If you that have his offered MS's, and say, This which I answer is Dr. O's; were the man that made this MS. which I answer, so common, I think you did him a great deal of wrong: Tho in his Printed Books, especially that of Prayer, and for Peace ▪ &c. he owns the ill Principle which I now confute, against all public Worship by Liturgy, and against man's power to command any more than Christ hath done in the order and manner of Worship and Church-Government (which also is to be seen in his Preface, &c. of his Original of Churches, and his Vindication of the Nonconformists ▪ &c). Yet these Printed Books of his (especially his Original of Churches, &c.) have so much sound and excellent matter, and so many healing peaceable passages in them, as did hide this one great Mistake: so that I long purposely forbore all contradiction of him in it (tho I plainly answered his Arguments in my Cure of Church-divisions), for fear lest I should occasion a more common offensive or hurtful notice of them. But when that one Error which was thus buried in abundance of sound matter, was by some of you, not only culled out, and made common in MS. by it self, but even in a writing, in which he goeth yet further towards Non-Communion with all the Churches almost on Earth, than ever he did in his Printed Books; and this to affright all others into the same Non-Communion; you could not sure imagine, that no Christian had so much love to the Church, to Souls, to Catholic Communion, to Love and Concord, as not to let such a Writing do its worst, without any Antidote and Answer. You could scarce have wronged the Doctor, or his Memory m•re: All his Enemies could not have done half so much against him, having no such matter to accuse him of, as you have unadvisedly given them. And if […] also you will lay your own Fault on others that love the Truth, and Church, and Souls, and Peace, better than this Manuscript, or its Reputation, you will but run further into Error.
If you that have his offered MS's, and say, This which I answer is Dr. O's; were the man that made this MS. which I answer, so common, I think you did him a great deal of wrong: Tho in his Printed Books, especially that of Prayer, and for Peace ▪ &c. he owns the ill Principle which I now confute, against all publick Worship by Liturgy, and against man's power to command any more than Christ hath done in the order and manner of Worship and Church-Government (which also is to be seen in his Preface, &c. of his Original of Churches, and his Vindicatian of the Nonconformists ▪ &c). Yet these Printed Books of his (especially his Original of Churches, &c.) have so much sound and excellent matter, and so many healing peaceable passages in them, as did hide this one great Mistake: so that I long purposely forbore all contradiction of him in it (tho I plainly answered his Arguments in my Cure of Church-divisions), for fear lest I should occasion a more common offensive or hurtful notice of them. But when that one Error which was thus buried in abundance of sound matter, was by some of you, not only culled out, and made common in MS. by it self, but even in a writing, in which he goeth yet further towards Non-Communion with all the Churches almost on Earth, than ever he did in his Printed Books; and this to affright all others into the same Non-Communion; you could not sure imagine, that no Christian had so much love to the Church, to Souls, to Catholick Communion, to Love and Concord, as not to let such a Writing do its worst, without any Antid•te and Answer. You could scarce have wrong'd the Doctor, or his Memory m•re: All his Enemies could not have done half so much against him, having no such matter to accuse him of, as you have unadvisedly given them. And if 〈…〉 also you will lay your own Fault on others that love the Truth, and Church, and Souls, and Peace, better than this Manuscript, or its Reputation, you will but run further into Error.
