THE WORKS
ARCHBISHOP BRAMHALL.
THE
WORKS
OF THE
MOST REVEREND FATHER IN GOD,
JOHN BRAMHALL, D.D,
SOMETIME LORD ARCHBISHOP OF ARMAGH,
PRIMATE AND METROPOLITAN OF ALL IRELAND.
WITH
A LIFE OF THE AUTHOR,
AND A COLLECTION OF HIS LETTERS.
VOL. I.
OXFORD :
JOHN HENRY PARKER.
MDCCCXLII.
OXFORD :
PRINTED BY I. SHRIMPTON.
PREFACE.
THE Works of Archbishop Bramhall were collected, and
published at Dublin in a large folio volume, in 1674-7, a few
years after the author s death. In republishing them, the
order, in which they were then arranged, will be strictly
followed. They were divided in that arrangement, principally
according to the subjects treated, into four Parts. Of the
first of these, containing the Discourses against the Roman
ists, the present volume comprises the first two Discourses,
viz., the " Answer to La Milletiere," and the " Just Vin
dication of the Church of England from the Unjust Asper
sion of Criminal Schism." The paging of the same edition
is retained in the present upon the inner margin of the page.
Of the two Discourses now published, the text of the first
has been corrected by that of the earlier editions of the work
in 1653 and 1654. Neither of these, unfortunately, was
printed under the author s own superintendence ; the former
having been taken from a copy of his MS. procured surrepti
tiously, and the latter being merely a reprint by the same
parties, with one and one only correction by the author
himself a . They are, however, the only editions, to which any
weight can be attached ; since no steps were taken by Bram
hall himself, beyond a general acknowledgment and this one
correction, towards publishing an accurate copy of his tract ;
nor did the Dublin editor make use of any new materials
(if any were within his reach), but contented himself with
reprinting the former of the early editions, uncorrected.
A similar course has been followed with the second treatise
a See pp. xxvi., 45. 1. 32, 276. note u.
PREFACE.
in the volume. Of this, as of the Answer, there are two
separate editions, the original one of 1654 and another pub
lished in 1661 ; the former printed in London while the
author was in Holland, and confessedly full of errors ; the
latter, a mere reprint of this, corrected according to its
table of errata, by the same publisher. The two however
(so far as the Editor is aware) are the only separate editions
of the work, certainly the only editions to which any authority
belongs; the folio text being merely a (very careless) reprint
of the first of them, uncorrected, unless in obvious typogra
phical mistakes. In the present volume, the edition of 1654
has been followed, with the correction of course of its ac
knowledged errors.
The references 5 , in both treatises, have been verified and
corrected to the extent of the Editor s ability; and additional
references given wherever they seemed to be required. In a
few cases unfortunately, but those it is hoped of no material
consequence, he has failed in his search, either for the book
quoted, or for the quotation itself. Such failure is specified in
each case c ; and in the notes, and throughout, whatever has
been added is marked by brackets, unless in a few trifling
and obvious instances (e. g. the fuller writing of an abbre-
ed. Bened.
b Of the books, which are frequently
quoted, and of which there are various
editions, the following have been used,
unless it is in any case otherwise
specified.
S. Augustin.^
S. Ambrose
S. Hieron.
Gregor. M. )
S. Chrys., ed. Savil.
S. Cyprian, ed. Fell.
Tertullian, Paris. 1634.
Beda, Op., Colon. 1612.
Biblioth. Patrum, Colon. 1618.
Concil., ed. Labb. et Cossart, Paris.
1671.
Matth. Paris., ed. Wats., Lond. 1640.
Gul. Malmesb.
Rog. Hoveden.
Gerson., Op., Paris. 1521.
Antiq. Brit. Eccles., Hanov. 1650.
Foxe, Acts and Monum., Lond. 1684.
fap. Savil., Rer.
< Anglic. Script,,
* (Franc. 1601.
Clarendon, 4to. Oxf. 1 8 16.
Jer. Taylor, ed. Heber.
Field, Of the Church, Lond. 1628.
Collier, Ch. Hist, fol. Lond. 1708,
1714.
Platina, Colon. Agripp. 1626.
S. Clara, Lugdun. 1635.
Bellarm., Controv., Ingoldst. 1571.
c This has been overlooked in one
case, p. 142, note a. And a more serious
error has inadvertently been committed
in another note (p. 180, note b), in the
explanation given of the term " devo
lution." The word really means the
lapse of a right of patronage to a supe
rior, through neglect to present on the
part of an inferior, patron (DuMaillane,
Dictionn. du Droit Canonique) ; and
is distinguished in French law-lan
guage from the term devolut, which
signifies a similar lapse through inca
pacity in the presentee of an inferior
patron.
PREFACE.
viated name), where it appeared useless to disfigure the page
in order to point them out.
The quotations in the text of the treatises themselves,
where they are verbally exact or nearly so, are marked with
double commas ; where such exactness does not exist, with
single commas.
The orthography (with the exception of a few words d , where
it seemed worth while to preserve a peculiar or characteristic
mode of spelling) has been throughout modernised (excepting
of course in the Letters, mentioned below); as there appeared
to be little in it in general either to mark the style of the
author or to illustrate the history of the language.
The running titles, placed in the outer margin of the page,
have been filled up where they appeared deficient (the
additions being of course marked as such) ; so as to make
them, as far as possible, a complete abstract of the text. It
has seemed worth while, also, to follow the example of a late
editor of the Answer to La Milletiere in placing the titles in
question, with such additions from the text as were needful
to adapt them for the purpose, at the head of each treatise,
as a table of contents.
Prefixed to the treatises themselves will be found, 1, a Life
of the Author; 2, a Sermon preached at his funeral by
Jeremy Taylor ; 3, a Collection of his Letters, with a few
other original documents relating to him; and 4, a transla
tion of that part of La Milletiere s work (viz., the Dedicatory
Epistle at the commencement of it), to which the Answer
is a reply.
1. Of the Lives of Bramhall already existing, two only are
sufficiently short, to render them admissible into a volume
like the present; viz. those of Mr. Harris in his edition of
Sir James Ware, and of Mr. Morant in the Biographia
Britannica. The latter has been preferred, as being, on
a Viz. The words extrinsecal, intrinse- applmble, substract. In two other cases
cal, accessary, loth, stedfast, which are of a similar kind his mode of spelling
almost invariably spelt by Bramhall has not been retained, viz., connivence
as here marked. He uses also the words for connivance, and mesnage, mesna-
interessed, enoil, apostate (as a verb), gery, &c., for manage, managery, &c.
PREFACE.
the one hand, a more concise abstract of the verbose
and tedious Life prefixed by Dr. Vesey to the folio edition,
from which both are derived, and, on the other, as com
prising a larger range of information drawn from other
sources. It has been taken from the second edition of the
work, with only so much however of the additional notes
of that edition as seemed to be worth reprinting*. It is
necessary to add, since the contrary is the case in one in
stance , that it is upon the whole a very fair and adequate
representation of the original, from which it is abridged.
In republishing it, several errors have been corrected, and
considerable additions made; especially in the long foot
notes (which, for the sake of convenience, have been "here
thrown into an appendix 11 ), and most especially in the ac
count of BramhalPs Works. For some further and valuable
information (which will be found in note n. p. cxiii.) the
Editor begs to express his thanks to Dr. Todd, of Dublin,
who also, with very great kindness, revised the greater part
of the Life itself.
2. It has been thought worth while to reprint likewise the
Sermon preached at BramhalFs funeral by Jeremy Taylor,
as (besides its own merits) containing a sketch of the Primate s
life and character, entirely independent of that drawn by
Dr. Vesey. The Oration, pronounced upon the same occasion
by Dr. Loftus, would probably have been preferred, had the
Editor come into earlier possession of it, as being a tract of
great rarity, and more exclusively employed upon its subject,
whilst its information and line of thought are, equally with
Bishop Taylor s, independent of Dr. Vesey. The Sermon
however was in type before the Oration was procured. It is
exactly reprinted from the text of Bishop Heber, with the
addition of several, although far from all, of the references
that are wanting in his edition.
3. The Letters of Dr. Bramhall here collected are sixteen
in number, two of which are now for the first time printed.
J See p. iii. s See p. xx. text to note s.
See pp. xxxvi xxxviii. h pp. xvi xxxv,
PREFACE.
For one of these, No. XL, the Editor is indebted to the
kindness of the Provost and Fellows of Queen s College,
Oxford, whose Library possesses the MS. of Bishop Barlow
containing it; for the other, numbered XVIIL, he returns
his thanks to Mr. Upcott, in whose extensive collection of
letters the original is preserved 1 . The sources whence the
remaining letters have been taken will be found stated in
the notes upon each.
Three other documents are added to the Letters : viz., the
Will of Archbishop Bramhall, already printed in the preface
to the Bawdon Papers, whence it has been copied ; the public
and solemn recognition of his services by the Irish Convoca
tion of 1661, never before published, for which the Editor
has a second time to thank Dr. Todd ; and a Latin inscription
to his memory taken from the folio edition of his works.
4. The translation of the Epistle Dedicatory of La Mille-
tiere s Victoire de la Verite originally appeared with Bram-
halFs Answer in 1653 ; it was reprinted with considerable
alterations in the new edition of the Answer in 1654, and
again from that of 1653 in the folio edition of BramhalFs
Works. That in the present volume has been corrected by
the original French; and, although still far from elegant,
will be found, it is hoped, at all events, what it was not
before, accurate and intelligible. Marginal titles have also
been added: and the error k corrected, which has hitherto
prevailed in the spelling of the author s name. It must be
confessed, however, that the error in question appears to
have originated with Bramhall himself, and not with the
self-appointed editors of his Answer; since it occurs both in
the Just Vindication, and wherever in his other works he
has occasion to mention the name. The present Editor has
ventured to correct it in every case. For the convenience
1 There is a clause in this letter clearer." The words, between which
almost illegible. A different interpre- the question lies, are not so unlike as
tation to the one given in p. cxvii. has they may at first sight appear to be ; nor
been kindly supplied by Mr. Upcott does the context disagree with either,
as the more probable of the two, viz., k See p. cxli. note b.
"winds prove clearer," for " leases prove
PREFACE.
of the printer, the Epistle has been quoted in the margin of
the Answer by the marginal, i. e. the folio, paging.
It remains to say a few words of the works themselves
republished.
An examination of the authorities, upon which the argu
ments of the Just Vindication are founded, has proved most
satisfactorily the soundness of the author s positions. It has
at the same time brought to light the existence of a few un
important errors in minor points. In making this acknow
ledgment, let it in fairness be remembered, first, that for
most of these errors the printer is probably responsible and
not the author 1 , the handwriting of the latter being far from
easily legible, whilst (as has been seen) he was unable per
sonally to superintend the printing of his work ; and secondly,
that, where the author is himself responsible, he may still
reasonably claim indulgence for what are after all but a very
few errors, in a work written under the hardships and uncer
tainties of poverty and exile m , from recollections and notes
of past reading, with but scanty present opportunities of
access to books, and in an argument based upon a very large
and minute induction. Nor is there reason to do more than
thus advert to the subject, since each error has been noticed
as it occurs, whilst all taken together do not in the slightest
degree tend to invalidate even the minor branches of the
argument of the work. One or two isolated points may,
perhaps, be too strongly put; but the masterly and com
prehensive reasoning, the terse and emphatic statement,
the well-marked and consistent system, which are the great
merits of BramhalTs writings, rest untouched upon a broad
and firm foundation.
There is another and an unpleasant subject, referring more
particularly to the first of the two treatises, which, though
it may seem invidious to notice it, yet must not be passed
over in silence. It is impossible to read a sentence of Bram-
1 e. g. "four" for "forty," in p. 181. this edition.)
1. 20, (see p. 181, note g.) ; "520" for m See the Just Vindication, c. x. p.
"500" in p. 242. 1. 25, (corrected in 276 of this volume.
PREFACE.
hall s writings without feeling that he is in earnest. He is
indeed so entirely bent upon his purpose,, as to be neglectful
of every thing subordinate and supplemental to it. His lan
guage accordingly is always nervous and intelligible, but at
the same time, is not seldom unpolished, and occasionally
even inaccurate. It is but fair to Bramhall to prepare his
reader for occasional homeliness of language : and though,
one whose thoughts are so vigorous, might well be excused,
if on ordinary topics his expressions should be sometimes
harsh; there are subjects where such an excuse is hardly
sufficient. But the fault may be truly said to be, in a
degree, non hominis sed temporum.
In conclusion, the Editor has to express his regret, that
an accumulation of unforeseen and unavoidable occupations
has so long delayed the completion of an engagement, under
taken originally upon a very hasty calculation, and with a
very insufficient conception, of the difficulties of the task.
He is sorry to be compelled to acknowledge, that the delay
is far from being compensated by any corresponding im
provement in the volume itself.
March, 1842. A. W. H.
GENERAL TABLE
ARCHBISHOP BRAMHALL S WORKS.
PART I. CONTAINING THE DISCOURSES AGAINST THE ROMANISTS.
Present
edition.
VOL. I,
Dis
course.
VOL. II.
VOL. III.,
111.
Ill,
1. The Answer to La Milletiere, with
La Milletiere s Letter prefixed
2. A Just Vindication of the Church of
England from the Unjust Asper
sion of Criminal Schism
r3. A Replication to the Bishop of
Chalcedon s Survey of the Vin
dication of the Church of Eng
land from Criminous Schism
4. A Reply to S. W. s Refutation of
the Bishop of Derry s Just Vin
dication of the Church of Eng
land
5. Schism Guarded and Beaten back
upon the Right Owners
6. The Consecration of Protestant Bi
shops Vindicated, and the Fable of
the Nag s-Head Ordination refuted
First
Printed.
Hague, 1653.
Lond. 1654.
Lond. 1656.
Hague, 1658.
Hague, 165 8.
PART II. AGAINST THE ENGLISH SECTARIES.
A Fair Warning to take Heed of the
Scotch Discipline . . . Hague, 1649.
The Serpent-Salve, or, the Observator s "I
Grounds discussed . . . /
His Vindication of Himself and the
Episcopal Clergy from the Charge
of Popery, against Mr. Baxter . Lond. 1672,
GENERAL TABLE OF ARCHBISHOP BRAMHALL^S WORKS.
Present
edition.
Dis
course.
i.
VOL. IVX ii.
PART III. AGAINST MR. HOBBES.
A Defence of True Liberty from ante
cedent and extrinsecal Necessity .
Castigations of Mr. Hobbes his Ani.
madversions, &c.
The Catching of the Leviathan .
First
Printed.
Lond. 1655.
Lond. 165|.
Lond. 1658.
VOL. V.
PART IV. ON MISCELLANEOUS SUBJECTS.
i. A Treatise concerning the Sabbath and
the Lord s Day
ii. A Sermon on 2 Sam. x. 12, before the
Marquis of Newcastle, being ready
to meet the Scotch Army; Jan.
28, 164f .
iii. A Sermon on Ps. cxxvi. 7, April 23,
1661, being the day of his
Majesty s Coronation; with two
Speeches in the House of Peers .
iv. A Sermon on Prov. xxviii. 13, before
the Honourable House of Com
mons, at their solemn receiving the
Sacrament, in St. Patrick s, Dublin,
Jan. 16, 1661 ....
v. Of Persons dying without Baptism
vi. An Answer to two Papers, of Protest
ants Ordination, &c. .
vii. An Answer to S. N. s Objections against
Protestants Ordination
In folio edit.
York, 1643.
Dubl. 1661.
Dubl. 1661.
In folio edit.
In folio edit.
In folio edit.
CONTENTS OF YOL, I.
Page
Life of Archbishop Bramhall ...... i
Sermon preached at the Funeral of Archbishop Bramhall,
by Bishop Taylor .... xxxix
Letters &c. of Archbishop Bramhall Ixxvii
Dedicatory Epistle of La Milletiere s Victory of Truth. . cxix
Answer to the Epistle of M. de La Milletiere. Part i. Dis
course i. ..... i
Just Vindication of the Church of England from the Unjust
Aspersion of Criminal Schism. Part i. Discourse ii. 83
THE LETTERS &c. OF DR. BRAMHALL, PRINTED IN THE
PRESENT VOLUME.
I. From Dr. Bramhall to Laud (then) Bishop of
London.
II. From the Bishop of Derry to Lord Deputy
Wentworth
III. From the same to Archbishop Spottiswood .
IV. From the same to Dr. Coote, Dean of Down .
V. From the same to his wife, Mrs. Bramhall
VI. From the same to the Lord Primate (Ussher)
VII. From the same to King Charles II.
VIII. From the same to his Son, under the name
of Mr. John Pierson
IX. From the same to the same
X. From the same to the Archbishop of Armagh
(Ussher)
XI. From the same to Dr. Bernard
XII. From the same to Mrs. Bramhall .
XIII. The Petition of the Clergy of Ireland to
Charles II.
XIV. From the Lord Primate to Sir Edward
Nicholas
XV. From the same to King Charles II.
XVI. The last Will and Testament of Archbishop
Bramhall
XVII. Public and Solemn Recognition of Arch
bishop Bramhall s Services by the Irish Convo
cation of 1661
XVIII. From the Bishop of Derry to Sir Richard
Browne .
XIX. tf firoiJ.fr]tJ.6vV{Jia, in memory of Archbishop
Bramhall.
Dubl. Castle, Aug. 10. 1633
Fawne, . . . May 30. 1635
Glasslough, . Aug. 13. 1637
(Ireland.) . . Jan. 27. 1639
(Dublin.) . March 12. 164
(Ireland) . . April 26. 1641
Hague, . . . Jan.l
(Abroad.) . . Feb. fflfgf
Antwerpe, . . May . 1654
(Abroad.) . . July 20. 1654
(The Hague, . . about 1658)
London, . . . July 7. 1660
Dublin, . . . Dec. 5. 1660
Dublin, . . . July 10. 1661
(Dublin, 1661)
Jan. 5. 166f
July 3. 1661
(Abroad.) . . June 30. 1646
THE LIFE
OF
THE MOST REVEREND FATHER IN GOD
JOHN
LORD ARCHBISHOP OF ARMAGH, AND PRIMATE OF ALL IRELAND.
[TAKEN FROM THE SECOND EDITION OF THE BIOGRAPHIA BRITANNICA.]
BRAMUALL.
LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP BRAMHALL.
BRAMHALL (JOHN), Archbishop of Armagh in the seven
teenth century, was born at Pontefract in Yorkshire, about
the year 1593% being descended from " an ancient and genteel
family b [A] ." He received his first education in the place of his
birth ; and when he was qualified for the University, was sent
to Sidney College in Cambridge, where he was admitted Fe
bruary the 21st, 1608 C , and put under the care of Mr. Hulet d [B].
[The principal authorities for Abp. BramhalPs Life are, 1. the Life prefixed to
his works by Bp. Vesey (see note b below) ; 2. the Funeral Sermon by Jer. Taylor, re
printed in the present volume ; 3. the short article in Sir James Ware s Comment,
de Prcesul. Hiberniae ; the additions in Harris s edition of Ware being taken almost
entirely from Bp. Vesey. There is also a Funeral Oration in Latin, published at
Dublin in 1663 by Dr. Dudley Loftus, and containing a sketch of the Bishop s life,
but which the present Editor has been unable to see. Vesey and Taylor have sup
plied the materials for most of the later memoirs of Bramhall, that for instance
in the Biographie Universelle being taken entirely from the former, and those in
Barksdale s Remembrancer, Lloyd s Loyal Martyrs, &c. entirely from the latter.
The article in the Biographia Britannica, here reprinted, is for the most part an
abridgment, and in the very words of the original, of Dr. Vesey s Life, but with
the information supplied by Sir James Ware and from other sources Bp. Taylor
excepted, of whose sermon the writer does not seem to have been aware, inter
woven in the proper places. Some further additions have been made in the pre
sent reprint, principally from the Rawdon Papers (Letters, &c. to and from Abp
Bramhall, preserved in the family of the Marquis of Hastings, whose ancestors
were connected with the Archbishop by marriage, and printed in 1819 by the
Rev. Edw. Berwick, his Lordship s Chaplain). For the references to Dr. Todd s
Life of Milton, to the Life of Dean Barwick, and to Grainger s Biograph. History,
the Editor is indebted to the Life of Bramhall in Chalmers.]
a [Dr. Bramhall was approaching born so early as 1593, would have been
to 70 years of age in January 166, of course, in the last named year, not
when he made his Avill (see it among less but more than the required age.
his Letters, &c. in the present volume, See Mant as above quoted.]
No. XV.); which would agree with the b [Athanasius Hibernicus, or] The
year assigned for his birth in the text : Life of John Lord Archbishop of Ard-
yet on the other hand it would appear to magh, prefixed to his Works, edit. 1677,
follow from an expression used by Abp. fol., by John [Vesey], Bishop of Lyme-
Laud (as quoted by Mant, Ch. of Ireland, rick, p. 2. It is not paged,
eh. iv. 4. pp. 471, 472) that the date c From Dr. Sherman s Tabula? Sid-
there given was rather too early. For a neianae.
rule had been laid down by Laud in 1633 a Sir James Ware s Works, edit,
(mentioned by him in a letter to Strafford 1739, under the Life of our Primate,
dated Oct. 14. in that year, in the Straff. [This Mr. Hulet is probably the same
Papers), that no one should thenceforth with the Mr. Hewlett mentioned by
be consecrated a Bishop, who should be Abp. Laud in a letter to Bp. Bramhall,
at the time less than forty years of age ; dated Aug. 11. 1638 (Rawd. Papers,
of which rule he apologizes for his own No. xix), as being then designed to
violation in the case of Bramhall (whom marry a kinswoman of the Archbishop,
he had recommended) May 14, 1634 Mr. Hulet " was then in Ireland, where
(Letter to Strafford of that date, in he was well provided for by his pupil,
Straff. Papers) : whereas Bramhall, if according to the account given by Dr.
b 2
IV LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP BRAMHALL.
He took the degree of Bachelor of Arts in the year 1612, and
that of Master in 1616 e . After taking the latter, he quitted
the University, and entering into Holy Orders, had a living
given him in the city of York f . He was, likewise, presented
to the rectory of Elvington, or Eterington, in Yorkshire, by
Mr. Wandesford, afterwards Master of the Ilolls, and some
time Lord Deputy of Ireland. About the same time he mar
ried a clergyman s widow, of the [Halleyg] family, an agreeable
woman, and of a good fortune, with whom he had a valuable
"library, left by her former husband; by which he was so
wedded to his studies, that all the temptations of a new-
married life could not divorce him from them, or give any
intermission to his duty of constant preaching." This he
performed with so much assiduity, prudence, and gravity,
that " he became as eminent in the Church, as before in the
University, and greatly beloved by all degrees of menV In
the year 1623, he had two public disputations at North-
Allerton, with a secular priest and a Jesuit [C], which gained
him great reputation, and so recommended him in particular
to the Archbishop of York s 1 esteem, that he made him his
chaplain, and took him into his confidence. During the life
of the Archbishop, he was made prebendary of York [D] , and
after of Ripon ; at which last place he went and resided after
the Archbishop s death (which happened in 1628 [March,
162JJ), "and conducted most of the concernments of that
church in the quality of Sub-Dean." Here [ f he shewed his
exceeding great love to his flock, in staying among them in
the time of a most contagious and destructive pestilence;
visiting them in their houses, baptizing their children, and
doing all other offices of his ministry 15 . Here too] he preached
constantly for several years, and became so eminent, not only
for his abilities in the pulpit, but also for his knowledge in
the laws, that he was frequently chosen arbitrator between
contending parties 1 ; and by that, and his good behaviour
Lloyd in his book of Worthies" (Rawd. (Rawd. Papers, pp. 12, &c.). It is mis-
Papers, p. 51. note). See also Jer. spelt by the writer in the Biographia
Taylor s Fun. Serm.j Britannica, who misunderstood Dr. Ve-
e From the Grace-book of Sidney- sey s expression.}
College. h Life, pp. 2, 3.
f Life, &c. as above. Toby Matthews.
e [That this was the real name of the k [Life, &c. p. 4.]
family into which Dr. Bramhall mar- l [The talents for business, for which
ried, appears from the will of his widow Bramhall was conspicuous, seem to
LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP BRAMHALL. V
in all other respects, he obtained so much honour and in
terest, that there was scarcely any public transaction over
which he had not a considerable influence ; " even in the
elections for members of Parliament, such as he named at
Ripon, and other corporations, carrying the vote and favour
of the people." He was also appointed one of his Majesty s
High Commissioners; in which office he was "very curious
in the disquisition of all causes," and by some was accounted
severe : but, however rough his speech might sometimes be,
his dealings were generally smooth and gentle m . In the year
1623 he took the degree of Bachelor, and in 1630 that of
Doctor, in Divinity n [E.] Soon after, he was invited to Ireland
by the Lord Viscount Wentworth, Deputy of that kingdom,
and Sir Christopher Wandesford, Master of the Rolls : and
he accepted of their invitation ; though he had a prospect of
being promoted in his native country [, "being in as good
esteem with Archbishop Neil, then lately, in the beginning
of 1632, removed from Winton to York, as he had been with
all his predecessors, Matthews, Mountain, and Harsnett" ],
and was offered ["besides by some noblemen" p ] to be made
one of the King s Chaplains in Ordinary q . Having therefore
have been constantly called into requi- College, as above,
sition by his friends. During his resi- [Life, &c. p. 7.]
dence in Ireland as Bp. of Derry, not p [Life, &c. ibid.]
to mention his public employment in q [The account given by Bp. Vesey
every Church commission and visita- (Life, &c. pp. 6, 7.) of the motives of
tion, &c., we find him also privately and Di\ Bramhall in accepting Lord Went-
repeatedly employed by the Lord De- worth s invitation, is so creditable to
puty Wentworth (Ld. Straiibrd) in his him, that it would be injustice to his
own family affairs and those of his memory to omit it. The prospects of
brother-in-law and sister (Rawd. Papers, preferment above-mentioned are there
Nos. v. vi. vii. x. xi. xvi. xxxiii.) : when spoken of as pressed upon Bramhall by
in exile, again, during the Rebellion, it his friends, while he himself, acknow-
was to his care that the (then) Marquis ledging " the great force of what they
of Ormond entrusted the management said," declared, that "they might thence
of his property for the benefit of the see that he consulted not with flesh
Marchioness, then also abroad (Rawd. and blood; and solemnly protested in
Papers, No. xxxviii, letter from the Mar- the presence of God, that nothing but an
chioness to Bramhall, Bramhall s let- unmingled zeal to serve God and the
ters in this vol., No. VII.) : and, what King in recovering the rights of an cp-
would be curious enough, if it were not pressed Church, which he understood
painful to see a Bishop reduced to so the Lord Deputy had laid, to heart,
low an employment, it was he, during could bias him againrt the inclinations
the same period, who was selected by he had to gratify so many dear and
Charles II. (as we shall see below), noble friends; upon which declaration
while the Dutch and English were at they all desisted from any further fit-
war in 1-6 33, to act as his prize-master tempt, as giving him up to the Will of
at Flushing.] God, which they discerned overruled
11 Life, &c. pp. 4, 5. him in this matter. ]
From the Grace-book of Sidney
VI LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP BRAMHALL.
resigned all his Church preferments in England r , he went
over into Ireland in the year 1633 s ; and, a little while after,
obtained the Archdeaconry of Meath, the best in that king
dom. " The first public service he was employed in, was a
regal visitation, in which he was either one of the King s
Commissioners with Baron Hilton, Judge of the Prerogative,
or such a co-adjutor that all was governed by his directions."
In this visitation [, of which he gives an account to Archbishop
Laud in a letter dated* Dublin, August 10th, 1633,] he found
f the revenues of the Church miserably wasted, the discipline
scandalously despised, and the ministers but meanly pro
vided. The Bishoprics, in particular, " were wretchedly
dilapidated by fee-farms, and long leases at small rents" [F].
But he applied, in process of time, proper remedies to these
several evils. He likewise endeavoured to destroy "some
opinions of general credit, that he judged very prejudicial to a
good life[G], which yet were reverenced almost like articles of
Faith u ." In the year 1634, he was promoted to the Bishopric
of Londonderry, and consecrated the sixteenth [it should be
twenty-sixtii} of May, in the chapel of the Castle of Dublin v .
While he enjoyed this See, he very much improved it, not
only in advancing the rents, but also in recovering lands x
detained from his predecessors ; by which means he doubled
the yearly profits of that Bishopric *. But the greatest service
r [This is not strictly correct. The Bramhall in 1638 ; Rawdon Papers,
letter of Laud dated May 14, 1634, Nos. xviii. xix.]
which was quoted in note a, speaks of u Life, &c. pp. 7, 8,9.
English preferment still at that time v Sir James Ware, uhi supra. [Ac-
retained by Bramhall ; and which, upon cording to Harris (as quoted above,
his promotion to the See of Derry, note s), Bramhall held the prebend of
Laud considered him bound to sur- Dunlavan in the Cathedral of St.
render: and it appears from Browne Patrick s, Dublin, in commendam
Willis (Survey of the Cathedr. of York, while Bp. of Derry; but this appears
&c. p. 145.), that the preferment al- from the visitation books of that Cathe-
luded to was his prebendal stall at dral to be an error, Colborne, Bp. of
York, which he did not vacate until Kildare (E pus Dar., not E pus Der.)
Aug. 6. 1634.] having held that prebend from 1618
s [He "was admitted Treasurer of until after 1648 (Mason s St. Patrick s,
Christ Church Dublin, Sept. 3, 1633, Notes, p. Ixxxi.).]
by virtue of the King s patent dated the * As Termin [see Letters, No. II.],
30th of the preceding month" (Harris Colahy, &c. [and Desart Martin, which
in his edit, of Ware, Art. on Bramh. he retrieved to its proper use as mensal
among the Bps. of Derry).] lands, and made a park there for the
t [Letters, No. I. A similar ac- Bishops of the diocese. Life, &c. p.
count in 1637, upon Bramhall s visit 11.]
to London, is mentioned by Dr. Vesey. y Life, &c. as above, pp. 10, 11.
See also the two letters of Laud to
LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP BRAMHALL. VI I
he did the Church of Ireland, was, by getting, with the Lord
Deputy s assistance, several Acts passed, in the Parliament
which met in that kingdom, July 14, 1634 [H], In pursuance
of these Acts, he abolished the fee-farms that were charged on
church lands, and obtained compositions for the rent, instead
of the small reserved rents. He, likewise, was very instru
mental in getting such impropriations as remained in the
Crown, vested by King Charles I. on the several incumbents,
after the expiration of the leases. Some he recovered by law,
and persuaded many persons possessed of tithes to restore
them, or sufficiently to endow the vicarages, or to grant a
proper salary at least to the curates. Moreover, he himself
purchased abundance of impropriations, either with his own
money, or by large remittances from England 2 ; by money
given by his Majesty to pious uses ; by borrowing large sumg,
and securing them out of the issues of the impropriations he
bought ; by voluntary contributions ; and by a share of the
goods of persons dying intestate. te By these, and other
means, he regained to the Church, in the space of four years,
thirty or forty thousand pounds a-year a ." In the Convocation
that met at the same time, he prevailed upon the Church of
Ireland to be united in the same Faith with the Church of
England [I], by embracing the XXXIX Articles of Religion
agreed upon in the Convocation holden at London in the
year 1562. He would fain also have got the English Canons
established in Ireland: but, notwithstanding his utmost en
deavours, he could obtain no more [through a jealous care
fulness on the part of many among his fellow Bishops, and
especially of the Primate, Usher, for the liberties of the
Church of Ireland b ,] than that such of our canons " as were fit
to be transplanted among the Irish should be removed thither,
and others new framed, and added to them." Accordingly, a
book of canons was compiled, chiefly by our Bishop, and
having passed in Convocation, received the royal confirma
tion . For all these services, he met, from several quarters,
with a great deal of detraction and envy ; and, according to
z [ Abp. Laud designed 40,000 for his Funeral Sermon.]
this purpose out of his own purse. Life, b [Life, &c. as above, p. 19.]
&c. as above, p. 15.] c [See a full account of this second
a Ibid. pp. 14, Id, 16. [30,000 is part of the Bishop s labours in Mant s
the sum mentioned by Jer. Taylor in Ch. of Ireland, ch. vii. 5. pp. 495, &c.|
Vlll LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP BRAMHALL.
the fashion of those times, was charged with Arminianism
and Popery : but " he was not of a spirit to be terrified from
what he thought his duty with noise and ill words d ." " Having
thus, for a considerable time, laboured for the good of others,
he thought it time to make some provision for his own family.
In order to it, he took a journey to England in 1637," and
was received with much respect by persons of the highest
quality, particularly in his native county [, and by his former
flocks at Ripon and at York]. But when he came to London,
he was surprised with the news of an information exhibited
against him in the Star Chamber [K], of which however he soon
cleared himself. After having received much honour from
King Charles I. and many civilities from Archbishop Laud,
and other great persons, he returned to Ireland 6 ; and "with
s;x thousand pounds 1 , for which he sold his estate in England
(but brought over at several times), he purchased another of
good value, and began a plantation at Omagh, in the county
of Tyrone." But the distractions in that kingdom hindered
him from bringing it to perfection 8 ; for he was not without
his share in the troubles that brought Ireland to the brink of
destruction. On the fourth of March 1640-41, articles of
high treason against him, and several of the Prime Ministers
of State 11 , were exhibited by the House of Commons to the
House of Lords in Ireland ; wherein they were charged
with having " conspired together to subvert the fundamental
laws and government of that kingdom," and to "introduce an
arbitrary and tyrannical government ;" to have ( pronounced
many false, unjust, and erroneous judgments, against law,
which had occasioned divers seditions and rebellions ; and to
have " laboured to subvert the rights of Parliament, and the
d Life, &c. as above, .pp. 17, 18, 19, g Life, &c. as above, pp. 21, 22.
20. " Never fear when the cause is just, h Viz. Sir Rich. Bolton, Knt, Lord
was one of his usual sayings." Ibid. Chancellor of Ireland ; Sir Gerard
P- 20. Lowther, Knt, Chief Justice of the
e [In February, 163f. See the letter Common Picas; and Sir George Rad-
of Abp. Laud to Bramhall, February eliffe, Knt. [This impeachment was
17. 163|. (Rawd. Papers, No. xviii). laid in Ireland at the same time that
He was in London in November, 1637, the Earl of Strafford was impeached in
having left Ireland in the latter part of England ; in order, probably, as indeed
the previous September (from letters was said (Nalson, vol. ii. p. 8.) in the
in Rawd. Papers, pp. 41, 42).] case of Sir G. Radcliffe, that the Earl
f [Exaggerated into 30,000 by Pym might be deprived of the assistance of
in opening the charges against the Earl his friends and confidents.]
of Strafford. Nalson, vol. ii. p. 43.]
LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP BRAMHALL. IX
ancient course of Parliamentary proceedings 1 ." The Bishop
was then at Londonderry, when he received intelligence of this
accusation, on the sixth of March. " All his friends wrote to
him to decline the trial, but he thought it dishonourable to
fly/ On the contrary, he repaired to Dublin, and shewed
himself the next day in the Parliament house, where his ene
mies stood staring upon him for awhile, and then made him
a close prisoner k . But though all persons were encouraged
to contribute to his ruin ! , they found little to object, but his
endeavours to retrieve the ancient patrimony of the Church.
Notwithstanding they examined all his actions with severity,
they could not fix the least tincture of private advantage on
him ; none of his relations, family, or friends, being one far
thing the richer for any thing he had recovered to the Church.
Not being able, therefore, to make any thing good on that
head, they accused him of having attempted " to subvert the
fundamental laws." In this distress he wrote to the Primate
Usher, then in England, for his advice and comfort [L] ; who
mediated so effectually in his behalf with the King, that his
Majesty sent a letter over to Ireland to stop proceedings
against Bishop Bramhall : but this letter was very slowly
obeyed. However, the Bishop was c at length restored to
liberty, but without any public acquittal, the charge lying
still dormant against him, to be awakened when his enemies
pleased" 1 . Shortly after his return to Londonderry, Sir
Phelim O Neil contrived his ruin in the following manner:
"he directed a letter to him, wherein he desired, f that, ac
cording to their articles, such a gate of the city should be
delivered to him, expecting that the Scots in the place
would, upon the discovery, become his executioners." But
the person who was to manage the matter, ran away with the
letter. " Though this design took no place, the Bishop found
no safety there. The city daily filling with discontented
persons, out of Scotland, he began to grow afraid they
would deliver him up. One night they turned a cannon
against his house to affront him; upon which, being per
suaded by his friends to look on that as a warning, he took
See the Articles at length, printed ! [ There were above 200 petitions
in 1611, 4to. [and in Rushworth and put in against him. Bp. Taylor, Fun.
Nalson.] Serm.]
t [See Letters, No. V.] m Life, &c, as above, pp. 24, 25, 26.
X LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP BRAMHALL.
their advice, and privately embarked for England." He went
into Yorkshire 11 , "where, by his example, his frequent ex
hortations from the pulpit, his incessant labours with the
gentry, and his prudent advices to the Marquis of Newcastle,
he put great life into the King s affairs." Moreover, he sent
a considerable present of plate to his Majesty at Nottingham,
and composed some things in favour of the Royal cause, of
which we shall give an account below?. " Thus he continued
active all the time of his being in England ;" that is, till the
unfortunate battle of Marston Moor [July 2, 1644] : but, after
that, the King s affairs being entirely grown desperate, the
Bishop embarked with [the Marquis of Newcastle and] several
[other] persons of distinction, and landed at Hamburgh, July
8, 1644 q [M]. Thence he went to Brussels, "where he con
tinued for the most part till the year 1648, with Sir Henry
de Vic, the King s Resident, preaching constantly every
Sunday, and frequently administering the Sacrament [and
confirming such as desired it]. The English merchants of
Antwerp, ten leagues thence, used to be monthly of his
audience and communion, and were his best benefactors."
In the year 1648, he returned into Ireland; and after having
undergone several dangers and difficulties [N], narrowly
escaped thence in a little bark r [O]. On his arrival in fo
reign parts, Providence supplied him with a considerable sum
of money, of which he greatly stood in need 5 ; for having
had seven hundred pounds long due to him, for salmon
caught in the river Bann 1 and sent abroad, which debt he
looked upon as lost, he was now so fortunate as to recover
n [He preached at York, Jan. 28, 1645 (Works, p. 984. fol. edit.) ; and at
164|. before the M. of Newcastle. See Paris in the autumn of that year (where
his Sermon, Works, Part iv. Discourse he met with Hobhes ; see below note
ii.] U).]
[He refused at the same time a sum r [He was at Rotterdam again Oct. 1,
of ^500 offered him by the M. of New- 1648. (Note of the M. of Newcastle to
castle out of the public stock. Life, &c. him of that date, in Rawd. Papers, p.
p. 27.] 93.).]
p Ibid. pp. 26, 27. See below, note Life, &c. pp. 27, 28.
[U]. It was then he wrote " Serpent r Where there is a fine Salmon fishery
Salve." [But the writer in the Biogr. belonging to the Bishop of London-
Britann. is wrong in saying that he derry [See Letters, Nos. II. and IX.].
wrote "Fair Warning" at this time. The Bishop had also some relief from
It was not written until 1649.] the Lord Scudamore ; see View of the
q Historical Recollections, &c. by I. Churches of Door, &c. Lond. 1727,
Rushworth, vol. v. edit. 1721, p. 637. 4to. by Mr. Gibson, p. 110.
[Bramhall was at Brussels, June 20,
LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP BRAMHALL.
XL
it; which proved a seasonable relief both to him and to
many royalists that partook of his generosity". During this
second time of his being abroad, ( he had many disputes
about religion with the learned of all nations, sometimes
occasionally, and at other times by appointment and formal
challenge ; and wrote several things in defence of the Church
of England x . He, likewise, purposed to draw a parallel be
tween the liturgy of the Church of England, and the public
forms of the Protestant Churches ; and " for that end de
signed a journey into Spain ;" " but he met with an unex
pected diversion in his first day s journey into that king
dom" y [P]. At the same time, there was a great friendship
and correspondence between him and the Marquis of Mon-
trose 7 , whose cause he often recommended to the favour and
justice of foreign princes. Upon the restoration of the Church
and monarchy, Bishop Bramhall returned to England a ; and
was, from the first, designed for some higher promotion.
u [Dr. Bramhall was reduced for a
short time, as has been hinted already,
to act as prize-master, and even to sell
the prizes in person, for Charles II.,
during the war between the English
Commonwealth and the Dutch ; for
which purpose he resided at Flushing
in the latter part of 1653 (Letters of in
telligence from Holland, in Sept., Oct.,
and Nov., 1653, in Thurloe s State
Papers, vol. i. pp. 464, 514, 585, 586).
He complains himself of the hardships
and indignities to which he and his
brother exiles were exposed, in his
"Just Vindication, &c." ch. x. (Works,
p. 136. fol. edit.), published in 1654.
It appears (from his Letters; see also
Thurloe s State Papers, vol. ii. p. 601.
vol. v. p. 645) that he resided princi
pally, during this second banishment,
in Holland, but in a very unsettled
condition ; now at the Hague, now at
Antwerp, now at Aken (Aix la Cha-
pelle), and again at Bruges, at Utrecht,
(Rawd. Papers, p. 103) or at Brussels
(Life of Dean Barwick, p. 424. Eng.
edit.), as circumstances compelled. He
was at Paris Dec. 30, 1651 (Contempor.
.Tourn, quoted by Bray, Mem. of Evelyn,
vol. v. p. 275. 8vo. edit.), at the court
of Charles II. (then still acknowledged
by the French government), at which
time and place he probably wrote his
Answer to La Milletiere (see below,
note U).]
x [The whole of his discourses against
the Roman Catholics and against
Hobbes, together with the two against
Baxter and upon the Sabbath Day,
were written within this period, i. e. be
tween 1649 and 1660.] See below,
note [U] ; and Life, pp. 29, &c. [and
Bramhall s own account of his la
bours for the English Church at this
time in his " Vindication of Episcop.
Clergy," c. v., Works, p. 524. fol. edit.]
y Life, &c. p. 33. and ["Serpent Salve,"
c. xii.] Works, p. 511. [fol. edit. See
also Letters, No. VIII., and the addi
tional remarks at the end of note U.]
z Life, &c.p. 29. [The Bishop s eldest
daughter (as will be seen below, p. xiii.)
was married subsequently to Sir James
Graham, whose father the Earl of Mon-
teith was nearly related to the great
Marquis.]
a In October, 1660 (Public Intelli
gence, 4to.). [Bramhall was in London
more than two months before the time
here assigned, and in all probability came
over from Holland immediately upon
the Restoration. He writes to his wife
from London, July 7, 1660, having then
already passed more than a fortnight
there (Letters, No. XII.) ; and Evelyn
speaks of " saluting his old friend, the
Abp. of Armagh, formerly of London
derry," in London, Jiily 28, of the Fame
year (Diary under that date).]
Xll LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP BRAMIIALL.
Most people imagined it would be the Archbishopric of
York ; but at last he was appointed Archbishop of Armagh,
Primate and Metropolitan of all Ireland b [Q], to which he
was translated the 18th of January 1660-61 c . Not long
after, he consecrated, in one day, Dr. Margetson, Archbishop
of Dublin ; Dr. Pullen, of Tuam ; and the following " ten
Bishops ; Dr. Boyle, Bishop of Cork ; Dr. Parker, of Elfin ;
Dr. Jeremy Taylor, of Down ; Syng, of Lymerick ; Price, of
Leighlin ; Baker, of Waterford ; Wild, of Derry ; Lessly, of
Dromore; Worth, of Killalow; and Hall, of Killala." The
ceremony " was performed in the cathedral church of St.
Patrick, Dublin, [the sermon being preached by the Bishop
of Down, and] the Lords Justices and Council attending d ."
In this same year he visited his diocese, where he found great
disorder ; some having committed horrible outrages, and
many imbibed very strong prejudices, " both against his
person, and the doctrine and discipline of the Church: but
by lenity and reproof, by argument and persuasion, by long-
suffering [and doctrine], he gained upon them even beyond
his own expectation. He used to say, men must have some
time to return to their wits, that had been so long out of
them :" therefore, by his prudence and moderation he greatly
softened the spirit of opposition, and effectually obtained the
point he aimed at 6 [R]. As he was, by his place, President
of the Convocation which met the 8th of May 1661, so he
was also, for his merit, chosen Speaker of the House of
Lords, in the Parliament which met at the same time f [S].
And so great a value had both Houses for him, that they ap
pointed committees to examine what was upon record in
their books concerning him and the Earl of Strafford, and
ordered the charges against them to be torn out, which was
accordingly done 8 . In this Parliament "many advantages
b Life, &c. p. 34. quoted by Mant (Ch. of Ireland, ch. ix.
Sir James Ware s Works, as above. 2. p. 631) from Orrery s State Papers
d Ware s Works, in the Lives of those (vol. i. p. 34) ; and another Letter of
respective Prelates ; and Life, as above, Lord Orrery to Bramhall himself in the
p. 35. [and Jer. Taylor s Consecration Rawd. Papers (No. Iviii.),]
Sermon, Works, vol. vi. pp. 301, &c. g [ The Convocation also acknow-
See also the circumstantial account of ledged his services in an instrument,
the ceremony in Mason s St. Patrick s designed to be made public, but uu-
(pp. 192194).] happily mislaid or lost. Life, &c. p.
Life, &c. as above, pp, 35, 36. 37. See also Jer. Taylor s Funeral
f [See the Letter of Lord Orrery Sermon.]
LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP BRAMHALL. XI 11
were procured, and more designed, for the Church, in which
Archbishop Bramhall was very industrious. Several of the
Bishops obtained their augmentations through his inter
cession; as likewise the inferior clergy the forfeited impro-
priate tithes ; and the whole Church all the advantageous
clauses in the acts of settlement and explanation" [, f although
she did not reap the benefit of them to the full extent that
was intended 11 ]. "There were two bills, for the passing of
which he took great pains, but was defeated in both :" one
was, " for making the ti thing-table of Ulster the rule for
the whole kingdom:" the other, "for enabling the Bishops
to make leases for sixty years V About this time he had a
violent sickness^ being the second fit of a palsy k , which was
very near putting an end to his life ; but he recovered.
Before his death, he was intent upon a royal visitation, in
order to the correction of some disorders he had observed,
and the better settlement of ministers upon their cures," by
a more convenient distribution or union of parishes, and the
building of churches 1 : but he could not put this, and some
other designs he had formed, in execution. A little before
his death he visited his diocese, and having provided for
the repair of his cathedral, and other affairs suitable to his
pastoral office, he returned to Dublin about the middle of
May 1663. The latter end of the month following, he was
seized with the third fit of the palsy [T], which quickly put
an end to his life. By his wife mentioned above, he had
four children, a son and three daughters. The son, Sir Thomas
Bramhall, Bart, married the daughter of Sir Paul Davys,
Knt. Clerk of the Council, and died without issue. Of the
daughters ; the eldest [Isabella] was married [not long before
her father s death] to Sir James Graham, son to the Earl of
Monteith ; the second [Jane] to Alderman [Toxteath] of Drog-
heda, and the third [Anne] to Standish [Hartstong], Esq.,
h [Harris in his edition of Ware, from XV). He is spoken of as " old and in-
Vesey s Life.] firm," and " unable to last long," in a
1 Life, &c. as above, pp. 37, 38. [See letter of Dean Barwick to Ld. Claren-
the letter and petition upon the subject, don, 14th September, 1659. Life of
Letters, No. XIII.] Barwick, p. 439. Eng. Edit.]
k [Apparently in January 1G6, at l Life, &c. p. 39.
which time he made his will (Jer. Tay- m [June 25, in the 70th year of his
lor s Fun. Serin., and the will itself age (Ware, as before quoted).]
among Bramhall s Letters, &c. No.
XIV LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP BRAMHALL.
[subsequently to the Archbishop s decease 11 ] . Among otherbene-
factions, the Archbishop left a legacy of five hundred pounds
for the repair of the Cathedral of Armagh, and St. Peter s at
Drogheda . We shall give an account of his works in the
note [U], With regard to his person and character; he was
" of a middle stature and active, but his mien and presence
not altogether so great as his endowments of mind. His
complexion was highly sanguine, pretty deeply tinctured
with choler, which in his declining years became predomi
nant, and would sometimes overflow, not without some
tartness of expression, but it proceeded no farther P." As " he
was a great lover of plain-dealing and plain-speaking i," "so
his conversation was free and familiar, patient of any thing in
discourse but obstinacy; his speech ready and intelligible,
smooth and strong, free from affectation of phrase or fancy,
saying, it was a boyish sport to hunt for words, and argued a
penury of matter, which would always find expression for
itself. His understanding was very good, and greatly im
proved by labour and study." " As a scholar, his excellency
lay in the rational and argumentative part of learning." He
was, also, well acquainted " with ecclesiastical and other
histories; and in the pulpit an excellent persuasive orator."
He was a firm friend to the Church of England 1 ", " bold in the
defence of it, and patient in suffering for it ; yet he was very
far from any thing like bigotry. He had a great allowance
and charity for men of different persuasions, looking upon
those Churches as in a tottering condition that stood upon
nice opinions." Accordingly, he made a " distinction be
tween articles necessary for peace and order, and those that
n Life, &c. p. 39. [and the Abp. s of Hastings, Sir Arthur Rawdon, the
will, as before referred to. The names grand-father of the first Earl of Moira
of the husbands of the Abp. s younger (and the nephew and only representative
daughters are spelt inaccurately by the of the last Earl of Conway), having mar-
writer in the Biogr. Britann. They are ried Miss Helen Graham (Preface to
here corrected from Dr. Vesey s Life. Rawdon Papers. Collins Peerage by
Mr. Hartstong " was one of the Barons Sir Egert. Brydges, vol. vi. p. 684, and
of the Exchequer;" and the Sir James note).]
Graham, who married the eldest daugh- Life, &c. pp. 39, 42, 43. [See also
ter, was " the third and youngest son of the Abp. s will, as above referred to.]
William, Earl of Monteith and Airth," p Life, &c. as above, p. 43.
and by his daughter Helen, the only q Ibid. p. 21.
issue of his marriage with Miss Bram- r [" Tenacious of the Catholic Tradi-
hall, became the maternal ancestor of tion," are Bp. Vesey s words.]
the Earls of Moira and the Marquisses
LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP BRAMHALL. XV
are necessary to salvation ;" and he " often declared, That
the Church was not to be healed but by general proposi-
* Life, Sic. p. 43. [Compare his Works, p. 937, fol. edit.]
Discourse on Sabbath and Lord s Day,
APPENDIX.
[A] Being descended from an ancient and genteel family. ,] Namely,
"from the Bramhalls, of Bramhall-Hall in Cheshire a , related hy
intermarriage to the Keresfords, of Keresford in Yorkshire, a house
that has flourished in a direct line from the time of King Henry
IIV
[B] And put under the care of Mr. Hulet.~] The Right Reverend
author of his life, Bishop Vesey, informs us, That " he became there
master of the arts and sciences before he had the degree ; all his
acts and exercises being still performed with that easiness and
smoothness which argues clean strength and sufficiency ."
[C] He had two public disputations at North- Allerton, with a
secular Priest and a Jesuit.~\ These two Papists d had sent a public
defiance to all the Protestant clergy in that country (at a time
when the match between Prince Charles and the Infanta of Spain
was in agitation, and they expected from thence great advantages
and countenance to their own religion), and when none durst accept
the challenge, our author undertook the combat. " Though he was
then but about thirty years of age, and a stripling in the school of
controversy," yet he managed the dispute so well, " that his an
tagonists, and their whole party, had reason to repent of the inso
lence of their adventure. One of the subjects of the disputation
was the article of Transubstantiation, from whence they easily
sliding into that other of the Half- Communion, he shamefully
baffled their doctrine of concomitancy, and drove the disputant up
to so narrow a corner, that he affirmed that eating was drinking and
drinking was eating in a material or bodily sense. Mr. Bramhall
looked on this as so elegant a solecism, that he needed no greater
trophy, if he could get under his hand, what he had declared with
his tongue ; which being desired, was by the other, in his heat, and
shame to seem to retreat, as readily granted. But upon cooler
thoughts, finding perhaps, after the heat of the contest was over,
that he could not quench his thirst with a piece of bread, he re-
[A brother of the Bishop is men- h Life, &c. as above, p. 2.
tioned incidentally by Laud in a letter c Life, &c. as above, p. 2.
to Dr. Bramhall (dated in February d Hungate, a Jesuit, and Hough ton,
1637, Rawd, Papers, p. 53), in con- a secular Priest. See Archbishop Bram-
nection with the gentry of Cheshire.] hall s Works, p. 624 [fol. edit.].
APPENDIX. XV11
fleeted so sadly on the dishonour he had suffered, that, not being
able to digest it, in ten days he died." Archbishop Matthews,
hearing of this disputation, " sent for Mr. Bramhall, and at first
rebuked him for his hardiness in undertaking a disputation so
publicly without allowance ; but soon forgave him 6 ."
[D] During the life of the Archbishop he was made Prebendary
of York.~] So we are assured by the Right Reverend author of his
Life f . But according to Browne Willis, Esq.s, he was not made
prebendary of York till the 13th of June, 1633, five years after the
death of Archbishop Matthews ; so that one of these two authors
must be mistaken. The prebend he had, was that of Hustwaith,
in the Church of York.
[E] He took the degree of Doctor in Divinity. ] The thesis he dis
puted upon, on that occasion, was this : Pontifex Romanus est causa,
vel procreans vel conservans, omnium vel saltern prcecipuarum con-
trover siarum in orbe Christiano, i. e. The Pope is the author, or
maintainer, of all, or at least of the chief, controversies in the
Christian world. And in all his exercises, then, " he made it ap
pear that he had not lost his time in the country, nor evaporated
all in pulpit discourses, but that he had furnished himself with very
substantial learning 11 ." [His own account is more accurate. It is
as follows : " When I disputed in Cambridge for the degree of
Doctor, my thesis was taken out of Nilus 1 , that the Papacy (as it
was challenged and usurped in many places, and as it had been
sometime usurped in our native country) was either the procreant
or conservant cause, or both the procreant and conservant cause,
&c. k " He had preached upon a similar subject, viz. " the Pope s
unlawful usurpation of jurisdiction over the Britannic Churches," at
an earlier period, before a Synod of the Province of York, apparently
that of 1620 1 . It is curious to observe how early and how con
tinually his attention was turned to the subject of his subsequent
treatises against the Romanists.]
[F] The Bishoprics were dilapidated by fee-farms, and long leases
* Life, &c. as above, p. 3. [See also k [" Vindication of the Episcopal
the " Vindic. of Episcop. Clergy," c. Clergy, &c." c. v. Works, p. 623. fol.
v. Works, p. 624. fol. edit.] edit]
f Life, &c. as above, p. 4. 1 [" Vindication, &c., as quoted in
8 Survey of the Cathedrals of York, last note. Bramhall, it will be re-
&c. edit. 1727, 4to. vol. i. p. 145. membered, did not take Orders until
h Life, &c. as above, p. 5. after 1616, and the sermon here al-
1 [Bramhall must mean that he took luded to was preached before 1623, the
the hint of this subject from Nilus date of his disputation at North- Aller-
(Abp. of Thessalonica, De Primatu ton ; consequently in the year above
Papse), as neither the words nor the given, there having been no other
exact sentiment occur in that author.] northern Synod within the interval.]
I .nAMHALL. C
XV1U APPENDIX.
at small rents. ,] These had been " granted, partly by the Popish
Bishops, who resolved to carry as much with them as they could,"
and " partly by their Protestant successors, who might fear another
turn, and were, having their example, disposed enough to make use
of the same arts. By such means on the one side and the other,
many Bishoprics were made" extremely small: some reduced to
one hundred pounds per annum ; some to fifty, as Waterford, Kil-
fenoragh, &c. ; some to five marks, as Kilmacduagh, and particu
larly Cloyne, the Bishop whereof was called Episcopus quinque
marcarum, the five-marks-Bishop. Aghadoe was only one pound
one shilling and eight pence ; and Ardfert but sixty pounds. Lyme-
rick had above five parts in six made away by fee-farms, or en
croached on by undertakers. The like was done in Cashel, Emly,
Waterford, Lismore, and Killaloe. In some dioceses, as in Ferns
and Leighlin, there was scarcely a living left that was not farmed
out to the patron, or to some for his use, at two, three, four, or five
pounds per annum, for a long time, three lives, or a hundred
years m .
[G] He likewise endeavoured to destroy some opinions of general
credit, that Tie judged very prejudicial to a good life.~\ " He was
very desirous to abate of their value, and to reduce them to what
they ought only to pass for, school opinions, that so men might have
the liberty of their private reasons [salvd Fide and salvd caritate].
He could not endure to see some. men enslave their judgment to
a person or a party, that cry up nothing more than Christian liberty.
He thought that liberty was much confined by being chained to any
man s chair, as if all he .uttered were" oracles, "and to be made the
standard and test of orthodoxy : that the Christian faith and liberty
are then most in danger, when so many things are crowded into
confessions, that what should be practical, becomes purely a science,
of a rule of life an useless speculation, of a thing easy to be under
stood, a thing hard to be remembered : that it was the interest of
the Protestant Church to widen her bottom, and make her Articles as
charitable and comprehensive as she could, that those nicer accu
racies, that divide the greatest wits in the world, might not be made
the characteristics of reformation, and give occasion to one party to
excommunicate and censure another. Thus he saw the Church of
England constituted ; both Calvinists and Arminians .... sub
scribing the same propositions, and walking to the house of God as
friends". "
m Life, &c. as above, pp. 7, 8. 25. [and words between brackets are Dr. Ve-
Letters, Nos. I. and VI.] sey s.]
n Life, &c. as above, p. 9. [The
APPENDIX. XIX
[H] Several acts passed in the Parliament, which met in that king
dom, July the 14th, 1634.] The first was, "A statute for the main
tenance and execution of pious uses," obliging all Archbishops and
Bishops to perform every such trust according to the true intent
of the deeds in that behalf made, or to be made . The next was,
"A statute for confirmation of leases made by the Lord Primate, and
other Bishops in Ulster," of such endowments as had been made
by King James to the Archbishopric of Armagh, the Bishoprics of
Derry, Clogher, Raphoe and Killmore, giving them power, any time
within five years, to make leases for sixty years of such lands P.
By this statute, the Church was enabled, on the surrender of titles
to fee-farms, and some improvement of rent, to make leases, as
above, for sixty years ; "by which means she was in many places
bettered at present, and had a hopeful prospect of recovering her
full right at last." But the best defence of the Irish Church, was
the statute entitled, "An Act for the preservation of the inheritance,
rights, and profits, of lands belonging to the Church and persons
ecclesiastical V " This limited them to time and rent, prescribed
what they might set, and for what, and how long, and is the security
of succession." Care also was taken of the inferior clergy, in.
another Act, which enableth " restitution of impropriations and
tithes, and other rights ecclesiastical, to the clergy, with a restraint
of aliening the same, and direction for the presentations to
churches 1 "."
[I] In the Convocation that met at the same time, he prevailed upon
the Church of Ireland to be united in the same Faith with the Church
of England. ] The Faith of both was the same in the main, only
with this difference, that the Irish Articles were more rigid and
Calvinistical. Of this no better reason can be given, than that the
first reformers in Ireland, on account of the great number of Papists
in that kingdom, endeavoured to guard against them as much as
possible. "Therefore, like burnt children, which so much dread
the fire that they think they can never be far enough from their
fear, they became very dogmatical in some propositions (most oppo
site, as they conceived, to the Church of Rome), left undetermined
by the Church of England." Now Bishop Bramhall "laboured, in
the Convocation, to have the correspondence more entire and accu-
Sir Richard Bolton s Statutes of rents of the See of Ardmagh in par-
Ireland, Sess. 3. c. 1. fol. 50. ticular were improved ,735 4s. 4d.
q Ibid. c. 5. fol. 56. yearly, more than usual. [Letter of
P Sess. 4. c. 3. fol. 78. Abp. Usher to Bramhall, dated Fe-
r Ibid, c. 2. fol. 75. In pursuance, bruary 25. 1635, in Bvamhall s] Life,
and by the benefit, of these Acts, the &c. as above, p. 1 3.
C 2
XX APPENDIX.
rate; and discoursed, with great moderation and sobriety, of the
convenience of having the articles of peace and communion in every
national Church worded in that latitude, that dissenting persons, in
those things that concerned not the Christian Faith, might subscribe,
and the Church not lose the benefit of their labours for an opinion
which it may be they could not help ; that it were to be wished
such articles might be contrived for the whole Christian world, but
especially that the Protestant Churches under the King s dominion
might all speak the same language; and, particularly, that those
of England and Ireland, being reformed by the same principle and
rule of Scripture [expounded by universal tradition, Councils,
Fathers, and other ways of conveyance 8 ], might confess their Faith
in the same form." Persuaded by these arguments, the Convocation
drew up a canon which is as follows : " For the manifestation of
our agreement with the Church of England in the confession of the
same Christian Faith, and the doctrine of the Sacraments, we do re
ceive and approve the book of Articles of religion agreed upon by
the Archbishops and Bishops and the whole clergy in the Convoca
tion holden at London in the year 1562, &c. And, therefore, if
any hereafter shall affirm, that any of those articles are in any part
superstitious or erroneous, or such as he may not with a good con
science subscribe unto, let him be excommunicated, and not absolved
before he make public revocation of his error 1 ."
[K] An information exhibited against him in the Star Chamber. ]
" The charge was, That he was present at Ripon when one
Mr. Palmer had made some reflecting discourse upon his Majesty,
and that his Lordship had taken no notice of it, either to reprove
him or inform against him. The words .... deserved no very
capital punishment, if they had been true, being no more than,
That he feared a Scottish mist was come over their town ; because
the King had altered his lodgings from Ripon, where he had de
signed them, to one Sir Richard Graham s house, not far from that
place : but the Bishop .... easily cleared the whole company 11 ."
[It seems that this was not the only charge made upon this occa
sion against Dr. Bramhall. Another, equally groundless and equally
unsuccessful, of having uttered some yeomanly language upon the
serving and executing a commission out of the Court of the Star
[The words between brackets are tion; afterwards Archbishop of Cashel.
Dr. Vesey s, the sentence now standing See also the Constitutions and Canons
as he wrote it] of the Synod at Dublin, A. D. 1634,
1 Life, &c. pp. 17, 18. [ from the in- Can. 1, in Wilkins, Concil., torn. iv.
formation of Thos. Price, then Arch- p. 498. and the additional remarks at
deacon of Kilmore, and consequently a the end of note U.]
member of the lower house of Convoca- u Life, &c. p. 22.
APPENDIX. XXI
Chamber, was brought against him by one Mr. Bacon at the
same time v .]
[L] In this distress he wrote to the Primate Usher, then in England,
for his advice and comfort,"] This letter x is dated April 26, 1641.
Archbishop Usher, in his answer, has these words : "I assure you
my care never slackened in sollicking your cause at Court, with as
great vigilancy as if it did touch mine own proper person. I never
intermitted any occasion of mediating with his Majestic in your
behalf, who still pittyed your case, acknowledged the faithfulness
of your services both to the Church and to him, avowed that you
were no more guilty of treason than himself, and assured me that he
would do for you all that lay in his power, &c." [Abp. Usher con
tinues, " My Lord Strafford the night before his suffering (which
was most Christian and magnanimous ad stuporem usque], sent me
to the King, giving me in charge among other particulars to put
him in mind of you, and of the other two Lords that are under the
same pressure, &c.V It deserves to be mentioned to the credit
both of Bp. Bramhall and of Abp. Usher, that, although the former
was a man of active zeal and hasty temper, and devoted heart and
soul to the restoration of the Irish Church in a way, which Abp.
Usher opposed, and upon principles, with which he did not sympa
thise, in times too of strong excitement and violent party-feeling,
yet there ever existed between them a most friendly and even af
fectionate intercourse : as the above letters among others 2 testify,
and as Bramhall (after Usher s death) expressly declares a .]
[M] And landed at Hamburgh, July 8, 1644.] Shortly after, at
the treaty of Uxbridge, the Parliaments of England and Scotland
made this one of their preliminary demands, that Bishop Bramhall
(together with Archbishop Laud, &c.) should be excepted out of the
general pardon b . This was accordingly done, in an ordinance of
indemnity passed by the Rump-Parliament in 1652. [He had
been included likewise in the " First Qualification" of those, against
whom the Parliament demanded liberty to take proceedings, in the
v [Commendatory Letter from the former.]
Ld. Deputy Wentworth to the Ld. a [" I praise God that we" (the Lord
Keeper Coventry in behalf of Dr. Bram- Primate and his Suffragans) " were like
hall, then going to London, September the Candles in the Levitical Temple,
11, 1637. Rawdon Papers, No. xv.] looking one towards another, and all
* [Letters, No. VI.] towards the stem. We had no conten-
y Life, as above, p. 25. [See the tion among us, but who should hate
letter entire in the llawdon Papers, contention most, and pursue the peace
No. xxxiv.] of the Church with swiftest paces."
z [See also Letters, No. X., and (Discourse on the Sabbath, &c. in
Usher s letters in the Rawd. Papers, Bramhall s Works, p. 934. fol. edit).]
Nos. xxiii, and xxxiii, especially the b Dugdale s View, &c. p. 741.
XX11 APPENDIX.
Articles of Peace proposed to King Charles I. (then at Newcastle
in the hands of the Scots) in 1646 C .]
[N] And after having undergone several dangers and difficulties^
All the while he was there, " he had his life continually in his hand ;
being in perils by Irish, in perils by his own countrymen, and in
perils by false brethren. At Lymerick, the Earl of Roseommon had
such a fall coming down a pair of stairs, that he lived only so long
to declare his Faith (at Bishop Bramhall s instance) as it is pro
fessed in the Church of England : which gave such offence to the
Romanists there, who would have reported he died a Papist, if he
had not spoken at all, that they threatened the Bishop s death, if
he did not suddenly depart the town. At Portumnagh, indeed, he
and such as went with him enjoyed afterwards more freedom under
the Marquis of Clanrickard s protection, and an allowance of the
Church service : but, at the revolt of Cork, he had a very narrow
deliverance, which Cromwell was so troubled at, that he declared he
would have given a good sum of money for that Irish Canterbury rd ."
[O] Narrowly escaped thence in a little bark.~\ This escape of his
is accounted very wonderful : for " the little bark he was in was
closely hunted by two of the Parliament frigates, many of which
were on that coast ; and when they were come so near, that all
hopes of being saved were taken away, .... on a sudden the wind
slackened into a perfect calm, and as it were flew into the sails of
the little vessel, and carried her away in view e ."
[P] But he met with an unexpected diversion in his first day s
journey into that kingdom, ] " For he no sooner came into the house
where he intended to refresh himself, but he was known and called
by his name by the hostess. And his Lordship admiring at his
being discovered, she soon revealed the secret, and shewed him his
own picture, and assured him there were several of them upon the
road ; that, being known by them, he might be seized and carried to
the Inquisition ; and that her husband, among others, had power to
that purpose, which he would certainly make use of if he found
him. The Bishop saw evidently he was a condemned man, being
already hanged in effigie, and therefore made use of the advertise
ment, and escaped out of the power of that Court f ."
c [Thurloe s State Papers, vol. i. p. p. 193. 4to. edit.) introduces this story,
80.] merely to remark on the word pic-
d Life, as above, pp. 27, 28. ture, that it was doubtless his print,
e Life, as above, p. 28. which he never saw. Sir William
f Life, as above, p. 33. [See also the Musgrave, in his MS. Adversaria (in
additional remarks at the end of note the British Museum), observes that it
U. " Granger (Biograph. Hist, vol v. was neither a painting nor an engrav-
APPENDIX. XX111
Archbishop of Armagh, Primate and Metropolitan of all
Ireland.~\ The author of his life observes 8, that " no man could be
more acceptable to the clergy there, because none so fit to repair
the breaches of the Church, by knowing to what part every stone
and every piece of timber belonged, as this skilful architect, who,
by assigning the proper place for every thing, had the satisfaction to
see the building rise suddenly out of its ashes, without the noise of
hammer 11 , or any contradiction ; the authority of his person and of
his judgment silenced all the opposition which one of less veneration
might possibly have met with. All men s expectations were fixed
on him ; and many of the prime nobility and clergy in Eng
land " (particularly the Queen of Bohemia) * " congratulated the-
Church s happiness in his promotion." [It may be worth while to
quote a few words from two of the letters of congratulation here
alluded to : the first, that of the Queen of Bohemia (daughter of
James I.) " who in a letter addressed to his Grace prayed him to be
confident * that none of his friends could be more glad, or wished
him more happiness, than his ever most affectionate friend Eliza
beth 11 ; " the other, that of Lord Caulfield, "afterwards known by the
honourable epithet of the good Lord Charlemont 1 ," who tells him (in
a letter dated Oct. 22, 1660 m ), that " as the news of your Lordship s
safe arrival is most welcome to me, so is it likewise occasion of great
rejoicing to all those in the kingdom who truly fear God, and pray
for the welfare of his Church : it being yet fresh in the memories of
us all, how eminent an instrument your Lordship hath been long
ing, but 3. description of the person by 33).]
words, which was usually drawn up by * [Perhaps nothing marks more
a painter, and was therefore called a strongly the estimation in which Bp.
picture. But the expression of being Bramhall was deservedly held, than the
hanged in effigy, which, as Granger intimacy which he enjoyed with the
does not mention it, Sir William pro- great and good among every class of
bably never saw, seems to imply some his contemporaries. Among his friends
kind of engraving or caricature. " are to be numbered (besides the two,
(Chalmers Biogr. Diet, Art. Bram- whose letters are quoted above) " Lord
hall).] Strafford, Abps. Laud and Usher, Sir
g Page 34. George Radcliffe, Mr. Wandesforde, the
h [Bp. Bramhall " was neither a Marquis of Ormond, Lords Orrery and
boaster of revelations nor an observer of Southampton " (Advertisement to Raw-
dreams ; and yet he would often before don Papers); to whom may be added
the Rebellion of Ireland speak of one, the Marquis of Newcastle, the Mar-
that then much troubled him, which quis of Montrose, Sir William Bos-
was, that being in a very fair Cathedral well, and, lastly, one not the least
Church he thought it suddenly fell upon honourable of the list, Evelyn.]
him, so that he was almost buried in k [Quoted in Rawd. Papers, p. 118,
the rubbish, but, having with much note ; and by Bp. Vesey, Life, &c. p.
difficulty got out, and looking upon it 34.]
some time, he saw it rise up without any 1 [Mant, Ch. of Ireland, ch. ix. 1.
noise; of every part whereof he lived p. 605.]
to see the verification (Life, &c., p. m [Rawd. Papers, No, liii.]
XXIV APPENDIX.
since in the propagating the true ancient Protestant religion in this
kingdom."]
[R] And effectually obtained the point Tie aimed at.~\ We have
" one instance of his prudence, in turning the edge of the most
popular objection of that time against conformity. When the bene
fices were called over at the visitation, several appeared, and exhi
bited only such titles as they had received from the late powers. He
told them, they were no legal titles, but in regard he heard well of
them, he was willing to make such to them by institution and in
duction; " which they thankfully accepted of. But when he de
sired " to see their letters of orders, some had no other but their
certificates of ordination by some Presbyterian classes, which, he
told them, did not qualify them for any preferment in the Church.
Upon this, the question arose, Are we not Ministers of the Gospel ?
To which his Grace answered, That was not the question ; at least,
he desired for peace sake, that might not be the question for that
time. I dispute not, said he, the value of your ordination, nor
those acts you have exercised by virtue of it ; what you are, or
might be, here when there was no law, or in other Churches abroad.
But we are now to consider ourselves as a national Church limited
by law, which among other things takes chief care to prescribe about
ordination ; and I do not know how you could recover the means
of the Church, if any should refuse to pay you your tithes, if you
are not ordained as the law of this Church requireth ; and I am de
sirous that she may have your labours, and you such portions of
her revenue as shall be allotted you, in a legal and assured way.
By this means he gained such as were learned and sober n ."
[S] Chosen /Speaker of the house of Lords, in the Parliament which
met at the same time. ] The author of his life observes , that " it is
not easy to say which of the two places he filled best, whether the
Statesman or Divine shined with greater brightness. He had a
judgment so clear, and a speech so plain and persuasive, that he
could readily unravel any intricacy and divide all the parts of the
controversy into their proper sides, so that the heavier scale would
easily shew itself. In short, he so moderated and stated all ques
tions that arose, that few assemblies can boast of so great an interest
being disputed with so little noise (though there wanted not some)
in those kind of arguments wherein men are not usually the most
silent."
[T] The latter end of June he was seized with the third Jit of the
^ Life, &c. pp. 85, 36. [See the ad- Page 37.
ditional remarks at the end of note U. ]
APPENDIX. XXV
palsy. .] " He had then a trial for some part of his temporal estate,
at Omagh, with Sir Audley MervynP, depending in the court of
claims ; and there, at the time of hearing, .... the third fit of the
palsy so smote him, that he sunk in the court, was carried out
senseless, and continued so till death finished his work^. Had the
cause een unjust," as the author of his Life [goes on to] observe,
" or adjudged against him, some censorious spirits would not have
spared to have made left-hand judgments from the circumstances
of his death : but his right so appeared on the argument, that he
was a conqueror in his death, and victory and honour w r aited upon
him to the grave 1 ."
[U] We shall give an account of his Works, fyc.~\ They were most
of them published [and, excepting three out of the four sermons,
the whole of them written] at different times [during Dr. Bramhall s
exile from Ireland, between 1643 and 1660]. But they were all
reprinted at Dublin [at intervals from 1674 to 1676, and published
together in the last named year, and again with only a trifling
change in the title-page] in the year 1677, in one volume folio, with
this title : " The Works of the most Reverend Father in God,
John Bramhall, D.D. late Lord Archbishop of Ardmagh, Primate
and Metropolitan of all Ireland. Some of which never before
printed. Collected into one volume. To which is added (for the
vindication of some of his writings), An exact Copy of the Records,
touching Archbishop Parker s Consecration, taken from the original,
in the Registry of the See of Canterbury. As also, the Copy of an
old Manuscript, in Corpus Christi College, in Cambridge, of the
same Subject;" [with a life of the author prefixed by the
editor Bp. Vesey, and a dedication to Michael (Boyle) then Arch
bishop of Dublin. Very little pains or care however were be
stowed upon either the text or the references by Dr. Vesey, the
collection and arrangement of Bp. Bramhall s Works (with the in
formation contained in the Life,) constituting the only merits of his
edition.]
P [See Letters, No. XII. Sir A. Harris (in his edition of Ware, Art.
Mervyn had opened the proceedings upon Abp. Margetson) has questioned
against Bramhall when he was im- the accuracy on the ground of its in-
peached in 1641, in a very virulent compatibility with the circumstances of
speech, Nalson, vol. ii. pp. 566, &c.] Dr. Bramhall s death; unnecessarily,
q [Bishop Mant (Church of Ire- however, as the Abp. had regarded him-
land, ch. ix. 2. p. 644) mentions, self as upon his death-bed since his se-
on the authority of Palliser s Funeral cond attack of the palsy three (it should
Oration for Abp. Margetson, that Bra m- be five See p. xiii. notes k and m)
hall on his death-bed recommended months before.]
that prelate to the Duke of Ormond r Life, &c. p. 42. [See also the Abp. s
(then Lord Lieutenant) as his sue- will, among his Letters, &c. No. XVI. 1
cessor : an anecdote, he adds, of which
XXVI APPENDIX.
This volume is divided into four Tomes or Parts,
I. Tome I. containeth the Discourses against the Romanists ;
viz.
1. "An Answer to M. de la Militiere" [Milletiere 8 ], "his im
pertinent Dedication of his imaginary Triumph (intitled * The Victory
of Truth ), or his Epistle to the King of Great Britain" (King
Charles II.), " wherein he inviteth his Majesty to forsake the Church
of England, and to embrace the Roman Catholic Religion : with the
said Militiere s" [Milletiere s] "Epistle prefixed."
This was first published at the Hague in [1653], 12mo., but not
by the author. [It was acknowledged by him in his " Just Vindi
cation," &C. 4 (published the next year, 1654), "excepting the errors
of the press," of which he there noticed one : and was upon this
again published, but evidently not by Bramhall himself (The Hague,
12mo. 1654), as " corrected according to his Lordship s own direc
tions in his Vindication," &c. viz. with that one error and that only
corrected, together with a few alterations in the (so called) translation,
prefixed to it, of La Milletiere s Epistle. Bayle u , Niceron x , and Bram-
hally himself, speak also of a French translation of the Answer (Geneva,
1655, 8vo.), entitled " Reponse faite par le Commandement du Roi
de la Grande Bretagne a 1 Epitre Dedicatoire du Triomphe Imagi-
naire de M. de la Milletiere," with an "Avis au Lecteur " by the
Genevese editor prefixed : and the original has been again lately
republished in 12mo. from the folio edition (corrected, however, as
it should seem, by that of 1654), with one or two notes and a
memoir of the Author abridged from Dr. Vesey s Life, by the Rev.
G. Ingram, Lond. 1841.]
The occasion of it was, that the Romanists endeavoured to per
suade King Charles II., during his exile, to hope his restoration by
embracing their religion ; and for that purpose employed M. de la
[Milletiere], Counsellor in Ordinary to the King of France, to write
to him [the Epistle in question 2 . This was published in 1651, at
Paris, where Charles s court then was ; and Dr. Bramhall s reply,
written (if we may trust the Genevese editor) by his Majesty s ex
press command, and probably enough for his private satisfaction a ,
s [See noteb, p. 1 0. (marginal paging) p. 627. fol. edit]
of La Milletiere s Epistle.] z Life, &c. as above, pp. 29, 30. [and
* [c. x. Works, Part i. Discourse ii. Jer. Taylor s Fun. Serm.]
p. 136, fol. edit] a [Bramhall s tract was not designed
" [Dictionn., Art Milletiere.] for publication, but was written for
x [Memoires, &c. torn. xli. Art. Mil- some private purpose unspecified ("Just
letiere.] ^ Vindication," &c. c. x. as quoted in
y [" Vindic. of Episcop. Clergy," &c. note t).]
c. vi., Works, Part ii. Discourse iii.
APPENDIX. XXV11
was apparently composed b at the same place at the close of the
same year .]
2. " A Just Vindication of the Church of England from the unjust
Aspersion of Criminal Schism, wherein the Nature of criminal
Schism, the divers Sorts of Schismatics, the Liberties and Privi
leges of National Churches, the Rights of Sovereign Magistrates,
the Tyranny, Extortion, and Schism, of the Roman Court, with the
Grievances, Complaints, and opposition of all Princes and States of
the Roman Communion of Old, and at this very Day, are manifested
to the View of the World."
First printed at London [in 1654, 8vo., from a written copy,
during the Author s absence, he being then in Holland ; and again,
with the " Replication," &c. (Part i. Discourse iii.) bound up
under the same title-page, also at London] in 1661, 8vo., [but ap
parently, as before, without the author s superintendence, this
second being merely a reprint of the first edition with the errata
corrected.
The immediate occasion of this treatise, which was originally
designed to form an appendix to the Answer to La Milletiere d ,
seems to have been the publication abroad by English Roman
Catholics of several works 6 , in which the accusation of schism was
put forward prominently, as an unanswerable confutation of the
pretensions of the English Church f .] In this Discourse [, accordingly,
> [See the Answer itself, p. 23, note 1. Fidei, Paris, 1652. 8vo Mr. Knott s
p. 78, note 1. of the present edit; and "Infidelity Unmasked;" Gant, 1652.
that Bramhall was in Paris in Decem- 4to.]
her 1651, see above, p. xi. note u. His f [The general tone of the controversy
previous residence in Holland may be with the Romanists seems to have
traced in the Dutch words, which occa- turned at this time very much upon the
sionally occur in this tract] question of Schism. Dr. Hammond s
[In reply to Baxter s objections to treatise " Of Schism," and another, by
the " Answer," Bramhall observes Dr. Feme, " Of the Division between
(Vindic. of Episcop. Clergy, c. vi. as the English and Romish Church upon
quoted in note y), that abroad " it hath the Reformation," &c., had been pub-
been more happy, to confirm many, lished in London in 1653, and Sir Roger
to convert some (and particularly the Twysden s "Historical Vindication of
transcriber of the copy which was brought the Church of England in point of
to the press)," " to irritate no man but Schism" followed Bramhall s (but to
the common adversaries, who vented all appearance independently) in 1657
their spleen against it weekly in their (Lond. 4to.)- The latter is partly a
pulpits, as thinking that the easiest way reply to a " Treatise of the Schism of
of confutation;" adding, that "some" of England" by Philip Scot (Amsterd,
the old Episcopal Divines, (i. e. of Eng- 1650), but is partly also directed against
land) had " approved it and thanked the arguments of the Romanists gene-
him for it"] rally. Sir G. Radcliffe again writes
d [Answer to La Millet, pp. 36. 60. to Bramhall from Paris, July 21, 1656
of the present edit, and the Just Vin- (Rawd. Papers, p. 102), that he had
dication, &c. as quoted in note t] met there " with sundry very learned
e [The Appendix (De Schismate) to men," who seemed "to agree" with
Dr. Holden s book De Resolutione him "in points of Faith, and particu-
XXV111 APPENDIX.
the Author] proves [among other points], That the separation from
the Court of Rome was not made by Protestants, but Roman
Catholics themselves ; That the Britannic Churches were ever
exempted from all foreign jurisdiction for the first six hundred
years h ; and had both sufficient authority and sufficient grounds to
withdraw their obedience from Rome*. [Although such however
may have been the immediate occasion of the work, yet the subject
had dwelt in the author s mind long previously, and appears indeed
to have been his favourite topic k .]
3. "A Replication to the Bishop of Chalcedon" (Richard Smith)
" his Survey of the Vindication of the Church of England from
Criminous Schism, clearing the English laws from the Aspersion of
Cruelty. With an Appendix in Answer to the exceptions of S. W."
[(William Sergeant), " or a Reply to S. W. s Refutation of the
Bp. of Derry s Just Vindication of the Church of England. "]
Printed at first [in London, 1656, 8vo., the "Survey," &c. by
R. C. (i. e. Richard Chalcedon) having appeared in 1654. The
unsold copies of this edition were bound up, under a common title-
page,] with [the new impression, in 1661, of] the " Just Vindi
cation," &c.
4. " Schism Guarded, and beaten back upon the right Owners,
Shewing, that our great Controversie about Papal power, is not a
question of Faith, but of Interest and Profit, not with the Church
of Rome but with the Court of Rome ; wherein the true Contro
versie doth consist ; who were the first Innovators ; when, and
where, these Papal Innovations first began in England ; with the
Opposition that was made against them."
This [was first 1 printed at the Hague, 1658, 8vo. ; and republished
but not reprinted in the following year in London, with " The Con
secration and Succession," &c. (the treatise to be next mentioned)
bound up with it, and an additional title-page for the whole volume,
as follows ; " Potato. Aio-ropos OeTa, or, The Church of England
larly about the Pope s jurisdiction, and he " never saw anything written of that
the Bread in the Sacrament, which two argument so clearly, so fully, so con-
points" he had "thought most irre- vincingly ; and therefore " he adds, " I
concileable ;" but "the Schism" was heartily thank your Lordship for it, not
" that only which is now the block be- only in my own name, but of the whole
tween us." See also a preceding letter Clergy and Church of England, which
of his (Rawd. Papers, pp. 99, 100).] thereby is notably vindicated from the
E Ch. iii. greatest prejudice that lay upon her, or
h Ch. v. could with any probability be objected
1 Ch. vi. to her," &c. (Life, &c. pp. 30, 31.).]
k See above, note E. [A letter of 1 [Advertisement to Reader, dated
Bp. Morley to the author upon the pub- March 11, 1658 stilo novo, and pre-
lication of this work is quoted by Dr. fixed to the " Castigations of Mr.
Vesey, in which that Bishop says that Hobbes," Works, p. 734. fbl. edit.]
APPENDIX. XXIX
Defended, in two treatises, against the fabulous and slanderous im
putations cast upon her in the two points of Succession of Bishops,
and Schisme, wherein the Fable of the Nag s Head Ordination is
detected, and the accusation of Schism retorted."
It] is an answer to a book entitled, " Schism Dispatcht, [or, A Re
joinder to the Replies of Dr. Hammond and the Lord of Deny"
(i. e. to Dr. Hammond s " Disarmer s Dexterities Examined," Lond.
1656, and to Bramhall s Reply to S. W. in the appendix to his
" Replication," &c., above mentioned) ;] by S. W. i. e. Will. Ser
geant [1657. 8vo.] ; and our Author proves therein, [among other
points,] that the Pope hath no legislative nor judiciary power in
England" 1 .
5. " The Consecration and Succession of Protestant Bishops
justified. The Bishop of Duresme Vindicated. And that infamous
Fable, of the Ordination at the Nag s Head, clearly confuted."
This [appears to have been, from its subject, among the most
popular of Dr. Bramhall s Works. It was first published at the
Hague in 1658, and again, as above mentioned, with "Schism
Guarded," in London, in 1659. A third edition (Lond. 1664. 8vo.)
is mentioned by Nicolson 11 , separately from "Schism Guarded;"
and a fourth, also separate, appeared in 1716 (Lond. 8vo.).
It] is an answer [partly] to a calumny of two Jesuits, Father
Talbot and Father B , against our Author. And the Bishop
of Durham here vindicated, is Bishop Morton, who was charged by
the same Fathers [upon the authority of a certain Nobleman, viz.
Lord Audley ], "in 1640, when some Presbyterian Lords pre
sented to the Upper House a book, proving, that the Protestant
Bishops had no Succession or Consecration, and therefore were no
Bishops," to have made a speech against that book ; and " en
deavoured to prove succession from the last" [Roman] " Catholic
Bishops, who, by imposition of hands, ordained the first Protestant
Bishops at the Nag s Head in CheapsideP." In opposition to this,
Bishop Morton i, and such of the Spiritual and temporal Lords as
were in the House in 1640 and still living in 1658, made solemn
m Sect. i. ch. 6, 7. hall in his Reply, ch. ii. Works, p. 430.
n [Eng. Hist. Libr. p. 138. 3rd edit.] fol. edit.]
[Neither Bramhall nor the Fathers q~[Dean Barwick, then chaplain to
had in the first instance named this Bp. Morton, was about to reply to
nobleman, but the latter (or their re- the story ; but hearing of the Bp. of
presentative) broke through their scru- Derry s intention, he handed over the
pies in their reply. See the " Nullity materials, which he had collected, to
of the Prelatique Clergy, by N. N." him (Life of Barwick, by his brother,
ch. ix.] p. 174. Eng. Transl.). See the work
p [These are "the words of the Fa- itself, ch. ii. p. 432, fol. edit.]
thers themselves," as quoted by Bram-
XXX APPENDIX.
protestations (inserted in this book), " That no sucli book was ever
presented, nor such a speech made by Bishop Morton." [The
charge was brought by the Fathers (or by one of them, or of their
party) in the 2nd chapter of a book, entitled " A Treatise of the
nature of the Catholique Faith and of Heresy by N. N." (Rouen,
1657) ; to the remainder of the second chapter of which book the
greater part of Bramhall s Work is a reply, the story of the Nag s
Head Ordination being its principal argument 1 ".]
II. Tome II., "Against the English Sectaries;" comprehends,
1. "A Fair Warning to take heed of the Scottish Discipline, as
being of all others most injurious to the Civil Magistrate, most op
pressive to the Subject, most pernicious to both."
[First published in 1649 s , 4to., no place; but spoken of in a
"Review" of it by one Robert Baylie , as "published in Holland 11 :"
and republished but not reprinted in 1661, at the Hague, with
Baylie s Review and a " Second Fair Warning in vindication of the
First," by Rich. Watson x , bound up under a common title-page.
Another edition, without either name or place, and with considerable
omissions and errors, appeared also in 1649^: and another, (an
exact reprint of the first mentioned 2 ) was published between 1661
and 1663, and either in England or in Ireland a .]
2. " The Serpent Salve : or, A Remedy for the biting of an Aspe :
* [A Rejoinder to Bramhall s work, u [Bp. Bramhall had returned from
entitled " The Nullity of the Prelatique Ireland and was at Rotterdam in Oct.
Clergy and Church of England further 1648 : see above, p. x, note r.]
discovered, in answer to the plain pre- * [First published in 1651, Hague,
varication, &c., of D. John BramhaJl," 4to. He was chaplain to Lord Hop-
&c. &c. appeared in 1659 (Antw. 8vo.) ton.]
from the pen of the same N. N. The y [From the substitution in at least
Nag s Head Ordination was not a new one instance ("reglement" for "re-
subject to Bramhall ; he had treated of gulation") of a foreign for an English
it incidentally in his " Protestants Or- word, this edition also would seem to have
clination Defended" (unpublished how- been printed abroad, and very possibly
ever at this time), Works, Part iv. Dis- without the author s knowledge, as he
course yii. pp. 1006, 1007. fol. edit. does not appear to have ever disavowed
of which see below.] or concealed his authorship.]
[That this was its first publication, z [The title-page and a table of con-
is fixed by the quotation in the book it- tents (taken from the headings of the
self (Works, p. 503. fol. edit.) of a So- chapters) excepted.]
lemn Acknowledgment, &c. made by a [It is entitled " A Fair Warning for
the General Assembly of Scotland, Oct. England, to take heed of the Scottish
t>- 1648.] Discipline, &c. &c. Also the Sinful-
1 ["Review of Dr. Bramble" (sic), nesse and wickednesse of the Covenant,
" late Bp. of Londenderry, his Fair to introduce that Government upon the
Warning against the Scotes Disciplin, Church of England, by Dr. John Brum
by R. B. G." (Robert Baylie, minister hall" (sic), "Lord Archbishop of Ar-
at Glasgow, at the time, however, with magh and Primate, &c., now reprinted
Charles II. at the Hague.) Delph. 1649. for the good and benefit of all his Ma-
4to. The name is mispelt Bromwell in jesty s Subjects."]
the title-page of the book itself.]
APPENDIX. XXXI
Wherein the Observator s Grounds are discussed, &c." written
Dialogue-wise, and in vindication of King Charles I., [(in reply to
a tract by Henry Parker, entitled " Observations upon some of His
Majesty s late Answers and Expresses," published anonymously in
1642)] ; wherein the author endeavours to prove that power is not
originally inherent in, and derived from, the people, &c. [It was
the first publication of Bp. Bramhall, and was] first printed in
1643 b , [i. e. in the spring of 164f, whilst he was in Yorkshire with
the Marquis of Newcastle .]
3. " Bishop Bramhall s Vindication of himself, and the Episcopal
Clergy, from the Presbyterian charge of Popery, as it is managed
by Mr. Baxter, in his treatise of the Grotian Religion." [first pub
lished under this title by Dr. Samuel Parker in 1672 (Lond. 8vo.),
nine years after the author s death, with a Preface, which excited a
great deal of controversy by its violence, " shewing what grounds
there are of Fears and Jealousies of Popery." It was written in
the latter end of 1659 or beginning of 1660, after the author had
been sixteen years in exile d , in answer to Baxter s " Treatise of the
Grotian Religion against Thos. Pierce" (1658. Lond.), wherein
Bramhall was accused by name of a design to bring in Popery ; and
is the last, a few sermons excepted, of his published writings.]
III. Tome III. Against Mr. Hobbes.
1. "A Defence of True Liberty, from antecedent and extrinsecal
Necessity. Being an answer to a late book of Mr. Thomas Hobbs
of Malmesbury, intitled, A Treatise of Liberty and Necessity."
[The controversy between Bramhall and Hobbes, which gave oc
casion to this and the following works, took its rise from a conver
sation, that passed between them at an accidental meeting, in 1645,
at the house of the Marquis of Newcastle in Paris. It appears from
the works themselves, that the Bishop subsequently committed his
thoughts upon the subject to writing, and transmitted his " discourse"
through the Marquis to Hobbes. This called forth an answer from
the latter in a letter addressed to the Marquis (dated Rouen, Aug.
b [Title-page; see also Vesey s Life, ment before;" and that he had " pro-
&c. p. 27.] fited more thereby than by any of the
f [Abp. Usher, in a letter to Bram- books he had read before touching that
hall dated Oxford 1644, speaks of hav- subject" (Dr. Vesey s Life, &c. p. 27).
ing " at length received his book to- Both the sermon and the book are like-
gether with his sermon" (viz. Serpent wise mentioned and discussed by Sir
Salve, and the sermon before the M. of G. Radcliffe in a letter to Bramhall,
Newcastle of Jan. 28. 164f .) ; adding dated Oxon 20. March 1643, thanking
that he "cannot sufficiently commend" him for the present of them (Rawd.
the author s " dexterity in clearing Papers, No. xxxvii).]
those points which have not been so [See his own words in ch. v.
satisfactorily handled by those who Works, p. 524. fol. edit.]
have taken pains in the same argu-
XXX11 APPENDIX.
20, 1645), to be communicated "only to my Lord Bishop;" to
which Bramhall replied in a second paper, not however until the
middle of the following year 6 , and privately as before. Here
the controversy rested for more than eight years, having been
hitherto carried on with perfect courtesy on both sides. In 1654,
however, a friend of Hobbes procured without his knowledge a
copy of his letter, and published it in London with Hobbes name,
but with the erroneous date of 1652 for 1645 ; upon which Bram
hall, finding himself thus deceived, rejoined in the next year by the
publication of the " Defence, &c." (Lond. 1655. 8vo.) consisting of
his own original "discourse," of Hobbes answer, and of his own reply,
printed sentence by sentence, with a dedication to the Marquis of
Newcastle, and an advertisement to the reader explaining the cir
cumstances under which it was published.]
2. " Castigations of Mr. Hobbes, his last Animadversions, in the
case concerning Liberty and universal Necessity [, wherein all his
exceptions about the controversie are fully satisfied]."
3. " The Catching of Leviathan, or the Great Whale ; Demon
strating, out of Mr. Hobs his own Works, that no man who is
thoroughly a Hobbist, can be a good Christian, or a good Com
monwealth s man, or reconcile himself to himself, because his Prin
ciples are not only destructive to all Religion, but to all Societies ;
extinguishing the Relation between Prince and Subject, Parent and
Child, Master and Servant, Husband and Wife : and abound with
palpable contradictions."
[These two works were printed in London, the first in 1657, the
second, as an appendix to it, in 1658; and as two parts of one
and the same volume. It would seem that Bramhall took ad
vantage of the " slowness of this edition" (it being printed in Lon
don while he was in Holland) to add to a part of the impression a
common title-page for the whole volume, an additional "Advertise
ment to the Reader" (dated March 11, 1658, new style), and a
table of errata ; as copies exist with these additions (from one of
which the folio edition was taken), which are in every other respect
identical with those, wherein these additions are wanting.
The occasion of the first of the two was, the publication by
Hobbes in 1656 of a reply to the " Defence," entitled " The Ques
tions concerning Liberty, Necessity, and Chance, clearly stated and
debated between Dr. Bramhall, Bp. of Derry, and Thomas Hobbes
of Malmesbury," in which the whole of the " Defence" had been
reprinted with Hobbes own "Animadversions" upon it, head by
e [See the 1st page of the Defence.]
APPENDIX. XXX111
head : an example of " needless repetition," which Bramhall had
himself set, but did not now continue.
The second has no further connection with the dispute, than as
being provoked by it ; and as directed against another treatise of
the same adversary. Hobbes in this instance took his time to reply,
his answer not appearing until 1682 (Lond. 8vo.), nearly twenty
years after his opponent s death.]
IV. Tome IV. [Upon Miscellaneous Subjects,] contains,
1. " The Controversies about the Sabbath, and the Lord s Day;
with their respective obligations ; clearly, succinctly, and impartially,
stated, discussed, and determined."
[First published in the folio edition f , but written in the year 1658s
or thereabouts, in consequence of the controversy which arose about that
time in England between Dr. Bernard on the one side and Dr. Heylin
and Dr. Pierce on the other concerning some opinions of Abp. Usher,
and among the rest, his Judgment of the Sabbath and Observation of
the Lord s Day. A tract which Bramhall had not seen when he
wrote the earlier part of his book, but which he notices in its
conclusion, was published by Dean Bernard in 1657 and 1658 at
London, entitled, " The Judgment of the late Abp. of Armagh," &c.,
"1. Of the Extent of Christ s Death and Satisfaction, 2. of the Sabbath
and Observation of the Lord s Day, 3. of the Ordination in other
Reformed Churches," and noticing also rather sharply the substi
tution of the English for the Irish articles in the Convocation of
1634 at Dublin. The bulk of Dr. Bramhall s treatise is addressed
to a friend unnamed h , who had asked him for his opinion upon the
subject without specifying his reason for requiring it, that reason
apparently being the controversy above mentioned.]
2. " A Sermon preached in York Minster before his Excellency
the Marquis of Newcastle, being then ready to meet the Scotch
army, Jan. 28, 1643 [i. e. 164I.] 1 ."
3. "A Sermon preached at Dublin, upon the twenty-third of
April 1661, being the day appointed for his Majestie s Coronation ;
f [General table of Contents to the dressed, according to Bp. Barlow s en-
folio edition.] dorsement, to Dean Bernard, might
g [From the date of publication of lead to the conjecture that he was the
Dean Bernard s book mentioned above person: but there is no other treatise
in the text. See Bramhall s Works, by Dean Bernard at all bearing upon
p. 934. fol. edit.] the subject, except the one mentioned
h [This friend had himself written a in the text ; and this (if it can be called
"treatise" upon the subject (Works, p. a "treatise" at all) was not seen by
907. fol. edit.) ; but there is no further Bramhall until he had written nearly
clue to his name. A fragment of a the whole of his book.]
letter by Bramhall (see Letters, No. * [See above, what is said of " Ser-
XI.) upon the same controversy, ad- pent-Salve."]
BRAMHALL. d
APPENDIX.
with two Speeches made in the House of Peers, the eleventh of
May, 1661, when the House of Commons presented their
Speaker."
4. "The right Way to Safety after Shipwrack : in a Sermon
preached to the Honourable House of Commons in St. Patrick s
Church, Dublin, June 16, 1661, at their solemn receiving of the
Blessed Sacrament."
[Both this and the last-mentioned sermons were first printed in
1661, upon their delivery, and the latter by request of the House
of Commons 11 .]
5. "A short Discourse to Sir Henry De Vic, about a passage at
his table, after the Christening of his Daughter, Anne Charlott ; of
Persons dying without Baptism 1 ." ["Written while in exile,"
i. e. at Brussels between 1644 and 1648. This and the next
Paper were apparently printed for the first time in the folio
edition.]
6 "An Answer to two Papers brought him June the 19th, 1645,
about the Protestants Ordination," &c. [written June 20th. in that
year at Brussels.]
7 " Protestants Ordination Defended," &c. or " An Answer to
the twentieth Chapter of The Guide of Faith ; or, The third Part
of the Antidote of S. N. Doctor of Divinity:" [written before
1654 n , but apparently first published in the folio edition.]
He had, likewise, prepared a hundred sermons for the press, but
they [, with some memoirs he had written of his own life,] \vere
" torn by the rats before his death ." [A short discourse upon
Transubstantiation, written for the satisfaction of the English mer
chants at Antwerp during his first exile?, a History of Hull, said
to have been published shortly before his quitting England in 1644%
reply to some objections made by a Jesuit against his Answer
k [The title-pages of both Sermons Wherein the Truth, and perpetual
by a singular mistake give the date Visible Succession, of the Catholique
1060: yet it appears by the same title- Roman Church, is clearly demon-
pages, that the Sermons were not strated, by S. N. Doctor of Divinity,
preached, nor the Speeches delivered, 4to., no place, 1621.]
until after March 1661.] n [It is mentioned by Bramhall in
i See above [in the Life itself, p. x.] his Just Vindication, c. ix. Works, p.
m [The full title of the work to which 134. fol. edit]
Bramhall replied, is as follows ; "The [Life, &c. p. 29.]
Guide of Faith, or, A third Part of the p [Life, &c. p. 27 ; and see above,
Antidote against the Pestiferous writ- p. x.]
ings of all English Sectaries, and in q [Life, &c. p. 27 ; but the report
particular, against D. Bilson, D. Fulke, might allude, as Dr. Vesey suggests, to
D. Reynolds, D. Whitaker, D. Field, the latter part of Serpent- Salve, pub-
D. Sparkes, D. White, and M. Mason, lished at this time, which treats at length
the chief upholders, some of Protes- of Sir J. Hotham s treason at Hull,
tancy, and some of Puritanisme. See Works, pp. 581, &c. fol. edit]
APPENDIX. XXXV
to La Milletiere r , and a paper of objections against Hobbes book
" De Cive 3 ," have been also lost.
Two treatises on the other hand have been attributed to him incor
rectly ; one, an " Apologia pro Rege et Populo Anglicano, Contra Jo-
Jiannis Polypragmatici (alias Miltoni Angli) Defensionem destructi-
vam Regis et Populi " (i. e. Milton s well-known " Defensio Populi
Anglicani"}, published in 1651, and supposed to be Bramhall s
by Milton, and his nephew Phillips (who answered it) ; the other
a treatise against the Presbyterians, entitled " The Countermine, or a
Short but True Discovery of the Dangerous Principles and Secret
Practices of the Presbyterians," &c. &c. published anonymously at
London in 1677. That the former was not Bramhall s has been
satisfactorily shewn by Archdeacon Todd 4 , from the " contemptible
and barbarous style" of the work, from the avowal of the authorship
by the real author u in a subsequent work, and from the express
denial of Bramhall himself x . The latter is written in a style very
different from the nervous energy of Dr. Bramhall s ; and was really
the composition of Dr. John Nalson. Lastly, he is said^ (although
upon very slight grounds) to have assisted in the composition of two
other treatises against the Presbyterians by one John Corbet, once
a Presbyterian Minister at Bonyl, near Dumbarton, viz. "The
Ungirding of the Scottish Armour 2 ," and " Lysimachus Nicanor a ;"
and also b in that of a third, by Bp. Maxwell (attributed however
by some to the same John Corbet), entitled " The Burthen of Issa-
char d ."]
[ r Mentioned in the " Vindic. of Covenanters at Edinburgh, &c. &c., to
Episcop. Clergy," c. vi. "Works, p. 626. draw them to take up armes, against
fol. edit.] the Lord s Anointed, throughout the
s [Mentioned in the Preface to the whole kingdom of Scotland." Dublin,
"Defence of True Liberty," &c., Works, 4to. 1639. With Licence from the
p. 648. fol. edit] Primate Usher, and a Dedication to the
1 [Life of Milton, sectiii. pp. 133 Lord Deputy, Wentworth.]
1 35. note.] a [" The Epistle Congratulatory of
u [An English clergyman, named Lysimachus Nicanor, of the Society of
John Rowland.] Jesu, to the Covenanters in Scotland,
* [In a letter to his Son, Letters wherein is Paralleled our Sweet Har-
No. IX.] mony and Correspondency in Divers
y [Life, &c. p. 24. The story is Materiall Points of Doctrine and Prac-
inverted by Mr. Baylie, in his Review tice." First printed anonymously, in
of Fair Warning, ch. i. p. 2. who accuses 1640, 4to.]
Bramhall of borrowing, in that treatise, b [Note by Baker, on Wood s Athen.
from Corbet sLysimachusNicanor, and Oxon. by Bliss, vol. iii. p. 1265.]
Maxwell s Burthen of Issachar. Cor- c [First of Ross, in Scotland, then
bet, when compelled to fly to Ireland, of Killala and Tuam successively. He
upon his refusal to take the Covenant, was received by Bp. Bramhall in Ire-
was protected and patronised by Bram- land, when compelled to fly from Scot-
hall (Life, &c. p. 27.).] land, in 1639 (Life, &c. p. 24.).]
2 [" In answer to the Informations <* [" Or, The Tyrannical Power and
for Defensive Armes against the King s Practices of the Presbyterian Govern-
Majestie, which were drawn up by the ment in Scotland." Lond. 1046. 4to.]
XXXVi APPENDIX.
%* [Some additional remarks were appended to the Life of Bp.
Bramhall by Towers and Kippis, in their edition of the Biograph.
Britann. ; of which those worthy of notice are here added.
1. They observe, that "the conduct of Bp. Bramhall in the Irish
Convocation of 1634 e , doth not seem entitled to any very extrava
gant applause ;" that " it was his aim to have the Articles of the
Church of Ireland somewhat less Calvinistical," and that " in the
management of this affair he shewed great dexterity " It must
be remembered f , however, that, in the substitution of the English for
the Irish Articles by that Convocation (the former omitting, the latter
containing, the five Lambeth Articles), the change in itself was held
by loth parties to be sufficiently formal to allow both to regard its
accomplishment as in some sense a victory, the Primate Usher
and his friends considering the Irish Articles uncondemned by the
act, although set aside, Bp. Bramhall and the Lord Deputy holding
them to be in effect abrogated &, but only or chiefly because set
aside. The Bishop s dexterity therefore can scarcely be supposed
or implied to have exceeded the bounds of honesty, because he
urged the adoption of the measure upon the ground of its being in
the main, and in itself, a merely formal change, a ground, which the
opinion of the opposite party also warranted him in assuming, while
he considered it all the time in its probable consequences to be real
and most important.
2. It is further remarked by the same writers, that " the story of
Bp. Bramhall s danger in Spain h is very extraordinary : for unless
he had done something relative to that kingdom, of which we have
no account, it seems scarcely conceivable that such measures should
be adopted for apprehending him." However, in the words of
Bp. Mant*, " his well-known character, his station in the Church, his
former connection with those of the highest authority in his own
country, and the influence of which he was probably still possessed,
may be sufficient to account for the hostility of" so "jealous and
watchful" a tribunal as the Inquisition, and leave Bp. Vesey s state
ment "unsuspected."
The object of the journey seems to have been, partly, " the pur
pose k of drawing a parallel between the Liturgy of the Church of
e [See above note I.] * [Ch. of Irel., ch. viii. pp. 595, 596.]
{ [See the circumstantial account of k [Bp. Vesey reports this fact, as
the matter in Mant, Ch. of Ireland, ch. from Bramhall s own declaration to Dr.
vii. 5.1 Walker, Dr. Vesey s uncle ; and that
B [So Bp. Vesey (Life, &c. pp. 17, Bramhall entertained a design of the
18), and Bp. Taylor (Funer. Sermon), kind, appears from his "Serpent-Salve,"
and Bramhall himself (Discourse upon c. xii (p. 511. fol. edit.). Mant therefore
the Sabbath, pp. 936, 937, fol. edit.).] (as quoted in note i) had insufficient
h [See note P.] reason to doubt its truth.]
APPENDIX. XXXV11
England and the public forms of the Protestant Churches," and,
partly, the settlement of some pecuniary affairs 1 .
3. The writers above mentioned go on to remark, that " the matter
of reordination m was a great difficulty in the last" (i. e. the seven
teenth) "century, with many non-conformist divines, who were other
wise disposed to have come over to the Church of England ;" that
" the Ecclesiastical Commissioners of 1689 proposed to admit of
some latitude in the affair ;" and that " Abp. Bramhall had furnished
them with a precedent for so doing, by the manner in which he had
received some Scotch Presbyters into the Church." The extent of
the latitude here hinted will be best seen by stating the instance
given of it n , viz. that, " in the orders" (i. e. letters of orders) " which
he gave to Mr. Edward Parkinson, the following words were
inserted : Non annihilates priores ordines (si quos habuit) nee
invaliditatem eorundem determinantes, multo minus omnes ordines
sacros Ecclesiarum forinsecarum condemnantes, quos proprio Judici
relinquimus, sed solummodo supplentes quicquid prius defuit per
canones Ecclesice Anglicance requisitum, et providentes pad Ecclesice,
ut schismatis tollatur occasio, et conscientiis fidelium satisfiat, nee ulli
dubitent de ejus ordinatione, aut actus suos presbyteriales tanquam
invalidos aversentur. In cujus rei testimonium, " fyc.
It is certainly " not a little remarkable" that a concession so
carefully guarded should have been elsewhere made the foundation of
a very serious and groundless misrepresentation. It has been however
asserted , and upon the strength of the instance above given, that
" with regard to any Ministers who had received Presbyterian orders
during the confusion of the Great Rebellion, the method employed
by Archbishop Bramhall, was, not to cause them * to undergo
a new ordination, but to admit them into the Ministry of the Church
by a conditional ordination, as we do in the Baptism of those of
whom it is uncertain whether they are baptized or not. But this
assertion is not supported by the statement of Bp. Vesey" upon the
subject, " and the document alleged by him : on the contrary it is
directly opposed to both. For they give us to understand that the
Archbishop did ordain the persons in question, as the law of this
Church requireth ; therefore not conditionally, for the law of this
Church recognises no conditional ordination : but that subsequently
he introduced into his * letters of orders an explanatory remark.
1 [See Letters, No. VIII.] Church of England, Introd. p. 112
m [See above, note R.] quoted by Mant, Ch. of Irel., ch. ix.
n From Birch s Life of Tillotson, p. 1. p. 625, from whom the rest of this
176. [See also Vesey s Life,&c.p. 36.] paragraph is taken.]
[By Nichols, in his Defence of the
XXXV111
APPENDIX.
The historian seems to identify the form of ordination with the
subsequent letters of orders or certificate. But, whatever be the
cause, the error is manifest ; and it requires correction, both that the
character of such a man as Primate Bramhall may be vindicated
from the allegation, and even from the suspicion, of illegally devia
ting from the prescript forms of the Church, whereas he acted pro
fessedly and strictly as the law of the Church require th ; and that
the principles and provisions of the Church herself may not be mis
apprehended in a matter of such infinite importance P."
4. The writers above mentioned conclude with quoting Mr.
Granger s ^ observation, that " Dr. Bramhall was one of the most
able, learned, and active Prelates of the age in which he lived, an
acute disputant, and an excellent preacher."
p [Bramhall s conduct in a somewhat
parallel case to the one to which the
above observations relate, may serve to
strengthen their force : for it appears
expressly that he did on one occasion
reordain, although, it is true, at the
person s own request, one who had
originally received only Presbyterian
orders (Life, &c. p. 34.).]
* Biographical Hist. [vol. V. p. 194.
4to. edit.]
A SERMON
PREACHED IN
CHRIST S CHURCH, DUBLIN,
JULY 1G, 16G3 ;
AT THE FUNERAL OF
THE MOST REVEREND FATHER IN GOD,
JOHN
LATE LORD ARCHBISHOP OF ARMAGH, AND PRIMATE OF ALL IRELAND.
BY THE RIGHT REVEREND
JEREMY TAYLOR, D.D.
LORD BISHOP OF DOWN, CONNOR, AND DROMORE.
[Vol. vi. pp. 409, sq. of Taylor s Works, ed. Heber. being the Vllth Sermon of
the AfKas EnPo\i/J.cuos, or Supplement to the Efiauros.]
A FUNERAL SERMON.
1 COR. xv. 23.
But every man in his own order : Christ the first-fruits ;
afterward they that are Christ s at His coming.
THE condition of man, in this world, is so limited and
depressed, so relative and imperfect, that the best things he
does, he does weakly, and the best things he hath, are im
perfections in their very constitution. I need not tell how
little it is that we know : the greatest indication of this is
that we can never tell how many things we know not ; and
we may soon span our own knowledge, but our ignorance we
can never fathom. Our very will, in which mankind pre
tends to be most noble and imperial, is a direct state of im
perfection ; and our very liberty of choosing good and evil is
permitted to us, not to make us proud, but to make us
humble ; for it supposes weakness of reason and weakness of
love. For if we understood all the degrees of amability in
the service of God, or if we had such love to God as He de
serves, and so perfect a conviction as were fit for His ser
vices, we could no more deliberate : for liberty of will is like
the motion of a magnetic needle toward the north, full of
trembling and uncertainty till it were fixed in the beloved
point ; it wavers as long as it is free, and is at rest when it
can choose no more. And truly what is the hope of man?
It is indeed the resurrection of the soul in this world from
sorrow and her saddest pressures, and like the twilight to the
day, and the harbinger of joy ; but still it is but a conjuga
tion of infirmities, and proclaims our present calamity ; only
because it is uneasy here, it thrusts us forward toward the
light and glories of the resurrection.
xlii A SERMON PREACHED AT THE
For as a worm creeping with her belly on the ground, with
her portion and share of Adam s curse, lifts up its head to
partake a little of the blessings of the air, and opens the
junctures of her imperfect body, and curls her little rings
into knots and combinations, drawing up her tail to a
neighbourhood of the head s pleasure and motion ; but still
it must return to abide the fate of its own nature, and
dwell and sleep upon the dust : so are the hopes of a mortal
man ; he opens his eyes, and looks upon fine things at dis
tance, and shuts them again with weakness, because they are
too glorious to behold ; and the man rejoices because he
hopes fine things are staying for him ; but his heart aches,
because he knows there are a thousand ways to fail and miss
of those glories ; and though he hopes, yet he enjoys not ; he
longs, but he possesses not, and must be content with his
[Ps. xxii. portion of dust ; and being " a worm, and no man/ must
lie down in this portion, before he can receive the end of his
hopes, the salvation of his soul in the resurrection of the
dead. For as death is the end of our lives, so is the resur-
[i Cor. xv. rection the end of our hopes ; and as we " die daily," so we
daily hope : but death, which is the end of our life, is the
enlargement of our spirits from hope to certainty, from un
certain fears to certain expectations, from the death of the
body to the life of the soul ; that is, to partake of the light
and life of Christ, to rise to life as He did ; for His resurrec
tion is the beginning of ours : He died for us alone, not for
Himself; but He rose again for Himself and us too. So
that if He did rise, so shall we; the resurrection shall be
universal ; good and bad, all shall rise, but not altogether :
first Christ, then we that are Christ s ; and yet there is a
third resurrection, though not spoken of here ; but thus it
\\ Thess. shall be. " The dead of Christ shall rise first;" that is,
next to Christ ; and after them, the wicked shall rise to con
demnation.
So that you see here is the sum of affairs treated of in my
text : not whether it be lawful to eat a tortoise or a mush
room, or to tread with the foot bare upon the ground within
the octaves of Easter. It is not here inquired, whether
angels be material or immaterial ; or whether the dwellings
of dead infants be within the air or in the regions of the
FUNERAL OF THE LORD PRIMATE. xliii
earth ? the inquiry here is, whether we are to be Christians
or no ? whether we are to live good lives or no ? or whether
it he permitted to us to live with lust or covetousness, acted
with all the daughters of rapine and ambition? whether
there be any such thing as sin, any judicatory for con
sciences, any rewards of piety, any difference of good and
bad, any rewards after this life ? This is the design of these
words by proper interpretation : for if men shall die like
dogs and sheep, they will certainly live like wolves and
foxes ; but he that believes the article of the resurrection,
hath entertained the greatest demonstration in the world,
that nothing can make us happy but the knowledge of God,
and conformity to the life and death of the Holy Jesus.
Here, therefore, are the great hinges of all religion : 1.
Christ is already risen from the dead. 2. We also shall rise
in God s time and our order. " Christ is the first-fruits."
But there shall be a full harvest of the resurrection, and all
shall rise. My text speaks only of the resurrection of the
just, of them that belong to Christ; explicitly, I say, of
these ; and, therefore, directly of resurrection to life eternal.
But because he also says there shall be an order for every
man ; and yet every man does not belong to Christ ; there
fore, indirectly also, he implies the more universal resurrec
tion unto judgment : but this shall be the last thing that
shall be done; for, according to the proverb of the Jews,
Michael flies but with one wing, and Gabriel with two : God
is quick in sending angels of peace, and they fly apace ; but
the messengers of wrath come slowly : God is more hasty to
glorify His servants than to condemn the wicked. And,
therefore, in the story of Dives and Lazarus, we find that the [Luke
beggar died first; the good man, Lazarus, was first taken 22 -
away from his misery to his comfort, and afterwards the rich
man died ; and as the good, many times, die first, so all of
them rise first, as if it were a matter of haste : and as the
mother s breasts swell, and shoot, and long to give food to
her babe, so God s bowels did yearn over His banished
children, and He longs to cause them to eat and drink in
His kingdom. And at last the wicked shall rise unto con
demnation, for that must be done too ; every man in his
own order : first Christ, then Christ s servants, and, at last,
A SERMON PREACHED AT THE
Christ s enemies. The first of these is the great ground of
our faith ; the second is the consummation of all our hopes :
the first is the foundation of God, that stands sure ; the
second is that superstructure that shall never perish : by the
first we believe in God unto righteousness ; by the second
we live in God unto salvation : but the third, for that also is
true, and must be considered, is the great affrightment of all
them that live ungodly. But in the whole, Christ s resur-
[Rev. i. 8. rection and ours is " the A and fl " of a Christian ; that as
riieb xiii " ^ esus Christ is the same yesterday, and to-day, and the
s.] same for ever," so may we in Christ become the morrow of
the resurrection, the same or better than yesterday in our
natural life ; the same body and the same soul, tied to
gether in the same essential union, with this only difference,
that not nature, but grace and glory, with an hermetic seal,
give us a new signature, whereby we shall no more be
changed, but, like unto Christ our Head, we shall become
the same for ever. Of these I shall discourse in order.
1. That Christ, who is "the first fruits," is the first in this
order : He is already risen from the dead. 2. "We shall all
take our turns, we shall die, and, as sure as death, we shall
all rise again. And, 3. This very order is effective of the
thing itself. That Christ is first risen, is the demonstration
and certainty of ours ; for because there is an order in this
economy, the first in the kind is the measure of the rest. If
Christ ]pe the first fruits, we are the whole vintage ; and we
shall all die in the order of nature, and shall rise again" in
the order of Christ : " they that are Christ s," and are found
so " at His coming," shall partake of His resurrection. But
Christ first, then they that are Christ s : that is the order.
I. Christ is the first fruits ; He is already risen from the
[Acts ii. dead : for He alone could not be held by death/ " Free
|p^ among the dead."
lxxxviii.5.]
Synes " &pifv ere yepav rdre
gy m -.?- " A*8as 6
Petavn,
p. 347. " Kai \ao[36pos
Death was sin s eldest daughter, and the grave clothes
were her first mantle ; but Christ was Conqueror over both,
FUNERAL OF THE LORD PRIMATE. xv
and came to take that away, and to disarm this. This was a
glory fit for the Head of mankind, but it was too great and
too good to be easily believed by incredulous and weak-
hearted man. It was at first doubted by all that were con
cerned ; but they that saw it, had no reason to doubt any
longer. But what is that to us, who saw it not ? Yes, very
much : " Valde dubitatum est ab illis, ne dubitaretur a
nobis," saith St. Austin ; " They doubted very much, that,
by their confirmation, we might be established, and doubt no
more." Mary Magdalene saw Him first, and she ran with [Markxvi.
joy, and said " She had seen the Lord," and that He was John xx.
risen from the dead ; but they "believed her not " after that, K
divers women together saw Him, and they told it, but had C^t. ^
no thanks for their pains, and obtained no credit among the Luke xxiv.
disciples : the two disciples that went to Einmaus, saw Him, r Luke
talked with Him, ate with Him, and they ran and told it : |*^- 13
they told true, but nobody believed them : then St. Peter [Luke
saw Him, but he was not yet got into the chair of the * coi-.tr.
Catholic Church, they did not think him infallible, and so 5 -l
they believed him not at all. Five times in one day He
appeared; for after all this, He appeared to the eleven; they t L P y ke ,
were indeed transported with joy and wonder; but they &c.]
would scarce believe their own eyes, and though they saw
Him, they doubted. Well, all this was not enough; He was I 1 Cor xv.
seen also of James, and suffered Thomas to thrust his hand [John xx,
into His side, and appeared to St. Paul, and was seen by [Acts ix.
" five hundred brethren at once." So that there is no ca- f~^^ Y xv
pacity of mankind, no time, no place, but had an ocular 6.]
demonstration of His resurrection. He appeared to men and
women, to the clergy and the laity, to sinners of both sexes ;
to weak men and to criminals, to doubters and deniers at
home and abroad, in public and in private, in their houses
and their journeys, unexpected and by appointment, betimes
in the morning and late at night, to them in conjunction
and to them in dispersion, when they did look for Him and
when they did not ; He appeared upon earth to many, and
to St. Paul and St. Stephen from Heaven : so that we can [Acts vii.
require no greater testimony than all these are able to give
us; and they saw for themselves and for us too, that the
faith and certainty of the resurrection of Jesus might be
A SERMON PREACHED AT THE
conveyed to all that shall die, and follow Christ in their own
order.
Now this being matter of fact, cannot be supposed infinite,
but limited to time and place, and, therefore, to be proved
by them who, at that time, were upon the place ; good men
and true, simple, and yet losers by the bargain, many and
united, confident and constant, preaching it all their life,
and stoutly maintaining it at their death; men that would
not deceive others, and men that could not be deceived them
selves, in a matter so notorious, and so proved, and so seen :
and if this be not sufficient credibility in a matter of fact, as
this was, then we can have no story credibly transmitted to
us, no records kept, no acts of courts, no narratives of the
days of old, no traditions of our fathers, no memorials of
them in the third generation. Nay, if from these we have
not sufficient causes and arguments of faith, how shall we be
able to know the will of Heaven upon earth ? unless God do
not only tell it once, but always, and not only always to
some men, but always to all men : for if some men must be
lieve others, they can never do it in any thing more rea
sonably than in this ; and if we may not trust them in this,
then, without a perpetual miracle, no man could have faith :
for faith could never come by hearing, by nothing but by
seeing. But if there be any use of history, any faith in men,
any honesty in manners, any truth in human intercourse ; if
there be any use of apostles or teachers, of ambassadors or
letters, of ears or hearing ; if there be any such thing as the
grace of faith, that is less than demonstration or intuition;
then we may be as sure that Christ, the first fruits, is already
risen, as all these credibilities can make us. But let us
take heed ; as God hates a lie, so He hates incredulity ; an
obstinate, a foolish, and pertinacious understanding. What
we do every minute of our lives, in matters of title and
great concernment, if we refuse to do it in religion, which
yet is to be conducted, as all human affairs are, by human
instruments, and arguments of persuasion proper to the
nature of the thing, it is an obstinacy as cross to human
reason, as it is to Divine faith.
But this article was so clearly proved, that presently it
came to pass that men were no longer ashamed of the cross,
FUNERAL OF THE LORD PRIMATE.
but it was worn upon breasts, printed in the air, drawn upon
foreheads, carried upon banners, put upon crowns imperial ;
presently it came to pass that the religion of the despised
Jesus did infinitely prevail ; a religion that taught men to be
meek and humble, apt to receive injuries, but unapt to do
any; a religion that gave countenance to the poor and
pitiful, in a time when riches were adored, and ambition and
pleasure had possessed the heart of all mankind ; a religion
that would change the face of things, and the hearts of men,
and break vile habits into gentleness and counsel ; that such
a religion, in such a time, by the sermons and conduct of
fishermen, men of mean breeding and illiberal arts, should so
speedily triumph over the philosophy of the world, and the
arguments of the subtle, and the sermons of the eloquent ;
the power of princes and the interests of states, the inclina
tions of nature and the blindness of zeal, the force of custom
and the solicitation of passions, the pleasures of sin and the
busy arts of the devil ; that is, against wit and power, super
stition and wilfulness, fame and money, nature and empire,
which are all the causes in this world that can make a thing
impossible ; this, this is to be ascribed to the power of God,
and is the great demonstration of the resurrection of Jesus.
Every thing was an argument for it, and improved it; no
objection could hinder it, no enemies destroy it; whatsoever
was for them, it made the religion to increase ; whatsoever
was against them, made it to increase ; sunshine and storms,
fair weather or foul, it was all one as to the event of things :
for they were instruments in the hands of God, who could
make what Himself should choose to be the product of any
cause ; so that if the Christians had peace, they went abroad
and brought in converts : if they had no peace but perse
cution, the converts came in to them. In prosperity, they
allured and enticed the world by the beauty of holiness ; in
affliction and trouble, they amazed all men with the splendour
of their innocence, and the glories of their patience ; and
quickly it was that the world became disciple to the glorious
Nazarene, and men could no longer doubt of the resurrection
of Jesus, when it became so demonstrated by the certainty of
them that saw it, and the courage of them that died for it,
and the multitude of them that believed it ; who, by their
A SERMON PREACHED AT THE
sermons and their actions, by their public offices and dis
courses, by festivals and eucharists, by arguments of expe
rience and sense, by reason and religion, by persuading
rational men, and establishing believing Christians, by their
living in the obedience of Jesus, and dying for the testimony
of Jesus, have greatly advanced His kingdom, and His power,
and His glory, into which He entered after His resurrection
from the dead. For He is the First Fruits ; and if we hope
to rise through Him, we must confess that Himself is first
risen from the dead. That is the first particular.
2. There is an order for us also : we also shall rise again :
" Combustusque senex tumulo procedit adultus ;
" Consumens dat membra rogus ; "
The ashes of old Camillus shall stand up spritely from his
urn; and the funeral fires shall produce a new warmth to
the dead bones of all those, who died under the arms of all
the enemies of the Roman greatness. This is a less wonder
than the former ; for " admonetur omnis aetas jam fieri posse
quod aliquando factum est" If it was done once, it may
be done again : for since it could never have been done but
by a Power that is infinite, that infinite must also be eternal
and indeficient. By the same almighty Power, which re
stored life to the dead Body of our living Lord, we may
all be restored to a new life in the resurrection of the
dead.
When man was not, what power, what causes made him to
be ? Whatsoever it was, it did then as great a work as to
raise his body to the same being again; and because we
know not the method of nature s secret changes, and how
[Ps. we can be fashioned beneath in secreto terras/ and cannot
cxxxix. } ianc li e an d discern the possibilities and seminal powers in
the ashes of dissolved bones, must our ignorance in philo
sophy be put in balance against the articles of religion, the
hopes of mankind, the faith of nations, and the truth of
God? And are our opinions of the power of God so low,
that our understanding must be His measure ; and He shall
be confessed to do nothing, unless it be made plain in our
philosophy ? Certainly we have a low opinion of God, un
less we believe He can do more things than we can under-
FUNERAL OF THE LORD PRIMATE. xllX
stand : but let us hear St. Paul s demonstration ; if tlie [1 Cor. xv.
corn dies and lives again ; if it lays its body down, suffers
alteration, dissolution, and death, but, at the spring, rises
again in the verdure of a leaf, in the fulness of the ear, in
the kidneys of wheat ; if it proceeds from little to great, from
nakedness to ornament, from emptiness to plenty, from
unity to multitude, from death to life : be a Sadducee no
more, shame not thy understanding, and reproach not the
weakness of thy faith, by thinking that corn can be restored
to life, and man cannot ; especially since, in every creature,
the obediential capacity is infinite, and cannot admit de
grees ; for every creature can be any thing under the power
of God, which cannot be less than infinite.
But we find no obscure footsteps of this mystery even
amongst the heathens : Pliny reports that Apion, the gram- [Nat, Hist,
marian, by the use of the plant osiris, called Homer from xxx> 6
his grave; and in Valerius Maximus we find that (Elius [piin.,N.it.
Tubero returned to life, when he was seated in his funeral 50.]
pile; and in Plutarch, that Soleus, after three days burial,
did live ; and in Valerius, that Eris Pamphylius did so after Lib. i.
ten days. And it was so commonly believed, that Glaucus, f r ec ht,
who was choked in a vessel of honey, did rise again, that it l>> 7L
grew to a proverb : " Glaucus, poto melle, surrexit " " Glau
cus, having tasted honey, died and lived again/ I pretend
not to believe these stories to be true; but from these in
stances it may be concluded, that they believed it possible
that there should be a resurrection from the dead; and
natural reason, and their philosophy, did not wholly destroy
their hopes and expectation to have a portion in this article.
For God, knowing that the great hopes of man, that the
biggest endearment of religion, the sanction of private justice,
the band of piety and holy courage, does wholly derive from
the article of the resurrection, was pleased not only to make
it credible, but easy and familiar to us ; and we so converse
every night with the image of death, that every morning we
find an argument of the resurrection. Sleep and death have
but one mother, and they have one name in common.
" Soles occiclere et redire possunt ; Catull. v,
" Nobis cum semel occidit brevis lux,
" Nox est perpetua una dormienda."
BRAMHALL. C
1 A SERMON PREACHED AT THE
Charnel houses are but Koi/ji rjTijpia, cemeteries or sleep
ing places; and they that die, are fallen asleep, and the
resurrection is but an awakening and standing up from
sleep : but in sleep our senses are as fast bound by nature,
as our joints are by the grave-clothes ; and unless an angel
of God waken us every morning, we must confess ourselves
as unable to converse with men, as we now are afraid to die
and to converse with spirits. But, however, death itself is no
more ; it is but darkness and a shadow, a rest and a for get -
fulness. What is there more in death? What is there less
in sleep ? For do we not see by experience that nothing of
equal loudness does awaken us sooner than a man s voice,
especially if he be called by name ? And thus also it shall
be in the resurrection : w r e shall be awakened by the voice of
a man, and He that called Lazarus by name from his grave,
[i Cor. xv. shall also call us : for although St. Paul affirms, "that the
52 ]
[i Thess. trumpet shall sound/ and there shall be <c the voice of an arch-
iv. 16.] angel;" yet this is not a word of nature, but of office and
ministry: Christ Himself is that archangel, and He shall
i Thess. iv. " descend with a mighty shout," saith the Apostle ; " and all
John v. 28. that are in the grave shall hear His voice," saith St. John :
so that we shall be awakened by the voice of man, because
we are only fallen asleep by the decree of God ; and when
the cock and the lark call us up to prayer and labour, the
first thing we see is an argument of our resurrection from
the dead. And when we consider what the Greek Church
reports, that amongst them the bodies of those that die
excommunicate, will not return to dust till the censure be
taken off, we may, with a little faith and reason, believe,
that the same power that keeps them from their natural
dissolution, can recall them to life and union. I will not now
insist upon the story of the rising bones seen every year in
Egypt, nor the pretences of the chemists, that they, from the
ashes of flowers, can reproduce, from the same materials, the
same beauties in coloiir and figure ; for he that proves a
certain truth from an uncertain argument, is like him that
wears a wooden leg, when he hath two sound legs already ; it
hinders his going, but helps him not : the truth of God stands
not in need of such supporters ; nature alone is a sufficient
preacher :
FUNERAL OF THE LORD PRIMATE. 11
" Quse nunc herba fuit, lignum jacet, herba futura, Dracontius
" Aeriae nudantur aves cum penna vetusta, ^e Opera
" Et nova subvestit reparatas pluma volucres."
Night and day; the sun returning to the same point of
east ; every change of species in the same matter ; generation
and corruption; the eagle renewing her youth, and the
snake her skin ; the silk-worm and the swallows ; the care of
posterity, and the care of an immortal name ; winter and
summer; the fall and spring; the Old Testament and the
New; the words of Job ; and the visions of the prophets ; the [Job xix.
prayer of Ezekiel for the resurrection of the men of Ephraim ; [Ezek.
and the return of Jonas from the whale s belly ; the histories xxxvn - 1
of the Jews and the narratives of Christians; the faith of
believers and the philosophy of the reasonable ; all join in
the verification of this mystery. And amongst these heaps,
it is not of the least consideration, that there was never any
good man, who having been taught this article, but if he
served God, he also relied upon this. If he believed God, he
believed this ; and therefore St. Paul says, that they who w r ere
"eX-TTiSa fjwj exovres," were also " aOeoi ev Koa^a" they who [Ephcs. ii.
had no hope (meaning of the resurrection) were also athe- l ~
ists, and without God in the world/ And it is remarkable
what St. Austin observes, that when the world saw the
righteous Abel destroyed, and that the murderer outlived his
crime, and built up a numerous family, and grew mighty
upon earth, they neglected the service of God upon that
account, till God, in pity of their prejudice and foolish argu-
ings, took Enoch up to Heaven to recover them from their
impieties, by shewing them that their bodies and souls should
be rewarded for ever in an eternal union. But Christ, the
first fruits, is gone before, and Himself did promise, that
when Himself was lifted up, He would draw all men after
Him : " Every man in his own order : first Christ, then they
that are Christ s at His coming." And so I have done with
the second particular ; not Christ only, but we also shall rise
in God s time and our order.
But concerning this order I must speak a word or two, not
only for the fuller handling the text, but because it will be
matter of application of what hath been already spoken of the
article of the resurrection.
Hi A SERMON PREACHED AT THE
3. First Christ, and then we : and we, therefore, because
Christ is already risen : but you must remember, that the
resurrection and exaltation of Christ was the reward of His
perfect obedience and purest holiness ; and He calling us to
an imitation of the same obedience, and the same perfect holi
ness, prepares a way for us to the same resurrection. If we, by
holiness, become the sons of God, as Christ was, we shall also,
as He was, become the sons of God in the resurrection : but
upon no other terms. So said our blessed Lord Himself:
Matt. xix. Ye which have followed Me in the regeneration, when the
Son of Man shall sit on the throne of His glory, ye also shall
sit upon thrones judging the tribes of Israel." For as it was
with Christ the First Fruits, so it shall be with all Christians
in their own order : as with the Head, so it shall be with, the
members. He was the Son of God by love and obedience,
and then became the Son of God by resurrection from the
dead to life eternal, and so shall we ; but we cannot be so in
any other way. To them that are Christ s, and to none else
shall this be given : for we must know that God hath sent
Christ into the world to be a great example and demonstra
tion of the economy and dispensation of eternal life. As God
brought Christ to glory, so He will bring us, but by no other
method. He first obeyed the will of God, and patiently
suffered the will of God ; He died and rose again, and entered
into glory ; and so must we. Thus Christ is made " Via,
Veritas, et Vita/ "the Way, the Truth, and the Life ;" that is,
the true way to eternal life : He first trod this wine-press, and
we must insist in the same steps, or we shall never partake of
this blessed resurrection. He was made the Son of God in
a most glorious manner, and we by Him, by His merit, and
by His grace, and by His example ; but other than this there
is no w r ay of salvation for us : that is the first and great effect
of this glorious order.
4. But there is one thing more in it yet : " Every man in
Ms own order ; first Christ, and then they that are Christ s :"
but what shall become of them that are not Christ s ? Why
there is an order for them too : first, " they that are Christ s ;
and then they that are not His :" " Blessed and holy is he
Rev. xx. 6. that hath his part in the first resurrection :" there is a first
and a second resurrection even after this life ; " The dead in
FUNERAL OF THE LORD PRIMATE. HH
Christ shall rise first :" now blessed are they that have their 1 Thess. iv.
portion here ; " for upon these the second death shall have
no power." As for the recalling the wicked from their
graves, it is no otherwise in the sense of the Spirit to be
called a resurrection, than taking a criminal from the prison
to the bar, is a giving of liberty. When poor Acilius Aviola
had been seized on by an apoplexy, his friends, supposing piin. vii.
him dead, carried him to his funeral pile; but when the fire Max.Tfs? r
began to approach, and the heat to warm the body, he 12 ^
revived, and seeing himself encircled with funeral flames,
called out aloud to his friends to rescue, not the dead, but
the living Aviola from that horrid burning : but it could not
be, he only was restored from his sickness to fall into death,
and from his dull disease to a sharp and intolerable torment.
Just so shall the wicked live again ; they shall receive their
souls, that they may be a portion for devils ; they shall
receive their bodies, that they may feel the everlasting burn
ing ; they shall see Christ, that they may look on Him [Zech. xii.
whom they have pierced ; and they shall hear the voice of
God passing upon them the intolerable sentence ; they shall
come from their graves, that they may go into hell ; and live
again, that they may die for ever. So have we seen a poor
condemned criminal, the weight of whose sorrows sitting
heavily upon his soul hath benumbed him into a deep sleep,
till he hath forgotten his groans, and laid aside his deep
sighings; but, on a sudden, comes the messenger of death,
and unbinds the poppy garland, scatters the heavy cloud that
encircled his miserable head, and makes him return to acts
of life, that he may quickly descend into death and be no
more. So is every sinner that lies down in shame, and
makes his grave with the wicked ; he shall indeed rise [isai. liii.
again, and be called upon by the voice of the archangel ; 9
but then he shall descend into sorrows greater than the
reason and the patience of a man, weeping and shrieking
louder than the groans of the miserable children in the valley
of Hinnom.
These, indeed, are sad stories, but true as the voice of
God, and the sermons of the Holy Jesus. They are God s
words, and God s decrees ; and I wish that all who profess
the belief of these, would consider sadly what they mean. If
A SERMON PREACHED AT THE
[Nov0eT.
"7 99! V
Gaisford,
ye believe the article of the resurrection, then you know, that,
in your body, you shall receive what you did in the body,
whether it be good or bad. It matters not now very much,
whether our bodies be beauteous or deformed; for if we
glorify God in our bodies, God shall make our bodies glori
ous. It matters not much whether we live in ease and plea
sure, or eat nothing but bitter herbs ; the body that lies in
dust and ashes, that goes stooping and feeble, that lodges at
the foot of the cross, and dwells in discipline, shall be feasted
at the eternal supper of the Lamb. And ever remember this,
that beastly pleasures, and lying lips, and a deceitful tongue,
and a heart that sendeth forth proud things, are no good
dispositions to a blessed resurrection.
" Ov Ka\ov d
* It is not for good, that in the body we live a life of dissolu
tion, for that is no good harmony with that purpose of glory
which God designs the body ;
yaii]s e\7riopev e$ (f)dos
deol re
" Kat
said Phocylides ; " for we hope that from our beds of dark-
ness we sna ^ r * se * nto re gi ns f light, an( l shall become like
unto God :" they shall partake of a resurrection to life; and
what this can infer is very obvious : for if it be so hard
to believe a resurrection from one death, let us not be dead in
trespasses and sins ; for a resurrection from two deaths will
be harder to be believed, and harder to be effected. But if
any of you have lost the life of grace, and so forfeited all your
title to a life of glory, betake yourselves to an early and
an entire piety, that when, by this first resurrection, you
have made this way plain before your face, you may with
confidence expect a happy resurrection from your graves :
for if it be possible that the spirit, when it is dead in sin, can
arise to a life of righteousness ; much more it is easy to sup
pose that the body, after death, is capable of being restored
again : and this is a consequent of St. Paul s argument :
Rom v. 10. (i 1f> when ye were enemies, ye were reconciled by His death,
much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life ;"
plainly declaring, that it is a harder and more wonderful
FUNERAL OF THE LORD PRIMATE. Iv
thing for a wicked man to become the friend of God, than for
one that is so, to be carried up to Heaven and partake of
His glory. The first resurrection is certainly the greater
miracle : but he that hath risen once, may rise again ; and
this is as sure as that he that dies once, may die again, and
die for ever. But he who partakes of the death of Christ by
mortification, and of His resurrection by holiness of life and a
holy faith, shall, according to the expression of the Prophet
Isaiah, "Enter into his chamber of death;" when nature and Jsai. xxvi.
God s decree e< shall shut the doors upon him," and there he
shall be hidden for a little moment : but then shall they that
dwell in dust, awake and sing, with Christ s dead Body shall
they arise ; all shall rise, but " every man in his own order ;
Christ, the first fruits, then they that are Christ s at His
coming." Amen.
I have now done with my meditation of the resurrection ;
but we have had a new and a sadder subject to consider. It
is glorious and brave when a Christian contemplates those
glories, which stand at the foot of the account of all God s
servants ; but when we consider, that before all, or any
thing of this happens, every Christian must twice ( exuere
hominem/ put off the old man/ and then lie down in dust, [Ephes. iy.
and the dishonours of the grave ; it is vinum myrrhatum/ g/j
there is myrrh put into our wine : it is wholesome, but it
will allay all our pleasures of that glorious expectation : but
no man can escape it. After that the great Cyrus had ruled
long in a mighty empire, yet there came a message from
Heaven, not so sad it may be, yet as decretory as the hand
writing on the wall that arrested his successor Darius,
"2v cTKevd^ov, co Kvpe r)S7j jap et? Oeovs wirei" "Prepare thyself, Cyrop.
O Cyrus, and then go unto the gods ;" he laid aside his tire Schneider
and his beauteous diadem, and covered his face with a cloth,
and in a single linen laid his honoured head in a poor
humble grave ; and none of us all can avoid this sentence :
for if wit and learning, great fame and great experience ; if
wise notices of things, and an honourable fortune ; if courage
and skill, if prelacy and an honourable age, if any thing that
could give greatness and immunity to a wise and prudent
man, could have been put in a bar against a sad day, and
have gone for good plea, this sad scene of sorrows had not
Ivi A SERMON PREACHED AT THE
been the entertainment of this assembly. But tell me,
Where are those great masters, who while they lived,
flourished in their studies? " Jam eorum prabendas alii
possident, et nescio utrwn de Us coyitant ;" "other men
have got their prebends and their dignities, and who knows
whether ever they remember them or no?" While they
lived, they seemed nothing ; when they are dead, every man
for awhile speaks of them what they please ; and afterwards
they are as if they had not been. But the piety of the
Christian Church hath made some little provision towards an
artificial immortality for brave and worthy persons ; and the
friendships which our dead contracted while they were
alive, require us to continue a fair memory as long as we
can ; but they expire in monthly minds, or at most in a faint
and declining anniversary;
eVei </>iXos, OCTTIS CTaipov
" Mep,vr)TCU Krapevoio KCU a-^vvrai our er eovros
And we have great reason so to do in this present sad
accident of the death of our late most reverend Primate,
whose death the Church of Ireland hath very great reason to
deplore ; and we have great obligation to remember his very
many worthy deeds, done for this poor afflicted and despised
Church. St.Paul made an excellent funeral oration, as it were
Hebrews, instituting a feast of all saints, who all died " having obtained
a good report :" and that excellent preacher made a sermon
of their commemoration. For since good men, while they
are alive, have their conversation in Heaven ; when they are
in Heaven, it is also fit that they should, in their good
names, live upon earth. And as their great examples are an
excellent sermon to the living, and the praising them, when
envy and flattery can have no interest to interpose, as it is
the best and most vigorous sermon and incentive to great
things ; so to conceal what good God hath wrought by them
is great unthankfulness to God and to good men.
When Dorcas died, the Apostle came to see the dead
corpse, and the friends of the deceased expressed their grief
and their love, by shewing the coats that she, whilst she
lived, wrought with her own hands : she was a good needle-
FUNERAL OF THE LORI) PRIMATE.
woman and a good house-wife, and did good to mankind in
her little way, and that itself ought not to be forgotten ; and
the Apostle himself was not displeased with their little
sermons, and that eL</>r;/ucr//,o9 which the women made upon
that sad interview. But if we may have the same liberty to
record the worthy things of this our most venerable father
and brother, and if there remains no more of that envy
Avhich usually obscures the splendour of living heroes ; if you
can with your charitable, though weeping eyes, behold the
great gifts of God with which He adorned this great prelate,
and not object the failings of humanity to the participation
of the graces of the Spirit, or think that God s gifts are the
less because they are born in earthen vessels, " Travre? jap
K\vra Swpa Kepao-crdfjievoL (fropeovaw," for all men bear mortal
ity about them, and the cabinet is not so beauteous as the
diamond that shines within its bosom ; then we may, without
interruption, pay this duty to piety, and friendship, and
thankfulness ; and deplore our sad loss by telling a true and
sad story of this great man, whom God hath lately taken
from our eyes.
He was bred in Cambridge, in Sidney College, under
Mr. Hulet, a grave and worthy man; and he shewed him
self not only a fruitful plant by his great progress in his
studies, but made him another return of gratitude, taking care
to provide a good employment for him in Ireland, where he
then began to be greatly interested. It was spoken as an
honour to Augustus Caesar, that he gave his tutor an
honourable funeral ; and Marcus Antoninus erected a statue [Capitoii-
unto his ; and Gratian the emperor made his master Auso- rui]"
nius to be consul : and our worthy primate, knowing the G^tian
obligation which they pass upon us, who do obstetricare gra- Gratiar.
mdcs, anima, help the parturient soul to bring forth fruits
according to its seminal powers, was careful not only to re
ward the industry of such persons, so useful to the Church
in the cultivating infantes palmarum, ( young plants/
whose joints are to be stretched and made straight ; but to
demonstrate that his scholar knew how to value learning,
when he knew so well how to reward the teacher.
Having passed the course of his studies in the University,
and done his exercise with that applause which is usually the
A SERMON PREACHED AT THE
reward of pregnant wit and hard study, he was removed into
Yorkshire, where first, in the city of York, he was an assi
duous preacher ; but, by the disposition of the Divine Pro-
[Bram- vidence, he happened to be engaged at Northallerton in dis-
gonists " putation with three pragmatical Romish priests of the
numb in Jesuit s order, whom he so much worsted in the conference,
see hisfwn ^^ S0 snamefu % disadvantaged by the evidence of truth,
account of represented wisely and learnedly, that the famous primate of
vereyTs 1 " York, Archbishop Matthews, a learned and an excellent
Sffe, in P relate ; and a m st worthy preacher, hearing of that triumph,
above, note sent for him, and made him his chaplain ; in whose service
he continued till the death of the primate, but, in that time
had given so much testimony of his dexterity in the conduct
of ecclesiastical and civil affairs, that he grew dear to his
master. In that employment he was made prebendary of
York, and then of Rippon, the dean of which church having
made him his sub-dean, he managed the affairs of that
Church so well, that he soon acquired a greater fame, and
entered into the possession of many hearts, and admiration
to those many more that knew him. There and at his par
sonage he continued long to do the duty of a learned and
good preacher, and by his wisdom, eloquence, and deport
ment, so gained the affections of the nobility, gentry, and
commons of that country, that at his return thither upon the
blessed restoration of his most sacred majesty, he knew
himself obliged enough, and was so kind as to give them a
visit; so they, by their coming in great numbers to meet
him, their joyful reception of him, their great caressing of
him when he was there, their forward hopes to enjoy him as
their Bishop, their trouble at his departure, their unwilling
ness to let him go away, gave signal testimonies that they
were wise and kind enough to understand and value his
great worth.
But while he lived there, he was like a diamond in the
dust, or Lucius Quinctius at the plough; his low fortune
covered a most valuable person, till he became observed by
Sir Thomas Wentworth, Lord President of York, whom we
all knew for his great excellencies, and his great but glorious
misfortunes. This rare person espied the great abilities of
Doctor Bramhall, and made him his chaplain, and brought
FUNERAL OF THE LORD PRIMATE. x
him into Ireland, as one who, he believed, would prove the
most fit instrument to serve in that design, which, for two
years before his arrival here, he had greatly meditated and
resolved, the reformation of religion, and the reparation of
the broken fortunes of the Church. The complaints were
many, the abuses great, the causes of the Church vastly
numerous ; but as fast as they were brought in, so fast they
were by the Lord Deputy referred back to Dr. Bramhall,
who by his indefatigable pains, great sagacity, perpetual
watchfulness, daily and hourly consultations, reduced things
to a more tolerable condition, than they had been left in by
the schismatical principles of some, and the unjust prepos
sessions of others, for many years before : for at the refor
mation, the popish bishops and priests seemed to conform,
and did so, that keeping their bishopricks they might enrich
their kindred and dilapidate the revenues of the Church,
which by pretended offices, false informations, fee-farms at
contemptible rents, and ungodly alienations, were made low
as poverty itself, and unfit to minister to the needs of them
that served the altar, or the noblest purposes of religion : for
hospitality decayed, and the bishops were easy to be op
pressed by those that would ; and they complained, but for a
long time had no helper, till God raised up that glorious in
strument the Earl of Strafford, who brought over with him
as great affections to the Church and to all public interests,
and as admirable abilities, as ever before his time did invest
and adorn any of the king s vicegerents ; and God fitted his
hand with an instrument good as his skill was great : for the
first specimen of his abilities and diligence in the recovery of
some lost tithes, being represented to his late majesty, of
blessed and glorious memory, it pleased his majesty, upon
the death of Bishop Downham, to advance the doctor to the
bishoprick of Derry, which he not only adorned with an ex
cellent spirit and a wise government, but did more than
double the revenue, not by taking any thing from them to
whom it was due, but by resuming something of the
Church s patrimony, which by undue means was detained
in unfitting hands.
But his care was beyond his diocese, and his zeal broke
out to warm all his brethren ; and, though by reason of the
x A SERMON PREACHED AT THE
favour and piety of King James, the escheated counties
were well provided for their tithes, yet the bisliopricks were
not so well, till the primate, then bishop of Deny, by the
favour of the Lord Lieutenant and his own incessant and
assiduous labour and wise conduct, brought in divers impro-
priations, cancelled many unjust alienations, and did restore
them to a condition much more tolerable ; I say much more
tolerable; for though he raised them above contempt, yet
they were not near to envy ; but he knew there could not in
all times be wanting too many, that envied to the Church
every degree of prosperity : so Judas did to Christ the ex
pense of ointment ; and so Dionysius told the priest, when
himself stole the golden cloak from Apollo, and gave him one
of the Arcadian home-spun, that it was warmer for him in
winter and cooler in summer. And, for ever, since the
Church, by God s blessing and the favour of religious kings
and princes, and pious nobility, hath been endowed with fair
[Matt. xiv. revenues, inimicus homo, the enemy hath not been
wanting, by pretences of religion, to take away God s portion
from the Church, as if His word were intended as an instru
ment to rob His houses. But when the Israelites were
governed by a Oeo/cparla, and God was their king, and
Moses His lieutenant, and things were of His management,
He was pleased, by making great provisions for them that
ministered in the service of the tabernacle, to consign this
truth for ever; that men, as they love God, at the same
rate are to make provisions for His priests. For when Him
self did it, He not only gave the forty-eight cities, with a
mile of glebe round about their city every way, and yet the
whole country was but an hundred and forty miles long, or
thereabouts, from Dan to Beersheba; but beside this they
had the tithe of all increase, the first fruits, offerings, vows,
redemptions, and in short, they had twenty-four sorts of
dues, as Buxtorf relates ; and all this either brought to the
barn home to them without trouble, or else, as the nature of
the thing required, brought to the temple ; the first to make
it more profitable, and the second to declare that they
received it not from the people but from God, not the
people s kindness but the Lord s inheritance : insomuch that
this small tribe of Levi, which was not the fortieth part of
FUNERAL OF THE LOUD PRIMATE. 1x1
the people, as the Scripture computes them, had a revenue
almost treble to any of the largest of the tribes. I will not Numb. i.
insist on what Villalpandus observes, it may easily be read in ^f { d m j f*
the xlvth. of Ezekiel, concerning that portion which God of ithes.
reserves for Himself and His service ; but whatsoever it be, c
this shall I say, that is confessedly a prophecy of the Gospel;
but this I add, that they had as little to do, and much less
than a Christian priest ; and yet in all the twenty-four See Phiio,
courses the poorest priest among them might be esteemed ^ , u a
a rich man. I speak not this to upbraid any man, or any Itpiw.
thing but sacrilege and murmur, nor to any other end but to
represent upon what great and religious grounds the then
Bishop of Derry did, with so much care and assiduous labour,
endeavour to restore the Church of Ireland to that splendour
and fulness ; which as it is much conducing to the honour of
God and of religion, God Himself being the judge, so it is
much more necessary for you than it is for us ; and so this
wise prelate rarely well understood it ; and having the same
advantage and blessing as we now have, a gracious king, and
a lieutenant, patron of religion and the Church, he improved
the deposita pietatis, as Origen calls them, the gages of Tract. 25.
piety/ which the religion of the ancient princes and nobles of the ^; Mat ^
this kingdom had bountifully given to such a comfortable
competency, that though there be place left for present and
future piety to large itself, yet no man hath reason to
be discouraged in his duty ; insomuch that as I have heard
from a most worthy hand, that at his going into England he
gave account to the Archbishop of Canterbury of 30,000. a
year, in the recovery of which he was greatly and principally
instrumental. But the goods of this world are called " waters " [Prov. ix.
by Solomon: " stolen waters are sweet," and they are too un
stable to be stopped : some of these waters did run back from
their proper channel, and return to another course than God
and the laws intended; yet his labours and pious counsels
were not the less acceptable to God and good men, and there
fore by a thankful and honourable recognition, the convoca
tion of the Church of Ireland has transmitted in record to
posterity their deep resentment of his singular services and
great abilities in this whole affair. And this honour will for
ever remain to that Bishop of Derry ; he had a Zerubbabel
Ixii A SERMON PREACHED AT THE
who repaired the temple and restored its beauty ; but he was
the Joshua,, the high priest, who under him ministered this
blessing to the congregations of the Lord.
But his care was not determined in the exterior part only,
and accessaries of religion; he was careful, and he was
prosperous in it, to reduce that divine and excellent service
of our Church to public and constant exercise, to unity and
devotion ; and to cause the articles of the Church of Eng
land to be accepted as the rule of public confessions and per-
[Gen.xi.1.] suasions here, that they and we might be populus unius
labii, of one heart and one lip/ building up our hopes of
Heaven on a most holy faith ; and taking away that Shib
boleth which made this Church lisp too undecently, or
rather, in some little degree, to speak the speech of Ashdod,
and not the language of Canaan ; and the excellent and wise
pains he took in this particular no man can dehonestate or
reproach, but he that is not willing to confess, that the
Church of England is the best reformed Church in the world.
But when the brave Roman infantry, under the conduct of
Manlius, ascended up to the Capitol to defend religion and
the altars, from the fury of the Gauls, they all prayed to
[Floras, i. God, " Ut quemadmodum ipsi ad defendendum templum
Ejus concurrissent , it a Ille virtutem eorum numine Suo
tueretur :" "That as they came to defend His temple by
their arms, so He would defend their persons and that cause
with His power and divinity." And this excellent man in
the cause of religion found the like blessing which they
prayed for; God, by the prosperity of his labours and a
blessed effect, gave testimony not only of the piety and
wisdom of his purposes, but that He loves to bless a wise in
strument, when it is vigorously employed in a wise and reli
gious labour. He overcame the difficulty in defiance of all
such pretences, as were made even from religion itself, to ob
struct the better procedure of real and material religion.
These were great things and matter of great envy, and
like the fiery eruptions of Vesuvius, might, with the very
ashes of consumption, have buried another man. At first in
deed, as his blessed Master, the most holy Jesus, had, so he
[isa. ixi. 2. also had his annum acceptabilem At first the product
Luke iv. 19.1 ,-, . ,
J was nothing but great admiration at his stupendous parts,
FUNERAL OF THE LORD PRIMATE.
and wonder at his mighty diligence and observation of his
unusual zeal in so good and great things ; but this quickly
passed into the natural daughters of envy, suspicion, and de
traction, the spirit of obloquy and slander. His zeal for the
recovery of the Church-revenues was called oppression and
rapine, covetousness and injustice ; his care of reducing reli
gion to wise and justifiable principles was called Popery and
Arminianism, and I know not what names, which signify
what the authors are pleased to mean, and the people to
construe and to hate. The intermedial prosperity of his
person and fortune, which he had as an earnest of a greater
reward to so well-meant labours, was supposed to be the
production of illiberal arts and ways of getting ; and the ne
cessary refreshment of his wearied spirits, which did not
always supply all his needs, and were sometimes less than
the permissions even of prudent charity, they called intem
perance : " Dederunt enim malum Metelli Ncevio poeta ;"
their own surmises were the bills of accusation ; and the
splendour of his great ayaOoepyla, or ( doing of good works/
was the great probation of all their calamities. But if envy
be the accuser, what can be the defences of innocence ?
" Saucior invidise morsu, quaerenda medela est ;
" Die quibus in terris sentiet asger opem ?"
Our blessed Saviour, knowing the unsatisfiable angers of
men if their money or estates were meddled with, refused to
divide an inheritance amongst brethren : it was not to be
imagined that this great person (invested, as all his brethren
were, with the infirmities of mortality, and yet employed in
dividing and recovering, and apportioning of lands) should
be able to bear all that reproach, which jealousy and sus
picion and malicious envy could invent against him. But
"air e^OpwvjToXka^avOdvovcnvol aofol," said Sophocles: and [Aristoph.
so did he; the affrightments brought to his great fame and Aves375 -l
reputation made him to walk more warily, and do justly, and
act prudently, and conduct his affairs by the measure of
laws, as far as he understood, and indeed that was a very
great way : but there was aperta justitia, clausa manus,
justice was open, but his hand was shut -, and, though
every slanderer could tell a story, yet none could prove that
ever he received a bribe to blind his eyes, to the value of a
A SERMON PREACHED AT THE
pair of gloves : it was his own expression, wlien he gave
glory to God who had preserved him innocent. But, because
every man s cause is righteous in his own eyes, it was hard
for him so to acquit himself, that in the intrigues of law and
difficult cases, some of his enemies should not seem (when
they were heard alone) to speak reason against him. But see
the greatness of truth and prudence, and how greatly God
stood with him. When the numerous armies of vexed
people,
Mart., De " Turba gravis paci, placidaeque inimica quieti,"
heaped up catalogues of accusations, when the parliament of
Ireland, imitating the violent procedures of the then dis
ordered English, when his glorious patron was taken from his
head, and he was disrobed of his great defences ; when
petitions were invited and accusations furnished, and calumny
was rewarded and managed with art and power, when there
were above two hundred petitions put in against him, and
himself denied leave to answer by word of mouth ; when he was
long imprisoned, and treated so that a guilty man would have
been broken into affrightment and pitiful and low considera-
[Poiemon. tions ; yet then he himself, standing almost alone, like Calli-
Fun^ if. c. niachus at Marathon, invested with enemies and covered with
6b, o?.j arroAvs, defended himself beyond all the powers of guiltiness,
even with the defences of truth and the bravery of inno
cence, and answered the petitions in writing, sometimes
twenty in a day, with so much clearness, evidence of truth,
reality of fact, and testimony of law, that his very enemies
were ashamed and convinced ; they found they had done like
^Esop s viper, they licked the file till their tongues bled ; but
himself was wholly invulnerable. They were therefore forced
to leave their muster-rolls and decline the particulars, and fall
to their ev ^eya, to accuse him for going about to subvert the
fundamental laws ; the way by which great Strafford and
Canterbury fell ; which was a device, when all reasons failed,
to oppress the enemy by the bold affirmation of a conclusion
they could not prove : they did like those ( gladiator es whom
the Romans called ( retiarii when they could not stab their
enemy with their daggers, they threw nets over him, and
covered him with a general mischief. But the martyr, King
Charles the First, of most glorious and eternal memory,
FUNERAL OF THE LORD PRIMATE. Ixv
seeing so great a champion likely to be oppressed with num
bers and despair, sent what rescue he could,, his royal letter
for his bail, which was hardly granted to him j and when it
was, it was upon such hard terms, that his very delivery was
a persecution. So necessary it was for them, who intended
to do mischief to the public, to take away the strongest pillars
of the house. This thing I remark to acquit this great man
from the tongue of slander, which had so boldly spoken, that
it was certain something would stick ; yet was so impotent
and unarmed, that it could not kill that great fame, which his
greater worthiness had procured him. It was said of Hip-
pasus the Pythagorean, that being asked how and what he [Coei. Au-
had done, he answered, " Nonclum nihil ; neque enim adhuc
mihi invidetur ;" "I have done nothing yet, for no man
envies me." He that does great things, cannot avoid the
tongues and teeth of envy ; but if calumnies must pass for
evidences, the bravest heroes must always be the most
reproached persons in the world.
" Nascitur JEtolicus, pravum ingeniosus ad omne ;
" Qui facere assuerat, patriae non degener artis,
" Candida de nigris, et de candentibus atra."
Every thing can have an ill name and an ill sense put
upon it ; but God, who takes care of reputations as He does
of lives, by the orders of His Providence confutes the slan
der, < ut memoria justorum sit in benedictionibus, 3 < that the [Prov. x.
memory of the righteous man might be embalmed with ^
honour : and so it happened to this great man ; for by a
public warranty, by the concurrent consent of both houses
of parliament, the libellous petitions against him, the false
records and public monuments of injurious shame, were
cancelled, and he was restored, in integrum, to that fame
where his great labours and just procedures had first estated
him ; which though it was but justice, yet it was also such
honour, that it is greater than the virulence of tongues, which
his worthiness and their envy had armed against him.
But yet the great scene of the troubles was but newly
opened. I shall not refuse to speak yet more of his troubles,
as remembering that St. Paul, when he discourses of the
glories of the saints departed, he tells more of their sufferings
than of their prosperities, as being that laboratory and cruci-
BRAMHALL. f
A SERMON PREACHED AT THE
ble, in which God makes His servants vessels of honour to His
glory. The storm quickly grew high; et transitum est a
linguis ad gladios ; and that was indeed " aSi/cla e%ova-a
[Aristot. O7r\a," Iniquity had put on arms ; when it is armata
nequitia then a man is hard put to it. The rebellion
breaking out, the Bishop went to his charge at Derry ; and
because he was within the defence of walls, the execrable
traitor, Sir Phelim O Neale, laid a snare to bring him to a
dishonourable death; for he wrote a letter to the Bishop,
pretended intelligence between them, desired that according
to their former agreement such a gate might be delivered to
him. The messenger was not advised to be cautious, nor at
all instructed in the art of secrecy ; for it was intended that
lie should be searched, intercepted, and hanged, for aught
they cared : but the arrow was shot against the Bishop, that
he might be accused for base conspiracy, and die with shame
and sad dishonour. But here God manifested His mighty
care of His servants ; He was pleased to send into the heart
of the messenger such an anrightment, that he directly
ran away with the letter, arid never durst come near the
town to deliver it. This story was published by Sir Phelirn
himself, who added, that if he could have thus ensnared the
Bishop, he had good assurance the town should have been
his own : " Sed bonitas Dei pr&valitura est super omnem
malitiam hominis ;" " The goodness of God is greater than
all the malice of men " and nothing could so prove how dear
that sacred life was to God, as his rescue from the dangers.
Mart. I. " Stantia non poterant tecta probare Deos :" To have kept
him in a warm house had been nothing, unless the roof had
fallen upon his head; that rescue was a remark of Divine
favour and Providence/ But it seems Sir Phelim s treason
against the life of this worthy man had a correspondent in
the town ; and it broke out speedily ; for what they could not
effect by malicious stratagem, they did in part by open
force; they turned the Bishop out of the town, and upon
trifling and unjust pretences searched his carriages, and
took what they pleased, till they were ashamed to take
more : they did worse than divorce him from his Church ;
for in all the Roman divorces they said, " Tuas tibi res
liabeto" " Take your goods and begone " but plunder was
FUNERAL OF THE LORD PRIMATE.
religion then. However, though the usage was sad, yet it
was recompensed to him by his taking sanctuary in Oxford,
where he was graciously received by that most incomparable
and divine prince ; but having served the king in Yorkshire,
by his pen, and by his counsels, and by his interests, he
returned back to Ireland, where, under the excellent conduct
of his Grace the now Lord Lieutenant, he ran the risk and
fortune of oppressed virtue.
But God having still resolved to afflict us, the good man
was forced into the fortune of the patriarchs, to leave his
country and his charges, and seek for safety and bread in
a strange land; for so the prophets were used to do, wan
dering up and down in sheep s clothing ; but poor as they
were, the world was not worthy of them : and this worthy
man, despising the shame, took up his cross and followed his
Master.
" Exilium causa ipsa jubet sibi dulce videri,
" Et desiderium dulce levat patrias."
He was not ashamed to suffer, where the cause was
honourable and glorious ; but so God provided for the needs
of His banished, and sent a man who could minister comfort
to the afflicted, and courage to the persecuted, and resolu
tions to the tempted, and strength to that religion for which
they all suffered.
And here this great man was indeed triumphant ; this was
one of the last and best scenes of his life : " wLJuepai yap eVt- [Pindar.
Ol i 53
\oyoi /jidprupes aofywraTOi" " The last days are the best wit- 54.]
nesses of a man." But so it was, that he stood up in public
and brave defence for the doctrine and discipline of the
Church of England ; first, by his sufferings and great ex
ample ; for, " Vefbis tantum philosophari, non est doctoris,
sed histrionis ;" " To talk well and not to do bravely, is for a
comedian, not a divine :" but this great man did both ; he
suffered his own calamity with great courage, and by his
wise discourses, strengthened the heart of others.
For there wanted no diligent tempters in the Church of
Rome, who taking advantage of the afflictions of his sacred
Majesty, in which state men commonly suspect every thing,
and like men in sickness are willing to change from side to
side, hoping for ease and finding none, flew at royal game,
f2
A SERMON PREACHED AT THE
and hoped to draw away the king from that religion which
his most royal father, the best man and the wisest prince in
the world, had sealed with the best blood in Christendom,
and which himself sucked in with his education, and had
confirmed by choice and reason, and confessed publicly and
bravely, and hath since restored prosperously. Milletiere
was the man, witty and bold enough to attempt a zealous
and foolish undertaking, who addressed himself with ignoble,
indeed, but witty arts, to persuade the king to leave Avhat
was dearer to him than his eyes. It is true, it was a wave
dashed against a rock, and an arrow shot against the sun, it
could not reach him ; but the Bishop of Derry turned it also,
and made it fall upon the shooter s head ; for he made so in
genious, so learned, and so acute reply to that book ; he so
discovered the errors of the Roman Church, retorted the
arguments, stated the questions, demonstrated the truth, and
shamed their procedures, that nothing could be a greater
argument of the Bishop s learning, great parts, deep judg
ment, quickness of apprehension, and sincerity in the catholic
and apostolic Faith ; or of the follies and prevarications of the
Church of Rome. He wrote no apologies for himself, though
it were much to be wished that, as Junius wrote his own life,
or Moses his own story, so we might have understood from
himself how great things God had done for him and by
him: but all that he permitted to God, and was silent in
his own defences ; " Gloriosius enim est injuriam tacendo fu-
gere, quam respondendo super are : " but when the honour and
conscience of his king, and the interest of a true religion was
[Ps. xxxix. at stake, " the fire burned within him, and at last he spake
with his tongue;" he cried out like the son of Croesus,
Herod. i. 0/?&)7re, firj Krelve Kpola-ov" Take heed and meddle not with
Schweig. the king ; his person is too sacred, and religion too dear to
him to be assaulted by vulgar hands. In short, he acquitted
himself in this affair with so mucli truth and piety, learning
and judgment, that in those papers his memory will last until
very late succeeding generations.
But this most reverend prelate found a nobler adversary,
and a braver scene for his contention: he found that the
Roman priests, being wearied and baffled by the wise dis
courses and pungent arguments of the English divines, had
FUNERAL OF THE LORD PRIMATE. Ixix
studiously declined any more to dispute the particular
questions against us, but fell at last upon a general charge,
imputing to the Church of England the great crime of schism;
and by this they thought they might with most probability
deceive unwary and unskilful readers ; for they saw the
schism, and they saw we had left them; and because they
considered not the causes, they resolved to out-face us in the
charge : but now it was that dignum nactus argumentumj
1 having an argument fit to employ his great abilities,
" Consecrat hie prsesul calamum calamique labores,
"Ante aras Domino laeta tropaea suo;"
The Bishop now dedicates his labours to the service of God
and of His Church, undertook the question, and in a full dis
course proves the Church of Rome not only to be guilty of
the schism, by making it necessary to depart from them ;
but they did actuate the schisms, and themselves made the
first separation in the great point of the pope s supremacy,
which was the palladium for which they principally con
tended. He made it appear that the popes of Rome were
usurpers of the rights of kings and bishops : that they
brought in new doctrines in every age, that they imposed
their own devices upon Christendom as articles of faith, that
they prevaricated the doctrines of the apostles, that the
Church of England only returned to her primitive purity,
that she joined with Christ and His Apostles, that she
agreed in all the sentiments of the primitive Church.
He stated the questions so wisely, and conducted them so
prudently, and handled them so learnedly, that I may truly
say, they never were more materially confuted by any man,
since the questions have so unhappily disturbed Christendom.
Verum hoc eos male ussit : and they finding themselves
smitten under the fifth rib, set up an old champion of their
own, a Goliah to fight against the armies of Israel; the old
Bishop of Chalcedon, known to many of us, replied to this
excellent book ; but was so answered by a rejoinder made by
the Lord Bishop of Derry, in which he so pressed the former
arguments, refuted the cavils, brought in so many im
pregnable authorities and probations, and added so many
moments and weights to his discourse, that the pleasures of
[Judg.
1XX A SERMON PREACHED AT THE
reading the book would be the greatest, if the profit to the
Church of God were not greater.
Ovid. M. i. " Flumina J am lactis, jam flumina nectaris ibant,
111. " Flavaque de viridi stillabant ilice mella."
For so Sampson s riddle was again expounded, " Out of the
xiv. strong came meat, and out of the eater came sweetness."
His arguments were strong, and the eloquence was sweet
and delectable; and though there started up another com
batant against him, yet he had only the honour to fall by the
[Mn. iv. hands of Hector : still " hccret lateri lethalis arundo ;" the
1-0 "I
headed arrow went in so far, that it could not be drawn out
but the barbed steel stuck behind : and whenever men will
desire to be satisfied in those great questions, the Bishop of
Derry s book shall be his oracle.
I will not insist upon his other excellent writings ; but it
is known every where with what piety and acumen he wrote
against the Manichean doctrine of "fatal necessity," which
a late witty man had pretended to adorn with a new vizor :
but this excellent person washed off the ceruse and the mere
tricious paintings, rarely well asserted the economy of the
Divine Providence, and having once more triumphed over his
adversary, " plenus victoriarum et trop&orum" betook him
self to the more agreeable attendance upon sacred offices ;
and having usefully and wisely discoursed of the sacred rite
of confirmation, imposed his hands upon the most illustrious
princes, the Dukes of York and Gloucester, and the Princess
Koyal, and ministered to them the promise of the Holy
Spirit, and ministerially established them in the religion and
service of the Holy Jesus. And one thing more I shall
remark; that at his leaving those parts upon the king s
return, some of the remonstrant ministers of the Low Coun
tries coming to take their leaves of this great man, and de
siring that by his means the Church of England would be
kind to them, he had reason to grant it, because they were
learned men, and in many things of a most excellent belief;
yet he reproved them, and gave them caution against it, that
they approached too near and gave too much countenance to
the great and dangerous errors of the Socinians.
He thus having served God and the king abroad, God was
pleased to return to the king and to us all, as in the days of
FUNERAL OF THE LORD PRIMATE.
old, and we sung the song of David, "In convertendo cap- [PS.
tivitatem Sion," when king David and all his servants re
turned to Jerusalem. This great person having trod in the
wine-press, was called to drink of the wine, and, as an hono
rary reward of his great services and abilities, was chosen
Primate of this national Church, in which time we are to
look upon him, as the king and the king s great vicegerent did,
as a person concerning whose abilities the world had too great
testimony ever to make a doubt. It is true he was in the
declension of his age and health ; but his very ruins were
goodly; and they who saw the broken heaps of Pompey s
theatre, and the crushed obelisks, and the old face of beau
teous Philseiiium, could not but admire the disordered
glories of such magnificent structures, which were venerable
in their very dust.
He ever was used to overcome all difficulties, only mor
tality was too hard for him; but still his virtues and his
spirit were immortal ; he still took great care, and still had
new and noble designs, and proposed to himself admirable
things. He governed his province with great justice and
sincerity ;
" Unus amplo consulens pastor gregi,
" Somnos tuetur omnium solus vigil."
And had this remark in all his government, that as he was
a great hater of sacrilege, so he professed himself a public
enemy to non-residence, and often would declare wisely and
religiously against it, allowing it in no case but of necessity,
or the greater good of the Church. There are great things
spoken of his predecessor, St. Patrick, that he founded seven
hundred churches and religious convents, that he ordained
five thousand priests, and, with his own hands, consecrated
three hundred and fifty bishops. How true the story is I
know not; but we are all witnesses that the late primate,
whose memory we now celebrate, did, by an extraordinary
contingency of Providence, in one day, consecrate two arch
bishops and ten bishops ; and did benefit to almost all the
churches in Ireland, and was greatly instrumental to the re-
endowments of the whole clergy; and in the greatest abilities
and incomparable industry, was inferior to none of his most
glorious aiitccessors.
Ixxii A SERMON PREACHED AT THE
Since the canonization of saints came into the Church, we
find no Irish bishop canonized, except St. Laurence of Dublin,
and, St. Malachias of Down ; indeed Richard of Armagh s
canonization was propounded, but not effected ; but the cha-
De Scrip- racter which was given of that learned primate by Trithemius,
tor. Eccies. ^ Qeg exact |y fi t t kis, our late father : " Vir in Divinis Scrip-
turis eruditus, secularis philosophic jurisque canonici non
ignarus, clarus ingenio, sermons scholasticus, in declamandis
sermonibus ad populum eoccellentis industries :" " He was
learned in the Scriptures, skilled in secular philosophy, and
not unknowing in the civil and canon laws" (in which studies
I wish the clergy were, with some carefulness and diligence,
still more conversant), " he was of an excellent spirit, a scholar
in his discourses, an early and industrious preacher to the
people." And as if there were a more particular sympathy
between their souls, our primate had so great a veneration to
his memory, that he purposed, if he had lived, to have re
stored his monument in Dundalk, which time, or impiety, or
unthankfulness, had either omitted or destroyed. So great a
lover he was of all true and inherent worth, that he loved
it in the very memory of the dead, and to have such great
examples transmitted to the intuition and imitation of pos
terity.
At his coming to the primacy, he knew he should at first
espy little besides the ruin of discipline, a harvest of thorns,
and heresies prevailing in the hearts of the people, the churches
possessed by wolves and intruders, men s hearts greatly es
tranged from true religion ; and, therefore, he set himself to
weed the fields of the Church ; he treated the adversaries
sometimes sweetly, sometimes he confuted them learnedly,
sometimes he rebuked them sharply. He visited his charges
diligently and in his own person, not by proxies and instru-
[2 Cor. xii. mental deputations : Quarens non nostra, sed nos, et qua sunt
Jesu Christi : He designed nothing that we knew of but the
redintegration of religion, the honour of God and the king,
the restoring of collapsed discipline, and the renovation of
faith and the service of God in the churches. And still he
was indefatigable, and, even at the last scene of his life, in
tended to undertake a regal visitation. " Quid enim vultis
me otiosum a Domino comprehendi?" said one; " He was
FUNERAL OF THE LORD PRIMATE.
not willing that God should take him unemployed:" but,
good man, he felt his tabernacle ready to fall in pieces, and
could go no further, for God would have no more work
done by that hand ; he, therefore, espying this, put his house
in order, and had lately visited his diocese, and done what
he then could, to put his charge in order ; for he had, a good
while since, received the sentence of death within himself,
and knew he was shortly to render an account of his steward
ship ; he, therefore, upon a brisk alarm of death, which God
sent him the last January, made his will ; in which, besides
the prudence and presence of spirit manifested in making
just and wise settlement of his estate, and provisions for his
descendants : at midnight, and in the trouble of his sickness
and circumstances of addressing death, still kept a special
sentiment, and made confession of God s admirable mercies,
and gave thanks that God had permitted him to live to see
the blessed restoration of his majesty and the Church of
England, confessed his Faith to be the same as ever, gave
praises to God that he was born and bred up in this religion,
and prayed to God, and hoped he should die in the com
munion of this Church, which he declared to be the most
pure and apostolical Church in the whole world.
He prayed to God to pardon his frailties and infirmities,
relied upon the mercies of God and the merits of Jesus
Christ, and, with a singular sweetness resigned up his soul
into the hands of his Redeemer.
But God, who is the great Choragus and Master of the
scenes of life and death, was not pleased then to draw the
curtains ; there was an epilogue to his life yet to be acted
and spoken. He returned to actions and life, and went on
in the methods of the same procedure as before ; was desirous
still to establish the affairs of the Church, complained of some
disorders which he purposed to redress, girt himself to the
work; but though his spirit was willing, yet his flesh was
weak ; and as the Apostles in the vespers of Christ s passion,
so he, in the eye of his own dissolution, was heavy, not to
sleep, but heavy unto death ; and looked for the last warning,
w r hich seized on him in the midst of business ; and though
it was sudden, yet it could not be unexpected, or unprovided
by surprise, and, therefore, could be no other than that
A SERMON PREACHED AT THE
[Sueton. in (C ev6ava<Tia" which Augustus used to wish unto himself, a civil
and well-natured death, without the amazement of trouble
some circumstances, or the great cracks of a falling house, or
the convulsions of impatience. Seneca tells that Bassus
Aufidius was wont to say, " Sperare se nullum dolorem esse
in illo extremo anhelitu ; si tamen esset, habere aliquantum in
Epist. 30. ipsa brevitate solatii :" "He hoped that the pains of the last
dissolution were little or none ; or if they were, it was full of
comfort that they could be but short." It happened so to
this excellent man ; his passive fortitude had been abundantly
tried before, and, therefore, there was the less need of it now ;
his active graces had been abundantly demonstrated by the
great and good things he did; and, therefore, his last scene
was not so laborious, but God called him away something
after the manner of Moses, which the Jews express by ( os-
culum oris Dei ( the kiss of God s mouth ; that is, a death
indeed fore-signified, but gentle and serene, and without
temptation.
To sum up all : he was a wise prelate, a learned doctor, a
just man, a true friend, a great benefactor to others, a thank
ful beneficiary where he was obliged himself. He was a
faithful servant to his masters, a loyal subject to the king, a
zealous assertor of his religion against popery on one side,
and fanaticism on the other. The practice of his religion
was not so much in forms and exterior ministries, though he
was a great observer of all the public rites and ministries of
the Church, as it was in doing good for others. He was like
My son, whom the Scythian Anacharsis so greatly praised,
[Max. Tyr. " o Mvcrwv rw OLKOV ol/cncras tcaXw" he governed his family
XV "I
well/ he gave to all their due of maintenance and duty; he
did great benefit to mankind ; he had the fate of the apostle
St. Paul, he passed through evil report and good report, as a
deceiver, and yet true/ He was a man of great business and
great resort : " Semper aliquis in Cydonis domo" as the
Corinthians said ; " There was always somebody in Cyclones
Synes. Ep. house." He was " /jLepi^cov rbv (Bibv epya* Kal ftifiXtp" lie di
vided his life into labour and his book/ He took care of his
churches when he was alive, and even after his death, having
left five hundred pounds for the repair of his cathedral of
Armagh and St. Peter s church in Drogheda. He was an
FUNERAL OF THE LORD PRIMATE. IxXV
excellent scholar, and rarely well accomplished; first in
structed to great excellency by natural parts, and then con
summated by study and experience. Melancthon was used
to say, that himself was a logician ; Pomeranus, a gramma
rian; Justus Jonas, an orator; but that Luther was all
these. It was greatly true of him, that the single perfec
tions which make many men eminent, were united in this
primate, and made him illustrious.
1 Ergo Quinctilium perpetuus sopor [ Wor. ,
" Urget ? cui Pudor, et, Justitiae soror, 24 5^3.]
" Incorrupta Fides, midaque Veritas,
" Quando ullum invenient parem ? "
It will be hard to find his equal in all things : Fortasse
tanquam Phcenix anno quingentesimo nascitur" (that I may
use the words of Seneca) "nee est mirum ex intervallo [Epist.42.]
magna generari ; mediocria et in turbam nascentia sape for-
tuna producit ; eximia vero ipsa raritate commendat." For
in him were visible the great lines of Hooker s judiciousness,
of Jewel s learning, of the acuteness of bishop Andrewes. He
was skilled in more great things than one, and, as one said
of Phidias, he could not only make excellent statues of ivory,
but he could work in stone and brass. He shewed his equa
nimity in poverty, and his justice in riches ; he was useful in
his country, and profitable in his banishment ; for as ParaBus
was at Anvilla, Luther at Wittenburg, St. Athanasius and
St. Chrysostom in their banishment, St. Jerome in his retire
ment at Bethlehem, they were oracles to them that needed
it : so was he in Holland and France, where he was abroad ;
and beside the particular endearments which his friends re
ceived from him, for he did do relief to his brethren that
wanted, and supplied the soldiers out of his store in York
shire, when himself could but ill spare it : but he received
public thanks from the convocation of which he was pre
sident, and public justification from the parliament where he
was speaker ; so that although, as one said, " Miraculi instar
vita iter, si longum, sine offensione percurrere ;" yet no man
had greater enemies, and no man had greater justifications.
But God hath taken our Elijah from our heads this day : I
pray God that at least his mantle may be left behind, and
that his spirit may be doubled upon his successor ; and that
A SERMON, &C.
we may all meet together with him at the right hand of the
Lamb, where every man shall receive according to his deeds,
whether they be good, or whether they be evil. I conclude
vi. with the words of Caius Plinius : " Equidem beatos puto qui-
Gierig.j bus Deorum munere datum est } aut facer e scribenda, aut
scribere legenda :" he wrote many things fit to be read, and
did very many things worthy to be written : which if we
wisely imitate, we may hope to meet him in the resurrection
of the just, and feast with him in the eternal supper of the
Lamb, there to sing perpetual anthems to the honour of
God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; to whom be all
honour, &c.
LETTERS, &c.
ARCHBISHOP BRAMHALL.
LETTERS,
&c.
LETTER I. a
From Dr. Bramhall to Laud (then) Bishop of London.
RIGHT REVEREND FATHER,
MY most honour d Lord, presuming partly upon your
Licence, but especially directed by my Lord Deputy s com
mands, I am to give your Fatherhood a brief account of tlie [Sec Life,
present state of the poor Church of Ireland, such as our p
short intelligence here, and your Lordship s weightier im-
ployments there, will permit. First, for the fabricks, it is
hard to say whether the churches be the more ruinous and
sordid, or the people irreverent ; even in Dublin the metro
polis of this kingdom, and seat of justice (to begin the in
quisition where the reformation will begin), we find our
parochial church converted to the Lord Deputy s stable, a
second to a nobleman s dwelling house, the quire of a third
to a tennis court, and the Vicar acts the keeper. In Christ s
Church, the principal church in Ireland, whither the Lord
Deputy and Council repair every Sunday, the Vaults, from
one end of the Minster to the other, are made into tippling-
rooms, for beer, wine, and tobacco, demised all to Popish re
cusants, and by them and others so much frequented in time
of Divine Service, that though there is no danger of blowing
up the assembly above their heads, yet there is of poisoning
them with the fumes. The table used for the administration
of the blessed Sacrament in the midst of the choir, made an
ordinary seat for maids and apprentices. I cannot omit the
glorious tomb b in the other Cathedral Church of St. Patrick,
a [Printed in Collier s Ch. Hist., Pt. a vault of hewn stone beneath it. As
ii. hk. ix. vol. ii. p. 759, from the State to its usurping the place of the Altar,
Papers, and from Collier by Mant, Ch. Archbishop Usher explained, that the
of Ireland, c. viii. 3. pp. 448-452.] place of its erection was an ancient
b [ The tomb here complained of had passage into a chapel within the
been erected by the Earl of Cork, with church, which had time out of mind
1XXX LETTERS, &C.
in the proper place of the Altar, just opposite to his Majesty s
seat, having his father s name superscribed upon it, as if it
were contrived on purpose to gain the worship and reverence
which the Chapter and whole Church are bound by special
statute to give towards the East. And either the soil itself,
or a licence to build and bury, and make a vault in the place
of the Altar, under seal, which is a tantamount, passed to
the Earl and his heirs. " Credimus esse Deos ? }) This being
the case in Dublin, your Lordship will judge what we may
expect in the country.
Next for the clergy; I find few footsteps yet of foreign
differences, so I hope it will be an easier task not to admit
them than to have them ejected. But I doubt much whether
the clergy be very orthodox, and could wish both the Articles
and Canons of the Church of England were established here
by Act of Parliament, or State ; that as we live all under one
king, so we might both in doctrine and discipline observe an
uniformity. The inferior sort of ministers are below all de
grees of contempt, in respect of their poverty and ignorance :
the boundless heaping together of benefices by commendams
and dispensations in the superiors is but too apparent ; yea,
even often by plain usurpation, and indirect compositions
made between the patrons (as well ecclesiastick as lay), and
the incumbents ; by which the least part, many times not
above 40s., rarely <10., in the year, is reserved for him that
should serve at the Altar ; insomuch that it is affirmed that
by all or some of these means one bishop in the remoter
parts of the kingdom doth hold three and twenty benefices
with cure. Generally their residence is as little as their
livings. Seldom any suitor petitions for less than three
vicarages at a time. And it is a main prejudice to his Ma
jesty s service, and a hindrance to the right establishment of
this Church, that the clergy have in a manner no dependance
upon the Lord Deputy, nor he any means left to prefer those
that are deserving amongst them : for besides all those ad-
vowsons which were given by that great patron of the Church,
been stopped up with a partition of tire satisfaction ; and in the end the
boards and lime ; and he considered it monument was removed to a less of-
a great ornament to the church. His fensive situation. Mason s St. Pa-
explanation, however, did not give en- trick s, notes liii, liv. quoted by Mant.J
LETTERS, &C.
King James,, of happy memory, to Bishops and the College
here, many also were conferred upon the Plantations (never
was so good a gift so infinitely abused) ; and I know not
how, or by what order, even in those blessed days of His
Sacred Majesty, all the rest of any note have been given or
passed away in the time of the late Lord Deputy. Lord Faik-
Lastly, for the revenues, how small care hath been taken
for the service of his Majesty, or the good of the Church, is
hereby apparent, that no officer, or other person, can inform
my Lord what Deanery or Benefices are in His Majesty s
gift, and about three hundred livings are omitted out of the
Book of Tax for First Fruits, and Twentieth Parts, sundry
of them of good value; two or three Bishopricks, and the
whole Diocese of Killfannore. The alienations of Church [i. e. Kiife-
possessions by long leases and deeds are infinite ; yea even
since the Act of State to restrain them, it is believ d, that
divers are bold still to practice, in hopes of secrecy and im
punity, and will adventure, until their hands be tied by Act
of Parliament, or some of the delinquents censured in the
Star- Chamber. The Earl of Cork holds the whole Bishoprick
of Lismore at the rent of 40s., or five marks, by the year;
many Benefices, that ought to be presentative, are by negli
gence enjoy d as though they were appropriate.
For the remedying of these evils, next to God and his
sacred Majesty, I know my Lord depends on your Father
hood s wisdom and zeal for the Church. My duty binds me
to pray for a blessing upon both your good endeavours. For
the present, my Lord hath pull d down the Deputy s seat in
his own Chapel, and restor d the Altar to its ancient place,
which was thrust out of doors. The like is done in Christ s-
Church. The purgation and restitution of the stable to the
right owners and uses will follow next, and strict mandates
to my Lords the Bishops, to see the Churches repair d,
adorned, and preserved from prophanation, through the whole
kingdom.
For the clergy and their revenues, my Lord is careful that
no petitions be admitted without good certificate and dili
gent enquiry (thought a strange course here) ; and to
enable himself, and the succeeding Deputies, to encourage
such as shall deserve well in the Church, his Lordship
BRAMHALL. g
LETTERS, &C.
intends, as well in the Commission for defective Titles,
as for the Plantations, to reserve the right of Advowsons to
his Majesty, and as well by diligent search in the Records, as
by a selected Commission of many branches, to regain such
advowsons as have been usurped through the negligence of
officers, change of Deputies, or power of great men ; and by
the same to inform himself of the true state of the Church
and Clergy, to provide for the Cures and Residence, to per
fect his Majesty s Tax, to prevent and remedy alienations, to
restore illegal impropriations, to dispose, by way of lapse, of
all those supernumerary benefices, which are held unjustly,
and not without infinite scandal, under the pretence of com-
mendams and dispensations ; and to settle as much as in
present is possible the whole state of the Church. This tes
timony I must give of his care, that it is not possible for the
intentions of a mortal man to be more serious and sincere
than his, in those things that concern the good of the poor
Church.
It is some comfort to see the Romish Ecclesiasticks cannot
laugh at us, who come behind none in point of disunion and
scandal.
I know my tediousness will be offensive, unless your Lord
ship s licence and my Lord Deputy s command procure my
pardon. I will not add a word more, but the profession of
my humble thanks and bounden service ; and so, being
ready to receive your Lordship s commands, I desire to re
main, as your noble favours have for ever bound me,
Your Lordship s
Daily and devoted Servant,
JOHN BRAMHALL.
Dublin Castle,
August the 10th, 1633.
LETTERS, &C.
LETTER II. c
From the Lord Bishop of Derry to Lord Deputy Wentworth.
MAY IT PLEASE YOUR LORDSHIP/
I have, according to your commands,, reconciled the differ
ence between my Lord Bishop of Raphoe and Mr. Hamilton,
in a manner with the explicit consent of both parties, but
altogether with the implicit. Both have referred themselves
to me to set down that end in writing, which then I delivered
by word. I have drawn one eyry of hawks for fear of
stealing d j but, because they are not so ready, I forbear the
other a while, and will send them together very shortly. As
your Lordship hath committed the care of the fishing to
me, so I will be responsible that neither the fish shall be
spoiled, nor the least detriment redound to his Majesty by
any means. Yet I desire, so soon as may be, to know the
certain rent paid by the society for it, and the clear profit
they made of it, that at the least I shall be well secured.
Upon the 27th of May, at Colerain only, they had taken
sixty-two tuns of salmon. My fishing day is the 15th of
June, when I shall be able to give your Lordship a full
account. Since my last, I have disposed the ferry at Cole-
rain to the old Charon for j34. a-year. The City had six, the
officers the rest. I humbly thank your Lordship for our
church and bells. I have sent herein Mr. Croxton s 6 case
for Trinity church in Cork, with instructions concerning the
same, and do thankfully accept your Lordship s favourable
dispensation for a longer time, to make return of my other
representations. Yet one I thought fit in present to make
c [Rawdon Papers, No. iii. This let- of great hawks, or taking of hawks with
ter is partly a reply to one from Lord nets, &c." (Berwick).]
Wentworth, dated from Dublin May e [" In a letter from Archbishop
the llth, 1635 (Rawd. Papers, No. Laiid to the Lord Deputy, dated in
ii.), requesting Dr. BramhalPs good 1634, his Grace says, I hear from my
offices in the " determining of some Lord of Derry, that my Lord Primate
differences" between Dr. John Leslie (Usher) is not very well pleased with
then Bishop of Raphoe, and Mr. John Croxton, nor his manner of preaching.
Hamilton a kinsman of the Marquis of I am sorry if the young man hath given
Hamilton.] any just offence, but I hope he hath
d [" In 1634 his Majesty s Attorney not ; and I doubt this is some foolish
and Solicitor General, were ordered to business of Arminianism. " (Ber-
prepare an Act to restrain the stealing wick).]
LETTERS, &C.
known unto you, in the behalf of the bearer Mr. Stanhope, in
whose favour your Lordship commanded a caveat to be
entered. The Rectory of Donoghchiddy is worth 200. per
annum. The patron is Sir George Hamilton the younger ;
the incumbent is one Simple, who hath an exhibition out of
it of 50. or 60. a-year by composition, whereof Sir George
was not guilty at first, but his mother, howsoever he may be
an accessary after. The rectory was antiently in the gift of
the Bishop, but excepted and reserved by his Majesty in the
patent right, as in the case of Bell-turbitt, so as the Bishop
was excluded by way of Estopel f , yet the King had no power
to convey the same to any other untill there was a formal
surrender, which was not until the 14th of King James, long
before which this advowson was granted from the Crown;
and admit Sir George have lately passed his patent, and this
in it, which I know not : but suppose the worst, and admit
all this to be valid, yet undoubtedly it is void pro hdc vice,
being granted by his mother, who had no right from his
Majesty. I do not take upon me to advise concerning the
inheritance ; but in respect of the unworthy composition,
and to preserve the rights of the Church, which otherwise
by long leases may be obscured, I conceive it not amiss
under favor to grant this turn of it may stand with your
Lordship s good pleasure. This case requires the stricter
inquisition because it is general, and, if it stood, would bring
back to the Crown, out of unworthy hands, the advowsons of
a great number of as good benefices as any be in the North of
Ireland. My Lord of StrabaneS (who is either in a con
sumption, or very near it) and Sir George Hamilton 11 , the
elder, having gotten some notice, I know not how, but sus
pect it might be by some words that fell from Mr. Stanhope,
of a title to this rectory obtained or to be obtained from the
f ["Estoppel, . . . denotes as much as B [" He died in the year 1638. He
an impediment, or bar, of an action, was second son of James the first Earl
growing from his own fact that hath, of Abercorn, and was dignified with the
or otherwise might have had, his action : title of Strabane by his elder brother s
.... but Broke defineth it to be a bar gift, and was present as such by proxy
or hinderance to a man to plead the in the Parliament of Ireland which sat
truth, and restraineth it not to the im- in 1634." (Berwick).]
pediment given to a man by his own h ["Sir George Hamilton, his bro-
act only, but by another s also." Cowel s ther, was Baronet of Nova Scotia, and
Law Diction, sub voc., Lond. 1701. ancestor to the present Earl of Aber-
Bramhall seems to use it in the latter corn" (Berwick).]
and wider sense.]
LETTERS, &C. IxXXV
Crown, came to me about it. I told them I knew nothing
in particular, but in general that you did not affect such
compositions ; that I thought their best course was to seek
for an establishment of it for the future ; that I would pro
mise nothing in that respect, because I knew not what
instructions your Lordship might have, but only this, that I
would be a suitor that Sir George might be heard before it
passed the Great Seal ; nor do I think the incumbent would
be averse, so he might have Mr. Stanhope s Vicarage of 100
marks by the year 1 . We have finished the commission for
Terman-O-Mongan, and I hope we have proved by the iuries [See Life,
D vi note
at the great office that this is the very land intended, by a x .]
collector that this land paid by both names, by all the country
that it was in the Barony of Omagh and County of Tyrone,
and so their officer takes at Donegal merely extra comitatum.
That the difference is only in the Irish pronuntiation, and not
another Terman-O-Mongan to be found, tho a man would
seek it with a lanthorne and candle. Macgrath himself doth
in a manner offer a submission, desires but forbearance of
the charges, which, tho it lost me 100. I would be con
tented to forbear upon his disclamer or release. I fear
nothing but delays and cases. I am a humble suitor to your
Lordship for a license J to have powder for the defence of my
house, and provision of my table, either out of the store
house at Derry, or of the merchant. I crave pardon for my
tediousness, and remain, as your noble favours have for ever
bound me,
Your Lordship s most faithful servante,
JOH. DEKENSIS.
Fawne*, May 30tk, 1635.
: ["At 13s. 4d. the mark, the vicar- he moves for it. Sir Christopher was
age was worth 66. 13s. 4d. by the then Lord Deputy." (Berwick).]
year." (Berwick).] k [" Fawne, otherwise, I believe,
J [" In a letter from Sir Christopher called Fahan, six miles north-west of
Wandesford to the Bishop of Derry, Derry, on Lough Swilly, in Inishowen.
dated April 25, 1640, he says, I have Here was formerly a noble monastery,
spoke to the Master of the Ordnance and [here] at this time must have been
for some powder for Sir Robert Steward, the residence of the Bishop of Derry."
and from him he maybe supplied when (Berwick, p. 63).]
Ixxxvi
LETTERS, &C.
[Rawdon
Papers,
No. xiv. ]
[Scotch
Book of
Common
Prayer,
publ. in
1637.]
LETTER III.
From the Lord Bishop of Derry to John Spottiswood 1 ,
Archbishop of St. Andrew s.
MAY IT PLEASE YOUR GRACE,
Finding in my journey to Londonderry so fair an oppor
tunity, I could not in gratitude and civility omit the ex
pression of my thanks, and faithful services to your Grace
by this gentleman, Colonel Steward. Mr. Cunningham is
provided of a benefice not so good as I could wish, but yet,
one that may hold life and soul together, as we say, until he
get one that he may live more comfortably upon, which I
doubt not a short time will effect, after my Lord Deputy s
return from his progress. I humbly thank your Grace for
your high favour, the book of Common Prayer : glad I was
to see it, and more glad to see it such as it is, to be envied
in some things perhaps if one owned. I am meditating a
journey into England, and hope to kiss your Grace s hands
in the way, if my Lord Deputy s absence afford me so much
leisure, whose commands I expect by the next. So wishing
your Grace many happy days for the good of that Church, I
desire to remain,
Your Grace s faithful, and humble servant,
JOH. DEEENSIS.
Glasslough, Aug. 13, 1637.
Thus superscribed :
" To the most Reverend Father in God, the Lord Arch
bishop of Saint Andrews his Grace, Lord Chancelor of the
kingdom of Scotland, these present. 33
others, largely acknowledging the Bi
shop of Berry s charity in several let
ters," and "praying God to reward the
Abp. of Canterbury and his Lordship
for the relief they gave their distressed
and persecuted brethren" (Life, &c.
pp. 23, 24). Spottiswood "was appointed
Chancellor of Scotland in 1634, the
greatest office which had been in the
hands of a Churchman since the Refor
mation. His History of the Church
of Scotland is well known. He died in
1644 at Westminster." (Berwick).]
1 [About three years subsequent to
the date of this letter, when " Scotland
became so suddenly inflamed, that it
was too hot for many of the royal and
orthodox clergy," and they "were
forced to flee into England " and Ire
land, the Bishop of Derry in the latter,
as the Archbishop of Canterbury in the
former country, " received them with
all brotherly compassion, and provided
for them in such a degree, that we have
the Abp. of St. Andrews, the Abp. of
Glasgow, the Bishop of Ross, and
LETTERS, &C.
LETTER IV. [Rawdon
Papers,
From the Lord Bishop of Derry to Doctor Coote m , Dean of
Down.
SIR,
I have received yours of the 15th of January, and would
not part with it for an 100.; you will hardly believe that
your letters are so precious; but I will keep it as a monument
of your gratitude and discretion. You call herein for an
account in your letter, truly I cannot send it till the Lords
Justices sign : but then you shall have it by a messenger on
purpose; if it give you not content, blame yourself. And
when you write how dearly you have paid for the lease, I
desire you to recollect yourself, and inform me in what coin
it was, for in good soothe, I remember not so much as one
cracked groate that ever you disbursed about it. You tell
me that for the time to come, neither I, nor any for me,
shall let, set, or intermeddle with the tithes, or any thing
that was the Countess of TirconneFs Dura verba ; on the
other side, I tell you I will dispose of them, and for the
time to come (you have been so thankful for the 100. a-year
I have given you sometimes) you shall not meddle with a
sheaf of them, (mark it, Sir) so long as the lease endures.
Some other part of the Church shall fare the better for your
disrespect. I am not bound to relieve you in those pinching
necessities, as you call them, which your letter imply [sic]
who lose not only your friends, but your brothers by your
disrespect. You tell me of my Lord Deputy, whose mind
I know better than yourself. When your service to this
Church and mine are laid together, I shall not need to
appear hoodwinked, tis your usual phrase So God bless us
from ingratitude.
Your neglected servant,
JOH. DEKENSIS.
Jan. 27, 1639.
m ["After the Bishop s impeachment Down, which was ordered to be taken
in 1640, there was a petition presented into consideration" (Berwick).]
to the House of Lords hy this Dean of
LETTERS, &C.
[Rawdon LETTER V.
Papers, No.
XXX.]
From the Bishop of Derry to his wife, Mrs. Bramhall.
MY DEAREST JOY,
Thou mayest see by my delay in writing, that I am not
[See Life, willing to write while things are in those conditions. But
shall we receive good at the hands of God, and shall we not
receive ill ? He gives and takes away, blessed be His Holy
Name ! I have been near a fortnight at the black rod,
charged with a treason. Never any man was more innocent
of that foul crime ; the ground is only my reservedness.
God in His mercy, I do not doubt, will send us many merry
and happy days together after this, when this storm is blown
over. But this is a time of humiliation for the present. By
all the love between us, I require thee that thou do not cast
down thyself, but bear it with a chearful mind, and trust in
God that He will deliver us. I send all the horses down ex
cept my own nag, which John Field looks to. I would have
thee to come up, and only Isabell n with thee, and two
servants. I hope by that time you come to Dublin all things
will be cleared. Whatsoever monies Thomas Rowth hath,
bring up with thee, for we shall have need of all and more.
In thy absence and mine, let my sister govern the house at
Fawne, and live privately there ; I know Mrs. Wandesforde
will assist her. Give Thomas Rowth charge in your absence
and mine to take care of the husbandry at Fawne, and
desire Captain Vaughan to occupy it ; I believe he will do so
[Sir Ri- much for me. I send you a copy of the charge ; my Lord
tonan<? 0l ~ Chancellor and the Chief Justice believe it not to be of any
Sir Gerard g rea t moment. I suppose the Archdeacon will come up
J^owtnrj .
both also with you, his own business requires it. If he do not, send to
Thomas Halley to come along with you. My blessing on the
[His daughter, afterwards wife to see a petition of his referred to the con-
Sir James Graham.] sideration of the Committee of Griev-
["Edward Stanhope, Archdeacon ances" (Berwick). See also Letter II.]
of Derry. In the following year, I
LETTER S, &C.
children; my love to all my sisters, and all our friends.
God Almighty send us a speedy and a happy meeting.
Your loving and faithful husband,
JOH. DERENSIS.
March 12. 1640. [i.
Sweet Heart, upon some better consideration let Thomas
Halley come with you, not the Archdeacon. Put up all the
plate into a great trunk, and when you come leave the key
of it with my sister.
Thus superscribed :
"To my dear and loving wife Mrs. Ellen BramhaU at
Deny," These.
LETTER VI P.
From the Bishop of Derry to the Lord Primate (Usher).
MAY IT PLEASE YOUR GRACE,
It would have been a great comfort and contentment to
me to have received a few lines of counsell or comfort in this
my great affliction which has befallen me for my zeal to the [See Life,
service of his Majestic and the good of this Church, in being j note?!
a poor instrument to restore the usurped advowzons and ap- . Letter
propriations to the Crown, and to encrease the revenue of the
Church, in a fair just way alwaies with the consent of parties,
which did ever use to take away errors : but now it is said
to be obtained by threatning and force. What force did I
ever use to any ? What one man ever suffered for not con
senting ? My force was only force of reason and law ; the
scale must needs yield when weight is put into it ; and your
Grace knows to what pass many Bishopricks were brought ;
some to 100 per annum ; some 50 as Waterford, Kilfenoragh,
and some others; some to five marks as Cloyn and Kil-
P [From Bp. Vesey s Life, p. 25. this are in the Rawdon Papers, nos.
Two letters of Abp. Usher s in reply to xxxiii. xxxiv.]
XC LETTERS, &C.
macduagh. How in some diocesses, as in Ferns and Leighlin,
there was scarce a living left, that was not farmed out to the
Patron or to some for his use, at two, three, four, or five
pounds per annum, for a long time, three lives, or a hundred
yeares. How the Chantries of Ardee, Dondalk, &c. were
employed to maintaine Priests and Fryers, which are now
the chief maintenance of the Incumbents. In all this my
part was only labour and expence, but I find that losses
make a deeper impression than benefits ; I cannot stop men s
mouths, but I challenge the world for one farthing I ever got
either by References or Church preferments ; I fly to your
Grace as an anchor at this time, when my friends cannot
help me. God knows how I have exulted at night, that day I
had gained any considerable revenue to the Church, little
dreaming that in future times that act should be questioned
as treasonable. I never took the oath of Judge or Coun-
sellour, yet do I not know wherein I ever in all those passages
deviated from the Rule of Justice. My trust is in God, that
as my intentions were sincere, so He will deliver me. I
know not k w I came to ke assistant to the Bishop of Down :
Lesley.] except it were that at the same time I had References from
my Lord, and composed all the differences between that See
and my Lords of Ardes, Claneboy, Conway, and others. I
send your Grace the copy of a petition <i enclosed as was sent
me. The Sollicitor who getts the hands is one Gray censured
in the Starr-Chamber in one Steward s case. I hear he has
got 300. by it, and that the most of the subscribers did
not know what they subscribed, but in general that it was
for the purity of Religion, and the honour of their nation.
They say he has gathered a rabble of 1500 hands, all ob
scure persons, not one that I know, but Patrick Derry of
the Newry, a Recusant, not one Englishman. It were no
difficult task, if that were thought the way, to get half of
those hands to a contrary petition, and 5000 more of a better
rank. Since I was Bishop, I never displaced any man in my
Diocess, but Mr. Noble for professed Popery, Mr. Hugh for
confessed Simony, and Mr. Dunkine, an illiterate Curate,
for refusing to pray for his Majestie. Almighty God bless
q [Viz. against Episcopacy ; as appears from Abp. Usher s reply.]
LETTERS, &C. Xci
your Grace, even as the Church stands in need of you, at
this time, which is the hearty and faithfull prayer of
Your Grace s
obedient servant and Suffragan,
JO. DEKENSIS.
April 26, 1641.
[No place mentioned, but written probably during his imprisonment in the Castle [Life,p.ix.]
of Dublin. ]
LETTER VII. f, Rawd( S
Papers,No.
xli.]
From the Bishop of Derry to his Majesty Charles II. taken
from the Bishop } s oivn copy.
SIRE,
I have been bred up in a school where I learned to ob
serve Majesty at a distance, and never was so presumptuous
to present a line to my Sovereign. Much less should I have
adventured to write to you at this time in that place, but that
I cannot be so cruel to myself, as altogether to desert and
quit a poor reputation of integrity, which (with the con
science of my loyalty) is the only thing left unto me of all
that I enjoyed in this world. My Lord Marquiss of Ormond
did commit a trust unto me for the support of his noble
Lady. Your Majesty was graciously pleased to approve it,
and to ratify that power which he had given me. I have
executed it honestly with as much discretion as God hath
lent me. Yet some persons of eminent esteem with your
Majesty, I hope deservedly, mere strangers to me, as I to
them (I only wish they had not been too credulous to lend open
ears to what Mr. Loving r suggested for his own ends), have
not spared to blast my credit to his Royal Highness the
Duke of York, who was most concerned in it, as if I was
guilty of sinister practices and disservice to your Majesty.
This accusation came to me at the second hand from my
friends in France, Brabant, and Flanders. Presently upon
notice I went to Brussels, made my address to his Highness,
r [" There was a Mr. Richard Lo- principles of religion. Whether Lovell
veil, who was tutor to the Duke of should be read for Loving is what I do
Gloucester, by whom he was well in- not know." (Berwick).]
structed, says Lord Clarendon, in the
XCii LETTERS; &C.
petitioned for an hearing, had it granted, was acquitted;
mine accusers themselves confessing mine innocence, or
rather wanting all pretence or shew of a charge.
Nevertheless, I hear the same information hath come to
your ears. My humble request and supplication is that you
will continue me in your good opinion, untill you afford me
means to vindicate myself by the just favor of an in
different hearing. The weight of your displeasure would so
crush me down, being already sunk under the burthen of
my other sufferings, that I should not only quit that em
ployment, but retire myself into some desolate corner of the
world there to pray for your Majesty s happiness. If only
to accuse, were sufficient to condemn, no man shall be inno
cent. In the mesnagery of a much greater trust I have lived
free, not only from corruption, but suspicion. And having
tried myself Parliament proof in that, I do not doubt to
justify myself before equal judges in this. The God of
Heaven protect you from all your enemies, and prosper your
affairs, that you may live to equal and exceed the glory of
your most renowned ancestors, which shall be the daily
prayer of
Your Majesty s most loyal and
most dutiful subject,
JOH. DERENSIS.
Hague,
T 16 1650
[Rawdon LETTER VIII.
Papers, No.
xlii.J
From the Bishop of Derry to his Son, under the name of
Mr. John Pierson.
JOHN,
As to the letter which you have sent me inclosed in yours
from your noble friend, you may return him this answer with
the tender of my hearty thanks for his favours to you and
the rest of mine. I remember well he had a proper adven
ture, and that he received some money of Mr. Wandesforde ;
LETTERS, &C. Xciii
but how much his adventure was, or how much the money
was, I dare not charge my memory, untill I see the old ac
counts, or the copy of them from you. He was to have gone
at first a fifth part, but Sir Richard Scot dying shortly, a
fourth. The adventure proved extremely to loss by Mr.
Jackson s delays and bad returns, and by the casting away a
ship at Wexford, load en with wools and iron, and by the
most ill mesnagery of those who were trusted by the other
adventurers, and lastly by the change of the winds. The
whole burden fell upon me, for when I was a prisoner in the
Castle of Dublin s , before I could be bailed, they caused me
to take upon me the whole debt, seized upon the money they
found in Mr. Tucker s hands, seized upon the rents of the
Upper Fishing, which were behind for two years, stopped all
the moneys that were due to me in disbursements, seized
upon the produce of a whole year s adventure in Mr. Jack
son s hands, and seized upon mine own fishings, which were [See Life,
500. a year, which they, or I know not who, have held ever Eetterii.]
since : if it had been a business of advantage, he should
surely have heard from me before this. I made a tedious [See Life,
and chargeable voyage into Spain, where I received some p, an
money from Mr. Jackson, and gave him acquittance for the
same ; and after a year or two my friend received other note u -
moneys from him, to whom I gave power to acquit him so
much as he received, but not otherwise. The truth is, Mr.
Jackson paid what he could, and when he would. But ex
cepting a part of an account which he sent me into Ireland,
he never did give me any account, nor ever would shew me
an account untill this day, upon the pretence that I was but
an adventurer. But you will find amongst my papers all
Mr. Jackson s particular accounts, which I had from him,
and Mr. Tucker s accounts, and Mr. Wandesforde s accounts.
Preserve them diligently, and send me copies of them, and of
mine own accounts, which are about the same business ; and
comparing those with what I have received since, or have
here, I shall be able to lay the burthen on the right party,
* [" In the Journal of the House of a more secure lodging. 20 May, 1641.
Commons I find a message to the This must, I suppose, have been pre-
Lords, that they would be pleased, in vio us to his being lodged in the Castle."
regard the Bishop of Derry lyeth so (Berwick).]
near the water, to appoint his Lordship
LETTERS, &C.
for I have found some of their accounts very different. Be sure
you present unfeigned thanks and faithful service to that
noble gentleman, and all his : depend upon his advice.
So God bless us !
Feb. *}, w*.
[No place mentioned.]
[Rawdon LETTER IX.
Papers, No.
From the same to the same.
JOHN,
I have received yours of April 3, but long after the date.
Trust me it is not general petitions, but particular applica
tions, that must do your work. I am right glad you have
your uncle s deeds. Peruse them better, for I do not believe
yet there is any covenant to release, but only a declaration
of trust, which did not enable the nephew to sell or dispose.
So as I believe all done in that kind to be void in law ; you
that have the means may satisfie yourself better upon the
view of the deeds.
[viz. The " That lying abusive book was written by Milton himself,
- one wno was sometime Bishopp ChappellV pupil in Christ
Church u in Cambridge, but turned away by him, as he well
deserved to have been both out of the University and out
of the society of men. If Salmasius his friends knew as
much of him as I, they would make him go near to hang
himself. But I desire not to wound the nation through his
sides, yet I have written to him long since about it roundly.
It seems he desires not to touch upon that subject. That
[See Life, silly book which he ascribed to me, was written by one John
xxxv. ] P Rowland, who since hath replied upon him. I never read
either of the first book, or of the Reply, in my life."
So God bless us !
Antwerpe,
* 1654.
1 [At this time Provost of Trin. Coll. against Milton concerning the story
Dublin, and Bishop of Cork and Ross. here alluded to, the last sentence only
He died in 1649.] of this letter having heen communicated
[i. e. Christ s College. Bramhall to Archdeacon Todd by Mr. Berwick.]
it must be observed, is a new witness
LETTERS, &C. XCV
I answered whatever touched me in that pamphlet, of
which there is not a true word.
JOHN PIERSON.
Thus superscribed :
" To my very loving sonne Mr. John Pierson, at Ripon."
LETTER, X. v
A Letter from the Right Reverend J. Bramhall, D.D. Bishop
of Derry (afterwards Primate of Ireland) to the Most
Reverend James Usher, Archbishop of Armagh.
MOST REVEREND,
I thank God, I do take my Pilgrimage patiently, yet I
cannot but condole the change of the Church and State of
England. And more in my Pilgrimage than ever, because I
dare not witness and declare to that straying flock of our
brethren in England, who have misled them and who they
are that feed them. But that your Lordship may be more
sensible of the Church s calamities, and of the dangers she is
in of being ruin d, if God be not merciful unto her, I have
sent you a part of my discoveries, and it from credible hands,
at this present having so sure a messenger and so fit an op
portunity.
It plainly appears that in the year 1646, by order from
Rome, above 100 of the Romish Clergy were sent into
England, consisting of English, Scotch, and Irish, who had
been educated in France, Italy, Germany, and Spain; part
of these within the several schools there appointed for their
instructions.
In each of these Romish nurseries, these scholars were
taught several handicraft-trades and callings, as their inge
nuities were most bending, besides their orders or functions
of that Church.
v [From Parr s Life and Letters of with "Abp. Usher s Prophecy," and
Abp. Usher (printed in 1685), the first a letter of Sir Wm. Boswell on the
impression of which was seized by order same subject, in 1687, and again in
of James II. on account of its inser- the Harleian Miscellany (vol. vii. pp.
tion (Evelyn s Diary under the date of 542, &c.).]
April 18, 1686). It was reprinted,
LETTERS, &C.
They have many yet at Paris a fitting to be sent over, who
twice in the week oppose one the other; one pretending
Presbytery, the other Independency ; some Anabaptism and
the others contrary tenents, dangerous and prejudicial to the
Church of England, and to all the Reformed here abroad.
But they are wisely preparing to prevent their designs,
which I heartily wish were considered in England among
the wise there.
When the Romish orders do thus argue pro and con,
there is appointed one of the learned of those Convents to
take notes and to judge : and as he finds their fancies,
whether for Presbytery, Independency, Anabaptism, Athe
ism, or for any new tenents, so accordingly they be to
act and to exercise their wits. Upon their permission
when they be sent abroad, they enter their names in the
Convent registiy, also their Licences ; if a Franciscan, if a
Dominican, or Jesuit, or any other order, having several
names there entered in their Licence ; in case of a discovery
in one place, then to fly to another and there to change their
names or habit.
For an assurance of their constancy to their several orders,
they are to give monthly intelligence to their Fraternities, of
all affairs, wherever they be dispersed : so that the English
abroad know news better than ye at home.
When they return into England, they are taught their
lesson, to say (if any enquire from whence they come) that
they are poor Christians formerly that fled beyond sea for
their religion sake and are now returned, with glad news, to
enjoy their liberty of conscience.
The 100 men that went over in 1646 were most of
them soldiers in the Parliament s army, and were daily to
correspond with those Romanists in our late King s army
that were lately at Oxford, and pretended to fight for His
Sacred Majesty : for at that time, there were some Roman
Catholics who did not know the design a contriving against
our Church and State of England.
But the year following, 1647, many of those Romish
Orders who came over the year before, were in consultation
together, knowing each other. And those of the King s
party asking some why they took with the Parliament s side,
LETTERS, &C.
and asking others whether they were bewitched to turn
Puritans, not knowing the design : but at last, secret Bulls
and Licences being produced by those of the Parliament s
side, it was declared between them, there was no better
design to confound the Church of England than by pre
tending liberty of conscience. It was argued then that
England would be a second Holland, a Commonwealth ; and
if so, what would become of the King? It was answered,
Would to God it were come to that point. It was again
replyed, yourselves have preached so much against Rome,
and His Holiness, that Rome and her Romanists will be
little the better for that change : but it was answered, You
shall have Mass sufficient for a hundred thousand in a short
space, and the governors never the wiser. Then some of the
mercifullest of the Romanists said, This cannot be done unless
the King die, upon which argument, the Romish Orders thus
licenced, and in the Parliament Army, wrote unto their
several Convents, but especially to the Sorbonists, whether
it may be scrupled to make away our late Godly King and
His Majesty his Son, our King and Master; who, blessed be
God, hath escaped their Romish snares laid for him ? It was
returned from the Sorbonists that it was lawful for Roman
Catholicks to work changes in Governments for the Mother
Church s advancement, and chiefly in an heretical kingdom ;
and so lawfully make away the King x .
Thus much to my knowledg, have I seen and heard since
my leaving your Lordship, which I thought very requisite to
inform your Grace : for myself would hardly have credited
these things, had not mine eyes seen sure evidence of the same.
Let these things sleep within your Gracious Lordship s brest,
and not awake but upon sure grounds, for this age can trust
no man, there being so great fallacy amongst men. So the
Lord preserve your Lordship in health, for the nation s good,
and the benefit of your friends : which shall be the prayers of
Your humble Servant,
July 20, 1654. J. DERENSIS.
[No place mentioned. Dr. Bramhall was at Brussels in Sept. 1654 (Thurloe s
Slate Papers, vol. ii. p. 601).]
x [The whole of Bramhall s state- tail in P. Du Moulin s Vindication of
ments in this letter may be seen in de- the Protestant Religion, pp. 58, 60.]
BHAMHALL. h
XCviii LETTERS, &C.
LETTER XU
Bishop Bramhall s Letter to Dr. Bernard concerning the
observation of the Lord s Day.
SIR,
I went yesterday to Leyden with Mr. Honnywood and
Mr. Bancroft, to bring them so far on their way towards
Utrecht ; at my returne hither, I met with yours of Aug. -rV?
wherein you desire my judgment concerning the Sabbath or
Lord s day, which without any longe preface or needlesse
circuit of words is briefly this: first, in the Sabbath or Lord s
Day something is morall, that is, injoined by the law of nature;
namely, that some time be set apart for the service of
Almighty God. This is perpetuall and immutable, as being
grounded upon the eternall law of Justice, and this the
schooles use to call the substance of the commandement.
Secondly, something in the Sabbath is not morall, that is,
not determined by the law of nature, but injoined by the
positive Law of God or of the Church; as the time and
place and other circumstances, which they call modum
sanctiftcandiy or the manner of sanctifying the Sabbath.
This is mutable and may be changed, so it be by those that
have competent Authority to make such a change as is intro
duced. The manner of sanctifying the Sabbath with the
time and many other circumstances was prescribed by God
to the Jewes : yet not so precisely in all respects but that
many things were left to the determination of the Jewish
Church, as the formes of their hymns and prayers and
thanksgivings. This manner of sanctifying the Sabbath as
it was mutable in its owne nature, so it was actually changed,
and particularly as to the circumstance of time from the
seventh day to the first day of the weeke, either by Christ or
y [From Bp. Barlow s MSS. in the 1658, to which it seems to be a sequel.
Library of Queen s Coll. Oxford, en- Bp. Barlow has given neither the time
dorsed as above. It is apparently an when nor the place whence it was writ-
extract only, and relates to the same ten; but the former is fixed by the
controversy as Dr. Bramhall s Dis- observation just made, and the latter
course upon the Sabbath and Lord s appears from the first sentence of the
Day (See noteU,p.xxxiii.), written about letter itself to have been the Hague.]
LETTERS, &C.
by His Apostles inspired by the Holy Ghost : which is all
one, whether Christ immediatly in His own person or
mediatly by His Apostles inspired by His Spirit, did make
this change.
The reason of this change was this, that as the celebration
of Sunday being the first day of the creation, doth con
tinue the memoriall of the creation as well as Satturday or
the day after the creation, so likewise it is a memoriall of the
great blessings which we received from Christ upon this day,
upon a Sunday He was born for us, upon a Sunday He rose
againe from the dead; upon a Sunday He sent the Holy
Ghost; and the Primitive Christians had a tradition that
upon a Sunday He should come againe to judge the quick
and the dead : upon these grounds and especially in memory
of the resurrection of Christ, being the new creation of the
world ; the Apostles by the command of Christ or by instinct
of the Spirit did change the Sabbath from Satturday to
Sunday. So we see there was a sufficient Authority and
sufficient ground for doing of it. Two things onely remaine,
one is to shew that the Apostles did change it; and the
second, that this change is unalterable.
For the first, if there were no other proofes of it, yet the
perpetuall and universal! tradition of the Catholick Church,
in all ages, in all places, is proofs sufficient. The Eastern,
Western, Southern, and Northern Christians have all observed
it from their first matriculation into Christianity. It is an
undoubted rule, that whatsoever hath been observed every
where, allwaies, and by all Christians, is of the Institution
of Christ or of His Apostles; but the observation of the
Lord s Day hath been universall amonge all Christians, and
perpetuall longe before there were any generall Councells;
of which uniforme and universall observation no man can
imagin a reason but the command or direction of Christ or
of His Apostles.
We find not onely the footsteps but evident proofes of this
change in Holy Scripture ; as where it is called expressly the
Lord s Day as by a well-knowne name, Bevel. 1. 10. And
where it is related as a common duty or ordinary custome of
the Primitive Christians to meet together upon Sunday or
the "first day of the week to heare the word preached, and
C LETTERS, &C.
participate of the Sacrament, Acts 20, 7: as likewise to make
gatherings and collections for the poore as God had blessed
their labours the foregoing week, 1 Cor. 16. 2. And that
this " one day of the week" (accordinge to the Hebrew idio-
tisme) or this " first day of the week" was the Lord s Day
or the day of the Lord s Resurrection, is prooved undeniable
out of Mark 16, 2. To this all the Fathers of the first ages
do beare witnesse unanimously.
So as there can be no doubt in the world but either that
Christ or His Apostles, or Christ and His Apostles, He as
principall Authour, they as His Ministers, did either change
the Sabbath from Satturday to Sunday, or superadde Sunday
to Satturday : but they did not adde Sunday to Satturday,
that is, that both days should be observed, as is plaine out of
St. Paul, Coll. 2. 16. "Let no man judge you in meat or
drink, or in respect of a holyday, or of the new moons, or of
the Sabbath dayes, which are a shadow of things to come,
but the body is of Christ." The Ebionites were so offended
with St. Paul forthis manifest declaration of himselfe against
the Jewish Sabbath, that they refused to admitt him. So the
legall obligation to Satturday was ceased in St. Paul s days,
although the free observation of it, as a day of gratitude to
God, lasted long after in the Church for diverse weighty
reasons. It is plain then Sunday was not superadded to
Satturday : but the Sabbath changed from Satturday to
Sunday : neither is it anythinge opposite to this change, that
the Jewish Sabbath was to continue for ever, for that eternity
was onely to be understood duringe the continuance of the
Jewish Republick : and the Jewish Sabbath, for so far as it is
morall, doth continue of time for ever in the Lord s Day.
The onely doubt rernaininge is whether the day may be
changed. I answer No : for two reasons ; first there can be
no sufficient cause to [or?] ground of such a change to
counterbalance the resurrection of Christ, and new creation
of the world and all those benefites we received from Christ
upon this day. Secondly there can be no sufficient Authority
to abrogate that which hath been instituted by Christ and
His Apostles. But it may be objected that the Apostles as
chiefe governors of the Church, did sometimes make pruden-
tiall ordinances which were locall or temporary, and might
LETTERS, &C. d
be antiquated in time or abrogated by the Church. I doe
acknowledge it : but they were of another nature then this.
This without all restriction of time or place, as appeareth by
the perpetuall and universall tradition of the Catholick
Church. Secondly I have shewed that Sunday was not
superadded to Satturday as a new festival!, brought z into the
Church in the place of Satturday; as we see by all those
holy duties which were transferred from the one day to the
other; and by the ceasing of the legall obligation to Sattur
day accordinge to St. Paule. So the Lord s Day doth succeed
the Jewish Sabbath in the morall duty of that day which is
eternal!, and therefore the day ought to continue for ever,
as the duty itselfe doth continue for ever, and as the Jewish
Sabbath was to be eternall to the Jewes during the state of
the Jewish Eepublick : so the Lord s Day as the Christian
Sabbath ought to be eternall to Christians,, during the
Christian Republick. This is briefly and succinctly my
sense.
LETTER XII. [Rawdon
Papers,
From the Lord Bishop of Deny to Mrs. Bramhall. No -xivii.]
SWEET HEART,
When I came first to this city I thought I should have [See Life,
been dismissed within a fortnight. But this coming over of ^ xi nofe
the Irish Commissioners, and the expectation of a settlement,
have detained me thus long. They meet upon Wednesday
next, and it is believed we shall have both a chief governour
named, and council, and judges. This advantage I have
made of my stay to settle all my temporals, and I hope John
Forward s also, for so they promise me. Audley Mervine a
hath disclaimed fourteen town-lands, and writes down to the
present tenants to decline possession. Mr. Roberts acknow-
[Dr. Bramhall apparently intended mons "in the first Parliament sum-
to write " but brought" &c.j moned after the Restoration" (Ber-
a ["He was afterwards appointed wick). See also note T, p. xxv, and the
Speaker" of the Irish House of Com- Archbishop s will, below No. XVI.]
Cii LETTERS, &C.
ledgetli that lie hath no right to Milough, and I am not out
of hopes to get some reparation for want of it so long. Upon
Monday sevenight I purpose to begin my voyage, and Sir
James Graham b with me, with my son Thomas. My Lady
of Ormond is now here. Salute all my friends. Tell
Mr. Holmes, if he will, he shall go along with me. My
blessings on my daughters. So God bless us all !
Your very loving husband,
JO. DEKENSIS.
London,
July 7, 1660.
Thus superscribed :
" To my dearest wyfe Mrs, Elenour Bramhall in Yorkshire,
at Bipon."
LETTER XIII. c
The Petition of the Clergy of Ireland to Charles II. , to be pre
sented to his Majesty by the Duke of Ormond } then Lord
[See Life, Lieutenant.
p. xiii, and
MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY,
The Bishops here residing have thought fit to present the
inclosed Petition to his Majesty. It was occasioned by a
letter of my Lord elect Bishop of Cork to me d ; there is no
thing in it which they are not both able and ready to justify.
Since it was subscribed, we have received a copy of his
Majesty s gracious letter of November 20th, touching the
settling of impropriations, tithes formerly invested in the
Crown, or forfeited lands, which were held of the Church
upon the Bishops or churches of which they were held. By
the grace of God we shall mesnage his Majesty s bounty with
as much prudence and advantage to him and his subjects as
is possible. These were the main requests we had to make
b [His son-in-law.] d [Michael Boyle, Dean of Cloyne,
c [Rawdon Papers, No. xlviii. See afterwards Archbishop successively of
Carte s Life of the Duke of Ormond, Dublin and Armagh.]
bk. vi. vol. ii. pp. 210, &c.]
LETTERS, &C. Cm
by our agents. They will admit little debate,, being of lesser
moment, as the union of lesser benefices to make a compe
tency : some little glebes where there are none, one free
school to be erected in every diocess where there is not one
already; and lastly, one uniform table of tything to be
established throughout the kingdom. Now the main re
quests being granted already, whether it will be needful to
send agents for the rest I leave to your Lordship s prudence.
One Bishop and one Clerk were designed; either my Lord
Elect of Down e , or of Cork, for the Bishops, and either
Dr. Loftus or Mr. Underwood for the Clerks. They have
one request more, that in respect benefices are of so small
value for the present, and their churches and houses almost
all down, that as in like cases hath been used, his Majesty
would be graciously pleased to remit the first-fruits of such
persons as now so shall be admitted to any livings or promo
tions from the beginning of the Rebellion until the feast of
the Nativity of Christ, which shall be in the year of our Lord
1661, that is, for one year yet to come ; and in lieu thereof,
they do assent to settle an equal and perfect tax (which
hitherto hath been neither equal nor perfect) of all ecclesias
tical benefices and dignities throughout the kingdom, to the
great increase of his Majesty s revenue, in his twentieth parts
and in his first-fruits. This much I dare undertake, that the
Crown shall be a great gainer by this, I had almost said,
now necessary favour. These things are but barely proposed ;
and if there be any of them which do not relish well, upon
the least intimation they shall be quickly expunged. Your
Excellency seeth that the Clergy of Ireland know no mediator
to his Majesty but yourself. You will scarcely find a staff so
hard wherewith to drive them from you. Sir James Graham
lives in hopes until he receives his doom. That you may live
long, and give much, and die holy, and inherit Heaven, is the
Dutch proverb, and our prayer. So God bless us !
Your Excellency s most humble
and most faithful servant,
JO. DERENSIS,
Elect. Armach.
f [Jeremy Taylor.]
Civ LETTER S, &C.
MAY IT PLEASE YOUR MAJESTY
Your orthodox Clergy throughout Ireland have taken the
boldness to present unto you their unanimous request by the
Bishops now resident in Dublin, and craved your Royal
licence for two agents from them to come over and represent
the low state of the Irish Church, and such means as seem
to them conducible to the happy and peaceable settlement
thereof. Since that petition was signed, they have received
a copy of your gracious letter of November 20th, wherein
you have both satisfied their present, and prevented their
further, desires ; for how can they fear, lest you should
suffer them to be stripped of their present livelihoods, who
have of your free bounty inlarged their means out of your
own just rights to enable them to serve God and His Church
and your Majesty with most comfort. For this singular
grace they have enjoined me to present their most humble
thanks, and to acknowledge that they deserve to be branded
with the highest note of extreme ingratitude, if they should
cease to praise God for you, and to pour out their daily
prayers to the throne of Grace for your long life and pros
perous reign over them, and to do their uttermost endeavours
that, under the shadow of your wings, your subjects may lead
a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
Your Majesty s most humble
and faithful subject,
JO. DERENSIS,
Electus Armachanus.
Dublin,
December 5, 1660.
[Rawdon LETTER XIV.
Papers,
No. ixii.] From the Lord Primate to Sir Edward Nicholas, Secretary of
State.
HONOURABLE SIR,
I am commanded f by the House of Peers to make known
unto your honor, that they have named four of their mem-
f [As Speaker of the House of Lords.]
LETTERS,, &C. CV
bers to be their Agents s, to attend his sacred Majesty in
England, for the good of this Church and Kingdom,, to con
tinue there so long as his Majesty shall license them, and the
House shall judge expedient, which they do therefore repre
sent, that no other person or persons may pretend themselves
to be qualified as agent or agents to negociate public affairs
in the name of this Kingdom, except such others as shall
be employed into England for that purpose, by the Right
Honorable the Lords Justices and Council, the House of
Convocation, and the House of Commons, in their several
and distinct capacities ; which being all that is commanded
me by the House, I crave leave to subscribe,
Your Honor s most humble
and obedient servant,
JO. ARMACHANUS.
Dublin,
July the 10th, 1661.
LETTER XV. [Rawdon
Papers,
The following Letter of Primate Bramhall to Charles II. is No< lxxiv ]
transcribed from a true copy taken by John Coghill.
MAY IT PLEASE YOUR MAJESTY,
The Church of Ireland, now humble suitors unto you for
the remission of their twentieth parts and first-fruits for the
time past, which request your Majesty, by the mediation of
my Lord Steward, was graciously pleased to grant. And [The Duke
truly it was absolutely necessary that it should be so ; first in mond".]
justice, for they have received nothing out of those dignities
and benefices which they hold in title only, for these twenty
years past, and if they had received any thing, yet few or
none of them are able to pay any thing at this time without
their utter ruin; and " where nothing is to be had, even
kings lose their rights."
["Earls of Kildare and Mount- missioners, 31 July, 1661." Journals
Alexander, John Lord Bishop of El- of the House of Lords, quoted by Ber-
phin, and Lord Kingston, to attend his wick.]
Majesty in England as Lords Com-
CVI LETTERS, &C.
And yet, because they are not willing to receive this great
benefit to themselves with any prejudice to your Majesty, or
the least diminution of your revenue, they offered by me to
settle an equal and universal tax of all ecclesiastical prefer
ments throughout Ireland, whereas now some few of them
are over-taxed, a great many of them are altogether untaxed,
and the most of them are ludicrously taxed, so as to make them
liable to the name of twentieth parts, but rarely to first-fruits.
I am very confident that such an equal and universal tax as
is offered by them, will double or treble your Majesty s eccle
siastical revenue every way, in twentieth parts, in first-fruits,
in subsidies. If your Majesty be pleased to impose the care
of this great work upon me in a regal visitation 11 , I will
charge or burthen no man but myself in the execution
thereof. I hope to make you such a tax by consent, without
any noise or opposition, and to settle an exact list of all
patronages of the Crown, which are now smothered, and in a
great part usurped, than which nothing concerns your Majesty
more, to maintain and preserve the depen dance of your sub
jects upon yourself; the clergy depending much upon their
patron, and the people upon the clergy. And lastly, I doubt
not but to make a perfect rentall of all such impropriations
as have either in former times by your Royal father been be
stowed upon the Church, or by your Majesty s own grace and
bounty are now to be restored to the Church, so as the an
cient revenues of your Crown shall be upheld, and your Ex
chequer sustain no prejudice. But if your Majesty in your
high prudence shall think any other course fitter for effecting
this design, I do humbly submit, and shall most readily be
subservient in any way which your Majesty shall approve.
Now I beseech your Majesty to give me leave to add a
word or two in the behalf of Sir James Graham, whose near
relation to me will excuse what I say, whilst I contain myself
(which I hope both he and I shall always do) within the
bounds of modesty.
He seeth your Majesty s bounties thrown abroad, like
medals at a coronation, for those that can catch them, and
h [SeeLife,p.xiii.,andLetterXIIT; tioned, the concluding pages of Dr.
and, for a full account and discussion of Vesey s Life.]
the Archbishop s projects here men-
LETTERS, &C. Cvii
whilst you are doing good to your persecutors, he takes the
boldness (with the good thief on the Cross) to step in for
himself, " Lord, remember me." If his suffering hath been
more than his acting, it was for want of power, not of loyal
duty, wherein he hopeth evermore to approve himself an
equal to the best of your subjects. The Lords Justices here
do approve him, and have twice recommended him into Eng
land for some preferment. And it is, if not a blemish, yet
some little shame unto him to see others of his countrymen
daily receive marks of your Royal favour, and himself to miss
them, either by his misfortune, or, if he should still be silent
untill the whole act be concluded, by his supine negligence.
I am confident he will offer nothing to your Majesty which
may in the least degree intrench either upon your honor or
your interest, or your engagements. So I submit him and
his request to your Majesty s grace, and myself to your
pardon for this presumption ; and for conclusion, beg this
further favour for him, that your Majesty will grant him a
speedy dispatch, that he may haste back hither to serve you
in this approaching Parliament l .
God preserve your Majesty long in health and happiness,
for the welfare of your kingdom and the good of this Church,
which is the incessant prayer of your Majesty s
Most loyal and obedient
subject and servant,
JO. ARMACHANUS.
[TVo date.]
Vera copia, per me, John Coghill.
LETTER XVI. k
The last Will and Testament of Abp. Bramhall.
In the Name of God Amen. I, John, Lord Archbishop
of Armagh, Primate and Metropolitan of all Ireland, being of
perfect sense and memory, blessed be Almighty God, doe in
1 [" Sir James Graham sat for the k [From the Introduction to the
borough of Armagh in the Parliament Rawd. Papers, pp. 4 11, the original
which met in Dublin in May, 1661" being in the possession of the Marquis
(Berwick).] of Hastings.]
LETTERS, &C.
the first place render unto His Divine Majestic my humble
and hearty thanks, that He hath permitted me with mine own
eyes to see His salvation, and the restitution of his sacred
Majestic to his Royall Crown, and the Church of England
to its former glory, than which I doe not believe that the
whole world hath any Church that conieth nearer to Apo
stolical truth, both in doctrine and discipline. And I doe
heartily praise God That ordained me to be born and bred
up in it, and pray that I may end my days in the communion
of it. And, withal, considering with myself the certainty of
my dissolution, but the uncertainty of the hour in which it
shall please God to call me ; and weighing with myself that
I approach to that time which is the ordinary period of man s
life, three score years and ten ; and being not unmindful of
mine own paralytical infirmities, as having seen the walls of
my body moulder away by degrees ; I doe, with all humble-
nesse and resignation of myself, make this my last will and
testament.
In the first place I render up my soul into the hands of
God, That gave it, humbly beseeching Him, for Christ Jesus
my Saviour s sake, that He will vouchsafe to accept it, not
withstanding all my frailties and infirmities, into His celestial
habitation, which He hath prepared for His faithful servants.
Next, I do bequeath my body to the earth of which it was
composed, to be interred with Christian decencie, without
worldly pomp, so far forth as it may be conveniently avoided,
either in the Parochial Church of St. Peter s, Droghedah, or
in the Cathedral Church of St. Patrick, at Armagh, at the
discretion of my heir and executor hereinafter mentioned.
Item, I will, and my will is, that so many blacke freeze
gownds shall be bestowed upon poor men and poor women,
as will make up the number of my years which I have lived
in this transitory life, and such other acts of charity per
formed as I shall give directions to my heir. And although
I cannot in present settle such a course as I would towards
the reparation of the Cathedral Church of St. Patrick s,
Armagh, and the Parochial Church of St. Peter s, Drog
hedah ; yet it is my firm purpose and resolution not to be
wanting to either of them, so long as God permits me to live
in this world ; and when I have more opportunity to advise
LETTERS, &C. cix
with my friends, to prescribe some course for the accom
plishing of that pious worke. Item, I will, and my will is,
that the summe of five hundred pounds out of the arrears of
rent due to me out of the Bishopricke of Deny, be given
towards the reparation of the said two churches, over and
above those summes which I shall bestow upon them in my
life-time. And although I found all the churches and
mansion-houses belonging to my See either ruined or in
clining to ruin, yet I have, as the time would give me leave,
repayred the house at Drogheda, and provided timber for the
house at Termon-feekan l , with a full purpose, if God lend
me life until I am able to finish it, to build up the said
house, and to inclose it with a Parke for my successor ; and
if it please God to take me away before I have finished this
intention, it is my will, that all the timber, iron, boards, and
other materials, which I have prepared towards it, be given
to my successor towards the perfecting the work. Item, I
doe further give unto my said successor the hangings of the
Presence Chamber, and all the chairs and stools and tables
in it, and all the ranges throughout the house where I found
not one. Item, my will is, that all my waged servants shall
be kept together in my last-mentioned house for three months
after my death in decent sorte, thereby to inable them to
provide for themselves in other service ; and at their departure
they shall have each of them a year s wages, as a token of my
love to them, and mindfulnesse of them. Item, I will, and
my will is, and I do hereby strictly injoyne my heir and
executor, here under-named, to satisfie and pay all the just
debts which I shall owe at the time of my death, whether
they were due by bill, bond, or otherwise, and with that
speed and satisfaction to my creditors as my estate shall be
able to bear; and that the articles made between me and
Mr. Bulkely, Archdeacon of Dublin, shall be made good for
a rent-charge, to be paid him out of my manour of Belgree,
untill my heir and executor shall provide for him another
inheritance, or another rent-charge of equal value to that
1 [" Termon-feckin, or Terfeckan," the county of Lowth, Barony of Fer-
from whence Usher dates a letter to rard, and about three miles and a half
Bp. Bramhall, Aug. 10, 1639 (Rawcl. from Drogheda. Usher was the last
Papers, No. xxiii.), is "a palace be- Primate who made it his residence."
longing to the See of Armagh ; it is in Rawd. Papers, p. 61. note.]
CX LETTERS, &C.
which lie now holds. Provided, nevertheless, that this my
intention shall no further bind my heir and executor than I
shall give warrant for by another codicill ; because, it is my
meaning to see what use Mr. Bulkely, Archdeacon of Dublin,
did intend or desire to make of the power usurped from his
Majesty, to the prejudice of me and my heirs. Item, I will,
and my will is, that my dear wife, Ellinor Bramhall, shall
have and enjoy to her proper use and behoofe, for her life,
all my plate and household stuffe and utensils, which are not
otherwise disposed of by this my will, free from, and dis
charged of all debts, and other incumbrances whatsoever;
and after her death, it is my further will, that the same be
equally divided amongst my three daughters, if they be living
at the time of her death, or such of them as are then living.
Item, I doe devise and bequeath unto my son and heir appa
rent, Sir Thomas Bramhall, Barronett, and the heirs male of
his body issuing, all my proper and personall acquisitions,
and all those my manours, towns, lands, and hereditaments,
of and in Castletown, Moylagh, and elsewhere, in the county
of Meath, with all the appurtenances, and particularly some
lands in the county of Meath, which I purchased jointly with
Robert Maude, Esq., and such other lands as I purchased of
Mr. Cowse and Mr. Roberts in the manour of Moylagh, and
of and in the manour of Belgree, in the County of Dublin, or
Meath, or both of them ; and of and in the manour of the
Omagh, as well those lands which are now possessed by me, as
those lands which are held unjustly from me by Sir Audley
Mervin, which nothing withholds me from recovering but his
present priviledge m only ; and all my other lands in the
County of Tyrone, which are likewise held from me unjustly
by the said Sir Audley Mervin ; the remainder thereof to the
heirs of my body issuing, the remainder thereof to my right
heirs for ever ; charged, nevertheless, with one yearly rent-
charge or annual summe of two hundred and fifty pounds
sterling, with power to distrain as aforesaid; [which] I doe
hereby devise and bequeath unto my said wife during her
life, in lieu, recompense, and full satisfaction of all dowers or
thirds which she may challenge or demand out of my estate,
either real or personal, other than what I have herein before
m [He was Speaker of the Irish House of Commons.]
LETTERS, &C. Cxi
devised to her. Provided, always, that he my said son shall
marry with the consent of such overseers as I shall hereafter
name in this my last will and testament. Item, I do hereby
devise and bequeath unto my loving son-in-law, Sir James
Graham, Knight, and my eldest daughter Isabella Graham,
alias Bramhall, his wife, the summe of seven hundred pounds
ster., which with other moneys he hath already received, and
other advantages conferred on him, I hope will abundantly
satisfie him for his wife s portion. Item, I do hereby devise
and bequeath unto my two younger daughters Jane and
Anne, all my estate in the lease of Drumragh, in the County
of Tyrone, which I purchased of the two Lady Leighs long
since; and likewise whatsoever other leases I have in the
County of Donnegal, which I bestow upon them for their
maintenance untill they be better provided for. Item, I doe
further hereby devise and bequeath unto my said second
daughter, Jane Bramhall, for her marriage portion the sum
of 1500 ster. payable upon her marriage; and I do likewise
devise and bequeath the like marriage portion of 1500 ster.
unto my third daughter Anne Bramhall, payable likewise upon
the day of her marriage. And I do further will, and my will
is, that each of my said daughters unmarried shall have 20
a piece yearly, for their respective maintenance, from my said
heir, untill their respective marriages ; and in case either of
my said daughters unmarried die before marriage, in such
case, that the portion of the daughter so dying before mar
riage shall be divided between the surviving daughters ; and
forasmuch as I have left my son, Thomas Bramhall, an estate
able to bear it, and he is not yet married, it is my meaning
and my will, that as well his wife s portion, as all my real
estate, be chargeable with the said portions to be raised to
my two daughters. Item, the better to inable my son,
Thomas Bramhall, to satisfie the said debts and portions, I
will, and my will is, that the said Thomas Bramhall, his heirs
and assigns, shall have and enjoy all the lands and heredita
ments which his Majestic will be graciously pleased to bestow
upon me, in consideration of my great losses sustained in the
late, or as a bounty for my services as Speaker of the House
of Peers in this present, Parliament. Item, I do hereby
constitute and appoint my said son, Thomas Bramhall,
Cxii LETTERS, &C.
during his life, my sole executor of this my last will and
testament ; and from and after his death, I doe constitute
and appoint the heirs of his body lawfully begotten executors
of my said will ; and for want of such heirs, I doe constitute
and appoint my said son-in-law Sir James Graham and my said
three daughters executors of this my will. Item, I will, and my
will is, that my said executor or executors respectively, shall
and may recover, have, and enjoy, all the arrears of rent due
unto me out of my late Bishopricke of Derry, out of which I
was wrongfully expelled for twenty years and more, which
remains due unto me in law and conscience. Yet, neverthe
less, my will is, that moderation be used in exacting the
said arrears ; and that no person be compelled to pay more
than three years rent at the highest ; and that those whose
lands were not planted till of late be yet more favourably
used, if they do not prove obstinate to oppose my right, which
is undeniable. Lastly, according to my expectation and con
fidence in my said wife and children, I doe pray, and as much
as in me lyeth enjoyne them, to observe all acts of love one
to another, and to avoid all unnatural suites and contentions,
and to rest satisfied with this my will, according to the pur
port thereof, and my true meaning therein declared as afore
said. And I doe hereby constitute the Most Honorable,
and my singular good Lord, His Grace James Duke of
Ormond, Lord Lieutenant- General of Ireland, and the Right
Honorable the Earl of Orrery, supervisors of this my last
will and testament ; and intreat them to accept of two Rings,
such as my Executor shall present to them, in remembrance
of that love and duty which I ought unto them. As witness
[i.e. 166|.] my hand and seal, this fifth day of January, 166.2.
JO. ARMACHANUS,
Signed and sealed and published in the presence of
Ja. Grahame and John Coghill.
LETTERS; &C.
CX111
LETTER XVII.
Extract from the Acts* of the Convocation of the Irish Church [See Life,
in 1661, containing its Public and Solemn Recognition o/iiote g.]
Archbishop Bramhall s services.
Decimo tertio Die Julij 1661.
(After granting a subsidy, the Convocation proceeds as
follows : )
" Deinde hsec Sancta Synodus, apud se reputans Ecclesiam
Hibernicam, supra quam dici potest, jam olim magiia et nuper
nova variis et magnis incrementis aucta beneficia nactam
esse, a mirifica in earn beneficentia Reverendissimi in
n [After the preceding pages were in
print, the extract above given from the
Acts of the Irish Convocation of 1661,
hitherto supposed to be lost, has been
received through the kindness of Dr.
Todd of Dublin. It is taken from the
MSS. of Archbishop King recently
purchased by Trinity College, Dublin,
and deposited in their library.
The kindness of the same gentleman
has supplied the Editor with some fur
ther information relative to Archbishop
Bramhall, which it is hoped may be
allowably inserted in this place. The
figures refer to the pages of the Life, to
which the information in each case re
lates.
" p. iv. line 4. Mr. Wandesforde first
presented Mr. Bramhall to the School
of Kilburne by Thirsk, near Kirkling-
ton, in Yorkshire. See Comber s Life
of Wandesforde, p. 83.
p. vi. 1. 2. Dr. Bramhall obtained
the Archdeaconry of Meath by patent
dated 4th March, 9 Car. I., i. e. 163*
(Rolls, 9 Car. I. 3rd pt. f ).
ibid. 1. 18. He was promoted to the
Bishopric of Londonderry by warrant
under Privy Seal dated at Westminster
9th May (1634), patent at Dublin 24th
May (of the same year), and writ of re
stitution and mandate of consecration of
the same date (Rolls, 10 Car. 1. 2ndpt. f).
p. vii. 1. 20. It appears by Bishop
Downham s Visitation book in the
library of Trin. Coll. Dublin, that in
1622 the Cathedral church of St. Co-
lumb at Derry had not so much as any
ruins left, neither was there any other
Cathedral or parish church built in
stead thereof within the city of
Londonderry. In 1634 the King
BRAMHALL.
granted a licence to the Society of the
Governors and Assistants of London
of the new plantation in Ulster to alien
in mortmain to Bishop Bramhall, and
his successors, the church or fabric of a
church lately built in Derry, together
with a chancell, a library, a vestry-house,
and tower, belonging to the same, and
also a church-yard and place of burial
lying about the same, to the end they
might be consecrated and dedicated to
the service of God; to have and to hold
to the Bishop, and his successors, in
frank-almoyne, together with a clause
for the use of the inhabitants and of the
parish of Derry alias Templemore
(Rolls, 10 Car. I. 1st pt. d). The
Cathedral was finished in 1633, and a
stone placed over the door with the
following inscription,
ANO.DO.
1633
IN.TEMPLO.
VERVS.DEVS.
EST.VERE.Q:
CLEMENS.
CAR. REGIS.
9.
JF. STONES . COVLD . SPEAKE.
THEN . LONBONS . PRAYSE .
SHOVLUE . SOVNDE . WHO .
BVILT.THIS . CHVRCH . AND.
CITTIE . FROM . THE . GROVNDE.
See a view of the Cathedral as then
built, and a facsimile of this inscription,
in the Ordnance Memoir of the parish
of Templemore, pp. 102, 103. Dubl. 4to.
1837.
p. viii. 1. 17. Aug. 4, 1637, Bp.Bram-
hall had a grant of lands in the Co. Ty
rone to him and his successors from the
Crown (Rolls, 13 Car. I. 4th pt. f).
CX1V
LETTERS, &C.
[John Les-
Taylorj and
Christo Patris, Johannis providentia divina Arcliiepiscopi Ar-
machani, Primatis et Metropolitan! totius Hibernian, hujusque
Synodi prsesidis, nihilque se liacteims gratitudinis ei publice
rependisse, nunc vero officii sui memor, et debit! quo eminen-
tissime suse paternitati diu obstricta est, moram dilatae solu-
tionis diutiorem facere non potuit, et propterea in fidem ma-
joris quam sibi debet obsequii, et ut gesta sua, egregia et sin-
gularia, omnium sermone perpetuo celebrentur, et ut nulla
unquam setas de suis laudibus conticescat, statuit et deerevit,
publicam et solennem ea ex parte in Scriptis fieri recogni-
tionem,, non ut obligation! qua est beneficentise suae devincta
ulla ratione satisfaciat, sed potius ut debitam magnitudinem
non dissimulans se non esse solvendb ac perpetuo debituram
libere profiteretur. Ileverendis igitur in Christo patribus et
Episcopis, Jolianni Clogherensi, Jeremise Dunensi, et Georgio
Derensi, istius recognitionis in scriptis confectioiie [m] com-
miserunt ; et ut paratiores essent lianc rem ipsis commissam
p. xii. 1. 3. He was appointed Arch
bishop of Armagh by warrant under
Privy Seal dated 1st Aug. (1660) at
Whitehall, with a grant of the mesne pro
fits from the date thereof (Rot.pat. Cane.,
12 Car. II. 2nd pt. f); by patent dated
18th. January (166-2-), and writ of re
stitution dated the same day (Rot. ut
supra, dorso).
p. xix. note 1. A much better reason
can be given for the Calvinistic turn of
the Irish Articles than that assigned by
Pr. Vesey: for many divines, who were
troublesome inEnglandfromPuritanical
opinions, were provided for in the Irish
Church to get them out of the way ; for
example, Travers the opponent of
Hooker was made Provost of Trinity
College, and thus the Church corrupted
at the fountain head. See NeaPs Hist.
of the Puritans, Brooke s Puritans, and
Reid s Hist, of the Presbyterians, for
the way in which the Irish Church was
deluged with Puritanism."
Through the same channel the Editor
has been enabled also to procure a copy
of Dr. Loftus s Funeral Oration, men
tioned in p. iii. ; of which the title is as
follows, " Oratio Funebris, habita post
ExiiviasNuperiRcverendissimi in Christo
Patris Johannis Arcliiepiscopi Armacltani,
Totius IlibernicePrimatis et Metropolitan!,,
terra mandatas XVI. Die Julii 1663, in
Ecclesld Cathedrali Sa. et Individuce Tri-
nitatis Dublin. Qnam effudit Dudleins
Loftusius J. U. D. Vic. Gen. Arm.
Dublinii MDCLXITI." It contains a
highly eulogistic sketch of the Primate s
life and character, written however with
a greater appearance of reality and in
a more impartial tone than might be
expected in such a composition ; but
the portrait which it draws is ro en
tirely identical, not only in the main
outlines but even in the more minute
features, with that presented in Bp. Tay
lor s Sermon, as to render it superfluous
to give both to the reader. For minor
details in matters of fact, it appears from
this Oration (p. 4), that Bramhall (who
went to Cambridge in 1608) was, at the
time of his going to the University, in
his 16th year, and at the time of his
death (June 25, 1663) not quite 70,
whence it would follow that he was not
born later than 1593 (see Life, p. iii.
note a). It appears by the parish re
gister of Pontefract, that "John, the
son of Peter Bramhall, was baptized the
18th day of Nov. 1594." Dr. Loftus
also informs us that the Archbishop had
been forty-five years married at the
time of his death (consequently that he
married in 1618), and that he had in all
fix children, although only four sur
vived him (p. 32). He has fallen
however into the same error with Jer.
Taylor (see above, p. Iviii), in stating
(p. 6) that Dr. Bramhall s disputation
at Northallerton was with three Jesuits.]
LETTERS, &C. CXV
aggredi, et feliciori nisu absolvere, multiplies ejus virtutes,
quibuscum agendamm rerum experientis consuetude multo-
rum annorum quam liabuit cum Me Ecclesia ac in omni vita
prudentia conjuncta esset, recitarunt, dixeruntque niliil Re-
verendissims paternitati sus unquam defuisse in rebus Eccle-
sis procurandis, et promovendis, vel ex prudentia, vel ex dili-
gentia, vel ex fide requisitum, et in Ecclesiastics discipline
administratione tarn exactam justitiae normam eum semper
esse secutum ut nulla sive prsmio virtus nullum sive poena
crimen in sua Diocesi vel Provincia relinquebatur. Dixcrunt
etiam se non minus labentem ac prope cadentem Ecclesis
disciplinam prudentia sua sustinuisse quam ejus redditus et
proventus sua industria promovisse; posteriori enim in re
nulli corporis labori nulli animi cautioni pepercit, uncle fuit
quod annul diets Ecclesis redditus aucti erant ad quadra-
ginta millia librarum supra antiquum eorundem valorem ; in
prior : vero, id est Ecclesiasticam disciplinam, tanto exarsit
desiderio, ut in eo omnes suas curas et cogitationes defigebat,
unde fait, quod Canones et Constitutiones Ecclesiastics,
ipsius prsecipue mediante labore, anno Domini 1634, edits
sunt, quibuscum cleri universi luxuris, cupiditati, atque licen-
tiae, frsnum quod facile excuti non posset vinciebat. Tune
etiam significatum est dictis Reverendis Patribus, qua mente
semper fuit in eos qui labe Symoniacs pravitatis infecti sunt,
et quomodo in eos exercuit Canonics severitatis ultionem ;
etiam si enim, inter veniente pecunia, frequenter beneficia
Ecclesiastica fuerant acquisita ante primum ejus in Hiberniam
adventum, ille tamen edoctus non minus e Sacris Literis quam
Decretalibus Gregorii Epistolis et Sexto, quod simoniaca
pestis sui magmtudine alios morbos vincit, sine dilatione,
mox ut ejus signa per aliquam personam claruerunt, de
Ecclesia Dei earn eliminavit et e gratis sus benignitate re-
pulit. Tune etiam dictum fuit, laboriosam negotiorum molem
Reverendissims sus paternitati nunc temporis incumbentem
tarn gravem esse quod omnem posteritatis fidem superaret,
post enim felicem et diu exoptatum ejus in Hiberniam nuper
reditum hanc Ecclesiam longe alienam a pristine suo statu
invenit; alios enim cscis erroribus captos, alios tetrs lisreseos
labe infectos, alios foeda scliismatis contagione laborantes, ex
iniquo superstitionis errorisque mancipio liberare et ad EC-
i 2
CXV1
LETTER S, &C.
clesise gremium traducere habet : quibus in rebus tantum in
dies insudat, nt inde in fastiginm spe nostra erecta expectan-
dum est, quod eminentiae suis auspiciis jactata lisec diu
agitata et fere aquis immersa Ecclesia revivescat, consistat,
et plane acquiescat . Desideravit denique dicta Synodus ab
imis cordis visceribus, ut istum Reverendissimum patrem qui
in tantum auxit, sublimuit, profuit, et prsefuit huic Eeclesise,
eum incolumem conservat Deus, ut diutissime iidem prosit et
prosit, et ut ipse qui semel, Deo adjutore, a lateribus ad
marmora traduxit Hiberniae Ecclesiae sedificium,, idem nuper
fere dilapidatum, a marmoribus ad aurum sanctiore sedifica-
tione traducat, in solidum et splendidissimum pietatis suse
monumentum et seternam Dei gloriam."-
LETTEIl XVIII.
From the Bishop of Derry to Sir Richard Browne, Ambassador
of King Charks II. at Paris? .
SIR,
I humbly tlianke you for your last great favour. I am
migiitily ashamed to be so burthensome to my friends, and
[Life, P .x.] as low as my condition is would be extremely glad to meete
with any opportunity which might render me so happy as to
be able to make some kind of acknowledgment. I beseech
you be pleased to favour me with the conveiance of the
[Dr. Bramhall seems to have been
consulted in the affairs of the English
Church as well as of the Irish, although
in both instances he failed of success in
the measures -which he proposed. It
appears from a letter of Lord Clarendon
to Dean Barwick (Life of Barwick,
p. 424), dated Brussels, July 8, 165f>,
that, upon a difficulty arising in the ap
pointment of English Bishops at the
Restoration through the want of Deans
and Chapters, Dr. Bramhall, while he
" seemed to wish the adoption of the
Irish way" of election (viz. by patent
from the Crown) in England also, urged
the removal of the immediate obstacle
by consecrating Bishops " to the void
Sees in Ireland, and thence removing
them to others in England."]
P [The original of this letter is in the
possession of Mr.Upcott, who has kindly
allowed it to be here published. Unfor
tunately it was not received until too
late for insertion in its proper place,
viz. between Letters VI. and VII. It is
endorsed by Sir Richard Browne (the
father-in-law of John Evelyn) as " from
the Bishop of Derry, 30th June 1646,"
and is addressed "A Monsieur Monsieur
Le Chevalier Browne, Resident du Roy
de la Grande Bretaigne, A Paris."
Under the signature is written in the
handwriting of Evelyn, "The learned
Bip. Bramhall: after the K-gs restaur.
Primate of Ireland."]
LETTERS, &C. CXVU
enclosed to Mr. Bough and to preserve his answer for me
untill you heare where I am settled, which I thinke for some
short while will be at Liege. I expect no more letters
out of Spaine q . The onely satisfaction which I have there
is that I must expect none untill the [leases proove clearer 1 ".]
He writes to me that by September he may know a certainty
of it. And God bless him from the Jesuits. And I say God
bless me from so much cunning and unthaiikfullness as I have
mett w th in this business.
I beseech you present my humble respects to my good
Lady and your pretty daughter 8 . So God Allmighty bless us.
Your most faithful], and assured servante,
JOII. DEKENSIS.
June 30, 1646.
[A T o place named. BramlidWs usual residence duriny the time was at Antwerp.]
I write no newes hence because I dare not putt my sickle
into my good neighbours affaires,
q [See Life p. xi. note P. p. xxii. handwriting bad, but the characters
Remarks at the end of note U. p. xxxvi. seem most nearly to resemble the
and Letter II.] words above given.]
r [This clause is almost illegible in s [Afterwards the wife of Evelyn.]
the original, the ink being pale, and the
"mOMNHMONETMA.
TOS1TO QUOD IIAEEBAT MORTAL!-:,
DIERUM AC FAM^E SATUR,
^EVUM AG1T IN GLORIA
JOANNES B RAM HALL US,
IN TIIEOLOGIA PROFESSOR S1MUL ET PRIMAS ;
QUI STRAFFORDIO DEBUIT
QUOD DERRENSIS SEDIS FACTUS SIT ORNAMENTUM,
CAROLO, QUOD ARMACHAN^E DECUS,
AT SII1I QUOD UTRAMQUE DIGNITATEM ET MERUIT ET AUX1T.
VER.E RELIGIONIS IN HIBERNIA
ERAT ET SACERDOS, ET SACRIFICIUM, SED ET STATOR.
SUB EJUS AUSPICIIS TAM F^ELICITER MILITAV1T ECCLESIA,
UT VEL HIC TRIUMPHANTEM FACILE DIXERIS.
CIV1LES INTER DISCORDIAS,
PROSPERO REGNI PRINCIPISQUE STATU
DEIQUE CULTU UNA COLLAPSIS,
IPSE ETIAM CECIDIT
(NEQUE ENIM ALITER POTUIT PERIEE) :
CUM IIS RESURREXIT, CUM IISDEM VICTURUS,
QUAM DIU VEL MONARCHIA VEL PIETAS FUTURE SINT SUPERSTITES :
PCENAS A REBELLIBUS SUBIIT, SED INVIDIA DIGNAS :
HONORE PLECTEBATUR, OSTRACISMO INSIGNITUS,
DUM IN ILLO ECCLESIA ANGL1CANA VEL EXULARET VEL PEREGRIN AKETUR.
AT NON TAM VICTUS QUAM IN POSTERUM PROVIDENS
FORTUNE POTIUS QUAM HOSTI CESSIT ;
MORE PLANE PARTHICO, FUGIENS JACULABATUR,
NISI QUOD EADEM SAGITTA
ET VULNERA ET MEDELAM MEDITATUS SIT.
PAPISTIC^E CALVINISTIC^EQUE SUPERSTIT1ONIS,
SIMUL ET ATHEISMI, MALLEUS :
ROMAM ET GENEVAM SUBEGIT,
QUODQUE MAGIS IIERCULEUM EST,
HOBBESIUM QUO VIS, VEL SUO, LEVIATHANE MONSTROSIOREM
PERDOMUIT ;
1NFULAMQUE TOT INTERTEXTAM LAUREIS ^ETERNITATI CONSECRAVIT.
VIATOR NE BRAMHALLUM QU^ERITES
INTER SAXA ET RUDERA, PERITURA TEMPORIS TROPH^A ;
ILLE IN LITERARUM MONUMENTIS SUA SIBI STRUXIT MARxMORA,
LOSG^EVIORA ^EGYPTIACIS, ET SUPRA PYRAMIDAS MIRANDA :
SETHUM NOSTRUM NON ALI^E DECENT COLUMNS,
QUAM QU^E SCIENTIAM ET VERITATEM DILUVIO VINDICENT ;
H^E CHRISTIANUM DECENT ALCIDEM ;
HAS CUM DEMUM STATUISSET,
RELIGIOSAS LITES LONGUM JUSSIT FACESCERE,
ET MILITIA PROBE FUNCTUS CESSIT QUIETI.
NOBIS ET SER1S NEPOTIBUS
MERITO INSCRIBAMUS LICET LITERAR11S HIS COLUMMS
NON ULTRA.
THE VICTORY OF TRUTH
FOR THE PEACE OF THE CHURCH;
OR,
AN EPISTLE
FROM M. DE LA MILLETIERE,
COUNSELLOR IN ORDINARY TO THE KING OP FRANCE,
TO THE KING OF GREAT BRITAIN,
TO INVITE HIS MAJESTY
TO EMBRACE THE CATHOLIC FAITH.
THE VICTORY OF TRUTH
FOR THE PEACE OF THE CHURCH, &c.
SIR,
THE wisdom of God s counsels differs widely from the [The true
judgment formed of it by the skill of those men, who S| a "o"
are destitute of the knowledge of His grace. One sort, and evils
who know neither God nor His providence, look upon all
the events of human life as if they happened by chance.
They imagine, that what we call prosperity or adversity
hath no other cause than accident, and the influence which
each man s prudence or imprudence exerts upon the guidance
of his life. Others, who acknowledge a Divine providence,
but only after the manner that God hath manifested it to the
world by the instructions and judgments of His Law, think,
that all the goods, which heap prosperities upon them, are
the effects and the testimonies of the favour wherewith God
cherisheth those that are His; and that the ills, which
oppress man s life with miseries, are arguments of the anger
and hatred of God upon those He handles after that manner.
But Christians, to whom God hath revealed by the Gospel the
2 counsel of His mercy in Jesus Christ, know, that in His
Cross, on which, for satisfying the justice of the Law, He
hath borne the penalty of our sins, He hath also changed,
for those He calls to His communion, the use of afflictions ;
and that He employs them first to humble them, and to make
them acknowledge their sin, that they may desire deliverance
from it, to the end they may come by this way to the faith of
His grace, which doth deliver them; and, when they are
entered into communion with Him by faith, that the exercise
of the same afflictions accomplisheth in them the work of His
grace, in giving them, by the consolation He affords in their
patience, the hope of the glorious happiness which He hath
promised them, and which transports all their affections with
CXX11
THE VICTORY OF TRUTH ; OR.
[The evils
of the Great
Rebellion
to be simi
larly ex
plained.]
[1. Their
real cause,
2. theirtrue
remedy,
easily
traced.]
[1. Their
real cause
visible in
its effects.]
love of Him. Those, therefore, that have this faith and this
hope, are of a judgment far differing from the opinion of
men of the world, upon the issue of the goods and the evils
which accompany man s life.
Considering, Sir, the present fortune of your Serene Majesty,
far removed from the majestic condition of your birth, I
humble myself with you in the sight of the powerful Hand of
Gcd, Who is the only Judge and only Master of monarchs,
to ascend by the steps, whereto the Gospel leads us, even into
the counsel of His infinite mercy. And I find there, that the
catastrophe of this great calamity, which environs you, is a
work of the wisdom of the King of Kings, Who desires to
shew in you, whom he hath honoured with His unction and
His image, a wonderful effect of His grace, and of His power.
I say, Sir, that under the cloak of the so many sad adventures,
which you experience by revolutions so strange that all the
universe doth shudder at them, the King of Heaven and of
earth, Who hath humbled Himself for you infinitely more
low than you are, draweth Himself near unto you. He comes
to take you by the hand, not only to re-establish you in your
throne, but to make you to sit in His, that you may reign with
Him eternally, after you have employed the sceptre, which
He shall put again into your hand, to re-establish His
Kingdom among your subjects.
It is very easy for me, Sir, to give you a reason of this
judgment I make of that of God upon your sacred Person,
and to unfold unto you, not only the causes and the effects
of the ill which is come upon you, but also the way, the use,
and the success of the remedy, which the Hand of God will
give you, to accomplish in you this work of His mercy.
If we seek the cause for which, as we see, the hand of God
hath made itself so grievously heavy upon the sacred head of
the King your father, and which pursues, yet after him, your
Royal Person with so many sinister accidents ; which hath
caused this great desolation to come upon all your kingdoms,
this confusion, and this subversion of their peace and former
prosperity, this change into which they have so blindly
precipitated themselves, to part with the form of government
that God had established amongst them, under which they
had lived so happily for so many ages past, and become slaves
AN EPISTLE OF M. DE LA MILLETIERE, &C. CXXiii
of the yoke wliicli the armed hand of a tyrant hath put upon
their head under the false name of liberty ; it will be very
easy for us to find the cause of this, and to detect it by its
effects.
You are not ignorant, Sir, and all the world knows it with [The mo-
you ; that the matter, for which this parricidal Parliament Padiarnent
hath so cruelly persecuted the King your father, hath been {{J
the ecclesiastical government, of which it desired to change pass.]
the form by the abolition of the Episcopate, and the suppres
sion of the Liturgy and the ceremonies, through which the
Protestants of your kingdom had yet retained some image of
the Catholic Church. Those, whom they call Puritans and
Presbyterians, who desire to live under the form of the
Genevan discipline, could not endure the form of that an
cient Order, which the Royal authority had retained as
instituted by Divine authority, and as for this very thing
necessary, for its conformity, to preserve in Christian states
the form of a monarchical government. From thence it has
come to pass that the Puritan and Presbyterian faction hath
conceived, and always kept in its breast, an implacable hatred
against monarchical government, by reason of their aversion
to the Episcopal. The prudence of King James, your
Majesty s grandfather, Sir, having judiciously taken notice of
this, did as wisely warn his posterity, by an express book a , to
take heed of it. And this King, who knew Church, as well
as State matters, foreseeing the inconvenience that might
arise from it, when expressing with his lips that which
touched him at the heart, had this familiar speech, No Bishop,
no King* ; which is become a lamentable prophecy under his
successor. But, O good God ! what a successor ! Such an
one, certainly, that there was neither cause nor pretext
capable of stirring up the hatred of subjects against a King
so merciful, so just, and so loyal, so amiable to his people, so
3 venerable to his neighbours ; save this only prejudice, with
which the Puritan faction had imbued them, in making them
believe, that under that ancient form of government arid
a [The book intended appears to be ton Court, pp. 36. 84. Lond. 1625; and
the BaaiAiK^ Awpov, lib. ii. See pp. Archbp. \Viiliams " Great Britain s
147 149. ap. Jacobi Regis Oper., ed. Salomon," or Funeral Sermon for King
Montac. Lond. 1619.] James the First, in Lord Somers
b [See Dr. Barlow s Confer, at Hamp- Tracts, vol. ii. p. 46.]
CXX1V THE VICTORY OF TRUTH j OR,
service the King and the Bishops had an intention to re
establish in the realm the Catholic religion. This is the
poison, which the Puritan faction hath inspired into the
hearts of the people, to fill them with hatred against a king
so worthy of love. And this republican Parliament, seeking to
raise itself to a sovereign authority by the annihilation of that
of the King, hath not thought any occasion more favourable
to its design, than to put on the garb of Puritan opinions, that
it might arrive at the accomplishment of its desires; which it
has done at last by the sacrilegious parricide of its Arch
bishop and of its King.
[The mo- This surely, Sir, is the grand work of man s malice, and the
God very Devil s cunning, in the accomplishment of the ills, that are
permitting 1 ^ a ^ en upon your crown and person by the pitiful fate of that
them to be succession which ought to have befallen you. But assuredly
brought to J J
pass.] the justice and wisdom of God in this conjuncture hath other
bearings.
[i. The mo- Every one knows that this Archbishop, nourished in the
justice and scn i sm from the Catholic Church, had no other thought nor
towards ^ nc ^ Ii ^ on than to reunite in one body the people divided
Arch- into sects among themselves, as well as from the Church,
Laud;] and to make himself chief head of this schismatical body.
And we see God hath permitted, that his own people, divided
against itself, hath caused his head to be cut off.
[towards The King, otherwise accomplished in all royal and moral
Charles the virtues, did use in the schism, by the law of his predecessors,
the authority which God had given him in temporal matters,
for governing of spiritual, and called himself their head. It
is for this reason, that God, chastising in his person the fault
of his predecessors, has designed, by the tragical spectacle of
an unheard-of death, in a King no less innocent than lawful,
to let us know, that so strange an effect of His anger hath
had no other object, than to instruct all other princes that
are in the schism, with what severity God will revenge His
glory, for the injury done to the unity and to the authority
of His Church.
[2. The mo- But if such is the end of Divine justice and wisdom
mercy; viz. bringing about your ill fortune, His mercy, Sir, reaches
stotethe" much fartner > an(1 tllis is tlie end that concerns you. For
necessary God makes it here plainly appear unto your Majesty, that
AN EPISTLE OF M. DE LA MILLETIERE, &C. CXX\
the Reformation, which the authors of the schism in this conse-
latter age have pretended to make, hath been in reality th
(under the pretext of so fair an outside) nothing else than the
entire ruin, as well of the faith and form of the Church, as of formation.]
the Order itself instituted by God for the governing of men.
This is the lesson which God sets before your eyes in the
history of this sad revolution, which hath given you the
wound, the feeling whereof is to be your instruction. You
shall see, Sir, by all the circumstances of these tragical
results, which have produced the trouble, and changed the
form of your estates, and which have ravished from you the
crown; that the new religion, which your predecessors em
braced after the schism, is their only efficient cause, by the
very maxims and foundations of the scheme, which its authors
have called the Reformation of the Church.
Their new opinions did very easily insinuate themselves [Thatthese
under this outward colour through the clefts of the schism areseif-de-
into the spirit of the Bishops, who had rendered themselves structlve >]
guilty of it. But neither they themselves that received this
novelty, nor the kings that authorized it, did think they
were charging themselves with Uriah s packet, and embracing [2Sam. xi.
a religion, which would abolish both the authority of Bishops
and the sovereignty of kings. For men are always blind in
the works of darkness, which they do by the instinct of that
Spirit, who is ever disguising himself as an Angel of Light [2 Cor, xi.
that he may induce them to commit them. And their
passions, which do blind them, do insensibly draw them into
precipices of mishaps, whereof neither the steepness nor the
depth ^is by them discerned. Certainly, whosoever should
have demanded of Peter Martyr himself and Martin Bucer,
who carried Calvin s Reformation into England, whether
they went there to bring in the Brownists opinions, who,
by the maxims they received from their hands, did a little
after devise a more exact Purity by the motions which they
suppose the Holy Ghost suggests unto them, from whence it
is that they esteem themselves more reformed Puritans;
whosoever likewise should have enquired of them, whether
they came to sow there the seed of indifference to all religious
opinions, and of the extinction of all ecclesiastical discipline,
of all rule and form of a common faith, according to the
CXXV1 THE VICTORY OF TRUTH j OR,
determination of tlie Independents ; whosoever, lastly,
should have asked them, whether the Sword of the Word
they carried in their months was to cut off the heads of 4
kings and Bishops, in order to give a form altogether new
as well to the Kingdom as to the Church ; what would they
have answered ? They would have sworn, without doubt, with
their hands upon the volume of the new Gospel they carried
with them, that their thoughts were farther distant from these
intentions than the earth is from hell. And nevertheless it
is a thing no ways to be doubted of, and altogether apparent
at present, that Calvin, Martyr, and Bucer, and the Bishops
who admitted their Reformation, and the kings who au
thorized it, have brought in, by the maxims upon which it
is founded, not only the Protestants, but also the Brownists,
and the Independents. The Bishops that received this lie-
formation, saw not that it would engender the sect of the
Presbyterians, enemies to the Hierarchy of the Church, and
to all the order of its institutions, as well in its sendee as in
its government, and would ruin their authority in order to
abolish royalty itself. But neither did Calvin, nor Martyr,
nor Bucer, know any better, that from the maxims of their
Reformation would spring up necessarily the Brownists and
the Independents, who would ruin their Reformation by in
troducing an indifference concerning all opinion in religion,
[is the This it is, Sir, which the history of what has happened in
which God the progress of this Reformation (the knowledge whereof your
fetchby Majesty at this present moment carries engraven in your heart
has a P <^ ^7 very bitter feelings) represents unto our eyes, to the end
mitted to all the world may see its nature and genius by the effects of
happen.] .._.,_
its maxims. I will represent them, Sir, to the eyes of your
Majesty; and, by a demonstration so lively and evident, that
no reason can contradict it, you shall see, that the pain you
suffer, and under which your estate groans, is the true effect,
as it is the very punishment, of the sins your fathers com
mitted and transmitted unto you, then, when under the pre
text of this blind Reformation they abandoned the faith of
the Church and her communion. For it is after this manner
that the just vengeance of God punisheth sin by itself, and
that its own natural consequences become the punishment it
deserves. This religion, for which the Bishops, the kings,
AN EPISTLE OF M. DE LA MILLETIERE, &C. CXXvii
and the people forsook the Church, hath destroyed the
Bishops, and the kings, and reduced the people without
Bishops, without kings, to live without form of government,
and without discipline in religion, under the tyranny of a
monster, who, without being either king or Bishop, attributes
to himself all authority both in state and in religion. And
this, Sir, I set forth unto your Majesty to make you under
stand, that this terrible work of the Hand of God, which
afflicts you after this manner, is nevertheless a judgment of
His mercy for you : for you may see He sends you not this
trouble, but to make you perceive the sin, whereof it is the
offspring, in order to withdraw you from both the one and
the other, through the knowledge which He gives you of the
horror you should have for the cause, by the pain you experi
ence from its eifect. You shall see it, Sir, clearly enough, by
the consequents of the maxims, upon which the authors of
the Reformation, which your fathers embraced, have laid its
foundations.
The foundations of the Reformation of Calvin are laid upon [T
these two maxims, which he, and all those who, like himself,
have forsaken the Church, have delivered as indubitable to tl10 Re ~
, , I -ii formation
the people which have followed them. is founded.]
The first is, That the Church was fallen into ruin and [I.]
desolation, by error in its faith, by idolatry in its service,
and by tyranny in its government.
The second, That to reform and re-establish it in its [II ]
original purity, the faith of its doctrine, of its service, and
of its government, was to be reduced to the only precepts
of the Scripture, of the sense whereof every believer ought
to be judge, for his own proper salvation, by the light of
the Holy Ghost which guides him.
They saw, that, unless they laid down these maxims as
grounds of reformation, they could not pretend for it any
which might oblige them to forsake the Church, that they
had a mind to leave, in order to frame a contrary party, and
make war against her. For they could not deny the Church
from which they separated, the title of the True Church,
unless by accusing it, as they have done, of error, idolatry,
and tyranny: and even when they had assumed that this
accuastion was true, they could not bring in the necessity of
CXXV111 THE VICTORY OF TRUTH j OR,
a separation from her, in order to accomplish their Reforma
tion, unless by excluding the authority of Tradition, and of
the judgment of the Church, and by reducing the rule of the
Reformation to the Scripture alone, interpreted by every
man s judgment.
[Their sue- Your Majesty, Sir, shall now see, that from those maxims,
come^ which the Bishops of your realm (already become schismatics) 5
quences.] received as the grounds of the Reformation which they ad
mitted, there was first of all formed the sect of Puritan-Pres
byterians against the Protestant-Episcopalians, who could not
stand against them upon the foundation of these maxims :
and that next to them the Brownists, who are more reformed
Puritans, did raise themselves upon the same foundations;
who have since begotten the Independents for the overthrow
of the Presbyterians, by the same reasons by which these
had overthrown the Protestants and Episcopacy, and with
Episcopacy Royalty itself : in such sort, that all this dreadful
disorder, which makes your Kingdoms to be a chaos of
lamentable confusion, wherein your authority finds itself
extinct, comes from these principles of reformation, which
are the natural source thereof.
[The That this is so, your Majesty, Sir, may clearly perceive.
Protestant When the Bishops consented to these principles of reforma-
Bishops.] tion ^ tney a ^ anc ioned by them the faith of the Catholic Church
concerning the Sacrifice of the Mass, concerning Transub-
stantiation in the Holy Eucharist, concerning the number
and virtue of the seven Sacraments, concerning Justification
by righteousness real and inherent in the faithful, and con
cerning their Merits, and the Invocation of Saints ; concern
ing Prayer for the Dead and Purgatory, concerning the au
thority of the Pope, and the adhering of all the faithful to the
See of St. Peter at Rome. But they retained, nevertheless,
the Episcopal dignity and authority, with a part of the
Liturgy and of the ceremonies of the Catholic Church.
[ThePuri- But the Puritan-Presbyterians have cast away all form
terians.] Y " of Hierarchy, and community of Liturgy and of ceremonies
with the Church of Rome, as pernicious remainders of the
Papal tyranny and idolatry, as they call them. That they
might oppose themselves, according to the first maxim of
their Reformation, to both of these, they have brought
AN EPISTLE OF M. DE LA MILLETIERE, &C.
in a form of government altogether novel, and composed a
form of service altogether new. And thereupon they have
had so much advantage against the Protestants in combating
them upon the grounds of their common principles, and in
stirring up against them the people heated with the zeal of
reformation, that it was impossible for these to stand, if the
Puritans could but once be supported by the authority of
Parliament against the authority of the King, who was the
only support of the Protestant cause, and that not by reason
ing, but by command. For reasoning, by their principles,
was all for the Puritans against the Protestants. Could they,
without Tradition, and by the Holy Scripture alone, inter
preted by the judgment of every one, establish Episcopal
dignity, and its authority, with distinction and superiority of
power above the other Pastors and Ministers? They could
do so well enough, doubtless, by the authority of the Holy
Scripture, assisted by Tradition, which declares its lawful sense.
But in doing this, the victory which it gives them obligeth
them to consent likewise to the authority and primacy of the
Pope for the government of the Universal Church, as founded
in the primacy St. Peter received in the college of the
Apostles, as well for the form of the government of the Uni
versal Church, as for that of every particular Church, from
Avhence every Bishop derives his authority. It must needs
be, then, either that the Protestants abandon Episcopacy as
a seed of tyranny, and become Presbyterians ; or that, in
retaining it, they enter again into the communion of the
Pope, and of the Bishops who adhere to him. For it is quite
unnecessary to say here, that their divisioji alone makes it
impossible for them to stand, for the reason which the great
Bishop and JMartyr St. Cyprian gives to all Bishops, when he [DeUnitat.
declares the obligation under which they lie to ( retain firmly cyprian. ap
the Unity of the Church by the indivisible Unity of Epi- P-P- 10 8 -]
scopacy, whereof every one doth solidly possess his share/
whereupon he admonisheth them, that if any one shall
separate himself, it will happen unto him, as to a beam torn
from the body of the sun, which will have no more part,
through its division, in the unity of the light which dwells
in the body : as to a bough broken from the tree, which will
spring no more, having no more share in the sap which
BRAMHALL. li
CXXX THE VICTORY OF TRUTH ; OR,
abides in the trunk and in the root of the tree : as to a
rivulet cut off from the fountain, which will dry up, having
no more to do with the course of the water which runs from
the spring/ This it is, Sir, which your Bishops also cannot
avoid. It must needs be, that, being separated from the
Mother-Church, they be extinguished and vanish away and
disappear, as it has come to pass. It must needs be, that
their very punishment should be the natural consequence of
the ground itself of their error, that their ^FORMATION
should make them lose their form.
[The But if the Puritans have had this advantage over the
Protestants by the common principles of their Reformation,
that which the same principles have given the Brownists, in c
accomplishing their separation from them, against the Puritans
of the Genevan discipline, in the more exact Purity, which
their spirit, as interpreter of the Scripture, suggests unto
them, is yet more great. Behold how they combat the one
party against the other, and the victory of the last. The
Puritans of the Genevan discipline have denned certain
Articles of Faith, and from them formed their Confession,
to which they oblige all those whom they receive into their
communion. But this law, which prescribes by authority a
common belief among all the communicants, cannot agree
with the judgment that every believer can and ought to
make of the sense of the Scriptures, by the assistance of the
Holy Ghost, according to the second common maxim of their
Reformation. For, if one supposes this true, no other autho
rity can bear rule over the conscience, nor prescribe it any
thing beyond the sentiments which the Spirit suggests to it
in the interpreting of the Scripture. And thereupon the
Brownists assail in turn the Presbyterians by all the same
authorities, upon which these have founded their authority to
separate themselves from the Church and renounce its deter
minations : and maintain, that to oblige the faith of faith
ful men to a formulary of confession, which can have no
other than a human authority, is to bring them anew under
the Papal tyranny, from which the Holy Ghost hath set them
free. Against this the Calvinists have no reply, which doth
not pierce their own bosom with their own hand, and which
* is not their own condemnation pronounced by their own lips.
AN EPISTLE OF M. DE LA MILLETIERE, &C. CXXxi
For they can answer nothing pertinently, if they do not bor
row the reasons the Church hath against themselves. So
God, perpetual Protector of His Church, causes her enemies
to pronounce her victory with their own mouths: whilst they,
that issued from the teeth and the mouth of the Serpent to [Rev. xvi.
make war upon her, do wage it among themselves, and kill 13-]
one another.
From these Brownists, as your Majesty, Sir, knows too [The inde-
well, are come the Independents, who have not arisen, but a
since the advantage the Puritan-Presbyterians had over the
Protestants by the authority of the Parliamentarians. It is
these that have produced this false prophet of blood and
slaughter, to end this last act of infernal reformation, which
he himself preaches to his Mussulmans with his sword in his
hand, after he hath broken the Cross, and changed the
Episcopal crozier into a murderer s axe. By this same spirit
of the Brownists, with which he hath been originally imbued,
using reasoning deduced from the fundamental maxims of
the reformation common to them all, he combats the Presby
terians with much more advantage than they had combated
the Protestants. Whence he promises himself to make them
all submit to his own opinion, which is an indifference of all
opinion in religion. And this will fall out without doubt
according to his own mind, if they will follow out the conse
quences of their own maxims ; upon the authority of which
he gives liberty to every man to believe and prophesy that
which they think the Spirit suggests to them. He thinks,
that in making these people, separated from the Church,
taste this unrestrained liberty of conscience, he shall rally all
these different sects into one body, to set them against the
Body of the Catholic Church, to the end he may destroy the
Pope, and the Bishops that guide her, and may exterminate
the kings that defend her. He calls this the great work of
God. He assures its success to all them that follow him, by
the revelation which he makes them believe God gives him at
his fasts, his prayers, and his reading of the Holy Scriptures.
And it is no marvel he can assemble such a number of fol
lowers by reasoning upon their maxims ; for, after that they
had already produced these different bodies of battalions,
reformed and reforming, even to infinity, Protestants, Pres-
k2
CXXXli THE VICTORY OF TRUTH ; OR,
byterians, and Brownists, who in a perpetual war could never
agree among themselves, he comes over and above them all,
as more skilful still, to avail himself of their maxims, in
order to part the fray between them by indifference, and by
abolishing all laws that rule the conscience ; leaving as he
does to every one freedom of opinion, and liberty to prophesy
and interpret the Scriptures according to the sense his spirit
dictates to him. For, as to the rest, he does not take the
trouble to see, by this spirit, the prodigious number of sects
and insects swarming about, who daily vomit forth more
monstrous opinions than can come from the bottomless pit.
Let there be what difference there will among them, they all
agree in his indifference.
[The mercy By this catastrophe of the Reformation, which those have
thu^dlsl" undertaken that have divided the Church in these later ages,
playing the you see g^. w } iat h atn been both its design and its genius.
true cha- J
racterof It is not I that represent the truth of the matter to you;
God hath set it before your eyes, or, I may rather say, in your
heart, written in characters which shall never be blotted out
quences.] f rom y Olir me mory. And to write them with His own finger, 7
He Himself hath descended from Heaven, environed with the
fire and thunder of His anger, which is visibly inflamed
against you. But from the midst thereof you hear the voice
of His mercy, recalling you to Him, and declaring to you,
that He hath done all this to let you know the sin of your
fathers, and to draw you out of it, that He may call you
back into His Church, where all benediction shall be given
you. For true piety and religion, whereof she hath been
made the depositary, find in her (as the Apostle speaks) the
i Tim. iv. promises of the present life, and of that which is to come;
and your faith, which God desires to work in you by the
virtue of the Cross through the affliction wherein you now
are, submitting all your desires to the wisdom of His counsel
and power of His might, shall meet in her with the comfort of
your patience, conformable to the hope you shall have put in
Him. You will say then, Sir, when you consider yourself
and the work that God shall have wrought in you, How
[Rom. xi. fathomless is the wisdom of the judgments of God ! How
difficult is the knowledge thereof ! How hidden is- the
reason thereof ! How impossible to find it out, if He Himself
AN
EPISTLE OF M. DE LA MILLETIERE, &C. CXXxiii
doth not manifest it ! He doth manifest it to you, Sir, and
you may see it, if you consider the great abyss that was before-
time between you and God; how far you were withdrawn
from Him, before He came to you after this manner, and dreAv
Himself near to you, that He might draw you to Him.
Whilst the King your father had the crown upon his head, C Its dp ceit
and was sitting upon his throne in the midst of his flourish- manifest.f
ing Kingdoms, in the abundance of all prosperity and glory;
and whilst you, heir to this majesty and royal pomp, were feed
ing your spirit, among all these mundane delights, with the
desire and hope of equalling the lustre of your grandfathers
by the splendour of the brave actions, wherewith your politic
and military virtues should adorn your life and the history
of your reign ; how could it have come to pass, that, while all
the reasons of state, as well as those with which alone your
conscience had been instructed, kept you engaged in this
new religion, the error whereof you have sucked in with the
milk of your infancy, your eyes and your ears should have
been capable of seeing and hearing the truths which now
make known to you its guilt, and the condemnation, which
God by the wisdom and power of His judgments hath drawn
from itself and from its natural consequences, to make you
feel its effects ? How should you have been able to have
discovered under this fair show of reformation, whereof it
hath taken the title; under this splendid lustre which it
hath put upon its face, of knowledge and eloquence, the gifts
whereof shine in its Doctors and Ministers ; of the reading,
and particular regard it commands them to have towards
the Holy Scriptures; of the familiar texts, which adorn its
Pastors discourses and preachings : of the popular exercises
of its Psalms and of its Canticles ; of the Prayers and Orisons
which are extracted and interwoven with it, together with
that understanding of them, which imparts their consolation :
should you have been able, I say, to have discovered, that
under this appearance of piety it had denied the power [2 Tim. iii.
thereof/ if God had not now made you see this in the works
of horror and confusion, deadly to Christian piety and charity,
destructive to all form of religion, enemies to all order of
God, which it hath produced by the consequences of its fun
damental maxims ? Would your Majesty, Sir, have detected
CXXXW THE VICTORY OF TRUTH j OR,
[Johnviii. the imposture and deceit which the father of lies hath
hidden under these baits ; which they themselves, whom he
made the first instruments and authors of the division of the
Church, did not perceive, and would have abhorred it had
they known it would have been such ?
[its ori- Here then truly is the great work of God, whereof this
P ro P ne t understands not the reason, when he speaks of
convicted ft thus. God hath certainly done this work. And God hath
tormina- raised up himself, to put this confusion among those who
dependen- have forsaken the unity of the Church in dividing themselves
cy -J into a thousand sects, of which they acknowledge now that
no one can call itself the Church. For the sect of the Pro
testants cannot pretend thereto, since it no more even sub
sists : but one sees it to have justly perished by the very
same maxims that separated it from the Church ; and that
the Presbyterians, which seduced it therefrom, have now de
stroyed it. Nor the sect of the Presbyterians; which is
under the yoke of the Independents, who cut its throat with
the same sword wherewith itself warred against the Church :
for they reduce it, by its own maxims, to renounce all disci
pline, all government, all law, and all rule of unity, and by
[Gen. ix. consequence all form of the Church. This cursed Ham then
21, 22.] kath discovered the filthiness of his father, that is to say, of
the first author of this pretended Reformation, who being
drunk with the wine of his error did not himself know it. i
But, if God pleases, the impudence of this brazen face, who
hath lost all modesty, being not afraid to discover, by his In
dependence, the foundations of this preposterous Reformation,
shall now touch his brethren with compunction and shame,
that they may turn their back upon their common father.
He will cause the Presbyterians and Protestants to under
stand, that it was the spirit of senselessness and error, which
made Luther conceive and undertake the design of dividing
the Church, under pretext of a false reformation. And
thence they will perceive (if they can but come to themselves)
that men neither ought to desire, nor are able truly or legi
timately, to accomplish a reformation, unless in the union and
by the consent of the Church, and by the rule of Tradition,
which she hath received from the Apostles, and preserved by
a continued succession.
AN EPISTLE OF M. DE LA MILLETIERE, &C. CXXXV
As God, Sir,, draws light out of darkness, so your Majesty [This con-
sees, that out of your calamity He makes your salvation to more plain
come. But this is not for your good alone. That which He S^gjl"
designs to do in your person, He designs to do in all your la " d > the
-f-r. , principal
Kingdoms by your person ; and not only in all your King- sanctuary
doms, but in all places, and towards all those, who are forma- 110
separated from the Church, as your Kingdoms are. That tion ^
which is peculiar to yourself in this matter, is, that, being
the greatest King of the party divided from the Church, and
your Kingdoms the greatest and most nourishing estate that
hath received this novel religion, where it hath found its
most powerful sanctuary, and where it hath planted its most
eminent and most assured abode ; they are likewise the very
place where God hath brought it into this confusion, in de
stroying it by the different sects which it hath itself there
engendered, that all the world may know the spirit of error,
whence it hath taken its original. For all the world at pre
sent sees what is this spirit, and its nature : whether it is
the Spirit of Christ, the spirit of peace and truth; or the
Spirit of Satan, the spirit of trouble and error ; which hath
raised the trouble and error that rules at present in your
Kingdoms.
Since, then, such is the spirit of this new Reformation, and [The Re-
r , - i > -i i i j formation,
of its maxims ; since such are its consequences, which have at being seif-
this day discovered it, and made it evident : who is that man necessarily
that can defend it ? that can retain it in his conscience ? that heretical - ]
can have repose and comfort in his soul, while adhering to it ?
There is no more need of disputations or arguments to con
fute it ; it is confuted by itself, according to the character
by which the Spirit of God marks out to us the heretic
through the pen of the Apostle St. Paul, who commands
us to depart from such for these reasons ; " He has," saith [Tit. m. 10,
he, " a perverted spirit, he is condemned by himself." This 1L Vl
is the image that all the world doth see at present in this
Reformation, and in its genius.
There remains, however, one thing still to do, in order to [2.Thetrue
apply this remedy of salvation to the conscience of the people these evils-.
whom this error hath seduced. There is no more needed maiiifesta-
than to anoint the wound the scorpion hath made, with the ^{Jiic^on
oil wherein it hath been bruised. For the way to heal them ference, bf
CXXXVI THE VICTORY Oi 1 TRUTH ; OR,
the two i s now very easy, by reason their Reformation hath received
fnThich 1 ^ such a miserable success. There is nothing more easy, under
formation these circumstances, than to make the people perceive, by
victed" " n " tlie refutation f tneir P astors up n tne yerv grounds and
[Firet.] maxims of their Reformation, that they have neither Church
nor Faith ; that, whilst they have supposed (contrary to the
[Matf. xvi. promise of Jesus Christ) that the Church was fallen into
ruin, they have not been able under pretence of reforming
her to form another, which should possess the conditions of
the true Church, but only an infinity of sects, diverse and
mutually contradictory, none of which can be the Church ;
that, in rejecting the authority of Tradition as interpreter of
the Scripture, and the judgment of the Church as the decla
ration of their Faith, they have abandoned the unity of the
Faith, in order each one to rest conceitedly in his own senti
ments, through the different opinions they have conceived;
conduct, which of necessity must bring them, as has actually
come to pass, into an independence of all rule, and an in
difference towards all opinion in religion.
[Second.] And as the being ashamed to accuse the Church of error
in all ages, hath from the beginning caused the authors of
this reformation to allow, that the Church remained pure in
faith during the time of the four first general Councils ; they
have afforded us a way by this to disabuse the people, whom
they do abuse, wlien they accuse the Church at this day of
error in the heads of her faith, which they have rejected.
For they can no longer avoid falling into a manifest incon- 9
sistency touching the sentiments which they impute to the
ancient Fathers in those points of faith, which are in contro
versy between us. They cannot brand the Church at this
day with holding a different opinion in faith from the ancient
Church, without cutting their own throats with their own in
consistencies upon the opinions which they attribute to the
Fathers.
There is then nothing more to do for the informing the
people, that are separated from the Church, of the truth, and
for the obliging them to enter again into her communion,
than to make them understand the cheat wherewith they have
been surprised under the name of reformation, by convicting
their ministers, in their presence, of an evident inconsistency
AN EPISTLE OF M. DE LA MILLETIERE, &C. CXXXvil
with themselves, by the consequences of the fundamental
maxims of their Reformation : from whence results an indu
bitable demonstration, that it proceeds from the spirit of lying
and error.
If it please your Majesty, Sir, to employ this way for your [Such a
instruction, and the satisfaction of your conscience, that your easy Under
conversion and return to the Church may both open the Pf esent
J circum-
hearts, and the way, for all the rest to follow your example, stances.]
you cannot do it more solemnly, or more commodiously,
than in the place wherein you are at present. We have in [Paris.]
this place c five ministers of the communion that is separated
from the Catholic Church, who have gotten themselves as
much credit and authority, through their esteem for compe
tency and reputation for zeal, as any others in their whole
body. Your Majesty, Sir, may easily obtain of the King
your good brother and friend, that they be called, by his
authority, to come (with all those of their communion with
whom they would be assisted) and appear in presence of
Monsieur the Archbishop of Paris, and Monsieur his Coad
jutor, and the Catholic doctors, whom they shall please to
bring with them : and there, Sir, your Majesty being pre
sent, to speak and answer, with all security and liberty,
whatever their wit and their conscience may suggest to
them upon the evident inconsistencies between the principles
and the consequences of their Reformation ; inconsistencies,
which prove against them, that, in all their different sects
which have forsaken the Church under this pretext, there is
neither Church nor Faith ; and that upon the points of
Faith, wherein they have accused the Church of error, and
thereupon have taken occasion to separate themselves from
her, they have equally separated themselves from the com
munion of the Church of all ages : so that they cannot even
accuse us of diversity of opinion from the ancient Church,
without falling yet again into an evident inconsistency
c [At the date of the original publi- Mestrezat. See the list of the Reformed
cation of the Victory of Truth (A.D. Ministers and Churches in France, pre-
1651), and for some time previous, the sented to the Synod of Alencon A. D.
pastors of the Calvinist congregation at 1037, in Quicke s "Synodicon in Gallia,
Charenton (near Paris), then five in lleformata," vol. ii. p. 386, the article
number, were MM. Edmund Aubertin, upon Le Faucheur in Quicke, ibid.
Jean Daille, Charles Drelincourt the p. 318, and his Life with those of the
elder, Michel Le Faucheur, and Jean other ministers above named in Bayle.]
CXXXV111
THE VICTORY OF TRUTH ; Oil,
[The Pro
testant
ministers
cannot
either
honestly,]
[or effectu
ally,]
[and there
fore proba
bly will not,
refuse to
assist at it. j
[Whatso
ever they
do, the
conversion
of the
King, and,
through
with themselves, as well as with the ancient Fathers, and
with us.
These ministers, Sir, will not be able to refuse consent
either to the desire of your Majesty, or to the commandment
of the King your good brother, to do their duty both to their
charge and to their conscience, without witnessing by their
refusal the open abandonment which they make of their cause,
and the condemnation which they themselves pronounce of
it in their hearts. But they will choose (as I think) rather to
present themselves ingenuously, in order to yield to the
truth which they cannot contradict, than to incur the blame
of being acknowledged formal enemies of the peace and re
union of the Church, through the perverseness of an obstinate
faith. I know not how to believe, that they w r ould love
rather to fling themselves headlong, with their people, into the
confusion and disorder of independency, and indifference of
all opinion in religion, than to acknowledge the error and
blindness of those who were the first egressors from the
Church by these maxims, and who have cast their followers,
by the consequences of them, into this abyss of irreligion,
whereinto we see them at this present time fallen. And
should the ministers allow themselves to be carried astray into
so perverse a thought, I do no ways believe that in France
the people would follow them, and adhere to their opinions.
For this reason it is, Sir, that I dare to hope that the
ministers who are in Paris, being obliged by the desire of
your Majesty, and the will of their Sovereign, to submit to
this law, which their own conscience imposes on them for the
satisfaction of their own people (for the people will have no
less zeal, and will be no less desirous, to see the success of
the appearance of their ministers, and of the answer which
they shall have it in their power to make), will yield to it,
and will choose rather by so doing to walk in the way of
honour and good conscience, than basely to appear deserters,
at one and the same time, both of their cause, and of good
faith.
Whatsoever comes to pass, Sir, and whatsoever they do, 10
whether they follow the motion of the Spirit of Peace and
Truth, or whether the Spirit of Pride suggests unto them to
avoid and fly both the one and the other; your Majesty will
AN EPISTLE OF M. DE LA. M1LLETIERE, &C. CXXX1X
in every case have the full satisfaction of departing from the im. of ail
error,, which you shall see forsaken or condemned by its own separated
ministers ; and of entering into the Church, which is the JS^JS?
"Pillar of Truth/ and the "Rock of Ages/ against which you saniy foi-
see all the vessels of different sects, running before every wind [i fim. iii.
of doctrine, through the trickery of them that conduct them, X xVi. 4?
break themselves and make shipwreck. And then, when
your Majesty shall have entered into the Church after this
manner, and when all the world shall see, that the desire to
glorify God by searching for the truth, by the repose of
your conscience, and by love of your salvation, shall have
been your whole motive therein you need not doubt, Sir,
but that your example will make the like impression in all
those, whose souls are touched with the fear of God, but whom
the treacherous semblance of piety retains in the error, that
has assumed its mask. You need not doubt, Sir, but that,
for so much as God hath elevated your Majesty in birth and
eminent dignity above the rest that are in the communion
wherein you have lived, they all, seeing these circumstances
of your change and entrance into the Sanctuary of the
Church upon the wings of the victory of truth, which alone
carries you thither, will be stirred up to give glory to God
for the same reasons for which you will have rendered it
to Him.
It concerns you then, Sir, to make your entrance by this
path, and to avail yourself of this means to make your way
thither, to the end your conversion and return to the Church
bring to her, with you, by this solemn conviction of the error
which hath dismembered her, not only the nations which the
division of your fathers hath torn from her, but also all the
rest whom a similar cause hath separated. For by the power,
which truth hath upon the conscience of men when it is
apparent, there is no doubt but it will come to pass after this
manner. When the people shall see that the ministers, when
summoned into the presence of your Majesty, either by their
avowal of the truth, or by their refusal to appear, shall have
been themselves the ministers of your conversion, every one
will enter upon the examination of the causes and reasons of
the truth, that has persuaded you thereto, which will have
no less power to make a like impression upon their souls by
Cxi THE VICTORY OF TRUTH ; OR,
the same means. For whether the ministers do sincerely
yield to the truth, which they will not know how to contra
dict, or whether they condemn themselves by their rejection
of an ingenuous mode of procedure, the event of their con
vocation will be alike and universal in all places, where the
same way to call back the people to the Church shall be
practised : there are no ministers in France will know what
to answer, where those of Paris shall be dumb ; no others
will dispute precedence with them concerning competency.
But if they are wanting in the duty of a good conscience,
you may easily meet many more ingenuous, who will not
refuse to acknowledge the truth. By this way the people,
who seek nothing but their salvation, and who have no in
terest more precious, will be ravished to see themselves in
consequence, by a plain, solid, and sincere instruction upon
the true understanding of the subjects of the Catholic faith,
drawn out of this labyrinth of disputes, which are given them
as matter of reformation, but are no less enemies to piety
than to Christian charity.
[The ac- For this purpose, Sir, desiring to be assisting to the de-
ing treatise sign of making the people see, by the conviction of their
Author s, ministers, that, being separated from the Church under this
fh^mode P re ^ ex ^ f reformation, they are left by that means without
ofargu- Faith and without Church; and that, wiien one persuades
commend- them, that in the controverted questions of Faith the present
ed toVur- " Church teaches contrary to what the ancient Church hath
believed, those that accuse her of so doing cannot do it but
by a formal contradicting both of the Holy Fathers and of
themselves, which is an inevitable proof of falsehood and
error: I here put forth into the light a little treatise d ,
wherein these two truths are rendered evident.
d ["La Victoire de la Verite pour la dente Demonstration, pour faire voir
Paix de 1 Eglise, au Roy de la Grande aux Protestans qu ils ont ny 1 Eglise
Bietagne. Pour corivier Sa Majeste ny la Foy." A second letter to the
d embrasser la Toy Catholique. Par King is added at the end of the vo-
M. de la Milletiere, Conseiller Ordi- lume in the copy which is in the Bod-
iiaire du Roy en ses Conseils." Paris leian Library, but does not appear to
1651 : of which this Epistle formedthe have formed part of the original work,
Dedication, and which consisted besides as neither Bramhall, nor La Milletiere
of a treatise " Sur la Controverse de la in the preceding parts, take any notice
Transubstantiation decidee par le pro- of it ; it is entitled " Second Discovirs,
pre glaive dont le Ministre Aubertin a Politique, Chrestien, et Catholique.
coupe la gorge a son heresie en son Au Roy de la Grande Bretagne, pour
Anatomic ," and a "Brieve et Evi- representer a Sa Majeste, qu etant
AN EPISTLE OF M. DE LA MILLETIERE, &C. Cxll
They have undertaken no controversy of greater import- [its
ance, according to their own opinion, than that of Transub- ject^
stantiation in the Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist. They Jfof t f
accuse us of having introduced, by the truth of this change,
the necessity of adoring Jesus Christ in this Sacrament, or
this Sacrament, which we maintain to be Jesus Christ
Himself. They impute unto us, that in this we have altered
the faith of the ancient Church, to which, they say, both this
change, and the adoration of the Sacrament, have been un-
11 known. They make this the principal cause, nay, even the
only necessary cause of their separation from us. And being
unable to deny, that the whole ancient Church did solemnly
offer the Sacrifice of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ to
God His Father, according to His institution, in the Holy
Eucharist, they cloak further their difference upon this sub
ject from the ancient Church, and from us, with this, that
the ancient Church did not believe (as they presume) Tran-
substantiation with us, nor by consequence the Sacrifice, as
we do; saying that, upon this subject, as they reject what
we believe of Transub stantiation, so they have for the same
reason abolished likewise the Sacrifice, which the Church at
this present time celebrates.
I have made it evident, Sir, that the Eaith of the Church at [Summary
this day is conformable to the ancient concerning this change,
in a book 6 , which I have published upon the subject, against
the defences brought by minister Aubertin upon the passages step.]
Catholique il rentrera dans ses etats, et tie de 1 Ancienne Eglise." Its positions
qu il n y rentrera jamais autrement." were assailed by La Milletiere in a trea-
No place or date; but written before tise entitled " La Paixde 1 Englisefon-
Cromwell was recognised by France as dee sur la Verite de la Foi Catholique
Protector, i. e. not later than A. D. pour la Transubstantiation au S. Sacre-
1654. The author s right and full ment de 1 Eucharistie, ou toutes les re
name, as it appears in the title-pages of spouses et les objections du Sieur An-
his other works, is Theophile Brachet, bertin en son livre de 1 Eucharistie
Sieur de la Milletiere. The erroneous sont refutees." Paris 1646. (Nice-
spelling Militiere, which exists in all ron, Memoires, &c. &c. torn. xli. artic.
the separate editions of Bramhall s Milletiere) ; to which Aubertin replied
Answer that the Editor has seen, as well in his "Anatomic du livre publie par
as in the folio edition of his Works, ap- Le Sieur de la Milletiere pour la Tran-
pears to have originated with Bramhall substantiation." Charenton 1648,
himself, as it is employed by him in all published without name, but from its
his other treatises wherein he has occa- contents obviously Aubertin s, and
sion to mention his name.] spoken of as his by Niceron (Memoires
e [The original French edition of M. &c. &c. artic. Aubertin, torn, xxxvi. p.
AubertinDeEucharistia was published 14.) and by La Milletiere himself in
in 1633, under the title of " L Eucharis- his "Victoirecle la Verite" title-page.]
Cxlii THE VICTORY OF TRUTH ; OR,
of the holy Fathers in his book of the Eucharist. I have- re
duced the demonstration of this truth to this point, viz.
that all the holy Fathers have believed, that by the change,
which intervenes in this Sacrament, it is rendered the same
Flesh and the same Blood of Jesus Christ, received by the
[John vi. mouths of believers, whereof Jesus Christ speaks in St. John,
where he commands us to eat and drink them, that we may
have eternal life/ This minister hath not been able to con
tradict this truth, except in formally contradicting the sense,
which the authors of his opinion, before him, have attributed
to the Fathers, as conformable to their own, and in making
the sense of the Fathers formally contrary to that of Jesus
Christ, and that which he attributes to them formally con
trary to the true sense which they bear, and which they
[Second enounce in clear and express words. I have convinced him
step.] ^ s ^ t j ie p roo f O f an e Yid en t demonstration in this little
treatise f ; and if he be called upon to reply to this conviction,
the truth will be found to be victorious, either by his good or
by his bad faith. But, as their consciences continually tell
them, and prick them for having introduced, by their Re
formation, an equal contrariety in all opinions to the Faith of
the Church of all ages, when they see themselves reduced to
this extremity, they throw themselves into the intrenchment
of their fundamental maxims, admitting, namely, of no Rule
of Faith, but that of the Scripture interpreted by every man s
[Third reason. Upon that I have convinced them by a demonstra-
tionS without reply, that by the scheme of their Reformation,
founded upon the use of this rule, they have lost for them
selves both the Church and the Faith. And this they must
acknowledge if they be called to answer thereto, or, if not,
the truth will preserve its advantage by the rejection they
will make of it.
I most humbly entreat your Majesty, Sir, that you will be
pleased to let this little work have the glory to appear to the
world under your august name, for a prop which will be able
to aid your faith, as an instrument of the truth, the victory
{ [The discourse upon Transubstaii- stration, &c." above mentioned as
tiation, which formed the first and larger subjoined to the " Victoire de la Ve-
part of the " Victoire de la Verite."] rite."]
8 [The " Brieve et Evidente Demon-
AN EPISTLE OF M. DE LA MILLETIERE, &C. Cxliii
whereof ought happily to gain you to the Church ; and, by
gaining you thereto,, to bring with you her peace, and the
re-union to her of all the parties that are divided from her.
For assuredly this grace of Heaven is not far from us, if we
ourselves do not draw back from it.
And I am certain, that if it please the prudence of the [Probable
Bishops, whom the Holy Ghost hath established for the 1^ ofthe
guidance of the Church (as I hope well that it will please fe,: sed
them), to avail themselves, towards the people that have en(>e -]
abandoned their Crosier, of the way that I propose and pre
sent to your Majesty; they will see, without much trouble,
and in a little time, the strayed sheep returning to them, by
the very hand of those who keep them withdrawn from their
sheep-folds. For in effect, when the evidence of this demon
strated truth shall once have established itself (by the sweet
ness of the amicable conferences, wherein it ought to be
handled with all sincerity and liberty) in the spirit of all our
separated brethren, as well ministers as people, they will con
sent with joy to re-enter into the Catholic Church. And so
much the more willingly, that, for the same reasons which
support the truth of her Faith, when acknowledged conform
ably to the Tradition of all ages, they will acknowledge her
also, in all her parts, to be the true Seed from which the
Holy Spirit hath caused piety and charity to spring, flourish,
and fructify in believers. From whence it follows for the
same reason, that the true and legitimate reformation, which
all good people in the Church desire in the Church, doth de
pend upon nothing else than the understanding and practice
of these same truths, by the duty which they point out to all
believers in the different vocations whereto God calls them :
12 in all which [vocations] the end that is proposed them, is no
other, than to live united among themselves and with Jesus
Christ by the grace of the Holy Ghost, in order to serve God
under the obedience of the government which He hath put
into the hands of the Bishops, who feed the Flock with an
unanimous consent under the authority of the single Chair
of St. Peter, established at Borne by the two Coryphaei of the
Apostles, St. Peter and St. Paul, from which whosoever
separates himself, is a schismatic and out of the communion
of the Church.
THE VICTORY OF TRUTH j OR,
[The con- Upon this, Sir. I take courage to say, in conclusion, to
version of .
the King, your Majesty, that,, as you may if you will, by the way which
through I propose to you, lay the foundation of this work by your
^Ejects 1 " 8 conversion and entrance into the Catholic Church,, so you
?he meats W ^ fincl that its success wiU e, in tne Hand of God, the in
to his re- dubitable way of re-establishing you in your throne. Cer-
-* tainly all will agree with me, that this work is of such a
kind, that if it had received its accomplishment in Paris, with
the ministers and people separated from the Church, there
is no place in all France wherein they would refuse to do
the like. And if once the love of peace, and of the re-union
of the Church, had thus gained the heart of our separated
brethren who are in this kingdom, they in this manner
acknowledging that the only wholesome and necessary re
formation would be that, which by the truth of the definitions
of the Faith of the Church, in her doctrine, in her service,
and in her government, should re-establish a Christian life
among Christians ; the other people and pastors (and the
pastors for the love, and by the instigation, of the people
themselves), who are in the same communion in other parts
of Europe, will without doubt do the same thing. Think
you, Sir, that if your subjects of Scotland, and those who are
in England and Ireland, faithful and affectionate to your
crown and person, were to see the success that had attended
this project in France, to which your conversion had given
its beginning and its motion, they would resist the call of
the same grace ? and that they could find in their hearts, in
their mouths, and in their hands, either reason, or means, to
hinder themselves from following that which all those of their
[as a re- communion had done here ? And after this will you doubt,
from P Go S d s but that tlie blessing of God, Who is never wanting to His
cord%* C ~ P ronnses ; wu ^ accomplish in you fully that which He hath
His prS- promised to all who believe in Him by the mouth of His
"Mat. vi. Own Son, when He tells them, " Seek the Kingdom of God
and His righteousness, and all things shall be added unto
you?" Will you doubt, but that in thus seeking His King
dom, you will find also your own? And that Heaven will
render unto you, even upon earth, this temporal recompense,
for a token of that which you shall have sought, and which
you shall receive, in Heaven for eternity ?
AN EPISTLE OF M. DE LA MILLETIERE, &C.
Yes, Sir, the word of God deceives no man; it is more [The past
firm and immoveable than the heaven and the earth ; for the {he icIng^s
one and the other shall vanish away, but one single iota of * ff * irs ab]
the words uttered from the mouth of the Son of God, shall to this;]
not pass away/ When I tell you these things, founded as J^*^
they are upon the truth which He hath spoken unto us, xxi - 33 -l
believe that it is He Himself that addresses them to you by
my mouth. It is He Himself that calls you. It is He Him
self that stretcheth forth His Hand towards you. It is He
Himself that by His Hand hath conducted you, for this end,
to the place where you are. Re-consider with yourself all
the thoughts of your heart, since the time your Majesty
parted from hence, to the time you returned. Think upon
all that you have wished to do, and upon all that it hath
pleased God to do with you; for He hath done every
thing, both of what you see, and of what you suffer, to your
person, and to your estate. He hath put you into the estate
in which you are, to make you understand His voice, and
to oblige you to say to Him, " Lord, what wilt Thou that [Actsix.a]
I do?"
You have thought you would be able to re-mount your [in the
throne by means of those of your subjects, who appeared to ofhisScot-
retain for you, and for your crown, that fidelity to which a ^om^hidi
more ancient bond held them obliged more straitly than all involved a
the others. God would not have it so. They had a design the Cove-
to bind your conscience to the laws of their reformation, by nt
the oath to observe the conditions of their Covenant, and
by the abjuration of those among your opinions, that ap
proached more nearly to the Catholic religion. They hoped
by this means, that in preserving upon your head some
form, at least in appearance, of the Royal government,
under which they had so happily obeyed your fathers for
13 so many ages, they should avoid falling under the slavery
of the tyranny which is called Cromwell s Commonwealth ;
and that they should hinder by this means the factious
ness of their religion from giving place to his Independency.
What has it come to? God hath " blown upon" all their [Hagg.i.a]
counsels. He hath routed all their armies by the arm
of this false prophet, by whose mouth He convicts and
confounds, in the face of their ministers, by mouth and by
BRAMIIALL. 1
THE VICTORY OF TRUTH; OR,
writing h , the rules of their Covenant by the very maxims of
their reformation. God hath delivered them into his hands,
and imposed upon them the yoke of his absolute domination.
They must now submit to the laws of his Independency, and
of his Commonwealth, the name whereof serves for a mask
to his tyranny.
[in the But God hath delivered you, Sir, therefrom ; and by an
deliver- instance of His Providential guidance, full of awe and
wonder, He hath withdrawn your sacred person from a
son -!f thousand dangers, wherewith it was threatened by the fury
and cruelty of this monster, who spared neither the strength
of iron, nor the preciousness of gold, to find the means of
violently taking away your life. You have seen, Sir, descend
upon your head, the anger of God, Who, in the phrase of
[Jobxius. Scripture, "looseth the belt of kings, and binds their reins
with thongs." You have seen His arm, armed with His
rage, defeat your armies. Combating at their head, you
have done bravely, with your hand and with your courage,
all that the generosity of a valiant and magnanimous
prince could do, to associate victory with the justice of
your arms. You have there shed your own blood, and seen
that of your faithful subjects stream through the fields
strewn with their bodies. Your valour, and their unfearful
hearts, had for a time gotten the advantage of the great
number of your enemies, who found themselves on the point
of turning their backs; but the chance of arms turning
in an instant to their side, this ill-hap, fatal to your crown,
ravished from you in this last conflict, according to human
appearance, both the means and the hope of recovering
[isa. iv.s.] it 1 . But God hath means unknown to men, and "His
ways are not our ways." It is in our weakness that He
magnifies His strength, and in our lowliness that He makes
His height to be seen. Then, when He had thus deprived
you of your forces, and had stripped you of all human means
of safety, He came to you with another countenance, and
h [The letters of Cromwell to the Milletiere might have seen them in
Scotch ministers, &c. (Thurloe s State 1651.]
Papers, vol. i. pp. 158, &c.), were printed * [Compare Clarendon s account of
in Edinburgh A. D. 1650, immediately the battle of Worcester, Hist, of the
after the battle of Dunbar, so that La Rebell., bk. xiii. vol. iii. pp. 527, 528.]
AN EPISTLE OF M. DE LA MILLETIERE, &C. Cxlvii
armed you with a sense, a hardiness, and a resolution, which
were above the spirit of a man, to support you in the plan
which you made choice of for your security. You resolved
to seek it by exposing yourself alone in the solitariness of
the ways, and in the desert of the forests, to the hazard of
a thousand sad accidents; after you had hidden all the
marks of that majesty, which is born with you, under a form
borrowed from the most base condition, that the eyes of the
people, which owe you after God the second homage, might
not know who you truly were. You have passed after this
manner, without astonishment, and without fear, across a
thousand objects, whicli at every step presented their images
to your mind. It is there, that you have perceived that
God had encamped His Angels about you, for your guard,
and for your defence. It is there, that He has made of a
simple peasant and an infirm woman, the very Angels of
His assistance, that He might be your guide ; giving to the
simplicity of the one, and to the frailty of the other, the
prudence and the resolution necessary to conduct you, with
as much judgment as integrity, and to bring you as a
stranger, and one unknown, the object of every man s con
tempt and neglect, into the capital city of your ancestors
inheritance. It is there, that, when you had reason to
fear (on account of the orders set forth against your life,
and for your discovery) the meeting so many faces looking
upon yours, the Hand of God hath held the eyes of all those
who would have had the heart to hurt you ; and He hath
opened them, so as to recognise you, to him alone, who,
without being anticipated either by your foresight or by your
expectation, became the Angel of your guidance, to make
you cross the seas and descend upon our shores, and to
restore you again to the eyes of the Queen your dear mother,
to whom your presence hath caused a greater cessation of
grief and a greater increase of joy, than happened at your
birth k .
God hath then after this manner, Sir, made you to return
k [This rhetorical account of the from that given by Clarendon, Hist
King s escape is apparently founded of the Rebell., bk. xiii. vol. iii. pp. 533.
upon a different version of the facts 550.]
THE VICTORY OF TRUTH j OR,
[His tem- hither into the bosom, wherein your Majesty began your life,
to iite re? 1 to tne end He ma y s ive y u a new life ky y ur being bom
ri eranc? a g am mto the spiritual bosom of your Eternal Mother. You
enforced se e the guidance and the counsel of God, who calls you to
of his ete rS Him by a call so marvellous, having heard the prayers and
Queen r vows, the sighs and tears, of this Catholic princess, to give
Henrietta,] ner h e j ov o f seeing you rendered a partaker of the greatest 14
blessing that she hath received from God, and which she
hath unceasingly implored for you ever since your birth.
Daughter, as she is, of the Great Henry, the glory of the
most Christian Kings, she implores of God for you the in
heritance of that grace which he received from His hand,
Who caused him at one and the same time both to enter the
Church, and to obtain his throne. Her faith implores it,
her patience hopes it, and her piety will obtain it. This is
the consolation she sighs after, to restore her from so many
bitter afflictions, which she hath sucked in drop by drop,
and which the Hand of God hath poured upon her, in His
Son s Chalice, by which He proves the constancy of those
who love Him.
[by the To the tears of this desolate Princess, I add, Sir, the inno-
martyrdom ^^ ^^ poured out before God by the King your f at h er ,
father, w h O m I think I may be able without fear to style blessed.
Charles F O r, if we l oo k upon the cause of his death, he hath been
persecuted and cruelly slain, when he was able to a^oid the
one and the other from the hands of his enemies, if he would
have submitted his conscience to their Covenant, and con
sented to the abolition of Episcopacy. But he hath loved
rather to glorify God by the confession of a good conscience,
and for the support of a dignity which he hath believed to
have been instituted by God, according to the opinion of the
Catholic Faith. Certainly we ought to believe, that it is to
this Faith, which he hath preferred before the greatest things
in the world, to which we must ascribe, and acknowledge for
the fruits thereof, the piety, the humility, the patience, the
constancy, the resignation to the Will of God, the submission
even to that of men for the love of God, which we have seen
in him, and which his persecution, his suffering, his prison,
his unworthy treatment, his trial as a criminal, his degrada
tion, his condemnation, the horror and the cruelty of his
AN EPISTLE OF M. DE LA MILLETIERE, &C. Cxlix
punishment, like to which the sun did never yet see an
example on the earth, have rendered more illustrious and
more bright-shining than the light of the sun itself. We
may say, that the firmness of this faith hath been in his
heart a secret work of God, to re-unite him, in this trial of
the last moments of his life, to His Catholic Church, to
the number of His faithful Elect, many of whom (saith
St. Augustin) invisibly belong to the Church, though they [De Bapt.
are not rendered members of it visibly/ And we ought
to believe, that this Crown, which he hath gained by the
constancy of his faith, hath been woven for him by the Hands F -l
of Jesus Christ, the King of Kings, hearing with favour the
prayer and intercession of the blessed Queen his grand
mother, who hath in the same manner shed her blood, and
given up her soul into the hands of God, by one and the same
punishment, with a faith and constancy not to be imitated,
for the Catholic faith, which was the one primary cause of
the hatred and persecution she received from her people, and
from her most near kinswoman, the succession of whose
crown belonged to her. For the prayer of the blessed Mar
tyrs in Heaven tends to obtain continually of God, by Jesus
Christ, the fulfilment of the same grace they have received
here below, imploring it for those that have need thereof, to
the end that their own faith may be also consummated by a
perfect charity.
It is this grace, Sir, which you will experience, when [by the in-
, T . ^ . i ^ . , .,, , , tcrcession
your Majesty shall have attained this taitn by your re- of Queen
union with the Church. You will feel likewise the effect
of the prayers and intercession this glorious Princess makes
to God for you by Jesus Christ ; to the end, that when
He shall have restored you to His Church, the throne,
that was unjustly rent away both from her and from you,
may be restored to you in the midst of your subjects, there
to re-establish, by the same grace, the Kingdom of Jesus
Christ.
To these prayers, which all the Angels, and all the
Saints which are in the Church, in Heaven and in earth,
make to God for your Majesty, I join, Sir, my vows
and my supplications, with this testimony of my devotion
to your most humble service, in a subject which I have
C THE VICTORY OF TRUTH ; &C.
deemed the most important, and the most worthy to gain
me the honour of your Majesty s favour, and that of styling
myself,
SIR,
Your Majesty s most humble, most faithful,
and most obedient Servant,
LA MILLETIERE.
THE WORKS
OP
ARCHBISHOP BRAMHALL.
PART THE FIRST;
CONTAINING
THE DISCOUKSES AGAINST THE ROMANISTS.
DISCOURSE I.
AN ANSWER
TO
M. DE LA MILLETIEEE
HIS IMPERTINENT DEDICATION OF HIS IMAGINARY TRIUMPH;
OB
HIS EPISTLE
TO THE KING OF GREAT BRITAIN,
WHEREIN HE INVITETH HIS MAJESTY
TO FORSAKE THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND,
AND
TO EMBRACE THE ROMAN CATHOLIC RELIGION.
BY JOHN BRAMHALL, D.D.
LORD BISHOP OF DERRY.
feRAMHALL.
CONTENTS.
Page
[Of the treatise upon Transubstantiate on in La Milletiere s "Vic-
toire de la VeVite."] ....... 7
No differences in the Church directly about the Sacrament [of the Lord s
Supper] for the first 800 years ; . . . . .8
Yet different observations ; .... 9
And different expressions. . . . . .10
The first difference about the Presence of Christ in the Sacrament, in the days
of Bertram and Paschasius, not long before the year 900 ; but the new
article of Transubstantiation not sufficiently concocted in the days of
Berengarius, after the year 1050. . U
The first determination of the manner of the Presence [by the introduction
of Transubstantiation], in the Council of the Lateran, in the days of
Innocent the Third, after the year 1200. . 14
It opened a floodgate to a deluge of controversies. ... il>.
Two further differences have flowed from this bold determination of the
manner of the Presence :
I. The detention of the Cup from the laity ;
II. The adoration of the Sacrament. . 20
Against multiplying of questions and controversies. . 23
The occasion of this Discourse, the Preface and Epistle Dedica
tory [of La Milletiere s " Victoire de la Verite"]. . 2 3
The indiscretion of the Author [La Milletiere] in presenting such a treatise
to the world under the protection of his Majesty [Charles the Second]
without his license and against his conscience ; . 24
And to no purpose ; for the King is already a better Catholic than
himself. ..... jk
It is not lawful to add to the old Creed. . . 25
What are additions to the Creed, and what are only explications. . ib.
Crosses are not always punishments, but sometimes corrections, or trials. . 27
Which the Author presently forgets. ... ib.
Better grounds of the sufferings of his Majesty [Charles the First]
than those of the Author. ... . ib.
The Authors rash censure upon the Archbishopof Canterbury [Laud]. 28
Sovereigns may be taken away for the sins of their subjects. . 29
Not above two or three of our Princes called Heads of the Church ; ib.
That is, only political Heads. .... ib.
The Christian Emperors political Heads. , . .30
The old Kings of England political Heads. . ib
B*3
IV CONTENTS.
Page
Neither King Charles [the First], King James [the First], nor
Queen Elizabeth, styled Heads of the Church. . .31
The Author s satisfaction, to persuade the Pope to leave that vain title. 32
Hatred of Episcopacy not the true cause why the Parliament persecuted the
King .33
The true causes of the troubles of England : viz. some feigned jealousies and
fears, ......... ib.
I. That the King purposed to reduce the free English subject to a
condition of absolute slavery under an arbitrary government, . ib.
II. That he meant to apostate from the Protestant religion to Popery ; 34
And the privy purse and subtle counsels of a certain Bishop [Card.
Richelieu]. . . . . .35
We are only accused of schism. . . . . . .30
The reply to that accusation added at the conclusion of this Answer
in a Discourse by itself [viz. The Vindication of the Church of
England, &c. Discourse ii. Part i.] . . . ib.
Presbyterians and Brownists have been Rome s best friends: . . ib.
They may send their own answer. . . . . ib.
The English Reformation not the ruin of the civil government. . . 37
t not Calvinistical. . . . .38
Reformation, is sometimes necessary ; . . .40
, not agreeable to all persons, especially the C ourt of Rome ; ib.
, there is danger in ; . . . . . ib.
, the right rule of. . . . . .41
Our Reformation not the ruin of Faith, Church, or Commonwealth, ib.
Our first supposed maxim ; viz. That the Church was fallen to ruin and
desolation, and become guilty of idolatry and tyranny. . . 42
The Catholic Church cannot come to ruin, or be guilty of idolatry
or tyranny. .... . ib.
Catholic and Roman not convertibles. . . . . ib.
The Roman Church itself not absolutely fallen to ruin. . . 43
Whether the Roman Church be guilty of idolatry. . . ib.
The Roman Court most tyrannical. . . . .47
Our second supposed maxim ; viz. That the only way to reform the Faith,
and Liturgy, and government of the Church, is to conform them to
the dictates of Holy Scripture, of the sense whereof any private Christian
ought to be judge by the light of the Spirit, excluding Tradition and the
public judgment of the Church. . . . . .48
It is much mistaken. .... . ib.
I. The Scripture the rule of supernatural truths. . . .49
II. Who are the proper expounders of Scripture and how far : . ib.
viz : Every Christian keeping himself within the bounds of due
obedience and submission to his lawful superiors, with a
j udgment of discretion ; . . . . .50
The pastors of the Church, with a judgment of direction ; . ib.
The chief pastors, with a judgment of jurisdiction. . ib.
III. The manner of expounding Scripture ;
[viz: by means of, and with authority proportioned to, the
requisite qualifications for the task.] . . . ib.
This is conformable to the doctrine and practice of our Church. . 52
CONTENTS V
Page
The English Church an enemy to upstart, not to Apostolical, Traditions. . 53
What articles of the new Roman Creed we have renounced. . . 54
Of the Sacrifice of the Mass ; . ib.
Of Transubstantiation ; . . . . .55
Of Seven Sacraments ; . . . . . ib.
Of Justification ; . . . . . .56
Of Merits;. . . . . . . . ib.
Of Invocation of Saints ; . . . . . .57
Of Prayer for the dead with Purgatory; . . . .59
Of the authority of the Pope. . . . . .60
Whether human laws bind the conscience. . . . .61
The Author a little enthusiastical. . . . .. . .62
The Romanists require submission to their Church as necessary to salvation; 63
Yet cannot agree among themselves what this Roman Church is. . ib.
The English Church not perished. . . . . . . ib.
The Author s vain dreams. . . . . . . .64
His vainer proposition of a conference : . . . . .65
The King of England desires no such conference; . . 67
If he should, he had neither reason nor need to desert his English
clergy; . . . ib.
Such a conference not fit to be granted by the King of France; . ib.
Nor to be accepted by the ministers of the Reformed Church
[of France] ; . . . . . . .68
Nor could any such success be expected from it. . . ib.
The Author s impertinence and sauciness with the King, in dictating
to him what he should or would do in a case which is never
likely to be. . . . . . . ,69
His pen overruns his wit. . . . . . . ib.
The Author s improper choice of a patron for his treatise of Transub
stantiation. . . . . . . . .70
His unskilfulness, or his unfortunateness, in his Demonstration. . . ib.
The great advantage of the Protestant above the Roman Catholic
in the choice of his foundation. . . . .71
The Author s Demonstration requited upon himself. . . 72
His Majesty s apostacy is not the way to his restitution. . . .73
The obligation of the Scots to his Majesty, the greatest of any subjects in the
known world : . . . . . . . .74
Their treachery ; . . . . . . . ib.
The loyal Scots excepted : . . . . . . ib.
The disloyal Scots deciphered. . . . . .75
No hope from that party, until they repent. . . . ib.
God must not be limited to time or means of deliverance. . . .76
His Majesty s escape out of England almost miraculous ; . . ib.
And seems to presage that God hath something to do with him. . 77
Prayers and tears the proper arms of women,. . . . . ib.
Especially of mothers ; . ib.
Yet not so powerful as his father s intercession,, now in Heaven. . ib.
The Author s instance of Henry the Great not pertinent. . . . ib.
The just commendation of King Charles [the First]. . . . ib.
It is gross impudence to feign that he died a Roman Catholic. , 78
VI CONTENTS.
Page
The Author s confession [that he did so,] confutes his Demonstra
tion, that Protestants have no Faith. . .78
The Author s intelligence as good in Heaven as upon earth. . 79
No Faith sufficient armour against hloody attempts. . . il>.
The Author much fallen [in the latter end of his treatise] from his former
charity in seeking the reunion of Christendom. . . ib.
The way to a general accommodation. . . .80
DISCOURSE L
AN ANSWER
TO
M. DE LA MILLETIEEE a
HIS IMPERTINENT DEDICATION OF HIS IMAGINARY TRIUMPH,
[FIRST PRINTED AT THE HAGUE, A. D. 1653.]
SIR,
You might long have disputed your question of Transub-
stantiation with your learned adversary, and proclaimed your
own triumph on a silver trumpet to the world, before any
member of the Church of England had interposed in this
present exigence of our affairs. I know no necessity that
Christians must be like cocks, that, when one crows, all the
rest must crow for company V Monsieur Aubertin will not
want a surviving friend c , to teach you what it is to sound a
[of the
treatis
substantia-
Miiietiere s
01
a [Theophile Bracliet, Sieur de la
Milletiere, was originally a member of
the French Reformed congregations, and
sufficiently distinguished among them
to be selected as a deputy and secretary
to the Assembly of La Rochelle in 1621.
He entered subsequently into the plans
of Cardinal Richelieu for the union of
the Roman Catholic and Reformed
Churches in France, published a
great number of letters, pamphlets, and
treatises upon the doctrines in dispute
between them, assimilating gradually to
the Roman Catholic tenets, was sus
pended in consequence by the Synod of
Alencon in 1637, and expelled by that of
Charenton in 1645, from the Reformed
communion, and finally became a
Roman Catholic " of necessity, that he
might be of some religion." " He wes
a vain and shallow man, full of himself,
and persuaded that nothing approached
to his own merit and capacity ;" and,
after his change of religion, "was per
petually playing the missionary, and
seeking conferences, although he was
always handled in them with a severity
sufficient to have damped his courage,
had he not been gifted with a perversity
which nothing could conquer" (Benoit,
Hist, del Edit de Nantes, torn. ii. liv.10.
pp. 514, 516). The work to which
Bramhall replied seems fully to bear out
the truth of this sketch of his character.
See the article Milletiere in Bayle,
and notes b andc, pp. 10, 11, (marginal
paging,) of La Miiietiere s Epistle pre
fixed to this volume.]
b Plut. [The Editor cannot find this
saying in Plutarch.]
c [Edmund Aubertin (Albertinus} was
one of the many celebrated theologians
who adorned the French Reformed con
gregations in the seventeenth century.
8 THE BISHOP OF DEREY^S ANSWER TO
PART triumph before you have gained the victory 4 / He was no
~~ fool that desired no other epitaph on his tomb than this,
" Here lies the author of this sentence, Pruriyo disputandi
scabies Ecclesm The itch of disputing is the scab of the
Church*."
Having viewed all your strength with a single eye, I find
not one of your arguments that comes home to Transubstan-
tiation, but only to a true Real Presence ; which no genuine
son of the Church of England did ever deny, no, nor your
adversary himself. Christ said, " This is My Body " what
He said, we do steadfastly believe. He said not, after this or
that manner, neque con, neque sub, neque trans. And there
fore we place it among the opinions of the schools, not among
the articles of our Faith. The Holy Eucharist, which is the
Sacrament of peace and unity, ought not to be made the
matter of strife and contention.
i Cor. xi. There wanted not abuses in the administration of this
No differ- Sacrament in the most pure and primitive times : as profane-
the Church ness an( ^ uncharitableiiess among the Corinthians. The
directly Simoniaiis, and Menandriaiis, and some other such imps of
about the
Sacrament Satan, unworthy the name of Christians, did wholly forbear
Lord s the use of the Eucharist ; but it was not for any difference
She 1 "first Jlbout tlie Sacrament itself, but about the Natural Body of
soo years ; Christ ; they held, that His Flesh, and Blood, and Passion,
were not true and real, but imaginary and phantastical,
things 1 ". The Manicliees did forbear the Cup; but it was not
for any difference about the Sacrament itself : they made two
Gods, a good God, whom they called a>? or Light, and an
evil God, whom they termed 2 KOTOS or Darkness ; which evil
God, they said, did make some creatures of the dreg or more
He was born at Chalons sur Marne notes a andc to La Milletiere s Epistle,
in 1595, and became a minister of pp.9 and 11, and the article Aubertin
the congregation at Charenton in in Bayle.]
1631, where he remained until his d [Platon. Lys. c. 6. ii. 205. D. The-
death. He is principally known as setet. c. 56. i. 164. C.]
the author of a learned and laborious e Sir Henry Wotton. [See Walton s
treatise upon the subject of Transub- Life and Wordsworth s note, Eccles.
stantiation, first published in French at Biogr. vol. iv. p. 104. 3rd edit]
Geneva in 1633, and republished after f Theodoret [Dialog, iii. torn. iv. P. i.
his death in Latin with the author s p. 231. ed. Schulze; tanquam] ex
improvements by Blondel, Daventrise Ignatio [scil. in Epist. ad Smyrn. 6.
1655. He died April 5th, 1652, be- inter Patr. Apost. torn. ii. p. 412. ed.
tween the publication of La Milletiere s Jacobson].
book and BramhalPs Answer. See
THE EPISTLE OF M. DE LA MILLETIERE, &C.
9
feculent parts of the matter, which were evil and impure ; DISCOURSE
and among these evil creatures they esteemed wine, which -
they called the gall of the Dragon g : for this cause, not upon
any other scruple, they wholly abstained from the Cup h , or
used water in the place of wine ; which Epiphanius recordeth
among the errors of the Ebionites and Tatians 1 , and
St. Augustine of the Aquarians k . Still we do not find any
clashing, either in word or writing, directly about this
Sacrament in the universal Church of Christ, much less
about the Presence of Christ in the Sacrament. " Neque
ullus veterum disputat contra hunc errorem primis sexcentis
anms
The first that are supposed by Bellarmine to have broached
any error in the Church about the Real Presence, were the
Iconomachi, after 700 years ; " primi qui veritatem Corporis
Domini in Eucharistia in qu&stionem vocdrunt, fuerunt Icono
machi post annum Domini 700 m " only because they called
the Bread and Wine the image of Christ s Body". This is as
great a mistake as the former. Their difference was merely
about images, not at all about the Eucharist. So much
Vazquez confesseth ; that, "in his judgment, they were not
to be numbered with those who deny the Presence of Christ
in the Eucharist."
We may well find different observations 1 ? in those days : as yet differ-
one Church consecrating leavened bread, another unleavened ;
one Church making use of pure wine, another of wine mixed
with water ; one Church admitting infants to the Communion,
another not admitting them : but without controversies, or
censures, or animosity one against the other. We find no
debates or disputes concerning the Presence of Christ s Body
in the Sacrament, and much less concerning the manner of
His Presence, for the first 800 years.
g ["Fel Principum tenebrarum."
August, de Mor. Manich. c. 44. torn. i.
p. 732. C.]
h Leon. M. Serm. iv. De Quadrages.
[c. 5. torn. i. p. 217. ed. Quesnel.j
* Adv. Haeres. xxx. [ 16. p. 142.
A] ; xlvi. [ 2. p. 392. A. torn. i. ed.
Petav. Paris. 1622.]
k Lib. de Haeres. c. Ixiv. [torn. viii. p.
20. G.]
1 Bellarm. De Sacram. Euchar. lib. i.
cap. 1. [Op. torn. ii. p. 456. A.]
m Bellarm. Ibid. [B.]
n Synod. Concil. Nicsen. Secund. act.
vi. [torn. iii. ap. Labb. Concil. torn. vii.
p. 445.]
[In Tert. Part. D. Thomae. Qu. 75.
Art. 1.] Disput. clxxix. c. 1. [num. 9.]
P [Bingham s Orig. Eccles. book
xv. chap. 2. 5, 6, 7. chap. 4. 7.
vol. v. pp. 4051. 171179. Lond.
1840.]
10
THE BISHOP OF DERRY S ANSWER TO
PA RT Yet all the time we find as different expressions among
and differ- those primitive Fathers ^ as among our modern writers at this
da y : some callin S tne Sacrament the Sign of Christ s
Body the Figure of His Body the Symbol of His
Body < the Mystery of His Body < the Exemplar/ Type/
and Representation, of His Body r / saying that the Elements
do not recede from their first nature 8 / others naming it the
true Body and Blood of Christ V changed,, not in shape, but
in nature 11 / yea, doubting not to say, that in this Sacrament
q [Albertin. De Euchar. lib. ii. in
answer to Bellarm. De Sacrarn. Euchar.
lib. ii Bp. Cosin s Schol. Hist, of
Transubstant. chapters 5. and 6 Jer.
Taylor on the Real Pres. 12. vol. x.
pp. 59, &c. Johnson s Unbloody Sacri
fice, chap. 2. subsect. to sect. 1. pp. 145,
&c.]
r [Signum. August. De Doctr. Christ,
lib. iii. c. 9. 13. torn. iii. P. i. p. 49.
B.C. Adv. Adimant. xii. 3. torn. viii. p.
124. E. Adv. Maximin. lib. ii. c. 22.
3. torn. viii. p. 725. F. Fignra.
Tertull. Adv. Marcion. lib. iii. c. 19.
p. 494. A. lib. iv. c. 40. p. 571. B. C.
Paris 1634. Ambros. (?) De Sacram.
lib. iv. c. 5. 21. torn. ii. p. 371. B.
August, in Ps. 3. 1. torn. iv. p. 7. E.
Gaudent. Brix. De Pasch. Observat.
Tract. 2. ap. Biblioth. Patr. torn. iv.
p. 807. E. Ephrsem. Syr. De Nat.
Dei Curios, non Scrutand. p. 681. Col.
1603. Bedee Comment, in Luc. 22.
lib. vi. torn. v. p. 424 ; in Ps. 3. torn,
viii. p. 324. Imago. Ambros. De Offic.
lib. i. c. 48. 248. torn. ii. p. 63. B. C.
Gelas. De Duab. Natur. ap. Biblioth.
Patr. torn. v. P. iii. p. 671. B. Si/m-
bolum. Victor Antiock. in Marc. c. 14.
ap. Biblioth. Patr. torn. iv. p. 330. F.
Mysterium. Chrys. (?) Opus Imperf.
Horn. xi. p. Ixiii. D, in fin. torn. vi. cd.
Montfauc. Hilar. De Trinit. lib. viii.
p. 58. B. Paris. 1572. Hieron. in Ezek.
41. torn. ii. p. 998. Comment, (vulg.
Ambros.) in 1 Cor. xi. 19. in Append.
ad Ambros. Op. torn. ii. p. 149. F
Facund. Hermian. Pro Trib. Capit. lib.
ix. c. 5. p. 144. B. ed. Sirmond. Ti/pus.
Hieron. In Jerem. 31. torn. i. p. 678.
Jovinian. ap. Hieron. Adv. Jovin. lib. ii.
torn. iv. P. ii. p. 198. Comment, (vulg.
Ambros.) in 1 Cor. xi. 26. ut supra p.
149. D. Capit. Martin. Episc. Bracar.
cap. Iv. ap. Labb. Concil. torn. v. p. 91 1.
Similitude. August. Epist. xcviii. 9.
torn. ii. p. 267. F. Ambros. (?) De
Sacram. lib. iv. c. 4. 20. tom.ii. pp.370.
C. 371. A. lib. vi. c. 1. ibid. 3. 4. p. 380.
A.B. Gelas.DeDuab. Natur. ut supra.
RepreEszntatio. "In quo" (pane) "ipsum
Corpus Suum rcprcesentat." Tertull.
Adv. Marcion. lib. i. c. 14. p. 440. A.
Paris. 1634. " Ut . . . Ipse quoque
veritatem Sui Corporis et Sanguinis
reprcEsentaret. 1 Hieron. in Matth. 26.
torn. iv. P. i. p. 128. EIKWV 2v/u/3oAoz/
MvaTfipiov AvTiTviros TVTTOS see
the passages collected from the Greek
Fathers by Suicer, Thesaur. sub
vocc.]
s [" OuSe yap . . . TO. fj-variKa avuftoXa.
TTJS oiKtias e liVrarat (pixTtcos." Theo-
doret. Dial. ii. torn. iv. P. i. p. 12G. ed.
Schulze. "Tt Trapa ru>v iriaruiv ActyijSa-
v6fJ.VOV 2,(t>fJ.a XpKTTOU . . . T7JS OUT0?)T77S
ovffias OVK ei<rTaTcu." Ephrsem.
Antioch. Patriarch, ap. Phot. Biblioth.
Cod. ccxxix. p. 252. ed. Bekker. " Esse
non desinit. . . . natura panis et vim."
Gelas. De Duab. Natur. ut supra.
tl Natura panis permansit" (post sanctifi-
cationem). Chrys. ad Cassarium. Op.
torn. iii. p. 744. C. ed. Montfaucon.]
1 *
5^a /ecu
aA?70ws Aa/a/Sai/ofTes" Act. Concil. Ni-
caen. Primi in Gelas. Cyzic. Hist. lib. ii.
c. 30. ap. Labb. Concil. torn. ii. p. 231 __
" Nunc enim et Ipsius Domini profes-
sione et nostra fide vere Caro est et vere
Sangiiis est." Hilar. De Trinit. lib. viii.
p. 58. D. Paris. 1572. Tera" (Christi)
" Caro . . qiiam accipimus, et verus Ejus
polus est." Ambros. (?) De Sacram.
lib. vi. c. 1. 1. p. 380.]
u [" Panis . . . non effigie sed naiura
mutatus." Serin. Arnold. Abbatis (vulg.
Cyprian.) inter Op. ejus p. 40. in Ap
pend. ad Cyprian. Op. "Benedictione
etiam natura mutatur." Ambros. lib.
de Mysteriis c. ix. 50. torn. ii. p.
338. D ; and again ibid. 52. p. 339.
C.]
THE EPISTLE OF M; DE LA MILLETIERE, &C.
11
we see Christ ( we touch. Christ we eat Christ x / f that DISCOURSE
we fasten our teeth in His very Flesh,, and make our tongues
red in His Bloody/ Yet,, notwithstanding,, there were no
questions, no quarrels, 110 contentions amongst them; there
needed no Councils to order them, no conferences to reconcile
them ; because they contented themselves to believe what
Christ had said, " This is My Body," without presuming on
their own heads to determine the manner how it is His Body;
neither weighing all their own words so exactly before any
controversy was raised, nor expounding the sayings of other
men contrary to the analogy of Faith.
The first doubt about the Presence of Christ s Body in The first
the Sacrament seems to have been moved not long before the about the
year 900 in the days of Bertram and Paschasius ; but the chrisHn f
controversy was not well formed, nor this new article of the Sacra
ment.
Transubstantiation sufficiently concocted, in the days of
Berengarius, after the year 1050; as appeareth by the gross
mistaking and mistating of the question on both sides. First
Berengarius, if we may trust his adversaries, knew no mean
between a naked figure or empty sign of Christ s Presence
and a corporeal or local Presence 55 , and afterwards fell into
another extreme of impanation a : on the other side, the Pope
* [" iSou Avrbv 5pas, AVTOV
Avrbv IffQieis . . . Avrbs Se Eavrov ffoi
fiiSwffiv, OVK iSz iv fji6vov, a\\a Kal
atyaadcu Kal (pa-yew Kal Aa/3eif efSov."
Chrys. Horn, in Matth. Ixxxii (al.
Ixxxiii). torn. ii. p. 514. "Ou rb lfj.driov
jj.6vov, ciAAa Kal rb Swjua ov%? Soare
aAA &ffre /cat (payrjuai
." Id. Horn, in Matth.
1 (al. li). torn. ii. p. 322.
TQV Swp.aros Xpio"rov." Basil. De Bap
tism. lib. ii. Qu. 3. torn. i. p. 677. D.
Paris. 1618. " Christus, noster (qui
Corpus Ejus contingimus) panis." Cy
prian. Serm. de Orat. Domin. Op. p.
147. " Certus quod Agnum Ipsum
integre comedas." Ephraem. Syr. De
Nat. Dei Curios, non Scrut. p. 682. Col.
1603. See also note y.]
y ["OuK t SeiV Avrbv ^bvov
To7s linQv^oiiGiv, a\\a Kal
fyayslv ical f /u 71 "^ 01 rovs 6d6vras TTJ
2api." Chrys. Horn, in Joh. xlvi
(al. xlv). torn. ii. p. 746. Hs TTJS
6eias /cal axpdvTOV irAevpas edaTrr6/j.evoi
TO?S x et ^eo I/ < OVTUTOV crcjTTjpiouAi juaTos
Id. Horn. v. (ix. Mont-
fauc.) de Posiiitentia. torn. vi. p. 791.
T^v yXuffffav TTJV (j)oivicra ofj.ev rji>
A l/naTi. 0pKa)8ecrTaT^." Id. Horn, in
Matth. Ixxxii (al. Ixxxiii). torn. ii. p.
514 "ndVras fKeivtp T< np-icf <poivi<r-
(TOpJvovs A ^UOTJ." Id. De Sacerdot. lib.
iii. torn. vi. p. 15. " Cruci hasremus,
Sanguinem sugimus, et intra Ipsius Re-
demptoris nostri vulnera figimus lin-
guam ; quo" (Sanguine) " interius ex-
teriusque rubricate . . ." Serm. Arnold.
Abbat. vit supra, p. 41.]
z [Such is the representation of his
principal adversaries, Adelmann (Epist.
ad Berengar. ap. Biblioth. Patr. torn, xi.),
Guitmund (De Verit. Corp. et Sang.
Christi in Euchar., ibid.), Lanfranc
(Lib. de Sacram. Euchar. adv. Beren
gar., ibid.), and Alger (De Sacram.
adv. Berengar., ibid, torn, xii.) ; but
Bp. Cosin (Hist, of Transubstant. c. 7.
5.) gives a far more favourable view
of his opinions, as implied in the few
words of his own preserved by Lan
franc.]
a [Guitmund, as above, p. 351. E.]
12 THE BISHOP OF DERRY^S ANSWER TO
PART and the Council made no difference between consubstantia-
- tion and transubstantiation, they understood nothing of the 1 7
spiritual or indivisible being of the Flesh and Blood of Christ
in the Sacrament ; as appeareth by that ignorant and Caper-
[Johnvi.52. naitical retractation and abjuration, which they impose upon
Berengarius, penned by Umbertus a Cardinal, approved by
Pope Nicholas and a Council : " Ego Berengarius fc. b " "I
Berengarius do consent to the Holy Roman Apostolic See,
and profess, with my mouth and my heart, to hold the same
Faith of the Sacrament of the Lord s Supper with Pope
Nicholas and this holy Synod, &c. ;" and what the Faith of
Pope Nicholas and this Synod was, follows in the next words ;
" That the Bread and Wine, which are set upon the Altar,
after Consecration are not only the Sacrament, but the very
Body and Blood of Christ." This seems to favour consub-
stantiation, rather than transubstantiation. If the Bread
and Wine be the Body and Blood of Christ, then they remain
Bread and Wine still ; if the Bread be not only the Sacra
ment, but also the thing of the Sacrament, if it be both the
sign and the thing signified, how is it now to be made
nothing ?
It follows in the retractation ; " That the Body and Blood of
[" non so- Christ is sensibly, not only in the sacrament, but in truth,
mento sed handled and broken by the hand of the Priest, and bruised
tate^ ] 1 " ky the teeth of the faithful." If it be even so, there needs no
more but feel and be satisfied. To this they made Berengarius
swear " by the Consubstantial Trinity and the Holy Gospels/
and accurse and anathematize all those who held the contrary;
yet these words did so much scandalize and offend the
Glosser upon Gratian, that he could not forbear to admonish
["nisi sane the reader, that " unless he understood those words in a
&c?"] lga sound sense, he would fall into a greater heresy than that of
Berengarius ." Not without reason, for the most favourable
of the Schoolmen d do confess, that these words are not pro
perly and literally true, but figuratively and metonymically,
understanding the thing containing by the thing contained ;
b Ex Act. Syn. Rom. sub Nicol. Distinct, ii. c. Ego Berengar.
Secund. [A.D. 1059. ap. Labb. Concil. d [So Bellarmine, De Sacram. Eu-
tom. ix. p. 1101.] char. lib. iii. c. 24. torn. ii. pp. 767
c Gloss, in Gratian. De Consecrat. 769.]
THE EPISTLE OF M. DE LA MILLETIERE, &C. 13
as to say the Body of Christ is broken or bruised, because DISCOURSE
the quantity or species of Bread are broken and bruised.
They might as well say, that the Body and Blood of Christ
becomes fusty and sour, as often as the species of Bread and
Wine before their corruption become fusty and sour. But
the retractation of Berengarius can admit no such figurative
sense ; that " the Body and Blood of Christ in the Sacra
ment are divided and bruised sensibly, not only in the
sacrament" (that is the species) "but also in truth :" a most
ignorant Capernaitical assertion ; for the Body of Christ
being not in the Sacrament modo quantitative, according to
their own tenet, but indivisibly, after a spiritual manner, with
out extrinsecal extension of parts, cannot in itself, or in truth,
be either divided or bruised. Therefore others of the School
men go more roundly and ingenuously to work, and confess,
that it is an abusive and excessive expression/ not to be
held or defended/ and that it happened to Berengarius 5
(they should have said to Pope Nicholas, and Cardinal Um-
bertus), as it doth with those who out of a detestation of
one error incline to another 6 / Neither will it avail them any
thing at all, that the Fathers have sometimes used such ex
pressions of seeing Christ/ of touching Christ in the Sacra
ment, of fastening our teeth in His Flesh/ and making
our tongues red in His Blood/ There is a great difference
between a sermon to the people and a solemn retractation
before a judge. The Fathers do not say, that such ex
pressions are true, not only sacramentally or figuratively,
(as they made Berengarius both say and accurse all others
that held otherwise,) but also properly, and in the things
themselves. The Fathers never meant by these forms of
speech to determine the manner of the Presence (which was
e [" Hyperbolice locutus est et veri- Resolutione.] Bonavent, [In iv. Sen-
tatem excessit." Gloss, in Gratian. tent. Distinct, xii. P. i. Art. iii. qu. 1 . in
De Consecrat. Distinct, ii. c. Utrum Conclusione.] ["Sic enim frequenter
sub figura. "Quia ille (Berengar.) volentes errorem aliquem damnare exces-
fuerat infamatus quod non credebat &c. sive locuti sunt, ut penitus recederent
. . . ideo ad sui purgationem per verba ab errore ; quasi declinare viderentur in
excessiva contrarium asseruit." Richard. alterum extremum errorem, scilicet sibi
de Med. Vill. In iv. Sentent. Distinct. oppositum."] Gabriel [Biel in Canon,
ix. Qu. !.] [" Nee modus iste" (scil. Miss. Lect. Ixxx. De Verit. Fraction.
Berengar. in Confession.) "est tenen- fol. 211. Lugd. 1542.] [See Bp.
dus." ] Alexand. [De Hales, Summ. Cosin s Hist, of Transubstant. c. 7.
P. iv. Qu. 10. Memb. 9. Art. i. in 10.]
14 THE BISHOP OF DERRY^S ANSWER TO
PART not dreamt of in their days), but to raise the devotion of their
hearers and readers ; to advertise the people of God,, that
they should not rest in the external symbols, or signs, but
principally be intent upon the invisible grace : which was
both lawful and commendable for them to do. Leave us
their primitive liberty, and we will not refrain from the like
expressions.
I urge this to shew, that the new doctrine of Transub-
stantiation is so far from being an old article of Faith, that it
was not well digested, nor rightly understood, in any tolerable
measure, by the greatest clerks, and most concerned, above
a thousand years after Christ.
The [first] The first definition or determination of this manner of the is
tion of the Presence was yet later, in the Council of Lateran f , in the
Se n pre - f da 7 s of Innocent the Third, after the year 1200. "Ante
sencc. Lateranense Concilium Transubstantiatio nonfuii dogma fidei%"
And what the fruit of it was, let Vasquez h bear witness. " Au-
dito nomine Transubstantialionis, &c." " The very name of
Transubstantiation being but heard, so great a controversy
did arise among the later schoolmen concerning the nature
thereof, that the more they endeavoured to wind themselves
out, the more they wrapped themselves in greater difficulties,
w r hereby the mystery of Faith became more difficult both to
be explained and to be understood, and more exposed to the
cavils of its adversaries." He adds, that "the name of con
version and transubstantiation gave occasion to these con
troversies."
it opened a No sooner was this bell rung out, no sooner was this fatal
toa deluge sentence given, but, as if Pandora s box had been newly set
vers?es tr " w ^ e P en ; whole swarms of noisome questions and debates
did fill the schools.
Then it began to be disputed by what means this change
comes : whether by the Benediction of the Elements, or by
{ [Decret. Concil. Later. A.D. 1215, baturin SymboloApostolorumvel Atha-
c. 1. ap. Labb. Concil. torn. xi. p. nasii vel Nicseni;" which passage is
M3. B.] reported by Bellarm. (De Sacram. Eu-
s Scotus In iv. Sen tent. Distinct, xi. char. lib. iii. c. 23. torn. ii. p. 761. A.)
Qu. 3. [ 15. " Ubi" (scil. in Symbol. in the words quoted byBramhall in the
Innocent. Papae et Concil. Lateran.) text.]
"expliciteponiturveritasaliquorumcre- h Vazquez [In Tert. Part. D.
dendorum " (he is speaking of transub- Thomse] Qu. 75. [Art. 8.] Disp. clxxxi.
stantiation)"magisexplicitequamhabe- c. 1. [num. 2.]
THE EPISTLE OF M. DE LA MILLETIERE, &C. 15
the repetition of these words of Christ, "This is My Body." DISCOURSE
The common current of your schools is for the latter ; but -
your judicious Archbishop of Csesarea 1 , since the Council of
Trent, in a book dedicated to Sixtus the Fifth,, produceth
great reason to the contrary.
Then was the question started, what the demonstrative
pronoun Hoc signifies in these words, " This is my Body ;"
whether this thing, or this substance, or this Bread, or this
Body, or this meat, or these accidents, or that which is con
tained under these species, or this individuum vagum, or lastly
(which, seems stranger than all the rest) this nothing k .
Then it began to be argued, whether the Elements were
annihilated : whether the matter and form of them being
destroyed, their essence did yet remain ; or the essence being
converted, the existence remained : whether the sacramental
existence of the Body and Blood of Christ do depend upon
its natural existence : whether the whole Host were transub
stantiated, or only some parts of it, that is, such parts as
should be distributed to worthy communicants ; or whether
in those parts of the Host, which were distributed unto
unworthy communicants, the matter of bread and wine did
not return 1 : whether the Deity did assume the Bread, or
the species thereof, by a new hypostatical union, called
impanation, either absolutely, or respectively mediante Cor-
pore : whether the Body and Blood of Christ might be pre
sent in the Sacrament without transubstantiation, with the
Bread or without the Bread : whether a body may be transub
stantiated into a Spirit ; and (which is most strange) whether
a creature might be transubstantiated into the Deity n .
Then the schoolmen began to wrangle what manner of
change this was ; whether a material change, or a formal
change ; or a change of the whole substance, both matter and
1 [Christopher de Capite Fontium, m \_Impanation : scil. " non adesse
or Christofle de Cheffontaines, Archbp. in Eucharistia Humanum seu Carneum
of Csesarea, in the dedicatory epistle Christi Corpus sumptum ex B. Virgine
prefixed to his Varii Tractat. et Dis- Matre, sed Corpus Panaceum assmmptum
putat] De Necessar. Correct. Scholast. hypostatice a Verbo ;" as the word is
Theolog. [Paris. 1586]. explained by Henriquez, Surmn. Theol.
k Gloss, in Gratian. De Consecrat. Moral, lib. viii. c. 20. p. 441. Venet.
Distinct, ii. c. Timorem. 1596.]
. J Guitmund. De Verit. [Corp. et n Vazquez [In Tert. Part. D. Thomae.
Sang. Christi in Euchar.] lib. iii. [ap. Qu. 75. Art. 8.] Disput. clxxxiv. c. 1.
Biblioth. Patr. torn. xi. pp. 372, sq.] [num. 4.]
16
THE BISHOP OF DERRY S ANSWER TO
PART
I.
form : and if it were a conversion of the whole substance,
then whether it was by way of production, or by adduction,
or by conservation : each of which greater squadrons are sub
divided into several lesser parties, speaking as different
language as the builders of Babel, pestering and perplexing
one another with inextricable difficulties.
It cannot be a new production (saith one) ; because the
Body of Christ, whereinto the Elements are supposed to be
converted, did pre-exist before the change ; neither can that
Body which is made of Bread, be the same Body with that
which was born of a Virgin.
If it be not by production (say others), but only by adduc
tion, then it is not a transwfoto/iation, but a trans
lation; not a change of natures, but a local succession:
then the Priest is not the maker of his Maker (as they
use to brag), but only puts Him into a new Positure or
Presence under the species of Bread and Wine.
Howbeit this way by adduction be " the more common and
the safer way" (if we may trust Bellarmine p ), yet, of all con
versions or changes, it hath least affinity with transub
stantiation. Suppose the water had not been turned into
wine at Cana of Galilee by our Saviour, but poured out, or
utterly destroyed, and wine new created, or adduced by 19
miracle into the water-pots, in such a manner that the intro
duction of the wine should be the expulsion of the water not
only comitanter but causaliter ; in such case it had been
[Exod. iv. no transubstantiation. Moses his rod was truly changed
into a serpent, but it w r as by production ; if his rod had been
conveyed away invisibly by legerdemain, and a serpent had
been adduced into the place of it, what transubstantiation
had this been ? None at all ; no, though the adduction of
the serpent had been the means of the expulsion and de-
[Job. ii
1-10.]
[" Ut . . . Deum cuncta creantem
suo signaculo creent" (sacerdotes).
Urban the Second, and the Council of
Rome A. D. 1099, as reported by
Simeon Dunelm. Histor. de Gestis Reg.
Anglor. ap. Twysden Histor. Anglic.
Scriptor. Decem, p. 224. Lond. 1652 ;
Brompton, Chron. ibid. p. 994 ; and
Hoveden, Chron. ap. Savil. Rer. Anglic.
Script, post Bedam, p. 467. " Quum
creator sit" (sacerdos) " Creatoris sui."
Stella Clericorum Cuilibet Clero Summe
Necessaria, printed by Pynson at the
end of the fifteenth or beginning of the
sixteenth century ; see Ames Typo-
graph. Antiquit. by Dibdin, vol. ii. p.
547. -Quoted by Jer. Taylor, On the
Real Pres. Pref. vol. ix. p. ccccviii.j
p [Bellarm. De Sacram. Euchar.
lib. iii. c. 18. torn. ii. pp. 735. B, 738.
B.]
THE EPISTLE OF M. DE LA M1LLETIERE, &C. 17
struction of the rod. It is so far from transubstantiation, DISCOURSE
that it is no conversion at all. The substance of the Ele
ments is not converted, for that is supposed to be destroyed.
The accidents are not converted, but remain the same they
were. It is no adduction at all, when the Body of Christ
(which is the thing supposed to be adduced) remains still in
Heaven, where it was before.
It cannot be a conservative conversion (say others) : for the
same individual thing cannot be conserved by two total distinct
conservations ; but if this were a conservative conversion, the
Body of Christ should be conserved by two total distinct
conservations, the one in Heaven, the other in earth ; yea,
by ten thousand distinct total conservations upon earth, even
as many as there are consecrated Hosts : " which seems to
be ridiculous, and without any necessity administers great
occasion to the adversaries of Christian religion, of jesting
and deriding the mysteries of our Faith *."
So here we have a transubstantiation without transub
stantiation ; a production of a modus or manner of being, for
a production of a substance ; an annihilation supposed, yet
no annihilation confessed ; an adduction, without any adduc
tion ; a terminus ad quern, without a terminus a quo. Who
shall reconcile us to ourselves ? But the end is not yet.
Then grew up the question, what is the proper adequate
Body which is contained under the species or accidents ;
whether a material Body, or a substantial Body, or a living
Body, or an organical Body, or a human Body ; whether it
have weight or not, and why it is not perceived ; whether it
can be seen by the eye of mortal man ; whether it can act or
suffer any thing ; whether it be moveable or immoveable ;
whether by itself, or by accident, or by both ; whether it can
move in one place and rest in another, or be moved with two
contrary motions, as upwards and downwards, southwards
and northwards, at the same time.
Add to these, whether the Soul of Christ, and the Deity,
and the whole Trinity, do follow the Body and Blood of
Christ under either species, by concomitance; whether the
Sacramental Body must have suffered the same things with
q Vazquez. [InTertPart.D. Thomae] [num.28.]]
Qu. 75. [Art. 8.] Disput. clxxxii. c. 4.
BRAMIIALL. C
18
PART the Natural Body; as, supposing that an Host, consecrated
at Christ s Last Supper, had been reserved until after His
Passion, whether Christ must have died, and His Blood have
been actually shed, in the Sacrament r ; yea, whether those
wounds, that were imprinted by the whips in His Natural
Body, might and should have been found in His Sacramental
Body without flagellation 8 .
Likewise, what Blood of Christ is in the Sacrament ;
whether that Blood only which was shed, or that Blood only
which remained in the Body, or both the one and the other ;
and whether that Blood which was shed was assumed again
by the Humanity in the Resurrection,
Then began those paradoxical questions to be first agitated
in the schools : whether the same individual body, without
division or discontinuation from itself, can be locally in ten
thousand places, yea, in Heaven and in earth, at the same
time; or if not locally, yet whether it can be spiritually and in-
divisibly; and whether it be not the same as to this pur
pose, whether a body be locally or spiritually present in more
places than one. Bellarmine 1 seems to incline to the affirm
ative : " Though to be any where sacramentally doth not
imply the taking up of a place, yet it implies a true and real
Presence ; and if it be in more Hosts or Altars than one, it
seems no less opposite unto indivisibility, than the filling up of
many places." Nay, he is past seeming positive, that " without
doubt, if a body cannot be in two places locally, it cannot be
sacramentally in two places." Compare 11 this of Bellarmine with
that of Aquinas x , that " it is not possible for one body to be in
more places than one locally, no, not by miracle, because it 20
implies a contradiction ;" and consider upon what tottering
foundations you build articles of Faith. It is impossible, and
implies a contradiction, for the Body of Christ to be locally in
more Hosts than one at the same time (saith Aquinas) . But
it is as impossible, and implies a contradiction as much, for
the Body of Christ to be sacramentally in more Hosts than
r [Thorn. Aquin. In iv. Sentent. Dis- u [See Jer. Taylor on the Real
tinct. xi. Qu. iii. Art. 5.] Pres. sect. 11. 21. vol. x. pp. 35, 36.
s [Vazquez in Tert Part. D. Thomae and Bp. Hall s Peace of Rome,
Qu. 75. Art. 8. Disput. clxxxii. c. 4. Decade iii. 9.]
num. 26.] x I" 1V - Sentent. Distinct, xliv. Qu.
t De Sacram. Euchar. lib. iii. c. 3. ii. Art. 2. qu. 3. [ Ad quartum. ]
in fin. [Op. torn. ii. p. 677. B. C.]
THE EPISTLE OF M. DE LA MILLETIERE, &C. 19
one at the same time as to be locally (saith Bellarmine) . The DISCOURSE
inference is plain and obvious.
And many such strange questions are moved : as whether it
be possible the thing contained should be a thousand times
greater than the thing containing ; whether a definitive being
in a place do not imply a not-being out of that place ; whether
more bodies than one can be in one and the same place ;
whether there can be a penetration of dimensions ; whether a
body can subsist after a spiritual manner, so as to take up no
place at all, but to be wholly in the whole, and wholly in
every part : moreover, whether the whole Body and Blood of
Christ be in every particle of the Bread, and of the Cup;
and if it be, then whether only after the division of the
Bread and Wine, or before division also ; and in how many
parts, and in which parts, is the whole Body and Blood of
Christ ; whether in the least parts ; and if in the least parts,
then whether in the least in kind, or the least in quantity ;
that is, so long as the species may retain the name of bread
and wine, or so long as the matter is divisible ; and whether
the Body and Blood of Christ be also in the indivisible parts,
as points, and lines, and superficies : lastly, whether accidents
can subsist without their subjects, that is, whether they can
be both accidents, and no accidents ; whether all the accidents
of the elements do remain, and particularly whether the
quantity doth remain; whether the other accidents do
inhere in the quantity as their subject, that is, whether an
accident can have an accident; whether the quantity of
Christ s Body be there ; and whether it be there after a
quantitative manner, with extension of parts, either extrin-
secal or intrinsecal : and whether the quantity of the Body of
Christ be distinct and figured, or indistinct and unfigured ;
whether the accidents can nourish or make drunken, or cor
rupt and a new Body be generated of them; and what
supplies the place of the matter in such generation, whether
the quantity, or the Body of Christ, or the old matter of the
Bread and Wine restored by miracle, or new matter created
by God ; and how long in such corruption doth the Body of
Christ continue.
Whosoever is but moderately versed in your great doctors,
must needs know that these questions are not the private
c 2
THE BISHOP OF DERRY S ANSWER TO
PART
I.
[Two fur
ther differ
ences have
flowed
from this
bold de
termina
tion of the
manner of
the Pre
sence.]
[Lu. xxii.
19, 20.] ;
doubts or debates of single school-men, but the common
garboils and general engagements of your whole schools ;
wherefore it had been a mere vanity to cite every particular
author for each question, and would have made the margin
swell ten times greater than the text.
From this bold determination of the manner of the Pre
sence how, have flowed two other differences :
I. First, the detention of the Cup from the laity, merely
upon presumption of concomitance, first decreed in the
Council of Constance y, after the year 1400. Let what will
become of concomitance, whilst we keep ourselves to the In
stitution of Christ and the universal practice of the Primitive
Church. It was not for nothing that our Saviour did distin
guish His Body from His Blood, not only in the consecration,
but also in the distribution, of the Sacrament.
By the way give me leave to represent a contradiction in
Bellarmine, which I am not able to reconcile. In one place
he saith 2 , "The providence of God is marvellous in Holy
Scripture : for St. Luke hath put these words do you this
after the Sacrament given under the form of Bread, but he
repeated it not after the giving of the Cup ; that we might
understand, that the Lord commanded that the Sacrament
should be distributed unto all under the form of Bread, but
not under the form of Wine." And yet in the next chapter
but one of the same Book a he doth positively determine the
contrary, upon the ground of concomitance, that "the Bread
may be taken away if the Cup be given, but both cannot be
taken away together." Can that be taken away which
Christ hath expressly commanded to be given to all ?
II. A second difference flowing from Transubstantiation, 21
is about the adoration of the Sacrament ; one of those im
pediments which hinder our communication with you in the
celebration of Divine Offices. We deny not a venerable
respect unto the consecrate Elements, not only as love-tokens
sent us by our best Friend, but as the instruments ordained
by our Saviour to convey to us the Merits of His Passion ;
but [and ?] for the Person of Christ, God forbid that we should
y [Concil. Constant. (A.D. 1415.)
Sess. xiii. ap. Labb. Concil. torn. xii.
p. 100.]
z Bellarm. de Sacram. Euchar. lib. iv.
c. 25. [Op. torn. ii. p. 911. C.]
a [Bellarm. ibid.] c. 27. [p. 925. C.]
THE EPISTLE OF M. DE LA MILLETIERE, &C. 21
deny Him Divine worship at any time, and especially in the DISCOURSE
use of this Holy Sacrament; we believe with St. Austin 1 *, that
" no man eats of that Flesh, but first he adores :" but that
which offends us is this, that you teach and require all men
to adore the very Sacrament with Divine honour c . To this
end you hold it out to the people. To this end Corpus
Christi Day was instituted about three hundred years since d .
Yet we know that even upon your own grounds you cannot,
without a particular revelation, have any infallible assurance
that any Host is consecrated; and consequently you have
no assurance that you do not commit material idolatry.
But that which weighs most with us is this, that we dare
not give Divine worship unto any creature, no, not to the
very Humanity of Christ in the abstract (much less to the
Host), but to the Whole Person of Christ, God and Man, by
reason of the hypostatical union between the Child of the
blessed Virgin Mary, and the Eternal Son, " Who is God [Rom. ix.
over all Blessed for ever 6 / Shew us such an union betwixt ^
the Deity and the Elements, or accidents, and you say some
thing. But you pretend no such things. The highest that
you dare go is this ; " as they that adored Christ when He
was upon earth, did after a certain kind of manner adore Quodam
His garments f ." Is this all? This is after a certain kind modo "
of manner indeed. We have enough. There is no more
adoration due to the Sacrament, than to the garments which
Christ did wear upon earth. Exact no more.
Thus the seamless Coat of Christ is torn in pieces ; thus
Faith is minced into shreds, and spun up into niceties, more
subtle than the webs of spiders ;
" Fidem minutis dissecant ambagibus,
" Ut quisque est lingua nequiors;"
because curious wits cannot content themselves to touch hot
coals with tongs, but they must take them up with their
naked fingers ; nor to apprehend mysteries of religion by
faith, without descanting upon them, and determining them
b ["Nemo...illam Carnem mandu- mentin. lib. iii. Titu 1 . xvi. De Reliq.
cat, nisi prius adoraverit." August. et Venerat. Sanctor.]
In Ps. xcviii. v. 9. torn. iv. p. 1065. * [See below p. 45 ; and Thornd ike s
C.] Epilogue, bk. iii. c. 30, beginn.]
c [Concil. Trident. Sess. xiii. cap. 5. Bellarm. De Sacram. Euchar. lib.
et can. 6.] iv. c. 29. [Op. torn. ii. p. 929. A.]
d Concil. Vienn. [quarti. A.D. 1311. g [Prudent. A7ro0ew<r. PrsefV 2da t
See the decree inter Constitut. Cle- vv. 21, 22.]
22
PART by reason, whilst themselves confess that they are incom-
: prehensible by human reason, and imperceptible by man s
imagination ; how Christ is present in the Sacrament, " can
neither be perceived by sense, nor by imagination 11 ." The
more inexcusable is their presumption to anatomize myste
ries, and to determine supernatural not-revealed truths
upon their own heads, which, if they were revealed, were not
possible to be comprehended by mortal man. As vain an
attempt, as if a child should think to lade out all the water
Deut.xxix. out of the sea with a cockle-shell. " Secret things belong to
the Lord our God, but things revealed unto us, and our
children for ever."
This is the reason why we rest in the words of Christ,
" This is My Body," leaving the manner to Him that made
the Sacrament. We know it is sacramental, and therefore
efficacious, because God was never wanting to His own ordi
nances, where man did not set a bar against himself: but
whether it be corporeally or spiritually (I mean not only after
the manner of a Spirit, but in a spiritual sense 1 ); whether it
be in the soul only, or in the Host also ; and if in the Host,
whether by consubstantiation or transubstantiation; whether
by production, or adduction, or conservation, or assumption,
or by whatsoever other way bold and blind men dare con
jecture ; we determine not, " Motum sentimus, modum
nescimus, Prcesentiam credimus^"
This was the belief of the Primitive Church, this was the
Faith of the ancient Fathers, who were never acquainted
with these modern questions de modo, which edify not, but
expose Christian religion to contempt. We know what to
think and what to say with probability, modesty, and sub
mission, in the schools ; but we dare neither screw up the 22
question to such a height, nor dictate our opinions to others
so magisterially as articles of Faith.
" Nescire velle quae Magister maximus
" Docere non vult, erudita est inscitia."
h Thorn. Aqtiin. [Summ.] Pars iii. vol. ix. p. 428 ; see Bellarm. De Sacram.
Qu. 76. Art. 7. [ Respond eo. ] Euchar. lib. i. c. 2. Op. torn. ii. p. 467.
i ["By spiritually they" (Roman B. C.]
Catholics) " mean present after the k [A saying of] Durandus [reported
manner of a spirit; hy spiritually we by Mich. Neander, Synops. Chronicor.
mean present to our spirits only. " fol. 90.]
Jer. Taylor on the Real Pres. sect. 1.
THE EPISTLE OF M. DE LA MILLETIERE, &C.
23
O ! how happy had the Christian world been, if scholars
could have sat down contented with a latitude of general, suffi
cient, saving truth (which when all is done must be the olive-
branch of peace, to shew that the deluge of ecclesiastical
division is abated), without wading too far into particular
subtilties, or " doting about questions and logomachies,
whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, perverse
disputings." Old controversies evermore raise up new con
troversies, and yet more controversies, as circles in the water
do produce other circles.
Now especially these scholastical quarrels seem to be un
seasonable, when Zeno s school is newly opened in the world,
who sometimes wanted opinions, but never wanted argu
ments. Now, when atheism and sacrilege are become the mode
of the times ; now, when all the fundamentals of theology,
morality, and policy, are undermined and ready to be blown
up ; now, when the unhappy contentions of great princes, or
their ministers, have hazarded the very being of monarchy
and Christianity ; now, when Bellona shakes her bloody whip
over this kingdom l ; it becometh well all good Christians
and subjects, to leave their litigious questions, and to bring
water to quench the fire of civil dissension already kindled,
rather than to blow the coals of discord, and to render them
selves censurable by all discreet persons: like that half-witted
fellow personated in the orator, Qui cum capiti mederi debu-
isset, reduviam curavit when his head was extremely
distempered, he busied himself about a small push on his
finger s end m /
BUT that which createth this trouble to you and me at this
time, is your Preface, and Epistle Dedicatory ; wherein, to
adorn your vainly-imagined Victory in an unseasonable
controversy, you rest not contented that your adversary grace
your triumph, unless the King of Great Britain, and all his
subjects, yea and all Protestants besides, attend your chariot.
Neither do you only desire this, but augurate it ; or rather
DISCOURSE
I.
Against
multiply
ing of
questions
and con
troversies.
[I Tim. vi.
4,5.]
The occa
sion of this
Discourse
[the Pre
face and
Epistle
Dedicatory
ofLaMille-
tiere s"Vic-
toire de la
Verite"].
i [Bramhall appears to have written
his Answer at Paris, where Charles the
Second resided from 1651 to 1654.
France was at war during that period
with both Spain and the Empire, and
suffering at the same time under the
horrors of civil war through the contests
of the Mazarins and Frondeurs.
Paris itself was entered by the Prince of
Conde after a sharp battle, and the
King (Louis XIV., then a minor) driven
out of it, in 1651. See aho below,
p. 78.]
m [Cic. pro Rose. Amerin. c. 44.]
24 THE BISHOP OF DERRY^S ANSWER TO
PART you relate it as a thing already as good as done : for you tell
- him, that his eyes and his ears do hear and see those truths,
[La Mule- ~
tiere s which make him to know the faults of that new religion
p. P 7. S [mar- which he had sucked in with his milk/ you set forth the
paging.] causes of his conversion, the tears of his mother/ and the
[PP. is, blood of his father/ whom you suppose (against evident truth)
to have died an invisible member of your Roman Catholic
Church; and you prescribe the means to perfect his con-
[p. 9.] version, which must be a conference of your theologians
with the ministers of Charenton/
The indis- If V our charity be not to be blamed, to wish no worse to
cretion of
the Author another than you do to your sen, vet prudent men desire
discretion in you, than to have presented such a treatise
to the view of the world under his Majesty s protection,
without his license, and against his conscience. Had you
not heard that such groundless insinuations as these, and
other private whisperings concerning his father s apostatizing
to the Roman Religion, did lose him the hearts of many
subjects ? If yon did, why would you insist in the same
steps, to deprive the son of all possibility of recovering them ?
To no pur- If your intention be only to invite his Majesty to embrace
The king the Catholic Faith, you might have spared both your oil and
abetto 17 labour. The Catholic Faith nourished 1,200 years in the
Sani!irr wor l^ before Transubstantiation was denned among your
self, selves. Persons better acquainted with the primitive times
than yourself (unless you wrong one another) do acknow
ledge, that " the Fathers did not touch either the word or the
matter of transubstantiation"." Mark it well, neither name
nor thing. His Majesty doth firmly believe all supernatural
truth revealed in Sacred Writ. He embraceth cheerfully
whatsoever the Holy Apostles, or the Nicene Fathers, or
blessed Athanasius, in their respective Creeds or Summaries
of Catholic Faith, did set down as necessary to be believed.
n DiscursusModestusJesuitarump.13. " attigerunt."] [ The first that men-
[" Rem transubstantiatioms Patres ne tion the word Transubstantiation, are
attigisse quidem ;" as quoted by Jer. Petrus Blesensis (in Epist. 140), who
Taylor, Dissuasive P. i. 5. vol. x. p. lived under Pope Alexander the Third
156.] Watson s [Decachordon of] (A. D. 1159 1181), and Stephen Edu-
Quodlibets, Quodlib. 2. Art. 4. [ed. ensis, Bishop of Autun about the year
1602., who there accuses the Jesuits 1 100 (in his Treatise DeSacram. Altar.,
of an heretical and most dangerous ap. Biblioth. Patr. torn. x. p. 418. C.).
assertion, that "the auncient Fathers Bishop Cosin, Hist, of Transubstant.
rem transubstantiationis ne" (sic) c. 7. 17.]
THE EPISTLE OF M. DE LA MILLETIERE, &C. 25
He is ready to receive whatsoever the Catholic Church of this DISCOURSE
age doth unanimously believe to be a particle of saving truth. - -
23 But, if you seek to obtrude upon him the Roman Church,
with its adherents, for the Catholic Church, excluding
three parts of four of the Christian world from the com
munion of Christ, or the opinions thereof, for articles and
fundamentals of Catholic Faith; neither his reason, nor his
religion, nor his charity, will suffer him to listen unto you.
The truths received by our Church, are sufficient in point of
Faith to make him a good Catholic. More than this your
Roman Bishops, your Roman Church, your Tridentine
Council, may not, cannot, obtrude upon him.
Listen to the third general Council, that of Ephesus, which Not lawful
decreed, that "it should be lawful for no man to publish
compose another Faith " or Creed "than that which was de- Creed -
fined by the Nicene Council ;" and " that whosoever should
dare to compose or offer any such to any persons willing to
be converted from paganism, Judaism, or heresy, if they
were Bishops or clerks, should be deposed, if laymen, ana
thematized ." Suffer us to enjoy the same Creed the primitive
Fathers did, " which none will say to have been insufficient,
except they be mad," as was alleged by the Greeks in the
Council of Florence P. You have violated this canon, you
have obtruded a new Creed upon Christendom i ; new, I say,
not in words only, but in sense also.
Some things are de Symbolo, some things are contra Sym- what are
bolum, and some things are only prater Symbolum*. theCreec?
Some things are contained in the Creed, either expressly and w . hat
x * are only ex-
or virtually, either in the letter or in the sense, and may be plications.
deduced by evident consequence from the Creed ; as the
Deity of Christ, His Two Natures, the Procession of the
Holy Ghost. The addition of these was properly no addition,
Concil. Eplies. [A.D. 431.] Part. secunda,praesumptionis...; tertia,fidelis
Secund. Act. 6. c. 7. [ap. Labb. Concil. instructionis." Cardin. Bonaventura In
torn. iii. p. 689. A.] Sentent. Prolog, dub. 2., speaking of
p Concil. Florentin. [A.D. 1439.] additions to Scripture. His distinction
Sess, x. [ap. Labb. Concil. torn. xiii. was applied at the Council of Florence
p. 164. D.] (Sess. x. as above, p. 159. C.) to the
q Profess. Fidei in Bull. Pii Quarti. Creeds, in the question of the added
[scil. Tridentina.] Article concerning the Procession of the
r ["Est additio, in qua additum est Holy Spirit from the Son. See also
contrarium ; et est in qua additum est Bramhall s Schism Guarded, sect. i. c.
diversum ; et est in qua additum est 11. (Works, pp. 347, 348. fol. edit),
consonum. Prima additio est erroris ; Discourse iv. Part i.]
26
PART but an explication ; yet such an explication, 110 person,, no
- assembly under an (Ecumenical Council, can impose upon
the Catholic Church 8 . And such an one your Tridentine
Synod was not*.
[II. Things Secondly, some things are contra Symbolum contrary to
C Symboium.~] the Symbolical Faith, and either expressly or virtually over
throw some article of it. These additions are not only un
lawful, but heretical also in themselves, and after conviction
render a man a formal heretic : whether some of your addi
tions be not of this nature, I will not now dispute.
[ULThings Thirdly, some things are neither of the Faith, nor. against
P Symboium ] ^ ne Faith, but only besides the Faith ; that is, opinions or
truths of an inferior nature, which are not so necessary to be
actually known : for though all revealed truths be alike
necessary to be believed when they are known, yet all revealed
truths are not alike necessary to be known. It is not denied
but that general or provincial Councils may make constitu
tions concerning these for unity and uniformity, and oblige
all such as are subject to their jurisdiction to receive them,
either actively or passively, without contumacy or opposition.
But to make these, or any of these, a part of the Creed, and to
oblige all Christians under pain of damnation to know and
believe them, is really to add to the Creed, and to change
the Symbolical, Apostolical Faith, to which none can add,
from which none can take away ; and comes within the com-
Gai. i. 8. pass of St. Paul s curse, " If we, or an Angel from Heaven,
shall preach unto you any other Gospel" (or Faith) " than that
which we have preached, let him be accursed." Such are,
your universality of the Roman Church by the institution of
Christ (to make her the Mother of her Grandmother the
Church of Jerusalem, and the Mistress of her many elder
Sisters), your doctrine of Purgatory and Indulgences, and
the Worship of Images, and all other novelties defined in the
Council of Trent ; all which are comprehended in your new
Roman Creed, and obtruded by you upon all the world to be
8 Thorn. Aquin. [Summ.] Secund. rali, sed Inijusmodi Synodus autlioritate
Secund. Part.Qu.l.Art.10. [viz. Utrum solius Summi Pontificis potest congre-
ad Summum Pontificern pertineat Fidei gari."]
Symbolum ordinare: a question which r [Bramhall s Vindication of the
Aquinas determines in the affirmative, Church of England, c. 9, heginn., and
but for this, among other reasons, that the corresponding chap, in the Replica-
"editio Symbol! facta estinSynodogene- tion ; Discourses ii. and iii. Part i.]
THE EPISTLE OF M. DE LA MILLETIERE, &C. 27
believed under pain of damnation. He that can extract all DISCOURSE
these out of the old Apostolic Creed, must needs be an ex
cellent chemist, and may safely undertake to draw water
out of a pumice V
That afflictions come not by chance, that prosperity is no pp. i, 2.
evidence of God s favour, or adversity of His hatred, that
crosses imposed by God upon His servants, look more for-
wards towards their amendment, than backwards to their sometimes
demerits, and proceed not from a Judge revenging, but from or trials.
a Father correcting, or (which you have omitted) from a Lord
Paramount, proving and magnifying before the world His
own graces in His servants for His glory and their advan-
24tage, are undeniable truths which we readily admit. As
likewise, that the dim eye of man cannot penetrate into the
secret dispensations of God s temporal judgments and mercies
in this life, so as to say, this man is punished, that other
chastised, this third is only proved.
But you forget all this soon after, when you take upon you to Which the
search into, yea more, to determine, the grounds and reasons, ^sentiy
why the Hand of God/ as well as the Parliament, hath been so for s ets -
heavy upon the head of his late Majesty, and his Royal son: p 2
namely, on God s part, because he called himself The Head P . 4.
of the Church/ God purposing by his punishment to teach all
other Princes that are in the schism, with what severity He
can vindicate His glory, in the injury done unto the unity
and authority of His Church / and on the Parliament s part,
because he would not consent to the abolition of Episcopacy, [p. 2.]
and suppression of the Liturgy and ceremonies established in
the Church of England.
First, what warrant have you to enquire into the actions of Better
that blessed Saint and Martyr, which of them should be the f 8 uflfe?/
causes of his sufferings ? not remembering that the Disciples ff * his
received a check from their Master upon the like presump- [Charles
tion ; " Who sinned, this man, or his parents, that he was than those
born blind ? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, Author,
nor his parents, but that the works of God should be made ^ ohn ix> 2j
manifest in him."
The heroical virtues, the naming charity, the admirable
u [" Aquam a pumice postulare." Plant. Pers. i. 1. 42.]
28
THE BISHOP OF DERBY S ANSWER TO
PART
I.
Ps. cxxviii
3.
The Au
thor s rash
censure
upon the
Arch
bishop of
Canter
bury
[Laud].
. 3.]
patience, the rare humility, the exemplary chastity, the con
stant and frequent devotions, and the invincible courage of
that happy Prince, not daunted with the ugly face of a
most horrid death, have rendered him the glory of his coun
try, the honour of that Church whereof he was the chiefest
member, the admiration of Christendom, and a pattern for all
princes, of what communion soever, to imitate unto the end
of the world. His sufferings were palms, his prison a Para
dise, and his death-day the birth-day of his happiness x :
whom his enemies advantaged more by their cruelty, than
they could have done by their courtesy ; they deprived him
of a corruptible crown, and invested him with a crown of
glory; they snatched him from the sweet society of his
dearest spouse, and from most hopeful " olive branches," to
place him in the bosom of the Holy Angels. This alone is
ground enough for his sufferings, to manifest unto the world
those transcendent and unparalleled graces, wherewith God
had enriched him, to which his sufferings gave the greatest
lustre, as the stars shine brightest in a dark night.
The like liberty you assume towards the other most
glorious martyr, the late Archbishop of Canterbury, a man of
profound learning, and exemplary life, of clean hands, of a
most sincere heart, a patron of all good learning, a professor
of ancient truth ; a great friend, indeed, and earnest pursuer,
of order, unity, and uniformity in religion, but most free
from all sinister ends, either avaricious or ambitious, where
with you do uncharitably charge him, as if he sought only his
own grandeur, to make himself the head of a schismatical
body/ In brief, you therefore censure him, because you did
not know him. I wish all your great ecclesiastics had his
innocency, and fervent zeal for God s Church and the peace
thereof, to plead for them at the Day of Judgment.
By applying these particular afflictions according to your
own ungrounded fancy, what a wide gap have you opened to
the liberty and boldness of other men ! who, if they should
assume to themselves the same freedom that you have done,
might say as much, with as much reason, concerning the
* [" TV rov [tapTvpiov avrov fofpav Eccles. lib. iv. c. 15. p. 135. B. ed.
yeved\iov." Epist. Eccles. Smyrn. de Vales.]
Polycarp. Martyr, ap. Euseb. Hist.
THE EPISTLE OF M. DE LA M ILLETIERE, &C. 29
pressures of other great princes abroad, that God afflicts DISCOURSE
them, because they will not become Protestants, as you can -
say that God afflicted our late King, because he would not
turn Papist.
But if you will not allow his Majesty s sufferings to be Sovereigns
merely probatory, and if (for your satisfaction) there must be
a weight of sin found out to move the wheel of God s justice,
why do you not rather fix upon the body of his subjects, or subjects.
at least a disloyal part of them ? We confess that the best of
us did not deserve such a jewel; that God might justly snatch
him from us in His wrath for our ingratitude. Reason, reli
gion, and experience do all teach us, that it is usual with
Almighty God to look upon a body politic, or ecclesiastic, as
25 one man, and to deprive a perverse people of a good and
gracious governor ; as an expert physician, by opening a vein
in one member, cures the distempers of another. " For the Prov.
transgressions of a land, many are the princes thereof." xxviiL 2-
It may be that two or three of our princes at the most (the Not above
greater part whereof were Roman Catholics) did style them-
selves, or give others leave to style them, the Heads of the
Church within their dominions y. But no man can be so Heads of
simple as to conceive that they intended a spiritual Headship, th
to infuse the life and motion of grace into the hearts of the
faithful; such an Head is Christ alone; no, nor yet an
ecclesiastical Headship ; we did never believe, that our Kings
in their own persons could exercise any act pertaining either
to the power of order or jurisdiction ; nothing can give that
to another, which it hath not itself. They meant only a civil That is,
or political Head, as Saul is called "the Head of the Tribes caiHefds!"
of Israel ;" to see that public peace be preserved ; to see that 1 7 Sam - xv -
all subjects, as well ecclesiastics as others, do their duties in
y [The title of " In terris, or terra, reign by Queen Mary ; dropped by the
Ecclesise Anglicanae et Hibernicas su- last named Queen upon her marriage
premum Caput" was assumed by with Philip of Spain (see Stat. 1. and
Henry the Eighth, A. D. 1534 (Stat. 2. Philip and Mary, c. 8. sec. 23.);
26. Henry VIII. c. ] ; see also 35 exchanged by Queen Elizabeth for that
Henry VIII. c. 3. and 37 Henry VIII. of " Supreme Governor, &c. as well in
c. 17); continued by Edward the Sixth all spiritual and ecclesiastical causes
(see Stat. 1. Edward VI. c. 12. sec. 6.,) etc." (Oath of Supremacy, Stat. 1.
by Lady Jane Grey (Proclamation, in Eliz. c. 1.) ; and never since resumed.
Lord Somers Tracts, vol. i. p. 53 ; she Coke upon Littleton, 7. b. ; Nicolson s
is omitted of course from BramhaU s Eng. Histor. Library, Pt. iii. c. 1. pp.
reckoning), and in the beginning of her 178, 1 79. 3rd edit.]
30
THE BISHOP or BERRY S ANSWER TO
PART
I.
The Chris
tian Em
perors poli
tical Heads.
The old
Kings of
England
political
Heads.
their several places; to see that all things be managed for
that great and architectonical end, that is, the weal and
benefit of the whole body politic, both for soul and body.
If you will not trust me, hear our Church itself : When we
attribute the sovereign government [of the Church] to the
King, we do not give him any power to administer the Word
or Sacraments; but only that prerogative which God in Holy
Scripture hath always allowed to godly princes, to see that
all states and orders of their subjects, ecclesiastical and civil,
do their duties, and to punish those who are delinquent with
the civil sword 2 / Here is no power ascribed, no punishment
inflicted, but merely political ; and this is approved and justi
fied by S. Clara 3 , both by reason, and by the examples of the
Parliament of Paris : yet, by virtue of this political power, he
is the keeper of both Tables, the preserver of true piety towards
God, as well as right justice towards men ; and is obliged to
take car^ of the souls, as well as the skins and carcasses, of
his subjects.
This power, though not this name, the Christian Emperors b
of old assumed unto themselves; to convocate Synods, to pre
side in Synods, to confirm Synods, to establish ecclesiastical
laws, to receive appeals, to nominate Bishops, to eject Bishops,
to suppress heresies, to compose ecclesiastical differences, in
Councils, out of Councils, by themselves, by their delegates :
all which is as clear in the history of the Church, as if it were
written with a beam of the sun.
This power, though not this name, the ancient Kings of
England c ever exercised, not only before the Reformation, but
before the Norman Conquest ; as appears by the acts of their
great Councils, by their Statutes, and Articles of the Clergy.,
by so many laws of provision against the Bishop of Rome s
conferring ecclesiastical dignities and benefices upon foreign
ers, by so many sharp oppositions against the exactions and
usurpations of the Church of Rome, by so many laws con
cerning the patronage of Bishoprics and investitures of
z Art. 37. [in substance, and the
clause between brackets added.]
a Expos. Paraph. Artie. Confess.
Anglic, art. 37. [pp. 410, 411. Lugd.
1635.]
b [Bramhall s Vindication of the
Church of England, c. 6. (Works,
pp. 88. 91. fol. edit), Discourse ii.
Part i.]
c [Bramhall s Vindication &c. c. 4.
(Works, pp. 69, &c. fol. edit.), with the
corresponding chap, in the Replication
(Works, pp. 189, &c. fol. edit.), Dis
courses ii. and iii. Part i.]
THE EPISTLE OF M. DE LA MILLETIERE, &C. 31
Bishops, by so many examples of churchmen punished by the DISCOURSE
civil magistrate : of all which jewels the Roman Court had L
undoubtedly robbed the Crown,, if the Peers and Prelates of
the Kingdom had not come in to the rescue. By the ancient
laws of England it is death, or at least a forfeiture of all his
goods, for any man to publish the Pope s Bull without the
King s license. The Pope s Legate without the King s leave
could not enter into the realm. If an Ordinary did refuse to
accept a resignation, the King might supply his defect. If any
ecclesiastical court did exceed the bounds of its just power,
either in the nature of the cause, or manner of proceeding,
the King s prohibition had place d . So in effect the Kings of
England were always the political Heads of the Church
within their own dominions. So the Kings of France are at
this day.
But who told you that ever King Charles did call himself Neither
the Head of the Church? thereby to merit such a heavy
judgment. He did not, nor yet King James his father ;
nor Queen Elizabeth before them both, who took order in her noQEH-
first Parliament to have it left out of her title 6 . They thought style
that name did sound ill, and that it intrenched too far upon
the right of their Saviour f . Therefore they declined it, and
were called only Supreme Governors, in all causes, over all
persons ecclesiastical and civil % ; which is a title de jure in-
26 separable from the crown of all Sovereign Princes : where it
is wanting de facto (if any place be so unhappy to want it),
the King is but half a King, and the Commonwealth a serpent
with two heads.
Thus, you see, you are doubly, and both ways miserably,
mistaken. First, King Charles did never style himself Head
of the Church, nor could with patience endure to hear that
title. Secondly, a political Headship is not injurious to the [p. 3.]
d See authorities for all these in Lord as well as the anecdote of the latter
Coke s Reports, Caudrey s case, [part mentioned a few lines further on, might
5. case 1.] easily have come within the sphere of
e [See above, note y, p. 29.] Bramhall s own knowledge. There does
f [Queen Elizabeth s sentiments may not appear to be any mention else-
be found in the well-known letter of where, in the case of either monarch,
Jewel to Bullinger (Collier s Church of the precise point in question.]
Hist. Pt. ii. bk. vi. vol. ii. p. 432. fol. g [Oath of Supremacy. Stat 1. Eliz.
edit.). King James speaks somewhat to c. 1. repealed 1. Will, and Mary, Sess.
the same purpose in his Apologia pro 1. c. 8. Canon. 1603. art. i. in Can.
Jurament. Fidelitat. in fin.; but both 36, still in force.]
his sentiments and those of King Charles,
THE BISHOP OF DERRY^S ANSWER TO
PART
The AU-
factionTto"
leave that
vain title.
unity, or authority, of the Church/ The Kings of Israel and
Judah, the Christian Emperors, the English Kings before the
Reformation, yea, even before the Conquest, and other
sovereign princes of the Roman communion have owned it
signally 11 .
But it seems you have been told, or have read this, in the
virulent writings of Sanders 1 , or Parsons k , or have heard of a
ludicrous scoffing proposition of a marriage between the two
Heads of the two Churches, Sixtus Quintus and Queen
Elizabeth, for the reuniting forsooth of Christendom.
All the satisfaction I should enjoin you, is to persuade the
Bishop of Rome (if Gregory the Great were living, you
cou ^ no ^ f a ^ f speeding 1 ,) to imitate the piety and humility
o f our princes ; that is, to content himself with his Patri
archal dignity and primacy of order et principium unitatis,
and to quit that much more presumptuous, and (if a Pope s
word may pass for current) antichristian", term of the Head
of the Catholic Church/ If the Pope be the Head of the
Catholic Church, then the Catholic Church is the Pope s
body, w T hich would be but a harsh expression to Christian
ears ; then the Catholic Church should have no Head, when
there is no Pope ; two or three Heads, when there are two or
three Popes ; an unsound Head, when there is an heretical
Pope ; a broken Head, when the Pope is censured or deposed ;
and no Head, when the See is vacant. If the Church must
have one universal, visible, ecclesiastical Head, a general
Council may best pretend to that title.
h [Bramhall s Vindication, &c. cc. 6,
7 ; Discourse ii. Part i.]
[De Visib. Monarch. Eccles. lib.
vii. p. 151 De Clave David, lib. v.
c. 3. pp. 114, sq. lib. vi. c. 1. sec. 6.
pp. 145, sq. sec. 8. p. 150. Wiirzb.
1592 De Schism. Anglic, lib. iii. pp.
257, sq. Col. 1628.]
k [Warnword to Sir F. Hastings
Watchword, Encount. vi. in fin Warn
word to Sir F. Hastings Wasteword,
Encount i. c. 16. 3. &c. c. 17. 8.
&c Three Conversions of Engl. P. i.
c. 12. 5.]
1 [The protest of Gregory the Great
against the assumption of the title of
Episcopus -Universalis (or in other
words, Head of the Catholic Church)
by John, Patriarch of Constantinople,
may be found in his letters ; to John
himself Epist. lib. v. epist. 18., to
others Ibid. lib. v. epist. 20. 21. 43.
lib. ix. epist. 68. Op. torn. ii. ed.
Bened.]
m [" Petri cathedram . . . ecclesiam
principalem, unde unitas sacerdotalis
exorta est." Cyprian, ad Cornelium,
Epist. 59. pp. 135, 136. " Unitatis
ejusdem" (Ecclesiae) "originem abuno"
(Petro) " incipientem." Id. De Uni-
tate, Op. p. 107. " Ecclesia .... super
Petrum origine unilatis . . . fundata."
Id. ad Januar. &c., Epist. 70. p.
190.]
n [Greg. M. Epist lib. v. epist 21.
Op. torn. ii. p. 751. C. see also lib.
v. epist 43. ibid. p. 773. B. and lib. ix.
epist. 68. ibid. p. 984. C.]
THE EPISTLE OP M. DE LA MILLETIERE, &C. 33
Neither are you more successful in your other reason, why DISCOURSE
the Parliament persecuted the King; because he maintained _ -
Episcopacy, both out of conscience and interest, which they EJ
sought to abolish. For though it be easily admitted that notthetrue
T,. T cause why
some seditious and heterodox persons had an evil eye both the Pariia-
against monarchy and Episcopacy from the very beginning ScStedThe
of these troubles, either out of a fiery zeal, or vain affectation King
of novelty (like those, who having the green-sickness prefer *
chalk and meal in a corner before wholesome meat at their
father s table), or out of a greedy and covetous desire of
gathering some sticks for themselves upon the fall of those
great oaks ; yet certainly they, who were the contrivers and
principal actors in this business, did more malign Epis
copacy for monarchy s sake, than monarchy for Episcopacy s.
What end had the Nuncio s faction in Ireland against Epis
copacy ? whose mutinous courses apparently lost that king
dom . When the King s consent to the abolition of Episco
pacy in Scotland was extorted from him by the Presbyterian
faction (which probably the prime authors do rue sufficiently
by this time), were those Presbyterian Scots any thing more
favourable to monarchy? To come to England, the chief
scene of this bloody tragedy ; if that party in Parliament had
at first proposed any such thing as the abolition either of
monarchy or Episcopacy, undoubtedly they had ruined their
whole design ; until daily tumults and uncontrollable uproars
had chased away the greater, and sounder, part of both
Houses : their first protestation was solemnly made to God,
both for King and Church, as they were by law established?.
Would you know then what it was that conjured up the The true
storm among us ? It was some feigned jealousies and fears the S trou-
(which the first broachers themselves knew well enough to be
fables), dispersed cunningly among the people, that the
King purposed to subvert the fundamental laws of the King-
[John Baptista Rinuccini, Arch- fully, from his own Memoirs, in Carte s
bishop of Fermo, was sent into Ireland Life of the D. of Ormond, vol. i. bk. iv.
by Innocent X. as his nuncio, in 1615. pp. 558, &c.]
An account of his proceedings, which i> [See the Solemn Protestation, taken
certainly had no connection whatever by the House of Commons May 3, and
with Episcopacy as such, may be by the House of Lords May 4, 5, 7, 10,
found in Clarendon s Historical View of and 11, A. D. 1641, in Nalson, vol. i.
the Affairs of Ireland from 1640 to 1652, pp. 810, 811, and Clarend. Hist, of the
printed at the end of his Hist, of the Rebel!., bk. iii. vol. i. pp. 335, 336.]
RebelL, vol. iii. pp. 1019, &c., and more
BRAMHALL.
34,
PART dom, and to reduce the free English subject to a condition of
absolute slavery under an arbitrary government ; for which
massy weight of malicious untruth they had no supporters,
II. but a few bulrushes. Secondly, that he meant to apostate
from the Protestant religion to Popery, and to that end had
raised the Irish Rebellion by secret encouragements and
commissions : for which monstrous calumny they had no
other foundation (except the solemn religious order of Divine
service in his own chapel and cathedral churches), than some
unseasonable disputes about an Altar or a Table ; and the
permission of the Pope s agent to make a short stay in Eng
land % more for reason of state than of religion ; and some
senseless fictions of some Irish rebels , who having a patent
under the Great Seal of Ireland for their lands, to colour their
barbarous murders, shewed it to the poor simple people as a
commission from the King to levy forces ; and, lastly, some
impious pious frauds of some of your own party, whose private
whispers and printed insinuations did give hopes that the
Church of England was coming about to shake hands with
the Roman in the points controverted ; which was merely
devised to gull some silly creatures, whom they found apt to
be caught with chaff ; for which they had no more pretext of
truth than you have for your groundless intimations in this
unwelcome Dedication.
These suspicions being compounded with covet ousness,
ambition, envy, emulation, desire of revenge, and discontent,
were the source of all our calamities. Thus much you your
self confess in effect ; that this supposition, that the King
p. 3< and Bishops had an intention to re-establish the Roman
Catholic religion, was the venom which the Puritan faction
infused into the hearts of the people, to fill them with hatred
against a King worthy of love ; and the Parliament judged it
q [There appear to have been two sociates. See Clarendon s Historical
agents from the Pope successively per- View of the Affairs of Ireland, &c. as
mitted to reside publicly in London, above, p. 1005. Carte s Life of the
"first, Mr. Con, a Scottishman, and D. of Ormond, bk. iii. vol. i. pp. 179,
after him the Count Rosetti an Italian." &c., and Hume s Hist, of Engl.,
Clarend. Hist, of the Rebell. bk. ii. vol. i. Reign of Charles I. c. vi. vol. v. p.
p. 209. See also Lord Somers Tracts, 304, and note. The calumny, that
vol. iv.pp. 50, &c. Con came to England King Charles the First was concerned
in 1 636 ( Wood s Athen. Oxon. by Bliss, with the Irish Rebellion, is refuted
vol. iii. p. 387), and Rosettileft England at length by Bramhall in his Serpent
in 1641 (Nelson, vol. ii. p. 328).] Salve (Works, pp. 589, &c. fol. edit.),
r [Sir Phelim O Neale, and his as- Discourse ii. Part ii.]
THE EPISTLE OF M. DE LA MILLETIERE, &C. 35
a favourable occasion for their design, to advance themselves DISCOURSE
to Sovereign authority. Be judge yourself how much they
are accessory to our sufferings, who either were, or are, the
authors or foment ers of these damnable slanders.
There was yet one cause more of this cruel persecution,
which I cannot conceal from you, because it concerns some
of your old acquaintance. There was a Bishop 5 in the world
(losers must have leave to talk) whose privy purse and subtle
counsels did help to kindle that unnatural war in his Majesty s
three Kingdoms. Our Cardinal, Wolsey, complained before
his death, That he had served his King better than his God 4 :
but certainly this practice in your friend u was neither good
service to his God, to be the author of the effusion of so much
innocent blood; nor yet to his King, to let the world see
such a dangerous precedent. It is high time for a man to
look to himself, when his next neighbour s house is all on a
flame*.
As hitherto I have followed your steps, though not alto
gether in your own method, or rather your own confusion;
so I shall observe the same course for the future. Your
discourse is so full of Mceanders and windings, turnings and
returnings ; you congregate heterogeneous matter, and segre
gate that which is homogeneous ; as if you had made your
Dedication by starts and snatches, and never digested your
whole discourse. On the contrary, where I meet with any
thing, it shall be my desire to dispatch it out of my hands,
with whatsoever pertains unto it, once for all. I hope you
expect not that I should amuse myself at your rhetorical
flowers and elegant expressions : they agree well enough
with the work you were about; "the pipe plays sweetly,
whilst the fowler is catching his prey y ." Trappings are not
s [Cardinal Richelieu (who died in Reign of Charles I. vol. iv. cc. 3, 4.]
1642); to whose intrigues, both with the * [Life of Wolsey in Wordsworth s
Scotch, amongst whom he had an ac- Eccles. Biogr. vol. i. p. 636. 3rd edit,
credited agent, and with the English Shakesp. Henry VIII. act iii. sc. 2.]
Parliamentarians, considerable weight u [See note a, p. 7.]
has been attributed in bringing about x ["Nam tua res agitur, paries cum
the Rebellion: see the Negotiations proximus ardet." Horat. Epist. I. xviii.
du Comte d Estrades, torn. i. letters 1 84.]
and 2 Whitelocke s Memorials &c. of y [" Noli homines blando nimium
Charles^I. and II., pp. 22. 31. Cla- sermone probare :"
rend. Hist, of the Rebell. bk ii. vol. i. " Fistula dulce canit, volucrem
p. 182; bk. vi. vol. ii. p. 123. dum decipit auceps."
D Israeli s Comment, on the Life and Dionys. Caton. Distich. lib. i. distich 27-]
36
THE BISHOP OF DERRY S ANSWER TO
PART
We arc only
accused
of schism.
Presbyte
rians and
Brownists
have been
Rome s
best
friends.
pp. 3, 4.
to be condemned, if the things themselves are good and use
ful ; but I prefer one pomegranate tree laden with good fruit,
before a whole row of cypresses z , that serve only for show.
Be sure of this, that, where any thing in your Epistle reflects
upon the Church of England, I shall not miss it first or last,
though it be but a loose unjointed piece, and so perhaps
hitherto untouched.
Amongst other things which you lay to our charge, you
glance, at the least twelve times, at our supposed schism;
but from first to last, never attempt to prove it, as if you
took it for granted. I have shaped a coat for a schismatic,
and had presented it to you in this Answer ; but, considering
that the matter is of moment, and merits as much to be
seriously and solidly weighed as your naked crimination
without all pretext of proof deserves to be slighted, lest it might
seem here, as an impertinent digression, to take up too much
place in this short discourse, I have added it at the conclu
sion of this Answer in a short tract by itself a , that you may
peruse it if you please.
You fall heavily, in this discourse, upon the Presbyterians,
Brownists, and Independents. If they intend to return you
any answer, they may send it by a messenger of their own.
As for my part, I arn not their proctor, I have received no
fee from them. And if I should undertake to plead their 28
cause upon my own head, by our old English law you might
call me to an account for unlawful maintenance b . Only give
me leave, as a by-stander, to wonder why you are so choleric
against them, for certainly they have done you more service
in England than ever you could have done for yourselves.
And I wonder no less why you call our Eeformation a
Calvinistical reformation, brought into England by Bucer,
and Peter Martyr -, a blind reformation/ yea, f the entire
ruin of the Eaith, of the very form of the Church, and of the
civil government of the Commonwealth instituted by God ;
z [" KviraptrTOV Kapir6s, de verbis
dictu magnificis, caeterum inutilibus."
Erasm. Adag. Chil. iv. cent. 3. prov. 1 0.]
a [Viz. the Vindication of the Church
of England, Discourse ii. Part i. which,
it seems, was at first intended to have
been merely an appendix to the Answer
to La Milletiere,]
b ["Maintenance, manutentio et manu-
tenentia, signifies the upholding of a
cause or person ; metaphorically drawn
from succouring a young child, that
learns to go by one s hand. In law, it
is taken in the worst sense, as appears
by 32 Henry VIII. c. 9." Cowel s In
terpret, sub voce. Lond. 1701.]
THE EPISTLE OF M. DE LA MILLETIERE, &C. 37
though you confess again in our favour,, that if our first DISCOURSE
Reformers had been interrogated, whether they meant any -
such thing, they would have purged themselves, and avouched p
their innocence with their hands upon the new Gospel/ The
gifts of enemies are no gifts / If such as these are all your
courtesies, you may be pleased to take them again. Our
first Reformers might safely swear upon the Gospel, old or
new, that they meant no such thing ; and we may as securely
swear upon all the Books of God, old or new, that there is no
such thing. But why our Gospel should be younger or
newer than Sixtus Quintus his Gospel, or Clemens Octavus
his Gospel, passeth my understanding, and yours also.
Comparisons are odious; therefore I will not say, that the [TheEng.
true English Protestant, standing to his own grounds, is the fomSkm
best subject in the world : but I do say, that he is as good a J^f the
subject as any in the world, and our principles as innocent, civil s-
.... . ., } vernment.l
and as auxiliary to civil government, as the maxims of any
Church under heaven; and more than yours, where the
clashing of two supreme authorities, and the exemption of
your numerous clergy from the coercive power of the prince,
and some other novelties, which I forbear to mention, do
alway threaten a storm. Tell me, Sir, if you can, what
Church in Europe hath declared more fully or more favour
ably for monarchy than the poor Church of England : that
" the most high and sacred order of Kings is of Divine right,
being the Ordinance of God Himself, founded in the prime
laws of nature, and clearly established by express texts
both of the Old and New Testament/ moreover, that
this power is extended over all their subjects, ecclesiastical
and civil ; that " to set up any independent coactive power
above them, either Papal or popular, either directly or
indirectly, is to undermine their great Royal Office, and
cunningly to overthrow that most sacred Ordinance, which
God Himself hath established ;" that " for their subjects to
bear arms against them, offensive or defensive, upon any
pretence whatsoever, is to resist the powers which are or
dained of God d ."
[" Exepaw faapa 8%>a." Soph. Aj. made A. D. 1640 at London and York,
can. 1. " Concerning the regal power"
i L. Cant. [Liber Canonum ?] 1640. in Wilkins Concil. Magn. Britann. e.t
c. 1. [Constitutions and Canons Ecclcs. Hibern. vol. iv. p. 545.]
38 THE BISHOP OF DERRY s ANSWER TO
PART And why do you call our Reformation Calvinistical ? con-
- : - trary to your own conscience ; contrary to your own confes-
lish Re- a sion, that in our Reformation we retained the ancient Order
of Episcopacy, as instituted by Divine authority, and a Liturgy,
isticai. an( j ceremon i es ^ whereby we preserved the face, or image, of
p* t the Catholic Church f and that for this very cause the
Disciplinarians of Geneva, and the Presbyterians, did con
ceive an implacable hatred against the King for the Church s
sake, and out of their aversion to it/ Did they hate their
own Reformation so implacably ? If these things be to be
reconciled, " reddat mihi minam Diogenes e ." He, that looks
more in disputation to the advantage of his party than to
the truth of his grounds, had need of a strong memory. We
retained not only Episcopacy, Liturgy, and ceremonies, but
all things else that were conformable to the discipline and
public service of the Primitive Church rightly understood.
No, Sir, we cannot pin our Faith upon the sleeve of any
particular man : as one f used to say, We love no nisms,
neither Calvinism, nor Lutheranism, nor Jansenianism, but
[Acts xi. only one, that we derive from Antioch, that is, Christianism/
26- ] We honour learning and piety in our fellow-servants, but we
desire to wear no other badge or cognizance than that we
received from our own Master at our Baptism. Bucer was as
fit to be Calvin s master, as his scholar. So long as Calvin
continued with him in Germany, he was for Episcopacy,
Liturgy, and ceremonies s (and for assurance thereof subscribed
the Augustan Confession 11 ); and his late learned successor
e ["Cum aliquid liujusmodi inci- p. 49), then in England: and his re-
derat, sic ludere Carneades solebat ; Si peated testimony in favour of Episco-
recte conclusi, teneo : sin vitiose, minam pacy has been collected by Bp. Hall in
Diogenes reddat. Ab eo enim Stoico his Episcopacy by Divine Right,"
dialecticamdidicerat:hsecautemmerces Introd. sect. 2. vol. x. pp. 147, 148.
erat dialecticorum." Cic.Lucull.xxx.] Oxf. 1837, and by Bramhall himself,
f M. Tho. Sq. [The Editor is un- "Replication," c. 1. (Works, p. 161.
able to conjecture for whom these ini- fol. edit.), Discourse iii. Part i. Vin-
tials were intended.] dication of Episcop. Clergy, c. 4. (as
e [Calvin s residence with Bucer at above, pp. 620, 621.), Discourse iii.
Strasburg, during his temporary exile Part ii.]
from Geneva, lasted from A. D. 1538 [The Confession of Augsburg
to A. D. 1541 (Beza s Life of Calvin drawn up by Melancthon A. D. 1530;
prefixed to his Works, Amst. 1667). which acknowledges Episcopacy as such,
He spoke decidedly in favour of Litur- protesting only against abuses : see c.
gies and set forms of prayer at a still vii. De Potest. Eccles. in fin. Calvin
later period, see his letter to the Pro- mentions his former signature and con-
tector Somerset, Oct. 22, 1549. (Op. tinned approval of it in a letter to
torn. ix. pp. 39, sq.), written at the re- Martin Schaling, A. D. 1557, Op. torn.
quest of Bucer (Calvin to Bucer, ibid. ix. p. 113.]
THE EPISTLE OF M. DE LA MILLETIERE, &C. 39
and assertor in Geneva, Monsieur Deodate, with sundry DISCOURSE
29 others of that communion, were not averse from them 1 . Or
why do you call Reformation blind? It was not blindness,
but too much affectation of knowledge, and too much peeping
into controverted and new-fangled questions, that hath en-
damaged our religion. It is you that teach the Collier s
Creed k , not we.
Howsoever you pretend to prove, that our Reformation was
the ruin of the Church and Commonwealth ; we expect you
should endeavour to prove it. You cannot so far mistake
yourself, as to conceive your authority to be the same with
us that Pythagoras had among his scholars, to have his
dictates received for oracles without proof. What did I say,
that you pretend to prove it ? That s too low an expression ;
you promise us " a demonstration of it, so lively and evident, [p. 4.]
that no reason shall be able to contradict it." Are you not
afraid, that too much expectation should prejudice your dis
course by diminishing our applause ?
" Quid tanto dignum feret hie promissor hiatu 1 ?"
Do you think of nothing now but triumphs ? Lively and
evident demonstration, not to be contradicted by reason/ is
like the phoenix, much talked of, but seldom seen. Most
men, when they see a man strip up his sleeves and make too
large promises of fair dealing, do suspect juggling. No man
proclaimeth in the market that he hath rotten wares to sell/
And therefore we must be careful, notwithstanding your
great promises, to keep well Epicharmus his jewel, Remember
to distrust" 1 / By your permission, your glistering demonstra-
1 [Deodate is said (in a note to a scribed by their own" (Roman Catliolie)
contemporary translation of his Answer " Bishop. The collier being demanded
to the Westminster Assembly, p. 6. what he believed, answered, That which
Newcastle 1647.) to have been one of the Church believeth; and being asked,
those ministers at the Synod of Dort in What the Church believed, answered,
1619, who expressed to Bp. Carleton That which I believe. " Morton s
(Collier s Ch. Hist. pt. ii. bk. viii. vol. Catholic Appeal, bk. v. c, 28. 2, from
ii. p. 718, fol. edit.) their approbation Espencseus in 2 Tim. cap. iii. num. 17.
of Episcopacy, and regret at their own p. 119, who, however, it must be added,
want of it. For the sundry others, does not consider the Creed so expressed
who held the same sentiments, see to be sufficient.]
Bramhall s Serpent Salve (Works, pp. 1 [Horat. A. P. 138.]
599, &c. fol. edit.), Discourse ii. m ["Nrj^eKol^eVvao- a7rrTetf &p6pa
Part ii.] raura fiav (pptvuv." ap. Cic. ad Attic.
k [The Collier s Creed " is thus de- i. 19.]
40
THE BISHOP OF DERRY S ANSWER TO
PART
I.
Reforma
tion is
sometimes
necessary.
Reforma
tion riot
agreeable
to all per
sons, espe
cially the
Court of
Rome.
FJohn xii.
6.]
There is
danger in
reforma
tion.
tion is a very counterfeit,, not so valuable as a Bristol diamond,
when it comes to be examined by the wheel.
Sometimes nothing is more necessary than reformation.
Never was house so well builded, that now and then needed
not reparation; never garden so well planted, but must
sometimes be weeded ; never any order so well instituted, but
in long tract of time there will be a bending and declining from
its primitive perfection, and a necessity of reducing it to its
first principles. Are your Houses of Religion which are
reformed, therefore the less religious ? Why then did all the
princes and commonwealths in Europe, yea, the Fathers
themselves in the Council of Trent", cry out so often, so
earnestly, for a reformation ? yet were forced to content
themselves with a vain shadow for the substance, as Ixion
embraced a cloud for Juno, or children are often stilled with
an empty bottle.
But reformation is not agreeable to all persons. Judas
loved not an audit, because he kept the bag -, dull lethargic
people had rather sleep to death, than be awaked ; and mad
phrenetic bigots are apt to beat the chirurgeon that would
bind up their wounds ; but none are so averse from reforma
tion as the Court of Rome, where the very name is more
formidable than Hannibal at the gates ; yea, than all the five
terrible things. No marvel they are afraid to have their
oranges squeezed to their hands; if they were infallible as
they pretend, there was no need of a reformation ; we wish
they were, but we see they are not.
On the other side, it cannot be denied that reformation,
when it is unseasonable, or inordinate, or excessive, may do
more hurt than good : when reformers want just authority,
or due information, or have sinister ends ; or where the
remedy may be of worse consequence than the abuse ; or
where men run out of one extreme into another. Therefore
it is a rule in prudence, Not to remove an ill custom, when
it is well settled/ unless it bring great prejudices ; and then
1 it is better to give one account why we have taken it away,
11 [See for instance the Orat. Exhor-
tatoria Pnesidum Cone. Trident, at the
commencement of the eleventh session,
and the speech delivered at the Council
expressly upon the Reformation of the
Church hy Antonius Paganus (in the
Append, to the Hist, of the Council in
Labb. Concil. torn. xiv. pp. 1912, sq,)-]
THE EPISTLE OF M. DE LA MILLETIERE, &C. 41
than to be always making excuses why we do it not / Needless DISCOURSE
alteration doth diminish the venerable esteem of religion,
and lessen the credit of ancient truths. Break ice in one
place, and it will crack in more/ Crooked sticks, by bending
straight, are sometimes broken into two/
There is a right mean between these extremes, if men The right
could light on it ; that is, neither to destroy the body out of formatidii."
hatred to the sores and ulcers, nor yet to cherish the sores
and ulcers out of a doating affection to the body; that is,
neither to destroy ancient institutions out of a zealous hatred
to some new abuses, nor yet to doat so upon ancient institu
tions, as for their sakes to cherish new abuses.
Our Reformation is just as much the cause of the ruin of Our Re-
30 our Church and Commonwealth, as the building of Tenderden not the ruin
steeple was the cause of Goodwin s sands, or the ruin of the Qiurch, or
country thereabouts, because they happened both much about
the same time?. "Careat successibus opto," may he ever
want success who judgeth of actions by the events/ Our
Reformation hath ruined the Faith, just as the plucking up of
weeds in a garden ruins the good herbs. It hath ruined the
Church, just as a body full of superfluous and vicious humours
is ruined by a healthful purgation. It hath ruined the Com
monwealth, just as pruning of the vine ruins the elm. No,
no, Sir, our sufferings for the Faith, for the Church, for the
Monarchy, do proclaim us innocent to all the world, of the
ruin either of Faith, or Church, or Monarchy. And in this
capacity we choose rather to starve as innocents, than to
swim in plenty as nocents.
But this is but one of your doubles to keep us from the
right form. It is your new Roman Creed that hath ruined
the Faith. It is your Papal Court that hath ruined the
Church. It is your new doctrines of the Pope s omnipotence
over temporal persons in order unto spiritual ends, of absolv
ing subjects from their oaths of allegiance, of exempting the
clergy from secular jurisdiction, of the lawfulness of murder
ing tyrants and excommunicated princes, of equivocation and
[" Malo semel excusare quare fece- q [" . . . Careat successibus opto,
rim quam semper quare non fecerim." " Quisquis ab eventu facta notanda
Seneca.] putat."
p fSee Latimer s Last Sermon before Ovid. Heroid. Ep. ii. 85, 86. "I
King Edward, An. 1550.]
42
PART the like, that first infected the world to the danger of civil
- government. Yet far be it from me to make these the uni
versal tenets of your Church, at any time, much less at this
time, when they are much fallen from their former credit ;
neither can I deny, that sundry dangerous positions, destruc
tive to all civil societies, have been transplanted by our
sectaries, and taken too deep root in our quarters, but never
by oui fault. If God should grant us the benefit of an (Ecu
menical or Occidental Council, it would become both you and
us in the first place to pluck up such seditious opinions, root
and branch.
Oar first You say our " Calvinistical Reformation" (so you are
nmxim 01 pl ease d to call it as you would have it, for the moderate and
[p. 4.] orderly Reformation of England was the terror and eye-sore
of Rome) is founded upon two maxims the one, that the
Church was fallen to ruin and desolation, and become guilty
of idolatry and tyranny/
The Catho- This is neither our foundation, nor our superstruction ;
cannot. UrCh ne ither our maxim, nor our opinion. It is so far from it,
come to that we hold and teach the direct contrary. First, that the
guilty of Gates of Hell shall never prevail against the Universal
tyranny. * Church ; ; that though the rain descend, and the floods
[Matt. xvi. come, and the winds blow and beat upon it, yet it shall never
fall to ruin or desolation, because it is builded upon a Rock/
[Matt. vn.
25.] Secondly, we believe that the Catholic Church is the faithful
Spouse of Christ, and cannot be guilty of idolatry, which is
spiritual adultery. Thirdly, we never said, we never thought,
that the (Ecumenical Church of Christ was guilty of tyranny.
It is principled to suffer wrong, to do none, and by suffering
to conquer, as a flock of unarmed sheep in the midst of a
company of ravenous wolves a new and unheard-of kind
of warfare/ " as if one should throw a handful of dry flax
into the midst of a flaming fire to extinguish it r ."
Catholic But I presume this is one of the idiotisms of your language,
no?o>n an i n which by the Church you always understand the Roman
vertibies. Church, making Roman and Catholic to be convertibles : as
if Christ could not have a Church, nor that Church any
privileges, unless the Court of Rome might have the monopoly
r Chrys. [Interpret, in Esai. c. ii. xxxiii (alit. xxxiv). torn. ii. p. 226.
torn. i. p. 1030, and Horn, in Mattli. quoted from memory.]
THE EPISTLE OF M. DE LA MILLETIERE, &C. 43
of them. There is a vast difference between the Catholic DISCOURSE
Church and a Patriarchal Church. The Catholic Church can -
never fail; any Patriarchal Church may apostate and fail.
We have a promise that the candle shall not be put out;
we have no promise that the candlesticks shall not be Rev. ii. 5.
removed.
But supposing that (which we can never grant) the Catho
lic Church and Roman Church were convertibles, yet still you
do us wrong.
First, we do not maintain, that the Roman Church itself is The Roman
fallen to ruin and desolation : we grant to it a true meta- itself not
physical being, though not a true moral being ; we hope ^lerUo 1 *
their errors are rather in superstructures, than in fundamen- ruin -
tals ; we do not say that the plants of saving truth (which
are common to you and us) are plucked up by the roots in
31 the Roman Church; but we say that they are overgrown
with weeds, and in danger to be choked.
Next for idolatry, whether, and why, and how far we may Whether
V n , i T the Roman
accuse your Church of it, deserves farther consideration. church be
First, you agree with us, that God alone is the Object o
religion, and consequently, that all religious worship is due
terminatively only to Him ; that God alone is to be invo-
cated absolutely or ultimately, that is, so as to grant our
requests and fulfil our desires by Himself, and that the Saints
are not the objects of our prayers, but joint-petitioners with
us and intercessors for us to the Throne of Grace.
Secondly, we profess as well as you, that there is a pro
portionable degree of honour and respect due to every crea
ture in Heaven and earth according to the dignity of it, and
therefore more honour due to a glorified Spirit than to a
mortal man. But withal we add, that this honour is not
servitutis but charitatis s ; not of service as to our lords and
masters, but of love and charity as to our friends and fellow-
servants; of the same kind and nature with that honour
which we give to holy men on earth. And herein we are
confident that we shall have your consent.
Thirdly, we agree in this also, that abundant love and
duty doth extend an honourable respect from the person of a
8 [" Honoramus eos" (Angelos) Vera Rel. c. 55. torn. i. p. 787. A.]
" caritate non scrvitute." August. De
44 THE BISHOP OF DERRY s ANSWER TO
dear friend, or noble benefactor, to his posterity, to his
memory, to his monument, to his image, to his relics, to
every thing that he loved, or that pertained to him, even to
the earth which he did tread upon, for his sake. Put a
Liefhebber*, or Virtuoso, among a company of rare pictures,
and he will pick out the best pieces for their proper value ;
but a friend or child will more esteem the picture of a bene
factor, or ancestor, for its relation. The respect of the one
is terminated in the picture, that of the other is radicated in
the exemplar. Yet still an image is but an image, and the
kinds of respect must not be confounded. The respect given
to an image, must be respect proper for an image; not
courtship, not worship, not adoration. More respect is due
to the person of the meanest beggar than to all the images of
Christ and His Apostles, and a thousand primitive Saints or
progenitors. Hitherto there is, either, no difference, nor
peril either of idolatry or superstition.
Wherein then did consist this guilt of idolatry contracted
by the Roman Church ?
I am willing for the present to pass by the private abuses
of particular persons, which seem to me no otherwise charge
able upon the whole Church, than for connivance. As the
making images to counterfeit tears, and words, and gestures,
and compliments, for advantage, to induce silly people to
believe that there was something of Divinity in them ; and
the multitude of fictitious relics, and supposititious Saints,
which credulity first introduced, and since covetousness hath
nourished.
I take no notice now of those remote suspicions or sup
positions of the possibility of want of intention, either in
the priest that consecrates the Sacrament, or in him that
baptized, or in the Bishop that ordained him, or in any one
through the whole line of succession; in all which cases
(according to your own principles) you give Divine worship
to corporeal Elements, which is at least material idolatry.
I will not stand now to examine the truth of your dis
tinctions of \arpeia and $ov\ela : yet you know well enough,
that Sov\ela is no religious worship ; and V7rep$ov\ela is coin
1 [Lic/hcblcr. Amateur. Dutch.]
AN EPISTLE OP M. DE LA MILLETIERE, &C. 45
lately minted, that will not pass for current in the Catholic DISCOURSE
Church 11 . Whilst your common people understand not these ~
distinctions of degrees of honour, what holds them from
falling downright into idolatry ?
Neither do I urge how you have distributed the patronage
of particular countries, the cure of several diseases, the pro
tection of all distinct professions of men and all kinds of
creatures, among the Saints, just as the Heathen did among
their tutelary Gods ; nor how little warrant you have for
this practice from experience : nor, lastly, how you build
more Churches, erect more Altars, offer more presents, pour
out more prayers, make more vows, perform more offices to
the Mother than to the Son. Yet, though we should hold
our peace, methinks you should ponder these things seriously,
and either for your own satisfaction, or ours, take away such
unnecessary occasions of scandal and disunion.
But I cannot omit, that the Council of Trent is not con-
32 tented to enjoin the adoration of Christ in the Sacrament
(which we never deny), but of the Sacrament itself (that is,
according to the common current of your school-men, the
accidents or species of Bread and Wine), because it contains
Christ x . Why do they not add upon the same grounds, that
the pix is to be adored with Divine worship, because it con
tains the Sacrament ? Divine honour is not due to the very
Humanity of Christ, as it is abstracted from the Deity, but
to the Whole Person, Deity and Humanity, hypostatically
united. Neither the grace of union, nor the grace of
unction can confer more upon the Humanity than the
Humanity is capable of. There is no such union between
the Deity and the Sacrament, neither immediately, nor yet
mediately mediants Corpore.
Moreover you do v ordinarily ascribe \arpeia or Divine
worship to a Crucifix, or to the Image of Christ ; indeed not
terminatively, but transeuntly, so as not to rest in the Image
u [ AoTpeict, servitus quse debetur His Divinity and to the blessed Virgin.
Deo ; SouAeia, servitus quse exhibenda (Bellarm. De Sanct. Beatit lib. i. c. 12.
esthomini (Dufresne, Glossar.sub voc. torn. i. p. 1951.)]
SovA.); the latter being further divided x [Concil. Trident. Scss. xiii. cap. 5.
into SotAefa properly so called, and et can. 6.]
vnepSovAeia, of which the first is attri* y [See Bramhall s Vindication, &c.
butecl to the other Saints, and the second c. 10. beginn., Discourse ii. Part i.]
to the Humanity of Christ apart from
THE BISHOP OF DERRY S ANSWER TO
or Crucifix, but to pass to the Exemplar, or Person crucified z .
But why a piece of wood should be made partaker of Divine
honours even in transita, or in the passage, passeth my un
derstanding. The Heathens wanted not the same pretext
for all their gross idolatry. Let them plead for themselves :
1 Non ego, $c. I do not worship that stone which I see, but
I serve him whom I do not see/ a
Lastly, whilst you are pleased to use them, I may not
forget those strange insolent forms of prayer contained in
your Books, even ultimate prayers, if we take the words as
they sound, directed to the Creatures, that they would
protect you at the hour of death, and deliver you from
the devil, and confer spiritual graces upon you, and
admit you into HeaA r en " precibus meritisque" "by their
prayers and merits " b (you know what merit signifies in your
z ["Debeturei" (Cruci)"latria." Ordo
ad recipiend. procession. Imperator. in
the Pontifical of Clement VIII. (Romas
1595.) Pt. iii. p. 672; and in that of
UrbanVIII.(Paris.l664.) Pt. iii. p. 109.
Sacerdos, . . et deinde alii clerici et laici
. . . "Crucemadorant." Rubric in Missal,
for Good Friday. "Honos, quieis"(znza-
ginibus &c. ) " exhibetur, refertur ad pro
totypal Concil. Trident. Sess. xxv. De-
cret. de Invocatione &c. : see also Vaz
quez De Adorat. lib. ii. disp. 8. c. 3.
Among the Roman doctors, however, it
is a disputed question whether and how
far adoration is terminatively due either
to images or to the Cross ; some, with
Aquinas (Summ. Theol. pars iii. Qu.
xxv. Artt. 3, 4.), maintaining the af
firmative, others, as Cassander (Con
sult 21. de Cultu Imag.), the nega
tive, and a third party, as Bellarmine
(lib. ii. de Imag. Sanctor. cc. 21, sq. Op.
torn. i. pp. 2075, sq.), holding a middle
opinion, viz. that it is so due but only
secundum quid and analogically.
See Jackson s Works vol. i. book v.
On the Original of Unbelief &c.
c. 34.]
a [" Sed existit nescio quis dispu-
tator, . . . et ait, Non ego ilium lapidem
colo nee illud simulachrum, quod est
sine sensu ; non ego illud colo,
sed adoro quod video et servio Ei Quern
non video. August, in Ps. xcvi. v. 1 1 .
torn. iv. p. 1047. D.]
b [In the Offic. parvum B. Marias
in the (reformed) Roman Breviary ;
" Maria mater gratise,
" Dulcis parens dementias,
" Tu nos ab hoste protege,
" Et mortis hora suscipe."
In the Commune Unius Martyris in
the same ;
" Invicte Martyr, ....
* * *
" Tui precatus munere
" Nostrum reatum dilue,
" Arcens mali contagium."
In the Commune Apostolorum in the
same;
" Vos, saeculorum judices,
* *
" Sanate mentes languidas,
" Augete nos virtutibus."
In the Offic. B. Marise in the same ;
" Sub tuum presidium confugimus,
sancta Dei genitrix; nostras depreca-
tiones ne despicias in necessitatibus, sed
a periculis cunctis libera nos semper,
Virgo gloriosa et benedicta."
And again ;
" Virgo singularis,
* *
" Mites fac et castos ;
" Vitam praesta puram."
In the services for the particular Feasts
in the same, In Cathedra S. Petri
Antioch. ;
" Beate Pastor Petre, clemens accipe
"Voces precantum, criminumque vin-
cula
" Verbo resolve, cui potestas tradita
" Aperire terris ccelum, apertum clau-
dere."
In the Offic. parvum B. Marias in
the Paris Breviary ;
" O Mater alma Christi carissima,
" Suscipe pia laudum prseconia.
AN EPISTLE OF M. DE LA MILLETIERE, &C. 47
language, a condignity, or at least a congruity, of desert). DISCOURSE
The exposition of your doctors is, that they should do all
this for you by their prayers ; as improper a form of speech,
as if a suppliant, intending only to move an ordinary courtier
to mediate for him unto the King, should fall down upon his
knees before the courtier, and beseech him to make him an
Earl, or a Knight, or to bestow such an office or such a
pardon upon him, or to do some other grace for him properly
belonging to the prerogative royal. How agrees this with
the words, precibus meritisque ? A beggar doth not deserve
an alms by asking it. This is a snare to ignorant persons,
who take the words to signify as they sound ; and (it is to
be feared) do commit downright idolatry by their pastors
faults, who prescribe such improper forms unto them.
Concerning tyranny, which makes up the arrear of the The Roman
first supposed ( maxim we do not accuse the Roman Church tyrannical.
of tyranny, but the Roman Court. If either the unjust usurp
ation of Sovereign power, or the extending thereof to the
destruction of the laws and canons of the Church, yea, even
to give a "Non ohstante" either to the institution of Christ, or
at least to the uniform practice of the primitive ages, or to
them both c ; if the swallowing up of all ecclesiastical juris
diction, and the arrogating of a supercivil power paramount ;
if the causing of poor people to trot to Rome from all the
quarters of Europe, to waste their livelihoods there ; if the
trampling upon emperors and the disciplining of monarchs
be tyrannical ; either the Court of Rome hath been tyranni
cal, or there never was tyranny in the world d .
I doubt not but some great persons, when they have had
bloody tragedies to act for their own particular ends, have
"Nostrautpurapectorasintet corpora, in the Roman Service Books. Of the
" Te mine flagitant devota corda et ora. direct prayers quoted above, the greater
" Tua per precata dulcisona number, it will be seen, are not even
" Nobis concedas veniamper saecula." so far qualified.]
In the Commune Apostolorum in the c [In the decree of the Council of
same ; Constance which restricts Communion
Vos, ... in both kinds to the officiating ministers
Qui dante Christo panditis, (ap. Labb. Concil. torn. xii. p. 100.),
Qui clauditis cceli fores, giving the Bread only to the laity, such
Nos criminum tenacibus restriction is enacted with an express
Vinclis ligatos solvite." " non obstante" both to the institution
The words "precibus meritisque " (the of Christ and to primitive practice.]
schoolmen) A [Bramhall s Vindication, &c. c. 6.
common phrase also of the
are a frequent, although f
strongest, form of the indirect prayers course ii. Part i.]
are a frequent, although far from the (Works, pp. 92, &c. fol. edit), Dis-
ii. Par
48
THE BISHOP or BERRY S ANSWER TO
PART sometimes made the Roman Church a stalkinghorse, and the
- pretence of Catholic religion a blind, to keep their policies
undiscerned : but if we consider seriously, what cruelties
have been really acted throughout Europe, either by the
Inquisitors General, or by persons specially delegated for
that purpose, against the Waldenses of old, and against the
Protestants of later days, against poor ignorant persons,
against women and children, against madmen, against dead
carcasses, as Bucer, &c., e upon pretence of religion, not only
by ordinary forms of punishment and of death, but by fire
and faggots, by strange new-devised tortures, we shall
quickly find that the Court of Rome hath died itself red in
Christian blood, and equalled the most tyrannical persecu
tions of the Heathen Emperors.
Our second The other maxim whereupon you say that our Reformation
was grounded, was this, "That the only way to reform the
Faith, and Liturgy, and government of the Church, was 33
to conform them to the dictates of Holy Scripture, of the
sense whereof every private Christian ought to be the judge
by the light of the Spirit, excluding Tradition and the public
judgment of the Church/ You add, that we cannot prove
Episcopacy by Scripture without the help of Tradition ; and
if we do admit of Tradition, we must acknowledge the
Papacy for the government of the Catholic Church, as founded
in the primacy of St. Peter/
Your second supposed ground is no truer than the former ;
we are as far from anarchy as from tyranny. As we would
not have human authority, like Medusa s head, to transform
reasonable men into senseless stones ; so we do not put the
reins of government into the hands of each or any private
person, to reform according to their phantasies. And that
we may not deal like blunderers, or deceitful persons, to wrap
up or involve ourselves on purpose in confused generalities, I
will set down our sense distinctly. When you understand it,
I hope you will repent your rash censuring of us, of whom
you had so little knowledge.
Three things f offer themselves to be considered : first, con-
supposed
maxim
p. 4.
p. 5.
Much
mistaken.
e [Bucer s dead body was taken up
and burned by order of Cardinal Pole at
Cambridge A.D. 1557; Fox s Acts
and Monum. vol. iii. book xii. pp. 639,
&c. Lond. 1684. Heylin s Eccles.
Restaur. Reign of Queen Mary, p. 70.]
f [The substance of the statement,
which follows, concerning the interpre-
THE EPISTLE OF M. DE LA MILLETIERE, &C. 49
cerning the rule of Scripture ; secondly, the proper ex-
pounders thereof; and thirdly, the manner of exposition.
Concerning Scripture we believe, that it was impossible I. Th
for human reason without the help of Divine revelation, to
find out those supernatural truths which are necessary to
salvation : secondly, that, to supply this defect of natural
reason, God out of His abundant goodness hath given us the
Holy Scriptures, which have not their authority from the
writing, which is human, but from the revelation, which is
Divine, from the Holy Ghost : thirdly, that, this being the
purpose of the Holy Ghost, it is blasphemy to say He would
not, or could not, attain unto it ; and that therefore the Holy
Scriptures do comprehend all necessary supernatural truths
(so much is confessed by Bellarmine, that all things which
are necessary to be believed and to be done by all Christians,
were preached to all by the Apostles, and were all written s ) :
fourthly, that the Scripture is more properly to be called a
rule of supernatural truths than a judge ; or if it be some
times called a judge, it is no otherwise than the law is called
a judge of civil controversies between man and man, that is,
the rule of judging what is right, and what is wrong; that
which sheweth what is straight, sheweth likewise what is
crooked V
Secondly, concerning the proper expounders of Scripture, n. who arc
the propc
expound
we do believe that the Gospel doth not consist in the words, P ~ C
but in the sense " non in superficie, sed in medulla 1 -" and l^l^e
therefore that, though this infallible rule be given for the and how
common benefit of all, yet every one is not an able or fit
artist to make application of this rule in all particular cases.
To preserve the common right, and yet prevent particular
abuses, we distinguish judgment into three kinds :
Judgment of discretion ; judgment of direction,- and judg
ment of jurisdiction k .
As in the former instance of the law (the ignorance whereof
excuseth no man) : every subject hath judgment of dis-
tation of Scripture, appears to be taken yii/dxrKOfj.ei .^ Aristot. De Anima, i. c.
from Field, Of the Church, bk. iv. cc. 5. Op. p. 411. 1. 5. ed. Bekker.]
13, &c. pp. 362, &c. Lond. 1628.] * [Hieron. In Epist. ad Galatas, c. 1.
* Lib. iv. De Verbo Dei, cap. 11. torn. iv. P. i. p. 230.]
[Op. torn. i. p. 244. B.] k [Field, as before quoted, p. 363 ;
h ["Ty iiidflitcuavrbKcu T?> KajUTruAof and c. 16. pp. 366, 67.]
BUAMHALL.
50 THE BISHOP OF DERRY^S ANSWER TO
PART cretion, to apply it particularly to the preservation of himself,
his estate and interest; the advocates, and those who are
skilful in the law, have moreover a judgment of direction, to
advise others of less knowledge and experience ; but those
who are constituted by the sovereign power to determine
emergent difficulties and differences, and to distribute and ad
minister justice to the whole body of a province or kingdom,
have moreover a judgment of jurisdiction, which is not only
discretionary, or directive, but authoritative, to impose an
obligation of obedience unto those who are under their
charge. If these last shall transgress the rule of the law,
they are not accountable to their inferiors, but to him or them
that have the sovereign power of legislative judicature;
1 ejus est legem interpretari, cujus est condere.
To apply this to the case in question concerning the expo
sition of the Holy Scripture. Every Christian keeping him
self within the bounds of due obedience and submission to his
i Thess. v. lawful superiors, hath a judgment of discretion ;" Prove all
things, hold fast that which is good." He may apply the
rule of Holy Scripture for his own private instruction, com
fort, edification, and direction, and for the framing of his life
and belief accordingly. The pastors of the Church (who are
placed over God s people as watchmen and guides) have more 34
than this, a judgment of direction ; to expound and interpret
the Holy Scriptures to others, and out of them to instruct
the ignorant, to reduce them who wander out of the right
way, to confute errors, to foretell dangers, and to draw sinners
to repentance. The chief pastors, to whose care the regiment
of the Church is committed in a more special manner, have
yet a higher degree of judgment, a judgment of jurisdiction ;
to prescribe, to enjoin, to constitute, to reform, to censure, to
condemn, to bind, to loose, judicially, authoritatively, in their
respective charges. If their key shall err, either their key of
knowledge, or their key of jurisdiction, they are accountable
to their respective superiors, and in the last place to a general
Council, which under Christ upon earth is the highest judge
of controversies. Thus we have seen what is the rule of
Faith, and by whom, and how far respectively, this rule is to
be applied.
in. The Thirdly, for the manner of expounding Holy Scriptures ;
manner of
THE EPISTLE OF M. DE LA MILLETIERE, &C. 51
for there may be a privacy in this also, and more dangerous DISCOURSE
than the privacy of the person 1 . Many things are necessary
to the right interpretation of the law; to understand the
reason of it, the precedents, the terms, the forms, the reports; ture-
and an ability to compare law with law. He that wants all
these qualifications altogether, is no interpreter of law. He
that wants but some of them, or wants the perfection of them,
by how much the greater is his defect, by so much the less
valuable is his exposition. And if he shall, out of private
fancy or blind presumption, arrogate to himself, without
these requisite means, or above his capacity and proportion
of knowledge, a power of expounding law, he is a madman.
So, many things are required to render a man capable to ex
pound the Holy Scriptures, some more necessarily, some less;
some absolutely, some respectively : as, first, to know the
right analogy of Faith, to which all interpretations of Scrip
ture must be of necessity conformed ; secondly, to know the
practice and tradition of the Church, and the received expo
sitions of former interpreters in the successive ages, which
gives a great light to the finding out of the right sense ;
thirdly, to be able to compare texts with texts, antecedents
with consequents, without which one can hardly attain to the
drift and scope of the Holy Ghost in the obscurer passages ;
and, lastly, it is something to know the idiotisms of that lan
guage wherein the Scriptures were written" 1 . He that wants
all these requisites, and yet takes upon him, out of a fanatic
presumption of private illumination, to interpret Scripture, is
a doting enthusiast, fitter to be refuted with scorn than with
arguments. He that presumes above that degree and propor
tion which he hath in these means, and above the talent which
God hath given him (as he that hath a little language, yet
wants logic ; or, having both language and logic, knows not,
or regards not, either the judgment of former expositors, or
the practice and tradition of the purest primitive ages, or the
Symbolical Faith of the Catholic Church), is not a likely
workman to build a Temple to the Lord, but ruin and de
struction to himself and his seduced followers. c A new
1 [Field, as before quoted, p. 366; tione persona, modi, or finis."]
who cites Stapleton s threefold division m [Field, as before quoted, c. 19. pp.
of privacy of interpretation, viz. " ra- 372, 373.]
E2
52 THE BISHOP OF BERRY S ANSWER TO
PART physician/ we say, requires a new church-yard / but such
- bold ignorant empirics in theology are ten times more
dangerous to the soul, than an ungrounded unexperienced
quack-salver to the body.
This is con- This hath always been the doctrine and the practice of our
thedoc- English Church. First, it is so far from admitting laymen
practiced to be directive interpreters of Holy Scripture, that it allows
ourChurch. no ^ this liberty to clergymen so much as to gloss upon the
text/ until they be licensed to become preachers"/ Secondly,
for judgment of discretion only, it gives it not to private per
sons above their talents, or beyond their last/ It disallows
all fantastical and enthusiastical presumption of incompetent
and unqualified expositors 1 . It admits no man into Holy
Orders, that is, to be capable of being made a directive inter
preter of Scripture, howsoever otherwise qualified, unless he
be able to give a good account of his Faith in the Latin
tongue?/ so as to be able to frame all his expositions according
to the analogy thereof. It forbids the licensed preachers to
teach the people any doctrine as necessary to be religiously
held and believed, which the Catholic Fathers, and old Bishops
of the Primitive Church, have not collected out of the Scrip
tures <i/ It ascribes a judgment of jurisdiction over preachers
to Bishops, in all manner of ecclesiastical duties, as appears 35
by the whole body of our Canons ; and especially where any
difference or public opposition hath been between preachers,
about any point or doctrine deduced out of Scripture r . It
gives a power of determining all emergent controversies of
Faith above Bishops to the Church, as to the witness and
keeper of the Sacred Oracles s / and to a lawful Synod/ as the
1 representative Church V
Now, Sir, be your own judge how infinitely you have
wronged us, and yourself more, suggesting that temerariously
and without the sphere of your knowledge to his Majesty for
the principal ground of our Reformation, which our souls
abhor. Is there no mean between stupidity and madness ?
" Canon. 1603. can. 49. 1 Can. 1571. tit. Concionatores.
See the Preface to the Bishops [Wilk. Concil. torn. iv. p. 267.]
Bible. [A. D, 1572; Cranmer sPro- r Canon. 1603. Can. 53.
logue, near the end.] s Art. 20. [" A witness and a keeper
* [Canon. 1603.] Can. 34; [and of Holy Writ."]
Rubric before Ordination Service.] l Canon. 1603. Can. 139.
THE EPISTLE OF M. DE LA MILLETIERE, &C. 53
Must either all things be lawful for private persons,, or no- DISCOURSE
thing ? Because we would not have them like David s horse ~
FPs. xxxii.
and mule, without understanding/ do we therefore put both 9.]
swords in their hands, to reform and cut off, to plant and to
pluck up, to alter and abolish, at their pleasure ? We allow
them Christian liberty, but would not have them Libertines.
Admit some have abused this just liberty, may we therefore
take it away from others ? So shall we leave neither a sun in
heaven, nor any excellent creature upon earth, for all have
been abused by some persons, in some kinds, at some times.
We receive not your upstart supposititious traditions, nor The Eng-
unwritten fundamentals : but we admit genuine, universal, an h enemy h
Apostolical traditions u ; as the Apostles Creed the perpetual n ot u f art>
Virginity of the Mother of God the anniversary Festivals of Apostoii-
the Church the Lenten Fast (yet we know that both the ditlons.
duration of it, and the manner of observing it, was very
different in the primitive times). We believe Episcopacy, to
an ingenuous person, may be proved out of Scripture without
the help of Tradition ; but to such as are froward, the per
petual practice and tradition of the Church renders the inter
pretation of the text more authentic, and the proof more
convincing. What is this to us who admit the practice and
tradition of the Church, as an excellent help of exposition ?
Use is the best interpreter of laws ; and we are so far from
believing, that we cannot admit Tradition without allowing [p. 5.]
the Papacy/ that one of the principal motives why we rejected
the Papacy, as it is now established with universality of juris
diction by the institution of Christ, and superiority above
(Ecumenical Councils, and infallibility of judgment, was the
constant tradition of the Primitive Church.
So, Sir, you see your demonstration shaken into pieces.
You, who take upon you to remove whole Churches at your
pleasure, have not so much ground left you as to set your
instrument upon. Your two main ground-works being
vanished, all your Presbyterian and Independent superstruc-
tions do remain like so many bubbles, or castles in the air.
It were folly to lay close siege to them, which the next puff of
wind will disperse ; " ruunt subductis tecta cohimnis x ."
11 [Field, as before quoted, bk iv. c. 20. x [Juven. viii. 77.]
pp. 375, &c.]
54
PART Howsoever, though you have mistaken the grounds of our
r Reformation and of your discourse, yet you charge us, that
ciesofthe f we have renounced the Sacrifice of the Mass, Transubstan-
Creedwe an tiation, the seven Sacraments, Justification by inherent
nounced 1 righteousness, Merits, Invocation of Saints, Prayer for the
p. 5, dead with Purgatory, and the authority of the Pope/ Are
these all the necessary articles of the new Roman Creed, that
we have renounced ? Surely no ; you deal too favourably
with us. We have in like manner renounced your Image-
worship, your half Communion, your Prayers in a tongue
unknown, &c. It seems you were loth to mention these
things.
oftheSa- First, you say we have renounced your Sacrifice of the
the Mass. Mass. If the Sacrifice of the Mass be the same with the
Sacrifice of the Cross, we attribute more unto it than your
selves ; we place our whole hope of salvation in it. If you
understand another Propitiatory Sacrifice distinct from that (as
this of the Mass seems to be ; for confessedly the Priest is not
the same, the Altar is not the same, the Temple is not the
same) ; if you think of any new meritorious Satisfaction to
God for the sins of the world, or of any new supplement to
the merits of Christ s Passion; you must give us leave to
renounce your Sacrifice indeed, and to adhere to the Apostle ;
Heb. x. 14. By one Offering He hath perfected for ever them that are
sanctified."
Surely you cannot think that Christ did actually sacrifice
Himself at His Last Supper (for then He had redeemed the
world at His Last Supper; then His subsequent Sacrifice
upon the Cross had been superfluous) ; nor that the priest
now doth more than Christ did then, We do readily acknow
ledge an Eucharistical sacrifice of prayers and praises : we 36
profess a commemoration of the Sacrifice of the Cross ; and
in the language of Holy Church, things commemorated are
related as if they were then acted ; as, " Almighty God,
who hast given us Thy Son as this day to be born of a pure
Virgin^ and, " Whose praise the younger Innocents have
this day set forth z ;" and between the Ascension and Pente
cost, " Which hast exalted Thy Son Jesus Christ with great
y Collect [for Christmas Day]. before Review of 1661].
z Collect [for Innocents Day, form
THE EPISTLE OF M. DE LA MILLETIERE, &C. 55
triumph into Heaven, we beseech Thee leave us not comfort- DISCOURSE
less, but send unto us Thy Holy Spirit a :" we acknowledge ~
a representation of that Sacrifice to God the Father : we
acknowledge an impetration of the benefit of it : we maintain
an application of its virtue : so here is a commemorative,
impetrative, applicative Sacrifice. Speak distinctly, and I
cannot understand what you can desire more. To make it a
suppletory Sacrifice, to supply the defects of the only true
Sacrifice of the Cross, I hope both you and I abhor.
The next crime objected by you to us is, that we have re- Of Tran-
nounced Transubstantiation. It is true, we have rejected it tion.
deservedly from being an article of our Creed ; you need not
wonder at that. But if we had rejected it four hundred
years sooner, that had been a miracle. It was not so soon
hatched. To find but the word Transubstantiation in any
old author, were sufficient to prove him a counterfeit.
Your next article of the septenary number of the Sacra- of Seven
ments is not much older : never so much as mentioned in any
Scripture, or Council, or Creed, or Father, or ancient author ;
first devised by Peter Lombard b ; first decreed by Eugenius
the Fourth ; first confirmed in the provincial Council of Sens d ;
and after in the Council of Trent 6 . Either the word Sacra
ment is taken largely ; and then the washing of the Disciples
feet is called a Sacrament ; then the only sprinkling of ashes
on a Christian s head is called a Sacrament ; then there are
God knows how many Sacraments more than seven : or else
it is taken strictly for a visible sign, instituted by Christ,
to convey or confirm grace to all such partakers thereof, as
do not set a bar against themselves, according to the analogy
between the sign and the thing signified ; and in this sense
the proper and certain Sacraments of the Christian Church,
common to all, or (in the words of our Church) " generally
necessary to salvation f ," are but two, Baptism and the Supper
of our Lord. More than these St. Ambrose writes not of in
his book De Sacramentis*, because he did not know them.
a Collect [for the Sunday after As- d A.D. 1528. [Can.x. ap.Labb. Con-
cension Day]. cil. torn. xiv. p. 454.]
b [Sentent. lib. iv. Dist. ii. 1.] * A.D. 1547. [Condi. Trident. Sess.
A.D. 1439. [Decret Eugen. Papae vii. can. 1.]
iv. ad Armenos (at the Council of Flo- f [Catechism.]
rence) ; ap.Labb. Condi, torn. xiii. p. g [Op. torn. ii. pp. 341, sq.]
534.]
56 THE BISHOP OF DERRY^S ANSWER TO
T A H T These we admit for genuine and general Sacraments. Their
sacramental virtue we acknowledge.
The rest we retain more purely than yourselves, though
not under the notion of such proper and general Sacraments.
As Confirmation, Ordination, Matrimony, Penitence (though
we neither approve of your preposterous manner of Absolu
tion before satisfaction, nor of your ordinary Penitentiary
tax h ) ; and, lastly, the Visitation of, and Prayer for, the Sick ;
which only is of perpetual necessity, the unction prescribed
Jam. v. 14. by St. James being appropriable to the miraculous gift of
healing or recovering men out of sickness then in use, whereas
your custom is clean contrary, never or rarely to enoil 1 any
man, until he be past all hope of recovery. The ordinary and
most received custom of preparing sick persons for another
world in the Primitive Church, was Prayer, and Absolution
or the benefit of the Keys, and the Viaticum of the Body and
Blood of Christ, which we retain.
of Justifl- Concerning Justification, we believe that all good Christians
have true inherent justice, though not perfect, according to a
perfection of degrees, as gold is true gold, though it be mixed
with some dross. We believe that this inherent justice and
sanctity doth make them truly just arid holy. But if the
word Justification be taken in sensu forensi, for the acquittal
of a man from former guilt, to make an offender just in the
Rom. viii. eye of the law, as it is opposed to condemnation/ " It is God
33> 3J that justifieth, Avho is he that condemneth ?" then it is not
our inherent righteousness that justifieth us in this sense,
but the free grace of God for the Merits of Jesus Christ.
of Merits. Next for Merits, we never doubted of the necessity of good
works, without which faith is but a fiction. We are not so
stupid to imagine that Christ did wash us from our sins, that
[Luke i. 74, we might wallow more securely in sin, but that we might
serve him in holiness and righteousness all the days of our 37
life/ We never doubted of the reward of good works;
[Matt. xxv. Come ye blessed of My Father/ &c. f for I was hungry, and
ye fed Me : nor whether this reward be due to them in
1 T m. iv. justice ; " Henceforth is laid up for me a crown of righteous-
8.
h [For a full account of the Taxa tionn. Historique, sub voc. Taxa.]
Pcenitentiaria, or published scale of [More commonly spelt annoil or
prices for Papal dispensations and in- anele. ]
diligences &c., see Marchand s Die-
THE EPISTLE OF M. DE LA MILLETIEUE, &C. 57
ness, which the Lord the just Judge shall give me in that DISCOURSE
day :" faithful promise makes due debt. This was all that -
the Ancient Church did ever understand by the name of
Merits. Let Petavius J bear witness; " Antiqui Patres
omnes y et pr<$ caeteris Augustinus, cumque us consentiens
Ttomana et Cath 
