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CONSIDERATIONS

Touching the likelieft Means to remove

HIRELINGS OUT OF THE CHURCH.

Wherein is alfo difcourfed

Of Tithes, Church-Fees, and Church-Revenues;

AND

Whether any Maintenance of Minifters can be fettled by Law.*

To the Parliament of the Commonwealth of ENGLAND, with the Dominions thereof.

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WING to your protection, fupreme fenate! this liberty of writing, which I have used thefe eighteen years on all occafions to affert the juft rights and freedoms both of church and ftate, and fo far approved, as to have been trusted with the representment and defence of your actions to all Chriftendom against an adverfary of no mean repute; to whom should I addrefs what I ftill publish on the fame argument, but to you, whose magnanimous councils firft opened and unbound the age from a double bondage under prelatical and regal tyranny above our own hopes heartening us to look up at laft like men and chriftians from the flavish dejection, wherein from father to fon we were bred up and taught; and thereby deferving of these nations, if they be not barbaroufly ingrateful, to be acknowledged, next under God, the authors and beft patrons of religious and civil liberty, that ever these islands brought forth? The care and tuition of whofe peace and fafety, after a fhort, but fcandalous night of interruption, is now again, by a new

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dawning of God's miraculous Providence among us, revolved upon your fhoulders. And to whom more appertain thefe confiderations, which I propound, than to yourfelves, and the debate before you, though I truft of no difficulty, yet at prefent of great expectation, not whether ye will gratify, were it no more than fo, but whether ye will hearken to the juft petition of many thousands beft affected both to religion and to this your return, or whether ye will fatisfy, which you never can, the covetous pretences and demands of infatiable hirelings, whofe difaffection ye well know both to yourselves and your refolutions? That I, though among many others in this common concernment, interpofe to your deliberations what my thoughts alfo are; your own judgment and the fuccefs thereof hath given me the confidence: which requests but this, that if I have profperoufly, God fo favouring me, defended the public caufe of this commonwealth to foreigners, ye would not think the reafon and ability, whereon ye trufted once (and repent not,) your whole reputation to the world, either grown lefs by more maturity and longer ftudy, or lefs available in English than in another tongue: but that if it fufficed fome years past to convince and fatisfy the unengaged of other nations in the juftice of your doings, though then held paradoxal, it may as well fuffice now against weaker oppofition in matters, except here in England with a fpirituality of men devoted to their temporal gain, of no controverfy elfe among proteftants. Neither do I doubt, feeing daily the acceptance which they find who in their petitions venture to bring advice alfo, and new models of a commonwealth, but that you will interpret it much more the duty of a chriftian to offer what his confcience perfuades him may be of moment to the freedom and better conftituting of the church: fince it is a deed of higheft charity to help undeceive the people, and a work worthieft your authority, in all things elfe authors, affertors and now recoverers of our liberty, to deliver us, the only people of all proteftants left ftill undelivered, from the oppreffions of a fimonious decimating clergy, who fhame not, against the judgment and practice of all other churches reformed, to maintain, though very weakly, their popifh

and

and oft refuted pofitions; not in a point of confcience, wherein they might be blameless, but in a point of covetoufness and unjuft claim to other men's goods; a contention foul and odious in any man, but most of all in minifters of the gofpel, in whom contention, though for their own right, fcarce is allowable. Till which grievances be removed, and religion fet free from the monopoly of hirelings, I dare affirm, that no model whatsoever of a commonwealth will prove fuccefsful or undisturbed; and fo perfuaded, implore divine affiftance on your pious counfels and proceedings to unanimity in this and all other truth. JOHN MILTON.

CONSIDERATIONS

Touching the likelieft Means to remove

HIRELINGS OUT OF THE CHURCH.

THE

HE former treatife, which leads in this, began with two things ever found working much mitchief to the one fide restraining, and hire on the other fide corrupting the teachers thereof. The latter of thefe is by much the more dangerous: for under force, though no thank to the forcers, true religion ofttimes beft thrives and flourishes; but the corruption of teachers, moft commonly the effect of hire, is the very bane of truth in them who are fo corrupted. Of force not to be used in matters of religion, I have already spoken; and so stated matters of confcience and religion in faith and divine worship, and fo fevered them from blafphemy and herefy, the one being fuch properly as is defpiteful, the other fuch as ftands not to the rule of fcripture, and fo both of them not matters of religion, but rather against it, that to them who will yet ufe force, this only choice can be left, whether they will force them to believe, to whom it is not given from above, being not forced thereto by any principle of the gofpel, which is now the only dif penfation of God to all men; or whether being proteftants, they will punish in thofe things wherein the proteftant religion denies them to be judges, either in themfelves infallible, or to the confciences of other men; or whether, laftly, they think fit to punish errour, fuppofing they can be infallible that it is fo, being not wilful, but confcientious, and, according to the beft light of him who errs, grounded on fcripture: which kind of errour all men religious, or but only reafonable, have thought worthier of pardon, and the growth thereof to be prevented by fpiritual means and church-difcipline, not by civil laws and outward force, fince it is God only who gives as well to believe aright, as to believe at all; and by thofe means, which he ordained fufficiently in his church to the full execution of his divine purpofe in the

gofpel.

1

gofpel. It remains now to fpeak of hire, the other evil fo mifchievous in religion: whereof I promifed then to fpeak further, when I thould find God difpofing me, and opportunity inviting. Opportunity I find now inviting; and apprehend therein the concurrence of God difpofing; fince the maintenance of Church-minifters, a thing not properly belonging to the magiftrate, and yet with fuch importunity called for, and expected from him, is at prefent under public debate. Wherein left any thing may happen to be determined and established prejudicial to the right and freedom of the church, or advantageous to fuch as may be found hirelings therein, it will be now moft feafonable, and in thefe matters, wherein every chriftian hath his free fuffrage, no way mifbecoming chriftian meeknefs to offer freely, without difparagement to the wifeft, fuch advice as God fhall incline him and enable him to propound: fince heretofore in commonwealths of moft fame for government, civil laws were not established till they had been firft for certain days published to the view of all men, that whofo pleased might fpeak freely his opinion thereof, and give in his exceptions, ere the law could pafs to a full eftablishment. And where ought this equity to have more place, than in the liberty which is infeparable from chriftian religion? This, I am not ignorant, will be a work unpleafing to fome but what truth is not hateful to fome or other, as this, in likelihood, will be to none but hirelings. And if there be among them who hold it their duty to speak impartial truth, as the work of their miniftry, though not performed without money, let them not envy others who think the fame no lefs their duty by the general office of chriftianity, to speak truth, as in all reafon may be thought, more impartially and unfufpectedly without

money.

Hire of itself is neither a thing unlawful, nor a word of any evil note, fignifying no more than a due recompenfe or reward; as when our Saviour faith, "the labourer is worthy of his hire." That which makes it fo dangerous in the church, and properly makes the Hireling, a word always of evil fignification, is either the excess thereof, or the undue manner of giving and tak

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