is fafe, we do but pare their Nayles and oir their Hare which will quickly grow againe, but if this failes, all falls, wound them here, and it goes to the heart. Whether I have done this here or no, I fhall not be fo abfurd or arrogant as to give judge ment in my owne cause, this onely I fhall be bold to fay, that I have faithfully reprefented the trength of the Popish caufe in this great point out of their most famous and approved Authors, and fuch of whom it might be truly faid, Si ma nia Rome Defendi poßent dextrâ hâc defenfa fuaffent, and therefore if all the plaufible pretences of their most considerable Writers be here removed and destroyed (which I willingly referre to the judgement of the serious intelligent and impar tiall Reader) I may without injuftice conclude that their Doctrine is indefenfible, and their caule defperate of

My Lord

The reafon why I devolve the Patronage of this worke upon your Lordship is not onely the confideration of your reall worth and those honourable qualities refplendent in you, that true generofity, fincere friendship, obliging fweetneffe, impartiall valuation of perfons according to their merit, not their party or opinion in little things, and other confpicuous vertues (which they that

have the happineffe of your acquaintance are witneffes of) nor is it onely the knowne excellenty and exemplary piety of your moft Illustrious Lady: (which nothing but ignorance of malice can deny nor the particular obligations which I fhall alwayes defne to qwne to both of you, but the contemplation of that great intereft, which by the high capacity of your Place, and thend bleneffe of your Eftate, and the unexampled atfability of your deportment, you have in the Kingdome of Ireland; which how free it is from other Venoms your Lordship knowes better then I, yet fure I am it is fadly infected with the Poyson of Popish Doctrines, and therefore I thought the Antidote moft needfull there, and that your Lordfhips Authority and Influence accompanied with your zealous endeavours (which God expects and I promise to my felf from you in fo good a caufe) might induce many perfons of the Romish perfwafion to read and confider this fhort Treatife, if God peradventure may give them Repentance to the acknowledgement of the Truth that they may recover themselves from the fnare of the

Devill

1

That God would encline your heart to contribute your moft effectuall help to fo good a worke and fucceed you in it and recompence you for it,

and

and that God would bleffe Your felfe and worthy Lady with all the bleffings you want, and mercifully preferve and Sanctifie to you all you have, and crowne all with thofe inexpreffible felicities of another World, is now and shall by Gods affiftance be the humble and fervent prayer of,

Sept. 1. 1665.

My Lord,

Your Lordships Orator at the
Throne of Grace

MATTHEW POOLE

B

To the Reader.

It

Efore I come to the worke it felfe I know my Reader will require fatisfaction in two things which I hold my felfe obliged to give, in the first to the Proteftant, in the latter to the Romanist. I. will be objected to me as the Jewish Tradition tels us was objected to Mofes by his Antagonists, who charged him with bringing Magicall operations among them, that he brought Straw into Egypt, a country abounding with Corne fo it will be faid that I trouble the World with needlefe repetitions, that I write an Iliad after Homer, and do that work which hath long fince been done much bet ter by our Proteftant Heroes, and that Ni! dictum eft quod non eft dictum prius: and particularly that this point of Infallibility bath been difcuffed by that formidable Adverfary of Rome the most acute Mr. Chillingworth, Lord Falkland, Dr. Hammond, and lately by our Learned Mr. Stilling. fleet: To thefe my Apology is, 1. That the clamorous importunity of Popish Writers doth force us to thefe repetitions it being the prudlife of most of their prefent Controvertifts boldly to urge those things in English as unanswerable which they know have been fo folidly disproved in Latin that they neither can nor have pretended to Anfwer. 2. I have made it my indeavour as much as I could to avoid repetitions, which are as difpleafing to me as they can be to the Reader, which if I have in many places ftumbled upon, it bath rather been the neceffity of the thing or an unhappy chance then choice and defigne. 3. The Reader I hope will

find Kova nawas: if I had known of any Author, mbo had in nof fo fhort a compafle and plain Method contracted and diffolved the ftrength of the Popish caufe in this great point, I had willingly fuperfeded; nor did I intrude my felf into this work, but was invited to it by diverse werthy and learned friends, and afterwards incouraged in it by the approbation of Such perfons, whose judgments I think almost all the learned part of England doth reverence. 4. Here is a new plea (viz concerning the fufficiency of the Teftimony of the prefent Church and the Infallibility of Oral Tradition (not at all confidered by Mr. Chillingworth, nor fully difcuffed by any other that Í know of, (except the ingenious Lord Falkland, who handles it quite another way, and bath left room for fome Gleanings after his harvest) Nor is it debated by Mr. Stillingfleet, whofe Adverfaries led him to things of another nature. And. befides it is known to diverfe; that this Treatife was prepared for the Prefs before Mr. Stillingfleet's excellent Difcourfe came out,though retarded by fome unhappy occurrences which it is needleffe here to recount.

The fecond particular is this: The Papifts will pretend,that the Doctrines I charge upon them, and the Teftimonies which I alledge against them, are onely the particular opinions of private Doctors, and not of their whole Church. My defence is this.

1 The Authors which are here introduced, are not pedan tick Writers, but fuch as are of prime note and highest esteem in the Church of Rome, and the most zealous and confiderable Champions of their cause, and fuch (for the generality of them,) whofe writings came forth with the character of their Churches approbation upon them, concerning whom it will be very difficult to perfmade any intelligent man, either that Juch perfons did not understand the fenfe of the Church of Rome, as well as the Objector) or that they did knowingly contradict the doctrine of their Church, or would be permitted. foto do without any cenfure upon them2