days before his death delivered into my hands those excellent Sermons of his which are now made public; profeffing before Dr. Winniff, Dr. Montford, and, I think, yourself then present at his bed-fide, that it was by my reftlefs importunity that he had prepared them for the prefs; together with which (as his beft legacy) he gave me all his Sermon-Notes, and his other papers, containing an Extract of near fifteen hundred Authors. How thefe were got out of my hands, you, who were the meffenger for them, and how loft both to me and yourfelf, is not now feasonable to complain; but, fince they did mifcarry, I am glad that the general demonftration of his worth was fo fairly preferved, and reprefented to the world by your pen in the Hiftory of his Life; indeed fo well, that, beside others, the best critic of our later time (Mr. John Hales, of Eaton College) affirmned to me, He had not feen a Life written with more advantage to the fubject, or more reputation to the writer, than that of Dr. Donne's. After the performance of this task for Dr. Donne, you undertook the like office for our friend Sir Henry Wotton, betwixt which two there was a friendship begun in Oxford, continued in their various travels, and more confirmed in the religious friendship of age, and doubtlefs this excellent perfon had writ the Life of Dr. Donne, if death had not prevented him : by which means, his and your pre-collections for that work fell to the happy manage of your pen: a work, which you would have declined, if imperious perfuafions had not been stronger than your modest refolutions against it. And I am thus far glad, that the firft Life was fo impofed upon you, because it gave an unavoidable caufe of writing the fecond: if not, it is too probable we had wanted both, which had been a prejudice to all lovers of honour and ingenious learning. And let me not leave my friend Sir Henry without this teftimony added to your's, that he was a man of as florid a wit, and elegant a pen, as any any former, or our's, which in that kind is a most excellent age, hath ever produced. And now having made this voluntary observation of our two deceafed friends, I proceed to fatisfy your defire concerning what I know and believe of the ever-memorable Mr. Hooker, who was Schifmaticorum malleus, fo great a champion for the Church of England's rights, against the factious torrent of Separatifts that then ran high against Church-Difcipline, and in his unanfwerable Books continues ftill to be fo against the unquiet Difcipline of their Schifm, which now under other names carry on their defign; and who (as the proper heirs of their irrational zeal) would again rake into the fcare-clofed wounds of a newly bleeding State and Church. And firft, though I dare not fay I knew Mr. Hooker; yet, as our Ecclefiaftical Hiftory reports to the honour of Ignatius, that he lived in the time of St. John, and had feen him in his childhood; fo I alfo joy, that in my minority I have often feen Mr. Hooker, with my father, then Lord Bishop of London; from whom, and others at that time, I have heard most of the material paffages which you relate in the Hiftory of his Life; and from my father received fuch a character of his learning, humility, and other virtues, that, like jewels of unvaluable price, they still caft fuch a luftre, as envy or the ruft of time fhall never darken. From my father I have alfo heard all the circumftances of the plot to defame him; and how Sir Edwin Sandys outwitted his accufers, and gained their confeffion; and could give an account of each particular of that plot, but that I judge it fitter to be forgotten, and rot in the fame grave with the malicious authors. I may not omit to declare, that my father's knowledge of Mr. Hooker was occafioned by the learned Dr. John Spencer, who after the death of Mr. Hooker was fo careful to preferve his unvaluable fixth, seventh, and eighth Books of ECCLESIASTICAL POLITY, and his other Writings, that he he procured Henry Jackson, then of Corpus Chrifti College, to tranfcribe for him all Mr. Hooker's remaining written papers, many of which were imperfect; for his study had been rifled or worse used by Mr. Chark, and another of principles too like his : but as these papers were, they were endeavoured to be completed by his dear friend Dr. Spencer, who bequeathed them as a precious legacy to my father; after whofe death they rested in my hand, till Dr. Abbot, then Archbishop of Canterbury, commanded them out of my cuftody, authorifing Dr. John Barkham (his Lordship's Chaplain) to require and bring them to him to Lambeth: at which time I have heard they were put into the Bishop's Library, and that they remained there till the martyrdom of Archbishop Laud, and were then by the brethren of that faction given with the Library to Hugh Peters, as a reward for his remarkable service in those fad times of the Church's confufion: and though they could hardly fall into a fouler hand, yet there wanted not other endeavours to corrupt and make them speak that language, for which the faction then fought; which was, to fubject the fovereign power to the people. I need not strive to vindicate Mr. Hooker in this particular; his known loyalty to his Prince whilft he lived, the forrow expreffed by King James for his death; the value our late Sovereign (of ever-bleffed memory) put upon his Works, and now the fingular character of his worth given by you in the paffages of his Life, (especially in your Appendix to it,) do fufficiently clear him from that imputation: and I am glad you mention how much value Robert Stapleton, Pope Clement the Eighth, and other eminent men of the Romish perfuafion, have put upon his Books, having been told the fame in my youth by perfons of worth that have travelled Italy. Laftly, I must again congratulate this undertaking of your's, as now more proper to you than any other perfon, by reafon of your long knowledge and alliance to the worthy worthy family of the Cranmers, (my old friends alfo,) who have been men of noted wifdom, especially Mr. George Cranmer, whofe prudence, added to that of Sir Edwin Sandys, proved very ufeful in the completing of Mr. Hooker's matchlefs Books; one of their Letters I herewith fend you to make use of, if you think fit. And let me fay further, you merit much from many of Mr. Hooker's best friends then living; namely, from the ever-renowned Archbishop Whitgift, of whofe incomparable worth, with the character of the times, you have given us a more short and fignificant account than I have received from any other pen. You have done much for Sir Henry Savile, his contemporary and familiar friend; amongst the furviving monuments of whofe learning (give me leave to tell you fo) two are omitted; his Edition of Euclid; but especially his Tranflation of King James his Apology for the Oath of Allegiance, into elegant Latin: which flying in that drefs as far as Rome, was by the Pope and Conclave fent unto Francifcus Suarez to Salamanca, (he then refiding there as Prefident of that College,) with a command to answer it. When he had perfected the work, (which he calls Defenfio Fidei Catholicæ,) it was tranfmitted to Rome for a view of the Inquifitors; who, according to their cuftom, blotted out what they pleased, and (as Mr. Hooker hath been used fince his death) added whatsoever might advance the Pope's Supremacy, or carry on their own intereft, commonly coupling together deponere et occidere, the depofing and killing of Princes; which cruel and unchriftian language Mr. John Saltkell (his amanuenfis, when he wrote at Salamanca ; but fince a convert, living long in my father's house) often profeffed, the good old man (whofe piety and charity Mr. Saltkell magnified much) not only difavowed, but detefted. Not to trouble you further, your Reader (if, according to your defire, my approbation of your work carries any weight) will find many just reasons to thank you for it; and for this circumstance |