A breviate of the life of Margaret, the daughter of Francis Charlton ... and…

As it is Satan's work to counterwork Christ by the Abuse and Perversion of his own Ordinances and Means, (as to disgrace Revelation by feigned Revelation, and Spirituality by false pretendings to the Spirit, and Magistracy by wicked Magistrates, and the Ministry by worldly and ungodly Ministers, and Christianity by hypocrite false Christians;) so he doth enervate the credit and use of History by false History. And how great use he hath made of this to promote Popery, he that readeth Jacobus de Voragine, and many other of their Legends, or Saints Lives and Miracles, and such as Tympius and many more, besides ⟨image 4⟩their voluminous deceitful Histories of Church, Popes and Councils, may quickly find.

As it is Satans work to counterwork Christ by the Abuse and Perversion of his own Ordinances and Means, (as to disgrace Revelation by feigned Revelation, and Spirituality by false pretendings to the Spirit, and Magistracy by wicked Magistrates, and the Ministry by worldly and ungodly Ministers, and Christianity by hypocrite false Christians;) so he doth enervate the credit and use of History by false History. And how great use he hath made of this to promote Popery, he that readeth Jacobus de Voragine, and many other of their Legends, or Saints Lives and Miracles, and such as Tympius and many more, besides ⟨image 4⟩their voluminous deceitful Histories of Church, Popes and Councils, may quickly finde.

And being my self a vehement Hater of false History, I beg Pardon of the Reader for interposing this Digression: Lately writing of the Judgment of Cranmer and others, as cited by Dr. Stillingfleet in his Irenicon, about Episcopacy, that the Reader might know where to find it, I added in a Parenthesis, that it was left out in Dr. Burnet's Book: For this I am accused, as disgracing him and his Book falsely. I here do him right, and confess it was ill done of me to judge so hastily without better trial: But I must tell him wherein my fault consisted; Not in accusing him; I take it not to be a fault in D. B. that he hath omitted many things that are in Fuller, Fox, and others: I had not thought that his Book was disgraced, if he wrote not over again all that every one else had written before him. But my fault lay, 1. In believing Dr. Stillingfleet, who tells us, That these Papers were written in K. Edward's Reign, which made me look for them in Dr. Burnet's Second Volume, where they are not. And another affirming to me, that he saw them in that second Volume, and I perusing it purposely a second time, confirmed me. But Dr. B. saith, Dr. Stillingfleet was mistaken many years, and that they were written long before, in the Reign of Hen. 8. and so he hath them in his first Volume, which I had not perused, not expecting them there. And for this hasty judging, I beg his Pardon.