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diff --git a/old/67413-0.txt b/old/67413-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 0732e84..0000000 --- a/old/67413-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,21757 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Ecclesiastical History of England, The -Church of the Restoration, Vol. 2 of 2, by John Stoughton - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Ecclesiastical History of England, The Church of the Restoration, - Vol. 2 of 2 - -Author: John Stoughton - -Release Date: February 16, 2022 [eBook #67413] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Emmanuel Ackerman, Karin Spence and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was - produced from images generously made available by The - Internet Archive) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY OF -ENGLAND, THE CHURCH OF THE RESTORATION, VOL. 2 OF 2 *** - - - - - - ECCLESIASTICAL - - HISTORY OF ENGLAND. - - =The Church of the Restoration.= - - BY - - JOHN STOUGHTON, D.D. - - IN TWO VOLUMES--VOL. II. - - [Illustration] - - London: - HODDER AND STOUGHTON, - 27, PATERNOSTER ROW, E.C. - MDCCCLXX. - - [Illustration] - - - - - CONTENTS. - - - CHAPTER I. - - Popish Plot 1 - - Titus Oates 2 - - Coleman 3 - - Act for Excluding Roman Catholics 10 - - - CHAPTER II. - - Fall of Danby 12 - - New Parliament 13 - - The Duke of York and the Bishops 14 - - Archbishop Sancroft 17 - - Dangerfield’s Plot 21 - - Exclusion Bill 23 - - - CHAPTER III. - - Stillingfleet 26 - - Howe and Tillotson 27 - - Scheme of Comprehension 29 - - Toleration Bill 30 - - Oxford Parliament 31 - - Exclusion Bill 32 - - King’s Declaration 35 - - - CHAPTER IV. - - Duke of Buckingham and Howe 40 - - Men in Power-- - - Halifax 41 - - Rochester 43 - - Conway and Jenkins 43 - - Trial of Colledge 45 - - Fall of Shaftesbury 49 - - Persecution of Nonconformists 50 - - Vincent 54 - - Annesley and Bates 57 - - - CHAPTER V. - - Duke of Monmouth 60 - - Royal Despotism 63 - - Rye House Plot 64 - - Lord Russell 65 - - Death of Owen 70 - - Persecution of Nonconformists-- - - Heywood 71 - - Rosewell 72 - - Delaune 73 - - Bampfield 75 - - - CHAPTER VI. - - French Protestants 76 - - Cabinet Meetings 82 - - William Jenkyn 84 - - Charles’ Court 85 - - Scenes at Whitehall 86 - - Death of Charles II. 87 - - - CHAPTER VII. - - James II. 89 - - Alterations in the Ministry 92 - - Trial of Baxter 95 - - Monmouth’s Rebellion 97 - - Alicia Lisle 98 - - Elizabeth Gaunt 99 - - Persecution of Nonconformists 100 - - - CHAPTER VIII. - - Changes in the Cabinet 104 - - Court Intrigues 105 - - James’ Policy 106 - - Declaration of Indulgence 118 - - Penn 125 - - Kiffin 127 - - - CHAPTER IX. - - The Papal Nuncio 129 - - Promotion of Romanists 131 - - Proceedings at the Universities 132 - - New Declaration 139 - - The Seven Bishops 140 - - Prosecution 149 - - Trial 153 - - Acquittal 155 - - - CHAPTER X. - - Development of Nonconformity 159 - - Presbyterians 159 - - Form of Church Government 160 - - Independents 164 - - Confession of Faith 166 - - Baptists 171 - - Confession of Faith 172 - - Quakers 177 - - Form of Church Government 178 - - - CHAPTER XI. - - Cathedrals 180 - - Churches 182 - - Worship 185 - - Ecclesiastical Revenues 190 - - Ecclesiastical Courts 198 - - Nonconformist Places of Worship 205 - - Relative number of Conformists and Nonconformists 207 - - Contrasts in Preaching 209 - - Superstition 213 - - - CHAPTER XII. - - Family Life amongst Nonconformists 217 - - Family Life amongst Episcopalians 228 - - Observance of the Sabbath 234 - - Festivals 237 - - Recreations 238 - - Charities 243 - - Missions 247 - - Universities 250 - - - CHAPTER XIII. - - Theology 259 - - Anglicans-- - - Thorndike 268 - - Bull 279 - - Heylyn 287 - - Taylor 289 - - Cosin 299 - - Morley 302 - - Bramhall 303 - - - CHAPTER XIV. - - Anglicans-- - - Sanderson 305 - - Hammond 306 - - Pearson 308 - - Barrow 311 - - Opinions respecting Popery 316 - - Opinions respecting Unepiscopal Churches 318 - - The Prayer Book 323 - - Hooker’s Works 324 - - Anglican Sermon Writers 328 - - Critics 331 - - - CHAPTER XV. - - Liberal Orthodox-- - - Chillingworth 334 - - Smith 336 - - Hales 338 - - Farindon 339 - - Fowler 344 - - Wilkins 348 - - Cudworth 349 - - Stillingfleet 352 - - Critics-- - - Lightfoot 353 - - Patrick 354 - - Science 355 - - - CHAPTER XVI. - - Latitudinarians 359 - - Milton 363 - - Biddle 365 - - Scargill 368 - - - CHAPTER XVII. - - Quakers-- - - Penn 369 - - Barclay 377 - - Other Mystics-- - - Saltmarsh 380 - - Sterry 382 - - Sir Henry Vane 385 - - - CHAPTER XVIII. - - Puritan Works on Evidences 386 - - Gale 387 - - Howe 389 - - Owen 390 - - Baxter 392 - - Puritan Theology 394 - - Thomas Goodwin 397 - - Owen 401 - - - CHAPTER XIX. - - John Goodwin 406 - - Horne 409 - - Conyers--Lawson 410 - - _Fur Prædestinatus_ 412 - - - CHAPTER XX. - - Baxter 414 - - Howe 421 - - Puritan Views on Sacraments and the Ministry 430 - - Controversy with Papists 435 - - Ecclesiastical Controversy 437 - - Practical Theology 442 - - Expositors 446 - - - CHAPTER XXI. - - Poetry 451 - - Hymnology 455 - - - CHAPTER XXII. - - Illustrations of Religious Character-- - - Isaak Walton 468 - - John Evelyn 471 - - Margaret Godolphin 475 - - Sir Matthew Hale 478 - - Dr. Henry More 482 - - Sir Thomas Browne 485 - - Countess of Warwick 488 - - - CHAPTER XXIII. - - Illustrations of Religious Character--(_Continued_)-- - - John Burnyeat 492 - - Joseph Alleine 494 - - Thomas Ewins 497 - - Owen Stockton 500 - - Dr. Thomas Jacomb 504 - - Sir Harbottle Grimston 505 - - Unity of Spiritual Life 506 - - - APPENDIX. - - - I. Letter referring to Projected Insurrection. 509 - - II. Prayer Book attached to the Act of Uniformity. 513 - - III. Alterations in Prayer Book in compliance - with the Recommendation of the Puritans 521 - - IV. Act of Uniformity 522 - - V. Sealed Books 536 - - VI. Number of the Ejected 538 - - VII. Informer’s Note Book 542 - - VIII. Accuracy of Anecdote respecting Peter Ince 544 - - IX. Cecil, Lord Burleigh 545 - - X. MS. respecting the Death of Charles II. 546 - - XI. Story about Samuel Wesley 548 - - XII. Anglican Views on the Relations of Church - and State 549 - - XIII. MS. Journal of Parliamentary Proceedings, - by Lloyd, Bishop of Norwich 550 - - XIV. Extract from MS. Vol. in the Bodleian Library - respecting John Bunyan 555 - - INDEX 556 - - - - - CHAPTER I. - - -We resume the thread of our History, and return to notice the progress -of the anti-Popish excitement. - -[Sidenote: 1678.] - -Perhaps, in the history of the civilized world, there never occurred -a period when the passions of men were more deeply moved, than in -the autumn of the year 1678, when England was startled from side to -side by the following extraordinary story. The Jesuits had formed a -project for the conversion of Great Britain to the Roman Catholic -faith; and £10,000 had been procured to assist in carrying out their -plans. With this project was blended a conspiracy to assassinate the -King, who was to be poisoned by the Queen’s physician; failing which, -he was to be shot with bullets; and, if that did not succeed, he was -to be stabbed with a large knife. With a feeble attempt at wit it was -said, if he would not become R.C., a Roman Catholic, he should be no -longer C.R., Charles Rex. Twenty thousand Catholics in London were to -rise within twenty-four hours, and cut the throats of the Protestant -inhabitants; eight thousand were to take up arms in Scotland; and, of -course, in Ireland the professors of the ancient religion, possessed -of enormous influence, meant to have it all their own way. The Crown -was to be offered to the Duke of York, upon certain conditions; and -if James refused, then, it was elegantly said, “to pot he must -go also.” Amongst other means certain Jesuits were instructed to -“carry themselves like Nonconformist ministers, and to preach to the -disaffected Scots, the necessity of taking up the sword for the defence -of liberty of conscience.” Seditious preachers and catechists were -to be sent out, and directed when and what to preach in private and -public conventicles, and field meetings. The Society in London intended -to knock on the head Dr. Stillingfleet and Matthew Pool, for writing -against them; and Croft, Bishop of Hereford, was doomed to death as -an apostate. A second conflagration in the City of London formed an -element in this scheme of wholesale destruction; and, in anticipation -of the success of the design, the Pope had prepared a list of the -priests to succeed the Bishops and other dignitaries, who were to be so -speedily swept away. The author of this intelligence was the notorious -Titus Oates, who professed to have picked it up at St. Omer’s, at -Valladolid, at Burgos, and at a tavern in the Strand, where, owing to -his pretended conversion and zeal in the Catholic service, the Jesuits -had entrusted him with their deepest secrets. - -The first communication of the story staggered everybody. The King did -not know what to make of it. Danby, though inclined to use anything -he could for party purposes, hardly credited this amazing revelation. -Yet, incredible as it may appear, no means seem to have been used at -the outset to sift the matter to the bottom.[1] Therefore the tale came -to be looked at as credible, and, when Oates, on Michaelmas Eve, came -before the Council, and began his unprecedented story, he found ready -listeners. The items which he specified, with names and dates minutely -mentioned, certainly wore a plausible appearance; and, presently, two -circumstances occurred, which, at the time, obtained for his reports -all but universal credence. - -[Sidenote: POPISH PLOT.] - -The first of these circumstances was the sudden death of a magistrate, -Sir Edmondbury Godfrey, to whom Oates had made some of his statements -before divulging the whole to the Council. This magistrate was found -dead in a ditch near Primrose Hill, with a sword plunged in his body, -and marks of strangulation on his neck. A cry instantly rose, and ran -through London and the country, that Sir Edmondbury, who was famed for -his Protestant zeal, had been murdered by the Papists on account of his -receiving Oates’ deposition. The plot, it was argued, must be real, or -such a deed would not have been committed by the Roman Catholics. What -could the object of the murder be, but to take revenge on the exposers -of the conspiracy? The next circumstance which aided the prevalent -belief is found in the discovery of certain letters, in the handwriting -of one Coleman, addressed to Père la Chaise--the famous Jesuit, who -has given his name to the Cemetery at Paris--in which letters, -unmistakable allusions occur to designs for overthrowing Protestantism -in this country; and Coleman’s plans were at once identified with the -plot related by Titus Oates.[2] - -[Sidenote: 1678.] - -[Sidenote: POPISH PLOT.] - -Believed by Parliament, not only by the Country party, but by the -Court party as well, believed also by the Ministers of State, and -by the dignitaries of the Church, the plot came to be regarded by -almost everybody as an unquestionable fact. The higher circles -would not tolerate any doubt of Oates’ veracity; even Burnet, with -all his Protestantism, inasmuch as he hesitated to accept Oates’ -evidence, raised against himself “a great clamour:” and the Earl of -Shaftesbury, who threw himself with all his energy and eloquence into -the prosecution, declared “that all those who undermined the credit -of the witnesses were to be looked on as public enemies.”[3] In the -lower circles a conviction of the truthfulness of the accuser, and -of the guilt of the accused, prevailed to the last degree; and the -narrative related to the Council and the House of Commons, circulated -amongst eager and credulous groups, in thousands of chimney corners -during those autumn evenings. The King and the Duke of York seemed not -to believe what other people admitted. Yet the former felt obliged to -act as if he did. The reader who remembers the agitation attending -the Popish aggression more than twenty years ago, must not take even -that as a measure of the feeling awakened in 1678: perhaps nothing we -have ever seen could be a parallel to what our fathers experienced -at that time. Even the heavens were imagined to sympathize in the -abounding alarm: a fog, after Godfrey’s death, gave to the day on -which it occurred the name of _Black Sunday_; and a respectable -Nonconformist speaks of it growing so dark, all on a sudden, about -eleven in the forenoon, that ministers could not read their notes in -their pulpits without the help of candles,--no uncommon occurrence, -one would think, in the month of November. Not a house, he informs us, -could be found unfurnished with arms, nor did anybody go to bed without -apprehensions of something tragical which might happen before the next -morning.[4] People gave the martyred magistrate--for so they considered -Godfrey--a public funeral, after having for two days publicly exhibited -his wounded remains in his own house. An immense crowd followed him to -the grave, the corpse being preceded by seventy-two clergymen in their -robes; and, on its arrival at the church of St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields, -the Incumbent, Dr. Lloyd, afterwards Bishop of St. Asaph, delivered -a sermon in honour of the slain confessor. A Protestant festival had -long been kept on the 17th of November, Queen Elizabeth’s birthday; -and this year an effigy of the Pope with the Devil whispering in his -ear--and models of Godfrey’s dead body, and of Romish Bishops and -priests in mitres and copes--were carried through the streets, to -inflame to the highest pitch the prevalent indignation against the -Church of Rome. Daniel Defoe was then a mere boy, and looked with -wonder upon what passed before him; and, in after years, told how old -City blunderbusses were burnished anew; how hats and feathers, and -shoulder belts, and other military gear, came into fashion again; how -the City train-bands appeared rampant, and how soldiers disturbed -meeting-houses, even murdering people, under pretence that they would -not stand at their command.[5] Justice, or injustice, showed itself -swift in apprehending Roman Catholics. Two thousand suspected persons -are said to have been imprisoned, the houses of Roman Catholics were -searched for arms, and it is computed that as many as 30,000 recusants -were driven to a distance of ten miles from Whitehall. Within little -more than two months of the first whisper of the conspiracy, Stayley, -a banker, accused of sharing in it, died on the gallows at Tyburn, and -Coleman perished on the scaffold about a week afterwards.[6] Three more -victims followed the next month, all of them to the last declaring -their innocence. Oates at the same time went about dressed in gown and -cassock, wearing a large hat with a silk band and rose, and attended by -guards to secure him from Popish violence. Lodgings at Whitehall were -assigned for his use; he received a pension of £1,200 per annum, and -was welcomed at the houses of the rich and great.[7] A large number of -pamphlets containing accounts of the plot issued from the press, whilst -pulpits rung with impassioned declamation against Popery and rebellion. - -[Sidenote: 1678.] - -Amongst papers belonging to the Secretary of State at that period are -memoranda of strange rumours--one that the progress in rebuilding St. -Paul’s Cathedral was suspended, from fear lest it should become a -Popish Church. There is also a note, that the Prince of Orange should -be written to, or that some communication should be made to him, -through the Ambassador at his Court, or through Sir W. Temple, to -prevent the publication in Holland of a remonstrance, and of a hellish -libel, “destructive to the Royal authority, and the fundamental laws -of the nation.” The same Collection includes a letter to the Bishop of -London from some zealous Protestant, proposing an attack on the City of -Rome, “on that side where the Vatican Palace stands, and bringing away -the library.”[8] - -[Sidenote: POPISH PLOT.] - -Reviewing the whole of this history, I may remark, that Titus Oates -was an utterly worthless character, and that his statements are not -entitled to the smallest belief. He had been an Anabaptist under -Cromwell, had become an orthodox clergyman at the Restoration, had -professed himself a Catholic on the Continent, had been admitted -to Jesuit colleges, and had then abjured Popery on his return to -England. All this while he conducted himself in so abominable a -manner as repeatedly to incur expulsion from the positions in which -he was placed. His tale was as absurd and incredible as his conduct -was infamous; yet, notwithstanding this circumstance, it is by no -means surprising that at the time, the story with its most improbable -details should be believed--for Englishmen were filled with alarm at -the Romanism of the Royal family, at the manifest signs of revived -activity in this island by the Jesuits, at the obvious alliance between -spiritual and political despotism, and at the then suspected, and to -us, well-known intrigues which were being carried on to overthrow -the Protestantism of this country,--and they were therefore prepared -to be the dupes of Protestant credulity. An excitement of many years’ -accumulation now existed, and rumours and lies of all sorts were as -sparks sprinkled over heaps of gunpowder. As we criticize the evidence -of the plot, it will not stand for a single second. Yet, however we may -at first smile or sneer at the matter, on second thoughts, we shall -see that people only did what, probably, we should have done under -the influence of strong Protestant convictions, sharpened by terrible -memories, and goaded by equally terrible apprehensions. It would be -monstrous enough for us now to behave as did our ancestors, but we must -judge of their character in that emergency by the standard of their own -age, and according to the conditions of their own circumstances. - -[Sidenote: 1678.] - -Godfrey’s death is one of those mysteries permitted by Providence to -baffle our investigation, and to remain inscrutable secrets to the -end of time, stimulating a belief in the revelations and judgments -of eternity. Whichever hypothesis be adopted--that of murder or that -of suicide--grave exceptions to it may be taken. The supposition of -his having destroyed himself may be shown to be ridiculous, and also -no sufficient motive for a Papist to murder him can be assigned: the -argument, that the drops of melted wax found on the clothes of the -dead man must have been dropped by Papists, _because_ they are so -notorious for using wax candles, is ridiculous enough; yet, as in the -case of the plot, so in the case of the death brought into connection -with it, we do not wonder at the prevalent idea. All the circumstances -and antecedents of the time, the whole spirit of the age, together with -the tendencies of human nature, the readiness of men under a pressing -excitement to rush to conclusions, to interpret suspicious incidents -as demonstrations of guilt, must be taken into account as we reflect -upon the common opinion found at that period. Believing Oates’ tale, -and knowing both the Protestant zeal of Godfrey, and the consequences -to the Catholics of the explosion of the plot, zealots of the day -consistently attributed the crime of murder to the same persons to whom -they attributed the crime of treason.[9] - -[Sidenote: POPISH PLOT.] - -After all, there was a plot, not indeed to murder the King, but to -restore Popery. Coleman’s letters render this a fact beyond all -question, when we find him declaring “We have here a mighty work upon -our hands, no less than the conversion of three kingdoms, and by that -perhaps the subduing of a pestilent heresy, which has domineered -over great part of this northern world a long time. There never -was such hopes of success since the death of Queen Mary, as now in -our days.”[10] The designs and intrigues brought to light in this -correspondence harmonize with the purpose and spirit of the treaty -between Charles and Louis; and, therefore, we cannot wonder at the -reluctance of Charles and his brother to enter upon an inquiry into -the business, since however false might be the charge of contemplated -regicide, they knew too much, not to be aware that awkward facts -respecting French, Papal, and Jesuit schemes could be brought into -broad daylight, by searching to the bottom of this business. And it is -not unlikely that Oates might have heard at St. Omer’s, and at other -places, things uttered by some disciples of Ignatius Loyola, indicating -dark designs upon English religion and upon English liberty, which he -exaggerated immensely, and dressed up in the most frightful colours for -purposes of his own. - -[Sidenote: 1678.] - -Leaving this plot with its mysteries, falsehoods, and alarms, and -turning once more to the proceedings of Parliament, we find that the -sixteenth session opened on the 21st of October, just at the crisis -when the storm raised by Oates had reached its height. The King’s -speech touched lightly on the subject. Lord Chancellor Finch noticed -it with guarded phraseology, but the House of Commons at once resolved -upon an address for removing Popish recusants from the Metropolis, -and having appointed a Committee to inquire into Godfrey’s murder, -they also agreed with the Lords to request His Majesty to proclaim a -national fast. - -In 1673 an Act had been passed excluding Roman Catholics from all -places of profit and trust; now a Bill was introduced to exclude -them from Parliament and from the Councils of the Sovereign.[11] By -help of the existing panic, the Bill made its way with ease; and -what is remarkable, in this measure the obligation to receive the -sacrament is not mentioned--an omission doubtless intended for the -benefit of Dissenters, whose sympathy and assistance were just then -valued by persons who had been accustomed before to treat them with -violence--but a strong declaration to the effect that Romish worship -is idolatrous was imposed, together with the Oaths of Allegiance and -Supremacy. When this Bill reached the House of Lords, Gunning, Bishop -of Ely, objected to the description and treatment of Romish worship -as idolatrous; yet his arguments on this point being met by Barlow, -Bishop of Lincoln, Gunning--although he said he could not himself adopt -the new declaration--after it became law, followed the example of his -brethren.[12] - -[Sidenote: PARLIAMENT.] - -The Lords looked with little favour upon a Bill which, by disqualifying -Papists from sitting in Parliament, would deprive some of their own -order of hereditary rights; notwithstanding goaded by the Commons, and -encouraged by the King, they at last without opposition passed the -measure, providing in it an exception on behalf of the Duke of York. -This exception displeased the Commons, who, above all things, desired -to remove a Roman Catholic prince from the government of the country; -and, therefore, when the Bill returned to them with its amendments, it -had to meet the most strenuous opposition from the Country party. High -words were followed not only, as in the Long Parliament, by storms of -outcries and by menaces of violence, but by actual blows; and after -a singularly angry debate, the proviso passed only by a majority of -two, and the Royal assent was given to the whole Bill with very great -reluctance.[13] - - - - - CHAPTER II. - - -[Sidenote: PROTESTANT OPPOSITION.] - -The fall of the Earl of Danby is to be attributed to an artful -contrivance by the French Court; which, from revenge against him for -his real enmity, accomplished his ruin, by pretending that he was a -friend. By means of Montague--who laid before the House of Commons -despatches, written to him by the Minister, most unwillingly, but at -the King’s command--Louis XIV. established against Danby, charges -of intrigues with France for obtaining money, quite sufficient to -extinguish for ever all the credit which he had ever had with his own -countrymen. His plea of unwillingness to enter into his master’s policy -with regard to France, although true, proved inadequate to save him -from impeachment by the Commons, who acted upon the constitutional -principle--that the King’s Ministers are responsible for what they -perform in the King’s name. Danby, though made a victim of revenge, -and in truth, suffering “not on account of his delinquency, but on -account of his merits,” had put himself in such a false position, that -Parliament could do no otherwise than demand his removal from office. -How far the extreme step of impeachment can be justified is another -question; and, at all events, the charge of his being Popishly affected -is truly absurd. The accusation of his concealing the Popish plot, -of suppressing the evidence, and of discountenancing the witnesses, -could not be made even plausible, for though he had been sceptical at -first respecting the story told by Oates, as any sensible man might -well be, he had afterwards fully committed himself to the proceedings -against the accused Papists; yet perhaps there is some truth in an -amusing passage written by one who cherished strong prejudices against -him:--“The Earl of Danby thought he could serve himself of this plot -of Oates, and accordingly endeavoured at it; but it is plain that he -had no command of the engine, and instead of his sharing the popularity -of nursing it, he found himself so intrigued that it was like a wolf -by the ears: he could neither hold it nor let it go, and for certain -it bit him at last, just as when a barbarous mastiff attacks a man, he -cries ‘poor cur,’ and is pulled down at last.”[14] - -The resolution of the Commons on the 19th of December, 1678, to impeach -the Lord Treasurer, was followed by a prorogation on the 30th, and a -dissolution on the 24th of January, 1679; this Parliament having then -sat for the long space of eighteen years. - -[Sidenote: 1679.] - -The King immediately summoned a new Parliament, to meet at the end of -forty days; and again, as in 1661, a general election took place under -circumstances of immense excitement. Protestants believed the cause of -the Reformation to be in imminent danger from the Popish tendencies -of the King, from the avowed Romanism of the Duke of York, from the -intrigues of France, and from the want of principle in public men. -Therefore, multitudes rushed to the poll with the idea, that only -by voting for unmistakable and zealous Protestants, could they save -England from being dragged back to the condition in which she was -found before the Reformation. Thousands of horsemen rode into cities -and county towns to record their names in favour of the Established -Church. People had to sleep in market-places, to lie like sheep around -market crosses.[15] Candidates were chaired at midnight with the bray -of trumpets and a blaze of torches; but with all this Protestant -enthusiasm, elections could not be carried without bribery, treating, -and corruption. Horses were demanded in proportion to the number of -electors; there occurred an enormous consumption of beer, bread, and -cakes at Norwich; and as for the Knight of the Shire of Surrey, “they -ate and drank him out near to £2,000, by a most abominable custom.”[16] -Popular candidates pledged to oppose the Court against Popery succeeded -almost everywhere. - -Scarcely had the shouts which hailed these returns died away, when a -remarkable interview took place between certain dignitaries of the -Church and the Popish heir to the throne. - -As the Duke of York’s religious opinions had increasingly attracted the -attention and excited the alarm of the nation at large, the rulers of -the Church shared in the anxiety, and were very desirous, if possible, -to see him reclaimed from the Roman communion. The origin of a project, -with the view of accomplishing this purpose, is ascribed to the new -Archbishop of Canterbury. - -[Sidenote: PROTESTANT OPPOSITION.] - -Upon the death of Sheldon, William Sancroft, at the time Prolocutor -to the Lower House of Convocation, was elevated to the primacy, for -reasons differently stated by different persons. Probably, in this -case, the reason is to be found in his unambitious spirit and in his -amiable disposition, as suggested by Dryden: - - “Zadoc the priest, whom, shunning power and place, - His lowly mind advanced to David’s grace.” - -If it was supposed that he would become the pliant tool of the Monarch; -events at the Revolution contradicted the idea, and the circumstances -now to be described show that the Archbishop, after his exaltation, -determined to act as a zealous Protestant. He, with his aged brother, -Morley, of Winchester, and not without the consent of the King, -obtained an audience from His Royal Highness, and delivered to him -an address on the subject of reconversion. Sancroft spoke of the -Church of England as most afflicted, a lily amongst thorns, bearing -on her body the marks of the Lord Jesus--the scars of old, and the -impressions of new wounds. But the greatest amongst the multitude of -her sorrows was, the speaker said, that the Duke should forsake her -fellowship, after the education which he had received, and after the -solemn charge which his dying father gave his elder brother, touching -the duty of everlasting fidelity to the Established Church. The Duke -was described by the Primate as the bright morning and evening star, -which arose and set with the sun, but he had withdrawn his light; and -now the two Bishops, who had undertaken to plead with him in the cause -of Protestantism, assured His Royal Highness of their intercessions on -his behalf, and asked whether, with his noble and generous heart, he -would throw back these prayers? They inquired, if those to whom he had -surrendered himself, had not renounced reason and common sense, and -really taught him to put out his own eyes, that they might lead him -whither they would? His case did not seem hopeful to his Protestant -advisers, yet they declared that they had too good an opinion of his -understanding, to believe that he would sell himself at so cheap a -rate. Nothing of such moment as religion was to be huddled up in a -dark and implicit manner. It was his duty to “prove all things, and -hold fast that which is good.” The prelates offered their assistance, -referred to plain texts and obvious facts “in a hundred books,” and -then concluded their address with this syllogism: “That Church which -teacheth and practiseth the doctrines destructive of salvation is -to be relinquished. But the Church of Rome teacheth and practiseth -doctrines destructive of salvation. Therefore the Church of Rome is to -be relinquished.”[17] - -[Sidenote: 1679.] - -This speech, in which compliments and reproofs oddly struggle with each -other, and which ends with a logical formula, perfectly impotent under -the circumstances, bears upon it traces of Sancroft’s ornate but feeble -style of thought and expression. It produced no effect; and the Royal -auditor, after saying that it would be presumptuous, in an illiterate -man like himself, to enter into controversial disputes with persons of -learning, politely dismissed the Bishops, pleading that the pressure -of business prevented further discussion.[18] The strain of remark on -the one side, the mode of reply on the other, and the interchange of -courtesies between the two parties, present a striking contrast to the -conversations between John Knox and the Duke’s great-grandmother. The -Archbishop of Canterbury appears much more amiable than the Scotch -Presbyterian Reformer; and James is much more prudent than Mary Queen -of Scots: but how tame and lifeless appears all the smooth eloquence -of the Primate, compared with the burning words of the Elijah-like -Presbyterian; and how unimpressible is the saturnine Prince, compared -with the modern Jezebel, who wept and stormed at Holyrood. - -[Sidenote: SANCROFT.] - -No doubt can exist of Sancroft’s sincere opposition to Popery. Wilkins, -in his _Concilia_, gives, in addition to Royal proclamations on -that subject, a letter written by the Primate to the Bishop of London, -dated April 9, 1681, in which he requires that the three canons against -Popish recusants, agreed upon in the Synod of London in 1605, namely, -the 65th, the 66th, and the 114th, should be put in use, considering, -he says, in language then so current on that topic, “how acceptable -a service it will be to Almighty God, to assist His Majesty’s pious -purpose herein; and, on the other side, how severe a punishment, the -last canon of the three appoints, to those who shall neglect their duty -herein.”[19] It is remarkable, that after the death of Sheldon, we -find in Wilkins, no more documents enforcing the execution of the laws -against Nonconformists; an omission which indicates the very different -disposition of the new occupant of the see, from that which had been -manifested by his predecessor. - -[Sidenote: 1678–80.] - -In the affairs of his own Church, Sancroft endeavoured to effect some -useful reforms and improvements. Considerable laxity prevailed in the -admission of candidates to holy orders, testimonials to character -being often signed as a mere form, without sufficient knowledge of -the persons in whose favour they were given. To check this injurious -practice, Sancroft, in the month of August, 1678,[20] sent directions -to his suffragans, that thenceforth such recommendations should be -more carefully prepared, should contain fuller particulars, and -should be more cautiously used. The poverty of vicarages, and other -small ecclesiastical benefices, still continued: the augmentation of -them was an old remedy, the failure of schemes for the purpose an old -disappointment. Even the Act in relation to this matter in 1676, had -been carried into only partial execution; and, therefore, many of the -difficulties, so long complained of by the clergy, still remained. -Consequently, Sancroft, in the year 1680, sent an appeal to the Bishops -of his province, urging strongly the application of the Act; and -requiring every Bishop, Dean, and Archdeacon to send particulars of -all the augmentations made by them or their predecessors.[21] What he -recommended to others he practised himself, for he liberally improved -many of the livings in his gift. The chronic disease of the Church -forced itself on the Archbishop’s attention: many unsuitable persons -being appointed to benefices, and private advantage taking precedence -of public welfare, among the motives deciding the administration -of patronage. As a cure to some extent, Charles issued a warrant, -constituting the Archbishop, the Bishop of London, and four laymen -proper and competent judges of men deserving to be preferred, and -forbidding the Secretary of State to apply to the Royal fountain of -favour, for the bestowment of ecclesiastical preferments, without first -communicating with this council of reference.[22] What share Sancroft -had in the origin or the execution of the plan we do not know; but -the object was one which, from what we learn of his character, would -commend itself to his judgment. The practice of simony continued, -and an Archdeacon of Lincoln, convicted of that offence in the -ecclesiastical court, petitioned the King for pardon;--upon the -petition being referred to Sancroft, he replied that the crime of -which the man had been convicted, was “a pestilence that walketh in -darkness,” and that if he were saved from punishment, the markets of -Simon Magus would be more frequented than ever.[23] - -[Sidenote: TEMPLE.] - -After the impeachment and imprisonment of the Earl of Danby, in spite -of Royal endeavours to screen him, His Majesty being then left without -an adviser, sent for Sir William Temple, and appointed him Secretary -of State, in the room of Coventry. This ingenious politician proposed, -that there should be a Council, consisting of thirty members, fifteen -of them to be Officers of State, chosen by the King; the other -fifteen, popular leaders of the two Houses. The idea was, to blend -the Government and the Opposition together, or, rather, to prevent -the existence of any opposition at all.[24] The Council of statesmen -formed on this model included, on the one hand, Essex, Sunderland, -and Halifax--men attached to Court interests, in favour with the -King, and suspected by the people; and on the other hand, the Earl -of Shaftesbury, a leading spirit of the old Cabal, now an extreme -opponent of the Court policy, and Lord William Russell, an eminently -zealous Protestant, and popular Member of the House of Commons. The -last two names are interwoven from the beginning, with the popular plan -for setting aside the Duke of York--the first three Ministers being -entirely opposed to it, and advocating the legitimate succession, with -certain safeguards for the protection of Protestantism. This division -of opinion in the Council reflected and magnified itself in the -divisions of Parliament. - -[Sidenote: 1679.] - -Parliament met in March. The King and such Ministers as agreed with -him, proposed terms of compromise in reference to the succession. -The Chancellor, in April, stated that His Majesty was willing to -distinguish a Popish from a Protestant successor; and so to limit the -authority of the latter in reference to the Church, that all benefices -in the gift of the Crown should be conferred in such a manner as to -ensure the appointment of pious and learned Protestants.[25] Other -restrictions of a political kind were proposed, which, as Charles said, -would “pare the nails” of a Popish King. - -The Exclusion Bill was carried by the Commons in the month of May, but -the effect was neutralized by a sudden prorogation of Parliament before -the month had expired.[26] Parliament being dissolved by proclamation -on the 12th of July, a new one was called for the following October. - -[Sidenote: DANGERFIELD’S PLOT.] - -The fourth Parliament of Charles II. met in October, 1679, and, after -repeated prorogation, assembled for the despatch of business in -October, 1680. Another informer just at that time rose to notoriety, -whose name deserves to be coupled with that of Oates. Dangerfield is -represented as a handsome young man, whom profligacy and debt brought -within the walls of Newgate, where he was visited by a Roman Catholic -woman named Cellier, one “who had a great share of wit, and was -abandoned to lewdness.”[27] The man professed to become a convert to -her religion, and, through the influence of his new friend with persons -at Court, obtained an introduction to the Duke of York, into whose ears -he poured tales of treason. This time a plot was attributed to the -Presbyterians, who, according to Dangerfield, were raising forces to -overthrow the Government. James gave the man twenty guineas; Charles -ordered an additional reward of forty. The adventurer, finding his -trade so gainful, determined to push his object further. He lodged an -information at the Custom House against Colonel Mansel, a Presbyterian, -whom he charged with being the quarter-master of the army of revolt; -but the revenue officers, on searching his house, found not what they -expected, but only a bundle of papers behind the bed. The papers -were plainly treasonable; not less plainly did they bear signs of -forgery. The accused traced home the infamous trick to the unprincipled -informer. Dangerfield, once more committed to Newgate, not for debt, -but for something worse, now changed his story, and declared that, at -the instigation of Cellier and Lady Powis, who had become mixed up in -the affair, he had engaged in a sham plot, as a cover for a real one. -Though no Presbyterian conspiracy existed, there was, he affirmed, a -Popish one, and a proof of the former being a fiction might be obtained -from a bundle of papers secreted in a meal tub. The meal was searched, -the papers were found; they demonstrated the artifice, and the trumpery -contrivance has gained a place in history under the title of the “Meal -Tub Plot.” Powis and Cellier were now, in their turn, imprisoned. -The grand jury ignored the bill against the former, and the latter -obtained an acquittal at the Old Bailey. Dangerfield received a pardon; -yet, though all three at the time escaped the penalties of the law, -Dangerfield subsequently received a cruel whipping for the crime of -perjury.[28] This miserable creature has been represented either as a -tool employed by the Catholics to retaliate upon the friends of Titus -Oates, or as a tool employed by the friends of Titus Oates to decoy -Catholics into an attempt at injuring the Presbyterians. The former is -the Protestant, the latter the Catholic hypothesis. Neither of them -seems satisfactory; the latter is almost incredible. At all events, -every reader must see that tissues of lies were woven in those days as -unaccountably and as plentifully as spiders’ webs in autumn nights. - -[Sidenote: 1680.] - -Whilst these plots were common talk, and indignation against Romanism -was fomented in a thousand ways, the Corporation of Bristol made the -following presentment:-- - -[Sidenote: EXCLUSION BILL.] - -We lament that “at this time more heats and animosities should be -fomented among us, than hath been since His Majesty’s most happy -restoration, which gives us just cause to suspect, however such men -cover themselves under the umbrage of zeal and religion, that they are -influenced by Jesuitical principles. For the Jesuits have not a fairer -prospect of bringing us under the tyranny of Rome, than by continuing -and carrying on of differences among ourselves. _Divide et impera_ -is their maxim. From this evil spirit and principle this city hath been -represented as ill inclined to His Majesty’s person and Government, -our worthy mayor, a person of unquestionable loyalty to the King, and -of exemplary zeal for the Church, [being] traduced as fanatically -disposed, and all those true sons of the Church of England who have any -moderation towards Dissenting Protestants, to be more dangerous to the -Church than the Papists themselves, when we cannot but think that a -hearty union among all Protestants is now more than ever necessary to -preserve us from our open and avowed enemy.”[29] - -Union amongst Protestants at such a time seemed to be dictated by -reason and policy, but Churchmen who looked with neighbourly kindness -upon Nonconformists were apt to be suspected of laxity of principle and -a want of zeal; and the very paper from which I have given an extract -is endorsed as a “seditious presentment.” - -[Sidenote: 1680.] - -In the month of October, the Exclusion Bill reappeared and passed, -all the argument and eloquence of the members from day to day, -through long sittings, being devoted to this question. Interwoven -with the debate from beginning to end, like dark threads in shot -silk, are references to the recent Popish plot and its attendant -circumstances. Whilst treated as a legal and political question,[30] -its ecclesiastical bearings were most prominent and most vital, in the -estimation of zealous Protestants both within and outside the walls -of Parliament.[31] The central point in this controversy, whatever -might be its political relations, and however it might be mixed up -with party interests, was of a religious nature. Had the Church not -been united with the State, had all Christian congregations been left -to their own resources, and been exempt from Government control, -the case would have been very different, though even then religious -considerations would have certainly become mixed up with the question; -but, as it was, with such an interlacing between things political and -things ecclesiastical, with the King as supreme temporal Ruler of the -Church, and Defender of the Faith, to have a Roman Catholic placed in -that position justly appeared to Protestants not merely as inexpedient, -but as totally unreasonable and absurd. The ecclesiastical argument -formed the stronghold of the exclusion policy, and its opponents -could by no sophistry overturn it. Still they had much to say. They -praised the Duke as a man of ability, who had fulfilled important naval -duties, and deserved well of his country. The attempt to set such a -man aside, a man with so much decision of purpose, and with so many -friends, they contended, would incur the risk of plunging Great Britain -into another civil war. And beyond all personal and national reasons -against his exclusion, they took the high ground--so dear to the Stuart -race--of the Divine right of kings, and denounced the attempt to -deprive the heir apparent of his crown as nothing short of robbery and -wickedness.[32] - -[Sidenote: EXCLUSION BILL.] - -The Bill carried in the House of Commons met an adverse fate in the -House of Lords. Shaftesbury did his utmost for its support, and the -Country party amongst the peers gallantly rallied around him, but after -a telling speech from the Earl of Halifax, the measure was defeated by -63 against 30. The division took place at the then late hour of eleven -o’clock at night, the King being present, and the whole being described -as “one of the greatest days ever known in the House of Lords.”[33] -In the large majority against the second reading, appeared no less -than fourteen Bishops, who, for the course they adopted, were charged -with tearing “out the bowels of their Mother the Church.” They upheld -the doctrine of Divine right, in opposition to the Protestant zeal -of the day, which looked in a different direction, and they thought -that limitations, such as the King and the Court party were willing to -impose upon the legitimate successor to the crown, would suffice to -preserve the Reformed Church in its integrity and its supremacy. - - - - - CHAPTER III. - - -To prevent breaking the continuity of the narrative, an incident has -been passed over requiring some notice. - -Upon the 2nd of May, 1680, Dr. Stillingfleet preached a sermon before -the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of the City of London, and the Judges -and Sergeants-at-law. The subject of discourse being “The Mischief -of Separation,” he treated his audience with an invective against -Dissenters as schismatics, who had rent the Church in twain; and he -represented them as reduced to this dilemma--“that though the really -conscientious Nonconformist is justified in not worshipping after the -prescribed forms of the Church of England, or rather would be criminal -if he did so, yet he is not less criminal in setting up a separate -assembly.”[34] Victims so impaled were in a wretched condition, and -no one can wonder that they made an effort to extricate themselves. -They did so with success, and if not always with perfect good temper, -nobody can severely blame them for that. Owen wrote with “great gravity -and seriousness.” Baxter was very “particular, warm, and close.” Alsop -briskly turned upon the preacher “his own words and phrases.”[35] -Stillingfleet’s _Irenicum_, published in 1659, had shown that -no form of Church government could be _jure divino_, a position -of which his opponents now took advantage, whilst they failed not to -ply the _argumentum ad hominem_. “A person of quality” sent to -John Howe the printed sermon, enclosing with it severe remarks. Howe, -with calm impartiality, such as nettles a partisan of either extreme -more than any stinging attacks can do, immediately expressed his -intention “of defending the cause of the Nonconformists against the -Dean, and then of adding something in defence of the Dean against his -correspondent.”[36] The reply which he produced is one of the most -beautiful specimens of controversy in existence. Stillingfleet was -subdued when he read it, and confessed that Howe discoursed “more like -a gentleman than a Divine, without any mixture of rancour, or any sharp -reflections, and sometimes with a great degree of kindness towards him, -for which, and his prayers for him, he heartily thanked him.”[37] - -[Sidenote: TILLOTSON.] - -The year proved unfortunate for the consistency of Divines of the -Liberal school, for Tillotson also committed himself. Preaching a -sermon at Court he maintained the monstrous position “that no man is -obliged to preach against the religion of his country, though a false -one, unless he has the power of working miracles.” “It is a pity your -Majesty slept,” observed a Courtier at the close of the service, “for -we have had the rarest piece of Hobbism that ever you heard in your -life.” “Odsfish!” rejoined Charles, “he shall print it then.” Howe once -more came forward with reproof and expostulation. He regretted that -the Dean should have pleaded “the Popish cause against the Fathers of -the Reformation;” and as the Nonconformist was riding with his friend -to see Lady Falconbridge at Sutton Court, he so touched the heart of -the Church dignitary, that the latter bursting into tears, confessed -that it “was the unhappiest thing which had for a long time happened to -him;” and pleaded in excuse of his great error, the haste with which he -had prepared his discourse, and the alarm produced in his mind by the -spread of Popery.[38] - -[Sidenote: 1680.] - -[Sidenote: COMPREHENSION.] - -Perhaps these circumstances had some influence in producing another -useless attempt at comprehension at the close of the year 1680, -inasmuch as we shall find Howe in consultation with the two Divines -just mentioned touching the subject. Howe met Bishop Lloyd at -Tillotson’s house.[39] The Bishop asked what would satisfy the -Nonconformists, if an attempt should be made to adjust the differences -between them and the Church. Howe observed “as all had not the same -latitude, he could only answer for himself.” What concessions, he was -further asked, would, in his opinion, satisfy the scruples of the -greater number--for, added Lloyd, “I would have the terms so large -as to comprehend the most of them.” Howe declared that he thought “a -very considerable obstacle would be removed, if the law were so framed -as to enable ministers to attempt parochial reformation.” “For that -reason,” said the Bishop, “I am for abolishing the lay Chancellors as -being the great hindrance to such reformation.”[40] The next evening -Howe and Bates, with Tillotson, met at the Deanery of St. Paul’s, where -Stillingfleet had provided a handsome entertainment for his visitors. -Lloyd, though expected, did not join the party, being prevented by -a division in the House of Lords, upon the Exclusion Bill. Whatever -the bearing of these circumstances might be upon what followed, there -appeared in Parliament three days afterwards (November 18) a scheme of -comprehension. - -The second reading of the Bill, embodying the scheme, occasioned a -debate, which went over well-worn topics, and presents no points of -interest. - -The measure emanated from the Episcopalian party in the House of -Commons; but the Presbyterian members, to the amazement of every one, -did not promote it. They knew it could not be carried in the House of -Lords; and the clergy, as Kennet confesses, were “no further in earnest -than as they apprehended the knife of the Papists” to be near their -throats.[41] - -The Bill dropped--what else could be expected, there being on one side -no earnestness in making the offer, and on the other no disposition to -accept it?[42] - -[Sidenote: 1680–81.] - -With the Bill founded on the principle of comprehension another was -brought forward, based on the principle of toleration. It proposed to -exempt Protestant Dissenters “from the penalties of certain laws.”[43] -The measure made way through the House of Commons, and it forced itself -through the House of Lords;[44] but because distasteful to the King on -account of its limiting toleration to Protestant Nonconformists, it was -put aside by some contemptible trick, when other Bills were presented -for the Royal assent.[45] - -On the day of the prorogation, the Commons by a formal resolution -pronounced the prosecution of Protestant Dissenters to be a -grievance to the subject, a detriment to the Protestant interest, an -encouragement to Popery, and a danger to the kingdom’s peace.[46] -However strange it is to find such a resolution in the Journals, after -a Bill had been carried through the two Houses to the same effect a few -days before, the fact may be explained by the circumstance that the -Commons had become aware of the foul play practised on these cherished -measures. It seems incredible, but such was the factious spirit -existing, that the Court and High Church party--who were prepared to -vindicate, or to wink at all kinds of excesses in the despotism of the -Crown--positively objected to the resolution, as an unconstitutional -method of invalidating Acts of Parliament.[47] - -[Sidenote: OXFORD PARLIAMENT.] - -Charles II. dissolved his fourth Parliament on the 18th of January, -1681, and summoned a fifth to meet at Oxford on the 21st of March.[48] -This fifth Parliament opened amidst great excitement. The members for -London, who had sat before, received the thanks of the citizens for -searching into the Popish plot, and for supporting the Comprehension, -the Toleration, and the Exclusion Bills. They rode to the City -on the banks of the Isis, attended by a large body of horsemen, -with ribbons stuck in their hats, displaying the watchwords, “No -Popery--No Slavery.” Other members received similar addresses, and -proceeded to the scholastic halls,--for the occasion transferred into -senate-houses,--stirred by the conviction that a great political and -ecclesiastical crisis had arisen. Met by the King with gracious but -hollow sayings of the accustomed stamp, Parliament did not pass over -the recent breach of decency committed in reference to the Toleration -Bill, and reflections not more sharp than just were uttered by Liberal -members. It was said, that those who charged the Country party with -being Republicans were Revolutionists themselves, like thieves in a -crowd, crying “Gentlemen, have a care of your pockets;”[49] that if -Bills could be so thrown away the Commons vainly spent their time in -passing them, and that what had been done inflicted a heavy blow on -the English Constitution. The Commons requested a conference with the -Lords, and took up the subject with spirit, declaring, as recorded in -the _Lords’ Journals_, an intention to search out the accomplices -in the piece of impudent knavery, which had just been practised on -their own House.[50] Another Bill of Exclusion made its appearance, and -another debate on Popery arose; but a dissolution within one week put -an end to all Parliamentary inquiry, and extinguished all Parliamentary -discussion. - -[Sidenote: 1681.] - -Amidst much false alarm, and much popular folly, there existed a -reasonable antipathy to the superstition and intolerance of Rome; the -return of Papal ascendancy being, at that moment, no unreasonable -object of fear; for with it would have inevitably arrived a new reign -of civil and spiritual despotism. Protestantism on the one side, and -Popery on the other, stood face to face in irreconcilable conflict; and -during the storm which raged from one end of the Island to the other, -there came into play two famous party watchwords, which, though in our -time they have become nearly superseded, are not yet wholly swept out -of existence. It is curious to notice that “Whig” and “Tory”--names -then and since appropriated to political uses--had a religious origin: -Whig being the title coined to fit the Presbyterian Covenanters of -Scotland, suspected of anti-Monarchical principles; and “Tory” being -meant to designate the Roman Catholic Irishmen, who seized the property -of English settlers, and whose religion was considered most favourable -to despotism. - -[Sidenote: EXCLUSION BILL.] - -Whilst, in these days of enlightenment and of perfectly altered -circumstances, we can see how, without sacrificing universal religious -liberty, we can protect ourselves against the danger of Papal -ascendancy and despotism, should that danger again threaten us, it -is proper to take into account the whole case respecting the conduct -of our ancestors in the last two Stuart reigns, and to remember that -they dreaded such broad toleration, because they apprehended it would -lead to the supremacy of Romanism; and they could not see how it was -possible, in this case, to concede liberty without opening a gate -for the entrance of injustice. There was wisdom in the end they kept -in view, though there was error in the method they employed for its -attainment. - -[Sidenote: 1681.] - -It is ridiculous to look upon the Earl of Shaftesbury as the Æolus -who let loose the anti-Papal winds. He doubtless availed himself of -the public favour to accomplish ends of his own, and the elevation -of the Duke of Monmouth to the honour of legitimacy and heirship was -with him a favourite idea, equally absurd and mischievous; but the -desire, prevalent for a time, of cutting off the entail of the crown -from the King’s brother, was no creation of a single person, but the -offspring of public sentiment, and the outgrowth of years on years. -Indignation against Popery, and the support of an Exclusion Bill, -intimately connected as cause and effect, were two distinct things: but -although the former continued in unabated force, the latter dwindled -away, and the nation came to acquiesce, so far as the succession to -the throne was concerned, in the policy of the Court. The reasons -are easily assigned. Popular falsehoods respecting the Popish plots -exploded in disgrace, and honest folks saw they had been deceived -by knaves. From dislike to Rome, her doctrines, her polity, and her -worship, some diseased secretions, which had gathered over feeling, -came to be rubbed off. Romanists had been found less desperate plotters -than had been dreamed. Limitations upon the descent of the crown -appeared more efficacious than they had done before. The probability -of another Civil War, if James were excluded, alarmed many; personal -sympathy with a Sovereign required to perform so unnatural an act as -that of disinheriting a brother, prevailed with more; and perhaps, -considering the Royal ages, the uncertainty of the contemplated -emergency influenced most. In this last respect, a manifest difference -exists between the policy of an Exclusion Bill founded on a contingency -which might never occur, and the policy of a Revolution based upon -the despotic proceedings of an actual King. That these reasons proved -effective is plain; whether they were valid and wise is another -point. The sequel showed a Revolution to be inevitable. To have -anticipated the event of 1688 might have saved England some trouble -and much suffering; but England has always been slow to depart from -constitutional principles, and has always loved to stand as long as -possible “in the old ways.” The conflict which opened in 1643 had been -put off until it could be put off no longer: and the men of the second -half of the seventeenth century were, as it regarded an unwillingness -to come to extremities, just like their fathers of the first. What -really followed the departure from the scheme of Exclusion justified -some of the worst fears of its supporters. The Duke was restored to his -former position, and carried things with a high hand.[51] - -[Sidenote: KING’S DECLARATION.] - -After the dissolution of Parliament at Oxford, the King, by the advice -of Halifax, published a Declaration, explaining the reasons which -induced him to take that critical step. He charged the Commons with -arbitrary orders; with bringing forward accusations on mere suspicion; -with unconstitutional votes, especially in support of resolutions -condemning the persecution of Dissenters, according to law; with -obstinacy in the matter of the Exclusion Bill; with a design of -changing the government of the realm; and with a determination to set -and keep at variance the two Houses of Legislature.[52] In short, he -managed, as his father had done, only with more dexterity, to cover and -defend his own unconstitutional purposes, by throwing all blame on the -Houses of Parliament. - -Immediately afterwards, Archbishop Sancroft received a Royal command -to require the public reading of the Declaration in all and every the -churches and chapels within the province of Canterbury, at the time of -Divine service, upon some Lord’s Day, with all convenient speed. If we -may here believe Burnet, Sancroft, at a meeting of Council, moved that -this order should be given; remembering the habits of the Historian -of his _Own Times_, I can scarcely trust his statement, without -confirmation from some other quarter. Yet, if Sancroft did not suggest, -he certainly did not resist the publication of this document--as he -did the publication of another at a later period; and, because he -received the order for its publication, and the publication followed -accordingly, he must bear the responsibility of having sanctioned a -procedure, which really made the Church an approving herald to the -nation, of the King’s despotic policy.[53] - -[Sidenote: 1681.] - -High Churchmen took the opportunity of presenting to the Throne the -most obsequious and abject addresses. Our princes, said they, derive -not their title from the people, but from God; to Him alone they are -accountable: and it belongs not to subjects either to create or to -censure, but only to honour and obey their Sovereign. They besought -His Majesty to accept the tender of their hearts and hands, their -lives and fortunes. These dearest sacrifices they abjectly laid down -at Royal feet.[54] It was about the same time that Morley, Bishop of -Winchester, declared:--“If ever it might be said of any--it may now -most emphatically be said of us: Happy are the people that are in such -a case.” We have “a Government pretending to no power at all above the -King, nor to no power under the King neither, but from him, and by him, -and for him--a Government enjoining active obedience to all lawful -commands of lawful authority; and passive obedience when we cannot obey -actively, forbidding and condemning all taking up of arms, offensive or -defensive, by subjects of any quality.”[55] - -The King’s Declaration was compared by a writer of later date, -reflecting upon it, to the olive branch brought by the dove into the -ark,--an indication of peace, of the abatement of popular excitement, -and of the stability of laws and religion, like the dove which had -found _ubi pedem figeret_. Warming with his subject, he calls the -Declaration “that great vision of the _Lex terræ_” long wrapped in -mists, but now revealed; and likens the addresses called forth to the -seamen’s shout on approaching land, after a stormy voyage.[56] Some of -the Tory party went mad with joy at the triumph of despotism. - -[Sidenote: LOYAL ADDRESSES.] - -There were not wanting utterances of a very different order. A -well-known publication, entitled, _The Conformist’s Plea for the -Nonconformists, in four parts, by a Beneficed Minister, and a regular -Son of the Church of England_, bears the date of 1681, and at the -time made much stir. The author dwells upon the sufferings of his -Dissenting brethren--their hard case, their equitable proposals, their -ministerial qualifications, their peaceable behaviour, their orthodoxy -as tested by the doctrinal articles of the Church--and the injury -inflicted on that Church by their exclusion. “Some reverend sons of -the Church,” he remarked, with a good deal of common sense, “in love -to peace, and fear of enemies, have earnestly called and exhorted -the Dissenting ejected brethren, to come and unite, to come into the -present Constitution, as safest, as strongest, as best, &c. But if -they could not come in at the narrow door eighteen years ago, and the -door as narrow still as it was then, and there be the same cross-bars -laid across, as were then to keep them out, to what purpose is the -exhortation? Is there a great storm a coming? they think that Christ -is the same ship, and they are as safe as any other. They may clearly -plead, they could have conformed at first upon better worldly terms -than now; they might have saved what they have lost, and got their -share with others; to come now to conform, when all places are full, -and not enow for numerous expectants, and when there is nothing for -them without tedious waiting; and if their judgments and consciences -could not enter then, how can they now?”[57] - -[Sidenote: 1681.] - -Wit is not wanting, when he asks:--“But how did these Master-Builders -proceed in the Government of their New Reformed Church? It seemed to be -built no larger than to contain one family, the genuine sons of such -fathers; there was but one narrow door of admission to it, a strong -lock upon it, and the sole power of the keys was in trusty hands, and -the sword in the hand of a friend, there was no outward apartment in it -to entertain strangers, or belonging to it; but some got a false key to -the door, as many call it, a key of a larger sense; and when some got -in, more crowded in; and so the Latitudinarian in charity, came in with -the Latitudinarian in discipline, to the no little grief of some who do -not like their company. The fathers keep above stairs, and now and then -come down among us, and send their officers to visit us, and have their -watch renewed every year to tell tales of us; and they that are without -doors, cry, If there be any love in our Governors to Christ, and His -divided flock, that we would but widen the door, and reform but ill -customs; but we say, we cannot help ourselves or them, for the law will -have it so.”[58] - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - - -For the credit of humanity, it should be repeated that occasional -lulls occurred in the storm of persecution during this infamous reign. -Intolerant laws sank into desuetude, and merciful, or rather righteous -magistrates, neglected, or tempered their execution. Considerable -ingenuity sometimes appears in their methods of evasion. A Justice of -the Peace would ask certain informers whether they could swear that, in -a certain case, there was “a pretended, colourable, religious exercise, -in other manner than according to the liturgy and practice of the -Church of England,” and would caution them to consider that, if they -swore in the affirmative, they must know exactly what the liturgy and -the Church really were. He would also demand whether the informers were -present all the time during which the service lasted, for if they were -not, how could they be sure the Common Prayer was not used? An instance -is not wanting in which such an ingenious Justice dismissed both -parties, and sent the case to counsel for opinion, who decided that he -had done quite right.[59] - -[Sidenote: 1677–80.] - -During the year 1677, and for two or three years afterwards, -Nonconformists suffered less troubles than they had done before, owing -in part to the death of Archbishop Sheldon, in part to the prevalent -fear of Popery, and in part to the change of Ministry in 1679, and the -ascendancy of Shaftesbury in His Majesty’s Councils.[60] - -About the year 1680 the Duke of Buckingham, like Shaftesbury, -exceedingly ambitious of popularity, and apt to bid high for the -prize by professing great liberality of opinion, made overtures to -the Nonconformists to become their advocate. It being signified -to John Howe, that this nobleman wished to see him, the Divine -took an opportunity of calling at the sumptuous residence of the -dissolute peer, and, after some conversation, His Grace hinted that -“the Nonconformists were too numerous and powerful to be any longer -neglected; that they deserved regard, and that, if they had a friend -near the throne, who possessed influence with the Court generally, to -give them advice in critical emergencies, and to convey their requests -to the Royal ear, they would find it much to their advantage.” There -could be no mistake as to the meaning of all this; yet, at the moment -of offering himself as the political adviser of the Nonconformists, -Buckingham was pursuing that course of flagrant vice which has brought -everlasting infamy upon his name. Howe replied, with great simplicity, -“that the Nonconformists, being an avowedly religious people, it -highly concerned them, should they fix on any one for the purpose -mentioned, to choose some one who would not be ashamed of _them_, -and of whom _they_ might have no reason to be ashamed; and -that, to find a person in whom there was a concurrence of those two -qualifications, was exceedingly difficult.”[61] This answer ended the -business. - -[Sidenote: RENEWED PERSECUTIONS.] - -But whatever might be the temporary relief then tacitly granted, or -the patronage and protection then virtually offered to Dissenters, -a manifest change occurred in their circumstances after the Oxford -dissolution of 1681. The causes of this change require attention. - -Sir William Temple’s Utopian scheme had broken down. However plausible -on paper, it had proved a failure in practice. Shaftesbury and Russell -could not work with Temple and Halifax; and in the spring of 1681 the -three former had disappeared from the Board, so also had Salisbury, -Essex, and Sunderland,--the management of affairs being chiefly in the -hands of Halifax, of Lord Radnor, of Hyde, created Lord Rochester, and -of the Secretaries of State, Jenkins and Conway. - -[Sidenote: 1681.] - -Halifax is described as a man of great wit, which he often employed -upon the subject of religion. “He confessed he could not swallow down -everything that Divines imposed on the world; he was a Christian in -submission, he believed as much as he could, and he hoped that God -would not lay it to his charge if he could not digest iron as an -ostrich did, nor take into his belief things that must burst him.” -Accustomed to run on in conversation after this fashion, he excited a -suspicion of his being an atheist, a charge which he utterly denied; -betraying at the same time, in the midst of sickness, some kind and -degree of spiritual feeling, whilst at other tunes he would profess -a philosophical contempt of the world, and call the titles of rank -rattles to please children.[62] The colouring of his mind was better -than the drawing. He admired justice and liberty in theory,--he gave -them up for places and titles in practice.[63] With little or no -principle of any kind, he answered Dryden’s description-- - - “Jotham of piercing wit and frequent thought, - Endued by nature, and by learning taught - To move assemblies; but who only tried - The worse awhile, then chose the better side.” - -The last line is scarcely true, but he well merited the name of -Trimmer,[64] his constancy being confined to his warfare with the -Church of Rome. Radnor, if we are to believe Burnet, was morose and -cynical, learned but intractable, just in the administration of -affairs, yet vicious under the appearance of virtue.[65] The gossip of -the Court called him “an old snarling, troublesome, peevish fellow;” -and even Clarendon speaks of him as of “a sour and surly nature, a -great _opiniâtre_, and one who must be overcome before he would -believe that he could be so.”[66] Of the Earl of Rochester, it is -remarked by Roger North, “His infirmities were passion, in which he -would swear like a cutter, and the indulging himself in wine. But his -party was that of the Church of England, of whom he had the honour, -for many years, to be accounted the head.”[67] But North, it must -be remembered, was a man of violent prejudices, and his judgment of -contemporaries must be estimated accordingly. - -[Sidenote: MEN IN POWER.] - -Lord Conway was a mere official, devoted rather to pleasure than -business; and Sir Leoline Jenkins was an assiduous Secretary and a good -lawyer. According to Burnet’s report, he was “set on every punctilio -of the Church of England to superstition, and was a great asserter of -the Divine right of monarchy, and was for carrying the prerogative -high.”[68] Nonconformists could not expect any mercy or much justice -from men like these. - -A fiery zeal for Protestantism continued in the month of September, -1681, when an address was presented to the Lord Mayor of London from -20,000 apprentices, touching the “devilish plots carried on by the -Papists.”[69] But before that time, the excitement which had been -produced by Oates’ informations, and which had promoted the progress of -Exclusion measures, began to subside, and a reaction in many quarters -set in against the supporters of both.[70] - -[Sidenote: 1681.] - -Burnet speaks of “a great heat raised against the clergy” in 1679: of -Nonconformists behaving very indecently, and of the press, in which -they had a great hand, becoming licentious against the Court and the -clergy; but he does not specify what publications are meant. The only -remarkable one mentioned by Calamy as appearing that year, is “A short -and true account of the several advances the Church of England hath -made towards Rome--or a model of the grounds upon which the Papists -for these hundred years have built their hopes and expectations, that -England would e’er long return to Popery, by Dr. Du Moulin, sometime -History Professor of Oxford.”[71] Upon reading this book, it strikes -me, that the sting is stronger in the title-page, than in the contents; -it makes out a case as to Romanist tendencies against Laud and his -party, rather than against contemporary Churchmen. At all events, -alarm existed at the time--although a book like Du Moulin’s will not -account for it--lest a new revolution should break out resembling that -which occurred at the beginning of the Long Parliament. “The Bishops -and clergy, apprehending that a rebellion, and with it the pulling -the Church to pieces, was designed, set themselves, on the other -hand, to write against the late times, and to draw a parallel between -the present times and them; which was not decently enough managed -by those who undertook the argument, and who were believed to be -set on and paid by the Court.” Burnet’s statement is very loose, for -without mentioning any book on the subject, by any Bishop,--although -he might have cited what Morley, Bishop of Winchester, wrote soon -afterwards,--he alludes to the writings of a layman, Roger L’Estrange, -who richly deserves his severest condemnation. That man did more than -any one to turn the tide of indignation into a new channel. People -“seemed now to lay down all fears and apprehensions of Popery, and -nothing was so common in their mouths, as the year ’41, in which the -late Wars begun” (they did not begin till ’42,) “and which seemed now -to be near the being acted over again. Both city and country were full -of many indecencies that broke out on this occasion.”[72] Revolutionary -designs were charged upon the Whig party generally; and Nonconformists -unjustly came in for a large share of suspicion. - -[Sidenote: STEPHEN COLLEDGE.] - -[Sidenote: 1681.] - -The first-fruit of this reaction appears in the discovery of a -pretended new plot against the life of the King, arranged to be -executed during his stay in the City of Oxford. The person made the -scape-goat of the offence was Stephen Colledge, who had acquired some -notice as a violent Protestant, and who had mixed himself up with -Oates and the other witnesses against the convicted Papists. Colledge -being indicted at the Old Bailey, had no true Bill found against him. -Political opinions then influenced Jurymen to an extent which shocks -us now that everything is done to banish prejudice from our Courts of -Justice; and therefore the Ministers of the Crown, who managed this -prosecution, after being baffled by the Whigs, who formed the panel in -London, determined to carry the case down to Oxford, where they could -empanel a number of Tories.[73] A true bill being found at last, Chief -Justice North tried the prisoner; and, on that occasion, behaved in -such an infamous manner, that it was thought probable, if he had lived -to see another Parliament, he might have been impeached.[74] Nothing -which any lawyer would now consider treasonable, could be proved -against Colledge; yet he was convicted, condemned, and executed. The -fate of this man excited a great degree of interest at the time, he -being considered a rebel by one party, and a martyr by another. Letters -written to the Secretary of State after Colledge’s death indicate the -eager desire of the former to establish his guilt;[75] and, if we may -credit other letters, Nonconformists showed much sympathy with the -sufferer. One writer thought it very credible, that the Presbyterians -at Lewes did, against the execution of Colledge, keep a very strict -fast; and it was supposed they of Chichester did the like, but the -circumstance wanted confirmation. Another correspondent the same month -reported that the general discourse in that Cathedral City turned upon -the man’s innocence, and described how much he had been wronged, and -how his blood would cry for vengeance against the rogues who took away -his life.[76] It is a strange circumstance, but it illustrates the -irrational feeling of the moment, that some people, who were hounding -this poor fellow on to the gallows, called him a Papist, and some -called him an Anabaptist. At Colledge’s execution the Sheriff evinced -much anxiety to know whether he belonged to the Presbyterians, to the -Independents, or to the Church of England. Colledge--after having -previously declared that he never had been a Papist--replied, that -before the Restoration, he was a Presbyterian; that since then he had -conformed to the Episcopal Church, until he saw so much persecution of -Dissenters; and that, afterwards, he had attended Presbyterian meetings -“and others very seldom.” Yet he had not forsaken the Establishment -altogether; for, only three weeks before his apprehension, he had -attended the ministry of Dr. Tillotson. He wished for union, and -lamented that some of the Church of England preached that the -Presbyterians were worse than the Papists, although he was certain they -were not men of vicious lives. - -[Sidenote: STEPHEN COLLEDGE.] - -[Sidenote: 1681.] - -It is plain, from his own words, that at the time of his being charged -with treason, Colledge was identified with Nonconformity; and, in a -letter written by some one (not known) to the Bishop of London, July -11, 1681, it is stated, that just then Nonconformists were building -several meeting-houses; and that, after the acquittal of Colledge by -the Grand Jury in London, these people grew increasingly impudent. -Before his execution, there came to him in Oxford gaol--“a fanatic, -desiring to pray with him, but being not permitted, unless he would -use the Liturgy of the Church of England, he refused.”[77] We learn -that the poor man received “the Blessed Sacrament” from Dr. Hall, to -whom he made confession.[78] That confession, or a large portion of -it, is preserved; and, in substance, it corresponds with his speech -at the gallows. He acknowledged in his confession, that he might, on -some occasions, have “uttered words of indecency, not becoming his duty -concerning the King or his Council”; and, if so, he begged their pardon, -and in his speech he admitted that he had arms in his possession; but, -said he, “they were for our own defence in case the Papists should -make any attempt upon us by way of massacre.” Both in his confession -and speech, he stoutly denied, that he had entered into any plot; nor -did any sufficient evidence of such a thing come out on his trial. -From the confession, it further appeared, that on the Sunday before -his execution, the messenger who brought word respecting the day on -which he was to die, assured him he might even then save his life, if -he would only confess who was the cause of his coming to Oxford. He -persisted in maintaining, that his coming was entirely of his own -accord, and without any treasonable intention whatever.[79] - -[Sidenote: REACTION.] - -At Colledge’s trial, Dugdale and Turbeville, formerly co-witnesses of -Titus Oates, appeared against him, whilst Oates himself took Colledge’s -part, and vilified his old associates. The wretched combination against -the Roman Catholics now broke up: the conspirators were quarrelling, -the house divided against itself could not stand, the Nonconformist, -who in his Protestant zeal had mixed himself up with discreditable -people, now appeared as the victim, his own eagerness to sweep away -religionists whom he disliked, had stimulated his enemies to imitation; -and, as we conclude this singular history, it is impossible to forget -the words of Divine wisdom--“With what measure ye mete, it shall be -measured to you again.” - -The same reaction which destroyed the Protestant Joiner, struck -down another person who declared himself the Protestant Earl.[80] -Shaftesbury, after the dissolution of the Royal Parliament, being -accused of entering into a conspiracy against the King, found himself -within the gloomy walls of London Tower. His spirits and wit did not -forsake him; and when accosted by one of the Popish lords, whom he -had been instrumental in sending there not long before, he replied, -“that he had been lately indisposed with an ague, and was come to -take some Jesuit’s powder.” Everything which ingenuity, prompted by -malice, could suggest was done to injure in public estimation the late -popular nobleman, and to prejudice his trial. The clergy inveighed -against him as “the Apostle of Schism;” and the Catholics called him -“the Man of Sin.” By the Tories he was styled “Mephistopheles,” and -“the Fiend;” and by Dryden he was satirized in his _Absalom and -Ahitophel_. The Bill at the Old Bailey having been ignored, the -popular favourite prosecuted his accusers; and would, if he could, have -raised an insurrection against the Government. Finding that enterprise -impossible, he escaped to Holland, and died there in February, 1683, -enjoying the hospitality of the Republic, which he had threatened -to overthrow. “_Carthago_,” was their generous and graceful -retort--“_non adhuc deleta, Comitem de Shaftesbury in gremio suo -recipere vult_.”[81] - -[Sidenote: 1681.] - -[Sidenote: RENEWED PERSECUTION.] - -The reaction went on, and began to sweep like a storm over the -Dissenting Churches. The _State Papers_, after having for -some years failed to supply illustrations of the condition of -Nonconformity, again present a pile of informations and letters, -proving the renewed activity of spies, and opening a fresh loop-hole -through which we can discover the warfare going on against “the -fanatics.” It is but just to the Government, to say, that as far -as can be discovered from these records, this persecuting activity -originated with individuals of the Tory and High Church party, who were -continually writing to Sir Leoline Jenkins, informing him of political -disaffection and of religious discontent. Loyal addresses streamed -in from counties and towns, communications arrived respecting plots -and disaffection, and complaints were also made of the non-execution -of laws against Nonconformists.[82] All the way through, the object -was to represent Nonconformists as disloyal, as traitors to their -Prince, and as wishing to bring back the days of the Republic. So -numerous, it is said, were these disaffected fanatics, that they -swarmed everywhere,--none were safe from their influence. A question -arose, whether even some of the King’s messengers were not “Meeters -at Conventicles,” or, at least, persons who kept correspondence with -such as went there.[83] Yet, amidst this chaos of informations, not the -slightest hint appears of anything like _proof_ of the existence -of a Nonconformist plot; and, indeed, for the most part, the narratives -furnished are of the idlest description, some of them written by very -illiterate persons. - -[Sidenote: 1681.] - -Mixed up with complaints about the Nonconformists are discreditable -allusions to Churchmen, who, for their moderation and liberality, -were suspected of being no better than schismatics. Rumours reached -Northampton that Dr. Conant had been made Prebendary of Worcester, much -to the wonder “of those who knew what, lately as well as formerly, his -actions had been;” but these rumours were contradicted, “much to the -satisfaction of all who had any kindness to the King or Church.”[84] - -Waspish informers, buzzing about the ears of men of office, would under -any circumstances have been annoying. Liberally-minded men--or rather -men respecting the rights of conscience--whilst keeping their eyes -open to detect dangers threatening the State, would have crushed, or -at least have brushed away the troublesome insects; but the persons -now in power were of a different character. Their known temper as -high Churchmen and as high Tories encouraged the tribe to renew that -infamous occupation, which happily had been gone now for some few -years; and when these reports reached the Secretary, he not only -graciously received them, but with his colleagues proceeded to take -active measures against the suspected parties. - -[Sidenote: RENEWED PERSECUTION.] - -The names of the accused, the nature of the accusation, and allusions -to the harvest of gain incident upon their conviction, are sufficient -to prove how idle, and how much worse than idle, were the charges of -disaffection. The _State Papers_ supply proofs of the interference -of Government to remove obstacles out of the way of magistrates and -officers, who found it difficult to clothe their acts with a semblance -of legality.[85] Public documents exhibit the further activity of the -Court in the same direction at the close of this year. His Majesty -in Council ordered the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of London, and also -the magistrates of Middlesex, to use their utmost endeavours for the -suppression of Conventicles. The last-mentioned body, in the following -January (1682), having previously ordered a return of the ministers -and hearers in Dissenting assemblies, now desired that the Bishop of -London would direct his officers to employ the utmost diligence for the -excommunication of persons who deserved such penalty, and to publish -the fact of their excommunication, so that no one of them might be -“admitted for a witness, or returned upon juries, or capable of suing -for any debt.”[86] - -[Sidenote: 1681.] - -A striking instance of the treatment of Nonconformists is supplied in -the history of Nathaniel Vincent, brother of Thomas Vincent, whose -ministerial labours have been already noticed. This ejected clergyman -came to London soon after the great fire, and preached amidst the ruins -to large multitudes. Occupying a Conventicle in Southwark, he was -dragged out of the pulpit by the hair of his head, and, at a subsequent -period, he suffered imprisonment in the Marshalsea, and the Gatehouse, -where he was denied the use of pen, ink, and paper.[87] In an -information, dated the 18th of December, the writer, after mentioning -other places, describes a visit he paid to Vincent’s place of worship, -when that minister hearing of the informer’s approach, slipped away, -and left his congregation singing David’s psalms. The more the Justices -talked, and the more they exhorted the people to disperse, the louder -the people continued to sing. Churchwardens, overseers, and constables, -all refused to give the names of the Conventiclers, pretending they -did not know who they were. A friend of Vincent’s, writing the next -day, speaks of him as a man of equal standing in the University with -most of the Conformists in Southwark, holding doctrines accordant -with the Articles, constantly praying for the King, and accustomed on -Christmas Day to make a collection for the poor of the parish of St. -Olaves.[88] And in a further information we discover a curious scrap -of intelligence respecting his place of worship:--“Almost every seat -that adjoins to the sides of the Conventicle has a door, like the sally -port of a fire ship, to make escape by, and in each door is a small -peep-hole, like to taverns’ and alehouses’ doors, to ken the people -before they let them in.” The author of the document proceeds to relate -how the Marshalls dispersed these congregations, how officers were -appointed to visit other meeting-houses, and how an old woman hoped -they would “rot in hell” for having disturbed her.[89] - -[Sidenote: NATHANIEL VINCENT.] - -[Sidenote: 1682.] - -We learn from another source that a Justice once entered the meeting -during one of Vincent’s sermons, and commanded him in the King’s name -to come down, to which the minister replied he was there by command of -the King of kings, and had resolved to proceed with the service.[90] -The enforcement upon him of a fine of £20 proving impracticable, an -indictment followed, under the Act of the 35th of Elizabeth. Upon -the Sunday preceding the day of his trial, he preached to his flock -from the words, “Only let your conversation be as it becometh the -gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, -I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with -one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.” “There was a -numerous auditory, insomuch that the people were ready to tread one -upon another, and some hundreds went away that could not come near to -hear him.” “In these sermons,” as further stated in the records of -Vincent’s Church, “he earnestly pressed us to hold fast our profession, -and to be steadfast in the cause of Christ. The 4th of January, before -Mr. Vincent went to his trial, there was a solemn day of fasting -and prayer kept at his own meeting-place, to seek the Lord on his -behalf. On the 8th, there was a whole night spent in prayer. On the -9th he went to Dorking, and had his trial on the 10th, when he was -not suffered to speak in his own defence, but was found guilty of the -indictment, and was committed prisoner to the Marshalsea, in Southwark, -for three months, and then, if he would not conform according to that -statute, he was to adjure the realm or suffer death.” The Church, -deprived of their pastor, was much harassed by their enemies; and we -are informed, that on “the 10th day of this month, being Saturday, -one Justice Balsh, a silk throwster by trade, and a very bitter enemy -to the Lord’s people living in Spitalfields, having sent word to the -other Justices of the Peace, his brethren that lived in those parts, -that he would meet them very early the next morning, to disturb the -Whigs at their meeting-places (for so they called Dissenters at that -time), about eight of the clock at night, died suddenly in his chair, -and never spake a word.” “The 11th, we met in Aldersgate-street at a -cloth-worker’s, where Mr. Biggin, the minister, had but just begun -prayer, but we were disturbed by the train-bands.” “April 1st, we met -at Mr. Russell’s, in Ironmonger-lane, where Mr. Lambert administered -to us the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper, and _we sung a psalm with -a low voice_.”[91] This touching circumstance calls to mind two -parallels--one in the history of the Huguenots, when they crept into -their place of worship muffled up, and sang in suppressed tones one -of Marot’s psalms; and the other in the history of the persecuted -Christians of Madagascar, who when they secretly assembled for Divine -service, were wont to sing in whispers. - -[Sidenote: PERSECUTION.] - -In November, informers broke into the house of Dr. Annesley, and -distrained his goods for “several latent convictions;”[92] and, a -month afterwards the same people entered his meeting-house and broke -the seats in pieces; after which disturbance, worship was for a time -suspended.[93] Others were treated in a similar manner.[94] The -Bishop of London received orders from Court to require a return of -all parishioners who did not attend church and receive the sacrament, -several of whom were cited to appear in the spiritual court, but “the -Bishop, and divers of his most conspicuous clergy, in the matter of -persecution, carried themselves with great discretion and candour.”[95] -A warrant, however, came out for the apprehension of Dr. Bates; and a -little later, constables were posted at the doors of the “most known -meeting-places in the City, so that there were few sermons in them, at -least at the usual hours.”[96] - -[Sidenote: 1682.] - -In December fifty warrants for distresses in Hackney were signed; -one for the sum of £500, the others of different amounts, making -up altogether £1,400. Soon afterwards, 200 documents of the same -kind were served upon certain inhabitants of the town of Uxbridge -and its neighbourhood on account of their attending the proscribed -Conventicles.[97] At the same time, it is recorded that “on the Lord’s -Day the Dissenters were in some places in the City kept out, but in -most they met, though they varied hours; few were actually disturbed, -but the difficulties upon them were great.”[98] - -Whilst the London informers utterly failed to supply a shadow of proof -that the Nonconformists were engaged in any treasonable designs, other -informers in distant parts of the country strove, with a like want of -evidence, to attach to their Dissenting neighbours the most infamous -suspicions. A clergyman at Kirk Newton had been assaulted by burglars, -who broke open his stable and stole two mares. Immediately a letter -was despatched to the Duke of Newcastle, signed by three persons--who -said, “We must conclude these men to be some fanatics or sent by them;” -the Vicar being “a zealous man for the Church of England and a loyal -person,” the circumstance calls for “some speedy course to suppress -such insolences.”[99] - -[Sidenote: PERSECUTION.] - -About Midsummer there came another batch of papers for the Secretary’s -examination, supplying the names of ministers in the Borough of -Southwark, their respective meeting-houses and the number of their -hearers.[100] The illness from which the King just then was suffering, -it is said, produced a great excitement amongst Dissenters, and a -few days after the arrival of the last of these despatches at the -Secretary’s office, the Lord Mayor of London issued a proclamation, -in which he alluded to tumults occasioned by putting the law into -execution against Conventicles.[101] - - - - - CHAPTER V. - - -[Sidenote: DUKE OF MONMOUTH.] - -Readers of English history will remember the important political part -played in the last years of Charles’ reign, by his illegitimate son, -the Duke of Monmouth. When public feeling ran so high against the Duke -of York, and so many Protestants were zealous for the Exclusion Bill, -some amongst the latter favoured certain pretensions to the crown -which had been put forward on behalf of his nephew. The pretensions -were founded upon the alleged existence of a black box containing a -contract of marriage between the King and the Duke’s mother, Lucy -Walters, which black box made no small stir throughout the country in -the year 1680.[102] Two years afterwards, when the Popish plot had -ceased to alarm the public, and when the Duke of York’s prospects had -begun to brighten, Monmouth endeavoured to revive his popularity, and -to reinforce his claims by a progress in the North of England, during -which journey he assumed a degree of state proper only to an heir -apparent. Attended by a hundred horsemen,--fifty of whom rode before -and fifty behind--he occupied a space in the midst of the cavalcade, -mounted on a noble charger, and bowing with royal condescension to the -crowds, who rent the air with shouts, “A Monmouth, a Monmouth, and no -York!” Bells fired from the church steeples, and musketry roared from -gates and ramparts, as the gay procession entered town after town. -He might be found at fairs and races, rousing the men and wooing the -women, and in town halls dining with the burgesses; always affecting -royal etiquette, and actually going so far as to touch for the King’s -evil. His movements closely watched, were duly reported to the -Secretary of State by persons ill-affected towards the bold aspirant, -including Shakerley, Governor of Chester Castle, who industriously -wrote, day after day, minute descriptions of all Monmouth did in that -old city,--a city in which, it may be recollected, Nonconformists had -been found to be very numerous some years before.[103] - -[Sidenote: 1682.] - -According to reports, the whole company of horsemen who rode with -the Duke into Chester did not exceed 150, most of them being noted -Dissenters. They came shouting, with a company of rabble on foot, whom -they had induced to join them by providing drink. The bells rang, -except at the Cathedral and St. Peter’s; and there were some bonfires. -The Duke went first to the Mayor’s house, where he lodged; and, after -a short stay there, he repaired to an inn, where he and his companions -sat down at the ordinary, the chaplain being Dr. Fogg, one of the -prebendaries. The Duke proceeded to the Cathedral, where he heard a -sermon not very pleasant to him or to his associates. The same writer -complains of the rabble making a riot, breaking into the Church of St. -Peter’s, forcing open the steeple door, and ringing the bells, amongst -the rest the fire bell. “Another company,” he adds, “at a bonfire, made -by a great Presbyterian, broke the glass windows of an honest Churchman -opposite.” Two or three days later, after accustomed healths, such -as “Confusion to Popery, and to those that would not be enemies to -the Duke of York,” Monmouth’s party expressed great displeasure at a -sermon preached before His Grace, in the choir of the Cathedral; and, -in general, uttered loud exclamations against the clergy. Having, it is -said, spit their venom that way, without one syllable of opposition, -they fell to magnifying the last Parliament, and to commending their -votes.[104] - -At such times as I am describing, people exist who are possessed by -an inordinate love of writing, and of publishing what they write, and -whose pens resemble the sting of wasps, and of other still more ignoble -insects. Pamphleteers of this kind wrote against Dissenters, some -whose malignity was greater than their wit, some whose wit kept pace -with their malignity. Sir Roger L’Estrange, perhaps, may be reckoned -as the most gifted, the most formidable, the most unscrupulous, and -the most fierce of this tribe of tormentors. He had narrowly escaped -being executed as a spy during the Civil Wars,--he had been shut up in -Newgate for several years; and now the memory of his sufferings made -him perfectly savage in his attacks upon those whom he identified with -his former enemies. He perpetually rang changes upon the miseries of -the year ’41, which he accused the popular party of having determined -to revive. In his _Foxes and Firebrands_, and in his _Citt and -Bumkin_, he vilified and lampooned all men of liberal opinions, -whether those opinions happened to be ecclesiastical or political. -Nonconformists were fools and rebels, and their toleration was -inconsistent with order and peace. By abuse of one kind, he sought -to force them into the Church, and then, when they had entered, he -by another kind of abuse endeavoured to drive them out. Outside they -were traitors, inside they were trimmers, so that it was impossible -such people as L’Estrange could ever be pleased, let the conduct of -Nonconformists be what it might. His career as a party writer, which -began after the Restoration, attained its highest point at the period -we have reached; and as a reward for his services to the cause of -despotism, he obtained from his Royal master the honour of knighthood, -an honour more than counterbalanced by the almost universal execration -of posterity.[105] - -[Sidenote: ROYAL DESPOTISM.] - -Charles, in playing the despot, went on from bad to worse. Municipal -corporations, whose freedom is always of primary importance to the -interests of this country, were then still more intimately connected -with our national liberties than at present--for not only was the -administration of justice in cities and boroughs lodged in their hands, -not only were juries in Middlesex returned by the City Sheriffs, but -the right of election for members of Parliament rested, in a number of -cases, not with the citizens and burgesses generally, but with those -who were mayors, aldermen, and common councilmen. In many large places, -especially London, the Corporation opposed the Court; and therefore -no representatives subservient to the Crown could be expected to -come from such a quarter. The King, relying upon legal advisers, who -preferred cunning to equity, determined to try whether he could not -deprive his subjects of their municipal rights by the process of _quo -warranto_.[106] The attempt, made in the Metropolis first, so far -succeeded, that the Court of King’s Bench gave judgment against the -Corporation; and,--although it allowed the Corporation to retain its -privileges, under certain restrictions,--from that time the capital of -the kingdom remained powerless in the hands of the sovereign. - -[Sidenote: 1683.] - -[Sidenote: LORD W. RUSSELL.] - -Constitutional methods of expressing public opinion being suspended, -there were men whom desperation drove to think of the patriot’s last -resort. They talked of war. Shaftesbury, whose erratic ability and -eloquence sometimes helped the cause of liberty, had disappeared from -the stage of public affairs, and had, as we have seen, gone over to -Holland, where he died. But his restless brain, employed in concocting -schemes of insurrection, which at the time came to nothing, had left -behind, amongst many Englishmen with whom he had been associated, -seeds of discontent, ready to grow into acts of violence. The seeds -did grow, and the harvest proved “a heap in the day of grief, and of -desperate sorrow.” The Rye House Plot is well known. With any design -of assassinating the King, Sidney and Russell--who came within the -complications of a plan for forcibly resisting the despotism of -Government--had nothing to do. Nothing could be more idle than to talk, -as some did, of certain ministers--Owen, Mead, and Griffiths--being -engaged in revolutionary designs. The King, when Mead had been -summoned, ordered him to be discharged; but Sidney and Russell, it -cannot be contradicted, were present at conversations turning upon the -subject of an appeal to arms in the cause of freedom. These illustrious -men were, as all readers of English history know, tried,[107] -condemned, and executed; and as the story of Russell’s last moments -belongs to the religious annals of our country, it claims some space on -these pages.[108] - -[Sidenote: 1683.] - -[Sidenote: LORD W. RUSSELL.] - -In prison he devoted most of his time to meditation, receiving his -death-warrant with calmness, and anticipating his departure with -hope. Six or seven times, upon the last morning of his life (July -21), he engaged in prayer; and, on parting from Lord Cavendish, urged -upon that nobleman the importance of personal piety: then, winding -up his watch, he remarked--that he had done with time, and was going -to eternity. As the mourning coach, which conveyed him to the place -of execution, turned the corner by Little Queen Street, he remarked, -“I have often turned to the other hand with great comfort (alluding -to the proximity of Southampton Square, where he resided), but now -I turn to this with greater.” As he saw some persons weeping, and -others manifesting disrespect, he appreciated the commiseration of the -former, and evinced no resentment at the conduct of the latter. He sang -“within himself,” scarcely articulating words, observing, he hoped -soon to sing better; and, as he looked upon the dense throng around -him, he expressed the hope of soon beholding nobler multitudes. As -he entered Lincoln’s Inn Fields, observing it rained, he said to his -friends in the coach, “this may do you hurt that are bare-headed;” and -as he caught sight of the familiar place he exclaimed, in allusion to -his early days, “this has been to me a place of sinning, and God now -makes it the place of my punishment.” Having expressed wonder at the -crowds assembled, he placed in the Sheriff’s hand a long paper, and -declared at the same time, that he had never intended to plot against -the King’s life or reign. After praying that God would preserve His -Majesty and the Protestant religion, he expressed an earnest wish that -all Protestants would love one another, and not by mutual animosities -open a way for the re-entrance of Popery. In the paper just mentioned, -he avowed his attachment to the Church of England, and expressed a -desire that Conformists would be less severe, and that Dissenters would -be less scrupulous. He said he had always been ready to venture his -life for his country and his religion; and he avowed his sincerity and -earnestness in supporting the Bill of Exclusion, as the best means of -defending the Crown and the Church: he forgave his enemies, although -he thought killing by forms and subtilties of law to be “the worst -sort of murder.” When he had knelt down, Tillotson, who with Burnet -stood by him on the scaffold, offered intercession on his behalf. The -sufferer then unfastened his dress, took off his outer garment, bared -his neck, and laid it on the block, without change of countenance. The -executioner, to ensure his aim, touched him with the axe, but he did -not shrink; and after two strokes Russell’s soul went where vindictive -passions could not follow him.[109] - -It has been justly remarked that when his memory ceases to be an object -of veneration “it requires no spirit of prophecy to foretell that -English liberty will be fast approaching to its final consummation;” -and we may add, that no less a Christian than a patriot, he has left -behind a name as dear to English Christians as it is to English -patriots. - -We have seen the spirit which prevailed two years before--we have -proofs of its continuance in connection with the last days of Lord -William Russell. That nobleman tenaciously held the principle, that in -some cases it was lawful to resist Government by force. But Churchmen, -who, at the Revolution, in practice approved, if they did not in theory -uphold the doctrine, condemned it at this early period not only as -impolitic, but as irreligious. Tillotson wrote to Russell just before -his execution a letter, in which he said that Christianity plainly -discountenanced the resistance of authority, that in the same law -which establishes our religion, it is declared to be unlawful, under -any pretence whatsoever, to take up arms; and that his Lordship’s -opinion was contrary to the doctrine of all Protestant Churches. He -also pronounced the same opinion to be an offence of a heinous nature, -calling “for a very particular and deep repentance.”[110] - -[Sidenote: 1683.] - -Tillotson, in this letter, committed himself to the doctrine of passive -obedience; and its publication, without any subsequent denial or -recantation, places him before the world as upholding one main-prop -of the Stuart despotism. Burnet also, by his conduct at the time, -lent his influence to the same side; for, with characteristic haste, -and with that inaccuracy, into which haste so often betrayed him, he -rushed from Russell’s cell at Newgate, saying, that he had converted -his noble friend, who declared his satisfaction in that point to which -Tillotson’s letter relates. Such conduct indicated sympathy at the -time with the opinions in the letter now mentioned; and, therefore, it -involves Burnet in the same responsibility with Tillotson. Russell, -however, soon undeceived both his advisers, insisting that the notion -which he had of the laws, and of the English Government, differed from -that of the two Divines. He died a martyr to the faith, which placed -the Crown of England on the head of the Prince of Orange, whose claims -Tillotson and Burnet afterwards vindicated, and whose conduct they ever -delighted to eulogize. - -When Churchmen, of moderation and liberality, acted in this way, what -could be expected from Churchmen of a different order? The University -of Oxford having collected from the writings of Puritans, from -Independents, and from political philosophers, sentences which plainly, -or by implication, justified under certain circumstances resistance -to Government, decreed by a vote of Convocation, such propositions to -be false, seditious, and impious,--and most of them also heretical and -blasphemous, infamous to the Christian religion, and destructive of all -good government in Church and State. The books containing such opinions -were forbidden to be read, and ordered to be burnt.[111] - -[Sidenote: CONTROVERSY.] - -At this juncture it happened that Nonconformists were silent, as -respected political and ecclesiastical controversy, except that John -Howe published a beautiful sermon on the question, “What may most -hopefully be attempted to allay animosities among Protestants, that -our divisions may not be our ruin?” Owen had been overtaken by his -last illness, and Baxter had become tired of disputation. Many of his -brethren were suffering from persecution; and those who were not, -could have controverted the political doctrines of the Church only by -incurring the risk of losing their property, their liberty, or their -life. The Government did everything it could to prevent the expression -of liberal opinions. The quiet habits of most Dissenters, the -cultivation of calm endurance, especially by Quakers, and by others in -a less conspicuous manner, served to promote this remarkable silence--a -silence which, compared with the subsequent Revolution, resembles the -smoothness of the torrent on the edge of the abyss. Nor should it be -forgotten that men who comprehended the dangers of the hour felt, -notwithstanding, immense perplexity as to what they ought to say or do; -since Charles II. pertinaciously professed the greatest moderation, -and declared a love for Parliaments and for the liberties of his -country,--thus by cunning and artifice, showing as great a proficiency -in king-craft as ever his father had done. - -[Sidenote: 1683.] - -A little more than one month after Lord William Russell’s execution, -Dr. John Owen, whose illness we just now mentioned, entered his rest. -He closed his days in the little village of Ealing, where he possessed -an estate. In his seclusion he wrote _The Glory of Christ_. -Transported by his theme he poured forth reflections like “a sea of -glass mingled with fire,” and in conversation with his friends devoutly -expressed his hopes and desires. “I am going,” he said, “to Him, whom -my soul has loved; or rather who has loved me with an everlasting love, -which is the whole ground of all my consolation. I am leaving the ship -of the Church in a storm, but while the Great Pilot is in it the loss -of a poor under-rower will be inconsiderable. Live and pray, and hope -and wait patiently, and do not despond: the promise stands invincible -that He will never leave us nor forsake us.” The first sheet of his -last book had passed through the press, under the superintendence of -Mr. Payne, an eminent Dissenting minister at Saffron Walden; and as -he informed Owen of the circumstance the latter exclaimed “I am glad -to hear it; but, O! brother Payne, the long-wished-for day is come at -last, in which I shall see that glory in another manner than I have -ever done, or was capable of doing in this world.”[112] As the dying -man inherited a strong constitution, he had much to endure when the -last struggle came, and the attendants upon his dying bed were deeply -affected, both by the intensity of his pains and the brightness of his -peace. In silence, with uplifted eyes and hands, this eminent man left -the world; and--which is a remarkable coincidence--he did so on St. -Bartholomew’s Day. - -[Sidenote: PERSECUTION.] - -Throughout the last three or four years of the reign of Charles II. -the persecutions carried on against the Nonconformists increased in -violence; and the cause is to be found, not only in the religious -character of the victims, but in the political course which they felt -it their duty to pursue. Indeed the latter in some cases mainly excited -the party in power. Nonconformists generally had supported members of -the Opposition, at the last three elections. They were known to be -advocates of constitutional liberty against the despotic designs of men -in high places. “Which alone,” observed John Howe--and his testimony -is most trustworthy--“and not our mere dissent from the Church of -England in matters of religion, wherein Charles II. was sufficiently -known to be a Prince of great indifferency, drew upon us, soon after -the dissolution of the last of those Parliaments, that dreadful storm -of persecution that destroyed not a small number of lives in gaols, and -ruined multitudes of families.”[113] - -The Presbyterians, who had often received promises of comprehension, -were persecuted in common with the rest of the Nonconformists. If ever -a man lived in the world inoffensively, as well as usefully, it was -Oliver Heywood; yet he did not escape imprisonment. His case exposes -the wicked intolerance of the rulers far beyond that of some others, -where partial ignorance of the circumstances might leave room for the -idea, that a measure of imprudence provoked opposition. No provocation, -we are sure, could have been given to the authorities of the country -by this eminently amiable and holy person. - -[Sidenote: 1684.] - -The case of Thomas Rosewell, a Presbyterian minister, in Rotherhithe, -differs from that of Heywood; but his treatment was not less unjust. -Charged with uttering treason in his discourses, the jury, after an -address from Judge Jeffreys, who presided at the trial, brought him in -guilty. When the prisoner moved for an arrest of judgment, the King, -being informed of the circumstances, felt so convinced of the infamous -character of the witnesses, and of the loyalty of Rosewell, that he -pardoned him at once.[114] - -[Sidenote: PERSECUTION.] - -From the evidence elicited during Rosewell’s trial we are enabled to -form a distinct picture of one of the Nonconformist places of worship -in those days, and of several interesting circumstances connected with -the services. The place in which he preached was situated in Salisbury -Street, Rotherhithe, near the preacher’s dwelling, and consisted of -a tenement or tenements, so altered as to adapt the building for -accommodating a large number of people. “The rooms were but of a low -height.” “There was a low parlour, and a little room up six steps;” -and where the preacher stood “was a large room and a garret.” He stood -“in the door-case of that room, that the sound might go up and down.” -The chamber was hung with sad-coloured paper, and a sad-coloured bed -was in the room. Upon the left hand of the speaker “was a chest of -sweet wood, and a little cabinet upon it; and a glass over that; and -upon the right hand, on the side of the chimney, was a closet.” Three -or four hundred people commonly attended--some “people of quality;” -and a “store of watermen and seamen” from Deptford, Rotherhithe, and -thereabouts. There were shutters in the windows, and the sun came in, -and Rosewell was afraid lest the people that went by should hear him. -Upon the occasion in question, at first there was not light enough let -into the apartment, and he desired that one part of the shutters should -be opened; then he requested that half might be shut again, for fear he -should be overheard. The congregation met at seven in the morning, and -did not break up until a little after two in the afternoon,--a pause -taking place in the middle, when the preacher went in to dinner, and -“left us there,” says the witness; “and abundance in the congregation -ate sweetmeats, or biscuits, or such things.” A man, who was a brazier, -acted as door-keeper, and was angry at a woman’s “coming with pattens, -for they made an impression on the ground, and gave notice to others -that there was company there.” She found out the place only “by dogging -of people as they went along;” and by inquiries made of certain persons -“set commonly at a place called Cherry Garden Stairs.”[115] - -[Sidenote: 1684.] - -[Sidenote: PERSECUTION.] - -Thomas Delaune, a Baptist schoolmaster, and a person of considerable -learning, appears as an eminent sufferer in those dark days. He -published _A Plea for the Nonconformists_, in answer to a sermon -entitled _A Scrupulous Conscience_, published by Dr. Benjamin -Calamy, Rector of St. Lawrence Jewry. Delaune simply endeavoured to -prove that certain observances in the Episcopal establishment more -resembled what is found in the Popish Communion than what is found -in primitive antiquity. The publication being treated as a criminal -offence, the author was committed to Newgate in November, 1683, and -indicted for “a false, seditious, and scandalous libel concerning -the Lord the King and the Book of Common Prayer.” The Jury, imbued -with the spirit of the age, found him guilty, after which the Judge -sentenced him to pay a fine of one hundred marks, to be kept a -close prisoner until he paid the money, and to find security for -good behaviour during twelve months afterwards. Delaune remained in -confinement fifteen months, at the end of which time nature broke down -under hardship and suffering. The poor man died, and it is shocking -to add, his wife and two small children also expired during the same -period within the walls of Newgate.[116] In the same prison Francis -Bampfield, a Baptist minister, and an Oxford man, who had suffered -repeatedly for his Nonconformity, perished in the month of February, -1684.[117] Of all sects, perhaps, the Quakers suffered most. Their -meetings were disturbed by drums and fiddles; women were insulted, -their hoods and scarfs torn, and little boys were beaten or whipped -with a cat-o’-nine-tails. Seven hundred Friends were reported as being -imprisoned in the year 1683. - - - - - CHAPTER VI. - - -At the time when English gaols were filled with Nonconformists, and -English citizens were driven into exile, the English Sovereign offered -an asylum to Protestant refugees from France; thus, at the same moment, -persecuting his own conscientious subjects, and befriending those -like-minded, who suffered from the tyranny of Louis XIV. - -[Sidenote: FRENCH PROTESTANTS.] - -After the Edict of Nantes, in 1591, had formally guaranteed to the -Huguenots liberty of worship, vexatious interferences with their -religious rights goaded them to resistance, and revived those political -and military combinations which had proved so mischievous to the French -Reformation. But, before the middle of the seventeenth century, the -French Protestants became a purely religious community. The Count -d’Harcourt bore witness to their loyalty in the well-known words, “the -Crown tottered on the King’s head, but you have fixed it there:” and -Cardinal Mazarin testified to their good conduct, when he said, “I -have no cause to complain of the little flock,--if they browse on bad -herbage, at least they do not stray away.”[118] The latter illustrious -statesman, although a religious enemy, was a political protector of his -Protestant countrymen; and, soon after his death in 1661, they became -fully aware of the loss which they had sustained. His Royal master -determined to govern alone, at the very moment when he became more than -ever the slave of the Church; and, gathering up the reins entirely -within his own hands, he sought to atone for his immoralities by the -extirpation of heretical opinions. The conversion of the French King -was a change from courtly gallantries to religious persecution,--from -sensuality to intolerance,--from vice to crime. It is impossible to -say, in how many districts he interdicted the exercise of the Reformed -religion; how many places of worship he razed; how many schools he -suppressed; how many Protestant endowments he confiscated for Roman -Catholic purposes. Ordinances, declarations, decrees, and other acts of -Council swiftly followed one after another, striking the heretics with -blow upon blow.[119] - -In 1681, Louis began his atrocious system of dragonnading, which -consisted in billeting ten or twelve military brigands in a Protestant -family, with authority to do anything short of murder, for the -conversion of its members to Popery. Curés shouted to these new -apostles, “Courage, gentlemen, it is the will of the King.”[120] -Horsemen fastened crosses to the ends of their musquetoons, and -compelled people to kiss them. They whipped their victims, they smote -them on the face, they dragged them about by the hair of their heads, -and drove them to church as they might drive so many cattle. - -[Sidenote: 1681.] - -In the middle of the seventeenth century, French exiles had established -themselves in different parts of England. A French Church had been -founded at Winchelsea in 1560, at Canterbury in 1561, at Norwich in -1564, with others at Southampton, Glastonbury, and Rye. A Church at -Sandtoft, Lincolnshire, dated from 1634; in the Savoy, from 1641; in -Dover, from 1646; in Marylebone, 1656; not to mention others.[121] The -Dragonnades, in 1681, sent at once a new and unprecedented wave of -emigration across the Channel. - -[Sidenote: FRENCH PROTESTANTS.] - -Charles II., who did not blush to receive a pension from Louis XIV. -for betraying the interests of his country, now came forward in -favour of the fugitives--from good nature, or through advice, or -in order to please the English Protestants, perhaps from all three -motives combined. By an edict, signed at Hampton Court, on the 28th -of July, 1681, he declared that he felt obliged by his honour and -his conscience, to succour the people who were fleeing into exile. -He therefore accorded them letters of naturalization, with all the -privileges necessary for the exercise of such trades as would not -injure the interests of his kingdom. He engaged that he would ask -the next Parliament to naturalize all who should seek refuge in -this island, and in the meantime he exempted them from all imposts -to which his other subjects were not liable. He authorized them -to send their children to the public schools and Universities. He -ordered all his officers, both civil and military, to receive them -wherever they landed, to give them passports gratuitously, and to -furnish such relief as might be necessary for them to travel to their -destination. He also instructed the Commissioners of the Treasury, and -of the Customs, to let the strangers pass free, with their furniture, -their merchandize, and their instruments of trade; and, further, he -encouraged charitable persons to assist those who were in want. He -also commissioned the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of -London to receive their requests and present them to him. To this -edict there succeeded, before long, an order in Council which granted -naturalization to eleven hundred and fifty-four fugitives;[122] and -boat after boat arrived freighted with these sufferers. Such sympathy -with the persecuted, however just, appears very inconsistent. About -a hundred years earlier, the Jesuits had turned the tables on the -intolerant Lutherans and Calvinists of the empire, by saying that -Catholic sovereigns had as much right to deny religious liberty as -Protestant ones;[123] and Louis could have taken sufficient ground for -retorting upon Charles after the same fashion. Reports were circulated -to the discredit of the refugees--and were met, on the other hand, by -friendly certificates from Incumbents and Churchwardens, testifying -of them as “sober, harmless, innocent people, such as served God -constantly and uniformly, according to the usage and custom of the -Church of England.”[124] In 1682, Charles issued briefs to the clergy -to make collections for the new comers; and, in this beneficent work, -Tillotson, Dean of Canterbury, took part. Beveridge, then a Prebendary -in Canterbury Cathedral, from some mistaken scruple--or from coolness -towards a foreign Church--objected to reading the brief, as contrary to -the rubric. This circumstance brought out Tillotson’s well-known reply, -“Doctor, Doctor, charity is above rubrics.”[125] - -[Sidenote: 1682.] - -The persecutions of these French Protestants, their arrival on our -shores, and the kindness with which they were received, are not -mentioned here simply because they are incidents of a religious -character locally connected with our own country, but for another -and more forcible reason. These persecutions had become a staple of -conversation in many an English home; and many an English heart had -palpitated with deep sympathy, as stories of violence and suffering -had fallen on the ear. Each fresh gust of intolerance, as it broke on -France, had stirred the feelings of English Puritans, scarcely less -than the feelings of French Protestants living on this side Dover -Straits. And the revival of oppression, after the death of Mazarin, -could not fail to inspire indignation in the breasts of multitudes -within our shores when the anti-Popery agitation burst out afresh. -The sight of the fugitives, their tales of horrid barbarity, of -patient endurance, and of romantic adventure, would reinvigorate -the Protestantism of our fathers, and largely contribute to that -fixed resolve, which defied the contrivances of Charles and James, -and ended in what has been ever since esteemed the _Glorious_ -Revolution.[126] - -[Sidenote: THE CABINET.] - -It was natural for foreign Protestants to look to England for help in -more ways than one. The Archbishop of Canterbury received a letter -from Dr. Covel, chaplain at the Hague to the Princess of Orange, urging -the formation of a public League in defence of European Protestantism. -Sancroft did not possess the courage and heroism to promote such a -measure, had it been wise; but he did possess the sagacity and prudence -to see that the object desired was not wise; and, in addition to those -qualities, he displayed, in the answer to his correspondent, a large -measure of Protestant sympathy and devout feeling.[127] - -The prospects of Protestantism became darker and darker. The Act for -excluding Papists from office was for a while cunningly evaded by -Charles, who placed the whole business of the Admiralty in the hands of -his brother, the Duke of York, he himself signing all official papers -in that department:--at last, this shadowy pretence he cast aside, and -boldly invited James to a seat at the Council-table--a step which even -one of his Tory supporters acknowledged “became the subject of much -talk, and was deemed to be a breach of one of the most solemn and most -explicit Acts of Parliament.”[128] Two other persons, at the same time -Members of the Council, ought to be noticed. One was Lord Chief Justice -Jeffreys, too infamous a character to require anything more than the -mention of his name; and Lord Keeper Guilford, who, whilst hating -Jeffreys with a bitter hatred, in some respects resembled him. The part -which these men took at this time in relation to Papists and Protestant -Nonconformists, and the manner of their conducting ecclesiastical -business, are illustrated by the following incident. - -[Sidenote: 1684.] - -It was the fashion to hold Cabinet meetings on Sunday nights. One -Sunday morning, the Duke of York asked Guilford to assist him in a -business which would that evening be brought before His Majesty. -Guilford thought that certain Courtiers just then looked at him with -remarkable gravity, as if something important was about to come on the -carpet; but he did not discover its nature until after the meeting -had commenced. Jeffreys had returned fresh from a Northern tour, and -had brought with him reports of large numbers of Papists convicted of -being recusants, and, after placing on the table rolls containing their -names, he rose from his chair, and proceeded to say:-- - -[Sidenote: CABINET MEETING.] - -“I have a business to lay before your Majesty, which I took notice -of in the North, and which will deserve your Majesty’s royal -commiseration. It is the case of numberless numbers of your good -subjects, that are imprisoned for recusancy. I have the list of them -here, to justify what I say. They are so many that the great gaols -cannot hold them without their lying one upon another.” Then, to use -the language of Roger North, “he let fly his tropes and figures about -rotting and stinking in prisons;” and concluded his speech with a -motion that His Majesty be requested to discharge “these poor men,” -and restore them to “liberty and air.”[129] Such a motion from such -a man will be at once understood. It could have been made only to -please his Royal master, and that master’s brother. If selfishness -influenced Jeffreys in making the proposal, selfishness influenced -Guilford in opposing it; for, on the one hand, any such pardon as that -now proposed, must pass the Great Seal of which he was keeper; and by -affixing this to such an unpopular instrument, he might bring himself -into trouble with his friends. On the other hand, by refusal he might -incur a forfeiture of office, and have to give place to his most odious -enemy. After the Lord Keeper had sat silent awhile, expecting some -of the Lords in the Protestant interest, as Halifax and Rochester, -to speak,--he rose and addressed the King, entreating that the Chief -Justice might declare, whether all the persons named in these rolls -were actually in prison or not. His Lordship replied that he did not -imagine any one could suspect that to be his meaning, but that they -were under sentence of commitment, and were liable to be taken up by -any peevish Sheriff or Magistrate. North then proceeded to attack all -Sectaries. They were a turbulent people, he said, and always stirring -up sedition; and, if they did so when they were obnoxious to the -laws, what would they not do, if His Majesty gave them a discharge -at once? Was it not better that his enemies should live under some -disadvantages, and be obnoxious to His Majesty’s pleasure, who might, -if they were turbulent and troublesome, inflict the penalties of the -law upon them? As to the Roman Catholics, if there were any persons to -whom the King would extend the favour of a pardon, let it be particular -and express. After all, the disadvantage they were under, was but the -payment of some fees to officers, which was compensated for by their -enjoying exemption from serving in chargeable offices.[130] - -[Sidenote: 1684.] - -Guilford thought that in this way he outwitted his adversary, and -accounted his manœuvre the most memorable act which he had ever -performed. The report shows, that from personal inclination, or from a -wish to gratify the King, and the Duke of York, he evinced especial -hatred to Protestant Nonconformists in general, when he recommended -mercy to some Popish recusants in particular; and, whatever might be -his motive on the occasion, the speech which he delivered, and his -entire relation of this Cabinet secret, discloses to us very plainly -the characters of the men who then guided public affairs, and the -contemptible feelings which influenced their conduct. - -One Nonconformist sufferer at that time demands a passing notice. -William Jenkyn, of St. John’s, Cambridge, ejected from the Vicarage -of Christ’s Church, London, where he had been exceedingly popular, -was, on September the 2nd, 1684, seized by a soldier,--he being at the -very time engaged in prayer with his friends. Refusing to take the -Oxford Oath, he was committed to prison; and to a petition for release -founded on a medical certificate that his health would be endangered -by confinement, no answer could be obtained but this,--“Jenkyn shall -be a prisoner as long as he lives.” As his end drew near, he said to -those around him, “Why weep ye for me? Christ lives; He is my friend, -a friend born for adversity, a friend that never dies.” “May it please -your Majesty,” remarked a nobleman, when he heard of his death, “Jenkyn -has got his liberty.” “Aye,” rejoined Charles, “who gave it him?” -“A greater than your Majesty, the King of Kings.” The Confessor was -followed to Bunhill Fields, by a procession of a hundred and fifty -coaches. Even gay Courtiers looked sad, and the reckless King seemed -concerned. “L’Estrange,” in his _Observator_, “alone set up a howl -of savage exultation, laughed at the weak compassion of the Trimmers, -proclaimed that the blasphemous old impostor had met with a most -righteous punishment, and vowed to wage war not only to the death, but -after death, with all the mock saints and martyrs.”[131] - -[Sidenote: CHARLES’ COURT.] - -Nor should it be forgotten, that whilst Nonconformists were suffering -all kinds of hardships, the King and his Court were indulging in -unbridled licentiousness, so that the contrast drawn by the poet of the -mysteries of Providence then appeared in our own country as vividly as -it ever did in any part of the world:-- - - “The good man’s share - In life was gall and bitterness of soul; - . . . . . . . While luxury - In palaces lay straining her low thought, - To form unreal wants, and heaven-born truths - And moderation fair, wore the red marks - Of superstition’s scourge.” - -Imagination, as we read the history of the later Stuarts, ever and -anon places before us side by side the confessor’s dungeon and the -voluptuary’s chamber. The scenes which the Count de Grammont depicts, -the characters which he draws, and the intrigues which he unravels; -the entire want of moral principle, the absence of common shame, the -bare-aced profligacy, the devices to excite and gratify the lowest -passions, which he, who had lived at Court and shared in its pleasures, -so graphically and yet so complacently portrays, make us blush for our -race. The reaction from the simple manners and severe virtues of the -Commonwealth was tremendous. Courage, or rather an irritable sense of -honour, leading the gallant to wreak revenge upon any who offended him, -came to be the chief virtue of Cavalier Courtiers. Vices and crimes -were treated as petty foibles: beauty, liveliness, and wit alone were -counted meritorious; and “the manners of Chesterfield united with the -morals of Rochefoucault.” The Count’s book is indeed a reflection of -the age--elegant in style, but licentious in character--a veil of -embroidered gauze cast over a putrescent corpse. - -[Sidenote: 1685.] - -In the midst of this depravity death suddenly appeared. Art has -portrayed two scenes at Whitehall which point a moral never to be -forgotten. The one represents the Sunday night when Evelyn saw -inexpressible profaneness, gambling, and dissoluteness--the King -sitting and toying with his concubines, the French boy singing love -songs, and the Courtiers playing basset with a bank of 2,000 guineas -piled up on the table. The other exhibits what was witnessed a few -days afterwards in the anterooms of the chamber where the Royal -Sybarite awaited the summons of the Almighty; noblemen and ladies, -with heartless etiquette, performing their Court attendance; prelates -at a distance, hoping for an opportunity to administer to him the last -offices of that Church, which had called the dying man its Defender, -whilst, as he is in the act of renouncing communion with it, a delicate -hand is seen extended from behind a timorously opened door, to receive -a glass of water to assist in swallowing the wafer, laid upon the -Royal tongue by a disguised priest. These pictures[132] illustrate the -mutability of earthly grandeur, and the righteous retribution of God -upon a life spent in sin. Charles II. died on the 6th of February, -1685,--within three weeks of William Jenkyn. - -[Sidenote: DEATH OF CHARLES.] - -Very confused and contradictory accounts are given of the circumstances -connected with this event; but there is enough of what is perfectly -credible, to show that Charles died in a state of reconciliation with -the Church of Rome. The Duke of York, his brother, who watched him to -the last moment, states that two Protestant Bishops read by his bedside -the service of the Visitation of the Sick, and that one of them, Ken, -Bishop of Bath and Wells, after receiving from the sick man a faint -acknowledgment of sorrow for his sins, pronounced absolution, and -offered him the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, which was declined. But -the Duke makes no mention of the pathetic strain in which that prelate -addressed the King, or of the faithful exhortation addressed by the -Archbishop of Canterbury. - -The Duke further relates that he arranged for the clandestine -introduction to the chamber, of a Benedictine Monk, who had aided -Charles’ escape after the battle of Worcester; that when the room had -been cleared of all, except the Earl of Bath and Lord Feversham, the -priest, brought up into a private closet by a back pair of stairs, was -taken to the bedside; and that, after confession, he administered the -last rites of the Popish Communion--that the expiring man uttered pious -ejaculations, lifting up his hands and crying, “Mercy, sweet Jesus, -mercy,” till the priest gave him extreme unction--that as the host was -presented, he raised himself up, and said “Let me meet my Heavenly Lord -in a better posture than lying on my bed.” But the Duke says not a word -of Charles’ blessing his natural children, and the rest of the persons -present; nor of any one begging the Royal benediction, calling the King -the father of them all. - -[Sidenote: 1685.] - -Yet these circumstances are related by others, as well as the utterance -of the words, “Do not let poor Nelly starve;” and Charles’ reply to -the Queen’s message asking forgiveness. “She ask my pardon, poor -woman?--I ask hers with all my heart.” James, in his _Memoirs_, is -evidently intent upon one thing, to show that Charles died a sincere -Papist, which we can well believe from what we know of his previous -history.[133] - - - - - CHAPTER VII. - - -[Sidenote: 1685.] - -James II. met his Privy Councillors within an hour after his brother’s -death, on the 6th of February; and, upon taking his seat at the head -of the Council-table, he delivered an extempore speech, which was -afterwards written down from memory by Finch, the Solicitor-General. -According to his report, the King declared “I shall make it my -endeavour to preserve this Government both in Church and State, as -it is now by law established. I know the principles of the Church of -England are for monarchy, and the members of it have showed themselves -good and loyal subjects; therefore I shall always take care to defend -and support it.”[134] In explanation of this promise, coupled with so -dubious a compliment to the English Church, James afterwards, in his -own _Memoirs_, states that Finch worded “the speech as strong -as he could,” and, in the hurry, it was allowed to pass “without -reflection;” that he might have more clearly expressed himself had -he used the words “he _never would endeavour to alter_ the -established religion,” instead of the words “he would endeavour _to -preserve_ it;” and that he said he would support and defend the -_professors_ of it, not the _religion_ itself. He further -remarks, that no one could expect he would “make a conscience of -supporting what, in his conscience, he thought erroneous;”--that all he -meant, or could be expected, or was understood to say, was, simply that -he would not molest the members of the Protestant Church.[135] Read in -the light of such sophistry, the speech,--certainly at the time taken -to mean one thing, though the concealed intention of the King was to -do quite another,--shows that James must have possessed even a larger -share than his elder brother, of the inherent duplicity of the Stuart -race. Yet, unlike his brother, he evinced unmistakeable frankness in -the profession of religion; for on leaving the Council he immediately -proceeded with the Queen to the little Roman Catholic Chapel in St. -James’, leaving the door open during Divine service, that any one might -see him at worship there.[136] On Holy Thursday, accompanied by his -guards and gentlemen pensioners, he received the sacrament; and on -Easter Sunday he publicly appeared at mass--the Knights of the Garter, -in their collars, attending him, both as he went, and as he returned. -The Duke of Norfolk, who carried the Sword of State, however, stopped -at the chapel door, upon which His Majesty immediately observed to him, -“My Lord, your father would have gone further.” His Grace promptly -replied, “Your Majesty’s father would not have gone so far.” James not -only commanded an account to be published of Charles’ conforming in his -last moments to the Church of Rome, but he himself published two papers -professedly written by his brother, in favour of its doctrines. These -he showed to Sancroft, Archbishop of Canterbury, who said, “That he did -not think the late King had been so learned in controversy, but that -the arguments in the papers were easy to refute.” James desired him -to confute them if he could. Sancroft satisfied himself with politely -answering, “It ill became him to enter into a controversy with his -Sovereign.”[137] - -[Sidenote: JAMES II.] - -Plenty of gossip was circulated by lip and pen respecting the conduct -of His Majesty and his sympathizing friends at this important -juncture;--of which gossip a specimen is furnished in a letter, dated -February 24, 1685, which, after being taken out of the post-bag, -instead of reaching the person addressed, found its destination among -the Secretary of State’s papers--to be transferred in the nineteenth -century to the Record Office:-- - -“It can be no news to acquaint you of His Majesty declaring himself -a Papist and going daily to public mass. Neither can I choose but -commend the prudence and honesty of several great and worthy lords, -who have already assured His Majesty, that they have been a long time -past Papists in their hearts, and prayed His Majesty’s leave to declare -themselves Papists, that they might be in a capacity to serve His -Majesty at the holy altar. But His Majesty, it seems, very prudently -commanded them to contain themselves till after the sitting of -Parliament, and commended their holy zeal, and gave them many thanks, -with great assurances of his favour, &c. We are also very well assured, -from very good hands, that they are already under great apprehensions, -in that God Almighty appears so early against them; since one of the -first magnitude, Beauford [the Duke of Beaufort], has very lately, with -great consternation of soul, declared themselves all undone by His -Majesty’s too forward, and ungovernable zeal, in so soon and so openly -declaring himself: for, said he, had His Majesty been pleased but -to have dissembled himself till a Parliament had been called, we had -been sure to have got through, whereas now I tremble to think of the -dreadful blow an heretical Parliament may give us.” - -[Sidenote: 1685.] - -In accordance with his unequivocal profession of Romanism, James -complained to the Protestant Bishops of the declamations against Popery -in the pulpits of the Church; and at his coronation, on the 23rd of -April,[138] he declined to receive the sacrament, or to take any part -in the responses, although his Catholic Queen did so devoutly. The -King’s Romanism being demonstrated from the beginning of his reign, -there appears exquisite _naïveté_ or satirical shrewdness, in -the address presented by the Quakers to him on his accession: “We are -told that thou are not of the persuasion of the Church of England, no -more than we; therefore we hope thou wilt grant us the same liberty -which thou allowest thyself; which doing, we wish thee all manner of -happiness.” - -[Sidenote: JAMES II.] - -The Ministry of the late King were not dismissed by his successor, -but alterations were made in the allotment of offices. Rochester was -appointed Lord Treasurer and Prime Minister. Halifax had to give up -the Privy Seal, and become President of the Council. Ormond was removed -from Dublin, where he had been Viceroy, to Whitehall, where he was to -act as Lord Steward; and Godolphin exchanged his post at the Treasury -for Chamberlainship to the Queen. Sunderland continued Secretary of -State; and Guilford retained the Great Seal; but Jeffreys--Lord Chief -Justice of the King’s Bench, and now made a Peer of Parliament,--with -a seat in the Cabinet, superseded, in political power, the Lord -Keeper. The men who chiefly influenced the councils of the Sovereign, -were Rochester, Sunderland, and Godolphin, and, in some respects, the -infamous Jeffreys. - -The Tories welcomed the accession of James with immense enthusiasm; -they presented addresses of extravagant loyalty, and in the elections -for the new Parliament, exerted themselves with a zeal which provoked -the remark of one of their own party. Elections “were thought to be -very indirectly carried on in most places. God grant a better issue -of it than some expect.” “The truth is, there were many of the new -members whose elections and returns were universally censured.”[139] -When Parliament assembled, the King repeated, exactly, his reported -declaration respecting the Established Church; thus confirming the -false impression which his words were sure to produce, and this, too, -notwithstanding the acknowledgment which he records respecting it -in his _Memoirs_. “The Lords and Commons,” says the Bishop of -Norwich, “hummed joyfully, and loudly, at those parts of the speech -which concerned our religion, and the established Government.”[140] -The House of Commons, resolving itself into a Grand Committee of -Religion, determined to “stand by His Majesty” in the defence of the -Reformed faith, and to beg him to “publish a proclamation, putting the -laws in execution against all Dissenters whatsoever from the Church of -England.”[141] - -[Sidenote: 1685.] - -Perhaps the object of these resolutions was to embarrass the -Government, to disturb the alliance between the King and the High -Church party, and to decoy the Tories into an act, by which they -would commit themselves, and run the risk of breaking with the -Court. Certainly the resolutions tended to lay open to persecution, -directly and distinctly, not only Protestant Nonconformists,--whom -the Government and the Court, as well as the High Church party, were -anxious to repress,--but also Roman Catholics, whom the High Church -party wished to crush, the Court stood prepared to favour, and the -Government were ready to tolerate, for the sake of pleasing their -Royal Master. It has been suggested, that a reluctance in the majority -of the House to trouble Protestant Dissenters just then, produced a -reaction respecting the resolutions, but there is no foundation for -this idea; whereas, it is perfectly plain, that the King and the -Queen were exceedingly annoyed by the proceedings in the Commons’ -House, and ordered the Court members to oppose them.[142] To crush -Protestant Nonconformists was a thing which, taken by itself, James -would have been very glad to do, but to persecute the members of -his own Church, was a thing from which he very naturally recoiled. -Obsequiousness to the Crown, in this case, triumphed over zeal against -Popery; and the House underwent the mortification of eating its own -words, and revoking the resolutions which had been passed in Committee, -by declaring it would rest satisfied with His Majesty’s repeated -declaration, to support the religion of the Church of England, as by -law established.[143] - -[Sidenote: BAXTER’S TRIAL.] - -The disposition of the Government towards Protestant Dissenters appears -in the trial of Richard Baxter. Three weeks after the King’s accession, -this distinguished minister was committed to the King’s Bench, for a -Paraphrase on the New Testament, which he published. On the 18th of -May, being then unwell, he moved for an allowance of further time, in -order to prepare his defence; but in reply to this very reasonable -application, Jeffreys, the Chief Justice, who by his behaviour on the -Bench whilst trying the venerable prisoner, has secured for himself -everlasting infamy, savagely growled out, “I will not give him a -minute’s time more, to save his life.” “Yonder stands Oates in the -pillory, and he says he suffers for the truth, and so says Baxter; but -if Baxter did but stand on the other side of the pillory with him, I -would say, two of the greatest rogues and rascals in the kingdom stood -there.”[144] Twelve days afterwards, Baxter appeared at the bar in -Guildhall, with his friends Sir Henry Ashurst, Dr. Bates, Dr. Sharp, -and Dr. Moore[145] attending by his side; when Jeffreys indulged in -that coarse, vulgar, and well-known rhetoric, a single specimen of -which is sufficient for our purpose. “What ailed the old blockhead, the -unthankful villain, that he would not conform? Was he wiser or better -than other men? He hath been ever since, the spring of the faction. I -am sure he hath poisoned the world with his linsey-woolsey doctrine. -Hang him! this one old fellow hath cast more reproach upon the -constitution and discipline of our Church, than will be wiped off this -hundred years; but I’ll handle him for it; for, by God, he deserves to -be whipped through the City.” - -[Sidenote: 1685.] - -An eye-witness states, that during this abuse, he himself could -but smile sometimes,--notwithstanding his own tears, and those of -others,--when he saw the Judge imitate “our modern pulpit drollery,” -and drive “on furiously, like Hannibal over the Alps, with fire and -vinegar, pouring all the contempt and scorn upon Baxter, as if he had -been a link-boy or knave.”[146] After the Judge had secured a verdict -from the Jury, the prisoner wrote a letter to the Bishop of London, to -intercede in his behalf. Whether the latter complied with this request, -we do not know; but there is reason to believe that Jeffreys wished to -see the Puritan whipped at the cart-tail, and that the prevention of -the punishment is to be attributed to the interference of his brother -Justices, who might well think it mad and brutal to treat after such -a fashion a man of the highest reputation, and one who had declined -a mitre. But the aged Divine did not escape being fined five hundred -marks, and condemned to imprisonment until he paid the sum. As he -declined to do it, he remained in the King’s Bench until the 24th of -November, 1686, when he obtained release by warrant, upon giving -sureties for his good behaviour. - -[Sidenote: REBELLION.] - -Scarcely had James ascended the throne, when one rebellion broke out in -Scotland, followed by the trial and execution of the Earl of Argyle; -and another broke out in the West of England, followed by the trial and -execution of the Duke of Monmouth. The latter aspiring to the Crown, -issued an absurd manifesto, took the title of King, and entered in -Royal state the Town of Bridgewater. This conduct could not be endured, -and, consequently, an Army marched against the Pretender, and defeated -him at Sedgemoor. - -Mew, the warlike prelate of Winchester, who had fought both for Charles -I. and Charles II., employed his coach-horses in dragging the King’s -artillery to the field. Fell, Bishop of Oxford, assisted in organizing -a body of volunteers for the King’s service; whilst, at the same time, -Ken, whose loyalty is beyond suspicion, affected by the sight of -mutilated bodies left to rot by the roadside, remonstrated against the -cruelty of the officers; and, with an exemplary benevolence, visited -and relieved, at Wells and other places, those who had been taken -prisoners. The Church of England had made loud protestations of loyalty -to King James; but the Protestant Nonconformists, whose constitutional -loyalty in general cannot be impeached, were compromised, in the -estimation of some, by the part which a few of them took in Monmouth’s -rebellion. This unfavourable opinion received encouragement from -sympathy with Dissenters, expressed for selfish purposes, by the -unfortunate Duke himself, whose career could bring nothing but -discredit on his friends; probably, these circumstances sharpened the -severity of the persecution which marked the earlier part of James’ -reign. - -[Sidenote: 1685.] - -Two Nonconformists suffered death from an innocent connection with some -incidents in the rebellion. - -Mrs. (sometimes called Lady) Alicia Lisle stood at the bar in the City -of Winchester, before Judge Jeffreys, charged with having concealed, -after the battle of Sedgemoor, a Presbyterian minister named Hicks, -and another man named Nelson. With Nelson there is reason to believe -she had no acquaintance; but, respecting Hicks, she confessed that as -there were warrants out, to apprehend all Nonconformist clergymen, she -certainly wished to save him from apprehension. It was an office of -Christian kindness, which this good woman fulfilled for one in sorrow, -who professed with her a common faith; yet this perfectly innocent, -and, as she imagined, laudable deed, being construed into an act of -treason, the Jury, though they expressed their dissatisfaction with the -evidence, were bullied by the Judge into a verdict of guilty. Jeffreys -declared the evidence to be as plain as possible, and that upon it he -would have convicted his own mother. The aged matron, weighed down -under a load of more than seventy years, suffered from fits, and could -hear but imperfectly; yet, throughout her trial, she evinced a singular -calmness and serenity, and, save when overcome by drowsiness, exhibited -altogether a dignified deportment truly astonishing. Her behaviour on -the scaffold comported with her bearing in court; and, in the course -of a speech which she delivered to the Sheriff, she freely forgave -her enemies, and expressed a desire to possess her soul in patience. -Jeffreys had condemned her to be burnt, but the King commuted her -sentence, and this unfortunate lady perished at the block. - -[Sidenote: ELIZABETH GAUNT.] - -[Sidenote: 1685.] - -The other sufferer was Elizabeth Gaunt, a person in humble -circumstances, and a member of a Baptist Church. The charge against her -resembled that brought against Mrs. Lisle--namely, the harbouring of -a person supposed to have been concerned in the Rye House conspiracy. -This man had professed himself to be a Nonconformist,--certainly he -proved himself a worthless villain, by becoming King’s evidence against -the woman who, to save his life, had jeopardized her own. It did -not appear that she knew that he had any share in the plot, or that -his name had been mentioned in any proclamation; want of evidence, -however, little affected the issue of a trial in those days, and this -poor person, without being permitted to call witnesses in her defence, -received a verdict of guilty, and the sentence of death. The miserable -favour which had been shown to the sufferer of higher rank reached not -so humble an individual; she had to die at the stake. Gathering round -her the materials of torture, that she might the sooner expire, she -remarked, that charity as well as faith was a part of her religion; -that her crime, at worst, was the feeding an enemy; so she hoped she -should find her reward in Him, for whose sake she did this service, how -unworthy soever the person might be who had made such an ill return for -it. She rejoiced that God had honoured her to be the first who suffered -by fire in this reign, and that her suffering would prove a martyrdom -for that religion which was all love.[147] “Thus,” to use the words of -Sir James Mackintosh, “was this poor and uninstructed woman supported -under a death of cruel torture, by the lofty consciousness of suffering -for righteousness, and by that steadfast faith in the final triumph of -justice, which can never visit the last moments of the oppressor.”[148] -There have been many martyrs for faith, but these women were martyrs -for charity, and their meek heroism in the hour of death seems worthy -of the cause for which they suffered. Such examples illustrate that -power of endurance, with which the Almighty has inspired the heart -of woman. Strong in the midst of apparent feebleness, she bears up -under trials sufficient to crush minds of the hardest texture; thus -resembling those delicate flowers which grow in Alpine regions-- - - “Leaning their cheeks against the thick-ribbed ice, - And looking up with brilliant eyes to Him - Who bids them bloom, unblanched, amid the waste - Of desolation.” - -[Sidenote: PERSECUTION RENEWED.] - -The persecution of Dissenters, commenced before the breaking out of -Monmouth’s rebellion, continued to rage, with additional vehemence, -after the rebellion had been extinguished. The trade of the informer -revived. The spiritual courts overflowed with causes. Ministers were -seized, their houses searched, their rooms and closets broken open, -and ransacked. The shopkeeper was taken from his business, the farmer -from his homestead, husbands were separated from their wives, and -parents from their children. The rich were mulcted in heavy fines, -or bribes were wrung from them by informers--a present of wine or a -few gold pieces being often sacrificed to these harpies, for the sake -of escaping imprisonment. The loss of liberty is always an object of -terror, but in those days it appeared with horrible aggravations--for -dungeons were covered with filth of the most loathsome description; -gaolers and turnkeys exercised despotic power, and extorted exorbitant -fees; prisoners of all kinds were crowded together to suffocation; -fever and pestilence were engendered and nourished; and numbers -perished before their trial. It may seem incredible, but it is -nevertheless a fact, that Ellwood the Quaker, and the friend of Milton, -when immured in Newgate for his religion, saw the quarters of those -who had been executed for treason placed close to the prisoners’ -cells, and their heads tossed about like foot-balls.[149] The fear of -punishment under such circumstances induced Nonconformists, in their -worship, to return to those methods of secrecy and concealment which -have been already described. Some proved faithless to their profession, -and sought refuge from intolerant cruelty, in the bosom of the -Establishment: on the other hand, there were not wanting Episcopalians, -who seeing humanity outraged, professedly in support of the Church to -which they belonged, left it in disgust, and cast in their lot with the -sufferers for conscience’ sake. - -[Sidenote: 1685.] - -[Sidenote: PERSECUTION RENEWED.] - -The storm continued for two years; and as it terminated the series -under the Stuarts, it seems to have been the worst--in this respect -resembling the persecution under the Emperor Diocletian. The Quakers -stated, in their petition to King James, that there had been of late -above one thousand five hundred Friends in prison, of whom one thousand -three hundred and eighty-three remained unreleased. Three hundred -and fifty had died in gaol, since the year 1660; nearly one hundred -of them since the year 1680. William Penn reckoned that altogether, -more than five thousand perished for the sake of religion;[150] and -Jeremy White is said to have collected a list of sixty thousand, who -had suffered in some way or other for conscientious opinions. Making -a large abatement from such rumours, there must have been an enormous -extent of imprisonment, exile, extortion, oppression, and misery -inflicted during those two reigns to account for such a rumour having -been listened to for a moment.[151] Sulpicius Severus, speaking of the -persecution under Diocletian, remarked, that Christians never achieved -a more glorious victory than when they could not be subdued by years of -slaughter. And, in the same spirit, Neal observes, that Nonconformists -did not decrease, amidst all the engines of intolerance which were -worked against them; their continuance and increase being attributed to -their firmness of character, their practical and awakening ministry, -their severe morality, their domestic religion, their able and learned -ministers, the disgust excited by the conduct of their adversaries, -and the reaction produced by carrying Tory principles to an unbearable -extreme. In statements of this kind an author’s eye is wont to rest -mainly on fines, imprisonments, and violent assaults. But there were -other persecutions which Nonconformists had to endure. Much is made, -by our High Church brethren, of the persecution which lingers amidst -legal toleration. They point to attacks in the newspapers, to slander -privately circulated, to innuendo and defamation, to irritation and -annoyance in subtle forms; but no social persecution complained of in -the present day, can be compared with what Nonconformists, in addition -to fines, imprisonments, and brutal treatment, had to endure, when such -a Christian gentleman and scholar as John Howe scarcely dared to walk -the streets. In the library of Canterbury Cathedral is a large volume -of MS. plays, recitations, and performances, in the reign of Charles -II., wherein Roman Catholics and Nonconformists of all kinds are -lampooned and abused with a vast deal more of coarseness than wit. Such -things impressively indicate what the state of social feelings must -have been at the time towards all who were not included within the pale -of the Establishment. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII. - - -[Sidenote: COURT INTRIGUES.] - -Important changes occurred in the Cabinet towards the close of 1685. -Halifax, President of the Council--but no favourite with the King on -account of his opposition to Roman Catholicism, the repeal of the -Test Act, and the Royal foreign policy--was dismissed in the month -of October. In December he was succeeded by Sunderland, who, from -having conformed to Roman Catholic ceremonies at the commencement of -the reign, and from having encouraged his Master in anti-Protestant -proceedings, had succeeded in securing and retaining his good opinion. -There existed a violent Popish party at Court, consisting of the Earl -of Castelmaine, husband to one of Charles’ mistresses,[152] of Henry -Jermyn, created Lord Dover by James II., of the Earl of Tyrconnel, -and of another Irishman, named White. These persons promoted measures -as rash as they were violent, and in so doing acted in concert with -a few Jesuits who dwelt in England, at the head of whom was Father -Petre. The Order at that time had come into collision with the Pontiff, -Innocent XI. They were now in a state of alliance with the French -King, who resisted Ultramontane pretensions, rather than in a state -of obedience to the occupant of St. Peter’s Chair. Then, as it has -happened at other times, parties in a Church which boasts of unity, -were engaged in carrying on the most opposite intrigues: the Jesuits -counselling the English King to set the liberties and wishes of his -subjects at defiance, and to play the despot out-and-out; while the -Roman Court advised him to preserve caution, and to keep within the -lines of the British Constitution. Sunderland united with the Jesuits, -and the other extreme Roman Catholic politicians, in encouraging the -Monarch to follow those ways which ultimately led to his downfall. The -Minister, to strengthen his own position, embraced the King’s religion. -He had before conformed to Catholic rites, but now he professed himself -a decided convert, giving to James the credit of having effected -the change. After the elevation of Sunderland came the dismissal of -Rochester, who had long been a Trimmer, as well as an adviser of -moderation. To recover the good opinion of the King and Queen he -professed to be open to conviction, courted Popish advocates, and -listened to controversies between Divines of the opposite Church--but, -at last, this cunning intriguer thought it the safest plan not to go -over to Rome.[153] - -[Sidenote: 1686.] - -James, encouraged in his extreme folly, rushed headlong to utter -ruin. It was not because he had become a Roman Catholic, it was not -simply because he sought to promote the interests of the Church which -he had espoused; it was because, in seeking to accomplish that end, -he violated the Constitution of his country. His despotism, not his -religion, was the immediate cause of his losing a throne. He violated -the law--that most sacred palladium in the eyes of an Englishman. - -Having commenced the practice of granting dispensations to certain -individuals before the reign of persecution came to an end, he -was sometimes found pursuing a course which placed him and some -chiefs of the Church in apparently contradictory positions, whilst, -notwithstanding, they were, for awhile, promoting the same end. - -“You may see,” says a contemporary Diarist, “somewhat remarkable in -this last week’s account--the Hierarchy so severely prosecuting the -Dissenters, and the Crown’s granting dispensations to them under seal. -Cross winds sometimes raise waves that break the force of one another, -and the ship is thereby preserved--sometimes they presage a tempest -that destroys it, when those winds centre in a dangerous quarter. -The Hierarchists have not appeared in the prosecution of one Papist -this Assizes, nor Sessions, upon the strictest inquiries that can be -made; but they say the only way to prevent Popery is to prosecute the -penal laws against the Protestant Dissenters, and, which is somewhat -mysterious, the best way to prevent Popery is not to prosecute -Papists.”[154] - -Calamy refers to the Royal exercise of a dispensing power, and to the -sending out of injunctions by the Bishops for the presentment of all -such as did not receive the Lord’s Supper at Easter.[155] - -[Sidenote: JAMES’ POLICY.] - -In the Journal just quoted, an entry occurs a little earlier, showing -the indignity with which the Monarch treated some of his suppliants, -and the fruitlessness, occasionally, of their humble applications. The -Anabaptists presented an address for “His Majesty’s gracious pardon,” -when “they were kept long on their knees, while His Majesty showed -the petition to several about him, at which they were very merry;” and -the Quakers, who had petitioned for liberty, received “only a verbal -order for impunity,” and were, nevertheless, still “disturbed and -punished.”[156] - -Such were the floating stories of treatment experienced by the -persecuted sects; and, if I may be permitted further to use the MS. -from which our knowledge of these impressions is derived, I will -extract the following passage which vividly reflects the perplexity -some Dissenters felt at this time, in consequence of endeavours made to -obtain their consent to measures of toleration, including Papists as -well as themselves. - -“The great inquiry now is, whether persons will not only use, but -thankfully accept of and vigorously endeavour after universal liberty, -by taking off the penal laws, and incapacitating laws against Papists; -if the Dissenters do not comply, they will incur the displeasure of the -Court, and the Court will destroy them. And, on the other hand, the -Church also, if these laws continue in being, or at least the Church -and the Court, will unite, and thereby utterly destroy them. And if -they do comply, they will first verify the imputation, the Church lays -upon them, as if they favoured Popery; and say, ‘they themselves are -the only pillars of the Protestant religion, you see the Dissenters -betray and give it up.’ Secondly, they may probably be dragooned by the -Court, when they have helped to take the laws off from the Papists, and -thereby weaken the Protestant interest. Thirdly, and lastly, in time to -come, the Church may call them to an account, and be severe upon them -for their compliance.”[157] - -James’ policy of granting indulgence reached its culminating point in -the famous Declaration, published on the 4th of April, 1687. - -[Sidenote: 1687.] - -The document presented signs of righteous toleration, and viewed -superficially it exhibits a favourable contrast with the policy then -pursued in France. France and England seemed bent upon adopting -contrary lines of policy. When Elizabeth had supported ecclesiastical -despotism, Henry IV., by the Edict of Nantes, had proclaimed himself a -friend of religious liberty: now, as Louis XIV. drove from the French -shores his Protestant subjects, by striving to dragoon them out of -their religion, James II. talked to the English people graciously -touching freedom of conscience. - -But what was the real design of it all? Fully to answer this question -we must carefully look at the line of policy which he previously -pursued towards Popery, towards the Church of England, and towards -Protestant Dissent. And here it should be premised, that the crushing -of Monmouth’s rebellion in England, and of Argyle’s rebellion in -Scotland, had swept away for a time all opposition to James’ title -and authority,--had consolidated his power, and had encouraged him to -attempt the experiment of ruling the nation as an absolute monarch: and -let it also be remembered, that his despotic designs were intimately -connected with his ecclesiastical polity. - -His object with regard to Popery seems to have been, by a succession of -bold attempts, to give it not only toleration, but an establishment in -this country,--at least, an establishment upon terms of equality with -the Protestant Church.[158] - -[Sidenote: JAMES’ POLICY.] - -The Judges, in the case of Sir Edward Hales, having decided in favour -of the King’s dispensing power; and having also given it as their -opinion, that the laws of England were the King’s laws, that it was an -inseparable branch of his prerogative to dispense with penal statutes, -and that of the reasons for doing so in particular cases he was sole -Judge;--James immediately proceeded by Letters Patent, dated May the -3rd, 1686, to authorize Edward Sclater to retain his benefice, after he -had, on the previous Palm Sunday, confessed his conversion to Romanism -by attending Mass. He also allowed Obadiah Walker, a clergyman who had -long secretly leaned to Popery, and now openly avowed his conversion, -to retain his position and emoluments as Master of University College, -Cambridge. By a still bolder stroke, the King dashed down the barriers -which guarded admission to the Establishment, and conferred the Deanery -of Christ Church upon John Massey,--a Roman Catholic priest, possessing -neither learning nor ability,--who instantly decked an altar in the -usual way for the celebration of Mass. - -The two sees of Chester and Oxford fell vacant in 1686. James appointed -to the one Thomas Cartwright, Dean of Ripon, a worthless sycophant, -who might be expected to do anything to please his master; and to the -other, Samuel Parker, already well known to the reader for his violent -Tory and High Church publications.[159] “I wished,” says the King to -the Papal Nuncio, Adda, “to appoint an avowed Catholic, but the time is -not come. Parker is well inclined to us, he is one of us in feeling, -and, by degrees, he will bring round his clergy.”[160] - -[Sidenote: 1686.] - -Whilst James secured for his purpose tools of this description he -did whatever he could to silence the voice of controversy against the -Church of his affections. He caused the Lord Treasurer to reprove -Sherlock, and to stop his pension for preaching against Popery;[161] -and he wrote to Compton, the Bishop of London, commanding him to -suspend the Rector of St. Giles, Dr. Sharp, who had engaged in a -pulpit contest with a Roman Catholic priest. This last interference -involved consequences more mischievous than itself. It had long been -in the mind of the Sovereign to revive the Court of High Commission, -as an efficient agent for the control of the clergy. To any one else, -the Act of Charles II., confirming the abolition of that Court by -the Long Parliament, would have been an insurmountable barrier, yet -despising such reasons as would have guided other men, James gradually -brought himself to the determination of re-establishing that odious -tribunal. The lawyers told him that what he proposed would be found to -be unconstitutional. His Ministers shrunk from committing themselves -to so perilous an act, but Sharp’s affair fixed his decision. Compton, -son of the Royalist Earl of Northampton, himself once an officer of the -Guards, had with something of a soldier’s gallantry and dash, opposed -the Government, from his seat in the House of Lords; and when receiving -the King’s command for the suspension of Sharp, he had declined to -take that step without a trial of the denounced clergyman, and had -also, by mere private influence, arranged for his submitting to a -period of silence. This conduct on the part of the prelate provoked the -King to end his hesitation, and to revive the very Court, which had -been a chief cause of his father’s ruin. The New Commission conferred -an indefinite spiritual jurisdiction, in this case the more dangerous -from its being indefinite.[162] - -[Sidenote: JAMES’ POLICY.] - -[Sidenote: 1686.] - -It was to cover England and Wales; it was to be for the reform of -all abuses, contrary to the ecclesiastical laws of the realm. It -gave authority to summon before it such ecclesiastical persons of -every degree as should offend in any of the particulars mentioned, -and punish them accordingly, by depriving them of their preferment, -and by inflicting ecclesiastical censures and penalties. It brought -within its scope _suspected_ persons to be proceeded against, “as -the nature and quality of the offence, or suspicion in that behalf” -should require. It prescribed summary excommunication and deprivation -for all persons, who should be obstinate or disobedient; and it -brought within the control of the Commissioners, the Universities, -Cathedrals, Collegiate Churches, Colleges, and all ecclesiastical -Corporations whatever, with the power of obtaining and examining -all kinds of documents touching those foundations. This formidable -instrument was addressed to seven Commissioners, four laymen, and three -Bishops. Jeffreys, now Lord Chancellor, was President, and with him -were associated the Lord Treasurer, the Lord President, and the Chief -Justice of the King’s Bench. The three Bishops named were Sancroft, of -Canterbury; Crew, of Durham; and Sprat, of Rochester. The Primate at -once saw the illegality of the measure, yet had not firmness enough -to do more than excuse himself, on the ground of ill-health, from -attending the Board. This engine, contrived for the widest action, -was precipitately brought into play, to meet the particular emergency -of Compton’s case. The Commissioners summoned him before them upon -the charge, that he had not suspended the obnoxious Rector according -to Royal command. First, Compton objected to the tribunal itself as -illegal, an objection which the Commissioners instantly overruled. -Instead of persevering in that objection, and thus commencing at once -a constitutional struggle, which was both imminent and necessary, -the Bishop quietly gave way, and proceeded to plead that he had, in -fact, complied with His Majesty’s injunctions. To have suspended -Sharp formally, he contended would have been illegal; to prevent -Sharp from preaching, he represented as the only thing possible -under the circumstances. This line of defence reflects no honour -upon the defendant, it simply sheltered him from personal injury, -without raising any question of principle. It virtually surrendered -the liberties of the Church, and appears altogether unworthy of the -occasion. Nor did it avail for the protection of the accused. The -Commissioners pronounced him guilty, and for his “disobedience and -contempt” suspended him from his Episcopal office, permitting him, -however, to retain his revenues and his residence. The Bishop of -Peterborough, with the Bishops of Durham and Rochester, were directed -to execute the sentence. - -As at St. James’, so at Whitehall, the King provided a Roman Catholic -Chapel.[163] He encouraged the fitting up of a similar place of -worship at the residence of an Englishman in London, who acted as Envoy -for the Elector Palatine. The Benedictines established themselves at -St. James’, the Franciscans in Lincoln’s Inn Fields, the Jesuits at the -Savoy, and the Carmelites in the City; and Roman Catholics are accused -of having seized some of the parish churches in Lancashire.[164] - -[Sidenote: JAMES’ POLICY.] - -The religious orders of Rome, arrayed in their distinguishing costumes, -now appeared in the streets of the Metropolis,--a sight which must have -shocked the old Puritans--but in such exhibitions the King greatly -rejoiced, prematurely exulting “that his capital had the appearance of -a Catholic city.”[165] - -If the facts adduced be not sufficient to indicate the King’s -intentions, any remaining doubts must be dispelled by turning to his -private correspondence. The letters of the last two years of his reign -serve the same purpose as the letters of Charles I. in the year 1646. -They fully reveal his private designs, whatever, on certain occasions, -he might publicly declare. They repeatedly refer to the “establishment” -of the Catholic religion--which means, in the judgment of one of the -calmest of critics, that he “meditated no less than to transfer to his -own religion the privileges of an Established Church.”[166] What is -now so manifest from this correspondence, Halifax, Nottingham, and -Danby, perceived at the time, and though they differed from each other -on many points they agreed on this. - -[Sidenote: 1686.] - -Sunderland thoroughly engaged himself on behalf of the interests of -Popery, and communicated, without reserve, the Royal intentions to -Barillon, the French representative at the Court of St. James’. “This -minister,” wrote Barillon to Louis XIV., “said to me, I do not know -if they see things in France as they are here, but I defy those who -see them near, not to know, that the King, my master, has nothing so -much at heart as to establish the Catholic religion; that he cannot, -even according to good sense and right reason, have any other end; -that without it he will never be in safety, and always exposed to the -indiscreet zeal of those who will heat the people against the Catholic -religion as long as it is not fully established.”[167] Another fact at -the time is significant. The oath administered to Privy Councillors -included the words, “I shall to my utmost defend all jurisdictions, -pre-eminencies, and authorities, granted to His Majesty, and annexed -to his Crown by Act of Parliament, or otherwise, against all foreign -Princes, Persons, Prelates, States, or Potentates.” But this part -of the oath, it is stated, was by the Royal order expunged from the -Council-book.[168] In addition to all these circumstances, James -availed himself of the religious sympathies of the Irish people, to -establish a Roman Catholic hierarchy amongst them, assigning to the -Primate a revenue of £2,000 a year, and he authorized the clergy to -wear in public the habits belonging to their order.[169] - -[Sidenote: JAMES’ POLICY.] - -It must be confessed that the King met with much in the preaching of -the Protestant clergy to encourage his fondest hopes. A Chaplain to the -Bishop of Ely maintained the immaculate holiness of the Virgin, and the -necessity for seeking her intercession. Also, a Popish priest, in a -sermon at Court, proclaimed himself as an ambassador sent from heaven -to admonish the King to extirpate heresy, and to plant in the kingdom -the true grace of God.[170] - -Encouragement of another kind presented itself. Conversions to Popery -became numerous. The Earl of Peterborough and the Earl of Salisbury -both embraced the faith patronized by royalty; the first described as -a worn-out Courtier, the second as a worn-out sensualist. Sir Ellis -Leighton, brother of the good Archbishop of that name, recanted the -Protestantism of his youth; and Sir Christopher Milton, a Judge, -brother of John Milton, the poet, if he did not do the same thing, -at any rate scrupled to communicate with the Church of England, in -consequence of Popish leanings. The lady of Sir Thomas Grosvenor, “the -Elizabeth Ebury, who brought the Westminster estates into his family,” -and the Lady Theophila, wife of Robert Nelson, both joined the Papal -communion; and Samuel Pepys, tells us in his _Diary_, that he -did not press his wife to attend the parish church, lest she should -“declare herself a Catholic.” Dryden, the poet, a man who perhaps cared -little about religion, Wycherley, the licentious dramatist, Haines, an -utterly worthless adventurer, and Tindal, who afterwards wrote against -Christianity, also seceded from the Church of the Reformation to the -Church of the Council of Trent.[171] - -[Sidenote: 1687.] - -The fact being proved that James intended to re-establish Popery, and -received encouragement to do so, little need be said respecting his -purpose in reference to the Protestant Episcopal Church. It follows -that he must have designed, through placing a rival and ambitious -power by its side, to overthrow its supremacy, if not to destroy its -existence. Such policy was alike ungrateful and treacherous. It was -_ungrateful_--for if the Presbyterians placed Charles II. upon -the throne, the Episcopalians secured the succession to James II.; and -amongst the most effective supporters of his arbitrary authority were -those Anglicans who had preached passive obedience and non-resistance. -And it was _treacherous_--for repeatedly he had declared, that he -would make it his endeavour to defend and support the Church of England. - -[Sidenote: JAMES’ POLICY.] - -Perhaps the actual discouragement which the prelates and clergy -received at the hands of him who had sworn to support them, and the -imminent perils which stared them in the face, roused the rather -inanimate Archbishop of Canterbury to attempt some little reform in -the Establishment. He, with the concurrence of the Bishops of his -province, issued Articles for some better regulations in the mode -of admitting candidates to the cure of souls, since many abuses -and uncanonical practices had lately crept in.[172] The Articles, -however, did not amount to anything remarkable, and what might be -their practical effect does not appear. If preventing the introduction -of Roman Catholic priests into the Church, or discouraging in it all -Romanizing tendencies, came within the designs of the Primate and his -brethren, no signs of it can be traced in the Articles themselves; -but there were other ways in which Anglican zeal against Popery at -that time made itself visible. Forbidden to preach against Popery, -the clergy employed their pens. Amongst four hundred and fifty-seven -controversial pamphlets which issued from the press--including those -written on both sides--may be mentioned Wake’s and Dodwell’s answers -to Bossuet; Clagett and Williams’ replies to Gother, author of _The -Papist Represented and Misrepresented_; Stillingfleet’s attack upon -Godden’s _Dialogues_; and Sherlock’s answer to Sabran, the Jesuit. -Atterbury, Smalridge, Tenison, and Tillotson, also took part in the -controversy. A noble set of writings, Calamy remarks, was now published -by Church Divines against the errors of Rome; and he endeavours to -explain the causes of that comparative silence which the Dissenters -maintained upon a subject in which they were so deeply interested. It -is pleaded by him, that they had written largely on the subject before, -their own people were not much in danger, if they did not write, they -preached upon Popery, they were satisfied to see the work well done by -others, and some who wished to publish had little chance of being read, -public attention being engrossed by distinguished Churchmen.[173] Some -of these excuses carry a measure of force; Nonconformists had not been -deficient in exposing the fallacies of Romanism, and the pulpit was now -employed when the press was inactive, but other parts of the defence -are more ingenious than valid; and it must be confessed, that clear and -distinct argumentative attacks upon the common foe of Protestantism -from the Dissenting point of view, coupled with the assertion of civil -liberty on behalf of all religionists, so far as the doctrine was then -understood, would have been more worthy of the Nonconformist cause at -that critical juncture. - -[Sidenote: 1687.] - -The policy of James respecting the Protestant Establishment, thus -nobly resisted by some of its members, together with his policy -towards Romanism, will help the reader to understand his designs upon -Protestant Nonconformity. He could not but be aware of its deadly -opposition to his own religion; its evangelical creed, its popular -discipline, and its simple worship, must have inspired his deepest -dislike; and, whatever professions of charity and forbearance he -might offer at times, the same feelings which created his enmity to a -Protestant Establishment, must necessarily have created in him also -enmity to Protestant Dissent. - -His threefold policy thus throws light upon the Declaration of -Indulgence published in 1687. That Declaration could not proceed from -sound views of religious freedom, or from a generous desire to relieve -Protestant sufferers, it must have been designed immediately to help, -and ultimately to establish, Roman Catholicism in England. According -to the terms of the Declaration, the King wished that all his subjects -had been members of the Catholic Church, but such not being the case, -he respected the rights of conscience, promising to protect those of -his subjects who belonged to the Church of England; he also resolved -to suspend the laws for the punishment of Nonconformity, and therefore -granted liberty of worship to all who did not encourage political -disaffection. The Oaths of Supremacy and Allegiance, and the Tests -and Declarations, mentioned in the 25th and 30th of his brother’s -reign, were to be no longer enforced; and ample pardon was extended to -all Nonconformist recusants, for all acts contrary to the penal laws -respecting religion. - -[Sidenote: DECLARATION OF INDULGENCE.] - -That James simply wished to promote his own religion, and did not -care for what is meant by religious freedom, is clear from the -French ambassador’s account of the liberty which the King conceded to -the people of Scotland; for the diplomatist, writing to his master, -states that the measure, debated for several days, created much -difficulty, and that he would by no means allow to Scotch Protestants -the extensive right of worship which he granted to Scotch Roman -Catholics.[174] The same writer, a little earlier, told the French -Sovereign that His Britannic Majesty heard with pleasure a recital of -the wonderful progress with which God had blessed the efforts of the -former for the conversion of the Huguenots, there being no example of -a similar thing happening at any time, or in any country, with so much -promptitude.[175] It is absurd to represent a man who thus approved -of conversion by violence as a friend to religious liberty. It should -also be remembered that there was no little duplicity involved in the -conduct of the English Monarch at this time, for just after the above -communication had been privately made to the Court at Versailles, he -issued letters patent to the Bishops, authorizing a collection on -behalf of the exiles. - -How was the Declaration received? - -[Sidenote: 1687.] - -The Catholics expressed their satisfaction with it; and whilst they -gladly availed themselves of the professed benefit, they felt pleasure -in seeing liberty extended to all sects without exception, by a prince -of their own communion.[176] Politicians, who understood and cared for -the liberties of their country, however glad they might be to see -different forms of religion tolerated, could not help being alarmed -by so daring an exercise of the Royal prerogative, which if conceded, -would imperil the Constitution, break down the safeguards of law, and -place the destinies of the nation for evil, as well as for good, in -the hands of a despotic sovereign. Members of the Church of England, -in this hour of its need, said kind things of the Nonconformists, -whom they had persecuted before, and spoke of legal securities for -freedom of worship; yet they viewed with the utmost alarm this exercise -of absolute power, and saw in it only a confirmation of their worst -fears, that, under a pretence of general liberty, the Monarch sought to -destroy the ascendancy of Protestantism. The selfishness, which blended -with their fears, and the compunctions which mingled with their alarm, -did not diminish the reasonableness of their apprehension. - -[Sidenote: DECLARATION OF INDULGENCE.] - -Some Bishops, however, distinguished themselves by a line of conduct -different from that pursued by their brethren. Durham, Rochester, -Peterborough, Oxford, and Chester, being invited to meet the Lord -Chancellor and the Earl of Sunderland, the latter told them how -acceptable to His Majesty would be an address of thanks. Three of them -at once signed such an address. Rochester hesitated, but complied; -Peterborough decidedly refused. Chester reported that the four who -signed altered their first paper, which gave thanks for the Declaration -as a whole, into a second, which acknowledged only the King’s promise -to protect the Church; and it is further reported that when the Bishop -of Durham presented the document to the King, His Majesty said, “I -expected this sooner from you of the Church of England, and also now, -that it would have come much fuller than what it is. Can you find -nothing to give thanks for, but that one clause which relates to -yourselves? Have you no sense of that kindness others have received -thereby? Methinks you might have given thanks, at least, for that ease -and relief your Protestant brethren have received by it.”[177] - -Those who prepared such cautious addresses found it difficult to obtain -signatures, even when requested to sign, by diocesans favourable to the -proceeding. The subject seems to have been most carefully canvassed -by the superior as well as by the inferior clergy; for I find in the -library of the Cambridge University a long paper, containing the -reasons of the Bishops for and against subscription to an Oxford -address. Amongst the reasons for subscription, as offered by the -Chancellor, are these--that it might continue the King’s favour, -whereas the omission might irritate the Treasury to call upon the £500 -bonds of first-fruits at full worth; and that it would testify unity -with and submission to the Bishops who required the address, and who, -perhaps, expected it upon the canonical obedience of the clergy, there -being nothing in the document _præter licitum et honestum_. On -the other side, amongst other things, it is alleged that it would be -superfluous to thank His Majesty for continuing legal rights; and it -is remarked, respecting the Declaration, and the aspect of it upon -the Established Episcopal Church, “As to the free exercise of our -religion, it necessarily holds us among the various sects, under the -Toleration, who for that favour in suspending the laws have led the way -to such addresses, depending for protection upon no legal statutes, but -entirely upon the sovereign pleasure and indulgence which at pleasure -is revocable.”[178] - -[Sidenote: 1687.] - -The manner in which Nonconformists received the measure requires to be -more fully explained. - -One class, not so fanatical as to refuse the liberty offered, objected -notwithstanding, and that strongly, to the dispensing power; and, -after much deliberation, they declined to present to the King any -acknowledgment. This class included Richard Baxter and John Howe: -Baxter refusing to join in offering thanks; Howe, wavering at first, -but at last becoming so decided respecting the matter, as to move and -carry a resolution against going to Court upon the occasion. - -[Sidenote: DECLARATION OF INDULGENCE.] - -Another class remains, including Vincent Alsop and Stephen Lobb; the -former being drawn into “some high flights” of loyal flattery in return -for a Royal pardon granted to his son; the latter showing himself -contemptibly obsequious in his approaches to the King, and receiving -in consequence the appellation of the “Jacobite Independent.” Of the -favourable addresses then presented, one from the Anabaptists in and -about the City of London came first:[179] One from the Presbyterians -in the same neighbourhood came next. This, whilst giving thanks for -the Indulgence, expressed a hope that the two Houses of Parliament -would concur in the measure.[180] The Quakers said the Declaration did -the less surprise them, because it was what some of them had known to -be the principle of the King long before he came to the throne.[181] -In some of these compositions very eulogistic terms appear. The loyal -subjects of the Congregational persuasion in Ipswich, and other towns -of Suffolk, displayed a curiously rhetorical style. “The shields of -the earth,” said they, “belong unto God, He hath made you a covering -cherub to us, under whose refreshing shadow we promise ourselves -rest.”[182] The Dissenters of Malden in Essex spoke of the great -service God designed to accomplish by His Majesty, “the blossoming -whereof is now made visible in your celebrated wisdom, in hapning -(_sic_) upon the most melodious harp to charm all evil spirits, -that many other princes had no skill to use.”[183] Some Dissenters, in -and about the City of London, exceeded their brethren in extravagance. -“Your Majesty,” they declared, “hath distinguished and set the bounds -of your own dominion from that of heaven itself. You have given to God -and man their due, and yet preserved your own right.”[184] Who were the -persons engaged in drawing up these adulatory compositions, by what -kind of people, and by how many they were signed, we have no method of -ascertaining; but it is more than probable, that Court agents employed -the most insinuating arts to secure their production. Addresses to -the King were for a twelvemonth all the fashion. They were presented -by all sorts of people, who vied with each other in most absurd -expressions of loyalty. The Company of Cooks were pre-eminent in their -laudations, and praised the Indulgence as resembling the Almighty’s -manna, which suited every man’s palate; and they declared “that -men’s different gustos might as well be forced, as their different -apprehensions about religion.”[185] In some cases the compliments of -the subject were matched by the complaisance of the Sovereign; and in -answer to a Presbyterian address he professed he had no other design -than toleration, and “hoped to see the day when the people should have -a _Magna Charta_ for liberty of conscience, as well as for the -protection of their property.” - -[Sidenote: 1687.] - -The Yarmouth Congregational Church Book bears witness to the effect -produced by the Declaration just afterwards:--“It was ordered by the -Church, that the Meeting-house should be made clean, and shutters be -made for the upper windows, which was accordingly done by many of -our maid-servants.” This curious minute affords an example of busy -scenes of religious zeal, such, probably, as occurred in many towns -and villages. The humble conventicle was repaired, the interior was -cleansed and fitted up for a public assembly, and many a heart beat -with joy at signs which promised they should once more “sit under their -vine and fig-tree, none daring to make them afraid.” - -About the same time Evelyn remarks:--“There was a wonderful concourse -of people at the Dissenters’ meeting-house in this parish, and the -parish church (Deptford) left exceeding thin. What this will end in, -God Almighty only knows; but it looks like confusion, which I pray God -avert.”[186] - -[Sidenote: DECLARATION OF INDULGENCE.] - -The Dissenters generally, whilst they accepted James’ Indulgence, saw -through his designs. Not only did they oppose the King’s claim to -dispense with laws, but many of them also, through fear of Popery, -resisted the repeal of the Test Act; choosing rather to suffer -exclusion from civil offices than open a door for the admission of -Papists. Some indeed, who advocated occasional conformity (that is -communicating at times with Episcopalians in the celebration of the -Lord’s Supper), suffered no personal inconvenience from the Test Act, -and therefore advocated its continuance. Among them was Sir John -Shorter, the Presbyterian Lord Mayor of London, in the year 1687; he -preferred occasional attendance at Church during his mayoralty, to -an acceptance of the suspected benefits offered by the Indulgence. -Considering such cases, one cannot help seeing, that if such persons -confined conformity to their year of office, they laid themselves open -to the charge of sacrificing their principles for personal ends. - -[Sidenote: 1687.] - -The King, at this period, regarded the famous Quaker, William Penn, as -his particular friend and supporter. The Admiral, his father, had been -a favourite with James when Duke of York; that favour he transferred -after the Admiral’s death, to the pious son. The Royal regard--added to -the Quaker’s wealth and rank, his personal character, social qualities, -and active habits--made him one of the most important and influential -men of his day, and the early gathering of suitors at the door of -his mansion at Kensington, resembled the resort of clients to some -popular Roman patrician. Penn has been charged with involving himself -in dishonourable transactions with the maids of honour for the purchase -of a Royal pardon for girls at Taunton, who presented a banner to -Monmouth; and also with attempting to bribe the Fellows of Magdalen -College, Oxford, to submit to the King in certain illegal proceedings -which we shall hereafter describe. But it appears in a very high -degree probable, that the Penn, who acted as a pardon-broker for the -Taunton young ladies was not Penn the Quaker: and the charge against -the latter, in reference to the business at Magdalen College, is not -established, even after the cleverest special pleading employed for the -purpose.[187] But Penn certainly did all he could to support James in -his policy of Indulgence, and to persuade Nonconformists to accept its -benefits. As an Englishman this excellent person could not have had -a clear understanding of the constitutional question involved in the -measure; as a Nonconformist he showed a want of wisdom in countenancing -the dispensing power; and he is to be reckoned as one of that class -whose humanity, whose benevolence, and whose desire to secure present -liberty under critical circumstances, are wont to interfere with their -perception of fundamental principles and of ultimate results. Nor can -any one, even with the greatest admiration of his eminent virtues, -and of his conscientious adherence to his religion in the midst of -persecution, regard him as free from infirmities. It may be fairly -suspected that, with his courteous manners, he blended, in spite of his -Quaker usages, a measure of obsequiousness to Royalty, that gratified -by Royal attention, this Courtier Friend felt disposed to go further -than other conscientious men could do in promoting Royal designs, and -that a little spice of personal vanity was sprinkled over the better -qualities of this very estimable person. - -[Sidenote: WILLIAM KIFFIN.] - -[Sidenote: 1687.] - -Upon a different character from Penn, James wasted his acts in vain. -William Kiffin has been mentioned already as the victim of a scandalous -forgery. This and other attempts upon his safety he overcame. Indeed, -he was charged with designs upon the life of Charles II., a charge -too absurd to be prosecuted, yet it exposed him to some degree of -temporary inconvenience. Although not himself accused of complicity in -the Rye House Plot, or in the Monmouth Rebellion, his family suffered -from both--a son-in-law being tried for his connection with the first, -and two grandsons, handsome youths, pious, and of great promise, -being executed for their share in the second. Kiffin still continued -a preacher of the Gospel in the Baptist denomination, as well as a -prosperous merchant in the City of London, and it is curious to notice -how this twofold character is indicated in his portrait: a Puritan -skull-cap covers his head, whilst long curly locks flow from under it, -and a richly embroidered lace collar covers his breast, with a loose -cloak gracefully wrapped round his shoulders. His wealth and position -in the City, together with his influence amongst Nonconformists, -rendered him a person worthy of being conciliated. Upon his coming -to Court, in obedience to the Royal command, the King told him that -his name had been put down as an alderman in the new Charter. “Sire,” -he replied, “I am a very old man, and have withdrawn myself from all -kind of business for some years past, and am incapable of doing any -service in such an affair, to your Majesty or the City--besides, -Sire,” he continued, the tears running down his cheeks, “the death of -my grandsons gave a wound to my heart, which is still bleeding, and -never will close, but in the grave.” “Mr. Kiffin,” returned James, “I -shall find a balsam for that sore.” The marble-hearted[188] monarch -had no conception of such deep sorrow as filled Kiffin’s breast; and -Kiffin showed himself proof against all attempts upon his political -and ecclesiastical integrity. He felt obliged nominally to accept the -aldermanship; but, after holding it for a few months, without meddling -much in civic affairs, he obtained a discharge from his troublesome -office.[189] - - - - - CHAPTER IX. - - -[Sidenote: 1687.] - -The audacious zeal of James in the support of Popery reached its -climax in the summer of 1687. Monsignor Ferdinando D’Adda, described -by a Jesuit as a mere boy, a fine showy fop, to make love to the -ladies,[190] after having for some time privately acted as Papal -Nuncio, had, in the spring of this year, been publicly consecrated at -Whitehall, titular Archbishop of Amasia. He had immediately afterwards -been received in his archiepiscopal vestments by the Sovereign of -England, who, in the presence of the Court, prostrated himself before -the Italian prelate to receive his benediction. The prelate being thus -prepared by his new dignity, the King determined that he should be -publicly received as an ambassador from His Holiness; and he caused -arrangements to be accordingly made for his reception in that capacity -at Windsor Castle, on the 3rd of July. At the Whitehall reception -of the Archbishop, the Spanish Ambassador had warned James against -being priest-ridden, when the latter asked, “Is it not the usage in -Spain that Kings consult their Confessors?” “Yes, Sire,” replied the -Minister, “and hence it is that our affairs go so badly.” In prospect -of the Windsor ceremonial, the Duke of Somerset received orders to -be in attendance to introduce the dignitary. He begged to be excused, -lest compliance should be construed into a breach of law. “Do you not -know,” said James, “that I am above the law?” “Your Majesty may be,” -rejoined the Duke, “but I am not.” This nobleman being dismissed for -his frankness, people remarked in gossip, that a Duke of Somerset “had -put out the Pope, and now the Pope had put out the Duke.” “It would -have been more remarkable,” said Sir John Bramston, “if the Duke had -brought him in.”[191] - -[Sidenote: PROMOTION OF ROMANISTS.] - -These little incidents would have sufficed, under the circumstances, to -make prudent men pause, but they produced no effect upon the imprudent -King. When the day arrived, the Nuncio started from his lodgings in -Windsor, clothed in purple, with a gold crucifix hanging at his breast, -seated in a coach, accompanied by the Duke of Grafton and Sir Charles -Cotterel. He was preceded by Knight Marshal’s men on horseback, and -by twelve footmen--“their coats being all of a dark grey coloured -cloth, with white and purple lace.” Altogether the train consisted of -thirty-six carriages, with six horses each, two of the carriages being -filled with priests--but some were sent empty, to increase the pomp of -the procession; and amongst such equipages were those of the Bishops -of Durham and Chester. The party alighted in the outer court, and went -upstairs into St. George’s Hall, where the King and Queen, seated upon -two chairs under a canopy, received the Papal emissary with great -reverence. The effect upon the English people may be conjectured. Great -multitudes had been attracted by a show, such as had not been witnessed -until now, since the Accession of Elizabeth. Windsor overflowed, and -for want of room in inns and houses, people of quality had to sit in -their coaches almost all the day.[192] But they were shocked by the -spectacle; and the indignation of the inhabitants of the little town -upon the public celebration of mass in Wolsey’s Chapel rose to such a -height, that they riotously assailed the building, and left it in a -state of miserable dilapidation. The feeling thus expressed extended -over the country; Protestant anger almost everywhere arose, and James -himself, when too late, saw the extreme folly of his conduct. It might -be supposed that the Pontiff and the Papal Court would be delighted -to hear of the Nuncio’s pageant, yet this was not the case. At Rome -the proceedings met with condemnation. They accorded with the daring -policy of the Jesuits, who were masters at Court, but not with the more -cautious measures of the Papacy, at that time in collision with the -order which had proved such a prop to the Papal chair. - -Innocent XI. refused to gratify James in a matter which he had much at -heart. James wished to procure a mitre for a Jesuit, named Petre, but -as the elevation of the dignitary to the Episcopate was contrary to the -rules of the Order, James sought for him a red hat. But neither mitre -nor hat could be obtained. The circumstance mortified the Monarch, and -it certainly appeared as a very ungrateful return for all his devotion -to the interests of Rome; but he resolved to give Petre a seat at the -Privy Council table, for which, indeed, he had designed the mitre or -the hat to serve as a preparation. He meant to pave the way to the -civil distinction of his Roman Catholic favourites, by first obtaining -for them ecclesiastical honours; and when the nation heard that a -Jesuit had been made a Privy Councillor, the wrath excited by the -public recognition of Archbishop D’Adda increased tenfold. - -[Sidenote: 1687.] - -Parliament had shown nothing like independence in reference to either -ecclesiastical or political affairs, and had resembled a French Bed of -Justice, convened to register Royal decrees; yet James dissolved it -on the 4th of July, the very day succeeding the Nuncio’s reception. -The despotic King now took affairs entirely into his own hands, and -speedily rushed headlong to destruction. Two events completed the -catastrophe--his attack upon the liberties of Cambridge and Oxford, and -his second Declaration of Indulgence. These events at the same instant -accomplished his own fall, and saved the Protestantism of England. - -The law expressly provided, that none should be admitted to a Degree -in either University who did not take the Oath of Supremacy and the -Oath of Obedience. James had sent a mandate to Cambridge for Alban -Francis, a Benedictine monk, to be created Master of Arts, although the -monk was prevented by his religion from taking these oaths. Upon his -refusing to be sworn, the University authorities refused to obey the -mandate; consequently the High Commission summoned the two Chancellors -and the Senate to appear before them at Westminster, upon the 21st -of April. Dr. John Peachell, who then held the Vice-Chancellorship, -with eight representatives of the Senate, including Isaac Newton, -Fellow of Trinity, and Professor of Mathematics, answered the summons: -and on meeting the Board, were treated by Jeffreys, who presided -over the Commissioners, with an amount of insolence scarcely less -than that which he had exhibited at the trial of Richard Baxter. He -soundly rated Dr. Peachell; and when another more courageous person -attempted to speak, he cried out, “That young gentleman expects to be -Vice-Chancellor--when you are, Sir, you may speak, but till then it -will become you to forbear.” Peachell had to suffer the loss of his -office, and his emoluments, and the members of the Senate had to endure -the vulgar insults of the minion who dismissed them, exclaiming, “I -shall say to you what the Scripture says, and rather because most of -you are Divines: ‘Go your way and sin no more, lest a worse thing come -unto you.’”[193] - -[Sidenote: PROMOTION OF ROMANISTS.] - -[Sidenote: 1687.] - -The proceedings at Oxford are still more remarkable. A vacancy occurred -in the highest office in Magdalen College. Notwithstanding the -vested power of the Fellows to choose a President, Royal letters of -nomination had been sometimes sent; and, as in deference to Royalty, -such letters of nomination had been accepted and obeyed, precedents -could be pleaded in this instance for the interference of the King. -He recommended Anthony Farmer, a man who laboured under the threefold -disqualification, of not being a moral character, of not being a -Protestant Churchman, and of neither being, nor ever having been, a -Fellow either of Magdalen or New College. The last circumstance, on -statutory grounds alone, sufficed to exclude this nominee. The Fellows, -of course, objected to him, and requested His Majesty to recommend -another person. The election had been fixed for the 13th of April. -The day arrived, without a further nomination from the Crown. At an -adjourned meeting on the 15th, no notice having been taken of their -request, the Fellows proceeded to make their election, and their choice -fell on Dr. John Hough, a person of high reputation, whose firmness -throughout the following troubles, have won for him a lasting renown. -In June the Fellows were summoned to appear before the Commission, at -Whitehall, to answer for what they had done. Jeffreys, the King’s evil -star--whose conduct, both on the Bench and at the Council Board, must -be pronounced one of the greatest curses, and whose appointment to the -custody of the Great Seal must be held as one of the greatest crimes -of this inglorious reign--badgered the deputation sent from Oxford -to represent the College, as he had before badgered the deputation -sent from Cambridge. “Who is this man?” he asked, as Dr. Fairfax -raised a question touching the validity of the Commission. “Pray, what -commission have you to be so impudent in Court? This man ought to be -kept in a dark room. Why do you suffer him without a guardian? Why did -not you bring him to me to beg him? Pray, let the officers seize him.” -Hough’s election was declared void, and Fairfax was suspended from his -Fellowship;[194] but the nomination of such a man as Farmer was too -outrageous to be pursued any further, even by the impudent despotism -which had already defied law and order to an intolerable extent. - -[Sidenote: PROMOTION OF ROMANISTS.] - -In August, James nominated to the Presidency of Magdalen, Parker, -Bishop of Oxford, with whose character the reader is already -acquainted. His unpopularity with Protestants had now been increased -by the publication not only of his reasons for abrogating the test -introduced to exclude Papists, but by his excusing the doctrines -of Transubstantiation, and his vindicating the Romanists from the -charge of idolatry. To nominate Parker offended the University for -two reasons. No vacancy, in fact, existed, since Hough could claim -office by virtue of his College election; besides, the Bishop had never -been a Fellow of either of the Colleges specified in the Statutes. -In September the King himself visited Oxford, determined to subdue -the refractory body. The interview has been often described; the -following account, substantially the same as that given in the _State -Trials_[195] is preserved in MS. in the Record Office. - -“The Lord Sunderland sent orders to the Fellows of Magdalen College to -attend the King on Sunday last, at eleven o’clock, or at three in the -afternoon. - -“They waited accordingly. Dr. Pudsey, Speaker. - -“_K._--‘What’s your name? Are you Dr. Pudsey?’ - -“_Dr. P._--‘Yes, may it please your Majesty.’ - -“_K._--‘Did you receive my letter?’ - -“_Dr. P._--‘Yes, Sir, we did.’ - -“_K._--‘Then you have not dealt with me like gentlemen: you have -done very uncivilly by me, and undutifully.’ - -[Sidenote: 1687.] - -“Then they all kneeled down, and Dr. Pudsey offered a petition, -containing the reasons of their proceedings, which His Majesty refused -to receive, and said, ‘You have been a stubborn and turbulent College. -I have known you to be so this twenty-six years. You have affronted me -in this. Is this your Church of England loyalty? One would wonder to -find so many Church of England men in such a business. Go back, and -show yourselves good members of the Church of England. Get ye gone; -know I am your King, and I command you to be gone. Go and admit the -Bishop of Oxon, Head-Principal--(what do you call it) of your College.’ - -“One standing by said ‘President.’ - -“_K._--‘I mean President of the College. Let him know that -refuses it. Look to’t. They shall find the weight of their Sovereign’s -displeasure.’ - -“The Fellows went away, and being gone out were recalled. - -“_K._--‘I hear you have admitted a Fellow of your College since ye -received my inhibition. Is this true? Have you not admitted Mr. Holden, -Fellow?’ - -“_Dr. P._--‘I think he was admitted Fellow, but we conceive--.’ -The Dr. hesitating, another said, ‘May it please Your Majesty, there -was no new election or admission since Your Majesty’s inhibition, but -only the consummation of a former election. We always elect to one -year’s probation, then the person elected is received or rejected for -ever.’ - -“_K._--‘The consummation of a former election! It was downright -disobedience, and is a fresh aggravation. Get you gone home, and -immediately repair to your Chapel, and elect the Bishop of Oxon, or -else you must expect to feel the heavy hand of an angry King.’ - -“The Fellows offered their petition again, on their knees. - -“_K._--‘Get ye gone, I will receive nothing from you till you have -obeyed me, and elected the Bishop of Oxford.’ - -“Upon which they went directly to their Chapel, and Dr. Pudsey -proposing whether they would obey the King and elect the Bishop, they -answered every one in his order; they were always willing to obey His -Majesty in all things that lay in their power, as any of the rest of -His Majesty’s subjects, but the electing of the Bishop of Oxford being -directly contrary to their Statutes, and to the positive oath they had -taken, they could not apprehend it in their power to obey him in this -matter. Only Mr. Dobson, who had publicly prayed for Dr. Hough, the -undoubted President, answered doubtingly, he was ready to obey in every -thing he could. And Mr. Charrochi, a Papist, that he was for obeying in -that.”[196] - -[Sidenote: PROMOTION OF ROMANISTS.] - -[Sidenote: 1687.] - -James found this a much more troublesome business than he had expected; -and in October he thought it necessary to send to Oxford a Special -Commission to endeavour to reduce Magdalen College to obedience. Forty -years before this, when the Parliamentary army had taken possession of -the University, Puritan Commissioners had visited the City to eject -from office the loyal Episcopalians; and now, Commissioners of a far -different character, and escorted by troops of cavalry, appeared in -the same place, to eject men of the same stamp as had been ejected -in 1647. Traditions of the past must have risen before Hough and his -companions; and as they compared their own treatment by the King, with -the treatment of Dr. Oliver by the Parliament, they must have felt -the aggravated cruelty and injustice which they had to endure in the -present instance; for, before it was a warfare of one Church against -another Church--now opposition came not only from a Monarch sworn by -law to support the Establishment, but from a prelate who was bound by -his most religious vows to do the same; Cartwright, Bishop of Chester, -being one of the Commissioners on the occasion. Conscientious Churchmen -suffered persecution from the powers they had long honoured even to -excess: they could, in this instance, as in so many others at the -same period, complain both of treachery and ingratitude, if there be -any obligations arising from oaths on the one side, or any obligations -arising from loyalty on the other. What the King’s Commissioners -did, and how the President and Fellows of Magdalen behaved, are well -represented by the chisel of Roubiliac upon the famous sarcophagus -to the memory of Hough, in Worcester Cathedral, and are succinctly -described in the well-known words which form the inscription upon that -work of art. “Having adjourned till the afternoon, the President came -again into the Court, and having desired to speak a few words, they all -took off their hats, and gave him leave; whereupon he said, ‘My Lords, -you were pleased this morning to deprive me of my place of President -of this College; I do hereby protest against all your proceedings, and -against all that you have done, or hereafter shall do, in prejudice of -me and my right, as illegal, unjust, and null; and, therefore, I appeal -to my Sovereign Lord the King, in his Courts of Justice.’”[197] - -The sequel of the affair, briefly told, was this. Hough was deposed, -and deprived; and Parker was installed by proxy, only two members -of the College, however, taking part in the ceremony. The humblest -officers resented the insult put upon the noble foundation--porter, -butler, and blacksmith, all refused to execute the commands they -received to disturb the President elected by the Fellows, and to -acknowledge the President nominated by the Crown. The ejection of -the Fellows who supported Hough speedily followed. All were deprived -of their income. But men of the same, or of other Colleges would not -accept the vacant fellowships; the excitement raised at Oxford spread -over the country, and subscriptions poured in from various quarters, -for the support of the deposed Collegians. Parker died in the midst of -the struggle; and then, to make bad worse, James designated a Roman -Catholic Bishop, Bonaventura Giffard, as head of this Protestant -institution. Twelve Romanists became Fellows--whilst Protestants, -applying for fellowship, met with rejection. These proceedings -agitated the whole country. Churchmen considered it as an attack upon -the Establishment, Nonconformists as an attack upon Protestantism, -politicians as an attack on chartered liberty, and people, who did -not care for religion or politics, as an attack on the rights of -property.[198] - -[Sidenote: NEW DECLARATION.] - -The King renewed the Declaration of Indulgence in April, 1688; and on -the 4th of May issued an order that it should be read in all churches, -and that the Bishops should see the order obeyed. He intended to test -the obedience of the clergy; and he placed them in the dilemma of -exposing themselves to his displeasure, or of degrading themselves -by compliance with his arbitrary command. Crew of Durham, Barlow -of Lincoln, Cartwright of Chester, Wood of Lichfield and Coventry, -Walters of St. David’s, and Sprat of Rochester, presented addresses -of thanks to the Sovereign for his promise to maintain the Church as -by law established. The Chester clergy issued an address, maintaining -that they were bound by “statute law, the rubric of their liberty,” -to publish what the King or the Bishop required; and Herbert Croft, -who still presided over the see of Hereford, read the Declaration, -justifying his conduct, and recommending it as an example by the -Scripture words, “Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the -Lord’s sake, whether it be to the king as supreme, or unto governors as -unto them that are sent by him.”[199] - -[Sidenote: 1688.] - -A meeting of the clergy was held in London, including Tillotson, -Stillingfleet, Patrick, Sherlock, and other well-known men. They -canvassed arguments for and against compliance, the latter being -reinforced by an assurance conveyed to the meeting, in a note from some -Nonconformists, who said that “instead of being alienated from the -Church they would be drawn closer to her, by her making a stand for -religion and liberty.”[200] Fowler, another distinguished clergyman, -declared that whatever the majority might decide he was determined -not to read the Declaration.[201] His speech encouraged the waverers, -and an unanimous resolution of refusal resulted from the discussion. -A paper to that effect rapidly received signatures from eighty-five -London Incumbents. This meeting was held on the 23rd of May. - -A more important meeting still had been held on the 18th of the same -month, at Lambeth Palace. Then also Tillotson, Stillingfleet, Patrick, -and Sherlock were present, together with Grove, Rector of St. Mary’s -Undershaft, and Tenison, Vicar of St. Martin’s. But the most important -personages taking part on that occasion were Compton, Bishop of London, -then under suspension; Sancroft, Archbishop of Canterbury, also under -the King’s displeasure; and the six Bishops, who, with Sancroft, make -the _seven_ so illustrious in English History. The six included -Turner, Bishop of Ely; Lake, Bishop of Chichester;[202] White, Bishop -of Peterborough; Trelawny, Bishop of Bristol; Ken, Bishop of Bath and -Wells; and Lloyd, Bishop of St. Asaph. The last two alone require -particular notice. - -[Sidenote: BISHOP KEN.] - -[Sidenote: 1688.] - -Thomas Ken, Bishop of Bath and Wells, the openness of whose countenance -corresponded with the simplicity of his character,[203] is the best -known of all the seven. A Wykehamist, and an Oxonian, he took orders in -the Church just after the Restoration, and became Fellow of Winchester -College, and Chaplain to the Bishop. In his former capacity he refused -to admit to his lodgings Nell Gwynn, the mistress of Charles II., -when she accompanied her lover on a visit to the romantic old city; -and it is to the honour of the erring King, that, instead of showing -resentment for this high-principled act, he rewarded with a mitre the -virtues of the pure-hearted clergyman.[204] People suspected that, in -consequence of a journey he made to the City of Rome, Ken had become -tinged with Popery; but though ascetic in his habits, a High Churchman -in principle, and decidedly “Catholic” in feeling, his protest from the -pulpit against the errors of Rome, and his resistance of the policy -of James, is sufficient to clear him from any suspicion of that kind: -James did not personally dislike him, and listened to what he had to -say on behalf of sufferers in the Monmouth Rebellion. His popularity -appears to have been very great. Evelyn speaks of the crowd to hear -him at St. Martin’s, as “not to be expressed, nor the wonderful -eloquence of this admirable preacher;” and again at Whitehall, the -same Diarist speaks of the Holy Communion after the Morning Service -being interrupted by “the rude breaking in of multitudes, zealous -to hear the second sermon to be preached by the Bishop of Bath and -Wells.”[205] On that occasion Ken applied the story of the persecution -of the Church of Judah, by the Babylonians, to the peculiar position -of the Church of England; and he so powerfully urged the congregation -to cling to the reformed faith, that they could scarcely refrain -from an audible response. Sent for by James, and reproved for his -boldness, Ken quietly replied “that if His Majesty had not neglected -his own duty of being present, his enemies had missed the opportunity -of accusing him.” But the Bishop’s wide fame rests mainly on his -Morning, Evening, and Midnight Hymns, respecting which, it has been -truly said, had he endowed three hospitals, he might have been less a -benefactor to posterity.[206] Nor should we overlook the interest which -he took in the young, his manual of prayer for Wykeham’s scholars, his -establishment of parish schools, and his zeal for catechizing.[207] - -[Sidenote: BISHOP LLOYD.] - -William Lloyd, Bishop of St. Asaph, took a leading part in the -proceedings of the seven. He had been ordained by Bishop Brownrigg, in -the time of the Commonwealth, and had been made Dean of Ripon at the -Restoration. In 1676 he had obtained the vicarage of St. Martin’s, -Westminster; and amidst the excitement of the Popish plots had -distinguished himself by his Protestant zeal. He had preached Godfrey’s -funeral sermon, and had been indefatigable in his endeavours to elicit -evidence in support of the accusations by Titus Oates.[208] Decidedly -a party man, although sincere and honest, he showed himself apt -practically to adopt the principle, that the end sanctifies the means, -and to betray feelings of a kind which, though sometimes attributed -exclusively to Papists, are rather the bad qualities of human -nature.[209] He combined, with his Protestant activities, a fondness -for prophetical studies, dwelling much upon the predicted downfall of -Babylon, and bringing to bear upon his Biblical and other researches -a considerable amount of learning, not always under the control of a -sober judgment. Promoted in the year 1680 to the see of St. Asaph, -he endeavoured to reduce the Dissenters to conformity by means of -argument and friendly influence; and where he failed to convince he won -respect.[210] - -Such were the Bishops engaged in the Lambeth Conference, and it ended -in the drawing up of a petition to the King, in which the petitioners -professed that their objection to publish the Declaration did not arise -from disloyalty to the King, nor from any want of due tenderness to -Dissenters, in relation to whom they were willing to come to such a -temper as should be thought fit, when the subject should be considered, -and settled in Parliament and Convocation; but such a dispensing power -as he now exercised had been by Parliament pronounced illegal.[211] - -[Sidenote: 1688.] - -[Sidenote: THE SEVEN BISHOPS.] - -Of the disposition of the petitioners to obey the commands of the King, -so far as their conscience allowed, there can be no doubt; for some at -least of the Bishops had maintained, or countenanced, the doctrine of -passive obedience and non-resistance. Nor did they consider themselves -as now acting inconsistently with that doctrine,--inasmuch as they -distinguished between active and passive obedience, and refused only -an active compliance with authority, which they had never held to be -binding in cases where conscience interposed to the contrary. They -would not do what the King commanded, but they would, as Confessors, -patiently accept the consequences, should all constitutional and -legal defence of themselves prove in vain. They would countenance no -forcible resistance, they would not sanction taking up arms against His -Majesty, and they would oppose the accession to the throne of any other -claimants, however supported by the nation, so long as the anointed -prince continued to live; and hence the attitude which they assumed as -nonjurors. Respecting their conduct on this occasion, I must, without -a grain of sympathy in their opinions, say, that they did not act so -inconsistently as is supposed. But if justice requires this to be -said, it requires also something more. As it regards Sancroft his -conduct must be pronounced inconsistent. For although he now refused -to read the Royal Declaration it appears that in the Prayer Book of -Cosin,--amongst MS. suggestions, where it is said that nothing is to -be read in church, but by direction of the Ordinary,--Sancroft had -added the significant words “_or the King’s order_:”[212] and, -moreover, he had recommended, or approved, at a recent period, the -publishing of Royal declarations by the clergy in service-time.[213] -As it regards the seven Bishops generally, in their relation to -Dissenters, they now declared that they did not resist the Royal -demand from any want of tenderness to them,--a plea which would have -been valid had they all shown a tolerant and charitable spirit, but -they had not done so. It is notorious that persecution had continued -nearly up to the time of the first Declaration; and this, too, with the -connivance or encouragement of some of the Bishops. The Bishop of St. -Asaph, indeed, had distinguished himself by his moderation, Ken had -not manifested a persecuting temper, but Sancroft, though appearing -to advantage in comparison with Sheldon, cannot be defended from a -charge of intolerance, for a letter exists, in which, after alluding to -Conventicles at Bury and Ipswich, he expresses His Majesty’s pleasure, -that effectual care should be taken for the suppression of unlawful -assemblies.[214] - -[Sidenote: 1688.] - -The altered and improved tone of Sancroft on the subject of -Nonconformity just after the trial of the seven will be noticed in its -proper place;[215] but certainly the language which the seven now -employed looked too much as if introduced to serve a purpose. Their -expressed objection to the Royal proceedings as unconstitutional, and -as fraught with perilous consequences to the liberties of the country, -and their implied maintenance of the authority of Parliament as the -conservator of national freedom deserve, however, an Englishman’s -gratitude; although here again, it is provoking to remember, that -the current teaching of the High Church school, to which some of the -prelates belonged, had been such as to exalt the power of Kings far -above the power of Parliaments. The ostensible ground of defence, that -the Declaration and the order were unconstitutional, gave the Bishops -the appearance of being confessors in the cause of civil liberty, -but this is a view of their character entirely contradicted by their -previous career. The real ground of their conduct, no doubt, is to be -discovered in their alarm at the King’s patronage of Roman Catholicism, -in their persuasion that the Indulgence, which they were commanded to -publish, had been contrived for that end, and in their conviction, that -by active compliance with the Royal mandate at this crisis, they would -be betraying the Church of England, and degrading their own character. - -[Sidenote: THE SEVEN BISHOPS.] - -The seven Bishops just described or mentioned, signed the petition. On -the evening of the day on which they performed that momentous act, six -of them crossed the water, to seek an interview with the King,--the -Archbishop not accompanying them, because he had been forbidden access -to Court. The prelates were admitted after ten o’clock to the Royal -bedchamber, and then into the King’s closet,[216] where the Bishop of -St. Asaph, dropping on his knees, presented the petition. The King -exclaimed, “This is my Lord of Canterbury’s own hand.” “Yes, Sir,” said -the Bishops, “it is his own hand.” “What,” cried His Majesty, in a -furious tone, “the Church of England against my dispensing power? The -Church of England! They that always preached it.” The prelates told him -they never preached any such thing, but only obedience and suffering -when they could not obey.[217] “This,” added James, as he folded up the -paper, “is a great surprise to me; here are strange words--I did not -expect this from you. This is a standard of rebellion.” The Bishops -rejoined--“That they had adventured their lives for His Majesty, and -would lose the last drop of their blood rather than lift up a finger -against him.” The King repeated, “I tell you this is a standard of -rebellion; I never saw such an address.” The Bishop of Bristol burst -into an exclamation, “Rebellion, Sir! I beseech your Majesty, do not -say so hard a thing of us. For God’s sake do not believe we are, or -can be guilty of a rebellion. It is impossible that I, or any of my -family should be so. Your Majesty cannot but remember that you sent me -down into Cornwall to quell Monmouth’s rebellion, and I am as ready to -do what I can to quell another, if there were occasion.” The Bishop -of Chichester backed his Episcopal brother by saying, “Sir, we have -quelled one rebellion, and will not raise another;” and the rest, after -professing their loyalty, continued their objections. James, insisting -upon the rebellious tendency of the document demanded that he should -be obeyed, and have the Declaration published; but, he said, if he -altered his mind he would let them know.[218] The conversation ended, -and they retired. Now the Archbishop had written the petition himself, -that he might prevent its being published, but in some way a copy -of it got abroad, and being fast multiplied, the paper the very same -evening in which it reached the hands of His Majesty reached also the -hands of hundreds, and perhaps thousands of the people. Afterwards it -received the signatures of the Bishops of London, Norwich, Gloucester, -Salisbury, Winchester, and Exeter, who were not present at the earlier -meetings. - -[Sidenote: 1688.] - -The Declaration was read at Whitehall “by one of the choir, who used -to read the chapters.”[219] It was read in Westminster Abbey; but -there arose so great a noise, that nobody could hear it, and at the -end of the publication none remained present, except the prebends, the -choristers, and the Westminster scholars. The number of instances in -which it was published in London is reckoned by Burnet and Kennet at -seven, and by Clarendon at four.[220] In dioceses, where the Bishops -ordered the clergy to comply, the command met with only limited -obedience; within the diocese of Norwich, not more than three or four -parishes, out of about twelve hundred, heard a single word of the -document; and a story is told of an incumbent, who informed his people, -that he had been enjoined to read, but they were not compelled to -hear, and, therefore, he suggested that they should retire, whilst he -repeated the proclamation within empty walls. - -[Sidenote: THE SEVEN BISHOPS.] - -The following singular letter by Barlow, the Bishop of Lincoln, -indicates at once the difficulty felt by his clergy, and his own -lukewarmness in the matter. Addressing a correspondent, he says:-- - -“Sir,--I received yours, and all that I have time to say (the -messenger which brought it making so little stay here) is only this. -By His Majesty’s command, I was required to send that Declaration to -all churches in my diocese, in obedience whereto I sent them. Now the -same authority which requires me to send them, requires you to read -them. But whether you should, or should not read them, is a question -of that difficulty, in the circumstances we now are, that you can’t -expect that I should so hastily answer it, especially in writing. The -two last Sundays, the clergy in London were to read it, but, as I am -informed, they generally refused. For myself I shall neither persuade -nor dissuade you, but leave it to your prudence and conscience, -whether you will, or will not read it; only this I shall advise, that, -after serious consideration, you find that you cannot read it, but -_reluctante vel dubitante conscientiâ_, in that case, to read it -will be your sin, and you to blame for doing it. I shall only add, that -God Almighty would be so graciously pleased to bless and direct you so, -that you may do nothing in this case, which may be justly displeasing -to God, or the King, is the prayer of your loving friend, and brother, - - THOS. LINCOLN.”[221] - -[Sidenote: 1688.] - -After a short delay, the King resolved to prosecute the Bishops -for a misdemeanour. Having received a summons to appear before the -Privy Council, they spent the interval in conference, being greatly -cheered by expressions of sympathy from many friends of the highest -distinction. After an audience with the King on the 8th of June, the -Lord Chancellor announced the Royal pleasure to proceed against the -accused according to law; and so soon as the warrants for commitment -had been issued, the intelligence spread through London like -wildfire,--people flocking in multitudes to see these venerable persons -led out of court under the custody of a guard. Popular love of liberty, -and zeal for religion, blazed up at once, and the spectators, including -soldiers, fell down on their knees, to implore Episcopal benedictions. -With these benedictions the Bishops united exhortations, that the -people would fear God, and honour the King, and keep the peace; and no -sooner had the prisoners entered within the precincts of the Tower, -than they repaired to the chapel, to return thanks for that which the -Almighty had counted them worthy to endure.[222] The next day numbers -flocked to offer them service, and to express their thanks for such -heroic behaviour, and amongst other visitors came ten Nonconformist -ministers--a circumstance which so offended the King, that he summoned -four of them to his presence, when they respectfully answered, that -they could not help adhering to the Right Reverend prisoners, as men -who were constant to the Protestant faith. Even the soldiers who kept -guard expressed sympathy, in their own rude way, toasting the Bishops -with brimming cups; and when rebuked for this by their captain, they -said, they were doing it at that instant, and would continue to do so, -until the Bishops were set free.[223] - -[Sidenote: THE SEVEN BISHOPS.] - -The Nonconformists had reason to expect that they would be required to -read the Declaration in their meeting-houses; but one of their number, -Mr. Morice, used all the means in his power to prevent the issue of -such an order, and in this he succeeded. The Nonconformists, however, -were pressed to get up congratulatory addresses: which they declined to -do, for reasons which they stated in the following awkward terms:-- - -“None,” said they, “will offer it of condition, or quality, and so we -shall be greatly diminished and lessened, by offering it, by persons of -a little figure or that are not known to be ours. - -“Our enemies and friends will greatly dislike it and heinously censure -us for it. - -“We shall become suspected, and so lose our interest in our great -friends, both as to their private and public capacity. - -“The inconsideration of those that occasion the debate of an address -is the only reason that can be suggested for it, as a deference to the -King. - -“The report, or common talk of it, will be to our great advantage if we -do it not, and will greatly strengthen our influence both upon enemies -and friends, and in truth our influence is now full as great upon our -enemies, as it used to be upon our friends. - -[Sidenote: 1688.] - -“Lastly, we are absolutely [and indeed so they seem to be] for -liberty by a law, but we are utterly against letting Papists into the -Government, and of this the King has often had and should have a clear -understanding and be fully possessed with it, that he may not have any -colour afterwards to say we deceived.”[224] - -Some few towns and corporations presented addresses of thanks to the -King for the Declaration, and amongst them one from the “Old Dissenting -officers and soldiers of the County of Lincoln;”[225] but the most -numerous, as well as the most respectable of the Nonconformists, -objected to such a course, and Baxter publicly in his pulpit -extolled the Bishops. “The whole Church,” says the Papal Nuncio in -his correspondence, “espouses the cause of the Bishops. There is no -reasonable expectation of a division among the Anglicans, and our hopes -from the Nonconformists are vanished.”[226] - -[Sidenote: THE SEVEN BISHOPS.] - -On the 15th of June, Sancroft and his brethren were brought from the -Tower to the Court of King’s Bench; as their barge floated along the -Thames, they were greeted with applauses and with prayers, and on their -reaching Westminster, noblemen and gentlemen accompanied them into -Court. Of the immense concourse of people who received them on the bank -of the river and followed them to the bar, the greater part fell upon -their knees, wishing them happiness and asking their blessing; and as -the Archbishop laid his hands on the heads of those that were nearest, -telling them to be firm in their faith, the people cried out that all -should kneel, and tears were seen to flow from the eyes of many.[227] -Westminster Hall has raised its huge form many a time, like an old rock -out of the bosom of the sea, as crowds of excited people have gathered -under its shadow: on this occasion the ocean of heads was more immense -than ever, whilst surges of indignant and sympathetic feeling rose and -rolled and broke every moment. All London seemed to be on the spot, -and the spirit of the nation seemed to be there concentrated. Upon -the prelates being desired to plead, the Archbishop was permitted to -read a short paper, claiming sufficient time for preparing an answer; -but the plea was rejected as a device for delay. The accused pleaded -“Not guilty,” in the usual form, and the trial was fixed for that -day fortnight. When the prisoners were admitted to bail on their own -recognizance, the people took the circumstance as a triumph, and set no -bounds to their boisterous joy. Huzzas rent the air, the Abbey bells -rung, and people thronged the way the Bishops went, lighting bonfires, -maltreating Roman Catholics, and execrating the other prelates who -yielded to the Royal will. - -On the 29th of June the trial took place in Westminster Hall. One of -the most worthless men that ever sat on the bench, Lord Chief Justice -Wright, the _protégé_ of the infamous Jeffreys, presided, and -with him were associated three puisne Judges--Holloway, Powell, and -Allybone, a Roman Catholic. Strangely enough, Sawyer and Finch, -two lawyers who had been State prosecutors under Charles II., and -had conducted the proceedings against Lord William Russell, now -appeared on the side of the prosecuted; whilst Williams, a Whig, -now Solicitor-General, with Powys, the Attorney-General, conducted -the prosecution. This confusion of parties led to attacks and -recriminations which afforded such amusement to bystanders and so -provoked their raillery, that the Court with difficulty suppressed -demonstrations of censure or applause. Numerous noblemen sat by the -Judges, scrutinizing their acts, and the Chief Justice looked, we are -told, as “if all the peers present had halters in their pockets.” - -[Sidenote: 1688.] - -The information having been read, the first thing was to prove the -handwriting of the Bishops, a point not to be established without -considerable difficulty. The Counsel for the defence raised the -question,--Had the paper been signed in the County of Middlesex, -where the venue had been laid? This could not be proved, inasmuch as -Sancroft, during the whole business, had remained in his Palace at -Lambeth. The case, so far, legally broke down, when the Crown lawyers -changed their ground, contending, that the libel, if not written, -had been published in Middlesex, by the delivery of it into the -King’s hands,--a circumstance proved by the testimony of Sunderland, -Lord President of the Council. It now remained for the advocates of -the Bishops to defend the document. This they proceeded to do, by -representing that, whereas their right reverend clients stood accused -of having published a “false, malicious, and seditious libel” against -the King, nothing could be further from deserving such epithets than -the paper which they had presented, it being couched in the most -respectful terms, and presented in the most private manner. It merely -asked relief from compliance with a demand which distressed their -consciences. Every subject had the right of petition, and Bishops ought -not to be deprived of this common privilege, they being principally -charged with the care and execution of laws concerning the Church’s -welfare; but the main stress of the defence rested on the illegality of -dispensing with penal laws.[228] - -[Sidenote: THE SEVEN BISHOPS.] - -The managers of the prosecution urged, that the King was entitled to -the prerogative which he claimed; that what took place in the years -1662 and 1672 did not amount to any authoritative decision on the -subject, but merely expressed the opinion of Parliament, to which -His Majesty, under the circumstances, gave way, without a permanent -surrender of his regal power. The libel of the Bishops was malicious -and full of sedition, casting the greatest reflection on the -Government. The tendency of their conduct was to inflame the public -mind, and, though they had the right of petition, it could be no excuse -for publishing a reproachful and scandalous attack upon the King’s -Majesty. The Chief Justice, in summing up, pronounced the petition -to be libellous; Justice Allybone took the same view; but the other -two, Holloway and Powell, dissented from such a judgment,--an act of -independence which cost them their seats on the Bench as soon as the -term was over.[229] Evening had come, when the exhausted Jury retired -to consider their verdict. They remained closeted all night without -fire or candle, but basins of water and towels were furnished for their -use. At about three o’clock in the morning, so it is reported, they -were overheard in vehement debate with one another; and, at six, they -sent word they had come to a conclusion, upon which, the prisoners -being brought into Court, the foreman pronounced the verdict--“_Not -Guilty_.” The effect was electric, the joy of the multitude -burst out in a triumphant shout; “one would have thought,” said the -Earl of Clarendon, who was present, “the Hall had cracked.” Now, as -before, the people on their knees made a lane from the King’s Bench -to beg a blessing as the Bishops passed; the crowd shook hands with -the Jurymen, crying, “God bless you, and prosper your families, you -have saved us all to-day;” noblemen flung money out of their coach -windows for the mob to drink the health of the King, the Bishops, -and the Jury; churches were crowded with people to pour forth their -gratitude to God, for the delivery of His servants; and the prelates -themselves, immediately after their acquittal, went to Whitehall -Chapel, and thence proceeded to their respective homes, followed by -the acclamations of delighted multitudes. An illumination succeeded in -the evening, seven candles,--the middle one longer than the others, -representing the Primate,--gleamed in thousands of windows; bells -rang, bonfires blazed, rockets and squibs burst in all directions, -the populace burnt an effigy of the Pope dressed in pontificals, as -he appears in his chair at St. Peter’s, and Protestant demonstrations -of various kinds continued all that night, until the church bells on -Sunday morning called the people to worship and to rest. The joy of -London repeated itself in the provinces, and vainly did the authorities -forbid the outburst of gladness which rolled from shore to shore. - -[Sidenote: 1688.] - -James was at Hounslow, reviewing the troops, when, on hearing a great -noise, he asked what was the matter: “Nothing but the soldiers shouting -for the acquittal of the Bishops.” “Call you that nothing,” he might -well ask, and then insanely added, “but so much the worse for them.” It -certainly proved so much the worse for him. - -The popularity of the seven Bishops in 1688, appears in striking -contrast with the unpopularity of the thirteen Bishops in 1642. There -had been a number of circumstances, operating from the period of -the Restoration, which contributed to the favourable impression now -produced. The reaction against the rigours of Puritan rule, and the -reverence, as well as the resentments kindled by clerical sufferings, -the effect of the abolition of the Star Chamber and of the High -Commission Court, the cessation of that troublesome zeal for ritualism, -which had so harassed the country in the days of Laud, and the firm -hold which the Episcopal Church had taken on the majority of the -nation--these circumstances, and others, probably prepared for that -gush of enthusiasm which greeted the Bishops on the day of their trial. - -[Sidenote: THE SEVEN BISHOPS.] - -Also, a change had come over the clergy. In 1677, they supported -absolutism; then their opposition was chiefly directed against -Protestant Nonconformity, and their resistance of the encroachments -of Popery seemed lukewarm: but, before 1688, they opened their -eyes to the intolerance of Romanism, and to the dark omens of its -establishment in England. Alarmed at the impending evil, they warmly -engaged in controversy, and many of them, seeing that the united -strength of all Protestants had become needful to meet the emergency, -proceeded to alter their conduct towards their long-despised Dissenting -brethren. Convinced at last of the mischiefs connected with arbitrary -rule, whatever subtle theories some might have respecting passive -obedience and non-resistance, they now opposed, under the pressure of -circumstances, the despotic policy of the Crown. Some saw the folly of -their former course in exalting the Royal prerogative, with the idea of -thereby defending the Church; now they discovered the unconstitutional -power which they had conceded to the Sovereign to be an instrument -capable of inflicting mischief on themselves. The ghost which they had -raised, they now sought to lay; the monster which they had created or -nourished, they now strove to crush. Ten years had produced a change in -the clergy; and the change in the clergy had made them popular with the -nation. - -[Sidenote: 1689.] - -One great cause of the popularity of the Bishops may be found in the -men themselves, in their unmistakeable honesty of purpose, in their -zeal for Constitutional Government, in their professions of liberality -towards other Protestant denominations, and certainly not a little, -in their social virtues and their Christian piety. Their advocacy -of the Reformed faith carried all its disciples along with them, -their readiness to suffer for the Established religion inspired with -affection the bosom of Churchmen, and their overtures of reconciliation -touched the hearts of Nonconformists. The release of the Bishops -proved a proud day for the Church of England, and the man must be of a -cynical temper and of narrow sympathies, who cannot enter warmly into -the triumphs of that occasion. Notwithstanding, historical justice -requires, and the utmost generosity does not forbid us to remember the -treatment which Nonconformists for twenty-seven years had endured at -the hands of the English priesthood, through their steady refusal the -whole of that time, to grant or to encourage either comprehension or -liberty. Nor can we forget the prevalence of thorough irreligion, of -frivolous scepticism, of downright immorality, and of disgusting vice, -which blackened the last two Stuart reigns, and which the Church did -so little to overcome or to diminish. Her laxity and time-serving, her -want of missionary earnestness and love, her neglect of faithful and -pointed preaching, and of pastoral diligence, her indifference to the -education and well-being of the lower classes, at the time of which we -treat, are in conspicuous contrast to her activity in these respects -at the present day. There are few of her most devoted sons who would -think of vindicating her from the reproaches now expressed, however -they may value her formularies, rejoice in her Constitution, and join -in celebrating the ovation of her seven Bishops. - - - - - CHAPTER X. - - -Up to this point, we have been engaged in watching the course of -affairs within the bounds of the Establishment, and in pointing out its -relations to Nonconformity; it remains for us to examine the growth of -Nonconformity itself, in the principal varieties of its manifestation. - -Presbyterianism underwent a change. The ejected ministers, who had -adopted that system, continued to cleave to the idea of an Established -Church, and it was long before they gave up all hopes of some -comprehensive scheme, which, whilst retaining a modified Episcopacy, -should provide for the removal of their own well-known scruples. They -manifested an indisposition to enter upon any proceedings which could -be termed denominational; yet, preaching the Gospel appeared to them an -employment which they ought on no account to relinquish, for they felt -that they had received a Divine commission, and that it would be at -their peril to draw back from its fulfilment. The personal satisfaction -also which they experienced in the discharge of their vocation, and -the eagerness of people to listen to their voices, deepened the -consciousness of a necessity laid upon them. But, at first, they only -preached in their own houses, in the hall of a friend’s mansion, in -some sequestered forest nook, or in the retirement of a mountain dell. -Like the seventy disciples, like the brethren scattered abroad upon the -persecution of Stephen, like the witnesses of the Middle Ages, like -Wycliffe’s friars, like the early Methodists, they simply attempted -to kindle and keep alight the flame of spiritual piety. Two years -after the Act of Uniformity had been passed, although some ministers -then “were vehement for an entire separation” from the Establishment, -others, including Baxter, Bates, and Heywood, advocated attendance -at the parish church--in this respect acting in the same manner as -John Wesley did, at least for some time after the institution of -Methodism. Yet coming events cast their shadows before them. At the -end of 1666, Oliver Heywood baptized a child at Halifax, a significant -incident; and, in 1672, the same patriarch of the “old Dissent” “kept -a solemn day at Bramhope,” when old Mr. Holdsworth “administered -the Supper.”[230] By degrees, and almost unconsciously, the worthy -Heywood--and he may be taken as the specimen of a class--made advances -towards a determined position outside the enclosure fenced in by law. -Celebrating the Lord’s Supper, besides administering Baptism, could -not be consistently repeated many times, without involving other acts, -inevitably preparing for the institution of distinctive and separate -Churches. Admission to the Lord’s table rendered some religious -oversight of the communicants necessary, and practically, what -amounted to a distinct Christian society, would begin to exist before -such an existence became clearly recognized even by those engaged in -its creation. When, in the year 1672, the Declaration of Indulgence -afforded liberty of action, cautious and hesitating men, who had -felt their way, availed themselves of the Royal concession to pursue, -practically, the legitimate consequences of their prior proceedings. -A minister gathered together such godly neighbours as sympathized in -his views; and such persons, owning him as their rightful pastor, -entered into covenant--as it was called--“to believe and practise -what truths and duties,” he should make manifest to them, “to be the -mind of God.”[231] According to the Presbyterian theory, the minister -in the order of nature, and generally in the order of time, takes -precedence of the Church; he does not spring from the Church, but the -Church has its root and beginning in him; nor does the origin of his -ministerial power rest in the people, his vocation is bestowed upon -him directly from above; and this idea of the origin and relation of -the Christian ministry we may see worked out in the history of English -Presbyterianism. - -[Sidenote: DEVELOPMENT OF NONCONFORMITY.] - -To build upon the platforms of the Westminster Assembly and the Long -Parliament, had become impossible. It was a hopeless thing to think -of forming classes, of meeting in synods, and of exercising parish -discipline, such as had been the ideal of twenty or thirty years -before--of instituting schools of virtue and religion in towns and -villages, where the pastor should have the rod of the magistrate to -enforce the belief of truth, and the practice of goodness. Perhaps, -choice without necessity, through what had been taught by experience -after the Restoration, would have led some Presbyterian pastors -to abandon certain portions of their earlier cherished schemes of -parochial order and discipline. - -No deacons, having authority together with the minister, existed in -Presbyterian Churches, and the control of affairs rested chiefly, if -not entirely, with one presiding person, except where there might -be a plurality of pastors. The question of individual admission to -fellowship was decided by the wisdom and the care of the presbyter -or bishop, not by the deliberation or vote of the Church; and the -decision and administration of discipline would naturally fall into -the same hands as those which had opened the door of entrance to the -enjoyment of ecclesiastical privileges. One of the last things which -the Presbyterians accomplished, in reference to their separate and -permanent existence as a religious body, appears, indeed, one of the -first things essential to that existence. The ordination of others to -succeed in the ministry must be reckoned a primary measure, requisite -for the existence of Nonconformist Churches; yet it seems not to have -been until the year 1672, that any Presbyterian orders were conferred -after the Restoration. The first solemn act of this description, with -which I am acquainted, was performed in Manchester, at a house in -Deans’-gate, by five presbyters; and it is worthy of notice that those -so ordained were not novitiates, but persons who had been engaged for -several years in preaching the Gospel.[232] Subsequently, several -instances of ordination occur, but the ceremony continued, up to the -time of the Revolution, to be observed in private. As in the days of -the Commonwealth, so still, a careful examination of the candidates -preceded the service: Latin themes, and theological debates in the -same language were required, and after a confession of faith had been -made by the young minister, there followed the imposition of hands, -and a solemn ordination-prayer, the right hand of fellowship being -afterwards given to him in token of his admission to the ministerial -brotherhood.[233] - -[Sidenote: DEVELOPMENT OF NONCONFORMITY.] - -The form of Church government, approved at Westminster, 1645, -had declared that “it is agreeable to the Word of God, and very -expedient, that such as are to be ordained ministers, be designed -to some particular Church, or other ministerial charge;”[234] but -from this rule the Presbyterians deviated after the Restoration, -perhaps not so much from any change in judgment, as from a change in -circumstances--scattered flocks and unsettled times rendering a general -provision for perpetuating the ministry alone convenient or practicable. - -In these ways innovations arose upon the old Presbyterian system, but -a more important change occurred in the gradual leavening of the whole -body with a more tolerant spirit. Presbyterians had persecuted “the -sects,” or had connived at their persecution, but now, often having -to share with them in the endurance of sorrow, they came to regard -them with brotherly kindness and charity. The principle of religious -liberty had once filled them with alarm, their own freedom for a long -while could not satisfy their wishes, but they now came to see, that -their return to the Establishment being precluded by insurmountable -barriers, they must make common cause with those who were in a like -position with themselves, and the liberty which they had learned to -value, they must also learn to concede. The discipline of circumstances -has played no small part in the education of mankind. Great principles -have, indeed, on rare occasions, flashed on minds of the highest -order with a kind of inspiration; but, in the cases of most men, the -knowledge of truths lying below the surface, has but slowly arisen, and -gradually dawned. Now and then some momentous doctrine has been struck -out as by fire--resembling the _fusile_ process, when a bronze -statue is cast, and at once it comes from the mould complete--but -commonly the acquisition of important principles may be compared to the -hewing of marble, and the carving of oak, by a patient, laborious, and -oft-repeated application of the chisel. - -The history of Congregationalism after the Restoration is a history of -development. Between Presbyterianism and an Establishment there are -strong affinities; but there are insuperable difficulties connected -with the maintenance of Congregational order in a parish, and the only -real kind of Congregational Church, formed by any incumbent under the -Commonwealth, had to be practically severed from the legal position -which he held as a parochial clergyman. When, therefore, upon the fall -of Cromwell’s Broad Church, the bark of Congregationalism was cut -completely adrift from its State moorings, it was, so far as intervals -of peace would allow, left to make its way, under God’s blessing, by -the efforts of the rowers whom it carried on board. - -[Sidenote: DEVELOPMENT OF NONCONFORMITY.] - -Independents and Baptists are included under the general denomination -of Congregationalists. Independents retired into obscurity for a -while after the Restoration. The doors of buildings where they had -been wont to assemble were nailed up; the pastors were driven out; -flocks were scattered; the administration of ordinances could not take -place; and meetings could not be held, as the still existing records -of communities, which had been prosperous under the Commonwealth, -bear ample witness. There is reason to believe that the Independents -had diminished in number. The Court influence in their favour, which -they enjoyed so long as the Protector, Oliver, lived, would die when -he died; and those who had joined their company, so long as the sun -shone on their side of the street, and who had walked with them in -silver slippers, would forsake their old companions, and go another way -when the path was overshadowed, and the silver slippers were changed -for spiked sandals. The political antecedents of the Independents as -a party, their allegiance to Oliver Cromwell, the sympathy of many -of them in Republican ideas, and their supposed complicity in the -execution of Charles I., combined to make them exceedingly unpopular -with the Royalists, whilst their democratic notions of Church -government appeared most offensive to Episcopalians; consequently, to -maintain a position under so much odium, and to withstand the steady -fire of persecution, required a degree of faith, and a measure of -decision, not very common in this world, where the love of ease and the -sacrifice of principle too frequently set the fashion. - -The principles of Congregationalism, however, proved their vitality, -and although assemblies of Church-members were unfrequent, or were -altogether discontinued for a while, the identity of Churches was -preserved, and whenever an opportunity presented itself, the scattered -ones gladly re-united in the pleasant fellowship after which they -yearned. - -Congregational principles had received a definite expression in the -Savoy Declaration. The Independents had petitioned Oliver Cromwell -for permission to hold a synod, which he had reluctantly conceded. -After his death, they assembled on the 29th of September, and having -conferred together, reached certain theological and ecclesiastical -conclusions, which they published to the world.[235] To their -confession, which is substantially the same as the Westminster -Confession of Faith, they added a clear outline of ecclesiastical -order; and, whereas the _covenants_ or mutual agreements into -which Congregationalists had entered at the formation of their -Churches, in the time of the Civil Wars, generally contained some -references to further light breaking in upon them from God’s Word, we -discover, in the Savoy Declaration, no language whatever of that kind, -and it seems to be assumed in the document that Congregationalism, as -to the knowledge of its principles, had by that period attained to -something like completeness. - -The following were fundamental propositions. - -[Sidenote: DEVELOPMENT OF NONCONFORMITY.] - -A particular Church consists of officers and members: the Lord Christ -having given to His called ones--united in Church order--liberty and -power to choose persons fitted by the Holy Ghost to be over them in -the Lord. The officers appointed by Christ to be chosen, and set apart -by the Church, are pastors, teachers, elders, and deacons. The way -appointed by Christ for the calling of any person unto the office of -pastor, teacher, or elder, in a Church, is that he be chosen thereunto -by the common suffrage of the Church itself, and solemnly set apart -by fasting and prayer, with the imposition of hands of the eldership -of that Church, if there be any before constituted therein; and of -a deacon, that he be chosen by the like suffrage, and set apart by -prayer, and the like imposition of hands; and those who are so chosen, -though not set apart after that manner, are rightly constituted -ministers of Jesus. The work of preaching is not so peculiarly confined -to pastors and teachers, but that others also, gifted and fitted by -the Holy Ghost, and approved by the people, may publicly, ordinarily, -and constantly perform it. Ordination alone, without election or -consent of the Church, doth not constitute any person a Church officer. -A Church furnished with officers, according to the mind of Christ, hath -full power to administer all His ordinances; and where there is want of -any one or more officers, those that are in the Church may administer -all the ordinances proper to those officers whom they do not possess; -but where there are no teaching-officers at all, none may administer -the seals, nor can the Church authorize any so to do. Whereas the Lord -Jesus Christ hath appointed and instituted, as a means of edification, -that those who walk not according to the rules and laws appointed by -Him be censured in His name and authority: every Church hath power in -itself to exercise and execute all those censures appointed by Him. -The censures appointed by Christ are admonition and excommunication; -and whereas some offences may be known only to some, those to whom -they are so known must first admonish the offender in private; in -public offences, and in case of non-amendment upon private admonition, -the offence being related to the Church, the offender is to be duly -admonished, in the name of Christ, by the whole Church through the -elders, and if this censure prevail not for his repentance, then he is -to be cast out by excommunication, with the consent of the members. - -These particulars respecting a Declaration of Faith but little known, -indicate the opinions entertained by the Independents, not only at the -time of the Restoration, but, with some modification, afterwards; and -here it may be added that if, in the theory of Presbyterianism, the -minister, as to the order of existence, precedes the Church, in the -theory of Congregationalism, the Church, in that same order, precedes -the minister; and in this significant fact may be found a key to some -important differences between the two systems. - -Besides those rules, which had reference to the internal order of -the Churches, there were these three, relative to their dimensions, -their co-operation, and the catholicity of their fellowship. For the -avoiding of differences, for the greater solemnity in the celebration -of ordinances, and for the larger usefulness of the gifts and graces -of the Holy Ghost, saints, living within such distances as that they -can conveniently assemble for Divine worship, ought rather to join in -one Church for their mutual strengthening and edification than to set -up many distinct societies. In cases of difficulties or differences, -it is according to the mind of Christ, that many Churches holding -communion together do by their managers meet in a synod or council, to -consider and give advice; howbeit, these synods are not intrusted with -any Church power, properly so called, or with any jurisdiction over the -Churches. Such reforming Churches as consist of persons sound in the -faith, and of conversation becoming the Gospel, ought not to refuse -the communion of each other, so far as may consist with their own -principles respectively, though they walk not in all things according -to the same rules of Church order.[236] - -[Sidenote: DEVELOPMENT OF NONCONFORMITY.] - -It will be seen upon comparing the account of Independency with the -account just given of Presbyterianism, that the Independents differed -from their brethren (1) in their mode of admitting members,--for -the Presbyterians left that responsibility entirely in the hands of -the minister, and the Independents placed it entirely in the hands -of the Church; (2) in their method of exercising discipline,--for, -in the one case, such exercise followed the minister’s authority, -and, in the other case, it followed the popular voice;[237] (3) in -the relation of pastor and people,--for Presbyterians considered -the first to be placed over the second by the presbyters engaged in -ordination, but the Independents looked upon the second as validly -appointing the first to office, the essence of the call, according to -their judgments, consisting in the election of the Church; and (4) -in the manner of ordination,--fasting, and prayer, and imposition of -hands were recognized by Presbyterians as parts of the one rite, but -though fasting and prayer were generally observed in the ordination -of Independent ministers, the imposition of hands was omitted in some -cases. - -The conclusions at the Savoy were not ecclesiastical canons, but simply -united opinions. They had no binding force. They aspired to no higher -character than that of counsel and advice. How far they were studied, -or how frequently they guided the proceedings of Congregationalists, -I cannot say, but they may be considered as embodying the ideas of -Congregationalism, which were most common amongst the early advocates -of the system. The principle laid down with regard to the extent -of a Church is in conformity with the practice adopted under the -Commonwealth, when the multiplication of distinct societies was avoided -as much as possible, and, except when the number of worshippers -demanded a different course, it was the rule not to have more than -one Congregational community in one place; and it would seem that the -multiplication of small assemblies, which afterwards became frequent, -resulted from the pressure of circumstances--persecution, or inability -to obtain extensive accommodation rendering division absolutely -necessary. Conferences in the form, but without the authority, of -synods were held by Congregationalists under the Protectorate, and -the cessation of them afterwards, except upon a small scale, may be -easily accounted for, without supposing the occurrence of any change -of opinion upon the subject. Willingness to receive Presbyterians into -communion, and a disposition to unite with Presbyterian fellowships, -distinctly appear in the history of those times. It is recorded, -respecting Heywood’s Church, in the year 1672, that Independents were -willing to acknowledge Presbyterians, and Presbyterians were willing -to acknowledge Independents; “and a special season was appointed for -communicating together in the Lord’s Supper. Both parties went away -abundantly satisfied.”[238] - -Both Presbyterians and Independents adopted the practice of adult and -of pædo-baptism by sprinkling. According to the Westminster Confession, -“not only those that do actually profess faith in and obedience unto -Christ, but also the infants of one or both believing parents are to -be baptized.” John Owen remarks, as to the subjects of the rite--“The -question is not whether all infants are to be baptized or not. For, -according to the will of God, some are not to be baptized, even such -whose parents are strangers from the covenant.”[239] Baxter adopted the -same view.[240] So did Goodwin, but he considered that the child of a -godly person, though not in fellowship with any Church, was entitled to -the ordinance.[241] - -[Sidenote: DEVELOPMENT OF NONCONFORMITY.] - -Of the importance of a baptismal dedication of infants, Presbyterians -and Independents held decided views. Some of the former spoke of the -nature and advantages of the sacrament in terms which would be greatly -modified by their successors,[242] even as the latter confined its -administration within narrower limits than many of the former. - -The Baptists resembled the Independents in Church polity, except as -it regards baptism. They were specially singled out for attack by the -High Church party, and their extraordinary sufferings have never been -forgotten by their successors. They could not but be winnowed by the -winds of persecution. Forty-six Baptist Churches are said to have been -in existence in London in the year 1646. The number of them represented -at an assembly held in 1689 is but eleven.[243] Supposing the first of -these statements to be exaggerated, and the second to be inadequate, -allowing that in the former estimate some small groups of worshippers -were counted as Churches, although not organized as such, and that -there might be more Baptist Churches in London than were represented in -the assembly held after the Restoration; further, taking into account -the fact that the erection of larger places of worship, after liberty -had been conceded, would absorb the fragmentary assemblies common when -oppression was rife; still, the comparison even of these loose returns -would indicate that the fact of the case is in accordance with the -probability, and that Baptists, like Independents, declined somewhat -in numerical power. - -Baptist Churches sprung out of Independent ones, as before, so after -the days of Cromwell. For instance, in the year 1633, a number of -Baptists in London, who had been members of an Independent Church, -swarmed, and settled down into a distinct Baptist community,[244] and -in 1667 a Baptist member of the Independent Church in Norwich withdrew -from that society, and entered upon the task “of building another house -for God.”[245] - -In the records of early Independency we meet with allusions to -messengers appointed to take part in conferences between those Churches -and others of the same denomination. A like practice existed among the -Baptists, who seem to have gone beyond their brethren in the number and -importance of such conferences. - -The Baptists were divided into Particular and General. The Particular -Baptists were those who held the doctrine of particular redemption. - -Upon comparing the doctrinal part of the confession of the Particular -Baptists, published in the years 1677 and 1689, with the doctrinal -part of the confession of the Westminster Divines, it will be found -to resemble it--differing in this respect from an earlier confession -of faith, published by seven Baptist Churches in 1644 and 1646. That -earlier confession presents a statement of doctrinal belief much -shorter, couched in different terms, and arranged in a different -order.[246] The Predestinarianism expressed by the Baptists in 1677 -and 1689, is not less decided than the Predestinarianism of the -Confession of 1644 and 1646, but in neither of these confessions can I -find the doctrine of reprobation. The omission in the last confession, -of the Westminster Article on that subject, is very significant. - -[Sidenote: DEVELOPMENT OF NONCONFORMITY.] - -The Article on the _nature_ of baptism in the Baptist Confession -of 1677 differs but slightly from the Articles on the same subject -in the Westminster Confession, and in the Savoy Declaration; but, -of course, there is a great difference from these, in the Article -touching the _subjects_ of baptism, and the _mode_ of its -administration. The Baptist Confession says, “Those who do actually -profess repentance towards God, faith in and obedience to our Lord -Jesus Christ are the only proper subjects of this ordinance. The -outward element to be used in this ordinance is water, wherein the -party is to be baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, -and of the Holy Ghost. Immersion or dipping of the person in water is -necessary to the due administration of the ordinance.” - -The General Baptists, whose early history can be reviewed more -conveniently when we have passed the Revolution, were those who, -resembling their brethren in other respects, held Anti-Calvinistic -sentiments, and preached the doctrine of general redemption. Some of -the Churches of this denomination kept Saturday as a day of rest and -worship, and were on that account called Seventh Day Baptists. They -seem to have been very strict in their ecclesiastical discipline, and -to have drawn around them very closely the bonds of fellowship. Not -only were formal letters of dismissal from one Church to another given -when members removed to a new residence--as was a common practice -amongst all Congregationalists--but an instance is at hand of “an -epistle of commendation,” written in a very primitive style, being -given to a person on the point of travelling to some distant part of -the country. - -The document is signed by Francis Bampfield, a well-known ejected -minister,[247]--who died in Newgate,--and also by his deacons. They -thus jointly express their fraternal affection: “To any Church of our -Lord Jesus Christ, to whom our brother may come, who are one with us -in the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, and in the order of the Gospel -of God keeping the holy Sabbath. Our brother, having occasion to visit -your parts, and being unacquainted with the faces of the saints in your -parts, was desirous of a testimony from us, which we are desirous to -give unto you, that he may be watched over, and made a partaker of the -privileges of Christ’s house. For he is a brother, and faithful, who -also hath been as a living member amongst us, in varieties of cases in -which he hath been tried. Therefore receive him as you would receive -any of us, and as we would receive you in the Lord, who commend him and -you to the grace of God, and subscribe ourselves in behalf of the rest, -&c.”[248] - -Baptists were not only divided into Particular and General, as it -respects doctrine; they were distinguished as Strict and Open with -respect to communion. In the Confession of 1677 the distinction as to -discipline is thus represented--“The known principles and the state of -the consciences of us that have agreed in this confession is such, that -we cannot hold Church communion with any other than baptized believers, -and Churches constituted of such; yet some other of us have a greater -liberty, and freedom in our spirits that way.” - -Kiffin and Thomas Paul were advocates of strict communion; Jessy, -Tombes, and Bunyan were advocates of open communion.[249] - -[Sidenote: DEVELOPMENT OF NONCONFORMITY.] - -The records of the Baptist Church assembling in Broadmead, Bristol, -furnish a complete history of its Christian fellowship. The mode -of admission is fully described. Candidates gave an account of the -work of God upon their souls before the whole congregation. Three -are on one occasion mentioned as giving satisfaction, but two of the -brethren desired further time to discourse with one Mary Skinker -about her principles, whether she was sound in the doctrine of the -Gospel, concerning the person and human nature of Christ our Lord; and -time also to discourse with one Elizabeth Jordan somewhat further, -for their satisfaction concerning the truth of the work of grace -upon her soul. Persons, “hoped to be in the truth,” were baptized in -the river Frome--this was done once, amidst frost and snow, and a -sharp, piercing wind, so that a wet handkerchief was frozen round the -neck of one of the women; although one person was sick, and another -had tooth-ache, and a third had sprained his leg, and a fourth was -consumptive, the Lord, it is said, “to declare His power, did, as it -were, work a miracle, to give a precedent to others,” lest, from the -coldness of the season, they should fear to do His will. He preserved -them all, and not so much as one was ill; each was the better for -being baptized, and all were alive ten years afterwards to speak of the -Lord’s goodness, and have it recorded in the Church Book. Discipline -was rigidly maintained. Letters were written to members suspected of -improper conduct, and the answers they returned of confession, or -denial, or excuse, are carefully preserved. Instances of answers to -prayer are recorded--one of a bachelor, who fell distracted, so that he -was forced to be bound to his bed, but after days of prayer the Lord -cast out, “as it were, three spirits, visible to be seen”--a spirit of -uncleanness for rage and blasphemy, a spirit of horror and fear, and a -spirit of shame and dumbness. Allusion is made to the occurrence of a -fiery apparition on the north-west side of the City, like a boy’s kite, -with a fiery oval head, and a long white tail. These records abound in -stories of persecution and disturbance; but whatever may be thought -of the superstitious tinge, so apparent in the character of these -simple-hearted and pious people, every reader must be touched by the -following entries:-- - -“On the 2nd of July [1682], Lord’s Day, our pastor preached in another -place in the Wood. Our friends took much pains in the rain, because -many informers were ordered out to search, and we were in peace, though -there were near twenty men and boys in search.” “On the 16th brother -Fownes first, and brother Whinnell after, preached under a tree, it -being very rainy.” “On the 13th [of August] our pastor preached in the -Wood, and afterwards broke bread at Mr. Young’s in peace. But Hellier -and the rest were busy that day, and shut up the gates, and kept watch -at the Weir, and behind St. Philip’s in the morning, to prevent any -going out, and in the evening to catch them coming in, and took up -several in the evening as vagrants on the Lord’s Day, and sent some to -Newgate, and some to Bridewell, watching till seven in the evening for -that purpose.” “On the 20th met above Scruze Hole, in our old place, -and heard brother Fownes preach twice in peace. Brother Terrill had -caused workmen to make banks on the side of the hill to sit down on, -several of them like a gallery. And there we met also on the 27th in -peace. And both days we sang a psalm in the open wood.”[250] No doubt -if other Congregational Church books, Baptist and Pædo-baptist, had -been as minute and copious in detail, and had been as safely handed -down to us as the Broadmead Records have happily been, we should have -found in them somewhat similar information, touching different kinds of -Independent communities. - -[Sidenote: DEVELOPMENT OF NONCONFORMITY.] - -The history of the Quakers, throughout the period under review, is a -history of spiritual life, of intense suffering, of calm endurance, of -inflexible adherence to principle, of heroic zeal, of indefatigable -activity, and of large success, both as to the increase of numbers, -and the moral improvement of mankind. It is also a history of organic -ecclesiastical development. So spiritual an impulse worked out a -graduated system of co-operation and discipline. Quakers differed -from the Presbyterians, from the Independents, and from the Baptists -in doctrinal opinions, and they also rejected the celebration of -sacraments, which all the others reverentially observed; but in -ecclesiastical government the Quakers were much less unlike the -Presbyterians than the other two denominations. Quakers’ Societies -were not distinct Churches, independent of each other, but they formed -one large spiritual aggregate, the various parts being united, not -only in sympathy and general action, but in certain definite social -arrangements. In respect to corporate unity, Quakers attained to a -perfection at which the Presbyterians of the Commonwealth aimed in -vain, and which the Presbyterians of the Restoration never attempted. -After the first few years of struggle and suffering, Quakerism -consolidated itself into the following shape, as described by Sewell, -the historian of the sect:-- - -“As to Church government, both for looking to the orderly conversation -of the members, and for taking care of the poor, and of indigent widows -and orphans, and also for making inquiry into marriages solemnized -among them, they have particular meetings, either weekly, or every -two weeks, or monthly, according to the greatness of the Churches. -They have also quarterly meetings in every county, where matters are -brought that cannot well be adjusted in the particular meetings. To -these meetings come not only the ministers and elders, but also other -members, that are known to be of sober conversation; and what is -agreed upon there is entered into a book belonging to the meeting. -Besides these meetings, a general annual assembly is kept at London -in the Whitsun Week so-called, not for any superstitious observation -the Quakers have for that more than any other time, but because that -season of the year best suits the general accommodation. To this yearly -meeting, which sometimes lasteth four, five, or more days, are admitted -such as are sent from all Churches of that Society in the world, to -give an account of the state of the particular Churches, which from -some places is done only by writing, and from that meeting is sent a -general epistle to all the Churches, which commonly is printed, and -sometimes particular epistles are also sent to the respective Churches. -By which it may be known every year in what condition the Churches -are, and in the said epistle generally is recommended a godly life and -conversation, and due care about the education of children. If it -happen that the poor anywhere are in want, then that is supplied by -others who have in store, or sometimes by an extraordinary collection.” - -[Sidenote: DEVELOPMENT OF NONCONFORMITY.] - -He supplies the following particulars respecting another subject:-- - -“In their method of marriage they also depart from the common way, -for in the Old Testament they find not that the joining of a couple -in marriage ever was the office of a priest, nor in the Gospel any -preacher among Christians appointed thereto. Therefore it is their -custom, that when any intend to enter into marriage, they first having -the consent of parents or guardians, acquaint the respective men’s -and women’s meetings of their intention, and after due inquiry, all -things appearing clear, they in a public meeting solemnly take each -other in marriage, with a promise of love and fidelity, and not to -leave one another before death separates them. Of this a certificate -is drawn, mentioning the names and distinctions of the persons thus -joined, which, being first signed by themselves, those then that are -present sign as witnesses. In the burying of their dead they mind -decency, and endeavour to avoid all pomp, and the wearing of mourning -is not approved among them, for they think that the mourning which is -lawful may be showed sufficiently to the world by a modest and grave -deportment.”[251] - - - - - CHAPTER XI. - - -After tracing the political history of the Church, and the development -of Nonconformity in different directions, I proceed to gather up a -number of facts illustrative of the worship and social religious life -of England after the Restoration. - -I. The injuries done to cathedrals during the Civil Wars were repaired, -and such partitions as had been erected to adapt them for Nonconformist -use were removed. - -Seth Ward, first as Dean, afterwards as Bishop of Exeter, improved the -cathedral of that diocese. The same may be said respecting Salisbury, -to which he was translated. That cathedral had been kept in repair -during the Commonwealth, at whose expense no one knew, for the workmen -engaged upon it were wont to reply to inquirers, “They who employ us -well pay us--trouble not yourselves to inquire who they are. Whoever -they are they do not desire to have their names known.” But Ward -increased the beauty of the building, for he paved the cloisters and -choir, the latter with black and white marble.[252] - -[Sidenote: CHURCHES.] - -Hacket persevered in his labours at Lichfield until the sacred edifice -reached its completion. He raised money “by bare-faced begging,” and no -gentleman lodged or baited in the City whom he did not visit, that he -might solicit contributions towards the object so dear to his heart. -North, who says this, also remarks, that the Bishop adorned the choir -so “completely and politely,” that he had never seen a “more laudable -and well-composed structure.” He also mentions the Cathedral of York as -“stately,” only “disgraced by a wooden roof.” Durham too is described -by the same pen as most ancient, with the “marks of old ruin;” and of -that, and of York Minster, the judge says that “the gentry affect to -walk there to see and be seen.”[253] Dr. John Barwick, who, for his -loyalty, was first rewarded by the bestowment upon him of the Deanery -of Durham, exerted himself vigorously during the short time that he -held that office, in the reparation of the cathedral and the prebendal -houses.[254] And when removed to the Deanery of St. Paul’s he evinced -equal zeal in promoting the restoration of that edifice. The rebuilding -of it after the fire was a great undertaking, and called forth the -strenuous efforts of Sancroft, who succeeded Barwick in the Deanery. -To him, as much as to any one, posterity owes the adoption of Sir -Christopher Wren’s design, after abortive attempts had been made to -build anew upon the old foundations. Sancroft’s correspondence with the -architect indicates his interest in the preparation of the plans; the -passing of the Coal Act, by which funds were secured, was promoted by -his exertions, and amongst the voluntary subscribers the Dean’s name -is conspicuous.[255] The first stone was laid in 1675, and ten years -afterwards the edifice had so far advanced that the walls of the choir -and side-aisles were completed, and the porticoes and pillars of the -dome were finished. - -The style of architecture adopted in new ecclesiastical structures was -debased Grecian; of which a specimen may be found at Northampton, in -All Saints’ Church, with its Ionic columns supporting a balustrade, in -the centre of which--symbolical of the worship of royalty--stands the -statue of Charles II., who gave towards the building a large quantity -of timber. The pencil of Sir Godfrey Kneller was employed upon pictures -of Moses and Aaron for the decoration of the altar-piece; there, and -in several cathedrals and large churches, remained until of late, -hideous examples of the wooden screens and galleries of the period. In -connection with this allusion to ecclesiastical carpentry, it is not -impertinent to notice that there is a paper in the Record Office, dated -February 18th, 1677, thanking Williamson for a new pulpit just erected -at Bridekirk, “gilded with gold and silver for its better adornment, -and all covered over with a brownish ointment.” The churchwardens ask -for a new pulpit-cloth and cushion. Sculptured sepulchres of the same -age, now, after a complete revolution in public taste, excite as much -ridicule as they then excited admiration; yet long before it was said, -“Princes’ images on their tombs do not lie, as they were wont, seeming -to pray to Heaven; but with their hands under their cheeks, as if they -died of the tooth-ache. They are not carved with their eyes fixed upon -the stars; but, as their minds were wholly bent upon the world, the -self-same way they seem to turn their faces.”[256] - -[Sidenote: CHURCHES.] - -The ornaments of the church, like its architecture and its sculpture, -expressed the taste of the day. An altar “especially adorned, the white -marble enclosure curiously and richly carved,”--flowers and garlands, -the work of Grinling Gibbons,--purple velvet fringed with gold, with -the letters I H S richly embroidered,--sacramental plate valued at -£200--these are notable objects which, in the new church of St. James, -Westminster, erected at that time, called forth admiring words from -the eminent Anglican John Evelyn.[257] They indicate a feeling totally -at variance with mediæval Catholicism; and nowhere does it appear -that in those days vases of flowers, or painted banners, or other -accompaniments of mediæval Ritualism, were in any case employed. On the -contrary, a keen jealousy of Romanism extensively prevailed, and it may -be discovered very plainly in the following passage, extracted from a -contemporary diary:--“The Church of Allhallows, Barking, in London, was -presented for innovations, as bowing to the East, and for the picture -of the Angel Gabriel over the altar. It came to a trial, Monday, March -1st, and the picture was brought into the Court; and the minister that -caused it to be set up submitted to the Court, and the picture must be -set up no more, and so the business ends.”[258] - -In Articles of Visitation we meet with minute inquiries respecting -parish churches; but many of the old fabrics must have been in a -miserable condition, if we may judge from complaints made in the -diocese of Winchester; it being said that “some in late times were -totally ruined and demolished, and those of them still standing were -much decayed and out of repair.” The Bishop, in pursuance of an Act -of Parliament, united some of the parishes, “for the encouragement of -able ministers to undertake the care of them.”[259] The cost expended -on the church at Euston, in Suffolk, is mentioned as “most laudable,” -in contrast with other Houses of God in that county, which resembled -thatched cottages rather than “temples in which to serve the Most -High.”[260] Even cathedrals were badly furnished, and in sorry repair. -“Are the uncomely forms,” asks the Bishop of Durham, in 1668, “and -coarse mats, lately used at the administration of the Holy Communion, -for such persons as usually resort thither, without the rails, taken -away; and others more comely put in their place, and decently covered, -as heretofore hath been accustomed? And are the partitions on each hand -of these forms, under the two arches of the church next the said rails, -well framed in joiners’ work, and there set up for the better keeping -out of the wind and cold, which otherwise do many times molest and -annoy the communicant?”[261] - -[Sidenote: WORSHIP.] - -It was required that in every parish church there should be a stone -font; a comely pulpit, with a decent cloth or cushion; a carpet of -silk, or some decent stuff, on the communion-table during service; and -a fair cloth for the celebration of the Lord’s Supper; also a cup and -flagon of silver, chests for alms and for registers; and it was also -ordered that in churches there should be placed the Book of Canons, a -Book of Offices for the 30th of January, the 29th of May, and the 5th -of November, a copy of _Jewel’s Apology_ well and fairly bound, -and a record--in which strange preachers should write their names in -the presence of churchwardens. Notwithstanding the careful and repeated -inquiries made respecting such matters in Articles of Visitation, it is -highly probable that they were often neglected.[262] - -II. From the buildings and their furniture we turn to the worship, -including its vestments and mode of celebration. Whatever may be the -exact meaning of the rubric prefixed to the Order of Morning Prayer, -chasubles and other priestly attire used in the second year of King -Edward, were not worn after the Restoration, nor did any of the -Anglican prelates attempt to enforce their use. Copes, according to -the Twenty-fourth Canon, were prescribed to be worn by the principal -ministers at the Holy Communion in cathedrals; but in other churches -ministers were to read the Divine service, and administer the -sacraments, in a decent and comely surplice with sleeves, and wearing -University hoods according to their degrees. With such an arrangement -the visitation articles of the prelates are in accordance. Croft, -Bishop of Hereford, that very low Churchman, took care to express his -decided approbation “of a pure white robe on the minister’s shoulders,” -emblematical of the purity of heart which became the service.[263] - -Wind instruments were, for a time used in some cathedral choirs, but -they soon gave place to organs; and the boys failed not to bring “a -fair book of the anthem and service, and sometimes the score,” to -distinguished strangers.[264] - -Baptism was performed according to the Prayer Book, and a public -administration of it in the case of those who had passed the age of -childhood sometimes attracted considerable notice. The following -anecdote on this subject occurs in a letter:--“Mr. John Harrington -(whose father was some time since one of the serjeants-at-arms to His -Majesty) had his boy baptized in the church; he being about fifteen -years old, and not baptized before, and the son of a Nonconformist. To -see which the church was fuller than it useth to be at other times; he -having God-fathers and God-mothers according to the ceremony of the -Church.”[265] - -The Lord’s Supper was administered from the table placed by the wall, -at the east end of the church, in accordance with Laudian precedents, -in spite of the rubrical direction that it “shall stand in the body -of the church, or in the chancel; where morning and evening prayers -are appointed to be said.” In some churches, the Communion Service, on -non-communion days, was read from the desk, it being alleged, “that it -was indecent to go to the altar and back, with the surplice still on, -to the homily or sermon”--a reason which implies that the surplice was -worn in the pulpit, even by those who read the Communion Service in the -desk. Clergymen left the desk, after the second lesson, to baptize in -the font at the west end of the church.[266] - -[Sidenote: WORSHIP.] - -On special occasions, cathedrals witnessed extraordinary -processions--as when Judges, with the Sheriffs and their officers, -attended at Assize sermons; or when a Mayor and Aldermen, clothed in -municipal robes, with their gold chains, marched or rode thither, -through streets of quaint architecture, to celebrate festivals civic -or sacred. A Royal visit eclipsed all mere annual pageants; and it is -related that when Charles II., in the year 1671, visited the City of -Norwich, as the guest of Lord Henry Howard, afterwards Duke of Norfolk, -His Majesty went to the grand old Norman temple in the Close--the pride -of the City--and was “sung into the church with an anthem; and when he -had ended his devotion at the east end of the church, where he kneeled -on the hard stone, he went to the Bishop’s palace [then occupied by -Reynolds], and was there nobly entertained.”[267] - -St. George’s Chapel, Windsor, became the scene of peculiar solemnities. -The Feast of St. George was there celebrated in 1662; and the knights -elect were constrained to receive their investiture below, in the -choir, yet directly under their proper stalls, because of “the great -concourse of people which at that time had flocked to Windsor (greedy -to behold the glory of that solemnity, which for many years had been -intermitted), and rudely forced not only into and filled the lower row -of stalls, but taken up almost the whole choir.” Two years afterwards, -at the Feast of St. George, there was an anthem, composed for the -solemnity, accompanied by the organ and other instrumental music; this -was the first time that instrumental music was introduced into the -Royal chapel.[268] - -Pompous funerals had taken place during the Commonwealth, particularly -in Westminster Abbey. Funerals more pompous still occurred in the same -national edifice, with a splendour surpassing what might be exhibited -elsewhere. Monk, Duke of Albemarle, in 1670, was conveyed “by the -King’s orders, with all respect imaginable,” in a long procession; -and within the sacred walls the remains were met by the Dean and -Prebendaries, who wore copes; and, in connection with the service, -offerings were made at the altar.[269] - -On Easter Day, at the Royal Chapel, when the Bishop of Rochester -preached before the King, and the sacrament followed, “there was -perfume burnt before the office began.”[270] - -The Restoration brought with it much irreverence in religion. The -worship at Lichfield was performed “with more harmony and less -huddle” than in any church in England, except in St. Paul’s at a -later period;[271] a laudable exception proving a disgraceful rule. -Complaints were officially made, by a circular letter in the name of -Archbishop Sheldon, respecting the slovenly performance of sacred -duties by Deans, Canons, and other dignitaries. Reading the service and -administering the sacraments had been neglected by such persons, as if -they had been offices beneath their importance, to be performed only -by Vicars or petty Canons.[272] Croft, Bishop of Hereford, complains -that “such dirty nasty surplices as most of them wear, and especially -the singers in cathedrals (where they should be most decent), is rather -an imitation of their dirty lives,” and had given his “stomach such a -surfeit of them” as that he had almost an aversion to them all; and -he adds, “I am confident, had not this decent habit been so indecently -abused, it had never been so generally loathed.”[273] And Trelawny, -of Bristol, laments, in reference to the united parishes of Elberton -and Littleton, “I never saw so ill churches, or such ill parishioners. -In one the sacrament has not been administered since the Restoration, -in the other very seldom; and all the plate is but a small silver -bowl, and that is kept at a Quaker’s house, with my late orders to the -contrary.”[274] In Articles of Visitation by the Bishop of Lincoln, it -is asked whether churchwardens took care that people should not stand -idle, or talk together in the church-porch, or walk in the church-yard -during the time of sacred offices, or lean or lay their hats on the -communion-table; and whether no minstrels, morrice-dancers, dogs, -hawks, or hounds were brought into the church to the disturbance of the -congregation.[275] - -[Sidenote: WORSHIP.] - -Neglect on the part of ecclesiastical officers was accompanied by -irreverence on the part of people in general; in all of which may be -traced--beyond the result of certain Puritan extravagances during the -Civil War--the effect of educational habits which date as far back as -the Reformation, and even earlier still, when worn-out superstitions -produced contempt. In some cases during the reign of Charles II. -impious frivolity and brutal ignorance are apparent. A curious -example of this is furnished in the letter of a Canon Residentiary at -York, written February 12th, 1673, and preserved amongst the State -Papers:--“On Sundays and holidays (when the young people of the town -are afloat), 400 or 500 would walk, talk, and do much worse things, -to the great disturbance of Divine service (not to mention other -aggravations), that nothing could be heard, though with all, I have -used such temper and moderation in it, that nothing hath at any time -been done against any of them, further than to urge them either to go -in to prayers, or to go out of the church, unless sometimes I have -catched at a rude boy’s hat, and kept it till the end of the prayers, -and given it him (with a chiding) again. Howbeit, this, it seems, -so exasperated the youth of the town, that yesterday (being Shrove -Tuesday) they, in time of Divine service, broke open the church doors -(which I had caused to be shut), and when (after service ended) I was -going to my house, they so affronted and abused me, that Captain Henry -Wood, and sundry other officers of the garrison, who were walking in -the church, were forced not only to come, but to send for two files -of musketeers, to my rescue.” The writer then relates that, after the -soldiers had left, the mob attacked his house, broke his windows, and -did damage to the extent of £40; and would possibly have set fire to -his house, had they not been restrained by the military. The Lord Mayor -of the City refused to interfere, as the church-yard was not within his -liberty. - -[Sidenote: REVENUES.] - -III. Episcopal revenues were unequally distributed.[276] The Bishop -of Durham received, in 1670 and afterwards, an annual income of -£3,280; previously to which his resources were so limited, that it was -computed not more than £1,500 remained after he had paid subsidies -and first-fruits. Durham House, in the Strand, had been seized by -Queen Elizabeth; although reclaimed by the Bishop upon her death, it -never again became the episcopal residence; but Aukland Palace, which -used to be to Durham what Croydon used to be to Lambeth, remained in -the Bishops’ possession, and furnished an opportunity for the richest -hospitalities. Ely Place, where Shakespeare’s “good strawberries” -grew in the garden, with its vineyard, meadow, and orchard, had -been appropriated to Sir Christopher Hatton by Queen Elizabeth; yet -Bishop Laney had possession of the palace, and died there in 1675. -The Bishops of Carlisle had long lost Worcester House, in the Strand; -and the prelates of Winchester had leased out “their very fair -house well repaired” (in Southwark), which had “a large wharf and -landing-place,” to occupy a mansion in the suburb of Chelsea.[277] The -provincial palaces of the Bishops surpassed those which they had in -the Metropolis, and were well-known centres of social attraction and -entertainment. Whilst lamentations were poured forth by some over the -robbery and spoliation of sees, so that it was said a mean gentleman of -£200 in land yearly would not exchange his worldly state and condition -with divers Bishops,[278]--Burnet speaks of the extravagance of the -class generally, and represents them as a bad pattern “to all the -lower dignitaries, who generally took more care of themselves than -of the Church.” It is a fact, however, which it would be unjust not -to mention, that many of the Bishops were large contributors to the -repairs of sacred buildings, and to other ecclesiastical objects. -Cosin, for instance, expended the income of the first seven years of -his episcopacy in the improvement of property belonging to the see of -Durham, and in establishing various charitable foundations. - -The see of Bristol was extremely poor, and Hereford yielded only -£800 a year.[279] Yet Brian Duppa, after his translation to the see -of Winchester, which he held but a year and a half, is reported to -have received in fines as much as £50,000. Out of this large amount, -however, he remitted £30,000 to his tenants, and expended £16,000 in -acts of charity.[280] Morley disposed of almost all his income in -benefactions. Sheldon’s gifts were computed at upwards of £66,000.[281] - -[Sidenote: REVENUES.] - -Palaces, deaneries, and prebendal houses, like cathedrals and churches, -had suffered in the wars. Their reparation, and the business connected -with raising funds for the purpose, largely occupied the attention of -the restored possessors. Hacket, so successful in the re-edification -of his cathedral, failed to complete the re-edification of his palace, -and left the work to his successor, who shamefully neglected it; but -it should be remembered that the restoration of the palaces at Exeter -and Salisbury are amongst the good deeds ascribed to Seth Ward.[282] -Sancroft procured an Act of Parliament which enabled him to lease -out shops and tenements in St. Paul’s Churchyard, upon condition of -expending £2,500, before September 30th, 1673, in building a commodious -deanery; and the Privy Council, after noticing, in their minutes, that -the houses of the Dean and Prebendaries of Winchester, in the late -rebellion, were totally demolished, and the greatest part of two -other houses likewise pulled down, and three only left standing on the -old foundations, very ruinous and out of repair, gave orders, with a -view to facilitate the rebuilding, that there should be a repeal of -the clauses in the statutes of the Church “which concern succession -in vacant prebends, and the reparation of deans’ and prebends’ -houses.”[283] Large demands were made upon Chapter revenues, not only -for repairs, but for Royal presents and charities; and some cathedral -stalls furnished little emolument to their occupants: so that, speaking -of a prebend, Croft of Hereford says, “This thing, though small -(worth not above £80 per annum) is the best and only considerable -thing in my gift, my bishopric being as wretched in this--to my great -discomfort--as in the revenue.”[284] Deans and Canons could not vie -with Bishops in hospitality, but the comforts of life were amply -provided and enjoyed in snug and cozy abodes, within the limits of the -cathedral close: and North mentions the good ale and small beer brewed -from South Country malt, and supplied from the Prebend’s cellars to his -relative the Judge, when visiting the City of Carlisle.[285] - -In the year 1663 it was computed that there were 12,000 church livings, -of which 3,000 were impropriate, and 4,165 were sinecures without -resident clergymen. Considering the small means possessed by some -distinguished clergymen, we are not surprised at the eager applications -with which they beset Secretary Williamson, whenever vacancies occurred -in ecclesiastical posts of a promising kind. Sometimes bribes were -offered to promote success, as appears from a letter written to -Williamson by a clergyman named Gregory, who sought a stall in a -cathedral. He said he had a friend near the Earl of Clarendon; but, the -Earl’s interest failing, he desired the Secretary to procure a grant -of the next prebend in either of the places he referred to; and he -promised gladly, upon the passing of the seal, to gratify his friend -with one hundred pieces. A living in any county, if considerable, would -be no less welcome, though the simoniacal oath deterred the writer -from anything more than an indefinite engagement. He could answer for -it, that his Lordship of Gloucester would give him such a character as -showed him deserving of the preferment desired.[286] - -[Sidenote: REVENUES.] - -To pass from this shot so skilfully but so illegally fired into the -ecclesiastical preserves of the State--whether it brought anything -into the hands of this ministerial poacher is not worth inquiry--we -light upon other examples, in abundance, of clergymen patiently waiting -and eagerly asking for the bestowment of patronage. The Rector of -Meonstoke, Hampshire, informed the influential man at head-quarters -that he had just fulfilled his course of preaching in the Cathedral -Church of Chichester as a minor prophet, which rendered him capable of -advancement to a residentiary’s place, if he could obtain an election. -There was a place vacant, and he now solicited the Secretary’s interest -with the Dean, who was Clerk of the Closet,--as he would not deny -such an important personage anything,--and the petitioner was sure -that a certain Canon he mentions would agree with the Dean; and both -together could overrule the Chapter, which at that time consisted of -them and two others. The latter, indeed, were stiffly resolved for a -Mr. Sefton, and the Dean had thoughts of the thing for himself; but -the writer presumed the Dean would get loose to it when he understood -it was below him. Should he, however, continue in such inclination, the -petitioner asked that he might be the Dean’s successor. The place would -be a preferment to the suppliant Rector, who considered he would not -be unacceptable to the Church and City, and it would redeem him from -the desolate condition he was in by the death of his dear Betty.[287] -Again, Bishop Reynolds appointed Dr. Mylles to be his Chancellor in -the diocese of Norwich, by patent under his Episcopal seal dated 13th -of September, 1661. The Chancellor requested the Dean and Chapter to -confirm the patent, which they refused to do, without assigning any -reason for their refusal. He accordingly applied to the King, and -prayed that he would be graciously pleased to enforce the needful -confirmation of the patent by the proper ecclesiastical authorities. In -urging upon His Majesty this petition, Dr. Mylles notices an objection -made to him, on the ground of his having been on the side of the -Parliament in the late troubles. To remove the objection, he asserts -that he had never disobliged any of the King’s friends; that when he -discovered Cromwell’s designs, he quitted the army; that he was ejected -from the University at Oxford for declining to take the Engagement; -that he had served under the Duke of Albemarle, and had helped to -bring in the King. This petition was backed by Rushworth, who pleaded, -amongst other things, in his client’s favour, that at private meetings, -where he thought he might speak without danger, he had not hesitated to -contribute counsel and advice towards His Majesty’s restoration, which -had produced upon Lord Fairfax, and other considerable persons, a good -effect.[288] - -To cite another case:--“Most honoured Sir,”--wrote Dr. Fell, -Vice-Chancellor of Oxford, to Williamson, immediately after the -death of Dr. William Fuller, who had been translated from Limerick -to Lincoln,--“it is a privilege our people here take to themselves -to bestow all bishoprics before the King disposes of them; and they, -having, upon the first news of the vacancy of Lincoln, made the Provost -to be the successor, went on, in the same method of liberality, to -bestow his places; and upon Sunday night one of the most popular -Bachelors in Divinity that we have in town came to me upon that errand, -signifying his concern on behalf of the Master of Pembroke; and on -Monday several others, of other houses, made the same application. -I told them all, that first it was very indecent to begin a canvass -before a place was actually void, and probably a considerable time -would pass before there would be a vacancy; besides, they should -consider that Dr. Tully might justly pretend to the place, and, if -he did, would not fail of being assisted by his friends.” To move on -behalf of Dr. Hall, he goes on to say, might be a great unkindness -to him, since he did not appear as a candidate, nor probably would -like to have his name brought in question; besides, it would create a -competition and disturbance in the University; and therefore he had -desired his friends not to proceed in the matter.[289] Dr. Tully, -referred to in this letter--an eminent Divine and Controversialist, -of whom notice will be taken in our review of the theology of the -period--was not an unconcerned spectator of the changes occurring at -the time, and the excitement which they produced; and I find amongst -the State Papers the following exquisite specimen of the characteristic -flattery of the age preserved in a letter which he wrote, on Holy -Thursday, to his friend at Court:--“Right Honourable,--Having no way -else to express the sense of my greatest obligations to you, I beg -you will commiserate so far as to accept this renewal of my heartiest -acknowledgments. I hasten to make it, not for fear I should forget your -favours (I know that to be next impossibility), but to shun the pain -of delay, from the weight and pressure of them. It is some ease to a -grateful mind, under such a load of obligations, to air itself in the -field where they grow. Most honoured Sir, amongst all the rest of your -noble kindnesses to me, I must single that out of the crowd, which -made you unkind (I had almost said, unnatural) to yourself, to let me -know how much you are my friend. I can but thank you, and tell stories -at home and abroad of your goodness to me, and heartily pray for the -increase of all honour to you, with a long enjoyment, and the reward at -last of a blessed immortality.”[290] - -[Sidenote: REVENUES.] - -These well-timed compliments were not in vain; for, though Tully did -not obtain any preferment in consequence of the death of the Bishop -of Lincoln, he was immediately afterwards promoted to the Deanery of -Ripon, upon the death of Dr. John Neile. - -Dr. Barlow, a well-known Oxford man, and an eager aspirant for a -bishopric, obtained the see of Lincoln, and wrote on the 29th of May, -as mentioned already, to his friend, the Secretary, stating that fees, -first-fruits, and other charges cost him £1,500 or £2,000 before he -could receive a penny from the bishopric. “I was never in debt,” he -says, “yet borrow I must, and, to enable me to repay honestly, I mean -to stay here (as others I see do in the like case) till a little after -Lady-day next. My College and Margaret Lecture I can (without any -dispensation) keep, and perform the duties of both till then.”[291] - -Amidst the turnings of the preferment-wheel at that time, Dr. Hall, -referred to in Vice-Chancellor Fell’s letter, was elected to the -Margaret professorship, vacated at length by Barlow’s resignation. - -In July of the same year, 1675, another letter reached Whitehall, -upon a similar subject. “It is thought here,” wrote Dr. John Wallis, -the celebrated Mathematician at Oxford, “that the Bishop of Worcester -is either dead, or at least not likely to subsist long, which will -give occasion of alterations. If that or any other occasion give you -opportunity of doing a kindness to your servant, or my son, I believe -His Majesty would be very ready to grant, if we knew what to ask. I -have signified to Dr. Conant by his son your good thoughts of him.” We -must now terminate these illustrations. - -IV. By an easy transition we pass from ecclesiastical revenues to -ecclesiastical courts. Both the Archidiaconal and the Consistorial -resumed their activity after the Restoration, and before them were -brought numerous charges of delinquency, respecting clergymen -and laymen. It would be beyond my purpose to enter into the -_penetralia_ of these intricate proceedings; it will be sufficient -to notice the nature of some of the accusations on which individuals -were arraigned, as illustrative of the social life of the period. Yet -before doing so I must notice two circumstances, which require more -attention than they have received from historians. The first is this:-- - -[Sidenote: ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS.] - -By the Act of the 13th Charles II. cap. 12, which restored the -jurisdiction of the ordinary Ecclesiastical Courts, but abolished -that of the extraordinary High Commission Court, it was expressly -provided that there should no longer be any administration of the -_ex-officio_ oath, by which persons were compelled to accuse, or -to purge themselves of any criminal matter. But as it has been recently -remarked, whilst the letter of this enactment seems to have been so -far observed, that an accused clergyman or other person, liable to -deprivation, could not be obliged to answer on oath as to the truth -of the charge,--the spirit of the enactment, in certain other cases, -was violated to a great extent. For, in the administration of articles -to a defendant in a cause of correction, the practice was to charge -the commission of the offence on the ground of public “fame,” without -specific evidence, and to require the defendant to answer on oath, who, -if he failed to do so, was treated as having admitted the truth of the -allegation. Thus, instead of the burden of proving guilt being thrown -on the accuser, the burden of establishing innocence seems to have -rested on the accused, and he became liable to be called upon to make -“canonical purgation;” _i.e._, “to declare on oath that he was not -guilty of the offence, and to produce a certain number of witnesses, -as ‘compurgators,’ to swear that they believed his declaration to be -true.”[292] This circumstance shows, in what a limited degree the -Act of Charles II., restoring the ecclesiastical courts, diminished -even oppressive tendencies; how, whilst it altered them in form, -it left scope for the exercise of their former spirit, and how they -remained instruments of injustice and cruelty, to be used by those who -were malignantly or resentfully disposed. At the same time we should -carefully weigh the number and the nature of the appeals made from the -judgment of the lower to the decision of the higher authority. To this -I will presently direct attention. - -The second circumstance is that the High Court of Delegates was -restored upon the return of Charles II. This court, which had from -ancient times received secular appeals, acquired, in the reign of -Henry VIII., the power of deciding ecclesiastical appeals from all -ordinary ecclesiastical tribunals in England and Wales.[293] It -appears that the only court not within its appellate jurisdiction -was the Court of High Commission. Cases of doctrine, and cases of -discipline, unsatisfactorily litigated in the lower courts, came up -before this tribunal of delegates for final review and decision. -The constitution of the court was remarkable. Although exercising a -supreme ecclesiastical jurisdiction, the lay element preponderated. -Of the fifty-one Commissions between 1660 and 1688, two were composed -of Bishops and Civilians; eighteen included Bishops, Judges, and -Civilians; one contained Peers, Bishops, Judges, and Civilians; eleven -of the Commissions were directed to Civilians only, and nineteen -to Judges and Civilians.[294] It may be added that soon after the -Restoration the use of Latin was resumed in their proceedings. The -fact, with regard to the strong infusion of laical power into the -constitution of this important court, not only throws an instructive -light upon the relations of Church and State, but it proves that for -none of the acts of this court, at that time under consideration, -whether righteous or unrighteous, are the clergy to be held entirely -responsible; with some of them they had nothing whatever to do. - -[Sidenote: ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS.] - -It is to the Parliamentary Returns of the appeals made to the -delegates, that we are indebted for the knowledge of the following -ecclesiastical causes:-- - -A clergyman, named Slader, Rector of Birmingham, had been brought -before the Court of Arches on an appeal from the Consistory of -Lichfield, and finally his case came before the Court of Delegates, -by which court he was decreed to be sequestered _ab officio suo -clericali_. He stood charged with having forged letters of -orders, with disaffection to the King, with preaching amongst the -Quakers, railing in the pulpit at the parishioners, and indulging in -swearing, gaming, perjury, and incest. Some of these charges were -very scandalous, but to them were added others of a most curious and -extraordinary description,--for this man was accused of practising -jugglery, of pretending, on one occasion, to cut off his son’s head, -and to set it on again, and of “taking money for the sight thereof.” -One Dr. Meades was deprived, on an appeal from the Arches, and from -the Consistory of Winchester, for non-residence, neglect of duty, -allowing the vicarage to fall into decay, and for not having read the -Thirty-Nine Articles within the time prescribed by law, after his -institution and induction. William Woodward, Rector of Trotterscliffe, -Kent, was charged with “having uttered various profane and blasphemous -speeches, _e.g._, that the Lord’s Prayer was not commanded to be -used; that the Church of England might as well be called the Church -of Rome; that he had attained such perfection that he could not sin; -and that one William Francklin, a ropemaker, who had lived with him, -was the Christ and Saviour.” Sentence of deprivation was ultimately -pronounced in this case.[295] Theophilus Hart, in the diocese of -Peterborough, was corrected, punished, and condemned in costs, for not -conforming in the exercise of his clerical office: he did not baptize -infants with the sign of the cross, he did not catechise the young, and -he omitted many parts of the services prescribed by the Book of Common -Prayer. Woodward and Hart seem to be the only clergymen during this -period who appealed to the delegates in proceedings carried on against -false doctrine. One Clewer, Vicar of Croydon, figures in local history -as a very disgraceful person; he was tried and burnt in the hand at the -Old Bailey for stealing a silver cup. His case came before the Court -of Appeal, and the deprivation previously pronounced by the Court of -Arches received confirmation.[296] - -The laity, as well as the clergy, being subject to the ecclesiastical -tribunals, causes relating to the former, after being tried elsewhere, -were finally adjudicated by the delegates. One man was proceeded -against for having three children unbaptized, and for not receiving -the Lord’s Supper; a second, for absence from public worship; a third, -for not keeping in repair the chancel of the parish church; and a -fourth, for contempt of the law, and ecclesiastical jurisdiction, in -teaching boys without having obtained any faculty or license.[297] -Ancient forms of Church discipline sometimes followed conviction. A -party, charged in the Consistory Court of Norwich with defamation, was -sentenced to do penance in the parish church of Darsham, by repeating, -after the minister, words of confession and contrition.[298] - -[Sidenote: ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS.] - -As to the number of appeals there may be reckoned up forty-five during -a little more than a century, between the year 1533--the date of the -commencement of the ecclesiastical power of the court--and the year -1641, the period of its temporary suppression. There were forty-six -between the date of its re-establishment, in 1660, and the year of the -Revolution, 1688. This would look as if more dissatisfaction was felt -with the judgment of the lower ecclesiastical authority during this -twenty-eight years after the Restoration, than during the hundred and -eight years before the outbreak of the Parliament struggle with Charles -I. Hence it might be inferred that the grievances of ecclesiastical -rule increased in the reign of Charles II.; but this would not be a -fair deduction, because the High Commission Court, which had been by -far the most oppressive tribunal for spiritual causes, and which had -been exempted from the supervision of the Court of Delegates, remained -no longer in existence; and thereby a large amount of injustice was -prevented. Forty-five appeals in twenty-eight years from all the -ecclesiastical courts of England and Wales do not form a large number, -and would seem to show that trials in ecclesiastical cases must have -been much less numerous than when the High Commission existed in -full play. Very few cases of appeal touching Dissenters appear in -the records of the Court of Delegates. Dissenters, of course, were -subject to trouble and annoyance from Archidiaconal and Consistorial -authorities, but the main sorrows of Nonconformity, under the last two -Stuarts’ reign, arose from the operation of Statute Law, as found in -the Uniformity, Conventicle, and Five Mile Acts. - -Amongst instances of discipline exercised by Bishops upon the clergy, -there occurred one so striking and curious that it deserves particular -mention. Dr. Lloyd, who held the see of Peterborough from 1679 to -1685, and was thence transferred to Norwich, seems to have been -extraordinarily strict in the discharge of his episcopal functions, -and to have visited offending ministers with public punishment. In -accordance with his habitual zeal for purity in the faith and morals -of the Church, he required the following recantation to be read in his -cathedral by the person whose name is mentioned, and whose case is thus -described:--“I, Thomas Ashenden, being deeply sensible of the foul -dishonour I have done to our most holy religion, and the great scandal -I have given by a late profane abuse of the Lord’s Prayer, the Creed, -and the Ten Commandments, which I wrote and caused to be published, -do here, in the presence of God, and of His ministers, and of this -congregation, most heartily bewail, with unfeigned sorrow, both that -notorious offence, and also all my other sins, which betrayed me into -it, most humbly begging forgiveness of God, and of his Church, whose -heaviest censures I have justly deserved. And as I earnestly desire -that none of my brethren (much less our holy function or the Church) -may be the worse thought of by any, by reason of my miscarriages, so I -do faithfully promise, by God’s grace, to endeavour to behave myself -hereafter so religiously in my place and calling, that I may be no more -a discredit to them. In which resolution that I may persist, I beg and -implore the assistance of all your prayers, and desire withal, that -this my retractation and sincere profession of repentance, may be made -as public as my crimes have been, that none may be tempted hereafter to -do evil by my example.”[299] - -[Sidenote: NONCONFORMIST PLACES OF WORSHIP.] - -V. There existed, in different parts of the country, buildings -entirely set apart for Nonconformist worship. Some of them were barns -and warehouses adapted to the purpose, and in Norwich the refectory -and dormitory of the old Blackfriars’ Convent, which, after the -Restoration, had been turned into granaries for the City corn, were -fitted up by permission of the Court of Mayoralty, for the use of -the Presbyterian and Independent Congregationalists: also the old -Leather Hall, in Coventry, a gloomy but spacious room, fitted up with -galleries, was used for Nonconformist religious service.[300] A large -meeting-house was erected in Zoar Street, Southwark, not far from -the spot occupied by the summer theatre of Shakespeare, and within -that building John Bunyan attracted immense congregations. “If there -were but one day’s notice given,” his friend, Charles Doe, remarks, -“there would be more people come together to hear him preach than -the meeting-house could hold. I have seen, to hear him preach, by my -computation, about 1,200 at a morning lecture, by seven o’clock, on -a working-day, in the dark winter time. I also computed about 3,000 -that came to hear him one Lord’s Day, at London, at a town’s-end -meeting-house [in Zoar Street], so that half were fain to go back again -for want of room, and then himself was fain at a back-door to be pulled -almost over people to get upstairs to his pulpit.”[301] Mill Hill -Chapel, at Leeds, was built during the period of Indulgence, being the -first edifice erected by Dissenters “_more ecclesiastico_ with -arches.”[302] A meeting-house at Yarmouth is described as measuring -fifty-eight feet one way, and sixty feet another, with a gallery -quite round close to the pulpit, with six seats in it, one behind the -other, and all accommodation possible for the reception of people -below.[303] The “fanatic party” at Margate is referred to as building a -“conventicle house” when it was illegal to do so, and as making great -haste to get it up in spite of His Majesty’s proclamation.[304] - -In some cases, so favourably inclined were the parish authorities, -that they allowed Nonconformists to meet in the Church. At Southwold, -every fourth Sunday, the incumbent and the Dissenting ministers both -conducted Divine service under the same roof. The first who came took -precedence, and after he had pronounced the Benediction, his neighbour -began another service in his own way. - -The liberty of using a parish church was also enjoyed by the -Nonconformists of Waltham-le-Willows, a small village in Suffolk, -and in connection with this arrangement there occurred a ludicrous -circumstance. On one occasion when Mr. Salkeld, the Congregational -minister, occupied the pulpit, Sir Edmund Bacon, of Redgrave, and -Sir William Spring, of Packenham, being greatly scandalized at what -they deemed a profanation of the edifice, came, with other country -gentlemen, and planted themselves at the church-doors. Sir Edmund -wished to compel the minister immediately to desist, but Sir William -thought it more seemly to wait until the minister had finished his -discourse. A noisy altercation consequently arose in the church-yard -between the two gentlemen, when, upon the former becoming outrageously -violent, his friend observed, “We read, Sir Edmund, that the devil -entered into a herd of swine, and, upon my word, I think he is not got -out of the Bacon yet.”[305] - -[Sidenote: RELIGIOUS STATISTICS.] - -VI. Perhaps this is as convenient a place as any to inquire into the -relative number of Conformists and Nonconformists, towards the end of -the period, embraced in this History. - -The population of England towards the close of the seventeenth -century, has been computed by Lord Macaulay at rather more than five -millions.[306] He bases his estimate upon calculations made by King, -Lancaster Herald, in 1696; upon returns consulted by William III., -and upon conclusions drawn in the preface to the population returns -of 1831. I find the estimate of about five millions confirmed by the -author of _The Happy Future State of England_, published in 1688, -who states an approximate number as the result of returns reported -in a survey made by the Bishops in 1676.[307] Of these five millions -and a half, or so, the Conformists formed an immense majority. In -the returns which came under William’s eye, and in the report of the -Bishops’ survey,--which seems to have been all but identical with -them,--the Conformists, above sixteen years of age, in the province of -Canterbury are put down at 2,123,362. York yields 353,892, making a -total of 2,477,254. Against these are reckoned the following number of -Nonconformists above sixteen years of age:--93,151 in the province of -Canterbury, and 15,525 in the province of York--forming a gross amount -of 108,676. The Conformists to the Nonconformists here are as 22⅘ to 1. -The author I have just mentioned represents the Nonconformists as on -the decline; and no doubt they were, during the reigns of Charles II. -and James II., much fewer than they had been under the Commonwealth; -but there is reason to believe, from their subsequent history, they -were on the increase before the period of the Revolution. The same -writer speaks of them, in the gross, as consisting of artizans and -retail traders in corporations,[308] and probably the bulk of them -would be found amongst the humbler classes; but it is to be remembered -that some county families, including noble ones, to say nothing of -old army officers, and rich citizen merchants, continued still within -the ranks of Dissent. It is interesting and instructive to ponder the -following particulars appended to the returns brought under the notice -of William III., and certainly not prepared in any friendly spirit. -Many persons left the Church upon the late Indulgence, who before did -frequent it. The inquires made (I presume those of 1676 are referred -to) caused many to frequent church. Walloons chiefly made up the number -of Dissenters in Canterbury, Sandwich, and Dover. Presbyterians were -divided; some of them not being wholly Dissenters, but occasionally -going to church. A considerable number of Nonconformists belonged to -no particular sect. Of those who attended church many did not receive -the sacrament. There were in Kent about thirty heretics, called -Muggletonians; the rest were Presbyterians, Anabaptists, Independents, -and Quakers, in about equal numbers. The heads and preachers of the -several factions had taken a large share in the Great Rebellion.[309] - -[Sidenote: PREACHING.] - -I may add that the Papists altogether are reckoned in the same document -at 13,856. It was thought that they had increased in consequence of the -Indulgence, and that the Jesuits had been very active up to the time of -the plot, when they amounted to 1,800. After the excitement created by -Oates’ business they are said to have considerably diminished.[310] - -VII. The contrasts between Churchmen and Nonconformists already -described, suggest another of a corresponding kind. Divine service in -the Establishment, especially as conducted in cathedrals, in Royal -chapels, and in large churches, would present an imposing appearance, -such as never could belong to worship conducted in a conventicle. And -a social prestige pertained to the Episcopalian priest, now forfeited -by the Nonconformist preacher. Baxter, Owen, and Howe could not but -feel the change which had come over their external circumstances since -the day when, from high places--Westminster Abbey and St. Paul’s, for -example--they had addressed _ex cathedra_ the _élite_ of -Puritan intelligence and rank. - -The form of sermons, whether composed by Anglicans or Puritans, -continued after the Restoration to be that which we may call textual, -rather than topical, and Sanderson, who survived that crisis, broke -up what he had to say upon a text into a perplexing arrangement of -divisions and subdivisions; so far he resembled Andrewes, the great -preacher of the reign of James I. This practice did not form the -peculiarity of a class. It had been borrowed from the schoolmen, and -came to be adopted alike by those who were most Protestant and those -who were most Catholic. As it was with the teachers, so it was with -the taught; the people, no doubt, liked this method, and acquired a -habit of threading the mazes of a lengthened homily through all its -numerical departments, with an expertness resembling that of modern -schoolboys who perform such wonderful evolutions in mental arithmetic. -Tastes began to change before the Revolution. Even Dr. Donne, in the -beginning of the century, broke somewhat through technical trammels, -and indulged in sonorous periods, flowing out into ample paragraphs; -and Baxter himself, slave as he often was to scholastic fashions, would -often burst into a strain of impassioned rhetoric which carried him -page over page without a single break. South may be mentioned as a -distinguished instance of departure from the old style, and Bates may -be named also as an example, so far, of the same class. Sermons were -very long. Some compositions, indeed, bearing that name, but extending -to the dimensions of a considerable treatise, were never delivered at -all. They were intended to be read, not heard. This was the case with -some compositions from the pens of Baxter and Barrow: but anecdotes -related respecting the latter Divine, show the enormous length to which -he sometimes carried his oral addresses. Once, before he preached in -Westminster Abbey, the Dean requested him to be short. He showed the -sermon to that dignitary, who, finding it consisted of two parts, -requested him to deliver only one of them. Barrow did so, yet that -occupied an hour and a half in the delivery. Upon another occasion, -he “enlarged” so much, that the vergers who were anxious to show to -impatient visitors “the tombs and effigies of the Kings and Queens in -wax,” “caused the organ to be struck up against him, and would not -give over playing till they had blowd him down.” His Spital sermon -lasted three hours and a half; what the Lord Mayor and Aldermen thought -of it we do not know; but we are informed that the preacher, when -asked if _he_ felt tired, replied, that “he began to be weary of -standing so long.”[311] Barrow’s case, no doubt, is an extreme one; but -although he exceeded what might be common, it is plain enough from the -specimens of pulpit eloquence belonging to that age, that they usually -were such as would exhaust the patience of modern congregations. - -[Sidenote: PREACHING.] - -An amusing story is related of Barrow’s preaching, soon after the -Restoration, at St. Lawrence Jewry. His “aspect pale, meagre, and -unpromising, slovenly and carelessly dressed, his collar unbuttoned, -and his hair uncombed,” so alarmed the congregation that a spectator -declares, “there was such a noise of pattens of serving maids and -ordinary women, and of unlocking of pews, and cracking of seats, caused -by the younger sort hastily climbing over them, that I thought all the -congregation were mad.” An apprentice accosted him when all was over, -saying, “Sir, be not dismayed, for I assure you ’twas a good sermon.” -When asked what he thought of the congregation running away, Barrow -answered--“I thought they did not like me or my sermon, and I have no -reason to be angry with them for that.” “But what was your opinion -of the apprentice?” “I take him,” replied he, “to be a very civil -person, and if I could meet with him I’d present him with a bottle of -wine.” Some of the parishioners afterwards called on Dr. Wilkins, the -Incumbent, to expostulate with him for allowing one “who looked like -a starved Cavalier to preach in his pulpit.” Baxter, happening to -be in the Vicar’s house when the parishioners arrived, Wilkins said: -“The person you thus despise, I assure you, is a pious man, an eminent -scholar, and an excellent preacher, for the truth of the latter, I -appeal to Mr. Baxter, here present, who heard the sermon you so vilify, -I am sure you believe Mr. Baxter is a competent judge.” Baxter praised -the sermon, and the parishioners ended by requesting that Barrow might -preach again. But he was not disposed to appear any “more on that -stage.”[312] - -As to the mode of delivering sermons, some Nonconformists, as well as -Churchmen, read from a MS., and Dr. Charnock is described as having -used an eye-glass to assist his sight.[313] Of Baxter, it is said in -the funeral sermon by his friend and assistant Sylvester--“He was a -person wonderful at extemporate preaching, for _having once left his -notes behind him_, he was surprised into extemporate thoughts upon -(as I remember) Heb. iv. 15, ‘For we have not an High Priest, &c.’ -Whereon he preached to very great satisfaction unto all that heard him; -and when he came down from the pulpit, he asked me if I was not tired? -I said, With what? He said, With his extemporate discourse. I told him, -that had he not declared it, I believe none could have discovered it. -His reply to me was, that he thought it very needful for a minister -to have a body of divinity in his head.” Clarkson, in his funeral -sermon for Dr. Owen, remarks that he seldom used notes. Of Dr. Bates, -Howe observes, that faithful to the example and traditions of their -Puritan fathers, “his sermons, wherein nothing could be more remote -from ramble, he constantly delivered from his memory, and hath sometime -told me, with an amicable freedom, that he partly did it, to teach some -that were younger to preach without notes.”[314] Bull, however,--in -this respect anticipating Addison,--advised young Divines not at -first to preach their own sermons, but to provide themselves with the -compositions of approved authors, or to read to their congregations -either one of the authorized Homilies or a chapter selected from _The -Whole Duty of Man_.[315] The old Puritan practice of taking down -sermons continued to be very common; and, if we may notice so trivial -a matter as pulpit costume, it is amusing to add an odd story told of -a Royal chaplain, who preached before the King at Newmarket, “in a -long periwig and holland sleeves, according to the then fashion for -gentlemen,” at which His Majesty was so scandalized that he commanded -the Chancellor of the University to put in execution the statutes -respecting decency in apparel.[316] - -[Sidenote: SUPERSTITION.] - -VIII. Superstition still prevailed. Though the zeal for witchfinding -diminished, rumours of witchcraft continued in circulation. People -in Worcestershire said, that if certain witches had not been taken -up, the King would never have returned to England. From Lancashire, a -stronghold of the infernal sisterhood, one of the correspondents of the -Secretary of State wrote an account of a woman who confessed, that she, -and her father and her mother, “each rode on a black cat to Warrington, -nine miles off, and that the cats sucked her mother till they sucked -blood.” He states, however, that he had “little faith in this, though -given on oath.”[317] - -Wise and good men, especially Divines and lawyers, clung as firmly -as ever to the old belief of the power of necromancy. Baxter pursued -his inquiries into the subject; and Sir Matthew Hale, at the Bury -Assizes, in March, 1664, observed, touching a witch case, that he -made no doubt there were such creatures, and appealed to Scripture in -proof of the fact.[318] On that occasion, Sir Thomas Browne, gave it -as his opinion, that the parties named in the indictment as sufferers, -were really bewitched. It is proper to remember, with respect to such -superstitions, that, at that time, things were worse in France than in -England. Witchcraft, divination, raising apparitions, and consulting -the stars, were so common there in 1679, that a Commission was -appointed, called the “Chambre Ardente,” to inquire into such cases. - -The Royal touch for curing the King’s Evil was again sought and -bestowed. A minute religious ceremonial, almost incredible to us, -accompanied the act. His Majesty sat in a chair of state. One of the -Clerks of the Closet stood on his right hand, holding as many gold -angels, everyone tied to a riband of white silk, as there were patients -to be touched. A chaplain read in the 16th chapter of the Gospel of -Mark from the 14th verse to the end. The _chirurgeon_ presented -the diseased; and making three reverences, they knelt down together -before the King, the chaplain repeating the words: “They shall lay -their hands on the sick, and they shall be healed.” His Majesty then -touched the cheeks of the persons brought to be cured; after which, the -chaplain read the first chapter of John as far as the 15th verse; and, -as the words were pronounced, “That was the true light, which lighteth -every man that cometh into the world,” the King suspended round the -neck of each person one of the gold angels, handed to him by the clerk. -Other passages of Scripture followed, a prayer was offered, and the -ceremony ended with the King’s washing his hands.[319] Numerous were -the applications made for the Royal touch, to which, no doubt, the -obtaining of a gold angel operated as a motive, no less than the hope -of receiving a sovereign cure. - -[Sidenote: SUPERSTITION.] - -I add a further illustration of the superstition of the age, not -amongst the ignorant, but the educated. Rectors of parishes requested -the Secretary of State to procure His Majesty’s touch for parishioners -who were troubled with the malady. When Charles II. went to Newmarket, -Sir Thomas Browne wrote to Sergeant Knight, and sent certificates for -divers afflicted persons who were going from Norwich to be touched by -the King. No fewer than 92,107 persons were asserted by the eminent -physician, just named, to have passed through this ceremony between the -years 1660 and 1683. One woman is said to have been cured of blindness -by these wonderful means; and greater marvel still, a man is reported -to have been cured of Nonconformity by witnessing the effect of the -Royal fingers upon his child!--he expressed his thanks in this method: -“Farewell to all Dissenters, and to all Nonconformists; if God can put -so much virtue into the King’s hand as to heal my child, I’ll serve -that God and that King so long as I live with all thankfulness.” An -example of other absurd beliefs is found in a statement made to the -Secretary of State, about a salmon which came up to the River Avon, -on a Christmas Day. It was represented as being so religious, that it -allowed itself to be touched by a staff, whereas at other times it is -said, “Salmon are so shy that they endure not the least shadow.” “If -any one made a prey of these quiet _Christian fish_ they came to -an unfortunate end.”[320] - -Samuel Hartlib, in his correspondence with Dr. Worthington, of -Cambridge, raised a question respecting angelic apparitions: “For -long-bearded, good angels,” he says, “or lady-angels of true light, -they do indeed cross all the old records of antiquity, whether Gentile -or Jewish, neither Mercury, nor Gabriel, appeared otherwise than in -prime of youthful vigour.”[321] The Cambridge scholar inclined to the -idea, that angels might appear in long beards, and told his friend a -story of a stranger, who knocked at a sick man’s door, and directed him -to make use of two red sage leaves, and one blood-wort leaf, steeped -in beer for three days,--and to live for a month in fresh country air. -“Several circumstances,” he gravely added, “made it probable that he -who came was a good angel, and if so, that he appeared as a grave old -man, very tall and straight, of a very fresh colour, his hair as white -as wool, and his beard broad and very white.” This old man, believed to -be an angelic visitant, wore new shoes, tied with black ribbons.[322] - - - - - CHAPTER XII. - - -IX. Family life amongst the Nonconformists, in the reign of the later -Stuarts, framed itself after the Puritan model; and in the memoirs -of Oliver Heywood and Philip Henry, windows are open through which -we discover their domestic habits. Saint Bartholomew’s Day became a -solemn fast in commemoration of the ejectment,--sometimes held in -fellowship with a neighbouring minister or ministers,--when “the -Lord helped His servants, with strong cries, many tears, and mighty -workings to acknowledge sin, accept of punishment, and implore -mercy.”[323] Sometimes, when none but the family were present, each -person prayed in turn, the minister, the wife, the two sons, and the -maid, beginning with the youngest. Heywood, in his _Diary_, -alludes to a particular friend--“a solid, gracious, useful, peaceable, -tender-hearted Christian,” with whom he had “many a sweet day of -prayer; and,” he says, “a few days before he died, we were at a -private fast together in Ovenden-wood; and, oh! oh! how melting and -affectionate was his heart for his children, a son and daughter, both -here this day!” At another time, the same minister speaks of a private -fast with two of his brethren, “about a special business, and our -judgment was desired in an intricate matrimonial case, which seems -something dark.”[324] - -It is said of Thomas Aquinas that he had “the gift of tears;” and his -weeping at church is mentioned amongst the signs of his saintship. The -same gift seems to have been possessed by this Nonconformist family. -When Heywood’s two sons devoted themselves to the work of the Christian -ministry, and a solemn domestic service of worship celebrated the -event, as one of the ministers read the 48th chapter in Genesis, and -came to the words, “The angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless -the lads,” tears stopped him; all wept. He says in prayer “God helped -all;” and he adds: “God wrought strangely in my heart; oh! what a flood -of tears, what pleadings with God! I can scarce remember the like.” -At night again, they prayed, “sobbing and weeping,” like David and -Jonathan, “until David exceeded.”[325] - -Loyalty to the Stuarts beat in the bosoms of these Nonconformists, -notwithstanding the treatment which they received; for we learn that, -in the month of May, Mr. Heywood, his children, and his servant, -spent several days with Mr. Angier at Denton, one of which days was -the anniversary of Charles’ return, when there was a service in which -Heywood took part.[326] - -[Sidenote: FAMILY LIFE.] - -They had their family meetings. Nathaniel Heywood, with his wife and -his sons, visited Oliver; and the brother and uncle felt it a comfort -to have “these three couples of Heywoods to meet together”--“a rising -generation, all very hopeful.”[327] We fancy how they talked that April -time--in the oak parlour, as the window was thrown open, during a burst -of sunshine, after a shower which had drenched the fruit-blossoms and -the rose-buds. We may guess the topics from incidents in connection -with the Stanley family: Nathaniel might relate the story of his -being taken by a party of soldiers, while preaching in the chapel at -Bickerstaff, when Lady Stanley, who attended the service, came out of -her gallery, and placed herself near the pulpit door, hoping to overawe -their spirits and obstruct their designs; and how, when he attended the -sessions at Wigan, Lady Stanley came with her husband, and others, to -speak on behalf of the persecuted clergyman.[328] And Oliver might be -led to recur, by the force of association, to the visit of himself and -Mr. Angier to Sir Thomas Stanley of Alderley, when, being requested -to pray in that large family, the first morning he was tempted to -study and speak “handsome words from respect to the company;” but, -reflecting to whom he prayed, and that it was no trifling matter, he -set himself to the exercise in serious earnestness, and God helped him -to speak devoutly, with respect to the state of their souls.[329] The -hospitalities of Broad Oak were the praise of all the country round. -The dwelling stood by the roadside, and any one travelling that way -met with a cordial welcome at the bright fire-side, where the silenced -Presbyter, Philip Henry, exemplified the virtues of a Bishop, “like -Abraham sitting at his tent-door in quest of opportunities to do good. -If he met with any poor near his house and gave them alms in money, -yet he would bid them go to his door besides, for relief there. He was -very tender and compassionate towards poor strangers and travellers, -though his charity and candour were often imposed upon by cheats and -pretenders.”[330] “This man,” says a competent witness, “(ever since -I knew him, and whilst I was his neighbour) was careful to rise early -on Sunday mornings, to spend a considerable portion of his time in his -private devotions and preparations, then to come down and call his -family together, and, after some short, preparatory prayer, to sing -a Psalm (commonly the 100th), and then read some part of the sacred -Scripture, and expound it very largely and particularly, and at last -kneel down with all his family and pray devoutly; with particular -references to the day and duties of it, and the minister that was to -officiate. After which a short refection for breakfast, he made haste -to church, and took care that all his family that could be spared, -should go in due time likewise: sometime he was before the preacher, -and often before the rest of the congregation; (as once particularly, -when I gave them a sermon in that place, he and I walked together -a considerable time before the people came;) he behaved himself -reverently and very gravely in the church during the service; stood -up commonly at prayers, and always, in my time, wrote a sermon after -the minister. When the morning service was ended, he commonly invited -the minister to dine with him, who seldom refused; and many others, -who either lived at a distance, as Mrs. Hanmer, Sir Job Charleton’s -daughter, married to a Justice of Peace in that country, or else -such as were poor and needy. His discourse homewards was sweet and -spiritual; at table it was seasoned as well as his meat; edifying, -and yet pleasant, and taking; never wild or offensive. After meat and -thanks returned, they commonly (I think constantly) before departure -from table, sung the 23rd Psalm. Sometime after, when the servants -had dined, he propounded to such guests as he thought in prudence he -should not be too free with, to retire into the parlour for a while, -till he had attended upon his family, repeated over the sermon and -prayed with them; after which he returned to his guests again, and -having entertained them with some short discourse, he retired awhile -himself, and by and by, called upon his family to go to church. After -evening service and sermon ended, he retired again till six o’clock -(then called for prayers, catechised, took an account of children and -servants of what they remembered at church, which accounts were given -sometimes very largely and particularly), sung a Psalm, kneeled down to -prayers (which consisted more of praise and benediction than at other -times), and at last, his children kneeling down before him (to beg his -blessing), he blessed them all, and concluded the service of the day -with the 123rd Psalm; save that after supper, he retired for about -half-an-hour more into his study before bed-time. Sometimes after the -public service ended at church, he gave some spiritual instructions, -and preached in his house to as many as would come to hear him; and -in his last years, when the Incumbents grew careless in providing -supplies for two or three neighbouring churches and chapels, and the -people cried out for lack of vision, he set up a constant ministration -and preaching at home, never taking anything by way of reward for his -pains, unless with a purpose to give it away to those who were in -greater necessities.”[331] - -[Sidenote: FAMILY LIFE.] - -That a sad colour tinged the joys of the Nonconformists must be -confessed. How their Anglo-Saxon gravity might become more grave, -and the light which sparkled over the home-life of their neighbours, -might, in their own case, be darkened,--we see plainly enough when -we recollect the perils which brooded over them even in seasons of -calm, and the cruel interruptions which they suffered in the cloudy -and dark day. Heywood speaks of officers sweeping away his chests, -his tables, his chairs, his bed,--in short all his goods, except a -cupboard and a few seats; and the same person was, for holding a -religious meeting, imprisoned in York Castle.[332] How could such men, -with all their tenderness, help being stern in their faith, and solemn -in their pleasures? If genial they could not be light-hearted. They -did not weep, as their enemies often said of them that they did, with -a hypocritical whine; nor did they laugh, as some of their enemies -really did, with affected glee,--their tears and smiles were genuine -as the rain and the sunshine from heaven. Life was not to them, as -to some others, a gay comedy,--it had in it a tragic cast; yet they -never regarded it as a drama acted on the stage, but always as a real, -earnest battle, fought in the open field, under the eye of God. - -[Sidenote: FAMILY LIFE.] - -Let us pass from the homes of Oliver Heywood and the two Henrys to -the mansion of a Nonconformist nobleman already noticed--Philip Lord -Wharton, the good Lord Wharton, as he is called, to distinguish him -from a descendant of a far different character. In the pleasant -village of Woburn, in Buckinghamshire, situated on the river Wick, a -tributary to the Thames,--which in its course through a delightful -district, turns the wheel of many a paper mill,--there stands, under -the shadow of richly-wooded hills, and adorned by a stately row -of poplars, a goodly house; connected with which are stables and -fish-ponds, pertaining to a far nobler residence which once occupied -the site. The estate, before it came into the possession of the -Whartons, exhibited much magnificence, of the feudal stamp, containing -a palace for the Bishops of Lincoln, and a chapel with a small cell -adjoining, called Little Ease,--where Thomas Chase, of Amersham, was, -in 1506, privately strangled for heresy, and where Thomas Harding, -of Chesham, was confined in 1532, previously to his being burnt at -the stake. This ancient and stately house became a great place of -resort for Nonconformist Divines. Manton and Bates, Howe and Owen, -were often entertained under the hospitable roof, and the shadows of -these departed ones still pleasantly haunt the spot, as the Puritan -residents of the neighbourhood conduct strangers through the gardens, -and relate to them the legends of the old dwelling. There--during one -of the severe attacks of his fatal malady--Owen wrote his last and -justly admired letters to his Church; and there, under the operation -of the Five Mile Act--the house being above that distance from High -Wycombe--the Nonconformists of the neighbouring town used to assemble -for worship. The chapel formed a convenient place for the purpose; and -within its walls the voices of eminent Divines, Owen and Howe, for -example, might be often heard. Thither came Puritans from Wycombe and -Farnham, and Langley and other places; and one can see them in the -dress of the period, with their steeple-crowned hats, and their short -cloaks, coming down the hill-side, or crossing the green--not in large -groups, but singly, stealthily picking their way to avoid observation, -a peasant from a neighbouring farm wading on foot, a burgess from the -good town of Wycombe, riding his little cob. When the service was -over on Sunday forenoon, and the Wycombe people and other folks from -Marlow and Beaconsfield, and stragglers from a greater distance, were -putting on their hats and cloaks, and preparing to unfasten their nags -and to turn homewards, the noble host would invite the people, in -Buckinghamshire phraseology, “to stop and take a sop in the pan,” that -they might avail themselves of the privilege of attending worship again -in the afternoon.[333] - -[Sidenote: FAMILY LIFE.] - -The curious and quaint structure of Hoghton Tower, in the County of -Lancaster, is also connected with the Nonconformist memories of the -seventeenth century; for there Howe preached a part of his sublime -discourse concerning “The Redeemer’s dominion over the invisible -world.” And from the exquisitely tender dedication prefixed to it, we -gather that it was occasioned by the death of the eldest son of Sir -Charles and Lady Hoghton, to whom the tower belonged. The dedication -indicates that the bereaved parents had sprung from “religious and -honourable families, favoured of God, valued and beloved in the -countries where He had planted them;” and that their early homes had -been “both seats of religion and of the worship of God, the resorts -of His servants; houses of mercy to the indigent, of justice to the -vicious, of patronage to the sober and virtuous; of good example to -all about them.” Addressing her ladyship, the preacher says: “Madam, -who could have a more pleasant retrospect upon former days, than you? -recounting your Antrim delights; the delight you took in your excellent -relations, your garden delights, your closet delights, your Lord’s Day -delights! But how much a greater thing is it to serve God in your -present station, as the mother of a numerous and hopeful offspring; -as the mistress of a large family; where you bear your part, with your -like-minded consort, in supporting the interest of God and religion, -and have opportunity of scattering blessings round about you.”[334] -The graceful allusions, which the author makes to the family circle -at Hoghton, brings before us a domestic picture, which may serve as -a pendant to that of Broad Oak, the accessories of a Nonconformist -minister’s household being alone exchanged for those of a baronet. -From the title and dedication of another sermon by the same Divine, -“Self-dedication discoursed in the anniversary thanksgiving of a -person of honour for a great deliverance,”--namely, the preservation -from death by a fall from a horse of “John, Earl of Kildare, Baron of -Ophalia, first of his order in the kingdom of Ireland,”--we gather that -it was a Puritan practice to celebrate distinguished family mercies -by annual religious solemnities. Two sermons by the same writer on the -words, “Yield yourselves unto God,” are inscribed “To the much-honoured -Bartholomew Soame, Esq., of Thurlow, and Susanna his pious consort;” -with the notice, that one day in the previous summer the author -preached the sermons under their roof.[335] The circumstance shows, -that sometimes elaborate addresses, fitted for public audiences, were -carefully prepared for a small number of persons, such as could be -accommodated within the entrance-hall, or in one of the apartments of a -country gentleman’s house. - -In some Nonconformist families, as was quite natural, romantic -incidents occurred. Major-General Lambert, who figured prominently in -connection with Cromwell, and who was kept a prisoner in the days of -Charles II., had a son very unlike himself as it regards religion. -This gentleman became acquainted with the widow of Charles Nowel of -Merely--a lady who was of the family of Lister, of Arnoldsbiggen. The -union with her first husband had been a runaway match, contracted in a -covered walk within her father’s grounds; after which the bridegroom -fell into the water, and was drowned, in returning home with the -license of marriage in his pocket, so that he and she never met again. -Young Lambert married this ill-fated maiden-widow; and then it turned -out that the tastes of the couple were utterly unlike--he much addicted -to pleasure, she against it; he going to church at Kirkby, Malham-dale, -she walking every Sunday to the Dissenting meeting-house at Winterburn. -His father, the Major-General, wrote a letter, rebuking him for his -extravagance; and his wife invited Mr. Frankland, the Nonconformist -pastor, to come and preach in Craven, with a view to his benefit; -this the gay sportsman at first opposed. But a change came over him; -he himself invited Oliver Heywood to be his guest, and showed him his -pictures--“he being an exact limner:” one would hope he also became a -penitent Christian. Lambert was seized with palsy in January, 1676, -about which time his mother died in Plymouth Castle.[336] - -During the first three centuries of the history of Christianity, and -the more than ten persecutions which annalists have numbered, the -professors of the Divine faith had to suffer, far beyond what the laws -in their utmost severity could inflict. Imperial rescripts carried out -to the letter, or magisterial commands going further, were terrible -beyond description; and popular fury shouting, “The Christians to the -lions,” became more cruel still. But another source of suffering, to -minds of sensibility exceeding the rest in the bitterness of anguish -which it produced, was when the husband persecuted the wife, and the -father the child. Tertullian tells us that there were many such cases. -The annals of the Church of the Restoration afford parallels in this -last, as in other respects, to the records of older times. - -[Sidenote: FAMILY LIFE.] - -Agnes Beaumont, the daughter of a Bedfordshire yeoman, lost her mother -when very young. Her father sometimes went to hear the preaching of -John Bunyan, but he afterwards conceived a strong antipathy to that -famous minister. The girl manifested religious feeling, and joined -Bunyan’s Church, when a lawyer, who had wished to marry her for the -sake of her father’s property, became her inveterate foe. But the -daughter remained faithful to her convictions; and this circumstance -so provoked her father’s irritable temper, that he opposed her going -to hear the favourite preacher any more. On a particular occasion, -however, she extorted his consent to attend once. It was the depth of -winter. Weary of wading through the mud, and overtaken by Bunyan riding -on his way to the place of worship, she was reluctantly permitted by -him to sit, pillion-fashion, behind him on horseback, when the two -were met by a clergyman, who immediately invented a scandalous report -respecting the minister and the maid. Agnes, after attending the -meeting, found the door of her house barred against her admission. -“Who is there?” asked Beaumont, as she knocked. “’Tis I, father, come -home wet and dirty: pray let me in.” “Where you have been all day, you -may go at night,” was the answer from the other side of the bolted -entrance. She went and sought shelter in a barn. The morning brought no -relenting to the heart of her unnatural parent; and he declared that -she should not enter the house, unless she promised never to go to a -meeting again so long as he lived. “Father,” she answered, “my soul is -of too much worth to do this. Can you stand in my stead, and answer -for me at the great day? If so, I will obey you in this demand, as I -do in all other things.” Much painful excitement followed. At last, -fearful of being disobedient, the young woman promised never to go to -a conventicle as long as he lived, without his consent. This softened -him a little, and they were reconciled; but as she reflected upon her -promise, it struck her that she had been unfaithful to her conscience, -and she passed through great spiritual distress. Soon afterwards -Beaumont fell ill, and retired to rest. His daughter, hearing him -moaning in his chamber, rushed to his assistance, and found him struck -with death. Fatal disease had been brought on, most likely by violence -of temper; and the poor girl, through the villany of her pretended -lover, now had to face the accusation of having murdered her parent. -Though, on the coroner’s inquest, her innocence was established, her -implacable enemy perseveringly maintained, that she had privately -confessed the crime, the object of which was to marry Bunyan, who had -a wife living at that very time; the villain also, without one atom of -evidence, charged her with committing arson.[337] More of revenge than -persecution entered into the conduct of this man; yet, for a while, -Agnes Beaumont, for her religious constancy, endured the most violent -parental anger, probably not uncommon in those days, and akin to that -which fell upon many a pure-minded maiden in Carthage or in Rome. - -[Sidenote: FAMILY LIFE.] - -The domestic and private life of the Established clergy and -their friends, as they appear in the biographies and gossiping -literature of the day, assume a rather different aspect from that -of the Nonconformists. Such a dignitary as Reynolds, who had been a -Presbyterian, would no doubt preserve, in his palace at Norwich, many -of the Puritan habits of the Commonwealth--would gather around him, -as far as possible, a godly household, in sympathy with him in his -spiritual tastes--would continue to converse much after the fashion of -by-gone days--and with the adoption of the Episcopalian formularies in -the cathedral and chapel, would connect, in more retired devotion, the -use of extemporaneous prayer, and of Scripture exposition. And such -a parish pastor as Gurnall would, in a similar way, continue Puritan -usages in his quiet parsonage at Lavenham. We must look elsewhere for -characteristic habits and customs of the Episcopalian stamp. Of an -Anglican prelate, enjoying his palace, and engaged in his diocese, a -good specimen is afforded by the memoirs of Seth Ward, the Bishop of -Salisbury.[338] - -He was renowned for hospitality. The clergy, even the meanest curates, -were welcome at his table; and people of quality, travelling between -London and Exeter, stopped at the Wiltshire city, and dined at the -palace. He was a hearty entertainer, we are told, assuring his guests -that he accounted himself but a steward, and pressing upon them the -enjoyment of the fare which he plentifully provided. He would not ask, -“Will you drink a glass of wine?” says his biographer, with amusing -minuteness; but he would call for a bottle, and drink himself, and then -offer it to his friends. The poor were relieved at his gates. He had -a band of weekly pensioners; and when he went out for a walk in the -streets or on the plains, he gave money to all who solicited alms; and -when children saw him in his coach or on horseback, they would rush -from their play, to shout, in expectation of a largess, “The Bishop is -coming.” Being a capital horseman, he would ride twenty miles before -dinner, and not mind following the hounds, if he “by chance chopt upon” -them. After dinner and “a dish or two of coffee or tea,” as soon as the -bell “tilled,”--to use the Salisbury phrase,--he called for his robes, -and went to church, taking with him his visitors.[339] - -Of another kind of dignitary an example is afforded in the memoirs of -the Honourable and Reverend Dr. John North. He was Clerk of the Closet -to Charles II.; possessing “a very convenient lodging in Whitehall, -upon the parade of the Court, near the presence-chamber,” where his -table was provided from the Royal kitchen, and he enjoyed the company -of His Majesty’s chaplains. People who had nothing else to do, would -say to one another--so North’s brother reports--“Come, shall we go -and spend half-an-hour with Mr. Clerk of the Closet?” but when they -went with the expectation of getting “a glass of wine or ale,” the -wary Divine, by the advice of an old Courtier, would not offer so -much as “small beer in hot weather,” lest he should be overdone with -visitors. In consequence of this prudent determination, he lived “like -a hermit in his cell, in the midst of the Court, and proved the title -of a foolish French writer, _La Solitude de la Cour_.” “Divers -persons,” however, particularly ladies, “far from Papists,” were wont -to repair to this spiritual officer for a different purpose, thinking -“auricular confession, though no duty, a pious practice,” and seeking -“to ease their minds” by means of that Anglo-Catholic custom. He did -“the office of a pastor or _parochus_ of the Court,” somewhat -after the fashion of the mediæval Clerks of the Closet, who were, -in fact, Court confessors. “And I have heard him say,” proceeds his -brother, “that, for the number of persons that resided in the Court, -a place reputed a centre of all vice and irreligion, he thought there -were as many truly pious and strictly religious as could be found in -any other resort whatsoever; and he never saw so much fervent devotion, -and such frequent acts of piety and charity, as his station gave -him occasion to observe there. It often falls out that extremes are -conterminous, and, as contraries, illustrate each other: so here virtue -and vice.”[340] We are glad to hear such testimony, and, when we think -of Evelyn and Margaret Godolphin, we cannot altogether doubt it; but, -as this Court Divine lived in a cell, he could not know much of what -went on around him in the Court. - -[Sidenote: FAMILY LIFE.] - -Noble families observed the duties of domestic worship; and, from -the same source as that from which the last illustration is drawn, -it appears how the household of the princely Duke of Beaufort, at -Badminton, attended to this practice. There was breakfast in the -Duchess’ gallery, which opened into the gardens, where perhaps a deer -was to be killed; and half-an-hour after eleven in the forenoon the -bell rang to prayers; and at six in the evening the best company went -into an aisle in the church, where the Duke and Duchess could see if -all the family were present. Her Grace had divers gentlewomen with her, -commonly engaged upon “embroidery and fringe-making; for all the beds -of state were made and finished in the house.”[341] - -Instead of extemporary effusions, Episcopalians used the daily prayers -of the Church, or selections from them. On special occasions the -minister of the parish performed the office; and an amusing instance -occurs of the neglect of this custom on the part of a gentleman who -had the honour of entertaining the Judges on the Western Circuit. “He -himself got behind the table in his hall, and read a chapter, and then -a long-winded prayer, after the Presbyterian way. The Judges took it -very ill, but did not think fit to affront him in his own house. Next -day”--who the narrator is may be guessed--“when we came early in the -morning to Exeter, all the news was that the Judges had been at a -conventicle, and the Grand Jury intended to present them and all their -retinue for it; and much merriment was made upon that subject.”[342] - -Devout Anglicans attended strictly to the private duties of religion. -They kept fasts and festivals in their own houses, as well as at -church; and in their morning and evening devotions they used portions -of the Common Prayer, or forms supplied by Taylor and Andrewes. They -read the sermons of those Divines, and of Sanderson and others; perhaps -also the annotations of Hammond or some kindred expositor. At a later -period, _The Whole Duty of Man_ became a very popular book with -the class of persons now described. - -I conclude these illustrations of Anglo-Catholic life with the account -of the death of an Anglo-Catholic young lady:-- - -“Upon Thursday, the 1st of February, my most dearly beloved daughter -Grimston fell sick of small-pox. - -“She had, from the beginning of her sickness to the last period of her -breath, an understanding very entire, and so perfect a patience that -her demeanour towards them who were about her was not only holy, but -cheerful too. - -[Sidenote: FAMILY LIFE.] - -“She received the sentence of death with the greatest tranquillity -of soul that is imaginable, and sent for Mr. Frampton (the household -chaplain to the Master of the Rolls, in whose house she died). To him -she made an excellent confession of her faith and life, and opened all -the burdens of her spirit, wherein were found no heavier matters than -a few angry words spoken seven years since, and some small errors of -that nature. But [there followed] a most solemn repentance for all -transgressions, whether remembered or forgotten. This being done, -she did, with great devotion, receive the blessed sacrament, and the -absolution of the Church. Before she composed herself to die, she -first took a most kind and comfortable leave of her dear husband--who, -from the beginning of her sickness till the hour of her death, never -left her chamber--praying God to bless him, and that he might never -find the want of her. Then she recommended her little girl to my wife, -entreating her to take her into her family, if it might not be too -great a trouble, and desiring her not to weep, for she was happy. She -remembered almost every relation she had in the world by name, and -offered up a particular prayer for them. I had never seen her after -the second day of her sickness; but she prayed most devoutly for me, -and desired all that were present to tell me from her, that, if prayer -were made in heaven, she would never cease to pray for me there so long -as I lived here: an expression so amazing from a child, and withal so -piercing, that, in the midst of all my spiritual joys, I feel a sorrow -great enough to break my heart if I would give way to it. For within a -few minutes after these words uttered, she surrendered up her blessed -soul into the hands of God Almighty, who, by the assistance of His -most blessed Spirit, had prepared and fitted her for Himself. And now -she hath left her dear husband, and his family, and mine, as full of -mourning and lamentation for the want of her as can possibly consist -with Christian patience and submission. On Monday next she is carried -from hence to her grave, in St. Michael’s Church, near Gorhambury.”[343] - -X. As during the Commonwealth, so after the Restoration, different -opinions were entertained respecting the observance of Sunday. -Puritans were not all of one mind upon that matter. Extreme men argued -thus:--“If honest labour be forbidden, much more honest recreations; -for recreation is but the means to prepare and fit men for labour; -therefore, if labour, which is the end of recreation, be forbidden, -much more recreation, which is but the means to labour.”[344] But -Baxter, who was himself strict in the observance of the day, and who -then walked for his health _privately_, lest he “should tempt -others to sin,” observed, with great moderation, “The body must be kept -in that condition (as far we can) that is fittest for the service of -the soul: a heavy body is but a dull and heavy servant to the mind, -yea, a great impediment to the soul in duty, and a great temptation to -many sins.” “When the sights of prospects, and beautiful buildings, -and fields, and countries, or the use of walks, or gardens, do tend to -raise the soul to holy contemplation, to admire the Creator, and to -think of the glory of the life to come (as Bernard used his pleasant -walks), this delight is lawful, if not a duty where it may be had.” Of -music and moderate feasting he says, when they “promote the spiritual -service of the day, they are good and profitable.”[345] - -[Sidenote: OBSERVANCE OF THE SABBATH.] - -Owen, perhaps, was more strict in his views of Sabbath observance -than Baxter; yet he spoke of its being no small mistake that men have -laboured more to multiply directions about external duties than to -direct a due sanctification of the day according to the spirit and -genius of Gospel obedience; and he did not deny that some, measuring -others by themselves, tied people up unto such long tiresome duties, -and rigid abstinences from refreshments, as clogged their minds, and -turned the whole service of the day into a wearisome bodily exercise -which profiteth little.[346] - -Between Puritans and Anglicans a great difference continued upon the -Sunday question. Jeremy Taylor, speaking of persons who objected to -have meat dressed upon the Lord’s Day, or to use an innocent, permitted -recreation, says--“When such an opinion makes a sect, and this sect -gets firm, confident, and zealous defenders, in a little time it will -dwell upon the conscience as if it were a native there, whereas it -is but a pitiful inmate, and ought to be turned out of doors.”[347] -Thorndike denied the obligation of the Fourth Commandment upon any but -the Jewish people; he based the authority for the Lord’s Day on the -Apostolic custom of the Church, and he disapproved of the Sabbatarian -strictness of the Puritans.[348] Sanderson pleaded for recreations, -“walking and discoursing” for “men of liberal education;” but for -the “ruder sort of people,” “shooting, leaping, pitching the bar, -and stool-ball,” rather than “dicing and carding.” “These pastimes,” -he said, were to be used “in godly and commendable sort,” with great -moderation, at seasonable times, not during Divine service, nor at -hours appointed by the master of the house for private devotion, but -so as to make men fitter for God’s service during the rest of the -day, and all this was to be done, not doubtingly, _for whatsoever -is not of faith is sin_; nor uncharitably, for in this, “as in all -indifferent things, a wise and charitable man will, in godly wisdom, -deny himself many times the use of that liberty, which, in a godly -charity, he dare not deny to his brother.”[349] Although the _Book -of Sports_ had lost its authority, its spirit revived after the -Restoration, and amusements in accordance with its provisions were -encouraged, in some cases, without any checks or any religious teaching -of the kind adopted by Sanderson. Cosin, indeed, in a sermon upon -Sunday observance, quotes a remark by Augustine, which condemns all -vain and idle pastimes--“Some people keep holy day for the devil, and -not for God, and should be better employed, labouring and ploughing -in their fields, than so to spend the day in idleness and vanity, -and women should better bestow their time in spinning of wool, than -upon the Lord’s Day to lose their time leaping and dancing, and other -such wantonness.”[350] Borough magistrates enforced the observance -of the Sabbath; not only were corporations, attired in their gowns, -required to attend church, morning and afternoon, but all masters were -ordered to cause their apprentices to be at Divine service at the -same time.[351] In the houses of such as disliked Puritanism, scenes -of levity, if not dissipation, often desecrated the holy hours. After -attendance at church, time was spent in a manner at variance with the -previous devotions. - -[Sidenote: RECREATIONS.] - -Pious Anglicans after the Restoration loved the first day of the -week with all the fervour of George Herbert;--and what some of them -said with reference to recreations, shocking as it appeared to -Puritans, proceeded not from a desire of self-indulgence, but from -a consideration of weakness in other people,--still, the Sabbath -remained the Puritans’ peculiar treasure. They put on it the highest -price. To them it seemed the jewel and crown, the bloom and flower -of the week, the torch which lighted up its dark days, the sunshine -which from eternity streamed down on the waters of time. Unwisdom, -sinking into superstition, betrayed itself in the strictness of their -conduct, provoking ridicule, and producing reaction; but it should -not be overlooked that it was from their great love to the festival, -that they were so careful to frame rules for its preservation. Some -treated Puritan habits as pitiable, and regarded the men as insanely -melancholy, but the latter esteemed themselves objects for envy rather -than commiseration, since in their own hearts they made the Sabbath “a -delight, the holy of the Lord, and honourable.” - -XI. The idea of “a Christian year,” a sanctification of the seasons -of nature by Gospel memories, is undeniably beautiful. This theory of -time, adopted by the Church of England, reappeared at the Revolution, -and days which mark the progress of the old earth’s journeys round -the sun were stamped anew with sacred names, and entwined with the -history of the Redeemer and His Apostles. Christmas celebrated the -Incarnation, and Epiphany the infant appearance of Jesus to the Magi at -Bethlehem, with subsequent manifestations of His glory; Lent was the -spring period, set apart for fasting and prayer, preparatory to the -commemoration of Divine mercy in the atonement of Christ. Palm Sunday -is not recognized in the English Prayer Book. On the Sunday before -Easter no reference occurs to our Lord’s entrance into Jerusalem in -the proper Lessons, the Epistle, or the Gospel. But Easter itself, -after the sorrows of Good Friday, is a high and holy festival, when -the Church breaks out into songs of joy because of the Resurrection -of her Lord. At the close of the forty days following, come Rogation -Week, with Holy Thursday, and then Whitsuntide--a season associated -with Christ’s Ascension, and culminating in the celebration of -Pentecost. Trinity Sunday crowns the whole, and invites the faithful to -contemplate the comprehensive, the fundamental, the mysterious doctrine -of a distinction in the Godhead. The character and history of St. John -the Baptist, and of the Apostles, St. Matthias, St. Peter, St. James, -St. Bartholomew, St. Matthew, St. Simon and St. Jude, St. Andrew, -St. Thomas, are in succession bound up with certain days, the series -terminating in the festival of All Saints.[352] - -[Sidenote: RECREATIONS.] - -With these seasons, observed from ancient times, various recreations -had become connected in the middle ages. Many of them survived the fall -of Popery, and with exceptions and changes, came once more, at the -Restoration, into general fashion and indulgence. To say the least, -they brought around sacred things the strangest and most incongruous -associations. Some, indeed, were very much worse than strange and -incongruous. Christmas Eve shone with the blaze of the Yule log, and -its bountiful accompaniments of good cheer. The Christmas carol echoed -through the family hall with gay music from the minstrels’ gallery. -The Christmas hobby-horse cut strange capers, and Christmas-boxes -were given freely to young and old. The Lord of misrule, the foot -plough, and the sword dance, Yule doughs, mince-pies, Christmas-pies -and plum-puddings added to the tide of fellowship and pleasure at -that mid-winter season. All the glories of Twelfth night, which threw -old men and old women, as well as little children, into ecstasies -of merriment, were engrafted on the feast of Epiphany. Easter -holidays, Easter liftings, Easter eggs, and all sorts of Easter fun, -gathered in strange, grotesque, often revolting, contrast round the -professed acknowledgment of the greatest of the redemptive miracles -of Christianity. Rogation Week, with Ascension Day in its centre, had -long been the chosen time for sacred processions and litanies, and now -again in England, on the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of that week, -parochial perambulations revived; charity children carried flowers; -the clergy with singing men and boys, all in sacred vestments, and -with churchwardens and parishioners, beat the bounds of the parish, -and under Gospel oaks, and other Gospel trees, the Incumbent read the -Gospel, according to an old custom, in which had originated these -familiar appellations. The idea of such perambulations, sanctioned by -the Church, was--that processional worship should be offered to the -Almighty, that thanks should be given to Him for the promise of a good -crop, or that prayer should be offered for His mercy on the prospect of -a bad harvest. But the gathering together of all sorts of idle people, -and the habit of drinking which obtained amongst them, led to most -deplorable excesses. - -Superstitious and absurd practices cropped up profusely on St. -Mark’s Eve. With St. John’s Day was coupled the use, in decoration, -of the birch, the lily, and St. John’s wort, and at night bonfires -illuminated the villages of “Merrie England.” St. Peter’s Day had -similar illuminations; St. James’ Day was a time for eating oysters, -and Allhallow Even was devoted to nut-cracking, apple-catching, and the -ancient game of quintain. The feasts of the consecration of churches -degenerated into rush bearings, hoppings, and all kinds of rustic -amusements, in which, as Bishop Hall observed in his _Triumph of -Pleasure_ “you may well say no Greek can be merrier than they.” - -The theory was to unite the remembrance of Christian facts and -Christian names with particular seasons in the lives of men, to -interlink religion with social intercourse, to recognize recreation -as a human necessity, to hallow it with Christian influences, and to -allow joy, on account of the events recorded in the Gospel, to express -itself in innocent festivities. But nobody can fail to see that if -this was the theory, the practice did not correspond with it, for the -history of the amusements common in England at these festivals after -the Restoration, as before, abounds in proofs of revelry and riot, most -unseemly in the estimation of sober Christians. A distinction ought -to be made between the use of festivities at Christmas, Easter, and -other seasons, and their abuse; between what is harmful and what is -innocent; and also it must be allowed that, whilst Churchmen, in the -days of which we speak, mingled recreation with religion, some of them -also mingled the spirit of religion with recreation, and condemned -all vicious indulgence; but the fact still remains, that amongst the -lower classes, and the upper as well, in cities and towns, and in rural -districts, a large amount of social demoralization existed under the -cover of Christian symbols, and in union with professedly Christian -observances. This fact should not be overlooked in an Ecclesiastical -History of England. - -[Sidenote: RECREATIONS.] - -Different ideas respecting amusements are marked badges of religious -denominations, and one of the dangers of all Puritanism is a tendency -to separate between recreation and religion, and to regard them as if -antagonistic, from mistaken views of the condition and necessities -of human nature; views which ignore one side of the mind of man, and -narrow the range of social sympathies. Some good men of the Puritan -class did, in consequence, look sourly on several very innocent -sorts of pleasure; but the morbid, ungenial restriction of feeling, -ascribed to the Puritans in general, has been greatly exaggerated, and -to some extent, so far as it really existed, an excuse may be found -for it in the persecuting treatment which they, as a body, received -from those who were foremost in promoting the revival of old English -customs. The distinctive amusements of the Church festivals the Puritan -disliked, condemned, and opposed. Indeed, many disliked, condemned, -and opposed the festivals themselves, from a strong conviction that -they were superstitious in their origin, their character, and their -tendency. They devoutly believed in the events which those festivals -commemorated, and thought that they should be remembered, not at -particular seasons, but all the year round. Their idea of the festivals -was not such as to redeem the recreations which had clustered round -them; and the recreations themselves were, to their religious and moral -tastes, exceedingly offensive. - -After all which has been said to the contrary, however, numbers of the -Puritans--under the later Stuarts, under the earlier ones, and under -the Commonwealth--were genial and even “facetious”--to use a word -applied to some of their best men--full of pleasantness, and by no -means averse to certain English amusements. Many demonstrations of joy -they made in common with their neighbours. Feasting and sending gifts -to one another, the ringing of bells, making bonfires, and sounding -trumpets, with thundering of ordnance on great national occasions, had -been recommended in so many words from the chief pulpit of Manchester, -by the chief Presbyterian minister of that City. If Puritans objected -to drinking healths, some had no objections to see the street-conduits -running with claret. Anti-prelatists, like prelatists before, and -Nonconformists, like Conformists after the Restoration, indulged in the -sports of fishing and shooting; they followed the hounds, and they went -a hawking. - -Cock-fighting is an old English amusement, especially at Shrove-tide, -and, strange as it may seem, an eminent Puritan minister, Henry -Newcome, allowed his boys, when that season came round, to “shoot -at the cock.” He amusingly expresses in his diary a fear lest the -youngsters should come to mischief in so dangerous a game, and -therefore prayed to God that He would preserve them, as he thankfully -acknowledges God was pleased to do; and he mentions that on one -occasion he had particular reason to be alarmed, since what was meant -for the cock threatened danger to the boy, for “Daniel’s hat on his -head was shot through with an arrow.” Yet the careful and devout -father never indicates an apprehension of there being anything wrong -in the game itself.[353] Nonconformists condemned card-playing, and -other games of chance, but if the late Nonconformists resembled their -Presbyterian predecessors, they amused themselves with balls and -billiards. The game of shuffle-board was a Royal amusement, and a -board for playing the game is mentioned in an inventory of the goods -belonging to Charles I., which were seized at Ludlow Castle. Boards -of this description had lines drawn across them at one end, and the -players stood at the other, the object being to push or _shove_ -flat pieces of metal across the lines, without causing them to fall off -the board. Newcome liked to play this game, as appears from his diary, -only he was afraid of taking “too great a latitude in such mirth,” and -thought it his duty to let some “savoury thing” fall at the time, and -if he cracked a jest, he considered himself as thereby incurring a debt -for an equal amount of serious discourse. The Presbyterian minister, -who tells these stories of himself, was a young man at the time to -which he thus refers, and he lived beyond the Revolution, but it is -very probable that in after years he continued cautiously to practise -his early favourite amusement. There is, however, no reason to believe -that his taste in this respect, and his habit of indulging in it, is to -be taken as a specimen of Nonconformists’ recreation in general. - -[Sidenote: CHARITIES.] - -XII. The charities revived or established after the Restoration, -springing from the benevolent spirit of Christianity, call for some -notice. Visiting the venerable hospital of St. Mary, in the City -of Chichester, with its spacious hall, spanned by an arched roof, -and its rows of tiny rooms built on either side, as if in a covered -street, with its chapel and altar table, and other provisions -for Episcopalian worship on Sundays and week-days, and with its -old-fashioned men and women finding rest in their declining days, -after the toils and troubles of life; or visiting the like venerable -hospital of Bishopgate, in the City of Norwich, with somewhat similar -arrangements, we see the kind of place in which benevolent people loved -to shelter the aged and the infirm in the days of Charles II. After the -banishment--during the Commonwealth--of the ancient religious services, -and of the old spirit of these quaint retreats--not, however, to the -violation of the charitable purposes of the foundation--those services -took possession of them again at the Restoration. The same may be said -of numerous almshouses in different parts of the country. - -New ones of a similar description were established. Bishop Ward’s -College of Matrons, for the maintenance of ten widows of orthodox -clergymen, may be mentioned as an instance. He disliked it to be called -an hospital, it being intended for those who were well descended, -and had lived in good reputation. He purchased land in the Close at -Salisbury, on which to erect the buildings, and the Cathedral being -so near, they were required to attend worship there, both morning -and evening. The same prelate endowed an hospital at Buntingford, -in Hertfordshire, the place of his birth, for ten aged men, each to -receive ten pounds a year. - -Some persons, in founding almshouses, required that all the inmates -should “be conformed to the Church of England, according to the -Thirty-Nine Articles,” and placed under the ban of exclusion all such -as should not profess, or follow the Protestant religion, or should -absent themselves from the parish or castle church without cause.[354] -Others devised bequests in a more catholic spirit, providing “that poor -boys may be instructed in the principles of the Protestant religion, -and in the fear of the Lord, and also to read and to write, and to cast -up accounts, that so they may be blessed in their souls as well as in -their bodies, and may be a blessing to their masters, and may for ever -have cause to bless God for the fatherly care” of the Mayor on their -behalf.[355] - -[Sidenote: CHARITIES.] - -The name of a singular kind of person, who signalized himself by his -beneficence, may also be introduced. - -An epitaph on a tomb-stone in the Chapel of Jesus’ College, Cambridge, -records his deeds:--“Tobias Rustat, Yeoman of the Robes to King Charles -II., whom he served with all duty and faithfulness in his adversity -as well as prosperity, both at home and abroad. The greatest part of -the estate he gathered by God’s blessing, the King’s favour, and his -industry, he disposed in his lifetime in works of charity, and found -the more he bestowed upon churches, hospitals, universities, and -colleges, and upon poor widows and orphans of orthodox ministers, the -more he had at the year’s end. Neither was he unmindful of his kindred -and relations in making them provision out of what remained. He died a -bachelor the 15th day of March, in the year of our Lord 1693, aged 87.” - -Dr. Sutcliffe, in the reign of James I., founded and built a college -at Chelsea “principally for the maintenance of the true Catholic, -Apostolic, and Christian faith, and next, for the practice, setting -forth, and increase of true and sound learning against the pedantry, -sophistries and novelties of the Jesuits, and others, the Pope’s -factors and followers; and, thirdly, against the treachery of the -Pelagians, and Arminians, and others, that draw towards Popery and -Babylonian slavery, endeavouring to make a rent in God’s Church, -and a peace between heresy and God’s true faith--between Christ and -Antichrist.”[356] Although patronized by the King, this indefinite -scheme for maintaining truth in a controversial age came to nothing, -and Charles II. appropriated the ground occupied by the college to -the famous Royal Hospital for superannuated soldiers. Everybody is -familiar with the imposing edifice near the banks of the Thames, and -with the stories about Nell Gwynn’s influence, in the establishment -of the foundation, but it is not generally known, that a number of -persons, besides the King, took part in the work, and that it is really -a monument of national as well as of Royal munificence. - -Tillotson, in one of his sermons, commemorates the benevolence of a -London merchant:-- - -“He (Mr. Gouge) set the poor of St. Sepulchre’s parish (where he was -a minister) to work at his own charge. He bought flax and hemp for -them to spin; when spun he paid them for their work, and caused it -to be wrought into cloth, which he sold as he could, himself bearing -the whole loss. This was a very wise and well-chosen way of charity, -and in the good effect of it, a much greater charity; than if he had -given to those very persons (freely and for nothing) so much as he made -them earn by their work, because, by this means, he rescued them from -two most dangerous temptations--idleness and poverty. This course, so -happily devised and begun by Mr. Gouge, gave, it may be, the first hint -to that useful and worthy citizen, Mr. Thos. Firman, of a much larger -design, which has been managed by him some years in this city, with -that vigour and good success, that many hundreds of poor children, -and others, who lived idle before, unprofitable both to themselves -and the public, now maintain themselves, and are also some advantage -to the community. By the assistance and charity of many excellent and -well-disposed persons, Mr. Firman is enabled to bear the unavoidable -loss and charge of so vast an undertaking, and by his own forward -inclination to charity, and unwearied diligence and activity, is fitted -to sustain and go through the incredible pains of it.”[357] - -[Sidenote: CHARITIES.] - -Such instances of Christian benevolence are quite as worthy of being -recorded in ecclesiastical history as the strifes of controversy, and -the changes of government, and it may therefore be added in reference -to “the useful and worthy citizen, Mr. Firman,” just mentioned, that, -although he was a person of singular and heterodox opinions, he -distinguished himself above many who condemned his errors; and left -behind him a name for active and unwearied charity, which entitles -him to a place in the same honourable list with Howard, Fry, and -Peabody. The details of his beneficence are minutely recorded in his -interesting life: besides establishing a linen manufactory entirely -for the employment and benefit of poor spinners, he visited prisons, -and redeemed poor debtors; he was a zealous supporter of Christ’s and -St. Thomas’ Hospitals; he largely gave away Bibles, good books, and -catechisms; he diligently helped the French Refugees; he evinced a deep -interest in the sufferings and relief of the persecuted Irish, and he -was an eminent contributor to the wants of the poor.[358] - -Nor were missionary efforts altogether neglected. Sir Leoline -Jenkins--who, in 1680, succeeded Sir William Coventry as Secretary of -State--was touched by the large amount of spiritual destitution amongst -the Navy and in the Colonies, and with a view to the supplying of it, -he instituted two fellowships in Jesus’ College, Oxford, the holders of -which should go out to sea as Chaplains of the Fleet, or proceed to -“His Majesty’s foreign plantations, there to take upon them a cure of -souls.” - -In July, 1649, an ordinance had been passed by the Long Parliament for -the propagation of the Gospel in New England. A collection for the -object having been made in every parish, a large sum was realized in -consequence. With this money certain lands were purchased of Colonel -Beddingfield, a Roman Catholic Royalist, the annual proceeds of which -were to be devoted to the mission. But after the Restoration, the -Colonel seized back the property for his own use, and it was only after -legal proceedings,--in which Clarendon, as Lord Chancellor, behaved -most equitably,--that it was recovered by the trustees. Charles II. -granted the Society a new Charter of Incorporation, of which Robert -Boyle became president; and Mr. Ashurst, an influential and pious -citizen, and alderman of London, who had been treasurer before, -reaccepted that important post. Richard Baxter took an active part in -the proceedings at home, and John Eliot, a missionary to the Indians, -carried on its operations abroad. Letters are preserved which passed -between the illustrious Divine and the illustrious Evangelist, and -from one written by the former we learn that, although, from reasons -connected with the peculiar character of the times, numbers were -unwilling to leave England just then to embark in this new expedition -of religious zeal, many would have been glad to have gone amongst -“Persians, Tartarians, and Indians,” to preach the Gospel, had they -but understood the language. Hints respecting universal language--a -dream which occupied the thoughts of Wilkins, the Bishop of Chester, -and inspired George Dalgarno’s _Ars Signorum_--occur in Eliot’s -letters, showing that he leaned towards the Hebrew tongue as the -all-comprehensive vehicle of instruction--the tongue which, he said, -will be spoken in heaven, and which, by its “trigramical foundation,” -is “capable of a regular expatiation into millions of words, no -language like it.” Baxter was strongly excited by the deplorable -destitution of the Gospel, but it inspired more of despair than of -hope; it paralyzed rather than stimulated effort. “He that surveyeth -the present state of the earth, and considereth, that scarcely a sixth -part is Christian, and how small a part of them are reformed, and how -small a part of them have much of the power of godliness, will be ready -to think that Christ hath called almost all His chosen, and is ready -to forsake the earth, rather than that He intendeth us such blessed -days below as we desire. We shall have what we would, but not in this -world.”[359] There are also several letters from Eliot to Boyle, -written with touching simplicity--reports, in fact, of the missionary -work in New England--in which the apostle to the Indians addresses -the President of the Society as a right honourable, deeply learned, -abundantly charitable, and constant, nursing father.[360] - -[Sidenote: CHARITIES.] - -Boyle devoted to the New England mission, £300 a year during his life, -and, by his will, bequeathed a legacy of £100; and although several -persons of distinction were nominally connected with the scheme, he was -its moving-spring, its power and life. The meetings for the transaction -of its affairs, which he commonly attended, were held at Alderman -Ashurst’s residence in London--the first board of foreign missions in -Protestant England, and the first mission-house of that kind in its -enterprising metropolis. Missionary operations on a much larger scale -were commenced after the Revolution. - -XIII. I have recorded several incidents which occurred in the -Universities. Nothing like a history of those great institutions comes -within the purpose of this work, nor is there any need to describe -their state after the Restoration, as in former volumes I described it -before that event:--because, during the Commonwealth, the Universities -were extraordinarily circumstanced, but at the Restoration they -returned to their normal condition, in which they have continued ever -since. A few notices, however, indicative of the studies and habits of -the members, may be appropriately included within this chapter. - -Sancroft conveys an unfavourable impression of the state of things -at Cambridge in the year 1663:--“It would grieve you to hear of our -public examinations; the Hebrew and Greek learning being out of fashion -everywhere, and especially in the other Colleges, where we are forced -to seek our candidates for fellowships; and the rational learning they -pretend to, being neither the old philosophy, nor steadily any one of -the new. In fine, though I must do the present society right, and say, -that divers of them are very good scholars, and orthodox (I believe) -and dutiful both to King and Church; yet methinks I find not that old -genius and spirit of learning generally in the College that made it -once so deservedly famous; nor shall I hope to retrieve it any way -sooner, than by your directions who lived here in the most flourishing -times of it.”[361] - -Not only would the transition from Puritan to Anglican occasion -inconvenience, but a transition also occurred from the study of the -old to the study of the new philosophy,--from Aristotle to Plato, -and from the pursuit of metaphysics to the investigation of physical -science. Lucas founded a professorship of Mathematics in the year 1663, -to which office Barrow was the first appointed, and in his inaugural -address, he eulogizes that department of knowledge which he was about -to teach.[362] - -[Sidenote: UNIVERSITIES.] - -Another great change at Cambridge, consequent upon the Restoration, is -seen in the decline of Calvinistic theology, the return of Anglican -opinions, and especially the progress of the Latitudinarian schools of -Divinity, described in a subsequent portion of this work. Turning to -less important matters, it may be observed that Royal mandates became -too common, and provoked refusals from the College authorities. Dr. -Cudworth, Master of Christ’s, politely apologized for declining an -order for the election of a son of Sir Richard Fanshaw, as a Fellow, -pleading that “since the Restoration, their little College had received -and obeyed ten Royal letters; and even received a manciple imposed -by letter, though it was a thing never known before.” “When mandates -are so plentifully granted they cannot possibly be all obeyed.”[363] -North set himself decidedly against these mandates, as most mischievous -abuses, and contrived by pre-elections to obviate their occurrence. -“Out of the several years, four or five one under another, he caused -to be pre-elected into fellowships scholars of the best capacities -in the several years; which made it improbable another election -should come about in so many years then next ensuing, for until all -these elections were benefited there could be no vacancy, and that -broke the course of mandates whilst he lived.” North was a High Tory, -an advocate of absolute monarchy, a severe disciplinarian, and an -austere man in his personal habits. Although his opinions accorded -with those prevalent in the University, his conduct as the Head of -a College made him unpopular; and it happened, one evening,--when -sitting in his dining-room by the fire, the chimney being opposite to -the windows, looking out into the great quadrangle,--that a stone was -sent from the court through the window. He was “inwardly vexed, and -soon after, the discourse fell upon the subject of people’s kicking -against their superiors in government, who preserves them as children -are preserved by parents; and then he had a scroll of instances, out of -Greek history, to the same purpose, concluding that no conscientious -magistrate can be popular, but in lieu of that, he must arm himself -with equanimity.” He differed at times from the senior fellows, and -at a meeting for business, when eight of them had determined to have -their own way, and carry a point on which they had previously agreed, -one of them attempted to effect his object by saying, “Master, since -you will not agree, we must rise, and break up the meeting.” “Nay,” he -replied, “that you shall not do, for I myself will rise and be gone -first.”[364] This brought them round. The relation of such an incident -gives an idea of the High Church Don at Cambridge much better than any -general description, and throws amusing light on the social life of the -University. - -The election of a new Chancellor was then, as it generally is, an -exciting event for the University men, and every kind of influence -was brought to bear upon the success of the respective competitors. -In 1671, the Duke of Buckingham entered into a contest with the Earl -of Arlington, for the enjoyment of the honour, and obtained the -prize; Williamson, the Secretary of State, having without effect -canvassed on the opposite side. Leading men apologized to him for not -supporting his candidate, of which an instance appears in the following -communication:-- - -[Sidenote: UNIVERSITIES.] - - “For Joseph Williamson, Esq., Whitehall.--Sir,--My worthy - friend,--This morning, about seven, I received the favour of - your letter sent me by Dr. Turner, of St. John’s, and Dr. - Cudworth our Master received another from you to the same - effect. But we were so far engaged before, having been visited - (as we call it here, for the Duke of Buckingham) on Sunday or - Monday last, and the inclinations of the University lay so - against an Oxford man (you know our academical humour) that - no good could be done so late for my Lord Arlington, but the - Duke was chosen this day with a _nemine contradicente_. You - know, dear Sir, my personal obligations to you are such, and - peculiarly in my expectancy for the professorship, that you - might command not only my own suffrage, but all the friends I - could make if it had been in time. - - “Believe me to be your much obliged and humble Servant, - - JOHN CARR. - - “CHRIST’S COLL., CAMBRIDGE, - _May 11, 1671_.” - -There are other letters amongst the _State Papers_ on the same -subject, including one from Dr. Cudworth, to Williamson, excusing -himself for supporting the Duke instead of the Earl. - -Charles II. visited Cambridge on the 4th of October in the same year, -and the whole body of students wearing academical habits, according to -their several degrees, lined the streets as His Majesty visited the -various buildings. He was received by the new Chancellor and the other -authorities, who presented him with a “fair Bible,” accompanied by a -short speech from the public orator. The King visited the University’s -libraries and the Colleges of Trinity and St. John, and after dining at -Trinity he saw a comedy acted there, with which he expressed himself -well pleased.[365] In 1674, the Duke of Monmouth succeeded the Duke of -Buckingham in the Chancellorship, and in that year we find the former -sending a curious communication to the Eastern University. - -By His Majesty’s desire he noticed the liberty which several persons in -holy orders had taken to wear their own hair and perukes of an unusual -and unbecoming length, and rebuked them for it, strictly enjoining -that all such, who professed the study of Divinity, should wear their -hair in a manner more suitable to the gravity and sobriety of their -profession. He also blamed them in His Majesty’s name for reading -sermons, and commanded that preaching from MS., which took a beginning -with the disorders of the late times, should be wholly laid aside, -and that preachers should deliver their sermons, both in Latin and -English, by memory or without book, as being a way of preaching which -His Majesty judged most agreeable to the use of all foreign Churches, -to the former custom of the University, and the nature and intention of -the holy exercise itself.[366] These injunctions were anticipated at -Oxford, where James, Duke of Ormond, continued Chancellor from 1669 to -1688. - -[Sidenote: UNIVERSITIES.] - -“It is not long since,” writes Dr. Ralph Bathurst, President of -Trinity, “we had notice of the Duke of Monmouth’s letter, written -by His Majesty’s command, to the University of Cambridge, against -_long hair_ and the _reading of sermons_. It was here thought -advisable to obviate the like reproof to ourselves, by an early -compliance with His Majesty’s desires, though we think ourselves much -more blameless than they, especially in the last particular. To this -end, I have this day published a programme, the copy whereof I have -made bold to send you.”[367] - -With this amusing insight into academic life, may be coupled another -of earlier date. Williamson, Secretary of State, presented to Queen’s -College, a silver trumpet and two pairs of banners. Thanks were -returned by Dr. Thomas Barlow, in the name of the Society, and the gift -was described as “most welcome, not only for its cost and curiosity, -but for its congruity to them who by statute are to be called to dinner -with a trumpet, though fitter for him to give than for a poor College -to receive, to call them to a mess of pottage and twopenny commons. It -will be used on all solemn days, but at other times their old brass -trumpet will serve the turn.” In another letter, it is remarked, -“The Provost, and all the company, highly extol them, and are very -grateful for them. The trumpet was long sounded in the quadrangle, -wine was drunk through the hall, and venison pasties were at every -table, there being a whole buck from Lady Foster, of Aldermaston,” -besides Williamson’s from Woodstock.[368] Old Christmas and Candlemas -customs were revived, and the senior undergraduates amused themselves -at night before the charcoal fires by bringing in the freshmen, and -making them “sit down on a form in the middle of the hall, joining to -the declaimer’s desk,”--where they were required to “speak some pretty -apothegm, or make a jest or bull;” and if the thing were not done -cleverly, the unhappy wight was punished by the seniors, who would -“_tuck_ him--that is set the nail of their thumb to his chin, just -under the lip, and by the help of their other fingers under the chin, -they would give him a mark which sometimes would produce blood.”[369] -A picturesque usage occurred on Holy Thursday, when the Fellows of New -College walked to Bartholomew’s Hospital, which was decked with fruit -for the occasion, and then, after reading the Scriptures, and the -singing of hymns, they offered silver to be divided amongst poor men; -then they proceeded to Stockwell, where, after reading the epistle and -gospel for the day, the Fellows in “the open place, like the ancient -Druids, echoed and warbled out from the shady arbours, melodious -melody, consisting of several parts, then most in fashion.”[370] - -[Sidenote: UNIVERSITIES.] - -The conduct of persons who from time to time acted the part of -_Terræ filius_, had been complained of under the Commonwealth; -it continued to be complained of after the Restoration. The excesses -into which these lawless students were wont to run, with other -corresponding extravagances, appear to have reached their greatest -height in 1669, at the opening of the Sheldon theatre. South once, as -University orator, delivered a long oration, in which he satirically -inveighed against Cromwell, the Fanatics, the Royal Society, and the -new philosophy:--and then pronounced encomiums upon the Archbishop, -the building, the Vice-Chancellor, the Architect, and the Decorator, -concluding with execrations, cast upon Fanatics, Conventicles, and -Comprehension, “damning them _ad inferos, ad Gehennam_.” At the -same Commemoration, the _Terræ filius_ gave so general offence, -that Dr. Wallis says: “I believe the University hath thereby lost more -reputation than they have gained by all the rest.” “The excellent -Lady,” he adds, “which your letter mentions, was, in the broadest -language represented as guilty of those crimes, of which, if there were -occasion, you would not stick to be her compurgator.”[371] - -Complaints of the same kind were made years afterwards. The Bishop of -Oxford, writing December 14, 1684, complains:--“The _Terræ filii_ -in this place have of late taken to themselves such licenses as were -altogether intolerable, their scurrilous discourses passing not only -the bounds of decency but of common humanity, so that it was necessary -for the University to oppose sharp remedies to so prevailing an -evil.”[372] - -Within eighteen months of the date of the Oxford decree for burning -the books of Milton and others, there occurred another Act conceived -in the same spirit. Lord Sunderland wrote to the Bishop of Oxford, Dr. -John Fell, complaining of John Locke,--“He being,” remarks the Bishop -in reply, “as your Lordship is truly informed, a person who was much -trusted by the late Earl of Shaftesbury, and who is suspected to be -ill-affected to the Government, I have for divers years had an eye upon -him, but so close has his guard been on himself, that after several -strict inquiries, I may confidently affirm that there is not any man in -the College, however familiar with him, who has heard him speak a word -either against, or so much as concerning the Government.” Yet, although -Locke was so extremely cautious, the Bishop professed the greatest -zeal in seeking his expulsion, and, after describing what he himself -meant to do, adds: “If this method seem not effectual or speedy enough, -and His Majesty, our founder and visitor, shall please to command his -immediate remove, upon the receipt thereof, directed to the Dean and -Chapter, it shall accordingly be executed.” A warrant, immediately -despatched by Sunderland, signified the King’s pleasure, that John -Locke should be removed from his student’s place, to which the Bishop -obsequiously replied: “I hold myself bound in duty to signify to your -Lordship that His Majesty’s command for the expulsion of Mr. Locke from -this College is fully executed.”[373] This disgraceful deed originated, -it is true, with the Sovereign, but the part taken by the Bishop, and -the Dean and Chapter of Christchurch, with the silent acquiescence of -the University, demonstrates what must have been the political and -ecclesiastical atmosphere of the place at that time. - -We here terminate these somewhat rambling notices of the -ecclesiastical, the religious, and the academic life of the period; -and proceed to notice, in the next chapter, a very important subject -connected with the state of the English Churches, which has not -received from historians the attention it requires. - - - - - CHAPTER XIII. - - -Theological science is a growth; and to its growth, as developed in our -own day, the labours of a long line of students have contributed. The -_genesis_ of doctrinal opinion is a subject worthy of much more -careful research than it has yet received. To find out how particular -dogmas have been broached and modified, how they have originated and -been unfolded, goes far to fix their truth or their falsehood; and -any man who would thoroughly understand the theology of this country, -must study carefully the chief authors of theological literature -in the seventeenth century. Andrewes, Donne, Jackson, Thorndike, -Taylor, Pearson, and Bull--More, Smith, Cudworth, and Barrow--Goodwin, -Owen, Baxter, Howe, and Charnock--were all eminent Divines of that -period--all, in different degrees, erudite scholars--all hard -thinkers; and although they belonged to schools of thought differing -in important respects, inasmuch as they read each other’s books, and -answered each other’s arguments, they could not but influence each -other’s minds. To ponder and to compare them is an exercise helpful -to a theological thinker in his search after truth. Unless we believe -in the infallibility of our own Church, whatever that Church may -be--unless we also believe our own Church to have collected every -part of theological truth, to have examined it under every possible -aspect, and to have secured the best possible point of view--all of us -who engage in sacred studies are bound not to confine ourselves to the -perusal of authors who belong to the way of thinking which prevails in -our own denomination. Rome has her _Index Expurgatorius_, and in -this she is perfectly consistent. Protestantism, whilst it condemns -the Romanist prohibition of inquiry, is excessively inconsistent, if -it encourages similar exclusiveness on the part of its own disciples, -or allows a wider circle of reading only for controversial purposes. -The narrowness of theological schools, and the bigotry of religious -sects, is very much owing to a limited acquaintance with books, and -to a prejudiced feeling against what is read when accustomed limits -are overstepped. And in reference to the authors of the seventeenth -century, it cannot be fairly denied--after all which may justly be -said touching the dryness and prolixity of their dissertations--that a -depth, thoroughness, and power may be found in some of these men which -we miss, with a few exceptions, in Divines of our own day. - -As the writings of which I speak, together with other influences, have -served to produce phases of religious thought amongst ourselves, so -amongst them, the writings of earlier theologians, together with other -influences, served to produce the characteristic peculiarities of their -religious thought. We are apt to underrate the _number_ of ways in -which thinking is affected; and we often forget that a simple result -may proceed from most complex and composite causes. Many people imagine -that the climate of a country is determined entirely by position in -point of latitude--that every mile nearer the pole it must be colder, -and every mile nearer the equator it must be warmer; whereas numerous -and diversified agencies interfere with climate, and produce wonderful -curves in the isothermal lines. So, many people imagine that one -cause--the study of the Bible--solely determines theological opinion; -whereas, forces of all descriptions--even climate and scenery, race -and language, laws and memories, especially early education, domestic -life, books, friendships, and idiosyncrasies--have a share in the -result. Divines two centuries ago might not, any more than ourselves, -be conscious of the diversified and subtle operations to which they -were subjected; but that circumstance does not interfere with the fact -itself. - -[Sidenote: THEOLOGY.] - -There had been four broad lines of theological opinion long before -the middle of the seventeenth century, as there have been four broad -lines running on ever since. In the second century and onward we -meet with _patristic orthodoxy_, the great facts and principles -of Christianity taught by the Apostles being illustrated and -defended, especially in the Nicene age, by thoughtful men, who, in -the use of their natural faculties, by the blessing of Almighty God, -explained and established much which is true; not, however, without -an admixture of something which was false. In the third century -we meet with _Alexandrian philosophy_, which, by a natural -tendency, aimed at bringing the intellectual culture of the age -into connection with the Gospel; and therefore dwelt much upon the -reasonableness of Christianity, and the points of affinity between -it and certain forms of human opinion. In the fourth century we find -_dogmatic Evangelicalism_ gathered up by Augustine, and woven -into a distinctive system of Christian thought. At the same time the -element of _Mysticism_ appears at work, preparing for a vigorous -expression of itself during the middle ages. Throughout those ages -these four currents are traceable, generic resemblances, being marked, -of course, by specific varieties. At the Reformation two of these, -the Nicene and the Augustinian, are manifest enough in the English -Protestant Church, both struggling against Rome; each also struggling -with the other. The traces of Alexandrianism and of Mysticism, after -disappearing for awhile, become distinctly visible in the seventeenth -century. - -It is impossible not to connect the Anglican development of that period -with the faith, the polity, and the worship of the Nicene age, and the -Puritan doctrines of the same period, with the theology and spiritual -life of Augustine. Nor can there be any doubt that the so-called -Latitudinarianism (I use the word in its historical sense) of the -Cambridge school comes in lineal succession to that of Alexandria. And -if Mysticism, as existing amongst Quakers, be not capable of showing -distinct historical links of connection with previous thinking, it -is plain that its elements had existed long before: a fact, indeed, -insisted upon by its more erudite exponents.[374] Anglicans, Puritans, -Latitudinarians, and Mystics were all of ancient lineage, although -some were unacquainted with, and might even be prejudiced against, -their ancestry. Besides, as already indicated, there were other and -more immediate influences at work. The ecclesiastical revolutions and -conflicts under Elizabeth and the Stuarts, the traditions of domestic -life, parental and school education, the atmosphere pervading social -circles, and especially the constitution of individual minds--these -served to shape systems which stood in direct and determined conflict -with one another. Nor let it be forgotten that, though divers factors -of religious thought may be enumerated, others exist which lie too deep -for discovery and analysis, even by the most subtle inquirers. If it -be true generally that we have no complete science of history, it is -eminently true of the history of theological opinion. There is mystery -in all growth, for there is mystery in all life; and it is idle to -suppose that, at least in this world, we shall ever arrive at a perfect -philosophy of the progress or activity of mind, in reference to that -which is at once, of all subjects, the most practical and the most -mysterious. - -[Sidenote: THEOLOGY.] - -It will assist the reader in understanding what follows, to observe -that, whilst all the theologians to be described appealed to Scripture, -each class had its own standard and principles of interpretation; and -that, whilst all professed to take the Bible as a whole, each selected -from it some favourite parts. The Anglicans, professedly as well as -actually, adopted the teaching of the first four or five centuries as -a guide to the meaning of Holy Writ. They looked upon that period as -the purest and ripest age of Christian wisdom, and concluded that the -Church of after-days has been, and is, bound to adhere to the faith -and order then established. The Puritans had no such idea of patristic -teaching, but contended for the full right of private judgment. Some -of the Fathers they valued and loved, particularly Augustine; yet -without attaching any special authority even to him. They professed -to come to the sacred oracles with unbiassed minds, and it is one of -their characteristic notions that the Holy Spirit, bestowed upon devout -seekers, remains alone the unerring Expositor of His own Word. The -Latitudinarians had their favourite authors, particularly of the Greek -philosophical school; and although they did not adopt the opinions of -the Puritans as to the teaching of the Spirit, any more than did the -Anglicans, yet, in common with both of them, they were prepared to seek -Divine assistance in the study of the sacred volume. What, however, -they mainly relied upon was their own reason. The Quakers, in their -turn, extolled the inward light, the illumination of Christ’s Spirit, -as explaining and supplementing the written Word. The Fathers, the Holy -Spirit, human reason, and the inward light, were the interpreters to -which different classes of Scripture students looked for help in their -momentous investigations. In connection with this difference another -presents itself. The Anglicans insisted upon those parts of Scripture -which relate to the Holy Trinity, the Incarnation, and the Atonement, -and to the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. They used the -priesthood and rites of Judaism for the support of their own views -regarding sacerdotal ministrations. Diocesan episcopacy and Apostolical -succession they endeavoured to deduce from the New Testament; but they -were obliged to rest principally upon patristic records for what they -believed and taught upon these subjects. - -[Sidenote: THEOLOGY.] - -Passages relating to justification by faith, to the election of grace, -and to the adoption of believers, do not stand out in their writings, -as do the other class of passages to which I have referred. In this -respect the Anglicans differed from the Puritans. By the latter, -texts bearing upon the topics now mentioned, in connection with other -texts touching the Divinity of our Lord, and the Holy Trinity, and -the satisfaction made by Christ upon the cross, were most abundantly -cited, illustrated, and enforced. The Puritans regarded such texts -as distinctive of the Gospel--as rendering it a suitable message of -redemption and love to sinful men. I scruple not to say that I warmly -sympathize with them in this last respect. The Gospel is glad tidings -of great joy to all people: this is the pith of the blessed message, -“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” “His name shall -be called Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins.” -But whilst I admire and honour the Puritans for their attachment to -evangelic truth, I cannot conceal my conviction that they too, in their -turn, are chargeable with one-sidedness. They had their favourite -verses, and, in some instances, dwelt upon them to the neglect of -others, and without fully considering the general current of Scripture -instructions--which current is really still more important and decisive -than particular sentences, which are apt to be looked at apart from -their connection. Some of the Puritan Divines did not sufficiently -consider those passages which recognize in the Atonement an element -of moral power over the human soul; or those passages which present -justification and sanctification, in their inseparable relation, as -two sides of one and the same redemption; or those passages which -teach the power of the human will, the free agency of man, and his -personal responsibility; or those passages which unfold the sweet and -beautiful fatherhood of Almighty God. The reaction produced by the -errors of Popery in identifying sanctification with justification, in -overlooking the free grace of the Gospel, and in fostering notions of -human merit, drove the Puritans into extreme antagonistic positions, -where the forensic idea of righteousness too often overshadowed the -moral idea, and an inevitable and resistless fatalism took the place of -Divine parental government at once merciful and righteous. Some of the -Puritans, indeed, lie less open to such exceptions than did others, as -will appear in the subsequent analysis of their works. - -The Latitudinarians also had their favourite portions of hallowed -Writ, raising the moral teaching of the New Testament, and what they -considered the large and liberal views of humanity given in the Bible, -above the doctrinal sentences which so much occupied the attention of -Anglicans on the one hand, and above those which equally occupied the -attention of Puritans on the other. To Latitudinarians, Christianity -seemed more an ethical than a doctrinal system; and in their writings -evangelic truth shines with a very subdued and chilly kind of -illumination. - -The Quakers, too, had their favourite verses, and were continually -insisting upon those which, as they thought, supported the idea of an -inward light. - -What has now been imperfectly advanced in relation to predominant lines -of thinking in the seventeenth century is to be accepted only in a -general sense. One writer differed so much from another, that, whilst -resemblances exist, mere general statements respecting them are likely -to mislead, unless they are checked and modified by a careful review of -individual opinions. - -Such a review is now to be attempted, with a full conviction of its -very great difficulties. - -[Sidenote: THEOLOGY.] - -Taking the period between the opening of the Long Parliament and the -Revolution (1640–1688), I might divide it into two epochs--the one -extending as far as the end of the Commonwealth, the other beginning -at that crisis. Modes of thought of the kind just pointed out can -be traced along the whole course, abreast of each other. The two -antagonistic systems are Anglicanism and Puritanism; and from 1640 -to 1660, Puritanism is seen in the ascendant, as a reaction against -Anglicanism; and from 1660 to 1688, Anglicanism is in the ascendant, -as a reaction against Puritanism. No doubt some slight differences -obtained between the Anglicanism of the first twenty years and the -Anglicanism of the last twenty-eight, and the same may be said of the -Puritanism of the first and second of those generations; but there -is no necessity for breaking the history into two parts, since the -general identity of each system is preserved throughout the whole -period, and all the leading representatives lived and studied, and -most of them acted and wrote, both before and after the Restoration; -besides, to separate their later from their earlier works would destroy -the unity of this narrative, and create confusion in the reader’s -mind. The Latitudinarians appeared at Cambridge before the death of -Oliver Cromwell, and at that period began to produce some effect upon -theological speculation and religious life; but it was not until -afterwards that their characteristic tendencies became fully apparent. -Quaker Mysticism took its rise in the midst of the Commonwealth era, -and continued its course, with increasing power, up to the hour of -the Revolution. Therefore to cut in two the theological history of -this half century would be inconvenient; and although the plan which -I adopt is open to objection, I shall select examples of the teaching -throughout that period, without adopting any chronological subdivision. -I shall begin with the Anglicans, then notice the Latitudinarians, -then touch upon the Quaker Mystics, and end with the Puritans. My -endeavour will be to state them as fairly as I can; not to indulge in -vague generalization, but to give their own words and turns of thought -whenever it is possible; and, by references as well as citations, -to supply the means of rectifying any mistakes into which I may -unfortunately happen to fall. In stating arguments on different sides, -I shall endeavour to guard against colouring reports of opinion with my -own predilections or prejudices. At the same time, I shall not refrain -from occasionally indicating, in a few words, my own belief; for no man -who has deep convictions touching these subjects, however he may strive -to write with impartiality about various parties, will dare to write -with indifference upon what he conceives to be vital truths. Moreover, -it appears to me very important to notice certain circumstances in -the lives of these authors; for it is quite clear to my mind, that we -cannot accurately understand the history of theology, or duly estimate -theological opinions, apart from the biography of the theologians -themselves. - -Herbert Thorndike first claims attention. He possessed a mind which -was singularly acute and comprehensive. He had trained himself to the -practice of subtle reasoning, yet he generally gives, in his writings, -indications of no small measure of what Englishmen call common sense; -and, on every page, he exhibits those rich and varied treasures of -theological learning which a quiet life of study alone can enable any -one to accumulate. It cannot be denied that the formal method employed -in his arguments is often quite unimpeachable; yet, whilst logical in -reasoning, he is illogical in arrangement; and his discursive habits -of thought often tempt him into zigzag courses, and lead him to double -his path, and retrace his steps, and come back to some point which the -reader concludes the author had finished. And to this serious defect -he adds another: his crabbed and crooked style presents the most -infelicitous collocation of words, perhaps, to be found in English -literature, many of his sentences needing to be translated into some -plainer form before they can be understood. What a contrast, in point -of style, does the student find, when, leaving the majestic diction of -Hooker, or the flowing rhythm of Jackson, he turns to the perusal of -Thorndike’s paragraphs! Yet, in spite of drawbacks, Thorndike deserves -to be carefully studied. No other theologian of his age, or, indeed, of -any other, has wrought out the Anglican theory with such elaboration -and completeness. The disciples of that system find in his books an -arsenal of defence; and its opponents should examine carefully his -positions, if they would overthrow the citadel in which Divines of his -order are wont to entrench themselves. But he ought not to be studied -simply for controversial purposes: any large-minded student, with -sympathy for God’s truth wherever found, may derive great advantage -from many parts of this good man’s writings. - -[Sidenote: ANGLICANS.--THORNDIKE.] - -In common with some other Divines of that day, he passed through a -change of opinion, and that at an early period of life. He went to -Cambridge with no strong theological bias of any kind, and entered -Trinity College at a time when that College was accused neither of -Puritan nor of Romanizing tendencies. But he thought less unfavourably -of Calvinism at the commencement of his studies than he did during his -subsequent career. At first he did not, without some qualification, -condemn the doctrine of final perseverance; also he then opposed other -parts of the system upon grounds which he afterwards abandoned, as not -sufficiently distinct and fundamental. He was also far less severe when -controverting the arguments of Nonconformists in the former than in the -latter period of his life.[375] Patristic studies, to a large extent, -most likely produced the change which he experienced; and his ejectment -from his Fellowship at Trinity by the Presbyterians would naturally -serve to increase his growing distaste for their distinguishing tenets. - -The book in which he unfolds his scheme of divinity was written before -the Restoration, and bears the title of _An Epilogue to the Tragedy -of the Church of England_ (1659): a title which provoked the -criticisms of his friends, especially afterwards, when the book proved -to be a prologue to that Church’s revival. The work contains _The -Principles of Christian Truth_; _The Covenant of Grace_; and -_The Laws of the Church_. - -In laying down the principles of Christian truth, Thorndike, as an -Anglican, somewhat startles his reader by his first position, that -reason is to decide controversies of faith[376]--a form of words which, -taken alone, certainly conveys an idea very different from what the -writer intends. Any rationalistic interpretation is prevented by what -follows. He proceeds, indeed, to explain that neither the private -teaching of the Spirit of God to the individual soul on the one -hand, nor the authority of the Church in relation to men in general -on the other, can be the ground of believing. But, on that account, -he does not enthrone human reason. He adds, that there is obscurity -in Scripture, all truth being in it _not explicitly_ but only -_implicitly_; and he argues that whilst the Bible is sufficient in -one sense, it is not so in another, and that it therefore needs such -interpretation as is supplied by the traditions of the Church.[377] -The use of reason (or reasoning) in matters of faith is resolved by -him into this--that by it “all undertake to persuade all,” and its -only scope is in the examination of evidence. Yet what are commonly -called the evidences of Christianity are very much overlooked in -Thorndike’s writings. There are numerous incidental allusions to the -opinions of Herbert and Hobbes. Sometimes these writers are grappled -with; but reliance on reasoning is abandoned when, by this Divine, -outlawry is maintained to be “the penalty of the Leviathan, and all -that have or may follow him either into apostasy or atheism.”[378] -Thorndike, indeed, touches on both the external and internal proofs of -revealed religion, but he nowhere, that I can find, thoroughly and at -length discusses the matter. I may here observe, in passing, that he -speaks with approval of the way in which the Jewish Doctors resolve -inspiration into different degrees.[379] But the interpretation of -Christianity is, in his view, the office of the Church. The Church, -he maintains, is a permanent teacher, its permanence depending upon -Apostolical succession, and its tuition finding expression in the -decisions of Councils and in the writings of Fathers; the authority of -the latter being explained as not arising out of personal qualities of -learning and holiness, but out of ecclesiastical position. Tradition -limits the interpretation of Holy Writ; but this principle “pretends -not any general rule for the interpretation of Scripture, even in those -things which concern the rule of faith, but infers a prescription -against anything that can be alleged out of Scripture, that, if it -may appear contrary to that which the whole Church hath received -and held from the beginning, it cannot be the true meaning of that -Scripture which is alleged to prove it.” At the same time Thorndike -says, that the power of the Church limits the tradition of Apostles -only in matters of ceremony and order, such as are indifferent in -themselves; changes in circumstances, and in the usages of society, -rendering changes of that nature necessary and unavoidable: a -conclusion equivalent to the well-known one that the Church hath -power, within certain bounds, to decree rites and ceremonies. Heresy, -Thorndike defines as consisting in the denial of something necessary -to salvation; and schism to consist in a departure from the unity -of the Church, whether from heresy, or from any other cause. Upon -these principles--which he defends at great length, not without -many discursions, and sometimes in a manner which it is difficult to -follow--Thorndike declares the Church of England to have laid her deep -foundations; and her main position is by him asserted to be, that, -repudiating all pretensions to infallibility, she owns tradition to be -her guide, and requires that “no interpretation of the Scriptures be -alleged contrary to the consent of the Fathers.”[380] - -[Sidenote: ANGLICANS.--THORNDIKE.] - -The covenant of grace is examined by this Divine at great length; and, -if I may be allowed the attempt, I would give an outline of his method -somewhat as follows:-- - -I. The _condition_ of that covenant is the contract of baptism, -and that contract is identical with justifying faith. Such faith is not -simply credence, or trust, or persuasion--it is not merely the belief -of a Divine testimony, or a reliance upon a Divine person--nor is it a -conviction that one is already justified and predestinated to life; but -is an acceptation of Christianity, “embracing and professing it” as a -whole. Faith, as enjoined by St. Paul and St. James, and as exemplified -in the lives of the Hebrew patriarchs, is essentially practical; and -when the former Apostle puts faith in opposition to works, he means -the works of Jewish law, and not the works of Gospel precept. Faith -is rooted “in the affection of the will, not in the perfection of the -understanding.” Yet good works are entirely the production of Divine -grace.[381] Though the Fathers are free to acknowledge, with St. -Paul, the doctrine of justification by faith alone, they are, on the -other side, so copious in attributing the promises of the Gospel to -Christian obedience, that it may be truly said, there is not one of -them from whom sufficient authority may not be drawn in favour of it: a -concurrence which amounts to a tradition of the whole Church upon this -important point. - -[Sidenote: ANGLICANS.--THORNDIKE.] - -II. The _necessity_ of the covenant of grace arises out of -original sin, which is confessed by David and St. Paul, which consists -in concupiscence, and which cleaves to every man by his first birth, -the birth of a carnal nature.[382] - -III. The _Mediator_ of the covenant is the Divine Christ, the -Angel of the Lord, whose apparitions of old “were prefaces to the -Incarnation”--the Word, who was in the beginning, by whom all things -were created, and who was made flesh. He is “the great God,” with St. -Paul; the “true God,” with St. John; the “only Lord God,” with St. -Jude. Scripture abounds in proofs of His Godhead. To the full meaning -of these titles, as expressed by other texts in equivalent terms, the -early Church’s belief in Christ’s Divinity, and the writings of the -ante-Nicene Fathers, Ignatius, Justin, Irenæus, Clement, and Origen, -bear concurrent witness. The fact of a Trinity in the Godhead is -fully and clearly stated in Scripture. The admission of the mystery -is reconcilable with reason; but no one can explain the secrets of -the Divine nature, and it is only rational that, on such a subject, -we should submit to the teaching of revelation. “All dispute about -essence, and persons, and natures, and all the terms whereby either the -Scriptures express themselves in this point, or the Church excludes -the importunities of heresies from the true sense of the Christian -faith, improves no man’s understanding an inch in this mystery. The -service it does, is to teach men the language of the Church, by -distinguishing that sense of several sayings which is, and that which -is not, consistent with the faith. And if any man hereupon proceed, by -discourse upon the nature of the subject, to infer what is and what is -not such, his understanding is unsufferable.”[383] - -IV. The _method_ of the covenant is gracious. All its provisions -depend entirely upon the grace of Christ. But salvation is not through -any Divine predestination of the will of man. God determines not -what the moral acts of His creatures shall be in themselves, but -only the practical results of them. The soul is free from necessity, -though not from bondage; and the doctrine of the predetermination -of the human will is not the root but the rooting up of freedom and -of Christianity. Nothing formally determines the will of man, but -his own act. Predestination to the enjoyment of grace is absolute, -but predestination to the enjoyment of glory is conditional, and has -respect to character. The end _to_ which God predestinates is -not the end _for_ which He predestinates. Grace is the reward of -the right use of grace. Upon this entire subject, the tradition of -the Church runs counter to Predestinarianism, to Arminianism, and to -Pelagianism.[384] - -[Sidenote: ANGLICANS.--THORNDIKE.] - -Thorndike says, in reference to Calvinism: “It seems that God’s -predestination must of force appoint salvation to them that are to be -saved, in the first place; from thence proceeding to design the way and -order by which the person designed to it may be induced of his own free -choice to accept the means of it. This slight mistake,” he observes, -“seems to have been the occasion of many horrible imaginations, which -even Christian Divines have had, of God’s design from everlasting to -create the most part of men on purpose to glorify Himself by condemning -them to everlasting torments, though in consideration of the sins which -they shall have done.” “The mistake is,” he remarks, “that the end of -the creature by God’s appointment, is taken for God’s end, which though -it be His end because He appointeth it for His creature, yet it is not -any end that He seeks for Himself.” God, being of Himself sufficient -for Himself, can have no end upon human beings. He is personally -disinterested. Nothing accrues to Him, nothing is lost by Him; all -the gain or loss is by the creature; and, having given a moral law to -intelligent beings, He will abide by that law, and bestow happiness -upon them accordingly. - -Salvation is through the satisfaction of Christ, who, by His -propitiatory sacrifice perfected in death, paid the ransom of human -souls. He expiates our sin by bearing the punishment of it, and we are -reconciled to God by the Gospel in consideration of Christ’s obedience. -This is taught by the sacrifices according to the law, by the prophet -Isaiah, and in the New Testament. Socinus is altogether in error, -and the doctrine that Divine grace rests on a satisfaction made for -guilt is the doctrine of the Catholic Church. Yet neither according to -Scripture nor according to patristic teaching, are our sins imputable -to Christ, or His sufferings imputable to us: the latter are but the -meritorious causes of the Christian covenant, and the promises of the -Gospel depend upon His active as well as His passive obedience. Yet -though all this be true--though salvation is now actually conveyed only -through the work of Christ--yet God might have reconciled man to -Himself in some other way.[385] - -Salvation is not secured by a decree of perseverance, but the saying of -the schoolman is true--_Deus neminem deserit, nisi desertus_, God -leaves no man that leaves not Him first; and, though the assurance of -salvation is not included in the act of justifying faith, it follows as -the consequence of it.[386] - -Finally, with respect to the covenant of grace, salvation is -not through obedience to the original law of God--for that is -impossible--but through the fulfilment of evangelical precepts. The -fulfilment, if not perfect, may be acceptable, for there are venial as -well as mortal offences; and if, among men, friendship long exercised -suffers not a man who stands upon his credit to break with his friend -upon ordinary offences, we see the reason why God so often helps His -ancient people in respect of that covenant, which they, for their -parts, had made void and forfeited; and therefore how much more He -obligeth Himself to pass by these failures and weaknesses which -Christians endeavour to overcome, although they cannot fully do it.[387] - -Thorndike describes not so much salvation itself as the means of -salvation. He nowhere endorses the dogma of Trent which confounds -justification with sanctification; neither does he clearly distinguish -between these two blessings. In his writings much may be found upon -justifying faith, little upon justification as a distinct theological -idea; and what little may be discovered is by no means explicit.[388] - -[Sidenote: ANGLICANS.--THORNDIKE.] - -Such is a very condensed account of Thorndike’s scheme of salvation by -grace. Yet enough is seen to show the theological student how closely -this Anglican Divine in some points touches upon the creed of the -Romish Church, how now and then he even crosses the line; and the fact -is made still more clear by his distinctions between matters of precept -and matters of counsel,--by his notions of Christian perfection,--by -his stating that the backslider’s recovery of God’s grace is a work of -labour and time,--by his doctrine of the efficacy of penance,--and by -the position, that there is a sense in which the works of Christians -may be regarded as satisfying justice with regard to sin, and as -meriting heaven.[389] - -What Thorndike advances respecting the laws of the Church must be -reported with still more brevity. The Church is founded upon the duty -of communicating in Divine offices, particularly in the sacrament of -the Eucharist, wherein, with the elements, Christ Himself is present, -not simply through the living faith of the recipient, but because of -the true profession of Christianity in the Church; nevertheless, the -invisible faithfulness of the heart, in making good or in resolving -to make good the said profession, makes the receiving of it effectual -to the spiritual eating and drinking of Christ’s body and blood. -Which Eucharist also, according to the New Testament and the Fathers, -Thorndike maintains, may be accounted a sacrifice, first as to the -oblation of the bread and wine; secondly, as to the offering of prayer; -thirdly, as to the consecration of the elements, whereby they become -a propitiatory and impetratory offering; and fourthly, as to the -presenting to God of the bodies and souls of the receivers. He argues -for the baptism of infants, on the grounds, that there is no other -cure for original sin; that the children of Christians are holy, and -may be made disciples; and that the effect of circumcision under the -law inferreth the effect of baptism under the Gospel. This third book -also treats of penance, extreme unction, marriage, government, and, -in particular, of the Papal supremacy, and of the Presbyterian and -Independent schemes; of the days, places, forms, and subject matter of -Divine service; of the state of souls after death; of prayer to saints, -and image worship; of monachism, and the celibacy of the clergy; and, -lastly, of the relation of the ecclesiastical and civil powers. In some -cases this Divine draws a pretty broad distinction between what he -holds as Catholic views and the views which are held by the Church of -Rome; but in other cases the difference is so refined that it becomes -almost imperceptible. No doubt Thorndike may, on technical grounds, -be vindicated from the charge of Romanism proper; and it may be said -that, in his defence of prayers for the dead, he follows Ussher; and -that, in his doctrine respecting the Eucharist, he symbolizes with -Cosin and with Bramhall, with Hammond and Taylor and Ken.[390] Between -him and many clergymen of the Established Church in the present day -a strong resemblance exists; but certainly, in the judgment of other -theologians, whose opinions will be stated hereafter, and in the -judgment of such as may be deemed their successors, the tendency of -Thorndike’s teaching is decidedly towards Rome; and, whatever may -be the distinction drawn between the Catholicism taught by him, and -the Catholicism of the Council of Trent, that distinction, in some -particulars, although comprehended by metaphysical Divines, is scarcely -to be discerned by plain English understandings. - -[Sidenote: ANGLICANS.--BULL.] - -George Bull may be placed next to Herbert Thorndike. Bull was admitted -into Exeter College, Oxford, two years before the imposition of the -Engagement. That Act, in 1649, ejected him; in consequence of which he -became a student in the house of a Presbyterian Rector. The Puritan -influence in the rectory, however, became neutralized by the Rector’s -son, through whose friendship the young student came to study Hooker, -Hammond, Taylor, Grotius, and Episcopius. The father foresaw the -result, and, looking at it from his own point of view, would often say, -“My son will corrupt Mr. Bull.”[391] - -Bull has not, like Thorndike, bequeathed any treatise on systematic -Divinity in general, nor has he propounded views of the extreme kind, -which the former has done in his _Laws of the Church_; but between -Bull’s two great works and certain aspects of Thorndike’s teaching -there is a considerable resemblance. - -The first great work produced by him is his _Harmonia Apostolica_, -published in 1670, in which he propounds his views upon justification. -His general method is to examine the Scriptures in the light of -patristic teaching; and, adopting the same principles of interpretation -as Thorndike, he arrives at similar conclusions. He is quite as -learned as the contemporary of his earlier days, and he is far more -lucid and methodical in his mode of treatment; for he can be easily -followed, and he can be clearly understood. Also, he is much more -cautious in his statements, and he carefully strives to save himself -from misapprehension. He attributes salvation entirely to Christ’s -meritorious obedience, of which obedience Christ’s death was the -consummation and completion. Bull maintains that this obedience -satisfied Divine justice, that this alone is the efficacious cause -of eternal life; and he constantly insists that no man can, without -Divine grace, and the assistance of the Holy Spirit, as flowing from -the precious side of the Crucified One, perform the conditions of the -covenant. - -He further distinctly states, as the result of a careful examination -of Scripture, “that the word justification, in this subject, has -the meaning of a judicial term, and signifies the act of God as -a Judge, according to the merciful law of Christ, acquitting the -accused, pronouncing him righteous, and admitting him to the reward -of righteousness, that is, eternal life.”[392] But, though adopting -the _forensic_ view of justification, and thus moving in the -same line as Martin Luther, Bull differs from the German Reformer in -this very important respect--that, instead of taking law to mean law -apart from the Gospel, he explains it to mean law as incorporated in -the Gospel; for he says, “It must be ever observed, as an undeniable -truth, that Christ, in His sermon, not only explained the moral law, -but also laid it down as His own, and required its observance, assisted -by the grace of the Gospel, from all Christians, as a condition of His -covenant indispensably necessary.” It is this view of the law which -lies at the foundation of Bull’s theory of justification. Consistently -with it, he reduces his argument to this syllogistic form--“Whoever -is acquitted by the law of Christ must necessarily fulfil that law; -but by faith alone, without works, no one fulfils the law of Christ; -therefore by faith alone, without works, no one is acquitted by the law -of Christ.”[393] - -[Sidenote: ANGLICANS.--BULL.] - -Having arrived at such a conclusion from the study of the Epistle -of St. James, then comes the _pinch_: how is such a conclusion -to be reconciled with the teaching of St. Paul? The learned author, -after hastily disposing of other methods of reconciliation, prepares -for defending his own, by laying down the principle that St. Paul’s -teaching is to be explained by St. James’ and not St. James’ by -St. Paul’s; our critic believing, with Augustine, that St. James -wrote after St. Paul--an assumption contradicted by modern Biblical -criticism. Bull, then, asserts, that faith, to which justification -“is attributed by St. Paul, is not to be understood as one single -virtue, but denotes the whole condition of the Gospel covenant--that -is, comprehends in one word all the works of Christian piety.” -“Assuredly,” he adds, “it is clearer than light itself, that the -faith to which St. Paul attributes justification is only that which -worketh by love, which is the same as a new creature, which, in short, -contains in itself the observance of the commandments of God.” In -order to get over the great objection arising from the plain words -of St. Paul, that “a man is justified by faith, _without the deeds -of the law_,” this controversialist attempts to show, that the -works which St. Paul excludes from justification are not all kinds of -works, but works of a certain description only,--namely, works of the -Mosaic law, and works of the natural law, works done in obedience to -the Jewish ritual, and works done by the force of nature. Bull then -proceeds to dwell at considerable length upon the Apostle’s argument -from the universality of sin, and the weakness of the law; and, as the -result, he presents two deductions--first, that the Apostle entirely -excludes from justification only those works which are performed by the -aid of the Mosaic, and of the natural law, without the grace of the -Gospel; secondly, that the Apostle’s argument, so far from taking away -from justification the necessity of good works, proves that the true -righteousness of works is absolutely necessary to justification, and -that the Gospel is the only efficacious method by which any man can be -brought to practise such righteousness.[394] - -The coincidence of Bull’s teaching with Thorndike’s, as to the grounds -of faith, appears in the following passage:-- - -“God knows the secrets of my heart; so far am I from the itch of -originality in theological doctrines, ... that whatever are sanctioned -by the consent of Catholic Fathers and ancient Bishops, though my own -small ability attain not to them, yet I will embrace them with all -reverence. In truth I had already learned, by no few experiments, in -writing my _Harmony_, while yet a young man, what now in my mature -age I am most thoroughly persuaded of, that no one can contradict -Catholic consent, however he may seem to be countenanced for a while by -some passages of Scripture wrongly understood, and by the illusions of -unreal arguments, without being found in the end to have contradicted -both Scripture and sound reason. I daily deplore and sigh over the -unbridled license of prophesying which obtained for some years in this -our England, ... under the tyranny of what some considered a wretched -necessity. In a word, my hearty desire is this, Let the ancient customs -and doctrines remain in force.”[395] - -[Sidenote: ANGLICANS.--BULL.] - -The publication of the _Harmonia Apostolica_ occasioned much -controversy. Answers appeared, written by Charles Gataker, son of -Thomas Gataker, one of the Westminster Divines; by Joseph Truman,--who, -though refusing to conform as a clergyman to the Established Church, -remained in it as a lay communicant; by Dr. Thomas Tully, Principal -of St. Edmund’s Hall, Oxford, a man of high reputation for learning -and ability; and by John Tombes, the Anti-pædobaptist,--who, like -Truman, declined ministerial conformity, but at least occasionally -practised communion. Truman differed from Bull less than did the other -combatants. Not to be wearisome, I would merely state, that his part -in the dispute mainly turned upon the question, What is grace? Bull, -in Truman’s estimation, regarding it as a bestowment of spiritual -power, to be improved or misimproved, according to the will of the -recipient; Truman, who in this respect anticipated the opinions of -modern Calvinists, representing grace as a Divine influence securing -the obedience of the will to the Gospel of Christ. He highly commended -that sober sentiment of the great Bishop Sanderson, who, confessing -his own disability to reconcile the consistency of grace and free-will -in conversion, and being sensible that they must both be maintained, -tells us, he ever held it “the more pious and safe way, to place -the grace of God in the throne, where we think it should stand, and -so to leave the will of man to shift for the maintenance of its own -freedom, as well as it can, than to establish the power and liberty -of free-will at its height, and then to be at a loss how to maintain -the power and efficacy of God’s grace.”[396] Gataker, Tully, and Tombes -were, what might be termed, High Calvinists. The first maintained, in -opposition to the Author of the _Harmonia_, as it appears from his -reply,--that remission of sins is entirely extraneous to justification, -that there are conditions in the Gospel covenant which are not -conditions of Gospel justification, that repentance is a condition of -the Gospel joined by Christ with faith, but it is not a condition of -justification, and that we are justified by the imputed righteousness -of Christ.[397] Tully treated Bull as an innovator; and after alluding -to Socinians and Papists, insinuated that he belonged to those, “who -perfidiously serving the interests of one or other of these parties, -shamelessly take to themselves the title of sons of the Church of -England.”[398] Tully contended for justification by faith alone; and, -injudiciously adding to the Scriptural argument the authority of the -Fathers, which he maintained to be in his favour, laid himself open to -the attacks of his opponent, who criticised his citations, and turned -against him testimonies from Irenæus, Origen, Cyprian, Hilary, Basil, -and Ambrose. The judgment of the Church of England, and of the Reformed -Churches on the Continent, also came under debate in this department -of the controversy; Bull and his antagonists each claiming patristic -witnesses on his own side. Also the doctrine of the saint’s final -perseverance, and the limitation of the efficacy of the atonement to -the elect, were points asserted by Tully and denied by Bull. Tombes’ -book seems to have been of a more discursive kind than the rest; and -to have aimed at answering not only the _Harmonia_, but also -_Aphorisms_, written by Richard Baxter, whose name we find much -mixed up in this controversy;--and by an alliteration very agreeable -to the taste of that day, associated with the names of Bull and -Bellarmine. Bull’s name is provocative of puns; and we find the author, -in his preface to the _Examen Censuræ_, commenting on Tombes in -the following manner, which shows the kind of attack to which Tombes -had descended:--“He,” says our author, “need not fear the horns and -stamping of the Bull (such is his wit, which foreigners will scarcely -understand, Englishmen will smile at) since the Bull has long since -learnt to despise all such barking animals.”[399] In an age when the -amenities of literature were unknown, when Milton and Salmasius were -abusing one another with a virulence which astonishes a modern reader, -we cannot wonder at finding very bad passions manifested in the field -of theological controversy. Bull, doubtless, was a learned and pious -man, but his polemical writings show that he was deeply imbued with -the violent polemical spirit of the times; yet, violent as may be the -spirit of controversy in the modern Church, where can we find anything -so fierce, so truly savage, as Tertullian’s attack on Marcion, at the -opening of the first Book? - -[Sidenote: ANGLICANS.--BULL.] - -The _Defensio Fidei Nicenæ_ (1685) was written not to establish, -by proofs from Scripture, the doctrine of Christ’s Divinity, but to -show that the opinions of the ante-Nicene Fathers upon the subject, -were in harmony with those expressed in the Creed of the first -Œcumenical Council. This purpose Bull formed, in consequence of an -attack upon those Fathers, by the learned Jesuit Petavius, and the use -made of that attack, for ends opposed to his, by Arians and Socinians. -The most perfect success on the part of the Anglican advocate would -not, in the estimation of Divines of the Puritan school, be conclusive -evidence of our Lord’s Deity, nor would his failure shake their faith; -but the importance which he attached to the question, appears from the -immense labour which he devoted to it. To him, as an Anglo-Catholic, -the inquiry into what the early Church believed and taught appeared -one of vital interest; and into his chosen task he threw the treasures -of a vast erudition, and, if not powers of the highest order, -certainly a decisive will and an extraordinarily active and patient -inquisitiveness. Parts of his argument, it must be confessed, seem -unsatisfactory. For he deals with his patristic authorities, as we -do with the Holy Scriptures. Whilst we reasonably assume that the -latter are always consistent, and therefore endeavour to harmonize -_apparent_ discrepancies, he assumes the same with regard to the -writings of the Fathers. Hence he attempts to reconcile contradictory -passages in the same author, and also contradictory passages in -different authors. Moreover, upon a presumption of the perfect unity -of patristic opinions, and of a thoroughly logical apprehension of -subjects on the part of the Fathers, he sometimes educes proofs not -from what they plainly say in so many words, but from what their -language may be made to imply, when analyzed and manipulated with the -utmost sagacity and skill. Loyal men standing at the bar have been -unjustly arraigned for constructive treason. In controversy men of the -soundest opinion have been unrighteously charged with constructive -heresy. On the other hand, Bull’s method of criticism serves sometimes -to vindicate opinions open to suspicion, and so to throw around -doubtful points the halo of a constructive orthodoxy.[400] - -[Sidenote: ANGLICANS.--HEYLYN.] - -There is a good deal of special pleading in Bull’s _Defence of the -Nicene Creed_. Nevertheless he has, in my opinion, clearly and -fully established his main point, that a belief in the Divinity of our -blessed Lord was common in the ante-Nicene Church. Bull’s views, as -they are expressed in these works, are coincident as far as they go -with those of Thorndike on the same subjects, but Bull leaves unvisited -many fields which Thorndike traversed from end to end. Before leaving -this eminent theologian it may be interesting to notice that he was -one of those who in this country, in the seventeenth century, revived -the ancient and scriptural distinction between soul and spirit; yet -he so united the Spirit of God with the spirit of man that his theory -amounts to a sort of _tetrachomy_. I may add--Hammond, in his -_Paraphrase_ (1 Thess. v. 23), and Jackson _On the Creed_, -also insisted upon a distinction between soul and spirit.[401] - -Another investigator, or rather champion, more comprehensive in his -way than Bull, even going beyond Thorndike in variety of discussion, -is Peter Heylyn, inferior to them both in all respects. Educated at -Oxford, partly under a Puritan tutor, he, within three years after -his ordination as a deacon, expressed such extreme ecclesiastical -opinions, that he was denounced by Prideaux, the Regius Professor of -Divinity, as _Bellarminian_ and _Pontifician_: these very -opinions, however, recommended him to the favour of Laud, at the time -Bishop of Bath and Wells. - -Heylyn, in his _Theologia Veterum_, gives what he calls “the sum -of Christian theology, positive, philological, and polemical, contained -in the Apostles’ Creed, or reducible to it.” Drawing his outline from -the Creed, which he pronounces to be written by the Apostles, and to -be all but canonical, he falls, though at a distance, into the wake -of Dean Jackson: the eloquence of that great Divine it was impossible -for Heylyn to reach; his candour and practical habit of mind, he had -no disposition to cherish. In his preface, Heylyn declares himself -an English Catholic,--keeping to the doctrines, rules, and forms of -government established in the Church of England; and beyond those -bounds, regulating “his liberty by the traditions of the Church, and -the universal consent of the ancient Fathers.” The authority of the -Church, in this writer’s opinion, includes the exposition of Scripture, -the determination of controversies and the ordering of ceremonies; and -he never misses an opportunity of upholding the rank and reputation of -the Fathers. Heretics greatly excite his wrath, yet he admits, that -neither all nor any who are merely schismatics, exclude themselves -from the Catholic pale; but, speaking of Presbyterians and Popery, -he remarks, the last is the lovelier error: better the Church be all -head, than no head at all.[402] The antiquity and importance of fasts -and festivals he strenuously maintains; the forgiveness of sin he -connects with baptism; and he advocates both confession to a priest, -and sacerdotal absolution. He is orthodox respecting the doctrines of -the Trinity and the Atonement. The article upon Christ’s descent into -hell, he discusses at length; and informs us, in his preface, that his -inquiries into this mysterious subject led him to an exposition of the -whole Creed. Pearson says cautiously that Christ’s soul “underwent the -condition of the souls of such as die, and being.[403] He died in the -similitude of a sinner, His soul went to the place where the souls of -men are kept who die for their sins, and so did wholly undergo the -law of death.” But Heylyn maintains that hell in the Creed means “the -place of torments;” and that the soul of Christ as really descended -there as His body entered the grave. The indication of these points -will suffice to show the stamp of Heylyn’s theology, and the place to -be assigned him among Anglican Divines. His talents were considerable, -his learning does him credit; but he is so full of prejudice and party -spirit that, whilst he has incurred odium from opponents, he can never -win admiration even from friends. - -[Sidenote: ANGLICANS.--TAYLOR.] - -Jeremy Taylor is better known and more renowned for the rhythm of -his rhetorical diction, the exuberance and felicity of his poetical -illustrations, and the inexhaustible stores of his varied knowledge, -than for Biblical scholarship, or for the depth, wisdom, and soundness -of his theological reasonings. Yet he was a learned, painstaking, and -diligent Divine, as well as a surprisingly eloquent and persuasive -preacher: and though he has left behind him no body of divinity, there -are some points distinctive of the Anglican school which he has -treated with especial fulness; and, whilst faithful to its theology -as a whole, there are portions of it which he has handled after a -manner of his own. The influence of his patristic studies may be traced -throughout his works; and the patronage of Archbishop Laud, and his -friendship with Christopher Davenport--a learned and able Franciscan -friar--were not likely to be altogether without effect upon so -sensitive a nature as that of young Jeremy Taylor. - -[Sidenote: ANGLICANS.--TAYLOR.] - -He has much to say upon baptismal regeneration. In baptism, according -to his teaching, we are admitted to the kingdom of Christ, we are -presented unto Him, we are consigned with His sacrament, and we enter -into His militia. It is also an adoption into the covenant, and a new -birth. In it, all our sins are pardoned. “The catechumen descends,” -he says,--following the words of Bede,--“into the font a sinner, he -arises purified; he goes down the son of death, he comes up the son of -the resurrection; he enters in, the son of folly and prevarication, he -returns the son of reconciliation; he stoops down the child of wrath, -and ascends the heir of mercy; he was the child of the devil, and -now he is the servant and the son of God.” Baptism not only pardons -past sins, but puts us into a state of pardon for time to come. It -is a sanctification by the spirit of grace. It is the suppletory of -original righteousness. Its effects are illumination, new life, and -a holy resurrection. In short, by baptism we are saved. After having -thus, in the most unqualified way, exhausted, one might suppose, all -which imagination could conceive of the efficacy of the rite, Taylor -says, there is less need to descend to temporal blessings, or rare -contingencies, or miraculous events, or probable notices of things -less certain; and then he speaks of miraculous cures effected by the -baptismal water, and of the appointment of an angel guardian to each -baptized person--which, indeed, he does not insist upon, although it -seems to him “hugely probable.” Resuming a poetical theology, he adds, -in patristic phraseology, that baptism is a new birth, “a chariot -carrying us to God, the great circumcision, a circumcision made without -hands, the key of the kingdom, the _paranymph_ of the kingdom, -the earnest of our inheritance, the answer of a good conscience, the -robe of light, the sacrament of a new life, and of eternal salvation, -Ἄριστον μὲν ὕδωρ.”[404] Perhaps no one ever hung so many wreaths of -flowers around the font as Taylor did; and if we were to take the -highly coloured words which he uses by themselves, we should say, that -his teaching on the subject was calculated to lull his disciples, if -they had been only baptized, into a state of most deceptive and fearful -self-security. But then, we know that other parts of his writings are -of the most pungent and heart-searching description, destructive of -all self-delusion, and, in some respects, ministering to a spirit of -bondage, rather than to a spirit of presumptuous hope. The truth is, -that much of the air of the old economy is breathed over Taylor’s -views of the new dispensation. At times it blows with a chilling -gust. We lack, in the garden of his rhetoric, the genial warmth of an -evangelical summer; and in his language respecting sacraments, he shows -a fondness for what St. Paul calls, “beggarly elements.” It should be -noticed, in connection with his doctrine of baptism, that, though, in -his _Liberty of Prophesying_, he deals gently with Anabaptists, -no one could hold more strongly than did he the doctrine of infant -baptism. - -The doctrine of the Lord’s Supper is expressed in less figurative -terms, but with the same excess of description, and, as his admiring -biographer admits, with some incautiousness in the use of terms. He -says:--“The doctrine of the Church of England, and generally of the -Protestants, in this article, is,--that after the minister of the holy -mysteries hath rightly prayed, and blessed or consecrated the bread -and the wine, the symbols become changed into the body and blood of -Christ, after a sacramental, that is, in a spiritual real manner: -so that all that worthily communicate, do by faith receive Christ -really, effectually, to all the purposes of His passion: the wicked -receive not Christ, but the bare symbols only; but yet to their hurt, -because the offer of Christ is rejected, and they pollute the blood -of the covenant, by using it as an unholy thing. The result of which -doctrine is this: It is bread, and it is Christ’s body. It is bread -in substance, Christ in the sacrament; and Christ is as really given -to all that are truly disposed, as the symbols are; each as they can; -Christ as Christ can be given; the bread and wine as they can; and to -the same real purposes, to which they are designed; and Christ does as -really nourish and sanctify the soul, as the elements do the body. It -is here, as in the other sacraments: for as the natural water becomes -the laver of regeneration; so here, bread and wine become the body -and blood of Christ; but, there and here too, the first substance is -changed by grace, but remains the same in nature.”[405] - -[Sidenote: ANGLICANS.--TAYLOR.] - -Taylor is one of the last men to whom we are to look for cautious -and qualified statements. He had a mind of that order which “moveth -altogether if it move at all.” He could say nothing by halves;--and, -no doubt, his glowing periods require qualification. But, when -all possible allowance has been made, the passage just quoted -conveys something which is very much like the Lutheran doctrine of -consubstantiation. Yet, strange to say, the same author, who holds that -there is a real change in the Lord’s Supper, interprets our Lord’s -words, “This is my body”--to mean no more than this: “it figuratively -represents my body:” and he denies that the passage in the sixth -chapter of John, often urged in support of the doctrine of the real -presence, has anything to do with the Lord’s Supper.[406] - -In his notion of original sin, he deviates from Anglican as well -as Puritan standards. The superiority of Adam before the fall, in -Taylor’s opinion, consisted in certain superadded qualifications which -he forfeited by the first sin--and he thought that men now come into -the world, not with any evil taint or tendency, not with anything -of corruption or degeneracy, but simply without those superadded -qualifications. He says of human sinfulness, that “a great part is a -natural impotency, and the other is brought in by our own folly.” He -imputes it, in great part, to the “many _concurrent_ causes of -evil which have influence upon communities of men; such as are evil -examples, the similitude of Adam’s transgression, vices of princes, -wars, impurity, ignorance, error, false principles, flattery, interest, -fear, partiality, authority, evil laws, heresy, schism, spite and -ambition, natural inclination, and other principiant causes, which -proceeding from the natural weakness of human constitution, are the -fountain and proper causes of many consequent evils.”[407] His -doctrine has in it altogether a strong taint of Pelagianism; and what -he says of “concurrent causes,” is pronounced by Bishop Heber--a mild -critic and a moderate Divine--to be “neither good logic nor good -divinity.” - -No one can be more definite and precise than Jeremy Taylor in his -doctrine of the sacraments, but he shows elsewhere a remarkable leaning -to what is general and vague. What he means exactly by original -sin--how he distinguished it from actual sin, and what effect he -believed the sin of Adam to have upon his posterity, it is difficult -to say; and the same and even greater indefiniteness is manifest in -his views of the doctrine of justification. Indeed, here he avowedly -eschews all precision of language. He differs from Thorndike and Bull, -not only in not defining justification as they do, but in not defining -it at all, and he speaks almost pettishly on the subject. - -[Sidenote: ANGLICANS.--TAYLOR.] - -“That no man should fool himself by disputing about the philosophy of -justification, and what causality faith hath in it, and whether it be -the act of faith that justifies, or the habit? Whether faith as a good -work, or faith as an instrument? Whether faith as it is obedience, or -faith as it is an access to Christ? Whether as a hand or as a heart? -Whether by its own innate virtue, or by the efficacy of the object? -Whether as a sign, or as a thing signified? Whether by introduction, -or by perfection? Whether in the first beginnings, or in its last and -best productions? Whether by inherent worthiness, or adventitious -imputations? _Uberiùs ista quæso_ (that I may use the words of -Cicero): _hæc enim spinosiora, prius, ut confitear me cogunt, quam ut -assentiar_: these things are knotty, and too intricate to do any -good; they may amuse us, but never instruct us; and they have already -made men careless and confident, disputative and troublesome, proud and -uncharitable, but neither wiser nor better. Let us, therefore, leave -these weak ways of troubling ourselves or others, and directly look to -the theology of it, the direct duty, the end of faith, and the work of -faith, the conditions and the instruments of our salvation, the just -foundation of our hopes, how our faith can destroy our sin, and how it -can unite us unto God, how by it we can be made partakers of Christ’s -death, and imitators of His life. For since it is evident, by the -premises, that this article is not to be determined or relied upon by -arguing from words of many significations, we must walk by a clearer -light; by such plain sayings and dogmatical propositions of Scripture, -which evidently teach us our duty, and place our hopes upon that -which cannot deceive us, that is, which require obedience, which call -upon us to glorify God, and to do good to men, and to keep all God’s -commandments with diligence and sincerity.”[408] - -This kind of teaching cuts away the ground entirely from under -scientific theology, treating it as a work of supererogation, or -as an utter impossibility, and at the same time reducing religion -to the observance of certain commands. Yet this passionate protest -against dogma has hardly escaped the writer’s pen, when he proceeds -to construct that against which he protests, and lays down logically, -“two propositions, a negative and an affirmative.” The negative is: By -faith only a man is not justified; the affirmative, By works also a man -is justified. He says “that obedience is the same thing with faith, -and that all Christian graces are parts of its bulk and constitution, -is also the doctrine of the Holy Ghost, and the grammar of Scripture, -making faith and obedience to be terms coincident, and expressive of -each other.”[409] - -Having expressed this theological idea in a double form, he immediately -abandons the theological element; and proceeds to declaim, with his -accustomed vigour and variety, upon the common truth, which all -Divines, Calvinist and Arminian, maintain--that no man enjoys the -blessing of justification, apart from a life of Christian obedience. -After a careful perusal of the whole discourse, the reader feels that -the theological question of justification by faith, or by works, or by -both, has really not been touched by the author, although much that -is of practical value has been said on the necessity of holiness. -The essential defect of the treatment is an omission to explain what -justification means; hence the loose and ambiguous employment of the -term throughout, and its application most frequently to the idea of -salvation as a whole. In one place, after having repeatedly used -the two words, as bearing different significations, Taylor says: -“So that now we see that justification and sanctification cannot be -distinguished, but as words of art, signifying the various steps of -progression in the same course: they may be distinguished in notion and -speculation, but never when they are to pass on to material events, for -no man is justified but he that is also sanctified.”[410] It is very -noticeable, by a critical reader who will take the trouble to analyze -Taylor’s sentences, how much he is in the habit of playing fast and -loose with the meaning of words. - -[Sidenote: ANGLICANS.--TAYLOR.] - -The same habit of thought--avoiding and even protesting against -definite statements of certain doctrines--appears in the _Liberty of -Prophesying_ and in the _Nature of Faith_. The duty of faith, -he remarks, is complete in believing the Articles of the Apostles’ -Creed,--“All other things are implicitly in the belief of the Articles -of God’s veracity, and are not necessary in respect of the constitution -of faith to be drawn out, but may there lie in the bowels of the great -Articles, without danger to any thing or any person, unless some other -accident or circumstance makes them necessary.”[411] “This is the great -and entire complexion of a Christian’s faith, and since salvation is -promised to the belief of this creed [I believe that Jesus Christ -is the Son of God] either a snare is laid for us with a purpose to -deceive us--or else nothing is of prime and original necessity to be -believed but this Jesus Christ our Redeemer.”[412] Bearing in mind the -distinction between religion and theology;--and it is to the former -that Taylor seems to refer in his treatise on Faith,--the doctrine, -in substance, may be accepted as sound. But turning to the _Liberty -of Prophesying_ where also the standard raised is the Apostles’ -Creed, the question, as his biographer remarks, “becomes much more -difficult, if, as Taylor seems to have meant, and as is implied in -the very title of his discourse, we extend this same principle to -the admission of persons into the public ministry.”[413] In other -words, to treat Theology, which ought to be thoroughly understood by -Christian teachers, as if it were entirely comprehended within the -first simple primitive creed,--as if that creed, regarded as seminally -containing all Christian doctrine, and as actually drawn out by the -study of Scripture, and devout reflection into theological particulars, -were a sufficient standard of orthodoxy for those who are teachers -of others,--betrays a manner of thinking in which scarcely a second -Anglican teacher could be found to agree. There and elsewhere the -Bishop would seem to have found his way within Latitudinarian lines. - -Taylor is a strenuous advocate for an Episcopal Church--yet even here -he breaks bounds, and has exposed himself to the correction, if not -the censure, of Episcopalian critics. Departing from Hooker’s method -in his _Ecclesiastical Polity_, he endorses the Puritan idea, -that a precise form of government is laid down in Scripture; and -then he proceeds to say, that “the government of the Church is in -_immediate_ order to the good and benison of souls.” The first of -these peculiar opinions, his biographer pronounces unwise, the second -untrue, and both as going too far,--the one as proving too much, the -other as an exaggerated conception of what is not to be ranked amongst -things of the first importance,--for the sincere word and the means of -grace are alone _immediately_ necessary to salvation.[414] Mere -government, according to Hooker, rests amongst the non-essentials of -Christianity; and any change therein is to change the way of safety, -no otherwise than as “a path is changed by altering only the uppermost -face thereof, which, be it laid with gravel, or set with grass, or -paved with stone, remaineth still the same path.”[415] A further -example of running to an extreme of strictness in reference to Church -polity, after so much latitude, and even looseness in relation to -Christian doctrine, is found in Taylor’s assumption of facts touching -Episcopal orders. It is an assumption, says Heber, “in which he is -neither borne out by antiquity, nor the tenor of the Gospel history, -when he finds in the Apostles, during the abode of their Lord on earth, -the first Bishops, and in the seventy-two disciples, whom Christ also -selected from His followers, the first presbyters of His Church.”[416] - -[Sidenote: ANGLICANS.--COSIN.] - -Amongst Anglican theologians Cosin requires particular attention. -The history of his opinions is somewhat peculiar. In early life, his -sermons, and especially his devotional writings, betray a strong -leaning towards Roman Catholicism. In later life it is otherwise. -His second series of _Notes on the Prayer Book_, indicates a -controversial tone opposing the Anglican to the Roman view, which -does not appear in the first series. After his son became a Papist, -the father assumed a more decided attitude towards the Papal Church; -but it does not so much appear that Cosin’s own views of doctrine -altered, as that, during the earlier part of his life, he dwelt on -points of agreement, and during the latter, on points of difference, -between himself and Rome.[417] Every one, however, must see that such -a change was a very great one, and involved much more than at first -sight is visible. Cosin’s two principal contributions to theological -literature are his _Scholastic History of the Canon of the Holy -Scriptures_ and his _History of Transubstantiation_. The -former, which is a work of very great learning and ability is directed -entirely against the decisions of the Council of Trent, as to the -canonicity of Apocryphal Books; and the author patiently goes over -the whole field of Church literature, from the Apostolic age to the -Reformation, showing that the books in question were never accepted by -the Church, as inspired authorities. The stores of learning displayed -in this history are of great value to the general student; and in any -revival of this old controversy with Romanist theologians, Cosin’s work -will be of eminent service on the Protestant side. The _History of -the Canon_ appeared in 1657, during Cosin’s exile. The _History -of Transubstantiation_ was, about the same time, written in Latin, -although not published until 1675. A year afterwards, an English -translation came out, executed by Luke de Beaulieu. The origin of the -book is a key to its character. When Charles II., in his wanderings, -reached Cologne, and there “visited a neighbouring potent prince of -the Empire of the Roman persuasion,” he met with certain Jesuits, who -accused the English Church of heretical opinions touching the sacrament -of the Lord’s Supper. That Church, said they, “holds no real, but -only a kind of imaginary presence of the body and blood of Christ;” -whereas Rome holds the sacred mystery of all ages,--to wit, that the -whole substance of the bread and wine is changed into the substance of -Christ’s body and blood. Cosin, being asked to vindicate the Church -“from the calumny,” and plainly to declare what is her doctrine of -the real presence, complied with the request; and the result is, that -throughout his book, he labours to establish the doctrine of a _real -presence_ of the body and blood of the Redeemer in the bread and -wine;--but at the same time, denies and demolishes the doctrine of a -_transubstantiation_ of the elements. As to the latter point, what -he says resolves itself into an argument for the continued presence, -not merely of the material _accidents_, but of the material -_substance_. The bent of the author’s mind, and the necessary -conditions of the author’s argument, looked at from the Anglican point -of view, may be seen in his copious citations from the Fathers and -schoolmen; and the purpose of those citations is to show that the -_real_ presence, as he expresses it, is the ancient doctrine of -Christendom; and that the dogma of Transubstantiation is an invention -of the twelfth century. Theologians of the Puritan stamp, if disposed -to avail themselves of the distinctive reasoning of this distinguished -scholar against Rome, would not follow the patristic and scholastic -teaching on its positive side, to which he showed so much deference; -but would rather represent very much of it--by its incautious -phraseology, and its mystic sentiment--as preparing for the definite -error which Cosin so earnestly denounced. Some of them would say, -that the extreme doctrine of the spiritual presence of the body and -blood of Christ in the bread and wine is as mischievous, in respect to -superstition, as the doctrine of Transubstantiation itself. They would -also say that Anglicans attach an undue importance to the continued -existence and _presence_ of the material substance of bread and -wine, an importance which is scarcely perceptible to others who differ -from them; for if the bodily presence of Christ in the sacrament be -admitted, arguments in support of the continued substantial presence -of bread and wine as well, only issue in some consubstantial theory, -between which and the transubstantial one, there is little to choose, -in the estimation of most English Protestants. And further, they would -allege that whilst the Roman dogma is in itself incredible and absurd, -it is in its terms intelligible; but that the High Anglican dogma is -unintelligible in terms and incredible in itself, so far as its import -can be divined. To the Puritan mind, the distinction maintained by -Cosin and others between a real presence and a transubstantiation is -of little importance, and quite incomprehensible; but to the Anglican -mind, it is perfectly clear, and of the highest moment.[418] That I -distinctly perceive. Without entering into the controversy, I may be -allowed to add, that the belief of the spiritual presence of Christ’s -body in the elements is one thing, and the deep and devout belief of -a real and a special presence of Christ Himself with His people in -the Lord’s Supper, is another. There is nothing whatever to prevent -a modern disciple of the Puritans from consistently maintaining -the latter. For my own part, I would maintain it with the utmost -earnestness. - -[Sidenote: ANGLICANS.--MORLEY.] - -Next to Cosin let us take Morley. Morley lived to a great age, and -had a high reputation for theological learning before the Civil Wars, -as well as after the re-establishment of Episcopacy, being well -versed in the logic of the schools, and proving himself a formidable -controversialist. That he was a Calvinist is distinctly stated by -Wood and Burnet; but I cannot find that he published anything upon -the subject. Besides his controversy with Baxter, which turns upon -political and ecclesiastical questions, we possess certain treatises -written by him before and since the Restoration, in which he undertakes -fully to make known his judgment concerning the Church of Rome, and -most of those doctrines which fall into controversy betwixt her and -the Church of England. The reader is disappointed to find, that -these Treatises consist only of _A short Conference with a Jesuit -at Brussels_; An Argument against Transubstantiation; A Sermon -preached at Whitehall; Correspondence with Father Cressey; A Letter -to the Duchess of York; and two Latin Epistles, relating to Prayers -for the Dead, and the Invocation of Saints. Three points alone in the -Romanist controversy are discussed. The treatment of these, however, -indicate deep learning and great skill. Morley plies with much success -the argument against Transubstantiation, “drawn from the evidence and -certainty of sense,”--maintaining his convincing argument with the -dexterity of a practised logician, so as to parry most successfully all -the objections of Roman Catholic antagonists. He decidedly opposes the -Popish doctrine of purgatory,--but he vindicates prayers for the dead, -in the way in which they were offered in the early Church, and as by -modern Anglicans they are still encouraged to be offered; that is, for -the rest of the soul, the resurrection of the body, and the plenitude -of redemption at the last day.[419] Whatever may be the propriety of -praying for the dead in such a qualified sense as this, Morley contends -that there is no ground on which to rest the doctrine of the Invocation -of Saints. That doctrine he overthrows by an appeal to Scripture; and -then he proceeds, after the Anglican method, to examine the writings of -the Fathers, and to show that they do not justify the Popish dogma and -its associated practices. - -The writings of so eminent a man as Archbishop Bramhall ought not to -be wholly passed over, even in this limited and superficial sketch. He -did not write any comprehensive treatise on theology in general, or on -any doctrine in particular; but whilst the other Divines named, with -one exception, guarded what they believed to be the citadel of truth, -this learned prelate of Ireland defended what he regarded as some -of the outworks of Anglican Christianity. He strove, in his _Just -Vindication of the Church of England_ (1654), to repel the charge -of schism, alleged by the Romanists; and, in his _Consecration and -Succession of Protestant Bishops_, to rebut the Nag’s Head fable -(1658). So far his battle was with Rome. He dealt blows of another -kind in his treatises “Against the English Sectarie” (1643–1672), and -included within his polemical tasks a “Defence of true liberty from -antecedent and extrinsical necessity” (1655); “Castigations of Mr. -Hobbes’ Animadversions” (1658); and “The Catching of Leviathan or the -Great Whale” (1653). In the quaint pleasantry of the age, he spoke of -using three harping irons, one for its heart, a second for its chine, -and a third for its head,--meaning by these images, the religious, -political, and rational aspects of the work. He further described this -monster as neither fish nor flesh, but the combination of a man, with -a whale--“not unlike Dagon, the idol of the Philistines.”[420] The -Malmsbury philosopher was reckoned the most dangerous enemy of the -day to the true interests of the Christian religion, and Bramhall, in -writing against him, acted the part of one anxious to expose a covert -and to crush a seminal infidelity. - - - - - CHAPTER XIV. - - -Those Divines whom I have already imperfectly described, may be -characterized as High Anglicans. There remains for consideration, a -second class, whom I venture to denominate semi-Anglicans. - -Sanderson’s fame as a theologian rests mainly upon his treatment of -casuistical questions, and upon his noble volume of sermons. The latter -compositions (1659–1674), which exhibit great vigour, compass, and -patience of thought, expressed in massive but tedious eloquence,--are -chiefly practical; but also, they here and there reveal doctrinal -opinions, and, together with the reports of his friends, and extracts -from his MSS., indicate some of the leading points in the preacher’s -system of divinity. He affords an instance of that change of opinion -which we find to have been so common at the time. In early life, having -adopted the sublapsarian scheme, he afterwards renounced it, “as well -as the supralapsarian, which he could never fancy.”[421] To use his -own words, “We must acknowledge the work of both (grace and free-will) -in the conversion of a sinner. And so, likewise, in all other events -the consistency of the infallibility of God’s foreknowledge at least -(though not with any absolute but conditional predestination), with -the liberty of man’s will and the contingency of inferior causes and -effects.”[422] He made strong objections to some leading points in -Twiss’ _Vindiciæ Gratiæ_, a book written against Arminius. But one -of the characteristic principles held by the Divines of the school, to -which Sanderson in earlier life belonged, he seems to have retained -to the last, for he expresses, in one of his sermons, published by -himself not long before his death, the following account of Christian -faith:--“The word faith is used to signify, that theological virtue or -gracious habit, whereby we embrace with our minds and affections the -Lord Jesus Christ as the only-begotten Son of God and alone Saviour of -the world, casting ourselves wholly upon the mercy of God through His -merits for remission and everlasting salvation. It is that which is -commonly called a lively or justifying faith; whereunto are ascribed -in Holy Writ those many gracious effects, of purifying the heart, -adoption, justification, life, joy, peace, salvation, &c. Not as to -their proper and primary cause, but as to the instrument, whereby we -apprehend and apply Christ, whose merits and Spirit are the true causes -of all those blessed effects.”[423] - -The life of Sanderson requires us to consider him as sympathizing in -some respects with Anglican Divines, but their distinguishing dogmas -are not at all conspicuous in his sermons. - -[Sidenote: HAMMOND.] - -Hammond, the friend of Sanderson,[424]--associated with him scarcely -less in doctrinal opinions and ecclesiastical sympathies, than in the -closest intimacy and warmest affection,--has been described as one-- - - “Whose mild persuasive voice - Taught us in trials to rejoice - Most like a faithful dove, - That by some ruined homestead builds, - And pours to the forsaken fields - His wonted lay of love.” - -And the calm, tender strain of his theology harmonizes with the spirit -which the poet has thus so touchingly characterized. Like Sanderson, -Hammond is more practical than scientific. Like Sanderson, he shines -with richer lustre as a Christian casuist, than as a systematic -Divine. In his _Practical Catechism_, however, he appears to advantage -both as an evangelical moralist and a doctrinal teacher: it contains -expositions of the Creed, of the Ten Commandments, and of the Sermon -on the Mount. Exhibitions of principle are skilfully interwoven with -the enforcement of precepts; moderation is blended with orthodoxy; -and in his conclusions touching the critical points of theology which -we have selected as tests for elucidating distinctive opinion, he -closely approaches his beloved companion Sanderson. With Hammond -faith is the _condition_ of justification; he scruples to call it the -_instrument_, lest he should ascribe to it any undue efficiency;[425] -but in faith he includes the germ of all Christian obedience, all -Christian virtue; he describes it as a cordial, sincere, giving up -oneself to God, particularly to Christ, firmly to rely on all His -promises, and faithfully to obey all His commands. Hammond broadly -distinguishes justification from sanctification,--defining the first -as God’s covering or pardoning our iniquities, His being so reconciled -unto us sinners, that He determines not to punish us eternally;--and -the second, as the infusion of holiness into our hearts, the turning -of the soul to Himself. Into the relation between the two blessings, -and the order of their bestowment--which of them is conferred first--he -enters, with a subtlety of analysis unusual in the Anglican school; -and whilst, with exemplary candour, he suggests what he allows to be -an orthodox rendering of the Puritan doctrine of justification before -sanctification, he himself prefers to place the latter first in the -order of time; yet, in doing this, he so qualifies his statement as not -to alarm even the Puritan, who ventures upon this abstruse, perplexing, -and not very profitable path of speculative inquiry. Hammond believed -that justification flows from the mediatorial priesthood of the Lord -Jesus; but he distinctly denied that the Redeemer’s active obedience is -imputed to men.[426] - -[Sidenote: PEARSON.] - -Pearson’s _Exposition of the Creed_ (1659) is a well-known -theological treatise. He implicitly pursues an Anglican course, citing -the Fathers in support of his positions; but he nowhere distinctly -defines what authority he attaches to them, or, indeed, formally lays -down as a principle that they are his guides at all. Pearson must -have been moderate in his ecclesiastical views, or he could not have -pursued the course he did during the Commonwealth; and his position as -Lecturer at St. Clement’s, Eastcheap, and the association into which -he would necessarily be brought with his Puritan brethren, might have -the effect of widening his sympathies, and of preventing, in his case, -those controversial asperities which embitter the writings of extreme -Anglicans. In his article on the Church, he refers to its unity, its -perpetuity, its holiness, and its Catholicity, meaning apparently by -the Church the aggregate of Christian professors, whether they be -good or bad.[427] Under the last head, he touches upon the authority -of the Church in the following brief remark:--“They call the Church -of Christ the Catholic Church, because it teacheth all things which -are necessary for a Christian to know, whether they be things in -heaven or things in earth, whether they concern the condition of man -in this life, or in the life to come. As the Holy Ghost did lead the -Apostles into all truth, so did the Apostles leave all truth unto -the Church, which teaching all the same, may be well called Catholic -from the universality of necessary and saving truths retained in it.” -Even this scarcely amounts to an assertion of Church authority in -the Anglican sense; it might be explained consistently with Puritan -principles, it never would have satisfied Thorndike or Heylyn, or even -Bull. To baptism, however, Pearson attributes great efficacy, coupling -it, as Heylyn and others do, with the article on _Forgiveness of -Sins_, according to the teaching of the Nicene and other Creeds. -Unlike Thorndike, he does not propound any theory of justification in -connection with baptism; nor does he, any more than Heylyn, dwell on -the subject of justification in any way: he confines himself to the -idea of remitting sins, which perhaps, in his opinion, is equivalent -to justification. He uses strong expressions in speaking of the -Atonement,--referring to “the punishment which Christ, who was our -surety, endured,” as “a full satisfaction to the will and justice of -God.” “It was a price given to redeem”--something “laid down by way -of compensation.” “Although God be said to remit our sins by which -we were captivated, yet He is never said to remit the price, without -which we had never been redeemed, neither can He be said to have -remitted it, because He did require it and receive it.” A Calvinist -could scarcely have marked the point more strongly. Pearson also says -“that Christ did render God propitious unto us by His blood--that is, -His sufferings unto death--who before was offended with us for our -sins; and this propitiation amounted to reconciliation, that is, a -kindness after wrath. We must conceive that God was angry with mankind -before He determined to give our Saviour; we cannot imagine that God, -who is essentially just, should not abominate iniquity.” Pearson’s -definition of faith is very different from Thorndike’s. It is a habit -of the intellectual part of man, and therefore of itself invisible; -and to believe is a spiritual act, and consequently “immanent and -internal, and known to no man but him that believeth.” We find in -Pearson’s exposition none of those peculiarly High Church views in -which Thorndike and Heylyn so much delighted; and, what is very -remarkable, as far as I can find, he only in a cursory way mentions the -Lord’s Supper. Certainly he does not dwell upon it in any part of his -treatise.[428] - -Pearson’s common sense, mastery of learning, clearness of thought, -perspicuity of style, and directness of reasoning, have secured and -will retain for him a high place amongst English theological teachers. -His orderly arrangement of topics, and his compact and forcible method -of expression, render him popular with all students of his school -of theology; and there are few points on which they can consult him -without finding what they want in a shape convenient for use. Those -who differ from him may read him with advantage; and they will discover -that, for the most part, his faults are only defects which may be -supplied by repairing to other sources of information. - -[Sidenote: BARROW.] - -Isaac Barrow devoted long years to the study of mathematics, for -which he has acquired high renown; and he travelled in Turkey, and -resided twelve months in Constantinople, where he read the whole of -Chrysostom’s works near the spot upon which many of his sermons were -delivered--a course of reading which must have been of immense service -to him as an expounder of Christian morality. His favourite scientific -studies left upon his mind a stamp of precision and order, apparent -in his writings; and his familiarity with Greek patristic eloquence -may be traced in the stately flow of his copious diction. His theology -lies close to the boundary line between Anglicanism and the Divinity -of the Cambridge school. After holding a mathematical professorship at -Cambridge, he devoted the remainder of his life to theology, in which -he achieved a reputation equal to that which he had won in the pursuit -of science. - -In his sermons on the Creed, instead of confining himself, as Pearson -and Heylyn have done, to the exposition of Christian truth, he -carefully employs himself in constructing defences of the faith. He -begins his task with an exposure of the unreasonableness of infidelity, -and with an assertion of the perfectly rational nature of belief -in the Gospel. He afterwards dwells, at length, upon proofs of the -existence of God; upon the Divinity and excellence of the Christian -religion, as compared with the impiety and imposture of Paganism and -Mahometanism, and the imperfection of Judaism; and upon the evidence -that Jesus is the true Messias. Thus Barrow appears as a Christian -advocate. He habitually bases his arguments upon Scripture texts, but -he also habitually weaves into these arguments threads of reason, so -as to commend what he advances to the understanding of his readers, -ever avoiding what is mystical, or merely imaginative. Yet he does not -neglect the dogmas of revelation, but brings many of them out with a -clearness and precision which has been overlooked by some critics. -His disquisition upon the nature of faith is as exhaustive as that of -any Puritan, and will be found a wearisome piece of reading by some -modern students. He dwells much upon the difficulties of faith, and -upon the moral virtue involved in overcoming them; and when we compare -his opinions with those of Thorndike and Bull, we discover in him a -general similarity to them, in connection with shades of difference. -In common with Thorndike, he resolutely opposes the idea that faith -consists in any belief of our being pardoned, or in any assurance of -salvation, or in any persuasion that a true Christian cannot fall -from grace. His representations of the virtuousness of evangelical -belief are obviously in harmony with that writer’s statements; and -he also, in accordance with them, associates faith and the baptismal -covenant, saying, “Faith is nothing else but a hearty embracing -Christianity, which first exerteth itself by open declaration and -avowal in baptism.”[429] Barrow, however, of all men, requires to be -judged, not by isolated expressions, but by a comparison of one part -of his teaching with another. Turning, then, to the following passage, -which is complete in itself, and which I quote as an example of his -diffuse and affluent style, we meet with an account of Christian faith, -such as would scarcely have satisfied the demands of Thorndike’s -baptismal theology:--“By this faith (as to the first and primary sense -thereof) is understood the being truly and firmly persuaded in our -minds that Jesus was what He professed Himself to be, and what the -Apostles testified Him to be, the Messias, by God designed, foretold, -and promised to be sent into the world, to redeem, govern, instruct, -and save mankind, our Redeemer and Saviour, our Lord and Master, our -King and Judge, the great High Priest, and Prophet of God--the being -assured of these and all other propositions connexed with these; -or, in short, the being thoroughly persuaded of the truth of that -Gospel which was revealed and taught by Jesus and His Apostles. That -this notion is true, those descriptions of this faith, and phrases -expressing it, do sufficiently show; the nature and reason of the -thing doth confirm the same, for that such a faith is, in its kind -and order, apt and sufficient to promote God’s design of saving us, -to render us capable of God’s favour, to purge our hearts, and work -that change of mind which is necessary in order to the obtaining God’s -favour, and enjoying happiness; to produce that obedience which God -requires of us, and without which we cannot be saved: these things -are the natural results of such a persuasion concerning those truths; -as natural as the desire and pursuit of any good doth arise from the -clear apprehension thereof, or as the shunning of any mischief doth -follow from the like apprehension; as a persuasion that wealth is to -be got thereby makes the merchant to undergo the dangers and pains of -a long voyage (verifying that, _Impiger extremos currit mercator ad -Indos, Per mare pauperiem fugiens, per saxa, per ignes_); as the -persuasion that health may thereby be recovered, engages a man not only -to take down the most unsavoury potions, but to endure cuttings and -burnings (_ut valeas, ferrum patieris et ignes_); as a persuasion -that refreshment is to be found in a place, doth effectually carry -the hungry person thither; so a strong persuasion that the Christian -religion is true, and the way of obtaining happiness, and of escaping -misery, doth naturally produce a subjection of heart and an obedience -thereto; and accordingly we see the highest of those effects, which the -Gospel offers or requires, are assigned to this faith, as results from -it, or adjuncts thereof.”[430] - -[Sidenote: BARROW.] - -The strong moral power attributed to faith places Barrow’s description -of it in nearly strict coincidence with the teaching of Bishop -Bull upon the same subject. Yet from Thorndike, and from other -Anglo-Catholic Divines, with exceptions already pointed out, Barrow -differs in his definite and sharp distinction between holiness and -justification. No Puritan could more precisely mark off the latter -from the former. Admitting, he says, that whoever is justified is also -endued with some measure of intrinsic righteousness--“avowing willingly -that such a righteousness doth ever accompany the justification St. -Paul speaketh of--yet that sort of righteousness doth not seem implied -by the word justification, according to St. Paul’s intent, in those -places where he discourseth about justification by faith, for that such -a sense of the word doth not well consist with the drift and efficacy -of his reasoning, nor with divers passages in his discourse.”[431] But -to the distinction he so clearly makes he attributes less importance -than many theologians are wont to do. - -[Sidenote: BARROW.] - -Although Barrow does not copiously discuss the doctrine of the -Atonement--although he dwells chiefly on the moral effects of -Christ’s death--yet he uses very strong expressions as to the effect -of our Lord’s sacrifice upon the Divine government, speaking of it -as “appeasing that wrath of God which He naturally beareth toward -iniquity, and reconciling God to men, who by sin were alienated -from Him, by procuring a favourable disposition and intentions of -grace toward us.” “Christ died, removing thereby that just hatred -and displeasure.” “The non-imputation of our sins is expressed as -a singular effect, an instance, an argument of His being in mind -reconciled and favourably disposed towards us.”[432] - -In five sermons, entirely devoted to the subject, this Divine asserts -and explains the doctrine of universal redemption, saying that -salvation is made attainable, and is really tendered unto all, upon -feasible and equal conditions; and that a competency of grace is -imparted to every man, qualifying him to do what God requires.[433] - -His account of the Divinity and personality of the Holy Spirit is the -same as is generally given by orthodox teachers. As to the work of the -third Person in the Trinity, Barrow’s line of thought coincides more -with Anglican than with Puritan writers. Besides much of a general -character upon the Spirit’s assistance, in the thirty-fourth sermon -on the Creed, Barrow remarks--“It hath been the doctrine constantly -with general consent delivered in and by the Catholic Church, that -to all persons by the holy mystery of baptism duly initiated into -Christianity, and admitted into the communion of Christ’s body, the -grace of the Holy Spirit is communicated, enabling them to perform the -conditions of piety and virtue which they undertake.”[434] - -Barrow appears to have been a Low Churchman, and, in the fragment he -has left us upon “the holy Catholic Church,” omits those assertions -respecting ecclesiastical authority which were the joy of Thorndike and -Heylyn. He explains the different senses in which the word “Church” -is used in the New Testament; and, in its larger sense, applies to -it the epithets “holy” and “Catholic,” winding up all he has to say -with practical remarks which commend themselves to candid Christians -of all denominations.[435] It may be added that, in his discourse -concerning _The unity of the Church_, he opposes the idea of any -such ecclesiastical authority as is contended for either by Papists or -Anglo-Catholics. - -The _Treatise of the Pope’s Supremacy_, from the same pen--too -long to be described--places the author amongst the chief defenders -of Protestantism, and deserves the eulogium of Tillotson,--what “many -others have handled before, he hath exhausted.” The student can -find arguments against the assumptions of Rome nowhere so fully and -powerfully stated as on Barrow’s pages. Those arguments are, perhaps, -like Saul’s armour, too cumbrous for the Davids of the present day; -but there are in Barrow’s armoury stones from the brook for simple -shepherds, as well as spears and shields for veteran warriors. - -The feeling of Barrow towards the Romish Church is plain from what -has now been said, and it is desirable, before we leave the opinions -of the Anglicans, to inquire what their feeling generally was upon -this subject; and also how they expressed themselves in reference to -Protestant communities. - -[Sidenote: OPINIONS RESPECTING POPERY.] - -Thorndike calls the Romish a true but corrupt Church, in which -salvation may be obtained, although it be clogged with difficulty. It -is not Antichrist. It is not formally idolatrous; yet, after referring -to its abuses, he says, “to live under them, and to yield conformity to -them, is a burden unsufferable for a Christian to undergo: to approve -them by being reconciled to the Church that maintains them is a scandal -incurable and irreparable.”[436] - -Bishop Bull observes, referring to certain doctrines held by Romanists, -“I look upon it as a wonderful both just and wise providence of God, -that He hath suffered the Church of Rome to fall into such gross errors -(which otherwise it is scarce imaginable how men in their wits that -had not renounced not only the Scriptures, but their reason, yea and -their senses too, could be overtaken with), and to determine them for -articles of faith.”[437] - -Heylyn concedes to Rome the character of a true Church; yet after -referring to the argument for image worship, he remarks:--“Though -perhaps some men of learning may be able to relieve themselves by -these distinctions; yet I can see no possibility how the common -people, who kneel and make their prayers directly to the image itself, -without being able to discern where the difference lieth between their -_proprie_ and _improprie_, or _per se_ and _per accidens_, can be -excused from palpable and downright _idolatry_.”[438] - -The same writer, describing the Reformation, and contending for the -continuity of the English Church, reflects, by implication, severely -upon its previously Romanized state:--“Whereas, the case, if rightly -stated, is but like that of a sick and wounded man, that had long lain -weltering in his own blood, or languishing under a tedious burden -of diseases, and afterwards by God’s great mercy, and the skilful -diligence of honest chirurgeons and physicians, is at the last restored -to his former health.”[439] - -Taylor is much more decided in his condemnation of Rome:--“Now let any -man judge whether it be not our duty, and a necessary work of charity, -and the proper office of our ministry, to persuade our charges from -the ‘immodesty of an evil heart,’ from having a ‘devilish spirit,’ -from doing that ‘which is vehemently forbidden by the Apostle,’ from -‘infidelity and pride;’ and, lastly, from that ‘eternal woe which is -denounced’ against them that add other words and doctrines than what -is contained in the Scriptures, and say, ‘_Dominus dixit_, the -Lord hath said it,’ and He hath not said it. If we had put these severe -censures upon the Popish doctrine of tradition, we should have been -thought uncharitable; but, because the holy fathers do so, we ought to -be charitable, and snatch our charges from the ambient flame.”[440] - -Bramhall, whose Protestantism went further than that of Thorndike -or Heylyn, says:--“That Church which hath changed the apostolical -creed, the apostolical succession, the apostolical regiment, and -the apostolical communion, is no apostolical, orthodox, or Catholic -Church. But the Church of Rome hath changed the apostolical creed, the -apostolical succession, the apostolical regiment, and the apostolical -communion. Therefore the Church of Rome is no apostolical, orthodox, or -Catholic Church.”[441] - -[Sidenote: RESPECTING UNEPISCOPAL CHURCHES.] - -In reference to Protestant communities abroad, the same writer -expresses his opinion thus:-- - -“I cannot assent that either all or any considerable part of the -Episcopal Divines in England do unchurch either all or most part of -the Protestant Churches. No man is hurt but by himself. They unchurch -none at all, but leave them to stand or fall to their own master. They -do not unchurch the Swedish, Danish, Bohemian Churches, and many other -Churches in Polonia, Hungaria, and those parts of the world who have -an ordinary, uninterrupted succession of pastors--some by the names of -Bishops, others under the name of Seniors, unto this day. (I meddle -not with the Socinians.) They unchurch not the Lutheran Churches in -Germany, who both assert Episcopacy in their confessions, and have -actual superintendents in their practice, and would have Bishops, name -and thing, if it were in their power.... Episcopal Divines do not deny -those Churches to be true Churches, wherein salvation may be had. We -advise them, as it is our duty, to be circumspect for themselves, and -not to put it to more question, whether they have ordination or not, or -desert the general practice of the Universal Church for nothing, when -they may clear it if they please. Their case is not the same with those -who labour under invincible necessity.... This mistake proceedeth from -not distinguishing between the true nature and essence of a Church, -which we do readily grant them, and the integrity or perfection of a -Church, which we cannot grant them, without swerving from the judgment -of the Catholic Church.”[442] - -“Wheresoever, in the world,” observes Cosin, “Churches bearing the -name of Christ profess the true, ancient, and Catholic religion and -faith, and invocate and worship, with one mouth and heart, God the -Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, if from actual communion -with them I am now debarred, either by the distance of regions, or -the dissensions of men, or any other obstacle; nevertheless, always -in my heart, and soul, and affection, I hold communion and unite with -them--that which I wish especially to be understood of the Protestant -and well-reformed Churches. For the foundations being safe, any -difference of opinion or of ceremonies--on points circumstantial, and -not essential, nor repugnant to the universal practice of the ancient -Church, in other Churches (over which we are not to rule)--we in a -friendly, placid, and peaceable spirit, may bear, and therefore ought -to bear.”[443] - -Morley is cautious:--“Our Church is not so liberal of her anathemas -as [Rome] is. We are sure our Church is truly apostolical, and that -for government and discipline, as well as doctrine. Whether the -Christian congregations in other Protestant countries be so or no, -_Ætatem habent, respondeant pro semetipsis et Domino suo stent -vel cadent_. In the mean time our Church hath declared, that no -man shall be accounted or taken to be a lawful Bishop, Priest or -Deacon in the Church of England, or suffered to exercise any of those -sacred functions, except he be called, tried, examined, and admitted -thereunto, according unto the form hereafter following; or unless he -had formerly Episcopal consecration, or ordination.”[444] - -[Sidenote: RESPECTING UNEPISCOPAL CHURCHES.] - -Of Nonconformists, Thorndike speaks in distinct and decided terms. -Presbyterians, Independents, and Baptists, are guilty of schism. -This he asserts over and over again; and of his opinion respecting -schism, he leaves us in no doubt. Schism may, indeed, be unjust on -both sides,--a favourite idea with Thorndike;--and it may be such as -that salvation may be had on both sides; but this lenient view of the -subject, he expresses only in relation to the differences between the -Eastern and the Western Churches, between the Church of England and -the Church of Rome. Schism, as committed by Nonconformists, he ever -represents in the darkest colours. Presbyterian baptism, he affirms, to -be no baptism. Their service is an imposture; in opposing Episcopacy, -and setting up their synods, they erect altar against altar. It is mere -equivocation to call their congregations Churches, and their ordinances -sacraments. It was unwarrantable, he maintains, under the Commonwealth, -to communicate with Presbyterians and Independents; although the moral -impossibility of communing with them could not justify communing with -Papists. The theory of the Independents he holds to be more suitable -to Christianity than that of the Presbyterians, but he says it is -impracticable, without Scriptural authority, and not less free from -schism.[445] He counts the doctrine of justification, as he supposed -it to be held by some Nonconformists, no other than a dreadful heresy, -worse even than the Romanist doctrine of justification. Yet we find, in -one place, this cold gleam of charity:--“I confess, as afore I allowed -the Church of Rome some excuse from the unreasonableness of their -adversaries; so here, considering the horrible scandals given by that -communion in standing so rigorously upon laws so visibly ruinous to the -service of God, and the advancement of Christianity, and the difficulty -of finding that mean in which the truth stands between the extremes -(as our Lord Christ between the thieves, saith Tertullian), I do not -proceed to give the salvation of poor souls for lost, that are carried -away with the pretence of reformation in the change that is made, even -to hate, and persecute, by word or by deed, those who cannot allow it.” -The book in which this passage occurs was published in 1659. - -Anabaptists, Thorndike pronounces to be schismatics, if not -heretics:--“As for the ground of that opinion, which moves them -to break up the seal of God, marked upon those that are baptized -unto the hope of salvation upon the obligation of Christianity, by -baptizing them anew, to the hope of salvation, without the obligation -of Christianity; whether they are to be counted heretics therefore or -not, let who will dispute. This, I may justly infer, they take as sure -a course to murder the souls of those whom they baptize again, as of -those whom they let go out of the world unbaptized.”[446] - -As Thorndike is more full and explicit in the statement of his -views respecting the schism which he believed to be involved in -Nonconformity, so also he goes beyond some other Anglicans in -denouncing its principles, and censuring its professors. Perhaps -certain writers of his class might think less unjustly, and more -charitably, of Dissenters; yet none of them, consistently with their -own Church notions, could regard Independent societies as Churches, -whatever favourable opinion they might entertain of individual members. - -Anything like intercommunion with communities not Episcopalian, -seems, in the estimation of such a man as Thorndike, utterly out of -the question; and therefore by him, and by those who think with him, -the Episcopal Church of England is placed in an entirely isolated -position, in reference to the rest of Protestant Christendom, except -where Bishops are retained; such instances being few and doubtful. - -[Sidenote: THE PRAYER BOOK.] - -Cosin, in his _Confession_, declares very strongly against -sectaries and fanatics, amongst whom he ranks “not only the -Separatists, the Anabaptists, and their followers, alas, too, too -many, but also the New Independents and Presbyterians of our country, -a kind of men hurried away with the spirit of malice, disobedience, -and sedition, who by a disloyal attempt (the like whereof was never -heard since the world began) have, of late, committed so many great -and execrable crimes, to the contempt and despite of religion, and the -Christian faith: which, how great they were, without horror cannot be -spoken or mentioned.”[447] - -Connected with love for the Anglican Church, with dislike of the -Papacy, and with alienation from unepiscopal communities, there existed -a strong attachment to the formularies of faith, and of worship, -contained in the Book of Common Prayer. That Book was used in secret -during the Commonwealth; and before being reviewed in 1662--indeed -previously to the Restoration--it received comment and eulogy from the -pen of Hamon L’Estrange,--who published, in 1659, an elaborate and -learned work on _The Alliance of Divine Offices_, in which he -compared other Liturgies with that of the Church of England since the -Reformation. His book is based upon the study of Whitgift and Hooker, -who had answered Cartwright’s objections to the Anglican services, and -who had convinced the author that they did not lie open to the charge -of unlawfulness, but were of a nature to command obedience. L’Estrange -also studied the previous records, as he calls them, of the first six -centuries; the result being a conviction, that the noblest parts of -the Liturgy were used by the Primitive Church, before a Popish Mass -had ever been said; and that an admirable harmony obtained, even in -external rites, between the Church of England and the ancient Fathers. -This volume did not reach a second edition before the year 1690; but -until it was supplemented or superseded by later works, it continued -to be the chief authority on the subject, and has been, in our own -time, thought worthy of republication in the library of Anglo-Catholic -Theology. - -A new publication appeared, partly in 1651, and partly in 1662, bearing -upon the Anglican controversy with Puritanism, of too important a -character to be passed over in silence. The first five books of -Hooker’s _Ecclesiastical Polity_, had long been the admiration -of Episcopalian Churchmen,--the rest of the treatise, supposed to -be lost, remaining to them an object of desire. At the periods now -mentioned, there came to light the last three books of this great work -as possessed by posterity. - -[Sidenote: HOOKER’S WORKS.] - -The sixth book, included in the part which issued from the press in -1651, is, according to the title, a disquisition upon ecclesiastical -power and the question of lay eldership; but the reader does not -proceed many pages before he finds the disquisition going off in a -tangent, from the subject of Church jurisdiction, to pursue inquiries -relative to the Popish dogmas of confession and penance. Such a method -of composition is so unlike that of “the judicious Hooker,” that there -can be no doubt his last accomplished Editor is right in concluding, -that we have here some compositions from the author’s pen not intended -for insertion in the _Ecclesiastical Polity_. Notes remain -showing that he had drawn up a plan for this department of his task, -which would have methodically and pertinently disposed of it, but no -MS. has been discovered filling up the carefully-digested outline. It -has been suspected that the Puritan relatives of the Church champion -in Elizabeth’s reign were guilty of foul play in this matter, and -that after destroying most of the genuine copy, they vamped up the -mutilated remainder with dissertations selected from other papers. Such -a thing may be possible, but certainly it is not proved. I can find -no satisfactory positive evidence in support of the suspicion,[448] -and it is quite unaccountable how, if the Puritan manglers of his MSS. -had made away with what related to lay eldership, they should leave in -existence a long Essay, containing a lengthened defence of Episcopal -order. This defence, which appeared in 1662, under the Editorship -of Gauden, who does not say where he obtained it, presents abundant -internal proof of its genuineness, showing nevertheless the absence -of that careful revision and correction, which the Author would have -bestowed, had he lived to complete his own publication. It forms the -seventh book. - -In the fourth and fifth chapters there is a discussion of the main -point, “whence it hath grown that the Church is governed by Bishops.” -In the fifth, Hooker says:-- - -“It was the general received persuasion of the ancient Christian -world, that _Ecclesia est in Episcopo_, ‘the outward being of a -Church consisteth in the having of a Bishop.’ That where colleges of -presbyters were, there was at the first, equality amongst them, St. -Jerome thinketh it a matter clear: but when the rest were thus equal, -so that no one of them could command any other as inferior unto him, -they all were controllable by the Apostles, who had that Episcopal -authority abiding at the first in themselves, which they afterwards -derived unto others. The cause wherefore they under themselves -appointed such Bishops as were not every where at the first, is said to -have been those strifes and contentions, for remedy whereof, whether -the Apostles alone did conclude of such a regiment, or else they -together with the whole Church judging it a fit and a needful policy, -did agree to receive it for a custom; no doubt but being established -by them on whom the Holy Ghost was poured in so abundant measure for -the ordering of Christ’s Church, it had either Divine appointment -beforehand, or Divine approbation afterwards, and is in that respect to -be acknowledged the ordinance of God, no less than that ancient Jewish -regiment, whereof though Jethro were the deviser, yet after that God -had allowed it, all men were subject unto it, as to the polity of God, -and not of Jethro.” - -In the course of the entire argument respecting Episcopacy, Hooker -changes his standing again and again; sometimes taking higher, -and sometimes lower ground; now insisting upon the Divine origin -of Diocesan Bishops, and then, supposing their origin not to be -immediately Divine, attempting to show the inherent authority of the -Church to determine its own frame of government, and to establish the -sufficiency of such evidence as may be drawn from patristic sources. - -[Sidenote: HOOKER’S WORKS.] - -The eighth book treats of the Royal supremacy in ecclesiastical -matters, and is intended as a reply to certain Puritan objections -brought against the form of that supremacy as established by the laws -of the land. It is a curious circumstance that one chapter contains a -vindication of the title, “Supreme Head of the Church;”[449] although -this did not remain the parliamentary title of the sovereign, according -to the statute of supremacy in the first year of Elizabeth’s reign: and -such being the fact, it may be inferred, that Hooker used the title as -an equivalent to the statutable appellation of “Supreme Governor in all -spiritual and ecclesiastical causes.” - -Hooker’s vindication of the Royal supremacy contains a course of -elaborate reasoning in support of the prerogative with regard to Church -assemblies, and Church legislation, the appointing of Bishops, and -the jurisdiction of Ecclesiastical Courts. Finally, he discusses the -Royal exemption from ecclesiastical censure, as well as from all other -kinds of judicial power. This topic is handled with much caution, and -some reticence, and the chapter in which it is considered remains -in an unfinished state. I have not lighted upon any controversial -publications arising out of the appearance of these recovered writings, -but I notice that Kennet says, Bishop Gauden “doth, with great -confidence, use diverse arguments to satisfy the world that the three -books joined to the five genuine books of the said Mr. Hooker are -genuine, and penned by him, notwithstanding those poisonous assertions -against the regal power, which are to be found therein.”[450] To what -in particular the closing words refer is not plain; they can scarcely -point to a fragment on the limits of obedience, which Gauden attached -to the eighth book, but which Keble transfers to an Appendix, since the -author there enforces subjection to civil governors as a conscientious -duty. It is not a little remarkable, that Thorndike makes no use either -of the earlier or later editions of the _Ecclesiastical Polity_. - -The Anglican Divines included distinguished sermon writers. They -followed in the wake of Andrewes and Donne, whom they resembled in -their theology, from whom they differed in their style. Like the -Puritans after the Reformation, they were generally cut off from public -preaching during the Interregnum; but they wrote sermons, and some -abroad had liberty to preach,--as for example Cosin, who, at Paris, -during his exile, delivered several discourses, which are included in -his works. The chief of them were prepared for the festivals of the -Church, and treat of the Nativity, the Resurrection, and the Ascension: -subjects which are handled sometimes in a cold orthodox manner, -sometimes with forcible and original reasoning, and now and then with -strokes of vigorous eloquence. It is remarkable that we have no sermons -by Cosin, written after the Restoration; and indeed there is a general -paucity of homiletic literature by members of the Episcopal bench for -twenty years before the Revolution. - -[Sidenote: ANGLICAN SERMON WRITERS.] - -The Irish bench supplied one brilliant sermon-writer--whose -compositions in that department are above all praise. Jeremy Taylor’s -theology has been already considered, space here only permits the -remark that his theology appears in his sermons, that he is the -true Anglican throughout, and that all his opinions are there -arrayed in robes of bewitching grace and splendour. His practical -works,--for example _The Life of Christ_ and _Holy Living -and Dying_,--may be classed with his discourses; and abound in -rich specimens of that golden eloquence--stamped with an Anglican -mint-mark--which he was wont copiously to issue from the pulpit. -Sanderson’s sermons are exhaustive treatises, in which the homiletic -character sometimes fades, but orthodox doctrine is always implied; -the casuistry of Christian experience is handled sometimes in almost -a Puritan spirit, and Christian ethics are ever treated in a clear, -manly, incisive style. Barrow’s sermons are also treatises, many of -them most decidedly doctrinal, orthodox and argumentative. But, of all -these Divines, it may be said--not excepting Jeremy Taylor, who exerts -a charm of another kind--that they lack the evangelical unction, the -softness and fragrance of which is felt to be suffused over the Puritan -homilies. - -Controversy tinges more or less most of the sermons of that period; -but, for invective, Dr. South has won an unenviable notoriety. No one -can admire more than I do, the good sense and masculine style of this -author. There are sermons of his which are perfect models of pulpit -address; but on reading others, who but must feel that perhaps there -never was another man who _could_ so well enforce the truths -of Christianity, who also _did_ so flagrantly violate their -spirit. He never misses, or rather, he never fails to make, when he -had any pretence for it, an opportunity of attacking his Puritan -contemporaries; although he must have lived on terms of civility with -them when at Oxford. As in a sermon by Chrysostom, preached at Antioch, -one scarcely ever gets to the end, without finding him rebuking -swearers, so South in his sermons preached at Westminster Abbey, and in -other places, rarely concludes without assailing English schismatics, -who were not less bad in his eyes, than were the most profane Syrians -in the eyes of the orator of the Eastern Church. Men destitute of -South’s power manifested a similar temper, vilifying the Nonconformists -“as far more dangerous enemies than the Papists;”[451] and thus, -in the treatment of opponents, they imitated and even exceeded the -worst polemical vices of such men as Vicars and Edwards, under the -Commonwealth. - -[Sidenote: ANGLICAN CRITICS.] - -Before the Restoration there appeared a book on practical piety, which -attained to an extraordinary degree of popularity. Every one has heard -of the _Whole Duty of Man_; and most people given to religious -reading have met with a treatise bearing that title; probably on -examination it has proved to be what is entitled, the _New Whole -Duty of Man_, a work proceeding on different principles from the -original treatise--only the name of which it bears, only the form -of which it imitates.[452] The original treatise, from the pen of -an anonymous author,[453] bears a commendatory letter, written by -Dr. Hammond, a circumstance which alone would suggest our ranking -it amongst the productions of the Anglican school of theology. Its -contents justify our doing so. It proceeds upon the theory, so largely -illustrated by Thorndike, that by baptism men are brought into a -gracious covenant with God; and that men become, not by merit, but by -mercy, entitled to the blessings promised in the Gospel. A Christian -life is the fulfilment of vows and obligations incurred in baptism. -The book recognizes the doctrines of the Trinity, the Divinity of -our Lord, the Atonement, and other related truths under Anglican -forms of expression; but the stress of the work, indeed every page, -except a few at the beginning, consists in an inculcation of human -duty, considered under a threefold aspect--so common once in the -pulpits of the Establishment--our duty towards God, our duty towards -ourselves, and our duty towards one another. All the precepts of -devotion, of virtue, and of beneficence are ranged under these heads. -The great motives to godliness and goodness are not overlooked; but -the proportion in which they are exhibited is very small compared with -the space allotted to a prescriptive treatment of the subject. Of the -fulness and variety of the practical advice given no one can complain; -but the scanty reference to the distinctive doctrines of the Gospel, -will be acknowledged by most Divines as a serious defect. The defect -is explained, but not justified by the circumstance, that the book is -a reaction against a theological tendency, needing to be checked--“the -fanatics were shamefully regardless of good works, and preached up -faith as all-sufficient.” - -The _Whole Duty of Man_ has been more condemned and more praised -than it deserves. It presents a large amount of moral advice, but it -lacks the main motive power which produces Christian virtue; and as -to style, it is hard and unattractive from beginning to end, utterly -lacking tenderness, and exhibiting practical religion only in a _dry -light_. - -Some of the Anglican Divines zealously devoted themselves to Biblical -criticism. In the matter of exegesis, the Puritans achieved much; but -they looked with suspicion upon all attempts to amend the sacred text. -In this department, certain of their theological opponents laid their -own age and posterity under immense obligation. Bryan Walton, perhaps, -is not to be numbered with Anglicans; and amongst his most efficient -helpers, was Lightfoot, more of a Latitudinarian than an Anglican,--but -Castell and Pocock, Herbert Thorndike, and Alexander Huish, if not -Thomas Hyde and Samuel Clark,[454] all of them eminent scholars, were -more or less Anglican, certainly they were all Episcopalian, in their -views; and it is to them, assisted by Oliver Cromwell, who permitted -the paper for the purpose to be imported duty free, that we owe the -English Polyglott,--which competent judges have pronounced superior to -its more splendid predecessors, published on the Continent. Castell was -enthusiastically devoted to critical studies, to which he sacrificed -his property, his time, and his energies, with small reward, in the way -of Church preferment. His _Lexicon Heptaglotton_ is a monument of -astonishing learning, and worthy of being associated with his friend’s -Polyglott Bible. - -After the Restoration, an idea was entertained of printing the famous -Alexandrian MS., which had been sent as a present to Charles I. from -the Greek Patriarch Cyrillus; and the editorship was to have been -entrusted to Dr. Smith, an Oxford scholar, to whom Charles II. promised -a Canonry at Windsor or Westminster for his labour; but the design was -abandoned. Dr. John Fell, Bishop of Oxford, published, in 1675, an -edition of the Greek New Testament, with various readings, taken from -Walton and others; his object being to show the substantial correctness -of the received text, and how little its integrity is affected by the -numerous lections accumulated by an industrious collation of MSS. - -[Sidenote: ANGLICAN CRITICS.] - -To these critics must be added the well-known commentator Dr. Hammond, -who, instead of following the Fathers and the Reformers in their -schemes of mystical interpretation, struck out a path for himself, and -sought to illustrate the grammatical sense of the sacred writings. -He studied the Hellenistic dialect, compared Greek MSS., examined -ancient manners and customs, and employed the opinions of the Gnostics -to elucidate references in the Epistles to early heresies. This is -very remarkable in an Anglican Divine, and it indicates what some -who sympathized with him in other respects might have regarded as -a rationalistic tendency--certainly they would have so regarded it -in any one not belonging to themselves. Hammond’s _Paraphrase and -Annotations_, published in 1659, may be taken as constituting -an epoch in the history of exegesis; the more so on account of his -influence, for his name stood so high with the Episcopalian clergy, -“that he naturally turned the tide of interpretation his own way.”[455] - - - - - CHAPTER XV. - - -Four eminent Divines, who have made a deep mark on English literature, -now claim attention, coming, as they do, from their complexion of -thought, and from their characteristic opinions, between the Anglicans -just reviewed, and the Latitudinarians who remain to be noticed. - -William Chillingworth was one of those clever, hard-headed men in whom -the reasoning faculty predominates over imagination and sentiment, and -who are thoroughly at home in the exercises of logic, subjecting the -opinions of opponents to a subtle analysis, and entrenching themselves -behind carefully-constructed outworks of argumentative defence. The -skill which, as an engineer, he displayed at the siege of Gloucester, -in framing engines to storm the place, was of a piece with the skill -which he exhibited in attacking what he believed to be forms of error -and superstition.[456] He is best known by his great work, _The -Religion of Protestants a Safe Way to Salvation_; and it is evident -that he had derived advantages, as an assailant of the Roman Church, -from the acquaintance with it which he had formed during the period of -his connection with that community. - -[Sidenote: LIBERAL ORTHODOX.--CHILLINGWORTH.] - -His famous dictum, “The Bible, and the Bible alone, is the religion of -Protestants”--the lever with which he sought to upheave and overthrow -the tenets of Popery--placed him in a theological position distinct -from that which was occupied by Anglicans; for, though they were -ready enough to appeal to Scripture against Rome, they also appealed -to Christian antiquity against Puritanism. Chillingworth’s method of -reasoning betrayed an absence of sympathy with High Church Divines in -their reverence for the early Fathers, and showed how he fixed his -religious opinions solely upon the basis of the written revelation, -as interpreted by reason. And at the same time, by largely insisting -upon the principle that the Apostles’ Creed contains all necessary -points of mere belief,[457] and by the disposition which he manifested -to recognize as little doctrinal meaning upon disputed points as -possible in the articles of that early Christian confession, he not -only separated himself from Anglicans, but he separated himself from -Puritans. He was reticent upon evangelical subjects, respecting which -the latter delighted to speak; and from his desire to comprehend people -of considerable dogmatic divergency within the pale of the Church, he -incurred reproaches from those last named, and was stigmatized by them, -not only as an Arminian, but as a Socinian. No definite idea of his -opinions upon some important parts of Divine truth can be gathered from -his writings. It is plain that he loved a large liberty in all kinds -of thinking, and set a higher value upon a religious temper, a devout -spirit, a Catholic disposition, and a moral life, than upon orthodoxy -of sentiment, or forms of worship, or methods of ecclesiastical -government and discipline. - -Chillingworth, a native of the City, and an ornament of the University -of Oxford, died in 1644. Eight years afterwards, the English Church -lost another Divine, an ornament of the University of Cambridge, who, -though very different in many respects from Chillingworth, may be -classed with him in the same division of liberal Divines. - -[Sidenote: LIBERAL ORTHODOX.--SMITH.] - -John Smith possessed a mind in which the mystical element mingled -itself with an intense energy of reflection, a habit of calm thought, -and an imagination which employed itself, not in painting individual -objects, but in dyeing, with rich tints of colour, abstract and -immutable ideas. His mental training had been in the Greek Academy. -He had long sat as a loving disciple at the feet of Plato, and had -conversed with the earlier and later Platonists. The reader of -Smith’s works will, in every page, discover traces of his peculiar -culture, as well as of his peculiar endowments. His _Select -Discourses_, published in 1660, take a wide range, embracing the -true method of attaining Divine knowledge; the errors that grow up -beside it--superstition on the one hand, atheism on the other; the -immortality of the soul, which is the subject, and the existence and -nature of God, who is the Author and object of religion; and prophecy, -which Smith treats as the way whereby revealed truth is dispensed -and conveyed, rather than as a proof whereby it is established. The -discourses upon the difference between an evangelical and legal -righteousness, upon the excellency and nobleness of true religion, and -upon a Christian’s conflict with and conquest over Satan, exhibit the -author’s characteristic views of doctrinal, ethical, and experimental -Divinity. The first only requires particular notice here. “The law was -the ministry of death, and in itself an external and lifeless thing; -neither could it procure or beget that Divine life and spiritual form -of godliness, in the souls of men, which God expects from all the -heirs of glory, nor that glory which is only consequent upon a true -Divine life.” Whereas, on the other side, the Gospel is set forth “as -a mighty efflux and emanation of life and spirit, freely issuing forth -from an omnipotent source of grace and love, as that true, God-like, -vital influence whereby the Divinity derives itself into the souls -of men, enlivening and transforming them into its own likeness, and -strongly imprinting upon them a copy of its own beauty and goodness; -like the spermatical virtue of the heavens, which spreads itself -freely upon this lower world, and, subtily insinuating itself into -this benumbed, feeble, earthly matter, begets life and motion in -it. Briefly, it is that whereby God comes to dwell in us, and we in -Him.”[458] - -Particular passages may mislead as to the general character of an -author’s teaching; but there is a ring in these words, indicating at -once the kind of metal of which Smith’s theology is made. It is of the -same substance throughout. “The righteousness of faith,” he says, “and -the righteousness of God, is a Christ-like nature in a man’s soul, or -Christ appearing in the minds of men by the mighty power of His Divine -Spirit, and thereby deriving a true participation of Himself to them.” -And in accordance with this, and showing at the same time the author’s -shrinking from definite and precise forms of dogmatic statement, such -as may be found in Anglicans on the one side, and in Puritans on -the other, he observes that the Gospel “was not brought in, only to -refine some notions of truth that might formerly seem discoloured and -disfigured by a multitude of legal rites and ceremonies; it was not to -cast our opinions concerning the way of life and happiness only into a -new mould and shape in a pedagogical kind of way; it is not so much a -system and body of saving Divinity, but the spirit and vital influx of -it, spreading itself over all the powers of men’s souls, and quickening -them into a Divine life; it is not so properly a doctrine that is -wrapt up in ink and paper as it is _vitalis scientia_, a living -impression made upon the soul and spirit.”[459] Another name challenges -attention. - -The ever-memorable John Hales, pronounced by Pearson to have had “as -great a sharpness, quickness, and subtlety of wit as ever this or -perhaps any nation bred,” had been a Calvinist; but he said, that at -the Synod of Dort, which he attended, he bid John Calvin good-night. -He had certainly what might be termed very broad views of Christian -faith; for he remarked, “The Church is like Amphiaraus, she hath no -device, no word in her shield; mark and essence with her are all one, -and she hath no other note but to be.”[460] This was a statement which -removed him to an equal distance from both Anglicans and Puritans; and -one sentence from a sermon by Hales is sufficient to show how widely -his teaching as to the way of salvation differed from all preachers -of the latter class. “The water of baptism, and the tears of true -repentance, creatures of themselves weak and contemptible, yet through -the wonderful operation of the grace of God annext unto them, are able, -were our sins as red as twice-dyed scarlet, to make them as white as -snow.”[461] Hales was as orthodox as a man could be on the subject of -the Trinity;[462] and, in his masterly sermon on Christian omnipotency, -plainly asserts the power and sufficiency of Divine grace.[463] - -[Sidenote: LIBERAL ORTHODOX.--FARINDON.] - -Hales died in 1656, and was followed to the grave two years afterwards -by his attached friend Anthony Farindon, both of them being members -of the University of Oxford. Farindon was far more evangelical than -Hales and Chillingworth. He had not the mystical turn of mind which -is so marked in John Smith, nor was he so manifestly a Platonist. -Altogether his habits of thought are much more on a level with common -understandings. - -The distance which severed Farindon from the Anglicans comes out in -the following passage:--“And now, if we look into the Church, we shall -find that most men stand in need of a ‘yea, rather.’ ... _Felix -sacramentum!_ ‘Blessed sacrament of baptism!’ ... It is true; but -there is ... ‘Yea, rather; blessed are they that have put on Christ.’ -‘Blessed sacrament of the Lord’s Supper.’ It is true; but, ‘Yea, -rather; blessed are they that dwell in Christ.’ ‘Blessed profession -of Christianity!’ ‘Yea, rather; blessed are they that are Christ’s.’ -‘Blessed cross!’ The Fathers call it so. ‘Yea, rather; blessed are -they that have crucified their flesh, with the affections and lusts.’ -‘Blessed Church!’ ‘Yea, rather; blessed are they who are members of -Christ.’ ‘Blessed Reformation!’ ‘Yea, rather; blessed are they that -reform themselves.’”[464] - -Nor is the distinction between Farindon and the Puritans much less -visible, when he remarks, with regard to the act of justification, -“What mattereth it whether I believe or not believe, know or not -know, that our justification doth consist in one or more acts, so -that I certainly know and believe that it is the greatest blessing -that God can let fall upon His creature, and believe that by it I am -made acceptable in His sight, and, though I have broken the law, -yet shall be dealt with as if I had been just and righteous indeed? -whether it be done by pardoning all my sins, or imputing universal -obedience to me, or the active and passive obedience of Christ?” -“And as in justification, so in the point of faith by which we are -justified, what profit is there so busily to inquire whether the nature -of faith consisteth in an obsequious assent, or in the appropriation -of the grace and mercy of God, or in a mere fiducial apprehension and -application of the merits of Christ?”[465] It would be difficult to -point out, in the writings of this theologian, a precise definition -either of justification or of faith, and equally difficult to point -out any statement adverse to those views of salvation by grace in -which all evangelic Christians agree. He finds fault with Augustine -for confounding justification with sanctification, and separates -himself from the Anglican, though not so widely as from the Romanist, -when he stigmatizes as “an unsavoury tenet” the doctrine, “that -justification is not a pronouncing, but a making one righteous; that -inherent holiness is the formal cause of justification; and that we -may redeem our sins, and purchase forgiveness, by fasting, almsdeeds, -and other good works.” Deficient in definiteness upon these points, -Farindon is clear in reference to the Trinity, the Incarnation, and -the Atonement. He expounds them in an orthodox way, yet he does not -dwell upon them so frequently, and at such length, as his Anglican -and Puritan contemporaries. He is no Calvinist; without entering into -lengthened controversy on the five points, he shows his great dislike -to Calvin’s views.[466] He holds decidedly that Christ died for all -men; and with caustic reasoning, shows that, when it is said, “God -so loved the world,” it cannot mean, He so loved the elect.[467] His -Arminianism is perhaps nearly, if not quite, as evangelical as that of -our Wesleyan brethren, but he lacks the fervour with which they set -forth the verities of Christianity in relation to the deepest wants of -man. Puritans could scarcely apply the moral lessons of the Gospel to -the hearts of men on grounds more evangelic than those presented by -Farindon; but we miss in his sermons a penetrating fire like that of -John Owen, and a melting pathos like that of Richard Baxter. - -[Sidenote: CAMBRIDGE SCHOOL.] - -The way is now open for viewing that division of thinkers who -distinguished themselves, after the Restoration, by the breadth of -their opinions. They followed in the steps of those whom we have now -described, but in some particulars they went far beyond them. In a -former volume I touched upon the Cambridge school of theologians; it -remains for me to trace the subsequent development and progress of -their peculiarities. They early received the name of Latitudinarians, -and in 1662 their name had passed into everybody’s mouth, although its -explicit meaning, it was said, remained as great a mystery as the order -of the Rosicrucians. Some spoke of them as holding dangerous opinions, -others defended them; but all which people in general knew seemed to be -that the new school of thinkers mostly belonged to the University of -Cambridge, and that they mostly followed the new philosophy. - -A contemporary--one of their number--describes them in the first place -as attached to the liturgy of the Church of England; and as admiring -its solemnity, gravity, and primitive simplicity, together with its -freedom both from affected phrases, and from any mixture of vain -and doubtful opinions. They also, he says, believed “that it is the -greatest check to devotion which can be, to hear men mix their private -opinions with their public prayers,”--and they expressed themselves -strongly against extempore devotions. As for rites and ceremonies, -they approved what is called “the virtuous mediocrity of the Reformed -Episcopal Church,” between the “meretricious gaudiness” of Rome, and -“the squalid sluttery” of the fanatics. They contended that “so long as -we live in this region of mortality, we must make use of such external -helps” as the Church has thought fitted for the ends of worship. -According to the same authority, they were averse to Presbyterianism -and to Independency; and were decided supporters of Episcopal order. As -for the doctrines of the Church, the Latitudinarians cordially adhered -to the Thirty-nine Articles, to the three Creeds, and to any doctrine -held by the Church, “unless absolute reprobation be one, which they do -not think themselves bound to believe.” Great reverence is attributed -to them, for the genuine monuments of the ancient Fathers, those -especially of the first and purest age; and the writer then meets the -charge of their hearkening too much to reason. For reason, he says, -“is that faculty, whereby a man must judge of everything; nor can a -man believe anything except he have some reason for it, whether that -reason be a deduction from the light of nature, and those principles -which are the candle of the Lord, set up in the soul of every man that -hath not wilfully extinguished it, or a branch of Divine revelation -in the oracles of Holy Scripture; or the general interpretation of -genuine antiquity, or the proposal of our own Church consentaneous -thereto; or lastly, the result of some or all of these: for he that -will rightly make use of his reason, must take all that is reasonable -into consideration. And it is admirable to consider how the same -conclusions do naturally flow from all these several principles; and -what in the faithful use of the faculties that God hath given, men have -believed for true, doth excellently agree with that revelation that -God hath exhibited in the Scripture, and the doctrine of the ancient -Church with them both. Thus the freedom of our wills, the universal -intent of Christ’s death, and sufficiency of God’s grace, the condition -of justification, and many other points of the like nature, which have -been almost exploded in these latter degenerate ages of the world, do -again begin to obtain, though with different persons upon different -accounts: some embrace them for their evidence in Scripture, others -for the concurrent testimony of the primitive Church for above four -hundred years; others for the reasonableness of the things themselves, -and their agreement both with the Divine attributes, and the easy -suggestions of their own minds. Nor is there any point in Divinity, -where that which is most ancient doth not prove the most rational, and -the most rational the ancientest; for there is an eternal consanguinity -between all verity; and nothing is true in Divinity, which is false -in Philosophy, or on the contrary; and therefore what God hath joined -together, let no man put asunder.”[468] - -[Sidenote: CAMBRIDGE SCHOOL.] - -The account is that of a partizan, who evidently wishes to make -Latitudinarianism stand well in the estimation of all sorts of -Churchmen; and therefore he strives to paint its teachers in colours -of orthodoxy, and he charily remarks that they will be “generally -suspected to be for liberty of conscience.” - -Baxter, in 1665, speaks of the same school, as Platonists, or -Cartesians, and of many of them as Arminians, with this addition, that -they had more charitable thoughts than others of the salvation of -heathens and infidels; and that some of them agreed in the opinions -of Origen, about the pre-existence of souls.[469] Burnet says that -they “read Episcopius much,”[470] respecting whose works Thorndike -affirmed, that in them “the faith of the Holy Trinity is made an -indifferent thing,” and the doctrine of original sin is “turned out of -doors,”[471]--a sweeping accusation which has been called in question, -yet it would be difficult to establish the orthodoxy of Episcopius -on the Trinity, in the sense attached to that term by writers like -Thorndike. No doubt there were heterodox tendencies in the writings -of Episcopius and his school; but in this respect some of the later -Remonstrants went beyond their master. - -[Sidenote: FOWLER.] - -The writer who most fully expounded the tenets of the Latitudinarians -as a whole was Edward Fowler, who hesitated to conform in 1662, but who -became afterwards Rector of Allhallows, Bread Street, and finally was -elevated to the see of Gloucester. In his work _On the Principles and -Practices of Certain Moderate Divines of the Church of England_, -published in 1679, he professes truly to represent and defend them, and -every page bears witness to the fact of their having been adopted by -this author. He strongly maintains the eternal and immutable grounds -of morality, against the pernicious principle which had been urged by -some Calvinists, that the entire basis of virtue is to be found in the -will of God, and vindicates the prominence given by the new teachers to -the reasonableness of Christianity. Though the supernatural origin of -the Gospel, and the Divine authority of its doctrines, are implied, and -even distinctly acknowledged in the volume, yet the impression given by -it altogether is such as to place the duty of accepting Christianity -mainly upon the ground of its being a rational system. The production -of faith is described as a process of reasoning, with regard to which -the inward testimony of the Spirit is resolved “ordinarily” into a -blessing on the use of means, _i.e._, the consideration of the -motives He hath given us to believe.[472] - -Another passage may be quoted, indicating the view of the writer upon a -question which proves a touchstone of theological sentiment. - -The Latitudinarians “are very careful so to handle the doctrine -of justifying faith, as not only to make obedience to follow it, -but likewise to include a hearty willingness to submit to all -Christ’s precepts in the nature of it; and to show the falsity and -defectiveness of some descriptions of faith, that have had too general -an entertainment, and still have. This they look upon themselves -as greatly obliged to do, as being well aware, of what dangerous -consequence some received notions of that grace are, and that not a few -that have imbibed them, have so well understood their true and natural -inferences, as to be thereby encouraged to let the reins loose to all -ungodliness.”[473] - -Fowler affirms that those who are sincerely righteous, and from an -inward living principle allow themselves in no known sin, nor in -the neglect of any known duty, which is to be truly, evangelically -righteous, shall be dealt with and rewarded, in and through Christ, -as if they were perfectly and in a strict legal sense so. Entering -essentially into Fowler’s notion of faith is the idea of its being the -germ of Christian virtue: and, as it regards the connection between -faith and justification, he believes that the receiving of Christ -as Lord is a prerequisite to the obtaining of Christ as Redeemer. -He defines justifying faith in these words:--“A grace of the Holy -Spirit, whereby a man being convinced of his sin and miserable estate -in regard of it, and an all-sufficiency in Christ to save from both, -receives Him as He is tendered in the Gospel, or according to his three -offices of Prophet, Priest, and King;” and,--which is important to -the understanding of Fowler’s views,--he adds, “That act of receiving -Christ as Lord, is to go before that of receiving Him as a Priest; -for we may not rely upon Him for salvation, till we are willing to -yield obedience to Him.”[474] In all this, and in much more, may -be recognized a striving after some way of thoroughly meeting the -two sides of that redemption from evil, which in the Gospel is ever -represented as one. Whilst some theologians made holiness the result -of faith in a Divine salvation, which salvation was treated by them -as identical with justification, and others considered holiness as -an essential part of it,--Fowler leaned in the direction of making -holiness the means of salvation; and the tendency to adopt a _via -media_ further appears in his attempt to steer a middle course -between Calvinism and Arminianism:--He remarks, “That there is such -a thing as distinguishing grace, whereby some persons are absolutely -elected, by virtue whereof they shall be (having potent and infallible -means prepared for them) irresistibly saved. But that others, that are -not in the number of those singular and special favourites, are not -at all in a desperate condition, but have sufficient means appointed -for them to qualify them for greater or less degrees of happiness, and -have sufficient grace offered to them some way or other, and some time -or other; and are in a capacity of salvation either greater or less, -through the merits of Jesus Christ; and that none of them are damned, -but those that wilfully refuse to co-operate with that grace of God, -and will not act in some moral suitableness to that power they have -received.”[475] - -[Sidenote: FOWLER.] - -Universal redemption,--by which is signified the universal -applicability of our Lord’s atoning sacrifice,--is strenuously -maintained by this Divine;[476] and he speaks hopefully of the future -state, through Christ, of virtuous heathens. - -Passing to Church questions, the same writer expresses a preference -for Episcopacy, but does not unchurch unepiscopal societies; he -holds Erastian views of the power of the civil magistrate; and -strangely denies, that liberty of conscience forms a part of Christian -liberty. He would concede to every man liberty of opinion, but not -the liberty of persuading others to adopt his opinion; so that this -scheme, ecclesiastically considered, runs at last into the doctrine -of intolerance. Throughout Fowler’s works an anti-Puritan feeling -is predominant; and his allusions to Nonconformists are by no means -friendly.[477] - -Wilkins, the moderate and liberal Bishop of Chester, belonged to -the same class with Fowler. Known chiefly by his scientific works, -he, nevertheless, deserves notice as one of the early defenders of -natural religion against the attacks and the innuendoes of sceptics -and infidels. The authors who have been just mentioned passed over -the evidences of religion and plunged at once into the discussion of -doctrines; but Wilkins saw that there is much outside Christianity -which needed defence, for the subsequent preservation of the palladium -of the faith. He is to be reckoned amongst the first to expound those -more general and fundamental truths which, in the next century, -occupied so much attention, and were esteemed bulwarks of revelation. -He wrote upon the principles and duties of natural religion; but -only twelve chapters of the book on the subject were completed by -himself; the rest being prepared from the Bishop’s MSS., by his -friend Tillotson. Cumberland’s _De legibus Naturæ Disquisitio -Philosophica_ (1672) is scarcely a theological treatise, it being a -pioneer in the dangerous region of utilitarian ethics; but Cumberland -may properly be reckoned as belonging to the Latitudinarians, for his -speculations are more or less intimately related to what is generally -regarded as the religion of nature in its alliance with the religion of -revelation. - -[Sidenote: CUDWORTH.] - -A chief--if not the very first place--amongst the opponents of atheism -and immorality, must be adjudged to Ralph Cudworth, whose learning -and ability have reflected so much lustre on the Cambridge school. -His _Intellectual System_ is left unfinished, and reminds us of -costly preparations for palatial buildings which have never risen -above a few layers of marble blocks. With such a comparison, however, -a contrast is suggested; for whilst the substructions referred to, may -be monuments of the folly, condemned in the Gospel, of him who begins -to build and is not able to finish,--Cudworth’s treatise shows it was -from no want of power that he left his work incomplete. Of the five -chapters of the first and only book of the _Intellectual System_, -the fourth and fifth are by very far the longest, and these are devoted -to Theology. It comes not within my province to make an attempt at -deciding upon the place of honour due to Cudworth in the temple of -fame, to report his speculations, or to repeat his critical estimates -of different philosophers; my duty is simply to call attention to the -two chapters, in which he ventures to trace a resemblance between the -Trinity of Plato and the Trinity of Scripture, and argues also against -Atheism. Respecting the latter, Cudworth had stated in his second -chapter, the various reasonings of the ancient fatalists, whose system -he characterized as “a gigantical and titanical attempt to dethrone -the Deity,”--“Atheism openly swaggering under the glorious appearance -of wisdom and philosophy.” In the fourth chapter, where he speaks of -the Trinity, he explains Platonic ideas, attempting to show, that -notwithstanding the difference between them and the ideas in Scripture, -the three hypostases of the Platonists were Homoousian, Coessential, -and Consubstantial. He touches upon the opinions of the Fathers, and -expounds the views of Athanasius, who supposes that the three Divine -hypostases “make up one entire Divinity, after the same manner as the -fountain and the stream make up one entire river; or the root, and -the stock, and the branches, one entire tree.” Cudworth contends that -the Christian Trinity, though a mystery, is more agreeable to reason -than the Platonic; and that there is no absurdity at all in supposing -“the pure soul and body of the Messiah to be made a living temple or -Shechinah-image or statue of the Deity.”[478] The bent of the author’s -mind, and the tendency of the school to which he belonged, is seen -throughout this part of his design, which is not to place the doctrine -of the Trinity on a scriptural basis, but to establish and illustrate -its perfect reasonableness, and to point out coincidences between it -and some of the best guesses, or most satisfactory conclusions, of -thinkers who never enjoyed the advantages of revelation. In harmony -with this, is the fact of his noting, in the midst of his speculations, -the following errors:--“The first, of those who make Christianity -nothing but an Antinomian Plot against real righteousness, and, as -it were, a secret confederacy with the Devil. The second, of those -who turn that into matter of mere notion and opinion, dispute and -controversy, which was designed by God only as a contrivance, machine, -or engine to bring men effectually to a holy and godly life.”[479] - -[Sidenote: CUDWORTH.] - -The fifth chapter is devoted to “a particular confutation of all the -atheistic grounds,” which confutation covers 270 folio pages. The two -principal objections which he combats are, that, either men have no -idea of God at all, or else, none but such as is compounded and made up -of impossible and contradictory notions; whence these Atheists would -infer Him to be an inconceivable nothing, and that, as nothing could -come from nothing, it may be concluded, that whatever substantially -or really is, was from all eternity of itself unmade, or uncreated by -any Deity. The answering of these objections--in a course of argument -which combines great learning with metaphysical acuteness--leads -Cudworth to introduce proofs of the Divine existence drawn from final -causes, as in the subjoined passage, which is quoted as one of the -most familiar and popular forms of reasoning to be found in this -recondite treatise:--“It is no more possible, that the fortuitous -motion of dead and senseless matter, should ever from itself be taught -and necessitated to produce such an orderly and regular system as the -frame of this whole world is, together with the bodies of animals, and -constantly to continue the same; than that a man perfectly illiterate -and neither able to write nor read, taking up a pen into his hand, and -making all manner of scrawls, with ink upon paper, should at length be -taught and necessitated by the thing itself, to write a whole quire of -paper together, with such characters, as being decyphered by a certain -key, would all prove coherent philosophic sense.” Or to take another -instance:--“This is no more possible than that ten or a dozen persons, -altogether unskilled in music, having several instruments given them, -and striking the strings or keys thereof, any how as it happened, -should, after some time of discord and jarring, at length be taught and -necessitated, to fall into most exquisite harmony, and continue the -same uninterruptedly for several hours together.”[480] - -Cudworth directed his studies chiefly to the foundations of religion -and morality. Neither from his published works, nor, it would appear, -from his unpublished MSS., in the British Museum, can any definite -system of Biblical doctrine be gathered. The general colouring of his -theological views, however, may be inferred from the very title of one -of his printed treatises: “_Deus Justificatus_; or the Divine -Goodness vindicated and cleared against the assertors of absolute and -inconditionate Reprobation.” - -[Sidenote: CAMBRIDGE.--CRITICS.] - -Edward Stillingfleet, who has claimed our attention both as a healer -and a stirrer up of strife, although not a doctrinal controversialist, -demands some notice as a writer on Christian evidences. His broad -and moderate churchmanship at the period of the Restoration, and -his sympathy also at that time with the Latitudinarian Divines of -Cambridge,--where he was educated and obtained a Fellowship at St. -John’s in 1653,--entitle him to a place amongst them in the early -part of his life.[481] It was in the year 1662, that he published his -“_Origines Sacræ_; or Rational Account of the Christian Faith, -as to the Truth and Divine Authority of the Scripture.” His learning, -acuteness, logical ability, and lawyer-like habit of thought eminently -fitted him for controversy, and these talents are signally displayed -in the book now mentioned. The first part is occupied with an exposure -of the obscurity, defect, and uncertainty of heathen histories, and of -heathen chronology. In the treatment of this subject, he so completely -undermines the credibility of all ancient history, except what is in -Scripture, that he unwittingly precludes the proper use of the former -in certain instances as a corroboration of the latter. He does not with -thorough care distinguish between insufficiency and a complete want of -authority. In the second book, he dwells on the knowledge, fidelity, -and integrity of Moses; and upon the proofs of a Divine inspiration of -the prophets from the fulfilment of their prophecies; but in this part -of his work, he does not so much anticipate the details of the modern -argument, as unfold the principles upon which he conceived the argument -should rest. The evidence from miracles is also exhibited. The third -book, to which the title of _Origines_ particularly points, treats -of the being of God, and the origin of the universe,--of evil--of the -nations of the earth--and of the Heathen Mythology. In connection with -the origin of nations, he vindicates the Scripture history of the -Deluge, and falls into harmony with modern geologists, by confessing -that he sees no necessity from Scripture, to assert, that the flood -spread itself over the whole surface of the earth.[482] - -Before proceeding further with the current of theological opinion, let -me pause for a moment to mention the names of men who, in the service -of Biblical learning, may perhaps be justly classed with the Divines -now under review. Lightfoot, the Erastian, published, between 1644 and -1664, a Harmony of the Gospels, a Commentary upon the Acts, and Notes -upon St. Paul’s Epistles to the Romans and Corinthians, besides _Horæ -Hebraicæ, et Talmudicæ_, and other Exercitations of a similar kind. -All his books exhibit Rabbinical lore applied to the elucidation of the -Holy Scriptures; and he is not only the first of our English Divines to -break up new ground decidedly and extensively in this field, but he -actually tills the soil to such a degree, that none of his successors -in the same path of industry are equal to this master-workman. Besides -his own volumes, he has contributed to the interests of Biblical -scholarship, by largely assisting Walton in his Polyglott, and Poole in -his Synopsis. - -Simon Patrick--numbered by Burnet among the Latitudinarians--wrote -Commentaries upon the Old Testament, as far as the Book of -Esther,--these were published between the years 1694 and 1705,--but at -an earlier date, between 1678 and 1681, he wrote Paraphrases of Job -and the Psalms, of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon. He -united reverence with learning, and brevity with accuracy; and avoiding -the method of citing a number of opinions, which only perplex the -reader, he gives his own in a style which is clear, and with arguments -which are forcible.[483] - -There is another person entitled to honourable mention, which perhaps -may be as fittingly introduced here as anywhere: for, though he cannot -be identified with the Latitudinarian school, neither can he in any -proper sense be pronounced either Anglican or Puritan. Dr. James Ussher -occupies a niche of his own in the temple of theological literature. -His broad sympathies seem to fix his place at least near to those -scholars who have just been described. As to time, his publications -take their place between the beginning of the works of Lightfoot and -the beginning of the works of Patrick. Ussher differed from them both. -He was far superior to the last in learning; but I should infer, from -what is said of him, that in some respects--certainly in the Rabbinical -department of study--he was inferior to Lightfoot as a Biblical critic. -In the learning which relates to sacred chronology he had no rival. - -[Sidenote: CAMBRIDGE.--SCIENCE.] - -At the close of this chapter, in which so much has been said respecting -the free thought of the Cambridge school, and just as we are on the -point of noticing its wider developments, I would seize the opportunity -of saying a few words in relation to views of science entertained by -more advanced theological inquirers. Aristotle remained a favourite -philosophical teacher with the supporters of old-fashioned orthodoxy. -The “new learning,” as the investigation of physical phenomena after -the Baconian method, came to be termed, inspired an immense degree of -suspicion in the minds of a large number of clergymen, who fancied -they could detect in it tendencies to Popery, or Socinianism,--they -scarcely knew which; and the infant Royal Society, then beginning “to -knock at the door where truth was to be found, although it was left for -Newton to force it open,”[484] expressed a good deal of indignation -on account of its supposed arrogance. It received such treatment as -falls to the lot of a pert and conceited child, and old people shook -their heads as they prognosticated the end of such folly after a little -experience. Gunning, Bishop of Ely, Barlow, Bishop of Lincoln, and -South, when orator at the University of Oxford, denounced these new -studies as most mischievous; and Henry Stubbe, an intense admirer of -Aristotle, raved against the scientific associates with a violence -which was perfectly absurd.[485] That jealousy of science, which is -not yet extinguished, then burnt with greater fury than it does now; -and the Divines who united the inductive study of nature with the more -immediate duties of their profession, had to sustain the brunt of a -fierce battle. Seth Ward, Bishop of Salisbury, and Wilkins, Bishop -of Chester, whilst theologically at variance, were scientifically in -unison, and occupied the front rank in the clerical army on the side of -intellectual advancement. But the person most zealous and laborious in -the defence of the new philosophy was Joseph Glanvill, Rector of Bath, -and Chaplain in Ordinary to Charles II., a writer of great ability, who -had at his command a racy vigorous English style. It is amusing to find -him employing the doctrine of a pre-existence of souls as the key to -unlock the grand mysteries of Providence, and defending the possibility -and real existence of witches and apparitions; still more amusing to be -told by him that Adam needed neither spectacles nor telescope, for his -naked eyes saw as much of the celestial world as we can discover with -all the advantages of art.[486] Nevertheless the tone of his philosophy -on the whole was decidedly sceptical; more so than Descartes, more so -than Malebranche. - -[Sidenote: CAMBRIDGE.--SCIENCE.] - -Glanvill, who was a Fellow of the Royal Society, and acted as its -Secretary, described and vindicated its character and proceedings, as a -noble institution, vouchsafed to the modern world for the communication -and increase of knowledge, according to the pregnant suggestion of -Lord Bacon, that many heads and hands should unite in making and -recording scientific observations, thus gathering up the facts which -lie scattered in “the vast champaign of nature,” and bringing them -into a common store.[487] But a notice of the way in which Glanvill -defended the religious temper and tendencies of the experimental -philosophy is more to our purpose; and I may, therefore, state that -he executed his task in an ingenious and lively performance which is -well worth the attention of certain people in the present day. He shows -that God is to be praised in all His works--that His works are to be -studied by those that would praise Him for them--that the study of -nature in relation to God is very serviceable to religion--and that -the ministers and professors of religion ought not to discourage, but -promote the knowledge of the ways and works of its Author. He not only -points out the connection between science and natural religion, but -proves how true philosophy may be a friend of revelation, since it is -a maxim of reason, that whatsoever God saith is to be believed, though -we cannot apprehend the manner of it or tell how the thing should -be.[488] No heterodoxy lurked under the advocacy of this scientific -Divine, for he applied his principle to the Trinity and Incarnation, -as being defensible on the same grounds as the existence of matter -and motion. He moves nearer to the controversies of our own time, and -indeed takes up a position in the midst of existing strifes, when he -challenges the imputation, that philosophy teaches doctrines contrary -to the Word of God. He meets it by saying, philosophy teaches many -things which are not revealed in Scripture, for the design of Scripture -is to teach religion, not science; no tenet ought to be exploded -because some statements in the Divine oracles seem not to comport with -it, natural objects being popularly described in the Old Testament; -and the free experimental philosophy which the author pursued, and -undertook to recommend, ventured, he said, on no peremptory and -dogmatical assertions opposed to Divine authority, but confined itself -to probabilities, where religion and the Scriptures are not at all -concerned.[489] In many of his remarks, Glanvill anticipates the line -of defence adopted by modern religious philosophers; and whilst he -evinces a freedom of inquiry into natural phenomena which proves that -he had burst the trammels of ancient prejudices, he also indicates a -profound reverence for the Bible, and never allows his scepticism to -utter a syllable inconsistent with belief in Divine revelation. I may -add, that he published a discourse upon the agreement between reason -and religion, against infidelity, scepticism, and fanaticisms of all -sorts. It is apparent, from what he says, that he had no sympathy with -Puritanism, but he had a great respect for Richard Baxter. - - - - - CHAPTER XVI. - - -The term Latitudinarian, both as a term of praise and a term of -reproach, intended by friends to signify that a man was liberal, -intended by enemies to denote that he was heterodox, came to be applied -to thinkers holding very different opinions. Amongst the Divines, often -placed under the generic denomination, very considerable diversities of -sentiment existed. Indeed, the name is so loosely used as to be given -to some persons whose orthodoxy is above all just suspicion--to others -not only verging upon but deeply involved in considerable error. When -we examine the essence of Latitudinarianism, and find that it consisted -in the elevation of morals above dogmas, in the assertion of charity -against bigotry, in abstinence from a curious prying into mysteries, -yet in the culture of a spirit of free investigation, we see that -there might be lying concealed under much which is truly excellent, -elements of a different description. Scepticism might nestle under -all this virtue, and all this tolerance--under this love of what is -reasonable, and this habit of liberal inquiry. Faith, in that which is -most precious, might live in amicable alliance with the distinctive -Latitudinarian temper, or scepticism might secretly nestle beneath its -wings. - -From the beginning of the movement, some who took part in it, -betrayed a want of sympathy in those strong Gospel convictions, which -are of supreme importance, and in connection with it there were -entertained, at an early period of its history, curious speculations -respecting the pre-existence of souls, the salvation of the heathen, -and the state of the body at the resurrection. Though some of these -speculations were only fanciful, and others were capable of an orthodox -construction, they certainly indicated a mental tendency very apt to -resent the restraints of the Church’s faith, and to run into devious, -if not dangerous paths. It was more than possible for this habit of -rational and free inquiry to slip from under the control of its better -principles, and to assume forms of even a disastrous kind. - -[Sidenote: LATITUDINARIANISM.] - -We cannot help recognizing in the movement, one wave amongst many then -foaming and breaking over the wide ocean of human thought. Resistance -to the strict Calvinistic theory appeared and increased in the French -Protestant Church. In the academy of Saumur speculations were rife, -undermining the doctrines of imputation and original sin, and pointing -to the idea of universal grace.[490] A similar tendency existed in -Switzerland, not so manifest but yet operative; for the _Formula -Consensus_ adopted in 1675 to exclude Divines, who were not sound -in the faith of Geneva, met with violent opposition, and had to be -softened down, and explained away. Against orthodox Lutheranism, as -expounded in its symbolical books, there had appeared in Germany, -in the first half of the century, a scheme in support of union and -toleration resting on the basis of the Apostles’ Creed, such a -proposal being pronounced by opponents to be _Syncretism_ or a -“_Lying medley_;” and in the second half of the same century may -be traced the rise of Pietism under Spener, who, although an orthodox -believer, exalted spiritual life above theological belief.[491] -Even the Roman Catholic Church throbbed with inquisitive impulses -perilous to the blind rule which it upheld. The theology of Jansenism, -whilst, under one aspect, it appears as an assertion of orthodox -Augustinianism,--under another aspect reveals itself as a protest -against authority; and the sentiment of Quietism, with its spiritual -ardour, tended to the depreciation of what is dogmatical. The Port -Royalists and Madame Guyon were, in fact, falling into a current which -they did not comprehend. Biblical criticism was looking the same -way. It carried in its bosom elements both of faith and scepticism. -Inquiries into the state of the sacred text alarmed many of the -learned and the good; and Hermeneutical Canons were being followed, -which, while soundly Protestant, imperilled ideas venerable for their -antiquity.[492] Historical criticism exposed ancient falsehoods. The -spuriousness of the Isidorian Decretals, for ages the stronghold of -Papal despotism, was demonstrated by the Protestant Controversialist -Blondel, and was acknowledged even by the Catholic Canonist Contius. -The abandonment of the scholastic method of reasoning, the triumph of -modern philosophy in the Universities of Europe, the formation of a -fresh secular literature, and the critical study of history in general, -with the explosion of old fables and superstitions, were all signs of -the times, conveying the impression that a new epoch was at hand in -the history of human intelligence. - -Philosophy abroad placed itself at the head of these tendencies. Even -Descartes, the Christian, in seeking a basis for positive belief, -started with a doubt; Spinoza, the Jew, his disciple in some respects, -found his goal in pantheism.[493] The Malmesbury philosopher, Hobbes, -and, still earlier, Lord Herbert of Cherbury, in their free-thinking -speculations, long before any great movement took place at Cambridge, -not only laid religion open to the inroads of infidelity, but aided and -abetted attacks upon its citadel: Herbert, by denying the necessity of -a Scripture revelation, Hobbes by representing Christianity as resting -on a foundation, which no reasonable man can tolerate for a moment. -Thus widely, for good and for evil, free thought was at work in Europe. -Some saw in it a rising storm, which would tear every vessel from its -moorings; others believed it to be the breaking up of a winter’s frost, -and the melting down of icebergs, which had long chilled the whole -intellectual atmosphere. For my own part, I am convinced that there was -both evil and good in all this activity, of which the effect may be -traced in the history of intellectual inquiry ever since. It is felt -in the controversies of the present day; and he is the wise man who -strives to distinguish between the precious and the vile, to separate -the one from the other, and in the noble service of truth to abstain -from any alliance with error. - -[Sidenote: MILTON’S OPINIONS.] - -In this notice of the progress of free inquiry one great thinker should -be mentioned, whose fame as a poet has so eclipsed the reputation -of his genius in other respects, that he is rarely remembered in -the character of a theologian, although he really was one. In that -capacity he combined, perhaps, beyond any man of his age, peculiarities -drawn from two schools, with neither of which could he be identified. -In the very title of John Milton’s _Treatise on Christian Doctrine, -compiled from the Holy Scriptures alone_, there is a Puritan-like -renunciation of the Anglican doctrine of patristic authority: his -inquiry touches only what the Bible teaches, and he professes, as many -others have done, without allowing for educational and constitutional -influences, to draw all his conclusions immediately and impartially -from Holy Writ. He might free himself from Church trammels of all -kinds; nevertheless even he could not deliver his mind from all -predilections and prejudgments; and when in his old age he sat down to -read the Bible, Milton, no more than other men, could bring to it a -_tabula rasa_ ready to receive nothing but unbiassed impressions -from the Divine oracles. - -The Latitudinarianism of Milton--how far influenced by the spirit -of free thought existing at Cambridge I cannot say--appears in his -doctrine of the Son of God; yet it modestly presents itself, and it -by no means reaches a Socinian conclusion. In contradiction to the -title of his Treatise he approaches this mysterious subject, through -the medium of certain metaphysical postulates, and teaches that the -Son, produced by generation, is neither co-eternal, nor co-essential, -and that His existence “was no less owing to the decree and will of -the Father, than His priesthood or kingly power, or His resuscitation -from the dead.” Milton overlooks, or virtually denies, the distinction -in the Nicene Creed, “begotten and not made;” when he says, “nothing -can be more evident than that God, of His own will, _created or -generated_, or produced the Son before all things;” and again, -whilst professing to discard reason in such matters, and to follow -the doctrine of Holy Scripture exclusively, he proceeds to insist -metaphysically upon the unity of God, and to confine that unity to -the nature of the Father. According to this idea, he interprets a -number of texts, respecting the union of Christ with the Father, as -meaning no more than that the Father and the Son are one in purpose. -Milton examines, _seriatim_, the texts adduced in proof of the -absolute Divinity of the Redeemer, and sets them aside one by one, with -a calmness only now and then ruffled by a slight breeze of anger--in -striking contrast with the Neptune-like storms of controversy which he -raises in most of his polemical works. The negative side of his theory -of the nature of the Son is sufficiently clear; not so the positive -side. He is not a Trinitarian. He is not a Socinian. Is he an Arian? -If so, he belongs to the class nearest to orthodoxy, for all which he -denies is the co-eternity, and the co-existence of the Son, whilst he -expressly attributes to Him, Omnipresence, Omniscience, Omnipotence, -and universal Authority, as well as Divine works, and Divine honours. -His Editor, Dr. Sumner, remarks, that Milton ascribes to the Son -as high a share of Divinity as was compatible with the denial of -his self-existence, and eternal generation, his co-equality, and -co-essentiality with the Father.[494] - -Milton devotes a chapter to the doctrine of predestination, which he -defines as being not particular but universal:--none are predestinated -or elected irrespectively of character (_e.g._, Peter is not -elected as Peter, or John as John, but inasmuch as they are believers, -and continue in their belief); and thus, he says, the general decree of -election becomes personally applicable to each particular believer, -and is ratified to all who remain steadfast in the faith. - -[Sidenote: MILTON’S OPINIONS.] - -Milton’s sympathy with Puritanism appears in his views of redemption, -regeneration, repentance, justification, and adoption. In his chapter -on saving faith he describes it as a full persuasion produced in us -through the gift of God, whereby we believe, on the sole authority -of the promise itself, that all things are ours, whatsoever he has -promised us in Christ, and especially the grace of eternal life.[495] - -The spirit of free inquiry, at a later period, ran into decided -Arianism and Socinianism: at the time of which I am now speaking, -tendencies in that direction were at work in different quarters. -When, under the Commonwealth, Philip Nye said that “to his knowledge -the denying of the Divinity of Christ was a growing opinion;”--when -Edwards said, it had found an entrance into some of the Independent -Churches;--when Owen said, “The evil is at the door, there is not a -city, a town, scarce a village in England wherein some of this poison -is not poured forth;”--these writers might be under the influence of -uncharitableness, or of false alarm--both are common in seasons of -excitement--but when Parliament resolved, in the year 1652, to seize -and burn all copies of the Racovian Catechism, that fact forces us to -conclude that the Catechism must have been in circulation, and that the -tenets which it expressed were being propagated. - -John Biddle, who under the Commonwealth Government suffered much -in consequence of his opinions, may be considered the father of -Socinianism. Being a man of blameless life, the persecutions that he -underwent awaken our sympathy; and it is highly probable, that the -treatment which he received, although intended to reclaim him from -his errors, only served to drive him further from orthodoxy. He took -high ground as to free inquiry; but professed to exercise it simply -in getting at the meaning of Scripture; and he exhorted people “to -lay aside for a while, controversial writings, together with those -prejudicate opinions that have been instilled into the memory and -understanding, and closely to apply themselves to the search of the New -Testament.” At first he declared, “I believe, that our Saviour Jesus -Christ is truly God, by being truly, really, and properly united to -the only Person of the Infinite and Almighty Essence;”--this position, -instead of being employed by his opponents as an admission, sufficient -to keep him, if consistent, within the bounds of evangelical faith, -excited their suspicions, and led to fresh controversy, and fresh -persecution. Although he continued to use orthodox language, he made it -more and more a vehicle for conveying unorthodox ideas. His opinions -and modes of expression are equally peculiar. - -For example, one of the positions which he lays down is this:--“I -believe that there is One principal Minister of God and Christ, -principally sent from heaven to sanctify the Church, who, by reason -of His eminency, and intimacy with God, is singled out of the number -of the other heavenly ministers, or angels, and comprised in the Holy -Trinity, being the third Person thereof, and that this Minister of God -and Christ is the Holy Spirit.” Further, he observes, “the Trinity -which the Apostle Paul believed, consisteth of One God, One Lord, and -One Spirit, but not of three Persons in One God.” And he proceeds -even to adduce the usual arguments for the personality of the Holy -Spirit:--a doctrine which he admits throughout a singular Tract, -published by him at an earlier period. - -[Sidenote: BIDDLE.] - -In another article of faith, he avers, “I believe that Jesus Christ, -to the intent He might be a brother, and have a fellow-feeling of our -infirmities, and so become the more ready to help us (the consideration -whereof is the greatest encouragement to piety that can be imagined), -hath no other than a human nature; and, therefore, in the very nature, -is not only a Person (since none but a human person can be our -brother), but also our Lord, yea, our God.” - -His use of the word Trinity, which it seems he never dropped, he -explains by saying, that the Trinity which the Apostle Peter (Acts ii. -36) believed, consisteth of God the Father, of the Man Jesus Christ our -Lord, and of the Holy Spirit, the gift of God through our Lord Jesus -Christ.[496] - -In Biddle’s Catechism, which John Owen couples with the Racovian, -and elaborately answers in his _Vindiciæ Evangelicæ_,[497] the -author so far from explaining away the language of Holy Writ, pushes -its literal interpretation, respecting one subject at least, in a -very bold, rude fashion, to such an extreme, that he attributes to -the Almighty, a bodily and visible shape, with human affections and -passions. Consequently, he objected to the terms _infinite and -incomprehensible_, as forms of speech not used in Scripture, and not -applicable to the Supreme Being. Tertullian, it may here be noticed, -ascribed corporeality to God, but he seems to have meant by it nothing -more than substance and personality.[498] - -A very different man from Biddle,--one whom from his absurd manner -of talking, we should suspect had in him a touch of insanity,--was -Daniel Scargill, Fellow of Corpus Christi, Cambridge. In 1669, he -formally and publicly, before the University, recanted the following -opinions which he had formerly maintained: that all right of dominion -is founded only in power--that moral righteousness is based on the law -of the Magistrate--that the authority of Scripture rests on the same -foundation--that whatsoever the Civil Government commanded is to be -obeyed, although it may be contrary to Divine laws, and “that there is -a desirable glory in being, and in being reputed an Atheist--which I -implied when I expressly affirmed that I gloried to be an Hobbist and -an Atheist.” These retractions indicate the previous entertainment of -most extraordinary errors. - -In the next chapter I shall examine the mysticism of the Quakers before -I proceed to the theology of the Puritans. - - - - - CHAPTER XVII. - - -George Fox was the father of Quakerism, but to William Penn belongs the -distinction of being the first logical expounder of its principles. - -William Penn was the son of Admiral Penn. When only twelve years old -he began “to listen to the voice of God in his soul:” and when a -student at Oxford he suffered fines and expulsion for his incipient -Nonconformity. His father, incensed by these religious peculiarities, -turned him into the streets, but this did not in the least degree -destroy his convictions; and subsequently, European travel, and -education, which it might have been expected would dissipate his -impressions, left them as deep as ever, combined with an accession of -intelligence, and an acquisition of graceful manners which rendered him -the admiration of polite society. He had learned to handle the rapier, -with all the skill of a French gentleman, yet he remained imbued with -“a deep sense of the vanity of the world, and the irreligiousness -of its religions.” “Further,” to use his own language, “God, in His -everlasting kindness, guided my feet in the flower of my youth, when -about two-and-twenty years of age. Religion is my crime, and my -innocence,--it makes me a prisoner to malice, but my own freeman.” -When the fashionable world laughed at the rumour of the accomplished -William Penn becoming a Quaker, such ridicule did not move his purpose, -he only showed more steadfastness of conviction, and avowed his -adoption of Quaker habits by going to Court with his hat on. When the -Bishop of London menaced him with imprisonment, “My prison shall be my -grave,” the youth replied. When Charles sent Stillingfleet to talk with -him, the youthful Dissenter, through that Divine, returned an answer -to every threat--“The Tower is to me the worst argument in the world.” -This was in 1668, the year in which he published his _Truth Exalted, -or a Testimony to Rulers, Priests, and Bishops_; and the same year, -and in consequence of this same book, he was actually confined as a -prisoner within the gloomy walls of the old Norman fortress, where he -remained seven months; and where he wrote his _No Cross, No Crown, -or Several Sober Reasons against Hat Worship, Titular Respect, You -to a single person, with the Apparel and Recreations of the Times, -in Defence of the poor despised Quakers, against the practice and -objections of their adversaries_. The title is modified in later -editions. - -[Sidenote: QUAKERS.--WILLIAM PENN.] - -The old Admiral paid his son’s fines, and on his deathbed, in altered -tones, observed to him, “Son William, if you and your friends keep to -your plain way of preaching and living, you will make an end of the -priests.” Now possessed of his father’s fortune, he surprised people -by his religious eccentricities. “You are an ingenious gentleman,” -said a magistrate before whom he was brought, “you have a plentiful -estate, why should you render yourself unhappy by associating with -such a simple people?” “I prefer,” said he, “the honestly simple to -the ingeniously wicked;” this was in 1670, when committed to Newgate, -under the Conventicle Act, for preaching to “a riotous and seditious -assembly,”--that is to say, for preaching to a company of Friends, who -met for worship in the open-air; and from Newgate, he addressed to -Parliament and the people of England, a plea for liberty of conscience, -saying, if the efforts of the Quakers cannot obtain “the olive branch -of toleration, we bless the providence of God, resolving by patience -to outweary persecution, and by our constant sufferings, to obtain -a victory, more glorious than our adversaries can achieve by their -cruelties.”[499] - -These incidents in his early life were obviously connected with his -religious opinions. Far less imbued with the element of mysticism -than was the founder of the sect, this eminent disciple appears no -less earnest in the advocacy of his opinions; and he works them out -with a facility of reasoning, a compass of knowledge, and a force -and glow of diction, in which the reader cannot but recognize, in -connection with his natural ability, the fruits of his Oxford culture. -A comparison between the writings of Fox and Penn, as it regards mental -peculiarities, is interesting and instructive, showing the original -and creative genius of the one, and the effect of academical training -upon the other: in the enjoyment of a spiritual education, not of this -world, they were much alike. - -The fundamental principle of Quaker theology is found in the doctrine -of the inward light; and to the exposition and establishment of that -doctrine, William Penn devotes himself in his work, entitled _The -Christian a Quaker_ (1674). He explains the light as being not -something metaphorical, nor yet the mere spirit or reason of man, but -Christ, “that glorious Sun of Righteousness and heavenly luminary -of the intellectual or invisible world, represented of all outward -resemblances, most exactly by the great sun of this sensible and -visible world; that as this natural light ariseth upon all, and -gives light to all about the affairs of this life, so that Divine -light ariseth upon all and gives light to all that will receive the -manifestations of it about the concerns of the other life.” That light -manifests sin, and reveals duty. It saved from Adam’s day, through -the holy patriarchs’ and prophets’ time down to Christ; amongst the -Jews as proved from Scripture, amongst the Gentiles, as proved from -their own literature. Under this division, Penn quotes largely from -the _Stromata_ of Clement of Alexandria, adopting his quotations -as genuine and trustworthy. The primitive Fathers expressed themselves -in accordance with this doctrine; and amongst the heathen there were -men of virtuous lives, who taught the indispensableness of virtue to -life eternal. The author contends that the latter foresaw the coming -of Christ, and curiously adds, that their refusing to swear proves the -sufficiency of the inward light.[500] In the support of these opinions, -Penn appeals to the authority of Scripture, and employs a large amount -of general reasoning. - -[Sidenote: QUAKERS.--WILLIAM PENN.] - -Although the inward light be _the_ rule,[501] Holy Scripture is _a_ -rule, and one authoritative and binding on those who possess it. Hence, -whilst ever appealing to reason in his theological arguments, Penn -habitually refers to Scripture as an inspired revelation from God, of -great importance in determining religious controversy. The distinction -which he makes, and the place which he assigns to the Bible had better -be given in his own words:--“_A_ rule, and _the_ rule are two things. -By _the_ rule of faith and practice I understand the living, spiritual, -immediate, Omnipresent, discovering, ordering Spirit of God; and by _a_ -rule I apprehend some instrument, by and through which, this great -and universal rule may convey its directions. Such a subordinate, -secondary, and declaratory rule, we never said several parts of -Scripture were not, yet we confess the reason of our obedience is not -merely because they are there written (for that were legal) but because -they are the eternal precepts of the Spirit in men’s consciences, -there repeated and declared.”[502] This is the key which unlocks -Penn’s theological system; and it is remarkable, how the controversy -between the old Quakers and their contemporaries, turned mainly upon -a question, agitated in the present day by thinkers very unlike the -Quakers in many respects. - -The two rules thus defined were regarded by this writer as requiring -the rejection of the Anglican doctrine of the Trinity, and of the -Puritan doctrines respecting Christ’s Atonement, as a satisfaction -offered to God, and respecting the imputation of Christ’s -righteousness.[503] - -In consequence of what he said touching the Trinity, Penn was charged -with not believing in the Divinity of Christ, and indeed was sent to -prison on that account; but he clearly avows in his apology, entitled, -_Innocency with her Open Face_, that Christ is God; for, he -observes, if none can save or be properly styled a Saviour, but God, -and yet Christ is said to save, and is properly called a Saviour, it -must needs follow that Christ the Saviour is God. The strongest passage -I have noticed in the writings of Penn in relation to the atonement is -the following:--“That as there was a necessity that ‘One should die for -the people,’ so, whoever, then or since, believed in Him, had and have -a seal or confirmation of the remission of their sins in His blood; -and that blood--alluding to the custom of the Jewish sacrifices--shall -be an utter blotting out of former iniquities, carrying them as into a -land of forgetfulness.” - -The prominence which this Quaker Divine justly gave to the truth, that -Christ saves _from_ sin, is not associated with such ideas of -justification as accord with Puritan standards. According to his own -view, holiness is an integral part of that justification, which he -seems to identify with man’s entire salvation.[504] - -Penn, no doubt, misunderstood both Anglicans and Puritans, and in some -cases his disputes turned very much upon the meaning of words, yet -no one who attentively studies his works, can help seeing that there -were real and momentous differences between the Quakers and their -fellow Christians. Quakers, absorbed by their inward experiences, did -not attach the importance which is due to the historical and dogmatic -instructions of the sacred volume. Not that Quakers denied what is -historical, but they often, like early mystical expositors--Origen, for -example--overlaid it with fanciful meanings. Not that they neglected -all dogmatic teaching, but they failed to bring out clearly some of the -truths revealed in the New Testament, especially in the writings of the -Apostle Paul. The bright side of Quakerism lies in the marked elevation -of the moral above the intellectual, of the spiritual above the formal, -of the Divine above the human, of the work of God above the work of -man: and it is as a corollary from the master principle of the whole -system, the principle of the inner light, rather than as a deduction -from reason or from expediency, or even from Scripture, that there is -contained in Quaker literature such a distinct enunciation of men’s -right, universally, to the freedom of religious speech and of religious -worship.[505] - -[Sidenote: QUAKERS.--WILLIAM PENN.] - -Liberty, in William Penn’s estimation, was identical with Christianity. -Persecution he held to be thoroughly anti-Christian. Judging people -by their conduct, not by their creed, esteeming meekness and charity -as fruits of the Spirit, inseparable from true religion, he looked -upon all persecutors, whether Churchmen or Separatists, whether sound -or heterodox, as alienated from their Maker, and as enemies to their -race.[506] - -William Penn had an opportunity such as no other person amongst the -authors we are now describing ever possessed, of testing his theory of -religion and morals. - -After travelling with George Fox over the Continent upon religious -service, and after finding all hopes of liberty crushed at home, Penn -in 1681 resolved to cross the Atlantic, and in America to realize the -bright dreams which had entertained his imagination from a boy--dreams -of “a free Colony for all mankind.” He landed on the banks of the -Delaware, to try “the holy experiment.” Tradition tells of his -receiving the enfeoffment of the territory, by delivery of earth and -water to him, as he stood surrounded by Swedes, Dutch, and English, in -the Court House of the Colonial town of Newcastle; and of his ascending -the river, fringed with pine trees, to the spot where was to rise the -City of Philadelphia, and of his treaty with the Indians under the -autumn-tinted elm tree of Shakamaxon. “We meet,” he said to his new -neighbours, the red-complexioned children of the forest, “on the broad -pathway of good faith and good will, no advantage shall be taken on -either side, but all shall be openness and love. I will not call you -children, for parents sometimes chide their children too severely; nor -brothers only, for brothers differ. The friendship between you and me, -I will not compare to a chain, for that the rains might rust, or the -falling tree might break. We are the same, as if one man’s body were -to be divided into two parts, we are all one flesh and blood.” Never -had there been in the wild regions of the earth such colonizing as -that before. “We will live,” said the red men, “in love with William -Penn and his children, as long as the moon and the sun shall endure.” -God was the sole witness of that covenant. Its only memorials were the -strings of wampun which these covenanters hung up in their huts, and -the shells they counted over upon a piece of bark; yet whilst other -treaties amongst civilized Europeans have been torn into shreds as soon -as they have been sealed, this has remained inviolate. “We have done -better,” could the Colonists say, “than if, with the proud Spaniards, -we had gained the mines of Potosi. We may make the ambitious heroes -whom the world admires, blush for their shameful victories. To the -poor dark souls round about us we teach their rights as men.” Penn -visited the natives in their cabins, partook of their roasted acorns, -laughed and played with the frolicksome, and spoke to them of God. “The -poor savage people believed in God, and the soul, without the aid of -metaphysics.” - -The infant city, the Philadelphia, which in 1683 “consisted of three or -four little cottages,” grew and spread, hollow trees were succeeded by -houses. The chestnut, the walnut, and the ash were cut down for the use -of the emigrants, roads were made, boys and girls played in the streets -of this new Jerusalem, and the kindly-hearted Quaker, with his genial -good-humoured face, with his broad-brimmed hat, his long neckcloth, and -his drab attire, might be seen patting their heads with fatherly love. - -William Penn, as a theologian, wrote books. William Penn, as a -Christian philanthropist and statesman, did a work which surpassed his -books. “How happy must be a community instituted on their principles,” -said Peter the Great, speaking of the Quakers. “Beautiful,” cried -Frederic the Great; “it is perfect, if it can endure.” It has endured. - -[Sidenote: QUAKERS.--BARCLAY.] - -Robert Barclay, a Scotch Friend, the son of Colonel David Barclay, of -an ancient family, and of Catherine Gordon, of the ducal house of that -name, published his famous _Apology_ in 1676, two years after -Penn had published _The Christian a Quaker_. With nothing like -the flowing style of his English contemporary, he had a more robust -understanding, a keener conception of what he meant to say, a still -more logical method of treatment, and, without any show of learning, -perhaps he had a deeper amount of scholarship, obtained during his -education and residence in France. Barclay affords the student a great -advantage wanting in Penn; whereas, in the case of Penn, we have to -search through several treatises, extending to five volumes, in order -to ascertain the beliefs which he inculcated, in Barclay they are -brought together in their proper relation and proportions, and are -compactly yet fully expressed. A remarkable coincidence of opinion -appears between the two writers, although the intimacy between them -does not seem to have commenced until after Barclay had written his -_Apology_. - -He strikes the same key-note as does his friend. The inward light is -the true foundation of knowledge, and the Scriptures are not to be -esteemed the principal ground of truth and knowledge, the primary rule -of faith and manners. He maintains that there is universal redemption -by Christ, and that the saving spiritual light enlighteneth every man. -Christ is in all men a supernatural light or seed, beyond reason, above -conscience, _Vehiculum Dei_: yet there is a great difference -between Christ in the wicked, and Christ in the saints. He is quenched -and crucified in the one; He is cherished and obeyed in the other.[507] - -[Sidenote: QUAKERS.--BARCLAY.] - -Barclay speaks of an outward redemption wrought for man by Christ in -His crucified body, whereby we are made capable of salvation, and of -an inward redemption wrought within us by the Spirit of Christ. “The -first,” he says, “is the redemption performed and accomplished by -Christ for us, in His crucified body, without us; the other is the -redemption wrought by Christ in us, which no less properly is called -and accounted a redemption than the former. The first, then, is that -whereby a man as he stands in the fall, is put into a capacity of -salvation, and hath conveyed unto him a measure of that power, virtue, -spirit, life, and grace, that was in Christ Jesus, which, as the -free gift of God, is able to counterbalance, overcome, and root out -the evil seed, wherewith we are naturally, as in the fall, leavened. -The second is that whereby we witness and know this pure and perfect -redemption in ourselves, purifying, cleansing, and redeeming us from -the power of corruption, and bringing us into unity, favour, and -friendship with God. By the first of these two, we that were lost -in Adam are so far reconciled to God by the death of His Son, while -enemies, that we are put into a capacity of salvation, having the glad -tidings of the Gospel of peace offered unto us; and God is reconciled -unto us in Christ. By the second, we witness this capacity brought -into act; whereby receiving, and not resisting, the purchase of His -death, to wit, the light, Spirit, and grace of Christ revealed in -us, we witness and possess, a real, true, and inward redemption from -the power and prevalency of sin; and so come to be truly and really -redeemed, justified, and made righteous, and to a sensible union and -friendship with God. Thus He died for us, that He might redeem us from -all iniquity; and thus we know Him, and the power of His resurrection, -and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable to His -death. This last follows the first in order, and is a consequence of -it, proceeding from it, as an _effect_ from its _cause_; for, -as none could have enjoyed the last, without the first had been (such -being the will of God); so also can none now partake of the first, but -as he witnesseth the last. Wherefore, as to us, they are both causes of -our justification; the first the _procuring efficient_, the other -the _formal cause_.”[508] - -Although in Barclay’s proposition concerning justification, he seems -verbally to distinguish between that privilege and holiness of -character, yet he really confounds them together. Nor does he scruple -to style good works meritorious “in a qualified sense.” He takes care, -however, distinctly to ascribe human salvation to the merit of the -Lord Jesus Christ. In another proposition, he expresses his faith -in perfection, defining it as a freedom from actual sinning, yet -admitting a growth of goodness which, however, involves a possibility -of sin.[509] The Calvinistic doctrine of perseverance he distinctly -denies; and in the remainder of the treatise he unfolds the well-known -Quaker views concerning the ministry, Divine worship, the sacraments, -the power of the magistrate, and social intercourse. - -There is remarkable breadth in the Quaker scheme of theology, it has -singular affinities to other systems; and hence, in addition to its -inherent amiable and loving spirit--which from the beginning rose above -its fierce antagonism to existing Churches--the hold it has frequently -gained upon the sympathies of Christians of different communions. -Its relationship to all mystical forms of Christianity is obvious at -a glance. Not less real is the resemblance between it and certain -aspects of Latitudinarianism on the one side, and of Anglicanism on -the other. The Quaker, like the Latitudinarian, dwells chiefly on the -moral and spiritual side of the Gospel, eschews dogmatical teaching, -sees a heavenly Teacher in every human soul, and looks for religious -instruction beyond what written texts convey. He also, like the -Anglican, treats Scripture as insufficient, taken alone; it is to both -a rule, a supreme rule, but not the only one. The Quaker finds in his -own breast the supplemental voice which the Anglican seeks in the -ancient Church. - -There were at that period other Mystics besides the Quakers. Indeed, -our English theological literature of the seventeenth century is much -richer in sentiment, speculation, and imagery of this kind, than many -well-informed persons suppose. - -[Sidenote: OTHER MYSTICS.--SALTMARSH.] - -John Saltmarsh’s “_Sparkles of Glory_, or some beams of the -Morning Star, wherein are many discoveries as to truth and peace, to -the establishment and pure enlargement of a Christian in spirit and -truth,” is a book of considerable power, written in a compact and -lucid style, such as one rarely finds in works of this description. -The author--without condemning water baptism, or the divers organized -ministries of the Churches, or the institutes of Episcopacy, -Presbyterianism, and Independency, as the Quakers were wont to do, but -rather counting them as mere forms, full of weakness and defect, yet -to be tolerated, as having subordinate and preparatory uses--dwells -chiefly upon the passage from lower ministrations to higher, and -expatiates with much delight upon the mystery of true Christian liberty -from God, upon the glorious discoveries of the Spirit to the soul, and -upon the revelation of Christ in us. The history of Christ’s life and -death, with the new relationships in which those stupendous events -place mankind to the Divine Being, and the grand doctrines embodied -in the ancient Church creeds, are little, if at all, noticed in this -mystical treatise. Religion is resolved entirely into the experience -of a spiritual life. Personal responsibility, moral obligation, and -individual duties, are not the subjects which attract the writer’s -attention, his one chief idea throughout being, that the Christian -soul is the passive, quiet, trustful recipient of grace and love. -The highest prayer is a spiritual revelation. “All that we pray--and -not the Spirit of God in us, not that spirit of prayer spoken of -in Scripture--is but the spirit of man praying, which is but the -cry of the creature, or a natural complaining for what we want, as -the Ninevites, and the children and beasts of that city, all cried -unto the Lord.” “That which is the pure, spiritual, comprehensive -principle of a Christian is this:--That all outward administrations, -whether as to religion, or to natural, civil, and moral things, are -only the visible appearances of God, as to the world, or in this -creation; or the clothing of God, being such forms and dispensations -as God puts on amongst men to appear to them in: this is the garment -the Son of God was clothed with down to the feet, or to His lowest -appearance. And God doth not fix Himself upon any one form or outward -dispensation, but at His own will and pleasure comes forth in such -and such an administration, and goes out of it, and leaves it, and -takes up another. And this is clear in all God’s proceedings with the -world, both in the Jewish Church and State, and Christians now. And -when God is gone out, and hath left such or such an administration, -of what kind soever it is, be it religious, moral, or civil, such an -administration is a desolate house, a temple whose veil is rent, a -sun whose light is darkened; and to worship it then, is to worship an -idol, an image, a form, without God, or any manifestation of God in -it, save to him who (as Paul saith) knows an idol to be nothing. The -pure, spiritual, comprehensive Christian, is one who grows up with God -from administration to administration, and so walks with God in all his -removes and spiritual increasings and flowings; and such are weak and -in the flesh who tarry behind, worshipping that form or administration -out of which God is departed.”[510] - -[Sidenote: OTHER MYSTICS.--STERRY.] - -Peter Sterry, one of Cromwell’s chaplains, is described as “a -high-flown mystical Divine.” After being first much abused and then -long neglected, he has of late been named with honour in high literary -quarters. _The Rise, Race, and Royalty of the Kingdom of God in the -Soul of Man_, is a publication in which the characteristics of the -author’s mind and teaching may be fully seen. It consists of a series -of sermons upon the words, “Except ye be converted, and become as -little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven;” the -rise to the kingdom being conversion, the race to the kingdom being -a life like that of little children, and the royalty itself being -composed of the two states of present grace and future glory. The -practice of minutely dividing and subdividing a discourse, until it -becomes a thing of shreds and patches, is pushed in this instance to -an intolerable extreme; and the breaking up of sentences into distinct -paragraphs, with the carrying on of different sets of numbers from page -to page, render the perusal of the book a tremendous task. Upon reading -it, I find that the mysticism which it exhibits is of another order -than that found in the pages of Saltmarsh. The substance of Saltmarsh’s -thought is saturated with the spirit of mysticism, the whole nature and -scope of his theology is mystical from head to foot; but the mysticism -of Sterry strikes one as pertaining more to his imaginative forms of -conception and modes of expression than to anything else. His doctrines -of conversion and of religious life, of Christian experience, duty, and -hope, are of the usual evangelical type, but his ideas are ever dressed -in mystical phraseology. He quotes texts of Scripture in abundance, and -then commonly runs out into some strain of allegorical interpretation. -I will quote one passage, which, whilst a specimen of his style, is -more than ordinarily impregnated with mysticism in the substance of the -thought:-- - -“God comes into our nature, as the root of each single person. Here -He becomes our Jesus, making Himself a new seed; out of this seed He -brings forth a new image of Divinity, by which He breaks through the -image of the devil and nature, brings forth man out of them, brings -them into subjection to this growing beauty. As the fuel is dissolved -into smoke, and the smoke again breaks up into flame, so the image of -the devil riseth up out of the image of nature, shaking that to dust, -as it riseth: the image of God, again, sprouts forth in the midst of -the devil’s image, first spoiling, then triumphing over, and in both. - -“God through nature, as the root, grows up into single persons, as the -branches. Then as the shades of night fly away before the ascending -day, so,--as this Divine seed our Jesus sends forth itself in an image -of beauty through our souls,--the image of darkness and death sinks -down into its own place, and principle.”[511] - -To Sterry’s book on _The Kingdom of God_ an introduction is -prefixed, written by Jeremy White, who had been chaplain to Oliver -Cromwell, and who lived in private after the Restoration, preaching but -occasionally. White sympathized in the mysticism of Sterry, and, in -the following beautiful passage, uttered truths well worth the serious -consideration of all spiritually-minded people, especially of those who -are disposed to undervalue, perhaps to ridicule, thoughts imbued with -mystic elements:-- - -“Who among us is yet able to comprehend all the distinct ages and -growths of good minds; to understand the various improvements, -measures, and attainments, the several capacities, languages, and -operations which are peculiar to those ages and growths? It is -impossible for us to set the bounds to spiritual things, to stint that -spirit in ourselves or others which is a fountain of Divine light and -life in all regenerated souls, continually sending forth new streams, -and running along with a fresh succession of waters without any stop or -limit. We are too proud to understand the condescensions, too low to -take the height, too shallow to fathom the depth, too narrow to measure -the breadth, too short to reach the length of the Divine truth and -goodness, and the various communications of themselves to us. We cannot -assign the highest or the lowest state of saints whilst they are here -below. We cannot say, All above this is fancy, whimsey, dream, and -delusion; all below that is common, carnal, formal, and superstitious. -As we ought not, then, to despise and contemn that which is below, -so let us not censure and condemn that which is above us. Blessed be -God, all good souls, in the midst of their greatest distances from one -another here below, do all meet in the Divine comprehension above. We -are all enfolded in the Divine arms, we are all encircled in the Divine -love. That has breadth, and length, and depth, and height enough to -reach and hold us all. And if we cannot yet receive and embrace each -other in our several ages, growths, measures, and attainments, it is -because we have little, low, dark, narrow, and contracted hearts, feel -but little of the love of Christ, and are no more filled with that -Spirit which is the spring, the centre, the circle, the band to all -good spirits in heaven and on earth.” - -Jeremy White was a follower of Origen in his views of the ultimate -safety and happiness of the whole universe, and he wrote a -book,--published after his death,--the title of which sums up his -theory: he calls it “_The Restoration of all Things_, or a -vindication of the goodness and grace of God, to be manifested at last, -in the recovery of the whole creation out of their fall.” - -[Sidenote: OTHER MYSTICS.--SIR HENRY VANE.] - -Sir Henry Vane is numbered amongst English Mystics, but he was more of -the mystical philosopher than the mystical theologian, and the same -may be said, to some extent, of Henry More; but the profession of the -latter, as a clergyman, naturally directed his attention to Divinity -properly so called, and how his mystical views influenced his religious -life and character, will be shown in a subsequent portion of this -volume. - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII. - - -The proofs of Christianity were noticed by Anglican Divines. Embedded -in the rich quarry of Jeremy Taylor’s _Ductor Dubitantium_, may -be found an able and eloquent summary of the external and internal -evidences; and Hammond, in his _Reasonableness of Christian -Religion_, points out the ground upon which men embrace it “in the -gross, all of it together,” after which he descends in detail to the -survey and vindication of those particular branches of Christianity -which appeared to men at that time to be least supported. And it may be -mentioned, as an illustration of the changing fashions of scepticism, -that the points here considered by Hammond were--objections to God’s -disposition of providence, founded on the prosperity of injustice and -the calamities of innocence; and the exceptions taken to Christ’s -commands because He enjoins the duty of taking up the cross--points -which certainly would not engross the attention of Christian advocates -in the present day. - -[Sidenote: PURITAN WORKS ON EVIDENCES.] - -The evidences of our holy religion were more largely discussed by -writers of the Latitudinarian school, as already described; and they -also received pre-eminent attention from Puritan authors. Authors of -that class were amongst the first keenly to discern the signs of the -times in the direction of scepticism, amongst the first to combat -the rising evil. Devoted to the study of the Sacred Volume, they also -devoted themselves to the examination of the basis of its Divine -claims. One reason why the Cambridge and Puritan Divines paid more -attention to this branch of study might be, that they thought so much -more of Christianity than of the Church, so much more of the former as -a system of truth, than of the latter as a scheme of government; and -further, which is only another particular effect of the same general -cause, they were under the influence of an individualizing power, which -is one of the secrets of Protestantism, and which makes each person -feel so strongly his own responsibility for the creed which he adopts. -In this respect especially, the Puritan differed from the Anglican, who -might be said to receive his Christianity from the Church, rather than -his Church from Christianity. - -Two distinguished Puritan writers exhibit the proofs of natural -religion,--and two others the proofs of revealed religion. - -Cudworth’s great work was published in 1678; but nine years before -that time, Theophilus Gale presented to the world treatises containing -arguments against atheism. _The Court of the Gentiles_--as the -expansion of the title shows--is “a discourse touching the original of -human literature, both philology and philosophy, from the Scriptures -and Jewish Church, in order to a demonstration of the perfection of -God’s Word and Church light, the imperfection of nature’s light, and -mischief of vain philosophy, the right use of human learning, and -especially, sound philosophy.” The title-page describes and exhibits -the whole work as a defence of religion. The author’s idea is that the -philosophy of the ancients, so far as it is true, constitutes an outer -court, leading to the Holy of Holies in the Word of God. All which is -valuable in classic writings, according to Gale, had been derived from -the chosen people. Pagan ignorance and folly arose from the obstinacy -of the human mind in forsaking Divine oracles. The inventiveness of -the human intellect added to the mischief, and the degradation of -the heathen, proves the need of the Gospel. In this frame-work of -evidence, built up in four parts, Gale inserts one book--the second -of the fourth part upon Atheism, and the existence of the Deity, in -which,--professedly following Plato, but often adding much to the -force of his master’s reasoning,--he demonstrates the being of a God -from universal consent--from a subordination of second causes to the -first, from a _prime Motor_; from the order of the universe; from -the connate idea of God in the soul; and from moral arguments founded -upon conscience and a natural sense of religion. In his reasoning he -anticipates Cudworth, and will bear honourable comparison with his -great successor. - -[Sidenote: PURITAN WORKS ON EVIDENCES.] - -The first part of Howe’s _Living Temple_ appeared in 1676. In it -he proves the “existence of God and His conversableness with men.” His -first argument is the same as Gale’s,[512] the consent of mankind; -but Howe does not appear to be indebted to his predecessor for this -mode of treating his subject. Common consent, Howe extends from God’s -existence to God’s conversableness,--in other words, to religious -worship; he quotes from Plutarch in proof of its universality, it -being characteristic of the age to cite an ancient classic in proof of -a statement of fact, which we should test by our own experience and -observation. Howe anticipates the _Demonstration_ contrived by -Samuel Clarke, and engages in a strain of reasoning beyond that of -either Gale or Cudworth.[513] He argues that since something exists -now, something must always have existed, unless we admit, that at one -period or another, something sprung out of nothing. When he proceeds to -prove the intelligence of this Eternal and uncaused Being, he enters -upon the _à posteriori_ path, which Gale and Cudworth, and indeed -the ancients, traversed to some extent, but in which the moderns have -gone so far beyond them. It is worthy of remark, that the ingenious -reference of Paley to a watch, as illustrating the indication of -design in nature is found in Howe; and to him also belongs the credit -of including among the proofs of Divine purpose, the constitution of -the human mind, as well as the organization of matter,--a department -in natural theology the neglect of which by many was lamented by Lord -Brougham. I may add, that when Howe demands of the atheist, whether, -if he will reject all the preceding evidence for the existence of God, -there are any conceivable methods by which the fact of the Divine -existence could be certified,--he opens another spring of thought on -this subject, as original as it is profound. After establishing the -truth of the Divine existence, Howe resumes his argument for the Divine -conversableness; and after ingeniously overthrowing the Epicurean -theory, he deduces from what he has said, that God is such a Being as -can converse with men, and he asserts His omniscience, His omnipotence, -His immensity, and His unlimited goodness. - -There is another work by John Howe of singular eloquence--_The Vanity -of Man as Mortal_--in which the author suggests arguments for the -soul’s immortality, of a kind which only occur to minds of a superior -order. The works just noticed relate to natural religion. - -John Owen and Richard Baxter wrote upon the evidences of revealed -religion. - -In 1659, the former published _The Divine Original of the -Scriptures_. He bases his argument chiefly on the _light_ -and _efficacy_ of Divine truth,--a branch of reasoning too much -neglected in after times, but vigorously renewed in our own day. Light, -from its very nature, he says, not only makes other things visible, -but itself manifest. So Scripture has a self-evidencing power, a power -beyond that of miracles. And as there are _innate_ arguments in -the Bible of its Divine original and authority, so also it exerts an -influence which confirms those arguments. Owen’s forms of expression -suffice to show that, whilst as to the points and bearing of his -arguments, he anticipates modern turns of thought, the details of his -logic bear an unmistakeably Puritan impress. But he passes out of -the range of evidence into the domains of dogmatic theology, when he -proceeds to dwell upon the conviction of the Bible being the Word of -God as the result of a twofold efficacy of the Spirit--that efficacy -consisting in a Divine communication of spiritual light, enabling the -mind to discern the majesty and authority of Revelation, and also in -the Divine inspiration of a sense or taste for the truths revealed.[514] - -[Sidenote: PURITAN WORKS ON EVIDENCES.] - -Owen, in his book upon _The Holy Spirit_, published at a later -period, speaks of the nature of inspiration as not leaving the sacred -writers to “the use of their natural faculties, their minds or -memories, to understand, and remember the things spoken by Him, and so -declare them to others. But He himself acted [upon] their faculties, -making use of them to express His words, not their own conceptions.” -This Divine reduces the modes of revelation mentioned in Scripture to -three heads--voices, dreams, and visions, with the accidental adjuncts -of symbolical actions and local imitations.[515] - -Owen wrote his defence of revelation in the year 1659, before the end -of the Commonwealth;--at a still earlier period in 1655, when Oliver -Cromwell was on the throne, before any of the authors now mentioned -had published a word upon the subject, Richard Baxter produced his -_Unreasonableness of Infidelity_. It is thrown into the form of -the Spirit’s witness to the truth of Christianity, so far reminding -us of John Owen’s later work. Baxter, however, assigns a much higher -place to the evidential force of miracles than did his contemporary; -and, instead of dwelling upon the Spirit’s influence, in and through -the Holy Scriptures, he resolves the Spirit’s witness into the -miraculous operations of the first age. Baxter proceeds to show that -the evangelists did not deceive the world, but that they published -undoubted truths,--and that we have received their writings without -any considerable corruption. Having gone thus far in a path much -trodden since, he strangely turns aside to insist upon the doctrine of -everlasting punishment, and to explain the nature of the sin against -the Holy Ghost. He then refers to tradition, to the creed, to church -ordinances, to the succession of religion, to the preservation of -MSS., to the writings of Divines, to the laws of the Roman Empire, -and the like, as evidences of the history of the New Testament. He -writes, in rather a vague and confused way, upon a subject afterwards -elaborated by Lardner and Paley, but to him belongs the distinction of -having first entered this new field. He grapples with the objection -to miracles, but not as Campbell afterwards did. The ground he takes -somewhat resembles that of Bishop Douglas, when the Bishop compares -with the miracles of Scripture, those recorded by Augustine and other -Fathers. - -Baxter’s treatise did not satisfy its author; and, in 1667, he added -_Reasons for the Christian Religion_. In this book, he treats of -religion, both natural and supernatural, describing man as “a living -wight having an active power, an understanding to guide it, and a will -to command it,”--and pointing out the relations in which he stands -to the Creator, as his Owner, his Governor, and his Benefactor. The -difficulties of religious duty, a future life of retribution, the -intrinsical evils and righteous penalties of sin, the present miserable -state of the world, and the mercy of God, all come within the scope -of Baxter’s observations, and are presented in the light of nature -and of reason. In the second part the Author points out the need of -Revelation, refers to the several religions existing in the world, -illustrates the nature and “congruities” of Christianity, and proves -the Divine mission of our Lord, by prophecy, by His character, by -His miracles, and by His renovation of men. Confirmatory proofs, and -collateral arguments follow, touching the historical grounds on which -we believe in miracles, and unfolding certain curious considerations -which tend to show that the world is not eternal. - -The extrinsical and intrinsical difficulties of the Christian -faith, altogether amounting to the number of forty, are resolved -_seriatim_, and the refutation is extended over nearly one hundred -pages, concluding with a long and devout address to the Deity--somewhat -after the manner of Augustine’s confessions--in which the Puritan -Presbyter pours out his soul in strains not less devout and eloquent -than those of the patristic Bishop. - -[Sidenote: PURITAN WORKS ON EVIDENCES.] - -In 1672 Baxter returned to the subject, and published _More Reasons -for the Christian Religion and No Reason against it_, in which he -answers the _De Veritate_[516] of Lord Herbert, the first of our -English deistical writers. The author dedicates his work to Sir Henry -Herbert, a relative of the philosopher, and makes a graceful allusion -to Sir Henry’s brother,--the “excellently holy, as well as learned and -ingenious,” Mr. George Herbert. Baxter also wrote two treatises on the -Immortality of man’s soul, the nature of it, and of other spirits. And -also a most singular production, entitled, “The certainty of the world -of spirits fully evinced by unquestionable histories of apparitions, -and witchcraft’s operations, voices, &c.--proving the immortality -of souls, the malice and misery of devils, and the damned, and the -blessedness of the justified--written for the conviction of Sadducees -and Infidels.” This treatise was not printed until the year 1691--a -short time before Baxter’s death,--but its illustrations and arguments -are akin to those which, forty years earlier, he had introduced into -his incomparable _Saint’s Everlasting Rest_. - -Baxter leads the van of the great army of our Christian _Apologists_ -as they have been infelicitously termed. The armour which the veteran -wore was made after the fashion of the times--the weapons which he -wielded, and which he had forged, are some of them not such as would -be serviceable now, and all of them, as used by him, are unsuited to -our methods of defence; his wisdom also, it must be admitted, was -occasionally defective in his modes of attack, yet no small honour -is due to the man who was the first to enter the lists in English -literature against the infidelity of his day. - -[Sidenote: PURITAN THEOLOGY.] - -Turning to the doctrinal views of the Puritan school, I shall first -notice certain points of resemblance between them and the opinions of -Anglican Divines. The former, as well as the latter, insisted upon the -doctrines of the Trinity, the Deity of our Lord, and the Divinity and -personality of the Holy Spirit--nor could any disciple of the Nicene -faith more firmly hold the eternal generation of the Son of God than -did some of them.[517] Also, they firmly held the doctrine of original -sin. At the same time, in common with the Low Church or Latitudinarian -writers, they eschewed appeals to the Fathers as invested with any -special authority, adopting more or less a spirit of free inquiry -which gradually led some of them to relax a little their doctrinal -strictness; and they went beyond their last-mentioned contemporaries -in anti-sacerdotal and anti-sacramental views. They present marked -characteristics of their own. They all appeal to the Scriptures, not -only as the supreme, but as the exclusively accessible tribunal to -which theological controversy could be brought; yet, it should be -noticed in passing, that many of them studied patristic literature with -great diligence, especially certain portions in harmony with their -own opinions and tastes. There is also this peculiarity attaching to -them as a class, that they do not, as Thorndike, work out a covenant -of grace founded upon baptism,[518]--although they occasionally allude -to that sacrament in a way which is surprising to some of their -descendants; nor did they, as Jackson, as Heylyn, as Pearson, or as -Barrow, follow the creeds of the Church in their theological inquiries. -Baxter especially valued the Apostles’ Creed, but Puritan Divines did -not adopt that, or any other of the ancient symbols, as a formula for -the order of their own thoughts. Not that they broke away altogether -from the habit of beginning with God the Great Cause, and descending -to man His creature, subject, and fallen child; not that they adopted -an _à posteriori_ method, beginning with man as a degenerate and -guilty being, and rising up to God whom man has offended, and who alone -can be the Author of his salvation,--a method which is adopted by some -theological thinkers of our own time. In commencing their systematic -ideas of theology with God, and coming down to man, the Puritans -followed the traditional order of studious thoughtfulness upon such -high themes. Goodwin resolved all Divine knowledge into the knowledge -of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; but still it was -not to the Creed as a textual authority, it was not to its clauses, one -by one, that he or any of his brethren referred, as direction posts -along the sacred way. Their wont was to select some one principle as -a centre, and then to cluster round it kindred theological ideas, the -various parts being woven into one harmonious whole. In this respect, -they differed both from Anglicans and from Latitudinarians, who were -not accustomed to the use of such a graduated scale of doctrine, -who did not attach to what are termed _Evangelical_ truths, so -much relative importance. Certainly, the themes which the Puritans -most devoutly cherished, were not those to which either Anglicans -or Latitudinarians chiefly turned. Puritan theology, because it is -more experimental than Anglican theology,--because it deals more with -the spiritual consciousness of Divine relations, with the position -and acts of the human soul towards the Divine Lord and Redeemer,--is -thought by some to be less dogmatic than Anglican theology; by which -is meant, that it deals less with those Divine fundamental facts, -which are distinctly recognized in the Creeds, and which, whether men -believe them or not, are absolute and unchangeable realities. But this -apprehension is a mistake. Puritanism, indeed, does insist much upon -what is experimental and practical in theology; it looks at Divine -persons, at their attributes and dispensations in reference to man’s -wants, and character, and conduct; it treats revelation rather as a -light to walk by, than as a light to look at,--which is wise--but it -does not throw into a distance, it does not place on the remote horizon -of its view the doctrines respecting Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, -taught in the Scriptures, and upheld by the early Church. - -[Sidenote: PURITAN THEOLOGY.] - -The Puritans broke with the Anglicans--not upon the doctrines of the -Creeds, but upon other points. They broke with them as Reformers -had broken with Romanists on the question--What are the true means -of grace? Clerical orders and sacraments, said the Church of Rome. -Apostolical succession and sacraments, said the Anglican Church of -England; but the Anglican Church of England controverted the doctrine -of the Church of Rome as to the number, the nature, the form and the -efficacy of the sacraments. The Puritans went much further than the -Anglicans in this direction, and denied the Anglican views of the -ministry and the sacraments. The Anglican watchwords were,--_orders_, -_sacraments_, _faith_, _grace_. The Puritan watchwords were--_the -Bible_, _grace_, _truth_, _faith_. Both parties believed that men are -saved by grace through faith; but the one connected the salvation -chiefly with sacraments, the other with truth. - -In considering the theology of the Puritans, we ought carefully to -notice differences amongst them, and I shall therefore subdivide them -into three classes--the _Calvinistic_, the _Arminian_, and -the _Intermediate_. I begin with the Calvinists, and shall select -Thomas Goodwin and John Owen. - -The influence exerted by Perkins and other Puritan teachers and -friends in the University of Cambridge upon the mind of Goodwin when -a student, his remarkable conversion, the effect of his residence in -Holland, and of his association there, with Dutch Divines, and with -“English Dissenting brethren,” are visible in his opinions. Three main -stand-points come out sharply in the phases of Goodwin’s theology. - -The first is _Faith_. In his treatise on that subject he discusses -(1) the object of faith, including the mercies in God’s nature, the -Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the riches of free grace -as declared and proposed in the Gospel covenant; (2) the acts of faith -in the understanding, the affections and the will, respecting which -he distinguishes between justifying faith in general, and the faith -of assurance; and (3) the properties of faith, its excellence and -use--good works, he says, so far from being slighted by the exaltation -of belief, are really promoted in a pre-eminent degree by the influence -of that principle. It is apparent at once, that in this way a complete -scheme of theology is arranged with faith for a pivot on which the -entire circle of thought is made to move. Accordingly, we find -introduced into this elaborate treatise, nearly, if not quite, all the -doctrines comprised within the writer’s evangelical creed. There are -abundant descriptions of faith, of what it is, and of what it does, -but we do not discover any compact definition of it in any part of the -volume. Goodwin alludes to it as sealed in the understanding, in the -heart, and in the will,--a description which might seem comprehensive -enough to take in all which Thorndike or Bull has advanced on the -subject; but Goodwin’s way of working out the idea is very different -from theirs, and whilst they are chiefly intent upon preserving the -interests of Christian morality, he, although not neglectful of them, -is principally engaged in exalting the glories of sovereign grace. -According to his theology, faith is commanded by God, it influences -all the graces--but it is the meanest and lowest of them all, and it -is merely and altogether a passive principle. It should be carefully -noticed, as amongst the marked features of Goodwin’s teaching:--not, -however, peculiar to him, but common to Puritan Divines--that although -he enumerates many objects of faith, by far the most prominent one is -Christ Himself, as the great propitiation for sin.[519] - -[Sidenote: GOODWIN.] - -Another stand-point of Goodwin’s is _Election_. He argues for the -necessity of this--saying, that without it “Christ had died in vain, -and not saved a man,” and had been in heaven alone to lament that He -had come short in this work. Goodwin dwells upon the order of God’s -decrees touching election and reprobation, and upon the end to which -the elect are ordained, even a supernatural union with God, and the -communication of Himself to their souls. The infinity of God’s electing -grace is a special theme of this writer’s meditations, in which, -amongst other points most repulsive to moderate Calvinists, he insists -upon a vast disproportion between the elect and the rest--rejoicing -not, as one would suppose, in the thought, that the saved immensely -outnumber the lost, but in the thought, that the paucity of men who -enjoy any privilege magnifies it the more. He speaks of the infinite -number of those laid aside in a fallen condition, in comparison with -the very few elected out of them, as enhancing the grace of election. -He contends for the perfect freedom of election, and the absence in it -of all reference to merit or worthiness; for its intimate connection -with effectual calling, which he unfolds at length; and for the -doctrine of final perseverance, which follows from the doctrine he has -previously laid down. It is remarkable that he employs a whole book -in showing that election in its ordinary course runs from believing -parents to their posterity; that the covenant of grace is entailed -upon the children of believers, and that God most usually makes them -His choice. He is careful practically to apply his views to Christian -parents on the one hand, and to their children on the other.[520] - -The doctrine of reprobation is connected by Goodwin with the -doctrine of election; it is described as being its dark shadow. If -Goodwin was not a supralapsarian, he was, next to that, the highest -predestinarian a man could be.[521] It is marvellous how, with all -his thoughtfulness, he could have overlooked the question of moral -government and human responsibility, in connection with some of his -speculations; and it is distressing to find that one so zealous for -what he deemed the glory of Divine grace, could lay his scheme of -theology open to the charge of its robbing God of the attributes of -justice and righteousness. - -Goodwin does not, in his treatise on election, or in his other -writings, give prominence to the dogma of particular redemption; but he -distinctly affirms in one place that the elect alone are redeemed;[522] -and his whole system of theology proceeds on the principle, that the -death of Christ was a ransom for the salvation of the elect. He presses -to the utmost extreme the ideas of suretyship, and of debt-paying; -and refers to the sinner’s liability as met by the sufferings of -the Saviour, and to the sinner’s bonds as for ever cancelled by the -Redeemer’s resurrection. To such an extent does the author carry his -notion of the identification of the Lord with His people as their -surety, that he positively declares Christ by imputation was made the -greatest sinner that ever was--for the sins of all God’s chosen met in -Him![523] - -The last stand-point of Goodwin, which I have space to notice, is -_Regeneration_. In his treatise, entitled _The Work of the Holy -Ghost in our Salvation_, Regeneration is the theme throughout the -volume. Its necessity, its nature, and its cause are illustrated in -every variety of form and phrase; and it is noteworthy that no allusion -is made to the ordinance of baptism in connection with it, nor is any -opportunity lost of placing this spiritual change in relation to the -Divine decrees and electing love.[524] - -[Sidenote: JOHN OWEN.] - -Were it not that my proper business is to present, as succinctly -as possible, the doctrinal views of the Puritans, I should most -earnestly combat some of Goodwin’s theological positions, and point -out the tremendous consequences which they involve--admitting, at -the same time, the redeeming elements, which may be found in his -ofttimes wearisome method of instruction. I will only say, that when -he wandered into what appear to me not only perilous but pernicious -regions of thought, he did but stumble in the midst of fields into -which Augustine had gone before, and where Jonathan Edwards followed -afterwards. Happily, such men are inconsistent, and whilst sacrificing -the righteousness of God in one way, they contend for it most zealously -in another. - -Owen’s works may be appropriately coupled with Goodwin’s. Their -literary defects and their religious excellencies are not dissimilar. -In each the reader is wearied with refinements and perplexed by -multiplied divisions; in neither can be found any graces of style, -any delectable flow of words, any rhythm of diction, any wealth of -expression; in both are presented signs of profound reflection, of -patient inquiry, of logical acumen, and also, beyond all these, proofs -of intense evangelical piety. - -Owen goes over very much of the ground which is occupied by Goodwin, -and he is scarcely less rigid in his predestinarianism. It is -instructive to compare with the point of view selected by Goodwin -that which is chosen by Owen. Owen’s treatise on the _Doctrine of -Justification_ (1677) should be examined by the side of Goodwin’s -work on the _Objects and Acts of Justifying Faith_. Owen -describes justifying faith “as the heart’s approbation of the way of -justification and salvation of sinners by Jesus Christ;” he omits, -and vindicates the omission of any definition of this spiritual -act: but he is singularly full in his account of the Divine side of -justification, dwelling at great length upon its forensic nature, -and its basis in the imputed righteousness of the Redeemer. The last -point is wrought out with pre-eminent distinctness. It occurs at the -beginning--it is resumed in the middle--it is enforced at the end of -the book. The idea of Christ’s imputed righteousness is considered by -many evangelical Divines as at the best a theoretical key to explain -the fact of justification, rather than as an essential element of the -doctrine. Some hold the fact without accepting the explanation, not -finding it to be a key at all. But the state of opinion was widely -different in Owen’s day, the whole atmosphere of controversy was -different; he and others identified imputation with justification, and -fought for it as for the hearth of truth, as for the altar of God. They -deemed the interests of Protestantism, the security of the doctrines -of grace, and the welfare of Christ’s Church at stake in this one -doctrinal dispute. - -[Sidenote: JOHN OWEN.] - -Owen agrees substantially with Goodwin, but he is more cautious; and -he more frequently qualifies his statements. He says men may really be -saved by that grace which doctrinally they question, and they may be -justified by the imputation of that righteousness, which, in opinion, -they deny to be imputed. He shrinks from affirming what Goodwin affirms -as to the identification of Christ with the sinner.[525] It may again -be observed, that throughout, Owen looks more intently at the Divine -act of the sinner’s justification than at the human act by which -the justification is secured. His views on the whole are coincident -with Goodwin’s as to the Divine decrees; but he exhibits them less -prominently in reference to the doctrine of election than in reference -to the doctrine of particular redemption. The Atonement is a central -point in his thoughts; and it is in a treatise respecting the death and -satisfaction of Christ, that his clearest statements on the tenet of -election can be found.[526] - -It was usual with most of the Puritan Divines, in harmony with the -order of thought pursued in the Westminster formularies, to start with -the doctrine of the Divine decrees; to regard, as the foundation of -all theology, the idea of God having resolved to save a certain number -of human beings; and to view all the processes of redeeming love, as -simply designed to accomplish that resolution. They did not deny the -responsibility of all men in a certain sense, and they were ready to -maintain the righteousness of God, as they understood it, against any -who dared to impugn that righteousness. But generally they did not look -at the moral government of God as dealing with mankind in general, on -common grounds of justice, love, and mercy; they did not regard the -Gospel as a gracious law for a fallen race; they did not consider it -as alike the duty and the privilege of every sinful child of Adam, to -accept the offer of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. There -is a deeper _theological_ difference between ancient and modern -Calvinists than some suppose--a difference appearing even more in the -order, the relations, and the turns of thought touching salvation, than -in any scientific mode of expressing it. But there remains a strong -_religious_ resemblance between the two classes. What most of the -old doctrinal Puritans put first as the premises leading to certain -conclusions, many of what may be called the new doctrinal Puritans -put last, as a conclusion drawn from certain premises. In a careful -study of the whole Bible, as a revelation of God’s government of the -whole world, they find passages which relate to mysterious operations -of grace upon human minds; and after a careful analysis of all human -and secondary causes, at work in the world’s history, or at work in -private experience, they discover rightly, in my opinion, a residuum -which points to what is not human, but Divine and absolute; and in this -they recognize the mysterious sovereign grace of God. Further, in those -passages of Scripture which speak of an election, a predestination, -and a purpose before the world began, they see a statement of the -fact, that what God does in time He from eternity meant to do; that -the knowledge and mercy, that the wisdom and the will of the Infinite -and Eternal One, must have been ever the same as they are now. And -also, the present disciples of this Puritan faith, like the former, -delight to dwell upon the cause and character of salvation, more even -than upon its consequences in their own experience and hopes; and they -are not weary, and I hope never will be, of adoring the Divine love, -righteousness, and power in which their redemption originated, and on -which it must for ever rest. - -[Sidenote: JOHN OWEN.] - -Owen enters fully into the nature of the death of Christ, and insists -upon its having been a price or ransom, a sacrifice and a satisfaction. -He contends that it was a punishment for sin properly so called; and -that the covenant between the Father and the Son was the ground and -foundation of the penal sufferings from which redemption flows. Nor -does he confine himself to the citation and enforcement of Scripture -texts in support of these opinions. He supplies a dissertation on -Divine justice--in which, from the consent of mankind, as appears -in the testimony of the heathen, and the power of conscience, from -the prevalence of sacrifices, and from the works of providence,--he -concludes that Divine justice is a vindicating justice, and that the -non-punishment of sin would be contrary to the glory of that justice. -He examines and answers the objections of Socinus, and the main drift -of the whole treatise is to establish the indispensable necessity of -the satisfaction of Christ for the salvation of sinners. - -In his _Salus Electorum Sanguis Jesu_, a work published so early -as 1648, Owen connects the Atonement with the Divine decrees. He points -out what he conceives to be the false and supposed ends of the death -of Christ, and unfolds his reasons for a belief in the doctrine of -particular redemption.[527] He admits that the sacrifice of Christ was -of infinite worth and dignity, sufficient in itself for the redeeming -of all and every man, if it had pleased the Lord to employ it to that -purpose; but the main drift of the Essay is to prove that it did not -please the Lord so to employ it.[528] Whatever may be thought of the -logical consequences of Owen’s positions in reference to election and -particular redemption, it would be extreme injustice--and the same -remark may be applied to Goodwin and others--to charge him or them with -any connivance at Antinomianism, an error which they regarded with the -utmost abhorrence, and opposed with not a whit less of zeal than burns -intensely in their writings, when they are subjecting Arminianism to a -process of destructive criticism. - - - - - CHAPTER XIX. - - -We have noticed a change in the Church of England, from prevalent -Calvinism, during the reign of Elizabeth, for prevalent Arminianism, -during the latter part of the reign of James I. A corresponding change -occurred in the history of several eminent Divines of the seventeenth -century: Bishop Andrewes, Dean Jackson, Bishop Davenant, Archbishop -Ussher, John Hales, of Eton, and Dr. Sanderson, are conspicuous -examples. Another instance, more remarkable in some respects, is -found in the life of John Goodwin--now less known to fame than the -celebrated Churchmen just mentioned, and yet a man who, in his own -day, attracted not less attention than did they; and whose works for -vigour, ingenuity, argument, and eloquence deserve to rank high amongst -theological productions, in an age when theology bore its richest -fruit. The names now grouped together belong to men who, from first -to last, retained more or less of Anglican predilections, and after -the commencement of the Stuart period, Anglicanism and anti-Calvinism -appear in close alliance; but John Goodwin, unlike the other converts, -began his career under the influence of that description of religious -feeling which forms so important an element in Puritanism, and he -retained that feeling to the end of life. Although he became an -Arminian, and renounced opinions identified with doctrinal Puritanism, -his Arminianism did not destroy the unction and ardour which were -characteristic of his earlier creed. His Arminianism presents some -striking differences from that of both the Anglican and Latitudinarian -schools; it is animated by an evangelical spirit, and it is wrought -out, in connection with evangelical principles, akin to those which -appear prominently in the Arminianism of our Wesleyan brethren. Like -them, this eminent predecessor of theirs maintained strenuously the -doctrine of human depravity, of justification by faith, of the work of -the Holy Spirit, of the new birth, and of sanctification. - -[Sidenote: JOHN GOODWIN.] - -Before John Goodwin abandoned Calvinism he repudiated the doctrine -of the imputed righteousness of Christ as held by the Calvinists of -his own day. Yet he concedes almost all for which modern Calvinists -would contend, when he remarks that a believer may “be said to be -clothed with the righteousness of Christ, and yet the righteousness of -Christ itself may not be his clothing, but only that which procured -his clothing to him. So Calvin calls the clothing of righteousness, -wherewith a believer is clad in his justification, _Justitiam morte, -et resurrectione Christi, acquisitam_--a righteousness procured by -the death and resurrection of Christ.”[529] - -Goodwin, in his _Redemption Redeemed_, earnestly insists upon -the broad view of the effect of the Atonement,--“that there is a -possibility, yea a fair and gracious possibility, for all men without -exception, considered as men, without and before their voluntary -obduration by actual sinning to obtain actual salvation by His death; -so that, in case any man perisheth, his destruction is altogether -from himself, there being as much, and as much intended, in the death -of Christ to and towards the procuring of his salvation, as there is -for procuring the salvation of any of those who come to be actually -saved.”[530] - -The great moot point between the old-fashioned Calvinists and their -opponents is treated by this intensely-evangelical Arminian in such a -way in his concessions, that he approaches rather closely to modern -Calvinism, without conceding the whole for which the advocates of the -latter system would stipulate.[531] - -[Sidenote: JOHN GOODWIN.] - -John Goodwin’s object was, whilst magnifying the grace of God, to -preserve what is demanded by the personality, the free agency, and -the responsibility of man. He so clearly explains his opinion and so -carefully fences it round, he so distinctly asserts the Divine origin -of salvation in every individual, and so vigilantly repels every idea -of indigenous rectitude in human nature, suffering from the fall, that -no one can charge his creed with any Pelagian or even semi-Pelagian -taint. So far as that point is concerned, Goodwin’s opinion might -have received the approval of Augustine, and it ought to have passed -muster with the second Councils of Milevis and Orange. Whether the -keen Catholic theologians of the fourth and fifth centuries, in their -jealousy for orthodox opinion, would have endorsed the following -sentence is another question: “That the act of believing whensoever it -is performed, is at so low a rate of efficiency from a man’s self, that -suppose the act could be divided into a thousand parts, nine hundred, -ninety, and nine of them are to be ascribed unto the free grace of God, -and only one unto man. Yea, this one is no otherwise to be ascribed to -man, than as supported, strengthened, and assisted by the free grace of -God.” - -Goodwin was a person who thought for himself, and looked at a subject -on more sides than one, and was as zealous to maintain the freeness -of Divine grace as any Divine could be; consequently, we find him -expressing himself, so as to appear, in the eyes of opponents, -logically inconsistent, although he had a way of his own by which to -defend himself against the imputation. Although he distinctly denies -the Calvinistic doctrine of predestination, yet he maintains, when -stating his own opinion on the subject, that predestination does not -depend on the foresight of faith, or righteousness. “For though it -be supposed,” he says, “that God decreeth to elect, and accordingly -actually electeth all that believe and none other; yet this, at no hand -proveth, either that His purpose, or the execution hereof, proceed in -their origination, from the faith of such persons foreseen, no nor from -the foresight of their faith: though this be more tolerable than the -other. There is nothing in the nature of faith, nor in God’s foresight -of faith, in what persons soever, that hath in it any generative virtue -of any such purpose in God.” - -There were other Puritans who adopted Arminian views. John Horne, Vicar -of Allhallows, Lynn--a learned man of most exemplary and primitive -piety who was ejected in 1662--previously published a book entitled, -“The open door for Man’s approach to God; or, a vindication of the -Record of God concerning the extent of the death of Christ.”[532] -Tobias Conyers, Minister of St. Ethelbert’s, London, also one of the -ejected clergy, accused of being “schismatical and heretical,”--but -who seems to have been a man of high character, and of a catholic -spirit,--published, in 1657, a translation of a work by Arminius, under -the title of “The Just Man’s Defence, or the Royal Conquest.”[533] -Of George Lawson, Rector of More, in Shropshire, who animadverted -upon Baxter’s _Aphorisms of Justification_, Baxter himself -remarks,--after eulogizing him as almost the ablest man whom he knew -in England,--“He was himself near the Arminians, differing from them -only in the point of perseverance as to the confirmed, and some little -matters more.” He published (1659) an excellent sum of divinity, called -_Theopolitica_.[534] - -[Sidenote: JOHN GOODWIN.] - -The position of these Divines, especially of John Goodwin, amongst the -religious thinkers of that age, is remarkable and significant, and -deserves much more attention than it has ever received. The common -notion is that the Puritan movement, in its theological character, was -essentially Calvinistic, that Calvinism constituted its life and soul; -and, moreover, that evangelical opinions in general,--understanding -by them those views of the Gospel which rest on a keen appreciation -of its precious and saving character,--necessarily involve ideas -of Divine predestination, akin to those which were entertained by -the great Genevan Reformer. Both the disciples and the opponents of -that illustrious man have, in many cases, adopted or countenanced -this conception. But the writers we have just described show us that -it is a mistake. Here were men Puritan in spirit, Puritan in their -characteristic religiousness, Puritan in their habits and modes of -life, who, so far from being imbued with the distinctive sentiments of -John Calvin on the subject of the Divine purposes and decrees, utterly -repudiated them, and spent an immense amount of time and thought -upon their confutation. They believed in justification by faith, in -conversion to God, in the gracious work of the Holy Spirit upon the -human soul, and in the riches of Divine mercy manifested throughout the -salvation of men, as firmly and deeply as did any of those who most -fervently proclaimed the doctrines of election, effectual calling, and -perseverance. Neither their philosophy, nor their logic, nor their -religion, led them to identify the one class of ideas with the other. -And, if the discussion were proper in a work like this, it would -not be difficult to show, that the motive power in Puritanism--that -which made it such a well-spring of life and energy to multitudes of -Englishmen--consisted not in high notions of predestination, where such -notions were entertained, but in those articles of evangelical belief -which can unite devout Calvinists and devout Arminians in the bonds -of a common experience, and in the inheritance of the same hope. And, -if anything further were needful to prove that the Puritan spirit can -exist and thrive apart from Calvinistic theology, it is sufficient to -point to the Wesleyans of the present day, than whom none are more -decided in their opposition to predestinarianism, none are more zealous -in preaching salvation by grace, and none are more inspired with the -life and glow of a warm-hearted piety. - -Anti-Calvinistic zeal, however, often took an anti-Puritanical form, -and by assaults which were made upon predestinarian principles, the -interests of evangelical religion were very seriously compromised. - -[Sidenote: “FUR PRÆDESTINATUS.”] - -A Latin tract, entitled _Fur Prædestinatus_, made some noise at -the time of its publication, and has received the commendation of -literary and theological critics. The _Fur Prædestinatus_ was -printed in London in 1651. D’Oyley, simply on the ground of general -rumour, ascribes the tract to Sancroft, and prints it in his life. -Hallam accepts the rumour, adding, “It is much the best proof of -ability that the worthy Archbishop ever gave.” Birch says, in his -_Memoirs of Tillotson_, that Sancroft joined with Mr. George -Davenport, and another of his friends, in composing this satire upon -Calvinism. But Jackson, in his _Life of John Goodwin_, affirms -that the tract was in existence many years before Sancroft was capable -of such a production. He adds, it was circulated in Holland, at the -early part of the seventeenth century, and was thought to have been -written by Henry Slatius. It is a dialogue between a condemned thief -and a Calvinistic minister, in which it is attempted to be shown, -that not only the doctrine of predestination but also the doctrine of -justification by faith is marked by an immoral tendency, and several -quotations from Luther and Zwingle, as well as from Calvin, Beza, -and others, are pressed into the service. It exhibits, no doubt, -some cleverness, and from the narrow view of the Atonement which -is introduced, as held by some distinguished evangelical Divines, -consequences are drawn which it would be difficult logically to repel. -Yet most persons will acknowledge, that conducting controversy, -dialogue fashion, is more easy for an author than it is satisfactory -to a reader; and that, in this controversy especially, allusions to -all sorts of authors can with ease be unfairly brought together, so as -to impart a specious appearance to allegations which on a thorough -scrutiny are found to be perfectly untrue. Certainly, Luther and Calvin -never dreamt of entertaining such views as are put into the lips of the -criminal and of his spiritual adviser--and they would have crushed, -with a force of logic too much for a stronger man than the writer now -under review, whoever he might be, the sophisms which are employed in -the _Fur Prædestinatus_, to the discredit of that which Reformers -held to be the scriptural doctrines of Divine grace. - -Two eminent Puritans remain for consideration, and they may be regarded -as maintaining an intermediate position between High Calvinists and -Evangelical Arminians. - - - - - CHAPTER XX. - - -[Sidenote: BAXTER.] - -Few persons could have been subjected in early life to a greater -variety of influence than Richard Baxter. His father having been a -gambler, became, before the birth of his illustrious son, a pious man, -and trained up his offspring in godly discipline. Whilst over his home -a religious atmosphere diffused itself, the people in the village spent -the greater part of most Sundays in dancing round the Maypole. After -four successive curates of worthless character, there followed a grave -and eminent man who expected to be made a Bishop. Having been placed -under each of them at school, Richard afterwards had for his tutor a -Royalist chaplain, who did all in his power to make the youth hate -Puritanism. Baxter’s religious impressions were deepened by reading the -works of a Jesuit, which an evangelical Protestant had revised, and by -the perusal of evangelical books from the pens of Sibbs and Perkins. -The youth’s first associations in life were with the Episcopal Church, -and he was then a Conformist in practice and principle. He studied -Richard Hooker, and did not come in contact with Nonconformists, until -just before he attained his majority. He spent, as a young man, a month -at Whitehall, with the chance of becoming a courtier. Accident brought -him within an inch of the grave, and he suffered so much from illness, -that at twenty he had the symptoms of fourscore. No classic, no -mathematician, he plunged into the study of logic and metaphysics, and -soon formed an intimate acquaintance with Aquinas and Scotus, Durandus -and Ockham. He had omnivorous habits of reading, and it is curious -to notice the variety of authors whom he cites or enumerates. He was -a self-taught man, and when Anthony Wood inquired of him by letter, -whether he had been educated at Oxford, Baxter replied, “As to myself, -my faults are no disgrace to any University, for I was of none: I have -little but what I had out of books, and inconsiderable helps of country -tutors. Weakness and pain helped me to study how to die: that set me -on studying how to live; and that set me on studying the doctrine -from which I must fetch my motives and comforts; and beginning with -necessaries, I proceeded to the lesser integrals by degrees, and now am -going to see that which I have lived and studied for.”[535] - -By bearing in mind these remarkable facts, we shall be assisted in -accounting for some peculiarities of opinions in this remarkable man. -There was a manifold character in his theology corresponding with the -manifold influences which moulded his religion, and we may trace the -effects of his education in both the excellencies and defects of his -numerous writings. In a literary point of view, they are strikingly -different from those of Thomas Goodwin and John Owen. He is, in -his doctrinal discussions, often as tedious as they, and sometimes -more provoking with his endless distinctions, but, in the practical -application of his theological principles, he exerts a charm which -neither of those contemporaries could ever rival. His masculine -style, just the outgrowth of his thought, just the natural skin, pure -and transparent, which covers it, has been the admiration of popular -readers and practised critics. It has been praised by Addison and -Johnson; it has been felt and appreciated by thousands of unlettered -people. We detect in Baxter, no rhetorical tricks, no striving to shine -for the sake of shining, no waving of the scarlet flag, no “taking out -his vocabulary for an airing:” and yet for fullness of expression, -for a rich flow of words, for occasional felicity of diction, for -poetry in prose, he surpasses all his compeers, except Jeremy Taylor: -and in directness, force, and genuine fervour, as to a glowing heat -of the affections, which is more intense than the eloquence of the -imagination, as to words which come rolling out like balls of white -fire, the great Church orator must give place to the Nonconformist -Divine. If immense popularity, if the possession of a spell which -can hold fast minds of all orders, be a test of genius, then Baxter -must be allowed to have possessed it in a high degree. In activity of -thought and in keenness of perception, in the grasp of his knowledge -and in the retentiveness of his memory, in dialectic skill and in -logical fencing, Baxter is acknowledged to have had no superior, if -any equal, in his own day, and he would have been worthy of a lot -amongst the mediæval schoolmen, to whose list of doctors his might -have added another characteristic name. But such qualities have their -disadvantages. In this instance, they led their possessor to travel -over such an immense field of inquiry, to meddle with so many topics, -to dispute with so many men, to make so many distinctions without any -difference, at least such as less acute minds can discern, that it is -difficult to gather together and harmonize his opinions, and to say on -certain points what he believed, and what he did not. It is easy for -a man of one-sided views to be consistent; but who that loves truth -for the truth’s sake, and wishes to see as much of it as is possible -in this world of imperfect knowledge, will value consistency of that -kind? Baxter was not one-sided, but strove to look at every subject -on its many sides, if it has many; and to reconcile aspects of truth -which to hasty and prejudiced thinkers seem contradictory. Hence he -has given occasion to the charge of inconsistency. His opinions have -been a battle-ground for critics ever since he left the world; and -in this respect he has attained a position honourable in one point -of view, dubious in another--like that of Origen. A great thinker, a -great debater, an eloquent expounder of his own convictions, he has -been pronounced a heretic by some members of his own Church, and his -orthodoxy has been endorsed by members of Churches not his own. It -is a curious illustration of the difficulty of deciding what were -Baxter’s sentiments on some intricate subjects, that his most copious -and intelligent biographer should first say, that he was neither -a Calvinist, nor an Arminian--should next assert his claims to be -considered a faithful follower of the Synod of Dort,--and should -finally pronounce this verdict: “Baxter was probably such an Arminian -as Richard Watson, and as much a Calvinist as the late Dr. Edward -Williams.” - -[Sidenote: BAXTER.] - -After such a verdict, I cannot hope successfully to thread the mazes -of Baxter’s theology. Yet there are a few conclusions which appear -to me undeniable. He took a Calvinistic view of the Divine decrees. -Several passages, probably, might be found in his writings apparently -inconsistent with the Genevan doctrine, but what convinces me that -he held it substantially, is not so much his confession, that he -accepted the decisions of the Synod of Dort (upon which his biographer -just mentioned insists), for Baxter sometimes interpreted statements -after a manner of his own,--as the fact that in his treatise _On -Conversion_, when dealing with such as say, “Those that God will -save shall be saved, whatsoever they be, and those that He will damn, -shall be damned,”--instead of cutting the matter short, as an Arminian -would do, by denying the Calvinistic dogma altogether, our Divine goes -on to guard against the abuses of that dogma; and to argue that people -should act in relation to the decrees of Grace, as they do respecting -the decrees of Providence. He finishes by saying just what Calvinists -say,--“God hath not ordinarily decreed the end without the means, and -if you will neglect the means of salvation it is a certain mark that -God hath not decreed you to salvation.”[536] - -Baxter’s opinions of the efficacy of Christ’s death resemble those of -John Goodwin, rather than those of Thomas Goodwin. For he remarks, -“God hath made a universal deed of gift of Christ and life to all -the world, on condition that they will but accept the offer. In this -testament or promise, or act of oblivion, the sins of all the world -are conditionally pardoned, and they are conditionally justified, and -reconciled to God.”[537] - -[Sidenote: BAXTER.] - -Baxter seems to have believed that whilst those who are ultimately -saved, are saved by the sovereign and gracious purpose of the -Almighty--in other words, by Divine election--there is a provision -made by the mediation of Christ, sufficient for the wants of all men, -and of which all men, if they pleased, could avail themselves; and in -this respect his views do not materially differ from those expressed -by Dr. Edward Williams, in his treatise on _The Divine Equity and -Sovereignty_; or from those taught by Andrew Fuller in several of -his publications. A somewhat similar _via media_ was pursued by -Amyraut, the French Divine. Yet it is, I believe, not an uncommon -impression that Baxter went beyond this, and supposed that whilst some -are elected to eternal life by a special Divine decree, others are -saved through a general provision of Divine grace. I do not pretend to -have read all Baxter’s works: but in those with which I am acquainted, -I find no trace of such an opinion, neither does it appear in Orme’s -careful summary of Baxter’s theological writings. It is a curious -fact, however, that an idea of the kind attributed to the Puritan was -expressed, at the Council of Trent, by a Papist, Ambrosius Catarinus, -of Siena,[538] and that a similar idea is exhibited in the writings of -Fowler, the Latitudinarian.[539] - -Baxter did not adopt the doctrine of imputation held by Thomas Goodwin -and John Owen. He remarks:-- - -“Most of our ordinary Divines say, that Christ did as properly obey -in our room or stead, as He did suffer in our stead, and that in -God’s esteem, and in point of law, we were in Christ’s obeying and -suffering, and so, in Him we did both perfectly fulfil the commands -of the law by obedience, and the threatenings of it by bearing the -penalty; and thus (say they) is Christ’s righteousness imputed to -us (viz.)--His passive righteousness for the pardon of our sins and -delivering us from the penalty, His active righteousness for the making -of us righteous, and giving us a title to the Kingdom--and some say -the habitual righteousness of His human nature, instead of our own -habitual righteousness--yea, some add the righteousness of the Divine -nature also. This opinion (in my judgment) containeth a great many of -mistakes.”[540] - -Faith, Baxter explains as “both a general trust in God’s revelations -and grace, and a special trust in Jesus Christ,” adding, “I have oft -proved this justifying faith to be no less than our unfeigned taking -Christ for our Saviour, and becoming true Christians according to -the tenour of the baptismal covenant.” The characteristic nature of -Christian faith he further represents as consisting of trust in a -personal Saviour, inclusive of an assenting trust by the understanding; -a consenting trust by the will; and a practical trust by the executive -powers.[541] The linking of the exercises of faith upon three faculties -in human nature may be observed both in Goodwin and in Owen; but Baxter -seems to have proceeded further than they in carrying out the practical -relations of faith, and in this respect to have occupied ground not -unlike that of Thorndike.[542] - -[Sidenote: HOWE.] - -Howe’s Puritanism might almost be said to have reached him by descent; -but his extraordinary thoughtfulness, and his singular originality, -require us to believe, that far from blindly accepting the inheritance, -he carefully investigated the whole subject, and became a Puritan from -conviction. His father, appointed to the incumbency of Loughborough -by Archbishop Laud, afterwards displeased his patron, by refusing to -comply with his requirements, and was consequently ejected. The father -took the son to Ireland, whence he was driven back by the rebellion; -after which, John Howe, before he proceeded to Oxford, went to -Cambridge, and there, from the “Platonic tincture” of his mind, became -associated with Cudworth, More, and John Smith, from whom his Platonic -tastes received the highest culture. The great Pagan theologue, -however, exerted a more powerful influence upon his sympathizing -disciple, than did any of these under-masters; for Howe carefully read -Plato for himself. He had “conversed closely with the heathen moralists -and philosophers; had perused many of the writings of the schoolmen, -and several systems and common places of the Reformers. Above all, -he had compiled for himself a system of theology, from the Sacred -Scriptures alone: a system which, as he was afterwards heard to say, he -had seldom seen occasion to alter.”[543] - -His defects of style have robbed him of that meed of honour to which -as a theologian he is entitled. He exhibits an utter neglect of the -art of composition, like a man of great wealth, thoroughly careless -about his attire, and falls into a habit of writing most inharmonious -periods, perhaps for want of a musical ear. His frequent poverty of -expression, and his numerous and intricate subdivisions, are failings -in their effect vastly heightened by the unaccountably strange method -of punctuation which he adopted himself, or left his printer to adopt -for him.[544] Yet his works present, in numerous instances, the most -felicitous phrases and the choicest epithets, and only less frequently -does he, under the inspiration of his genius, pour forth sonorous -sentences, with an organ-like swell, in keeping with the magnificent -ideas which they were employed to convey. After all Howe’s drawbacks, I -have often risen from the perusal of his works with feelings similar to -those of a traveller, who, at the end of his journey, charmed with the -remembrance of the scenes he has visited, forgets the ruggedness of the -road, and the inconvenience of his conveyance, however unpleasant they -might have been at the moment they were experienced. The originality -and compass of Howe’s mind, and the calmness and moderation of his -temper, must ever inspire sympathy, and awaken admiration in reflective -readers: his Platonic and Alexandrian culture commends him to the -philosophical student, and the practical tendency of his religious -thinking endears him to all Christians. His works contain no treatises -on Faith, on Justification, on Election, or Particular Redemption. -Though essentially evangelical, Howe’s writings are pervaded by a tone -of thought which varies from that which is predominant in Puritan -literature: and I may add that, as in Baxter, so in Howe, yet not from -exactly the same cause, or in the same measure, heresy hunters, if -their scent be keen, may discover passages open to exception. - -[Sidenote: HOWE.] - -In the _Blessedness of the Righteous_, when describing those -who bear that character, instead of dwelling upon justification by -the imputed righteousness of Christ, after the manner of Goodwin or -Owen, Howe exhibits chiefly the moral view of religion, that “it -can be understood to be nothing but the impress of the Gospel upon -a man’s heart and life; a conformity in spirit and practice to the -revelation of the will of God in Jesus Christ; a collection of graces -exerting themselves in suitable actions and deportments towards God -and man.” Calamy justly says that Howe “did not consider religion -so much a system of doctrines, as a Divine discipline to reform the -heart and life.” He carries out the idea of Christianity being a law, -“with evangelical mitigations and indulgences.” He speaks of the law -of faith, and insists upon that part of the Gospel revelation which -contains and discovers our duty--what we are to be and do, in order -to our blessedness.[545] Some of his expressions would scarcely have -been used by the two Divines we have just mentioned; yet, without -going into a theological discussion on the question, I may observe, -that Howe certainly believed most firmly in all which is essential to -the doctrine of justification by faith, and disposed of the opposite -doctrine in a summary way by saying, “To suppose the law of works, in -its own proper form and tenor, to be still obliging, is to suppose all -under hopeless condemnation, inasmuch as all have sinned.” The spirit -of his teaching throughout must be remembered, in order that we may -qualify, somewhat, certain expressions which seem to look favourably -towards such schemes as were advocated by Thorndike and Bull. The -drift of Howe’s theology was different from theirs, notwithstanding an -occasional resemblance of phraseology; and whilst I admit that some -of his passages on this subject require to be carefully guarded, and -others are open to exception, I must say that he did immense service -to the cause of Gospel truth, first, by insisting upon the present -dispensation of the Divine will as a form of moral and righteous -government for men in general, not simply an expedient for gathering -together the elect; and, next, by insisting upon the responsibility of -man, as well as upon the freeness of the grace of God. In my opinion, -Howe brought out--and Baxter did the same--phases of truth in relation -to man as a responsible being, as a subject morally accountable to the -universal Governor of the world, too much neglected by many of their -Puritan brethren. - -[Sidenote: HOWE.] - -The comprehensiveness of Howe’s mind, the harmony of his own spiritual -life, and the essentially practical character of his instructions, -appear in his _Carnality of Religious Contention_, especially in -the following passage relative to the two great blessings of the Gospel -which he distinguishes whilst he unites them:--In fine, therefore, the -Apostle “makes it his business to evidence to them that both their -justification and their sanctification must be conjoined, and arise -together out of one and the same root,--Christ Himself,--and by faith -in Him, without the works of the law, as that which must vitally unite -them with Him; and that thereby they should become actually interested -in all His fulness--that fulness of righteousness which was to be found -only in Him, and nowhere but in Him; and withal, in that fulness of -spirit and life and holy influence, which also was only in Him; so as -that the soul, being united by this faith with Christ, must presently -die to sin and live to God. And at the same time, when He delivered a -man from the law as dead to it, He became to him a continual living -spring of all the duty which God did by His holy rule require and call -for, and render the whole life of such a man a life of devotedness to -God.”[546] - -The Popish theory of justification, which confounds it with personal -righteousness, and the approaches made in that direction by Anglican -Divines, drove the Puritans to an opposite extreme; and the distinction -they sometimes make between justification and sanctification amounts -almost to a separation; but Howe--following St. Paul, who seems never -to have thought of the one without having in his mind at the same time -the thought of the other--whilst distinguishing between them, justly -presents the two as _conjoint_ blessings, “arising together out of -one and the same root,” or as being, in reality, two harmonious aspects -of one simple salvation. - -Howe nowhere maintains the doctrine of particular redemption, but -he exhibits the expiatory sacrifice of Christ with great clearness, -and introduces an argument to the effect “that to account for the -sufferings of the perfectly holy and innocent Messiah is made -abundantly more difficult by denying the Atonement.”[547] - -In his _Redeemer’s Tears wept over Lost Souls_, he does not -enter at all into the Predestinarian controversy--a circumstance which -distinguishes him from High Calvinistic theologians, who would not -have failed largely to discuss the question of the Divine decrees, -together with the Divine foreknowledge. But Howe rigorously confines -himself to a solution of that broad difficulty which presses equally -upon Arminians and Calvinists, supposing that both believe, as they -generally do, that God is omniscient, and that man is responsible. -The author’s simple purpose is to vindicate the Divine sincerity and -wisdom, in employing methods of moral persuasion with His intelligent -and accountable creatures, when He discerns beforehand that they will -prove of no avail, in offering invitations of mercy which He knows will -never be accepted, and in urging admonitions and rebukes to which He -foresees many will turn an unlistening ear and an obdurate heart. The -reticence of Howe, in this and in other parts of his writings, upon -subjects which present a fascinating attraction to speculative minds, -however incapable they may be of grappling with the objects towards -which they are so irresistibly drawn, is worthy of special notice, and -indicates a resemblance between him, in this respect, and Robert Hall, -who regarded Howe with intense admiration. - -One of the characteristic imperfections of that age in relation -to theology is found in the endeavour to define and explain many -things which are utterly beyond the reach of human comprehension. -Anglican and Puritan, in almost equal degrees, boldly ventured into -regions of speculation, and mistook for solid ground what really is -but cloud-land. Metaphysical conclusions of their own were by their -imagination transformed into Divine verities; and they often overlooked -the grand distinction between what revelation plainly teaches, and what -can be only inferred from its teaching. John Howe is singularly free -from all presumptuous intermeddling with subjects which lie beyond the -ken of mortals; and, although versed in the highest philosophy, beyond -many of his contemporaries--and, indeed, because he was thoroughly -imbued with the purest spirit of philosophy--he knew when to stop in -his path of inquiry, and how to distinguish between the wisdom of God -and the reasonings of man. - -[Sidenote: BAXTER AND HOWE.] - -Both Baxter and Howe were pre-eminently earnest in their endeavours -to promote the moral righteousness of Christians, and to exhibit its -production in human character and human life as the grand aim of the -Gospel of Jesus. Other Puritans, more Calvinistic in their modes of -thinking, inculcated holiness with emphasis and effect, and might -imply, throughout their instructions, that pardon and justification -were means to an end, that end being the conformity of the saints to -the will of God and the image of Christ; but no teacher of that class -impresses my mind with the positive conviction of such being the true -order of the great redemptive process, to the same extent, and with -the same depth, as do the two theologians now under review. They most -effectually relieve at least their part in Puritan Divinity from the -charge, and from the suspicion, of subordinating that which is moral in -religion to that which is speculative, that which is personal to that -which is relative, that which is practical to that which is emotional. -They give the true perspective in theology, and place subjects of -belief in their position one towards another, more accurately perhaps -than any of their contemporaries. They exhibit the sinner’s forgiveness -and acceptance with God, and his adoption into the Divine family of -the Church, and his heirship of celestial felicities, not as the -ultimatum of Christian object and desire, but as spiritual conditions -and circumstances essential to the growth and maturity of that moral -and God-like life which is begotten in the human soul at the hour of -the new birth by the Holy Spirit. No one, who reflects upon a scheme -of theology constructed after this type, can regard it as defective in -moral power, or as betraying the interests of perfect righteousness. -To place righteousness in the position of an end, rather than in the -relation of means to an end, must be to exalt and glorify it. Those -who impugn the whole system of evangelical belief as derogatory to -the moral character of religion, and who _therefore_ insist upon -moral duties as the means of attaining eternal life, do really dethrone -Christian righteousness from its Divine supremacy, and turn it into a -prudential expedient for promoting one’s own advantage, by making it a -series of stepping-stones or a flight of stairs by which men may climb -from the borders of perdition to the threshold of heaven. It is they -who dishonour--of course unintentionally--the nature and claims of -Gospel righteousness, not teachers like Baxter and Howe, who, refusing -to look at that righteousness merely or mainly as means to an end, as -price paid for a treasure, or as service done for reward, represent -it as the goal of all endeavour, the prize of the Christian race, the -richest gift of Divine love, and the brightest diamond in the crown of -salvation. - -[Sidenote: BAXTER AND HOWE.] - -A word may be added indicative of the literary and intellectual niche -which the names of these distinguished men deserve to occupy. Dr. -Arnold said of the Church Divines of the seventeenth century, “I -cannot find in any of them a really great man.”[548] Without adopting -the opinion so expressed, I am constrained to say that we can find -little of what may be called genius in some of the most renowned. No -one could ascribe that high gift to Thorndike, with all his stores of -learning and powers of reflection. No one would think of ascribing it -to Bull or Pearson. Nor, if we include Puritans, can it be attributed -in any high degree to Goodwin or Owen. Perhaps not one of the whole -class of theological writers at the time, able as they were, could -be justly esteemed the equal of that magnificent moral philosopher -and theologian in the days of Queen Elizabeth, Richard Hooker, or the -compeer even of Thomas Jackson, whose power, learning, and eloquence so -brightly adorned the Church in the reign of James I. Jeremy Taylor, no -doubt, had received Heaven’s gift of genius in the form of imagination, -and a power of musical expression in prose such as no one else could -rival, not even John Milton; but, in my opinion, the two theologians of -that age who possessed most of original power were Richard Baxter and -John Howe. - -Moreover, there was in both of these men a breadth of human -sympathy--always closely allied to the highest order of -intellect--which redeemed them from the narrowness of some of their -contemporaries. Baxter and Howe evinced none of the restricted -Churchmanship which blinded the Anglicans to all goodness not seen in -their own communion; and none of the exclusive Calvinism which made -some Puritans virtually shut up God’s love to a few like themselves, -and hand over to reprobation the remainder of the race. Baxter, -although not an accomplished scholar, was a man of wide and varied -reading, and had a decided taste for history, politics, and especially -metaphysics, as well as for theology; and Howe, who seems to have known -much more of Greek than his friend, was at home amongst the ancient -masters of philosophy, and perhaps with none of his brethren, except -Theophilus Gale, was Plato such an intimate acquaintance, and such a -thorough favourite. It has been justly remarked that the man who is -only a theological scholar is a very poor one.[549] The remark may -detract from the reputation of some of the Puritans, but not from the -reputation of the two Divines we have last described. - -Before I close this imperfect survey of the theology of the Puritans, -it is desirable to bring together, in some distinct form, the -characteristics of their teaching in reference to certain points which -have not been noticed in the foregoing detailed account of their -opinions. - -Here we notice first what they say upon the nature of sacraments. - -Goodwin and Owen refer to the subject of baptism incidentally, the -former speaking of it as the sign of salvation, and as the sealing of -our calling, our justification, our renewal, and our union with Christ; -the latter alluding to it chiefly for the purpose of denying that it -has the regenerating or purifying power ascribed to it by Catholics. -But he says a cleansing in profession and signification accompanies -baptism, when it is rightly administered.[550] - -[Sidenote: PURITAN VIEWS OF SACRAMENTS.] - -Baxter enters at large upon the subject, and discusses, in reference -to it, such questions as are particularly interesting to Catholics; -and one question at least--“Is baptism by laymen or women lawful in -cases of necessity?”--he answers after a manner resembling that of -the highest Anglican. He denies that there can be such necessity, -yet he does not absolutely pronounce lay baptism a nullity; although -he adds, If the baptizer “were in no possession or pretence of the -office, I would be baptized again if it were my case; because I should -fear that what is done in Christ’s name by one that notoriously had -no authority from Him to do it, is not owned by Christ as His deed, -and so is a nullity.”[551] Again, he remarks, “All that the minister -warrantably baptizeth are sacramentally regenerate, and are, _in foro -ecclesiæ_, members of Christ, and children of God, and heirs of -heaven.” “Therefore it is not unfit that the minister call the baptized -regenerate and pardoned members of Christ, and children of God, and -heirs of heaven, supposing that _in foro ecclesiæ_ they were the -due subjects of baptism.” What so subtle a dialectician exactly meant -by some things he said upon this subject, I do not undertake to say; -but certainly Baxter showed, like Thorndike, a strong disposition to -connect the functions of faith with a baptismal covenant. Baxter’s -theory was one which, upon a comparison of his theology in general -with that of Thorndike, must have materially differed from it; and -the qualifications introduced by the former in immediate connection -with the sentences quoted--which qualifications I have deferred citing -until now, in order that their force may be more clearly seen--must -be considered, if we would avoid misapprehending the drift of his -sentiments. “It is only those that are sincerely delivered up in -covenant to God in Christ, that are spiritually and really regenerate, -and are such as shall be owned for members of Christ and children of -God _in foro cœli_.”[552] Those readers who are familiar with the -controversy on baptismal regeneration will see at once that Baxter’s -statements, with his qualifications, may be so explained as to point -to a condition of Divine privilege, possibilities, and opportunities, -rather than to anything else. He further made a distinction between -some baptized children and others; a distinction which seems to -shift the conveyance of spiritual benefit from the rite itself to -the relation sustained by the child to a godly parent. “Not,” he -says, “that all the baptized, but that all the baptized seed of true -Christians are pardoned, justified, adopted, and have _a title -to_ the Spirit and salvation.”[553] And in his _Now or Never_ -(published in 1663), there occurs a very strong passage against -baptismal regeneration as held by some Episcopalians.[554] - -Howe touches upon the subject of baptism in his _Living Temple_, -and speaks of it as a taking on of Christ’s badge and cognizance, -as the fit and enjoined sign and token of becoming Christians, and -as a federal rite by which remission of sin is openly confirmed and -sealed.[555] - -Dr. Jacomb, in his treatise on _Holy Dedication_, uses, as already -noticed, very strong expressions relative to the nature and effects of -the ordinance; and I may observe that generally the writings of the -Puritans on the whole subject are pervaded by a mystic and sacramental -tone such as would not evoke the sympathies of their religious -descendants. - -[Sidenote: PURITAN VIEWS OF SACRAMENTS.] - -The Lord’s Supper, Dr. Goodwin exhibits, in opposition to the Catholic -view, not as a commemorative sacrifice to God, but as a remembrance of -His sacrifice to men; and he says that by it the intention on God’s -part is to represent the whole work of Christ; and the intention on -our part is to show it forth, and to signify our personal interest -in the benefits of His death.[556] Neither in Owen nor in Howe, so -far as I can find, is there anything indicative of their opinions -on the nature of the Lord’s Supper; but Baxter writes copiously -upon this theme. According to him, the _consecration_ of the -sacrament respects God the Father, and makes it the representative -body and blood of Christ, whilst, in such consecration, the Church -offers the elements to be accepted of God for this sacred use; the -_commemoration_ of the sacrament respects God the Son, and He is -in it, “in effigy,” still crucified before the Church’s eyes, and by it -the faithful show the Father that sacrifice in which they trust; and -the _communication_ of the sacrament respects God the Holy Ghost, -as being that Spirit given in the flesh and blood for the quickening of -the soul.[557] The same author, in his _Dying Thoughts_, remarks, -with reference to the Real Presence, “When we dispute against them -that hold transubstantiation and the ubiquity of Christ’s body, we do -assuredly conclude that sense is judge, whether there be real bread and -wine present or not; but it is no judge, whether Christ’s spiritual -body be present or not, no more than whether an angel be present. And -we conclude that Christ’s body is not infinite or immense, as is His -Godhead; but, what are its dimensions, limits or extent, and where it -is absent, far be it from us to determine, when we cannot tell how far -the sun extendeth, its secondary substance, or emanant beams; nor well -what locality is as to Christ’s soul, or any spirit, if to a spiritual -body.”[558] It is strange indeed to hear a Puritan speaking thus; his -language has almost a patristic and Anglican sound. Some mysterious -presence of the body of Christ in the material elements on the altar -was believed by the orthodox Fathers; and Origen regarded that body -as being ethereal and ubiquitous, and capable of assuming different -forms: even the judicious Hooker supposed that the human substance of -Christ is universally present “after a sort, by being nowhere severed -from that which everywhere is present.” It is easier to employ definite -expressions on this subject, and others of a similar kind, than to form -definite notions corresponding with the expressions; and it appears -to me very hard to say exactly what either Origen or Hooker meant by -the language which they employed on this subject. Certainly Baxter -expresses no decided opinion as to the presence of Christ’s body in -the sacrament; but he admits such a presence to be not impossible, and -thus opens the door for such unsatisfactory speculations as those in -which Origen and Hooker indulged. Baxter, from his scholastic habits of -thought, and from his familiarity with Catholic as well as Protestant -theologians, was led, on the subject of baptism and the Lord’s -Supper--especially the latter--to adopt a much more mystical form of -belief than his Puritan brethren were wont to entertain.[559] - -[Sidenote: PURITAN CONTROVERSY WITH POPERY.] - -In connection with the subject of sacraments, it is pertinent to -inquire what were the opinions of these Divines in reference to the -ministry and ordination. Baxter, as might be expected, discusses the -question in his usual scholastic manner. His views on baptism, as just -stated, indicate that he attached much importance to clerical order; -and he alludes to the power conveyed from Christ to the individual -minister, of which power he says neither the electors nor the ordainers -are the donors; they are only the instruments of designing an apt -recipient, and of delivering the possession of office. This position -involves a denial of the High Church doctrine of orders, and this -doctrine Baxter still farther denies, when he concludes that imposition -of hands is not essential to ordination, but is simply a decent, apt, -and significant sign. Ordination, however, he holds to be needful; -for, without this key, the office of the ministry and the doors of the -Church would be thrown open to heretics and self-conceited persons. -The power of ordination he believes to be vested in the senior pastors -of the Church, and the people’s call, or consent, he does not regard -as necessary to the minister’s reception of office in general, but -only to his pastoral relation. He admits that laymen may preach, -as did Origen and Constantine, but he cautiously restricts their -preaching to their families, or within “proper bounds.” What he had -witnessed in the army had given the good man a great horror of the -license claimed by lay orators on religious subjects; and, no doubt, -recollections of some of his military antagonists came before his -mind when he laid down the law, that lay teachers must not presume to -go beyond their abilities, especially in matters dark and difficult. -He also forbids them to thrust themselves into public meetings, and -proudly and schismatically to set themselves up against their lawful -pastors.[560] Baxter’s Presbyterianism appears throughout his treatment -of these subjects--subjects respecting which Goodwin, Owen, and Howe -are silent. But it is not to be inferred from this circumstance that -they were indifferent to order in the ministry and the Church. What -the Independents determined respecting these matters, in the Savoy -Declaration, we have seen in a previous chapter. - -Next to the Puritan treatment of the sacraments and the ministry comes -the Puritan share in the anti-Popish controversy. Although none of -the Divines now under consideration took so prominent a part in it -as did Cosin, Bramhall, and Barrow,--although none of them, on this -subject, published books which have become so famous as some written -by their brethren,--yet of their intense opposition to Romanism there -is not the shadow of a doubt. They might not have the same reasons for -wielding anti-Papal weapons which their Anglican contemporaries had, -who, by the charges of Romanizing tendencies brought against them, -were compelled to stand up in self-defence.[561] Still, expressions -of horror at the very thought of Rome are numerous enough in the -works of the Puritans, and some of them couched their thoughts on the -subject in the strongest phraseology. Nor were there wanting treatises -expressly upon the errors of Romanism from Puritan hands. Owen, at the -suggestion of Lord Clarendon, it is said, wrote his _Animadversions -on Fiat Lux_; a work which so pleased His Lordship that he declared -the writer had more merit than any English Protestant of that period, -and offered him preferment if he would conform. Baxter went beyond -Owen in the laborious defence of the Reformed against the Tridentine -Church; for he published altogether nearly twenty books and pamphlets -in this department of polemical literature, leaving “no one point in -the extensive field untouched,” and supplying “a complete library on -Popery.”[562] - -[Sidenote: PURITAN ECCLESIASTICAL CONTROVERSY.] - -In addition to what has been said on the subject in other portions of -this History, a passing notice must be taken of the ecclesiastical -controversies carried on by the Puritans against the High Church party. -During the Civil Wars, and under the Protectorate, unsparing attacks -were made upon Prelacy, modified schemes of Episcopacy were proposed, -Presbyterianism was upheld in books and pamphlets almost innumerable, -and between that system of Church government and Congregationalism the -warfare continued fierce and incessant. The Presbyterian contended -against the Prelatist for the original identity of Bishops and -elders, and for the scriptural authority of their own scheme of rule -and discipline. He contended against the Congregationalist for the -right and the duty of reducing England to a state of ecclesiastical -uniformity, based upon the decisions of the Westminster Assembly, and -defended by the employment of magisterial power. The Congregationalist -contended against the Presbyterian for the liberty of gathering -Independent Churches, and of maintaining Independent discipline--and -for the toleration, within certain limits, of all Christian sects. Of -course, after the Restoration, although the main differences continued -as before, and ecclesiastical disputes, essentially the same, were -carried on--differences in the treatment of these questions necessarily -arose, and changes in polemics on all sides became inevitable. When -the garrison within the castle walls are mastered and turned out by -the besiegers--when those who were besiegers become the garrison, and -those who formed the garrison become besiegers, the tactics of each -party will undergo alteration. Whilst Presbyterians or Independents, or -both, were in the ascendant, Episcopalians had to assume an offensive -attitude. They were, in fact, for the time being, Dissenters from -the Established religion of the country, and had, as such, to make -good their position as best they might. But when Prelacy had been -reestablished, its friends no longer needed the kind of battering-rams -which they had used very uncomfortably for about twenty years, they -would simply buckle on their defensive armour, and fence with their -weapons as in days of old. The other party had now to attack those -who were in power, and to draw their lines of circumvallation around -the fortress of intolerance, whilst they steadily defended themselves -against the charge of schism, and earnestly contended for liberty and -the rights of conscience. Baxter, in his _Plea for Peace_, argued -against Conformity on the ground of its unjust impositions,--such as -the expression of “assent and consent” to all things contained in the -Prayer Book, canonical subscription, re-ordination in the case of -Presbyterians, and the oath against seeking any change in Church or -State. - -The right of imposing things indifferent was a point which met with -much consideration in books as well as in the Savoy discussions. -Respecting this subject, the reader cannot do better than ponder an -extract from Sanderson, in favour of imposing such things, and another -from Baxter, against all impositions of the kind. - -“The liberty of a Christian,” says the Anglican, “to all indifferent -things, is in the mind and conscience, and is then infringed, when -the conscience is bound and straightened, by imposing upon it an -opinion of doctrinal necessity. But it is no wrong to the liberty of -a Christian man’s conscience, to bind him to outward observance for -order’s sake, and to impose upon him a necessity of obedience. Which -one distinction of doctrinal and obediential necessity well weighed, -and rightly applied, is of itself sufficient to clear all doubts on -this point. For, to make all restraint of the outward man in matters -indifferent, an impeachment of Christian liberty, what were it else, -but even to bring flat Anabaptism and anarchy into the Church; and to -overthrow all bond of subjection and obedience to lawful authority? -I beseech you consider, wherein can the immediate power and authority -of fathers, masters, and other rulers over their inferiors consist; or -the due obedience of inferiors be shown towards them, if not in these -indifferent and arbitrary things. For, things absolutely necessary, as -commanded by God, we are bound to do, whether human authority require -them or no; and things absolutely unlawful, as prohibited by God, we -are bound not to do, whether human authority forbid them or no. There -are none other things left then, wherein to express properly the -obedience due to superior authority than these indifferent things.”[563] - -[Sidenote: PURITAN ECCLESIASTICAL CONTROVERSY.] - -Turn from the Anglican to the Puritan:--“I confess,” he says, “it is -lawful for me to wear a helmet on my head in preaching; but it were -not well if you would institute the wearing of a helmet, to signify -our spiritual militia, and then resolve that all shall be silenced -and imprisoned during life that will not wear it. It is lawful for -me to use spectacles, or to go on crutches; but will you therefore -ordain that all men shall read with spectacles, to signify our -want of spiritual sight, and that no man shall go to church but on -crutches, to signify our disability to come to God of ourselves. So, -in circumstantials, it is lawful for me to wear a feather in my hat, -and a hay-rope for a girdle, and a hair-cloth for a cloak: but if you -should ordain that if any man serve God in any other habit, he shall -be banished, or perpetually imprisoned, or hanged; in my opinion, you -did not well: especially, if you add that he that disobeyeth you must -also incur everlasting damnation. It is in itself lawful to kneel when -we hear the Scriptures read, or when we sing psalms; but yet it is not -lawful to drive all from hearing and singing, and lay them in prison -that do it not kneeling. And why men should have no communion in the -Lord’s Supper that receive it not kneeling, or in any one commanded -posture, and why men should be forbidden to preach the Gospel that wear -not a linen surplice, I cannot imagine any such reason as will hold -weight at the bar of God.”[564] - -Owen was particularly active and vigorous in defending Nonconformity, -in pleading its rights, and in expounding his own views of Church -polity. In the year 1667, he published several tracts, the design -of which was to promote peaceable obedience to the civil enactments -of government; to show the injustice and impolicy of subjecting -conscientious and useful men to suffering, on account of their -religious sentiments; to expose the unconstitutional nature of the -proceedings against them by informers and secret emissaries; to unfold -his ideas of the nature and benefits of toleration in former ages, and -in other lands; to vindicate it from various charges; and to point out -the folly of attempting to settle the peace of the country on the basis -of religious conformity.[565] - -At a later period, in 1681, Owen published his _Enquiry into -the Original, Nature, Institution, Power, Order, and Communion of -Evangelical Churches_, in which he maintains that “unless men by -their voluntary choice, and consent, out of a sense of their duty -unto the authority of Christ, in His institutions, do enter into a -Church-state, they cannot, by any other ways or means, be so framed -into it, as to find acceptance with God therein.” - -[Sidenote: PURITAN ECCLESIASTICAL CONTROVERSY.] - -A Church he defines to be--“An especial society or congregation of -professed believers, joined together according unto his mind, with -their officers, guides, or rulers whom he hath appointed; which do or -may meet together for the celebration of all the ordinances of Divine -worship, the professing and authoritatively proposing the doctrine of -the Gospel, with the exercise of the discipline prescribed by himself, -unto their own mutual edification, with the glory of Christ, in the -preservation and propagation of His kingdom in the world.”[566] - -But with all this zeal in defence of particular forms of government, -the great Puritan Divines expressed the utmost charity towards all -Reformed Churches at home and abroad. The schismatical sentiments of -Anglicans, who cut off Presbyterians and Independents from communion, -and expressed hopes of their salvation in only cautious, faltering -terms, find no echo in the writings of their antagonists. It was the -main business of Baxter’s life to unite together Christians of all -kinds; for this he wrote numerous books, to this he devoted his best -years; and if Owen came behind him in this respect, he has, as in a -nut-shell, summed up most truly the cause of all disunion:-- - -“Men fall to judging and censuring each other as to their interest -in Christ, or their eternal condition. By what rule? The Everlasting -Gospel? The Covenant of Grace? No, but of the disciples: ‘Master, they -follow not with us.’ They that believe not our opinion, we are apt to -think believe not in Jesus Christ; and because we delight not in them, -that Christ does not delight in them. This digs up the roots of love; -weakens prayer; increases evil surmises; which are of the works of -the flesh, genders strife and contempt, things that the soul of Christ -abhors.”[567] - -Able as the Puritans might be in controversy, they appear to much -greater advantage in their experimental and practical instructions. -And here it ought to be noticed, that whilst the conforming Puritans -did not number amongst them any great scientific Divines, they -included well-known names of another class. Bishop Hall, by no -means an ecclesiastical Puritan, sympathized a good deal with the -doctrinal Puritans in their distinctive views, and still more in their -evangelical spirit; and this British Seneca, as he is called, always -wrote upon moral and practical subjects with the unction characteristic -of the best kind of Puritanism. Thomas Fuller, chiefly known as an -Historian, employed his matchless wit in the enforcement of religious -duties, after a manner which bore much of a Puritan stamp, whilst it -fascinated and edified all parties. Dr. Reynolds, the Puritan Bishop -of Norwich, wrote books which were once of considerable celebrity, -and which contain a great deal of evangelical sentiment and practical -piety. The _Christian Armour_, by Gurnal, the Puritan Incumbent -of Framlingham, is perhaps as popular as ever--exhibiting as it does, -amidst much perverted ingenuity of arrangement and a vitiated style -of expression, a surprising amount of spiritual truth and of genuine -wisdom. The Nonconformists, however, outpeer their brethren in this -department of literature. John Bunyan has a niche of his own in the -temple of literary fame, where the image of his genius has been crowned -with chaplets woven by the noblest hands. Other Puritan authors of -that age have contributed to the wealth of our spiritual literature. -In proof of which I need only mention Owen’s ideal of Christian -character, in his _Mortification of Sin_, and his _Spiritual -Mindedness_; Baxter’s encouragement for believers, in his _Saint’s -Everlasting Rest_; his warnings to the ungodly, in his _Now -or Never_; and Howe’s solace for mourners, in _The Redeemer’s -Dominion over the Invisible World_. - -[Sidenote: PRACTICAL PURITAN THEOLOGY.] - -Alleine’s _Alarm to the Unconverted_--of which it was stated -in 1775 that 20,000 copies had been sold, and 50,000 more under the -title of _The Sure Guide to Heaven_--is one of those books which -are eminently adapted to awaken deep spiritual convictions. Bates’ -_Spiritual Perfection Unfolded and Enforced_--to mention no other -book by this estimable author--is written in his characteristic silvery -style: and, if there be sometimes an “abrupt dismissal of a train of -thought,” “these breaks in the veins of valuable ore do not appear -to be ever very material, and are rarely perceptible except to the -eye of a closely-reflecting and examining reader.” But the religious -excellencies of the volume surpass those which are literary, and if -Alleine’s _Alarm_ be calculated to arrest the godless, Bates’ -_Spiritual Perfection_ is equally fitted to guide and edify the -godly. The titles of Brooks’ Treatises indicate the quaint kind of -talent which he possessed:--“A Box of Precious Ointment”--“An Ark for -God’s Noahs”--“A Golden Key to open hidden Treasures”--“Apples of Gold -in Pictures of Silver.” “Many of his sentences are proverbs newly -coined, shrewd, humorous, and Saxon; and they are provided with an -alliterative jingle, which, like a sheep-bell, keeps a good saying from -being lost in the wilderness.” It is impossible to read his writings -without respecting his character as well as admiring his ingenuity; -and whilst he exhibits more originality than Bates, like him he is -a teacher fitted to instruct Christian people and to comfort their -hearts under the troubles of life. - -Flavel is entitled to occupy a niche, not far from that which is filled -by John Bunyan; not that he possessed the inventiveness of the Great -Dreamer, yet, like him, he delighted to use similitudes, and did it -successfully. His _Husbandry Spiritualized_--suggested by his -walks through pleasant farms in Dorset and Devon; and his _Navigation -Spiritualized_, arising from observations on sea-faring life, whilst -he resided in the picturesque town of Dartmouth, are full of sweet and -healthy allegories. - -Less known than Flavel, but somewhat akin to him in natural and -spiritual taste, was Isaac Ambrose, whose work, entitled _Looking to -Jesus_, is full of pleasant illustrations, drawn from the scenes of -nature amidst which he delighted to ramble, especially “the sweet woods -of Widdicre,” on the banks of the Darwen, where in a little hut, to -which he annually repaired, this Puritan hermit, for the time, spent -hour after hour in meditation and prayer. - -John Spencer, in his _Things New and Old_; Robert Cawdray, in his -_Treasury of Similes_; and Benjamin Keach, in his _Key to open -Scripture Metaphors_;--also belong to the same class of authors as -Flavel.[568] - -[Sidenote: PRACTICAL PURITAN THEOLOGY.] - -Many of the practical treatises published in the seventeenth century -consisted of courses of sermons, and partook largely of the diffuse -style proper to the pulpit; also many of the sermons of that day are in -fact practical treatises. We see this fashion of treating Divinity in -the works of Taylor and Barrow, and still more strikingly in the works -of Owen, Baxter, and Howe. Casuistry, now neglected by Protestants, -was then much studied by theologians of all schools. Taylor’s _Ductor -Dubitantium_, and Baxter’s _Christian Directory_, are worthy of -a chief place on the shelf of a library appropriated to works of this -description. The characters of the men, and the peculiarities of the -different schools of theological thought to which they belonged, may be -traced in these volumes, and there is truth in the remark of one well -read in all kinds of theological literature,--“Both may be consulted -occasionally with profit and advantage; but if resorted to as oracles, -they will frequently be found as unsatisfactory as the responses of the -Delphic tripod.”[569] - -As, in common with devoted Conformists, Dissenting preachers “watched -for souls,” the means they pursued for the accomplishment of their -end bore a stamp indicating their distinctive theological principles. -One peculiarity in the mode of preaching adopted by the Anglican, -and an opposite peculiarity in the mode of preaching adopted by the -Puritan, grew--as differences always must--out of different systems -of Divinity maintained by the two parties. The first, regarding the -ordinance of baptism as lying at the root of Christianity, and looking -upon all who had undergone the holy rite, as regenerated Christians, -addressed their congregations at large--those congregations being -composed almost entirely of the baptized--as members of the mystical -body of Christ, as people already in fellowship with the Redeemer, and -as needing only to be awakened to a sense of their privileges, and of -their responsibility, and to be stimulated to the discharge of their -duties. The Puritan, on the contrary, regarding spiritual consciousness -as at the bottom of all spiritual life, and looking upon those who -were destitute of such consciousness, as dead in trespasses and sins, -laboured at making people feel the need of that new birth which our -Lord inculcated upon Nicodemus. The tone of the Anglican harp is heard -sweetly in Jeremy Taylor’s _Rule and Exercises of Holy Living and -Dying_. The Puritan trumpet waxes loud in Baxter’s _Call to the -Unconverted_. - -The office of expositor was necessarily, to some extent, combined -with that of preacher. Puritan homilies were chiefly expository, and -Puritan expositions were chiefly homiletic. Biblical criticism, in the -precise sense of the word, was not studied then so thoroughly as it is -in the present day; but looking at the critical literature produced -by Puritans, in comparison with that which was produced by other -scholars, those who come in the line of succession after the former -have no reason to be ashamed of their predecessors. Thomas Gataker -the younger, Incumbent of Rotherhithe, who died in 1654, was one of -the first scholars of his age, and applied his extensive and profound -learning to Biblical investigations. He was somewhat erratic in certain -of his conclusions, but in the defence of them he displayed both -erudition and ingenuity. In his work on the style of the New Testament, -he overthrew the positions of Sebastian Pfochenius, who maintained the -classical purity of the Scripture Greek; and in establishing the fact -of Hebraistic peculiarities in apostolic writings, he anticipated the -opinions of modern scholars, and also entered upon original inquiries -respecting the origin of languages.[570] Pool’s _Synopsis_, -published between 1669 and 1674, with the _Annotations_, which -appeared in 1683, present, in an accurate and well-digested form, -the principal results of all the learning which had then been -applied to the investigation of the Old and New Testament. And Owen’s -_Exposition of the Epistles to the Hebrews_ is a rare monument -of erudition:--considering the age in which it was written, it is -equal if not superior to anything on the same subject which has been -composed since. Still, its value as a series of devout and practical -meditations far surpasses its exegetical worth, and that which is a -pre-eminent quality in Owen is a pre-eminent quality in his brethren. -Thomas Goodwin, if not equal in Biblical scholarship to John Owen, does -not come very far behind him. His exposition of a part of the Epistle -to the Ephesians is a noble production; but the chief excellence of -Goodwin, like that of the other “Atlas of Independency,” lies in his -clearness, sagacity, comprehensiveness, and point, as a practical and -experimental expositor. Burroughs on Hosea; Caryl on Job; Greenhill -on Ezekiel; Manton on James, Jude, the 119th Psalm, the Lord’s -Prayer, and the 53rd chapter of Isaiah,--and the list could be easily -enlarged,--are commentaries, in which the critical element appears -faint, when compared with the theological and hortatory characteristics. - -[Sidenote: PURITAN EXPOSITORS.] - -As Divines, as expositors, and preachers, the Puritans showed a -wonderful acquaintance with the Bible and with the human heart, for -they apply the one to the other with singular skill, force, and pathos. -No doubt they were deficient in taste, and sometimes worried their -metaphors to death, and handled their flowers till they dropped to -pieces, and are open to all kinds of criticism from modern masters of -science. No doubt, also, we in our day have many advantages over them -in reading the Bible; for, owing to helps now familiar, we acquire a -keener insight into ancient Eastern life than any of these worthies -could ever attain. They had no works in those days like that of -Conybeare and Howson; yet they had a pre-eminent gift in bringing -to bear, for spiritual and practical purposes, the daily life of -patriarchs and Apostles upon the daily life of the people to whom -they preached, and for whom they wrote. Travellers often gaze with -interest upon those frescoes in the churches of Florence and other -Italian cities, in which the stories of Scripture are rendered into -landscapes and figures, derived from streets and gardens, and costumes -and faces, with which the artist happened to be familiar in the place -where he dwelt. And who that has seen them has not been struck with -the stained glass windows in Germany, grotesquely portraying Scripture -scenes and incidents under forms borrowed from German dwellings and -German people? So at times, when reading the homely applications of -Bible stories in Puritan writers, are we not reminded of these works of -art; do we not feel that amidst a great deal which provokes criticism, -and which may make one smile, there is in the Puritan writer, as in -the mediæval painter, an instinct of truth, and an insight into the -connection between the Bible and common life, most profound, most keen, -most admirable? As the wickedness of old is still reproduced, and as -the enemies of Christ are the same in spirit whether dressed like -Jewish priests or as Saxon burgomasters,--so the devotion and piety -of ancient and sacred times may transmigrate into the souls, and be -embodied in the habits of modern citizens. But of all the excellencies -of Puritan divinity, this is the chief,--that it exhibits clearly, and -with warmth and love, with light and fire, the distinctive doctrines of -Christianity--the Fatherhood of God, the Divinity, the mediation, the -priesthood, and the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, the agency of -the Holy Spirit, the freeness of salvation, the way of acceptance with -God through faith, and the new birth and sanctification of the human -soul, through the efficacious operations of Divine grace. - -[Sidenote: COMPARISON.] - -Thus I have attempted to give an outline of the opinions which -divided the English Christendom of the latter half of the seventeenth -century. In citing passages from various authors I am fully aware how -fallacious quotations are when taken by themselves; at the best they -are insufficient for the formation of a judgment. The old illustration -of a brick taken out of a house as a specimen of the structure scarcely -applies to the subject; yet no judicious student of literature will -rely upon passages extracted from an author, detached from their -connection and separated from the leading idea and spirit of his work. -Those which are employed in these pages have been chosen on account of -their being not mere blocks lying upon the surface, but the croppings -up of characteristic strata, penetrating deeply, and spreading far -beneath the surface of the ground upon which they appear. - -How do we acquire a correct knowledge of the opinions of the Fathers? -Not by looking at quotations alone, but by analyzing their writings, -by tracing out their trains of thought, by measuring the space which -they devote to particular topics, by arranging together their favourite -texts, by examining their references to tradition and the Church, as -well as to Scripture, and by endeavouring to detect their sympathies -and predilections; it is in the same way that I have endeavoured, -not so well as I could wish, to read the Divines of the seventeenth -century, and the result is such as the reader finds imperfectly stated -in the pages of this volume. - -What was indicated at the beginning of our survey may, in other words, -be expressed at the close. In the Anglican teaching we find what is -doctrinal, what is ethical, and what is emotional; we see the orthodox -dogmas of Christianity, the indisputable morals of Christianity, and -the spiritual experience of Christianity; but these are introduced in -different proportions, the third less than the second, perhaps the -second less than the first. Yet not in any of these do we detect the -characteristic stamp of Anglican sentiment so much as in the belief of -one catholic Church preserving this truth, inculcating this morality, -and cultivating this experience, and in the idea of an organized unity, -with its ministers, sacraments, and ordinances, receiving, enjoying, -and dispensing God’s gifts of grace. In the Latitudinarian teaching, -there is not much which can be called experimental, there is more of -what is theological, but the principal feature is undoubtedly moral. -Quakerism has its exposition of dogmas and its enforcement of duties; -it has its creed and its forms as have other systems of Christianity; -but it is in its mystical element that we discover the key to unlock -the secrets of its power. Puritanism has its Church organizations, -Presbyterian, and Independent,--it has its moral teaching, for it is -decidedly practical, yet in neither of these do we reach its most -prominent distinction. That consists both in its doctrinal zeal, and -in its experimental tone, and in the last more than the first; for the -dogmatical difference between John Goodwin[571] and Thomas Goodwin, -between the Arminian and the Calvinist, seems lost when we ponder -the fellowship of these souls in the same peculiar kind of emotional -ardour, which glows with a coloured light, easily distinguishable from -such fires as burn in Anglican, in Latitudinarian, or in Mystic lamps -before the altar of the one God, in the one temple of His redeemed -Church. - - - - - CHAPTER XXI. - - -Doctrinal, expository, and homiletic literatures exhibit the divergent -theological opinions of Christian men; but psalms, hymns and spiritual -songs reveal the sensibilities of the devout, as they converge towards -the common centre of all religious trust and hope and love. More of -unity is possible in the worship of praise than in any other kind of -worship. What on one side is deemed superstition, what on another is -regarded as sectarianism, may sometimes taint the expression of pious -thought and feeling in verse; but an immense number of compositions -in English hymnology are altogether free from defects of either of -these kinds, and are fitted to convey, with propriety, the sentiments -of people who differ widely from each other whenever they enter the -region of polemics. Broad Church and Low Church, the Anglican, the -Evangelical, and the Nonconformist, on some occasions find it easy to -combine in the service of song, and to adopt with common joy and love, -the same strains of sweetness and purity which form a consentaneous -_Cardiphonia_, a blended utterance of many hearts.[572] - -Before approaching the subject of hymnology proper, a few words may -be introduced in relation to a kind of poetry which closely resembles -it. It would be foreign to my purpose to say anything critical of the -grand religious epics of John Milton, known by every one: they belong -to the realms of imagination, and scarcely come, except in some of -the songs which they include, within those precincts of Christian -affection where the humble hymn-writer makes his home. Nor can I -take up Joseph Beaumont’s _Pysche or Love’s Mystery, displaying -the intercourse betwixt Christ and the Soul_, which was published -in 1648, and is known by very few; since its length, extending to -40,000 lines, baffles all attempts at description, and its blending -of Pagan fables with Bible facts, often takes it out of the circle of -religious poetry altogether. Benlowes’ poem, entitled _Theophila, or -Love’s Sacrifice_, published in 1652, is of a different character: -his verses come more within the range of modern sympathies, whilst -their quaintness of style leave no doubt as to the age in which they -were written. Such compositions can scarcely be called devotional; -but verses flowed from certain pens, at the time I speak of, which, -although not meant for public or private worship, did very charmingly -embody the aspirations of Christian men. Some of them, it is true, had -a tinge of peculiarity, derived from ecclesiastical or theological -preferences, but the general stamp of these compositions was such as -to commend them to many outside the circle to which they particularly -belonged. For instance: Richard Crashaw, a clergyman, who had been -Master of the Temple, and who died in 1652, wrote _An Ode prefixed to -a Prayer Book_, in which, imbued with an Anglican admiration of that -volume, he beautifully says:-- - -[Sidenote: POETRY.] - - “It is an armory of light, - Let constant use but keep it bright, - You’ll find it yields - To holy hands and humble hearts, - More swords and shields - Than sin hath snares, or hell hath darts. - - Only be sure, - The hands are pure, - That hold these weapons, and the eyes, - Those of Christians, meek, and true, - Wakeful, wise; - Here is a friend shall fight for you; - Hold but this book before your heart, - Let prayer alone to play its part. - O, but the heart - That studies this high art, - Must be a sure housekeeper, - And yet no sleeper. - - Of all this store - Of blessings, and ten thousand more, - (If, when He come - He find the heart from home), - Doubtless He will unload - Himself some other where, - And pour abroad - His precious things - On the fair soul whom first He meets, - And light around him with His wings.” - -When the Anglican wrote these words, such of them as express admiration -of the Common Prayer would not command the sympathy of certain -Puritans; other Puritans, however, with a measure of qualification, -could share in that sympathy; and all, one would think, might enter -cordially into such feelings, as are expressed, generally, by the -largest portion of the Ode, in reference to the pleasures and duties of -devotion. - -Whatever there might be restrictive of sympathy under one form in -the verses from which I have just made a selection, nothing of the -kind, under any form, can be found to exist in Henry More’s _Sonnet -on Religion_; for that exhibits the widest breadth of Christian -fellowship, and embraces within the range of its regards the devout -members of all communities. The Anglican and the Evangelical, the -Broad Churchman and the Mystic, might consistently adopt the following -sentiment:-- - - “The true religion sprung from God above, - Is like her fountain--full of charity; - Embracing all things with a tender love, - Full of good will, and meek expectancy; - Full of true justice and sure verity, - In heart and voice; free, large, even infinite; - Not wedged in straight particularity, - But grasping all in her vast active sprite-- - Bright Lamp of God, that men would joy in - Thy pure light.” - -More died in 1687. The same year Edmund Waller passed away, singing -the following lines, which complete and crown his _Divine Poems_; -lines which indicate faith in the life and immortality brought to light -by the Gospel, and which convey aspirations breathed by Christians of -every Church and creed:-- - - “The seas are quiet when the winds are o’er; - So calm are we when passions are no more: - For then we know how vain it was to boast - Of fleeting things, so certain to be lost. - - Clouds of affection from our younger eyes - Conceal that emptiness which age descries: - The soul’s dark cottage, battered and decayed, - Lets in new lights through chinks that time has made. - - Stronger by weakness, wiser, men become, - As they draw nearer to their eternal home, - Leaving the old, both worlds at once they view, - That stand upon the threshold of the new.” - -[Sidenote: POETRY.] - -Francis Quarles had a place assigned him in the _Dunciad_, by -Alexander Pope, but is by Campbell admitted into “the laurelled -fraternity,” and has lately recovered somewhat of his original renown. -He wrote a paraphrase of the Book of Ecclesiastes, which was published -in 1645, just after his death, but the _Emblems_, for which he is -still so celebrated, appeared as early as 1635; and, although earlier -than our period, may be noticed here in passing, because they seem -to have been largely read for fifty years, or so, after their first -publication. They strikingly reflect the poetical taste, most popular, -under the Commonwealth, and amongst a large number of religious -people for some time afterwards. Quarles furnishes an example of the -combination of pictorial devices with the printed text. He tells his -readers at the outset, “Before the knowledge of letters, God was known -by hieroglyphics,” and then asks, “Indeed, what are the heavens, the -earth, nay every creature, but hieroglyphics and emblems of His glory?” - -Leaving this border land of religious poetry--which, although in the -seventeenth century large in itself, appears small in comparison with -religious prose, and, for the most part, inferior in its literary -pretensions--we enter the province of hymnology proper, where we -find much to interest us. Yet here we must remember, that within the -era prescribed in these chapters, we do not reach what may be called -the land of Beulah in the regions of English sacred song. Before we -can approach that region, we must pass over another half century. -The position of hymnology in the history of our literature since the -Reformation is a little remarkable. Hymnology was late before it -appeared in any thing like vigorous efflorescence, and in this respect -it exhibits a contrast to what we notice with regard to poetical -literature in earlier times and other respects. Poetry came before -philosophy in Greece. Homer composed his Iliad and Odyssey long ere -Plato wrote his Dialogues. Something of the same order meets us in -the succession of authorship when we turn to the Biblical and sacred -literature of our own country in the middle ages. Versification rose -into life much earlier than prose. Between the metrical paraphrase -of Scripture by Cædmon, the Whitby monk, and the theology of the -Anglo-Norman schoolmen, five centuries elapsed; the prose translations -and treatises of Wycliffe came two centuries later still. Romantic and -dramatic poetry took the lead at the close of the sixteenth century. -Spencer and Shakespere are a little in advance of Raleigh and Bacon. -But when we look at our religious literature since the Reformation, -we notice an inversion of such order. The Church under Elizabeth and -the earlier Stuarts produced prose theology in abundance, some of it -of a high order; but it yielded comparatively few verses strictly -religious. The Augustan age of divinity is comparatively poor in the -hymnal department, poorer in quality than it is in quantity. When, -however, doctrinal divinity had declined in the eighteenth century, and -the most intellectual theologians were those who defended the outworks -of Christian evidence, and no such men as Thorndike, Bull and Pearson -appeared among Churchmen; and no Divines equal to Owen, Baxter, and -Howe could be found in the ranks of Nonconformity,--hymn-writers arose -in greater numbers, and with sweeter notes, than at any earlier season. -We must not anticipate them, but confine ourselves to the scanty -collections of psalms and hymns contributed between the commencement of -the Civil Wars and the epoch of the Revolution. - -[Sidenote: POETRY.] - -First we shall glance at books simply intended for use in public -worship. New versions of the Psalms were early prepared by Rous and -Barton--the first was published in 1641, the second in 1644. The -Psalter, with titles and collects, attributed to Jeremy Taylor, -appeared in the same year, and afterwards ran through several editions. -“The Psalms of David from the New Translation of the Bible, turned into -metre by Henry King,” Bishop of Chichester between 1641 and 1669--James -I.’s “king of preachers,” and who to his fame as a preacher added some -reputation as a poet--issued from the press under the Commonwealth, -in 1651 or 1654. In the following year, the Rev. John White published -“David’s Psalms in metre, agreeable to the Hebrew;” and it may be -mentioned, as an indication of the alliance of instrumental music with -psalmody under the Protectorate, that on the 22nd of November, 1655, -according to a printed quarto sheet still in existence, there were -select Psalms of a new translation, arranged to be “sung in verse, and -chorus, of five parts, with symphonies of violins, organ, and other -instruments.” The Psalms were paraphrased and turned into English -verse by Thomas Garthwaite in 1664, by Dr. Samuel Woodford in 1667, -and by Miles Smyth in 1668. In 1671 there came out “Psalms and Hymns, -in solemn music, in four parts, on the common tunes to Psalms in metre -used in parish churches, by John Playford;” and in 1679, “A Century -of Select Psalms in verse, for the use of the Charter House, by Dr. -John Patrick.” J. Chamberlayne Gent, Richard Goodridge, and Simon Ford -added, before the Revolution, volumes of paraphrases; and in the year -of that great event, we find another volume, bearing the title of -“The whole Book of Psalms, as they are now sung in the churches, with -the singing notes of time and tune to every syllable, never before -done in England, by T. M.” These are the principal, if not all the -Psalm-books, produced from the opening of the Commonwealth to the -legal establishment of toleration. Public worship was, from the time -of passing the Act of Uniformity, until its modification under William -III., forbidden by constitutional law to be celebrated anywhere but in -the churches and chapels of the Establishment; and therefore it was for -them expressly, and for them alone, that the various translations and -editions of the Psalter were designed. Specimens of these productions -need not be given, as they are more or less close and unpoetical -renderings in rhyme of the Book of Psalms. - -Besides these publications, translations of particular Psalms appeared -in detached forms. John Milton translated several. Some, indeed, are -only classical renderings of the thoughts contained in those sacred -compositions; but under date April, 1648, we find, under his hand, -“Nine of the Psalms, done into metre, wherein all, but what is in -a different character, are the very words of the text, translated -from the original.” This method of versification put such chains on -the wings of poetry that it was impossible for it to do otherwise -than stretch them with awkwardness; yet, notwithstanding such an -incumbrance, there may be noticed a few movements in the bard’s verses -which are free and graceful. The paraphrase of the 136th Psalm, which -he wrote in his fifteenth year, contains strokes of magnificent -diction, and expresses adoration and praise in some of its very highest -strains. Milton, as a boy, there struck a key-note which must lead off -a chorus of Divine music wherever it is heard:-- - - “Let us, with a gladsome mind, - Praise the Lord, for He is kind; - For His mercies aye endure, - Ever faithful, ever sure. - Who by His wisdom did create - The painted heavens, so full of state; - Who did the solid earth ordain - To rise above the watery plain; - Who, by His all-commanding might, - Did fill the new-made world with light, - And caused the golden-tressed sun - All the day long his course to run.” - -[Sidenote: POETRY.] - -Paraphrases of the Psalms were attempted by distinguished poets who -rarely touched on sacred themes. John Oldham, for example, who died in -1683, composed a number of elaborate lines upon the 137th Psalm, but -they contain as little of devotion as they do of harmony and rhythm. I -am not aware that Dryden clothed any of the Psalms in English numbers, -but he translated the _Te Deum_, and wrote a hymn for St. John’s -Eve. These pieces are little known, and scarcely strike the chords of -devotion; but there is a rich, full, Divine spirit in his rendering of -the _Veni Creator Spiritus_, such as floods the soul with heavenly -desires:-- - - “Creator Spirit, by whose aid - The world’s foundations first were laid, - Come visit every pious mind; - Come pour Thy joys on human kind; - From sin and sorrow set us free, - And make Thy temples worthy Thee.” - -George Wither, the Puritan poet, who died in 1667, wrote hymns and -songs of the Church; and amongst translations of the Lord’s Prayer, -perhaps there never was one so compact, and so closely adhering to the -original, as his:-- - - “Our Father, which in heaven art, - We sanctify Thy name; - Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done, - In heaven and earth the same: - Give us this day our daily bread; - And us forgive Thou so, - As we, on them that us offend, - Forgiveness do bestow. - Into temptation lead us not, - But us from evil free: - For Thine the kingdom, power, and praise, - Is, and shall ever be.” - -I proceed now to notice a few original productions. Jeremy Taylor wrote -hymns, which he describes as “celebrating the mysteries and chief -festivals of the year, according to the manner of the ancient Church; -fitted to the fancy and devotion of the younger and pious persons: apt -for memory, and to be joined to their other prayers.” In much of his -poetry we miss the exquisite rhythm of his prose; nor can there be said -to be in it much of that Divine power, or that human pathos, which -kindles devotion in Christian bosoms. The first hymn for Christmas Day -is perhaps the best of all:-- - - “Mysterious truth! that the self-same should be - A Lamb, a Shepherd, and a Lion too! - Yet such was He - Whom first the shepherds knew, - When they themselves became - Sheep to the Shepherd-Lamb. - Shepherd of men and angels,--Lamb of God, - Lion of Judah,--by these titles keep - The wolf from Thy endangered sheep. - Bring all the world into Thy fold; - Let Jews and Gentiles hither come - In numbers great, that can’t be told; - And call Thy lambs, that wander, home.” - -These lines are thrown into a form which partakes of the nature of -an ode more than that of a hymn: certainly they are altogether unfit -for Divine worship, and the same remark may be made of all the verses -printed in Taylor’s works. - -[Sidenote: POETRY.] - -Robert Herrick, who comes within our range of time--for he died about -1674--wrote a beautiful litany to the Holy Spirit, which bears a -lyrical character suitable for psalmody, and contains the following -earnest cries:-- - - “In the hour of my distress, - When temptations me oppress, - And when I my sins confess, - Sweet Spirit, comfort me! - - When I lie within my bed, - Sick in heart and sick in head, - And with doubts discomforted, - Sweet Spirit, comfort me! - - When the house doth sigh and weep, - And the world is drown’d in sleep, - Yet mine eyes the watch do keep, - Sweet Spirit, comfort me! - - When, God knows, I’m tost about, - Either with despair, or doubt, - Yet before the glass be out, - Sweet Spirit, comfort me! - - When the judgment is reveal’d, - And that open’d which was seal’d, - When to Thee I have appeal’d, - Sweet Spirit, comfort me!” - -Although Richard Baxter has been always so renowned as a prose writer, -his poetry was for a long time neglected; but of late one of his -lyrical compositions has obtained a very extensive popularity. There -is in it a quaint beauty, which evokes our admiration of the author’s -piety, beyond the praise which we bestow upon the freshness and -originality of his mind. It is a specimen of that devout confidence -in God which so thoroughly inspired the best religiousness of the -seventeenth century; it furnishes an incentive to pure and hallowed -affections, in every bosom, and it possesses some of the best -qualities of a Christian hymn:-- - - “Lord, it belongs not to my care, - Whether I die or live: - To live and serve Thee is my share, - And this Thy grace must give. - If life be long, I will be glad - That I may long obey: - If short, yet why should I be sad, - That shall have the same pay? - - If death shall bruise this springing seed, - Before it comes to fruit, - The will with Thee goes for the deed, - Thy life was in the root. - Long life is a long grief and toil, - And multiplieth faults: - In long wars he may have the foil, - That ’scapes in short assaults. - - Christ leads me through no darker rooms - Than He went through before; - He that unto God’s kingdom comes, - Must enter by this door. - Come, Lord! when grace has made me meet - Thy blessed face to see; - For if Thy work on earth be sweet, - What must Thy glory be? - - Then shall I end my sad complaints, - And weary, sinful days; - And join with the triumphant saints, - That sing Jehovah’s praise. - My knowledge of that life is small, - The eye of faith is dim; - But ’tis enough that Christ knows all, - And I shall be with Him.” - -[Sidenote: POETRY.] - -John Mason, who died in 1694--father of him who wrote the _Treatise -on Self-Knowledge_--was a very superior hymnologist. Between the -verses just quoted from Richard Baxter, and the following, taken from -a hymn by Mason, entitled _Surely I come quickly_, there is a -remarkable resemblance:-- - - “And dost Thou _come_, my dearest Lord? - And dost Thou _surely_ come? - And dost Thou _surely quickly_ come? - Methinks I am at home! - - My Jesus is gone up to heaven - To get a place for me; - For ’tis His will that where He is, - There should His servants be. - - Canaan I view from Pisgah’s top, - Of Canaan’s grapes I taste; - My Lord, who sends unto me here, - Will send for me at last. - - I have a God that changeth not, - Why should I be perplext? - My God, that owns me in this world, - Will own me in the next. - - Go fearless, then, my soul, with God - Into another room: - Thou, who hast walked with Him here, - Go, see thy God at home.” - -Flourishing between the age of Quarles and Watts, Mason attained a -style which is described by Montgomery as “a middle tint between the -raw colouring of the former and the daylight tint of the latter. His -talent is equally poised between both, having more vigour and more -versatility than that of either his forerunner or his successor.”[573] -His merit as a hymn-writer--extraordinary for the age in which he -lived--seems to have been appreciated by Pope, Watts, and the Wesleys, -who studied and copied him; but he was much neglected for a long time, -to be reinstated in popular favour of late years. - -Mason’s _Song of Praise for the Evening_ is now well known, but, -in its modern form, we miss the middle stanza of the original:-- - - “Now from the altar of my heart - Let incense-flames arise: - Assist me, Lord, to offer up - Mine evening sacrifice. - Awake, my love; awake, my joy; - Awake, my heart and tongue; - Sleep not when mercies loudly call, - Break forth into a song. - - Man’s life’s a book of history; - The leaves thereof are days; - The letters mercies closely joined; - The title is Thy praise. - This day God was my Sun and Shield, - My Keeper and my Guide; - His care was on my frailty shewn, - His mercies multiply’d. - - Minutes and mercies multiply’d - Have made up all this day: - Minutes came quick; but mercies were - More fleet and free than they. - New time, new favour, and new joys, - Do a new song require: - Till I shall praise Thee as I would, - Accept my heart’s desire.” - -[Sidenote: POETRY.] - -Amongst the anonymous poetry of that period there is a hymn of the -sacred ballad type, so singularly touching to my mind, so expressive -of that admiration of Christ which lies at the heart of all Christian -piety, and so much less known than it ought to be, that I venture to -introduce several of its stanzas:-- - - “There was a King of old, - That did in Jewry dwell; - Whether a God, or Man, or both, - I’m sure I love Him well. - - Love Him! why, who doth not? - Did ever any wight - Not goodness, beauty, sweetness, love-- - Not comfort, love, and light? - - None ever did, or can; - But here’s the cause alone - Why He of all few lovers finds, - Because He is not known. - - There are so many fair, - He’s lost among the throng; - Yet they that seek Him nowhere else - May find Him in a song. - - This God, Man, King, and Priest - Almighty was, yet meek: - He was most just, yet merciful; - The guilty did Him seek. - - He never any failed - That sought Him in their need: - He never quenched the smoking flax, - Nor brake the bruised reed. - - He was the truest Friend - That ever any tried, - For whom He loved He never left, - For them He lived and died. - - And if you’d know the folk - That brought Him to His end, - Read but His title--you shall find - Him styled the sinner’s Friend. - - His life all wonder was, - But here’s a wonder more, - That He, who was all life and love, - Should be beloved no more. - - I’ll love Him while I live; - To those that be His foes, - Though I them hate, I’ll wish no worse - Than His dear love to lose.” - -Benjamin Keach, the author of _Tropologia; a Key to open Scripture -Metaphors and Types_, was a zealous hymnologist. This Baptist -minister vindicated the practice of singing against the objections -of some of his brethren, in a curious book printed in 1661 under the -title of _Breach repaired in good Worship, or singing Psalms proved -to be an Ordinance of Christ_. Having written _The Glorious -Lover, a Divine Poem_, in 1679, he published, in 1691, a volume -entitled _Spiritual Melody_, containing “Psalms and Hymns from -the Old and New Testament,” and also _The Bread revived in God’s -Worship, or singing of Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs proved to be -an Holy Ordinance_. These were followed, in 1696, by _The Feast -of Fat Things full of Marrow_. In referring to hymns of this date, -however, we pass over our boundary line, yet, if I may trespass so far, -I would select a copy of verses composed by Keach as a specimen of -the extraordinary doggerel which he considered fit for congregational -worship. It is not to be taken as a specimen of the worship which was -actually celebrated in Nonconformist chapels before the Revolution; -for Keach’s book, as it appears from what I have just said, was -not published until afterwards, and the state of psalmody amongst -Dissenters must be reserved for future consideration. It, however, -indicates a certain taste, or a want of taste altogether, which in some -quarters might be found during the period covered by our present survey. - - “If saints, O Lord, do season all - Amongst whom they do live, - Salt all with grace, both great and small, - They may sweet relish give. - - And, blessed be Thy glorious name! - In England salt is found, - Some savoury souls who do proclaim - Thy grace, which doth abound. - - But O the want of salt, O Lord! - How few are salted well! - How few are like to salt indeed! - Salt Thou Thy Israel! - - Now sing, ye saints who are this salt, - And let all seasoned be - With your most holy gracious lives; - Great need of it we see. - - The earth will else corrupt and stink; - O salt it well, therefore, - And live to Him that salted you, - And sing for evermore.” - -[Sidenote: POETRY.] - -Certainly this is not one of the hymns fitted to convey the devotion -of the united Church; but I suppose we must take it for granted, that -there existed people, at the time when it was written, who could sing -it with gravity. It is impossible to mark absolutely the point of -separation between what demands some respect, if it do not inspire -reverence, from that which excites ridicule, and even contempt. So much -depends upon education, association, and habit, in religious matters, -that we may here truly apply the adage of one man’s meat being another -man’s poison. People who laugh at Keach’s metaphors and hymns perhaps -indulge in forms of worship which appear excessively ludicrous to -religionists of his order. The devoutness of some people may feed on -aliment which would produce only revulsion in others; and let us hope -that the good folks who were taught to conduct services of song after -this very peculiar fashion could nevertheless make melody in their -hearts unto the Lord. At all events, Keach’s _Saints the Salt of the -Earth_ is a specimen of one kind of hymnology which the seventeenth -century produced. - - - - - CHAPTER XXII. - - -We have completed the circle of theological schools. Many illustrations -of religious character and experience growing out of the principles -now explained, or rather, in some cases, producing sympathy with them, -have been already exhibited. To give completeness to the task I have -undertaken, it is desirable that there should be added some other -biographical illustrations, and that they should be brought together in -immediate connection with the forms of opinion to which they belong. - -I may again begin with the Anglicans, and as the examples of the class -hitherto have been clerical, I shall now select examples from the laity. - -[Sidenote: ISAAK WALTON.] - -Isaak Walton deserves to be taken first. Disliking “the active -Romanists,” averse, perhaps still more, to the “restless -Nonconformists,” he would rank himself as “one of the passive and -peaceable Protestants;” but the Anglican tincture of his Protestantism -is visible in the whole of his writings. Without giving to the -world any theological treatise, or entering into any ecclesiastical -controversy, he has diffused his religious sentiments with singular -sweetness and purity over his works, so as to leave no doubt respecting -their distinctive colour. How far the influence of his parentage and -education might contribute to the formation of his character we do not -know; but no doubt the natural bent of his mind, his taste for quiet -contemplation, his reverence for antiquity, his disposition to submit -to authority, his faculty of imagination, and his taste for music, had -prepared him for those paths of faith and worship in which, through a -long life, he loved to walk. In addition to this, we should remember -his early, as well as his later friendships, with certain distinguished -members of the Anglican communion. - -In his Elegy on Dr. Donne, he exclaims-- - - “Oh do not call - Grief back by thinking on his funeral, - Forget he loved me-- - Forget his _powerful preaching_, and forget - I am his _convert_:”-- - -words which indicate the writer’s spiritual obligation to that eminent -orator. Walton’s marriage with his first wife brought him into “happy -affinity” with the descendants of Archbishop Cranmer; and to this -circumstance is attributed the origin of Walton’s _Life of Hooker_. The -marriage with his second wife--half-sister to Bishop Ken--placed him, -in his latter days, upon intimate terms with that holy prelate. Morley, -Sanderson, and King were amongst his endeared associates. - -Walton’s _Lives_ give us glimpses of himself: for he is one of -those artists who introduce their own portrait in a corner of their -pictures. Of all his heroes, Bishop Sanderson was the man respecting -whom he knew most; and, at the close of his memoir, Walton touchingly -reveals his own spiritual aspiration:--“’Tis now too late to wish that -my _life_ may be like his, for I am in the eighty-fifth year of my -age; but I humbly beseech Almighty God, that my _death_ may; and -do as earnestly beg of every reader to say, Amen.--‘Blessed is the man -in whose spirit there is no guile.’” (Psalm xxxii. 2.) - -His _Complete Angler, or the Contemplative Man’s Recreation_, -is a mirror of his life. His moral and religious sympathies are seen -gleaming over his pages from beginning to end; and as the revelation -of an inner life, the first part by himself should be compared with -the second part by Cotton; we see at once that he was not born to be a -reformer, that he was not one of those who can grapple with falsehood -and corruption, and that if all had resembled him, England’s destiny -would have been humiliating indeed,--we feel that in his case absence -from any active part in the controversies of his time, can be regarded -neither as a virtue nor as a vice, neither as censurable nor as -admirable, but simply as the operation of a natural tendency. - -Being what he was, he loved the quiet nooks and corners of human -experience and interest, and in every place manifested purity, -gentleness, meekness, and charity; as he wandered along the banks -of the Lea, or sat in the fishing house beside the Dove, Scripture -thoughts, like flowers, bright and sweet, entwined about the -trellis-work of his cherished recreations; sacred thoughts, of the -quaintest kind, gathered round his rod, and his fish-hooks, and that -“most honest, ingenuous, quiet, and harmless art of angling.” “Evil -communications, which corrupt good manners,” filled him with sadness. -“Such discourse,” he observes, in one of his walks, “as we heard last -night, it infects others, the very boys will learn to talk and swear -as they heard mine host, and another of the company that shall be -nameless; I am sorry the other is a gentleman, for less religion will -not save their souls than a beggar’s; I think more will be required at -the last great day.” He counted every misery he missed a new mercy, -was thankful for health, competence, and a quiet conscience, and dwelt, -with sympathetic joy, on the character of the meek man who has no -“turbulent, repining, or vexatious thoughts,” who possesses what he has -“with such a quietness as makes his very dreams pleasing both to God -and himself.” “When,” he says in another place, “I would beget content, -and increase confidence in the power, and wisdom, and providence of -Almighty God, I will walk the meadows of some gliding stream, and there -contemplate the lilies that take no care, and those very many other -various little living creatures, that are not only created, but fed, -man knows not how, by the goodness of the God of nature, and therefore -trust in Him. This is my purpose, and so ‘let everything that hath -breath praise the Lord;’ and let the blessing of St. Peter’s Master be -with mine.” - -Walton, at his death--amidst the great frost of 1683--could not but -enter that world of perfect harmony to which his thoughts and desires -had so often ascended as he listened to the nightingale. “He that at -midnight, when the very labourer sleeps securely, should hear, as I -have very often, the clear airs, the sweet descants, the natural rising -and falling, the doubling and redoubling of her voice, might well be -lifted above earth, and say; Lord, what music hast thou provided for -the saints in Heaven, when thou affordest bad men such music on earth?” -We now turn to another and somewhat different type of the same school. - -[Sidenote: JOHN EVELYN.] - -John Evelyn lost his mother when he had reached his fifteenth year; -and her beautiful memory, as of one “whose constitution inclined to a -religious melancholy, or pious sadness,” seemed to have remained with -him all his days, giving that plaintiveness to his piety, which, as a -richly-coloured thread, appears interwoven with the brightest joys -of his calm yet active life. He records her death with reverential -affection, and how she summoned her children around her, and expressed -herself in a manner so heavenly, with instructions so pious and -Christian, as made them strangely sensible of the extraordinary loss -then becoming imminent:--after which, she gave to each a ring, with -her blessing. Evelyn lost his father at twenty-one; and again he -minutely relates the tale of his sorrow, how, at night, they followed -the mourning hearse to the church at Wotton, where, after a sermon and -funeral oration by the minister, the ashes of the husband were mingled -with those of the wife. “Thus,” he adds, “we were bereft of both our -parents, in a period when we[574] most of all stood in need of their -counsel and assistance, especially myself, of a raw, vain, uncertain, -and very unwary inclination; but so it pleased God to make trial of my -conduct in a conjuncture of the greatest and most prodigious hazard -that ever the youth of England saw; and, if I did not, amidst all this, -impeach my liberty nor my virtue with the rest who made shipwreck of -both, it was more the infinite goodness and mercy of God, than the -least providence or discretion of mine own, who now thought of nothing -but the pursuit of vanity, and the confused imaginations of young -men.”[575] - -[Sidenote: JOHN EVELYN.] - -The mercy of Providence, the truths of Christianity, and the grace of -the Holy Spirit, kept him amidst his extensive travels, amidst his -intercourse with men of different countries and classes, and especially -amidst the temptations of fashionable society at a period when such -as frequented courts were commonly addicted to vice. Notwithstanding -the great moral peril to which Evelyn stood exposed, he preserved a -pure mind and a virtuous reputation. He loved the Episcopal Church -of England with a jealous affection,--finding in her liturgy what -was congenial with his spiritual taste; deriving nourishment for -his spiritual sensibilities from the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper -administered according to her ritual; and, in short, living in the -culture of those habits which are distinctive of Anglican piety. -He did not, indeed, refuse to attend his parish church during the -Commonwealth, and to hear a Presbyterian or Independent minister; -but this proceeded from prudence rather than from sympathy. Evelyn’s -Catholic feeling shrank from Puritanism; his charity leaned towards -Roman Catholics. It is with regard to such that he says:--“For the -rest we must commit to Providence the success of times and mitigation -of proselytical fervours, having for my own particular a very great -charity for all who sincerely adore the blessed Jesus, our common and -dear Saviour, as being full of hope that God (however the present zeal -of some, and the scandals taken by others at the instant [present] -affliction of the Church of England may transport them), will at -last compassionate our infirmities, clarify our judgments, and make -abatement for our ignorances, superstructures, passions, and errors of -corrupt times and interests, of which the Romish persuasion can no way -acquit herself, whatever the present prosperity and secular polity may -pretend. But God will make all things manifest in His own time, only -let us possess ourselves in patience and charity. This will cover a -multitude of imperfections.”[576] - -Like other persons of his cast of sentiment, like the nuns at Gidding -eulogized by Isaak Walton and condemned by the Puritans, like the -Anglican sisterhoods of the present day, Evelyn had a liking for a -semi-monastic life; and in the year 1659, when affairs were unsettled -in England, he proposed to Robert Boyle, an elaborate plan for an -establishment of this description. There was to be a house erected -in the midst of a tall wood, and “opposite to the house, towards the -wood, should be erected a pretty chapel; and at equal distances, even -within the flanking walls of the square, six apartments or cells -for the members of the society, and not contiguous to the pavilion; -each whereof should contain a small bedchamber, an outward room, -a closet, and a private garden, somewhat after the manner of the -Carthusians.”[577] There was to be maintained at the public charge -a “chaplain well qualified.” There were to be prayers in the chapel -morning and evening; and a weekly fast and communion once every -fortnight or month at least, with divers arrangements for study and -recreations. The scheme came to nothing, but it shows the bent of its -author’s inclinations. Whatever may be thought of them, one impression -only can be justly derived from reading on the white marble, covering -his tomb, in Wotton Church, the record of his death:--“He fell asleep -the 27th day of February, 170⅚, being the 86th year of his age, in -full hope of a glorious resurrection, through faith in Jesus Christ. -Living in an age of extraordinary events and revolutions, he learnt (as -himself asserted) this truth--which, pursuant to his intention, is here -declared--‘_That all is vanity which is not honest, and that there is -no solid wisdom but in real piety_.’”[578] - -[Sidenote: JOHN EVELYN.] - -The cast of Evelyn’s religion is further illustrated in that of his -friend Margaret Blagge,[579] afterwards the wife of Sidney Godolphin. -When he heard some distinguished persons speaking of her, he fancied -she was “some airy thing that had more wit than discretion.” But, -making a visit to Whitehall with his wife, he fell in with the youthful -maid of honour, and “admired her temperance, and took especial notice, -that, however wide or indifferent the subject of their discourse -was amongst the rest, she would always direct it to some religious -conclusion, and so temper and season her replies, as showed a gracious -heart, and that she had a mind wholly taken up with heavenly thoughts.” -Their acquaintance was ratified by a quaint solemnity; after a formal -solicitation, that he would look upon her thenceforth as his child, -she took a sheet of paper, upon which Evelyn had been carelessly -sketching the shape of an altar, and wrote these words: “Be this -a symbol of inviolable friendship: Margaret Blagge, 16th October, -1672;” and underneath, “For my brother E----.” Something of romance -is visible in the singular attachment which this girl formed for her -amiable and pious friend; and it issued in his guiding her affairs, -in his increasing her wisdom, and in his ripening her piety. Never at -home amidst the gaieties of Whitehall, Margaret, after seven years’ -experience, felt that she could no longer endure living at Court, and -therefore earnestly sought, and at length, with difficulty, obtained -Royal permission to retire. On a Sunday night, after most of the -company were departed, Evelyn waited on her down to her chamber, which -she had no sooner entered, than falling on her knees, she blessed God, -as for a signal deliverance: “She was come,” she said, “out of Egypt, -and was now in the way to the land of promise.” Tears trickled down -her cheeks, “like the dew of flowers, making a lovely grief,” as she -parted from one of the ladies who had a spirit kindred to her own. She -found a home with Lady Berkeley, and what she especially sought, time -for meditation and prayer; indeed the love of seclusion so increased, -that she manifested a strong tinge of asceticism. Evelyn, in this -respect more sober-minded, availed himself of his influence, and -with success, to persuade her to renounce a celibate life, to which -she seemed strongly disposed; and she came to see that union with a -virtuous and religious person, would tend rather to promote than to -retard her spiritual progress. Accordingly, she was married privately -in the Temple Church, on the 16th of May, being Ascension Day, “both -the blessed pair receiving the Holy Sacrament, and consecrating the -solemnity with a double mystery;”[580] but, in a letter written shortly -after, she showed what continued to be the main bent of her mind. “I -have this day,” she says, addressing Evelyn, “thought your thoughts, -wished I dare say your wishes, which were, that I might every day sit -looser and looser to the things of this world; discerning as every day -I do, the folly and vanity of it; how short all its pleasures, how -trifling all its recreations, how false most of its friendships, how -transitory everything in it; and on the contrary, how sweet the service -of God, how delightful the meditating on His Word, how pleasant the -conversation of the faithful, and, above all, how charming prayer, how -glorious our hopes, how gracious our God is to all His children, how -gentle His corrections, and how frequently, by the first invitations of -His Spirit, He calls us from our low designs to those great and noble -ones of serving Him, and attaining eternal happiness.”[581] - -[Sidenote: MARGARET GODOLPHIN.] - -Margaret Godolphin became an exemplary matron. She instructed her -servants, she cultivated domestic religion, she breathed towards -everybody a kind considerate spirit, and with all this condescension as -a mistress, she blended the utmost devotion and tenderness as a wife. -She also assisted the poor, and in the spirit of Elizabeth Fry, visited -the hospital and the prison: and Evelyn could produce a list of above -thirty, restrained for debts in several prisons, which she paid and -compounded for at once; and another list of no fewer than twenty-three -poor creatures whom she clad at one time. She employed “most part of -Lent in working for poor people, cutting out and making waistcoats and -other necessary coverings, which she constantly distributed amongst -them, like another Dorcas, spending much of her time, and no little -of her money, in relieving, visiting, and inquiring of them out. And -whilst she was thus busy with her needle, she would commonly have one -or other read by her, through which means and a happy memory, she -had almost the whole Scriptures by heart, and was so versed in Dr. -Hammond’s _Annotations_ and other practical books, controversies, -and cases, as might have stocked some who pass for no small Divines: -not to mention sundry Divine penitential and other hymns, breathing of -a spirit of holiness, and such as showed the tenderness of her heart, -and wonderful love to God.”[582] - -Within a few days after the birth of her only child, she expired, -September 9, 1678, in the twenty-fifth year of her age, and she lies -buried in the church of Breague, in Cornwall: her tomb reminding us of -the pillar over Rachel’s grave. - -As in the Court of Arcadius, we meet with the pious Olympias in -contrast with the Empress Eudoxia, and her ladies,--so, in the Court -of Charles II., we discover a Margaret Godolphin in contrast with a -Castelmaine and a Gwynn. - -[Sidenote: SIR MATTHEW HALE.] - -There are, in every age, Christians whom it would be difficult -to connect with one particular school of theological sentiment, -because they have sympathies with all good men, and do not adopt -the peculiarities of any class. Such a person was Sir Matthew Hale. -No ecclesiastical history of the period--unless written upon some -miserable sectarian principle--could be considered complete which did -not include a reference to so eminently excellent a man. His parents -dying when he was very young, he became dependent for his education -upon a relative who was a Puritan minister, and this circumstance -may account for some points in his character which present a rather -Puritanical appearance. After being addicted to the gaieties of youth, -he was, whilst at Oxford, _converted_, in heart and life, as the -result, partly at least, of an affecting circumstance which occurred -at a convivial meeting when he was present. A boon-companion fell -down in a state of death-like insensibility, when Hale, overwhelmed -with remorse and pity, retired into another room, and, prostrating -himself before God, asked forgiveness for his own sins, and interceded -earnestly for the restoration of his friend. A sudden spiritual -crisis like that, when the soul is suddenly fused, and poured into a -new mould, is sure to be remembered afterwards, and to influence all -subsequent religious feeling. As it has been justly said, a man no -more forgets the moral deliverance it involves, than he forgets an -escape from shipwreck,[583] and therefore Hale’s conversion gave a -marked evangelical impress to his subsequent experience. He glorified -the riches of Divine grace, and delighted “in studying the Mystery -of Christ.” He found in God an overflowing fulness which fills up -the intensest gaspings and outgoings of the soul, a fulness which -continues to eternity, ever increasing gratitude, adoration, and -love. Throughout a course of remarkable diligence in business, this -illustrious Judge manifested no less fervour of spirit. Prayer “gave a -tincture of devotion” to his secular employments--it was “a Christian -chemistry converting those acts which are materially natural and civil, -into acts truly and formally religious, whereby all life is rendered -interpretatively a service to Almighty God.” It was a sun which “gave -light in the midst of darkness, a fortress that kept safe in the -greatest danger, that never could be taken unless self-betrayed,”--a -“Goshen to, and within itself, when the rest of the world, without and -round about a man, is like an Egypt for plagues and darkness.” “To -lose this,” Hale went on to say, “is, like Samson, to lose the lock -wherein next to God our strength lieth.” Such expressions as these -have a Puritanical sound in the ears of many, and there are other -things noticeable in his memoirs in harmony with such expressions:--for -it is stated, as very probable, that he took the Solemn League and -Covenant, it is certain that he did not approve of the rigours of the -Act of Uniformity, and he severely condemned the conduct of many of the -clergy. He had also the deepest reverence for the Sabbath, he cherished -an intense aversion to Romanism, he cultivated, with great respect, -a friendship with Richard Baxter--to whom he acknowledged himself -under great theological obligations--and, if we may mention so minute -a circumstance, which however is significant--“in common prayer, he -behaved himself as others, saving that to avoid the differencing of the -Gospels from the Epistles, and the bowing at the name of Jesus, from -the names Christ, Saviour, God, &c., he would use some equality in his -gestures and stand up at the reading of all God’s Word alike.” These -facts separate him from the Anglo-Catholic division of the Church of -England, yet they are not sufficient to identify him with the fully -developed, and sharply defined Puritan party. For he did not use such -religious language in conversation, as satisfied them--they considered -him too reticent on spiritual subjects;--and, as Baxter says, those -that took no men for religious, who frequented not private meetings, -regarded him simply, as “an excellently righteous man.” Baxter himself -seems to have wished, that Hale had been a little more communicative -on spiritual matters, instead of confining himself in conversation to -what is philosophical in religion. The Divine remarks, respecting the -Judge:--“At last I understood that his averseness to hypocrisy made him -purposely conceal the most of such of his practical thoughts and works -as the world now findeth by his Contemplations and other writings.” -In some respects, Sir Matthew sympathized with the Latitudinarian -school--for, like them, he believed, “that true religion consisteth -in great plain necessary things, the life of faith and hope, the love -of God and man, an humble self-denying mind, with mortification of -worldly affection--and that the calamity of the Church, and withering -of religion hath come from proud and busy men’s additions, that cannot -give peace to themselves and others by living in love and quietness on -this Christian simplicity of faith and practice, but vex and turmoil -the Church with these needless and hurtful superfluities.”[584] Nor -did he believe in any divinely authorized form of ecclesiastical -government; although he greatly preferred, on grounds of expediency, -the Episcopalian polity to any other. Yet these points of affinity -do not justify us in numbering him with the Latitudinarians any more -than with the Puritans, because there was in him more of evangelical -sentiment, more of attachment to dogmatic truth, and more of spiritual -fervour, than belonged to the former description of thinkers. He -counted amongst his religious friends, the High Churchman, Seth Ward, -Bishop of Salisbury, as well as the Broad Churchman, Wilkins, Bishop -of Chester, and the Low Churchman, Richard Baxter, who refused to be a -Bishop at all. It suggests rebuke to all bigoted partizans, to remember -that a layman of the latter half of the seventeenth century most -renowned for his wisdom, justice, charity and piety, was one of whom it -is equally true that he can be claimed by no particular party, and yet -can be claimed by all single-minded Christians. - -[Sidenote: HENRY MORE.] - -It is little more than a nominal departure from the purpose of -selecting lay examples in this chapter, to introduce Dr. Henry More, as -another distinctive type of the spiritual life of the period--inasmuch -as he was a clergyman in little more than name, and constantly eschewed -public office. For after being appointed to a stall at Gloucester, he -quickly resigned it to another person, and a deanery, a provostship, -and two bishoprics he successively refused. Retirement and study were -his delight. He has been commonly numbered amongst the members of the -Cambridge school, but he--and there were others of that school more -or less like him--ought to be regarded as a most decided Mystic. As -an Eton boy, when wandering in the quaint old quadrangle, or in the -beautiful playing fields, with his head on one side, and kicking the -stones with his feet, he had, he says, a deep consciousness of the -Divine presence; and believed that no deed, or word, or thought could -be hidden from the Invisible yet All-seeing One. He early conceived -an antipathy to Calvinism, in which he had been educated, and plunged -himself, to use his own words, “head over ears” into the study of -philosophy. He forsook Aristotle for Plato, and found a most congenial -teacher in John Tauler, whose deep spiritual thoughts he drank in with -avidity. - -He was a philosopher, a friend of Cudworth, and a correspondent -with Descartes. Imagination largely influenced his opinions, and in -his enthusiastic reveries,--under the influence of which, he seemed -unconscious of the outer world, and fancied himself to be living in -a trance,--he conceived that he possessed an ethereal body, which -“exhaled the perfume of violets.” Yet, Mystic as he was, he could -criticise other Mystics, and find just the same fault with them, which -others of a different turn of mind would find with him. - -More says of Jacob Behmen:--He, “I conceive is to be reckoned in the -number of those whose imaginative faculty has the pre-eminence above -the rational: and though he was an holy and good man, his natural -complexion, notwithstanding, was not destroyed, but retained its -property still; and therefore his imagination, being very busy about -Divine things, he could not, without a miracle, fail of becoming an -enthusiast.” - -It is further curious to couple with this, More’s opinion of the -Quakers:--“To tell you my opinion of that sect which are called -Quakers, though I must allow that there may be some amongst them -good and sincere-hearted men, and it may be nearer to the purity of -Christianity for the life and power of it than many others; yet, I am -well assured, that the generality of them are prodigiously melancholy, -and some few perhaps possessed with the devil.”[585] - -As his philosophy is poetical so his poetry is philosophical; and his -_Psychozoia, or Life of the Soul_, puzzles, if it does not weary -its readers: yet it leaves the impression that he “believed the magic -wonders which he sung;” and it has been well compared to a grotto, -“whose gloomy labyrinths we might be curious to explore, for the -strange and mystic associations they excite.”[586] - -His philosophy and his poetry touched his religion, and he was wont -to speak in language very different from that of the Anglican on the -one hand, and from that of the Puritan on the other. “The oracle of -God,” he remarked, “is not to be heard but in His Holy Temple, that is -to say in a good and holy man thoroughly sanctified.” “This or such -like rhapsodies,” he observes, relative to his _Dialogues_, “do I -often sing to myself in the silent night, or betimes in the morning, -at break of day, subjoining always, that of our Saviour, as a suitable -_Epiphonema_ to all, ‘Abraham saw my day afar, and rejoiced at -it.’ At this window, I take breath, while I am choked and stifled with -the crowd, and stench of the daily wickedness of this present evil -world; and am almost wearied out with the tediousness and irksomeness -of this my earthly pilgrimage.”[587] More felt deeply the sins and -sorrows which he could not remove, yet a strain of holy peace ran -through such melancholy; and it was doubtless from experience that -he exclaimed--“Even the most miserable objects in this present life -cannot divest him (the good man) of his happiness, but rather modify -it, the sweetness of his spirit being melted into a kindly compassion -in the behalf of others, whom, if he be able to help, it is a greater -accession to his joy; and if he cannot, the being conscious to himself -of so sincere a compassion, and so harmonious and suitable to the -present state of things, carries along with it some degree of pleasure, -like mournful notes of music, exquisitely well fitted to the sadness -of the ditty.”[588] Yet More’s life was not all sentiment; he was -charitable to the needy, and “his chamber door was an hospital.” - -His death was like his life, holy, peaceful, happy; and even in -his last hours, he could not help expressing his Christian hope in -philosophical language--uttering the beautiful words of Cicero, which -come so near the Gospel, “_O præclarum illum diem_,” &c., and -declaring that he was going to join that blessed company, with whom, in -a quarter of an hour, he would be as familiar as if he had known them -for years.[589] - -[Sidenote: SIR THOMAS BROWNE.] - -Our notice of the phases of religious life in the Church of England -would be defective, did we omit all reference to a distinguished, -but eccentric individual, who has left his mark upon our religious -literature. Eccentricity is sometimes the main distinction of a man’s -religious life, and even in such cases there may be no room to doubt -the genuineness of personal piety; but in the instance to which we now -refer, there were distinguishing qualities of another and a worthier -nature. Sir Thomas Browne was charged with being a Quaker, on what -ground it is difficult to say; and a Roman Catholic, although the -Pope honoured his _Religio Medici_ with a place in the _Index -Expurgatorius_; and an atheist, whilst all his writings bear witness -to his reverence for the Divine Being. - -Dr. Johnson has vindicated the character of this remarkable person -by referring to passages in which he says, that he was of the belief -taught by our Saviour, disseminated by the Apostles, authorized by -the fathers, and confirmed by the martyrs; that though paradoxical in -philosophy, he loved in Divinity to keep the beaten road, and pleased -himself with the idea; that he had no taint of heresy, schism, or -error.[590] But a more satisfactory vindication is supplied in his -memorable resolutions, never to let a day pass “without calling upon -God in a solemn formed prayer seven times within the compass thereof,” -after the example of David and Daniel; always to magnify God, in the -night, on his “dark bed when he could not sleep,” and to pray in all -places where privacy invited--in any house, highway, or street; to -know no street or passage in the City of Norwich, where he lived, -which might not witness that he remembered God and his Saviour in it; -never to miss the sacrament upon the accustomed days; to intercede -for his patients, for the minister after preaching, and for all -people in tempestuous weather, lightning and thunder, that God would -have mercy upon their souls, bodies, and goods; and “upon sight of -beautiful persons, to bless God in His creatures, to pray for the -beauty of their souls, and to enrich them with inward graces to be -answerable unto the outward; upon sight of deformed persons, to send -them inward graces, and enrich their souls, and give them the beauty -of the resurrection.”[591] A dash of eccentricity is obvious in these -his pious regulations for the government of life, such as might be -expected in the author of the _Hydriotaphia_ and the _Garden -of Cyrus_; but there is no reason whatever to question their -perfect sincerity, or to suspect his affection towards the Church of -England--with respect to which he said that he was a sworn subject to -her faith, subscribing unto her Articles, and endeavouring to observe -her constitutions.[592] - -[Sidenote: SIR THOMAS BROWNE.] - -We notice with deep regret an absence in his writings of all reference -to certain important evangelical doctrines, and only a slight allusion -to others. Besides this grave omission, we find a positive statement -of opinions generally pronounced to be heterodox, namely, that the -soul sleeps with the body until the last day, that the damned will at -last be released from torture, and that prayers may be offered for the -dead; and these opinions he implies he had entertained himself, but -he insists in his own characteristic style, that he never maintained -them with pertinacity; that without the addition of new fuel, “they -went out insensibly of themselves;” and that they were not heresies -in him, but bare errors, and single lapses of the understanding, -without a joint depravity of the will. “Those,” he remarks, “have not -only depraved understandings, but diseased affections, which cannot -enjoy a singularity without a heresy, or be the author of an opinion, -without they be of a sect also.”[593] Browne entertained comprehensive -and liberal views of the extent of salvation, saying, that though -“the bridge is narrow, the passage strait unto life--yet those who do -confine the Church of God either to particular nations, Churches, or -families, have made it far narrower than our Saviour ever meant it.” -“There must be therefore more than one St. Peter. Particular Churches -and sects usurp the gates of heaven, and turn the key against each -other, and thus we go to heaven against each other’s wills, conceits, -and opinions, and, with as much uncharity as ignorance, do err, I -fear, in points not only of our own, but one another’s salvation.” -He professes a consciousness of there being, not only in philosophy, -but in Divinity, “sturdy doubts and boisterous objections, wherewith -the unhappiness of our knowledge too nearly acquainted us;” and -declares that, after having in his earlier years, “read all the books -against religion, he was in the latter part of his life, averse from -controversies.”[594] - -We dismiss the character of Sir Thomas Browne by quoting the following -passage, with which he concludes his _Religio Medici_, and -which taken alone is sufficient to show the devoutness of the man’s -spirit:--“Bless me in this life with but the peace of my conscience, -command of my affections, the love of Thyself, and my dearest friends, -and I shall be happy enough to pity Cæsar! These are, O Lord, the -humble desires of my most reasonable ambition, and all I dare call -happiness on earth, wherein I set no rule or limit to Thy hand or -providence. Dispose of me according to the wisdom of Thy pleasure. Thy -will be done, though in my own undoing.”[595] - -[Sidenote: COUNTESS OF WARWICK.] - -The Countess Dowager of Warwick--seventh daughter of Richard, first -Earl of Cork--died in 1678, and remained in the Church of England to -the close of her life. Her education, her conversion, her abstinence, -her inward beauty, her love to souls, her family government, together -with her justice and prudence, have been duly celebrated by Samuel -Clarke, in his _Lives of Sundry Eminent Persons_; and her Diary, -extensively circulated of late years, has made this lady very widely -known. “She was neither of Paul, or of Apollos, or of Cephas, but only -of Christ. Her name was Christian, and her surname Catholic. She had -a large and unconfined soul, not hemmed in or pounded up within the -circle of any man’s name.” She bountifully relieved both Conformist -and Nonconformist ministers; but she “very inoffensively regularly and -devoutly observed the orders of the Church of England, in its liturgy -and public service, which she failed not to attend twice a day, with -exemplary reverence. Yet was she far from placing religion in ritual -observances.”[596] - -“She needed neither borrowed shades, nor reflexious lights, to -set her off, being personally great in all natural endowments and -accomplishments of soul and body, wisdom, beauty, favour, and virtue. -Great by her tongue, for never woman used one better, speaking so -gracefully, promptly, discreetly, pertinently, holily, that I have -often admired the edifying words that proceeded from her mouth. Great -by her pen, as you may (_ex pede Herculem_) discover by that -little taste of it, the world hath been happy in, the hasty fruit of -one or two interrupted hours after supper, which she professed to me, -with a little regret, when she was surprised with its sliding into -the world without her knowledge, or allowance, and wholly beside her -expectation. Great, by being the greatest mistress and promotress, -not to say the foundress and inventress of a new science--the art of -obliging; in which she attained that sovereign perfection, that she -reigned over all their hearts with whom she did converse. Great in -her nobleness of living and hospitality. Great in the unparalleled -sincerity of constant, faithful, condescending friendship, and for -that law of kindness which dwelt in her lips and heart. Great in -her dexterity of management. Great in her quick apprehension of the -difficulties of her affairs, and where the stress and pinch lay, to -untie the knot, and loose and ease them. Great in the conquest of -herself. Great in a thousand things beside, which the world admires as -such: but she despised them all, and counted them but loss and dung in -comparison of the fear of God, and the excellency of the knowledge of -Christ Jesus.”[597] - -Before concluding this review of different forms assumed by personal -religion in the national Church, at least one word is due to a -remarkable instance of conversion, in the case of the Earl of -Rochester, whose deep repentance and Christian faith, after a career -of reckless vice, have been made familiar to the world through the -memoir of him written by Bishop Burnet. Nor should Ley, Earl of -Marlborough, less known to posterity, be entirely overlooked; for, -after having contemned religion, he was “brought to a different sense -of things, upon real conviction, even in full health, some time before -he was killed in the sea-fight at Southold Bay, 1665.”[598] Neither -can I omit all notice of that quiet, unobtrusive piety which in those -days adorned some in the higher walks of life; for example, “the -Lord Crew,” of whom, in a contemporary diary, it is said,--“Friday, -December 12th, 1679. The Lord Crew died, who had been very eminent in -his age for holiness and charity; and at, and in his death, for useful -and suitable instructions to those about him, and for well-grounded -peace, and solid comfort for himself.”[599] Much of the religion in -the Church of England, however, bore a very different impress. Many -were of the same type as William Cavendish, the loyal Marquis of -Newcastle, of whom Clarendon says: “He loved monarchy, as it was the -foundation and support of his own greatness; and the Church, as it -was well constituted for the splendour and security of the Crown; and -religion, as it cherished and maintained that order and obedience that -was necessary to both; without any other passion for the particular -opinions which were grown up in it, and distinguished it into parties, -than as he detested whatsoever was like to disturb the public -peace.”[600] - -[Sidenote: THEOLOGICAL DIVERGENCES.] - -These notices of persons, all of them members of the Church of -England, present great differences of character. As amongst the -Divines described in a former chapter, we observed, in connection with -their maintenance of the established Episcopal order and government, -their use of the same formularies, and their subscription to the same -standards of faith, a wide divergence of theological belief, and the -indications of a considerable diversity of religious sentiment; so -amongst the laity, as might be expected from the circumstance of no -subscription being exacted in their case, we discover a still greater -divergence of belief, and a still greater variety of sentiment. Not to -speak here of that deep inner life, existent in the Church of Christ -under various outward forms, to which I shall refer hereafter, I may -observe now that the only manifest resemblance amongst those who have -just been indicated, consisted in the uniformity of their worship, -and in their submission to the same kind of Church government. The -High Church, the Low Church, and the Broad Church of the nineteenth -century find their historical parallels in the seventeenth, although -by no means in the same measure of development; and if legal questions -touching Church matters were not raised at that time as they are at -present, the same radical differences between one section and another -existed then as now. - - - - - CHAPTER XXIII. - - -[Sidenote: JOHN BURNYEAT.] - -A characteristic specimen of Quakers’ piety is furnished in the -following narrative, extracted from a volume of their biographies:-- - -“John Burnyeat was born in the parish of Lows-water, in the county of -Cumberland, about the year 1631. And when it pleased God to send His -faithful servant George Fox, with other of the messengers of the Gospel -of peace and salvation, to proclaim the day of the Lord in the county -of Cumberland and north parts of England, this dear servant of Christ -was one that received their testimony, which was in the year 1653, -when he was about twenty-two years of age; and through his waiting in -the light of Jesus Christ, unto which he was turned, he was brought -into deep judgment and great tribulation of soul, such as he had not -known in all his profession of religion, and by this light of Christ -was manifested all the reproved things, and so he came to see the body -of death and power of sin which had reigned in him, and felt the guilt -thereof upon his conscience, so that he did possess the sins of his -youth. ‘Then,’ said he, ‘I saw that I had need of a Saviour to save -from sin, as well as the blood of a sacrificed Christ to blot out sin, -and faith in His name for the remission of sins; and so being given up -to bear the indignation of the Lord, because of sin, and wait till -the indignation should be over, and the Lord in mercy would blot out -the guilt that remained (which was the cause of wrath), and sprinkle -my heart from an evil conscience, and wash our bodies with pure water, -that we might draw near to Him with a true heart in the full assurance -of faith, as the Christians of old did (Heb. x. 22).’ Thus did this -servant of the Lord, with many more in the beginning, receive the truth -(as more at large may be seen in the journal of his life) in much fear -and trembling, meeting often together, and seeking the Lord night and -day, until the promises of the Lord came to be fulfilled, spoken of by -the prophet Isaiah, chap. xlii. 7, and xlix. 9, and lxi. 3; and some -taste of the oil of joy came to be witnessed, and a heavenly gladness -extended into the hearts of many, who in the joy of their souls broke -forth in praises unto the Lord, so that the tongue of the dumb (which -Christ, the healer of our infirmities, did unloose) began to speak -and utter the wonderful things of God. And great was the dread and -glory of that power, that one meeting after another was graciously and -richly manifested amongst them, to the breaking and melting many hearts -before the Lord. Thus being taught of the Lord, according to Isaiah -liv. 13, John vi. 45, they became able ministers of the Gospel, and -instructors of the ignorant in the way of truth, as this our friend -was one, who after four years’ waiting, mostly in silence, before he -did appear in a public testimony, which was in the year 1657, being at -first concerned to go to divers public places of worship, reproving -both priests and people for their deadness and formality of worship, -for which he endured sore beating with their staves and Bibles, &c., -and imprisonment also in Carlisle Gaol, where he suffer’d twenty-three -weeks’ imprisonment for speaking to one priest Denton, at Briggham. -After he was at liberty, he went into Scotland, in the year 1658, -where he spent three months, travelling both north and west. His work -was to call people to repentance from their lifeless hypocritical -profession and dead formalities, and to turn to the true light of -Jesus Christ in their hearts, that therein they might come to know the -power of God, and the remission of sins, &c. And in the year 1659 he -travelled to Ireland, and preached the truth and true faith of Jesus in -many parts of that nation.”[601] - -Of the piety of Puritan Nonconformists several examples have already -appeared; but it is proper to add a few more. - -[Sidenote: JOSEPH ALLEINE.] - -Joseph Alleine was born in 1634. As a child, whilst living in Devizes, -the sieges and battles of the Civil Wars made him familiar with the -question then being fought out, both by the sword and the pen; and as -he heard gun answering gun, and saw the flashes “through the chinks of -his father’s barred and shuttered windows,” and as he read fly-leaves -which were then distributed far and wide, ideas were entering his -mind which shaped the Puritanism of his whole after-life. He went to -Oxford when that University had fallen into the hands of the Army, and -just before the time when Oliver Cromwell became Chancellor. There he -distinguished himself by his diligence, often rising at four o’clock -in the morning, and prolonging his studies beyond midnight; and he -added to the exhaustion of toil, the mortification of fasting; for he -often gave away his “commons” at least once a day. In the year 1655 -he became minister at Taunton, as assistant to George Newton, the -minister of St. Mary’s; and there he married: a long love-letter, which -he wrote to the lady of his affections, still remains, as a specimen -of the grave courtship of Puritan suitors. Having been ordained -according to Presbyterian order, his activity as a pastor rivalled -his assiduity as a student. What he did as a catechist long remained -amongst the traditions of the town. “In this work, his course was to -draw a catalogue of the names of the families in each street, and so -to send a day or two before he intended to visit them. Those that sent -slight excuses, or did obstinately refuse his message, he would speak -some affectionate words to them, or, if he saw cause, denounce the -threatenings of God against them that despise His ministers, and so -departed; and after would send letters to them so full of love as did -overcome their hearts, and they did many of them afterwards receive him -into their houses. Herein was his compassion shown to all sorts, both -poor and rich.” All this may be regarded as not only characteristic of -Alleine, but of the class to which he belonged; for there was nothing -about which the Presbyterians were more anxious than the culture of -domestic religion. Alleine’s preaching also stood in high repute, the -judgment in his discourses being likened to “a pot of manna,”--the -fancy to “Aaron’s rod that budded,”--and the fervour to “a live coal -from off the altar.” His public career of labour, usefulness, and -honour, in the town of Taunton, reached its close at the general -ejectment of 1662, to the common grief of himself and his parishioners. -Alleine’s habits of indefatigable toil could not be repressed by the -Act of Uniformity, and he still preached, ordinarily in some weeks six -or seven times, in others ten or fourteen. Such a zealous evangelist -could not escape the hand of the law; and in the year 1663 he was -sent a prisoner to Ilchester Gaol. He remained in confinement a year -all but three days. The vigilance of his gaoler could not have been -strict, for he had “very great meetings, week-days and Sabbath-days, -and many days of humiliation and thanksgiving. The Lord’s days many -hundreds came.” Alleine held conferences, wrote to his old flock, -taught children, circulated catechisms, and, during the chaplain’s -illness, discharged his duties, exerting himself to such a degree that -he would keep on his clothes all night, and allow himself to sleep only -one or two hours. After his liberation, his indomitable perseverance -in preaching, and in other religious efforts, brought him again into -trouble: indeed, it is said, “he was far more earnest than before,” -although that appears impossible. A second imprisonment followed in the -year 1666. In the June of 1667, he was again liberated; but excessive -labour, severe self-mortification, and the vexations and sorrows of -imprisonment, had broken down his constitution. “It was impossible,” -observed Dr. Annesley, “that anguish like his could continue long, and -at last his sufferings for Christ hurried him to heaven in a fiery -chariot.” When conveyed in a horse-litter to Bath--then called the -“King’s Bathe,” a mere maze of five hundred houses--“the doctors were -amazed to behold such a wasted object, professing they never saw the -like, much wondering how he was come alive; and, on his appearance -at the Bathe, some of the ladies were affrighted, as though death -had come amongst them.” The Puritan was much grieved by “the oaths, -drinking, and ungodly carriage of the persons of quality there;” and he -failed not to reprove them for their misconduct. “His way was first to -converse of things that might be taking with them; for, being furnished -by his studies for any company, he did use his learning for such ends, -and by such means hath caught many souls.” He caused himself to be -carried in a chair to visit schools and almshouses; he persuaded -teachers to adopt the Assembly’s Catechism as a class-book; and on a -Sunday he gathered sixty or seventy children together at his lodgings, -and he also paid daily visits to the poor. - -The Puritan impress rests on all Alleine’s labours, on all his -self-denial, on all his social intercourse, and on much of his -suffering. The same may be said of his last moments. We are told -that the night before he died, about nine o’clock, he brake out with -an audible voice, speaking for _sixteen hours_ together, and -did cease but a little space now and then all the afternoon. About -three o’clock in the afternoon he had some conflict with Satan, for -he uttered these words:--“Away, thou foul fiend, thou enemy of all -mankind, thou subtle sophister: art thou come now to molest me--now I -am just going--now I am so weak, and death upon me? Trouble me not, -for I am none of thine! I am the Lord’s; Christ is mine, and I am -His; His by covenant. I have sworn myself to be the Lord’s, and His -I will be. Therefore begone!” These last words he repeated often. -Thus his covenanting with God was the method he used to expel the -devil and all his temptations. In November, 1668, he died, and was -buried in the chancel of St. Mary’s, Taunton, under a brass plate with -this inscription: _Hic jacet Dominus Josephus Alleine holocaustum -Tauntonensis et Deo et vobis_.[602] - -[Sidenote: THOMAS EWINS.] - -Thomas Ewins, a Baptist minister at Bristol, was mentioned in a former -volume, as a man of great natural power: the character of his life also -deserves commemoration. The records of the Broadmead Church, which -have already supplied us with many illustrations, afford us touching -memorials of this good man’s piety. When his flock were about to -meet for prayer on his behalf, during his final illness, he addressed -to them the following letter, which indicates at once the close and -confidential religious relations in which he stood to them, and the -deep spirituality of the pastor’s character:--“Dear brother,” he says, -addressing one of the ruling elders, “understanding that some friends -intend to become suitors at the throne of grace this day on my behalf, -I think good to send these few lines for information, to acquaint you -that being weak, I cannot conveniently be with you, but hope I shall -meet you with some few sighs and groans to Him that heareth prayer; -first, that the God of all grace and health will command health and -cure to the soul and body, chiefly to that soul of all soul maladies, -unbelief, and all the fruits thereof; and also to the body, for the -cure of those maladies which unfit for work and service, especially -melancholy, and the fruits thereof; and that God will, of His infinite -riches of grace and mercy, bestow a double portion of His blessed -Spirit both upon me and upon the whole congregation, and that we may -obtain more of the blessed spirit of adoption, and all the fruits -thereof. Amen. Which is all at present from your weak brother, Thomas -Ewins. The Lord give you much of His presence, and grant that His ear -may be open to your prayers.” - -[Sidenote: THOMAS EWINS.] - -He had been declining very fast, and had kept his chamber nearly five -months when he sent this letter. The end was at hand; and his departure -and character are thus recorded in these simple and beautiful annals:-- - -“Our pastor, brother Ewins, having lain a great while weak, he departed -this life in the second month, 1670, having faithfully served his Lord -and Master, Jesus Christ, near towards twenty years in this city, -in the work of the ministry; preaching clearly the gospel of free -grace, by faith in Jesus Christ, wherein he laboured abundantly, in -the public (places), and in his particular charge--the congregation; -and also would go and preach to the poor people in their almshouses -at Michael’s Hill, and Lawford’s Gate almshouse, once a fortnight, in -the morning; and in those times of liberty, would, for some convenient -seasons, set up a lecture, and preach at Bedminster and other places. -And at other times, during the winter long evenings, would keep an -expository lecture or meeting at T’Ewins’ Church, and sometimes at -Leonard’s Church, besides his constant public preaching, as he was one -of the city lecturers, every third day, Tuesday, at Nicolas Church, -and every fifth day (Thursday) at the Church meeting of Conference, -and twice every Lord’s Day constantly; besides many times a word to -the Church, after that those who were not members were departed, upon -the Lord’s Day, in the evening, at the Church’s select meeting. Thus, -as one unwearied to serve the Lord Jesus, he took all opportunities, -doing good; insomuch that many ministers did admire him for his great, -diligent labours, and that he had always variety of matter; which, -though he had not the original tongues, yet God did endue him with -great grace, and a quick understanding in the things of God, and (in) -the Gospel of our Lord Jesus, to the winning and converting many souls -to Christ, and building and binding up the broken-hearted. He was a -man full of self-denial, and subduing his natural temper; so that he -walked very lovely and holy in his conversation, showing patience -where it required, and meekness toward all men; visiting all his -members carefully, and searching into the state of their souls; and -by some ministers that were his familiars (it was) observed and said, -they never saw him over merry nor over sad, but given to prayer and -almsdeeds. He was interred in James’s Yard, the 29th day of the second -month, April, _anno Domini_, 1670, accompanied with many hundreds -to the grave, the like funeral not seen long before in Bristol. He left -so good a savour behind for faithfulness to God and humility towards -man, that his very chief persecutor, Sir John Knight, said, He did -believe he was gone to heaven.”[603] - -[Sidenote: OWEN STOCKTON.] - -Owen Stockton was born at Chichester in 1630, his father being a -Prebendary of the Cathedral in that city. The father died when the -son was only seven years old; the mother then removed to Ely, and, as -the boy was looking into a copy of _Foxe’s Acts and Monuments_, -chained to the wall of one of the parish churches, he was so affected -by what he read, that he begged his friends to obtain at least a part -of the work for his private use. Having secured his object, he spent -the vacant hours which other children devoted to play, in eagerly -perusing the martyrology; and he thus imbibed the strong Protestant -and Puritan spirit, which influenced his whole after-life. On being -sent to Cambridge he enjoyed the instruction of Dr. Henry More as his -tutor, and being only sixteen years old, and of small stature, the -tiny gownsman attracted general attention as he walked the streets. -When he accompanied some of his fellow-students into the presence of -Charles I., to express their loyalty, the King gave him a “gracious -benediction,” saying, “Here is a little scholar indeed, God bless -him.” Stockton devoted himself to study; and coming up to London for -awhile, he attended the Gresham Lectures and the library of Sion -College, and availed himself of the City bookstalls. After receiving -his degree of Master of Arts, he “exercised his gifts” in villages -around the University, and also became a catechist in his own college. -His ordination to the full work of the University occurred in London -in the year 1655; and on the Sunday following, he preached at the -Charterhouse. “In the afternoon”--so runs the quaint memoir of this -worthy--“one put up a bill to him, wherein the person that put it up -acknowledged, that he had long lain under the guilt of a known sin, and -was convinced of it by the morning sermon, and desired prayers to God -for help against it.” Upon receiving an invitation to become the Town -Lecturer at Colchester, Stockton accepted that office, adding to it the -voluntary task of preaching every Sunday morning in St. James’ Church; -and, until he was ejected in 1662, his labours were abundant, winning -for him honourable renown amongst the Essex Puritans. - -He removed to Chattisham in Suffolk, where he not only continued -to preach privately, but in the absence of the Incumbent, once a -fortnight, he had, in spite of his Nonconformity, freedom to occupy -the pulpit of the parish church. He enjoyed a like privilege in -neighbouring villages. His doing so being illegal, as soon as the -vigilance of his enemies succeeded the connivance of his friends, -Stockton felt himself exposed to peril. “It being a time of danger,” -he wrote in his diary, April 16th, 1665,--“as to the keeping of my -meeting-service, many soldiers being in the town, I being dubious -whether I should admit the people to come or no,--when I considered -that Christ took it as an act of love to feed His sheep--that he -exposed Himself to death to save me, I being under a sense of the -comfort that the Lord had given me in the morning,--in my meditation on -1 Timothy i. 15, I was willing to adventure myself upon the providence -of God.” In this case, it would appear, that the alarm was unnecessary. -It certainly proved so in another instance, and the incident may be -mentioned, as illustrative of the double trials of the period,--the -fightings without producing fears within:--“As I was exercising in my -family, in the afternoon, several of my friends being with me, I had -word sent me that Sir J(ohn) S(haw), the Recorder; the Mayor, Thomas -Wade; and Justices, would come down to my house. Whereupon I, being -near the end of my exercise, concluded with a short prayer. After I -(had) done, and dismissed the people, one of the constables came to me -and told me he was sent to dissolve my meeting, and had some kind of -trembling upon him when he spoke to me, and said he blessed God that -had given him an heart to come sometimes himself, and his wife, to my -meetings, so that instead of doing me any hurt, he gave glory to God -for giving him an heart to be present.”[604] - -Stockton was reported at Lambeth in the year 1669, for holding a -“conventicle in Colchester with George Done.” He also preached at -Manningtree, Marks Tay, and Ipswich. In the year 1672, Stockton -took out a license to be “a Presbyterian and Independent teacher in -Grayfriars House, in St. Nicholas Parish,” in the county town of -Suffolk. These were halcyon days for men like him: and again his -ministry became his whole business. Besides conducting Sunday services, -including two sermons, several expositions, and catechetical exercises, -he “preached a lecture at Ipswich, on the week day, once a fortnight; -and, scarce a week passed, but he preached at some other lecture, -or funeral, besides keeping of private fasts, which he frequently -practised both at home and abroad.”[605] - -[Sidenote: OWEN STOCKTON.] - -Not only Stockton’s ministerial work, but his spiritual life also, is -fully described in his Diary. His conversion, which took place when -he was young, he tells us was not preceded by any “notable workings -of the spirit of bondage,” or followed “by those ravishing joys which -some have felt.” He feared his humiliation was not deep enough; but -he received full satisfaction from a passage in a sermon, which he -heard preached by that worthy and excellent servant of Jesus Christ, -Mr. Richard Vines, then Master of Pembroke Hall. Phraseology of this -kind indicates the kind of theology and of spiritual life which gave -a stamp to the character of Owen Stockton: and the whole of the Diary -bears the same religious complexion. He entered into a solemn covenant -with God, and he set down at large the evidences of his faith and -of his pardon,--of his being one of God’s servants, and having an -interest in Jesus Christ,--of the Divine love to his soul, and of -his possession of eternal life. No Anglican or Latitudinarian could -have dealt with questions of personal religion after the manner which -Stockton adopted. His accounts of providences, and of dreams, are -tinged with superstition. The analysis which he gives of his motives -for doing certain things; and his statement of cases of casuistry--as -for example, whether it was lawful to write a letter, even of spiritual -advice, on the Lord’s Day, and his long list of reasons for and -against courses of conduct which he specifies--indicate a morbid -conscientiousness, and a habit of keen and irritating introspection -far beyond that self-examination which the Scriptures recommend. Yet, -accompanying these infirmities, there appear a strong conviction of the -realities of the invisible world, a tenacious grasp of the doctrines -of grace, and a deep tone of devotion, a thorough consecration to the -service of God, and a burning zeal for the glory of Christ, and for -the welfare of souls. The manner in which his death is described -harmonizes with the rest of his biography, and accurately describes -what he professed:--“Discharging his dying office by grave exhortations -and encouragement to serious religion and suffering for it, which -he especially applied to his only child; owning and professing his -Nonconformity to the last, as judging himself obliged thereto in -conscience towards God; blessing God for His invaluable gift of Jesus -Christ to the children of men; blessing God, who had called him to the -honourable employment of the ministry of the Gospel, and had enabled -him to be faithful therein, and encouraged him with His presence and -blessing under all the difficulties thereof; blessing God, who had -lifted him up above the fear of death; rejoicing in the peace and -testimony of a good conscience, and hope of the glory of God, after ten -or eleven days’ conflict with his disease (which, after some hope of -recovery, very suddenly and unexpectedly seized his head), he quietly -slept in the Lord, September 10th, 1680, in the one and fiftieth year -of his age.”[606] - -[Sidenote: DR. JACOMB.] - -Another of the ejected ministers--one who survived the two excellent -persons just described, and who is much better known than either of -them--ought to be noticed before concluding this selection from the -roll of Puritan names. Dr. Thomas Jacomb has been mentioned already, as -a man who took a prominent part in the ecclesiastical affairs of his -age. His biographers speak of his zeal for the glory of his Master, -of his love to the souls of men, and of his constancy and diligence -in ministerial work. He suffered much from cancer in the mouth; but -when pain became tolerable, preaching acted as an anodyne; and, at -all times, reflection upon the Divine goodness afforded him relief. He -manifested much compassion, charity, and beneficence, and was moderate -in his Nonconformity--“rather desiring to have been comprehended in the -National Church, than to have separated from it.” His last illness is -described as very distressing, and he said to an intimate friend--“I -am using the means, but I think my appointed time is come. If my life -might be serviceable to convert or build up one soul I should be -content to live; but if God hath no more work for me to do, here I am, -let Him do with me as He pleaseth.” On another occasion, he observed: -“It will not be long before we meet in Heaven, never to part more: and -there we shall be perfectly happy; there neither your doubts and fears, -nor my pains shall follow us; nor our sins, which is best of all.” He -longed to be above, and said with some regret--“Death flies from me; I -make no haste to my Father’s house.”[607] Dr. Jacomb expired under the -roof of the Countess of Exeter, March 27, 1687. - -Burnet affords a pleasant sketch of an eminent Puritan layman, Sir -Harbottle Grimston, Speaker of the House of Commons in the Convention -Parliament, and afterwards Master of the Rolls; and in connection with -this sketch occurs an equally pleasant notice of his exemplary wife. - -“He gave yearly great sums in charity, discharging many prisoners by -paying their debts. He was a very pious and devout man, and spent -every day at least an hour in the morning, and as much at night, in -prayer and meditation. And even in winter, when he was obliged to be -very early on the bench, he took care to rise so soon, that he had -always the command of that time, which, he gave to those exercises. -He was much sharpened against Popery; but had always a tenderness to -the Dissenters, though he himself continued still in the communion -of the Church. His second wife, whom I knew, was niece to the great -Sir Francis Bacon: and was the last heir of that family. She had all -the high notions for the Church and the Crown, in which she had been -bred; but was the humblest, the devoutest, and best tempered person I -ever knew of that sort. It was really a pleasure to hear her talk of -religion; she did it with so much elevation and force. She was always -very plain in her clothes; and went oft to jails, to consider the wants -of the prisoners, and relieve, or discharge them; and by the meanness -of her dress she passed but for a servant trusted with the charities -of others. When she was travelling in the country, as she drew near -a village, she often ordered her coach to stay behind till she had -walked about it, giving orders for the instruction of the children, and -leaving liberally for that end. With two such persons I spent several -of my years very happily.”[608] - -[Sidenote: UNITY OF SPIRITUAL LIFE.] - -Without repeating what I have said in a former volume, respecting -the varieties of spiritual life, I would observe, that it is of very -great importance to distinguish between religion and theology: between -spiritual life in man, and the philosophy of its causes, its nature, -and its modes of operation. The philosophy of that life is of a far -higher description than any other branch of science in relation to -either material things or the human mind. Christian personal religion, -when complete and satisfactory, must rest upon the study of Divine -Revelation--this is the supreme authority for the religious beliefs of -all to whom it comes--without which those beliefs are as the shifting -sands and as the changeful clouds. It is of immense moment to search -out the truth amidst various theories, and theological theories are -to some minds an intellectual necessity, which it is idle to deny and -foolish to ignore. Nor should the fact be overlooked that creeds--the -creeds of the early Church--may serve as guards and preservers of the -Church’s faith; as lines which have been drawn, after sounding the -channels of Christian thought, to guard us against shoals towards which -we are apt to be driven, as buoys which may help to preserve us from -shipwreck, and as landmarks which may continue to secure for us the -precious inheritance of truth bequeathed by Christ.[609] But at the -same time these theories and these creeds should be distinguished from -religion itself; and beyond all doubt, the religion of the soul, in a -multitude of cases, is much less influenced by definite theological -opinions on certain points than many persons are disposed to admit. -Theology is oftener determined by religion, than religion is determined -by theology. Hence the trite maxim that some men are better than their -creeds and some are worse. - -Christianity teaches, that faith in Christ is essential to religion in -the case of all those to whom the Gospel comes, by which faith is meant -trust in Him as the Divine Redeemer of souls. It further teaches that -love to God is essential to religion, which love is to be expressed -in worship and obedience. Finally, it teaches that morality is -essential to religion, which morality includes all the pure, exalted, -comprehensive, and noble virtues inculcated in the Scriptures. This -threefold kind of religion may be found in cases where, what many -may deem, erroneous views on various points are entertained; and it -may be absent in cases where no such erroneous views exist. Religion -does not centre in intellectual opinions, but in the affections of the -heart, and the volitions of the will. Consequently, we have been able -to trace, with more or less distinctness, the presence and power of -real piety in all the great schools of theological thought, which have -come under our review. We recognize amongst men of different creeds, -of different forms of worship, of different ecclesiastical polities, -members of the one Holy Catholic Church, because we discover in them -that faith, devotion, and morality, which are the constituent elements -of true religion. It is remarkable how, in these respects, Christians -of various communions, such as I have attempted to portray, resemble -each other. They have not been able to repeat the same theological -confession: but under a sense of sin, in the great exigencies of their -existence, in the hour of death, and looking forward to the day of -judgment, they have rested upon the only _Name_ given under heaven -whereby we can be saved. They could not unite in the same symbolic -rites, but there are hymns of praise and supplication in which they -have all been enabled to express the devoutness of their spiritual -life. They could not co-operate in ecclesiastical action, but each in -his own sphere could and did engage in deeds of Christian justice, -zeal, and charity. - -I am not writing the history of any sect, but of Christ’s Church -in England during the latter half of the seventeenth century, and -therefore I have endeavoured to make these pages reflect, as far as -possible, the many coloured types of moral and spiritual beauty, with -which the Spirit of truth and love adorned and blessed our land at that -eventful period. - - - - - APPENDIX. - - - No. I.--See Vol. I., p. 60. - -I find in the Record Office a very curious letter, dated -Llanothyng,[610] the 8th of April, and addressed to Linwell Chapman. -There is placed in the same bundle in which I discovered it a fairly -transcribed copy. As the contents are remarkable, I shall give a full -description of them, and supply a few extracts. - -The letter purports to come from more persons than one, and it -commences by expressing their joy on account of suffering for Christ’s -sake, their spirits being borne up by the fury of the adversary, by the -patience dispensed to the godly, and the great spirit of prayer poured -out, together with active faith in the most precious promises. They -had sent messengers to their brethren, all over the nation, including -three to South Wales, exhorting them to stand by the good old cause, -once the most precious in the eyes of the saints. They mention “Dr. -Owen, that precious servant of Christ,” as having had a sinecure in -their neighbourhood, and as having sent them word “that he doubted -not of good issue.” “We hope very speedily,” they proceed, “to give -you a good account when that discontented part of the army we expect -is come up, to countenance us until we can get together. We have laid -out £10,000 in arms, and distributed most of them; we have raised such -a jealousy here between the Cavaliers and Presbyterians as opens us -a wider door than otherwise could be expected; and, indeed, were we -considerable, the Presbyterians would close with us, upon any terms, -rather than undergo an intolerable yoke under an implacable enemy.” -The writers refer to an attempt upon “Charles Stewart,” which, they -heard, “did not succeed in the way intended, but there was another -way more successful.” They afterwards state,--“Mr. Kiffin, and Mr. -Cockam, Mr. Hudson, Mr. M. the Committee-man, and Mr. Feake, write to -us of securing the General and the Parliament about the 6th of May, -to which they say all the congregations in London agree, except Mr. -Caryles and Mr. Griffiths. Mr. Nie [Nye] doth great service in it, we -hear. Mr. Brooks is very willing. Mr. Barker is, they say, indifferent. -Indeed Sir Harry Vane is a man that seems to be born for such a time as -this. He will come up, we hear, to head us; for we shall rise first, -being furthest off.” After further explanation of their policy, they -continue: “This we know, that we shall be (the Lord assisting us), a -month hence, so considerable, coming towards London, that most of your -Londoners must draw out, and then you have your opportunity. We hope -you have received the arms, ammunitions, &c. V. A. L. was appointed to -bring from C. to B., and then to D., where your carts were to meet him. -What use you may make of the training day at London we leave to your -discretion. Would we were rid of all the carnal and self-interested men -on our side, and we doubt not but to do well. Mr. Thomas, the bearer -hereof, will tell you how far we prevailed upon the Irish Brigade, and -pray do you tell him how far you prevailed upon your London forces. The -report of their being to be disbanded makes much for us here; what it -doth there we know not. Col. Okey is very successful, and it’s believed -his agitation may produce what may make both their ears tingle. Whether -Mr. Powell, Mr. Mostyn, and Mr. Lloyd, be come up to you, we hear not. -When they come, we doubt not they will put life in the cause. Mr. -Jessey, with the brethren of Swan Alley, Mr. Rogers, Mr. Spilsbury, -&c., are very zealous. And it’s good to be zealous in a good matter. -Mr. Row, of Westminster, hath been very instrumental in a late design. -The Lord strengthen the hands of such faithful souls. I pray, let us -hear what the brethren of Gloucestershire intend to do. Mr. Helme, of -Winchcombe, is diligent, spending himself and being spent among the -neighbouring congregations if they be not already at London.” (The -congregations referred to were either Independents or Baptists.) The -writers further state that they heard a piece was “coming out on the -character of the wretched villain Monk,” and an account of his plots. -They advised that the first work should be to secure the militia and -gentry, seize several of the Welsh castles, and be at Gloucester by -the 12th of May, and tempt the General out. “Let the Quakers,” the -letter goes on to say, “have the knottiest piece, for they are resolute -in performing, though but rash in advising. It were to be wished the -House had some bones to pick, that they might determine nothing until -the 12th of May.” The writers then ask, whether the Long Parliament -members, under whose authority they and their friends were acting, -would sit at Shrewsbury as a place of rendezvous; that would be the -safest place. They refer to Scotland, adding, “If it may be, it were -well all places were at once disordered by a common alarm, while one -place is chiefly aimed at. We expect Sir Arthur here suddenly, and -then, when a convenient number of the old Parliament and army are met, -we declare. The declaration is already agreed on.” ... “We are apt to -believe that every honest man of all interests will acquiesce in it. -Verily some Presbyterians, upon their late experience, are ready to -hear and submit to the reason of it, when proposed to them. The press -is free enough for it, there being no restraint upon that as yet.” The -letter concludes with an exhortation to prosecute the design on the -Tower, the House, and the head-quarters. - -Besides this letter, there is another dated a few days earlier, -addressed to Master Evan Thomas Taylor, relating to the same subject, -but not containing any important information. - -When I first lighted upon the letter of the 8th of April, 1660, with -the actual outbreak under Lambert, in the same month, fresh in my -mind, I was startled at the sight of these extraordinary statements, -and began to think that they supplied new and important information -respecting Republican movements going on at that confused period. A -little reflection, however, sufficed to raise very considerable doubts -as to whether much reliance could be placed upon several parts of the -letter of the 8th, in which mere rumours are related, and accounts -are given of what was going on at a distance. Further consideration -made me suspicious as to the origin of the papers altogether. For -the fabrication of letters said to be intercepted, and containing -treasonable matter, was no uncommon device in those days, of which a -signal instance is furnished in our notice of William Kiffin (Vol. -I., p. 211). Besides, there are certain things about these professed -communications from Wales, which the more I thought of them the more -suspicious they appeared,--such as the statement respecting Dr. -Owen, the expenditure of so large a sum as £10,000 by poor Welshmen -in procuring arms, the reference made to Quakers as engaged in -military movements, and the engagement of all the Congregational -Churches in London, with two exceptions, in a plot to secure Monk and -the Parliament. The more I considered these circumstances the more -incredible they looked. Impressed with very strong doubts, I applied to -my kind friend, the late Mr. John Bruce, whose judgment on the point I -felt would be most valuable. - -He gave the following opinion:--“I have looked at the letters dated 4th -and 8th of the 2nd month of 1660, and the copy of the latter, which is -endorsed in the handwriting of the Secretary, Sir Joseph Williamson. -That they are all of the period assigned to them is, I think, pretty -certain, but whether they are genuine or fabricated is a question not -easily answered. - -“It seems to me probable that the two letters were written by the same -hand, the writing of the letter of the 4th being a feigned hand. That -of the 4th was intended to contain that of the 8th, which is rather -strange, and the oddity is increased by the circumstance, that in -that of the 4th there is an allusion to that of the 8th as if it were -already written:--‘Pray tell Mr. Chapman, which I forgot to write.’ - -“The letter of the 8th, purporting to be dated at ‘Llanothyng,’ a -place I do not know; that of the 4th at ‘Llanvaire,’ I suppose in -Monmouthshire. The former mentions ‘Dr. Owen, that precious servant -of Christ,’ as having had a ‘sinecure here.’ If this be John Owen, it -seems very like a blunder. - -“Probably many other strangenesses might be discovered upon a close -study of the letters, but that which in my mind makes most against the -genuineness of the letter of the 8th, is the enormous improbability -that any one would have sent a letter in such manner as this has been -forwarded, which disclosed a plot to kill the King and other members of -the Royal Family, and implicated in movements connected with it, not -one or two persons only, but all the most conspicuous persons of the -Republican party. The letter is in this respect so overdone as on that -account alone to be a subject of very great suspicion. But, supposing -it possible that a man could be found who was fool enough to write such -a letter, I cannot believe that it would have been transmitted in the -careless, half-open way in which these have been sent to Master Thomas -in Quart-Pot Alley, Philpot Lane--if that be the address. - -“My present impression is that these letters are not genuine, but if -anything turns upon a point, or you are about to publish an opinion, I -should like to reconsider the question.” - -A little while afterwards, Mr. Bruce wrote the following:--“I -have looked again at the letters said to have been intercepted, -and am more and more convinced they are not genuine. Contents, -handwriting--everything--is against them. They are not papers upon -which any one ought to found an historical conclusion. - -“Mr. Hardy came in just as I was putting up the bundle which contains -these letters. I took them out and asked him what he thought of them. -He shook his head, and pronounced them to be most suspicious-looking -papers.” - -After such an opinion, confirmatory of my own strong doubts, I could -not think of using these documents in the text, but, as curiosities, I -have transferred them to this Appendix. - - - No. II.--Vol. I., p. 244. - -The following important Memorandum from W. J. Thoms, Esq., House of -Lords, on the MS. Prayer Book attached to the Act of Uniformity, 1662, -occurs in the Appendix to the Minutes of Evidence taken before the -Royal Commission on Ritual:-- - -“In the course of a conversation with the Dean of Westminster on -Tuesday week (30th July), after calling my attention to a pamphlet of -Mr. Hull on the subject of the supposed loss of the Book of Common -Prayer attached to the Act of Uniformity, the Dean expressed a wish to -see the tower (formerly a portion of the Abbey) in which the original -Acts of Parliament were till lately kept, the rooms in the Victoria -Tower where the Acts are now deposited, and the Act of Uniformity -itself. I promised to make the necessary arrangements for his doing so, -on the following Thursday (1st August). - -“My attention having been called by the Dean to the Prayer Book before -alluded to, when settling with the person who arranges the Acts in the -Victoria Tower to be in the way at the time the Dean had appointed to -come, I spoke to him about the book; and he then told me, that when the -Acts were removed, he had found, among other books, MS. Journals, &c., -a Manuscript Prayer Book, which he had handed over to the Chief Clerk, -Mr. Smith. I at once felt satisfied that that was the book respecting -which there seems to have been so much mistaken anxiety; but the -accidental absence of Mr. Smith prevented my then examining the book; -and until I had seen it, and positively ascertained the fact, I thought -it better, in case I should prove mistaken, not to mention to the Dean -that the book was in Mr. Smith’s custody. - -“Mr. Smith, who came to me in the Library a few minutes after the Dean -had left, at once said the Prayer Book was in his custody, showed it to -me, and I communicated the fact on the same evening to the Dean. - “WILLIAM J. THOMS. - - “LIBRARY, HOUSE OF LORDS, - “_8th August, 1867_.” - -“An inspection of this MS. Prayer Book has proved to the Commissioners -that the ‘Order for Morning and Evening Prayer daily to be said and -used throughout the year,’ is identical in all respects with that which -is ordinarily prefixed to the Book of Common Prayer.” - -It would be beyond my purpose to attempt a description of these -books--indeed no full and correct idea of their appearance and contents -could be supplied except by a _fac-simile_ reprint of them, which -I hope will be some day published--but in the meanwhile I will present -the reader with a transcript of the list of alterations inserted at the -beginning of the MS. volume. This copy was carefully compared with the -original by Mr. Thoms and myself. - -With the MS. volume now in the Library of the House of Lords, there -is also a copy of the Prayer Book, printed by Robert Barker, in 1636, -containing alterations of the text made with a pen in a very neat hand, -believed to be that of Sancroft. I have been permitted to inspect these -volumes on three occasions; and there are two instances of alterations -made in the printed copy, and in the MS. book, so curious, and indeed -important, that I will transfer them to these pages. - -The first relates to a passage at the end of the service for the public -baptism of infants. In the printed book it stands thus:-- - - #children ~persons~ w^{ch} are dying# - “It is certain by God’s Word, that ~children being~ baptized, ~have~ - - #before they committ actuall sinne are# - ~all things necessary for their salvation, and be~ undoubtedly saved.” - -The MS. book presents the same sentence thus:-- - - “It is certain by God’s Word, that children which are baptized, dyeing - before they commit actuall sin, are undoubtedly saved.” - -The second instance relates to the last rubric prefixed to the -Communion service. In the printed book it stands thus:-- - - “The table at the communion - time having a fair white linnen - cloth upon it shall stand in the - - #body of the church or in the# - ~body of the church or in the~ - - #chancell where morning ~prayer~ and# - “Most convenient place in the ~chancell where morning and~ - upper end of y^e chancel (or - of y^e body of y^e church #evening prayer are appointed to be# - where thereis no chancel.” ~evening prayer be appointed to be~ - - #said.# - ~said.~ - - [611]#at# - And the priest standing ~at~ the - - #~part~ side# - north ~side~ of the table, shall say - north side of the table, shall say - - #the# - the Lord’s Prayer with ~the~ collect - following” [MS., y^e people - kneeling.] - -In the MS. book it appears thus:-- - - “The table at the Communion time having a fair white linen cloth - - #of the church, or# - upon it, shall stand in the body[612] ~or convenient place~ in the - - #where Morning and Evening Prayer are appointed to be said.# - ~upper end of the~ chancel ~or of the body of the church where there is - no chancel.~ - - #side# - And the priest standing at[613] the north ~part~ of the table, shall say - the Lord’s Prayer with the Collect followeing, the people kneeling.” - - - LIST OF ALTERATIONS PREFIXED. - - OLD. NEW. - - _Litany._ - - Bishops, Pastors, & Ministers. Bishops, Priests, & Deacons. - - _Collect._ - - The 3d Sunday in Advent A larger & more proper inserted. - - _For Christmas-day._ - - this day. as at this time [as also in y^e - preface at y^e Communion]. - - _For Easter Tuesday_ is put _For Low Easter_. - _For Whitsunday._ - - upon this day. as at this time. - - y^e Epistle. For y^e Epistle [as often as it is - not taken out of an Epistle]. - - _Communion._ - - Overnight or else in y^e at least some time y^e day before. - morning before y^e beginning - of morning prayer, or - immediately after.--_Rubrick._ - - in y^e body of y^e Church or in y^e most convenient place in - in y^e Chancel. y^e upper end of y^e Chancel, or - of y^e body of y^e Church where - there is no Chancel. - - north side. north part. - - Bishops Pastor & Curates Bishops and Curates. - - The 1st & 2d Exhortations are altered and fitted for timely - notice & preparation to y^e - Communion. - - In y^e 3rd Exhortations this is left out. - Clause [If any of you be a - blasphemer of God, an - hinderer, &c.] - - These words [before this omitted. - Congregation] - - Before y^e Confession for by one of y^e Ministers. - these words [either by one - of them or else by y^e - Minister.] - - In y^e 2d prayer after in y^e mysticall body of thy Son. - Receiving for [in - thy mysticall body] - - In y^e last Rubrick but one omitted as needlesse now. - these words [And y^e Parish - shall be discharged of such - sums of money or other - dutyes w^{ch} hitherto they - have payed for y^e same by - order of their houses. - - - _Baptisme._ - - didst sanctify y^e flood in y^e River Jordan didst sanctify - Jordan & all other waters. water. - - dost thou forsake? _Ans._ I doest thou in y^e name of this - forsake. this Child renounce? _Ans._ I - renounce. - - - _Private Baptisme._ - - This Demand [whether thinke omitted. - you y^e Childe to be - lawfully & perfectly - baptized] - - - _Confirmation._ - - In y^e Rubrick for these set before y^e Catechisme until - words [untill such time as such time as he be confirmed, - he can say y^e Catechisme or be ready and desirous to be - & be confirmed] these confirmed. - - - _Catechisme._ - - y^e King and his Ministers. y^e King and all that are put in - authority under him. - - Water, wherein y^e person Water, wherein y^e person is - baptized is dipped, or baptized, in y^e name, &c. - sprinkled in it, In y^e - name, &c. - - Yea they doe performe them Because they promise them both - both by their sureties, who by their sureties, which promise. - promise and vow them both - in their names. - - - _Matrimony._ - - Thes words [In Paradise] omitted. - - depart. do part. - - Children’s Children unto y^e Children, Christianly & virtuously - 3d & 4th generation. brought up. - - loving & amiable to her amiable, faithfull & obedient to - husband as Rachel--wise as her husband. - Rebecca--faithfull & - obedient as Sara. - - The new married persons, the It is convenient y^t y^e new - same day of their marriage, married persons should receive - must receive y^e Communion. y^e Communion at y^e time of y^r - marriage or at y^e first - opportunity after y^e marriage. - - - _Visitation of y^e Sick._ - - In y^e Psalme y^e 5 last verses omitted - - - _Buriall._ - - Y^e Lesson read before they goe to y^e grave. - - eyes. eares. - - of resurrection. of y^e resurrection. - - this our brother. omitted. - - them that be elected. y^e faithfull. - - - _Churching._ - - For Psalme 121 116 or 127. - - w^{ch} hast delivered. wee give thee hearty thanks for - that thou hast vouchsafed to - deliver. - - in her vocation. omitted. - -NOTE y^t All y^e Epistles & Gospels & most of y^e Sentences of -Scripture are put in y^e last Translation of y^e Bible. - - * * * * * - -These are all y^e materiall alterations--y^e rest are onely verball, or -y^e changeing of some Rubricks for y^e better performing of y^e service -or y^e new moulding some of y^e Collects. - - - ADDITIONS. - - OLD. NEW. - - deliver us from evil, for thine is y^e Kingdome, y^e power - & ye glory for ever and ever - [here and in some other places]. - - Praise ye the Lord. _Ans._ The Lord’s name be praised. - - - _Litany._ - - privy conspiracy & rebellion. - - heresy & schisme - - To y^e Prayer in time of another prayer added. - Dearth - - - _In y^t of Plague._ - - Almighty God, w^{ch} in thy didst send a plague upon thine - wrath owne people in y^e wildernesse, - for their obstinate rebellion - against Moses and Aaron, and also - - didst then accept of an atonement and - - Two Prayers for y^e Ember-weekes. - - A Thanksgiving for restoring - publique peace. - - A Prayer for y^e Parliament. - - - _Collects._ - - A Collect for y^e 6 Sunday - after the Epiphany - - Epistle 1 S. John, 3. 1. - - Gospel S. Matt. 24. 23. - - A Collect for Easter Eve. - - An Antheme on Easter day, - I Cor. 5. 7. - - - _Communion._ - - In y^e 3d Rubrick added Provided y^t every Minister so - repelling any as is specified, in - this or in y^e next preceding - Paragraph of this Rubrick shall - be obliged to give an account of - y^e same to y^e Ordinary within - 14 days after at y^e furthest, & - y^e Ordinary shall proceede - against y^e offending person - according to y^e Canon. - - the Lord thy God who brought thee out of y^e land of - Egypt, out of y^e house of - bondage. - - In y^e prayer for whole state - of Christs Church-- - - to accept our almes and oblations. - - adversity. And wee also blesse thy holy name - for all thy servants departed - this life in thy faith & fear, - beseeching thee to give us grace - so to follow their good examples - that w^{th} them wee may be - partakers of thy heavenly - Kingdome. - - draw neere in full assurance of faith. - - At y^e prayer of consecration Marginall notes, directing y^e - Action of y^e Priest. - - - _Baptisme._ - - A fourth demand added here & Wilt thou then obediently keepe - in private Baptisme Gods holy Will & Commandments, - & walke in y^e same all - y^e dayes of thy life? _Ans._ I - will. - - In y^e prayer after y^e Sanctify this Water to y^e mysticall - demands after these words washing away of sin. - [y^e supplications of thy - Congregation] added - - A marginall note added Here shall y^e Priest make a crosse - upon y^e childes forehead. - - At y^e end of y^e Rubrick is It is certaine by Gods word that - added this Declaration persons w^{ch} are baptized, dying - before they committ actuall sin, - are undoubtedly saved. - - An Office for baptizing such added. - as are of riper yeeres. - - - _Confirmation._ - - Then shall y^e Bishop say, Doe you - here in y^e presence of G^d & of - this Congregation &c. And - every one shall audibly answer, - I doe. - - After y^e words of Y^e L^d be w^{th} you. _Ans._ And - Confirmation added w^{th} thy spirit. - - Y^e Lords Prayer. - - After y^e Collect Another prayer added. - - - _Visitation of y^e Sick._ - - for ever. _Ans._ Spare us good Lord. - - Y^e 2d prayer enlarged. - - A Commendatory Prayer. - - A Prayer for a Sick Child. - - A Prayer when there appears small - hope of recovery. - - A Commendatory at y^e point of - death. - - A Prayer for persons troubled in - minde. - - - _Buriall._ - - After they are come into y^e Church, - shall be read one or both these - Psalms, 30, 90. - - Everlasting Glory through Jesus Christ our Lord. - - At the End Y^e Grace of our L^d Jesus Christ - &c. - - - _Commination._ - - In y^e last prayer after in y^e merits & mediation of thy - [look upon us] blessed Son Jesus Christ our - L^d. Amen. - - Then shall y^e Minister alone say, - Y^e Lord blesse us, & keepe us, - y^e L^d lift up y^e light of his - countenance upon us & give us - peace, now and for ever more. - Amen. - - - No. III.--Vol. I., p. 180. - -Points in which the Prayer Book, according to _Cardwell’s Conferences_, -was modified in 1662, in compliance with the recommendation of the -Puritans. - -This list of alterations has been given me by my kind friend, Dr. -Swainson. - -Page 314. _Lord’s Prayer._ The Doxology was added at the beginning of -Morning and Evening Prayer, in the Post-Communion service, and in the -Churching of women. - -Page 315. _Plain tune._ Altered. - -„ 316. Collect for Christmas Day. _This day_ altered. - -„ 316. „ „ Whit Sunday. „ „ altered. - -„ 317. Very many of the Collects were altered. - -„ 317. “Time assigned not sufficient.” Rubric altered. - -„ 317. The next Rubric was altered too, though insufficiently. - -Page 318. [The preface asked for was inserted in the written book which -we saw in the Library of the House of Lords, and then erased.[614]] - -Page 319, line 10. Exhortation altered; the words are read now on the -Sunday before the administration, and not “at the Communion.” - -Page 319, line 30. The confession is now appointed to be made “by one -of the Ministers,” not by one of the people. - -Page 320, line 11, &c. The words “this day” altered, “as at this time.” - -Page 320, line 17, &c. This is interesting. My note from the MS. book -is this. The words there ran, “that our sinful bodies and souls may be -made clean by his body, and washed through his most precious blood.” -This would have pleased the Puritan party. It was however altered -_back_. - -Page 321, line 1. Thus it was in accordance with the wishes of the -same party that the marginal directions were added in the prayer of -Consecration. - -Page 322, line 15. The Rubric was added with alterations, not however -affecting the point at issue. - -Page 324, line 5. Expressions altered. (Query, sufficiently?) - -„ 324, „ 18. “Doest thou forsake?” The words were altered, but not as -the Puritans desired. - -Page 325, line 10. Unless by _a lawful_ minister. (Altered -accordingly.) - -„ 325, „ 13. [No part is reiterated.] - -„ 327, „ 1. Altered. Note the praise of that part of the catechism -which concerns the doctrine of the Sacraments. - -Page 327, line 20. [Rubrick was altered, whether satisfactorily, I -question.] - -Page 327, line 32. The words “are come to a competent age,” were added, -and another rubric limiting the children to be presented, to those whom -_the Curate shall think fit_. - -Page 328, line 23. Altered slightly. - -„ 329, „ 30. Altered. - -„ 330, „ 31. _Depart._ Altered to “Do part.” - -„ 331, „ 13. Omitted. - -„ 331, „ 18. Altered. - -„ 331, „ 30. Altered. - -„ 333, „ 14. Altered. “Resurrection” into “the resurrection.” - -„ 333, „ 22. Altered. - -„ 334, „ 1–9. Altered. - -„ 334, „ 11. The Psalm 121 altered. - - _So much for details._ - -I will make a few more notes in the _same direction_:-- - -The prayer, “O God, whose nature and property,” altered as recommended -in 1641. (_Cardwell_, page 277, line 10.) - -Thanksgiving added. (_Cardwell_, page 309, line 30.) - -New Translation used in Gospels and Epistles. (_Cardwell_, page 307, -line 4, &c.) - -“Portion of Scripture appointed for the Epistles.” (_Cardwell_, page -308, line 13.) - -The first Rubric in the Burial Service, “Here it is to be noted, &c.,” -would clearly gratify the Puritans. - -The position of the woman at churching was altered. (_Cardwell_, page -334.) - - - No. IV.--Vol. I. chap. x. - -The following is a copy of the Act of Uniformity taken from the Rolls -by a clerk connected with the House of Lords. All the passages printed -within brackets, with a broader margin or underlined, are amendments -upon the Bill in its original form, and notified accordingly in the -original. - -[Sidenote: 14 C. 2, Chap 4.] - - _An Act for the Uniformity of Publique Prayers and - Administration of Sacraments other Rites Ceremonies and for - establishing the form of making ordaining and consecrating - Bishops Priests and Deacons in the Church of England._ - -[Sidenote: I. Recital of Act of Uniformity under Elizabeth.] - -Whereas in the first yeare of the late Queene Elizabeth there was one -uniforme Order of Comon Service and Prayer and of the Administration -of Sacraments rites and Ceremonies in the Church of England (agreeable -to the word of God and usage of the primitive Church) compiled by the -Reverend Bishopps and Clergy set forth in one Booke entituled the Booke -of Comon prayer and Administration of Sacraments and other Rites and -Ceremonies in the Church of England and enjoyned to be used by Act -of Parliament holden in the said first yeare of the said late Queene -entituled An Act for the Uniformity of Comon prayer and Service in -the Church and Administration of the Sacraments very comfortable to -all good people desirous to live in Christian conversation and most -profitable to the Estate of this Realme upon the which the Mercy Favour -and Blessing of Almighty God is in no wise so readily and plentifully -poured as by Comon prayers due useing of the Sacraments and often -preaching of the Gospell with Devotion of the Hearers And yet this -notwithstanding a great number of people in divers parts of this Realm -following their own sensualitie and liveing without knowledge and due -feare of God do willfully and schismatically abstaine and refuse to -come to theire Parish Churches and other publique places where Comon -Prayer Administration of the Sacraments and preaching of the word of -God is used upon the Sundayes and other dayes ordained and appointed -to be kept and observed as Holy dayes. And whereas by the great and -scandalous neglect of Ministers in using the said order or Liturgy so -set forth and enjoined as aforesaid great mischeefs inconveniences -during the times of the late unhappy troubles have arisen and grown -and many people have been led into Factions and Schismes to the -great decay and scandall of the Reformed Religion of the Church of -England and to the hazard of many souls [Sidenote: Amendment.] [For -prevention whereof in time to come for setling the Peace of the Church -and for allaying the present distempers which the indisposition of -the time hath contracted. [Sidenote: The King’s declaration 25th -October 1660.] The King’s Majestie according to His Declaration of -the five and twentieth of October One thousand six hundred and sixty -granted His [Sidenote: Commission for Conference.] Comission under -the Great Seale of England to severall Bishopps and other Divines to -review the Booke of Comon prayer and to prepare such alterations and -additions as they thought fitt to offer. [Sidenote: Convocation.] And -afterwards the Convocations of both the provinces of Canterbury and -Yorke being by His Majesty called and assembled and now sitting His -Majestie hath beene pleased to authorize and require the presidents of -the said Convocations and other the Bishopps and Clergy of the same -to review the said Booke of Comon prayer and the booke of the forme -and manner of the making and consecrating of [Sidenote: V. Penalty -of refusing.] Bishops Preists and Deacons. And that after mature -consideration they should make such additions and alterations in the -said Bookes respectively as to them should seem meet and convenient -and should exhibit and present the same to His Majesty in writing for -his further allowance or confirmation since which time upon full and -mature deliberation they the said President Bishops and Clergy of both -provinces have accordingly reviewed the said Bookes and have made some -alterations which they thinke fitt to be inserted to the same and some -additionall prayers to the said booke of Comon prayer to be used upon -proper and emergent occasions. And have exhibited and presented the -same unto His Majestie in writing in one Booke entituled the Booke of -Comon Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments and other rites and -Ceremonies of the Church according to the use of the Church of England -togeather with the psalter or Psalmes of David pointed as they are -to be sung or said in Churches and (the) forme and manner of making -ordaining and consecrating of Bishopps Preists and Deacons All which -His Majesty haveing duly considered hath fully approved and allowed the -same and recomended to this present Parliament that the said bookes of -Comon prayer and of the forme of ordination and consecration of Bishops -priests and Deacons with the alterations and additions which have beene -soe made and psented to His Majesty by the said Convocations be the -Booke which shall be appointed to be used by all that officiate in all -Cathedrall and Collegiate Churches and Chappells and in all Chappells -of Colledges and Halls in both the Universities and the Colledges of -Eaton and Winchester and in all Parish Churches and Chappells within -the Kingdome of England Dominion of Wales and Toune of Berwick upon -Tweed and by all that make or consecrate Bishops Preists or Deacons in -any of the said places under such sanctions and penalties as the Houses -of parliament shall thinke fitt] [Sidenote: II. Religion advanced by -Uniform worship.] Now in regard that nothing conduceth more to the -setling of the Peace of this Nation (which is desired of all good -men) nor to the honour of our Religion and the propagation thereof -than an universall agreement in the publique worshipp of Almighty God -and to the intent that every person within this Realme may certainely -knowe the rule in which he is to comforme in publique worship and -administration of Sacraments [_and other rites and ceremonies of the -Church of England and the manner how and by whom Bishops Preists and -Deacons are and ought to be made ordained and consecrated_]. Be it -enacted by the Kings most Excellent Majestie by the advice and with -the consent of the Lords [_Spirituall and Temporall and of the_] -Comons in this present parliament assembled and by the authority of -the same That all and singular Ministers in any Cathedrall Collegiate -or Parish Church or Chappell or other place of publique worship within -this Realme of England Dominion of Wales and Toun of Berwick upon -Tweed shall be bound to say and use the morning prayer Evening prayer -Celebracon and administracon of both the Sacraments and all other the -publique and Comon prayer in such order and forme as is menconed in the -[_said_] booke annexed and joyned in this present Act and intituled -The Booke of Comon prayer and administration of the Sacraments and -other rites and Ceremonies of the Church [_according to the use of the -Church_] of England [_togeather with the psalter or Psalmes of David -pointed as they are to be sung or said in Churches and (the) forme -or manner of making ordaining and consecrating of Bishops Preists & -Deacons_] And that the Morning and Evening prayers therein contained -shall upon every Lords day and upon all other [_dayes and_] occasions -and att the times therein appointed be openly and solemnly read by all -and every minister or Curate in every Church Chappell or other place of -publique worshipp within this Realme of England and places aforesaid -[Sidenote: III. All ministers to declare assent to Book of Common -Prayer.] And to the end that uniformity in the publique worshipp of -God (which is so much desired) may be speedily effected bee it farther -Enacted by the authority aforesaid That every parson vicar or other -Minister whatsoever who now hath and enjoyeth any Ecclesiasticall -Benefice or promotion within this Realme of England or places aforesaid -shall in the Church Chappell or place of publique worshipp belonging -to his said benefice or promotion upon some Lords day before the Feast -of Saint Bartholomew which shall be in the yeare of our Lord God One -thousand six hundred sixty and two openly publiquely and solemnly read -the morning and Evening prayer appointed to be read by and according -to the said Booke of Comon prayer att the times thereby appointed and -after such reading thereof shall openly and publiquely before the -congregation there assembled declare his unfeigned assent & consent -to the use of all things in the said booke contained and prescribed -[Sidenote: Amendment.] [in these words and no other. I, A. B doe -declare my unfaigned assent [Sidenote: IV. Form of Declaration.] and -consent to all and everything contained and prescribed in and by the -booke intituled The booke of Comon Prayer and Administration of the -Sacraments and other rites and ceremonies of the Church according to -the use of the Church of England togeather with the psalter or psalmes -of David poynted as they are to be sung or said in Churches and the -form or manner of making ordaining and consecrating of [Sidenote: -V. Penalty of refusing.] Bishops Preists and Deacons] And that all -and every such person who shall (without some lawfull impediment to -be allowed and approved of by the Ordinary of the place) neglect or -refuse to doe the same within the time aforesaid (or in case of such -impediment) within one moneth after such impediment removed shall -(ipso facto) be deprived of all his spirituall promotions And that -from thenceforth it shall be lawfull to and for all patrons and donors -of all and singuler the said Spiritual promotions or of any of them -according to theire respective rights and titles to present or collate -to the same as though the person or persons so offending or neglecting -were dead. [Sidenote: VI. Declaration to be made in all cases of -promotion.] And bee it further Enacted by the authority aforesaid that -every person whoe shall hereafter be presented or collated or put -into any Ecclesiastical Benefice or promotion within this Realme of -England and places aforesaid shall in the Church Chappell or place of -publiq worshipp belonging to his said benefice or promotion within two -moneths next after that he shall be in the actuall possession of the -said Ecclesiastical benefice or promotion upon some Lords day openly -publiquely and solemnly read the morning and Evening prayers appointed -to be read by and according to the said booke of Comon prayer att the -times thereby appointed and after such reading thereof shall openly -and publiquely before the Congregation there assembled declare his -unfeigned assent and consent to the use of all things therein contained -and prescribed [_according to the forme before appointed_] And that -all and every such person who shall (without some lawful impediment -to be allowed and approved by the ordinary of the place) neglect or -refuse to doe the same within the time aforesaid (or in case of such -impediment within one moneth after such impediment removed) shall -[ipso facto] be deprived of all his said Ecclesiasticall Benefices and -promotions And that from thenceforth it shall and may be lawfull to and -for all patrons and Donors of all and singuler the said Ecclesiastical -Benefices and promotions or any of them (according to theire respective -rights and titles) to present or collate to the same as though the -person or persons so offending or neglecting were dead [Sidenote: VII. -Amendment Incumbents to read the Common Prayer once a month.] [And -be it further Enacted by the authority aforesaid that in all places -where the proper Incumbent of any parsonage or vicaridge or Benefice -with Cure doth reside on his living and keepe a Curate the Incumbent -himselfe in person (not haveing some lawful impediment to be allowed -by the Ordinary of the place) shall once (at the least) in every -moneth openly and publiquely read the Comon prayers and service in -and by the said Booke prescribed and (if there be occasion) administer -each of the sacraments and other rites of the Church in the parish -Church or Chappell of or belonging to the same parsonage vicarage or -benefice in such order manner and forme as in and by the said booke is -appointed upon pain to forfeit the sum of five pounds to the use of the -poore of the Parish for every offence upon conviction by confession -or proofe of two credible witnesses upon Oath before two Justices of -the peace of the County City or Toun Corporate where the offence shall -be comitted (which Oath the said Justices are hereby impowered to -administer) and in default of payment within ten dayes to be levied -by distresse and sale of the goods and chattells of the offender by -the warrant of the said Justices by the Church Wardens or Overseers -of the poore of the said Parish rendring the surplusage to the party -[Sidenote: VIII. Deans and Canons, &c., shall subscribe declaration -following.]And be it further Enacted by the authority aforesaid that -every Deane Canon and prebendary of every Cathedrall or Collegiate -Church and all Masters and other Heads Fellowes Chaplaines and Tutors -of or in any Colledge Hall House of Learning or Hospitall and every -publique professor and Reader in either of the Universities and in -every Colledge elsewhere and every parson viccar curate lecturer and -every other person in Holy Orders and every Schoolmaster keeping any -publique or private Schools and every person instructing or teaching -any youth in any House or private family as a Tutor or Schoolmaster -who upon the first day of May which shall be in the yeare of our Lord -God One thousand six hundred sixty two or at any time thereafter -shall be Incumbent or have possession of any Deanry Canonry Prebend -Mastershipp Headshipp Fellowshipp Professors place or Readers place -Parsonage vicarage or any other Ecclesiasticall Dignity or promotion -or of any Curates place Lecture or School or shall instruct or teach -any youth as Tutor or Schoolmaster shall before the Feast day of St. -Bartholomew which shall be in the yeare of our Lord One thousand six -hundred sixty two or at or before his or theire respective admission to -the Incumbent or have possession aforesaid subscribe the Declaration -or acknowledgement following scilicet.--I, A, B, do declare that it -is not lawfull upon any pretence whatsoever to take Armes against the -King and that I do abhorr that traiterous position of taking [Sidenote: -IX. The declaration of non-resistance and repudiating the Covenant.] -Armes by his Authority against his person or against those that are -commissionated by him And that I will conforme to the Liturgy of the -Church of England as it is now by Law established And I do declare -that I do hold there lies no obligacon upon me or on any other person -from the Oath comonly called the Solemne League and Covenant [_to -endeavour any change or alteration of Government either in Church or -State_] [Sidenote: X. Penalty for not subscribing.] And that the same -was in itselfe an unlawfull Oath and imposed upon the subjects of this -Realme against the knowne lawes and liberties of this Kingdome.--Which -said Declaration and acknowledgment shall be subscribed by every of the -said Masters and other Heads fellowes Chaplaines and Tutors of or in -any Colledge Hall or House of Learning and by every publique professor -and Reader in either of the Universities before the Vice-Chancellor -of the respective Universities for the time being, or his Deputy And -the said Declaration or acknowledgment shall he subscribed before the -respective Archbishopp Bishopp or Ordinary of the Diocesse by every -other person hereby enjoyned to subscribe the same upon pain that all -and every of the persons aforesaid failing in such subscription shall -loose and forfeit such respective Deanery Canonry Prebend Mastershipp -headshipp fellowshipp Professors place Readers place parsonage -viccarage Ecclesiasticall Dignity or promotion Curates place Lecture -and School and shall be utterly disabled and (ipso facto) deprived -of the same And that every such respective Deanry Canonry Prebend -Mastership headship fellowship Professors place Readers place parsonage -viccarage Ecclesiasticall Dignity or promotion Curates place lecture -and schools shall be void as if such person so failing were naturally -dead.--[Sidenote: XI. Schoolmasters in private houses included.] And if -any Schoolmaster or other person instructing or teaching youth in any -private House or family as a Tutor or Schoolmaster shall instruct or -teach any youth as a Tutor or Schoolmaster before licence obtained from -his respective Archbishop Bishop or Ordinary of the Diocesse according -to the Lawes and Statutes of this Realme (for which he shall pay twelve -pence onely) and before such subscription and acknowledgement made -as aforesaid then every such Schoolmaster and other instructing and -teaching as aforesaid shall for the first offence suffer three moneth -imprisonment without baile or mainprize and for every second and other -such offence shall suffer three months imprisonment without baile or -mainprize and alsoe forfeit to his Majesty the sume of five pounds -And after such subscription made every such Parson Viccar Curate and -Lecturer shall procure a Certificate under the hand and seal of the -respective Archbishop Bishop or Ordinary of the Diocese (whoe are -hereby enjoyned and required upon demaund to make and deliver the -same) and shall publickly and openly read the same togeather with the -declaration or acknowledgement aforesaid upon some Lords day within -three moneths then next following in his Parish Church where he is to -officiate in the presence of the Congregation there assembled in the -time of Divine Service upon pain that every person failing therein -shall loose such Parsonage Viccarage or Benefice Curates place or -Lecturers place respectively and shall be utterly disabled (ipso -facto) deprived of the same And that the said Parsonage Viccarage or -Benefice Curates place or Lecturers place shall be void as if he was -naturally dead Provided alwaies that from and [Sidenote: XII. Omissions -in declaration after 25 March, 1682.] after the twenty fifth day of -March which shall be in the yeare of our Lord God one thousand six -hundred eighty two there shall be omitted in the said Declaration or -Acknowledg^{t.} so to be subscribed and read these words following -scilicet.--And I do declare that I do hold there lies no obligacon -on me or any other person from the Oath comonly called the Solemne -League and Covenant to endeavour any change or alteration of Government -either in Church or State and that the same was in itselfe an unlawfull -Oath and imposed upon the Subjects of this Realme against the knowne -lawes and liberties of this Kingdome So as none of the persons -aforesaid shall from thence forth be at all obliged to subscribe or -read that part of the said declaration or acknowledgement [Sidenote: -XIII. Persons not episcopally ordained incapable of ecclesiastical -preferment.] Provided alwaies and be it Enacted that from and after -the feast of St. Bartholomew which shall be in the yeare of our Lord -One thousand six hundred sixty and two no person who now is Incumbent -and in possession of any Parsonage Vicarage or Benefice and who is -not already in Holy Orders by Episcopall Ordination or shall not -before the said feast day of St. Bartholomew be ordained Preist or -Deacon according to the forme of Episcopall Ordination shall have -hold or enjoye the said Parsonage Vicarage Benefice with Cure or -other Ecclesiasticall Promotion within this Kingdome of England or -the Dominion of Wales [_or town of Berwick upon Tweed_] but shall be -utterly disabled and (ipso facto) deprived of the same And all his -Ecclesiastical promotions shall be void as if he was naturally dead. -And be it further Enacted by the authority aforesaid that no person -whatsoever shall thenceforth [Sidenote: XIV. And of administering -sacraments.] (_be capable to bee admitted to any parsonage vicarage -benefice or other Ecclesiastical Promotion or Dignity whatsoever -nor shall_) presume to consecrate and administer the Holy Sacrament -of the Lords Supper before such time as he shall be ordained Preist -according to the forme and manner in and by the said booke prescribed -unlesse he have formerly beene made Preist by Episcopall Ordination -upon pain to forfeit for every offence the sum of one hundred pounds -one moyety thereof to the Kings Majesty the other moyety thereof to -be equally divided betweene the poore of the parish where the offence -shall be comitted and such person or persons as shall sue for the same -by Action of debt bill plaint or information in any of His Majesties -Courts of Record wherein no essoine protection or wager of law shall -be allowed and to be disabled from taking or being admitted into the -order of Preist by the space of one whole yeare then next following -[Sidenote: XV. Exception on behalf of foreigners.] Provided that the -penalties in this Act shall not extend to the forreiners or aliens of -the forrein Reformed Churches allowed or to be allowed by the Kings -Majestie his heires and successors in England [Sidenote: XVI. Cases of -voidance or deprivation.] Provided alwaies that no title to conferre -or present by lapse shall accrewe by any avoydance or deprivation -(ipso facto) by vertue of this Statute but after six moneths after -notice of such voidance or deprivation given by the Ordinary to the -patron or such sentence of deprivation openly and publiquely read in -the Parish Church of the Benefice Parsonage or Vicarage becomeing void -or whereof the Incumbent shall be deprived by vertue of this Act. -[Sidenote: XVII. No other form of prayer to be publicly used.] And be -it further Enacted by the authority aforesaid that no form or order of -Comon prayers administracon of Sacraments rites or Ceremonies shall -be openly used in any Church Chappell or other publique place of or -in any Colledge or Hall in either of the Universities the Colledges -of Westminster Winchester or Eaton or any of them other than what is -pscribed and appointed to be used in and by the said booke And that -the present Governour or Head of every Colledge or Hall in the said -Universities and of the said Colledges of Westminster Winchester and -Eaton within one moneth after the feast of S^{t.} Bartholomew which -shall be in the yeare of our Lord One thousand six hundred sixty and -two And every Governour or Head of any of the said Colledges or Halls -hereafter to be elected or appointed within one moneth next after -his Election or Collation and admission into the same Government or -Headship shall openly and publiquely in the Church Chappell or other -publique place of the same College or Hall and in the psence of the -fellowes and Sckolars of the same or the greater part of them then -resident subscribe [Sidenote: Subscription to Articles.] unto the nine -and thirty Articles of Religion mentioned in the Statute made in the -thirteenth yeare of the Reigne of the late Queene Elizabeth And unto -the said booke and declare his unfeigned assent and consent unto and -approbation of the said Articles and of the same booke and to the use -of all the prayers rites and ceremonies formes and orders in the said -Booke prescribed and contained according to the form aforesaid And -that all such Governours or Heads of the said Colledges and Halls or -any of them as are or shall be in Holy Orders shall once (at least) in -every quarter of the yeare (not having a lawfull impediment) openly and -publiquely read the Morning prayer and service in and by the said booke -appointed to be read in the Church Chappell or other publique place of -the same Colledge or Hall upon pain to loose and be suspended of and -from all (the) benefitts and profitts belonging to the same Government -or headshipp by the space of six moneths by the Visitor or visitors of -the same Colledge or hall And if any Governour or head of any Colledge -or Hall suspended for not subscribing unto the said Articles and booke -or for not reading of the Morning prayer and service as aforesaid shall -not att or before the end of six moneths next after such suspension -subscribe unto the said Articles and booke and declare his consent -thereunto as aforesaid or read the Morning prayer and service as -aforesaid then such Government or headshipp shall be (ipso facto) void. -[Sidenote: XVIII. Who may use the service in Latin.] Provided alwaies -that it shall and may be lawful to use the Morning and Evening prayer -and all other prayers and service prescribed in and by the said booke -in the Chappells or other publique places of the respective Colledges -and Halls in both the Universities in the Colledges of Westminster -Winchester and Eaton and in the Convocations of the Clergies of either -province in Latine any thing in this Act contained to the contrary -notwithstanding.] - -[Sidenote: XIX. Amendment Lecturers.] - -And be it further Enacted by the authority aforesaid [that no person -shall be or be received as a Lecturer or permitted suffered or allowed -to preach as a Lecturer or to preach or read any Sermon or Lecture -in any Church Chappell or other place of publique worshipp within -this Realme of England or the Dominion of Wales and Towne of Berwick -upon Tweed unless he be first approved and thereunto licensed by the -Archbishopp of the province or Bishopp of the Diocesse or (in case the -See be void) by the Guardian of the Spiritualities under his Seale and -shall in the psence of the same Archbishop or Bishop or Guardian read -the nine and thirty Articles of Religion mentioned in the Statute of -the thirteenth yeare of the late Queene Elizabeth with declaration of -his unfeigned assent to the same And] that every person and persons -whoe nowe is or hereafter shall bee (_licensed_) assigned (or) -appointed or received as a Lecturer to preach upon any day of the weeke -in any Church Chappell or place of publique worship within this Realme -of England or places aforesaid the first time he preacheth (before his -Sermon) shall openly publiquely and solemnly read the Comon prayers -and service in and by the said booke appointed to be read for that -time of the day and then and there publiquely and openly declare his -assent unto and approbation of the said booke and to the use of all -the prayers rites and ceremonies formes and orders therein contained -and prescribed according to the forme before appointed in this Act -[Sidenote: Amendment.] And alsoe shall upon the first lecture day [of -every moneth afterwards so long as he continues lecturer or preacher -there at the place appointed for his said lecture or sermon before his -said Lecture or Sermon openly publiquely and solemnly read the Common -prayers and service in and by the said booke appointed to be read for -that time of the day at which the said lecture or sermon is to be -preached and after such reading thereof shall openly and publiquely -before the Congregation there assembled declare his unfeigned assent -and consent unto and approbation of the said booke and to the use of -all the prayers rites and ceremonies forms and orders therein contained -and prescribed according to the forme aforesaid] and that all and every -such person and persons who shall neglect or refuse to do the same -shall from thenceforth be disabled to preach the said or any other -lecture or sermon in the said or any other Church Chappell or place -of publique worshipp untill such time as he (_and they_) shall openly -publiquely and solemnly read the (_Common_) prayers (_and service -appointed_) by the said booke and conform in all points to the things -therein appointed and prescribed (_according to the purport true intent -and meaning of this Act_) [Sidenote: XX. Amendment. In Cathedral or -Collegiate Churches.][Provided alwaies that if the said Sermon or -Lecture be to be preached or read in any Cathedrall or Collegiate -Church or Chappell it shall be sufficient for the said Lecturer openly -at the time aforesaid to declare his assent and consent to all things -contained in the said booke according to the form aforesaid] [Sidenote: -XXI. Penalty for preaching by persons disabled.] And be it further -Enacted by the authority aforesaid That if any person who is by this -Act disabled to preach any Lecture or Sermon shall during the time -that he shall continue and remaine so disabled preach any Sermon or -Lecture that then for every such offence the person and persons so -offending shall suffer three monthes imprisonment in the Comon Goal -without baile or mainprize and that any two Justices of the Peace -of any County of this Kingdome and places aforesaid and the Maior -or other Cheife Magistrate of any City or Town Corporate within the -same upon Certificate from the Ordinary of the place made to him or -them of the offence committed (_shall and are hereby required_) to -committ the person or persons so offending to the Gaol of the same -County City or Town Corporate accordingly [Provided alwaies and be it -further [Sidenote: XXII. Amendment. Common Prayer to be read before -every lecture.] Enacted by the authority aforesaid that at all and -every time and times when any Sermon or Lecture is to be preached the -Comon Prayers and Service in and by the said Booke appointed to be -read for that time of the day shall be openly publiquely and solemnely -read by some Preist or Deacon in the Church Chappell or place of -publique Worship where the said Sermon or Lecture is to be preached -before such Sermon or Lecture be preached and that the Lecturer then -to preach shall be present at the reading thereof [Sidenote: XXIII. -Proviso touching Universities.] Provided neverthelesse that this Act -shall not extend to the University-Churches in the Universities of -this Realme or either of them when or at such times as any Sermon or -Lecture is preached or read in the same Churches or any of them for -or as the publique University-Sermon or Lecture but that the same -Sermons and Lectures may be preached or read in such sort and manner -as the same have been heretofore preached or read this Act or anything -herein conteyned to the contrary thereof in any wise notwithstanding.] -[Sidenote: XXIV. Former laws for uniformity confirmed.] And bee it -further Enacted by the authority aforesaid That the severall good Lawes -and Statutes of this Realme which have been formerly made and are -now in force for the uniformity of Prayer and administration of the -Sacraments within this Realme of England and places aforesaid shall -stand in full force and strength to all intents and purposes whatsoever -for the establishing and confirming of the [_said booke entitled the_] -booke of Comon Prayer and administration of the Sacraments [_and -other rites and ceremonies of the Church according to y^e use of -y^e Church of England together with the Psalter or Psalmes of David -pointed as they are to be sung or said in Churches and the forme or -manner of making ordeyning and consecrating of Bishops Preists and -Deacons_] herein before menconed to bee joyned and annexed to this -Act And shall be applyed practised and put in use for the punishing -of all offences contrary to the said Lawes with relation to the Booke -aforesaid and no other Provided alwayes [Sidenote: XXV. Prayers for the -King, &c.]And bee it further Enacted by the authority aforesaid That -in all those Prayers Letanyes and Collects which doe any way relate -to the King Queene or Royal Progeny the names be altered and changed -from time to time and fitted to the present occasion according to the -direccon of lawfull authority. [Sidenote: XXVI. Copies of Prayer Book -to be provided in all parishes &c.] Provided also and be it Enacted -by the authority aforesaid that a true printed Copy of the said -Booke entituled the Booke of Comon Prayer and Administration of the -Sacraments and other rites and ceremonyes of the Church according to -the use of the Church of England togeather with the Psalter or Psalmes -of David pointed as they are to be sung or said in Churches and the -forme [_and manner_] of making ordeyning and consecrating of Bishops -Preists and Deacons shall at the costs and charges of the parishioners -of every parish church and chappelry cathedrall church colledge and -hall be attained and gotten before the Feast day of Saint Bartholomew -in the yeare of our Lord one thousand Sixe hundred sixty and two upon -paine of forfeiture of three pounds by the moneth for so long time -as they shall thenafter be unprovided thereof by every Parish or -Chappelry Cathedrall Church Colledge and Hall making default therein. -[Sidenote: XXVII. Translation of Common Prayer into Welsh.] Provided -alwayes and bee it Enacted by the authority aforesaid That the Bishops -of Hereford St. David’s Asaph Bangor and Landaph and their successors -shall take such order among themselves for the soules health of the -flocks comitted to their charge within Wales That the Booke hereunto -annexed be truly and exactly translated [_into the British or Welsh -Tongue and that the same so translated_] and being by them or any -three of them at the least viewed perused and allowed bee imprinted -to such number at least so that one of the said Books so translated -and imprinted may be had for every Cathedrall Collegiate and Parish -Church and Chappell of Ease in the said respective Diocesses and -places in Wales where the Welsh is comonly spoken or used before the -first day of May one thousand six hundred sixty five And that from and -after the imprinting and publishing of the said Booke so translated -the whole Divine Service shall be used and said by the Ministers and -Curates throughout all Wales within the said Diocesses where the Welsh -Tongue is comonly used in the Brittish or Welsh Tongue in such manner -and forme as is prescribed according to the Booke hereunto annexed -to be used in the English Tongue differing nothing in any order or -forme from the said English Booke For which Booke so translated and -imprinted the Churchwardens of every of the said Parishes shall pay -out of the parish money in their hands for the use of the respective -Churches and be allowed the same on their account And that the said -Bishops and their successors or any three of them at the least shall -sett and appoynt the price for which the said Booke shall be sold And -one other Booke of Comon Prayer in the English tongue shall be bought -and had in every Church throughout Wales in which the Booke of Comon -Prayer in which is to bee had by force of this Act before the first -day of May one thousand six hundred sixty and fower and the same Booke -to remaine in such convenient places within the said Churches that -such as understand them may resort at all convenient tymes to read -and peruse the same. And alsoe such as doe not understand the sayd -language may by conferring both tongues together the sooner attaine -to the knowledge of the English Tongue Any thing in this Act to the -contrary notwithstanding And untill printed Copies of the said booke -soe to bee translated may bee had and provided The forme of Comon -Prayer established by Parlyament before the making of this Act shall -be used as formerly in such parts of Wales where the English Tongue is -not comonly understood [Sidenote: XXVIII. “Sealed books” to be obtained -and kept.] And to the end that the true and perfect copies of this Act -and the said booke hereunto annexed may be safely kept and perpetually -preserved and for the avoyding of all disputes for the tyme to come Bee -it therefore Enacted by the authority aforesaid that the respective -Deanes and Chapters of every Cathedrall or Collegiate Church within -England and Wales shall at their proper costs and charges before the -Twentie fifth day of December one thousand six hundred sixty and two -obtaine under the Greate Seale of England a true and perfect printed -Copie of this Act and of the said booke annexed hereunto to bee by -the said Deanes and Chapters and their successors kept and preserved -in safety for ever and to bee allso produced and shewed forth in any -Court of Record as often as they shall bee thereunto lawfully required -and also there shall bee delivered true and perfect Copies of this Act -and of the same booke into the respective Courts at Westminster and -into the Tower of London to be kept and preserved for ever among the -Records of the said Courts and the Records of the Tower to be alsoe -produced and shewed forth in any Court as neede shall require which -sayd books soe to be exemplyfied under the Great Seale of England shall -be examined by such persons as the King’s Majestie shall appoint under -the Great Seale of England for that purpose and shall bee compared -with the originall booke hereunto annexed and shall have power to -correct and amend in writing any error comitted by the Printer in -the printing of the same booke or of any thing therein conteyned and -shall certifie in writing under their hands and seales or the hands -and seales of any three of them at the end of the same booke that -they have examined and compared the same booke and finde it to bee -a true and perfect copie which said bookes and every one of them so -exemplyfied under the Greate Seale of England as aforesaid shall be -deemed taken adjudged and expounded to bee good and available in the -law to all intents and purposes whatsoever and shall be accounted as -good Records as this booke it selfe hereunto annexed any law or custome -to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding [Sidenote: XXIX. Proviso -for King’s Professor of Law at Oxford.]Provided also that this Act or -any thing therein conteyned shall not be prejudiciall or hurtfull unto -the King’s Professor of the Law within the University of Oxford for or -concerning the Prebend of Shipton within the Cathedrall Church of Sarum -united and annexed unto the place of the same King’s Professor for the -time being by the late King James of blessed memory Provided alwaies -that whereas the sixe and thirtieth Article of the [Sidenote: XXX. -Proviso concerning Art. 36.] nine and thirty Articles agreed upon by -the Archbishops and Bishops of both Provinces and the whole Cleargy in -the Convocation holden at London in the yeare of our Lord One thousand -five hundred sixty two for the avoyding of diversities of opinions -and for establishing of consent touching true Religion is in these -words following (vizt.) “That the Book of Consecration of Archbishops -and Bishops and ordeyning of Preistes and Deacons lately set forth -in the time of King Edward the Sixth and confirmed at the same time -by Authority of Parliament doth conteyne althings necessary to such -Consecration and ordeyning Neither hath it any thing that of it selfe -is superstitious and ungodly: And therefore whosoever are consecrated -or Ordered according to the Rites of that Booke since the second yeare -of the aforenamed King Edward unto this time or hereafter shall be -consecrated or ordered according to the same rites. Wee decree all such -to be rightly orderly and lawfully consecrated and ordered.” [Sidenote: -XXXI. Subscription to extend to form of Consecrating Bishops, &c.] It -be Enacted And Be it therefore Enacted by the authority aforesaid That -all subscriptions hereafter to be had or made unto the said Articles by -any Deacon Preist or Ecclesiasticall person or other person whatsoever -who by this Act or any other Law now in force is required to subscribe -unto the said Articles shall be construed and taken to extend and -shalbe applyed (for and touching the s^d sixe and thirtieth Article) -unto the Booke conteyning the forme and manner of making ordeyning -and consecrating of Bishops Preists and Deacons in this Act mentioned -in such sort and manner as the same did heretofore extend unto the -Booke set forth in the time of King Edward the Sixth mentioned in the -said six and thirtieth Article anything in the s^d Article or in any -Statute Act or Canon heretofore had or made to the contrary thereof -in any wise notwithstanding [Sidenote: XXXII. Form to be used till -Bartholomew’s Day, 1662.] Provided also that the Booke of Comon Prayer -and Administration of the Sacraments and other rites and ceremonyes of -this Church of England together with the forme and manner of ordeyning -and consecrating Bishops Preists and Deacons heretofore in use and -respectively established by Act of Parliament in the first and eighth -years of Queen Elizabeth shalbe still used and observed in the Church -of England untill the Feast of Saint Bartholomew which shall be in the -yeare of our Lord God one thousand six hundred sixty and two. - - - No. V.--Vol. I., p. 261. - -Letters patent on parchment are attached to the sealed books. A copy of -the letter is given in Stephens’ edition of the Prayer Book, published -by the Ecclesiastical History Society. - -After reciting the Act of Uniformity, it is said, “And whereas the -printed copy of the Act of Parliament, and Book aforesaid hereunto -annexed, hath been duly examined by the persons, whose names are -thereunto subscribed, in pursuance of our Commission to them and others -in that behalf directed. Now know ye, that, we according to the form -and effect of the said Act of Parliament, and in accomplishment of -the intent thereof, in this behalf, have inspected the said examined -copy of the Act of Parliament and Book aforesaid, and have caused the -same to be hereunto annexed, and to be exemplified under the Great -Seal of England. In witness, &c.,----; signed Barker.” No copy of the -Commission is supplied, nor the names of the Commissioners. - -In the sealed books alterations are made by the pen of the -Commissioners to bring them into accordance with the copy of the book -attached to the Act. Most of these are quite unimportant. For example:-- - -1. _In the titles of the services_, “_The_” is prefixed to the word -collect. - -2. _In the headings of the pages_, “_Trinity Sunday XXIII_” is altered -into “_The XXIII Sunday after Trinity_.” - -“_Whitsun Munday_” into “_Munday in Whitsun Week_.” - -It is important to notice, that the title “_The Creed of St. -Athanasius_” was printed originally, in the sealed books, on the top -of the page over the creed; it was then struck out by the Commissioners. - -3. _In the text of prayers_: - -In the sentences at beginning of morning prayer, it was printed, “Hide -thy face from my sins, and blot out _all_ my iniquities:” “_all_” was -struck out. “Forgiveness” was altered into “Forgivene_sses_.” - -In the clause of the Lord’s Prayer “Thine is the kingdom _and_ the -power and the glory,” the first “_and_” is cancelled. - -In the Absolution, “Wherefore _let us beseech Him_,” is changed into -“Wherefore _beseech we Him_.” - -In the sealed book at Chichester, Dr. Swainson pointed out to me in -Psalm xc. verse 8, as used in the Burial Service, _light_ corrected -into _sight_; and in verse 12 _so_ into _O_. Some of our modern Prayer -Books retain the _O_, but have given up the _sight_. - -4. _In the Rubric_, at the end of the Communion Service, the words, -“_for the whole state of Christ’s Church militant here on earth_,” are -inserted, by the Commissioners, in some sealed books, after an erasure -of the original printed words. - -Many of the alterations cannot be corrections of the printer’s errata. -They evidently indicate changes of words made in the original copy -after the printing of the books which were used as sealed copies. - -In the Appendix to the first Report of the Royal Commission on Ritual -will be found remarks upon the sealed copy at Ely. - -It is strange that the printers of Prayer Books do not bring them into -correspondence with the sealed books, which alone contain the legally -correct formularies of the Church. - - - No. VI.--Vol. I., p. 282. - -The number of the ejected is a vexed question. We possess at present -unsatisfactory data; and I fear that we shall never obtain such a -knowledge of facts as will enable us to reach a precise conclusion. -The Ecclesiastical Registers of the country might seem to afford great -hope of being sufficient to decide the controversy; but, to say nothing -of the labour of searching them, unfortunately when the work has been -begun, in some cases, from the imperfection of the records, it has -yielded little or no fruit. - -Some years ago I attempted searching the records of the See of London, -in St. Paul’s Cathedral; but from the state of the records at that time -the attempt proved unsuccessful. - -The friendly kindness of the Dean of Chichester, and Canon Swainson, -afforded me every facility for examining the Archives in the -Cathedral. The latter assisted me in examining the Registers; to our -disappointment they were found defective for 1662. But as this Work -was passing through the press, Canon Swainson communicated to me some -valuable information, which will be subjoined to this note. At present -our conclusions must rest upon the lists of names which have been -published by Calamy and Palmer; and upon such general statements as are -furnished by writers who were living at the time when the ejectment -took place. - -Calamy, in his second volume, undertakes to give an “Account of the -ministers who were ejected or _silenced_ after the Restoration -of King Charles II.” In his second, and two following volumes, he -includes ministers, lecturers, masters and fellows of colleges, -and schoolmasters. Palmer, in his _Nonconformist Memorial_, -describes those whom he registers as “Ejected or _silenced_ -after the Restoration, particularly by the Act of Uniformity.” These -important distinctions are often overlooked; and it is imagined that -all the names collected together, are the names of clergymen who were -removed from their livings on Bartholomew’s Day. Such an imagination -is contradicted by facts. In agreement with the indication given on -the title pages of our two principal authorities, we discover in -these biographical sketches a number of incumbents who were displaced -before the Uniformity Act was passed, most of them in consequence of -Episcopalian clergymen having returned to claim their sequestered -livings. Cases of this kind appear in the present History. Those -ministers who thus lost their benefices clearly ought to be arranged in -a class by themselves. Having set them aside, there remain others who, -according to all accounts, did not forfeit their emoluments through -the operation of the new Act. They consisted of such clergymen as, -through Episcopal connivance, or from some other cause, continued to -hold their benefices; they were comparatively few in number, and the -benefices of most were of inconsiderable value. We are then to add -another class, described as simple candidates for the ministry, who -therefore possessed no livings from which they could be driven. Also we -must separate the cases of persons who, though mentioned amongst the -ejected, did not quit the Church until after St. Bartholomew’s Day; -some of whom were not ministers in the Establishment at that time. The -exceptional cases of the last three kinds, such as were connived at, -such as were only candidates, and such as did not quit the Church until -afterwards, so far as I can see, are altogether below fifty. I may have -overlooked some. - -What would be the total number of the persons who, although included -in the general list of sufferers, did not surrender their incumbencies -on St. Bartholomew’s Day, I am at a loss to determine. The information -given in many cases is so incomplete, that it does not show when and -how the persons mentioned were removed. In more than five hundred -instances bare names occur, and in many more so little is added as to -be next to nothing. Most of the persons named were probably in some way -or other losers for conscience’ sake; but I am not aware of any means -by which all those among them who left the Establishment before the -24th of August of 1662, can be separated from those who were ejected on -that day. - -If we refer to general statements, we find Baxter saying, in his -_Petition for Peace_ presented to the Bishops with the proposed -reformation of the Liturgy, at the Savoy Conference, “_Some_ -hundreds of able, holy, faithful ministers, are of late cast -out.”[615] He also speaks in the _Rejoinder_ of “_several_ -hundreds.”[616] These statements were made in 1661, more than a year -before the Uniformity Act came into operation. Taking the indefinite -_several_ hundreds at the lowest reasonable computation, and -remembering, that during the intermediate year more Nonconformists -would be “cast out,” we can scarcely reckon the ejected, before St. -Bartholomew’s Day, 1662, at less than six hundred. Hook’s letter -written in the month of March, 1663, alludes to the number of the -ejected on St. Bartholomew’s Day as 1,600, and says “as many had been -removed before.” This, no doubt, is an exaggeration; but it would seem -to suggest, at least, that the number previously removed bore a large -proportion to the number ultimately ejected. To the six hundred, or -so, ejected before the Uniformity Act came into effect, let there be -added two or three hundred more,--which would be a very large allowance -for such exceptional cases as I have indicated, and for the great -uncertainty respecting the five hundred bare names in the lists of -“the ejected and _silenced_,”--and we thus reach a total of some -eight or nine hundred, who may be admitted to have suffered more or -less in consequence of the Restoration, but who must not be considered -as undergoing ejectment on Bartholomew’s Day. The last and the longest -list of sufferers, before and upon the 24th of August, 1662, put all -together, is that furnished by Palmer, amounting to 2,231,--a list -evidently prepared with much care. He mentions a MS. “Index eorum -Theologorum Aliorumque No. 2,257, qui propter Legem Uniformitatis, Aug. -24, A. D. 1662, ab Ecclesia Anglicana secesserunt.” Calamy’s -entire list reckons 2,190. Making the largest allowable deduction for -those deprived before Bartholomew’s Day--that of nine hundred as just -suggested--then the number of those who were deprived on that day would -amount to about 1,200. I do not see how more than that number could -have been then displaced. I am induced to believe there were scarcely -so many. - -But whilst the distinctions and abatements which I have just made are -demanded with a view to some accurate conclusion, it is to be borne -in mind that the whole body of Nonconformist ministers, including -the ejected, the candidates for the ministry, and all who had been -accustomed in any way to preach the Gospel, were _silenced_ by -the Act. They could no longer any of them preach in a place of public -worship. Therefore if we include the silenced, I should think that -Baxter is rather under than above the mark in saying, “When Bartholomew -Day came, about one thousand eight hundred, or two thousand ministers -were silenced and cast out.”--_Life and Times_, ii. 385. After -all, no bare statistics, no enumeration of figures, can ever represent -the amount of trial, sorrow, and loss inflicted upon conscientious men -at that lamentable era in our ecclesiastical history. - -Palmer, following Calamy, gives a large number of names of clergymen -who “afterwards conformed.” It may be inferred that amongst these were -not a few who passed through considerable conflict of mind before they -did so. - -What was the exact number of the clergy just after the Act of -Uniformity I cannot ascertain. Chamberlayne says, in his _Present -State of England_, ed. 1692, that there were 9,700 rectors and -vicars, besides dignitaries and curates--p. 189. In another place, he -says:--“The whole number of the clergy of England are in all, first, -two archbishops, twenty-four bishops, twenty-six deans of cathedral and -collegiate churches, 576 prebendaries, 9,653 rectors and vicars, and -about so many more, with curates, and others in Holy Orders.”--Part -ii., 19. But this estimate must be greatly in excess of the actual -number. - -The communication from Dr. Swainson is as follows:-- - -“Let me inform you that I have found a book in our muniment-room which -to a certain extent supplies the place of the Episcopal Registers of -Henry King, who was restored to his see with the Restoration. The -Registers, you know, are reported as lost. This book is the book -of subscriptions to the three articles of the 36th Canon, and the -declaration against the Solemn League and Covenant. With the assistance -of a friend I have analysed the former, and the enclosed paper contains -the result. But I must notice that it gives no intimation as to the -number of clergymen who returned to the livings from which they were -banished during the Commonwealth, nor of the Presbyterians and others -who were then ejected from their homes; it only gives the livings into -which _new_ incumbents were installed; and I think you will agree -with me that the number is very small. At the same time my attention -has been drawn to the large number of ordinations of deacons in the -first two years after the book commences. My impression is that a -Presbyterian or Independent minister in legal possession of a living -might retain it by the Act of Uniformity, if he accepted deacon’s -orders. Thus we should have in the first three years twenty-three more -vacancies than in the last three of the period before us; and in the -first three years one hundred and eight men ordained deacons, in the -last three fourteen or fifteen. I infer that, of these one hundred and -eight a large proportion conformed and retained their preferment. My -friend notices a large ordination in 1673. Eighteen priests and sixteen -deacons on Trinity Sunday; eight priests and eleven deacons in Advent.” -The enclosed paper states, “The book of subscriptions commences on 2nd -November, 1662, and the last subscription is dated on 22nd September, -1678, thus it includes a period of sixteen years. I have no reason -to suppose that it is imperfect. On analysing it, the subscriptions -describe, that the subscriber is about to be admitted (1) to some -rectory, vicarage, or cure of souls; (2) to a prebend or dignity in the -cathedral; (3) to ‘Presbyteratus ordinen;’ (4) to deacon’s orders. -There are a few who are about to be licensed to preach, and about four -in the sixteen years who come to qualify themselves to keep school. The -number of vacancies in rectories, vicarages, and places with cure of -souls thus indicated in the several years are:-- - - November 1, 1662 to October 31, 1663 19 - „ „ 1664 26 - „ „ 1665 14 - „ „ 1666 16 - „ „ 1667 18 - „ „ 1668 20 - „ „ 1669 12 - „ „ 1670 10 - „ „ 1671 20 - „ „ 1672 13 - „ „ 1673 16 - „ „ 1674 16 - „ „ 1675 9 - „ „ 1676 8 - „ „ 1677 15 - „ „ 1678 13 - -making a total of 245 in 16 years, or an average of 15¼ per annum. - -“The number of vacancies in the first three years is thus fifty-nine; -in the last three, thirty-six. Taking the last figures as representing -the number from ordinary causes, we have an overplus of twenty-three -due to extraordinary causes, _i.e._, nonconformity, in the first -three years. The number of men ordained deacons in the first three -years was one hundred and seven; in the last three years, fifteen. -Therefore the overplus of ninety-two ordained in the first three years -was due to extraordinary causes; the question is what these causes were? - -“N.B.--Eighty-three men were ordained priests during the same first -three years. The number of benefices in the diocese of Chichester is -_now_ (1869) 330.” - - - No. VII.--Vol. I., p. 314. - -Of the informer’s _Note Book_, preserved in the Record Office, I have -an entire copy in my possession, made by the late Mr. Clarence Hopper, -and from it I give the following extracts:-- - -“_Brokes_ (Pastor)--Meets at Mr. Shaw’s, sailmaker, in Tower Wharf, -sometimes at one Palmer’s Wise, [_sic_] and Holmes’s, who dwell all in -the fields on the left hand, near Moorgate, where the quarters hang; -where there is suspected some persons of note lie dormant, viz., Col. -Danvers, Col. Gledman, Mr. Wollaston. The field is named ‘Phines-berry’ -(Finsbury).” - -“_Caitnesse._--A Scotchman intimately acquainted with Lawrye the -merchant (his old maid knows much of him). He dwells a little beyond -Ratcliffe Church, hard by Gun Alley, next door to a shoemaker’s. -Brother-in-law to Mr. Roe (formerly minister), a schoolmaster in -Christchurch, within the Cloisters can tell of Caitnesse. Several of -the Lord General’s old soldiers know Caitnesse; he knows Lieut.-Col. -Desborough and Ellison.” - -“_Duckenfield._--They are 3 brothers all officers in the Army. Col. -Jo Duckenfield, a stout fellow, now in Ireland, 1663, married an -Exchange-woman, commanded the Foot at Winnington-bridge, 1659. Major -Wm. Duckenfield in Ireland, 1663, married Franklin’s daughter, over -against Salisbury House, an Exchange-man. Col. Rob. Duckenfield -married Fleetwood’s sister, and hath an estate at Duckenfield Hall, in -Cheshire, all 3 dangerous fellows.” - -“_Forbes._--Formerly in Gloucester, a Scottishman. Caitnes. Rawdon. His -wife’s mother lives near Henley-upon-Thames, in Bucks. When in town, -lodges behind Abchurch, going into Sherburne Lane from Cannon Street, -upon the right hand, beyond the church; his landlord keeps a shop in -Pope’s Head Alley. Enquire of Henley Coach, where it stands, for Mr. -Forbes. His sister is an apothecary’s wife, over against Warwick House, -in Holborn; and at Mr. Johnston’s, in Gr. Inne Lane, &c.” - -“_Thomas Goodwine_ (pastor).--Dwells in the fields, on the left hand -near Moorgate, where the quarters stand, and meets often with Dr. -Owen.”--(_Vide O._) - -“_Mrs. Homes_, at the Red Lion, a grocer’s shop, in St. Laurence Lane, -is the great patroness of the worst of people now in London, and Ewell -in particular. (Mrs. Holond Com. his wife), and Mr. Sheldon, prisoner -in the Tower, who married Holond’s daughter; Mrs. Homes, now or lately, -paid and discharged the rent for the house, which Thomas Goodwin lies -in, at Bone Hill, beyond the Artillery Ground, near Cherry Tree Alley. -She has a great estate; and spends it among those that lie in wait -to disturb the peace of the kingdom. She is a frequent visitor of -the prisons, and encourages and confirms those that are in greatest -opposition to the Government. Her chief servant is called Browne, -who ’tis thought, was one of the Rump Parliament. Her cash-keeper -confessed, that, in six weeks after her husband died, she gave away -£800. ’Tis no wonder, for she gains, with her money, several from the -Church daily and under pretence of charity, corrupts many poor and -wanting people.” - -“_Jessey_, meets often at one Thomas Goodwine’s, and Dr. Owen’s in the -fields, near to Moorgate, where the quarters hang; (pastor). The said -Jessey meets also at the Lady Hartups, at Newington, Harfordshire, dead -1663.” - -“_Harwood_, Jo., a merchant at Mile-end Green, a factious dangerous -Independent; and the common factor for all the merchants trading -especially to New England; who uses constantly to cover and disguise, -the ships, goods, and persons, of those of that opinion in their -voyages and passages, so as the officers of the Customs, &c., at -Gravesend, and other places, are, by his interest and money, corrupted -to slip the oaths, which otherwise ought to be tendered to all persons -going out, &c.” - -“_Knowles_, an Anabaptist minister, a good scholar, and a leading man, -now in Amsterdam, maintained by the churches; and one Thibalds (his -elder), in Tower Street, corresponds with him, (to him Mr. Riggs was -recommended by Thibalds.) Knowles dwells in Wapping.” - -“_Meade_, Pastor of the Independent Church, meets twice a week with -Greenhill at Ratcliffe, and Stepney.” - -“_Dr. Owen_ (_Pastor_), dwells in the fields, on the left hand near -Moorgate, where the quarters hang, and meets often with Goodwine.” - -“_Robinson_ (Andrew), a Scotts Quaker, dangerous young fellow; carries -letters between London and Edinburgh; comes frequently to Mr. Lawrye’s.” - -“_Sprig_, a minister, and great creature of the late usurper’s. Mr. -Johnson knows him intimately. Sprig is a great acquaintance of Sir Hen. -Vane’s and Ludlow’s.” - - - No. VIII.--Vol. I., p. 319. - -In connection with the narrative on this page, and others elsewhere of -the same kind, I would request the reader to bear in mind what I have -remarked on p. 102. of this volume. - -After the printing of the anecdote respecting Mr. Ince, a very -interesting little book, entitled _The Church at Birdbush_, has -come under my notice, from which I extract the following passages -in reference to the story I have related:--“This striking narrative -has sometimes been repudiated as a fiction. The evidence for its -credibility seems, however, to be stronger than the supposition of its -falsehood. The fact that the individual on whose authority it rests, -had spent much time and labour in collecting authentic accounts of -the period to which it refers, and that before the year 1705, he had -lived at Shaftesbury, where, from its proximity to the scene of its -occurrence, this event would be the theme of general conversation, -is a fair argument in proof of its validity. Assuming then, in the -absence of proof to the contrary, that the principal points in this -striking incident are true, there are connected circumstances which -require that some additional remarks should be made. The _date_ of the -occurrence of this remarkable event has been a matter of conflicting -statement. While the _Nonconformist’s Memorial_ fixes it at ‘not long -after the year 1662,’ a writer in the _Evangelical Magazine_ for 1798, -states it to have taken place ‘soon after the Toleration Act passed -in 1689.’ Perhaps the precise year cannot be fixed, and yet, from an -incidental remark in the life of the Rev. T. Rosewell, given in the -_Nonconformist’s Memorial_, we may arrive at a satisfactory conclusion. -His biographer says, ‘After leaving Lady Hungerford’s family, he was -invited, in 1672, into that of Mr. Grove, at Ferne, where Mr. Ince -lived, where he spent some months much to his comfort.’ By this it is -evident that the event referred to happened before the year 1672. A -second disputed point is, the apparent improbability of Mr. Ince being -unknown at Ferne, after having been Rector of the adjoining parish -for fourteen years or more. It should be remembered, that some few -years, at least, elapsed between his ejectment at Donhead, and his -being employed on the before-named estate. Time would of course leave -its impressions on the form which would otherwise have been easily -recognized. Besides, it is attested that he had hired himself to the -‘employment of tending sheep;’ and the shepherd’s dress, connected -with the effects of prison usage, and of the other circumstances of -trial to which he had been exposed, may all have combined to conceal -his true profession as a minister of Christ, until the time fixed in -the Infinite Mind arrived for its discovery. His ‘appearance’ was that -which surprised Mr. Grove, when he contrasted it with his ‘language -and manner.’ The last sentence of the statement obviously requires -correction. The _Meeting-house_ referred to, was _not_ erected on the -estate at Ferne, nor by Mr. Grove.” - - - No. IX.--Vol. I., p. 374. - -I have adopted the common account of Cecil’s signing Edward VI.’s -Instrument of Succession as a witness. It is endorsed by Mr. -Froude.--(_Hist._, v. 509). But I ought to add, that Tytler, in his -_England under the Reigns of Edward VI. and Mary_, discredits the -story which rests on a statement made by Roger Alford, twenty years -afterwards, who on Cecil’s authority, and at his request, was trying -to make out a case in favour of his master. Cecil’s signature occurs -in the midst of many names appended to the document, not at all in -the way of witness; and Tytler thinks, that Cecil had determined to -retain his place, whatever sacrifice it might cost him. It did cost him -dear--“for he was driven by it to falsehood, to evasion, and to little -subterfuges, from which every upright mind would have recoiled.”--(Vol. -ii. 175.) In a defence of himself, written in his own hand, for the eye -of Queen Mary, and which Tytler has printed (vol. ii. 192), he says -nothing of having signed the instrument as a witness. - -It appears further, from an examination by Tytler, of some of Cecil’s -papers in the Record Office, that in the reign of Queen Mary he -conformed to the established religion by attending mass.--(Vol. ii. -443.) Yet it is remarkable that although regarded kindly at court, -he never held office under the Popish Sovereign; and is distinctly -described as “a heretic” by the Count de Feria, writing in 1558.--(p. -499). Whatever his compliances at the time, there must have been enough -in his conduct to indicate that he was an unwilling Conformist, and -that he was in heart a Protestant. Still, in respect to religious -profession in the earlier part of life, he is seen to disadvantage when -compared with Clarendon. - - - No. X.--Vol. II., p. 88. - -Lord Macaulay mentions in his _History of England_, a broadside which -he had seen, and which is printed in Somers’ _Tracts_. The author, -as he says, was a Roman Catholic, having access to good sources of -information, and although no name but one is given at length, the -initials are intelligible except in a single instance. The Duke of York -is said to have been reminded of his duty to his brother by P. M. A. C. -F., which mysterious letters puzzled his Lordship as they had done Sir -Walter Scott, who edited Somers’ _Collection_. Plausible conjectures -as to their meaning occurred at the same time to Macaulay and others, -and though the conviction continued in his mind, that the true solution -had not been suggested, he was inclined to read the initials thus: -“Père Mansuete, a Cordelier Friar.” A Cordelier of that name was James’ -Confessor. - -After all, the shrewd conjecture was correct. The following paper, -mentioned in my Preface, settles the question. It is substantially the -same as the paper printed in _Somers_ (Scott’s Edition, viii. 428), -but the verbal differences are considerable, and the P. M. A. C. F. is -identified as Père Mansuete, a Cordelier Friar, Confessor to the Duke. - -I print the MS. at length, as it will be interesting for the historical -student to compare it with the broad sheet reprinted by Somers:-- - -“On Munday 2^d of February Candlemas day the King rose early, said he -had not slept well. About 7 a clock comeing from his private devotions -out of his Closett, fell downe so that he was dead for foure hours -in an Apoplecticke fitt: with losse of 16 ounces of blood and other -applications came to his sences againe: Great hopes of his recovery -till Thursday one a clocke. But at 5 the Doctors being come before the -Councill declared he was in great danger. On Friday a quarter before -12 he departed. God have mercy upon his soule. _P. M. a C. ffryar C_ -to the Duke upon the Doctors first telling him of the State of the K. -told him that now was the time to take care of his soule and that it -was his duty to tell him so. The D. with this admonition went unto the -King and told it, The K. answered O Brother how long have I wished but -now help me: He said he would have Father Hudd:[617] who preserved him -in the tree, and now hoped he would preserve his soule; H was sent -for to bring all necessaries for a dying man: not having the B: S. by -him, H mett one of the Q^s P,[618] told him the occasion, desiring -his assistance to procure it and bring it to the back staires. The -King having notice that Mr. Hudd: waited desired to be in private with -his Brother. All the Bpps and Nobles goeing out, the D latching the -dore, the L^{de} P. B. and F.[619] were goeing out also, the D told -them they might stay, the Kg seeing Father cryed out: Almighty God -what good planet governes me that all my life is wonders and miracles -when I O Lord consider my infancy, my exile, my escape at Wor’ster my -preservation in the tree by this good Father and now to have him againe -to be the Preserver of my Soule, O’ Lord my wonderfull Restauration, -the great danger of the late Conspiracy and last of all to be raised -from death and to have my soule preserved by the assistance of this -good Father whom I see that thou O Lord hast created for my good: the D -and E^{s,}[620] withdrew into the Closett, they were private for some -time, after which the D and E^{s} entred againe, the Father remaining -comforting and praying with him, He said, if I am worthy of it, Pray -lett me have it, the Father said he exspected it and offered to -proceed with the extreeme unction, The King said, with all my heart: -the D and the L^{ds} assisting at the time M^{r.} Hudd: being called -to the doore received the B: S: he desired the Kg to compose himselfe -to receive. the King would rise, he was perswaded to the Contrary, -Let me meet my heavenly father in a better posture then lying thus, -being overruled they pray, amongst other the Father repeated an Act -of Contrition, the King desired him to repeate it againe, saying it -word by word after him, Received with the greatest expressions of -devotion imaginable: This being ended they proceeded in the Prayer de -Recommendacöne animæ, that being done, the King desired a repetition of -the Act of Contrition once more, Lord Good God when my Lips faile let -my heart speake these words eternally. - -“The Bishops and Lords entred againe and perswaded the King to remember -his last end and to endeavour to make a good end. He said he had -thought on it and made his peace with God. Asking him whether he would -receive, he said he would not, he persisting in extolling the Queene -and Duke said he was not sorry to leave the world leaving so good a -brother to rule behind him.” - - - No. XI.--Vol. II., p. 148. - -Macaulay, speaking of the disobedience of the London clergy to the -Royal order, says:--“Samuel Wesley, the father of John and Charles -Wesley, a curate in London, took for his text that day the noble -answer of the three Jews to the Chaldean tyrant, ‘Be it known unto -thee, O King, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the -golden image which thou hast set up.’” The historian quotes as his -authority Southey’s _Life of Wesley_. The story has been repeated -again and again. Unfortunately, in reference to Wesley, it cannot be -true. He was ordained in deacon’s orders the 17th of August, 1688, -about three months after the issuing of the order: and the only -foundation for the story seems to be a poem by the younger Wesley, -written “upon a clergyman lately deceased,” the Rev. John Berry, the -poet’s father-in-law, and published four years before Samuel Wesley’s -death.--See _The Mother of the Wesleys_, by the Rev. John Kirk, p. 58. - - - No. XII.--Vol. II., chap. xiv. - - ANGLICAN VIEWS ON THE RELATIONS OF CHURCH AND STATE. - -In the review of Anglican opinions in the 14th chapter I have scarcely -entered upon what is understood by the Church and State question. I am -not able to supply, from the works of Bull, Pearson, Cosin, Heylyn, -Barrow, and others, any satisfactory catena of passages bearing on this -point, or to report any definite theory, or any sustained arguments of -theirs in relation to it. Their theological writings treat of other -themes. Thorndike, indeed, has a good deal to say of the State, as -well as of the Church, and speaks, on the one hand, of the State being -in subjection to the Church, of the State being bound to protect the -Church, and of the State being justified in inflicting penalties for -religion when the latter interferes with civil peace. On the other -hand, he speaks of kings being justified in reforming the Church, even -against the ecclesiastical order. (Reference to these passages will -be found in the index to the Oxford Edition of Thorndike.) Yet I can -find in Thorndike no precise theory of Church and State relations. -Jeremy Taylor treats of ecclesiastical laws and power; he insists on -the concurrence in them of the civil authorities, and that kings are -bound to keep the Church’s laws; yet he denies that Christian princes -can be lawfully excommunicated. (_Works_, xiii. 583–616.) Bramhall -alludes to the Royal nomination and investiture of bishops in England -as approved by ancient canons and constitutions (part iv. dis. 6); -and Sanderson goes so far as to declare, that the king hath power, if -he shall see cause, to suspend any bishop from the execution of his -office, and to deprive him utterly of his dignity. (_Episcopacy not -prejudicial_, s. iii. 33.) Morley’s extravagant views of the Royal -prerogative have been noticed. On the whole it appears that after the -Restoration, High Churchmanship manifested itself more in theological -doctrine, than in either ritualism or in ecclesiastical supremacy. -Looking at the whole history of the period between the Restoration and -the Revolution, we see in the ascendant that which is commonly meant by -the word Erastianism. Indications of this are afforded by the manner -in which the Act of Uniformity was carried; by the utter inactivity -of Convocation after the year 1664,--for it did scarcely more than -formally assemble from time to time,--and by the notions of the Royal -supremacy so generally maintained, and so plainly expressed, not only -by Bishop Morley but by the two Universities. - - - No. XIII.--Vol. II., p. 93. - -“On the 19th of May, 1685, the King (about 11 a clock in the morning) -came to the House of Peers in his royal robes, and with his crown off -his head, being attended with the great officers of state, and having -placed himself on his throne, the Usher of the Black Rod, Sir Thomas -Duppa, was sent to bring up the Commons to the bar of the Lords’ House. - -The Commons being come, the Lord Keeper standing behind the Chair of -State (from whence he usually speaks to the two Houses) acquainted the -Commons that his Majesty had commanded him to tell them that it was his -royal pleasure, that they should go down to the Lower House, and choose -their speaker, and present him at 4 of the clock in the afternoon, to -his Majesty at the bar of the Lords’ House, for his approbation. - -The Lord Keeper acquainted the Lords and Commons at the same time, that -they should, in the mean time, apply themselves to take the oaths of -allegiance and supremacy and the test, as the law requires, and when -that was done in both Houses, his Majesty would then acquaint them with -the reasons why he called them to Parliament. - -Thereupon the Commons withdrew, and went down to their own House, and -(as I have been informed) forthwith chose Sir John Trevor to be their -speaker. - -In the mean time, the Lords went about the taking of the oath of -allegiance, and supremacy, and the test; and in the first place, the -Lord Keeper took the oaths and test singly; and then the Lords in their -order, beginning with the Barons, and ending at the Archbishop of -Canterbury. - -When that business was over, the Lords called to go to prayers, and -the Bishop of Bath and Wells read prayers, he being Junior Bishop. -When prayers were ended, the Lords that were lately created by new -patents, were introduced, according to the usual solemnity, that is to -say, the Lord Keeper went below the bar, and being attended with the -Usher of the Black Rod, and Sir W. Dugdale, King at Arms, and the Lord -Marshall, and the Lord Great Chamberlain, and two other Barons (for -Barons introduce Barons, and Earls do introduce Earls, &c.), the patent -was carried by my Lord Keeper, and laid at his Majesty’s footstool, at -the throne, he kneeling; and then he took his patent up, and carried it -to his side upon the Woolsack, and then delivered it to the Clerk of -the Parliament, who read it, and after the reading of it, he was, by -the Lords and Officers aforesaid, brought to his seat upon the Barons’ -bench, from thence he went to his place upon the woolsack, which is his -seat as Speaker to the Lords’ House. - -The rest of the Lords were introduced in the same manner, only they -went out of the House to bring in their patents; and so did the Earl -Marshall, and the Lord Great Chamberlain, and Sir William Dugdale, and -the Usher of the Black Rod go out of the House to fetch them in; but -the Lord Keeper did not go out of the House, because he being Speaker, -ought not to be absent from the House, while its sitting, and that is -the reason why he did not go out. - -The Lords that were introduced were these:--First, Lord Keeper; second, -Lord Treasurer; third, Lord President; fourth, Duke of Beaufort; three -Earls, _i.e._, Earl Maclesfield, Earl Berkley, Earl Nottingham; three -Viscounts, Viscount Hatton, Viscount Weymouth, Viscount Townsend. The -Barons that were introduced were Dartmouth, Stawell, Churchill, Wemen; -there were more, but I do not now remember their names, but I will -hereafter insert them. - -Then all those Lords that were introduced took the oath of allegiance -and supremacy, and the test; and so went into their seats. And this was -about 3 of the clock in the afternoon. - -Then the Lord Privy Seal moved the House in the behalf of the three -Popish Lords, that were upon bail to appear at the bar of the Lords’ -House the first day of the Parliament, and he produced a petition -from them, which was read; and in it they set forth, that they were -impeached of high treason, and imprisoned for five years, and upwards, -upon the single testimony of Titus Oates, who was found guilty of -perjury by several indictments, and they prayed to be set at liberty, -with reparation of their honours. - -Then the Earl of Chesterfield moved the House in behalf of the Earl of -Danby, and told their Lordships that he had a petition from the Earl of -Danby, and prayed it might be read; and it was ordered to be read by -the Clerk. The purport of his petition was to shew to the Lords, that -he had been impeached and imprisoned for above four years, merely upon -suggestion, without oath, and prayed their Lordships’ favour for his -enlargement. - -This petition of the Earl of Danby was more modest than the other -Lords’ petition, which made the Lord Keeper observe, and say to the -House, that the prayer of the Earl of Danby’s petition was different -from the prayer of the Popish Lords’ petition; for they desired to be -enlarged forthwith with reparation. And the Earl of Danby prayed either -to have his trial, or to renew his bail, or to have such directions as -their Lordships should think meet in his case. - -The Lord Keeper’s intimation was not taken well by my Lord Danby’s -friends; and therefore the Earl of Chesterfield, Lord High Chamberlain, -and others stood, and moved successively, that the Earl of Danby’s -case was the same with the Popish Lords, _i.e._, imprisonment and -impeachment without oath, and therefore the remedy was the same. - -Upon these motions, the House came to this resolution and order, -_i.e._, they ordered that the Lords should be called in, and stand -at the bar, to whom the Lord Keeper said that the House had read their -petition, and had given order to record or enter the appearance, and -that they should withdraw, and attend the House the first time they sat -after this day, to know the further pleasure of the House as to their -petitions. - -The Lord Butler moved in behalf of the Earl of Tyrone, and he appeared -at the bar, and had the same answer as the other Lords, viz., to attend -at the next sitting day. - -When this was done the House adjourned during pleasure, and the King -withdrew into the Prince’s lodgings for a quarter of an hour, and -the Lords went to the adjacent rooms to refresh themselves; and in a -quarter of an hour the King returned into the House, and the Lords into -their places, and then the House was resumed. - -Thereupon the King withdrew, and presently came in his robes, and his -crown upon his head, attended with the officers of state and heralds -as aforesaid, and sat on his throne, and then the Usher of the Black -Rod went down to call the Commons, who forthwith, with Sir John Trevor, -their Speaker, attended at the bar of the House, and said (having made -their bows or _congé_ of reverence) that the Commons assembled in -Parliament had made choice of him for their Speaker, and that he was -sensible of his great disabilities to undergo that weighty task, and -thereupon prayed his Majesty, that he would graciously be pleased to -command the House of Commons to go down and choose another Speaker. - -The King having heard his disabling harangue, whispered the Lord -Keeper; and then the Lord Keeper (from behind the Chair of State) said, -“Sir John Trevor, the King hath commanded me to tell you, that he is -well apprised of your parts and zeal to serve him, and the Commons, -and therefore he approves of their choice, and admits you to be the -Speaker.” - -Then the Speaker, in a short speech (read out of his paper, which was -the first time that I observed a Speaker read any speech) expressed -his thankfulness for his Majesty’s good opinion of him, and his parts, -and promised to do his duty zealously and loyally, and then prayed -(after the usual manner) that the Commons might have (1) their freedom -of speech and (2) freedom from arrest, and (3) access to his Majesty to -deliver their addresses, &c. - -Again the King called to the Lord Keeper, and spake privately to him; -and then the Lord Keeper told the Speaker, that the King had granted -their petitions; and so the Commons and the Speaker were dismissed. And -when the company was withdrawn, and the House clear of the people that -thronged there, the doors were shut, and then the Lord Lovelace called -to the Clerk to be sworn, and tendered himself to take the test. - -But the Lord Keeper said that by the order of the House he should have -offered himself to do that business in the morning after prayers, and -therefore he could not be sworn that day. - -Then the House called to adjourn, and they did adjourn, that is, the -Lord Keeper as Speaker adjourned the House until Friday, at nine of the -clock in the morning. - - - _Friday 22 May, 1685._ - -The Lords met in their House, and in their robes that day. In the -Lords’ House there was a canopy of state for the Queen Consort set up -in the Lords’ House, near the Archbishop’s seat. The Queen came into -the House about ten of the clock, and was in the House, while the House -went to prayers. - -In the same seat with her, that is with the Queen, sat the Prince of -Denmark, and the Princess Anne, his consort. - -About eleven of the clock, the King came to the House in his robes and -attended as aforesaid, and sat upon his throne. And immediately the -Commons, with their Speaker, came to the bar of the Lords’ House, at -which time the King made a gracious speech, which is in print, and it -is his first speech to the Parliament. The Lords and Commons hummed -joyfully and loudly at those parts of it which concerned our religion, -and the established government. - -When the King’s speech was ended, the Commons went down to their own -House, where, as I have been told, they forthwith voted the King’s -revenue to be settled upon him for life. - -The Lords, after reading an order _pro formâ_, chose committees for -receiving and trying of petitions, committees for privileges and for -the journal book. - -The next thing was a motion made by the Lord Newport, and seconded by -others, against several Lords that were minors or under 21 years, who -would sit in the Lords’ House against the order of the House. - -In fine, the minor Lords were ordered to withdraw, and told that they -were not to sit there until they attained 21 years of age. - -Then the Lords took unto consideration the petition of the imprisoned -Lords, and after a warm debate, they came to the question about -vacating an order of the House made anno 1678 about the continuance -of impeachments after the dissolution of Parliament. The question was -carried for the vacating of that order, and by that means the three -Lords were _ipso facto_ set at liberty. - -Its observable that there was not above nine Lords in the negative, and -there was above 80 in the affirmative at the question. - -The same day there was a bill brought in and read against clandestine -marriages, and then the House adjourned; only they voted thanks to the -King for his gracious speech, and attended the King at the banquetting -house, with the House of Commons, to give their thanks at 4 o’clock -that day. - - - _Saturday 23 of May._ - -The House met about ten of the clock, and after prayers, as is usual, -some orders, _pro formâ_, were read, and then some Lords were sworn. - -Then several petitions for appeals from decrees in chancery were read -and admitted. - -Then the bill against clandestine marriages was read 2nd time and -committed. - -The House fell upon consideration of Argyle’s declaration, which was -by his Majesty’s order communicated to the House. It was a treasonable -declaration, inviting his friends and vassals to take arms and oppose -the King, whom he traitorously called a tyrant and usurper in that -wicked paper. - -The House returned thanks to his Majesty for imparting that matter unto -the Lords, and they declared Argyle to be a traitor, and that they -would be ready with their lives and fortunes to stand by his Majesty -in the defence of his person, crown and dignity against that traitor -and all his enemies. And they sent a message to the Commons for their -concurrence in that vote, who sent answer that they did readily concur. - -Then an address was made to the King by the Lords of the White Staves, -to know when both Houses might wait upon his Majesty, to give him -thanks for communicating unto them, the designs of Argyle, and to -present their declaration upon the subject matter of his traiterous -declaration. - -The King’s answer was, that he would be waited upon at 5 of the clock -in the afternoon in the banquetting house. - -Then the house adjourned till Monday. - -Both houses attended the King at the banquetting house at 5 of the -clock on Saturday. - -[This journal is all in the Bishop of Norwich’s (Dr. Lloyd) own -hand.]”--_MS. in the University Library, Cambridge._ - - - No. XIV.--Vol. II., p. 139. - -James, towards the close of the year 1687, contemplated the calling of -a Parliament. There is a collection of papers in the Bodleian Library, -Oxford, to which my attention has been directed by the learned and -courteous librarian, the Rev. Mr. Coxe, containing interrogations, -addressed to Justices of the Peace and others, as to whether persons -were likely to be returned who would pledge themselves to vote for -taking off the tests and penal laws respecting religion. The following -extract from a letter by John Eston, dated Bedford, November 22, 1687, -is very curious:--“My Lord,--Since your honour spake with me at Bedford -I have conferred with the heads of the Dissenters, and particularly -with Mr. Margetts and Mr. Bunyon, whom your Lordship named to me. The -first of these was Judge Advocate in the Army under the Lord General -Monk, when the late King was restored; the other is the pastor to the -dissenting congregation in this town. I find them all to be unanimous -for electing only such members of Parliament as will certainly vote -for repealing all the tests and penal laws touching religion, and they -hope to steer all their friends and followers accordingly; so that if -the Lord Lieutenant will cordially assist with his influence over the -Church party, there cannot be in human reason any doubt of our electing -two such members.” Again, December 6, 1687, the same writer says:--“The -Dissenters are firm for us, but the Churchmen are implacable against -us.”--_MSS., Vol. I., Penal Laws of Test._ - - - - - INDEX. - - - Abney, i. 431 - - Acts, Indemnity and Oblivion, i. 126 - Uniformity, 187, 229, 245–255 - Effects of the Act, 261, 270 - Conventicle, 322–327, 388 - Five Mile, 345–354 - Test, 425–428 - For better observance of Lord’s Day, 465 - For Improvement of Small Livings, 467 - - Adams, Alderman, i. 148 - - Adda, D’, Papal Nuncio, ii. 109, 129, 132 - - Albemarle, Duke of, _see_ Monk - - Alleine, Joseph, i. 264 - His Writings, ii. 443 - His spiritual life, 494–497 - - Allybone, one of the Judges at the Bishops’ Trial, ii. 153, 155 - - Alsop, Vincent, ii. 122 - - Ambrose, Isaac, ii. 444 - - Andrewes, Bishop, i. 219; ii. 259, 328, 406 - - Angier, John, i. 291, 484; ii. 218 - - Anglesea, Earl of, i. 114 - - Annesley, Dr., i. 363, 394; ii. 57, 496 - - Ann Hyde, Duchess of York, i. 452 - - Argyle, Earl of, his Trial and Execution, ii. 97 - - Arlington, Lord, _see_ Sir Henry Bennet - - Arminianism, ii. 397, 406–413 - - Army, Discontent of, i. 22, 42 - Petitions, 23, 25 - Violence against Richard, 24 - Difficulty in managing it, 67 - Meets the King at Blackheath, 76 - Disbanding of Old Army, 86 - Its Religious Character, 88 - - Ash, i. 100, 101, 102 - - Ashby, i. 64 - - Ashenden, Thomas, ii. 204 - - Ashley, _see_ Sir A. A. Cooper - - Ashurst, Sir Henry, ii. 95, 248 - - Atkins, Robert, i. 278 - - Atkins, Sir Robert, i. 379 - - Aubony, Lord, i. 51 - - Aubrey, i. 474 - - Axtell, i. 126 - - Aylesbury, Countess of, ii. 57 - - - Bacon, Lord, i. 254; ii. 506 - - Bacon, Sir Edmund, ii. 206 - - Bagshawe, Edward, i. 293 - - Balsh, Justice, ii. 56 - - Bampfield, Francis, ii. 75, 174 - - Baptists, i. 9, 10, 138, 144, 395 - Overtures made by them to Charles, 31 - Forbidden to meet in large numbers, 143 - Not represented at Savoy Conference, 195 - Amongst the ejected, 281 - Persecution of them, 296 - Laws against them, 321 - Their Sufferings, ii. 73, 171 - Treatment of them by James II., 106 - Their Churches, 171 - Particular and General, 172 - Their Confession of Faith, 172 - Strict and Open, 174 - Broadmead Records, 175, 497–500 - Accused of Schism, 320 - - Barclay, David, ii. 377 - - Barclay, Robert, his Friendship with Penn, ii. 377 - Similarity in their Writings, 377 - His Theological Teaching, 378–380 - - Barillon, ii. 114 - - Barkstead, Colonel John, i. 256 - - Barlow, Bishop of Lincoln, i. 379; ii. 192, 197 - His Account of Scheme of Comprehension, i. 381–385 - - Barrow, Dr. Isaac, ii. 251, 395, 436 - His Long Sermons, 211 - His Travels and Studies, 311 - His Theology, 311–315 - His Defence of Protestantism, 316 - His Sermons, 329 - - Bartholomew’s Day, i. 278–282 - - Barton, ii. 457 - - Barwick, Dr., i. 125, 174 - - Barwick, Dr. John, i. 156, 225 - His Correspondence with Clarendon, 36 - Goes to Breda, 71 - His Exertions in Restoration of Cathedrals, ii. 181 - - Basire, Isaac, i. 481 - - Bates, Dr., i. 120, 168, 187, 191, 283, 302, 381, 439; ii. 29, 223 - Commissioner at the Savoy, i. 156, 165, 170 - His Farewell Sermons, 271 - Takes Oath of Non-resistance, 349 - Warrant for his Apprehension, ii. 57 - At Baxter’s Trial, 95 - His Sermons, 212 - His _Spiritual Perfection_, 443 - - Bathurst, Dr. Ralph, ii. 255 - - Baxter, Richard, i. 52, 58, 168, 259, 340, 362, 391, 449, 485, 503; - ii. 26, 122, 214 - Preaches in St. Paul’s, i. 63 - His appointment as Chaplain at Court, 100 - His Address to Charles, 101 - Present at Sion College, 102 - Vindicates his Policy, 106 - His Petition to the King, 107 - At Worcester House, 115 - Buys the King’s Declaration, 117 - Receives the Offer of a Bishopric, 118 - Declines it, 119 - Complains of Letters being Intercepted, 145 - Leader of Presbyterians in Conference, 156, 164–166 - His Objections to the Prayer Book, 170 - His Reformed Liturgy, 180–182 - Composes Rejoinder to Bishops’ Answers, 183 - At Savoy Conference, 185–188 - His Account of his Brother Commissioners, 189 - Described by his Opponents, 190 - His Account of Conference presented to the King, 191 - Leaves the Establishment, 262 - Disapproves of Declaration of Indulgence, 298 - His Independence after being Ejected, 318 - Refuses to take Oath of Non-resistance, 351 - Charged with keeping an Unlawful Conventicle, 393 - His Imprisonment, 394 - Refuses a Pension, 410 - Overtures made to him respecting Comprehension, 438 - Tires of Disputation, ii. 69 - His Trial, 95 - Imprisonment, 96 - Release, 97 - His Views on Baptism, 170 - His Preaching, 210–212 - His Views on Observance of the Sabbath, 234 - His Interest in Missionary Work, 248 - His Writings on the Evidences of Revealed Religion, 391–394 - Incidents in his Early Life, 414 - His Theology, 415–420 - Resemblance between his Teaching and Howe’s, 427 - His Views on Baptism, 430 - On the Lord’s Supper, 432 - On the Ministry, 434 - His share in Anti-Popish Controversy, 436 - Works on Union, 441 - _Christian Directory_, and other Works, 445, 446 - His _Hymns_, 461 - - Beamish, John, i. 409 - - Beaufort, Duke of, ii. 91, 231 - - Beaufort, Duchess of, ii. 231 - - Beaulieu, Luke de, ii. 300 - - Beaumont, Agnes, ii. 227 - - Beaumont, Joseph, ii. 452 - - Beddingfield, Colonel, ii. 248 - - Behmen, Jacob, ii. 483 - - Behn, Aphara, i. 356 - - Bellarmine, ii. 285 - - Bendish, Mrs., i. 431 - - Benlowes, ii. 452 - - Bennet, Sir Henry, Lord Arlington, i. 123; ii. 253 - Secretary of State, i. 293, 308, 336, 391 - Member of the Cabal, 401, 425 - Relinquishes his Secretaryship, 434 - - Berry, Major-General, i. 430 - - Bertie, Peregrine, i. 348 - - Beveridge, ii. 79 - - Biddle, John, the Father of Socinianism, ii. 365 - His Catechism, 367 - - Biggin, ii. 56 - - Billingsley, Nicholas, i. 291 - - Birch, Colonel, i. 153, 379, 380, 386, 418 - - Bishops, i. 83, 148, 248, 284, 463; ii. 204 - Censured by Hyde, i. 36 - Their Loyal Address, 71 - Nine of the Old Régime, 97 - Appointment of New Bishops, 98 - Answer to Proposals made by Presbyterians, 105 - At Worcester House, 114 - New Bishops Consecrated, 131 - At Savoy Conference, 156, 165, 184–188 - Convocation, 173 - Answers to Presbyterians’ Exceptions, 179 - Bill for Restoring them to Upper House, 197 - Take their Seats in Parliament, 209 - Their Revision of Prayer Book, 213, 219–222, 248 - Dioceses in Confusion, 226 - Issue Articles of Visitation, 289 - Effects of their Opposition to King’s Declaration, 300 - Deaths amongst them, 306 - Accounts of some of them, 470–504 - Manner of receiving James’ Declaration, ii. 120–122 - Lambeth Conference, 140 - The _Seven_, 140 - Their Petition, 144 - King’s Displeasure, 147 - Sent to the Tower, 150 - Trial, 153 - Acquittal, 155 - Revenues, 190 - Survey, 207 - - Blackmore, i. 283 - - Blagge, Margaret, _see_ Godolphin - - Blagge, ii. 475 - - Blake, i. 273 - - Blandford, Dr. Walter, i. 494 - - Bloworth, Sir Thomas, i. 148 - - Boscawen, Hugh, i. 153, 155 - - Bowen, i. 432, 433, 442 - - Bowles, Edward, i. 44, 277 - - Boyle, Robert, ii. 248, 249 - - Braham, Richard, i. 157 - - Bramhall, i. 37; ii. 278, 318, 436 - Appointed Archbishop of Armagh, i. 133 - His Death, 307 - His Writings, ii. 303, 304 - - Bramston, Sir John, ii. 130 - - Brewster, i. 432 - - Brideoake, Dr. Ralph, i. 501 - - Bridge, i. 29 - - Bridgeman, Chief Justice, i. 284, 348 - Lord Keeper, 380, 403 - - Bridgeman, Dr., i. 207 - - Bridgwater, Earl of, i. 231 - - Bristol, Earl of, i. 86, 198, 298, 426 - - Broderick, i. 22 - - Broghill, Lord, i. 16, 23, 100 - - Brooks, ii. 443 - - Brown, Sir Richard, i. 148 - - Browne, Sir Thomas, i. 287; ii. 214, 215 - His Religious Life, 485 - His Eccentricity, 486 - His Writings, 488 - - Brownrigg, Bishop of Exeter, i. 37; ii. 142 - - Buckingham, Duke of, i. 73, 75, 77, 86, 230, 245, 427, 434, 457 - Favours Toleration, 352 - A member of the Cabal, 401 - Raises Recruits, 457 - His Speech for a New Parliament, 461 - Committed to the Tower, 462 - Liberated, 462 - His Overtures to Nonconformists, ii. 40 - Chancellor of Cambridge, 253, 254 - - Bull, Bishop of St. David’s, i. 492; ii. 213, 317, 424, 429 - His _Harmonia Apostolica_, 279–282 - Answers to his Book, 283 - His Violent Polemical Spirit, 285 - His _Defensio Fidei Nicenæ_, 285 - His Teaching compared with Barrow’s, 314 - - Bunyan, John, i. 138, 316, 409, 414; ii. 175, 205, 227 - - Burleigh, Cecil, Lord, Comparison between him and Lord Clarendon, - i. 373 - - Burnet, i. 256, 258, 392, 410; ii. 4, 67, 191 - - Burnyeat, John, ii. 492–494 - - Burret, Dr., i. 222 - - Busby, Dr., i. 264 - - - Cabal Ministry, i. 400–403, 416, 434 - - Calamy, Dr. Benjamin, ii. 74 - - Calamy, Dr. Edmund, i. 58, 63, 68, 100, 169, 283, 302 - His Funeral Sermon for Ash, 277 - Offered a Bishopric, 120 - Commissioner at the Savoy, 156, 164, 170, 183 - - Calamy, Dr. (Historian), ii. 117 - - Calvinism, ii. 274, 397–405, 406, 408, 410 - - Campbell, ii. 392 - - Care, Henry, ii. 123 - - Carlile, Lawson, i. 416 - - Carr, Colonel, i. 364 - - Carr, John, ii. 253 - - Cartwright, Thomas, Bishop of Chester, ii. 109, 137, 139, 323 - - Carver, Richard, i. 412 - - Caryl, i. 194, 363, 394 - - Case, i. 68, 69 - Commissioner at the Savoy, 156 - - Castell, ii. 332 - - Castelmaine, Earl of, ii. 104 - - Cathedrals, Injuries Repaired, ii. 180 - Furniture, 184 - Processions, 186 - Worship, 188 - - Catherine of Braganza, Queen of Charles II., i. 268, 275, 276, 294, - 450 - - Cavendish, William, Marquis of Newcastle, ii. 490 - - Cawdray, ii. 444 - - Cellier, ii. 21 - - Chaise, Père la, ii. 3 - - Chamberlayne, ii. 457 - - Chandler, John, i. 290 - - Charles I., i. 84 - Churches named in his honour, 177 - Alexandrian MS. sent to him by Cyrillus, ii. 332 - - Charles II., i. 6, 43, 51, 86, 124, 141, 191, 213, 321, 336, 369, - 392, 424, 435, 441, 457; ii. 2, 10, 18, 45, 141, 187, 245, 300 - Suggestions made to him by his friends, i. 53, 54 - His Letters to Monk and the Commons, 60, 61 - Proclaimed King, 63 - Invited back without conditions, 65–67 - Presbyterian Deputation visit him at the Hague, 68 - His Attachment to the Liturgy, 69 - His Character and Opinions, 73, 74 - Lands at Dover, 75 - Addresses presented to him, 77–80 - His Counsellors, 83 - His Speech to the two Houses, 95 - Appoints Commission to compose Differences in Ecclesiastical - Affairs, 96 - Baxter’s Address to him, 101 - Presbyterian Proposals, 104 - Baxter’s Petition, 107 - At Worcester House, 114–116 - His new Declaration, 117 - Opens New Parliament, 154 - Coronation, 161, 166, 167 - Cabinet Meetings, 201 - Speeches at Opening of Parliaments, 209, 416; ii. 31 - Sanctions Revised Copy of Prayer Book, i. 229 - Aims at a Dispensing Power, 232 - Gives Assent to Uniformity Bill, 245 - Head of Roman Catholic Party who concur in the Act, 252 - Unpopularity of his Government, 267, 268 - His Marriage, 275 - Presbyterians’ Petition, 283 - At Hampton Court, 284 - Holds a Council, 284 - His Declaration of Indulgence, 296, 303, 403–408 - Toleration towards Colonists, 311 - His Disapproval of Dutch War, 344 - Interest in Sufferers by Fire, 359 - Empty Exchequer, 367 - Anxious for Union amongst Protestants, 386 - Grants an Audience to Presbyterians, 390 - His Interviews with Carver and Moore, 412 - Releases Quakers from Prison, 414 - His Popularity Declines, 417 - Gives Assent to Test Act, 427 - Withdraws Declaration of Indulgence, 428 - His Desire for Absolutism, 437 - Suspected of being a Romanist, 450 - Signs a Treaty with Louis XIV., 451 - Proposes Terms of Compromise in reference to Succession, ii. 20 - His Illness, 59 - His despotism, 63 - His Proficiency in Kingcraft, 69 - Offers an Asylum to French Refugees, 76 - Invites his Brother to seat at Council-table, 81 - His Licentiousness, 85 - Scenes at Whitehall, 86 - His Death, 87 - Touches for King’s Evil, 214 - His Visit to Cambridge, 253 - - Charlton, Sergeant, i. 241, 243 - - Charnock, Dr., ii. 212 - - Charrochi, ii. 137 - - Chase, Thomas, ii. 223 - - Chaworth, Dr., i. 222 - - Chelsea College and Hospital, ii. 245 - - Chillingworth, William, his Theological Opinions, ii. 334–336 - - Churches, Architecture, ii. 182 - Furniture, 183 - Vestments and Manner of Worship, 185 - - Churchill, Lord, ii. 128 - - Clagett, ii. 117 - - Clare, Sir Ralph, i. 52 - - Clarendon, _see_ Hyde - - Clark, Samuel, the Episcopalian, ii. 332 - - Clarke, Samuel, the Puritan, i. 121, 349; ii. 332 - Commissioner at Savoy Conference, i. 156, 165, 170 - - Clarkson, David, i. 409 - - Clergy, i. 89, 90, 261; ii. 194 - Their Petitions, i. 99, 321 - Taxation, 329 - Their conduct during the Plague, 336 - Their Miserable Condition, 505 - Ignorance, 507 - Costume, 509 - Character, 510 - Articles of Visitation, 509–512 - Writings against Errors of Church of Rome, ii. 117 - Change in them, 157 - Ecclesiastical Tribunals, 201 - Discipline exercised on them by Bishops, 204 - Private Life, 228 - - Cleveland, Duchess of, i. 500 - - Clewer, ii. 202 - - Cleypole, Lord, i. 18 - - Clifford, Sir Thomas, i. 401, 427, 429, 434 - - Coffee Houses, i. 443 - - Colbert, i. 397, 420, 429 - - Coleman, ii. 3, 6, 9 - - Colledge, Stephen, his Trial and Execution, ii. 45–49 - - Collinges, Dr., ii. 56 - - Collins, Dr., i. 156 - - Colonies, Ecclesiastical Policy towards them, i. 310, 311 - Spiritual Destitution, ii. 247 - Missionary Work, 248 - - Compton, ii. 110, 140 - - Commons, House of, i. 23, 24, 468 - Members excluded by Pride restored, 48 - Solemn League and Covenant reappears, 50 - Letter from the King, 60 - Conference with the Lords, 62 - Debate on Church’s Settlement, 88 - Bill founded on King’s Declaration, 121–124 - Uniformity Bill, 187, 201, 204, 229–244 - Their Intolerance, 250 - Zeal for the Established Church, 303 - Bills against Papists and Nonconformists, 304 - Bill for better Observance of the Sabbath, 305 - Their Opposition to Measures for Comprehension, 386 - Bill for Reviving Conventicle Act, 388 - Country Party Predominant, 418 - Exclusion Bill, 469; ii. 20 - Complain of Trick on Toleration Bill, 30, 32 - Grand Committee of Religion, 93 - James II. annoyed with their Proceedings, 94 - - Conant, Dr., i. 156, 288; ii. 52, 198 - - Convocation, i. 158 - Writs drawn up, 159 - Election of Members, 168 - First Meeting since 1640, 173–178 - Resume their Deliberation, 213–222 - Subscribe Book of Common Prayer, 223 - Accomplish no Alterations in the Canons, 226 - Power diminishes, 331 - - Conway, Lord, i. 141; ii. 41, 43 - - Conyers, Tobias, ii. 410 - - Cooper, Sir Anthony Ashley, Earl of Shaftesbury, i. 34, 56, 86, - 416, 437; ii. 4, 33, 41 - A Member of the Cabal, i. 401 - Lord Chancellor, 403, 426 - Dismissed from Office, 434 - Desires a Dissolution of Parliament, 460 - Supports the Duke of Buckingham, 462 - Committed to the Tower, 462 - Obtains his Liberty, 462 - Accused of entering into a Conspiracy against the King, ii. 50 - His Imprisonment, 50 - Dies in Holland, 50 - Effects of his Schemes, 64 - - Cooper, Dr., i. 156 - - Corbet, John, i. 378 - - Cosin, Dr. John, i. 37, 97, 114, 159, 222, 231, 248, 290, 406; ii. - 236, 278, 320, 436 - Consecrated Bishop of Durham, i. 131 - Commissioner at the Savoy, 156, 163, 184, 188 - Described by Baxter, 189 - His Notes on the Prayer Book, 219, 221 - Account of him, 478–481 - Improves the See of Durham, ii. 191 - His Theological Opinions, 299–301 - Declares against Sectaries, 323 - Preaches abroad, 328 - - Cotterel, Sir Charles, ii. 130 - - Court of Wards, i. 97 - Of Delegates, ii. 200 - High Commission, 200 - Arches, 201 - - Covel, Dr., ii. 81 - - Coventry, Thomas, i. 64 - - Coventry, Sir W., i. 418, 419, 420, 423; ii. 247 - - Crabb, John, i. 294 - - Crabb, Nathaniel, i. 211 - - Crabb, Peter, i. 294 - - Cradock, i. 439 - - Crashaw, Richard, ii. 452 - - Cressey, Hugh Paulin, i. 453 - - Crew, Bishop of Durham, ii. 111, 139 - - Crew, Lord, ii. 490 - - Crisp, Sir Nicholas, i. 148 - - Croft, Herbert, Bishop of Hereford, i. 306, 503; ii. 2, 139, 188, - 192, 193 - Publishes _Naked Truth_, i. 447–449 - Account of him, i. 487; ii. 2 - - Crofton, Zachary, i. 150, 394 - - Cromwell, Henry, i. 17 - - Cromwell, Oliver, i. 49, 85, 347 - Confusion after his Death, 5, 6 - His Acts set aside, 21 - His Corpse disinterred and hanged at Tyburn, 130 - - Cromwell, Richard, i. 20, 26, 140 - Is acknowledged Protector, 15 - His Tolerance, 16 - Calls a Parliament, 17 - His Opening Speech, 18 - Is personally Popular, 22 - Summons a Council, 23 - Is forced to dissolve Parliament, 24 - Retires into Private Life, 27 - Rumour of attempt to restore him, 354 - - Cudworth, Dr. Ralph, ii. 251, 253 - His Intellectual System, 349–352, 387 - - Culpepper, Nicholas, i. 85 - - Cyrillus, ii. 332 - - - Dalgarno, George, ii. 248 - - Danby, Earl of (_see_ Osborne) - - Dangerfield’s Plot, ii. 21, 22 - - Davenant, Bishop, ii. 406 - - Davenport, ii. 412 - - Declaration of Indulgence, i. 296–301, 403–408 - Debate on Declaration, 418 - Withdrawn, 428 - James II.’s Declaration, ii. 118–125 - - Defoe, Daniel, ii. 5 - - Delaune, Thomas, ii. 73 - - Denham, Thomas, i. 313 - - Derby, Countess of, i. 501 - - Derby, Earl of, i. 353, 501 - - Desborough, Colonel John, i. 22, 23, 430 - - Dillingham, i. 225 - - Dobson, ii. 137 - - Dod, i. 484 - - Dodwell, ii. 117 - - Doe, Charles, ii. 205 - - Dolben, John, Bishop of Rochester, i. 478, 498, 499 - - Donne, Dr., ii. 210, 328, 469 - - Doolittle, Thomas, i. 363, 408 - - Douglas, Bishop, ii. 392 - - Drake, Commissioner at the Savoy, i. 156 - - Dryden, ii. 115, 459 - - Dugdale, ii. 49 - - Duppa, Bishop of Salisbury, i. 37, 98 - Translated to Winchester, 131 - His Death, 306 - Expends large Sums in Charity, ii. 192 - - Dutch, i. 344, 366, 402 - Defeated by the English Fleet, 355 - Alarm the Nation again, 366 - - - Earle (or Erle), John, Dean of Westminster, i. 156, 160 - Bishop of Salisbury, 491 - - Ebury, Elizabeth, ii. 115 - - Edwards, Jonathan, ii. 401 - - Eliot, John, Missionary to the Indians, ii. 248, 249 - - Ellwood, ii. 101 - - Episcopalians, i. 5, 34, 39, 52, 53, 77, 93, 94, 161, 292 - Their violence in Elections for New Parliament, 57 - Their Joy at prospect of King’s return, 71 - Recovery of their sway in Parliament, 88 - Their Refusal to make Concessions to the Presbyterians, 105 - Differences between the two Parties, 107–112 - Their Scheme of Comprehension, 381–383 - Secure the Succession to James II., ii. 116 - His Treachery towards them, 116 - Their Cathedrals and Churches, 180–185 - Revenues, 190–198 - Ecclesiastical Courts, 198–205 - Their numbers as compared with Nonconformists, 207 - Contrasts in Preaching, 209 - Their Observance of the Sabbath, 235 - Recreations, 237 - Charities, 243 - Examples of the Teaching of High Anglicans, 268–303 - Semi-Anglicans, 305–311 - Sermon Writers, 328 - Critics, 331 - Liberal Orthodox, 335 - Latitudinarians, 341 - Points of Resemblance between them and the Puritan Divines, 394 - Points of Difference, 396 - Biographical Sketches of Anglicans, 468–491 - - Essex, Earl of, ii. 19 - - Evans, George, ii. 49 - - Evelyn, John, i. 38, 43, 91, 277; ii. 86, 124, 142, 183, 231 - Biographical Sketch of him, 471–474 - His Friendship with Margaret Godolphin, 475–477 - - Ewins, Thomas, ii. 497, 500 - - - Fairfax, Lord, i. 313 - - Fairfax, Dr., ii. 134 - - Fairfull, Archbishop of Glasgow, i. 227 - - Falconbridge, Lord, i. 23, 27 - - Falconbridge, Lady, ii. 28 - - Falkland, i. 67 - - Fanshaw, Sir Richard, ii. 251 - - Farindon, Anthony, his Theological Teaching, ii. 339–341 - - Farmer, Anthony, ii. 133 - - Faucet, John, i. 433 - - Feake, i. 140 - - Featley, Dr. Daniel, i. 91 - - Fell, John, Bishop of Oxford, ii. 196, 257, 332 - - Ferne, Dr. Henry, Dean of Ely, i. 175 - Promoted to the Bishopric of Chester, 225 - - Feversham, Lord, ii. 87 - - Fiennes, i. 16 - - Fifth Monarchy Men, i. 5, 41, 140, 144, 325 - - Finch, Sir Heneage, i. 435, 437; ii. 234 - - Finch, Sir John, i. 141 - - Fire of London, i. 357–362 - - Firman, Thomas, ii. 246 - - Flavel, John, his _Husbandry Spiritualized_, i. 318; ii. 444 - - Fleetwood, i. 17, 22, 26, 48, 430 - His Power, 25, 34 - - Fogg, Dr., i. 288; ii. 61 - - Ford, i. 65 - - Ford, Sir Richard, i. 148 - - Ford, Simon, ii. 457 - - Foster, Lady, ii. 256 - - Foulke, Alderman, i. 148 - - Fownes, ii. 176 - - Fox, George, i. 258, 415 - Petitions Charles for Release of Quakers, 275 - The Father of Quakerism, ii. 369 - - Frampton, ii. 233 - - Francis, Alban, ii. 132 - - Francklin, ii. 201 - - Frankland, ii. 226 - - Franklin, i. 363 - - French Protestants, ii. 76–81 - - Frewen, Accepted, Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, i. 98 - Promoted to the Archbishopric of York, 131 - Member of Savoy Conference, 156, 165 - His Death, 495 - Authorship of _Whole Duty of Man_ ascribed to him, ii. 330 - - Fuller, Andrew, ii. 419 - - Fuller, Dr. Thomas, i. 479; ii. 442 - - Fuller, Dr. William, ii. 196 - - Fulwood, i. 103 - - - Gale, Theophilus, his Writings on Evidences of Natural Religion, - ii. 387 - - Garroway, i. 418, 421 - - Garthwaite, Thomas, ii. 457 - - Gasches, i. 52 - - Gataker, ii. 283, 284, 446 - - Gauden, John, i. 58, 114, 140, 150, 160, 230, 474 - Consecrated Bishop of Exeter, 131, 132 - Commissioner at the Savoy, 156, 163 - Described by Baxter, 189 - His Death, 306 - - Gaunt, Elizabeth, her Trial and Execution, ii. 98–100 - - Germain, St., i. 458 - - Gibbons, Grinling, ii. 189 - - Giffard, Bonaventura, ii. 139 - - Gifford, i. 439 - - Glanvill, Joseph, ii. 356 - - Glemham, Henry, Bishop of St. Asaph, i. 499 - - Gloucester, Duke of, i. 75, 77 - - Glynne, John, i. 152, 153 - - Godden, i. 117 - - Godfrey, Sir Edmondbury, ii. 3, 5, 8 - - Godolphin, Sidney, ii. 475 - - Godolphin, Margaret, ii. 231 - Her Piety, 475–478 - - Goodridge, Richard, ii. 457 - - Goodwin, John, ii. 418 - An Arminian, ii. 407 - His Theological Opinions, 407, 409, 410, 450 - - Goodwin, Dr. Thomas, i. 294, 363; ii. 418, 419, 450 - His Views on Baptism, ii. 170 - Stand-points in his Theology: _Faith_, 397 - _Election_, 398 - _Regeneration_, 400 - His Works compared with Owen’s, 401 - His Views on Baptism, 430 - On the Lord’s Supper, 432 - His Commentaries, 447 - - Gordon, Catherine, ii. 377 - - Gother, John i. 453; ii. 117 - - Gough, Major-General, i. 259, 260 - - Gouge, ii. 246 - - Gower, Dr., i. 489 - - Gower, Sir Thomas, i. 313 - - Graffen, i. 150 - - Grafton, Duke of, ii. 130 - - Greathead, Thomas, i. 312 - - Greene, i. 283 - - Gregory, ii. 194 - - Greenhill, ii. 447 - - Grenville, Sir John, i. 60 - - Griffin, i. 211 - - Griffith, Bishop of St. Asaph, i. 290, 499 - - Griffiths, i. 363; ii. 65 - - Grimston, Mrs., her death, ii. 232 - - Grimston, Sir Harbottle, i. 61; ii. 232 - Speaker of Convention Parliament, i. 58 - Member of New Parliament, 153 - Sketch of his Life, 506 - - Grindal, Bishop, i. 217, 254 - - Grosvenor, Sir Thomas, ii. 115 - - Grotius, ii. 279 - - Grove, i. 319; ii. 140 - - Guilford, _see_ North - - Gunning, Peter, Bishop of Ely, i. 115, 220, 449, 502; ii. 11, 355 - At Savoy Conference, i. 156, 163, 187 - Described by Baxter, 189 - His Intolerance, 397 - His Death and Character, 489 - - Gurnal, i. 288; ii. 442 - - Gwynn, Nell, ii. 87, 141, 246 - - - Hacker, i. 126, 202 - - Hacket, John, Bishop of Lichfield, i. 156, 248, 502 - Account of him, 481–483 - Labours in Restoration of his Cathedral, 481; ii. 180 - - Hagger, i. 476 - - Haines, ii. 115 - - Hale, Sir Matthew, i. 62, 68, 124, 202, 380; ii. 214 - Draws up Comprehension Bill, i. 384 - Sketch of his Life, ii. 478–481 - - Hales, Sir Edward, ii. 108 - - Hales, John, his Theological Teaching, ii. 338, 406 - - Halifax, Viscount, ii. 19, 93, 104 - His Character, 41 - A “Trimmer,” 42 - - Hall, George, Bishop of Chester, i. 263, 306 - - Hall, Dr., ii. 196, 198 - - Hamilton, Bishop of Galloway, i. 227 - - Hammond, Dr., i. 52; ii. 278, 330, 386 - His Intimacy with Sanderson, 306 - His Doctrinal Opinions, 307 - His _Practical Catechism_, 307 - His _Paraphrase_ and _Annotations_, 287, 333 - - Hampden, i. 67 - - Hanmer, Mrs., ii. 220 - - Harcourt, Count D’, ii. 76 - - Harcourt, Sir Philip, i. 464 - - Harding, Thomas, ii. 223 - - Hardy, i. 58 - Preaches before the King at the Hague, 70 - - Hardy, Matthew, i. 199 - - Harrington, John, ii. 186 - - Harrison, Major-General, i. 5 - His Trial and Execution, 128 - - Hart, Theophilus, ii. 202 - - Hartlib, Samuel, ii. 216 - - Hartopp, Sir John, i. 430 - - Haselrig, Sir Arthur, i. 5, 17, 20, 25, 34, 58, 126 - - Hatton, Sir Christopher, ii. 191 - - Havers, Henry, ii. 102 - - Hawes, Richard, i. 292 - - Haywood, Dr., i. 170 - - Heber, Bishop, ii. 294, 299 - - Hellier, ii. 176 - - Henchman, Dr. Humphrey, i. 222, 290, 491 - His appointment to the Bishopric of Salisbury, 131 - Commissioner at the Savoy, 156 - Described by Baxter, 189 - His Translation to the Bishopric of London, 492 - His Death, 493 - - Henrietta, Maria, i. 84, 268 - - Henrietta, Duchess of Orleans, i. 451 - - Henry, Philip, i. 65, 138, 206, 207, 409, 512 - His Difficulty with regard to Act of Uniformity, 263, 264 - His Refusal to take Oath of Non-Resistance, 352 - His Hospitality, ii. 219 - His Home Life, 200 - - Henshaw, Joseph, Bishop of Peterborough, i. 493 - - Herbert, Sir Henry, ii. 393 - - Herbert, Lord, ii. 393 - - Herbert, George, ii. 237, 393 - - Hermann, Archbishop of Cologne, i. 216 - - Herrick, Robert, ii. 461 - - Heylyn, Dr. Peter, i. 112, 131, 158, 161; ii. 309, 316, 317, 395 - Commissioner at the Savoy, i. 156 - His Theology, ii. 288, 289 - - Heyricke, i. 283 - - Heywood, Nathaniel, i. 431; ii. 218 - - Heywood, Oliver, i. 207, 351, 409; ii. 160, 226 - His Imprisonment, 71 - Family Meeting, 218 - - Hickeringhill, i. 505 - - Hicks, ii. 98 - - Hobbes, The Malmesbury Philosopher, ii. 270, 304, 362 - - Hoghton, Sir Charles, ii. 224 - - Hoghton, Lady, ii. 224 - - Holcroft, Francis, i. 316 - - Holden, ii. 136 - - Holdsworth, ii. 160 - - Holles (or Hollis), i. 58, 86, 114 - - Holloway, one of the Judges at Baxter’s trial, ii. 153, 155 - - Hook, William, i. 286, 301, 302 - - Hooker, Richard, ii. 268, 277, 429 - His _Ecclesiastical Polity_, 298, 324, 328, 434 - - Hookes, Ellis, i. 415 - - Horne, John, ii. 409 - - Horton, Dr., i. 156, 288 - - Hough, Dr. John, ii. 133–138 - - Howard, Lord, i. 23, 187 - - Howe, John, i. 26, 138, 194; ii. 29, 71, 103, 122, 223, 224, 426 - His Difficulties with respect to the Act of Uniformity, i. 264 - In Lord Massarene’s Family, 317 - Defends cause of Nonconformists, ii. 27 - Expostulates with Tillotson, 27 - His Interview with the Duke of Buckingham, 40 - His Sermon on Controversy, 69 - His Writings on Evidences of Natural Religion, 388–390 - His Puritanism, 421 - His System of Theology, 421 - Resemblance between his Teaching and Baxter’s, 427 - His Original Power, 429 - His Views on Baptism, 432 - - Hubberthorn, Richard, i. 275 - - Huish, Alexander, ii. 332 - - Hyde, Edward, Earl of Clarendon, i. 31, 71, 86, 95, 101, 105, 154, - 159, 198, 231, 299, 311, 328; ii. 248 - His Correspondence with Dr. Barwick, i. 36–38 - Prime Minister, 83 - His Attachment to Episcopal Church, 84 - Proposes a Meeting between the Court and Presbyterians, 114 - His Desire for the Restoration of the Establishment, 125 - His Interview with Presbyterians, 190 - Answerable for the Severity of the Act of Uniformity, 250 - Opposes King’s Declaration, 300 - Disapproves of Dutch War, 344 - Resigns the Great Seal, 368 - His Impeachment, 369 - His Letter to his Daughter, 370 - His Character, 371 - Comparison between him and Lord Burleigh, 373, 374 - His object, the Establishment of the Episcopal Church and - Crushing of Dissent, 374 - - Hyde, Laurence, Earl of Rochester, ii. 41, 43 - Appointed Lord Treasurer, 92 - Dismissed from Office, 105 - - Hyde, Dr. Alexander, i. 491 - - Hymnology, ii. 451 - - - Ince, i. 319 - - Independents, during the Protectorate, i. 9 - Their Meetings, 29 - Lose their Political Influence, 48, 193 - Their Address to the King, 79 - Protest against Vernier’s Insurrection, 144 - Their Ejection, 281 - Their Hopes revive at King’s Declaration, 297 - Return Thanks for Indulgence, 408 - Their Numbers diminished, ii. 164 - Their Declaration of Faith, 166–168 - compared with Presbyterians, 168–170 - With Baptists, 171 - Accused of Schism, 320 - - Ingoldsby, i. 59, 60 - - Innocent XI., ii. 104–131 - - Ireland, i. 37 - Consecration of Irish Bishops, 133 - James II. establishes a Roman Catholic Hierarchy in Ireland, - ii. 114 - - Ireton, Henry, i. 130 - - Ironside, Gilbert, Bishop of Bristol, i. 494 - - Isle of Man, i. 134 - - - Jackson, Commissioner at the Savoy, i. 156 - - Jacomb, Dr. Thomas, i. 120, 317 - Commissioner at the Savoy Conference, 156, 165, 170, 187 - His Farewell Sermon, 272 - Preaches in London after the Fire, 363 - His Views on Baptism, 432 - His Death, 505 - - James, Duke of York, afterwards James II., i. 75, 304, 328, 425; - ii. 11, 21, 101 - Supports Provisions for Uniformity, i. 252 - Approves of Dutch War, 344 - His Energy at the time of the Fire, 359 - Pleads on behalf of Clarendon, 368 - Becomes a Roman Catholic, 452 - His Interview with Bishops, ii. 15 - Exclusion Bill, 20, 23, 25 - Bill dropped, 33 - Becomes a Member of the Council, 81 - Present at Death of Charles, 87 - Meets his Privy Councillors, 89 - His Duplicity, 90 - Declares himself a Roman Catholic, 90 - His Coronation, 92 - His Annoyance with proceedings of House of Commons, 94 - Violates the Constitution of his Country, 105 - His Treatment of the Persecuted Sects, 106 - His Declaration of Indulgence, 107, 119–125 - His Policy, 108–118 - His Attempt to establish Popery, 113–118 - Receives D’Adda as the Pope’s Ambassador, 129 - His anxiety for Promotion of Romanists, 131 - Dissolves Parliament, 132 - His Attack on the Universities, 132 - Visits Oxford, 135 - His Second Declaration, 139 - His Displeasure with the _Seven_ Bishops, 147 - Prosecutes them for a Misdemeanour, 149 - - Jeffreys, Judge, ii. 72, 98, 111, 132, 134 - A Member of the Council, 81 - Proposes Release of Popish Recusants, 82 - His Political Power, 93 - His Behaviour at Baxter’s Trial, 95 - - Jenkins, Sir Leoline, ii. 41, 43, 51, 59, 247 - - Jenkyn, William, ii. 84 - - Jermyn, Henry, ii. 104 - - Jessy, i. 211; ii. 175 - - Jews, Bill for their Suppression, i. 19 - - Jones, Colonel Philip, i. 16 - - Jordan, Elizabeth, ii. 175 - - Juxon, Dr., Bishop of London, i. 97, 174 - His Translation to Canterbury, 131 - Crowns and anoints Charles II., 160, 167 - His Death, 307 - - - Keach, Benjamin, ii. 444 - His Hymns, 465, 467 - - Keeling, Sergeant, i. 202, 203, 349 - - Ken, Thomas, Bishop of Bath and Wells, ii. 87, 97, 278, 469 - One of the _Seven_ Bishops, 141, 145 - - Kiffin, William, i. 211, 212; ii. 127, 175 - - Kildare, John, Earl of, ii. 225 - - Killegrew, Sir William, i. 54 - - King, Lancaster Herald, ii. 207 - - King, Henry, Bishop of Chichester, i. 98; ii. 457 - Commissioner at the Savoy, i. 156, 160 - - - Lake, Bishop of Chichester, one of the _Seven_ Bishops, ii. 140, 147 - - Lamb, Philip, i. 274 - - Lambert, i. 33, 44, 87, 126 - Dissolves Remains of Long Parliament, 39, 40 - His Outbreak, 58 - Taken Prisoner, 59 - His Son, ii. 225 - - Laney, Dr. Benjamin, i. 503 - Appointed Bishop of Peterborough, 132 - Commissioner at the Savoy, 156 - Translated to Lincoln, then to Ely, 488; ii. 191 - - Latitudinarians, their Theology, ii. 262 - At Cambridge, 267, 341–344 - Expounders of their Tenets, 344–354 - Term Latitudinarian applied to holders of very different - Opinions, 359–369 - - Lauderdale, a Member of the Cabal, i. 401, 427, 434 - - Lawson, George, ii. 410 - - Lee, Sir Thomas, i. 418 - - Leighton, Bishop of Dunblaine, i. 227 - - Leighton, Sir Ellis, ii. 115 - - Lenthall, i. 42, 126 - - Lesley, Henry, i. 133 - - L’Estrange, Hamon, i. 181; ii. 323 - - L’Estrange, Sir Roger, i. 269; ii. 45, 62, 84 - - Letters intercepted, i. 145, 151 - - Lewis, i. 58 - - Ley, Earl of Marlborough, ii. 490 - - Lightfoot, Dr., i. 156, 288 - His Biblical learning, ii. 353 - - Lisle, Lady Alicia, her Trial and Execution, ii. 98 - - Littleton, Sir Charles, i. 145 - - Lloyd, William, Bishop of St. Asaph, i. 500; ii. 5, 28 - One of the _Seven_ Bishops, 141, 142, 146 - - Lloyd, William, Bishop of Llandaff, i. 132 - Translated to Peterborough, and then to Norwich, 502; ii. 28, 204 - - Lobb, Stephen, ii. 122 - - Locke, John, i. 292, 422 - Expelled from Oxford, ii. 257 - - Lords, House of, Charles’ Letter from Breda, i. 61 - Conferences between the two Houses, 62 - Bill for restoring Prelates, 198, 199 - Uniformity Bill, 204 - Bill for repealing Statutes concerning Jesuits and - Nonconformists, 205 - Pretended Plots reported, 210 - Appoint Committee for Revision of Prayer Book, 219 - Uniformity Bill, 229, 230, 232, 235, 241 - Less intolerant than the Commons, 250 - Bills against Papists and Nonconformists not sanctioned by them, - 304 - Disapprove of Exclusion Bill, ii. 11 - - Louis XIV., i. 355, 397, 420, 429; ii. 12, 76, 114 - His Treaty with Charles II., i. 451 - - Love, Alderman, i. 148, 419, 421 - - Lucy, Bishop of St. David, i. 132 - - Ludlow, Edmund, i. 5, 20 - Supports Republicanism, 58 - Flies to Vevay, 258 - - Luzancy, i. 458 - - Lye, Thomas, i. 278 - - - Manchester, Earl of, i. 58, 85, 100, 114, 283, 380 - - Mansel, Colonel, ii. 21 - - Manton, Dr., i. 16, 18, 68, 115, 120, 283, 302, 394, 408, 439; - ii. 223 - Commissioner at the Savoy, i. 156, 190 - Preaches in London after the Fire, 362 - His account of Interview between the King and Presbyterians, 390 - His Imprisonment, 397 - His Commentaries, ii. 447 - - Markham, Major, i. 367 - - Marten, Henry, tried as a Regicide, i. 129 - Dies in Prison, 130, 232 - - Martindale, Adam, i. 119 - - Marvell, Andrew, i. 222 - His Satires, 446, 449, 464 - - Mary of Modena, Queen of James II., i. 452; ii. 90, 92 - - Mason, John, ii. 462–464 - - Massarene, Lord, i. 317 - - Massey, John, ii. 109 - - Maynard, Sir John, i. 145, 152, 153, 203 - - Mazarin, i. 58; ii. 76 - - Mead, William, i. 398 - - Meades, Dr., ii. 201 - - Meal Tub Plot, ii. 21, 22 - - Meres, Sir Thomas, i. 418, 420; ii. 94 - - Mew, Bishop of Winchester, ii. 97 - - Middleton, Sir Thomas, i. 33, 34 - - Milles, Isaac, i. 510 - - Milton, John, ii. 285, 452 - His Lament for the Commonwealth, i. 47 - His Theological Opinions; ii. 362–365 - His Translation of Psalms, 458 - - Milton, Sir Christopher, brother of the Poet, ii. 115 - - Mompesson, i. 341 - - Monk, i. 68, 77, 114, 141, 230, 245, 475 - His Military Power, 44 - Believed to be a Republican, 45 - Issues Writs for re-filling Parliament, 46 - Addresses Parliament, 48 - Declares his devotion to Charles, 56 - His Character, 56 - Hastens the Restoration, 62 - Meets the King at Dover, 75 - Invested with the Order of the Garter, 76 - Created Duke of Albemarle, 86 - His Burial in Westminster Abbey, ii. 187 - - Monk, Nicholas, Bishop of Hereford, i. 306, 487 - - Monmouth, Duke of, ii. 33, 49 - His pretensions to the Crown, 60, 62 - His Execution, 97 - Chancellor of Cambridge in 1674, 254 - - Moore, Thomas, i. 413–415 - - More, Henry, his Mysticism, ii. 385, 454 - His Religious Life and Character, 482–485 - - Morley, Dr., i. 52, 169, 231, 245, 248, 435, 437, 502; ii. 15, 320 - Appointed Bishop of Worcester, i. 131 - Commissioner at the Savoy, 156, 163 - Preaches at Coronation, 160, 167 - Described by Baxter, 189 - Bishop of Winchester from 1662 to 1684, 435, 477 - His Inconsistencies, 439 - His Old Age, 478 - His _Vindication_; ii. 36 - Expends Money in Charity, 192 - His Theological Learning, 302 - - Morrice, Secretary, i. 122, 124 - - Morton, Bishop of Durham, i. 388, 487 - - Moulin, Lewis du, ii. 44, 102 - - Muggletonians, ii. 208 - - Mylles, Dr., ii. 195 - - Mystics, ii. 262, 369–385, 482 - - - Neile, Dr. John, ii. 197 - - Nelson, Robert, ii. 115 - - Nelson, Lady Theophila, ii. 115 - - Neville, i. 19 - - Newcastle, Duke of, ii. 58 - - Newcome, Henry, i. 65, 353; ii. 242 - - Newcomen, Commissioner at the Savoy, i. 156, 165, 170 - - Newton, George, i. 274; ii. 494 - - Newton, Isaac, ii. 132 - - Nicholas, Sir Edward, i. 85, 123, 124, 293 - - Nicholas, John, i. 157 - - Nicholson, William, Bishop of Gloucester, i. 492 - - Nonconformists, i. 57, 144, 149, 207, 292, 384 - Their Sufferings, 135–138 - Accused of being Disaffected, 210 - Act of Uniformity, 255 - Effects of the Act, 261 - Their Farewell Sermons, 271–275, 278, 279 - Their Ejectment, 278, 282, 286 - Bills against them, 304 - Their Assemblies treated as Revolutionary, 308 - Nonconformists in the Colonies, 311 - Informers against them, 313 - Their Places of Worship, 314–316 - Ejected Ministers, 316–320, 336, 362 - Their Sufferings from Conventicle Act, 322–327, 388 - From Five Mile Act, 345–354 - New Conventicle Act, 395–398 - A change in feeling towards them, 400 - Declaration of Indulgence affected them, 404 - Receive Pecuniary Assistance from the Crown, 411 - Measures for their Relief, 421–424 - How affected by Test Act and Cancelling of Declaration, 429 - Their changeful Fortunes, 442 - Their dislike of Romanism, 454 - Conformist’s Plea for them, ii. 37 - Duke of Buckingham’s Overtures to them, 40 - Renewed Persecution of them, 41, 50–59, 71–75, 100–103 - Disposition of Government towards them, 95 - Their manner of receiving James’ Declaration, 122–128 - Their Places of Worship, 205 - Relative number of Conformists and Nonconformists, 207 - Contrasts in Preaching, 209 - Family Life, 217–226 - Family Persecution, 227 - Accused of Schism, 320 - Their Observance of the Sabbath, 234 - Recreations, 241 - - Nonconformity, its growth, i. 375–377; ii. 159–179 - - Norfolk, Duke of, ii. 90 - - North, Dr. John, ii. 230, 251 - - North, Roger, ii. 181, 193 - - North, Sir Francis, Baron Guilford, ii. 46, 81–84 - - Northumberland, Earl of, i. 229, 294 - - Nowell, Charles, ii. 226 - - Nye, Philip, i. 45, 91, 194, 297 - - - Oates, Thomas, i. 312 - - Oates, Titus, his Extravagant Stories, ii. 6, 7, 49, 95, 143 - - Okey, Colonel, i. 60, 256 - - Oldham, John, ii. 459 - - Ormond, Duke of, i. 84, 86, 114, 284; ii. 93, 255 - - Ormond, Lady, i. 141 - - Orrery, Earl of, i. 438 - - Osborne, Thomas, Earl of Danby, i. 348 - Minister of Charles II., i. 434; ii. 2 - His Policy, 435, 436, 463 - His Fall, ii. 2 - His Impeachment, 13, 19 - - Osmund, Bishop of Salisbury, i. 214 - - Outram, i. 439 - - Overall, Bishop, i. 219 - - Overton, Major-General, i. 21 - - Owen, Dr. John, i. 18, 29, 45, 194, 411, 430, 433; ii. 26, 65, 212, - 222, 365, 367, 419 - His Opinion on the Power of Magistrates and Maintenance of - Ministers, i. 30, 31 - His removal from Deanery of Christ Church, 50 - Means of Support after his Ejection, 316 - His Refusal to take Oath of Non-Resistance, 351 - His loyal Address, 408; - His Answer to Parker’s Attack on Nonconformists, 446 - His Illness, ii. 69, 223 - His Death, 70 - His Views on Baptism, 170, 430 - On the Observance of the Sabbath, 235 - His Writings on the Evidences of Revealed Religion, 390 - His Works compared with Thomas Goodwin’s, 401 - His Treatise on the _Doctrine of Justification_, 401 - His Views on Election and Particular Redemption, 403–405 - His Defence of Nonconformity, 440 - His Commentaries, 447 - - Oxford, _see_ Universities - - - Packington, Sir John, i. 145, 212 - - Packington, Lady, ii. 330 - - Palmer, i. 309 - - Parker, Samuel, his Attack on Nonconformists, i. 444–447 - Appointed to the Bishopric of Oxford, ii. 109 - Nominated President of Magdalen, 134–138 - - Parliament, i. 38, 303, 361 - Opening of Richard Cromwell’s Parliament, i. 18 - Debates, 19–24 - Its Dissolution, 24 - Members of Long summoned to resume their places, 24 - Its Dissolution by Lambert, 39 - Again restored, 42 - Convention Parliament, 57 - Letter to the King, 63 - Ecclesiastical proceedings, 88–95 - Acts of Indemnity and Oblivion, 126 - Elections for a New Parliament, 147–152 - Assembles, 154 - Order League and Covenant to be burnt, 196 - Bill against Quakers, 197 - For restoring Prelates, 197 - For governing Corporations, 199 - For Restoration of Ecclesiastical Courts, 200 - Parliament Reassembles, 209 - Reports respecting Plots, 212 - Conventicle Acts, 322–327, 396 - At Oxford during the Plague, 343 - Five Mile Act, 345–354 - Debate on Declaration, 418 - Relief Bill, 421-424 - Test Act, 425 - Cancel Declaration, 429 - New Test, 436 - Comprehension, 438–440 - Debate on a Dissolution, 461 - Four Lords sent to the Tower, 462 - Bills against Popery, 463 - Act for Better Observance of Lord’s Day, 465 - For Repeal of the law _De Hæretico Comburendo_, 467 - Exclusion Bill, ii. 10 - Parliament Dissolved, 13 - Third Parliament Meets and Dissolves, 20 - Fourth Parliament, 20 - Dangerfield’s Plot, 21 - Exclusion Bill, 23–25 - Bill for Comprehension, 29 - Bill for Toleration laid aside by a trick, 30 - Fifth Parliament, 31 - Exclusion Bill, 32 - Assembling of James II.’s Parliament, 93 - Its Dissolution, 132 - Parliamentary Returns, 201 - - Pascal, Blaise, i. 277, 455 - - Patrick, Dr. John, ii. 457 - - Patrick, Simon, i. 338; ii. 140, 354 - - Paul, Thomas, ii. 175 - - Paul, William, Bishop of Oxford, i. 490 - - Paul’s, St., i. 357; ii. 181 - - Payne, ii. 70 - - Peachell, Dr. John, ii. 132 - - Pearce, Dr. Thomas, i. 174 - - Pearson, John, Bishop of Chester, i. 175, 485, 503; ii. 289 - Commissioner at Savoy Conference, i. 156, 163 - Described by Baxter, 189 - His Theological Teaching, ii. 308, 311 - - Peirce, Sir Edmond, i. 204 - - Pell, i. 221 - - Pembroke, Earl of, i. 230 - - Penn, William, i. 129, 398; ii. 101, 125 - Charges against him, 126 - Incidents in his Early Life, 369 - His Exposition of the Doctrine of Inward Light, 371-374 - Travels with Fox, 375 - His Colony in America, 375 - His Intimacy with Barclay, 377 - - Pennington, Isaac, i. 129 - - Pepys, Samuel, i. 47, 68, 258, 271, 340, 380–386; ii. 115 - - Perinchief, Dr., i. 378 - - Peterborough, Earl of, i. 115 - - Peters, Hugh, i. 45 - His Execution, 128 - - Petre, Father, ii. 104, 131 - - Pett, Sir Peter, i. 292, 484 - - Petties, Sir John, i. 432 - - Piers, or Pearce, Bishop of Bath and Wells, i. 97 - - Pierrepoint, i. 58 - - Plague, The, i. 333, 343 - - Plots, Rumours of, i. 292–295, 312 - Popish, ii. 1-10 - Meal Tub, 21 - Rye House, 64 - - Pocock, ii. 332 - - Pokanoket, Indian Chief, i. 260 - - Pool (or Poole), Matthew, his _Synopsis_, i. 410; ii. 354, 446 - - Pory, Dr., i. 177 - - Powell, one of the Judges at the Bishops’ Trial, ii. 153, 155 - - Powis, Lady, ii. 21 - - Powys, ii. 153 - - Prayer Book, Reintroduced, i. 91 - Commission for Revising it, 155 - Exceptions taken to the Liturgy, 170–173 - Bishops’ Answers to Exceptions, 179 - Baxter’s Additions, 180–182 - Discussions on Liturgy, 184, 187 - Search for Edward’s Prayer Book, 201 - Its Revision, 213 - History of the Book, 214–219 - Alterations made, 220–222 - Adopted and Subscribed, 223 - Revised Copy sanctioned by the King, 229 - Attached to Act of Uniformity, 244 - Revised Edition published, 260 - Episcopalians’ Attachment to it, ii. 323 - - Presbyterianism, i. 68, 88 - Its Revival, 20 - Re-established as the National Religion, 49 - Innovations in the Old System, ii. 159–163 - Differences between Independency and Presbyterianism, 168 - Resemblances, 170 - - Presbyterians, during the Protectorate, i. 5, 8, 10 - In Richard Cromwell’s Parliament, 17 - Their Loyalty to the Stuarts, 33 - Their Rising put down by Republicans, 33 - Contend for Solemn League, 41 - Power again in their hands, 48 - Principal Instruments in Charles’ Restoration, 51 - Their Influence over Monk, 51 - Union between them and Episcopalians thought to be possible, 53 - Their wish to control the King, 55 - Their Efforts in Elections for a New Parliament, 57 - Deputation visit Charles at the Hague, 68 - Their Intolerance, 69 - Are kept in Suspense, 83 - Their Clergy Displaced, 89 - Chaplains appointed at Court, 100 - Meetings at Sion College, 102–107 - Their anxiety for Union, 102 - Their Proposals, 103 - Defend their Proposals, 106 - Receives a Draft of Royal Declaration, 107 - Difference between the two parties, 107–112 - Divines at Worcester House, 115 - Present an Address to the King, 120 - Change in their Affairs, 125 - Numerous in Convention Parliament, 147 - Not well represented in New Parliament, 152 - Commissioners at Savoy Conference, 155 - Their Exceptions to Liturgy, 172–173 - Their Rejoinder to Bishops’ Answers, 183 - Their Debate with Bishops, 184–187 - Interview with Clarendon, 190 - Their Attachment to the Covenant, 237 - Their Conduct with regard to the Act of Uniformity, 263 - Their Petition for Redress, 283 - Some Conform, 288 - Some remain in the Establishment without Conforming, 290 - Disapprove of Declaration, 298 - Scheme of Comprehension as Modified by them, 383 - Their Interview with the King, 390 - Differ in their Opinion of the Declaration, 406 - Their Desire for _Accommodation_, 439 - Persecuted, ii. 71 - Become more Tolerant, 163 - Thorndike accuses them of Schism, 320 - - Pride, Thomas, i. 130 - - Prideaux, Bishop of Worcester, ii. 288 - - Prynne, William, i. 24, 43, 89, 121, 153, 455 - - Psalms, New Versions, ii. 457–459 - - Pudsey, Dr., ii. 135 - - Puritanism, Failure of Puritanism as a Political Institution, i. 1-6 - Its Ecclesiastical Aspect, 7–11 - Its Spiritual Aspect, 11-13 - - Puritans, ii. 262–265 - Their Works on Evidences, 386–394 - Points of Resemblance between them and the Anglican Divines, 394 - Points of Difference, 396 - Divided into Three Classes: - Calvinistic, 397; - Arminian, 406–413; - Intermediate, 414 - Their Opinions on the Nature of Sacraments, 430 - On the Ministry and Ordination, 434 - Their Controversies, 435 - Practical Theology, 442–446 - Expositors, 446 - Examples of their Piety, 494–505 - - - Quakers, opposed to Union of Church and State, i. 9 - Bill for their Suppression, 19 - Their Sufferings, 137, 138; ii. 75, 101 - Forbidden to meet in large numbers, i. 143 - Bill against them, 197 - Released from Gaol, 275 - Persecuted, 296 - Suffer under Conventicle Act, 398 - Released from Prison, 413 - James II.’s Treatment of them, 107 - Differ from other Nonconformists in Doctrinal Opinions, 177 - Their Form of Church Government, 177, 178 - Their Method of Marriage, 179 - Their Doctrines, 264, 266 - Penn an Expounder of their Principles, 369 - His Exposition of the Doctrine of the Inward Light, 371, 374 - Barclay, 377 - His Theological Teaching, 378–380 - John Burnyeat, 492, 494 - - Quarles, Francis, his Emblems, ii. 455 - - Querouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth, i. 451 - - - Racovian Catechism, ii. 365, 367 - - Radnor, Lord, ii. 41 - - Rainbow, Dr. Edward, i. 493 - - Rawlinson, i. 156 - - Reeve, Dr., i. 208 - - Republicans, i. 5, 21, 22, 33, 34, 40 - - Reresby, Sir John, i. 458 - - Reynolds, Dr., i. 18, 50, 68, 191, 220, 230, 245, 290; ii. 229 - Appointed Chaplain at Court, i. 100 - At Worcester House, 115 - Accepts a Bishopric, 119 - Member of Conference, 155, 164, 170, 183 - His Peculiar Position, 179 - Described by Baxter, 189 - His Character, 485 - His Writings, ii. 442 - - Richardson, Dr., i. 312 - - Richmond, Duke of, i. 245 - - Roberts, Bishop of Bangor, i. 97 - - Robinson, Sir John, i. 148 - - Rochester, Earl of, _see_ Laurence Hyde - - Rochester, Earl of, _see_ Wilmot - - Rogers, i. 140 - - Roman Catholics, i. 19, 78, 363, 404, 460; ii. 113, 117 - Their Concurrence in Act of Uniformity, i. 251 - Their Prospects brighten, 298 - Bills against them, 304, 361 - How affected by Test Act, 425, 429 - Their Hopes in the Royal Family, 450 - Their Zeal in making Converts, 453 - Proclamations concerning them, 456 - Popish Books Seized, 459 - Bills against Popery, 303, 463–465 - Titus Oates’ Popish Plot, ii. 1-9 - Suspected Persons Apprehended, 6 - Exclusion Bill, 10 - At Court, 104 - Their Numbers increase, 115 - Their Satisfaction with James II.’s Declaration, 119 - Their Promotion, 131 - Their Numbers, 209 - - Rosewell, Thomas, ii. 72, 123 - - Roughed, Josias, i. 409 - - Rous, Lady, i. 318 - - Rous, ii. 457 - - Royalists, i. 43, 66, 151 - - Rupert, Prince, i. 142 - - Rushworth, ii. 195 - - Russel, Lord William, i. 418; ii. 20, 41, 153 - Joins in an Attempt to resist the Despotism of Government, 64 - His Trial and Execution, 65–67 - - Rustat, Tobias, ii. 245 - - Rutherford, Lord, i. 293 - - Rye House Plot, ii. 64 - - Rymer, Ralph, i. 313 - - Ryves, Dr. Bruno, i. 91 - - - Sabran, ii. 117 - - Salisbury, Earl of, i. 462; ii. 115 - - Salkeld, ii. 206 - - Saltmarsh, John, his _Sparkles of Glory_, ii. 380–383 - - Samwayes, Dr., i. 213 - - Sancroft, i. 93, 132, 221, 225; ii. 90, 192, 330 - Assists Pell to Revise the Calendar, i. 221 - Created Archbishop of Canterbury, ii. 14 - His Interview with the Duke of York, 15 - His Opposition to Popery, 17 - Sanctions the Publication of King’s Declaration, 35 - His Inconsistency with regard to Declaration, 145 - One of the Seven Bishops who signed the Petition, 140, 146, 150 - His Trial, 153 - His Acquittal, 155 - His Interest in Rebuilding of St. Paul’s, 181 - - Sanderson, Bishop of Lincoln, i. 156, 187, 231, 248; ii. 283, 406, - 438 - His Death, i. 306 - His Manner of Preaching, ii. 209 - His Approval of Sabbath Pastimes, 235 - His Doctrinal Opinions, 305 - His Intimacy with Hammond, 306 - And with Isaak Walton, 469 - - Saville, Sir George, i. 366 - - Savoy Conference, i. 155, 163–167, 170–173, 179–188 - - Savoy Palace, i. 162 - - Sawyer, ii. 153 - - Scargill, Daniel, ii. 368 - - Scattergood, i. 225 - - Sclater, Edward, ii. 109 - - Scotch, their Anxiety for an Exclusive Presbyterian Establishment, - i. 68 - Their Religious Rising, 363 - Cruelty to them, 364 - Their Rebellion, ii. 97 - - Scott, i. 20, 58 - - Severne, Thomas, i. 284 - - Shaftesbury, Earl of, _see_ Sir A. A. Cooper - - Shakerley, Sir Geoffry, i. 367; ii. 61 - - Sharp, Dr., Agent in London of Scotch Presbyterians, i. 63, 68–69, - 94 - - Sharp, Dr., ii. 110, 112 - - Shaw, Sir John, ii. 502 - - Shaw, Samuel, i. 342 - - Sheldon, Dr. Gilbert, i. 99, 122, 170, 221, 231, 248, 285, 296, - 330, 331, 334, 348, 397, 415, 502; ii. 145, 188 - His Appointment to the Bishopric of London, i. 131 - Master of the Savoy, 157 - Officiates at Coronation of Charles II., 160 - Commissioner at the Savoy, 156, 163 - President of Convocation, 174 - His Appointment to Archbishopric of Canterbury, 308 - His Exertions during the Plague, 337 - His Inquiries respecting Conventicles, 392 - His Circular on Education, 402 - His Death and Character, 470–473 - His Expenditure of Large Sums in Charity, ii. 192 - - Sherlock, Dr., ii. 110, 117, 140 - - Shorter, Sir John, ii. 125 - - Sibthorpe, Dr., i. 131 - - Sidney, Algernon, i. 344 - His Trial and Execution, ii. 64, 65 - - Sidney, Henry, ii. 92 - - Skinker, Mary, ii. 175 - - Skinner, Bishop of Oxford, i. 37, 97 - Translated to Worcester, 491 - - Slader, ii. 201 - - Slatius, Henry, ii. 412 - - Smalridge, ii. 117 - - Smith, Dr., ii. 332 - - Smith, John, ii. 421 - His Theological Teaching, 336–338 - - Smith, Thomas, i. 93 - - Smyth, Miles, ii. 457 - - Soame, Bartholomew, ii. 225 - - Solemn League and Covenant, i. 50, 89, 235–237 - Publicly Burnt, 196 - - Somerset, Duke of, ii. 130 - - South, ii. 257, 329 - - Southampton, Earl of, i. 85, 86, 124, 300, 347 - - Sparrow, Dr., Commissioner at the Savoy i. 156 - - Spencer, John, ii. 444 - - Spragg, Sir Edward, i. 416 - - Sprat, Bishop of Rochester, ii. 111, 139 - - Spring, Sir William, ii. 206 - - Sprint, i. 478 - - Spurstow, Dr., i. 100, 115, 156 - - Stayley, ii. 6 - - Stanley, Thomas, i. 342 - - Stanley, Lady, ii. 219 - - Stanley, Sir Thomas, ii. 219 - - Steel, i. 261 - - Sterne, Richard, Bishop of Carlisle, i. 132 - At Savoy Conference, 156, 493 - Described by Baxter, 189 - Translated to Archbishopric of York, 493, 497 - His Imprisonment, 495 - - Sterry, Peter, ii. 382 - - Stillingfleet, Edward, i. 117, 385, 410, 439; ii. 2, 114, 140, 370 - His Disapproval of Act of Uniformity, i. 292 - His Sermon on “The Mischief of Separation,” ii. 26 - Entertains Howe, Bates, and Tillotson, 29 - His Theological Opinions, 352 - - Stockton, Owen, i. 340; ii. 500–504 - - Strode, John, ii. 51 - - Stubbe, Henry, ii. 355 - - Suffolk, Earl of, i. 167 - - Sunderland, ii. 19, 93, 104, 135 - - Sutcliffe, Dr., ii. 245 - - Sylvester, his Funeral Sermon for Baxter, ii. 212 - - - Taswell, William, i. 358 - - Tattersall, Nicholas, i. 412 - - Taylor, Jeremy, ii. 235, 278, 318, 386, 416, 429, 457 - Nominated to Diocese of Down and Connor, i. 133 - Preaches Funeral Sermon for Bramhall, 307 - His Theology; ii. 289–297 - Advocates an Episcopal Church, 298 - A brilliant Sermon Writer, 328 - His Writings, 445, 446 - His Hymns, 460 - - Temple, Sir William, appointed Secretary of State, ii. 19, 41 - - Tenison, Archbishop of Canterbury, i. 243; ii. 117 - When Vicar of St. Marten’s, ii. 140 - Founds the Tenison Library, i. 508 - - Terrill, ii. 177 - - Thompson, Alderman, i. 148 - - Thorndike, Herbert, i. 112; ii. 235, 316, 332, 395, 424, 431 - His _Epilogue_, i. 34–36; ii. 269 - At Savoy Conference, i. 156 - Member of Convocation, 170, 222, 227, 248 - His _True Principle of Comprehension_, 385 - His Theological Learning, ii. 268 - His Principles of Christian Truth, 270 - His Scheme of Salvation by Grace, 272–277 - Laws of the Church, 277–279 - His teaching compared with Bull’s, 287 - With Taylor’s, 294 - With Pearson’s, 309 - Barrow’s, 314 - His opinion of Nonconformists, 320 - - Thurloe, Secretary, i. 55 - - Tillotson, i. 184, 439; ii. 29, 47, 79, 117, 140, 246, 316, 348 - His Letter to Baxter, i. 440 - His Inconsistency, ii. 27 - Reproved by Howe, 28 - Attends Russell on the Scaffold, 67 - - Tilsey, i. 291 - - Tindal, ii. 115 - - Tombes, John, i. 317; ii. 283, 285 - - Tomkyns, i. 378 - - Tompson, Sir John, i. 430 - - Tompson, Lady, i. 430 - - Tongue, ii. 9 - - Tory, Origin of Term, ii. 32 - - Trelawny, Bishop of Bristol, ii. 141, 147, 189 - - Truman, Joseph, ii. 283 - - Tuckney, Dr., i. 155, 489 - - Tully, Dr. Thomas, ii. 196, 283, 284 - - Turbeville, ii. 49 - - Turner, Bishop of Ely, ii. 140 - - Turner, Sir Edward, i. 155 - - Turner, Sir James, i. 363 - - Tyrconnel, Earl of, ii. 104 - - - Uniformity (_see_ Act) - - Universities, their Petitions to Parliament, i. 92 - Changes at Oxford and Cambridge, 93 - Puritan Power at Cambridge, 93 - James II.’s Attack on their Liberties, ii. 132 - Proceedings at Cambridge, 132 - Proceedings at Oxford, 133–139 - Studies and Habits of Members, 250–258 - - Ussher, Dr. James, i. 100; ii. 278, 406 - His Biblical Learning, 354 - - - Vane, Sir Henry, i. 5, 20, 21, 26, 49, 126, 140, 202 - Member of Richard’s Parliament, 17 - Member of New Council of State, 25 - His Trial, 257 - His Mysticism, 256; ii. 385 - His Execution, i. 258 - - Vane, Lady, i. 366 - - Venner, his Insurrection, i. 140–144 - - Vernon, Alderman, i. 64 - - Vic, Sir Henry de, i. 124 - - Vincent, Nathaniel, ii. 54–56 - - Vincent, Thomas, i. 338, 339; ii. 54 - - Vincent, William, i. 148 - - Vines, Richard, ii. 503 - - Visitation, Articles of, ii. 183–185, 189 - - - Wade, Thomas, ii. 502 - - Wake, ii. 117 - - Wakerley, i. 313 - - Wales, i. 19, 137 - - Walker, Obadiah, ii. 109 - - Waller, Edmund, ii. 454 - - Wallis, Dr. John, i. 115, 156, 170, 288; ii. 198 - - Walters, Lucy, ii. 60 - - Walters, ii. 139 - - Walton, Bryan, Bishop of Chester, i. 131, 156 - His Death, 306 - His Polyglott, ii. 332, 354 - - Walton, Isaak, ii. 468–471 - - Ward, Seth, Bishop of Exeter, afterwards Bishop of Salisbury, - i. 264, 348, 385, 395, 478, 483, 502; ii. 192, 356 - His Intolerance, i. 397, 435–437 - Account of him, 474–476 - Improves Exeter Cathedral, ii. 180 - His Hospitality, 229 - - Warmestry, Dr., i. 157 - - Warner, Bishop of Rochester, i. 98, 490 - Commissioner at the Savoy, 156, 160 - - Warwick, Countess of, ii. 488, 489 - - Watson, Richard, ii. 417 - - Whalley, Edward, Major-General, i. 23, 259, 260 - - Wharton, Philip, Lord, i. 126, 230, 231, 313, 347; ii. 71 - Supports the Duke of Buckingham, i. 461 - Committed to the Tower, 462 - Released, 462 - His House a resort of Nonconformist Divines, ii. 223 - - Whig, Origin of Term, ii. 32 - - Whinnel, ii. 176 - - White, Jeremy, ii. 101, 384 - - White, Bishop of Peterborough, ii. 141 - - White, John, ii. 457 - - Whitehead, George, i. 414 - - Whitelocke, i. 25, 45 - - Whitford, John, i. 91 - - _Whole Duty of Man_, ii. 330 - - Wilde, i. 120 - - Wilkins, Dr. John, Bishop of Chester, i. 16, 264, 380, 385, 396, - 503; ii. 248, 356 - Account of him, i. 483–485 - His Theological teaching, ii. 348 - - Wilkinson, Lady Vere, i. 430 - - Williams, Dr. Edward, ii. 417, 419 - - Williams, Solicitor-General, ii. 153 - - Williamson, Joseph, Esq. (afterwards knighted), i. 365, 367, 410, - 432, 442, 456; ii. 182, 193, 253, 255 - - Wilmot, John, Earl of Rochester; ii. 490 - - Windsor, Lord, i. 145 - - Wiquefort, De, Dutch Minister, i. 231, 232, 267 - - Witchcot, i. 439 - - Wither, George, ii. 459 - - Wood, Captain Henry, ii. 190 - - Wood, Thomas, Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, i. 500; ii. 139 - - Woodbridge, i. 156 - - Woodford, Dr. Samuel, ii. 457 - - Woodhead, Abraham, i. 453; ii. 330 - - Woodward, William, ii. 201 - - Worcester House, i. 114 - - Worth, Dr., i. 103 - - Wren, Bishop of Ely, i. 37, 97, 488, 502 - - Wren, Sir Christopher, ii. 181 - - Wright, Chief Justice, ii. 153–155 - - Wyche, Sir Cyril, i. 243 - - Wycherley, ii. 115 - - Wylde, Recorder, i. 148 - - - Yarrington, Captain, i. 212 - - York, Duke of (_see_ James II.) - - Young, ii. 176 - - -Vol. I. - - Page 34, line 28, _Henry_, should be _Herbert_. - „ 160, „ 7, _Convocation_ „ _Coronation_. - „ 181, „ 6, _Hammond_ „ _Hamon_. - „ 277, „ 11, _Edward_ „ _Edmund_. - - -UNWIN BROTHERS, PRINTERS, BUCKLERSBURY, LONDON. - - - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] _Burnet_, _Rapin_, _Hume_, and _Lingard_, give numerous -particulars, but the account I have presented is drawn from _A True -Narrative of the Horrid Plot and Conspiracy of the Popish Party against -the Life of His Majesty, the Government, and the Protestant Religion_, -by Titus Oates himself, published 1679. - -In the Dedication there is a sentiment expressed worthy of a better -man. “It is a false suggestion,” says Oates, “which such tempters use, -that a King that rules by will is more great and glorious than a King -that rules by law:--the quality of the retinue best proves the state -of the lord; the one being but a king of slaves, while the other, like -God, is a king of kings and hearts.” - -I have before me a narrative of “the horrid Popish plot,” by Capt. -W. Bedloe, 1679; another by Miles Prance, 1679; and a collection of -letters relating to it published by order of the House of Commons, -1681. Oates’ narrative, which, though dated the 27th of September, -1678, was not published until the following April, contains a digested -statement, in eighty-one items, of all the particulars which he had -alleged. - -[2] The letters are published in the collection just named. Some are in -_Rapin_, iii. 171. - -[3] _History of his Own Time_, i. 434. - -[4] _Life of Calamy_, i. 83. - -[5] Defoe quoted in _Knight’s Hist. of England_, iv. 335. - -[6] Stayley was executed November 26th, Coleman December 3rd. - -[7] In the _Moneys for Secret Services_, published by the Camden -Society, are numerous entries of sums paid to Oates and others. -Curious references to Oates’ character as an impostor, may be found in -_Reresby’s Memoirs_, 239, and _North’s Lives_, i. 325. - -[8] _State Papers, Dom. Charles II._, 1678, November 1, December -(without further date), and December 28. It would divert attention from -the main current of this history to go fully into Oates’ plot. The -historical student will find a bundle of papers bearing on the subject -under date 1678, and further papers on the same subject under 1679, -January to June. - -[9] Lord Keeper North “was of opinion that the fiction of the -Popish Plot did not arise from the accident of Tongue’s and Oates’ -informations, but from a preconcerted design.” The reasons are given in -a MS. of North’s, printed in _Dalrymple’s Memoirs_, ii. app. 320. That -the plot was _invented_ by Shaftesbury there seems no sufficient ground -for believing. See _Campbell’s Lives of Lord Chancellors_, iv. 197. - -[10] _Rapin_, iii. 172. Evelyn says, “For my part I look on Oates as a -vain insolent man, puffed up with the favour of the Commons, for having -discovered something really true, more especially as detecting the -dangerous intrigue of Coleman, proved out of his own letters, and of -a general design which the Jesuited party of the Papists ever had and -still have, to ruin the Church of England.”--_Diary_, ii. 140. - -[11] _Commons’ Journals_, October 28. “The Oath of Supremacy was -already taken by the Commons, though not by the Lords; and it is a -great mistake to imagine that Catholics were legally capable of sitting -in the Lower House before the Act of 1679” (1678).--_Hallam’s Const. -Hist._, ii. 121. - -[12] _Burnet_, _Hist. of his Own Times_, i. 436. - -[13] _Journals_, Nov. 21 and 30; _Lingard_, xii. 151, 152. Reresby -says, (_Memoirs_, 230), “In April, 1680, I went to London to solicit -some business at Court, but the application of all men being to the -Duke, who quite engrossed the King to himself, His Highness had but -little leisure to give ear to, or assist his friends.” - -[14] _North’s Lives_, i. 340. - -[15] _Sir Thomas Browne’s Works_, i. 241. This relates to a second -election for Norwich in the month of May, the first having been set -aside. It illustrates both the excitement and the custom of the times. -The general election took place in February. - -[16] _Evelyn’s Diary_, ii. 136. - -[17] Quoted in _D’Oyley’s Life of Sancroft_, i. 165–176. - -[18] _Life of James II._, i. 539. - -[19] _Wilkins_, iv. 606. - -[20] _Ibid._, iv. 600. - -[21] _Wilkins_, iv. 605; _Sancroft’s Life by D’Oyley_, i. 186. - -[22] _Wilkins_, iv. 607. - -[23] _Tanner MSS._, 32, 208; _Life of Sancroft_, i. 204. D’Oyley -conjecturally assigns this document to the reign of Charles, but he is -not sure it may not belong to the reign of James. - -[24] Sir W. Temple, in his _Memoirs_, part iii., gives an account of -the plan and working of this Council. His object was to enable the -Crown to manage the Commons, by making the Crown, as far as possible, -independent of the Commons. After noticing the wealth of the Council -in revenues of land or offices as amounting to £300,000 per annum, -whilst that of the House of Commons seldom exceeded £400,000, he -adds, “And authority is observed much to follow land, and, at the -worst, such a Council might, out of their own stock, and upon a pinch, -furnish the King so far as to relieve some great necessity of the -Crown.”--_Temple’s Works_, vol. i. 414. He says (436) he told the Duke -of York, “he might always reckon upon me as a legal man, and one that -would always follow the Crown as became me.” These passages seem to be -overlooked by some historians, in estimating the nature and objects of -Temple’s scheme. - -[25] April 30, 1679.--_Parl. Hist._ iv. 1128. - -[26] The Habeas Corpus Act was passed during the spring of 1679. - -[27] _Burnet’s Hist. of his Own Time_, i. 475. - -[28] “The information of Dangerfield, delivered at the bar of the -Commons, the 26th of October, 1680.” _Lords’ Journals_, Nov. 15, 1680. -_State Trials._ _Burnet_, i. 475 and 637. _Lingard_, xii. 227, _et -seq._ Dangerfield died from a blow, struck whilst he was being whipped. - -[29] Dated August 25. Received September 1.--_State Papers._ - -[30] _Parl. Hist._ iv. 1162, _et seq._ Again let me refer the reader to -Fox, _Hist. of James_ ii., p. 311, for some admirable remarks on this -whole question, politically considered. - -[31] _Sommers’ Tracts_ i. 97. - -[32] _Parl. Hist._ iv. 1197, _et seq._; _Rapin_, iii. 198, _et seq._ - -[33] _Reresby’s Memoirs_, 234. He says that the speech of Halifax, “so -all confessed, influenced the House, and persuaded them to throw out -the Bill.” The debate took place on the 15th of November. - -[34] _Rogers’ Life of Howe_, 181. - -[35] _Calamy’s Life of Baxter_, 354. - -[36] _Rogers’ Life of Howe_, 183. - -[37] _Ibid._, 187. - -[38] “Tillotson’s conduct on this occasion places his amiable character -in the fairest light. One can hardly regret that he committed -a fault for which he so nobly atoned, and which has furnished -us with so impressive an example of ingenuousness, candour, and -humility.”--_Rogers’ Life of Howe_, 190. - -[39] There were two Bishop Lloyds at the time; one of Norwich, the -other of St. Asaph, consecrated October 3, 1680. It was most likely the -latter. We shall meet with him as one of the seven Bishops committed to -the Tower in 1688. - -[40] _Life of Howe_, 191, 192. - -[41] _Kennet_ quoted in _Neal_, iv. 496. - -[42] Dec. 30, 1680. “The Commons have before them a Bill of -comprehension and a Bill for indulgence. The latter is proposed very -full and clear, requiring nothing but subscription to Thirty-six -Articles, and taking a test against Popery. This hath been read twice, -and is before the Committee. The former moreover requires the use of -Common Prayer, and, I think, as proposed even relapses almost all other -things that almost anybody scruples. This has been read twice and -passed the Committee. Opinions about these Bills are various. All that -I have heard of, who desire comprehension, desire indulgence also for -others, though multitudes desire indulgence that most fervently oppose -comprehension. This begets great misunderstandings.”--_Entring Book, -Morice MSS._, Dr. Williams’ Library. - -On the 24th of December a clergyman was charged before the House of -Commons with saying that the Presbyterians were such as the very devil -blushed at, and were as bad as Jesuits, and otherwise denying the -Popish plot, throwing the same on Protestants. It was resolved that he -should be impeached.--_Journals._ - -[43] Both read the first time Dec. 16.--_Journals._ The Bill for -toleration was read a second time Dec. 24. - -[44] The Lords desired the concurrence of the Commons in the amendments -which they had made to this relief Bill Jan. 3. See _Journals_ of both -Houses. - -[45] _Burnet_ (i. 495) says the Clerk of the Crown withdrew it from the -table by the King’s particular order. - -[46] _Journals_, Jan. 10, 1681. Eachard, Rapin, Burnet, and Calamy -quote or mention two resolutions on this subject, as passed at the same -time by the Commons--the first, that the Act of Elizabeth and James -against Popish recusants ought not to be extended against Protestant -Dissenters--the second, that which has just been noticed. It is the -only one respecting toleration, recorded in the Journals for that day. - -[47] I have, in the history of this whole affair, followed the -Journals; and they show the inaccuracy, more or less of _Burnet_, -_Eachard_, and _Neal_. Even what Sir William Jones says in his -_Vindication_ (_Parl. Hist._ iv. _Appendix_) is scarcely consistent -with the records of the Houses. - -[48] “The Court was at Christ Church, and the Commons sat in the -schools, but were very much straitened for room, there being a very -great concourse of members.” “Many of the discontented members, of both -Houses, came armed, and more than usually attended; and it was affirmed -there was a design to have seized the King, and to have restrained him -till he had granted their petitions.”--_Reresby’s Memoirs_, 243, 245. - -[49] March 24, _Parl. Hist._ iv. 1308. - -[50] _Lords’ Journals_, March 26. - -[51] _Reresby’s Memoirs_, 290. - -[52] _Lingard_, xii. 281. - -[53] _Burnet_, i. 500; _D’Oyley’s Life of Sancroft_, i. 252. The King’s -letter to Sancroft is dated April 11, 1681. - -[54] Address from the University of Cambridge. _Wilkins_, iv. 607; -_State Papers, Charles II. Dom._ 1681, May 16. I have pretty closely -adhered to the words used in the addresses. - -[55] _Bishop of Winchester’s Vindication_, 394, 410. This work was -published in 1683, but the author says that it was written a year -before. Probably the above passage may belong to 1681. - -[56] Preface to _The Happy Future State of England_, published 1688. - -[57] _The Conformist’s Plea for Nonconformists_, 7. - -[58] _The Conformist’s Plea for the Nonconformists_, 34. _The Life of -Julian the Apostate_ also made a great noise at that time. - -[59] _State Papers, Dom. Charles II._, 1677. - -[60] There is a remarkable absence of information in Sir Joseph -Williamson’s papers of this date, preserved in the Record Office. -Several letters, written at this time by the informer Bowen, of -Yarmouth, upon local matters, contain no allusion to the Nonconformists -there. The Histories of Nonconformists silently bear witness to this -fact. Neal, Crosby, and Sewel, under these years, say little or -nothing of persecution. It must not, however, be inferred that it was -then unknown, for it is stated in the Church Book of Guildhall-street -Chapel, Canterbury, that Mr. Durant, the pastor, and some of his -congregation, in 1679, “fled for refuge to Holland, and some forsook -the Church and fell off--_Timpson’s Church Hist. of Kent_, 307. - -[61] _Rogers’ Life of Howe_, 180. - -[62] _Burnet’s Hist. of his Own Times_, i. 267, 268, 476. - -[63] _Earl Russell’s Life of Lord William Russell_, 159. - -[64] Macaulay describes the manner in which Halifax endeavoured to -vindicate his trimming. _Hist._, i. 254. The following quotation from -Halifax is characteristic:-- - -“Why,” he asks, “after we have played the fool with throwing _Whig_ -and _Tory_ at one another, as boys do snowballs, should we grow angry -at a new name, which by its signification might do as much to put -us into our wits, as the other has done to put us out of them. This -innocent word _Trimmer_ signifies no more than this, that if men are -together in a boat, and one part of the company would weigh it down on -one side, another would make it lean as much the contrary; it happens -that there is a third opinion of those who conceive it would do as -well if the boat went even, without endangering the passengers. Now -’tis hard to imagine by what figure in language, or by what rule in -sense, this comes to be a fault, and it is much more a wonder it should -be thought a heresy.” By a common fallacy, Halifax applies what is -true of one thing to another thing very different. Too many miserably -act respecting religion on the same principle as Halifax adopted in -relation to politics. - -[65] _Burnet_, i. 266. - -[66] _Memoirs of Count de Grammont_, vol. ii. 112; _Clarendon_, 503. - -[67] _Lives_, ii. 57. - -[68] _Burnet_, i. 482. - -[69] Printed document. _State Papers, Dom._, 1681, Sept. 2. - -[70] _State Papers, Dom. Charles II._, 1681, Aug. 25, Sept. 2. There -are several very curious papers relative to Oates, which I have copied, -but have not space to insert. - -The Prevaricator at Cambridge at the commencement of 1680, referred to -the plot. The reference seems to have been very brief and unimportant, -but it gave concern in high quarters. A letter was written to the -Vice-Chancellor, by direction of the Bishop of London, complaining -of the Prevaricator turning the plot into ridicule, that it would -be brought before Parliament “to the reproach of the government of -the Universities, if not to strike at the Universities themselves, -unless it be timely prevented by a severe animadversion.”--_Cambridge -Portfolio_, 242. - -[71] _Life of Baxter_, 349. The book is dated 1680, and the author, -Lewis du Moulin, recanted his reflections on the Divines of the Church -of England, the same year. - -[72] _Burnet_, i. 461. - -[73] There is a letter from the Lieutenant of the Tower in the Record -Office, _Dom. Charles II._, August 5, 1681, in which the writer -describes how the prisoner was to be conveyed to Oxford “in a coach -with ten or twelve of the warders on horseback, with carabines.” - -[74] _Burnet_, i. 505. Colledge was tried on the 17th and 18th of -August. The trial is reported at full length in a folio pamphlet of 102 -pages published by authority, 1681. Colledge defended himself, examined -witnesses and made speeches. It is plain that under the circumstances, -with such judges, the poor fellow stood no chance. - -[75] September 1, 1681, Oxon. Letter from Thomas Hyde states that just -before the execution of Colledge, he had denied having written certain -letters, but that when he heard these letters had been intercepted, he -acknowledged them. - -There are several letters respecting Colledge; amongst other papers -is the following:--September 30, 1681. “Deposition of Benjamin Wyche -of the parish of Saint Andrew’s, Holborn, London, Apothecary. This -deponent saith that being in Richards’ coffee-house near Temple -Bar, soon after His Majesty had dissolved the Parliament sitting at -Westminster, amongst other company in the room, Mr. Colledge was one -whom (upon discourse of the Parliament being then dissolved) he this -deponent, heard uttering these words, ‘_Well I see what it will come -to, we must e’en draw our swords, and fight it out again_,’ or words to -that effect.--_Ben Wyche._” - -“_Jurat coram me.--L. Jenkins._” - -[76] The first letter is dated Sept. 21. In the second letter, in the -same bundle, the day of the month is not given. The letter is numbered -164. Another paper in the Record Office, dated August 20, 1681, reports -that the Countess of Rochester said “Colledge was a Papist to her -knowledge, and had been so for a long time.” There are other statements -to the same effect. Thomas Hyde (September 1, 1681) writing from -Oxford, says that Colledge would not acknowledge what religion he was -of, but that “he was of the Anabaptists.” - -[77] It is added “this fanatic’s name was formerly Bishop, but being -a hater of bishops changed his name into Marten; and because he -is by that name known for a notorious villain he hath changed it -again.”--_Dom. Charles II._ - -[78] _Ibid._, August 27, 24. - -[79] The confession, of which a portion is missing, bears date August -24, 1681. _State Papers, Dom. Charles II._ The dying speech is in MS. -in the same collection dated August 31. It was published as a distinct -tract, 1681; also it is printed in _The Dying Speeches and Behaviour -of several State Prisoners_. Ed. 1720. The reason for his being called -the Protestant Joiner he thus describes:--“The Duke of Monmouth called -me to him, and told me he had heard a good report of me, and that I -was an honest man, and one that may be trusted: and they did not know -but their enemies, the Papists, might have some design to serve them -as they did in King James’s time by gunpowder, or any other way; and -the Duke with several Lords and Commons did desire me to use my utmost -skill in searching all places suspected by them, which I did perform: -and from thence I had as I think, the popular name of _The Protestant -Joiner_, because they had entrusted me, before any man in England to do -that office.”--_Dying Speeches_, 387. - -[80] There is amongst the _State Papers_, one dated November 26, 1681, -_Dom. Charles II._, by George Evans, who complains that there was a -bonfire on Cornhill, and that gentlemen were stopped in their coaches -and required to drink Lord Shaftesbury’s health. This was on the -occasion of the Grand Jury ignoring the bill against him. There are a -number of documents relating to Shaftesbury under the year 1681. - -[81] _Campbell’s Lives of the Chancellors_, iv. 229. Lord Campbell has -not done justice to Shaftesbury. It should be remarked to Shaftesbury’s -honour, Earl Russell says, “that though in the secret of every party, -he never betrayed any one: and that the purity of his administration -of justice is allowed even by his enemies.”--_Life of Lord William -Russell_, 61. - -[82] From a mass of illustrations I select the following in reference -to the last point:-- - -_Dom. Charles II._, 1681, Sept. 9. “I was interrupted,” says the -Archdeacon of Durham, “in the execution of my office, as I was -officiating in my own church, by a very bold and insolent fanatic, -who though indicted at our last assizes, escaped punishment--to the -great contempt, I hear, of God’s house and service--I am sure to the -great trouble of the clergy, who fear it may go very hard with them, -in the execution of their offices, when so great a violence offered -to the Archdeacon should go unpunished. Since a Churchman can expect -to meet with no more favour from a lay judicatory, I am forced to fly -to the ecclesiastical courts, where this person stands presented, for -disturbing the minister in time of Divine service, and I think no -ecclesiastical judge can be of the same mind with the jury, that what -was done between the Nicene Creed and the sermon, was not done in time -of Divine service, upon which point he was found not guilty, to the -admiration [wonder] of those that understood the rubric.” - -John Strode, of Rye, writes, September 13, “that the new Mayor chosen -by the fanatics refused to grant warrants according to the Act of -Parliament, pretending some frivolous thing.” - -[83] November 7, 1681. - -[84] _Dom. Charles II._, 1681, November 15. I find, dated November -25, “The names of such Nonconformists who being presented in the -Attorney-General’s name, are actually served with subpœnas returnable -on Monday last:-- - - “John Collins, D.D. - “John Owen, D.D. - “Samuel Annesley, D.D. - “Thomas Jacomb, D.D. - “Thomas Watson. - “Matthew Meade. - “Robert Fergusson. - “Edmund Calamy. - “Thomas Doolittle. - “Samuel Slater. - “Nicholas Blackley. - -“Sir, - -“There are two informations filed against every one of the above-named -Nonconformist ministers, _i.e._, one on the Statute for not repairing -to Church, upon which they forfeit £20 per mensem. This information is -laid for twenty months. The other is on the Oxford Act, prohibiting -Nonconformist ministers, &c., to reside within five miles of any -corporation, upon the penalty of £40. So that the penalties against the -persons above-named, if recovered, and not remitted, will amount to the -sum of £4,840. - - “Yours, - - “WM. SHERMAR” - -[85] The Minutes of Council show that the Mayors of Plymouth and -Reading were directed to put the Oxford Act in execution against the -preachers in Conventicles.--December 2. The constables of the East -Riding of Yorkshire refused to disturb meetings.--_State Papers_, -bundle 260, No. 474. The magistrates at Hickes’ Hall complain that the -laws respecting Conventicles had been long silent.--December 10. - -[86] _Echard_, _Neal_, iv. 507. - -[87] _Calamy’s Continuation_, 137. - -[88] _State Papers_, Dec. 19. - -[89] _State Papers_, 1682, February 15. - -[90] _Calamy’s Continuation_, 139. - -[91] I copied these extracts many years ago from the old Church books, -now unfortunately lost. In the State Paper Office, under date of the -2nd February, 1682, there is a long report of the political sentiments -of people in different parts of Norfolk, in which report,--besides -mention of the Anabaptists and the Quakers worshipping under one -roof, and of a clergyman in the Commission of the Peace, an itinerant -Justice, “who rides all the circuit, and makes disturbances wherever -he comes by his pragmaticalness and unskilfulness in the laws”--a -reference is made to Dr. Collinges, a very respectable Presbyterian -minister at Norwich, and it is suggested, “were he removed, it is -probable many of that sect would fall off.” - -[92] _Morice MSS., Entring Book_, i., 1682, November 21. - -[93] December 30. - -[94] December 14. - -[95] November 30, December 7. - -[96] December 14, February 6, 1682–3. “On Monday, in the Common Pleas, -some citizens were cited, because they did not receive the sacrament at -Easter by their minister, the Churchwardens saying they believed that -they did not receive it then. But because the process saith not what -Easter it was, and because there was no sacrament at their church the -last Easter; and further, because the Churchwardens do but believe they -did not receive it, therefore a prohibition was granted unless cause be -shown to the contrary.” - -The Countess of Aylesbury was informed against for being at a -Conventicle.--March 15, 1684. - -[97] December 14, 1682; March, 1683. - -[98] Much trouble and suffering arose from fear; and many -congregations, after apprehending disturbance, were allowed to worship -in peace. This I learn from the _Entring Book_, 1683, January, in the -_Morice MSS._ (in Dr. Williams’ Library,) from which the passage in the -text is taken. - -[99] _State Papers, Dom. Charles II._, February 21, 1682. - -[100] The Presbyterians are reckoned altogether at 5,420; the Baptists, -&c., at 4,250. - -[101] _State Papers, Dom. Charles II._, 1682, June 2, 16, 20. On the -9th of December, the following queries were submitted to Secretary -Jenkins:-- - -“Whether, at a time when the Dissenters in shoals transport themselves -beyond sea, to the apparent throwing up of many farms throughout -England, and a dearth of servants, it may not be thought reasonable to -prohibit such a transportation occasioned by a sullen humour? - -“2. Whether, at this time, when the Dissenters calumniate the -Government with a connivance at debaucheries, while themselves are -vigorously prosecuted about matters of religion, it may not be thought -reasonable to revive His Majesty’s proclamation against profane cursing -and swearing and other debaucheries? - -“3. Whether the prosecution against Dissenters ought not to be -prosecuted to excommunication, for not coming to church and receiving -the Sacrament, in Corporations especially,--thereby to incapacitate -them from being elected, or electors of, members of Parliament?” - -[102] There are many documents connected with this subject amongst the -_State Papers_, 1680, January to June. - -[103] _State Papers, Dom._, 1682, September 11, 13, 16. There is also -a letter describing the Duke’s visit to Chichester, and the insults -offered to the Bishop’s chaplain. February 24, 1683. - -[104] It is said (Sept. 18) the Duke had not the encouragement which -Dissenters expected. - -[105] L’Estrange was a censor of the press. In the Record Office, _Dom. -Charles II._, may be found Williamson’s authority to “Roger L’Estrange, -surveyor of the press, to act as one of his deputies in the licensing -of books,” dated Whitehall, February 5, 1674–5. - -In 1684 L’Estrange commenced a periodical entitled _The Observator_, -which he carried on until 1687. He there upholds the Royal dispensing -power, and ridicules Protestant excitements, the right to liberty -of conscience, the Long Parliament, and Nonconformists of all -kinds, pronouncing Dissent a political schism. He published the -paper irregularly, sometimes twice, sometimes thrice a week. It is -written after the manner of a dialogue between _The Observator_ and -its opponents. I have met with three or four large volumes of the -publication, in the library of Trinity College, Cambridge. They justify -the strong language I have used. - -[106] _State Trials_, 1683. The judgment was that the franchise and -liberty of the City of London should be taken and seized into the -King’s hands. - -[107] The Act for annulling Russell’s attainder, in the first year of -William and Mary, justly declared that “he was, by undue and illegal -return of jurors, having been refused his lawful challenge to the said -jurors, for want of freehold, and by partial and unjust constructions -of law, wrongfully convicted, attainted, and executed for high treason.” - -[108] The charges against Russell and Sidney, of being engaged in -negotiations with the French Court, and of the latter receiving pay -from that quarter, belong to the political history of England. I must -refer the reader to _Hallam_, _Mackintosh_, and especially to _Earl -Russell’s Life of Lord William Russell_. Supposing that Sidney accepted -money from France, I am not at all disposed to regard his conduct so -leniently as do the first two of the above-named writers; but, after -pondering what Earl Russell says, I feel some doubt respecting the -truth of Barillon’s reports, and the accuracy of his accounts. As -to Lord William Russell’s conduct, his biographer says it “was not -criminal, but it would be difficult to acquit him of the charge of -imprudence.”--p. 107. - -[109] “Much discourse hath been about the apparition of Lord William -Russell’s ghost in Southampton square, July 27 (1683), about twelve -o’clock at night.”--_Entring Book, Morice MSS._, Dr. Williams’ Library. -The above notice of Russell’s execution is almost entirely drawn up -from Earl Russell’s life of this illustrious person, 337, _et seq._ - -[110] _Tillotson’s Life_, 109. - -[111] _Collier_, ii. 903. Filmer’s writings were most in vogue with the -partisans of despotism. See _Hallam’s Const. Hist._, ii. 156, on the -subject. - -[112] _Orme’s Life of Owen._ - -[113] _Howe’s Case of Protestant Dissenters; Life_, 247. In a letter -which Howe wrote in the year 1685 from the Continent, when he was -travelling with Philip Lord Wharton, to escape the persecution of -the times, he uses the following words, which indicate, more than -any laboured description, the reign of terror he had left behind -him in England:--“The anger and jealousies of such as I never had a -disposition to offend, have of later times _occasioned persons of my -circumstances_ very seldom to walk the streets.”--_Life by Rogers_, 225. - -[114] The trial is published in a volume edited by Samuel Rosewell, -1718. The trial took place in the months of October and November, 1684. -In the _Memoir_ there is an account of his apprehension and first -appearance before Jeffreys at his house in Aldermanbury. Rosewell, lest -he should commit himself before witnesses, answered Jeffreys in Latin. -The Judge flew into a passion, and told him, he supposed he could not -utter another sentence in the same language to save his neck. Rosewell -did not give him the lie, but thought it better to give his next answer -in Greek. “The Judge seemed to be thunderstruck upon this.”--p. 47. - -[115] _Trial of Rosewell_, p. 52, _et seq._ Speaking of the latter part -of the reign of Charles II. Mrs. Mary Churchman says, “Persecution now -came on apace, the Dissenters could have no meetings but in woods and -corners. I, myself, have seen our companies often alarmed with drums -and soldiers; every one was fined five pounds a month for being in -their company.”--_Abstract of the Gracious Dealings of God, &c._, by -Samuel James, 74. - -[116] I have gathered this account entirely from Delaune’s pamphlets on -the subject, which were collected and published in a volume in the year -1704. The controversy had been mixed up with a reference to Calamy’s -invitation to private Christians, to consult their pastors in their -religious difficulties; and to Nonconformists also to hear both sides; -which--by a wide stretch of interpretation--Delaune construed into a -public challenge to an answer in print. It had been further complicated -with reproaches, because Calamy did not intercede for the sufferer, or -visit him in prison. Defoe says, “It was very hard such a man, such a -Christian, and such a scholar, and on such an occasion should starve -in a dungeon; and the whole body of Dissenters in England, whose cause -he died for defending, should not raise him £66 13s. 4d. to save his -life.” A modern Baptist historian justly says, “We would not mitigate -this crime an atom; but it is right to suggest that Mr. Delaune may -have interdicted the payment of the fine.”--_Evans’ English Baptists_, -ii. 337. Delaune, I suspect, was one of those men who, in the judgment -of an opposite class, are said to court martyrdom. - -[117] _Neal_, iv. 521. - -[118] _De Felice_, _Hist. of the Protestants of France_, 261. - -[119] “The King of France uses the Huguenots with inexpressible -severity, takes away very many of their children by force, and puts -them into Popish convents, and has published an edict for taking away -one half of their churches that remain throughout all the provinces, -and has actually begun to execute it in Normandy.”--_Morice’s Diary_, -December 2, 1679. For a minute record of proceedings against the French -Protestants, see _Histoire Chronologique de L’Eglise Protestante de -France, par C. Drion_, ii. - -[120] _Elie Benoit Hist. de L’Edit de Nantes_, iv. 479. - -[121] _Hist. des Réfugiés Protestants, par Weiss_, i. 265–267. - -[122] _Hist. des Réfugiés Protestants, par Weiss_, i. 268. - -[123] _Coxe’s House of Austria_, ii. 352. - -[124] _State Papers_, 1682, quoted in _Smiles’ Huguenots_. I have found -several other documents on the same subject in the Record Office. -The Mayor and Aldermen of Bristol, on the 2nd of January 1682, oddly -enough, proposed that fines levied on Dissenters should be applied to -the relief of French Protestants.--_State Papers, Dom. Charles II._ - -[125] _Life of Tillotson, by Birch_, 131. - -[126] I find an illustration of the number of refugees who arrived in -London, in a curious book I have elsewhere cited, _The Happy Future -State of England_, published in 1688. It is there noticed (p. 122), -that they had lately come, and filled 800 of the empty new-built houses -of London. - -[127] The letter is dated January 2, 1684.--_Life of Sancroft_, i. 197. - -[128] _Reresby’s Memoirs_, 290. - -[129] _North’s Lives_, ii. 70. - -[130] Abridged from _North’s Lives_, ii. 72. - -[131] _Palmer’s Nonconformist Memorial_, i. 100; _Observator_, January -29 and 31, 1685; _Macaulay_, i. 407. - -[132] By Ward. - -[133] _James’ Memoirs_, by Clarke, i. 747–9. See _Macaulay_, ii. 13, -for authorities respecting the death of Charles. In the appendix to -this volume will be found a copy of the recently discovered MS., which -solves a riddle referred to by Macaulay. - -[134] _Gazette_, 2006. - -[135] _James’ Memoirs_, by Clarke, ii. 4. - -[136] _Ibid._, ii. 6. - -[137] _Dalrymple’s Memoirs_, i. 109. I do not find that this -circumstance is referred to by D’Oyley in his _Life of Sancroft_. - -[138] As to the coronation, it is observed in a _Diary_ amongst the -_Morice MSS._ in Dr. Williams’ library, under date April 25, “Far above -one-half of the nobility made excuses, for one reason or another, and -were absent.” “The noblemen were rather more than the ladies.” - -Amongst the _Baker MSS._, Cambridge University Library, marked 40–2, -are notes concerning the Coronation Office by Archbishops Laud and -Sancroft, with the Coronation Office at large, used by Archbishop -Sancroft. - -“During the coronation of James, the crown not being properly fitted -to his head, tottered. Henry Sidney, Keeper of the Robes, afterwards -so famous for the mischiefs he brought upon James, kept it once from -falling off, and said, with pleasantry to him, ‘This is not the first -time our family has supported the Crown.’ This trifle was much remarked -and talked of at the time; a sure mark that the minds of the people -were under unusual agitations.”--_Dalrymple’s Memoirs_, i. 112. - -[139] _Evelyn._ 1685, May 10, 22. - -[140] From a MS. in the University Library, Cambridge. See _Appendix_ -to this volume. - -[141] It was proposed in Committee that the word _Reformed_ religion -should be inserted in the address, for the word _Protestant_ was -excepted against. Sir Thomas Meres said, “The word Protestant had been -used in a good sense by well-meaning persons, but time and use change -the nature of words. As knave formerly was an honourable title, but now -signified a very ill man.”--_Entring Book_, June 4.--_Morice MSS._ - -[142] Compare _Eachard_, _Kennet_, _Reresby_, _Barillon_, and _Fox_. - -[143] See _Commons’ Journals_, May 27; _Parl. Hist._, iv. 1358. - -“Lest the last words of this resolution should not make sufficient -impression on James, the Speaker, when he presented the Revenue Bill, -remarked, that the Commons had passed that Bill, without joining any -Bill to it for the security of their religion, though _that was dearer -to them than their lives_.”--_Dalrymple’s Memoirs_, i. 133. - -[144] _Orme’s Life of Baxter_, 359. - -[145] The appearance of Sharp and Moore is mentioned in the _Morice -MSS._ - -[146] _Baxter MSS._, Dr. Williams’ Library. Quoted by Orme, _Life of -Baxter_, 363–366. - -[147] _Burnet’s Hist. of his Own Time_, i. 649. For a report of the -proceedings against Alicia Lisle and Elizabeth Gaunt, see _State -Trials_, iv. 105, _et esq._ - -[148] _Hist. of the Revolution_, 31. - -[149] _Mackintosh’s Hist. of Revolution_, 159, where authorities are -given. - -[150] _Ibid._, 160; _Neal_, iv. 552, 554. - -[151] The story told about _White’s MS._ in _Neal_, iv. 555, does not -appear to me at all probable. - -When persecution was at its height, extraordinary cases of escape -occurred. Many a wonderful story is told of deliverances vouchsafed to -suffering Dissenters, of which the following anecdote is a conspicuous -example. Henry Havers, of Catherine Hall, Cambridge, had been ejected -from the Rectory of Stambourne in Essex. Receiving friendly warning -of an attempt to apprehend him, and finding the pursuers on his -track, he sought refuge in a malt-house, and crept into the kiln. -Immediately afterwards, he observed a spider fixing the first line of -a large and beautiful web, across the narrow entrance. The web being -placed directly between him and the light, he was so much struck with -the skill of the insect weaver, that, for a while, he forgot his -own imminent danger; but, by the time the network had crossed and -re-crossed the mouth of the kiln in every direction, the pursuers -came to search for their victim. He listened as they approached, and -distinctly overheard one of them say, “It’s no use to look in _there_, -the old villain can never be there. _Look at that spider’s web, he -could never have got in there without breaking it._” Giving up further -search, they went to seek him elsewhere, and he escaped out of their -hands. - -A similar narrative I find related in reference to Du Moulin, the -French Protestant. It is impossible, after the lapse of two centuries, -to ascertain the exact truth of such accounts. That incidents of the -kind occurred I have no doubt; but whether they are attributed to the -right persons, and are quite accurate in minute details, may admit of -question. - -[152] Castlemaine wrote an apology for the Catholics.--_Butler’s -English Cath._, iii. 47. - -[153] I must refer to the pages of Macaulay and others, for the -politics of the period. Of the theological debates in the presence -of the King and the Earl of Rochester, there is a curious account in -_Patrick’s Autobiography_, 107. - -[154] _Entring Book_, 1686, July 17, _Morice MSS._ - -[155] _Abridgment_, 374. - -[156] _Entring Book_, 1686, June 26, _Morice MSS._ - -[157] _Ibid._, 1687, Jan. 1. - -[158] Compare, as to James’ designs, _Fox’s Hist. of James II._, -332; _Hallam’s Const. Hist._ ii. 212; and _Mackintosh’s Hist. of -Revolution_, chap. v. - -[159] Articles were exhibited against them “too scandalous to be -repeated.” _Burnet’s Own Time_, i. 696; _D’Oyley’s Life of Sancroft_, -i. 237. Sancroft consecrated these two worthless men at Lambeth Palace, -the 17th October, 1686, from fear of a _premunire_. - -[160] _Clarendon’s Correspondence_, i. 258. - -[161] “At Tonbridge Wells, this last summer, some company of condition, -dining with Dr. Sherlock, amongst others the Doctor himself, talking -of the great changes that had been in men and things these late years, -even in his time, who was not old. Saith Mrs. Sherlock, his wife (who -is a very brisk, sharp gentlewoman), ‘a greater instance thereof cannot -be given, than yourself Doctor, for I have known you set up for a -Sectary, a Presbyterian, a Papist, a Church of England man, but you -never nickt your time right, nor turned seasonably, but when those -respective interests were falling, and what you will turn to next, -no man living knows. If ever I become a Papist, call me a knave,’ -whereupon the company smiled.”--_Entring Book_, 1686, August 9, _Morice -MSS._ - -[162] Printed in _State Trials_, iv. 243. - -[163] See _Evelyn’s Diary_, December 29, 1686. - -[164] The last of these facts comes to light in the _State Papers, -Dom._ 1687, August 21. - -[165] _Mackintosh’s Hist. of Revolution_, 207. - -[166] _Ibid._, 209. Mackintosh cites proofs from letters written by the -King, the Queen, the Nuncio, and the French Minister. - -In the _Entring Book_, _Morice MSS._, it is remarked, under date 1686, -November 7--“The King told the Archbishop of York he depended upon his -vote to take off the Test, and other penal laws from the Papists, for -he remembered his lordship was against the making of the Test. The -Archbishop answered, he hoped His Majesty would excuse him in that, -and leave him to give his vote according to his judgment. It was true -he _was_ against the imposing of the Test, but the case was altered; -for then the Papists’ interest was so little, that he thought it not -(as others did) then necessary, but now the Papists’ interest did so -preponderate, that he thought it necessary to keep it on.” - -[167] _Dalrymple’s Memoirs_, ii. 175. - -[168] _Ibid._, i. 166. - -[169] _Ibid._, 157. - -[170] _Entring Book_, January 9, _Morice MSS._ - -[171] _Macaulay_, ii. 337, 453; _Secretan’s Life of Nelson_, 24. - -[172] _Concilia_, iv. 612. - -[173] _Abridgment_, 373. - -[174] April 19/29, 1686. Quoted in _Macaulay_, ii. 375. - -[175] October 4, 1685. _Dalrymple_, ii. 177. - -[176] _Lingard_, xiii. 105. In the _Entring Book, Morice MSS._, under -date 1687, January 8, there are allusions to the anti-Jesuitical -Papists, as uneasy at present proceedings--fearing lest by an -ill-understanding between the King and the Prince of Orange, there -should come a revolution, and Roman Catholics should be destroyed. It -was still treason to be reconciled to the Church of Rome; and Papists -might be convicted now by law, though twenty years after the fact. It -was asked, if the King pardoned their past conversion, would not the -continuance of their fellowship with the Romish Church be a continuance -of treason? - -[177] All this information I gather from the _Morice MSS., Entring -Book_, 1687, April 30; May 14, 28. - -[178] _Transcripts of Digby MSS._, D.d., iii. 64, 57. - -[179] _London Gazette_, April 14. - -[180] _Ibid._, April 28. - -[181] _Ibid._, April 30. - -[182] _London Gazette_, June 11. - -Lord Macaulay is very severe upon Lobb. He certainly disgraced himself; -but Wilson, in his _Dissenting Churches_ (iii. 436), puts the whole -case so as to modify the reader’s judgment. What may be said in -palliation of Alsop’s conduct may be seen in _Calamy_ (_Account_, ii. -488); but really Alsop’s address to James (see _Somers’ Tracts_, i. -236) is inexcusable. Alsop accepted an Alderman’s gown, and was called -Alderman Alsop. His Lordship mentions also Henry Care and Thomas -Rosewell amongst the tools of the Court. As to Henry Care, I cannot -find that he was a Nonconformist minister; and as to Thomas Rosewell, -there is not one word in the _State Trials_, or in his _Life_ by his -son, or in _Calamy’s Account_ (the references made in his Lordship’s -notes), to justify his statement in the text about Rosewell’s services -being “secured.” No doubt much was done to court the Dissenters at this -time, but the picture in _Macaulay’s Hist._ (ii. 474), is too highly -coloured. - -[183] _London Gazette_, July 9. - -[184] _Ibid._, August 18. - -[185] _Dalrymple_, i. 169. - -[186] _Diary_, April 10, 1687. - -[187] It appears to me that no impartial person, who reads Macaulay’s -defence of his own charges against Penn, in the last edition of the -_History of England_, can fail to see how unsatisfactory are the -arguments which he employs. The subject has been discussed afresh in -the Spring number of the _Quarterly Review_ for 1868. - -[188] When the sister of these youths presented a petition on their -behalf, while waiting in the ante-chamber for admission to the Royal -presence, Lord Churchill, standing near the chimney-piece, said, -“Madam, I dare not flatter you with any such hopes, for that marble -is as capable of feeling compassion as the King’s heart.”--_Kiffin’s -Life_, quoted in _Wilson_. - -[189] _Wilson’s Dissenting Churches_, i. 403–31. - -[190] _Clarendon’s Correspondence_, ii. 506. - -[191] _Autobiography of Sir John Bramston._--_Camden Society_, p. 280. - -[192] _Autobiography of Sir John Bramston_, and _A Full and True -Relation_ of the Entry, reprinted in _Somers’ Tracts_, 2nd Edition. - -[193] _State Trials_, iv. 250. - -[194] _State Trials_, 258, _et seq._ “Dr. Fairfax is a very modest, -quiet-tempered man, of very few words, loves to be concerned in no -public business, and offered great violence to his own temper, to -appear now; but he has other apprehensions of the danger the Church -and State are in, than formerly he had, and so is far more tender -to the Dissenters for these last ten or twelve years than he was -before.”--_Entring Book_, June 11. _Morice MSS._ - -[195] Vol. iv. 265, _et seq._ - -[196] _State Papers, Dom. James II._ 1867, Sept. 9. - -[197] _Life of James II._, ii. 120. - -[198] “Penn went the progress with His Majesty, and earnestly pressed -the King to let the business of Oxford fall; for, he said, it would -prejudice his designs and purposes more than his Declaration had -advanced them.”--_Entring Book_, Sept. 3, _Morice MSS._ - -[199] _Neal_, iv. 588. - -[200] _Mackintosh_, 246. - -[201] See notice of Fowler’s writings in a subsequent chapter. - -[202] Salmon, in his _Lives_, p. 212, states that Lake was useful in -the Church in maintaining order and decency, and tells a story of what -he did on a Shrove Tuesday, when Archdeacon of Cleveland. He went from -his seat in the choir, and pulled off the hats of a noisy mob, who -afterwards insulted him, and attacked his house. - -[203] _Granger_, iv. 290. - -[204] _Life of Ken_, by a Layman, 142. An entry appears in the list of -contributors to the rebuilding of St. Paul’s. “January 26, 1684/5. Dr. -Thomas Ken, Lord Bishop of Bath and Wells, in lieu of his consecration -dinner and gloves, £100.” _Ibid._, 148. - -[205] _Diary_, 1687, March 20; 1688, April 1. This sermon for its -circumstances, ingenuity, eloquence, and power was one of the most -remarkable ever preached. - -[206] _Hawkins’ Life of Ken_, 17, 99. - -[207] _Life of Ken_, by a Layman, 62, 207. - -[208] _Burnet’s Hist. of his Own Time_, i. 424, 429, 434, 446. - -[209] See Burnet’s account of Lloyd’s conduct in reference to -Turbervill’s evidence against Lord Stafford. _Hist. of his Own Time_, -i. 488. Neither Lloyd nor Burnet appear to advantage in this business. - -[210] _Philip Henry’s Life_, by Matthew Henry. Edited by Williams, p. -152. For particulars and remarks respecting Lloyd see _Wood, Burnet, -Salmon, Mackintosh’s Hist. of Revolution, Wharton’s Life_ in _Appendix -to D’Oyley’s Sancroft_, and _Rees’ Nonconformity in Wales_. There -were two other Bishops of the same name. The following extract in the -_Entring Book_, 1686, September 25, _Morice MSS._, refers to Dr. Lloyd, -Bishop of Norwich: “He, at his first going down thither, gave great -encouragement to religion, and set up evening exercises in his family -upon the Lord’s Days, in the evening, and explained _The Whole Duty of -Man_, and prayed and carried himself very respectfully to all. But of -late, he has set a day for all Dissenters to come to the Sacrament, -and if they do not come, then he will proceed against them with all -severity. Many of his own way always had and still have bad thoughts of -him.” The other Lloyd was Bishop of St. David’s, 1686–7. - -[211] _D’Oyley’s Life of Sancroft_, i. 263. - -[212] _Calamy’s Life_, i. 198. - -[213] _Perry’s Hist. of the Church of England_, ii. 510. - -[214] _State Papers_, 1682/3, Feb. 23. - -[215] The significant Articles which he sent out to the clergy in July, -1688, will be considered in the next volume in connection with the -ecclesiastical history of the Revolution. - -[216] _State Trials_, iv. 362. _Gutch Collect. Curiosa_, i. 335. - -[217] _Patrick’s Autobiography_, 134. - -[218] _D’Oyley’s Life of Sancroft_, i. 265–268. - -[219] _Evelyn_, ii. 285, May 20, 1688. - -[220] _Mackintosh_, 252. He observes, “perhaps the smaller number -refers to parochial clergy and the larger to those of every -denomination.” We are not aware that other denominations did read it. - -[221] Buckden, May 29, 1688, _Baker MSS._, Cambridge University Library. - -[222] In _James’s Memoirs_, ii. 158, the foolish step of committing -the Bishops is attributed to Jeffrey’s influence, and it is added, -“When the veil was taken off,” the King “owned it to have been a fatal -counsel.” - -[223] _Reresby’s Memoirs_, 347. - -“Sir Edward Hales, Lieutenant of the Tower, invited the Bishops to -dine on Lord’s Day; but being to receive the sacrament that day, they -desired to be excused. He sent them half a buck, and knowing that they -would be at church on Lord’s Day, being now sufferers, he, on Saturday -night, told Dr. Hawkins he had an express command to deliver to him -from the King, to read the Declaration in the Tower Church the next -Lord’s Day following. Hawkins, after expressing the most abject kind of -loyalty, refused.”--_Entring Book_, 1688, June 9, _Morice MSS._ - -[224] _Entring Book_, 1688, June 9, _Morice MSS._ - -[225] _Gazette_, May 3. - -[226] _Mackintosh’s Hist. of the Revolution_, 253; also, _Ibid._, -_D’Adda_, 1/11 June. - -[227] _D’Adda_, 15/22 June; _Mackintosh_, 262. - -[228] _State Trials_, iv; _D’Oyley_, i. 297. The first part of the -defence was entrusted to Sawyer. That part which related to the -dispensing power was in the hands of Finch. - -[229] _Reresby_, 348. A letter of Barillon (12 Juillet) leaves no room -for doubt as to the reason of their discharge. - -[230] _Hunter’s Life of Oliver Heywood_, 163, 187, 219. - -[231] _Life of Oliver Heywood_, 235. - -[232] _Hunter’s Life of Heywood_, 244. - -[233] _Hunter’s Life of Heywood_, 285–6. - -[234] _Neal_, iii. 600. - -[235] For preparations made in Oliver’s lifetime with a view to this -meeting, see _Church of the Commonwealth_, 514. For a notice of the -place of meeting, see the third volume of this history (_Church of the -Restoration_, i.). - -[236] The Savoy Declaration is printed in _Hanbury’s Memorials_. Most -of the passages I have given are abridged. - -[237] Mather remarks, “There is no Congregational man, but he reports -to the Church something of what the person desiring communion with them -has related to him, which the Presbyterian does not, only declares his -own satisfaction, and giveth the brethren a liberty to object against -the conversation of the _admittendi_.”--_Magnalia_, ii. 61. Such -reports may be found in the _Choice Experience of Mrs. Rebecca Combe, -and Mrs. Gertrude Clarkson_, printed in _An Abstract of the Gracious -Dealings of God, &c._, by Samuel James. - -[238] _Life of Heywood_, 238. - -[239] _Works_, xxi. 547. - -[240] _Works_, v. 46. - -[241] _Works_, xi. 452. - -[242] Some very high views and strong expressions may be found in -_Jacomb’s Dedication_, 136. - -[243] _Baillie’s Letters and Journals._ _Gould’s Introduction to the -Report of St. Mary’s Norwich Chapel Case_ cxiv. _et seq._ - -[244] I refer to what Crosby says of Mr. Spilsbury’s Church (i. 148; -iii. 41). A number seceded from Mr. Jessy’s Church in 1638, 1641, and -1643, and became Baptists before he did.--_Crosby_, i. 310. - -[245] _Gould_, xxviii. - -[246] See generally upon this subject _Underhill’s Confessions of -Faith_, and _Gould’s Introduction to St. Mary’s Case_. The latter -writer, who has carefully studied the subject, says, “The history of -the Baptists in England has yet to be written.” - -[247] See p. 75 of this vol. - -[248] _State Papers_, 1676, April 8. Appended to this document is an -unsigned letter, addressed to the same person, whose name was Warner, -expostulating with him for absenting himself from communion, because he -was dissatisfied with the writer. - -[249] The history of the controversy is itself a subject of -controversy. I cannot notice it. The question is ably argued on both -sides in the _Report of St. Mary’s Norwich Chapel Case_. The character -and limits of this work prevent me from entering more fully into -Baptist affairs. The most learned representatives of that denomination -seem to be dissatisfied with all the books which relate their own -history. - -[250] _Broadmead Records_, 189–221, 458, 459. - -[251] _Hist. of Friends_, ii. 448 and 442. - -[252] _Pope’s Life of Ward._ - -[253] _North’s Lives_, i. 296, 279. - -[254] _Barwick’s Life_, 302. I find the following in the Cambridge -University Library:--“Negotium Consecrationis Sacelli palatio -Episcopali Norw. pertinentis.” - -“May 16, 1672. The chapel was built and adorned at Bp. Reynolds’ -expense, having been demolished in the Civil War. Consecration of the -reading-desk, pulpit, and altar. Sermon by Jno. Conant, D.D., the -Bishop’s son-in-law, the Bishop being disabled by illness.”--_Baker -MSS._, 40, 5. Cat. v. 478. - -[255] _D’Oyley’s Life_, i. 145. Reynolds, Bishop of Norwich, zealously -assisted.--_Blomefield_, i. 585. - -[256] _Webster’s Poetical and Dramatic Works_, i. 274. _Duchess of -Malfey_, a tragedy published in 1623. - -[257] _John Evelyn’s Diary._ 1684, Dec. 7. - -[258] _Entring Book_, March 3, 1681, _Morice MSS._ - -[259] _State Papers, Dom. Charles II._ Entry of Ecclesiastical -business. 1670, July 27. - -[260] _Evelyn._ 1677, Sept. 10. - -[261] _Cosin’s Works_, iv. 381. - -[262] _Articles of Visitation_, in Appendix to Report of the Commission -on Ritual. Most of these requirements were in compliance with the -Canons of 1603. - -[263] _Naked Truth._ _Somers’ Tracts_, iii. 346. - -[264] _Lives of North_, i. 279. - -[265] _State Papers._ Osborne to Williamson, March 27, 1675. - -[266] _Lathbury’s Convocation_, 309. - -[267] _Blomefield’s Norwich_, i. 413. - -[268] _Ashmole’s Order of the Garter_, 357, 542. - -[269] _Sandford’s Funeral of Monk._ - -[270] _Evelyn._ 1684, March 30. - -In Sancroft’s form of “Dedication and Consecration of a Church or -Chapel, 1685,” this direction is found:--“So likewise, when a censer is -presented and received, they say, ‘While the King sitteth at his table, -my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof,’” &c. In the _MS. Life of -Ashmole_, Ashmole Museum, Oxford, he says--1675, Jan. 6--“I wore the -chain of gold sent me from the King of Denmark before the King in his -proceeding to the chapel to offer gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” - -[271] _North’s Lives_, i. 296. - -[272] _Wilkins’ Concilia_, iv. 590. June 4, 1670. - -[273] _Naked Truth._ _Somers’ Tracts_, iii. 347. - -[274] From an autograph letter addressed to Sancroft, shown in 1862 at -an exhibition of autographs in the Institution of the Incorporated Law -Society. See Catalogue. - -[275] _Articles_ of Fuller, Bishop of Lincoln, 1671. Appendix to Second -Report of Commission on Ritual, 641. - -[276] They are computed by the writer of _The Future Happy State of -England_ (109) as having amounted, in 1660, to between £300,000 and -£500,000 a year. The annual revenue of the whole nation he puts down at -eight millions. - -[277] _Stowe._ - -[278] _Chamberlayne’s Angliæ Notitia._ - -[279] _Wood_, iv. 311. There is in the Record Office (1678, May) a -petition from Croft, Bishop of Hereford, in which he says the bishopric -is not worth, in rents, £700 a year. In sixteen years he had not raised -£2,000 in fines. There is also a letter from Bishop Barlow (Oxford, May -29, 1675), in which he writes, “Fees, first-fruits, &c., will cost me -£2,000 or £1,500 before I shall receive a penny from the bishopric.” - -[280] _Granger’s Lives_, iii. 235. - -[281] Notice of Morley in _Life of Ken_, 138, and _Le Neve_, 192. -According to another computation, Sheldon gave away £72,000. - -[282] _Life, by Pope_, 57–63. - -[283] _Life of Sancroft_, i. 147. _State Papers--Entring Book._ -Ecclesiastical business, 1670–4. 1670, 13th June. - -[284] _State Papers, Dom. Charles II._ 1678, May. - -[285] _North’s Lives_, i. 289. - -[286] _State Papers, Dom. Charles II._ 1667, Sept. 30. - -[287] Dec. 18, 1669. - -[288] March 12, 1672. - -[289] _State Papers_, April 27, 1675. - -[290] _Dom. Charles II._ April, 1675. - -[291] _State Papers, Dom. Charles II._ Wood says (_Ath. Ox._ iv. 334), -“On the 22nd of April, 1675, being the very day that Dr. Fuller, Bishop -of Lincoln, died, after several discussions that passed between His -Majesty, and certain persons of honour then present, concerning the -person to be preferred, Dr. Barlow was introduced into the presence of -His Majesty, and had the grant of that see, and forthwith kissed His -Majesty’s hand for the same.” Coventry and Williamson were his friends. - -[292] Parliamentary Return on _Ecclesiastical Appeals_, ordered by -the House of Commons April 3, 1868, p. xxviii.--_Oughton’s Ordo -Judiciorum_, vol. i. 219, _et seq._ - -[293] Act of 25th Henry VIII., c. 19, 1533.--_Parl. Return_, p. iii. - -[294] _Parl. Return_, p. xxx. - -[295] There were two Commissions on this case: the first contained four -Bishops and ten laymen--the second, five Bishops and ten laymen. - -[296] There are papers relating to him in the Record Office.--_Dom. -Charles II._, 1673, October. - -[297] The cases are given in the _Parliamentary Return_; they are -numbered:--53, William Duncke; 74, Edward Hirst (there are three other -cases for not resorting to parish church, 53, 70, and 76;) 78, Catherine -Gounter; 82, Jonathan Rutter. Duncke and Rutter were excommunicated. - -[298] _Return_, p. viii. - -[299] _Salmon’s Lives of the Bishops_, 310. - -[300] I am not sure of the date in the 17th century when the Hall was -so used. A fine copy of _Baxter’s Christian Directory_ is preserved in -Dr. Williams’ Library, and is said to have been chained to some part of -the porch of the great meeting-house in the City of Coventry. - -[301] _Offor’s Life of Bunyan, Works_, iii. lxix. - -[302] _Thoresby._ - -[303] _State Papers, Dom. Charles II._, 1674, Nov. 4. - -[304] _State Papers, Dom. Charles II._, 1674, Feb. 12. - -[305] I find these anecdotes in a _MS. History of the Suffolk -Churches_, by the Rev. T. Harmer, author of _Observations on Scripture_. - -[306] _History of England_, i. 294. - -[307] The author, however, considers that the Bishops’ survey came -far below the mark,--he mentions a conjectural estimate of eight -millions.--_Happy Future, &c._, 116. - -[308] _Happy Future, &c._, 281. - -[309] _Dalrymple’s Memoirs_, Appendix, ii. 12. - -[310] _Happy Future, &c._, 150. - -[311] _Pope’s Life of Ward_, 148. - -[312] _Pope’s Life of Ward_, 148. - -[313] James II. said at Oxford, “he heard many of them used notes in -their sermons, but none of his Church ever did.”--_Wood_, quoted in -_Southey’s Common-Place Book_, iii. 496. The early Puritans greatly -disliked read sermons. See _Hooker (Keble)_, ii. 107. - -[314] _Howe’s Works_, vi. 295. - -[315] _Life_, 419. This was Bull’s advice after he became a Bishop in -1705. - -[316] _Wood, Ath. Ox._--Ed. Bliss. iv. 619.--See at the end of chapter -xii. the Chancellor’s injunctions. - -[317] _Worcester MS._ 1660, May 14. _State Papers_, 1666, Jan. 30. - -[318] _Williams’ Life of Hale_, 106. - -[319] _Kennet’s Register_, 154. - -[320] These instances are gathered from the _State Papers_ and the -works of Sir Thomas Browne. - -[321] _Diary and Correspondence of Dr. John Worthington_, i. 360, -August 20, 1661. Samuel Hartlib was the son of a Polish refugee who -lived in Prussia. He came to England in 1630, and devoted his time -and fortune to the promotion of literature and science. Milton speaks -highly of him in his _Treatise on Education_. Hartlib was reduced to -poverty soon after the Restoration. - -[322] _Worthington’s Reply_, ii., Sept. 12, 1661. - -[323] _Hunter’s Life of Heywood_, 162. - -[324] _Hunter’s Life of Heywood_, 219, 252, 204. - -[325] _Ibid._, 254. - -[326] _Ibid._, 192. - -[327] _Ibid._, 277. - -[328] _Hunter’s Life of Heywood_, 276. - -[329] Dean Stanley informs me, that his father, the Bishop of Norwich, -delighted to relate this anecdote of the connection between his -ancestors and Oliver Heywood. - -[330] _Life of Philip Henry_, 120. - -[331] _Turner’s Hist. of Remarkable Providences_, ch. lxv. p. 80. - -[332] _Life of Heywood_, 215, 331. - -[333] For the knowledge of this tradition, I am indebted to Mr. Parker, -of Wycombe. - -[334] _Howe’s Works_, ii. 362, 369. - -[335] _Ibid._, iv. 3, 47. - -[336] _Life of Heywood_, 290. - -[337] From an account entitled _The Singular Experience and Great -Sufferings of Mrs. Agnes Beaumont_, printed in _An Abstract of the -Gracious Dealings of God, &c._ Edited by Samuel James. 4th Edit., 1774, -p. 83. - -[338] _Life by Dr. Pope._ - -[339] _Pope’s Life of Ward._ - -[340] _North’s Lives_, iii. 323, 324. - -[341] _Ibid._, i. 275. - -[342] _North’s Lives_, i. 242. - -[343] Heneage Finch to his sister.--_State Papers_, Feb. 10, 1671/2. - -[344] _Sabbatum Redivivum_, ii. 37. - -[345] _Works_, iii. 102. Baxter’s doctrine was that the Jewish Sabbath -was abrogated, and that the Lord’s Day was instituted by Divine -authority.--_Works_, xiii. 369, _et seq._ According to Orme, there is -only another writer of the same period with Baxter who takes just the -same view of the subject, and almost the same ground. He alludes to -_Warren’s Jews’ Sabbath Antiquated_, 1659. - -[346] _Exposition of the Hebrews_, ii. 453. - -[347] _Taylor’s Works_, xii. 437. - -[348] _Thorndike’s Works_, vi. 73; iv. 483–507. - -[349] Cases of Conscience, _Sanderson’s Works_, v. 15. - -[350] _Cosin’s Works_, i. 188. - -[351] _Annals of Windsor_, ii. 404. - -[352] Hooker paints the sacred year in magnificent colours.--Book V., -c. lxx., s. 8. - -[353] _Newcome’s Diary._ - -[354] Reeve’s Charity at Windsor is an example.--_Annals of Windsor_, -ii. 370. - -[355] _Blomefield_, i. 412. - -[356] _Faulkener’s History of Chelsea_, 153. - -[357] Tillotson’s funeral sermon for Mr. Gouge, 62–64. - -[358] _Life of Thomas Firman, late Citizen of London_, 1698. - -Wesley prefaces the life of Firman in the _Arminian Magazine_ with -these words: “I was exceedingly struck at reading the following -life, having long settled it in my mind that the entertaining wrong -notions concerning the Trinity was inconsistent with real piety. -But I cannot argue against matter of fact. I dare not deny that Mr. -Firman was a pious man, although his notions of the Trinity were quite -erroneous.”--_Southey’s Life of Wesley_, ii. 68. - -[359] _Life and Times_, pt. ii. 296–7. - -[360] _Birch’s Life of Boyle_, Appendix. The New England Company is -still in existence. I hope to be able to give some account of its -proceedings in a future volume. - -[361] The College referred to was Emmanuel.--_D’Oyley’s Life of -Sancroft_ i. 128. - -[362] “The gradual exclusion of mental by physical science from -the circle of ‘philosophy’ as defined in the Cambridge Schools, -belongs to the first half of the 18th, not of the 17th century,” -says the author of _Thorndike’s Life_, but he justly adds that in -the 17th century ancient philosophy and languages were yielding “to -the continually-increasing influence of mathematics and natural -philosophy.”--_Works_, vi. 166. - -[363] _State Papers, Dom._, 1667, Cal. 301. - -[364] _North’s Lives_, iii. 362–367. - -[365] _Cooper’s Annals_, iii. 549. - -[366] Dated Oct. 8, 1674.--_Wilkins’ Concilia_, iv. 594. Letters -referring to Monmouth’s election as Chancellor, may be found amongst -the _State Papers_, (1674,) and a characteristic one from the Duke, -accepting this office in Lambeth Library, _Tenison MSS._ 674, fol. 5. - -[367] Printed Copy of the programme in Latin:--“Quod se unusquisque, -post sex hebdomodas abhinc numerandas, coram Academicis Concionem, sive -Anglice, sive Latine habiturus, Illam, more majorum, a principio ad -finem, memoriter recitare tenebitur; ita ut, vel non omnino, vel saltem -perraro, nec nisi carptim, et stringente oculo, librum consulere opus -habeat.”--_State Papers, Dom._, 1674, Nov. 24. - -[368] _Dom. Charles II._ 1666, Aug. 16, 17. There is a curious letter, -dated 1677, July 23, written by Joseph Addison’s father, Launcelot -Addison, begging preferment. - -[369] _Autobiography of A. Wood_, quoted _Oxoniana_, ii. 23. - -[370] _Ibid._, 89. - -[371] Letter from Dr. Wallis, July, 1669, _Neal_, iv. 423. - -[372] _State Papers._ - -[373] The letters are dated 1684, Nov. 6, 8, 12, 16, _Oxoniana_, ii. -205–210. - -[374] See the Writings of William Penn. - -[375] _Life, Works_, vi. 176, _et seq._ - -[376] _Works_, ii. 15. - -[377] _Ibid._, ii. 88–100. - -[378] _Ibid._, v. 488. - -[379] _Works_, i. 118; iii. 246. - -[380] Vol. ii. 424, 409, 471, 564. - -[381] Vol. iii. 68, 80, 128. It is well to recollect, all through this -account of the Anglo-Catholic view of faith, what is the doctrine of -Roman Catholics upon the subject--“Jam vero Catholici agnoscunt quidem -vocabulum fidei, in divinis literis non semper uno, et eodem modo sumi -... tamen fidem historicam, et miraculorum, et promissionum, unam et -eandem esse docent, atque illam unam non esse proprie notitiam, aut -fiduciam, sed assensum certum, atque firmissimum, ob auctoritatem primæ -veritatis; et hanc unam esse fidem justificantem.”--_Bellarmin, De -Justificatione_, c. iv. - -[382] Vol. iii. 173, 355. - -[383] Vol. iii. 313. - -[384] _Ibid._, 393, 496. - -[385] Vol. iii. 541-547; chap. xxviii.–xxx. - -[386] _Ibid._, 649. - -[387] _Ibid._, 660. - -[388] Any one who wishes to verify this may do so by consulting the -useful index to the Oxford Edition of _Thorndike’s Works_. It is -interesting and instructive, in connection with the study of Thorndike, -to read the deeply thoughtful sermon on Justification by Hooker -(_Works_, iii.). The divergence between them is manifest. Thorndike -could not consistently hold Hooker’s clear view of justification, as -distinguished from holiness. It may not be amiss here to observe that -the doctrine of justification by faith, though tenaciously held by the -Puritans, was not held by them alone. It was maintained by Reformers -who opposed Puritanism, and by some Roman Catholics before the Council -of Trent. There were anti-Lutherans who so far agreed with Luther. -Whether they were consistent is another question. - -[389] Vol. iii. 695. - -[390] _Life of Thorndike_, 224, 253. - -[391] _Nelson’s Life of Bull_, 24. - -[392] _Harmonia Apostolica_, 10. - -[393] _Harmonia Apostolica_, 21, 22. - -[394] _Harmonia Apostolica_, 58, 71, 76, 87–166. - -[395] This quotation is taken from the _Tracts for the Times_, iv. 63. -The words in _Bull’s Apology_, sect. i., are not closely followed. - -[396] _Nelson’s Life of Bull_, 191. - -[397] _Bull’s Exam. Cens., &c._, Oxford Edit., 38–91. - -[398] _Ibid._, 228. - -[399] Preface to _Exam. Cens._ - -[400] See for example his defence of Origen, _Def. Fid._, i. 190, 196, -200. Notice, also, what Hallam says of Bull, _Introduction to Lit._, -iv. 152. Hooker (in the _Eccl. Polity_, book v. s. 42) speaks of the -Deity of our Lord Jesus Christ--the co-equality and co-eternity of the -Son with the Father--as contained but not opened in the former Creed -(the Apostles’). I would call attention to a pregnant remark of that -great Divine:--“Howbeit, because this Divine mystery is more true than -plain, divers having framed the same to their own conceits and fancies, -are found in their expositions thereof more plain than true.”--_Ibid._, -s. 52. May I add, that he seems to forget his own remarks in s. 56. - -[401] _Bull’s State of Man_, ii. 96; _Jackson_, iii. 117; _Ellicott’s -Destiny of the Creature_, 172. - -[402] _Theologia Veterum_, 407. - -[403] The word _being_ is used by Pearson and Heylyn in the same way as -we use the word _since_. The quotation is from p. 251, in the 12th fol. -edit. of _Pearson’s Exposition_. For Heylyn’s opinions, see _Theol. -Vet._, 255. The contrast between the tone of Pearson and Heylyn is very -striking. - -[404] _Works_, ii. 241-255.--_Life of Christ_, first published in 1649, -afterwards “with additionals,” 1653. - -[405] _Taylor’s Works_, ix. 424.--_Real Presence_, 1654. - -[406] See Sect. iii. iv. v. vi. of the _Real Presence_, ix. 436, _et -seq._ - -[407] _Taylor’s Works_, i., p. ccxxviii. - -[408] _Taylor’s Works_, vi. 271. _Sermons._ - -[409] _Taylor’s Works_, ii. 323.--_Life of Christ._ - -[410] _Ibid._, vi. 279.--_Sermons._ - -[411] _Taylor’s Works_, vii. 444.--_Liberty of Prophesying_, 1647. - -[412] _Ibid._, 445. - -[413] _Works_, i. ccxi. - -[414] _Life_, clxxxiii. - -[415] _Hooker’s Works_, book iii., sect. 3. - -[416] _Life_, clxxxv. - -[417] _Cosin’s Works_, vol. v., pref. xix. - -[418] _Bingham_, in his _Antiquities_ (v. 358, _et seq._), expends -much learning upon proofs that the Fathers believed in the continued -substantial presence of bread and wine. In _Hooker_, there is a -clear description of the Anglican view as distinguished from other -views.--_Eccl. Polity_, v.c. lv., &c. - -[419] “Nam multi ex antiquissimis patribus, ut Justinus Martyr, -Tertullianus, Clemens Romanus, Lanctantius, Victorinus Martyr, et alii, -non putabant animas justorum hinc recta ad cœlos ire: sed in sinu -Abrahæ, vel in aliquo alio refrigerii loco usque ad ultimi judicii -diem detineri; adeoque interea Beatificæ visionis, seu perfectæ -felicitatis, ex Dei promissione et Christi merito illis debitæ, -expertes esse. Quare cum sic judicarent non abs re erat Deum illorum -nomine orare, ut maturaret illum diem, quem coronandis Sanctis suis in -plenitudine Redemptionis destinâsset.”--_Epistolaris Dissertatio_, &c., -18.--Compare _Tracts for the Times_, No. 72. - -[420] _Works_, Oxford Edit., iv. 507.--Preface to the “Catching of -Leviathan,”--this preface is very clever and amusing. - -[421] _Walton’s Lives: Pierce’s Letter._ For an account of -Sublapsarianism, &c., see _Burnet_ on the _Articles_, xvii. - -[422] _Walton’s Lives_: Pierce’s letter, 52. - -[423] _Sermons_, 60. - -[424] Some account has been given of Hammond in the _Church of the -Commonwealth_. A letter, from which a quotation is inserted on p. 333, -has been incorrectly supposed to refer to him. Hammond was unmarried. - -[425] _Practical Catechism_ (published in 1662), p. 78. Oxford Edit., -1847. - -[426] _Practical Catechism_, 34, 79, 25. His minor Theological Works -are controversial. - -[427] _Exposition_, 337, 345. - -[428] _Exposition_, 348, 364, 365, 366. - -[429] _Works_, ii. 85, 117, 131. - -[430] _Works_, ii. 113. - -[431] _Ibid._, 128. - -[432] _Works_, ii. 337. - -[433] _Ibid._, 13, 15. - -[434] _Ibid._, 16. - -[435] _Works_, ii. 533. - -[436] _Thorndike’s Works_, ii. 4; iv. 910. - -[437] _Bull’s Works_, ii. 187. - -[438] _Theologia Veterum_, 450. - -[439] _Theologia Veterum_, 417. - -[440] _Preface to Dissuasive from Popery._--_Works_, x., cxviii. - -[441] _Works_, i. 72. - -[442] _Bramhall’s Vindication of Grotius_, quoted in _Tracts for the -Times_, No. 74. - -[443] _Cosin’s Latin Confession._--_Works_, iv. 525. - -[444] _Treatises._ _Answer to Father Cressy_, 31. - -[445] _Thorndike’s Works_, v. 20; i. 622, 530. - -[446] _Works_, iv. 923, 173. - -[447] _Cosin’s Works_, iv. 527. - -[448] Hallam speaks of the testimony brought forward as consisting of -“vague and self-contradictory stories, which gossiping compilers of -literary anecdote can easily accumulate.”--_Const. Hist._, i. 216. - -[449] Compare this with what I have said in vol. iii., p. 81. - -[450] _Register_, 386. - -[451] _Thoresby’s Diary_, i. 61. - -[452] I have before me the 20th edition of the _New Whole Duty of Man_, -authorized by the King’s most excellent Majesty, in which there is -a decided attack made upon the old _Whole Duty of Man_. Some of the -author’s criticisms are scarcely fair. - -[453] The first edition was published 1659. In Aubrey’s _Letters_, ii. -125–134 there is an interesting discussion respecting the authorship -of the book. It has been ascribed to Lady Packington, to Archbishop -Frewen, to Archbishop Sancroft, and to Woodhead, who, after the -Restoration, became a Roman Catholic. - -[454] He is to be distinguished from Samuel Clarke, the Puritan. -Walton’s Polyglott is noticed in _Ecclesiastical Hist._, vol. ii. - -[455] _Hallam_, _Introduction_, &c., iv. 149. See note to this chapter -in the Appendix. It is too long for insertion here. - -[456] See vol. i. of this history for particulars in Chillingworth’s -life. - -[457] Chap. iv. - -[458] _John Smith’s Select Works_, 333. - -[459] _John Smith’s Select Works_, 344, 349. - -[460] _Golden Remains_, 157. - -[461] _Ibid._, 95. - -[462] _Ibid._, 257. - -[463] _Ibid._, 114. - -[464] _Farindon’s Sermons_, iii. 171. - -[465] _Farindon’s Sermons_, iii. 285, 286. - -[466] _Ibid._, 562. - -[467] _Farindon’s Sermons_, i. 71. - -[468] _Phenix_, ii. 505. - -[469] _Life and Times_, ii. 386. - -[470] _Hist. of his Own Times_, i. 188. - -[471] _Works_, v. 316. - -[472] _The Principles and Practices of Certain Moderate Divines of the -Church of England_, by Edward Fowler, 89. - -[473] _Ibid._, 114. - -[474] _The Principles and Practices of Certain Moderate Divines of the -Church of England_, 126, 161. - -[475] _The Principles and Practices of Certain Moderate Divines of the -Church of England_, 213, 228.--Compare with this extract what is said -hereafter respecting the opinions of Richard Baxter. - -[476] _A Discourse of Christian Liberty_, Sect. II. chap. viii. - -[477] Sect. III., chap. xv.; see also chap. xiii. _Fowler’s Discourse -on the Principles of certain Moderate Divines, &c._, was published -1679. In 1671, he published _The Design of Christianity_, in which -he dwelt upon the restoration of righteousness in man as the chief -purpose of the Gospel. He was answered in the following year by -John Bunyan. The reply is entitled, “A defence of the doctrine of -justification by faith in Christ Jesus; showing true Gospel holiness -flows from thence; or Mr. Fowler’s pretended _Design of Christianity_, -proved to be nothing more, than to trample under foot the blood of -the Son of God; and the idolizing of man’s own righteousness: as also -how while he pretends to be a minister of the Church of England, he -overthroweth the wholesome doctrine contained in the 10th, 11th, and -13th of the Thirty-nine Articles of the same, and that he falleth in -with the Quaker and Romanist against them.” The bad temper of the book -is indicated in this long title. Bunyan points out Fowler’s defects, -and defends important doctrines which Fowler impugns; but he deals in -a good deal of fierce and coarse invective. In this respect, Fowler -equalled him, when he published a rejoinder. - -[478] _Intellectual System_, 61, 597, 619. - -[479] _Ibid._, 191. - -[480] _Intellectual System_, 676.--We may gather from the passage, -how Cudworth would have treated the Darwinian hypotheses of natural -selection and struggle for life. - -[481] _Burnet_, i. 189, includes him when describing the -Latitudinarians. - -[482] _Origines Sacræ_, 539. - -[483] _Kitto’s Cycl., Art. Patrick._--It is many years ago since I -consulted Patrick, but my impressions are of the kind stated above. -Of Lightfoot’s learning I am not a competent judge, but I follow the -current of opinion as I find it in the best critics. - -[484] _Whewell’s Inductive Sciences_, ii. 112. - -[485] See _Letters by Stubbe_, in _Birch’s Life of Boyle_, 189–200. - -[486] See his _Lex Orientalis_, _Sadducismus Triumphans_, and _Vanity -of Dogmatizing_, Ed. 1661. - -[487] _Plus Ultra_, 88.--Glanvill answered Stubbe’s attack. No love was -lost between them; most bitterly did they abuse one another. - -[488] In the _Plus Ultra_, p. 141, is a passage which might have been -written by a modern controversialist. - -[489] _Philosophia Pia_, particularly pp. 81 and 119. This treatise -and others, published under new titles, may be found in his volume of -_Essays_, published in 1676. He was addicted to the habit of reprinting -old treatises under new titles. There is, in Dr. Williams’ Library, a -good collection of Glanvill’s works, including the first and second -editions of _The Vanity of Dogmatizing_, now very scarce. - -[490] _Joshua de la Place_ (_Placæus_) died 1655; _Claude Pagon_, 1685. -They were leaders in this direction. - -[491] Spener commenced his ministry in 1662, and died in 1705. - -[492] See Andrew Rivet, _Isagoge_, &c., 1627, xx. “Nullum esse hominum -cœtum, nullum hominem quantacunque dignitate polleat, qui sensus -Scripturæ aut controversiarum fidei, sit judex supremus et judici -infallibalis.” - -[493] Descartes died 1650; Spinoza, 1677. - -[494] _Christian Doctrine_, translated by Sumner, 85–89, 135. - -[495] Chap. xiv.-xxiii. One of the most extraordinary charges which -party spirit ever created was that of Milton being a Papist. - -[496] _Biddle’s Confession of Faith touching the Holy Trinity._ - -[497] _Works_, viii. 83, _et seq._ In the Lambeth Library, Tenison -MSS., 673, is a curious volume containing “Original papers, which a -cabal of Socinians in London offered to present to the Ambassadors of -the King of Fez and Morocco, when he was taking leave of England in -1682.” The agent of the Socinians is said to have been Monsieur de -Verze. - -[498] _De Carne Christo._--_Adv. Prax._, c. vii. - -[499] Quoted in _Bancroft’s Hist. of the United States_, ii. 373. - -[500] _Works_, i. 150, 151, 157, 167, 209, 215, 231. - -[501] _A Discourse of the General Rule of Faith and -Practice._--_Works_, i. 294. - -[502] _Works_, i. 310. - -[503] See his _Sandy Foundation_.--_Works_, i. - -[504] _Works_, i. 62, 262, 267. - -[505] See Penn’s _Great Case of Liberty of Conscience_, published -1670.--_Works_, iii. - -[506] See _Truth Exalted_.--_Works_, i. - -[507] _Third Proposition concerning the Scriptures._ See pp. 142–146, -204. - -[508] _Apology_, 204 (abridged). - -[509] _Ibid._, 207, 226, 241. - -[510] _Sparkles of Glory_, 145, 200. - -[511] _Sterry’s Sermons_, 17. - -[512] Gale insists upon the sense of religion in barbarous -nations.--Part iv., 238. - -[513] _Howe’s Works_, iii. 37. He refers to Cudworth. See remarks on -the argument in _Rogers’ Life of Howe_, 368. - -[514] _Works_, iv. 416, _et seq._ - -[515] _Works_, ii. 144, _et. seq._--I have, in speaking of Thorndike, -mentioned the distinction which he makes between degrees of -inspirations. But that was a turn of thought which seems to have been -rarely taken in those days. I have searched Pearson, and Taylor, and -Goodwin, and even Baxter, besides others, in vain for any indication -of their having contemplated any such controversy on the subject as -exists in our day. The complete inspiration of the Bible was believed. -The Lutheran theologians of the seventeenth century maintained the -inspiration of every word, and also that the Hebrew vowel points are -original.--_Hagenbach Hist. of Doctrine_, ii. 231. - -[516] _Herbert’s De Veritate_ was published in 1624. - -[517] For the doctrine of the Eternal Generation, see _Goodwin’s -Works_, v. 547; _Owen’s Works_, viii. 112, 291. For the doctrine of -the Trinity: _Goodwin_, iv. 231; _Owen_, ii. 64, 175; _Orme’s Life of -Baxter_, 470. - -[518] See Howe’s mode of speaking about the covenant in contrast with -Thorndike’s.--_Works_, iii. 448. - -[519] _Works_, viii. 4, 257, 459, 546; ii. 234; viii. 288. - -[520] _Works_, ix. _Discourse of Election._ - -[521] See _Ibid._, 154, 160, 344. He mentions a good woman, who said -to her wicked son, “Well, I shall one day rejoice that thou shalt be -damned, and take part with the glory of God therein.” The conviction of -so high a grace in her soul he declares was the means of breaking the -man’s heart, and converting him. - -Such things had been said by the schoolmen. Thomas Aquinas, in his -_Summa_ (pt. iii. sup. quest. 94, art. i.), alludes to the bliss of the -saved being increased by the sight of the lost. - -[522] _Works_, iii. 15. - -[523] _Ibid._, iii. 15; iv. 64, 9. - -[524] Vol. VI. bk. ii. - -[525] _Owen’s Works_, xi. 203, 209. - -[526] _Owen’s Works_, ix. 198. - -[527] _Works_, v. 325 _et seq._ They are sixteen in number, and -are stated in such a way that it is impossible to condense them -satisfactorily. - -[528] _Ibid._, 267, 308, 318. - -[529] _Imputatio Fidei_ (1642), pp. 7, 17. Nothing can exceed the -clearness and precision with which the whole case is stated at the -beginning of the Treatise. - -[530] _Redemption Redeemed_, (1651), 433.--This point he pursues at -great length in chapters v., viii., xvi., xx. He argues, that if Christ -died _sufficiently_ for all, He died _intentionally_ for all.--p. 95. -Although I agree with Goodwin, so far as to believe that Christ died -for all men, I may observe that sometimes his reasonings against the -Calvinistic doctrine of election, as for instance in chap. xviii. sec. -4 and 7, are as unsatisfactory as they are intricate. He frequently -attributes to his opponents implications in argument, and consequences -of doctrine, which they would indignantly repudiate. It is a common -vice in controversy. - -[531] _Ibid._ Preface. - -[532] _Calamy’s Account_, 484. _Cont._ 632. - -[533] _Ibid._, 35. - -[534] _Baxter’s Life and Times_, i. 107. - -[535] _Ath. Ox._ iv. 784. Even Wood seems to have been a little touched -by this beautiful statement, for after calling Baxter the late pride -of the Presbyterians, he remarks, “he very civilly returned me this -answer.” - -[536] _Works_, vii. 312, 315.--_Treatise on Conversion_, 1657. The -first chapter of the _Saint’s Everlasting Rest_, published in 1649, is -Calvinistic. - -[537] _Ibid._, viii. 119. He says, however, in his _End of Doctrinal -Controversies_, published in 1691 (p. 160): “Christ died for all, but -not for all alike, or equally; that is, He intended good to all, but -not an equal good, with an equal intention.” See also extracts from his -_Catholic Theology_ (1675), _Orme’s Life of Baxter_, p. 477. In the -Appendix to _Baxter’s Aphorisms_ (1649), there are Animadversions on -Owen’s views of Redemption. - -[538] _Polano’s History of the Council of Trent_, 212. - -[539] See p. 347 of this volume. - -[540] _Aphorisms of Justification_, 44. - -[541] _Works_, xviii. 503. - -[542] It is interesting here to observe, that as the Anglicans differed -from the Romanists, so did the later Puritans from the Reformers, as -to the nature of faith. “Quid est fides? Est non tantum notitia qua -firmiter assentior omnibus, quæ Deus nobis in verbo suo patefecit, -sed etiam certa fiducia, a Spiritu Sancto, per Evangelium in corde -meo accensa, qua in Deo acquiesco, certò statuens, non solum aliis, -_sed mihi quoque remissionem peccatorum, eternam justitiam et vitam, -donatam esse_, idque gratis ex Dei misericordia propter unius Christi -meritum.”--_Cat. Rel. Christ. quæ in Eccl. et Scholis Palitinatus_, p. -8. Bull, in his _Harmonia Ap._, Diss. I., cap. iv. s. 6, attributes -this doctrine of personal assurance as the essence of faith, to the -Reformers generally. Owen admits, “Many great Divines at the first -Reformation, did (as the Lutherans generally yet do) thus make the -mercy of God in Christ, and thereby the forgiveness of our own sins, -to be the proper object of justifying faith, as such.”--_Justification -by Faith._--_Works_, xi. 104. Owen’s idea of justifying faith did -not include assurance. As we have noticed already, Goodwin’s, at -any rate, was much more comprehensive. The Romanists regarded faith -as _Credence_; the Reformers as _Assurance_; the Anglicans and the -Latitudinarians as _Obedience_; the Puritans as _Reliance_. - -[543] _Rogers’ Life of Howe_, 21. - -[544] The new edition of _Howe’s Works_, published by the Tract -Society, has done much, not only to make them accessible to the public, -but to make the reading of them more easy and pleasant. Professor -Rogers, by an improved punctuation and arrangement of paragraph, has -provided the latter advantage. The work of an Editor is too often -in the present day mere pretence, but in this case there has been -an amount of painstaking, which renders these volumes, in point of -accuracy, worthy of a place by the side of _Keble’s Hooker_. - -[545] _Works_, i. 30, _et seq._ _The Blessedness of the Righteous_ was -published in 1668. - -[546] _Howe’s Works_, iv. 322. - -[547] _Rogers’ Life of Howe_, 389. - -[548] _Life of Arnold_, ii. 67. - -[549] The remark, I believe, was made by the late Bishop of Lichfield. - -[550] _Goodwin’s Works_, iv. 41; ix. 82, 362. _Owen’s Works_, ii. 247, -513. - -[551] _Works_, v. 364. - -[552] _Ibid._, v. 46; _Christian Directory_, 1673. - -[553] _Works_, v. 346. - -[554] _Ibid._, vii. 517. - -[555] _Howe’s Works_, iii. 460. - -[556] _Goodwin’s Works_, vii. 311. - -[557] _Baxter’s Works_, iv. (_Christian Directory_), 315. - -[558] _Works_, xviii. 301. - -[559] _Baxter’s Works_, v. 346. Compare _Origen_, _cont. Celsum_; -_Hooker_, _Eccl. Polity_, ii. 310; and _Thorndike’s Works_, iv. 39. - -[560] _Baxter’s Works_, v. 287, _et seq._, 400. - -[561] Compare this with what has been said at p. 117. - -[562] _Orme’s Life of Baxter_, 659. - -[563] _Sermons_, 12. - -[564] _Orme’s Life of Baxter_, 589. These passages I have before -referred to. - -[565] _Orme’s Life of Owen_, 234. - -[566] _Works_, xx. 74, 113. - -[567] _Works_, xvi. 256. - -[568] I confine myself here to books published before the Revolution, -and of course must omit numbers worthy of mention. - -[569] _Orme’s Baxter_, 552. - -[570] Brook gives an account of the book in his _Lives of the -Puritans_, iii. 213. - -[571] It is a significant fact that John Goodwin’s work on _The Spirit_ -is included in Nicholl’s series of _Puritan Divines_. - -[572] I cannot but refer, and that with sincere pleasure, to a Sunday -evening spent at Pontresina, in the Engadine, the summer before last, -when, together with a Nonconformist friend, I united in such a service, -with representatives of different sections of the Establishment. - -[573] _The Christian Poet._ - -[574] Himself and his brothers. - -[575] _Diary_, i. 15. - -[576] Memoir prefixed to _Diary_, p. xviii. - -[577] Memoir prefixed to _Silva_, i. 15. - -[578] My rule has been to select characters who died before the -Revolution, but it is necessary to notice Evelyn’s life in connection -with Margaret Godolphin; and although he survived the Revolution so -many years, he may fairly be taken as a type of religious life before -that period. A MS. by him was published in the year 1850, in two -volumes, entitled, _A Rational Account of the True Religion_. The first -volume treats of natural theology. In the second, besides a description -of Judaism, primitive Christianity, and the decadence and corruption -of religion, Evelyn “professes to explain the true doctrines of Holy -Scripture and of the Church of England.” The chief interest attaching -to the work will be found to consist in its value “as an impartial -interpretation of her Articles and her Liturgy; conveyed too in a -manner which shows he was not propounding new views, but merely stating -them as understood by her members in his time.”--p. xi. In other -words, Evelyn explains the doctrines of the Church of England from an -Anglo-Catholic point of view. The book indicates the intelligence and -devoutness of the author. - -[579] One of the Blagge family was Gentleman of the Privy Chamber to -Henry VIII., and a great favourite with the King, who, for some reason, -called him his pig. “He was a Sacramentarian; and when Wriothesley and -Gardiner, in 1546, commenced their persecution on the Statute of the -Six Articles, Blagge was clapped up in Newgate, and, after a hurried -trial, condemned to be burnt. But the moment the King heard of it, he -rated the Chancellor for coming so near him, even to his privy chamber, -and commanded him instantly to draw out a pardon. On his release, -Blagge flew to thank his master, who, seeing him, cried out, ‘Ah, my -_pig_, are you here safe again?’ ‘Yes, Sire,’ said he, ‘and if your -Majesty had not been better than your Bishops, your _pig_ had been -_roasted_ ere this time.’”--_Tytler’s England under Edward VI. and -Mary_, i. 146. - -[580] _The Life of Mrs. Godolphin_, by Evelyn, edited by the Bishop of -Oxford. p. 104. The year of the marriage is not given. - -[581] _Ibid._, 106. - -[582] _The Life of Mrs. Godolphin_, 176. - -[583] Paley. - -[584] These quotations from Hale’s writings are found in his _Life_ by -Sir J. B. Williams. See also _Life_ by Burnet. - -[585] These passages are taken from a work entitled _Mastix_. - -[586] _Campbell’s Essay on Poetry_, 245. - -[587] _More’s Dialogues._ - -[588] _Ward’s Life of More_ gives a full account of this excellent man. -See also _Willmot’s Lives of the Poets_. - -[589] See the thought expanded in More’s _Letters on Several Subjects_. - -[590] _Sir T. Browne’s Works_, i. liv. - -[591] _Ibid._, iv. 420. - -[592] _Ibid._, ii. 6. - -[593] _Sir T. Browne’s Works_, ii. 12. - -[594] _Ibid._, ii. 27, 81, 82; i. xlvii. - -[595] _Sir T. Browne’s Works_, ii. 117. - -[596] _Lives_, ii. 172. - -[597] _Aubrey’s Letters_, ii. 255. - -[598] _Birch’s Tillotson_, 75. - -[599] _Morice MSS., Ent. Book_. - -[600] _Clarendon, Hist._, 493. - -[601] _Tomkins’ Piety Promoted_, quoted in _Pattison’s Rise and -Progress of Religious Life in England_, 248. - -[602] See _Stanford’s Life of Alleine_. - -[603] _Broadmead Records_, 97. - -[604] _Stockton MSS., Diary_, Dr. Williams’ Library. - -[605] _Life_, 43. - -[606] _Life_, 24, 26, 59, 147. Stockton bequeathed £500 and his -valuable library to Gonville and Caius College. - -[607] _Calamy._ - -[608] _Burnet’s Hist. of his Own Time_, i. 381. - -[609] Such illustrations occur in Dr. Swainson’s valuable Hulsean -Lectures on _The Creeds of the Church_, 58. - -[610] There is, in Glamorganshire, an extra-parochial district called -Llan-vethin. - -[611] _At_ was first struck out, and _on_ written over it, then _on_ -was altered into _at_. - -[612] Appears as if _midst_ had been altered into _body_. - -[613] _On_ altered into _at_. - -[614] I examined the books once with Dr. Swainson, and once with the -Dean of Westminster. - -[615] _Documents_, 177. - -[616] I find this stated by Dr. Vaughan, and I have no doubt of its -correctness; but in looking over the _Rejoinder_, I cannot lay my -finger on the passage. - -[617] Father Huddlestone. - -[618] The Queen’s Priests. - -[619] Petre, Bath, and Feversham. - -[620] In the Somers’ copy it is “‘the Duke and Lords’ withdrew into the -closet for the space of an hour and a half.” - - -Transcriber’s Note: - -1. Obvious printer’s, spelling and punctuation errors have been -silently corrected. - -2. Superscripts are represented using the caret character, e.g. D^r. or - wh^{ch}. - -3. Italics are shown as _xxx_. - -4. Bold print is shown as =xxx=. - -5. Where appropriate, original spelling has been retained. - -6. The INDEX has been added to the Table of Contents. - -7. Struck out text is shown as ~xxx~. - -8. Smaller font is shown as #xxx#. - -9. Where necessary the sidenotes have been placed inside the text of - the paragraph. In other places the page header text has been turned - into sidenotes. - - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY OF -ENGLAND, THE CHURCH OF THE RESTORATION, VOL. 2 OF 2 *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following -the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use -of the Project Gutenberg trademark. 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