value, hear them, and then, being rational men, judge themselves.

2. Why should you have a synod, when you have a convocation already, which is a synod? Would you have a superfetation of another synod? The clergy of England, when they cast off the pope submitted themselves to the civil power and so have continued; but these challenge to be "jure divino," and so to be above the civil power: these challenge power to call before their presbyteries all persons for all sins directly against the law of God, as proved to be sins by necessary consequence. If you would buy gloves, send for a glover or two, not Glovers' hall; consult with some divines, not send for a body.

3. There must be some laymen in the synod, to overlook the clergy, lest they spoil the civil work; just as when the good woman puts a cat into the milk-house to kill a mouse, she sends her maid to look after the cat lest the cat should eat up the cream.

4. In the ordinance for the assembly, the lords and commons go under the names of learned, godly, and judicious divines; there is no difference put betwixt them and the ministers in the context.

5. Tis not unusual in the assembly to revoke their votes, by reason they make so much

haste; but 't is that will make them scorned. You never heard of a council that revoked an act of its own making; they have been wary in that, to keep up their infallibility; if they did any thing, they took away the whole council. And yet we would be thought infallible as any body. It is not enough to say, the house of commons revoke their votes, for theirs are but civil truths which they by agreement create and uncreate, as they please. But the truths the synod deals in are divine; and when they have voted a thing, if it be then true, it was true before; not true because they voted it, nor does it cease to be true because they voted otherwise.

6. Subscribing in a synod, or to the articles of a synod, is no such terrible thing as they make it; because, if I am of a synod, it is agreed, either tacitly or expressly, that which the major part determines, the rest are involved in; and therefore I subscribe, though my own private opinion be otherwise; and upon the same ground, I may, without scruple, subscribe to what those have determined, whom I sent, though my private opinion be otherwise; having respect to that which is the ground of all assemblies, the major part carries it.

THANKSGIVING.

Ar first we gave thanks for every victory as soon as ever it was obtained, but since we have had many, now we can stay a good while. We are just like a child; give him a plum, he makes his leg; give him a second plum, he makes another leg at last, when his belly is full, he forgets what he ought to do; then his nurse, or somebody else that stands by him, puts him in mind of his duty, "Where is your leg?"

TITHES.

1. TITHES are more paid in kind in England than in all Italy and France. In France, they have had impropriations a long time; we had none in England till Henry the Eighth.

2. To make an impropriation, there was to be the consent of the incumbent, the patron, and the king; then it was confirmed by the pope. Without all this the pope could make no impropriation.

3. Or what if the pope gave the tithes to any man, must they therefore be taken away? If the pope gives me a jewel, will you therefore take it away from me?

4. Abraham paid tithes to Melchisedec; what then? It was very well done of him. It does not follow therefore that I must pay tithes, no more than I am bound to imitate any other action of Abraham's.

5. It is ridiculous to say the tithes are God's part, and therefore the clergy must have them : why, so they are if the layman has them. It is as if one of my lady Kent's maids should be sweeping this room, and another of them should come and take away the broom, and tell for a reason why she should part with it, "It is my lady's broom" as if it were not my lady's broom, which of them soever had it.

upon

6. They consulted in Oxford where they might find the best argument for their tithes, setting aside the "jus divinum": they were advised to my History of Tithes a book so much cried down by them formerly; in which I dare boldly say, there are more arguments for them than are extant together any where this one writ me word, that my History of Tithes was now become like "Pelias hasta," to wound and to heal. I told him, in my answer, I thought I could fit him with a better instance ; it was possible it might undergo the same fate that Aristotle, Avicen, and Averroes did in France, some five hundred years ago; which were excommunicated by Stephen, bishop of

Paris, (by that very name, excommunicated,) because that kind of learning puzzled and troubled their divinity; but finding themselves at a loss some forty years after, (which is much about the time since I writ my history,) they were called in again, and so have continued ever since.

TRADE.

1. THERE is no prince in Christendom but is directly a tradesman, though in another way than an ordinary tradesman. For the purpose, I have a man; I bid him lay out twenty shillings in such commodities, but I tell him for every shilling he lays out I will have a penny. I trade as well as he. This every prince does

in his customs.

2. That which a man is bred up in, he thinks no cheating; as your tradesman thinks not so of his profession, but calls it a mystery. Whereas if you would teach a mercer to make his silks heavier than what he has been used to, he would peradventure think that to be cheating.

3. Every tradesman professes to cheat me, that asks for his commodity twice as much as it is worth.