If _I_ had not My own Innocency, and Gods protection, it were hard for Me to stand out against those stratagems and conflicts of malice, which by falsities seek to oppresse the Truth; and by Jealousies to supply the defect of reall causes, which might seem to justifie so unjust ingagements against Me. And indeed, the worst effects of open hostility come short of these designes: For, _I_ can more willingly lose My Crownes, then My credit; nor are My Kingdomes so dear to Me, as My Reputation and Honor. Those must have a period with my life; but these may survive to a glorious kind of Immortality, when I am dead and gone: A good name being the imbalming of Princes, and a sweet consecrating of them to an Eternity of love and gratitude among Posterity. Those foul and false aspersions were secret engines at first employed against My peoples love to Me: that undermining their opinion and value of Me, My enemies, and theirs too might at one blow up their affections, and batter down their loyalty. Wherein yet, I thank God, the detriment of My Honor is not so afflictive to Me, as the sin and danger of My peoples souls, whose eyes once blinded with such mists of suspicions, they are soon misled into the most desperate precipices of actions: wherein they do not only, not consider their sin and danger, but glory in their zealous adventures; while I am rendred to them so fit to be destroyed, that many are ambitious to merit the name of My Destroyers; Imagining they then fear God most, when they least honor their King. I thank God, I never found but My pity was above My anger; nor have My passions ever so prevailed against me, as to exclude My most compassionate prayers for them, whom devout errours more then their own malice have betrayed to a most religious Rebellion. I had the Charity to interpret, that most part of My Subjects fought against My supposed Errours, not My person; and intended to mend Me, not to end Me: And _I_ hope that God pardoning their Errours, hath so farre accepted and answered their good intentions, as he hath yet preserved Me, so he hath by these afflictions prepared me, both to do him better service, and My people more good then hitherto I have done. I do not more willingly forgive their seductions, which occasioned their loyall injuries, then I am ambitious by all Princely merits to redeem them from their unjust suspicions, and reward them for their good intentions. I am too conscious to My own affections toward the generality of my people to suspect theirs to Me; nor shall the malice of My Enemies ever be able to deprive Me of the comfort which that confidence gives Me; I shall never gratifie the spightfulnesse of a few with any sinister thoughts of all their Allegiance, whom pious frauds have seduced. The worst some mens ambition can do, shall never perswade Me, to make so bad interpretations of most of My Subjects actions; who possibly may be erroneous, but not Hereticall in point of Loyalty.