which will keep one man warm, will keep another man warm: one man can go in doublet and hose, when another man cannot be without a cloak, and yet have no more clothes than is necessary for him.

CONFESSION.

1. In time of parliament it used to be one of the first things the house did, to petition the king that his confessor might be removed, as fearing either his power with the king, or else, lest he should reveal to the pope what the house was in doing; as no doubt he did when the Catholic cause was concerned.

2. The difference between us and the Papists is, we both allow contrition, but the Papists make confession a part of contrition: they say a man is not sufficiently contrite till he confess his sins to a priest.

3. Why should I think a priest will not reveal confession? I am sure he will do any thing that is forbidden him, haply not so often as I. The utmost punishment is deprivation; and how can it be proved that ever any man revealed confession when there is no witness? and no man can be witness in his own cause.

A mere gullery! There was a time when 't was public in the church, and that is much against their auricular confession.

GREAT CONJUNCTION.

THE greatest conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter happens but once in eight hundred years, and therefore astrologers can make no experiments of it, nor foretel what it means not but that the stars may mean something, but we cannot tell what, because we cannot come at them. Suppose a planet were a simple, or an herb, how could a physician tell the virtue of that simple, unless he could come at it, to apply it?

CONSCIENCE.

1. HE that hath a scrupulous conscience is like a horse that is not well wayed; he starts at every bird that flies out of the hedge.

2. A knowing man will do that which a tender-conscience man dares not do, by reason of his ignorance; the other knows there is no hurt; as a child is afraid to go into the dark

when a man is not, because he knows there is no danger.

3. If we once come to leave that outloose, as to pretend conscience against law, who knows what inconvenience may follow? For thus, suppose an Anabaptist comes and takes my horse, I sue him he tells me he did according to his conscience; his conscience tells him all things are common amongst the saints, what is mine is his; therefore you do ill to make such a law, if any man takes another's horse he shall be hanged. What can I say to this man? He does according to his conscience. Why is not he as honest a man as he that pretends a ceremony established by law is against his conscience? Generally to pretend conscience against law, is dangerous; in some cases haply we may.

But

4. Some men make it a case of conscience, whether a man may have a pigeon-house, because his pigeons eat other folks' corn. there is no such thing as conscience in the business the matter is, whether he be a man of such quality, that the state allows him to have a dove-house; if so, there's an end of the business; his pigeons have a right to eat where they please themselves.

:

CONSECRATED PLACES.

1. THE Jews had a peculiar way of consecrating things to God, which we have not.

2. Under the law, God, who was master of all, made choice of a temple to worship in, where he was more especially present just as the master of the house, who owns all the house, makes choice of one chamber to lie in, which is called the master's chamber. But under the gospel there was no such thing; temples and churches are set apart for the conveniency of men to worship in they cannot meet upon the point of a needle; but God himself makes no choice.

3. All things are God's already ; we can give him no right by consecrating any, that he had not before, only we set it apart to his service. Just as a gardener brings his lord and master a basket of apricots, and presents them; his lord thanks him, perhaps gives him something for his pains; and yet the apricots were as much his lord's before as now.

4. What is consecrated, is given to some particular man, to do God service, not given to God, but given to man to serve God and there's not any thing, lands or goods, but some men or other have it in their power to dispose of as they please. The saying things conse

crated cannot be taken away, makes men afraid of consecration.

5. Yet consecration has this power; when a man has consecrated any thing to God, he cannot of himself take it away.

CONTRACTS.

1. If our fathers have lost their liberty, why may not we labor to regain it? Answer. We must look to the contract; if that be rightly made, we must stand to it: * if we once grant

* Contracts, which do not involve immoral consequences, ought undoubtedly to be fulfilled by those who make them; but some contracts are so unlawful in their very nature, that they are to be considered as null and void from the beginning. If our fathers had made a formal surrender of their liberty, would their posterity be bound in conscience to continue slaves through each successive generation? It will as readily be conceded that our ancestors had a right to stipulate, that neither they nor their descendants should ever renounce their spiritual allegiance to the pope. The condition of slavery seems to be utterly inconsistent with the dignity of human nature; it degrades a man to the level of the inferior animals; and if it should even be granted that an individual may, by his own act, reduce himself to that condition, it will be extremely hard to prove that he possesses any inherent right to comprehend his offspring in such a stipulation.