their persecutors, who knew not what they held, or what they were, and yet could judge them, and cruelly execute them. And such were Tacitus and other old historians, that from common prejudice spake words of contempt or reproach of them. The Christians were glad when they had a Trajan, an Antonine, an Alexander Severus, &c. to speak to, that had reason and sobriety to hear their cause. Among the Papists, the old reformers and martyrs took him for a very commendable judge or magistrate, that would but allow them a patient hearing, and give them leave to speak for themselves. Truth and godliness have so much evidence, and such a testimony for themselves in the conscience of mankind, as that the devil could never get them so odiously thought of, and so hardly used in the world, but only by keeping them unknown, which is much by expelling and silencing their defenders, (who speed well sometimes if an Obadiah hide them by fifties in a cave,) and by tempting their judges to hear but some superficial narrative of their cause, and to have but a glimpse of the outside as in transitu,' and to see only the back parts of it, yea but the clothing; which is commonly such as are made by its enemies; good men and causes are too often brought to them, and set out by them, as Christ with his scarlet robe, his reed and crown of thorns, and then they say, "Behold the man!" and when they have cried out, " Blasphemy, and an enemy to Cæsar!" they write over his cross in scorn, "The King of the Jews." Cain had not patience to hear his own brother, and weigh the case; no not after that God had admonished him: but he must first hate and murder, and afterwards consider why, when it is too late. Judas must know his Master's innocency, and what he had done, in despair to hang himself. And so wise Ahithophel cometh to his end. If David would have pondered his usage of Uriah as much in time as he did when Nathan had awakened his reason, O what had he prevented! If Paul had weighed before, the case of Christians, as he did when Christ did stop his rage, he had not incurred the guilt of persecution, and the martyrs' blood: but he tells us that he was exceedingly mad against them: and it is madness indeed to venture on cruelty and persecution, and not stay first to understand the cause, and consider why, and what is likely to be the end.

How ordinary in the world are the most excellent men on

earth, for wisdom and holiness, such as Ignatitus, Cyprian, and the rest of the ancient martyrs; and such as Athanasius, Chrysostom, &c., reviled and used as if they were the basest rogues on earth, laid in gaols, banished, silenced, murdered; and all this by men that know not what they are, and have no true understanding of their cause! Men of whom the world was not worthy, wandered up and down in dens, and caves, and suffered joyfully the spoiling of their goods, yea and death itself, (Heb. xi.) from men that judged before they knew! Many a great man and judge that hath condemned Christ's ministers as heretics, false teachers, unworthy to preach the Gospel, have been such as understand not their baptism, creed or catechism, and have need of many years' teaching to make them know truly but those principles that every child should know. There needs no great learning, wisdom, sobriety or honesty to teach them to cry out, 'You are a rogue, a seducer, a heretic, a schismatic, disobedient, seditious; or, Away with such a fellow from the earth; it is not fit that he should live; (Acts xxii. 22. and xxi. 26;) or, Away with him, crucify him, give us Barabbas; or to say, We have found this man a pestilent fellow, a mover of sedition, a leader of a sect, that teacheth contrary to the decrees of Cæsar, &c.' But patience, till the cause were fully tried, and all things heard and equally weighed, would prevent most of this!

I know that ignorance and weakness of judgment is the common calamity of mankind; and there is no hope of curing us by unity in high degrees of knowledge. And though teachers are and must be a great stay to ignorant learners, yet, alas, how can they tell which are the wisest teachers, and whom to choose? When all pretend to wisdom, and no man can judge of that which he neither hath nor knoweth; and even the Roman sect, who pretend most to infallibility, have so exceeded all men in their error, as to make it a part of religion, necessary to our possessions, communion, dominion, and salvation, to maintain the falsehood of God's natural revelations to the senses of all sound men in the world. How shall one that would learn philosophy know in this age, what sect to follow, or what guide to choose? Hence is our calamity; and the remedy will be but imperfect till the time of perfection come.

But yet we are not remediless. 1. If men would but well

lay in, hold fast, love, and faithfully improve the few necessary essential principles: 2. If they would make them a rule in trying what is built upon them; and receive nothing that certainly contradicteth them: 3. If they would stay, think and try, till their thoughts are well digested, and all is heard, before they take in doubtful things: 4. If they will carry themselves as humble learners to those whose wisdom is conspicuous by its proper light, especially the concordant pastors of the Churches: 5. And if they will not quarrel with truth for every difficulty which they understand not, but humbly, as learners, suspect their own wit, till their teachers have helped them in a leisurely and faithful trial; by such means the mischief of error and rashness might be much avoided.

In common matters, necessity and undeniable experience doth somewhat rebuke and restrain this vice. If children should set their wits against their parents, or scholars presently dispute with their masters, nature and the rod would rebuke their pride and folly. If they that never used a trade, should presently take themselves to be as wise as the longest practisers, who would be apprentices? And if an unskilful musician, painter, poet, or other such like, shall be confident that he is as good at his work as any, standers-by will not easily cherish his folly, as being not blinded by his self-love. A good workman shall have most praise and practice. Buyers will convince the ignorant boasters, by forsaking such men's shops: as it is with self-conceited, ignorant writers, who are restrained by the people, that will not buy and read their books. And usually good and bad judges, magistrates, lawyers, soldiers, pilots, artificers, are discerned by most that are capable of judging; because, 1. These are matters where the common sense of mankind doth render them somewhat capable of judging, and save them from deceit. 2. And here is not usually such deep and long plots and endeavours to deceive, as in matters of speculation, and especially religion and policy there is. And the devil is not so concerned and industrious to deceive men in matters of so low importance. 4. And if one be deceived, many are ready to rectify him. 5. And men's interest here is better understood in bodily matters, and they are not so willing to be deceived. A poor man can easily discern between a charitable man and an uncharitable; between a merciful and an oppressing landlord. We discern between

diligent and slothful servants; but in matters that are above our reach, which we must take on trust, and know not whom to trust, the difficulty is greater; where the errors and haste of either party will breed mischief, but much more of both. If the physician, or other undertaker be confident in his error, and precipitant, he will impose ruin on men's health, as I have said: and if the patient be self-conceited and rash in his choice, he is likely to suffer for it; but when both physician and patient are so, what hope of escape! And especially when through the great imperfection of man's understanding, not one of a multitude is clear and skilful in things that are beyond the reach of sense: and if one man, after great experience, come to be wiser than the rest, the hearer knoweth it not, and he must cast out his notions among as many assailing warriors, as there are ignorant self-conceited hearers present, and that is usually as there are persons. And when every one hath poured out his confidence against it, and perhaps reproached the author as erroneous, because he will know more than they, and will not reverence their known mistakes; alas! how shall the person that we would instruct (be it for health or soul), be able to know which of all these to trust as wisest?

But the saddest work is that forementioned, in churches, kingdoms, families and souls. I must expect that opening the crime will exasperate the guilty: but what remedy? 1. Should I largely open what work this maketh in families, I have too much matter for the complaint. If the wife differ from the husband, she seemeth always in the right: if the servant differ from the master, and the child from the parent, if a little past infancy, they are always in the right: what is the contention in families, and in all the world, but who shall have his way and will? If they are of several parties in religion, or if any be against religion itself; if they be foolish, erroneous, or live in any sin, that can without utter impudence be defended, still they are able to make it good: and except children at school, or others that professedly go to be taught, whom can we meet with so ignorant or mistaken, that will not still think, when even superiors differ from them and reprove them, that they are in the right?

2. And what mischiefs doth it cause in churches! When the Papal tyrannical part are so confident that they are in the right, that when they silence preachers, and imprison

and burn Christians, they think it not their duty so much as to hear what they have to say for themselves. Or if they hear a few words, they have not the patience to hear all, or impartially to try the cause: but they are so full of themselves and overwise, that it must seem without any more ado a crime to dissent from them, or contradict them. And thus proud self-conceitedness smiteth the shepherds, scattereth the flocks, and will allow the Church of Christ no unity or peace. And the popular crowd are usually or often as selfconceited in their way; and if they never so unreasonably oppose their teachers, how hard it is to make them know or once suspect that they are mistaken! O what mutinies in Christ's armies, what schisms, what confusions, what scandals, what persecutions in the Church, what false accusations, what groundless censures, do proud self-conceited understandings cause!

But scarcely any where is it more lamentably seen than among injudicious, unexperienced ministers! What work is made in the Christian world, by sect against sect, and party against party, in cases of controversy, by most men's bold and confident judging of what they never truly studied, tried or understood! Papists against Protestants, Protestants against Papists, Lutherans (or Arminians) and Calvinists, &c. usually charge one another by bare hearsay, or by a few sentences or scraps collected out of their writings by their adversaries; contrary to the very scope of the whole discourse or context. And men cannot have leisure to peruse the books, and to know before they judge. And then they think that seeing their reverend doctors have so reported their adversaries before them, it is arrogance or injury to think that they knew not what they said, or else belied them. And on such supposition the false judging doth go on. all the pulpits that often trouble the people with invectives against this side or that, especially in the controversies of Predestination, Grace, and Freewill, how few do we hear that know what they talk against!

Of

Yea, those young or unstudied men, who might easily be conscious how little they know, are ready to oppose and contemn the most ancient studied divines; when if ever they would be wise men, they should continue scholars to such, even while they are teachers of the people.

I will not presume to open the calamities of the world,