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

2. THIS Sir, is almost the whole Sum of your Letter, and as for me, I will not now presume to give you in Answer, on the behalf of England, an exact Account of the reason of all our public Transactions; nor do I think it is your Will or Expectation that I should; the Counsels of Kings are concealed and secret, and so they ought to be, and this you Sir know perfectly well, that they are not to be revealed at random to every body, or any body; and yet in compliance with that old and intimate Acquaintance that has been between us (because I see you so earnestly desire it) I will shortly and friendly tell you what my Judgment is; but as (another saith) as far as I know and may, which I doubt not, will give you an entire Satisfaction.

2. THIS Sir, is almost the whole Sum of your Letter, and as for me, I will not now presume to give you in Answer, on the behalf of England, an exact Account of the reason of all our publick Transactions; nor do I think it is your Will or Expectation that I should; the Counsels of Kings are conceal'd and secret, and so they ought to be, and this you Sir know perfectly well, that they are not to be reveal'd at random to every body, or any body; and yet in compliance with that old and intimate Acquaintance that has been between us (because I see you so earnestly desire it) I will shortly and friendly tell you what my Judgment is; but as (another saith) as far as I know and may, which I doubt not, will give you an intire Satisfaction.

3. WE wonder (say you) that no Ambassadors from England are come to the Council. I beseech you Sir, are the English the only Nation who have not come to the Council? ⟨p. 148⟩Have you Sir been at the Council your self? Have you taken an exact Account? Have you told them exactly by Poll? Did you Sir, see there all the other Nations come together from all Parts of the World, except the English? But Sir, if you are so mightily in love with Wondering, why did you not admire this too, that neither any one of the three great Patriarchs of Constantinople, Antioch, nor Alexandria, nor Presbyter John, nor the Grecians, Armenians, Medes, Persians, Egyptians; those of Barbary, Ethiopia, or the Indies, did not come to the Council too? for is there not many in those Nations who believe in Christ? have they not Bishops? are they not by Name, and in reality Christians? And Sir, did Ambassadors come from all these Nations to the Council? or will you rather say the Pope did not call them, or that they are not bound by your Ecclesiastical Sanctions?