Hyde.—What have you to do to take other men’s trades out of their hands? I believe you can preach as well as write books. Thus it is to let you and such as you are have the Scripture to wrest to your own destruction. You have made in your book a new creed. I have seen three creeds before, but I never saw a fourth till you made one.
Keach.—I have not made a creed, but a confession of the Christian faith.
Hyde.—Well, that is a creed, then.
Keach.—Your lordship said you had never seen but three creeds, but thousands of Christians have made a confession of their faith.
The chief justice having denounced several things contained in the book as contrary to the liturgy of the church of England, and so a breach of the test of uniformity—
Keach.—My lord, as to those things—
Hyde.—You shall not preach here, nor give the reasons of your damnable doctrine, to seduce and infect his majesty’s subjects. These are not things for such as you to meddle with, and to pretend to write books of divinity; but I will try you for it before I sleep.
He then directed an indictment to be drawn up, and thus addressed the grand jury:—
“Gentlemen of the grand jury: I shall send you presently a bill against one that hath taken upon him to write a new primer for the instruction of your children. He is a base and dangerous fellow; and if this be suffered, children by learning of it will become such as he is; and therefore I hope you will do your duty.”
A long indictment having been found, in which divers passages from the book were set forth as damnable, seditious, wicked, and contrary to the statute in that case made and provided, Keach was called upon to plead to it. He asked for a copy, and liberty to confer with counsel, and to put in his exceptions before pleading. But Chief Justice Hyde compelled him to plead before he would give him a copy, and then would allow him only an hour’s time to consider it, which, as not long enough to be of any benefit, Keach declined to accept.