in her bed, and her new husband suspected and queftioned for it: but he was declared innocent of her death.

And I declare alfo, that Dr. John Spencer, (mentioned in the Life of Mr. Hooker,) who was of Mr. Hooker's college, and of his time there, and betwixt whom there was fo friendly a friendship, that they continually advised together in all their studies, and particularly in what concerned thefe books of Polity-this Dr. Spencer, the three perfect books being loft, had delivered into his hands (I think by Bishop Whitgift) the imperfect books, or first rough draughts of them, to be made as perfect as they might be by him, who both knew Mr. Hooker's hand-writing, and was beft acquainted with his intentions. And a fair teftimony of this may appear by an epiftle first and ufually printed before Mr. Hooker's five books, (but omitted, I know not why, in the laft impreffion of the eight printed together in anno 1662, in which the publishers feem to impofe the three doubtful books to be the undoubted books of Mr. Hooker,)

A a 3

Hooker,) with these two letters J. S. at the end of the faid epiftle, which was meant for this John Spencer: in which epiftle the reader may find these words, which may give fome authority to what I have here written of his laft three books. "And though Mr. Hooker haftened his "own death by haftening to give life to "his books, yet he held out with his

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eyes to behold thefe Benjamins, thefe "fons of his right hand, though to him

they proved Benonies, fons of pain and "forrow. But fome evil difpofed minds, "whether of malice, or covetousness, or "wicked blind zeal, it is uncertain, as "foon as they were born, and their "father dead, fmothered them, and, by

conveying the perfect copies, left unto "us nothing but the old imperfect man"gled draughts difmembered into pieces;

no favour, no grace, not the fhadow of "themselves remaining in them. Had "the father lived to behold them thus de"faced, he might rightly have named "them Benonies, the fons of forrow: "but being the learned will not fuffer

"them

"them to die and be buried, it is intended "the world fhall fee them as they are; "the learned will find in them fome fha"dows and resemblances of their father's "face. God grant, that as they were "with their brethren dedicated to the "Church for meffengers of peace; so, in "the ftrength of that little breath of life "that remaineth in them, they may pro"sper in their work, and, by fatisfying the "doubts of fuch as are willing to learn, "they may help to give an end to the "calamities of these our civil wars."

J. S.

And next the reader may note, that this Epiftle of Dr. Spencer's was writ and first printed within four years after the death of Mr. Hooker, in which time. all diligent fearch had been made for the perfect copies; and then granted not recoverable, and therefore endeavoured to be completed out of Mr. Hooker's rough draughts, as is expreffed by the faid Dr. Spencer in the faid Epiftle, fince whofe death it is now fifty years.

And I do profefs by the faith of a Christian, that Dr. Spencer's wife (who was my aunt, and fifter to George Cranmer, of whom I have spoken) told me forty years fince, in thefe, or in words to this purpose: "That her husband had "made up or finished Mr. Hooker's last "three books; and that upon her huf"band's death-bed, or in his laft fickness, "he gave them into her hand, with a "charge they should not be feen by any "man, but be by her delivered into the ❝hands of the then Archbishop of Can"terbury, which was Dr. Abbot, or unto "Dr. King, then Bishop of London, and "that she did as he enjoined her."

I do conceive, that from Dr. Spencer's, and no other copy, there have been divers tranfcripts; and I know that these were to be found in feveral places; as namely, Sir Thomas Bodley's Library; in that of Dr. Andrews, late Bishop of Winton; in the late Lord Conway's; in the Archbishop of Canterbury's; and in the Bishop of Armagh's; and in many others: and moft of these pretended to be the Author's own

hand,

hand, but much disagreeing, being indeed altered and diminished, as men have thought fittest to make Mr. Hooker's judgment fuit with their fancies, or give authority to their corrupt defigns; and for proof of a part of this, take these following teftimonies.

Dr. Barnard, fometime Chaplain to Dr. Ufher, late Lord Archbishop of Armagh, hath declared in a late book, called Clavi Trabales, printed by Richard Hodgkinson, anno 1661, that, in his fearch and examination of the faid Bishop's manufcripts, he found the three written books which were fuppofed the fixth, seventh, and eighth of Mr. Hooker's books of Ecclefiaftical Polity; and that in the faid three books (now printed as Mr. Hooker's) there are so many omiffions, that they amount to many paragraphs, and which cause many incoherencies: the omiffions are by him fet down at large in the faid printed book, to which I refer the reader for the whole; but think fit in this place to infert this following fhort part of fome of the faid omiffions.

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