The apology of the Church of England, and an epistle to one Seignior Scipio…

7. BUT now if they are so ambitious of the Honour of being thought polite and eloquent Slanderers, it does so much the less befit us to be mute and careless in the Defence of our most excellent Cause; for it is certainly the part only of dissolute Men, who can securely and wickedly shut their Eyes when the Divine Majesty is injured, to be wholly unconcerned; what is (tho' ⟨p. 9⟩falsely and unjustly) said of them and their Cause, especially when it is of that Nature, that the Glory of God, and the Affairs of Religion are at the same time violated; for although other, and those often very great Injuries, may be born and dissembled by a modest Christian, yet He (saith Ruffinus) who shall patiently put up the Name of an Heretic, does not deserve to be called a Christian. Permit us then to do that which all Laws, and the very Voice of Nature commands us, that which Christ himself did, when he was in a like Case assaulted with Reproaches; that is, suffer us to repel their Defamations, and with Modesty and Truth, to defend our Cause and Innocence: for Christ himself, when the Pharisees charged him with Conjuration, as if he had entered a Combination with impure Spirits, and by their Assistance wrought many Wonders,¹ replied, I have not a Devil, but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me; and St. Paul, when he was undervalued by Festus the Proconsul, as a Mad-man,² answered, I am not mad, most noble Festus, but speak forth the Words of Truth and Soberness. And the Primitive Christians, when they were traduced to the People as Murderers, Adulterers, Incestuous Persons, and Disturbers of the Government, and saw that the Excellence of their Religion might be called in question, especially if they held their Peace, and by their Silence, seemed to confess the truth of these Accusations, and so the Course of the Gospel might be hindered, they thereupon ⟨p. 10⟩^†made public Orations, wrote supplicant Books, and discoursed before Emperors and Princes in the public defence of themselves and the Chruch.

7. BUT now if they are so ambitious of the Honour of being thought polite and eloquent Slanderers, it does so much the less befit us to be mute and careless in the Defence of our most excellent Cause; for it is certainly the part only of dissolute Men, who can securely and wickedly shut their Eyes when the Divine Majesty is injured, to be wholly unconcern'd; what is (tho'