caufe of religion; fo that the whole courfe of his reign, by an example of his own furnithing, hath refembled Phaeton more than Phoebus, and forced the parliament to drive like Jehu; which omen taken from his own mouth, God hath not diverted?

And he on the other fide might have remembered, that the parliament fit in that body, not as his fubjects, but as his fuperiors, called, not by him, but by the law; not only twice every year, but as oft as great affairs require, to be his counfellors and dictators, though he ftomach it; nor to be diffolved at his pleasure, but when all grievances be first removed, all petitions heard and answered. This is not only reafon, but the known law of the land.

"When he heard that propofitions would be fent him," he fat conjecturing what they would propound; and because they propounded what he expected not, he takes that to be a warrant for his denying them. But what did he expect? He expected that the parliament would reinforce "fome old laws." But if thofe laws were not a fufficient remedy to all grievances, nay were found to be grievances themfelves, when did we lofe that other part of our freedom to eftablish new? He thought "fome injuries done by himfelf and others to the commonwealth were to be repaired." But how could that be, while he the chief offender took upon him to be fole judge both of the injury and the reparation ? "He ftaid till the advantages of his crown confidered, might induce him to condefcend to the people's good." When as the crown itself with all thofe advantages were therefore given him, that the people's good thould be firft confidered; not bargained for, and bought by inches with the bribe of more offertures and advantages to his crown. He looked "for moderate defires of due reformation;" as if any fuch defires could be immoderate. He looked for fuch a reformation "both in church and state, as might preferve" the roots of every grievance and abuse in both ftill growing (which he calls "the foundation and effentials") and would have only the excrefcences of evil pruned away for the prefent, as was plotted before, that they might grow faft enough between triennial parliaments, to hinder them by work enough befides from

ever ftriking at the root. He alleges, "

They should have had regard to the laws in force, to the wifdom and piety of former parliaments, to the ancient and universal practice of chriftian churches." As if they who come with full authority to redress public grievances, which ofttimes are laws themselves, were to have their hands bound by laws in force, or the fuppofition of more piety and wifdom in their ancestors, or the practice of churches heretofore; whofe fathers, notwithstanding all thefe pretences, made as vaft alterations to free themfelves from ancient popery. For all antiquity that adds or varies from the fcripture, is no more warranted to our fafe imitation, than what was done the age before at Trent. Nor was there need to have defpaired of what could be eftablished in lieu of what was to be annulled, having before his eyes the government of fo many churches beyond the feas; whole pregnant and folid reafons wrought fo with the parliament, as to defire a uniformity rather with all other proteftants, than to be a fchifm divided from them under a conclave of thirty bishops, and a crew of irreligious priefts that gaped for the fame prefer

ment./

And whereas he blames those propofitions for not containing what they ought, what did they mention, but to vindicate and reftore the rights of parliament invaded by cabin councils, the courts of juftice obftructed, and the government of the church innovated and corrupted? All these things he might eafily have obferved in thein, which he affirms he could not find; but found "thofe demanding" in parliament, who were "looked upon before as factious in the state, and fchifmatical in the church; and demanding not only toleration for themfelves in their vanity, novelty, and confufion, but also an extirpation of that government, whofe rights they had a mind to invade." Was this man ever likely to be advised, who with fuch a prejudice and difefteem fets himself againft his chofen and appointed counsellors? likely ever to admit of reformation, who cenfures all the government of other proteftant churches, as bad as any papift could have cenfured them? And what king had ever his whole kingdom in fuch contempt, fo to wrong

and

and difhonour the free elections of his people, as to judge them, whom the nation thought worthieft to fit with him in parliament, few elfe but fuch as were punithable by the laws?" yet knowing that time was, when to be a proteftant, to be a chriftian, was by law as punithable as to be a traitor; and that our Saviour himfelf, coming to reform his church, was accufed of an intent to invade Cæfar's right, as good a right as the prelate bishops ever had; the one being got by force, the other by fpiritual ufurpation; and both by force upheld.

He admires and falls into an extafy, that the parliament fhould fend him fuch a "horrid propofition," as the removal of epifcopacy. But expect from him in an extafy no other reafons of his admiration than the dream and tautology of what he hath so often repeated, law, antiquity, anceftors, profperity, and the like, which will be therefore not worth a fecond anfwer, but may pafs with his own comparison into the common fewer of other popish arguments.

"Had the two houfes fued out their livery from the wardship of tumults," he could fooner have believed them. It concerned them firft to fue out their livery from the unjuft wardship of his encroaching prerogative. And had he alfo redeemed his overdated minority from a pupilage under bifhops, he would much less have miftrufted his parliament; and never would have fet fo base a character upon them, as to count them no better than the vaffals of certain nameless men, whom he charges to be fuch as "hunt after faction with their hounds the tumults." And yet the bishops could have told him, that Nimrod, the first that hunted after faction, is reputed by ancient tradition the firft that founded monarchy; whence it appears, that to hunt after faction is more properly the king's game; and thofe hounds, which he calls the vulgar, have been often hallooed to from court, of whom the mongrel fort have been enticed; the reft have not loft their fcent, but understood aright, that the parliament had that part to act, which he had failed in ; that truft to discharge, which he had broken; that estate and honour to preferve, which was far beyond his, the

eftate

eftate and honour of the commonwealth, which he had embezzled.

Yet fo far doth felf-opinion or false principles delude and tranfport him, as to think "the concurrence of his reafon" to the votes of parliament, not only political, but natural," and as neceffary to the begetting," or bringing forth of any one "complete act of public wifdom as the fun's influence is neceffary to all nature's productions." So that the parliament, it feems, is but a female, and without his procreative reason, the laws which they can produce are but wind-eggs: wifdom, it feems, to a king is natural, to a parliament not natural, but by conjunction with the king: yet he profeffes to hold his kingly right by law; and if no law could be made but by the great council of a nation, which we now term a parliament, then certainly it was a parliament that first created kings; and not only made laws before a king was in being, but thofe laws especially whereby he holds his crown. He ought then to have fo thought of a parliament, if he count it not male, as of his mother, which to civil being created both him and the royalty he wore. And if it hath been anciently interpreted the prefaging fign of a future tyrant, but to dream of copulation with his mother, what can it be less than actual tyranny to affirm waking, that the parliament, which is his mother, can neither conceive or bring forth any authoritative act" without his masculine coition? Nay, that his reafon is as celeftial and life-giving to the parliament, as the fun's influence is to the earth: what other notions but these, or fuch like, could fwell up. Caligula to think him

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felf a God? But to be rid of thefe mortifying propofitions, he leaves no tyrannical evafion uneffayed; firft, "that they are not the joint and free defires of both houses, or the major part;" next, "that the choice of many members was carried on by faction." The former of thefe is already difcovered to be an old device put first in practice by Charles the Fifth, fince the reformation: who when the proteftants of Germany for their own defence joined themselves in league, in his declarations and remonftrances

ftrances laid the fault only upon fome few (for it was dangerous to take notice of too many enemies) and accufed them, that under colour of religion they had a purpose to invade his and the church's right; by which policy he deceived many of the German cities, and kept them divided from that league, until they faw themselves brought into a fnare. That other cavil against the people's choice puts us in mind rather what the court was wont to do, and how to tamper with elections: neither was there at that time any faction more potent, or more likely to do fuch a bufinefs, than they themfelves who complain moft.

But "he muft chew fuch morfels as propofitions, ere he let them down." So let him; but if the kingdom fhall taste nothing but after his chewing, what does he make of the kingdom but a great baby? "The ftraitness of his confcience will not give him leave to fwallow down fuch camels of facrilege and injuftice as others do." This is the pharifee up and down, "I am not as other men are." But what camels of injuftice he could devour, all his three realms were witnefs, which was the cause that they almoft perifhed for want of parliaments. And he that will be unjuft to man, will be facrilegious to God; and to bereave a chriftian confcience of liberty for no other reason than the narrowness of his own confcience, is the most unjust measure to man, and the worst facrilege to God. That other, which he calls facrilege, of taking from the clergy that fuperfluous wealth, which antiquity as old as Conftantine, from the credit of a divine vision, counted " poifon in the church," hath been ever moft oppofed by men, whofe righteoufnefs in other matters hath been leaft obferved. He concludes, as his manner is, with high commendation of his own unbiaffed rectitude," and believes nothing to be in them that diffent from him, but faction, innovation, and particular defigns. Of these repetitions I find no end, no not in his prayer; which being founded upon deceitful principles, and a fond hope that God will blefs him in those his errours, which he calls" honeft," finds a fit anfwer of St. James, "Ye afk and receive not, because ye afk amifs." As for the truth and fincerity, which he prays may be always

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found