knowing, leffe eagerly pursuing of the truth, unleffe ye first make your felves, that made us fo, leffe the lovers, leffe the founders of our true liberty. We can grow ignorant again, brutish, formall, and flavifh, as ye found us; us; but you then must first become that which ye cannot be, oppreffive, arbitrary, and tyrannous, as they were from whom ye have free'd us. That our hearts are now more capacious, our thoughts more erected to the fearch and expectation of greatest and exacteft things, is the iffue of your owne virtu propagated in us; ye cannot fuppreffe that unleffe ye reinforce an abrogated and mercileffe law, that fathers may dispatch at will their own children. And who fhall then stick clof eft eft to ye, and excite others? not he who takes up armes for cote and conduct, and his four nobles of Danegelt. Although I difpraife not the defence of juft immunities, yet love my peace bet-. ter, if that were all. Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to confcience, above all liberties. What would be beft advis'd then, if it be found fo hurtfull and fo unequall to fuppreffe opinions for the newnes, or the unfutablenes to a customary acceptance, will not be my task to fay; I only fhall repeat what I have learnt from one of your own honourable number, a right noble and pious Lord, who had he not facrific'd his life and fortunes to the Church Church and Commonwealth, we had not now mist and bewayl'd a worthy and undoubted patron of this argument. Ye know him I am fure; yet I for honours fake, and may it be eternall to him, fhall name him, the Lord Brook. He writing of Epifcopacy, and by the way treating of fects and fchifms, left Ye his vote, or rather now the laft words of his dying charge, which I know will ever be of dear and honour'd regard with Ye, fo full of meeknes and breathing charity, that next to his laft teftament, who be queath'd love and peace to his Difciples, I cannot call to mind where I have read or heard words more mild and peacefull. He there exhorts us to hear with patience and humility thofe, how ever they be mifcall'd, that defire to live purely, in fuch a ufe of God's ordinances, as the best guidance of their confcience gives them, and to tolerat them, though in fome difconformity to ourselves. The book it felf will tell us more at large, being publifht to the world, and dedicated to the Parlament by him who both for his life and for his death deferves, that what advice he left be not laid by without perufall. And now the time in speciall is, by priviledge to write and speak what may help to the furder difcuffing of matters in agitation. The temple of Janus with his two controverfal faces might now not unfignificantly be fet open. And though all the windes of doctrin were let loofe to to play upon the earth, fo Truth be in the field, we do injuriously by licencing and prohibiting to mifdoubt her ftrength. Let her and Falfhood grapple; who ever knew Truth put to the wors, in a free and open encounter? Her confuting is the best and sureft fuppreffing. He who hears what praying there is for light and clearer knowledge to be fent down among us, would think of other matters to be conftitued beyond the discipline of Geneva, fram'd and fabric't already to our hands. Yet when the new light which we beg for fhines in upon us, there be who envy, and oppofe it, if it come not firft in at their cafements. What a collufion is this, whenas we are exhorted by the wife man to use dili gence, |
