Richard Baxter's penitent confession and his necessary vindication in answer to a book called…

§ 4. II. I must first tell the Reader that should I stay to confute all the falsification of my words which he pretendeth to recite, it would make an unsavoury, tedious, unprofitable Volume. A word put in, or left out, or altered, will serve our grand Accuser to do much of his Works with the Sons of Ignorance and Malice.

He seemeth to expect that I should Repent of saying that our Civil War between King and Parliament was begun in England between two Parties of Episcopal Protestants: And must I repent that I lived in England? And that I know what it was naturally impossible for me not to know? Why doth he not also make me a Liar for saying that I then dwelt in England; and both sides were English Men, and spake English? Had I been a Mushroom sprung up as lately as our fiery Tories, ⟨p. 30⟩[…] had Malice enough to make me mad, I might have needed none of his imposed Repentance. I have in another writing named the Commanders of the Army, and the Parliaments Lords Lieutenants, and all the Major Generals, besides the Chaplains, and Challenged them to find among all these one Presbyterian or two Independents for ten, if not twenty Episcopal Protestants. A Wise and Credible Parliament Man yet living, hath oft told me that when the War begun he knew but One Presbyterian in all the House of Commons, (which was worthy Mr. Tate of Northampton) it being not then known among them. The Earl of Warwick who commanded at Sea I knew to be for Communion with the Parish and Episcopal Churches. In the Army let them enquire of the Communion and Religion of the General and all his Commanders, and I believe they will find among all the Colonels but two Independents (the Lord Say and the Lord Brooke) and one moderate Puritan yet living (the Lord Wharton) and that all the rest were moderate Episcopal Conformists (what the old Scots Soldiers Browne and Urrey that turned to the King were I know not, supposing their pay was their Religion.) We knew this to be true of the Earl of Essex General; the Earl of Bedford General of the Horse is yet living and well known: Sir John Merrike Major General, Colonel Dolbiere, the Earl of Peterborough General of the Ordnance, Lionel Copley Scout-Master, the Earl of Stamford, the Lord Roberts lately President of the Kings Privy Council; the Lord Hollis, the Lord Kimbolton, (after Earl of Manchester and Lord Chamberlain that chose the Kings Preachers, and constantly heard them, the Lord Hastings (Earl of Huntington) the Lord Rochford (after Earl of Dover) the Lord Fielding (after Earl of Denbigh) the Lord St. John Son to the Earl of Bullingbrook killed at Edghill) Col. Goodwin, Col. Lssex, Col. Grantham, Col. Sir Henry Cholmley, Col.