XXX.

CHAP. upon them to impose upon their country, that the offices of common civility are acts of idolatry"; what is not to be expected from their madness, who, as the case is, dare pretend, that it ought to be law to all Christians? But since the law is to provide for such people, it is manifest, that it is to provide, that they may not fail of the trust which the Church and kingdom enters into with those whom they receive to communion, but that they must fail of the civil trust of subjects; that is, that their testimonies be not receivable in law, that they be disabled to sue at law, that they be disabled to 179 make wills, or to get by wills, or anything else within the effect of civil trust. And this must also be the penalty of the Leviathan, and all that have or may follow him either into apostasy or atheism. For they, who declare themselves at freedom to forswear the Christian faith, can never be held by any bond of civil trust. It must also be the penalty of all sects, that may relapse, after they may have been reconciled at least in that proportion, which that part of the faith, which their respective sect denieth, holds to the whole profession of Christianity; which apostasy and atheism destroy at once. For it may be a question, why the kingdom should be counted a Christian kingdom, if the laws of it set not some mark of infamy or disgrace upon the enemies of Christianity, according to the rate of their enmity; which only the enforcing of excommunication by the laws can do.

:

"When the Lord sent me forth into the world, He forbade me to put off my hat to any." G. Fox, Journal, p. 24. fol. Lond. 1694: and see also ibid., pp. 624-626.-"The putting off the hat" is "the same honour," that is "given to God, in relation to the outward ceremony." Sewel, Hist. of Quakers, Bk. i. p. 19.—And see

Leslie's Defence of Snake in the Grass, Pt. ii. sect. vi. Works, vol. v. pp. 329, sq.

That Hobbes was seriously afraid of being prosecuted for his heresies, see above in Plea of Weakness &c. Disc. and Answ., sect. vi. § 5, note k.

See above, cc. vi., xxii.

THE

REFORMATION OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND

BETTER THAN THAT OF

THE COUNCIL OF TRENT:

OR

A SHORT RESOLUTION OF THE CONTROVERSIES

BETWEEN

THE CHURCHES OF ENGLAND AND ROME.

REFORMATION OF CHURCH OF ENGLAND

&c.

CHAPTER I.

[ALL INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE, ALL REFORMATION OF THE CHUrch, TO BE CONFINED WITHIN THE CONSENT OF THE WHOLE CHURCH.]

I.

nant, and

THERE are two principles, from which all the sects that CHA P. divide this Church are derived, and into which they resolve: the one, that there is no condition for the covenant of [Belief in grace; our baptisthe other, that there is no such thing as a catholic Church. mal coveThe one contradicteth the article of our creed, that professeth in the one baptism for the remission of sins:" the other, that of catholic Church, one holy catholic Church." It were easy to shew, that all the due our divisions are derived from the one or the other of these way to the composing errors: and that they would vanish, if the true sense of those of divisions two articles were received". But I had rather say that, which Church.] I hope will appear by this discourse:-that all the controversies, which divide between the Reformation and the Church of Rome, would be determined, if we could agree about the due sense of these two points, about the due consequence of these two articles. For having said, that all interpretation of Scrip

This tract is now first published. The MS. has been preserved, with other MSS. of Thorndike's, in the Chapter Library of Westminster. It was written after the publication of his Latin book De Jure ac Ratione Finiendi Controversias, folio, Lond. 1670, which is mentioned several times in it: shortly after the publication of Arnauld and Claude's books respecting the Holy Eucharist (1664-1669; see chapter xxvi.): and shortly before the publication of Sir John Marsham's book on Egyptian Chronology, in 1672 (see chapter xv.); in the July of which year also Thorndike died: therefore between the years 1670 and 1672. The writer speaks of himself as an old man, reconsidering his published opinions with a view to amend or retract or re-assert them (see chapter vii, in

fin.). His principal object in writing
the tract appears to have been, to clear
himself of the imputation of popery
cast upon him (see chapter i.)-The
title prefixed to it, the numbering and
the headings of the chapters, and the
contents, are added by the present
Editor. For the words of the title, see
chapters v. and xxx. The conclusion
and peroration of the tract are wanting;
and probably were never written. But
the tract itself (so far as it is written)
appears to have been prepared for
publication, and has been corrected
throughout the MS. by Thorndike him-
self, in whose handwriting it is.

b See Due Way of Composing Dif-
ferences &c., § 7, 12; Just Weights and
Measures, c. ix. § 1; Disc. of Forbear-
ance or Penalties &c., c. vii.

in the

I.

CHAP. ture, all reformation of the Church, is to be confined within those bounds, which the consent of the whole Church determines; I am thought to have said this to gratify the Church of Rome. And I shall be glad, if I have gratified the Church of Rome in it. For when Solon made his law, that in civil dissensions all should take the one or the other sidee, he thought, that the peaceable would help to reconcile them that were not. And in schism (which is the same in the Church as civil war in a state) it were to be wished, that the parties would think themselves gratified when the truth is said. But I had more modesty than to think, that any of my reasons would move them to abate of their pretences; seeing their advantage by our being divided among ourselves. I was fully satisfied, that the truth is as I have said. And if I cannot gratify ourselves by saying it, because we are not disposed to receive it; certainly all men must believe, that I do think we would find ourselves gratified by that which I propose, if we would receive it. I cannot imagine, how to gratify them more, that cannot tell how to compose their own divisions, than to shew them, what is necessary to the composing of all divisions in the Church; though at the hazard of being thought to gratify our adversaries in shewing it.

[Powers of § 2. I must here suppose that, which I think I have proved, the visible as well in Latin as in English';-that the visible Church Church.]

Due Way of Composing Differences &c., § 2-4; Just Weights and Measures, c. iii., &c.; Disc. of Forbearance or Penalties &c., c. iii.

d Heylin in Laud's Life, and Thorndike in three late books" (scil. Due Way of Composing Differences, 12mo. 1660, Just Weights and Measures, 4to. 1662, Discourse of Forbearance or Penalties &c., small 8vo. 1670)," do plainly tell the world, that one business to be done is, to open the door of the Church of England so wide by reconciling means, that the papists might be the easilier brought in to us, and may find nothing to hinder the moderate sort from coming to our assemblies (by the pope's consent), and so all notes of distinction may so far cease." Baxter, Life of Himself ed. by Sylvester, Pt. iii. § 86. p. 38 (written after Nov. 16, 1670). Baxter adds

however, that" some of the papists are as high to the bishops as the bishops are to the nonconformists, and so "the concord wished by the milder Romanists" could not take effect.

• “ Τῶν δὲ ἄλλων αὐτοῦ νόμων, ἴδιος μὲν μάλιστα καὶ παράδοξος ὁ κελεύων ἄτιμον εἶναι τὸν ἐν στάσει μηδετέρας μερίδας γενόμενον. Βούλεται δ', ὡς ἔοικε, μὴ ἀπαθῶς μηδ' ἀναισθήτως ἔχειν πρὸς τὸ κοινὸν, ἐν ἀσφαλεῖ θέμενον τὰ οἰκεῖα, καὶ τῷ μὴ συναλγεῖν μηδὲ συννοσεῖν τῇ πατρίδι καλλωπιζόμενον· ἀλλ ̓ αὐτόθεν τοῖς τὰ βελτίω καὶ δικαιότερα πράττουσι προσθέμενον, συγκινδυνεύειν καὶ βοηθεῖν μᾶλλον ἢ περιμένειν ἀκινδύνως τὰ τῶν κρατούντων.” Plutarch., in Vita Solonis, tom. i. pp. 194, 195. ed. Bryan.

f Epilogue, Bk. I. Of the Cov. of Gr., cc. vi.--ix.: De Ratione ac Jure Finiendi Controversias Ecclesiæ, cc. vii. pp. 112, sq., folio, Lond. 1670.