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wards those that are without the Church, the other towards those that are within. For the former: it is certain that heresies and schisms are of all others the greatest scandals, yea, more than corruption of manners. For as in the natural body, a wound or solution of continuity is worse than a corrupt humour; so in the spiritual. So that nothing doth so much keep men out of the Church, and drive them out of the Church, as breach of Unity and therefore whensoever it cometh to that pass, that one saith, "Behold he is in the desert ;" another saith," Behold he is in the secret temples;" that is, when some men seek Christ in the conventicles of heretics, and others in an outward face of a church, that voice had need continually to sound in men's ears, "Nolite exire," "Go not out." The Doctor of the Gentiles (the propriety of whose vocation drew him to have a special care of those without) saith, "If an heathen come in and hear you speak with several tongues, will he not say that you are mad?" And certainly it is little better, when atheists and profane persons do hear of so many discordant and contrary opinions in Religion; it doth avert them from the Church, and maketh them to sit down in the chair of the scorners. It is but a light thing to be vouched in so serious a matter, but yet it expresseth well the deformity. There is a master of scoffing, that, in his catalogue

of books of a feigned library, sets down the title of a book, "The Morrice-dance of Heretics." For indeed every sect of them hath a diverse posture, or cringe by themselves, which cannot but move derision in worldlings, and depraved politics who are apt to contemn holy things.

As for the fruit towards those that are within ; it is peace, which containeth infinite blessings: it establisheth faith; it kindleth charity; the outward peace of the Church distilleth into peace of conscience; and it turneth the labours of writing and reading of controversies, into treatises of mortification and devotion.

Concerning the bonds of Unity; the true placing of them importeth exceedingly. There appear to be two extremes. For to certain zealots all speech of pacification is odious. "Is it peace, Jehu? what hast thou to do with peace? Turn thee behind me." Peace is not the matter, but following and party. Contrariwise certain Laodiceans, and luke-warm persons, think they may accommodate points of Religion by middle ways, and taking part of both, and witty reconcilements; as if they would make an arbitrement between God and man. But these extremes are to be avoided; which will be done, if the league of Christians, penned by our Saviour himself, were in the two cross clauses thereof, soundly and plainly expounded: "He

that is not with us, is against us :" and again," he that is not against us, is with us:" that is, if the points fundamental, and of substance in Religion, were truly discerned and distinguished from points not merely of faith, but of opinion, order, or good intention. This is a thing may seem to many a matter trivial, and done already; but if it were done less partially, it would be embraced more generally.

Of this I may give only this advice, according to my small model: Men ought to take heed of rending God's church by two kinds of controversies : the one is, when the matter of the point controverted is too small and light, not worth the heat and strife about it, kindled only by contradiction. For, as it is noted by one of the Fathers, "Christ's coat indeed had no seam, but the Church's vesture was of divers colours; whereupon he saith, " There may be a variety of colours in the vesture, but let there be no rent;" they be two things, Unity and Uniformity. The other is, when the matter of the point controverted is great, but it is driven to an over-great subtilty and obscurity, so that it becometh a thing rather ingenious than substantial. A man that is of judgment and understanding, shall sometimes hear ignorant men differ, and know well within himself, that those which so differ, mean one thing, and yet they themselves

would never agree. in that distance of judgment which is between man and man, shall we not think that God above, that knows the heart, doth not discern that frail men in some of their contradictions intend the same thing, and accepteth of both? The nature of such controversies is excellently expressed by Saint Paul, in the warning and precept that he giveth concerning the same: "Avoid profane novelties of words or expressions, and the oppositions of science falsely so called." Men create oppositions which are not, and put them into new terms so fixed; as whereas the the meaning ought to govern the term, the term in effect governeth the meaning. There be also two false peaces, or unities; the one, when the peace is grounded but upon an implicit ignorance; for all colours will agree in the dark: the other when it is pieced up upon a direct admission of contraries in fundamental points. For truth and falsehood in such things, are like the iron and clay in the toes of Nebuchadnezzar's image; they may cleave, but they will not incorporate.

And if it so come to pass,

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Concerning the means of procuring Unity; men must be aware, that in the procuring or muniting of Religious Unity, they do not dissolve and deface the laws of charity, and of human society. There be two swords amongst Christians, the spiritual and temporal; and both have their due office and place

in the maintenance of Religion. But we may not take up the third sword, which is Mahomet's sword, or like unto it; that is, to propagate Religion by wars, or by sanguinary persecutions to force consciences, except it be in cases of overt scandal, blasphemy, or intermixture of practice against the state; much less to nourish seditions, to authorize conspiracies and rebellions, to put the sword into the people's hands, and the like, tending to the subversion of all Government, which is the ordinance of God. For this is but to dash the first table against the second, and so to consider men as Christians, as we forget that they are men. Lucretius the poet, when he beheld the act of Agamemnon, that could endure the sacrificing of his own daughter, exclaimed:

"To such a height of evils could superstition persuade him."

What would he have said, if he had known of the massacre in France, or the powder-treason of England? He would have been seven times more epicure and atheist than he was: for as the temporal sword is to be drawn with great circumspection in cases of Religion; so it is a thing monstrous to put it into the hands of the common people. Let that be left unto the Anabaptists, and other furies. It was great blasphemy, when the Devil said, "I will ascend, and be like the highest ;" but it is greater

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