warned assault, I am carried away captive, whither I would not; and, mourning for my discomfiture, study for a feeble revenge: my quarrel is good; but my strength maintains it not: it is now long, ere I can recover this overthrow; and find myself whole of these wounds.

Beside suggestions, crosses fall heavy; and work no small distemper in a mind faint and unsettled: whose law is such, that the more I grow the more I bear; and, not seldom, when God gives me respite, I afflict myself: either my fear feigneth evils; or my unruly passions raise tumults within me, which breed much trouble, whether in satisfying or suppressing; not to speak, that sin is attended, besides unquietness, with terror.

Now, you say, "Alas, Christianity is hard!" I grant it; but gainful and happy. I contemn the difficulty, when I respect the advantage. The greatest labours, that have answerable requitals, are less than the least, that have no reward. Believe me, when I look to the reward, I would not have the work easier. It is a good Master, whom we serve; who not only pays, but gives; not after the proportion of our earnings, but of his own mercy. If every pain that we suffer were a death, and every cross a hell, we have amends enough. It were injurious to complain of the measure, when we acknowledge the recompence.

Away with these weak dislikes: though I should buy it dearer, I would be a Christian. Any thing may make me out of love with myself; nothing, with my profession: I were unworthy of this favour, if I could repent to have endured: herein alone I am safe; herein I am blessed. I may be all other things, and yet, with that dying emperor, complain, with my last breath, That I am no whit the better: let me be a Christian, I am privileged from miseries; hell cannot touch me; death cannot hurt me. No evil can arrest me, while I am under the protection of him, which overrules all good and evil: yea, so soon as it touches me, it turns good: and, being sent and suborned by my spiritual adversaries to betray me, now, in a happy change, it fights for me; and is driven rather to rebel, than wrong me.

It is a bold and strange word: No price could buy of me the gain of my sins. That, which, while I repented, I would have expiated with blood; now, after my repentance, I forego not for a world the fruit of having sinned; if not rather, of having repented.

Besides my freedom, how large is my possession! All good things are mine; to challenge, to enjoy. I cannot look beyond my own, nor besides it; and, the things that I cannot see, I dare claim no less. The heaven, that rolls so gloriously above my head, is mine, by this right: yea, those celestial spirits, the better part of that high creation, watch me in my bed, guard me in my ways, shelter me in my dangers, comfort me in my troubles; and are ready to receive that soul, which they have kept.

What speak I of creatures? The God of Spirits is mine: and, by a sweet and secret union, I am become an heir of his glory;

yea, as it were, a limb of himself. O blessedness! worthy of difficulty, worthy of pain: what thou wilt, Lord, so I may be thine, what thou wilt. When I have done all, when I have suffered all, thou exceedest more than I want.

Follow me then, Dear Uncle: or, if you will, lead me rather, as you have done, in these steps; and, from the rough way, look to the end. Overlook these trifling grievances; and fasten your eyes upon the happy recompence; and see if you cannot scorn to complain. Pity those, that take not your pains; and persist, with courage, till you feel the weight of your crown,

EPISTLE V.

TO MR. W. L.

Expostulating the Cause of his Unsettledness in Religion, which is pleaded to be our Dissensions: shewing the Insufficiency of that Motive, and comparing the Estate of our Church herein, with the Romish.

I WOULD I knew where to find you: then I could tell how to take a direct aim; whereas now, I must rove, and conjecture. To day, you are in the tents of the Romanists; to morrow, in ours; the next day, between both, against both. Our adversaries think you ours; we, theirs: your conscience finds you, with both, and

neither.

I flatter you not: this, of yours, is the worst of all tempers, Heat and cold have their uses: lukewarmness is good for nothing, but to trouble the stomach. Those, that are spiritually hot, find acceptation: those, that are stark cold, have a lesser reckoning: the mean between both, is so much worse, as it comes nearer to good, and attains it not. How long will you halt in this indifferency? Resolve, one way; and know, at last, what you do hold; what you should. Cast off, either your wings or your teeth; and, loathing this bat-like nature, be either a bird or a beast.

To die wavering and uncertain, yourself will grant fearful. If you must settle, when begin you? If you must begin, why not now? It is dangerous deferring that, whose want is deadly, and whose opportunity is doubtful. God crieth, with Jehu, Who is on my side, who? Look, at last, out of your window to him; and, in a resolute courage, cast down this Jezebel, that hath bewitched you. Is there any impediment, which delay will abate? Is there any, which a just answer cannot remove ? If you would rather waver, who can settle you? but, if you love not inconstancy, tell us why you stagger. Be plain; or else you will never be firm. What hinders you?

Is it our divisions? I see you shake your head at this; and, by your silent gesture, bewray this the cause of your distaste. Would

God, I could either deny this with truth, or amend it with tears! But I grant it; with no less sorrow, than you with offence. This earth hath nothing more lamentable, than the civil jars of one faith. What then? Must you defy your Mother, because you see your brethren fighting? Their dissension is her grief. Must she lose some sons, because some others quarrel? Do not so wrong yourself, in afflicting her. Will you love Christ the less, because his coat is divided?

Yea, let me boldly say; the hem is torn a little; the garment is whole or, rather, it is fretted a little; not torn: or, rather, the fringe; not the hem. Behold, here is one Christ, one Creed, one Baptism, one Heaven, one Way to it; in sum, one Religion, one Foundation; and, take away the tumultuous spirits of some rigorous Lutherans, one Heart: our differences are those of Paul and Barnabas; not those of Peter and Magus: if they be some, it is well they are no more; if many, that they are not capital. Shew me that Church, that hath not complained of distraction; yea that family, yea that fraternity, yea that man, that always agrees with himself. See if the Spouse of Christ, in that heavenly marriage-song, do not call him, a young hart in the mountains of division.

Tell me then, Whither will you go for truth, if you will allow no truth, but where there is no division? To Rome, perhaps; famous for unity, famous for peace. See now how happily you have chosen; how well you have sped! Lo there, Cardinal Bellarmine himself, a witness above exception, under his own hand acknowledgeth to the world, and reckons up two hundred thirty and seven contrarieties of doctrine among the Romish Divines. What need we more evidence? O the perfect accordance of Peter's See; worthy to be recorded for a badge of Truth!

Let now all our adversaries scrape together so many contradictions of opinions amongst us, as they confess amongst themselves; and be you theirs. No; they are not more peaceable, but more subtle they have not less dissension, but more smothered. They fight closely within doors, without noise: all our frays are in the field. Would God we had as much of their cunning, as they want of our peace; and no more of their policy, than they want of our truth! Our strife is in ceremonies; theirs, in substance: ours, in one or two points; theirs, in all, Take it boldly from him, that dares avouch it; There is not one point in all divinity, except those wherein we accord with them, wherein they all speak the same. our Church displease you for differences, theirs much more; unless you will be either wilfully incredulous, or wilfully partial; unless you dislike a mischief the less, for the secrecy,

If

What will you do then? Will you be a Church, alone? Alas, how full are you of contradictions to yourself! how full of contrary purposes! How oft do you chide with yourself! how oft do you fight with yourself! I appeal to that bosom, which is privy to those secret combats.

Believe me not, if ever you find perfect unity any where but

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above: either go thither, and seek it amongst those that triumph; or be content with what estate you find in this warfaring number.

Truth is in differences; as gold in dross, wheat in chaff: will you cast away the best metal, the best grain, because it is mingled with this offal? Will you rather be poor and hungry, than bestow labour on the fan, or the furnace? Is there nothing worth your respect, but peace? I have heard, that the interlacing of some discords graces the best music; and I know not, whether the very evil spirits agree not with themselves. If the body be sound, what though the coat be torn? or if the garment be whole, what if the lace be unript? Take you peace: let me have Truth; if I cannot have both.

To conclude, embrace those truths, that we all hold; and it greatly matters not what you hold in those, wherein we differ: and, if you love your safety, seek rather grounds whereon to rest, than excuses for your unrest. If ever you look to gain by the truth, you must both chuse it, and cleave to it. Mere resolution is not enough; except you will rather lose yourself, than it.

EPISTLE VI.

TO SIR EDMUND LUCY.

Discoursing of the different Degrees of Heavenly Glory; and of our mutual Knowledge of Each Other above.

As those, which never were at home, now, after much hearsay travelling toward it, ask in the way, what manner of house it is, what seat, what frame, what soil; so do we, in the passage to our glory. We are all pilgrims thither; yet so, as that some have looked into it afar, through the open windows of the Scripture. Go to, then: while others are enquiring about worldly dignities and earthly pleasures, let us two sweetly consult of the estate of our future happiness; yet without presumption, without curiosity.

Amongst this infinite choice of thoughts, it hath pleased you to limit our discourse to two heads.

You ask first, if the joys of the glorified Saints shall differ in degrees. I fear not to affirm it. There is one life of all; one felicity but divers measures. Our heaven begins here; and here, varies in degree. One Christian enjoys God above another, according as his grace, as his faith is more: and heaven is still like itself; not other above, from that beneath. As our grace begins our glory, so it proportions it. Blessedness stands in the perfect operation of the best faculties, about the perfectest object; that is, in the vision, in the fruition of God. All his Saints see him; but

some more clearly as the same sun is seen of all eyes, not with equal strength. Such as the eye of our faith was, to see him that is invisible; such is the eye of our present apprehension, to see as we are seen. Who sees not, that our rewards are according to our works? not for them, as on merit: woe be to that soul, which hath but what it earneth: but after them, as their rule of proportion. And these, how sensibly unequal! one gives but a cup of cold water to a disciple: another gives his blood, for the Master. Different works have different wages; not of desert, but of mercy: five talents well employed, carry away more recompence than two; yet both approved, both rewarded with their Master's joy. Who can stick at this, that knows those heavenly spirits, to whom we shall be like, are marshalled by their Maker into several ranks? he, that was rapt into their element, and saw their blessed orders, as from his own knowledge hath styled them, Thrones, Principalities, Powers, Dominions. If, in one part of this celestial family, the great Householder hath thus ordered it, why not in the other? yea, even in this he hath instanced; You shall sit on twelve thrones, and judge the twelve tribes of Israel: if he mean not some preeminence to his apostles, how doth he answer, how doth he satisfy them? Yet more, Lazarus is in Abraham's bosom: therefore Abraham is more honoured than Lazarus. I shall need no more proofs; if from heaven you shall look down into the great gulf, and there see diversity of torments, according to the value of sins: equality of offences, you acknowledge an idle paradox of the Stoics: to hold unequal sins equally punished, were more absurd; and more injurious to God's justice: there is but one fire, which yet otherwise burns the straw; otherwise, wood and iron: he, that made and commands this dungeon, these tortures, tells us, that the wilfully disobedient shall smart with more stripes; the ignorant, with fewer. Yet, so conceive of these heavenly degrees, that the least is glorious so do these vessels differ, that all are full: there is no want in any; no envy. Let us strive for a place, not strive for the order: how can we wish to be more than happy?

Your other question is, of our mutual knowledge above; the hope whereof, you think, would give much contentment to the necessity of our parture: for, both we are loth not to know those whom we love; and we are glad to think we shall know them happy: whereof, if it may comfort you, I am no less confident. If I may not go so far, as, with the best of the Fathers, to say we shall know one another's thoughts, I dare say, our persons we shall: our knowledge, our memory are not there lost, but perfected. Yea, I fear not to say, we shall know, both our miseries past, and the present sufferings of the damned: it makes our happiness not a little the sweeter, to know that we were miserable, to know that others are and must be miserable. We shall know them; not feel them: take heed, that you clearly distinguish, betwixt speculation and experience: we are then far out of the reach of evils: we may see them, to comfort us; not to affect us. Who doubts, that these eyes shall see and know the Glorious Manhood of our Blessed Saviour, ad