AS wee do most freely confesse almightie Gods exceeding bountifulnes towards that our gratious yong Prince Henry ( now deceased ) in powring out vpon him plentifully singuler naturall gifts of both valor and vnderstanding , & do dolefullie bewaile the great losse of such a glittering ornament and comfort of our infortunate country ; so we hartelie wish and do daily praie , that it may please the immense divine bountie to blesse that tender young prince Charles his deare and noble brother , with the true knowledg of the Catholike and Apostolike faith : that he may to God Almighties glory , to the true honor and peace of our countrie , and to his owne eternall saluation , returne vnto the ancient and holie Religion of his best renowmed and most puissant progenitors ; that growing as in age , so in vnderstanding and true pietie , hee may become , though no competent Iudge in matter of faith , as M. Abbot too flatteringlie would make his royall brother in his nonage ( for the iudgment of those high supernaturall points of religion do belong rather to the vocation of godly and graue learned Bishops , than to youthfull princes : ) yet to be a deuout imbracer and à zealous mainteyner of that heauenvly ingraffed word which only can saue our soules : for the defence wherof the glorious title of defender of the faith , was annexed to the crowne of England . In which , and for which principally , his most royall and gratious Grandmother was put to death : which to haue been the now Roman faith and Religion , no honest man can or will ( I thinke ) deny . And who is such a stranger in the estate of our neighbour countries , that doth not clearlie behold the readie way to aduance his princely name and renowme , and to increase both the wealth and strength of our kingdome , is to receiue , or admitt of the Roman religion ; which spayne , France , and Flanders ( the richest and noblest regions adioyning next to vs ) do follow and vphold ? The ministers rare deuotions vnto the Almighty for the preseruation of the noble Princes life , and encrease of honours , were vayne and friuolous , yea God send they were not hurt full and ominous . for of such like the holie Ghost faith , Prouer. 28.9 . Oratio eius erit execrabilis , their praier shal be accursed . God comonly punishing them , whom Satans seruants praie for : and manie times cursing them , whom they do blesse . And what maruell if wee consider but the strange disposition of his Charitie , shall I say , or rather of his furie : that would haue his Prince bath his sword in the bloud of innocents , and to sheath it in the Bowells not of some hundreds or thousands of such as neuer offended him , but of innumerable hundreds of thousands , of what sort , nation or countries soeuer , so they be fauorers and supporters of the Roman religion . was it any marvell I saie , that the father of mercies , and God of all comfort was highlie displeased at the pittiles petition of this bloudy Minister , or rather monster ?

From his deuotious and charity sutable to his profession , let vs passe vnto his hope expressed in this passage . his hope was that Prince Henries highnes should haue a chief part in the suppressing of this Roman religion . Maie he not now ( as once he told mee ) crie out with the no-vaine poet : O spes fallaces , o false and deceitfull hopes ; o vaine confidence in earthly creatures , be they neuer so noble and powerfull . good reason hath he to do so , seing he would not harken vnto the diuine prophet when he said : Psalm. 145. v. 2. Nolite confidere in principibus , in filijs hominum , in quibus non est salus . Doe not put your trust in princes , nor in anie sonnes of mortall men , in whom there is no helpe , principally for the atchieuing of any such vngodly & merciles exployte .

I come now to the new article of M. Abbots belief , that the vtter ruine ( forfooth ) of the Roman religion is not far of : of which peraduenture he may bee as well assured , as euerie protestant is of his owne saluation . But bicause this seemeth to be rather a kind of prophecy , then anie article of faith : why maie not M. Abbot ( who is not yet knowne to be either a prophet or the sonne of a prophet ) as wel faile in this his beliefe , as he was deceined in his hope . And it being the diuination but of a blear eied if not of a blind prophet , proceding rather out of his owne longing , then of anie foresight he hath of future euents , no man ( I trow ) is bound to beleeue him vnles he list . Some likelihoods there bee ( I grant ) in worldly mens opinions , that the Catholike religion may be rooted out of England . but when we lift vp our harts to heauen , and weigh well the true qualities and nature of Christian religion , we see noe euident cause to feare any such imminent daunger : nay wee discouer rather motiues to perswade vs to the contrarie , to witt , that our redemption and the restauration of Catholike religion in our country is neere at hand .

Not to answer M. Abbot ( who hath brought no one reason for his surmise ) but for the consolation of manie heauily distressed , and most pitifully afflicted Catholikes , my most deare and best beloued countrimen , I will briefly examine the causes that may moue worldlings to imagin their fathers old faith to be now in great hazard of vtter ruin and destruction ; that I may withall shew some reasonable grounds of hope for the speedie reparation therof : The first & principall cause of the decay of the Catholike faith in our countries , earthlie men esteeme to bee the impouerishing of all them that constantly professe and maintaine the same : for seing all Catholikes ( whom they call Recusants ) to bee fleeced and spoiled of all their goodes , and to haue nothing left for themselues , their wiues , and their children to liue vpon , they presentlie iudge that they cannot long hold out . And all men of meanes being once impouerished , neither priests ( who by doctrine , administration of Sacraments , and good example of life are great proppes and staies of religion ) can be harboured and interteined ; nor poore prisoners succoured and relieued : and consequently all Catholikes in short space must needs be vtterlie extinguished . Behold the presumptuous discourse of dust and ashes , who being not able to raise their thoughts aboue the flatt of the earth , or ouer the heades of their cattle , doe seldome meditate vpon those words of our blessed Sauiour : pauperes Euangelizantur the Ghospell is preached to the poore . poore men do more readilie embrace the glad tidings of the ghospell then the rich ; or vpon that golden sentence of the chosen vessell of his grace . videte vocationem vestram fratres , 1. Cor. 1. v. 26. &c. see your vocation brethren that not many wise according to the flesh , not manie mightie , not many noble : but the foolish things of the world hath God chosen that he may confound the wise : and the weake things of the world hath God chosen , that hee may confound the strong ; and the base thinges of the world and contemptible hath God chosen , and those things which are not , that he may destroy those tings that are : that no flesh may glory in his sight . Being then assured by the truth it self that poore , base , contemptible creatures in the eie of the world , be such as Christ maketh speciall choise of , to receiue , imbrace , and preach his word : How can it be probable to any christian , that the stripping men out of their goods , is an assured waie to make them to flie from their faith ? If poore fishermen , and others , that voluntariely forsooke all they had , were esteemed by Christ Iesus , ( the grand master of that heauenly worke ) the fittest men to make pillers and chiefe members of his holie faith and religion ; how grosly are they deceiued in the estate and manageing of heauenlie affaires , who do dreame that to make all Catholikes poore , is to extirpate the Catholike religion ? when as it is in deed a readie way to make most absolute & perfect christians , discharged of all earthly clogges , more nimble , proper , and at better leasure to employ themplues wholy and hartily in that spirituall busines . And therby also indearing themselues vnto Almightie God , ( for whose quarrell they haue lost all ) do become more capable and worthie of his greater giftes and blessings . who can tell whither our forefathers did not , through abundance and superfluitie of temporall wealth , forget their dutie to God , and by the sinnes that followed thervpon , made way to that dissolution of religion which after ensued in our miserable countrie ? for so it hapned often in Israëll as Moises foretold , my beloued waxed grosse and Kicked , Deut. 32. v. 15. hee was grosse and exceeding fatt : hee forsooke God his Creator , and turned away from his sauiour . And may it not well be the iust iudgement of the same Almightie Lord , to punish vs theire Children ( whom God often visiteth for their fathers faultes ) in the same kind , according to that rule of the law : in quo quis peccat , in eo & puniatur . Let them be punished in the same kind that they did offend . why should wee not then be content to redeeme our religion with penury , which our Ancestors morgaged through their ouergreat superfluitie ? yea although that were not soe , let vs imitate that wise and well aduised marchant commended in the Gospell , who hauing found out the pretious pearle of the true Christian faith and religion , went and sould all that he had and bought it . I dare be bold ( bicause I haue the warrant of Gods word for it ) to assure all them that so doe , that they therby make the richest purchase that can be made vpon the earth : vnto which if the best bargaines that wordlings make be compared , they are but shadowes and meere dreames . If there were a statelie gallant faire rich Lordshyp to be sold , at two or three yeeres purchase , what presse would there be of buyers ? how willing would the veriest pinchpennies in a conutry be to bestow their monie ther vpon ? and what is this earthly bargaine if it be paralleld to that heauenly ? of which our sauiour speaketh in the ghospell : Matt. 19 v. 29. he that forsaketh father or anie other frind , he that leaueth land or liuing , or any other comoditie for my names sake , he shall receiue , not one for one , but a hundreth for one and to boote in the world to come , life euerlasting . And they that doubt least in the meane season , they shall want necessarie sustenance : they must needes confesse themselues censured by our Saviour to be modicae fidei , Matth. 6. v. 30. men of small faith , that do not trust confidentlie in the prouidence of our heauenlie father , who feedeth the foules of the ayre , and clotheth the grasse of the field : of which he hath not so much care as of vs Christians : if they be worthie the name of Christians that dare not relie vpon Christes infallible promise : quaerite regnum Dei & Iustitiam eius , Matth. 6. v. 33. & haec omnia adijcientur vobis . Let them that faine would , yet with much adoe can ouercome this temptation of pouertie , ponder these few points often and aduisedlie , and praie to God to strengthen their weaknes : then no doubt but they shall be able to prefer pouertie with Christ , before the riches of this world with the losse of Christ , and of their soules . I that do but handle this matter by the waie may not dwell long in it , but will make it vp with these memorable and comfortable wordes of the Apostle : Heb. 13. v. 5. Let your manners he without auarice , contented with things present : for he ( that is , the soueraigne Lord of heauen and earth ) said ; I will not leaue thee , neither will I forsake thee : so that we doe confidentlie saie , Our Lord is my helper , and I will not feare what man can doe to me . To our purpose then M. Abbot , how wise an Auguret soeuer he would seeme to bee , cannot by the impouerishing of Catholikes , diuine that the vtterruin of their religion as at hand : when as by blessed pouertie patientlie endured for Christs sake , it is much more like , that the same holie religion shal be the sooner restored .