60 their zeale for religion. As the fire is most fervent in a frosty season, so the generall apostacy from holinesse, if I may so call it, and defection to lewdnesse, stirr'd up .sm:row, indignation, and feare, in all that retein'd any love of God in the land, whither ministers or people: the ministers wam'd the people of the approaching iudgements of God, which could not be· expected but to follow such high "provocations ; God, in his mercy, sent his prophets into all corners of the land to preach repentance and cry out against the ingratitude of Bngland, who thus requited so many rich mercies as no nation could ever boast of more; and by these a few were every where converted and established in faith and holinesse: but at court these were hated, disgrac'd, and revil'd, and in scorn had the name 0f Puritane • fix'd upon them. And now the ready way to preferment there, was to declare an opposition to the power of godlinesse, under that name; so that their pulpitts might justly be called the scorner's chair, those sermons only pleasing that ftatter'd them in their vices and told the poorc king that he was Solomon, that his sloth and cowardize, by which he betrey'd the cause of God and honour of the nation, was gospel! meekenesse and peaceablenesse, .for which they rays' cl him up above the heavens, while he lay wallowing like a swine in the mire of his lust. l-Ie had a little learning, 11 This artifice of affixing a name of reproach on those of an opposite party, in order indiscriminately to subject them to hatred or ridicul€, could hardly be better exposed than it is here . That i\'frs. Hutchin.,on is guilty of no exaggeration, may well be conjPctured from some speeches in parliament preserv'J by Hushworth, peculiarly o.ne of Sir llenjamin Rudyard, at. least :t moderate man, if not a favoure r of the king, complaining of the very same thing. llushwortb, voJ . ii. 135.S, a .l t is the artifice of the favourers of the cathol ick and of the prelati cal party to call all who are st icklers for the constitution in church or state, or would square their actions by any rule humane or divine, Puritans." In the pet ition and remonstrance this is statetl nearly in the same manner. It was no w~y inconsistent whh the other injustices of the French revolutionists to invent the term of Aristocrat, and mark out by it eyery one wl•om the populace or t1~eir demagogues designed to plunder or destroy; it would not be so cxcusenble if ,jn this country we should suffer cant terms or nicknames to pass fo r reason.. i11g or proof. I<' or the rest1 the name of Puritan should have no bad meaning.
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