AN ANSWER TO THE PETITION Sent from the University of OXFORD to the Honourable Court of PARLIAMENT.  
LONDON, Printed in the year 1641.   

AN ANSWER TO THE PETITION Sent from the University of OXFORD to the Honourable Court of PARLIAMENT.  
THe great Petition or rather that which beareth so great a name, as coming from the University of Oxford to uphold a greater which is Episcopacy; finding it to be so little worth, and to so little purpose (as it is by the judgement of all that have judgement) as I should have thought to have come from the hands of some under Graduate, who had been tutored in some Popish way, had I not seen the Humble Petition of the University of Oxford Printed in great Letters; for although they have proposed some thing, they have proved nothing, unlesseit be charity to themselves and their successors. For though their duty towards God and the Nation be much, yet how it hath been performed, let others judge, they are not like to have so much as an ordinary interest in the resolution of their own cases: all their Authors have not made them wise enough to prove the succession of diocesan Bishops from the Apostles: nor dare they speak any thing without book; they would feign live merrily, and feed upon the fat, and drink the sweet, like lazy drones which rob the labouring Bees; & no govermennt will admit of it but that which is contrary to all government, the tyrannical government of Bishops, that they have been the running plague-sore of this Nation, is evident by their practices, there are Books out to prove their descent from Antichrist clear enough; but none to prove them from the Apostles, or to be jure divino, but what either are or deserve to be hist at; nor is there any Petition put up for them, but what may claim kindred with yours, for arguments and success; the cause is not put to the arbitrament of mad men, (as you styled them in your Letter sent to the Pope of Lambeth, dated the ninth of November 1640.) where you call him a Judge of Religion, and style yourselves the devout worshipper of his holiness: which Letter was written in Latin by a learned Papist in lofty language, being an answer to his scent to you but three days before, fearing yet the vilifying the honourable Court of Parliament, but as wise men are your judges, as you would seem to be. Now your Pope hath betrayed himself, that would have betrayed the City of Oxford when he made you Lords over them that live in it, and the whole Kingdom suffered by his holiness, but now he must suffer for his unholiness, and there is a diminution of the order already, and the man must follow: but those pious commanding Doctors, with their Proctors, are now become humble suitors to them which they hated, since they are Parliament converts, there is more change wrought amongst them since the third of November last by the Parliament, than thirty years preaching could work; for the still voice would not move them, and the voice of thunder stirred their malice, that the word could not be entertained: the cathedrals are built (they say) upon pious foundations; I thought holiness had not laid so low, nor did I think it had been placed in stones; but there is more piety in the glass windows, and in your Altars you suppose, but now your Altars are altered, I believe there is no other holiness in them than such as his Holiness cast upon Saint John's College and Saint Paul's, which was so much in that kind that he left himself none at all; He laid the foundations in sin, which is contrary to holiness, he took bribes to turn a cause oftentimes, and large ones too: of all which he will spare some thing for the holy place: so many that built the cathedrals, were merit-mongers, and their ends were Popish, and so have they been employed for the most part, for they have Deans and prebend's, who devour the revenues, that have no pastoral charge, and for the most part they are as unclean as the Monks and Friars were for whom they were built. And for the singing men, they do no good, but fill up rooms, and feed upon the prey. Was ever any man converted so, or built up in the faith by any of them, produce but one man, and take the revenues for your labour, but if you cannot, be contented to leave your three four five hundred or a thousand pounds a year, with which you do nothing that good is, and be contented with an hundred pounds a year, and preach the Gospel, and let your betters share with you. That they were first dedicated to Idols or Idolatry, which they call S●ints, and the honour and service of God, is the least ●h●ng considerable amongst them, and seeing they nurse superstition, although they have been up ●olden by the former Laws of the Land, yet seeing more light is sprung up amongst us, let them, by better Laws, with their means to them, be ordered for better uses, if that be a motive to make Scholars study, that they may live without study. I cannot conceive but it is the way to make them hypocrites: but sure this argument dropped from a Civil Lawyer and not from a Divine, and so let them fall together: some deep Scholars that will dive into the bottomless pit for preferment, and light their torches at Hell fire to find the way to greatness, may expect a reward in such places as is fittest for them, or a jesuite or a Seminary Priest may desire it in regard it did formerly belong to their tribe, and in respect of the affinity such places have with their Monasteries, but I cannot find that every any Scholar that was eminent did ever desire or accept of such Monastic preferment, except he were notorious for some fact, and foul in his practice as as well eminent for his learning or natural parts; nor was there ever any godly man produced or nourished by them, for it is impossible any good can spring out of evil, because every thing doth produce its like, nor can it work beyond nor above its own sphere; light cannot spring out of darkness, but by a command from heaven; and then light makes war with darkness, and admits of no agreement; so godly men scorn to receive the means of their livelihood in a superstitious way, as to draw their nourishment from the breast of an Idol. You begin to call them adversaries of the Church of Rome, but I know you will call their Church the whore of Babylon, and maintain their doctrine to be only Antichristian, by that time the Parliament hath sat nine months long. As for the portions that they do afford to younger brothers of good parentage, I know you mean by goodness, greatness: it is a shrewd mistake in such an assembly as was present at the making of this Petition, for goodness without greatness is slighted if not hated amongst many of you that are younger brothers indeed, if being devoted to the Ministry of the Gospel, they deserve not respect for their works sake, to be preferred and honoured as Ministers in a pastoral charge, and not to cloister themselves up, as unfit to labour in the Lord's Vineyard: and all are younger brothers that doubt of the truth of it. The Officers and Ministers that depend upon them, are but Pensioners to those Priests that are maintained in the Cells, they must be all conformable, not only to their superstition, but their humours: could they not be better maintained if the revenues were shared amongst them? but this is their Priestly State to have their vassals to wait upon them, and to eat their scrapes which would otherwise fall to the dogs. Oh I but here's our great works; Free-Schools and Hospitals are upheld by them; I confess, some thing is done that way by some of them, partly being enjoined, partly for custom, and partly for vainglory; but free Schools would be free indeed, if half those rents were given to that end, and Hospitals might be better maintained, or poverty prevented, if the other half were bestowed to that purpose, but they will be Scavingers to mend high ways and bridges. I wonder what Authors they have to prove these to be pious works, which the Carters can do better than they, but they have their ends if they are at any cost that way, either for coming to their houses, or for to gain applause for doing that which they and others are bound to do. I see now they do not confine holiness to the Church, nor to things belonging thereunto, seeing they bring it over bridges into the high ways; as for being causes of much profit to those Cities where they are situate, in relieving the poor; a poor pittance the poor have of them. It would be a great help to the Cities, if the means save what would maintain two godly Ministers were bestowed upon those Cities to maintain the poor in work that are able to work, and to keep those that are not; nor do I conceive that any strangers do come on purpose to visit the Ornaments, unless they be some superstitious Pilgrims, such as did use to visit Thomas Beckets Tomb, and such hinder the City, and not help it, because they go a begging, then surely the City hath no more dealing with Chapmen, then if the Cathedral and all that belong to it were at Rome: well, piety cometh again, nay, monuments of piety, I am sure the wickedest wretch that is may do good, Bonum sed non bone, they may bestow their estates to such purposes when they can keep them no longer, especially if they think to merit Heaven by that means, which they would not labour for before. We know many of them were great Oppressors, Usurers, Popish Bishops, Cardinals, amongst the rest, the Cardinal Wolsey, which was a proud traitorous wretch, yet must these build monuments of their piety? they have built fair houses, which might be useful if they were better employed: for as they are now, they are not the honour of this Kingdom in the sight of foreign Nations, but its disgrace: I had thought they had not been all Churchmen that were maintained here, spoken of before, because they were multitudes and whole families, but now I find many thousands of the laity, who enjoyed fair estates from them; and in a free way too: I perceive the first were all devoted to the Church, I dare not question it as a repetition in their Petition, nor as tautologies, being three motives betwixt the one and the other. It is as well done as the Articles of the Synod were last year, to establish the Church, but that it is not stuffed so full of Antiquities: they would steer all, and have all our liberties and livelihoods come from them, but they were such ill Pilots, that they are like to be put out of office, and wiser men set at the stern. And let all men judge whether they add to the crown or take from it, and whether those fat Live did not or do not properly belong to it, and whether they have those things by desert, or whether by their preaching, that all is the King's right, he may not first challenge those revenues of them in part. As for those that are learned professors there, they may have maintenance allowed when those Priories are abolished, but they are so accustomed to idleness, that their learning goeth not out of their Colleges, there they stay themselves; if they are sent to a Benefice abroad, they can preach but seldom; for they have not been used to it, and now they cannot learn: then they will give ten pounds a year for a journeyman to read service, and to talk once a fortnight to the people, of what dead men spoke before, which will serve their turn, if he can mix a little Latin amongst it, but then he must not hold them too long; he will preach three times a year himself, if his means will make good, a hundred pounds a Sermon, or else he scorns to preach so often: the selling of Fellowships will help the Masters that remains there, but that was not the Founder's intent. The subversion of those Abeyes from their corrupt abuses, and converting them to good uses, will be attended with honourable consequences, nor will it bring reproach to any but to those that are Popishly affected: some harder conditions it may to drones, because none will be in request, but preaching Ministers: the laity will be eased, nor can you have more contempt than what your pride and fullness have brought upon you; and under the correction of any wise men, except yourselves, it will encourage Scholars to be industrious, that when they excel, they shall not only be placed, where they shall have sufficient maintenance, but honour among the best of men. And those that foresee this, will not desire to have it remedied. I think such considerations as yours will not move any unless it be to laughter, or to mourn against your cause the more from your own arguments, how are you changed? you call that Assembly honourable and say, they have great wisdom, whom you style madmen in your Letter to Laud, November the ninth, that pious jeer of that great Assembly is known to promote Religion in a spiritual manner, not so much houses, which you call religious, after the Popish custom, but the revenues is that you stick most upon: you have made void the intents of the Donors, in preferring those which bid most, whose friends are greatest, and keeping poor Scholars out for whom it was intended, poor indeed. I do believe God is more dishonoured in and by such places, than in most Alehouses, by their confused bawling, they have a pretence to serve God, but they intent their own bellies: the man that whips the dogs is thought commonly to be the best amongst them: those Students which have outward by ends, when they begin to study, they seldom or never bring Gods ends about, which is to convert the souls of men: in studying themselves they are strangers to the truth: but honest endeavours are always accompanied with blessings of increase. I did not intent to be seen at all in this answer, therefore what wants the force of an Argument, compare it with yours, and then it may pass. You promise to pray, etc. What you intent by it I know not, whether it be, pray we, which was in fashion of late, or for my Lord's Grace, or for the breaking up of the Parliament; you may put any thing to etc. But you seldom pray without the Service Book, for that is an innovation: and some of you have been questioned for innovations of late: there are none of those prayers in it, but it is a wonder you had not the prayer against the Scots put in it, for it was courageously penned. I am so charitable as to think you mean to pray for the sick: but you would have been to seek for examples, if it had not been for Peter's wives mother, and the Captain's servant; but if the praying, etc. were joined to the preaching, etc. they might draw both one way. Although your Petition came from the Convocation house, where the Doctors and Masters were assembled, yet omnibus & singulis, was too much; it would not have it to all, nor ab hominibus, from all; it would feign have some of you free; but I doubt your copy was corrected coming into some Lay man's hands, before it came to the Press, or else the Printer being careless, left out your strongest Motives, or weakened the sense, on purpose to make some women laugh at it; if it be so call it in, or disclaim it for your act and deed, and then I will call in mine too when this impression is sold.  
FJNJS.