A LETTER To the CONTINUATOR OF THE Present State of our Controversy.  
Laying open the Folly of his Extravagant Boasting, and the Malice of his wilful Forgeries.  By John Sergeant. 

With Allowance.   
1. SIr, what you are I do not know; nor have any reason, from your carriage, to think you are much worth the knowing; and you did very prudently to mask yourself under the disguise of a private and obscure hand, to hid the blushes which common shane would otherwise force even into a forehead 
Epist. Dedicatory.  of the blackest complexion. It is easy to discern by your furious Zeal, your Falsifying humour, and your Patronizing so fiercely that party which maintains that All Christian Faith which is held now may be False, that you are far from the Principles of a genuine Church of England-man, farther than a good bnfice may perhaps give you a Vocation, but rather some hotbrain'd Calvinist in masquerade, parboil'd by the scalding zeal against Popery into a staunch Protestant, which like Lobsters change their hue and outward appearance, but not their Nature. The Character you have given your 〈…〉 y your behaviour in your 41st. page.; is that you are a wilful and Bold Calumniator; who, trusting to the easy Credulousness of your Friends, and relying on the Great Noise your Numerous party are able to make, value not a straw what manifest Falshhoods you publish. And, which is the worst Quality of a liar, that you are a Careless, Open, and Confident one. If this can be plainly made good against you, I am sure your rude and Unchristian carriage towards me justifies me for letting the world know you are guilty of these Faults of the First Magnitude. What prejudice this may do to your Descants all along upon other pieces writ by catholics you are to look to, and should have better considered when you thus sacrificed your Conscience to your Malice; for if this be proved upon you, it will here stand upon public Record, and like your fellow-Knights of the Post, you are never to be believed in any thing you say either here or hereafter. Certainly Sir, a little more Temperance had done your Cause far more Right: For every man of an ordinary Prudence will vehemently suspect your sharp reflections are merely Romantick, seeing you make the Protestant Knight still beat the Popish giant. What man of common Reason will, do you think, believe you, that the catholic Party have in none of their Books sp●ke a word of Sense, or tha●( as you tell the Reader with much assurance) never was Cause more entirely baffled: Nay, in 
Epist. to the Reader.  the full career of your ranting exaggerations, you aver without Fear, Sh●me or Wit, that your very Footmen themselves esteem themselves an equal match for Jesuits; and lest the Credit of your Learned 
Ibid.  Footmen should sink, or the sober part of the world should look upon them as self conceited Puppies for having such a high Esteem of themselves, you hold them up by the chin, and tell us very sadly, that you think they have satisfied the World they are not mistaken in this opinion of themselves. Now, all this while 
Ibid.  there was but one Footman, whose name, to ridicule a Roman-Catholick writer, was prefixed to a pamphlet, which in all likelihood might have been written by some such shamming Gentleman as yourself. I wonder you did not add Protestant Broom-men, Kennell-rakers and attorneys; for none can doubt but some of these may have as much Knavish wit as a Footman. But it was your Kindness to Catholiks not to tyramnize too much over them, on depress them with such ignoble comparisons; and therefore you did them the honour to allow them fit matches to run a Controversy race with your thrice Reverend Foot-men. And, by your Discourse, 〈…〉 high honour too; for you tell us p. 45. that the R. F. Sabran is now grown more famous in the world from his new Antagonist the Footman. I hope I may use your own words so I apply them better; and tell the Reader that I admire at the 
P. 20.  heat and bitterness of that little satire, your ridiculously-malicious self.  
2. Notwithstanding your Ill performance, I frankly aclowledge that a History of what Books have been writ pro and con in our Controversies is a very laudable Design; and had you observed the impartiality of an Historian by onely relating what had been done in that kind, and then referred your Reader to the Books you mentioned, and left him to judge of the performances on both sides by those Books themselves, you had deserved a due Commendation. But you could not content yourself with matter of Fact, but would needs enter upon the matter of Right too; and this, with reflections wholly made up of Vapour, Insolence, silly Amplifications, Ironies, Invectives; and oftimes open Falshoods. For example, Never did man set pen to Paper( as F. Sabran) with such a stock of Ignorance and Confidence together. p. 4. whose stock is Confidence. p. 45. He has neither Learning, nor good manners, ibid. One would wonder, by the way, Sir, where your Breeding lies. But as for the Representer, he is quiter stripped of Honesty and Wi● both. — He seems( say you) ●o have struggled a little with himself before be could get the better of his Conscience. p. 11. The Confidence of this vain man— He( his Protestant Antagonist) has though fit to give him up as a privileged person, who is past either Sense or Modesty, or hopes of being reclaimed, p. 12. That is, in more honest term, his Antagonist acknowledges himself baffled, and I perceive by your p. 4. that you are about giving up F. Sabran too upon the same score. Again — That honest sincere man that cannot endure false dealing, but was dropped down from heaven to be the Scourge and Censor of a licentious age— by a strange kind of Metamorphosis from an angel of Light transforming himself into a Spirit of Darkness. p. 43. And lastly, that He is an Ass in a lions Skin. p. 44. Pray good sweet angry Sr. lay aside your Passion a whiles; and do but consider a little how ridiculous you make yourself, and clap the long ears on your own noddle. Had you professed yourself a Thersites, and a master of Invective rhetoric, none would have wondered at you for following your Vocation; ●●t the Jest is, you will needs make yourself all this while a Master of Ceremonies, to teach others good manners, and yet 
P. 45.  the Academy of Scolds at Billingsgate cannot furnish one with base and fouler Language. Were you writing against the person, and had at the same time proved his Demerit answerable to your words, then indeed Smart language, so it be True, may some times pass, nay be needful; but to fall upon him so severely in an undue occasion, and with such a furious career of extravagant railing, does too visibly proceed from the Impotency and Uneasiness of your Passion. Could a mad Dog speak, I know not( tho' you perhaps may) what worse language he could foam out than Ass and Devil. Whence I Congratulate to the Gentleman the happy omen, that he could deserve the heat and bitterness of 
P. 20.  such little Satyr●. Thus our impartial Historian treats the one party; But on the other he bestows all along the Magnificent ●itles of Excellent, Learned, Ingenious, Incomparable, and all-●obe Reverence● them with his ●ermagant Hyperbolical Commendations. And now, Reader, is it a Straw's matter whether such a Writer praises or reviles a man; or rather are not his eulogiums a Disgrace, and his Invictives a high Honour and Commendation in the opinion o● any Moderate Reader?  
3▪ My turn comes next; and any man will see how Dr. St. and his good Friends are nettled, by your pelting me so unmercifully.  
4. Your First falsehood is, that I begun to carry on this Controversy after the Reflector had writ his. This I affirm to be Untrue; 
P. 40.  Fo●, the First catholic Letter was also mine. And, tho' my Name was not to it, yet I still owned it for mine in my following pi●ces. Which if you red, you could not but see; if you did not, you are a strange disregarder of Truth or Sincerity, to pass such ●●●n Censures upon Books you never so much as red. And, if this were so, as I much fear, it puts me into some doubt whether you ever red any of the catholic Books you censured so deeply; but, like a right Honest man, right or wrong, shot your bolts at random.  
5. Your Second falsehood is, that Dr. St. has replied to my first Four Letters; And this is a most Notorious Banger. For, 
Ibid.  first, in is shown in my Fifth Letter page. by page. to every Examiner's Eye, from p. 154. to p. 173. that he has omitted so much as to take notice of( much more to Answer) Thirty Nine parts of Fort of my First and Third Letters. Next, he owes me an Answer to the Second. Thirdly, he has not answer●d one word to my Fourth. And so two or three shameless Untruths must serve f●r an Answer to those four Treatises. Which, I suppose, is the modern way of Controversy you  told us of p. 20 However, you tell us p. 40. 〈◇〉 Dr St's piece was an Excellent Discourse; that is, 'tis one of your goose metamorphosed to a Swan, by your gloss commendations. However, it discovered my Vanity,& that's enough in all Conscience. But sir, are You a Christian, even in a Latitudinarian sense, who call it Vanity to assert that the Faith now held by Christians is truly Christ's, and consequently True, or that it has Grounds to prove it True that it did descend from him, which is the Grand Contest between Dr St. and me? And on this occasion let me ask you how you durst tell the World in the Ti●le to your Dedicatory, that a Book writ to maintain the Possible falsehood of Faith, is writ In Defence of the Church of England; as if it were her Doctrine, that all Christian Faith may be a lie; or how a Chaplain to an Arch-Bp. durst approve a Pamphle●, that makes that Church guilty of that half atheistical Tenet, which her best Writers and most genuine Sons ever abhorred. But — Haec est hora vestra& potestas tenebrarum.  
6. Your Third Falshoo● is, that I writ Contradictions, which has been confuted at large in an elaborate Discourse( Fifth-Cath. Letter p. 8. to p. 18.) where every particular Contradiction objected is solved b● a clear state of the Question; which the Learned Dr. would needs mistake throughout his whole Answer. However, it was expected this would have stopped my mouth. But alas, when vain men promise to themselves Unreasonable things, how strangely their Expectations fail them! Tis not Nonsense cl●d in fine words, nor all the spiteful reflections of men, who, I see plainly, have not the least value for Truth, that can shock me or fright me from defending it.  
7. Your Fourth falsehood is, that the Blackloist Heresy was now like to be brought on the Stage again; meaning, that my doctrine about Tradition was peculiar to Mr. Blacklow. The contrary to which I have shown to every honest Reader's eye in a particular Treatise ( Clypeus Septemplex p. 209. to p. 250) and the very Reverend F. Warner in his 
See Third Cath Letter. p. 21.  Anti-Heaman tells Dr. Burnet he discovers his Ignorance in saying it was newly invented. Lastly, my Fifth Letter p. 24. has forestalled this objection. But no Sincerity is to be expected from such wilful Asserters of baffled Falshoods. Disprove a Calumny never so evidently, all they do, in stead of invalidating our Reasons or Testimonies, is to say the same over again with a steeled Impudence, as if nothing had been alleged against it.  
8. Your Fifth falsehood is, that I have formerl● eat my words. 
P. 41:  Your Sixth, that I did this, when I was cited to Rome to be cen●r'd for those dangerous heretical Propositions which I am ●ow aain breaching in England. Both of which are most Impudent Untruths. This appears both by the kind Monitio sent me from 〈◇〉 
* Clypeus Septemplex. p. 10.  Sacred Congregation, where 'tis manifest they were ware that I had declared myself to speak [ de Regula Externa Fidei seu de Traditione Ecclesiae] of the Extrinsicall Rule of Faith or the Tradition of the Church. As also, that in the circumstance of our Controversy I had maintained [ debere eam esse evidentem] this Rule ought to be Evident. All which they allowed, and required no more of me but only that mindful of the words of the Apostle[ I am a Debtor both to the Greeks and to the Barbarians, both to the Wise and to the Unwise] I would clear some Propositions contained something obscurely in my Books, by reason of the ambiguity of the word Evidence, viz. whether it was meant of the Evidence of the Mysteries, or of the Motives to Faith; which Mistake bread the whole Misunderstanding. This I did by a hundred Instances, and most pregnant and convincing Reasons in my Declaratio; and, this done, those severest Judges of Unsound Doctrine, remained satisfied; and to your greater confusion I have the Original of the Monitio and the other Records in my hands still. For farther Evidence that I was neither put to Eat my words, or Retract the least tittle in my books, nor was ever Cited to Rome, I could allege those Right Reverend Personages, Bishop Leyburn, and Bishop Gifford; of which the former was at Rome all the time of the Contest: the Other, though at Paris, yet was acquainted with all the particulars of it: As also those Reverend Divines mentioned Fifth Cath. Letter. p. 21. who examined the Propositions chiefly objected; and attested under their hands that their Sense was not in my Books but the direct contrary: I could produce likewise Multitudes of Other Persons, both Divines and Lay-men, of unblemished Credit, who can witness the same. And yet this Frontless man thinks to out-face the world with an open and manifest lie, to second Dr. St's wilful Forgeries; though he knows how I answered in my Clypeus Septemplex and Vindiciae what the Dr. for want of better Stuff, did city out of his Friend Lominus, and that in the First Section of my Fifth catholic Letter I particularly shew'd by unquestionable Authority every tittle of Dr. St's Calumnies to be most False: and, lastly, what Approbations from the most Knowing and most Orthodox catholics of the best Quality my Books have had. Which done I close 
Fifth Cath: Letter. p. 30.  my Discourse with this Recapitularion[ The Sum of my present Defence is his: Eight Divines of great Repute, appointed by the Arch-Bishop of Paris, and ad mitted by my Adversary himself, do unanimously attest that the Sense condemned is not in my Books, but the contrary. My Judge clears me; The Censu●ers are commanded to make me Satisfaction. The Highest T●ibu●al ●llows my Plea and acquits me. Primates, Arch-Bishops, B●sh●ps, the Sorbon, Eminent Divines, and even those who take another way in their Writings, approve and commend my D●ctrin, and most of them in very high and extraordinary expressions. My own superior does the same; nay, even those who were formerly ●●ghly prejudiced, declare themselves satisfied in it. So that poor Dr. St. is left alone to balance against all this weighty Authority; with one Lominus, a mere Utopian or Man in the Moon; on whose sole No-Authority he grounds all his senseless ●umnies.] All which particulars were shown there at large. ●enforce those Testimonials, I added [ I desire the Reader to ●ffect that those Judg●s, Approvers and Commenders of my ●ooks and doctrine lived generally in divers and far-distant 〈…〉 jons, were of different Faculties and Universities, of different 〈…〉 cations, different Orders, and( to some degree) of different Principles& Interests, divers of them utterly unknown to Me, or I to Them. So that, 'tis impossible to imagine that any thing but the force of Truth,& the Integrity of my way of proving the Certainty of our Faith, as to its having been taught by Jesus Christ, could make them conspire to allow or abet my Books so hearty and Unanimously. Nor could there be any Human inducements to make them so strangely partial to a Private man, every way inconsiderable, and of no Esteem at all but what my Writings and Principles gave me.] And now, Rea 〈…〉 dmire at the Impudence of this man, and be Judge thyself 〈…〉 her he has not forsworn all Common Honesty, and renounced 〈…〉 e, who, after all this and much more red by him in the 〈…〉 he is here Censuring, does, before any man has disproved 〈…〉 ttle of it, or( I am sure) can, in this very book of his, where 〈…〉 pretends to give a faithful account of the Contents of each 〈…〉 e, and of the performances of each of our Controvertists, not 〈…〉 ot acquaint the Reader with this my Defence, but without Authority, nay against such an Uncontestable Authority, ven 〈…〉 o throw about his headstrong and wilful Forgeries; as that 〈…〉 addicted myself, Eat my Words, was cited to Rome; that what 〈…〉 e in my Letters is held there a dangerous Heresy, that no 〈…〉 of Sense will be hired to red three Pages in my Books, &c. An 〈…〉 ent sig● of a nonplussed Cause, which puts its Defenders to such 〈…〉 shifts as to have recourse to Empty Vapour, Huge Noises, 〈…〉 Notorious Li 〈…〉 ld it.  
9. You proceed and tell us next, that my Letter has met with as few Readers as I have Admirers. Here also there want some Grains of Truth, for I am informed there are not a Hundred left of my Fifth Letter; and sending to buy some of my First, I was  told there were so few left that they are raised to double the price they were vended for in the beginning. Yet your Comfort is, there is no danger in the World of my Last Letter's doing any mischief, 
P. 41.  since you do not believe it possible to hire any man of Sense to red three pages in it. Alas, poor Gentleman! I doubt not but you have a strong Faith, which so blinds you that you cannot see how ridiculous you make yourself and your Friends. You gave us to understand by telling us Dr. St. declinei the Task, that he despairs of Answering that Letter fairly and upon the Square; and yet, when 'tis so clearly Visible that the Regret that you cannot answer it vexes and galls you to the heart, you, like a right pleasant man, pretend to be much Comforted that 'tis not worth the Answering. A very cheap and easy method to confute all the Books in the World. But, Sir, I am to tell you very Discomfortable news; which is, that the best wits of our Nation,( to whom chiefly I writ) men not a jot inferior to your Great Dr himself, have not only red those Letters of mine, but given such a Character of them for Unanswerable, as is not modest for me to repeat. And I have been  told from a person of worth, that the very Reverend F. W. after his perusing some of my Letters, did honour them with this Elogium, that they had laid Dr. St. so flat that he would never be able to rise again. And, I am so confident of the Goodness of my cause, that I do here promise Him and the World very faithfully that I shall make his words good; or rather, by what fol●ows here, it will appear I have done it alread●▪ For you tell us, that A very Learned Person, in compassion, as you 
P. 41.  suppose, to the poor headstrong-man, hath undertaken to Answer 〈…〉 only my Fifth Letter, but the other Discourses of the Romanists a 〈…〉 Tradition. As much as to say, the Dr. has enough of me. I 〈…〉 confess, Sir, this would be very Learned indeed; for he must 〈…〉 the main passages, either confute First Principles, upon which 〈…〉sist, or else( which is equally impossible) show that they d 〈…〉 stand engaged against Dr. St's Discourse. I know you can e 〈…〉 nick-name any thing an Answer, though never so trivial or 〈…〉 from the purpose. But that we may hold to the Point 〈…〉 f●r●s●e you are flinching from, I will save your very Learn 〈…〉son a great deal of trouble; and, if he can but show us th 〈…〉 Christian now living has any Reason that concludes the 〈…〉 holds is the same which Christ and his Apostles taught, but by means of Tradition, I promise him I will be his Convert. This is the point in hand, and pray, Sir, let it be your care that your very Learned Person do not very Learnedly run quiter away from it into Impertinent Digressions, as the most Learned Dr. St. did; for, if he does, I shall not be so very Unlearned as to follow his Ramble.  
10. But is it not very pleasant that you should talk of Compassion to me who have left your Dr. in such a pitiful and miserable Condition, that he thinks it not Creditable for him to proceed further with me himself? I suppose he left me off, as the Representer's Antagonist did Him, or, as you Phrase it ( p. 12.) has thought fit to give me up, as a privileged Person who is past hopes of being reclaimed; the true English of which every Prudent Reader will guess at. It would have done well tho' to have mingled a little Charity with his Compassion; for, certainly, he had done a great Cure to have set me to rights: For I must confess I am so headstrong as still to maintain that error Nonplus has shown clearly that the Stupendiously Learned Dr. St. has never a Principle to help himself with: and the Dr. owes a Cure to this stiff-neck't humour of mine, since he contributed to it by modestly declining now these fifteen Years to answer that Book, or clear himself from being ● Man of No Principles. I am so headstrong too, that I will not let all the present Faith of Christianity be held Possible to be False, or( which is the same) not-True. Nay, I am so headstrong, that, when I see plainly that scarce one of my Reasons are spoken to candidly and fairly, nor so much as one of them answered, I will not depart from my Conclusion, because the Incomparable Dr. St. prevaricates, flouts and falsifies. You see, Sir, of what nature my Disease of headstrongness is; and, if the more-then-very-Learned Dr. St. cannot cure me himself, I much fear your other Person, who is no more but very-Learned will scarce do any good of me.  
11. However, 'tis a Kindness that an Answer is promised me; But by Whom? I peremptorily 
Fifth Cath. Letter. p. 153  challenged the Dr. Himself who is my proper Adversary; and is he so shy to meet me and vindicate himself, when so many heavy Charges lye upon him, and particularly that heaviest of making All Christian Faith Possible to be False or( which is the same) not-True? Can he have any business that more nearly concerns his Credit then this does? Or does he hope that another Person can know his Thoughts and Reasons, and, so, defend him, better than Himself can? Neither of these can with any Sense be thought or pretended. 'tis manifest then that he is at his wits end how to Reply pertinently; and therefore, seeing himself press●d closer and closer, and all his witty Evasions discovered, he very fairly quits the Field, and sets on some perdu Bungler, furnished with some Wit and a Plausible Invective Style, but little or no Sense; and who has as little Credit to lose as I shall get Honour by me●dling with him▪ and this for no other end but that it may be Trumpeted aloud to the world in your next Continuation, now Incomparably J. S. has been answered. Or, in case he be of any Repute in the eye of the world, yet for fear of danger he shall keep himself invisible in his Misty Cloak, without owning his Name, but come out upon the Stage masked, as your Continuating self does; and then( as yourself also, secured after the same manner, has now done) he may without blushing, tell his Readers as many Falshoods as he pleases, and yet save his Credit; for then, like a Slander got among the Gossips, none knows on whom to fix it.  
12. Well, but how will this very Learned Person Answer me? Why, you tell us he will answer me in  
An Historical Discourse concerning Tradition.  
Incomparable! I demand an Answer to nine ●r ten Treatises, and particularly to my Several Reasons alleged in them, of which, God be praised, there is good store; and this very Learned Person will undertake to Answer them All in a 〈…〉. Was it ever heard of since the World stood, that Intrinsical Arguments or Reasons are to be answered by Histories? Or, can these men give the world a Clearer Demonstration that they are perfectly baffled, than to trick-off the Direct Answers they owe to my Arguments by such an Indirect Wile? Every Reader sees what a Candid and Clear Method I observe in all my Answers to the Dr. I take his Books and Reasons end-ways as they lye in order page. by page.; so that if I run astray from the Question in hand, or omit any thing of weight, 'tis easily discoverable, and I may be presently caught, for they know where to have me. On the other side my Adversaries can never be brought to follow any such Fair Method: But they fall to writ a Treatise about some Subject, which by the common words in the Title looks a little a kin to our business; and then they catch at some passages here and there incidentally scattered and disorderly Collected; and, the true Sense and force of them, which they had as found in their due place, and the tenor of the Discourse being lost or perverted, they fall to play upon those words; but where the Answer is to all the Particular Reasons contained in my Book, we may go look. Something is slightly and wittily said to a few scraps of it, but the Main, or the Book itself, is left unspoken to. This untoward Method has been exactly followed by Dr. Tillotson throughout his Rule of Faith, and in his Preface to his Sermons; and the same is most Religiously obferv'd by Dr. St in his late pretended Answer to some of my Letters; and particularly in his Examination of the Council of Trent, where he runs quiter away from the whole business, as is shown, Fifth Cath. Letter. p. 152 153.  
13. But, since this odd kind of Historian has undertaken to pay Dr. St's Debts, 'tis but fitting I should give him a atalogue of them.  
Imprimis, He owes me an Answer to the many Arguments in Faith Vindicated, demonstrating that the Rule by which we are to know what hrist taught, must be Impossible to be False, or Infallible. This was applied in the Inferences at the End of that Treatise against the two Great Doctors; and it was shown there( I dare tell them) Unanswerably, that unless they can confute That Book( which I am sure they dare not fairly Attempt) all they do writ or can writ of Controversy is at once quiter overthrown. Since if it be made good that Christian Faith must have such Conclusive Motives or such a Rule to establish it, and recommend it to those who are to embrace it, and they have none such, nay disclaim the having any such Rule, they can never prove it True, that any thing which themselves, or any else, do now hold, is indeed Christ's Doctrine.  
Item, he owes me an Answer to error nonplussed, which proved him to be A Man of No Principles and to the several Discourses against each of those pre●ended Principles of his respectively: for which I have less reason to forbear him any longer, because he has in this long Term of Fifteen years,( at least,) endeavoured to clear some other debts, but never went about to pay me one single Farthing; which was very Unconscionable.  
Item, He owes me an Answer to my Method, Printed at the end of Errour-Nonplust; which comprises the sum of my Doctrine about Tradition, and reduces it to First Principles; which, therefore, since such Principles will not be brought to Contradict One another, Dr. St. is the most proper man in the World to Oppose and Answer, as having No Principles at all.  
Item, He owes me an Answer to my First and Third Letters: in regard he has omitted to speak to 
See Fifth Cath. Letter. p. 154. 155. 156 and p. 164. to p. 173  Thirty Nine parts of Forty in them; and his pretended Answer to the single Fortieth part, has been shown in my Fifth Letter to be none.  
Item, He owes me an Answer to my Second Letter; 
abide. p. 156. to p. 165.  the Reflecter, being,( poor man!) non-selvent.  
Item, He owes me an Full Answer to my Fourth Letter laying open the Vanity of his Insignificant Guildhall-Hall Sermon; to which he has hitherto said Nothing. I add, nor ever can, with the least show of Reason.  
Item, He owes me a complete, Distinct and Direct answer to my whole Fifth Letter,& all the several Discourses in it; to which, if we may trust you, he now declines to speak.  
Lastly, he owes me an Account why, in his Appendix to Dr. T's Rule of Faith, he undertook to confute Tradition, and yet wilfully mistook the Nature of the Thing he was to impugn; as is shown Fifth Gath. Letter, p. 6. and 7. which renders that whole Appendix Insignificant.  
14. Now, Sir, since 'tis Impossible that all the Books concerning Tradition can with any sense be said to be answered, till the Particular Reasons they insist on be distinctly replied to; and 'tis ridiculous to expect this from a Historical Discourse, I see we must set our hearts at rest and expect no Answer at all but only some sleeveless Discourse by a very large Synecdoche, or rather a far-stretcht Catachresis, miscalled an Answer. However, I shall demand this Justice of you, that you would put down all these particular Treatises as unanswered in an Appendix to this your Continuation of the present State of the Controversy( as you ridiculously call it, by the same figure as the French person called the devil The man of the Sin) And do not brag that Dr. T's Rule of Faith is not yet replied to; for, besides what has been done already, I am ●nform'd it will be punctually and particularly answered: And, to requited your kindness, I hope by that time you writ your next, to help you with some others to furnish out your Narrative, and make you stand in need of some new Falshoods and Invectives to save the Credit of your friends, who are so laudably and meritoriously employed in maintaining that the faith of all Christians in the world may be a Ly. If your historical Discourser fails of this performance, I shall not leave the Point or the Question to dance after his impertinent Voluntaries. It will, in that case, be an abundant satisfaction to the world that I show by detail what he has left unreply'd to,& still insist upon a full& direct Answer to my several Reasons or Discourses. But pray tell him that scorn-full Jeers and Open Falshoods, tho' never so briskly, and confidently delivered, are no competent Answers to Arguments, and I have reason to fear he will bring no other, or rather I am sure he cannot.  
15. I would gladly find some way to save your Friends this vast Labour, and excuse them from this Impossible Task: Wherefore, since 'tis unmerciful to press poor Debtors to pay more than they are able, therefore out of Compassion to your head-strong Party, I will come to this fair composition with them; that if Dr. St. can answer me but one single Argument which I will bring to prove, that he cannot, by his Principles, maintain it to be True, that what you or Any now hold is Christ's Doctrine, nor consequently that the present Christian Faith itself is True: Also, if he can bring but One Argument himself, which( according to his Principles) does conclude that what he or any other Christian now holds, is Christs Do●trin, and, so, True, I will pardon the Vast Sums he owes me, ●nd quit all scores between us; nay more I will aclowledge ●ll the Guilded Bubbles in your frothy Books to be solid sense, ●nd make you public Satisfaction for having opposed you hitherto. I hope the Reader will think there was never in the world a kinder creditor, considering the long scroll of what he is indebted to me for, and how long much of it has been due. Your Argument I am to expect. Mine is ready; premising ●irst this Lemma, that  
[ What's True is( in our case) Impossible to be False.] For, and are not speaking here of future Contingents, or of such cases where the Changeableness of the matter may vary the Truth of the Proposition as affirmed at Present, but of what has determinately past or not past; whence what truly has been Taught by Christ is impossible now not to have been Taught by him. This Evident Truth fore-laid, I argue thus.  
No Proof from Reason that does not Evidently conclude, nor Testimony that is Fallible, can prove a thing Impossible to be false.  
Therefore no such Proof or Testimony can prove a thing to be True. Lemma.  
But Dr, St. allows no Conclusive Evidence previous to Faith, that Christ taught such or such a Doctrine, nor any Testimony but what's Fallible.  
Therefore Dr. St. cannot prove it True, that the Faith which he or any other Christian holds is brists Doctrine; nor consequently, that Christian Faith itself is True.  
16. The Conclusiveness of this Argument I undertake to make good, let him attack it where he will. Here is no shame, Jeer, Ill Language, nor any of your or his little Tricks, but plain downright Reason. And, since I am forced by your Indirect carriage to Rigorous Discourse, I expect from him the Rigorous Duty of a Respondent; viz. to Deny, Grant or Distinguish the several propositions, and he shall have the same Return from me. I shall expect at the same time when he speaks to this Discourse, his Argument; concluding( by his Principles) that what Himself or Any Other Christian now holds, is indeed Christs Doctrine; and, so, True. And, if he refuses to afford me that moderate Satisfaction, he rejects my kind offer of such a fair Composition: and so he will stand yet engaged to give me pertinent and distinct Answers to all those Treatises and the several Arguments contained in them which strike at his Tenets: And if he thinks it his Interest to join issue with me in such close and rigorous Discourse, I do here promise him, that there shall not be one word of Raillery( to which I am unwillingly drawn by his and his Friends carriage) nor the least kind of Excursion; but Pertinent and Plain Arguing, according to the Rules of exact logic; and the same I shall expect from him. In order to which I make him this Fair Offer, that, which of us soever deflects into any Irregular Method, other than direct Arguing or Answering, shall be held to be nonplussed, and to have Lost his Credit. Every honest man will see that this proposal is both Fair in it's self, and equal to both sides; and argues a Sincere Intention in the Proposer that Truth may appear. And therefore, if he dis-accepts this Offer or declines this Method, it will become manifest that he is utterly ●o●, as he is a Maintainer of the Cause depending between us.  
17. By the way I desire to know from the Dr. why this one Argument of mine has not given a Full Answer to both his Books against the council of Trent, nay, to all he hath written or shall writ, in the judgement of every Intelligent man. Or why those Discourses which the author himself is forbidden by his own Principles, to affirm that they ●ontain a word of Truth in them, can deserve any Answer at all. Indeed, if he will renounce his shallow Principles, and beginning on a new score, undertake to show, that such or such a Reason is Conclusive, or such a Testimony is Infallible, He might, in that case, pretend to prove that to be True which is built upon them, and so deserve an Answer; otherwise what man, that is not over-courteous, will take himself to be obliged to reply to Great Books, in which, by the Authors own Confession, no man living knows whether there be so much as one word of ●ruth in them? Whence follows Evidently that Dr. St. ought in true Reason either to take up better Principles, or to leave off Writing Controversy; nay, even to leave off the Defending his own former Books. For 'tis a strange and desperate piece of Magnanimity for a Writer to maintain that to be a Truth which his own Principles force him to confess he knows not but it may be False; that is, he knows not whether it be True or no?  
18 If you or your Friends continue resolute to pursue this Impertinent topic that my Doctrine about Tradition is held by the Governours of our Church to be Unsound in Faith, you stand obliged to prove, First, that the only Book you rely 〈…〉, viz. Lominus, is authentic, and to be Credited, notwith●●anding that the Gravest Testimonies in the catholic Church ● summed up above) by their Carriage and Express words have declar● the direct contrary. And withall, you are to let us know particularly who it was that Authenticated that Book, who licenced or recommended it to the Press? What Printers, Authors, or Places name is to it; and to tell us the Reason why ●t was not owned, or allowed by Authority, being Printed in Paris, where the Laws enjoin all these particulars under great Penalties. And if it have not these Qualifications which honest Writings may have, then you are to show in what it differs from a libel; as likewise to acquaint the World why you thought fit to rely on such a Book to prove my doctrine Unsound, ●ather than on the Gravest Authorities of all sorts in the Roman catholic Church, attesting the contrary under their hands so ●●blickly. Next, you are to disprove what has been alleged by me ●● the First Section of my Fifth catholic Letter, to confute that Calumny, where such a Concurrence of Reasons& Testimonies 〈…〉 e produced, that it would shane Impudence itself to contest 〈…〉 And, lastly, you are to satisfy the world how, if this were so, it could be possible that I should now still writ and maintain the same doctrine,& yet no man, but yourselves, accuse me. If all this, which would convince even Scepticism itself, will not stop your Mouths, I offer yourself a Friendly meeting before some Persons of Honour of both Communions; where I shall produce the well-attested Originals and authentic Records( yet in my hands) belonging to that matter; which will show you to your eye what Notorious Falshoods you have Printed against me. Why should you not, if you have spoken Truth, pull off your Vizard, and appear to justify it? Why should an Honest Man in an Honest Cause be so shy to show his Face? Or, if the Consciousness of your Forgeries make you ashamed to do it in your own Person, at least appear by a Proxy. If all this will not keep you from obstinately persisting to oppose known Truths, I can only say you are wilfully possessed with a Spirit of Lying, and deserve to be Posted.  
19. I am sorry you would needs force me to use such plain Language: Were your Demerits the Effects of Frailty, Humanity would teach me to compassionate them. But, being both perfectly wilful and Wicked to boot, I should wrong Truth and be Unjust to myself, if I had not called your Faults by their own Ill Names, and I have done no more. Pray desire the Dr. and his Friends, for Truth's sake and their own Credit, that they will not so plainly convince the World, that they decline Answering and fall to Bantering; and withall assur● them that if they vainly hope to avail themselves of open Ly 〈…〉 I shall not want means both to clear myself and to expose 〈…〉 to the Scorn and shane of Mankind. So wishing you hear 〈…〉 and Charitably what you most need, Sincerity, I rest▪  
Your Humble Servant, J. S.   

LONDON, Printed and Sold by Matthew Turner, at Lamb in High-Holborn. 1688.