troublesome dreames 137. b Bearing with others weaknes 52 Beda liued in a corrupt time 42. b Bearfoote is Elleborus 164. b Bees of bullockes dead 218 Begging disalowed 203 Behauor in prosperiti aduersiti 6 Benefits degres worthines 198 Benefits whether they be to be wtdraweÌ„ froÌ„ vnthaÌ„ful persons 198 Benefits of god ar of .2 sorts 198 b Beniamin had .x. families 269 Beniamites worthy to be condemned 271 Beniamites how many of theÌ„ wer slayne by the Israelites 273. b Berdes of Priestes 201. b Bernhards error of angels 209 Bethabara 141 Bethel is not alwayes a propper name of a place but wher the ark of the couenant remained 269. b Bethlehem .2 of that name 239. b Betraying handled 36 b Betraying defined 37 Betraying wurs theÌ„ besieging 37 Betraying lawful 37. b Betraying examples 38. b Betrothing in woordes of the future tence 284. b Bezek situate 11 Bibles preserued by the Iewes 57 b Bishop of Rome hath nothing common with Peter 149 Bishops of Rome refused kingdom in the church at the first 147 Bishops ambicious 12 Bishops coÌ„secrating of kings whether they be therein greater then kinges 261. b Blabbing a vice moste peculiare to women 221. b Blasphemies horrible 235 Bloudshedding iustly and rightly restrayneth not from the holy ministery 146. b Boasting what 87. b Boasting against God 132. b Body what it signifieth with Tertulian 209 Body spiritual how 211 Body and bloud of Christe howe it is eaten 212. b Bodies of men after the floud whether lesse then before 17 Body humaine cannot consist with out flesh and bones 118. Body remoueth vs not from the beholding of God 117. b Bodye is ioyned to the soule for a helpe and not punishment 208. b Body is anoyed with druÌ„keÌ„nes 163. b Bodely diseases les grieuous then the mindes 247. b Bona goods 139. b Bondage first of the Israelits 77 Bondage more grieuous then losse of goods 70 Bondage is agaynste the nature of man 80 Bondage is a ciuill death 36 Bond saruants may not flye from their masters 227. b Bonifacius the right 257. Booke de Patientia none of Augustines 158. b Booke de Dogmate ecclesiastico is none of saint Augustines 121 borders of the Hebrues couÌ„tri 267 Bramble a vile plant 160. b Breade remayning in the Eucharist 205 brethreÌ„ for al maner of kinsfolks 23 Brothers children ar not forbidden to mary by Gods lawe .19 but by the law of nature 21 Brothers wyfe onelye lawfull for the Iewes to mary 21. b Bribery of Abimilech 158 Burials of the Hebrues in their own possessions 66 Burnt offringes 271 Burthens personall 263. b C. CAesar touched 153. b Caiphas the hie priest was no prophet 137 Calcedonia Synode 147. b Calfes made by Aaron IeroboaÌ„ were made of a good intent 48. b Calues of the lyps 192 Canons of the apostles allow mariage of Ministers 94. b Canons latter corrupt 215 Canons authority aboue the Ciuill lawes 217. b Cantones vilages of Heluetia â—67 Captains ouer ten Centurions c why God appointed 115. b Captaynes to haue Ministers in their campes 96. b Captaine needefull in great daungers 176. b captiues returning or escaping 85 b Carthage inhabited wyth Sidonians 243. b Cardinals hoorehunters 232 Carefulnes contrary to securitye yet not alwaies to be praised 247 case new requireth a new help 88 b Cases of lying to auoyd dauÌ„ger 90 Castels whether it bee lawfull to fence 113 Castels municions cannot defend from the anger of God 112. b Cathecumeni 42 b Cato burthened with droÌ„kennes 163 Caues described 112. b Cause of synne is not to be layd vnto God 167 Cause iust vniust differ much 271 Causes first more to be considered then the second 71 Centurions c. why God appointed 115. b Ceremonies complayned on 190. b Ceremonies neede not be all a lyke euery where 54. b Ceremonies of the law howe long they might be vsed 52 Ceremonies of the law howe farre Paule condemned them 51. b Ceremonies are not good bycause they had a good begynning but bicause they be good of theyr nature 48 Ceremonies in the Masse what they signify is vnknowen 50 Chaire of Peter 149 Chaldry paraphrast with the Hebrues is of great authority 285. b Chalebs petigree 18. b Chaleb a faythful spy 18 Chanaan nation discussed 7 ChanaaÌ„ deuided by Iosua before it was possessed by the Israelits 7. b Chananites why God woulde not by and by destroy them 8 Chananites expelled by the Israelites went into Affricke 7 Charges extraordinary 263. b Chariotes for warre described 32. they can not resist God 32 b Charity is neglected when we depart from the true God 155. b Charity not broken in destroying of Cities 31 Chaunce is not with God 172 ChauÌ„ce is not wtout gods wil 165 b Chaunge is not in God 175 Chemos god of the Amonites 185 Cherem vowes 192 Ches play 220 Children many is an excellent gyft of God 200 Children fayre of foule Parentes how 4. b Childe of a day old is not pure 180 Children are more of the father theÌ„ of the mother 156. b Children deuided for legitimacion c. 177. b Childrens obedience to their Parentes 203. b Childrens duties to their parents al one with subiects to their Magistrates 265 Children whether they may marye wtout coÌ„sent of their parents 214 Children when they maye disobeye their parentes 253 ChildreÌ„ ar not punished for theyr fathers as touching eternal life 182 Choyce of meates is not to bee followed 278 Christ is man 211. b Christ is the vniuersal head 147. b Christ the head of the church 241 Christ dissembled 89. b Christ as wee reade oft wept but neuer laught 63 Christ how he resembled Melchisedech 261 Christe is the mediator in makyng leagues 73. b Christ refused a kingdoÌ„ offred 147 Christ is our peace 122. b Christes appearing to the olde Fathers how it may be proued 119 b Christ how he is taught bi the boke of Iudges 2. b Christ had a true body after hys resurrection 209 Christes bodye howe it entred the doores shut 211. b Christ appeared to Gedion 115 Christes body bloud ar not included in the simbols or signes 212 b Chronicles howe they differ from histories 3 Chrysippus foolish answer 147 Church is gouerned of God wyth a singuler care 203 Church had not two swords in the apostles time 260. b Churche howe it maye haue twoo swordes 259. b Churche geueth not authoritye to the scriptures but contrary 5 Church hath three offices touching the word of God 5 Churches consent if it be to be waited for in reformacion of religion 265 Church ought to entreat for the reconciliation of the repentant 250 Church that payeth tythes is greater then the minister 261. b CipriaÌ„ resisted the church of Rome 148 Circumstances make much in euery matter 101 City of Palmes what 27. b Cities whether it bee lawfull to fence 113 Cities of refuge beloÌ„ged to the Leuites 18 Citizen good who 150 Ciuil lawes are to bee corrected by the woord
honesty and euer went about wicked actes For Zemah in Hebrue signifyeth mischiefe They were also named Rephaim Bycause they made men which met them to be after a sorte amased for that worde signifyeth sometimes the dead Lastly they were called Nefalim as oppressors bycause they assayled al men tyrannously of this worde Nafal which is to fall or subuerte Some thinke that they are sometimes called Geborim but bycause we vse to referre the worde to power and properly strong men are called Geborim therfore I woulde not put it among these When glaūtes began Augustine Furthermore if thou wilte demaunde when giauntes beganne to be if we may follow Augustine de ciuitate Dei the .xvi. boke and xxiii chapter We must say that they beganne before the floude And therfore we beleue him bycause he hath proued it by the testimonye of the holy Scriptures for it is written in the vi of Genesis that giauntes were at that time on the earth whose kind although it was kept after the floude yet as he beleueth they were not in so great number Whether Giauntes were begotten of mē Besides this it may be doubted concerning their procreation and parents for there are some whiche thinke that they were not begotten of men but that Aungels or deuils were their parentes And this sentence they say is confirmed by that which is written in the booke of Genesis The sonnes of God seing the daughters of men that they were fayre they tooke them to wiues and of them were borne most mightye men or giauntes Concerning this fall of the Angels many of the old writers agree that it was bicause they vsed company with women and among other is Lactantius in his second booke and xv Chapter For his opinion was as it is there written that God feared least Sathan to whom he had graunted the gouernement of the worlde shoulde vtterly haue destroyed mankinde Lactantius and therfore he gaue vnto it Angels for tutors by whose industrye care it mighte be defended But they being prouoked as well by the wilinesse of Sathan as also allured by the beauty of fayre women committed filthines with them Wherfore they were throwen downe from their dignitie and made souldiers of the deuill This was Lactantius opinion but yet he sayth not that Giauntes were borne of those copulations of Angels with women but earthly deuils which abide on the earth to our greate hurte Eusebius of Cesaria Eusebius of Cesaria in hys .v boke de preparatione euangelica doth nothing in a manner disagree from them For he also sayth that Angels which fell begat of women whom they filthilye loued those deuils which afterward troubled the world many wayes and to thē he referreth al these which the Poets and historiographers haue writtē to haue bene Gods haue eyther in Metre or in Prose made mention of their battailes discordes lustes and sundrye and grieuous tumultes Augustine But Augustine in his xv boke de ciuitate Dei xxiii Chap. thinketh that this opinion of these old men can not be gathered out of that place of Genesis Men of the stocke of Seth were called the sonnes of God For he sayth that those which are there called the sonnes of god were in very dede men namely cōming of the stock of Seth. For whē they worshipped god truely and sincerely and called vpō him holily and purely being adorned with his fauor grace they are called by the scriptures the sonnes of God What was the fal of the sonnes of God But whē at the length they began to burne in filthy lust with those women which came of the stocke of Cain and by that meanes fel into fellowship with the vngodly taking them to their wiues and cleauing also to superstitions and wicked worshippings they were chaunged from the sonnes of God not only into men but also into fleshe And thys will I say by the way Aquila Aquila translating these words out of Hebrue They wer not saith he the sōnes of God but the sonnes of Gods for thys cause so called as I suppose bycause their progenitors were holy men Simmachus but their children miserably fell from god and godlines by inordinate loue of women And Symmachus translateth it The sonnes of the mightye But nowe to Augustine againe he constantly affirmeth that there can be nothing gathered out of that place of Genesis concerning the carnall copulation of Angels with women but thinketh rather that farre contrary may be proued by the wordes of God written in the same place For whē the scripture had there sayd that there were Giaunts on the earth and that the sonnes of God as it is sayd were gone out of the right way and Giaunts were brought forth there is added And god sayd my spirite shal not abide in man for euer bicause he is flesh By this sentence he declareth that those which so sinned were called men and not only as they were by nature but also they were called flesh wherunto by their filthy luste they did to much cleaue But they which be of the contrary opinion do thinke that they do bring a strong witnesse of Enoch which was the vii from Adam of whom Iudas maketh mention in his canonicall Epistle Enochs booke Augustine For in the booke which is intituled to be Enochs booke it is writtē that giauntes had their of springs of Angels and not of mē But Augustine answereth vnto this and sayth that that booke is altogether Apocripha therefore such fables as are rehearsed in it are not to be beleued It is not to be doubted he sayth but that Enoch wrote some godly thinges when as Iudas the Apostle manifestly testifieth the same But it is not necessary that we should beleue that all thinges which are written in that Apocriphal booke shoulde be of hys writing Forasmuch as they haue no sure authoritie Neither although Iudas brought thence some one certaine sentence is it supposed that therfore he by his authoritie hath allowed the whole booke Vnlesse thou wilt saye that Paule allowed all the things which were written by Epimenides Aratus and Menander bicause he brought one or two verses out of thē Ierome Which thing Ierome in his exposition vpō the first chap. of the Epistle to Titus declareth to be a very absurde thing and worthily to be laughed at And now as concerning Enoch it semeth meruelous how he being but the vii from Adam could write of those things of the altercation betwene Michael and the deuil for the body of Moyses when as if there wer any such thing as there is no doubt but there wer they must nedes haue come to passe a thousand and almost .500 yeares after Vnlesse we wil say that those things wer reuealed at that time by some notable strength of prophecy Neyther is it to be forgotten that those whiche do thinke that giauntes had Angels to their parentes not men do therfore seme to suppose so The reason of
woorke by it selfe and other sometimes eyther by Aungels or by men and that in such maner as wee shall afterwarde declare Augustine Farther I wyll adde that Augustine writeth in the place before alledged against the Epistle of the Maniches the .xxvi. chap. Miracles woulde not mooue except they were wonderfull and they would not be wonderful if they shoulde be accustomed thinges As therefore they say that by admiration sprang Philosophy whych Plato thought to be the Raynebowe and for that cause calleth the daughter of Thaumans so may we beleue that faith Faithe cometh not of miracles but is by them confirmed which cōmeth of the worde of God although it do not vtterly spring of miracles yet by them it may be confirmed And therefore Augustine in his .xii. booke of Confessions the .xxi. chap. saith Ignorance is the mother of wondring at signes this is an entraunce vnto faith to the sonnes of Adam which haue forgotten thee By this sentence he teacheth that men which haue forget God haue by the admiration of miracles an entrance or cōming vnto faith And without doubt it is so The wyll of God is hidden from vs but he as he is good openeth the same to holy Prophets Apostles which that they may profitably declare vnto men he geueth vnto them the gift of his holy woord But bicause he knoweth that mortal men are contrary against his word he hath graūted the power of working of miracles that those thinges might the easilier be beleued which he would haue his messenger profitably to speake That cōfirmation of faith cōmeth by miracles Marke testifieth who toward the end of his Gospel saith And they went forth preaching euerye where the Lord working with them confirming the word with signes which followed And how apt this kinde of confirmation is hereby it is manifest The promises of God do of no other thing depend then of his wyll power And the signes which we now intreate of do testify the power of God forasmuch as they by al meanes ouercome nature and set forth the truth of his wil for by the inuocation of his name by his grace spirit they are wrought Augustine Wherefore Augustine in the place now alledged against the Epistle of Manicheus writeth that miracles do bring authority vnto the woord of God For he when he did these miracles semed to haue geuen an earnest peny of his promises Neither ar these wordes to be passed ouer which the same Augustine hath vpon Iohn in the .24 Miracles consist not in the greatnes of woorkes treatise That miracles consist not in the greatnes of workes for otherwise it is a greater woorke to gouerne this vniuersal composition of the world then vnto a blinde man to restore light which he is destitute of These thynges declared there remayneth that by apt distinctions we destribute miracles into his partes Some of them are to be wondred at An other distinction of myracles by reason of the thing it selfe which is done for that it is so vnaccustomed and great that in the nature of thinges we cannot finde the lyke of it Suche was the staying of the Sunne in the time of Iosua and the turning of that shadowe in the tyme of Ezechias the conception and byrth of the Virgin the foode of Manna in the deserte and suche lyke But there are some which ar miracles not for the nature and greatnes of the thing but bycause of the maner and waye whiche was vsed in bringing them to passe as was the cloude and rayne of Helias the budding of floures and fruites in the rod of Aaron the thunders of Samuel the turnynge of water into wyne and suche lyke For suche thinges are done by nature but they were then myracles bycause of the maner whereby they were wrought that is not by naturall causes but at the commaundement and wyll of Sayntes There is an other deuision of myracles An other deuision of miracles bycause some of them doo onelye mooue admiration as lyghtenynges and thundrynges in mount Sina the turning of the shadowe of the Sunne in the tyme of Ezechias the transfiguration of the Lorde in the Mount There are other which besides the admiration doo bring a present commoditye vnto men as when by the rodde dryncke was geuen out of the Rocke Manna from heauen and when by the Lord and the Apostles sycke folkes were healed And sometimes they bring punishment and hurt vnto the guiltye For by the woordes of Peter perished Ananias and Saphira Elimas the Sorcerer was made blynde by Paule and some were by hym delyuered vnto Sathan to be vexed By this also are miracles deuided An other partitiō of miracles bicause some of them are obtained by praiers For so did Elias and Elizeus namelye by praying restore their deade to lyfe Moses also praying for Pharao draue away Frogs and other plages And other some are wrought by commaundement and authority Iosua commaunded the Sunne to stay his course The Lord Iesus commaunded the windes and Peter said vnto the lame man In the name of Iesus Christ rise walke Ther ar also other which are done neither by praiers nor by commaundement but of theyr own wyll and accord the saintes them selues doing some other thing Euen as when the shadow of Peter as he walked healed those that were sycke and the napkin of Paul healed also folkes diseased Augustine An other diuision of myracles Lastly Augustine as it is written in his .83 booke of questions question 79. deuideth miracles that some are done by publik iustice that is by the stable and firme will of God which in the world is counted as a publike lawe By it God would that his ministers that is Apostles and Prophetes shoulde in preaching woorke miracles And there are other some which by the signes of this iustice are wrought as when the vngodly in the name of God or of Iesus Christ do work any miracle which is not geuen but by the honour and reuerence which thei vse towardes the name of God not that God or nature or any thinges created desire to gratefy them As when a man stealeth away a publike seale or handwriting he may wrest many thinges either from the men of the countrey or from the Citizens which are not geuen vnto him but vnto the seale which they know doth belong to the Magistrate and Prince So he which followed not Christe did yet in his name cast out deuils Thirdly are those miracles reckoned which by some certaine priuate bargaine are wrought wherby the Sorcerers do binde them selues vnto the Deuyl and the deuil likewise to them But those at done neither by publike iustice nor yet by the signes therof but come onelye of a certayne priuate conuention Howbeit wee must knowe that miracles of the second and third sort are not firme neither do they assuredly happen For asmuch as we reade in the .xix. chap. of the Actes of the Apostles that the sonnes of
the Ephod instituted by Gideon Wherefore Augustines opinion is that Gideon would haue had God worshipped so in his country that the same thynges might ther haue bene done which were done in Silo where the Arke was Which opinion although it can not be confuted by the scriptures yet it appeareth not very lykelye For we reade not that he had Priestes with him Neither doo the Hebrue Doctors who otherwise are diligent in expressing of thinges done attribut these thinges vnto him but rather agree with the other sentence namely that he constituted it for a monument of the victory which he had obtained which afterward was an occasion of superstition Wherefore it semeth to be spoken more probably that this erected signe was had in admiration of the foolishe people so that they thought it to be a place very meete to doo sacrifice there and especiallye for the offring of peace offeringes vnto the true God which seemed not woorthy of reprouing For at that time it was lawfull to doo that in a maner euerye where but superstition dayly creeping more abroade they began to attribute more then was meete vnto that signe as to a thing deuine and which had in it some power of God and for that cause they offred sacrifices and did incense vnto it keping neuertheles a pretence of the worshipping of God and the name of God the Lorde as in the time of Ezechias they did incense and sacrifice vnto the brasen serpent Whence came the begynnyng of reliques and inuocation of the dead And in the same maner we rede happened at the beginning of the sepulchers bones and reliques of holye men The Christians buried the dead bodies of the Martirs as honorablye as they coulde and to haue the memorye of them kept they began to haue places of prayer at their tombes not vndoubtedlye where they would woorship and inuocate the Martirs but where they might heare the woord of God receaue the Sacramentes and exhorte one an other to defende the faith And in deede that place seemed not a litle commodious for such a purpose For the sepulchres of Martirs seemed to admonish inflame the myndes to enterprise the same battailes and to behaue them selues most constantly for the name of Christ Wherfore it was thought that in assembling to the Sepulchres of Martirs two commodities were gotten First bicause some honour might be geuen to so great Confessors whilest the memory of them was not suffered to be forgotten but with verye great ioy thankes were geuen vnto God for their happy victory The other was bicause men might bee stirred vp to enterprise the like The beginning of the images of Sayntes and to hope for the like gifts at Gods hand And after the same maner began the images of Christ and of the Apostles priuatelye to bee made namely that their death which semed vnto the world full of ignominye myght be made more honorable and that the memory of them might floorishe and by beholding of those images so set vp men might be prouoked to the iust and laudable imitacion of them If the thing had abidden within these bondes it might haue bene borne with al neither was there any thing there which might iustly be condemned but euen as the act of Gideon was turned at the length to idolatry so in successe of tyme folowed the inuocation of Martirs at their sepulchers and the images of saintes began to be set vp and woorshipped not onely in priuate places but also in temples The act of Gideon was a snare to him and to his house for both hee synned and his children as we shal heare were horribly slayne It brought also great misery vnto the Israelites For from this superstition they fel by litle and litle to the open worshipping of Baal wherfore they were most grieuously oppressed of their enemies howbeit as long as Gideon lyued they woorshipped not Baal Hereby we gather that al worshipping of God instituted without his woorde is to him vnacceptable and to vs most daungerous There is but one God and he wil be worshipped but one way namely as he himself hath coÌ„maunded And if to the worshipping of him ther be any thing to be added by the decree of men â—oâ— comelines sake and for a iust and ciuil order the same ought to bee but lyttle Gideon sinneth two wayes and also mutable as it shall bee thoughte good for to aduaunce edification Wherefore Gideon synneth twoo wayes both in that hee abused the Ephod which he made for a signe and also bicause when he sawe superstition to come thereby he prohibited it not The good intent of Gideon excused not his act although he had a shewe of piety Leo the first of that name Leo the fyrst in his Sermon of the Passion of the Lorde sayth that Peter when he cut of the eare of the seruant of the highe Priest was moued with a godly mocion But what godlye mocion coulde it be which Christ reproued yea and so reproued it that he affirmed that he which so drewe the swoorde should perishe with the swoorde What other thing was this then to haue a zeale of God but as Paule sayth not accordyng to knowledge Paule also the Apostle when he afflicted and destroied the Christians thought that he dyd God high seruice These thinges haue a shewe of a good intent as they call it or of godlynes but they are not in very deede that which they shewe for Euen so encreased the pompe of the Masse by no other meanes then by a shewe of a good intent For it seemed good vnto our Elders to adorne the Supper of the Lord. Wherfore this Pope added this thing and an other that thing so that at the lengthe the thyng came to thys poynte that these additions excluded the institution of Christ in such sorte that it may seme to be any other thing els then the Supper of the Lord for those thynges are obserued which men haue inuented but that which Christ willed namelye that brethren should communicate together and celebrate the memory of his death this I say is abolished But why the woorshippinges instituted by mans inuention are to bee abiected this is an assured reason Why worshippings inuented by man are to be abiected bycause in woorshipping of God we must do all thinges chiefely throughe fayth but it is of no force if it want the word of God Wherefore if rites which are retayned for the woorshipping of God lacke hys woorde faith may not be geuen vnto them and therfore ar they rather synnes then woorkes pleasing God For all that is not of fayth is synne The authority of the fathers is not sufficieÌ„t as the Apostle saith But they say that in those woorshippinges the authoritye of the Fathers which were present at Counsels ought to be sufficient neither ought we to esteeme their sentences of any lesse value then the holy scriptures But I wil turne the same to them againe and aske whither they