"1. THE manifold benefits which all the subjects within this Dominion do at this present, and have many years enjoyed under her Majesty's most happy and prosperous reign, by your godly wisdom and careful watching over this Estate night and day, I truly and unfeignedly acknowledge, from the bottom of my heart, ought worthily to bind us all to pray continually to Almighty God for the continuance and increase of the life and good estate of your Honours, and

[An. 1591. Printed, together with HOOKER'S Answer, at Oxford, 1612. 4to.—and, in a subsequent edition, with the following Address :

"To the Reader. The pleasures of thy spacious walks in Mr. Hooker's Templegarden (not unfitly so called, both for the Temple whereof he was Master, and the subject, Ecclesiastical Polity) do promise acceptance to these flowers, planted and watered by the same hand, and, for thy sake, composed into this posy. Sufficiently are they commended by their fragrant smell, in the dogmatical Truth; by their beautiful colours, in the accurate Style; by their medicinable virtue, against some diseases in our neighbour Churches, now proving epidemical, and threatening farther infection; by their straight feature and spreading nature, growing from the root of Faith (which, as here is proved, can never be rooted up), and extending the branches of Charity to the covering of Noah's nakedness; opening the windows of Hope to men's misty conceits of their bemisted forefathers. Thus, and more than thus, do the Works commend themselves: the Workman needs a better workman to commend him, (Alexander's picture requires Apelles his pencil); nay, he needs it not, His' own Works commend' him in the gates' (Prov. xxxi. 31.); and, being dead he yet speaketh' (Heb. xi. 4.); the syllables of that memorable name, Mr. RICHARD HOOKER, proclaiming more, than if I should here style him, a painful Student, a profound Scholar, a judicious Writer, with other due titles of his honour. Receive then this posthume Orphan for his own, yea, for thine own sake; and if the Printer hath, with overmuch haste, like Mephibosheth's nurse, lamed the child with slips and falls, yet be thou of David's mind, 'shew kindness' to him for his father Jonathan's sake' (2 Sam. ix. 7.). God grant, that the rest of his brethren be not more than lamed, and that as Saul's three sons died the same day with him (1 Chron. x. 6.), so those three promised to perfect his Polity, with other issues of that learned brain be not buried in the grave with their renowned Father. Farewell. W. S."*]

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* [Query, WILLIAM SOMNER? See Life of Hooker, App.]

to be ready, with all good duties, to satisfy and serve the same to our power. Besides public benefits common unto all, I must needs, and do willingly, confess myself to stand bound by most special obligation, to serve and honour you more than any other, for the honourable favour it hath pleased you to vouchsafe both oftentimes heretofore, and also now of late, in a matter more dear unto me than any earthly commodity, that is, The upholding and furthering of my service in the ministering of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For which cause, as I have been always careful so to carry myself as I might by no means give occasion to be thought unworthy of so great a benefit, so do I still, next unto her Majesty's gracious countenance, hold nothing more dear and precious to me, than that I may always remain in your Honours' favour, which hath oftentimes been helpful and comfortable unto me in my Ministry, and to all such as reaped any fruit of my simple and faithful labour. In which dutiful regard I humbly beseech your Honours to vouchsafe to do me this grace, To conceive nothing of me otherwise than according to the duty wherein I ought to live, by any information against me, before your Honours have heard my answer, and been throughly informed of the matter. Which, although it be a thing that your Wisdoms, not in favour, but in justice, yield to all men, yet the state of the calling unto the Ministry, whereunto it hath pleased God of his goodness to call me, though unworthiest of all, is so subject to misinformation, as, except we may find this favour with your Honours, we cannot look for any other, but that our unindifferent parties may easily procure us to be hardly esteemed of; and that we shall be made like the poor fisher-boats in the sea, which every swelling wave and billow raketh and runneth over. Wherein my estate is yet harder than any others' of my rank and calling, who are indeed to fight against flesh and blood in what part soever of the Lord's host and field they shall stand marshalled to serve, yet many of them deal with it naked, and unfurnished of weapons: but my service was in a place where I was to encounter with it, well appointed and armed with skill and with authority; whereof, as I have always thus deserved, and therefore have been careful by all good means to entertain still your Honours' favourable respect of me, so have I special cause at this present,

vii. 51.]

wherein misinformation to the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, and other of the High Commission, hath been able so far to prevail against me, that by their Letter they have inhibited me to preach, or execute any act of Ministry, in the Temple or elsewhere; having never once called me before them, to understand by mine answer the truth of such things as had been informed against me. We have a story in our books wherein the Pharisees, proceeding against our Saviour Christ, without having heard him, are reproved by an honourable Counsellor (as the Evangelist doth term him,) saying, Doth our Law judge a man before it hear him, [John and know what he hath done?' Which I do not mention, to the end that by an indirect and covert speech I might so compare those who have, without ever hearing me, pronounced a heavy sentence against me; for notwithstanding such proceedings, I purpose, by God's grace, to carry myself towards them in all seeming duty, agreeable to their places: much less do I presume to liken my cause to our Saviour Christ's, who hold it my chiefest honour and happiness to serve him, though it be but among the hinds and hired servants that serve him in the basest corners of his House: but my purpose in mentioning it is, to shew, by the judgment of a prince and great man in Israel, that such proceeding standeth not with the Law of God, and in a princely pattern to shew it to be a noble part of an honourable Counsellor, not to allow of indirect dealings, but to love and affect such a course in Justice as is agreeable to the Law of God. We have also a plain rule in the Word of God, not 1 Tim. to proceed any otherwise against any Elder of the Church; much less against one that laboureth in the Word, and in ver. 17. Teaching. Which rule is delivered with this most earnest charge and obtestation, I beseech and charge thee in the ver. 21. sight of God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect Angels, that thou keep those (rules) without preferring one before another, doing nothing of partiality,' or inclining to either part; which Apostolical and most earnest charge, I refer it to your Honours' wisdom how it hath been regarded in so heavy a judgment against me, without ever hearing my cause; and whether, as having God before their eyes, and the Lord Jesus, by whom all former judgments shall be tried again; and, as in the presence of the elect Angels, witnesses and observers of the Regiment of the Church,

VOL. III.

v. 19.

they have proceeded thus to such a Sentence. They allege indeed two reasons in their Letter, whereupon they restrain my Ministry; which, if they were as strong against me as they are supposed, yet I refer to your Honours' wisdoms, whether the quality of such an offence as they charge me with, which is in effect but an indiscretion, deserve so grievous a punishment both to the Church and me, in taking away my Ministry, and that poor little commodity which it yieldeth for the necessary maintenance of my life; if so unequal a balancing of faults and punishments should have place in the Commonwealth, surely we should shortly have no actions upon the case, nor of trespass, but all should be pleas of the Crown, nor any man amerced, or fined, but for every light offence put to his ransom. I have credibly heard, that some of the Ministry have been committed for grievous transgressions of the Laws of God and men, being of no ability to do other service in the Church than to read; yet hath it been thought charitable, and standing with Christian moderation and temperancy not to deprive such of Ministry and beneficency, but to inflict some more tolerable punishment. Which I write not because such, as I think, were to be favoured, but to shew how unlike their dealing is with me, being through the goodness of God not to be touched with any such blame; and one, who, according to the measure of the gift of God, have laboured now some years painfully, in regard of the weak estate of my body, in preaching the Gospel, and, as I hope, not altogether unprofitably, in respect of the Church. But I beseech your Honours to give me leave briefly to declare the particular reasons of their Letter, and what answer I have to make unto it.

2. "The first is, that, as they say, 'I am not lawfully called to the Function of the Ministry, nor allowed to preach, according to the Laws of this Church of England.'

"For answer to this, I had need to divide the points. And first to make answer to the former; wherein, leaving to shew what by the Holy Scriptures is required in a Lawful Calling, and that all that is to be found in mine, that I be not too long for your other weighty affairs, I rest in this

answer:

*[See Vol. I. p. 45, Note.]

'My Calling to the Ministry was such as, in the calling of any thereunto, is appointed to be used by the Orders agreed upon in the National Synods of the Low Countries, for the direction and guidance of their Churches; which Orders are the same with those whereby the French and Scottish Churches are governed; whereof I have shewed such sufficient Testimonial to my Lord the Archbishop of Canterbury, as is requisite in such a matter: whereby it must needs fall out, if any man be lawfully called to the Ministry in those Churches, then is my Calling, being the same with theirs, also Lawful. But I suppose, notwithstanding they use this general speech, they mean only, my Calling is not sufficient to deal in the Ministry within this Land, because I was not made Minister according to that Order, which in this cause is ordained by our Laws. Whereunto I beseech your Honours to consider throughly of mine answer, because exception now again is taken to my Ministry, whereas, having been heretofore called in question for it, I so answered the matter, as I continued in my Ministry, and, for any thing I discerned, looked to hear that no more would be objected unto me. The Communion of Saints (which every Christian man professeth to believe) is such, as that the acts which are done in any true Church of Christ's according to his Word, are held as Lawful, being done in one Church as in another. Which, as it holdeth in other acts of Ministry, as Baptism, Marriage, and such like, so doth it in the Calling to the Ministry; by reason whereof, all Churches do acknowledge and receive him for a Minister of the Word, who hath been lawfully called thereunto in any Church of the same profession. A Doctor created in any University of Christendom, is acknowledged sufficiently qualified to teach in any country. The Church of Rome itself, and the Canon Law holdeth it, that being ordered in Spain, they may execute that [which] belongeth to their Order, in Italy, or in any other place. And the Churches of the Gospel never made any question of it: which if they shall now begin to make doubt of, and deny such to be Lawfully called to the Ministry, as are called by another Order than our own; then may it well be looked for, that other Churches will do the like: and if a Minister called in the Low Countries be not Lawfully called in England, then may they say to our Preachers which are there, that being made by