confcience, had we but charity, and were it not the chief ftrong-hold of our hypocrify to be ever judging one another? I fear yet this iron yoke of outward conformity hath left a flavish print upon our necks; the ghoft of a linen decency yet haunts us. We ftumble, and are impatient, at the leaft dividing of one vifible congregation from another, though it be not in fundamentals; and through our forwardness to suppress, and our backwardnefs to recover, any enthralled piece of truth out of the gripe of cuftom, we care not to keep truth feparated from truth, which is the fierceft rent and disunion of all. We do not fee, that while we still affect, by all means, a right external formality, we may as foon fail again into a grofs conforming stupidity, a ftark and dead congealment of "wood and hay and ftubble," forced and frozen together, which is more to the fudden degenerating of a church than many fubdichotomies of petty fchifms. Not that I can think well of every light feparation; or that all in a church is to be expected "gold and filver and precious ftones:" it is not poffible for man to fever the wheat from the tares, the good fish from the other fry; that must be the angels miniftry at the end of mortal things. Yet if all cannot be of one mind, (as who looks they should be?) this doubtless is more wholesome, more prudent, and more chriftian, that many be tolerated rather than all compelled. I mean not tolerated popery and open superstition; which as it extirpates all religions and civil fupremacies, fo itself should be extirpate; provided, first, that all charitable and compaffionate means be ufed to win and regain the weak and the mifled. That alfo which is impious, or evil, absolutely, either against faith or manners, no law can poffibly permit, that. intends not to unlaw itself: but thofe neighbouring differences,

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differences, or rather indifferences, are what I fpeak of, whether in fome point of doctrine, or of difcipline, which though they may be many, yet need not interrupt the unity of spirit, if we could but find among u Truth is to the bond of peace. In the mean while, if any one

be discover

slow de

free com

munication

of the

thoughts of

industrious

ed, but by would write, and bring his helpful hand to the flowgrees, by the moving reformation which we labour under, if truth have spoken to him before others, or but seemed at leaft to fpeak, who hath fo bejefuited us, that we learned and should trouble that man with afking licence to do fo men to the worthy a deed; and not confider this, that if it come publick. to prohibiting, there is not aught more likely to be prohibited than truth itfelf: whose first appearance to our eyes, bleared and dimmed with prejudice and cuftom, is more unfightly and unplaufible than many errours; even as the perfon is of many a great mair flight and contemptible to fee-to. And what do they tell us vainly of new opinions, when this very opinion of theirs, that none must be heard but whom they like, is the worst and neweft opinion of all others; and is the chief caufe why Sects and Schifms do fo much abound, and true knowledge is kept at diftance from us; befides yet, a greater danger which is in it. For when God shakes a kingdom, with ftrong and healthful commotions, to a general reforming, it is not untrue that many fectaries and falle teachers are then bufieft in feducing. But yet more true it is, that God then raifes to his own work, men of rare abilities, and more than common induftry, rot only to look-back and revife what hath been taught heretofore, but to gain further, and go-on, fome new enlightened fteps in the difcovery of truth. For fuch is the order of God's enlightening his Church, to difpenfe and deal-cut by degrees his beam, fo as our earthly eyes may best

fustain

fuftain it. Neither is God appointed and confined, where and out of what place these his chofen fhall be first heard to speak; for he fees not as man fees, chooses not as man chooses, left we should devote ourfelves again to fet-places, and affemblies, and outwardcallings of men; planting our faith one while in the old Convocation-house, and another while in the Chapel at Westminster; when all the faith and religion that fhall be there canonized, is not fufficient without plain convincement. and the charity of patient inftruction, to fupple the least bruise of confcience, to edify the meanest chriftian, who defires to walk in the fpirit, and not in the letter of human truft, for all the number of voices that can be there made; no, though Harry the Seventh himself there, with all his liege tombs about him, fhould lend them voices from the dead to fwell their number. And, if the men be erroneous who appear to be the leading Schifmatics, what withholds us but our sloth, our felf will, and distrust in the right caufe, that we do not give them gentle meetings and gentle dismiffions; that we debate not, and examine the matter thoroughly, with liberal and frequent audience; if not for their fakes, yet for our own? Seeing no man who hath tafted learning, but will confefs the many ways of profiting by those who, not contented with ftale receipts, are able to manage and fet-forth new positions to the world. And, were they but as the duft and cinders of our feet, fo long as in that notion they may yet ferve to polish and brighten the armoury of truth, even for that respect they were not utterly to be caft-away. But, if they be of those whom God hath fitted for the fpecial use of these times, with eminent and ample gifts, and thofe, perhaps, neither among the priests, nor among the Pharifees, and we in

Several of the Presbyterian

themselves,

did eminent service to

at the be

this parlia

bold, but

useful, books,with

ces, in con

tempt of the

the hafte of a precipitant zeal fhall make no difting tion, but refolve to ftop their mouths, because we fear they come with new and dangerous opinions, as we commonly forejudge them, ere we understand them; no less than woe to us, while, thinking thus to defend the Gofpel, we are found the perfecutors!

There have been not a few face the beginning of this Parliament, both of the Prefbytery and others, who ministers by their unlicensed books, to the contempt of an Imprimatur, firft broke that triple ice clung about our hearts, the Publick, and taught the people to fee day: I hope that none of ginning of those were the perfuaders to renew upon us this bonme dage, which they themselves have wrought fo much publishing good by conterming. But, if neither the check that Mofes gave to young Joshua, nor the countermand out Licen- which our Saviour gave to young John, (who was fo con ready to prohibit thofe whom he thought unlicenfed,} laws concer be enough to admonifh our elders, how unacceptable to God their testy mood of prohibiting is; if neither their own remembrance, what evil hath abounded in the church by this lett of Licenfing, and what good they themselves have began by tranfgreffing it, be not enough, but that they will perfuade and execute the moft Dominican part of the Inquifition over us, and are already with one foot in the ftirrup, fo active at fuppreffing, it would be no unequal diftribution, in the fird-place, to fupprefs the fuppreffors themfelves; whom the change of their condition hath puffed-up, more than their late experience of harder times hath made wife.

ning Licea-sing then in being

The Order of Parlia

ment ext

before the

prosent

one, was the

properest

And as for regulating the prefs, let no mau think to have the honour of advifing ye better than yourselves have done in that Order, published next before this,

That no book be printed, unless the printer's and

the

that could

of the Press.

the author's name, or at leaft the printer's, be register- regulation ed." Those which otherwife come-forth, if they be be made concerning found mischievous and libellous, the fire and the execu- the Liberty tioner will be the timeliest and the most effectual remedy, that man's prevention can ufe. For this authentic Spanish policy of Licenfing books, if I have faid aught, will prove the moft unlicenfed book itfelf, within a fhort while; and was the immediate image of a Star-chamber decree to that purpose, made in thofe very times, when that Court did the rest of those her pious works, for which fhe is now fallen from the stars with Lucifer. Whereby ye may guess what kind of Stateprudence, what love of the people, what care of religion, or good manners, there was at the contriving, although, with fingular hypocrify, it pretended to bind books to their good behaviour. And how it got the upper hand of your preceedent order, fo well conftituted before, if we may believe thofe men, whofe profeffion gives them caufe to inquire moft, it may be doubted there was in it the fraud of fome old patentees and monopolizers in the trade of book-felling; who, under pretence of the poor in their company not to be defrauded, and the just retaining of each man his feveral copy, (which God forbid, fhould be gainfaid!) brought divers gloffing colours to the house, which were indeed but colours, and ferving to no end except it be to exercise a fuperio. rity over their neighbours; men who do not labour in an honeft profeffion, to which Learning is indebted, that they should be made other men's vaffals. Another end, is thought, was aimed at by fome of them, in procuring by petition this Order, that having power in their hands, malignant books might the cafier escape abroad, as the event shows. But of thefe fophifms and elenchs of merchandize I fkill not: This I know, that errours

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