Luther feared not to affirm of the first and best of gene- ral synods, that he * understood not the Holy Ghost to speak in it;* and that the canons thereof were but plain hay and stubble.'' Yea, and Beza, that such was the ' folly, ignorance, ambition, wickedness of many bishops in the best times, that you would suppose the devil to have been president in their assemblies:''* insomuch as Nazianzen complained, that he never saw a'= good end of any; and affirmed, that he was re- solved never to come at them more. And in truth, the fight- ings and brawls, diabolical arts of defamation and accusing one another, abominable pride, ambition, and affectation of pre-eminence, which appeared in most of them, did so far prevail, that in the issue they became (as one was entitled) dens of thieves, rather than conventions bf humble and meek disciples of Jesus Christ; until at length the holy dove being departed, an ominous owl overlooked the Lateran fathers; and though with much clamour they destroyed the appearing fowl, yet the foul spirit of darkness and error wrought as ef-
* Hie prorsus non intell'go sanctum Spirilura in hoc concilio : hi oinnes articuli faenum, stramen, iigna, stipulae fuerunt. Luth.
<• In optiiuis iliis tenipoiibus, ea fuit nonimllorum, cpiscoporura, partim anibitin, partial futilitas et ignoraiitia, &c. Beza. praefat. ad Nov. Tesla.
* Ego, si vera scribere oportet, ita animo atfectus sum, ut omnia episcoporura con- cilia fugiam, quoiiiam nullius concilii finem isetum faustunique vidi : iiec quod de- puisionera malorum potius quam accessionem et increnientura habuerit. Greg. Nar, £p. ad Frocop.
78 A COUNTRY ESSAY FOR THE PRACTICE
fectually in them as ever. But to close this discourse ; ig- norance of men's invincible prejudices, of their convictions, strong persuasions, desires, aims, hopes, fears, inducements, sensibleness of our own infirmities, failings, misapprehensions, darkness, knowing but in part, should work in us a charitable opinion of poor erring creatures, that do it perhaps with as upright, sincere hearts and affections, as some enjoy truth. Austin^ tells the Manichees, the most paganish heretics that ever w-ere, that they only raged and were high against them, who knew not what it was to seek the truth, and escape error ; with what ardent prayers the knowledge of truth is obtained. And how tender is Salvian^ in his judgment of the Arians ? ' They are,' saith he, ' heretics, but know it not ; heretics to us, but not to themselves: nay, they think them- selves so catholic, that they judge us to be heretics, what they are to us, that are we to them : they err, but with a good mind, and for this cause God shews patience towards them.'
Now if any should dissent from what I have before as- serted concerning this particular, I would entreat him to lay down some notes, whereby heresies may infallibly be dis- cerned to be such, and he shall not find me repugning.
6. That great consideration ought to be had of that sovereign dictate of nature, the sum of all moral duties, 'quod tibi fieri non vis, alteri ne feceris;' do not that unto others, which you would not have done to you, w^ere you in the same condition with them. In the business in hand, we are supposed by others to be in that estate, wherein we suppose those to be of whom we speak; those others being to us, what we are to them. Now truly if none of the for- mer inconveniences and iniquities which we recounted, as- sertion 2, 3, 4, or the like, do accompany erring persons, it will be something difficult to make it appear, how we may, if enjoying authority over them, impose any coercion, re- straint, or punishment on them, which w'e would not ac- knowledge to be justly laid on us by others (supposing it should be laid) having authority over us, convinced that our persuasion differing from them, is false and erroneous. No
f Illi in vos saeviunt, qui ncsciunt cum quo labore inveniatur, et quam difficile ca- veantur errors, &c. Aug.
B Apud DOS sunt haeretici, apud se non sunt: quod ergo illi nobis sunt, hoc nos illis. &"c. Salv. de prov. &.c.
OF CHURCH GOVERNMENT THERE. 79
sort of Christians but are heretics and schismatics to some Christians in authority; and it maybe their lot to live under the power and jurisdiction of men so persuaded of them, where they ought to expect, that the same measure will be given unto them, which in other places they have consented to mete out to others.
But men will say, and all men pleading the cause of non- toleration in its full extent do say, that they are heretics, and erroneous persons whom we do oppose : we ourselves are orthodox, and no law of nature, no dictate of the Scriptures requires, that v/e should think it just to render unto them that are orthodox, as unto them that are heretics, seducers, and false teachers. Because thieves are punished, shall ho- nest men fear that they shall be so too ? But a thief is a thief in all the world, unto all men : in opinions it is not so : he is a heretic, that is to be punished, but to whom? in whose judgment? in his own? no more than we are in ours : buthe is so to them that judge him: true. Put the case a Pro- testant were to be judged by a Papist, as a thousand saints have been: is he not the worst of heretics to his judge? These things turn in a circle : what we are to ourselves, that he is to himself: what he is to us, that we are unto others that may be our judges. But however, you will say, we are in the truth, and therefore ought to go free. Now truly this is the same paralogism : who says we are in the truth ? others? no, ourselves : who says erroneous persons (as so supposed) are heretics, or the like? they themselves? no, but we : and those that are to us, as we are to them, say no less of us. Let us not suppose that all the world will stoop to us, because we have the truth, as we afiirm, but they do not believe. If we make the rule of our proceedings against others to be our conviction, that they are erroneous; others will, or may make theirs of us, to be their rule of pro- ceeding against us. We do thus to them, because we so judge of them : will not others, who have the same judgment of us, as we of them, do the like unto us ? Now here I pro- fess that I do not desire to extend any thing in this discourse, to the patronizing of any error whatsoever, I mean any thinsf, so commonly esteemed in the reformed churches, as myself owning any such ; much less to the procuring of a licentious immunity, for every one in his way ; and least of all to coun-