Page:The Church of England, its catholicity and continuity.djvu/123

 The idea of separate sects would then have been repelled by the Puritans as much as by the Church. What the Puritans aimed at was to have public worship carried out only in their own way. They desired to overthrow the customs of all the preceding ages, without considering the reasonableness or necessity of it. James did not feel inclined to adopt their method of worship because he so disliked it, and felt it was not on the side of truth. When the Puritans forced their views, James lost control of himself, and in his outburst of anger he lets us into another reason why he rejected Presbyterianism and Puritanism. "A Scottish Presbytery," he said, "agreeth as well with a monarchy as God and the devil. Then Jack and Tom, and Will and Dick shall meet, and, at their pleasures, censure me and my council, and all our proceedings. &hellip; Stay, I pray you, for one seven years, before you demand that from me; and if the you find me pursy and fat, and my windpipe stuffed, I will perhaps hearken to you. For let this government be once up, I am sure I shall be kept in breath; then shall we all of us have work enough. &hellip; Until you find that I grow lazy let that alone."

The form of government to which James here referred was set up in England after the time of Charles I., and we shall see what that did for England; how it did curb the Royal power, and at last temporarily destroyed it. James certainly understood the Puritan movement, seeing that the prophecy was so lamentably fulfilled.

To return to the Hampton Court Conference. It was not without some beneficial results. It led to further legislation