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

but now they are burdens to one another's spirits, they bring evils one upon another. Those who heretofore were forward Professors, whose society was only amongst the Saints, now they can suit well enough with those who are carnal, they close with them, their converse is most amongst them. ⟨p. 193⟩Oh Lord, what fire is it that is kindled amongst us! The nature of fire is, Congregare homogenea, & segregare heterogenea, to gather things of a like nature together, and separate things of a different: but our fire does quite contrary, it separates things that are Homogeneall, and joins things Heterogeneall. Surely this is no other then the fire of hell.

but now they are burdens to one anothers spirits, they bring evils one upon another. Those who heretofore were forward Professors, whose society was onely amongst the Saints, now they can suit well enough with those who are carnal, they close with them, their converse is most amongst them. ⟨p. 193⟩Oh Lord, what fire is it that is kindled amongst us! The nature of fire is, Congregare homogenea, & segregare heterogenea, to gather things of a like nature together, and separate things of a different: but our fire does quite contrary, it separates things that are Homogeneall, and joyns things Heterogeneall. Surely this is no other then the fire of hell.

Sixthly, they hinder our time. Abundance of time is spent §6about our divisions, which we are not able to give account to God for. When men are engaged in contentions, they will follow them night and day, whatsoever business be neglected, to be sure that must not: yea the choice of our time that was wont to be spent in meditation, reading, prayer, is now spent in contending and wrangling. Those retired times that we were wont to converse with God in, are now spent in the workings of our thoughts about our divisions; and when we come abroad then a great part of our time is taken up in going first to this body, and then to the other, to help forward and foment matter of division. Of all the time of a mans life, that time that is spent in lawing and quarrelling is the worst, and happy it were for many that it might not be reckoned amongst the days, weeks, or months of their lives.