THE PICTURE OF Mercurius Politicus: OR Some of his Falsities and Mistakes, mentitioned in his Intelligence of the twelfth of October, concerning the DISPUTE In LUMBARDSTREET, Detected and Disproved.  
Wherein the Carriage of the People resort-in to the Meeting-place there, upon the said day, and other times, is cleared:  
To the satisfaction of those that will not censure before they understand, nor give up their Judgements to trust Vanity and Lies.  
By John Webster.  
— Pictoribus atque Poetis  
Quidlibet audendi, semper fuit aequa potestas.  Horat. 
London, Printed for T. Webster and R. Hammond.   

The Picture of Mercurius Politicus.  
I Met last week with a printed Paper, to which is prefixed the title of Mercurius Politicus, one who seems to me to hold forth Intelligence of Nonentities, and to seduce the credulous of the Nation into as groundless a belief of what he reports, as the information was from whence he received it; and surely thinks the dirt of his scurrilous Pen to be authentic, because of his consuetude in writing Liurnals: of whom (seeing without any perfect knowledge of me, he hath abused my name) I shall make bold to say something in relation to his name, condition, and the subject that he handles; not that I honour him so much, as to account him worthy of a Confutation, being but a twopenny Mercenary, but only to vindicate the Truth, and satisfy the innocent, who have suffered by the froth and vomit of his malevolent spirit.  
Is your name Mercurius? surely you are not the Mercury of the States, but of the Pagan gods, and have learned at them to forge lies, and invent falsities; if your shoulders and heels be plumed, it seems your head was so too, whence you writ your Intelligence of the Dispute in Lumbardstreet, for it shows more of the lightness of the feather, than the gravity of the metal: and it may be you can change shapes; for, if report belie you not, Mercurius Pragmaticus is turned into Mercurius Politicus; but all men may see you retain the old nature still, being more Pragmatical than Civil. But it may be you are metallic Mercury, for surely your head was quicksilvered, when you evaporated forth such malignant fumes of gross Errors; and for my part, I shall look upon you as common Mercury, non servus fugitivus Chymicorum, sed Mimorum: but perhaps you are the Philosopher Mercury, which is so rarely seen, and so difficultly attained, that many which think themselves very wise, scarcely believe there is any truth in it, and so I am sure in this particular they may do of you. You add the name Politicus, which surely you understand, being so great a pretender to uphold Humane Learning, and yet your carriage in this point hath been far from the significancy, having expressed little of Civility in traducing him, whose face I believe you have scarcely seen, whose abilities you know not, and whose deportment in that business I am confident you were not an eye-witness of: but I will say no more, but have a charitable opinion of you, hoping you may live to make a Recantation, as a thing you are not altogether inexpert in. Yet I would have you to know, that I neither am, nor ever was Cavalier, Presbyterian, nor turncoat; nor am stated so low, as not to look for reparation for such insolent indignities as your ignorant and rash pen hath cast upon me. And though you may be licenced to write Intelligence, yet I hope not to make Libels; and without satisfaction from you, know, I am able to know your station, and understand your protection, and therefore blame me not if I look a little after it. And so to the matter.  
And first you say, that in a Church in Lumbardstreet there was a very famous Dispute, as may appear both by the Opinions maintained, and by the management of the business. Good Mr Politicus, the Dispute was in a Steeplehouse, or Meeting-place, built of lime and stone; now in what propriety of language your Learning can call that a Church, I know not: Did the Apostles or primitive Saints ever call the Meeting-places a Church? Sir, this relishes more of superstition and profaneness, then of piety and learning; but he must needs make a gallant progress, who hath so fair a beginning. Whether the Dispute were famous or not, I know not; but I am sure your report of it is false, and infamous enough; but it may be you judged the Dispute as headless as your lines: Well, for the Opinions and management, Were you an ear and eye-witness of them? if you were, surely it was in a dream, wherein you were as uncertain what was disputed, and how things were managed, as the World is, whether you be Pragmaticus or Politicus: but I am confident, by reason of your gross mistakes and absurd falsities, you were not present, but was only hired to blow the lying Trumpet of Baal's Priests. However, for the Dispute, I am loath to asperse any man's person; I have charity to believe, that the Gentlemen that came to oppose me, did appear, according to their own light, to seek the Truth, not to stifle it; and therefore, without prejudice to them, I shall give a short Narrative of the manner and matter. It had been often queryed concerning me, and to me, whether or no I would by Dispute make good what I had delivered, and therefore I did publicly declare, that I was always willing to give an answer to every one that should ask me a reason of the hope that is in me: (1 Pet. 3.15) Soon after, word was brought me, that they had found a Champion, and the day was appointed, though until the very time I was ignorant, both who should be mine Opponent, and what should be disputed of, so that I could have no foregoing preparation, though mine Adversary came prepared, and furnished with his Arguments and Papers of collected Notes: When I came to examine what should be disputed of, he told me he came to confute some things in a little Treatise that I had published; to which I answered, that it was an absolute impropriation for me to admit of a Dispute of those things that were asserted to the World, and not answered: But perceiving that their end was to gain repute with the people, and to find any possible occasion to asperse me, and that Truth that God hath made me a weak means to make manifest; lest they should vaingloriously vaunt that I either would not, could not, or durst not dispute (and so the Truth might suffer in my refusal) I was willing to admit that he should refute what he could in the Book, so that he would pursue the office of a Refuter, to take the Arguments in order, and so (if he could) refel them.  
The next thing was, I desired to know what order he would proceed to dispute in, and he told me Syllogistically: To which I replied, that Syllogizing was a tedious and unprofitable way, because all the Propositions must be made good from the Text, which is the divine Authority, and so the last recurrence would be to the Scriptures themselves; and therefore it were better only to allege them, and argue forth of them; not, as I told them, that I denied Syllogizing in Civil, Natural, Moral, and Artificial things, but if they would dispute of any such things, I was willing to proceed either by Induction, Syllogism, or Euclides way; and so they agreed we should argue by the Scriptures themselves. I shall not need to relate what a bitter and invective Oration he begun withal (looking upon his Notes) in application to the people, wherein (it is true) I did interrupt him, and told him it was impertinent; if he came to accuse, those Papers should not be my Judges: So than he proceeded to find something in my Book to refute, but how long it was ere he could find what, or where to begin, all those that were present can witness as well as I; at last he found something concerning the Calling of Ministers, which when he could not tell how, nor which way to state it, another person, who they call a Minister, did offer to prove before any question was stated; to whom Mr Erbery answered with some of those Arguments which he hath published: at last I offered to state the question, 1. Whether God alone ordained Ministers; 2. Or whether man alone; 3. Or whether God and man conjunctively: But then they did divert from it, and could not by any means be brought to argue of it any more. The next thing was to refute, that of Humane Learning being sin, or sinful, where he would not refute nor repeat the Arguments from whence it was drawn, but begun to make a Syllogism, as though there had been a Thesis given, and he had had the affirmative part, and so would needs go about to prove a Negative; to which I opposed their own Maxim, de negativis non datur scientia: In a word, there was no Argument offered, but what was answered, nor any Scripture brought but one, which was cleared not to make for him; so that the people cried, that I should go up, and speak something for their edification, which I did out of Genes. 11. which God carried me forth to expound according to the Mystery, which one of them called me a Deceiver for, and said, the Scriptures were to be understood literally; but the people, by their noise, testifying their dislike, suffered not his malevolent spirit to proceed, and so he departed. Afterwards the Moderator for mine Opponent did ask me many questions, to all which I gave full Answers, but had not the liberty to ask one.  
Mean while Mr Gardell, who was Moderator for my part, having born forth his witness, that they neither knew the things of God nor man, was withdrawn, and soon after I departed, and then mine Opponent begun to utter some reproachful words against me, in which the people would not suffer him to proceed; but some cried, that he spoke things that were false; and some wished him, if he had any thing from God, to speak it; but if he did but rail, they would not hear him; and so he was got away. So that there was no tumult, nor I, nor Mr Erbery in any danger of broken pates, as the broken-brained, and broken-conscienced Politicus hath most falsely divulged to the World. It may be there were some such idle persons as himself, which came to make a tumult, and father it upon others, but I neither heard nor saw any such thing: and truly if the Women lost their Kerchiefs, they would be most useful to stop the mouth of all such liars. I confess truly, that I had not said thus much, either to glory, or show any man's weakness, but because many that are ignorant of, and Enemies to the Truth, being prejudiced both against me and my doctrine, do falsely report, that I would stand to nothing; which how impertinent and unjust, I leave to all those that heard, and saw the carriage of that day; and what my deportment wa●, hundreds can tell better than Politicus.  
Now therefore Mr Mercury, I hope you will be ashamed of your own gross mistakes, and cease to censure those you understand not: For Mr Erbery, he is a godly conscientious man, and none but an Ishmael will deride, or hate him; and for giving either him or me a true character, is not in the sphere of the ignorance of poor Politicus. And for the Stage, and playing of the prize you tell of, surely your Church is not now becomed a Stage; surely you dream either of Fencers or Plays, with whose Tribe, or Trade, it may be you have had some affinity, and so may fit a man then either for Fool or Knave, if not for both.  
And whereas you say, we endeavoured to knock down Learning and the Ministry both together, I am afraid you never understood what the true Ministry of Jesus Christ is, for if you had, you would have known that no power of man can knock it down, nor the gates of Hell prevail against it: What the Heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be eradicated; but what he hath rooted, must stand: What power knocked down that Ministry which we call Popish and Prelatical? the same will, without me or Mr Erbery, knock down all that Antichristian Ministry that man hath set up and not God; and then Mr. Politicus, take you heed of a broken pate, or a worse business.  
And now I come to your learned censure of knocking down Learning, wherein you speak so learnedly, that doubtlessly you might with Cardinal C●s●n write another Book de dicta ●gnoran●ia. Do you know what kind of Learning it was, or in what respect I would have knocked it down? or do you not know that dolus ●ers … in ●nivers …? doubtless you are very Logical, and yet remembers not the four particulars in stating of a question: For I must tell you, I am for setting up Learning as much as Politicus, or any in the Nation, and am also for knocking it down; neither are these contradictory; & if it be a Riddle, I will open it unto you. Is it not truly affirmed in a Solar eclipse, Sol obscuratur, et Sol non obscuratur? and yet both true, yet not in the self same respect? So it is as true, I am a friend to Learning, and I am an enemy to Learning; but not in the self same respect  
Fi●st therefore, I would have you, and all the world to know, that I am for the setting up of that divine Teaching, & learning of the Spirit of God, that the Schools do call infusive; for we have not received the Spirit of the World, but the Spirit which is of God, that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.  
Secondly, I am not an enemy to humane, or acquired hearing, as it is considered in a natural, civil, artificial, or moral respect, but as it is considered in a Theological respect, I do and must hold, that it is sinful, because it is that wisdom of the flesh that is enmity against God, and is not subject to the Law of God, neither indeed can be: and because it is that wisdom which descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, and devilish; which is no such strange thing but what those Authors that men call O hodoxal, whether ancient, middle, or modern, do affirm aswel as I. And thus much I offer to satisfy all honest and conscientious spirits; ●nd not to vindicate myself, but the Truth of Jesus Christ.  
For the rest that you report of Mr. Erbery, except his offering to prove one of the parties, a beast & no man, a monster and no minister, at that time there was no such thing spoken by him. And now Sir, though you may think I have dealt something tartly with you, let your own conscience witness whether you deserve it or no, seeing you have blazed such untruths to the whole Nation, not so much to my prejudice (who doth account myself the meanest of men) but to the scandal of the truth of the Gospel, & of all those that love & partake of it: yet I shall be so candid with you, that upon the least intimation to the world of the acknowledgement of your mistake, there shall be none more ready than myself to forget all, and freely embrace you; if not, let the guilt lie at his door that deserves it.  
Octob. 25. 1653.   
FINIS.