Tertius Edwardus, capto pernice Caleto, Fausta velut sunt hæc, omina semper habe. And may such omens still increase your mirth. These verses I presented, in Anno 1677, to a most honourable peer of the land, and of great place near his royal highness. Since which time, old Fabian coming into my hands, from him I got knowledge that that advantageous peace, mentioned by Stowe, Anno 1360, (concluded between the forementioned King Edward the Third and the French King) was acted upon the fourteenth of October, with grand solemnity. The two former circumstances must needs fall out providentially : whether this last, of Anno 1360, was designed by Edward the Third, or no, as remembering his good hap, may be some question: I am of opinion, not. Where things are under a man's peculiar concern, he may fix a time; but here was the French King concerned, equally with the English, and many other great personages interested: to have tied them up to his own auspicious conceit of the day, had been an unkind oppression, and would have brought the judgment of so wise a prince into question: we may conclude then, it was merely fortuitous. And therefore to the former observation, concerning this famous Edward, give me leave to add, Insuper hoc ipsoq; die sibi commoda, grandis 'An advantageous peace, on day self-same, This mighty prince did with the Frenchmen frame. A memorable peace, foretold by Nostredamus, much conducing to the saving of Christian blood, was made upon the fourteenth of October, 1557, between Pope Paul the Fourth, Henry the Second of France, and Philip the Second of Spain. Nostredamus says, these great princes were frappez du ciel, moved from heaven, to make this peace. See Garencieres's Comment on Nostredamus, pag. 76. A lucky day this, not only to the Princes of England, but auspicious to the welfare of Europe. Upon the third of March last, being the day of St. Eutropius, his royal highness withdrew towards the Low Countries: Procopius tells us, humana sæpe contingit a Deo mutari. Terence says, vicissitudo omnium rerum est. Which two sayings I can no way better English, than by that of Eccles. ix. 11. Time and chance happen to all men nor no way better second, than with that of 1 Cor. iv. 11. Incertis vagamur sedibus. This accident therefore, our life being but a pilgrimage, as Jacob termed it to Pharaoh, is nothing to a general providence in the main. Therefore from the augury of his fourteenth of October, and from the good omen, comprehended in the signification of Eutropius, which hints, that all this shall end well, and turn to the best; and from Ecclus. xiv. 14, 15. I accost his royal highness with a non defraudabitur a die bono. He shall not lose his good day. Dixerunt ibis, pariter dixcre redibis ; Te non infausto dii posuere die. The gods thy exit have ordain'd, and also they · Thy bless'd return have firm'd, born on a lucky day.' I just now said, that the third of March was dedicated to Eutropius, which is derived from ɛ well, and reέr to turn: it is also dedicated to St. Maximus, St. Marinus, St. Lucius; which three also have no. table hints in relation to his royal highness. First, no man can deny, but that he is Maximus Princeps. Secondly, he is Maximus Marinus; for in the time of his exile, he was admiral of Arragon, as I have been told many years since in Flanders; and I am sure very many commissions, in those days, past under his name; and till 1673, he was lord high admiral of England. Lucius comes from Luci, which signifies in the morning; and betokens a child born in the morning, or at sun-rising, which some affirm to be a good time for birth: but I will, for my present purpose, deduce it a luceo; and I must affirm quod hic maximus princeps gestis marinis maxime lucet, et alias lucebit; This most great prince is extremely illustrious in sea negotiations, and shall yet be otherwise most illustrious. That his highness has long since verified the first paragraph of my assertion, take it not only on my credit; but, besides what has been said before, hear part of an ode to his sacred majesty, on his highness's victory over the Dutch, June 3, 1665, composed by Sir T. H. a most worthy person, whom his foreign negotiations have made enough known: This day your empire fate secures, And now one half of the whole world is yours. Must to your glorious brother yield, Who with less loss hath got a greater field, & c. The Germans, high and low, amongst which last, his highness now resides, call October, Wyn-maendt, Mensis Vindemialis, the Wine Month, The effects of wine we read Judg. ix. 13. Psal. civ. 15. Eccles. x. 19. Zach. x. 7. Why then may we not term this month Mensis Latificans? That it may be so to his royal highness, as well as it was to the most great queen his mother, are the hearty prayers of Blue-mantle. Hæc olim meminisse juvabit: Unanimes omnes, cum te, dux celse, reducto, Virgil. Remembrance of these things delight shall thee, I have by me a book, printed Anno 1641, containing the true effigies of King Charles the First, of blessed memory, his queen, with their royal progeny, with verses annexed, wherein are notable predictions of his royal highness, which I will here recite: This prince, much like another sun, darts forth. A stay of state, a strong supporting prop, Whose fame will scale the heighth of honour's top. In action, such as fits his high degree: Doth watch, direct, and guide this hopeful prince, No doubt, our wishes, are confirm'd above. Thus that book: and I add, 1678. Quis meliora petat, consultus quod tripos edat? Who better things than these can wish " From the oracles breath of bliss? Martis Mense data hæc, timidi committere prælo J. GIBBON. A DISPUTATION: PROVING, That it is not convenient to grant unto Ministers secular jurisdiction; 1. I AND TO MAKE THEM LORDS AND STATESMEN IN PARLIAMENT. London: Printed in the year 1679. Quarto, containing thirty-six pages. It is not expedient to grant unto Clergymen secular jurisdiction. Do not undertake to prove that it is simply unlawful and the worthy and judicious Bishop Davenant doth grant and assert, that the law of prudence and equity itself doth forbid kings to burden clergymen with it, so far as it will let and avocate them from their spiritual office and function. 2. It will be demanded, who must be judge what is, and what is not expedient? To which the forenamed Davenant makes answer, that is to be accounted expedient which a wise man shall so judge and determine; whereunto I assent. He afterwards adds, that which a wise and religious prince shall so determine. Neither do I dissent in this, provided it be soundly understood: for that which a wise and religious prince shall judge to be expedient, if it be so indeed, all wise men will, at least they ought so to think, for sound wisdom is the same in all but it is too possible for the most wise and prudent prince to enjoin things not good and expedient. King David thought it most prudent to number the people, who was a most wise prince; but in that his wisdom failed him. Joab, his general, that was much inferior to David in goodness and heavenly wisdom, thought it very imprudent; and the event proved Joab to be the wiser man in that. 3. Some things are more evidently, other things are less evidently expedient: the scales may hang so even and equilibrious, that a wise comparing judgment can scarce tell whether is the heavier end, and whether part hath the stronger reasons; and the scales may be so odd and unequal, so much solid reason may be said for the one side, and so little for the other, that, to a wise comparing judgment, the case is not doubtful to decide. Now I shall manifest that it is evidently inexpedient to grant secular jurisdiction to ministers and clergymen, that is, that the same person be a minister, bishop, or pastor of souls, and a magistrate, or coercive judge, one that beareth the sword, Rom. xiii. 4. 4. Arg. I. Jesus Christ did not see it meet to exercise any such power while he was upon earth; being moved to be a kind of worldly judge between two brethren, he refused, saying, Who made me a judge or a divider over you? Luke xii. 14. As if he should say, says Davenant upon the words, neither by divine nor by human ordination do I exercise judiciary power over private persons, much less over kings: by which argument the same Davenant goes about to prove the nullity of the pope's power in temporals. Now, if his argument be of force against the bishop of Rome, I see not but it is of equal force against worldly jurisdiction in all bishops and pastors whatsoever. Now, if Christ saw it not meet for him to exercise worldly jurisdiction, methinks all bishops and pastors of souls, who have their office and calling par ticularly from him, should see it meet to learn of him and imitate him herein, and princes themselves should not think it expedient to burden ministers with that, which Christ himself refused, and put from him, as either unlawful in itself, or inexpedient. Mat. xi. 29, Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me.' 5. Arg. II. The apostles, and the successors of the apostles, the bi. shops and pastors of the churches for the space of three hundred years unto the time of Constantine, had no temporal jurisdiction, nor did exercise any. And those are counted the best and purest times of the church. If we may not make the apostles of Christ, and their imme diate successors, the bishops and pastors of the churches for the first three hundred years, our pattern, what shall we make our pattern, and by what law and rule shall we determine what is, and what is not expedient? Can we better govern ourselves and the churches than they? Have we more wisdom to invent and find out ways of good governing the church than they had? Have we more holiness, and goodness, and faithfulness to God, ourselves, our calling, and the church, than they had? If the church did well, and best subsisted when it had no magistrates but what were pagan, infidel, and Jewish, many of whom were great persecutors, all of them deniers of the Christian name: will it not well and better subsist, if better can be, where magistrates are Christian, and defenders of the faith, if bishops and pastors, contenting themselves with no more but the episcopal and pastoral office, and refusing all worldly jurisdiction, shall wisely and faithfully behave themselves in their office, as those first and most ancient bishops and pastors of the churches did? 6. Unto this, the worthy Davenant makes answer, that those times and ours are not alike. Those times were exceeding holy and good, ours are exceeding bad. There needed no secular authority in pastors then; there was so much holiness and piety, the word and discipline were abundantly enough; but now the Christian world is so exceeding corrupt and degenerate, that, unless ministers be armed with secular jurisdiction, their authority will be despised, and the discipline, which God hath appointed to be in his church, will be scorned as base and contemptible, rather than be reverenced for any good it will do: non tam usui esse, quam ludibrio, those are his very words. Davenant is the man whom I do highly esteem, and so do all that are wise and knowing in the things of God; but, in this, Davenant hath fallen much below himself; and the feebleness of his reasoning doth much confirm me, in my judgment and persuasion, that the cause which he oppugneth, and which I do here defend, is too strong to be overthrown. 7. His answer is partly not true, not to say it is directly and flatly false for, let any impartial man make a due estimate of things, and |