6 de hæretico comburendo, you know, I ever have had a pity and charity for mankind, acknowledging in all a communion of minds and morality, and particularly for those that dissent from me in religion, omnis animus veritate invitus privatur: no beauty is so pleasant, so agreeable to the eye, as truth is to the soul; and all would love it, if they could discover it: As there is but one certain existence of things, so there is but one determinate truth of them, the same to all understandings, God's and man's both. If, after all my search and labour in knowledge, I cannot discover a beam of truth to guide and lead me into an unity of mind with God, am I to be made a criminal, and dealt with as a malefactor? he is infinite, and knows all things; but my poor understanding knows one thing, and doubts of a thousand: we are here in the body, tristi et obscuro domicilio; and the inspired apostle himself saith, we see darkly, and but through a glass.' God hath unfolded himself in as great variety in the minds of men, as he hath done in the material world the seed of religion springs up variously in human souls, as we see the seminal forms do out of the earth: and would it not be madness or folly to destroy and cut up all trees and plants but the oak? I am not without all jealousy that it is possible, we in England may return back to the church of Rome, not only because I see in history monarchies more subject to changes than common-wealths in matters of religion, and observe how indefatigable that infallible church (in its own judgment) is to revenge our schism from it upon us, and so may weary us out at last, and how unsafe they apprehend themselves at Rome, while the power of the sea is in the hands of the hereticks; but chiefly from the wild philosophy and atheism of the present age, atheism being a preparation to receive any colour or tincture in religion. I would have the law of burning of hereticks repealed, lest we should see that day. It is a law sanguinary with a witness, written like Draco's in characters of blood, as barbarous as as that of Ordeal, or Tryal by Battail, built upon no reason, but upon a self-opinion every sect hath, that it hath a monopoly of God to itself, and upon no scripture I know of, but the monkish gloss, hæreticos de vita. My dear friend, although gentlemen of fine parts are sooner debauched in popular assemblies under a monarchy, than men of plainer wisdom; as native beauty is less subject to be tempted by others, than beauty accompanied with the ornaments of art: I doubt not at all your integrity in this parliament, you are not a man of fluttering principles betwixt knavery and honesty, you will herd in your vote with no cabal, but go with the squadron volante, as reason upon every debate appears to you. I know you account a liberty of judgment in an uninterested indifference of mind, without fears or hopes, a grandeur and excellence above the rewards of wealth from the Court, or of fame from the people; nor am I afraid that, amidst the pleasure or business of the city, you will depart from the contemplative life, but be alone with your own mind, and drink of the spring of truth there, which overflowed so constantly your conversations with me in the country: Non Venus, aut vinum sublimia pectora fregit, And as for our friendship, which has been a communion of minds and fortunes for several years, I have no cloud, no umbrage of jealousy towards you. Friends in this world are not like satyrs or centaurs, without real existence, as Cardan under a melancholy complains they are; I am sure I have found one, which, as he says, he never was so happy in his life to do. I will detain you no longer from the care of the publick affairs. April 17, 1675. I am, dearest sir, Your most sincerely affectionate friend. A SHORT DISCOURSE WHY A LAW SHOULD PASS IN ENGLAND, TO PUNISH ADULTERY WITH DEATH. IT Publicus assertor, vitiis suppressa levabo Pectora, vindicte quisq; favete suæ. Ovid. T will be necessary, before I give my reasons why such a law should pass, that I do explain what adultery is, the notion of it being ordinarily mistaken. Adultery is the lying of a single or married man with another man's wife, and not the lying of a married man with a single woman. Thus it was constantly apprehended among the Jews, to whom God gave the law, Thou shalt not commit adultery'. And David's sin was the taking of the poor man's ewe-lamb from him, which lay in his bosom, when he had flocks enough of his own. I presume, there is none doubts the Christian magistrate's power to make such a law; death is already amongst us the penalty for less crimes: we punish boldly with death a horse-stealer, or a cut-purse, without any scruple at all; and is not my property in my wife of dearer and nearer concern to me, than my horse, or a little pocket-money? The primary law of nature is the observance of our contracts; for indeed, without this, there could be no government; the state of nature would still have continued; this crime intrenches highly on this law, dissolving the family-government; it is a breach of the solemnest contract (entered into pro bono publico, marriage being seminarium reipublica) imaginable. That is the nature of the crime, but the magisrate is chiefly to concern himself in the consequences of it; and they are more mischievous where the woman breaks the contract on her part; for thereby a spurious issue, that robs the husband by wholesale of his estate, of all his own and his ancestors acquisitions, is brought into his family. The crime is then a complication of all the wickedness in lust, breach of faith, and robbery; and therefore I may justly infer, that, seeing men equally concur with women to transact it, they are justly equally punishable. If a man shall violate the companion of the king, or the companion of the eldest son and heir of the king, it is high-treason: by this we see the care of the law, no spurious issue should inherit the crown. Should we not take some proportionable care of our own estates? We may do well to reflect upon the example of other nations, as of the Jews (for many ages the only known people of God) amongst whom adultery was punished with death; upon the example of the gentes moratiores among the Heathens; of the Athenians, who, upon Solon's law punished this crime capitally; of the Romans, who, in imitation of Solon's law, set down for their law in the twelve tables, Machum in adulterio deprehensum necato. Afterwards in the Roman state it was lawful for the husband, until the Lex Julia in his Augustus's time, Uxores in adulterio deprehensas sine judicio impuné necare. We may also consider what the Christian church has done for the suppression of this sin. In the first and best times of Christianity they did all they could, having not jus vitæ & necis against it. The penance then for it was perpetual to the hour of death. Zepherinus, bishop of Rome, Anno 216, moderated the penance; but the African churches, and particularly the grand Tertullian, opposed it as an innovation. The Ancyran council, Anno 315, ordains seven years penance for it. And the council of Eliberis ordains, that he, that commits adultery again after penance for the first fault, should not be taken into communion at the hour of death. In after ages, when the Roman church was resolved upon a celibacy in her clergy, it was necessary the sin should be looked on with a gentle eye, and now it is dwindled down into a peccadillo, but is, in truth, like the peccadillo of not believing in God at all; for, if ever he gave a law to man, it is one to prohibit adultery. Several of the reformed countries, who have recovered themselves from under the empire of wit and fraud over their consciences by that church, punish the crime at this day with death. As for us in England, our present law is not without the infusions of the Roman church upon it in this case; all the remedy, the injured husband hath by our law, is to sue a divorce in the spiritual court, and to be cousened with a sentence of separation a mensa & thoro, a crafty invention against the plain gospel. If the husband kill the adulterer, or his wife, found by him in ipso actu, the law excuseth him in this case from murder, but condemns him of man-slaughter, and hangs him, if he cannot read. What a poor remedy hath the injured man? If he kill the adulterer deliberately, not provoked by ocular demonstration, it is murder. Besides all this, the present law being so defective, the crime grows upon it; it is common, and this age gives it the soft and gentle French names of gallantry and divertisement, in apology for it: what ought the magistrate to do in this case, but to pursue this crime as far as his hand can reach, to the grave itself, and then expectet Deum ultorem ? A SHORT DISCOURSE, SHEWING WHY THE WRIT, DE HÆRETICO COMBURENDO, SHOULD BE ABOLISHED. BEFO Chrysippus non dicit idem, nec mite Thaletis Pana errantis est doceri. Plato, cited by Grotius. EFORE I give my reasons, it will be necessary to shew the state of the law at present upon this writ: before the statue, 2 Henry the Fourth, cap. 15, No person could be convicted of heresy, but by the archbishop, and all the clergy of the province; but, by that statute, any particular bishop might in his diocese convict of heresy, and issue forth his precept to the sheriff, to burn the person he had convicted:' a law whereby the clergy had gained a dominion over the lives of the subjects independent upon the crown. It was repealed by the statute, 25 Henry the Eighth, cap. 14. But so as particular bishops may still convict; but without the king's writ, de hæretico comburendo, first obtained, no person convict can be put to death ;' and so the law stands at this day. My REASONS are these: I. The continuance of this writ in force amongst us, is a standing reproach to the Christian religion we profess (a religion of love and peace.) If it be not to be propagated in the whole by force and bloodshed, certainly a part of it, as a particular point of faith in it, is not. In the gospel of Christ all the punishment of heresy, and of infidelity itself, are adjourned over, and left to the other world. II. If an act pass to abolish this writ, it will be an act of indulgence in part, and give an assurance to all persons of a different judgment from the present established church, that they are secure as to their lives under the government. III. If Popery should ever return back into England, there must a parliament sit to repeal such an act, before any Protestant for his epinion could be put to death. IV. Such an act would leave the power of the present church to convict, excommunicate, and imprison untouched, only would take away their barbarous execution of her sentence. If it be objected,The writ is grown obsolete and disused, and so 'need not be taken away,' the answer is obvious; not so obsolete neither: it was used in King James's time; however, it is fit it should not remain as a snare among our law, for the case concerns life or death; and the Papists use the writ constantly against the Protestants, but they never against them. A FARTHER BRIEF & TRUE NARRATION OF THE LATE WARS RISEN IN NEW-ENGLAND, Occasioned by the quarrelsome disposition and perfidious carriage of the barbarous and savage Indian natives there; WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THE FIGHT THE 19th OF DECEMBER LAST, 1675. London, February 17th, 1675-6. Licensed, Henry Oldenburgh. London: printed by J. D. for M. K. and are to be sold by the Booksellers, 1676. Quarto, containing eight pages. SIR, "TIS Boston, December 28th, 1675. IS verily believed with us, that all generous minds in both Englands, which concern themselves to enquire after our affairs in these parts of the world, and wish us well, have a longing desire the Indian wars might be ended; and we presumed e're this, that the powers of persuasion or force would have made a happy change, by altering the minds, or restraining the malice of our heathen foes. But so it is, the rod of God's anger is still upon us; for the Pocanaket sachem Metacom, alias Philip, still lives! he lives to be vexation to us in all places where he comes: yea, he lives, and by his subtlety proves a more forcible and perillous enemy to us than ever we could have imagined. He hath drawn into his confederacy all the Indians, from Cape Sables eastward to the Mohawks, which is about three hundred miles or upwards and our fears are (which would to God they were but fears) that some traders of Europe, for love of gain, have from time to time supplied them with ammunition. At the eastward, the Indians have ruined Falmouth Black Point, and Saco, and slain in those towns thirty persons: some they took alive, and sat them upright in the ground, using this sarcasm: You English, 'since you came into this country have grown exceedingly above 'ground, let us now see how you will grow when planted into the 'ground.' At Ketterey they have slain fourteen persons, and burnt sundry houses: at Dover they also have killed some, and fired two or three houses. Our enemies proudly exult over us, and blaspheme the name of our blessed God, saying, 'Where is your O God?' Taunting at the poor wretches, which, to make themselves sport with, they cruelly torture to death: but our affiance is in the God that made heaven and earth, who, when he arises, will scatter our enemies. |