{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_13139/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_13139","id":"gutenberg_13139","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/13139","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Biographies","Category: British Literature","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Harvard Classics","Herbert, George, 1593-1633","Hooker, Richard, 1553 or 4-1600","Sanderson, Robert, 1587-1663"],"text":"LIVES OF JOHN DONNE, HENRY WOTTON, RICH'D HOOKER, GEORGE HERBERT, &c,\nVOLUME TWO\n\nby\n\nIZAAK WALTON\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThis issue of \"Walton's Lives\" is based upon John Major's edition\nof 1825, which was printed from a copy of the edition of 1675,\n\"corrected by Walton's own pen,\" Major's \"illustrative notes\" have\nbeen preserved, with some modifications by later hands. Mr. AUSTIN\nDOBSON has read the text, added the marginalia, and contributed the\nsupplementary notes.\n\nI.G.\n\nAugust 9,\n\nWalton's birthday,\n\n1898.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\nThe Life of Mr. Richard Hooker\n\nThe Life of Mr. George Herbert, Prebendary of Salisbury Cathedral\n\nThe Life of Dr. Robert Sanderson, Late Lord Bishop of Lincoln\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE LIFE OF MR. RICHARD HOOKER:\n\nTHE AUTHOR OF THOSE LEARNED BOOKS OF THE LAWS OF ECCLESIASTICAL\nPOLITY.\n\n\n  \"Judicious Hooker, though the cost be spent\n  On him, that hath a lasting monument\n  In his own books; yet ought we to express\n  If not the worth, yet our respectfulness.\"\n\nSIR WIL. COWPER\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION\n\n\n[Sidenote: Introduction]\n\nI have been persuaded, by a friend whom I reverence, and ought\nto obey, to write the Life of RICHARD HOOKER, the happy Author\nof Five--if not more--of the eight learned books of \"The Laws of\nEcclesiastical Polity.\" And though I have undertaken it, yet it hath\nbeen with some unwillingness: because I foresee that it must prove to\nme, and especially at this time of my age, a work of much labour to\nenquire, consider, research, and determine what is needful to be known\nconcerning him. For I knew him not in his life, and must therefore not\nonly look back to his death,--now sixty-four years past,--but almost\nfifty years beyond, that, even to his childhood and youth; and gather\nthence such observations and prognostics as may at least adorn, if not\nprove necessary for the completing of what I have undertaken.\n\n[Sidenote: Reasons for this Life]\n\nThis trouble I foresee, and foresee also that it is impossible to\nescape censures; against which I will not hope my well-meaning and\ndiligence can protect me,--for I consider the age in which I live--and\nshall therefore but intreat of my Reader a suspension of his censures,\ntill I have made known unto him some reasons, which I myself would now\ngladly believe do make me in some measure fit for this undertaking;\nand if these reasons shall not acquit me from all censures, they may\nat least abate of their severity, and this is all I can probably hope\nfor. My reasons follow.\n\nAbout forty years past--for I am now past the seventy of my\nage--I began a happy affinity with William Cranmer,--now with\nGod,--grand-nephew unto the great Archbishop of that name;--a family\nof noted prudence and resolution; with him and two of his sisters I\nhad an entire and free friendship: one of them was the wife of Dr.\nSpencer,[1] a bosom friend and sometime com-pupil with Mr. Hooker in\nCorpus Christi College in Oxford, and after President of the same. I\nname them here, for that I shall have occasion to mention them in the\nfollowing discourse, as also George Cranmer, their brother, of whose\nuseful abilities my Reader may have a more authentic testimony than my\npen can purchase for him, by that of our learned Camden and others.\n\n[Sidenote: Hooker's friends]\n\nThis William Cranmer and his two fore-named sisters had some affinity,\nand a most familiar friendship, with Mr. Hooker, and had had some\npart of their education with him in his house, when he was parson of\nBishop's-Bourne near Canterbury; in which City their good father then\nlived. They had, I say, a part of their education with him as myself,\nsince that time, a happy cohabitation with them; and having some\nyears before read part of Mr. Hooker's works with great liking and\nsatisfaction, my affection to them made me a diligent inquisitor into\nmany things that concerned him; as namely, of his persons, his nature,\nthe management of his time, his wife, his family, and the fortune\nof him and his. Which enquiry hath given me much advantage in the\nknowledge of what is now under my consideration, and intended for the\nsatisfaction of my Reader.\n\n[Sidenote: Conclusion]\n\nI had also a friendship with the Reverend Dr. Usher,[2] the late\nlearned Archbishop of Armagh; and with Dr. Morton, the late learned\nand charitable Bishop of Durham; as also the learned John Hales,\nof Eton College; and with them also--who loved the very name of Mr.\nHooker--I have had many discourses concerning him; and from them, and\nmany others that have now put off mortality, I might have had more\ninformations, if I could then have admitted a thought of any fitness\nfor what by persuasion I have now undertaken. But though that full\nharvest be irrecoverably lost, yet my memory hath preserved some\ngleanings, and my diligence made such additions to them, as I hope\nwill prove useful to the completing of what I intend: in the discovery\nof which I shall be faithful, and with this assurance put a period to\nmy Introduction.\n\n\n[Footnote 1: A native of Suffolk, one of the Clerks of Corpus Christi\nCollege, Oxford, and Greek Reader. He entered Orders, became a noted\nPreacher, Chaplain to James I., and a great admirer of Richard Hooker\nand the famous Dr. John Reynolds, the latter of whom he succeeded\nas Master of his College. About four years after Hooker's death, he\npublished the Five Books of Ecclesiastical Polity, with a Preface; and\ndying on April 3rd, 1614, was buried at Oxford.]\n\n[Footnote 2: The illustrious Primate of Ireland, born in Dublin, Jan.\n4th, 1580. He was the first Student of Trinity College, in 1593,\nand in 1610 he was made Bishop of Meath, whence he was translated to\nArmagh, in 1625. In the Irish Rebellion, he lost every thing but his\nlibrary, which he conveyed to England, where he died in retirement,\nMarch 21st, 1655-56.]\n\n\n\n\nTHE LIFE\nOF\nMR. RICHARD HOOKER.\n\n\n[Sidenote: Birth and parentage]\n\nIt is not to be doubted, but that Richard Hooker was born at\nHeavy-tree, near, or within the precincts, or in the City of Exeter;\na City which may justly boast, that it was the birth-place of him and\nSir Thomas Bodley; as indeed the County may, in which it stands, that\nit hath furnished this nation with Bishop Jewel, Sir Francis Drake,\nSir Walter Raleigh, and many others, memorable for their valour and\nlearning. He was born about the year of our Redemption 1553, and of\nparents that were not so remarkable for their extraction or riches, as\nfor their virtue and industry, and God's blessing upon both; by\nwhich they were enabled to educate their children in some degree\nof learning, of which our Richard Hooker may appear to be one fair\ntestimony, and that nature is not so partial as always to give the\ngreat blessings of wisdom and learning, and with them the greater\nblessings of virtue and government, to those only that are of a more\nhigh and honourable birth.\n\n[Sidenote: \"His complexion\"]\n\nHis complexion--if we may guess by him at the age of forty--was\nsanguine, with a mixture of choler; and yet his motion was slow even\nin his youth, and so was his speech, never expressing an earnestness\nin either of them, but an humble gravity suitable to the aged. And it\nis observed,--so far as enquiry is able to look back at this distance\nof time,--that at his being a school-boy he was an early questionist,\nquietly inquisitive \"why this was, and that was not, to be remembered?\nwhy this was granted, and that denied?\" This being mixed with a\nremarkable modesty, and a sweet serene quietness of nature, and with\nthem a quick apprehension of many perplexed parts of learning, imposed\nthen upon him as a scholar, made his Master and others to believe him\nto have an inward blessed divine light, and therefore to consider him\nto be a little wonder. For in that, children were less pregnant, less\nconfident and more malleable, than in this wiser, but not better, age.\n\n[Sidenote: Early training]\n\nThis meekness and conjuncture of knowledge, with modesty in his\nconversation, being observed by his Schoolmaster, caused him to\npersuade his parents--who intended him for an apprentice--to continue\nhim at school till he could find out some means, by persuading his\nrich Uncle, or some other charitable person, to ease them of a part\nof their care and charge; assuring them that their son was so enriched\nwith the blessings of nature and grace, that God seemed to single him\nout as a special instrument of his glory. And the good man told them\nalso, that he would double his diligence in instructing him, and would\nneither expect nor receive any other reward, than the content of so\nhopeful and happy an employment.\n\nThis was not unwelcome news, and especially to his Mother, to whom\nhe was a dutiful and dear child, and all parties were so pleased with\nthis proposal, that it was resolved so it should be. And in the\nmean time his Parents and Master laid a foundation for his future\nhappiness, by instilling into his soul the seeds of piety, those\nconscientious principles of loving and fearing God, of an early belief\nthat he knows the very secrets of our souls; that he punisheth\nour vices, and rewards our innocence; that we should be free from\nhypocrisy, and appear to man what we are to God, because first or last\nthe crafty man is catched in his own snare. These seeds of piety were\nso seasonably planted, and so continually watered with the daily dew\nof God's blessed Spirit, that his infant virtues grew into such holy\nhabits, as did make him grow daily into more and more favour both with\nGod and man; which, with the great learning that he did after attain\nto, hath made Richard Hooker honoured in this, and will continue him\nto be so to succeeding generations.\n\n[Sidenote: John Hooker]\n\nThis good School-master, whose name I am not able to recover,--and\nam sorry, for that I would have given him a better memorial in this\nhumble monument, dedicated to the memory of his scholar,--was very\nsolicitous with John Hooker, then Chamberlain of Exeter, and uncle to\nour Richard, to take his Nephew into his care, and to maintain him for\none year in the University, and in the mean time to use his endeavours\nto procure an admission for him into some College, though it were but\nin a mean degree; still urging and assuring him, that his charge would\nnot continue long; for the lad's learning and manners were both so\nremarkable, that they must of necessity be taken notice of; and that\ndoubtless God would provide him some second patron, that would free\nhim and his Parents from their future care and charge.\n\n[Sidenote: Bishop Jewel]\n\nThese reasons, with the affectionate rhetoric of his good Master, and\nGod's blessing upon both, procured from his Uncle a faithful promise,\nthat he would take him into his care and charge before the expiration\nof the year following, which was performed by him, and with the\nassistance of the learned Mr. John Jewel;[1] of whom this may be\nnoted, that he left, or was about the first of Queen Mary's reign\nexpelled out of Corpus Christi College in Oxford,--of which he was a\nFellow,--for adhering to the truth of those principles of Religion to\nwhich he had assented and given testimony in the days of her brother\nand predecessor, Edward the Sixth; and this John Jewel, having within\na short time after, a just cause to fear a more heavy punishment than\nexpulsion, was forced, by forsaking this, to seek safety in another\nnation; and, with that safety, the enjoyment of that doctrine and\nworship for which he suffered.\n\nBut the cloud of that persecution and fear ending with the life of\nQueen Mary, the affairs of the Church and State did then look more\nclear and comfortable; so that he, and with him many others of the\nsame judgment, made a happy return into England about the first of\nQueen Elizabeth; in which year this John Jewel was sent a Commissioner\nor Visitor, of the Churches of the Western parts of this kingdom, and\nespecially of those in Devonshire, in which County he was born; and\nthen and there he contracted a friendship with John Hooker, the Uncle\nof our Richard.\n\n[Sidenote: At Oxford]\n\nAbout the second or third year of her reign, this John Jewel was\nmade Bishop of Salisbury; and there being always observed in him a\nwillingness to do good, and to oblige his friends, and now a power\nadded to his willingness; this John Hooker gave him a visit in\nSalisbury, and besought him for charity's sake to look favourably upon\na poor nephew of his, whom Nature had fitted for a scholar; but the\nestate of his parents was so narrow, that they were unable to give him\nthe advantage of learning; and that the Bishop would therefore become\nhis patron, and prevent him from being a tradesman, for he was a boy\nof remarkable hopes. And though the Bishop knew men do not usually\nlook with an indifferent eye upon their own children and relations,\nyet he assented so far to John Hooker, that he appointed the boy and\nhis School-master should attend him, about Easter next following, at\nthat place: which was done accordingly; and then, after some questions\nand observations of the boy's learning, and gravity, and behaviour,\nthe Bishop gave his School-master a reward, and took order for an\nannual pension for the boy's parents; promising also to take him into\nhis care for a future preferment, which he performed: for about the\nfifteenth year of his age, which was anno 1567, he was by the Bishop\nappointed to remove to Oxford, and there to attend Dr. Cole,[2]\nthen President of Corpus Christi College. Which he did; and Dr. Cole\nhad--according to a promise made to the Bishop--provided for him both\na Tutor--which was said to be the learned Dr. John Reynolds,[3]--and a\nClerk's place in that College: which place, though it were not a\nfull maintenance, yet, with the contribution of his Uncle, and\nthe continued pension of his patron, the good Bishop, gave him a\ncomfortable subsistence. And in this condition he continued until the\neighteenth year of his age, still increasing in learning and prudence,\nand so much in humility and piety, that he seemed to be filled with\nthe Holy Ghost; and even like St. John Baptist, to be sanctified from\nhis mother's womb, who did often bless the day in which she bare him.\n\n[Sidenote: \"A dangerous sickness\"]\n\nAbout this time of his age, he fell into a dangerous sickness, which\nlasted two months; all which time his Mother, having notice of it, did\nin her hourly prayers as earnestly beg his life of God, as Monica the\nmother of St. Augustine did, that he might become a true Christian;\nand their prayers were both so heard as to be granted. Which Mr.\nHooker would often mention with much joy, and as often pray that \"he\nmight never live to occasion any sorrow to so good a mother; of whom\nhe would often say, he loved her so dearly, that he would endeavour to\nbe good, even as much for her's as for his own sake.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The Bishop's horse]\n\nAs soon as he was perfectly recovered from this sickness, he took a\njourney from Oxford to Exeter, to satisfy and see his good Mother,\nbeing accompanied with a countryman and companion of his own College,\nand both on foot; which was then either more in fashion, or want of\nmoney, or their humility made it so: but on foot they went, and took\nSalisbury in their way, purposely to see the good Bishop, who made\nMr. Hooker and his companion dine with him at his own table: which Mr.\nHooker boasted of with much joy and gratitude when he saw his mother\nand friends: and at the Bishop's parting with him, the Bishop gave\nhim good counsel, and his benediction, but forgot to give him money;\nwhich, when the Bishop had considered, he sent a servant in all haste\nto call Richard back to him: and at Richard's return, the Bishop said\nto him, \"Richard, I sent for you back to lend you a horse, which\nhath carried me many a mile, and, I thank God, with much ease;\" and\npresently delivered into his hand a walking-staff, with which he\nprofessed he had travelled through many parts of Germany. And he said,\n\"Richard, I do not give, but lend you my horse: be sure you be honest,\nand bring my horse back to me at your return this way to Oxford. And\nI do now give you ten groats, to bear your charges to Exeter; and here\nis ten groats more, which I charge you to deliver to your Mother\nand tell her I send her a Bishop's benediction with it, and beg the\ncontinuance of her prayers for me. And if you bring my horse back\nto me, I will give you ten groats more, to carry you on foot to the\nCollege: and so God bless you, good Richard.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Jewel's death]\n\nAnd this, you may believe, was performed by both parties. But, alas!\nthe next news that followed Mr. Hooker to Oxford was, that his learned\nand charitable patron had changed this for a better life. Which happy\nchange may be believed, for that as he lived, so he died, in devout\nmeditation and prayer: and in both so zealously, that it became a\nreligious question, \"Whether his last ejaculations or his soul did\nfirst enter into Heaven?\"\n\nAnd now Mr. Hooker became a man of sorrow and fear: of sorrow, for the\nloss of so dear and comfortable a patron; and of fear for his future\nsubsistence. But Dr. Cole raised his spirits from this dejection, by\nbidding him go cheerfully to his studies, and assuring him, he\nshould neither want food nor raiment,--which was the utmost of his\nhopes,--for he would become his patron.\n\nAnd so he was for about nine months, and not longer; for about that\ntime this following accident did befall Mr. Hooker.\n\n[Sidenote: Bishop Sandys]\n\n[Sidenote: Hooker's pupil]\n\nEdwin Sandys[4]--sometime Bishop of London, and after Archbishop of\nYork--had also been in the days of Queen Mary, forced, by forsaking\nthis, to seek safety in another nation; where, for some years, Bishop\nJewel and he were companions at bed and board in Germany; and where,\nin this their exile, they did often eat the bread of sorrow, and by\nthat means they there began such a friendship, as lasted till the\ndeath of Bishop Jewel, which was in September, 1571. A little before\nwhich time the two Bishops meeting, Jewel had an occasion to begin a\nstory of his Richard Hooker, and in it gave such a character of\nhis learning and manners, that though Bishop Sandys was educated\nin Cambridge, where he had obliged, and had many friends; yet his\nresolution was, that his son Edwin should be sent to Corpus Christi\nCollege in Oxford, and by all means be pupil to Mr. Hooker, though\nhis son Edwin was not much younger than Mr. Hooker then was: for the\nBishop said, \"I will have a Tutor for my son, that shall teach him\nlearning by instruction, and virtue by example: and my greatest care\nshall be of the last; and, God willing, this Richard Hooker shall be\nthe man into whose hands I will commit my Edwin.\" And the Bishop did\nso about twelve months, or not much longer, after this resolution.\n\n[Sidenote: Hooker's behaviour]\n\nAnd doubtless, as to these two, a better choice could not be made; for\nMr. Hooker was now in the nineteenth year of his age; had spent\nfive in the University; and had, by a constant unwearied diligence,\nattained unto a perfection in all the learned languages; by the help\nof which, an excellent tutor, and his unintermitted studies, he had\nmade the subtilty of all the arts easy and familiar to him, and useful\nfor the discovery of such learning as lay hid from common searchers.\nSo that by these, added to his great reason, and his restless industry\nadded to both, he did not only know more of causes and effects; but\nwhat he knew, he knew better than other men. And with this knowledge\nhe had a most blessed and clear method of demonstrating what he\nknew, to the great advantage of all his pupils,--which in time were\nmany,--but especially to his two first, his dear Edwin Sandys, and his\nas dear George Cranmer; of which there will be a fair testimony in the\nensuing relation.\n\nThis for Mr. Hooker's learning. And for his behaviour, amongst other\ntestimonies, this still remains of him, that in four years he was but\ntwice absent from the Chapel prayers; and that his behaviour there\nwas such, as shewed an awful reverence of that God which he then\nworshipped and prayed to; giving all outward testimonies that his\naffections were set on heavenly things. This was his behaviour towards\nGod; and for that to man, it is observable that he was never known to\nbe angry, or passionate, or extreme in any of his desires; never\nheard to repine or dispute with Providence, but, by a quiet gentle\nsubmission and resignation of his will to the wisdom of his Creator,\nbore the burthen of the day with patience; never heard to utter an\nuncomely word: and by this, and a grave behaviour, which is a divine\ncharm, he begot an early reverence unto his person, even from those\nthat at other times and in other companies, took a liberty to cast\noff that strictness of behaviour and discourse that is required in a\nCollegiate life. And when he took any liberty to be pleasant, his wit\nwas never blemished with scoffing, or the utterance of any conceit\nthat bordered upon, or might beget a thought of looseness in his\nhearers. Thus mild, thus innocent and exemplary was his behaviour in\nhis College; and thus this good man continued till his death, still\nincreasing in learning, in patience, and piety.\n\n[Sidenote: Scholar of his College]\n\nIn this nineteenth year of his age, he was, December 24, 1573,\nadmitted to be one of the twenty Scholars of the Foundation; being\nelected and so admitted as born in Devon or Hantshire; out of which\nCounties a certain number are to be elected in vacancies by the\nFounder's Statutes. And now as he was much encouraged, so now he was\nperfectly incorporated into this beloved College, which was then noted\nfor an eminent Library, strict Students, and remarkable Scholars. And\nindeed it may glory, that it had Cardinal Poole,[5] but more that it\nhad Bishop Jewel, Dr. John Reynolds, and Dr. Thomas Jackson,[6] of\nthat foundation. The first famous for his learned Apology for the\nChurch of England, and his Defence of it against Harding.[7] The\nsecond, for the learned and wise manage of a public dispute with John\nHart,[8] of the Romish persuasion, about the Head and Faith of the\nChurch, and after printed by consent of both parties. And the third,\nfor his most excellent \"Exposition of the Creed,\" and other treatises;\nall such as have given greatest satisfaction to men of the greatest\nlearning. Nor was Dr. Jackson more note-worthy for his learning, than\nfor his strict and pious life, testified by his abundant love, and\nmeekness, and charity to all men.\n\n[Sidenote: Inceptor of Arts]\n\n[Sidenote: Sir Henry Savile]\n\nAnd in the year 1576, February 23, Mr. Hooker's Grace was given him\nfor Inceptor of Arts; Dr. Herbert Westphaling,[9] a man of note for\nlearning, being then Vice-Chancellor: and the Act following he was\ncompleted Master, which was anno 1577, his patron, Dr. Cole, being\nVice-Chancellor that year, and his dear friend, Henry Savile[10]\nof Merton College, being then one of the Proctors. 'Twas that Henry\nSavile that was after Sir Henry Savile, Warden of Merton College, and\nProvost of Eton; he which founded in Oxford two famous Lectures; and\nendowed them with liberal maintenance.\n\nIt was that Sir Henry Savile that translated and enlightened the\nHistory of Cornelius Tacitus, with a most excellent Comment; and\nenriched the world by his laborious and chargeable collecting the\nscattered pieces of St. Chrysostom, and the publication of them in\none entire body in Greek; in which language he was a most judicious\ncritic. It was this Sir Henry Savile that had the happiness to be a\ncontemporary and familiar friend to Mr. Hooker; and let posterity know\nit.\n\nAnd in this year of 1577, he was so happy as to be admitted Fellow of\nthe College; happy also in being the contemporary and friend of that\nDr. John Reynolds, of whom I have lately spoken, and of Dr. Spencer;\nboth which were after and successively made Presidents of Corpus\nChristi College: men of great learning and merit, and famous in their\ngenerations.\n\n[Sidenote: Sandys and Cranmer]\n\nNor was Mr. Hooker more happy in his contemporaries of his time and\nCollege, than in the pupilage and friendship of his Edwin Sandys and\nGeorge Cranmer; of whom my Reader may note, that this Edwin Sandys was\nafter Sir Edwin Sandys, and as famous for his \"Speculum Europae,\"\nas his brother George for making posterity beholden to his pen by a\nlearned relation and comment on his dangerous and remarkable Travels;\nand for his harmonious translation of the Psalms of David, the Book of\nJob, and other poetical parts of Holy Writ, into most high and elegant\nverse. And for Cranmer, his other pupil, I shall refer my Reader\nto the printed testimonies of our learned Mr. Camden, of Fynes\nMoryson[11] and others.\n\n\"This Cranmer,\" says Mr. Camden in his Annals of Queen\nElizabeth,--\"whose Christian name was George, was a gentleman of\nsingular hopes, the eldest son of Thomas Cranmer, son of Edmund\nCranmer, the Archbishop's brother: he spent much of his youth in\nCorpus Christi College in Oxford, where he continued Master of Arts\nfor some time before he removed, and then betook himself to travel,\naccompanying that worthy gentleman Sir Edwin Sandys into France,\nGermany, and Italy, for the space of three years; and after their\nhappy return, he betook himself to an employment under Secretary\nDavison, a Privy Councillor of note, who, for an unhappy undertaking,\nbecame clouded and pitied: after whose fall, he went in place of\nSecretary with Sir Henry Killegrew in his Embassage into France: and\nafter his death he was sought after by the most noble Lord Mountjoy,\nwith whom he went into Ireland, where he remained, until in a battle\nagainst the rebels near Carlingford, an unfortunate wound put an end\nboth to his life, and the great hopes that were conceived of him, he\nbeing then but in the thirty-sixth year of his age.\"\n\n[Sidenote: \"A sacred friendship\"]\n\nBetwixt Mr. Hooker and these his two Pupils, there was a sacred\nfriendship; a friendship made up of religious principles, which\nincreased daily by a similitude of inclinations to the same\nrecreations and studies; a friendship elemented in youth, and in an\nuniversity, free from self-ends, which the friendships of age usually\nare not. And in this sweet, this blessed, this spiritual amity, they\nwent on for many years: and as the holy Prophet saith, \"so they took\nsweet counsel together, and walked in the house of God as friends.\"\nBy which means they improved this friendship to such a degree of holy\namity, as bordered upon heaven: a friendship so sacred, that when it\nended in this world, it began in that next, where it shall have no\nend.\n\n[Sidenote: Hooker's studies]\n\nAnd, though this world cannot give any degree of pleasure equal to\nsuch a friendship; yet obedience to parents, and a desire to know the\naffairs, manners, laws, and learning of other nations, that they might\nthereby become the more serviceable unto their own, made them put off\ntheir gowns, and leave the College and Mr. Hooker to his studies,\nin which he was daily more assiduous, still enriching his quiet\nand capacious soul with the precious learning of the Philosophers,\nCasuists, and Schoolmen; and with them the foundation and reason of\nall Laws, both Sacred and Civil; and indeed with such other learning\nas lay most remote from the track of common studies. And, as he was\ndiligent in these, so he seemed restless in searching the scope and\nintention of God's Spirit revealed to mankind in the Sacred Scripture:\nfor the understanding of which, he seemed to be assisted by the same\nSpirit with which they were written; He that regardeth truth in the\ninward parts, making him to understand wisdom secretly. And the good\nman would often say, that \"God abhors confusion as contrary to his\nnature;\" and as often say, \"That the Scripture was not writ to beget\ndisputations and pride, and opposition to government; but charity and\nhumility, moderation, obedience to authority, and peace to mankind;\"\nof which virtues, he would as often say, \"no man did ever repent\nhimself on his death-bed.\" And that this was really his judgment, did\nappear in his future writings, and in all the actions of his life. Nor\nwas this excellent man a stranger to the more light and airy parts\nof learning, as Music and Poetry; all which he had digested and made\nuseful; and of all which the Reader will have a fair testimony in what\nwill follow.\n\n[Sidenote: Hebrew Lecturer]\n\nIn the year 1579, the Chancellor of the University was given to\nunderstand, that the public Hebrew Lecture was not read according to\nthe Statutes; nor could be, by reason of a distemper, that had then\nseized the brain of Mr. Kingsmill, who was to read it; so that it lay\nlong unread, to the great detriment of those that were studious of\nthat language. Therefore the Chancellor writ to his Vice-Chancellor,\nand the University, that he had heard such commendations of the\nexcellent knowledge of Mr. Richard Hooker in that tongue, that he\ndesired he might be procured to read it: and he did, and continued to\ndo so till he left Oxford.\n\nWithin three months after his undertaking this Lecture,--namely in\nOctober 1579,--he was, with Dr. Reynolds and others, expelled his\nCollege; and this Letter, transcribed from Dr. Reynolds his own hand,\nmay give some account of it.\n\n[Sidenote: Expulsion from College]\n\n     To SIR FRANCIS KNOLLES.\n\n\"I am sorry, Right Honourable, that I am enforced to make unto\nyou such a suit, which I cannot move; but I must complain of the\nunrighteous dealing of one of our College, who hath taken upon him,\nagainst all law and reason, to expel out of our house both me and Mr.\nHooker, and three other of our fellows, for doing that which by oath\nwe were bound to do. Our matter must be heard before the Bishop\nof Winchester, with whom I do not doubt but we shall find equity.\nHowbeit, forasmuch as some of our adversaries have said that the\nBishop is already forestalled, and will not give us such audience as\nwe look for; therefore I am humbly to beseech your Honour, that you\nwill desire the Bishop, by your letters, to let us have justice;\nthough it be with rigour, so it be justice: our cause is so good, that\nI am sure we shall prevail by it. Thus much I am bold to request of\nyour honour for Corpus Christi College sake, or rather for Christ's\nsake; whom I beseech to bless you with daily increase of his manifold\ngifts, and the blessed graces of his Holy Spirit.\n\n    \"Your Honour's in Christ to command,\n\n       \"JOHN REYNOLDS.\n\n\"LONDON, _October_ 9, 1579.\"\n\n[Sidenote: At Paul's Cross]\n\nThis expulsion was by Dr. John Barfoote, then Vice-President of the\nCollege, and Chaplain to Ambrose Earl of Warwick. I cannot learn the\npretended cause; but that they were restored the same month is most\ncertain.[12] I return to Mr. Hooker in his College, where he continued\nhis studies with all quietness, for the space of three years; about\nwhich time he entered into Sacred Orders, being then made Deacon and\nPriest, and, not long after, was appointed to preach at St. Paul's\nCross.[13]\n\n[Sidenote: His sermon]\n\nIn order to which Sermon, to London he came, and immediately to the\nShunamite's House; which is a House so called, for that, besides\nthe stipend paid the Preacher, there is provision made also for his\nlodging and diet for two days before, and one day after his Sermon.\nThis house was then kept by John Churchman, sometime a Draper of good\nnote in Watling-street, upon whom poverty had at last come like an\narmed man, and brought him into a necessitous condition; which, though\nit be a punishment, is not always an argument of God's disfavour; for\nhe was a virtuous man. I shall not yet give the like testimony of his\nwife, but leave the Reader to judge by what follows. But to this house\nMr. Hooker came so wet, so weary, and weather-beaten, that he was\nnever known to express more passion, than against a friend that\ndissuaded him from footing it to London, and for finding him no easier\nan horse,--supposing the horse trotted when he did not;--and at this\ntime also, such a faintness and fear possessed him, that he would not\nbe persuaded two days' rest and quietness, or any other means could be\nused to make him able to preach his Sunday's Sermon; but a warm bed,\nand rest, and drink proper for a cold, given him by Mrs. Churchman,\nand her diligent attendance added unto it, enabled him to perform the\noffice of the day, which was in or about the year 1581.\n\nAnd in this first public appearance to the world, he was not so happy\nas to be free from exceptions against a point of doctrine delivered\nin his Sermon; which was, \"That in God there were two wills; an\nantecedent and a consequent will: his first will, That all mankind\nshould be saved; but his second will was, That those only should be\nsaved, that did live answerable to that degree of grace which he had\noffered or afforded them.\" This seemed to cross a late opinion of Mr.\nCalvin's, and then taken for granted by many that had not a capacity\nto examine it, as it had been by him before, and hath been since by\nMaster Henry Mason, Dr. Jackson, Dr. Hammond, and others of great\nlearning, who believe that a contrary opinion intrenches upon the\nhonour and justice of our merciful God. How he justified this, I will\nnot undertake to declare; but it was not excepted against--as Mr.\nHooker declares in his rational Answer to Mr. Travers--by John\nElmer[14], then Bishop of London, at this time one of his auditors,\nand at last one of his advocates too, when Mr. Hooker was accused for\nit.\n\n[Sidenote: Wanted a nurse!]\n\n[Sidenote: His marriage]\n\nBut the justifying of this doctrine did not prove of so bad\nconsequence, as the kindness of Mrs. Churchman's curing him of his\nlate distemper and cold; for that was so gratefully apprehended by\nMr. Hooker, that he thought himself bound in conscience to believe all\nthat she said: so that the good man came to be persuaded by her, \"that\nhe was a man of a tender constitution; and that it was best for him to\nhave a wife, that might prove a nurse to him; such a one as might both\nprolong his life, and make it more comfortable; and such a one she\ncould and would provide for him, if he thought fit to marry.\" And he,\nnot considering that \"the children of this world are wiser in their\ngeneration than the children of light;\" but, like a true Nathaniel,\nfearing no guile, because he meant none, did give her such a power\nas Eleazar was trusted with,--you may read it in the book of\nGenesis,--when he was sent to choose a wife for Isaac; for even so he\ntrusted her to choose for him, promising upon a fair summons to return\nto London, and accept of her choice; and he did so in that, or about\nthe year following. Now, the wife provided for him was her daughter\nJoan, who brought him neither beauty nor portion: and for her\nconditions, they were too like that wife's, which is by Solomon\ncompared to a dripping house: so that the good man had no reason to\n\"rejoice in the wife of his youth;\" but too just cause to say with the\nholy Prophet, \"Wo is me, that I am constrained to have my habitation\nin the tents of Kedar!\"\n\nThis choice of Mr. Hooker's--if it were his choice--may be wondered\nat: but let us consider that the Prophet Ezekiel says, \"There is a\nwheel within a wheel;\" a secret sacred wheel of Providence,--most\nvisible in marriages,--guided by his hand, that \"allows not the race\nto the swift,\" nor \"bread to the wise,\" nor good wives to good men:\nand He that can bring good out of evil--for mortals are blind to this\nreason--only knows why this blessing was denied to patient Job, to\nmeek Moses, and to our as meek and patient Mr. Hooker. But so it was;\nand let the Reader cease to wonder, for affliction is a divine diet;\nwhich though it be not pleasing to mankind, yet Almighty God hath\noften, very often, imposed it as good, though bitter physic to those\nchildren whose souls are dearest to him.\n\n[Sidenote: At Drayton-Beauchamp]\n\nAnd by this marriage the good man was drawn from the tranquillity of\nhis College; from that garden of piety, of pleasure, of peace, and a\nsweet conversation, into the thorny wilderness of a busy world; into\nthose corroding cares that attend a married Priest, and a country\nParsonage; which was Drayton-Beauchamp in Buckinghamshire, not\nfar from Aylesbury, and in the Diocese of Lincoln; to which he\nwas presented by John Cheney, Esq.--then Patron of it--the 9th of\nDecember, 1584, where he behaved himself so as to give no occasion of\nevil, but as St. Paul adviseth a minister of God--\"in much patience,\nin afflictions, in anguishes, in necessities, in poverty and no doubt\nin long-suffering;\" yet troubling no man with his discontents and\nwants.\n\n[Sidenote: Res augusta domi]\n\nAnd in this condition he continued about a year; in which time his two\npupils, Edwin Sandys and George Cranmer, took a journey to see their\ntutor; where they found him with a book in his hand,--it was the Odes\nof Horace,--he being then like humble and innocent Abel, tending his\nsmall allotment of sheep in a common field; which he told his pupils\nhe was forced to do then, for that his servant was gone home to dine,\nand assist his wife to do some necessary household business. But when\nhis servant returned and released him, then his two pupils attended\nhim unto his house, where their best entertainment was his quiet\ncompany, which was presently denied them: for Richard was called to\nrock the cradle; and the rest of their welcome was so like this, that\nthey staid but till next morning, which was time enough to discover\nand pity their tutor's condition; and they having in that time\nrejoiced in the remembrance, and then paraphrased on many of the\ninnocent recreations of their younger days, and other like diversions,\nand thereby given him as much present comfort as they were able, they\nwere forced to leave him to the company of his wife Joan, and seek\nthemselves a quieter lodging for next night. But at their parting from\nhim, Mr. Cranmer said, \"Good tutor, I am sorry your lot is fallen in\nno better ground, as to your parsonage; and more sorry that your\nwife proves not a more comfortable companion, after you have wearied\nyourself in your restless studies.\" To whom the good man replied, \"My\ndear George, if Saints have usually a double share in the miseries\nof this life, I, that am none, ought not to repine at what my wise\nCreator hath appointed for me: but labour--as indeed I do daily--to\nsubmit mine to his will, and possess my soul in patience and peace.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Master of the Temple]\n\nAt their return to London, Edwin Sandys acquaints his father, who was\nthen Archbishop of York, with his Tutor's sad condition, and solicits\nfor his removal to some benefice that might give him a more quiet and\na more comfortable subsistence; which his father did most willingly\ngrant him when it should next fall into his power. And not long after\nthis time, which was in the year 1585, Mr. Alvey,--Master of the\nTemple,--died, who was a man of a strict life, of great learning, and\nof so venerable behaviour, as to gain so high a degree of love and\nreverence from all men, that he was generally known by the name of\nFather Alvey. And at the Temple-reading, next after the death of this\nFather Alvey, he, the said Archbishop of York being then at dinner\nwith the Judges, the Reader, and the Benchers of that Society, met\nwith a general condolement for the death of Father Alvey, and with a\nhigh commendation of his saint-like life, and of his great merit both\ntowards God and man; and as they bewailed his death, so they wished\nfor a like pattern of virtue and learning to succeed him. And here\ncame in a fair occasion for the Bishop to commend Mr. Hooker to Father\nAlvey's place, which he did with so effectual an earnestness, and that\nseconded with so many other testimonies of his worth, that Mr.\nHooker was sent for from Drayton-Beauchamp to London, and there the\nMastership of the Temple proposed unto him by the Bishop, as a greater\nfreedom from his country cares, the advantages of a better society,\nand a more liberal pension than his country parsonage did afford him.\nBut these reasons were not powerful enough to incline him to a willing\nacceptance of it: his wish was rather to gain a better country living,\nwhere he might see God's blessings spring out of the earth, and be\nfree from noise,--so he expressed the desire of his heart,--and eat\nthat bread which he might more properly call his own, in privacy\nand quietness. But, notwithstanding this averseness, he was at last\npersuaded to accept of the Bishop's proposal; and was by Patent for\nlife, made Master of the Temple the 17th of March, 1585, he being then\nin the 34th year of his age. [This you may find in the Temple Records.\nWilliam Ermstead was master of the Temple at the Dissolution of the\nPriory, and died 2 Eliz. (1559). Richard Alvey, Bat. Divinity, Pat.\n13 Febr. 2 Eliz. _Magister, sive Custos Dom\u00fbs et Ecchsi\u00e6 Novi Templi_,\ndied 27 Eliz. (1585). Richard Hooker succeeded that year by Patent, in\nterminis, as Alvey had it, and he left it 33 Eliz. (1591). That year\nDr. Balgey succeeded Richard Hooker.]\n\nAnd here I shall make a stop; and, that the Reader may the better\njudge of what follows, give him a character of the times and temper of\nthe people of this nation, when Mr. Hooker had his admission into this\nplace; a place which he accepted, rather than desired: and yet here he\npromised himself a virtuous quietness, that blessed tranquillity which\nhe always prayed and laboured for, that so he might in peace bring\nforth the fruits of peace, and glorify God by uninterrupted prayers\nand praises. For this he always thirsted and prayed: but Almighty\nGod did not grant it; for his admission into this place was the very\nbeginning of those oppositions and anxieties, which till then this\ngood man was a stranger to; and of which the Reader may guess by what\nfollows.\n\n[Sidenote: Character of the times]\n\n[Sidenote: Hopes under Elizabeth]\n\nIn this character of the times, I shall by the Reader's favour, and\nfor his information, look so far back as to the beginning of the reign\nof Queen Elizabeth; a time, in which the many under pretended titles\nto the Crown, the frequent treasons, the doubts of her successor, the\nlate Civil War, and the sharp persecution for Religion that raged to\nthe effusion of so much blood in the reign of Queen Mary, were fresh\nin the memory of all men; and begot fears in the most pious and wisest\nof this nation, lest the like days should return again to them, or\ntheir present posterity. And the apprehension of these dangers, begot\na hearty desire of a settlement in the Church and State; believing\nthere was no other probable way left to make them sit quietly under\ntheir own vines and fig-trees, and enjoy the desired fruit of their\nlabours. But time, and peace, and plenty begot self-ends: and these\nbegot animosities, envy, opposition, and unthankfulness for those very\nblessings for which they lately thirsted, being then the very utmost\nof their desires, and even beyond their hopes.\n\n[Sidenote: Three parties]\n\nThis was the temper of the times in the beginning of her reign; and\nthus it continued too long; for those very people that had enjoyed\nthe desires of their hearts in a Reformation from the Church of Rome,\nbecame at last so like the grave, as never to be satisfied, but were\nstill thirsting for more and more; neglecting to pay that obedience,\nand perform those vows, which they made in their days of adversities\nand fear: so that in short time there appeared three several\ninterests, each of them fearless and restless in the prosecution\nof their designs: they may for distinction be called, the active\nRomanists, the restless Non-conformists,--of which there were many\nsorts,--and the passive peaceable Protestants. The counsels of the\nfirst considered and resolved on in Rome; the second both in Scotland,\nin Geneva, and in divers selected, secret, dangerous Conventicles,\nboth there, and within the bosom of our own nation: the third pleaded\nand defended their cause by established laws, both Ecclesiastical and\nCivil: and if they were active, it was to prevent the other two from\ndestroying what was by those known Laws happily established to them\nand their posterity.\n\nI shall forbear to mention the very many and dangerous plots of the\nRomanists against the Church and State; because what is principally\nintended in this digression, is an account of the opinions and\nactivity of the Non-conformists: against whose judgment and practice\nMr. Hooker became at last, but most unwillingly, to be engaged in a\nbook-war; a war which he maintained not as against an enemy, but with\nthe spirit of meekness and reason.\n\n[Sidenote: The Non-conformists]\n\nIn which number of Non-conformists, though some might be sincere,\nwell-meaning men, whose indiscreet zeal might be so like charity, as\nthereby to cover a multitude of their errors; yet of this party\nthere were many that were possessed with a high degree of spiritual\nwickedness; I mean with an innate restless pride and malice; I do\nnot mean the visible carnal sins of gluttony and drunkenness, and\nthe like,--from which, good Lord, deliver us!--but sins of a higher\nnature, because they are more unlike God, who is the God of love, and\nmercy, and order, and peace: and more like the Devil, who is not\na glutton, nor can be drunk, and yet is a Devil: but I mean those\nspiritual wickednesses of malice and revenge, and an opposition to\ngovernment: men that joyed to be the authors of misery, which is\nproperly his work that is the enemy and disturber of mankind; and\nthereby greater sinners than the glutton or drunkard, though some will\nnot believe it. And of this party there were also many, whom prejudice\nand a furious zeal had so blinded, as to make them neither to hear\nreason, nor adhere to the ways of peace: men that were the very dregs\nand pest of mankind; men whom pride and self-conceit had made to\nover-value their own pitiful crooked wisdom so much as not to be\nashamed to hold foolish and unmannerly disputes against those men whom\nthey ought to reverence, and those laws which they ought to obey; men\nthat laboured and joyed first to find out the faults, and then speak\nevil of Government, and to be the authors of confusion; men whom\ncompany, and conversation, and custom had at last so blinded, and made\nso insensible that these were sins, that like those that perished\nin the gainsaying of Korah, so these died without repenting of these\nspiritual wickednesses; of which the practices of Coppinger and\nHacket[15] in their lives, and the death of them and their adherents,\nare, God knows, too sad examples, and ought to be cautions to those\nmen that are inclined to the like spiritual wickednesses.\n\n[Sidenote: Growth of sedition]\n\nAnd in these times, which tended thus to confusion, there were\nalso many of these scruple-mongers, that pretended a tenderness of\nconscience, refusing to take an oath before a lawful Magistrate: and\nyet these very men in their secret Conventicles did covenant and\nswear to each other, to be assiduous and faithful in using their best\nendeavours to set up the Presbyterian doctrine and discipline; and\nboth in such a manner as they themselves had not yet agreed on; but\nup that government must. To which end there were many that wandered\nup and down and were active in sowing discontents and seditions,\nby venomous and secret murmurings, and a dispersion of scurrilous\npamphlets and libels against the Church and State; but especially\nagainst the Bishops; by which means, together with venomous and\nindiscreet sermons, the common people became so fanatic, as to believe\nthe Bishops to be Antichrist, and the only obstructers of God's\ndiscipline! and at last some of them were given over to so bloody a\nzeal, and such other desperate delusions, as to find out a text in\nthe Revelation of St. John, that Antichrist was to be overcome by\nthe sword. So that those very men, that began with tender and meek\npetitions, proceeded to admonitions: then to satirical remonstrances:\nand at last--having, like Absalom, numbered who was not, and who was,\nfor their cause--they got a supposed certainty of so great a party,\nthat they durst threaten first the Bishops, and then the Queen and\nParliament, to all which they were secretly encouraged by the Earl\nof Leicester, then in great favour with her Majesty, and the reputed\ncherisher and patron-general of these pretenders to tenderness of\nconscience; his design being, by their means, to bring such an odium\nupon the Bishops, as to procure an alienation of their lands, and a\nlarge proportion of them for himself: which avaricious desire had at\nlast so blinded his reason, that his ambitious and greedy hopes seemed\nto put him into a present possession of Lambeth-House.\n\n[Sidenote: Scottish Non-conformists]\n\nAnd to these undertakings the Non-conformists of this nation were much\nencouraged and heightened by a correspondence and confederacy with\nthat brotherhood in Scotland; so that here they become so bold, that\none [Mr. Dering][16] told the Queen openly in a sermon, \"She was\nlike an untamed heifer, that would not be ruled by God's people, but\nobstructed his discipline.\" And in Scotland they were more confident;\nfor there [Vide Bishop Spotswood's History of the Church of Scotland]\nthey declared her an Atheist, and grew to such an height, as not to be\naccountable for any thing spoken against her, nor for treason against\ntheir own King, if it were but spoken in the pulpit; shewing at last\nsuch a disobedience to him, that his mother being in England, and then\nin distress, and in prison, and in danger of death, the Church denied\nthe King their prayers for her; and at another time, when he had\nappointed a day of Feasting, the Church declared for a general Fast,\nin opposition to his authority.\n\n[Sidenote: Remedial measures.]\n\nTo this height they were grown in both nations, and by these means\nthere was distilled into the minds of the common people such other\nvenomous and turbulent principles as were inconsistent with the safety\nof the Church and State: and these opinions vented so daringly, that,\nbeside the loss of life and limbs, the governors of the Church and\nState were forced to use such other severities as will not admit of an\nexcuse, if it had not been to prevent the gangrene of confusion, and\nthe perilous consequences of it; which, without such prevention, would\nhave been first confusion, and then ruin and misery to this numerous\nnation.\n\n[Sidenote: Spectator ab extra]\n\nThese errors and animosities were so remarkable, that they begot\nwonder in an ingenious Italian, who being about this time come newly\ninto this nation, and considering them, writ scoffingly to a friend in\nhis own country, to this purpose; \"That the common people of England\nwere wiser than the wisest of his nation; for here the very women and\nshop-keepers were able to judge of Predestination, and to determine\nwhat laws were fit to be made concerning Church-government; and then,\nwhat were fit to be obeyed or abolished. That they were more able--or\nat least thought so--to raise and determine perplexed Cases of\nConscience, than the wisest of the most learned Colleges in Italy!\nThat men of the slightest learning, and the most ignorant of the\ncommon people, were mad for a new, or super, or re-reformation of\nReligion; and that in this they appeared like that man, who would\nnever cease to whet and whet his knife, till there was no steel left\nto make it useful.\" And he concluded his letter with this observation,\n\"That those very men that were most busy in oppositions, and\ndisputations, and controversies, and finding out the faults of their\ngovernors, had usually the least of humility and mortification, or of\nthe power of godliness.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Growth of Atheism]\n\nAnd to heighten all these discontents and dangers, there was also\nsprung up a generation of godless men; men that had so long given way\nto their own lusts and delusions, and so highly opposed the blessed\nmotions of His Spirit, and the inward light of their own consciences,\nthat they became the very slaves of vice, and had thereby sinned\nthemselves into a belief of that which they would, but could not\nbelieve, into a belief, which is repugnant even to human nature;--for\nthe Heathens believe that there are many Gods;--but these had sinned\nthemselves into a belief that there was no God! and so, finding\nnothing in themselves but what was worse than nothing, began to wish\nwhat they were not able to hope for, namely, \"That they might be like\nthe beasts that perish!\" and in wicked company--which is the Atheist's\nsanctuary--were so bold as to say so: though the worst of mankind,\nwhen he is left alone at midnight, may wish, but is not then able to\nthink it: even into a belief that there is no God. Into this wretched,\nthis reprobate condition, many had then sinned themselves.\n\n[Sidenote: John Whitgift]\n\nAnd now, when the Church was pestered with them, and with all those\nother fore-named irregularities; when her lands were in danger of\nalienation, her power at least neglected, and her peace torn to\npieces by several schisms, and such heresies as do usually attend that\nsin:--for heresies do usually out-live their first authors;--when the\ncommon people seemed ambitious of doing those very things that were\nforbidden and attended with most dangers, that thereby they might be\npunished, and then applauded and pitied: when they called the spirit\nof opposition a tender conscience, and complained of persecution,\nbecause they wanted power to persecute others: when the giddy\nmultitude raged, and became restless to find out misery for themselves\nand others; and the rabble would herd themselves together, and\nendeavour to govern and act in spite of authority:--in this extremity\nof fear, and danger of the Church and State, when, to suppress the\ngrowing evils of both, they needed a man of prudence and piety, and\nof an high and fearless fortitude, they were blest in all by John\nWhitgift, his being made Archbishop of Canterbury; of whom Sir Henry\nWotton--that knew him well in his youth, and had studied him in his\nage--gives this true character; \"That he was a man of reverend and\nsacred memory, and of the primitive temper; such a temper, as when\nthe Church by lowliness of spirit did flourish in highest examples of\nvirtue.\" And indeed this man proved so.\n\nAnd though I dare not undertake to add to this excellent and true\ncharacter of Sir Henry Wotton; yet I shall neither do right to this\ndiscourse, nor to my Reader, if I forbear to give him a further and\nshort account of the life and manners of this excellent man; and it\nshall be short, for I long to end this digression, that I may lead my\nreader back to Mr. Hooker where we left him at the Temple.\n\n[Sidenote: Archbishop of Canterbury]\n\nJohn Whitgift was born in the County of Lincoln, of a family that\nwas ancient; and noted to be both prudent and affable, and gentle\nby nature. He was educated in Cambridge; much of his learning was\nacquired in Pembroke Hall,--where Mr. Bradford[17] the Martyr was his\ntutor;--from thence he was removed to Peter House; from thence to be\nMaster of Pembroke Hall; and from thence to the Mastership of Trinity\nCollege. About which time the Queen made him her Chaplain; and not\nlong after Prebend of Ely, and then Dean of Lincoln; and having for\nmany years past looked upon him with much reverence and favour,\ngave him a fair testimony of both, by giving him the Bishoprick of\nWorcester, and--which was not with her a usual favour--forgiving\nhim his first fruits; then by constituting him Vice-President of\nthe Principality of Wales. And having experimented his wisdom, his\njustice, and moderation in the manage of her affairs in both these\nplaces, she, in the twenty-sixth of her reign, 1583, made him\nArchbishop of Canterbury, and, not long after, of her Privy Council;\nand trusted him to manage all her Ecclesiastical affairs and\npreferments. In all which removes, he was like the Ark, which left a\nblessing on the place where it rested; and in all his employments was\nlike Jehoiada, that did good unto Israel.\n\nThese were the steps of this Bishop's ascension to this place of\ndignity and cares: in which place--to speak Mr. Camden's very words in\nhis Annals of Queen Elizabeth--\"he devoutly consecrated both his whole\nlife to God, and his painful labours to the good of his Church.\"\n\nAnd yet in this place he met with many oppositions in the regulation\nof Church affairs, which were much disordered at his entrance, by\nreason of the age and remissness of Bishop Grindal,[18] his immediate\npredecessor, the activity of the Non-conformists, and their chief\nassistant the Earl of Leicester; and indeed by too many others of\nthe like sacrilegious principles. With these he was to encounter; and\nthough he wanted neither courage, nor a good cause, yet he foresaw,\nthat without a great measure of the Queen's favour, it was impossible\nto stand in the breach that had been lately made into the lands and\nimmunities of the Church, or indeed to maintain the remaining lands\nand rights of it. And therefore by justifiable sacred insinuations,\nsuch as St. Paul to Agrippa,--\"Agrippa, believest thou? I know thou\nbelievest,\" he wrought himself into so great a degree of favour with\nher, as, by his pious use of it, hath got both of them a great degree\nof fame in this world, and of glory in that into which they are now\nboth entered.\n\n[Sidenote: The \"little black husband\"]\n\nHis merits to the Queen, and her favours to him were such, that she\ncalled him, \"her little black husband,\" and called \"his servants her\nservants:\" and she saw so visible and blessed a sincerity shine in all\nhis cares and endeavours for the Church's and for her good, that she\nwas supposed to trust him with the very secrets of her soul, and to\nmake him her confessor; of which she gave many fair testimonies; and\nof which one was, that \"she would never eat flesh in Lent, without\nobtaining a licence from her little black husband:\" and would often\nsay \"she pitied him because she trusted him, and had thereby eased\nherself by laying the burthen of all her Clergy-cares upon his\nshoulders, which he managed with prudence and piety.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Church-lands Acts]\n\nI shall not keep myself within the promised rules of brevity in this\naccount of his interest with her Majesty, and his care of the Church's\nrights, if in this digression I should enlarge to particulars; and\ntherefore my desire is, that one example may serve for a testimony of\nboth. And, that the Reader may the better understand it, he may take\nnotice, that not many years before his being made Archbishop,\nthere passed an Act, or Acts of Parliament, intending the better\npreservation of the Church-lands, by recalling a power which was\nvested in others to sell or lease them, by lodging and trusting the\nfuture care and protection of them only in the Crown: and amongst many\nthat made a bad use of this power or trust of the Queen's, the Earl\nof Leicester was one; and the Bishop having, by his interest with her\nMajesty, put a stop to the Earl's sacrilegious designs, they two fell\nto an open opposition before her; after which they both quitted the\nroom, not friends in appearance. But the Bishop made a sudden and\nseasonable return to her Majesty,--for he found her alone--and spake\nto her with great humility and reverence, to this purpose.\n\n[Sidenote: An address]\n\n\"I beseech your Majesty to hear me with patience, and to believe that\nyour's and the Church's safety are dearer to me than my life, but\nmy conscience dearer than both: and therefore give me leave to do my\nduty, and tell you, that Princes are deputed nursing Fathers of the\nChurch, and owe it a protection; and therefore God forbid that you\nshould be so much as passive in her ruin, when you may prevent it;\nor that I should behold it without horror and detestation; or should\nforbear to tell your Majesty of the sin and danger of Sacrilege.\nAnd though you and myself were born in an age of frailties, when the\nprimitive piety and care of the Church's lands and immunities are much\ndecayed; yet, Madam, let me beg that you would first consider that\nthere are such sins as Profaneness and Sacrilege: and that, if there\nwere not, they could not have names in Holy Writ, and particularly\nin the New Testament. And I beseech you to consider, that though our\nSaviour said, 'He judged no man;' and, to testify it, would not judge\nnor divide the inheritance betwixt the two brethren, nor would judge\nthe woman taken in adultery; yet in this point of the Church's rights\nhe was so zealous, that he made himself both the accuser, and the\njudge, and the executioner too, to punish these sins; witnessed,\nin that he himself made the whip to drive the profaners out of the\nTemple, overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and drove them out\nof it. And I beseech you to consider, that it was St. Paul that said\nto those Christians of his time that were offended with Idolatry, and\nyet committed Sacrilege; 'Thou that abhorrest Idols, dost thou commit\nSacrilege?' supposing, I think, Sacrilege the greater sin. This\nmay occasion your Majesty to consider, that there is such a sin as\nSacrilege; and to incline you to prevent the Curse that will follow\nit, I beseech you also to consider, that Constantine, the first\nChristian Emperor, and Helena his Mother; that King Edgar, and Edward\nthe Confessor; and indeed many others of your predecessors, and many\nprivate Christians, have also given to God, and to his Church, much\nland, and many immunities, which they might have given to those of\ntheir own families, and did not; but gave them for ever as an absolute\nright and sacrifice to God: and with these immunities and lands they\nhave entailed a curse upon the alienators of them: God prevent your\nMajesty and your successors from being liable to that Curse, which\nwill cleave unto Church-lands as the leprosy to the Jews.\n\n\"And to make you, that are trusted with their preservation, the better\nto understand the danger of it, I beseech you forget not, that, to\nprevent these Curses, the Church's land and power have been also\nendeavoured to be preserved, as far as human reason and the law of\nthis nation have been able to preserve them, by an immediate and most\nsacred obligation on the consciences of the Princes of this realm.\nFor they that consult Magna Charta shall find, that as all your\npredecessors were at their Coronation, so you also were sworn before\nall the Nobility and Bishops then present, and in the presence of\nGod, and in his stead to him that anointed you, to maintain the\nChurch-lands, and the rights belonging to it: and this you yourself\nhave testified openly to God at the holy Altar, by laying your hands\non the Bible then lying upon it. And not only Magna Charta, but many\nmodern Statutes have denounced a Curse upon those that break Magna\nCharta; a Curse like the leprosy, that was entailed on the Jews: for\nas that, so these Curses have, and will cleave to the very stones of\nthose buildings that have been consecrated to God; and the father's\nsin of Sacrilege hath, and will prove to be entailed on his son and\nfamily. And now, Madam, what account can be given for the breach of\nthis Oath at the Last Great Day, either by your Majesty, or by me, if\nit be wilfully, or but negligently violated, I know not.\n\n\"And therefore, good Madam, let not the late Lord's exceptions\nagainst the failings of some few Clergymen prevail with you to punish\nposterity for the errors of the present age; let particular men suffer\nfor their particular errors; but let God and his Church have their\ninheritance: and though I pretend not to prophecy, yet I beg posterity\nto take notice of what is already become visible in many families;\nthat Church-land added to an ancient and just inheritance, hath proved\nlike a moth fretting a garment, and secretly consumed both: or like\nthe Eagle that stole a coal from the altar, and thereby set her nest\non fire, which consumed both her young eagles and herself that stole\nit. And though I shall forbear to speak reproachfully of your Father,\nyet I beg you to take notice, that a part of the Church's rights added\nto the vast treasures left him by his Father, hath been conceived to\nbring an unavoidable consumption upon both, notwithstanding all his\ndiligency to preserve them.\n\n\"And consider, that after the violation of those laws, to which he had\nsworn in Magna Charta, God did so far deny him his restraining grace,\nthat as King Saul, after he was forsaken of God, fell from one sin\nto another; so he, till at last he fell into greater sins than I am\nwilling to mention. Madam, Religion is the foundation and cement of\nhuman societies; and when they that serve at God's Altar shall be\nexposed to poverty, then Religion itself will be exposed to scorn, and\nbecome contemptible; as you may already observe it to be in too many\npoor Vicarages in this nation. And therefore, as you are by a late\nAct or Acts of Parliament, entrusted with a great power to preserve or\nwaste the Church-lands; yet dispose of them, for Jesus' sake, as\nyou have promised to men, and vowed to God, that is, as the donors\nintended: let neither falsehood nor flattery beguile you to do\notherwise; but put a stop to God's and the Levites' portion, I beseech\nyou, and to the approaching ruins of His Church, as you expect\ncomfort at the Last Great Day; for Kings must be judged. Pardon this\naffectionate plainness, my most dear Sovereign, and let me beg to be\nstill continued in your favour; and the Lord still continue you in\nHis.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Its reception]\n\nThe Queen's patient hearing this affectionate speech, and her future\ncare to preserve the Church's rights, which till then had been\nneglected, may appear a fair testimony, that he made her's and the\nChurch's good the chiefest of his cares, and that she also thought so.\nAnd of this there were such daily testimonies given, as begot betwixt\nthem so mutual a joy and confidence, that they seemed born to believe\nand do good to each other; she not doubting his piety to be more than\nall his opposers, which were many; nor doubting his prudence to be\nequal to the chiefest of her Council, who were then as remarkable for\nactive wisdom, as those dangerous times did require, or this nation\ndid ever enjoy. And in this condition he continued twenty years; in\nwhich time he saw some flowings, but many more ebbings of her\nfavour towards all men that had opposed him, especially the Earl of\nLeicester: so that God seemed still to keep him in her favour, that\nhe might preserve the remaining Church-lands and immunities from\nSacrilegious alienations. And this good man deserved all the honour\nand power with which she gratified and trusted him; for he was a pious\nman, and naturally of noble and grateful principles: he eased her of\nall her Church-cares by his wise manage of them; he gave her faithful\nand prudent counsels in all the extremities and dangers of her\ntemporal affairs, which were very many; he lived to be the chief\ncomfort of her life in her declining age, and to be then most\nfrequently with her, and her assistant at her private devotions; he\nlived to be the greatest comfort of her soul upon her death-bed, to\nbe present at the expiration of her last breath, and to behold the\nclosing of those eyes that had long looked upon him with reverence and\naffection. And let this also be added, that he was the Chief Mourner\nat her sad funeral; nor let this be forgotten, that, within a\nfew hours after her death, he was the happy proclaimer, that King\nJames--her peaceful successor--was heir to the Crown.\n\n[Sidenote: The Bishop's works]\n\n[Sidenote: His Free-school]\n\nLet me beg of my Reader to allow me to say a little, and but a little,\nmore of this good Bishop, and I shall then presently lead him back to\nMr. Hooker; and because I would hasten, I will mention but one part of\nthe Bishop's charity and humility; but this of both. He built a large\nAlms-house near to his own Palace at Croydon in Surrey, and endowed\nit with maintenance for a Master and twenty-eight poor men and women;\nwhich he visited so often, that he knew their names and dispositions;\nand was so truly humble, that he called them Brothers and Sisters; and\nwhensoever the Queen descended to that lowliness to dine with him at\nhis Palace in Lambeth,--which was very often,--he would usually the\nnext day shew the like lowliness to his poor Brothers and Sisters at\nCroydon, and dine with them at his Hospital; at which time, you may\nbelieve there was joy at the table. And at this place he built also\na fair Free-school, with a good accommodation and maintenance for the\nMaster and Scholars. Which gave just occasion for Boyse Sisi, then\nAmbassador for the French King, and resident here, at the Bishop's\ndeath, to say, \"the Bishop had published many learned books; but a\nFree-school to train up youth, and an Hospital to lodge and maintain\naged and poor people, were the best evidences of Christian learning\nthat a Bishop could leave to posterity.\" This good Bishop lived to see\nKing James settled in peace, and then fell into an extreme sickness\nat his Palace in Lambeth; of which when the King had notice, he\nwent presently to visit him, and found him in his bed in a declining\ncondition and very weak; and after some short discourse betwixt them,\nthe King at his departure assured him, \"He had a great affection for\nhim, and a very high value for his prudence and virtues, and would\nendeavour to beg his life of God for the good of his Church.\" To which\nthe good Bishop replied, \"_Pro Ecclesia Dei! Pro Ecclesia Dei_!\" which\nwere the last words he ever spake; therein testifying, that as in his\nlife, so at his death, his chiefest care was of God's Church.\n\nThis John Whitgift was made Archbishop in the year 1583. In which busy\nplace he continued twenty years and some months; and in which time you\nmay believe he had many trials of his courage and patience: but his\nmotto was \"_Vincit qui patitur_;\" and he made it good.\n\n[Sidenote: His trials]\n\nMany of his trials were occasioned by the then powerful Earl of\nLeicester, who did still--but secretly--raise and cherish a faction of\nNon-conformists to oppose him; especially one Thomas Cartwright,[19]\na man of noted learning, sometime contemporary with the Bishop in\nCambridge, and of the same College, of which the Bishop had been\nMaster; in which place there began some emulations,--the particulars\nI forbear,--and at last open and high oppositions betwixt them; and in\nwhich you may believe Mr. Cartwright was most faulty, if his expulsion\nout of the University can incline you to it.\n\nAnd in this discontent after the Earl's death,--which was 1588,--Mr.\nCartwright appeared a chief cherisher of a party that were for the\nGeneva Church-government; and, to effect it, he ran himself into many\ndangers both of liberty and life, appearing at the last to justify\nhimself and his party in many remonstrances, which he caused to be\nprinted: and to which the Bishop made a first answer, and Cartwright\nreplied upon him; and then the Bishop having rejoined to his first\nreply, Mr. Cartwright either was, or was persuaded to be, satisfied,\nfor he wrote no more, but left the Reader to be judge which had\nmaintained their cause with most charity and reason. After some\nsilence, Mr. Cartwright received from the Bishop many personal favours\nand betook himself to a more private living, which was at Warwick,\nwhere he was made Master of an Hospital, and lived quietly, and grew\nrich; and where the Bishop gave him a licence to preach, upon promises\nnot to meddle with controversies, but incline his hearers to piety\nand moderation: and this promise he kept during his life, which ended\n1602, the Bishop surviving him but some few months; each ending his\ndays in perfect charity with the other.\n\nAnd now after this long digression, made for the information of my\nReader concerning what follows, I bring him back to venerable Mr.\nHooker, where we left him in the Temple, and where we shall find him\nas deeply engaged in a controversy with Walter Travers,[20]--a friend\nand favourite of Mr. Cartwright's--as the Bishop had ever been with\nMr. Cartwright himself, and of which I shall proceed to give this\nfollowing account.\n\n[Sidenote: The new generation]\n\n[Sidenote: Thomas Nashe]\n\nAnd first this; that though the pens of Mr. Cartwright and the Bishop\nwere now at rest, yet there was sprung up a new generation of restless\nmen, that by company and clamours became possessed of a faith, which\nthey ought to have kept to themselves, but could not: men that\nwere become positive in asserting, \"That a papist cannot be saved:\"\ninsomuch, that about this time, at the execution of the Queen of\nScots, the Bishop that preached her Funeral Sermon--which was Dr.\nHowland,[21] then Bishop of Peterborough--was reviled for not being\npositive for her damnation. And besides this boldness of their\nbecoming Gods, so far as to set limits to His mercies, there was\nnot only one Martin Mar-Prelate,[22] but other venomous books daily\nprinted and dispersed; books that were so absurd and scurrilous, that\nthe graver Divines disdained them an answer. And yet these were grown\ninto high esteem with the common people, till Tom Nash[23] appeared\nagainst them all, who was a man of a sharp wit, and the master of\na scoffing, satirical, merry pen, which he employed to discover\nthe absurdities of those blind, malicious, senseless pamphlets, and\nsermons as senseless as they; Nash's answers being like his books,\nwhich bore these, or like titles: \"An Almond for a Parrot;\" \"A Fig for\nmy Godson;\" \"Come crack me this nut,\" and the like; so that this\nmerry wit made some sport, and such a discovery of their absurdities,\nas--which is strange--he put a greater stop to these malicious\npamphlets, than a much wiser man had been able.\n\n[Sidenote: Mr. Travers]\n\nAnd now the Reader is to take notice, that at the death of Father\nAlvey, who was Master of the Temple, this Walter Travers was\nLecturer there for the Evening Sermons, which he preached with great\napprobation, especially of some citizens, and the younger gentlemen of\nthat Society; and for the most part approved by Mr. Hooker himself,\nin the midst of their oppositions. For he continued Lecturer a part of\nhis time; Mr. Travers being indeed a man of competent learning, of a\nwinning behaviour, and of a blameless life. But he had taken Orders\nby the Presbytery in Antwerp,--and with them some opinions, that could\nnever be eradicated,--and if in anything he was transported, it was\nin an extreme desire to set up that government in this nation; for\nthe promoting of which he had a correspondence with Theodore Beza at\nGeneva, and others in Scotland; and was one of the chiefest assistants\nto Mr. Cartwright in that design.\n\nMr. Travers had also a particular hope to set up this government in\nthe Temple, and to that end used his most zealous endeavours to be\nMaster of it; and his being disappointed by Mr. Hooker's admittance,\nproved the occasion of a public opposition betwixt them in their\nSermons: many of which were concerning the doctrine and ceremonies\nof this Church: insomuch that, as St. Paul withstood St. Peter to his\nface, so did they withstand each other in their Sermons: for, as one\nhath pleasantly expressed it, \"The forenoon Sermon spake Canterbury;\nand the afternoon Geneva.\"\n\n[Sidenote: His petition]\n\nIn these Sermons there was little of bitterness, but each party\nbrought all the reasons he was able to prove his adversary's opinion\nerroneous. And thus it continued a long time, till the oppositions\nbecame so visible, and the consequences so dangerous, especially in\nthat place, that the prudent Archbishop put a stop to Mr. Travers\nhis preaching, by a positive prohibition. Against which Mr. Travers\nappealed, and petitioned her Majesty's Privy Council to have it\nrecalled; where, besides his patron, the Earl of Leicester, he met\nalso with many assisting friends: but they were not able to prevail\nwith, or against the Archbishop, whom the Queen had intrusted with all\nChurch-power; and he had received so fair a testimony of Mr. Hooker's\nprinciples, and of his learning and moderation, that he withstood\nall solicitations. But the denying this petition of Mr. Travers, was\nunpleasant to divers of his party; and the reasonableness of it became\nat last to be so publicly magnified by them, and many others of that\nparty, as never to be answered: so that, intending the Bishop's and\nMr. Hooker's disgrace, they procured it to be privately printed and\nscattered abroad; and then Mr. Hooker was forced to appear, and make\nas public an Answer; which he did, and dedicated it to the Archbishop;\nand it proved so full an answer, an answer that had in it so much of\nclear reason, and writ with so much meekness and majesty of style,\nthat the Bishop began to have him in admiration, and to rejoice that\nhe had appeared in his cause, and disdained not earnestly to beg his\nfriendship; even a familiar friendship with a man of so much quiet\nlearning and humility.\n\n[Sidenote: Points at issue]\n\nTo enumerate the many particular points in issue which Mr. Hooker\nand Mr. Travers dissented,--all, or most of which I have seen\nwritten,--would prove at least tedious: and therefore I shall impose\nupon my Reader no more than two, which shall immediately follow, and\nby which he may judge of the rest.\n\nMr. Travers excepted against Mr. Hooker, for that in one of his\nSermons he declared, \"That the assurance of what we believe by the\nWord of God is not to us so certain as that which we perceive by\nsense.\" And Mr. Hooker confesseth he said so, and endeavours to\njustify it by the reasons following.\n\n\"First; I taught that the things which God promises in his Word are\nsurer than what we touch, handle, or see: but are we so sure and\ncertain of them? If we be, why doth God so often prove his promises to\nus as he doth, by arguments drawn from our sensible experience? For we\nmust be surer of the proof than of the things proved; otherwise it is\nno proof. For example; how is it that many men looking on the moon, at\nthe same time, every one knoweth it to be the moon as certainly as the\nother doth? but many believing one and the same promise, have not all\none and the same fulness of persuasion. For how falleth it out, that\nmen being assured of any thing by sense, can be no surer of it than\nthey are; when as the strongest in faith that liveth upon the earth\nhath always need to labour, strive, and pray, that his assurance\nconcerning heavenly and spiritual things may grow, increase, and be\naugmented?\"\n\n[Sidenote: Hooker's sermon]\n\nThe Sermon, that gave him the cause of this his justification,\nmakes the case more plain, by declaring \"That there is, besides this\ncertainty of evidence, a certainty of adherence.\" In which having most\nexcellently demonstrated what the certainty of adherence is, he\nmakes this comfortable use of it, \"Comfortable,\" he says, \"as to weak\nbelievers, who suppose themselves to be faithless, not to believe,\nwhen notwithstanding they have their adherence; the Holy Spirit hath\nhis private operations, and worketh secretly in them, and effectually\ntoo, though they want the inward testimony of it.\"\n\nTell this, saith he, to a man that hath a mind too much dejected by a\nsad sense of his sin; to one that, by a too severe judging of himself,\nconcludes that he wants faith, because he wants the comfortable\nassurance of it; and his answer will be, do not persuade me against my\nknowledge, against what I find and feel in myself: I do not, I know, I\ndo not believe.--Mr. Hooker's own words follow.--\"Well then, to favour\nsuch men a little in their weakness, let that be granted which they\ndo imagine; be it, that they adhere not to God's promises, but are\nfaithless, and without belief: but are they not grieved for their\nunbelief? They confess they are; do they not wish it might, and also\nstrive that it may be otherwise? We know they do. Whence cometh this,\nbut from a secret love and liking, that they have of those things\nbelieved? For no man can love those things which in his own opinion\nare not; and if they think those things to be, which they show they\nlove, when they desire to believe them; then must it be, that, by\ndesiring to believe, they prove themselves true believers: for without\nfaith no man thinketh that things believed are: which argument all the\nsubtilties of infernal powers will never be able to dissolve.\" This\nis an abridgement of part of the reasons Mr. Hooker gives for his\njustification of this his opinion, for which he was excepted against\nby Mr. Travers.\n\n[Sidenote: Answers to Travers]\n\nMr. Hooker was also accused by Mr. Travers, for that he in one of his\nSermons had declared, \"That he doubted not but that God was merciful\nto many of our forefathers living in Popish superstition, for as much\nas they sinned ignorantly;\" and Mr. Hooker in his Answer professeth\nit to be his judgment, and declares his reasons for this charitable\nopinion to be as followeth.\n\nBut first, he states the question about Justification and Works, and\nhow the foundation of Faith without works is overthrown; and then he\nproceeds to discover that way which natural men and some others\nhave mistaken to be the way, by which they hope to attain true and\neverlasting happiness: and having discovered the mistaken, he proceeds\nto direct to that true way, by which, and no other, everlasting life\nand blessedness is attainable. And these two ways he demonstrates\nthus;--they be his own words that follow:--\"That, the way of Nature;\nthis, the way of Grace; the end of that way, Salvation merited,\npre-supposing the righteousness of men's works; their righteousness,\na natural ability to do them; that ability, the goodness of God, which\ncreated them in such perfection. But the end of this way, Salvation\nbestowed upon men as a gift: pre-supposing not their righteousness,\nbut the forgiveness of their unrighteousness, Justification; their\njustification, not their natural ability to do good, but their hearty\nsorrow for not doing, and unfeigned belief in Him, for whose sake\nnot-doers are accepted, which is their Vocation; their vocation, the\nelection of God, taking them out of the number of lost children:\ntheir Election, a Mediator in whom to be elected; this mediation,\ninexplicable mercy: this mercy, supposing their misery for whom He\nvouchsafed to die, and make Himself a Mediator.\"\n\nAnd he also declareth, \"There is no meritorious cause for our\nJustification, but Christ: no effectual, but his mercy;\" and says\nalso, \"We deny the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, we abuse, disannul\nand annihilate the benefit of his passion, if by a proud imagination\nwe believe we can merit everlasting life, or can be worthy of it.\"\nThis belief, he declareth, is to destroy the very essence of our\nJustification; and he makes all opinions that border upon this to\nbe very dangerous. \"Yet nevertheless,\"--and for this he was\naccused,--\"considering how many virtuous and just men, how many Saints\nand Martyrs have had their dangerous opinions amongst which this was\none, that they hoped to make God some part of amends, by voluntary\npunishments which they laid upon themselves: because by this, or the\nlike erroneous opinions, which do by consequence overthrow the merits\nof Christ, shall man be so bold as to write on their graves, 'Such men\nare damned; there is for them no Salvation?' St. Austin says, _Errare\npossum, H\u00e6reticus esse nolo_. And except we put a difference betwixt\nthem that err ignorantly, and them that obstinately persist in it, how\nis it possible that any man should hope to be saved? Give me a Pope\nor Cardinal, whom great afflictions have made to know himself, whose\nheart God hath touched with true sorrow for all his sins, and filled\nwith a love of Christ and his Gospel; whose eyes are willingly open\nto see the truth, and his mouth ready to renounce all error,--this one\nopinion of merit excepted, which he thinketh God will require at his\nhands;--and because he wanteth, trembleth, and is discouraged, and\nyet can say, Lord, cleanse me from all my secret sins! shall I think,\nbecause of this, or a like error, such men touch not so much as the\nhem of Christ's garment? If they do, wherefore should I doubt, but\nthat virtue may proceed from Christ to save them? No, I will not be\nafraid to say to such a one, You err in your opinion; but be of good\ncomfort; you have to do with a merciful God, who will make the best\nof that little which you hold well; and not with a captious sophister,\nwho gathereth the worst out of every thing in which you are mistaken.\"\n\nBut it will be said, says Mr. Hooker, the admittance of merit in any\ndegree overthroweth the foundation, excludeth from the hope of mercy,\nfrom all possibility of salvation. (And now Mr. Hooker's own words\nfollow.)\n\n\"What, though they hold the truth sincerely in all other parts of\nChristian faith; although they have in some measure all the virtues\nand graces of the Spirit, although they have all other tokens of God's\nchildren in them? although they be far from having any proud opinion,\nthat they shall be saved by the worthiness of their deeds? although\nthe only thing, that troubleth and molesteth them, be a little too\nmuch dejection, somewhat too great a fear arising from an erroneous\nconceit, that God will require a worthiness in them, which they are\ngrieved to find wanting in themselves? although they be not obstinate\nin this opinion? although they be willing, and would be glad to\nforsake it, if any one reason were brought sufficient to disprove it?\nalthough the only cause why they do not forsake it ere they die, be\ntheir ignorance of that means by which it might be disproved? although\nthe cause why the ignorance in this point is not removed, be the want\nof knowledge in such as should be able, and are not, to remove it? Let\nme die,\" says Mr. Hooker, \"if it be ever proved, that simply an error\ndoth exclude a Pope or Cardinal in such a case utterly from hope of\nlife. Surely, I must confess, that if it be an error to think that God\nmay be merciful to save men, even when they err, my greatest comfort\nis my error: were it not for the love I bear to this error, I would\nnever wish to speak or to live.\"\n\nI was willing to take notice of these two points, as supposing them\nto be very material; and that, as they are thus contracted, they may\nprove useful to my Reader; as also for that the answers be arguments\nof Mr. Hooker's great and clear reason, and equal charity. Other\nexceptions were also made against him by Mr. Travers, as \"That he\nprayed before, and not after, his Sermons; that in his prayers he\nnamed Bishops; that he kneeled, both when he prayed, and when he\nreceived the Sacrament;\" and--says Mr. Hooker in his Defence--\"other\nexceptions so like these, as but to name, I should have thought a\ngreater fault than to commit them.\"\n\n[Sidenote: His \"dove-like temper\"]\n\nAnd it is not unworthy the noting, that, in the manage of so great a\ncontroversy, a sharper reproof than this, and one like it, did never\nfall from the happy pen of this humble man. That like it was upon\na like occasion of exceptions, to which his answer was, \"your next\nargument consists of railing and of reasons: to your railing I say\nnothing; to your reasons I say what follows.\" And I am glad of this\nfair occasion to testify the dove-like temper of this meek, this\nmatchless man. And doubtless, if Almighty God had blest the Dissenters\nfrom the ceremonies and discipline of this Church, with a like measure\nof wisdom and humility, instead of their pertinacious zeal, then\nobedience and truth had kissed each other; then peace and piety had\nflourished in our nation, and this Church and State had been blessed\nlike Jerusalem, that is at unity with itself: but this can never be\nexpected, till God shall bless the common people of this nation with\na belief, that Schism is a sin, and they not fit to judge what is\nSchism: and bless them also with a belief, that there may be offences\ntaken which are not given, and, that laws are not made for private men\nto dispute, but to obey.\n\n[Sidenote: His writings]\n\nAnd this also may be worthy of noting, that these exceptions of Mr.\nTravers against Mr. Hooker proved to be _felix error_, for they were\nthe cause of his transcribing those few of his Sermons, which we now\nsee printed with his books; and of his \"Answer to Mr. Travers his\nSupplication;\" and of his most learned and useful \"Discourse of\nJustification, of Faith, and Works:\" and by their transcription they\nfell into such hands as have preserved them from being lost, as too\nmany of his other matchless writings were: and from these I have\ngathered many observations in this discourse of his life.\n\n[Sidenote: \"Ecclesiastical Polity\"]\n\nAfter the publication of his \"Answer to the Petition of Mr. Travers,\"\nMr. Hooker grew daily into greater repute with the most learned and\nwise of the nation; but it had a contrary effect in very many of\nthe Temple, that were zealous for Mr. Travers, and for his\nChurch-discipline; insomuch, that though Mr. Travers left the place,\nyet the seeds of discontent could not be rooted out of that Society,\nby the great reason, and as great meekness, of this humble man: for\nthough the chief Benchers gave him much reverence and encouragement,\nyet he there met with many neglects and oppositions by those of Master\nTravers' judgment; insomuch that it turned to his extreme grief:\nand, that he might unbeguile and win them, he designed to write a\ndeliberate, sober treatise of the Church's power to make Canons for\nthe use of ceremonies, and by law to impose an obedience to them, as\nupon her children; and this he proposed to do in \"Eight Books of\nthe Law of Ecclesiastical Polity;\" intending therein to shew such\narguments as should force an assent from all men, if reason, delivered\nin sweet language, and void of any provocation, were able to do it:\nand, that he might prevent all prejudice, he wrote before it a large\nPreface, or Epistle to the Dissenting Brethren, wherein there were\nsuch bowels of love, and such a commixture of that love with reason,\nas was never exceeded but in Holy Writ; and particularly by that of\nSt. Paul to his dear brother and fellow-labourer Philemon: than which\nnone ever was more like this epistle of Mr. Hooker's. So that his dear\nfriend and companion in his studies, Dr. Spencer, might, after his\ndeath, justly say, \"What admirable height of learning, and depth of\njudgment, dwelt in the lowly mind of this truly humble man--great in\nall wise men's eyes, except his own; with what gravity and majesty of\nspeech his tongue and pen uttered heavenly mysteries; whose eyes, in\nthe humility of his heart, were always cast down to the ground; how\nall things that proceeded from him were breathed as from the Spirit of\nLove; as if he, like the bird of the Holy Ghost, the Dove, had wanted\ngall:--let those that knew him not in his person, judge these living\nimages of his soul, his writings.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Desire for quietness]\n\nThe foundation of these books was laid in the Temple; but he found\nit no fit place to finish what he had there designed; he therefore\nearnestly solicited the Archbishop for a remove from that place; to\nwhom he spake to this purpose: \"My Lord, when I lost the freedom of my\ncell, which was my College, yet I found some degree of it in my quiet\ncountry parsonage: but I am weary of the noise and oppositions of this\nplace; and indeed God and Nature did not intend me for contentions,\nbut for study and quietness. My Lord, my particular contests with Mr.\nTravers here have proved the more unpleasant to me, because I believe\nhim to be a good man; and that belief hath occasioned me to examine\nmine own conscience concerning his opinions; and, to satisfy that, I\nhave consulted the Scripture, and other laws, both human and divine,\nwhether the conscience of him, and others of his judgment, ought to be\nso far complied with, as to alter our frame of Church-government,\nour manner of God's worship, our praising and praying to him, and our\nestablished ceremonies, as often as his, and other tender consciences\nshall require us. And in this examination, I have not only satisfied\nmyself, but have begun a Treatise, in which I intend a justification\nof the Laws of our Ecclesiastical Polity; in which design God and his\nholy angels shall at the last great Day bear me that witness which my\nconscience now does; that my meaning is not to provoke any, but rather\nto satisfy all tender consciences: and I shall never be able to do\nthis, but where I may study, and pray for God's blessing upon my\nendeavours, and keep myself in peace and privacy, and behold God's\nblessings spring out of my mother earth, and eat my own bread without\noppositions;[24] and therefore, if your Grace can judge me worthy of\nsuch a favour, let me beg it, that I may perfect what I have begun.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Rector of Boscombe]\n\n[Sidenote: Prebend of Salisbury]\n\nAbout this time the Parsonage or Rectory of Boscum, in the Diocese of\nSarum, and six miles from that City, became void. The Bishop of Sarum\nis patron of it; but in the vacancy of that See,--which was three\nyears betwixt the translation of Bishop Pierce to the See of York, and\nBishop Caldwell's admission into it,--the disposal of that, and all\nbenefices belonging to that See, during this said vacancy, came to be\ndisposed of by the Archbishop of Canterbury: and he presented Richard\nHooker to it in the year 1591. And Richard Hooker was also in the\nsaid year instituted, July 17, to be a Minor Prebend of Salisbury, the\ncorps to it being Nether-Haven, about ten miles from that City;\nwhich prebend was of no great value, but intended chiefly to make\nhim capable of a better preferment in that church. In this Boscum he\ncontinued till he had finished four of his eight proposed books of\n\"The Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity,\" and these were entered into the\nRegister-Book in Stationers' Hall, the 9th of March, 1592, but not\npublished till the year 1594, and then were with the before-mentioned\nlarge and affectionate Preface, which he directs to them that seek--as\nthey term it--the reformation of the Laws and Orders Ecclesiastical\nin the Church of England; of which books I shall yet say nothing more,\nbut that he continued his laborious diligence to finish the remaining\nfour during his life;--of all which more properly hereafter;--but at\nBoscum he finished and published but only the first four, being then\nin the 39th year of his age.\n\nHe left Boscum in the year 1595, by a surrender of it into the\nhands of Bishop Caldwell: and he presented Benjamin Russell, who was\ninstituted into it the 23rd of June in the same year.\n\n[Sidenote: Rector of Bishops-bourne]\n\nThe Parsonage of Bishop's Bourne in Kent, three miles from Canterbury,\nis in that Archbishop's gift; but, in that latter end of the year\n1594, Dr. William Redman, the Rector of it, was made Bishop of\nNorwich; by which means the power of presenting to it was _pro e\u00e2\nvice_ in the Queen; and she presented Richard Hooker, whom she loved\nwell, to this good living of Bourne, the 7th July, 1595; in which\nliving he continued till his death, without any addition of dignity or\nprofit.\n\nAnd now having brought our Richard Hooker from his birth-place, to\nthis where he found a grave, I shall only give some account of his\nbooks and of his behaviour in this Parsonage of Bourne, and then give\na rest both to myself and my Reader.\n\nHis first four books and large epistle have been declared to be\nprinted at his being at Boscum, anno 1594. Next I am to tell, that\nat the end of these four books there was, when he first printed them,\nthis Advertisement to the Reader. \"I have for some causes, thought it\nat this time more fit to let go these first four books by themselves,\nthan to stay both them and the rest, till the whole might together\nbe published. Such generalities of the cause in question as are here\nhandled, it will be perhaps not amiss to consider apart, by way of\nintroduction unto the books that are to follow concerning particulars;\nin the mean time the Reader is requested to mend the Printer's errors,\nas noted underneath.\"\n\n[Sidenote: \"Ecclesiastical Polity\"]\n\n[Sidenote: The Pope his reader]\n\nAnd I am next to declare, that his Fifth Book--which is larger than\nhis first four--was first also printed by itself, anno 1597,\nand dedicated to his patron--for till then he chose none--the\nArchbishop.--These books were read with an admiration of their\nexcellency in this, and their just fame spread itself also into\nforeign nations. And I have been told, more than forty years past,\nthat either Cardinal Allen,[25] or learned Dr. Stapleton,[26]--both\nEnglishmen, and in Italy about the time when Mr. Hooker's four books\nwere first printed,--meeting with this general fame of them, were\ndesirous to read an author, that both the reformed and the learned of\ntheir own Romish Church did so much magnify; and therefore caused\nthem to be sent for to Rome: and after reading them, boasted to the\nPope,--which then was Clement the Eighth,--\"That though he had lately\nsaid, he never met with an English book, whose writer deserved the\nname of author; yet there now appeared a wonder to them, and it would\nbe so to his Holiness, if it were in Latin: for a poor obscure English\nPriest had writ four such books of Laws, and Church-polity, and in a\nstyle that expressed such a grave and so humble a majesty, with such\nclear demonstration of reason, that in all their readings they had not\nmet with any that exceeded him:\" and this begot in the Pope an earnest\ndesire that Dr. Stapleton should bring the said four books, and,\nlooking on the English, read a part of them to him in Latin; which\nDr. Stapleton did, to the end of the first book; at the conclusion of\nwhich, the Pope spake to this purpose: \"There is no learning that this\nman hath not searched into, nothing too hard for his understanding:\nthis man indeed deserves the name of an author: his books will get\nreverence by age; for there is in them such seeds of eternity, that\nif the rest be like this, they shall last till the last fire shall\nconsume all learning.\"\n\n[Sidenote: King James on Hooker]\n\nNor was this high, the only testimony and commendation given to his\nbooks; for at the first coming of King James into this kingdom, he\nenquired of the Archbishop Whitgift for his friend Mr. Hooker, that\nwrit the books of Church-polity; to which the answer was, that he died\na year before Queen Elizabeth, who received the sad news of his death\nwith very much sorrow; to which the King replied, \"And I receive it\nwith no less, that I shall want the desired happiness of seeing and\ndiscoursing with that man, from whose books I have received such\nsatisfaction: indeed, my Lord, I have received more satisfaction in\nreading a leaf or paragraph, in Mr. Hooker, though it were but about\nthe fashion of Churches, or Church-Music, or the like, but especially\nof the Sacraments, than I have had in the reading particular large\ntreatises written but of one of those subjects by others, though\nvery learned men: and I observe there is in Mr. Hooker no affected\nlanguage: but a grave, comprehensive, clear manifestation of reason,\nand that backed with the authority of the Scripture, the Fathers, and\nSchoolmen, and with all Law both sacred and civil. And, though many\nothers write well, yet in the next age they will be forgotten; but\ndoubtless there is in every page of Mr. Hooker's book, the picture\nof a divine soul, such pictures of truth and reason, and drawn in\nso sacred colours, that they shall never fade, but give an immortal\nmemory to the author.\" And it is so truly true, that the King thought\nwhat he spake, that, as the most learned of the nation have, and still\ndo mention Mr. Hooker with reverence; so he also did never mention\nhim but with the epithet of learned, or judicious, or reverend, or\nvenerable Mr. Hooker.\n\n[Sidenote: A Latin version]\n\nNor did his son, our late King Charles the First, ever mention him but\nwith the same reverence, enjoining his son, our now gracious King,\nto be studious in Mr. Hooker's books. And our learned antiquary, Mr.\nCamden [in his Annals, 5299], mentioning the death, the modesty, and\nother virtues of Mr. Hooker, and magnifying his books, wished, \"that,\nfor the honour of this, and benefit of other nations, they were turned\ninto the Universal Language.\" Which work, though undertaken by many,\nyet they have been weary, and forsaken it: but the Reader may now\nexpect it, having been long since begun and lately finished, by the\nhappy pen of Dr. Earle,[27] now Lord Bishop of Salisbury, of whom I\nmay justly say,--and let it not offend him, because it is such a truth\nas ought not to be concealed from posterity, or those that now live,\nand yet know him not,--that since Mr. Hooker died, none have lived\nwhom God hath blessed with more innocent wisdom, more sanctified\nlearning, or a more pious, peaceable, primitive temper: so that this\nexcellent person seems to be only like himself, and our venerable\nRichard Hooker, and only fit to make the learned of all nations happy,\nin knowing what hath been too long confined to the language of our\nlittle island.\n\n[Sidenote: Life at Bishops-bourne]\n\nThere might be many more and just occasions taken to speak of his\nbooks, which none ever did or can commend too much; but I decline\nthem, and hasten to an account of his Christian behaviour and death\nat Bourne; in which place he continued his customary rules of\nmortification and self-denial; was much in fasting, frequent in\nmeditation and prayers, enjoying those blessed returns, which only men\nof strict lives feel and know, and of which men of loose and godless\nlives cannot be made sensible; for spiritual things are spiritually\ndiscerned.\n\n[Sidenote: Saravia's tracts]\n\nAt his entrance into this place, his friendship was much sought for\nby Dr. Hadrian Saravia,[28] then, or about that time, made one of the\nPrebends of Canterbury; a German by birth, and sometime a pastor both\nin Flanders and Holland, where he had studied, and well considered\nthe controverted points concerning Episcopacy and sacrilege; and in\nEngland had a just occasion to declare his judgment concerning both,\nunto his brethren ministers of the Low Countries; which was excepted\nagainst by Theodore Beza and others; against whose exceptions he\nrejoined, and thereby became the happy author of many learned\ntracts writ in Latin, especially of three; one, of the \"Degrees of\nMinisters,\" and of the \"Bishops' superiority above the Presbytery;\"\na second, \"against Sacrilege;\" and a third of \"Christian Obedience to\nPrinces;\" the last being occasioned by Gretzerus the Jesuit.[29] And\nit is observable, that when, in a time of Church tumults, Beza gave\nhis reasons to the Chancellor of Scotland for the abrogation of\nEpiscopacy in that nation, partly by letters, and more fully in a\nTreatise of a threefold Episcopacy,--which he calls divine, human, and\nsatanical,--this Dr. Saravia had, by the help of Bishop Whitgift, made\nsuch an early discovery of their intentions, that he had almost\nas soon answered that Treatise as it became public; and he therein\ndiscovered how Beza's opinion did contradict that of Calvin's and\nhis adherents; leaving them to interfere with themselves in point of\nEpiscopacy. But of these tracts it will not concern me to say more,\nthan that they were most of them dedicated to his, and the Church of\nEngland's watchful patron, John Whitgift, the Archbishop; and printed\nabout the time in which Mr. Hooker also appeared first to the world,\nin the publication of his first four books of \"Ecclesiastical Polity.\"\n\nThis friendship being sought for by this learned Doctor, you may\nbelieve was not denied by Mr. Hooker, who was by fortune so like him,\nas to be engaged against Mr. Travers, Mr. Cartwright, and others of\ntheir judgment, in a controversy too like Dr. Saravia's; so that in\nthis year of 1595, and in this place of Bourne, these two excellent\npersons began a holy friendship, increasing daily to so high and\nmutual affections, that their two wills seemed to be but one and the\nsame; and their designs both for the glory of God, and peace of the\nChurch, still assisting and improving each other's virtues, and\nthe desired comforts of a peaceable piety; which I have willingly\nmentioned, because it gives a foundation to some things that follow.\n\n[Sidenote: \"What went they out to see?\"]\n\n[Sidenote: His bashfulnes]\n\nThis Parsonage of Bourne is from Canterbury three miles, and near to\nthe common road that leads from that City to Dover; in which Parsonage\nMr. Hooker had not been twelve months, but his books, and the\ninnocency and sanctity of his life became so remarkable, that\nmany turned out of the road, and others--scholars especially--went\npurposely to see the man, whose life and learning were so much\nadmired: and alas! as our Saviour said of St. John Baptist, \"What went\nthey out to see? a man clothed in purple and fine linen?\" No, indeed:\nbut an obscure, harmless man; a man in poor clothes, his loins usually\ngirt in a coarse gown, or canonical coat; of a mean stature, and\nstooping, and yet more lowly in the thoughts of his soul; his body\nworn out, not with age, but study and holy mortifications; his face\nfull of heat-pimples, begot by his unactivity and sedentary life.\nAnd to this true character of his person, let me add this of his\ndisposition and behaviour: God and Nature blessed him with so blessed\na bashfulness, that as in his younger days his pupils might easily\nlook him out of countenance; so neither then, nor in his age, did he\never willingly look any man in the face: and was of so mild and humble\na nature, that his poor Parish-Clerk and he did never talk but with\nboth their hats on, or both off, at the same time: and to this may\nbe added, that though he was not purblind, yet he was short or\nweaksighted; and where he fixed his eyes at the beginning of his\nsermon, there they continued till it was ended: and the Reader has a\nliberty to believe, that his modesty and dim sight were some of the\nreasons why he trusted Mrs. Churchman to choose his wife.\n\n[Sidenote: His Parish Clerk]\n\nThis Parish-Clerk lived till the third or fourth year of the late Long\nParliament; betwixt which time and Mr. Hooker's death there had come\nmany to see the place of his burial, and the Monument dedicated to his\nmemory by Sir William Cowper, who still lives; and the poor Clerk\nhad many rewards for shewing Mr. Hooker's grave place, and his said\nMonument, and did always hear Mr. Hooker mentioned with commendations\nand reverence; to all which he added his own knowledge and\nobservations of his humility and holiness; and in all which discourses\nthe poor man was still more confirmed in his opinion of Mr. Hooker's\nvirtues and learning. But it so fell out, that about the said third or\nfourth year of the Long Parliament, the then present Parson of Bourne\nwas sequestered,--you may guess why,--and a Genevan Minister put into\nhis good living. This, and other like sequestrations, made the Clerk\nexpress himself in a wonder, and say, \"They had sequestered so many\ngood men, that he doubted, if his good master Mr. Hooker had lived\ntill now, they would have sequestered him too!\"\n\nIt was not long before this intruding Minister had made a party in and\nabout the said Parish, that were desirous to receive the Sacrament as\nin Geneva; to which end, the day was appointed for a select company,\nand forms and stools set about the altar, or communion-table, for them\nto sit and eat and drink: but when they went about this work, there\nwas a want of some joint-stools, which the Minister sent the Clerk to\nfetch, and then to fetch cushions,--but not to kneel upon.--When the\nClerk saw them begin to sit down, he began to wonder; but the Minister\nbade him \"cease wondering, and lock the Church-door:\" to whom he\nreplied, \"Pray take you the keys, and lock me out: I will never come\nmore into this Church; for all men will say, my master Hooker was a\ngood man, and a good scholar; and I am sure it was not used to be\nthus in his days:\" and report says the old man went presently home and\ndied; I do not say died immediately, but within a few Christian days\nafter.[30]\n\n[Sidenote: His Christian behavior]\n\nBut let us leave this grateful Clerk in his quiet grave, and return\nto Mr. Hooker himself, continuing our observations of his Christian\nbehaviour in this place, where he gave a holy valediction to all the\npleasures and allurements of earth; possessing his soul in a virtuous\nquietness, which he maintained by constant study, prayers, and\nmeditations. His use was to preach once every Sunday, and he, or his\nCurate, to catechise after the second Lesson in the Evening Prayer.\nHis Sermons were neither long nor earnest, but uttered with a grave\nzeal and an humble voice: his eyes always fixed on one place, to\nprevent imagination from wandering; insomuch that he seemed to\nstudy as he spake. The design of his Sermons--as indeed of all his\ndiscourses--was to shew reasons for what he spake; and with these\nreasons such a kind of rhetoric, as did rather convince and persuade,\nthan frighten men into piety; studying not so much for matter,--which\nhe never wanted,--as for apt illustrations, to inform and teach his\nunlearned hearers by familiar examples, and then make them better by\nconvincing applications; never labouring by hard words, and then by\nheedless distinctions and sub-distinctions, to amuse his hearers, and\nget glory to himself; but glory only to God. Which intention, he would\noften say, was as discernible in a Preacher, \"as a natural from an\nartificial beauty.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Fasting and prayer]\n\nHe never failed the Sunday before every Ember-week to give notice\nof it to his parishioners, persuading them both to fast, and then\nto double their devotions for a learned and a pious Clergy, but\nespecially the last; saying often, \"That the life of a pious Clergyman\nwas visible rhetoric; and so convincing, that the most godless\nmen--though they would not deny themselves the enjoyment of their\npresent lusts--did yet secretly wish themselves like those of the\nstrictest lives.\" And to what he persuaded others, he added his own\nexample of fasting and prayer; and did usually every Ember-week take\nfrom the Parish-Clerk the key of the Church-door, into which place he\nretired every day, and locked himself up for many hours; and did the\nlike most Fridays and other days of fasting.\n\nHe would by no means omit the customary time of Procession, persuading\nall, both rich and poor, if they desired the preservation of love,\nand their Parish-rights and liberties, to accompany him in his\nperambulation; and most did so: in which perambulation he would\nusually express more pleasant discourse than at other times, and\nwould then always drop some loving and facetious observations to be\nremembered against the next year, especially by the boys and young\npeople; still inclining them, and all his present parishioners, to\nmeekness, and mutual kindness and love; because \"Love thinks not evil,\nbut covers a multitude of infirmities.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Parish work]\n\nHe was diligent to enquire who of his Parish were sick, or any ways\ndistressed, and would often visit them, unsent for; supposing that\nthe fittest time to discover to them those errors, to which health and\nprosperity had blinded them. And having by pious reasons and prayers\nmoulded them into holy resolutions for the time to come, he would\nincline them to confession and bewailing their sins, with purpose\nto forsake them, and then to receive the Communion, both as a\nstrengthening of those holy resolutions, and as a seal betwixt God and\nthem of his mercies to their souls, in case that present sickness did\nput a period to their lives.\n\nAnd as he was thus watchful and charitable to the sick, so he was\nas diligent to prevent lawsuits; still urging his parishioners and\nneighbours to bear with each other's infirmities, and live in love,\nbecause, as St. John says, \"He that lives in love, lives in God:\nfor God is love.\" And to maintain this holy fire of love constantly\nburning on the altar of a pure heart, his advice was to watch and\npray, and always keep themselves fit to receive the Communion,\nand then to receive it often; for it was both a confirming and\nstrengthening of their graces. This was his advice; and at his\nentrance or departure out of any house, he would usually speak to the\nwhole family, and bless them by name; insomuch, that as he seemed his\nyouth to be taught of God, so he seemed in this place to teach\nhis precepts as Enoch did, by walking with him in all holiness and\nhumility, making each day a step towards a blessed eternity. And\nthough, in this weak and declining age of the world, such examples are\nbecome barren, and almost incredible; yet let his memory be blessed by\nthis true recordation, because he that praises Richard Hooker,\npraises God who hath given such gifts to men; and let this humble\nand affectionate relation of him become such a pattern, as may invite\nposterity to imitate these his virtues.\n\n[Sidenote: Slanderous tongues]\n\n[Sidenote: False accusations]\n\n[Sidenote: A prayer]\n\nThis was his constant behaviour both at Bourne, and in all the places\nin which he lived: thus did he walk with God, and tread the footsteps\nof primitive piety; and yet, as that great example of meekness and\npurity, even our blessed Jesus, was not free from false accusations,\nno more was this disciple of his, this most humble, most innocent,\nholy man. His was a slander parallel to that of chaste Susannah's by\nthe wicked Elders; or that against St. Athanasius, as it is recorded\nin his life,--for this holy man had heretical enemies,--a slander\nwhich this age calls _trepanning_.[31] The particulars need not a\nrepetition; and that it was false, needs no other testimony than the\npublic punishment of his accusers, and their open confession of\nhis innocency. It was said, that the accusation was contrived by a\ndissenting brother, one that endured not Church-ceremonies, hating\nhim for his book's sake, which he was not able to answer; and his name\nhath been told me; but I have not so much confidence in the relation,\nas to make my pen fix a scandal on him to posterity; I shall rather\nleave it doubtful till the great day of revelation. But this is\ncertain, that he lay under the great charge, and the anxiety of this\naccusation, and kept it secret to himself for many months; and, being\na helpless man, had lain longer under this heavy burthen, but that the\nProtector of the innocent gave such an accidental occasion, as forced\nhim to make it known to his two dearest friends, Edwin Sandys and\nGeorge Cranmer, who were so sensible of their tutor's sufferings,\nthat they gave themselves no rest, till by their disquisitions and\ndiligence they had found out the fraud, and brought him the welcome\nnews, that his accusers did confess they had wronged him, and begged\nhis pardon. To which the good man's reply was to this purpose: \"The\nLord forgive them; and the Lord bless you for this comfortable news.\nNow have I a just occasion to say with Solomon, 'Friends are born for\nthe days of adversity;' and such you have proved to me. And to my\nGod I say, as did the Mother of St. John Baptist, 'Thus hath the Lord\ndealt with me, in the day wherein he looked upon me, to take away\nmy reproach among men. 'And, O my God! neither my life, nor my\nreputation, are safe in my own keeping; but in thine, who didst take\ncare of me when I yet hanged upon my mother's breast. Blessed are they\nthat put their trust in thee, O Lord! for when false witnesses were\nrisen up against me; when shame was ready to cover my face; when my\nflights were restless; when my soul thirsted for a deliverance, as the\nhart panteth after the rivers of water; then thou, Lord, didst hear my\ncomplaints, pity my condition, and art now become my deliverer; and as\nlong as I live I will hold up my hands in this manner, and magnify thy\nmercies, who didst not give me over as a prey to mine enemies: the\nnet is broken, and they are taken in it. Oh! blessed are they that put\ntheir trust in thee! and no prosperity shall make me forget those days\nof sorrow, or to perform those vows that I have made to thee in the\ndays of my affliction; for with such sacrifices, thou, O God, art well\npleased; and I will pay them.\"[32]\n\n[Sidenote: His charity]\n\nThus did the joy and gratitude of this good man's heart break forth;\nand it is observable, that as the invitation to this slander was his\nmeek behaviour and dove-like simplicity, for which he was remarkable;\nso his Christian charity ought to be imitated. For though the spirit\nof revenge is so pleasing to mankind, that it is never conquered but\nby a supernatural grace, revenge being indeed so deeply rooted in\nhuman nature, that, to prevent the excesses of it,--for men would not\nknow moderation,--Almighty God allows not any degree of it to any man,\nbut says \"vengeance is mine:\" and though this be said positively\nby God himself, yet this revenge is so pleasing, that man is hardly\npersuaded to submit the manage of it to the time, and justice, and\nwisdom of his Creator, but would hasten to be his own executioner\nof it. And yet nevertheless, if any man ever did wholly decline, and\nleave this pleasing passion to the time and measure of God alone, it\nwas this Richard Hooker, of whom I write: for when his slanderers\nwere to suffer, he laboured to procure their pardon; and when that was\ndenied him, his reply was, \"That however he would fast and pray\nthat God would give them repentance, and patience to undergo their\npunishment.\" And his prayers were so far returned into his own bosom,\nthat the first was granted, if we may believe a penitent behaviour,\nand an open confession. And 'tis observable, that after this time he\nwould often say to Dr. Saravia, \"Oh! with what quietness did I enjoy\nmy soul, after I was free from the fears of my slander! And how much\nmore after a conflict and victory over my desires of revenge!\"\n\n[Sidenote: A long sickness]\n\nAbout the year 1600, and of his age forty-six, he fell into a long\nand sharp sickness, occasioned by a cold taken in his passage by water\nbetwixt London and Gravesend, from the malignity of which he was never\nrecovered; for after that time, till his death, he was not free from\nthoughtful days and restless nights: but a submission to His will that\nmakes the sick man's bed easy, by giving rest to his soul, made his\nvery languishment comfortable: and yet all this time he was solicitous\nin his study, and said often to Dr. Saravia,--who saw him daily, and\nwas the chief comfort of his life,--\"That he did not beg a long life\nof God for any other reason, but to live to finish his three remaining\nbooks of Polity; and then, 'Lord, let thy servant depart in peace;'\"\nwhich was his usual expression. And God heard his prayers, though he\ndenied the Church the benefit of them, as completed by himself; and\n'tis thought he hastened his own death, by hastening to give life to\nhis books. But this is certain, that the nearer he was to his death,\nmore he grew in humility, in holy thoughts, and resolutions.\n\n[Sidenote: Approaching end]\n\nAbout a month before his death, this good man, that never knew, or at\nleast never considered, the pleasures of the palate, became first\nto lose his appetite, and then to have an averseness to all food,\ninsomuch that he seemed to live some intermitted weeks by the smell of\nmeat only, and yet still studied and writ. And now his guardian angel\nseemed to foretel him that the day of his dissolution drew near; for\nwhich his vigorous soul appeared to thirst.\n\nIn this time of his sickness and not many days before his death, his\nhouse was robbed; of which he having notice, his question was, \"Are my\nbooks and written papers safe?\" And being answered that they were; his\nreply was, \"Then it matters not; for no other loss can trouble me.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Closing hours]\n\n[Sidenote: Last words]\n\nAbout one day before his death, Dr. Saravia, who knew the very\nsecrets of his soul,--for they were supposed to be confessors to\neach other,--came to him, and, after a conference of the benefit, the\nnecessity, and safety of the Church's absolution, it was resolved the\nDoctor should give him both that and the Sacrament the following\nday. To which end the Doctor came, and, after a short retirement and\nprivacy, they two returned to the company; and then the Doctor\ngave him and some of those friends which were with him, the blessed\nSacrament of the body and blood of our Jesus. Which being performed,\nthe Doctor thought he saw a reverend gaiety and joy in his face; but\nit lasted not long; for his bodily infirmities did return suddenly,\nand became more visible, insomuch that the Doctor apprehended death\nready to seize him; yet, after some amendment, left him at night, with\na promise to return early the day following; which he did, and\nthen found him better in appearance, deep in contemplation, and not\ninclinable to discourse; which gave the Doctor occasion to require\nhis present thoughts. To which he replied, \"That he was meditating the\nnumber and nature of Angels, and their blessed obedience and order,\nwithout which, peace could not be in Heaven: and Oh! that it might be\nso on Earth!\" After which words, he said, \"I have lived to see this\nworld is made up of perturbations; and I have been long preparing to\nleave it, and gathering comfort for the dreadful hour of making my\naccount with God, which I now apprehend to be near: and though I have\nby his grace loved him in my youth, and feared him in mine age, and\nlaboured to have a conscience void of offence to him, and to all men;\nyet if thou, O Lord! be extreme to mark what I have done amiss, who\ncan abide it? And therefore, where I have failed, Lord, shew mercy\nto me; for I plead not my righteousness, but the forgiveness of my\nunrighteousness, for His merits, who died to purchase pardon for\npenitent sinners. And since I owe thee a death, Lord, let it not be\nterrible, and then take thine own time: I submit to it: let not mine,\nO Lord! but let thy will be done.\" With which expression he fell into\na dangerous slumber; dangerous as to his recovery, yet recover he did,\nbut it was to speak only these few words: \"Good Doctor, God hath heard\nmy daily petitions, for I am at peace with all men, and he is at peace\nwith me; and from that blessed assurance I feel that inward joy, which\nthis world can neither give nor take from me: my conscience beareth me\nthis witness, and this witness makes the thoughts of death joyful. I\ncould wish to live to do the Church more service; but cannot hope it,\nfor my days are past as a shadow that returns not.\" More he would\nhave spoken, but his spirits failed him; and, after a short conflict\nbetwixt Nature and Death, a quiet sigh put a period to his last\nbreath, and so he fell asleep. And now he seems to rest like Lazarus\nin Abraham's bosom. Let me here draw his curtain, till with the most\nglorious company of the Patriarchs and Apostles, the most Noble Army\nof Martyrs and Confessors, this most learned, most humble, holy man\nshall also awake to receive an eternal tranquillity, and with it a\ngreater degree of glory than common Christians shall be made partakers\nof.\n\n[Sidenote: A prayer]\n\nIn the mean time, Bless, O Lord! Lord, bless his brethren, the Clergy\nof this nation, with effectual endeavours to attain, if not to his\ngreat learning, yet to his remarkable meekness, his godly simplicity,\nand his Christian moderation; for these will bring peace at the last.\nAnd, Lord, let his most excellent writings be blest with what he\ndesigned, when he undertook them: which was, glory to thee, O God! on\nhigh, peace in thy Church, and goodwill to mankind. Amen, Amen.\n\nIZAAK WALTON.\n\n\n[Footnote 1: Dr. John Jewel was born in the Parish of Berry Narber, in\nDevon, May 24th, 1522. He was educated at Merton, and Corpus Christi\nColleges, Oxford, and in the reign of Edward VI, he publickly\nprofessed the Reformed Religion. During the reign of Mary he remained\nabroad; but on the accession of Elizabeth, he returned, and was\nmade Bishop of Salisbury, in 1559. In his controversy with the\nRoman Catholics, he published his famous \"Apology for the Church of\nEngland,\" which was translated into several languages, although it was\ngreatly opposed by the Papists. His fatigues abroad, and his incessant\nstudy, so much impaired his constitution, that he died, Sept. 21st,\n1571.]\n\n[Footnote 2: Dr. William Cole, 1599, exchanged with Dr. Reynolds the\nPresidentship of Corpus Christi College for the Deanery of Lincoln,\nwhich he did not long enjoy. He fled into Germany in the time of\nQueen Mary, and Anthony Wood names him as one of the exiles of Geneva\nengaged with Miles Coverdale in a new translation of the Bible.]\n\n[Footnote 3: He was professor of Divinity in Oxford, and died May\n21st, 1607. It has been said that he was brought up in the Romish\nfaith, and that he was afterwards a strong supporter of the\nPuritans; but Fuller supposes that it was only for the sake of\ngiving satisfaction to some of the more tender consciences of the\nNon-conformists, since the virtue of Reynolds was almost proverbial.]\n\n[Footnote 4: One of Translators of the Bible of 1565, born at\nHawkshead in Lancashire in 1519, and educated at St. John's College,\nCambridge, where he embraced the Protestant faith. He was committed\nto the Tower and Marshalsea for having preached in favour of Lady Jane\nGrey; and on his release he left the kingdom, till the accession of\nElizabeth, by whom he was made Bishop of Worcester. In 1570, he was\ntranslated to London, in 1576 to York, and in 1588, he died: his\nsermons are still admired, and a most virtuous character is given him\nby Fuller. His son, Sir Edward Sandys, Prebendary of York, was born\nabout 1561, and is well known as the author of the tract entitled,\n\"Europae Speculum,\" a view of the State of Religion in the Western\nparts of the World. He thus describes the various contrarieties of\nthe state and church of Rome. \"What pomp, what riot, to that of their\nCardinals? What severity of life comparable to that of their Heremits\nand Capuchins? Who wealthier than their Prelates? who poorer by vow\nand profession than their Mendicants? On the one side of the street,\na cloister of Virgins: on the other a stye of courtezans, with public\ntoleration. This day all in masks, with all looseness and foolery: to\nmorrow all in processions, whipping themselves till the blood follow.\nOn one door an excommunication throwing to Hell all transgressours:\non another a Jubilee, or full discharge from all transgressions. Who\nlearneder in all kinds of sciences than their Jesuits? what thing\nmore ignorant than their ordinary mass-priests? What prince so able\nto prefer his servants and followers as the Pope, and in so great\nmultitude? Who able to take deeper or readier revenge on his enemies?\nWhat pride equal unto his, making Kings kiss his pantofle? What\nhumility greater than his, shriving himself daily on his knees to an\nordinary priest?\"]\n\n[Footnote 5: The name of this well-known English Cardinal is omitted\nin the later editions.]\n\n[Footnote 6: Dr. Jackson was born at Wilton on the Wear, in Durham, in\n1579, and was educated at Queen's and Corpus Christi Colleges, Oxford.\nHe was made Prebendary of Winchester in 1635, and Dean of Peterborough\nin 1638; he died in 1640, and his principal work is a \"Commentary on\nthe Creed.\"]\n\n[Footnote 7: Dr. Thomas Harding, educated at Winchester school, became\nFellow of New College, Oxford, in 1536. He was the first King's Hebrew\nProfessor in that University, and in the reign of King Edward VI. he\ndisplayed great zeal for the Reformed Religion. Under Queen Mary he\nabandoned his principles, and obtained considerable preferment;\na Prebend in the Church of Winchester, and the Treasurership of\nSalisbury. On the accession of Queen Elizabeth he adhered to the\nreligion to which he had recently conformed, and fled beyond sea to\nLouvain, where he distinguished himself by writing against Bishop\nJewel's \"Challenge.\" He had been Chaplain to the Duke of Suffolk,\nfather of Lady Jane Grey.]\n\n[Footnote 8: John Hart, a Jesuit, was educated in the University of\nOxford. In 1571 he was admitted to the English College at Douay, and\nin 1578 was ordained priest. Returning in 1580 to England, he was\napprehended, tried, and condemned to death; but on the day of his\nexecution he was reprieved, and sent back to the Tower, where he\nremained three years. It was during his confinement in the Tower that\nhe held a disputation with Dr. Reynolds. In 1584, being banished from\nEngland, Hart proceeded to Verdun and joined the Society of Jesus. He\ndied at Jarislau, in Poland, on 19 July, 1594.]\n\n[Footnote 9: A man of great piety of life, and such gravity, that he\nwas scarcely ever seen to laugh. He was a native of Westphalia,\nin Germany: was Canon of Christ Church, Vice-Chancellor of the\nUniversity, and in 1585-86, was consecrated Bishop of Hereford.]\n\n[Footnote 10: Sir H. Savile was born at Over Bradley, near Halifax in\nYorkshire, Nov. 30th, 1549, and was entered of Merton College, Oxford.\nHe was Greek and Mathematical Preceptor to Queen Elizabeth, and was\none of the Translators of the Bible, under James I., who knighted him\nin 1604. He died Feb. 19th, 1621-22.]\n\n[Footnote 11: Mr. Morrison, Secretary to Lord Mountjoy, and author\nof \"An Itinerary, containing his ten Years Travels through the twelve\nDominions of Germany, Bohmerland, Switzerland, Denmark, Poland,\nEngland, Scotland, and Ireland; divided into three Parts. London,\n1617.\" Fol. Published after his death, and originally written in\nLatin.]\n\n[Footnote 12: The later editions of the Life of Hooker omit the\naccount of this expulsion.]\n\n[Footnote 13: A pulpit cross formed of timber, covered with lead, and\nmounted upon stone steps, which stood in the midst of the Church-yard\nof the Cathedral; in which Sermons were preached by eminent Divines\nevery Sunday in the forenoon, when the Court, the Magistrates of the\nCity, and a vast concourse of people usually attended. There is notice\nof its use so early as 1259, but it was not finished in its final form\nuntil 1449, by Kemp, Bishop of London, and it was finally destroyed by\norder of Parliament, in 1643. The Corporation of London ordained that\nall Ministers who came from a distance to preach at this Cross, were\nto have lodgings and provision for five days; and the Bishop of London\ngave them notice of their place of residence.]\n\n[Footnote 14: The excellent Aylmer, was born at Aylmer-Hall, in\nNorfolk, in 1521, and was Tutor to Lady Jane Grey; he left England,\nduring the reign of Mary, and went to Zurich. He returned on\nElizabeth's accession, and was made Bishop of London in March,\n1576--7, strictly governing the Puritans throughout his Prelacy. He\ndied in 1594.]\n\n[Footnote 15: Two wretched fanatics; the first died in prison, and\nthe second was hanged in 1591. Hacket was called by his followers\n\"the supreme Monarch of the world from whom all Princes of Europe hold\ntheir sceptres,\" and was held \"to be a greater prophet than Moses or\nJohn Baptist, even Jesus Christ, who was come with his fan in his\nhand to judge the world.\" Fuller says that Hacket was of so \"cruel and\nfierce a nature that he is reported to have bit off and eat down the\nnose of his schoolmaster.\"]\n\n[Footnote 16: Edward Dering, a Puritan Divine, and a native of Kent,\neducated at Christ College, Cambridge. He was suspended from his\nLectureships on account of his nonconformity, but he is commended as\na truly religious man, whose pure and virtuous life was followed by a\nhappy death, in 1576. He wrote some Sermons, and a Defence of Bishop\nJewel's Apology for the Church.]\n\n[Footnote 17: A mild and beneficent man burned by the Papists at\nSmithfield, July 1, 1555.]\n\n[Footnote 18: Edmund Grindal, Archbishop of Canterbury, born in 1519,\nat Hinsingham, in Cumberland, and educated at Cambridge. In 1552 he\nbecame Prebendary of Westminster, but on the death of King Edward he\nretired to Strasburg. Here he continued to reside till the accession\nof Elizabeth, who nominated him in 1559 to the See of London, whence,\nin 1570, he was translated to York, and in 1575, on the death of\nParker, to Canterbury. His indulgence to the Puritans procured him the\nQueen's displeasure, and for some time he was sequestered and confined\nto his house, but in 1582 he resigned his office, and died July 6th,\n1583.]\n\n[Footnote 19: Thomas Cartwright was born in Hertfordshire in 1535,\nand was educated at Cambridge. In 1567 he graduated B.D., and was\nappointed Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity. Having vigorously\nassailed the Church Establishment in his lectures, he was deprived\nof his professorship; whereupon he went to Geneva, and made the\nacquaintance of Beza. In 1572 he revisited England, and entered into\na long controversy with Whitgift; in 1573 he went to Heidelberg, and\nafterwards served as minister to the English congregations at Antwerp\nand Middleburg. On returning to England, in 1585, he was imprisoned by\norder of Bishop Aylmer, but was soon released at the instance of Lord\nBurghley. In 1595 he accompanied Lord Zouch to Guernsey, remaining on\nthe island till 1598. He died at Warwick on 27th December, 1603 (not,\nas Walton says, 1602). Among his works are a Latin Harmony of the\nGospels, Commentaries on the Colossians, &c.]\n\n[Footnote 20: Walter Travers, who had been Fellow of Trinity College,\nCambridge, to which Cartwright removed, and he was also his intimate\nfriend, and joint preacher with him in Antwerp. When Travers came\nto England, he was made Chaplain to Lord Burghley, whose interest\nprocured him to be Lecturer at the Temple.]\n\n[Footnote 21: Dr. RICHARD ROWLAND, Master of St. John's College in\nCambridge, and the fourth Bishop of Peterborough, died in 1600. It\ndoes not appear that he was the preacher on this occasion, for Gunton,\nin his \"History of the Church of Peterborough,\" states that it was\nWickham, Bishop of Lincoln.]\n\n[Footnote 22: In 1588, many satirical libels were published against\nthe Bishops, written principally by a Society of men assuming the name\nof Martin Mar-Prelate; some of them were entitled, _Diotrephes, the\nMinerals, the Epistle to the Convocation-House, Have you any work for\na Cooper?_ and _More work for a Cooper_, referring to the Defence\nof the Church and Bishops of England, written by Cowper, Bishop of\nWinchester. The real authors of these tracts, were John Penry, a\nWelchman, John Udall, and other ministers.]\n\n[Footnote 23: Thomas Nashe, an English Satirical writer, baptized in\n1567 at Lowestoffe, in Suffolk, and educated at St. John's College,\nCambridge. As a master of invective he has no superior; he died in\nor before 1601.--_An Almond for a Parrot_, was probably by Lyly the\nEuphuist. _A Fig for my Godson_, and _Come, Crack me this Nut_, are\nthe after-titles of _Pappe with an Hatchet_, another tract of Lyly's\n(if we may believe the testimony of Gabriel Harvey).]\n\n[Footnote 24: In some of the later editions of the Life of Hooker,\nthis paragraph is thus altered--\"And in this examination: I have not\nonly satisfied myself, but have begun a treatise in which I intend the\nsatisfaction of others, by a demonstration of the reasonableness\nof our Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity; and therein laid a hopeful\nfoundation for the Church's peace; and so as not to provoke your\nadversary, Mr. Cartwright, nor Mr. Travers, whom I take to be\nmine--but not mine enemy--God knows this to be my meaning. To which\nend I have searched many books, and spent many thoughtful hours; and I\nhope not in vain, for I write to reasonable men. But, my Lord, I shall\nnever be able to finish what I have begun, unless I be removed into\nsome quiet country parsonage, where I may see God's blessings spring\nout of my mother earth, and eat mine own bread in peace and privacy.\nA place where I may, without disturbance, meditate my approaching\nmortality and that great account, which all flesh must at the last\ngreat day give to the God of all Spirits. This is my design; and as\nthose are the designs of my heart, so they shall, by God's assistance,\nbe the constant endeavours of the uncertain remainder of my life.\"]\n\n[Footnote 25: He was for some time Fellow of Oriel College, and\nprincipal of St. Mary Hall. He was made a Cardinal by Pope Sixtus V.\nin 1587. In 1589, he was appointed Archbishop of Mechlin in Brabant,\nand died on 6th October, 1594.]\n\n[Footnote 26: It is ascertained by Bishop King's letter to Walton,\nthat it was Dr. Stapleton who introduced the works of Hooker to the\nPope. Thomas Stapleton was a Romish Divine, born in 1536, at Henfield,\nin Sussex, and educated at Winchester, and New College, Oxford. In\nthe reign of Mary he was made Prebendary of Chichester; but at the\naccession of Elizabeth he left England, and became Professor of\nDivinity at Douay. He died at Louvain, in 1598, and his works form\nfour volumes in folio.]\n\n[Footnote 27: Dr. John Earle, author of the \"Microcosmography, or a\npiece of the World, discovered in Essays and characters,\" was born\nat York, in 1601; was educated at Oxford, and was Tutor to Prince\nCharles. In the Civil Wars, he lost both his property and preferments,\nand attended the King abroad as his Chaplain. At the Restoration\nhe was made Dean of Westminster, in 1662 was consecrated Bishop of\nWorcester, and in 1663 was translated to Salisbury. He died at Oxford,\n1665. His translation of Hooker's Polity was never printed.]\n\n[Footnote 28: A Protestant Divine, and Professor of Divinity at\nLeyden, born at Artois in 1531, came to England in 1587. He was the\nbosom friend of Whitgift. For some time he was master of the Free\nGrammar School of Southampton. Dr. Saravia was one of the Translators\nof King James's Bible, and died in 1613. His tracts have been printed,\nboth in Latin and English.]\n\n[Footnote 29: A most learned Jesuit. He read theological lectures\nat Ingolstadt, where he died in 1625, aged 63 years. His works were\npublished at Ratisbon, in 1734-1741, in 17 vols. fol.]\n\n[Footnote 30: Our biographer has lamented that it was not in his power\nto recover the name of Mr. Hooker's worthy school-master. That of\nhis grateful parish-clerk was Sampson Horton. It appears from the\nparish-register of Bishop's-Bourne, that \"Sampson Horton was buried\nthe 9th of May 1648, an aged man who had been clarke to this parish,\nby his own relation, threescore yeares.\"]\n\n[Footnote 31: \"Can there be any of friendship in snares, hooks and\n_trepans_?\"\n\n\"Nothing but gins, and snares and _trapans_ for souls.\"--_Dr. South_.]\n\n[Footnote 32: \"A certain lewd woman came to his chamber, and solicited\nhis charity under this cogent argument, 'that if he should deny her,\nshe would lay base attempts to his charge;' and by this means, at\nseveral times, she had gotten money from him; until at last Providence\nwas pleased to concern itself for the righting wronged innocence. It\nso fell out, that this woman came to him when his two dear friends Mr.\nSandys and Mr. Cranmer were with him: wondering to see such a person\ncome with so much confidence, they inquired of their tutor the\noccasion of it, who in a little time tells them the truth of the whole\nabuse. Upon which they contrive a way to be present in his chamber,\nwhere they might hear the whole discourse at her next coming. An\nopportunity soon offered, and the lewd woman persisting in her threats\nof laying ill things to his charge, if she was denied what she came\nfor, money, his two friends stepped forth from behind the curtains to\nher confusion and the shame of those who had employed her in so\nvile an action; for his slanderers were punished for this their vile\nattempt, who at their suffering shewed a penitent behaviour, and made\nan open confession.\"--_Prince's Worthies of Devon_.]\n\n\n\n\n[Sidenote: Cowper's epitaph]\n\nThis following Epitaph was long since presented to the world, in\nmemory of Mr. HOOKER, by Sir WILLIAM COWPER, who also built him a\nfair Monument in Bourne Church, and acknowledges him to have been his\nspiritual father.\n\n  Though nothing can be spoke worthy his fame,\n  Or the remembrance of that precious name,\n  Judicious Hooker; though this cost be spent\n  On him, that hath a lasting monument[1]\n  In his own books; yet ought we to express,\n  If not his worth, yet our respectfulness.\n  Church-Ceremonies he maintain'd; then why\n  Without all ceremony should he die?\n  Was it because his life and death should be\n  Both equal patterns of humility?\n  Or that perhaps this only glorious one\n  Was above all, to ask, why had he none?\n  Yet he, that lay so long obscurely low,\n  Doth now preferr'd to greater honours go.\n  Ambitious men, learn hence to be more wise,\n  Humility is the true way to rise:\n  And God in me this lesson did inspire,\n  To bid this humble man, \"Friend, sit up higher.\"\n\n[Footnote 1: On this monument is a bust of Hooker, representing him in\nhis cap and gown.]\n\n\n\n\nAN APPENDIX\nTO THE\nLIFE OF MR. RICHARD HOOKER.\n\n\n[Sidenote: Other details]\n\nAnd now, having by a long and laborious search satisfied myself, and I\nhope my Reader, by imparting to him the true relation of Mr. Hooker's\nlife, I am desirous also to acquaint him with some observations that\nrelate to it, and which could not properly fall to be spoken till\nafter his death; of which my Reader may expect a brief and true\naccount in the following Appendix.\n\n[Sidenote: Date of death]\n\nAnd first, it is not to be doubted but that he died in the\nforty-seventh, if not in the forty-sixth year of his age: which I\nmention, because many have believed him to be more aged: but I have so\nexamined it, as to be confident I mistake not: and for the year of\nhis death, Mr. Camden, who in his Annals of Queen Elizabeth, 1599,\nmentions him with a high commendation of his life and learning,\ndeclares him to die in the year 1599; and yet in that in of his\nMonument, set up at the charge of Sir William Cowper, in Bourne\nChurch, where Mr. Hooker was buried, his death is there said to be\nin anno 1603; but doubtless both are mistaken; for I have it attested\nunder the hand of William Somner, the Archbishop's Registrar for the\nProvince of Canterbury, that Richard Hooker's Will bears date October\n26th in anno 1600, and that it was proved the third of December\nfollowing. [And the Reader may take notice, that since I first writ\nthis Appendix to the Life of Mr. Hooker, Mr. Fulman, of Corpus Christi\nCollege, hath shewed me a good authority for the very day and hour\nof Mr. Hooker's death, in one of his books of Polity, which had been\nArchbishop Laud's. In which book, beside many considerable marginal\nnotes of some passages of his time, under the Bishop's own hand,\nthere is also written in the title-page of that book--which now is\nMr. Fulman's--this attestation: Ricardus Hooker _vir summis doctrin\u00e6\ndotibus ornatus, de Ecclesia pr\u00e6cipue Anglicana optime meritus, obiit\nNovemb. 2, circiter horam secundam post-meridianum_, Anno 1600.]\n\n[Sidenote: His daughters]\n\nAnd that at his death he left four daughters, Alice, Cicely, Jane and\nMargaret; that he gave to each of them an hundred pounds; that he left\nJoan, his wife, his sole executrix; and that, by his inventory his\nestate--a great part of it being in books--came to \u00a31,092 9_s_. 2_d_.,\nwhich was much more than he thought himself worth; and which was not\ngot by his care, much less by the good housewifery of his wife, but\nsaved by his trusty servant, Thomas Lane, that was wiser than his\nmaster in getting money for him, and more frugal than his mistress in\nkeeping of it. Of which Will of Mr. Hooker's I shall say no more, but\nthat his dear friend Thomas, the father of George Cranmer,--of whom\nI have spoken, and shall have occasion to say more,--was one of the\nwitnesses to it.\n\nOne of his elder daughters was married to one Chalinor, sometime a\nSchool-master in Chichester, and are both dead long since. Margaret,\nhis youngest daughter, was married unto Ezekiel Charke, Bachelor in\nDivinity, and Rector of St. Nicholas in Harbledown, near Canterbury,\nwho died about sixteen years past, and had a son Ezekiel, now living,\nand in Sacred Orders; being at this time Rector of Waldron, in Sussex.\nShe left also a daughter, with both whom I have spoken not many months\npast, and find her to be a widow in a condition that wants not, but\nvery far from abounding. And these two attested unto me, that Richard\nHooker, their grandfather, had a sister, by name Elizabeth Harvey,\nthat lived to the age of 121 years, and died in the month of\nSeptember, 1663.\n\nFor his other two daughters I can learn little certainty, but have\nheard they both died before they were marriageable. And for his wife,\nshe was so unlike Jephtha's daughter, that she staid not a comely time\nto bewail her widowhood; nor lived long enough to repent her second\nmarriage; for which, doubtless, she would have found cause, if there\nhad been but four months betwixt Mr. Hooker's and her death. But she\nis dead, and let her other infirmities be buried with her.\n\nThus much briefly for his age, the year of his death, his estate, his\nwife, and his children. I am next to speak of his books; concerning\nwhich I shall have a necessity of being longer, or shall neither\ndo right to myself, or my Reader, which is chiefly intended in this\nAppendix.\n\n[Sidenote: His books]\n\nI have declared in his Life, that he proposed Eight Books, and that\nhis first Four were printed anno 1594, and his Fifth book first\nprinted, and alone, anno 1597; and that he lived to finish the\nremaining Three of the proposed Eight: but whether we have the\nlast Three as finished by himself, is a just and material question;\nconcerning which I do declare, that I have been told almost forty\nyears past, by one that very well knew Mr. Hooker and the affairs of\nhis family, that, about a month after the death of Mr. Hooker, Bishop\nWhitgift, then Archbishop of Canterbury, sent one of his Chaplains to\nenquire of Mrs. Hooker, for the three remaining books of Polity,\nwrit by her husband: of which she would not, or could not, give\nany account: and that about three months after that time the Bishop\nprocured her to be sent for to London, and then by his procurement she\nwas to be examined by some of her Majesty's Council, concerning the\ndisposal of those books: but, by way of preparation for the next\nday's examination, the Bishop invited her to Lambeth, and after some\nfriendly questions, she confessed to him, that one Mr. Charke, and\nanother Minister that dwelt near Canterbury, came to her, and desired\nthat they might go into her husband's study, and look upon some of\nhis writings: and that there they two burnt and tore many of them,\nassuring her, that they were writings not fit to be seen: and that she\nknew nothing more concerning them. Her lodging was then in King street\nin Westminster, where she was found next morning dead in her bed, and\nher new husband suspected and questioned for it; but he was declared\ninnocent of her death.\n\n[Sidenote: Those of Polity]\n\nAnd I declare also, that Dr. John Spencer,--mentioned in the Life of\nMr. Hooker,--who was of Mr. Hooker's College, and of his time there,\nand betwixt whom there was so friendly a friendship, that they\ncontinually advised together in all their studies, and particularly\nin what concerned these books of Polity--this Dr. Spencer, the Three\nperfect books being lost, had delivered into his hands--I think by\nBishop Whitgift--the imperfect books, or first rough draughts of\nthem, to be made as perfect as they might be by him, who both knew Mr.\nHooker's handwriting, and was best acquainted with his intentions. And\na fair testimony of this may appear by an Epistle, first, and usually\nprinted before Mr. Hooker's Five books,--but omitted, I know not why,\nin the last impression of the Eight printed together in anno 1662, in\nwhich the Publishers seem to impose the three doubtful books, to be\nthe undoubted books of Mr. Hooker,--with these two letters, J.S. at\nthe end of the said Epistle, which was meant for this John Spencer:\nin which Epistle the Reader may find these words, which may give some\nauthority to what I have here written of his last Three books.\n\n[Sidenote: \"J.S.,\" his Epistle]\n\n\"And though Mr. Hooker hastened his own death by hastening to give\nlife to his books, yet he held out with his eyes to behold these\nBenjamins, these sons of his right hand, though to him they proved\nBenonies, sons of pain and sorrow. But some evil-disposed minds,\nwhether of malice or covetousness, or wicked blind zeal, it is\nuncertain, as soon as they were born, and their father dead, smothered\nthem, and by conveying the perfect copies, left unto us nothing but\nthe old, imperfect, mangled draughts, dismembered into pieces; no\nfavour, no grace, not the shadow of themselves remaining in them. Had\nthe father lived to behold them thus defaced, he might rightly have\nnamed them Benonies, the sons of sorrow: but being the learned will\nnot suffer them to die and be buried, it is intended the world shall\nsee them as they are; the learned will find in them some shadows and\nresemblances of their father's face. God grant, that as they were with\ntheir brethren dedicated to the Church for messengers of peace: so,\nin the strength of that little breath of life that remaineth in them,\nthey may prosper in their work, and, by satisfying the doubts of\nsuch as are willing to learn, they may help to give an end to the\ncalamities of these our civil wars.\"--J.S.\n\n[Sidenote: The Three Books]\n\nAnd next the Reader may note, that this Epistle of Dr. Spencer's\nwas writ and first printed within four years after the death of\nMr. Hooker, in which time all diligent search had been made for\nthe perfect copies; and then granted not recoverable, and therefore\nendeavoured to be completed out of Mr. Hooker's rough draughts, as\nis expressed by the said Dr. Spencer in the said Epistle, since whose\ndeath it is now fifty years.\n\nAnd I do profess by the faith of a Christian, that Dr. Spencer's\nwife--who was my Aunt, and Sister to George Cranmer, of whom I have\nspoken--told me forty years since, in these, or in words to this\npurpose: \"That her husband had made up, or finished Mr. Hooker's last\nThree books; and that upon her husband's death-bed, or in his last\nsickness, he gave them into her hand, with a charge that they should\nnot be seen by any man, but be by her delivered into the hands of the\nthen Archbishop of Canterbury, which was Dr. Abbot, or unto Dr. King,\nthen Bishop of London, and that she did as he enjoined her.\"\n\nI do conceive, that from Dr. Spencer's, and no other copy, there have\nbeen divers transcripts; and I know that these were to be found in\nseveral places; as namely, in Sir Thomas Bodley's Library; in that of\nDr. Andrews, late Bishop of Winton; in the late Lord Conway's; in the\nArchbishop of Canterbury's; and in the Bishop of Armagh's; and in many\nothers: and most of these pretended to be the Author's own hand, but\nmuch disagreeing, being indeed altered and diminished, as men have\nthought fittest to make Mr. Hooker's judgment suit with their fancies,\nor give authority to their corrupt designs; and for proof of a part of\nthis, take these following testimonies.\n\n[Sidenote: \"Clavi Trabales\"]\n\nDr. Barnard, sometime Chaplain to Dr. Usher, late Lord Archbishop of\nArmagh, hath declared in a late book, called \"Clavi Trabales,\" printed\nby Richard Hodgkinson, anno 1661, that, in his search and examination\nof the said Bishop's manuscripts, he found the Three written books\nwhich were supposed the Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth of Mr. Hooker's\nbooks of Ecclesiastical Polity; and that in the said Three books--now\nprinted as Mr. Hooker's--there are so many omissions, that they amount\nto many paragraphs, and which cause many incoherencies: the omissions\nare set down at large in the said printed book, to which I refer\nthe Reader for the whole; but think fit in this place to insert this\nfollowing short part of some of the said omissions.\n\n[Sidenote: Omissions]\n\nFirst, as there could be in natural bodies no motion of any thing,\nunless there were some first which moved all things, and continued\nunmoveable; even so in politic societies there must be some\nunpunishable, or else no man shall suffer punishment: for sith\npunishments proceed always from superiors, to whom the administration\nof justice belongeth; which administration must have necessarily a\nfountain, that deriveth it to all others, and receiveth not from any,\nbecause otherwise the course of justice should go infinitely in a\ncircle, every superior having his superior without end, which cannot\nbe: therefore a well-spring, it followeth, there is: a supreme head of\njustice, whereunto all are subject, but itself in subjection to none.\nWhich kind of pre-eminency if some ought to have in a kingdom, who\nbut a King shall have it? Kings, therefore, or no man, can have lawful\npower to judge.\n\nIf private men offend, there is the Magistrate over them, which\njudgeth; if Magistrates, they have their Prince; if Princes, there is\nHeaven, a tribunal, before which they shall appear; on earth they are\nnot accountable to any. Here, says the Doctor, it breaks off abruptly.\n\nAnd I have these words also attested under the hand of Mr. Fabian\nPhilips, a man of note for his useful books. \"I will make oath, if I\nshall be required, that Dr. Sanderson, the late Bishop of Lincoln,\ndid a little before his death affirm to me, he had seen a manuscript\naffirmed to him to be the hand-writing of Mr. Richard Hooker, in\nwhich there was no mention made of the King or supreme governors being\naccountable to the people. This I will make oath, that that good man\nattested to me.\n\n              \"FABIAN PHILIPS.\" [1]\n\nSo that there appears to be both omissions and additions in the said\nlast Three printed books: and this may probably be one reason why Dr.\nSanderson, the said learned Bishop,--whose writings are so highly and\njustly valued,--gave a strict charge near the time of his death, or\nin his last Will, \"That nothing of his that was not already printed,\nshould be printed after his death.\"\n\n[Sidenote: King Charles on Hooker]\n\nIt is well known how high a value our learned King James put upon\nthe books writ by Mr. Hooker; and known also that our late King\nCharles--the Martyr for the Church--valued them the second of all\nbooks, testified by his commending them to the reading of his son\nCharles, that now is our gracious King: and you may suppose that this\nCharles the First was not a stranger to the Three pretended books,\nbecause, in a discourse with the Lord Say, in the time of the Long\nParliament, when the said Lord required the King to grant the truth of\nhis argument, because it was the judgment of Mr. Hooker,--quoting him\nin one of the three written books, the King replied, \"They were not\nallowed to be Mr. Hooker's books: but, however, he would allow them\nto be Mr. Hooker's, and consent to what his Lordship proposed to prove\nout of those doubtful books, if he would but consent to the judgment\nof Mr. Hooker in the other five, that were the undoubted books of Mr.\nHooker.\"\n\n[Sidenote: To the Reader]\n\nIn this relation concerning these Three doubtful books of Mr.\nHooker's, my purpose was to enquire, then set down what I observed and\nknow; which I have done, not as an engaged person, but indifferently;\nand now leave my Reader to give sentence, for their legitimation, as\nto himself; but so as to leave others the same liberty of believing or\ndisbelieving them to be Mr. Hooker's: and 'tis observable, that as\nMr. Hooker advised with Dr. Spencer, in the design and manage of\nthese books; so also, and chiefly with his dear pupil, George\nCranmer,--whose sister was the wife of Dr. Spencer,--of which this\nfollowing letter may be a testimony, and doth also give authority to\nsome things mentioned both in this Appendix and in the Life of Mr.\nHooker, and is therefore added. I.W.\n\n\n[Footnote 1: A Barrister of eminence, particularly noted for his\nloyalty, born at Prestbury, in Gloucestershire, in 1601. He died in\n1690; and was the Author of several excellent Law Tracts, as well as\none asserting that Charles I. was a martyr for his people.]\n\n\n\n\nGEORGE CRANMER'S LETTER\nUNTO\nMR. RICHARD HOOKER,\n\n_February_, 1598.[1]\n\n\n[Sidenote: New Church Discipline]\n\n[Sidenote: Change in opinion]\n\nWhat posterity is likely to judge of these matters concerning\nChurch-discipline, we may the better conjecture, if we call to mind\nwhat our own age, within few years, upon better experience, hath\nalready judged concerning the same. It may be remembered, that at\nfirst, the greatest part of the learned in the land were either\neagerly affected, or favourably inclined that way. The books then\nwritten for the most part savoured of the disciplinary style; it\nsounded every where in pulpits, and in common phrase of men's speech.\nThe contrary part began to fear they had taken a wrong course; many\nwhich impugned the discipline, yet so impugned it, not as not being\nthe better form of government, but as not being so convenient for our\nstate, in regard of dangerous innovations thereby likely to grow: one\nman [John Whitgift, the Archbishop] alone there was to speak\nof,--whom let no suspicion of flattery deprive of his deserved\ncommendation,--who, in the defiance of the one part, and courage\nof the other, stood in the gap and gave others respite to prepare\nthemselves to the defence, which, by the sudden eagerness and violence\nof their adversaries, had otherwise been prevented, wherein God hath\nmade good unto him his own impress, _Vincit qui patitur:_ for what\ncontumelious indignities he hath at their hands sustained, the world\nis witness; and what reward of honour above his adversaries God hath\nbestowed upon him, themselves,--though nothing glad thereof,--must\nneeds confess. Now of late years the heat of men towards the\ndiscipline is greatly decayed; their judgments begin to sway on the\nother side; the learned have weighed it, and found it light; wise\nmen conceive some fear, lest it prove not only not the best kind of\ngovernment, but the very bane and destruction of all government. The\ncause of this change in men's opinions may be drawn from the general\nnature of error, disguised and clothed with the name of truth; which\ndid mightily and violently possess men at first, but afterwards, the\nweakness thereof being by time discovered, it lost that reputation,\nwhich before it had gained. As by the outside of an house the\npassers-by are oftentimes deceived, till they see the conveniency of\nthe rooms within; so, by the very name of discipline and reformation,\nmen were drawn at first to cast a fancy towards it, but now they\nhave not contented themselves only to pass by and behold afar off the\nfore-front of this reformed house; they have entered it, even at the\nspecial request of the master-workmen and chief-builders thereof: they\nhave perused the rooms, the lights, the conveniences, and they find\nthem not answerable to that report which was made of them, nor to\nthat opinion which upon report they had conceived: so as now the\ndiscipline, which at first triumphed over all, being unmasked,\nbeginneth to droop, and hang down her head.\n\n[Sidenote: Causes]\n\n[Sidenote: Gregory Martin]\n\nThe cause of change in opinion concerning the discipline is proper to\nthe learned, or to such as by them have been instructed. Another cause\nthere is more open, and more apparent to the view of all, namely,\nthe course of practice, which the Reformers have had with us from the\nbeginning. The first degree was only some small difference about the\ncap and surplice; but not such as either bred division in the\nChurch, or tended to the ruin of the government established. This was\npeaceable; the next degree more stirring. Admonitions were directed to\nthe Parliament in peremptory sort against our whole form of regiment.\nIn defence of them, volumes were published in English and in Latin:\nyet this was no more than writing. Devices were set on foot to erect\nthe practice of the discipline without authority; yet herein some\nregard of modesty, some moderation was used. Behold at length it brake\nforth into open outrage, first in writing by Martin;[2] in whose\nkind of dealing these things may be observed: 1. That whereas Thomas\nCartwright and others his great masters, had always before set out the\ndiscipline as a Queen, and as the daughter of God; he contrariwise, to\nmake her more acceptable to the people, brought her forth as a\nVice[3] upon the stage. 2. This conceit of his was grounded--as may\nbe supposed--upon this rare policy, that seeing the discipline was by\nwriting refuted, in Parliament rejected, in secret corners hunted\nout and decried, it was imagined that by open railing,--which to the\nvulgar is commonly most plausible,--the State Ecclesiastical might\nhave been drawn into such contempt and hatred, as the overthrow\nthereof should have been most grateful to all men, and in a manner\ndesired by all the common people. 3. It may be noted--and this I know\nmyself to be true--how some of them, although they could not for shame\napprove so lewd an action, yet were content to lay hold on it to\nthe advancement of their cause, by acknowledging therein the secret\njudgments of God against the Bishops, and hoping that some good might\nbe wrought thereby for his Church; as indeed there was, though\nnot according to their construction. For 4thly, contrary to their\nexpectation, that railing spirit did not only not further, but\nextremely disgrace and prejudice their cause, when it was once\nperceived from how low degrees of contradiction, at first, to what\noutrage of contumely and slander, they were at length proceeded; and\nwere also likely to proceed further.\n\n[Sidenote: Hacket and Coppinger]\n\nA further degree of outrage was also in fact: certain [Hacket and\nCoppinger] prophets did arise, who deeming it not possible that God\nshould suffer that to be undone, which they did so fiercely desire to\nhave done, namely, that his holy saints, the favourers and fathers of\nthe discipline, should be enlarged and delivered from persecution;\nand seeing no means of deliverance ordinary, were fain to persuade\nthemselves that God must needs raise some extraordinary means; and\nbeing persuaded of none so well as of themselves, they forthwith must\nneeds be the instruments of this great work. Hereupon they framed\nunto themselves an assured hope, that, upon their preaching out of a\npeascart in Cheapside, all the multitude would have presently joined\nunto them, and in amazement of mind have asked them, _Viri fratres,\nquid agimus?_ whereunto it is likely they would have returned an\nanswer far unlike to that of St. Peter: \"Such and such are men\nunworthy to govern; pluck them down: such and such are the dear\nchildren of God; let them be advanced.\"\n\nOf two of these men it is meet to speak with all commiseration; yet\nso, that others by their example may receive instruction, and withal\nsome light may appear, what stirring affections the discipline is like\nto inspire, if it light upon apt and prepared minds.\n\n[Sidenote: Bancroft's book]\n\nNow if any man doubt of what society they were; or if the Reformers\ndisclaim them, pretending that by them they were condemned; let\nthese points be considered. 1. Whose associates were they before they\nentered into this frantic passion? Whose sermons did they frequent?\nWhom did they admire? 2. Even when they were entering into it, Whose\nadvice did they require? and when they were in, Whose approbation?\nWhom advertised they of their purpose? Whose assistance by prayer did\nthey request? But we deal injuriously with them to lay this to their\ncharge; for they reproved and condemned it. How! did they disclose\nit to the Magistrate, that it might be suppressed? or were they not\nrather content to stand aloof off, and see the end of it, as being\nloath to quench that spirit? No doubt these mad practitioners were of\ntheir society, with whom before, and in the practice of their madness,\nthey had most affinity. Hereof read Dr. Bancroft's book.[4]\n\n[Sidenote: Brownists and Barrowists]\n\nA third inducement may be to dislike of the discipline, if we consider\nnot only how far the Reformers themselves have proceeded, but what\nothers upon their foundations have built. Here come the Brownists[5]\nin the first rank, their lineal descendants, who have seized upon a\nnumber of strange opinions; whereof, although their ancestors, the\nReformers, were never actually possessed, yet, by right and interest\nfrom them derived, the Brownists and Barrowists[6] have taken\npossession of them: for if the positions of the Reformers be true, I\ncannot see how the main and general conclusions of Brownism should be\nfalse; for upon these two points, as I conceive, they stand.\n\n[Sidenote: Their two points]\n\n1. That, because we have no Church, they are to sever themselves from\nus. 2. That without Civil authority they are to erect a Church of\ntheir own. And if the former of these be true, the latter, I suppose,\nwill follow: for if above all things men be to regard their salvation;\nand if out of the Church there be no salvation; it followeth, that,\nif we have no Church, we have no means of salvation; and therefore\nseparation from us in that respect is both lawful and necessary; as\nalso, that men, so separated from the false and counterfeit Church,\nare to associate themselves unto some Church; not to ours; to the\nPopish much less; therefore to one of their own making. Now the ground\nof all these inferences being this, That in our Church there is no\nmeans of salvation, is out of the Reformers' principles most clearly\nto be proved. For wheresoever any matter of faith unto salvation\nnecessary is denied, there can be no means of salvation; but in the\nChurch of England, the discipline, by them accounted a matter of\nfaith, and necessary to salvation, is not only denied, but impugned,\nand the professors thereof oppressed. _Ergo_.\n\nAgain,--but this reason perhaps is weak,--every true Church of Christ\nacknowledgeth the whole Gospel of Christ: the discipline, in their\nopinion, is a part of the Gospel, and yet by our Church resisted.\n_Ergo_.\n\n[Sidenote: Essential discipline]\n\nAgain, the discipline is essentially united to the Church: by which\nterm essentially, they must mean either an essential part, or an\nessential property. Both which ways it must needs be, that where that\nessential discipline is not, neither is there any Church. If therefore\nbetween them and the Brownists there should be appointed a solemn\ndisputation, whereof with us they have been oftentimes so earnest\nchallengers; it doth not yet appear what other answer they could\npossibly frame to these and the like arguments, wherewith they may be\npressed, but fairly to deny the conclusion,--for all the premises\nare their own,--or rather ingeniously to reverse their own principles\nbefore laid, whereon so foul absurdities have been so firmly built.\nWhat further proofs you can bring out of their high words, magnifying\nthe discipline, I leave to your better remembrance: but, above all\npoints, I am desirous this one should be strongly enforced against\nthem, because it wringeth them most of all, and is of all others--for\naught I see--the most unanswerable. You may notwithstanding say, that\nyou would be heartily glad these their positions might be salved, as\nthe Brownists might not appear to have issued out of their loins: but\nuntil that be done, they must give us leave to think that they have\ncast the seed whereout these tares are grown.\n\n[Sidenote: \"Godless politics\"]\n\nAnother sort of men there are, which have been content to run on with\nthe Reformers for a time, and to make them poor instruments of their\nown designs. These are a sort of godless politics, who, perceiving\nthe plot of discipline to consist of these two parts, the overthrow\nof Episcopal, and erection of Presbyterial authority; and that this\nlatter can take no place till the former be removed; are content to\njoin with them in the destructive part of discipline, bearing them in\nhand, that in the other also they shall find them as ready. But when\ntime shall come, it may be they would be as loath to be yoked with\nthat kind of regiment, as now they are willing to be released from\nthis. These men's ends in all their actions is distraction; their\npretence and colour, reformation. Those things which under this\ncolour they have effected to their own good, are, 1. By maintaining a\ncontrary faction, they have kept the Clergy always in awe, and\nthereby made them more pliable, and willing to buy their peace. 2. By\nmaintaining an opinion of equality among ministers, they have made way\nto their own purposes for devouring Cathedral Churches, and Bishops'\nlivings. 3. By exclaiming against abuses in the Church, they have\ncarried their own corrupt dealing in the Civil State more covertly.\nFor such is the nature of the multitude, that they are not able to\napprehend many things at once; so as being possessed with a dislike or\nliking of any one thing, many other in the mean time may escape them\nwithout being perceived. 4. They have sought to disgrace the Clergy,\nin entertaining a conceit in men's minds, and confirming it by\ncontinual practice, That men of learning, and especially of the\nClergy, which are employed in the chiefest kind of learning, are not\nto be admitted to matters of State; contrary to the practice of all\nwell-governed commonwealths, and of our own till these late years.\n\n[Sidenote: Atheists]\n\n[Sidenote: Causes of Atheism]\n\nA third sort of men there are, though not descended from the\nReformers, yet in part raised and greatly strengthened by them;\nnamely, the cursed crew of Atheists. This also is one of those points,\nwhich I am desirous you should handle most effectually, and strain\nyourself therein to all points of motion and affection; as in that of\nthe Brownists, to all strength and sinews of reason. This is a sort\nmost damnable, and yet by the general suspicion of the world at\nthis day most common. The causes of it, which are in the parties\nthemselves, although you handle in the beginning of the fifth book,\nyet here again they may be touched: but the occasions of help and\nfurtherance, which by the Reformers have been yielded unto them, are,\nas I conceive, two; namely, senseless preaching, and disgracing of the\nMinistry: for how should not men dare to impugn that, which neither\nby force of reason, nor by authority of persons, is maintained? But in\nthe parties themselves these two causes I conceive of Atheism: 1. More\nabundance of wit than judgment, and of witty than judicious learning;\nwhereby they are more inclined to contradict any thing, than willing\nto be informed of the truth. They are not therefore men of sound\nlearning for the most part, but smatterers; neither is their kind of\ndispute so much by force of argument, as by scoffing; which humour\nof scoffing, and turning matters most serious into merriment, is now\nbecome so common, as we are not to marvel what the Prophet means\nby the seat of scorners, nor what the Apostles, by foretelling of\nscorners to come; for our own age hath verified their speech unto\nus: which also may be an argument against these scoffers and Atheists\nthemselves, seeing it hath been so many ages ago foretold, that such\nmen the latter days of the world should afford: which could not\nbe done by any other spirit, save that whereunto things future and\npresent are alike. And even for the main question of the resurrection,\nwhereat they stick so mightily, was it not plainly foretold, that men\nshould in the latter times say, \"Where is the promise of his coming?\"\nAgainst the creation, the ark, and divers other points, exceptions are\nsaid to be taken, the ground whereof is superfluity of wit, without\nground of learning and judgment. A second cause of Atheism is\nsensuality, which maketh men desirous to remove all stops and\nimpediments of their wicked life; among which because Religion is the\nchiefest, so as neither in this life without shame they can persist\ntherein, nor--if that be true--without torment in the life to come;\nthey therefore whet their wits to annihilate the joys of Heaven,\nwherein they see--if any such be--they can have no part, and likewise\nthe pains of Hell, wherein their portion must needs be very great.\nThey labour therefore, not that they may not deserve those pains, but\nthat, deserving them, there may be no such pains to seize upon them.\nBut what conceit can be imagined more base, than that man should\nstrive to persuade himself even against the secret instinct, no doubt,\nof his own mind, that his soul is as the soul of a beast, mortal, and\ncorruptible with the body? Against which barbarous opinion their own\nAtheism is a very strong argument. For, were not the soul a nature\nseparable from the body, how could it enter into discourse of things\nmerely spiritual, and nothing at all pertaining to the body? Surely\nthe soul were not able to conceive any thing of Heaven, no not so much\nas to dispute against Heaven, and against God, if there were not in it\nsomewhat heavenly, and derived from God.\n\n[Sidenote: Papists]\n\nThe last which have received strength and encouragement from the\nReformers are Papists; against whom, although they are most bitter\nenemies, yet unwittingly they have given them great advantage. For\nwhat can any enemy rather desire than the breach and dissension of\nthose which are confederates against him? Wherein they are to remember\nthat if our communion with Papists in some few ceremonies do so much\nstrengthen them, as is pretended, how much more doth this division and\nrent among ourselves, especially seeing it is maintained to be, not in\nlight matters only, but even in matters of faith and salvation? Which\nover-reaching speech of theirs, because it is so open an advantage for\nthe Barrowist and the Papist, we are to wish and hope for, that they\nwill acknowledge it to have been spoken rather in heat of affection,\nthan with soundness of judgment; and that through their exceeding love\nto that creature of discipline which themselves have bred, nourished,\nand maintained, their mouth in commendation of her did so often\noverflow.\n\n[Sidenote: Points of controversy]\n\nFrom hence you may proceed--but the means of connexion I leave to\nyourself--to another discourse, which I think very meet to be handled\neither here or elsewhere at large; the parts whereof may be these: 1.\nThat in this cause between them and us, men are to sever the proper\nand essential points and controversy from those which are accidental.\nThe most essential and proper are these two: overthrow of the\nEpiscopal, and erection of Presbyterial authority. But in these two\npoints whosoever joineth with them, is accounted of their number;\nwhosoever in all other points agreeth with them, yet thinketh the\nauthority of Bishops not unlawful, and of Elders not necessary, may\njustly be severed from their retinue. Those things, therefore, which\neither in the persons, or in the laws and orders themselves are\nfaulty, may be complained on, acknowledged, and amended, yet they no\nwhit the nearer their main purpose: for what if all errors by them\nsupposed in our Liturgy were amended, even according to their own\nheart's desire; if non-residence, pluralities, and the like were\nutterly taken away; are their lay-elders therefore presently\nauthorized? or their sovereign ecclesiastical jurisdiction\nestablished?\n\n[Sidenote: Faults of the complainants]\n\nBut even in their complaining against the outward and accidental\nmatters in Church-Government, they are many ways faulty. 1. In their\nend, which they propose to themselves. For in declaiming against\nabuses, their meaning is not to have them redressed, but, by\ndisgracing the present state, to make way for their own discipline. As\ntherefore in Venice, if any Senator should discourse against the\npower of their Senate, as being either too sovereign, or too weak in\ngovernment, with purpose to draw their authority to a moderation, it\nmight well be suffered; but not so, if it should appear he spake with\npurpose to induce another state by depriving the present. So in all\ncauses belonging either to Church or Commonwealth, we are to have\nregard what mind the complaining part doth bear, whether of amendment\nor innovation; and accordingly either to suffer or suppress it. Their\nobjection therefore is frivolous, \"Why, may not men speak against\nabuses?\" Yes; but with desire to cure the part affected, not\nto destroy the whole. 2. A second fault is in their manner of\ncomplaining, not only because it is for the most part in bitter and\nreproachful terms, but also it is to the common people, who are judges\nincompetent and insufficient, both to determine any thing amiss, and\nfor want of skill and authority to amend it. Which also discovereth\ntheir intent and purpose to be rather destructive than corrective. 3.\nThose very exceptions which they take are frivolous and impertinent.\nSome things indeed they accuse as impious; which if they may appear to\nbe such, God forbid they should be maintained.\n\n[Sidenote: \"Doubly Deceived\"]\n\nAgainst the rest it is only alleged, that they are idle ceremonies\nwithout use, and that better and more profitable might be devised.\nWherein they are doubly deceived; for neither is it a sufficient plea\nto say, this must give place, because a better may be devised; because\nin our judgments of better and worse, we oftentimes conceive amiss,\nwhen we compare those things which are in devise with those which are\nin practice: for the imperfections of the one are hid, till by time\nand trial they be discovered: the others are already manifest and\nopen to all. But last of all,--which is a point in my opinion of great\nregard, and which I am desirous to have enlarged,--they do not see\nthat for the most part when they strike at the State Ecclesiastical,\nthey secretly wound the Civil State, for personal faults; \"What can\nbe said against the Church, which may not also agree to the\nCommonwealth?\" In both, Statesmen have always been, and will be\nalways, men; sometimes blinded with error, most commonly perverted\nby passions; many unworthy have been and are advanced in both; many\nworthy not regarded. And as for abuses, which they pretend to be in\nthe law themselves; when they inveigh against non-residence, do they\ntake it a matter lawful or expedient in the Civil State, for a man\nto have a great and gainful office in the North, himself continually\nremaining in the South? \"He that hath an office let him attend his\noffice.\" When they condemn plurality of livings spiritual to the pit\nof Hell, what think they of the infinity of temporal promotions? By\nthe great Philosopher, _Pol. lib. ii. cap. 9,_ it is forbidden as a\nthing most dangerous to Commonwealths, that by the same man many great\noffices should be exercised. When they deride our ceremonies as vain\nand frivolous, were it hard to apply their exceptions even to those\ncivil ceremonies, which at the Coronation, in Parliament, and all\nCourts of Justice, are used? Were it hard to argue even against\nCircumcision, the ordinance of God, as being a cruel ceremony? against\nthe Passover, as being ridiculous--shod, girt, a staff in their hand,\nto eat a lamb?\n\n[Sidenote: Conclusion]\n\nTo conclude: you may exhort the Clergy,--or what if you direct your\nconclusion not to the Clergy in general, but only to the learned in or\nof both Universities?--you may exhort them to a due consideration of\nall things, and to a right esteem and valuing of each thing in that\ndegree wherein it ought to stand. For it oftentimes falleth out, that\nwhat men have either devised themselves, or greatly delighted in,\nthe price and the excellency thereof they do admire above desert. The\nchiefest labour of a Christian should be to know, of a Minister to\npreach Christ crucified: in regard whereof, not only worldly things,\nbut things otherwise precious, even the discipline itself, is vile\nand base. Whereas now, by the heat of contention, and violence of\naffection, the zeal of men towards the one hath greatly decayed their\nlove to the other. Hereunto therefore they are to be exhorted to\npreach Christ Crucified, the mortification of the flesh, the renewing\nof the Spirit; not those things which in time of strife seem precious\nbut--passions being allayed--are vain and childish. G.C.\n\n\n[Footnote 1: This admirable dissertation originally appeared in 1642,\nentitled, \"Concerning the New Church Discipline; an excellent Letter\nwritten by Mr. George Cranmer, to Mr. R.H.\"]\n\n[Footnote 2: Gregory Martin, born at Maxfield, near Winchelsea,\nadmitted of St. John's Coll. Oxford, 1557, embraced the Roman\nCatholic Religion and was ordained priest at Douay, 1573. The Rheims\ntranslation of the Vulgate has been ascribed entirely to him. He died\nat Rheims in 1582.]\n\n[Footnote 3: Vice was the fool of the old moralities, with his dagger\nof lath, a long coat, and a cap with a pair of ass's ears.]\n\n[Footnote 4: Entitled \"A Survey of the pretended holy Discipline,\nto which is prefixed a Sermon, preached against the Puritans, at\nSt. Paul's Cross, Feb. 9, 1588-9, from the following text: 'Dearly\nbeloved, believe not every Spirit, but try the Spirits whether they be\nof God, for many false Prophets have gone out into the world.' I John\niv. 1.\"]\n\n[Footnote 5: Robert Brown, a native of Northampton, educated at Corpus\nChristi College in Cambridge, was the founder of a sect of Puritans,\nwho took their name from him. He wrote several tracts in support\nof his opinions, and sustained various persecutions, having been\ncommitted at different times to thirty-two prisons, in some of which\nhe could not see his hand at broad day. Before his removal with his\nfollowers to Middleburg in Zealand, he became disgusted with their\ndivisions and disputes; and though he had gone a further distance than\nany of the Puritans did, he renounced his principles of separation,\nbeing promoted by his relation, Lord Burghley, to the benefice of\nAchurch in Northamptonshire. He died in Northampton Gaol in 1630, in\nthe 80th year of his age, having been sent thither by a justice of the\npeace for assaulting a constable, who was executing a warrant against\nhim.]\n\n[Footnote 6: So denominated from Henry Barrow, a layman, and noted\nsectary, who was executed at Tyburn on 6th April, 1593, for publishing\nseditious books against the Queen and the State.]\n\n\n\n\nTHE WORKS OF MR. RICHARD HOOKER.\n\n\n[Sidenote: Hooker's Works]\n\nThe Works of Mr. Hooker, exclusive of the Books of Ecclesiastical\nPolity, are,\n\nI. \"ANSWER to the SUPPLICATION that Mr. TRAVERS made to the COUNCIL.\n_Oxon_. 1612.\" 4to.\n\nII. \"A learned DISCOURSE of JUSTIFICATION, WORKS, and how the\nFOUNDATION of FAITH is overthrown: on _Habak_. i. 4. _Oxon_. 1612.\"\n4to.\n\nIII. \"A learned SERMON of the NATURE of PRIDE: on _Habak_. ii. 4.\n_Oxon_. 1612.\" 4to.\n\nIV. \"A REMEDY against SORROW and FEAR, delivered in a FUNERAL SERMON:\non _John_ xiv. 27. _Oxon_. 1612.\" 4to.\n\nV. \"A learned and comfortable SERMON of the CERTAINTY and PERPETUITY\nof FAITH in the ELECT: especially of the PROPHET HABAKKUK'S FAITH: on\n_Habak_. i. 4. _Oxon_. 1612.\" 4to.\n\nVI. \"TWO SERMONS upon part of ST. JUDE'S EPISTLE. _Epist. Jude_, ver.\n17, 18, 19, 20, 21, _Oxon_. 1613.\" 4to.\n\nVII. In 1641, a volume was published under the following title: \"A\nSUMMARIE VIEW of the GOVERNMENT both of the OLD and NEW TESTAMENT;\nwhereby the EPISCOPAL GOVERNMENT of CHRIST'S CHURCH is vindicated,\"\nout of the rude draughts of Launcelot Andrews, late Bishop of\nWinchester.\n\nTo this volume is prefixed, as a preamble to the whole, \"A DISCOVERY\nof the CAUSES of these CONTENTIONS touching CHURCH GOVERNMENT, out of\nthe FRAGMENTS of RICHARD HOOKER.\"\n\nThis volume contains certain brief treatises, written by divers\nlearned men, concerning the ancient and modern Government of the\nChurch. The treatises are seven in number, of which this posthumous\nwork of Mr. Hooker is one, and as it stands before the rest it is\ntherefore called a Preamble to the whole.\n\nVIII. THREE TREATISES inserted in the \"CLAVI TRABALES,\" viz. 1. \"On\nthe KING'S POWER in Matters of RELIGION.\" 2. \"Of his POWER in the\nADVANCEMENT of BISHOPS to their ROOMS of PRELACY.\" 3. \"The KING'S\nEXEMPTION from CENSURE and other JUDICIAL POWER.\"\n\nIt will not be improper to notice a publication of great merit,\nentitled \"A FAITHFUL ABRIDGMENT of the WORKS of that learned and\njudicious Divine, Mr. RICHARD HOOKER, in eight books of ECCLESIASTICAL\nPOLITY, and of all the other Treatises which were written by the same\nAuthor. With an Account of his Life. By a Divine of the Church of\nEngland. _London_, 1705.\"\n\n\n\n\nTHE LIFE\nOF\nMR. GEORGE HERBERT,\nPREBENDARY OF SALISBURY CATHEDRAL.\n\n  \"Where with a soul composed of harmonies,\n  Like a sweet swan, he warbles as he dies\n  His Maker's praise, and his own obsequies.\"\n\n    --COTTON.\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION\nTO THE\nLIFE OF GEORGE HERBERT.\n\n\n[Sidenote: A box of ointment]\n\nIn a late retreat from the business of this world, and those many\nlittle cares with which I have too often cumbered myself, I fell into\na contemplation of some of those historical passages that are recorded\nin Sacred Story: and more particularly of what had passed betwixt our\nblessed Saviour and that wonder of Women, and Sinners, and Mourners,\nSt. Mary Magdalen. I call her Saint, because I did not then, nor do\nnow consider her, as when she was possessed with seven devils; not as\nwhen her wanton eyes and dishevelled hair were designed and managed\nto charm and ensnare amorous beholders. But I did then, and do now\nconsider her, as after she had expressed a visible and sacred sorrow\nfor her sensualities; as after those eyes had wept such a flood of\npenitential tears as did wash, and that hair had wiped, and she most\npassionately kissed the feet of her's and our blessed Jesus. And I do\nnow consider, that because she loved much, not only much was forgiven\nher: but that beside that blessed blessing of having her sins\npardoned, and the joy of knowing her happy condition, she also had\nfrom him a testimony, that her alabaster box of precious ointment\npoured on his head and feet, and that spikenard, and those spices\nthat were by her dedicated to embalm and preserve his sacred body\nfrom putrefaction, should so far preserve her own memory, that these\ndemonstrations of her sanctified love, and of her officious and\ngenerous gratitude, should be recorded and mentioned wheresoever his\nGospel should be read; intending thereby, that as his, so her name,\nshould also live to succeeding generations, even till time itself\nshall be no more.\n\n[Sidenote: Reasons for this Life]\n\nUpon occasion of which fair example, I did lately look back, and not\nwithout some content,--at least to myself,--that I have endeavoured to\ndeserve the love, and preserve the memory, of my two deceased friends,\nDr. Donne, and Sir Henry Wotton, by declaring the several employments\nand various accidents of their lives. And though Mr. George\nHerbert--whose Life I now intend to write--were to me a stranger as to\nhis person, for I have only seen him; yet since he was, and was worthy\nto be, their friend, and very many of his have been mine, I judge it\nmay not be unacceptable to those that knew any of them in their\nlives, or do now know them by mine, or their own writings, to see this\nconjunction of them after their deaths; without which, many things\nthat concerned them, and some things that concerned the age in which\nthey lived, would be less perfect, and lost to posterity.\n\nFor these reasons I have undertaken it; and if I have prevented any\nabler person, I beg pardon of him and my Reader.\n\n\n\n\nTHE LIFE\nOF\nMR. GEORGE HERBERT.\n\n\n[Sidenote: Birth and family]\n\nGeorge Herbert was born the Third day of April, in the Year of our\nRedemption 1593. The place of his birth was near to the Town of\nMontgomery, and in that Castle[1] that did then bear the name of that\nTown and County; that Castle was then a place of state and strength,\nand had been successively happy in the Family of the Herberts, who\nhad long possessed it; and with it, a plentiful estate, and hearts\nas liberal to their poor neighbours. A family, that hath been blessed\nwith men of remarkable wisdom, and a willingness to serve their\ncountry, and, indeed, to do good to all mankind; for which they\nare eminent: But alas! this family did in the late rebellion suffer\nextremely in their estates; and the heirs of that Castle saw it laid\nlevel with that earth, that was too good to bury those wretches that\nwere the cause of it.\n\n[Sidenote: Father and mother]\n\nThe Father of our George was Richard Herbert, the son of Edward\nHerbert, Knight, the son of Richard Herbert, Knight, the son of the\nfamous Sir Richard Herbert of Colebrook, in the County of Monmouth,\nBanneret, who was the youngest brother of that memorable William\nHerbert, Earl of Pembroke, that lived in the reign of our King Edward\nthe Fourth.\n\nHis Mother was Magdalen Newport, the youngest daughter of Sir Richard,\nand sister to Sir Francis Newport of High-Arkall, in the County of\nSalop, Knight, and grandfather of Francis Lord Newport, now Controller\nof his Majesty's Household. A family that for their loyalty have\nsuffered much in their estates, and seen the ruin of that excellent\nstructure, where their ancestors have long lived, and been memorable\nfor their hospitality.\n\n[Sidenote: Lord Herbert of Cherbury]\n\nThis Mother of George Herbert--of whose person, and wisdom, and virtue\nI intend to give a true account in a seasonable place--was the happy\nMother of seven sons and three daughters, which she would often say\nwas Job's number, and Job's distribution; and as often bless God, that\nthey were neither defective in their shapes, or in their reason;\nand very often reprove them that did not praise God for so great a\nblessing. I shall give the Reader a short account of their names, and\nnot say much of their fortunes. Edward, the eldest, was first made\nKnight of the Bath, at that glorious time of our late Prince Henry's\nbeing installed Knight of the Garter; after many years' useful travel,\nand the attainment of many languages, he was by King James sent\nAmbassador resident to the then French King, Lewis the thirteenth.\nThere he continued about two years; but he could not subject himself\nto a compliance with the humours of the Duke de Luisnes, who was then\nthe great and powerful favourite at Court: so that upon a complaint to\nour King, he was called back into England in some displeasure; but at\nhis return he gave such an honourable account of his employment, and\nso justified his comportment to the Duke and all the Court, that he\nwas suddenly sent back upon the same Embassy, from which he returned\nin the beginning of the reign of our good King Charles the First, who\nmade him first Baron of Castle-Island, and not long after of Cherbury,\nin the County of Salop. He was a man of great learning and reason, as\nappears by his printed book \"De Veritate,\" and by his \"History of the\nreign of King Henry the Eighth,\" and by several other tracts.[2]\n\n[Sidenote: Other Herberts]\n\nThe second and third brothers were Richard and William, who ventured\ntheir lives to purchase honour in the wars of the Low Countries, and\ndied officers in that employment. Charles was the fourth, and died\nfellow of New College in Oxford. Henry was the sixth, who became\na menial servant to the Crown in the days of King James, and hath\ncontinued to be so for fifty years; during all which time he hath been\nMaster of the Revels; a place that requires a diligent wisdom, with\nwhich God hath blessed him. The seventh son was Thomas, who, being\nmade captain of a ship in that fleet with which Sir Robert Mansell\nwas sent against Algiers, did there shew a fortunate and true English\nvalour. Of the three sisters I need not say more, than that they were\nall married to persons of worth, and plentiful fortunes; and lived to\nbe examples of virtue, and to do good in their generations.\n\n[Sidenote: George Herbert]\n\nI now come to give my intended account of George, who was the fifth of\nthose seven brothers.\n\nGeorge Herbert spent much of his childhood in a sweet content under\nthe eye and care of his prudent Mother, and the tuition of a Chaplain,\nor tutor to him and two of his brothers, in her own family,--for she\nwas then a widow,--where he continued till about the age of twelve\nyears; and being at that time well instructed in the rules of Grammar,\nhe was not long after commended to the care of Dr. Neale,[3] who was\nthen Dean of Westminster; and by him to the care of Mr. Ireland,[4]\nwho was then Chief Master of that School; where the beauties of his\npretty behaviour and wit shined, and became so eminent and lovely in\nthis his innocent age, that he seemed to be marked out for piety, and\nto become the care of Heaven, and of a particular good angel to guard\nand guide him. And thus he continued in that School, till he came\nto be perfect in the learned languages, and especially in the Greek\ntongue, in which he after proved an excellent critic.\n\n[Sidenote: At Cambridge]\n\nAbout the age of fifteen--he being then a King's Scholar--he was\nelected out of that School for Trinity College in Cambridge, to which\nplace he was transplanted about the year 1608; and his prudent Mother,\nwell knowing that he might easily lose or lessen that virtue and\ninnocence, which her advice and example had planted in his mind, did\ntherefore procure the generous and liberal Dr. Nevil,[5] who was then\nDean of Canterbury, and Master of that College, to take him into his\nparticular care, and provide him a tutor; which he did most gladly\nundertake, for he knew the excellencies of his mother, and how to\nvalue such a friendship.\n\nThis was the method of his education, till he was settled in\nCambridge; where we will leave him in his study, till I have paid my\npromised account of his excellent mother; and I will endeavour to make\nit short.\n\n[Sidenote: Lady Magdalen Herbert]\n\nI have told her birth, her marriage, and the number of her children,\nand have given some short account of them. I shall next tell the\nReader, that her husband died when our George was about the age of\nfour years: I am next to tell, that she continued twelve years a\nwidow; that she then married happily to a noble gentleman, the brother\nand heir of the Lord Danvers,[6] Earl of Danby, who did highly value\nboth her person and the most excellent endowments of her mind.\n\n[Sidenote: Her character]\n\n[Sidenote: Dr. Donne]\n\nIn this time of her widowhood, she being desirous to give Edward, her\neldest son, such advantages of learning, and other education, as might\nsuit his birth and fortune, and thereby make him the more fit for the\nservice of his country, did, at his being of a fit age, remove from\nMontgomery Castle with him, and some of her younger sons, to Oxford;\nand having entered Edward into Queen's College, and provided him a\nfit tutor, she commended him to his care, yet she continued there\nwith him, and still kept him in a moderate awe of herself, and so\nmuch under her own eye, as to see and converse with him daily: but she\nmanaged this power over him without any such rigid sourness as might\nmake her company a torment to her child; but with such a sweetness and\ncompliance with the recreations and pleasures of youth, as did incline\nhim willingly to spend much of his time in the company of his dear and\ncareful mother; which was to her great content: for she would often\nsay, \"That as our bodies take a nourishment suitable to the meat\non which we feed; so our souls do as insensibly take in vice by the\nexample or conversation with wicked company:\" and would therefore\nas often say, \"That ignorance of vice was the best preservation of\nvirtue; and that the very knowledge of wickedness was as tinder to\ninflame and kindle sin and keep it burning.\" For these reasons she\nendeared him to her own company, and continued with him in Oxford four\nyears; in which time her great and harmless wit, her cheerful gravity,\nand her obliging behaviour, gained her an acquaintance and friendship\nwith most of any eminent worth or learning, that were at that time\nin or near that University; and particularly with Mr. John Donne, who\nthen came accidentally to that place, in this time of her being\nthere. It was that John Donne who was after Dr. Donne, and Dean of St.\nPaul's, London: and he, at his leaving Oxford, writ and left there, in\nverse, a character of the beauties of her body and mind: of the first\nhe says,\n\n  No Spring nor Summer-beauty hath such grace\n  As I have seen in an Autumnal face.\n\nOf the latter he says,\n\n  In all her words to every hearer fit,\n  You may at revels, or at council sit.\n\nThe rest of her character may be read in his printed poems, in that\nElegy which bears the name of \"The Autumnal Beauty.\" For both he and\nshe were then past the meridian of man's life.\n\nThis amity, begun at this time and place, was not an amity that\npolluted their souls; but an amity made up of a chain of suitable\ninclinations and virtues; an amity like that of St. Chrysostom's to\nhis dear and virtuous Olympias; whom, in his letters, he calls his\nSaint: or an amity, indeed, more like that of St. Hierome to his\nPaula; whose affection to her was such, that he turned poet in his old\nage, and then made her epitaph: wishing all his body were turned into\ntongues, that he might declare her just praises to posterity. And this\namity betwixt her and Mr. Donne was begun in a happy time for him, he\nbeing then near to the fortieth year of his age,--which was some years\nbefore he entered into Sacred Orders;--a time when his necessities\nneeded a daily supply for the support of his wife, seven children,\nand a family. And in this time she proved one of his most bountiful\nbenefactors; and he as grateful an acknowledger of it. You may take\none testimony for what I have said of these two worthy persons, from\nthis following Letter and Sonnet.\n\n[Sidenote: Letter and Sonnet]\n\n\"MADAM,\n\n\"Your favours to me are every where: I use them and have them. I enjoy\nthem at London, and leave them there; and yet find them at Mitcham.\nSuch riddles as these become things inexpressible; and such is your\ngoodness. I was almost sorry to find your servant here this day;\nbecause I was loath to have any witness of my not coming home last\nnight, and indeed of my coming this morning. But my not coming was\nexcusable, because earnest business detained me; and my coming this\nday is by the example of your St. Mary Magdalen, who rose early upon\nSunday to seek that which she loved most; and so did I. And, from her\nand myself, I return such thanks as are due to one, to whom we owe all\nthe good opinion, that they, whom we need most, have of us. By this\nmessenger, and on this good day, I commit the inclosed Holy Hymns and\nSonnets--which for the matter, not the workmanship, have yet escaped\nthe fire--to your judgment, and to your protection too, if you think\nthem worthy of it; and I have appointed this inclosed Sonnet to usher\nthem to your happy hand.\n\n             \"Your unworthiest servant,\n  Unless your accepting him to be so have mended him,\n                    Jo. DONNE.\n\n\"Mitcham, July 11, 1607.\"\n\nTO THE LADY MAGDALEN HERBERT: OF ST. MARY MAGDALEN.\n\n  Her of your name, whose fair inheritance\n    Bethina was, and jointure Magdalo,\n  An active faith so highly did advance,\n    That she once knew more than the Church did know,\n  The Resurrection! so much good there is\n    Delivered of her, that some Fathers be\n  Loth to believe one woman could do this:\n    But think these Magdalens were two or three.\n  Increase their number, Lady, and their fame:\n    To their devotion add your innocence:\n  Take so much of th' example, as of the name;\n    The latter half; and in some recompense\n  That they did harbour Christ himself, a guest,\n    Harbour these Hymns, to his dear name addrest.\n  J.D.\n\nThese Hymns are now lost to us; but doubtless they were such as they\ntwo now sing in Heaven.\n\n[Sidenote: Her Funeral Sermon]\n\nThere might be more demonstrations of the friendship, and the many\nsacred endearments betwixt these two excellent persons,--for I have\nmany of their letters in my hand,--and much more might be said of her\ngreat prudence and piety: but my design was not to write her's, but\nthe life of her son; and therefore I shall only tell my Reader, that\nabout that very day twenty years that this letter was dated, and sent\nher, I saw and heard this Mr. John Donne--who was then Dean of St.\nPaul's--weep, and preach her Funeral Sermon, in the Parish Church\nof Chelsea, near London, where she now rests in her quiet grave: and\nwhere we must now leave her, and return to her son George, whom we\nleft in his study in Cambridge. And in Cambridge we may find our\nGeorge Herbert's behaviour to be such, that we may conclude he\nconsecrated the first-fruits of his early age to virtue, and a serious\nstudy of learning. And that he did so, this following Letter and\nSonnet, which were, in the first year of his going to Cambridge,\nsent his dear Mother for a New-year's gift, may appear to be some\ntestimony.\n\n[Sidenote: A Letter]\n\n--\"But I fear the heat of my late ague hath dried up those springs,\nby which scholars say the Muses use to take up their habitations.\nHowever, I need not their help to reprove the vanity of those many\nlove-poems, that are daily writ, and consecrated to Venus; nor to\nbewail that so few are writ, that look towards God and Heaven. For my\nown part, my meaning--dear Mother--is, in these Sonnets, to declare my\nresolution to be, that my poor abilities in Poetry, shall be all and\never consecrated to God's glory: and I beg you to receive this as one\ntestimony.\"\n\n[Sidenote: and Sonnets]\n\n  My God, where is that ancient heat towards thee,\n    Wherewith whole shoals of Martyrs once did burn,\n    Besides their other flames? Doth Poetry\n  Wear Venus' livery? only serve her turn?\n  Why are not Sonnets made of thee? and lays\n    Upon thine altar burnt? Cannot thy love\n    Heighten a spirit to sound out thy praise\n  As well as any she? Cannot thy Dove\n  Outstrip their Cupid easily in flight?\n    Or, since thy ways are deep, and still the same,\n    Will not a verse run smooth that bears thy name?\n  Why doth that fire, which by thy power and might\n    Each breast does feel, no braver fuel choose\n    Than that, which one day, worms may chance refuse?\n  Sure, Lord, there is enough in thee to dry\n    Oceans of ink; for as the Deluge did\n    Cover the Earth, so doth thy Majesty;\n  Each cloud distils thy praise, and doth forbid\n  Poets to turn it to another use.\n    Roses and lilies speak Thee; and to make\n    A pair of cheeks of them, is thy abuse.\n  Why should I women's eyes for crystal take?\n  Such poor invention burns in their low mind\n    Whose fire is wild, and doth not upward go\n    To praise, and on thee, Lord, some ink bestow.\n  Open the bones, and you shall nothing find\n   In the best face but filth; when, Lord, in Thee\n   The beauty lies in the discovery.\n  G.H.\n\nThis was his resolution at the sending this letter to his dear Mother,\nabout which time he was in the seventeenth year of his age: and as he\ngrew older, so he grew in learning, and more and more in favour both\nwith God and man: insomuch that, in this morning of that short day\nof his life, he seemed to be marked out for virtue, and to become the\ncare of Heaven; for God still kept his soul in so holy a frame, that\nhe may, and ought to be a pattern of virtue to all posterity, and\nespecially to his brethren of the Clergy, of which the Reader may\nexpect a more exact account in what will follow.\n\n[Sidenote: College honours]\n\nI need not declare that he was a strict student, because, that he was\nso, there will be many testimonies in the future part of his life. I\nshall therefore only tell, that he was made Minor Fellow in the year\n1609, Bachelor of Arts in the year 1611; Major Fellow of the College,\nMarch 15th, 1615: and that in that year he was also made Master of\nArts, he being then in the 22nd year of his age; during all which\ntime, all, or the greatest diversion from his study, was the practice\nof Music, in which he became a great master; and of which he would\nsay, \"That it did relieve his drooping spirits, compose his distracted\nthoughts, and raised his weary soul so far above earth, that it gave\nhim an earnest of the joys of Heaven, before he possessed them.\" And\nit may be noticed, that from his first entrance into the College, the\ngenerous Dr. Nevil was a cherisher of his studies, and such a lover of\nhis person, his behaviour, and the excellent endowments of his mind,\nthat he took him often into his own company; by which he confirmed his\nnative gentleness: and if during his time he expressed any error,\nit was, that he kept himself too much retired, and at too great a\ndistance with all his inferiors; and his clothes seemed to prove, that\nhe put too great a value on his parts and parentage.\n\n[Sidenote: Orator]\n\nThis may be some account of his disposition, and of the employment of\nhis time till he was Master of Arts, which was anno 1615, and in the\nyear 1619 he was chosen Orator for the University. His two precedent\nOrators were Sir Robert Naunton,[7] and Sir Francis Nethersole.[8] The\nfirst was not long after made Secretary of State, and Sir Francis,\nnot very long after his being Orator, was made Secretary to the\nLady Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia. In this place of Orator our George\nHerbert continued eight years; and managed it with as becoming and\ngrave a gaiety, as any had ever before or since his time. For \"he had\nacquired great learning, and was blessed with a high fancy, a civil\nand sharp wit; and with a natural elegance, both in his behaviour, his\ntongue, and his pen.\" Of all which there might be very many particular\nevidences; but I will limit myself to the mention of but three.\n\n[Sidenote: Letter to King James]\n\nAnd the first notable occasion of shewing his fitness for this\nemployment of Orator was manifested in a letter to King James, upon\nthe occasion of his sending that University his book called \"Basilicon\nDoron;\"[9] and their Orator was to acknowledge this great honour, and\nreturn their gratitude to his Majesty for such a condescension; at the\nclose of which letter he writ,\n\n  Quid Vaticanam Bodleianamque objicis, hospes!\n    Unicus est nobis Bibliotheca Liber.\n\nThis letter was writ in such excellent Latin, was so full of conceits,\nand all the expressions so suited to the genius of the King, that he\nenquired the Orator's name, and then asked William Earl of Pembroke,\nif he knew him? whose answer was, \"That he knew him very well, and\nthat he was his kinsman; but he loved him more for his learning and\nvirtue, than for that he was of his name and family.\" At which answer\nthe King smiled, and asked the Earl leave that he might love him too,\nfor he took him to be the jewel of that University.\n\n[Sidenote: Andrew Melville]\n\n[Sidenote: Herbert's answers]\n\n[Sidenote: Lady Arabella Stuart]\n\nThe next occasion he had and took to shew his great abilities, was,\nwith them, to shew also his great affection to that Church in which he\nreceived his baptism, and of which he professed himself a member; and\nthe occasion was this: There was one Andrew Melvin,[10] a Minister\nof the Scotch Church, and Rector of St. Andrew's; who, by a long\nand constant converse with a discontented part of that Clergy which\nopposed Episcopacy, became at last to be a chief leader of that\nfaction; and had proudly appeared to be so to King James, when he was\nbut King of that nation, who, the second year after his Coronation in\nEngland, convened a part of the Bishops, and other learned Divines\nof his Church, to attend him at Hampton-Court, in order to a friendly\nconference with some dissenting brethren, both of this and the Church\nof Scotland: of which Scotch party Andrew Melvin was one; and he being\na man of learning, and inclined to satirical poetry, had scattered\nmany malicious, bitter verses against our Liturgy, our ceremonies, and\nour Church-government; which were by some of that party so magnified\nfor the wit, that they were therefore brought into Westminster School,\nwhere Mr. George Herbert, then, and often after, made such answers to\nthem, and such reflections on him and his Kirk, as might unbeguile\nany man that was not too deeply pre-engaged in such a quarrel.--But\nto return to Mr. Melvin at Hampton-Court Conference;[11] he there\nappeared to be a man of an unruly wit, of a strange confidence, of so\nfurious a zeal, and of so ungoverned passions, that his insolence to\nthe King, and others at this Conference, lost him both his Rectorship\nof St. Andrew's and his liberty too; for his former verses, and his\npresent reproaches there used against the Church and State, caused\nhim to be committed prisoner to the Tower of London; where he remained\nvery angry for three years. At which time of his commitment, he found\nthe Lady Arabella[12] an innocent prisoner there; and he pleased\nhimself much in sending, the next day after his commitment, these two\nverses to the good lady; which I will underwrite, because they may\ngive the Reader a taste of his others, which were like these.\n\n  Causa tibi mecum est communis, carceris, Ara-\n    Bella, tibi causa est, Araque sacra mihi.\n\nI shall not trouble my Reader with an account of his enlargement from\nthat prison, or his death; but tell him Mr. Herbert's verses were\nthought so worthy to be preserved, that Dr. Duport,[13] the learned\nDean of Peterborough, hath lately collected and caused many of them\nto be printed, as an honourable memorial of his friend Mr. George\nHerbert, and the cause he undertook.\n\n[Sidenote: In favour with James]\n\nAnd in order to my third and last observation of his great abilities,\nit will be needful to declare, that about this time King James came\nvery often to hunt at Newmarket and Royston, and was almost as often\ninvited to Cambridge, where his entertainment was comedies,[14] suited\nto his pleasant humour; and where Mr. George Herbert was to welcome\nhim with gratulations, and the applauses of an Orator; which he always\nperformed so well, that he still grew more into the King's favour,\ninsomuch that he had a particular appointment to attend his Majesty\nat Royston; where, after a discourse with him, his Majesty declared to\nhis kinsman, the Earl of Pembroke, that he found the Orator's learning\nand wisdom much above his age or wit. The year following, the King\nappointed to end his progress at Cambridge, and to stay there certain\ndays; at which time he was attended by the great Secretary of\nNature and all learning, Sir Francis Bacon, Lord Verulam, and by the\never-memorable and learned Dr. Andrews, Bishop of Winchester, both\nwhich did at that time begin a desired friendship with our Orator.\nUpon whom, the first put such a value on his judgment, that he usually\ndesired his approbation before he would expose any of his books to\nbe printed; and thought him so worthy of his friendship, that having\ntranslated many of the Prophet David's Psalms into English verse, he\nmade George Herbert his patron, by a public dedication of them to him,\nas the best judge of Divine Poetry. And for the learned Bishop, it is\nobservable, that at that time there fell to be a modest debate betwixt\nthem two about Predestination, and Sanctity of life; of both of which\nthe Orator did, not long after, send the Bishop some safe and useful\naphorisms, in a long letter, written in Greek; which letter was so\nremarkable for the language and reason of it, that, after the reading\nof it, the Bishop put it into his bosom, and did often shew it to many\nScholars, both of this and foreign nations; but did always return it\nback to the place where he first lodged it, and continued it so near\nhis heart till the last day of his life.\n\n[Sidenote: His friends]\n\nTo this I might add the long and entire friendship betwixt him and Sir\nHenry Wotton, and Dr. Donne; but I have promised to contract myself,\nand shall therefore only add one testimony to what is also mentioned\nin the Life of Dr. Donne; namely, that a little before his death he\ncaused many Seals to be made, and in them to be engraven the figure of\nChrist, crucified on an Anchor,--the emblem of Hope,--and of which Dr.\nDonne would often say, \"_Crux mihi anchora_.\"--These Seals he gave\nor sent to most of those friends on which he put a value: and, at\nMr. Herbert's death, these verses were found wrapt up with that seal,\nwhich was by the Doctor given to him;\n\n  When my dear friend could write no more,\n  He gave this _Seal_ and so gave o'er.\n\n  When winds and waves rise highest I am sure,\n  This _Anchor_ keeps my faith, that, me secure.\n\n[Sidenote: His attainments]\n\nAt this time of being Orator, he had learned to understand the\nItalian, Spanish, and French tongues very perfectly: hoping, that as\nhis predecessors, so he might in time attain the place of a Secretary\nof State, he being at that time very high in the King's favour, and\nnot meanly valued and loved by the most eminent and most powerful of\nthe Court Nobility. This, and the love of a Court-conversation, mixed\nwith a laudable ambition to be something more than he then was, drew\nhim often from Cambridge, to attend the King wheresoever the Court\nwas, who then gave him a sinecure, which fell into his Majesty's\ndisposal, I think, by the death of the Bishop of St. Asaph.[15] It was\nthe same that Queen Elizabeth had formerly given to her favourite Sir\nPhilip Sidney, and valued to be worth an hundred and twenty pounds per\nannum. With this, and his annuity, and the advantage of his College,\nand of his Oratorship, he enjoyed his genteel humour for clothes, and\nCourt-like company, and seldom looked towards Cambridge, unless the\nKing were there, but then he never failed; and, at other times, left\nthe manage of his Orator's place to his learned friend, Mr. Herbert\nThorndike, who is now Prebend of Westminster.[16]\n\n[Sidenote: His health]\n\nI may not omit to tell, that he had often designed to leave the\nUniversity, and decline all study, which he thought did impair his\nhealth; for he had a body apt to a consumption, and to fevers, and\nother infirmities, which he judged were increased by his studies;\nfor he would often say, \"He had too thoughtful a wit; a wit like a\npenknife in too narrow a sheath, too sharp for his body.\" But his\nMother would by no means allow him to leave the University, or to\ntravel; and though he inclined very much to both, yet he would by\nno means satisfy his own desires at so dear a rate, as to prove an\nundutiful son to so affectionate a Mother; but did always submit to\nher wisdom. And what I have now said may partly appear in a copy of\nverses in his printed poems; 'tis one of those that bear the title\nof Affliction; and it appears to be a pious reflection on God's\nprovidence, and some passages of his life, in which he says,\n\n[Sidenote: \"Affliction\"]\n\n  Whereas my birth and spirit rather took\n    The way that takes the town:\n  Thou didst betray me to a lingering book,\n    And wrapt me in a gown:\n  I was entangled in a world of strife,\n  Before I had the power to change my life.\n\n  Yet, for I threaten'd oft the siege to raise,\n    Not simpering all mine age;\n  Thou often didst with academic praise\n    Melt and dissolve my rage:\n  I took the sweeten'd pill, till I came where\n  I could not go away, nor persevere.\n\n  Yet, lest perchance I should too happy be\n    In my unhappiness,\n  Turning my purge to food, thou throwest me\n    Into more sicknesses.\n  Thus dost thy power cross-bias me, not making\n  Thine own gifts good, yet me from my ways taking.\n\n  Now I am here, what thou wilt do with me\n    None of my books will show.\n  I read, and sigh, and wish I were a tree,\n    For then sure I should grow\n  To fruit or shade, at least some bird would trust\n  Her household with me, and I would be just.\n\n  Yet, though thou troublest me, I must be meek,\n    In weakness must be stout,\n  Well, I will change my service, and go seek\n    Some other master out;\n  Ah, my dear God! though I am clean forgot,\n  Let me not love thee, if I love thee not.\n\n  G.H.\n\n[Sidenote: Retires into Kent]\n\nIn this time of Mr. Herbert's attendance and expectation of some good\noccasion to remove from Cambridge to Court, God, in whom there is an\nunseen chain of causes, did in a short time put an end to the lives of\ntwo of his most obliging and most powerful friends, Lodowick Duke of\nRichmond, and James Marquis of Hamilton; and not long after him King\nJames died also, and with them, all Mr. Herbert's Court-hopes: so that\nhe presently betook himself to a retreat from London, to a friend\nin Kent, where he lived very privately, and was such a lover of\nsolitariness, as was judged to impair his health, more than his study\nhad done. In this time of retirement, he had many conflicts with\nhimself, whether he should return to the painted pleasures of a\nCourt-life, or betake himself to a study of Divinity, and enter into\nSacred Orders, to which his dear mother had often persuaded him. These\nwere such conflicts, as they only can know, that have endured them;\nfor ambitious desires, and the outward glory of this world, are not\neasily laid aside; but at last God inclined him to put on a resolution\nto serve at his altar.\n\n[Sidenote: Holy Orders]\n\nHe did, at his return to London, acquaint a Court-friend with his\nresolution to enter into Sacred Orders, who persuaded him to alter\nit, as too mean an employment, and too much below his birth, and the\nexcellent abilities and endowments of his mind. To whom he replied,\n\"It hath been formerly judged that the domestic servants of the King\nof Heaven should be of the noblest families on earth. And though the\niniquity of the late times have made clergymen meanly valued, and\nthe sacred name of priest contemptible; yet I will labour to make it\nhonourable, by consecrating all my learning, and all my poor abilities\nto advance the glory of that God that gave them; knowing that I can\nnever do too much for him, that hath done so much for me, as to make\nme a Christian. And I will labour to be like my Saviour, by making\nhumility lovely in the eyes of all men, and by following the merciful\nand meek example of my dear Jesus.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Layton Ecclesia]\n\nThis was then his resolution; and the God of constancy, who intended\nhim for a great example of virtue, continued him in it, for within\nthat year he was made Deacon, but the day when, or by whom, I cannot\nlearn; but that he was about that time made Deacon, is most certain;\nfor I find by the Records of Lincoln, that he was made Prebend of\nLayton Ecclesia, in the Diocese of Lincoln, July 15th, 1626, and that\nthis Prebend was given him by John,[17] then Lord Bishop of that See.\nAnd now he had a fit occasion to shew that piety and bounty that was\nderived from his generous mother, and his other memorable ancestors,\nand the occasion was this.\n\n[Sidenote: Church-building]\n\nThis Layton Ecclesia is a village near to Spalden, in the County of\nHuntingdon, and the greatest part of the Parish Church was fallen\ndown, and that of it which stood was so decayed, so little, and so\nuseless, that the parishioners could not meet to perform their duty\nto God in public prayer and praises; and thus it had been for almost\ntwenty years, in which time there had been some faint endeavours for\na public collection to enable the parishioners to rebuild it; but with\nno success, till Mr. Herbert undertook it; and he, by his own, and\nthe contribution of many of his kindred, and other noble friends,\nundertook the re-edification of it; and made it so much his whole\nbusiness, that he became restless till he saw it finished as it now\nstands; being for the workmanship, a costly Mossaic; for the form, an\nexact cross; and for the decency and beauty, I am assured, it is the\nmost remarkable Parish Church that this nation affords. He lived to\nsee it so wainscotted, as to be exceeded by none; and, by his order,\nthe Reading pew and Pulpit were a little distant from each other, and\nboth of an equal height; for he would often say, \"They should neither\nhave a precedency or priority of the other; but that prayer and\npreaching, being equally useful, might agree like brethren, and have\nan equal honour and estimation.\"\n\nBefore I proceed farther, I must look back to the time of Mr.\nHerbert's being made Prebend, and tell the Reader, that not long\nafter, his Mother being informed of his intentions to rebuild that\nChurch, and apprehending the great trouble and charge that he was like\nto draw upon himself, his relations and friends, before it could\nbe finished, sent for him from London to Chelsea,--where she then\ndwelt,--and at his coming, said, \"George, I sent for you, to persuade\nyou to commit Simony, by giving your patron as good a gift as he has\ngiven to you; namely, that you give him back his prebend; for, George,\nit is not for your weak body, and empty purse, to undertake to\nbuild Churches.\" Of which, he desired he might have a day's time to\nconsider, and then make her an answer. And at his return to her the\nnext day, when he had first desired her blessing, and she given it\nhim, his next request was, \"That she would at the age of thirty-three\nyears, allow him to become an undutiful son: for he had made a vow to\nGod, that, if he were able, he would rebuild that Church.\" And\nthen shewed her such reasons for his resolution, that she presently\nsubscribed to be one of his benefactors; and undertook to solicit\nWilliam Earl of Pembroke to become another, who subscribed for fifty\npounds; and not long after, by a witty and persuasive letter from Mr.\nHerbert, made it fifty pounds more. And in this nomination of some\nof his benefactors, James Duke of Lenox, and his brother, Sir Henry\nHerbert, ought to be remembered; as also the bounty of Mr. Nicholas\nFarrer,[18] and Mr. Arthur Woodnot: the one a gentleman in the\nneighbourhood of Layton, and the other a Goldsmith in Foster Lane,\nLondon, ought not to be forgotten: for the memory of such men ought to\noutlive their lives. Of Mr. Farrer, I shall hereafter give an account\nin a more seasonable place; but before I proceed farther, I will give\nthis short account of Mr. Arthur Woodnot.\n\n[Sidenote: Mr. Arthur Woodnot]\n\nHe was a man that had considered overgrown estates do often require\nmore care and watchfulness to preserve than get them, and considered\nthat there be many discontents, that riches cure not; and did\ntherefore set limits to himself, as to desire of wealth. And having\nattained so much as to be able to shew some mercy to the poor, and\npreserve a competence for himself, he dedicated the remaining part of\nhis life to the service of God, and to be useful to his friends; and\nhe proved to be so to Mr. Herbert; for besides his own bounty,\nhe collected and returned most of the money that was paid for the\nrebuilding of that Church; he kept all the account of the charges, and\nwould often go down to state them, and see all the workmen paid. When\nI have said, that this good man was a useful friend to Mr. Herbert's\nfather, and to his mother, and continued to be so to him, till he\nclosed his eyes on his death-bed; I will forbear to say more, till I\nhave the next fair occasion to mention the holy friendship that was\nbetwixt him and Mr. Herbert. From whom Mr. Woodnot carried to his\nmother this following letter, and delivered it to her in a sickness,\nwhich was not long before that which proved to be her last.\n\n[Sidenote: A Letter]\n\nA Letter of Mr. GEORGE HERBERT to his Mother, In her Sickness.\"\n\n\"MADAM,\n\n\"At my last parting from you, I was the better content, because I was\nin hope I should myself carry all sickness out of your family: but\nsince I know I did not and that your share continues, or rather\nincreaseth, I wish earnestly that I were again with you; and would\nquickly make good my wish, but that my employment does fix me here, it\nbeing now but a month to our commencement: wherein my absence, by how\nmuch it naturally augmenteth suspicion, by so much shall it make my\nprayers the more constant and the more earnest for you to the God of\nall consolation.--In the mean time, I beseech you to be cheerful,\nand comfort yourself in the God of all comfort, who is not willing to\nbehold any sorrow but for sin.--What hath affliction grievous in it\nmore than for a moment? or why should our afflictions here, have\nso much power or boldness as to oppose the hope of our joys\nhereafter?--Madam, as the earth is but a point in respect of the\nheavens, so are earthly troubles compared to heavenly joys; therefore,\nif either age or sickness lead you to those joys, consider what\nadvantage you have over youth and health, who are now so near those\ntrue comforts. Your last letter gave me earthly preferment, and I hope\nkept heavenly for yourself: but would you divide and choose too?\nOur College customs allow not that: and I should account myself most\nhappy, if I might change with you; for I have always observed the\nthread of life to be like other threads or skeins of silk, full of\nsnarles and incumbrances. Happy is he, whose bottom is wound up, and\nlaid ready for work in the New Jerusalem.--For myself, dear Mother, I\nalways feared sickness more than death, because sickness hath made me\nunable to perform those offices for which I came into the world, and\nmust yet be kept in it; but you are freed from that fear, who have\nalready abundantly discharged that part, having both ordered your\nfamily and so brought up your children, that they have attained to the\nyears of discretion, and competent maintenance. So that now, if they\ndo not well, the fault cannot be charged on you, whose example\nand care of them will justify you both to the world and your own\nconscience; insomuch that, whether you turn your thoughts on the life\npast, or on the joys that are to come, you have strong preservatives\nagainst all disquiet. And for temporal afflictions, I beseech you\nconsider, all that can happen to you are either afflictions of estate,\nor body, or mind. For those of estate, of what poor regard ought they\nto be? since, if we had riches, we are commanded to give them away: so\nthat the best use of them is, having, not to have them. But perhaps,\nbeing above the common people, our credit and estimation calls on us\nto live in a more splendid fashion: but, O God! how easily is that\nanswered, when we consider that the blessings in the holy Scripture\nare never given to the rich, but to the poor. I never find 'Blessed be\nthe rich,' or 'Blessed be the noble;' but, 'Blessed be the meek,' and,\n'Blessed be the poor,' and, 'Blessed be the mourners, for they shall\nbe comforted.'--And yet, O God! most carry themselves so, as if\nthey not only not desired, but even feared to be blessed.--And for\nafflictions of the body, dear Madam, remember the holy Martyrs of God,\nhow they have been burned by thousands, and have endured such other\ntortures, as the very mention of them might beget amazement: but their\nfiery trials have had an end; and your's--which, praised be God, are\nless,--are not like to continue long. I beseech you, let such thoughts\nas these moderate your present fear and sorrow; and know that if any\nof yours should prove a Goliah-like trouble, yet you may say with\nDavid, 'That God, who hath delivered me out of the paws of the lion\nand bear, will also deliver me out of the hands of this uncircumcised\nPhilistine.'--Lastly, for those afflictions of the soul; consider that\nGod intends that to be as a Sacred Temple for himself to dwell in, and\nwill not allow any room there for such an inmate as grief; or allow\nthat any sadness shall be his competitor. And, above all, if any care\nof future things molest you, remember those admirable words of the\nPsalmist: 'Cast thy care on the Lord, and he shall nourish thee.'\n[Psal. lv. 22.] To which join that of St. Peter, 'Casting all your\ncare on the Lord, for he careth for you.' [1 Pet. v. 7.] What an\nadmirable thing is this, that God puts his shoulder to our burden, and\nentertains our care for us, that we may the more quietly intend his\nservice! To conclude, let me commend only one place more to you:\nPhilipp. iv. 4. St. Paul saith there, 'Rejoice in the Lord always: and\nagain I say, rejoice.' He doubles it to take away the scruple of those\nthat might say, What, shall we rejoice in afflictions? Yes, I say\nagain, rejoice; so that it is not left to us to rejoice, or not\nrejoice; but, whatsoever befalls us, we must always, at all times,\nrejoice in the Lord, who taketh care for us. And it follows in the\nnext verses: 'Let your moderation appear to all men: The Lord is at\nhand: Be careful for nothing.' What can be said more comfortably?\nTrouble not yourselves; God is at hand, to deliver us from all, or in\nall.--Dear Madam, pardon my boldness, and accept the good meaning of\n\n     \"Your most obedient son,\n\n                 \"GEORGE HERBERT.\n\n\"_Trin. Coll. May 25th,_ 1622.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Sickness]\n\nAbout the year 1629, and the thirty-fourth of his age, Mr. Herbert was\nseized with a sharp quotidian ague, and thought to remove it by the\nchange of air; to which end, he went to Woodford in Essex, but thither\nmore chiefly to enjoy the company of his beloved brother, Sir Henry\nHerbert, and other friends then of that family. In his house he\nremained about twelve months, and there became his own physician, and\ncured himself of his ague, by forbearing to drink, and not eating any\nmeat, no not mutton, nor a hen, or pigeon, unless they were\nsalted; and by such a constant diet he removed his ague, but with\ninconveniences that were worse; for he brought upon himself\na disposition to rheums, and other weaknesses, and a supposed\nconsumption. And it is to be noted, that in the sharpest of his\nextreme fits he would often say, \"Lord, abate my great affliction, or\nincrease my patience: but Lord, I repine not; I am dumb, Lord, before\nthee, because thou doest it.\" By which, and a sanctified submission to\nthe will of God, he shewed he was inclinable to bear the sweet yoke of\nChristian discipline, both then and in the latter part of his life, of\nwhich there will be many true testimonies.\n\n[Sidenote: At Dauntsey]\n\nAnd now his care was to recover from his consumption, by a change\nfrom Woodford into such an air as was most proper to that end. And his\nremove was to Dauntsey in Wiltshire, a noble house, which stands in a\nchoice air; the owner of it then was the Lord Danvers, Earl of Danby,\nwho loved Mr. Herbert so very much, that he allowed him such an\napartment in it as might best suit with his accommodation and liking.\nAnd in this place, by a spare diet, declining all perplexing studies,\nmoderate exercise, and a cheerful conversation, his health was\napparently improved to a good degree of strength and cheerfulness. And\nthen he declared his resolution both to marry, and to enter into the\nSacred Orders of Priesthood. These had long been the desires of his\nMother, and his other relations; but she lived not to see either, for\nshe died in the year 1627. And though he was disobedient to her about\nLayton Church, yet, in conformity to her will, he kept his Orator's\nplace till after her death, and then presently declined it; and\nthe more willingly, that he might be succeeded by his friend Robert\nCreighton,[19] who now is Dr. Creighton, and the worthy Bishop of\nWells.\n\nI shall now proceed to his marriage; in order to which, it will be\nconvenient that I first give the Reader a short view of his person,\nand then an account of his wife, and of some circumstances concerning\nboth.--He was for his person of a stature inclining towards tallness;\nhis body was very straight, and so far from being cumbered with too\nmuch flesh, that he was lean to an extremity. His aspect was cheerful,\nand his speech and motion did both declare him a gentleman; for they\nwere all so meek and obliging, that they purchased love and respect\nfrom all that knew him.\n\n[Sidenote: Jane Danvers]\n\nThese, and his other visible virtues, begot him much love from a\ngentleman of a noble fortune, and a near kinsman to his friend the\nEarl of Danby; namely, from Mr. Charles Danvers of Bainton, in the\nCounty of Wilts, Esq. This Mr. Danvers, having known him long,\nand familiarly, did so much affect him, that he often and publicly\ndeclared a desire, that Mr. Herbert would marry any of his nine\ndaughters,--for he had so many,--but rather his daughter Jane than any\nother, because Jane was his beloved daughter. And he had often said\nthe same to Mr. Herbert himself; and that if he could like her for a\nwife, and she him for a husband, Jane should have a double blessing:\nand Mr. Danvers had so often said the like to Jane, and so much\ncommended Mr. Herbert to her, that Jane became so much a platonic, as\nto fall in love with Mr. Herbert unseen.\n\n[Sidenote: His marriage]\n\nThis was a fair preparation for a marriage; but, alas! her father died\nbefore Mr. Herbert's retirement to Dauntsey: yet some friends to\nboth parties procured their meeting; at which time a mutual affection\nentered into both their hearts, as a conqueror enters into a surprised\ncity; and love having got such possession, governed, and made there\nsuch laws and resolutions, as neither party was able to resist;\ninsomuch, that she changed her name into Herbert the third day after\nthis first interview.\n\nThis haste might in others be thought a love-frenzy, or worse; but\nit was not, for they had wooed so like princes, as to have select\nproxies; such as were true friends to both parties, such as well\nunderstood Mr. Herbert's and her temper of mind, and also their\nestates, so well before this interview, that the suddenness was\njustifiable by the strictest rules of prudence; and the more, because\nit proved so happy to both parties; for the eternal lover of mankind\nmade them happy in each other's mutual and equal affections, and\ncompliance; indeed, so happy, that there never was any opposition\nbetwixt them, unless it were a contest which should most incline to\na compliance with the other's desires. And though this begot, and\ncontinued in them, such a mutual love, and joy, and content, as was no\nway defective; yet this mutual content, and love, and joy, did receive\na daily augmentation, by such daily obligingness to each other, as\nstill added such new affluences to the former fulness of these divine\nsouls, as was only improvable in Heaven, where they now enjoy it.\n\n[Sidenote: A presentation]\n\nAbout three months after this marriage, Dr. Curle, who was then Rector\nof Bemerton, in Wiltshire, was made Bishop of Bath and Wells, and\nnot long after translated to Winchester, and by that means the\npresentation of a Clerk to Bemerton did not fall to the Earl of\nPembroke,--who was the undoubted Patron of it,--but to the King,\nby reason of Dr. Curie's advancement: but Philip, then Earl of\nPembroke,--for William was lately dead,--requested the King to bestow\nit upon his kinsman George Herbert; and the King said, \"Most willingly\nto Mr. Herbert, if it be worth his acceptance;\" and the Earl as\nwillingly and suddenly sent it him, without seeking. But though Mr.\nHerbert had formerly put on a resolution for the Clergy; yet, at\nreceiving this presentation, the apprehension of the last great\naccount, that he was to make for the cure of so many souls, made him\nfast and pray often, and consider for not less than a month: in which\ntime he had some resolutions to decline both the Priesthood, and that\nliving. And in this time of considering, \"he endured,\" as he would\noften say, \"such spiritual conflicts, as none can think, but only\nthose that have endured them.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Rector of Bemerton]\n\nIn the midst of these conflicts, his old and dear friend, Mr. Arthur\nWoodnot, took a journey to salute him at Bainton,--where he then\nwas, with his wife's friends and relations,--and was joyful to be\nan eye-witness of his health and happy marriage. And after they had\nrejoiced together some few days, they took a journey to Wilton, the\nfamous seat of the Earls of Pembroke; at which time the King, the\nEarl, and the whole Court were there, or at Salisbury, which is near\nto it. And at this time Mr. Herbert presented his thanks to the Earl,\nfor his presentation to Bemerton, but had not yet resolved to accept\nit, and told him the reason why: but that night, the Earl acquainted\nDr. Laud, then Bishop of London, and after Archbishop of Canterbury,\nwith his kinsman's irresolution. And the Bishop did the next day so\nconvince Mr. Herbert, that the refusal of it was a sin, that a tailor\nwas sent for to come speedily from Salisbury to Wilton, to take\nmeasure, and make him canonical clothes against next day; which\nthe tailor did: and Mr. Herbert being so habited, went with his\npresentation to the learned Dr. Davenant,[20] who was then Bishop of\nSalisbury, and he gave him institution immediately,--for Mr. Herbert\nhad been made Deacon some years before,--and he was also the same\nday--which was April 26th, 1630--inducted into the good, and more\npleasant than healthful, Parsonage of Bemerton; which is a mile from\nSalisbury.\n\n[Sidenote: Preparation]\n\nI have now brought him to the Parsonage of Bemerton,[21] and to the\nthirty-sixth year of his age, and must stop here, and bespeak the\nReader to prepare for an almost incredible story, of the great\nsanctity of the short remainder of his holy life; a life so full of\ncharity, humility, and all Christian virtues, that it deserves the\neloquence of St. Chrysostom to commend and declare it: a life, that\nif it were related by a pen like his, there would then be no need for\nthis age to look back into times past for the examples of primitive\npiety; for they might be all found in the life of George Herbert. But\nnow, alas! who is fit to undertake it? I confess I am not; and am not\npleased with myself that I must; and profess myself amazed, when I\nconsider how few of the Clergy lived like him then, and how many live\nso unlike him now. But it becomes not me to censure: my design is\nrather to assure the Reader, that I have used very great diligence to\ninform myself, that I might inform him of the truth of what follows;\nand though I cannot adorn it with eloquence, yet I will do it with\nsincerity.\n\nWhen at his induction he was shut into Bemerton Church, being left\nthere alone to toll the bell,--as the Law requires him,--he staid so\nmuch longer than an ordinary time, before he returned to those friends\nthat staid expecting him at the Church-door, that his friend Mr.\nWoodnot looked in at the Church-window, and saw him lie prostrate on\nthe ground before the Altar; at which time and place--as he after told\nMr. Woodnot--he set some rules to himself, for the future manage of\nhis life; and then and there made a vow to labour to keep them.\n\n[Sidenote: and resolutions]\n\nAnd the same night that he had his induction, he said to Mr. Woodnot,\n\"I now look back upon my aspiring thoughts, and think myself more\nhappy than if I had attained what then I so ambitiously thirsted for.\nAnd I now can behold the Court with an impartial eye, and see plainly\nthat it is made up of fraud and titles, and flattery, and many other\nsuch empty, imaginary, painted pleasures; pleasures, that are so\nempty, as not to satisfy when they are enjoyed. But in God, and his\nservice, is a fulness of all joy and pleasure, and no satiety. And I\nwill now use all my endeavours to bring my relations and dependents to\na love and reliance on Him, who never fails those that trust him. But\nabove all, I will be sure to live well, because the virtuous life of\na Clergyman is the most powerful eloquence to persuade all that see\nit to reverence and love, and at least to desire to live like him. And\nthis I will do, because I know we live in an age that hath more need\nof good examples than precepts. And I beseech that God, who hath\nhonoured me so much as to call me to serve him at his altar, that as\nby his special grace he hath put into my heart these good desires\nand resolutions; so he will, by his assisting grace, give me ghostly\nstrength to bring the same to good effect. And I beseech him, that my\nhumble and charitable life may so win upon others, as to bring glory\nto my Jesus, whom I have this day taken to be my Master and Governor;\nand I am so proud of his service, that I will always observe, and\nobey, and do his will; and always call him, Jesus my Master; and I\nwill always contemn my birth, or any title or dignity that can be\nconferred upon me, when I shall compare them with my title of being a\nPriest, and serving at the Altar of Jesus my Master.\"\n\n[Sidenote: \"The Odour\"]\n\nAnd that he did so, may appear in many parts of his book of Sacred\nPoems: especially in that which he calls \"The Odour.\" In which he\nseems to rejoice in the thoughts of that word Jesus, and say, that\nthe adding these words, my Master, to it, and the often repetition of\nthem, seemed to perfume his mind, and leave an oriental fragrancy in\nhis very breath. And for his unforced choice to serve at God's altar,\nhe seems in another place of his poems, \"The Pearl,\" (Matt. xiii. 45,\n46,) to rejoice and say--\"He knew the ways of learning; knew what\nnature does willingly, and what, when it is forced by fire; knew the\nways of honour, and when glory inclines the soul to noble expressions;\nknew the Court; knew the ways of pleasure, of love, of wit, of music,\nand upon what terms he declined all these for the service of his\nMaster Jesus;\" and then concludes, saying,\n\n  That, through these labyrinths, not my grovelling wit,\n  But thy silk twist, let down from Heaven to me,\n  Did both conduct, and teach me, how by it To climb to thee.\n\n[Sidenote: A Priest's Wife]\n\nThe third day after he was made Rector of Bemerton, and had changed\nhis sword and silk clothes into a canonical coat, he returned so\nhabited with his friend Mr. Woodnot to Bainton; and immediately after\nhe had seen and saluted his wife, he said to her--\"You are now a\nMinister's wife, and must now so far forget your father's house, as\nnot to claim a precedence of any of your parishioners; for you are to\nknow, that a Priest's wife can challenge no precedence or place, but\nthat which she purchases by her obliging humility; and I am sure,\nplaces so purchased do best become them. And let me tell you, that I\nam so good a Herald, as to assure you that this is truth.\" And she was\nso meek a wife, as to assure him, \"it was no vexing news to her, and\nthat he should see her observe it with a cheerful willingness.\"\nAnd, indeed, her unforced humility, that humility that was in her so\noriginal, as to be born with her, made her so happy as to do so; and\nher doing so begot her an unfeigned love, and a serviceable respect\nfrom all that conversed with her; and this love followed her in all\nplaces, as inseparably as shadows follow substances in sunshine.\n\n[Sidenote: A parishioner]\n\nIt was not many days before he returned back to Bemerton, to view the\nChurch, and repair the Chancel: and indeed to rebuild almost three\nparts of his house, which was fallen down, or decayed by reason of his\npredecessor's living at a better Parsonage-house; namely, at Minal,\nsixteen or twenty miles from this place. At which time of Mr.\nHerbert's coming alone to Bemerton, there came to him a poor old\nwoman, with an intent to acquaint him with her necessitous condition,\nas also with some troubles of her mind: but after she had spoke some\nfew words to him, she was surprised with a fear, and that begot a\nshortness of breath, so that her spirits and speech failed her; which\nhe perceiving, did so compassionate her, and was so humble, that he\ntook her by the hand, and said, \"Speak, good mother; be not afraid to\nspeak to me; for I am a man that will hear you with patience; and\nwill relieve your necessities too, if I be able: and this I will do\nwillingly; and therefore, mother, be not afraid to acquaint me with\nwhat you desire.\" After which comfortable speech, he again took her by\nthe hand, made her sit down by him, and understanding she was of his\nparish, he told her \"He would be acquainted with her, and take her\ninto his care.\" And having with patience heard and understood her\nwants,--and it is some relief for a poor body to be but heard with\npatience,--he, like a Christian Clergyman, comforted her by his meek\nbehaviour and counsel: but because that cost him nothing, he relieved\nher with money too, and so sent her home with a cheerful heart,\npraising God, and praying for him. Thus worthy, and--like David's\nblessed man--thus lowly, was Mr. George Herbert in his own eyes, and\nthus lovely in the eyes of others.\n\nAt his return that night to his wife at Bainton, he gave her an\naccount of the passages betwixt him and the poor woman; with which she\nwas affected, that she went next day to Salisbury, and there bought\na pair of blankets, and sent them as a token of her love to the poor\nwoman; and with them a message, \"That she would see and be acquainted\nwith her, when her house was built at Bemerton.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Bemerton Parsonage]\n\nThere be many such passages both of him and his wife, of which some\nfew will be related: but I shall first tell, that he hasted to get\nthe Parish-Church repaired; then to beautify the Chapel,--which stands\nnear his house,--and that at his own great charge. He then proceeded\nto rebuild the greatest part of the Parsonage-house, which he did\nalso very completely, and at his own charge; and having done this\ngood work, he caused these verses to be writ upon, or engraven in, the\nmantle of the chimney in his hall.\n\n  TO MY SUCCESSOR.\n\n  If thou chance for to find\n  A new house to thy mind,\n  And built without thy cost;\n    Be good to the poor,\n    As God gives thee store,\n  And then my labour's not lost.\n\nWe will now, by the Reader's favour, suppose him fixed at Bemerton,\nand grant him to have seen the Church repaired, and the Chapel\nbelonging to it very decently adorned at his own great charge,--which\nis a real truth;--and having now fixed him there, I shall proceed\nto give an account of the rest of his behaviour, both to his\nparishioners, and those many others that knew and conversed with him.\n\n[Sidenote: Ordained Priest]\n\nDoubtless Mr. Herbert had considered, and given rules to himself for\nhis Christian carriage both to God and man, before he entered\ninto Holy Orders. And 'tis not unlike, but that he renewed those\nresolutions at his prostration before the holy altar, at his induction\ninto the Church of Bemerton: but as yet he was but a Deacon, and\ntherefore longed for the next Ember-week, that he might be ordained\nPriest, and made capable of administering both the Sacraments. At\nwhich time the reverend Dr. Humphrey Henchman,[22] now Lord Bishop\nof London,--who does not mention him but with some veneration for\nhis life and excellent learning,--tells me, \"He laid his hand on Mr.\nHerbert's head, and, alas! within less than three years, lent his\nshoulder to carry his dear friend to his grave.\"\n\n[Sidenote: \"The Country Parson\"]\n\nAnd that Mr. Herbert might the better preserve those holy rules which\nsuch a Priest as he intended to be, ought to observe; and that time\nmight not insensibly blot them out of his memory, but that the next\nyear might shew him his variations from this year's resolutions; he\ntherefore did set down his rules, then resolved upon, in that order as\nthe world now sees them printed in a little book, called \"The Country\nParson;\" in which some of his rules are:\n\n  The Parson's knowledge.\n  The Parson on Sundays.\n  The Parson praying.\n  The Parson preaching.\n  The Parson's charity.\n  The Parson comforting the sick.\n  The Parson arguing.\n  The Parson condescending.\n  The Parson in his journey.\n  The Parson in his mirth.\n  The Parson with his Churchwardens.\n  The Parson blessing the people.\n\nAnd his behaviour towards God and man may be said to be a practical\ncomment on these, and the other holy rules set down in that useful\nbook: a book so full of plain, prudent, and useful rules, that that\nCountry Parson, that can spare twelve pence, and yet wants it, is\nscarce excusable; because it will both direct him what he ought to do,\nand convince him for not having done it.\n\n[Sidenote: First sermon]\n\nAt the death of Mr. Herbert, this book fell into the hands of his\nfriend Mr. Woodnot; and he commended it into the trusty hands of Mr.\nsermon Barnabas Oley,[23] who published it with a most conscientious\nand excellent preface; from which I have had some of those truths,\nthat are related in this life of Mr. Herbert. The text of his first\nSermon was taken out of Solomon's Proverbs, chap. iv. 23, and the\nwords were, \"Keep thy heart with all diligence.\" In which first Sermon\nhe gave his Parishioners many necessary, holy, safe rules for the\ndischarge of a good conscience, both to God and man; and delivered\nhis Sermon after a most florid manner, both with great learning and\neloquence; but, at the close of this Sermon, told them, \"That should\nnot be his constant way of preaching; for since Almighty God does not\nintend to lead men to Heaven by hard questions, he would not therefore\nfill their heads with unnecessary notions; but that, for their sakes,\nhis language and his expressions should be more plain and practical\nin his future sermons.\" And he then made it his humble request, \"That\nthey would be constant to the Afternoon's Service, and Catechising:\"\nand shewed them convincing reasons why he desired it; and his obliging\nexample and persuasions brought them to a willing conformity to his\ndesires.\n\n[Sidenote: Other sermons]\n\nThe texts for all his future sermons--which, God knows, were not\nmany--were constantly taken out of the Gospel for the day; and he\ndid as constantly declare why the Church did appoint that portion\nof Scripture to be that day read; and in what manner the Collect for\nevery Sunday does refer to the Gospel, or to the Epistle then read\nto them; and, that they might pray with understanding, he did usually\ntake occasion to explain, not only the Collect for every particular\nSunday, but the reasons of all the other Collects and Responses in our\nChurch-service; and made it appear to them, that the whole service of\nthe Church was a reasonable, and therefore an acceptable sacrifice\nto God: as namely, that we begin with \"Confession of ourselves to be\nvile, miserable sinners;\" and that we begin so, because, till we have\nconfessed ourselves to be such, we are not capable of that mercy which\nwe acknowledge we need, and pray for: but having, in the prayer of\nour Lord, begged pardon for those sins which we have confessed; and\nhoping, that as the Priest hath declared our absolution, so by our\npublic confession, and real repentance, we have obtained that pardon;\nthen we dare and do proceed to beg of the Lord, \"to open our lips,\nthat our mouth may shew forth his praise;\" for till then we are\nneither able nor worthy to praise him. But this being supposed, we are\nthen fit to say, \"Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the\nHoly Ghost;\" and fit to proceed to a further service of our God, in\nthe Collects, and Psalms, and Lauds, that follow in the service.\n\n[Sidenote: Psalms and Lauds]\n\nAnd as to the Psalms and Lauds, he proceeded to inform them why they\nwere so often, and some of them daily, repeated in our Church-service;\nnamely, the Psalms every month, because they be an historical and\nthankful repetition of mercies past, and such a composition of prayers\nand praises, as ought to be repeated often, and publicly; for with\nsuch sacrifice God is honoured and well-pleased. This for the Psalms.\n\n[Sidenote: His teaching]\n\nAnd for the Hymns and Lauds appointed to be daily repeated or sung\nafter the first and second Lessons are read to the congregation; he\nproceeded to inform them, that it was most reasonable, after they have\nheard the will and goodness of God declared or preached by the Priest\nin his reading the two chapters, that it was then a seasonable duty\nto rise up, and express their gratitude to Almighty God, for those his\nmercies to them, and to all mankind; and then to say with the Blessed\nVirgin, \"that their souls do magnify the Lord, and that their spirits\ndo also rejoice in God their Saviour:\" and that it was their duty also\nto rejoice with Simeon in his song, and say with him, \"That their eyes\nhave\" also \"seen their salvation;\" for they have seen that salvation\nwhich was but prophesied till his time: and he then broke out into\nthese expressions of joy that he did see it; but they live to see it\ndaily in the history of it, and therefore ought daily to rejoice, and\ndaily to offer up their sacrifices of praise to their God, for that\nparticular mercy. A service, which is now the constant employment of\nthat Blessed Virgin and Simeon, and all those blessed Saints that are\npossessed of Heaven: and where they are at this time interchangeably\nand constantly singing, \"Holy, holy, holy, Lord God; glory be to God\non high, and on earth peace.\" And he taught them, that to do this was\nan acceptable service to God, because the Prophet David says in his\nPsalms, \"He that praiseth the Lord honoureth him.\"\n\nHe made them to understand how happy they be that are freed from the\nincumbrances of that law which our forefathers groaned under: namely,\nfrom the legal sacrifices, and from the many ceremonies of the\nLevitical law; freed from Circumcision, and from the strict\nobservation of the Jewish Sabbath, and the like. And he made them\nknow, that having received so many and so great blessings, by being\nborn since the days of our Saviour, it must be an acceptable sacrifice\nto Almighty God, for them to acknowledge those blessings daily, and\nstand up and worship, and say as Zacharias did, \"Blessed be the Lord\nGod of Israel, for he hath--in our days--visited and redeemed his\npeople; and he hath--in our days--remembered, and shewed that mercy,\nwhich by the mouth of the Prophets, he promised to our forefathers;\nand this he has done according to his holy covenant made with them.\"\nAnd he made them to understand that we live to see and enjoy\nthe benefit of it, in his Birth, in his Life, his Passion, his\nResurrection, and Ascension into Heaven, where he now sits sensible of\nall our temptations and infirmities; and where he is at this present\ntime making intercession for us, to his and our Father: and therefore\nthey ought daily to express their public gratulations, and say daily\nwith Zacharias, \"Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, that hath thus\nvisited and thus redeemed his people.\"--These were some of the\nreasons, by which Mr. Herbert instructed his congregation for the\nuse of the Psalms and Hymns appointed to be daily sung or said in the\nChurch-service.\n\n[Sidenote: Prayers]\n\nHe informed them also, when the Priest did pray only for the\ncongregation, and not for himself; and when they did only pray for\nhim; as namely, after the repetition of the Creed before he proceeds\nto pray the Lord's Prayer, or any of the appointed Collects, the\nPriest is directed to kneel down, and pray for them, saying, \"The\nLord be with you;\" and when they pray for him, saying, \"And with thy\nspirit;\" and then they join together in the following Collects: and\nhe assured them, that when there is such mutual love, and such joint\nprayers offered for each other, then the holy Angels look down\nfrom Heaven, and are ready to carry such charitable desires to God\nAlmighty, and he as ready to receive them; and that a Christian\ncongregation calling thus upon God with one heart, and one voice, and\nin one reverent and humble posture, looks as beautifully as Jerusalem,\nthat is at peace with itself.\n\n[Sidenote: Mode of worship]\n\nHe instructed them also why the prayer of our Lord was prayed often\nin every full service of the Church; namely, at the conclusion of the\nseveral parts of that service; and prayed then, not only because it\nwas composed and commanded by our Jesus that made it, but as a perfect\npattern for our less perfect forms of prayer, and therefore fittest to\nsum up and conclude all our imperfect petitions.\n\nHe instructed them also, that as by the second Commandment we are\nrequired not to bow down to, or worship an idol, or false god; so,\nby the contrary rule, we are to bow down and kneel, or stand up and\nworship the true God. And he instructed them why the Church required\nthe congregation to stand up at the repetition of the Creeds; namely,\nbecause they thereby declare both their obedience to the Church, and\nan assent to that faith into which they had been baptized. And he\ntaught them, that in that shorter Creed or Doxology, so often repeated\ndaily, they also stood up to testify their belief to be, that \"the God\nthat they trusted in was one God, and three persons; the Father, the\nSon, and the Holy Ghost; to whom they and the Priest gave glory.\" And\nbecause there had been heretics that had denied some of those three\npersons to be God, therefore the congregation stood up and honoured\nhim, by confessing and saying, \"It was so in the beginning, is now so,\nand shall ever be so world without end.\" And all gave their assent to\nthis belief, by standing up and saying, Amen.\n\n[Sidenote: Commemorations]\n\nHe instructed them also what benefit they had by the Church's\nappointing the celebration of holidays and the excellent use of them,\nnamely, that they were set apart for particular commemorations of\nparticular mercies received from Almighty God; and--as Reverend Mr.\nHooker says--to be the landmarks to distinguish times; for by them we\nare taught to take notice how time passes by us, and that we ought\nnot to let the years pass without a celebration of praise for those\nmercies which those days give us occasion to remember, and therefore\nthey were to note that the year is appointed to begin the 25th day\nof March; a day in which we commemorate the Angel's appearing to the\nBlessed Virgin, with the joyful tidings that \"she should conceive and\nbear a son, that should be the Redeemer of mankind.\" And she did so\nforty weeks after this joyful salutation; namely, at our Christmas:\na day in which we commemorate his Birth with joy and praise: and\nthat eight days after this happy birth we celebrate his Circumcision;\nnamely, in that which we call New-year's day. And that, upon that day\nwhich we call Twelfth-day, we commemorate the manifestation of the\nunsearchable riches of Jesus to the Gentiles: and that that day we\nalso celebrate the memory of his goodness in sending a star to guide\nthe three Wise Men from the East to Bethlehem, that they might there\nworship, and present him with their oblations of gold, frankincense,\nand myrrh. And he--Mr. Herbert--instructed them, that Jesus was forty\ndays after his birth presented by his blessed Mother in the Temple;\nnamely, on that day which we call, \"The Purification of the Blessed\nVirgin, Saint Mary.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Other instructions]\n\nAnd he instructed them, that by the Lent-fast we imitate and\ncommemorate our Saviour's humiliation in fasting forty days; and\nthat we ought to endeavour to be like him in purity: and that on\nGood Friday we commemorate and condole his Crucifixion; and at Easter\ncommemorate his glorious Resurrection. And he taught them, that after\nJesus had manifested himself to his Disciples to be \"that Christ that\nwas crucified, dead and buried;\" and by his appearing and conversing\nwith his Disciples for the space of forty days after his Resurrection,\nhe then, and not till then, ascended into Heaven in the sight of those\nDisciples; namely, on that day which we call the Ascension, or Holy\nThursday. And that we then celebrate the performance of the promise\nwhich he made to his Disciples at or before his Ascension; namely,\n\"that though he left them, yet he would send them the Holy Ghost to\nbe their Comforter;\" and that he did so on that day which the Church\ncalls Whitsunday.--Thus the Church keeps an historical and circular\ncommemoration of times, as they pass by us; of such times as ought to\nincline us to occasional praises, for the particular blessings which\nwe do, or might receive, by those holy commemorations.\n\n[Sidenote: His own practice]\n\nHe made them know also why the Church hath appointed Ember-weeks; and\nto know the reason why the Commandments, and the Epistles and Gospels,\nwere to be read at the Altar or Communion Table: why the Priest was to\npray the Litany kneeling; and why to pray some Collects standing: and\nhe gave them many other observations, fit for his plain congregation,\nbut not fit for me now to mention; for I must set limits to my pen,\nand not make that a treatise, which I intended to be a much shorter\naccount than I have made it: but I have done, when I have told the\nReader, that he was constant in catechising every Sunday in the\nafternoon, and that his catechising was after his Second Lesson,\nand in the pulpit; and that he never exceeded his half hour, and was\nalways so happy as to have an obedient and a full congregation.\n\nAnd to this I must add, that if he were at any time too zealous in his\nSermons, it was in reproving the indecencies of the people's behaviour\nin the time of divine service; and of those Ministers that huddle up\nthe Church-prayers, without a visible reverence and affection; namely,\nsuch as seemed to say the Lord's prayer, or a Collect in a breath. But\nfor himself, his custom was to stop betwixt every Collect, and give\nthe people time to consider what they had prayed, and to force\ntheir desires affectionately to God, before he engaged them into new\npetitions.\n\n[Sidenote: \"Mr. Herbert's Saint's-bell\"]\n\nAnd by this account of his diligence to make his parishioners\nunderstand what they prayed, and why they praised and adored their\nCreator, I hope I shall the more easily obtain the Reader's belief\nto the following account of Mr. Herbert's own practice; which was to\nappear constantly with his wife and three nieces--the daughters of\na deceased sister--and his whole family, twice every day at\nthe Church-prayers in the Chapel, which does almost join to his\nParsonage-house. And for the time of his appearing, it was strictly at\nthe canonical hours of ten and four: and then and there he lifted up\npure and charitable hands to God in the midst of the congregation. And\nhe would joy to have spent that time in that place, where the honour\nof his Master Jesus dwelleth; and there, by that inward devotion which\nhe testified constantly by an humble behaviour and visible adoration,\nhe, like Joshua, brought not only \"his own household thus to serve the\nLord;\" but brought most of his parishioners, and many gentlemen in the\nneighbourhood, constantly to make a part of his congregation twice\na day: and some of the meaner sort of his parish did so love and\nreverence Mr. Herbert, that they would let their plough rest when Mr.\nHerbert's Saint's-bell rung to prayers, that they might also offer\ntheir devotions to God with him; and would then return back to their\nplough. And his most holy life was such, that it begot such reverence\nto God, and to him, that they thought themselves the happier, when\nthey carried Mr. Herbert's blessing back with them to their labour.\nThus powerful was his reason and example to persuade others to a\npractical piety and devotion.\n\nAnd his constant public prayers did never make him to neglect his own\nprivate devotions, nor those prayers that he thought himself bound to\nperform with his family, which always were a set form, and not long;\nand he did always conclude them with a Collect which the Church hath\nappointed for the day or week.--Thus he made every day's sanctity a\nstep towards that kingdom, where impurity cannot enter.\n\n[Sidenote: Music]\n\nHis chiefest recreation was Music, in which heavenly art he was a\nmost excellent master, and did himself compose many Divine Hymns and\nAnthems, which he set and sung to his lute or viol: and though he was\na lover of retiredness, yet his love to Music was such, that he went\nusually twice every week, on certain appointed days, to the Cathedral\nChurch in Salisbury; and at his return would say, \"That his time spent\nin prayer, and Cathedral-music, elevated his soul, and was his Heaven\nupon earth.\" But before his return thence to Bemerton, he would\nusually sing and play his part at an appointed private Music-meeting;\nand, to justify this practice, he would often say, \"Religion does not\nbanish mirth, but only moderates and sets rules to it.\"\n\nAnd as his desire to enjoy his Heaven upon earth drew him twice every\nweek to Salisbury, so his walks thither were the occasion of many\nhappy accidents to others; of which I will mention some few.\n\nIn one of his walks to Salisbury he overtook a gentleman, that is\nstill living in that City; and in their walk together, Mr. Herbert\ntook a fair occasion to talk with him, and humbly begged to be\nexcused, if he asked him some account of his faith; and said, \"I\ndo this the rather, because though you are not of my parish, yet I\nreceive tythe from you by the hand of your tenant; and, Sir, I am the\nbolder to do it, because I know there be some sermon-hearers that be\nlike those fishes, that always live in salt water, and yet are always\nfresh.\"\n\nAfter which expression, Mr. Herbert asked him some needful questions,\nand having received his answer, gave him such rules for the trial of\nhis sincerity, and for a practical piety, and in so loving and meek\na manner, that the gentleman did so fall in love with him, and his\ndiscourse, that he would often contrive to meet him in his walk to\nSalisbury, or to attend him back to Bemerton; and still mentions the\nname of Mr. George Herbert with veneration, and still praiseth God for\nthe occasion of knowing him.\n\n[Sidenote: The cure for indifference]\n\nIn another of his Salisbury walks, he met with a neighbour Minister;\nand after some friendly discourse betwixt them, and some condolement\nfor the decay of piety, and too general contempt of the Clergy, Mr.\nHerbert took occasion to say,\n\n\"One cure for these distempers would be, for the Clergy themselves to\nkeep the Ember-weeks strictly, and beg of their parishioners to join\nwith them in fasting and prayers for a more religious Clergy.\n\n\"And another cure would be, for themselves to restore the great and\nneglected duty of Catechising, on which the Salvation of so many of\nthe poor and ignorant lay-people does depend; but principally, that\nthe Clergy themselves would be sure to live unblameably; and that\nthe dignified Clergy especially which preach temperance, would avoid\nsurfeiting and take all occasions to express a visible humility and\ncharity in their lives; for this would force a love and an imitation,\nand an unfeigned reverence from all that knew them to be such.\" (And\nfor proof of this, we need no other testimony than the life and death\nof Dr. Lake,[24] late Lord Bishop of Bath and Wells.) \"This,\" said Mr.\nHerbert, \"would be a cure for the wickedness and growing Atheism of\nour age. And, my dear brother, till this be done by us, and done in\nearnest, let no man expect a reformation of the manners of the Laity;\nfor 'tis not learning, but this, this only that must do it; and, till\nthen, the fault must lie at our doors.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The Good Samaritan]\n\nIn another walk to Salisbury, he saw a poor man with a poorer horse,\nthat was fallen under his load: they were both in distress, and needed\npresent help; which Mr. Herbert perceiving, put off his canonical\ncoat, and helped the poor man to unload, and after to load, his horse.\nThe poor man blessed him for it, and he blessed the poor man; and was\nso like the Good Samaritan, that he gave him money to refresh both\nhimself and his horse; and told him, \"That if he loved himself he\nshould be merciful to his beast.\" Thus he left the poor man: and at\nhis coming to his musical friends at Salisbury, they began to wonder\nthat Mr. George Herbert, which used to be so trim and clean, came into\nthat company so soiled and discomposed: but he told them the occasion.\nAnd when one of the company told him \"He had disparaged himself by so\ndirty an employment,\" his answer was, \"That the thought of what he had\ndone would prove music to him at midnight; and that the omission of it\nwould have upbraided and made discord in his conscience, whensoever he\nshould pass by that place: for if I be bound to pray for all that be\nin distress, I am sure that I am bound, so far as it is in my power,\nto practice what I pray for. And though I do not wish for the like\noccasion every day, yet let me tell you, I would not willingly pass\none day of my life without comforting a sad soul, or shewing\nmercy; and I praise God for this occasion. And now let's tune our\ninstruments.\"\n\nThus, as our blessed Saviour, after his Resurrection, did take\noccasion to interpret the Scripture to Cleopas, and that other\nDisciple, which he met with and accompanied in their journey to\nEmmaus; so Mr. Herbert, in his path toward Heaven, did daily take any\nfair occasion to instruct the ignorant, or comfort any that were in\naffliction; and did always confirm his precepts, by shewing humility\nand mercy, and ministering grace to the hearers.\n\n[Sidenote: Mrs. Herbert]\n\n[Sidenote: His charity]\n\nAnd he was most happy in his wife's unforced compliance with his acts\nof Charity, whom he made his almoner, and paid constantly into her\nhand, a tenth penny of what money he received for tythe, and gave her\npower to dispose that to the poor of his parish, and with it a power\nto dispose a tenth part of the corn that came yearly into his barn:\nwhich trust she did most faithfully perform, and would often offer to\nhim an account of her stewardship, and as often beg an enlargement of\nhis bounty; for she rejoiced in the employment: and this was usually\nlaid out by her in blankets and shoes for some such poor people as she\nknew to stand in most need of them. This as to her charity.--And for\nhis own, he set no limits to it: nor did ever turn his face from\nany that he saw in want, but would relieve them; especially his poor\nneighbours; to the meanest of whose houses he would go, and inform\nhimself of their wants, and relieve them cheerfully, if they were in\ndistress; and would always praise God, as much for being willing, as\nfor being able to do it. And when he was advised by a friend to be\nmore frugal, because he might have children, his answer was, \"He would\nnot see the danger of want so far off: but being the Scripture does\nso commend Charity, as to tell us that Charity is the top of Christian\nvirtues, the covering of sins, the fulfilling of the Law, the Life of\nFaith; and that Charity hath a promise of the blessings of this life,\nand of a reward in that life which is to come: being these, and more\nexcellent things are in Scripture spoken of thee, O Charity! and that,\nbeing all my tythes and Church-dues are a deodate from thee, O my God!\nmake me, O my God! so far to trust thy promise, as to return them back\nto thee; and by thy grace I will do so, in distributing them to any\nof thy poor members that are in distress, or do but bear the image\nof Jesus my Master.\" \"Sir,\" said he to his friend, \"my wife hath a\ncompetent maintenance secured after my death; and therefore, as\nthis is my prayer, so this my resolution shall, by God's grace, be\nunalterable.\"\n\n[Sidenote: His illness]\n\nThis may be some account of the excellencies of the active part of his\nlife; and thus he continued, till a consumption so weakened him, as to\nconfine him to his house, or to the Chapel, which does almost join to\nit; in which he continued to read prayers constantly twice every day,\nthough he were very weak: in one of which times of his reading, his\nwife observed him to read in pain, and told him so, and that it wasted\nhis spirits, and weakened him; and he confessed it did, but said, his\n\"life could not be better spent, than in the service of his Master\nJesus, who had done and suffered so much for him. But,\" said he, \"I\nwill not be wilful; for though my spirit be willing, yet I find my\nflesh is weak; and therefore Mr. Bostock shall be appointed to read\nprayers for me to-morrow; and I will now be only a hearer of them,\ntill this mortal shall put on immortality.\" And Mr. Bostock did\nthe next day undertake and continue this happy employment, till Mr.\nHerbert's death. This Mr. Bostock was a learned and virtuous man,\nan old friend of Mr. Herbert's, and then his Curate to the Church of\nFulston, which is a mile from Bemerton, to which Church Bemerton is\nbut a Chapel of Ease. And this Mr. Bostock did also constantly\nsupply the Church-service for Mr. Herbert in that Chapel, when the\nMusic-meeting at Salisbury caused his absence from it.\n\n[Sidenote: Mr. Edward Duncon]\n\nAbout one month before his death, his friend Mr. Farrer,--for an\naccount of whom I am by promise indebted to the Reader, and intend to\nmake him sudden payment,--hearing of Mr. Herbert's sickness, sent\nMr. Edmund Duncon--who is now Rector of Friar Barnet in the County of\nMiddlesex--from his house of Gidden Hall, which is near to Huntingdon,\nto see Mr. Herbert, and to assure him, he wanted not his daily prayers\nfor his recovery; and Mr. Duncon was to return back to Gidden, with an\naccount of Mr. Herbert's condition. Mr. Duncon found him weak, and\nat that time lying on his bed, or on a pallet; but at his seeing\nMr. Duncon he raised himself vigorously, saluted him, and with some\nearnestness enquired the health of his brother Farrer; of which Mr.\nDuncon satisfied him, and after some discourse of Mr. Farrer's holy\nlife, and the manner of his constant serving God, he said to Mr.\nDuncon,--\"Sir, I see by your habit that you are a Priest, and I desire\nyou to pray with me:\" which being granted, Mr. Duncon asked him, \"What\nprayers?\" To which Mr. Herbert's answer was, \"O, Sir! the prayers of\nmy Mother, the Church of England: no other prayers are equal to them!\nBut at this time, I beg of you to pray only the Litany, for I am\nweak and faint:\" and Mr. Duncon did so. After which, and some other\ndiscourse of Mr. Farrer, Mrs. Herbert provided Mr. Duncon a plain\nsupper, and a clean lodging, and he betook himself to rest. This Mr.\nDuncon tells me; and tells me, that, at his first view of Mr. Herbert,\nhe saw majesty and humility so reconciled in his looks and behaviour,\nas begot in him an awful reverence for his person; and says, \"his\ndiscourse was so pious, and his motion so genteel and meek, that after\nalmost forty years, yet they remain still fresh in his memory.\"\n\nThe next morning Mr. Duncon left him, and betook himself to a journey\nto Bath, but with a promise to return back to him within five days;\nand he did so: but before I shall say any thing of what discourse then\nfell betwixt them two, I will pay my promised account of Mr. Farrer.\n\n[Sidenote: Mr. Nicholas Ferrer]\n\n[Sidenote: Little Gidden]\n\nMr. Nicholas Farrer--who got the reputation of being called Saint\nNicholas at the age of six years--was born in London, and doubtless\nhad good education in his youth; but certainly was, at an early age,\nmade Fellow of Clare-Hall in Cambridge; where he continued to\nbe eminent for his piety, temperance, and learning. About the\ntwenty-sixth year of his age, he betook himself to travel: in which\nhe added, to his Latin and Greek, a perfect knowledge of all the\nlanguages spoken in the Western parts of our Christian world; and\nunderstood well the principles of their Religion, and of their manner,\nand the reasons of their worship. In this his travel he met with many\npersuasions to come into a communion with that church which calls\nitself Catholic: but he returned from his travels as he went, eminent\nfor his obedience to his mother, the Church of England. In his absence\nfrom England, Mr. Farrer's father--who was a merchant--allowed him a\nliberal maintenance; and, not long after his return into England, Mr.\nFarrer had, by the death of his father, or an elder brother, or both,\nan estate left him, that enabled him to purchase land to the value of\nfour or five hundred pounds a year; the greatest part of which land\nwas at Little Gidden, four or six miles from Huntingdon, and about\neighteen from Cambridge; which place he chose for the privacy of it,\nand for the Hall, which had the Parish-Church or Chapel, belonging\nand adjoining near to it; for Mr. Farrer, having seen the manners and\nvanities of the world, and found them to be, as Mr. Herbert says, \"a\nnothing between two dishes,\" did so contemn it, that he resolved to\nspend the remainder of his life in mortifications, and in devotion,\nand charity, and to be always prepared for death. And his life was\nspent thus:\n\n[Sidenote: Life there]\n\nHe and his family, which were like a little College, and about thirty\nin number, did most of them keep Lent and all Ember-weeks strictly,\nboth in fasting and using all those mortifications and prayers that\nthe Church hath appointed to be then used; and he and they did the\nlike constantly on Fridays, and on the Vigils or Eves appointed to\nbe fasted before the Saints' days: and this frugality and abstinence\nturned to the relief of the poor: but this was but a part of his\ncharity; none but God and he knew the rest.\n\n[Sidenote: The daily round]\n\nThis family, which I have said to be in number about thirty, were a\npart of them his kindred, and the rest chosen to be of a temper fit\nto be moulded into a devout life; and all of them were for their\ndispositions serviceable, and quiet, and humble, and free from\nscandal. Having thus fitted himself for his family, he did, about the\nyear 1630, betake himself to a constant and methodical service of God;\nand it was in this manner:--He, being accompanied with most of his\nfamily, did himself use to read the common prayers--for he was a\nDeacon--every day, at the appointed hours of ten and four, in the\nParish-Church, which was very near his house, and which he had both\nrepaired and adorned; for it was fallen into a great ruin, by reason\nof a depopulation of the village before Mr. Farrer bought the manor.\nAnd he did also constantly read the Matins every morning at the hour\nof six, either in the Church, or in an Oratory, which was within his\nown house. And many of the family did there continue with him after\nthe prayers were ended, and there they spent some hours in singing\nHymns, or Anthems, sometimes in the Church, and often to an organ in\nthe Oratory. And there they sometimes betook themselves to meditate,\nor to pray privately, or to read a part of the New Testament to\nthemselves, or to continue their praying or reading the Psalms; and in\ncase the Psalms were not always read in the day, then Mr. Farrer,\nand others of the congregation, did at night, at the ringing of\na watch-bell, repair to the Church or Oratory, and there betake\nthemselves to prayers and lauding God, and reading the Psalms that\nhad not been read in the day: and when these, or any part of the\ncongregation, grew weary or faint, the watch-bell was rung, sometimes\nbefore, and sometimes after midnight; and then another part of the\nfamily rose, and maintained the watch, sometimes by praying, or\nsinging lauds to God, or reading the Psalms; and when, after some\nhours, they also grew weary or faint, then they rung the watch-bell\nand were also relieved by some of the former, or by a new part of\nthe society, which continued their devotions--as hath been\nmentioned--until morning. And it is to be noted, that in this\ncontinued serving of God, the Psalter or the whole Book of Psalms, was\nin every four and twenty hours sung or read over, from the first to\nthe last verse: and this was done as constantly as the sun runs his\ncircle every day about the world, and then begins again the same\ninstant that it ended.\n\n[Sidenote: Mr. Farrer's Death]\n\nThus did Mr. Farrer and his happy family serve God day and night; thus\ndid they always behave themselves as in his presence. And they did\nalways eat and drink by the strictest rules of temperance; eat and\ndrink so as to be ready to rise at midnight, or at the call of a\nwatch-bell, and perform their devotions to God. And it is fit to\ntell the Reader, that many of the Clergy, that were more inclined\nto practical piety and devotion, than to doubtful and needless\ndisputations, did often come to Gidden Hall, and make themselves a\npart of that happy society, and stay a week or more, and then join\nwith Mr. Farrer and the family in these devotions, and assist and ease\nhim or them in their watch by night. And these various devotions had\nnever less than two of the domestic family in the night; and the\nwatch was always kept in the Church or Oratory, unless in extreme cold\nwinter nights, and then it was maintained in a parlour, which had\na fire in it; and the parlour was fitted for that purpose. And this\ncourse of piety, and great liberality to his poor neighbours, Mr.\nFarrer maintained till his death, which was in the year 1639.[24]\n\n[Sidenote: \"Valdesso's Considerations\"]\n\nMr. Farrer's and Mr. Herbert's devout lives were both so noted, that\nthe general report of their sanctity gave them occasion to renew that\nslight acquaintance which was begun at their being contemporaries in\nCambridge; and this new holy friendship was long maintained without\nany interview, but only by loving and endearing letters. And one\ntestimony of their friendship and pious designs, may appear by Mr.\nFarrer's commending the \"Considerations of John Valdesso\"--a book\nwhich he had met with in his travels, and translated out of Spanish\ninto English,--to be examined and censured by Mr. Herbert before it\nwas made public: which excellent book Mr. Herbert did read, and return\nback with many marginal notes, as they be now printed with it; and\nwith them, Mr. Herbert's affectionate letter to Mr. Farrer.\n\n[Sidenote: Valdesso himself]\n\nThis John Valdesso was a Spaniard, and was for his learning and virtue\nmuch valued and loved by the great Emperor Charles the Fifth, whom\nValdesso had followed as a Cavalier all the time of his long and\ndangerous wars: and when Valdesso grew old, and grew weary both of war\nand the world, he took his fair opportunity to declare to the Emperor,\nthat his resolution was to decline his Majesty's service, and betake\nhimself to a quiet and contemplative life, \"because there ought to\nbe a vacancy of time betwixt fighting and dying.\" The Emperor\nhad himself, for the same, or other like reasons, put on the same\nresolution: but God and himself did, till then, only know them; and\nhe did therefore desire Valdesso to consider well of what he had said,\nand to keep his purpose within his own breast, till they two might\nhave a second opportunity of a friendly discourse; which Valdesso\npromised to do.\n\nIn the mean time the Emperor appoints privately a day for him and\nValdesso to meet again; and, after a pious and free discourse,\nthey both agreed on a certain day to receive the blessed Sacrament\npublicly; and appointed an eloquent and devout Friar to preach a\nSermon of contempt of the world, and of the happiness and benefit of a\nquiet and contemplative life; which the Friar did most affectionately.\nAfter which Sermon, the Emperor took occasion to declare openly, \"That\nthe Preacher had begot in him a resolution to lay down his dignities,\nand to forsake the world, and betake himself to a monastical life.\"\nAnd he pretended, he had persuaded John Valdesso to do the like: but\nthis is most certain, that after the Emperor had called his son Philip\nout of England, and resigned to him all his kingdoms, that then the\nEmperor and John Valdesso did perform their resolutions.\n\nThis account of John Valdesso I received from a friend, that had it\nfrom the mouth of Mr. Farrer. And the Reader may note, that in this\nretirement John Valdesso writ his Hundred and Ten Considerations,\nand many other treatises of worth, which want a second Mr. Farrer to\nprocure and translate them.[25]\n\n[Sidenote: Failing strength]\n\n[Sidenote: \"The Temple\"]\n\nAfter this account of Mr. Farrer and John Valdesso, I proceed to my\naccount of Mr. Herbert and Mr. Duncon, who according to his promise\nreturned from Bath the fifth day, and then found Mr. Herbert much\nweaker than he left him; and therefore their discourse could not be\nlong: but at Mr. Duncon's parting with him, Mr. Herbert spoke to this\npurpose: \"Sir, I pray you give my brother Farrer an account of the\ndecaying condition of my body, and tell him I beg him to continue his\ndaily prayers for me; and let him know that I have considered, that\nGod only is what he would be; and that I am, by his grace, become now\nso like him, as to be pleased with what pleaseth him; and tell him,\nthat I do not repine, but am pleased with my want of health: and tell\nhim, my heart is fixed on that place where true joy is only to be\nfound; and that I long to be there, and do wait for my appointed\nchange with hope and patience.\" Having said this, he did, with so\nsweet a humility as seemed to exalt him, bow down to Mr. Duncon, and\nwith a thoughtful and contented look, say to him, \"Sir, I pray deliver\nthis little book to my dear brother Farrer, and tell him, he shall\nfind in it a picture of the many spiritual conflicts that have passed\nbetwixt God and my soul, before I could subject mine to the will of\nJesus my Master: in whose service I have now found perfect freedom.\nDesire him to read it; and then, if he can think it may turn to the\nadvantage of any dejected poor soul, let it be made public; if\nnot, let him burn it; for I and it are less than the least of God's\nmercies.\" Thus meanly did this humble man think of this excellent\nbook, which now bears the name of \"The Temple; or, Sacred Poems and\nPrivate Ejaculations;\" of which Mr. Farrer would say, \"There was in\nit the picture of a divine soul in every page: and that the whole book\nwas such a harmony of holy passions, as would enrich the world with\npleasure and piety.\" And it appears to have done so; for there\nhave been more than twenty thousand of them sold since the first\nimpression.\n\n[Sidenote: Its publication]\n\nAnd this ought to be noted, that when Mr. Farrer sent this book to\nCambridge to be licensed for the press, the Vice-Chancellor would by\nno means allow the two so much noted verses,\n\n  Ready to pass to the American strand,\n\nto be printed; and Mr. Farrer would by no means allow the book to be\nprinted and want them. But after some time, and some arguments for and\nagainst their being made public, the Vice-Chancellor said, \"I knew Mr.\nHerbert well, and know that he had many heavenly speculations, and\nwas a divine poet: but I hope the world will not take him to be an\ninspired prophet, and therefore I license the whole book.\" So that it\ncame to be printed without the diminution or addition of a syllable,\nsince it was delivered into the hands of Mr. Duncon, save only that\nMr. Farrer hath added that excellent Preface that is printed before\nit.\n\n[Sidenote: Retrospect]\n\n[Sidenote: Waiting for death]\n\nAt the time of Mr. Duncon's leaving Mr. Herbert,--which was about\nthree weeks before his death,--his old and dear friend Mr. Woodnot\ncame from London to Bemerton, and never left him till he had seen him\ndraw his last breath, and closed his eyes on his death-bed. In this\ntime of his decay, he was often visited and prayed for by all the\nClergy that lived near to him, especially by his friends the Bishop\nand Prebends of the Cathedral Church in Salisbury; but by none\nmore devoutly than his wife, his three nieces,--then a part of his\nfamily,--and Mr. Woodnot, who were the sad witnesses of his daily\ndecay; to whom he would often speak to this purpose: \"I now look back\nupon the pleasures of my life past, and see the content I have taken\nin beauty, in wit, in music, and pleasant conversation, are now all\npast by me like a dream, or as a shadow that returns not, and are now\nall become dead to me, or I to them; and I see, that as my father and\ngeneration hath done before me, so I also shall now suddenly (with\nJob) make my bed also in the dark; and I praise God I am prepared for\nit; and I praise him that I am not to learn patience now I stand\nin such need of it; and that I have practised mortification, and\nendeavoured to die daily, that I might not die eternally; and my hope\nis, that I shall shortly leave this valley of tears, and be free from\nall fevers and pain; and, which will be a more happy condition, I\nshall be free from sin, and all the temptations and anxieties that\nattend it: and this being past, I shall dwell in the New Jerusalem;\ndwell there with men made perfect; dwell where these eyes shall see my\nMaster and Saviour Jesus; and with him see my dear Mother, and all\nmy relations and friends. But I must die, or not come to that happy\nplace. And this is my content, that I am going daily towards it: and\nthat every day which I have lived, hath taken a part of my appointed\ntime from me; and that I shall live the less time, for having lived\nthis and the day past,\" These, and the like expressions, which he\nuttered often, may be said to be his enjoyment of Heaven before he\nenjoyed it. The Sunday before his death, he rose suddenly from his bed\nor couch, called for one of his instruments, took it into his hand and\nsaid,\n\n  My God, my God,\n  My music shall find thee,\n      And every string\n  Shall have his attribute to sing.\n\nAnd having tuned it, he played and sung:\n\n    The Sundays of man's life,\n  Threaded together on time's string,\n  Make bracelets to adorn the wife\n  Of the eternal glorious King:\n  On Sundays Heaven's doors stand ope;\n  Blessings are plentiful and rife,\n    More plentiful than hope.\n\nThus he sung on earth such Hymns and Anthems, as the Angels, and he,\nand Mr. Farrer, now sing in Heaven.\n\n[Sidenote: His Will]\n\n[Sidenote: Last words]\n\nThus he continued meditating, and praying, and rejoicing, till the day\nof his death; and on that day said to Mr. Woodnot, \"My dear friend,\nI am sorry I have nothing to present to my merciful God but sin and\nmisery; but the first is pardoned, and a few hours will now put a\nperiod to the latter; for I shall suddenly go hence, and be no more\nseen.\" Upon which expression Mr. Woodnot took occasion to remember him\nof the re-edifying Layton Church, and his many acts of mercy. To which\nhe made answer, saying, \"They be good works, if they be sprinkled\nwith the blood of Christ, and not otherwise.\" After this discourse he\nbecame more restless, and his soul seemed to be weary of her earthly\ntabernacle; and this uneasiness became so visible, that his wife,\nhis three nieces, and Mr. Woodnot, stood constantly about his bed,\nbeholding him with sorrow, and an unwillingness to lose the sight of\nhim, whom they could not hope to see much longer. As they stood thus\nbeholding him, his wife observed him to breathe faintly, and with\nmuch trouble, and observed him to fall into a sudden agony; which so\nsurprised her, that she fell into a sudden passion, and required of\nhim to know how he did. To which his answer was, \"that he had passed\na conflict with his last enemy, and had overcome him by the merits of\nhis Master Jesus.\" After which answer, he looked up, and saw his wife\nand nieces weeping to an extremity, and charged them, if they loved\nhim, to withdraw into the next room, and there pray every one alone\nfor him; for nothing but their lamentations could make his death\nuncomfortable. To which request their sighs and tears would not suffer\nthem to make any reply; but they yielded him a sad obedience, leaving\nonly with him Mr. Woodnot and Mr. Bostock. Immediately after they had\nleft him, he said to Mr. Bostock, \"Pray, Sir, open that door, then\nlook into that cabinet, in which you may easily find my last Will, and\ngive it into my hand:\" which being done, Mr. Herbert delivered it into\nthe hand of Mr. Woodnot, and said, \"My old friend, I here deliver\nyou my last Will, in which you will find that I have made you my sole\nExecutor for the good of my wife and nieces; and I desire you to shew\nkindness to them, as they shall need it: I do not desire you to be\njust; for I know you will be so for your own sake; but I charge you,\nby the religion of our friendship, to be careful of them.\" And having\nobtained Mr. Woodnot's promise to be so, he said, \"I am now ready\nto die.\" After which words, he said, \"Lord, forsake me not now my\nstrength faileth me: but grant me mercy for the merits of my Jesus.\nAnd now, Lord--Lord, now receive my soul.\" And with those words he\nbreathed forth his divine soul, without any apparent disturbance, Mr.\nWoodnot and Mr. Bostock attending his last breath, and closing his\neyes.\n\nThus he lived, and thus he died, like a Saint, unspotted of the\nworld, full of alms-deeds, full of humility, and all the examples of a\nvirtuous life; which I cannot conclude better, than with this borrowed\nobservation:\n\n  ----All must to their cold graves:\n  But the religious actions of the just\n  Smell sweet in death, and blossom in the dust.[26]\n\nMr. George Herbert's have done so to this, and will doubtless do so to\nsucceeding generations.--I have but this to say more of him; that if\nAndrew Melvin died before him,[27] then George Herbert died without an\nenemy.[28] I wish--if God shall be so pleased--that I may be so happy\nas to die like him.\n\nIZ. WA.\n\n[Sidenote: Mrs. Herbert]\n\nThere is a debt justly due to the memory of Mr. Herbert's virtuous\nWife; a part of which I will endeavour to pay, by a very short account\nof the remainder of her life, which shall follow.\n\nShe continued his disconsolate widow about six years, bemoaning\nherself, and complaining, that she had lost the delight of her eyes;\nbut more that she had lost the spiritual guide for her poor soul; and\nwould often say, \"O that I had, like holy Mary, the Mother of Jesus,\ntreasured up all his sayings in my heart! But since I have not been\nable to do that, I will labour to live like him, that where he now is\nI may be also.\" And she would often say,--as the Prophet David for his\nson Absalom,--\"O that I had died for him!\" Thus she continued mourning\ntill time and conversation had so moderated her sorrows, that she\nbecame the happy wife of Sir Robert Cook, of Highnam, in the County\nof Gloucester, Knight. And though he put a high value on the excellent\naccomplishments of her mind and body, and was so like Mr. Herbert, as\nnot to govern like a master, but as an affectionate husband; yet\nshe would even to him often take occasion to mention the name of Mr.\nGeorge Herbert, and say, that name must live in her memory till she\nput off mortality. By Sir Robert she had only one child, a daughter,\nwhose parts and plentiful estate make her happy in this world, and her\nwell using of them gives a fair testimony that she will be so in that\nwhich is to come.\n\nMrs. Herbert was the wife of Sir Robert eight years, and lived his\nwidow about fifteen; all which time she took a pleasure in mentioning\nand commending the excellencies of Mr. George Herbert. She died in the\nyear 1663, and lies buried at Highnam: Mr. Herbert in his own\nChurch, under the altar, and covered with a gravestone without any\ninscription.\n\n[Sidenote: Lost relics]\n\nThis Lady Cook had preserved many of Mr. Herbert's private writings,\nwhich she intended to make public; but they and Highnam House were\nburnt together by the late rebels, and so lost to posterity.\n\nI.W.\n\n\n[Footnote 1: A fortress first erected by Roger de Montgomery, Earl of\nShrewsbury, under William I., to secure his conquests in Wales, though\nit was twice partly destroyed by the Welsh. It stands near the Severn,\non a gentle ascent, having a fair prospect over the plain beneath. The\norder of Parliament for its destruction was made June 11th, 1649.]\n\n[Footnote 2: That eloquent and acute biographer, Edmund Lodge, thus\ntruly gives the character of Lord Herbert of Cherbury. \"Of that\nanomaly of character by the abundance and variety of which foreigners\nare pleased to tell us that our country is distinguished, we meet with\nfew examples more striking than in the subject of this memoir--wise\nand unsteady; prudent and careless; a philosopher, with ungovernable\nand ridiculous prejudices; a good humoured man, who even sought\noccasions to shed the blood of his fellow creatures; a deist,\nwith superstition too gross for the most secluded cloister. These\nobservations are not founded on the report of others, but on the\nfragment which remains of his own sketch of his life,--a piece of\ninfinite curiosity.\" His autobiography has been edited by Horace\nWalpole and Scott. He is also the author of a volume of poems written\nin the style of Donne, frequently marred by harsh rhythm and violent\nconceits, but occasionally displaying artistic excellence of a very\nhigh order.]\n\n[Footnote 3: It has been said of Dr. Richard Neale, that no one\nwas more thoroughly acquainted with the distresses as well as the\nconveniences of the clergy, having served the Church as Schoolmaster,\nCurate, Vicar, Rector, Master of the Savoy, Dean of Westminster,\nClerk of the Closet to James I. and Charles I., Bishop of Rochester,\nLichfield, Durham, Winchester, and Archbishop of York (1631). \"He\ndied,\" says Echard, \"full of years as he was full of honours; a\nfaithful subject to his prince, an indulgent father to his clergy,\na bountiful patron to his chaplains, and a true friend to all that\nrelied upon him.\"]\n\n[Footnote 4: He was made Master of Westminster School in 1599, and\ncontinued so to 1610.]\n\n[Footnote 5: Thomas Nevil, D.D., eminent for the splendour of his\nbirth, his extraordinary piety and learning, was educated at Pembroke\nHall in the University of Cambridge. In 1582 he was admitted Master of\nMagdalen College in the same University, and in 1593 he succeeded Dr.\nJohn Still in the Mastership of Trinity College, being then Dean\nof the Cathedral Church of Peterborough, over which he presided\ncommendably eight years. Upon the demise of Queen Elizabeth, Dr.\nNevil, who had been promoted to the Deanery of Canterbury in 1597, was\nsent by Archbishop Whitgift to King James in Scotland, in the names of\nthe Bishops and Clergy of England, to tender their bounden duties, and\nto understand his Highness's pleasure for the ordering and guiding of\nthe Clergy. The Dean brought a most gracious answer of his Highness's\npurpose, which was to uphold and maintain the government of the late\nQueen, as she left it settled.]\n\n[Footnote 6: Born on 28th June, 1573; created Baron Danvers in 1603,\nand Earl of Danby 7th February, 1625-6; died on 10th January, 1643-4.]\n\n[Footnote 7: This gentleman was born in Suffolk, in 1563, and was\ndescended from a very ancient family in that County. He was educated\nat Trinity College, Cambridge, and on January 8th, 1617-18, was made\nSecretary of State: King James I. having been previously so well\npleased with his eloquence and learning as to appoint him Master\nof the Court of Wards. Sir Robert Naunton was the Author of the\ninteresting \"Fragmenta Regalia, or Observations on Queen Elizabeth and\nher Favourites.\" He died on Good Friday, 1633-34.]\n\n[Footnote 8: Sir Francis Nethersole was a native of Kent, Ambassador\nto the Princes of the Union, and Secretary to the Queen of Bohemia,\nand was equally remarkable for his doings and sufferings in her\nbehalf.]\n\n[Footnote 9: This royal work is divided into three books; the first on\n\"A Christian King's duty towards God.\" The second on \"A King's duty in\nhis office.\" The third on \"A King's behaviour in things indifferent.\"]\n\n[Footnote 10: Andrew Melville procured the Basilicon Doron in\nManuscript, and circulated it in Scotland, which produced a libel\nagainst it and first caused its publication in 1599. This celebrated\nperson was born in 1545, and was educated at the University of St.\nAndrews, which he left with an eminent character for learning, and\ntravelled through France to Geneva. He was elected principal Master\nof Glasgow College in 1574, when he began to enforce the Presbyterian\nSystem; and after much opposition, and two years' imprisonment, he\ndied Professor of Divinity to the Protestants of Sedan, in 1622.]\n\n[Footnote 11: Andrew Melville was not present at the celebrated\nconference held at Hampton-Court, in the first year of King James\nI., upon the complaint of the Puritans against the ceremonies and the\nliturgy of the Church of England. He was summoned to appear before the\nKing and Council in 1604. In the first edition of \"Mr. Walton's Life\nof Mr. George Herbert,\" Melville is described to be \"Master of a great\nwit; a wit full of knots and clenches; a wit sharp and satirical;\nexceeded, I think, by none of that nation, but their Buchanan.\"]\n\n[Footnote 12: Daughter of Charles Stuart, Earl of Lenox, the younger\nbrother of Henry, Earl of Darnley, father of King James I. She was\nborn at Hampstead in 1577, and received a very liberal education;\nadded to which, she possessed a large estate, and, the English\nsuccession being doubtful, she was supposed to be a probable heir\nto the crown. She incurred the displeasure of James, by marrying Mr.\nWilliam Seymour, grandson of the Earl of Hertford, for which she was\nsent to the Tower; and although she had made her escape thence, she\nwas overtaken, brought back, and died there in 1615.]\n\n[Footnote 13: James Duport, the learned son of a learned father, John\nDuport, Master of Jesus College, Cambridge, was Greek Professor in\nthat University. On the promotion of Dr. Edward Rainbow to the See\nof Carlisle, he was appointed Dean of Peterborough, and in 1668 was\nelected Master of Magdalen College, Cambridge.]\n\n[Footnote 14: In the margin of the 1670 edition is written \"Albumazar,\nIgnoramus.\" The author of \"Albumazar,\" a piece presented before the\nKing at Cambridge in 1614, and printed in the same year, was John\nTomkis. \"Ignoramus,\" a Latin comedy by James Ruggle (or Ruggles), was\nfirst printed in 1630.]\n\n[Footnote 15: Dr. Richard Parry, who died September 26, 1623. The\n\"sinecure\" here mentioned was the rectory of Whitford.]\n\n[Footnote 16: Mr. Herbert Thorndike was then Fellow of Trinity\nCollege. He was ejected from his Fellowship by the usurped powers, and\nadmitted to the Rectory of Barley in Hertfordshire, July 2, 1642.\nOn the death of Dr. Samuel Ward, he was elected to the Mastership of\nSidney College, but was kept out of it by the oppression of the times.\nFor his sufferings and great learning he was installed Prebendary\nof Westminster, Sept. 5, 1660. In the year following he resigned his\nliving of Barley, and died in 1672. He assisted Dr. Walton in the\nedition of the Polyglot Bible.]\n\n[Footnote 17: Dr. John Williams, afterwards Archbishop of York, was\nthen Bishop of Lincoln, the last ecclesiastic who was Lord Keeper of\nthe Great Seal.]\n\n[Footnote 18: See Prof. Mayor's \"Nicholas Farrer: Two Lives by his\nbrother John and Dr. Jebb.\" (Cambridge, 1855.)]\n\n[Footnote 19: A native of Scotland, educated at Westminster School\nand Trinity College, Cambridge, afterwards Greek Professor of the\nUniversity. During the Civil Wars, he suffered extremely for the Royal\nCause, and was an exile with Charles II., who gave him the Deanery of\nWells on the Restoration, and in 1670, he was made Bishop of Bath and\nWells. He died in 1672.]\n\n[Footnote 20: He was, in 1609, Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity\nat Cambridge, and in 1611, Bishop of Salisbury. He was appointed by\nJames I. to attend the Synod of Dort, and his endeavours to effect an\nunion between the reformed Churches were zealous and sincere. He died\nin 1641.]\n\n[Footnote 21: The House and grounds of this Rectory were in the same\nstate as in the time of Herbert, when the late Archdeacon Coxe was\npresented to the living; the principal part of the former was single,\nwith small windows, and the river Neder flowed at the bottom of the\ngarden. Bemerton is two miles west by north of Salisbury, and the\nChurch is dedicated to St. Andrew.]\n\n[Footnote 22: At the time Dr. Henchman was Prebendary of Salisbury,\nof which See he became Bishop in 1660, and in 1663 he was removed to\nLondon. He was much esteemed by King Charles II., whose escape at the\nbattle of Worcester, he was very instrumental in promoting: but when\nthe declaration for liberty of conscience was published in 1671-72,\nthis Prelate was not afraid of the King's displeasure, but enjoined\nhis Clergy to preach against Popery. He died in 1675.]\n\n[Footnote 23: A private Clergyman, of Clare Hall, Cambridge, who\nsuffered much for his gallant devotion to the cause of his King,\nCharles I.]\n\n[Footnote 24: The extraordinary course of life pursued at Gidding, the\nstrictness of their rules, their prayers, literally without ceasing,\ntheir abstinence, mortifications, nightly watchings, and various\nother peculiarities, gave birth to censure in some, and inflamed the\nmalevolence of others, but excited the wonder and curiosity of all. So\nthat they were frequently visited with different views by persons of\nall denominations, and of opposite opinions. They received all who\ncame with courteous civility; and from those who were inquisitive they\nconcealed nothing, as indeed there was not any thing either in their\nopinions or their practice, in the least degree necessary to be\nconcealed. Notwithstanding this, they were by some abused as Papists,\nby others as Puritans, Mr. Ferrar himself, though possessed of\nuncommon patience and resignation, yet in anguish of spirit complained\nto his friends, that the perpetual obloquy he endured was a sort\nof unceasing martyrdom. Added to all this, violent invectives and\ninflammatory pamphlets were published against them. Amongst others,\nnot long after Mr. Ferrar's death, a treatise was addressed to the\nParliament, entitled, \"The Arminian Nunnery, or a brief description\nand relation of the late erected monastical place called the Arminian\nNunnery at Little Gidding in Huntingdonshire: humbly addressed to the\nwise consideration of the present parliament. The foundation is by a\ncompany of Ferrars at Gidding,\" printed by Thomas Underbill, 1641.\n\nSoon after Mr. Ferrar's death, certain soldiers of the Parliament\nresolved to plunder the house at Gidding. The family being informed of\ntheir hasty approach, thought it prudent to fly; while these military\nzealots, in the rage of what they called _reformation_, ransacked both\nthe church and the house; in doing which, they expressed a particular\nspite against the organ. This they broke in pieces, of which they made\na large fire, and at it roasted several of Mr. Ferrar's sheep, which\nthey had killed in his grounds. This done, they seized all the plate,\nfurniture, and provision, which they could conveniently carry away.\nAnd in this general devastation perished the works which Mr. Ferrar\nhad compiled for the use of his household, consisting chiefly of\nharmonies of the Old and New Testament.]\n\n[Footnote 25: Valdesso died at Naples in 1540.]\n\n[Footnote 26: Altered from a Dirge in Shirley's \"Contention of Ajax\nand Ulysses.\"--The lines in Shirley are\n\n  \"Your heads must come\n  To the cold tomb--\n  Only the actions of the just\n  Smell sweet and blossom in their dust.\"]\n\n[Footnote 27: \"Mr. George Herbert, Esq., Parson of Fuggleston and\nBemerton, was buried 3d day of March, 1632.\" (_Parish Register of\nBemerton_.')--It does not appear whether he was buried in the parish\nchurch or in the chapel. His letter to Mr. Nicholas Ferrar, the\ntranslator of Valdesso, is dated from his Parsonage at Bemerton, near\nSalisbury, Sept. 29, 1632. It must be remembered, that the beginning\nof the year, at that time, was computed the 25th of March. In this\nyear also, he wrote the short address to the Reader, which is prefixed\nto his \"Priest to the Temple,\" which was not published till after his\ndeath.]\n\n[Footnote 28: It is not to be supposed that Andrew Melville could\nretain the least personal resentment against Mr. Herbert; whose verses\nhave in them so little of the poignancy of satire, that it is scarce\npossible to consider them as capable of exciting the anger of him to\nwhom they are addressed.]\n\n\n\n\nLETTER FROM\nMR. GEORGE HERBERT\nTO\nNICHOLAS FARRER,\n\n_the Translator of Valdesso_\n\n\n[Sidenote: Concerning Valdesso]\n\nMy dear and deserving brother, your Valdesso I now return with many\nthanks, and some notes, in which perhaps you will discover some care\nwhich I forbear not in the midst of my griefs; first for your sake,\nbecause I would do nothing negligently that you commit unto me:\nsecondly for the Author's sake, whom I conceive to have been a true\nservant of God; and to such, and all that is their's, I owe diligence:\nthirdly for the Church's sake, to whom by printing it, I would have\nyou consecrate it. You owe the Church a debt, and God hath put this\ninto your hands--as he sent the fish with money to St. Peter--to\ndischarge it; happily also with this--as his thoughts are\nfruitful--intending the honour of his servant the Author, who, being\nobscured in his own country, he would have to flourish in this land\nof light, and region of the Gospel among his chosen. It is true, there\nare some things which I like not in him, as my fragments will express,\nwhen you read them: nevertheless, I wish you by all means to publish\nit, for these three eminent things observable therein: First, that God\nin the midst of Popery, should open the eyes of one to understand and\nexpress so clearly and excellently, the intent of the Gospel in the\nacceptation of Christ's righteousness,--as he sheweth through all\nhis Considerations,--a thing strangely buried and darkened by the\nadversaries, and their great stumbling block. Secondly, the great\nhonour and reverence which he every where bears towards our dear\nMaster and Lord; concluding every Consideration almost with his holy\nname, and setting his merit forth so piously; for which I do so love\nhim, that were there nothing else, I would print it, that with it the\nhonour of my Lord might be published. Thirdly, the many pious rules\nof ordering our life about mortification, and observation of God's\nkingdom within us, and the working thereof; of which he was a very\ndiligent observer. These three things are very eminent in the Author,\nand overweigh the defects--as I conceive--towards the publishing\nthereof.\n\n  From his Parsonage of\n  Bemerton, near Salisbury,\n  Sept. 29th, 1632.\n\n\n\n\nTHE WORKS OF MR. GEORGE HERBERT.\n\n\n[Sidenote: Herbert's Works]\n\nI. \"ORATIO qu\u00e2 auspicatissimum serenissimi Principis CAROLI reditum\nex Hispaniis celebravit GEORGIUS HERBERT, Academ\u00e6 Cantabrigiensis\nOrator.--1623.\"\n\nII. \"ORATIO ... habita coram Dominis Legatis cum Magistro in Artib.\ntitulis insignirentur. 27 Febr. 1622.\"\n\nIII. \"A TRANSLATION of LEWIS CORNARO'S TREATISE on TEMPERANCE.\"\nPrinted at Cambridge in 1634, along with Mr. Nicholas Ferrar's\ntranslation of \"The Hygiasticon, or the right Course of preserving\nHealth, by Leonard Lessius.\" To Mr. Herbert's Translation is annexed\n\"A Paradox, translated out of Italian, That a more spare diet is\nbetter than a splendid or sumptuous.\"\n\nIV. \"HERBERT'S REMAINS; or Sundry Pieces of that sweet Singer of the\nTemple, Mr. GEORGE HERBERT, some time Orator of the University of\nCambridge, now exposed to public Light.\" _London, 1652._\n\nThis volume consists of--1. \"A Priest to the Temple, or the Country\nParson in his Character and Rule of Holy Life; with a Prefatory View\nof the Life and Virtues of the Author and Excellencies of this Book,\nby Barnabas Oley.\" In the second and subsequent impressions of this\nvolume is added, \"A Preface to the Christian Reader,\" consisting\nof six paragraphs, by Mr. Oley. 2. \"Jacula Prudentum; or Outlandish\nProverbs, Sentences, &c., selected by Mr. George Herbert.\"\n\nV. \"THE TEMPLE: SACRED POEMS and Private EJACULATIONS, by Mr. GEORGE\nHERBERT, late orator of the University of Cambridge. In his Temple\ndoth every Man speak of his Honour, Psal. xxix. _Cambridge, 1633_.\"\n\nVI. \"MUS\u00c6 RESPONSOR\u00c6 AD ANDRE\u00c6 MELVINI ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIAM. Ex\nofficin\u00e2, Joh. Field, _Cantab. 1662._\" 12mo.\n\nDuring his residence at Cambridge, he composed Latin Poems on the\nDeath of Henry Prince of Wales; and of Anne, Queen to James I. See\n\"Epicedium Cantabrigiense in obitum immaturum semperque deflendum\nHenrici illustrissimi Principis Walli\u00e6, _Cantab. 1612._\" And\n\"Lachrym\u00e6 Cantabrigienses in obitum serenissim\u00e6 Regi\u00e6 Ann\u00e6, Conjugis\ndilectissim\u00e6 Jacobi Magn\u00e6 Britanni\u00e6, Franci\u00e6, et Hiberni\u00e6 Regis.\n_Cantab. 1619._\"\n\nThe following letters, written by Herbert, when he was Public Orator,\nare in the Orator's Book at Cambridge:\n\n1. \"To Sir Robert Naunton, with thanks for some acts of kindness\nprocured by him from Government to the University.\"\n\n2. \"To Fulke Greville, on the same account.\"\n\n3. \"To George Villiers, Marquis of Buckingham, on his being created a\nMarquis.\"\n\n4. \"To Sir Francis Bacon, with thanks for his Novum Organum.\"\n\n5. \"To Sir Thomas Coventry, Attorney-General.\"\n\n6. \"To Montagu, Lord Treasurer,\" and\n\n7. \"To Sir Robert Heath, Solicitor-General, congratulating them on\ntheir several promotions.\"\n\n8. \"To King James, with thanks for a present of his Doron Basilicon.\"\n\n9. \"To the same, with thanks for the preservation of the river.\"\n\n10. \"To Sir Francis Bacon, on the same subject.\"\n\n11. \"To Dr. Abbot, Archbishop of Canterbury, against the London\nPrinters monopolizing foreign books.\"\n\n12. \"To Sir Francis Bacon, on the same subject.\"\n\n13. \"To Leigh, Chief Justice, on his promotion.\"\n\n14. \"To Cranfield, Lord Treasurer, on the same occasion.\"\n\n\n\n\nTHE LIFE\nOF\nDR. ROBERT SANDERSON,\nLATE BISHOP OF LINCOLN.\n\n\"Blessed is the man in whose spirit there is no guile.\"--Ps. xxxii.\n2.\n\n\n\n\nTO THE RIGHT REVEREND AND HONOURABLE,\nGEORGE,\nLORD BISHOP OF WINCHESTER, PRELATE OF THE GARTER, AND ONE OF HIS\nMAJESTY'S PRIVY COUNCIL.\n\n\n[Sidenote: Dedication]\n\nMY LORD,\n\nIf I should undertake to enumerate the many favours and advantages\nI have had by my very long acquaintance with your Lordship, I\nshould enter upon an employment, that might prove as tedious as the\ncollecting of the materials for this poor Monument, which I have\nerected, and do dedicate to the Memory of your beloved friend, Dr.\nSanderson: But though I will not venture to do that; yet I do remember\nwith pleasure, and remonstrate with gratitude, that your Lordship made\nme known to him, Mr. Chillingworth,[1] and Dr. Hammond; men, whose\nmerits ought never to be forgotten.\n\nMy friendship with the first was begun almost forty years past, when\nI was as far from a thought, as a desire to outlive him; and farther\nfrom an intention to write his Life. But the wise Disposer of all\nmen's lives and actions hath prolonged the first, and now permitted\nthe last; which is here dedicated to your Lordship,--and, as it ought\nto be--with all humility, and a desire that it may remain as a public\ntestimony of my gratitude.\n\n        My Lord,\n  Your most affectionate old friend,\n        and most humble servant,\n               IZAAK WALTON.\n\n\n[Footnote 1: William Chillingworth, born at Oxford in 1602, and\neducated at Trinity College. He was proverbially celebrated there\nfor clear and acute reasoning; but he so much involved himself in the\nRomish Controversy with John Fisher, a Jesuit, as to become a convert,\nand enter the College at Douay. His re-conversion was brought about by\nhis godfather, Archbishop Laud, in 1631, when he returned to England;\nand in 1638, he wrote his famous work called \"The Religion of\nProtestants a safe Way to Salvation.\" Fol. He was zealously attached\nto the Royal cause, and served at the Siege of Gloucester: but being\ntaken prisoner, he was carried to the Bishop's Palace, at Chichester,\non account of his illness, and, dying there Jan. 30th, 1644, was\nburied in the Cathedral, without any other ceremony than that of his\nbook being cast into the grave by the hand of a fanatic.]\n\n\n\n\nTHE PREFACE\n\n\n[Sidenote: Introductory]\n\nI dare neither think, nor assure the Reader, that I have committed no\nmistakes in this relation of the Life of Dr. Sanderson; but I am sure,\nthere is none that are either wilful, or very material. I confess, it\nwas worthy the employment of some person of more Learning and greater\nabilities than I can pretend to; and I have not a little wondered\nthat none have yet been so grateful to him and to posterity, as to\nundertake it. For it may be noted, that our Saviour hath had such\ncare, that, for Mary Magdalen's kindness to him, her name should never\nbe forgotten: and doubtless Dr. Sanderson's meek and innocent life,\nhis great and useful Learning, might therefore challenge the like\nendeavours to preserve his memory: And 'tis to me a wonder, that it\nhas been already fifteen years neglected. But, in saying this, my\nmeaning is not to upbraid others,--I am far from that,--but excuse\nmyself, or beg pardon for daring to attempt it. This being premised, I\ndesire to tell the Reader, that in this relation I have been so bold,\nas to paraphrase and say, what I think he--whom I had the happiness\nto know well--would have said upon the same occasions: and if I have\nerred in this kind, and cannot now beg pardon of him that loved me;\nyet I do of my Reader, from whom I desire the same favour.\n\n[Sidenote: Reasons for writing]\n\nAnd, though my age might have procured me a Writ of Ease, and that\nsecured me from all further trouble in this kind; yet I met with such\npersuasions to begin, and so many willing informers since, and from\nthem, and others, such helps and encouragements to proceed, that when\nI found myself faint, and weary of the burthen with which I had loaden\nmyself, and ready to lay it down; yet time and new strength hath at\nlast brought it to be what it now is, and presented to the Reader, and\nwith it this desire; that he will take notice, that Dr. Sanderson did\nin his Will, or last sickness, advertise, that after his death nothing\nof his might be printed; because that might be said to be his, which\nindeed was not; and also for that he might have changed his opinion\nsince he first writ it. And though these reasons ought to be regarded,\nyet regarded so, as he resolves in that Case of Conscience concerning\nRash Vows; that there may appear very good second reasons why we may\nforbear to perform them. However, for his said reasons, they ought to\nbe read as we do Apocryphal Scripture; to explain, but not oblige us\nto so firm a belief of what is here presented as his.\n\n[Sidenote: Tracts and a Sermon]\n\nAnd I have this to say more; That as in my queries for writing Dr.\nSanderson's Life, I met with these little Tracts annexed; so, in my\nformer queries for my information to write the Life of venerable Mr.\nHooker, I met with a Sermon, which I also believe was really his, and\nhere presented as his to the Reader. It is affirmed,--and I have\nmet with reason to believe it,--that there be some Artists, that do\ncertainly know an original picture from a copy; and in what age of the\nworld, and by whom drawn. And if so, then I hope it may be as safely\naffirmed, that what is here presented for their's is so like their\ntemper of mind, their other writings, the times when, and the\noccasions upon which they were writ, that all Readers may safely\nconclude, they could be writ by none but venerable Mr. Hooker, and the\nhumble and learned Dr. Sanderson.\n\nAnd lastly, I am now glad that I have collected these memoirs, which\nlay scattered, and contracted them into a narrower compass; and if I\nhave, by the pleasant toil of doing so, either pleased or profited any\nman, I have attained what I designed when I first undertook it. But I\nseriously wish, both for the Reader's and Dr. Sanderson's sake, that\nposterity had known his great Learning and Virtue by a better pen; by\nsuch a pen, as could have made his life as immortal, as his learning\nand merits ought to be.\n\nI.W.\n\n\n\n\nTHE LIFE\nOF\nDR. ROBERT SANDERSON,\nLATE LORD BISHOP OF LINCOLN.\n\n\n[Sidenote: Birth and birth-place]\n\nDoctor Robert Sanderson, the late learned Bishop of Lincoln, whose\nLife I intend to write with all truth and equal plainness, was born\nthe nineteenth day of September in the year of our Redemption 1587.\nThe place of his birth was Rotherham[1] in the County of York; a Town\nof good note, and the more for that Thomas Rotherham,[2] some time\nArchbishop of that see, was born in it; a man, whose great wisdom,\nand bounty, and sanctity of life, have made it the more memorable: as\nindeed it ought also to be, for being the birth-place of our Robert\nSanderson. And the Reader will be of my belief, if this humble\nrelation of his life can hold any proportion with his great Piety, his\nuseful Learning, and his many other extraordinary endowments.\n\n[Sidenote: His father]\n\nHe was the second and youngest Son, of Robert Sanderson, of\nGilthwaite-Hall, in the said Parish and County, Esq., by Elizabeth,\none of the daughters of Richard Carr, of Butterthwaite-Hall, in the\nParish of Ecclesfield, in the said County of York, Gentleman.\n\nThis Robert Sanderson, the Father, was descended from a numerous,\nancient, and honourable family of his own name: for the search of\nwhich truth, I refer my Reader, that inclines to it, to Dr. Thoroton's\n\"History of the Antiquities of Nottinghamshire,\" and other records;\nnot thinking it necessary here to engage him into a search for bare\ntitles, which are noted to have in them nothing of reality: for titles\nnot acquired, but derived only, do but shew us who of our ancestors\nhave, and how they have achieved that honour which their descendants\nclaim, and may not be worthy to enjoy. For, if those titles descend to\npersons that degenerate into Vice, and break off the continued line of\nLearning, or Valour, or that Virtue that acquired them, they destroy\nthe very foundation upon which that Honour was built; and all the\nrubbish of their vices ought to fall heavy on such dishonourable\nheads; ought to fall so heavy, as to degrade them of their titles, and\nblast their memories with reproach and shame.\n\nBut our Robert Sanderson lived worthy of his name and family: of\nwhich one testimony may be, that Gilbert, called the Great Earl\nof Shrewsbury, thought him not unworthy to be joined with him as\na Godfather to Gilbert Sheldon,[3] the late Lord Archbishop of\nCanterbury; to whose merits and memory, posterity--the Clergy\nespecially--ought to pay a reverence.\n\n[Sidenote: His youth]\n\nBut I return to my intended relation of Robert the Son, who began in\nhis youth to make the Laws of God, and obedience to his parents, the\nrules of his life; seeming even then to dedicate himself, and all his\nstudies, to Piety and Virtue.\n\n[Sidenote: His early training]\n\nAnd as he was inclined to this by that native goodness, with which the\nwise Disposer of all hearts had endowed his; so this calm, this\nquiet and happy temper of mind--his being mild, and averse to\noppositions--made the whole course of his life easy and grateful both\nto himself and others: and this blessed temper was maintained and\nimproved by his prudent Father's good example; and by frequent\nconversing with him, and scattering short apophthegms and little\npleasant stories, and making useful applications of them, his son was\nin his infancy taught to abhor Vanity and Vice as monsters, and to\ndiscern the loveliness of Wisdom and Virtue; and by these means, and\nGod's concurring grace, his knowledge was so augmented, and his native\ngoodness so confirmed, that all became so habitual, as it was not easy\nto determine whether Nature or Education were his teachers.\n\nAnd here let me tell the Reader, that these early beginnings of\nVirtue, were by God's assisting grace, blessed with what St. Paul\nseemed to beg for his Philippians [Phil. i. 6.]; namely, \"That he,\nthat had begun a good work in them, would finish it.\" And Almighty\nGod did: for his whole life was so regular and innocent, that he might\nhave said at his death--and with truth and comfort--what the same St.\nPaul said after to the same Philippians, when he advised them to walk\nas they had him for an example [chap. iii. 17].\n\n[Sidenote: At Rotherham]\n\nAnd this goodness, of which I have spoken, seemed to increase as his\nyears did; and with his goodness his Learning, the foundation of which\nwas laid in the Grammar-school of Rotherham--that being one of those\nthree that were founded and liberally endowed by the said great and\ngood Bishop of that name.--And in this time of his being a Scholar\nthere, he was observed to use an unwearied diligence to attain\nlearning, and to have a seriousness beyond his age, and with it a more\nthan common modesty; and to be of so calm and obliging a behaviour,\nthat the Master and whole number of Scholars loved him as one man.\n\nAnd in this love and amity he continued at that School till about\nthe thirteenth year of his age; at which time his Father designed to\nimprove his Grammar learning, by removing him from Rotherham to one of\nthe more noted Schools of Eton or Westminster; and after a year's stay\nthere, then to remove him thence to Oxford. But, as he went with him,\nhe called on an old friend, a Minister of noted learning, and told him\nhis intentions; and he, after many questions with his Son, received\nsuch answers from him, that he assured his Father, his Son was so\nperfect a Grammarian, that he had laid a good foundation to build\nany or all the Arts upon; and therefore advised him to shorten his\njourney, and leave him at Oxford. And his Father did so.\n\n[Sidenote: At Oxford]\n\n[Sidenote: Master of Arts]\n\nHis father left him there to the sole care and manage of Dr.\nKilbie,[4] who was then Rector of Lincoln College. And he, after some\ntime and trial of his manners and learning, thought fit to enter him\nof that College, and, after to matriculate him in the University,\nwhich he did the first of July, 1603; but he was not chosen Fellow\ntill the third of May, 1606; at which time he had taken his degree of\nBachelor of Arts: at the taking of which degree, his Tutor told the\nRector, \"That his pupil Sanderson had a metaphysical brain and a\nmatchless memory; and that he thought he had improved or made the last\nso by an art of his own invention.\" And all the future employments of\nhis life proved that his tutor was not mistaken. I must here stop\nmy Reader, and tell him that this Dr. Kilbie was a man of so great\nlearning and wisdom, and was so excellent a critic in the Hebrew\nTongue, that he was made Professor of it in this university; and was\nalso so perfect a Grecian, that he was by King James appointed to\nbe one of the Translators of the Bible; and that this Doctor and Mr.\nSanderson had frequent discourses, and loved as father and son. The\nDoctor was to ride a journey into Derbyshire, and took Mr. Sanderson\nto bear him company: and they going together on a Sunday with the\nDoctor's friend to that Parish Church where they then were, found the\nyoung Preacher to have no more discretion, than to waste a great part\nof the hour allotted for his Sermon in exceptions against the late\nTranslation of several words,--not expecting such a hearer as Dr.\nKilbie,--and shewed three reasons why a particular word should have\nbeen otherwise translated. When Evening Prayer was ended, the Preacher\nwas invited to the Doctor's friend's house; where after some other\nconference the Doctor told him, \"He might have preached more useful\ndoctrine, and not have filled his auditors' ears with needless\nexceptions against the late Translation: and for that word, for which\nhe offered to that poor congregation three reasons why it ought to\nhave been translated as he said; he and others had considered\nall them, and found thirteen more considerable reasons why it was\ntranslated as now printed;\" and told him, \"If his friend, then\nattending him, should prove guilty of such indiscretion, he should\nforfeit his favour.\" To which Mr. Sanderson said, \"He hoped he should\nnot.\" And the preacher was so ingenuous as to say, \"He would not\njustify himself.\" And so I return to Oxford. In the year 1608,--July\nthe 11th,--Mr. Sanderson was completed Master of Arts. I am not\nignorant, that for the attaining these dignities the time was shorter\nthan was then or is now required; but either his birth or the well\nperformance of some extraordinary exercise, or some other merit, made\nhim so: and the Reader is requested to believe, that 'twas the last:\nand requested to believe also, that if I be mistaken in the time, the\nCollege Records have misinformed me: but I hope they have not.\n\nIn that year of 1608, he was--November the 7th--by his College chosen\nReader of Logic in the House; which he performed so well, that he was\nchosen again the sixth of November, 1609. In the year 1613, he was\nchosen Sub-Rector of the College, and the like for the year 1614, and\nchosen again to the same dignity and trust for the year 1616.\n\nIn all which time and employments, his abilities and behaviour were\nsuch, as procured him both love and reverence from the whole Society;\nthere being no exception against him for any faults, but a sorrow\nfor the infirmities of his being too timorous and bashful; both which\nwere, God knows, so connatural as they never left him. And I know not\nwhether his lovers ought to wish they had; for they proved so like the\nradical moisture in man's body, that they preserved the life of virtue\nin his soul, which by God's assisting grace never left him till this\nlife put on immortality. Of which happy infirmities--if they may be so\ncalled--more hereafter.\n\n[Sidenote: Standing for Proctor]\n\nIn the year 1614 he stood to be elected one of the Proctors for the\nUniversity. And 'twas not to satisfy any ambition of his own, but to\ncomply with the desire of the Rector and whole Society, of which he\nwas a Member; who had not had a Proctor chosen out of their College\nfor the space of sixty years;--namely, not from the year 1554, unto\nhis standing;--and they persuaded him, that if he would but stand for\nProctor, his merits were so generally known, and he so well beloved,\nthat 'twas but appearing, and he would infallibly carry it against any\nopposers; and told him, \"That he would by that means recover a right\nor reputation that was seemingly dead to his College.\" By these, and\nother like persuasions, he yielded up his own reason to their's, and\nappeared to stand for Proctor. But that election was carried on by so\nsudden and secret, and by so powerful a faction, that he missed it.\nWhich when he understood, he professed seriously to his friends, \"That\nif he were troubled at the disappointment, it was for their's, and\nnot for his own sake: for he was far from any desire of such an\nemployment, as must be managed with charge and trouble, and was too\nusually rewarded with hard censures, or hatred, or both.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Lectures on Logic]\n\n[Sidenote: Their success]\n\nIn the year following he was earnestly persuaded by Dr. Kilbie and\nothers, to review the Logic Lectures which he had read some years past\nin his College; and, that done, to methodise and print them, for the\nease and public good of posterity. But though he had an averseness to\nappear publicly in print; yet after many serious solicitations,\nand some second thoughts of his own, he laid aside his modesty, and\npromised he would; and he did so in that year of 1615. And the book\nproved as his friends seemed to prophesy, that is, of great and\ngeneral use, whether we respect the Art or the Author. For Logic may\nbe said to be an Art of right reasoning; an Art that undeceives men\nwho take falsehood for truth; enables men to pass a true judgment, and\ndetect those fallacies, which in some men's understandings usurp the\nplace of right reason. And how great a master our Author was in this\nart, will quickly appear from that clearness of method, argument, and\ndemonstration, which is so conspicuous in all his other writings. He,\nwho had attained to so great a dexterity in the use of reason\nhimself, was best qualified to prescribe rules and directions for the\ninstructions of others. And I am the more satisfied of the excellency\nand usefulness of this, his first public undertaking, by hearing that\nmost Tutors in both Universities teach Dr. Sanderson's Logic to their\nPupils, as a foundation upon which they are to build their future\nstudies in Philosophy. And, for a further confirmation of my belief,\nthe Reader may note, that since his Book of Logic was first printed\nthere has not been less than ten thousand sold: and that 'tis like to\ncontinue both to discover truth and to clear and confirm the reason of\nthe unborn world.[5]\n\n[Sidenote: Senior Proctor]\n\nIt will easily be believed that his former standing for a Proctor's\nplace, and being disappointed, must prove much displeasing to a man of\nhis great wisdom and modesty, and create in him an averseness to run a\nsecond hazard of his credit and content: and yet he was assured by Dr.\nKilbie, and the Fellows of his own College, and most of those that\nhad opposed him in the former Election, that his Book of Logic had\npurchased for him such a belief of his learning and prudence, and\nhis behaviour at the former Election had got for him so great and so\ngeneral a love, that all his former opposers repented what they had\ndone; and therefore persuaded him to venture to stand a second time.\nAnd, upon these, and other like encouragements, he did again, but not\nwithout an inward unwillingness, yield up his own reason to their's,\nand promised to stand. And he did so; and was the tenth of April,\n1616, chosen Senior Proctor for the year following; Mr. Charles\nCrooke[6] of Christ Church being then chosen the Junior.\n\nIn this year of his being Proctor, there happened many memorable\naccidents; namely, Dr. Robert Abbot,[7] Master of Balliol College, and\nRegius Professor of Divinity,--who being elected or consecrated Bishop\nof Sarum some months before,--was solemnly conducted out of Oxford\ntowards his Diocese, by the Heads of all Houses, and the chief of\nall the University. And Dr. Prideaux[8] succeeded him in the\nProfessorship, in which he continued till the year 1642,--being then\nelected Bishop of Worcester,--and then our now Proctor, Mr. Sanderson,\nsucceeded him in the Regius Professorship.\n\n[Sidenote: Dr. Lake]\n\nAnd in this year Dr. Arthur Lake[9]--then Warden of New College--was\nadvanced to the Bishopric of Bath and Wells: a man of whom I take\nmyself bound in justice to say, that he has made the great trust\ncommitted to him, the chief care and whole business of his life. And\none testimony of this proof may be, that he sate usually with his\nChancellor in his Consistory, and at least advised, if not assisted,\nin most sentences for the punishing of such offenders as deserved\nChurch-censures. And it may be noted, that, after a sentence for\npenance was pronounced, he did very rarely or never, allow of any\ncommutation for the offence, but did usually see the sentence\nfor penance executed; and then as usually preached a Sermon on\nmortification and repentance, and did so apply them to the offenders,\nthat then stood before him, as begot in them a devout contrition, and\nat least resolutions to amend their lives: and having done that, he\nwould take them--though never so poor--to dinner with him, and use\nthem friendly, and dismiss them with his blessing and persuasions to\na virtuous life, and beg them to believe him. And his humility and\ncharity, and other Christian excellencies, were all like this. Of\nall which the Reader may inform himself in his Life, truly writ, and\nprinted before his Sermons.\n\nAnd in this year also, the very prudent and very wise Lord Ellesmere,\nwho was so very long Lord Chancellor of England, and then of Oxford,\nresigning up the last, the Right Honourable, and as magnificent,\nWilliam Herbert, Earl of Pembroke, was chosen to succeed him.\n\n[Sidenote: University matters]\n\nAnd in this year our late King Charles the First--then Prince of\nWales--came honourably attended to Oxford; and having deliberately\nvisited the University, the Schools, Colleges, and Libraries, he and\nhis attendants were entertained with ceremonies and feasting suitable\nto their dignity and merits.\n\nAnd this year King James sent letters to the University for the\nregulating their studies; especially of the young Divines: advising\nthey should not rely on modern sums and systems, but study the Fathers\nand Councils, and the more primitive learning. And this advice was\noccasioned by the indiscreet inferences made by very many Preachers\nout of Mr. Calvin's doctrine concerning Predestination, Universal\nRedemption, the Irresistibility of God's Grace, and of some other\nknotty points depending upon these; points which many think were not,\nbut by interpreters forced to be, Mr. Calvin's meaning; of the truth\nor falsehood of which I pretend not to have an ability to judge; my\nmeaning in this relation, being only to acquaint the Reader with the\noccasion of the King's Letter.\n\n[Sidenote: Revision of the Statutes]\n\nIt may be observed, that the various accidents of this year did afford\nour Proctor large and laudable matter to dilate and discourse upon:\nand that though his office seemed, according to statute and custom,\nto require him to do so at his leaving it; yet he chose rather to\npass them over with some very short observations, and present the\ngovernors, and his other hearers, with rules to keep up discipline and\norder in the University; which at that time was, either by defective\nStatutes, or want of the due execution of those that were good, grown\nto be extremely irregular. And in this year also, the magisterial part\nof the Proctor required more diligence, and was more difficult to be\nmanaged than formerly, by reason of a multiplicity of new Statutes,\nwhich begot much confusion; some of which Statutes were then, and\nothers suddenly after, put into an useful execution. And though these\nStatutes were not then made so perfectly useful as they were designed,\ntill Archbishop Laud's time--who assisted in the forming and promoting\nthem;--yet our present Proctor made them as effectual as discretion\nand diligence could do: of which one example may seem worthy the\nnoting; namely, that if in his night-walk he met with irregular\nScholars absent from their Colleges at University hours, or disordered\nby drink, or in scandalous company, he did not use his power of\npunishing to an extremity; but did usually take their names, and a\npromise to appear before him unsent for next morning; and when they\ndid, convinced them, with such obligingness, and reason added to it,\nthat they parted from him with such resolutions, as the man after\nGod's own heart was possessed with, when he said, \"There is mercy with\nthee, and therefore thou shall be feared:\" Psal. cxxx. 4. And by this\nand a like behaviour to all men, he was so happy as to lay down this\ndangerous employment, as but very few, if any, have done, even without\nan enemy.\n\n[Sidenote: Looking back]\n\nAfter his speech was ended, and he retired with a friend into a\nconvenient privacy, he looked upon his friend with a more than common\ncheerfulness, and spake to him to this purpose: \"I look back upon my\nlate employment with some content to myself, and a great thankfulness\nto Almighty God, that he hath made me of a temper not apt to provoke\nthe meanest of mankind, but rather to pass by infirmities, if noted;\nand in this employment I have had--God knows--many occasions to do\nboth. And when I consider, how many of a contrary temper are by sudden\nand small occasions transported and hurried by anger to commit such\nerrors, as they in that passion could not foresee, and will in their\nmore calm and deliberate thoughts upbraid, and require repentance: and\nconsider, that though repentance secures us from the punishment of\nany sin, yet how much more comfortable it is to be innocent than need\npardon: and consider, that errors against men, though pardoned both by\nGod and them, do yet leave such anxious and upbraiding impressions in\nthe memory, as abates of the offender's content:--when I consider all\nthis, and that God hath of his goodness given me a temper that hath\nprevented me from running into such enormities, I remember my temper\nwith joy and thankfulness. And though I cannot say with David--I wish\nI could,--that therefore 'his praise shall always be in my mouth;'\nPsal. xxxiv. 1; yet I hope, that by his grace, and that grace seconded\nby my endeavours, it shall never be blotted out of my memory; and I\nnow beseech Almighty God that it never may.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Gilbert Sheldon]\n\nAnd here I must look back, and mention one passage more in his\nProctorship, which is, that Gilbert Sheldon, the late Lord Archbishop\nof Canterbury, was this year sent to Trinity College in that\nUniversity; and not long after his entrance there, a letter was sent\nafter him from his godfather--the father of our Proctor--to let his\nson know it, and commend his godson to his acquaintance, and to\nmore than a common care of his behaviour; which proved a pleasing\ninjunction to our Proctor, who was so gladly obedient to his father's\ndesire, that he some few days after sent his servitor to intreat\nMr. Sheldon to his chamber next morning. But it seems Mr. Sheldon\nhaving--like a young man as he was--run into some such irregularity\nas made him conscious he had transgressed his statutes, did therefore\napprehend the Proctor's invitation as an introduction to punishment;\nthe fear of which made his bed restless that night: but, at their\nmeeting the next morning, that fear vanished immediately by the\nProctor's cheerful countenance, and the freedom of their discourse of\nfriends. And let me tell my Reader, that this first meeting proved the\nbeginning of as spiritual a friendship as human nature is capable of;\nof a friendship free from all self ends: and it continued to be so,\ntill death forced a separation of it on earth; but it is now reunited\nin Heaven.\n\n[Sidenote: Ordination]\n\nAnd now, having given this account of his behaviour, and the\nconsiderable accidents in his Proctorship, I proceed to tell my\nReader, that, this busy employment being ended, he preached his sermon\nfor his Degree of Bachelor in Divinity in as elegant Latin, and as\nremarkable for the matter, as hath been preached in that University\nsince that day. And having well performed his other exercises for that\nDegree, he took it the nine and twentieth of May following, having\nbeen ordained Deacon and Priest in the year 1611, by John King, then\nBishop of London, who had not long before been Dean of Christ Church,\nand then knew him so well, that he became his most affectionate\nfriend. And in this year, being then about the twenty-ninth of his\nage, he took from the University a license to preach.\n\n[Sidenote: Wibberton and Boothby Pagnell]\n\nIn the year 1618, he was by Sir Nicholas Sanderson, Lord Viscount\nCastleton, presented to the Rectory of Wibberton, not far from Boston,\nin the County of Lincoln, a living of very good value; but it lay in\nso low and wet a part of that country as was inconsistent with his\nhealth. And health being--next to a good conscience--the greatest of\nGod's blessings in this life, and requiring therefore of every man a\ncare and diligence to preserve it, he, apprehending a danger of losing\nit, if he continued at Wibberton a second Winter, did therefore resign\nit back into the hands of his worthy kinsman and patron, about one\nyear after his donation of it to him.\n\nAnd about this time of his resignation he was presented to the Rectory\nof Boothby Pannell, in the same County of Lincoln; a town which\nhas been made famous, and must continue to be famous, because Dr.\nSanderson, the humble and learned Dr. Sanderson, was more than forty\nyears Parson of Boothby Pannell, and from thence dated all or most of\nhis matchless writings.\n\nTo this living--which was of no less value, but a purer air than\nWibberton--he was presented by Thomas Harrington, of the same County,\nand Parish, Esq., who was a gentleman of a very ancient family, and of\ngreat use and esteem in his country during his whole life. And in this\nBoothby Pannell the meek and charitable Dr. Sanderson and his patron\nlived with an endearing, mutual, and comfortable friendship, till the\ndeath of the last put a period to it.\n\n[Sidenote: Resigns his Fellowship]\n\nAbout the time that he was made Parson of Boothby Pannell, he resigned\nhis Fellowship of Lincoln College unto the then Rector and Fellows;\nand his resignation is recorded in these words:\n\nEgo Robertus Sanderson perpetuus, &c.\n\nI Robert Sanderson, Fellow of the College of St. Mary's and\nAll-Saints, commonly called Lincoln College, in the University of\nOxford, do freely and willingly resign into the hands of the Rector\nand Fellows, all the right and title that I have in the said College,\nwishing to them and their successors all peace, and piety, and\nhappiness, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy\nGhost. Amen.\n\n       ROBERT SANDERSON.\n\nMay 6, 1619.\n\nAnd not long after this resignation, he was by the then Bishop of\nYork,[10] or the King _sede vacante_, made Prebend of the Collegiate\nChurch of Southwell in that Diocese; and shortly after of Lincoln by\nthe Bishop of that See.\n\n[Sidenote: Marriage]\n\nAnd being now resolved to set down his rest in a quiet privacy at\nBoothby Pannell, and looking back with some sadness upon his removal\nfrom his general acquaintance left in Oxford, and the peculiar\npleasures of a University life; he could not but think the want of\nsociety would render this of a country Parson the more uncomfortable,\nby reason of that want of conversation; and therefore he did put\non some faint purposes to marry. For he had considered, that though\nmarriage be cumbered with more worldly care than a single life; yet a\ncomplying and a prudent wife changes those very cares into so mutual a\ncontent, as makes them become like the sufferings of St. Paul, Colos.\ni. 24, which he would not have wanted because they occasioned his\nrejoicing in them. And he, having well considered this, and observed\nthe secret unutterable joys that children beget in parents, and\nthe mutual pleasures and contented trouble of their daily care and\nconstant endeavours to bring up those little images of themselves, so\nas to make them as happy as all those cares and endeavours can make\nthem: he, having considered all this, the hopes of such happiness\nturned his faint purposes into a positive resolution to marry. And he\nwas so happy as to obtain Anne, the daughter of Henry Nelson, Bachelor\nin Divinity, then Rector of Haugham, in the County of Lincoln, a man\nof noted worth and learning. And the Giver of all good things was so\ngood to him, as to give him such a wife as was suitable to his own\ndesires; a wife, that made his life happy by being always content when\nhe was cheerful; that divided her joys with him, and abated of his\nsorrow, by bearing a part of that burden; a wife that demonstrated her\naffection by a cheerful obedience to all his desires, during the whole\ncourse of his life; and at his death too, for she outlived him.\n\n[Sidenote: A country parson]\n\nAnd in this Boothby Pannell, he either found or made his parishioners\npeaceable, and complying with him in the decent and regular service\nof God. And thus his Parish, his patron, and he lived together in\na religious love and a contented quietness; he not troubling their\nthoughts by preaching high and useless notions, but such plain truths\nas were necessary to be known, believed and practised, in order to\ntheir salvation. And their assent to what he taught was testified by\nsuch a conformity to his doctrine, as declared they believed and loved\nhim. For he would often say, \"That, without the last, the most evident\ntruths--heard as from an enemy, or an evil liver--either are not, or\nare at least the less effectual; and do usually rather harden than\nconvince the hearer.\"\n\nAnd this excellent man did not think his duty discharged by only\nreading the Church prayers, catechising, preaching, and administering\nthe Sacraments seasonably; but thought--if the Law or the Canons may\nseem to enjoin no more,--yet that God would require more, than the\ndefective laws of man's making can or do enjoin; the performance of\nthat inward law, which Almighty God hath imprinted in the conscience\nof all good Christians, and inclines those whom he loves to perform.\nHe, considering this, did therefore become a law to himself,\npractising what his conscience told him was his duty, in reconciling\ndifferences, and preventing lawsuits, both in his Parish and in the\nneighbourhood. To which may be added his often visiting sick and\ndisconsolate families, persuading them to patience, and raising them\nfrom dejection by his advice and cheerful discourse, and by adding\nhis own alms, if there were any so poor as to need it: considering how\nacceptable it is to Almighty God, when we do as we are advised by\nSt. Paul, Gal. vi. 2, \"Help to bear one another's burden,\" either of\nsorrow or want: and what a comfort it will be, when the Searcher of\nall hearts shall call us to a strict account for that evil we have\ndone, and the good we have omitted, to remember we have comforted and\nbeen helpful to a dejected or distressed family.\n\n[Sidenote: The poor tenant]\n\nAnd that his practice was to do good, one example may be, that he met\nwith a poor dejected neighbour, that complained he had taken a meadow,\nthe rent of which was 9_l_. a year; and when the hay was made ready\nto be carried into his barn, several days' constant rain had so raised\nthe water, that a sudden flood carried all away, and his rich Landlord\nwould bate him no rent; and that unless he had half abated, he and\nseven children were utterly undone. It may be noted, that in this age\nthere are a sort of people so unlike the God of Mercy, so void of the\nbowels of pity, that they love only themselves and children: love them\nso, as not to be concerned, whether the rest of mankind waste their\ndays in sorrow or shame; people that are cursed with riches, and a\nmistake that nothing but riches can make them and their's happy. But\nit was not so with Dr. Sanderson; for he was concerned, and spoke\ncomfortably to the poor dejected man; bade him go home and pray, and\nnot load himself with sorrow, for he would go to his Landlord next\nmorning; and if his Landlord would not abate what he desired, he and a\nfriend would pay it for him.\n\n[Sidenote: The rich landlord]\n\n[Sidenote: A successful mediator]\n\nTo the Landlord he went the next day, and, in a conference, the\nDoctor presented to him the sad condition of his poor dejected Tenant;\ntelling him how much God is pleased when men compassionate the poor:\nand told him, that though God loves sacrifice, yet he loves mercy so\nmuch better, that he is pleased when called the God of Mercy. And\ntold him, the riches he was possessed of were given him by that God of\nMercy, who would not be pleased, if he, that had so much given,\nyea, and forgiven him too, should prove like the rich steward in the\nGospel, \"that took his fellow servant by the throat to make him pay\nthe utmost farthing.\" This he told him: and told him, that the law of\nthis nation--by which law he claims his rent--does not undertake to\nmake men honest or merciful; but does what it can to restrain men from\nbeing dishonest or unmerciful, and yet was defective in both: and that\ntaking any rent from his poor Tenant, for what God suffered him not to\nenjoy, though the law allowed him to do so, yet if he did so, he was\ntoo like that rich Steward which he had mentioned to him; and told him\nthat riches so gotten, and added to his great estate, would, as Job\nsays, \"prove like gravel in his teeth:\" would in time so corrode his\nconscience, or become so nauseous when he lay upon his deathbed, that\nhe would then labour to vomit it up, and not be able: and therefore\nadvised him, being very rich, to make friends of his unrighteous\nMammon, before that evil day come upon him: but however, neither\nfor his own sake, nor for God's sake, to take any rent of his poor,\ndejected, sad Tenant; for that were to gain a temporal, and lose his\neternal happiness. These and other such reasons were urged with so\ngrave and compassionate an earnestness, that the Landlord forgave his\nTenant the whole rent.\n\nThe Reader will easily believe that Dr. Sanderson, who was so meek and\nmerciful, did suddenly and gladly carry this comfortable news to the\ndejected Tenant; and we believe, that at the telling of it there was\nmutual rejoicing. It was one of Job's boasts, that \"he had seen none\nperish for want of clothing: and that he had often made the heart of\nthe widow to rejoice.\" Job xxxi. 19. And doubtless Dr. Sanderson\nmight have made the same religious boast of this and very many like\noccasions. But, since he did not, I rejoice that I have this just\noccasion to do it for him; and that I can tell the Reader, I might\ntire myself and him, in telling how like the whole course of Dr.\nSanderson's life was to this which I have now related.\n\n[Sidenote: Contented obscurity]\n\nThus he went on in an obscure and quiet privacy, doing good daily both\nby word and by deed, as often as any occasion offered itself; yet not\nso obscurely, but that his very great learning, prudence, and piety\nwere much noted and valued by the Bishop of his Diocese, and by most\nof the nobility and gentry of that county. By the first of which\nhe was often summoned to preach many Visitation Sermons, and by the\nlatter at many Assizes. Which Sermons, though they were much esteemed\nby them that procured, and were fit to judge them; yet they were the\nless valued, because he read them, which he was forced to do; for\nthough he had an extraordinary memory,--even the art of it,--yet he\nhad such an innate invincible fear and bashfulness, that his memory\nwas wholly useless, as to the repetition of his sermons as he had writ\nthem; which gave occasion to say, when they were first printed and\nexposed to censure, which was in the year 1632,--\"that the best\nSermons that were ever read, were never preached.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Chaplain to Charles I.]\n\nIn this contented obscurity he continued, till the learned and good\nArchbishop Laud,[11] who knew him well in Oxford,--for he was\nhis contemporary there,--told the King,--'twas the knowing and\nconscientious King Charles the First,--that there was one Mr.\nSanderson, an obscure country Minister, that was of such sincerity,\nand so excellent in all casuistical learning, that he desired\nhis Majesty would make him his Chaplain. The King granted it most\nwillingly, and gave the Bishop charge to hasten it, for he longed to\ndiscourse with a man that had dedicated his studies to that useful\npart of learning. The Bishop forgot not the King's desire, and Mr.\nSanderson was made his Chaplain in Ordinary in November following,\n1631. And when they became known to each other, the King did put many\nCases of Conscience to him, and received from him such deliberate,\nsafe, and clear solutions, as gave him great content in conversing\nwith him; so that, at the end of his month's attendance, the King told\nhim, \"he should long for the next November; for he resolved to have a\nmore inward acquaintance with him, when that month and he returned.\"\nAnd when the month and he did return, the good King was never absent\nfrom his Sermons, and would usually say, \"I carry my ears to hear\nother preachers; but I carry my conscience to hear Mr. Sanderson,\nand to act accordingly.\" And this ought not to be concealed from\nposterity, that the King thought what he spake; for he took him to be\nhis adviser, in that quiet part of his life, and he proved to be his\ncomforter in those days of his affliction, when he apprehended himself\nto be in danger of death or deposing. Of which more hereafter.\n\n[Sidenote: Clerk of the Convocation]\n\nIn the first Parliament of this good King,--which was 1625,--he was\nchosen to be a Clerk of the Convocation for the Diocese of Lincoln;\nwhich I here mention, because about that time did arise many disputes\nabout Predestination, and the many critical points that depend upon,\nor are interwoven in it; occasioned, as was said, by a disquisition of\nnew principles of Mr. Calvin's, though others say they were before\nhis time. But of these Dr. Sanderson then drew up, for his own\nsatisfaction, such a scheme--he called it _Pax Ecclesi\u00e6_--as then gave\nhimself, and hath since given others, such satisfaction, that it still\nremains to be of great estimation among the most learned. He was also\nchosen Clerk of all the Convocations during that good King's reign.\nWhich I here tell my Reader, because I shall hereafter have occasion\nto mention that Convocation in 1640, the unhappy Long Parliament,\nand some debates of the Predestination points as they have been since\ncharitably handled betwixt him, the learned Dr. Hammond,[12] and Dr.\nPierce,[13] the now Reverend Dean of Salisbury.\n\n[Sidenote: \"D.D.\"]\n\nIn the year 1636, his Majesty, then in his progress, took a fair\noccasion to visit Oxford, and to take an entertainment for two days\nfor himself and honourable attendants; which the Reader ought to\nbelieve was suitable to their dignities. But this is mentioned,\nbecause at the King's coming thither, Dr. Sanderson did attend him,\nand was then--the 31st of August--created Doctor of Divinity; which\nhonour had an addition to it, by having many of the Nobility of this\nnation then made Doctors and Masters of Arts with him; some of whose\nnames shall be recorded and live with his, and none shall outlive it.\nFirst, Dr. Curle and Dr. Wren,[14] who were then Bishops of Winton and\nof Norwich,--and had formerly taken their degrees in Cambridge,\nwere with him created Doctors of Divinity in his University. So was\nMeric,[15] the son of the learned Isaac Casaubon; and Prince Rupert,\nwho still lives, the then Duke of Lenox, Earl of Hereford, Earl of\nEssex, of Berkshire, and very many others of noble birth--too many to\nbe named--were then created Masters of Arts.\n\n[Sidenote: The New Covenant]\n\n[Sidenote: What followed]\n\nSome years before the unhappy Long Parliament, this nation being then\nhappy and in peace,--though inwardly sick of being well,--namely, in\nthe year 1639, a discontented party of the Scots Church were zealously\nrestless for another reformation of their Kirk-government; and to\nthat end created a new Covenant, for the general taking of which\nthey pretended to petition the King for his assent, and that he would\nenjoin the taking of it by all of that nation. But this petition was\nnot to be presented to him by a committee of eight or ten men of their\nfraternity; but by so many thousands, and they so armed as seemed\nto force an assent to what they seemed to request; so that though\nforbidden by the King, yet they entered England, and in the heat of\nzeal took and plundered Newcastle, where the King was forced to meet\nthem with an army: but upon a treaty and some concessions, he sent\nthem back,--though not so rich as they intended, yet,--for that time,\nwithout bloodshed. But, Oh! this peace, and this Covenant, were but\nthe fore-runners of war, and the many miseries that followed: for in\nthe year following there were so many chosen into the Long Parliament,\nthat were of a conjunct council with these very zealous and as\nfactious reformers, as begot such a confusion by the several desires\nand designs in many of the members of that Parliament, and at last\nin the very common people of this nation, that they were so lost by\ncontrary designs, fears, and confusions, as to believe the Scots and\ntheir Covenant would restore them to their former tranquillity. And to\nthat end the Presbyterian party of this nation did again, in the year\n1643, invite the Scotch Covenanters back into England: and hither they\ncame marching with it gloriously upon their pikes and in their hats,\nwith this motto: \"For the Crown and Covenant of both Kingdoms.\" This\nI saw, and suffered by it. But when I look back upon the ruin of\nfamilies, the bloodshed, the decay of common honesty, and how the\nformer piety and plain dealing of this now sinful nation is turned\ninto cruelty and cunning, I praise God that he prevented me from being\nof that party which helped to bring in this Covenant, and those sad\nconfusions that have followed it. And I have been the bolder to say\nthis to myself, because in a sad discourse with Dr. Sanderson, I heard\nhim make the like grateful acknowledgment.\n\n[Sidenote: Changes in the Service Book]\n\nThis digression is intended for the better information of the reader\nin what will follow concerning Dr. Sanderson. And first, that the\nCovenanters of this nation, and their party in Parliament, made many\nexceptions against the Common Prayer and ceremonies of the Church, and\nseemed restless for a Reformation: and though their desires seemed not\nreasonable to the King, and the learned Dr. Laud, then Archbishop\nof Canterbury; yet, to quiet their consciences, and prevent future\nconfusion, they did, in the year 1641, desire Dr. Sanderson to call\ntwo more of the Convocation to advise with him, and that he would\nthen draw up some such safe alterations as he thought fit in the\nService-book, and abate some of the ceremonies that were least\nmaterial for satisfying their consciences:--and to this end they did\nmeet together privately twice a week at the Dean of Westminster's[16]\nhouse, for the space of three months or more. But not long after that\ntime, when Dr. Sanderson had made the reformation ready for a view,\nthe Church and State were both fallen into such a confusion, that Dr.\nSanderson's model for reformation became then useless. Nevertheless,\nhis reputation was such, that he was, in the year 1642, proposed by\nboth Houses of Parliament to the King, then in Oxford, to be one of\ntheir trustees for the settling of Church-affairs, and was allowed of\nby the King to be so: but that treaty came to nothing.\n\n[Sidenote: Regius Professor of Divinity]\n\nIn the year 1643, the two Houses of Parliament took upon them to make\nan ordinance, and call an Assembly of Divines, to debate and settle\nsome Church-controversies, of which many were very unfit to judge; in\nwhich Dr. Sanderson was also named, but did not appear; I suppose for\nthe same reason that many other worthy and learned men did forbear,\nthe summons wanting the King's authority. And here I must look back,\nand tell the Reader, that in the year 1642, he was, July 21st, named\nby a more undoubted authority to a more noble employment, which was\nto be Professor Regius of Divinity in Oxford: but, though knowledge be\nsaid to puff up, yet his modesty and too mean an opinion of his great\nabilities, and some other real or pretended reasons,--expressed in his\nspeech, when he first appeared in the chair, and since printed,--kept\nhim from entering into it till October, 1646.\n\n[Sidenote: His lectures]\n\nHe did, for about a year's time, continue to read his matchless\nLectures, which were first _de Juramento_, a point very difficult, and\nat that time very dangerous to be handled as it ought to be. But this\nlearned man, as he was eminently furnished with abilities to satisfy\nthe consciences of men upon that important subject; so he wanted not\ncourage to assert the true obligation of Oaths in a degenerate age,\nwhen men had made perjury a main part of their religion. How much\nthe learned world stands obliged to him for these, and his following\nLectures _de Conscienti\u00e2_, I shall not attempt to declare, as\nbeing very sensible that the best pens must needs fall short in the\ncommendation of them: so that I shall only add, that they continued\nto this day, and will do for ever, as a complete standard for the\nresolution of the most material doubts in Casuistical Divinity. And\ntherefore I proceed to tell the Reader, that about the time of his\nreading those Lectures,--the King being then prisoner in the Isle of\nWight,--the Parliament had sent the Covenant, the Negative Oath, and\nI know not what more, to be taken by the Doctor of the Chair, and\nall Heads of Houses; and all other inferior Scholars, of what degree\nsoever, were all to take these Oaths by a fixed day; and those that\ndid not, to abandon their College, and the University too, within\ntwenty-four hours after the beating of a drum; for if they remained\nlonger, they were to be proceeded against as spies.\n\nDr. Laud, then Archbishop of Canterbury, the Earl of Strafford, and\nmany others, had been formerly murdered by this wicked Parliament; but\nthe King yet was not: and the University had yet some faint hopes that\nin a Treaty then in being, or pretended to be suddenly, there might\nbe such an agreement made between King and Parliament, that the\nDissenters in the University might both preserve their consciences and\nsubsistence which they then enjoyed by their Colleges.\n\n[Sidenote: A mistaken hope]\n\n[Sidenote: Manifesto to Parliament.]\n\nAnd being possessed of this mistaken hope, that the Parliament were\nnot yet grown so merciless as not to allow manifest reason for their\nnot submitting to the enjoined Oaths, the University appointed\ntwenty delegates to meet, consider, and draw up a Manifesto to the\nParliament, why they could not take those oaths but by violation\nof their consciences: and of these delegates Dr. Sheldon,--late\nArchbishop of Canterbury,--Dr. Hammond,--Dr. Sanderson, Dr.\nMorley,--now Bishop of Winchester,--and that most honest and as\njudicious Civil Lawyer, Dr. Zouch,[17] were a part; the rest I cannot\nnow name: but the whole number of the delegates requested Dr. Zouch\nto draw up the Law part, and give it to Dr. Sanderson: and he was\nrequested to methodise and add what referred to reason and conscience,\nand put it into form. He yielded to their desires and did so. And\nthen, after they had been read in a full Convocation, and allowed of,\nthey were printed in Latin, that the Parliament's proceedings and the\nUniversity's sufferings might be manifested to all nations: and the\nimposers of these oaths might repent, or answer them: but they were\npast the first; and for the latter, I might swear they neither can,\nnor ever will. And these Reasons were also suddenly turned into\nEnglish by Dr. Sanderson, that those of these three kingdoms might the\nbetter judge of the loyal party's sufferings.\n\n[Sidenote: \"Cases of Conscience\"]\n\n[Sidenote: The King's errors]\n\n[Sidenote: Translation of \"De Juramento\"]\n\nAbout this time the Independents--who were then grown to be the most\npowerful part of the army--had taken the King from a close to a\nmore large imprisonment; and, by their own pretences to liberty of\nconscience, were obliged to allow somewhat of that to the King,\nwho had, in the year 1646, sent for Dr. Sanderson, Dr. Hammond, Dr.\nSheldon,--the late Archbishop of Canterbury,--and Dr. Morley,--the now\nBishop of Winchester,--to attend him, in order to advise with them,\nhow far he might with a good conscience comply with the proposals of\nthe Parliament for a peace in Church and State: but these, having been\nthen denied him by the Presbyterian Parliament, were now allowed\nhim by those in present power. And as those other Divines, so Dr.\nSanderson gave his attendance on his Majesty also in the Isle of\nWight, preached there before him, and had in that attendance many,\nboth public and private, conferences with him, to his Majesty's great\nsatisfaction. At which time he desired Dr. Sanderson, that, being the\nParliament had proposed to him the abolishing of Episcopal Government\nin the Church, as inconsistent with Monarchy, that he would consider\nof it; and declare his judgment. He undertook to do so, and did it;\nbut it might not be printed till our King's happy Restoration, and\nthen it was. And at Dr. Sanderson's taking his leave of his Majesty in\nhis last attendance on him, the King requested him to betake himself\nto the writing Cases of Conscience for the good of posterity. To which\nhis answer was, \"That he was now grown old, and unfit to write Cases\nof Conscience.\" But the King was so bold with him as to say, \"It was\nthe simplest answer he ever heard from Dr. Sanderson; for no young man\nwas fit to be a judge, or write Cases of Conscience.\" And let me here\ntake occasion to tell the Reader this truth, not commonly known;\nthat in one of these conferences this conscientious King told Dr.\nSanderson, or one of them that then waited with him, \"that the\nremembrance of two errors did much afflict him; which were, his assent\nto the Earl of Strafford's death, and the abolishing Episcopacy in\nScotland; and that if God ever restored him to be in a peaceable\npossession of his Crown, he would demonstrate his repentance by a\npublic confession, and a voluntary penance,\"--I think barefoot--from\nthe Tower of London, or Whitehall, to St. Paul's Church, and desire\nthe people to intercede with God for his pardon. I am sure one of them\nthat told it me lives still, and will witness it. And it ought to\nbe observed, that Dr. Sanderson's Lectures _de Juramento_ were so\napproved and valued by the King, that in this time of his imprisonment\nand solitude he translated them into exact English; desiring Dr.\nJuxon,[18]--then Bishop of London,--Dr. Hammond, and Sir Thomas\nHerbert,[19] who then attended him,--to compare them with the\noriginal. The last still lives, and has declared it, with some other\nof that King's excellencies, in a letter under his own hand, which was\nlately shewed me by Sir William Dugdale, King at Arms. The book was\ndesigned to be put into the King's Library at St. James's; but, I\ndoubt, not now to be found there. I thought the honour of the Author\nand the Translator to be both so much concerned in this relation, that\nit ought not to be concealed from the Reader, and 'tis therefore here\ninserted.\n\n[Sidenote: Expelled from Oxford]\n\nI now return to Dr. Sanderson in the Chair in Oxford; where they that\ncomplied not in taking the Covenant, Negative Oath, and Parliament\nOrdinance for Church-discipline and worship, were under a sad and\ndaily apprehension of expulsion: for the Visitors were daily expected,\nand both City and University full of soldiers, and a party of\nPresbyterian Divines, that were as greedy and ready to possess, as the\nignorant and ill-natured Visitors were to eject the Dissenters out of\ntheir Colleges and livelihoods: but, notwithstanding, Dr. Sanderson\ndid still continue to read his Lecture, and did, to the very faces of\nthose Presbyterian Divines and soldiers, read with so much reason, and\nwith a calm fortitude make such applications, as, if they were not,\nthey ought to have been ashamed, and begged pardon of God and him,\nand forborne to do what followed. But these thriving sinners were\nhardened; and, as the Visitors expelled the Orthodox, they, without\nscruple or shame, possessed themselves of their Colleges; so that,\nwith the rest, Dr. Sanderson was in June, 1648, forced to pack up and\nbe gone, and thank God he was not imprisoned, as Dr. Sheldon, and Dr.\nHammond, and others then were.\n\n[Sidenote: Dr. Morley]\n\n[Sidenote: His fortitude]\n\nI must now again look back to Oxford, and tell my Reader, that the\nyear before this expulsion, when the University had denied this\nsubscription, and apprehended the danger of that visitation which\nfollowed, they sent Dr. Morley, then Canon of Christ Church,--now\nLord Bishop of Winchester,--and others, to petition the Parliament for\nrecalling the injunction, or a mitigation of it, or accept of their\nreasons why they could not take the Oaths enjoined them; and the\npetition was by Parliament referred to a committee to hear and report\nthe reasons to the House, and a day set for hearing them. This done,\nDr. Morley and the rest went to inform and fee Counsel, to plead their\ncause on the day appointed; but there had been so many committed\nfor pleading, that none durst undertake it; for at this time the\nprivileges of that Parliament were become a _Noli me tangere_, as\nsacred and useful to them, as traditions ever were, or are now, to the\nChurch of Rome; their number must never be known, and therefore not\nwithout danger to be meddled with. For which reason Dr. Morley was\nforced, for want of Counsel, to plead the University's Reasons for\nnon-compliance with the Parliament's injunctions: and though this was\ndone with great reason, and a boldness equal to the justice of his\ncause; yet the effect of it was, but that he and the rest appearing\nwith him were so fortunate as to return to Oxford without commitment.\nThis was some few days before the Visitors and more soldiers were sent\ndown to drive the Dissenters out of the University. And one that\nwas, at this time of Dr. Morley's pleading, a powerful man in\nthe Parliament,[20] and of that committee, observing Dr. Morley's\nbehaviour and reason, and inquiring of him and hearing a good report\nof his morals, was therefore willing to afford him a peculiar favour;\nand, that he might express it, sent for me that relate this story, and\nknew Dr. Morley well, and told me, \"he had such a love for Dr. Morley,\nthat knowing he would not take the Oaths, and must therefore be\nejected his College, and leave Oxford; he desired I would therefore\nwrite to him to ride out of Oxford, when the Visitors came into it,\nand not return till they left it, and he should be sure then to\nreturn in safety; and that he should, without taking any Oath or other\nmolestation, enjoy his Canon's place in his College.\" I did receive\nthis intended kindness with a sudden gladness, because I was sure\nthe party had a power, and as sure he meant to perform it, and did\ntherefore write the Doctor word: and his answer was, that I must\nnot fail to return my friend,--who still lives,--his humble and\nundissembled thanks, though he could not accept of his intended\nkindness; for when the Dean, Dr. Gardner, Dr. Paine, Dr. Hammond, Dr.\nSanderson and all the rest of the College were turned out, except Dr.\nWall,[21] he should take it to be, if not a sin, yet a shame, to be\nleft behind with him only. Dr. Wall I knew, and will speak nothing of\nhim, for he is dead.\n\n[Sidenote: Matters in London]\n\nIt may easily be imagined, with what a joyful willingness these\nself-loving reformers took possession of all vacant preferments, and\nwith what reluctance others parted with their beloved Colleges and\nsubsistence; but their consciences were dearer than their subsistence,\nand out they went; the reformers possessing them without shame or\nscruple: where I leave these scruple-mongers, and make an account of\nthe then present affairs of London, to be the next employment of my\nReader's patience.\n\nAnd in London all the Bishops' houses were turned to be prisons, and\nthey filled with Divines, that would not take the Covenant, or forbear\nreading Common Prayer, or that were accused for some faults like\nthese. For it may be noted, that about this time the Parliament set\nout a proclamation, to encourage all laymen that had occasion to\ncomplain of their Ministers for being troublesome or scandalous, or\nthat conformed not to Orders of Parliament, to make their complaint to\na committee for that purpose; and the Minister, though a hundred\nmiles from London, should appear there, and give satisfaction, or be\nsequestered;--and you may be sure no Parish could want a covetous, or\nmalicious, or cross-grained complaint;--by which means all prisons\nin London, and in some other places, became the sad habitations of\nconforming Divines.\n\nAnd about this time the Bishop of Canterbury having been by an unknown\nlaw condemned to die, and the execution suspended for some days, many\nof the malicious citizens, fearing his pardon, shut up their shops,\nprofessing not to open them till justice was executed. This malice and\nmadness is scarce credible; but I saw it.\n\n[Sidenote: Mr. Thomas Brightman]\n\nThe Bishops had been voted out of the House of Parliament, and some\nupon that occasion sent to the Tower; which made many Covenanters\nrejoice, and believe Mr. Brightman[22]--who probably was a good and\nwell-meaning man--to be inspired in his \"Comment on the Apocalypse,\"\nan abridgment of which was now printed, and called Mr. Brightman's\n\"Revelation of the Revelation.\" And though he was grossly mistaken\nin other things, yet, because he had made the Churches of Geneva and\nScotland, which had no Bishops, to be Philadelphia in the Apocalypse,\nthe Angel that God loved; Rev. iii. 7-13, and the power of Prelacy to\nbe Antichrist, the evil Angel, which the House of Commons had now\nso spewed up, as never to recover their dignity; therefore did those\nCovenanters approve and applaud Mr. Brightman for discovering and\nforetelling the Bishops' downfall; so that they both railed at them,\nand rejoiced to buy good pennyworths of their land, which their\nfriends of the House of Commons did afford them, as a reward of their\ndiligent assistance to pull them down.\n\n[Sidenote: Contentions]\n\nAnd the Bishops' power being now vacated, the common people were made\nso happy, as every Parish might choose their own Minister, and tell\nhim when he did, and when he did not, preach true doctrine: and by\nthis and like means, several Churches had several teachers, that\nprayed and preached for and against one another: and engaged their\nhearers to contend furiously for truths which they understood not;\nsome of which I shall mention in the discourse that follows.\n\n[Sidenote: and contradictions]\n\nI have heard of two men, that in their discourse undertook to give a\ncharacter of a third person: and one concluded he was a very honest\nman, \"for he was beholden to him;\" and the other, that he was not,\n\"for he was not beholden to him.\" And something like this was in the\ndesigns both of the Covenanters and Independents, the last of which\nwere now grown both as numerous and as powerful as the former: for\nthough they differed much in many principles, and preached against\neach other, one making it a sign of being in the state of grace, if we\nwere but zealous for the Covenant; and the other, that we ought to buy\nand sell by a measure, and to allow the same liberty of conscience to\nothers, which we by Scripture claim to ourselves; and therefore not\nto force any to swear the Covenant contrary to their consciences, and\nlose both their livings and liberties too. Though these differed thus\nin their conclusions, yet they both agreed in their practice to preach\ndown Common Prayer, and get into the best sequestered livings; and\nwhatever became of the true owners, their wives and children, yet to\ncontinue in them without the least scruple of conscience.\n\nThey also made other strange observations of Election, Reprobation,\nand Free Will, and the other points dependent upon these; such as the\nwisest of the common people were not fit to judge of; I am sure I am\nnot: though I must mention some of them historically in a more proper\nplace, when I have brought my Reader with me to Dr. Sanderson at\nBoothby Pannell.\n\nAnd in the way thither I must tell him, that a very Covenanter, and a\nScot too, that came into England with this unhappy Covenant, was got\ninto a good sequestered living by the help of a Presbyterian Parish,\nwhich had got the true owner out. And this Scotch Presbyterian, being\nwell settled in this good living, began to reform the Churchyard,\nby cutting down a large yew-tree, and some other trees that were an\nornament to the place, and very often a shelter to the parishioners;\nwho, excepting against him for so doing, were answered, \"That the\ntrees were his, and 'twas lawful for every man to use his own, as he,\nand not as they thought fit.\" I have heard, but do not affirm it,\nthat no action lies against him that is so wicked as to steal the\nwinding-sheet of a dead body after it is buried; and have heard the\nreason to be, because none were supposed to be so void of humanity;\nand that such a law would vilify that nation that would but suppose so\nvile a man to be born in it: nor would one suppose any man to do what\nthis Covenanter did. And whether there were any law against him, I\nknow not; but pity the Parish the less for turning out their legal\nMinister.\n\n[Sidenote: Boothby again]\n\nWe have now overtaken Dr. Sanderson at Boothby Parish, where he hoped\nto enjoy himself though in a poor, yet in a quiet and desired privacy;\nbut it proved otherwise: for all corners of the nation were filled\nwith Covenanters, confusion, Committee-men, and soldiers, serving\neach other to their several ends, of revenge, or power, or profit: and\nthese Committee-men and soldiers were most of them so possessed with\nthis Covenant, that they became like those that were infected with\nthat dreadful Plague of Athens; the plague of which Plague was, that\nthey by it became maliciously restless to get into company, and to\njoy,--so the Historian saith,--when they had infected others, even\nthose of their most beloved or nearest friends or relations:[23] and\nthough there might be some of these Covenanters that were beguiled and\nmeant well; yet such were the generality of them, and temper of\nthe times, that you may be sure Dr. Sanderson, who though quiet\nand harmless, yet an eminent dissenter from them, could not live\npeaceably; nor did he: for the soldiers would appear, and visibly\ndisturb him in the Church when he read prayers, pretending to advise\nhim how God was to be served most acceptably: which he not approving,\nbut continuing to observe order and decent behaviour in reading the\nChurch-service, they forced his book from him, and tore it, expecting\nextemporary prayers.\n\nAt this time he was advised by a Parliament man of power and note,\nthat valued and loved him much, not to be strict in reading all the\nCommon Prayer, but make some little variation, especially if the\nsoldiers came to watch him; for then it might not be in the power of\nhim and his other friends to secure him from taking the Covenant, or\nSequestration: for which reasons he did vary somewhat from the strict\nrules of the Rubric. I will set down the very words of confession\nwhich he used, as I have it under his own hand; and tell the Reader,\nthat all his other variations were as little, and much like to this.\n\n[Sidenote: A Confession]\n\nHIS CONFESSION.\n\n\"O Almighty God and merciful Father, we, thy unworthy servants, do\nwith shame and sorrow confess, that we have all our life long gone\nastray out of thy ways like lost sheep; and that, by following\ntoo much the vain devices and desires of our own hearts, we have\ngrievously offended against thy holy laws, both in thought, word, and\ndeed; we have many times left undone those good duties which we might\nand ought to have done; and we have many times done those evils,\nwhen we might have avoided them, which we ought not to have done.\nWe confess, O Lord! that there is no health at all, nor help in\nany creature to relieve us; but all our hope is in thy mercy, whose\njustice we have by our sins so far provoked. Have mercy therefore upon\nus, O Lord! have mercy upon us miserable offenders: spare us, good\nGod, who confess our faults, that we perish not; but, according to\nthy gracious promises declared unto mankind in Christ Jesus our Lord,\nrestore us upon our true repentance into thy grace and favour. And\ngrant, O most merciful Father! for his sake, that we henceforth study\nto serve and please thee by leading a godly, righteous, and a sober\nlife, to the glory of thy holy name, and the eternal comfort of our\nown souls, through Jesus Christ our Lord.\"\n\nAmen.\n\n[Sidenote: Wise submission]\n\nIn these disturbances of tearing his servicebook, a neighbour came on\na Sunday, after the Evening service was ended, to visit and condole\nwith him for the affront offered by the soldiers. To whom he spake\nwith a composed patience, and said; \"God hath restored me to my\ndesired privacy, with my wife and children; where I hoped to have met\nwith quietness, and it proves not so: but I will labour to be pleased,\nbecause God, on whom I depend, sees it is not fit for me to be quiet.\nI praise him, that he hath by his grace prevented me from making\nshipwreck of a good conscience to maintain me in a place of great\nreputation and profit: and though my condition be such, that I need\nthe last, yet I submit; for God did not send me into this world to do\nmy own, but suffer his will, and I will obey it.\" Thus by a sublime\ndepending on his wise, and powerful, and pitiful Creator, he did\ncheerfully submit to what God had appointed, justifying the truth of\nthat doctrine which he had preached.\n\nAbout this time that excellent book of \"The King's Meditations in his\nSolitude\" was printed, and made public; and Dr. Sanderson was such a\nlover of the Author, and so desirous that the whole world should see\nthe character of him in that book, and something of the cause for\nwhich they suffered, that he designed to turn it into Latin: but\nwhen he had done half of it most excellently, his friend Dr. Earle\nprevented him, by appearing to have done the whole very well before\nhim.\n\n[Sidenote: Preaching without book]\n\nAbout this time his dear and most intimate friend, the learned Dr.\nHammond, came to enjoy a conversation and rest with him for some days;\nand did so. And having formerly persuaded him to trust his excellent\nmemory, and not read, but try to speak a sermon as he had writ it, Dr.\nSanderson became so compliant, as to promise he would. And to that end\nthey two went early the Sunday following to a neighbour Minister,\nand requested to exchange a sermon; and they did so. And at Dr.\nSanderson's going into the pulpit, he gave his sermon--which was a\nvery short one--into the hand of Dr. Hammond, intending to preach\nit as it was writ: but before he had preached a third part, Dr.\nHammond,--looking on his sermon as written,--observed him to be out,\nand so lost as to the matter, that he also became afraid for him: for\n'twas discernible to many of the plain auditory. But when he had ended\nthis short sermon, as they two walked homeward, Dr. Sanderson said\nwith much earnestness, \"Good Doctor, give me my sermon; and know, that\nneither you nor any man living, shall ever persuade me to preach again\nwithout my books.\" To which the reply was, \"Good Doctor, be not angry:\nfor if I ever persuade you to preach again without book, I will give\nyou leave to burn all those that I am master of.\"\n\nPart of the occasion of Dr. Hammond's visit, was at this time to\ndiscourse with Dr. Sanderson about some opinions, in which, if they\ndid not then, they had doubtless differed formerly; it was about those\nknotty points, which are by the learned called the Quinquarticular\nControversy; of which I shall proceed, not to give any judgment,--I\npretend not to that,--but some short historical account which shall\nfollow.\n\n[Sidenote: Liberties of doctrine]\n\nThere had been, since the unhappy Covenant was brought and so\ngenerally taken in England, a liberty given or taken by many\nPreachers--those those of London especially--to preach and be too\npositive in the points of Universal Redemption, Predestination, and\nthose other depending upon these. Some of which preached, \"That\nall men were, before they came into this world, so predestinated to\nsalvation or damnation, that it was not in their power to sin so, as\nto lose the first, nor by their most diligent endeavour to avoid the\nlatter. Others, that it was not so: because then God could not be said\nto grieve for the death of a sinner, when he himself had made him\nso by an inevitable decree, before he had so much as a being in this\nworld;\" affirming therefore, \"that man had some power left him to do\nthe will of God, because he was advised to work out his salvation with\nfear and trembling;\" maintaining, \"that it is most certain every man\ncan do what he can to be saved;\" and that \"he that does what he can\nto be saved, shall never be damned.\" And yet many that affirmed this\nwould confess, \"That that grace, which is but a persuasive offer, and\nleft to us to receive, or refuse, is not that grace which shall bring\nmen to Heaven.\" Which truths, or untruths, or both, be they which they\nwill, did upon these, or the like occasions, come to be searched into,\nand charitably debated betwixt Dr. Sanderson, Dr. Hammond, and Dr.\nPierce,--the now Reverend Dean of Salisbury,--of which I shall proceed\nto give some account, but briefly.\n\n[Sidenote: A charitable disquisition]\n\nIn the year 1648, the fifty-two London Ministers--then a fraternity of\nSion College in that City--had in a printed Declaration aspersed Dr.\nHammond most heinously, for that he had in his Practical Catechism\naffirmed, that our Saviour died for the sins of all mankind. To\njustify which truth, he presently makes a charitable reply--as 'tis\nnow printed in his works.--After which there were many letters passed\nbetwixt the said Dr. Hammond, Dr. Sanderson and Dr. Pierce, concerning\nGod's grace and decrees. Dr. Sanderson was with much unwillingness\ndrawn into this debate; for he declared it would prove uneasy to him,\nwho in his judgment of God's decrees differed with Dr. Hammond,--whom\nhe reverenced and loved dearly,--and would not therefore engage him\ninto a controversy, of which he could never hope to see an end: but\nthey did all enter into a charitable disquisition of these said points\nin several letters, to the full satisfaction of the learned; those\nbetwixt Dr. Sanderson and Dr. Hammond being printed in his works; and\nfor what passed betwixt him and the learned Dr. Pierce, I refer my\nReader to a Letter annexed to the end of this relation.\n\n[Sidenote: Changes of judgment]\n\nI think the judgment of Dr. Sanderson, was, by these debates, altered\nfrom what it was at his entrance into them; for in the year 1632, when\nhis excellent Sermons were first printed in quarto, the Reader may on\nthe margin find some accusation of Arminius for false doctrine; and\nfind that, upon a review and reprinting those Sermons in folio, in the\nyear 1657, that accusation of Arminius is omitted. And the change\nof his judgment seems more fully to appear in his said letter to Dr.\nPierce. And let me now tell the Reader, which may seem to be perplexed\nwith these several affirmations of God's decrees before mentioned,\nthat Dr. Hammond, in a postscript to the last letter of Dr.\nSanderson's, says, \"God can reconcile his own contradictions,\nand therefore advises all men, as the Apostle does, to study\nmortification, and be wise to sobriety.\" And let me add farther, that\nif these fifty-two Ministers of Sion College were the occasion of the\ndebates in these letters, they have, I think, been the occasion of\ngiving an end to the Quinquarticular Controversy: for none have since\nundertaken to say more; but seem to be so wise, as to be content to be\nignorant of the rest, till they come to that place, where the secrets\nof all hearts shall be laid open. And let me here tell the Reader\nalso, that if the rest of mankind would, as Dr. Sanderson, not conceal\ntheir alteration of judgment, but confess it to the honour of God\nand themselves, then our nation would become freer from pertinacious\ndisputes, and fuller of recantations.\n\n[Sidenote: Dr. Laud]\n\nI cannot lead my Reader to Dr. Hammond and Dr. Sanderson, where we\nleft them at Boothby Pannell, till I have looked back to the Long\nParliament, the Society of Covenanters in Sion College, and those\nothers scattered up and down in London, and given some account\nof their proceedings and usage of the late learned Dr. Laud, then\nArchbishop of Canterbury. And though I will forbear to mention the\ninjustice of his death, and the barbarous usage of him, both then and\nbefore it; yet my desire is that what follows may be noted, because it\ndoes now, or may hereafter, concern us; namely, that in his last sad\nsermon on the scaffold at his death, he having freely pardoned all his\nenemies, and humbly begged of God to pardon them, and besought those\npresent to pardon and pray for him; yet he seemed to accuse the\nmagistrates of the City, for suffering a sort of wretched people,\nthat could not know why he was condemned, to go visibly up and down\nto gather hands to a petition, that the Parliament would hasten his\nexecution. And having declared how unjustly he thought himself to be\ncondemned, and accused for endeavouring to bring in Popery,--for\nthat was one of the accusations for which he died,--he declared with\nsadness, \"That the several sects and divisions then in England,--which\nhe had laboured to prevent,--were like to bring the Pope a far greater\nharvest, than he could ever have expected without them.\" And said,\n\"These sects and divisions introduce profaneness under the cloak of an\nimaginary Religion; and that we have lost the substance of Religion by\nchanging it into opinion: and that by these means this Church, which\nall the Jesuits' machinations could not ruin, was fallen into apparent\ndanger by those which were his accusers.\" To this purpose he spoke at\nhis death: for this, and more of which, the Reader may view his last\nsad sermon on the scaffold. And it is here mentioned, because his dear\nfriend, Dr. Sanderson, seems to demonstrate the same in his two large\nand remarkable Prefaces before his two volumes of Sermons; and he\nseems also with much sorrow to say the same again in his last Will,\nmade when he apprehended himself to be very near his death. And these\nCovenanters ought to take notice of it, and to remember, that, by the\nlate wicked war begun by them, Dr. Sanderson was ejected out of the\nProfessor's Chair in Oxford; and that if he had continued in it,--for\nhe lived fourteen years after,--both the learned of this, and other\nnations, had been made happy by many remarkable Cases of Conscience,\nso rationally stated, and so briefly, so clearly, and so convincingly\ndetermined, that posterity might have joyed and boasted, that Dr.\nSanderson was born in this nation, for the ease and benefit of all the\nlearned that shall be born after him: but this benefit is so like time\npast, that they are both irrecoverably lost.\n\n[Sidenote: Prisoner at Lincoln]\n\nI should now return to Boothby Pannell, where we left Dr. Hammond and\nDr. Sanderson together; but neither can be found there: for the first\nwas in his journey to London, and the second seized upon the day\nafter his friend's departure, and carried prisoner to Lincoln, then\na garrison of the Parliament's. For the pretended reason of which\ncommitment, I shall give this following account.\n\n[Sidenote: Exchanged for Dr. Clarke]\n\nThere was one Mr. Clarke, the Minister of Alington, a town not many\nmiles from Boothby Pannell, who was an active man for the Parliament\nand Covenant; one that, when Belvoir Castle--then a garrison for the\nParliament--was taken by a party of the King's soldiers, was taken\nin it, and made a prisoner of war in Newark, then a garrison of the\nKing's; a man so active and useful for his party, that they became so\nmuch concerned for his enlargement, that the Committee of Lincoln sent\na troop of horse to seize and bring Dr. Sanderson a prisoner to that\ngarrison: and they did so. And there he had the happiness to meet with\nmany, that knew him so well as to treat him kindly; but told him,\n\"He must continue their prisoner, till he should purchase his own\nenlargement by procuring an exchange for Mr. Clarke, then prisoner in\nthe King's garrison of Newark.\" There were many reasons given by the\nDoctor of the injustice of his imprisonment, and the inequality of\nthe exchange: but all were ineffectual; for done it must be, or he\ncontinue a prisoner. And in time done it was, upon the following\nconditions.\n\n[Sidenote: Mode of life]\n\nFirst, that Dr. Sanderson and Mr. Clarke being exchanged, should live\nundisturbed at their own Parishes; and if either were injured by the\nsoldiers of the contrary party, the other, having notice of it, should\nprocure him a redress, by having satisfaction made for his loss, or\nfor any other injury; or if not, he to be used in the same kind by the\nother party. Nevertheless, Dr. Sanderson could neither live safe nor\nquietly, being several times plundered, and once wounded in three\nplaces: but he, apprehending the remedy might turn to a more\nintolerable burden by impatience or complaining, forbore both;\nand possessed his soul in a contented quietness, without the least\nrepining. But though he could not enjoy the safety he expected by this\nexchange, yet, by His providence that can bring good out of evil, it\nturned so much to his advantage, that whereas as his living had been\nsequestered from the year 1644, and continued to be so till this time\nof his imprisonment, he, by the Articles of War in this exchange for\nMr. Clarke, procured his sequestration to be recalled, and by that\nmeans enjoyed a poor, but contented subsistence for himself, wife, and\nchildren, till the happy restoration of our King and Church.\n\nIn this time of his poor, but contented privacy of life, his\ncasuistical learning, peaceful moderation, and sincerity, became so\nremarkable, that there were many that applied themselves to him for\nresolution in cases of conscience; some known to him, many not; some\nrequiring satisfaction by conference, others by letters; so many, that\nhis life became almost as restless as their minds; yet he denied\nno man: and if it be a truth which holy Mr. Herbert says, \"That all\nworldly joys seem less, when compared with shewing mercy or doing\nkindnesses;\" then doubtless Dr. Sanderson might have boasted for\nrelieving so many restless and wounded consciences; which, as Solomon\nsays, \"are a burden that none can bear, though their fortitude may\nsustain their other infirmities;\" and if words cannot express the\njoy of a conscience relieved from such restless agonies; then Dr.\nSanderson might rejoice that so many were by him so clearly and\nconscientiously satisfied, for he denied none, and would often praise\nGod for that ability, and as often for the occasion, and that God had\ninclined his heart to do it to the meanest of any of those poor, but\nprecious souls, for which his Saviour vouchsafed to be crucified.\n\n[Sidenote: Cases of conscience]\n\nSome of these very many cases that were resolved by letters, have been\npreserved and printed for the benefit of posterity; as namely,\n\n  1. Of the Sabbath.\n  2. Marrying with a Recusant.\n  3. Of unlawful love.\n  4. Of a military life.\n  5. Of Scandal.\n  6. Of a bond taken in the King's name.\n  7. Of the Engagement.\n  8. Of a rash vow.\n\nBut many more remain in private hands, of which one is of Simony; and\nI wish the world might see it, that it might undeceive some Patrons,\nwho think they have discharged that great and dangerous trust, both\nto God and man, if they take no money for a living, though it may be\nparted with for other ends less justifiable.\n\n[Sidenote: Preface to last sermons]\n\nAnd in this time of his retirement, when the common people were amazed\nand grown giddy by the many falsehoods, and misapplications of truths\nfrequently vented in sermons; when they wrested the Scripture by\nchallenging God to be of their party, and called upon him in their\nprayers to patronise their sacrilege and zealous frenzies; in this\ntime he did so compassionate the generality of this misled nation,\nthat though the times threatened danger, yet he then hazarded his\nsafety by writing the large and bold Preface now extant before his\nlast twenty Sermons;--first printed in the year 1655;--in which there\nwas such strength of reason, with so powerful and clear convincing\napplications made to the Non-conformists, as being read by one of\nthose dissenting brethren, who was possessed with such a spirit of\ncontradiction, as being neither able to defend his error, nor yield\nto truth manifest,--his conscience having slept long and quietly in\na good sequestered living,--was yet at the reading of it so awakened,\nthat after a conflict with the reason he had met, and the damage he\nwas to sustain if he consented to it,--and being still unwilling to be\nso convinced, as to lose by being over-reasoned,--he went in haste to\nthe bookseller of whom it was bought, threatened him, and told him in\nanger, \"he had sold a book in which there was false Divinity; and that\nthe Preface had upbraided the Parliament, and many godly Ministers of\nthat party, for unjust dealing.\" To which his reply was,--'twas Tim.\nGarthwaite,--\"That 'twas not his trade to judge of true or false\nDivinity, but to print and sell books: and yet if he, or any friend\nof his, would write an answer to it, and own it by setting his name to\nit, he would print the Answer, and promote the selling of it.\"\n\n[Sidenote: A meeting in Little Britain]\n\nAbout the time of his printing this excellent Preface, I met him\naccidentally in London, in sad-coloured clothes, and, God knows,\nfar from being costly. The place of our meeting was near to Little\nBritain, where he had been to buy a book, which he then had in his\nhand. We had no inclination to part presently, and therefore turned\nto stand in a corner under a penthouse,--for it began to rain,--and\nimmediately the wind rose, and the rain increased so much, that both\nbecame so inconvenient, as to force us into a cleanly house, where we\nhad bread, cheese, ale, and a fire for our money. This rain and wind\nwere so obliging to me, as to force our stay there for at least an\nhour, to my great content and advantage; for in that time he made to\nme many useful observations, with much clearness and conscientious\nfreedom. I shall relate a part of them, in hope they may also turn to\nthe advantage of my Reader. He seemed to lament, that the Parliament\nhad taken upon them to abolish our Liturgy, to the scandal of so many\ndevout and learned men, and the disgrace of those many martyrs, who\nhad sealed the truth and use of it with their blood: and that no\nMinister was now thought godly that did not decry it, and at least\npretend to make better prayers _ex tempore_: and that they, and only\nthey, that could do so, prayed by the Spirit, and were godly; though\nin their sermons they disputed, and evidently contradicted each other\nin their prayers. And as he did dislike this, so he did most highly\ncommend the Common Prayer of the Church, saying, \"the Collects were\nthe most passionate, proper, and most elegant expressions that any\nlanguage ever afforded; and that there was in them such piety, and so\ninterwoven with instructions, that they taught us to the power, the\nwisdom, the majesty, and mercy of God, and much of our duty both to\nhim and our neighbour: and that a congregation, behaving themselves\nreverently, and putting up to God these joint and known desires for\npardon of sins, and praises for mercies received, could not but be\nmore pleasing to God, than those raw, unpremeditated expressions, to\nwhich many of the hearers could not say, Amen.\"\n\n[Sidenote: \"The Treasury of Christian comfort\"]\n\nAnd he then commended to me the frequent use of the Psalter, or Psalms\nof David; speaking to this purpose: \"That they were the Treasury of\nChristian comfort, fitted for all persons and necessities; able to\nraise the soul from dejection by the frequent mention of God's mercies\nto repentant sinners; to stir up holy desires: to increase joy; to\nmoderate sorrow; to nourish hope, and teach us patience, by waiting\nGod's leisure: to beget a trust in the mercy, power, and providence of\nour Creator; and to cause a resignation of ourselves to his will; and\nthen, and not till then, to believe ourselves happy.\" This, he said,\nthe Liturgy and Psalms taught us; and that by the frequent use of the\nlast, they would not only prove to be our soul's comfort, but would\nbecome so habitual, as to transform them into the Image of his soul\nthat composed them. After this manner he expressed himself concerning\nthe Liturgy and Psalms; and seemed to lament that this, which was\nthe devotion of the more primitive times, should in common pulpits\nbe turned into needless debates about Freewill, Election, and\nReprobation, of which, and many like questions, we may be safely\nignorant, because Almighty God intends not to lead us to Heaven by\nhard questions, but by meekness and charity, and a frequent practice\nof devotion.\n\n[Sidenote: Dangerous mistakes]\n\n[Sidenote: A year of Homilies]\n\nAnd he seemed to lament very much, that, by the means of irregular and\nindiscreet preaching, the generality of the nation were possessed with\nsuch dangerous mistakes, as to think, \"they might be religious first,\nand then just and merciful; that they might sell their consciences,\nand yet have something left that was worth keeping; that they might\nbe sure they were elected, though their lives were visibly scandalous;\nthat to be cunning was to be wise; that to be rich was to be happy,\nthough their wealth was got without justice or mercy; that to be\nbusy in things they understood not, was no sin.\" These and the like\nmistakes he lamented much, and besought God to remove them, and\nrestore us to that humility, sincerity, and singleheartedness, with\nwhich this nation was blessed before the unhappy Covenant was brought\ninto the nation, and every man preached and prayed what seemed best\nin his own eyes. And he then said to me, \"That the way to restore this\nnation to a more meek and Christian temper, was to have the body of\nDivinity--or so much of it as was needful to be known--to be put into\nfifty-two Homilies or Sermons, of such a length as not to exceed a\nthird, or fourth part of an hour's reading: and these needful points\nto be made so clear and plain, that those of a mean capacity might\nknow what was necessary to be believed, and what God requires to be\ndone; and then some applications of trial and conviction: and these\nto be read every Sunday of the year, as infallibly as the blood\ncirculates the body; and then as certainly begun again, and continued\nthe year following: and that this being done, it might probably abate\nthe inordinate desires of knowing what we need not, and practising\nwhat we know and ought to do.\" This was the earnest desire of this\nprudent man. And Oh that Dr. Sanderson had undertaken it! for then in\nall probability it would have proved effectual.\n\n[Sidenote: Another conference]\n\nAt this happy time of enjoying his company and his discourse, he\nexpressed a sorrow by saying to me, \"Oh that I had gone Chaplain\nto that excellently accomplished gentleman, your friend, Sir Henry\nWotton! which was once intended, when he first went Ambassador to\nthe State of Venice: for by that employment I had been forced into a\nnecessity of conversing, not with him only, but with several men of\nseveral nations; and might thereby have kept myself from my unmanly\nbashfulness, which has proved very troublesome, and not less\ninconvenient to me; and which I now fear is become so habitual as\nnever to leave me: and by that means I might also have known, or at\nleast have had the satisfaction of seeing, one of the late miracles\nof general learning, prudence, and modesty, Sir Henry Wotton's dear\nfriend, Padre Paulo, who, the author of his life says, was born with\na bashfulness as invincible as I have found my own to be: a man whose\nfame must never die, till virtue and learning shall become so useless\nas not to be regarded.\"\n\nThis was a part of the benefit I then had by that hour's conversation:\nand I gladly remember and mention it, as an argument of my happiness,\nand his great humility and condescension. I had also a like advantage\nby another happy conference with him, which I am desirous to impart\nin this place to the Reader. He lamented much, that in many Parishes,\nwhere the maintenance was not great, there was no Minister to\nofficiate; and that many of the best sequestered livings were\npossessed with such rigid Covenanters as denied the Sacrament to their\nParishioners, unless upon such conditions, and in such a manner, as\nthey could not take it. This he mentioned with much sorrow, saying,\n\"The blessed Sacrament did, by way of preparation for it, give\noccasion to all conscientious receivers to examine the performance\nof their vows, since they received their last seal for the pardon of\ntheir sins past; and to examine and re-search their hearts, and make\npenitent reflections on their failings; and, that done, to bewail\nthem, and then make new vows or resolutions to obey all God's\ncommands, and beg his grace to perform them. And this done,\nthe Sacrament repairs the decays of grace, helps us to conquer\ninfirmities, gives us grace to beg God's grace, and then gives us\nwhat we beg; makes us still hunger and thirst after his righteousness,\nwhich we then receive, and being assisted with our endeavours, will\nstill so dwell in us, as to become our satisfaction in this life, and\nour comfort on our last sick beds.\" The want of this blessed benefit\nhe lamented much, and pitied their condition that desired, but could\nnot obtain it.\n\n[Sidenote: His character]\n\nI hope I shall not disoblige my Reader, if I here enlarge into a\nfurther character of his person and temper. As first, that he was\nmoderately tall: his behaviour had in it much of a plain comeliness,\nand very little, yet enough, of ceremony or courtship; his looks and\nmotion manifested affability and mildness, and yet he had with these a\ncalm, but so matchless a fortitude, as secured him from complying\nwith any of those many Parliament injunctions, that interfered with a\ndoubtful conscience. His learning was methodical and exact, his wisdom\nuseful, his integrity visible, and his whole life so unspotted, that\nall ought to be preserved as copies for posterity to write after; the\nClergy especially, who with impure hands ought not to offer sacrifice\nto that God, whose pure eyes abhor iniquity.\n\nThere was in his Sermons no improper rhetoric, nor such perplexed\ndivisions, as may be said to be like too much light, that so dazzles\nthe eyes, that the sight becomes less perfect: but there was therein\nno want of useful matter, nor waste of words; and yet such clear\ndistinctions as dispelled all confused notions, and made his hearers\ndepart both wiser, and more confirmed in virtuous resolutions.\n\n[Sidenote: His memory]\n\n[Sidenote: His even temper]\n\nHis memory was so matchless and firm, as 'twas only overcome by his\nbashfulness; for he alone, or to a friend, could repeat all the Odes\nof Horace, all Tully's Offices, and much of Juvenal and Persius,\nwithout book: and would say, \"the repetition of one of the Odes of\nHorace to himself, was to him such music, as a lesson on the viol was\nto others, when they played it to themselves or friends.\" And though\nhe was blest with a clearer judgment than other men, yet he was so\ndistrustful of it, that he did over-consider of consequences, and\nwould so delay and re-consider what to determine, that though none\never determined better, yet, when the bell tolled for him to appear\nand read his Divinity Lectures in Oxford, and all the Scholars\nattended to hear him, he had not then, or not till then, resolved and\nwrit what he meant to determine; so that that appeared to be a truth,\nwhich his old dear friend Dr. Sheldon would often say, namely, \"That\nhis judgment was so much superior to his fancy, that whatsoever\nthis suggested, that disliked and controlled; still considering, and\nre-considering, till his time was so wasted, that he was forced to\nwrite, not, probably, what was best, but what he thought last.\" And\nyet what he did then read, appeared to all hearers to be so useful,\nclear, and satisfactory, as none ever determined with greater\napplause. These tiring and perplexing thoughts begot in him an\naverseness to enter into the toil of considering and determining all\ncasuistical points; because during that time, they neither gave rest\nto his body or mind. But though he would not be always loaden with\nthese knotty points and distinctions; yet the study of old records,\ngenealogies, and Heraldry, were a recreation and so pleasing, that he\nwould say they gave rest to his mind. Of the last of which I have seen\ntwo remarkable volumes; and the Reader needs neither to doubt their\ntruth or exactness.\n\nAnd this humble man had so conquered all repining and ambitious\nthoughts, and with them all other unruly passions, that, if the\naccidents of the day proved to his danger or damage, yet he both began\nand ended it with an even and undisturbed quietness; always praising\nGod that he had not withdrawn food and raiment from him and his poor\nfamily; nor suffered him to violate his conscience for his safety, or\nto support himself or them in a more splendid or plentiful condition;\nand that he therefore resolved with David, \"That his praise should be\nalways in his mouth.\"\n\n[Sidenote: \"De Conscienti\u00e2\"]\n\nI have taken a content in giving my Reader this character of his\nperson, his temper, and some of the accidents of his life past; and\nmore might be added of all; but I will with sorrow look forward to the\nsad days, in which so many good men suffered, about the year 1658, at\nwhich time Dr. Sanderson was in a very low condition as to his estate;\nand in that time Mr. Robert Boyle[24]--a gentleman of a very noble\nbirth, and more eminent for his liberality, learning, and virtue,\nand of whom I would say much more, but that he still lives--having\ncasually met with and read his Lectures _de Juramento_, to his great\nsatisfaction, and being informed of Dr. Sanderson's great innocence\nand sincerity, and that he and his family were brought into a low\ncondition by his not complying with the Parliament's injunctions,\nsent him by his dear friend Dr. Barlow[25]--the now learned Bishop of\nLincoln--50_l._ and with it a request and promise. The request was,\nthat he would review the Lectures _de Conscienti\u00e2_, which he had read\nwhen he was Doctor of the Chair in Oxford, and print them for the good\nof posterity:--and this Dr. Sanderson did in the year 1659.--And the\npromise was, that he would pay him that, or a greater sum if desired,\nduring his life, to enable him to pay an amanuensis, to ease him from\nthe trouble of writing what he should conceive or dictate. For the\nmore particular account of which, I refer my Reader to a letter\nwrit by the said Dr. Barlow, which I have annexed to the end of this\nrelation.\n\n[Sidenote: The Restoration]\n\nTowards the end of this year, 1659, when the many mixed sects, and\ntheir creators and merciless protectors, had led or driven each other\ninto a whirlpool of confusion: when amazement and fear had seized\nthem, and their accusing consciences gave them an inward and fearful\nintelligence, that the god which they had long served was now ready to\npay them such wages, as he does always reward witches with for their\nobeying him: when these wretches were come to foresee an end of\ntheir cruel reign, by our King's return; and such sufferers as Dr.\nSanderson--and with him many of the oppressed Clergy and others--could\nforesee the cloud of their afflictions would be dispersed by it; then,\nin the beginning of the year following, the King was by God restored\nto us, and we to our known laws and liberties, and a general joy\nand peace seemed to breathe through the three nations. Then were the\nsuffering Clergy freed from their sequestration, restored to their\nrevenues, and to a liberty to adore, praise, and pray to God in such\norder as their consciences and oaths had formerly obliged them. And\nthe Reader will easily believe, that Dr. Sanderson and his dejected\nfamily rejoiced to see this day, and be of this number.\n\n[Sidenote: Commended to Charles II.]\n\nIt ought to be considered--which I have often heard or read--that in\nthe primitive times men of learning and virtue were usually sought\nfor, and solicited to accept of Episcopal government, and often\nrefused it. For they conscientiously considered, that the office of\na Bishop was made up of labour and care; that they were trusted to be\nGod's almoners of the Church's revenue, and double their care for the\npoor; to live strictly themselves, and use all diligence to see that\ntheir family, officers, and Clergy did so; and that the account of\nthat stewardship, must, at the last dreadful day, be made to the\nSearcher of all Hearts: and that in the primitive times they were\ntherefore timorous to undertake it. It may not be said, that Dr.\nSanderson was accomplished with these, and all the other requisites\nrequired in a Bishop, so as to be able to answer them exactly: but\nit may be affirmed, as a good preparation, that he had at the age of\nseventy-three years--for he was so old at the King's Return--fewer\nfaults to be pardoned by God or man, than are apparent in others in\nthese days, in which, God knows, we fall so short of that visible\nsanctity and zeal to God's glory, which was apparent in the days of\nprimitive Christianity. This is mentioned by way of preparation to\nwhat I shall say more of Dr. Sanderson; and namely, that, at\nthe King's return, Dr. Sheldon, the late prudent Bishop of\nCanterbury,--than whom none knew, valued, or loved Dr. Sanderson more\nor better,--was by his Majesty made a chief trustee to commend to him\nfit men to supply the then vacant Bishoprics. And Dr. Sheldon knew\nnone fitter than Dr. Sanderson, and therefore humbly desired the King\nthat he would nominate him: and, that done, he did as humbly desire\nDr. Sanderson that he would, for God's and the Church's sake,\ntake that charge and care upon him. Dr. Sanderson had, if not an\nunwillingness, certainly no forwardness to undertake it; and would\noften say, he had not led himself, but his friend would now lead him\ninto a temptation, which he had daily prayed against; and besought\nGod, if he did undertake it, so as to assist him with his grace, that\nthe example of his life, his cares and endeavours, might promote his\nglory, and help forward the salvation of others.\n\n[Sidenote: Bishop of Lincoln]\n\nThis I have mentioned as a happy preparation to his Bishopric; and\nam next to tell, that he was consecrated Bishop of Lincoln at\nWestminster, the 28th of October, 1660.\n\n[Sidenote: Mr. Richard Baxter]\n\nThere was about this time a Christian care taken, that those whose\nconsciences were, as they said, tender, and could not comply with the\nservice and ceremonies of the Church, might have satisfaction given\nby a friendly debate betwixt a select number of them, and some like\nnumber of those that had been sufferers for the Church-service and\nceremonies, and now restored to liberty; of which last some were then\npreferred to power and dignity in the Church. And of these Bishop\nSanderson was one, and then chose to be a moderator in that debate:\nand he performed his trust with much mildness, patience, and reason;\nbut all proved ineffectual: for there be some prepossessions like\njealousies, which, though causeless, yet cannot be removed by reasons\nas apparent as demonstration can make any truth. The place appointed\nfor this debate was the Savoy in the Strand: and the points debated\nwere, I think, many; some affirmed to be truth and reason, some denied\nto be either; and these debates being then in words, proved to be so\nloose and perplexed as satisfied neither party. For some time that\nwhich had been affirmed was immediately forgot or denied, and so no\nsatisfaction given to either party. But that the debate might become\nmore useful, it was therefore resolved that the day following the\ndesires and reasons of the Non-conformists should be given in writing,\nand they in writing receive answers from the conforming party. And\nthough I neither now can, nor need to mention all the points debated,\nnor the names of the dissenting brethren; yet I am sure Mr. Baxter was\none, and am sure what shall now follow was one of the points debated.\n\nConcerning a command of lawful superiors, what was sufficient to its\nbeing a lawful command; this proposition was brought by the conforming\nparty.\n\n\"That command which commands an act in itself lawful, and no other act\nor circumstance unlawful, is not sinful.\"\n\nMr. Baxter[26] denied it for two reasons, which he gave in with his\nown hand in writing, thus:\n\nOne was, \"Because that may be a sin _per accidens_, which is not so in\nitself, and may be unlawfully commanded, though that accident be\nnot in the command.\" Another was, \"That it may be commanded under an\nunjust penalty.\"\n\nAgain this proposition being brought by the Conformists, \"That command\nwhich commandeth an act in itself lawful, and no other act whereby\nany unjust penalty is enjoined, nor any circumstance whence, _per\naccidens_, any sin is consequent which the commander ought to provide\nagainst, is not sinful.\"\n\n[Sidenote: His contentions or denials]\n\nMr. Baxter denied it for this reason, then given in with his own\nhand in writing thus: \"Because the first act commanded may be _per\naccidens_ unlawful, and be commanded by an unjust penalty, though no\nother act or circumstance commanded be such.\"\n\nAgain, this proposition being brought by the Conformists, \"That\ncommand which commandeth an act in itself lawful, and no other act\nwhereby any unjust penalty is enjoined, nor any circumstance,\nwhence directly, or _per accidens_, any sin is consequent, which the\ncommander ought to provide against, hath in it all things requisite\nto the lawfulness of a command, and particularly cannot be guilty of\ncommanding an act _per accidens_ unlawful, nor of commanding an act\nunder an unjust penalty.\"\n\nMr. Baxter denied it upon the same reasons.\n\n                 PETER GUNNING.[27]\n\n                 JOHN PEARSON.[28]\n\nThese were then two of the disputants, still alive, and will attest\nthis; one being now Lord Bishop of Ely, and the other of Chester.\nAnd the last of them told me very lately, that one of the\nDissenters--which I could, but forbear to name--appeared to Dr.\nSanderson to be so bold, so troublesome, and so illogical in the\ndispute, as forced patient Dr. Sanderson--who was then Bishop of\nLincoln, and a moderator with other Bishops--to say, with an unusual\nearnestness, \"That he had never met with a man of more pertinacious\nconfidence, and less abilities, in all his conversation.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Results of the debate]\n\nBut though this debate at the Savoy was ended without any great\nsatisfaction to either party, yet both parties knew the desires, and\nunderstood the abilities, of the other, much better than before it:\nand the late distressed Clergy, that were now restored to their former\nrights and power, did, at the next meeting in Convocation, contrive to\ngive the dissenting party satisfaction by alteration, explanation, and\naddition to some part both of the Rubric and Common Prayer, as also\nby adding some new necessary Collects, and a particular Collect\nof Thanksgiving. How many of those new Collects were worded by Dr.\nSanderson, I cannot say; but am sure the whole Convocation valued him\nso much that he never undertook to speak to any point in question, but\nhe was heard with great willingness and attention; and when any point\nin question was determined, the Convocation did usually desire him to\nword their intentions, and as usually approve and thank him.\n\n[Sidenote: New Offices]\n\nAt this Convocation the Common Prayer was made more complete, by\nadding three new necessary Offices; which were, \"A Form of Humiliation\nfor the Murder of King Charles the Martyr; A Thanksgiving for the\nRestoration of his Son our King; and For the Baptising of Persons of\nriper Age.\" I cannot say Dr. Sanderson did form, or word them all,\nbut doubtless more than any single man of the Convocation; and he\ndid also, by desire of the Convocation, alter and add to the forms of\nPrayers to be used at Sea--now taken into the Service-Book.--And\nit may be noted, that William, the now Right Reverend Bishop of\nCanterbury,[29] was in these employments diligently useful; especially\nin helping to rectify the Calendar and Rubric. And lastly, it may\nbe noted, that, for the satisfying all the dissenting brethren and\nothers, the Convocation's reasons for the alterations and additions\nto the Liturgy were by them desired to be drawn up by Dr. Sanderson;\nwhich being done by him, and approved by them, was appointed to be\nprinted before the Liturgy, and may be known by this title--\"The\nPreface;\" and begins thus--\"It hath been the Wisdom of the Church.\"--\n\nI shall now follow him to his Bishopric, and declare a part of his\nbehaviour in that busy and weighty employment. And first, that it was\nwith such condescension and obligingness to the meanest of his Clergy,\nas to know and be known to them. And indeed he practised the like to\nall men of what degree soever, especially to his old neighbours or\nparishioners of Boothby Pannell; for there was all joy at his table,\nwhen they came to visit him: then they prayed for him, and he for\nthem, with an unfeigned affection.\n\nI think it will not be denied, but that the care and toil required of\na Bishop, may justly challenge the riches and revenue with which their\npredecessors had lawfully endowed them: and yet he sought not that so\nmuch, as doing good both to the present age and posterity; and he made\nthis appear by what follows.\n\n[Sidenote: The Bishop at Buckden]\n\n[Sidenote: Repairs and restorations]\n\nThe Bishop's chief house at Buckden, in the County of Huntingdon, the\nusual residence of his predecessors,--for it stands about the midst\nof his Diocese,--having been at his consecration a great part of it\ndemolished, and what was left standing under a visible decay, was by\nhim undertaken to be erected and repaired: and it was performed with\ngreat speed, care, and charge. And to this may be added, that the King\nhaving by an Injunction commended to the care of the Bishops, Deans,\nand Prebends of all Cathedral Churches, \"the repair of them, their\nhouses, and augmentation of small Vicarages;\" he, when he was\nrepairing Buckden, did also augment the last, as fast as fines were\npaid for renewing leases so fast, that a friend, taking notice of his\nbounty, was so bold as to advise him to remember, \"he was under his\nfirst-fruits, and that he was old, and had a wife and children yet but\nmeanly provided for, especially if his dignity were considered.\" To\nwhom he made a mild and thankful answer, saying, \"It would not become\na Christian Bishop to suffer those houses built by his predecessors\nto be ruined for want of repair; and less justifiable to suffer any of\nthose, that were called to so high a calling as to sacrifice at God's\naltar, to eat the bread of sorrow constantly, when he had a power by\na small augmentation, to turn it into the bread of cheerfulness: and\nwished, that as this was, so it were also in his power to make all\nmankind happy, for he desired nothing more. And for his wife and\nchildren, he hoped to leave them a competence, and in the hands of a\nGod that would provide for all that kept innocence, and trusted his\nprovidence and protection, which he had always found enough to make\nand keep him happy.\"\n\n[Sidenote: His favourite books]\n\nThere was in his Diocese a Minister of almost his age, that had been\nof Lincoln College when he left it, who visited him often, and always\nwelcome, because he was a man of innocence and openheartedness. This\nMinister asked the Bishop what books he studied most, when he laid the\nfoundation of his great and clear learning. To which his answer was,\n\"that he declined reading many; but what he did read were well chosen,\nand read so often, that he became Very familiar with them;\" and said,\n\"they were chiefly three, Aristotle's Rhetoric, Aquinas's _Secunda\nSecundit_, and Tully, but chiefly his offices, which he had not read\nover less than twenty times, and could at this age say without book.\"\nAnd told him also, \"the learned Civilian Doctor Zouch--who died\nlately--had writ _Elementa Jurisprudentiae_, which was a book that he\ncould also say without book; and that no wise man could read it too\noften, or love or commend too much;\" and told him, \"these had been his\ntoil: but for himself he always had a natural love to genealogies and\nHeraldry; and that when his thoughts were harassed with any perplexed\nstudies, he left off, and turned to them as a recreation; and that his\nvery recreation had made him so perfect in them, that he could, in a\nvery short time, give an account of the descent, arms, and antiquity\nof any family of the Nobility or gentry of this nation.\"\n\n[Sidenote: His Will]\n\nBefore I give an account of Dr. Sanderson's last sickness, I desire to\ntell the Reader that he was of a healthful constitution, cheerful and\nmild, of an even temper, very moderate in his diet, and had had little\nsickness, till some few years before his death; but was then every\nwinter punished with a diarrhoea, which left not till warm weather\nreturned and removed it: and this distemper did, as he grew older,\nseize him oftener, and continue longer with him. But though it\nweakened him, yet it made him rather indisposed than sick, and did no\nway disable him from studying--indeed too much.--In this decay of his\nstrength, but not of his memory or reason,--for this distemper works\nnot upon the understanding,--he made his last Will, of which I shall\ngive some account for confirmation of what hath been said, and what I\nthink convenient to be known, before I declare his death and burial.\n\nHe did in his last Will,[30] give an account of his faith and\npersuasion in point of religion, and Church-government, in these very\nwords:\n\n\"I, Robert Sanderson, Doctor of Divinity, an unworthy Minister of\nJesus Christ, and, by the providence of God, Bishop of Lincoln, being\nby the long continuance of an habitual distemper brought to a great\nbodily weakness and faintness of spirits, but--by the great mercy of\nGod--without any bodily pain otherwise, or decay of understanding,\ndo make this my Will and Testament,--written all with my own\nhand,--revoking all former Wills by me heretofore made, if any such\nshall be found. First, I commend my soul into the hands of Almighty\nGod, as of a faithful Creator, which I humbly beseech him mercifully\nto accept, looking upon it, not as it is in itself,--infinitely\npolluted with sin,--but as it is redeemed and purged with the precious\nblood of his only beloved Son, and my most sweet Saviour Jesus Christ;\nin confidence of whose merits and mediation alone it is, that I cast\nmyself upon the mercy of God for the pardon of my sins, and the hopes\nof eternal life. And here I do profess, that as I have lived, so I\ndesire, and--by the grace of God--resolve, to die in the communion\nof the Catholic Church of Christ, and a true son of the Church\nof England: which, as it stands by law established, to be both in\ndoctrine and worship agreeable to the word of God, and in the most,\nand most material points of both conformable to the faith and practice\nof the godly Churches of Christ in the primitive and purer times, I do\nfirmly believe: led so to do, not so much from the force of custom and\neducation,--to which the greatest part of mankind owe their particular\ndifferent persuasions in point of Religion,--as upon the clear\nevidence of truth and reason, after a serious and impartial\nexamination of the grounds, as well of Popery as Puritanism, according\nto that measure of understanding, and those opportunities which God\nhath afforded me: and herein I am abundantly satisfied, that the\nschism which the Papists on the one hand, and the superstition which\nthe Puritan on the other hand, lay to our charge, are very justly\nchargeable upon themselves respectively. Wherefore I humbly beseech\nAlmighty God, the Father of mercies, to preserve the Church by his\npower and providence, in peace, truth, and godliness, evermore to\nthe world's end: which doubtless he will do, if the wickedness and\nsecurity of a sinful people--and particularly those sins that are so\nrife, and seem daily to increase among us, of unthankfulness, riot,\nand sacrilege--do not tempt his patience to the contrary. And I also\nfurther humbly beseech him, that it would please him to give unto our\ngracious Sovereign, the reverend Bishops, and the Parliament, timely\nto consider the great danger that visibly threatens this Church in\npoint of Religion by the late great increase of Popery, and in point\nof revenue by sacrilegious inclosures; and to provide such wholesome\nand effectual remedies, as may prevent the same before it be too\nlate.\"\n\nAnd for a further manifestation of his humble thoughts and desires,\nthey may appear to the Reader by another part of his Will which\nfollows.\n\n\"As for my corruptible body, I bequeath it to the earth whence it was\ntaken, to be decently buried in the Parish Church of Buckden,\ntowards the upper end of the Chancel, upon the second, or--at the\nfurthest--the third day after my decease; and that with as little\nnoise, pomp, and charge as may be, without the invitation of any\nperson how near soever related unto me, other than the inhabitants\nof Buckden; without the unnecessary expense of escutcheons, gloves,\nribbons, &c., and without any blacks to be hung any where in or about\nthe house or Church, other than a pulpit cloth, a hearse-cloth, and\na mourning gown for the Preacher; whereof the former--after my body\nshall be interred--to be given to the Preacher of the Funeral Sermon,\nand the latter to the Curate of the Parish for the time being. And\nmy will further is that the Funeral Sermon be preached by my own\nhousehold Chaplain, containing some wholesome discourse concerning\nMortality, the Resurrection of the Dead and the Last Judgment; and\nthat he shall have for his pains 5_l._ upon condition that he speak\nnothing at all concerning my person, either good or ill, other than\nI myself shall direct; only signifying to the auditory that it was my\nexpress will to have it so. And it is my will, that no costly monument\nbe erected for my memory, but only a fair flat marble stone to be laid\nover me, with this inscription in legible Roman characters, DEPOSITUM\nROBERTI SANDERSON NUPER LINCOLNIENSIS EPISCOPI, QUI OBIIT ANNO DOMINI\nMDCLXII. ET \u00c6TATIS SU\u00c6 SEPTUAGESIMO SEXTO, HIC REQUIESCIT IN SPE BEATE\nRESURRECTIONIS. This manner of burial, although I cannot but foresee\nit will prove unsatisfactory to sundry my nearest friends and\nrelations, and be apt to be censured by others, as an evidence of\nmy too much parsimony and narrowness of mind, as being altogether\nunusual, and not according to the mode of these times: yet it is\nagreeable to the sense of my heart, and I do very much desire my Will\nmay be carefully observed herein, hoping it may become exemplary to\nsome or other: at least however testifying at my death--what I have so\noften and earnestly professed in my life time--my utter dislike of the\nflatteries commonly used in Funeral Sermons, and of the vast expenses\notherwise laid out in Funeral solemnities and entertainments, with\nvery little benefit to any; which if bestowed in pious and charitable\nworks, might redound to the public or private benefit of many\npersons.\"\n\n[Sidenote: His death]\n\nI am next to tell, that he died the 29th of January, 1662; and that\nhis body was buried in Buckden, the third day after his death; and for\nthe manner, that it was as far from ostentation as he desired it;\nand all the rest of his Will was as punctually performed. And when\nI have--to his just praise--told this truth, \"that he died far from\nbeing rich,\" I shall return back to visit, and give a further account\nof him on his last sick bed.\n\nHis last Will--of which I have mentioned a part--was made about three\nweeks before his death, about which time, finding his strength to\ndecay by reason of his constant infirmity, and a consumptive cough\nadded to it, he retired to his chamber, expressing a desire to enjoy\nhis last thoughts to himself in private, without disturbance or care,\nespecially of what might concern this world. And that none of his\nClergy--which are more numerous than any other Bishop's--might suffer\nby his retirement, he did by commission impower his Chaplain, Mr.\nPullin,[31] with Episcopal power to give institutions to all livings\nor Church-preferments, during this his disability to do it himself.\nIn this time of his retirement he longed for his dissolution; and when\nsome that loved him prayed for his recovery, if he at any time found\nany amendment, he seemed to be displeased, by saying, \"His friends\nsaid their prayers backward for him: and that it was not his desire to\nlive a useless life, and by filling up a place keep another out of it,\nthat might do God and his Church service.\" He would often with\nmuch joy and thankfulness mention, \"That during his being a\nhousekeeper--which was more than forty years--there had not been one\nburied out of his family, and that he was now like to be the first.\"\nHe would also often mention with thankfulness, \"That till he was\nthree score years of age, he had never spent five shillings in law,\nnor--upon himself--so much in wine: and rejoiced much that he had\nso lived, as never to cause an hour's sorrow to his good father; and\nhoped he should die without an enemy.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Rules and habits]\n\nHe, in this retirement, had the Church prayers read in his chamber\ntwice every day; and at nine at night, some prayers read to him and\na part of his family out of \"The Whole Duty of Man.\" As he was\nremarkably punctual and regular in all his studies and actions, so he\nused himself to be for his meals. And his dinner being appointed to\nbe constantly ready at the ending of prayers, and he expecting and\ncalling for it, was answered, \"It would be ready in a quarter of an\nhour.\" To which his reply was, \"A quarter of an hour! Is a quarter\nof an hour nothing to a man that probably has days not many hours to\nlive?\" And though he did live many hours after this, yet he lived\nnot many days; for the day after--which was three days before his\ndeath--he was become so weak and weary of either motion or sitting,\nthat he was content, or forced, to keep his bed: in which I desire he\nmay rest, till I have given some account of his behaviour there, and\nimmediately before it.\n\n[Sidenote: His last days]\n\nThe day before he took his bed,--which was three days before his\ndeath,--he, that he might receive a new assurance for the pardon of\nhis sins past, and be strengthened in his way to the New Jerusalem,\ntook the blessed Sacrament of the Body and Blood of his and our\nblessed Jesus, from the hands of his Chaplain, Mr. Pullin, accompanied\nwith his wife, children, and a friend, in as awful, humble, and ardent\na manner, as outward reverence could express. After the praise and\nthanksgiving for it was ended, he spake to this purpose: \"Thou, O\nGod! tookest me out of my mother's womb, and hast been the powerful\nprotector of me to this present moment of my life: Thou hast neither\nforsaken me now I am become greyheaded, nor suffered me to forsake\nthee in the late days of temptation, and sacrifice my conscience for\nthe preservation of my liberty or estate. It was by grace that I have\nstood, when others have fallen under my trials: and these mercies I\nnow remember with joy and thankfulness; and my hope and desire is,\nthat I may die praising thee.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Use of the Psalms]\n\nThe frequent repetition of the Psalms of David, hath been noted to be\na great part of the devotion of the primitive Christians; the Psalms\nhaving in them not only prayers and holy instructions, but such\ncommemorations of God's mercies, as may preserve, comfort, and confirm\nour dependence on the power, and providence, and mercy of our Creator.\nAnd this is mentioned in order to telling, that as the holy Psalmist\nsaid, that his eyes should prevent both the dawning of the day and\nnight watches, by meditating on God's word (Psal. cxix. 147), so it\nwas Dr. Sanderson's constant practice every morning to entertain his\nfirst waking thoughts with a repetition of those very Psalms that\nthe Church hath appointed to be constantly read in the daily Morning\nservice: and having at night laid him in his bed, he as constantly\nclosed his eyes with a repetition of those appointed for the service\nof the evening, remembering and repeating the very Psalms appointed\nfor every day; and as the month had formerly ended and began again,\nso did this exercise of his devotion. And if his first waking thoughts\nwere of the world, or what concerned it, he would arraign and condemn\nhimself for it. Thus he began that work on earth, which is now his\nemployment in Heaven.\n\n[Sidenote: Death]\n\nAfter his taking his bed, and about a day before his death, he\ndesired his Chaplain, Mr. Pullin, to give him absolution: and at his\nperforming that office, he pulled off his cap, that Mr. Pullin\nmight lay his hand upon his bare head. After this desire of his was\nsatisfied, his body seemed to be at more ease, and his mind more\ncheerful; and he said, \"Lord, forsake me not now my strength faileth\nme; but continue thy mercy, and let my mouth be filled with thy\npraise.\" He continued the remaining night and day very patient, and\nthankful for any of the little offices that were performed for his\nease and refreshment: and during that time did often say the 103rd\nPsalm to himself, and very often these words, \"My heart is fixed, O\nGod! my heart is fixed where true joy is to be found.\" His thoughts\nseemed now to be wholly of death, for which he was so prepared, that\nthe King of Terrors could not surprise him as a thief in the night:\nfor he had often said, he was prepared, and longed for it. And as this\ndesire seemed to come from Heaven, so it left him not till his soul\nascended to that region of blessed spirits, whose employments are to\njoin in concert with him, and sing praise and glory to that God, who\nhath brought them to that place, into which sin and sorrow cannot\nenter.\n\nThus this pattern of meekness and primitive innocence changed this for\na better life. 'Tis now too late to wish that my life may be like\nhis; for I am in the eighty-fifth year of my age: but I humbly beseech\nAlmighty God, that my death may: and do as earnestly beg of every\nReader, to say--Amen.\n\nBlessed is the man in whose spirit there is no guile, Psal. xxxii. 2.\n\n\n[Footnote 1: This is a mistake; Bishop Sanderson was born at Sheffield\non the 19th of September.]\n\n[Footnote 2: Thomas Scot, or Rotheram, so called after his\nbirth-place, Fellow of King's College, in Cambridge, was afterward\nMaster of Pembroke Hall, and 1483 and 1484, Chancellor of the\nUniversity. He obtained great ecclesiastical preferment, being\nsuccessively Provost of Beverley, Bishop of Rochester and of Lincoln,\nand lastly Archbishop of York. Nor was he less adorned with civil\nhonours, having been appointed, first, Keeper of the Privy Seal, and\nthen Lord Chancellor of England. The two Universities and his native\ntown still enjoy the fruits of his bounty. He died 29th May, 1500.]\n\n[Footnote 3: Dr. Gilbert Sheldon was born July 19, 1598.--His father,\nRoger Sheldon, though of no obscure parentage, was a menial servant\nto Gilbert Earl of Shrewsbury.--He was of Trinity College, Oxford, and\ntook his Master's degree in May, 1620. He was introduced to Charles I.\nby Lord Coventry, and became one of His Majesty's Chaplains. Upon the\nRestoration, he was made Dean of the Chapel Royal, succeeded Dr. Juxon\nas Bishop of London, and after as Archbishop of Canterbury; in 1667\nhe was elected Chancellor of the University of Oxford. He died at\nLambeth, Nov. 9, 1677.]\n\n[Footnote 4: Dr. Richard Kilbie, born at Ratcliffe, in Leicestershire,\nand a great benefactor to his College, since he restored the neglected\nlibrary, added eight new repositories for books, and gave to it\nmany excellent volumes. He became Rector in 1590, and in 1610 he was\nappointed the King's Hebrew Professor. He died in 1620.]\n\n[Footnote 5: An edition of this work was published in Oxford so\nrecently as 1841.]\n\n[Footnote 6: Mr. Charles Crooke, a younger son of Sir John Crooke, of\nChilton, in Bucks, one of the Justices of the King's Bench. In 1615,\nhe proceeded D.D., being then Rector of Amersham and a Fellow of Eton\nCollege.]\n\n[Footnote 7: Brother of George Abbot, Archbishop of Canterbury, born\nat Guildford in 1560, and promoted to the See of Salisbury in 1615, as\na reward for his Lectures against Suarez and Bellarmine, in defence of\nthe King's supreme power. On his way to Sarum, he made an oration to\nthe University, and his friends parted from him with tears. He died\nMarch 2nd, 1617-8.]\n\n[Footnote 8: Dr. John Prideaux, born at Harford, in Devon in 1578, and\nRector of Exeter College in 1612, when he acquired so much fame in the\ngovernment of it, that several eminent foreigners placed themselves\nunder his care. He was made King's Professor in Divinity in 1615, and\nBishop of Worcester in 1641; but was reduced to great poverty in the\nCivil Wars, and died July 20th, 1650.]\n\n[Footnote 9: Dr. Arthur Lake, born at Southampton about 1550, and\neducated at Winchester School, whence he proceeded to New College,\nOxford. He was created Dean of Worcester in 1608, and Bishop of Bath\nand Wells in 1616. He died on 4th May, 1626.]\n\n[Footnote 10: Dr. Tobias Matthew--died March 29, 1628, aged 83.]\n\n[Footnote 11: Dr. William Laud, born at Reading, Oct. 7, 1573, and\neducated there, and at St. John's College, Oxford. In 1616, he was\nmade Dean of Gloucester, in 1621 Bishop of St. David's, and in 1622 he\nhad a conference with Fisher the Jesuit, of which the printed account\nevinces how opposed he was to Popery; but his Arminian tenets gave\noffence to the Calvinists. In 1626 he was translated to the See of\nBath and Wells, in 1628 to London, and in 1633 to Canterbury. His zeal\nfor the establishment of the Liturgy in Scotland produced him numerous\nenemies, by whose means he was imprisoned in the Tower for three\nyears, and beheaded Jan. 10th, 1644-45. His works were published at\nOxford, 6 vols. 8vo., 1847-9.]\n\n[Footnote 12: Dr. Henry Hammond was born at Chertsey, in Surrey, Aug.\n18th, 1605, and was educated at Eton, and Magdalen College, Oxford.\nHis loyalty caused him to be deprived of his preferments during the\nCivil Wars, and at the Restoration he was designed for Bishop of\nWorcester, but died before consecration, April 25th, 1660. His\nprincipal works are, his \"Practical Catechism,\" and \"A Paraphrase and\nAnnotations on the New Testament.\"]\n\n[Footnote 13: Dr. Thomas Pierce, for some years President of Magdalen\nCollege, Oxford. In his epitaph composed by himself he says, \"Here\nlies all that was mortal, the outside, dust, and ashes of Thomas\nPierce, D.D., once the President of a College in Oxford, at first the\nRector of _Brington-cum-Membris,_ Canon of Lincoln, and at last Dean\nof Sarum; who fell asleep in the Lord Jesus [Mar. 28, an. 1691], but\nin hope of an awake at the resurrection.\"]\n\n[Footnote 14: Dr. Matthew Wren, successively Bishop of Hereford,\nNorwich, and Ely, died April 14, 1667, aged eighty-one years and\nupwards. He was distinguished for his extraordinary attachment to the\nroyal cause, having suffered an imprisonment for eighteen years with\nsingular patience and magnanimity.\n\nIt should not be forgotten, that when Cromwell had repeatedly offered\nto release the Bishop, he refused to accept of the proffered boon,\nsaying, \"that he scorned to receive his liberty from a tyrant and\nusurper.\" His life was kindly prolonged by Providence, that as he had\nseen the destruction, so he might also see the happy restoration of\nhis order.]\n\n[Footnote 15: Born at Geneva on August 14, 1599, and educated at\nChrist Church, Oxford. Archbishop Laud gave him the living of Minster,\nKent, and a Prebend in the Cathedral of Canterbury. He suffered\nmuch in the civil wars, but at the Restoration he recovered his\npreferments. Among his works are \"A Treatise of Use and Custom,\"\n1638, \"De Quatuor Linguis Commentatio,\" 1650, \"Of Credulity and\nIncredulity,\" 1668. He died on July 14, 1671.]\n\n[Footnote 16: Dr. John Williams was then Dean of Westminster. He held\nthis Deanery _in Commendam_ during the whole time of his being Bishop\nof Lincoln, and likewise three years after his translation to York.]\n\n[Footnote 17: Was born at Anstley, in Wiltshire, in 1590; he received\nhis education in William of Wykeham's school, near Winchester; was\nmatriculated in the University of Oxford in 1608, and admitted Fellow\nof New College in 1609. He took the degree of LL.B. June 30, 1614,\nand that of LL.D. April 8, 1619. He no sooner had obtained his first\ndegree than he became an Advocate in Doctors' Commons. Through the\ninfluence of his noble kinsman, who was then Lord of the Cinque Ports,\nhe was elected, in 1620, a Burgess to serve in Parliament for Hythe\nin Kent. In the same year he succeeded Dr. John Budden as Professor\nof Civil law; and in 1625, he was appointed Principal of Alban's Hall.\nThough a layman, he held the Prebend of Shipston, in the Church of\nSalisbury, which was then first annexed to the Law Professorship by\nJames I.\n\nAfter the Restoration, Dr. Zouch, whose loyalty always remained\nunimpeached, had the honour of being named by the King, along with\nseveral other Commissioners, to restore the splendours and regulate\nthe disorders of the University. He was re-instated in the Court of\nAdmiralty; and if he had lived he would doubtless have attained those\nhigher dignities in his profession, to which his integrity and great\nabilities entitled him. He died at his apartments in Doctors' Commons,\nLondon, March 1, 1660.]\n\n[Footnote 18: Let it ever be remembered to the honour of this Prelate,\nwhom Charles I. was wont to call \"the good man,\" and whom he declared\nto be his greatest comfort in his most afflictive situation, that he\ndelivered his sentiments without disguise to the King, on the subject\nof Lord Strafford's fate, telling him plainly, that \"he ought to do\nnothing with an unsatisfied conscience, upon any consideration in\nthe world.\" His character is thus beautifully pourtrayed by Sir Henry\nWotton, in a letter to the Queen of Bohemia. \"There is in him no\ntumour, no sourness, no distraction of thoughts; but a quiet mind, a\npatient care, free access, mild and moderate answers. To this I must\nadd, a solid judgment, a sober plainness, and a most indubitable\ncharacter of fidelity in his very face; so as there needs not much\nstudy to think him both a good man and a wise man.\"]\n\n[Footnote 19: This learned person went abroad in 1626, and spent\nfour years in visiting Asia and Africa. He again left England, and\ntravelled over several parts of Europe. He afterwards joined the\nParliament against Charles I., whom he was appointed to attend from\nthe very beginning of his imprisonment to the time of his death.\nHe shewed himself a most faithful servant to the King, whose real\ncharacter he soon discovered to be totally different from that which\nhad been represented to him. In 1660, Charles II. advanced him to the\nDignity of a Baronet, by the name of Thomas Herbert of Tinterne, in\nMonmouth \"for faithfully serving his royal father during the two\nlast years of his life.\"--In 1678 he published \"Threnodia Carolina;\ncontaining Memoirs of the two last Years of the reign of King Charles\nI.\" This little work was reprinted in 1813, upon the opening the tomb\nof the royal martyr, by Mr. G. Nicoll of Pall Mall, with a \"sensible\nand seasonable Preface.\" Sir T. Herbert assisted Sir William Dugdale\nin compiling the third volume of his \"Monasticon Anglicanum;\" and died\nat York, his native place, 1682, leaving several MSS. to the public\nlibrary at Oxford, and others to that of the Cathedral at York.]\n\n[Footnote 20: This is supposed to have been Mr. Swinfen, an ancestor\n(on the female side) of the late Earl St. Vincent.]\n\n[Footnote 21: They were all, except Dr. Wall, ejected in 1647. Dr.\nSamuel Fell died of grief, the day he was made acquainted with the\nmurder of Charles I., viz. on Feb. 1, 1648-9. Dr. Gardner, Canon of\nthe third stall, lived to be restored, and died in 1670. Dr. Paine,\nCanon of the fourth stall, died during the rebellion. Dr. Hammond,\nSub-dean and Canon of the second stall, died in 1660. As for Dr. Wall,\nCanon of the seventh stall, he conformed no doubt to the measures of\nthe Visitors. He died possessed of it in 1666.]\n\n[Footnote 22: Mr. Thomas Brightman, born at Nottingham, and educated\nat Queen's College in Cambridge, was Rector of Hawnes in Bedfordshire.\nHe died suddenly Aug. 24, 1607.\n\nMr. Thomas Cartwright, the noted Puritan, in allusion to the name of\nMr. Brightman, considers him as full of illumination as \"a bright star\nin the Church of God.\" Though no favourable opinion can be entertained\nof his writings, yet the acknowledged innocence of his life and\nconversation entitles him to every encomium.]\n\n[Footnote 23: Honest Walton rather overstates the case. Thucydides\nsimply says that attendance on the sick promoted the spread of the\npestilence. (Lib. II. c. 51.)]\n\n[Footnote 24: This amiable philosopher was born Jan. 25th, 1626-17, at\nLismore, in the province of Munster, in Ireland. He was a scholar, a\ngentleman, a Christian of the most exalted piety and charity, and a\nvery eminent Natural philosopher. He died Dec. 30th, 1691.]\n\n[Footnote 25: Dr. Thomas Barlow was born in 1607, at Orton, in\nWestmoreland, was made Bishop of Lincoln, in 1675, and died at\nBuckden, in 1691. His character appears to have been vacillating; he\nwas not among the venerable Prelates who stood forth the Protectors\nof the Protestant Religion in 1688. His theological learning was\nconsiderable.]\n\n[Footnote 26: Richard Baxter was born at Rowton, in Shropshire, 1615,\nand was a Chaplain in the Parliamentary Army, though he was a defender\nof Monarchy. He refused the Bishopric of Hereford, and died in 1691.\nHis \"Saint's Everlasting Rest\" and \"Call to the Unconverted\" are his\nmost famous books.]\n\n[Footnote 27: Dr. Peter Gunning was a loyalist Divine, who suffered\nconsiderably for the Royal cause, and died Bishop of Ely, in 1684.]\n\n[Footnote 28: Dr. John Pearson was the author of the famous\n\"Exposition of the Creed;\" in 1661, he was made Lady Margaret's\nProfessor of Divinity, at Cambridge, and died Bishop of Chester, in\n1686, aged 74.]\n\n[Footnote 29: Dr. William Bancroft, born at Freshingfield, in Suffolk,\nin 1616, and educated at Emanuel College, Cambridge, where he\nwas deprived of his Fellowship in 1649, for refusing to take the\nengagement. He was made Archbishop in 1677, and in 1688, he was one of\nthe seven Prelates sent to the Tower by James II. At the Revolution\nhe refused taking the Oaths to the new government, for which he was\nsuspended and deprived. He died in retirement Nov. 14th, 1693.]\n\n[Footnote 30: Bishop Sanderson's Will is recorded in the Prerogative\nCourt of Canterbury, in the volume called Juxon, Article 37. After his\ndeath, it was industriously reported that he repented of his writing\nagainst the Presbyterians, and would not suffer a Church Minister to\npray by him, which is refuted by the narrative of Mr. Pullin's giving\nhim the Sacrament.]\n\n[Footnote 31: Mr. John Pullin, B.D., and formerly Fellow of Magdalen\nCollege, Cambridge. His name is subscribed to a copy of commendatory\nLatin verses prefixed to \"Duport's Greek Version of Job.\" He was a\nPrebendary, and also Chancellor of Lincoln.]\n\n\n\n\nDR. PIERCE'S LETTER.\n\n\n[Sidenote: Letters from Sanderson]\n\nGOOD MR. WALTON,\n\nAt my return to this place, I made a yet stricter search after the\nletters long ago sent me from our most excellent Dr. Sanderson, before\nthe happy restoration of the King and Church of England to their\nseveral rights: in one of which letters more especially, he was\npleased to give me a narrative both of the rise and the progress,\nand reasons also, as well of his younger, as of his last and riper\njudgment, touching the famous points controverted between the\nCalvinians and the Armenians, as they are commonly (though unjustly\nand unskilfully) miscalled on either side.\n\n[Sidenote: Dr. Hammond's book]\n\nThe whole letter I allude to does consist of several sheets, whereof\na good part had been made public long ago, by the most learned, most\njudicious, most pious Dr. Hammond, (to whom I sent it both for his\nprivate, and for the public satisfaction, if he thought fit,) in his\nexcellent book, entitled, \"A Pacific Discourse of God's Grace and\nDecrees, in full accordance with Dr. Sanderson:\" to which discourse\nI refer you for an account of Dr. Sanderson and the history of his\nthoughts in his own hand-writing, wherein I sent it to Westwood, as I\nreceived it from Boothby Pannel. And although the whole book, (printed\nin the year 1660, and reprinted since with his other tracts in folio,)\nis very worthy of your perusal; yet, for the work you are about, you\nshall not have need to read more at present than from the 8th to the\n23rd page, and as far as the end of section 33. There you will find in\nwhat year the excellent man, whose life you write, became a Master of\nArts: how his first reading of learned Hooker had been occasioned by\ncertain puritanical pamphlets; and how good a preparative he found it\nfor his reading of Calvin's Institutions, the honour of whose name\n(at that time especially) gave such credit to his errors: how he erred\nwith Mr. Calvin, whilst he took things upon trust in the sublapsarian\nway: how, being chosen to be a Clerk of the Convocation for the\nDiocese of Lincoln, 1625, he reduced the Quinquarticular Controversy\ninto five schemes or tables; and thereupon discerned a necessity of\nquitting the sublapsarian way, of which he had before a better liking,\nas well as the supralapsarian, which he could never fancy. There you\nwill meet with his two weighty reasons against them both, and find his\nhappy change of judgment to have been ever since the year 1625, even\nthirty-four years before the world either knew, or, at least, took\nnotice of it; and more particularly his reasons for rejecting Dr.\nTwiss, (or the way he walks in,) although his acute and very learned\nand ancient friend.\n\n[Sidenote: Arriba discussed]\n\nI now proceed to let you know from Dr. Sanderson's own hand,[1] which\nwas never printed, (and which you can hardly know from any, unless\nfrom his son, or from myself,) that, when that Parliament was broken\nup, and the convocation therewith dissolved, a gentleman of his\nacquaintance, by occasion of some discourse about these points, told\nhim of a book not long before published at Paris, (A.D. 1623,) by a\nSpanish Bishop,[2] who had undertaken to clear the differences in\nthe great controversy _De Concordia Grati\u00e6 et Liberi Arbitrii_. And\nbecause his friend perceived he was greedily desirous to see the book,\nhe sent him one of them, containing the four first books of twelve\nwhich he intended then to publish. \"When I had read,\" says Dr.\nSanderson, in the following words of the same letter, \"his Epistle\nDedicatory to the Pope (Gregory XV.), he spake so highly of his own\ninvention, that I then began rather to suspect him for a mountebank,\nthan to hope I should find satisfaction from his performances. I found\nmuch confidence and great pomp of words, but little matter as to the\nmain knot of the business, other than had been said an hundred times\nbefore, to wit, of the co-existence of all things past, present, and\nfuture [Latin] _in mente divina realiter ab aeterno_, which is\nthe subject of his whole third book: only he interpreteth the word\n_realiter_ so as to import not only _pr\u00e6sentialitatem objectivam,_ (as\nothers held before him,) but _propriam et actualem existentiam_; yet\nconfesseth it is hard to make this intelligible. In his fourth book\nhe endeavours to declare a twofold manner of God's working _ad extra_;\nthe one _sub ordine pr\u00e6destinationis_, of which eternity is the proper\nmeasure: the other _sub ordine gratia_, whereof time is the\nmeasure; and that God worketh _fortiter_ in the one (though not\n_irresistibiliter_) as well _suamter_ in the other, wherein the\nfree will hath his proper working also. From the result of his whole\nperformance I was confirmed in this opinion; that we must acknowledge\nthe work of both grace and free will in the conversion of a\nsinner; and so likewise in all other events, the consistency of the\ninfallibility of God's foreknowledge at least (though not with any\nabsolute, but conditional predestination) with the liberty of man's\nwill, and the contingency of inferior causes and effects. These, I\nsay, we must acknowledge for the [Greek: hoti] but for the [Greek: to\npos], I thought it bootless for me to think of comprehending it. And\nso came the two _Acta Synodalia Dordrechtana_ to stand in my study,\nonly to fill up a room to this day.\"\n\n[Sidenote: \"Vindici\u00e6 Grati\u00e6\" discussed]\n\nAnd yet see the restless curiosity of man. Not many years after, to\nwit, A.D. 1632, out cometh Dr. Twiss's[3] _Vindici\u00e6 Grati\u00e6_, a large\nvolume, purposely writ against Arminius: and then, notwithstanding my\nformer resolution, I must need be meddling again. The respect I bore\nto his person and great learning, and the acquaintance I had had with\nhim in Oxford, drew me to the reading of that whole book. But from the\nreading of it (for I read it through to a syllable) I went away with\nmany and great dissatisfactions. Sundry things in that book I took\nnotice of, which brought me into a greater dislike of his opinion than\nI had before: but especially these three: First, that he bottometh\nvery much of his discourse upon a very erroneous principle, which yet\nhe seemeth to be so deeply in love with, that he hath repeated it, I\nverily believe, some hundreds of times in that work: to wit this;\nThat whatsoever is first in the intention is last in execution, and\n_e converso._ Which is an error of that magnitude, that I cannot\nbut wonder how a person of such acuteness and subtilty of wit could\npossibly be deceived with it. All logicians know there is no such\nuniversal maxim as he buildeth upon. The true maxim is but this:\n_Finis qui primus est in intentione, est ultimus in executione_. In\nthe order of final causes, and the means used for that end, the rule\nholdeth perpetually: but in other things it holdeth not at all, or\nbut by chance; or not as a rule, and necessarily. Secondly, that,\nforeseeing such consequences would naturally and necessarily follow\nfrom his opinion, as would offend the ear of a sober Christian at the\nvery first sound, he would yet rather choose not only to admit the\nsaid harsh consequences, but professedly endeavour also to maintain\nthem, and plead hard for them in large digressions, than to recede\nin the least from that opinion which he had undertaken to defend.\nThirdly, that seeing (out of the sharpness of his wit) a necessity of\nforsaking the ordinary sublapsarian way, and the supralapsarian too,\nas it had diversely been declared by all that had gone before him,\n(for the shunning of those rocks, which either of those ways must\nunavoidably cast him upon,) he was forced to seek out an untrodden\npath, and to frame out of his own brain a new way, (like a spider's\nweb wrought out of her own bowels,) hoping by that device to salve all\nabsurdities, that could be objected; to wit, by making the glory of\nGod (as it is indeed the chiefest, so) the only end of all other his\ndecrees, and then making all those other decrees to be but one\nentire co-ordinate medium conducing to that one end, and so the whole\nsubordinate to it, but not any one part thereof subordinate to any\nother of the same. Dr. Twiss should have done well to have been more\nsparing in imputing the _studium partlum_ to others, wherewith his own\neyes, though of eminent perspicacity, were so strangely blindfolded,\nthat he could not discern how this his new device, and his old dearly\nbeloved principle, (like the _Cadmean Sparti_,) do mutually destroy\nthe one the other.\n\nThis relation of my past thoughts having spun out to a far greater\nlength than I intended, I shall give a shorter account of what they\nnow are concerning these points.\n\n[Sidenote: Hammond and Sanderson]\n\nFor which account I refer you to the following parts of Dr. Hammond's\nbook aforesaid, where you may find them already printed: and\nfor another account at large of Bishop Sanderson's last judgment\nconcerning _God's concurrence_ or _non-concurrence_ with the _actions\nof men_, and the _positive entity of sins of commission_, I refer you\nto his letters already printed by his consent, in my large Appendix to\nmy Impartial Enquiry into the Nature of Sin, \u00a7 68, p. 193, as far as\np. 200.\n\n\"Sir, I have rather made it my choice to transcribe all above out of\nthe letters of Dr. Sanderson, which lie before me, than venture the\nloss of my originals by post or carrier, which, though not often, yet\nsometimes fail. Make use of as much or as little as you please, of\nwhat I send you from himself (because from his own letters to me) in\nthe penning of his life, as your own prudence shall direct you: using\nmy name for your warranty in the account given of him, as much or as\nlittle as you please too. You have a performance of my promise, and an\nobedience to your desires from\n\n\"Your affectionate\n\n\"Humble Servant,\n\n\"THO. PIERCE.\n\n\"North Tidworth,\n\n\"March 5, 1677-8.\"\n\n\n[Footnote 1: Sir, I pray note, that all that follows between inverted\ncommas are Dr. Sanderson's own words, excellently worthy, but no where\nelse extant; and commend him as much as any thing you can say of him.\nT.P.]\n\n[Footnote 2: Arriba.]\n\n[Footnote 3: This learned nonconformist was born at Reading about\n1575, and educated at Winchester School, and New College, Oxford. He\nhad been Chaplain to the Princess Elizabeth. He died at Newbury, July\n20, 1646. Wood says, \"his plain preaching was esteemed good; his solid\ndisputations were accounted better; but his pious life was reckoned\nbest of all.\"]\n\n\n\n\nTHE BISHOP OF LINCOLN'S LETTER.\n\n\n[Sidenote: Sanderson's Life]\n\n[Sidenote: Erroneous doctrines]\n\nMY WORTHY FRIEND, MR. WALTON,\n\nI am heartily glad, that you have undertaken to write the Life of that\nexcellent person, and, both for learning and Piety, eminent Prelate,\nDr. Sanderson, late Bishop of Lincoln; because I know your ability to\nknow, and integrity to write truth: And sure I am, that the life\nand actions of that pious and learned Prelate will afford you matter\nenough for his commendation, and the imitation of posterity. In order\nto the carrying on your intended good work, you desire my assistance,\nthat I would communicate to you such particular passages of his life,\nas were certainly known to me. I confess I had the happiness to be\nparticularly known to him for about the space of twenty years; and,\nin Oxon, to enjoy his conversation, and his learned and pious\ninstructions while he was Regius Professor of Divinity there.\nAfterwards, when (in the time of our late unhappy confusions) he\nleft Oxon, and was retired into the country, I had the benefit of his\nletters; wherein, with great candour and kindness, he answered those\ndoubts I proposed, and gave me that satisfaction, which I neither had\nnor expected from some others of greater confidence, but less judgment\nand humility. Having, in a letter, named two or three books writ (_ex\nprofesso_) against the being of any original sin; and that Adam,\nby his fall, transmitted some calamity only, but no crime to his\nposterity; the good old man was exceedingly troubled, and bewailed the\nmisery of those licentious times, and seemed to wonder (save that the\ntimes were such) that any should write, or be permitted to publish\nany error so contradictory to truth, and the doctrine of the Church\nof England, established (as he truly said) by clear evidence of\nScripture, and the just and supreme power of this nation, both sacred\nand civil. I name not the books, nor their authors, which are not\nunknown to learned men (and I wish they had never been known) because\nboth the doctrine and the unadvised abettors of it are, and shall be,\nto me apocryphal.\n\n[Sidenote: \"De Conscienti\u00e2\"]\n\nAnother little story I must not pass in silence, being an argument\nof Dr. Sanderson's piety, great ability, and judgment, as a casuist.\nDiscoursing with an honourable person[1] (whose piety I value more\nthan his nobility and learning, though both be great) about a case of\nconscience concerning oath and vows, their nature and obligation; in\nwhich, for some particular reasons, he then desired more fully to\nbe informed; I commended to him Dr. Sanderson's book \"De Juramento;\"\nwhich having read, with great satisfaction, he asked me,--\"If I\nthought the Doctor could be induced to write Cases of Conscience,\nif he might have an honorary pension allowed him to furnish him with\nbooks for that purpose?\" I told him I believed he would: And, in a\nletter to the Doctor, told him what great satisfaction that honourable\nperson, and many more, had reaped by reading his book \"De Juramento;\"\nand asked him \"whether he would be pleased, for the benefit of the\nChurch, to write some tract of Cases of Conscience;\" He replied, \"That\nhe was glad that any had received any benefit by his books:\" and added\nfurther, \"That if any future tract of his could bring such benefit\nto any, as we seemed to say his former had done, he would willingly,\nthough without any Pension, set about that work.\" Having received this\nanswer, that honourable person, before mentioned, did, by my hands,\nreturn 50_l_. to the good Doctor, whose condition then (as most\ngood men's at that time were) was but low; and he presently revised,\nfinished, and published that excellent book, \"De Conscienti\u00e2:\" a book\nlittle in bulk, but not so if we consider the benefit an intelligent\nreader may receive by it. For there are so many general propositions\nconcerning conscience, the nature and obligation of it, explained and\nproved, with such firm consequence and evidence of reason, that he who\nreads, remembers, and can with prudence pertinently apply them _hic\net nunc_ to particular cases, may, by their light and help, rationally\nresolve a thousand particular doubts and scruples of conscience. Here\nyou may see the charity of that honourable person in promoting,\nand the piety and industry of the good Doctor, in performing that\nexcellent work.\n\n[Sidenote: A good casuist:]\n\n[Sidenote: his equipment]\n\nAnd here I shall add the judgment of that learned and pious Prelate\nconcerning a passage very pertinent to our present purpose. When he\nwas in Oxon, and read his public lectures in the school as Regius\nProfessor of Divinity, and by the truth of his positions, and\nevidences of his proofs, gave great content and satisfaction to all\nhis hearers, especially in his clear resolutions of all difficult\ncases which occurred in the explication of the subject-matter of his\nlectures; a person of quality (yet alive) privately asked him, \"What\ncourse a young Divine should take in his studies to enable him to be a\ngood casuist?\" His answer was, \"That a convenient under of the learned\nlanguages, at least of Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, and a sufficient\nknowledge of arts and sciences presupposed; I there were two things in\nhuman literature, a comprehension of which would be of very great use,\nto enable a man to be a rational and able casuist, which otherwise was\nvery difficult, if not impossible: I. A convenient knowledge of moral\nphilosophy; especially that part of it which treats of the nature of\nhuman actions: To know, _'quid sit actus humanus (spontaneus, invitus,\nmixtus), unde habet bonitatem et malitiam moralem? an ex genere et\nobjecto, vel ex circumstantiis?'_ How the variety of circumstances\nvaries the goodness or evil of human actions? How far knowledge and\nignorance may aggravate or excuse, increase or diminish the goodness\nor evil of our actions? For every case of conscience being only\nthis--'Is this action good or bad? May I do it, or may I not?'--He\nwho, in these, knows not how and whence human actions become morally\ngood and evil, never can (_in hypothesi_) rationally and certainly\ndetermine, whether this or that particular action be so.--2. The\nsecond thing, which,\" he said, \"would be a great help and advantage to\na casuist, was a convenient knowledge of the nature and obligation of\nlaws in general: to know what a law is; what a natural and a positive\nlaw; what's required to the _'latio, dispensato, derogatio, vel\nabrogalio legis;'_ what promulgation is antecedently required to\nthe obligation of any positive law; what ignorance takes off the\nobligation of a law, or does excuse, diminish, or aggravate the\ntransgression: For every case of conscience being only this--'Is this\nlawful for me, or is it not?' and the law the only rule and measure by\nwhich I must judge of the lawfulness or unlawfulness of any action;\nit evidently follows, that he who, in these, knows not the nature and\nobligation of laws, never can be a good casuist, or rationally assure\nhimself or others, of the lawfulness or unlawfulness of actions in\nparticular.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Conclusion]\n\nThis was the judgment and good counsel of that learned and pious\nPrelate: And having, by long experience, found the truth and benefit\nof it, I conceive, I could not without ingratitude to him, and want\nof charity to others, conceal it.--Pray pardon this rude, and, I fear\nimpertinent scribble, which, if nothing else, may signify thus much,\nthat I am willing to obey your desires, and am indeed,\n\nYour affectionate friend,\n\nTHOMAS LINCOLN.\n\nLondon, May 10, 1678.\n\n\n[Footnote 1: Robert Boyle, Esq.]\n\n\n\n\nTHE WORKS OF DR. ROBERT SANDERSON.\n\n\n[Sidenote: Sanderson's Works]\n\nI. \"LOGIC\u00c6 ARTIS COMPENDIUM. _Oxon._ 1615.\" 8vo.\n\nII. \"PHYSIC\u00c6 SCIENTI\u00c6 COMPENDIUM, \u00e0 ROBERTO SANDERSON, Coll. Lincoln,\nin alm\u00e2 Oxoniensi olim socio, &c. _Oxoni\u00e6_, 1671.\"\n\nIII. SERMONS. \"Dr. Sanderson's XII. Sermons, 1632.\" 4to.--\"Dr.\nSanderson's Sermons (including the twelve before printed), 1664.\"\nFolio.--\"Ditto, with his Life by Isaac Walton, 1689.\" Folio.\n\nIV. \"NINE CASES OF CONSCIENCE DETERMINED, 1678. 1685.\" 8vo.\n\nV. \"DE JURAMENTI PROMISSORII OBLIGATIONE PR\u00c6LECTIONES SEPTEM: HABIT\u00c6\nin SCHOLA THEOLOGICA OXONII, Termino Micha\u00eblis anno Dom. MDCXLVI.\n\u00e0 ROBERTO SANDERSON. Pr\u00e6miss\u00e2 Oratione ab eodem habit\u00e2 c\u00f9m Publicam\nProfessionem auspicaretur, 26 Octobris, 1646. _Lona_. 1647.\"\n\nThese Lectures were translated into the English language by Charles I.\nduring his confinement in the Isle of Wight, and printed at London, in\n1655--8vo.\n\nVI. \"DE OBLIGATIONE CONSCIENTI\u00c6 PR\u00c6LECTIONES DECEM OXONII in SCHOLA\nTHEOLOGICA HABIT\u00c6, anno Dom. MDCXLVII.\" An English translation of the\n\"Prelections on the Nature and Obligation of Promissory Oaths and of\nConscience,\" was published in 3 vols. 8vo. _London_, 1722.\n\nVII. \"CENSURE OF MR. ANTON. ASCHAM his BOOK of the CONFUSIONS and\nREVOLUTIONS of GOVERNMENT, _London_, 1649.\" 8vo.\n\nVIII. \"EPISCOPACY (as established by Law in England) NOT PREJUDICIAL\nto REGAL POWER. Written in the Time of the Long Parliament, by the\nspecial Command of the late King. _London_, 1673.\"\n\nIX. \"DISCOURSE CONCERNING the CHURCH, in THESE PARTICULARS: First,\nconcerning the Visibility of the true Church: Secondly, concerning the\nChurch of Rome. _London_, 1688.\"\n\nX. 1. \"BISHOP SANDERSON'S JUDGMENT concerning SUBMISSION to USURPERS.\"\n2. \"PAX ECCLESI\u00c6.\" 3. \"BISHOP SANDERSON'S JUDGMENT in ONE VIEW for the\nSETTLEMENT of the CHURCH.\" 4. \"REASONS of the present JUDGMENT of the\nUNIVERSITY of OXFORD, concerning the SOLEMN LEAGUE and COVENANT,\nthe NEGATIVE OATH, the ORDINANCES concerning DISCIPLINE and WORSHIP.\n_London_, 1678.\"\n\nXI. A large \"PREFACE\" to a book written at the command of Charles I.\nby Archbishop Usher, and published by Dr. Sanderson, entitled \"The\nPOWER communicated by GOD to the PRINCE, and the OBEDIENCE required of\nthe SUBJECT. _London_, 1661.\"--4to. Second corrected edition of this\nwork was published in 8vo. 1683.\n\nXII. \"A PREFATORY DISCOURSE,\" in defence of Usher and his Writings,\nprefixed to a collection of Treatises, entitled 'CLAVI TRABALES, or\nNAILES fastened by some great MASTERS of ASSEMBLYES, concerning the\nKING'S SUPREMACY and CHURCH GOVERNMENT under BISHOPS.'\n\nThe Preface is dated \"London, Aug. 10, 1661,\" and subscribed \"The\nunworthy servant of Jesus Christ, Ro. LINCOLN.\"\n\nXIII. \"PROPHECIES concerning the RETURN of POPERY,\" inserted in a book\nentitled 'Fair Warning: The Second Part. _London_, 1663.'\n\nXIV. \"The PREFACE to the BOOK of COMMON PRAYER,\" beginning with these\nwords; \"It hath been the wisdom of the Church\"----.\n\nXV. \"[Greek: EPINOMIS], seu EXPLANATIO JURAMENTI,\" &c., inserted in\nthe 'Excerpta \u00e8 Corpore Statutorum Univ. Oxoniensis,' p. 194.\n\nXVI. \"ARTICLES of VISITATION and ENQUIRY concerning MATTERS\nECCLESIASTICAL, exhibited to the Ministers, Churchwardens, and Sidemen\nof every Parish within the Diocese of Lincoln, in the first episcopal\nVisitation of the Right Rev. Father in God, ROBERT, by Divine\nProvidence, Lord Bishop of Lincoln; with the oath to be administered\nto the Churchwardens, and the Bishop's Admonition to them. _London_,\n1662.\" 4to.\n\nXVII. Peck, in the 'Desiderata Curiosa,' Vol. II., has inserted \"The\nHISTORY and ANTIQUITIES of the CATHEDRAL CHURCH of the Blessed Virgin\nSt. MARY at LINCOLN; containing an exact Copy of all the Monumental\nInscriptions there, in Number 163, as they stood in 1641; most of\nwhich was soon after torn up, or otherwise defaced. Collected by\nROBERT SANDERSON, S.T.P., afterwards Lord Bishop of that Church, and\ncompared with and corrected by Sir WILLIAM DUGDALE'S MS. Survey.\"\n\nDr. White Kennet, Bishop of Peterborough, had in his possession the\ncopies of two letters transcribed from the originals that were in the\nhands of Bishop Barlow. 1. Superscribed \"For Mr. Thomas Barlow, at the\nLibrary in Oxon,\" and subscribed \"Your very loving friend and\nservant, ROBERT SANDERSON,\" dated \"Botheby Pagnell, Sept. 28, 1656,\"\nimportuning Dr. Barlow, \"to undertake the managing that dispute in the\nquestion of great importance upon the ancient landmarks, by Dr. Jeremy\nTaylor; so unhappily (and so unseasonably too) endeavoured to be\nremoved in the doctrine of original sin.\" 2. Another letter of Dr.\nSanderson to Dr. Barlow, at Queen's College, dated \"Botheby Pagnell,\nSept. 17, 1657,\" expressing himself, \"That Dr. Taylor is so peremptory\nand pertinacious of his errors as not to hearken to the sober advices\nof his grave, reverend, and learned friends, amidst the distractions\nof these times,\" &c.\n\nDr. Sanderson and Dr. Hammond were jointly concerned in a work\nentitled \"A PACIFIC DISCOURSE of GOD'S GRACE and DECREES,\" published\nby the latter in 1660.\n\nIt would be improper not to observe, that in the Preface to the\nPolyglott Bible, printed at London in 1657, Dr. Bryan Walton has\nclassed Dr. Sanderson among those of his much honoured friends who\nassisted him in that noble work.\n\n\n\n\nADDITIONAL NOTES\n\n_The numbers at the beginning of paragraphs refer to the pages_\n\n\nLIFE OF HOOKER\n\n_Frontispiece._--The portrait here given is from Hooker's monument in\nBishopsbourne Church.\n\n_Text, etc._--_The Life of Mr. Richard Hooker_ was first published\nin small _octavo_ in 1665. The second edition was prefixed to the\n_Ecclesiastical Polity_ of 1666, _folio_, and again in 1676 and 1682.\nIt was also included in Walton's collection of 1670. A valuable essay\non Hooker by Dean Church is prefixed to the Clarendon Press edition of\nthe first book of _Ecclesiastical Polity_, 1876.\n\n_Page_\n\n3. _at this time of my age._ He says at p. 4 that he was \"past the\nseventy of his age.\"\n\n5. _John Hales._ See vol. i. p. 193, note.\n\n7. _He was born, etc._ \"Probably in March, 1553-54,\" says the _Dict.\nof Nat. Biography_.\n\n8. _a school-boy._ He was educated at Exeter grammar school.\n\n14. _the Bishop said to him. Cf._ chap. iii. of the _Vicar of\nWakefield_, where this anecdote is referred to. Indeed Hooker is there\nalleged to have been the \"great ancestor\" of George Primrose.\n\n23. _elemented._ See note to vol. i. p. 53.\n\n26. _I cannot learn the pretended cause._ It seems probable that\nthe views of Hooker and his friends had offended Barfoot, who was a\nzealous Puritan.\n\n17. _he entered into Sacred Orders._ About 1581.\n\n30. _her conditions_, personal qualities, manners. Recent\ninvestigations tend to show that honest Izaak's account is prejudiced,\nas Hooker in his will makes his \"wel-beloved wife\" sole executrix and\nresiduary legatee, and his father-in-law was one of the overseers.\nNevertheless Wood calls her \"a clownish, silly woman, and withal a\nmere Xanthippe.\"\n\n58. _The forenoon ... Geneva._ The speaker was Fuller, but the\nquotation is not quite textual.\n\n70. _and behold God's blessings. Cf._ p. 33.\n\n71. _corps_, endowment. \"When the _corps_ of the profit or benefice\nis but one the title can be but one man's\" (Hooker, _Ecclesiastical\nPolity_, v. lxxx, \u00a7 11).\n\n94. _Judicious Hooker._ This is the first application to Hooker of\nthis time-honoured epithet. Sir W. Cowper was the grandfather of\nWilliam, first Earl Cowper. The monument was erected in 1635.\n\n97. _one of his elder daughters. I.e._ Cicely.\n\n97. _both died before they were marriageable._ Alice died unmarried in\n1649; but Jane (or Jone) married Edward Nethersole at Bishopsbourne,\n23rd March 1600.\n\n99. _dead in her bed._ In March 1601.\n\n108, _regiment_, regimen, regulation, management. _Cf_. Bacon's essay\n\"Of Regiment of Health.\"\n\n121. _in devise_, in contemplation.\n\n\nLIFE OF HERBERT\n\n_Text, etc.--The Life of Mr. George Herbert_ was first published in\n1670, 12mo, with his letters to his mother, etc. It was also included\nin the collected _Lives_ of 1670. All his known writings have been\nedited by Dr. Grosart for the _Fuller Worthies Library_, 1874, and the\n_Aldine Poets_, 1876.\n\n134. _he was elected ... Cambridge._ He was admitted scholar 5th May\n1609, and matriculated pensioner at Trinity 18th December 1609.\n\n135. _her husband died._ Sir Richard Herbert died in 1597.\n\n136. _in Oxford four years._ From 1598 to 1603-4.\n\n142. _Bachelor of Arts in 1611._ The correct date is 1612-13.\n\n142. _Matter of Arts, 1616._ See also p. 143. These data were\nfurnished to Dr. Grosart by the University authorities.\n\n143. _chosen Orator._ 18th January 1620.\n\n149. _many Seals._ See vol. i. p. 72.\n\n150. _a sinecure._ Whitford is in Flintshire.\n\n152. _cross-bias me._ A bowling-green image.\n\n154. _Prebend of Layton Ecclesia._ Grosart points out that Walton was\nwrong here. Herbert was not a Deacon. He held the prebendary of Layton\n(Leighton Bromswold) as a laic, as he did the sinecure rectorship of\nWhitford.\n\n163. _she died in the year_ 1627. In June. On July 1 Donne preached\nher Funeral Sermon. See _ante_, p. 139. When it was published (London,\n1627, 12mo) Herbert appended to it the Greek and Latin poems to\nher memory, entitled _Parentalia_; these were the chief verses he\npublished in his lifetime.\n\n165. _three months after this marriage._ It took place at Edington on\n5th March 1629.\n\n167. _canonical clothes._ This, as Dr. Grosart says, shows that he\n\"was still a layman.\"\n\n167. _Parsonage of Bemerton._ In the presentation in the Record\nOffice, which is dated 16th April 1630, ten days before his induction,\nit is styled \"Rectory of the parish church of Fulston (Fuggleston) St.\nPeter's and Bemerton.\"\n\n175. \"_The Country Parson._\" For further particulars see p. 212. Of\nthe simplicity of this beautiful little book Canon Ainger has well\nsaid, \"Not for the first or last time in our literature was it to be\nshown that the euphuistic tendency is killed when the writer begins\nto think more of his topic than himself\" (Craik's _English Prose_, ii.\n(1894), 204).\n\n190. _being_, seeing. _Cf._ also p. 258.\n\n193. _genteel_, refined, well-bred.\n\n201. \"_The Temple._\" See full title on p. 213.\n\n205. _passion_, violent commotion of the mind, perturbation.\n\n206. _my last Will._ This, which Walton had not seen, is printed by\nDr. Grosart (_Herbert's Poetical Works_, 1876, p. lxi).\n\n207. _buried 3rd day of March, 1632._ I.e. in 1633, as the rest of the\nnote seems to imply. He lies under the altar in the church.\n\n\nLIFE OF SANDERSON\n\n_Text, etc_ The first separate edition of the _Life of Dr. Robert\nSanderson_ was printed in 1678, 8vo. It is corrected and supplemented\nin Jacobson's edition of Sanderson's works, 1854, 6 vols.\n\n223. _the place of his birth was Rotherham._ As stated in the note, it\nwas Sheffield, in a house called the Lane Head Stane. He was baptized\non the 10th September.\n\n240. _about this time._ He was presented to the Rectory of Boothby\nPagnell in 1619. There is a print of Boothby Parsonage in the\n_Gentleman's Magazine_ for 1801, i. 105.\n\n241. _resigned his Fellowship._ In May 1619.\n\n241. _pennyworths_, bargains.\n\n271. _prevented him_, anticipated him.\n\n282. _Little Britain_. Like Duck Lane, Little Britain was (in Strype's\nwords) \"much inhabited by booksellers.\"\n\n296. _conversation_, intercourse with the world.\n\n303. _blacks_, mourning. _Cf_. Bacon \"Of Death\" (Essay 2).\n\n305. _29th of January 1662._ Should be 1663. He was buried in the\nchancel of Buckden Church.","title":"Lives of John Donne, Henry Wotton, Rich'd Hooker, George Herbert, &c, Volume 2","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":84621}