Fart III. Reverend Mr. Richard Baxter. 5 given the King thanks for his Declaration about Ecclefiaftical Affairs) can do no- thing to bring them to moderate abatements, and the healing ofour Breaches, if they are trulywilling. For my part, I fufpend my Judgment of their Intents, till the Event lhallmakeme underftand it. Grant Lord that it be not yet too late ; for Charity eommandeth us totake nothing of others minds for certain, till we have certainProof, howperilous foever our Charitablehopes may prove. § 180. Mr. Bagfhawwrote a Second Book againftmy Defence, full of untruths, which the furious, temerarious Man did utter, or the rafhnefs of his Mind, which made him fo little heed what he had read, and anrwered, as that one would ling himof his millakesr To whiich he pretended to Rejoinder in amthird Libel, but I found as I was told,' that his defignwas to filence almoft all that I faid, and to fay all that he thought might make me odious , becaufe that thole that read his Books wouldnot read mine, and fo would believe him, and be no whit informed by my anfcvers at all. § 181. This fame year 1671. I was defired by my Friend and Neighbour, Mr. 1obn Corbet, to write fomewhat to fatisfie a good man that was fallen into deep melancboily, feeding it daily with the thoughts of the number that will be damned, acid tempted by it to conftant Blafphemy againft the goodnefs of God, who, could favethem, and would not, but decreed their damnation And I wrote a few Sheets, called, The vindication of God's Goodnefs , which Mr. Corbet with a prefixed Epiftle publifhed. § 182. Alfo Dr. Ludov. Melinetes was fo vehemently fet upon by the crying downof the Papal, and Prelatical Government, thathe thought it was the work that he was fent into the World for, to convince Princes that all Government was in themfelves, and no proper Government, but only Perfwafion belonged to the Churches ; to which end he wrote his Parenefis contra eedificatores lope- ril in Imperio, and hisPapavltrajeainus andother Traftates, and thruft themon. me, to makeme of his mind; and at left wrote his qugulum Caufe, with no lets than feventy Epiftles before it, direfted to Princes and men of Interefi among whomhe was pleafed to put one to me. The good Man meant rightly in the main, but had not a head fufficiently accurate for fuck a Controverfie, and fo could not perceive that any thing could be called properly Government that was no way coaáive by Corporal Penalties : To turnhim from the EraJlian Ex- treme, and end that Controverlie by a Reconciliation, I publithed an Hundred Propofitions conciliatory, and ofthe differencebetween the Magiftrate's power, andthePaftor's. § 183. Alfo one Dr. t EdwardFowler (avery ingenious fober Conformifl) wrote+ ge is two Books : Qne an Apology for the Latitudinarians, as theywere then called; now the the other entitled, Hoynefs the defign of CbriJiianianity ; in which he fometimesworthy put in the word `only] which gave offence, and the Book feemedto fome tohave but envi. a fcandalous defign, to obfcure the Glory of free Yuflificatwn, under pretence of of aitcr t extolling Holinefs as the, only defign of Man's Redeemption : Whichoccafion- Cripplegoe ed a few Sheets of mineon the Paid Book and Quefiion for reconciliation, andChure& clearing up of the Point : Whichwhen Mr Fouler raw, he wrote to nie to tell me that he was of my Judgment, only he lid delivered that more generally whichI opened more particulary, and that the word {only] was Hyperbolical- ly fpoken, as I had faid ; but he fpake feelingly againft thofe quarrelfome men that are readier to calibre than to underftand. I returned him fome adviceto take heed,lefttheir weaknefs,and cenforioufnefs, should makehim tooangryand im patient with Religious People as the Prelates are, and fo run into greater Sin than theirs, and favour a loofer Party becaufe they are lets cenforious. To which he returned me fo ingenious and hearty thanks, as for at great Kind- hefs as ever was chewed him, as told me that free and friendly GounfeY to wife and good men is net loft. § 184. I wag troubled this Year with multitudes of melancholly Perlons, from feveral Parts of the Land , fome of high Quality, fome of low, fome very exquifitely learned, fome unlearned ; (as I had in a great meafute been above twenty years before.) I know not how it came to pats, but if men fell me- lancholly, I muff bear from them or fee them (more than any Phyfician that I know.) Which I mentiononly for thefe three safes to the Reader ; that out of all their Cafes I have gathered. i. That we mutt very hatch take hem
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