Catalogue description "The JUDGEMENT and DECREE of the UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD, passed in their Convocation against certain pernicious books and damnable doctrines, destructive to be sacred persons of Princes, their state and government, and of all human society."

-- "Although the barbarous assassination lately enterprised against the person of his sacred Majestie and his royall brother, engage all our thoughts to reflect with utmost detestacon and abhorrence on that execrable villany, hatefull to God and man, and pay our due acknowledgements to the divine providence, which, by extraordinary methods, brought it to pass that the breath of our nostrills, the anointed of the Lord, is not taken in the pit which was prepared for him, and that under his shadow we continue to live and enjoy the blessings of his government; yet, notwithstanding, we find it to be a necessary duty at this time, to search into and lay open those impious doctrines, which haveing of late been studiously disseminated, gave rise and growth to these nefarious attempts, and pass upon them our solemn publick censure and decree of condemnation. Therefore, to the honour of the holy and undivided Trinity, the preservation of Catholick truth in the Church, and that the King's majestie may be secured both from the attempts of open bloody enemies and machinations of traytrous, hereticks, and schismaticks, we, the Vice-Chancellor, Doctors, Proctors, and Masters, regent and not regent, met in Convocation in the accustomed manner, time and place, on Saturday the 21th day of July, in the year 1683, concerning certain propositions contained in divers bookes and writings publisht in the ---- and also [in] the Latin tongue, repugnant to the holy scriptures, decrees of councells, writings of the fathers, the faith and profession of the primitive church, and allso detractive of the Kingly government, the safety of his Majestie's person, the publick peace, the laws of nature, and bonds of human society, by our unanimous assent and consent, have decreed and determined in manner and forme following :--

"The first Proposition.--All civil authority is derived originally from the people.

"Second.--There is a mutuall compact, tacit or express, between a prince and his subjects, and that if he performe not his duty, they are discharged from theirs.

"Third.--That if lawfull governors become tryants, or govern otherwise than [as] by the laws of God and man they ought to do, they forfeit the right they had unto their government.

"Fourth.--The Soveraignty of England is in the three estates, viz.:-- King, Lords, and Commons. The King has but a co-ordinate power, and may be over-ruled by the other two.

"Fifth.--Birthright and proximity of blood give no title to rule or government, and it is lawfull to prelude the next heir from his right and succession to the Crown.

"Sixth.--It is lawfull for subjects, without the consent, and against the command of, the supreme magistrate, to enter into leagues, convenants, and associations for defence of themselves and their religion, solemne league and covenant, late association (sic).

"Seventh.--Self-preservation is the fundemental law of nature, and supersedes the obligation of all others, whensoever they stand in competition with it.

"Eighth.--The doctrine of the Gospell, concerning patient suffering of injuries, is not inconsistent with violent resisting of the higher powers, in case of persecution for religion.

"Ninth.--There lies no obligation upon christians to passive obedience, when the prince commands anything against the laws of our country; and the primitive christians chose rather to die, than resist, because Christianity was not settled by the laws of the Empire.

"Tenth.--Possession and strength give a right to govern, and sucess in a cause or enterprise proclaims it to be lawfull and just. To pursue it, is to comply with the will of God, because it is to follow the conduct of his providence.

"Eleventh.--In the state of nature, there is no difference between good and evill, right and wrong ; the state of nature is a state of war, in which every man hath a right to all things.

"Twelfth.--The foundation of civil authority is this naturall right, which is not given, but left to the supreme magistrate upon men's entering into societies, and not only a foreign invader, but a domestick rebel, puts himself again into a state of nature, to be proceeded against, not as a subject, but an enemy, and consequently acquires by his rebellion the same right over the life of his prince as the prince, for the most heinous crimes, has over the life of his own subject.

"Thirteenth.--Every man, after his entering into a society, retains a right of defending himself against force, and cannot transfer that right to the comonwealth when he consents to that union, whereby a comonwealth is made; and in case a great many men together have allready resisted the comonwealth, for which every one of them expecteth death, they have liberty then to join together to assist and defend one another. Their bearing of arms, subsequent to the first breach of their duty, though it be to maintain what they have done, is no new unjust act, if it be only to defend their persons, it is not unjust at all.

"Fourteenth.--An oath superadds no obligation to pact, and a pact obliges no farther than it is credited; and consequently, if a prince gives any indication that he does not believe the promises of fealty and allegiance made by any of his subjects, they are thereby freed from their subjection, and, notwithstanding their pacts and oathes, may lawfully rebell against, and destroy, their soveraigne.

"Fifteenth.--If a people, that by oath and duty are obliged to a soveraign, shall sinfully dispossess him and, contrary to their covenants, chuse and convenants, notwithstanding their former.

"Sixteenth.--All oaths are unlawfull and contrary to the word of God.

"Seventeenth.--An oath obligeth not in the sense of the imposer, but the takers.

"Eighteenth.--Dominion is founded in grace.

"Nineteenth.--The powers of this world are usurpations upon the prerogative of Jesus Christ, and it is the duty of God's people to destroy them, in order to the setting Christ upon his throne.

"Twentieth.--The Presbyterian government is the scepter of Christ's Kingdome, to which kings, as well as others, are bound to submitt; and the King's supremacy in ecclesiasticall affairs, asserted by the Church of England, is injurious to Christ, the sole King and head of the Church.

"Twenty-first.--It is not lawfull for superiors to impose anything in the worship of God that is not antecedently necessary.

"Twenty-second.--The duty of not offending a weak brother is inconsistent with all humane authority of makeing laws concerning indifferent things.

"Twenty-third.--Wicked kings and tyrants ought to be put to death; and if the judges and inferiour magistrates will not do their office, the power of the sword devolves to the people. If the major part of the people refuse to exercise this power, then the ministers may excommunicate such a king, after which it is lawfull for any of the subjects to kill him, as the people did Athaliah, Jehu, and Jezabel.

"Twenty-fourth.--After the sealeing of the Scripture canon, the people of God, in all ages, are to expect new revelations for a rule of their actions, and it is lawfull for a private man, having an inward motion from God, to kill a tyrant.

"Twenty-fifth.--The example of Phineas is to us, instead of a comand ; for what God hath comanded or approved in one age, must needs oblige in all.

"Twenty-sixth.--King Charles the First was lawfully put to death ; and his murderers were the blessed instruments of God's glory, in their generation.

"Twenty-seventh.--King Charles the First made war upon his Parliament; and in such a case, the king may not only be resisted, but he ceaseth to be king."

"Wee decree, judge, and declare, all and every of these propositions to be false, seditious, and impious, and, most of them, to be allso heretical and blaspheaneous, infamous to christian religion, and destructive of all government in church and state. Wee farther decree that the bookes which contain the aforesaid propositions and impious doctrines, are fitted to deprave good manners, corrupt the minds of unwary men, stirr up seditions and tumults, overthrow states and kingdoms, and lead to rebellion, murder of princes, and atheism itself. And, therefore, we intradict all members of the University from the readeing of the said bookes, under the penalties of the statues expressed. We allso order the before recited bookes to be publickly burned, by the hand of our Marshall, in the court of our schools. Likewise we order that, in perpetuall memory hereof, these our decrees shall be entered into the registry of our Convocation, and that copyes of them to be comunicated to the severall Colleges and Halls within this University, there [to be] publickly affixed in the librarys, refectorys, or other fitt places, where they may be seen and read of all. Lastly, we comand and strictly enjoyne all and singular the readers, tutors, chatechists, and others to whom the care and trust of institution of youth is comited, that they diligently instruct and ground their scholars in that most necessary doctrine, which, in a manner, is the badge and character of the Church of England, of submitting to every ordinance of man, for the Lord's sake, whether it be to the king as supreme, or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him, for the punishment of evill doers, and for the praise of them that do well, teaching that this submission and obedience is to be cleare, absolute, and without exception of any state or order of men; allso that they, according to the apostles' precept, exhort that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercession, and giveing of thankes, made for all men, for the king, and all that are in authority, and that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; and in especiall manner, that they press and oblige them, humbly to offer their most ardent and daily prayers at the throne of grace, for the preservation of our sovereign lord, King Charles, from the attempts of open violence and secret machinations of perfidious traytors ; that the Defender of the Faith being safe, under the defence of the Most High, may continue his raign on earth till he exchange it for that of a late and happy immortality." Copy.