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Let vs dayly and nightly pray God to send a curst cow and a curst bull short hornes, or to be well capped, or well sawed of, that they budde no more; for els it were better to take away head and all to be sure, least honester than these calues be made calues, or knocked on the head, as though they were calues, Surely, as of a body, there is but one head that can not be spared, so, in a body, may be many heads that must needes be spared, as, perhappes twenty byles, and euery one hath a head, in which case there is no perill, but least they goe into the body agayne, and then, perchance, infect the hart bloud, and put the body in danger; and the onely perill of driuing them in agayne, you wote, is colde, and colde handling. Some of our botches be ruune already, of some theyr heads be broken, some ryping, and, I trust, shall be well launced, or cleane drawne out in time. In the meane time beware cold, and God send and maintayne the warmth of his grace. Amen.

THE

EXECUTION OF IUSTICE IN ENGLAND,

FOR MAINTENAUNCE OF

PUBLIQUE AND CHRISTIAN PEACE,

AGAINST

CERTEINE STIRRERS OF SEDITION,

And Adherents to the Traytours and Enemies of the Realme,

Without any Persecution of them for Questions of Religion*,

As is falsely reported and published by the Fautors and Fosterers of their Trea sons; xvii December, 1583.

Imprinted at London, 1583, quarto, containing 5 sheets, black letter, the first edition; though, as it appears from some manuscript additions and alterations on the title, and in other parts of the book, prepared a second time for the press, by the Author, on the 14th of January, 1583.

After the Pope and his party had tried all means to soften Queen Elisabeth, and draw her council into their snare, to submit the church of Eugland, as in times past, to the church of Rome, and had even condescended so far as to offer to reverse the sentence pronounced against the legality of her mother's marriage; to consent to the Common-Prayer-Book's being used in English; and that the laity might receive the communion in both kinds; for the treating about which, Pope Pius had sent a nuncio as far as Flanders: but perceiving that these were insufficient baits to allure a Queen, who, in her minority, had postponed her

See the letter to Don Bernardin Mendoza, to begin vol. II, of this Miscellany,

liberty to her religion, and was too well instructed in the Christian faith, to yield up the essentials for a few externals of religion; resolved at all adventures to crush her, and consequently not only raised her up enemies abroad, but exerted his power among his deceived Zealots in England and Ireland, to try, if, under the form of religious obedience, he could persuade the Queen's subjects to take up arms against their lawful Sovereign, and deprive her of her crown and life. Thus, in the year 1570, Pope Pius engaged one Felton, to fix a bull on the Bishop of London's palace, declaring her subjects absolved from their allegiance, and commanding them to take arms, and dethrone her, on pain of damnation. Then he sent many priests, both secular, regular, and Jesuits, from time to time, out of their seminaries, to corrupt the people and propagate the doctrine of his bull; and, therefore, the Queen, in just regard to our holy religion, the laws and liberties of the people, and to her own welfare, looked no longer upon those that usurped the name Catholick, to be only distinct members of the Christian church, but, in her dominions, as so many rebels; and, consequently, provided laws for her own and the nation's security, in church and state, against such traytors, as, under the form and name of religion, maintained the rebellious doctrine of the forementioned bull, would take away her crown and life, and subject the nation to a foreign yoke. This brought on those penal laws, which the Papists complained of, and would persuade the world were enacted against them as Papists, and not as rebels, and in defence of which this treatise is written.

IT

T hath bene, in all ages and in all countries, a common vsage of all offenders for the most part, both great and small, to make defence of their lewd and unlawfull facts by vntruthes and by colouring and couering their deedes (were they neuer so vile) with pretences of some other causes of contrarie operations or effectes; to the intent not onely to auoid punishment or shame, but to continue, vphold, and prosecute their wicked attempts, to the full satisfaction of their disordered and malicious appetites. And though such hath bene the vse of all offendors, yet of none with more danger than of rebels and traitours to their lawfull princes, kinges, and countries. Of which sort, of late yeeres, are specially to be noted certeine persons naturally born subiectes in the realmes of England and Ireland, who, hauing for some good time professed outwardly their obedience to their Souereigne Lady, Queene Elizabeth, haue, neuerthelesse, afterward bene stirred vp and seduced by wicked spiritest, first in England, sundry yeeres past, and secondly and of later times in Ireland, to enter into open rebellion, taking armes and coming into the field, against her Maiestie and her lieutenants, with their forces under banners displayed, inducing by notable vntruthes many simple people to followe and assist them in their traiterous actions. And, though it is very well knowen, that both their intentions and manifest actions were bent, to haue deposed the Queenes Maiestie from her crowne, and to haue traiterously set in her place some other whom they liked, whereby, if they had not been speedily resisted, they would haue committed great bloodsheddes and slaughters of her Maiesties faithful subiectes, and ruined their natiue countrey; yet, by Gods

• For the space of ten years, after Queen Elizabeth had established the reformed church those, that yet adhered to the supremacy of the church of Rome, continued to communicate? with the church of England as by law established.

Authorised by the Pope's bull to take up arms against their lawful sovereign.

power giuen vnto her Maiestie, they were so speedily vanquished, as some few of them suffered by order of lawe, according to their deserts; many and the greatest part, vpon confession of their faultes, were pardoned; the rest (but they not many) of the principall, escaped into forreine countries, and there, because in none or few places, rebels and traitours to their naturall princes and countries dare, for their treasons, chalenge, at their first muster, open comfort or succour, these notable traitours and rebels haue falsely informed many kinges, princes, and states, and specially the Bishoppe of Rome, commonly called the Pope (from whom they all had secretely their first comfort to rebell) that the cause of their fleeing from their countries was for the religion of Rome, and for maintenanuce of the said Popes authoritie. Whereas divers of them, before their rebellion, liued so notoriously, the most part of their liues, out of all good rule, either for honest maners, or for any sense in religion, as they might haue been rather familiar with Catalyn, or fauourers of Sardanapalus, then accompted good subiectes vnder any Christian princes. As for some examples of the heads of these rebellions, out of England fled Charles Neuill, Earl of Westmerland, a person vtterly wasted by looseness of life, and by Gods punishment, euen in the time of his rebellion, bereaued of his children, that should haue succeeded him in the earldome, and his bodie nowe eaten with vlcers of lewde causes, as his companions do saye, that no enemic he hath can wish him a viler punishment; a pitiful losse to the realme of so noble a house, never before in any age attainted for disloyaltie; and out of Ireland ranne away one Tho. Stukeley*. a defamed person almost through all Christendome, and a faithlesse beast rather then a man, fleeing first out of England, for notable piracies, and out of Ireland, for trecheries not pardonable, which two were the first ringleaders of the rest of the rebelles; the one for England, the other for Ireland. But notwithstanding the notorious cuill and wicked liues of these and other their confederates, voide of all Christian religion; it liked the bishop of Rome, as in fauour of their treasons, not to colour their offences, as themselves openly pretend to do, for auoyding of common shame of the world, but flatly to animate them to continue their former wicked purposes, that is, to take armes against their lawful Queene, to inuade her realm with forreine forces, to pursue all her good subiectes and their natiue countries with fire and sworde: for maintenance whereof there had some yeres before, at sundrie times, pro→ ceeded, in a thundring sort, bulles, excommunications, and other publique writings, denouncing her Maiestie, being the lawfull Queene, and Gods anoynted servant, not to be the Queene of the realm, charging, and vpon paines of excommunication, commanding all her subiectes, to depart from their natural alleageances, whereto by birth and by othe they were bounde. Prouoking also and authorising all persons of

This man, having spent his estate profusely in England, fled into Ireland; and, because the Queen would not trust him with the stewardship of Wexford, he first vented several scurrilous things against her Majesty, and then fled to Italy; where, after some time, Gregory the Thir teenth, allured with the hopes of obtaining the crown of Ireland for his bastard son, gave him the command of several ships and eight hundred Italian soldiers, and ennobled him with the titles of Marquis de Lemster, Earl of Wexford and Caterlaugh, Viscount Morough, and Baron of Ross, in the ki do of Ireland, as if he, the Pope, had been the sovereign thereof.

all degrees within both the realmes to rebell, and upon this antichristian warrant, being contrarie to all the lawes of God and man, and nothing agreeable to a pasturall officer, not onely all the rabble of the foresaid traitors that were before filed, but also all other persons that had forsaken their natiue countries, being of diuers conditions and qualities, some not able to liue at home but in beggerie, some discontented for lacke of preferments, which they gaped for vnworthily in vniversities and other places; some banckerupt marchants, some in a sort learned to contentions, being not contented to learne to obey the lawes of the lande, haue many yeres running up and downe, from countrey to countrey, practised some in one corner, some in an other, some with seeking to gather forces and money for forces, some with instigation of princes, by vntruethes, to make warre upon their natural country, some with inwarde practises to murder the GREATEST, some with seditious writings, and very many of late with publique infamous libels, ful of despiteful vile termes and poisoned lyes, altogether to vpholde the foresaide antichristian and tyrannous warrant of the Popes Bull. And yet also by some other meanes, to furder these intentions, because they could not readily preuayle by way of force, finding forreine princes of better consideration and not readily inclined to their wicked purposes, it was deuised to erect vp certeine schooles which they called seminaries*, to nourish and bring vp persons disposed naturally to sedition, to continue their race and trade, and to become seedemen in their tillage of sedition, and them to send secretly into these the Queene Maiesties realmes of England and Ireland, vnder secret maskes, some of priesthood, some of other inferior orders, with titles of seminaries; for some of the meaner sort, and of Jesuites, for the stagers and ranker sort, and such like, but yet so warely they crept into the land, as none brought the marks of their priesthoode with them; but in diuers corners of her Maiesties dominions these seminaries, or seedemen, and Jesuites, bringing with them certeine Romish trash, as of their hallowed waxe, their Agnus Deit, many kinde of beades, and such like, have as tillage-men laboured secretly to perswade the people to allowe of the Popes foresaid bulles and warrantes, and of his absolute authoritie ouer all princes and countries, and striking many with prickes of conscience to obey the same, whereby in proces of small time, if this wicked and dangerous, traiterous and craftie course had not bene by God's goodnes espied and staied, there had followed imminent danger of horrible vprores in the realmes, and a manifest blooddy destruction of great multitudes of Christians. For it cannot be denied but that so many as shoulde haue bene induced and throughly perswaded to haue obeyed that wicked warrant of the Popes, and the contents thereof, should haue bene forthwith in their hearts and consciences secret traitours; and for to be in deede errant and open traitours, there shoulde haue wanted nothing but opportunitie

• See an account of these seminaries in a subsequent volume.

The Agnus Dei is a composition of white wax and the powder of human bones, dug out of the Catatombs, or antient burial places of the Christians at Rome. It is of the form of an oval medal with the representation of the Holy Lamb and Jesus Christ, who is stiled Agnus Dei, or the Lamb of God, on the one side, and the Pope's effigy, who consecrated it, on the reverse. The Church of Rome ascribes many vertues to this sort of relique, and confines the touch of it to persons in orders.

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to feele their strength, and to assemble themselves in such nombers with armour and weapons, as they might haue presumed to haue been the greater part, and so by open ciuill warre, to haue come to their wicked purposes. But God's goodness, by whom kinges doe rule, and by whose blast traitours are commonly wasted and confounded, hath other wise giuen to her Maiestie, as to his handmayde and deare seruant, ruling vnder him, the spirit of wisdome and power, whereby she hath caused some of these seditious seedemen and sowers of rebellion, to be discouered for all their secret lurkings, and to be taken and charged with these former poyntes of high treason, not being delt withall upon questions of religion, but iustly, by order of lawes, openly condemned as traitours. At which times, notwithstanding al maner of gentle ways of persuasions vsed, to moue them to desist from such manifest traiterous courses and opinions, with offer of mercy; yet was the canker of their rebellious humors so deepely entred and grauen into the hearts of many of them, as they woulde not be remooued from their traiterous determinations. And, therefore, as manifest traitours in maintayning and adhearing to the capitall enemy of her Maiestie and her crowne, who hath not only bene the cause of two rebellions alreadie passed in England and Ireland, but in that of Ireland did manifestly wage and maintaine his owne people, captaines and soldiours, under the banner of Rome, against her Maiestic, so as no enemy coulde doe more: these, I say, have iustly suffered death, not by force or forme of any newe lawes established, either for religion or against the Pope's supremacie, as the slaunderous libellers would haue it seeme to be, but by the auncient temporall lawes of the realme, and namely by the lawes of parliament made in † King Edward the Thirds time, about the yere of our Lord, 1330, which is about two-hundred yeres and moe past, when the Bishops of Rome and Popes were suffered to haue their authoritie ecclesiastical in this realme, as they had in many other countries. But yet of this kind of offenders, as many of them, as after their condemnations were contented to renounce their former traiterous assertions, so many were spared from execution, and doe liue still at this day, such was the vnwillingnes in her Maicstie to haue any blood spilt, without this verie vrgent iust and necessary cause, proceeding from themselues |. And yet, neuerthelesse, such of the rest of the traitours as remayne in forreyne pertes, continuing still their rebellious myndes, and craftily keeping themselues aloofe off from dangers, cease not to prouoke sundry other inferiour seditious persons, newly § to steale secretly into the realme, to reuiue the former seditious practises, to the execution of the Popes foresaid bulles against her Maicstie and the realme, pretending, when they are apprehended, that they came onely into the realme by the commandement of their superiours, the heads of the Jesuites, to whom they are bound (as they say) by othe against either king or countrie, and here to informe or reforme mens consciences

+25 Edward III.

• Pope of Rome and King of Spain. There were only four put to death, viz. Hanse, Nelson, Maine, and Sherwood; who were sondemned and executed for publickly maintaining, that the Queen was lawfully deposed by the Pope's bull. Stow, pag. 682, 684, 685, and Camden, p. 476.

See the Letter to Don Bernardin Mendoza.

This refers us to Father Parsons and Edm. Campian, the two first Jesuits employed in England, to preach rebellion against the Queen. Camden.

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