Twee brieven [...] aan Everhardus vander Hooght

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pronouncing the sentence. And as far as the Classis is concerned: never would the Brothers have agreed to present those 13 Articles to me on their name, which had come up from the Kerkenraad and were abandoned by the Kerkenraad itself on the 30th of August through the taking over of my second Acte van fatisfactie Act of satisfaction: unless they had granted such to the others for the sake of peace, who insisted upon it; only to let me say myself what I had to say upon it, and then as then. Often judges would not let such a demand be made, as the bailiff or fiscal usually does; if they did not think, that the summoned himself will indeed know a means to plead his case, so that he may go free with less punishment. Therefore it is a wonder, that you, Brother, and so many besides you, speak so of those 13 Articles; exactly as if they were laws, or incorporated into the Belydeniffe Confession of Faith of our Dutch Churches, that every minister who makes such books, must suffer such laws.

Further you speak, that dissatisfaction increased, through the pleasure of my Favoryten favorites or supporters. God be thanked, that I have them, van der Hooght; not only in Amsterdam, but even as far as Niewendam, your resting place, which you disturb by your stirring against me. Bold mouths or pens I do not however grant to my Favoryten; and give them even less. Not only the evil, but even the good, that has come from my Favoryten in all the time of this difficulty, be assured, that it has happened without me: and that I do not yet know half of the writers, whom I count for me, so long after; and those I know, I have reason to believe, that they are Heaven's favorites, as much as you or your like have ever attempted to be. If a Petrus Peter or a Boanerges original: "Boanerges," a name meaning "Sons of Thunder," given by Jesus to the apostles James and John perhaps find themselves there, I have no better people than our Master Jesus had, and I also cannot give Malchus Malchus was the servant of the High Priest whose ear was cut off by Peter during Jesus' arrest. his ear back, to show, that I do not like fighting; nor refuse the fire of heaven, which I also am not powerful enough to make come from above; though you also believe, that the Devil can indeed do such. If there are among my Favoryten those half so bold of mouth and pen as you are, Haggebher Hebrew: "the man" or "the mighty man," likely used here as a mocking title for Bekker; they are much more in my way than you, and also do me more evil. But if others become all the more dissatisfied with me because of it, it is their lack of understanding: and therefore incomprehensible to me, how you call those thus.