NEver hath any Kingdome or Countrey been blest with so flourishing an estate, and such a blessed condition, the security of whose Peace, and the durance of whose happinesse, hath alwayes preserved them both from the hostility of a forraigne Foe, and the annoyance of an intestine Enemy; nay which is more, let us unfold all the secrets of Antiquity, and J beleeve it will be very difficult to any one Prince whose Raigne (if it were of any considerable number of yeares) hath proved so fortunate as to be totally free from home­bred Conspirators or forraigne Enemies. But if ever any State hath injoyed Peace, security and Liberty, it hath bin that of England, if e­ver any Church hath attained to Uniformity, Sincerity and Truth, it hath been the Church of England, this having bin long free from the blindnesse of Ignorance, the erroneousnesse of Heresie, and the folly of Superstition, that, from the cruelty of Warre, the mischiefe of danger, and the unsufferable irksomnesse of Slavery. So that the State being blest in pious Princes and loyall Subjects, the Church in learned Tea­chers and religious People, they were both in themselves happie and of others admired, so much doth the Unity of a Nation conduce to the tranquility thereof; But never is the Devill more busie then when he sees how hard his labour is, many wayes did that Machiavill use to unty that Gordian knot, first he tryes his skill abroad, and from Spaine he brings us Enemies to fright us out of our so long in [...]oyed Securi­ty: But by the indulgent Providence of God and the never-yeelding valour of our Sea Captaines, they did once againe by sad experience find what mettle the English were made of, and what Noble blood flowed in their full veynes; For no sooner had they given Battell, but they were conquered no sooner had they approached our English Coasts but they were all scattered, and brought to the worst of mis­fortunes to intreat us for Succour, whose Destruction they had before threatned and were come to performe their promise, made in as ill a [Page 2] time as with bad successe performed. For in stead of Misery they brought us Happinesse, in stead of Poverty the treasure of their owne. Spoiles, in the place of Ignominy the glorious names of Vndanted Souldiers.

Since this Plot was defeated the next must be more subtile, and come even from our owne bowels, Suis est ipsa viribus rue [...], we must be our owne Enemie [...] or else never miserable, then must the State be vexed with unheard of Taxes, and griping Monopolies, and the Church too that it might share in the others m [...]series with usurping Rulers, and proud Governours, starving the Soules of the flocke to pamper their owne bodies & leaving out the chiefe points of Religion while they fast [...]n upon us unnecessity Ceremonies. Th s had better successe then the form r, and for some time to the g iefe of the Subjects did con­tinue, but straight the cause of both diseases being by skilfull Physiti­ans look'd into, the Cure was found out and prescribed; which Phy­sitians were this present Parliament who have happily begun to re­medy those over growne Diseases, and have because some would ad­mit of no other Cure cut them off. But now that Enemy to Peace hath us d the utmost of his skill and by his base Enemies the Malig­nant Spirits, lest this happie meanes should proceed, hath set a diffe­ren [...]e betwixt the King and Parliament, seeking to make that our Mi­sery which was sought out for our Remedy, but the continuance of Gods Providence, and the industrious care of this Honourable Par­liament, will I hope ere long consound his devices, and be a happie meanes, whereby we may recover our former Glory, Peace, and Fe­licity, in the meane time let us confide in their Wisdome, and not rashly goe about to gaine those Good ends by so bad a Medium as that of Civill warre. For wee must not expect that the happinesse which after it may be injoyed, which is doubtfull, will countervaile the Miseries that in the attayning of it we shall certainly indure, that therefore wee may the more ab [...]o [...]re it, and use all meanes to pre­vent it, I shall according to my ability set downe the Nature, danger and cause of it, and the meanes to avoyd it.

How miserable that Nation is which is intangled with any kind of Warre, we m [...]y easily see if we looke backe into the former ages, and into the lam [...]ntable conditions of those Countries which have beene the Stages of that Tragedy: Ancient writers doe abundantly restifie by their full descriptions, how flourishing, rich, stately, and Victori­ous that great City of Troy had (before the subversion of it) alwaies [Page] been, but by the savage cruelty of a [...] warre, it was made so mi­serable, that it was neither great, nor yet a City, but a ruinous heape of stones, an unhappy signe of what it had been, and as saith the Poet, Versa est intinere.—

To come nearer how great and glorious, how happy and peaceable, how feared and admired have the Jewes beene, whose Character it once was to be Gods peculiar People; their Territories were as large, their Walls as high, their Pallaces as stately as any Nations in the whole Vniverse, nay their Temple alone (such was the beauty of it, such the riches) would have bought many a whole Kingdome, and yet what miseries did they many years together endure in their long siege for want of Food, for want of water, for want of all things, and all this for the want of this one thing Peace, their Cities and Temples were burn'd to Ashes, themse [...]ves taken Captives, and miserably but­chered nay they were scorned of other Nations (to whom they had once been a terrour) for that (so poorely were they esteemed) no lesse then 30 Iewes were sold for one peny, these were forraigne Warres.

To come nearer yet, to what a lamentable estate is all Germany re­duced, what miseries hath it endured? Nay what hath it not endured by forraign and home bred enemies together? Let us consider what civill Warres have wrought in them, and to them must we needs be compared, if amongst us (as amongst them there have) civill dissen­tions should arise.

Nay let us come so neare as to our selves, to those at least which should be as deare unto us as our selves, our poore distressed brethren in Ireland, whose manifest wrongs and grievous calamities, doe cry to Heaven for vengeance against those enemies to peace and Reli­gion the most wicked Papists, of whose cruelty, Idolatry and Anti­christian Impiety, what Nation is there that is not sensible? A peo­ple so execrably cruell, that they make it a point of Religion and a worke meritorious to murder Gods people under the name of He­retikes, what misery; slavery, tyranny, nay what death, nay what hor­rid kind of death these men our poore brethren doe endure, under these other men (if I may call them by so good a name as men) our and their enemies? some loose their Lands, some their liberties, some both, others with both their lives & estates, and happy is he that with losse of estate can escape, can these men be as they pretend Gods peo­ple; when by their ungodly, nay unmanly actions they prove them­selves no be of more then Turkish cruelty.

My pen cannot speake in a dialect sad enough the ones misfortune [Page 4] and the others insulting tyranny, these and more then these are the mishaps which befall a Land infected with civill Warre which of all warres is most dangerous and pernicious, in the other we are made miserable by our enemies in this our friends are our enemies, in that we may be prosperous, in this we must needs be miserable, those are undertaken of necessity, this is begun by trechery pride, cruelty, op­pression, and a number more of horrid crimes, and ends in confusion and destruction, all contribute and lend ayd against our open ene­mies, when we are at warres with our selves who can be safe? or who secure? Victory being here a Misery, and Conquest an Overthrow, he alone thinkes himselfe safe, who seeth none survive to molest him and who is happy but bankrouts, ferlorne & desperate men, and those whose fortunes can be raised no other way, and such men are, as the greatest offenders for the greatest causes of such broyles and dissenti­ons, for none but the enemies of the Common-wealth will disturbe its peace or seek its ruine, these are the Incendiaries in a Kingdome, these cannot indure that there shou [...]d be wholesome Lawes to punish Delinquents, for then themselves would not escape, but they breed variance, invent Plots, foment Jealousies and all to distract, disturbe, and if they could quite overturne the Republike, and with such su­gred language and subtile carriage doe they infuse their guilded poy­sons, and sweetned infections into those that cherish them, that for the present they suppose them their greatest friends choisest Coun­sellours who will at last prove themselves their most dangerous ene­mies, and it is no small point of these mens pollicy by all waies possi­ble to reader those odious and contemptible to the common people, whose onely end it is to settle peace and procure the happinesse of the people.

To the wicked insinuations and mischievous practises of these men must we needs attribute the unhappinesse of our present condition & that such may receive condigne punishment for their base actions, we should as in our Protestation we are bound to use all lawfull meanes, peace being that which every good Subject doth desire, and these men being the soarest enemies to a well-setled peace; nor is it the mischiefe alone of Civill warre to divide a Land against it selfe which is misery enough but it is also a sinister cause of introducing forraigne enemies a soe taking his best occasion by the weaknesse of his foe to insult o­ver him, and then who knowes not that enemies abroad and enemies at home must needs bring a Land to the lowest depth of a most despe­rate misery, but let us not be so busied in deploring the sad case of it as [Page 5] not to seek a timely remedy for it, for if this be not prevented who a­mongst us can say he hath a House, Land, a Wife, Children, nay who can safely say he hath a Life, so uncertain and in so great danger will all things hang. Another let to unity, and that a great one too are the un­happy differences betwixt the King and his Parliament, the occasions of which differences have bin by many touched, and I wish they had not the misfortune to know them, or we the unhappinesse to feele them, for how can the Kingdom subsist if the Pillars by whom it sub­sisteth are undermined? how can peace flourish when the maintainers of it are not at peace amongst themselves? How can happinesse attain to us if the introducers of it are at unhappy variance? O let it then be the desire of all true subjects that these may agree, concord, and be u­nited; that themselves may enjoy again their Peace and Liberties, and happily avoid what is so much feared Civill dissention, for most ma­nifest it is, that a King agreeing with a truly setled Parliament must needs make his Kingdom truly flourish, for they being chosen from all parts of the Kingdome, and by the free Election of the men in those parts must needs be supposed to know what the grievances or wrongs what the troubles or vexations of the whole Land are and none doub­teth, but (were there an agreement betwixt the head and these mem­bers) hose wrongs would be righted, those troubles would be appea­sed and those vexations quieted and secured, before this be done it cannot be expected that we should be safe and peaceable and better were it to enjoy peace at hard conditions, then that we should be em­broyled with civill distractions, for then would the Lawes be cast of, the Magistrates despised, the liberty of Subjects turned into the licen­tiousnesse of Rebels, and all things strangely metamorphosed into a confused Chaos, and we all know that the Lawes are the sinewes and nerves which consolidate and strengthen the Commonalty, they are the authority by which every man challengeth his right and enjoyes his owne, in them the prosperity of the Subject, being set downe, the punishment of offendors prescribed, and all politicall government established, then by whom were all these made and enacted but by the W sdome and Counsell of Kings and their Parliaments the Ma­gistrates are those (t [...]at being authorized by those that made them) doe give r [...]se to the Lawes, by declaring them and putting them in fo [...]ce, by such the Lawes which in themselves are dead being enlive­ned for they invindicating those that suffer, and punishing those that doe wrong and in justice doe execute & administer justice, upon which the Lawes are founded.

The liberty of the Subject is not such a licentiousnesse as will autho­rize [Page 6] him to doe any thing, without feare or care of any ensuing dan­ger but it is that whereby he enjoyes that which is properly his own without any molestation or trouble, and this liberty also produceth from the ordaining of good Lawes which are by Kings and Parlia­ments, and the executing them which is by Magistrates, we may then plainly see that the maintenance of the Kings honour and estate, the power and priviledges of Parliaments, and the liberty and property of the Subjects, are those which make a State politicall truly peace­able, but when the Kings Prerogative is invaded, the just power of Parliaments by every one questioned, the liberty of the Subject mis­interpreted, all things turne into a confusion, and straight is fomented a civill Warre sooner begun then ended, and produced by as bad cau­ses, as it selfe doth generate disastrous effects.

Let then the Law proceed duly and justly against those magligannt spirits, whose onely aime it is to bring such sad ends to passe, and to poison the Land with the infection of Arbitrary government, that all things may be lawfull nothing safe, which how great misery it will bring upon us a very Heathen could tell, who openly professed, That he had rather live in a Land where nothing is, then where all things were common and lawfull.

Nor is it Englands unfortunate condition alone to be so neare to its ruine and de [...]ruction, nor is it onely Ireland whose distresses want re­liefe, but both our neighbours France and Spain are violently oppres­sed with their owne greatnesse. Jn Spain whole Countries revolt a­gainst their King and choose another, thinking themselves too great a Nation to be swayed by one Scepter, or ruled by one Monarch.

Castile and Portugall scorning to be lesse then Kingdomes, by the losse of which great Countries how much the honour and revenue of that King will be impoverished we may easily judge

In France not only the Kingdome but the life of the King himselfe was in great danger, by the Stratagems they say of an unnaturall Mo­ther and an ambitious Brother, strange that he should be in danger of losing his life by her that first gave it him! and that a Brother should prove a Traytor! but the horridnesse of this plot was defeated to the destruction of the Conspirators; for no so [...]ner was it knowne to be divulged, but it shortned (some say tooke away) the life of her, that world have taken away the life of her Sonne. Shee within five dayes expiring. Such is the deplorable estate of ill successe in ill Enterpri­zes, perish all they who desire the Misery & o pugne the Happinesse of this Land, and by the goodnesse of GOD and care of this prudent PARLIAMENT, let their horrid devises perish with themselves.