fufficiently. And what though all this go not overfea? 'twere better it did: better a penurious Kingdom, then where exceffive wealth flowes into the gracelesse and injurious hands of common sponges to the impoverishing of good and loyall men, and that by fuch execrable, fuch irreligious courses.

If the facred and dreadfull works of holy Difcipline, Cenfure, Pennance, Excommunication, and AbSolution, where no prophane thing ought to have acceffe, nothing to be affiftant but fage and Chriftianly Admonition, brotherly Love, flaming Charity, and Zeale; and then according to the Effects, Paternall Sorrow, or Paternall Joy, milde Severity, melting Compaffion, if fuch Divine Minifteries as these, wherin the Angel of the Church represents the Perfon of Christ Jesus, must lie prostitute to fordid Fees, and not paffe to and fro betweene our Saviour that of free grace redeem'd us, and the fubmiffive Penitent, without the truccage of perishing Coine, and the Butcherly execution of Tormentors, Rooks, and Rakeshames fold to lucre, then have the Babilonish Marchants of Soules juft excufe. Hitherto Sir you have heard how the Prelates have weaken'd and withdrawne the externall Accomplishments of Kingly profperity, the love of the People, their multitude, their valour, their wealth; mining, and fapping the out-works, and redoubts of Monarchy; now heare how they ftrike at the very heart, and vitals.

We know that Monarchy is made up of two parts, the Liberty of the subject, and the fupremacie of the King. I begin at the root. See what gentle, and benigne Fathers they have beene to our liberty. Their trade being, by the fame Alchymy that the Pope uses, to extract heaps of gold, and filver out of the droffie Bullion of the Peoples finnes, and juftly fearing that the quick-fighted Proteftants eye clear'd

in great part from the mift of Superstition, may at one time or other looke with a good judgement into these their deceitfull Pedleries, to gaine as many affociats of guiltines as they can, and to infect the temporall Magistrate with the like lawleffe though not facrilegious extortion, fee a while what they doe; they ingage themselves to preach, and perfwade an affertion for truth the most false, and to this Monarchy the most pernicious and destructive that could bee chofen. What more banefull to Monarchy then a Popular Commotion, for the diffolution of Monarchy flides apteft into a Democraty; and what ftirs the Englishmen, as our wifeft writers have obferv'd, fooner to rebellion, then violent, and heavy hands upon their goods and purses? Yet thefe devout Prelates, fpight of our great Charter, and the foules of our Progenitors that wrefted their liberties out of the Norman gripe with their dearest blood and highest proweffe, for these many years have not ceas't in their Pulpits wrinching, and fpraining the text, to fet at nought and trample under foot all the most facred, and life blood Lawes, Statutes, and Acts of Parliament that are the holy Cov'nant of Union, and Marriage betweene the King and his Realme, by profcribing, and confifcating from us all the right we have to our owne bodies, goods and liberties. What is this, but to blow a trumpet, and proclaime a fire-croffe to a hereditary, and perpetuall civill warre. against the Subjects Liberty hath been affaulted by them. Now how they have fpar'd Supremacie, or likely are hereafter to fubmit to it, remaines lastly to bee confider'd.

Thus much

The emulation that under the old Law was in the King toward the Preift, is now fo come about in the Gospell, that all the danger is to be fear'd from the Preift to the King. Whilft the Preifts Office in the

Law was set out with an exteriour luftre of Pomp and glory, Kings were ambitious to be Preifts; now Priefts not perceiving the heavenly brightneffe, and inward fplendor of their more glorious Evangelick Miniftery with as great ambition affect to be Kings; as in all their courfes is eafie to be obferv'd. Their eyes ever imminent upon worldly matters, their defires ever thirsting after worldly employments, in stead of diligent and fervent studie in the Bible, they covet to be expert in Canons, and Decretals, which may inable them to judge, and interpose in temporall Causes, however pretended Ecclefiafticall. Doe they not hord up Pelfe, feeke to bee potent in fecular Strength, in State Affaires, in Lands, LordShips, and Demeanes, to fway and carry all before them in high Courts, and Privie Counfels, to bring into their grafp, the high, and principall Offices of the Kingdom? have they not been bold of late to check the Common Law, to flight and brave the indiminishable Majestie of our highest Court the Lawgiving and Sacred Parliament? Doe they not plainly labour to exempt Churchmen from the Magiftrate? Yea, so presumptuously as to question, and menace Officers that reprefent the Kings Perfon for ufing their Authority against drunken Preifts? The cause of protecting murderous Clergie-men was the first heart-burning that fwel'd up the audacious Becket to the peftilent, and odious vexation of Henry the fecond. Nay more, have not some of their devoted Schollers begun, I need not fay to nibble, but openly to argue against the Kings Supremacie? is not the Cheife of them accus'd out of his owne Booke, and his late Canons to affect a certaine unquestionable. Patriarchat, independent and unfubordinate to the Crowne? From whence having first brought us to a fervile Estate of Religion, and Manhood, and having predispos'd his conditions with the Pope, that layes

claime to this Land, or fome Pepin of his owne creating, it were all as likely for him to aspire to the Monarchy among us, as that the Pope could finde meanes fo on the fudden both to bereave the Emperour of the Roman Territory with the favour of Italy, and by an unexpected friend out of France, while he was in danger to lose his new-got Purchafe, beyond hope to leap in to the faire Exarchat

of Ravenna.

A good while the Pope futtl'y acted the Lamb, writing to the Emperour, my Lord Tiberius, my Lord Mauritius, but no fooner did this his Lord pluck at the Images, and Idols, but hee threw off his Sheepes clothing, and started up a Wolfe, laying his pawes upon the Emperours right, as forfeited to Peter. Why may not wee as well, having been forewarn'd at home by our renowned Chaucer, and from abroad by the great and learned Padre Paolo, from the like beginnings, as we fee they are, feare the like events? Certainly a wife, and provident King ought to fufpect a Hierarchy in his Realme, being ever attended, as it is, with two fuch greedy Purveyers, Ambition and Ufurpation, I fay hee ought to fufpect a Hierarchy to bee as dangerous and derogatory from his Crown as a Tetrarchy or a Heptarchy. Yet now that the Prelates had almost attain'd to what their infolent, and unbridl❜d minds had hurried them; to thruft the Laitie under the defpoticall rule of the Monarch, that they themselves might confine the Monarch to a kind of Pupillage under their Hierarchy, obferve but how their own Principles combat one another, and fupplant each one his fellow.

Having fitted us only for peace, and that a fervile peace, by leffening our numbers, dreining our estates, enfeebling our bodies, cowing our free fpirits by those wayes as you have heard, their impotent ac

tions cannot sustaine themselves the leaft moment, unleffe they rouze us up to a Warre fit for Cain to be the Leader of; an abhorred, a curfed, a Fraternall Warre. ENGLAND and SCOTLAND dearest Brothers both in Nature, and in CHRIST must be fet to wade in one anothers blood; and IRELAND our free Denizon upon the back of us both, as occafion should serve: a piece of Service that the Pope and all his Factors have beene compaffing to doe ever fince the Reformation.

But ever-blessed be he, and ever glorifi'd that from his high watch-Tower in the Heav'ns difcerning the crooked wayes of perverse, and cruell men, hath hitherto maim'd, and infatuated all their damnable inventions, and deluded their great Wizzards with a delufion fit for fooles and children; had GOD beene fo minded hee could have fent a Spirit of Mutiny amongst us, as hee did betweene Abimilech and the Sechemites, to have made our Funerals and flaine heaps more in number then the miserable furviving remnant, but he, when wee leaft deferv'd, fent out a gentle gale, and meffage of peace from the wings of those his Cherubins, that fanne his Mercy-feat. Nor fhall the wifdome, the moderation, the Chriftian Pietie, the Conftancy of our Nobility and Commons of England be ever forgotten, whofe calme, and temperat connivence could fit ftill, and smile out the stormy blufter of men more audacious, and precipitant, then of folid and deep reach, till their own fury had run it felfe out of breath, affailing, by rash and heady approches, the impregnable fituation of our Liberty and safety, that laught fuch weake enginry to fcorne, fuch poore drifts to make a Nationall Warre of a Surplice Brabble, a TippetScuffle, and ingage the unattainted Honour of Englifh Knighthood, to unfurle the streaming Red Crosse, or to reare the horrid Standard of thofe fatall guly