to whoever shall teach what is more true. Yet this I say, not as myself doubting, or being otherwise than fully persuaded that what I propound in this work is drawn from the word of God, for I verily believe I do not herein swerve from that rule which God has given for our guidance; but if any one be confident that he can prove the contrary from the word of God, I am more ready to hear and to be taught than to speak and be heard, to be convinced than to convince, provided that truth, to which alone victory is due, prevail. I seek not to be believed beyond what is expressly declared in the word of God, or may be proved therefrom by clear deduction of reason. Meantime, as I have borne with and still bear with those who differ from me, so long as they hold fast those heads of the Christian faith, without belief in which no one can truly be called a Christian; so I wish and entreat them to bear with me with the like charity.

As, in duty bound, I acknowledge as judge of my opinion a general and free Council of

the Church, if it may be held with the consent of all Christian Princes; but if such cannot be had, nor I be persuaded by my opponents, nor they by me, let us together await the judgment of God, to Whom each of us shall render an account of his ministry according to the talents committed to him for the same. I would not dispute bitterly with my brethren, but set forth my sentiments concerning the different grades of Ministers of the Gospel, and admonish the Christian laity, people and Magistrates alike, of their duty towards their Pastors that all may know what is the proper rank, which Ministers of the Gospel should hold under the civil Magistrate in a Christian state. If my language appear severe in some places, such its tone has been occasioned by the enormity of the wickedness spoken of, not excited by hatred of any individual; for whatever be the sins of men in this particular, I impute them to error and ignorance, not to wilful wickedness. There is open sacrilege; but who first began it I know not, neither do I wish to know. But

seeing that wicked men have joined themselves to us, and have wished to seem supporters of the Gospel, not so much from love of piety to God as from hatred to all religion, I sharply rebuke their perfidy and impiety, be they of whatever rank they may: for our order is not free from men of a description, such that no severity of language can be too great to be used concerning them. If I any where specify the Dutch, far be it from me to mean the whole nation: I refer only to those who degenerate from the characteristic honesty of their nation, and deserve so much the more rebuke, in that they abuse the authority committed to them, and shamefully take advantage of the confidence of their countrymen: men such as these I may fairly charge with impiety; to others I impute only error. Error and ignorance diminish indeed the guilt of sin, but do not take away its inherent deformity. I know it will sound harsh to some to hear complaints of sacrilege, and seem absurd to others to wish for Bishops to govern the Church. For even here in

England, there are persons who dislike Episcopacy, as though there could be no Ecclesiastical discipline under it; and some have proceeded to such hatred of it, as to secede from the Anglican Church as Papistical and Antichristian, and to hold separatist meetings. Such persons I could not avoid censuring, seeing that they defend their schism and private conventicles, by instancing our Churches in Holland. It is well known that the first Churches of foreigners, which were gathered in this country under King Edward, had John Alasco for their Bishop. And those which now exist here under the protection of our most gracious Queen Elizabeth, acknowledge and submit to the Bishops of the seve ral Dioceses in which they are situated. Others who are more modest, and know how grievous and fatal is the sin of schism, do not indeed separate from the communion of the Churches to which they belong, but indulge

a John Alasco is styled Episcopus Vesprimansis in the Onomasticon Literarium of Sanxius. Guerike calls him Probst Vesprim. Weisbrunn, in Lower Hungary.

in hatred of the Bishops, and promise to themselves a golden age could they but succeed in effecting their abolition. To such I venture to predict, that they will bring both themselves and the entire service of the Church, into the greatest contempt, even into greater than exists in Holland: and whereas there now, by the grace of God, does exist here some kind of discipline, there will, should their designs succeed, be none at all, except of an arbitrary kind, which will cease to be as soon as it begins to be. I say nothing of the civil commotions which I expect ; but this I know, that most of those who are the prime movers of the design, will be its first enemies whenever they shall have brought it to pass by their present specious pretexts. You yourselves see and feel the calamitous condition of your own Churches; but allow me to say, that you appear to me not to be aware whence it has arisen, nor to know the real remedy for it. We hear of the disturbed state of the Church at Utrecht, and are not ignorant what has been its condition from the