FOREWORD

good The phrase "people of good" (gens de bien) refers to those of reputable character and social standing., and who love piety, became involved in the faction of this schismatic A person who promotes a formal division or "schism" within a church. because they were dazzled by the false glitter of his counterfeit piety and caught off guard by his zeal without knowledge and recklessness. They believed it was the duty of their conscience and their office to promptly satisfy the request of those friends who required this work from them, since they were also in a position to command it. And to discharge this duty more worthily, they have endeavored to represent two things particularly in this treatise: the first is to give the public the History of the life and conduct of Labadie from the time he set foot in these Provinces The United Provinces of the Netherlands. until the time of his deposition His formal removal from the ministry., with a precise response to all the objections usually made in his favor by his admirers and his supporters. The second is to produce a modest and solid Refutation of his declaration, in the form of a manifesto, by which he pretends to justify his schism and authorize his separation from all our Churches, and which it was found appropriate to add in its en-

tirety at the end of this treatise. I dare to promise myself, under God's blessing, that pious persons who have the interest of the purity and peace of the Church at heart will receive great consolation from the work of these two gentlemen; and that, being convinced of the hypocrisy and the turbulent temper of Labadie, they will bless the Lord for having purged His threshing floor A biblical metaphor from Matthew 3:12; the "threshing floor" is the Church, and the "chaff" represents the wicked or false teachers being separated from the "wheat." of this light chaff that flies with every wind of doctrine, and for having cleaned the gold of His sanctuary of this dross which tarnished its luster. They will pray that, adding grace upon grace, He gives all the leaders of the Churches the strength, courage, and zeal to work toward the purging of the bad leaven Another biblical allusion (1 Corinthians 5:6) referring to corrupting influences or false teachings that spread through a community. of pernicious doctrines and the reformation of morals, which are only too corrupted in this century.

However, the charitable Reader is advised that if it happens in this treatise that the same thing is noted twice, he should consider that two different people, though brothers, worked on it separately and with very little leisure; both