and in many others; and most of these pretended to be the author's own hand, being much disagreeing; being, indeed, altered and diminished, as men have thought fittest to make Mr. Hooker's judgment suit with their fancies or give authority to their corrupt designs; and, for proof of a part of this, take these following testimonies.

Dr. Barnard, sometime chaplain to Dr. Usher, late Lord Archbishop of Armagh, hath declared in a late book, called "Clavi Trabales," printed by Richard Hodgkinson, Anno 1661, that, in his search and examination of the said Bishop's manuscripts, he there found the three written books, which were the supposed sixth, seventh, and eighth, of Mr. Hooker's books of "Ecclesiastical Polity"; and that, in the said three books (now printed as Mr. Hooker's), there are so many omissions that they amount to many paragraphs, and which cause many incoherencies; the omissions are by him set down at large in the said printed book, to which I refer the reader for the whole; but think fit in this place to insert this following short part of them:

66 First, As there could be in natural bodies no motion of any thing, unless there were some first which moved all things, and continued unmoveable; even so in politic societies there must be some unpunishable, or else no man shall suffer punishment; for, sith punishments proceed always from superiors, to whom the administration of justice belongeth, which administration must have necessarily a fountain that deriveth it to all others, and receiveth not from any, because otherwise the course of justice should go infi

nitely in a circle, every superior having his superior without end, which cannot be, therefore, a well-spring; it followeth, there is a supreme head of justice where, unto all are subject, but itself in subjection to none. Which kind of preeminency if some ought to have in a kingdom, who but the King shall have it? Kings, therefore, or no man, can have lawful power to judge.

'If private men offend, there is the magistrate over them which judgeth; if magistrates, they have their prince; if princes, there is Heaven, a tribunal, before which they shall appear; on earth they are not accountable to any."- Here, says the Doctor, it breaks off abruptly.

And I have these words also attested under the hand of Mr. Fabian Philips, a man of note for his useful books:

"I will make oath if I shall be required, that Dr. Sanderson, the late Bishop of Lincoln, did, a little before his death, affirm to me he had seen a manuscript, affirmed to him to be the hand-writing of Mr. Richard Hooker, in which there was no mention made of the king or supreme governors being accountable to the people; this I will make oath that that good man attested to me.

FABIAN PHILIPS."

So that there appears to be both omissions and additions in the said last three printed books; and this may probably be one reason why Dr. Sanderson, the said learned Bishop (whose writings are so highly and justly valued), gave a strict charge near the time

of his death, or in his last will, that nothing of his that was not already printed, should be printed after his death.”

It is well known how high a value our learned King James put upon the books writ by Mr. Hooker, as also that our late King Charles (the martyr for the church) valued them the second of all books, testified by his commending them to the reading of his son Charles, that now is our gracious King; and you may suppose that this Charles the First was not a stranger to the pretended three books, because in a discourse with the Lord Say, when the said Lord required the King to grant the truth of his argument, because it was the judgment of Mr. Hooker (quoting him in one of the three written books), the King replied, "they were not allowed to be Mr. Hooker's books; but however he would allow them to be Mr. Hooker's, and consent to what his Lordship proposed to prove out of those doubtful books, if he would but consent to the judgment of Mr. Hooker, in the other five, that were the undoubted books of Mr. Hooker."

In this relation concerning these three doubtful books of Mr. Hooker, my purpose was to inquire, then set down what I observed and know, which I have done, not as an engaged person, but indifferently; and now leave my reader to give sentence, for their legitimation, as to himself, but so as to leave others the same liberty of believing, or disbelieving them to be Mr. Hooker's. And it is observable, that as Mr. Hooker advised with Dr. Spencer, in the design and manage of these books, so also, and chiefly with his dear pupil George Cranmer (whose sister was the wife of

110

THE LIFE OF RICHARD HOOKER.

Dr. Spencer), of which this following letter may be a testimony; and doth also give authority to some things mentioned both in the Appendix, and in the Life of Mr. Hooker; and is therefore added.

CONCERNING

THE NEW CHURCH DISCIPLINE;

AN EXCELLENT LETTER,

WRITTEN BY MR. GEORGE CRANMER

TO

MR. RICHARD HOOKER,

FEBRUARY, MDXCVIII.

WHAT posterity is likely to judge of these matters concerning church discipline, we may the better conjecture, if we call to mind what our own age, within a few years, upon better experience, hath already judged concerning the same. It may be remembered, that at first the greatest part of the learned in the land were either eagerly affected, or favorably inclined that way. The books then written for the most part favored of the disciplinary style; it sounded evry where in pulpits, and in the common phrase of men's speech. The contrary part began to fear they had taken a wrong course, many which impugned the discipline, yet so impugned it, not as not being the bet