England's Division, AND Ireland's Distraction.  
The fears and disasters of the one, The tears and distresses of the other; Being the just cause and sad occasion of both Kingdom's Deploration.  
CONTAINING A Declaration, Or Remonstrance of the present state and condition of this Realm of ENGLAND, and that of IRELAND.  
Written by one, who in unfeigned love to his Native Country, and entire affection to the Neighbour-Nation, would sacrifice his life for the peace of either.  
LONDON, Printed for Thomas Bates. 1642.   

DOCTRINA PARIT VIRTUTEM  device consisting of an open book with a sword, scepter, and surrounding motto  
England's Division, AND Ireland's Distraction.  
VErsamur in prelio, we are in a sot-battell. Death is already marched into the field, and a universal desolation, like a Meteor, hangs over our heads. Such are the growing mischiefs of the two Kingdoms of England and Ireland, that if these destructive wars continue (without God's great mercy) all in the common Fate will inevitably be involved. Ireland is sufficiently died in scarlet, and England lacks but a grain of it: Our senses of seeing and hearing are taken up with Arms and Ammunition, Powder and Shot, Drums and Trumpets, Pikes and Muskets, skirmishes and battles, fights and overthrows. Each hour is an Herald of homicides, each day a messenger of mischiefs, each week a Diurnal of dangers, each month a Motto of misery, this whole year but march, and no language now amongst us but war. In being victors we are victed; in Overcoming we are overcome, and in winning lives we lose lives. In bellis civilibus omnia sunt misera, & nihil miserius quam ipsa victoria. It was the saying of Cicero the Roman Orator, Omnis pax bello civils prastantior, any peace is better than a civil war. In civil wars (indeed the most uncivil and barbarous of all other) the Father sights against the Son, and the Son against the Father, Brother against Brother, Kinsman against Kinsman; These massacres are most inhuman and unnatural, wherein all bonds of affinity, consanguinity and humanity are violently broken and dissolved.  
Thus in the civil wars between the two Houses of Saul and David, between Israel and Judah, and of later times betwixt the white Rose and the red the two Houses of York and Lancaster, the Kings own friends and loyal Subjects have been constrained to march into the field against him, and have there died in that fight. In the Reign of Edward the fourth, there were no less than nine civil and bloody battles fought in England, whereby most of the Nobility and Gentry of the Kingdom either fell by the sword of the soldier in the field, or by the Axe of the Executioner on the scaffold. Of all war the civil war is the worst: And if ever it was bad, it is most malignant at this time; For it is a fatal war in the very bowels of the Nation, with our own Brethren and Countrymen in the flesh, and will be most destructive to the whole Kingdom. It hath been a long time begun, and end when it will end, it will be bitterness in the latter end, as Abner once said to joah, and if it longer continue, as it doth at this present, without a pacification, it will bring repentance enough with it when it is too late, both to the vanquished and to the victor. What horrid slaughters of mankind doc accompany this kind of bloody war, the History of these times doth sufficiently testify. The loss of goods, estates, liberties, lands and lives, this dismal shower of war raines down upon the sons of men to their ruin and confusion.  
Manifold are the sad and black calamities which wait upon this illegal and unnatural war: It makes the breaches wider, and the wounds deeper. These water-breaches that have been so long broken in upon us (if they be not speedily stopped, but given way unto) will lamentably prove an inundation and deluge of destruction to the whole Kingdom. It exposes a people to the fury of a foreign Nation, that whilst we are together by the ears amongst ourselves, our adversaries have the advantage and opportunity to come upon our backs; so that besides being liable to the pity of our friends, the derision and malignity of our foes, in this respect we may say as David said in another case unto Gad, we are in a great strait. Bellum Dei Flagellum, War is the scourge of God; It is one of the Arrows which the Almighty hath in the quiver of his Justice which he shoots at a Nation for the iniquity of the people. And what mischiefs do not accompany war? It never comes single, but is attended upon by all the imaginable evils that are in the world, which like those Eumenideses, the hags and suries of Hell do torture men to their perpetual ruin. Nulla salus bello, there is no safety in war. When the die of war is once thrown, it is a great hazard, and what the issue and chance of it is, is most uncertain. The sword regards neither high nor low, noble nor ignoble, rich nor poor, the King in his Throne, nor the Beggar in the street.  
When Ahab warred at Ramoth Gilead, a certain man drew a bow at adventure, and smote the King of Israel as he was in his Chariot. Ye may read the Story at your leisure in the 1 Kin. 22. 34. where ye may take notice of these remarkable circumstances; first of a certain man, some obscure, or ignote fellow, God knows who or what he was, it seems not worth the naming only a certain man drew a bow at adventure, light where it will light, he shoots at random, and aims at no man, but smites the King of Israel: Where note, that the basest coward or villain in the Army of the Assyrians peradventure smites the noblest. From which premises, the inserence that I deduct is this, that in war the Lords anointed, who is Pater Patrioe, the Father of his Country, and is better than ten thousand, may fall as soon as the basest what soever, to the great hazard of the State, and to the grievous crime of those that shall expose His Majesty to that peril. The consideration hereof made the people of King David say, when Ishabenob the Giant in a battle had like to have slain David, but that some of his Wortnies rescued him from that danger, Thou shall no more go forth with us to bat tell, lest thou quench the light of Israel, 2 Sam. 21. 17. For thou art better than ten thousand of us, 2 Sam. 18. 3. Nay not only the people of the King, but the Prophet of the Lord, the King of Kings, speaking of a King, and none of the best neither, makes this one main part of his sorrow and lamentation, The breath of our mostrils the Lords anointed, under whose shadow we had rest, was taken in their pit, by the Babylonians in their wars against jerusalem. In the time of civil (or rather uncivil) war, not only the King, but the whole Kingdom is in danger. If I could reckon up all the mischieses and miseries that ever were, or will be among men in the world, they might all sufficiently be expressed in this one word War. Si bellum dixeris, omnia dixeris. The famine and pestilence (two sore and severe judgements of Almighty God) are not comparable to this of war. God himself (the Lord of Hosts) put an end to saul's life and Kingdom, by the wars of the Philistims upon Saul. He swept away with the besom of this destruction the house of Abab, by the wars of jehu upon Ahab.  
The City of Samaria was brought to that calamity, that women did eat their children by course, to satisfy their hungry souls; and all this misery befell by the wars of the Syrians upon Samaria. The most famous City of Troy was ruined and turned into a tilled field by the wars of the Greeks'. The Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites and Peresites, the Gigasites, great and mighty Nations, who had walled Cities, and Chariots of iron, and the sons of Anack, mighty men among them, were all spewed out of their land by the wars of the Israelites upon them, Iosh. 12. I could produce a cloud of witnesses out of divine and humane Authors, to confirm this black cloud, which at this time hangs over our heads. To instance one for all, That mirror of the World, the Metropolis and chief of all Cities, was brought to that extremity, that the beautiful women (the sole of whose foot might not touch the earth) such was their nicety and tenderness, did make their own bowels the sepulchre for their children of a span long, the fruits of their own bodies; and all this was by the wars of Nabuchadnezzar upon jerusalem, and was afterwards reduced to as great misery by the wars of the Romans under the conduct of Titus and Vespasian. These are the miserable effects and woeful consequents of war, which go along inseparably with it. Bleeding Ireland hath sufficiently tasted of this bitter cup: What horrid villainies and outrages have been there committed by the barbarous Romish Rebels, on men, women and children, rich, poor, Priest and people, without respect or regard of age or sex, of calling or profession, it is needless at this time to rehearse. Lamenting England is now somewhat near the like woeful condition. Difference in opinion hath bred difference in affection, and both these have wrought civil contention. Our long peace hath bred prosperity, prosperity hath brought forth plenty, plenty pride, pride discord, which hath destroyed our peace. That which God denounced against his people, we may justly fe●re will befall us: I have taken away my peace from this people, Jer. 16. 5. It hath been a great b●●ssing heretofore, that in our time there hath been no going out, nor coming in, nor complaining in our streets, through foreign or domestical war. Happy are the people that be in such a case Psal. 144. 15. And I pray God grant this happiness unto us his people. It was the happiness of salomon's time, that he was a man of peace, and God did give h●m rest from all his enemy's round about, 1 Chr. 22. 9 And it was a great blessing upon Ieh●shaphat and his Kingdom, that the fear of God fell upon all the Kingdoms that were round about Judah, so that they made no war against jehoshaphat, 2 Chron. 17 10. Quid●am nisi vota super●unt? What now remains, but that we pray for peace to the God of peace, that there may be no coming into our land by invasion, nor any crying in our streets by the miseries of civil war in the bowels of our Nation. In the midst of our fears and jealousies, let us be so wise, not to be enemies to our own peace; but let it be our care and endeavour to prevent war, and preserve peace, that there may be no offensive hostility amongst us. Let us not cease to importune the King of Kings, the supremest Majesty of Heaven and Earth, that the waters of the King's displeasure may be abated, that His Majesty and His Parliament may have a happy meeting and concurrence together; that both being united as a pieced Arrow (now made the stronger) may fly against the common Enemy more effectually; that peace may be within our walls, and plenty within our dwellings, and that our gracious Sovereign may with all possible speed return to His long deserted Palace at Whitehall, with the Olive branch of peace in his mouth, to the glory of God, the honour of His Majesty, the content of his Parliament, and comfort of his people.  
FINIS.