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answer concerning the errors being considered what they are apt to be in themselves, and as they are neither increased nor diminished by accidental circumstances.

23. "And the like I say of all the other points, to which I once again desire an answer without any of these or the like ambiguous terms, in some sort, in some sense, in some degree, which may be explicated afterward as strictly or largely as may best serve his turn; but let him tell us roundly and particularly in what sort, in what sense, in what degree he understands those and the like obscure mincing phrases. If he proceed solidly after this manner, and not by way of mere words, more like a preacher to a vulgar auditory than like a learned man with a pen in his hand, thy patience shall be less abused, and truth will also receive more right. And since we have already laid the grounds of the question, much may be said hereafter in few words, if (as I said) be keep close to the real point of every difficulty, without wandering into impertinent disputes, or multiplying vulgar and threadbare objections and arguments, or labouring to prove what no man denies, or making a vain ostentation by citing a number of schoolmen, which every puny brought up in schools is able to do; and if he cite his authors with such sincerity, as no time need be spent in opening his corruptions; and finally, if he set himself at work with this consideration, that we are to give a most strict account to a most just and impartial Judge, of every period, line, and word that passeth under our pen. For if at the latter day we shall be arraigned for ever idle word which is spoken, so much more will that be done for every idle word which is written, as the deliberation wherewith it passeth makes a man guilty of more malice; and as the importance of the matter which is treated of in books concerning true faith and religion, without which no soul can be saved, makes a man's errors more material than they would be if the question were but of toyɛ.”

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ANSWER TO THE PREFACE,

AD § 1 and 2. If beginnings be ominous (as they say they are), D. Potter hath cause to look for great store of uningenuous dealing from you; the very first words you speak of him, viz., that he hath not so much as once truly and really fallen upon the point in question, being a most unjust and immodest imputation.

2. For, first, the point in question was not that which you pretend, Whether both papists and protestants can be saved in their several professions? but, Whether you may without uncharitableness affirm that protestancy unrepented destroys salvation? And that this is the very question is most apparent and unquestionable, both from the title of Charity Mistaken, and from the arguments of the three first chapters of it, and from the title of your own Reply. And therefore if D. Potter had joined issue with his adversary only thus far, and, not meddling at all with papists, but leaving them to stand or fall to their own Master, had proved protestants living and dying so capable of salvation, I cannot see how it could justly be charged upon him, that he had not once truly and really fallen upon the point in question. Neither may it be said that your question here and mine are in effect the same, seeing it is very possible that the true answer to the one might have been affirmative, and to the other negative. For there is no incongruity, but it may be true, that you and we cannot both be saved; and yet as true, that without uncharitableness you cannot pronounce us damned. For all ungrounded and unwarrantable sentencing men to damnation is either in a propriety of speech uncharitable, or else (which for my purpose is all one) it is that which protestants mean, when they say papists for damning them are uncharitable. And, therefore, though the author of C. M. had proved as strongly as he hath done weakly, that one heaven could not receive protestants and papists both; yet certainly, it was very hastily and unwarrantably, and therefore uncharitably concluded, that protestants were the part that was to be excluded. As, though Jews and Christians cannot both be saved, yet a Jew cannot justly, and therefore not charitably, pronounce a Christian dan:ned.

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3. But, then, secondly to show your dealing with him very inju rious; I say, he doth speak to this very question very largely and very effectually; as by confronting his work and Charity M. together will presently appear. Charity M. proves, you say, in general, that there is but one church." D. Potter tells him his labour is lost in proving the uni of the catholic church, whereof there is no doubt of controversy: and herein, I hope, you will grant he answers right and to the purpose. C. M. proves, you say, secondly, that "all Christians are obliged to hearken to the church." D. Potter answers, "It is true; yet not absolutely in all things, but only when she commands those things which God doth not countermand." And this also, I hope, is to his purpose, though not to yours. C. M. proves, you say, thirdly, that "the church must be ever visible and infallible." For her visibility, D. Potter denies it not; and as for her infallibility, he grants it in fundamentals, but not in superstructures. C. M. proves, you say, fourthly, that " to separate one's self from the church's communion is schism." D. Potter grants it, with this exception, unless there be necessary cause to do so; unless the conditions of her communion be apparently unlawful. C. M. proves, you say, lastly, that "to dissent from her doctrine is heresy, though it be in points never so few and never so small; and therefore, that the distinction of points fundamental and unfundamental, as it is applied by protestants, is wholly vain." This D). Potter denies; shows the reasons brought for it weak and unconcluding; proves the contrary by reasons unanswerable: and therefore, that the distinction of points into fundamental .and not fundamental, as it is applied by protestants, is very good. Upon these grounds, you say, C. M. clearly evinces, that " any least difference in faith cannot stand with salvation; and therefore seeing catholics and protestants disagree in very many points in faith, they both cannot hope to be saved without repentance ;" you must mean, without an explicit and particular repentance, and dereliction of their errors; for so C. M. hath declared himself (p. 14), where he hath these words: "We may safely say, that a man who lives in protestancy, and is so far from repenting it, as that he will not so much as acknowledge it to be a sin, though he be sufficiently informed thereof," &c. From whence it is evident, that in his judgment there can be no repentance of an error without acknowledging it to be a sin. And to this D. Potter justly opposes that "both sides, by the confession of both sides, agree in more points than are simply and indispensably necessary to salvation, and differ only in such as are not precisely necessary that it is very possible a man may die in error, and yet die with repentance, as for all his sins of ignorance, so, in that number, for the errors in which he dies with a repentance though not explicit and particular, which is not simply required, yet implicit and general, which is sufficient : so that he cannot but hope, considering the goodness of God, that the truths retained on both sides, especially those of the necessity of repentance from dead works and faith in Jesus Christ, if they be put in practice, may be an antidote against the errors held on either side; to such he means, and says, as being diligent in seeking truth

and desirous to find it, yet miss of it through human frailty, and die in error." If you will but attentively consider and compare the undertaking of C. M. and D. Potter's performance in all these points, I hope you will be so ingenuous as to acknowledge that you have injured him much, in imputing tergiversation to him, and pre tending, that through his whole book he hath not once truly and really fallen upon the point in question. Neither may you or C. M. conclude him from hence (as covertly you do) an enemy to souls, by deceiving them with ungrounded false hopes cf salvation; seeing the hope of salvation cannot be ungrounded, which requires and supposes belief and practice of all things absolutely necessary unto salvation, and repentance of those sins and errors which we fall into by human frailty; nor a friend to indifferency in religion seeing he gives them only hope of pardon of errors who are desirous, and, according to the proportion of their opportunities and abilities, industrious to find the truth; or at least truly repentant that they have not been so. Which doctrine is very fit to excite men to a constant and impartial search of truth, and very far from teaching them that it is indifferent what religion they are of; and, without all controversy, very honourable to the goodness of God, with which how it can consist, not to be satisfied with his servants' true endeavours to know his will, and do it, without full and exact performance, I leave it to you and all good men to judge.

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4. As little justice methinks you show, in quarrelling with him for descending to the particular disputes here mentioned by you. to say nothing that many of these questions are immediately and directly pertinent to the business in hand, as the 1, 2, 3, 5. 6, and all of them fall in of themselves into the stream of his discourse, and are not drawn in by him; and besides are touched for the most part rather than handled: to say nothing of all this, you know right well, if he conclude you erroneous in any one of all these, be it but in the communion in one kind, or the language of your service, the infallibility of your church is evidently overthrown: and this being done, I hope there will be "no such necessity of hearkening to her in all things it will be very possible to separate from her communion in some things without schism; and from her doctrine, so far as it is erroneous, without heresy: then all that she proposes will not be, eo ipso, fundamental, because she proposes it;" and so presently all Charity Mistaken will vanish into smoke and clouds and nothing. 5. You say he was loth to affirm plainly, that generally both catholics and protestants may be saved: which yet is manifest he doth affirm plainly of protestants throughout his book; and of erring papists, that "have sincerely sought the truth, and failed of it, and die with a general repentance" (p. 77, 78). And yet you deceive yourself if you conceive he had any other necessity to do so, but only that he thought it true. For we may and do pretend, that before Luther there were many true churches beside the Roman, which agreed not with her in particular, the Greek church. So that what you say is evidently true, is indeed evidently false. Besides, if he had any necessity to make use of you in this matter, he needed not for this end to say, that now in your church salvation may be had, but only, that before Luther's time it might be; then when

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your means of knowing the truth were not so great, and when your ignorance might be more invincible, and therefore excusable. So that you may see, if you please, it is not for ends, but for the love of truth, that we are thus charitable to you.

6. Neither is it material that these particulars he speaks against are not fundamental errors; for though they be not destructive of salvation, yet the conviction of them may be, and is, destructive enough of his adversaries' assertion; and if you be the man I take you for, you will not deny they are so. For certainly no consequence can be more palpable than this: The church of Rome doth err in this or that, therefore it is not infallible. And this perhaps you perceived yourself, and therefore demanded not, since they be not fundamental, what imports it whether we hold them or no, simply; but, for as much as concerns our possibility to be saved. As if we were not bound by the love of God and the love of truth to be zealous in the defence of all truths that are any way profitable, though not simply necessary to salvation! or as if any good man could satisfy his conscience without being so affected and resolved our Saviour himself having assured us, that he that shall break one of his least commandments (some whereof you pretend are concerning venial sins, and consequently the keeping of them not necessary to salvation), and shall so teach men, shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven.*

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7. But then it imports very much, though not for the possibility that you may be saved, yet for the probability that you will be so; because the holding of these errors, though it did not merit, might yet occasion damnation as the doctrine of indulgences may take away the fear of purgatory, and the doctrine of purgatory the fear of hell; as you well know it does too frequently. So that though a godly man might be saved with these errors, yet by means of them many are made vicious, and so damned. By them, I say, though not for them. No godly layman, who is verily persuaded that there is neither impiety nor superstition in the use of your Latin service, shall be damned, I hope, for being present at it; yet the want of that devotion which the frequent hearing the offices understood might happily beget in them, the want of that instruction and edification which it might afford them, may very probably hinder the salvation of many which might otherwise have been saved. Besides, though the matter of an error may be only something profitable, not necessary, yet the neglect of it may be a damnable sin; as, not to regard venial sins is in the doctrine of your schools mortal. Lastly, as venial sins, you say, dispose men to mortal; so the erring from some profitable, though lesser truth, may dispose a man to error in greater matters: as for example, the belief of the pope's infallibility is, I hope, not unpardonably damnable to every one that holds it; yet if it be a falsehood (as most certainly it is), it puts a man into a very congruous disposition to believe antichrist, if he should chance to get into that see.

8. Ad § 3. In his distinctions of points fundamental and not fundamental, he may seem, you say, to have touched the point, but does not so indeed; because, though he says there are some points

Matt. v. 19.

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