notably Cont. epist Fundam That be would not beleeue the Ghospell except the authority of the Catholike Church did mooue him thereunto so also he sayth as plainly August epist 18. that it was most insolent pride to dispute against it And therefore the mind of man being insatiable of knowledge for which it was created and according to the Philosopher it being better to know a little of Diuine thinges then to haue great intelligence of other matters hence it followeth that to know so many celestiall Misteryes as the doctrine of Christ containeth in so short a tyme with such great ease and infallible certainty being groūded vpon so many conuincing arguments and apparent testimonyes of Diuine authority which doctrine being also that pretious stone that bringeth with it all good thinges and beginneth that happynes in this life which is perfected and rewarded with eternall felicity in the next This I say must needs be a wonderfull strong and excellent motiue to compell all those to enter into the Schoole and Church of Christ whose mynds haue any dominiō ouer their bodyes and are not wholy transported with the pride of life or altogeather drowned in worldly desires or brutish sensuality Whereas the Protestants on the other side professing to haue no other ground of Fayth but only the bare Scripture do shew therein that they haue neither sufficient ground to beleeue that God hath reuealed his secrets to the world nor any Diuino assistance to know and discerne what seerets they are that were so reuealed For first as concerning Scripture denying the authority of the Church as they do if S. Augustine for example should deny the Scripture which he sayth plainely that he would not beleeue vnlosse the authority of the Church did moue him thereunto how I pray you could they perswade S. Augustine by Scripture alone which he would flatly deny that any thing was euer reuealed by God or being reuealed that it was truely deliuered againe or that any part of those thinges which were reuealed was writen by the spirit of God and so recommended to posterity Secondly the Scripture it selfe making mention of many other bookes of Scripture that are not extant though one should graunt that some part of Gods word was written which the Protestants without cause beleeue how could they proue that any part therof remayneth For if some bookes are lost why may not all haue perished Thirdly the malice of the Iewes and the fraud of Heretikes being so great as they are and the diligence of Scribes in writing being no more but humane and the copyes of Scripture being very many and very different one from another and the Hebrew Text hauing beene written a long tyme without vowells and the adding or giuing of diuers vowells making diuers and contrary senses the vowells themselues being but little prickes set vnder the letters and the Characters being so strange and many of them so like one another as they are and therefore it being not only an easy matter to change them but also it seeming almost impossible that they should not haue beene mistaken among so many writers in so many seuerall Countreyes for so many yeares togeather all this considered though a man should graunt that some bookes of Scripture were not lost how I beseech you can the Protestants shew that any part thereof is free from errour and foule corruption especially granting as they do that many places of the Originalls are actually corrupted Fourthly supposing the originalls either to haue remayned perfect all this while or els to be restored by them to their perfection whereof they can haue no other ground but their owne wilfull imagination considering that all their interpreters haue translated with passion and preiudice in fauour of their owne opinions and in opposition to the Roman Church and to the auncient vulgar translation following therein See the Protestant Apol. p. 256. 257. 258. rather the exposition of the Iewish Rabbins the enemyes of Christ then of the ancient Fathers And likewise considering that as their translatours are all deuided among themselues euery one seeking his owne glory so also that they condemne one another of mangling dismembring forging and of corrupting the Scripture with what colourable reason can the Protestants belieue any of their Bibles or particuler versions to be the word of God not rather the word of Tyndall or Caluin or Luther or of some other translatour Fifthly giuing vnto them that some things haue been reuealed by God and were truly deliuered and truly written and that some of those writings haue been preserued by God and still remaine miraculously vncorrupted And that the Caluinists alone or the Protestants of England alone haue only the true version or translation therof the (a) Diony de Eccles hierar c. 1. Orig. in prin peria tract 23. in Mat. Tertul. in l. praescrip l. de corona Milit. Clemens in ep Iren. l. 3. cont haer c. 2. 3. Bafil l. de spiritu sāctoc 27 l. cont Eunom Epiphan haeres 61. Hier. l. cōt Lueif August ep 118.119.86 Cypr. l. de card Chrisoper c. de ablut peaū Theoph in 2. ad Thes 2. Chrysost orat 4. in eandem ep Theod. ibi auncient Fathers of the Church prouing not only by tradition but also by the writen-word it selfe that the word of God is partly written and partly vnwritten what infallible proofes can the Protestants bring out of Scripture that we ought to belieue nothing which is not expresly contayned in the Scripture Especially considering that contrary to their owne ground they pretend to belieue many things which indeed are true but no where expresly contayned in the Scripture as that the Scripture it selfe is the word of God that children may be baptized before they belieue That Baptisme in rose water or any liquour then naturall Elementary water or in the Name of Christ alone is not good and sufficient That the Baptisme of Turkes and Iewes and Heretikes is good in some cases That it is allwayes a sinne to rebaptize That God the Father hath no Father which among many others is one instance of S. Augustine against the Heretikes of his tyme acknowledging no other ground of their Fayth but only Scripture That the Sabaoth day which is Saturday ought not to be publickly obserued as holy which is against the Commaundement of the Law and that all Christians are obliged to obserue the Sunday whereof there is not commaundement to be found in the written word of the Ghospell That our Blessed Lady remayned and continued still a Virgin That Easter day ought to be kept vpon a Sunday That it is lawfull to eat bloud and strangled meats contrary to the words of the Decree of the Church in the Acts of Apostles and the like Many things also they belieue that are meerly fals and not only not contayned in the words of Scripture but also expresly contrary thereunto As that (a) Ephes 5.32 Matrimony is no
to his holy Apostleship that it would please him according to his custome to haue care of them that they and theirancestors had receiued help from his holy Apostolike seat that according to the decrees of the Canons they beseech the sayd Apostolike highest seat to giue them help from whence their Predecessours had receiued ordinations rules of doctrine and other helpes that they haue recourse vnto the Roman Church as to their Mother that he was Peter and vpon his foundation the pillars of the Church that is the Bishops say they are set and confirmed that they presume not without his counsell to define any matter of fayth the Canons commaunding that without the Roman Bishop in the more weighty causes nothing ought to be determyned that the iudgment of all Bishops is committed to his seat And they expound the place of Matthew 16. of the Primacy thereof and confirme all that they say with the authority of the Nicen Councell whereupon you must needs grant that none can write a better cōment then those excellent men that were present at it After Athanasius shall follow those other Fathers who haue recorded the succession of the Popes of Rome to S. Peter thereupon compare the fayth of the one with the faith of other the fayth of the Catholike Church with that of Rome in regard of the Popes person in whome the immediate gouernement of that sea the supremacy of S. Peter are both vnited Ireneaeus lib. 3. cap. 3. Ancient Irenaeus scholler to Policarp the disciple of S. Iohn teacheth that the Church of Rome is the greatest and the most ancient that it is knowne to all men founded and established by the two glorious Apostles Peter and Paul and that the Catholikes shewing the tradition which it receiued from the Apostles and that faith which was deliuered to all comming downe by succession of the Bishops thereof euen vnto their tyme they did thereby confound all those that gathered otherwise then they ought by selfe conceit or vayne glory or blindnes or false knowledge Wherein you see he supposeth the true fayth to be preserued in the Roman seat by meanes of the succession of the Bishop therof to S. Peter and S. Paul and that all those are confounded thereby that do hold any contrary doctrine whereof immediatly after he giueth the reason saying For necessarily euery Church must haue recourse and accord with the Church of Rome in respect of her more powerfull principality So that all those that do not accord therewith hauing their principality from the Apostles are vtterly confounded by it And a little after The blessed Apostles sayth he founding and instructing the Church deliuered the Episcopall care of the gouernment therof to Linus setting downe successiuely the names of all the Popes vntill his tyme. Where I would haue you note that he maketh no difference betweene the Roman Church and the Church in generall which he sayth the Apostles instructed and left to Linus Epiphanius also relating exactly the same succession of the Popes to S. Peter Epiphan har 27. addeth that no man should meruaile why the same is so particulerly recounted For sayth he by those thinges that is to say In ancorat circaprinc by this particuler succession clarity is alwayes shewed meaning that the knowledge of this succession was necessary for the clarity and knowledge of the Catholike doctrine And therefore els where he sayth that his succession is the firme Rocke vpon the which the Church is built and that the gates of hell which are Heretikes and Arch-heretikes shall not preuayle against it For absolutely the fayth is firmed in him that receiued the keyes and looseth in earth and bindeth in Heauen So Epiphanius who teacheth plainly as you see that the true Fayth cannot be separated from the Seat of S. Peter S. Hierome likewise (a) Lib. de praescript Eccles in Clemen briefly declareth this succession and notably (b) Epist. ad Dam. deliuereth his sentencè concerning his doctrine Although sayth he to Pope Damasus thy greatnes doth feare me yet thy humanity doth inuite me being a sheep I craue the help of my Sheepheard I speake with the successour of the Fisher and with the disciple of the Crosse I following no chiefe but Christ do associate my selfe with the communion of thy Beatitude that is of the Chayre of Peter Vpon that Rocke I know the Church to be buylt whosoeuer out of this house shall eate the lamb he is prophane whosoeuer is not found in the Arke of Noë shall perish with the floud And a little after he that gathereth not with thee scattereth that is he that is not of Christ is of Antichrist Where most euidently he calleth the Chayre of the Pope the Chayre of Peter and the Rocke of that Church out of which there is no saluation and that he who gathereth not with the Pope is not of Christ but of Antichrist Yea so much he grounded him selfe vpon the authority of the Pope that he affirmed he would not be affrayd to say that there were three hypostases in the Trinity if the Pope should bid him And againe in the end of his exposition of the Creed to Pope Damasus This is the Catholike fayth sayth he most blessed Pope which we haue learned of the Catholike Church wherein if any thing be lesse skillfully or lesse warily set downe we desire that it may be corrected by thee that dost hold the fayth and the seat of Peter But if this our confession shall be approued by thy Apostleship whosoeuer will accuse me shall shew himselfe either to be ignorant or maleuolous or perchance no Catholike but me to be an heretike he shall not proue Where he fignifyeth that none can be heretikes Lib. 1. appol cont Ruff. who suffer themselues to be corrected by the Popes authority And concerning the Roman Church speaking against Ruffinus he sayth What fayth is that which he calleth his If he answere the Roman fayth ergo Catholici sumus then are we both Catholikes where he teacheth plainly the Catholike and the Roman fayth to be the same Lib. 3. appol cont Ruff. And in the same treatise know sayth he that the Roman fayth praysed by the voyce of the Apostles doth not receiue any such illusions although an Angell should teach otherwise then hath beene once preached With S. Hierome must go accompanyed S. Augustine who in his answere to the letters of a certaine Donatist vrging the perpetuall duration of the Catholike Church built vpon Peter according to the promisse of our Sauiour recounteth aboue fourty Popes deducing them successiuely from S. Peter to Anastasius who was Pope at that tyme and then concludeth that in all that order of succession Epist 165. no Donatist Bishop could be found by which discourse he would proue that the Donatists were not the true Church because no Pope or head of the Church was euer Donatist Which in the same place he further confirmeth by
Luther in Coloq c. de Past Eccl. Beza ad cap. 13. act Apost Caus dial 6.7.8 that in his writings he had not one word of Faith true ReligioÌ„ that he was manifestly blasphemous impious and intollerable bold in the detorting of Scriptures that if he perseuered in his opinions he was no lesse damned then Lucifer That (a) Cartwrigh in his Reply pag. 562. Damasus spake in the Dragons voyce That (b) Perkin Probl. p. 93.94 Paulinus Fortunatus Fulgentius Petrus Damianus were stayned with sinne and guilty of Sacriledge That (c) Whitaker de Cone coÌ„t Bell. p. 37. Beza in confes Geneuen c. 7. sect 11. Perkins vbi supra S. Leo was a great Archeretike of the antichristian kingdome that he breatheth out the arrogancy of the Antichristian Roman sea That (d) Luther in Colloq mens c. de patr Eccl. S. Basil was of no worth and was wholy a Monke (e) Luther in Colloq Germ. p. 499. Melauth in cap. 14. ad Rom. That S Gregory was grossly deceiuedly the Diuell and he that fell into open impiety tyranny And of the Fathers in general Schastianus Franeus (b) In epist de abrogandis in vniuersuÌ„ omnibus statis Ecclesiasticis concludeth that presently after the Apostles tyme all things were turned vp side downe c. and that for certayne through the worke of Antichrist the externall Church togeather with the faith and Sacraments vanished cleane away preâ—eÌ„tly after the Apostles departure D. Downham (c) Down treatise of Antichrist 〈◊〉 2. c. 2. affirmeth that the generall defection of the visible Church foretold 2. Thessal 2. began to worke in the Apostles tyme. M. Fulke (d) Fulk answere to a Counterfait Catholike pag. 35. auerreth that the true Church decayed immediatly after the Apostles tyme. Luther (e) Luther l. de seruo arbitrio VVitemb pag. 434. presumed to say that vnlesse the Fathers repented and amended they were neither Saints nor Members of the Church Caluin (f) Lib. 3. inst cap. 3. num 10. saith that the Fathers were carried away with errour Peter Martyr (g) De votis pag. 476. refrained not to say as long as we do insist vpon the Councells and Fathers we shall alwayes be conuersant in the same errours Beza (h) In his preface to the new testameÌ„t dedicated to the Pr. of Condy. affirmeth that in the best tymes Sathan was president euen in their assemblyes and Councells Cartwright (i) Cartwright l. 1. p. 5.13 154. affirmeth that seeking in the Fathers writings is a raking in ditches a mouing and sommoning of hell a mensuring of truth by the crooked yard of tyme. Whitaker (k) Cont. Duraeum l. 6. p. 423. auoucheth the Popish religion to be apatched couerlet of the Fathers errours sowed togeather Doctor (l) HuÌ„ph in vita lewel p. 212. Humfrey did grieuously reprehend M. Iewell for his so bould appealing to the Fathers affirming that M. Iewell herein gaue the Papists too large a scope was iniurious to himselfe and after a manner spoyled himself and the Church And M. Fulk (m) Pulk Reioynder pag. 4. Aug. coÌ„t Iul. l. 1. c. 2. De verbis Apostol serm 14. lib. 2. cout Iul. 6.10 being charged with M. Iewells confession in his reioynder to M. Bristowes reply sayth I answere if he charge me with the contynuing of the Church in incorruption for 600. yeares next after Christ he lieth in his throate Thus as S. Augustine saith they persecute those with hostility whom they should follow with fidelity which we cannot impute to their ignorance but to their impudency Alas they kick against they prick and as he sayth againe they push against that wall which will break them to peeces what the Father 's deliuered that they receiued and therfore as Tertullian noteth very well Tert de praesc c. 28. to condemne them is nothing els but to condemne the Apostles and Christ himselfe that taught them SECTION XIX That the Protestants dissent very much from the doctrine of the pure Church is proued out of the Protestants themselues condemning one another LIKE as a peece of earth deuyding it selfe from a high Mountayne and falling downe is againe deuyded into many peeces wherunto it breaketh or as the Kingdome of this world which was giuen by God to our Father Adam being separated by him from the obedience and from the Kingdome of God fell preent thereupon into many factions and was afflicted with many contrarietyes of Angells and men and beasts and Elements and the foure humours of the body and of sense and reason one against the other so it fareth with those that deuide themselues from the vnity of the Citty set vpon the mountayne and from the Kingdome of God which is the Church of Christ For now being destitute of that publick and inuincible authority which Christ hath ordayned to keep the members of his body in which they must needs deuyde themselues one from another euery man abounding in his owne sense and in the self pleasing loue of his owne iudgement The examples whereof haue been such in this miserable age as nothing is more to be admyred or lamented then to see so many Sects and diuersityes of opinions in these tymes as perchance do surmount the number of all the heresyes of former ages put togeather The most notorious heere with vs are the Lutherans the Protestants the Puritans and the Brownists Protest Apology pag. 502.503 504.684 The Lutherans differ from other Protestants in 33. seuerall articles whereof in particuler haue written Schlusselburg Osiander and Samuel Haberus The Lutherans are againe subdeuided into very many sects and the Protestants into more then seauenty seuerall opinions of most important matters the most of them set downe by M. Doctor Willet in his meditation vpon the 122. Psal printed anno 1603. pag. 91. Wherefore as sinne is punished with it selfe so it is the nature of falshood to ouerthrow and confound it selfe Which as it appeareth to be true in the infinite contrariety and confusion of doctrine among the Protestants themselues so alse it wil be manifest in the bold assertion of this vayne man which we haue now in hand And therefore hauing shewed already that to be most contrary to the Fathers which he sayth he hath found in the Fathers and that both by the testimony of the Fathers condemning the Protestants doctrine for heresy and also by the Protestants themselues who spare not to reuyle and blaspheme the Fathers before I conclude this whole matter you shall also heare both him and them condemned out of their owne mouthes Wherfore supposing that our Bishop is now a perfect English Protestant and that he belieueth his owne words to be true affirming those Charches which Rome hath made her aduersaryes to differ little or nothing from the ancient pure and true doctrine of the Church of Christ I argue in this manner The Church which followeth Luthers doctrine Luth. tom Witemb f. 381.382
hidden What shall I say more sayth S. Augustine vpon these words of our Sauiour but that they are blynd who cannot see so great a mountayne From hence also it doth necessarily follow that the doctrine of the Church is infallible and priuiledged from errour For according to the Protestants themselus that only is the true Church wherein the word of God is truly preached and the Sacraments truely administred And therefore if the Church should erre it should cease to be the true Church and should not contynue but the Gates of hell should haue preuayled against it Matt. 16.18 which is directly against the Scriptures And in particuler this priuiledge from errour is expresly promised in the old Testament Esa 59.21 in many places as where the Prophet Esay speaketh therof in these wordes This is my couenant with them sayth our Lord My spirit which is in thee and my wordes which I haue put in thy mouth shall not depart from thy mouth nor from the mouth of thy seed Oze 2.19.20 nor from the mouth of thy seeds seed from this tyme forth for euermore And where in Oze God sayth of his Church I will espouse thee for euer and I will espouse thee to me in iustice and iudgment in mercy and commiseration and I will espouse thee vnto me in sayth for euer Ephes 4.11 Epipha in Aâ—corato circa princ Matt. 16.18 Matt. 17.18 1. Tim. 3.5 IoaÌ„ 14.26 according whereunto it is also sayd in the new Testament That there should be Pastours and Doctours in the Church for euer that we be not carryed about nor deceiued with new doctrine that the Gates of hell by which is meant Heresy shall not preuayle against it that he who did not beleeue the Church should be compted as a Heathen or Publican that it is the Piller and foundation of truth that the holy Ghost should teach all things and suggest all things to the Pastours therof that God would giue them the spirit of truth IoaÌ„ 14.16 to remayne with them for euer In conclusion if you list to see more of the largenesse of these induments and of the flourishing greatnes of the Church of Christ you may read 4. whole Chapters of the Prophesyes therof in Esay 60.61 and 62. and Micheas the 4. which I thinke no man can read without the acknowledgement and admiration of them SECTION XXIII The force of the former Motiue is further declared out of the authorityes of S. Augustine and out of the effects of the contrary Doctrine AMONG all the ancient Fathers as there is none more opposite to the Protestant Ministers then S. Augustine so there is none more respected in outward shew and more esteemed by them which is vnto vs on the other side a notable argument of the excellency of the one and of the impudency of the other Now therfore if the word of S. Augustine be of force with you whome in regard of his antiquity learning wit vertue his aduersaryes themselues do so much respect read but the 6. Chapter of the first booke of that worke which is called Confessio Augustiniana for it cannot be that relying vpon the sayth of S. Augustine which could be no other then the sayth of the whole Church but that your vnderstanding should be wholy conuinced by it In regard wherof considering that it would be to long to alleadge the testimonyes of the rest of the Fathers and that men now a dayes are loath to seeke after that which they are affrayd to find with some temporall preiudice although it be the means of their saluation I thinke good to shew vnto you before I go any further the weight and force of this motiue out of the iudgment sayth and perswasion of S. Augustine For this was that which oueruled him so much as that he spared not to say I (a) Aug. cont epist Fundam c. 5. would not beliue the Ghospell vnles the authority of the Catholike Church did mooue me thereunto I (b) cont Faustum lib. 15. c. 3. must needs beleeue the acts of the Apostles if I beleeue the Ghospell because both those Scriptures the Catholike authority doth equally commend vnto me It being of necessity that one of those bookes must be fals speaking of the acts of the Apostles and of some other Apocriphy booke to which do you thinke we should rather giue credit either vnto it which the Church began by Christ himselfe continued by the Apostles with a constant course of succession euen vnto those tymes dilated ouer all the world doth acknowledge approue to haue beene deliuered and conserued or vnto that which the same Church doth reiect as vnknowne Those whom I beleeued saying vnto me Beleeue the Ghospell why should I not obey saying vnto me beleeue not Manichaeus Choose which thou wilt If thou sayst Beleeue the Catholikes they admonish me not to beleeue you Wherfore beleeuing them it is of necessity that I beleeue not you If thou say Beleeue not the Catholiks thou canst not with any reason compell me to beleeue Manichaeus because I beleeued the Ghospel it selfe by the preaching of the Catholikes If thou say thou didst well to beleeue them preaching the Ghospell but thou didest not well to beleeue them discommending Manichaeus dost thou thinke me such a foole as without any reason giuen to beleeue what thou wilt haue me and what thou wilt not not to beleeue Be not deceiued with the name of truth speaking as to the person of the Catholike Church the truth thou only hast in thy milke and in thy bread but in this Church of the Manichies or any other which is not Catholike there is the name of truth but the truth it selfe is not And of thy great ones thou art secure I frame my speach to thy little ones I call to thy tender issue that with garrulous curiosity they be not seduced from thee but rather let him be accursed of them who shall preach otherwise then that which they haue receiued in thee Know (c) Conc. ad Cathecum cap. 20. beloued that true sayth true peace and eternall saluation is only in the Catholike Faith For it is not in a Corner but it is euery where if any man depart from it and deliuer himselfe ouer to the errour of Heretikes he shall be iudged 〈◊〉 fugitiue seruant and no adopted sonne neither shall he rise to eternall life but rather to eternall damnation By (d) cort Faust l. 13. cap. 13. what manifest signe therefore I being yet a little one or a yong scholler and not able to discerne the pure truth from so many errours by what manifest token shall I know the Church of Christ in whome with so great manifestation of things fortold I am compelled to belieue the Prophet followeth on and hauing as it were orderly heard the difficulty or doubt of mynd of this new beginner Hier. 17. he sheweth him the Church of Christ fortold to be the same which is more apparant and
Sacrament that the (b) Matt. 26. Marc. 14. Luc. 22. 1. Cor. 11. Ioan. 6.51 Blessed Sacrament of the Altar is not Christs Body that men are (c) 1. Cor. 13.2.3 Iacoh 2.14 c. iustifyed by Faith alone that (d) Iac. 2.21 c. Eccles 18. Rom. 6.19 no good workes do merit that the (e) Matt. 11.30.1 Ioan. 5.3.3 Reg. 14.4 Reg. 23. keping of Gods Commaundements is impossible that we haue (f) 3. Rag. 3.5 Eccl. 31.10 Gen. 4.6.7 1. Cor. 7.37 no Freewill to do well that Christ (g) Act. 2.24.2.7 1. Pet. 3.18 descended not into Hell And to be short that the Church of God is (h) See before Sect. 21. inuisible that it hath erred and that many true Prophets or preachers haue been sent to reforme it whereas the Scripture only tells of false Prophets to come and saith expressy that the gates of hell shall not preuayle against it Lastly if you will but barre the Protestants their owne expositions and argumentations vpon the Scripture which they confesse themselues to be no part of the written word they cannot produce so much as one expresse place of Scripture for any of those opinions so peremptorily defended and stifly obiected against vs which me thinkes considering how much they vaunt of Scripture is sufficient of it selfe to make such as are good amongst them ashamed of their errours and sheweth most euidently that the first authours of this new Ghospell haue founded the same vpon nothing els but only vpon their owne impudency the malice of the tyme and the weaknes of their hearers By all which considerations it is more then manifest that the Protestants denying the authority of the Church they ouerthrow the authority of the Scripture and that refusing to receiue the same from the Church they haue no Scripture at all but that diuers wayes contradicting their owne grounds insteed of Scripture they miserably abuse themselues with their owne translations and their owne imaginations and haue nothing els but only the bare name and outward shew of Scripture And now to come to the second Stone of their foundation which is the point of their pryuate spirit First they can produce no place of Scripture to proue either that the Scripture alone is a sufficient ruie of Faith or that God hath promised his holy spirit to euery particuler man in expounding the Scripture And therefore belieuing either the one or the other they ouerthrow their owne grounds and belieue something more then Scripture which is not expresly contayned therein Secondly this manner of interpreting the Scripture according to the priuate spirit of euery particuler man is not only warranted by the Scripture but also expresly contrary thereunto For the Scripture commaundeth vs for the deciding of controuersyes about the same to ascend to the high Priest for the tyme Deu. 17.9.12 Matth. 2.7 Mat. 18.17 Mat. 23.2 and to obay him vpon payne of death to require the Law from the lips of the Priests to heare the Church and that such as will not heare it shal be accompted as Heathens and Infidells to do as they say who shall sit in the Chayre of Moyses and the like Which places are contrary to that infallible assistance of euery mans priuate spirit which the Protestants pretend and are further confirmed by the practise and execution of them in the primitiue Church recorded also by the Scripture For all the Apostles were not commaunded to write but to preach Mar. 16.15 and the world was obliged not to belieue any particuler spirit but the words and writings proceding from the spirit of the Apostles Act. 15.28 And the question of the obseruation of the Legall Cerimonyes was not left to the arbitrement of euery mans priuate spirit but was reserued to the common spirit of the Church And therfore as the Church was founded not only by Scripture but also by the vnwritten word of God so also it must be preserued And as the world at that tyme belieued the words and wrytings of the Apostles deliuered by themselues so now it must giue credit therunto being likewise deliuered by their Successors We haue a more firme Propheticall speach whereunto you do well to attend sayth S. Peter 2. Petr. 1.20.21 and after adioyneth first vnderstanding this that no Prophesy of Scripture is made by priuate interpretation for not by mans will was Prophesy brought at any tyme but the holy men of God spake inspired with the holy Ghost Whereof you see it followeth that the Scripture must be interpreted by the same spirit wherewith it was written being communicated by the spirit of God for the publike benefit of the Church with the publike authority of those that wrote it it must also be expounded by the same spirit for the publike weale of the Church with the like publike authority of those that haue the keeping of it so vnderstanding this that no Prophesy of Scripture is made with priuate interpretation The spirit sayth S. Paul deuideth vnto all in particuler according as he will 1. Cor. 12.17 All the members of the body haue not the same act for if the whole body be ancye where is the hearing Where also he denyeth that all haue the gift of Prophesy Matt. 18.17 Hebr. 13.17 2. Thes 2.23 Phil. 4.9 Gal. 1.8 Marc. 7.15.24 Marc. 13.22 2. Pet. 2.1 1. Ioā 4.1 2. Thes 2.2 the interpretation of Tongues discretion to discerne of spirit which is expresly against the Protestants c. In conclusion as the Scripture exhorteth vs to heare the Church to obay our Pastours and spirituall Superiours to remayne in those thinges which we haue heard of them not to beleeue an Angell from heauen but rather to hold him accursed that should preach contrary thereunto and the like which do signify the great authority giuen to the publike spirit of the Church promised to be sent vnto it and to remaine with it for euer so all those places of Scripture which aduise vs to beware of false Prophets that is to say of Heretikes to try the spirit not to be terrifyed neither by spirit or speach and the like must needs be vnderstood of those who out of a priuate spirit should oppose themselues against the common doctrine of the Church or publique authority of the gouernour thereof wherein also consisteth the very essence of heresy Aug. ep 162. deciuit l 18. c. 51. de Bapt. cont Don. l. 4. c. 16. and in this sense S. Paul affirmeth (a) Tit. 3.11 that an hereticke is subuerted and sinneth being condemned by his owne iudgment That is to say opposing his priuate iudgment against the Church and so giuing sentence against his owne soule to his eternall damnation And as this Protestant ground is most opposite to Scripture so also it is no lesse contrary to reason it selfe For as in a Commonwealth or Kingdome the law being publique and common to all the interpretation of the law and the finall sentence
of all suits causes concerning the law is likewise publique for otherwise there could be no peace nor concord made betweene priuate men if euery one might interprete the law to his owne aduantage so likewise the Catholike Fayth being common and publique propounded to all and all men being commaunded to agree togeather in the same fayth with vnity and concord it must needs follow that the definition and sinall sentence of all controuersyes causes of faith be also publique For otherwise there could be no end of differences euery man obstinatly defending the sense of his owne spirit and presumptuously condemning all those Hier cont Lucif c. 14. that oppose themselues against it If in the Church sayth S. Hierome there be no imminent power there will be so many Schismes as there are Priests And among twelue one was chosen that a head being appointed Idem cont Iouin the occasiō of Schism might be taken away But of this we haue spoken sufficiently els where and haue also shewed by experience that the Protestants for want of this publike authority are infinitly deuided among themselues and censure most terribly and condemne most extremly the seuerall opinions of one another Wherefore to proceed and to omit for breuityes sake that this rule of priuate interpretation being once admitted there would follow nothing els but an infinite confusion of little truth much falsehood in the Church of God And that the mēbers thereof should haue no meanes to discerne with whome they ought to hold communion as sincere and orthodoxall nor whome to auoyd as corrupt and hereticall What can be more contrary to the light of Nature then where all haue equall meanes to know the truth or that some for sundry good respects may be thought to excell the rest euery particuler man though neuer so simple should more cōfide in his owne priuate vnderstanding then in the iudgment of the best and wisest which as it is most absurd in all kind of knowledge so especially in the right vnderstanding interpretation of Scripture being in great part most obscure and euery where subiect to errour as you may easily iudge by the controuersyes decrees and generall Councells of the Church concerning the same by the condemnations of so many excellent wits learned men that haue erred therein and by the explications sermons and cōmentaryes that without end are made vpon them And truely that euery Protestant man woman and child plough-man artificer or of what profession soeuer learned or vnlearned whether they can read or no should take it vpon them and vpon their saluation as they do and as they are bound to do according to the ground of their Religion to iudge infallibly by the Scripture alone which bookes are Scripture and which not and to know euery verse and euery line of the Canonicall from that which is not Canonicall better then the ancient Fathers or Laodicean Councell for example who doubted of many of them and better then that famous Councell of Carthage where at S. Augustine was present is thought to haue been the Secretary and penner of it which decreed many bookes to be Scripture that are now contradicted reiected by the Protestants is so strange a madnes as it seemeth impossible that it should sinke into any mans hart to imagine or that the mind of any sober man could be deluded with it And the same we may say of the interpretation of Scripture For beleeuing as an article of their Fayth that there is no external means wherby they may infallibly know the meaning of Scripture but by the Scripture euery idle companiō preferreth his owne priuate iudgment therin not only before the iudgment of all the Fathers in particuler who haue doubted of many poynts of Fayth and of the meaning of many places in Scripture vntill by a generall Councell their doubts were cleared but also before the sentence of the vniuersall Church which euery Protestant doth imagine to haue grosly erred beleeuing in the meane tyme his owne opinion to be most infallible Which is yet more strang in that the Protestants perswading themselues to be most certaine that they haue the Scripture and the true interpretation of Scripture they confesse notwithstanding the meanes which they vse for the attayning of this certainty to be most vncertayne That is to say the reading of Scripture their conference of places their diligence prayer and the like Whereof the two last alone are common to all and euery one of these meanes being by their owne confession but human endeauours are therefore subiect to the errour of our frayle Nature to the common ouersight of mans infirmity And as all partyes among them condemne ech other so there was neuer any Protestant in the world whom they beleeue or acknowledge notwithstanding the vse of all these meanes not to haue been very much deceiued in the interpretation of the Scripture And therfore as the authority of the Catholicke Church in respect of the clarity and extension therof is fitly expounded by S. Augustine to be that Lightning of the comming of Christ which breaking forth out of heauen is scene from the East to the West Matth. 24.27 and filleth the world inforcing all men to behold it so it is no great mystery to vnderstand that the Protestants shutting their eyes against it haue chosen to themselues such a ground of their fayth as by it self alone is not only most vncertaine vnto them for diuers sundry causes but also in respect of the formality therof is most contrary to Scripture most opposite to reason and most euidently ouerthrowing it selfe as hath beene shewed Whereof because no man that is not willfully blind among you can be ignorant therfore I can blame none of those great numbers of whome your authors do so much cōplaine who preferre the light of sense or naturall reason before the fayth of the Protestants and chuse rather to beleeue nothing then to be so grossly and so manifestly deceiued For such a kind fayth as hath been shewed doth not perfect the light of naturall reason but abuse it nor maketh men spiritually wise but rather diabolically contentious and absurdly foolish And the ground therof being false and friuolous they who rely the most thereupon are the most deceiued And albeit they may hold many things that are true yet speaking properly of diuine faith they haue no faith at all whereof I gaue you the reason in the beginning of this Section because to ayme at the secrets of God or to mooue any dispute about them without some infallible meanes which himselfe hath ordayned for the preseruation tradition and preaching or deliuery of them is no lesse ridiculous then for blind men as I haue sayd to cōtend of colours or as S. Paul affirmeth no better then vayne and idle talking 1. Tim. 1.6.7 not vnderstanding neither what is spoken nor of what to affirme But as the Turkes albeit they are perswaded that there is one
God yet receiuing it from their Alcaron which is the ground of their fayth and teacheth them many vntruths their perswasion of the vnity of God is no beliefe but errour Or as the Iewes albeit they receiue the old Testament as you know yet because they rely vpon the interpretation of their Rabbins which is subiect to errour their ground being deceitfull their faith is nothing but deceipt and therefore no faith at all So in like manner the Protestants albeit they follow a rule which according as they vse it doth propound vnto them many things that are true yet propounding likewise very many that are false and being thereby deceitfull as hath been declared they belieue the truth it sheweth no more then they belieue the falshood whereof it is manifest they belieue nothing at all And for this cause the authority of the Church being the only ordinary meanes to make vs know the rule of faith Matt. 18.17 our Sauiour himself sayd that such as would not heare the Church were no better then Infidells because consequently depryuing themselues of the rule of Faith they loose all true Faith and diuine fidelity From whence likewise is inferred that common principle of Christendome that out of the Church there is no saluation because without Faith it is impossible to please God and without obedience to the Church in matter of beliefe there can be no faith at all From hence also the Councell of Nyce as witnesseth the Creed of Athanasius read in your Churches euery Sunday togeather with the auncient Fathers hath concluded that denying one article of the Catholike Faith or not belieuing the same wholy and inuiolably no man can be saued Because he that obstinatly denyeth or doubteth of any one poynt of Faith denieth the authority of the Church without which we cannot certainly know the rule of Faith therby loosing his faith is no better thē an Infidel as our Sauiour hath declared SECTION XXVII VVherein two Motiues that is to say Feare of danger and the Instigation of a certayne spirit which induced the Bishop to change the place of his aboad are propounded and examined THESE therfore are some of the reasons which euery Catholike man though neuer so simple is able to giue of his beliefe and are so euident and iustified in themselues that there is no man hauing sense of God if he put them in the Ballance of his Iudgment but he must needs feele their weight in his mind and in his will the diuine power and vertue of them Whereas on the other side this learned man the Bishop after 10. yeares study writing to edify the world with his Motiues can bring forth nothing but that which appeareth at the first sight to be false as you haue heard hath receiued sentence of Iudgment three tymes already being once of old condemned by the auncient Fathers and twyce more in our age by the Protestāts themselues who first condemned the Fathers as being against them and afterwards also condemned the heretical doctrine of one another And this may suffice to haue spoken of those dispositions and other considerations which the Bishop accuseth to haue been the causes and motiues of his change in religion It followeth now to examine the groundes that induced him to change the place of his aboad Which albeit he setteth downe very confusedly I find they may be reduced to 3. principall heads The first therfore was his danger in staying The second his spirit that compelled him to go And the third his zeale forsooth of truth and peace that drew him on As concerning his danger he confesseth that in Rome notice was taken of his writing against the Roman doctrine and that more then once he had been admonished and reprehended for it by the Popes Nuntio or Agent residing in Venice In which respect he had iust cause to feare that the Venetians not to maintayne a manifest heretike in their State might easily be induced to deliuer him vp to the Nuntio especially at that tyme they hauing need of the Pope in respect of their warrs and that the Nuntio would haue sent him vp to the Holy House in Rome where he should haue byn receiued with such kindnes as was agreable to his deserts Wherby it appeareth vpon the matter that being entred so far into Heresy as he could not go back without great infamy he sound Italy to hoat for his foot fled from thencefor no other good respect but only because he could stay no longer without the horrible feare of extreme danger By the way of this discourse he putteth himselfe into a great chafe against the Pope laying aside his disguise of Monsignor fate voi he sheweth himselfe a plaine Italian Facchine without any truth ciuility or modesty And like your Collyer of Croydon being a myte out of Towne he taketh his pleasure of the Pope rayleth against him most despiciously And who is there that hath but soone the state of Germany Spaine France or Italy and thereby knoweth as he must needs the great reputation and authority of the Catholike Clergy and especially of the Bishops the heads of the Clergy but will admire at his impudency to heare him say That Catholike Bishops now adayes haue nothing but the name of Bishops That they are not permitted by the Pope to haue any gouennement of their Churches That they are vilde and contemptible and which is no lesse vntrue then the former That they are made subiect to Religious Orders for Religious men except they be Bishops or indued with Episcopall authority haue no exteriour iurisdiction at all neither ouer Bishops nor any secular persons To the rest where he sayth That the Church of Rome is wholy become a temporall Monarchy a vineyard only to make Noë drunke a flocke whose bloud the Pastours sucke and the like What shall we say but that he sheweth himself to be far worse then one of Noë his accursed children and to be no better then a wilde Boore that would destroy the vineyard of Christ or a rauenous Wolfe that howleth against the Shepheard Neither all that went before being most false will I grant that to be true where he sayth That Christ hath placed him for a dog in his flocke For the truth is that he thrust himselfe in for a dogge as I haue shewed long ago But now at length it hath pleased God to put him out for a Curre and so he sheweth himselfe to be in barking against his Maister In the end making these vntruthes some colour and occasion of his departure at length he concludeth that to auoyd the Popes malice which was so neer vnto him and the ordinary effects therof which he sayth to be poyson and punyards it was altogeather necessary for him to run away Leuit. 26.36 Iob. 15.21 An ill conscience feareth the sound of a flying leafe and the noyse of feare is allwayes in his eare where peace is he suspecteth treason In which respect although it
forgetteth not to vse tearmes of due reuerence saying in this manner Neither dost thou disdaine that art not proud though thou gouernest in a higher place to be a friend to these of low condition and to returne loue for loue And you haue heard what words of great respect S. Hierom vsed to Pope Damasus Hier. ad Damasum when he sayd Although thy greatnes doth feare me yet thy humanity doth inuite me being a sheep I craue the help of my sheepheard c. And how the great Athanasius Patriarch of Alexandria with the Bishops of the East thought it no disgrace to call the Pope their holy Lord venerable with Apostolicall dignity the Father of the vniuersall Church Athan. ad Marcum tom 1. Con. affirming themselues to be his and that vnto him with all those committed to them they were obedient and euer would be Whereof I thought good briefly to remember you that you might perceiue the difference betweene the Christian humility of the ancient Fathers and the saucy presumption of this new contentious Heretike SECTION XXX Of Schisme which is the last obiection of the Bishop against himselfe wherein hee is proued to be not only a Schismatike but also a manifest Heretike HIS second last obiection which he maketh against himselfe is this That forsaking the Church of Rome which he calleth Babylon he may seeme to haue incurred the cryme of Schisme wherunto he answereth saying I will that this my flight or profectiō be free from all suspition of Schisme If Monsignor fate voy when he fell into the hands of the Merchants that had beene deceiued by him should haue sayd I will be free from beating do you thinke it would haue serued his turne Truly both these Monsignors hauing so well deserued their fees as the blowes fell vpon the one notwithstanding his good desire to the contrary so not only the suspition but also the infamy both of Schisme and Heresy whether he will or will not must light vpon the other But because it is manifest that there is a Schisme or diuision betweene the Pope and him he would insinuate that all things considered not himselfe but the Pope must needs be the Schismatike which he seemeth to proue first by reason and secondly by the authority and example of S. Cyprian His reason is this in effect He that maketh new Articles of fayth either cōtrary or not contayned in the Scriptures and ancient Creeds and admitteth for Articles of Fayth such things as are indifferent in themselues and were neuer sufficiently defyned by the Church and condemneth those for heretiks whom the Church hath not sufficiently condemned he is the Schismaticke But such is the Pope who doth these things not the Bishop who detesteth them Ergo c. Wherein what he meaneth by not being sufficiently defined or condemned by the Church I know not But to giue you some light heerin you must vnderstand that according to the Catholike doctrine any Controuersy in matter of Faith may be sufficiently defyned foure manner of wayes That is to say First by the vniuersall consent and generall beliefe of all the Faithfull for as hath been proued it is impossible the vniuersal Church should erre in matter of Faith Aug. l. de haeres in fine And therfore S. Augustine sayth It is sufficient to know that the Church reputeth any doctrine not to be of Fayth that it be not receiued by any of the Faithfull Lib 1 cont Cresc c. 31. 33 ep 48.99 in ep 118. c 5. l. de v◅lit cred c. 17. And you know how he affirmeth that to dispute against the doctrine of the vniuersall Church is most insolent madnes and that not to giue thereunto the first place of authority is either extreme impiety or precipitate ignorance Secondly any thing may be defined to be matter of fayth by the vniforme consent of the Doctours of the Church who if they should erre the whole Church being bound to beleeue them must fall of necessity into errours with them Thirdly by a generall Councell confirmed by the Pope or lastly by the definition of the Pope himselfe decreing the same for the direction of the faythfull and establishment of the peace of the Church as hath been proued at large in the former Sections of the Popes Supremacy And because the question between the Pope and the Bishop in this place concerneth Schisme Heresy you are further to vnderstand that Schism according to the sense of the word signifieth a scissure or diuision of minds which is opposed to vnity and consequently to Charity which doth vnite the minds of the Faythfull And because the greatest vnity in the Church is that of the whole body which proceedeth from all the members with the head and whereunto the vnity and Charity of the particuler members among themselues is naturally referred as the part to the whole from hence it is that Schisme being taken for such a great dissention S. Thom. 2.2 quaest 39. art c. in corpore Hier. in c. 3. ad Tit. as is most contrary to the vnity of the Church is defined to be a rebellion against the head of the Church refusing to communicate with the members therof as they are subiect vnto him According whereunto S. Hierome giueth vs this doctrine between Heresy and Schisme sayth he we make this difference that Heresy holdeth some peruerse opinion Schisme also separateth from the Church by Episcopall dissention Epiph. sect 68. Aug. l de Haer. haer 69. l 2. cont Crese c. 4. 7. or dissention from the Bishop So Miletius making a proper congregation against Peter Bishop of Alexandria his Superiour was accompted a Schismaticke and no Heretike For as Epiphanius sayth his faith was neuer changed from the Catholike Church So likewise Cecilian being made Bishop of Carthage against the will of Donatus who obiected many crimes vnto him and with his followers departed from him the Donatists in the beginning were accōpted Schismatiks And in the same manner Optatus to proue Parmenian not Cecilian to be the Schismatike argueth in this manner For Cecilian sayth he went not out from Maiorinus thy predecessour but Maiorinus from Cecilian Neither did Cecilian depart from the Chayre of Peter or of Cyprian but Maiorinus in whose chayre thou succeedest and which before him had no beginning Wherfore in our case it wil be an easy matter to find out of these two the Pope or this Bishop which is the Scismatike For the Bishop rebelling against the Pope his Superiour if not by diuine yet at least by humaine law as himselfe will confesse dissenting from the chiefe Bishop of the Church of Christ going out and departing from the Chayre of Peter and ioyning himselfe vnto another Congregation most oposite thereunto it is more absurd for him to accuse the Pope of schisme then for a subiect taking armes against his Prince or ioyning with his enemyes to acuse the Prince himselfe of rebellion and
did put the Church in danger of pernicious dissention But it is no maruell though his intention were not bad that an ill cause should be no better defended wherein the greatest commendation of S. Cyprian in my opinion is this that as it is most credible he repented himselfe both of the matter and of the manner SECTION XXXIII VVherein the Bishop is manifestly conuinced of schisme out of the Authority and example of S. Cyprian alleadged by himselfe and the same authority for as much as it seemeth to concerne the Pope is sufficiently answered VVHERFORE this one authority alone produced by the Bishop being almost all the matter of substance and almost the only proofe which he bringeth for any thing he sayth in his whole booke taking vp all things vpon trust as hath been obserued you see notwithstanding how that out of this one place of S. Cyprian alleadged by him we haue proued the Popes Supremacy and the necessity not only of tradition but also of the iudgment of the Church for the defyning of matters in Controuersy and for the condemning of heresy Besides we haue shewed how notoriously he falsifieth the Ecclesiastical history how he cōdemneth not only S Stephen most impiously but also S. Cyprian most absurdly whome he sought most to commend And now that you may perceiue how much this authority of S. Cyprian maketh not only against his cause in generall and his owne credit in particuler but also against himselfe in the very poynt for the proofe and declaration whereof it is inserted by him Thus I argue He that without authority condemneth any other Bishop and refuseth to hold communion with him according to S. Cyprian may be iudged a Schismatike or to giue occasion of schisme but Marcus Antonius condemneth without authority not only his Colleague but also his Superiour the Bishop of Rome not of one errour but of inumerable heresies not of any ordinary fault but of suppressing the Councells of deprauing the Scriptures and ancient Fathers of vsurpation and tyrany ouer the Church of God oppressing pilling and spoyling the same and sucking the bloud of the members thereof And by consequence he condemneth likewise all other Bishops that communicate with him and are subiect to him calleth the vniuersall Church which is vnder the obedience of the Pope by the name of Babylon that is to say the Citty or congregation of the Diuell Therefore Marcus Antonius is a Schismatike according to his owne discourse and according to the words of S. Cyprian which he fondly alleadgeth to proue the contrary Secondly according to the processe of his owne discourse I argue thus He that goeth against the example of S. Cyprian proposed to the vniuersall Church for the auoyding of schisme falleth into the cryme of schisme But Marcus Antonius goeth directly against the example of S. Cyprian propounded by himselfe as a rule for the auoyding of schisme Therfore Marcus Antonius according to his owne rule is falne into the cryme of schisme That Marcus Antonius hath proceeded against his owne rule and the example of S Cyprian which he propoundeth is a thing most manifest For whereas S. Cyprian notwithstanding that he reputed the Pope almost all the vniuersall Church to be in manifest errour would neuer depart from the communion of the Pope but respected him so much that he communicated with those whome he held impure only because the Pope receiued them into his communion Marcus Antonius in the same case hath not only forsaken the Pope but also all those that are vnited with him whome otherwise he thinketh not impur e only because they do not separate themselues from the Pope but still remayne in his communion Wherfore these two arguments produced by himselfe are so conuincing that there needeth nothing els to confound him So that this proofe of his out of S. Cyprian being the substance of his booke and being withall so contrary to his cause to his credit and to himselfe in the poynt of Schisme whereof he intended to cleare himselfe therby may be sufficient to giue you to vnderstand of what substance the matter of his other booke is like to be when it shal be printed For my part I am verily perswaded if it be well vnderstood it wil be found to be more against the Protestants then the Catholikes and more contrary to himselfe then to either of the other And now to draw towards an end of this matter in the allegation of this authority out of S. Cyprian he is so much the more to be blamed in that being of such force against himselfe for as much thereof as concerneth the Popes authority it may full easily be answered For those words of S. Cyprian That none of them made himselfe the Bishop of Bishops c. may very well be vnderstood of those that were present at that Councell and not to conclude in that sentence the Bishop of Rome who truly may be sayd to be the Bishop of Bishops the Father of Fathers the Bishop and Father of the vniuersall Church and the like as hath been shewed That which he sayth A Bishop cannot be iudged but by God alone as he receiueth his authority from God alone ought to be vnderstood that he cannot be iudged in those things which are doubtfull obscure and hidden Aug. l. 3. de baptis cap. 3. For so S. Augustine himselfe doth expound him For hauing recited these words of S. Cyprian As I take it sayth he he meaneth in those questions which are not yet discussed with most cleere perspection And that S. Cyprian belieued that Bishops in cases of heresy or schisme Cyp. lib 5. epist 13. might be iudged and deposed by the Pope is euident in one of his Epistles to Pope Stephen where he exhorteth him that he would commaund the Bishop of Arles in France to be deposed and to appoint another in his place So that you see the childish arrow of this Bishop as it is shot vpward against the Pope doth not aryue vnto him but returneth with greater force to fall vpon his owne head and woundeth him in many places as hath been declared But now to do him a pleasure let vs suppose that Cyprian in these words did glance at S. Stephen and that he meant to taxe him for proceding as he thought too rigorously against him with what conscience or with what honesty I pray you can this strange Bishop alleadge these words of S. Cyprian spoken in the defence of a wrong cause as he knoweth and in his cōmotion anger against the Pope of the which it is most probable and according to S. Augustine we ought to thinke that he repented himselfe against so many playne places expresse doctrine of S. Cyprian as I haue cyted before and which for the full satisfactions of your selfe and the Reader in this poynt I shal be content to repeat in part at this present SECTION XXXIIII Many testimonyes and playne places are produced out of S. Cyprian wherby
thereunto I will make it the conclusion of this whole Treatise Wherefore Brother sayth S. Cyprian if thou wilt dayly consider the Maiesty of God from whome the ordinance of Priests proceedeth If thou wilt beare respect vnto Christ who with his holy pleasure and continuall presence gouerneth both the Prelates themselues the Church with the Prelates If thou wilt esteeme of the innocency of Priests not according to the hatred of man but according to the iudgment of God If thou wilt begin at length to repent thy ◅merity and pride and insolency If thou be contented to make a full and perfect satisfaction to God and his Christ whome I serue and vnto whome with a pure and immaculate mouth I offer continuall sacrifice both in peace persecution vpon these tearmes we may be brought to haue peace and communion with thee Thus though I haue beene much longer then I thought yet at length as I take it I haue sufficiētly cōfuted not only the little booke you sent me the other great volume which it threatneth but also the Author himselfe For I haue proued out of his own mouth that in the whole course of his turning and flying from the Catholike Religion there was neither wisdome nor humility nor obedience but only extreme confidence pride and presumption in his owne wit idle suspitions and iniurious surmyses of fraud and falshood in his own Maisters great ambition with great signes of fearefull Apostasy from that Order whereunto he was vowed strife contention with his Suffragans hatred malice against the Pope who defended them extreme ignorance or extreme impudency in accusing the Catholiks of innumerable errours in affirming the Protestant Religion to be the doctrine of the Fathers opprobrious and most intemperate speaches against the Pope his Superiour and as himselfe calleth him his most blessed Father impious indifferency and neutrality in Religion admiration of himselfe and his booke hypocrisy vnder the cloke of Charity Turkish sicophancy and most vnchristian adulation indiscretion falshood and dishonesty in producing the authority of S. Cyprian so much against his own cause against the truth of the story against himselfe in that poynt against the common and knowne doctrine of S. Cyprian to the contrary And therfore to omit that in this maister-peece of worke which he made to gayne himselfe credit for the rest of his books that are to follow he proueth nothing but euery where beggeth the question sheweth to dissent from the Protestants themselues whom he taketh vpon him to defend all his former vertues which I haue brieflly rehearsed being put togeather I thinke will be sufficient to make any thing that shall come from his penne to be vehemently suspected or altogeather despysed hereafter And truly these good qualityes of his which I may call his prayses because he hath no better do so manifest themselues in all the passages of his booke to euery iudicious Reader that there was little need of me or of any other to haue beene his Brother And now that according as I affirmed in the beginning you may perceiue the entrance of this strange Bishop into England to haue beene no other then the comming of a foule spanell to fawne vpon you who can do no lesse then beray you I frame this Sillogisme The Diuell perswadeth or-induceth no man to forsake the false or to imbrace the true Religion But as hath been shewed it was no other then the spirit of the Diuell that induced the Bishop to forsake the Catholike and to imbrace the Protestant Religion Therfore neither the Catholike can be the false nor the Protestant the true Religion If I had meant nothing els but to discouer the spirit of this man three or foure of the first Sections might haue sufficed for the tryall thereof But because I was desirous by this occasion to lay open and approue vnto you some of the chiefest grounds of the Catholike Religion by which your selues might easily refute whatsoeuer the same author may herafter publish in prosecution of his purposes I went forward and as the matter of his booke requyred First I gaue you a full and euident proofe of the Popes Supremacy And secondly I made it appeare most manifestly that the auncient Fathers taught the same doctrine which the Catholikes now professe and that they vtterly condemned the Protestants and were likewise condemned by them And lastly I haue shewed that as the Protestants of their part can giue no fundamentall reason of their faith nor shew any ground thereof and therefore haue no fayth at all so on the other side I haue declared that the motiues of the Catholike and of the Christian Religion are both the same and be in themselues most reasonable and most forceable to any mans iudgment or vnderstanding that shall duely consider or reflect vpon them Which three poynts being so clerely and manifestly proued doe plainly conuince that out of the Catholike Roman Church there is no saluation Whereof in seuerall places I haue also declared the reasons at large vnto you because that without obedyence vnto the Church as I haue proued there can neither be true fayth nor true iustice without both which it is impossible that God should be pleased or the soule of man be saued Wherefore considering how ready and desirous you haue alwayes professed your selfe to imbrace the truth if euer you came to vnderstand with whom it remayned I will vse no other perswasion but only for a conclusion of my former discourse Iren. l. 4. cont haer cap. 25. I will referre you to the graue Counsell of the most auncient Iraeneus whose words being very worthy of most attentiue consideration are these that follow Where the gifts and graces of God are bestowed there we ought to learne the truth With whom that succession of the Church which is from the Apostles remayneth and that which is sound and irreprouable in conuersation and that which is vndefiled and incorruptible in doctrine doth still continue For these be they who both keep and preserue our fayth and expound the Scriptures vnto vs without danger And now because this answere to your friendly Letter is growne to the iust bignesse of a booke for your greater ease and for the benefit of others it wil be sent to the print And although by meanes thereof it may be very long before you receiue it yet I imagine that when it cōmeth it wil be somewhat the better welcome And because I am verily perswaded Almighty God hath so ordayned that the fall of this Bishop shal be the occasion of the rysing and conuersion of many I will hope in respect of those excellent parts wherewith I know you are indued that if you be not the first you will not be the last that must be cōuerted by this meanes And so with the remembrance of ourauncient loue which I beseech Almighty God to make eternall I rest Your friend and seruant in Christ Iesus C. A. sufficiently knowne vnto
Monsig r fate voi OR A DISCOVERY OF THE DALMATIAN APOSTATA M. ANTONIVS DE DOMINIS AND HIS BOOKES By C.A. to his friend P.R. Student of the Lawes in the Middle Temple Matth. 10 vers 8. Gratis accepistis gratis date Permissu Superiorum M.DC.XVII TO THE READER CHRISTIAN discreet Reader by example of this Apostata thou maist perceiue how easy a thing it is for any man of the meanest capacity to build many wind-mills and Castles in the ayre alone with himselfe and how impossible to discouer but one of thē to the iudgment of others without inconueniences For things not found in truth fall of themselues and often oppresse the builders but howsoeuer they cannot stand if they be duely oppugned I had compassion of this poore mans simplicity reading the Booke which he published for excuse of his flight fraught with so many disaduantages against himselfe which we should not haue knowne if he had byn so wise as to haue kept his owne counsaile They are so many as they would require a greater volume to handle them all at large but some of the chiefest thou shalt find examined in this Treatise And because we may expect the like workmanship from the same workman in the other ten Bookes which he promiseth if he be not holpen by others better maisters of Art then himselfe to ease the labour of further censure hereafter if he be so bold as to publish them I haue thought good to preoccupate the answere of whatsoeuer he hath allready written or his friends may say for him hereafter vnder his name vpon the same subiect And to giue thee at once aforehand sufficiēt principles of Catholike truth wherewith by thy selfe thou maist easily confute his errours without further help ouerthrow the phantasticall Tower of Babel which he hath imagined For the Leuell layed to a crooked worke without any more discouereth what is out of order as the Philosopher teacheth Quod rectum est index sui curui And with this forewarning I betake thee to our Sauiour This 10. of Nouember 1617. THE TABLE OF THE Sections SECTION I. The Bishop his first Reason turned against himselfe And from thence are deduced three arguments which do plainly proue that he was deluded by the Diuell pag. 7. SECTION II. The three former Arguments inforced by three other Circumstances pag. 17. SECTION III. The Bishop his second Negatiue Argument is discussed pag. 22. SECTION IIII. Of the Bishop his Affirmatiue proofes and in particuler of those things that disposed his mind to make mutation of Religion pag. 30. SECTION V. The Bishops Motiues to change his Religion are discussed and the arguments of the ten bookes he promised are all reduceth to one question alone of the Popes Supremacy pag. 43. SECTION VI. Concerning the Popes Supremacy The state of the question is proposed and S. Peters Supremacy is proued by Scripture pag. 52. SECTION VII The former Expositions of the two places aforesayd togeather with S. Peters Supremacy in dignity doctrine and gouerement are proued out of the testimonyes of the ancient Fathers pag. 58. SECTION VIII The conclusion of the first point of this Controuersy which is also further confirmed by the Confession of the Protestants themselues pag. 70. SECTION IX The continuance of S. Peters authority is proued by Scripture and by the Fathers and by the confession of many Protestants and therof is inferred the succession of the Pope to S. Peter pag. 74. SECTION X. The Supremacy of the Pope and his succession to S. Peter is proued by the titles of his supreme dignity in the ancient Fathers and by the foure first generall Councells pag. 78. SECTION XI The Popes Supremacy is proued out of the point of the infallibility of his doctrine by the Authorityes of the ancient Fathers pag. 87. SECTION XII The Popes Supremacy is proued by his being priuiledged from errour in doctrine of Fayth out of the Authorityes of the Popes themselues pag. 99. SECTION XIII The Popes supremacy in Iudiciall authority is proued out of the testimonyes of the Popes theselus p. 104 SECTION XIIII The Popes Supremacy is proued by the ancient and continuall practise thereof in the Catholicke Church pag. 107. SECTION XV. The Conclusion of this discourse of the Popes Supremacy pag. 115. SECTION XVI The absurd and pernicious grounds of the Bishops ten Bookes and his Christian Commonwealth are further discouered and confuted pag. 119. SECTION XVII The substance of the Bishops ten books being thus confuted the mayne paynt of this other Booke which he maketh the ground of his Conuersion That the doctrine of the Protestants differeth little or nothing from the doctrine of the ancient Fathers is disproued by sundry generall reasons and by the Fathers themselues condemning the Protestants opinions for no lesse then Heresies pag. 130. SECTION XVIII The dissent of the Protestāts from the Fathers is proued out of the Protestants themselues condemning the Fathers pag. 141. SECTION XIX That the Protestants dissent very much from the doctrine of the Church is proued out of the Protestāts themselues condemning one another pag. 145. SECTION XX. The conclusion of this Tract concerning the Bishops motiues by occasion wherof the nature of a Motiue is declared the first Catholike motiue of the holynes sanctity of Catholike doctrine is propounded p. 152. SECTION XXI The former motiue is confirmed and by occasion thereof the necessity of keeping the Commaundments to obtaine Saluation is declared pag. 164. SECTION XXII The force of the second Motiue signifyed by the word Catholike in the Creed of the Apostles is declared pag. 176. SECTION XXIII The force of the former Motiue is further declared out of the authorityes of S. Augustine and out of the effect of the contrary doctrine pag. 181. SECTION XXIIII Foure other particuler motiues of the Conuersion of Nations of the Miracles of the Martyrdoms and of the vnion of the members of the Catholike Church are briefly propounded pag. 194. SECTION XXV Of the authority of the Catholike Church in generall pag. 202. SECTION XXVI The same authority and the grounds of Christian Fayth are further declared pag. 217. SECTION XXVII Wherein two motiues that is to say Feare of danger and the Instigation of a certaine spirit which induced the Bishop to change the place of his aboad are propounded and examined pag. 232. SECTION XXVIII Wherein the Bishop his zeale and desire to try which is the last Motiue that induced him to forsake his Countrey is discussed pag. 240. SECTION XXIX The first obiection of the Bishop against himself is discussed Wherein he affirmeth That albeit the King ought to be feared and may not be reprehended yet the Pope is not to be feared pag. 247. SECTION XXX Of Schisme which is the last obiection of the Bishop against himselfe wherein he is proued to be not only a Schismatike but also a manifest Heretik p. 253. SECTION XXXI Wherein is shewed that the authority and example of S. Cyprian alleadged by the
at the least no lesse vncertayne then the thing he proueth euen to himself as euery Reader may easily perceiue And therfore to perswade his friends that he himselfe at the least is well perswaded of it he should haue declared what rules of Scripture they were that he obserued which perchance would haue troubled him more then his great booke with the 10. hornes which was no lesse then 10. whole yeares a making But this man hauing lost his credit at home and being new come into a strange Countrey taketh vp all vpon trust without pawne or surety which is another point wherein he also resembleth Monsignor fate voi And in the end withall his borrowing like vnto his predecessour he may chance though in another kind to be well beaten for his labour And now I might here dispute how improbable the story is which he telleth and how grosse the inuention which he seeketh to put vpon you That hauing no knowledge of your doctrine either by Speach or Reading any of your bookes he should fall iust vpon your Parlamentall Religion For first both Geneua and Saxony were in his way and supposing that the English Angells might haue more power with him then the poore Guardian spirits of those other Countryes Secondly I might obiect his vehement suspition wherof he speaketh pag. 8. That Catholike Authours did not faithfully deliuer the opinions of the Protestants against whom they wrote Which if it be true no man can tell how possibly he should know what points they held either in England or in any other Countrey against the Church of Rome Wherof it would follow that at his comming from Venice he could only be perswaded that the Romane Religion was false and that all other were sufficiently true and that therevpon he resolued to carry his sheres with him and to cut out his Religion according to the fashion of the Countrey where he came In the meane time forsaking his former fayth which though neuer so white his owne pride and malice against the Pope made him thinke to be black and bedecking himselfe with the party-coloured feathers of all other moderne Religions to be the better welcome in all places Pag. 15. we shall plucke him anone like Esops crow and shew him to be naked without any religion at all as you will see heereafter But for the present letting his strange conuersion passe for a Protestant Myracle that which I lay hold on at this tyme and whereupon I must insist a little before I go any further is the first part of his Argument wherein he calleth God and his conscience to witnesse That the persuasion of no mortall man of any sort came euer to his eaves which might moue him to this determination That no man at any time did euer inuite him to it That he vsed the counsell of none at all nor euer conferred or spake with any man about it Pag. 4. That he neuer read any Protestant booke And that if any Roman Prelate detested such bookes he detested them aboue measure For if this be true then say I that hereof it wil euidently follow that he was deluded by the Diuell and was not directed by the spirit of God as he pretendeth And so without any more ado as our Sauiour sayd of the wicked seruant Out of his owne mouth you may condemne him For the first part of his argument ouerthroweth not only the second but also the principall conclusion of his whole booke and sheweth that the alteration he hath made could not proceed from God Which now I will proue vnto you by three arguments very plaine and in my opinion most conuincing SECTION I. The Bishop his first Reason turned against himselfe And from thence are deduced three arguments which do plainly proue that he was deluded by the Diuell BVT first you must note that being in Venice if he had listed to conferre he could not haue wanted sufficient meanes and choice of men with whome he might haue treated most securely For besids al Catholike Deuines with whome he might haue dealt in Confession and vnder the seale of secresy there were others inough of his owne hayre both Italians and strangers and some also of our owne Nation Qui se putant aliquid esse by whose acquaintance also he might haue procured bookes of al your Authours out of Germany France and England And perchance in those declining parts vnder the State of Venice there be too many of such bookes already Supposing therfore which cannot be denied that he might easily haue gotten both men and bookes if he would as they say but haue wished for them out of his owne mouth against himselfe and against the spirit that brought him thither I reason thus The spirit of God is the spirit of wisdome in which respect Goodnes in Scripture is tearmed the Wisdome of God as Vice on the contrary is called Folly And therfore such as are gouerned by the spirit of God Prou. 8.12 are gouerned by wisdome and by the rules of wisdome set down in Scripture But Wisdom dwelleth in Counsell according whereunto it was prophesied of our Sauiour who is the wisdom of his Father Esa 9.6 that his name should be called Admirable Counsellour Esa 11.2 and that the Spirit of Counsell should rest vpon him with which agreeth that which he sayd where two or three be gathered togeather in my name I am there in the midst of them Matth. 18.20 And who knoweth not that one of the principall gifts of his Holy Spirit is called Donum Consilij Which is nothing els but a certaine effect of his grace in the harts of al his children wherby they are aptly disposed to receiue spirituall aduice and wholesom counsell Whereof it followeth that the Bishop who so much despised all kind of counsell in this his probation of spirit could not be gouerned by the spirit of God nor by the rules of wisedome set downe in Scripture For further profe wherof you may remember how in the bookes of Wisdom there is nothing more recōmended vnto vs Prou. 2.12 then to order our affayres by counsell Counsell shall keep thee that thou mayst be deliuered from the euill way and from the man that speaketh peruersly That is to say from the way of perdition and from the Diuell from whom the Bishop admitting no counsell had no meanes to be deliuered Againe Eccles 38.27 Confer thy buysines with thy friend My Sonne do nothing without counsell and of thy doing thou shalt neuer repent thee Which the Bishop in this weighty busines of his soule not forseeing may be sure that the scourge of repentance will follow after him Prou. 15.22 Againe Where there is no counsell there is distraction or dissipation of thoughts But where there are many Counsellours cogitations are confirmed Now the thoughts of the Bishop in this case wanting Counsellours to confirme them could therefore tend to no other end but only to that dissipation diuision which
seek after it sheweth to haue so much pride and selfe-conceit as is sufficient to make him vnworthy Besides that it is a thing expresly directly against the institute of the Society wherein this man liued to seeke and hunt for preferment Euery man in the vocation whereunto he is called let him remaine sayth S. Paul 1. Cor. 7.20 And our Sauiour He that putteth his hand to the plough and looketh backe is not fit for the Kingdome of God Luc. 9.61 according whereunto such as are professed in any Religious Order being afterward made Bishops are bound to the obseruation of their vowes so farre forth as the exercise of their digdity and function will permit But this man though forsaking Gods plough wherunto his hand was consecrated though breaking his first vowes for the which according to S. Paul he should feare to be damned doth thereby thinke to haue made himselfe fit to be made a gouernour in Gods kingdome which is the Church of Christ truly suspecting as he did the Catholike doctrine to be false and fraudulent he might better haue suspected that being in this case he was no fit man to be made a Bishop whose office it is to maintayne and defend it And I meruaile knowing himselfe to be a dog Pag. 24. that began to take part with the wolues more then with the sheep not thinking it fit that they should trust their shepheards but rather desiring that they might heare what the wolues could say for themselues and hand to hand debate their reasons with them I maruaile I say with what good conscience such a dog could thinke himselfe fit to be made a sheepheard To that which he sayeth of printed Sermons and his Maisters dictates I answere first that although it were true yet because they be no rules of faith and that the Catholikes are not bound to defend in all thinges either the one or the other as himselfe knoweth well inough therfore such scandalls as these should not haue moued him to depart from the vnity of the Church of God Secondly I say that if it were not altogeather false it should haue beene proued by him one way or other something would had beene alleadged out of those Sermonaries whome he so much reuyleth and some one point or other would haue beene vrged for an instance wherein his Maisters did contradict the Fathers Vnles he thought his Readers to be so many Pots without couers that should receiue any thing by infusion which he pleaseth to powre or let fall into them Or vnlesse you will excuse him by saying that as when he was conuerted to your Religion he disdayned to heare reason so now intending to conuert others he scorneth as much to affoard any reason for that he sayth Wherin he doth wisely in one respect for bringing no proofe in partiduler he saw that albeit no man could in reason beleeue him yet it should be hard for any man to disproue him But notwithstanding all his policy to put something more in the ballance of your iudgment besides his yea and my no for the deciding of this matter betwixt vs I will giue you the testimony of Syr Edwyn Sands Syr Edwin Sands relation of relig Sect. 6. a man as I heare much esteemed in England in his owne words which are these In their Sermons much matter of faith and piety is eloquently deliuered by men surely of wonderfull zeale and spirit And for your better information herein I pray you do but inquyre of others that haue been in those parts and are men of vnderstanding what kind of preachers there are and inquire likewise of your Schollers at home what they thinke of those Schoole-deuines whose bookes are brought from thence and are commonly sould and much read in England For it is very probable that neuer in any age since Christian Religion began to flourish in the world there haue beene so many I say so many the like excellent Preachers and profound Deuines in the Catholike Church as we haue seen and heard in this age of ours And thus much may suffice to haue obserued in the first kind of those his proofes which I called Affirmatiue alleadged by him as vndoubted signes to shew that God was the author of his comming thither Wherein notwithstanding you see how the serpent hauing found him to haue but a weake head of his owne with a giddy spirit and a shallow vnconstant brayne first deluded him with vayne surmyses and false suspitions that the truth was errour and afterward thrust him out of his Order which protected him that thereby he might haue the more force vpon him And lastly set him vp to be seen aloft as it were vpon the pinacle of the Temple where he knew that in respect of his giddynes and Pride he was not able to stand to the end that his owne victory might be the more glorious and the Bishops fall more famous SECTION V. The Bishops Motiues to change his Religion are discussed and the arguments of the ten books he promised are all reduced to one question alone of the Popes Supremacy HITHERTO you haue heard of those things that did somewhat prepare him to change Religion and hitherto as he sayth he resisted in himselfe more or lesse these motions or suggestions that were contrary to his former faith It followeth now to consider what moued him directly to this strange mutation which must needs be very wel worth the consideration For you may easily imagine that being a man of his quality learning experience he will say what may be sayd and lay downe such prudent motiues sound reasons and well grounded proofes if any such may be found as the truth of them shal be so apparant and conuincing that no indifferent or well disposed mynd shal be able to resist them He beginneth therfore and sayth that of a Bishop being made an Archbishop two accidents fell out that compelled him to study these matters more earnestly and more eagerly then before he did and made him to ouerthrow or to ouerturne or turne ouer as you please to expound him more then once or twice the Fathers the Canons the Councells and ancient Records of the Catholike Church The first occasion was that the Court of Rome his Suffragan Bishops that were vnder him began to perturbe his Metropolitan rights The second that a little after the Interdict of Venice there came bookes from Rome taxing the Bishops of the Venetian State who did not obey to be but sheepish rude and ignorant men without courage or conscience in which second passage he discouereth not only his pride and contentious spirit in seeking to supprese his owne Suffragans and in resisting the publique authority of the Court of Rome in the Interdict and in maintayning the sheep against the sheepheard which is far against the vnity which he pretendeth but also he doth manifest so much hatred malice and enuy against the Pope because he opposed himselfe to his vniust pretences and
defended his Suffragans against him as was no lesse then sufficient to make a man in his state and of his opinion become a formall Heretike This therefore I take to be the last disposition that made him a fit instrument for the spirit of Heresy and whereby his enemy intred into him as he entred into Iudas and tooke full possession of him To the which I am rather induced because a man may easily see that his ouerthrow in his Suite against his Suffragans sticks deeply in his mynd moueth him to seek reuenge by the ouerthrow of that authority which stood against him For afterward page 22. he maketh it one of the principall causes of his departure and complaineth with no lesse vntruth then malicious spirit and extreme bitternes of hart that Bishops now a dayes vnder the Pope haue but the name of Bishops that al their Iurisdiction is taken from thē that they are become vile contemptible and miserable subiect not only to the Pope but also to Cardinalls Congregations Legates Inquisitors and innumerable Orders of Religious men who now haue greater facultyes then Bishops and drowne their authority Where also he sayth that the Pope is now a temporall Monarch and that the Church is become a vineyard to make him drunke and a flocke to feed him with her owne bloud All which considered I do thinke verily that they who intend to write against him and to accuse and calumniate as he sayth his departure from them will hardly be able to produce more pregnant and vehement arguments to shew that he was expulsed and driuen forth by the Diuell then he himselfe hath derected in his owne discourse which he maketh to proue that he was sent away by God Almighty For besides his leuity and inconstancy without any cause suspecting the Catholike Church to be erroneous his disobedience and Apostasy in forsaking his Order his ābition in seeking one preferment after another being most vnworthy of any his vniust contention with those that were vnder him he paynteth out his owne malice and euny against the Pope togeather with the occasions therof in such manner as if he desired the whole world should take notice of it Whereunto if we adde his extreme pride which he discouereth in the manner of his conuersion disdayning to read any booke or to speake with any man about it and in all the passages of his former natration also in that which followeth where he sayth that he hath no Superiour aboue him making himselfe equall with the Pope in spirituall matters and in authority to reprehend and amend all other Bishops What can be imagined that his aduersaries will bring against him which himself vnder the pretence of his own prayse hath not heere confessed Tatianus the authour of the Encratite Heresy as Nicephorus reporteth being blowne great with the swelling opiniō of much learning Niceph. l. 4. hist c. 4. as Superiour to others in knowledge began to promulgate a particuler doctrine This man contemning the counsel or help of others protesteth to promulgate that doctrine which he neuer receiued of any Thebutes one of the seauen first Arch-heretikes depraued the virginity of the Church Euseb l. 5. cap 5. as Eusebius reporteth because he had the repulse in his suit for a Bishopricke This man seeketh to defame the Church because he was ouerthrowne in his sute against the Bishops that were vnder him Nouatus Valentine Niceph. l. 5. cap. 4. and Aerius separated themselues from the Church Tertull. Epiphan her 75. because they could not obtaine to be Bishops of Rome as Nicephorus Tertullian and Epiphanius do record And this man deuydeth himselfe from the same Church because he would not be subiect to the Bishop of Rome Now therefore to go forward this zealous man by those two occasions of discontentment cōming to read the Fathers and other records of the Catholike Church with those spectacles of Pryde Ambition Malice and the rest whereof I haue spoken before let vs see what he findeth in them For now he saith that his eyes were opened and that he saw easily plainely and perfectly that the Churches whome Rome had made her enemyes which are very many saith he did differ little or nothing frō the pure doctrine of the ancient Church That in Rome there are coyned euery day innumerable articles of Faith without any foundation with extreme violence That Rome hath puld out the eyes of the Church of Christ by suppressing the sacred Councells That the Catholike Church is now confined to be made the Court of Rome That in it nay in the Pope alone the whole spirit of Christ promised to the Catholike Church is belieued to reside That whatsoeuer hath been spoken heertofore in honour of the vniuersal Church is now most wrongfully inforced vpon the Court of Rome alone whereof it followeth that the soules of men being thereby miserably deceiued and blinded they fall togeather with their blind guydes into the pit of perdition Thus he these are the principall causes which he setteth downe for the chang of his religiō But what proofe what euidence what instance what reason or probability doth he alledge to persuade his reader of the truth of these things or any of them truely none at all but only this that himselfe sayth it A man altogeather a stranger to you no way recommended either for wisedome honesty or learning but rather if not iustly to be suspected of worse yet at the least to be iustly condemned of that extreme Malice Pryde and Vanity of hart which himselfe discouereth If any man be made of such rotten earth as to suffer this Ignoramus to set in him such leekes as these without any other stick but with his finger or to shew himselfe such an vncouered pot as I said before as to receiue what liquor soeuer this strang Bishop should please to infuse into him such a one is worthy to be guld indeed by this Dalmatian But he that is wise should cōsider at least with what false eyes he found these things if it be true that he hath read any part of the Fathers the Canons and the Councells as himselfe reporteth For he that considereth this will no more belieue him though he should speake as he thinketh which I thinke he doth not then he will belieue the Father of lyes that doth delude him If the question had been whether or no he would haue sayd as much as here he doth he had indeed conuinced his reader and confounded all those that should haue writ against him But the question being not what he could say but what he could proue and whether it be true that he sayth and intending as he doth to arme his reader against the accusations that are like to come against him to make it manifest that his spirit is from God and in fine to edify all the world with his narration you must needes graunt that he sheweth extreme weaknes in making no better defence no
haue to say into one argument alone which I frame in this manner S. Peter the Apostle had Supremacy ouer the whole Church of Christ but the Pope of Rome is only the true Successour of S. Peter therefore the Pope of Rome in the place of S. Peter hath also Supremacy ouer the whole Church of Christ Out of which argument you may obserue that the state of this Controuersy consisteth in the proofe of two points The first of S. Peters Supremacy and the second of the Popes succession to S. Peter For probation of the first point out of almost twenty places of Scripture alleadged by Bellarmine togeather with the exposition of the holy Fathers thereupon acknowledging therein the Primacy or Principality of S. Peter in the gouernement of the Church of God I will produce but two places alone The first out of the sixten of S. Matth. Matt. 10.17 where the same was promised in these words And Iesus answering sayd vnto him Blessed art thou Symon Bariona because flesh and bioud hath not reuealed it vnto thee but my Father which is in heauen And I say to thee that thou art Peter that is to say a Rock and vpon this rocke will I build my Church and the gates of hell shall not preuatle against it And I will giue to thee the keyes of the kingdome of Heauen And whatsoeuer thou shalt bind on earth it shall be bound also in the heauens And whatsoeuer thou shalt loose on earth it shall be loosed also in the Heauens Concerning which words there are three thinges which I find to be questionable The first what our Sauiour promised vnder those tearmes of a Rocke or Foundation of the keyes of the kingdome of Heauen and of binding and loosing in earth and heauen Which because the foundation is the rule and strength of the whole buylding and that the keyes commaund the whole Citty opening and shutting the gates therof and that the sentence of a Supreme iudge doth bind and loose vpon earth It seemeth to be manifest that nothing els can be meant thereby but only the rule the commaund and the gouernement of the Church as it is compared to a building or to a Citty and as it is called the kingdome of God in Scripture In which sense our Sauiour himselfe who of himselfe is the supreme King Head and gouernour of the whole Church is many tymes called a Rocke therein And he is also sayd to beare the key of Dauid and to haue the key of Hell And he himselfe affirmeth Da. 2.34 1. Cor. 10.4 1. Pet. 28 Esa 22.22 Apoc. 1.18.3.7 Matt. 11.30 the yoake which he imposeth to be sweet and the burthen which he byndeth vpon vs to easy And in the same sense all the ancient Fathers haue euer vnderstood this text of Scripture without any difference or variation betweene them The second thing which may be questionable herein is the person to whome these thinges were promised which being described to be S. Peter with so many circumstances of his Name and Syrname and the Name of his Father of the prayse of his former speach and Christs answere thereunto and so many particles applyable only to S. Peter as Iesus answering sayd to Him blessed art Thou flesh and bloud hath not reuealed to Thee and I say to Thee Thou art Peter and vpon this Rocke which according to the originall is this in English Thou art Peter and vpon this Peter or thou art Rocke and vpon this Rocke I will build my Church And againe vnto Thee will I giue the keyes c. Whatsoeuer Thou shalt bind c. whatsoeuer Thou shalt loose c. I say if all these things considered the person of S. Peter being thus particulerly described doubt may be made vnto whom the Gouernemēt was promised then we may well say that nothing is plaine but that all thinges are most ambiguous in holy Scripture Wherefore in this also the Fathers do all agree and all of them do gather out of this place that the gouernement of Gods Church was giuen to S. Peter Only S. Augustine who maketh no question to whome the keyes and the authority of binding and loosing was giuen in this place expoundeth sometymes the word Rocke to be meant of Christ whome S. Peter confessed Because saith he our Sauiour sayd not tu es Petra but tu es Petrus wherein he was deceiued as all men acknowledg not vnderstanding the Syriack tongue which maketh no more difference betweene the Masculine and Feminine then doth our English Aug. lib. 1. Retract cap. 21. And S. Augustine himselfe also hauing oftentymes expounded the word Rocke to be meant of S. Peter leaueth both these expositiōs to the choyce of the Reader without condemning either of them The rest of the Fathers out of this place do all affirme the Church to be built both vpon Peter and vpon the Faith of Peter or vpon Peter in respect of his faith which is al one For which faith our Sauiour promised to reward him by building his Church vpon him and by giuing such solidity and stability thereunto that the gates of Hell should not prenayle against it Lastly because the Fathers do oftentymes affirme that S. Peter receiued this power and authority in the person of the Church for the benefit of the Church the last thing questionable cōcerning these words is this Whether he receiued the same as a Procter or substitute alone or as the head and chief of all the Apostles For in both of these respects one man may represent the persons of many as in it selfe it is manifest But it seemeth also that this is a question of that wherof no question can be made For al the Apostles being present there was no necessity nor apparence neither why nor how they should make S. Peter their atturney And our Sauiour naming S. Peter in particuler Symon Bariona commending him in particuler Blessed art thou and confirming vnto him the name of Rocke in particuler it must needs be vnderstood that to him in particuler these promises were made of the regiment of Gods Church and of founding the same vpon him in such manner as that the gates of Hell should not preuayle against it And in this also the Fathers do generally agree as you will perceiue by those testimonyes which shall be produced thereby The second place of Scripture which I will alleadge for the proofe of S. Peters supreme authority is in the second of S. Iohn Ioan. 21.15 for what was promised in the 16. of S. Matthew was there performed For calling him by the name of Symon by the name of Peter and by the name of Symon the sonne of Iona to signify that he applyed his speach to himselfe alone and asking him first whether he loued our Sauiour more then the rest and twice more whether he loued him whereby our Sauiour would signify that he commended to his loue the thing that was most deare vnto him he commaunded
ad Eulogium Alexan. yet the only seat of the prince of the Apostles preuayled in authority of principality which was of one man in three places For he aduanced the seat wherein he was pleased to rest and to end this present life that is to say Rome He honored the seat to the which he sent his disciple the Euangelist that is to say the seat of Alexandria whither he sent S. Marke He confirmed the seat wherein he sate six years before he left it that is to say wherein he left Euodius to succeed him Thus S. Gregory And as S. Peter S. Marke and Euodius were in Order one aboue another so also the seat wherin S. Peter dyed was the first that of S. Marke was the second and the other of Euodius was the third And each of the three hauing been some wayes the seat of Peter was in respect thereof preferred in honour authority before all the other seats of the rest of the Apostles Epist 3. Epist 53 ad Anatholiū Of this also do make mention S. Anacletus and S. Leo. And in particuler in the honour of the seat of Rome the Church did anciently celebrate a feastiual day called the Feast of the Chayre of Peter which also hath beene euer since obserued August serm 15. de SS Whereof S. Augustine sayth in one of his sermons the institution of this dayes solemnity by our Elders tooke the name of the Chayre c. Worthily therefore do the Churches celebrate the originall day of that Chayre which the Apostles vnder tooke for the welfare or safty of the Churches Vnto these testimonyes which are more then sufficient I will adde some other authorityes which make mention of gouernement to declare what manner of superiority it was that was conferred to S. Peter Eusebius (a) Euseb serm de S. Ioan. Euā Emissenus calleth him the Pastour of Pastours S. Augustine (b) In cap. 21. Ioan. sayth he committed to Peter his sheep to be fed that is to be taught gouerned S. Chrysostome (c) In cap. 21. Ioan. Others omitted he speaketh to Peter alone to whome he committed the care of his brethren c. and the care of the world S. Ambrose (d) Serm. 48. detem pore He Peter was assumed to be the Pastour and receiued the others to be gouerned And againe (e) ad Gallatas 1. vnto him among the Apostles our Sauiour delegated the care of Churches And againe (f) Lib. 4. de fide c. 3. Could he not confirme his fayth Peters to whome with proper authority he gaue a kingdome S. Cyprian (g) De vnitat Eccl. vpon him alone he built his Church and commaunded him to feed his sheep and although he gaue all his Apostles c. equall power yet that he might shew vnity he appointed one Chayre alone where also he calleth him the head the well and the root of the Church S. Chrysostome (h) Ho. 11. in Matt. he made Peter the Pastour of the Church to come and after God only can grant that among so many and so great flowds breaking in with fury the Church to come may remaine immoueable whose Pastour and head is but a poore fisher ignoble And againe God the Father did set Hieremy ouer one Nation alone but him Peter Christ hath set ouer the whole world Theophilact (i) In cap. vlt. Ioan. dinner being ended he commended to Peter the Prefectship of the sheep of all the world not vnto another but vnto him he gaue it And againe (k) In cap. 22. Luc. S. Peter after his denyall was to receiue the Primacy of all men and the Prefectship of the world Damascene (l) Orat. de transfig as Prclate he receiued the stern or gouernemeut of the whole Church S. Maximus (m) Ser. 3. de Apost of how great merit was S. Peter with our Lord that vnto him after the Oare or guidance of a little boat the sterne or gouernement of the whole Church should be deliuered Leo (n) Ser. 3. de an assū out of the whole world Peter alone was chosen who was set ouer the vocation of al Natiōs ouer all the Apostles and all the Fathers of the Church that there being in the people of God many Priests and many Pastors Peter might properly gouerne all whome Christ also doth principally gouerne Eusebius Emissenus (o) vbi supra He Peter gouerneth subiects and Prelates therfore he is the Pastour of all because besides lambs and sheep there is nothing in the Church Bernardus (p) Lib. 2. de confid Thou alone art the Pastour of all not only of the sheep alone but also of the Pastours You will aske me how I proue it out of the words of our Lord to which I do not say of the Bishops alone but also of the Apostles were all the sheep committed so absolutly and without distinction feed my sheep sayth he to whome is it not plaine that he designed not some but assigned all Nothing is excepted where nothing is distinguished And not to cloy you with ouer many testimonyes in a matter so euident I will conclude with our Countrey man S. Bede (q) Hom. in vigil 3. Andreae Therefore sayth he did S. Peter specially receiue the keyes of the kingdome of heauen and the principality of Iudiciall power that all the faithfull through the world might vnderstand that no such as separate themselues any kind of way from the vnity of his fayth and society can be absolued from the bands of their sinnes nor enter into the gate of the kingdome of Heauen Out of that which hath beene so copiously alleadged if you please to reflect a little thereupon you may gather the reason and ground of this institution of one Supreme herd in the Church of God Which also because it doth more confirme the truth of that which hath beene sayd I will open a little briefly declare vnto you First then there is no question to be made but that our Sauiour Christ whose workes are perfect did therfore ordayne his Spouse the Church to be gouerned by one alone in his owne place vpon earth because this is the most excellent and most perfect kind of Gouernement as Bellarmine proueth at large out of all the ancient Fathers and Philosophers And therefore the gouernement of the Church and Commonwealth of the Iewes in the old Testament being ordayned by God himself was Monarchicall or of one in chief Which was also a Type and figure of the same kind of gouernement of the Church of Christ to be established in the new Testament The originall cause therfore and formall reason of this kind of gouernement and institution in the Church of Christ was the perfect vnity of the members therof which our Sauiour specially intended For the which also he prayed Ioan. 17.21.22 Ioan. 13.35 Lib. 1. ep 8. and would that his Disciples might be knowne thereby from the rest of the
respect S. Augustine said Aug. l. de pasto c. 13. as you haue heard that S. Peter receiued his authority in the person of the Church that is to say present and to come for himselfe and his successors And in the same sense he teacheth els where that all good Pastors are in one Pastor And S. Cyprian affirmed as I haue alleadged Cyp. ep 4◠55. that in the Church there is one God one Christ one Chayre founded vpon Peter one Priest one Iudge for the tyme in the place of Christ. Which is also confirmed by the words of our Sauiour where he sayth There should be one sheepfold and one Pastour Ioan. 10.16 For as we gather thereof that the fold must alwayes be one so also the Pastour thereof being One who was S. Peter must alwayes remayne One in his successors and our Sauiour would thereby signify that the vnity of the fold depended of the vnity of that one Pastor to whom he meant to giue the charge and to commend the feeding of it Which also the Fathers demonstrate to be most necessary for the auoyding and extinguishing of Schismes and Heresyes in the Church of God as you haue seene before And some of the Protestants themselues as Whitgift Protestant Apology vbi supra Melancthon Luther and others do willingly confesse it and especially Doctour Couell who affirmeth that the Church should be in far worse case then the meanest common Wealth nay almost then a den of theeues without it I cannot omit his reason which is also the common reason of the Catholikes That if this Superiority were necessary amongst the Apostles much more was it necessary among other Bishops after their decease neither will I omit that it belonged vnto the charge and Pastorall Office of S. Peter to prouide that the sheep of Christ after his death might not be scattered and deuided for the want of one common and vniuersall Pastour Wherfore by this it is euident that the Pastorall function of S. Peter was to remayne in the Church of God And therefore it descended to the Bishop of Rome his only successour which is a most strong argument in it selfe may serue vs withall for a good step or degree to the rest of the proofes that follow SECTION X. The Supremacy of the Pope and his succession to S. Peter is proued by the titles of his supreme dignity in the ancient Fathers and by the foure first generall Councells VVHEREIN we will begin with those titles appellations which haue byn giuen by the Councells and ancient Fathers to the Bishops of Rome being the same that were giuen to S. Peter alone with many others equiualēt therunto For as in the Cōmonwealth none can haue the title of Cesar but he that succedeth vnto Cesar so also in the Church if the Pope inherite the same titles that were proper to S. Peter in respect of his supreme dignity it must needs be graunted that he succedeth likewise in the place of the same dignity to S. Peter First therefore he is called the head of the Church Chalcedon act 1 which title the whole Councell of Chalcedon for example being one of the foure first and receiued in England by act of Parliament gaue to S. Leo Bishop of Rome in their Epistle to him where also the Church of Rome is called the head of all Churches Secondly Epist ad Dam. S. Hierome calleth Pope Damasus the foundation and Rock of the Church and said that he knew the Church to be buylt vpon him S. Augustine likewise tearmeth the sea of Rome the Rock of the Church Thirdly S. Ambrose intitleth Pope Siricius the Pastour of the flock of our Lord. Fourthly Epist 81. ad Cyril he is tearmed the Apostolicall man his seat the Apostolicall Seat his Office Apostleship and his dignity Apostolicall sanctity as you may easily obserue in the authorityes that follow which words without any other addition of place or person cannot be giuen to any but to him alone For the like supreame authority and Iurisdiction vnto his ouer the whole Church hauing been granted only to the Apostles and after there decease being deriued from S. Peter the Prince of the Apostles vnto the Pope alone in these two respects the excellency of his vniuersall authority descending from the Prince of the Apostles is properly called Apostolicall which tearme by it selfe alone without limitation cannot therefor be giuen to any other Fiftly in the Councell of Chalcedon he was intitled the vniuersall Archbishop and Patriarch of great Rome which stile albeit S. Gregory refused in the sense as it was vsed by Iohn Bishop of Constantinople and that to abate his pryde S. Gregory began to write himselfe neither Patriarch nor Bishop but Seruus seruorum Dei yet he admitted the Councell of Chalcedon Ioan Diac. in eius vita l. 2. cap. 1. in the particuler vse of this tearme signifying that the Pope was Bishop of the vniuersall Church as also many of S. Gregoryes Predecessours had intitled themselues before him Sixthly Greg. l. 4. epist 32. Bern. l. 2. de consid S. Bernard among others called the Pope the Vicar of Christ Stephen Archbishop of Carthage writing to Pope Damasus in the name of three Affrican Councells directeth his Epistle To the most Blessed Lord aduanced with Apostolicall dignity Apostolico culmine sublimato the holy Father of Fathers Damasus Pope and chiefe Bishop of all Prelates Lastly to be short the word Pope without any addition is giuen only to the Pope In which sense we read in the Chalcedon Councell The most blessed and Apostolicall Man the Pope giueth vs this in charge where also he is called Act. 16. Pope of the vniuersall Church And in the Breuiary of Liberatus we read that none is Pope ouer the Church of the whole world but only the Roman Bishop Thirdly the succession of the Pope to S. Peter and the supreame authority of the Roman Church in regard thereof is proued by the Councells wherof a long treatise might be made but for breuityes sake because the Protestants seeme to respect and reuerence with S Gregory the great the foure first generall Councells as the foure Euangelists and that they are also receiued by act of Parliament anno 10. of Queene Elizabeth I will alleadge no other but those and out of them so much alone as may be sufficient to establish the Popes Supremacy and to let you see That if the Catholikes might be admitted to any kind of iust and equall try all how easily it were for them to claime Toleration to iustify the Religion euen by the statutes at the cōmon Law which are now in force in England The sixt Canon therefore of the first Councell of Nice beginneth in this manner The Roman Church hath alwayes had Primacy and lot the ancient custome contynue in Aegypt or Lybia and Pentapolis that the Bishop of Alexandria haue power ouer them all wherof the reasō followeth quoniam
the most Blessed and most Apostolike man the Pope of Rome who is head of all Churches whereby his Apostleship hath pleased to cōmaund that Dioscorus the Archbishop of the Alexandrians should not sit in the Councell all the Councell obayed And afterwards the letters of Pope Leo being read Act. 2. all the Fathers of the Councell sayd so we belieue Peter hath spoken so by Leo. And in the third action Leo is often called vniuersall Patriarch and vniuersall Archbishop And Iutianus one of the Bishops sayd vnto one of the Popes Legates that they held the Primacy of the most holy Leo and desired them as holding his place to giue sentence against Dioscorus wherunto the Councell consented and sentence was giuen accordingly in the Popes name against him In which Councell also Theodoretus who was deposed by a Synod of Ephesus being restored by the Pope was admitted to enter with these words Let the most reuerend B. Theodoret come in and be made partaker of the Councell because the most holy Archbishop Leo hath restored his Bishoprick vnto him S. Thomas of Aquin recitoth out of the same Councell the confirmation of appeales of all Bishops accused of any great cryme to the Pope of Rome and that other things defined by him should be held or receiued as from the Vicar of the Apostolike Throne and that the whole Councel made this acclamation to Pope Leo Let the most holy Apostolike and vniuersall Patriarch liue many yeares Lastly the same Coūcell in their Epistle to Leo confesse him to be their head and they the members speaking of the wickednes of Eutiches after all this say they ouer and aboue he extended his madnes euen against him to whom the custody of the vineyard was committed by our Sauiour that is against thy Apostolicall Holynes and he thought to excommunicate thee that doest hasten to vnite the body of the Church And in cōclusion with many faire words they desire him to grant vnto them that the Church of Constantinople might haue the second place after the Apostolike Sea which notwithstanding he would not grant them nor was it granted by his successours for a long tyme after And thus much of the foure first generall Coūcells which they that receiue them according to the Statute must needs grant that the Pope hath always had Primacy that he is the successor to S. Peter the head of the whole fayth of all the rest of the Apostles and the vicar of Christ the like That his care and study is the ground and foundation of the Church that he is the vniuersall Archbishop head of the Church that no Councells ought to be celebrated without his sentence that it is necessary the Councells should declare vnto him what passed in them that whatsoeuer he defined should be receiued as from the vicar of Christ That causes of great difficulty must be referred vnto him that all Bishops may appeale vnto him to the Church of Rome as to their Mother that he commaundeth in Councells that he may depose Patriarches restore them that be deposed And lastly that the decrees of Councells take no effect without his confent and confirmation SECTION XI The Popes Supremacy is proued out of the point of the infallibility of his doctrine by the Authorityes of the ancient Fathers FOVRTHLY therefore the Catholikes in defence of this doctrine of the Popes Supremacy produce the authorityes of all the ancient Fathers nubem testium a bright and great cloud of witnesses to inlighten the obscurity of fayth in this vale of darknes Which if I should go about to set downe at large I should be infinite Wherefore to contract this copious matter I will alleadg some of those who teach that the authority of the Pope of Rome and the Church of Rome as vnited with the Pope ought to be receiued in matters of Faith whereof it must needs follow that the Pope succeedeth S. Peter and that as vpon S. Peter in respect of his faith so also in his place vpon the Pope the Church is so built in such manner as that the gates of Hell shall not preuayle against it But before I begin I would haue you obserue that it is all one to affirme the sea of Rome to be the Rocke of the Church or the Pope to succeed S. Peter in his Pastorall Office or to giue vnto the Pope any of those titles which are proper to S. Peter as to say expresly that neither the one nor the other can fayle in teaching the true faith because these former assertions and the like do imply that the promise made vnto S. Peter doth belong also to the Pope his seat and that the fayth or doctrine which the Pope teacheth can suffer no defect because according to the words of our Sauiour the stability and duration of the Church dependeth of it And therefore it is manifest that the Fathers do signify thereby that the Church of Rome was not only the true Church in their dayes or that the Pope did not teach any false doctrine in their times as some Protestants seeme to vnderstand them but also that the truth was alwayes to continue therein and that the Pope could neuer erre in matter of Fayth grounding themselues as I haue sayd vpon the promise of Christ to S. Peter and that you may not doubt of this I thought good to proue the supremacy of the Pope out of the infalibility of doctrine which the Fathers acknowledge to be inseparable from the Pope and sea of Rome The first that I thinke fit to produce in this matter is the great Athanasius who withstood himselfe alone the force and fury of foure Emperours and sustained the persecution of all the Arian heretikes and a man may say of all the Easterne world against him He was Patriarch of Alexandria at that tyme the second seat after Rome was a principall man both in the Councell of Nice and also in that of Sardis In which sacred Schooles in respect of his excellent vertues it might perchance be truly sayd that he deserued the place of a maister But it is prayse sufficient that he shewed himselfe a most renowned scholer of those renowned maisters He therfore that had receiued the spirit of the Nicen Councell and wrote according to the sense and doctrine of the Fathers therof saluted Marke the Bishop of Rome in this manner Athan. ep ad Marc. To our most holy Lord venerable with Apostolicall dignity Marke the Father of the holy Roman and Apostolicall seat and of the vniuersall Church Athanasius the Bishops of East health and afterwards in his letters he acknowledgeth the Roman Church to be the Mother of all Churches and vseth also these words We are yours and vnto you with all those committed to our charge we are obedient and euer will be And in his epistle to Felix the second he with the other Bishops of Aegipt do say In tom 1. Concil that they suggest
answering a secret obiection that the Pope might erre because a wicked man might be Pope For sayth he though some traytor or Iudas should haue entred into that rancke or order yet this could nothing preiudice the Church nor the innocent Christians or beleeuers for whom our Lord had prouided by saying of euill gouernours do what they say but do not what they do for they say and do not to the end that the assured hope of the faythfull relying it selfe not vpon mā but vpon God or vpon the word of our Sauiour they might neuer be deuyded by tempest of sacrilegious Schism Where he proueth that no euill Pope can erre because if that could be the innocent Christians following our Sauiours commaundment should be thereby deceiued Cont. ep Fundamēti cap. 4. and deuyded in Schisme And therfore he also professeth that the succession of Priests from the seat of Peter vnto the Bishop liuing in his time held him in the Catholike Church making that an argument of the true doctrine therof And comparing the communion of the Apostolike head with the members to the vnion of the mystical vine with the branches In psal cont part Donat. he exhorteth the Donatists thereunto in these words Come brethren if you please that you may be grafted in the vyne It is a grief vnto vs when we see you to lye thus cut off Number the Priests euen from the very seat of Peter and in that order of Fathers see who and to whome each one succeeded That seat is the Rocke which the proude gates of Hell do not ouercome vnder standing thereby that they who were cut off from the communion of that seat and succession were also cut off from the Church of Christ and that according to the promise of our Sauiour neither they nor their errours should be able to prouayle against it Lib. 2. cōt duas epist Pelag. Lib. 1. cont lūli cap. 4. And affirming against the Pelagians that the antiquity of the Catholike fayth was cleerly knowne by the letters of venerable Innocentius the Pope he inferreth that to departe from his sentence was to straggle from the Roman Church making it by this inferrence a certaine signe of departure from the Church of Christ And rebuking a certaine Pelagian Me thinkes sayth he that part of the world should suffice thee meaning for his beliefe in matters of fayth wherein our Lord would that the chiefe of his Apostles should be crowned with a most glorious Martyrdome vnto the President of which Church being the blessed Innocentius if thou wouldest haue giuen care long since in the dangerous tyme of thy youth thou hadst freed thy selfe from the snares of Pelagians For what could that holy man answeare to the Affrican Countells but that which the Apostolike seat and the Roman Church doth anciently hold with other Wherein he teacheth that the definition of the Pope ought to suffice vs and that he cannot determine otherwise then according to the ancient Fayth Optatus likewise recounteth the lyneall succession of the Popes and beginneth the same in this manner Therefore the Chayre is vnited which is the first of her gists therein Peter sate the first to whome succeeded Linus c. numbring the rest vnto Siricius who liued in his tyme. And a little before he sayth it ought to be seene who sate first in the Chayre where he sate And afterwards tho◠canst not deny but thou knowest that the Episcopall Chayre was giuen first to S. Peter in the Citty of Rome wherin Peter the head of all the Apostles sate in which one Chayre vnity ought to be kept of all men Signifying therby that Peter the head of all the Apostles sate first therin to shew that all those that are members of the Church are bound to vnite themselues vnto it Tertullian is also one of those that describeth the Catalogue of the Roman Bishops which he composeth in verse beginning with S. Peter and ending with Higinius Pius Anicetus And in his booke of Prescriptions he sayth thou hast Rome whose authority vnto vs also is ready at hand so giuing his reader to vnderstand that the authority of Rome was an argument euer ready to confute an heretike And thē followeth A Church happy in her state to whō the Apostles powred forth or gaue abundantly their whole doctrine togeather with their bloud meaning no doubt that they powred forth their whole doctrine into it to be preserued therin for euer in respect wherof he tearmeth it happy per excellentiam which Irenaeus doth more fully expresse when he sayth that we must not go to others to seeke the truth which we may easily haue from the Church Irenaeus l. 3. cap 3. wherein the Apostles as it were in a most rich treasure haue layd togeather all those things which are of truth that from thence euery one who will may receiue the same And thus much of those Fathers that do not only set downe the Popes succession to S. Peter Tom. 1. Cōcil ante Concil Calced but also plainly teach that his fayth cannot fayle because he holdeth the place of Peter wherein none of the other Fathers disagree or dissent from thē Petrus Chrysologus in his epistle to Euthiches the Heretike condemned afterward in the Calcedon Councel exhorteth him in this māner We exhort thēe venerable brother to attend attentiuely vnto those things which are written from the most blessed Pope of the Citty of Rome For blessed Peter liuing and gouerning in that his proper seat gaue the truth of fayth to all those that secke it which may serue for a cleere exposition of the words of Tertullian and Irenaeus afore sayd Prosper S. Augustines Scholler inferreth as most absurd Prosp cōt Collit cap. 20. that according to the cēsure of his aduersary Pope Innocentius should haue erred a man sayth he most worthy of the Seat of Peter And likewise that the holy Seat of Blessed Peter should haue erred which spake vnto the whole world by the mouth of Pope Sozimus Cap. 41. And againe that Pope Innocentius strock the heads of wicked errour with the Apostolicall dagger And that Pope Sozimus with his sentence gaue force to the Affrican Councells and armed the hands of all the Fathers with the sword of Peter to the cutting off of the wicked And that Rome by the principality of Apostolicall Preisthood De vocat gentium lib. 2. was made greater by the Arke of Religion then by the Throne of secular power S. Ambrose sayth Ambros cap. 3 1. ad Tim. that though all the world be of God yet his house is sayd to be the Church wherof at this day Damasus is the Rector And els where He demaunded the Bishop sayth he whether he agreed with the Catholike Bishops that is whether he agreed with the Roman Church Orat. in Satyrum In which words he maketh it all one to agree with the Church of Rome and with the Catholike Church And againe he saith
Lib. 1. ep 4. ad Imperatores that the clemency of the Pope should be intreated not to suffer the head of the whole Reman world the Romā Church and that inuiolable Fayth of the Apostles to be disquieted because from thence did flow the Lawes of venerable communion vnto all Saint Cyprian besides that he teacheth as you haue heard the cause of an Heresy Schisme to be Epist 55. ad Cornel. Epist 40. Ib. lib. 4. epist 8. for that one Priest and one Iudge for the tyme is not acknowledged in the Church of God And that there is one chayre buylt by the voyce of our Lord vpon S. Peter that whosoeuer gathereth els where scattereth which S. Hierome expoundeth as you haue heard not to be with Christ but with Antichrist being to signify vnto the Pope that one to whome he wrote did communicate with the Pope expounding himselfe he sayth Epist 52. that is with the Catholike Church Where he also maketh it all one to communicate with the Pope and to accord with the Catholike Church And complayning of certayne Heretikes he vseth these words Epist 55. ad Cornelium They are so bold as to sayle vnto the chayre of Peter to the principall Church from whence Priestly vnity doth proceed not considering that they are Romanes whose Faith is praysed by the preaching of the Apostle vnto whome no falshood can haue accesse Giuing thereby to vnderstand that it was in vayne for Heretikes to imagine that the Sea of Peter or the Roman Church could be deceiued by them S. Cyril desired to know of Pope Celestine Cyril ep 18. tom 1. Concil Ephes cap. 10. cap. 14. whether he would communicate any longer with Nestorius the Heretike for that he presumed not to separate himselfe frō him without the Popes knowledge vnto whome Pope Celessine answered that with the authority of his Sea the Popes and with the power of his place as his Vicar he should with all diligence execute the sentence of excommunication c. Whereunto S. Cyril obayed Who also in his booke called the booke of Treasury as S. Thomas doth alledge him hath these words as Christ receiued most full power from his Father Opusc 1. cont err Graec. cap. 32. §. Habetur so also most fully he committed the same to S. Peter and his Successours Againe vnto no other then vnto Peter but vnto him alone he gaue quod suum est plenum the fulnes of his power And againe D. Thom. in catena Matt. 16. according to this promise of our Lord meaning that of the 16. of S. Matthew the Apostolike Church of Peter doth remayne immaculate from all seduction and Hereticall circumuention in the Bishops thereof in the most full Faith and authority of Peter ouer all the Primates of the Churches and their people Againe D. Tho. op cōt Graec. all according to the diuine law bow downe their heads to Peter and the Primates of the world obayed him as our Lord Iesus Christ himselfe And S. Thomas sayth further that it is necessary to saluation to be vnder the Roman Bishop prouing the same out of other words of S. Cyril in the same booke saying Therefore brethren if we follow Christ let vs heare his voyce as his sheep remayning in the Church of Peter which testimonyes albeit now they are not found in that volume of S. Cyrils because as it is knowne many bookes thereof haue perished yet in respect of the authority of S. Thomas no question can be made of the true allegation of them Lastly not to be ouer tedious I will conclude with the testimony of S. Bernard who imploring the Popes authority against a new Heresy then arising saith All dangers and scandalls arising in the Kingdome of God especially which concerne Faith ought to be referred to your Apostleship For I thinke it conuenient that the domages of the Faith should there especially be amended where Faith can feele no defect For this is the prerogatiue of that sea c. SECTION XII The Popes Supremacy is proued by his being priuiledged from errour in doctrine of Faith out of the Authorityes of the Popes themselues HAVING thus proued the Popes Supremacy by the foure first general Councells and by the testimonyes of the Fathers not only in generall but also in the particuler poynt of their infallible doctrine which is most in Controuersy betwene you and vs according as your patience and the straitnes of a letter will permit It is now expedient in this place to shew how the Catholikes demonstrate the same by the authorityes of the Popes themselues For how much lesse the protestants esteem of them so much the more the holy Fathers as you haue seen do magnify and extoll them submitting themselues no lesse to their decrees then to the sentences and definitions of generall Councells Suarez in his answere to the Kings booke alleadgeth the authorityes of more then fourty Popes within the first 600. yeares for the power dignity and succession of their Supremacy Who being men chosen by the spirit of God and of the primitiue Church in respect of their wisedome and excellent gifts for the gouerment thereof and the most of them being declared and acknowledged for Saints and Martyrs by the whole Christian world I cannot tell with what face any man that beareth but the name of a Christian can deny their authority For breuities sake omitting the most and greatest part I will first produce some of those Popes that challenge to themselues the like stability in Faith and doctrine as the Fathers grant vnto them according to the word and promise of our Sauiour made to S. Peter their predecessour and afterwards I will likewise proue their Supremacy in gouernment and Iudiciall power ouer the Church of Christ Fabianus acknowledgeth that he was bound by the diuine precepts and Apostolicall ordinations to watch ouer the state of all Churches Epist 1. That others were bound to know the sacred rites of the Roman Church which was called their Mother Epist 3. ad Hilarium And that he was aduanced to that Priestly height to forbid those things which were vnlawfull and to teach those things that were to be followed Lucius the first in his Epistle to the Bishops of Spayne and France saith Epist 1. that the Roman Church is Apostolike and the Mother of all Churches which was proued neuer to haue erred from the path of the Apostolike tradition nor to haue byn depraued with Hereticall nouelty according to the promise of our Lord saying I haue prayed for thee c. which promise you know can neuer fayle and therefore the Roman Church can neuer erre as being vnited to S. Peter and his successours to whome the promise was made Felix the first likewise sayth that as the Roman Church receiued in the beginning Epist ad Benignū the rule of Christian Faith from her authours or founders the Princes of Christs Apostles so it remayneth vntouched
following Melchiades For these meaning Bishops our Lord reserued to his owne iudgment and this priuiledge he committed alone to the Blessed key-bearer Peter in his place which prerogatiue doth iustly accrew to his sea to hold and inherit the same in all future tymes because euen among the Apostles there was some distinction of power Bonifacius in his 2. epistle to the Bishops of France Bonifacius speaking of the iudgment of Bishops In Apol. 2. pro Athans in weighty causes concludeth thus It is necessary that they be confirmed by our authority Iulius the first in his epistle ad Orientales in the cause of Athanasius the Patriarch of Alexandria Iulius asketh them whether they were ignorant that it was the custome to write vnto his Church if any Bishop were called in question of suspition that from thence that which was iust might be defined And a little after he sayth therof Those thinges which we receiued from the blessed Peter the Apostle we fignify vnto you which I would not haue written imagining that they were known vnto you vnles the facts themselues had troubled you Gelasius in his epistle to the Bishops of Dardania sayth Gelasius That the Church of Rome hath the knowledge of all things through the world because the sea of the Blessed Peter the Apostle hath authority to dissolue whatsoeuer hath beene bound by the sentence of any other Bishops as vnto whome it belongeth to iudge of all Churches neither is it lawfull for any other to iudge of her iudgment Sixtus 2. Epist. 1. Sixtus 2. pronounceth that it is lawfull for Bishops to appeale vnto the Apostolike sea to whose disposition the ancient authority of the Apostles and their successours and of the Canons hath reserued all the greater Ecclesiasticall causes and the iudgment of Bishops because Bishops are blamed that deale otherwise with their brethren then is pleasing to the Pope of that seat Damasus Theod. lib. 5. hist c. 1 Damasus in his epistle to the Bishops of Numidia admonisheth them that they should not permit to deferre vnto him as their head all things which might be subiect to disputation or question as the custome sayth he hath alwayes beene Lastly concerning the ordination of Bishops Leo. Epist 82. Leo writing to his vicar in the East the Bishop of Thessalonia commaundeth that the Metropolitan should certify his vicar of the person of the Bishop that was to be consecrated of the consent of the clergy and of the people that with his authority the ordination which was duly celebrated might be confirmed And S. Gregory in his epistle to Constantia the Empresse Gregorius aduertising her that the Bishop of Salonae a Predecessour of this our fugitiue Bishop who is now with you was ordayned without his knowledge or the priuity of his vicar or legate Responsalis addeth concerning the same facta res est and such a thing is done as neuer hapned vnder any of our former Princes SECTION XIIII The Popes Supremacy is proued by the auncient and continuall practise thereof in the Catholike Church THVS hauing proued the Supremacy of the Pope as well in matter of fayth as in iurisdiction and gouernement by the sentences of so many Popes which according to the doctrine of the Fathers are aboue all exceptions and permit no answere from any man that would be accompted a Catholike It remayneth for the conclusion and most full and absolute proofe of this matter to confirme the same by the receiued practise therof and approued execution of this authority in the Church of God which I will do very briefly because I consider that I haue dwelt too long in this matter already Wherefore concerning Councells it shall be sufficient to say that such as haue resisted the Pope or his Legates in their definitions haue alwayes erred as the second Councell of Ephesus and the Councell of Constantinople in the tyme of Nicolaus the first and that such Councells as were reiected by the Pope haue had no authority in the Church of Christ Whereof Gelasius the Pope giueth many examples in his booke de Anathemate and in his epistle to the Bishops of Dardania And in particuler Theodoretus speaking of the Councell of Ariminum sayth That it ought not to haue any force the Bishop of Rome whose sentence before all other was to be expected not consenting thereunto And in the Councell of Chalcedon Dioscorus the Patriarch of Alexandria was commaunded not to sit amongst the Bishops because he presumed to call a Councell without the authority of the Apostolike seat Epist ad Solitar Quod numquam licuit numquam factum est which say they was neuer lawfull was neuer done And the famous Athanasius speaking of Constantius the Arian Emperour who tooke vpon him to be president in a Councell which he assembled at Millane Who sayth he seeing him to make himself Prince of Bishops in their decrees and president in their Ecclesiasticall iudgment may not worthily say that he is the same abhomination of desolation which was fortold by the Prophet Daniel And as for the sentence of the Pope allwayes receiued in matter of fayth that may suffice which Bellarmine sayth That if for the extinguishing of 7. Heresyes the first seauen generall Councells were called aboue a 100. heresyes haue been extinguished by the Apostolike sea alone with the help of particuler Councells yet I cannot omit to confirme the same by some few examples A Cōtrouersy being risen about the dignity of the holy Ghost Zozomenus recordeth That the Bishop of Rome Lib. 6. cap. 22. being aduertised therof wrote his letters to the Bishops of the East that they should belieue togeather with the Bishops and Priests of the West the Blessed Trinity to be consubstantiall and equall in glory Which being done sayth he and the matter being iudged by the Roman Church all men were quiet and so that Cōtrouersy seemed to haue an end Prosper cōt Collat. cap. 41. S. Prosper sayth that Innocentius of blessed memory stroke vpon the head of the wicked Pelagian heresy with his Apostolicall dagger and that Celestine deliuered our Countrey from that disease And a little after that by his care Scotland was made Christian In the second age or Century of the Church in the tyme of those horrible persecutions the Controuersy of rebaptizing those that were baptized by heretikes began to grow hoat and the tempest was so great that if it did not cast downe some principall bulwarkes of the Church it made the strongest Towers to shake At which tyme in hatred of Heretikes Firmilianus an excellent man with the other Bishops of the East decreed rebaptization in the case aforesayd and that those were to be punished that doubted thereof In Africa S. Cyprian and very many other Bishops ioyning with him in sundry Councells declared their opinions in fauour thereof though they would not condemne the rest of the world that practised the contrary In Aegipt also Dionisius Patriarch
of Alexandria any other singuler ornament of that age inclyned to the opinion of S. Cyprian But then the authority of S. Peter in his successor Pope Steuen did well appeare who with no other armes but with the tradition of his Predecessors sustavned the brunt of so many most famous both Orientall and Occidentall Bishops who excommunicating those that had made a decree against the ancient custome of the Church threatning the rest that taught rebaptization to be lawfull preuailed so much that all the Orientall Churches conspyring togeather mone mind as Dionysius sayd Euseb l. 7. and changing their opinions were reunited againe with the band of peace And Dionysius himselfe changing also his opiniō became so scrupulous that he refused to baptize one that had not beene sufficiently baptized of the Heretiks retourning to the Catholike Church before he had made the Pope acquainted with it And the Bishops of Africa likewise that had followed S. Cypriā made a new decree to the contrary as witnesseth S. Hierome And S. Augustine sayth Hier. cōt Luciferiā August epist 48. that it is very probable that S. Cypriā also corrected himselfe and that his change in opinion was suppressed by the Heretikes And truly who can imagine that such a man as he tendring so much the peace of the Church as he did should remayne obstinate alone in his owne opinion See this more at large in Baronius Vin. cont Lyrin c. 9. in the yeare of our Lord 158. and 159. And Vincentius Lirinensis who notably descrybeth the successe of this victory Lastly Pope Pius the first hauing made a decree that the Feast of Easter should be celebrated only vpon Sunday against those Euseb l. 5. cap. 24. that pretended the example and tradition of S. Iohn to the contrary and 3. of his successors forbearing to cōpell them for quietnes sake Tertul. de praescrip cap. 53. Euseb lib. 5. cap. 14. by Ecclesiasticall censure therunto Pope Victor succeding and perceyuing them to be much confirmed in their opinion called a Councell in Italy and caused others to be assembled in France and also in other Countreys And Theophilus Bishop of Cesarea and Palestina Beda de equinoctiali in verno receiuing his command as Bede our Countreyman recordeth assembled Bishops not only out of his owne Prouince but also out of diuers other countreys and shewed the authority that Pope Victor had sent him and declared quid sibi operis fuit iniunctum and in all the Easterne Councells it being determined that the Feast of Easter should be kept vpon Sunday according to the custome of the Roman Church Euseb l. 5. cap. 24. Niceph. l. 4. c. 38.39 Pope Victor denounced excommunication against all the Churches of Asia that would not conforme themselues thereunto Whereupon though some did thinke it rigourously done not only the greatest part of the Churches of Asia did yield therein but also as Nicephorus testifyeth it was decreed throughout the world that the Feast of Easter should be kept vpon Sunday and they that refused so to do were holden for Heretakes and called Quartadecimani The same Controuersy being growne very great in Britany August haeres 29. Beda lib. 3. hist cap. 2. betwen the English that mantayned the custome of Rome and the Scottish that stood out in schisme and the matter being debated in the presence of King Oswy Colomannus with the Scottish Clergy relyed vpon the authority of Anatolins and Columba his predecessours Wilfrid on the other side answered That Columba albeit a holy man could not be preferred before Peter to whome our Lord sayd thou art Peter and vpon this Rock c. King Oswy that had beene infected with the Scottish schisme asked Colomannus whether he could proue the like authority to haue been giuen to Columba as was giuen to Peter who answering no Nay then quoth the King merily I assure you I will not in any thing contradict that Porter but to my knowledge and power I will obay his comaundements Whereupon all that were present sayth S. Bede allowed therof and yielded to receiue the Catholike custome of keping Easter on the Sunday And now to go forward with the receiued practise and execution of the Popes authority in other Iudiciall matters Leo. Ep. 89. Pope Leo writing vnto the Bishops of France biddeth them remember and acknowledge with him that the Priests of their Prouince had consulted with the Apostolike sea in innumerable matters and according to the diuersity of their causes and appeales their former Iudgments had been retracted or confirmed As touching deposition of Bishops you haue already hard of the deposition of Dioscorus in the fourth generall Councell by the Popes Legates which was done in these formall words Conc. Chal. act 3. Leo the most holy and Blessed Pope and head of the vniuersall Church indued with the dignity of Peter the Apostle who is intituled the foundation of the Church the Rock of Faith and the doore-keper of the Kingdome of Heauen By vs his Legates the holy Synode consenting hath depryued Dioscorus of Episcopall dignity and excluded him from all Priestly function Cypr. lib. 5. epist 13. S. Cyprian wrote to Pope Stephen to excommunicate and depose Marcian the Bishop of Arles in France and to aduertise him who should succeed him that he the Bishops of Affrick might know to whome to direct their letters Peter the Patriarch of Alexandria Soc. lib. 4. hist. cap. 3. as Socrates relateth returning with the letters of Damasus the Roman Bishop the people confiding in them Nicol. ep ad Micha expelled Lucius and receaued Peter into his place Nicolaus the first writing to Michael the Emperour reckoneth vp 8. Patriarches of that Church deposed by the Bishops of Rome before his tyme. Theod. l. 5. hist c. 23. Soc. lib. 5. hist c. 15. Sozom. l. 8. cap. 3. Flauianus Patriarch of Antioch was deposed by Pope Damasus and both S. Chrysostome Bishop of Constantinople and Theophilus Patriarch of Alexandria were intercessors for him to the Pope And to conclude Polichronius Patriarch of Hierusalem was deposed by Sixtus the 3. Tom. 2. Concil in actis 60. So that you see the exercise of the Popes authority in the deposition of many of the foure principall Patriarchs of Constantinople Alexandria Antioch and Hierusalem And as for those that appealed to the Sea Apostolike and were restored by the same the examples are infinit Let it suffice that Athanasius the great Patriarch of Alexandria Paulus Bishop of Constantinople Marcellus Bishop of Ancyra Asclepas Bishop of Gaza and Lucianus Bishop of Adrianopolis Sozom. l. 3. hist c. 8. Tripart hist l. 4. cap 15. were all at Rome at one tyme iniustly deposed and expelled by the Orientall Synode And that Pope Iulius as Sozomeus hath recorded vnderstanding whereof they were accused receiued them into his communion that the care of all belonging vnto him in respect of the dignity of his sea he restored
to euery one of them their Churches and wrote to the Bishops of the East blaming them and gaue commaundement that some in the name of the rest should appeare before him at a day prefixed Many other excellent men and great Saintes of God appealed to the Pope as S. Chrysostome and Flauianus Chryst ep ad Innoc. Theod. ep ad Leon. Bishops of Constantinople So did Theodoret Bishop of Cyrus who was also restored by him as testy fieth the great Councell of Chalcedon saying The most holy Archbishop Leo restoreth to him his Bishoprick And Gregory the great Gregor l. 2. cap. 6. did excommunicate a B. of Greece called Iohn for that he had presumed to iudge another Bishop that had appealed to the sea Apostolike To this might be added their censures and excommunications of Kings and Emperous In a word Philip Euseb lib. 6. cap. 25. the first Christian Emperour was excluded from the Cōmunion of the Sacrament of the Altar vpon Easter day for some publick sinnes of his Niceph l. 3. cap. 34. by Pope Fabianus neither could he be admitted before he had purged himselfe by Confession and Pennance Innoc ep 17. ad Arcad. Imp. Innocentius the first hauing hard of the death of S. Chrysastome excommunicated the Emperour Arcadius and his Wife Eudoxia for not permitting S. Chrysostome to be restored to his seat as Innocentius commaunded which he did in these words I the least a sinner to whom the Throne of the great Apostle Peter is commended in charge do segregate thee and her from receiuing the immaculate Misteryes of Christ our God c. The exercise of the Popes authority is yet more confirmed and euidently proued by the authority of the Common Lawes which for the most part are nothing els but the decrees of Popes and of Councells confirmed by the Pope which hauing byn alwayes receiued and practised among all Catholike Nations professing the name of Christ do make an inuincible argument for the Popes Supremacy and which is most especially to be noted in all ages since Christ there cānot be found one Catholike Doctor or Deuyne that euer opposed himself either against the doctrine or against the practise of this authority as vnlawfull or vsurped by the Popes of Rome In so much that albeit the Popes haue been sometymes admonished and accused to haue proceeded with much rigour Cypr. l. 1. ep 3. 4. Euseb l. 5. hist c. 24. or with too little information in their censures as by S. Cyprian for example and S. Irenaeus and others yet none haue euer doubted of the lawfulnes of their authority And as you haue heard Epist ad Martian Valēt Imp. ep ad Leonē Con. Chal. act 3. in the Calcedon Councell it was accompted no lesse their fury and madnes of presumption in Eutiches that attempted to call a generall Councell and to excommunicate the Pope thereby SECTION XV. The Conclusion of this discourse of the Popes Supremacy I Haue shewed vnto you as orderly as clerely and as breifly as I could some of those euident proofes which the Catholikes are wont to bring for the Popes Supremacy deducing the same from manifest places of Scripture which conuince the continuance and perpetuall duration thereof in the Church of God from the lineall descent therof vpon those that succeded S. Peter in the Church of Rome abundantly testifyed by tradition and by the Fathers from the definitions of the foure first generall Councells from the authorityes of the ancient Fathers in the poynt of the Popes infallable doctrine grounded vpon the words and promises of our Saniour from the sentences of the Popes themselues iustly clayming their Supremacy not only in teaching and admonishing but also in ruling and gouerning the Church of God and lastly from the ancient continuall and vncontrolled practise of their authority which whether you respect the diuine Law or the vtility and necessity of the matter it selfe or the opinions of Lawyers and Sages or the auouchement of most lawfull witnesses or the sentences of most venerable Iudges or the Iudgment of Supreme Iudiciall Courts or the practise experience and custome of the whole world make the euidence so strong the proofe so full and the demonstration so cleare as the like in no sort can euer be brought before any Iudicial Bench for the proofe of any matter whatsoeuer may come in question And therfore no doubt all those shall be inexcusable before God that continuing obstinate in their owne opinions do either reiect or contemne it And truly if it might be permitted vnto vs to plead the statute of the first yeare of Queene Elizabeth whereby the foure first generall Councells were approued and made to be Law and that we might vpon those points of learning contayned in them which I haue before recited confirming them not only by the opinions of the Fathers which are the Doctors and Aduocates but also by so many decrees and sentences of the Popes which are the iudges of the Church concluding and bynding all those proofes aforsayd with the practise custome of the Church tyme out of mynd which is the best interpreter of all Lawes both humane and diuine And if we might be suffered withal to plead the Statute of Magna Charta for the exemption of Priests from temporall iurisdiction which is the most ancient written Law of England and continueth still in force and vnrepealed and to omit that King Henry the 8. is now commonly reputed a Tyrant as is testyfied in your owne historyes which is sufficient to make all his acts and Lawes vnlawfull that concerne not the interest of particuler persons If we might shew that those branches of the statutes made against vs in the first yeare of the Queene are of no force or validity being enacted by the Lords temporall alone against the ancient for me of Parliament and the priuiledges of our Kingdome and therefore that the confirmation of them in the tyme of our gracious King that now raigneth ought to be of no effect And lastly if our complaints might be heard that in the execution of those bloudy Lawes against vs so many wayes vniust in themselues no forme of Iustice is obserued the Iudges condemning vs without any sufficient witnesses produced against vs that can affirme according to the words of the statute wherupon we are indited that we are Priests and that we were made Priests in the Seminaryes beyond the seas whereby so much innocent bloud hath been so vnchristianly shed vnder the cloake of Iustice in our peacefull Countrey I say if we might be permitted to plead all this though it were in West minster Hall before the Iudges themselues that are so cruelly bent against vs and in the audience of those Puritan Lawyers and common Iustices who as being most ignorant of our cause are more our enemyes then the Ministers themselues that we might set before their eyes how vngently dishonourably vnciuilly and vnnaturally they haue persecuted many
none but himselfe so drunke at this day with heresy in Christendome as to deny the lawfullnes of all Iurisdiction in the Church of God And as this position is most pernicious to all kind of Churches or spirituall Cōgregations whatsoeuer they be in taking away al obligation of obedience from them so also it is most dangerous to kingdomes and commonwealthes for such as in our tyme haue opposed themselues to the Iurisdiction of the Church haue likewise for the most part denyed their band of obedience to all temporall gouernement And their principall ground or reason is the same in both For no man say they that seeth not another mans conscience can bind the conscience of his brother And that all being made free by Baptisme ought to enioy the liberty of the Ghospell Whereof it followeth that neither sonnes nor seruants nor wyues nor subiects are bound to obay their Superiours for conscience sake but only and at the most either for feare or els for the auoyding of some publike scandall which doctrine if it were once receiued would in short space make Christians worse then Heathens And therefore I marueile how your English Bishops could let such doctrine passe being no lesse contrary to their authority then to the Popes Supremacy and no lesse perillous to themselues then to the gouernement of the whole kingdome vnles perhaps finding their case to be desperate they desire more to offend their enemy then to defend themselues would be cōtent their heresy should sinke so the Catholike Religion might be drowned with it But the Bishop being reputed to haue gotten some learning when he was yong and not being yet so old as to dote for age aboue all it is to be marueiled how he could suster himself to be so much deceiued by the Diuell as to ground his 10. yeares studyes the 10. books of his Christian commonwealth and in a word his whole religion and the saluation of his soule vpon an absurdity so grosse so fowle enormous dangerous to Church and Common-wealth as this is and the strangenes of his illusion is so much the greater because he was so blinded therewith that he saw not how manifestly he was inforced to contradict himselfe not only in other places of this his booke where he grāteth that Christian Princes haue power to do many thinges in the Church and challengeth vnto himselfe I know not what authority ouer Bishops in some cases which should make the Bishop of Canterbury to looke about him but also in the very title of his Booke which he calleth his Ecclesiasticall Cōmonwealth because it doth inuolue a manifest contradiction to this his strange position For vnles it be meerly a dreame and much more fantasticall then Platoes Idaea no man can imagine how any Cōmonwealth should be framed or est ablished without some Iurisdiction or power of gouernement giuen thereunto If he had contayned himselfe within any reasonable bounds and relyed his proofes vpon the Scripture alone interpreting the same according to his own sense how strang soeuer he might perhaps haue made some shift therewith for a while as his fellowes haue done before him But to pretend and contend as he doth that according to the Fathers Councells and Canons there is neither superiority of gouernment in the head nor power of Iurisdiction in the body of Christs Church is an euident signe that as he hath forsaken God so also God in his iustice hath not only forsaken him but also in great part hath taken his wits and reason from him For as S. Augustine sayth of the Prophesyes of the Church that they are more cleere in Scripture then the prophesyes of Christ himselfe because the tryall of all other Controuersyes dependeth vpon the knowledge of the Church so also for the same reason God Almighty in his prouidence hath so ordayned that the Iurisdiction of the Church and the authority of the head therof should be more expresly taught and aboundantly proued by the Doctours Pastours and ancient Fathers then any other point in Controuersy So that he might better haue gone about to proue and maintayne out of the Fathers Canons or Councells that the Sonne is not equall with the Father or the holy Ghost not equall to the Sonne or not proceeding from the Father and the Sonne or that our Blessed Lady ought not to be called the Mother of God or some other of those anciently condemned and rotten heresyes then to proue that there is no Iurisdiction in the Church nor any inequality of gouernment amongst the Pastours thereof And therefore as most impudently he denyeth the latter so it is much to be feared that he faltereth also in the former whereof he giueth many shrewd signes and apparant tokens in this little booke and much more is it likely he will bewray himself in the greater whē it cometh forth For being borne vpon the confines of Turky and Greece in which Countrey those ancient heresyes haue tirannized heeretofore and worse succeeded them in latter ages the suspitions wherewith as he professeth he was troubled when he was yong by all reason were more in fauour of the Easterne heresyes which he knew then of these of the West which he knew not And the bookes of the Arian Greciin heresyes being no lesse forbidden in Italy then the hereticall writers of these westerne parts whereby his suspitions were much more increased it is very probable that they swayed his mind more to that side then to this His maisters also do commonly dispute more against them then against these whome they are content to pretermit in these parts there being no vse of the knowledge of them And therefore by al likelihood his suspitions increased most in fauour of those opinions whereunto he was naturally most affected and wherewith he had more to do and which did more belong vnto him to know then the other did And besides all this that which he maketh his chiefe quarrell against the Pope is only the excommunication and condemnation of those opinions for heresyes which he sayth are not sufficiently condemned by the Church although it be manifest and he denyeth it not that they haue byn condemned by generall Councells And that inborne desire of peace Pag. 35. and vnity which he pretendeth of the East and West seemeth to consist in nothing els but only in permitting euery Bishop at the least to abound in his owne sense and to hold what he list as long as he doth not separate himselfe from the rest nor condemne their opinions And lastly to returne to the matter which we haue in hand by taking away all Iurisdiction from the Church of God he maketh voyd and repealeth the Anathema and excommunication of all former heretikes and by condemning the Fathers and Councells for condemning them without iudiciall authority he restoreth them all to their first pretended pleas and old forged titles And the renewing of these ancient censures condemnations of Heretikes by the Churche of Rome at this
day I take to be some part of those innumerable heresyes whereof he accuseth the Sea of Rome to be euery day an authour for otherwise that monstrous Hyperbole of his could haue no proportion and within the number of those other very many Churches which heere he sayth that Rome hath vniustly made her aduersaries must be contayned not only those of the West which are but two or three notoriously knowne but also the other of the East that is to say the Grecians and Arians at the least if the Turkes and Iewes do not also come in to make vp the reckoning of so great a number The fury of Heresy being now ouerblowne wherewith it entred first into our miserable Countrey and the Kingdome hauing been a long tyme setled in a reposed kind of gouernemēt many strangers of good iudgment and well affected to our Nation do wonder to see that it receiueth with tryumph all kind of Fugitiues and Apostata Fryars that come running thither of what life or what religion soeuer they be so long as they professe themselues enemyes to the Church of Rome which many wise men our friends who are lookers on esteeme and affirme to be no lesse dishonorable then dangerous to any well ordered and well gouerned society And in very deed what reputation I pray you can it giue vnto you in the eye of your Neighbour Countreys to see the scumme and vomit of other Nations and their Religious Orders to be so much esteemed and magnifyed among you or what conceit can they make either of your zeale in religion or wisedome in gouernement that open your armes to euery Sectary and your pulpits to euery renegate pretending to preach although his conuersation his intention his priuate opinions or the cause of his comming be neuer so much vnknowne vnto you And at this tyme I pray God it proue not too true that in the shape of a Bishop you haue receiued a most venomous and pestiferous serpent into your bosome For albert as yet he doth not shew his head by discouering his opinions in all the particuler poynts of Christian Religion making demonstration of malice against the Pope alone yet in the windings turnings of this little booke as I haue shewed and especially in destroying all iurisdiction in arrogating to his owne iudgment aboue measure and in challenging liberty to abound in his owne sense he discouereth a most fearefull and deformed body For if this which he pretendeth may be permitted to himselfe and others there is no poynt of Religion which will not presently be called in question euery thing wil be made a quodlibet as the Academikes in Philosophy so you also in Diuinity must hold all things probable and problematicall whereof it will shortly follow that as all the wisedome of the Academy was summed in this one sentence Hoc tantùm scio quòd nihil scio so the Religion of England wil be wholy reduced to this one article hoc tantùm credo quòd nihil credo And the danger hereof is the greater at this tyme because as I vnderstand it is an opinion growing into fashion among you that a man may be saued in any Religion so he belieue in Christ and I haue seene one of your principall Doctours cyted D. Morton in his treatise of the kingdome of Israel pag. 94. who durst to publish in prynt that an Arian might be saued because albeit he deny the Deumity of Christ yet he confesseth Christ to be the true Messies which your Doctour thinketh sufficient for saluation From whence euery man being permitted to abound in his owne sense as the Bishop would haue it your selfe may iudge how easy a matter it is to passe a little further and to thinke that it may suffice to hold that Christ was a great Prophet as the Turkes do or that it is indifferent to belieue whether he be come or no which disposeth to Iudaisme or that a morall life may be sufficient to saue vs in any Religion which is playne Gentility And if this be the vnion of the East and West and of the North and South which the Bishop so much desireth to establish in his Ecclesiasticall Common Wealth I am sure that none but the Diuell can be the head therof and to satisfy the mans ambition if it were to do him good I should be contented for my part that he himselfe should be made the Vicar But thus you see how such as once fall from the Catholike Church which is the body do easily contemne the head thereof who is Christ himselfe and come to loose not only their dewine faith which none can haue but they that belieue the true Church but also to renounce their morall beliefe and former persuasion of that truth of Christianity wherin they were bred which hitherto God be thanked hath been constantly mayntained in our Countrey SECTION XVII The substance of the Bishops 10. bookes being thus confuted the mayne poynt of this other Booke which he maketh the ground of his Conuersion That the doctrine of the Protestants differeth little or nothing from the doctrine of the ancient Fathers is disproued by sundry generall reasons and by the Fathers themselues codemning the Protestants opinions for no lesse then Heresies FOR this important consideration and to meete with the danger of Neutrality in Religion so fast increasing in our Countrey as I fynd it most easy so I thinke it most necessary in these desperate tymes to make some cōfutation of these idle dreams and sottish illusions of the Diuell by shewing plainly out of the rule of Fayth and according to the ground of naturall reason that no man can be saued without the perfect loue of God which requyreth perfect obedience both of the vnderstanding in beleeuing the Catholike Church whome God hath appoynted to teach vs and also of the will in keping Gods Precepts and Commaundements Which indeed were a medicyne most appropriate to the diseases of the tyme and a hatchet layd to that root from whence the Bishops tree is already sprung and which spreadeth a pace in the harts not only of the idle youth which I feare but also of those that take themselues to be the wisest men in our Countrey But because I am loath to be ouer troublesome at this tyme and that this Treatise requyreth some hast which growing in my hand from a letter to a booke should haue been dispatched long since not only to giue iust contentment to your selfe expecting my answere to your letter but also to satisfy others who hauing hard the Bishops tale keep one eare open all this while to heare the reply of the contrary party I will reserue the handling of this matter for a fresher pen and for this tyme I will coment my selfe with those authorityes which I haue a leady produced out of the Fathers pronouncing such as are not vnited with the Pope it be confounded with the succession of his seat built vpon the premise of our Saniour to be
propbane to be out of the Arke Iren. lib. 3. cap. 3. Hier. epist ad Dam. Aug. in psal cont part Don. not to gather but to seatter not to be of Christ but of Antichrist to be branches cut off from the byne and members denided from the body that in the next life the gate of heauen shall be shut against them the like For the which I reserre me to the 14. and 15. Section of this treatise Wherunto shall be added more anone when by occasion of these friuolous motions and illusions which made the Bishop to forsake his religion we come to propound some of those solid and substantiall motiues which are sufficient to induce any man that is not willfully obstinate to become a Gatholike And for the present because he seemeth to set downe the mayne ground of his peruorsion or conuersion as you please to tearme it in those words especially where he saith That reading the Fathers and perusing the Councells and ancient customes of the Church with great labour and busy diligence for so many yeares togeather he plainly saw at the length that the doctrine of those Churches being very many in number which Rome hath made her aduersaryes do little or nothing differ from the ancient doctrine of the pure Church the discussion hereof will also fall out to be very fit for our present purpose wherin you shall heare the Fathers vtterly to condemne the Religion now commonly professed in England and the Protestants themselues not only to reiect the Fathers but also most spitefully to inueigh most grieuously to censure one the other For that man whome neither the Authority of the Fathers nor the testy-monyes of his owne Doctors can moue or persuade neither if one should be sent from the dead toaffright him would be thereby conuerted Wherefore that you may as yet more fully perceiue the vanity and impudency of this man in affirming that all the Fathers are directly for him albeit he proue nothing I will take the paynes to shew you by some generall arguments that the Fathers do manifestly make against him First therfore you must know that the Catholikes prefesse the generall Consent of the Fathers or the doctrine of a few not contradicted by the rest to be a rule of faith and that all men are bound vpon payne of damnation to belieue it whose authority as the Protestants will not receiue so the Catholikes would not admit in such absolute manner if they were not fully perswaded that their religion were all one with the faith of the Pathers In confirmation wherof some industrious and zealous men amongst vs haue made certayne bookes of common places vnder the titles of the poynts in Controuersy betwixt vs and them wherin they hade recorded the sayings of the Fathers in approbation of our doctrine And therfore they call them the Confessions of the auncient Fathers So haue you the confession of S. Augustine in one volume of S. Hierome in another So likewise of S. Basil S. Bernard and others which it is impossible for any Protestant to see but he must needs confesse that the Fathers were all Papists and that they haue said so much in the proofe and defence of our opinions as all that we can bring is but taken from them And if the Bishop had but made the signe of the Crosse to driue away the Diuell that blynded him before he had turned ouer the Fathers workes he must needs haue seen euen by their titles and the argument of there seuerall treatises how much they make against him S. Basil S. Gregory Nazianzen S. Chrysostome haue written most excellent Sermons of the Lent and of other dayes to be fasted vpon payne of great sinne by the custome commaundement of the Catholike Church S. Basil S. Chrysostome S. Hierome and S. Augustine haue written bookes of the institute and rule of Monkes and of their vertues S. Chrysostome in particuler wrote a booke against the disgracers of Monasticall life And S. Augustine againe hath written three bookes of Free-will wherunto Luther opposing himselfe wrote a booke de seruo arbitrio of slauish will S. Augustine wrote also a whole booke of the Care of the dead and a long Chapter besides other sermons of Miracles wrought at the memories monuments of Martyrs Optatus whome S. Augustine compareth with S. Ambrose and S. Cyprian confuted the Donatists out of the Catholike Communion reprehended their wickednes out of the decree of Pope Melchiades refuted their heresy out of the succession of the Roman Bishops made knowne their madnes in contaminating chrisme the holy Eucharist abhorred their sacriledge in breaking down of Altars whereupon sayth he the mēbots of Christ were born and in polluting Chalices which he affirmeth to haue held the bloud of Christ S. Athanasius wrote a curious booke in the prayse of S. Antony the Aegiptian Eremit and in an epistle which he wrote in the name of the whole Synod of Alexandria whereof he was the Patriarch he appealed to the iudgment of the Apostolicall sea and of S. Peter Prudentius euery where in his Hymnes at the ashes bones of Martyrs adoreth the king of Martyrs S. Hierome hath written against Vigilantius in defence of reliques and honour due to Saints He hath written also against Iouinian for the state and vowes of virginity S. Ambrose did honour his Patrons S. Geruasius and S. Protasius with a most famous solemnity whose fact it pleased God to commend with more then one prodigy And therefore to omit the rest if it were not manifest by the Bishops leanesse how much he hath consumed his body with his ten yeares study of the Fathers and Councells by these contrary deuises which he sayth he hath found in them a man might wel imagine that he had neuer seene them Amongst other bookes of Controuersy very learned and profitable set forth in our English tongue by the direction of Gods holy spirit wherewith so many haue been conuerted to the Catholike faith there is no one that I would rather commend to the reading of a iudicious Protestant then the booke intituled the Protestants Apology for the Roman Chruch In which authour I cannot tell whether I should more cōmend the substance of the matter or the labour or the method or the breuity or the perspicuity or the fidelity or in fine the modesty of the manner wherewith it is written wherein you in particuler of the Innes of Court haue a speciall interest For as in the beginning it is in tytled to the King so in the end it is recōmended to the examination and consure of the learned Sages of our Cōmon law wherein you shall find three Chapters amongst the rest which do especially make for our present purpose The first folio 74. sequentibus where he sheweth by the confession of the Protestants themselues that the Catholike Roman Religion which is now professed in very many the most important matters in Controuersy betwene you and vs was
the professed doctrine of the ancient Fathers in the first 500. yeares after Christ and consequently out of those rules which the Protestants admit for currant and authenticall he proueth that it was likewise taught in the most Apostolicall tymes The second fol. 207. where he sheweth that the Protestants do not deny very many of their opinions to haue been condemned for heresyes within the aforsayd tyme by the auncient Fathers The third fol. 127. where he alleadgeth the Protestants condemning the Fathers Out of which places also to saue you a labour if need should be I will serue my selfe of many things in the poynts that follow You shall therefore vnderstand that the Fathers of the Church being those Pastours and Doctours of whome S. Paul speaketh Ephes 4.11.12.13 Esa â—6 6 Ephes 4.14 who were to continue by suecession for euer and must not be silent but to the end we be not carryed away with euery wind of new doctrine norcircumuented with the malice of men and craft of errour they must alwayes resist euery new and false opinion arising in the Church of God and as hitherto they haue withstood the innouations of the Valentinians Tacians Manicheans Arians Pelagians Nestorians Donatists c. so while the Church was pure by the Protestants owne confession that is to say within the space of the first 500. yeares after Christ they impugned also diuers others for attempting to bring in sundry poynts of doctrine which are now professed by the Protestants whom for the same cause they haue not spared to record for Heretikes In Aerius therfore they condemned the denyall of prayer Aug. haer 53. Epiph. haer 75. Hier. cont Vigil c. 2. Aug. eccl dog c. 73. and of offering sacrifice for the dead and the denyall of appointed fasts In Vigilantius they reprehend in like maÌ„ner the denyal of prayer to Saints and of worshiping Saints reliques wherof S. Augustine speaketh thus The bodyes of Saints and especially of blessed Martyrs are most sincerely to be â—â—â—â—â—…ed as the members of Christ whosoeuer goeth against this semece is belieued not to be a Christian but an Eunomian and Vigilantian In Xenaias they condemne the denyall of Images which Nicephorus recordeth in this manner This Kenaias was the first o audacious soule and face impudent who vemited forth that voyce Nieeph bist lib. 16. cap. 27. that the Images of Christ and of those that were pleasing to him ought not to be worshiped In Vigilantius and others they condemned the denyall of voluntary pouerty monasticall profession against whome S. Hierome writing Hier. cont vigil prope finem vseth these words amongst many other Neither are Monkes to be terrified by thee from their good purpose of whome vsing thy viperous tongue and biting most fiercely thou disputest saying If all should shut themselues vp or abide in the desert who should frequent the Churches And S. Augustine reprouing Petilian for the same errour sayth thus of him From hence Aug. cont literas Fetil lib. 3. c. 40. he did put himselfe foward with a foule speaking mouth in disgrace of Monkes and Monasteryes In the Nouatians they condemned the denyall of the power of Priests to remit sinnes of whome S. Ambrose writeth thus But they affirme that they giue due honour vnto God to whome alone they reserue power of remitting sinnes Nay sayth he none do greater iniury vnto him then such as go about to repeale his commaundments for when our Sauiour himselfe had sayd in his Ghospell Receiue the holy Ghost whose sinnes you forgiue they are forgiuen c. And a little after he concludeth Who therefore is he that doth most honour him he who â—…yeth his commaundment Amb. lib. 1. de paeniten cap 2. 7. or he that doth resist him 〈…〉 the 7. Chapter why do you baptize if it be not lawfull to forgiue sinnes Pacian in ep ad SimthoÌ„ Noua For in Baptisme all sinnes are forgiuen What matter is it whether the Priests do challenge this power to be giuen vnto them either by prunince or by Baptisme Soc. in hist tripart l. 2. cap. 23. in both which there is the some mystery And Pacianus writing to a Nouatian heretike vseth these words This thou wilt say God alone can do it is true but that which he doth by his Priests is his owne power For what is that which to the Apostles he sayth that which yee bind in earth c. And Socrates reporteth that when Acetius affirmed that hope of remission was not to be expected from Priests but from God alone the Emperour Constantine reproued him merily and sayd O Acetius set vp a ladder if thou canst clibme alone to Heauen meaning that he could not climbe thither vnles the Priest vnbound him In the Manichees (a) Hier in Symbol Aug de fide cont Mantch cap. 9. Whitaker l 10. cont Duraetem pag 883. they condemned the denyall of free will and of remission of sinnes and of grace conferred in Baptisme The affirming of God to be the authour of sinne in Symon Magus (b) Vincent Iren. August ad artic sibi falso art 10. and others The denyall of the necessity of childrens Baptisme in the (c) Aug. haeres 88. Cyril ad Calosyr Pelagians The denyall of the reseruation of the blessed SacrameÌ„t in the Anthropomorphites for the which S. Cyrill sayth they were mad for that sayth he the vertue of the blessing and the liuely grace giuen vnto it do alwayes remaine in it They condemned the impugning of vowed Chastity in (d) Hier. coÌ„t Vigil cap. 1. Iouinian The denyall of the vowed and vnmarried life of Priests in (e) Hier l. 1. coÌ„t Iou. ad Pamach Apol. c. 8. Vigilantius Iouinian and others The denyall of enioyned tymes of pennance in the heretikes called (f) Theod. l 4 haer fab Andiani The denyall of the diuersity of merits for the which S. (g) Aug. ser de tempore 191. Augustine sayth we condemne the errours of Iouinian And S. (h) Hier l. 1 coÌ„t Iouin cap. 2. Hierome reproueth him for teaching that marriage virginity were of equall merit And (i) Coneil Te len reserip Ambr. all Syric ib. S. Ambrose and others do call it a sauage howling speach c promiscuously confounding al thinges thereby c. and abrogating the degrees of diuers kinds of merits In others they condemne the denyall of the possibility of keeping the commaundments We do execrate or curse sayth S. Hierome (k) Hier. expl Simb Aug. ser detempore 191. Prot. Apol p. 218. August de nuptijs l. 2. cap. 29. Epiphan haer â—4 the blasphemy of those who say that God hath commaunded any thing to man which is impossible which are also the very words of S. Augustine Whereupon Christopher Hoffman whom Melancton greatly condemneth asked this question Why Hierome should not rather be accursed who wrote Anathema against those who say that God had commaunded things impossible In Iulianus
you may know this man to be one of those of whom S. Paul speaketh who taking vpon them to be Doctours of the Law do not vnderstand neither what they speake nor of what they affirme Let vs suppose it were true that his eyes were opened as he saith and that he saw manifestly and clerely in the Fathers Canons and Councells those so many Churches whome Rome hath made her aduersaryes do differ little or nothing from the ancient and pare doctrine of the pure Church What other thing I pray you did he see with his eyes broad open so plainly but only this that he is alienated from the Church of God a deceiuer and a killer of the sheep of Christs a blasphemous defender of many horrible Heresyes a disposer to Arianisme and Turcisme insathanized and 〈…〉 c. according to the purity of the Lutheran Ghospell That he is amalepert wicked furious herecike and a slane of the Diuell in defenthing Luther according to the purity of Caluins doctrine That he putteth no difference betwene truth and falshould Christ and Antichrist God and the Diuell but it one of the Antichristian Swyntsh rabble according to the purity of the Puritants themselues And lastly that he is excommunicated and guilty of a wicked errour according to the purity of the Protestants for defending most impurely that all these Sects togeather do differ little or nothing from the purity of the Ghospell SECTION XX. The conclusion of this Tract cōcerning the Bishops motiues by occasion wherof the nature of a motiue is declared and the first Catholike motiue of the holynes and sanctity of Catholike doctrine is propounded AND this much concerning the Bishops Motiues and the formall Reasons of his conuersion which I haue shewed that being in themselues not only strang but also incredible he neither goeth about to proue in this place nor can possibly proue them in his other bookes hereafter because in them he doth not descend to those particuler points which are in Controuersy betwene vs as is manifest by the titles of his bookes themselues And this one Controuersy alone of the Popes Supremacy according to the doctrine of the ancient Church I which is the substance of all the bookes he promiseth is found as I haue shewed to he most extreme against him and that which he maketh the ground thereof hath been also discouered to be a most absurd and most pernicious position as much contrary to the authority of your Bishops and to the Puritan Eldership and to the title of his owne booke as to the Popes Supremacy and if all were true which he pretendeth to proue in his Common wealth it might shew perhaps the Catholike Religion to be false but yours to be the right it could not proue I haue also made it euident vnto you that the Bishops motiues as they are heere set downe in his little booke are as monstrous vntruths as can be deuised and albeit he may saue them from broad lyes perchance vnder the title of some rhetoricall figure whereof he hath been a Maister yet too much of one thing is good for nothing and he cannot deny but that it is a great disgrace euen to the Art of lying to vse this one figure of manifest vntruth so often By this also that hath beene sayd concerning this matter you will further perceiue the Bishop being a man so deeply learned and after ten yeares study hauing produced such reasons as these for the proofe of your Religion how hard or rather how impossible it is for any man whatsoeuer to giue any sound or good reason for it Wherin also by the way it wil be worthy your knowledge to consider that such reasons as may induce a man to be of any Religion are of two sorts For either they proue euery point of Religion in particuler to be true or els they open and declare the euidence of certaine generall principles which being once receiued draw after them the consent of the mind to all those thinges in speciall which are taught or practised in that Religion Vnto the first kind do belong all those books which treat of particuler Controuersyes as of the Masse of prayer for the dead of prayer to Saints Purgatory and the like which indeed to a man that hath but little will or little leasure to read is a wearisome course and tedious way to tryall Vnto the other doth belong those shorter discourses which some haue tearmed motiues and for the Catholike party may be seen in such as haue handled the notes of the Church in Canipian his ten Reasons in the booke of the Three Conuersions of England in Bristow and others Whereunto besides that they must be generall reasons as I haue shewed two things againe are necessary The one that the truth of them be more euident then the truth of other particulers which depend vpon them The other that they induce almen Heathens or Christiās of what belief soeuer they be to change opinion and to submit their iugdments to the obedience of that Religion for which they are produced This being seene if you please but to examine a little all those Protestants books which haue been published in this kind you shall not find any one argument in them which may be called a generall reason or an vniuersall motiue for the truth of your Religion but either they are no lesse obscure then the Religion it selfe as that the word of God is truly preached and the Sacraments rightly administred amongst you or most improbable as that the Protestants haue beene alwayes the most visible Congregation of all other Christian Churches or that your religion accordeth with the doctrine of the ancient Fathers as here the Bishop pretendeth or el they concerne some particuler point in Controuersy and commonly are not only most improbable as that the Masse is Idolatry that the Pope is Antichrist and the like but also most palbably false as that we hope to be saued without the merits of Christ that we worship stockes and stones that for nication is a veniall sinne such other iniuries of like nature as it pleaseth your vnlearned Ministers for want of knowledge or of better matter to lay vpon vs. Whereas on the other side euery Catholike whether learned or vnlearned wise or simple is able to giue you such a reason of his fayth as may be sufficient to moue any indifferent mind of what belief soeuer to like and imbrace it For Almighty God not inforcing man against his wil but drawing him according to his Nature and demaunding a reasonable obedience of him hath ordayned in the sweetnes of his prouidence that all Christians should make profession of some principall motiues of their fayth wherein many others are vertually conrayned saying in their Creed I beleeue the holy Church Catholike Not only to moue others therby but also more and more to confirme themselues in their beliefe For albeit matter of diuine fayth be infinitly aboue the knowledge of naturall reason which
is not able to comprehend it yet is it not coÌ„trary vnto reason but so agreable thereunto that it maketh vs euidently to see and confesse how much we are bound in conscience to imbrace it and to captiuate our vnderstanding vnto the obedience of it And therfore it is further to be considered that the ponderations and inducements which make men Catholiks are commonly the same with those that make men Christians In which respect as all Christians are bound to know them more or lesse according to their capacity so none can reâ—ect or coÌ„demne them without contempt of Christianity being of such importance therunto as that ChristiaÌ„ Religion caÌ„not stand without them Wherfore that you may the better conceiue what difference there is betweene shewes and substance truth errour light and darknes hauing examined the Bishops grounds published in fauour of your Religion I will heere propound and declare vnto you some generall motiues in the befalfe of our Catholike doctrine The first thing therfore that we will consider shal be the holynes and sanctity of the Catholike Church which laying a sound foundation of obedience and Humility in the harts of her children teaching them before all thinges to captiuate their vnderstanding and to subiect their will in matters concerning their soule to their spirituall Pastours goeth forward with them prescribing them other lessons first of Contrition which consisteth in the loue of God aboue all things that are to be beloued and in the hatred of their owne sinnes with sorrow for them aboue all things that are to be hated Secondly of confession calling themselues to a strict accompt for all their sinnes past in the bitternes of their soule remembring euery sinne in particuler accusing themselues intierly of them to their spirituall Father Thirdly of satisfaction in doing pennance for their offences against the Maiesty of God in making amends for iniuryes done to others and in restitution of other mens good name whom they may haue defamed or goods which they haue wrongfully taken or detayned By which meanes hauing reobtayned the fauour and loue and grace of God and thereby being inabled and strengthned to do his will and to keep his Commaundements they are afterward exercised in all kind of vertue And lastly such as wil be perfect the Catholike faith leadeth further on and giueth them yet a higher lesson teaching them to renouÌ„ce the riches the pleasures and the vayne glory of this world and to offer themselues vp a perfect Holocaust or Sacrifice to Almighty God by consecrating themselues wholy to his seruice in the state of Chastity voluntary Pouerty and perpetuall Obedience vnder the will of their Superiour From which heauenly doctrine deliuered vnto them by Christ himselfe haue proceded those excellent effects of Godly life which the Protestants themselues haue commended in them Centur. 7. cap. 7. colum 181. As the bestowing of almost the whole day inprayer their obedience to the Magistrate their amity and concord easily remitting iniuryes carefull to spend their tyme in honest vocation and labour curteous and liberall to the poore and to strangers and in their iudgments and contracts most true and faithfull Vpon the same foundations also haue been raised all those notable and famous workes of mercy which some Protestants otherwise no friends of ours haue obserued in our Countrey and propounded them to their Protestant brethren for example of Imitation their memorable buildings and ancient Monuments Churches Chappell 's and other Religious houses numbers of goodly Bridges Almes-houses Hospitalls and Spittles High wayes Pauements and Cawseys Famous Colledges Halls Vniuersityes Scholes and Free-scholes Thus M. Stubs who was such an enemy to Catholikes that rayling against them in very many places among other opprobrious speaches he tearmeth them Blasphemers and sacrilegious Papists From this doctrine also hath proceded the in finite number of those that forsake all they haue abandoning the world and entring into religion and many amongst them haue left their large possessions offices and dignityes Crownes and Septers to take vp their Crosse and follow Christ Hence hath proceded that austerity of life aboue the course of nature which the world admyreth in many of them and could not be otherwise supported but only by the vnspeakable consolations and infinite ioyes wherwith it pleaseth God to 〈◊〉 and require them for there extraordinary seruice And to omit their excellent bookes of piety and deuotion and perfect kynd of knowledge in all kynd of learning hence also procedeth that great zeale of the saluation of others forsaking their Countreys induring great labours and exposing themselues to all kind of imminent daungers in the conuersion of other Countreys though neuer so far remote neuer so cruell fierce on barbarous To conclude out of this Schoole haue proceded those infinit nuÌ„bers of Saints and Martyrs among whom we reckon aboue fourscore of the bloud Royall of England besides infinit numbers of our owne Nation And this age of ours hath not fayled to bring forth great plenty of the same fruites in our owne and in forrayne Countreys whose imminent vertues it hath pleased God to recoÌ„mend to the world with his Letters Pattents and broad Seale of supernaturall effects and the ostension of many myracles These vertues therefore of Humility Obedience Pennance Prayer Amity Liberality Iustice Chastity Pouerty Patience Holinshed last Edit part 1. pag. 100. Austerity vpon there owne bodyes Charity and Zeale in the conuersion of others were the arguments wherewith S. Augustine the Monke conuerred our an cestours and wherewith as the Apostles in the Primitiue Church so now the Iesuits and other Religious men of this tyme do ouercome the ignorance of the barbarous the fallacies of Hereticks the pollicyes pryde and ostentation of worldly wisedome in the conuersion of sundry Nations to the Faith of Christ For being sent by the ordinary meanes which God himselfe hath appoynted in his Church and out of obedience to their superiours to preach the Ghospel which in effect is nothing els but this good news that all men of what state or condition soeuer rich or poore whole or sick at liberty or in thraldome may easily attaine vnto perfect felicity hauing grace abound antly offered vnto them through the Fayth meries of Iesus Christ to become the sons of God in this life by louing him and keping his Commaundements and to enioy him in the next by seing him eternally as he is the absolute perfection of infinit vertue in himselfe and the indeficient fountay no of infynit goodnes to those that behold him all men that heare and see such Preachers may easily know them to be sent from God and as the Propher sayd of them to be the seed whome God hath blessed by the workes of God which they do and by that most diuine doctrine of theirs and most Angelicall perfection of life which they teach and practise And now to turne ouer the leafe and to consider the manners of the Protestants they on the
other side begin with Pryde which is the root of all vice as the Catholikes begin with Humility which is the mother of all vertue For they teach their followers not to submit themselues to the iudgement of others in matters of Faith nor to any authority vpon earth of Church or Councell but rather to confide in the sense of their owne vnderstanding though they be neuer so simple which is the greatest and highest kynd of pryde that can be imagined next to the pryde of Lucifer For as he would haue made himselfe equall to God so euery Protestant if he follow his owne grounds compareth or rather preferreth himself in knowledge of the truth before the Church which is the Spouse of God infallibly assisted by his holy spirit as hereafter shall be proued Neither can they show one act of Christian humility or of those other supernaturall vertues aboue mentioned exercised or practised in any degree amongst them nor can they name any other commendable action of theirs wherin the heathens and such as are no Christians do not equalize and at least heretofore haue not much excelled them Many other poynts of doctrine also they teach which no vertuous mynd or well disposed nature amongst them would not be a shamed to follow being vtterly to be condemned by the very light of nature For they teach that we haue no free will to do well or ill which togeather with their doctrine of reprobation doth not only take away all meanes of doing well but also maketh it impossible to auoyd any sinne whereunto they affirme that men are compelled by the vnresistable power of God as in their opinion by the same necessity all men that do well are likewise impelled to vertue They teach also that it is impossible to keep the Commaundements and that Christians are deliuered from the obedience of them That Chastity is not to be vowed because it is not in our power VVhitak cont Camp rat 8. p. 153 from whence it followeth that it is not in the power of a man to be without a woman nor of a woman to be without a man which is a wholsome doctrine for yong vnmarried men and women Iacobus Andraeas Cont. 4. in cap. 22. Lucae Luther de captiu Babylon Perkins reformed Cath. pa. 9. M. Fulk against the. Rem Test fol. 447. willet Synop p. 560 and for such as are married whose partners are sick or absent from thē They contemne voluntary pouerty obedience set dayes of Easting Order of holy disciplyne and other good workes which as a pryme Protestant affirmeth is censured as new Papistry and new Monachisme amongst them They teach likewise that menare instified by only faith that they cannot loose their saluation vnlesse they will not belieue that he that doth once belieue can neuer loose his fayth by Adultery or any other sinne that sinne is not hurtfull to him that actually belieueth that vnto the faithfull professours all sinnes are veniall and vnto others all sinnes are mortall By which you see what a wyde gate they set open to all kind of sinne and sensuality the fruits whereof the Protestants themselues Luther in poliella cone 1. Dom. Aduent haue not been ashamed to confesse nor spared to publish that the seauenth head Diuell had inuaded the most part of their Ghospellers and made them worse then they were vnder the Pope that now euery man is possest with seauen Diuells whereas before to witt vnder the Pope they were but possest with one That in the Papacy men were religious in their errour euery man did willingly follow good workes Now in the light of the knowne truth they are more prophane then the sonnes of the world Looke vpon this cuangelicall people sayth Erasmus bring me forth one Prot. Apol pag. 414.415 whom this Ghospell of a gormandizer hath made sober of lewd chast I will shew thee many who are become worse then they were before And againe those whom before I haue knowne pure sincere and voyd of dissimulation hauing afterwards giuen themselues to this Ghospell they began to talke of wenches to become dycers to cast away their prayers most impatient reuengers of euery iniury vaine vypers in their manners and to haue cleane put off the nature of men I speake what I haue found by experience So far Erasmus You shall heare also how Musculus describeth his owne Lutherans Andraeas Muscul Dominica pruna Aduentus With vs Lutherans sayth he at this present thus standeth the case That if any be desirous to see a great rabble of knaues of persons turbulent deceitfull coseners and vsurers let him go to any Citty where the Ghospell is purely preached and he shall find them there by multitudes For it is more manifest then the day light that there were neuer among the Ethnicks Turkes and other Infidels more vnbridled vnruly persons with whome all vertue and honesty is quite extinct then are amongst the professors of the Ghospell The like description Castalio maketh vnto you Castalio apud Rescium p. 54. of them of Geneua who dwelled long among them and was a most particuler friend of Beza They are praud sayth he pufft vp with glory and reuenge their life is infamous and villanous they are Maisters of Art in reproches lyes cruelty treason and insupportable arrogancy They name their Geneua the holy Citty and their assemblyes Hierusalem but in very truth we should call it O Babylon Babylon ô most infamous Sodomy and children of Gomorrha Caluin lib. de scand p. 118.127 Whereunto Caluin himselfe giueth sufficient testimony where he asketh what other intention had the most that betooke themselues to the Ghospell but only the yoake of superstitiont being shaken off solutiùs in omnem lasciuiā diffluerent that with more liberty they might flow abroad and run out into all lasciuiousnes And to come nearer to you I must intreat you to be content to heare what some other good Protestants of our Nation haue writen of the manners of our owne Countrey For first of your Puritan preachers M. Sutcliffe writeth thus Sutcliffs answere to a ubell supplicatory pag. 89. Their pride sayth he malice cruelty couetousnes vsury glutony and chamber cheere which they call fasting and colour with tearmes of godly exercises do notoriously conuince them Neither yet sayth he further do I tell all for other matters I haue thought good to keep for a rare banquet c. And concerning the rest M. Stubs hauing told of his trauell in compassing the whole Realme about with a long and wearisom iourney sayth thus thereof As concerning the people Stubs in motiues to good works in the epistle ante med I haue found them in most places dissolute proud enuious malicious disdaynefull couetous ambitious carelesse of good workes a generall decay of good workes or rather a plaine defection and falling away from God and the ancient monuments Churches Schooles c. either quite dissolued or els so ruined and decayed as if the first
more eminent then any other For she is the seat of glory our sanctifycation And our Sauiour also prouiding an Answere against such doubts of little ones that might be led away from the manifestation of the clarity of the Church sayth A Citty placed vpon a hill cannot be hid for to this end the seat of glory our sanctify cation is so exalted that no eare be giuen to them who would draw others away to certayne remnants or peeces of religions saying Behold heere is Christ behold there for by such speaches behold heere behold there they shew but some parts whereas that Citty standeth vpon a hill what hill but that which according to the Prophet Daniel grew and was made a great mountayne Then (e) cont CresconiuÌ„ l. 1. c. 33. we hold and belieue the truth of Scripture when we do that which is pleasing to the vniuersall Church whome the Scripture recoÌ„mendeth vnto vs whosoeuer is affrayd to be deceiued by the obscurity of this question of not rebaptising Heretikes whereof in Scripture there is no example let him informe himselfe therein of that Church whom whithout any ambiguity the Scripture doth demonstrate But if thou doubt whether the Scripture commend that Church vnto thee which is dilated ouer all Nations with most copious numerosity I will load thee with many most manifest testimonyes out of the same authority (f) Epist. 161. Because we see the Church of God which is called Catholicke dissused through the world me thinkes we should not doubt of the most euident fullfilling of the whole Prophesy therof If (g) De â—nitat Eccl. the Church of Christ be described by the diuine and most certaine testimonyes of Canonicall Scripture to be in al Nations whatsoeuer they say Heretikes whatsoeuer they bring let vs not beleeue them In many Nations where the Church is they are not where they are the Church is which is euery where How (h) Ep. 48. do we trust to haue receiued Christ manifested in Scriptures if from thence we haue not receiued the Church which is also manifested therein As he shall be accursed who sayth that Christ hath not suffered nor risen againe the third day because we haue learned in the Euangelicall truth that Christ ought to suffer and the third day to rise againe from the dead So likewise he shall be accursed who shall teach a Church beside the coÌ„munion of all Nations because it followeth in the same place of truth that pennance and forgiuenes of sinnes shall be preached in his name to al Nations The (i) In psal 30. Con. 2. Prophets haue spoken more obscurely of Christ then of the Church I thinke the reason was because they saw in spirit that men would make partyes against the Church and not striuing so much about Christ would rayse vp great contentions about the Church Therefore that was more plainly foretold and more openly prophesied concerning which the greater strife and contention was after to insue We (k) Ep. 48. indeauour to demonstrate by this name Catholike that the Church is in all Nations according to the promisses of God and so many and manifest or aâ—les of the truth it selfe Who (l) De vnitat Eccles is so deafe who it so beside himselfe who is so blind-mynded as to speake against those most euident tests monyes alleadging in my places for the vniuersality of the Church but he that knoweth not what he speaketh By (m) Quaest Euang. l. 1. quaest 38. the East and by the West our Lord would signify the whole world through the which his Church was to be diffused c. aptly he teaâ—â—…eth the Church lightning which is wont to come forth with brightnes froÌ„ the clouds Therfore the authority of the Church being cleerly and manifestly established he admonisheth all that would beleeue in him not to beleeue Schismatickes and Heretiks That which he sayth his comming should be known from the East to the West is against those who are named to be in some part of the world and say that Christ is with them that which he sayth his comming shall be knowne like vnto lightning is against those that gather secretly and are hidden as it were in secret places and in the desart for the name of lightning doth appertaine to the manifestation and clarity of the Church There (n) cont ep Parm. cap. 5. is no security or assurance of vnity vnlesse according to the promises of God the Church declared to be placed vpon a mountayne cannot be hid Behold (o) In epist IoaÌ„ tract 1. thou hast the Church ouer all the world do not follow false iustifyers true distroyers be in that hill which hath filled the world They 〈…〉 stumble at this mountayne and when you bid them ascend they say there is no mountain and they sooner breake their foreheads against it then seeke to haue their dwelling in it How (p) In psal 47. great is the hill whereupon we should pray to be heard of God so great sayth he as that it filleth the world Vpon (q) In psal 44. that mountaine which hath filled the face of the earth there let him adore that will receaue there let him aske that will be heard there let him confesse that will be forgiuen In (r) Epist. 165. thy seed all Nations shal be blessed wherfore trusting to these promises if an Angell from heauen should say vnto thee leaue the Christianity of the whole world and follow the part of Donatus thou shouldest hold him accursed because he would separate thee from the whole and thrust thee into a part aliene thee from the promises of God Taking (s) In psal 56. a part and loosing the whole they will not communicate with the whole world Oh hereticall madnes thou dost beleeue with me that which thou seest not that which thou seest thou denyest Thou beleeuest with me that Christ is exalted aboue the heauens which we do not see and thou denyest his glory to be ouer all the earth which we see The (t) De vnitat Eccles cap. 2. Church is one whom our Ancestors named Catholike that they might shew out of the very Name how she is euery where (u) de vera relig c. 7. We must keep the Christian Religion and Communion with that Church which is Catholike and which is called Catholike not only by her owne but also by all her enemyes For whether they will or no the heretikes themselues when they speake not with their owne but with strangers they call the Catholike Church by no other name but Catholike For they cannot be vnderstood vnlesse they distingnish her by that name whereby she is knowne of all the world (x) In psal 57. Let not certayne flouds my brethren trouble you which are called torrents their water runs away it makes a noyse for a while and will quickly cease they cannot long contunue Many Heresyes are already dead and gone they ran in their brooks
Church according to the Scriptures must needs haue been one chiefe cause of those swarmes of Athiests in Protestant Countreyes whereof their principall writers do so much complayne Whereat I wonder nothing at all For to what end did our Sauiour come into the world but only to espouse his Church in Faith To what end did he instruct her with his preaching redeeme her with his death and Passion and sanctify her with his holy Spirit augment and confirme her with the labours of his Apostles and with the bloud of so many millions of Martyrs but only to make her such a glorious Kingdome euen vpon earth according to all the former Prophesies so constant so stronge so imoueable that she should vphold the glory of his name against Princes and Potentats against Kings and Emperours against Schismaticks Heretikes and wicked Christians and against all the force of the world and on the Diuell himselfe that would seeke withall his arts and engines to suppresse it Wherefore if our Sauiour be the true Messias whose Name was foretold to be Deusfortis Emmanuel Esa 9 6. Esa 7.15 the strong God God with vs and who according to his owne speach came into the world to bynd the strong man which is to say the Diuell that held all the world in peaceful captiuity before his comming then it must needs follow that the Kingdome which he erected shall stand for euer Matt. 16.18 and that the Gates of hâ—ll shall not preuaile against it But on the contrary side if it were true which the Protestants affirme that his Church hath erred ceasing to be the true Church or which is all one that his Kingdome was destroyed and that there came one after him stronger then himselfe that is to say the Diuell who did bynd his body whereof he was the head defiled his Spouse bereaued him of this Kingdome Matt. 12.20 and tooke his vessells and riches from him then of necessity it must be granted either that the former Prophesies of him were not true and that the Scripture is false or els that our Sauiour was not the true Messias who contrary to the Prophets and to his owne promises and protestations to maintayne his Church for euer hath suffered it to perish and therfore was not able to defend it This argument therefore of the largnes glory contynuance visibility and inuincible constancy of the Church is of great force to induce any man whatsoeuer whether he haue the Name or not so much as the Name of a ChristiaÌ„ to become a Catholike For the Scriptures euen as they are in the hands of our enemyes the Iewes â—iâ—t full of the Prophesies of those excellent perfectioÌ„s of the Kingdom of Christ which according to the present tymes and according to the historyes of all former ages we shewe to haue been performed since the death of Christ in the Catholike Church that was planted by himselfe and propagated by his holy spirit which according to his promise was giuen to his Apostles and their successours after them to remayne with them for euer And if it be manifest that this world in respect of the beauty and perfection therof Rom. 1. is the worke of Gods hand condemning all those that do not acknowledge him to be the Creatour of it much more manifest is it Eph. 5.27 that this glorious Kingdome and Church is the worke of God wherein he sheweth the riches of his power of his wisedome and of his infynit goodnes condemning all those that will not acknowledge it and subiect themselues to the gouerment therof SECTION XXIIII Foure other particuler motiues of the Conuersion of Nations of the Miracles of the Martyrdoms and of the vnion of the members of the Catholike Church are briefly propounded VNDER these generall tearmes of Holy Catholike Church are comprised many other partiticuler gifts and graces which being all supernaturall and diuine ech of them is a sufficient motiue to perswade any mans coÌ„science that the Catholike Church is the only blessed of God and the elected spouse of Christ our Sauiour Whereof being entred into this matter of Motiues I thinke good to giue instance in some few remitting you for the rest to other Catholike authours who haue treated more largely of this matter Diuers therfore haue been induced to belieue that the Catholike Fayth is the only true Religion by obseruing that all Nations and Countreys which at any tyme professed the Name of Christ haue been conuerted by Catholikes alone And in this last age since the Protestant religion began they haue reduced and subiected very many Kingdomes vnto the yoke of Christ whereof Philippus Nicolaus Coment de reg Christil 1. pag. 315. p. 52. Sym. Lyth in respons altera ad alteram Gretseri Apol. p. 331. Tertul. de praescrip c. 42. a Protestant numbreth more then 20. In so much as another Protestant in his answere to Gretser the Iesuit sayth The Iesuits within the space of a few yeares c. haue filled Asia Affrick and America with their Idols Whereas in the meane tyme the Protestants haue only sowne tares among the wheat atteÌ„ding as Tertullian sayd of the Heretikes of his tyme not to conuert the heathen but to peruert those that were before conuerted And although they haue sundry tymes attempted to conuert some heathen with hope to possesse their Countreys yet no King or Kingdome or Countrey or Prouince Sarauia in defension tract de diuersis gradibus Ministrorum pag. 309. was euer conuerted by them And Beza sayth plainly that the Protestants may leaue such peregrinatious to those locusts that belieue the Name Iesus Which conuersions of so many sauage and barbarous Nations by the words of a few poore men with a little broken language to imbrace a Religion so far aboue the reach of Nature and in respect of the austerity therof so contrary to flesh bloud and especially to their former intemperate liues and brutish customes as it shewath Gods promises by the Prophets to be dayly fullfilled in them and proueth our Church thereby to be the Church of Christ So it is most euident that their conuerters were supernaturally assisted by the strength of Gods Arme which is sufficient to perswade any indifferent man that the doctrine they preach can be no other then the true Ghospell reuealed by Christ to his owne Apostles Which also is a manifest token that the grounds of Christianity and of our Catholike doctrine are the very same And that the Protestants for want of them can neuer conuert any Heathen Nation to Christian religion denying as they do the grounds therof which are the same with the grounds of the Catholike doctrine Secondly therefore many haue submitted themselues to the obedience of the Catholike Church by consideratioÌ„ of those notorious miracles which in all ages haue beene wrought therin being such marks of truth as no man can deny them to be the seales of God and the signes of his owne hand If I should
weeke they haue disputations of the matter giuen them in that weeke And euery moneth as the 3. Maisters of Logicke Phisicke and Metaphisicke can agree they meete togeather in the same Schoole withall their Schollers and dispute one against another in the matters of that moneth wherunto as being more publique other Maisters and Doctors are inuited And besides all this they haue other priuate exercises and helps of learning in their particuler Colledges At the end of the yeare such as haue studyed best are preferred to defend Conclusions publique of the whole yeare and they that haue heard their course of three years and are the most worthy of all their fellows defend conclusions of all Philosophy with great solemnity and concourse of people Which course of study breedeth such emulation among them and draweth them on with such delight of their owne profit that their Superiours haue more ado to keep them from studying too much then els where Maisters are wont to haue in keeping their schollers from doing nothing Their course of Diuinity lasteth foure years The manner of their Lectures disputations is almost the same with the former of the Philosophers sauing that they haue three seuerall Maisters who read euery day in seuerall matters and explicate the most difficult places of the Scripture and Fathers as their former Maister did expound Aristotle and other Philosophers And insteed of Mathematikes morall Philosophy they haue other Lectures of Tongues of the Text of Scripture Besides Philosophy and Diuinity for such as haue lesse tyme or lesse strength of mynd or body there are two other Lectures euery day of Positiue Diuinity which cōmonly is called Cases of Conscience a study as litle knowne to Protestants as there is little care or vse of Conscience amongst them Their course of Philosophy and Diuinity being thus ended such amongst the Iesuits themselues as are thought to be most fit for Schooles are permitted for two yeares to go ouer the whole body of their studyes agayne by their owne priuate industry conferring the same with the doctrine and opinions of other writers afterward they are appoynted and made Maisters to read Philosophy and with tyme Diuinity if their strength and talents do so deserue By this meanes you see that almost of necessity they must haue excellent Maisters and excellent schollers the one is a great help and a great encouragment to perfect the other Besides all this that hath beene sayd of their course of study it is of great moment to consider that all the Maisters and the greatest part of their schollers are Religious men or liue religiously in Seminaryes and Colledges where being freed frō all kind of worldly care and occasion of passion disorder or temptation hauing their set tymes for prayer and honest recreation and such as be Priests offering dayly sacrifice to Almighty God and such as are none confessing and communicating once a weeke at the least they enioy that quietnes of mind sweet peace of conscience which togeather with Gods benediction is most fit for science And thus they cōtinue not only for a while as elswher schollers are wont to do vntill they marry or get preferment but al their lines long without any secular distraction or deniation whatsoeuer And that which I haue sayd of the Iesuites may be also affirmed either wholy or in great part of many other secular Doctours and almost of all Religious Orders the Dominicans Franciscant Augustines Carmelits Benedictins Bernardines and the rest who for euery houre which your schollers or Ministers do commonly spend in study or prayer they that study pray least spend 2. at the least one with the other especially considering the constancy continuance of ours in these exercisus for all their liues and the great inconstancy and discontinuance of yours which is notorious And therfore if the grounds of all kind of learning being soundly layd constant prayer and good life and the study of Scripture be the fittest meanes to find out the truth of Religion and to obtaine true wisedome at the hands of God It cannot be denyed but that the possession and perfection therof must rather be found in the Catholike Clergy then among the Ministord of any other sect of Religion in the world Whereof our Catholike Deuynes in this present age haue also made euident demonstration by their workes and wrytings For whether you respact their erudition in the sacred Tongnes their explications of all arts and scyences and especially their readings vpon all questions of Diuinity their commentaryes vpon all the parts of Scripture their treatises as well of deuntion piety and perfection of Christian life with the meanes to attayne thereunto as also of prayer both vocall and mentall which is againe deuided into meditation and supernaturall contemplation of which later parts the Protestants haue neither the practise nor scarce vnderstand the meaning the number and the excellency of those bookes which the Catholikes haue published in this age of ours is so great and so emiment that no former ages of the world for aboundance and perfection of Scyence put togeather may be compared with it Wheras if you will reflect a little and iudge indifferently you shall scarce find three bookes published by the Protestants vnlesse you will except those of Poetry printed in vulgar languages and in respect of the matter are not worthy to be excepted which are not already contemned by the Protestants themselues and are therfore no way likely to remayne vnto posterity Thus we haue shewed the authority of the Catholike professours for the truth of their Religion whether you respect their number or wisedome or learning or perfection of life to be such as doth most euidently and notoriously exceed the testimony of any other Church or Congregation whatsoeuer Vnto which authority of the secular Clergy and Layty and of all the seuerall Orders and Religious bodyes of the Catholike Church at this tyme if you ioyne the authorityes of all the holy and ancient Fathers whose naturall tallents and supernaturall gifts of learning sanctity wisedome are aboue all comparison And if vnto these againe you ioyne the authorityes of so many general Councells as haue been receaued by the vniuersal Church wherein so many tymes all the learning and wisedome of the whole world haue met togeather And lastly vnto all this if you adde the testimonyes of all Christians for a 1000. yeares togeather as the Protestants themselues confesse and of all the former ages euen from the tyme of Christ as we haue proued by the Fathers of those times vtterly cōdemning the opinions of the Protestants and being mutually condemued by them they come to be so many worlds of witnesses as there hath been ages since the tyme of Christ and visibly make vp that great Mountayne of authority which filleth the world and which all those that will not ascend to know the truth must needs be crushed by it if they resist it and eternally perish
vnder it if they contemne it This is that great benefit which S. Augustine in his booke de vtilitate Credends acknowledgeth that the world in these latter tymes hath receiued of Almighty God who of his infinit goodnes hath prouided that the Catholike Faith being so austere to the eye of flesh and bloud so much aboue reason and so contrary as it is to our corrupted nature should be recommended vnto vs as it were by the generall consent and common beliefe of all people This saith S. Augustine the diuine prouydence hath brought to passe by the predictions of the Prophets by the humanity and doctrine of Christ by the trauells of the Apostles Aug. de vtil Cred. cap. 7. by the contumelyes crosses bloud and death of Martyrs by the laudable life of Saints and in all these things by such myracles as were fit for matters and vertues so great as these according as the oportunity of times required Wherefore seing the assistance of God to be so great and so great the fruite and benefit thereof shall we doubt to cast our selues into the lap of his Church Considering that now euen by the confession of mankind it selfe she hath receaued the prohemynence of all authority from the Apostolike seat by succession of Bishops the Heretikes in the meane tyme hauing barked about her all in vayne partly by the iudgment of the people themselues partly by the grauity of Councells and partly by the Maiesty of miracles hauing been all condemned To which Church not to grant the highest degree of authority is either extreme impiety or precipitate arrogancy For if our soules haue no certayne way to attayne true wisedome and saluation but where fayth beliefe prepareth and adorneth our reason what is it els to resist authority indued or est abbshed with so great labour but to be vngratefull to this help and assistance of Almighty God Thus far S. Augustine of the notable benefit that our faith hath receiued from the Common consent of so many Nations therein which he calleth the confession of mankind and of the wonderfull meanes which God hath vsed for the procurement of this vniuersall testimony vnto the truth thereof For albeit when the Apostles began first to preach all rules and principles of humayne wisedome were inforced to giue place vnto that diuine authority wherewith they were sent to their gifts of Tongues to the myracles they wrought to the power of that spirit which spake by them and to the splendour of those celestiall vertues which proceded from them yet since that time the sweetnes of Gods prouidence hath so ordayned that both these authorityes Humayne and Diuine the wisedome of God and the wisedome that naturally directeth worldly men should be ioyned togeather to the end that all mens wills might be drawne more easily gently and connaturally to imbrace the doctrine of Christ And that all vnderstandings great or small might either be conuinced or conuicted by it The voice of the most the testimony of those that are true and honest and the iudgment example and practise of the wisest being the best part of that light of nature which God hath lent vs for the direction of our liues his infinit goodnes and perfect iustice could neuer haue permitted this authority of the Catholike Church to haue grownâ— to this vnmeasurable greatnes nor could haue made it so inuincibly victorious against all those that haue opposed themselues vnto it confirming the same with so many Prophesies of Scripture and promises of his owne and not only with the ostension of miracles and heroycall constancy of innumerable Martyrs but also with the glory and splendour of so many other benedictions of excellent learning diuine wisedome admirable vnity piety and perfection of vertue as hath been shewed vnlesse it had been so ordayned by him for the recommendation and preseruation of that Truth which himselfe descended from heauen to teach the world and to dye the death of the Crosse for the eternall memory and fructification of it For if in any thing we should be deceiued by the power and greatnes of his authority we might well say it was no fault of ours but rather as S. Augustine affirmeth it were either extreme impiety or precipitate arrogancy Not to be so deceiued what need there any other reuelations or miracles as S. Augustine also obserueth in a case so cleere as this If so many Nations haue been conuerted to the obedience of this supernaturall faith and for so many ages haue been preserued in vnity therby without signes and miracles this it selfe is a most sufficient apparent and perpetuall miracle for the testimony of the truth thereof SECTION XXVI The same Authority and the grounds of Christian Fayth are further declared AS the obiect of reason doth farre exceed the knowledge of our senses so the truth of things supernaturall and diuine do no lesse surmount the light of reason And therfore the end of man and the meanes to attaine vnto it being both of them supernaturall diuine as it was necessary that God should reueale and deliuer the knowledge thereof to his Prophets and Apostles obliging all men to beleeue them so it was also expedient that there should be some certayne meanes ordained and established by Almighty God wherby we might infallibly know what it was that was so reuealed vnto them For otherwise if there be not such supernaturall and certaine help to attaine the knowledge of those Diuine Misteryes which do so much exceed the power and faculty of human vnderstanding to perswade our selues that we shall be able to arriue to any certaine knowledge of them by any human diligence or naturall endeauour alone were as wise a matter as for a man to go about to read in the darke or for him that hath no eyes to iudge of colours Nay it were much more ridiculous For such a kind of darke reading or blind iudgment might be practised or aduentured for some little wager or to make men pastyme but Christians that make their beliefe the rule of their life and death laying not only their fortunes but also their soules vpon it vnles they haue some Diuine help and infallible assistance of the spirit of God to know those things which they beleeue to haue beene reuealed to the Apostles and can no way be discerned by human reason they can neuer be excused from meer madnes and ridiculous folly Vpon what grounds the Catholiks beleeue the doctrine and preaching of the Apostles which is the Ghospell and the obiect of their fayth to haue beene reuealed from the mouth of God and that the Church is perpetually infallibly assisted by God himself in the preseruation of the foresayd doctrine from all stayne or touch of errours hath beene shewed already Almighty God hauing so magnified and fortifyed the authority of his Church as if the will of man be not too much peruerted it is impossible for his vnderstanding to resist it And therefore as S. Augustine sayd
been so much ashamed thereof as to conceale it if he had knowne in what playne termes some of his ancestours whose course he followeth domaunded the like sauour And that you may the lesse maruell thereat if such a thing should happen I will set you downe part of an Epistle to the Bishop of Constance written and subscribed vnto by Swinglius Leo Iude Erasmus and 8. other Ministers who all of them cry out for wyues therein and after some intimation made of the heauenly doctrine so long hydden Prot Apol. fol 572. sequent and in their tyme restored confesse and say Hitherto we haue tryed that this gift of Chastity hath been denyed vnto vs we haue burned O for shame so greatly that we haue committed many things vnseemely To speake freely without boasting we are not otherwise of such vnciuill manners that we should be euill spoken of among the people to vs committed this one poynt only excepted Thus they Which if you please to see in the Protestāts Apology when you are at leasure you shall find also another longer petition to the purpose that will either make you laugh or lament at the weaknes of your first Apostles But thus the Bishop recommending his good name vnto you concludeth his 2. first Motiues of change of place and saith That being admonished by these dangers drawne by this vocation and thus animated therein he toke himselfe to flight then most nimbly SECTION XXVIII VVherein the Bishop his zeale and desire to try which is the last Motiue that induced him to forsake his Countrey is discussed HIS third Motiue which he seemeth all this while to haue forgotten he beginneth in this manner pag. 28. Charuas tamen Christi super omnia vrget me but yet the Charity of Christ vrgeth me aboue all things Which when I read I could not chuse but smyle remēbring how one that was troubled with vermyne in Italy went shrugging vp and downe and singing that verse of Petrarch S'amor non è che dunque è quel ch'to sento If loue it be not what is that I feele For it is very probable that pouerty and famine began to pinch him as not hauing sufficient to feed his maw after he had resigned his poore Bishoprike to his Nephew as I haue shewed And the Italian might better compare his life to naughty loue then the Bishop his counterfeit charity to the diuine loue of Iesus Christ so that the one if he had thought his life to be loue should haue been no lesse mistaken then the other This charity sayth he did vrge him to cry And to get him vp to some high place that his cry might be heard the further if you had euer been in Venice you would imagine him to be possest with the spirit of some Montebanck not only in respect of his mounting and crying but also in respect of his discourse For with a great many arrogant tearmes and boasting words cōfusedly vttered you would thinke he meant to sell the wares of his new booke as Montebancks sell boxes But for orders sake I will reduce all that he sayth to three heads For either he sheweth what it is that he intendeth to cry or what authority he hath to cry or answereth certayne obiections that might be made against his crying I expected iudgement Isa 5. 7. and behold iniquity and iustice and behold a cry Me thinkes as S. Augustine said to a Donatist that part of the world should suffice him wherein our Lord would that the chiefe of his Apostles should be crowned with a most glorious Martyrdome For what could the President of that Church answere but that which the Apostolike Seat and the Roman Church doth anciently hold with others or at least that the authority of Christendome which S. Augustine calleth the Confession of mankind might haue suffised to haue kept this man in quietnesse and obedience but insteed of iudgment behold iniquity and insteed of iustice behold a cry For this man is so farre from hearing and obaying the Church which our Sauiour hath appointed to teach him that being worse then an Infidell he cryeth against the Church and with extreme arrogancy would inforce the Church to belieue him and to be obedient vnto him That which he intendeth to cry is the matter of his booke of Christian Common Wealth whereof he vaunteth as if therby the world should know Pag. 28.33 what a champion the Protestants haue gotten for them For by meanes thereof the errours of Rome must be made manifest and the purity of the Protestant doctrine shal be no longer hidden and a number of their Churches reiected by that of Rome shal be declared Catholike and the way of making peace and vnion ouer all the world shal be cleerly manifested And all this he pretendeth with such confidence and presumption as if with him the Catholike verity were turned Protestant or as if he had gotten a Monopoly of the doctrine of Christ and that no part thereof were warrantable without his marke or licence and with his approbation that any Religion might passe for currant Of this booke of his he speaketh euery where with such admiration as a man may easily perceiue it is the Idol that he adoreth and was doubtlesse the principall cause of his fall and for the loue of it more then any thing els he was content to renounce both his Faith and Countrey But as Idolls are nothing so I haue shewed sufficiently that this Idoll of his contayneth nothing And though it were neuer so strong and substantiall yet cōming once forth and falling vpon the stone of Peter which is the Rock of the Church wherat it aymeth it must needs be broken all to peeces And considering with my selfe what the cause might be that all this while it is not published I am perswaded that the Protestants themselues perceiuing the deformity thereof and especially the clouen foot of the Diuell I meane the deniall of all Iurisdiction in the Church of God which is the crutch wheron it standeth were either affrayed or ashamed to prynt it which if it be true we shall shortly heare that either he will take the course that Achitophel did when his Counsell was contemned or els that before it be long forsaking Kent and Christendome he will turne himselfe towards the Turkes and Gentiles And indeed intending as he doth to take away the occasion of Schisme not by establishing one head vpon earth as our Sauiour did but by beating downe the same not by order of Iurisdiction but by the disorder of licentious liberty any man may perceiue it is a Diuellish deuice not to bring forth vnion but to breed confusion nor to gather with Christ but to scatter with Antichrist And therefore the Cryer himselfe considering the matter a little better and being ashamed to discouer in playne tearmes his wicked meaning correcteth himselfe afterward and instead of demonstrating the way of this vnion which he promised before he saith afterward that
if he do not open the same he wil be contented to nod and poynt at it with his finger As for his defence of the Protestant doctrine I haue sufficiently declared already that by taking the same vpon him he is not only 20. tymes condemned for an Heretike by the auncient Fathers but also pronounced to be Insathanized supersathanized a slaue of the Diuell one of the Antichristian swynish Rabble and a thousand tymes as bad by the Protestants themselues wherein as in other things the Bishop himselfe will needes contend that you may safely belieue them As touching the second poynt he sheweth that being a Bishop he hath sufficient authority not only to reprehend the mannets vices of the tyme for the which no man perchance would haue blamed him if he had done it with charity and discretion but also to cry as he doth against the errours of the Roman Church and of all other Churches vnited with it For that the vniuersall Church sayth he in some cases is committed to the care of euery particuler Bishop wherof will follow this strange position that it should belong to the office of euery particuler Bishop in some occasion to accuse the whole Church of errour wherunto this Cryer himselfe according to his owne doctrine must haue thought himselfe obliged in conscience if he had beene borne in the tyme of his Father Luther of the absurdity wherof I haue spoken sufficiently already And no lesse strange and absurd is the consequence which he himselfe inferreth that any Bishop whatsouer hath authority to correct and reforme any other Bishop For example That the Bishop of Spalato in Dalmatia hath authority to visit and reforme the Bishop of Canterbury when the Dalmatiā shal iudg esteeme it to be so expedient But because he thought it might seeme to be some new deuise being no lesse contrary to the Protestant then to the Catholike Religion Monsignor fate voi hauing al this while taken vp whatsoeuer he sayd vpon the credit of his reader in this place as fearing at length to be discouered for a counterfeit beginneth a little to proue his assertion and to pay his Reader with such money as he receiued of those that hyred him to play the Episcopall Doctour on your side the mountaynes But I thinke you will easily discerne by the false sound what coyne it is being as far different from any currant proofe as Fate voi from a reuerend Bishop For thus he reasoneth All Bishops togeather haue the gouernment of the whole Church of Christ as he proueth out of the Scripture out of S. Eleutherius and S. Cyprian therefore euery Bishop in particuler hath the like authority As if one should say All the Officers of the Court do gouerne the whole Court vnder the King therefore euery Officer in particuler hath authority ouer the whole Court vnder the King Or thus All the Britans togeather are the Lords of great Britany therefore euery Britan in particuler is Lord ouer all Britany Which miserable argument he likewise confirmeth in this pittifull manner Euery Bishop may counsell help succour the necessityes of any other Church or Bishopricke as it is manifest by the example of many ancient Fathers Therfore euery Bishop hath authority ouer all other Churches As much as to say euery man may help the necessityes of his Neighbour and the seruant of his Maister therfore Euery man hath authority ouer his Neighbour or the seruant ouer his Maister But letting passe the weaknes of his argument because it is the first and because it may be that for want of vse he hath forgotten how to argue let him shew you but one auncient Father that euer reprehēded the Bishop of Rome of any Cathedrall doctrine or erroneous Decree in matter of faith or any holy or laudable Bishop that euer gaue sentence against any other of his Collegues deposed or excommunicated him or called him iuridically to make his defence by vertue of any such generall authority and I will be content you shall belieue this insolent Intruder in all other things and subiect your selfe vnto him Besides though it should be granted that heretofore he had no lesse authority then himselfe pretendeth being now deposed by the Pope that now is as Dioscorus or Eutiches were by the Popes of their tymes or as the Bishop of Arles whome S. Cyprian not presuming to iudge wrote vnto the Pope to excommunicate and appoynt another in his place I would aske him what he can pretend which those Heretikes might not likewise alleadge why he should not confesse that by sentence of deposition against him the authority which he had is iustly taken from him Againe quia Episcopatum eius accepit alter because as it was sayd of Iudas another hath receiued his Bishoprick I would aske him what authority he hath to cry being lawfully deposed from his Bishoprick more then the other hath who did lawfully succeed him And why we should belieue him being an excommunicate Heretike more then the other being an approued Catholike For if he pretend either the Scriptures or the Fathers to be for him it is no more then other Heretikes haue pleaded before him and we haue sufficiently shewed that most manifestly they make against him Wherfore though he cry neuer so loud yet by this it is manifest that he cryeth no other wayes then as the Diuell did when he was cast forth by our Sauiour And I hope vnlesse he cry with better reason then heare he doth alleadge he shall sooner burst with crying then mooue either your selfe or any other to belieue him SECTION XXIX The first obiection of the Bishop against himselfe is discussed VVherin he affirmeth tha albeit the King ought to be feared and may not be reprehended yet that the Pope is not to be feared c. THE obiections which he answereth as supposed to be made against himselfe are 2. in number But the first vnder the colour of an obiection is nothing els but an egregious peece of flattery deriued from the Turkish Diuinity of his Neighbour Coūtrey The obiection may be framed in this manner The Maiesty of an earthly King is to be feared and he ought not to be reprehended or admonished of his fault but by a Prophet sent from God Therfore the Maiesty of the Pope ought likewise to be feared and ought not to be accused of Heresy but by a Prophet raysed vp by God for that purpose The Antecedent that a King ought not to be rebuked or admonished of his fault but by a Prophet sent from heauen he easily admitteth being the poynt of barbarous adulation which he intendeth and thereby as it seemeth would gladly bring in the Turkish manner of Gouernement into our Countrey giuing vnto the King such absolute commaund and Tyrannicall power ouer the liues and fortunes and soules of his subiects that whatsoeuer he did or what Heresy or false worship soeuer he should professe no man might reprehend him for his fault or put him in
treason Especially charging the Pope as he doth with false doctrine which he would haue you belieue to be the cause of his schisme For the Pope being the immouable Rock and the foundation of true Fayth which Christ himselfe hath layd the Bishop in this case fitly resembleth one that launching from the shore whereupon he fixeth his eye should sweare and contest that the land departed from the boat and that the boat it selfe stood still or remayned imoueable In which case I cannot tell whether he in the boat should shew himselfe more ridiculous to the beholders then the Bishop doth manifest himselfe by this occasion to his iudicious Readers And thus much may suffice for the Bishops schisme Heresy is defined by S. Augustine August de vera Rel. c. 5. 6. 7. to be a peruerse doctrine contrary to the rule of truth which himselfe doth better expound where he sayth That it is an opinion declyning from the rule and turning men away from the cōmunion of the Catholike Church where he vnderstandeth the rule of truth to be no other then the doctrine of the Catholike Church for without this ground all other rules are insufficient as hath been shewed and the same if it were necessary might easily be confirmed out of the rest of the Fathers Wherefore the doctrine of the Catholike Church being made knowne and manifested vnto vs either by the common beliefe of all the faithfull or by the vniforme consent and common doctrine of all the Fathers or by a generall Councell or by the definition of the Pope as before I noted hauing conuinced the Bishop of schisme though much against his will let vs see how he can cleare and shift himselfe from the imputation of heresy For first it cannot be denied That whatsoeuer the Catholikes at this day do maintaine to be the doctrine of Christ and his Apostles against the Protestants was the generall beliefe of the vniuersall Church when Luther began to broach his new doctrine And therefore the Bishop condemning the Pope of many errours in poynts of Controuersy betweene him and the Protestants Vbi supra condemneth likewise the vniuersall Church of that tyme which as S. Augustine sayth is most insolent madnes extreme impiety and hayre-braynd or furious ignorance Secondly you haue heard how the auncient Fathers of the primitiue Church haue condemned for heresyes aboue twenty seuerall opinions of the Protestants And therefore the Bishop being now a Protestant is likewise aboue twenty tymes condemned by them And to omit that other seuerall sects of Protestants do all condemne him in like manner the generall Councell of Trent hath defined the doctrine of the Pope against the Protestants to be Orthodoxall and the contrary opinions to be likewise hereticall And the Bishop seeming to belieue that a generall Councell lawfully called and confirmed cannot erre in matter of fayth as hauing the speciall assistance of the holy Ghost leading vnto all truth according to the promise of our Sauiour hath no more reason to contemne the Councel of Trent then to reiect the Councell of Nyce or any other generall Councell Lastly hauing proued by the common doctrine of all the Fathers that the Bishop of Rome being successour of S. Peter cannot erre in defyning of Controuersyes that belong to fayth and that the Fathers put no difference betweene the Catholike and the Roman Church but that the same Church which is surmaned Catholike because it is vniuersall is also called the Roman Church because the Roman Church being founded in the Seat of Peter is alwayes conioyned and vnyted with the Catholike Church it followeth thereof that the Bishop being condemned for an Heretike by the Bishop of Rome successour vnto S. Peter and by the Church of Rome founded in the Seat of Peter according to the iudgment of the auncient Fathers standeth likewise condemned in this respect also by the whole Church And therefore hauing so many dreadfull sentences lying heauily vpon him vnlesse he amend and make peace with his aduersary Mat. 5.25 while he is yet vpon the way what can he expect at the day of iudgement but that Christ himselfe withall his Saints and Angells togeather with the whole world should condemne him And with this we will proceed to his second defence which is the authority and example of S. Cyprian wherein he seemeth to set vp his rest SECTION XXXI VVherein is shewed that the authority and example of S. Cyprian alleadged by the Bishop against the Pope ouerthroweth the principall grounds of the Protestant Religion THE words therfore of S. Cyprian in the Councell of Carthage to the Bishops there assembled alleadged by him are these that follow Iudging no man sayth S. Cyprian or depryning no man of our communion though he shal be of a contrary opinion For none of vs doth make himselfe Bishop of Bishops or compelleth his followers with tyrannicall terror to the necessary of yeilding to him whereas euery Bishop is to haue his owne proper iudgement in respect of the liberty and power which is giuen vnto him so that he cannot be iudged of another as he himselfe cannot iudge another But let vs all expect the iudgment of our Lord Iesus Christ who only and alone hath power to place vs in the gouernement of his Church and to iudge of our actions The example of S. Cyprian he propoundeth in such manner as that accusing S. Stephen of indiscretion and that with his excommunications he was falling headlong into the mischiefe of schisme he sayth That S. Cyprian dissenting from the Roman and almost from the vniuersal Church about the Baptisme of Heretikes and being strong in his owne opinion and esteeming Stephen the Pope to erre vehemently and all the rest to be in manifest errour yet notwithstanding he neuer suffered the band of vnion and Christian charity to be broken betweene them but chose to communicate not only with Stephen being of a contrary opinion and indeauour against him but also with those whome he reputed to be altogeather impure being moued thereunto because Stephen had receiued them into communion with him rather then by schisme to make a diuision in the Church of God By which authority and example of S. Cyprian he thinketh to haue clearely discouered where the fault lyeth and to whom the crime of Schisme is to be imputed and so thinke I too And here to curry a little fauour with him or rather to curry him with some fauour because he hath so well deserued it in this allegation of S. Cyprian albeit I cannot learne that euer he read or heard Rhetorike among the Iesuits as he himselfe affirmeth yet I will not deny it but rather I will acknowledge that he hath not been altogeather a Truant in the Schoole of Eloquence For though his booke be very small yet he hath been able to deliuer little or no matter at all in very many words And he seemeth to couer many vntruths vnder the colour of Rhetoricall Hyperboles And in this
place by way of a friendly exhortation to peace and amendement he accuseth the Pope of many foule crymes and addresseth his speach vnto him in this manner Let vs obserue the famous saying of S. Cyprian iudging no man excōmunicating no man let vs imitate Cyprian c. as if he being free from all fault himselfe he had great compassion of the Popes vniust proceeding perswading him with all charity to reforme himselfe only he hath one trick which I know not how it can stand with the art of Rhetorick and it is this that commonly through all his booke he speaketh against himselfe or produceth such matter as most easily and most strongly may be vrged against him Whether it be his ill luck or a fault in Nature or the iudgment of God vpon those that falling from the Catholike Religion attempt to write against it I know not But this I dare say that he neuer learned this poynt of Rhetorike among the Iesuits First therefore as in other passages of his booke you haue seene all that he hath sayd to haue been retorted against him so in the same manner we will examyne in this place how much this allegatiō of S. Cyprian doth make for his purpose For the Cōtrouersy betweene S Stephen and S. Cyprian being about the baptizing of those that were before baptized by heretikes which could not be determyned by Scripture alone the decision thereof by the tradition of the Church and the condemnation of S. Cyprians opinion by the Nicen Coūcell doth euidently proue the necessity of tradition against the Protestants of whome the Bishop hath made himselfe one and that the Scripture alone cannot be in all matters a sufficient Iudge of Cōtrouersyes For as S. Augustine sayth that custome which was opposed to Cyprian Aug. de bapt cont Donat. l. 5. c. 23. ought to be belieued to haue taken his beginning from the tradition of the Apostles as there are many things which the vniuersall Church doth hold and for this cause are rightly belieued to haue been commaunded by the Apostles albeit they be not found to be written Thus S. Augustine Secondly I would know the reason of this great change and strang conuersion of things why as Vincentius sayth the authors of the selfe same opinion should be acknowledged for Catholikes and the followers therfore should be iudged Heretikes the Maisters should be acquitted the disciples condemned The writers of the same bookes should be receiued into heauen and the mayntainers of them shut vp in hell For the latter did no more oppose themselues against the Scripture then the former and both of them seeme to haue alleadged more Scripture in the defence of their opinions then the Catholikes that opposed themselues against them Wherfore no other reason can be giuen thereof but only this That in the time of S. Cyprian and his predecessors who were the authors of this opinion of rebaptizing Hereticks the controuersie was no way defined which being afterwards determined the Donatists that reuiued the same against the beleife of the whole Church were iustly condemned and this kind of condemnation being once admitted the Protestants that haue broached and retayned so many opinions against the generall beleife of the vniuersall Church since the time of Luther and haue been most authentically condemned by the generall Councell of Trent can neuer be secured from the infamy of Heresie which followed the Donatists in this life nor from the same eternall punishment which they receiued in the other Thirdly wheras S. Cyprian sayd to the rest of the Councell that none amongst them did make himselfe the Bishop of Bishops because Marke Anthony would haue it seeme that he taxed Pope Stephen therin who subscribed his letters with that title it must needs be graūted that those words were improuidently alleadged by this Protestant Apologer For as to haue vsurped so great a title had bene as great a crime as could be imagined and such as that all the Bishops in the world had bene bound in conscience to haue opposed themselues against S. Stephen for it more then against any heresie which those times produced so S. Stephen liuing in the 2. age and being a man so renowned for sanctity and martyrdome as he is by the vse of this title affordeth vs a most forcible and inuincible argument of the Popes Supremacy For writing himselfe the Bishop of Bishops he could intend no lesse nor be no otherwise vnderstood then that he professed himselfe the head and the chiefe of all other Bishops Which also may be further confirmed because he inuented not this title of himself but receiued it from his predecessors Wherof his zeale in preseruing the tradition of antiquity against all kind of nouelty may serue for a sufficient argument and Baronius proueth out of Tertullian that it was an ancient custome before the time of S. Stephen which is also confirmed by other titles giuen to the Pope by S. Athanasius and other Bishops in the foure first generall Councels as hath byn shewed SECTION XXXII VVherein is declared how the Bishop in alleadging the example of S. Cyprian and S. Stephen falsfieth the truth of the story against himselfe HAVING shewed how much the authority and example of S. Cyprian alleadged by the Bishop doth make against his owne cause ouerthroweth the principall grounds of all Protestant Religion that you may the better perceiue what a notable Champion he is like to proue of the Protestant faith I may not omit to shew you with what falshood he relateth the story of S. Cyprian and S. Stephen and how much to his owne disgrace For first in my opinion he wrongeth S. Cyprian not a little whom he semeth so much to extoll For he maketh him so stiffe in his owne opinion his words are propria opinione firmatus as to oppose himselfe not onely against the Roman but also against almost the vniuersall Church and so voyd of conscience as both to dissent almost from all others in matter of faith and yet to communicate with them For with what conscience could he eyther perseuere in his owne opinion wherein he condemned almost the whole Church of errour or condemning allmost all the members therof in such manner as this man sayth he did with what conscience could he communicate with them These things therefore as they redound very much to the dishonour of S. Cyprian so in themselues they are not true Cyp. ep 2. but are most vniustly layd vpon him by this back friend of his as may easily be proued For S. Cyprian was not the first that began to defend the baptisme of heretikes to be of no force but he receiued this custome from his predecessour Agrippinus as himselfe declareth in these words But with vs it is no now or sodayne matter that we should thinke that they ought to be baptized which come vnto the Church from heretikes there hauing passed now many years a long age sithence that vnder Agrippinus very many Bishops agreeing