THE Common-Wealths CATECHISM. PUBLISHED To inform the Good and Plain People of this Common-wealth, in Arms, and out of Arms, and to prevent the designs of Hypocritical Ambition. Humbly Dedicated to the Members of Parliament, and their General monk. By lion FREEMAN.  
LONDON, Printed by John Clowes, 1659.   

To the disperse Members Of the High Court of Parliament.  
Gentlemen,  
HAving for the service of the Commonwealth, composed this short Catechism, I have thought it my duty to testify the confidence I have, that God will restore you to the exercise of your just Authority, by decicating the same unto you; Not doubting but( to speak in the Language of the faithful Officers of your faithful Army) when you shall be permitted to sit again, you will then confer some mark of your favour upon the Composer hereof,  
Your most humble servant, lion Freeman.   

To the Renowned Assertor of Englands Liberties, General monk.  
Noble General.  
THat eternal Renown that you have won, by so gallantly asserting the Liberties of this Common-wealth, most highly endangered by the late disturbance of the Supreme Authority, has so far wrought upon the Composer of this Catechism, as to make him judge himseef obliged to commend the same to your worthy Patronage; wherein your generous Manhood, Fidelity, Justice, Sobriety, Contentation, Courage( as with a foil) are set off by the childishness, Treachery, Injustice, Pride, Aspiring & Pusillanimity of a knot of Ambitious Coxcombs, who are sacrificing the laws and Liberties of these Nations, lately redeemed, at the vast expense of so many Millions of Treasure, and so large an effusion of English blood to the service of their pitiful and childish lusts. Go on and prosper( Noble Sir) God and the Prayers and endeavours of all good men go along with you; and the Generations to come shall call you blessed so long as England shall continue England, and a Land of Freemen, Accept( Generous Sir) of this Testemony of Honour from  
Your most humble servant, LION FREEMAN.   

The Printer to the Reader.  
FOr thy better understanding of this discourse friendly Reader, thou mayst take notice, that it was written about three weeks after the late interruption of this present Parliament; But the Copy being accidentally lost, when it was ready for the Press( though since in part recovered) and the Authors over great modesty, have retarded the Impression till now, especially the loss of the Copy considered. But importunity of friends have extorted this for thy service. farewell and enjoy it.   

The Common-wealths catechism.  
Q. WHo Rules now?  
A. Ambition.  
Qu. How is Ambition clothed?  
A. He wears a Sword by his side, and on his back a long Cloak, made of State-Knavery lined throughout with hypocrisy, and richly faced with Religion.  
Qu. What would Ambition have?  
A. White-hall for his City-house, Hampton-Court for his covetous, Sommerset-house for his Wife, and St. Jameses to be the Nursery for his Children; And command of the Peoples purses to maintain his Heathenish Pomp.  
Qu. What made Ambition stop the Parliament at this time?  
A. His fear lest those fine things should be sold, as the Parliament Voted they should speedily be, towards the Souldiers and Seamens Arrears.  
Q. Is this all that Ambition aims at?  
A. No, He is for coordinate Senates, and Protectorships,( saving your presence) Dukeships, Lordships, Guards, Lackeys, Halberdiers, Gentlemen-Ushers, Grooms of the Bed-Chamber, and Close-stool; Gentlemen of the Horses and the Asses, and a thousand whimwhams more.  
Q. By your speech, Ambition is a silly fellow, to covet such toys, nor can he be a good Christian, who in his Baptism renounced the Pomps and Vanities of the world, Can such a silly fellow manage this mighty Common-wealth?  
A. No. He will ruin himself undoubtedly, & much impoverish and dishonour the Commonwealth, and totally destroy the same, if God prevent not.  
Q. Why was this Common-wealth more Potent and successful in the Government of our present Parliament then when Ambition governed?  
A. Because our Parliament is a solid grave Assembly of men, whose wits are not distracted with ambitious toys, titles and those other foolish whimwhams aforesaid.  
Q. Are not all Nations more Potent and Rich, where sober and serious men, not encumbered or debauched with Toys, Titles and Trappings do govern: then those that are governed by titular fine things, end ambitious, capricious Coxcombs, that love such baubles?  
A. Yes, For the Reasons aforesaid.  
Q. Give an example hereof?  
A. The united Provinces.  
Q. Are not those of their ruling Assemblies called Lords?  
A. No, They have no other title then what is given to all men of indifferent fashion, importing the sense of our term Master, which in civility we give to any man, that is not in rage.  
Q. Does not here signify Lord?  
A. No, It signifies no more then Master, and comes from the latin word Herus that signifies the same, and so the Dutch use it to any man whom in English they would call Sir or Master.  
Q. How are the Members of the Supreme Assemblies of Switzerland called?  
A. After the same manner.  
Q. do you believe that the people of the Low-Countries, and swissers, and such like Cantons are more rich then those of France and Spain and more potent?  
A. Yes, Allowing for the different greatness, and natural advantages of the Countries.  
Q. How can this be?  
A. Because the little that the Low-Countrys & Switzerland afford is more equally distributed among the inhabitants, & the abundance of France & Spain is sucked up & drawn from the pined bodys of those Nations to nourish the titular fine things, which are like Wems and Warts, and over grown splenes and livers in the body natural: So that those Nations are truly poor, though the Countries be large and fertile, France especially.  
Q. But how can you show the truth hereof as to power?  
A. In Holland and Switzerland and where ever grave assemblies Govern the Commonwealth, there is little luxury and debauchery which natural usually flow from Titular Fine things; And therefore the people are more stout, resolute, less effeminate and greater lovers of Liberties, and will fight more stoutly.  
Q. Did not this reason hold in the Parliaments army compared to the Kings?  
A. Yes, Lords, Dukes, Earls, could not mount on Horse back so readily as plain men, so that the Earl of Holland( as the report went) was taken in his quarters trimming and perfuming his hair. Also the private Souldiers were courting their Mistresses, and drinking their Master the Kings health, when they should have been looking to their horses, or reading discourses to the people where they lay, for the advancement of their cause, which was the Parliament Souldiers cause; In a word, swearing, drinking, mistressing, complementing, and relating their Pedigrees and Gentilities, and other Lordly qualities did so effeminate and direct the wits and weaken the bodies of the royalists, that they were no match for the Parliaments Army.  
Q. Then you conceive if they had arunk less, and fought more for the Kings health, and had not been Lordified they had been wiser, stouter, and more successful?  
A. I do.  
Q. But to come to our former subject, who supports Ambition who you say now rules all the rest?  
A. Lucifer and some of the by him deluded common Souldiers and religious people of several persuasions, whom he enchants with his brave cloak aforesaid.  
Q. What does he promise and pretend to draw them in?  
A. To the common people he promises liberty to exercise their Religion publicly, and to the ringleaders of Congregations, he promises places and offices in the Army and Gommon-wealth, as to be Colonels, Captaines, Majors, &c. Excise-men, Custom-house-men, &c. and to let them bring in unlicenc'd goods. And he tells them the Parliament would have taken away liberty of conscience, and would not give places and offices to the Godly party.  
Q. What does Ambition more particularly pretend?  
A. To be exceedingly grieved and angered at the Parliament for taking Commissions from good and Godly Commanders.  
Q. Where was Ambition with his resentment and indignation when Oliver cromwell took Commissions from Rich, Overton, alured, Okey aend divers other godly eminent Officers of the Army. Why was he not then in the heat of his zeal? And when the old Fox O. cromwell aforesaid, skim'd of the Cream of the common Souldiers that had engaged in the Good Old Cause, that there might be none to remember him of his Promises of Liberty, &c. when he drew them out to fight, as at Worcester and other places? Where was Ambition with his zeal at those times? Where was he when some were Indicted at the Old-Bayly for their lives, and when the Law could not hurt them, arbitrarily and illegally banished into barbarous Islands, to pine away in obscurity & solitude, when others were whipped, bored through the Tongue, branded in the forehead, for Opinions in Religion, and only to make a Party for the late Tyrant amongst persecuting Spirits? Where was Ambition when divers persons of quality, Merchants Gentlemen & Divines, were sold to the Barbado's for slaves, most inhumanly, yea more then Turkishly abused, because according to their understanding, they favoured the Kings Interest, though divers of them( at least) had not been in actual Arms against the Common-wealth, as appears by a Petition presented by Marcellus Rivers, and others to the Parliament( so called) in Protector Richard his Reign. Where was Ambition when the Quakers ( so called) were imprisoned by hundreds, in several Countreys, being a just innocent People, that wrong no body? Where was zealous and Reigious Ambition when these attempts were made against Religious People, and against common Liberty?  
A. He was then intoxicated with the Court Wine ar White-hall, and dreaming who should be Protector when great O. died. Also his fancy was taken up with many pretty fine toys, Titles, Offices and Ceremonies, which lulled him into a slumber.  
Q. Did not our Honourable Parliament now in being, restore their Commissions to the Religious Officers aforesaid, and free persons imprisoned for Opinions all the Nation over?  
A. Ves.  
Q. Would Ambition( is it like) bave freed them from prison, restored them to their own Commands, whom he stood still and saw put out of Command, and into prison.  
A. It is very unlikely, and the Parliament had somewhat to do to persuade Ambition to be content, that the worthy Commanders afforesaid should have their Commissions again.  
Q. Why then does Ambition say, the Parliament are for persecution, and he only for Liberty of Conscience?  
A. Because he is drunk with imagination of the fine Houses, baubles and toys aforesaid, and desire to command the Peoples purses, &c. knows, not what he says. Also by this pretence he hopes to have the religious Souldiers and people do his drudgery for him?  
Y. Is he like to attain his ends of them?  
A. No. God has opened their eyes by the dealing of the late Protectors, and of Ambition himself, during their Reigns, so that they will trust them no more.  
Q. What was that dealing of the late Protector and his Son?  
A. A secret endeavour with an high hand to set up a National Religion, and leisurely and craftily to suppress all other petswasions.  
Q. What should move him to do that?  
A. Because an usurped Government cannot be otherwise long supported.  
Q. But might not Ambition be happy without these fine toys, and baubles aforesaid, which he so gapes and reaches after, and to attain which he now hazards the safety and very being of this Common-wealth, himself and posterity?  
A. Yes, very happy were he so wise as to know it, and so sober and serious as to lay it to heart.  
Q. Can he be happy under the enjoyment of those fine things aforesaid?  
A. No, but he will be really very answerable as old Oliver was, and his Son would have been, had his vain State continued.  
Q. Wherein did that misery of old Oliver consist?  
A. In a continual disquieting and vexatious itch of climbing higher and higher, in regret of his understanding and torment of conscience, for his apostasy, perfidiousness, Covenant breaking, deluding and trapanning three Nations; in vexation of mind, arising from the upbraidings of stout persons before his face, and behind his back; in Speeches, Sermons, printed Books and Treatises, such as Killing no murder, and divers others published by the fifth Monarchy men, with their infective Sermons, fear of his life, care of what would become of his posterity, and how he might leave them possessed of his imaginary happiness; care of his name and reputation abroad and at home, at present and to posterity, which he foresaw would sink, the affairs of the three Nations leading his mind, and a thousand other things, which brought him to an untimely death, in great horror of conscience.  
Q. Did not old Oliver think himself a jolly fellow, and a happy under the enjoyment of his baubles, and does not Ambition think he shall be happy if he can enjoy the like?  
A. Yes. And so do maungy persons think themselves happy when they are clawed, and feverish people when they drink their their Bellies full of could drink, and girls that have the Green-sicknes when they are eating Oat-meale, Small-coals, Chalk Loam-walls, Linsey-woolsey aprons, and such like trash and trumpery.  
Q. Can a man be really miserable, and think himself happy?  
A. Yes; you may see some in Bedlam, that lie on the ground from years end to years end, and it may be in chains, who think themselves the happiest persons in the world.  
Q. Has not Ambition many Heads?  
A. Yes.  
Q. How can all their Mouths hope to be stopped?  
A. By a coordinate Senate for Life.  
Q. What is that?  
A. An House of Lords with a new Name.  
Q. What if the Parliament should give way to such a Senate?  
A. They should traitorously break their Faith to the people as that Mock-Parliament did who when they should have been asserting the Libertys of the Nation, & providing that Trade might flourish, and the peoples poverty be holpen, they set up new Lords over them of the basest mechanics.  
Q. Cannot Ambition be cured of this vain and disquieting itch?  
A. Yes.  
Q. How may he be cured?  
A. He must be shut up in a secret place, and kept to a cool and spare Diet; he must be far from the sight of great Houses, and no body must tell him of Guards, Halberds, lackeys, Gentlemen-Ushers, Grooms of the close-stool, &c. no mention must be made in his hearing, of serene Highness, most illustrious Lords and Ladies, nor of coordinate Senates, Protectors, Dukes, Earls, Marquesses and such like. And by all means, the Newes-monger general, that tells lies every week for the safety of the Common-wealth, must be kept from him, who is wont in his weekly Pamphlets, to confer new titles of honours and to claw ambitious scabs.  
Quest. What must then be done?  
Answ. When he is come a little to himself, let some body red to him with a sweet and still voice, the complaints of Kings and Princes wearied with the cares and miseries of a Crown, how some have said, that no man would take a Crown from the ground, that knew the sorrows, cares and fears that attend the same; and how divers Kings wearied with the cares and miseries of a Crown, have left their Courts and Crowns to enjoy the Peace and quiet of a Cloister.  
Quest. What must be then done?  
Answ. red him some Chapters in Ecclesiastes, and the Parable of Jotham, in which all the Trees refused to be King, for fear to loose their Essential goodness and usefulness; save the wretched and unprofitable bramble, voided of goodness. And let all his friends of the several Congregations, be desired to pray for him, that God would open the eyes of his understanding, so as that he may plainly see the vanity of all ambitious Titles, Honours, and fantastical baubles.  
Qu. What must be done in the next place?  
A. Then red him some of the Discourses of Epictetus and Seneca, showing the folly and misery of ambition, pride, and covetousness, and that he is the onely true King that can govern his own passions and affections, 〈◇〉 is not a slave to his own Lusts.  
Qu. What further is necessary for the Cure of Ambition?  
A. The Cure must be concluded with the Story of that noble Roman, who being sent for by the Parliament of Rome, from his little country house, to be general of the Common-wealths Army, came to Rome, went out against the Enemies, conquered them, and after his return, he would not be entreated to stay at Rome to enjoy vain Pomps and Honours, much less to usurp the supreme Authority, and by conquest of the Enemies to take advantage to conquer his country; but leaving all the ambitious Titles, toys and baubles, to the great Boyes at Rome, he thought it the wisest way to return to his covetous again, there to enjoy God and himself, and to grow old in Peace, tranquillity, and Health of Body and mind.  
Qu. Is it possible the Parliament of Rome should sand into the country for a plain stout man to be general of the Common-wealths Army?  
A. It must needs be possible, because they did so.  
Q. Had they never a pretty fine thing that loved to be called Lord, to employ upon that expedition, for the greater Repntation thereof?  
A. They had or could have created such a fine thing; but they judged it more safe for the Common-wealth, to employ a plain stout man, that was more wise, sober and stayed, then to value, foolish Titles, and ambitious fooleries.  
Q. Are plain rational, sober blunt men that itch not after Lordships, the fittest to command the Forces of a Common-wealth?  
A. They are; and there is no trust to be given to any but such men, which made a wise man say many years ago( when he was brought amongst the then cried up Officers of the Army, upon a view of their temper, humour and beheaviour) to a friend of his, that he knew these men would never be steady to the Interest of the Commonwealth, nor do the Nation much good, because he saw they were ambitiously delighted in giving and receiving Honours, and much addicted to vain complementing one with another, which made him say they were a company of silly Fellows.  
Q. Will you say the Parliament had better to have employed any, though but a Lieutenant or Captain, or sergeant in the Army, well beloved of the Souldiers, experienced and skilful in Military affairs against Sir George booths Party as Commander in chief, then a pretty fine Lord( Sir Reverence)?  
A. I will not say so, because I will not think myself wiser then the managers of supreme Authority, they not being dissolved, but I know what I think: and by-standers may with ease see more into a game at some turns, then the players, especially when their own over-solicitousness hinders them.  
Q. You may as well say this Parliament did ill in employing O. C. so often as Commander in chief.  
A. I will not say so, but I know what I think, And I know it is a common weakness, when a man has done some exploit, to idolize him ever after, and to dream that no body can do like him, and to make him chief of every action, till by crying him up, we undo him and ourselves both.  
Q. Whence springs this strange weakness?  
A. From an excess of admiration and fear.  
Q. Explain this by a similitude.  
A. This is just as when a man has taken a fancy to a Woman, or a Woman to a man, admiration of what he imagines in her to give him content, and fear that he shall never meet with the like, makes him place all his happiness of that kind in this party, so that upon her death or denial, he many times destroys himself. To be sure he pines, vexes himself, and dreams it impossible, there is any to be found like her. So is it when upon some late exploit, admiration fixes upon a soldier or a Statesman, and they that govern begin to dream, and make others dream that none can do any thing but he, till by committing too great and frequent truths, they undo him and themselves.  
Qu. Do you think then that if some other stout expert man, well beloved of the common Souldiers, had been employed in many expeditions where O.C. was Commander in chief, the success would have been the same.  
A. I do verily believe it.  
Q. Why then was all the glory attributed to him of all Victories, & c?  
A. Because men are weak in their judgements, and have a kind of natural, though sickly delight to make Idols, and then fall down and worship them, till they ruin their idol and themselves, and themselves by their Idol.  
Q. What do you mean by a natural, but sickly delight?  
A. I mean such a delight as Itchie people have to scratch, green-sickness Garles to eat coals and chalk, and those in a burning Fever, to drink could drink.  
Qu. It is strange there should be such a humour in men, I pray you make it clearer to me?  
A. Mark but the Boyes, and Prentices of the younger sort, and such like, on a night of triumph, when bonfires are made in London streets. You shall see them march about the streets in a lazy Brigade, every one with his Broomstick on his neck, whooping and shouting, and making a rattling noise upon the Stalls. Yet is this Rabble never perfectly contented, till choosing one of the boldest and lightest knaves in the Rout( that may not sit too heavy) they hoist him upon a wooden Horse, and carry him upon their shoulders, crying before him( and fencing to make way) with open mouth, a Lord, a Lord, a Lord, make way for my Lord. Have you not observed this humour in the Boyes? I know you have, and it is more or less, I conceive natural to all men, though more in some Nations then in others, and more in some persons then in others. As for example, this humour is high, and turgent in the French Nation, indifferent high in the Spaniard, low and flat in the Dutch, swisser, and more refined English Commonwealths men.  
Q. Whence should such a delight as this arise in mans Nature?  
A. I conceive from a strong and natural inclination and impulse to reverence the Deity or supreme Governor of the World, which being strongly effectual in mans Nature, for want of due consideration and information, is ready to seize on any Object through mistake; whence the egyptians made Lords of Cats, and Crocodiles and garlic; and other Nations have made Lords and Ladies of Diseases, as the Romans of the Ague, &c. and the privy parts of men, and of the close-stool, and the Cradles of children, and Women lying in Childbed: so little wonder is it, that our small Boyes of London, make an Idol from among themselves, and our great Boyes of the Army have made, and will make Idols from among themselves, if God, the Parliament, their faithful Souldiers, and other freeborn people of this Nation shall give way.  
Q. How is this natural, but sickly delight, to be cured?  
A. By instiling the true and sound knowledge of the wisdom, power, goodness and prudence of God, and of the shallowness, weakness, maliciousness of ill-taught mankind naturally; and so diverting that adoration which is usually given to men, to God alone to whom onely it is due; by changing all Officers military and civil: Also by showing the mischiefs that arise from idolising any man. By pressing the speech in Job, If I give flattering titles to man, my maker would destroy me, and that saying of our Saviour, that though the Rulers of the Gentiles were called gracious Lords, yet with Christians it should not be so. By showing the unconveniencies and mischiefs that arise from Titles of Honour, and their inconsistency with a Common-wealth, which are here too long to tell.  
Q. I will remember to question you about that another time, but I remember you gave out a word not long since, as if you thought the Parliament was not dissolved, are you of that mind?  
A. Yes, and all uninteressed persons, at least many thousands besides myself, that love the good old cause.  
Q. Why so?  
A. Because no body could dissolve them but themselves.  
Q. Then all that take upon them to exercise supreme Authority in these Nations before this Parliament, by their own Act have dissolved themselves are Usurpers, Thieves and Robbers, that come in at the window and not at the door, will you say so?  
A. I will and do say so, and God has not blessed them, nor will never bless them in their attempts.  
Q. Tell me further how it appears the Parliament is not dissolved?  
A. Because nothing can be done without a sufficient cause: now there is no cause sufficient to dissolve this present Parliament, but their own act. A man cannot be arrested by him that has no Authority to arrest; he may be indeed kept prisoner illegally. So the Parliament may be interrupted and hindered from sitting by ambition, as it might have been by a sudden Plague or Pestilence, but dissolved it cannot be, but by its own act. So the great Boyes of the Army may shut their Master out of the School( as is usual for schoolboys once a year) yet his Authority continues, and if he get not into his former School, he may summon his Scholars to another place.  
Q. Does not omitting to adjourn from day to day, dissolve the Parliament?  
Answ. For the Parliament to arise and not adjourn, might seem a dissolution of themselves, because they might be judged not to intend to meet again, because they name no place nor time of their next meeting, which is the intention of adjournment.  
But now because the Parliament adjoutned when they last sate, and were coming to sit again, and so to adjourn from time to time, but were forcibly hindered, their will expressed in this case is to be taken for their dead. And so we have our Parliament in full Authority, and I doubt not, through the mercy of God to see them sit again, who have managed the affairs of this Common-wealth, with great wisdom and Majesty, and made this Nation more considerable throughout Europe, then ever it was in the memory of man; whereas in the dayes of the Protectorian usurpation, it began to grow contemptible, and in the rule of ambition will be utterly overthrown, if God be not the more merciful to these poor Nations, by putting a stop to his folly.  
Q. Did not the peoples choosing new Members, during the lawless Usurpation of Oliver and his son,( set up by Ambition) dissolve this Parliament?  
A. No.  
Q. How so?  
A. Because they did not revoke their Trust given the present Parliament, onely seeing usurping Oliver had hindered their Parliament from sitting; rather then the name of Parliaments should die, and then upon their refusal, to choose new Members, that bold fool would have endeavoured a total suppression of Parliaments, and rule avowedly by force and will, they were willing to elect persons to keep that fundamental right on foot; which new Elections were all voided upon the permission of their old Trustees to return.  
Q. Make this clear by a similitude?  
A. The Company of Turkish Merchants choose out from among themselves a certain number of men, and sand them into the Levant, to negotiate and manage their affairs as a council. The great Turk upon some humour, will not( after some years of management) suffer the said council to meet any more, but writes to the Company to sand new Trustees, which the Company does, rather then their affairs shall run to wrack. But after a time, the Turk interrupts these last Trustees, and sets the other in their place, which the company hearing are glad, because they were their first Trustees, the best they could choose, and managed their business better then these latter, and they never recalled their trust, and so they are in as fit a capacity to act as ever, and the company is willing they should act.  
Q. Does not the Re-admission of this Parliament and submission to it, and acting according to their direction thereof so many Moneths, undo all that prejudice which might arise from other elections during their disturbance, and make good what was now said?  
A. It does.  
Q. Is there any other Legal Authority?  
A. No.  
Q. Can any Legal future Authority be set up, but what is derived from their Authority, or set first on foot by them?  
A. No.  
Q. What are the sad effects of this Parliaments disturbance?  
A. Danger to be ruled by the will and lust of Ambition, and of losing the Authority of Parliamentary Counsels for ever, if their Honour and Sovereignty as to this interruption be not repaired.  
Q. What if we should loose Parliamentary Authority for ever?  
A. We and our Posterity should be slaves for ever, though our Lords at first would use us very gently, and make us their fellows; yet it would be in their power, or the power of their Successors, more cruel perhaps and worse natured, to put on our chains and fetters when they pleased, and set us to drudgery or our posterity, and feed us with a bit and a knock.  
Q. Why are not some religious people ware of this who slight Parliaments, and think we might do well without them?  
A. Because they are so passionately entranced with the goodness of some religious men( as they believe) that they would leave all to their discretion, never considering the sad event of their so doing, nor how those that seem to be good now, may appear to be stark nought half a year hence; and how the temptation of unlimitednes corrupts good men, and and how though all be good to whose discretion they now permit things; there is no assurance but bad men may arise in their stead, even out of their own bowels, who finding themselves not limited by a Legal Fundamental constitution, will use like slaves their Posterity, who will be bound to curse the credulity & remissness of their Ancestors in this point.  
Q. You seem to think that good and godly men ruling and doing righteous things, but not bound by any Fundamental constitution, the people over whom they so Rule are slaves, only they have godly Lords that are merciful, kind and pitiful to their slaves; Is this your sense?  
A. It is.  
Q. Why so?  
A. Because the godly Rulers supposed, have absolute unbounded power to do what they please, and it is of their mere grace, favour and courtesy, that they deal gently and not roughly with their slaves: and when they shall be provoked they will deal roughly, as is the nature of all unlimited Lords to do, even as it is the nature of fire to burn. And their Successors may prove worse natured, as new Pharaoh was more cruel and crafty then the old, and exercise their unlimited power to the extreme sorrow and misery of their slaves, as we see new Pharaoh that knew not Joseph, did by the Israelites.  
Q. Do you then believe, that without our Fundamental Laws be asserted, of which Free Parliamentary power is a principle, this Nation cannot be kept from slavery, be the Governours never so godly.  
A. I am clearly of that mind, and I think all reasonable persons unpassionated and not engaged, well weighing the premises, and what has been elsewhere said to the same intent, will be of the same mind with me.  
Q. It is wonder the religiouser sorts of people some of them, who seem to be rational should not be so minded; What may be the reason?  
A. Besides the reason aforesaid, they are many of them blinded by a desire and hope of some advantage they may get, if Ambition do rule without Laws and by the Sword.  
Q. What other reason conceive you they have?  
A. They are afraid of their being hindered to meet publicly to exercise their Religion, according to their persuasions.  
Qu. Have they any reason to fear?  
A. No, but Ambition puts it in their heads.  
Q. Had they not better run the hazard of some restriction as to their public profession, then to make themselves and postereties slaves for fear thereof?  
A. Yes, especially since those they most confided in cannot give them assurance, either of their will or power to give them that Liberty they seek. And the interest of Tyrants it is to suffer none but a State Religion.  
Q. Can any man force conscience?  
A. No.  
Qu. Were not Religious people of several sorts more zealous towards God, and loving one to another before they had this liberty?  
A. Yes.  
Q. Why then should they fear restriction, which is as the bellows that blows their zeal?  
A. I know not, unless desire of carnal ease prevail too much in them, and to bear Office and come to preferment in the Common-wealth.  
Q. If the parliament is not dissolved, why do not the Members meet in some convenient place where they may sit free?  
A. To this I can say nothing. I am not of their Council. Only I fear, out of disdain and anger against the giddy steadiness of Ambition, they are willing to let him break his own neck, and ruin himself and his complices, the only thing to be expected from his heady and lawless courses.  
Q. But is not the Parliament unkind to the Nation in the mean while?  
A, Truly I cannot well tell how to acquit them in that particular.  
Q. Has not the late Scots King, and the Spaniard, at whose Court he is said to be soliciting for help, a mighty advantage by the present actings of Ambition?  
A. Without doubt.  
Q. What will Ambition do think you if he should come in?  
A. Secretly join issue with him, as the late Oliver sometimes did with his Father and at last betray him.  
Q. The time being to for spent to proceed to any further questions, Rehearse the Prayer which I taught you for these troublesone times, and so conclude?  
A. How long O Lord holy and true, wilt thou not be avenged on Ambition? pull off his juggling and enchanting Cloak, discover all his crafts, bring to nought the Counsel of his Achitophels, and restore our honourable Parliament to the full and free exercise of their just Authority, that these confused and impoverished Nations, may by thy wonted blessing upon their grave Counsels, be at last established, in peace and plenty, and a free exercise of all due Liberty belonging to Englishmen and Christians, Amen.  
FINIS.