dence thought worthy the publishing to the world.

But those cross occurrences, which then and since have obstructed it, have given it the happier opportunity of appearing in the more peaceful and prosperous reign of your excellent Majesty, and, I hope, for the confirmation of staggering loyalty in the hearts of many in these your dominions. Therefore as your Majesty's right to the patronage of this book may be termed a right of succession, so the book itself may almost challenge this noble privilege, that, being composed for, and presented to, the greatest and best of kings, it should not without a kind of diminution be dedicated to any prince in Christendom, except your Majesty's royal self.

I shall now make this my most humble suit to your Majesty, That, as the reverend author in his lifetime publicly professed his loyalty to his sovereign, and constantly prayed for your Majesty's happy and glorious return to these your kingdoms, and in all things shewed himself your loyal subject; so you would be pleased to own him as such by affording your gracious countenance to this his posthumous work; which will eternize the me

mory of the deceased author, and thereby confer

the greatest temporal blessing on

Your Majesty's

Most loyal and obedient subject,

JAMES TYRRIL.

U 2

THE PREFACE

TO THE

READER.

I. THE Reader is desired to take notice, that this treatise was written by the reverend and learned author at the special command of our late gracious sovereign (of blessed memory) King Charles I., about the time when those unhappy distempers (which had been a good while before by the endeavours of some unquiet spirits secretly working under hand, and not long after broke out most desperately into a bloody and unnatural war) did first begin to appear openly in our land. As soon as the treatise was finished, the author caused a copy thereof to be fairly transcribed, and with a dedicatory epistle prefixed thereunto, to be presented to his Majesty; who, having read the book, signified his will and pleasure that it should be printed; to the end that all his beloved subjects might receive the like satisfaction from the same, as himself had done. Whereupon the author, being not then at London himself, sent up the aforesaid transcript copy thither, to the intent it should be there printed; which, notwithstanding, whether by the negligence or unfaithfulness of the party, to whose care and trust it was committed, was not done; but the copy itself finally lost, or pretended to

be lost, and so that intent frustrated. The original copy of his own hand-writing being in the mean time by the author (supposing perhaps there would be little use of it after it was printed) negligently laid aside, and so at length mingling with some other papers, it became so buried amongst those heaps of books and writings, whereof he had good store, that it never was his hap to meet with it again all his lifetime; but gave it over for lost also, as well as the transcript aforesaid, to his great grief, as he oft expressed to those that were about him: yet was it not indeed lost, but only mislaid, as after his death appeared. When they to whom it appertained to take an inventory of what he left behind him, in sorting his papers which lay disorderly and confusedly, some in one place of his study, some in another, among the rest found the first original copy of this treatise, from beginning to end, all written with his own hand; which they looked upon as a choice jewel (quantivis pretii kaμńλov) and took care accordingly to preserve it, with an intention (as in duty for the performance of the will of the dead, they held themselves obliged to do) when the times would bear it, to publish it to the world for the common benefit of all those, that were able to understand it, and willing to make a good use of it.

II. But, as the times then were, the whole nation being enslaved to the will and tyranny of a monstrous usurper, it could not be either safe or seasonable so to do; in so far, that for any person only to have been known to have had such a piece in his custody, had been crime enough to have cast him under the displeasure of the most merciless tyrant, and withal the most perfect dissembler in the world: and the work itself, had it been once discovered where it lay, had been sure either to have been suppressed, and so to have perished for ever; or (which is no less probable, but had been much worse) to have been