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

It is an evil advantage that men take, if they see some very erroneous many ways, and obnoxious in their lives, yet if these agree but in some one thing with those whom themselves differ from; all the odium of these errors and loose lives must be cast upon such as they thus agree with, in that one thing though ⟨p. 180⟩their consciences cannot but tell them, that those Brethren who are in a differing way from them, do abominate such errors and looseness of life as much as themselves.

It is an evill advantage that men take, if they see some very erroneous many wayes, and obnoxious in their lives, yet if these agree but in some one thing with those whom themselves differ from; all the odium of these errours and loose lives must be cast upon such as they thus agree with, in that one thing though ⟨p. 180⟩their consciences cannot but tell them, that those Brethren who are in a differing way from them, doe abominate such errourrs and loosenesse of life as much as themselves.

After God used Luther to bring light into Germany, ¹there arose many Sects; Papists say, there were grown in the Church after Luther's time, in one hundred years, two hundred and seventy Sects, whereas from Christs time to his, there cannot be reckoned above a hundred eighty one. Now this was the practice of the Papists, that they might cast an odium upon the Lutheran party, which they looked upon as standing most in their light; whatsoever errors were held, or miscarriages of life appeared in any of these Sects, all was cast upon the Lutheran party, upon this ground, because the Lutherans and these sects agreed in this, that they were all against the Papacy.

After God used Luther to bring light into Germany, ¹