to me; and therefore I am resolved for once even to humour you so far as to keep my discourse within those very lists and limits which yourself have prescribed, and to deal with you upon no other arguments, but only those wherein you conceive your chief advantage and principal strength, and, as it were, your Samson's lock, to lie; wherein if I gain the cause clearly from you, (as I verily hope by God's help I shall do,) it cannot but redound much to the honour of the truth maintained by me, which by so weak a champion can overcome such an Achilles in error, even in his strongest holds. For these reasons, although I have made ready an answer to your second part, and therein have made it sufficiently evident, that, for shifting evasions from Dr. Potter's arguments, for impertinent cavils, and frivolous exceptions, and injurious calumnies against him for his misalleging of authors; for proceeding upon false and ungrounded principles; for making inconsequent and sophistical deductions; and, in a word, for all the virtues of an ill answer, your second part is no way second to the first: yet notwithstanding all this disadvantage, I am resolved, if you will give me leave, either wholly to suppress it, or at least to defer the publication of it, until I see what exceptions, upon a twelvemonth's examination, (for so long, I am well assured, you have had it in your hands,) you can take at this which is now published; that so, if my grounds be discovered false, I may give over building on them; or (if it shall be thought fit) build on more securely, when it shall appear that nothing material and of moment is or can be objected against them. This I say upon a supposition that yourself will allow these reasons for satisfying and sufficient, and not repent of the motion which yourself has made, of reducing the controversy between us to this short issue. But in case your mind be altered, upon the least intimation you shall give me, that you do but desire to have it out, your desire shall prevail with me above all other reasons, and you shall not fail to receive it with all convenient speed. Only, that my answer may be complete, and that I may have all my work together, and not be troubled myself, nor enforced to trouble you, with after-reckonings, I would first entreat you to make good your promise, of not "omitting to answer all the particles of Dr. Potter's book, which may any way import," and now at least to take notice of some (as it seems to me) not inconsiderable passages of it, which between your first and second part, as it were between two stools, have been suffered hitherto to fall to the ground, and not been vouchsafed any answer at all. For after this neglectful fashion you have passed by in silence, first, his discourse, wherein he proves briefly, but very effectually, that "protestants may be saved, and that the Roman church, especially the Jesuits, are very uncharitable: " s. 1. p. 6-9. Secondly, The authorities, whereby he justifies, that "the ancient fathers by the Roman understood always a particular, and never the catholic church; to which purpose he allegeth the words of Ignatius, Ambrose, Innocentius, Celestine, Nicolaus: s. 1. p. 10; whereunto you say nothing, neither do you infringe p not.-Oxf. his observation with any one instance to the contrary. Thirdly, The greatest and most substantial part of his answers to the arguments of Charity Mistaken, built upon Deut. xvii., Numb. xvi., Matt. xxviii. 20., Matt. xviii. 17, and in particular many pregnant and convincing texts of Scripture, quoted in the margin of his book, p. 25, to prove that the judges of the synagogue (whose infallibility yet you make an argument of yours, and therefore must be more credible than yours) are vainly pretended to have been infallible: but as they were obliged to judge according to the law, so were obnoxious to deviations from it: s. 2. p. 23-27. Fourthly, His discourse, wherein he shows the difference between the prayers for the dead used by the ancients, and those now in use in the Roman church. Fifthly, The authority of three ancient and above twenty modern doctors of your own church, alleged by him to show, that in their opinion even pagans, and therefore much more erring Christians, (if their lives were morally honest,) by God's extraordinary mercy, and Christ's merit, may be saved: : s. 2. p. 45. Sixthly, A great part of his discourse, whereby he declares that actual and external communion with the church is not of absolute necessity to salvation; nay, that those might be saved whom the church utterly refused to admit to her communions. 2. p. 46-49. Seventhly, His discourse concerning the church's latitude, which hath in it a clear determination of the main controversy against you: for therein he proves plainly, that all appertain "to the church, who believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and Saviour of the world, with submission to his doctrine" in mind and will; which he irrefragably demonstrates by many evident texts of Scripture, containing the substance of his assertion even in terms: s. 4. p. 114-117. Eighthly, That wherein he shows, by many pertinent examples, that “ gross error and true faith may be lodged together in the same mind;" and that men are not "chargeable with the damnable consequences of their own erroneous opinions: " s. 4. p. 112. Ninthly, A very great part of his chapter, touching" the dissensions of the Roman church," which he shows (against the pretences of Charity Mistaken) "to be no less than ours, for the importance of the matter, and the pursuit of them to be exceedingly uncharitable:"s. 6. p. 188—191, 193-197. Tenthly, His clear refutation and just representation of "the doctrine of implicit faith, as it is delivered by the doctors of your church;" which he proves very consonant to the doctrine of heretics and infidels, but evidently repugnant to the word of God: s. 6. p. 201-205. Lastly, His discourse, wherein he shows that "it is unlawful for the church of after-ages to add any thing to the faith of the apostles ;" and many of his arguments, whereby he proves that in the judgment of the ancient church the Apostles' Creed was esteemed a sufficient summary of the necessary" points of simple belief; and a great q page 122.-Oxf. VOL. II. 2 x number of great authorities, to justify the doctrine of the church of England, touching the canon of Scripture, especially the Old Testament: s. 7. p. 221, 223, 228, 229. All these parts of Dr. Potter's book, for reasons best known to yourself, you have dealt with, as the priest and Levite in the gospel did with the wounded Samaritan, that is, only looked upon them, and passed by: but now at least when you are admonished of it, that my reply to your second part (if you desire it) may be perfect, I would entreat you to take them into your consideration, and to make some show of saying something to them, lest otherwise the world should interpret your obstinate silence a plain confession that you can say nothing. THE END. THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY: |