In this place I said nothing, but that I would have my Lord of Newcastle
to communicate it only to the Bishop. And in his answer he says, (_a_)
“if I had desired to have it kept secret, the way had been to have kept
it secret myself”. My desire was, it should not be communicated by my
Lord of Newcastle to all men indifferently. But I barred not myself from
showing it privately to my friends; though to publish it was never my
intention, till now provoked by the uncivil triumphing of the Bishop in
his own errors to my disadvantage.
(_b_) “But if he think that this ventilation of the question may do
hurt, truly I hope not. The edge of his discourse is so abated, that it
cannot easily hurt any rational man, who is not too much possessed with
prejudice.” It is confidently said; but not very pertinently to the hurt
I thought might proceed from a discourse of this nature. For I never
thought it could do hurt to a rational man, but only to such men as
cannot reason in those points which are of difficult contemplation. For
a rational man will say with himself, _they whom God will bring to a
blessed and happy end, those he will put into an humble, pious, and
righteous way; and of those whom he will destroy, he will harden the
hearts_: and thereupon examining himself whether he be in such a way or
not, the examination itself would, if elected, be a necessary cause of
working out his salvation with fear and trembling. But the men who I
thought might take hurt thereby, are such as reason erroneously, saying
with themselves, _if I shall be saved, I shall be saved whether I walk
uprightly or no_: and consequently thereunto, shall behave themselves
negligently, and pursue the pleasant way of the sins they are in love
with. Which inconvenience is not abated by this discourse of the Bishop;
because they understand not the grounds he goeth on, of _nunc stans_,
_motus primo primi_, _elicit acts_, _imperate acts_, and a great many
other such unintelligible words.