ouer the night So in the firmament of the vniuersall Church God hath set two great dignities the authority of the Pope and Emperor of the which two this our dignity is so much the weightier as that we must giue account to God for the Kings of the earth and for the Lawes of men Wherefore know ye Emperors that ye depend vpon the iudgement of vs and we must not be reduced to your will for looke what difference there is betweene the Sunne and the Moone so great is the power of the Pope ruling ouer the day that is ouer the spiritualty aboue Emperors and Kings ruling ouer the night that is ouer the Laity Now seeing then the Earth is seauen times bigger then the Moone and the Sunne eight times greater then the earth it followes that the Popes dignity many degrees doth surmount the estate of Emperors And although Constantine the great writing to a Pope alleadged the words of Peter 1 Pet. 2. 13. Submit your selues to euery humane creature as to Kings c. Yet in their Decretals they expound the minde of Peter to exhort all subiects and not his successors to be subiect proouing the Priesthood to be aboue Kings by the wordes of Ieremy Behold I haue set thee ouer Kings and Nations c. Neyther must Kings and Princes thinke it much to submit themselues to my iudgement for so did Valentinianus the Emperour and also Carolus For my power is not of man but of God who by his celestiall prouidence hath set me Master and gouernour ouer his vniuersall Church whereby all criminall causes as well of Kings as all other to be subiect to my censure For my Church of Rome is Prince and head of all nations the Mother of the Faith the foundation cardinall whereupon all Churches doe depend as the doore doth vpon the hinges The first of all other seates without spot or blemish Lady mistresse instructer of all Churches a glasse and spectacle to all men to be followed in all whatsoeuer she obserues Against which Church of Rome whosoeuer speakes any euill is forthwith an hereticke yea a very Pagan a witch an Idolater and Infidell hauing fulnesse of power onely in her owne hands in ruling deciding absoluing condemning casting out or receiuing in To which Church of Rome it is lawfull to appeale for remedy from all other Churches although it was decreed otherwise in the Councell of Carthage that no man should appeale ouer the Sea vnder paine of excommunication yet Gratians glosse can helpe that with a limitation Nisi forte Romanam sedem appellauerint Vnlesse they appeale to the Sea of Rome Of the which Church of Rome the Pope is Head the Vicar of St. Peter yea not the Vicar of St. Peter properly but the Vicar of Christ and successor of Peter Rector of the vniuersall Church and directer of the Lords vniuersall flocke chiefe Magistrate of the whole world Lex animata in terris A liuing Law in the earth hauing all Lawes in the chest of my breast Yea Nec Deus nec homo quasi neuter inter vtrūque Being neyther God nor man but the admiration of the world and a middle thing twixt both The Pope hath both swords in his power both of Temporall and spirituall iurisdiction able by his owne power alone without a Councell to depose the Emperor to transferre his kingdome and to giue a new election as hee did to Fredericke and diuers others to whom Emperors and Kings bee more inferior then lead is to gold for doe you not see the neckes of Kings and Princes bend vnder our knees yea and think themselues happy and well defenced if they may kisse our hands What doe wee talke of Kings The Pope is aboue Angels as his Clarke Antoninus writes That hee is greater then Angels in foure things 1 In iurisdiction 2 In administration of Sacraments 3 In knowledge 4 In reward And so in Bulla Clementis the Pope commands the Angels of Paradise to absolue the soule of man out of purgatory and to bring it into the glory of Paradise Who is able to comprehend the greatnes of my power and seate For by me onely generall Councels take their force and confirmation and the interpretation of the said Councels and of all other causes doubtfull must stand to my determination yea my Letters and Epistles Decretall are equiualent to Generall Councels and whereas God hath ordained all causes of men to be iudged by men he hath only reserued me that is the Pope of Rome without all question of men vnto his owne iudgement and whereas all other Creatures be vnder a Iudge onely I which am Iudge of all can be iudged of none neyther of Emperor nor the whole Cleargy nor of Kings nor yet of people For who hath power to iudge vpon his Iudge so that I differ in power and maiority and honor reuerentiall from all degrees of men For the better declaration of it the Canonists make three kindes of powers in earth 1. Immediata which is mine immediately from God 2. Deriuata which belongeth to other inferiour Prelates from mee 3. Ministralis belonging to Emperors and Princes to minister for me for the which cause the anointing of Princes and my consecration differ for they are annoynted in the arme or shoulders and I in the head This order of Priests Bishops Archbishops Patriarkes and Cardinals the Church of Rome hath instituted following the example of the Angelicall Army in heauen and the Apostles on earth For among them there was a distinction of power and authority albeit they were all Apostles yet it was granted to Peter they all agreeing to it that hee should haue superiority ouer them all and therefore had his name giuen him Cephas that is say they head or beginning of the Apostles whereupon the order of Priesthood first in the new Testament began in Peter to whom it was said Thou art Peter and vpon thee will I build my Church Math. 16. 18. And I will giue thee the keyes of the kingdome of Heauen Whatsoeuer thou shalt binde vpon earth c. v. 19. Seeing then such power is giuen to Peter and to the Pope in Peter as his successor who is then in all the world that ought not to be subiect to my Decrees which haue such power in heauen in hell in earth with the quicke also the dead whereupon Pope Clement in his Bull of lead sent to Vienna granted to all such as died in their peregrination to Rome that the paine of hell should not touch them And all such as tooke the holy Crosse vpon them should euery one at his request not onely be deliuered but also deliuer 3. or 4. soules out of Purgatory And againe Christ said to Peter I haue
Mariana c. Yea this Kingdome is so diuided among it selfe that we presume and this presage it shall not long stand They that would further behold this Campe of the Midianites sheathing their swords in their neighbours sides let them reade the worke of that learned and reuerend Doctor D. Hall in his Booke called the Peace of Rome And yet the Papists with might and maine exclaime at factions in the Church of England to whom we may say with our Sauiour Hypocrita eijce primùm Trabem de oculo tuo Hypocrite first cast the beame out of thine owne eye sweepe cleane before your owne threshold before you blame spots in others They tell the World what an implacable discord and dissention is betwixt the Protestants and the Puritanes a name we scarce know and is proper to none but onely vnto Iesuites who thinke themselues so pure that they will arrogate to be of the society of Iesus But we may truly say that which they shall neuer say That in the Church of England there is vniuersality and vnity in substance of doctrine and religion and in circumstance we haue or hope for a generall vniformity But they want these and yet of late they haue a new policy to purge and raze many of their owne dead Doctors to speake that in their graues they neuer thought on in their studies putting out that which they printed and putting in that which the Authors neuer purposed Thus haue they serued Caictan Gratians Glosse Ferus Polydore Lodonicâ—…Vines c. And to this end serue their Indices Expurgatorij To purge away their best blood and leaue them nothing but skinne and bones And thus haue they serued Andreas Mazius Comments and Iansenius Harmony vpon the Gospell yea whom not if hee hath touched neuer so tenderly the sores of Rome this is the medicine to helpe the malady But I would this punishment had beene onely inflicted vpon their owne Doctors and that they had neuer laied their correcting hands in corrupting the Fathers of whom they haue a long time boasted the Fathers the Fathers are all of our side but these are but wind and words and as he said of the Nightingale Vox est praeterea nihil A meere voice and nothing else for these will vse the Fathers as Soloâ— his Friends or as Merchants vse figures in Accounts for hundreds if they please them for Cyphers if they crosse them and truly the ancient Fathers of the best esteeme speaâ—e little or nothing on their side in any fundamentall points and difference twixt them and vs except they haue dieted and giuen them vomits and purgations except they haue so done to them as Clement the eighth did to his Predecessor Sixtus Quintus corrupting that his correction of the Bible by a new Translation which one called a new Transgression and they haue herein so falsified many of the Fathers and foisted in other counterfet Fathers that it puts me in mind of a Popes Iester Pogghius speakes of who when he told the Pope tales to make him sport did it standing behind a cloath for being outfaced So the Fathers who speake for them must stand behind a skreene mantled or mangled by their correction So that taking away these desperate shifts which the Church of Rome vseth there will be found no great antiquity vniuersality or vnity in the Doctrine of the Church of Rome But to leaue these and other motiues allectiues to many to loue the Church of Rome for I did not intend to muster vp all their motiues wherewith they fight against vs for so I should send out a Ship and not a Pinnesse I will rather mention a few markes and apparent tokens whereby these children may iustly misdoubt their mother to be an harlot and in part palpably perceiue her corruption Her first whorish marke is her blasphemy against the Scripture being that woman in Saint Iohns vision sitting vpon a scarlet coloured beast full of the names of blasphemy and that in foure respects first her blasphemy and contempt of the Scripture appeares because the Church of Rome maintaines that all things necessary to saluation are not contained in the Holy Scripture and that the best part of true religion is knowne by vnwritten traditions and that these traditions are to bee receiued with the same reuerence and affection wherewith wee receiue the Scripture as the Councell of Trent decreed Many things belong to Christian Faith which are not contained in the Scripture openly nor obscurely saith Canus The greatest part of the Gospell is come to vs by tradition very little of it is committed to writing saith Hosius The Canon Law set out newly by Pope Gregory the 13. saith that men doe so reuerence the Apostolicall seate of Rome that they rather desire to know the auncient institution of Christian religion from the Popes mouth then from the holy Scripture Their workes are full of such words by which all may see their blasphemy comparing traditions of men with the infallible worde of God 2. Their mouthes are full of bitter and irreuerent speeches against the Scripture calling it a nose of waxe to be writhed this way or that way a dumbe Iudge as Pighius termes it dead inke as another yea Bellarmine their great Doctor saith the Scripture is not simply necessary or as Eckius we must liue more according to the authority of the Church then after the Scripture or the Scriptures without the authority of the Church are no better then Aesops fables And often they will deny the Scripture it selfe as Catharinus accuseth Caietan their great Cardinall called by them an incomparable Diuine and the most learned of all his age who doth charge him for denying the last chapter of Markes Gospell some parcell of S. Luke the Epistle to the Hebrewes the Epistle of Iames the second Epistle of Peter the second and third of Iohn the Epistle of Iude all which are Canonicall they wil denie the scripture if it make not for them say with Eckius Scriptura sine ecclesia authoritate non est authentica The Scripture without the authority of the Church that is the Pope for so Gregory of Valence saith by the Church we meane her Head that is the Roman Bishop is not authenticall 3. They make their Pope Iudge ouer the Scripture whosoeuer resteth not on the doctrine of the Bishop of Rome as the infallible rule of God from whom the holy Scripture takes her strength and authority hee is an heretike saith one of her side The Pope may change the holy Gospell and may giue to the Gospell according to time and place another sense We are bound to stand to the Popes iudgement alone rather then to the iudgement of al the world besides saith Aluarus Pelagius The Popes rescripts and decretall Epistles are Canonicall Scripture If any man haue the interpretation of the Romane
to be true seruants to their Sauiour or good subiects to their Souereigne I Hauing finished yet in great weakenesse our former worke wherein I doe humbly craue of all sorts a friendly and fauourable construction and acceptation and there still remaining a few pages vnwritten I thought it not labout lost if I did annexe some common yet courteous direction to the Lay-papists of the land to disswade them from the corrupt Doctrine of the Church of Rome vnto the which they are induced by the inchaunting allurements of Popish Priests men whose learning and wits are tempting baites yea bawdes Thamar-like prostitute themselues so that they may haue children they will deceiue their owne father Iudah as also by the ignorance of these Lay-disciples whose right eyes of knowledge they thrust out as Nahash the Ammonite would haue done to the men of Iabesh Gilead depriuing them of the word of knowledge the Scripture and saying It was the Deuills inuention to permit the people to reade the Bible as one of their fide writes and therfore the Church of Rome forbiddeth the reading of it among the people By which meanes oh wofull meanes and to cry with their owne Doctor to their Cleargy for it woe to our Parish Priests woe to our Bishops woe to our Prelates they haue brought in such a floud of prodigious ignorance as that many of them are as ignorant as that Knight was of whom Claudius Espâ—ncaem tells of who being demanded his beliefe touching the holy Ghost answered he knew not whether there was an holy Ghost or no. So that their followers being so blind not able to iudge of colours wanting the word of Truth the Scripture in the tongue they vnderstand which is the lapis Lydius the touchstone to try the truth from error diuina statera as Augustin calles it the diuine ballance to weigh truth from falsehood it is easie to winde such into selfe-losing labyrinthes and to driue them with their painted clothes like woodcockes into their nets and to goe with them with Domitius Chalderinus yet hee learned who when he should goe to the Masse accustomed to say Eamus ad communem errorem Let vs goe to the common error So these are content to goe to Masse the common or Catholicke mother of all Bastard errors The attractiue motiues which draw many to fancy and follow the religion of the Church of Rome may be reduced to three Heads 1. The Antiquitie 2. The Vniuersality 3. The Vnity of that Church which three if they could be found there were of powerfull consequence to mooue reuerence but neither of these can be found there for the moderne Romane Church which coines so often new Creedes and Articles of faith and is reuolted from herselfe in substance of doctrine is no more like herselfe in her primitiue State then Lais the Curtizan is an honest woman I could demonstrate this I say without controulement if I were purposed to write a common-place-booke of Controuersies in this point but it hath beene handled so largely and learnedly by other Diuines of our Church that I may at this time forbeare any long discourse I will but touch it and instance this I write how the moderne Church of Rome is swarued from herselfe not onely from the Truth which primitiue Rome embraced but also varied from herselfe declining into heresie innouating those Articles and dogmaticall points of faith as they count them which in the processe of her fall she professed it might be specified in most of the points of Doctrine she maintaines at this present time but I will rest with these few for I write but an Epitome 1 Example shall be in the Sacrament At the first the people receiued the cup as well as the bread for the space of a thousand yeeres yea afterward the Romance Church commanded the wine to be consecrated that the lay-people might fully communicate saith Micrologus most and the best Papists liked this well that the people should communicate in both kinds but afterward the Councell of Constance forbad it and after that the Councell of Basil released the decree of Constance to some and after that the Councell of Trent the mint of errors confirmed it againe and depriued the Laity of the Cup Sect. 21. c. 2. So that this point of Doctrine now maintained in the Church of Rome can pleade no antiquity being now so oft renewed put vp and put downe and their most ancient Liturgies shew how the people receiued the wine as well as the bread and this custome saith Caietan endured long in the Church and as one of their Church say It were better if this custome were renewed againe 2 Example in Transubstantiation Transubstantiation lately brought into the Church and made a matter of faith by a silly Pope Innocent the third in the Lateran Councell within these 400 yeeres and the Papists themselues say this opinion is very new and lately brought into the Church and beleeued onely vpon the authority of the Lateran Councell and speake so vncertainely and inconstantly in this point and doe so stagger enterfere in their opinion herein confessing that there is no Scripture to conuince it vnlesse ye bring the Church of Romes exposition so that hitherto we can see no great antiquity nor good vniuersality in their doctrine 3 Example in Popes supremacy The Councell of Constance and Basil decreed That a generall Councell was of greater authority then the Pope but long after that the Councels of Lateran and Trent decreed contrary The Councels of Chalcedon and Constantinople make the Bishop of Constantinople equall with the Bishop of Rome yet now he arrogates a supremacy aboue Bishops aboue Councels aboue Kings aboue all his title no lesse then vniuersall Bishop yet Gregory who was Pope of Rome saith I hat he dare confidently say He is the forerunner of Antichrist in his pride whosoeuer he be that calleth himselfe vniuersall Bishop but this smoaky pompe of pride the Pope now likes well enough and makes it an Article of Faith to sweaâ—e obedience to his primacy and he that denies this denies Fidem Catholicam The Catholicke Faith faith Bellarmine I might here produce other examples of Popish Doctrine crept in by degrees as their abhominable Image-worship brought in by the second Councell of Nice the first restraint of Priests marriage by Pope Siritius the doctrine of the merit of workes lately by the Schoolemen as Waldensis writes Their prayers to the dead Popes pardons Purgatory a Platonicall or poeticall fiction Auricular confession with other like triuiall trash which if they haue any colour of antiquity yet they haue no colour of verity And what is antiquity without verity Saint Cyprian tels vs Consuetudo sine veritate est vestustas erroris Continuance without truth is the antiquity of error And againe Non hom ines consuei â—dinem
relogo saith he Romanorum regum imperatorum gesta nusquam inuenio quenquam eorum ante hunc à Romane Pontifice excommunicatum vel regno priuatum I reade ouer and ouer the Acts of Kings and Emperors and I find no where any of them before this excommunicated of the Pope or depriued of their Kingdome but this Popes enterprise had a sutable successe for by the Councell of Brixia hee was deiected out of the Popedome for it and being in extreamity calles one of his best beloued Cardinals to him and confessed to God Saint Peter and the whole Church that he had greatly offended in his Pastorall charge Et suadente Diabolo contra humanum genus iram odium concitasse By the Diuels perswasion he had raised vp wrath and hatred vpon Mankind Well this Heldebrand whose Orator was the Diuell was the first that attempted to depose Emperors and since that Prince of the Ayre who beares rule in the childrē of disobedience hath moued Peters false friends and Kings foes to follow the hellish steppes of proud Heldebrand seeking to depose Kings to dispose of their Crownes and depriue them of their liues to excommunicate them to free subiects from their allegiances to excite Armes against them to make Martyres of King-killers euery way labouring to disparage their sacred Persons diminish their Regall rights encroch vpon their Prerogatiues altogether contemning Peters Precepts yet arrogating Peters Place Honour the King How dishonourably and contemptibly that Milo who bare the Pope on his shoulders Cardinall Bellarmine writes of Kings That they are rather slaues then Lords De Laicis c. 7. Not onely subiects to Popes to Bishops to Priests but to Deacons Depontifice lib. 1. c. 7. That Kings haue not their authority immediatly from God nor his law but onely from the law of Nations De cleric c. 28. That Churchmen are as farre aboue Kings as the soule aboue the body De Laicis c. 18. That Kings may be deposed by their people for diuers respects De pontific lib. 5. c. 8 That obedience due to Kings is onely for certaine respects of order and pollicy De clericis cap. 28 His workes are full of such foule and false assertions base bald and blockish Paradoxes repugnant to al Scripture right and reason that he may say with the Poet Hoc equidem studeo bullatis vt mihi nugis Pagina turgescat Many of his propositions so dishonourable and iniurious to Kings that to confute them Non opus est verbis sed fustibus Armes not Arts should beat and breake in peeces such pernicious Paradoxes But to leaue these Machiauelismes of the Conclaue dethroning Kings to enthrone Popes let vs learne of God with what honourable titles and high prerogatiues in the Booke of God they stand possessed There they are called Gods and Children of the most High The Lords Annointed The Angels of God The Light of Israel Sitting in Gods Throne The Higher Powers the Ministers of God The Kings of Nations that beare rule euery where with variety of such high and stately Titles great Prerogatiues commanding euery soule to be subiect to them that he who should goe about to empaire their honour must first infringe the Booke of God Vnworthy is that Creature to breathe the Ayre which denies honour to the breathing Image of God his annointed Soueraign or with vnreuerent action or elocution enterprise to debase their sacred Soueraignety such tongues are worthy with Diues to be tormented or with Progne to be cut out or with Nicanors to be diuided in crummes for Birds that will not honour with tongues and honour with hearts their annointed and appointed Kings the earthly pictures of the King of Kings And not to trauel so farre as forraine Climates to teach them to honour Kings let our speech bee bounded within the circumference of his Highnesse Countries People aboue all other Nations bound to honour and obey our gracious Soueraigne We blessed with a King of incomparable wisdome Rex natus ad Regna natus descended of blood royall A blessednes to a Kingdome when a King is the Son of Nobles and much more of noble vertues prudent in a peaceable gouernement compleate in the perfection of Learning eares may ouercome eyes to hear the wisdome of our Salomon and which is most of all and best of all to be extolled sincerely and soundly religious labouring to make his Kingdomes by aduancing Euangelium Christi Regnum Euangelij A trusty defender of the true Faith Tam Marti quā Mercurio both by Pen and Pike ready to defend Religion against superstition often hath he entred into Theologicall disputes and foyled Romes most illustrious Cardinals Yea his Maiesties dinners like Salomons Table making Auditors say with Salomon A diuine sentence shall be in the lips of the King or with wisdome her selfe Heare for I wil speak of excellent things and the opening of my lippes shall teach things that are right A Patron of the Church and a Promoter of the Gospell as Hortensius raised vp eloquence to Heauen that he might goe vp with her so our dread Soueraigne aduances the Gospel the Iacobs ladder to climbe to Heauen by it Macte virtute sicitur ad astra I am vnable and vnfit to make the Map of our Kings perfections De ipso ipsiloquuntur Antipodes not any Zone habitable wherein his glory hath not habitation and they say We must praise a King as we honour God Sentiendo copiosius quam loquendo and herein such plenty of praise is offered that Inopem me copia fecit Xenophon might see that in our vertuous King Iames which he wished in his King Cyrus O fortunatos Anglos bona si sua norint Oh happy wee if wee be thankefull for our happinesse Nihil his bonis accedere potest nisi vt perpetua sint Nothing can augment our earthly ioyes but to make these lasting and thanks be to God our Soueraigne hath I thinke already out-lasted the Regency of a dozen Popes Hominum breuis regum breuior pontificum vita brenissima saith Petrarcha Of all men the Popes haue shortest liues but God grant our Soueraigne Nestors dayes wishing for him as Martial did for Traian Lib. 10. Epig. 34. Dij tibi dent quicquid Princeps Auguste mereris Et rata perpetuò quae tribuêre velint Long may this glorious Candle of Israel last who as vpon this day was proclaimed with infinite ioy receiued with peaceable entry enthroned with glorious inuestiture and hath hitherto gouerned with admired wisdome comfort and content of all good Subiects so still to continue in all Princely prosperity and to hold the Scepter of great Britanny with a tripled addition of yeeres to come for the yeeres past wishing in desire though it cannot be indeed His egonecmetas rerum nec temporapono Imperium sine fine dedi Adde to his dayes of the dayes of Heauen that he and his posterity may here sit
pen of our sacred Soueraigne taxing the Cardinall for robbing the Scripture of authority by making Gods precepts temporary prouisoes laies downe an infallible rule That Apostolicall instructions which informe maners are not changeable but giue a standing and perpetuall rule permanent for all people and not fashionable to the quality of Times But the Romane Church which teach disloyalty and disobedience against Kings deposing Kings from their thrones and then authorizing subiects to take Armes against them had need accommodate Text to time whose obedience to Princes is temporary that is till they haue a fit season and place as a vault vnder a Parliament house and then as Aeneas Syluius said of the Monkes Non audet stygius Pluto tentare quod audet Effraenis Monachus Then they are without humanity vnnaturall impious cruell murderers as Lucifer Calaritanus to the Arrians and I may say to Iesuited Priests beeing bloudy minded and deceitfull men and therefore many of them doe not liue out halfe their daies dying bloudy deaths for acting or affecting bloudy deeds Let vs in the next place obserue how before these latter times I meane before Popery was Heldebrandized and Iesuited whether this point of Papall power to depose Emperors or Kings was eyther broached or belieued in the Church CHAP. X. IT should seeme not to be belieued or broached by their owne writers for Otho Frisingensis saith Rego relego c. I haue read ouer and ouer the Acts of Romane Kings and Emperors and I can finde none before Henry the fourth Emperor excommunicated by the Bishop of Rome or deposed which was first assayed by Gregory the seauenth called Heldebrand Anno Dom. 1066. And Vrspergensis saith That the Bishops that had taken armes with the said Gregory against the Emperor were cast out of their Bishoprickes by the Synode of Mentz where the Popes Legates were present And Sigebert saith This nouelty that I may not say heresie did not as yet appeare in the world that Priests should teach the people that they ought to shew no obedience to wicked Kings and though they haue taken an oath of Allegiance yet owe no fâ—alty neyther are to be called periured if they haue such mindes against Kings And Vincantius Lirinensis agrees with him in the same words Yea many eminent Romane Catholickes did vtterly dislike Gregories deposition of Henry the fourth and denied the authority of the Apostolike See to depose him or to absolue his subiects from their oath of obedience yea the Bishop of Mentz Gregories friend and fauourer writ to the said Pope to furnish him with those reasons wherewith hee was moued to depose the Emperor to prouide him with answers against all gaine sayers Yea the Bishops of Rome themselues in the purer times acknowledged all obedience to Emperors and Kings challenging no such prerogatiue to meddle with their Crownes or persons and for 300. yeares vntill Siluester they performed passiue obedience to Heathen Emperors and so before and after Boniface for 500. yeares they performed actiue obedience to Christian Emperors submitting themselues vnto them in all loyall subiection and acknowledging them as their owne Bishop Meltiades did to Constantine the Great to be supreame Head not onely in Temporall but also in Spirituall things as Eusebius records it lib. 1. c. 5. But peraduenture some Papist may reply and say that I doe not reckon aright in making Gregory the seauenth the first Pope that deposed an Emperor which yet is affirmed by their owne writers for Leo the third Emperor was excommunicated by Gregory the second and depriued of all his Temporalities hee held in Italy and the Greeke Emperors were remoued from the Empire by Leo the third Bishop of Rome and so of some others Which obiection is so frequently answered by our Diuines who haue written about this point of the Popes power in this kinde that for breuity I will passe it ouer in a worde That Gregory the second did not depriue Leo the third Emperor of his temporalities but onely was an agent or as the head of rebellion in the reuolt of the Italians from the Emperor not by his vniuersall authority now claimed but by a popular sedition then raised And to the second That the Greeke Empire was translated by Leo the third to the Germanes is much doubted for some historians write it was translated by a Decree of the people of Rome not by the Popes keyes yet probably he might haue his head hand and heart in it for as Pope Adrian the sixt said All mischiefe came from the chiefe Bishop of Rome into the whole Church and by his Legate Cleregatus promised reformation to the Germanes The Popes of Rome haue a long time laboured to rise to this primacy of pride by degrees first aboue Bishops as in Boniface the third after aboue Kings and Emperors specially in Gregory the seauenth and his successors yet those aspiring wings clipt by Councels Wormes Papia Brixis Mentz till at last two of the worst Councels the Laterane and Tridentine did lift vp the Pope to the top of the pinnacle not onely aboue Kings and Councels but aboue Gods counsels the sacred Scriptures Tantae molis erat Romanum surgere papam But let vs a little look vpon this question which yet is like a Spirit sooner raised then put downe of the papall power of Kings deposition A spiritual power in the Pope of primacy I know none temporall much lesse but this same pretended priuatiue power least of al for it is not in any place to be found that God hath giuen to the Pope yea to any man power to make or vnmake temporall King 〈◊〉 for hee that can depose a King must bee aboue a King but regall power is the highest power on earth post Deum secundus est solo Deo minor as Tertullian of Kings next after God and inferiour to none but God Super quem non est nisi solus Deus as Optatus Mileuitanus aboue whom there is none but God alone So King Dauid Tibi soli peccaui against thee onely haue I finned So that I may say with Iohn of Paris In the Emperour is inuested a power to depose the Pope as formerly many haue beene if he abuse his power because he is his superiour but not in the Pope for he is and ought to be his inferiour and with this Iohn Maior agree many other Almaine and Occam as Almaine alleadges Occams opinion and makes it his owne conclusion That the Pope hath no power eyther by excommunication or by any other meanes to depose a Prince ftom his royall dignity and further affirmes with Occam saying The Emperour is not bound to sweare allegiance to the Pope but the Pope if he hold any temporal possessions is bound to sweare allegiance to the Emperor and to pay him tribute But the Champions of the Popes power in this kinde alleadge some presidents of the Priests in
temporalties which he writes as his Preface speakes against the Politicians and heretickes of the Time and indeed specially against a greater Clerke then himselfe Bellarmine both temporizers to flatter Popes with power in temporalties To omit all the rest of this ranke who inclineto this opinion That the Pope hath a direct ordinary and inherent power in Temporalties let vs on the other side behold these Madianites or Cadmeyes Brethren warring and wrangling with an opinionate opposition and contradiction The principall and Coriphaeus of all the rest is the Cardinall Bellarmine who ouerthrowes that ordinary direct and inherent gouernement of the Pope in temporalties as left by Christ with scripturall arguments very soundly and sufficiently yet to gratifie the Pope like a good seruant he restraines it to limitations and distinctions Although saith he the Pope be not Lord of all Temporalties directly neither hath inherent and ordinary authority as he is Pope to disthronize temporall Princes yet he is Lord of the Temporalties indirectly in order to the Spirituals Bellarmines vsuall phrase and hath an extraordinary and a borrowed authority as he is cheefe spirituall Prince to alter Kingdomes to take them from one and to giue them to another if it bee necessary to the saluation of soules i. in order to the Spiritualties Wherein obserue how politicke these papall Parasites be disputing about a power of Popes in disposing Temporals or Regals one fort deriuing this power directly and ordinarily from Christ and Saint Peter the other side indirectly and onely in order to the Spirituals when as their Pope neuer had any direct or indirect power in that kind from God and from Saint Peter But marke how the sonnes ' of this Kingdome be diuided The Pope hath either ordinary and direct power to depose Kings as he is Pope or he hath no authority at all faith Carerius But he hath no direct and ordinary as he is Pope by Bellarmines opinion Ergo He hath none at all Thus their diuision hath made a true conclusion that their Pope hath neither ordinary or indirect power in disposition of Temporals but least Bellarmine should proue an Hereticke in this point and be vngratefull to his great Master the Pope of whom he is graced with the purple hat hee comes with his qualification and modification That the Pope is Lord of the Temporalties indirectly in order to the Spirituals which strange distinction hath no foundation for Peter could transferre no power but ordinary and the Pope is no otherwise cheefe spiritual Prince but as he is Pope so that if he cannot depose Princes ordinarily from their Temporalties as Pope he cannot depose them extraordinarily and indirectly as cheefe spirituall Prince which Carerius enforces Either saith he hee is not the vicar of Christ or else he deposeth inferior powers as Pope but he deposeth them not as Pope saith Bellarmine he is not therefore the vicar of Christ by Carerius conclusion Thus Bellarmine hath depriued his Pope of the Temporalties and his opposite Carerius hath not left him Lord of the Spiritualties The one denies him a deposing Pope the other inferres vpon it no Deputy or vicar of Christ both assertions very true though they deliuer them by way of altercation Thus these wrangling spirits haue brought their Popes imaginary power in great hazard to be lost The one making their Pope Sathans Asse loading him with a boundlesse burthen of power too heauy for any to beare to haue the direct dominion of all the Temporalties in the world absolutely and ordinarily Onus Aetna granius A burthen heauier then the weight of the Mountain Aetna Iethro said that Moses his task was too heauy for him and Iob Curuantur qui portant orbem They that support the world are crooked yet these Ingrossers of greatnesse would lay vpon their Popes shoulders the vnsupportable weight of the dominion of the world to be Lord of all the Temporalties directly and ordinarily The other giues him not so much weight of authority yet giues him too much To depose Kings if need require taking a middle course denying the infinite power of Inherent and ordinary gouernement yet reseruing an indirect and borrowed authority belonging to the Pope yet not as Pope but as the cheefe spirituall Prince conditionally if Kings become tyrannicall hereticall or apostaticall then the Pope is to coniure them into the circle of religion by counsell and admonition and after if they proue refractary to confine them out of their dominionby depriuation and deposition and all this is pretended to be done by power of a spirituall right indirectly to the temporalties yet to a spirituall end and in order to the spiritualties The first to all mens eyes appeare most grosse and egregious parasites besotted with palpable folly and flattery but Bellarmine more smooth and cunning long acquainted with dissimulation the very Genius of Romes Court-Cardinals bedawbes his workes with oyly morter with holy hony if it bee for the saluation of soules in order to the spirituals tending to spirituall good then Si meruere Pater tunc dira tonitruamitte Percutient summos reges nec fulmina cessent If they deserue let Papall thunder cleaue These Regall Cedars and of Crownes bereaue These are Boanerges sonnes of thunder yet would seeme Barnabasses sonnes of comfort tempering and qualifying their fiery thunderbolts of depriuation with a pretence of spirituall good tending to soules saluation But there is a third sort of Papists on the other side men of more humble mindes disliking this statizing Iesuitisme and papall intrusion into Caesars chaire confessing that the Pope hath no temporall power ouer Kings directly as Gul. Barclayus de authoritate Papae against whose opinion herein Bellarmine writes a Treatise De potestate summi pontificis contra Gul. Barclayum Watson in his Quodlibeticall Booke Sheldon in his generall reasons Roger Widdringtons humble supplication to Paul the fift Pope which worke a late Decree of Romes Cardinalls prohibited repining to see Popes temporall incroachments by Romanists contradicted good reason therefore to clap their hand vpon his mouth and to commit him to the dungeon of suppression Stephen Gardiners booke Bishop of VVinchester De vera obedientia with a preface of Bishop Bonners adioyned to it De summo absoluto Regis imperio published by M. Bekinsaw Devera differentia regiae potestatis Ecclesiae Bishop Tonstals Sermon Bishop Longlands Sermon Tonstals letter to Cardinall Poole and many others in Latine and English in this kinde of Romane Catholickes all ouerthrowing this point of moderne Popery Thus as many Papists openly deny and I presume many of the other doe inwardly beleeue being acquainted with their equiuocations and mentall reseruations so it may make all men maruell who are not prepossessed with preiudicate opinions or preposterous affections vpon what sufficient yea probable inducements and motiues they might build this Pontifician power eyther of spirituall much lesse of temporall authority ouer Kings
eyther directly or indirectly by way of deposition of Kings or disposition of their kingdomes The Basis or pillar of this power yea pride they fetch from a primacy as they say of Peter which is diuolued to the See of Rome by right of succession in both of which points they haue beene lamentably soyled and it were folly in me to rub ouer the incureable wounds they haue receiued in this conflict I will stand but as a spectator or relator of this skirmish first in Peters primacy First wee request them to choose out a place for the foundation of it And the Cardinall Contarenus answereth That in his iudgement it was chiefly giuen in the 16. of Mathew when the keyes were giuen him But his Brother Bellarmine the Rhemists deny this and say The koyes were not then giuen but onely promised and with the keyes the supremacy the Gift was in the 21. of Iohn where Christ said Feede my sheepe But 〈◊〉 Contraâ—… replies againe Let not the subtilty of some more ye that say thus for they speake more subtilly then truely thus in the very â—ore from they begin to stagger and vary among themselues But because the place of Math. 16. commonly alleadged to prooue Peters supremacy is their most euident place there we insist and obiect that heerein Peter had no more giuen him then the other Apostles and all made equall with him for Peter had no more but to be the rocke and to receiue the keyes but this is common to the other ergo c. For all the power of the rocke and keyes is included in binding and loosing retaining and remitting sinnes as themselues teach but this power was giuen to all the Apostles Math. 18. 18. Iohn 20. 21. Therefore all the power of the Rocke and Keyes common to the other To reconcile this point and dissolue this knot they skirmish among themselues Some denying that the keyes containe more then binding and loosing Others that Christ in the 18. of Matthew gaue not the Apostles the whole power of the keyes making a threefold sort of keyes of Primacie of Order of Iurisdiction But Bellarmine condemnes that saying It was neuer heard that there were more keyes in the Church then two of Order and of Iurisdiction by which assertion in giuing the other Apostles the same keyes of Order and Iurisdiction hee confirmes our conclusion The highest authority that can be assigned is contained in the keyes say they and the keyes were giuen the other Apostles Math. 18. Iohn 20. 23. as well as Peter therefore Peter hath no supremacy by the Text or by their expositions The common answer of them is That albeit the Apostles had the same keyes and power that Peter had yet with a difference that Peter had it before them and as their Ordinary but they after him as his Legates and subiects which is vntrue for in the 20. of Iohn 21. they all had their power and commission from Christs own mouth not from Peter And Christ said to all Goe ye and preach the Gospell to euery creature so that seeing they had all their Commission immediatly from Christs mouth it doth imply a contradiction to say they had it vnder and from Peter herein they implicate themselues in diuers turnings some say they receiued all their authority from Christ immediately but this was because it pleased Christ by speciall priuiledge to exempt them wherein marke how they contradict themselues first saying they had their authority from and vnder Peter and presently they should haue had it but that by speciall grace they were exempted 2 Sort say the Apostles had two offices first of Apostleship secondly of Bishoply dignity the former they had from Christ but the latter by through Peter Victoria saying They receiued all the power they had immediately from Christ in that he made them all Apostles for to the Apostleship belong three things first authority to gouerne the beleeuers secondly faculty of teaching thirdly power of miracles inferring that all the Apostles had the authority of Order Iurisdiction immediately from Christ And Henriquez saith There is no likelihood in their opinion that say the Apostles receiued their Iurisdiction of Peter other determine the doubt thus That the difference of Peters power from the rest was that hee alone might vse the keyes but the rest might not without him and Saunders saith The other Disciples had the same keyes but after Peter to teach them that Peter had them by ordinary right as Prince of all but they by Christs speciall delegation extraordinarily Gregory of Valence otherwise that Peter had the keyes from Christ and ouer all the Church for euer to continue in his successors which the other Apostles had not Victoria decides this power into foure parts 1. That Peters power was ordinary the rest extraordinary 2. That it was to continue in the Church the others not 3. His power was cuer them their 's neyther ouer him nor ouer one another 4. Their power was subordinate to his so that hee might ouer rule it Caiâ—tan cuts it into fiue points 1. In the manner Peter receiued the power ordinarily they of speciall grace 2. In the office Peter Christs Vicar they but delegates 3. In the obiect hauing power ouer all they not ouer one another 4. In continuance Peters perpetuall theirs determined with their life 5. In the essence Peters preceptiue to command their 's executiue to doe what hee commanded Senensis deuides it into three parts 1. of Order 2. of Apostleship 3. of Monarchy What a weake and doubtfull foundation is heere to build vp Peters Primacy which they make an Article of their Faith so inuolued with nice distinctions and perplexed with difficulties and mutuall contradictions But perchance some Papist may reply and say the chiefe place to proue Peters primacy is Iohn 20. 16. where Christ said thrice to Peter Feede my Sheepe why doth hee examine Peter of his loue more then the rest but that hee intended him more authority No such matter Peter had thrice denied Christ which none of the other had done and therefore he had a threefold confirmation and made a threefold confession for his former abnegation Oh but some of them haue againe argued Feeding is ruling with fulnesse of power but the other Apostles were part of Christs sheepe therefore he must feede them Ansâ— Feeding is to edifie by the word and example so Peter fedde the Apostles and the Apostles fedde Peter as Paul fedde him at Antioch by reproofe So all Christs Ministers are commanded to feed the slock of Christ which is as large as feed my sheepe but the Pope doth not thus feede the sheepe but rather feede vpon the sheepe Non pascit oues sed pastus ouibus in this point Peter and the Pope are no more alike then an Englishman is to a blackeamoore they agree better in fishing then