his frends who hee hopeth wil not examine that he writeth whether it haue weight or not but will take all for gold that hee giueth if it looke yelow Thus against all truth to affirme Eliachim to be hie priest is too bad And to offer by such proofe as could not but be vncertain euen to himselfe to proue so waighty a matter whereupon so great controuersie in religion hangeth doth not onely proclaime that all may heare it the weaknesse of his cause but also that his indeuour is to keepe vnder the truth that it appeare not And thus much to lay open his falshood in his first reason Now let vs see the weakenesse of his second To binde and loose saieth hee is to commaunde and to punish and to dispence and to remitte But Peter coulde binde and loose What nowe will Maister Bellarmine conclude Therefore saith hee hee is iudge and prince of all that are in the church we will not much stand with him in his maior although it might haue beene vttered in plainer termes For this authoritie of binding and loosing is so committed vnto the church that the power to do it is tied not to the man but to the ministerie not to the materiall church but to the word And therefore wee cannot simply say that to bind and loose is to commaund or punish but to commaund according to the word and to punish according to the direction of it For wee must not imagine that God must be the executioner of our owne decrees or tyed to allowe of our iudgements but that wee are the proclaimers of his iudgements and must pronounce what God in his reueiled word hath already set downe And also the word of dispensing though it may perchaunce haue a good vnderstanding as if thereby we meane the meane the ordering and bestowing of the word in respect whereof the ministers are called stewards or disposers of the secrets of God so must we take heede that thereby we giue not to any man saint Peter or any other libertie to dispense at their pleasure and to order as they will the people of God For as magistrates if they do not gouerne according to law abuse their authoritie and doe degenerate into tyrants so ministers of the word if they swarue from the word are but seducers The maior I say beeing rightly vnderstood wee doe yeld vnto and the minor is also true that Peter could binde and loose But master Bellarmines conclusion doth not agree with these propositions neither can it folow if they be graunted It hangeth no better together then Daniels image of sundrie mettalles that could not long hold together But this must be master Bellarmines conclusion to bind and loose is to commannd punish dispense and remit in such sort as I haue alreadie shewed but saint Peter could binde and loose therefore saint Peter might commaund punish dispense and remit as hath beene shewed This must be master Bellarmines conclusion but this will not serue master Bellarmines turne For euery minister should so doe and not Peter onely And all this is doone by the ministery of the word in euery pastours seuerall charge if the minister be faithfull in his office Seeing his second argument concludeth nothing against vs what doth his third and last argument He promiseth by the fathers to proue that these keis are a soueraigne and chiefe authoritie ouer the whole church What will he bring vs a catholike erposition receaued by all or most of the godly learned at all times in all places agreed vpon with one consent For otherwise it is not catholike No. But hee telleth vs of two of the fathers onely And the one of them being himselfe a pope and in such times as that before his dayes this superioritie ouer all had bin sundrie wayes sought for by the Bishop of Rome his credit is in this point not much worth against vs. As for Chrisostom who is the other witnes that must prooue that by the keies Christ meaneth this vinuersal iurisdiction First he reasoneth in that very place where these words are against the Arrians or some such heretikes as made Christ not equall to the father aud insulteth against them by occasion of this place The father saith hee gaue vnto Peter the reuelation of the sonne But the sonne gaue vnto him partly that hee might sowe through the whole earth this reuelation both of the father and of the sonne partly that he being a mortall man should be indued with heauenly power and haue the keis of the kingdome of heauen And it foloweth there in Chrisostom how then is he lesse that wrought this in Peter So then to proue Christ to be equall vnto the father in power he sheweth that he wrought if not more mightely yet as powerfull in Peter as the father did And vpon this occasion he thus amplifieth this excellency of Peter as also he doth a litle before in respect of that vniuersall church that Christ committed to him which charge the rest also had For all the apostles were generall Preachers wheresoeuer God called them And therefore Chrisostom doth say of them all not of Peter only that they were the teachers of the world And in another place that there were two paires of the apostles that held this headship And yet Peter might better then any of the rest be called the pastour or head of the church that were of the twelue because the charge of the Iewes wheresoeuer they were in any place were cōmitted to him without any limitation of nation or countrie wherein they liued Seeing therefore his proofes whereby he indeuoureth to proue these keis to signifie that vniuersall and soueraigne authoritie ouer the whole church are either so false or faultie that they are not worth alleaging as are his two reasons taken out of scripture or so feeble that they can haue no strength as this out of Chrisostome I see no reason why we should yeld either to scripturs so falsly or foolishly applyed or much lesse to the sayings of men so hardly construed For as before I haue admonished it is one thing to haue an excellency or superioritie among others in some respects of other mens yeldings another thing to haue iurisdiction of his owne right and interest ouer all other The first we confesse was in Peter but that wil nothing at all helpe the Pope or the iurisdiction of the church of Rome Against the interpretation of the popish church thus I reason If these keis belong to all them that haue ovtained that grace of God to be called to the function of a bishop I speake not of the hononr but of the office then is no chiefe authoritie signifieth thereby for where many are equall there is no man chiefe But these keies belong vnto all such as Theaphilact doth testifie therefore no such chiefe authoritie is signified thereby For my minor proposition that euery bishop or pastour hath such authoritie or such
borow master Bellarmines spectacles by which hee can spie that one pope is contained in these words one bodie and one spirit as he doth also find out the supremacie plainely set downe in these words hee gaue some to be apostles and yet more plainly if we may beleeue him in the epistle to the Corinthians he hath ordained in the church first apostles then prophets Now let them that can picke that soueraigne Supremacie out of those wordes say so But for my part I confesse my sight is so dimme that I can not see so farre into that mill stone These and such like reasons beeing compared with their proofs out of scripture which make nothing for them vnlesse they be sore wrested from their naturall and true meaning doe euen proclame it to the world that this doctrine of the popes supremacie is nothing else but a deuise of mans braine a fruit of his pride And thus to thinke I am the ealelier perswaded when I see how master Bellarmine toileth himselfe to set downe the state of the question For although in the beginning almost of this twelfth chapter he promised to prooue that the bishop of Rome is by the lawe of God successor vnto Peter in the supremacie of the vniuersall church yet afterwards he confesseth that the church of Rome hath not this succession by Christs first institution of this succession and that perchaunce for so he speaketh to testifie how loth hee is to confesse the truth plainly though he cannot denie it perchance he saith it cannot be proued by the lawe of God that the bishop of Rome as he is bishop of Rome is Peters successor And yet although it cannot be proued to be decreed by Gods lawe it is saith hee a thing that belongeth to the catholike faith For saith hee to be of the fayth and to be by Gods lawe is not all one for it is not by Gods lawe that Paul should haue a cloke hee might haue said as much also for Tobias dog yet this must be beleeued I would not haue thought that Pauls cloke had beene such a necessarie relique but I remember that Balthasar Cossa who was pope Iohn the three and twentieth of that name gained well by Peters cloke when time was for by casting it vpon his owne shoulders he made himselfe pope But can master Bellarmine find no better stuffe to perswade vs to beleeue the popes supremacie They make it a matter of damnation not to beleeue the supremacie of the pope And is it of as great necessitie to beleeue that Paul had a cloke If master Bellarmine be so perswaded I lament his follie If hee thinke otherwise why doth hee bring it to prooue that to beleeue the supremacie of the bishop of Rome is a pointe of the catholike faith although by Gods lawe this supremacie cannot be prooued And as they stagger in setting downe by what authoritie right or lawe they claime this soueraigntie so they haue no great proofe for their manner of this their dignite whether it be personall or not By Christs first institution master Bellarmine telleth vs it was personal If Christ made it personall who could change that estate and make it successionall master Bellmine answereth that it was personall generall or publike so that it belonged to him and his successors Whether that can be called personall that is to say belonging to the person onely which belongeth also to his successours let the indifferent Reader iudge But how is this prooued that Christ gaue this prerogatiue to him and his Master Bellarmine saith so often times especially in the twelfth chapter of his first booke but his proofe is litle else then his affirmation Againe hee saieth that this succession is made both personall and locall by Peters dying bishop of Rome But as alreadie I haue proued that doctrine of Peters beeing at Rome bishop is not so certaine that christians may build their faith thereupon So that we see there building is altogether vpon the sand their proofe weake their reasons obscure and their places nothing pregnant for that they are brought And I maruell that nowe it should be counted heresie not to beleeue the Romish bishop to be by Gods lawe supreame head of the whole church seeing that in the yeare of our Lord God one thousand fiue hundred and twentie Albert by the goodnesse of God cardinall priest of the holy church of Rome of the title of Saint Chrysogon Arbhbishop of the holy churches of Magdeburge and Mentz primat of Germany and prince elector gouernour of Halberstade and marques of Brandenburge for these litles hee giueth himselfe in an epistle writen to Luther sheweth himselfe griued and displeased that some diuines of good accoumpt did so earnestly contend for their friuolous opinions and trifling questions namely of the power of the bishop of Rome whether it be by Gods lawe or by mans lawe And of free will and many other such toyes not much concerning a christian man This cardinall you see thinketh it not worth contending for And I am verely perswaded many moe will bee of his mind vnlesse they see better matter then master Bellarmine canne bring to prooue it to be by Gods lawe But although hee haue no store of Scripture for him yet hath hee great hope in councilles and fathers And I assured my selfe that the councilles if hee will trust them will most plainly decide this question whether that superiority that the church of Rome challengeth ouer all other churches be by Gods law or mans law as hereafter it shall if God will appeare Nowe therefore to examine maister Bellarmines next proofe which is out of the counsels And the first counsel that he alleageth is the Nicen counsel not that which themselues haue deliuered to vs as authenticall and true in the tomes of counsels set foorth by themselues but to serue this turne we must haue a new addition and a strange interpretation not that which agreeth best with the words and is thought most true of them that liued neare vnto the daies of that counsell First therefore we must adde saith maister Bellarmine to the beginning of the sixt canon the church of Rome alwaies had the supremacy And why must those wordes be added Paschasinus forsooth a bishop in the counsell of Chalcedon did so cite that canon He did so but he was legate for Leo then bishop of Rome that did alleadge it by Aetius Archdeacon of Constantinople he was disproued who read not onely the coppy of the canon by a also the approbation of the same counsell and canon by a counsell holden at Constantinople of 150. bishops Nectarius being bishop there But one found out a greeke coppy of that counsellong since and in that saith maister Bellarmine those wordes are If the coppies that we haue haue thus long beene thought true and good I see no reason why for some one greeke coppy which might very well be falsified by some fauorite of the
new logicke before he can prooue such bad conclusions But then to mend the matter he bringeth in an authoritie that is not to be found in the Author that he doth aleage for it But wee must take it vpon the credit of Thomas of Aquine They shew that they want proofe when they would faine call againe the things that are not to helpe their cause As for Thomas we know welenough his good will to the church of Rome For he would not onely raâ—e out of the earth these sentences of Ciril but also as Canus reporteth of him hee speaketh of one Maximius that saieth much for the authoritie of the bishop of Rome Yea and he findeth much out of the council of Chalcedon In which councill the Bishop of Rome had his authoritie that he sought for much abridged Yet I say Thomas hath found out euen in that council good stuffe to confirme the authoritie of the bishop of Rome that ueuer came to our hands And no meruel for Melchior Canus telleth vs that Gregorie complaineth that in his dayes they were blotted out by heretiks And I pray you howe then did Thomas of Aquine come by them who was after Gregorie almost seuen hundred yeares Thus you may see howe they seeke by forged writings that which by authorities of credit they can not maintaine Well then let fained Ciril goe and let vs see what Theodoret saith He as others before him had done craueth the Popes helpe against Dioscorus And Leo the pope did for him what he could we deny not But yet before the councell of Chalcedon would restore Theodoret to his place againe he was forced by the whole councell to shew his detestation of Nestorius Eutiches and all heretickes although the pope had receiued him to communion before And heere before I goe any further this one note I thinke necessary to be added concerning many of the former testimonies That because they are drawen from the priuate Epistles of men distressed seeking for helpe and therefore they might wel be forced to write with as great humility as they could deuise to write for to obtaine succour it is no reason that these their forced petitions and priuate requests should be accounted as rules for catholicke religion Then commeth in Sozomen in which he mistaketh both the place alleadging the seuenth chapter for the eighth an errour easily committed and the matter For although Iulius bishop of Rome did thinke well of the dignity of his seat yea and in respect of his mightinesse that hee was now growen vnto partly by the goodnesse of former Emperours but chiefly through the dissentions of the east or greeke churches hee was in duty also bound more then others to haue a great care ouer all churches yet that his supremacy was not then acknowledged that very Chapter shall sufficiently testifie For there it is reported how that the bishops of the east churches to whom Iulius had written somewhat sharpely in the behalfe of Athanasius and others that fled to him did make answere to Iulius with a letter ful of tauntes and threatnings and shewed that their churches were as great and as many as his finding fault also with Iulius for receiuing such to his communion and such other things So that wee see that they did not account the Bishop of Rome as supreame head of the church neither doth Sozomen say that Iulius his seat came to that dignity by Christes institution or by Gods law which Bellarmine tooke in hand to proue but hath not brought one testimony of the fathers that can performe that promise They plead as the Lawyers say in possessorio they say they haue it by possession so many haue come to the church of Rome for helpe when they were distressed In thus many cases popes haue intermedled in other bishops charges So they tell vs what they haue done But the question is how iustly by what right law or authority they haue done many of the things that they haue done We would haue them plead de petitorio Let them proue their right For it is true that long since the pride of this seat did beginne abusing Gods good liberality and the fauour of godly princes towarde them still increasing in that ambitious humour vntill they had set themselues aboue all Which authority when they had once gotten they did shew themselues vnsatiable and cruell despising all authority and making their wil to be in steede of law as shal God willing in the proofe of their practise which is the seconde part of this treatise be declared But it doth not followe they haue done this therefore they haue done well in so doing That which is alleadged out of Acutius that Simplician the pope had care ouer all churches is much to the commendation of Simplician that he had so due regard of his dutie but this prooueth him not to haue authority ouer all because he had or at the least should haue care ouer all But I muse what maister Bellarmine meaneth to tell vs a tale out of Liberatus of a namelesse bishop of Patara What matter is it to vs or what strength can it bring to his cause to know what he or other men not knowen in the church of God for their learning iudgement zeale or such other vertues as are necessary for them that shoulde be witnesses in matters of religion doe thinke or say Much such proofe might be had out of the legend of lies But that will neuer proue their doctrince to be catholicke Lastly the woordes of Iustitian in that hee calleth the pope Iohn the seconde head of all holy churches may well bee admitted as in former times that name head was often vsed yea and is still of vs. A man of good dexterity or countenance is called a head man among others although hee hath not authority ouer them But such a head as now the pope is become that will controll all bishops yea depose emperours dispence with Gods word make new laws in the church haue his saying in all matters Iustinian himself could not haue liked And it must be marked that we deny not but a bishop of Rome as also another maÌ„ may welbe called head of the church if they be indewed with such gifts as are to the benefit of the whole church But we deny both that the name is or ought to be peculiar to the church of Rome or the bishop thereof only and also that the authority which by that and such like names he challengeth vnto him is tolerable in him or in any other For indeede our contention is whether the bishoppe of Rome haue supremacy ouer the whole church or not Now excellent names were giuen vnto men in times past as the name of pope Baronius a great papist of our time confesseth was common to all bishops The like he also writeth of the name of vniuersall bishop And Athanasius was called Pontifex maximus
answered that the physition said it was not wholsome for him I will haue it saith he in despite of God At another time missing a peacock which he had commaunded to be kept colde against night hee burst into extremitie of choller whereupon a cardinall mouing him to be quiet What said he was God angry for an aple in so much as he cast our first parents out of paradice for that matter and may not I being his vicar be angrie for my peacock The irreligious heart of this prophane pope could neuer haue burst out iuto such blasphemies against God but that in his excesse of pride he esteemed himselfe as God or else in affection euen besotted with atheisme hee said as did the wicked in the prophet Dauid There is no God And so hee proued that to be most true that the same prophet saith in another place man being in honour hath no vnderstanding he is like to the beasts that perish And thus we see howe the bishop of Rome being drunken with too wel liking of himselfe in his authoritie and high estate did not only exalt himselfe by his names aboue al men but made himselfe equall euen with the most high But least the bishop of Rome should seeme to be but God in name and not in deede as a shadow without a bodie and title without authoritie as were Paul the third his archbishops that he sent to the council of Trent whome he was faine to maintaine with his poore almes that he bestowed vpon them he therefore sheweth his prerogatiue and telleth what power and might he hath that he may prooue himselfe to be like to her that said in her heart I will ascend aboue the height of the clouds and I will be like the most Highest If I would indeuour to set downe all that might be said of the pride of the bishop of Rome or at the least of his impudent affection of his claw-backs it were harder to find an outgate then an entrance this field is so large to wander in For what is it that the Pope can not doe Yea what can God himselfe doe more then hee If wee will trust flattering Lawyeares in their approued and allowed bookes he is Christs vitar generall ouer heauen earth and hell ouer angels good and bad yea they tell vs that the pope can doe whatsoeuer God can doe except sinne It seemeth that they meane God can sinne but the pope is so clad with holinesse and compassed about with righteous dealing as with a garment that hee can in no wise sinne such a staine cannot be in his flesh such a clog cannot hang at his backe O proud blasphemie Can that man of sinne for Saint Paul doubtlesse speaketh of him iustly so called because he is a stumbling block to others and a cause of sinne to many thousands and himselfe also often a seruant or rather a sincke of sinne can he I say be without sinne Yea they tell vs that he may and that by the authoritie of pope Symmacus who doth testifie that Saint Peter did bequeath the euerlasting gift of Merites together with the in heritance of innocencie to his posteritie In somuch as if they haue not merits enough yet that sufficeth that Saint Peter hath done He addeth the reason because he I thinke he meaneth Saint Peter either doth aduaunce them that are worthie or doth lighten such as are aduaunced Now if the pope himselfe will say that he in respect of his chaire hath a succession of innocencie it is no great maruel if his flatterers will say he cannot sinne But if all the popes and their parasites would crie it out neuer so loud yet so long as their owne stories are remaining they shal be proued liers Where are now these censurers and seuere forbidders of Gods writings Why vse they not their authoritie to represse such blasphemies The Romish church can take vpon them to prohibit the writings of godly men yea if there be but a note in the margent of the fathers word for word out of the fathers whereby the reader may perchaunce be directed more readily to see the iudgement of that father in some point in controuersie although it change not the meaning of that place yet our seuere censurers still commaund that it be left out But these horrible blasphemies whereof al men may iustly be a shamed are not once misliked of sound not out of time but are melodius musicke in the eares of such holie fathers Can we hope for any good from them that call light darknesse and darknesse light euil good and good euill I feare such bad trees can bring forth no good fruit But to come to some particular points Let vs see what this petty God doth take vpon him and how he plaieth the God indeede For as I haue said the bare name of God although it be far too much that it should be giuen him by others or acknowledged of himselfe wil not please him but he must also doe as God doth And first whereas Christ is our only lawmaker and master as Christ himselfe telleth vs and therfore Saint Iames also exhorteth vs that we be not many masters yet this Romish Rabby will be our master also not contenting himselfe to deliuer that which he receaued from God as did Christ and his apostles whose footsteps he should not be ashamed to follow but he will teach vs his owne lessons and deliuer vs his owne doctrines And although he pretend the direction of Gods spirit yet euen hereby it appeareth that this is but a lying pretence and coulour wherewith they would cloke all their heresies and superstitions For the spirit shal not speake of himselfe but whatsoeuer he shall heare that shall he speake Aud this reason our Sauiour Christ yeeldeth why the spirite shall lead vs into all truth because he shall teach nothing of his own but that which he shall heare Therefore all new doctrines euen whatsoeuer hath beene added in substance of doctrine vnto that which Christ and his apostles left vs sauoureth of another spirit and not of that spirit of God which shall teach or suggest nothing but that which he hath heard What a master then is that great master not in Israell but in Italy that bringeth in huge heapes of doctrine which themselues confesse onely to rest vpon mens traditions which they call traditions of the church and haue no good warrant or sure ground in the word of God Doeth he not take vpon him Gods office Doeth he not make himselfe herein equall with God It is most plaine it cannot be denied But the infatiable ambition of those holy fathers will not suffer them to content themselues with that excesse of pride in that they take vpon them as God to make lawes and giue rules to Gods church vnlesse they also control and correct as seemeth good to them those lawes which God hath set downe and those ordinances which he
endangered by this subtile but false perswasion which wholly possesseth the heartes of many that if they will be saued and auoide the danger of damnation they must stedfastly beleeue that the Bishop of Rome is the vniuersall Bishop hauing authoritie ouer all that he is the head of the church and the generall shepheard of Christ his flocke For that man of sinne hauing so bewitched the hearts of his fauorites that they are once persuaded that it is good religion so to beleeue and that to defend this his pride is christian constancie what shamelesse villanies will not they thinke to be lawfull practises what cruell murders will not they account to be commendable attempts what vnnaturall deuises and drifts wil not they esteeme most godly and catholike vertues I neede not stand long in dilating this point Our natiue soile hath too much and too lamentable experience of such vnkindly slips Who when they did and do owe to their countrey wherein they were bred and brought vp the sweete fruit of loue to her and sacred obedience to her lawes bring forth almost nothing else but the sowre grapes of treasons and treacheries Which all spring out of this bad roote that they falsly perswade themselues that they owe their chiefe obedience to the Bishop of Rome whose commaundements if they obey and follow his directions and hearken to his perswasions then must they suffer no princes with qnietnesse to enioy their ancient and vndoubted inheritance and rightfull crownes but such as will be tenants at will to their lawlesse master Which the more I doe thinke of it the more I feare we haue no great hope as yet to be free from such villainous practises as may bring danger vnto her Maiestie and ruine to this realme because I see that stubburne Recusants who if they haue any conscience in religion it is very strange for many of them shew little conscience in any thing else wilfull Papists I say are not in some reasonable maner forced in this point to shew their obedient and dutiful hearts but may freely without controlment professe themselues enemies to the truth that we acknowledge For how can there be any certainety to this estate that is so pestered with a great number of false hearted subiects whose very religion is to be deuoted to him and to the maintainance of his kingdome that is grieued at nothing more than at our happinesse neither seeketh any thing so much as our destruction To plucke away therefore this visard of Religion from this their disobedient and dissolute affection I thinke it to be the duetie of euery good christian according to our calling and talents wholy to indeuour our selues And as this dutifull affection of christian obedience should effectually moue vs vnto this attempt so the very ruine of religion and the decay of all true deuotion which foloweth that perswasion should forâ—e vs to make haste to take this stumbling blocke out of the way of the simple lest at vnwares running thereupon they should make shipwracke of their faith For the Bishop of Rome by this his pretended priuiledge doeth take vpon him to make lawes to binde the conscience to adde to Gods word to dispence against the same to chop and change religion it selfe as seemeth good to him to doe and vndoe at his owne pleasure And do he neuer so much hurt in the church of Christ yet no man must say Sir why do you so And thus hauing gotten by this prowd name his fulnes of power he hath filled all christendome with horrible superstitions I speake not heere of the prophane or rather blasphemous praises which the flatterers of this vniuersall Bishop do giue to him to make the world not so much to reuerence him as a B. as to honour him rather almost as a god Which if it had bin done onely by his Canonists who liued in the dayes of darkenesse and saw not so much as men now do yet the fault and folly had bin very great But that master Bellarmine a man doubtlesse learned in so cleare light of the trueth as now shineth should so farre ouershoote himselfe as he doeth in this point in his Preface to his bookes of the bishop of Rome it maketh me not a little to wonder at his grosse folly and to detest his irreligious flattery But of this more shall be said hereafter if God permit Seeing therefore the truth of this doctrine is so necessary both for the sinceritie of religion and also for the quietnesse of common wealths my desire purpose is if God giue good successe thereunto to shew and proue that the Bishop of Rome maketh herein an vniust claime and hath possessed himselfe of an vntrue Title To come therefore to the point in controuersie The holy catholike church the spiritual house of God the mystical body of Christ comprehendeth two sortes of members Some that are triumphing in heauen others that are here trauelling vpon the earth some profiting as saint Augustine saith in this life others perfited in an other Now the question is whether this part of the catholike church that is here wandering in this vale of misery which is called militant for here is the place of striuing else-where the place of crowning must needes haue the Bishop of Rome to bee the head thereof This is it that they vntruly and without any good warrant do affirme This is it which iustly and vpon good ground as I trust it shall appeare we deny Master Bellarmine laboureth very much to prooue that the gouernement of one ouer all is the best indeuouring thereby to prooue that if it be best in ciuill regiment it should also be the best gouernment in the church as it appeareth in his Bookes of the bishop of Rome Howsoeuer the monarchicall regiment within euery kingdome or country is liked of yet that vniuersal rule of one ouer al hath not bin thought good of at any time as may appeare by those great monarchies so commended vnto vs in histories To whose subiection kingdomes and nations did not subiect themselues willingly but were subdued to them by might Neither is it necessary that that kind of gouernement which is thought best for worldly kingdomes whose Law-makers are men and whose lawes are alwayes new to be made as new inconueniences do arise in the common-wealth and to be short whose glory is here in this world should also be most conuenient for the church of God whose kingdome is not worldly whose beauty is not outward or external But to knit vp this point with one argument thus I reason That kind of gouernement is fittest for the church that bringeth most profit to them that are gouerned but master Bellarmine confesseth that the mixed gouernement is most profitable therefore it is fittest But because it pleaseth master Bellarmine so well that one should beare rule ouer the whole church let him and his fellowes submit hemselfe to Christ that King
of kings and Lord of lords whom God hath appointed to be the head of the church of whose kingdome there shall be no end whose dominion shall be from sea to sea and from the riuer to the ends of the land so that no continuance of time no distance of place shall hinder his gouernment An inuisible head of an inuisible body Or else in particular churches let him behold a visible pastor ouer a visible flocke which is also a kinde of Monarchy But this one head which is Christ cannot content the church of Rome although notwithstanding his absence from vs in the flesh there is no want either in his will or might but that he is able and readie at all times to direct and defend his flocke But as the children of Israel not contenting themselues with that forme of gouernment whereby God gouerned them would needes haue a king as other nations had euen so will the papists haue a visible monarche one ruler of the whole church as one King is ruler ouer a whole Kingdome And if we tell them that it is a monster in nature that the church which is but one should haue two heades that is to say Christ whome we all acknowledg to be the head thereof and the pope whom they make their visible and ministeriall head then they reply that in that Christ is head of the church it doth no more hinder the supremacie of the bishop of Rome then it taketh away the bishop and ministers out of the church For so master Bellarmine affirmeâ— as if bishops and ministers were vniuersall heads as the pope would be And can master Bellarmine see no difference betweene the calling of pastors and teachers and of the pope Is hee so blinde or bleareied in beholding the brightnesse of their glorious Bishoppe that hee can see no difference betweene these two pastors we are sure are ordained of God euen of him that apointed Christ to be head of the church But that the bishop of Rome is head of the church by Gods word master Belarmine himselfe denieth Secondly the pastor contenteth himselfe with the ministrie of the word and sacraments and such ecclesiasticall censures as the word affordeth him But the bishop of Rome despiseth all power abuseth all magistrates yea almost treadeth vnder foote the maiestie of the mightiest monarches As for the sword of the word either he thinkes it not sharp enough or else he is too proude to drawe it for preaching is too base a thing for so proude a prelate but with his temporall sword he florisheth lustily Againe the pastor hath his flock in a litle compasse so that he may in some measure discharge his dutie amongst them he may feede with the bread of life the hungrie soules he may strengthen the feeble comfort the weake seeke the lost and bring whom the wandring sheep But the bishop of Rome in chalenging authoritie ouer all places and persons and seeking to bee head ouer all churches doth both meddle with other mens charges and laieth vpon his owne shoulders an importable burthen Thus I trust it appeareth that this argument standeth still vnanswered Christ is the head of his church Christ I say whom God the father appointed to that office and who is able to vndergoe this charge because he hath the holy ghost to be his Housband man to dresse his vine his Vicar or leieutenant to looke to his charge the pope therefore who is neither appointed to it nor able to doe it is not Now for that which master Bellarmine affirmeth of the heauenly host that they haue in heauen another head besides Christ and therefore that the church vpon earth ought so to haue his proofe is more vncertaine and hard to be knowen then that he should seeke thereupon to ground any argument But the church in the old Testament had one high priest therefore saith master Bellarmine the church of Christ must haue so For that church was a figure of Christs church If master Bellarmine his argument shall goe for currant wee must also haue but one Temple for they might not haue any moe they might offer but in one place and many such things were commaunded vnto them vnto which it were absurd to tie christians Whereby we may see that in all things that church was not a figure of ours Then also the leuiticall priest was a figure not of any ministeriall head of Christs church but of Christ himselfe as the apostle to the Hebrews doth proue in sondrie chapters And here master Bellarmine sheweth rather a desire to maintain his errors then to yeld to the truth For without all reason hee affirmeth that Aaron was not onely a figure of Christ but of Peter also and his successors sauing that to auouch his vntruth hee setteth downe another namely that the leuiticall sacrifices were figurs not of Christ onely but also of that which they call the sacrifice of the masse which how vntrue it is I haue shewed elsewhere But if it were true that those sacrifices were figures of both must it needs follow that Aaron also must be the figure of Christ and Peter It hath no necessitie And moreouer to answere both this and his fifth argument The church was at that time contained within the bonds of Iewry or at the least hee was but hie priest vnto them that were circumcised As also in Christ his time the church consisted but of a few persons and therefore it cannot be necessarily concluded that if the church then was gouerned by one when it was in a small corner of the world it should now be so likewise when it is scattered in many places vpon the earth But what if I should denie to Bellarmine that this was the gouernment of the church before Christ or that they were not at that time all vnder one hie priest For more then 2500. yeares the church was not gouerned by one hie priest which master Bellarmine himselfe doth not greatly denie in this place especially limiting this hie priest vnto that time when there was some forme of gouernment established amongst them after they were come out of Egypt For vntill that time as himselfe confesseth the heads of their houses were priests And although there were many good men at one time as Seth Enosh and others yet master Bellarmine cannot shew that there was amongst them a hie priest but euery one was chiefe in his owne familie But what if it appeare that then when there was a hie priest yet al Gods people were not bound to be vnder him The widow of Sarepta as appeareth by her story had a sure faith in God so that wee may say shee might well be accounted the child of God Naaman also the syrian did belong to the church of God And no doubt but God had many people among the Niniuites who repented at the preaching of Ionah And yet none of these
were commaunded to be vnder the subiection of the hie priest Which thing being well coosidered of wee may conclude that if the gouernment of one ouer the whole church were not thought necessarie for any people before such time as Moyses had deliuered such laws to the Israelits from God after they were come out of Egypt neither yet afterward for any but only for the Iews as by the examples alleadged may appeare out of this I say wee may gather that neither then was the whole church commaunded to be vnder the gouernment of one and also that it was not a pattern of gouernment for the church nowe but onely a figure of Christ to them to whome all things almost were deliuered in figures and shadowes But master Bellarmines fourth argument hath yet lesse weight then any of the rest The church saith hee is compared to an Armie to Mans body or a beutifull woman to a kingdome a Ssheepfold a house Noahs arke but no armie without a generall no body without a head no wife without a husband no kingdome without a king no shipfold without a sheapheard no house without a steward no ship but hath a master We grant all this and as Saint Augustine saith of the head so we may say of all these similitudes for Christ can not be called a head if there be no body whereof he should be head And these names are bestowed vpon the church and belong vnto her no otherwise then as we haue respect vnto Christ that is our general head husband king sheapheard householder and shipmaster And I cannot but muse at the great ignorance or wilfulnesse that master Bellarmine sheweth in this argument who knowing the nature of relatiues to be such as that the one of them dependeth on the other so that the one cannot be without the other knowing also that the wife is so called in respect of her husband and the husbaÌ„d so called in respect that he hath a wife yet he shames not to affirme that the church here vpon earth may well be compared to a wife not hauing respect to Christ her husband It may be his meaning is to rake again out of the chenel that filthy blasphemous cannon wherein the pope maketh claime to be the husbaud of the church which title the scriptures ascribe to Christ onely To his fifth argument and his third I answered together his sixth argument is this Bishops are well set to haue authoritie ouer Ministers Archbishops ouer Bishops therefore also there must be one ouer all others But this proueth not that which fame hee would proue that by Gods word one must haue rule ouer al. Seuenthly saith master Bellarmine the church must still increase but it can not increase vnlesse one man bee aboue the rest to take this care therefore one must be chiefe aboue all other And cannot the church increase except one be among the rest to commaund all others Who commaunded Saint Paul to preach as he did in many places Not Peter But they will say he was extraordinarily called And they that are extraordinarily called must now by the popes lawes be allowed by the pope But to let this passe Parthia to Thomas Aethiopia to Matthew India to Bartholomew were appointed to preach in not at Peters commandement but by lot Not Peter but Thomas moued thereunto by God sent Thadde vnto Edessa So that we see Maister Bellarmines minor proposition to be very false For the kingdome of Christ may well be increased without the Popes supremacie As then it was so now I say it may be yea and is increased mightely although the Pope doe not onely grieue at it but also striue against it Lastly there must be vnity in faith saieth Maister Bellarmine but that cannot be vnlesse all be vnder one therefore one must haue the rule ouer all In deede it cannot be denied but that one man being of authority in the church of God may manie times doe much good either to confirme the godly or daunt the courage of the contentious But if this authority bee bestowed vppon the vngodly it doeth much hurt and it is then found true that the wiseman saieth When the wicked beare rule the people sigh Neither can we haue a better example of this then in the Bishops of Rome that haue beene these many hundred of yeares who to get the soueraignty aboue all authority omitte no practises shame not of anie treacheries spare not anie shedding of bloud but forget all dutie all nature all humaniâ—ie all christianitie so that they may haue the commaunding of all the world And for their vnitie in faith it is a kinde of vnitie but in hypocrisie not in veritie Against Gods vndoubted word against Christ and his office his merit and satisfaction euen such a vnitie as Dauid speaketh of against the Lord and against his anointed But can there be no vnity in faith but where there is supremacie in authoritie Yes if wee marke the histories wee shall finde that there was neuer so good consent in sound doctrine as when this supremacie was not hatched A question concerning circumcision fell among the christians in the Apostles time The matter was referred vnto the Apostles The Apostles and elders came together to looke to this matter After much disputation Peter gaue his iudgement of gods goodnes towardes the Gentiles To that end also Paul and Barnabas told howe wonderfullie God had wrought among the Gentiles by them And last of all Iames concluded according to whose direction the matter was defined Now what supremacie was in this counsell The Papists tell vs that Peter was chiefe here but this is but a bold assertion vow of all proofe For first the wordes doe not shew that Peter called them together but the contrary rather Which Saint Luke would not haue omitted if Peter by anie superiour authoritie that he had ouer them had called them Neither did Peter speake first For before he spake there was much disputation neither did he giue definitiue sentence in the counsell but Saint Iames as doth easily appeare to them that â—ompare the words that he did speake with the Epistle that they did write concerning the matter in controuersie So that if there were then anie chiefe it was Saint Iames and not Saint Peter The like also I might shew out of some other of the first counsels following Of which because I shall haue better occasion after to intreat I trust this may suffice to shewe that without supremacie vnitie in faith may be maintained and therefore that the minor proposition in this argument is false And thus haue I briefly râ—â—ne ouer the arguments that are alleadged by Maister Bellarmine to proue this soueraigne Monarchy which he saith must be in Gods church rather pointing to them then prosecuting anie of them Against all which I wilt oppose one onelie argument which I would desire Maister Bellarmine or some friend of
to Peter but that we deny not But it is Maister Bellarmines bad hap many times to take great paines fortify where y â— enimy assaulteth him not to prooue that which no body denieth That we may ioine in some issue we will easily confesse that the keies were deliuered to Peter What then Were they deliuered to him alone No Maister Bellarmine himselfe confesseth and that oftentimes neither can he deny it if he would the fathers doe so generally affirme it that this great authority was committed to all the Apostles Wherein then do we dissent Forsooth Maister Bellarmine telleth vs that the other Apostles had this authority but as Christes legates or by especiall commission but to be vnder Peter Whereas Peter had it as his ordinary iurisdiction Now this he should proue but he leaueth it with a bare affirmation so that you are not bound to beleeue him But we see that which here is promised vnto Peter alone whether because he alone tooke vpon him to answere Christes question or that Christ therein would signifie the vnity of the church as some of the fathers affirme or because he was a figure of the church as Saint Augustine saith that I say which is here promised to him alone is in Matthewe xviii promised to all and that Maister Bellarmine himselfe cannot deny although he affirme it to be in all but Peter a legantine in him an ordinary power And this promise is perfourmed to all Iohn the xx in these words receiue the holy ghost whose sinnes soeuer ye remit they are remitted and whose sinnes yee retaine they are retained And Theophilact doth expound these wordes of Matthew the sixteenth which here I haue in hand by this place of saint Iohn saying that in that place of saint Mathew that is promised that is here giuen and that this power belongeth vnto all What can be more plaine to prooue that although Christ spake vnto Peter onely in that first place to thee will I giue the keies yet they were giuen to all Why should we then trust the bare assertions of maister Bellarmine or any other that the keies are not in like maner giuen to all when wee see that Gods worde maketh no difference betweene them But master Bellarmine because we goe about trewly with Theophilact to expound this promise to thee I wil giue the keies by that of Iohn whose sinnes so euer ye remit they are remitted c. would faine make vs beleeue if we will trust him of his bare word that Theophilact and we are deceiued and that Christ in these words of saint Iohn doth onely giue power of order whereas in Mathew he promiseth power of Iurisdiction And the better to perswade vs he telleth vs that to keepe a mans sinnes is not a matter of so great power as to bind a mans sinnes And yet saint Ambrose whose credit is far aboue maister Belarmines doth vse the words of remitting loosing retaining and binding indifferently the one for the other And therefore this is but a blinde cauill to keepe the light of the truth vnder a bushell If we prooue out of Cyprian that all the Apostles were of like honour and power They were saith he alike in their apostleship and had all one authoritie ouer christian people but were not alike among themselues The wordes of Cyprian haue no limitation but maketh all of like power and of like honour But maister Bellarmine like false mates that doe wash and clippe the coyne whereby they make it of lesse value so doeth hee by such sâ—eights seeke to diminish the force of such authorities as are brought against him But what reason hath hee so to expound Saint Cyprian Because hee saieth in that Booke that beginning proceedeth from a vnity to shew that the church is one Thus then doeth hee reason The Church proceedeth from one or from vnitie Therefore Peter is aboue all the Apostles Let other iudge of his argument I see not out of this how he can prooue that Peter hath such superioritie ouer the Apostles as that hee may exercise iurisdiction ouer them which is that the church of Rome must prooue if Peters supremacie shal do them good Seeing therefore it appeareth by that which hath beene spoken that not Peter onely but all the apostles in like manner receiued the keies as Saint Hierome testifieth that is power to retaine or remit to binde and loose although it were saide to Peter To thee I will giue the keies yet it is manifest that for his sake onely it was not spoken or the vse of the keies to him onlie was not promised but in and by him Christ spake to all without giuing lesse power to them or more to him And thus much concerning this question to whom the keies were giuen Nowe must we see what these keies are that so we may examine what that is which they say is giuen to Peter in this promise Maister Bellarmine affirmeth that they all vnderstande by the keies the soueraigne or chiefe pnwer ouer the whole church And that it must so be he proueth thus In the Prophet Esay is described the deposing of one high priest and placing of an other by the deliuering of the keies And the keies of the house of Dauid will I lay vpon his shoulder and hee shall open and none shall shut and he shall shut and no man shall open Sincere dealing would become all men especially in Gods cause which is farre from maister Bellarmine as in many other places so heere also For Eliachim of whom the promise was made in this place was not hie priest Indeede Azariah was high priest in the dayes of Ezechiah Neither yet was there euer any such high priest as Shebnah whome God threateneth in that place Whosoeuer marketh either the pedigree of priests in the scriptures or in Iosephus hee shall finde it to bee most false and vntrue that heere maister Bellarmine so boldly affirmeth But this Eliachim was one of the princes whome Ezechiah sent to Rabsache whome in that place the Septuagint do call the Ruler of the house as also in the seuen and thirtieth verse of that chapter And the prophet Esay in the six and thirtie chapter and two and twentieth verse they call him the Maister of the housholde And indeede the Hebrew words do teach him to be one that was ouer the house as also Saint Hierome yea and their owne old translation doe translate those words of Esay And Saint Hierome in his commentaries vppon that place calleth him maister or ouerseer of the house And so Iosephus also doth witnes that he was one of Ezechias especially frends as it may also appeare in that he sent him to Rabsache and his lieutenant or vicegerent or doer for him let the indifferent reader now iudge whether this be good dealing in master Bellarmine thus to abuse the simplicitie of his reader and the credulitie of
right hand and the other on his left hand was cause of their strife And indeed the euangelist concerning this saith that the other tenne disdained at them for it But the other contention that was among the apostles is not saide to be against Peter as this is said to be against Iames and Iohn But it seemeth that euery one would be aboue other and no suspition then that Peter shoulde be aboue all And whereas they that wrote those Bookes called the Centuries alleadge that if there had beene in Peter any such Supremacy Christ woulde haue saide to them when they did striue contend no more for I haue made Peter chiefe amongst you but say they hee spake no such wordes Now master Bellarmine will prooue that Christ tolde them that Peter was appointed to bee chiefe And howe He that is greatest among you saieth Christ let him bee as the least and the chiefe as he that serueth Therefore saieth Maister Bellarmine it is plaine that one is called chiefe If hee had meant that the trueth should appeare hee woulde by comparing this place with others where the same thing or storie is reported haue sette downe the true meaning of the wordes and not take aduantage to peruert the true meaning and deceiue the simple Reader For Matthew in his twentieth chapter and twentie sixe and twentie seuen verses and Marke in his tenth chapter and fortie three and fortie foure verses reporting this storie doe plainely teach that Christ doeth not speake of any chiefenesse that was among them but that they woulde haue or desired For they say not if any be but if any would be chiefe so reproouing their ambitious affection and teacheth them rather to indeuour to be humble Because as Chroysostome saieth hee that seeketh Supremacie shameth himselfe And therefore neuer any I suppose before Maister Bellarmine out of these wordes of Christ hath gathered this proclaiming of Peters superioritie Hitherto wee haue seene howe little hee can prooue by the first of his two places of scripture Now let vs trie what weight the other testimonie hath And this is drawen also out of the wordes of our sauiour Christ to Peter who when he had thrice asked of him whether hee loued Christ and stil he answered that hee did loue him hee willeth him to feede his sheepe Now these wordes saieth maister Bellarmine are spoken to Peter onely It is true But that Lesson is not giuen to Peter onely For to all the apostles it belongeth to feede Christs sheepe and therefore are all Pastours and Sheepeheards Yea it is confessed by maister Bellarmine in his answere to an authoritie alleadged out of Cyprian that all the apostles were like in apostolike power and had euen the same authoritie ouer christian people If they had the selfe same authoritie ouer christians that Peter had which here he confesseth then to the rest as well as to Peter was this charge of feeding Christs sheepe committed And therefore Saint Augustine will haue Christ to be the onely good sheepheard and that all other are good in him and are equall in this their worke for he maketh no difference But Christ feedeth they also feede yea enen when they feede hee feedeth and Christ saith that then he feedeth in them because his voice is in them and his loue is in them But what should I stand vpon this point It is more plaine then that maister Bellarmine himselfe can deny it although he would blinde the eies of the simple with this distinction that it is principallie spoken to Peter but in some sort to all What was Peter bound to feede more diligently then the rest of the Apostles Christes sheepe None may be negligent in this office And he that doth the worke of the Lord especially this worke negligently is accursed by Gods owne mouth We must all doe it to the vttermost of our power And Saint Paul was not afraid to saie that he laboured more aboundantly then all the Apostles meaning in the preaching of the word So that it seemeth that this office was not especially committed to Peter but that I may say with Theophilact vpon these wordes Let Bishops and preachers heare what is commended vnto them Feede saith Christ my sheepe bring with thee thy ministerie if thou wile set foorth thy loue to the great sheepehearde Then also maister Bellarmine will proue out of these wordes and that easilie as he saieth that Peter hereby hath the chiefe power But indeede he onely prooueth that to feede is to rule whereas he promiseth to proue with ease that to feed is to haue the chiefe rule But you must heare with him the brightnesse of Peters chaire at Rome hath so daseled his eies that he cannot espie so small a misse But the weight of all consisteth in the last point that he handleth concevning this place and therefore about it he bestoweth some more labour And first he affirmeth that he is sure and certaine that euen all christians yea euen the Apostles themselues are as sheepe committed to Peter For his trifling coniectures of the difference betweene lambes and sheep they are not worth speaking of But let vs see what force is in his notable reason for himselfe so calleth it he so well liketh of it Christ most manifestly saieth he committeth to Peter all those sheepe of which he may say they are mine but he may saie so of all christians therefore all christians are Peters sheep If maister Bellarmine had good store of strong reasons to proue his assertion he would neuer make so much of so blunt a weapon For he can neuer proue his maior Christ saide not feede all my sheepe for he knewe that he could not doe but onely feede my sheepe Now this is as the Logicians doe tearme it an Indestuite proposition Which hath no limitation but may be vnderstoode as occasion serueth so that to make it more particular or generall we must haue regarde to the circumstances of the place And is it not verie strange that he which here will make a vniuersall proposition of that that is not so to force out of it an argument where in truth there is none will be as bolde at another time to make of a vniuersall proposition a particular No man saith Saint Paul assisted mee all men forsooke mee that is saieth he none of them that should haue helped me with the Emperour And so he applieth perchance to one or two that the apostle speaketh doubtlesse of all that professed religion then at Rome as though he were euen the creatour of Lodgicke and would haue it as his creature to frame it selfe to serue his turne But to come to the point As he affirmeth all euen the apostles by these wordes to be committed to Peter so I doe confidently pronounce that out of these wordes and some other circumstances great reasons may be gathered to shewe Peters authority in these wordes
ancient writers of their time and that maketh me thinke that they did speake for themselues and were somewhat pricked forward with a purpose to aduance their seat Therefore letting them passe as partiall in this cause let vs come to this next proofe which is out of the greeke fathers And first commeth in Ignatius who writeth to the church that ruleth for I will admit the worst that Maister Bellarmine or any other can alleadge ont of this place in the Romane region But will Maister Bellarmines logicke conclude that therefore the church of Rome hath supremacy ouer the whole church He must first bring the vniuersall church within the place of the Roman region before that can be Out of Ireny he hath these words For vnto this church for the more mighty principality speaking of the church of Rome it is necessary that the whole church doe come that is the faithful from al places in which alwaies of them that are from all places is kept that tradition which is from the Apostles The wordes as you may see are somewhat hard by reason that he who translated Ireny out of greeke did here as in many other places translate him very darkely But I haue englished them word for word His meaning is that they that come from other places of the world be it neuer so farre off yet doe not alter the tradition that the apostles left vnto them and yet many must needes come thither because that in respect that Rome is the Imperiall citty the church also hath the more mighty principality and so in deciding of causes hath the more reuerence and authority And thus doth he proue that to be true that in the beginning of that chapter he said that it is an easie matter for him that will to see the tradition of the apostles manifested through the whole world because that from whence soeuer they do come yet still they keepe one tradition By this argument doth Ireny confute the heretikes because the tradition of the apostles being kept in all places not only in the church of Rome although because it was best known or most famous he bringeth that for example yet no such doctrine as the heretikes speake of is taught among them But nowe maister Bellarmines vnseasonable collection out of this place is very farre from Irenies meaning That it is necessary saith he that all churches should hang of the church of Rome He proueth first by that which goeth before because principality is giuen to this church secondly of that which followeth because hitherto al in that church haue kept the faith that is in being vnited and cleaning to that church as the head and mother These are maister Bellarmines words But first he saith wrong of Ireny that he should indeuour to proue such necessity in comming to the church of Rome especiall taking as here he doth for a bounden duty For it is maister Bellarmines meaning to make the church of Rome the onely church that must heare all great matters decide all doubtfull questions and commande all other churches But Ireny his meaning is that all other men had occasion to seeke rather of that church then of any other for helpe and direction because that in respect of the greatnes of the citty the church there was in some greater accompt as before I haue shewed but he neuer saide that all were bound to submit themselues to that church as maister Bellarmine and his partakers would haue him be thought to speake Secondly he must speake more plainely what he meaneth by this that principality is giuen to the church of Rome For if he meane that men yeeld great reuerence to the church of Rome we yeelde that in the primitiue church they did so that iustly because the true faith was there sincerely kept but this principality will not please maister Bellarmine or proue his intent And if Ireny had meant that this principality had beene giuen by Christ a man of meane vnderstanding will easily thinke that he would haue spoken it in more plaine tearmes But what neede I to vse many words the place it selfe is plaine For the more mighty principality saith Ireny if he had thought of the supremacy of the bishop of Rome he would haue said most mighty principality For more mighty principality doth but make him better then others in some respect not aboue all others which he claimeth to be So that to proue his intent he must haue better proofe For this will not warrant that soueraigne authority of the bishop of Rome Thirdly that which maister Bellarmine would tell vs out of this place that all churches must be vnited and cleaue to this church of Rome as their head mother hath at all no ground of Irenies words And thus we see howe he doth racke and rent the wordes out of their plaine sence to serue for his purpose which being wel weied of make rather against them and their supremacy Epiphanius is his third witnes who reporteth that Vrsarius and Valens two Arrian bishops being conuerted did go to Iulius bishop of Rome to giue an accompt of their errour and fault But if that proue the supremacy of the bishop of Rome then must Athanasius also haue that supremacy as well as he for it followeth immediatly after that they vsed the selfe same proofes that they repented of their errour vnto Athanasius So that the intent and cause of their going to pope Iulius or pope Athanasius for he is there so called was not to acknowledge his supremacy but as it was known that they had erred so woulde they haue it well knowen that they reuoked their heresie Neither did they craue pardon of their offence of Iulius bishop of Rome which out of Athanasius he endeuoured to proue because he had authority ouer all persons but because they knew their offence to haue beene against the whole church they were desirous that the bishop of Rome for his parte as a principall member of the church but not a head aboue all should not impute that fault vnto them And this is the part of euery christian man or woman hauing made a generall fault whereby many godly are offeuded to make also a publike satisfaction for the same And cannot this be done to pope Iulius but we must make him head of the church Athanasius also his letter to pope Felix is alleadged wherein Athanasius being much distressed of the Arrians and wrongfully dealt withall and not hauing any hope that the greeke Church coulde helpe him the Emperour himselfe being an Arrian the rather to mooue the bishoppe of Rome to pity his case saith thus For this cause God hath placed you and your predecessours Apostolicke prelates in the towre of height and hath charged you to haue care of all churches that you should helpe vs. That God by meanes of Constantine and other good Emperours aduanced high the Bishop of Rome we deny not And we also knowe
that those good bishops did much good with that their authority to the church of God and were a great reliefe to the oppressed a comforte to the troubled and a good stay for religion We yeeld moreouer that a care ouer the whole church a belongeth not to the bishop of Rome only but to euery christian as Baronius a papist telleth vs. And as Saint Paule saith of himselfe although hee were not an vniuersall Bishop or pope ouer all the church yt that he had a care ouer all the Churches Which care as it shoulde be in all yet it should be greatest in them whom God hath beautified with greatest graces of power wisedome knowledge credite or any other thing whereby they may doe good to others So that the effect of Athanasius his wordes vnto Felix is that as God hath inabled him so also he should apply his greatnesse to doe him good We doe not yet see the Bishop of Rome to haue iurisdiction ouer the whole church but that the greatnesse that hee hath hee should vse it to the comfort of the godly But indeede the Bishop of Rome in steed of the care that he should haue doth exercise the power that he hath And the excercising of his power beganne somewhat soone in that chaire And therefore the fathers in the sixt council of Carthage as it seemeth were moued in the canons of the Nicen council to alter one worde For hauing agreed in the ninth canon or chapter of that council of Carthage to heare the Nicen decrees read when they come to the sixt chapter where the Nicen council hath that the bishop of Alexandria should hane power ouer the churches of Lybia Egipt Pentapolis as the bishop of Rome hath within his libertie in steede of the word power they read care Which no doubt those godly fathers did because they sawe how immoderately and by what bad shifts they did then seeke to bring vnder their subiection all others And therefore by this meanes they would teach them to whome they did graunt such honorable places that they were called rather to a burden then to an honour to looke vnto their charge rather then to ouer â—ooke them So then this care that the bishop of Rome should haue ouer all churches we wish also that hee would haue And yet we doe not hereby make him the bishop of the vniuersall church And for the third place out of Athanatius it hath lesse waight then any of the rest For because some accused the bishop of Alexandria to the bishop of Rome therefore he concludeth that the bishop of Rome is chiefe iustice aboue all and may take vpon him to iudge all matters but accusations are for the most priuat And who can hinder but that any may make complaint to a man that hath nothing to doe in the matter And many such complaints wil be made to such as will be willing to heare all matters as were many of the B. of Rome to increase their owne power That which is aleaged out of Basil is a request that Basil did purpose to make to the bishop of Rome like vnto that which Athanasius made to Felix and therefore one answere doth serue them both But in that epistle Basil calleth Athanasius the Top of all christians which name they would faine should be peculiar to their pope That out of Gregorie Nazianzene was not woorth blotting of so much paper For hee saieth the Citie of Rome beareth sway ouer the whol world what is that to the church of Rome And that that is alleaged out of Chrysostom in the first place is not much material because Chrisostome maketh that request to the B. of the west church and not to Innocentius alone Yea not Chrysostom only in the same his epistle but Socrates also in his historie testifieth that Chrysostom appealed from his aduersaries not to the pope which he would doubtlesse haue done if hee had taken his authoritie to haue beene such as now the church of Rome would haue it imagined but to the generall council And not hee onely appealed to a council but the multitude also were readie to make a tumult for him and said it was meete the matter should be heard not by the pope but in a generall council Secondly out of Chrysostom he alleageth these words we alwayes thanke you for that you haue declared vnto vs your fatherly good will What will the charitable affection of the pope prooue him to be head of the whole church If it will not this will doe no good his third place is this I intreate your watchfullnesse that although they haue filled all with tumults yet if they will haue their desease healed they be neither afflicted neither put out of mens companie Must the bishop of Rome bee the supreame head or else this request be in vaine He being as it is alwaies confessed of great authoritie although not so great as they imagine might either by intreating or by authority winne many to be of his minde and so hinder the excommunication of Chrysostomes aduersaries So that none of these arguments can conclude for the popes supremacie as we see And yet they wring whatsoeuer is said or done to the church of Rome as if it were a strong proofe for supremacie Whereas the godly of the east church being thus distressed were in policie forced and not for religious causes to seeke for helpe of the West church and of the bishop of Rome for their owne quietnesse And this doth appeare most plainly in an epistle that Basil writeth vnto the bishop of the west church for their helpe and especially by the aduise that hee giueth to Athanasius to that end wherein hee sheweth that there is no way for their safetie but to cause the bishops of the West church to take good parte with them And then if they chance to seeke for this at the popes hand by and by without all doubt hee must be head of the church It maketh me weary euen but to reade their arguments They doe so force their authorities that they bring and so vnnaturally apply them that it is tediousnesse to thinke of it Such is that also that foloweth out of Ciril For Ciril did thinke that if Nestorius would not reuoke his heresies within the time limited by Celestine bishop of Rome all men ought to shunne his companie as a person excommunicat and deposed And writing to Celestinnus he doth desire to know of him whether he thinke good that men shuld yet communicat which Nestorius or they should shunne his company And what if Ciril sawe that in Celestine that he thought him worthie to be especially regarded in these matters doth it thereupon folow that he would haue him to haue soeuraigne iurisdiction ouer the whole church Or if hee thinke him meete to deale in his owne matter must he needs giue him power ouer all men in all causes Master Bellarmine must make
The greatest bishop and yet not he but Liberius was then bishop of Rome And for this name head as I haue shewed it is nothing strange in all societies to haue a heade man and yet he not to haue iurisdiction ouer them By all which it appeareth howe weake an argument may be drawen from these names which may be common to so many to proue the supremacy which the bishop of Rome challengeth to himselfe onely Nowe maister Bellarmine hauing wrung what he can which is not much out of the fathers of the greeke church commeth to the latin writers to try what gleanings he can get among them Whom I doubt not but we shall finde speaking very reuerently of the church of Rome as in truth it well deserued because that the bishop of Rome although he began very soone to encroche somewhat vpon other mens right and to enlarge his power yet he vsed his greatnesse and authority for a long time to the maintenance of true religion the comfort of the distressed and to withstande by himselfe and other the bishops of the West church the heresies that troubled especially the East churches In al which things we know that by their place for that they were bishops of the Imperiall city and the authority that they were come vnto by fauour of the Emperours they were as it were ringleaders vnto others so that although they were moued sometimes to these good things by a desire that they had to be medling in all matters which was one of the waies whereby they came to their greatnes yet in that they did good vnto the church the godly did both commend them and also beare with them although sometime they were too forward and stept too farre before others But when they would haue had this authority confirmed to them in councils and established as a law of the church then did the ancient fathers wisely withstand their vnlawfull desires as the vi councils of Carthage and the councill of Chalcedon doe plainly proue So that the godly learned fathers of those times partly to incourage them in their well doing did giue them due commendation when they deserued it and partly for quietnesse sake and the peace of the church did wincke at many of their inordinate proceedings and vnorderly attempts so long as they were but their priuate actions yet would not the iurisdiction of the vniuersall church And these things being well remembred I may I trust be shorter in answering to the particular places And first for the place out of Cyprian which maister Bellarmine prosecuteth in many words as he is forced to doe that he may get out of him but a shew of an argument It is answered in few words For indeede maister Bellarmine groundeth vpon a false principle which I dare not say that he could not but see his errour but it is maruell if he can be ignorant of it The wordes wherein he especially trusteth are these This commeth to passe that heresies growe in the church whilst there is no returning to the beginning of the truth neither is the head sought for neither is the doctrine of our heauenly maister kept Nowe by this word head he vnderstandeth the head of the church whom he maketh Peter Whereas it is most certaine that Cyprian doth meane nothing els here then in another place where he endeuoureth to perswade after the same maner and by that very argument where by the head he meaneth that which the apostles taught For saith he if we returne to the head and beginning of the tradition of the apostles mans errour ceaseth And there he teacheth vs by a similitude howe we should come to the heade by the similitude I say of a conduct wherein if the water faile we goe to the head of it that is to the fountaine and so from thence examine the want of the water so saith he must Gods priestes goe to the beginning when there is any question of Religion And that he meaneth that head in this place the very wordes by him alleadged do prooue because the former wordes put vs in minde of returning to the originall or beginning of the trueth and the wordes that follow leade vs to the heauenly doctrine Well then the head in this place doth signifie the spring and fountain from which our doctrine must beginne and so master Bellarmines argument is quite ouerthrowen And hauing proued that he buildeth his reason vpon a false ground I trust I neede not bestow any more labour to prosecute him in his wandering wordes Optatus is the second who speaketh nothing to helpe this desperate cause For although he commend vnto vs that one chaire in respect of the vnitie of doctrine for all the priests nowe saith Chrysostome must sit not vpon Moses chaire but vpon Christs chaire yet in the wordes alleadged by master Bellarmine he addeth and we haue proued that that is ours by Peter Optatus a bishop in Affrike not of Rome sitteth in Peters chaire Therefore Peters chaire and the popes chaire are not all one vnlesse their doctrine be one It is not tied to Rome or to that church But alluding to that place of Moses his chaire which our Sauiour Christ speaketh of because the Scribes and Pharises taught that which Moses did teach Optatus also saith that he doth sit in Peters chaire because hee taught that which Peter did confesse and teach Yea and he prooueth by this argument against the Donatists who taught that they onely were the church that the church is also where he taught because euen there is Peters chaire so that if Optatus your owne witnesse speake truly then you haue maruellously abused the world for many yeares in making them beleeue that S. Peters chaire is at Rome onely But Saint Ambrose seemeth somewhat plainer then the rest in that first place alleadged by maister Bellarmine The church is called Gods house whereof Damasus is a ruler this day But yet the words do not import any such thing as may prooue the Supremacie of the Bishop of Rome For wee will not deny that the Bishop of Rome is a ruler in the church but that he is the only ruler we can not graunt But Saint Ambrose expounding those wordes of Paule wherein he teacheth Timothie how to behaue himself in Gods house takes occasion to shew both what is Gods house namely the church and who they are that are rulers in Gods house namely the bishops or pastours to whom the ministery is committed And to make this plaine by an example he setteth before vs the house of God at Rome which is the church there and the ruler of Gods house there who is Damasus their bishop If any man aske how it commeth to passe that he rather nameth Damasus then any other bishop Sundry reasons of it may be yeelded First Ambrose himselfe was a bishop in Italy for Milaine is in Italy vnder the popes wings and therefore the bishop of Rome was the most
to bring some plaine proofe and not so to stand vpon strange coniectures Againe Sozimus bishop of Rome willed hini to go to a councill at Cesarea and hee therefore saide that hee must needes goe If Sozimus did commaund and Augustine would not stand vpon his right in such a matter where perchance his going might be profitable to Gods church yet that would not make Sozimus head of the church No at that time they did not gather any such hard conclusions For although they would not refuse to do good euen being more imperiously commaunded then reason would yet supremacie as I haue shewed they would not acknowledge in the Bishop of Rome but rather were content to bee at great charges to conuince the popes falshoode In the last two places saint Augustine commendeth the bishop of Rome in that being so high as he was yet he would be friendly to them that were humble or lowe and then confesseth euery Bishoppe to be high yet him to be higher A man may be friend to them that are lower then he is and one Bishop may be higher than others and yet not haue iurisdiction ouer them Higher I say in gifts credite place or many other waies In England we see differences of bishoprickes where yet the one hath not iurisdiction ouer the other Now for Prosper it were hard if his poeticall amplifications should be able to carry away the weight of so great a cause But for his words if he say that Rome is Peters seat in respect of the doctrine that there was taught and maintained as before Optatus and Augustine of whome he was a great follower haue done wee yeelde vnto him Otherwise I leaue the godly Reader to the arguments before alleadged to consider what he should think concerning this point whether Peter was Bishop there or not And where he saith that Rome is made vnto the world the head of pastorall honour wee yeelde vnto that also that at that time there was no church that either more sincerely did keepe that which the apostles taught or had more credit and authoritie amongst other churches then Rome had in respect that she was able and willing to do good vnto many other But where he saith that what by armes shee could not by religion shee hath subdued is not simply true For there are manie that neuer were nor will be by likely hood subdued to Romish religion But in some respect we also confesse that to be so in that religion subdueth the heart and winneth the affection of men to bee subiect whereas that outward force can onely preuaile against the outward man Now for Victor Vticensis who calleth the church of Rome head of all other churches I haue often shewed that it may truly so be called in respect of the authoritie which by many occasions it had goten not in respect of any inrisdiction that Christ gaue vnto it more then to other The next is Vyncentius Lirinensis who alluding vnto the name or indeede rather giuing vnto Rome that name that was commonly giuen vnto it saith that the head of the world gaue testimonie vnto it meaning the council of Ephesus You see saith master Bellarmine that the bishop of Rome is called head of the world Nay you see howe our popes catholiks incroch more and more for that vnsatiable gulfe of the church of Rome which will neuer haue honour and authoritie enough Who euer before master Bellarmine hath called the pope the head of the world He hath wont to be but head of the church But I feare that if his kingdome continue a while Acharonta mouebit hee will keepe a stir in hell also But Vincensius giueth no such name to Iulius bishop of Rome He would not be so iniurious to the ciuil authoritie he had learned better then so to giue to Caesar that that belongeth to Caeser and to God that that is Gods although the church of Rome might quite blotte out of their bookes that lesson for any regarde that they haue to keepe it As for Vincentius his meaning is plaine enough to them that will see the trueth For hauing spoken of sundry places from whence learned men came to that councill of Ephesus first out of the East then also out of the West churches he nameth Iulius bishop of the citty of Rome which citty he calleth the head of the worlde as immediately after he calleth Carthage one of the South and Millaine one of the North the sides of the world But if he had made so very great accompt of the church of Rome as in these daies men would haue vs to doe he would haue had perchance some more regard in placing that church in some other order then to make it almost the last that he mentioneth Out of Cassiodor a senatour and a great officer in Rome maister Bellarmine alleadgeth somewhat You saieth he to Iohn Bishop of Rome sit as watchmen ouer christian people as you are called father you loue all I see nothing heere that can helpe maister Bellarmine or his cause For who euer did thinke otherwise then that the Bishoppe of Rome was a watchman ouer christian people Or who will say that the Pope hath not or at the least shoulde haue a fatherly affection towardes all Well it followeth It is our part to looke to somewhat you looke to all Cassiodor liuing vnder the popes nose is content either by this praising of him to teach him what care he indeede should haue not onely to doe good to the people of Rome where he was Bishop but also as occasions should be offered to helpe others also Or els it may be that hee giueth him greater praise then he deserueth But what is this for the popes supremacy Must not the building needes fall that standeth vpon such weake propes Much like is that which followeth that the seat which is pope Iohns peculiar place is giuen generally to the whole worlde that is as I take it to doe good to all If a Romane magistrate to the bishop of Rome doe extoll more then in truth he may the power of that citty or els tell how farre their benefits doe extende must this be so strained and wrung to prooue supremacie The last testimony alleadged by maister Bellarmine doth so little helpe his cause that if he had done wisely he should neuer haue spoken of it For by that Epistle and others that are set before that councill of Chalcedon it may easily appeare that Leo Bishop of Rome did then bestirre him vsing the discention of the East church as a meane to increase his owne authoritie For it is most plaine and cannot be denied that afterwardes in that councill by his legates he sought the supremacy very earnestly and in sundry of his Epistles disanulleth that the councill did against it And in these Epistles he maketh mone to many to procure Theodosius the Emperour to stand his friend Anâ— in this Epistle
in the church of Rome yet you see we can perfectly enough tel when it beganne to shew it selfe and when it was made an ecclesiasticall drecrees Neither is that of any waight which master Bellarmine alleageth out of Gregorie to the contrarie that the church of Constantinople is vnder the church of Rome For he cannot meane thereby the church of Rome should haue supreame authoritie ouer it and all other churches seeing that no man more then Gregorie inueieth against the name of vniuersall bishop but his meaning is onely this that the church of Constantinople is not of so good account or authoritie in meetings or assemblies as that of Rome Which beeing applied to our question proueth nothing For to prooue that the church of Rome may sit or go or write his name before the bishop of Constantinople is not to prooue him to haue iurisdiction ouer him That which out of Iustinian he alleageth is answered before as that also that hee bringeth out of the epistle of Valentinian to Theodosius sauing that master Bellarmine incrocheth somewhat and taketh more then is giuen him For where Valentinian saith that Antiquitie hath giuen that to Rome master Bellarmine seeth that will not serue his turne to prooue it to haue beene from Christ from whom onely they can claime it if by the lawe of God they will haue it and therefore hee saith not as Valentinian doth that it hath beene of old time but alwayes And so wresteth his words quite out of tune And it is but a foolish shift whereby they seeke to pervert the truth and by these forced gloses to corrupt the words of almost all stories when they denied Phocas first to haue giuen supremacie to the pope he did if you will trust master Bellarmine but declare it and did not giue it Platina saith that the pope obtained this of Phocas to be called and counted head and so doth Sigebert and Eusebius saith that by the consent of Phocas it was so instituted And Beneuenutus Imolensis a storie cōmended by pope Pius the second by his adding to the same the liues of foure emperors saith that Phocas first obtained that Rome should be head of all churches If he First obtained this title to Rome if he did institute it if the pope obtained this of Phocas then let the indifferent reader iudge how vntrewly master Bellarmine saith that Phocas did but declare this thing and that it was before Yea what needed this any declaration of of the emperour if the church had receiued it as a catholike doctrine Or if it be not a catholike doctrine what meaneth master Bellarmine to make so false braggs as he sometimes doth of the consent of fathers in this doctrine And thus I trust I haue layed open the vanitie of the proofe and the weakenesse of the argument whereby they indeuoure to strengthen and establish the tyranous soueraigntie of the church of Rome For if Peter had no such iurisdiction ouer others hee could not giue it to any other If his beeing bishop of Rome haue not any such ground but that it may iustly be doubted of and strong presumptions to the contrarie then is not the popes succession of Peter so certaine as they would haue it thought Yea and if Peter were bishop of Rome and if hee had such soueraigntie howe do they proue that it is bequeathed to them to what person howe in what words at what time in what place befor what witnesses Al which things how weakely they prooue hitherto I haue declared And yet to goe further admitte that Peter had such iurisdiction which cannot bee prooued but I admit I say that hee had it admit also that hee could and did leaue the same to the bishop of Rome which we also iustly denie must it therefore cleaue so fast to that chaire in Rome that it can not for any cause bee altered Must it be so hereditarie to his successours if they had beene his successours that are bishops of Rome that they could not forfet it for any terspasse that it may not be taken from them for any offence God forbid that wee should be so foolish as to tie God to anie place or people to any sect or succession in such sort as that howsoeuer men doe abuse his graces or their owne callings yet still they must haue the place that once they haue gotten and they must serue him in that place whether he will or not as though they had it by euerlasting patent Did not God chuse to be his hie priest Aaron and his sonnes by name Nadab Abihu Eleazar and Ithamar to serue in the priestes office No man can deny it And yet Nadab and Abihu for offering onely with strange fire many greater offences then that are committed in the church of Rome were burnt with fire from heauen to shew that God is not so in bondage to them whome hee hath placed in such roomes that hee must haue their seruice whether hee will or not Yea and didde the priesthoode continue alwayes in Aarons line vntill the very time that the Leuiticall priesthoode was vtterly abolished No verily For Herod set vp priests at his pleasure when he came to be made king of Iewry so that then the line of Aaron was vtterly extinct concerning the priesthoode and they that afterwards were priests were not of the same Where then is the choice that God made of Aarons posteritie to serue him And what greater promise can the church of Rome finde made vnto Peter I say not to them for they had none made then was made vnto Phinehas euen a couenant of the priests office for euer And yet we see this was not onely altered now when the priesthoode was quite gone from Aarons posteritie but also euen long before when the priesthoode was giuen vnto Eli that was the son of Ithamar and taken from the posteritie of Phinehas so that not so much as his sonne succeeded him And concerning Eli the priest the priest the Lord had said that he and his house should haue walked before God for euer meaning in the priestes office But when God saw how Eli did wincke at the great disorders of his sonnes whereby Gods seruice was hindered then hee let Eli to vnderstand that hee would cutte off his authoritie and stirre himselfe vp a faithfull Priest that shoulde doe according to his heart and according to his minde And this was performed when Abiathar was put out of the priesthoode by Salomon and Zadoc was made Priest in his steede And of this Zadoc it is said by God himselfe by that messenger or man of God that was sent to Eli. I will builde him meaning Zadoc a sure house and he shall walke before mine annointed for euer And yet as is before declared the priesthoode was taken from his line also so that there were diuers hie priests that were not of his house If nowe God in his iust iudgement
in iudgement Liberius a pope did not only consent to the condemnation of Athanasius that great learned and catholike father as many ancient histories doe report and our aduersaries deny not but also did communicate with two notable Atrian heretikes which was a great offence to the godly and an incouraging of those heretikes But maister Bellarmine answereth that neither he taught any heresy or was an heretike The question is whether the pope may er or not Now our aduersaries draw vs from the questiō not answering whether Liberius did erre or not but they tell vs that he was no heretike and that he taught no heresie And admit he did neither of these two I meane that he neither became an heretike neither yet taught heresie yet he may erre Yea Liberius did fouly erre in that externall action whereby our aduersaries confesse that he consented to the banishment of Athanasius and in communicating with those two Arrians Valence Visacius and by help of Arrians get again to be bishop of Rome deposing Felix For to er is to wander or go out of the right way whether it be for ignorance or feare or through any other affection he that steppeth aside doth erre And because this giueth great light to al that is to be said of this question it shal not be amisse somewhat more throughly to consider of the same First you see that whereas their doctrine is briefly deliuered that the pope cannot erre they wil haue it thus to be vnderstooed the pope cannot be an heretike that is he cannot continue obstinatly in heresie nor he cannot teach heresie when he giueth generall precepts that should belong to the whole church For that is the meaning both of Melchior Canus in his Theological places and of maister Bellarmine in this place before alleadged The intent also of their doctrine is to commend vnto vs that their Italian head as a fit head for to guide the vniuersal church and able to be ahead to the whole body Nowe therefore let vs see how well their doctrine and their meaning agree together For the head of the church should be such as should in nothing no not for a time leade the body of the church awry But the church may be led into many foolish opinions strange conceites and dangerous doctrines euen by such as cannot be called heretikes For an heretike is he as Saint Augustine telleth vs that being of any euill and corrupt opinion in the church and being reproued or monished to amend resisteth stubbornly and will not reforme his contagious and perilous doctrines but defendeth the same and is drawen to deuise or follow such opinions for his own profit especially for his own glory and to aduance himselfe Now who seeth not that a man in place of credite and authoritie as the bishop of Rome hath beene by such bad means as he hath vsed these many yeares may wonderfully indamage and indanger the church of God before any body wil or dare reprooue him for any opinions that he will holde And when he is found fault withall as he must be before they can count him an heretike how many subtile shifts can euil men haue to continue a long time in their wicked opinions without reuoking the same or reforming themselues and yet to auoide the danger of being accounted stubborne or obstinate The Pelagians against whom saint Augustine writeth many bookes did turne many waies their lewd opinions changed often in some shewe of words their positions and did adde as by reason they were forced and by arguments compelled some such wordes vnto their errours as that thereby they might auoide the note of contumacy and deceiue the more vnder a shew of truth as may appeare by saint Augustine who confesseth plainly that if their meaning were not knowen to be euill their wordes could well enough haue beene borne withall Admit then that a bishop of Rome being of such absolute authority as now they are could as cunningly as did the Pelagians couer and cloake an heresie Might not he be an heretike many yeares before he would be driuen to recant And might not he then by such meanes bring irreparable hurt to the church of God Thus we see that as by this doctrine that the pope cannot erre they goe about to assure vs that the head which they haue set ouer the church cānot deceiue vs if we wil be lead by him so their interpretation of that their position argueth in them great doubtfulnes y t they dare not defend their own fayings vnlesse they may expound their words after this manner that the pope cannot erre that is he cannot obstinately or stubbornly teach as a doctrine to be receiued of the whole church any heresie And I pray you what safety can the godly finde in following such a head as when he hath guided them into many errours yet he will not stubbornly stand in defence of them Such may wel be compared to souldiers that by the rash leading of an vnskilfull captaine are brought into the hands of their enemies and when the captaine seeth his folly he would faine mend it if he coulde and is sory for that he hath done But what helpeth this his late repentance the distressed souldiers nothing at all Euen so that the bishop of Rome cannot continue in his errour if it were true that he had some such priuiledge it might be good for himselfe But such a head is for others very dangerous because y ◠not all they who are seduced by such mens instruction or example are also reduced by their recantation or amendment as appeareth by multitudes of examples And so we see that this their interpretation standeth not with either their common receiued doctrine or with their intent and meaning which is to promise safety from errour vnto them that receiue that head Whereas in truth their meaning is to tell vs that the pope may be of a wrong iudgement but if he be much vrged he cannot be obstinate he wil not stand to it And whereas they defend that the pope cannot teach heresie as a doctrine publikely to be receiued in some respect I thinke it to be most true For seldome or neuer are there any popes that can teach either truth or heresie They cannot preach they cannot with wholesome doctrine feede their flocke they cannot deuide the foode of life and breake the bread of the word vnto Gods houshold seruants For want of knowledge they cannot of themselues doe much either in defence of truth or to maintaine errour But this exposition will not please them They haue another meaning For when they tell vs that the pope cannot be an heretike when he teacheth the whole church their meaning is plaine enough that in particular iudgements they may erre but not in their generall decrees or preachings or instructions Which they are forced to say for the auoiding of such inconueniences as might growe by defending the doing of many
by the doctrine of the church of Rome be gainsaide without danger of heresie so long as man hath not approued the same The lessons I perceiue that God teacheth vs must not bee counted the doctrines of the church vntill the bishop of Rome or some councill haue set downe some order therein Well howsoeuer the wise maisters of Rome will define what shall be heresie yet I trust they will graunt that hee erred in iudgement because he taught then that which not only the scriptures gainesay but euen the papistes themselues will confesse to be erronious But what should I stand in particular examples If it bee true that both Melchior Canus and Bellarmine confesse especially Canus that both the seuenth and the eight sinodes did condemne as an hereticke Honorius the pope doth it not appeare manifestly thereby that they made no doubt whether a pope might erre or not It is not a question amongst them they heare of his doctrine they condemne it as erronious Neither did Formosus his friends vse any such argument to hinder Steuen his cruell dealings against Formosus or Steuens friends to mitigate the rage of Iohn the tenth against Steuen they saide not thus Formosus was a pope and Steuen was a pope they cannot erre No it is a doctrine of later growth and of a newer stamp Maister Bellarmine answereth that those two councels that are before mentioned did thinke that the pope as a priuate man might erre Wherein although he consent not with himselfe who thinketh that he cannot erre as before I said yet would he thereby if he could take away the strength of the argument But he laboureth all in vaine for how doth it appeare that the councels thought of any such matter There is no shew no likelihoode of it No wordes to induce him so to thinke As for that which he saith of Honorius his letters that they condemned him of heresie because of that which they found in his letters I maruell maister Bellarmine hath so soone forgotten himselfe as to alleadge it Seeing himselfe in the beginning of the eleuenth chapter doth first doubt of the credit of those letters and secondlie he denieth that any error is in the same contained Doeth maister Bellarmine thinke the fathers of those councels to haue beene so simple that they could not iudge of Honorius his writings whether they were hereticall or not aswell as himselfe Or will he imagine that they were so rash that they would condemne him without cause If he in his epistles had no errour as maister Bellarmine affirmeth almost in the beginning of his eleuenth chapter why doth he heere affirme that for his epistles and the heresies which therein he maintained he was condemned of those councels If he were an hereticke as by very many testimonies it doth appeare why doth maister Bellarmine seeke so to free him from that fault and to take from him that staine Euen because he would as wel as he can defend that most vntrue doctrine of the church of Rome that the pope cannot erre And yet their owne law supposeth that the pope may erre and confesseth that for heresie he may be reproued But in this as almost in euery point wherein they dissent from vs they shew how little they are in deed according to their name that they woulde faine be called by For they call themselues catholickes as if the doctrine that they teach or beleeue were catholicke that is vniuersâ—allie receiued And yet in this controuersie they are not agreed how to defend it or what to say of it Gerson of Paris Almain Alphonsus all of them papistes and pope Adrian the sixt himselfe are of one mind Albert Pighius an other papist of an other Bellarmine and his maisters make a third sect And yet these men reproue vs for difference in opinion bragge of their owne vnity and must needs be thought to haue a catholike faith But to conclude seeing the giftes of the spirite whether of sanctification or of truth are giuen vnto men according to measure and not in fulnes for to Christ only God giueth the spirite not by measure and therefore he speaketh without errour Gods words seeing that pope Adrian the sixt hath assured vs that popes may erre and we haue it plainely recorded in their owne histories and confessed by many of themselues that they haue erred lastly seeing they haue been euen by councils condemned of heresie and their owne lawe prouideth and taketh order for popes that doe erre and the Church of Rome is not yet resolued how to defend the cantrarie we may I trust hauing so good warant euen from their owne frends without any note of heresie affirme that popes may erre Yea what is there in them but errour They wander out of the wayes of truth and of godlinesse So that in that accursed companie we may see that to be most true that where there is a boundance of sinne there God iustly may and often times in his iudgements doth cast such into the deepth of errour that they who had no desire to liue according to the light that did shine vnto them in seruing the Lord in true holinesse should be cast into the dungeon of ignorance as vnworthie to inioy that light which they so vnthankefully refused of that grace which they so wickedly abused The matter then being thus that neither Peter had any such iurisdiction ouer the whole church as is claimed by the church of Rome neither if he had it he could or for any euidence that yet is shewed he did bequeathe it to the Romish church and lastly seeing that church if any such priuiledge had beene lawfully to her deuolued hath committed such things as would haue forfeted a better right then euer shee had in that vniuersall authoritie it doth I trust appeare to the indifferent Reader that their claime is vniust their title false and that they haue no colour of interest from Christ whose ouely possession that is that they would haue But it is no new thing in the church of Rome to bring in false euidence to prooue a forged claime They did so in the council of Carthage when by vntrue copies of the council of Nice they sought the soueraignty ouer all other churches For Alipius a bishop in that council affirmeth twise that they could not find in the decrees of the Nicen councill any such thing as they aleaged for the authoritie of the Bishop of Rome Nouatus also another bishop saith we reade no such thing in the Nicen councill The fathers therefore of that council did decree that messengers should be sent to Constantinople Alexandria and Antioch as Alipius had inoued them to get the true copies For they hauing read many bookes of the council of Nice yet could neuer read in any latine or yet in any Greeke copies that they had that which the bishop of Rome his legat did alleage To trie the truth therfore they sent and sought that they
fathers Thus we see that in as plaine termes as they can deuise this Councill doeth oppose themselues to that which the Bishop of Rome did seeke to obtaine And thus it appeareth how vntruely the church of Rome hath delt very long since to exalt her selfe aboue others and to maintaine her owne pride And how shee hath in the times of those learned fathers beene bridled in their councils Wherein they haue set downe lawes to mitigate and keepe vnder their immoderate affections how soeuer they would sometimes write or speake of them or to them that were bishops of Rome for the peace of the church and the reuerence of the persons being men often times indued with very good gifts and such as by their acquaintance and credit being in the imperiall citie did helpe many that were distressed Now therefore let vs yeld that honour to him onely whome God hath sealed that he be acknowledged the head of his church the lawe maker to his people the sheapheard to his flocke Let vs receaue no other vicar to snpply his roome but that spirit of truth which God our gracious father shall giue and which shall abide with vs for euer But as for them that without any good warrant of Gods word or sufficient calling from God claime to be as kings and loue to liue as lords ouer Gods heritage detest them as the proud off-spring of Corah Dathan and Abiram or rather as the wicked sonnes of Ely that did as themselues would yea as men that are enemies to Gods lawes vsurpers of Christs office despisers of all authoritie abusers of all maiestie and therefore most perillous plagnes to christian princes And thus much to examine how iust a title the pope hath or how iust a claime he may make to be supreame head of the Church The second part of the Suruey of the Popes Supremacie which is a proofe of his Practises NOw that it plainly appeareth in the first part of this Treatise to them that doe not wincke with their eyes against the trueth that this Supremacie that the Bishop of Rome most prowdely abuseth hath not any ground in the worde of God as is seene partely by the weakenesse of their owne arguments and partly because the fathers being assembled together in their generall councils some of them more then foure hundred and fiftie yeares after Christ haue taught vs the contrarie it is necessary for the better vnderstanding of this matter yea for the more detestation of their vniust authoritie that something bee said of the second part of this Treatise which is a proofe or examination of the popes practises But herein I must consider of two pointes First how and by what meanes they got vnto that high estate wherein nowe they are Secondly after what manner they haue vsed themselues in the same In fewe wordes how they haue ruled And because the church of Rome was not sodainely or in one instant aduanced to this place of excessiue pride and insatiable ambition wherein she now challengeth rule and dominion ouer al that professe christianitie it wil not be amisse but a thing very pertinent to this my purpose to see by what steps the pope hath come to such height by what practises he hath attained to such honour Whereas therefore the godly fathers of the primitiue church did many times stand in neede of the help or counsel or comfort of the good Bishops of Rome that were in their times and as occasions fell out were forced somtimes to flee to them for succor who also found reliefe at their hands very often the ages succeeding did interpret this charitable affection and performance of christian duety in these godly Bishops of Rome to be not so much tokens of the loue towards all as of their power ouer all And yet a man may be as good as he will to them ouer whom he hath no power at al. Although therefore we neither can nor will deny that which the Author of the Apologie for the English Seminaries doth so confidently pronounce that the famous fathers called for aide comfort and counsell in their distresses of the bishop of Rome yet iustly we may and for the trueâ—hs sake we must affirme that this seeking for these causes to the bishop of Rome doth not prooue him to haue authoritie ouer all but onely that at such times he had better meanes to helpe the distressed then they that sought vnto him had to releeue themselues But many times the godly are forced to flie for aide as these men did whom the Apology nameth as Cypr. Atha Chrys Aug. Basil Ierom Miletius Theod. to men worse theÌ„ themselues as Iacob to Laban from the wrath of Esau and Dauid to the Philistins to auoide Saâ—â—s rage and Ioseph with Christ to escape the bloudy hands of Herod went into Egypt But if any man desire more particularly to be informed in y e special causes that moued these godly men to make sute to the B. of Rome let him reade that learned answer that Bilson hath made vnto the said apologie he is too wilfull if he be not satisfied for this point Now some B. of Rome though otherwise good men were pufe vp with some prowd conceit of their authoritie when they saw such famous and godly men were driuen to seeke for their help as it may appeare by their owne words if they be their words which go abroad in their name for their Epistles and decrees As Damasus in his fourth epistle writing vnto prosper the B. of the first seat in Numidia and other bishops commendeth theÌ„ that in all matters that may be doubtfull they refer themselues to him as to the head to giue them answere And it is no great maruell though Damasus woulde write or speake much for the dignity of his place for comming to the which he did striue euen to the death of a great number of christians Siricius then commeth next after him who taketh vpon him to threaten to pronounce sentence against such as wil do otherwise then he would haue them And Innocentius writing to the bishops of macedony findeth himselfe grieued and thinketh that that church of Rome to which he telleth them they shoulde haue regard as to their head is wronged because they did not at the first yeelde to his iudgement The like might be said of many other of them Whereby appeareth that they who at the first were intreated by some godly men by such means as God had giuen them to help them in their need at the length tooke vpon them to commaund others to stand to their orders and decrees Insomuch as they also gaue out their decrees which they would binde al to obserue as partly appeareth in Siricius and Innocentius and partly also in others it will be more plaine It sauoureth of too great an arrogaâ—â—y that Zosimus another pope threatneth seuerity if any despise the apostolike authority So did Leo so did pope a afterward
What should I seeke to speak of euery one their own decrees and decrxtals do sufficently beare witnes that within a short time they were become so imperious ouer others that they would not leaue men farre better and more holy then themselues and better able to direct those bishops of Rome then the B. were to aduise them such I say they would not leaue to their own liberty in any thing but for euery thing euen the least matters that were they must follow the direction of that church of Rome must haue a decree for it Which bondage greater then that of Egypt howe miserable a slauery it was let the worlde iudge whē a man might iustly doubt of euery thing that he did haue some scruple of cōscience in al things For by this means it came to passe that the number of their ordinaunces being almost infinite men should alwaies be in danger to breake some of them Which was then a means to get them authority afterwards occasion of great gaine And thus we see two steppes laide to help them vp to this their desired honour The one is a voluntary submitting to them for aide councill and comfort The second a forcible subiecting of others to them by decrees and commandements But yet they could not get so high by far as they did looke or at the least so farre as now they haue climed For as in more then 300. yeares whilest they were in persecution they had no such proud hearts for any thing that we can read in any credible authors so for almost 300. yeares more they did but feede themselues in their own honour and got what credit and authority they coulde by their own deuises and pollicies Howbeit they could not get any vniuersal or general consent of other bishops to giue them that authoritie But contrary wise not onely some councils as that which is called Mileuitanum and that sixt of Carthage and that other of Chalcedon did stiffely withstand him therein but also the bishop or patriarch of Constantinople who in y e council of Chalcedon was made of equal authority with the bishop of Rome did earnestly striue to get the supremacy ouer Rome and all others And by al likelihood he had preuailed if Mauritius the the Emperour who as some stories report tooke part with the patriarch of Constantinople had not beene cut of cruelly by Phocas that did succeede him in the empire So that hereby the pride of the bishops of Rome was somewhat hindered and this authority which nowe he claimeth was almost taken from him And he that soone after did write himselfe vniuersall bishop or rather bishop of the vniuersal church and head of the church had almost beene subiect to the patriarch of Constantinople So that in good time did the popes thinke that that vnnaturall and sauage bloud sheader Phocas did cut his maisters throate seeing that by Phocas his meanes they got that supremacy decreed on their side that the bishops of Rome should be called and counted supreme heads of the church So now this proud decree of this cruel Emperour is the third step vnto their intollerable pride The bishop of Rome hauing thus gotten some sure footing in this proud chaire controlleth bishops calleth councils which before the Emperour had wont to doe and in all othe such things doth shewe his authority in his writings and letters for the most part calling himselfe the head of the vniuersal church stil creeping thus higher and higher yet not openly but couertly and by little and little vntill at the length he got him a fourth step For hauing as much authority as he could yet ouer bishops and that by the Emperours decree he sought to pull his necke out of the coller wherein the Emperour did hold him For he thought it was a burden to bee in such subiection to the Emperour that vnlesse he would confirme the election he could not be pope Therefore whereas Constantine the fourth Emperour of that name being moued as the stories report by the godlinesse of Benedict the second bishop of Rome so called did ordaine that he that was chosen pope by the cleargy people and army of Romans without any confirmation of the emperour or his lieutenant should be accompted pope whereas before it might not be without the emperours leaue who had as also the kings of France especially a chusing voice in the electing of the pope if we wil beleeue a story written by a Frier a fast friend to the church of Rome called Rioche who wrote in our times afterwards the Emperours would haue resumed their own right againe perchance because that after Benedict they found none such but some successours of his that behaued themselues too arrogantly and insolently against their Lorde and maister but they coulde by no meanes get it into their handes to keepe it though Leo the viii and some other yeelded vnto him For the succeeding popes many of them did stil incroche more and more debarring the Emperour of his right in their election vntill about 400. yeares after that the bishops of Rome had gotten this from the Emperour Alexander the 2. pope not willing to striue against his maister did publikely protest in the pulpit that he would not be pope vnlesse the Emperour woulde confirme him whereof he said he would write vnto the Emperour When Hildebrand who was after pope and called Gregory the seuenth heard this hardly being able to hold his hands whilest masse was in doing immediatly masse being ended before the pope could put of his massing garments he taketh him into a secret place and buffeteth him well fauouredly and tooke such order that within a while Alexander the second died and made roome for Hildebrand to sit in his chaire And this reward did pope Gregory the seuenth bestow vpon his predecessour Alexander the second because he would restore to the emperour that which wrongfully they kept from him and performe vnto him some piece of duty And yet they thought they were not high enough neither yet that this their authority was sure enough vnto them And therefore they thought good to deuise some means how this authority which already they had might be confirmed to them minding yet to mount higher as God willing shall after be declared But to make sure that they had done sometimes they would seeme to haue this authority from Christ But their proofe is nothing plaine although they alleadge some words of Christ for proofe yet the apostles did neuer make any mention of anie supremacy the fathers of the first times did neuer commende it vnto vs in the councils they seeme rather to fetch their authority from the ordinance of man then from Gods word For what meaneth it els that the legates to the B. of Rome both in the councill of Carthage and Chalcedon doe so earnestly vrge the decrees of the Nicen councill if that which now they bring out of Gods booke
Constantinople obtained to be next in account to Rome which before y t time was no patriarchal church And it is plaine by stories that at Constantinople ther was either no church at all or else very secret vntill about the latter end of Constantines time For that very yeare that he was baptised many of Constantinople were baptised in somuch as Nicephorus maketh mention of aboue twelue thousand men besides women and children that were baptised there at once And Constantine himselfe doth much reioyce in a letter that he writeth to Eusebius that in that citie which himselfe did build and did beare his name a very great mumber were become christians and for that cause hee taketh care that they might haue churches built for them So that as yet wee see they had not their churches much lesse can wee imagine that then they had any Bishops that would looke for so high a place among others And therefore euen hereby appeareth the falshood and folly of this forged donation There are also in the same donation some things that sauor of the pride that afterwardes appeareth in the bishop of Rome but was not then in them For that donation falsely attributed to Constantine doth giue vnto the bishop of Rome greater principality of power then this kingly or roial maiesty had and an Imperiall authority Nowe howe manifestly false this is wee may very easily marke if we doe consider either the stile that the Bishoppes of Rome that then were did vse when they wrote vnto their bretheren or their maner of behauionr when they came amongst them or the authoritie which the Nicen council that was in the time of Constantine gaue vnto them but equall with the patriarches of Alexandria and Antioch and euery one of them to looke to their owne charge among whome if there were any inequalitie the priuiledges of the bishop of Rome had not so large a compasse by far as the other patriarches or the soueraignty which Constantine the emperour did still keepe and exerccise in and ouer not Rome onely but the whole church not in ciuil matters onely but in calling of councils commanding the bishops comforting the godly reprouing the hereticks and in directing how and after what maner they would debate and determine matters in the council To be short if we remember how some of the councils of which I haue often spoken alreadie did stifly denie to the bishop of Rome for lesse superioritie then by this graunt they might challenge it will easily appeare that they knewe not then of any such priuiledges that Constantine had graunted vnto that seat For if then any such superioritie or supremacie had beene due vnto them the fatheres of those times who often stoode in neede of their helpe would neuer so flatly haue withstoode their indeuours And themselues also would haue beene as readie by themselues or their legats to haue pleaded the donation of Constantine if then it had beene thought vpon as they were to coine new canons of the Nicen council They pride therefore that in this grant appeareth doth proclaime to the world that it sauoureth not of that christian modestie that was for the most part in the bishops of those times but it is some bastard of a later breede And of that spirit of ambition doth that also sauour that is said that the pope should be prince of al priests and aboue al churches in the world But this is confuted in that which before hath vin spoken For long after this the bishop of Rome yea and that by vnlawful meanes sometime did seeke for that preheminence but it would not be graunted vnto them how beit one thing in this donation I cannot but remember you of because it sheweth in my iudgement that this forgery was committed but of late yeares in comparison euen after that they had brought the emperours vnder their subiection and did beare all the sway in the citie of Rome And that is this that they bring in the emperour yelding the imperiall citie into the popes hands and that as though it were not fitt or seemely that the earthly emperour should dwell there where the heauenly emperour saith he hath placed the head of christian religion Can there be any greater disgrace to worldly princes then to make them vnworthie to be neighbours to that proud priest of Rome Can they lift vp themselues by any meanes hier in pride against man then so to aduaunce and esteeme of themselues aboue the greatest monarches in the world Did Constantine vse to speake or write so Did he thinke himselfe vnworthie to be neere them They that are but indifferently acquainted with the stories of Constantine doe know that he loued ful wel to be not only neere to bishops but euen among them also But they that forged this fable would haue the world to thinke that either they are more holy then euer were the leuiticall priests or else that that good emperour his scepter sworde and crowne were more vnholy and prophane then those ensignes of gouernment that belonged to the kings ouer the Iewes And what else doe all those imperiall ornaments crownes scepters miter coller clocke cote banners and such like signifie which there they say are giuen to them but that this forgerie was committed after that the proud popes did so ouercrow the emperours that they became but as it were their seruants For it was far from Constantines minde to make him selfe their seruant as afterwards the emperours were And the popes that then were had other matters to doe and other thoughts possessed their hearts then that they could be caried away to such vaine deuises They were scarsly out of one persecution being freed from it by Constantine but that they fell into another that troubled the church maruelously namely the Arrian heresie against which the good bishops did then oppose themselues with might and maine And as these things doe sauour of the pride of latter times so some things also sauour of superstition more then as yet was crept into the church For Constantine in this his donation which they impudently ascribe vnto him doth giue for the maintenance of lights in the church of saint Peter and Paul his possessions in the east west north and south and by name he reckoneth vp many countries where he had giuen his possessions for the maintenaunce of those lights But in deed it appeareth that he did bestow his reuenues vpon more necessary things as in the building of churches whereunto christians might resorte to serue God and in calling the Nicen council for the determining of some questions in religion As for lights if then they vsed any yet such large deuotion in such toies and trifles is a plaine fruit of latter daies of ignorance Thus there is almost no kinde of thing granted vnto them in that dotation but is a good argument to conuince their falshoode The apish imitation of the emperours court for officers and attendants that is there graunted
that it is dangerous to speake the truth of him But his meaning is that our weaknes and wants will not let vs so speake of him as we should And the popes feare is that if we speake truth of him we must speake otherwise then he would haue vs or were for his honesty Nowe bishops hauing their tongues and pens thus bridled who durst venture to finde any fault If for them to speak the truth be periury what should it be thought in others And thus because he saw that to haue the truth of popes doings known it would be a burning shame he full wisely laieth this blocke in that way and thus maketh vp that gappe And after commeth in to serue their turne that fulnesse of authority and power of the keies which they would so seeme to haue from Christ as that none but they should rule that sterne none but they should haue that iurisdiction So that if they curse none can blesse if they excommunicate none may absolue if they binde no man may loose Wherein they challenge so great priuiledge that they can worke thereby against the law of God the lawe of nature the law of nations They can if you will that they will tell you release the subiectes from the bond of obedience which they owe to their magistrates and the children they can cause to rebell against their parents A perilons practise is this for all princes estates thus to lead the people on the blind side as to make them beleeue that to rebel is to obey and to dishonour their superiours is an acceptable sacrifice to God By these their powerfull keies they also open the dore of immunities and priuiledges of the clergy whereby they are exempt from all corrections and punishmentes vnlesse forsooth it please his holines to deliuer them to the secular power to make them his hangmen But of their owne authority they may not touch him because they are say they the Lordes annointed By which meanes they grew to great sawcines and the state was not a little indangered thereby in many places They had also another practise to maintaine their pride and hold them in their high seate That is auricular confession or that which we call shrift For vnder colour of being ghostly fathers the Popes subtill and sworne friendes had accesse to princes had conference with their counsellours had knowledge of their secrets had opportunity to practise with their false and faithlesse subiectes and they might and did take al occasions by terrifying the consciences of princes in respect of their sinnes which they made knowne to them as if there were no hope of mercy at the hands of God if first they were not reconciled to the Holy Father the Pope and the holy mother the Church of Rome And thus were they euery way distressed their consciences being intangled and their estates indangered But one of their most subtill shiftes was the taking away of knowledge from the people Whereby they became as men that walked in the darke in an vnknowne way They neuer knewe whether they did right or wrong They knew not their own duty They were taught to beleeue as the church beleeued Now although they heard much of the church of Rome yet for the most parte they were not acquainted with it So that the church that must be their direction must be their parson or vicar or perchance their bishop Who if he would leade them out of the way they must needs go wrong Because their light of knowledge was quite put out The Scriptures were either quite taken from them and mens dreames and deuises deliuered to the lay people insteede of them or els they were so corrupted with foolish gloses and so mingled with mens traditions that the true sence and meaning of them was stil vnder a bushell so that it gaue no light at all to them Nowe they not knowing their duty which God had commaunded them to performe to magistrates howe easily might they be drawen aside from the same Yea they through ignorance not beeing able to put a difference betweene trueth and falsehoode howe readily might they be moued to thinke it to be true that they doe say vnto them who were onely reputed and taken for holy Church that the Pope is Christes Vicar that he is so much more excellent then any worldly potentate as the soule is better then the body that there is no lesse difference betweene the glory of the Emperour and the pope then is betweene the brightnesse of the Sunne and of the Moone The pope being like the Sunne and the Emperour compared to the. Moone which hath her light from the Sunne These and other such like blasphemies against the maiesty whome God hath placed vpon earth were accompted good doctrine and strong proofes through want of knowledge And this very effect that ignorance did worke whereby the very brokers for the church of Rome did see themselues and their masters esteemed halfe as Gods and their messages receiued more readily and more constantly kept and more willingly obeied then gods word by a great deale made them to proclaime so lowde and so stiffly to maintaine that ignorance is the mother of deuotion And why should they not when they see that princes are readye by reason of their ignoraunce in Gods trueth to be led and guided by such blind guides euen to the hazarding of their kingdoms And the people therby are withdrawen from al duty so that they may leade both prince and people as Elisha led the Syrians euen into their enemies hands And as this ignorance hath beene a great cause that the pope hath mightily preuailed and aduaunced his seate farre higher than became one of his coate and yet his pride was neuer spied of many euen so at this day for want of knowledge the people are most easily drawen to worship euen the very name of Holy Father and to sucke the breasts of the holy mother the Romish church Whose doctrines if they could examine whose spirites if they coulde trie whose horrible blasphemies against Gods trueth and vnnaturall cruelties against Gods saints if they could with indifferent iudgement consider of if I say the Lord in mercy would vouchsafe them that knowledge they would euen hate the name of a Romish catholike and feare to be of that company and crew that so plainely and stubburnely reiecteth Gods commaundement despiseth Gods magistrates deceiueth Gods people and leadeth them in the waies of death and damnation There are also some other meanes and practises whereby the popes drawe the people into great admiration of them Namely their pardons and indulgences their agnus Dei and such other trash and trumpery whereby they perswade the simple ones that they can effectually and really pardon their sinnes which is Gods office onely take away their iniquities deliuer them from damnation and shield them from all euill And who would not giue all that he hath if he
Christ himselfe as man onely for he was taught of his father what to doe and what to say much lesse then would his vicar of Rome if he had but one sparke of christian humilitie claime such absolute power ouer the whole earth Seeing therefore by this name head hee chalengeth greater power then either any good man would haue in Gods church for the godly can be content to speake of God as God teacheth them and to doe as hee woulde haue them or is fit for any man to haue as his vnruly doings do sufficiently declare we iustly denie that euer any bishop of Rome was of the godly called the head of the church in that sence that it is now vsed as their doings doe plainly teach vs. As for the name Papa or pope it was a common name to all bishops as is confessed by Baronius yea and graunted also in this place by master Bellarmine himselfe And it signifieth as much as father or grandfather so that it seemeth that it was first giuen vnto bishops by godly christians who did honour and reuerence them for their calling And why may not this name be aptly giuen to any diligent bishoppe or pastour in the church of god No master Bellarmine wil haue this name after a more particular maner to be giuen to the bishop of Rome then to any other Then we must learne of Christ not to call any man our father vpon earth For there is but one our father which is in heauen And therefore if he wil otherwise be our father then man may be our father let him seeke for other children for to such a father we owe no obedience The name of vniuersal bishop was giuen in the councill of Chalcedon to the bishop of Rome maister Bellarmine telleth vs. We deny it not But without a fauourable and good vnderstanding that title may be very odious For euen Gregory himselfe a bishop of Rome and no man more vehemently inueieth against that proud title in many plaids His places are so commonly alleadged that I neede not come to any particular But Bellarmine going about to deliuer this title from all suspition of antichristian ambition telleth vs that this name vniuersall bishop may be taken in two sorts One way that a vniuersall bishop should signifie an only bishop that is such a one as woulde haue none to be bishop but himfelfe onely And such a vniuersall bishop saith master Bellarmine Saint Gregory condemneth And doth he not otherwise condemne Iohn of Constantinople his pride but because he would haue no bishop but himselfe No master Bellarmine the stories are more plaine then that such shifts may go for currant The controuersie was whether the bishop of Constantinople should be as now the bishop of Rome is in his owne account a bishop aboue al bishops Read all the histories and it wil easily appeare his indeuour was only to haue the commanding of other bishops Neither could he be called vniuersal if he were the only bishop but rather the singular bishop But master Bellarmine bringeth two or three testimonies out of Gregory wherein he complaineth that Iohn patriarch of Constantinople would be bishop alone Gregories meaning is plaine enough that he saith he would only be bishop because he only would haue the commanding of all that others should indeede be his suffraganes and at his commandement which reason of Gregory against that title of vniuersall bishop if it be wel marked giueth I thinke a wound vncurable to the church of Rome A soueraigne authoritie in one to commaund all saith he is to take away all bishops but that one onely but such soueraigne authoritie ouer bishops the pope doth chalenge in this name of vniuersall bishop as experience teacheth therefore he maketh him selfe the onely bishop And this is the thing that Gregorie so mislyketh in Iohn bishop of Constantinople therefore I cannot see how it can be tolerable in him of Rome But one may be called a vniuersall bishop saith he in another sence as he hath a care of the whole church and so the Pope may be called a vniuersall Bishop But herein master Bellarmine giueth very litle authoritie to the bishop of Rome For this generall care belongeth not onely to euery Bishop but also to euery Christian as Caesar Paronius doeth plainly confesse of whom master Bellarmine doth write that he is a singular good man and without all doubt most learned And therefore I trust hee will by him be perswaded to let this name of vniuersall bishop be a name that may belong to mo then to him of Rome and so not to make it his peculiar title A fourth name of his is that hee is called most holy And here master Bellarmine doth maruelously insult ouer master Luther for insinuating that the names of most high and most holy had not beene hard of in the dayes of Gregorie Master Luther said not so master Bellarmine onely feared that he ment some such matter and therefore quareleth with him and telleth him that he lieth Well Leo the pope is called most holy in three seuerall titles that three Graecians wrote to him It is true master Bellarmine and in the same action in a great number of places besids the bishops yelding their consent do call him most holy He is there also called holy and why would not that name holy which is there also giuen to him as well content the bishop of Rome now as to be called most holy Or why should that be a peculiare name to him alone that was giuen in that place as well to others as to him For Anatolius the patriarch of Constantinople is often called most holy Yea and the council writeth vnto Dioscorus patriarch of Alexandria whome they depriued of his dignitie because he was a manitainer of Futiches that notable heretick yet I say the conncill writing vnto him doe call him also most holy And whosoeuer marketh that councill shall see no titles more common then most holy most blessed or happie mow beloued of God and such like Neither were these things giuen vnto them as names to continue to them and their seate but onely such titles as they thought well bestowed vpon such persons as they vsed them to As Leo bishop of Rome who although he were not without his infirmiries yet sure he was a man of great gifts And they in aboundance of affection towardes him called him most holy Must it therefore be a name hereditary to that sinfull and shamelesse broode that since hath sprong vp in that place It were absurd to thinke that coniurers inchaunters poyseners adulterers and such ruffians and rakehelles should be called by right of their seat most holy And yet now nothing more common then this title His fauourites must not speake of him but with this tearme of most holy Looke all his bulles and writings and you shall see that hee that is most vnholy before God and men yet by a lying
hath established in making that sin which he calleth honourable and forbidding that which he hath commanded as appeareth in their forbidding certaine persons to marry And on the contrary wheras Christ reproued Peter for drawing his sword euen in defence of his master yet Peters successor and Christs vicar as he tearmeth himselfe commendeth it as a most acceptable sacrifice to God and meritorius of the remission of sinnes if in the defence of the pope or reuenge of his enemies and they are all his enemies that will not be his slaues they fight againgst christian princes yea and rebell against their naturall and soueraigne magistrates Of the which because I shall God willing haue better occasion to speake after I only would haue you nowe to remember that furious fellow Iulius the second of whom it is written that he gaue forgiuenes of sinnes to any that would kill a Frenchman And it seemeth that some cause of his deadly hatred against the French was this Iulius this iolly pope was sworne when he was chosen pope as many stories testifie that he should call a generall council within two yeares But he not regarding either oath or duety was so farre from calling of a councill that as much as he could he hindered the same And thereupon nine Cardinals leauing him came to Millan and appointed a councill to be kept at Pysa whither the Emperour and French king did send their Ambassadours Now when otherwise hee could not hinder the council hee purposed as a friend of his telleth vs to rule it by warres so that he made the councill to goe to Millaine for feare A great fight beeing vpon Easter day betweene the French and this woorthy warriour the French men gaue his a great ouerthrowe Whereupon he stirred vp against them all that he could the Venetians Heluetians Italians Spaniards So wel did he seeke for peace and insue it as Saint Peter commandeth him whose successour he calleth himselfe So much did he regarde that promise that our Sauiour Christ himselfe whose Vicar he would seeme to be did make Blessed are the peace makers for they shalbe called Gods children And so lightly did he set by that commaundement that Christ hath giuen against our affectionat and vnlawfull reuenges Resist not euill but whosoeuer shall smite thee on the right cheeke turne to him the other also So that this pope doth promise the reward of remission of sinnes for dooing that which Gods law doth flattely forbid and the law of nature doth vtterly condemne Is not this to take vppon him against God himselfe Is not this to commaund when he forbiddeth and to forbid when he commaundeth Againe God hath giuen vs a plaine and flat commandement that we should doe nothing but that which he biddeth Wee must not so much as turne to the left hand of our corrupt affections or superstitious seruices which our selues condemne or to the right hand of our good intentions and deuotions wherein we please our naturall man very well His word only must be our rule and square Doth not then the bishop of Rome controll this and such like commandements of God when he saith in expresse wordes ye shall haue other rules of religion other articles of faith otherwayes to worship God by traditions of the apostles and of the church vnwritten verities decrees decretalles briefes and buls councils and precepts of the church Is not this to transgresse Gods commandement by our owne traditions and to make it of none authoritie Is not this to teach as doctrines mens precepts Yea is not this to say with those lawlesse lordes wee are they that ought to speake who is Lord ouer vs Thirdly in that the pope may as hee and his fauourites falsely affirme allowe of the scriptures whether they shall be authenticall or not Doth he not thereby take vpon him to be aboue God whose word is not authentical vnlesse the pope allow of it If you doubt whether the Bishop of Rome be so shamelesse or not as so to say consider first what Siluester Prierias a frier and maister of the popes pallace writeth in his articles or foundations that he setteth downe against Luther Whosoeuer saith he resteth not vpon the doctrine of the church and bishop of Rome as vpon an iufallible rule of faith from whence euen the holy scripture doeth drawe strength and authoritie is an heretike like vnto which is that also of Eckius without the authority of the church the very scriptures are not authenticall And let not their doctrine only be examined wherein they teach that the pope is virtually the church as doth that frier Prierias in the place before alleadged in his second foundation but also yea and that especially the practise of that church so to refer al things to the pope in such things that he according to that fulnesse of knowledge which is in that sacred casket of his holy brest which pope Paule the second did first boast of must iudge of all things so that as he saith so it must be and there must no reason be asked of his doing Whereby it appeareth that the Pope being the church and as we see hauing the ful authoritie to do what he will in the church of Rome they tell vs that the scripture hath no authoritie or strength but from him And I pray you then who is greater hee that maketh the word authenticall or hee that hath his word approoued Is not he that doth approoue it so God must be vnder the pope that holy God vnder a vile sinfull man Fourthly the pope will take vpon him to dispence with or rather against the word of God and to allow that which God manifestly condemneth and is expresly against gods holy law For proofe whereof I neede not alleadge the false testimony of his flattering lawyers that giue him that power to dispense against the apostle and so against gods word but we may see his practise which doth sufficiently testifie that he thinketh he may dispense with the wicked and vnnaturall vncouering of the shame of them that are neare of kinne And he hath done contrary to this flat commaundement giuen by God against marying with vncle or aunt In which case he did dispense in the marriage of his catholike sonne Philip King of Spaine who as in his vnrighteous ambition hee hath no measure so in his vnnaturall iust he hath as it seemeth no shame but to his Lord he shall stand or fall before whome it shall be tried one day whether the popes bull can stand betweene God and him for breach of Gods lawe Yea pope Martine the fifth as is alleaged in a booke called Brutum fulmen out of Anthony of Florence and others did dispense with one to marry his owne sister whereas God saieth thou shalt not vncouer the shame of thy sister But what can not the pope do He can make wrong right say they And wee knowe that hee can
make that which is right wrong For hee can as they tell vs doe all things aboue right against right and without right Yea hee is lorde of lordes and hath the authoritie of the King of kings ouer his subiects But what will you more To doubt of the popes power it is no lesse then sacrilege As also it is alleadged out of Thomas of Aquine against the errors of the grecians question 66. That to say that the pope hath not supremacy ouer the whole church is like the errour of them that say the holighost proceeds not from the sonne But such are heretickes against the godhead as it cannot be denied and therefore doubtlesse by the iudgement of Thomas of Aquine they that do but doubt of the popes supremacy are hereticks against the godhead And is this that Thomas of Aquine that glorious Saint and clarke whose only sentence weigheth more then all the protestantes wits and wordes in the worlde as saith in a spitefull pamphlet our weeping cardinall of England who can neuer bee merry vntill be see the ruine and desolation of his naturall contry In which respect I pray God hartely that hee may nightly water his bed with teares and moysten alwaies his breade with weeping rather then he should see or his eies behold the destruction of this land which he and such other tigers whelps so greedely gape for And I doubt not but our good God which hath hitherto very often not mercifully onely but miraculouslie also and mightely preserued and vpholden the only proppe and staie of this our flourshing lande will still pleade her cause against all her foes and preserue her soule the soule of his turtle Doue against all their secret and malitious practises I confesle indeede that our sinnes which abound daily more and more doe iustly deserue that this pretious iewel should be taken from vs. And it is onely Gods mercie that hath preserued vs these many yeares euen his free and great mercie But if we could turne to the Lord vnfainedly we neede neither feare the suites or teares nor traiterous deuises of such hipocrites neither yet the might or malice of all those conspirators But if the Lord should as in iustice he may giue vs ouer to be a prey vnto their teeth yet the truth of our cause is grounded still vpon Gods word And the Israelites were Gods people still although when they rebelled against the Lord hee did sometimes deliuer them to be punished euen of his owne enemies and wicked ones And I beseech the Lorde make vs more patiently to beare his deserued wrath if it shall please him to lay it vpon vs then we haue vsed thankfully his vndeserued grace and fauour which hetherto he hath shewed vnto vs and continued amongst vs. And thus much by occation of that vndue commendation that Allen giueth vnto Thomas of Aquin. But him and such like I leaue to their owne fancies And to the godly I say onely with Saint Iames my bretheren haue not the faith of our glorious Lord Iesus Christ in respect of persons Let our cares be attentiue to marke and our hearts ready bent to receaue that which in due examination we find to be well spoken without beholding of the person or regarding any thing more then the word that is taught And thus haue I briefly shewed how this vniust authoritie which the pope chalengeth and into the which most craftely hee crept is in part most lewdly by him abused not onely in that he claimeth to haue a proude name ouer his bretheren and the whole church but also that he dare match himselfe with God and directly to oppose himselfe against his will But as in many things much so in nothing more doth the bishop of Rome darken Gods glorie or thrust himselfe into Gods place then in that he being himselfe a sinfull man yea a seruant to sinne euen set and sold to doe wickedly dareth yet take vpon him to forgiue sinne And that not as one that would preach and proclame vnto the penitent sinners Gods grace and mercy but as one that commendeth vnto the people his owne power to pardon and forgiue men their offences Wherein hee first offendeth in that he taketh more vpon him then belongeth to him or to any man For seeing our sinnefull act whether it be against God or man is therefore imputed to vs as siune and is indeede sinne because it is a breach of Gods Lawe it is very absurde to imagine that any man can dispense with vs for this sinne but only that good God against whose lawe we haue transgressed And for this cause the godly when their sinne was vnto them a heauy burthen haue made their suite and mone vnto God because he onely can heale that sore and helpe that sickenesse as that one example of Dauid in steed of many may prooue vnto vs Psal 51. 1. Haue mercy vpon me O Lord according to thy great mercie and according to the multitude of thy compassions put away mine iniquities And although his sinnes were exceeding great as after he confesseth yet because none could pardon them but God only therfore euen to him he commeth against whom he had offended to him he confesseth his fault of him he seeketh for release to him he sueth for pardon For of all men it is true that Iob saith who can make that cleane that is conceiued of vncleane seede there is not one And therefore God proclaimeth by his prophet Esay I euen I am he that putteth away thine iniquities for mine owne sake and will not remember thy sinnes And first we bowe the knees of our heart to our good God yeelding vnto him immortall thankes and praise who dealeth thus gratioufly with vs vnwoorthy and sinnefull wretches as that hee doth not onely freely forgiue vs for Christ his sake all our sinnes and blot out all our offences and put away all our transgressions with an assured purpose neuer to cal them to remembrance or to charge vs with them in his iust iudgement but also for the better quieting of our fearefull and troubled consciences hath giuen power and commandement to his ministers by proclaiming to the penitent this his free pardon ministerially to heale the soule wounded with sinne to bind vp the broken and contrite heart and to raise by form the pit of despaire them whom the clog of conscience accused of sinne had pressed downe This euen this we acknowledge to be an vnestimable benefit and a great fauour that God sheweth to vs vile wretches that that mercy which he hath sealed vp for vs in heauen he hath caused to be made known here on earth by the ministery of the gospel And this is all the power that is giuen to man to proclaime vnto vs that pardon that God only giueth To tell vs that if our sinnes were as crimson they being for Christ his sake pardoned shal be as white as snow and if they were like
supremacie ouer bishops although this heaâ— was too too feruent that the patriarch for this popes pride should haue his eies burnt out then he was to hold fast aud to increase daily that authoritie which by most impdent and vngodly meanes hee had gotten not onely ouer all princes and kings but euen ouer the Emperour himselfe the greatest monarch that is in all christendome The emperour had wont in the primitiue churches to haue a great saying in the chosing of bishops especially such as were bishops of Rome as all histories make mention and is more euident then that it needeth proofe and more plaine then that it may be doubted of But when the popes came to their ouer great authoritie they began somewhat more boldly to take vpon them to occupie that roome without leaue of the Emperour Adrian the first therefore being B. of Rome and hee thinking himselfe much beholding to Charles the great for defending him and his church from the violence of enemies did in a council holden at Rome by the emperor and the pope make this vniuersall decree that the emperour should haue right to chuse the pope and to order the apostolike seat and to haue the dignitie or preheminence of principalitie I would all our English papists and specially the fugitiue traitours that would for this cause make the happy and quiet gouernment which England hath vnder our most gratious princesse a long time comfortably inioyed because we giue vnto her maiestie the title of sumacie seeme odiuos to others and vnlawfull to our selues I would I say they would marke what pope Adrian and the vniuersall council for so doth Sigebert there call it doe yeeld to Charles the great then emperour that he should haue the principality and supremacie And further it is there decreed that the archbishop and bishop through euery prouince shall be inuested by him and that no man shall be once so bold as to consecrate him whome the king doth not commend and institute and that vpon paine of excommunication And if hee reforme not himselfe his goods to be forfeited and himselfe to be banished A necessary Lawe doubtlesse for our dayes both in respect of the lawe it selfe and also in regard of the punishment which is to be layed vpon offendours And the more to be accounted of because it is deâ—ised by such as I hope they will not saie can erre or cannot say they seeke their bloud Wel notwithstanding this decree set downe by councill as you haue hard Steuen the fourth bishop of Rome and next but one to this Adrian the first who by a conucil coÌ„firmed to the emperour this authoritie doth not onely debar the emperour for medling in election of the pope but also accurseth all them that by the emperours consent do obtaine any church And for the lowder proclaming of his pride most lewdly hee compareth his vniust and rash desanulling of that iust decree made by Adrian and the council with Ezechias his godly abolishing of the high places the serpent and such other things as were idolatrously abused by the Israelltes He alone I say without a council reuoketh that which the council had commaunded Pope Paschalis the first succeeding this Steuen had not the consent of the emperour and therefore sent his embassadours vnto the emperour Lodouike to excuse the matter and to make him beleeue that he was forced by the clergie and people to take the popedome on him The emperorbeing of a very mild nature yet willing to retaine that priuiledge willed them not afterward to informe the emperours authoritie but to keepe in their election the decrees of their elders Now the emperour being forced for the repression of some that rebelled against him to send Lotharius his sonne into Italy there to remaine Paschalis the pope inuested the said Lotharius in the empire But hee being gone to his father into Fraunce for greater aid some of his most trusty frends were in the meane time killed euen in the palace of Lateran their eies first put out onely because they were fast and faithfull to Lotharius The pope was commonly supposed to be guiltie or at the least to be acquainted with this outragious dealing of the Romans And although by other he denied the fact yet did he acquite them that had done that deede and pronounced them that were slaine to haue beene guiltie of treason But howsoeuer it was the emperour seeing belike the popes wholy bent to depriue him vtterly of any consent in the election of the pope doth himselfe yeeld it into their hands making it lawfull for the popes to take that place vpon them being chosen by the clargie and people of Rome without the emperours consent not long after him commeth Nicholas the first who seing the emperour so easily to be chrust from his right which was euen by the bishop of Rome in a council giuen to him in electing of the pope thought hee would incroach somewhat further and doth wholy debar him of hauing any thing to doe or being at or in their council vnlesse it be when matters of faith be in handling And further he did decree to cut his power yet shorter that no lay man whatsoeuer should somuch as iudge of Priests or enquire how they liue And although Nicholas the first durst not as yet goe plainlie to worke but rather by craftie meanes sought to diminish the Emperours power yet within lesse than thirtie yeares after it was decreed by Adrian the third that the Emperours consent should not he regarded in electing the Bishop of Rome but the voices or election of the Cleargie and people therein should be free Now by this exemption which the Romans had from the Emperour that hee had nothing to doe in their elections as they were without feare of his displeasure so were they without care of doing in their elections as they ought and by that means preferred many vnworthie of that place Wherefore pope Leo the eight in a Synod holden at Rome did decree that Otho then Emperour and his successours after him should elect not the pope onely but also the chiefe officers of Rome or bishops and that onelie with his consent these must be counted lawfull And if any shall goe about to infringe this decree he is excommunicate If he continue therein he shall be perpetually banished or haue extreame punishment How long this decree was kept which was nowe by two Councils at Rome and by two popes Adrian the first decreed this Leo the eight confirmed it is not certaine But I am sure that not long after it was accounted simonie for anie man to take anie bishopricke or benefice being instituted thereto by anie lay man And this was especially laboured by Hildebrand as soone as euer hee came to haue any thing to doe for the popes that the Emperour or lay men should haue nothing to doe in the election of the pope And because alreadie two
sedition against pope Leo the fifth that made great account of him and tooke the said Leo when he had beene pope but fortie dayes and so gote into the place as Rioche affirmeth by contention and euill meanes But nowe these Romish rabbies I would haue to open me one riddle Platina hauing set downe this historie learneth by this experience that it is most true that dignities are rather dignified or commended by men then men by them As the Censorship saith hee of Rome at the first as a meane office was nothing set by but when the chiefe men of the citie tooke that office vpon them then the greatest citizens thought themselues almost vnhappie if in their life they inioied not that office What Platina meaneth by this I cannot tell vnlesse he thinketh the bishop of Rome at the first was not in such estimation or account as afterwads hee grew to But that so it was I haue before declared For from mean beginning he is now growen to be a captions controler of the greatest princes And this as it seemeth Platina thinketh to be the reason why the bishopricke of Rome which was perchance in the beginning not worth suing for was afterwards by so great contention and fighting sought for And so men haue dignified that seat and not that seat the men And the place hath gotten authoritie by the bishops not the bishops by the place Which in my iudgement doth somewhat ouerthwart that fulnesse of power and that continuall spring of spirituall graces which they would make vs beleeue floweth from that chaire and that power which they say it hath from Christ himselfe Next after Christopher commeth Sergius the third He displaced Christopher by the helpe of Lotharuis the king and sate in his place and cast him into prison Now how himselfe was made pope Platina can tell you who saith that he persecuted Formosus his faction by whome he was before hindred from being pope for hee thought he waited to long for so good a place And thereupon Platina comparing the popes then with the first that were findeth them nothing like For in times past they refused that place being offered vnto them But now saith he they seeke it by briberie and ambition and euill meanes They gaue themselues to prayer and to teach These not regarding Gods seruice giue themselues to tyranous crueltie that after they may the more freely fulfill their lusts wheÌ„ no man dare control theÌ„ Thus saith Platina of them Not long after commeth Iohn the eleuenth a worthie prelate for such a place He was bastard sonne to pope Laudo howe holy his ellection was howe canonically hee was chosen is worth the hearing Theodora a shamelesse harlot that ruled all Rome was greatly in loue with this Iohn as soone as shee saw him And shee hauing for a time inioyed his companie and liking well of the same first made him bishop of Bondnia after archbishop of Raueâ—â—a and lastly bishop of Rome and was not this thinke you a canonicall election But whether this harlot Theodore did violently place this pope which especially belongeth to my matter in hand or that she by fauour obtained consent of the electours it is not certain But by lawfull meanes it is certaine he came not to it There was also another pope Iohn after him thrust into that rowme who although he be not numbred among the popes yet because he was bastard sonne to pope Sergius the third hee is woorth speaking of in respect of the good stocke he came of Therefore Theodora that famous harlot had a daughter maried to Guy Marques of Thuscia her name was Marozia Who following the good conditions of her mother by pope Sergius had a bastard whom she and her husband hauing dispatched pope Iohn the eleuenth by stopping his mouth with a pillow made pope and hee was called Iohn the twelfth Thus did Marozia kill her mothers paramour that shee might make her husbands bastard sonne by pope Sergius pope in his roume And thus we see howe this seat wherein they will make vs beleeue that none can sit but most holy fathers is become a denne for most prophane and godlesse ruffians and rakehels Iohn the twelfth by the their owne account was also intruded into that place by meanes of his father who was thought to bee Albert or Albericke king of Italie But howsoeuer he came to it he when he was in it was such a ruffianly companion and so vicious as that it is written that euen from his youth he was starke naught and was not ashamed openly to keepe harlots So youthfull he was that in him began that by-worde As merrie as pope Iohn He came of a good race For Marozia of whom before I spake was his grandmother And as his entrance was not good so yet his going out was too bad for some say the diuell killed him euen in his adulterie being in bed with an other mans wife some affirme it was the womans husband but that hee was killed euen in his filthinesse all agree And was not this a holy Father Neither did Boniface the seuenth get into this seate the right way but malis artibus by euill meanes as all stories almost speake And of the popes that were about this time doeth the storie called Fasciculus temporum giue this note That in these daies the bishops of Rome were slaine as well as in the primitiue Church but yet they are not Martyrs as were the other Their deathes were like but the cause vnlike And of this pope Boniface the seuenth manie stories report that hee committed theft and sacriledge stealing from Saint Peters Church all the Treasure and Iewels and sold them at Constantinople to make money thereof wherewith hee procured some friendship at his returne with more safetie to sit in that proude seate Among these also may Gregorie the fifth be reckoned who for fauour of the Emperour was made pope or as Platina saieth by the othoritie of Otho the Emperour and as Fasciculus temporum saieth at his request Bergomates saieth the Emperour did will and commaund him to take it vpon him Benedict the ninth entred vniustly and fearing that hee could not keepe the papacie hee solde it to Iohn the Archdeacon But of him I must speake after Siluester the third was intruded either by Symonie or ambition or for hatred of Benedict the ninth Benedict the tenth entered by force and briberie As for Gregorie the tenth how canonicallie he was chosen it may be seene by the olde verses that were made of his election whereby it appeareth that the discorde of the brethren made him who was an Archdeacon before father of fathers For the place I meana the popedome was nowe so much desired and so ambitiouslie sought for that the Cardinals manie times would for a long time bee diuided and could not agree about the chusing of the holie father As immediatelie after the death of
and litle of his dominions and so lessening his power and at the last despising his authoritie and wringing it out of his hands as hath beene shewed And as hee could not abide any to be his better or superior so far of so likewise he could not suffer any to haue any gouernment exempt from him neere him in the citie of Rome and therefore were they also sundrie times repining and striuing against those magistrats which in Rome had the gouernment of the citie For hauing brought the emperour to hold of him for the emperour say the Canonists now holdeth his empier of the pope and therefore he is bound to swere homage and fealty to the pope as the vassal is vouÌ„d to his lord hauing I say so subiected the greatest he taketh scorne that any should sit vnder his nose and not be vnder him And therefore pope Leo the third sending certaine presents vnto Charles the great made vnto him suite and obtained it that the people of Rome should be sworne to be subiect vnto him And so from that time which was about the yeare 796. vntil the time of Innocent the second about the yeare 1139 they continued in subiection to the bishop of Rome being gouerned at his appointment 343 yeares But being warie belike of his Tyranicall gouernment they made vnto themselues a pretor senators to rule them concerning their ciuile gouernment as in times past they had wont to haue For indeed this Innocent was a wonderful proud pope of whom it is writen in a booke called Burtum Fulmen and alleaged out of two histories that in the Lateran church at Rome he painted Lotharius the emperour prostrate at his feete and his vassal or seruant receauing of him the imperiall crowne And by this picture were verses written wherein the emperour is made his seruant and it is said that the pope giueth him the crowne as though he could not haue it but by his gift His pride being so immoderate against the emperour it is not like he could keepe any measure with such as were inferiors and so did they shake of his intolerable yoke Nowe the pope not knowing presently how for to amend himselfe or to hinder their purpose yet thought he would so bridle them as that his clergie should be free from their rule He gathereth therefore a council in Lateran where he caused it to be decreed that whosoeuer should lay violent hands vpon a clergieman though he be but a psalmist saith glosse there whom the Dist 23 calleth a singer cap. Psalmista and the Dist 21. cap. Cleros maketh next the dog driuer and doorekeeper should so be accursed that vnlesse it were in time of death he might not be absolued of any but the pope onely For this cause also Onuphrius writeth that the people of Rome were excommunicated and put for euer from chusing the popes and by that meanes that the election of the pope came to the cardinals But Platina as I haue before noted saith that Gelasius the second was chosen by the cardinalles who was before this Inocent Well Lucius the second pope of that name although he had great cause to haue though of other matters for at that time there was a maruelous great plague whereof of his predecessor Celestine the second died as also himselfe was taken away by it yet his proude stomacke not being able to beare the gouernment that then was in Rome by a pretor and senators sought to alter it The pretor or Alderman maior whose name was Iordan told the pope that al the â—egalities belonging to the citie as well without as within the walles belonged to him being pretor by reson of his office that y e pope had hitherto occupied the same by meanes of Charles the great But he demaunded his owne right willing the pope to content himselfe as his ancetours had done with first â—ruites tithes and offerings But his holinesse being as vnwilling to learne a good lesson of Iorden the pretor or Alderman of Rome as were the Pharises to be taught of him whom Christ made to see Thou arte say they altogether borne in sinne and teachest thou vs Deuised more mischiefe against the Romans then did the Pharises against that man that durst teach them for they did but cast him out of their synagogue that is they did perchance excommunicate him But this holy pope who should be to others an example of patience and forgiuing our enemies had this deuise that watching a time when they were all gathered together in council the Pretor Senators and all the chiefe of the citie the pope gathered his soldiers and set vpon the capitoll the place where they were assembled thinking either to haue destroyed them all or else to haue driuen them out of the citie But the Romanes hearing of this pope-like enterprise armed themselues vpon a sodaine and running to the capitoll did so pelt with stones the pope himselfe that within a few dayes after he died Whether of the plague as before out of Stella I aleaged or of these bates it maketh no great matter For they were rid as it seemeth of a furious foole and saued the liues of their chiefe men and for a time retained their libertie This doth Robert Barnes reporte out of Naucler Sum. Anton. and Iacob Colum. Now this question betweene the Romans and the bishop of Rome continued in doubtfull case as appeareth by frier Rioch and others for a season namely whilest Eugenius the third Anaslasius the fourth and Adrian the fourth liued the Romans seeking to haue their liberties of choosing their magistrates confirmed vnto them by the popes the popes on the other side repining against that which the Romans did Yet in the time of Alexander the third they came to this agreement that the magistrates chosen by the Romans should not meddle with their office vntill they had beene sworne to be faithfull to the church of Rome and the pope And thus this controuersie that was betweene the citie of Rome and the pope for fiftie yeares was agreed But Lucius the third being perchance proude then Alexander his predecessor whose pride yet was intollerable not content to suffer so much as the name of Consuls in Rome went aboue to abolish the same and had gotten to him some of the Romans But the citizens rose against him expelled him out of the citie and put out the eies of certaine that fauoured his attempt Thus we see how the bishops of Rome to the end that their authoritie might the more smoothly proceede without controlment did seeke to take these rubs out of their waie Hitherto we haue in part seene in what sort the bishops of Rome being come to their hieght haue deale with their betters and how roughly they haue handled them But perchance their friends wil excuse them because that by doing as they haue done they haue defended will they say the rights and priuileges of the church
if they cannot prooue it to be a doctrine generally receiued at all times euen in the dayes of the apostles and so by continuall succession constantly taught in the ages next folowing and so deliuered vs they do but too much abuse the simple to tel them that is catholike auncient that is but the dreame or late deuise of some later teachers Now I call them whatsoeuer antiquity they seeme to haue that swarue any thing from that which the auncient of daies hath taught or Christ who is our true antiquitie hath deliuered It behooueth therfore al christians to take heede of such as vnder pretence of being popish catholicks and vnder or colour of this glorious name which belongeth neither to them neither yet to their religion creepe into corners deceiue the ignorant seeke to make many of their profession by hauing onely in their mouths this worde catholike faith catholike religion catholike church whereas in truth as it seemeth that they being neither thought worthy of preferment at home neither yet finding that they looked for abroad euen as the cormorants gather where the carkas is to get their prey so these seeke their meate and maintenance by seducing such simple and sillie soules Neither doe I affirme that all are moued by these causes either to leaue their natiue countrie either to returne to sowe amongst her maiesties subiects this seede of seduction and sedition but they that doe trouble this Realme are for the most part such and moued by such reasons But as they can not proue by an catholike grounds their title to the supremacie to bee good so their practise is too bad and farre from that christian modestie and meekenesse which should be in Gods children For if saint Peter said truly that such as himselfe was should not as Lords beare rule ouer the Lords hereâ—age but be as examples to the flocke then howe can the pope claime that soueraigne authoritie ouer all kings and whom saint Peter calleth chiefe If none can enter into anie calling especiallie to haue the charge ouer the flocke of Christ vnlesse he be called therevnto as it is confessed by all men what reason can the bishops of Rome pretend why either they should without any warrant nay contrarie to the worde so exalt themselues aboue all other or so vnlawfully or rather by so vile practises and shifts as by violence and strife by buing and selling by falshood and craft by poisoning and murders by sorcerie and the diuels helpe get to be popes Or being placed in that proude place howe commeth it to passe that with so great boldnesse without feare without shame they prophane the maiestie of God and despise yea tread vnder foote the excellencie of man be he neuer so high Is this the fruit of their catholike doctrine Doe such lewde dealings become Christs vicar or Peters successour But to conclude seeing the popes title vnto the supremacie hath no shew of truth and seeing his exercise of the same is almost nothing else but a blaspheming of God and a defacing of all authoritie ordained by God raise and rouse vp your selues after your long sluggishnes O ye christian princes and magistrates shake off from your neckes this yoke of bondage wherein you serue that Italian priest Ioine your powers and strength togither Gather and call a free Councill in deed where the pope as a partie may plead his cause not sit as iudge Force him to content himselfe with that place which the worde of God will aâ—foord him If any more be giuen vnto him or any other yet let not the godly potentats giue vnto any as they haue done such reines of libertie but that they may knowe that authoritie to be but from man and that their power is not full or absolute but onely limited and that if they abuse the same they may and shall answere for their boldnesse according to the qualitie of their offence So shall you deliuer christendome from a heauie bondage your owne realmes from a most daungerous enemie and the church of God from a most manifest Antichrist So shall you vse your authoritie to the comfort of the godly as you should doe and as in dutie you are bound to Gods glorie and establishing of the Kingdome of Christ Now vnto the king euerlasting immortall inuisible vnto God onelie wise be honour and glorie for euer and euer Amen FINIS Iohn 10. 1 10. Mat. 22. 21 Rom. 13. 1. 1. Pet. 2. 13. Esa 1. 12. Rom. 2. 16. Matâ— 23. Answere to the English Iustice cap. 1. Among the letters taken with Car the Hispauiolised Scot. William Allen his letter Cap. 4. Matth. 25. 26. Philip 3. 16 2. Cor. 11. 13. De praescript 1. Pet. 1. 19. Heb. 9. 22. Heb. 9. 12. 10. 14. 2. Cor. 5. 20. Ad Pompeium contra epistolam Stephan Least necessary to saluation Most necessary in some other respects The popes supremacie an enemie to all princes The religion of Papists The popes suprâ—macie the decay of true religiòn Dist 40. cap. 51. Papa The Popes flattâ—reâ—s Praefat. in lib. dâ— Rom. pontif The Popes claim vniust The Church Triumphant Militant The question Whether monarchicall gouernement be best M. Bellarmines first argument to proue there must be one visible head Lib. de pontif Rom. 1. cap. 5. That is not of necessitie be â— gouernment for the Church that is best for other kingdomes De pontif Rom. liâ— 1. cap. 3. Christ king in his Church Reuel 19. 16. Ephes 1. 22. Dan. 7. 14. Psal 72. 8. A pastour in particular churches a particular head â— Sâ—m 8. 7 10. Two heades Bellar. lib. 1. de pontif Rom. c. 9. Pastors appointed of God The pope not of God De pontif Rom. lib. 2. cap. 12. The Popes pride His contempt of the sword of Gods word The Popes charge infinit Tertull. de praescientia haeretic M. Bellar. his second argument Argument 3. Answere Hebr. 8. 9 10. Aaron no figure of Peter The church not subiect to one hie priest De missa li. 1. c. 2 1. Kin. 17. Ionah 3. Arg. 4. Bellarm. Answere Praefat. in ps 139 De Immunit m. 6. e Quoniam Bell. arg 6. Answere Bell. arg 7. Answer Ruffin hist eccl lib. 1. cap. 9. Bellar. arg 8. Answere Prouer. 29. 2. Popish vnitie Psal 2. 2. Vnitie without supremacie Act. 15. â— De Rom pontif lib. 1. cap. 9. An argument against the visible head ouer the whole church The Papists argument for the supremacie De pontif Rom. lib. 1. cap 10. Whether Christ haue resigned his place Ephes 1. 22 and 4. 15. and 5. 23. Coloss 1. 18. Acts 4. 11. â—ad Popes Mat. 28. 25. Ioh 14. 16 17. De praescript haeretie De simplie prel Concil Carth. 6. Galced Concil Act. 16. Lib. â— cap. 3. Barenes of proofe for the supremacie De pontif Rom. li. 1. cap. 12. Mat. 16. 13. Iohn 1. 42. 1. Cor. 3. 11. Esy 28. 16. Bellarm maketh the Popethis stone or Peter