ection, instruction or good advice, it will be agreeable to us and
we shall thank your Reverence therefor; since we must all have no other
object than the glory of God in the building up of his kingdom and the
salvation of many souls. I keep myself as far as practicable within the
pale of my calling, wherein I find myself sufficiently occupied. And
although our small consistory embraces at the most--when Brother Crol
is down here--not more than four persons, all of whom, myself alone
excepted, have also public business to attend to, I still hope to
separate carefully the ecclesiastical from the civil matters which
occur, so that each one will be occupied with his own subject.

(1) That is, to preach extempore in French.

And though many things are mixti generis, and political and
ecclesiastical persons can greatly assist each other, nevertheless the
matters and officers proceeding together must not be mixed but kept
separate, in order to prevent all confusion and disorder. As the Council
of this place consists of good people, who are, however, for the most
part simple and have little experience in public affairs, I should have
little objection to serve them in any difficult or dubious affair with
good advice, provided I considered myself capable and my advice should
be asked; in which case I suppose that I should not do amiss nor be
suspected by any one of being a polupragmov or allotrioepiskopos.(1)

(1) I Peter iv. 15; a meddler or "busy-body in other men's
matters."

In my opinion it would be well that the Honorable Directors should
furnish this place with plainer and more precise instructions to the
rulers, that they may distinctly know how to conduct themselves in all
possible public difficulties and events; and also that I should some
time have here all such _Acta Synolalia_, as have been adopted in the
synods of Holland; both the special ones of our quarter,(1) and those
which are provincial and national, in relation to ecclesiastical
difficulties; or at least such of them as in the judgment of the
Honorable Brethren at Amsterdam would be most likely to be of service to
us here. In the meantime, I hope matters will go well here, if only on
our part we do our best in all sincerity and honest zeal; whereunto I
have from the first entirely devoted myself, and wherein I have also
hitherto, by the grace of God, had no just cause to complain of any one.
And if any dubious matters of importance come be