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we are become hitherto the lateft and backwardeft Schollers, of whom God offer'd to have made us the teachers. Now once again by all concurrence of figns, and by the generall inftinct of holy and devout men, as they daily and folemnly expreffe their thoughts, GʊD is decreeing to begin fome new and great period in his Church, ev'n to the reforming of Reformation itself: what does he then but reveal Himself to his fervants, and as his manner is, first to his English-men; I fay as his manner is, first to us, though we mark not the method of his counfels, and are unworthy. Behold now this vaft City; a City of refuge, the manfion-houfe of liberty, encompast and furrounded with his protection;

tection; the fhop of warre hath not there more anvils and hammers waking, to fashion out the plates and infruments of armed Juftice in defence of beleaguer'd Truth, then there, be pens and heads, there, fitting by their. ftudious lamps, mufing, fearching, revolving new notions and idea's wherewith to prefent, as with their homage: and their fealty the approaching Reformation: others as faft reading, trying all things, affenting to the force of reafon and convincement. What could a man. require more from a Nation fo pliant. and fo prone to feek after knowledge? What wants there to fuch a towardly. and pregnant foile, but wife and faith-. full labourers, to make a knowing peo

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ple, a nation of Prophets, of Sages, and of Worthies? We reck'n more then five months yet to harveft; there need not be five weeks, had we but eyes to lift up, the fields are white already. Where there is much defire to learn, there of neceffity will be much arguing, much writing, many opinions; for opinion in good men is but knowledge in the making. Under these fantastic terrors of fect and fchifm, we wrong the earneft and zealous thirst after knowledge and understanding which GoD hath stirr'd up in this city. What fome lament of, we rather should rejoice at, fhould rather praise this pious forwardnes among men, to reaffume the ill deputed care of their Religion into their

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own hands again. A little generous prudence, a little forbearance of one another, and fom grain of charity might win all these diligences to joyn, and unite into one generall and brotherly fearch after Truth; could we but forgoe this Prelaticall tradition of crowding free confciences and Chriftian liberties into canons and precepts of men. I doubt not, if fome great and worthy ftranger fhould come among us, wife to difcern the mould and temper of a people, and how to govern it, observing the high hopes and aims, the diligent alacrity of our extended thoughts. and reafonings in the pursuance of truth and freedom, but that he would cry out as Pirrbus did, admiring the Ro

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man docility and courage, if fuch were my Epirots, I would not defpair the greatest defign that could be attempted to make a Church or Kingdom happy. Yet these are the men cry'd out against for fchifmaticks and fectaries; as .if, while the Temple of the LORD was building, fome cutting, fome fquaring the marble, others hewing the cedars, .there fhould be a fort of irrationall men

who could not confider there must be many fchifms and many diffections made in the quarry and in the timber, ere the houfe of GoD can be built. And when every stone is laid artfully together, it cannot be united into a continuity, it can but be contiguous in this world; neither can every peece of the building

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