A peace but no pacification, or, An answer to that new designe of the oath of pacification and accomodation lately printed a subject for all that love true peace and liberty to consider / by Iohn Saltmarsh ...

A peace but no pacification, or, An answer to that new designe of the oath of pacification and accomodation lately printed a subject for all that love true peace and liberty to consider / by Iohn Saltmarsh ...

Table of contents

Title page

Title page

A PEACE, BVT NO PACIFICATION.

A Review.

Concluſion.

To the Reader.

A PEACE, BVT NO PACIFICATION.

[Page]

[Page]

IT is a notion more Platonicall than reall for a private man to thinke he can arbitrate Imperiall differences, and it is rather an act of Fancie than Iudgement, a policy of Imagination, than State, for the ſoule of one is of no juſt latitude nor comprehenſion for a deſigne of that bredth, as the Pacification of a Kingdome, and when the judgement proves too narrow for the deſigne, the deſigne muſt needs fall ſhort of the requiſite proportions; and further, they that would intervene in ſuch controverſies, and myſteries of high Accommodations, muſt be ſituated geometrically for both ſides, and ſtand upon ſo much vantage ground, as he may have a full proſpect over all particulars, whether ſpringing or full blowne. As [Page] for inſtance, if you would compoſe the King and Parliament, you muſt either have a right and cleare cognizance of both, and ſee almoſt the verieſt atomes in the ſtate of both, or elſe you ſhall doe right to neither; for the leaſt things are of moment in States, and Politickes, and I doe beleeve it is impoſſible for any to be ſo qualified an Arbitrator for our ſupreme diſputes, being ſo full of new Revolutions, and Interpoſitions, eſpecially now, when an Almighty power ſeemes to mingle, and incorporate his owne Intereſts with ours, and engage us upon new Fundamentals.

And though Accommodation bee ſuch a ſubject as will gaine both Readers and parties, yet it is of dangerous conſequence, to write unto the ſpirits of men, of things that may retard and ſtay their publick purſuits; eſpecially now in a time of an Iriſh Accommodation; for there are few in ſuch haſte after their enemies, but they will ſtay a while and talke with any that can parley and diſcourſe of Peace; and the muſick of Pacification is ſo ſweet, as many could willingly let their engagements fall out of their hands to hearken and follow ſuch tunes: we ſhould be farre better Stateſmen for theſe times, if wee firſt laboured to finde the true elevation of things, for when we have ſuch intrinſecall variations in our State and Church, it cannot bee an act of commenſuration to weigh deſignes at the beam of old Politicks and Conveniences, and they that would now place us upon old bottomes, are ſuch in whom the old intereſts prevaile more than the new, and if we take hold of them to guide us, they will at length bring us backe into as bad a condition as we have forſaken; although they may ſeeme to lead us about a while [Page] through ſome new and pleaſing conceptions to entertaine us from obſervation. It was a ſmooth fallacy of the Prophet, who led his enemy ſo farre, as he ſuffered him not to ſee the miſtake, till he had brought him into the midſt of Samaria. The peace and proſperity we have had, have wrought in us ſuch principles of eaſe and indulgency, as makes us induſtrious in projectings after Pacifications, never looking forward at inconſiſtencies, nor behind at conſequences, nor about us, at the ſeaſon, and other circumſtances.

For Accommodations in the latitude of the notion, are of ſuch a contexture, and intermingled conſtitution, as they uſually take in various and equall principles from both. Now I appeale to any whether the others Principles either Religious or Civill be conſiſtent with ours now, and whether they be ſuch as can dwell together, or incorporate, whether their eſſences and operations be not divers, and being ſo contrariant as we ſee, and having wrought out each others intereſts into ſeverall independencies and ſtations already, how ſhall theſe be reconciled! unleſſe wee attaine hereafter to live under thoſe heavenly and propheticall influences, where Antipathies and Contrarieties are made friends, Where the Lion and the Lambe lye downe together, and the children play with the Cockatrice.

Againe, Accommodation is the putting an untimely period to our Reformation, which by that muſt neceſſarily be prevented in the period it aimed at, becauſe it ſeemes to be met in the halfe way, and we beſpeake it to ſtop, and bring with us a new deſigne rather of diverſion, than advancement or propagation.

[Page]And again, theſe times are ſuch as the infuoſins are ſtronger, and the principles too, being inabled not only by many divine influences and providences and concurrencies; but carried on with Arguments, and reaſon, and treatiſes, which the conteſtations of former ages in this Kingdome never knew; each party aſſuring their ſide with a more learned Artifice, ſo as men are now acted aſwell by conſcience as paſsion, as well by Iudgement as reſolution, and this is one reaſon with me that not any ſuch pacification can well be tranſacted, for both ſides have been ſo Argumentatively and rationally informed, and have taken in their owne fundamentalls ſo deeply, and in ſo much divinity, and aſſurance, as it is not poſſible nor probable to mediate a reconciliation till you have looſened and unhinged the one; and therefore theſe Maxims of Moderation & Accommodation are rather the iſſues, and ingenious experiments of Melancholy ſpirits, who pleaſe themſelvs and others in theſe ſtormes, and gloomy ſeaſons, by painting twilights and calme enterludes; or elſe the ſubtill incantations of ſome that are no right wiſhers to the cauſe: and doe wee not further ſee how the wars and broyles of preceding ages, left alwayes a turbulent and inflaming remainder in the diſpoſitions of men? ſo as the old differences and effuſions did onely forſake the broader and wider paſſages of Battailes, and ſought out ſtraiter, thoſe of Emulations, Duells, and Quarrells, and men have rather fought the great Contentions over againe in the Abridgements afterwards, ſo as the warre was ſtill the ſame in ſuch unſound Pacifications, onely the method was new, and the bloud of thoſe warme diſtempers flowed downe onely in narrower [Page] channels, and thus when civill contentions, and Nationall flames are forced backe againe by the hand of an immature Pacification, they brake out in as many particular combu [...]tions, as ſumm'd up, would make a competent deſtruction. And beſides all theſe conſiderations, the Parliamentary party have obliged themſelves by Vowes and Covenants, and ſo are not ſuch maſters of times and circumſtances, as their enemies are; (having given up their owne relations and ſelfe policy, and involved them in more univerſall and ſublime ends) but their enemies (whoſe intereſts are of a lighter and eaſier, and more ſequacious conſtitution) are ready to turne with all advantages of State, and every civill or gainfull emergency; and though they be men of obligations, and Covenants too, yet their Covenants are rather like engines of Policy and Religion, to open and ſhut at pleaſure, and to ſet down and take up their ſoules and affaires to the neceſſities, conveniences, and occaſions of State: and this overthrowes the very ſubſtratum and fundamentall of this new Oath; for when there hath beene ſuch private landing places and ſecret Poſternes in their owne Covenants, to goe out and come in at, it is moſt likely that if they finde not the like liberty againe in another, they will force it; it being now made by wicked Counſellors one branch of the Prerogative to be tranſcenden [...] to Obligation, and Proteſtation, and Covenant, and to make the ſupremeſt violations and evaſions lawfull, but the woe will not fall ſo directly upon the Covenanter, as upon thoſe that have miſtaught him, and drawn out his good intentions into the labyrinths of their owne art, theſe are the miniſters of ſeducement, & by ſuch are the beſt [...] [Page] carried on, (having made ſome virtue their friend for a time, or ſome peculiar diſpoſition of their maſter at their firſt inſinuation.)

And though the Author of the Pacificating Oath would perſwade us of the terrours, and judgements, ſuch Oathes would caſt upon the violators, as if the violation brought with it (like a boding Comet) the ſparklings of an heavenly indignation; yet wee muſt know that Princes as they are exalted into the divine notion of Gods, ſo their Favourites make them beleeve that their politicall deitie can ſecure them; and then there are ever ſome State Caſuiſt at hand too who can heale their diſtempers with many a blandiſhment and evaſion, ſo as I know not whether to admire more the glory, or infelicity of a Crowne, for there is a Divinity which is calculated meerly for the Meridian of Princes, and will fit no lower condition; and there is an order of Prerogative Divines, who onely ſtudy the diſintereſſings and diſobligings of their Prince: now I would gladly know what remedy he hath reſerved for us in caſe of violation (it being too apparant how the ſupremeſt may be misinſtructed and abuſed,) all I can find out, is an heavenly indignation & revenge; and he muſt know, this is not an immediate judgment which treades alwayes on the heeles of a tranſgreſsion, but may be powred upon the next ſucceeding Throne, or at leaſt in the evening of the offendour; for there are certaine graduall effluxes of the Divine Wrath, and many ſtayes and periods which his Infinite Wiſedome makes, and is not accountable to our Tribunals; and what ſhall a State doe then in this ſpace and intervall to judgement? for being then made paſsive againe, it [Page] becomes a ſubject to as much, if not more Tyrannie, than before: and uſually the revolt of Prerogatives, and the Relapſes are more dangerous than the firſt exceſſe: as the wrath of Pharaoh and Saul after ſome particular violations grew more implacable and violent: and as we ſee in civill Stories of our owne: and the reaſon why a relapſing power becomes more vindicative, becauſe there is a capacity of revenging recovered, and there ſeemes to lye nothing in their way to breake the ſtroake.

Nor let the Author of the new Oath thinke he can be more ingenious in contriving, than ſome Miniſters of State in eluding, nor ſo exquiſite in the forme, as they in their ſuggeſtions and infuſions for violation:Cap. 29. and whatſoever he tels us of the ancient tranſaction in ſuch caſes, I muſt anſwer him, that if hee can revive the Tanti nimirum eſt Rerump: firma & valida fundamenta poni, quoram non poſtremum hoc fuit, ut fides ac iuramentum civitatem regerent. Liv. ancient reverence and ſimplicity and faith of thoſe ages with the ancient tranſaction, then I ſhall allow more to his preſident: but he knowes that the Principi nihil iniuſtum quod fructuoſum; Expediret autem fingere contrarium atque ita iuramentum concipere, non afficiam populum iniuriis. Lib. 5. pol. c. 9. Machiavilliſme of later times have made a Maxime in the ſcience of Politickes, how to overwit their owne obligations, and have made it one part of the perfection of a Statiſt, Sic Julius 11 Pontifex iactare auſus eſt, turpiſſimo hercule exemplo ſe foedera & ſocietates cum Gallis Germaniſque non aliter contrahere quam fallendi gratia. to be too wiſe for engagements: and though the wiſedome of the firſt coalition in this State made it their ſureſt deſigne to ſeale the Inauguration by an Oath, yet we ſee there is no infallibility in ſuch counſels and acts; no protection from the violence of evill counſell: and ſuch hath beene the declination of States of late, that Oathes were but in the reputation [Page] of Politicke formes with many, unleſſe it be with thoſe who drive on a holier deſigne, as that of Reformation, and with ſuch, Covenants and Oathes have their juſt reputation, as it appeares in the late tranſactions of Scotland, and other Reformed Kingdomes, and of England now; and this appeares to be the opinion of this Authour too, for in his ſixt page, he urges much the ſtately and ſanctimonious forme or ſolemnity, as of neceſsity amongſt Plebeians, ſo as by that very notion, he pleads the Pompe and Ceremony of an oath ſo as if he would have it by that acceſſe of ſome glorious luſtre, to dart the people into an obligation, as well as the Prince; when as there are many ſafer, and more naturall meanes to becalme the jealouſies of Subjects, even a reall application to their affections, in the motions of Iuſtice,Quale erat Athenienſium & hodie multorum principum viro populum nullis iniuriis affectum iri, Plebs enim iuramento hoc contenta, & veluti ſecura de reliquis non admodum erit ſollicita, etiamſi poſtea magnis iniuriis afficiatur. and Peace, and Religion; and that people ſhall never take umbrages, where the goings of the Prince are cleare and diſcerneable, and not ſhaded by the crowde of Privadoes and bad Miniſters; but in a word, when the firſt and Primitive oath which is the higheſt and moſt ſupreame riſe of an obligation, is not inviolable, nor includible, what ſtrength and aſſurance, can be in derivatives and ſupplementals of the ſame nature?

Nor do I think it a deſigne of that happy and wholſome conſtitution as ſome take it, I mean an oath of Pacification, for ſatisfaction of jealouſies, for there is an art to take away all jealouſies, and in the roome bring deluſions of aſſurance, and ſo thicken and incraſſate the ſatisfactions, that people ſhall in time forfeite their liberties in a miſt, and ſcarce believe they are oppreſſed, till they be oppreſſed almoſt beyond a remedy; and this nation hath been ever eaſily carried on into ſuch an incredulity and misbeliefe, and [Page] have often ſerved many yeeres apprentiſhip both of ignorance and bondage.

Nor will any wiſe man ſuppoſe that to bee a good condition for any State, eſpecially for a government ſo mixt as ours, which ought ever to be looking to the juſt Intereſts of one another, eſpecially after a ſeaſon of encroachment and exorbitation: for to take in ſuch a remedy as ſhall leave no Iealouſie behinde it, is to take in ſuch a quantity of Opium as will rather bring a Lethargy than a kindly reſt, and rather make a Kingdome ſtupid than peaceable; ſurely thoſe remedies are beſt, which keepe States waken and ſenſible, and the eyes of the Kingdome open. And as there is a jealouſie in ſome which is but a virtuous luxuriancy of love and affection, and tends onely to the preſervation of honor and propriety in the ſuſpected party, ſo there is in the beſt States: & ſure there is no ſuch way to keep things in their owne rights and priviledges, but ſuch a ſollicitous and carefull vigilancy, and wiſe ſuſpition.

That which I now conceive to be the only Intereſt of our Reformation, is not a Pacification but a Peace. For a Pacification is a more proper and ſafe notion for forraigne States than our owne, for a Pacification is but the accommodating of a difference, and a meeting of ſeverall principles, and a reſolving to agree with one another, without any further incorporation, but this cannot be intrinſecall nor naturall enough for us of the ſame kingdom, this is no ſuch indiſtant complication as we ſhould now aim at, and as our new & holy fundamentals cal for: our pureſt & ſoundeſt peace would be from a ſuccumbency & invalidity, when on the worſe part the oppoſition is ſpent & exhaled, then [Page] there is no feare, that there will breake forth any freſh and mutuall Contendings, and there muſt needs be more ſecurity in that peace where all poſsibility of reſiſtance is taken away, than where there lives two natures of proportionall abilities and paſsions, which would prove like the two men in the Fable, who being weary with beating one another, tooke truce for an houres refreſhment, and fell freſh to their blowes againe.

A Peace then and not a Pacification is our aſſertion, and I hope all who value a Reformation according to their Covenant, will purſue thoſe things which make for that, and ſuffer themſelves not to be taken off their holy and famous reſolutions for Peace, by any faire or ſpecious argument for Pacification, Pacification being but the halfe way to Peace, and this I conceive is the Peace which will make both England and Scotland happy, not ſo much by inventing any new engines to binde our Kings in chaines, and our Princes in fetters of iron, but by endeavouring ſuch an extirpation of Popery, Prelacie, and malignity, as our Peace may be rather ſecured by a diſability of contending, than by any new Oath or poſsibility of reſiſting.

For any further Criticiſme upon the Author I have none; I confeſſe he reaſons well upon many particulars, and makes his inke riſe high, and daſh handſomly upon thoſe that ſtand about the Throne, and had he reached further with his pen even to a Peace, and writ but beyond a Pacification, he had writ well.

§

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A PEACE, BVT NO Pacification.

§

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A PEACE, BUT NO PACIFICATION. OR, An Anſwer to that new Deſigne of the Oath OF PACIFICATION AND ACCOMMODATION. Lately printed. A ſubject for all that love true peacè and liberty, to conſider.

By Iohn Saltmarſh, M.M.A.

LONDON, Printed by Barnard Alſop, and are to be ſold at the Caſtle in Cornhill. 1643.

A Review.

[Page]

I Shall gather his deſigne into this compend. An Oath and ceremonious forme for the King, another for the Queene, and the temeration being ſo dangerous, hee thinkes we are ſecured ſufficiently: and he preſumes, (having laid downe this forme) to lay upon it this weight, the honour of God, ſafety of Religion, P. 1. juſtice of Parliament. I confeſſe the Oath abſtractively conſidered is able to beare this, and a larger ſuperſtructure; but when concretively and pactionately taken, let all judge who knowes there is a revolution in the higheſt Orbes, and a changeableneſſe and mutability in every thing to the very borders of immortality.

In the ceremonious forme he ſeemes to ayme eſpecially at the ſatisfaction of the people, P. 6. and he pleads for the attiring and apparelling the Oath in ſome glorious ceremonies: but popular ſatisfactions in true Chriſtian States are more ſolidly obtained by juſt and free and regular redreſſes: I know very well that guſts of diſcontent will be blowing ſometimes from the people upon the beſt adminiſtrations, but they will ſoone blow over, God having obliged himſelfe not to ſuffer the rod of the wicked to reſt upon the lot of the righteous.

And for the Oath to the Queene, P. 1. I onely expoſe to the conſideration of any, what ſecurity or aſſurance is there in ſuch Fundamentals which an Abſolution or Diſpenſation, or other Ieſuiticall engine can overturne at pleaſure, though I could tell him more too, for at the priviledge of this Oath he muſt needs let in a toleration [Page] of that which the condition of our Covenant cannot comply with.

[...] word, for any ſuch obligationall happineſſe, let the States of Holland reply, who have had too ſad experience of the many effuſions which the miniſters of that tyrannous Philip had contrived, and eſpecially now, in the ſeaſon of the univerſall Apoſtacy, wherein Faith ſhall not be able to grow up to ſo juſt a ſtature as formerly, being a qualification (ſaith that holy aſſertion) ſcarce to be found on earth.

And though this way of obligation and ſatisfaction hath beene made uſe on (as he ſayes) by God and man, yet we muſt know God hath an eſſentiall immutability to inſure his oath, and man had a fidelity then, which was not ſo well acquainted with the artifice of reſervation, equivocation, and eluſion.

Concluſion.

NOw conſider the frailty and uncertainty in ſuch foundations as oaths, the complexion and obligation of our late Covenants, the evaſions and machinations of a reconciled enemy, the inconſiſtency of our principles and theirs, the freſh feuds from the remainders of an old combuſtion, our deep ingagements, our ſmall purchaſe for the expence of ſo much blood and treaſure, and tell me if there be any ſecurity but in ſome things beyond an Accommodation.

To the Reader.

I Have no other quarrell to the Booke than its incongruitie to our Reformation and Covenant, and civill libertie and ſecurity, though it may be this is a misfortune rather of the Authors affection than intention; which making too much haſt after Peace, fell into this error of Pacification: I could wiſh his excellent expreſſions had flowed in a better channell: nor would I be miſtaken by others in what I doe, for I undertake not to write in a Politicke, out a rationall capacity.

Quod ſi Pompeius & Caeſar conjungi poſſint, me ſatis viciſſe putabo. Bald. in Ep. ad Cico [...].

FINIS.

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Title statement

A peace but no pacification, or, An answer to that new designe of the oath of pacification and accomodation lately printed a subject for all that love true peace and liberty to consider / by Iohn Saltmarsh ...

Saltmarsh, John, d. 1647.

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1643

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Text Creation Partnership,

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2007-01 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1).

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A71059

ID [STC]

Wing S494

ID [STC]

ESTC R15667

ID [EEBO-CITATION]

12099945

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ocm 12099945

ID [VID]

54080

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— A peace but no pacification, or, An answer to that new designe of the oath of pacification and accomodation lately printed a subject for all that love true peace and liberty to consider / by Iohn Saltmarsh ..., Saltmarsh, John, d. 1647..

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[16] p.

Printed by Barnard Alsop ...,. London :: 1643.. (Half title preceeding t.p.) (Reproduction of original in Thomason Collection, British Library.)

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