thys geare commeth to passe, for the Spaniard hath nothing to doe in al this (as we suppose) but rather getteth pardons, and showeth great fauour to Englyshe men, but ye may be sure they haue debated thys matter in theyr heades, and in all this they make the Quene serue their turne, and her own fancy also.”—Sig. B. i. b.

Let me, without at present burthening him with any other remarks on these extracts, remind the reader, that our inquiry is, how far the measures of the English government were influenced by the writings of the puritans. Had the king and his countrymen influence, or had they not? did they know of these writings, or did they not? if they did, were they conciliated by them towards the party from which they emanated?

IN one of the preceding essays' I stated that those passages which it would be necessary to quote, in order to give an idea of the effect which the writings of the Puritans, and especially the Exiles, were likely to have on the government in England, might be conveniently distributed into four classes.

First, such as had, generally speaking, a revolutionary tendency, and were calculated to teach the lawfulness of insurrection and rebellion of subjects against their rulers.

Secondly, those which were particularly directed against Queen Mary, on the ground of her sex, her birth, or her personal character.

Thirdly, those which were intended to render odious the Spaniards, and the Spanish match. And

Fourthly, those relating to the change in religion, repre

1 See before, p. 87.

senting it as a judgment in itself, and as a sin which would bring down other judgments.

As to the first three heads, I have spoken pretty fully, and in so doing it has been impossible to avoid very direct and frequent reference to the fourth. Indeed, the subjects are so naturally, and even necessarily, blended by the writers of that school and period, that one seldom finds one of these points discussed by itself; and sometimes all are inseparably united. As an instance of this, take the following extracts from Goodman's treatise, "How superior Powers ought to be obeyed of their Subjects

'Wel, the day of the Lorde will come, when you shal fele what it is to fight for your Masse, and to betraye the Gospell, to rise and rebell agaynste your lawfull Prince, and to obeye and defende a bastarde, and open enimie to God, an vtter destruction of the whole realme to murther and banishe your naturall countriemen and louing brethern, to honor and receaue strangers Gods expresse aduersaries: a cruell people, a prowde nation: a people of a farre and of a strange langage, whose tongue ye shall not vnderstande, an impudent nation, and hard harted people, without all pitie and mercie, which netherwill be moued with the lamentable voyce of the mothers, nor shewe anie compassion for the pittifull crye of their sucklinges and infantes. And whi? because ye haue chosen to obeye vile man, yea a raginge and madd woman, rather than the almightie and mercifull God. Repent, repent, ô ye people of England, for your destruction is at hande. Forsake with spede the vnlawfull obedience of fleshe and bloude, and learne to geue honor in tyme to the liuing Lorde, that he maye staye his hande, and drawe to him agayne his stretched out arme, that you may fynde mercie, and that the bothom of your cupp be not turned vpwards.

Alas saye you, what is this we heare? Be not the people, of themselues, as sheepe without a pastor? If the Magistrates and other officiers contemne their duetie in defending Gods glorie and the Lawes committed to their charge, lieth it in our power to remedie it? Shall we that are subiectes take the sworde in our handes? It is indede as you saye, a great discouraging to the people when they are not stirred vp to godlynesse by the good example of all sortes of Superiors, Magistrates and officers in the faithefull executing of their office: and so muche more when they are not defended by them in their right and title, as wel concerning religion, as the freedome of their naturall countrie: but moste of all when they, which shuld be their guydes and Capitayns, are become instrumentes to inforce them to wicked impietie. Neuertheles, all this can be no excuse for you, seing, that euil doinges of others, whether they be Lordes, Dukes, Barons, knights or any inferior officers, may not excuse you in euil. And thoghe you had no man of power vpon your parte: yet it is a sufficient assurance for you, to haue the warrant of Godds worde vpon your side, and God him self to be your Capitayne who willeth not onely the Magistrates

and officers to roote out euil from amongest them, be it idolatrie, blasphemie, or open iniurie, but the whole multitude are therwith charged also, to whom a portion of the sworde of iustice is committed, to execute the iudgementes which the Magistrates lawfully commande. And therefore if the Magistrates would whollye despice and betraye the iustice and Lawes of God, you which are subiectes with them shall be condemned except you mayntayne and defend the same Lawes agaynst them, and all others to the vttermoste of your powers, that is, with all your strength, with all your harte and with all your soule, for this hath God required of you, and this haue you promised vnto him not vnder condition (if the Rulers will) but without all exceptions to do what so euer your Lorde and God shall commande you."-p. 178.

Here the reader will find all the points, briefly indeed, but rather forcibly touched on. At the same time this point the change of religion-was one so obvious, so important, and so avowedly that which gave weight and interest to all the rest, that we may reasonably expect to find it treated of in particular. So it was in more ways than one, though to one only I must confine myself on the present occasion, because the evidence, which appears to me to be extremely interesting, and (though I pretend to no discovery) too little known and regarded, would exceed the limits of a single essay. I, therefore, at this time, content myself with putting together some extracts, which will show the reader how the question was treated, if not without some passion, yet with political gravity, and a show of argument by the puritan divines. Take the following specimens from the work of Goodman, already mentioned ;

"Art thou then, being a subiecte commaunded to worshipp stockes and stones which this day to our shame are erected agayne in Englande? Beholde thou hast Gods commandement for thy defence: Thou shalt commit no idolatrie, nor make to thy self any grauen image, &c.

"Art thou charged to be at the idolatrous Masse, wherin Christe thy Lorde is blasphemed? Beholde he hath geuen thee an other charge: that is, to celebrate his Supper, according as he left in example, saying: Do you this, that is, which ye se me do, and not which the powers of the worlde, or the pestilent papistes commande. Also do it (saith Christe) in remembrance of me, and not of your frindes alyue or departed, as teache the Papistes. For none of them died for you. Moreouer do it to shewe forth the deathe of Christe, til his coming, as witnesseth the Apostle: and not to make a new sacrifice for synne, as the Papists blasphemously both teache and preache.

"Art thou commanded by men to dishonour the Sabbathe day in worshipping of Sainctes and abstayning vpon their dayes and euens

from thy lawfull busines? Beholde, God thy Lorde chargeth thee no further then onely with his daye of reste, saying: See thou keepe holie the Sabbath of the Lorde thy God: and not of Peter, Paule, Marie, James or John.

"Art thou commanded to sweare in the name of Marie and all the Saincts in heauen? (which is the papistical othe) Beholde, the Lord saithe, Thow shalt onely sweare in the Name of thy Lorde and God.

"Art thou commanded not onely to take the Name of the Lorde in vayne, but also to forswere thy selfe moste shamefully agaynst Gods glorious Maiestie, and the honour of our Sauiour Christe? (as all they haue done which lately haue sworne to acknowledge Antichriste the bloudy butcher of Rome to be their head and gouernour) Beholde, The Lorde will not suffer his house vnpunished that taketh his Name in vayne: muche lesse such periured and forsworen wretches.

"Art thou commanded to persecute thy parentes and frendes, charged not to succour them in their necessitie, because they professe the doctrine of saluation?

"Art thow forbidden lawfull mariage, because thou art a minister of Gods worde, and permitted to lyve in all kind of filthie vnclennesse, as do the Sodomiticall Priestes, Monkes, Freers, Nonnes, Cardinales, Deanes, Archdeacons, and all other orders of Satan : beholde such dothe the Lorde God as most abominable of all other, commande to be put to death.

"To be shorte, when they contrarie to their othe and profession, commande thee to receue Antichriste, the beastlie Bishoppe of Rome, with all his filthie dregges of damnation: to burne the worde of God and the faithful interpreters and professors of the same: to forgo the comfortable preaching of the Gospel, and reading of the Scriptures to persecute Christe in his members: to ayde the enimies with thy goods and bodie agaynst the deare children of God: to fight in other countries without any iuste cause or occasion, and to suffer thy wiffe, children, kinsfolkes and countryemen to be moste cruelly spoyled, oppressed and murthered for want of thy defence at home as they most shamfully haue done of late, which at the commandement of that cruel tyrant, prepared them selues to fight agaynst the Frenche kinge, and their owne brethern the Skottes, whiles the Spaniards put them selues in a redinesse to entre the Realme and make a generall spoyle and pray of all.

"These thinges and many such like are playnly forbidden you by the manifest worde of God: and therfore to do them for feare or pleasure of anie Prince or power, is playne disobedience and rebellion agaynst the Almightie. And contrarie wise, to answere in this case, and to do as the Apostles haue taught, that is, to obeye God rather then man, is the onely waye to discharge your consciences, to do your dueties, and to please God: no more to be made by ignorance the instrumentes of his sworen enimies (what title so euer they beare) to subuerte Gods glorie, oppresse your brethern, and distroye your countrie: but repenting your former ignorance and impietie, to be made instrumentes of the contrarie to the vttermost of your power, least you be taken in your synne, and preuented with

the bitter cup of Gods indignation, alreadie prepared for the workers of iniquitie, and all such, as are ayeders, and partakers with them, when nether power can defend the superiors, nor their commandmentes excuse the subiectes."—p. 170.

"Matathias that worthie Captayne of the Jewes, as it is wryten in the firste boke of the Machabees, coulde not so lightly excuse him self when he was commanded by the cruel officiers of wicked Antiochus (which had spoyled their Tempel, rased their waules, murthered their brethern, and set vp idolatrie, in so muche as all for the moste parte, applied them selues to their wicked parsuations) that he, with the residue shulde forsake the Lawes and sacrifices of their God, to worshipp strange Goddes: he made answere, to the officer of Antiochus the kinge (which would to God our Noble men had perfetly learned): That thoghe all Nations apparteyning to kinge Antiochus shulde obeye him, so that euery man would declyne from the Lawes of his countrie: yet I, (saieth he) my children, and brethern, wil stand in the conuenant of our fathers &c. Which thing he performed in dede to the glorie of God, to his owne saluation, and comforte of his brethern and countrie for

euer.

"And euen at the self same tyme he slewe, not onely a Jewe, one of his owne brethern, which came to sacrifice in his presence at the alter Modim, according to the prescript of Antiochus: but killed also the kinges officer, that compelled him therto, and afterwarde distroyed the altar, and folowed the Lawe of God with a zeale, as did Phinees. Matathias had then a little power amongest his brethern, but nothing to defende himself agaynst the kinge, and also being charged with children and kinsfolk (which semed to be all his power) woulde nether pollute him self, nor suffer them to be polluted with wicked idolatrie, nor causeles, to be oppressed with tyrannie. And yet we reade of no auctoritie or office he had to excuse him by: but onelie this one thing which was comon to all other of his nation, the Lawes of their countrie, and couenant of their fathers. Which cause he thoght sufficient to discharge his conscience before God, and to approue his doings. For as muche as God had commanded him not onely to denie to do the commandement of the cruell tyrant Antiochus (vnder whom all Jerusalem then was by conqueste) but manfully to professe him and his, as open aduersaries to his Lawes and to resiste idolatrie by force, in killing the idolatrer and the kinges seruant (by whom he was compelled) and in subuerting the altar, where vpon the idolatrous sacrifice shuld have bene done. Which was, as you see, manifeste resisting of the superior power, being but man, to the intent he might shewe true obedience to his Lorde and God, in defending and maynteyning his Lawes (which he calleth the couenant of their fathers) yea and with the temporal sworde to the vttermost of his power. Then if Matathias herein did discharge his conscience before God and man, in resisting by temporal power the kinge, his commandements and officiers: it is not onely the office of Apostles and preachers, to resist, but the dewtie likewise, of all others according to their estate and vocation."-p. 75.