Irenicum, to the lovers of truth and peace heart-divisions opened in the causes and…

Though no Governors may command but upon reason,¹ yet the Governors of State need not always discover the reasons of their commands.

Though no Governours may command but upon reason,¹ yet the Governours of State need not alwayes discover the reasons of their commands.

1. 1Answ.

We may give up our Civill liberties so far as to be bound to yield to our Governors commands, if we see nothing against what they command, but have cause to suppose that they see some reason that we do not, which is not fit to make known to us. This is grounded upon this reason, that there are Arcana imperii, mysteries of State that are not fit for every man to know, the secrecy of them conduces most to the good of the State: But it is otherwise in the matters of the Church, which are spiritual, there are no such mysteries in the Church, wherein any members of it can be required to be active, but it concerns them to understand as well as to do. All the actions of the Church as such must be done for spiritual edification; now a man cannot do a thing for the edifying his soul, or the soul of another, but he must understand his action and the rule of it; he must see it required by the Word, or otherwise he cannot expect any spiritual efficacy in what he does; I may do a thing for a civill good, wherein I may trust another mans reason, and this may be sufficient to attain my end, the procuring of some good merely civill, but this will never be able to reach to a spiritual good, I must see the reason, the ground, the rule of the action my self; I must judge by the Word, that this action at this time clothed with all its circumstances is by Christ fitted for such a spiritual good that I aim at.