| Title: | Copy Letter In Hand ?, John Dury To Mr Gee |
|---|---|
| Dating: | 30 October 1638 |
| Ref: | 6/4/17A-18B |
[6/4/17A]
Mr. Gee/
Since my Comeing to this place a letter is come to my hande from my Tennant Richard Gilby wherein hee maketh greate Complainte vnto mee of you, his letter is dated the 25 Iune 1638./ Moreover my Lord Ambassador Sir Thomas Rowe hath serued mee another Letter of yours to him dated the 30 May 1638, wherein you Complaine over my Tennant[altered] that hee doth wrong you in your name, Now if I must be Iudge of these mutuall Complaints, I will make a short decision thereof but perhaps litle to your advantage, For I cannot perceive by the Letter which you write vnto Sir Thomas Rowe that you are Cleer from a fault in your Carriage, because it appeareth that hee had written to our Right Worshipfull freind Sir William Pelham to give you an addition vnto your Stipend vpon Condition that you would live quietly[altered] & peaceably, by which it doth appeare to mee, that in his Iudgment you did not live so, Now what is it that you doe answere for your selfe? you say that you have studyed & prayed for the peace of Ierusalem, but that there is no peace to the wicked of which number you say my Tennant is one, because he hath because hee hath Complayned vniustly of mee to you; therefore you say you may revenge your selfe vpon him in Defending the truth, for you say that you doe Contend for it, namely the truth of your good name, which you say Mr. Gilby hath taken away from you by his Scandalous Imputations, This is your whole plea vnto Sir Thomas, by which I doe perceive that you are resolved to be revenged of my Tennant for Complayneing of you to mee, & that you will Contend for your good name which hee should have wronged, if this was your resolution, why have you never written to mee to take away the Imputations which hee doth lay to your Charge? Doe you thinke that I will not beleeve the plea [catchword: which]
[6/4/17B]
which you will alledge for your selfe as well as his accusations? I have no cause to beleive him more then you if you be guiltlesse, At this distance I cannot now decide your Controversies, But I am resolved to entreate Sir William Pelham to decide it one way or other, that is to say to separate the one of you from the other if you cannot live in peace, For if my Tennants Complaints to me against you be true, you must not be any longer my Curate except you mend your manners, If they be not true you shall doe well to Cleere your self better to Sir William Pelham then you have done to Sir Thomas Rowe, For by your owne words to Sir Thomas I finde fault in you, & can perceive that it is true which Gilby sayth, that you are set to vex him & not to live at peace with him, & seeing your owne Confession doth make this plaine, I find you guiltie of that promise & Contract which you made with mee when I did admitt you to bee my Curate, you promised then to live without offence, But now I see that you Can not cleere your selfe from offence, if you have none other plea for your selfe then that which you doe alledge unto Sir Thomas if you did behave your selfe vnblamably if you were an example & Patron of Temperance & Sobriety, if you did not haunt at all suspicious Company, If you were painefull & Dilligent in your Calling to preach every Lords Day in the forenoone & Catechise in the afternoone as you promised vnto mee to doe, then there could be no cause of such Complaints as hee is Confident to Lay vnto your Charge, But seeing hee is not afraid to tax you both of the neglect [catchword: of]
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of the Charge which you have taken vpon you to administrat in my name, & of a scandalous Course of life, Therefore I may suspect that is is not without some Cause that he doth Complayne, Now then if you will take away the Causes of Complainte & gaine the love of the Parishoners, I shall performe what I did promise vnto you in respect of an addition vnto your stipend, But if the matter be growne to such a height that you cannot live in peace togeather any longer, I will resolve vpon another Course./ if you had a true heart to serve God in the Ministry, you would by the feare of God & in reverence to your Charge, gaine the hearts of your hearers. For hee that is truely Carefull to win soules vnto God, Can never be lyable to such Imputations as these, For (as the Apostle St. Peter saith, 1 Epistle 3. 13.) who is hee that will harme you if you be a follower of that which is good? what Cause should moove my Tenant to devise false reports of you? & why should he Complaine if there were no cause? It is a greate fault not to be beloved of your hearers & not to be Commended & esteemed of them, according to the dignity of your Charge but to be at varience with them & to give them Cause to Complaine both of your drinking & leaud Company keeping & of the neglect of your ordinary Charge, that is one of the greatest faults that can befall vnto a minister, when I did admitt of you I was told of your Company keeping then I told you also of it, & did warne you to give no cause to such reports any more, But I perceive that you have not taken the matter to heart, for I cannot Imagine that any would accuse you without a Cause, hee that should endeavour to [catchword: deserve]
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deserve Commendations praise honour & love both by his life & Doctrine & be a Patron of all good workes. Charity piety meekenesse & sobrietie if hee doth once intend to strive & Contend with those that he ought to rule by these vertues. hee hath lost all meanes of edification towards them, & although hee should preach with the tongues of men & Angells yet he is vnto them but as a sounding brasse & tinckling Cimball. Now to have one with the flock Committed to my Charge which I perceive Can not edifie them, would be a fault in mee, which I should not be able to answere before God; Therefore I must tell you that I am thinking how to remedy these inconvenients, To which effect I have written to Sir William Pelham, & by him I have addressed to you this Letter, leaveing it open that hee may read it before you receive it, I have sent him also a Copie of the promise & Contract you made to mee, Concerning your good behaviour which if you have transgressed I have entreated him to take some Course in my name that the parish may be edified by some fitt man that will be able to gaine the love of all his Hearers Therefore you are to expect from him hereafter a further resolution; which I beseech the Lord may be to his glory & your good, Thus I bid you farewell, & promise to be as long as you are vnblamable,
Your lovein freind in Christ
From Hamburg the Iohn Durye
30 October 1638 Parson of Saxbye.