86 LIVES OF THE PURITANS. against toleration rose almost to madness ; and had he been possessed of power, he would undoubtedly have proved as furious a persecutor of all nonconformists to presbyterianism, as the prelates had been of those who ventured to dissent from the established episcopal church. Many of his severe and unworthy reflections upon some of the most worthy persons, as collected from his " _Gangraena" and Antapo- logia," are noticed in the Various parts of this work. The pacific Mr. Jeremiah Burroughs says, " I doubt whether there ever was a man, who was looked upon as a man, pro- fessing godliness, that evermanifested so much boldness and malice against Others, whom he acknowledged to be reli- gious persons. That fiery rage, that implacable, irrational violence of his, against godly persons, makes me stand and wonder.". His indignant temper and language against toleration is without a parallel. It will be proper to give a specimen in his own words, for the gratification of the inquisitive reader. " If ministers," says he ." will witness for truth, and against errors, they must set tlemselves against -toleration, as the principal inlet to all error and heresy; for if toleration be granted, all preachingwill not keep them out. If a toleration be granted, the devil will be too hard for us, though we preach ever so much against them. A toleration will undo all. It will bring in scepticism in doctrine, and looseness of life, and afterwards all atheism. 0 ! let ministers, therefore, oppose toleration, as that by which the devil would at once lay a foundation for his kingdom to all generations; witness against it in all places ; possess the magistrate with the evil of it; yea, and the people too, shewing them how, if a toleration were granted, they would never have peace any inure in their families, or ever have any command of wives, children, servants ; but they and their posterity are likely to live in dis- content and unquietness of mind all their days. Toleration is destructive to the glory of God and the salvation of souls; therefore, vvhoever should be for a toleration, ministers ought to be against it. If the parliament, city, yea, and all the people, were for a ,toleration of all sects, as anabaptists, antinomians, seekers, Brownists, and independents,; yet ministers ought to present their reasons against it, preach and cry out of the evil of it, never consent to it; but protest against it, and withstand it by all lawful ways and means Eurrougbb's Vindication, p. 2. Edit. 1646.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=