Mr. Robinson was himself chosen a member of the famous university and admitted to its privileges.  During his long residence in Leyden, besides the daily care of his congregation, spiritual and temporal, he wrote many learned works.

Thus the little community, which grew gradually larger by emigration from England, passed many years of tranquillity.  Their footsteps were not dogged by constables and pursuivants, they were not dragged daily before the magistrates, they were not thrown into the town jails, they were not hunted from place to place with bows and bills and mounted musketeers.  They gave offence to none, and were respected by all.  “Such was their singleheartedness and sincere affection one towards another,” says their historian and magistrate, “that they came as near the primitive pattern of the first churches as any other church of these later times has done, according to their rank and quality.”

Here certainly were English Puritans more competent than any men else in the world to judge if it were a slander upon the English government to identify them with Dutch Puritans.  Did they sympathize with the party in Holland which the King, who had so scourged and trampled upon themselves in England, was so anxious to crush, the hated Arminians?  Did they abhor the Contra-Remonstrants whom James and his ambassador Carleton doted upon and whom Barneveld called “Double Puritans” and “Flanderizers?”

Their pastor may answer for himself and his brethren.

“We profess before God and men,” said Robinson in his Apologia, “that we agree so entirely with the Reformed Dutch Churches in the matter of religion as to be ready to subscribe to all and each of their articles exactly as they are set forth in the Netherland Confession.  We acknowledge those Reformed Churches as true and genuine, we profess and cultivate communion with them as much as in us lies.  Those of us who understand the Dutch language attend public worship under their pastors.  We administer the Holy Supper to such of their members as, known to us, appear at our meetings.”  This was the position of the Puritans.  Absolute, unqualified accordance with the Contra-Remonstrants.

As the controversy grew hot in the university between the Arminians and their adversaries, Mr. Robinson, in the language of his friend Bradford, became “terrible to the Arminians . . . . who so greatly molested the whole state and that city in particular.”

When Episcopius, the Arminian professor of theology, set forth sundry theses, challenging all the world to the onset, it was thought that “none was fitter to buckle with them” than Robinson.  The orthodox professor Polyander so importuned the English Puritan to enter the lists on behalf of the Contra-Remonstrants that at last he consented and overthrew the challenger, horse and man, in three successive encounters.  Such at least was the account given by his friend and admirer the historian.  “The Lord did so help him to defend the truth and foil this adversary as he put him to an apparent nonplus in this great and public audience.  And the like he did a second or third time upon such like occasions,” said Bradford, adding that, if it had not been for fear of offending the English government, the university would have bestowed preferments and honours upon the champion.