70 The H I STORY of the PURITANS. Chap. III. Mary, any ofthefefree-willers at the flake, (fays my author) or if any of then fuffered, they made no mention oftheir diftinguifhing opinions when they came to die. But thefe unhappy divifions among men who were under the crois, gave great advantage to the papifts, who took occafion from hence, to fcoff at the profeffors of the gofpel, as difagreeing among themfelves. They blazed abroad their infirmities, and Paid, They were fefering for they know not what. Dr. Martin, a great papift, expofed their weakneffes; but whenMartin came to vifit the prifoners, Carelefs tookan opportunity of protefting openly againft Hart's doétrines, faying, he bad deceived many Pimplefouls with his Pelegian opinions. Arians. Betides thefe Free-Willer;, it kerns there were fome few in prifon for the gofpel that were Arians, and disbelieved the divinity of Jefus Chrift. Two of them lay in the King's Beneh, and railed fuch unfeemly and quarrelfome difputes, that the marshal was forced to feparate the prifoner9 L. of Cran. from one another; and in the year 1556. the noire of their content- P. 232. ions reached the ears of the council, who fent Dr. Martin to the King's Bench, to examine into the affair. I mention thefe disputes, to fhew the frailty and corruption of human nature, even under fevere fufferings, and to point out the first begin- nings of thofe debates, which afterwards occafioned unfpeakable mifchiefs to the church; for though the Pelagian doftrine was efpoufed but by a very few of the English reformers, and was buried in that prifon where it began for almoft 5o years, it revived in the latter end of queen Eliz- abeth's reign, under the name of Arminianifm, and within the compass of a few years, fupplanted the received dottrine of the reformation. *mu :rerant. Many of the clergy who had, been zealous profeffors of the gofpel under king Edward VI. through fear of death recanted and fubicribed ; fome out of weakness, who as loon as the danger was over, revoked their fubfcriptions, and openly confeffed their fall: Of this fort were Scary and Barlow bithops, the famous Mr. jewel, and others. Among the common people, fome went to mats to preferve their lives, and yet frequented the affemblies ofthegofpellers, holding it not unlawful to be pre- Cent with their bodies at the fervice of the mats, as long as their fpirits did L. f Cran. not content. Bradford and others wrote with great warmth againft thefe P. 362. temporizers, and advifed their brethren not to trust, or confort with them. They alfo published a treatife upon this argument, entituled, The mischief and hurt of the ma/a ; and recommended the reading it, to all who had defiled themfelves with that idolatrous fervice. PrivateQon- But though many complied with the times, and fome concealed them- :legations of felves, in friends houles, shifting from one place to another ; others re- ' ro:e¡tants, folved with the hazard of their lives to join together and worthip God, according to the fervice book of king Edward. There were leveral of thefe congregations up and down the country, which met in the night, and
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