144 LIVES OF THE PURITANS. It was impossible for these divines to settle the contro- versy ; because they were not agreed about the standard or rule of judgment.. Mr. Cartwright maintained, that the holy scriptures were the only standard of discipline and government, as well as of doctrine ; and that the church of Christ in all ages ought to be regulated by them. He would, therefore, consult the Bible only, and reduce all. things, as near as possible, to the apostolic standard. The less our religion was,incumben d with the inventions of men, in his opinion, the more it would resemble the simplicity that is in Christ. " We mean not," said he, "to take away the authority of the civil magistrate, to whom we wish all blessedness, and for the increase of whose godliness we daily pray : but that Christ, being, restored to his king- dom, may rule in the same by the sceptre of his word.' Whitgift, on the other hand, maintained, that though the holy scriptures were a perfect rule of faith, they were not designed as the standard of church discipline; but that this is changeable, and may be accommodated to the govern- ment under which we live. Therefore, instead of reducing the external policy of the church to the simplicity of scripture, the doctor took in the opinions and customs' of the fathers, in the four first centuries.+ These points were disputed, as might be expected, with some degree of sharpness. While Mr. Cartwright thought he had reason to complain of the hardships which he and his brethren suffered ; Whitgift, having the government on his side, thought he stood on higher ground, and might assume a superior air. When Mr. Cartwright and his friends pleaded for indulgence, because theywere brethren; Whitgift replied, " What signifies their being brethren : anabaptists, arians, and other heretics, would be accounted brethren. Their haughty spirits will not suffer them to see their error. They deserve as great punishment as the papists; because they conspire against the church. If they be shut up in Newgate, it is a meet reward for their disorderly doings; for ignorance may not excuse libels Bishop Maddox warmly censures Mr. Cartwright for maintaining, that the supreme magistrate is only the head of the commonwealth, not of the church ; and that the church may be established without him.-Vindi- cation of the Church, p. '271. ;I. The words of Ballard, a popish priest, before Sir Francis Knollys, concerning Whitgift's writings, are remarkable. ' I would desire no " better books," said he, " to prove mydoctrine of popery, than Whitgift's "against Cartwright, and his injunctions set forth in her majesty's name." --Strype's Whitgift, p. 265.
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