discourses of some either ignorant or parasitical, I am sure offensive preachers; to suppress the growth of Socinianism, Popery, Separatism; to redress some abuses of Ecclesiastical Courts and Officers: in all which, I dare say your Lordships do heartily concur with them. And if, in the manner of expression, there have been any failings, I shall humbly beseech your Lordships, that those may not be too much stood upon, where the main substance is well meant, and in itself profitable. In the third place, give me leave to put your Lordships in mind of the continual practice of the Christian Church, since the first Synod of the Apostles, Acts xv. to this present day: wherein I suppose it can never be shewed, that ever any Ecclesiastical Canons made by the Bishops and Clergy in Synods, general, national, provincial, were either offered or required to be confirmed by Parliaments. Emperors and Princes, by whose authority those Synods were called, have still given their power to the ratification and execution of them; and none others: and, if you please to look into the times within the ken of memory or somewhat beyond it, Linwood's Constitutions, what Parliaments confirmed? The Injunctions of Queen Elizabeth, the Canons of King James, were never tendered to the Parliament for confirmation; and yet have so far obtained hitherto, that the government of the Church was by them still regulated. Compare, I beseech you, those of King James with the present: your Lordships shall find them many, peremptory, resolute; standing upon their own grounds, in points much harder of digestion than these, which are but few and only seconds to former Constitutions. If, therefore, in this we have erred, surely the whole Christian Church of all places and times hath erred with us: either, therefore, we shall have too good company in the censure; or else we shall be excused.

Fourthly, give me leave to urge the authority of these Canons. In which regard, if I might without offence speak it, I might say that the complainants have not, under correction, laid a right ground of their accusation. They say we have made Canons and Constitutions: alas! my Lords, we have made none. We neither did nor could make Canons, more than they can make Laws. The Canons are so to the Church, as Laws are for the Commonwealth. Now they do but rogare legem: they do not ferre or sancire legem: that is only for the King to do: it is le roi le veut, that of Bills makes Laws. So was it for us to do in matter of Canons: we might propound some such Constitutions, as we should think might be useful: but, when we have done, we send them to his Majesty; who, perusing them cum avisamento Consilii sui, and approving them, puts life into them, and of dead propositions makes them Canons. As, therefore, the laws are the King's laws,

and not ours; so are the Canons the King's Canons, and not the Clergy's. Think thus of them; and then draw what conclusions you please.

As for that pecuniary business of our contribution, wherein we are said to have trenched upon the liberty of subjects and propriety of goods; I beseech your Lordships, do but see the difference of times. We had a precedent for it. The same thing was done in Queen Elizabeth's time, in a mulct of three shillings the pound, and that after the end of the Parliament, with the same clauses of suspension, sequestration, deprivation, without noise of any exception; which now is cried down for an unheard of encroachment. How legal it may be, I dispute not; and did then make bold to move: but, let the guide of that example, and the zeal that we had to the supply of his Majesty's necessities, excuse us a tanto at least; if, having given these as subsidies fitting the Parliament, and the Bill being drawn up for the confirmation of the Parliament, we now, upon the unhappy dissolution of it, as loth to retract so necessary a grant, were willing to have it continued to his Majesty's use. But, my Lords, if I may have leave to speak my own thoughts, I shall freely say, that, whereas there are three general concernments, both of persons and causes, merely Ecclesiastical, merely Temporal, or mixt of both Ecclesiastical and Temporal: as it is fit, the Church by her Synod should take cognizance of and order for the first, which is merely Ecclesiastical; so, next under his Majesty, the Parliament should have the power of ordering the other.

But, in the mean time, my Lords, where are we? The Canons of the Church, both late and former, are pronounced to be void and forceless. The Church is a garden or vineyard enclosed the laws and constitutions of it are as the wall or hedge: if these be cast open, in what state are we? Shall the enemies of this Church have such an advantage of us, as to say, we are a lawless Church? or shall all men be left loose to their licentious freedom? God in heaven forbid!

Hitherto, we have been quietly and happily governed by those former Canons: the extent whereof we have not, I hope, and for some of us, I am confident we have not, exceeded. Why should we not be so still? Let these late Canons sleep, since you will have it so, till we awake them, which shall not be till Doomsday; and let us be where we were, and regulate ourselves by those Constitutions which were quietly submitted to on all hands: and, for this, which is past, since that which we did was out of our true obedience, and with honest and godly intentions and according to the universal practice of all Christian Churches, and with the full power of his Majesty's authority, let it not be imputed to us as any way worthy of your Lordships' censure.

A SPEECH IN PARLIAMENT.

CONCERNING THE

POWER OF BISHOPS

IN

SECULAR THINGS.

MY LORDS: This is the strangest Bill, that ever I heard, since I was admitted to sit under this roof: for it strikes at the very fabric and composition of this house; at the style of all laws and, therefore, were it not that it comes from such a recommendation, it would not, I suppose, undergo any long consideration; but, coming to us from such hands, it cannot but be worthy of your best thoughts.

:

And, truly, for the main scope of the Bill, I shall yield it most willingly, that ecclesiastical and sacred persons should not ordinarily be taken up with secular affairs. The Minister is called Vir Dei, "a Man of God:" he may not be Vir Seculi. He may lend himself to them, upon occasion: he may not give himself over purposely to them. Shortly, he may not so attend worldly things, as that he do neglect divine things. This we gladly yield. Matters of justice, therefore, are not proper, as in an ordinary trade, for our function; and, by my consent, shall be, as in a generality, waved and deserted: which, for my part, I never have meddled with, but in a charitable way; with no profit, but some charge to myself, whereof I shall be glad to be eased. Tractent fabrilia fabri; as the old word is.

But, if any man shall hence think to infer, that some spiritual person may not occasionally be in a special service of his King or Country; and, when he is so required by his Prince, give his advice in the urgent affairs of the Kingdom, which I suppose is the main point driven at; it is such an inconsequence, as I dare boldly say cannot be made good, either by divinity or reason; by the laws either of God or man: whereas the contrary may be proved and enforced by both.

As for the grounds of this Bill, that the Minister's duty is so great, that it is able to take up the whole man, and the Apostle saith Tís iκavós, Who is sufficient for these things? and that he, who warfares to God, should not entangle himself

with this world; it is a sufficient and just conviction of those, who would divide themselves betwixt God and the World, and bestow any main part of their time upon secular affairs: but it hath no operation at all upon this tenet, which we have in hand; That a man, dedicate to God, may not so much as, when he is required, cast a glance of his eye, or some minutes of time, or some motions of his tongue, upon the public business of his King and Country. Those, that expect this from us, may as well, and upon the same reason, hold that a Minister must have no family at all; or, if he have one, must not care for it: yea, that he must have no body to tend; but be all spirit.

My Lords, we are men of the same composition with others; and our breeding hath been accordingly. We cannot have lived in the world, but we have seen it, and observed it too; and our long experience and conversation, both in men and in books, cannot but have put something into us for the good of others and now, having a double capacity, quà Cives, quà Ecclesiastici; as members of the Commonwealth, as Ministers and Governors of the Church; we are ready to do our best service in both. One of them is no way incompatible with the other: yea, the subjects of them both are so united with the Church and Commonwealth, that they cannot be severed: yea so, as that, not the one is in the other, but one is the other, is both so as the services, which we do, upon these occasions, to the Commonwealth, are inseparable from our good offices to the Church: so as, upon this ground, there is no reason of our exclusion.

If ye say that our sitting in Parliament takes up much time, which we might have employed in our studies or pulpits; consider, I beseech you, that, while you have a Parliament, we must have a Convocation; and that our attendance upon that will call for the same expence of time, which we afford to this service so as, herein, we have neither got nor lost.

But, I fear it is not, on some hands, the tender regard of the full scope to our calling, that is so much here stood upon; as the conceit of too much honour, that is done us, in taking up the room of Peers, and voting in this High Court: for, surely, those that are averse from our votes, yet could be content we should have place upon the woolsacks; and could allow us ears, but not tongues.

If this be the matter, I beseech your Lordships to consider, that this honour is not done to us, but our profession; which, whatever we be in our several persons, cannot easily be capable of too much respect from your Lordships. Non tibi, sed İsidi; as he said of old.

Neither is this any new grace, that is put upon our calling; which if it were now to begin might perhaps be justly grudged

to our unworthiness: but it is an ancient right and inheritance, inherent in our station: no less ancient than these walls, wherein we sit: yea, more: before ever there were Parliaments, in the Magna Concilia of the kingdom we had our places. And, as for my predecessors, ever since the Conqueror's time, I can shew your Lordships a just catalogue of them, that have sat before me here: and, truly, though I have just cause to be mean in mine own eyes, yet why or wherein there should be more unworthiness in me than the rest, that I should be stripped of that privilege which they so long enjoyed, though there were no law to hold me here, I cannot see or confess.

What respects of honour have been put upon the prime Clergy of old, both by Pagans, and Jews, and Christians, and what are still both within Christendom and without, I shall not need to urge: it is enough to say, this of ours is not merely arbitrary; but stands so firmly established by law and custom, that I hope it neither will nor can be removed, except you will shake those foundations, which I believe you desire to hold firm and inviolable.

Shortly, then, my Lords, the Church craves no new honour from you; and justly hopes you will not be guilty of pulling down the old. As you are the eldest sons, and, next under his Majesty, the honourable patrons of the Church: so she expects and beseeches you to receive her into your tenderest care; so to order her affairs, that ye leave her to posterity in no worse case than you found her.

It is a true word of Damasus, Uti vilescit nomen Episcopi, omnis statua perturbatur Ecclesiæ. If this be suffered, the misery will be the Church's: the dishonour and blur of the act in future ages will be yours.

To shut up, therefore, let us be taken off from all ordinary trade of secular employments; and, if you please, abridge us of intermeddling with matters of common justice: but leave us possessed of those places and privileges in Parliament, which our predecessors have so long and peaceably enjoyed.