The church told of Mr. Ed. Bagshaw's scandals and warned of the dangerous snares…

This is not a single falsehood, but maketh up no small part of his Book. Reader, do but hear, and judge whether any thing except his Amareduci can excuse such horrid deliberate untruths? 1. I never retracted any of that book, setting aside the Dedication. 2. I do still profess that I am of the same judgment which that book expresseth. 3. I have in the greatest audience told the Bishops, that I stand to it, and provoked them to answer it. 4. There is not a word of contradiction to that Book, in my Cure of Church-Divisions, which he writes against: And am I not as like to understand my own writings as this man is? 5. That very Book pleadeth as much, and ⟨p. 14⟩much more for a moderate Episcopacy, the lawfulness of a Liturgy, and those circumstances or ceremonies which I judge lawful, (as kneeling at the Sacrament) than my later Books have done. 6. It was to me a considerable Providence which drew me, when the Sectaries were at the very highest, to write that Book, which had I written since the King returned, they would have imputed to temporizing, or a change. 7. The very same men that now rail so loud against me, said nothing that ever I could hear of, against that book, that contained more than Now I have written for; But then it passed uncontradicted by them that now rail at half as much. So, Is it not a strange fate which that poor Book incurreth, that the men of both sides plead it as for them, and commend it, whilst they condemn the Author, as if he were himself against it. The Reverend Bishop whom Mr. Bagshaw wrote against, alleged it in the greatest audience (before his Majesty, Dukes, Lords, and Bishops) with no less commendation than these words, [No man hath spoken better of this than Mr. Baxter.] And now Mr. Bagshaw citeth it with applause: Reader, who is in such a case as I? The Bishop is for my Book: Mr. Bagshaw is for it: And I am the man that am against my self, whilst I openly tell them both that I still stand to it as my judgment (only not owning any words that any party shall justly find to be too sharp.) Surely, they labour to bring me to that reputation among these contenders, as Plato was among the Philosophers, whom every Sect took to be the second, or next the best.

This is not a single falshood, but maketh up no small part of his Book. Reader, do but hear, and judge whether any thing except his Amareduci can excuse such horrid deliberate untruths? 1. I never retracted any of that book, setting aside the Dedication. 2. I do still profess that I am of the same judgment which that book expresseth. 3. I have in the greatest audience told the Bishops, that I stand to it, and provoked them to answer it. 4. There is not a word of contradiction to that Book, in my Cure of Church-Divisions, which he writes against: And am I not as like to understand my own writings as this man is? 5. That very Book pleadeth as much, and