Wholesome severity reconciled with Christian liberty. Or, the true resolution of a present controversy…VVholesome severity reconciled with Christian liberty. Or, the true resolution of a present controversie…

My second distinction is concerning the punishments inflicted by the Magistrate upon Heretics.¹ They are either exterminative, or medicinal. Such as blaspheme God or Jesus Christ, or who fall away themselves and seduce others to Idolatry, ought to be utterly cut off according to the law of God. But as for other Heretics, they are to be chastened with medicinal punishments as mulcts, imprisonments, banishment, by which through Gods blessing they may be humbled, ashamed, and reduced. Not that I think the proper end of civill and coercive punishments to be the conversion and salvation of the Delinquent, (which is the end of Church censures & of Excommunication it self) but that the right method of proceeding doth require that the Magistrate inflict the smaller punishments first, that there may be place for the offenders bringing forth of fruits worthy of repentance, and he may be at least reduced to external order and obedience, being perswade• by the terror of civill power, which may and doth (when blessed of God) prove a preparation to free obedience, as the needle is to the thread, or the law to the Gospel, servile fear to filial fear: and that the Magistrate step not up to the highest justice till other punishments have proved ineffectual: which made Constantine punish the Heretics of his time not with death, but with banishment, as is manifest by the Proem of the Council of Nice. In such cases it may be said to the Heretic of the Magistrate, He is the Minister of God to thee for good, ⟨p. 33⟩more good I am sure,² then if the golden reins of civill justice should be loosed, and he suffered to do what he list. Therefore Augustine likeneth this coercive punishing of Heretics to Sarah her dealing roughly with Hagar, for her good and humiliation. I conclude, connivance and indulgence to Heretics is a cruel mercy: correction is a merciful severity, and a wholesome medicine, as well to themselves as to the Church.

My second distinction is concerning the punishments inflicted by the Magistrate upon Hereticks.¹ They are either exterminative, or medicinall. Such as blaspheme God or Jesus Christ, or who fall away themselves and seduce others to Idolatry, ought to be utterly cut off according to the law of God. But as for other Hereticks, they are to be chastened with medicinall punishments as mulcts, imprisonments, banishment, by which through Gods blessing they may be humbled, ashamed, and reduced. Not that I think the proper end of civill and coercive punishments to be the conversion and salvation of the Delinquent, (which is the end of Church censures & of Excommunication it self) but that the right method of proceeding doth require that the Magistrate inflict the smaller punishments first, that there may be place for the offenders bringing forth of fruits worthy of repentance, and he may be at least reduced to externall order and obedience, being perswade by the terror of civill power, which may and doth (when blessed of God) prove a preparation to free obedience, as the needle is to the thread, or the law to the Gospell, servile fear to filiall fear: and that the Magistrate step not up to the highest justice till other punishments have proved ineffectuall: which made Constantine punish the Hereticks of his time not with death, but with banishment, as is manifest by the Proem of the Councell of Nice. In such cases it may be said to the Heretick of the Magistrate, He is the Minister of God to thee for good,