A Rot Amongst THE BISHOPS, OR, A Terrible Tempest in the Sea of CANTERBURY, Set forth in lively EMBLEMS to please the judicious Reader:  
Incidit in Syllam qui vult vitare Charibdim,  Ovid. 
By THO: STIRRY.  
LONDON, Printed by R.O. & G.D. MDCXLI.   

To the Reader.  
IT is not unknown to all (judicious Reader) how many imps of ingenious wits, upon this Subject, have issued forth into public view. so that he would seem to pour water into the Ocean, or to mend she Crow's eyes, that should attempt to add any thing to what is already published. Know therefore that so various and wonderful are the works of the Almighty, that they are altogether unsearchable and past finding out: so that although thousands have gone before me, yet may I come after and glean more than sufficient. so many 1000 choice roots are there in the Garden of our God, that although many have cropped Flowers enough to compose fragrant and delectable Nosegays, yet is their choice enough left for me to gather on; ●ut to be contemned. Nevertheless fare be it from me, out of a vain ostentation, to arrogate any thing to myself, for I am privy enough, I must confess in this way, to my own insufficiency, and therefore I will not be a judge of other men's labours, but I come,, with an afterdish as one that desires to furnish the same Feast: if it be pleasing to your Palates; I need not fear your stomaches; for it is but small and light of digesture; fall to it, it is an Egyptian Dish dressed after the English Fashion. For before that immortallizing knowledge of Letters; the Egyptians were wont to express every thing by Hieroglyphics, or silent Parables, and therefore I doubt not but you will easily satisfy in this doubt: why I call the first emblem, a ship of Alexandria: but perchance some may be offended with me, because I have chosen this Subject rather than any other, let them know that I have Authority for it; for if the Almighty shall be pleased in this our age, as Mr. Quarles of Neverdying Memory speaks, to see these proud Popish Prelates, as Shroving Cooks, for every one to spend a Cudgel at to the World's end; I see no reason but I as well as others may throw one stick at them. Thus hoping that your pleasure, in reading, will be equivalent to mine, in writing.  
Farewell Yours in the like Service THOMAS STIRRY.   


The Invocation.  

AWake my soul, cast off thy drowsy Thoughts,  
Which clog thy mind, let not such earthly faults  
Adhere to thee; awake, and soar up higher,  
And join in consort with the shrill-mouth Choir  
Of heavenly Seraphims, and to them incline,  
So shalt thou make thy Music half divine.  
Crave not assistance from the sacred hill,  
Nor dip in Helicon thy feathered quill.  
The water's muddy, and Vrania's vaine  
Is fare inferior to thy heavenly strain.  
Invoke them not, thy God whom thou dost hollow  
Will be thy Muse, and thy divine Apollo.  
His sacred influence thy brains inspire,  
And fill thy breast with his Heroic fire.  
He ' ll touch thy tongue, and teach thee how to sing  
His wondrous Works that he to pass doth bring.  
He ' ll guide thy hand, that thou mayst learn to play  
On six-and-twenty strings. Oh hast away  
My ravished soul: Let not this dunghill earth  
Detain thy thoughts, and rob thee of thy mirth.  
Which heaven ordained to please thy tender ears,  
And glad the fainting hearts of all that hears.   

Rouse up my soul, untie thy furled sail,  
The Wind blows fair, Thou hast a prosperous gaile.  
Mount up th' Olympian hill, and therhence bring  
An ayre-dividing pinion from the wing  
Of some bright Cherubin, that thou mayst write,  
What wonders heaven hath wrought in mortal sight.   

And now oh first and last, so guide my pen,  
That first and last I may declare to men  
The secrets of thy will, and show thy praise,  
Grant me thy favour, I ll not seek the Bays.    



EMBLEM I.  
The Church & Commonwealth of Engalnd.  
high Commission   ship (figuratively, the Anglican Church) sailing towards the mouth of Hell 
Process   pennant atop the main mast 
Licence   sail of ship 
the Oath 
 et: Cet:   two cannons, one discharging the et cetera oath and the other a noose 
Dr. Duck   Arthur Duck, chancellor of the diocese of Bath and Wells 
Laud   Archbishop Laud 
Dr. Lamb   Sir John Lamb 
Wren   Bishop Wren of Norwich  

of Norwich hell   sea monster with gaping mouth   

And he found a Ship of Alexandria, sailing into Italy.  Acts 27.6. 

THe Infernal Tempter, when he first begun  
To trade for souls, no labour did he shun;  
He could not stay (for haste) to take advice,  
But trots on foot as fare as Paradise,  
Where he not ceased to use (be't good or bad)  
Such Rhetoric the Land of Darkness had:  
And all to gain that pure immortal breath.  
Blown from the spring of life, then free from death;  
And having got but one poor soul in store,  
Forthwith to it he addeth many more.   

But now who lives, and doth not plainly see,  
That under Heaven's Star-spangled Canopy,  
there's scarce a place, or Country to be found,  
Wherein this Hellborn crew doth not abound;  
Deceiving souls, and gripping in their hands  
The wealth and riches of the fruitful Lands,  
Witness this Island, which not long ago,  
Was in subjection to this Hellborn foe:  
For who can say he did not see, or hear,  
What sway the Lordly Prelates late did bear?  
None scarce durst preach without these Lord's admission,  
But straight were hoist aboard their High Commission,  
Which in full Sail here fixed before thine eye,  
Adumbrats plain, that wicked Hierarchy;  
'Tis now in pomp, and makes a glorious fight,  
Though now 'tis fair, it may be foul ere night.  
Now Winds obey, and send a Sovereign gale,  
Which makes those Seamen thus hoist up their Sail,  
And o'er blessed Albion's Church and State to ride,  
Discharging Canons in their furious pride;  
Whence flew the Oath, Et Caetera; after came  
A good strong Halter to conclude the game;  
The Duck takes wing, and to the Topsail flies,  
And on the Flag a Process neatly ties;  
The Sails have got a Licence, to proclaim,  
No preaching ' thou't a Licence in their name;  
Their Colours are displayed, that all may see,  
How in this Ship the Devil and they agree.  
Hell mouth's wide open, sure it is to show,  
Both Ship and Sailors with the Devil must go.   

Hundreds of years hath heavens resplendent eye  
Run his diurnal course, since men did spy  
This Hell-built Ship, spreading her swelling Sails  
O'er England's Church, and Commonwealth, with gailes  
Blown from the lower darkened world beneath,  
Such as the damned infernal Furies breath.  
And ever since this Church-consuming band  
Of Romish vermin, hath impaired our Land:  
For whatsoever these holy Seamen spied,  
They would not rest, but night and day they tried  
To get it aboard their High-Commission Boat,  
Which every tide towards Italy did float.  
And that these sacrilegious Pirates might  
With greater foree and safety vent their spite  
Against God's people and deprive them quite  
Of Christ's soule-saving Gospels heavenly light,  
See here what help the Devil doth them afford,  
He is their Pilot; heed was brought aboard  
That new made Canon; 'twas his damned plot,  
To ram in to it that truth confounding shot,  
That he that would not by their Laws be led,  
This hell-cast bullet straight should strike him dead   

But he that sits in heaven did them deride,  
He turned the stream in height of all their pride:  
For turn the leaf and there in brief I'll show.  
What woeful shipwreck now they undergo.     



EMBLEM II.   inclement weather and stormy seas threaten to sink ship (of the Anglican Church) 
justice's   divine hand hurling lightning bolts at ship  depiction of ship 
Process   pennant 
licenc   flag   

Then the Mariners were afraid, and they cried every man unto his God, etc.  Jonah 1.5. 

Who made  
account that times,  
so soon would change; who knew  
when heaven's justice would appear,  
and bring the Prelates fall so near?  
even now in all men's sight.  
They were in prime,  
and said.  
of mortal men why should we be afraid?   

But now  
that time is gone,  
the present (Now) is theirs,  
wherein by heavens ruling hand,  
these judges now Delinquents stand,  
oppressed with grief and fears  
that are unknown,  
and bow  
to blessed impartial justice frowning brow,   

Our Land  
Was sore oppressed,  
our Church and Commonwealth  
groaned beneath the Tyranny  
of this oppressing Hierarchy.  
But what they got by stealth,  
with them can't rest,  
they stand  
Trembling beneath the power of justice hand.   

Unlade  
the Ship they cried,  
perchance by that we may  
preserve our lives, and Lordly state.  
But Reformation was too late,  
for they too long bore sway;  
now shall their pride  
be laid,  
which makes these Romish Seamen sore afraid.   

The Wind  
of the Commons,  
it was not the Common wind  
that did this mighty Tempest raise,  
which put these Prelates in amaze,  
they can no harbour find.  
For sure no one's  
inclined  
to pity those that have been wilful blind.   

Help us,  
they cry we perish.  
Now Gallows claim thy right.  
Our Ship will now no longer sail.  
Our Canons at our need doth fail,  
which did our Lordly might  
uphold and cherish  
And thus  
In deadly fear their case to us discuss,  
hoping to have a ●al●e by moving us.     


 Archbishop Laud escorted into the Tower of London 
EMBLEM III.    

The righteous are delivered out of trouble, and the wicked is in his room.  Prov. 8. 

A Pirate is no sooner brought a shore,  
But laid in prison, there he's kept in store,  
Till justice saith his time shall be no more.   

Evenso, this Prelate was nosooner free  
From people's rage, but justice did decree,  
Where he sent others there himself should be.   

Where he shall lie with horror in amaze,  
And reap the fruit of his oppressing ways,  
When justice hand shall consummate his days.   

Time was when he in England shined as bright  
As Cynthia's night-lamp with her borrowed light,  
But now his Grace is found some grains too light.   

For now 'tis known he studied alteration,  
Uniting Room to England's thriving Nation;  
He was sole Author of this strange translation.   

'Twas he that sought to bring a dismal night  
Upon our Land, by vailing of the light  
Of Christ's eternal Word, which shines so bright.   

But now the Cloud's dispersed, her golden head  
Shines thrice more glorious, and the Clouds are fled.  
But had they stayed th' had dire disasters bred.   

IT was thou that didst God's people overreach;  
IT was thou that stopped the mouths of them that preach,  
And were't a hindrance that they could not teach.   

Some thou didst prison, some thou mad'st to flee;  
Remember these, it is heavens just decree,  
What thou didst do, should now be done to thee.   

Now they their wont joyful freedoms have,  
And thou art fast, and now dost freedom crave:  
But thou must hast unto thy darksome grave.   

And Thou O everlasting Three in One,  
Show him that mercy he would show to none,     


 Archbishop Laud, atop the Tower of London, looks down upon a gallows 
EMBLEM FOUR    
DEUT. 32.29. 
Oh that he were wise, that he would understand this, that he would consider his latter end.  

ARch-Polititian, art thou not ashamed  
To live thus long, and now at last be blamed  
For want of wit? thy folly now despise,  
And let your Lordship learn to be more wise.  
How long didst thou uphold thy High Commission?  
And imitate the Spanish-Inquisition.  
How darest thou own that damned Canon-law?  
The like to which there's no man ever saw.  
IT is this that makes men hate thee, and despise,   

O would thy graceless Grace had been more wise.  
IT was thy goodwill the people should not look  
In any other but the Service Book;  
Unless it were such which for to sport and play,  
Did give them licence on the Sabbath day.  
By this you thought you should their souls surprise,   

O would your little Grace had been more wise.  
You loved few words, and therefore would not preach,  
But filenced such as daily used to teach.  
Your aim was always to have alterations,  
And by your Altars thought to alter Nations.  
But God Almighty crossed your enterprise,   

O would your Popish Grace had been more wise:  
For now be sure that all your golden Copes,  
You must exchange for new spun hempen Ropes.  
And thou which ofttimes didst thy body screw,  
Into such shapes Prometheus never knew,  
Before thy Altar, be it no dispraise,  
Thou shalt be straightened, and so end thy days.   

Consider this, and every day conjecture,  
That Pulchers bell doth toll to Tyburn Lecture,     
FINIS.