A vindication of the Animadversions on Fiat lux

Besides indeed the Jews did scarce pretend to reject the Gospel out of love to God, but to their old Church-State, and Traditions, on which very account your selves at this day reject many important truths of it. But it is one thing vainly to pretend the Love of God, another so to love him indeed as to keep his Commandments, and in •o doing to cleave unto the Truth, and to reject that which is contrary thereunto. You add as the issue of these enquiries, Let us leave cavils, grant my supposition which you cannot deny; then speak to my Consequence, which I deem most strong and good, to inter a Conclusion which neither you nor I can grant. Answ. I wish you had thought before of leaving Cavils that we might have been eased of the consideration of the foregoing Queries, which are nothing else, and those very trivial. Your supposition which is, that Papists first brought the Gospel into England, you say I cannot deny: but Sir, I do deny it, and challenge you or any man in the world to ⟨p. 335⟩make it good, or to give any colour of Truth unto it. Then your Consequence you say you deem strong and good; I doubt not but you do so; so did Suffenus of his Poems, but another was not of the same mind who says of him, Qui modo scurra Aut si quid h•c re tritius (or hoc re tritius) videbatur, Idem inficeto est inficetior rure, Simul poe•ata attigit, neque idem unquam Aeque est beatus ac poema cum scribit, Tam gaud•t in se, temque se ipse miratur.

You may for ought I know have a good faculty at some other things; but you very unhappily please your self in drawing of Consequences; which for the most part are very infirm and naught, as in particular I have abundantly manifested that to be, which you now speak of. But you conclude; I tell you plainly and without tergiversation before God and all his holy Angels what I should think if I descended unto any Conclusion in this affair. And it is this, Either the Papist who holds at this day all these Articles of faith which were delivered at the first Conversion of this land by St. Austin, is unjustly become odious amongst us, or else my honest Parsons, threw of your Cassocks, and resign your benefices and […] into the hands of your neighbours whose they were […] My Consequence is irrefragable. And I […] you plainly that I greatly pity you for your di court, and that on many accounts. First, That in the same breath wherein you so solemnly protest before God and his holy Angels, you should so openly prevaricate, as to intimate that you descend unto no conclusions in this affair, wherein notwithstanding your pretences you