Gildas Salvianus: The Reformed Pastor

and therefore are unwilling to live without them. Discipline is not a needless thing to the Church: If you will not difference between the precious and the vile by Discipline, people will do it by separation. If you will keep many score or hundreds in your Churches that are notoriously scandalous, and contemners of Church-Communion, and never openly (nor perhaps privately) reprove them nor call to Repentance, nor cast them out, you cannot marvel if some timorous souls do run out of your Churches as from a ruinous edifice, that they fear is ready to fall upon their heads. I pray you consider, if you should do in the same manner with them in the Sacrament, as you do in Discipline, and should only show the bread and wine, and never let them taste of it, could you expect that the name of a Sacrament should satisfy them, or that they should like your Communion? Why should you think then that they will be satisfied with the empty sound of the word, Church-Government? And consider but what a disadvantage you cast your cause upon in all your disputations with men of another way. If your principles be righter then theirs, and their practice be righter then yours, the people will suppose that the Question is, ⟨p. 218⟩Whether the name or the thing, the shadow or the substance, be more desirable? and they will take your way to be a mere delusory formality, because they see you but formal in the use of it, yea that you use it not at all. I speak not against your Government, but for it, all this while; and tell you, that its you that are against it, that seem so earnest for it; while you more disgrace it for want of exercise, then you credit it by your bare arguments: And you will find before you have done, that faithful execution will be your strongest argument. Till then, the people will understand you as if you openly proclaimed, We would have no Public Admonitions, Confessions or Excommunications; our way is to do no good, but to set up the naked name of a Government. Doubtless it was a sault more past all disputation, for the Prelates to destroy Discipline and do little or nothing in it, then for them to be Prelates; and if they had but done the good that Discipline is ordained for, Prelacy might have stood to this day for ought I know; I am sure it would have had no opposition from many a hundred godly people that have opposed it.

and therefore are unwilling to live without them. Discipline is not a needless thing to the Church: If you will not difference between the precious and the vile by Discipline, people will do it by separation. If you will keep many score or hundreds in your Churches that are notoriously scandalous, and contemners of Church-Communion, and never openly (nor perhaps privately) reprove them nor call to Repentance, nor cast them out, you cannot marvel if some timorous souls do run out of your Churches as from a ruinous aedifice, that they fear is ready to fall upon their heads. I pray you consider, if you should do in the same manner with them in the Sacrament, as you do in Discipline, and should only shew the bread and wine, and never let them taste of it, could you expect that the name of a Sacrament should satisfie them, or that they should like your Communion? Why should you think then that they will be satisfied with the empty sound of the word, Church-Government? And consider but what a disadvantage you cast your cause upon in all your disputations with men of another way. If your principles be righter then theirs, and their practice be righter then yours, the people will suppose that the Question is,