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Chriftian Church of one denomination, may as a fociety make laws of order and difcipline. The Church of Rome abuses this right-therefore the Church of England fhall not use it.

P. 579.

"Blew up their liberties."

Blow up a fool's head. This proceeded from the natural perverfity of the populace, which will always oppofe authority, when they can with fafety, even though they deprive themselves of all their other fatif factions.

P. 581. Articles."

I would fain know how thefe men could speak worse of the evil being himself. How deplorable are the infirmities of human nature! See here the feverish ftate of a Puritanical confcience. These men could fet Church and State in a flame for square caps, furplices, and the crofs in baptifm; while they fwallowed, and even contended for, thefe horrible decrees; the frightful and difordered dreams of a crude, four-tempered, perfecuting, Bigot, who counter-works his Creator, and makes God after man's image,

and

and chooses the worst model he can find, himself.

Ibid. The Puritans by Dr. Reynolds, in the name of the Brethren at the Hampton Court conference, defired that these godly articles might be inferted among the Thirty-nine. See p. 15, 2d vol.

P. 583. This went upon the true Puritan principle, that whatever was Popish was falfe.

P. 584. Their cafe was indeed more fad than their hiftorian intended to fuggeft. It was the common infirmity of Churchmen to perfecute, when in power; but to perfecute, as the Puritans here did, while under oppreffion, fhews the extreme depravity of the heart.

P. 584. "Lambeth Articles."

There is fomething very spiteful in this, not to be content to abuse Lambeth 'for paffing doctrines contrary to theirs, but to abuse them for efpoufing their favourite Decrees. But Lambeth, like Rome, can do nothing right.

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P. 587. "With Hypocrites." Notwithstanding this proteftation, it appears as clear as the day from Harfnet's detection, that this affair was a vile impofture, and as fairly charged on the Puritan Divines, as a like impofture, carrying on at the fame time, and detected by the fame able writer, in the Popish quarter, was fairly chargeable on the mass-priests.

P. 589. "Of those that have.?"

This weak fpeech an able historian fhould not have quoted, for the sake of his party. They were indicted as acting against Law, not against the Gospel; and the judge, if a good lawyer, was qualified. to try them, let his knowledge in divinity be what it would the reft the legislature was to anfwer.

Ibid.

"The foundations of discipline.”

i. e. Were not difpofed to overturn the Conftitution of the Church. We fee by this what was aimed at, an Establishment, not a Toleration. There was too much pretence therefore to treat them as feditious fubjects.

P. 594.

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It is true that Eraftus's famous book De Excommunicatione was purchased by Whitgift of Eraftus's widow in Germany, and put by him to the prefs in London, under fictitious names of the place and printer. 'This Selden difcovered, and has published the discovery in his book De Synedriis. Had the author known this, it had been a fine ornament to Hiftory.

End of the First Volume, 8vo ed. 1732. Lond.

PREFACE TO NEAL'S HISTORY OF THE
PURITANS.

VOL. II. 8vo. LONDON, 1733.

P. x. "To which it is expofed."

The Author has here, and in his Preface to the former Volume, confounded together two things very diftinct and different, a Test for the fecurity of the Establishment, and the Sacramental Test, enjoined for that purpose. I think a Test abfolutely neceffary for the fecurity of the Established Religion, where there are di

versities

verfities of fects in the State; and I think the Sacramental Teft the very worst that could have been chofen for that purpose, because it is both evaded and prophaned. P. xi. "And penalties for not doing it." Moft certainly.

VOL. II. HISTORY.

Ch. i. p. 3.

1590."

"In the years 1581 and

A fair hiftorian would here have acquainted us with the villainous and tyrannical ufage of the Kirk of Scotland to their King, of which the Scotch hiftorians of that time are full; and by which we should have feen the high provocation they had given him, and how natural it was for him to return their usage, when he had once emancipated himself from them: The King himself hints at this, p. 19.

P. 19. "Pray let that alone."

Sancho Pancha never made a better fpeech, nor more to the purpose, during his Govern

ment.

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