AN EPISTLE Written from LUCIFER, Prince of darkness: unto his Well-beloved Children, The Persecuting Popish prelates.  
Set forth by Thomas Franklin.  
LONDON, Printed; Anno Domini, 1642.   

An Epistle written from Lucifer, &c.  
I Lucifer Prince of darkness, and profound heaviness, Emperor of the high mysteries of the King of Acheron, Captain of the Dungeon Erebus, King of Hell, and controller of the infernal fire; To all our Children of pride and Companions of our Kingdom, and especially to our Princes of the Church of this latter age and time (of which our Adversary Jesus Christ, according to the Prophet saith, I hate the Church or Congregation of the wicked) send greeting, and wish prosperity to all that obey our commandments; as also to those that be obedient to the Laws of Satan already enected, and that are diligent observers of our behests and precepts of our decrees.  
Know ye that in times past certain Vicars or Vicegerents of Christ, following his steps in Miracles and virtues, living and continuing in a beggarly life, converted (in a manner) the whole World from the yoke of our tyranny, unto their Doctrine and manner of life, to the great derision and contempt of our prison-house and kingdom, and also to the no little hurt and prejudice of our jurisdiction and authority; nor fearing to hurt our fortified power, and to offend the Majesty of our Estate. For then received we no tribute of the world, neither did the miserable sort of common people rush at the gates of our deep dungeon as they were wont to do, with continual pealing and rapping, but then the easy, pleasant, and broad way which leadeth to death lay still without great noise of trampling travellers; neither yet was trod with the feet of miserable men: And when all our Courts were without suitors, Hell then began to howl. And thus continuing in great heaviness and anguish, was robbed and spoiled. Which thing considered, the impatient rage of our stomach could no longer suffer, neither the ugly reckless negligence of our great Captain general, could longer endure it; but we, seeking remedy for the time that should come after, have provided us of a very trim shift: for instead of those Apostles and other their adherents, which draw by the same line of theirs, as well in manner as Doctrine, and are odious enemies unto us; we have caused you to be their Successors, and put you into their places, which be prelates of the Church in these latter times, by our great might and subtlety, as Christ hath said of you, They have reigned, but not by me. Once we promised unto him all the kingdoms of the world, if he would fall down and worship us, but he would not, saying, My Kingdom is not of this World: and went his way, when the multitude would have made him King. But to you truly, which are fallen from the State of Grace, and that serve us in the Earth, is that my promise fulfilled, and all terrene things by our means which we have bestowed upon you, are under government. For he hath said of us (as ye know) The Prince of this world cometh, &c. and hath made us to reign over all the children of unbelief: therefore our adversaries before mentioned did patiently submit themselves unto the Princes of the world, and did teach that men should do so, saying, Be ye subject to every creature for God's cause, whether it be to the King as most chiefest. And again, Obey ye them that are made rulers over you, &c. for so their Master commanded them, saying, The Kings of the heathen have dominion over them, &c.  
But I think it long till we have poured our poison upon the earth, and therefore fill yourselves full. And now be ye not only unlike those fathers, but also contrary unto them in your life and conditions, and extol yourselves above all other men. Neither do ye give to God that which is God's, nor yet to Caesar that which is his, but exercise ye the power of both the swords, according to our decrees, making yourselves doers in worldly matters, fighting in our quarrel, entangled with secular labours and business, and climb ye by little and little from the miserable estate of poverty unto the highest feats of all honours and the princely places of dignity by your devised practices, and false deceitful wiles and subtleties; that is, by hypocrisy, flattery, lying perjury, treasons, deceits, simony, and other greater wickedness than which our infernal furies may devise: for after that you be by us advanced thither where ye would be, yet that must not content you, nor suffice you, but as greedy starulings more hungry than before, ye must suppress the poor, scratch and rake together all that comes to hand, perverting and turning every thing topsy-turvy; so swollen, that ready to burst for pride, living like lechers in all corporal delicateness, and by fraud directing all your doings, you challenge to yourselves names of honour in the earth, calling yourselves Lords, holy, yea and most holy persons.  
Thus either by violence ye raven, or else by ambition and subtlety ye pilfer away, and wrongfully wrested, and by false title possess those goods which for the sustentation of the poor members of Christ (whom from our first fall we have hated) were bestowed and given, consuming them, as ye ourselves list and therewith ye cherish and maintain an innumerable sort of Whores, strumpets, and bawds, with whom ye ride pompously like mighty Princes; far otherwise going, than those poor beggarly Priests of the Primitive Church. For I would ye should build yourselves rich and gorgeous palaces, fare like Princes, eating and drinking the most daintiest meats and pleasantest wine that may be gotten, and hoard and heap together an infinite deal of treasure, not like to him that said, Gold and silver have I none: yea, ye serve and fight for us according to your wages. O most exceptable society and fellowship promised unto us by the Prophets, and of those Fathers long ago reproved. Whilst that Christ called thee the synagogue of Satan and likened thee to the mighty Whore which committed Fornication with the Kings of the Earth, the adulterous Spouse of Christ; and of a chaste person made a Strumpet; Thou hast left thy first love and cleaved unto Us, O our beloved Babylon, oh our Citizens, which from the transmigration of Jerusalem come hither: We love you for your deserts, We rejoice over you, which contemn the laws of Simon Peter, and embrace the laws of Simon Magus our friend, and have them at your finger's end, and exercise the same publicly, buying and selling spiritual things in the Church of God, and against the commandment of God; ye give benefices and honours by Petition, or else for money, for favour or else for filthy service: And refusing to admit those, that be worthy, to ecclesiastical dignities, and referring those that be unworthy: you call into the inheritance of God's Sanctuary, bawds, liars, flatterers, your nephews and your own Children, and to a childish Boy, ye give many Prebends, the least whereof ye deny to bestow on a poor good Man, and receive gifts; ye regard money, and have no regard of souls; ye have made the House of God, a Den of thieves. All abuse, all extortion is more exercised an hundreth fold in your Judgement-Seats, then with any secular Tyrant. Ye make laws and keep not the same, and ye dispense with your dispensations as it pleaseth you; ye justify the wicked for reward, and ye take away the just man's desert from him. And briefly, ye perpetrate or commit all kind of mischief, even as it is our will ye should: and ye take much pain for lucre's sake in our service, especially to destroy the Christian Faith. For now the Lay people are almost in doubt what they may believe, because if ye Preach any things, at sometimes (Although it be but seldom seen, and that negligently enough, even as one would have it) yet notwithstanding they believe you not, because they see manifestly that ye do clean contrary to that which ye say: whereupon the common People doing as ye do which have the Government of them, and should be an example of well doing; now many of them leaning to your Rules, do run headlong into a Sea of vices. And so continually a very great multitude knocketh at the strong and well fenced gates of our dungeon. And doubtless ye send us so many day by day of every sort and kind of People that we should not be able to entertain them, but that our insatiable Chaos with her thousand ravening jaws, is sufficient to devour an infinate number of souls. And thus the sovereignty of our Empire by you hath been reformed, and our intolerable loss restored; wherefore we most specially commend you, and give you most hearty thanks, exhorting all you, that in any wise ye persevere and continue, as hitherto ye have done; neither that ye slack henceforth your enterprises. For why, by your help we purpose to bring the whole World again, under our power and dominion. Over and besides this, we commit unto you no small authority to supply our places in the betraying of your Brethren; and we make and ordain you our Vicars and the Ministers of Anti-christ our Son now hard at hand, for whom ye have made a very trim way and passage. Furthermore, we council you which occupy the highest names of all other, that ye work subtly, and that ye (Feignedly) procure peace between the Princes of the World, and that ye cherish and procure secret cause of discord: And like as craftily ye have destroyed and subverted the Roman Empire; so suffer ye no kingdom to be overmuch enlarged, and enriched by tranquillity and peace lest perhaps in so great tranquillity (all desire of Peace set aside) they dispose themselves to view, and consider your most wicked works, suppressing on every side your estate, and from your treasures take away your substance, which we have caused to be kept and reserved in your hands until the coming of our well-beloved Son Antichrist.  
We would ye should do our Commendations to our entirely beloved Daughters, Pride, Deceit, Wrath, avarice, belly-cheer, and lechery, and to all other my Daughters, and especially to Lady simony, which hath made you men, and enriched you, and hath given you sack with her own breasts, and weaned you, and therefore in no wise see that you degenerate from her. And be you lofty and proud, because that the most high dignity of your estate doth require such magnificency: And also be ye covetous, for whatsoever ye get and gather into your fardel, it is for Saint Peter, for the peace of the Church, and for the defence of your Patrimony and the Crucifix, and therefore ye may lawfully do it; ye may promote your Cardinals to the highest seat of Dignity, without any let in the World in stopping the mouth of our Adversary Jesus Christ; and alleging again, that he preferred his kinsfolk (being but of the poor and base degree) unto the Apostleship; but do not you so, but rather call, as ye do, those that live in arrogancy, in haughtiness of mind, and filthy lechery, unto the state of wealthy, riches, and pride, and those rewards and promotions which the followers of Christ forsook, do ye distribute unto your friends: Therefore as ye shall have better understanding, prepare ye vices cloaked under the similitude of virtues. Allege for yourselves the glosses of the Holy Scripture, and wrest them directly, serve for your purpose. And if any man preach or teach otherwise, than ye will; oppress ye them violently with the sentence of excommunication, and by your censures heaped one upon another by the consent of your brethren, let him be condemned as an Heretieke, and let him be kept in close and straight Prison, and there tormented till he die, for the terrible example to all such as confess Christ: And setting all favour aside, cast him out of your Temple, lest, peradventure, the engrafted Word may save your souls, which Word, I abhor, as I do the souls of other faithful men: And do your endeavours, that ye may deserve to have the place, which we have prepared for you under the most wicked foundation of our dwelling place. Fare ye well with such felicity, as we desire and intend finally to reward and recompense you with.  
Given at the Centure of the Earth, in that our dark place, where all the rabblement of devils were present specially for this purpose, called unto our most dolorous Consistory, under the Character of our terrible seal, for the confirmation of the premises.  
FINIS.