Table-Talk

1. THE unwillingness of the Monks to part with their Land, will fall out to be just nothing, because they were yielded up to the King by a Supream Hand, (viz.) a Parliament. If a King conquer another Country, the People are loath to lose their Lands, yet no Divine will deny, but the King may give them to whom he please. If a Parliament make a Law concerning Leather, or any other Commodity, you and p. 2I for Example are Parliament-Men, perhaps in respect to our own private Interest, we are against it, yet the major Part conclude it, we are then in volv'd, and the Law is good.

2. When the Founder of Abbies laid a Curse upon those that should take away those Lands, I would fain know what Power they had to curse me; 'Tis not the Curses that come from the Poor, or from any Body, that hurt me, because they come from them, but because I do something ill against them that deserves God should curse me for it. On the other side, 'tis not a Man's blessing me that makes me blessed, he only declares me to be so, and if I do well I shall be blessed, whether any bless me or not.

3. At the time of Dissolution, they were tender in taking from the Abbots and Priors their Lands and their Houses, till they surrendred them (as most of them did) indeed the Prior of St. John's, Sir Richard Weston, being a stout Man, got into France, and stood out a whole Year, at last submitted, and the King took in that Priory also, to which the Temple belonged, and many other Houses in England, they did not then p. 3cry no Abbots, no Priors, as we do now no Bishops, no Bishops.

4. Henry the Fifth put away the Friars, Aliens, and seized to himself 100000 l. a Year, and therefore they were not the Protestants only that took away Church Lands.

5. In Queen Elizabeths time, when all the Abbies were pulled down, all good Works defaced, then the Preachers must cry up Justification by Faith, not by good Works.

1. THE nine and thirty Articles are much another thing in Latin, (in which Tongue they were made) than they are translated into English; they were made at three several Convocations, and confirmed by Act of Parliament six or seven Times after. There is a Secret concerning them: Of late Ministers have subscribed to all of them, but by Act of Parliament that confirm'd them, they ought only to subscribe to those Articles which contain matter of Faith, and the Doctrine of the Sacraments, as appears by the first Subscriptions. But Bisho◊ Bancroft (in the Convocation p. 4held in King Jame's days) he began it, that Ministers should subscribe to three Things, to the King's Supremacy, to the Common-Prayer, and to the Thirty Nine Articles; many of them do not contain matter of Faith. Is it matter of Faith how the Church should be govern'd? Whether Infants should be baptized? Whether we have any Property in our Goods? &c.

1. 'TWas a good way to persuade Men to be christned, to tell them that they had a Foulness about them, viz. Original Sin, that could not be washed away but by Baptism.

2. The Baptising of Children with us, does only prepare a Child against he comes to be a Man, to understand what Christianity means. In the Church of Rome, it has this Effect, it frees Children from Hell. They say they go into Limbus Infantum. It succeeds Circumcision, and we are sure the Child understood nothing of that at eight Days old; why then may not we as reasonably baptise a Child at that Age? in England of late years I ever thought the Parson p. 5baptiz'd his own Fingers rather than the Child.

3. In the Primitive Times they had God-fathers to see the Children brought up in the Christian Religion, because many times, when the Father was a Christia◊ the Mother was not, and sometimes, when the Mother was a Christian, the Father was not, and therefore they made choice of two or more that were Christians, to see their Children brought up in that Faith.

1. 'TIS said the 23d. of Deuteron. 2. [A Bastard shall not enter into the Congregation of the Lord, even to the tenth Generation.] Non ingredietur in Ecclesiam Domini, he shall not enter into the Church. The meaning of the Phraise is, he shall not marry a Jewish Woman. But upon this grosly mistaken; a Bastard at this Day in the Church of Rome, without a Dispensation, cannot take Orders; the thing haply well enough where 'tis so settled; but 'tis upon a Mistake, (the Place having no reference to the Church) appears plainly by what follows at the third Verse [An Ammonite or Moabite shall p. 6not enter into the Congregation of the Lord, even to the tenth Generation.] Now you know with the Jews an Ammonite or a Moabite could never be a Priest; because their Priests were born so, not made.

1. 'TIS a great Question how we know Scripture to be Scripture, whether by the Church, or by Man's private Spirit: Let me ask you, how I know any thing? how I know this Carpet to be green? First, because some body told me it was green; that you call the Church in your Way. Then after I have been told it is green, when I see that Colour again, I know it to be green, my own Eyes tell me it is green, that you call the private Spirit.

2. The English Translation of the Bible is the best Translation in the World, and renders the Sense of the Original best, taking in for the English Translation, the Bishop's Bible as well as King James's. The Translation in King James's time took an excellent way. That Part of the Bible was given to him who was most excellent in such a Tongue (as the Apocrypha to Andrew Downs) and then they met p. 7together, and one read the Translation, the rest holding in their Hands some Bible, either of the learned Tongues, or French, Spanish, Italian, &c. if they found any Fault, they spoke; if not he read on.