THe great Petition or rather that which beareth so great a name, as comming from the Universitie of Oxford to uphold a greater which is Episcopacy; finding it to be so little worth, and to so little pur­pose (as it is by the judgement of all that have judgement) as I should have thought to have come from the hands of some under Graduate, who had been tutored in some Popish way, had I not seene the Humble Petition of the Ʋniversitie of Oxford Printed in great Letters; for although they have proposed some thing, they have proved nothing, unlesseit be charitie to themselves and their suc­cessours. For though their dutie towards God and the Nation be much, yet how it hath been perfor­med, [Page 4] let others judge, they are not like to have so much as an ordinary interest in the resolution of their owne cases: all their Authors have not made them wise enough to prove the succession of dio­cesan Bishops from the Apostles: nor dare they speak any thing without booke; they would faine live merrily, and feed upon the fat, and drinke the sweet, like lazy drones which rob the labouring Bees; & no govermēnt will admit of it but that w^ch is cōtrary to all govermēt, the tyrānical govermēt of Bishops, that they have bin the running plague­sore of this Nation, is evident by their practises, there are Books out to prove their descent from Antichrist cleare enough; but none to prove them from the Apostles, or to be jure divino, but what either are or deserve to be hist at; nor is there any Petition put up for them, but what may claime kindred with yours, for arguments and successe; the cause is not put to the arbitriment of mad men, (as you stiled them in your Letter sent to the Pope of Lambeth, dated the ninth of November 1640.) where you call him a Judge of Religion, and style your selves the devout worshipper of his holines: which Letter was written in Latine by a learned Papist in loftie language, being an answer to his sent to you but three dayes before, fearing yet the villifying the honourable Court of Parliament, but as wise men are your judges, as you would seeme to be. Now your Pope hath betrayed himselfe, that would have betrayed the Citie of Oxford when he made you Lords over them that live in it, and the whole Kingdome suffered by his holines, but now he must suffer for his unholines, and there [Page 5] is a diminution of the order already, and the man must follow: but those pious commanding Do­ctors, with their Proctors, are now become hum­ble suitors to them which they hated, since they are Parliament converts, there is more change wrought amongst them since the third of Novem­ber last by the Parliament, than thirtie yeares prea­ching could worke; for the still voice would not move them, and the voyce of thunder stirred their malice, that the word could not be entertained: the Cathedralls are built (they say) upon pious foundations; I thought holines had not layne so low, nor did I thinke it had been placed in stones; but there is more pietie in the glasse windowes, and in your Altars you suppose, but now your Al­tars are altered, I beleeve there is no other holines in them than such as his Holines cast upon Saint Johns Colledge and Saint Pauls, which was so much in that kinde that he left himselfe none at all; He laid the foundations in sinne, which is con­trary to holines, he tooke bribes to turne a cause oftentimes, and large ones too: of all which he will spare some thing for the holy place: so many that built the Cathedralls, were merit-mongers, and their ends were Popish, and so have they been imployed for the most part, for they have Deanes and Prebends, who devoure the revenews, that have no pastorall charge, and for the most part they are as uncleane as the Monkes and Fryars were for whom they were built. And for the singing men, they doe no good, but fill up roomes, and feed up­on the prey. Was ever any man converted so, or built up in the faith by any of them, produce but [Page 6] one man, and take the revenews for your labour, but if you cannot, be contented to leave your three foure five hundred or a thousand pounds a yeare, with which you doe nothing that good is, and be contented with an hundred pounds a yeare, and preach the Gospell, and let your betters share with you. That they were first dedicated to Idolls or I­dolatry, which they call S [...]ints, and the honour and service of God, is the least [...]h [...]ng considerable a­mongst them, and seeing they nurse superstition, although they have been up [...]olden by the former Lawes of the Land, yet seeing more light is sprung up amongst us, let them, by better Laws, with their meanes to them, be ordered for better uses, if that be a motive to make Schollers study, that they may live without study. I cannot conceive but it is the way to make them hypocrites: but sure this ar­gument dropt from a Civill Lawyer and not from a Divine, and so let them fall together: some deepe Schollers that will dive into the bottomlesse pit for preferment, and light their torches at Hell fire to finde the way to greatnesse, may expect a reward in such places as is fittest for them, or a Iesuite or a Seminary Priest may desire it in regard it did for­merly belong to their tribe, and in respect of the af­finitie such places have with their Monasteries, but I cannot find that every any Scholler that was emi­nent did ever desire or accept of such Monastick preferment, except he were notorious for some fact, and foule in his practise as as well eminent for his learning or naturall parts; nor was there ever any godly man produced or nourished by them, for it is impossible any good can spring out of evill, [Page 7] because every thing doth produce its like, nor can it worke beyond nor above its owne sphere; light cannot spring out of darknesse, but by a command from heaven; and then light makes warre with darknesse, and admits of no agreement; so godly men scorne to receive the meanes of their liveli­hood in a superstitious way, as to draw their nou­rishment from the brest of an Idoll. You begin to call them adversaries of the Church of Rome, but I know you will call their Church the whore of Babylon, and maintaine their doctrine to be onely Antichristian, by that time the Parliament hath sate nine moneths long. As for the portions that they doe afford to younger brothers of good pa­rentage, I know you meane by goodnesse, great­nesse: it is a shrewd mistake in such an assembly as was present at the making of this Petition, for goodnesse without greatnesse is slighted if not ha­ted amongst many of you that are younger bro­thers indeed, if being devoted to the Ministery of the Gospell, they deserve not respect for their works sake, to be preferred and honoured as Mini­sters in a pastorall charge, and not to cloyster them­selves up, as unfit to labour in the Lords Vineyard: and all are younger brothers that doubt of the truth of it. The Officers and Ministers that depend upon them, are but Pensioners to those Priests that are maintained in the Cells, they must be all confor­mable, not onely to their superstition, but their hu­mours: could they not be better maintained if the revenews were shared amongst them? but this is their Priestly State to have their vassals to waite upon them, and to eate their scrapes which would [Page 8] otherwise fall to the dogs. Oh I but heres our great works; Free-Schools and Hospitals are upheld by them; I confesse, some thing is done that way by some of them, partly being injoyned, partly for cu­stome, and partly for vain-glory; but free Schools would be free indeed, if halfe those rents were gi­ven to that end, and Hospitalls might be better maintained, or poverty prevented, if the other halfe were bestowed to that purpose, but they will be Scavingers to mend high wayes and bridges. I wonder what Authours they have to prove these to be pious works, which the Carters can doe bet­ter than they, but they have their ends if they are at any cost that way, either for comming to their houses, or for to gaine applause for doing that which they and others are bound to doe. I see now they doe not confine holines to the Church, nor to things belonging thereunto, seeing they bring it over bridges into the high wayes; as for being cau­ses of much profit to those Cities where they are situate, in relieving the poore; a poore pittance the poore have of them. It would be a great helpe to the Cities, if the meanes save what would main­taine two godly Ministers were bestowed upon those Cities to maintaine the poore in worke that are able to worke, and to keepe those that are not; nor doe I conceive that any strangers doe come on purpose to visite the Ornaments, unlesse they be some superstitious Pilgrimes, such as did use to vi­sit Thomas Beckets Tombe, and such hinder the Ci­tie, and not helpe it, because they goe a begging, then surely the Citie hath no more dealing with Chapmen, then if the Cathedrall and all that be­long [Page 9] to it were at Rome: well, pietie commeth a­gaine, nay, monuments of pietie, I am sure the wic­kedest wretch that is may doe good, Bonum sed non bone, they may bestow their estates to such purposes when they can keepe them no longer, especially if they thinke to merit Heaven by that meanes, which they would not labour for before. We know many of them were great Oppressors, Usurers, Popish Bishops, Cardinalls, amongst the rest, the Cardinall Wolsey, which was a proud tray­terous wretch, yet must these build monuments of their pietie? they have built faire houses, w^ch might be usefull if they were better imployed: for as they are now, they are not the honour of this Kingdome in the sight of forraine Nations, but its disgrace: I had thought they had not been all Churchmen that were maintain'd here, spoken of before, because they were multitudes and whole families, but now I finde many thousands of the laitie, who enjoyed faire estates from them; and in a free way too: I perceive the first were all devoted to the Church, I dare not question it as a repetition in their Petiti­on, nor as tautologies, being three motives betwixt the one and the other. It is as well done as the Ar­ticles of the Synod were last yeare, to establish the Church, but that it is not stuft so full of Antiqui­ties: they would steere all, and have all our liber­ties and livelihoods come from them, but they were such ill Pilotes, that they are like to be put out of office, and wiser men set at the sterne. And let all men judge whether they adde to the crowne or take from it, and whether those fat Livings did not or doe not properly belong to it, and whether [Page 10] they have those things by desert, or whether by their preaching, that all is the Kings right, he may not first challenge those revenews of them in part. As for those that are learned professors there, they may have maintenance allowd when those Prio­ries are abolished, but they are so accustomed to i­dlenesse, that their learning goeth not out of their Colledges, there they stay themselves; if they are sent to a Benefice abroad, they can preach but sel­dome; for they have not been used to it, and now they cannot learne: then they will give ten pounds a yeare for a journey-man to reade service, and to talke once a fortnight to the people, of what dead men spoke before, which will serve their turne, if he can mix a little Latine amongst it, but then he must not hold them too long; he will preach three times a yeare himselfe, if his meanes will make good, a hundred pounds a Sermon, or else he scornes to preach so often: the selling of Fellow­ships will helpe the Masters that remaines there, but that was not the Founders intent. The sub­version of those Abeyes from their corrupt abuses, and converting them to good uses, will be attended with honourable consequences, nor will it bring reproach to any but to those that are Popishly af­fected: some harder conditions it may to drones, because none will be in request, but preaching Mi­nisters: the laitie will be eased, nor can you have more contempt than what your pride and fulnesse have brought upon you; and under the correction of any wise men, except your selves, it will encou­rage Schollars to be industrious, that when they ex­cell, they shall not only be placed, where they shall [Page 11] have sufficient maintenance, but honour among the best of men. And those that foresee this, will not desire to have it remedied. I thinke such conside­rations as yours will not move any unlesse it be to laughter, or to mourne against your cause the more from your own arguments, how are you changed? you call that Assembly honourable and say, they have great wisdome, whom you style mad-men in your Letter to Laud, November the ninth, that pious jeere of that great Assembly is knowne to promote Religion in a spirituall manner, not so much houses, which you call religious, after the Popish custome, but the revenews is that you sticke most upon: you have made voyde the intents of the Donors, in preferring those which bid most, whose friends are greatest, and keeping poore Schollars out for whom it was intended, poore indeed. I doe beleeve God is more dishonoured in and by such places, than in most Alehouses, by their confused bawling, they have a pretence to serve God, but they intend their owne bellies: the man that whips the dogs is thought common­ly to be the best amongst them: those Students which have outward by ends, when they begin to study, they seldome or never bring Gods ends a­bout, which is to convert the soules of men: in studying themselves they are strangers to the truth: but honest indeavours are alwayes accompanied with blessings of increase. I did not intend to be seene at all in this answer, therefore what wants the force of an Argument, compare it with yours, and then it may passe. You promise to pray, &c. What you intend by it I know not, whether it be, pray [Page 12] we, which was in fashion of late, or for my Lords Grace, or for the breaking up of the Parliament; you may put any thing to &c. But you seldome pray without the Service Booke, for that is an in­novation: and some of you have been questioned for innovations of late: there are none of those prayers in it, but it is a wonder you had not the prayer against the Scots put in it, for it was coura­giously pen'd. I am so charitable as to thinke you meane to pray for the sicke: but you would have been to seeke for examples, if it had not been for Peters wives mother, and the Captaines servant; but if the praying, &c. were joyned to the preach­ing, &c. they might draw both one way. Although your Petition came from the Convocation house, where the Doctors and Masters were assembled, yet omnibus & singulis, was too much; it would not have it to all, nor ab hominibus, from all; it would faine have some of you free; but I doubt your cop­py was corrected comming into some Lay mans hands, before it came to the Presse, or else the Printer being carelesse, left out your strongest Mo­tives, or weakned the sense, on purpose to make some women laugh at it; if it be so call it in, or dis­claime it for your act and deed, and then I will call in mine too when this impression is sold.