventions are beft.
2. If we muft admit nothing but what we read in the Bible, what will become of the Parliament ? for we do not read of that there.
Table-talk.
yudgments,
E cannot tell what is a Judg- ment of God, 'tis prefump- tion to take upon us to know. In time of Plague we know we want Health, and therefore we pray to God to give us Health : in time of War we know we want Peace, and there- fore we pray to God to give us Peace. Commonly we fay a Judgment falls upon a Man for fomething in him we cannot abide. An example we have in King James^ concerning the Death of Henry the Fourth of France; one faid he was killed for his Wenching, another faid he was killed for turning his Religion. No, fays King James (who could not abide lighting,) he was killed for permitting Duels in his Kingdom.
/
94
Difcourfes, or
Judge.
^v^^?:;?J*vVrf^
E fee the Pageants in Cheap- fide ^ the Lions, and the Ele- phants, but we do not fee the Men that carry them ; we fee the Judges look big, look like Lions, but we do not fee who moves them.
2. Little things do great works, when the great things will not. If I fhould take a Pin from the Ground, a little pair of Tongs will do it, when a great pair will not. Go to a Judge to do a buli- nefs for you, by no means he will not hear of it ; but go to fome fmall Servant about him, and he will difpatch it accord- ing to your heart's defire.
3. There could be no mifchief in the Common-Wealth without a Judge. Though there be falfe Dice brought in at the Groom-Porters, and cheating offered, yet unlefs he allow the cheating, and judge the Dice to be good, there may be hopes of fair Play.
Table-talk.
Juggling.
■IS not Juggling that is to be blamed, but much Juggling, for the World cannot be Governed without it. All your Rhetoric, and all your Elenches in Logic come within the compafs of Jug- gling.
yurifdiSiion,
IHERE'S no fuch Thing as Spiritual Jurifdidion, all is Civil, the Church's is the fame with the Lord Mayor's. a Chriftian came into a Pagan Country, how can you fancy he fhall have any Power there ? he finds faults with the Gods of the Country ; well, they will put him to death for it : when he is a Martyr, what follows ? Does that argue he has any fpiritual Jurifdidion ? If the Clergy fay the Church ought to be
Suppofe
96
Difcourfes, or
governed thus, and thus, by the Word of God, that is Dodrine all, that is not Difcipline.
2. The Pope he challenges Jurifdidion over all, the Bifhops they pretend to it as well as he, the Prefbyterians they would have it to themfelves ; but over whom is all this ? the poor Laymen.
yus Di
tvtnum.
LL things are held by Jus Divinum, either immediately or mediately.
2. Nothing has loft the Pope fo much in his Supremacy, as not acknowledging what Princes gave him. 'Tis a fcorn upon the Civil Power, and an unthankfulnefs in the Prieft. But the Church runs to Jus divinum, left if they ftiould acknowledge that what they have, they have by pofitive Law, it might be as well taken from them as given to them.
Table-talk.
Ki.
m
'g-
»:••aii.iKKK«!!^VCffiS^;^V^S*a=•'f^J^■^VV^
Jr,fc*r.jr*-.*»li/i^"*.^.
KING is a thing Men have made for their own Sakes, for quietnefs-fake, ' Jufl: as in a 'Family one Man is appointed to buy the Meat; if every Man fhould buy, or if there were many buyers, they would never agree, one would buy what the other liked not, or what the other had bought before, fo there would be a confufion. But that Charge being committed to one, he according to his Difcretion pleafes all ; if they have not what they would have one day, they fhall have it the next, or fomething as good.
2. The word King diredls our Eyes ; fuppofe it had been Conful, or Diftator : to think all Kings alike is the fame folly, as if a Conful of Aleppo or Smyrna fhould claim to himfelf the fame Power that a Con- ful 2it Rome [had.] What, am not I a Con- ful ? or a Duke of England fhould think himfelf like the Duke o^ Florence ; nor can
H
98 Difcourfes, or
it be imagined, that the word BcctnXevs did fignify the fame in Greek as the Hebrew Word "1^3 did with the Jews. Befides, let the Divines in their Pulpits fay what they will, they in their pradlice deny that all is the King's : They fue him, and fo does all the Nation, whereof they are a part. What matter is it then what they Preach or Teach in the Schools ?
3. Kings are all individual, this or that King, there is no Species of Kings.
4. A King that claims Privileges in his own Country, becaufe they have them in another, is jufl as a Cook, that claims Fees in one Lord's Houfe becaufe they are allowed in another. If the Mafter of the Houfe will yield them, well and good.
5. The Text [Render unto C^Jar the things that are Ccefar's'] makes as much againft Kings, as for them, for it fays plainly that fome things are not dejar's. But Divines make choice of it, firfl in Flattery, and then becaufe of the other part adjoined to it \_Render unto God the things that are God's~\ where they bring in the Church.
Table-talk.
6. A King outed of his Country, that takes as much upon him as he did at home, in his own Court, is as if a Man on high, and I being upon the Ground, ufed to hft up my voice to him, that he might hear me, at length fhould come down, and then experts I fhould ipeak as loud to him as I did before.
King of England.
HE King can do no wrong, that is, no Procefs can be granted againft him. What muft be done then ? Petition him, and the King writes upon the Peti- tion foit droit fait, and fends it to the Chancery, and then the bufinefs is heard. His ConfefTor will not tell him, he can do no wrong.
2. There's a great deal of difference between Head of the Church, and Su- preme Governor, as our Canons call the King. Conceive it thus, there is in the Kingdom of England a College of Phyfi-
lOO
Difcourfes, or
cians, the King is Supreme Governor of thofe^ but not Head of them, nor Prefident of the College, nor the beft Phyfician.
3. After the Diflblution of Abbies, they did not much advance the King's Supremacy, for they only cared to exclude the Pope : hence have we had feveral Tranflations of the Bible put upon us. But now we muft look to it, otherwife the King may put upon us what Religion he pleafes.
4. 'Twas the old way when the King of England had his Houfe, there were Canons to fing Sei-vice in his Chapel ; fo at Weftminfter in St. Stephen's Chapel (where the Houfe of Commons fits) from which Canons the Street called Canon-row has its Name, becaufe they lived there, and he had alfo the Abbot and his Monks, and all thefe the King's Houfe.
5. The three Eftates are the Lords Temporal, the Bifhops are the Clergy, and the Commons, as fome would have it, [take heed of that] for then if two agree the third is involved, but he is King of the three Eftates.
Table-talk.
6. The King hath a Seal in every Court, and tho' the Great Seal be called Sigillum Anglic, the Great Seal of Eng- land, yet 'tis not becaufe 'tis the King- dom's Seal, and not the King's, but to diftinguifh it from Sigillum Hiberni^, Sigil- lum Scotia,
7. The Court of England is much al- tered. At a folemn Dancing, firft you had the grave Meafures, then the Corran- toes and the Galliards, and this is kept up with Ceremony ; at length to 'Trench- more, and the Cufhion-Dance, and then all the Company dance. Lord and Groom, Lady and Kitchen-Maid, no diftindlion. So in our Court, in Queen Elizabeth's time. Gravity and State were kept up. In King James's time things were pretty well. But in King Charles's time, there has been nothing but Trench-more, and the Cufhion-Dance, omnium gatherum tolly, polly, hoite come toite.
lOI
Difcoiirfes, or
The King,
lis hard to make an Accomma- datlon between the King and the Parliament. If you and I fell out about Money, you faid I owed you Twenty. Pounds, I faid I owed you but Ten Pounds, it may be a third Party allowing me Twenty Marks, might make us Friends. But if I faid I owed you Twenty Pounds in Silver, and you faid I owed you Twenty Pounds of Diamonds, which is a Sum innumerable, 'tis impoflible we fhould ever agree. This is the Cafe.
2. The King ufing the Houfe of Com- mons, as he did in Mr. Pymm and his Company, that is, charging them with Treafon, becaufe they charged my Lord of Canterbury and Sir George Ratcliff; it was juft with as much Logic as the Boy, that would have lain with his Grandmo- ther, ufed to his Father, you lay with my Mother, why fhould not I lie with yours ?
Table-talk.
3 . There is not the fame Reafon for the King's acciifing Men of Treafon, and carrying them away, as there is for the Houfes themfelves, becaufe they accufe one of themfelves. For every one that is accufed, is either a Peer, or a Com- moner, and he that is accufed hath his Confent going along with him ; but if the King accufes, there is nothing of this in it.
4. The King is equally abufed now as before ; then they flattered him and made him -do iir things, now they would force him againft his Confcience. If a Phyfl- cian fliould- tell me, every thing I had a mind to was good for me, tho' in truth 'twas Poifon, he abufed me ; and he abufes me as much, that would force me to take fomething whether I will or no.
5. The King fo long as he is our King, may do with his Officers what he pleafes; as the Mafl:er of the Houfe may turn away all his Servants, and take whom he pleafe.
6. The King's Oath is not fecurity enough for our Property, for he fwears to
103
/
I04
Difcourfes, or
N,
Govern according to Law; now the Judges they interpret the Law, and what Judges can be made to do we know. ~^-- _^^^^ The King and the Parliament now falling out, are juft as when there is foul Play offered amongft Gamefters, one fnatches the others ftake, they feize what they can of one anothers. 'Tis not to be afked whether it belongs not to the King to do this or that : before when there was fair Play, it did. But now they will do what is moft convenient for their own fafety. If two fall to fcuffling, one tears the others Band, the other tears his ; when they were Friends they were quiet, and did no fuch thing, they let one anothers Bands alone.
8. The King calling his Friends from the Parliament becaufe he had ufe of them at Oxford^ is as if a Man fhould have ufe of a little piece of Wood, and he runs down into the Cellar, and takes the Spi- got, in the meantime all the Beer runs about the Houfe ; when his Friends are abfent, the King will be loft.
Table-talk,
Knights Service.
NIGHTS Service in earneft means nothing, for the Lords are bound to wait upon the King when he goes to War with a Foreign Enemy, with it may be one Man and one Horfe, and he that doth not, is to be rated fo much as fhall feem aood to the next Parliament. And what will that be ? So 'tis for a private Man, that holds of a Gentleman.
105
Land,
HEN Men did let their Land underfoot, the Tenants would fight for their Landlords, fo that way they had their Re- tribution : but now they will do nothing for them, may be the firft, if but a Con- ftable bid them, that fhall lay the Land-
n
Difcourfes, or
lord by the heels, and therefore 'tis va- nity and folly not to take the full value.
2. Allodium is a Law Word, contrary to Feudum^ and it fignifies Land that holds of no body. We have no fuch Land in England. 'Tis a true Propofition ; all the Land in England is held, either imme- diately, or mediately of the King.
O a living Tongue new Words may be added, but not to a dead Tongue, as Latin, Greek, Hebrew, &c,
2. Latimer is the Corruption of Lati- ner, it fignifies he that interprets Latin, and though he interpreted French, Spanifh, or Italian, he was called the King's Lati- ner, that is, the King's interpreter.
3. If you look upon the Language fpoken in the Saxon Time, and the Lan- guage fpoken now, you will find the Dif- ference to be, juft as if a Man had a Cloak that he wore plain in Queen Eli-
Table-talk.
zabetlis Days, and fince, here has put in a piece of Red, and there a piece of Blue, and here a piece of Green, and there a piece of Orange-tawny. We borrow Words from the French ^ Italian^ Latin ^ as every Pedantic Man pleafes. ^ ^4. We have more Words than No- tions, half a dozen words for the fame _^„|}ung,' Sometimes we put a new fignifi- cation to an old word, as when we call a Piece a Gun. The Word Gun was in ufe in England for an Engine, to cafl: a thing from a Man, long before there was any Gun-powder found out.
5. Words muft be fitted to a Man's Mouth ; 'twas well faid of the Fellow that was to make a Speech for my Lord Mayor, he defired to take m.eafure of his Lordfhip's Mouth.
107
^
7
/
\/)
Difcourfes, or
Law.
MAN may plead not guilty^ and yet tell no Lie ; for by the Law, no Man is bound to accufe himfelf ; fo that when I fay Not Guilty, the meaning is, as if 1 fhould fay by way of paraphrafe, I am not fo guilty as to tell you ; if you will bring me to a Trial, and have me pun- ifhed for this you lay to my Charge, prove it againft me.
2. Ignorance of the Law excufes no man ; not that all Men know the Law, but becaufe 'tis an excufe every man will plead, and no Man can tell how to con- fute him.
3. The King of Spain was outlawed in Weftminfter-Hall, I being of Council againft him. A Merchant had recovered Cofts againft him in a Suit, which becaufe he could not get, we advifed to have him Outlawed for not appearing, and fo he was. As foon as Gondomar heard that
Table-talk.
he prefently Tent the money, by reafon, if his Mafter had been Outlawed, he -eould not have the benefit of the Law, which would have been very prejudicial, there being then many fuits depending betwixt the King of Spain , and our Eng- lijh Merchants.
4. Every Law is a Contra6l between the King and the People, and therefore to be kept. A Hundred Men may owe me a Hundred Pounds, as well as any one Man, and fhall they not pay me be- caufe they are ftronger than I ? Obje£f. Oh but they lofe all if they keep that Law. Anfw. Let them look to the making of their Bargain. If I fell my Lands, and when I have done, one comes and tells me I have nothing elfe to keep me. I and my Wife and Children muft ftarve, If I part with my Land ; mufl I not therefore let them have my Land, that have bought it and paid for it ?
5. The Parliament may declare Law, as well as any other inferior Court may, (viz.) the King's Bench. In that or this particular Cafe, the King's Bench will de-
109
Difcourfes, or
clare unto you what the Law is, but that binds no body but whom the Cafe con- cerns : So the higheft Court, the Parlia- ment may do, but not declare Law, that is, make Law that was never heard of before.
Law of Nature.
CANNOT fancy to myfelf what the Law of Nature means, but the Law of God. How fhould 1 know I ought not to ileal, I ought not to commit Adul- tery, unlefs fome body had told me fo .^ Surely 'tis becaufe I have been told fo ? 'Tis not becaufe I think I ought; not to do them, nor becaufe you think I ought not; if fo, our minds might change, whence then comes the restraint ? from a higher Power, nothing elfe can bind. I cannot bind myfelf, for I may untie my- felf again ; nor an equal cannot bind me, for we may untie one another : It muft be a fuperior Power, even God Almighty. If two of us make a Bargain, why fhould
Table-talk.
I II
either of us ftand to it ? What need you care what you fay, or what need I care what I fay ? Certainly becaufe there is fomething about me that tells me Fides eft fervanda^ and if we after alter our Minds, and make a new Bargain, there's Fides fervanda there too.
Learning.
O Man is the wifer for his Learning ; it may adminifter Matter to work in, or Objeds to work upon, but Wit and Wifdom are born with a Man.
2. Moft Mens Learning is nothing but Hifl ry duly taken up. If I quote
^Thomas Aquinas for fome Tenet, and believe it, becaufe the School-Men fay fo, that is but Hiftory. Few men make themfelves Mafters of the things they write or fpeak.
3. The Jefuits and the Lawyers of France^ and the Low Countrymen, have engroffed all Learning. The reft of the World make nothing but Homilies.
112 Difcourfes, or
4. 'Tis obfervable, that in Athens where the Arts flourifht, they were governed by a Democracy ; Learning made them think themfelves as wife as any body, and they would govern as well as others ; and they fpeak as it were by way of Con- tempt, that in the Eaft^ and in the North they had Kings, and why ? Becaufe the moft part of them followed their Bufinefs, and if fome one Man had made himfelf wifer than the reft, he governed them, and they willingly fubmitted themfelves to him. Ariftotle makes the Obfervation. And as in Athens the Philofophers made the People knowing, and therefore they thought themfelves wife enough to go- vern ; fo does preaching with us, and that makes us affe6t a Democracy : For upon thefe two Grounds we all would be Governors, either becaufe we think our- felves as wife as the beft, or becaufe we think ourfelves the Ele6l, and have the Spirit, and the reft a Company of Repro- bates that belong to the Devil.
Table-talk.
113
Lecturers,
ECTURERS do in a Parifh Church what the Friars did heretofore, get away not only the AiFe6lions, but the Boun- ty, that fhould be beftowed upon the Minifter.
9. Ledlurers get a great deal of Money, becaufe they preach the People tame [as a Man watches a Hawk*] and then they do what they lift with them.
3. The Le6lures in Black Friars^ per- formed by Officers of the Army, Tradef- men, and Minifters, is as if a great Lord fhould make a Feaft, and he would have his Cook drefs one Difh, and his Coach- man another, his Porter a third, i^c.
* The reader need fcarcely be told that Hawks were tamed by watching. Shakfpeare has feveral allufions to it: Defdemona in affuring CaJJio how fhe will urge his fuit to Othello, fays :
** I'll watch him tame, and talk him out of patience."
Difcourfes, or
Libels.
HOUGH fome make flight of Libels J yet you may fee by them how the Wind fits : As take a Straw and throw it up into the Air, you fhall fee by that which way the Wind is, which you fhall not do by calling up a Stone. More folid Things do not fhew the Complexion of the times fo well, as Ballads and Libels.
Liturgy,
HERE is no Church without a Liturgy, nor indeed can there be conveniently, as there is no School without a Grammar. One Scholar may be taught otherwife upon the Stock of his Acumen, but not a whole School. One or two, that are pioufly difpofed, may ferve them-
Table-talk.
felves their own way, but hardly a whole Nation.
2. To know what was generally be- lieved in all Ages, the way is to confult the Liturgies, not any private Man's writ- ing. As if you would know how the Church o^ England {tvYts God, go to the Common-Prayer-Book, confult not this nor that Man. Befides, Liturgies never Compliment, nor ufe high ExprefTions. The Fathers oft-times fpeak Oratorioufly.
Lords in the Parliament.
HE Lords giving Protections is a fcorn upon them. A Protection means nothing actively, but pafTively ; he that is a Servant to a Parliament Man is thereby protedled. What a fcorn it is to a Perfon of Honour, to put his Hand to two Lies at once, that fuch a man is my Servant, and employed by me, when haply he never faw the man in his Life, nor before never heard of him.
ii6
Difcourfes, or
2. The Lords protefting is Foolifh. To proteft is properly to fave to a man's felf fome Right ; but to proteft as the Lords protefl:, when they their felves are involved, 'tis no more than if I fhould go into Smith-field^ and fell my Horfe, and take the money, and yet when I have your money, and you my Horfe, I fhould proteft this Horfe is mine, became I love the Horfe, or I do not know why I do proteft, becaufe my Opinion is contrary to the reft. Ridiculous, when they fay the Biftiops did anciently proteft, it was only diftenting, and that in the cafe of the Pope.
Lords before the Parliament,
REAT Lords by reafon of their Flatterers, are the firft that knov/ their own Virtues, and the laft that know their own Vices : Some of them are aftiamed upwards, becaufe their Anceftors were too orreat. Others are aftiamed down- wards, becaufe they were too little.
Table-talk.
2 . The Prior of St. John of Jerufalem^ is faid to be Primus Baro Anglic ^ the firfl Baron of England^ becaufe being laft of the Spiritual Barons, he chofe to be firft of the Temporal. He was a kind of an Otter, a Knight half Spiritual, and half Temporal.
3. due ft. Whether is every Baron a Baron of fome Place ?
Anjw. 'Tis according to his Patent ; of late Years they have been made Baron of fome Place, but anciently not, called only by their Surname, or the Surname of fome Family, into which they have been married.
4. The making of new Lords lefTens all the reft. 'Tis in the bufinefs of Lords, as it 'twas with St. Nicolas' s Image : The Country-Man, you know, could not find in his Heart to adore the new Image, made of his own Plum-Tree, though he had formerly worfhiped the old one. The Lords that are ancient we honour, becaufe we know not whence they come ; but the new ones we flight, becaufe we know their beginning.
117
ii8 Difcourfes, or
5. For the Irijh Lords to take upon them here in England^ is as if the Cook in the Fair fhould come to my Lady Kenfs Kitchen, and take upon him to roaft the Meat there becaufe he is a Cook in an- other place.
Marriage,
F all Ac5lions of a Man's Life, his Marriage does leaft con- cern other people, yet of all A6lions of our Life 'tis moft meddled with by other People. .
2. Marriage is nothing but a Civil Contrad ; 'tis true, 'tis an Ordinance of God : fo is every other Contrad, God commands me to keep it when I have made it.
3 . Marriage is a defperate thing ; the Frogs in j^Jop were extreme wife, they had a great mind to fome Water, but they would not leap into the Well, be- caufe they could not get out again.
4. We fingle out particulars, and ap-
Table-talk.
ply God's Providence to them, thus when two are married and have undone one another, they cry it was God's Providence we ihouid come together, when God's Providence does equally concur to every thing.
Marriage of Coujin-Germans.
OME Men forbear to marry Couiin Germans out of this kind of fcruple of Con- fcience, becaufe it was unlaw- ful before the Reformation, and is ftill in the Church of Rome, And fo by reafon their Grand-Father, or their great Grand- Father did not do it, upon that old Score they think they ought not to do it : as fome Men forbear Flefb upon Friday, not refledling upon the Statute, which with us makes it unlawful, but out of an old Score, becaufe the Church of Rome forbids it, and their Fore-fathers always forbore flefh upon that Day. Others
I20
Difcourfes, or
forbear it out of a Natural Confideration, becaufe it is obferved (for Example) in Beafts, if two couple of a near Kind, the Breed proves not fo good. The fame Obfervation they make in Plants and Trees, which degenerate being grafted upon the fame Stock. And 'tis alfo fur- ther obferved, thofe Matches betv/een Coulin germans feldom prove fortunate. But for the lawfulnefs there is no Colour but Coufin-germans in England may marry both by the Law of God and man : for with us we have reduc'd all the De- grees of Marriage to thofe in the Leviti- cal-LaWj and 'tis plain there's nothing againft it. As for that that is faid Coufin- germans once removed may not Marry, and therefore being a further degree may not, 'tis prefumed a nearer fhould not, no Man can tell what it means.
Table-talk.
Meafure of Things.
E meafure from ourfelves, and as things are for our ufe and purpofe^ fo we approve them. Bring a Pear to the Table that is rotten, we cry it down, 'tis naught ; but bring a Medlar that is rotten, and 'tis a fine thing, and yet I'll warrant you the Pear thinks as well of itfelf as the Medlar does.
2. We meafure the Excellency of other Men, by fome Excellency we conceive to be in ourfelves. Na/h a Poet, poor enough (as Poets us'd to be), feeing an Alderman with his Gold Chain, upon his great Horfe, by way of fcorn, faid to one of his Companions, do you fee yon fel- low, how goodly, how big he looks ; why that fellow cannot make a blank Verfe.
3. Nay we meafure the goodnefs of God from ourfelves, we meafure his Goodnefs, his Juftice, his Wifdom, by fomething we call Juft, Good, or Wife in
122
Difcourfes, or
ourfelves ; and in fo doing, we judge proportionably to the Country-fellow in the Play, who faid if he were a King, he would live like a Lord, and have Peas and Bacon every day, and a Whip that cried Slafh.
Difference of Men,
HE Difference of Men is very great, you would fcarce think them to be of the fame Spe- cies, and yet it confifts more in the Affedion than in the Intelled. For as in the ftrength of Body, two Men fhall be of an equal ftrength, yet one fhall ap- pear ftronger than the other, becaufe he exercifes, and puts out his ftrength, the other will not ftir nor ftrain himfelf. So 'tis in the ftrength of the Brain, the one endeavours, and ftrains, and labours, and ftudies, the other fits ftill, and is idle, and takes no pains, and therefore he appears fo much the inferior.
Table-talk.
Minijier Divine,
HE impofition of hands upon the Minifter when all is done, will be nothing but a defig- nation of a Perfon to this or that Office or Employment in the Church. 'Tis a ridiculous Phrafe that of the Canon- ifts [Confer re Or (lines'] 'Tis Co apt are ali- quem in Ordinem, to make a Man one of us, one of our Number, one of our Order. So Cicero would underftand what I faid, it being a Phrafe borrowed from the La- tins^ and to be underftood proportiona- bly to what v/as amongft them.
1. Thofe Words you now ufe in ma- king a Minifter [receive the Holy Ghoji'] were ufed amongft the Jews in making of a Lawyer ; from thence we have them, which is a villanous Key to fomething, as if you would have fome other kind of Prasfedure than a Mayoralty, and yet keep the fame Ceremony that was ufed in m.aking the Mayor.
124 Difcourfes, or
3. A Prieft has no fuch thing as an in- ilehble Charadler : what difference do you find betwixt him and another Man after Ordination ? only he is made a Prieft^ (as I faid) by Defignation ; as a Lawyer is called to the Bar^ then made a Serjeant : all Men that would get Power over others, make themfelves as unlike them as they can, upon the fame Ground the Priefts made themfelves unlike the Laity.
4. A Minifter when he is made, is Mate- ria prima J apt for any form the State will put upon him, but of himfelf he can do nothing. Like a Dodlor of Law in the Univerfity, he hath a great deal of Law in him, but cannot ufe it till he be made fome-body's Chancellor ; or like a Phy- iician, before he be received into a houfe, he can give no-body Phyfic ; indeed af- ter the Mafter of the houfe hath given him charge of his Servants, then he may. Or like a Suffragan, that could do nothing but give Orders, and yet he was no Bi- fhop.
5. A Minifter fhould preach according to the Articles of Religion eftablifhed in
Table-talk.
the Church where he is. To be a Civil Lawyer let a Man read Juftinian, and the Body of the Law^ to confirm his Brain to that way, but when he comes to prac- tife, he muft make ufe of it fo far as it concerns the Law received in his own Country. To be a Phyiician let a Man read Galen and Hippocrates ; but when he pradlifes, he muft apply his Medicines ac- cording to the Temper of thofe Men's Bodies with whom he lives, and have re- fpe6t to the heat and cold of Climes, otherwife that which in Pergamus (where Galen lived) was Phyfic, in our cold Climate may be Poifon. So to be a Di- vine, let him read the whole Body of Di- vinity, the Fathers and the Schoolmen, but when he comes to pradife, he muft ufe it and apply it according to thofe Grounds and Articles of Religion that are eftablifhed in the Church, and this with fenfe.
6. There be four things a Minifter fhould be at ; the Confcionary part, Ec- clefiaftical Story, School Divinity, and the Cafuifts.
125
126
Difcourfes, or
1. In the Confcionary part, he muft read all the chief Fathers, both Latin and Greek wholly. St. Auftin^ St. Amhroje^ St. Chryjoftome^ both the Gregories^ &c. 'Tertullian^ Clemens Alexandrinus^ and Epi- phanius ; which lafl have more Learning in them than all the reft, and writ freely.
2. For Ecclefiaftical Story let him read Baronius^ with the MagdeburgenJeSy and be his ov/n Judge, the one being ex- tremely for the Papifts, the other ex-, tremely againft them.
3. For School Divinity let him get Javellus's Edition of Scotus or Mayro^^ where there be Quotations that diredt you to every Schoolman, where fuch and fuch Queftions are handled. Without School Divinity a Divine knows nothing Logi- cally, nor will be able to fatisfy a rational Man out of the Pulpit.
4. The Study of the Cafuifts muft fol-
* In the original edition it is Mayco, but there is no doubt that Francifcus Mayro?ns the renowned follower of Duns Scotus is meant. He was called DoSior illuminatus et acutusy magijier abjlr ac- tion urn.
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low the Study of the Schoolmen, becaufe the divifion of their Cafes, is according to their Divinity ; otherwife he that be- gins with them will know little. As he that begins with the ftudy of the Reports and Cafes in the Common Law, will thereby know little of the Law. Cafuifts may be of admirable ufe, if difcreetly dealt with, though among them you fhall have many leaves together very imperti- nent. A Cafe well decided would ftick by a man, they will remember it whether they will or no, whereas a quaint Pofition dieth in the birth. The main thing is to know where to fearch ; for talk what they will of vaft memories, no man will prefume upon his own memory for any thing he means to write or fpeak in public.
7. [Go and teach all Nations. 1 This was faid to all Chriftians that then were, be- fore the diftindlion of Clergy and Laity ; there have been fince. Men defigned to preach only by the State, as fome Men are defigned to fludy the Law, others to ftudy Phylic. When the Lord's Supper
128 Difcourfes, or
was inftituted, there were none prefent but the Difciples, fhall none then but Minifters receive ?
8. There is all the reafon you fhould believe your Minifter, unlefs you have ftudied Divinity as well as he, or more than he.
9. 'Tis a foolifh thing to fay Minifters muft not meddle with Secular Matters, becaufe his own profeftion will take up the whole Man : may he not eat, or drink, or walk, or learn to fing ? the meaning of that is, he muft ferioufly attend his Calling.
10. Minifters with the Papifts [that is their Priefts] have much refpedl, with the Puritans they have much, and that upon the fame ground, they pretend both of 'em to come immediately from Chrift ; but with the Proteftants they have very little, the reafon whereof is, in the begin- ning of the Reformation they were glad to get fuch to take Livings as they could procure by any Invitations, things of piti- ful condition. The Nobility and Gen- try, would not fuft'er their Sons or Kin-
Table-talk. 129
dred to meddle with the Church, and therefore at this day, when they fee a Parfon, they think him to be fuch a thing ftill, and there they will keep him, and ufe him accordingly ; if he be a Gen- tleman, that is fingled out, and he is ufed the more refpe6lfully.
1 1 . The Proteftant Minifter is leaft re- garded, appears by the old Story of the Keeper of the Clink. He had Priefts of feveral forts fent unto him ; a they came in, he afked them who they were ; who are you to the firfl ? I am a Priefl: of the Church of Rome ; you are welcome quoth the Keeper, there are thofe will take Care of you. And who are you ? A filenced Minifter. You are welcome too, I fhall fare the better for you. And who are you ? A Minifter of the Church of En- gland. O God help me (quoth the Keeper) I fhall get nothing by you, I am fure you may lie and ftarve, and rot, be- fore any body will look after you.
1 2. Methinks 'tis an ignorant thing for a Churchman, to call himfelf the Minif- ter of Chrift, becaufe St. Faul^ or the
K
Difcourles, or
Apoftles called themfelves fo. If one of them had a Voice from Heaven, as St. Paul had, I will grant he is a Minifter of Chrift, I will call him fo too. Mull they take upon them ^s the Apoftles did ? Can they do as the Apoftles could ? The Apoftles had a Mark to be known by, fpake Tongues, cured Difeafes, trod upon Serpents, i^c. Can they do this ? If a Gentleman tells me, he will fend his Man to me, and I did not know his Man, but he gave me this mark to know him by, he ftiould bring in his Hand a rich Jewel ; if a Fellow came to me with a Pebble- Stone, had I any reafon to believe he was the Gentleman's Man ?
Mo7tey,
ONEY makes a Man laugh. A blind Fiddler playing to a Company, and playing but Scurvily,the Company laught at him ; his boy that led him, perceiving it, cried. Father let us be gone, they do no- thing but laugh at you. Hold thy Peace,
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Boy, faid the Fiddler, we fhall have their money prefently, and then we will laugh at them.
1. Euclid was beaten in Boccaline^^' for teaching his Scholars a mathematical Fi- gure in his School, whereby he fhewed that all the Lives both of Princes and pri- vate Men, tended to one Centre, Con Gen- tilezzay handfomely to get Money out of other men's pockets, and put it into their own.
3. The Pope ufed heretofore to fend the Princes of Chriftendom to tight againft the Turk, but Prince and Pope finely juggled together, the Monies were raifed, and fome Men went out to the Holy War ; but commonly after they had got the Money, the '^urk was pretty quiet, and the Prince and the Pope fhared it between them.
4. In all times the Princes in England have done fomething illegal to get Money : But then came a Parliament and all was well, the People and the Prince kift and were Friends, and fo things were quiet
131
* RagguagH di ParnalTo.
Difcourfes, or
for a while. Afterwards there was an- other Trick found out to get Money, and after they had got it, another Parliament was called to fet all right, ^'c. but now they have fo out-run the Conftable —
Moral Honefly.
HEY that cry down moral Honefty, cry down that which is a great part of Religion, my Duty towards God, and my duty towards Man. What care I to fee a man run after a Sermon, if he co- zens and cheats as foon as he comes home. On the other fide Morality muft not be without Religion, for if fo, it may change, as I fee convenience. Religion muft go- vern it. He that has not Religion to go- vern his Morality, is not a dram better than my Mafliif-Dog ; fo long as you ftroke him, and pleafe him, and do not pinch him., he will play with you as finely as may be, he is a very good moral-Maf- tiff ; but if you hurt him, he will fly in your Face, and tear out your Throat.
Table-talk.
Mortgage.
N cafe I receive a thoufand Pounds, and mortgage as much Land as is worth two thoufand to you ; if I do not pay the Money at fuch a day, I fail, whe- ther you may take my Land and keep it in point of Confcience ? Anjw, If you had my Lands as fecurity only for your Money, then you are not to keep it, but if we bargained fo, that if I did not repay your I ooo/. my Land fhould go for it, be it what it will, no doubt you may with a fafe Confcience keep it ; for in thefe things all the Obligation is Servare Fidem,
Number.
LL thofe myfterious things
they obferve in Numbers,
come to nothing upon this
very ground, becaufe Number
in itfelf is nothing, has not to do with
134 Difcourfes, or
Nature, but is merely of Human Impofi- tion, a mere Sound. For Example, when I cry one o'Clock, two o'Clock, three o'clock, that is but Man's divifion of Time, the time itfelf goes on, and it had been all one in Nature, if thofe Hours had been called nine, ten, and eleven. So when they fay the feventh Son is Fortunate, it means nothing ; for if you count from the feventh backward, then the Firft is the feventh, why is not he likewife Fortunate ?
Oaths.
WEARING was another thing with the Jews than with us, becaufe they might not pronounce the Name of the
Lord Jehovah.
2. There is no Oath fcarcely, but we fwear to things we are ignorant of: For Example, the Oath of Supremacy ; how many know how the King is King ? what are his Right and Prerogative ? So how
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US
many know what are the Privileges of the Parhament, and the Liberty of the Subjed, when they take the proteftation ? But the meaning is, they will defend them when they know them. As if I fhould fwear I would take part with all that wear Red Ribbons in their Hats, it may be I do not know which Colour is Red ; but when I do know, and fee a Red Ribbon in a Man's Hat, then will I take his Part.
3. I cannot conceive how an Oath is impofed, where there is a Parity (viz.) in the Houfe of Commons, they are all pares infer fe, only one brings Paper, and fhews it the reft, they look upon it, and in their own Senfe take it : Now they are but pares to me, who am none of the Houfe, for I do not acknowledge myfelf their Subje6l ; if I did, then no queftion, I was bound by an Oath- of their impofing. 'Tis to me but reading a Paper in their own Senfe.
4. There is a great difference between an Affertory Oath, and a Promiffory Oath. An Affertory Oath is made to a Man be- fore God, and I muft fwear fo, as Man
136
Difcourfes, or
may know what I mean : But a Promif- fory Oath is made to God only, and I am fure he knows my meaning. So in the new Oath it runs [whereas I believe in my Confcience, if^c. I will affift thus and thus] that [whereas] gives me an Out- loofe, for if I do not believe fo, for ought I know, I fwear not at all.
5. In a PromifTory Oath, the mind I am in is a good Interpretation ; for if there be enough happened to change my mind, I do not know why I fhould not. If I promife to go to Oxford to morrow, and mean it when I fay it, and afterwards it appears to me, that 'twill be my undo- ing ; will you fay I have broke my Pro- mife if I ftay at Home ? certainly I muft not go.
6. The Jews had this way with them, concerning a PromifTory Oath or Vow, if one of them had vowed a Vow, which afterwards appeared to him to be very prejudicial by reafon of fomething he either did not forefee, or did not think of, when he made his Vow; if he made it known to three of his Country-men, they
Table-talk. 1^3 7
had Power to abfolve him, though he could not abfolve hlmfelf, and that they picked out of fome Words in the Text : Perjury hath only to do with an AfTertory Oath, and no Man was punifht for Per- jury by Man's Law till Queen Eliza- beth's time ; 'twas left to God, as a fin againft him ; the Reafon was, becaufe 'twas fo hard a thing to prove a Man per- jured : I might mifunderftand him, and he fwears as he thought.
7. When Men afk me whether they may take an Oath in their own Senfe, 'tis to me, as if they fhould afk whether they may go to fuch a place upon their own Legs, I would fain know how they can go other wife.
8. If the Miniflers that are in fequef- tred Livings will not take the Engage- ment, threaten to turn them out and put in the old ones, and then I'll warrant you they will quietly take it. A Gentleman having been rambling two or three Days, at length came home, and being in Bed with his Wife, would fain have been at fome- thing, that fhe was unwilling to, and in-
^s''^ Difcourfes, or
ftead of complying, fell to chiding him for his being abroad fo long : Well fays he, if you will not, call up Sue (his Wife's Chamber-maid) upon that fhe yielded prefently.
9. Now Oaths are fo frequent, they fhould be taken like Pills, fwallowed whole i if you chew them you will find them bitter : if you think what you fwear 'twill hardly go down.
Oracles,
RACLES ceafed prefently after Chrift, as foon as no body believed them. Juft as we have no Fortune-Tel- lers, nor Wife-Men, when no body cares for them. Sometime you have a Seafon for them, when People believe them, and neither of thefe, I conceive, wrought by the Devil.
-s ^'
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Opinion.
PINION and Affedlion ex- tremely differ ; I may affed a Woman beft, but it does not follow I mull: think her the handfomeft Woman in the World. I love Apples beft of any Fruit, but it does not follow, I muft think Apples to be the beft Fruit. Opinion is fome- thing wherein I go about to give rea- fon why all the World fhould think as I think. Affedion is a thing wherein I look after the pleafing of myfelf.
2. 'Twas a good Fancy of an old Pla- tonick : The Gods which are above Men, had fomething whereof Man did partake, [an Intelledl Knowledge] and the Gods kept on their courfe quietly. The Beafts, which are below Man, had fomething whereof Man did partake, [Senfe and Growth] and the Beafts lived quietly in their way. But Man had fomething in him, whereof neither Gods nor Beafts did
140
Difcourfes, or
partake, which gave him all the Trouble, and made all the Confuiion in the World ; and that is Opinion.
3. 'Tis a foolifh thing for me to be brought off from an Opinion, in a thing neither of us know, but are led only by fome Cobweb-fluff; as in fuch a Cafe as this, Utrum Angeli in vicem colloquanturf if I forfake my fide in fuch a cafe, I fhew myfelf wonderful light, or infinitely com- plying, or flattering the other party : But if I be in a bufinefs of Nature, and hold an Opinion one way, and fome Man's Experience has found out the contrary, I may with a fafe Reputation give up my fide.
4. 'Tis a vain thing to talk of a H«re- tick, for a Man for his heart can think no otherwife than he does think. In the Primitive Times there were many Opini- ons, nothing fcarce but fome or other held : One of thefe Opinions being em- braced by fome Prince, and received into his Kingdom, the refl were condemned as Herefies ; and his Religion, which was but one of the feveral Opinions, firfl is
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faid to be Orthodox, and fo have con- tinued ever iince the Apoftles.
Parity.
HIS Is the Juggling Trick of the Parity, they would have no body above them, but they do not tell you they would
have no body under them.
Parlia7ne7it.
LL are involved in a Parlia- ment. There was a time when all Men had their Voice in choofing Knights. About Henry the Sixth's time they found the inconvenience, fo one Parliament made a Law, that only he that had forty Shillings ■per annum fhould give his Voice, they under fhould be excluded. They made the Law who had the Voice of all, as well
142 Difcourfes, or
under forty Shillings ; as above ; and thus it continues at this Day. All confent civilly in a Parliament, Women are in- volved in the Men, Children in thofe of perfed age ; thofe that are under forty Shillings a Year, in thofe that have forty Shillings a year, thofe of forty Shillings in the Knights.
2. All things are brought to the Par- liament, little to the Courts of Juftice : jufl as in a room where there is a Ban- quet prefented, if there be Perfons of Quality there, the People muft exped, and ftay till the great ones have done.
3. The Parliament flying upon feveral Men, and then letting them alone, does as a Hawk that flies a Covey of Partridges, and when fhe has flown them a great way, grows weary, and takes a Tree ; then the Falconer lures her down, and takes her to his fift : on they go again, hei rett, up- fprings another Covey, away goes the Hawk, and as fhe did before, takes an- other Tree, i^c.
4. Diflenters in Parliament may at length come to a good end, though firft
Table-talk. 143
there be a great deal of do, and a great deal of noife, which mad, wild folks make: juft as in brewing of Wreft-Beer, there's a great deal of Bufinefs in grind- ing the Malt, and that fpoils any Man's clothes that comes near it : then it muft be mafhed, then comes a Fellow in and drinks of the Wort, and he's drunk ; then they keep a huge quarter when they carry it into the Cellar, and a twelve month after 'tis delicate fine Beer.
5. It muft neceflarily be that our Dif- tempers are worfe than they were in the beginning of the Parliament. IfaPhyfi- cian comes to a fick Man, he lets him blood, it may be fcarifies him, cups him, puts him into a great diforder, before he makes him well ; and if he be fent for to cure an Ague, and he finds his Patient hath many difeafes, a Dropfy, and a Palfy, he applies remedies to 'em all, which makes the cure the longer and the dearer : this is the cafe.
6. The Parliament-men are as great Princes as any in the World, when what- foever they pleafe is Privilege of Parlia-
144 Difcourfes, or
ment; no man muft know the number of their Privileges, and whatfoever they diflike is Breach of Privilege. The Duke of Venice is no more than Speaker of the Houfe of Commons ; but the Senate at Venice^ are not fo much as our Parliament- men, nor have they that Power over the People, who yet exercife the greateft Tyranny that is any where. In plain truth. Breach of Privilege is only the ac- tual taking away of a Member of the Houfe, the reft are Offences againft the Houfe. For Example, to take our Pro- cefs againft a Parliament-man, or the like.
7. The Parliament Party, if the Law be for them, they call for the Law ; if it be againft them, they will go to a Parlia- mentary Way ; if no Law be for them, then for Law again : Like him that firft called for Sack to heat him, then fmall Drink to cool his Sack, then Sack again to heat his fmall Drink, ^c.
8. The Parliament Party do not play fair play, in fitting up till two of the Clock in the Morning, to vote fomething they have a mind to. 'Tis like a crafty
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Gamefter^that makes the Company drunk, then cheats them of their Money. Young men, and infirm men go away ; belides, a man is not there to perfuade other men to be of his mind, but to fpeak his own heart, and if it be hked, fo, if not, there's an end.
H5
Parfo72.
HOUGH we write [Parfon] differently, yet 'tis but Per- fon; that is, the individual Perfon fet apart for the Ser- vice of fuch a Church, and 'tis in Latin Perfona, and Perfonatus is a Perfonage. Indeed with the Canon-Lawyers, Perfona- tus is any Dignity or Preferment in the Church.
2. There never was a merry World fince the Fairies left Dancing, and the Parfon left Conjuring. The Opinion of the latter kept Thieves in awe, and did as much good in a Country as a Juilice of Peace.
Difcourfes, or
Patience.
ATIENCE Is the chlefeft fruit of Study, a man that ftrives to make himfelf a dif- ferent thing from other men by much reading, gains this chiefeft good, that in all Fortunes, he hath fomething to entertain and comfort himfelf withal.
Peace.
ING James was pictured going ealily down a Pair of Stairs, and upon every Step there was written, Peace^ Peace, Peace ; the wifeft way for men in thefe times is to fay nothing.
2. When a Country-wench cannot gtt her Butter to come, fhe fays, the Witch is in her Churn. We have been churn- ing for Peace a great while, and 'twill not come, fure the Witch is in it.
Table-talk.
3. Though we had Peace, yet 'twill be a great while e'er things be fettled : Tho' the Wind lie, yet after a Storm the Sea will work a great while.
147
Penance.
ENANCE is only the Puniih- ment inflided, not Penitence, which is the right word ; a Man comes not to do Pen- ance, becaufe he repents him of his Sin, but becaufe he is compelled to it; he curfes him, and could kill him that fends him thither. The old Canons wifely en- joined three years Penance, fometimes more, becaufe in ithat time a Man got a habit of Virtue, and fo committed that fin no more, for which he did Penance.
Difcourfes, or
People. ^
HERE is not any thing in the World more abufed than this Sentence, Salus popuUfuprema Lex efto, for we apply it, as if we ought to forfake the knov/n Lav/, when it may be moft for the advantage of the People, when it means no fuch thing. For firll, 'tis not Salus popuUfuprema Lex ejiy but efto, it being one of the Laws of the Twelve Tables, and after divers Laws made, fome for Punifhment, fome for Re- ward ; then follows this, Salus populi Ju- prema Lex efto : That is, in all the Laws you make, have a fpecial Eye to the Good of the People, and then what does this concern the way they nov/ go ?
2. Ohje^ion. He that makes one is greater than he that is made ; the People make the King, ergo^ (ffc.
Anjwer. This does not hold, for if I have looo/. per Annum, and give it you, and leave myfelf ne'er a Penny ; I made
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you, but when you have my Land, you are greater than I. The Parifh makes the Conftable, and when the Conftable is made, he governs the Parifh. The An- fwer to all thefe Doubts is, Have you agreed fo P if you have, then it muft re- main till you have altered it.
Pleaftire.
LEASUREis nothing elfe but the intermilTion of Pain, the enjoying of fomething I am in great trouble for till I have it.
2. 'Tis a wrong way to proportion other Men's Pleafures to ourfelves ; 'tis like a Child's ufing a little Bird [O poor Bird, thou fhalt fleep with me] fo lays it in his Bofom, and ftifles it with his hot Breath ; the Bird had rather be in the cold Air : And yet too, 'tis the moft pleafmg Flattery, to like what other men like.
3. 'Tis moft undoubtedly true, that all Men are equally given to their pleafure, only thus, one man's pleafure lies one
150 Difcourfes, or
way^ and another's another : Pleafures are all alike fimply confidered in them- felves ; he that hunts^ or he that governs the Commonwealth, they both pleafe themfelves alike, only we commend that, whereby we ourfelves receive fome bene- fit. As if a man place his delight in things that tend to the common good ; he that takes pleafure to hear Sermons, enjoys himfelf as much as he that hears Plays ; and could he that loves Plays en- deavour to love Sermons, poffibly he might bring himfelf to it as well as to any other Pleafure. At firft it may feem harfh and tedious, but afterwards 'twould be pleafing and delightful. So it falls out in that, which is the great Pleafure of fome Men, Tobacco, at firft they could not abide it, and now they cannot be without it.
4. Whilft you are upon Earth, enjoy the good Things that are here (to that end were they given) and be not melan- choly, and wifh yourfelf in Heaven. If a King fhould give you the keeping of a Caftle, with all things belonging to it.
Table-talk.
Orchards, Gardens, <f^c. and bid you ufe them ; withal promife you that after twenty years to remove you to the Court, and to make you a Privy Councillor. If you fhould negled your Caftle, and refufe to eat of thofe fruits, and fit down, and whine, and wifh you were a Privy Councillor, do you think the King would be pleafed with you ?
5. Pleafures of Meat, Drink, Clothes, &'c. are forbidden thofe that know not how to ufe them ; juft as Nurfes cry pah, when they fee a Knife in a Child's Hand, they will never fay any thing to a Man.
Philofophy.
HEN Men comfort themfelves with Philofophy, 'tis not be- caufe they have got two or three Sentences, but becaufe they have digefted thofe Sentences and made them their own : So upon the mat- ter, Philofophy is nothing but Difcretion.
1
•I
ill
C2 I
Dilcouries, or
Pottrv
ID was nor only a fir.e Poet,
ru: [as a man may fpeak] a
great Canon Lawyer, as ap-
H pears in his Fa/}iy where we
h-ive more or* the FeiH\'als of the old Ri>- ._ - than anv where elle : 'tis pirs' the reit are loft.
j 2. There is no realbn Pbvs ihould be in Vert'e, either in Blank or Rhime ; only the Poet has to lay tor himlelt, that he rrjikes ibrae: like that, which ibme-
bodv made betore him. The oli Poets had no other realbn but this, their \'erle was lung to Mulic, otherwife it had been a lenleleis thing to have fettered up them- felves.
j J. I never converted but two, the one W2^ Mr. CrdjruTu:, irom "v^Tiring a^ainil Plavs, bv telling him a wav how to un- derfejid that Place [of putting on Wo- men's Apparel] which has nothing to do in the buiinels [as neither has it, that the
i*
i
i^' J3> Z
IDE
f ' T' l"
_ _ 1 -^ on ii:^
£ — '.T •"ng'jij tsar CjtniiiiTlitgii ttD)
too ie M-^> riET TmrrH- -fTpdir Se ct
Bfaa, or -^"ty" i3eT "r_ :- :iel
L. 2 3inaim 33iEr Itf^yrr iaiidliEBnDeiV ■ run
z;. L:s r. _ _
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1,: -z. 3» pnnt I
I
Difcourfes, or
Poetry.
FID was not only a fine Poet, but [as a man may fpeak] a great Canon Lawyer, as ap- pears in his Faftij where we have more of the Feftivals of the old Ro- mans than any where elfe : 'tis pity the reft are loft.
2. There is no reafon Plays fhould be in Verfe, either in Blank or Rhime ; only the Poet has to fay for himfelf, that he makes fomething like that, which fome- body made before him. The old Poets had no other reafon but this, their Verfe was fung to Mulic, otherwife it had been a fenfelefs thing to have fettered up them- felves. -
3. I never converted but two, the one was Mr. Crafliaw^ from writing againft Plays, by telling him a way how to un- derftand that Place [of putting on Wo- men's Apparel] which has nothing to do in the buftnefs [as neither has it, that the
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Fathers fpeak againft Plays in their Time, with reafon enough, for they had real Idolatries mixed with their Plays, having three Altars perpetually upon the Stage.] The other was a Dodlor of Divinity, from preaching againft Painting, which fimply in itfelf is no more hurtful, than putting on my Clothes, or doing any thing to make myfelf like other folks, that I may not be odious nor ofFenfive to the Com- pany. Indeed if I do it with an ill Inten- tion, it alters the Cafe ; fo, if I put on my Gloves with an intention to do a mif- chief, I am a Villain.
4. 'Tis a fine thing for Children to learn to make Verfe, but when they come to be Men, they muft fpeak like other Men, or elfe they will be laughed at. 'Tis ridiculous to fpeak, or write, or preach in Verfe. As 'tis good to learn to dance, a man may learn his Leg, learn to go handfomely ; but 'tis ridiculous for him to dance, when he fhould go.
5. 'Tis ridiculous for a Lord to print Verfes : 'tis well enough to make them to pleafe himfelf, but to make them public.
^S3
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Difcourfes, or
is foolifh. If a Man in a private Cham- ber twirls his Band-ftrings^ or plays with a Rufh to pleafe himfelf, 'tis well enough ; but if he fhould go into Fleet-fireet, and iit upon a Stall, and twirl a Band- firing, or play with a Rufh, then all the Boys in the Street would laugh at him.
6. Verfe proves nothing but the quan- tity of Syllables ; they are not meant for Logic.
Pope.
POPE'S Bull and a Pope's Brief differ very much ; as with us the Great Seal and the Privy Seal. The Bull being the highefl Authority the Pope can give, the Brief is of lefs : The Bull has a Leaden Seal upon filk, hanging upon the Inflrument; the Brief has fub Annulo Pifcatoris upon the fide.
2. He was a wife Pope, that when one that ufed to be merry with him, before
* King. Orig. Edit.
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he was advanced to the Popedom, re- frained afterwards to come at him, (pre- fuming he was bufy in governing the Chriftian World) the Pope fends for him, bids him come again, and (fays he) we will be merry as we were before ; for thou little thinkeft what a little Foolery go- verns the whole World.
3. The Pope in fending Relics to Princes, does as Wenches do by their Ff^aJJails at New-years tide, they prefent you with a Cup, and you mull drink of a flabby ftuif ; but the meaning is, you mull give them Moneys, ten times more than it is worth.
4. The Pope is Infallible, where he hath power to command ; that is where he mull be obeyed, fo is every Supreme Power and Prince. They that llretch his Infallibility further, do they know not what.
5. When a Protellant and a Papill dif- pute, they talk like two Madmen, be- caufe they do not agree upon their Prin- ciples ; the one way is to dellroy the Pope's Power, for if he hath Power to
156 DifcourfeSj or
command me, 'tis not my alleging Rea- fons to the contrary can keep me from obeying : For Example, if a Conftable command me to wear a green Suit to- morrow, and has Pov/er to make me ; 'tis not my alleging a hundred Reafons of the Folly of it, can excufe me from doing it.
6. There was a Time when the Pope had Power here in England^ and there was excellent ufe made of it, for 'twas only to ferve turns, (as might be mani- fefted out of the Records of the King- dom, which Divines know little of). If the King did not like what the Pope would have, he would forbid the Pope's Legate to land upon his ground. So that the Power was truly then in the King, though fuffered in the Pope. But now the Temporal and the Spiritual Power (Spiritual fo call'd, becaufe ordained to a Spiritual End) fpring both from one Fountain, they are like to twift that.
7. The Protectants in France bear Of- fice in the State, becaufe though their Religion be different, yet they acknow-
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ledge no other King but the King of France. The Papifts in England they muft have a King of their own, a Pope, that muft do fomething in our Kingdom, therefore there is no reafon they fhould enjoy the fame Privileges.
8. Amfterdam admits of all Religions but Papifts, and 'tis upon the fame Ac- count. The Papifts where'er they live, have another King at Rome ; all other Religions are fubjedl to the prefent State, and have no Prince elfewhere.
9. The Papifts call our Religion a Par- liamentary Religion ; but there was once, I am fure, a Parliamentary Pope ; Pope Urban was made Pope in England by A(5l of Parliament, againft Pope Clement: The A6t is not in the Book of Statutes, either becaufe he that compiled the Book would not have the Name of the Pope there, or elfe he would not let it appear that they meddled with any fuch thing, but 'tis upon the Rolls.
10. When our Clergy preach againft the Pope and the Church of Rome, they preach againft themfelves, and crying
157
Difcourfes, or
down their Pride, their Power and their Riches, have made themfelves poor and contemptible enough ; they did it at firft to pleafe their Prince, not confidering what would follow. Juft as if a man were to go a journey, and feeing, at his firft fetting out, the way clean and fair, ventures forth in his Slippers, not conft- dering the Dirt and the Sloughs are a little further off, or how fuddenly the Weather may change.
Popery,
I HE demanding a Noble, for a dead body paffmg through a Town, came from hence in time of Popery, they carried the dead Body into the Church, where the Prieft faid Dirges ; and twenty Dir- ges at four Pence a piece, comes to a Noble ; but now it is forbidden by an Or- der from my Lord Marfhal, the Heralds carry his Warrant about them.
2. We charge the Prelatical Clergy
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with Popery, to make them odious, tho' we know they are guilty of no fuch thing : Juft as heretofore they called Images Mammets, and the Adoration of Images Mammetry : that is, Mahomet and Ma- hometry ; odious names, when all the World knows the Turks are forbidden Images by their Religion.
Power^ State.
HERE is no flretching of Power ; tis a good rule. Eat within your Stomach, a6l within your Commiffion. 1. They that govern moft make leaft noife. You fee when they row in a Barge, they that do drudgery-work, flafh, and puff, and fweat ; but he that governs, fits quietly at the Stern, and fcarce is feen to ftir.
3. Syllables govern the World.
4. \^All power is of God'] means no more than Fides efi Jervanda. When St. Faul faid this, the People had made Nero
i6o
Difcourfes, or
Emperor. They agree, he to command,
they to obey. Then God's* comes
in, and cafts a hook upon them, keep your Faith : then comes in, all Power is of God. Never King dropt out of the Clouds. God did not make a new Empe- ror, as the King makes a Juftice of Peace.
5. Chrift himfelf was a great obferver of the Civil power, and did many things only juftifiable, becaufe the State required it, which were things merely Temporary for the time that State flood. But Di- vines make ufe of them to gain Power to themfelves, (as for Example) that of Bic Ecclefi^y tell the Church ; there was then a Sanhedrim, a Court to tell it to, and therefore they would have it fo now.
6. Divines ought to do no more than what the State permits. Before the State became Chriftian, they made their own Laws, and thofe that did not obferve them.
* Some word feems to be wanting here, though there is no fpace for it in the firftedition. The fecond edition reads, God comes, &c. Perhaps we fhould read, " God's ordinance " ? See Richard Baxter's notes to his Paraphrafe on the N. T. Romans, xiii.
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they Excommunicated, [naughty men'] they TufFered them to come no more amongft them. But if they would come amongft them, how could they hinder them ? By what Law ? By what Power ? they were ftill fubjed to the State, which was Hea- then. Nothing better exprefTes the Con- dition of Chriftians in thofe times, than one of the meetings you have in London, of Men of the fame Country, of SuJJex- Men, or Bedfordfiiire-Nltn ; they appoint their Meeting, and they agree, and make Laws amongfl themfelves [//<? that is not there fliall 'pay double, &c.] and if any one mif-behave himfelf, they fhut him out of their Company : But can they recover a Forfeiture made concerning their Meeting by any Law ? Have they any power to compel one to pay ? but afterwards when the State became Chriftian, all the Power was in them, and they gave the Church as much, or as little as they pleafed; and took away when they pleafed, and added what they pleafed.
7. The Church is not only fubjed to the Civil Power with us that are Protef-
161
M
i62 Difcourfes, or
tants, but alfo in Spain : if the Church does Excommunicate a Man for what it fhould not, the Civil Power will take him out of their Hands. So in France, the Bifhop of Anglers altered fomething in the Breviary ; they complained to the Parliament at Paris, that made him alter it again, with a \comme abufe.'\
8 . The Parliament of England has no Arbitrary Power in point of Judicature, but in point of making Law only.
9. If the Prince be Jervus natura, of a fervile bafe Spirit, and the Subjects liber i. Free and Ingenuous, oft-times they depofe their Prince, and govern themfelves. On the contrary, if the People be Servi Natura, and fome one amongft them of a Free and Ingenuous Spirit, he makes himfelf King of the reft ; and this is the Caufe of all changes in State; Common- wealths into Monarchies, and Monarchies into Common-wealths.
10. In a troubled State we muft do as in foul Weather upon the Thames, not think to cut dire6lly through, fo the Boat may be quickly full of water, but rife
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and fall as the Waves do, give as much as conveniently we can.
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rrayer.
F I were a Minifter, I fhould think myfelf moft in my Of- fice, reading of Prayers, and difpenfing the Sacraments ; and 'tis ill done to put one to officiate in the Church, whofe Perfon is contemptible out of it. Should a great Lady, that was invited to be a GofTip, in her place fend her Kitchen-Maid, 'twould be ill taken ; vet fhe is a Woman as well as ihe : let her fend her Woman at leaft.
2. \_Tou /hall pray ~\ is the right way, becaufe according as the Church is fettled, no Man may make a Prayer in public of his own head.
3. 'Tis not the Original Common- prayer-book ; why : fhew me an original Bible, or an original Magna Charta,
4. Admit the Preacher prays by the Spirit, yet that very Prayer is Common-
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Difcourfes, or
prayer to the People ; they are tied as much to his Words^ as in faying [Almighty and moft merciful Father {\ Is it then un- lawful in the Minifter, but not unlawful in the People ?
5. There were fome Mathematicians, that could with one fetch of their Pen make an exad Circle, and with the next touch, point out the Centre ; is it there- fore reafonable to banifh all ufe of the Compafles ? Set Forms are a pair of Compares.
6. \God hath given gifts unto MenJ] General Texts prove nothing : let him fhew me John, William, or Thomas in the Text, and then I will believe him. If a man hath a voluble Tongue, we fay, he hath the gift of prayer. His gift is to pray long, that I fee ; but does he pray better .^
7. We take care what we fpeak to Men, but to God we may fay any thing.
8. The people muft not think a thought towards God, but as their Paftors will put it into their Mouths : they will make right Sheep of us.
9. The EnglifJi Priefts would do that
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in Engli/hy which the Romijh do in Latin^ keep the people in Ignorance ; but fome of the people outdo them at their own Game.
10. Prayer fhould be fhort, without giving God Almighty Reafons why he fhould grant this, or that ; he knows beft what is Good for us. If your Boy fhould afk you a Suit of Clothes, and give you Reafons (otherwife he cannot wait upon you ; he cannot go abroad but he will difcredit you) would you endure it ? you know it better than he, let him aik a Suit of Clothes.
11. If a Servant that has been fed with good Beef, goes into that part of Eng- land where Salmon is plenty, at firft he is pleafed with his Salmon, and defpifes his Beef, but after he has been there a while, he grows weary of his Salmon, and wifhes for his good Beef again. We have a while been much taken with this praying by , the Spirit, but in time we may grow weary of it, and wifh for our Common- Prayer.
12. 'Tis hoped we may be cured of our extemporary Prayers, the fame way
165
Difcourfes, or
the Grocer's Boy is cured of his eating PlumSj when we have had our Belly full of them.
Preaching.
OTHING is more miftaken than that Speech [Preach the Gqfpel~\ for 'tis not to make long Harangues, as they do now-a-daySj but to tell the News of Chriil's coming into the World ; and when that is done, or where 'tis known already, the Preacher's Work is done.
1. Preaching in the firft fenfe of the word ceafed as foon as ever the Gofpel was written.
3. When the Preacher fays, this is the Meaning of the Holy Ghoft in fuch a place, in fenfe he can mean no more than this ; that is, I by ftudying of the place, by comparing one place with another ; by weighing what goes before, and what comes after, think this is the Meaning of the Holy Ghoft ; and for fhortnefs of Ex-
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preffion I fay, the Holy Ghoft fays thus, or this is the Meaning of the Spirit of God. So the Judge fpeaks of the King's Proclamation, this is the Intention of the King ; not that the King had declared his Intention any other way to the Judge, but the Judge examining the Contents of the Proclamation, gathers by the purport of the Words the King's Intention ; and then for fhortnefs of expreflion fays, this is the King's Intention.
4. Nothing is Text but what was fpo- ken in the Bible, and meant there for Perfon and Place, the reft is Application, which a difcreet Man may do well ; but 'tis his Scripture, not the Holy Ghoft.
5. Preaching by the Spirit (as they call it) is moft efteemed by the Common-peo- ple, becaufe they cannot abide Art or Learning, which they have not been bred up in. Juft as in the buftnefs of Fencing; if one Country Fellow amongft the reft, has been at the School, the reft will un- der-value his Skill, or tell him he wants Valour : Tou come with your School-'Tricks : 'There's Dick Butcher has ten times more
167
1 68 Difcourfes, or
Mettle in him : So they fay to the Preach- erSj Ton come with your School-Learning : There's Juch a one has the Spirit.
6 The Tone in preaching does much in working upon the people's AiFe6lions. If a Man fhould make Love in an ordinary Tone, his Miftrefs would not regard him ; and therefore he muft whine. If a Man fhould cry Fire, or Murder in an ordi- nary Voice, no body would come out to help him.
7. Preachers will bring any thing into the Text. The young Mafters of Arts preached againft Non-Refidency in the Univerfity ; whereupon the Heads made an Order, that no Man fhould meddle with any thing but what was in the Text. The next Day one preached upon thefe Words, Abraham begat Ifaac : when he had gone a good way, at laft he obferved, that Abraham was refident ; for if he had been Non-Rejfident, he could never have begot Ifaac; and fo fell foul upon the Non-Reiidents.
8 . I could never tell what often preach- ing meant, after a Church is fettled, and
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we know what is to be done ; 'tis juft as if a Hufband-man fhould once tell his Servants what they are to do, when to fowj when to reap, and afterwards one fhould come and tell them twice or thrice a Day what they know already. You muft fow your Wheat in October ^ you mull reap your Wheat in Auguft, i^c.
9. The main Argument why they would have two Sermons a Day, is, be- caufe they have two Meals a Day ; the Soul muft be fed as well as the Body. But I may as well argue, I ought to have two Nofes becaufe I have two Eyes, or two Mouths becaufe I have two Ears. What have Meals and Sermons to do one with another ?
10. The Things between God and Man are but a few, and thofe, forfooth, we muft be told often of ; but things between Man and Man are many ; thofe I hear of not above twice a Year, at the Aftizes, or once a Quarter at the Seftions ; but few come then : nor does the Minifter exhort the People to go at thefe times to learn their Duty towards their Neighbour.
170 Difcourfes, or
Often preaching is fure to keep the Min- ifter in Countenance, that he may have fomething to do.
11. In preaching they fay more to raife Men to love Virtue than Men can poflibly perform, to make them do their beft ; as if you would teach a Man to throw the Bar ; to make him put out his ftrength, you bid him throw further than it is pof- fible for him, or any Man elfe : Throw over yonder Houfe.
12. In preaching they do by Men as Writers of Romances do by their chief Knights, bring them into many Dangers, but ftill fetch them off: So they put Men in fear of Hell, but at laft bring them to Heaven.
13. Preachers fay, do as I fay, not as I do. But if a Phiiician had the fame Difeafe upon him that I have, and he fhould bid me do one thing, and he do quite another, could I believe him ?
14. Preaching the fame Sermon to all forts of People, is, as if a School-Mailer fhould read the fame LeiTon to his feveral Forms : If he reads Amo^ amas, amaviy
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the higheft Forms Laugh at him ; the younger Boys admire him : So 'tis in preaching to a mixed Auditory. Obj, But it cannot be otherwife ; the Parifh cannot be divided into feveral Forms : What muft the Preacher then do in Dif- cretion ? Anjw. Why then let him ufe fome exprefTions by which this or that condition of people may know fuch Doc- trine does more efpecially concern them, it being fo delivered that the wifeft may be content to hear. For if he delivers it altogether, and leaves it to them to fingle out what belongs to themfelves (which is the ufual way) 'tis as if a Man would beftow Gifts upon Children of feveral Ages : Two Years old. Four Years old, Ten Years old, ^£c. and there he brings T^ops^ Pins^ Points, Ribands, and cafts them all in a Heap together upon a Table before them ; though the Boy of Ten Years old knows how to choofe his 'Top, yet the Child of Two Years old, that fhould have a Riband, takes a Pin, and the Pin e'er he be aware pricks his Fingers, and then all's out of order, ^c.
172 Difcourfesj or
Preaching for the moft part is the glory of the Preacher, to fhow himfelf a fine man. Catechifing would do much better. 15. Ufe the beft Arguments to per- fuade, though but few underftand ; for the Ignorant will fooner believe the judicious of the Pariih, than the Preacher himfelf ; and they teach when they diffipate what he has faid, and believe it the fooner con- firmed by men of their own fide. For betwixt the Laity and the Clergy there is, as it were, a continual driving of a bar- gain ; fomething the Clergy would ftill have us be at, and therefore many things are heard from the Preacher with fufpicion. They are afraid of fome ends, which are eafily afl^ented to, when they have it from fome of themfelves. 'Tis with a Sermon as 'tis with a Play ; many come to fee it, which do not underftand it ; and yet hear- ing it cried up by one, whofe judgment they caft themfelves upon, and of power with them, they fwear and will die in it, that 'tis a very good Play, which they would not have done if the Prieft himfelf had told them fo. As in a great School,
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'tis the Mafter that teaches all ; the Mo- nitor does a great deal of work, it may be the Boys are afraid to fee the Mafter : fo in a Parifti 'tis not the Minifter does all ; the greater Neighbour teaches the lefTer, the Mafter of the Houfe teaches his Servant, &€.
1 6. Firft in your Sermons ufe your Logic, and then your Rhetoric. Rhe- toric without Logic is like a Tree with Leaves and Bloftbms, but no Root ; yet I confefs more are taken with Rhetoric than Logic, becaufe they are catched with a free Expreftion, when they underftand not Reafon. Logic muft be natural, or it is worth nothing at all : Your Rhetoric Figures may be learned : That Rhetoric is beft which is moft feafonable and moft catching. An inftance we have in that old blunt Commander at Cadiz, who ftiewed himfelf a good Orator, being to fay fomething to his Soldiers (which he was not ufed to do ;) he made them a Speech to this purpofe ; ^hat a Jhame will it he, you Engliftimen, that feed upon good Beef and Brewejs, to let thoje Rajcally
173
174 Difcourfes, or
Spaniards heat you that eat nothing but Oranges and Lemons. And fo put more Courage into his Men than he could have done with a more learned Oration. Rhetoric is very good, or ftark naught : There's no Medium in Rhetoric. If I am not fully perfuaded I laugh at the Orator.
17. 'Tis good to preach the fame thing again, for that's the way to have it learned. You fee a Bird by often whirling to learn a Tune, and a Month after record it to herfelf
18. 'Tis a hard Cafe a Minifter fhould be turned out of his Living for fomething they inform he fhould fay in his Pulpit. We can no more know what a Minifter faid in his Sermon by two or three words pickt out of it, than we can tell what Tune a Mufician played lafl: upon the Lute, by two or three fingle Notes.
i
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Predejlination .
HEY that talk nothing but Predeftinationj and will not proceed in the way of Hea- ven till they be fatisfied in that point, do, as a man that would not come to London^ unlefs at his iirft ftep he might fet his foot upon the top of FauVs,
2. For a young Divine to begin in his Pulpit with Predeftination, is as if a Man were coming into London^ and at his firft Step would think to fet his Foot, eff .
3. Predeftination is a point inacceffible, out of our reach ; we can make no notion of it, 'tis fo full of Intricacy, fo full of contradidtion ; 'tis in good earneft, as we ftate it, half a Dozen Bulls one upon another.
4. Do6lor Prideaux, in his Ledures, feveral Days ufed Arguments to prove Predeftination ; at laft tells his Auditory they are damned that do not believe it. Doing herein juft like School-Boys, when
Difcourfes, or
one of them has got an Apple, or fome- thing the reft have a mind to, they ufe all the Arguments they can to get fome of it from him : / gave you fome t'other Day : Tou JJiall have fome with me another time : When they cannot prevail, they tell him he's a Jackanapes, a Rogue and a Rafcal.
Preferment,
HEN you would have a Child go to fuch a place, and you find him unwilling, you tell him he fhall ride a Cock-horfe, and then he will go prefently : So do thofe that govern the State, deal by men, to work them to their ends ; they tell them they fhall be advanced to fuch or fuch a place, and they will do any thing they would have them.
2. A great Place ftrangely qualifies. Johyi Read (was in the right) Groom of the Charaher to my Lord of Kent. At- torney Noy being dead, fome were faying.
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how would the King do for a fit Man ? Why, any Man (fays John Read) may execute the Place. I warrant (fays my Lord) thou think'ft thou underftand'ft enough to perform it. Yes, quoth John^ Let the King make me Attorney, and I would fain fee that Man, that durfl tell me, there's any thing I underftand not.
3. When the Pageants are a coming there's a great thrujRiing and a riding upon one another's Backs, to look out at the Window ; ftay a little and they will come juft to you, you may fee them quietly. So 'tis when a new Statefman or Officer is chofen ; there's great expedlation and lift- ening who it fhould be ; flay a while, and you may know quietly.
4. Miffing Preferment makes the Pref- byters fall foul upon the Bifhops : Men that are in hopes and in the way of rifing, keep in the Channel, but they that have none, feek new ways : 'Tis fo amongft the Lawyers ; he that hath the Judge's Ear, will be very obfervant of the way of the Court ; but he that hath no regard will be flying out.
N
lyS Difcourfes, or
5 . My Lord Digby having fpoken fome- thlng in the Houfe of Commons, for which they would have questioned him, was prefently called to the upper Houfe. He did by the Parliament as an Aoe when he hath done fome waggery ; his Mafter fpies him, and he looks for his Whip, but before he can come at him, whip fays he to the top of the Houfe.
6. Some of the Parliament were dif- contented, that they wanted places at Court, which others had got ; but when they had them once,^then they were quiet. Juft as at a Chriftening, fome that get no Sugar Plums, when the reft have, mutter and grumble ; prefently the Wench comes again v/ith her Bafket of Sugar-plums, and then they catch and fcramble, and when they have got them, you hear no more of them.
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PrcEintmire.
HERE can be no Pr^munire. A Framunire (fo called from the word Pr^munire facias) was when a Man laid an Ac- tion in an Ecclefiaftical Court, for which he could have no remedy in any of the King's Courts, that is, in the Courts of Common Law, by reafon the Ecclefiafti- cal Courts before Henry the Eighth were fubordinate to the Pope, and fo it was contra coronam et dignitatein Regis ; but now the Ecclefiaftical Courts are equally fubordinate to the King. Therefore it cannot be contra coronam et dignitatem Regis, and fo no Praemunire.
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Difcourfes, or
Prerogative,
REROGATIVEIs fomething that can be told what it is, not fomething that has no Name. Juft as you fee the Archbifhop has his Prerogative Court, but we know what is done in that Court. So the King's Prerogative is not his will, or what Divines make it a power, to do what he lifts.
2. The King's Prerogative, that is, the King's Law. For example, if you afk whether a Patron may prefent to a Living after fix Months by Law ? I anfwer no. If you afk whether the King may ? I an- fwer he may by his Prerogative, that is by the Law that concerns him in that cafe.
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Prejbytery.
HEY that would bring in a new Government, would very fain perfuade us, they meet it in Antiquity. Thus they interpret Prefbyters, when they meet the word in the Fathers : Other profefTions likewife pretend to Antiquity. The Al- chymift will find his Art in FirgiVs Au- reus ramus J and he that delights in Op- tics will find them in 'Tacitus. When C^Jar came into England they would per- fuade us, they had Perfpedive-GlafTes, by which he could difcover what they were doing upon the Land, becaufe it is faid, Pofttis Speculis : the meaning is, His Watch or his Sentinel difcovered this, and this, unto him.
2. Prefbyters have the greatefl power of any Clergy in the World, and gull the Laity moft : For Example ; admit there be twelve Laymen to fix Prefbyters, the fix fhall govern the refi: as they pleafe.
1 82 Difcourfes, or
Firfl becaufe they are conftant, and the others come in like Churchwardens in their turns, which is a huge advantage. Men will give way to them who have been in place before them. Next the Laymen have other profefTions to follow : the Prefbyters make it their fole Bufinefs ; and befides too, they learn and ftudy the Art of perfuading ; fome of Geneva have confeiTed as much.
3. The Prefbyter with his Elders about him, is like a young Tree fenced about with two, or three, or four Stakes ; the Stakes defend it, and hold it up ; but the Tree only profpers and flourifhes ; it may be fome Willow Stake may bear a Leaf or two, but it comes to nothing. Lay-Elders are Stakes, the Prefbyter the Tree that flourifnes.
4. When the Queries were fent to the Affembly concerning the Jus Divinu?n of Prefbytery, their afking time to anfwer them, was a Satire upon themfelves : For if it were to be feen in the Text, they might quickly turn to the place, and fhew us it. Their delaying to anfwer makes
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us think there's no fuch thing there. They do juft as you have feen a fellow do at a Tavern Reckoning, when he fhould come to pay his Reckoning, he puts his Hands into his Pockets, and keeps a grabbling and a fumbling, and fhaking, at laft tells you he has left his Money at home; when all the Company knew at firft, he had no Money there ; for every Man can quickly find his own Money.
Priejls of Ro7ne.
iHE Reafon of the Statute againft Priefts, was this ; In the beginning of Queen Eli- zabeth there was a Statute made, that he that drew Men from their civil Obedience was a Traitor. It hap- pened this was done in privacies and con- feffions, when there could be no proof; therefore they made another A61, that for a Prieft to be in England was Treafon, be- caufe they prefumed that was his bufinefs to fetch men off from their Obedience. 2. When Queen Elizabeth died, and
i84
Difcourfes, or
King James came in, an Irifli Prieft does thus Exprefs it : Elizahetha in orcum de- trufa, Juccejfit Jacobus alter Haretkus. You will afk why they did ufe fuch Lan- guage in their Church. Anjw, Why does the Nurfe tell the Child of Raw-head and Bloody-bones, to keep it in awe ?
3. The Queen Mother and Count RoJ- Jetj are to the Priefts and Jefuits like the
Honey-pot to the Flies.
4. The Priefts of Rome aim but at two Things, to get Power from the King, and Money from the Subjedl.
5. When the Priefts come into a Fa- mily, they do as a Man that would fet fire on a Houfe ; he does not put fire to the Brick-wall, but thrufts it into the Thatch. They work upon the Women and let the Men alone.*
6. For a Prieft to turn a man when he lies a dying, is jufl like one that hath a long time folicited a woman, and cannot obtain his end ; at length makes her drunk, and fo lies with her.
* See Michelet's late remarkable publication, '* Priefts, Women, and Families."
Table-talk.
Prophecies.
REAMS and Prophecies do thus much good ; they make a man go on with boldnefs and courage, upon a Danger or a Miftrefs ; if he obtains, he attributes much to them ; if he mifcarries, he thinks no more of them, or is no more thought of himfelf.
Proverbs,
HE Proverbs of feveral Na- tions were much ftudied by Bifhop Andrews J and the reafon he gave, was, Becaufe by them he knew the minds of feveral Nations, which is a brave thing; as we count him a wife man, that knows the minds and infides of men, which is done by knowing what is habitual to them. Proverbs are habitual to a Nation, being tranfmitted from Father to Son.
i86
Difcourfes, or
^ejlh
on.
HEN a doubt is propounded, you muft learn to diftinguifh, and {how wherein a thing holds, and wherein it doth not hold. Ay, or no, never anfwered any Queftion. The not diftinguifhing where things fhould be difiinguifhed, and the not confounding, where things fhould be confounded, is the caufe of all the mif- takes in the World.
Reafo?7.
N giving Reafons, Men com- monly do with us as the Woman does with her Child; when fhe goes to Market about her bufinefs, fhe tells it fhe goes to buy it a fine thing, to buy it a Cake or fome Plums. They give us fuch Reafons
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as they think we will be catched withal, but never let us know the Truth.
1. When the School-Men talk o^ Reef a Ratio m Morals, either they underftand Reafon as it is governed by a Command from above j or elfe they fay no more than a Woman, when fhe fays a thing is fo, becaufe it is fo ; that is, her Reafon perfuades her 'tis fo. The other Accep- tion has Senfe in it. As take a Law of the Land, I muft not depopulate, my Reafon tells me fo. Why .^ Becaufe if I do, I incur the detriment.
3. The Reafon of a Thing is not to be enquired after, till you are fure the Thing itfelf be fo. We commonly are at \_Whafs the Reafon of it ?'\ before we are fure of the Thing. 'Twas an excellent Queftion of my Lady Cotton^ when Sir Robert Cot- ton was magnifying of a Shoe, which was Mojes's or NoaJis^ and wondering at the ftrange Shape and Fafhion of it : But Mr. Cotton, fays fhe, are you Jure it is a Shoe.
Difcourfes, or
Retaliation.
N Eye for an Eye, and a Tooth for a Tooth ; That does not mean, that if I put out an- other Man's Eye, therefore I muft lofe one of my own, (for what is he the better for that ?) though this be com- monly received ; but it means, I fhall give him what Satisfadion an Eye fhall be judged to be worth.
Revere72ce.
IIS fometimes unreafonable to look after Refpedt and Re- verence, either from a Man's own Servant, or other Infe- riors. A great Lord and a Gentleman talking together, there came a Boy by, leading a Calf with both his Hands ; fays the Lord to the Gentleman, You fhall fee me make the Boy let go his Calf; with
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that he came towards him, thinking the Boy would have put off his Hat, but the Boy took no Notice of him. The Lord feeing that, Sirrah^ fays he. Do you not know me that you ufe no Reverence ? Tes, fays the Boy, if your Lord/hip will hold my Calf, I will put off my Hat.
189
No7i-Refidency,
HE People thought they had a great Vidory over the Clergy, when in Henry the Eighth's time they got their Bill paffed, That a Clergyman fhould have but two Livings ; before a Man might have Twenty or Thirty ; 'twas but get- ting a Difpenfation from the Pope's Limi- ter, or Gatherer of the Peter-Pence, which was as eafily got, as now you may have a Licence to eat Flefh.
2. As foon as a Minifter is made, he hath Power to preach all over the World, but the Civil-Power reftrains him ; he cannot preach in this Parifh, or in that ; there is
Difcourfes, or
one already appointed. Now if the State allows him Two Livings, then he hath Two Places where he may Exercife his Fundion, and To has the more Power to do his Office, which he might do every where if he were not reftrained.
Religh
1071,
ING James faid to the Fly, Have I Three Kingdoms, and thou muft needs fly into my Eye ? Is there not enough to meddle with upon the Stage, or in Love, or at the Table, but Religion ?
1. Religion amongft Men appears to me like the Learning they got at School. Some Men forget all they learned, others fpend upon the Stock, and fome improve it. So fome Men forget all the Religion that was taught them when they were Young, others fpend upon that Stock, and fome improve it.
3. Religion is like the Fafhion, one Man wears his Doublet flafhed, another
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IQI
laced, another plain ; but every Man has a Doublet : So every Man has his Reli- gion. We differ about Trimming.*
4. Men fay they are of the fame Reli- gion for Quietnefs fake ; but if the Mat- ter were well examined you would fcarce find Three any v/here of the fame Reli- gion in all Points.
5. Every Religion is a getting Reli- gion ; for though I myfelf get nothing, I am fubordinate to thofe that do. So you may find a Lawyer in the temple that gets little for the prefent, but he is fitting himfelf to be in time one of thofe great Ones that do get.
6. Alteration of Religion is dangerous, becaufe we know not where it will ftay ; 'tis like a Millftone that lies upon the top of a pair of Stairs ; 'tis hard to remove it, but if once it be thruft off the firfl: Stair, it never ftays till it comes to the bottom.
7. ^.eftion. Whether is the Church or the Scripture Judge of Religion ? Anjw. In truth neither, but the State. I am
* May not this have afforded a hint to Swift for The Tale of a Tub ?
IQ2
Difcourfes, or
troubled with a Boil ; I call a Company of Chirurgeons about me ; one prefcribes one thing, another another ; I fingle out fome- thing I like, and afk you that ftand by, and are no Chirurgeon, what you think of it. You like it too ; you and I are Judges of the Plafter, and we bid them prepare it, and there's an end. Thus 'tis in Religion ; the Proteflants fay they will be judged by the Scriptures ; the Papifts fay fo too ; but that cannot fpeak. A Judge is no Judge, except he can both fpeak and command Execution ; but the truth is they never intend to agree. No doubt the Pope where he is Supreme, is to be Judge -, if he fay we in England ought to be fubjedl to him, then he mufl: draw his Sword and make it good.
8. By the Law was the Manual received into the Church before the Reformation ; not by the Civil Law, that had nothing to do in it ; nor by the Canon Law, for that Manual that was here, was not in France^ nor in Spain ; but by Cuftom, which is the Common Law of England ; and Cuf- tom is but the Elder Brother to a Parlia-
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ment : and To it will fall out to be no- thing that the Papifts fay : Ours is a Parliamentary Religion, by reafon the Service-Book was Eflablifhed by Ad: of Parliament, and never any Service-Book was fo before. That will be nothing that the Pope fent the Manual ; 'twas ours, becaufe the State received it. The State ftill makes the Religion, and receives into it what will beft agree with it. Why are the Venetians Roman Catholics ? becaufe the State likes the Religion : All the World knows they care not Three-pence for the Pope. The Council of T^rent is not at this day admitted in France.
9. Papiji, Where was your Religion before Luther, an Hundred years ago ? Protefiant. Where was America an Hun- dred or Sixfcore Years ago ? our Religion was where the reft of the Chriftian Church was. Papift. Our Religion continued ever fince the Apoftles, and therefore 'tis better. Proteftant, So did ours. That there was an Interruption of it, will fall out to be nothing, no more than if another Earl fhould tell me of the Earl of Kent ;
o
94 Difcourfes, or
faying, He is a better Earl than he, be- caufe there was one or two of the Family of Kent did not take the Title upon them ; yet all that while they were really Earls ; and afterwards as great a Prince declared them to be Earls of Kent^ as he that made the other Family an Earl.
lo. Difputes in Religion will never be ended, becaufe there wants a Meafure by which the Bufinefs would be decided : The P^r//^;? would be judged by the Word of God : If he would fpeak clearly he means himfelf, but he is afhamed to fay fo ; and he would have me believe him before a whole Church, that has read the Word of God as well as he. One fays one thing, and another another ; and there is, I fay, no Meafure to end the Controverfy. 'Tis juft as if Two Men were at Bowls, and both judged by the Eye ; One fays 'tis his Caft, the other fays 'tis my Caft ; and having no Meafure, the Difference is Eternal. Ben Jon/on Satirically ex- prefTed the vain Difputes of Divines, by Inigo Lanthorne, difputing with his Pup- pet in a Bartholomew Fair. It is fo ; It
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is not (o : It is fo ; It is not fo, crying thus one to another a quarter of an Hour together.
11. In Matters of Religion to be ruled by one that writes againft his Adverfary, and throws all the Dirt he can in his Face, is, as if in point of good Manners a Man fhould be governed by one whom he fees at Cuffs with another, and thereupon thinks himfelf bound to give the next Man he meets a Box on the Ear.
1 2. 'Tis to no purpofe to labour to reconcile Religions, when the Intereft of Princes will not fuffer it. 'Tis well if they could be reconciled fo far, that they fhould not cut one another's Throats.
13. There's all the Reafon in the World, Divines fhould not be fuffered to go a Hair beyond their Bounds, for fear of breeding Confufion, fince there now be fo many Religions on Foot. The Matter was not fo narrowly to be looked after when there was but one Religion in Chriftendom ; the reft would cry him down for an Heretic, and there was no Body to fide with him.
196
Difcourfes, or
14. We look after Religion as the Butcher did after his Knife, when he had it in his Mouth.
15. Religion is made a Juggler's Pa- per ; now 'tis a Horfe, now 'tis a Lan- thorn, now 'tis a Boar, now 'tis a Man. To ferve Ends Religion is turned into all Shapes.
16. Pretending Religion and the Law of God, is to fet all things loofe. When a Man has no mind to do fomething he ought to do by his Contra6t with Man, then he gets a Text and interprets it as he pleafes, and fo thinks to get loofe.
17. Some Men's pretending Religion, is like the Roaring Boys' way of challenges, [Their Reputation is dear^ it does not ft and with the Honour of a Gentleman^ v/hen, God knows, they have neither Honour nor Reputation about them.
18. They talk much of fettling Reli- gion : Religion is well enough fettled al- ready, if we would let it alone : Methinks we might look after, ^c.
1 9. If Men would fay they took Arms for any thing but Religion, they might
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be beaten out of It by Reafon ; out of that they never can, for they will not be- lieve you whatever you fay.
20. The very Arcanum of pretending Religion in all Wars, is. That fomething may be found out in which all men may have intereft. In this the Groom has as much Intereft as the Lord. Were it for Land, one has One Thoufand Acres, and the other but One ; he would not venture fo far as he that has a Thoufand. But Religion is equal to both. Had all Men Land alike, by a hex Agraria^ then all Men would fay they fought for Land.
' Sabbath.
HY fhould I think all the fourth Commandment be- longs to me, when all the fifth does not ? What Land will the Lord give me for honouring my Father ? It was fpoken to the Jews with reference to the Land of Canaan ; but the meaning Is, If I honour my Parents, God
198
Difcourfes, or
will alfo blefs me. We read the Com- mandments in the Church-Service, as we do David's Pfalms ; not that all there concerns us, but a great deal of them does.
Sacrament.
HRIST fufFered Judas to take the Communion. Thofe Mi- nifters that keep their Parifh- ioners from it, becaufe they will not do as they will have them, re- venge, rather than reform.
2. No Man can tell whether I am fit to receive the Sacrament; for though I were fit the day before, when he ex- amined me ; at leafl appeared fo to him ; yet how can he tell, what fin I have com- mitted that night, or the next morning, or what impious Atheiflical thoughts I may have about me, when I am approach- ing to the very Table ?
Table-talk.
Salvation .
E can beft underftand the meaning of (rwri^^/a, Salvation, from the Jews, to whom the Saviour was promifed. They held that themfelves fhould have the chief place of happinefs in the other world ; but the Gentiles that were good men, fhould likewife have their portion of Blifs there too. Now by Chrift the Partition-Wall is broken down, and the Gentiles that believe in him, are admitted to the fame place of Blifs with the Jews : and why then fhould not that portion of Happinefs ftill remain to them, who do not believe in Chrift, fo they be morally Good ? This is a charitable opinion.
200
Difcourfes, or
State.
N a troubled State fave as much for your own as you can. A Dog had been at Market to buy a Shoulder of Mutton ; coming home he met two Dogs by the way, that quarrelled with him ; he laid down his Shoulder of Mutton, and fell to fighting with one of them ; in the meantime the other Dog fell to eating his Mutton ; he feeing that, left the Dog he was fighting with, and fell upon him that was eating ; then the other Dog fell to eat ; when he perceived there was no re- medy, but which of them foever he fought withal, his Mutton was in danger, he thought he would have as much of it as he could, and thereupon gave over fighting, and fell to eating himfelf.
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Superjlition.
HEY that are againft Super- ftition oftentimes run into it of the wrong fide. If I will wear all colours but black, then am I fuperftitious in not wearing black.
2. They pretend not to abide the Crofs, becaufe 'tis fuperftitious ; for my part I will believe them, when I fee them throw their money out of their pockets, and not till then.
3. If there be any Superftition truly and properly fo called, 'tis their obferving the Sabbath after the Jewifh manner.
Suhjidies.
ERETOFORE the Parha- ment was wary what Subfidies they gave to the King, be- caufe they had no account ; but now they care not how much they
202
Difcourfes, or
give of the Subjedls' money, becaufe they give it with one hand, and receive it with the other ; and fo upon the matter give it themfelves. In the mean time what a cafe the Subjedls of England are in ; if the men they have fent to the Parliament mifbehave themfelves, they cannot help it, becaufe the Parliament is eternal.
2. A Subfidy was counted the fifth part of a man's Eftate, and fo fifty Sub- fidies is five and forty times more than a man is worth.
Simo7ry.
HE Name of Simony was be- got in the Canon-Law ; the firfl Statute againft it was in Queen Elizabeth's time. Since the Reformation Simony has been frequent : One reafon why it was not pradifed in time of Popery, was the Pope's provifion ; no man was fure to beftow his own Benefice.
Table-talk. 203
Ship-Money.
R. Noy brought in Ship-money firft for Maritime Towns ; but that was like putting in a little Auger, that after- wards you may put in a greater : He that pulls down the firft Brick, does the main Work, afterwards 'tis eafy to pull down the Wall.
2. They that at firft would not pay Ship-money, till 'twas decided, did like brave men, (though perhaps they did no good by the Trial) but they that ftand out fince, and fufFer themfelves to be diftrained, never queftioning thofe that do it, do pitifully, for fo they only pay twice as much as they fhould.
Difcourfes, or
Sy?2od AJfembly.
E have had no National Synod fince the Kingdom hath been fettledj as now it is, only Provincial ; and there will be this inconveniency, to call fo many Divines together ; 'twill be to put power in their Hands, who are too apt to ufurp it, as if the Laity were bound by their determination. No, let the Laity con- fult with Divines on all fides, hear what they fay, and make themfelves Mailers of their Reafons ; as they do by any other pro- fefTion, when they have a difference be- fore them. For Example, Goldfmiths, they enquire of them, if fuch a Jewel be of fuch a value, and fuch a ftone of fuch a value, hear them, and then being rational men judge themfelves.
2. Why fhould you have a Synod, when you have a Convocation already, which is a Synod ? Would you have a fuperfetation of another Synod ? The
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Clergy of England when they caft off the Pope, fubmitted themfelves to the Civil Power, and fo have continued ; but thefe challenge to be Jure Divino, and fo to be above the Civil Power; thefe challenge power to call before their Prefbyteries all Perfons for all fins diredly againft the Law of God, as proved to be fins by ne- ceffary confequence. If you would buy Gloves, fend for a Glover or two, not Glovers-Hall ; confult with fome Divines, not fend for a Body.
3. There muft be fome Laymen in the Synod, to overlook the Clergy, left they fpoil the Civil work : Juft as when the good Woman puts a Cat into the Milk- Houfe to kill a Moufe, fhe fends her Maid to look after the Cat, left the Cat ftiould eat up the Cream.
4. In the Ordinance for the Aftembly, the Lords and Commons go under the names of learned, godly, and judicious Divines ; there is no difference put be- twixt them, and the Minifters in the con- text.
5. 'Tis not unufual in the AfTembly to
revoke their ^ , by rcdon fhcy make fo much haAe, but *cis that will make them fcori You never heard of a C<
j rc\ : an Ad of its own ing; they have been wan* in that, to keep up thiir Ir.tM! ' ' if t*
any thing, l) k a\N
Council, and vet we would be thout'*^? infallible as any bo ' I not
to fav, the 1 I o! C ommons n
their Votes, for thart are but Civi- truths, which *' ' * ^^^.
and
U!
c,
I ! • the
Truths the Sv^'^-I '^^^^^ »« ^rr f^ivinc ; and when thc\ n.4vc votcu , if it
Ik then true, 'twas true iKfore ; not t: bccaufc thcv v< >frd it. nor docs it ceafe f' > be true became ihey voted otherw *'*
6. S : in a J, or to tht
Articles of a Synod, is iu> fuch terru:. thing as they make it; bccaufe, If I am of a Synoci, 'tis a^ . either t.: or
cxprefsly. That which the major part determines, the reft are involved in ; and therefore I fubfcribe, : ^h my own pri- vate Opinion be ofhcnvifr : nnti i^v^n the
^
\i
3
'J\iblc-talk.
fame Ground, I may without fcruple fub- fcribe to what thofc have determined, whom I fent, though my private Opinion be otherwlfe, having refpetfl to that which is the Ground of all ailemhlies, the ma- jor part carries it.
20-
^1
Tharikfgrcing,
T firft we gave thanks for ever)' \'i(5tory as foon as ever 'twas obtained ; but fince we have had many, now we can (lay a good while. \N'e are jull like a Child ; give him a Plum, he makes his \ 1 ; ^^ ; give him a fecond Plum, he makes another Ixg: At iaft when his Belly is full, he forgets what he ought to do ; | then his Nurfe, or fome body elfe that i ftands by him, puts him in mind of his Duty, Where's your Legf
i
2o6 Difcourfes, or
revoke their Votes, by reafon they make To much hafte, but 'tis that will make them fcorned. You never heard of a Council [that] revoked an A6t of its own mak- ing ; they have been wary in that, to keep up their Infallibility ; if they did any thing, they took away the whole Council, and yet we would be thought infallible as any body. 'Tis not enough to fay, the Houfe of Commons revoke their Votes, for theirs are but Civil truths, which they by agreement create, and uncreate, as they pleafe : But the Truths the Synod deals in are Divine ; and when they have voted a thing, if it be then true, 'twas true before ; not true becaufe they voted it, nor does it ceafe to be true becaufe they voted otherwife.
6. Subfcribing in a Synod, or to the Articles of a Synod, is no fuch terrible thing as they make it ; becaufe, If I am of a Synod, 'tis agreed, either tacitly or exprefsly. That which the major part determines, the reft are involved in ; and therefore I fubfcribe, though my own pri- vate Opinion be otherwife ; and upon the
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fame Ground, I may without fcruple fub- fcribe to what thofe have determined, whom I fent, though my private Opinion be otherwife, having refped: to that which is the Ground of all afTemblies, the ma- jor part carries it.
Thankfgiving,
T firfl we gave thanks for every Vidlory as foon as ever 'twas obtained ; but fince we have had many, now we can flay a good while. We are juft like a Child ; give him a Plum, he makes his Leg ; give him a fecond Plum, he makes another Leg : At laft when his Belly is full, he forgets what he ought to do ; then his Nurfe, or fome body elfe that ftands by him, puts him in mind of his Duty, Where' s your Leg?
Difcourfes, or
Tithes.
ITHES are more paid in kind in England, than in all Italy and France. In France they have had Impropriations a
long time ; we had none in England till
Henry the Eighth.
2. To make an Impropriation, there was to be the confent of the Incumbent, the Patron, and the King ; then 'twas con- firmed by the Pope : Without all this the Pope could make no Impropriation.
3. Or what if the Pope gave the Tithes to any Man, muft they therefore be taken away ? If the Pope gives me a Jewel, will you therefore take it away from me ?
4. Abraham paid Tithes to Melchize- deckj what then ? 'Twas very well done of him : It does not follow therefore that I muft pay Tithes, no more than I am bound to imitate any other adion of Abra- ham's.
5. 'Tis ridiculous to fay the Tithes are
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God's Part, and therefore the Clergy muft have them : Why, fo they are if the Lay- men has them. 'Tis as if one of my Lady Kenfs Maids fhould be fweeping this Room, and another of them fhould come and take away the Broom, and tell for a Reafon why fhe fhould part with it ; 'Tis my Lady's Broom : As if it were not my Lady's Broom, which of them foever had it.
6. They confulted in Oxford where they might find the befl Argument for their Tithes, fetting afide the Jus Divi- num ; they were advifed to my Hiflory of Tithes ; a Book fo much cried down by them formerly ; (in which, I dare boldly fay, there are more arguments for them than are extant together any where :) Upon this, one writ me word. That my Hiflory of Tithes was now become like Peleus's Haft a, to wound and to heal. I told him in my Anfwer, I thought I could fit him with a better Inftance. 'Twas poflible it might undergo the fame Fate, that Ariftotle, Avicen, and Aver- roes did in France^ fome five hundred
Difcourfes, or
Years ago ; which were Excommunicated by Stephen Bifhop of Paris ^ [by that very name, Excommunicated,'] becaufe that kind of Learning puzzled and troubled their Divinity. But finding themfelves at a lofs, fome Forty Years after (which is much about the time fince I writ mv Hiftory) they were called in again, and fo have continued ever iince.
T;
raae.
HERE is no Prince in Chrif- tendom but is diredlly a Tradefman, tho' in another way than an ordinary Tradef- man. For the purpofe, I have a Man ; I bid him lay out twenty Shillings in fuch Commodities ; but I tell him for every Shilling he lays out I will have a Penny. I trade as well as he. This every Prince does in his Cuftoms.
2. That which a Man is bred up in he thinks -no cheating ; as your Tradefman thinks not fo of his Profeffion, but calls it
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a Myftery. Whereas If you would teach a Mercer to make his Silks heavier, than what he has been ufed to, he would per- adventure think that to be cheating.
3. Every Tradefman profefTes to cheat me, that afks for his Commodity twice as much as it is worth.
Tradition,
AY what you will againft Tradition ; we know the Sig- nification of Words by no- thing but Tradition. You will fay the Scripture was written by the Holy Spirit J but do you underftand that Language 'twas writ in ? No. Then for Example, take thefe words, \_In principio erat verhum^ How do you know thofe words flgnify, \In the beginning was the wordy] but by Tradition, becaufe fome Body has told you fo ?
Difcourfes, or
TranfubJlant^at^07^.
HE Fathers ufing to fpeak Rhetorically, brought up Tranfubftantiation : As if be- caufe it is commonly faid. Amicus eft alter idem^ one fhould go about to prove a Man and his Friend are all one. That Opinion is only Rhetoric turned into Logic.
2. There is no greater Argument (tho' not ufed) againft Tranfubflantiation than the Apoftles at their iirft Council, forbid- ding Blood and Suffocation. Would they forbid Blood, and yet enjoin the eat- ing of Blood too ?
3. The beft way for a pious Man, is, to addrefs himfelf to the Sacrament with that Reverence and Devotion, as if Chrift vv^ere really there prefent.
Table-talk.
213
Traitor.
IS not feafonable to call a Man Traitor that has an Army at his Heels. One with an Army is a Gallant man. My Lady Cotton was in the right, when fhe laughed at the Dutchefs of Richmond for taking fuch State upon her, when fhe could Command no Forces. [ She a Dutchefs^ there's in Flanders a Dutchefs indeed ;] meaning the Arch-Dutchefs.
Trinity,
HE fecond Perfon is made of a piece of Bread by the Pa- pift, the Third Perfon is made of his own Frenzy, Malice, Ignorance and Folly, by the Roundhead [to all thefe the Spirit is in- tituled,] One the Baker makes, the other the Cobler ; and betwixt thofe two, I think the Firft Perfon is fufficiently abufed.
Difcourfes, or
Truth.
HE Ariftotelians fay^ All Truth is contained in AriJ- totle in one place or another. Galileo makes Simplicius fay fo, but fhows the abfurdity of that Speech, by anfwering. All Truth is contained in a lefTer Compafs ; viz. In the Alphabet. Ariftotle is not blamed for miftaking fometimes ; but Ariftotelians for maintain- ing thofe miftakes. They fhould acknow- ledge the good they have from him, and leave him when he is in the wrong. There never breathed that Perfon to whom Mankind was more beholden.
2. The way to find out the Truth is by others' miftakings ; For if I was to go to fuch a place, and one had gone before me on the Right-hand, and he was out ; an- other had gone on the Left-hand, and he was out ; this would dired me to keep the middle way, that peradventure would bring me to the place I defired to go.
Table-talk.
3. In troubled Water you can fcarce fee your Face ; or fee it very little, till the Water be quiet and ftand ftill. So in troubled times you can fee little Truth ; when times are quiet and fettled, then Truth appears ;
TriaL
RIALS are by one. of thefe three ways ; by ConfelTion, or by Demurrer ; that is, con- feffing the Fad, but deny- ing it to be that, wherewith a Man is charged ; [for Example, denying it to be Treafon, if a Man be charged with Trea- fon ;] or by a Jury.
2. Ordalium was a Trial; and was either by going over nine red hot Plough- Shares, (as in the Cafe of Queen Emma, accufed for lying with the Biihop of TVinchefter yOYQr^\i\ch. fhe being led blind- fold; and having pafTed all her Irons, afked when fhe fhould come to her Trial ;) or 'twas by taking a red-hot Coulter in
2l6
Difcourfes, or
a Man's hand, and carrying it (o many Steps, and then calling it from him. As foon as this was done, the Hands or the Feet were to be bound up, and certain Charms to be faid, and a day or two after to be opened ; if the parts were whole, the Party was judged to be Inno- cent ; and fo on the contrary.
3. The Rack is ufed no where as in England: In other Countries 'tis ufed in Judicature^ when there is a Semi-plena pro- bation a half Proof againft a Man ; then to fee if they can make it full, they rack him if he will not confefs. But here in England they take a Man and rack him, I do not know why, nor when ; not in time of Judicature^ but when fome body bids.
4. Some Men before they come to their Trial, are cozened to Confefs upon Ex- amination : Upon this Trick, they are made to believe fome body has confeffed before them ; and then they think it a piece of Honour to be clear and ingenu- ous, and that deftroys them.
Table-talk.
Univerjity,
HE bell Argument why Ox- ford fhould have precedence of Cambridge^ is the A61 of Parhament, by which Ox- ford is made a Body ; made what it is ; and Cambridge is made what it is ; and in the A61 it takes place. Befides Oxford has the beil Monuments to fhow.
2. 'Twas well faid of one, hearing of a Hiftory Ledure to be founded in the Univerfity ; Would to God, fays he, they would diredl a Le6lure of Difcretion there, this would do more Good there a hun- dred times.
3. He that comes from the Univerfity to govern the State, before he is ac- quainted with the Men and Manners of the Place, does juft as if he fhould come into the prefence Chamber all Dirty, with his Boots on, his riding Coat, and his Head all daubed ; They may ferve him
2l8
Difcourfes, or
well enough in the Way, but when he comes to Court, he muft conform to the Place.
Vows.
UPPOSE a Man find by his own Inclination he has no mind to marry, may he not then vow Chaftity ? Anjw. If he does, what a fine thing hath he done ? 'tis as if a Man did not love Cheefe, and then he would vow to God Almighty never to eat Cheefe. He that vows can mean no more in fenfe than this ; To do his utmoft endeavour to keep his Vow.
Ufury.
HE Jews were forbidden to take Ufe one of another, but they were not forbidden to take it of other Nations. That being fo, I fee no reafon, why I may
Table-talk,
not as well take Ufe for my Money, as Rent for my Houfe. 'Tis a vain thing to fay. Money begets not Money ; for that no doubt it does.
2. Would it not look oddly to a Stran- ger, that fhould come into this Land, and hear in our Pulpits Ufury preached againft, and yet the Law allow it ? Many Men ufe it ; perhaps fome Churchmen themfelves. No Bifhop nor Ecclefiafti- cal Judge, that pretends power to punifh other Faults, dares punifh, or at leafl does punifh any man for doing it.
Pious Ufes.
HE ground of the Ordinary's taking part of a Man's Eflate (who died without a Will) to Pious Ufes, was this ; to give it fome body to pray, that his Soul might be delivered out of Purgatory ; now the pious Ufes come into his own Pocket. 'Twas well exprefl by John O Fowls in the Play, who adted the Priefl ;
Difcourfesj or
one that was to be hanged, being brought to the Ladder, would fain have given fome- thing to the Poor ; he feels for his Purfe, (which John O Fowls had pickt out of his Pocket before) miffing it, cries out. He had loft his Purfe ; now he intended to have given fomething to the Poor : John 0 Fowls bid him be pacified, for the Poor had it already.
War.
O not under-value an Ene- my by whom you have been worfted. When our Coun- try-men came home from fighting with the Saracens^ and were beaten by them, they pidlured them with huge, big, terrible Faces (as you ftill fee the fign of the Saracen's Head is) when in truth they were like other Men. But this they did to fave their own Credits.
2. Martial-Law in general, means no- thing but the Martial-Law of this, or that Place ; with us to be ufed in Fervor e Belli ^
i
Table-talk.
in the Face of the Enemy, not in time of Peace ; there they can take away neither Limb nor Life. The Commanders need not complain for want of it, becaufe our Anceftors have done gallant things with- out it.
3. ^eftion. Whether may Subjec5ls take up Arms againft their Prince ? Anjwer, Conceive it thus ; Here lies a Shilling betwixt you and me ; Ten Pence of the Shilling is yours, Two Pence is mine : By agreement, I am as much King of my Two Pence, as you of your Ten Pence : If you therefore go about to take away my Two Pence, I will defend it; for there you and I are equal, both Princes.
4. Or thus, two fupreme Powers meet; one fays to the other, give me your Land ; if you will not, I will take it from you : The other, becaufe he thinks himfelf too weak to refift him, tells him, of Nine Parts I will give you Three, fo I may quietly enjoy the reft, and I will become your Tributary. Afterwards the Prince comes to exad Six Parts, and leaves but
221
'2 2 2 Difcourfes, or
Three ; the Contradl then is broken^ and they are in Parity again.
5. To know what Obedience is due to the Prince, you muft look into the Con- trad betwixt him and his People ; as if you would know what Rent is due from the Tenant to the Landlord, you muft look into the Leafe. When the Contrad: is broken, and there is no third Perfon to judge, then the Deciiion is by Arms. And this is the Cafe between the Prince and the Subjed.
6. ^eflion. What Law is there to take up Arms againft the Prince, in Cafe he break his Covenant ? Anjwer, Though there be no written Law for it, yet there is Cuftom which is the beft Law of the Kingdom ; for in England they have al- ways done it. There is nothing expreft between the King of England and the King of France ; that if either Invades the other's Territory, the other fhall take up Arms againfl him, and yet they do it upon fuch an Occafion.
7. 'Tis all one to be plundered by a Troop of Horfe, or to have a Man's
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223
Goods taken from him by an Order from the Council Table. To him that dies, 'tis all one whether it be by a Penny Halter, or a Silk Garter ; yet I confefs the filk Garter pleafes more ; and like Trouts, we love to be tickled to Death.
8 . The Soldiers fay they fight for Ho- nour ; when the Truth is they have their Honour in their Pocket. And they mean the fame thing that pretend to fight for Religion. Juft as a Parfon goes to Law with his Pariihioners ; he fays. For the good of his SuccefTors, that the Church may not lofe its Right ; when the meaning is to get the Tithes into his own Pocket.
9. We govern this War as an unfkilful Man does a Cafting-Net ; if he has not the right trick to call the Net off his Shoulder, the Leads will pull him into the River. I am afraid we fhall pull our- felves into DeftruJlion.
10. We look after the particulars of a Battle, becaufe we live in the very time of War. Whereas of Battles pafi; we hear nothing but the number flain. Juft as
224
Difcourfes, or
for the Death of a Man ; when he is fick, we talk how he flept this Night, and that Night ; what he eat, and what he drunk: But when he is dead, we only fay, he died of a Fever, or name his Difeafe ; and there's an end.
1 1 . Eoccal'ine has this paffage of Sol- diers, They came to Apollo to have their ProfefTion made the Eighth Liberal Sci- ence, which he granted. As foon as it was noifed up and down, it came to the Butchers, and they defired their Profef- fion might be made the Ninth : For fay they, the Soldiers have this Honour for the killing of Men ; now we kill as well as they ; but we kill Beafts for the pre- fei-ving of Men, and why fhould not we have Honour likewife done to us ? Apollo could not Anfwer their Reafons, fo he re- verfed his Sentence, and made the Sol- dier's Trade a Myftery, as the Butcher's is.
Table-talk.
Witches.
HE Law again ft Witches does not prove there be any ; but it puniihes the MaHce of thofe People, that ufe fuch means to take away Men's Lives. If one fhould profefs that by turning his Hat thrice, and crying Buz, he could take away a Man's Life (though in truth he could do no fuch thing) yet this were a juft Law made by the State, that whofoever ftiould turn his Hat thrice, and cry Buz, with an intention to take away a Man's Life, ihall be put to death.
Wifi
e.
E that hath a handfome Wife, by other Men is thought happy ; 'tis a Pleafure to look upon her, and be in her Com- pany ; but the Huft)and is cloyed with
CL
Difcourfes, or
her. We are never content with what we have.
2. You fhall fee a Monkey fometime, that has been playing up and down the Garden, at length leap up to the top of the Wall, but his Clog hangs a great way below on this fide ; the Bifhop's Wife is like that Monkey's Clog, himfelf is got up very high, takes place of the Temporal Barons, but his Wife comes a great way behind.
3. 'Tis reafon a Man that will have a Wife fhould be at the Charge of her Trinkets, and pay all the Scores fhe fets on him. He that will keep a Monkey 'tis fit he fhould pay for the Glafies he breaks.
Wifdi
arrive at
om.
Wife Man fhould never re- folve upon any thing, at leafl: never let the World know his Refolution, for if he cannot that, he is afhamed. How
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227
many things did the King refolve in his Declaration concerning Scotland, never to do, and yet did them all P A Man muft do according to Accidents and Emergen- cies.
2. Never tell your Refolution before- hand ; but when the Caft is thrown, play it as well as you can to win the Game you are at. 'Tis but folly to ftudy how to play Size-ace, when you know not whether you fhall throw it or no.
3. Wife Men fay nothing in dangerous times. The Lion you know called the Sheep to afk her if his Breath fmelt : fhe faid, Aye ; he bit off her Head for a Fool : He called the Wolf and afked him ; he faid no ; he tore him in pieces for a Flatterer. At laft he called the Fox and aiked him ; truly he had got a Cold and could not fmell.
Difcourfes, or
Wit.
IT and Wifdom differ ; Wit is upon the fudden turn, Wifdom is in bringing about ends.
d. Nature muft be the ground-work of Wit and Art ; otherwife whatever is done will prove but Jack-pudding's work.
3. Wit muft grow like Fingers; if it be taken from others, 'tis like Plums ftuck upon black Thorns ; there they are for a while, but they come to nothing.
4. He that will give himfelf to all man- ner of ways to get Money may be rich ; fo he that lets fly all he knows or thinks, may by chance be Satirically Witty. Honefty fometimes keeps a Man from growing Rich ; and Civility from being Witty.
5. Women ought not to know their ov/n Wit, becaufe they will ftill be fhev/- ing it, and fo fpoil it ; like a Child that will continually be fhewing its fine new
Table-talk.
Coat, till at length it all bedaubs it with its pah Hands.
6. Fine Wits deftroy themfelves v/ith their own Plots, in meddling with great Affairs of State. They commonly do as the Ape that faw the Gunner put Bullets in the Cannon, and was pleafed with it, and he would be doing fo too : at laft he puts himfelf into the Piece, and fo both Ape, and Bullet were fhot away together.
Wo7nen.
El' the Women have povser cf their heads ^ hecauje of the An- gels. The reafon of the
o
words hecauje of the Angels^ is this ; The Greek Church held an Opinion that the Angels fell in Love with Wo- men. An Opinion grounded upon that, Genefis 6. T^he Sons of God Jaw the Daugh- ters of Men that they were fair. This Fancy St. Paul difcreetly catches, and ufes it as an Argument to perfuade them to modefty.
230
Difcourfes, or
2. The Grant of a Place is not good by the Canon Law, before a Man be dead ; upon this ground fome Mifchief might be plotted againft him in prefent poffeifion, by poifoning or fome other way. Upon the fame reafon a Contradl made with a woman, during her Huf- band's Life, was not valid.
3. Men are not troubled to hear a Man difpraifed, becaufe they know tho' he be naught, there's worth in others. But Women are mightily troubled to hear any of them fpoken againft, as if the Sex itfelf were guilty of fome Unworthinefs.
4. Women and Princes muft both trufl fome body ; and they are Happy or Un- happy according to the defert of thofe under whofe Hands they fall. If a Man knows how to manage the Favour of a Lady, her Honour is fafe, and fo is a Prince's.
Table-talk.
Year,
WAS the Manner of the Jews (if the Year did not fall out right, but that it was dirty for the People to come up to Jerujalemy at the Feaft of the PalTover ; or that their Corn was not ripe for their firft Fruits) to intercalate a Month, and fo to have, as it were, two Februaries, thrufting up the Year ftill higher, March into April's Place, April into May's Place, ^c. Whereupon it is impoflible for us to know when our Saviour was born, or when he died.
2. The Year is either the Year of the Moon, or the Year of the Sun ; there's not above eleven Days difference. Our moveable Feafts are according to the Year of the Moon ; elfe they fhoald be fixt.
3. Tho' they reckon ten Days fooner beyond Sea, yet it does not follow their Spring is fooner than our's ; we keep the
231
232 Difcourfes, or
fame time in natural things, and their ten Days fooner, and our ten Days later in thofe things mean the felf fame time ; jull as twelve Sous in French^ are ten Pence in EngUfh.
4. The lengthening of days is net fud- denly perceived till they are grown a pretty deal longer, becaufe the Sun, though it be in a Circle, yet it feems for a while to go in a right Line. For take a Segment of a great Circle efpecially, and you fhall doubt whether it be ftraight or no. But when the Sun is got paft that Line, then you prefently perceive the Days are lengthened. Thus it is in the Winter and Summer Solftice ; w^hich is indeed the true Reafon of them.
5. The Eclipfe of the Sun is, when it is new Moon ; the Eclipfe of the Moon when 'tis full. They fay Dionyfnis w^as converted by the Eclipfe that happened at our Saviour's Death, becaufe it was nei- ther of thefe, and fo could not be natural.
Table-talk.
Zelots,
NE would wonder Chrifl fhould whip the Buyers and Sellers out of the Temple, and no- il body offer to refift him (con- fidering what Opinion they had of him.) But the reafon was, they had a Law, that whofoever did profane San^itatem Dei, aut T^empli ; the Holinefs of God, or the Temple, before ten Perfons, 'twas lawful for any of them to kill him, or to do any thing this fide killing him ; as whipping him, or the like. And hence it was, that when one ftruck our Saviour before the Judge, where it was not lawful to ftrike (as it is not with us at this Day) he only replies ; If I have fpoken Evil, bear Witnefs of the Evil ; but if Well, why fmiteft thou me ? He fays nothing againft their fmiting him, in cafe he had been guilty of fpeak- ing Evil, that is Blafphemy ; and they could have proved it againft him. They
234
Table-talk.
that put this Law into execution were called Zelots ; but afterwards they com- mitted many Villanies.
9\
NOTES.
Part of the folloiving Illujlrations nvere kindly communi- cated to the Editor by a gentleman to ivhom his beji tha7iks are due, and ivhom it ^would ha^e afforded him great pleafure to be allo-ived to name.
Page 2. Abbiesy Fr lories.
T. John'' s of fenfalem at Clerkenwell, founded 1 1 oo, endowed with the re- venues of the Englifh Knights Templars, 1323. The Prior ranked as iiril: Baron of England. The lafl Prior, Sir R. Wefton, retired on a penlion of 1 000/. a year, but died of a broken heart on Afcenfion day, 1540: the day the Priory was fupprelTed. The Church and the Houfe re- mained entire during Henry the Eighth's reign; he kept his hunting tents and toils in them. But in Edward the Sixth's time the Church was blown up with gunpowder, by order of Somerfet, and the fhones carried to build his houfe in the Strand.
P. 7. Bible.
I . The Bifhops' Bible, begun foon after Elizabeth's
236
Notes.
acceffion to the throne, by Archbifhop Parker and eight Biihops, befides others. It was publifhed in 1568 with a preface by Parker.
2. King James's. Begun in 1607, publifhed in 161 1 : 47 of the moft learned men in the nation em- ployed on it. There is no book fo tranflated, i. e. fo peculiarly tranflated, confidering the purpofe it was meant for — General reading.
Many impreffions of Englifh Bibles printed at iVmfterdam, and more at Edinburgh, in Scotland, were daily brought over hither and fold here. Little their volumes, and low their prices, as being of bad paper, worfe print, little margin, yet greater than the care of the corrector — many abominable errata being paffed therein. Take one inftance for all. Jerem. iv. 17: fpeaking of the whole commonwealth of Ju- dah, inllead of " Becaufe Ihe hath been rebellious againft me, faith the Lord," it is printed (Edinb. I S-^j.) " Becaufe fhe hath been religious againft me."
P. 1 1. Bible. 1 1. — Archbifhop Ufher on his way to preach at St. Paul's Crofs, entered a bookfeller's fhop and purchafed a London edition of the Bible, in which, to his artonifhment and difmay, he found the text he had feledled was omitted. This was the oc- cafion of the firll complaint on the fubjedl, and in- ducing further attention, the King's printers, in 1632, were juftly fined 3000/. for omitting the word*' not" in the feventh commandment. During the reign of the Parliament a large impreffion of the Bible was fupprefled on account of its errors and corruptions, many of which were the refults of defign as well as
Notes.
m
of negligence. The errors in two of the editions ac- tually amounted refpeftively to 3600 and 6000.
Johnfo?i's Memoirs of Selden.
P. 12. Bible. — Apocrypha which is extant in Greek only, except the 4th book of" Efdras in Latin :
14. The Apocrypha was one great ftumbling block to the Prefbyterians. They looked upon its introduc- tion into the Liturgy to be papiflical.
P. 15. Bijhops ill Parliament. — A refolution had pafTed the Houfe of Commons in 1640, and a Bill w^as founded upon it, declaring that no Biihop or other Clergyman ought to be a privy counfellor, in the commilTion of the peace, or to have any judicial power in a civil court, it being a hindrance to his fpiritual fundions and injurious to the Common- wealth. This was probably in imitation of the refo- lution of the General AlTembly of the Kirk of Scot- land, who, in their Ad. of SefTions, 17 th Auguft, 1639, had propounded that ** The civil power and places of Kirkmen, their Sitting in SelTion, Councell, and Exchecquer, their Riding, Sitting, and voting in Parliament, and their fitting in the Bench as Juftices of Peace, are incompatible with their Spiri- tual Sanction, lifting them up above their Brethren in worldly pomp, and do tend to the hinde^ance of the Miniiirie."
The King infiiled upon their right from cuftom, which he was bound to maintain as one of the fun- damental inllitutions of the kingdom, and we fee that with this opinion Selden concurred.
238
Notes.
P. 15. Bijhops in Parliament. — Mr. Bagfhaw, who was reader of the Middle Temple, ledturing during the Lent vacation of 1 640 upon the flatute of the 25th, Edward III. inferred from its ena6l- ments, that Bifhops, as fpiritual lords, have no right to lit in Parliament. It is true he was filenced by the Government; but the fupport which he met with, and the very fa6l of his leduring on the topic be- fore fuch an audience, is teftimony of that opinion not being unpalatable or unfavoured.
John/on s Mem. of Selden.
P. 17. Bijhops. 4. — In Richard the Second's time there was a protellation againfl the Canons. They were forbidden by Canon law only, and unlefs the King's moft royal aflent might be had unto them, &c.
Canons for blood, i. e. forbidding the Bifhops to vote in cafes of blood.
Canons of irregul. of blood, i. e. againll their voting in cafes of blood, &c.
P. 24. 7. — There is no Government enjoined. Sec. i. e. by example of other Governments but by that which is judged bell for our own.
P. 25. 10. — Bijhops* Lands. Ordered by the Par- liament to be fold for the ufe of the Commonwealth, Nov. 16, 1646.
P. 26. Bijhops out of Parliament. 5. — Who would not have laughed to hear a Prelbyterian obferve, from the firil chapter of Genefis, iirft verfe, that whilft
:!{
Notes.
Mofes relates what God made, he fpeaks nothing of Bilhops ; by which it was evident that Bifliops were not of divine inflitution. A conceit as ridiculous as that of a Priefl, who finding Maria fpoken of, figni- fying Seas, did brag that he had found the Virgin Mary named in the Old Teftament.
Religio Stoiciy 12°, Edinb. 1663, p. 77.
P. 29. Books. 4. — Cujlomer, i. e. The officer of the Cuftoms. The importation of Popifh Books was contraband ; it was one of the charges againfh Laud that he had fuffered the cuftoms to let pafs many Popifh Books.
P. 33. Changing Sides. 3. — Col. Goring. He was firft fworn to the King's fecret orders ; con- fefled to the Houfe ; was entrufted by them with Portfmouth, which he furrendered to Charles in 1642, &c. ''He would (fays Clarendon) without hefitation have broken any truft or done any aft of treachery, to have fatisfied any ordinary paffion or appetite."
P. 35. Chriflmas. — ^ack 0* Lents, i. e. Puppets to be pelted at like fhrove-cocks in lent.
P. 39. Chrijiians. 5. — '^ Of having power in con- tr over fie s.^'* Article 20th. Inferted, fays Fuller, in the original edition, 1562-3, 1593, 1605, 161 2, omitted edition 1571, when firft ratified by aft of Parliament.
P. 40. Churches. — I received letters lately out o^
239
240 Notes.
France touching this point — Whether we find that any Churches in the elder times of Chriftianity were with the doors, or fronts eaftward or no ? becaufe of that in Sidonius : — Arce Frontis ortum fpeftat squi- no6lialem, lib. 2. Ep. 10. and other like. I befeech your Lordfhip to let me know what you think hereof My Titles of Honour are in the prefs, and new written, but I hear it fhall be ftaid ; if not I fhall falute you with one as foon as it is done.
Selden to Ulher, March 24, 1621.
Ufher to Selden. Touching that which you move concerning the fituation of Churches in the elder times of Chrilti- anity, Walafridus Strabo (De Reb. Eccleliaft. c. 4.) telleth us : Non magnopere curabunt illius tempo- ris jufti, quam in partem orationis loca converterent. Yet his conclufion is, Sed tamen ufus frequentior, et rationi vicinior habet, in Orientem orantes con- verti, et pluralitatem maximam Eccleliarum eo tenore conftitui. Which does further alfo appear by the teftimony of Paulinus, Bifhop of Nola, in his 12 th epillle to Severus : Profpe6lus vero Bafilicas non, ut ulitatior mos, Orientem fpedlat. And particularly with us here in Ireland, Jofceline, in the Life of St. Patrick, obferveth, that a Church was built by him in Sabul, hard by Downe (in Ulfter), " Ab aquilo- nali parte verfus meridianam plagam." Add here- unto that place of Socrates, lib. 5. Hift. Eccles. c. 22. Ev Kvnoyjia tyj^ Su^ia^-, tj EKKXr^trioc avri(rr§o- ^ov c^si rrjv Saa-iV ou yocp itpog oivoLroXccs ro Qva-iccj-rrj- §iov, aWa it^05 ^vcriv o^oi. And compare it with that
Notes.
other place of Walafridas Strabo, where he fheweth both in the Church that Conftantine and Helena builded at Jerufalem ; ■ and at Rome alfo in the Church of All Saints, (which before was the Pan- theon), and St. Peter's ; " Altaria non tantum ad Orientem, fed ctiam in ahas partes efle diftributa." April 1 6, 1622.
P. 44. High Conunijfton. — Eflablifhed imo Eliz. in place of a greater power under the Pope, (fays Clarendon,) CommiiTioners who exercifed the King's Ecclefiaftical Supremacy. Intended as a Court to reform manners, it grew to a contempt of the Com- mon Law — to reprehend the Judges, &c. It was abolifhed in 1641.
P. 44. Clergy. 6. — Chain up both fides, i. e. Court-clergy and Puritan.
P. 45. High Commifiion — " There were but two there y and one /pake, ^^ i5c. London and Canterbury. Prynne and the others arraigned them for fitting judges in their own caufe. Laud made a long fpeech, fays Fuller, againft making innovations in the Church, and concluded, " that he left the prifoners to God's mercy and the King's juftice."
P. 50. Conference. 4. — To have a dove-houfe. A Lord of a Manor may build a dove-cot upon his land, parcel of his manor ; but a tenant of the manor cannot do it without licence. 3 Salkeld, 248. But any Freeholder may build a dove-cote on his ovrn ground. Cro. Jac. 382. 490. Burn's Jufiice.
2aI
R
242 Notes.
p. 53. Contrails. 2. — Jus permijjtvum^ l!^c. The Law that enjoins, and the Law that fuffers. ** If this doth authorife ufury which before was but permiJJiVCy &c." Bacon,
3. Sir Edward Herbert, Solicitor and Attorney General to Charles the Firft, and for fome time Lord Keeper to Charles the Second, when in exile. Dr. Aikin fays that a legal friend fuggefted to him that Sir Edward Herbert, who was an eminent lawyer, was probably retained for his advice by Lady Kent, at an annual falary ; and he produced examples of deeds granted for payments on the fame account, one of them as late as the year 171 5. Hence it would appear that the lady had a great deal of law bulinefs on her hands, which would render the domeftic counfel of fuch a perfon as Selden very valuable to her.
P. 54. Convocation. — The Convocation fum- moned with the Parliament in April, 1640, con- tinued after that Parliament was dilTolved, under a new writ, fays Clarendon, *' under the proper title of a Synod. Made Canons which it was thought it might do ; and gave fubfidies out of Parliament, and enjoined oaths, which it certainly might not do, &c."
P. 55. Creed. — Shortefi. It is confined to the Trinity ; leaving out Catholic Church, Communion of Saints, &c.
P. 57. Devils. L. 10. him, i. e. the Devil. Find
out the Hugonots and enter into them, or hunt them out of the Church,
P. 60. Self Denial. — We live more by example than precept, and fhow our lives more in what we do than what 'wq fay,
P. 67. Excommunication. — All this was argued by Selden in the Affembly of Divines, March, 1644-5. The Prefbyterians claiming the Keys of Heaven to retain or remit fms — to exclude from Sacrament, &c. (See articles "Sacrament," "Synod," " Affembly.") At laft it was decided that the Prefbyterian Synods might have the power to fufpend from Sacrament, &c. but always fubje6l to the final decifion of Parlia- ment if an appeal were made. The Prefbyterians protefl againft this vote ; and are warned that they have violated the Privileges of Parliament, and come under a Prsmunire.
P. 68. Excommunication, z. — Selden probably derived this notion from the work of Eraftus upon Church Government, where we have the following palTage : Demonllratum eft nunc folidiffime, ** Die Ecclefis," non aliud fignificare, quam die populi tui Magiftri tui (feu qui ejufdem tuum lit religionis) an- tiquam apud profanum Magiftratum cum fratre tuo litiges : ut apoft. Paulus in i Cor. 6. cap. ubi propter hanc cauflam arbitros ex fuo ordine eos jubet eligere, pulcherrime exponit. Thejis lii. p. 40.
P. 68. Excommunication. 3. — Always an enemy
Notes.
to the ufurpations of Eccleiiaftical authority, when the points of Excommunication and fufpenfion from the Sacrament, as part of the difcipline in the new eftablifliment of Religion, were debated in the Houfe, September 3, 1645, Selden gave his opinion on the fubjeft, and Whitelock, in his Memorials, has given the following outline of his argument :
** That for 4000 years there was no fign of any law to fufpend perfons from religious exercifes : — that under the law every linner was Eo nominey to come and offer, as he was a linner ; and no prieft or other authority had to do with him, unlefs it might be made to appear to them whether another did re- pent or not, which was hard to be done. Strangers were kept away from the pafTover, but they were pagans. The queftion is not now for keeping pagans in times of Chriftianity, but protellants from protef- tant worfhip. No Divine can fhew that there is any fuch command as this, to fufpend from the Sacra- ment. No man is kept from the Sacrament, eo no- mine^ becaufe he is guilty of any fm, by the conili- tution of the reformed Churches, or becaufe he hath not made fatisfaftion. Every man is a finner; the difference is only that one is a finner in private, the other in public : the one is as much againil God as the other. Die Ecclejie in St. Matthew meant the courts of law which then fat in Jerufalem. No man can fliew any Excommunication till the popes Vic- tor and Zephyrinus, 200 years after Chrift, firft be- gan to ufe it in private quarrels : whence Excommu- nication is but a human invention : it was taken from the heathen."
Notes.
Dr. Aikin has jullly oblerved that Selden could not have more explicitly declared himfelf againfl that fpirit of Ecclefiaflical dominion which began to cha- rafterife the new rulers and which provoked Milton to exclaim
New prejbyter is but old priejl writ large.
P. 78. Gold. — We have the following account in Camden's Remains :
" The firil gold that K. Edward III. coyned was in the yeare 1343, and the pieces were called Florences^ becaufe Florentines were the coyners. Shortly after he coyned Nobles, of noble faire and fine gold ; afterwards the Rofe- Noble then current for 6 Ihillings and 8 pence, and which our Alchy- mifts do affirme (as an unwritten verity) was made by projeftion or multiplication Alchymicall of Ray- mund Lully in the Tower of London, who would prove it as Alchymically, befide the tradition of the Rabbies in that faculty, by the infcription ; for as upon the one fide there is the King's image in a fhip, to notifie that he was the Lord of the Seas, with his titles ; fet upon the reverfe a crofs fleury with Lioneeux, infcribed, Jefus, autem tranjte?nper medium illorum ibat. Which they profoundly expound, as Jefus pafi'ed invifible and in moft fecret manner by the middeft of the Pharifees, fo that gold was made by invifible and fecret art among the ignorant. But others fay, that text was only one of the Amulets ufed in that credulous warfaring age to efcape dangers in battle."
Lenglet du Frefnoy, in his Hiilory of Hermetic
245
246 Notes.
Philofophy, after mentioning Camden's and Selden's account fays : *' mais je n'ai jamais lu en aucun en- droit que les artiftes de la fcience Hermetique fen foient fervi de ces devifes pour les accommoder a leur art ; en voici une explication plus fimple.
Raymond Lulle apres fon operation trouva moyen de f'evader de la Tour de Londres, ou il etoit detenu ; et avec un barque, ou un vailTeau, il f9Ut franchir le palTage de la mer et fortir de I'Angle- terre, fans qu'on fen appercut. C^tH a quoi fe rapportent ces paroles de I'Evangile, ou Edouard paroit inlinuer, que I'auteur de la matiere de ces pieces d'or avoit pafle au travers de fes vaiffeaux, comme Jefus Chrill fait au milieu de fes Difciples, fans qu'on le vit, ou fans qu'on le connut.
II eft vrai cependant, que ce ne fut que fous Ed- ouard III. ou V. que Ton commenga en Angleterre a frapper des monnoyes d'or ; mais ce pourroit etre de celui que Raymond avoit fait fous le regne prece- dent, ou de celui que Cremer, inftruit par Raym.ond Lulle, pouvoit avoir produit a ce prince, fous lequel il a vecu.
P. 76. Genealogy of Chr'ifi. — They were both of a tribe J and therefore only the genealogy of one was put down, as fach marriage was unlawful, &c.
This point is difcufled in the i8th chap, of Selden's Treatife De Succeffionibus ad Leges Ebrae- orum.
P. 80. The defcent into Hell. — For much upon this controverted point fee the Appendix to Parr's
Notes.
Life of Ufher, p. 23, et fcq. Archbifliop Uflier's opinion was very much that exprefled by Selden.
P. 80. Hell. 2. — In Edward the Sixth's Articles it was '* went down to hell to preach to the fpirits there." Fuller.
P. 81. Holy Days. — ''They,'' i. e. the Laudites.
P. 88. Incendiaries. — For eft hujinefs, encroach- ments of the King's lands on the Subjeft's. Decided by jury under dire6lion of corrupt Judges.
247
P. 90. Independency. — " St. Paul fays, thians, ch. vi.
>>
Corin-
P. 94. Judge. — The Judges almoft unanimoufly fanftioned Charles's right to Ship-Money and other extortions. When Selden and others fued to be ad- mitted to be bailed out of the Tower, in 1629, Sir Robert Heath, Attorney General, faid to the Judges : " I am confident that you will not bail them if any danger may enfue ; but firft you are to confult with the King ; and he will ihew you where the danger lies."
P. 94. Groom Porter. 3. — An office of the Royal houfehold fucceeding, it is faid, to the Mafter of the Revels. He ufed to keep a Gaming-Table at Chrift- mas. It fhould appear that this cuftom was aboliihed in or about the year 1700, when a poem was pub- lilhed, with the following title :
" An Elegiack Eflay upon the Deceafe of the Groom-Porter, and the Lotteries," fol. 1700.
248
Notes.
p. 100. King of Eiigland. 5. — "The three Ef- tates." "This divifion of eftates is countenanced by fome old ftatutes, fays Fuller, and was doubtlefs well agitated between High Church and Parliament. Some of the aged Bifhops (he fays) had their tongues fo ufed to the language of a third eftate, that more than once they run on that reputed rock in their fpeeches ; for which they were publicly fhent, and enjoined an acknowledgement of their miftake."
P. 105. Knight's Service, i. — Some of the early Kings forced their fubjefts of 20/. a year to take the order of knighthood, or exempt themfelves by a fine. Elizabeth and James had exercifed this right once. Charles at his coronation fummoned all of 40/. a year to take the order; and in 1630 levied heavy fines on thofe who did not; raifing 100,000/. thereby. It is faid the Long Parliament foon abolifhed this and fo many other grievances.
Every man is bound by his tenure to defend his Lord ; and both he and his Lord the King and his country, &c. See Homage, Coke upon Littleton.
P. 105. Land. Under-foot, i. e. under-value.
I
P. 109. Law. 5. — The Parliament may declare. This may refer to the Lords fitting on appeals. Peerages, &c. or as a Court of Juftice, as in Stafibrd's trial. Or to fome fuch language as this Manifello put forth by the Parliament againll one of the King's in 1642. They declare that "the King alone could not be Judge in this cafe," (the ftate of the nation.
Notes.
&c.) " for the King judges not matters of law but by his courts ; nor can the Courts of Law be Judges of the Hate of the Kingdom againft the Parliament, be- caufe they are inferior. But as the Law is deter- mined by the Judges, who are of the King's Council ; fo the ftate of the Nation is to be determined by the two Houfes of Parliament, who are the proper Judges of the Conilitution. If therefore the Lords and Commons in Parliament affembled declare this or the other matter to be Law, or according to the Conftitution of the Kingdom, it is not lawful for any fingle perfon or inferior court to contradi6l it." — Refolved : " That when the Lords and Commons, which is the fupreme Law of Judicature in the Kingdom fhall declare what the Law is — to have this not only quelHoned but contradicted, and a com- mand that it fliould not be obeyed, is a high breach of Privilege of Parliament."
Rujhworth, V. 3. part i. p. 698.
P. 116. Lords in Parliament. 2. — ''The Lords proiejiing" The Lords (fays Clarendon) had an ancient privilege, very rarely ufed, of entering their names as difientients from the vote of the majority. But nozu the Puritan Lords would often do it; not {imply entering their names, but fumming up the matter debated, and protelling " left mifchief fhould befall the Commonwealth by this Refolution," &c. and this in the Records of the Houfe, fo that the Commons faw who was with them and who not.
249
250 Notes.
p. 117. Prior of St. John. 2. — Being generally of noble extraction and a military perfon.
*' So alfo the Abbot of St. James, by Northamp- ton, may be faid to fit bat on one hip in Parliament, he appears fo in the twilight betwixt a Baron and no Baron in the fummons thereunto." Fuller.
P. 118. Irijh Lords. 5. — In 1626 the Lords complained to the King, that whereas they had here- tofore, out of courtefy, as to ftrangers, yielded prece- dency according to degree, "unto fuch nobles of Scotland and Ireland as, being in titles above them, have reforted hither; Now divers of the natural born fubjefts of thofe Kingdoms relident here with their families, and having their chief eftates among us, do, by reafon of fome late created dignities in thofe Kingdoms of Scotland and Ireland, claim pre- cedency of the Peers of this Realm, which tends to the differvice of your Majeily, and to the great dif- paragement of the Englifh Nobility, as by thefe rea- fons may appear, &c." Rujhworth i. 237.
P. 129. Minifier Divine. 11. — The Clink. " Now amongft the fruitful generation of jails in London, there were thought never a better; fome lefs bad amongft them. I take the Marlhalfea to be in thofe times the beft for ufage of prifoners. But O ! tlie mifery of God's poor faints in Newgate, under Alexander the Jailer (more cruel than his namefake w^as to St. Paul) in Lollard's Tower, the Clinky and Bonner's Coal houfe." Fuller.
The Clink was an appendage to the Bifliop of Winchefter's Palace in Southwark.
P. 131. Money. 2. — Boccaline, i. e. in a Story of Boccalini. He was a famous fatirirt of the i6th Century, and in the Ragguagli di Parnafo feigns this llory of Euclid. The common tradition is, that Boccalini himfelf was killed by the very means he fuppofed employed againft Euclid ; being beaten to death by four men armed with bags of fand. It is more probable that rumour picked up his own fic- tion ignorantly and applied it to himfelf. v. Biogr. Univerfelle,
P. 139. Opinion. — Good! This is the true dif- ference betwixt the beautiful and the agreeable, which Knight and the reft of that TTA^Sof dQeov have fo be- neficially confounded, meretricibus fcilicet et Plutoni.
O what an infight this whole article gives into a wife man's heart, who has been compelled to aft with the many, as one of the many 1 It explains Sir Thomas More's zealous romanifm. Coleridge.
P. 141. Parity. — The public men faid this was the deftroying of Prefby ters if the leifer number did not fubmit to the greater ; it was a fort of Prelacy, if it was pretended that votes ought rather to be weighed than counted; Parity was the elTence of their conftitution, &c. Burnet.
On the 9th of Februry, 1640, upon a debate in the Houfe refpefting the Bifhops, Sir Simonds D' Ewes records that *' Sir Johij Strangways rofe up
252 Notes.
and fpake on their behalf, faying, if we made a Parity in the Church, we mull come at lail to a Parity in the Commonwealth ; and the Bifhops were one of the three Eftates of the Kingdom, and had a voice in the Parliament. Mr. Cromwell flood up next and faid, he knew no reafon for thefe fuppofitions, — he did not underfland why the gentleman that lail fpoke Ihould make an inference of Parity from the Church to the Commonwealth, nor that there was any necef- fity of the great revenue of Bifhops. He was more convinced, touching the irregularity of Bifhops, than ever before ; becaufe like the Roman Hierarchy they would not endure to have their condition come to a trial." MSS. Harl. 162, cited in the Edinburgh Review, Vol. 84, p. 90.
Since a Parity was firffc ordained by God him- felfe, and that there needeth no Order or Degree of perfons, becaufe God is equall and no refpefter of perfons. Be it therefore ordered— that we have no King but Parity.
That every yeare there fhall be the Round-heads feafl celebrated, a well-lung'd long-breathed Cobler fliall preach a Sermon fix houres, and his prayer two houres long, and at every MefTe in this Feafl fhall be prefented a goodly Difh of Turnips, becaufe it is very agreeable to our Natures ; for a Turnip has a round head, and the Anagram of Puritan is a Tvr- Nip." New Orders new made by a Parliament of Roundheads, Sec. 4to. Lond. 1642.
P. 144-5. Parliament. 8. — The famous Remon- flrance v/as carried a^er fitting from 3 p. m. to 3
Notes.
a. m. which made fome one fay it was ** the Verdift of a flarved Jury."
^53
P. 146. Peace. 2. — " Wheri a country wench can- not get her butter to come, Jhe fays t.he witch is in the Churn.^^
This is bantered by C. Cotton in his Virgil Tra- vefty, b. iv.
Scot in his Difcovery of Witchcraft, obferves, " That when the country people fee the butter cometh not, then get they out of the fufpefted witch's houfe, a little butter, whereof mull be made three balls in the name of the holy Trinity ; and fo, if they be put into the churn, the butter will pre- fently come, and the witchcraft will ceafe — but if you put a little fugar and foap into the churn among the cream, the butter will never come." Webller (Difplay of Witchcraft, b. 12. c. 21.) affigns natural caufes for the butter not coming, with the method to make it come. ,
P. 152. Poetry. — No one man can know all things ; even Selden here talks ignorantly. Verfe is in itfelf a mufic, and the natural fymbol of that union of paffion v/ith thought and pleafure, which conftitutes the elTence of all poetry, as contradilllnguifhed from hiftory civil or natural. To Pope's EfTay on Man, — in Ihort to whatever is mere metrical good fenfe and wit, the remark applies. Coleridge.
P. 154. — "Verfe proves nothing but the quantity of fyllables; they are not meant for logic."
254 Notes.
True ; they, that is, verfes, are not logic ; but they are, or ought to be, the envoys and reprefenta. tives of that vital paffion, which is the practical ce- ment of logic J and v^ithout which logic mull re- main inert. ^ Coleridge.
P. i68. Preaching. 7. — In 163 1, they began to preach againft Laud's innovation, at Oxford. Yea, their very texts gave offence ; one preaching on Numbers xiv. 6. " Let us make a Captain and return into Egypt." Another on Kings xiii. 2. *' And he cried againil; the Altar in the word of the Lord, and faid, O ! Altar, Altar."
P. 175. Predefiination. — It was ilridlly forbidden to preach againft Predefiination in the early part of Charles's reign, and Clergymen were fummoned be- fore the Council for doing fo.
P. 178. Preferment. 5. — Lord Digby. He fpoke againil Strafford's attainder, and was called up to the Lords, June 10, 1641.
P. 179. Pramunire, — In Edward the Third's reign an Adl of provifion againil the Pope's encroach- ments was made ; in Richard the Second's the A<fl of Prsmunire paffed againil the Pope giving away Bilhopricks, Livings, &c. contra Regis, &c. But in 25 th Henry the Eighth any appeal to Rome from any of the King's Courts came under the Adl of Prsmunire.
Notes.
p. 182. Prejbytery. 4. — The Allembly met with many difficulties; fome complaining of Mr. Selden, that advantaged by his ikill in antiquity, common law, and the Oriental tongues, he employed them rather to pofe than profit, perplex than inform the members thereof — in the 14 queries he propofed ; whofe in- tent therein was to humble the Jure-divino-fhip of Prefbytery ; which though hinted and held forth, is not fo made out in Scripture, but, being too fcant on many occafions, it muft be pieced with prudential additions. Thefe queries being fent from Parliament to the Aflembly, and it was ordered that in the an- fwers proofs from Scripture be fet down with the feveral texts at large, in the exprefs words of the fame, &c. On receiving thefe queries the AlTembly is in great perturbation, appoints a folemn fail, and a committee to confider of the anfwers.
P. 184. Pr lefts of Rome. 3. — The ^een Mother and Rojfett. Mary de Medicis got out of England at lall by the Parliament, at 10,000/. expenfe, Aug. 1641.
RofTetti ; complained againft by the long Parlia- ment, as being Nuncio or agent between the Pope and Henrietta Maria.
P. 187. Reafon. 2. — Depopulate. Depopulatio agro- rum — a great offence in the ancient Common Law : Pulling down, or leaving to ruin farm-houfes, cot- tages, &c. turning arable into pafture, &c.
P. 189. No?i Refdency. — Peter Pence. A levy
^ss
256 t
Notes.
of one penny to the Pope on even- chimncv that linokcd — fo called hearth-penny, Tmokc'pennv, &.c. granted by Inc or Athelulph.
P. 196. Rrlig:oM. 17. — Ri^riMg krfs. The S\va£h bucklen or bullying bucks of Charles's time.
P. 201. Sup^rrjfitiM. — Thn pretrmJ nst t$ abide the Crg/s. It will be remembered that on the old coins the reverie had generally the figure of a Cro/s. Hence the French phral'e " jouer croix ou pile ** for to pby at tofiing for heads and tails.
P. 203. Shi^MtMey. 2. — Sclden evidently doubted whether Hampden*s contcll againfl the pay- ment of Ship-Mone)-, though praifeworthy and cor- rect, was of any benefit to the countr)*, and we may coniider that his doubt was founded upon a juH fear that it would aggravate the growing enmity between the people and the Sovereign, and would involve in one tecling of diflike all the conftituted branches of the Ejcecutive.** Johnfti^s Mem§irs sf SeUen.
P. 204. Ssn,^ ^i^'erttl'i. — It was not compoicd like the vcarlv General Svnods of the Prclbvterian Church, entrufled with independent power ; but was
a Committee to advilc with Parliament in matters of Religion, and referring all to the final fandlion of Parliament. The Prcib^terian party ibx)ve hard to make their Church and councils independent of the ilate ; but Selden and the Erailians kept them under the civil power.
The Ailembly began to fit in July, 1643, in
iJc--
•» - - -
— 1' — '^ '"' ■5»'S -rars^ r-
oe Ez=L icflrx n i- r^. Tie
*
of one penny to the Pope on every chimney that fmoked — fo called, hearth-penny, fmoke-penny, &c. granted by Ine or Athelulph.
P. 196. Religion. 17. — Roaring boys. The Swafh bucklers or bullying bucks of Charles's time.
P. 201. Superjlition. — They pretend not to abide the Crofs. It will be remembered that on the old coins the reverfe had generally the figure of a Crofs. Hence the French phrafe " jouer croix ou pile " for to play at toffing for heads and tails.
P. 203. Ship-Money. 2. — Selden evidently doubted whether Hampden's conteft againfl the pay- ment of Ship-Money, though praifeworthy and cor- re6l, was of any benefit to the country, and we may conlider that his doubt was founded upon a juft fear that it would aggravate the growing enmity between the people and the Sovereign, and would involve in one feeling of diflike all the conftituted branches of the Executive." John/on^- Me??ioirs of Selden.
P. 204. Synod AJfembly. — It was not compofed like the yearly General Synods of the Prefbyterian Church, entrufted with independent power ; but was a Committee to advife with Parliament in matters of Religion, and referring all to the final fandion of Parliament. The Prefbyterian party ftrove hard to make their Church and councils independent of the Hate ; but Selden and the Eraflians kept them under the civil power.
The Aflembly began to fit in July, 1643, in
Notes.
257
February, 1648-9 changed into a Committee for the ordination of Minifters, and broke up finally in 1652.
P. 208. Tithes. — LnpropriationSf i. e. Lay-im- propriations ; appropriation being the proper term for any benefice given into clerical hands.
P. 216. Trial. 3. — It is commonly believed the Rack was not ufed in England later than 16 19, w^hen Peacham, fufpedled of treafon, was racked by or- der of the Privy Council. But Mr. Jardine quotes from the Council Book a feries of warrants for tor- ture from Edward the Sixth down to 1640. The twelve Judges declared it was againft the Law, in Felton's cafe.
P. 220. War. 2. — Martial Law. This was one of the chief grievances complained of in the Petition of Right, debated many days in Parliament, and Selden one of the chief fpeakers. Charles had billeted his foldiers illegally on his fubjefts ; any crimes, violence, &c. thofe foldiers Ihould commit, to be panifhed by Martial Law — whereby many were illegally executed, and many, acquitted by the Martial Law, evaded the furer procefs of the Com- mon Law. Great outrage and violence prevailed ; the roads were not fafe, markets unfrequented, &c.
The End.
C. VVHJTTINGHAM, CHISWICK.
Corrigenda.
Page 27, Line 18, read ^^ thefe kingdoms,"
— Ill, — 1 5, for " duly " read " dully."
— 144, — 13, for "our" read "out."
— i73> — I, read " 'tis not the Mafter."
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PR Selden, John 2339 Table talk S3A7
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