A PETITION unto his excellency, Sir THOMAS FAIRFAX, Occasioned by the publishing of the late REMONSTRANCE.  
By a number of well-wishers to Truth and Peace.  
Printed in the year, 1647.   

A Petition to his Excellency Sir Thomas Fairefax.  
May it please your Excellency:  
THE Roman, though his ambition of Conquering had no Horizon, yet he used to triumph more( as multitudes of examples might bee produced) at the composing of an Intestine War, then for any new acquest whatsoever; and though he was a great martiall man, and loved fighting as well as any other, yet his maxim was, That no peace could be so bad, but it was preferable to the best war: It seems the Italian his Successor, retains the same Genius to this day, by the late peace( notwithstanding the many knots that were in the thing) for although fix absolute Princes, were interressed in the quarrel, and that they had all just pretences, and were heated, and heightened in their designs, yet rather then they would dilaniate the entrails of their own mother,( fair Italy) they met half way, and complied with one another, in a gallant kind of freedom, every one contentedly b●aring his share in some inconvenience. Your Excellency hath been the rod of iron, wherewith God hath bruised and broken the adverse party: Oh may you prove also the sovereign physician of this Isle, to power oil into her wounds( and under God) bee her happy restorer to her former health; all which we fear ourselves, not yet worthy to behold; forasmuch as to our infinite grief, we behold even the rock of our defence rent in twain, and the tower of our strength( under 
The two Houses of Parliament now divided.  God) tottering, and almost ready to fall, and that which we erected for our preservation, likely now to prove our ruin; your Excellency therefore may please to consider, that this schism in the body representative( cannot but without timely prevention) prove the ruin both of the representators and the represented, and while there is this clashing, I beseech your Excellency, and your counsel, to consider of the misfortune that befell the flock● of sheep and the bell-weather; whereof the first fed in a Common, the latter in an enclosure; and thinking to break into one anothers pastu●e, and being to pass over a narrow bridge which served them, they met in the middle, and justled one another so long, till they both fell into the ditch. God Almighty direct your Excellency and counsel in all your consultations and undertakings, and sand a happy issue of these troubles; in the mean time I hope it is far from your Excellencies thought, as some would amuse the world, that you intend by force to settle Religion; your Excellency, I am confident, knows well that the sacred comforter which inspires his ambassadors, useth to descend in form of a dove, not in the likeness of a devouring vulture; and he that brings him down so, may be said to sin against the Holy Ghost, to beat Religion into the brains with a pole-axe, is to make a Molech of the messiah, and to off●r him victims of human blood; true it was, that ere this Parliament some of the chiefest Church Governours, could not be content to walk upon the battlements of the Church, but they must put themselves upon stilts, and thence mount up to the turrets of civill policy; some Preachers grow to be mere parasites, some to the Court ▪ some to the Country, some would have nothing in their mouths but prer●gative, others nothing but privilege, some would give the crown all, some nothing at all, some to feed zeal, would famish the understanding, others to feast the understanding and tickle the ear with essays and flourishes of rhetoric, would quiter starve the soul of her true food: but is this evil taken away, or if it be is it not as if one Tyrant were removed, and another far more inexorable set up? The world is now come to that pass, that the tailor and shoemaker, may cut out what Religion they please, the Vintner and Tapster may broach what Religion they please, the Druggist and Apothecary may mingle her as they please, the Haberdasher may put her upon what block he pleases, the armorer and Cutler may furbush her as they please, the Dyer may put what colour, the P●inter may put what face upon her he please, the Draper and Mercer may measure her as they please, the Weaver may cast her upon what loom he please, the Boat-swaine and master may bring her to what dock they please, the Barber may trim her as he please, the gardener may lop her as he please, the Blacke-smith may forge wh●t Religion he please, and every artisan according to his profession and fancy, may form her as he please: The Pulpits now in some places are become Beacons, and in lieu of lights, the Churches are full of firebrands; every caprichio of the brain, is termed tenderness of Conscience ▪ which well ex●mined, is nothing but some frantic fancy, or frenzy rather, of some shallow brained sciolist; and whereas some have been said to run mad with excess of knowledge, many in this age grow mad with too much ignorance; it stands upon Record in Story, that when the Norman had taken firm footing in this Isle, he did demolish many Churches, and chapels in new forest, to make it fitter for his pleasure, and venery; but amongst other judgements, that fell upon this sacrilege one was, that tame fowle grew wild, but now not fowle, but folk and people grow wild in many places, they would not worry one another in that wolvish belluine manner else, they would not cut their own throats, hang, drown, and do themselves away in such a desperate sort, which is now grown so common, that self murder is scarce accounted any news; Your Excellency is not exalted to this high pitch of honour, only to dazzle men● eyes, with your lustre, but to restrain such and the like evils, to dispel those clouds which hover betwixt the King and his highest counsel, to chase away all jealousies, and umbrages of mistrust, that that great law making Court, be forced no more to turn to polemical Committees, and to a counsel of war; but that they may come again to the old Parliamentary road, to the path of their predecessors, to consult of means how to sweep away those cobwebs that hang in the Courts of Justice, and to make the laws run in their right channel, to retrench excessive fees, and to find remedy for the future, that the poor client be not so peeled by his Lawyer, and made to suffer such monstrous delays, that one may go from one tropic to the other, and cross the equinoctial twenty times before his suite be done: that a way may be thought on to regulate all exorbitant fancies of Novelists, in the exercise of holy Religion: for where there is no obedience subordination, and rest●ictive laws to curb the changeable humours and ex●ravagancies of men, there can be no peace or piety: if the fite be not kept within the ●unnell of the chimney, and that some be appointed to sweep down the soot( which may be done otherwise then by shooting up of ●uskets) the whole house will be in danger of burning. That things have been so strangely carried, and remain still in as strange a posture, is no wonder to me, what ever the vulgar prattle; your Excellency I am sure is well skilled in libe●all Acts, and have deigned to honour learning, by taking of a degree, if your Excellency consider with me, the constitution of this ellementary world, whereof I find man to be part; when I think on those light and changeable ingredients, 
A reason given according to nature, why wee ought not to wonder at these strange times.  that go to his composition; I conclude, that men will be men, while there is a world, and as long as the moon hath an influxious power, to make impressions upon their humon●●, they will be ever greedy, and covetous of novelties, and mutation, the common people, will still be common people they will sometime or other, show what they are, and vent their instable passions; and when I consider further, the distractions, the tossings, turmoilings and tumblings of other Regions: I conclude that kingdoms, and States, and Cities, and all bodies politic are subject to convulsions, to calentures, and consumptions, as well as the frail bodies of men, and must have an evacuation for their corrupt humors; they must be p●●ebotomized; these troubles that wee of late have seen, is but vetus Fabula, novi Histriones, is but an old play represented by new Actors; therfore let no man wonder at these traverses, and humours of change. I have read there was as much wondering at the demolishing of 600. and odd Monasteries, Nuneries, and Abeis, for being held to be hives of drones, as there is now at the pulling downs of Crosses, Organs, and windows; there was as much wondering when the Pope fell then ▪ as at the Prelates fall now: the world wondered as much when the mass was misliked, as men wonder now the Liturgy 
King Henry and 8. his Reformation.  should be distasted: the first reformation of the Church of England began at Court, and so was the more feasible, and it was brought to pass without a war; but in this late attempted Reformation, the scene was otherwise, far●e more sanguinary, and fuller of Actors; never had a Trag●dy acts more full of variety; in so short a time; there was never such a confused mysterious civill war, there was never so many bodies of strength on sea or shore, never such choice arms and Artillery, never such a numerous Cavalty on both sides, never a greater eagerness and confidence, never such an amphibolous quarrel, both parties declaring themselves for the King, and making use of his name in all their Remonstrances, to j●st fie their Actions, the ●ffections and understandings of the people were never so confounded and puzzled, not knowing where to acquiesce: insomuch that whosoever will be curious to read the fu●ure story of this intricate war( if it be possible to compile a story of it) he will find himself much staggered, and put to a kind of riddle ▪ for touching the strange nature, or rather unnaturallnesse of it cannot be parralled by any precedent example, nor can any history afford that in so short a circumvolution of time, so many battailes, reincounters, siedges, and skirmishes together have happened in any country, and all this upon ourselves, which to relate is the more terrible; but your Excellency have by the Almighties apparent assistance brought our civill war to a period; so that now nothing is wanting, but the fruits of that for which wee have toiled in blood and sweat: I beseech your Excellency to be pleased to harken to the advice of none but those that are calm spirited, and peaceable, and that your Excellency would be pleased, not to look on those Members now fitting in Parliament, who refuse to declare their former votes null, as yours and the Armies enemies, according as it is said in the Remonstrance, pag ▪ 5. And next wee wish those men to consider if wee had come to an engagement with the forces raised by virtue of their pretended Vo●es and Ordinances, and that thousands had been slain, and wee had made our way by the sword, whether they would then have expected to have sate as Judges on us therein; and wee are sure it is no thankes to them that it hath been otherwise: and had wee sound those Members in arms against us, and subdued and taken them; whether had they not then been in the condition of prisoners of war? &c. considering that they themselves were overawed, and in a manner forced to vote a levy for Souldiers, which if your Excellency shall please to do, you shall thereby hinder infinite vexations which may happen by a forcible expulsion of them; and also by your clemency reclaim them unto you; whereby time may be no longer protracted, but his majesty speedily settled, true Religion erected, and this kingdom once more enjoy her halcyon dayes.  
FINIS.