The Hartlib Papers

Deare freind

your large one of the 4th. of Ianuarie came to my hand the 17th. I thanke you for the extracts which are in it; which giue me some Characters both of the times & of the temper of those who wrote unto you; I shall not discourse with you about any of them further then thus; that I wish the admonition of the public intelligencer may bee effectuall. Dr. Horne knowes the sense of the Low Country men & speakes it freely; but I belieue they will bee worse troubled when they heare the conditions upon which the Elector of Brandenburg is agreed with Sueden. they have long ago lost themselues by not minding a public interest & the more this interest comes upon the stage they will more & more loose themselues if they come not in downe right to it. here you haue a letter to Mr. Schlezer, whose spirit must bee kept up by doing his duty & leauing the euent unto God & his Master beeing agreed with Sueden will make his busines easie. [left margin: /] Concerning the Iewes if I can I will send you the extract of the Lawes by which they are receiued here. Mr. Worsley his discourse of Sir Henry Vanes booke is a thing wherof I can say nothing because I haue not seene the booke, but I see that Mr Worslye would walke very warily in giuing it. I wish there may bee an opportunitie for the Earle of Hoenloe & should bee gladde to heare that your Memorandum had taken effect; as for the other obiect of your care whom you call Romswinkel I know not what to say, but pray the Lord to support him with strent & patience & giue you Prudencie to discerne, & others Charitie to discharge a dutie sutable to our profession that it may bee honored & [left margin, H?: mark down next two lines] weake converts may find support. in the busines of receiuing[H? underlines] the Iewes the state doth wisely to go warily & by degrees. Menasseh Ben Israel his demands are great, & the use which they make of great priuiledges is not much to their commendation here & elsewhere: they haue wayes beyond all other men, to undermine a state, & to insinuate into those that are in offices & preiudge the trade of others, & therefore if they bee not wisely restrained they will in short time bee oppressiue, if they bee such as are here in Germany, to call in the Caraites would fright away these; for they are irreconcilable enemies: time must ripen these designes & [left margin, H?: mark down next 2 lines] Prudencie may lead them on. <H?: /> This I haue to say to your extracts. I shall adde now that I send you these businesses of the Cantons because they are considerable matters more then ordinary, I haue gotten the Manifest from Zurich & reprinted it here to send abroad, & so although you may perhaps haue it alreddie yet more copies then one is a thing which you doe not dislike. Mr Schlezer has the Copie of the letter which the Queene of Sueden wrote to the King after her making profession of Poperie at Insbruck. [left margin: mark down next 2 lines] <H: /> I had a designe to haue sent you my answer to Dr. Bergius containing an apologie for our state against the obiections which hee pretends to make in the name of Lutherans but I cannot as yet get so much time as to get it written faire & close; for it is large. I haue now also answered Dr. Hulseman his reply upon my epistolicall dissertation to him, but I inscribe not my answer to himself, but only doe it to a freind to tell him wherefore Dr. Hulsemans reply is not worthy of any answer, & in telling him these reasons I refute the whole treatise of 128 pages in one sheet of paper: I did this at the intreatie of a Minister of this towne who shewed me [catchword: the Drs.]

I will <bee> now this weeke if God will upon a new progresse of no long time; for I intend to Anhalt; & from thence by a little Circuit to see some not ill affected Lutherans I purpose to returne hither againe & then without further delay streight to the Low Countries: & I hope the plague being ceased there will bee no difficultie of beeing admitted into England when I shall arriue; I purpose only to passe through & salute the Chief & not to stay to treat but to lay the foundation of it till such time that their cauilling humour bee worne away, & matters bee ripened else where for a public concurrence the lesser Churches as Bremen Embden, & the Churches of the Lippe & Bentheim I shall not visit but referre them to giue in their aduices & the testimonies of their concurrences here to this place where the best use can bee made of them, & where I may in due time receiue them. there are none anywhere more heartie, none so wisely able to act in this matter or in any other public concernment as this Prince is in Germanie. hee has his ould Counsellors about him who were under God the instruments to uphold the Protestant cause all[altered] alone, when all freinds had failed, & were in a manner enemies. the Prince himself though as yet young is neuertheless seriously mindfull of his interest, & of very good capacitie, & of an actiue disposition. the historie of his Mothers heroicall spirit & actions how shee caried on the Cause after his Fathers death & in his minoritie is as remarkable & perhaps more full of passages of miraculous Prouidence then any thing else which fell out in Germanie. it is reported that shee should haue said often that hauing earnestly prayed to God for her son that hee might bee deliuered from the entisements of lust to woemen & from loue of wine & drinking, that shee was assured from heauen that her prayer was heard & granted; & truly so it is said by all that know him that there is not any the least inclination perceiued in him to either of these vices, but a tender Loue to his Lady & Children is very apparent. if hee were free from the inclination to <too much> hunting no excesse in any kind would bee apparent in him: but when busines comes upon him that actiuitie will find other obiects; & his strenth may serue him for better uses then to kill[altered] Boares & Deere & such like. I haue made this Description of him to you because I hope God has put him in this station for a reserve to the Cause when others either faile or betray it. I am told that Prince Rupert is engaged with the Emperour, & some say that hee will professe himself a Papist: which occasions many thoughts of heart concerning that house with some who lay all things together. I commend you to the Grace of God & all yours, remember me to your sons, I rest

                             Yours in all truth to

Ianuarie 22th                   serue you in Christ

    1656.                              I. Robertson.

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