39 -t A VINDICATION OF THE ANIMADVEESIONS ON FIAT LUX.
tiousness of life, violence, and oppression, whereby they provoked God against them to their ruin? If my story be not true, why do you not disprove it? if it be, why do you exclaim against it? Do I not direct you unto authors of unquestionable credit, complaining of the things which I report from them? And if you know not that many others may be added unto those by me named, testifying the same things, you know very little of the matter you undertake to treat about. But we need go no farther than yourself to discover how devoid of all pretence your reproaches are, and that by consider- ing the exceptions which you put in to my story ; which may rationally be supposed to be the most plausible you could invent, and directed against those parts of it which you imagmed were most obnoxious to your charge. I shall, therefore, consider them in the order wherein they are proposed, and discover whether the keenness of your assault answer the noise of your outcry at its entrance.
First, You observe that I say, " Joseph of Arimathea was in Eng- land, but that he taught the same religion that is now in England." Unto which you reply, " But what is that religion?" and this inquiry I have observed you elsewhere to insist upon. But I told you be- fore that I intend the Protestant religion, and that as confirmed and estabhshed by law in this kingdom. And the advantage you endea- vour from some differences that are amongst us is little to your pur- poses, and less to the commendation of your ingenuity. For besides that there are difterences of as high a nature, and, considering the principles you proceed upon, of greater importance among yourselves, and those agitated with as great animosities and subtilties as those among any sort of men at variance about religion in the world, you, that so earnestly seek and press after a forbearance for your profes- sion besides and against the established law, should not, methinks, at the same time be so forward in reproaching us that there are dis- senters in the kingdom from some things established by law, espe- cially considering how utterly inconsiderable for the most part they are, in comparison of the things wherein you differ from us all. This, I fear, is the reward that they have cause to expect from many of you, who are inclined to desire that you, amongst others, might be partakers of indulgence from the extremity of the law ; though from others of you, for whose sakes they are inclined unto those desires, I hope they may look for better things, and such as accompany charity, moderation, and peace. So that your first exception gives a greater impeachment unto your own candour and ingenuity, than unto the truth or sobriety of my story.
You proceed and say, " That I tell you that the story of Fugatius and Damianus, missioners of Pope Eleutherius, is suspected by me for many reasons;" and reply, " Because you assign none, I am there-
PROGRESS AND DECLENSION OF RELIGION. 395
fore moved to think they may be all reduced unto one ; which is, that 3^ou will not acknowledge any good thing ever to have come from Rome." But see what it is for a man to give himself up unto vam surmises ! You know full well that I plead that you are no way concerned in what was done at Rome in the days of Eleutherius, who was neither Pope nor Papist, nor knew any thing of that which wo reject as Popery; so that I had no reason to disdain or deny any good thing that was then done at Rome, or by any from thence. Besides, I can assure you that to this day I would willingly own, embrace, and rejoice in any good that is or may be done there, may I be tiidy and impartially informed of it; and should be glad to hear of more than unprejudiced men have been able of late ages to inform us of I am far from making an enclosure of all goodness unto any party of men in the world, and far from judging or condemning all of any party, or supposing that no good thing can be done by them or pro- ceed from them. Such conceits are apt to flow from the high tower- ing thoughts of infallibility and supremacy, and the confining of Christianity to some certain company of men, in some parts of the world; which I am a stranger unto. I know no party among Chris- tians that is in all things to be admired, nor any that is in all things to be condemned; and can perfectly free you, if you are capable of satisfaction, from all fears of my dislike of any thing because it came or comes from Rome. For to me it is all one from whence truth and virtue come; they shall be welcome for their own sakes. But you seem to be guided in these and the like surmises by your own humour, principles, and Avay of managing things in religion, — a Les- bian rule, which will suffer you to depart from the paths of truth and chaiity no oftener than you have a mind so to do. To deliver you from your mistake in this particular, I shall now give you some of those reasons which beget in me a suspicion concerning the truth of that story about Fugatius and Damianus, as it is commonly told, only intimating the heads of them with all possible brevity.