And now the time in speciall is, by priviledge to wrtie and speak what may help to the furder difcus. fing of matters in agitation. The Temple of Janus with his two controverfal faces might now not unsignificantly be fet open. And though all the windes of doctrin were let loose 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 fureft 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 conftituted 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, if it come not first in at their cafements. What a collufion is this, whenas we are exhorted by the wife man to use diligence, to feek for wifdom as for hidd'n treafures early and late, that another order shall enjoyn us to know nothing but by statute. When a man hath bin labouring the hardest labour in the deep mines of knowledge, hath furnisht out his findings in all their equipage, drawn forth his reasons as it were a battell raung'd, scatter'd and defeated all objections in his way, calls out his adverfary into the plain, offers him the advantage of wind and fun, if he please; only that he may try the matter by dint of argument, for his opponents then to sculk, to lay ambushments, to keep a narrow bridge of licencing where the challenger should paffe, though it be valour anough in fhouldierfhip, is but weaknes and cowardife in the wars of Truth. For who knows not that Truth is strong next to the Almighty; the needs no policies, no ftrategems, no licencings to make her victorious, those are the shifts and the defences that error uses against her power: give her but room, and do not bind her when the fleeps, for then she speaks not true, as the old Proteus did, who (pake oracles

only when he was caught and bound, but then rather fhe turns herself into all shapes, except her own, and perhaps tunes her voice according to the time, as Micaiah did before Ahab, untill the be adjur'd into her own likenes. Yet is it not impoffible that she may have more shapes then one. What elfe is all that rank of things indifferent, wherein Truth may be on this fide, or on the other, without being unlike her felf. What but a vain shadow elfe is the abolition of those ordinances, that hand writing nayl'd to the croffe, what great purchase is this Chriftian liberty which Paul so often boasts of. His doctrine is, that he who eats or eats not, regards a day, or regards it not, may doe either to the Lord. How many other things might be tolerated in peace, and left to confcience, had we but charity, and were it not the chiefftrong hold of our hypocrifie 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 linnen decency yet haunts us. We ftumble and are impatient at the leaft dividing of one vifible congregation from another, though it be not in fundamentalls; and through our forwardnes to suppresse, and our backwardnes to recover any enthrall'd peece of truth out of the gripe of custom, we care not to keep truth feparated from truth, which is the fiercest rent and disunion of all. We doe not fee that while we ftill affect by all means a rigid externall formality, we may as foon fall again into a groffe conforming ftupidity, a ftark and dead congealment of wood and hay and flubble forc't and frozen together, which is more to the fudden degenerating of a Church then many fubdichotomies of petty fchifms. Not that I can think well of every light separation, or that all in a Church is to be expected gold and filver and pretious flones: it is not poffible for man to fever the wheat from the tares, the good fish from the other frie; that must be the Angels Ministery at the end of mortall things. Yet if all cannot be of one mind, as who looks they should be? this doubtles is more

wholfome, more prudent, and more Chriftian that many be tolerated, rather then all compell'd. I mean not tolerated Popery, and open fuperftition, which as it extirpats all religions and civill fupremacies, fo it self should be extirpat, provided first that all charitable and compassionat means be us'd to win and regain the weak and misled: that also which is impious or evil abfolutely either against faith or maners no law can poffibly permit, that intends not to unlaw it felf: but thofe neighboring differences, or rather indifferences, are what I speak 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 us the bond of peace. In the mean while if any one would write, and bring his helpfull hand to the flow-moving Reformation we labour under, if Truth have spok'n to him before others, or but seem'd at least to speak, who hath so bejefuited us that we should trouble that man with asking licence to doe fo worthy a deed? and not confider this, that if it come to prohibiting, there is not ought more likely to be prohibited then truth it felf; whofe first appearance to our eyes blear'd and dimm'd with prejudice and custom, is more unfightly and unplaufible then many errors, ev'n as the perfon is of many a great man flight and contemptible to fee to. And what doe 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 cause why fects and schisms doe so much abound, and true knowledge is kept at distance from us; befides yet a greater danger which is in it. For when God shakes a Kingdome with strong and healthfull commotions to a generall reforming, 'tis not untrue that many fectaries and false teachers are then bufieft in feducing; but yet more true it is, that God then raises to his own work men of rare abilities, and more then common industry not only to look back and revise what hath bin taught heretofore, but to gain furder and

goe on, fome new enlightn'd steps in the discovery of truth. For fuch is the order of Gods enlightning his Church, to difpenfe and deal out by degrees his beam, fo as our earthly eyes may best fuflain it. Neither is God appointed and confin'd, where and out of what place these his chosen shall be first heard to speak; for he fees not as man fees, chooses not as man chooses, left we should devote our selves again to set places, and affemblies, and outward callings of men ; planting our faith one while in the old Convocation house, and another while in the Chappell at Westminster; when all the faith and religion that shall be there canoniz'd, is not fufficient without plain convincement, and the charity of patient inftruction to fupple the least bruise of confcience, to edifie the meanest Christian, who defires to walk in the Spirit, and not in the letter of human trust, for all the number of voices that can be there made, no though Harry the 7. himself there, with all his leige 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 schiimaticks, what witholds us but our floth, our self-will, and distrust in the right cause, that we doe not give them gentle meetings and gentle dif miffions, that we debate not and examin the matter throughly with liberall and frequent audience; if not for their fakes, yet for our own? feeing no man who hath tafted learning, but will confeffe the many waies of profiting by those who not contented with stale receits are able to manage, and set 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 serve to polish and brighten the armoury of Truth, ev'n for that respect they were not utterly to be caft away. But if they be of those whom God hath fitted for the speciall use of these times with eminent and ample gifts, and those perhaps neither among the Priests, nor among the Pharisees, and we in the haft of a precipitant zeal shall make no diftinction, but refolve to ftop their mouths,

because we fear they come with new and dangerous opinions, as we commonly fore-judge them ere we understand them, no lesse then woe to us, while thinking thus to defend the Gospel, we are found the perfecutors.

There have bin not a few fince the beginning of this Parlament, both of the Prefbytery and others who by their unlicen't books to the contempt of an Imprimatur first broke that triple ice clung about our hearts, and taught the people to fee day: I hope that none of those were the perfwaders to renew upon us this bondage which they themselves have wrought so much good by contemning. But if neither the check that Mofes gave to young Joshua, nor the countermand which our Saviour gave to young John, who was fo ready to prohibit those whom he thought unlicenc't, be not anough to admonish our Elders how unacceptable to God their testy mood of prohibiting is, if neither their own remembrance what evill hath abounded in the Church by this lett of licencing, and what good they themselves have begun by tranf greffing it, be not anough, but that they will perfwade, and execute the most Dominican part of the Inquifition over us, and are already with one foot in the stirrup so active at fuppreffing, it would be no unequall distribution in the first place to fuppreffe the fuppreffors themfelves; whom the change of their condition hath puft up, more then their late experience of harder times hath made wife.

And as for regulating the Preffe, let no man think to have the honour of advising ye better then your felves have done in that Order publifht next before this, that no book be Printed, unleffe the Printers and the Authors name, or at least the Printers be register'd." Those which otherwise come forth, if they be found mifchievous and libellous, the fire and the executioner will be the timelieft and the most effectuall remedy, that mans prevention can use. For this authentic Spanish policy of licencing books, if I have faid ought, will prove the most unlicenc't book it felf within a fhort while; and was the immediat image of a Star-chamber decree' to that purpose made