A MORE FULL ANSWER OF JOHN BASTWICK, Dr. OF PHYSIC, Made to the former exceptions newly propounded by another well-willer to him, against some expressions in his LITANY, with his reasons for the printing of it.  
All set down as more Articles superadditionall upon superadditionall, against the Prelates.  
This is to follow the LITANY as a FOURTH PART of it.  
Printed in the Year of the English Prelates malice, and crualty, against and upon God's faithful people, 1637.   

The fourth part of the Litany, OF JOHN BASTWICK, Doctor of Physic.  
Worthy Sir,  
AS I most kindly thank you, for the many favours, you shown me in my prosperity, so I do hearty, for your well wishes towards me in this my captivity: and as I do cordially thank you for both, so I do likewise promise all reciprocal endeavour in all Offices of love in way of remuneration: and so much the more your humanity deserves it, because you condole not only my present desolation, but study to prevent further fury in my adversaries, which will tend to my greater ruin as you say, if they have any just, or but seeming ground for it: and therefore you have friendly I thank you advertised me of some danger you fear will come upon me, if my Litany should be published, in regard of some expressions in it, as that I seem to vilify the Service of the Church established in the Kingdom by Parliament, and that I call the Prelate of Canterbury William the Dragon, and his brrther of York, the abbey lubber of the North; now they being privy Councillors, such speeches will be adjudged scandalous as you suppose, and therefore that I shall be censured for Scandalum Magnatum. And withal you think it is a revillng those in authority, which the Angel would not do to the very Devil. And this is the sum of what you have to object against my Litany. To all which although I have formerly answered in my letters to others, yet because I know not whether you may ever see them, I thought fit in brief to reply as followeth.  
And first whereas you seem to intimate by your words, that I should either totally suppress the printing of my LITANY, or else take out those words: I conceive neither of both by any sound reason ought to be done: for that the LITANY is printed, the Prelates are the cause of it: and of the writing of it: for would they have let me followed my own employments, I should never have troubled my thoughts about them: for I most ingenuously confess unto you, that nothing more grieves me, the that I am constrained to make those men a subject of my discourse, that at other times I would scorn to make an object of my cogitations: but they I say, having by their unhuman and unchristian proceed deprived me of liberty, and all lively hood, and by this means ruined me and all mine, and to all this threatened farther calamity and misery unto me, as the slitting of my nose, the branding me in the forehead, & the cutting of my ears, all which things being daily related unto me by others, I must confess it, put me upon my devotions, and was the only cause of my Litany; and had not their thundering words come unto me, I should never have done any thing in English: but that my country men, might see something into the Prelates well meaning towards the Church and State, and withal might be stirred up to a diligent, endeavour to prevent the mischief, as they fear God, and honour their King and low their religion and country, I writ that treatise, and sent it to my good Angel, but hearing withal, that some evil Angels were abroad, and had misinterpreted it, and the Prelates threatened me yet more cruelly for that: then I resolved to make that public which otherwise should have been for my own use, and the benefit of some few friends only: and this is one of the causes of the printing of it, and all my other superadditionall articles against them: For at the making of it, I had never thought to have lived a day: the plague on every side environing me about, and many poor people coming up to my chamber for cure with sores running on them: all the Physicians being gone out of town: and therefore my danger being so great, and all possibility of escaping of it, being also taken away, I took myself then to my Litany, and that it seemeth was not well taken by M. Priests & Prelates; neither could they conceal their venom, and evil intents, but must for the greater terror of others divulge them, and they as I said coming frequently to my intelligence, for fear withal, that they should adulterate my true copy, I therefore writ over another with my own hand which I got to be copied out, and so let some of my friends see it, and such also as had been many years in the High Commission Court, and that knew very well I slandered them in nothing I said: only out of their good affection towards me, they feared, and that very much, that the Prelates would proceed to the extremest and rigerousest punishment that by law could be inflicted upon me. For their Kingdom was first by blood begun and established, and by blood hath hitherto been continued, and by blood only shall be perpetuated, but for my blood and life I stand not for that, so that the truth may be known, and their wickedness, plots, and cruelty be discovered, and truly next unto the especial providence of God, which always bringeth good out of evil, I may thank the Prelates for the honour of this good work (cost it me what it will) for they only were the cause both of the beginning and publishing of it: for if they had not breathed out threats against me, presaging their bloudthirstinesse, I should never have studied to dive so far into this business; in the which through God's blessing I have made so good progress, as I hope all those that either, fear God or their King, or love their countries, through the whole Christian world, with all the Christian Kings, Princes and Emperors, and all free States will manifestly see, not only the little need of the Prelates Government in their Kingdoms and Countries, but the great mischief and damage they bring to all Commonwealths and Nations where they dwell. And to say no more but the verity, there is as little need of them, and their jurisdictions in Kingdoms for the well administering of them, as is in our Christian and holy profession of the Service-booke, which yet never either begot grace or the fear or love of God, or increased any gift of God in any; and is well known to the whole corporation of those that call upon the name of God in sincerity, that it doth not only hinder goodness, but doth hurt, and that abundantly, & indeed were there no other just cause of casting of it out, but that it doth no good, this I say were enough to remove it: but especially when it is a cause of much evil every way, it ought to stir up authority to look into it: for very reason teacheth us, that which is no way useful nor needful for the salvation of men of that there can be no true need: now of the Service book there is no need nor necessity, for if there had been God would himself have appointed one, and all Christian Churches would have had that, that had been needful to their salvation: and therefore, when God hath neither appointed certain prayers to be daily read, nor other Christian Churches which are daily saved, never had any: and when no man dare conclude that any man was ever excluded from heaven that never heard any Divine service, it seemeth a strange thing to me, that such a piece of service in our Church should be authorized that was taken out of the Mass book; and of the which all the learned in reformed Churches where I have lived, wonder that such a learned Prince as King james was, would ever admit it in his dominions; for they all had seen it, it being translated into French, and this I was often an ear witness of that the profoundest men said, if so be they had a purpose to turn again to Babylon, from which they were commanded to come out, they would for a speedy way bring in the English service and discipline; and then farewell immediately all true religion and the entire service of God, and by this means they should give so great and strong a weapon into their adversaries hands, as they should never be able to make good their proceeding, and withal should in a little time breed such a deal of ignorance in the people, as they would be easily seduced. For whereas many of them, had not time through their many occasions in the whole week to read the Scriptures, if they should also on the Lord's day be taken up in reading of prayers gathered and collected out of Popish Pamphlets, this would be an absolute means to extinguish that little knowledge they had already, and bring in blindness in stead of it. And with all the correspondency that was between them in rites, Ceremonies, and Service, would kindle a greater love in the Papists to their superstitious worship, and in the Protestant it would also upon the least occasion beget some desire to return unto their old errors: and therefore they protested as they tendered the honour of God, the salvation of the people, and the advancement of learning, they could never admit of our service amongst them: of all which they professed they thought it an enemy, and they add farther, that if they had ever believed that such forms of prayer had been for the advancement of the Gospel, and the glory of God, and the edification of the people, they had thousands in their Church that could make forms of prayer, and never be beholding to the Mass-book for them.  
And I can truly say thus much, I never yet met a Minister in France, were he in never so mean a place, but he was a diligenr preacher, and able to instruct any flock, withal he was of so good literature, as I never saw yet Bishop, or any high Priest in England to be compared to him for that, which I speak to the eternal honour of that people, that give unto their Ministers such singular breeding, and have such care in their elections that they be able and sufficient men, and every way so accomplished for life & doctrine, as they cannot neither by fear, favour or preferment be brought from their integrity, nor by all persecutions, wars, bloody massacres be in the least daunted or deterred from their holy profession. And of this Christianimity is this people and many more, and of this sound learning, where they never had a Litany or service book: or either in government, discipline, or ceremonies, were like unto the Papists, all which have been ever dangerous if not fatal to all true religion: for when Christians began to bring in jewish and heathenish ceremonies, rites, and customs, and their inventions, they then began to pervert true Religion and corrupt the sound doctrine of our glorious and holy profession. And King james himself though for some ends, he was willing for a time to retain the ceremonies, yet he professed in the conference at Hampton Court, that if he did dwell among the heathens & Papists that then there was great danger in symbolising with them in any such things, for it would much animate them in their superstition, by which they might be hindered rather then furthered in religion: but in regard that they had no Papists among them which might be hurt by them, he was the more willing to connive at them, but had he lived until now, and seen what mischief both ceremonies and service have done amongst us, or did but King Charles see, or were but truly informed of the ignorance that is amongst the people both in regard of their duty towards God and his royal Majesty, of the backsliding to Popery and superstition, which hath ever protested against, he would take some speedy course for the removing of all the occasions of it which is nothing else burr the service book and ceremonies, with their corrupt discipline & Governors, & as by his authority & the authority of his royal Predecessors they were established, so when the inconveniences of all such constitutions are by daily experience seen, which was ever sufficient cause to abrogat laws, and dismiss Officers, they may well be removed with the great good to the whole Church and state and to his excellencyes immortal honour and the perpetuation of his Crown and dignity. And thus much at this time shall suffice to have spoken concerning the service book and the tackling belonging to that business, because I have formerly spoken of it.  
And now I am come to your master and capital exception, where you think that they will heavily censure me for calling the Prelate of Canterbury William the Dragon and the Bishop of york the abbey lubber of the North. Which you conjecture will be esteemed scandalum magnatum and will cause a severe punishment from authority, and which they have also cruelly threatened unto me for the same words, and therefore you would have them omitted. But before I come to the distinct answer to that you now suggest, I think it fit to say something for a proem concerning this scandalum magnatum, and the orginal of it you very well know, that Kings have ever been called and esteemed Gods upon earth, and they indeed went before their people shining in virtues and goodness, of which they were composed, & so fare they were from any commaculation of vice, that people were not to think evil of the King in their bedchamber, or to say what dost thou? by all which is sufficiently inferred, what excellency is in Princes and mighty potentates above other men. And as Kings had the supreme and first degree of dignity both for place and virtue: so next unto them, had the true Nobility and great Heroes their station, whose first rise to honours was their wisdom and true service unto their Prince and good they did to their country, according to that of the heathen, fundamentum nobilitatis virtus est. So that the true and ancient Nobility were such as next unto their Kings and Princes were for all excellent endowments so singularly qualified, as they were not capable of any aspersion, and if any had been so black mouthed as to have laid any blemish upon their reputation, the evil always returned unto themselves, neither was their honour impeached by it, but rather illustrated, for the whole world was well acquainted with their goodness. so that their traducers, were branded for calumniators amongst the people, which was punishment enough and eternal shame unto them. And so far were those truly heroical Spirits from making any laws about such a thing that they never thought so poorly of themselves, as that any could speak the least thing to their infamy by which they could wound their reputations and virtuous life, And the same goodness yet dwelleth in all the ancient Nobility and such as are truly illustrious and magnates, so that they are like their Kings and Masters whose dignity no blast of a foul mouth can contaminate among the really virtuous and heroical: and so conscious they are to themselves, of their excellent integrity, that they will not so much as sully their thoughts with what any clamorous tongue saith, much less their estimation among the prudent, as to make them suppose that they are moved with railings which hurt them no more than the dogs barking against the Moon. Notwithstanding since those ancient and truly honoured Nobility, there have sprung up a new generation of Lords, who fearing the calumnies of the vulgar, as new Lords are a means of sounding new laws, have obtained so much of prudent Princes and Kings who were willing to yield unto their weakness that such laws should be enacted, but with no intent that the vices of such men should be smothered, or that those should be punished, that were detectors and manifesters of them, but only for both terror and punishment if they had unworthily defamed their noble families out of their private malicious and rancourous minds; neither doth the eminency of place in any subject warrant him securely, to do any thing against the honour of his King and Master, or the molestation of his Kingdom and subjects, or is the meanest subject to be punished for doing his duty in this kind, for the dignities conferred upom them in such proximity unto the King, is so much the greater tie unto them for the due hounouring of their Prince, and seeing that next unto him, whose place it is to protect his people they should add their helping hands in seeking the safety and welfare of them, and be indeed mediators between the King and the poor people, if they had failed by frailty in their duty and loyalty to his Highness. Now I say when all those that are dignifyed with honours, do neither truly honour the King as they should, and are so fare from making a sweet harmony between the King and his people, as they continually rather put into his royal heart sinister opinions against his best subjects, and traduce their best endeavours, & pervert their words to contrary meanings, and make their poor brother a prey for a word, as the Prophet I say speaketh, and do not only move the King against them, but do in their own persons, and by the authority that they have given them, tyrannically abuse the subject to their utter ruin and undoing, all such I say are so fare from having any privilege by the Law, as they themselves are delinquents in a high degree of contumacy by such demeanour, and are fallen from their dignity. Neither do I conceive that any King or people can take it ill at the meanest subjects hand for discovering any such men's practices, when I say, they are so prejudicial to the State. In the number of which men, to say nothing neither of the obscurity of their parentage, the meanness and the poverty of their breeding, the beginning of their order, and whose image they are, the usurpation of their places, being by them the sworn rebels of Chris●, and the cursed enemies of his Kingdom, as I have in divers books sufficiently showed, I say to speak at this time of none of all these but only of their present proceeding towards the King their Master, towards the Church and Commonwealth in general, and all the poor people, and myself in special, you will quickly perceive that the Prelates are justly to be reputed among the worst of men, and not amongst the Nobles, for aught I know they and they only are the cause of all the calamities in Church and State, which will manifestly appear if we look either upon the King or true Nobles, such as love God, the King, their Country and Religion. And for the Kings most excellent Majesties own person, to speak but that equity and justice require, what were ever any precedent Kings in this or any other Kingdom renowned for, that is not in him, if you respect either virtues moral or theological, which are the only honour of Princes, I say name any thing for piety, wisdom, learning, prowess, temperance, clemency, goodness, bounty, affability, kindness, or whatsoever else was in any other, do you not see it in him radically, nay doth he not seem to be composed of goodness? so that never was there any nation more happy in a King, than this our Nation is in ours. Again to reflect our eye upon the whole secular Nobility either ancient or modern, I say to speak of them in the general, if you accost them, and by any occasion have to deal with them, you shall find them so excellently inclined, and so favouring all virtue and goodness, and of such sweet humanity and kindness, and such honourers and favourers of learning and true virtue, as they are exemplar to all other Nations; so that for King and Nobility no Nation or Kingdom can compare with ours, and yet notwithstanding all this, there is not in the world any Country that the subjects for the universality of them, groan under more pressures, and are more tyrannically abused then amongst us, if you respect either, bodies, souls or goods, having no certain liberty for a day of either, as woeful and lamentable experience hourly teacheth us. All which proceeds not either from the King who is goodness itself, and knoweth not how to do evil, or from the Lords or Peers of the Kingdom, who are like their King and Master, and fabricated of humanity; from whence then I pray you proceed all the greivances of the poor people, but from the Prelates? who make a prey of the subject upon every trivial occasion, and suggest into his royal ear both in public and private strange relations concerning them, as though they were the most disloyal people unto his grace in the world, when I can upon my own knowledge affirm that never King was more happy in a loyal and obedient people than the King is in them, never detrecting obedience to the loss of life liberty and estates, but as they were borne under obedience, desire to live and dye in that condition, and are ever most willing to spend their best bloods for his honour, crown and dignity, or in the cause of any of his allies, which is well known to the whole Christian world. And yet notwithstanding all this, their condition is most grievous, whether yea respect soul or body, liberty or means, they being every where deprived by the Prelates of their faithful and true honourable Pastors and diligent teachers, by which the keys of heaven are taken from them, and idle drones and Epicures put in their places, who neither feed the people themselves with the bread of life, nor will let others do it, or suffer them to provide for their own souls good, but if they go into any other parish to hear the word when they have none at home, than they hoist them up into the high Commission, and there ruin and undo them, or if the people for fear are deterred from hearing of sermons, and seeking to be acquainted with the word of God, and if there chance a two or three neighbours to meet together for to confer about holy things, or in every thing observe not all their vain and needles, yea too too chargeable and burdensome Ceremonies, any of these things are matter enough to procure perdition and destruction unto them of body, soul and goods, as daily experience teacheth us. Neither can any secular man, Magistrate or Officer, be he justice of peace, Mayor, Bayly, or Constable, juryman, or witness, or any other do his office and duty in putting in execution the King's Laws, either for the honour of the King or his Religion against a delinquent Priest, or against any of their impious Officers, or write or witness the truth against them or the common enemy, but they are immediately hoist up in their Courts, and the King hath forthwith strange informations given against them, as if they were notorious delinquents against King, Church, and State, so that they are not only deserted of all help from his Majesty and Nobles, and the Laws of his Kingdom, but made a prey to the merciless fury of their enemies, and the Prelates being their enemies and parties, witness, jury and judge in their own cause, sit and give sentence against them. And whereas Christ would be no judge nor divider, they howsoever they pretend to be his successors, judge the poor people most cruelly, and divide not only their inheritance, but give away their whole estates, and commit their souls to the Devil, and commit their bodies to eternal prisons to the utter undoing of them, their poor wives and children, and that upon every trivial occasion, and many times against all Laws of God and nature, and captivate the poor people, and keep them in a greater slavery both for soul and body, than ever Pharaoh did. And whereas Christ came to heal & cure, and spilt his own precious blood for the redemption of others, and no sooner was Malchus his ear cut off, but he put it on again, they spill the blood of the people, and cut off their ears at pleasure, yea with ignorance and cruelty murder them, souls and bodies, of all which no subject can be ignorant, that knoweth any thing, and I by woeful experience have found it; so that for my particular, I may truly say that, in respect of our gracious King and his clemency, I had rather live with bread and water under his regiment, then in all plenty under any Prince in the world, yet in respect of the Prelates tyranny who abuse the authority committed into their hands, I had rather live under the grand senior, in the meanest condition then where they domineer, with all plenty, for by their cruel proceed & cursed inhumanity, they so embitter our lives, and make us so odious both in Court and Country, and such a prey to every profane Priest, that our lives are not only irksome unto us, but our being and living a very burden, so that death is most welcome, for by that and that only we are set at liberty. And I dare presume, that of what I now say, ten thousand thousands will witness with me of the truth of it: For it is the Prelates that have only enslaved us against all the Laws of God and the Land, and have made us hateful to all men, and a spectacle of men and Angels, and yet they persuade his royal Majesty, that they are his most loyal and faithfullest subjects, and all those they accuse for Puritans the pest and plague of his Kingdom, and seek with Human the extirpation of them all. and by all manner of oppressions make thousands of them fly the land, and others that have no abilities to support them in strange Countries to eat the bread of affliction, and live here with wounded consciences, when they put upon them such burdens of Popish Ceremonies, and force them upon pain of severe punishment to the observation of so many superstitious performances, which by their knowledge and in their consciences, they are taught ever to abhor, and by this means the people are made miserable every kind of way. And all this intolerable bondage proceedeth only from the Prelates who many times arm themselves with his Majesty's authority pretending to his Highness, that they only enjoin those things for order, when there is no such matter. And while they do all this annoy to the king's subjects, can they challenge the name of Magazines, and be counted among the truly noble Peers of the Kingdom, especially, when in their open Courts they renounce his authority, and challenge their own preeminency and dignity 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, and punish his subjects for writing against Antichrist and the Church of Rome, which King james calls Babylon and Spiritual Egypt and Sodom, to the infinite dishonour of King james of famous 〈…〉, and the now King their Master? by all which proceed they have made themselves guilty of great contumacy against God and the King, and ipso facto are all in a Praemunire. by which they are fallen from all honour and dignity: and are at the King's mercy as delinquents, and such as for my part, so long as they continue in that condition, I never intent to honour. Neither have I cause for my own particular to think any otherwise of them, then of nocent members of Church and State, both by the warrant of King james himself, and for their carriage towards me and the King's best subjects: for when I was in the high Commission Court, how superciliously the Prelates carried themselves towards me all the standers by can tell: and when the advocats saw the violence of his deportment towards me, and earnestly persuaded me to an humble submission, for otherwise they told me he would utterly undo me which indeed so fell out. I then replying that I was not conscious to myself of any delinquency either against God or the King, or that deserved convention before any Court of judicature in the world, and for my part I resolved to dye rather than by baseness of submission to make myself an offender. Upon which they demanded of me if I would contend with their Lord's grace, I then again answered, that I contended with no man, but for the truth of God, and the honour of the King, my Country and Religion, and in that contention I would live & dye. Whereupon one of the chiefest Advocats in v court told me, that the Prelat would kill me with his breath, which I conses was such a diabolical expression, and a speech of such arrogancy, as never I think before was heard of: and therefore upon that, I called him ever after William the Dragon, for the Dragon only killeth men with his breath as Historians do relate, and as the Apocalips witnesseth, and had I not been a Physician, and had an Antidote against it, what do you think would have become of me, when his breath is poison? I must ingenuously confess it, I think it is not safe that such a breath should come nigh the King, & who knows but that he was the cause of this last year's plague that killed so many, and that he infected the air. And for the Prelate of York, he would have had me knocked down with club law, for maintaining the King's prerogative royal against Papal usurpation, and said in open Court that he was not beholding to the King for his Bishopric, for jesus Christ made him a Bishop, and the Holy Ghost consecrated him, when notwithstanding he never performed the office of a Bishop and true Pastor of jesus Christ, but hath ever been a mere drone, and a hinderer of all preaching and teaching by all which he may well deserve censure from the King and State, as being in a Praemunire, and the title of an abbey lubber. But you say, they are privy Councillors, and that the Angel would not revile the Devil, and therefore I have done amiss in that. To all which I will briefly answer and so conclude, as concerning their dignity, so long as they had not by their misdemeanour made themselves delinquents. I never impeached it or hurt their renown in the least, but they falling from grace & becoming contumacious against God and the King, and noisome to all his poor subjects, in this condition where now they are, I conceive no honour due unto them, nor they worthy of any dignity, 〈◊〉 they acknowledge their errors, & crave pardon of God and his most Sacred Majesty. And the truth is, it is great pity, that there is none of the Nobles that will inform his Highness of their wickedness, by which they have made themselves unworthy of all honour, much less to be of his privy Council and most secret admission, they are the privy members of the Clergy that stand up against all goodness and adulterate the whole Church. And what mischief may not such men do, who have abandoned all good conscience nay what misery have they not brought all the King's subjects into? For they when they are most disloyal and pernicious to Church and State: yet make the King believe that they are his best subjects, and the support of his Crown and Dignity, and the only upholders of Government, & thus they prate also in open Courts: and this hath ever been the language of Antichrist and his limbs, No Pope, no Church, No Pope, no King, but present confusion upon all Nations where his Government is called in question: when as it is well known to all those that are not strangers to the Histories of times, that the Bishops of Rome have made Kings and Emperors their very Vassals, and have been the bane of many flourishing Kingdoms: and to this day enslave all those Christian Princes, and their subjects where ever I say, they have power and authority, so that the Kings have only the name, but they command, and their Cardinal's Priests and Prelates, and are attended like Princes, their very meat being stood bare to as to Kings. For they say, Be uncovered my Lord's meat is coming up, so that they captivate Princes, and make themselves Lords, Neither can it be otherwise: for they have the breeding of all those Kings & Princes: and they are resolved to keep them in a perpetual ignorance: for they say that King Henry's and King james his learning was the overthrow of the church, and so long as Princes and Kings were kept in blindness they then held their possessions and honours in all security: but since that they began to look indeed into learning, they found it fatal to them, & therefore, they have now decreed amongst themselves hereafter, that Princes and Nobles which they will have the breeding of, shall be acquainted with nothing but pleasures, or at most with Grammatical learning, Nay they shall be persuaded, it is rather a dishonour to a King to know letters, than a dignity, and that it is not fit for them to look on a book, it being enough for Kings to have learned men in their Kingdom: and a flourishing clergy, neither is it for them to trouble themselves about learning or religion, but to leave it to the reverend Fathers, and to put their authority into their hands, and they will case them of all cares that way, so that they shall in time find a sweet content, for they promise to make them a people subject enough which indeed they do, for they make them beggars and slaves, and most Kings that they have the tutor of, either children or tyrants, and all the Nations where they have place but an unhappy people, for they keep them ignorant, and deprive them of the liberty of their consciences, and take away the right of the subjects from them. For all the Kingdom of Antichrist is a monstrous deformity of Government, and such as advanceth itself above all that is called God: and tramples upon all states of men, so that it is a wonder to me that all the Kings and Princes in the world do not join together to demolish that Babel, and to ruin the whore. But I much more admire, that in this Kingdom where there is so much light, & so understanding a Prince, that the Nobles and Gentry with the Commons do not join together to petition his Majesty, that we may be eased of this intolerable yoke of these Prelates that are now by their frequent usurpations, enemies of his royal prerogative, most burdensome to his poor subjects, and if there be not some speedy course taken with them will ruin this flourishing Monarchy. All which is so palpable as all men that see any thing in States affairs may easily behold it.  
There is one thing, that I cannot but stand astonished at, that so many wise men in a Kingdom should not look into, and perceive the inconvenience of it, and the wrong it doth to the whole Nation, and that is this. That the breeding of the Kings and Nobleman's children, and the most illustrious Families through the Kingdom, should be put into the hands of Priests; and such men who as they are by nature and education men that never saw farther than a Cloister at Cambridg or Oxford, never knew what Heroical and Princely virtue was, 〈◊〉 never came where either breeding religion, or ●●d manners came: the Universities themselves ●●ing corrupted by them and, and educated to superstition or profaneness, and contempt of religion. And yet notwithstanding these men I say, should be made the tutors of Kings and Nobles children, who ●●ght to be brought up by learned and truly religious Gentlemen that have been bred up in Prince's Courts, and are lovers of learning, piety, and virtue, 〈◊〉 all which those monkish fellows are mere stranger's, and are as fit to bring up Princes, as a cow is 〈◊〉 a saddle: for besides their deficiencies both na●●●all and moral, they are a very ignorant society for the most part, not knowing well themselves ordinary literature, so that they are commonly ridiculous to other Nation, I must confess, I think ●his to be one of the principal banes of the Nobility, and that they know no more in learning and State's policy which is their art; and therefore if they will follow a poor man's counsel, I would wish them all, never to let a Priest or a Prelate breed ●heir children: for all the Prelates and Priests are ●●●bs of the beast and his image, and they bring up ●he Noblemen and Princes in the hatred of true religion, and all them that fear the Lord, and brand 〈◊〉 with Puritanisme and adapt them only to super●itious observations, and make them believe that ●e hath religion enough that can bow at the name ●f jesus, or crouch to the Altar, or turn to the East, ●●d do such other performances, with hearing of a ●●ttle service: and that all those that are not affected ●ith this superstition, are enemies of Church and ●ute: and so they make these worthy heroes, but ●●eir executioners and butchers to torment and afflict the poor people wheresoever they have power. The truth is, The Prelates are the cursed enemies of ●he Lord jesus Christ and his Kingdom, neither is 〈◊〉 any railing to call a spade a spade, the Scripture ●alls their predecessors the Scribes, pharisees, and High Priests, a generation of vipers, the Sons of the Devil, etc. and therefore by the same authority, we may call them by the same names, for they are their successors and the offspring of Antichrist, who is the enemy of the Lord jesus Christ, and by consequent no lawful authority, but an usurping power, that is, an enemy to all Government appointed by God himself: and therefore they are not within the compass of those Saint jude speaketh of: being worse than Satan, who when he was there rebuked, let the Angel bury Moses, but the Bishop of Rome will keep whole Kingdoms from burial six years together, and the Prelates have the same power to do the same wickedness, yea they are not only not so obedient to God as the Devil, but they are greater causes of rebellion against God, and therefore worse, than the Devil, and aught more to be detested: for the Devil, in tempting to sin and bringing men to evil, he hath buth a simple suggestion: But the Prelates they have a double power, for they can both suggest evil, and constrain us to do it, as all Kingdoms & Nations know very well, who groan under the heavy burden of their unsupportable tyranny; and therefore I do absolutely conclude, that there is no sin in saying, the Prelates are the little toes of Antichrist, and in calling, the Pope of Canterbury WILLIAM the DRAGON, and his Legatus a latere. the Bishop of York, the ABBEY LUBBER OF THE NORTH, for they are enemies all of God and the King, and of all the Saints and Servants of God. And therefore to draw now to a conclusion, I could wish that all the world in our daily LITANY would pray with me, from plague, pestilence, and famine, from Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, Good Lord deliver us. Far you well.  
Yours most enfettered In Limbo Patrum JOHN BASTWICK. Hear ends the fourth part of my LITANY, the other four are to follow, as also some of my Latin books are shortly to come out.  
Nihil agunt Episcopi, sine typho sacriligae superbia, sine inflata cervice arrogantiae, sine contentione lividae invidiae 〈◊〉 asancta humilitate, a pace Catholica, a charitate Christiana,  
Bishops do nothing without the haughtiness of sacrilegious pride, without the swollen neck of arrogancy, without the contention of wan envy, far from holy humility, from Catholic peace, from Christian charity.  
FINIS.