Baptisme for an obsignation of faith and profession the ceremonie of putting u Tertâ—l lib. de coron inilit milke and honie into his mouth and lastly the ceremonie of the w Idâ—n 〈◊〉 Baptis 〈◊〉 Beat. Rhenan in lib de coron mil it white garment wherewith the Baptized was wont to bee clothed These being equall to the Crosse both for antiquitie and for profitiblenesse of signification and surmounting it in other respects as that they were neuer so much abused as the Crosse hath bene not now import so much perill as the Crosse bringeth with it may giue wise men cause to wonder why these should be buried in a Toumbe sealed vp while the Crosse not onely liueth n Pet. Martyr loc comu de imag sect 17. but also dominiereth But if the Crosse must needes bee renewed aboue his fellowes though farre better then himselfe then renewe we the vse effectiue and operatiue of it renew we also the necessitie of his vse for such was his vse at first as shall be shewed hereafter Yea then take we vp the x Tertul de coron milit crossing of our selues too in all our businesse Yea the crossing of our bedds and other things which are without life It may be also 〈◊〉 we must take vp the very materiall Crosses and all For so some guesse out of y Baat Rhenan ibid. Tertul. lib. ad vror Tertullian who giueth instance in woodden statutes of the heathens which were like to those Crosses among Christians which they so much misliked z Migdeburg cent 3. cap. 6. tit de cerem THirdly what if the Crosse had in old time an indifferent vse for good I a Folk reioynd art 5 p. 175. am forbidden to terme it is not the b Cypri de singularit cleric contradictio calumniosa quae de bonis praescribit vt asserat mala For the abuse of it hath since bene such as that now it is the Fathers Crosse no longer What one c Place Illyric lib. de Adâ—aphor porro quod quidam dicunt c. They say nothing for excuse who say they restore those ceremonies which because they haue bene vsed by the Fathers therefore penitus doe not appertaine to Antichrist For after that things haue serued Idolatry they are Idolatrous and they please not God but God would haue them to be castaway The brazen serpent was ordayned by God and that by Moses so great a Prophet yet after it had serued Idolatry it was no longer the serpent of God but the serpent of Idolaters and the serpent of the deuill And praised is Hezechias who brake him in peeces therefore although these popish ceremonies were extant in the Church euen from the dayes of the first Fathers yet notwithstanding seeing they are and haue bin for so long a time defiled penitus with Idolatry and abuse papisticall they are no longer the Fathers ceremonies but the ceremonies of Antichrist and they are piously abolished but impiously and against Gods will restored againe d Ioh. Wolf 2. Reg. 18. Ioh. Reynold confer cap. 8. diuis 4. pag. 5 10. How many of other writers subscribe to this Gideon did set vp an Ephod to the same end that e Euseb de vit Constantin lib. 3. cap. 48. Iudg 8.33 Constantine did erect the Crosse to wit for a thankefull monument that his victory came from God but when it once became an Idoll was it any longer his or his intent and zeale this way did it any way excuse the f Ludouic Lauat in Iudic. ca. 8. suffering of it when once the people stumbled at it The Ephesians set vp an g August de mirabl sacra script li. 1. ca. 15. Oxe by Iosephes toumbe for a thankefull monument of their preseruation by him and by his husbandrie This intent at first was good after it grew to be adored in Aegypt After this abuse was it Iosephes oxe any longer or was it for his sake to be spared and so restored to his first vse aske the Councell of Rome herselfe and be ashamed h Baleus in Adrian 4. Adrian the fourth when the papacy is degenerat he saith it is the papacy of Peter no longer but the papacy of Romulus rather l Polydor Virgil. de inuentor rerum lib. 3 cap. 12. Polydor Virgil counteth sanctuaries abused not the sanctuaries of Moyses but of Romulus Pius secundus calleth the Mendicants the m Thom. Moresin de deprauat relig origi in verb. Monastic Monkes of the deuill when they are degenerated from the auncients Paulus Thaebeus Antonius Hilarion with the rest n Poly dor Virgil. li. 7. cap. 1. Polydor Virgil counteth not the Monkes of his time degenerated the Monkes of Benedict Augustine Hierome quine cale quid vnquam cogitarunt futurum not to be tedious o Ioh. Molan de canonic li. 1. cap. 26. Iohannes Molanus reckoneth the fastes of his time degenerated to bee none of the auncient fastes any longer Si ad veterem disciplinam atque rigorem respiciamus vix vllus hoe tempore ieiunare censebitur We our selues count not the tapers of the Papists abused although abused onely to signification and no operation to be any of the auncient lightes which were vsed in the p Hieron cont vigilant East and their holy bread now abused to operation to be q Guil. Perk. problem in werb benedict none of the hallowed bread vsed of old for a signe of friendship onely As for the Crosse which hath receiued all the abuses which can be named of operation adoration c. there may be better said of it then of any other relique of any Idolatrie whatsoeuer what one of our writers hath r Place Illyric in lib. de Adiaphor sicue faris aut scorti ipsimaetiam vestem c. as we detest the very garment it selfe of a these and of an whore though it be innocent and there is no honest man that willingly doth so much as touch it so they that be truely pious from the heart doe abhorre these Popish tristes because in the papacy they haue bene put to extreme abuse and to impietie and haue bene therewith defiled Necest tantum delicati 〈◊〉 sâ—lâ—m palati istud fâ—sti dium But indeed it is the Holy Ghost himselfe that doth seriously detest these ceremonies that are polluted with abhominations But whether the Crosse may be called the auncient Fathers Crosse or no sure it is the pretence of restoring it to the auncient Fathers vse will not be receiued neither will it serue to saue it from the executioners hands Might not Hezechias haue restored the serpent to the auncient vse which it had in Dauids time by setting it besides the Rodde and the Manna and other monuments or by hiding it behinde the Arke where Dauid laid Goâ—iahes sword but he knew a thing so abused was to be broken and not restored Neither hath the Church since him thought any course fit to be taken with the reliques of
Paula crucis signum m Hieron epist 27. cap. 13. pingebat in labijs Ad omnem incessum manus n Idem epist 22. ad Eustoch cap 16. pingat crucem Paula neere to death painted the signe of the Crosse in her lips At euery putting to of the hand let her make a Crosse Diuerse like testimonies might be brought out of the Fathers that this signe is not so aereall but that it may be termed a picture which is an Image in all plaine sight For q Epipha epist ad Ioh Hierosolimit Epiphanius calleth the picture of Anablatha an an Image Eusebius the r Euseb histor lib. 7. cap. 14. pictures of Paul and of Christ the Images of them And what the Councill of s Concil Elibertin can 36. Eliberis decreeth against pictures in the Church what t August de morib eccles cont Manich. cap. 34. Augustine speaketh against the adoring of pictures in walles that doe we applie against Images as well we may none making any difference betweene them but the Greeke and perchaunce the Lutheran Churches which are condemned on all sides Neither doth the aerinesse of the Crosse hinder but that it is amongst the pictures of largest sence which this Commaundement doth condemne Especially seeing in auncient times the picture aereall and materiall were yoked together as if they were one Pingamus in lanuijs atque in frontibus viuisicum signum saith u Ephreem de paenitent cap. 3. one Sanctus Hilarion saith w Seuerus sulpit Carol Sigon de occidental imper li. 7. an 365. another pinxit in Sabulo tria signa crucis Saint Hilarion painted in the sand three signes of the Crosse and thereby stayed the invndation of the sea Now I would faine know what difference betweene a Crosse pictured in the sand and a Crosse pictured in the childes forehead hath not the one as liuely colours as the other what if it had not Nos non in coloribus tabulis honorem constituimus We put not honour in coloures and in tables saith x Concil Nicen. 2. Act. 2. the Idolater Againe Non colorum naturam adoro ab sit sad inanimatā Characterem Christi I worship not the natures of colours God y Ibid. act 4 forbid but the liueles Character of Christ Fourthly we plead proportion for as euery figuratiue Idoll is forbidden in the first Commaundement as hath bene shewed so euery figuratiue Image heere in the seruice of God z Decret p. ◠de consecret distinct 3. cap. 13. The Canon law holdeth a Sunday an Image of the day wherein Christ rose allow such a largnesse of sense is not the Crosse an Image a Decret p. 3 de poenirent distinct 2. cap. 35. The minde that is sanctified is an a Image of God and is not a mind defiled then with fancies an Image of that which doth defile it This I speake because the crosse worketh Images in the soule which are vnlawfull by the Commandement and we know Quicquid efficit tale illud ipsum est magis tale whatsoeuer maketh such is it selfe much more such The Crosse helpeth the inward imagination saith Maister Hooker This imagination apprehendeth an Image of the thing conceiued saith the b Suar. tom 1. in Tho. disput 54. sect 1. Rodolph Goclenius metaphy sic disput 4 Philosopher This Image conceiued is a true Image saith the c Decret p. 1 distinct 6. cap. 1. Lawyer When this Image is receiued from the apprehension of an outward Image which the Lord hath not commaunded it is an Image Idolatrous saith the d August de vera religion c◠38 Diuine to which our e D. Bils ag Apolog. p. 1. p. 30. Opposites themselues consent If the inward Image which is no way sensible which the Crosse begetteth be an Image which is vnlawfull by this Commandement then the outward sensible similitude which begetteth it must bee an Image much more vnlawfull be it neuer so little a one be it but a fingers wagging For euen 1 Pro. 6.10 ver 13. slouth though neuer so little is without excuse as also the inordinate wagging of the 2 Isa 58.9 finger though neuer so transeunt it being our fingers duty to be a weapon 3 Rom. 6.13 vnto righteousnes which how can it be alwhile it is in pay with an Idoll doth such an hand 4 Isa 33.15 shake it selfe from that which is euill as it is inioyned to doe #Sect 4. The Opposites saying our Crosse is no Image because they intend no expression are confuted NO want then of matter in the aereall signe of the Crosse but it may be an Image well Now to the want of forme obiected Our Crosse say our Opposites is no Image because our Church doth not intend any expression which must be warily vnderstood If this be the meaning our Church meaneth not in making the Crosse to drawe it from the Crosse of Christ though by the a Sam. Harsnet in declarat of Weston impostur cap. 20. doctrine of our Opposites the Crosse is naturally such an expression yet we stand rather vpon this that such expression is not needfull The Image which the Archbishop of Mentz set vp in his Church was an Image of the blessed b Thom. Morescin in verb. representa Virgin though the figure was drawne and exprest from the face of a certaine harlot which he kept and not from her owne countenance If this bee the meaning our Church intendeth not in making the Crosse to make an Image then we reply two wayes First our Church intendeth in crossing that which is proper to that Image which this Commaundement doth forbid For we vse it to teach by resemblance outward and to admonish by striking the senses which is proper to an Image largely taken by the letter of the word Thou heardest a voyce thou sawest no Image As who should say cleaue to his voyce What is added in the Church without his warrant that esteeme to be an Image which he detesteth and abhorreth And this haue some of our Opposites taught vs out of Abbacuck who reprooueth the Idoll as they conceiue not onely for teaching ill but also for teaching at all because God alloweth no teacher but himselfe c D. Babing in praecept 2. pag. 95. D. Bils nor meane of teaching but his holy word and Sacrament As for these Sacraments they are d Pet. Lombard lih 4. distinct 1. Tho. Aquin p. 3. q. 83. art 1 Ioh. Iewd◠Apolog. Angl. p. 37 Harmon confess ti◠de Sacram. in confess Anglie D. Bils ag Apolop p. 4. p. 594 Images in the eyes of all the learned and were vnlawfull by this Commaundement like this teacher of ours the Crosse had not God himselfe ordained them Secondly we vse the Crosse to signifie and represent which is an office proper to an Image euen by our owne cōfession who holde an Image a signe to be equivalent euen as in deed in largnes of sence they are
yeares must now in the Church see dumbe dogges in steade of Preachers in the pulpit heare Homilies in stead of Sermons and haue those ceremonies returne againe of which some say we haue liued long enough if nowe we must see this popish trashe reenter Neuer yet did the reducing of popish ceremonies but breede disguste to continue them is one thing say our r Beza in epist 8. 12 writers to reduce them an other To reduce them said the s Conrad Schlusselb â—oâ— 13. Divines of Germanie is to disturbe the peace of the Church to greeue the Godly to wounde the weake to countenance poperie by shewe of inclination towardes it or of commoderation with it It will be said the fault heereof is in the men who first disvsed them whom the Canon Lawe excuseth t Siluest Prier in summa verb. conluetud sect 6. si consuetudo contra legem sit contra privatam vtilitatem in nullius preiudicium superior scit tolerat legem abrogat noÌ„ requiritur alia prescriptio secundum Dominum Antoninum quia ex quo superior vidit tolerat non videtur velle inijcere vinculum Et Panor dicit quod sufficit binus aut trinus actus vt tollatur Thirdly whereas lawes sometimes must bee chaunged vpon some causes these causes all of them will be found in the ceremonies controversed The u Thom. Aquin 1.2 qu. 97 first Cassander him selfe yeeldeth to though most infamous for Adiaphorisme w Herman Hamelman de tradit appendic ad p. 1. colum 498 In traditionibus ratio causa spectanda est qua manente ipsas manere vtile est cessante verò ipsae cessare vel possunt vel debent For example abstinence from bloud and strangled are they not ceased nowe that the reason is extinct for which the Apostle did commaunde them which was the weaknes of the Iewes and the coalition of the Gentiles with them change but the name and this is spoken of the ceremonies now in handling for as much as they were lefte by K. Edw. and Q. Elizabeth for our owne weakenes and for the winning of papistes to vs the former of which is now out of date the latter out of place The second cause to abolish ceremonies is when x Thom. Aquin 1.2 qu. 97. art 1. thorough chaunge of tymes and persons they doe euen hurt as y Augustin epist 118. Augustine saith propter fidem bonos more 's velemendare oportet quod perperam fiebat vel institui quod non fiebat What a thing is it that the Ceremonies which first were tollerated for the winning of papistes should still be suffered now that they harden them Must incurvation towards the East be still continued because Forefathers left it in vse No a Leo 2 Leo serm 7. de Nat. Dom. will chaunge and alter it though neuer so auncient because he seeth it hardeneth Pagans in their adoring the Sunne Must the custome of oblations for the memorialls of the Martyrs be still continued because it is auncient No z Ludouic Viues in August de civitat Dei lib. 8. c. 27. an Ambrose will chaunge and alter it for that shewe of conformitie which it hath with the heathen A a Concil Antisiodorens can 5. vigil in S te Martins honour was chaunged and altered though verie auncient Feastes b Martin Braccarens in collect Sinodor can 60. at the sepulchres of the dead were chaunged and altered though verie auncient c CoÌ„cil Cabiloneus Can. 19. Dauncing at the dedication of Churches Festiuities of Martyrs was chaunged altered though verie auncient It may be obiected that tracte of time maketh aliene rites more lawfull then they were at firste as bayes set vp before the dore was in the primitiue Church vnlawfull for that conformitie whereof it made shewe with Idolaters whereas afterward Nepotian is praysed by Hierome d Hieron epist 3. Quod Ecclesias Martyrum diversis floribits vitiumque pampinis exornaret But either Hierome was too blame to allowe of this conformitie with the Pagans now that the time of their weaknes was paste or else there were no Pagans neare to be hardened by the same The third cause to remooue a Ceremonie is to vindicate Christian libertie from the servitude of the element as Bucer saith e Bucer in Mat. 18. It is time when the Gospell hath been long preached exemplo tueri libertatem for which he wisheth the Surplice away inferring thus It is our dutie f Idem in Censur c. 2. p. 458. libertatem Christianam in rebus quibusvis praeclarè tueri prae nobis ferre It is to be marked that in rebus quibusvis we are to abstaine though neuer so small and vse exemplis libertatis contra adversarios pertinaces I meane the Papistes as Luther taught and many g Conrad Schlusselb Catalog haereâ—cor 573. Divines in Germanie after him in following whom wee trace the stepps of the holy Apostle who though he circumziseth Tymothie yet refuseth to circumcize Titus to vphold the Christian libertie against those Iewes who thought Circumcizion necessarie as now the papistes thinke of the Crosse and Surplice And such is the equitie of our first petition Gal. 2.16 that these ceremonies may be remooued #Sect 5. Second suit that Ceremonies may neither be iudged good or indifferent in regard of circumstances being hurtfull OVr second suite is that if they must needes haue a tente amongst vs that then it be pight without the hoast amongst the leapers I meane amongst things acknowledged evill that so they may be no longer approoued either for good or for indifferent but be in policie tollerated only for the hardnes of mens heartes like Moses divorce For what though the Crosse and Surplice per se be things indifferent ratione circumstantiarum they are certainly evill If any here renewe the tenent of the auncient Adiaphoristes Mat. 19.8 a Libellus supplicato Theolog-German ann 1561 Rom. 14.14 〈◊〉 Flac. Illirc in lib. de Adiaphor 2 Cor. 10.23 Quod per se malum non est id ratione circumstantiarum malum fieri non potest we make our appeale to Scriptures Fathers Schole-divines new Writers or whomsoeuer Paule affirmeth of meates 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 per se they are good or as Chrisostome Theophylact Erasmus render 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 natura when by reason of a circumstance by him there mentioned they become vncleane and evill Neither hath Paule the wordes onely of the former distinction but also the doctrine which one deliuereth in these termes saepè accidit vt ea quae sua natura licita sunt vel etiam aeliquatenus piae tamen ob circumstantias aliquas fiant illicita in quam sententiam Paulus inquit b Tertul. de coron mili Omnia mihi licent sed non omnia expediunt Thus the scriptures Now what the Fathers Substantia munda vt Dei resest saith Tertul. hac
to reserue him self to the honour of the Christians of those tymes only And although the christians of the former ages were farre more zealous that was nothing they would haue honoured him but the crosse would not be honored by them What did he scorne them No it was not his pleasure So when f Act. and mon in H. 8. p. 848. Franciscus San Romanus refused to honour a certayne crosse that stood in the way as he was going to the fire there was presently a shout given among the people O the miraculous vertue power and the wisedome of the Crosse that will not be honoured by an heretique but whose will and pleasure is to be honoured by Catholiques only Howbeit as touching the invention of the crosse by Helene it is a true counterfet as appeareth not only by many sounde reasons which our g Magdebur gens ceÌ„tur 4. c. 13. col 1438. Calsh ag Mart art 8 fol. 152. D. Willet de cruc art 1. Iohn Reynold writers doe alleadge but also by the open confession of the canon it selfe h Gelas decret de Apochriph Mat. 24.14 scripturae de inventione Crucis Dominicae novellae quaedam relationes sunt alia de inventione capitis Iohannis Baptistae But to proceed It is writteÌ„ of the West Indies that there was no footesteppe of religion found amongst them because no crosse no Temple c. wheÌ„ce may be concluded that the first times preached the Gospel to the nations without the vse of any crossing For I make no questioÌ„ but the gospell was preached vnto them in case they were a people Here at home the gospll was preached even from the beginning as many vndoubted evidences shew whereas yet there were no crosses in this lande vntill Augustine the Monke brought ouer his silver crosse which was l Beda histo de gent Anglor li. 1. cap 1 â— D Fulk reioynd art 5 p. 177 carried before him at his entrance togither with an image which was painted in a table From Iewes Gentiles that had the gospell planted amongst them without all crosses come we to their next successors who professed it without all crosses likewise As for Martialis Abdias Iustini quaestiones whoÌ„ Martiall mustereth in this quarell for the signe of the crosse together they are Apocriphall saith Mr Calfhill and not to be cared for as Mr Beza with the rest of our writers tell vs. Martialis is found counterfeit by Eusebius Hieronimus Genadius who in their registers which of purpose they wrote of Ecclesiasticall writers make at all no m Calfh art 1. p. 27 mention of him Abdias is branded by a n Paulus 4. ap Sixtum Senens bibliothe l. 2 Bellarm. de Eccles triumphan l. 1. c. â—0 Io. Molan de sid heret servand l. 1 c. 6. Pope by papistes themselves and so o Sixt. SeneÌ„s bibliothec in prefat are the questions that are ascribed to Iustinus Martyr which caÌ„not be his because Origen is cited in them who liued long after theÌ„ they savour something of Theodoret but I wil not presume to interpose my iudgment Now these discarded it will be found true what one of our Writers hath p D. Fulkre ioynd ag Mart. art 5. fol. 177 As touching the credit of the old writers who had all their errours I like well the counsell of Vincentius Lyrinensis that we should still haue recourse for triall to the most auncient in which we must needes account the writings of the Apostles both of most antiquitie and of greatest authoritie Wherefore seeing the maner of blessing with the crosse is not found either in the writings of the Apostles or in the most auncient Fathers Iustinus and Clemens Alexandrinus by Vancentius counsell we may iustlie account for a corrupt custome crept into the church either by emulation of heretiques or in contention against the pagans But doeth not Iustinus Martyr make mention of the crosse of the crosse wheron Christ dyed he maketh mention of the signe of the crosse we haue no mention in him at all nor in any other till we come downe to the tymes of Valentinus when it began to be vsed by heretiques and vnto Tertullians age when orthodox Christians first receaued it Well then you will graunt that here your antiquitie endeth some fourteene hundred yeares agoe No that we will not neither q Minut. Foelix in Octavio 1 Thes 3.8 Minutius Foelix lived long since who hath these wordes Cruces nec colimus nec optamus which if our Governours would now speake and performe accordingly we would catch their wordes from their mouthes as greedily as euer Benhadads servantes did the wordes of Ahab and vpon their performance we should be as glad as Benhadad him selfe because if the crosse were not cared for by them we should liue wheras nowe our life can scarce be termed a being aliue The Emperour Theodosius is on our side who made a lawe to voyde all r P. Crinit de honest discipliâ— li 9 c. 9. crosses which the papistes elude in vayne when they restrayne him to crosses only on the grounde else are all our s D. Fulk ag Saund. of imag c. 13 pa. 660. Morn confer of Font Bleau Zanch. de imag Iew. aga Harding c. writers vayne yea the doctrine t Homil. ag peril of idolat p. 2. of our Church it selfe which is confirmed by act of Parliament is not only vayne but false which taketh vpon it to refute this cavill u Basil in psal 45. Basil inveigheth against the vanitie of charecters what is the crosse better In the dayes of the Author of the Questions w Athanal ad Antioch Q 16. ad Antiochum they vsed to dissolve the crosse when they were suspected to honor it let vs but dissolve these two crosse lines nowe that the papistes doe adore it and we by our vse grace this idoll adored by them we are releeved If he say all the Fathers approved crossing I aunswer of them as D. x D. Fulk in reioynd Fulke of Cyprian once about anoyling if they will doe against them selues their owne reasons groundes and rules which we haue with vs throughout this treatise what can I helpe it y Homil. ag perill of idolat p. 2 Serenus Bishopp of Marciles is approved by our Church who putteth downe all images and all crosses out of the church So are the Emperours of the East who were against the having of all images in the Church So is Claudius of Taurinum who pulled down the very images the crosses that were established by law by which they were not honoured but served for memorialls only and for decencie as now our crosse is said to be vsed In the age â—100 the professours of the trueth then termed despitefully z Pet Cluni acens epist 1. 2. Petrobrusiani burned all the crosses that they could come by The a Bellarmin de imag c. 26. Waldenses who succeeded them abhorred crosses Iohn
c Bulling de orig error ca 33.34 Tho. Motescin de orig depraunt relig per tot bookes haue we written against their apish imitation of Iewes and Pagans in their feastes in their Images and other complements of their seruice By name we renew the auncient censure against their holy water condemned of old because it is ritus d Sozom. lib. 6. cap. 6. gentilium against their Images because they are e Euseb lib. 7. ca. 17. gentilis confuetudo against their shauing because the Priests f Hieron in Ezech. lib. 23. cap. 42. of Isis vsed it against their lights g Senec. lib. 14 epi. 15 because at first they were set vp to heathen Gods and not to wander from home we censure the Christians that borrowed a Crosse from the h D. Fulk again Sand. of Images cap. 11. pag 663. Caâ—th ag Mart. art 5 T. of Serapis And this we doe being thereto bounde not onely by the word of God but also by the general practise of the Church throughout all ages Indeed I know not whether the Church hath not exceeded in her zeale sith it hath made it no lesse then heresie from time to time to vse any rite of aliens as we may see in the l August haetes 2â— 50 Quartadecimani for this only esteemed heretiques because they kept their feast of Easter vpon the same day on which the Iewes obserued their Passeover And thus Hierome m Hieron Augustin epist 11. Cerinthus Ebion propter hoc solum à Patribus ana thematizati sunt quod legis Ceremonias Christi Evangelium miscuerunt sic noua confessi sunt vt vetera non amitterent But it will be said this was because of the merit and of the necessitie which they put in the rites which they retayned the ceremonies now controuersed are not so vrged Of this shift we may be ashamed A n Conrad Lutzenb Catalog haeretic lib. 4. parti 13. fol. 85. papist him selfe averring etiam lege Iudaica non cogente it is heresie to vse their rites in case of loue or in case of charitie because vmbra legis is totally vanished and the rites of the Iewes are now mortiferae to him that vseth them let him vse them which way he will And the Easterne Churches obserued not the fourtenth day as the Quartadecimiani they obserued it as an ancient custome but we do now obserue the Crosse whom yet the Councill of Nice condemned because it became Christians to haue nothing common with the Iewes in their rites obseruations Now where is a reason to make it more lawful to borrow from papistes then from the Iewes Is there not apparent reason we may lesse For the Iewes ceremonies were ordayned of God the Papists by the man of sinne the Antichrist and Iewish ceremonies renewed are but Christi sepulchra When they be at worst the Ceremonies of Papists euen foetida stercora in the opinioÌ„ of our o Ioh Caluin in Act. 16.3 best Diuines Secondly as this tenent weakneth our owne handes so doeth it strengthen the handes of papistes who so reverence the grace and trueth of the Gospell as that withall they will retaine p Adrian in Epist in Conc. Nicen 2. act 2 p. 72. veteres typos figuras vmbras for notes and for signes of the same So Innocentius will haue the Lawes of Deutronomie still obserued adding a reason 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is secunda lex While our q Matt. Sutclif de miss lib. 3. cap. 6. writers protest against this vayling and shadowing of the Gospells brightnes we in retaining of the Surplice do make good r Durand rational lib. 3. cap. â— confessed on all sides to be borrowed from the Iewes i Dej consecrat distin 1. cap. 2. Gratian professeth we are to take paterne from the Iewes The glosse thervpon inferreth possumus argumentari ab exemplis infidelium This while t Hospin vt supra our Writers do with al their power destroye our imitation of the Papistes worse then the Iewes buildeth vp againe The u Rhem. annotat in 1. Tim. 4. sect 18. Rhemistes directly hold we may take ceremonies froÌ„ the Iewes Our w D. Fulk in answer ibid. D. Willet coÌ„trovers 2. q. 4. p. 2. Writers set foote against them these we by retaining popish ceremonies feare not to supplant Casar Baronius readeth vs this lesson x Caes BaroÌ„ Annal. an 200. Consulto introductam videtur vt quae essent Gentilitiae superstitionis officia eadeÌ„ verbi Dei cultuÌ„ sanctificata in verae religionis cultuÌ„ impenderentur Again y Idem in Martyrolo Roman Fâ—bru 2. In multis gentiliuÌ„ institutis contigit vt super stitionis corum vsus sacris ritibus expiatus ac sacro sanctus reditus in Dei EcclesiaÌ„ laudabiliter introductus sit Which while our z Ioh. Reynold de Idolat li 2. c 3. sect 13 best writers refute with reasoning our doeing the same in Crosse and Surplice approue with practize a Polydor. Virgil de inven rer Polydore Virgil deriueth the most of popish ceremonies from Iewes and Pagans Blondus taketh pride to blende the rites of new Rome popish and old Rome Paganish Which while our b Tho. Moresein de orig depra religion Writers with their pennes make odious our retaining of popish ceremonies make to bee lawfull Thirdly this conformitie of ours with Papistes in their rites destroyeth that difference and separation which ought to be betweene the Church of God and aliens Well c Melciad in epist Decret ad Hispan Epise Melciades No man must fast the Thursday or Sunday vt inter iciunia Christianorum Gentilium bareticorum vera noÌ„ falsa discretio habeatur For we may if we will learne from him that to retaine an alien rite in diuerse vse is falsa discretio that the separatioÌ„ is neuer true till hereticall ceremonies be cashiered Heere it is pleaded that Gedeon sacrificed Baals Oxe to God That Iosua sanctified the goods of Iericho to the Lord and Moses turned the Censors of Corah to plates for the Altar To omit that the last were no goods of Idolaters at all the former no goods of Idolaters in state Idolatrous which maketh a maine difference betweene them and the ceremonies controuersed with many moe pleas which we might alleadge we rest on that which one of our d Pet. Martyrin Iudie writers bringeth There was a speciall warrant for these and A speciall commaundement but none for Crosse and Surplice It is also e The examiner of the declarat of the Ministers of London obiected that God borrowed linnen vestures from Aegyptian Priestes that he ordained Tythes notwithstanding Hercules had his Tythes before and appointed bread for his Sacrament though Mythra had bread offered to him That the Christians had their Agapae at communions notwithstanding the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the heathen in the Temples of their Idols
the Crosse because wee abuse it almost as much as they WE haue prooued the Papistes may pleade as good a manner in their necessitie of the Crosse as we well neare in ours Now proceede wee to shew we can scarcely accuse them of any euill in their manner but we haue it in our owne What was said of old non sunt Massilienses insipientes eadem tamen faciunt quae insipientes hath fit place heere Our Opposites are not Papists yet doe they many things touching the necessitie of Crosse and Surplice that Papists do which we could wish were otherwise First they wrest the Law against vs which if it be such as they pretend we could wish it were onely a Canon to direct yea such a Canon as our forefathers were contented withall in the dayes of King Edward when they left crossing to mens owne discretions a Rubric vlt. Liturg. Fdw. 6. apud Bucer p. 455. Quantum adgenu flectionem consignationem signo crucis eleuationem manuum tunsionem pectoris semiles gestus liberum erit cuique sequi suam sententiam What binding lawes were there made about ceremonies in the primitiue Church whose auncient libertie we may wish for by the authoritie of b August ad Ianu. 119. Augustine who waild the burthensomnesse of humane ceremonies in his time Euen c Agrip. de vanitat scient ca 62. Agrippa a Papist can cry out against the fetters and chaines of ceremonies which were not at first when the Church was free As for our owne d D. Fulke ag Rhem. in 1. Tim. 4. sect 8. Thom. Morton Apolog. p. 2. lib. 2. cap. 9. writers they are bould against the Papistes to appeale to the libertie of the auncient Church when no binding lawes were made about eating or fasting That which is in different e Hieron in epist ad Roman cap. 14. vnicuique in sua voluntate dimissum est sayth Hierome Let then our Reuerend Fathers suffer vs to make that request to them which a Papist thought fit to make euen to a Pope himselfe f Andr. Frisius de eccles lib. 2. tractat 13 in epist ad Paul 4. fol. 542. Quod si Adiaphorum sit cur not liceat vtroque vti ijs qui velint Nam Adiaphororum ea natura est vt eorum vsus intermissio nemini prodesse nemini etiam obesse debeat sed hanc illi Adiaphoriam aliter interpretantur nam dicunt quod volunt interpretationes afferunt quales volunt Dicunt Adiaphora esse quod de ijs litigandum non sit sed quemcunque moribus suae Ecclesiae vti debere He that well considereth these words wil see though the crosse were indiffereÌ„t yet that the same course which is taken with vs and the same interpretations vsed which the Papists take and vse yea that some things also are said and done which the more moderate sort of Papists thinke to be more then needes Finally we desire our Opposites to remember that the signe of the Crosse hath bene g Chemnit apud Bellarm de verb. non script ca. 7. lib. 4. ritus liber euen from the beginning like to the praying towards the East which our Fathers were so farre to exact with necessitie as that they haue by Lawe h D. Fulke ag Rastall sect 4. pag. 720. abolished it for that conformitie which it doth beare with Papists A second thing which is done in the vrging of the Crosse like to that which Papistes doe is the exaction of a fidcs interna vnto it by subscribing that it is well ordained This hath it not too great a smatch of that which Bellarmine affirmeth of rites l Bellar. ibid Necessarium est ad salutem credere eos benè esse institutos eos non contemnere Out writers blot our the former credere eos benè esse institutos which cannot be receiued but on Bellarmines ground which is that the Church in ordaining ceremonies cannot erre and m Ioh. Caluin institut li. 4. ca. 10. Harmon consess sect 17. leaue contempt to be in the inner man the only thing that is vnlawfull And as this is done by them because there is no infallible truth in the Church for faith to rest on so also because there is no absolute power in man in things rituall to o Francisc Iun. cont 1 lib. 4. ca. 7. not 25.26 Oblige by itselfe and necessarily for these things because they are humane they only oblige humanitus so long as no iniury is done to the truth of God to pietie to charitie to simplicitie and to christian libertie What is here spoken of our libertie not to be iniured hath this meaning Whereas Philip Melancton in the hurrey of Germanies Adiaphorisme was wont to say p Melanthon epist ad Hamburgens seruitus aliqua in cermonijs ferenda est That the q Hamburgens epist ad Philip. loachimâ— West phal apud Conrad Schiselburg tom 13. p. 254. rest of the religion will haue vnderstood of the outward maÌ„ only in body and goods not of the conscience which is not to be enthralled to any rite by man coÌ„manded further then with grife to r Pet. Martyr Amico cuid in Angl. tollerate what is amisse If it be further in England exacted not only vt tolleremus sed etiam vt Chirographo tanquam recta comprobemus saith g Baeza in epistol ad frat in Angl. one there remaineth nothing else but that de innocencia nostra testati et omnia remedia intimore Domini experti manifestae violentiae cedamus #Sect 18. The third abuse of the confuted which is that the Crosse is vrged of necessitie without omission euen as with the Papistes THe third thing which the vrging of the Crosse doth like that of the Papistes is the exacting of a necessary vse without the least omission This is it not the very same with the Councill of Trent To a Concil Trident. omit any rite in baptisme which is auncient and which the Church commaundeth vpon any cause or pretence what soeuer is a damnable sinne This considered we haue little cause to make many words of a diuerse manner in the necessitie of the Crosse Peter Martyr was not ignorant of this manner who yet affirmeth of the English ceremonies that b Pet. Martyr epist ad Hoop episcop Glocest quoad aliter facere non liceat they were greuous and burthensom c Pilkingtoâ— in epist ad comit Leâ—cestrens D. Pilkington was after B. of Duresme the manner of the Englishe necessitie was not vnknowne to him yet he writeth that it destroyed Christian libertie for that libertie turned into necessitie is libertie no longer But the Apostle say our Opposites the 15. act 28 called the things necessary which they commaunded being of themselues but things in different Necessary indeed but how not necessary as now the Crosse is necessary whether he edifie or be scandalous do good or destroy but necessary secundum quid so
the crosse seeing we vse him to receaue into the Church e Bellar. ibid etiamsi Sacramenta vetera non efficiebant gratiā iustificantē camen introducebant in populū dei at nemo potest determinare aliquid ad introducendū incertā rempublicā nisi qui author est illius legis reipublicae Secondly euen in the time of the old law whē signes reigned none were lawful which were not shewed in the patterne of the mount the letter of which cōmandement then the equity now keepeth out all signes deuised by man which are not found in the pattern of the word The signes which now mā deviseth it keepeth out the more strōgly because they obscure the Gospel for nothing ought to be adūbrated now in the cleer light therof say f Ioh. Brent in confess Witenberg cap. vlt. Ioh. Caluin instit li. 4. ca. 10. sect 14. our writers So that we thus plead against the oyle the oyle the crosse are twins of one birth g Athanas oratio 2. cont Arrian Christus transsadit in nos vnctionem spiritus absque tali Ceremonia Again h Euseb hist li. 1. ca. 4. Christianinon vnguntur amplius per typos imagines fed per ipsas nudas virtutes l August aduers Iudeos ca. 4. Christus mutanit vnctionē carnalē in spiritualē No ceremonie in Baptisme like to the oyle it goeth beyond all the rest in this that the smell of it affecting the sense m Brisson de spectacul pag. 189. 192. it striketh adeeper force impressiō into the mind If therfore it must vanish away and the oile spirituall be only left much more the sign of the crosse must be taken away the crosse spiritual be left only behind which is faith in Ch. Iesus crucified patiēce to beare his crosse Wheras it was an ancient custom n Ducant de rit li. 2. ca. 55. sect 14 saith a papist to wash the feet before Bapt. the Church is now contented with the thing signified only which is internal preparatiō why should not we be then contented with the thing signified of the Crosse in consideration that God hath not abolished his own signs in this time of the Gospel to giue o D. Fulke ag Saund. of imag Ioh. Dearing in Heb. lect 2 mā leaue to set vp others in their roomes Thus August p August de doctrin Christian lib. 3 ca. 8. Christiana libertas cos quos invenit sub signis vtilibus interpretatis signis quibus subditi erant ad cas res quarūilla signa sunt eleuauit Is it not a singular benefit to be taught clearly without signes which to vnderstand some Oros Apollo had need stil be present with vs to expoūd thē what shal the people of Egipt doe with the Hierogliphicall letters of their priests which are significatiue plain letters q Ioh. Bohem Auban lib. 1. cap. 5. are best for thē wherby to write So was it a benefit for the people of the East that the Emperor r Anton. Gubert Costan Polyhistor cap. 9. abolisht the significatiue writing of the law by Notae which serued for Compendiū bringing ina plain maner of writing with out any such signes So was it a s Genebrard li. 2. ann mundi 1791. benefit for Philosophers that Aristot abolisht the figures numbers of the Platonickes Pythagorians reducing lodgike into such an Art as proued an instrument of plaines in teaching So was it a benefit last of all that t Socrat. hist lib. 6 ca. 3. Sozom. li. 8. ca. 2. Diodorus Tarsensis Chrysost schoolm brought in a simple literal meaning of the Scripturs abolishing mystical significatiōs What then very bad seruice do our Opposites to the Church to make way to a new seruitude of signes to be by man devised against our own u Homil. for Whitsōtyd pag. 2. law which proueth at large against all signes which the papists haue brought into Bapt. that no signes now should burthē the church saue those which the L. hath left which are not burthensom I end with one of our writers w Ioh Keynold confer cap. 8. diuis 4. p. 521. To deuise new signes is to set the Church to schoole againe after the Iewish maner This Iewish fashion how intollerable now it is an other telleth x Chemit exam p. 2. rit de rit Quod vero praetendunt c. wheras they pretend that many things may be godly profitably signified admonished taught by those rites which are added be mē to that it may be answerd that figurs are proper to the old Testa Look what things Christ will haue taught admonished in the new those things he wil haue proposed and deliuerd not in shadows but in the light of his word we haue a promise frō him for the efficacy of the word but none for the efficacy of figurs deuised by men But such rites as he would haue added to his word those he hath ordained himselfe #Sect 26. Though the devising of new signes corrupt the simplicitie of Sacraments ordained by Christ yet it hindreth not but something is left to the Church concerning circumstances as time place order c. THirdly the deuising of newe signes corrupteth the simplicitie of the Sacraments which are perfectly ordained by Christ What then is there nothing left to the Church Yes the disposing of the a Zepper de politia eccles c. 12 circumstances of Gods seruice as time place order of doing with the like and of the particulers of those things which the word commandeth in generall as the profession and preaching of faith repentance at Baptisme the applying of the element with praiers fit beyond which there must nothing bee added as one of our Writers saith who after he had rehearst all these b Zanch. in ephes 6. lect de bapt ca. 7. hoc est primum rituum genus saith he quod necessarium est solum sufficit Indeed when Christ said hoc c Theodor. Baeza epi. 8 facite he tyed his church to his owne signes and to them onely as one thus sheweth d Chemnit examp p. 2. de rit p. 37 Mat. 19.8 1 Cor. 11.23 Cumfilius Dei sacramenta ita instituerit vt ea certis à se institutis ritibus praeceperit administrari valde ardua est quaestioan hominibus permissum sit alios praeterea quocunque praetextu superaddere Fourthly aske the Fathers of the primatiue Church whether any signes were vsed in their dayes besides them which the Lord ordained For it sufficeth against euery vpstart signe that ab initio non fuit sic because nothing must be receiued in a Sacrament but that which the Lord ordained as Paul wrote once to Corinth it was xxvj yeres after the assention that he thus wrote Wherby it appeareth e Bulling de orig error lib. 2. ca. 5. Neijs quidem vnquam venisse in memtem auctiorem ritum Ecclesijs profuturum Now
burning when by the relation of their hoste they sawe it was a decipula to grace Idolatrie by a shewe of their conformitie approbation The third excuse of the Crosse now followeth which inferreth that though lightnes of ceremonies stayne profession and that then when they be drawne to countenance poperie yet that in the Crosse there is no such hurte it being a trifle and a thing of nothing than which there is nothing that can be more rashly spoken First what though the ceremonies controversed were small and little we are to followe that constant Marcus Arethusius who when his adversaries were contented with any thing from him so he would giue somewhat towardes the repayring of a paganish Temple which before he had pulled downe made this replie n Tripart histor li. 6. cap. 12. Ne obulum quidem Moses yeelded not in an house Daniel forbeareth not so much as the ceremonie of opening his windowe towardes Ierusalem The name of Passion Sunday is lesse then the making of the Crosse and it was neuer so much abused and yet on the other side putteth vs in minde of the passion of Christ aswell as the signe of the crosse doeth yet o Iewell repl to Hard. arti 1. divis 4. Bishop Iewell refuseth to call it so as vnwilling to yeeld euen so much to the fancies of the papistes The Surplice is a lesser matter then the Crosse yet Peter p Pet. Martyr in epist amic cind in Angl. Martyr would neuer weare it no though his Canons place in Ch. Church required it of him The square cappe is lesse then either yet q Pilking in epist ad Comit. Leycest an 1570. Martine Bucer would neuer weare it and being demaunded a reason why he said because his head was round Secondly since the time that the Crosse sawe the sunne he hath bene as king in the middest of ceremonies especially in the case of profession Consider we it but as papistes vse in for an Image euen so serueth it for speciall r Bellar. de imag c. 10 confession For hereby say they we especially testifie against the novelties of the Lutherans and Calvinistes whiles we religiously worship that which they sacrilegiouslie do destroy Consider we it as they vse it apart by it felfe Heere the Sacraments saye s Bellarm. de effect Sacra c. 31. they doe not so well distinguish from heretiques where the ceremoninies notwithstanding make an excellent difference as now a dayes the signe of the crosse is a notable signe saith one whereby to know a Catholique Howe can we hold vp our foreheades for shame of the beastes marke whiles our eares heare this or with what forehead can we say the Crosse is no great badge of poperie when the papistes cal it the great t Epist aposoget sect 7. pa. 54. Character of their glorie u Hippoli in li. de coÌ„sum mund Hippolitus foreshewed that as the Crosse is Christes signe so Antichristes signe on the other side should be non vti signo Crucis sed illud potius execrari abolere As counterfait as this Hippolitus is yet w Bilaem de Roman Pontif. lib. 3. cap. 11. Bellarmine with the rest of the papistes accepteth his iudgement making the Crosse to be the very signe of Christ and Christian Religion and counting the Calvinistes the forerunners of Antichrist because they doe not vse this signe This saw our Fathers that sawe our deliuerance out of AEgypt were more sincere They accounted in the matter of profession that the Crosse is as daungerous nowe as a false x Calfh coÌ„tia Mart. art 1. ensigne is in warre which most deceyueth and breedeth most confusion And this confusion bred by the Crosse is so much the more horrible if it be true which some doe y Io Napier in Apoc. proposit 31 Apoc 13.17 teach that the signe of the Crosse is that speciall marke of the beast and that Antichristes signe by name which the Apocal. doeth foreshewe Amongst these one writeth thus z And. Willet in Synop de character Anti. pag. 199. The superstitious markes of the Crosse arise out of the beastes name to wit from the number of it thus expressed in the greeke original Ξξ s for the letter Χ is a Saint Andrewes crosse the letter ξ is in latin X which is also a sliding crosse the last letter s containeth 〈◊〉 and r the latter whereof is an headlesse crosse thus it appeareth that the markes wherby they say they honour Christ are a dishonour to him and the cognizance of Antichrist But if the Crosse be not in speciall sort the beastes marke whether made simply as these coniecture or with oyle which a Bulling in Apoc. 13. others iudge yet all our b Ioh. Foxe Iohan de Vado Ibid D. Abbot Antich demonstrat ca. 11. sect 25. writers doe consent that the ceremonies of the Romane church are a parte of this marke amongst which the crosse is chiefe Sinne they not grievously who with certaine instrumentes c Pet. Martyr in 1. Cor 7.18 gathered their vncircumcizion againe to be like to the Gentills Alas then what is our sinne who not onely receyue the crosse our selues one of Antichristes markes but also with it as it were d Sixt. Senens bibliothec li. 4. pa. 305. spatisteri quadam and as it were with a payre of pinsers doe drawe on others the vncircumcizion popish or at the least a likenes with the papist Let it be considered with what probabilitie the Divines of e Conrad Schlussâ—lburg li. 13 pa. 593.594.572 Germanie helde that the Adiaphorisme of rites popish retayned is the very Image of the beast Cuius notae characteres nomen sunt haec ipsa adiaphora and that the thirde Angell who preacheth against the Image of the beast and the receyuing of his marke representeth the Preachers that withstand the tayle of Antichrist left behinde in the Church of God But whether this be so or no there is some certaintie in this that followeth which is that the retention of popish ceremonies vnder pretence they be f Thes de adiaphorism Theolgot Saxonr p. 593 Adiaphora is a countermaund to that precept exite ab ea populus meus seeing heereby men doe euen g Conrad Sceluffelburg li. 13 pa. 515. redire yea introire ad Antichristum not onely not exire from him #Sect 7. That the Crosse fostereth hypocrisie in the middes of our Church and hindereth spirituall worship FRom the hipocrisie of the Crosse in bearing Gods name before the Papistes come wee to the hipocrisie of it founde in the bearing of Gods name in the middes of our owne church Here our maine foundation is that this commaundment forbidding all occasions them selues as wel as other commaundements do the signe of the Crosse must packe away for that occasion of hipocrisie which is in it euen as one of our a D Fulk reioynd art 1. pa. 140. Writers Well seeing the Crosse
placandum f Saluian de prouident lib. 3. egreditur ad exacerbandum these ought to be present order taken for meanes of better reverence Amongst these none like to the vision that awaked Iacob vnto reverence or to the sounding of Aarons belles which stirred vp revereÌ„ce in the people when he entred into the sanctuarie I meane the preaching of the worde and the sounding of the Gospell which these ceremonies haue layde waste But reverence is procured not only by this but also by outward signes and rites which I acknowledge out of g Thom. Aquin 2.2 quest 84. art 3. ad 3. Aquinas the people must be stirred to reverence in the Church per illa sanctitatis signa quae ibi conspiciuntur But alas what are these but dead when the preaching of the worde wanteth which is the life and the light of them If they were avaylable what is that to the ceremonies controversed which are not such First they are them selues partes of irreverence For as rudenes of habit and gesture are partes of irreverence offending a King witnes the Emperour h Caro Sigon de occidental imperio Valentinian who grew to such coller by reason of the base apparell and rude gesture of the Legates of Sarmatia as cost him his life so the habit and apparell of an Idoll as the Surplice is and the gesture idolatrous as the Crosse is can not but thorough an odious irreuerence offende the holy one of Israell Secondlie they are occasions of irreuerence in regarde of the Minister none must be put to 2 1. Cor. 11.22 shame in the Church the man of God be least of all made either an hatred 3 Hos 9.8 or offence in the house of his God Wheras these ceremonies are shamefull to him by so much more and are by so much the more hateful then a fooles coate by howe much Idolatry the chiefest and most odious sinne is worse then folly which is a iudgement from the Lord. It being so these ceremonies punish a Preacher worse for his reuerent and holy attendance on Gods service then the l Cuspini lib. de origin relig Ture Cauda vulpina ad collum sispensa doth punish the Turke when for his neglegence or irreuerence in Mahomets seruice he is ledde vp and downe the Citie in this fooles attire to shame him Thrdly these ceremonies are occasions of irreuerence for that they giue a becke to poperie which is as badde as musâ—itare or nutus facere in the Church fore the suppressing where of in auncient times there was a Deacon m Clemens constitut Aposto li 8. cap. 11. sert to walke vp and downe the Church to finde them out and punishe them What Chrysostome once spake against the loue signes which some in the Church did make one to another n Chrisost in Math. 23 homil 74. pro stibulum tibi videtur Ecclesia foro ignobilior that may bee applyed to these ceremonies no modest man will so much as in foro weare the cullers of an whore or make shew open of hir loue-tokens towards him wher as these alas bring into the Church the badges of Antichrist and the loue-tokens of former adulterie which are polluted by him #Sect 6. That the ceremonies controversed not only defile but hinder the worship of the Sabboth FRom the manner of Sabboth worship defiled come we to the matter of it not only defiled by these ceremonies controuersed but also hindered a Walafrid Strab. de reb Ecclesiast c. 24. Boniface the Martyr can not thinke a Sabboth well sanctified with golden Chalices if the Preachers be woodden and therefore wisheth for the golden Preachers that were in the Church when the Chalices and Cuppes were woodden The ceremonies in present strife haue drawne their patrons as it seemeth to a contrarie straine better to haue these golden ceremonies say they in them selues to adorne the Sabboth-worship then golden preaching whereupon they exchaunge not like Glaucus golde for brasse but like the people of Boniface his age golden preaching for woodden ceremonies or at the least for a woodden kinde of preaching For to supply the want of Preachers which the ceremonies haue brought vpon vs they set vp the reading of homilies which they dubb with the name of preaching yea which they hold a preachinge sufficient for the sanctifying and for the sauing of the Church But alas an homilie is too leane a sacrifice for a Sabboth reading being the weeklie lambe which euery day we are to offer there is in the Sabboth-day required a 4 Numb 28 9. Cant. 1.7 special one ouer and aboue which is the hearing of the word preached An homilie is also too leane a feeding for the Sabboth a fatter pasture in the tents of the sheepheards hath the Lord for his kidds prouided to witt a right and discreet cutting of the word 2 Tim. 2.15 whereas an homilie sheweth a loafe but doth not deuide it yea sheweth a b Gualt in Luc. homil 76. Medicin but doth not apply it to the sore and a Ministerie of the spirit whereas the homilie is but a dead letter What wanteth in it say our Opposites There wanteth in it the gifte of the spirit which is giuen for edification there wanteth in it the art of the husbandman which vseth to make the Viniyard fat 1 Cor. 12 there wanteth in it the heate of the Nurse that doth digest and concockt the milke to make it sweet there wanteth in it the opening of the booke without which it is but shut there wanteth in it the dressing of the meate which giueth it a powerful taste there wanteth in it that interpreter which is one amongst a thousand and without whose guidance none vnderstandeth there wanteth in it that ordinaÌ„ce of God which only bringeth the blessing with it through c Bâ—cer in Censur cap. 7. pag. 463. viua vox quae aedificat dante domino incrementum to which we may adde that out of Hierome d Hieron Paulino 1 Epist â—30 habet nescio quid latentis energiae viua vox in aures discipuli de auctoris ore transfusa fortius sonat But the people that haue homilies may be glad better homilies then nothingh and many there are which want them for their spirituall comfort Iust as once Macarius told Anthony comming to him in the extremitie of his thirst for want of water e Tripartit histo lib. 8. cap. 2. Vmbratibisufficiat saith he multi namque nunciter agentium aut nauigantium etiam hac releuatione priuantur Now I knowe not whether it were not better for the people of this lande that may repayr to preaching else-where as the Sunamite did on euery Sabboth and newe Moone if they wanted this shadowe of preaching by an homilie in their parishes at home because then they would know their want and the famine of the word in which they are and runne to and fro to increase knowledge and goe forth with their kiddes
vnlesse this sparcle be speedily quenched as great a contention and distraction as once there was about the Adiaphorisme or is at this present about Consubstantiation Thirdly the auncient conformitie obiected was therfore wished for that the catholique church might ioyne together in rites of her own against all aliens Iewes and heretiques This appeareth by the Councell of Nice lastly cited who if it labour for a conformitie about Easter it is vpon this reason z Nieephor vb sup exactior ratio flagitare videtur vt nihil nobis commune sit eum infestissima Iudaeorum turba Agaâ—ne Mâ—nimè decet in re tam sancta aliquam extare dissentionem pulchrius est sequi eam sententiam in qua nulla sit alieni erroris peccati contagio Another Councill a Concil Toletan 10. cap 1. Hinc est quod Paschale festum vno die celebramus tempore ne in Iudaicum decidamus errorem When the sturre was about the b Beda in histor de gont Anglor lib 5. cap. 21. tonsura there fell out this disputation c pag â—37 Simonis tonsuram quis non simulcum ipsa magia detestetur as we plead nowe zeale doeth require to detest popish rites together with their doctrine The other answered that though he were Simon Magus tonsura yet he communicated not in his Magia Iust like our Opposites now though we communicate with the papistes in their rites yet not in their superstition It is replied you must shew in facie what you doe in Corde d pag 238. sepera à tuo vultu illius habitum qui à Deo seperatus est and put on their habit who truely loue God even as we doe now dispute we must shew in outward appearance the hatred we beare against ceremonies superstitious and we must separate our selves from their rites who are separated from God conforming our selves to the rites of those churches who truely serue him We haue this confession from a e Iacob Lâ—â—esima lib de dium quauis lingua non legen c. 24 Iesuit when the â—bionites heresie began to spread which helde the Iewish rites necessarie and so by consequent required bread that was vnleavened in the Eucharist necessarilie whereas the thing being indifferent the church might haue conformed vnto them we see at the first it tooke course quite contrarie Ecclesia contrarium praecepit sayeth he vt infermentato pane sacra consiceâ—etur Eucharisita In regard hereof the auncient conformitie giveth no counâ—eâ—ance once againe to that which our Opposites seeketh for because it combined the church to conforme in rites of their owne against all ceremonies of heretiques whereas our Opposites would haue vs conforme to the rites of those heretiques that are the most horrible and the most detestable that are living And this to the first exception which is taken against that libertie in rites and ceremonies which we clayme from the practize of the olde and auncient Church #Sect 24. THe second followeth and it saith though the auncient church requireth no conformitie as necessarie to peace in diuers churches yet that in one and in the same church it is to be required First the Fathers did as well require a conformitie in the vniversall church as in any particular congregation as hath been plainly shewed and the difference about leavened and vnleavened bread was in diuerse churches the Greeke and the Latin yet what the Fathers spake against the necessitie of conformitie therein is applied by one of our reverend writers against the necessitie of conformitie within this one church of ours To this letter of Anselme I haue saith a Act. and Monu pag 170. he adioyned an other Epistle of his to the said Waltram appertayning to matters not much vnlike to the same effect wherein is intreated touching the varietie diuerse vsages of the sacraments in the church where by such as call and cry so much for vniformitie in the Church may note peraduenture in the same something for their better vnderstanding Secondly why should diuersitie of rites breake peace more in one church then in diuerse seeing the faith is the same which is affirmed to be inviolat by this diuersitie and diuersitie of ceremonies is likewise the same in all places hauing as great power beyond the seas to disturbe peace as it hath behither them To haue peace in the church the papistes require an vniformitie in the languadg of Gods seruice b Bellarmin de verb. Dei li 5 ca 1â— de effect Sacram c. 31. alioqui communicatio Ecclesiae tolleretur Indeed who seeth not that a conformitie in languadg is a necessaratie for peace as conformitie in tryfling ceremonies wherevpon the Interim imposed the Latin tongue to bee vsed for the peace of Germanie as well as conformitie in other rites and Ceremonies Nowe would not he shewe himselfe ridiculous that should thus reason the diuersitie of language will not breake peace betweene England Spaine but it will breake peace betweene England and Wales betweene Cornwall and Yorkeshire and England and Scotland can haue no Vnion vnlesse the languadg bee first made one Surelie the Councell of Lateran made account that diuersitie of rites would no more break peace in one church then in diuerse euen as the diuersitie of language doth not when it decreed c Concil Latera sub Innocent 3. cap. 9. quoniam in plerisque partibus inter eandem ciuitatem permixti sunt populi diuersarum linguarum habentes sub vna fide varios ritus mores praecipimus vt provideantur viri idonei qui secundum diuer sitates rituum linguarum divina officia illis celebrant Ecclesiastica Sacramenta ministrent Giue wee another instance The Iles of Gersey and Garnsey differing in language and discipline from vs haue yet euermore agreed in the faith with vs and in obedience vnto one supreame Soueraigne Hath not the disagreement of language discipline as great power to trouble peace as the diuersitie hath of Crosse and Surplice Giuewe a third instance Some of our churches haue Organs some not some discant and broken singing some plaine some none at all hath this diuersitie euer disturbed or troubled our peace Giue we instance last of all in the Crosse and Surplice themselues what breach of peace either in the state or church did the Preachers raise all the dayes of Queene Elizabeth who differred in them from their fellowes For as for the state where more peaceable or loyall subiectes thoroughout the Land then in the places where they haue laboured As for the church the vnitie of it hath bene vpheld against these of the separation by no mens writings that I knowe of but by theirs As for the faith shewe me one that hath broached one point against it as some haue done who are for the Ceremonies Thirdly I see no reason why the churches of this Island should be held to bee one Church and the churches of the continent beyond the seas to be diuers churches
seeing if we speake of one church collectiuè we beleeue out of the scriptures that there is but one Catholique church over all the earth if we speake of one church distributiuè we finde by the phrase speach of scripture that everie visible congregation is one church by it selfe Howsoeuer of such diuerse churches and such churches held to be one the foresaid testimonies and these following meane indifferently to witt that varietie in rites breedeth iarre in neither of them The Italians and d Durant rational li. 4 cap. 2â— Germenes vse two Corporalls without any breach of peace from the French who vse one only and yet all the three make vp but one church Romane In e Niâ—ephor li 12 c 34. Antioche of Syria altaria diuersum prorsus quam alibi situm habent yet all these make vp one Greek church That f August epist l 19. cap 27. Haleluiah should be soung only betweene Easter Whitsontyde non vsque quaque obseruatur nam varijs diebus variè cantatur alibi In the Vnion of the Greeke and Latin they were both made one and yet the diuersitie of leavened and vnleavened bread is permitted without all feare that it would impeach this Vnion g Thom. Aquin p. 3 quest 74. art 4 vidi Thomas also and Caietan think that the difference of this ceremonie is not to be reckoned among the partes of the schisme of that church h Walafrid Strab. de reb eccleasti ca. 15. See Walafridus Strabus what varietie he confesseth in the celebration of diuine service which neuer bredd any iarre or discord and consider that of l Socrat. histor lib. 5. cap. 21. Socrates apud nos Ecclesiarum sectarum Ecclesias nusquam re perire poteris duas qui in precandâ— more inter se consentiant It was a sacred order to haue 7. Collectes in the Masse neither more nor lesse a great matter was made of it vsu tamen m Rodulph Tungrâ—ns de canon obseruat prop of 23 Leodiensi vltra quinque non diâ—untur and all these vncoÌ„formities were within one Greek or Romane church Fourthly take the churches of England to be one and it is easie to bring examples of diuersitie in the ceremonies euen in one and the same church where they haue broke no peace In one and in the same region saith n Sozom. histor lib. 7. cap. 19. one permulti ritus per ciuitates pagos in veniri possunt quos sine piaculo intollerabili praeuaricari non posse putant At Rome the Gregorian o P. Morne oâ— Eucharist l. 1. c. â— Leiturgie obtained the Ambrosian at Millane was vsed the same time in the same Italie yet after they were setled the peace and vnitie of the church was not disturbed by theÌ„ There were diverse formes of seruice in one Spain for a long time The Councell Gerundense first taking order that there should be one forme vnder one Metropolitan which after the CouÌ„cell of Toledo the 4. extended ouer all Spaine and while these rites were thus diverse there was more peace then after that one and vniforme order which Alphonsus the 6. brought in At p Socrat. histor li. 5. cap. 20. Rome it was decreed that christians might celebrate Easter day differently with out any feare of breach betweene theÌ„ Here in England of old the vse differed and although the vse of Sarum ouertopped all the rest yet did it not conquer them euen as in Germanie q Illiâ—i iâ—l de Adiaph Brandeburg had one breuiarie Magdeburg an other and so in the rest when as yet there Satan kept all his Ministers in a league and peace together In Russia to this hower the Bishop of r Durant de rit l 2. c. 9. Nouograde differed in Ceremonie from all the rest wearing a white Miter with two hornes such as the popish Bishops weare whereas other Bishops weare round Miters like the Turkish blacke in colour and what hurt breedeth this difference there Wheras then s P. Morne de Eucharist l. 1. c. â— Charles the great hauing a purpose to vnite the Church of Rome and of France together and being Romish abolished Cantum Gallicanum and established ordineÌ„ RomanuÌ„ which before Pipin his Father decertauit vt fieret though he could not bring it to passe so were it a worthy thing for our Soueraigne purposing to vnite the two protestant churches of England and Scotlande being himself a Protestant to abolish ordinem quemcunque Romanum and to establish the order of the Scottish church and of the other reformed churches with whom he is in faith vnited And this is the first plea of the auncient Christian libertie vnconformitie breaketh no peace either in the whole Orthodox church or in the diuerse partes thereof or in any one church visible #Sect 25. An exact vniformitie in Ceremonies hath ever disquieted the Church and hindered the growth of it THe second is an absolut and exact vniformitie in rites and in Ceremonies hath euer disturbed the peace of the church and hindered much the grouth of the Gospell For the vnderstanding hereof wee must consider that there are Maiores Ceremoniae and ritus Catholici such as kneeling is in prayer in which conformitie as it is easie to be made so is it a Mother a Bucer in Censur c. p 459. F. Illiric in li. de Adiaphor of peace a Nurse of reuereÌ„ce a Preseruer of decencie There are other Ceremoniae which are minores and not b Beza epist 24. Catholicae such as is the weomens sitting in the church behinde the men and in these conformitie is heauie and burthensome to be borne hard and difficult to bee effected so that Christian libertie is for the most part oppressed by it and so by consequent the church distracted Hence come those protestations of the Germane Diuines against the conformitie of the Adiaphorisme c F. Illiric ap CoÌ„rad Schlusselburg tom 13. p. 166.167 Nonest necessaria rituum conformitas deinde nimis exacta impossibilis in mediocribus Ceremonijs verè Adiaphoris conformitas sectanda est aliquatenus d Confess Eccles Mansfeld ap eund p. 560. Dissimilitudo Adiaphororum prodest ad conseruandam libertatem Christianam statim a. quando coguntur homines ad carecipienda eaqueue obtruduntur taÌ„quam res necessariae amittunt suum verum titulum e Lib. CoÌ„cord ap eund p. 597. Quando ceremoniae constitutiones Ecclesiae coactione quadam tanquam necessaria obtruduntur quidem contra libertatem Christianam quam Ecclesiam Christi in rebus eiusmodi externis habet falsa doctrina inducitur quam oportet reijcere For this cause they that tender the churches peace will vse that moderation in rites and ceremonies which Aliacus once per swaded to the councell of Constance No man more strict then Augustine for the obseruation of the churches constitutions f P. Aliacus reformat Eccles g mos populi Dei
is with the enimies crosse that we are blatched Nemo est signandus in fronte saith the c Cod. l. 9. â—it 47. c. 17 civill Lawe quia non debet facies hominis ad similitudinem Dei formata fadari we call for the equitie of this Law Be it that the crosse in intent be the signe of our Emperor the forehead of a christian man must not bee in baptisme defiled with any signe devised by man but alas he is the signe of Antichrist our Emperours enimie which none will deny but that it defileth and that with the deepest stayne From this dishonouring of our church before our friends and enimies come we to the defamation wherewith the Ceremonies staine the principall members of it making the very auncient vile Mal. â— 3 For hath not God true of his threat cast this dounge into the faces of the reuerent Fathers themselues of this Church that abroad amongst them that dare to iudg they are held little better then Adiaphoristes and the persecutors of their brethren Now the time was when d â—lmar har borough of faithful subiectâ— one that after became a Bishop ioyned Adiaphoristes and Sattanistes together the more is it to bee wished that euery good and godly Bishop would be carefull to avoide that imputation of Adiaphorisme which the similitude if not identitie of these Ceremonies pseudoadiaphoricall will otherwise at least in shew still cast vpon them But whether the ceremonies besprincle our reuerend Fathers or no sure it is they plouÌ„g the preachers ouer head and eares who what haue they not heard for their sakes euen from them who were more bound to couer our faultes with their rotchets then e Thâ—â—dor histor l. 1. â— 11. Constantine was to couer the adulterie of a Minister with his people Sacerdotum exorbitationes vulgo innotessere non oportet said he the reason is giuen by a generall Councell f Chalcedonens act 3. p. 117. delicta sacerdotuÌ„ communis est turpitudo Now we haue against this rule without all cause bene termed g Answ to the petir of the M. by the Vice Chaunt and the doct 10 pretat Puritans and Donatistes bene pinioned with Barrowistes yea Anabaptistes yea Familistes bene accused of singularitie in our selaes of schisme in the church of sedition in the common wealth The Lord rebuke thee Satan yea the God of heauen rebuke thee in these lewde slaundes For are we puritans first of all No more then the Waldenses were our predecessors in the fayth who yet were termed h Lambert Dane heres 38. p. 96. Cathari of old and are now surnamed puritans by the papistes No more neither then Maister Rogers the proto Martyr or Bishop Hooper that glorious Martyr were who yet to this day are m Parsons in his convers of Engl. renouned for the puritans of their times Howbeit it was after the sect of the Nouatians that they werd esteemed puritans we after the secte l Genebrar lib. 4 in An. 1100. of the Anabaptistes which are farre worse And according to that ougly description of a puritan in the Quodlibets one monster of which shape where will the author be able to finde out of the Vtopia of his owne brayne And they were termed puritans by their en imies we by our brethren and our friendes whom God for giue for what haue they donne First whereas this odious name was first brought vp by the n Saunders de monarc Eccles lib. 5. c. 4 Genebrar Chronolog lib. 4. An. 1â—60 papistes of purpose to make our religion odious as if it were the vomit of those dogges to spitt it malitiously into our faces who as little haue deserued it as themselues Secondly whereas our writers to cleare our religion from the infamie of diuision which the papistes doe obiect averre and avouch there is no o D. Whitak in praefat ag W. Reynold Matth. Sutcliu in answ to the humb moti for tollerat sect of puritans in the land and proue this p Ioh. Reynold de Idololat in epist ad Anglic-Seminar sect 5. nick name doth but fill vp the old reproach of the christians termed Nazareni Physici Homousiani Eustachiani Machariani with the like these spare not to giue them the lye iustifying the vntrue slaunder of the Iesuites and the papistes and little careing though it be our religion it selfe that is thus wounded thorough our sydes Thirdly where as the papists count all to be q Concertatio Eccles Catholic in Anglia concra-Caluino papistas puritanos Caluino papistae that is halfe papistes that are not puritans and dayly invite them to an association with them against the puritans in r Humble mot for tollerat Cant. 5.7 consideration they can neuer hold out against them with out theire helpe or stand in argument but vpon their groundes and principles these are contented in giuing way to this nicke-name of puritans against vs to giue way also to that other name or rather shame of Caluino-papistes or protestant papists against them selues Fourthly whereas this nicke name of puritans serueth for a colour in eperie papistes Atheistes mouth to rayle at religion and all honesty vnder neathe the name of puritanisme whereby it is come to passe that zeale hath her vayle of holynes taken from her and walketh at this day disguised as it were in an harlots habit these notwithstanding keepe this vile name on foot as if it were a small thing with them to see pietie zeale religion trodd vnder foote Fiftly whereas for the better nourishing of concord it was thought fit in the begining s Admonit added to the booke of iniunce of Elizabethes raigne that none should vse the odious name of papist and protestant but that euery man should be acknowledged to be a good subiect that did acknowledg her highnes Supremacie they who vphold these names of protestants and puritans names sauouring of debate and division more pernitious then the former considering we acknowledge his Maiesties Supremacy as for forth as themselues they are to be held by the affore said admointion for disturbers of publique peace Sixtly as the Hugonotes were transformed in France by the fryars who made the people beleeue they were monstres with asses eares and swines faces with the like so are we transformed from our selues before these who knowe vs not when we are described as puritans a sect most vile and monstrous They t Euseb lib. 6 cap. 35. affected the name of puritans out of an opinion that they were pure They called themselues u Hieron in Hos c. 14. catharous idest mundos cùm sint omniuÌ„ immundissimi Cathari sunt sayth Augustine qui seipsos isto nomine quasi propter munditiem w August hercs 38. superbissimè atque odiosissimè nominant Decipiebant seipsos cathari haeretici saith x Tholossan li. 13. de republ c. 1. another qui haberi volebant alijs sanctiores despicientes alios quique propter munditiem
sith every one of the ancient Fathers had his errors as not only our owne e Philip. Mome de Eucharist in prefat writers but also the f Canus de loc The ol lib. 7. cap. 3 li. 11. ca â— Villa Vincent de ration stu Theolog li 4 c. 6. obseruat 2. papistes them selves confesse In regard whereof we haue this libertie from the mouth euen of one of the slaues of Antichrist non g Claud. Espeus de adorat lib. 2. cap. 8. andiendi sunt qui circa Dei sacramentorum cultum omnia reduci volunt ad vesustum morem non n. semper melius quod antiquius As for this matter of the crosse who can excuse the necessitie the vertue the effectiue power which they put in it as hath ben already shewed vnlesse he doe it perverso fauore which h August in Ioham tractat 66. Augustine condemneth in the excusing of a Peter himselfe or excogitato aliquo coÌ„mento or sensum commodum affingendo which is the tricke that we our l Io. Reynolde Idolotat lib. 2. cap. 2. sect 10. selues condemne in papistes And seeing it was a sheepish kinde of following the Fathers that hath brought the crosse downe hitherto an example whereof is to be seene in m Alcain in Iohan. lib. 7. ca. 19 Alcuinus who is not ashamed when he writeth of it to write verbatim out of Augustine the more it is to be mervayled that for the continuing of it still our Opposites will so cleaue to the Fathers as to reiect all new writers whom some of the papistes them selues n Andrad defens fid Triden l. 2 confesse to haue receaued more light knowledge then euer the Fathers sawe of old Secondly we are lesse tyed to the Fathers in ceremonies then in doctrine and to their practize lesse then to their iudgement Whereas then a papist contesteth o Roffens in proem confutat Luther contestatos esse volo me prorsus nullius quantumvis sancti Patris authoritate cogi velle nisi quatenus iudicio divinae scripturae fuerit probatus What follie were it now for vs to followe them strictly in their practize which lesse bindeth then their sayth as one of them saith p August li. 2 cont epi. Gaudent 2 Non debemus imitari semper probare quidquid probati homines vrgent sed iudicium scripturaruÌ„ adhibere an illae probent ca facta The q Tertul. li. â— ad vxor Durant li. 1. ca. 16. sect 10. Fathers vsed to take the bread of the Sacrament and wrappe it vp and carie it home and eate it in private which we r Bucer in Censur mislike The Fathers vsed s Euseb de vit Constantin li 4. ca. 66. tapers in funerals t Origen in Iob. li. 1. Euseb histor li. 7. ca. 16. Hieron invit Pauli Eremit clothed the bodies that were dead with costly attyre and many other solemnities of burial which not only we coÌ„demne but also our u Aeneas Silu. de orig Bohem. ca. 35. Fathers that saw but the dawning as it were of the gospel The Fathers vsed w Ducant de rit lib. 2. cap. 43. sect 6. anniversary solemnities for the dead anniversarie x Tertul. de coron milit oblations for theÌ„ also which had y Idem de Monora Epipha he res 23. Am 〈◊〉 of de mort Saryr obit Va leÌ„tia Chry in Act honul 21. in 1. Cor. homil 41. prayers adioyned for the refrigerium of their soules which we z Buâ—or in cenfur c. 9. p. 467. condemne Thirdly the soule the life of every practize being the cause for which the Fathers vsed it this cause ceasing the practise it self must cease though neuer so auncient which of our writers laugheth not at papistes for a D. Fulke reioynd art 7. p. 189 retayning divers ceremonies for their antiquitie now that their auncient vse is ended and for b Chemnit exam p. 2. p. 38. keeping vmbram veterum rituum etiamsi nullam habeant veram observationis causam as well they may because absurdum est saith the lawe ipsa origine rei sublata eius imaginem relinqui For example were it not absurd nowe to suffer euery man to receiue the communion at home in private without a minister because the d Duran de rit l. 1. c. 16 sect 11. Fathers of old time vsed it for the same reason is not in place we may nowe come to the church which they could not who were compelled to liue in the woodes where was no minister were it not absurd now and smelling of Anabaptisme to sell all for such a communion as was in the Apostles time for we haue not the like cause nowe to travell abroad into the world for the spreading of the Gospell we read in e Beda hist gent Angl. l 4 c 3. Beda c Cod lib 7 tit 6. leg 1. that some ministers would not ride but goe on foote like the Apostles was this wisdome in them thinke ye was not the Archb. wiser then they who constrained theÌ„ to break of such imitation of antiquitie were it not absurd nowe and savoring of Paganisme to haue f Plin. Secsid in epist 98 tapers and lightes in divine service such as were vsed in the g ancient church for we haue not the like necessitie to assemble in the darknes of the night or in the morning as they had then were it not absurd now and savouring of poperie to haue Eremites after the example of Paulus Thaebeus and others auncient for we are not driven forth by persecution into solitarie and desert places as they were then g Otho Frisingens l. 4 c. 3. Paulus Thaebeus Decij fugiens persecutionem vixit in deserto necessitatem vertens in voluÌ„tatem and h Sozom l. 1 c. 13. memorant alij persecutionum procellas homines ad hoc vitae genus suscipiendum impulisse what that l HermaÌ„ Hamelman de tradit appendic ad p. â—rim col 498. Cassander him self that Adiaphorist thinketh it vnfit that any ceremo should continue vnles he haue rationeÌ„ causam perpetuaÌ„ of which how many is he able to name For quis nescit temporuÌ„ momenta inclinationes multa monere quaedaÌ„ subijcene nonnulla etiam extorquere as nowe in the case of the crosse is to be seene For origine eius sublata which was to professe against the heathens with whoÌ„ we liue not a cause contrarie to the origen of it being come in place to wit a contrarie disease in papistes who too much honour it amiddest whom we converse this chaung of time causes of vse chauÌ„ged by the time doth not only monere or subijcere but also eueÌ„ extorquere we should away with it Fourthly though a practize be neuer so ancient it must be abolished when it groweth to abuse euen as Pope Stephen him self ordayneth Si n Decret p. 1. distinct 63.
despise it or an imitation e Lactan. de vera sapient c. 16. August de catechizan rud de verb. Apo. serm 8. of the Iewes in their postes marked with the pascall bloud who were thought to figure it or a mistaking of Ezechtels signe which was thought to foreshew it or last of all a certaine kind of a magical superstition to haue in it an effectuall “ Hospin de re temp tit de cru 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 against the Divell against all evil with other like humors any one of which let any who cā make lawful Next consider the toppe of that height to which they advanced him of which one of our writers thus the Fathers f D. Fulk reioynd ag Mart. art 1. p 137. cānot be iustified in their speaches of the crosse of the g Ibi. p. 139 crosse they speak more thē they themselves can iustifie Chysostom hath his hand deepest in this excesse Him nothing can excuse saving an h Beza epi. Hyperbole only to wit such an l D. Fulke ibid p. 132. Hyperbole as we must vnderstand in this like spreach of his I had rather haue a piece of St Paules chaine quam si quis me coelo condonet omni What a speach is this of Ambrose in epistola ad Rom. cap. 8. signatos cruce in morte secunda Diabolus tenere non audet which some take m Herman Hamel de tradit p. 3. l. 3 col 302 heynously as also others n Magdebu Centur. 4. c. 4. tit de tradit col 302. censure Prudentius and Ephreem as overlavishing in their speeches about the crosse To omit particulars all our o D. Whita controuer 1 q. 6. pag. 443. D. Fulke reioynd pa. 145.146 writers censure all the Fathers for the power which they ascribe vnto the crosse against the Devill for which they p Perk. problem tit sign cruc send vs to these quotations Tertullian de resurrect car Lactant. de vera relig l 4. c. 27. Cyril Cateches 13. Origen contra Cels l. 3. Nazianz. ad Nemes Theodoret. in Petro Thalasio Euseb li. 8. cap. 7. Sulpit. epist ad Euseb Presbyter Gregor Dialog l. 1. c. 1. Victor de persecut Vandal li. 2. Paulin. l. 2. de vit sanct Martin to which may be added that quotation out of Augustine which q Bellarmin Bellar. Suarez the rest of the Iesuites do alleadg to prove that this power of the crosse is in the iudgement of the Fathers even ex opere operato But what say we to this that according to Vincentius rule this rite of crossing was vniversall Why to omit that this reason is popish which they in like manner r Durant de rit li. 1. c. 4 sect 8. vrge for images vniversally observed we can giue instāce in other things which we our selues doe now cōdemne though when time was they were with an vniformitie vniversall throughout the whole church kept The exorcisme of baptisme hath this testimonie that the church s August de Ecclesiast dogmat 3◠vniformiter in vniverso mundo kept it So that an adversarie was thus prest t August de nupt cōcupiscent l 2. c 18. accusat ecclesiā toto orbe diffusam in qua vbique omnes baptizandi infantuli nō ob aliud exufflantur nisi vt ab ijs princeps munds mittatur foras Hence thus a papist against vs all u Durant de rit l. 1. c. 19 sect 23. hinc insignis c. here the notable impudencie of the Calvinistes is detected who deride the custome of exorcizing and exufflation kept and continued from the Apostles them selues downe to this times in the whole world with one voyce and with one accorde of minde and iudgment imitating Iulian that impure Apostata who as Gregorie Nazian orat 4 witnesseth sufflationes symbolicas in baptismo in calumniam risum trahebat The thrice dipping in baptisme was also in ancienter times thē the signe of the crosse can w Zozom l. 6. c. 26. Hierom. advers Luciferian v. reach to vniversally kept which yet was after left of and x Concil Toletan 4 c 5. Greg. epist 41. abolished whē it grew to abuse by heretiques y Cont. Vigilant Hierome saith per totas Orientis ecclesias quando Evāgelium legendum est accenduntur luminaria sole rutilante Augustine hath these words hoc à Patribus traditum z August de verb. Apostolor 23. vniversa observat ecclesia vt pro ijs qui defuncti sunt cum ad ipsum sacrificium suo loco commemoratur oretur Ambrose a Tom. 1. exhortat ad virgin speaketh thus Venit Paschae dies quo toto orbe velantur virgines who knoweth not that the oyle was vniversall as well as the crosse yea the salt and the spitle when once they entred and the ministring of the communion to infants with divers rites and customes #Sect 10. The 4. Exception against the Antiquitie of the Crosse proving the crosse now vsed not to be that the Fathers vsed THE fourth exception which we make against the antiquitie of the crosse bendeth against the crosse it self of late tymes vsed because it is not the same which the auncient Fathers vsed Baronius speaking of the Amulets aunciently vsed approveth them only on this condition a Caesar Baron annal anno 232. sancta piaque maiorum haec fuit consuetudo nisi aliqua accedente superstitione labifactetur b Antonin p. 4. tit 11. c. 8. sect 2. Aquinas condemneth the anoynting of a Priest in time of necessitie though aunciently vsed as a corruptela rather then consuetudo This our exception then is strong even in the iudgement of papistes them selues as longe as we are able to proove that the signe of the crosse as very an Amulet as was the booke of the Gospell which Caecilia bore in her boosome and the peeces of the Gospell which women hanged about their neckes in c Chrysost in Mat. homil 73. Chrysostomes dayes hath degenerated to more superstition then at the first was in it and from the custome of the auncient Fathers hath growne to be a meere corruption It is stronge also euen in the iudgement of our selues We laugh at the papist when he maketh his Introit ancient by the d Durant de rit l. 2. c. 11. sect 1. singing of the auncient church before their assemblies for as much as it is nothing the same they singing a Psalme of Davids only e Beat. Rhenan in Tertul de coron mili ◠dum conveniebant Christiani in templum after the maner of some reformed churches now We laugh at them also whē they prove their Dedication of churches by the ancient f Durant l. 1 ca. 24. consecrating of them in Constantines time because it is nothing like they dedicating only with the word g Euseb histor l. 10. ca. 4. and with prayer as the reformed churches do We laugh at them
in like maner whē they make their elevation ancient whereby the priest lifteth the bread and the bread only over his head by the h Harding answer to Iewel art 11. ancient shewing of the bread of the cuppe because it is nothing like the auncient shewing being l Iuel in respon ibid. only to procure reverēce in comming to the communion not to procure adoration to the element for which cause whē the bread was a shewing ther was cryed sancta sanctis in which maner and to which ende some churches reformed m Alexand. Ales in pro em leiturg Anglican retayne it still We laugh at them when they prove their pax by the auncient kisse of the primitiue church because it was only a mutuall kisse for a signe of mutuall loue euen as n Durant de rit l. 2. c. 54. sect vlt. some of them selues cōfesse and some of our o Iewel art 3. divis 2. Divines haue proved Last of all we laugh at them when p Durant de rit l. 2. c. 38. sect 6. they goe about to prove their round wafers by the round oblations of bread in the old church called Coronae because they are nothing the same they being the loaues which were offered by the people for the poore for the sacramentall element which then was an whole and a round q Iewel art 11. P. Morne de Eucharist great loafe such as the reformed churches doe vse at this day In all these we haue severed our selues from the popish corruptelae falsely hiding cloaking them selves vnder the name of auncient customes What is the reason we cannot doe the like in the crosse Is it because it is a matter of litle moment But Harding him selfe confesseth the elevation to be a small matter which will not confesse so of the crosse as no man else can because it is an Idoll of it selfe not only a provoker to Idolatrie as their elevation is Is it because it is more necessarie then Pax or Wafer The practize of our Church hath acknowledged the wafer to be more needfull in the supper now acknowledgeth the pax to be as needlesse Howbeit our crosse it self is degenerated from auncient vse and is not now the same at this present which it was to the Fathers For the first vse of it amongst the Fathers was a common crossing ad omnem exitum aditum which seeing we haue abolished we haue abolished the first and the chiefest vse to which the Fathers turned it An other chiefe vse of the Fathers crosse we will likewise confesse to be vnseasonable which was to professe against the pagans Now condemne we the chiefest vses of the Fathers and retaine the very worst vnder pretence of their antiquitie this is straunge doe we our selues abolish the crosse in the tollerablest vses without newfanglednes cannot our brethren omit it in the worst but they must be newfanglistes this is hard Howbeit is the vse of it in baptisme it selfe the same with the Fathers vse No we are ashamed even of that also and haue therefore coyned a new vse of our owne which yet is litle better then theirs whereof we are ashamed I speak of the first Fathers of the crosse who vsed it in baptisme not to dedicate the child to God as we doe nowe that office they assigned to the Oyle r Tertull. de resurrect carnis Caro vngitur vt anima consecretur but to arme the soule with spirituall defence Cara signatur vt anima muniatur Nowe what shuffling call you this to retayne the vse of that Oyle which we haue banished to banish the vse of the crosse which we haue retayned Or what partialitie to take the crosses deformitie from him to make him gratious to take the Oyles beautie from him to make him odious or lastly what chopping that the crosse should be braved with the Oyles vse the oyle be branded whose vse was more tollerable then the crosses among the Fathers Such is our seconde mayne exception against the slaunder of newfanglednes the antiquitie of the signe of the crosse from which we swerue it is no true and sounde antiquitie #Sect 11. The third Apologie against the slaunder of Newfanglednes in denyall of the Crosse OVR third apologie against the slaunder of Newfanglednes is this That though antiquitie did binde Sect. 11. and the antiquitie of the crosse were without all these exceptions yet were we not to be branded with this infamie because a good part of antiquitie stādeth on our side This a writer of ours affirmeth a D Fulk cont Rhem Luk. 14. sect 5. Neither was the signe of the Crosse in any estimation with the Apostles nor with the faithfull in their time To which we adde the primitiue church that next succeeded knewe the signe of the crosse as litle as we our selues would haue it knowne Now haue not they the best part of antiquitie whose part is in these times and that by the confession of our Opposites who to disparage the antiquitie of all imagerie It is too yonge b D. Bils cont Apolog p. 4. p. 315. say they to be Catholike that began but of late you must goe nearer Christ his Apostles if you will haue it Catholique or auncient The nearer then that our antiquitie draweth to the time of Christ and to the Apostles so much the stronger sounder better now it shal be evidently prooved to be as neare as may be For what Nichodemus what Iosephe first 1. Sam. 21.9 Sith David layde Goliahes sword behinde the Arke that was but an instrument of a bodily victorie these would they not haue layde vp the crosse or preserved it at the least if they had thought it I say not such a soueraigne thing as the papistes make of it but such a true instrument or fit monument of Christ his spirituall victorie as it is helde by some at home They tooke downe the body what the crosse they c Doct. Willet de cruc art threwe it away at the least they regarded it not so that the L. d Act and mon. in histor eiue Cobham who after suffered about the crosse yeeldeth it seemeth more to his commissioners then he needed when he tolde them he would lay vp decently wrapped the true crosse whereon Christ dyed in case he had him And was not the hande of the Lord in this worke burying the true crosse it self as once he buried Moses body in an vnknowne place to prevent Idolatrie or to make it the more inexcusable when in time it should breake forth as since it hath done Oh but he gaue e Bellarmin de imag c. 27. argument 3. Helena power to finde it as soone as it could be had in honour which was when paganisme was abolished so that he buryed it in the meane season indeed to saue it from their contempt See the facilitie of these men Doth the crosse want honour by the space of 300. yeares It was
against which our owne doctrine which is coÌ„firmed by act of Parliament alleadgeth many reasons The first is drawne from the original of the image and it hath this ground e â—â—omâ—â— ag peril of idolat p. 1. what was ill at first rising can neuer prove good or profitable after Our Opposites say the crosse may be turned to good vse howsoever it hath ben abused heretofore therefore must they not subscribe vnto this homilie because the rising of the crosse was evill at first in Valentinus and Montanus and here of late it arising out of the ashes of the Antichristian crosse hath according to the homilie not since grown profitable but hath rather looked backe toward Sodom ever since no whit breaking the Poets positioÌ„ Ortus quaeque suos repetunt The second is drawne from the nature of an image and it hath this grounde f Ibid pa. 3. pag. 36. good things doe ever by litle and little decay ill things by litle and litle increase as the image was g Pa. 50. first paynted after it grewe to be ingraved and at first it was vsed but in private houses after it crept into Churches temples where at first it was not worshipped but shortlie after it began to be adored first by the people that were ignorant at last by learned men and all None can denie but that all this downe right lighteth on the crosse that doeth consider howe from the beginning he hath increased by little and litle from heretiques to christians from vse private to publique from a signe to an Idoll and since that time that it hath ben refined amongst vs from a blocke offending the foote to a stone crushing even the whole body as is to be seene this day The third reason of the Homilie is drawne from the proanes of men to idolatrie For the image is an h Ibid pa. 3â— pag. 45. harlot and man is no otherwise bent to the worshipping of it if he may haue it and see it then he is bent to fornication in the companie of a strumpet For a l Pag. 46. man given to lust to sitt downe by an harlot is to tempte God so the setting vp of an image in the Church and the sitting of people by it is in this proanes of mans nature nothing better then a temptation to idolatrie Nowe if any will say sayth this Homilie that this similitude proveth nothing yet lett Gods worde out of which it is taken prove some thing with them Doth not the word of God call idolatie fornicatioÌ„ doth it not call a paynted Image a strumpet with a paynted face be not the spirituall wickednesses of an Idolls inticing like the flatterie of a wanton harlot be not men and women as proane to spirituall fornication as to carnall It must needes followe therefore that as it is the duetie of the godlie m Pag. 48. Magistrate lovinge honestie and hating whoredome to moove all strumpettes especially out of places notoriouslie suspected or resorted vnto by naughtie packes so after the example of the godly Kinges Hezechias and Iosias to drive away all spirituall harlottes I meane Idolles and Images speciallie out of suspected places Churches and Temples which are daungerous for idolatrie to bee committed vnto images when they are placed in them Damascene hath these wordes of the holy Sacrament n Damas de orthodoxfid cap. 14. Let vs goe to it with ardent desire vt oculis labijs frontibus impositis divini carbonis participes efficiamur Nowe as a good signe ordayned by God is a fiery coale to inkindle love when the senses are stricken by it so a signe evill ordayned by man such as is the signe of the crosse and an harlot such as is every image else is not onely a coale to heate but also a fire to enflame with lust as it is in the Comoedie accede ad ignem hunc calesces plus satis The fourth reason is drawne from the inveterate love which men commonly beare vnto their old customes so that the people having heretofore honoured images and the crosse is an image that hath ben honoured they will never bee wayned from them as long as they haue them they will honour them This wee see in the Iewes saith the o Pag. 2. p. 13.14 homilie they haue bene so long envred to the rites and ceremonies that nowe they cannot tell howe to leaue them which if God abolished to take all occasion from them then how much more ought all Images to bee abolished which are no ordinances of the Lord but deuises of man brought in thorâ—ugh blinde zeale and deuotion Here let me turne to our Opposites a little who thinke there is no neede to suffer in the cause of the Ceremonies against papistes as yet First the doctrine p Pa. 2. p. 8. of the homilie is we must follow the example of the auncient Fathers by name of Epiphanius who remoued euerie Image out of the church assoone as they spied it because though yet they were not worshipped yet they were likelie in time to breed lust concupiscence to Idolatrie Secondly the doctrine of our q Ibid. p. 13 church inhibiteth out of Euschius to keepe an Image indiffereÌ„tly that is in a coÌ„tinued sequence of yeres times without interruptioÌ„ so that by it a maÌ„ must suffer rather theÌ„ suffer by his fault cerem so deeply infected to runne on without interruption as nowe it is purposed these shall doe The first r Pa. 3. p. 27 reason of our homilie is drawn froÌ„ experience past present we see it come to passe saith it that the Christians entertayning the rites and ceremonies of the heatheÌ„ fell to the heathens idolatrie also which s Pa. 2. p. 19 Serenus foreseeing threw all Images out of the church which course if it had ben pursued all idolatrie had ben overthrowne whereas their suffering in the church by Gregories meanes who commanded them to stand though ne forbad them to be worshipped insnared both the West and the East in a publique adoring of them that by lawe as when Gregorie and Leo the third made a decree in the West Irene the Empresse a lawe in the East they should be worshipped Hereby came to passe which Serenus feared and Gregorie the first forbad in vayne so that indeed it is impossible any long time to haue images in publique churches in temples without idolatrie as by the space of litle more then one hundred yeeres betwixt Gregorie the 1. forbidding their worshipp and Gregorie Paule and Leo the 3. coÌ„maunding their worshippe most evidently appeareth All this being common to the crosse condemne we it rather then our owne church which thus t Pa. 3. p. 4â— adviseth It is trulie said the tymes past are schoolmaisters of wisedome to vs that followe and live after Let vs therefore of these latter dayes learne this lesson from experience of auncient antiquitie that Idolatrie cannot possiblie bee separated froÌ„ church
images but is an vnseperable accident to them as a shaddowe followeth the body when the sunne shineth so idolatrie followeth the having of images in the church Finallie as idolatrie is to be abhorred so are images which cannot be long without idolatrie to be put away and destroyed #Sect 2. Three replyes against the evidences of the Crosses Concupiscence AGAINST these evidences of the crosses concupiscence there are three things replyed First that the materiall crosses onely tempte like Idolls and Images and not the aereall which nowe we call the signe of the crosse We answer It hath been proved that the crosse aereall is an Image and an Idoll aswell as the materiall and in some respectes farre worse and all the reasons whereby our Homilie throweth other Images out of the Church to prevent their tempting beat directly against this Crosse First a Homil ag peril of Idolat pag. 3. pag. 13. sayth it the Image is in the church a tempter because it hath heretofore been worshipped and the aereall signe of the crosse hath been worshipped yea even adored with higher honour then any other representation of Christ materiall Secondly the Image cannot be placed in the Church without daunger of tempting because though we worshippe him not yet is he worshipped in sundrie places nowe in our tyme so is this aereall crosse What if he were not For seeing the Homilie casteth out of the Church of God not onely that which maketh love vnto it selfe but also that which maketh love to other things which it doeth countenance the signe of the Crosse must needs be cashired because though it tempt not to superstition towardes it self yet doth it towards the Idolls of crosses materiall whom it resembleth vnto the people graceth before them The third reason of the homilie proveth the image in the church to be a tempter in respect of time to come superstitiō being an inseperable accidēt to the image that is in the church so that though the crosse aereal for the present did not tempt yet there is daūger he wil sturre raise concupiscence in time to come Secondly our Opposites themselves will graunt that the aereall crosse partaketh of the inwarde idolatrie as well as the materiall doth we say it doth more for that vertue yea admirable vertue which the b Bellarmin de effect sacra c. 31. papistes repose in it ad producendos effectus spirituales and for that special helpe it hath against the Divell of which one thus c Ioh. Molan de decalog ca 4. conclus 3. Nota. 19. ea adhibenda sunt remedia quae adversus Daemonum illusiones vexationesque ecclesiastica sanxit authoritas vsusque firmavit vti sunt signum Crucis aqua benedicta c. It being so they must needes graunt likewise that it hath a power and vertue to rayse concupiscence towards inward idolatrie which is it small d Confess Eccles Mansfel ap Conra Schluilelba tom 13. p. 558. cum per Ceremonias Diabolus arcetur quotidiani lapsus eluuntur vt docet agmen Pontificium tum verò in perniciosam idololatriam vertuntur quā Deus prohibuit as one of the forraigne Churches teacheth I needed not gone over the seas for this our owne Church at home doeth e Homil pa 3. pag 98. teach vs that Idolatrie chieflie consisteth in the minde and in f Ibid p. 109 perticular it telleth vs that to ascribe a power of supernaturall effectes to any creature as the papistes doe to this signe is such an Idolatrie as may not be tollerated yea g D. Bils ag Apolog. p. 4 p. 344.345 our Opposites them selves are very large in their invectives against the idoll of the heart whē only God is not served as he should how much more thē should they inveigh against this signe which doth not only raise idolatrous fancies of God through conceaving worshipping of him besides his worde but also sturre vp idolatrous thoughtes cogitations towards it selfe for which cause if not in it then in nothing is h August de verb. dom secun Math. serm 6. Augustines counsell to be followed prius id agamus vt Idola in eorum cordibus confringamus Thirdly the effectes of the crosse aereall bewray that he is a tempter which in the people not wel reformed from their old customes are the same which l Ioh. Reynold de Idolotat lib 2. ca. 3. lect 26. 68. our writers vse to bring to prove the idolatry of the pagans towards their images their idolls The Tyrians bewrayed they thought to haue helpe by the image of Apollo whē they bound it fast with chaines to keepe it fast sure to their citie against Alexāder who thē besieged it The Athenians bewrayed the like when they made an image to Victoria without winges to the end she should not flie away from them And the Sicilians when they cōplayned they had now no God in their cities to flie vnto because Verres had takē away their Images If the popishly addicted within this realme ar not in like feare to loose the power presence of Ch. vpon the losse of this signe then are we gulled not only by our owne experiēce but also by the prudence of our Reverend Fathers which hath resolved that it cannot be removed without a mischief for that the people will not misse it nor by any meanes leaue it which if it be true then even in their own cōfession they chayne it fast with the Tyrians clippe the winges of it from flying away with the Athenians cōplaine with the men of Sicilie in case it be taken from them against their wills The second replie to the premisses is that seeing they that be wise vse the signe of the crosse well inough it is indifferent so at the Magistrates pleasure whether he wil remoue it or no. especially for the sake of a few who are not to be regarded by him To this our m Homil. vb sub pa. 3. p. 13. homily first replyeth that if it doth hurt to anie it must be remooved that though a man receaue no hurt by it him self yet that he must forbeare remove it for other mens sakes as Paul cōmandeth 1. Cor. 8. the Magistrate him selfe not being excepted touching whom it n Ibid. 61. demandeth The good K. Hezechias did know wel inough that the brazen serpent was but a dead image therfore him self tooke no hurt thereby through idolatrie to it did he therefore let it stand because himself tooke no hurt thereof and last of all that there is daunger to the most wise by every idoll and by everie image in the Church as we see in o Pag. 50. Salomon him selfe the wisest Wherevpon it is thus concluded It is better p Pag. 51. even for the wisest to regarde this warning He that loveth daunger shall perish therein and let him that standeth beware least he fall rather then wittinglie and willinglie to laye a stumbling blocke for
b Summa Siluestriâ—s in verb. scandal Divines determine The c Concil Turonic 2 cap. 14. Councells also are of the same iudgement which forbid that if a Bishop haue no wife of his owne that then no women shal be in his house vpon this reason because in such case there is no necessarie busines for any woman in his house also they forbid vnto Clerikes d Cap. 10. Nullus deinceps ClericoruÌ„ pro occasione necessitatis faciendae vestis aut causa ordinandae domus extraneam mulierem in domo sua habere praesumat vpon this reason because nihil opus est in domo serpentem includere pro veste The e Decret pa 1. distinct 23. cap. 3. Canon lawe thinketh the same which prescribeth to the Clerickes Ne spectaculis pompis intersint vt convivia publica fugiant as also Viduarum Virginum frequentationeÌ„ The Fathers walke in the same spirit amongst whom thus Hierome f Hieron ad Neporian alibi vid distinct 32 cap. 17. Hospitiolum tuum aut raro aut nunquam mulierum pedes terant quia non potest toto corde cum Deo habitare qui foeminarum accessibus co pulatur Foemina conscientiam secum paritur habitantis exurit nunquam de formis multerum disputes foeminae nomen tuum noverint vultum nesciant foeminam quam benè videris conversantem mente dilige non corporali presentia The practize of the church hath ben answerable for vpon this cause in auncient time as g Durant de rit lib. 2 ca 54. sect vlt. Amala de Ecclesiastic offic lib. 3. ca. 32 Amalarius testifieth men and women were severed in the church non solum ab osculo carnali sed etiam situ locali ne h Cyril in prefat Cateches salutis studium esset occasio perditionis Thus Aagustine m August ad psal 50. Mâ—lier longe libido prope Further yet The Turkeish n Ioachim Vadian women when they come abroad cast a vayle over their faces a custome and fashion vsed by them because the light of nature tells them that the scandall which vseth to come by sight it selfe is by every convenient meane to be prevented As the custome of Turkey hath made this vayle of the women a meane convenient to prevent scandall so also the custome of the church of o Beat. Rhenan in Tertul de veland virgin Carthage made the vayle of the Virgine when shee came abroad to church a meane convenient in that place for the very same purpose Apply this to the crosse we may well he is beautiful in the eyes of the popishly addicted he hath no necessarie busines that he should be presented to them pretended necessitie such as was pro veste mentioned before will not dispence for the nourishing of such a serpent therefore the people must be severed from him and from the Surplice And the like after the example of Amalarius his dayes the crosse it selfe must be seperated from them by every meane whether generally commaunded such as the equitie of destroying Canaans monuments doth prescribe or particularly convenient such as the proportion of the Turkeish and Carthage vayle enioyneth to vs. We are not ignorant we shall be hated as too pure peevish for this doctrine but so at Carthage they were hated as too precise who came with a vayle into the church Turtullian would take part with p Tertul. de Veland Virgin vs now as then he tooke part with them For these reasons of his non de integra conscientia venit studium placendi per decorem quem naturaliter invitatorem libidinis scimus ipsa concupiscentia non latendi non est pudica patitur aliquid quod virginis non est studium placendi viris c. may be thus applyed to the crosse we thinke we cannot with a good coÌ„science desire to please the simple people with the sight of the crosses seemelines which we knowe by tryed experience inciteth vsually to a popish humor in theÌ„ and our serving of God suffereth some thing as we suppose which is not chaste when it vnvayleth before their eyes a tempter to vnchastitie To the same effecte may be applyed what he hath elsewhere q Tertul. de cult Faeminar sancta foemina sit naturaliter speciosa non adeo sit occasioni certe si fuerit non ignorare sed etiam impediâ—e se debet by proportion from whence should we not staye hinder the crosse from that occasion which he giveth of superstition But this is denyed which though it be a matter of fact and therefore may be sufficiently proved by experience yet let me reason with the same Tertullian When it was said to him the stage-playes were no accasions of evill he prooved it thus r Idem de spectacul Nemo ad voluptatem venit sine affectu nemo affectum sine casibus suis patitur vbi voluptas ibi studium per quod scilicet voluptas sapit The same reason may we vse nowe the popishly minded take more pleasure and delight in the crosse of Baptisme then the well instructed doe therefore they loue it with an other loue and bare a deare affection towardes it of another kinde which doeth not want his popish passions howe else could this delight of theirs be savourie to them if they had not a monethes minde to that wherein they doe delight so much But what if the signe of the crosse doe not breed in men the ill thoughtes of popishe concupiscence doeth he not satisfie this commaundement vnlesse he fill the soules of men with thoughtes of loue spirituall This doe all the ceremonies which God hath ordayned who because he hath not sanctified to so good a worke this signe therefore we may boldly thus s Idem ibid conclude of it An Christianus cogitabit de Deo positus illic vbi nihilest de Deo avertat Deus à suis tantam voluptatis exitiosam Cupiditatem AMEN S. D. C. A Table of the contents of the severall Chapters and sections of this second part Of the Iniustice of the Crosse Sect. 1. CAP. I. OBiection answered If our Church were now in her first constitution it were fit to remoue the Ceremonies but being established they are to be let alone Sect. 2. Answere to this obiection There is difficultie in the Removall of Ceremonies Therefore they are rather to be let alone sect 3. Answere to this obiection The change of a Law bringeth dishonour of an Innovation and extenuates the lawes authoritie sect 4. Second suit that Ceremonies may neither be iudged good or indifferent in regard of circumstances being hurtfull Sect. 5. 3. Suit that practised commaunding of Ceremonies bee reformed for time to come and the church freed from divers grievances as that there be 2. Gods c. Sect. 6. Divers instances wherin the imposing and defence of Ceremonies are found grievous sect 7. The warrant of Ceremonies ought to be Reason and Edification neither Will nor Authoritie
Sect. 8. 4. Suite beseecheth that they may not be thought to offend against a law who observe the intention of it Sect. 9. The Opposits in defence of Ceremonies offende against ordinarium jus Sect. 10. Thirdly Iustice borrowed temper from Equanimitie which dispenseth on iust cause Fourthly from forbearance which passeth by a ceremoniall transgression Sect. 11. Imposition of Cerem as now vrged take away Christian libertie Sect 12. Ceremonies as now vrged take away libertie of Conscience sect 13 Non-Conformitie is neither contempt nor scandall sect 14. They that disobey or displease in vnlawfull ceremonies doe not scandalize sect 15. The punishments inflicted for not conformitie are greater then the faultes committed sect 16. The Ius of the law of the lande whether comprehensive or extensive doth not iustifie our Opposites rigour against vs. sect 17. The Murther of the Crosse Sect. 1. CAHP. 6. THe soule murther of the Crosse Sect. 2. Ceremonies may not be vsed in Relation nor in Comparison sect 3. Present Necessitie pretended by the Opposites makes not the Crosse convenient sect 4. Jnexpediencie of ceremo makes not them guiltie that only tollerate them confuted sect 5. The second sorte of Opposites confuted affirming no inconvenience in ceremonies nor any aptnes to breede scandall or offence sect 6. The Opposites confuted confessing hurt to follow of the ceremonies yet without their fault sect 7. The Crosse is scandalum datum notwithstandinge there bee no intent to draw any sinne thereby sect 8. The second exception of elevating the scandall confuted sâ—ct 9. The third except on answered viz. That lawes must not be changed for that a few are scandalized sect 10. The Opposites opâ—â—â—ion thinking greater scandall would coÌ„e vpon the Removall confuted sect 11. A scandall of the Papistes remooved saying If ceremonies be remooved it will harden them against vs and breed an hostile alienation of their mindes from our religion sect 12. The defence of tolleration of ceremonies from Act. 15. confuted sect 13. The argument of tollerating ceremonies drawen from Paules putrifying and the Jewes observation of Pentecost confuted sect 14. The practise of the prime Church retayning Rites to winne them that were without and to content them that were lately converted confuted sect 15. The second sort of men whom ceremonies offend are Separistes of whom more regard ought to be had then of a Turke or Jewe sect 16. The third scandall given by ceremonies is to the members within the Church sect 18. The 4. scandall of the Cerem is that they offend all sorts of men among the people sect 18. The fift scandall that ceremonies giue is against the whole Church and Gospell which it professeth sect 19. The third murther of the crosse is through home-contention sect 20. The obiection of the Opposites that inferiours not yeelding in small matters be guilty of contention against Superiours answered sect 21. Ceremonies not only make the contention of the church but also nourish it neither will the church be quiet so long as they continew sect 22. Conformitie in ceremonies ought not to hinder peace though with diversitie of ceremonie sect 23. and 24. An exact vniformitie in ceremonies hath ever disquieted the church hindered the growth of it sect 25. The Adulterie of the Crosse CHAP. VII The wrong of the Crosse Sect. 1. CAHP. VIII Vniust maner of proceeding and â—th ex officio c. iust causes of complaint sect 2. The violence of subscription iustly complayned of as most vniust sect 3. The Slaunder of the Crosse Sect. 1. CHAP. IX Seekers of Reformation neither Donatistes nor Anabaptistes with neither of whom they haue any thing to doe sect 2. Defence of the Ministers against the imputation of schisme sheving what schisme is sect 3. Defence of the Ministers against the imputation of sedition and faction sect 4. Seekers of Reformation no New fangelistes no haters of Antiquitie nor delighters in noviltie c. sect 5. Aiust excuse both in regard of the matter and maner of the crosse sect 6. The second exception proveth that the crosse is neither truely nor soundlie auncient sect 7. The second Exception against the Antiquitie of the crosse sect 8. The third Exception against the Antiquitie of crosse sect 9. The 4. Exception against the Antiquitie of the crosse proving the crosse now vsed not to be that the fathers vsed sect 10. A third Apologie against the slaunder of newfanglednes in denyall of the Crosse sect 11. The Concupiscence of the Crosse Sect. 1. CHAP. X. Three replyes against the evidences of the crosses concupiscence sect 2. The second temptation the Crosse giveth is that it maketh men to thinke it is the same in our vse with the popish and superstitious crosse sect 3. The third temptation of the crosse is by renewing the spirituall fornicatioÌ„ popish delight which it bred in former times of darknes sect 4. The crosse tempteth alike to spirituall fornication as the presence of a woman to bodily fornication sect 5. An Alphabeticall Table of some of the principall matters conteined in the second part of this Treatise A. ABsolute power ascribed to man in things indiffereÌ„t doth equal him to God pa. 21 Abstinence from bloud and strangled is ceased and the reason why pa. 7. It was retained by the Apostles for a time only during the weaknes of the Iewes pa. 69. Abstinence from flesh though commaunded for policie only and not for religion is to be condemned as a kinde of coÌ„formitie to the papistes pa. 34. Abstinence from washing for a weeke after Baptisme is abolished by the papistes theÌ„selues though it bee as auncient as Tertullianus time pa. 120. Adherent Circumstances be in the churches disposition so be not inherent pa. 76. The Administring of the communion to infants is now disvsed though it be a rite as auncient as Cyprianus time and had continued in the Church aboue 600. yeeres pa. 120. In Africa men baptise them selues every Epiphany pa. 122.27 The Annointing of a Priest in time of necessity though it was anciently vsed is a meere corruption pa. 131. Antichrist giueth more libertie in his ceremonies then our church doth in hers pa. 12. C. pa. 1. pa. 2. The Apostles the primitiue church that followed them added not one Rite in the administration of any Sacrament besides those meÌ„tioned in the Evangelistes pa. 124. Diverse traditions termed Apostolicall which rose long after the Apostles times pa. 126. An Appeale from the vnmercifull Prelates cannot without great iniustice bee denied to the poore Ministers pa. 40. B. All Badges of poperie must be done away pa. 142. Men Baptize themselves in Africa every Epi-Phanie pag. 122. The Bishopps being knowne parties against the Ministers are not competent Iudges in their causes pa. 40. their bowells are verie barren towards them ibid. The Bishopps are helde abroad amongest such as dare iudge little better then Adiaphoristes and persecutours of their brethren pag. 110. Bishopps were at the first the beginners of this contention about the
and actions pa. 62. It is to be abolished as well as other Images pa. 65. it must be forborne to avoid al shew of participatiō with the papistes in their superstitious idolatrous crossing pag. 69. it is the marke of the Beast Antic enseigne pa. 72. It giveth witnes of the faith of Antichrist whose marke it is pa. 73. The people are exceedinglie mad vpon it pa. 76.139 it is a monument of idolatrie a snare to infect the hart pa. 77. It is a lay mans booke which deserveth to be burnt ibid. it is an abhominable Idole an Idolothyte a monument of idolatrie p. 99. it hath no better ground then many other ceremo now disvsed by the papistes them selves and hath bene worse abused pa. 121. It holdeth his antiquitie by a very weak stringe pag. 126. it is no otherwise Apostolicall then the new porch which Herode erected was Solomons or the shooe of the Gibeonite auncient pa. 127. The age of it ibid. 134. the first devisers of it haue bin cōcealed as much as may be pa. 128. It is a badge of our faith taken from the blackest and grossest heretikes that ever were Q. pa. 1. It had a base beginning and grew from a custome to a ceremonie not only significant but also superstitious Q. p. 2. it is not onely a provoker to idolatrie but an Idol pa. 132. it is degenerated frō ancient vse and is not the same now which it was to the Fathers ibid. It was not known in the Apostles daies nor in the Primitive Church that next succeeded them pag. 133. it feedeth lust habituall and breedeth lust actuall Q. 4. p. 2. it is a Porter that lettch in and a Purveiour that carieth in the Temptations that doe nourish men in Idolatry and superstition ibid. it increased by litle and litle R. p. 1. it is a coale to heate and a fire to inflame lust ibid. the aereall signe of it must be throwne out of the Church vpon the same grounds that other Images are R. p. 2. and pa. 139. it beareth the habite of a harlot and sitteth in the very place where spirituall fornication was wont of old to be committed p. 140. it tempteth like the painting of a womans face ibi it hath in it the shew of a wanton dalliance pag. 141. it rubbeth vp the memory of Crosse-idolatry both by worde and deed ibid. It breedeth in the simple an imagination or rather an image of a superstitious crossing pag. 142. It is beautifull in the eies of such as are popishly addicted and hath no necessarie busines to be presented to them p. 143. The Crosse whereon Christ died was buried as was Moses body in an vnknowne place to prevent idolatrie pa. 133. the invention of it by Helene is a very counterfait ibid. There were no Crosses in England till Augustine the Monke brought in his silver crosse pa. 133. It is as vnfitt to make a Crosse a memorial of Christ as for a childe to make much of the halter or the gallowse wherewith his father was hanged Q. 4. pa. 1. A Crozier staffe in the handes of the Bishop is required by law as well as the crosse in Baptisme pa. 109. Customes though never so auncient if they be evill are to be altered pa. 6.7.32 D. Dedication of churches amongst the papists is ridiculous and nothing like to that in Constantines time pa. 132. The Disagreements of papists amōgst themselves are greater then the differences amongst vs pa. 88. No Dispensation is admittable against Gods law pa. 48. Diversitie of customes spring from the diversitie of mens wittes pa. 92. Doles at burialls are defiled in poperie yet because the custome is auncient and the vse civil not religious they are suffred with vs p. 121 The Donatistes hold that the church is pure without spot and without wrinkle in this life pa. 113. they hold that the Magistrate may not compel to godlines nor punish heretikes ibid. they separated from their communion all that were not of their opiniō evē in the least points pa. 115. E. Easter-dayes observation bred much controversie in the church pag. 82. The Eldership neither hath not challengeth to haue any power to depose Princes as it is impudently wickedly slaūdered by some p. 114 The Elevation amongest the papistes is absurdly defended by the ancient shewing of the bread and of the cup pa. 132. No Episcopall authoritie bindeth any Minister without the warrant of the word pa. 86. The Eucharist is not necessarie to infants neither is it nowe administred vnto them although that custome continued in the church about 600. yeeres pa. 121. The Exorcisme of Baptisme is disvsed though in former times it hath bene vniversally receyued pa. 131. F. Fasting was equall and alike at all times in the primitiue church pa. 126. The custome of not Fasting betwene Easter and Whitsontide is disvsed though auncient pa. 120. The aucient Fathers had their errors pag. 122. we are lesse tied to them in ceremonies thē in doctrine and to their practise lesse then to their iudgement ibid. The Fathers advaunced the crosse vppon a very slender ground Q. p. 2. they cannot be iustified in their speeches cōcerning it ibid. they are censured by our Writers for ascribing to it power against the Devill pa. 131. Feastes at the sepulchres of the dead were altered though very auncient pa. 7. Feaste-dayes of Sainctes are worthy to bee abolished and why pag. 34. The Forehead of a christian man must not in Baptisme be defiled with any signe devised by man pa. 100. The Formalistes breake more farre more profitable Canons then the silenced ministers pa. 117.118 they take shaftes out of the quiver of the papistes the Adiaphoristes to throwe them at their fellowes which can not hurt but with the venime wherewith the enemie himselfe hath dressed them pa. 120. G. Gedeons Ephod not to be suffered for feare of future danger pa. 79. H. Our Hatred against superstitious ceremonies must be shewed in outward appearance pa. 93. In Hieromes time the church drew neare to her lees the burthensomnes of the Ceremonies made the estate of the christians worse thē the state of the Iewes pa. 128. Holy daies were in auncient times left to mens libertie pa. 91. Holy water banished out of the church porch for the holynes that was put in it pa. 60. Our Homilies condemne Images in churches vpon diverse good grounds so by consequent our ceremonies pa. 137. R. p. 1. Hony and milke in Baptisme though they be as ancient as Tertullians time are abolished by the papistes themselves pa. 120. The Hugonotes were straungely transformed in Fraunce by the Fryers who made the people beleeve they were monsters with Asses cares and swines faces and the like so are the silenced Ministers amongst vs dealt withall at this day by their Opposites pag. 111. Humane lawes binde not the Conscience pa. 21.31 the observation of them is left free to vs out of the case of contempt and scandall pa. 31.
bowelles of our Churches What that I may pleade example For Clodis Tarcinensis wrote a verie great volume of the verie same argument Ionas Anielianens de cultu Imag. lib. 1. Bonauentu Vulcanius in epist ad Ordin Belgic I meane against the verie hauing of Crosses and Images in the Church and Nilus Suziceus no lesse then 120. chapters in an argument of the same kinde to wit about the leauen Hauing thus aduertised touching the purpose of my writing I come to satisfie some of them who thinke I should not haue written at all And of these Censors I obserue foure sortes The first sorte doe iudge all contending about Ceremonies to bee no better then vayne disputing such as the Apostle doeth forbid I aske Are not Ceremonies matters of faith Yea certainly They are indeed matters of faith and therefore not vaine but necessarie to be knowne and discerned by vs. 1 Tim. 6.5 That we may not guesse but clearely vnderstande how they are all established or condemned by Gods word Howbeit were they but thinges indifferent as indeed they are not in Gods worshipp yet must they not specially in this vse be done in faith or can there any faith be of them that is not grounded on the word which is the only word of faith It is sufficient if the scripture be not against them True but as Tertullian of olde If the scripture doeth not permit them it doeth forbid them and sine lege contralegem as in Policie lib. de Corâ— milit Thom. Mor ton Apolog pa. 2. lib. 1. cap. 4â— Idem p. 420 â—eza Annot. in 1. Cor. 11 10. 1 Cor. 11.7.14.16.34 so in Diuinitie are both one In deed if not viua ratio out of the word yet manifesta aequitas alwayes is euer needfull to the very circumstances of Gods seruice as for lawfulnes so for expedience expedience I say and the same not onely generall according to the perpetuall circumstances which cleaue to their kinde but also speciall according to the occasionall circumstances that occurre in their particular practise So much is manifest by Paule who proueth the Expedience of the vayle a ciuill custome in the Church of Corinth by reasons drawen from the lawe of God and Nature before he forbiddeth coÌ„tending against it and putteth ouer the ordering of other circumstances of celebrating Gods publique worship in that Church till by oculata experientia he had seene their estate and weighed what was most conuenient What wheÌ„ this course is not obserued Why men are set to eate their meate without salt saieth Hierome when they are commaunded any thing that hath no relishe from the worde and to builde without haye and stubble like Israel in Egypt when they bee not allowed some warrant out of the Scripture which only can combine the matter of the worke make the frame of the building sure But Augustine will haue vs followe a Synode of a Church etiam latente veritate What and will he haue vs followe it too without vsing the meanes that may bring the trueth to light No but here he requireth euen certa documenta lib. de peccat merit remiss ca 36 Fascâ—cul rer expetend artic 18. folio 129. in 1 Cor. Homil. 13. Rom. 14.5 out of the worde to the commaundements of the Church euen as Iohn Wiclephe taught since his time We must take nothing from the Prelates which is not clarè euen clarè demonstrated by the scriptures Chrysostome giueth a reason hereof Our cogitation halteth when the worde wanteth which halting is sinne because we are bounde to the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of a full perswasion euen in indifferent things and all And in this Controuersie of the Ceremonies the trueth is not latens I trust this verie Discourse will shewe there is not onely no reason to conforme but also reason strong and euident against Conformitie at the least I doubt not but it wil cleare vs from that stomacke and stubburnes wherewith we are vniustly burthened as bearing vs witnes we are the men that keepe the olde rule Non est a consuetudine recedendum facile nisirationi aduersetur Augusti de Mufic lib. 2. cap. 8. Tertull. de veland virg Digest lib. 1 Ticul 3. cap. 39. Tho. Aqui. sum p. 2. q. 92. art 3. for which wee protest according to the auncient tenor Nullam respicimmus consuetudinem quam damnare non possumus and therevpon call at the Tribunall for that olde sentence Quod non ratione introductum est sed ex errore primum deinde consuetudine obtectum est in alijs similibus non obtincat in the Schooles for that Decision Theologicall For asmuch as the law Diume proceedeth from the will of God the Humane onely from the wil of man vsus authoritati cedat prauum vsum lex ratio vincat The second sorte of our Censors though they mislike not all sticking at Ceremonies yet all standing they condemne against an Order once established in a Church What and haue we then liued to the time to heare Sion speake in Sorbons language No further reason must be sought then a Synodes owne authoritie that which the wiser sort of Papistes them selues condemne nicol Clau. collat de Concil Cyril Hierosol ca. 4. Mat. 23.8 Sure to beleeue any or each simpliciter dicent vpon his bare worde is to sett vp a Maister on earth to no small preiudice of our Maister in heauen whom we are onely in this maner to beleeue It is also to inthrall the Church to a seruitude Babylomeall if not worser for so much as some childrè of Babell her self refuse to bowe downe their neckes to this yoake as we see by Alphonsui Alphons de Cast cont haeres lib. 1. cap. 7. Martin Luther li. cont papat Nicol. Clau. disputat de Concil Miserrima seruitus est saith he iurare in alicuius verba Magistri I omitt to obiect here yea so much to inquire whether the Synode that made this order sate as Iudges in their owne case which is against the lawe of Nature whether they assumed an Immunitie to them selues to haue al accusing of them reputed schisme which is our exception against the Concill of Trident. whether they came resolute against Reformation and fully bent to make such Decrees as best might strengthen their owne estates whereby the Concill of Pisa once barred and shut out the Holy Ghost from their assemblie whether the name of the house it self knew not of many Canons made as at the second Councell of Ephesus many subscribed to what they knew not Last of all whether some Canons were only read as at the Diet. of Augusta the Jnterim was proposed only by the ChauÌ„celour of Charles the fifth so thought sufficiently ratified although the States and Peeres there present neuer gaue their voyce to it The Inquisition of these things and other the like I say I omitt This is the answere I rely on the Reformation we seeke Zepper de polit
the way towards Aegypt to drinke the dirtie waters of Geon sayth y Hierom. comment in Abbac lib. 1. ca. 2. Hierome meaning that the very way must be stopt which leadeth backe to the Aegypt spirituall euery pleasant fountaine barred kept from the people that may enlure to returne The same Hierome z Idem in Isa lib. 17. cap. 63. proueth by Gods stopping of the Israelites way with thornes least they should returne to their former louers that there is need of a strong fence from all occasions that may reduce vnto Idolatrie The very Papists themselues accord hereto when they affirme that to keepe the people of Israel from Idolatrie God forbad there should bee any a Vazq de adorat li. 2 disputat 4. cap. 2. Image at all amongst them and b Sixt. Senens Bibliothe annot 247 iustifie the Councell of Eliberis in forbidding euery Image for a remedie to preuent Idolatry To come to our owne Church we must haue a care c Homil. agperil of idolat par 3 sayth it not onely for our selues and for our owne times but also for other Churches abroade and for our posteritie for whose sake we must away with all Images that may be abused after the ensample of d Ibid. pa. 2. Epiphanius much more with them which haue beene e Ibid. pa. 1. abused alreadie in consideration that Idolatry will come of them which is an f Ibib. pa. 3. inseparable accident to them All these premisses being considered can any doubt but the signe of the Crosse sinneth through Idolatry against Gods first commandement What our owne Law pronouncing that in the Church an g Ibid pa. 1. pag. 4 5. Idoll which hath beene is or is likely to be worshipped Haue we not here an Act of Parliament backing all that hath beene written hitherto If any say the Homilies meaning is of Images that are materiall a double reioynder is ready at hand First The Crosse cannot be kept in but by this generall position that Images and all may be had in the Church ad vsum historicum a point which our opposites stoutly maintaine but the Holie refuteth strongly Secondly The Homilie is grounded vpon these generall tenents h Ibid. pa. â— pag. 27.28 euery similitude of euery thing euery l Ibid. pa. 1â— pa. 32. likenes of any thing at all euen all kindes m Ibid. p. 3â— of similitudes are vnlawfull in the Church which haue beene are or be likelie to be worshipped which take more holde of the signe of the Crosse then of many other Images that be materiall To conclude therefore the signe of the Crosse and Surplice are Idols Idolothites Monuments of Idolatrie and Incentiues to the same therefore they must packe cum pannis out of Gods holy worship #Sect 10. How some contrarie to the Papists meaning and writings denie adoration to be giuen to the aëreall Crosse THe friends of the Crosse denie some of them our antecedent Some of them our consequent which disagreement is such amongst them as that on both the former heads there grow more heads then one For euen of them that denie our proposition some stand on this the signe of the Crosse is not purposely adored by the Papists some on this we confesse the Papists haue a purpose to adore it but they cannot the vanishing nature of this signe being not capable of their worship As for the former of these twaine they coyne a distinction betweene a materiall Crosse and aereall as if the Papists did onely worship the Crosse materiall with Latria which is abolished and not this aereall signe the vse whereof is vrged And this distinction is helde forth by them as if it were an Aiax buckler vnder which they are secure whereas indeed it will not serue so much as for an Ostrich-bush to couer the least part of their nakednesse from our agumentes which they can neuer awarde nor answere First whatsoeuer Papists write of the Crosse in generall that must be meant of euery Crosse else both of the lawes are broken of which the Canonicall speaketh thus a Regul Iur. in sext 80. In toto partem non est dubium contineri The Ciuill thus b Digest li. 50. tit 17. semper specialia generalibus in sunt And the Iesuites words are cleare c Vazq de adorat lib. 3. disputat 2. cap. 4. bactenus probatum manet in vniversum signum crucis in honore reuerentia habendum ex quibus idem dicendum de signo in aere c. Another speaking of the aereall Crosse by name hath these words in speciall of it d Suar. tom 1. in Tho. disput 56. sect 3. Modus hujus adorationis iuxta ea quae de imaginibus de nominibus sacris diximus est explicandus Doe they not presse the miracles of the aereall signe when they proue the Crosses worship Giue they not instance in the Crosse * Vid. Attil serran de 7 eccles vrb Rom. pag. â—5 aereall when they proue the Crosses vertue not to be tedious the testimonies which they cite belong they not indifferently now to the aereall now to the materiall as they first come to hand or serue fittest for the purpose Secondly we must not distinguish of their worship when they themselues distinguish not Now they hold that euery Crosse is to be worshipped e Vazq de adorat li. 3. dispu 2. c. 4 Quocunque modo expressa as they speake of themselues Sub quacunque figura à se facta fabricata say we and our f Whitak cont Durae lib. 10. pag. 868. Amand. Polan in Orat. de scient cruc writers of them Photius a g Phot. de 7 Concil ca. 7. Patriarch of Coustantinople doth thus interpret the Councell of Nice erucis signum adoramus c. We adore the signe of the Crosse by which the troupes of Diuils are chased and diseases cured grace and power being once exhibited in the samplar which now diffuseth like vertue downe into the examples worshipping therefore all these to wit the Image of Christ and his Crosse and the note of his Crosse with honour and with adoration c. h Concil 8. Constantinopl can 3. But let a Councell it selfe speake Dignum est c. It is a worthy thing and according to congruitie of reason and auncient tradition that for the honour of the principall all other deriuatiue Images should bee honoured and adored as typus praetiosa crucis the type of the precious Crosse When Papists cite out of Sedulius l Sedulius Carruin paschal lib. 5. Neue quis ignoret speciem crucis esse colendam Quae Dominum portauit ouans ratione potenti Quatuor in de plagas quadrati colligit orbis And out of m Saund. de imag ca. 13 Chrysostome Crucis effigies figura colenda est adorandaque Who can shut out the aereall signe which is a figure of the Crosse as well as the materiall There is
Tho. Hutton ag Deuonshiere minist third maketh this difference betweene the aereall Crosse of the Papists and ours at home that they worship theirs but we doe not ours Neither hath the shift which some haue broached any couert to hide them They onely giue a reuerence to it say they whereas the materiall Crosse they worship euen with Latria which is the worship of God himselfe For to omit all former profes which manifestly shew they worship the aereall signe in the very same manner with the Materiall What distinction call you this which is without difference For doe not the Papists directly tell vs that s Vanq de adorat li. 1. ca. 1. Idem sunt reuerentia adoratio Reuerence and adoration are one and the same that which Doctor Fulke long since obserued He confoundeth reuerence and adoration Consider the titles themselues of their Treatises Goe they not thus t Doct Fulk ag Saund. of imag cap. 13. De veneratione when they write of the worship due to the u Durand de rit lib. 1 cap. 6. Vazq de adorat li. 3 materiall Crosse it selfe or to w Suar. in Tho. tom 1. disputat 55. reliques or to x Ioh. Eckius Enchirid Saints All which worships are Idolatrous Consider the reasons vsed in their Treatises proue they not the y Ioh. Gropper de Eucharist Euchariste the Image the a Rhem. in Mat. 4. sect 3. apud Fulk ibid. relique must be adored because they are venerabiles Consider lastly the conclusions of their Treatises We haue b Coster Enchirid. cap. 11. summa veneratio ascribed by them to the aereall signe of the Crosse When the highest adoration which they giue to the greatest Image is but a c Laurent Surius in monitiuncul ante Concil Nicen. â— reuerence a godly d Greg. Mart. in discouer of English translat cap. 3. sect 16. reuerence a due e Rhem. in Act. 17. sect 4. reuerence a small f W. Bishop ag reformed Catholique cap. de imag reuerence to wit such a small g Concil Nicen. 2. act 2. pag. 69. reuerence onely as is that reuerent salutation which we sinfull men doe giue in loue one to an other #Sect 11. How the ayrye signe of the Crosse is Idolized and worshipped tho transcant THe second sort of our opposites graunt their wanteth no will in the Papist to Idolize the aereall Crosse howbeit he cannot worship it neither make an Idoll of it because it is transeunt while one part is the other is not wholy it doth neuer subsiste to be adored by him And what letteth then to cry out 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I haue found Howbeit not what Archimedes once but quod pueri in faba now Indeed had not this triuiall shift appeared personally when time was against a certaine preacher and depriued him and were it not that since I see it taken vp in the mouthes of many others and that it is a common gigge to shift of all things brought against this filthie Idoll by Tushe the aereall Crosse is nothing I would haue scorned to haue looked on it much more to haue answered it But nowe what matter is it whether the obiect of Idolatrie be capable of pollution or no Honor non est in honorato sed in honorante and as a August cont Faust Manichae lib. 21. cap. 22. Sâ—perâ—i impâ— spiritus non nidore ac funio sacrificiorum sicut nonnulls vâ—â—i opinantur sed hominum pascuutuâ— erroribus So it is not for any pollution in the Idoll it selfe that we are commaunded to roote it out but to cure the disease of their error that commit Idolatrie to him Secondly on how laine a legge doth this reioynder stand Nothing can be made an Idoll whose parts are transeunt and aereall and presently vanishing Which if it be true then the Idoll of b Hieron comment in Isa lib. 13. ca 46. Clem. recognit ad Iacob frat dom li. 5. Pelusium which the Fathers condemne for the greatest that euer was was none at all I know it cannot be vnknowne to the ordinary of this case that the heathen adored the c August ad publicol epist 154. winde and the ayre it selfe For euen to the fluyd ayer vnder the name of Dius Dia were there Temples without Rome that were vncouered at the top To omit the flood Nilus which the old Aegyptians worshipped the d Agathias Scholast histor Iustinian li. 1 fluminum lapsus which the Galli did adore Now by this reason none of these were Idols For what more aereal theÌ„ the wind and the ayre it selfe what more transeunt in the partes then riuers falling down and running And what will be answered to the name Iesus the name of him that is God blessed for euer more aereall then the Crosse because a found which thus describeth it selfe in the Poet e Ioh. Lauterb oenigmat 86. Corpore colliso vel rupto nascor in auras Vanesco atque animam vix generatus ago Say we then the materiall Crosse is an Idoll with the Papists not the aereall we may say as well the materiall name of Iesus as it is painted or engraued is an Idoll with them but not the aereall Whereas vox Iesus velaudita vel visa is indifferently worshipped by them f Anton. de Corduba lib. 1. qu. 5. dub 4. art 2. Dominie Soto de instit li. 2. q. 4. art 2. By some of them improperly by others g Suar. tom 1. in thom disput 54. sect 5. Vazq de adorat lib. 2. disput 8. cap. 10. properly so that our writerers doe not erre who censure their bowings to the h Fulk annsâ—â— Rhem. in Phil. 2. sect 2. aereall name of Iesus for Idolatrous to which also there is an l The relat of the relig of the Westerne c. pag. indulgence annexed for pardon of sinne Thirdly the reason why the aereall signe of the Crosse is thought though worshipped by the Papists to be made no Idoll by them is the slender subsistence it hath for which men say it is a thing of nothing First here how cannot the stomacke be moued to see God the Church so mocked The Church is mocked because commaunded to make a thing called a Crosse which is no Crosse because Crosse-wise neuer existing God is more mocked by this opinion For what haue we here brought into his seruice to wit a Crosse not a Crosse a thing that is nothing like Sphinxes riddle a man not a man standing not standing vpon a tree not a tree Secondly the Crosse had as little subsistence in the primatiue Church as it hath in these late dayes In these hath it so little being that popish Idolatrie cannot discredit it then was it such a thing of nothing in those times also that the vse of the Fathers could not credit it and now it is so thinne a sharke that our own Church cannot countenance it neither though commaund it
without ascribing any g Gregor de valent de Idololat lib. 2. cap. 7. power diuine vnto them Fiftly our communion booke must be gently handled or else our signe of the Crosse is effectiue For wee signe the childe in token that hee shall continue Christs faithfull souldier to his liues end these words shall continue to his liues end compared with the like in the Epistle of the 22. Sonday after Trinitie God shall continue the work in you to the end shew vnto vs that we vse the crosse for a pleadg to giue assurance to the child to continue in grace vnto the end which if it be so then he serueth to worke faith and is vsed effectiuely And who can conceiue that the booke giueth lesse power to the signe of the Crosse then to the signe of imposing hands which that it is effectiuely vsed it is out of question for it is ministred to the baptized h Rubric before the Gatechis that he may receiue strength agains sin and against temptation So hitherto it hath bin proued that neither the Crosse may be changed to vse religious neither is chaunged sufficiently by vs. Now what if it might and were for we plead #Sect 23. Euils occasioned by the Crosse in regard of the Crosse it selfe people Minister and Gouernours that vrge it THirdly we are not to consider so much whether the Crosse it selfe be changed as whether the euents of the Crosse be chaunged or no which we finde are not much euill still flowing from it by the fault of the Crosse it selfe by the fault of the people by the fault of the minister that doth make it and last of all by the fault of our gouernours that doe enforce it It is the Crosse fault that it is too like a Popish Idoll For a Ludouic Viues similitudo is euen to the wisest men the mother of error What then shall become of a vulgar company who haue euen a b Rolloc in epistol ad ephes 4. vers 14. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in them of inconstancy they doe so leane to superstition And it is the Crosses fault that he draweth too neare to the popish Idolatry For let all the former excuses speake what they can they can say no more then this We march on with the Papists a good way but we goe not so farre as they and we agree in many vses with them but one of their vses to wit their effectiuenes we forbeare Which what is it for vs who are forbidden not only to plunge our selues so deepe as Idolaters doe but also to touch any of their vncleane things or indeed to come neare the least imitation of them 2. Cor. 6.17 Deut. 12.30 Might not the virgins of d Cypri li. 1 epist 11. Cyprians time plead the fame Indeed wee goe farre we graunt in the way of fornication we walke with yong men wee talke with them yea we go to bed to them But when it commeth to the act then we forbeare therfore are guiltlesse For that we talke with the harlot the Crosse it is apparant by the conference which we haue with her about Christ Iesus which shee representeth more apparant is it that we walke with her who hath chosen her for our teacher and our guid most of all apparant is it that we goe to bed to her for we vse her in the Church which is knowne to be the bed both of chaste vnchaste worship What then though we vse her not effectiuely Isa 57.8 Hos 7.14 Cant. â— 15 This is but to forbeare when it commeth to the adulterous act like Cyprians virgin so that there is lyable against vs now what then she heard Non est locus dandus Diabolo nemo diu tutus periculò proximus graues multorum ruina inde sequantur Come wee to the people in the second place e Ludouic Viues in August de ciuitat dei li. 8. ca. 27. It was the desire of Ludouicus Viues and f Ioh. Gerson de negligent praelat Gerson before him that the Images might be remoued because the people finding them in outward appearance like the Idols of the Pagans they would eftsoones worship them in the same maner If we seeke the like remouall of the Crosse we haue like cause the people being as prone now to doth oâ— the fame in popish maner as long as they see it before their eyes after their old popish fashion I say after their old fashion because populus non nouit distinguers as one saith our of Aristâ—â—le especially in so quaint a difference g Mat. Flace Illyrric in lib. de Adiaphor as this of effectiuenes or in such a ceremonie as the Crosse which they haue so long abused as one of our h Bucer in censar ca. 9 alibi pasâ—im writers well populus c. the people either vnderstaÌ„deth not or coÌ„sidered not the right vse of those ceremonies which they haue so long abused as also their for fathers before them To come nearer home l Idem in censâ—â— c. 12 M. Bucer will not haue the crosse in Baptisme vnlesse he be both purely vnderstood religiously receiued by the people Which coÌ„dition finding no place in the people to this houre what reason to put him to any longer triall In regard hereof lay we to heart euen what a m Bâ—llar de Sacram. in gene ca. 21 Iesuit speaketh The chaunges of a Sacrament saith he must be regarded not as they are Mathematicall but as they are morall not according to the problemes of the learned but according to the opinion and the practise of the people So that the Mathematicall change which our lawe is said to haue made in the Crosse is not materiall alwhile the morall estimation and vse of him in the people is the same The chaunge of Haedera in stead of Cucurbita in the translation of Ionas was mathematically little yet morally it was very great because the n August in epist ad Hieron 10 people tooke head against it and made great a doe about it On the other side the chaunge of the auncient Churches Leiturgie in the dayes of Nicholas was mathematically great o Rodolph de Riuo Tungrens because it brought in perfection of the masse but morally it was nothing at all because few or none obserued it neither were the people grieued at it I come in the third place to the Minister that maketh the Crosse he saith I make it not effectiuè the Image maker sayd the like I make the Image not for any fauour to the worshipping of it but to follow my trade and calling But if he did Colere because he fashioned it p Tertul. li. de Idololar vt coli possit then he that fashioneth a Crosse in vse religious vt ad superstitionem conuerti possit incurreth himselfe the blame of superstition Ex hoc quod vetor facere curandum est ne fiat per me Againe the schole-master who in
Idolatry theÌ„ the same which he did take which is s Concil Aphrican circa tempora Benifac 1. can 25. penitus amputare euen wholy and altogether without that sparing which aduiseth to sheere only and not to flea the popish ceremonies and to spare them from abscision in hope they may be cured And not onely against the reliques of Idolatrie hath the Church shewed this seueritie but wee shall finde thinges more profitable haue bene abolished and remooued from time to time and that for lesse abuse Feasts of charitie at communions were more t Tertul. apolog ca. 39. Cypri li. 3. ad Quirin ca. 3. August cont Faust li. 20. ca. 4. 20. auncient then the Crosse and more profitable to nourish loue yet when they grew once to abuse wee see them cashiered as by the Apostle so by diuerse u Laodicen can 28. Trullan can 74. Antisiodoreâ—s cap. â— Councels following The confession before the communion how little was it abused yet when abuse grew out of it although but once Nectarius with other w Socrat histor eccles lib. 5. cap. 9. Bishops thought it meete to be abolished The night Vigills of men and women when abused had more colour of defence then our Crosse can haue now x Hierom. cont vigilant ca. 4. Hierome might plead for their abuse paucorum culpa non praeiudicat religioni qui absque vigilijs possunt errare vel in suis vel in alienis domibus We come short of Hierome euen in this excuse of his it being by the Crosse that very many be ensnared and he containing no holy exercise of religion which may be preiudiced by his abolition and yet we finde these forenamed y Concil Elibertin can 35. August ad fratres in ceremo serm 25. Concil Antisiodorens can 5. Vigills not only misliked but also surceased Last of all the sanctuaries are auncient which neuerthelesse because abused are now long since z Polydot Virgil. de inuentor rerum lib. 3. cap. 12. misliked a Vid. Pet. Martyr in loc communi cap. de Asylis Hospin dâ—â—e templ tit de Asylis condemned and in France and other places totally b Durant de rit lib. 1. cap. vlt. sect 9.10.11 abrogated Let the Crosse be iudged by the Canon law and his priuiledge of antiquitie for late abuse will be taken away For the doome is iust c Decret part 2. distinct 74. cap. 7. Priuilegium meretur amittere qui permissa abutitur potestate #Sect 28. The abuse of the Crosse cannot be remoued the Crosse it selfe remaining FOurthly this defence implieth that the abuse of the Crosse may be remoued the Crosse itselfe remayning which is both against that generall rule a Ioh. Caluin de necessitat reformand eccles Carol 5. Certum est Idolomaniam qualiter nunc illa fascinatae sunt hominum mentes non aliter quam subducta insaniendi materia curari posse And also that particular tenent of our writers which one hath b Calsh ag Martial in praefat so 5 It is as impossible to cure the abuses of the Crosse the Crosse it selfe remayning as it is to quench the flame all while the wood and fewell lasteth Indeed a poysonfull rust hath so deeply eaten into it as that it can no more be cured then those other abused ceremonies of which our owne communion booke c Admonst touching ceâ—em before commun hook a pud Bucer Censur 454. their superstition cannot be taken away the ceremonies themselues remaining The experience of fortie yeeres hath proued this true euen as the experience of two hundred hath proued that true in the popish Church which was d Theodor. A. Niem in lib. de Concil Nicolâ—de Clemangiâ— in lib. de corrupt eccles statâ—â— foretold to the Councell of Constance to wit that the abuse of Images could not be remedied but by an abolition of them hereof there be many reasons The Idoll is a e Zanch de imag thes 3. fol. 369. tempting harlot the Crosse in particular a very ring-worme that spreadeth mightilie Men by nature the men of England by custome also are most prone to superstition the deuill is present with the Idoll to insinuat bad g Calsh vt supra suggestions which are much furthered by the h Ioseph Antiquit. Iudaic. lib. 17. cap 8. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the same and by the honorable l August de ciuit dei lib. 8 cap. 24. Hierom. in psal 113. p. 2. sublimitie of it which the Crosse obtaineth in Baptisme it being a place of chiefe aduancement in Gods seruice What that the common multitude doth reuerence it there which is an especiall m August ad deo grat epist 49. qu. 3. motiue and the authoritie of the magistrate doth there countenaunce yea commaund it nay more reuenge the quarrell of it f D. Fulke ag Saund. of imag cap. 13. p. 659. vpon the graue and reuerend preachers of the Gospell which striketh it a little stroke with the simple and vulgar man Last of all which is most of all God doth in iustice curse their course who vpon any pretence retaine any Idol or any monument of Idolatry making it a 7 Deu. 7.25 snare to all that will needes try their strength vpon it against his word This hath he done in the vse of this signe euen from the beginning it being scarce out of the cradle when it became a fertill mother of much superstition Which curse will now bee doubled on vs according to our iust deseruing if we presume to harden our selues against this tried experience past and against the former punishment or if wee shall be n Calsh ag Mart. art 4 bolde to aduenture vpon like danger in an age more corrupt amiddst a people more infected and on a ceremonie more abused in latter times then heretofore it hath bene Against these vollies of deadly shot what one Bulwarke what one Blockehouse will suffice It will be replyed that the people may be taught against these abuses which if it be done as their is libertie giuen to doe it there is no perill to be feared First this voyce commeth euen out of the Dragons mouth o Vazq de adorat lib. 2. disput 3. cap. 4. Snar. tom 1. in Tho. disput 54. paâ—â—â—m Si quid periculi ex imaginibus dei potest accidere assidua doctrina pastorum traditione parentanâ— auferri debet Yea this police if I terme it the very seed of all Idolatry I do it no wrong as they easily will assent that doe but waigh and well consider the rising and the grouth thereof For when it began to blossome first p Philipp Morâ—â—â—â— de Eucharist lib. 2. cap. 3. fol. â—24 among Christians lately conuerted from their paganisme at what time they were desirous to haue Crosses and other Images in roome of their heathenish Idols in which honour the vnwary pillars of the Church then liuing did to much fauour them if then
deale with many Crosses materiall at first euen out of the Church as Diagoras dealt with Hercules when he put him to his thirtenth laboure which was to boyle his lentils And the common vse of crossing especially our bedds and other dead things we vse to condemne in the n Tertul. li. ad vxor Beat. Rhenan in lib. de coron milit Fathers themselues which why condemne wee it being auncient it being ciuill all while we presse the baptisme crosse which being no auncienter and not so ciuill must needes be more vnlawfull who can spitt at the Temple frankensence saith o Tertul. li. de Idololat one when he seeth it on the altar all while he hath frankensence in his seller at home Or with what face can a man exorcise Satan in the Church that in his owne house hath wares for his seruice But with more reason may I inferre from allowance religious to that which is ciuill not of wares that may bee Idolatrous and superstitious after they are solde but of Crosses that are already how can we condemne Crosses at home that exact crossing in the church or with what face can we condemne papistes for Crossing who iustifie them with our owne example for we may reason as Augustine doth speaking against the riot and excessiue vsage in his time vpon the holy-dayes of Martirs p August epist 64. quis audet vetare priuatim quod cum frequentatur in sanctis locis honor martyruÌ„ nominatur who dareth forbid home crossinge as execrable which being vsed in the church is helde to be honorable before the Lorde BVt what if the Crosse were lawfull absolutely in ciuill vse for in the second place we answere the argument holdeth not from ciuill vse to vse religious as our opposites thinke it doth The Crosse is lawfull in coines in banners and princes balls therefore in the Sacrament of our new birth First this reasoning is popish For so they for their Images an Image is lawfull in a Ioh. Albinus in praefac Vazq de adorat coine therfore in the Church and b Feuardent in Iren li. 1. cap. 24. Beza himselfe setteth forth Images virorum illustrinm therefore saincts Images are lawful in the church if the c Vazq de adorat li. 2 disput 6. cap. 3. Concil Nicen. 2. Act. 1. p. 54 Step. Gardner in epist ad Ridleyum c. Images of an earthly prince may be worshipped then why not the Images of sainctes aswell The Lutherans thus reason also vp and downe The d Aegidi Hunius in Mat. 22. Iconomachi can endure well inough in their pursses a Portugall Cruzado in which there is the signe of the Crosse with this word in hoc signo vince and are they not blind then in that they are not able to see the Crosses lawfulnes in the church aswell Secondly the ground wherupon this reason standeth yeldeth no other foundation then this what is lawfull in ciuill vse is lawfull also in vse religious The contrary wherof indeed is true in honorable and helpfull things themselues For non e Walafrid Strab. de reb eccles cap. 10. Durant de rit li 2. c. 9 tantum illicita prohibentur in Ecclesijs verum etiam profana quaecunque licet alibi legitime exerceantur What more honorable then a f Concil Mogunt sub Carol. mag ca. 40 session for iudgement What more helpfull to the seruice of God then i Mat. 21.12 Oxen for sacrifice and money to buy them What more allied to the loue and charitie required in the seruice of God then g Decret p. 1. distinct 42. cap. 4. a feast of charitie All which commendable in ciuill vse must yet forbeare the tent it selfe where religious vse doth dwell It is a golden saying of Augustine and enrolled in the canon it selfe h August epistol 109. de regul Monach. in oratorio praeter orandi psallendique cultum penitus nihil agatur vt nomini huit opera iugiter impensa concordet Hence thus we reason is the Crosse a thing mearely ciuill then is it a sinne to bring it into the Church where ought to be nothing in state religious but the parts of Gods worship when the Iewes told Caius Caligula l Philo. de legat ad Caâ—um sacrificamus provobis he answered in choller at non sacrisicatur nobis Our Gouernours then being Godly wil be contented that in the Church wee sacrifice for them though we sacrifice not vnto them which we should doe if to please them we should defile the worship of God with these their ordinaÌ„ces vnder a colour of a ciuill obedience to them Adde to the former that of Hierome m Hieron in Ezech. conument li 12. ca. 43 who thinketh there is a poste of man set by Gods poste when Civill things are mixte with sacred vt nihil intersit inter sacrum profanum But the Crosse is so nearly conioyned to Baptisme that who among the vulgar people discerneth betweene them that the one is holy as the ordinance of God the other a thinge mearly ciuill as the ordinance of man Chrisostome lastly thought it did derogate from the honour of God to suffer an Image of the Empresse Eudoxia set vp neare vnto the Church with stage playes celebrated to her honor after the heathnish and paganish manner but we haue more cause to stande then he who are required by our Godly gouernours for their honour not only to suffer neare the Church but also to bring into the Church and into the service of the same not an Image of their owne which we loue but an Image an Idoll of Antichrist him selfe which from our heartes we hate with execration Thirdly therefore if the Church barre her doore against ciuill things because not consecrate vnto God then much more against such thinges as haue bene consecrate vnto Idolls of which the signe of the Crosse is one See we not howe the Iewes followe in warre the Romane standarde though an o Dion li 40 Herodian lib. 4. Idoll to the pagans when yet they will rather choose to p Ioseph Antiquit. li. 18. ca 5. dye then see it brought into the Temple and suffer the Romane Eagle stande vpon Antonia when they will not q Ibid li. 27 cap. 8. let it stande no not on the temples porche and vse the image of i Mat. 22.20 Caius in coyne when Petronius is resisted from r Ioseph Antiquit li. 18 cap. 15. Homil. ag peril of Idololat p 2. setting it in the holy place From the Idoll come we to the Idolothite which is it as lawfull within the Church as it is without it No. Paul alloweth it in the shambles we knowe and then only not in any vse religious And the Christians at s Theodor. histor 3. cap. 15. Antioche when Iulian had consecrate their victualls to Idolls vsed them only vpon this ground We neither fetche them from a Temple nor beare them to any but
for vs to walke in the royall way of this Law and so avoyde all Images then to ramble in the wandring pathes which haue distracted the commoderators of all times some of whom will haue pictures but no images d Petrus Altiac de reformat Eccl. ca. 3. some images but not so many some haue no e Gregor Cassand consultat art 21. images but the Crosse which is now our Churches sinne So is the Crosse prooued an image and because an Image not to be tolerated in the seruice of God #Sect 6. The aereall Crosse is a new signe directly against the entendment and rule of Gods worship The danger of retayning old popish Ceremonies FRom the letter of the lawe come we to the intendement of it which is the authorizing of the word to be the rule of all Gods worship which is wrongd by all new devised signes and by rites popishe more wayes then one First They hinder teaching learning and keeping of it For whereas the worde doth now teach clearly the Crosse with the rest ouercast as it were with a vaile the brightnes of it witnes the whole a Harmon confes sec 17. in Wittenburg confes fol. 229. Church which saith that a light in the day time to signifie the Gospels light and a Crosse to shew Christes victory by his crucifying maketh the doctrine farre more darke then if the word did shine by it selfe without them And it is confessed the popish ceremonies were as b Ric. Honk lib. 5. ca. 65 leaues that did shaddow the fruites of Baptisme whereas it is knowne that the Crosse amongst the rest is a vine leafe of c Plin. natural histor lib. 16. cap. 21. Memphis more hurtful then any for that besides it casteth more shadow it selfe is neuer cast nor fadeth no not when others not only are faded but also fallen and that deseruedly For vmbra legis evanuit euen in the iudgment of a d Innocen 3 decret Gregor lib. 3. tit 47. ca. 1 Pope in the iudgement of Protestantes so vanished also as that no e Homil. for Whitsunday p. 2. Andrew Willet controuer 2. q. 4. p. 2. shaddow of any shaddowing rites and ceremonies ought now to remaine For whereas it is vnfit as f Euseb hist li. 4. ca. 22. Pynitus wrote of olde that the Church should still immorari lacteis sermonibus et in puerili institutione consenescere the Crosse and other popish ceremonies teach still with a fescue as the Iewes were anciently taught g Laurence Saunder in Act. monument p. 1494. keepe the Church in hir infancie and weakenes still Vpon this and the like reasons when in the Latheran councill newe rites were thought on rather cut off from the old said h Catalog testium veritatis fo 7 Iohannes Sarisburiensis that Gods word may be kept the better A fitt counsell for this time when scarce any thingh else is thought on then the pillering vp of ceremonies which if they were cut of gone the word of God would flourish more and be farre better kept Secondly the substance it selfe of doctrine standeth in danger of the Crosse and popishe ceremonies not well purged foorth what first impeacht the Gospels puritie in the whole Church but a delight which the Fathers had in heaping vp l Pet. CaÌ„tor in verb. Ab breuiat catalog testium fo 387 Theodor. Beza in respons ad Franc. Balduin Phil. Mornaeus de Eucharist lib. 2. cap. 1. ceremonies what first deformed the faith of this lande but the rabblement of Roman rites which m Balaeus in histor Augustin Augustine the Monke brought in amongst which the Crosse was cheefe What hath lamed the Luteran profession lastly with inclination vnto poperie and with a vehement smatch thereof but popishe ceremonies retained in their Church When Charles the 5. would haue obtruded vpon the Churches that were reformed the ceremonies which they had left these counterblastes were heard against him The old popishe ceremonies annext to the doctrine of the Gospell are an old n Confes Theolog. Saxon. aedit an 1560 ragged clout patcht to a new garment They are as it were an o Conrad Schluselbu tom 13. in praefat Incrustation both vnlawful and vnseemly The retayning of them is the p Apud eundem ibid. fol. 412. libel supplicator Theolog. German an 1561. p. 587. sweeping of the house for the ill spirit to reenter yea the opening of a windowe to a confusion Samariticall of the religion it selfe in the end Indeed many wayes doe the ceremonies that haue bene popishe hurt the faith First they are of themselues q Bellar. de offert Sacrament cap. 31. Gal. 5.9 Cortices religionis so that as good ceremonies spread the sappe of true doctrine in like maner ceremonies popish diffuse the verdure and the iuice of superstition Great aduantage getteth Sathan in this busines by our securitie which holdeth them for trifles little considering that a little leauen is quickely able to infecte an whole lumpe that r Andr. Fris paruus error in initio fit maguns in fine as one spake once of popishe errors And that which our Saxon s Confes Theolog. Saxon. vt supra brethren alleaged against the trifles of the Adiaphorisme ex paruis sape magnarum momenta rerum pendent and negligenda non sunt parua initia ex quibus paulatim postea maiores fiunt accessiones Secondly The establishing of popish ceremonies is oftentimes Commenium politicum to drawe in the whole body it selfe that which the Preachers of t Hamburgens in epistol ad Philipp Melautâ—â—on Hamberough sawe when against the popish mixtures of the Interim they thus protested sunt ista Adiaphora nihil aliud quam semina Corruptela nervi papisticae superstitionis Cuniculi per quos aduersarij in nostras Ecclesias irrepere conantur vt eas à fundamento evertant The same sawe likewise the Preachers of u Confess Tholog Saxon. aedit An. 1560. Saxonie Satan non contentus vno vulnere longam texit telam ab his paruis initijs Ceremoniarum progressus facit ad Corruptelas doctrinae Thirdly The establishing of popish ceremonies after the Gospell a long time preached carieth a shewe of inclination to poperie and of commoderation with it By the first of which an hope is raised of restoring againe the doctrine it selfe By the latter an opinion ingendred the doctrine it selfe is not so ill So that the censure heere hath place which once was leavied against the ceremonies retayned in Germanie w Conrad Schluselburg tom 13 in epist dedicatoris rerum illarum externarum conformatio hoc est laruae Antichristianae assumptio nequaquam sine doctrinae violatione fieri potest ià que ipsa experientia comprobauit Fourthly The retayning of popish ceremonies put men to their wittes to devise colours and excuses to paint and varnish them whereby there is woeuen x Ibid. amplissimum adiaphoricum pallium Covering all
kindes of inclinations concessions yeeldinges abiurgations calumniations lyinges raylinges and reprochinges For ensample the Adiaphorisine of Germanie brought foorth these Axiomes to the corruption of manners That y Erasmus Sarcerius in Confess Mansfield An. 1560. to stande with the Magistrate in small matters though pertayning to the trueth is contamacie The commaundement of the Magistrate doeth excuse the subiect Not to conforme our selues to some popish ceremonies is to offende the Papistes A Surplice is a trifle and not to bee stoode on No z In colloquio Torgae habito apud Conrad Schluselburg tom 13. dutie of confession is required in Adiaphoris It brought foorth also diuers Axiomes to the corrupting of the iudgement a Flac. Illyric lib de Adianhor That superstitious abuse doeth not binde to a remoouall Popish ceremonies may serue for order decencie comlines When any are offended by popish ceremonies retayned in the Church it is scandalum acceptum not datum And these which seeme more dangerous b Libell supplicator Thelog German 1561. Quacunque per se impia non sunt ea ratione circumstantiaram impia fieri non possunt Semper perinde licet Ceremonijs vti Licet veram Ecclesiam cum impia in omnibus Adiaphoris coÌ„formarem Adiaphororum Ceremoniarum Ecclesiae finis scopus est pax politica most of which if not all the Crosse speaking in his language at this daye What should we doe but stande vp in the gappe against him and with those argumentes refute these errors wherewith our Godly Brethren in Germanie fought against their Adiaphorisme which did disturbe their Church Fiftly The retayning of popish ceremonies keepeth still on foote many popish principles For shew me the man that can vphold the Crosse and Surplice and the rest of the Ceremonies controversed and not runne him selfe a ground vpon popish sandes to iustifie them who nowe giue foorth The Bishoppes when they talke with vs Papistes play the Puritans when they talke with the Puritanes then are they Papistes and those obiections that are more auncient There be many c William Reynold catholike thinges in the booke written against Cartwright the Puritan The d Newes out of Holland common Protestant must flye to Catholique groundes and answeres when hee dealeth against the Puritans The e The humble mot for tollerat Act 16.4 Protestantes can not defende them selues against the Puritans but by our groundes and answeres We haue the ceremonies called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the scripture and no mervayle because the ceremonies beare vp some doctrine or begette some doctrine or other When the Greeke Church began to f Genebrard An. 1273. dissent from the Latine left it not the Ceremonies of the Latine Church withall When Roome first established a Church in Brittanie did shee not the same time require an observation of her g Bed in histor Anglor lib. 2. cap. 12. Ceremonies too When Hierome of Prage h Concil Constantiens session 19. was sworne to the Church of Rome was hee not bounde to obserue the Ceremonies as well as to beleeue their faith In the l Genebraid in an 1549. Interim was there not exacted a conformitie vnto ceremonies and vnto the doctrine both together The reformed Churches when they beganne to banish the whole dosse of popishe doctrine did they not at the same time exile and banish euery m D. Bils ag Apolo p. 1. p. 31. dramme of their ceremonies also It cannot bee saieth n Cyprian de simplicitat praelat Cyprian that Nouatus should keepe the doctrine of the Church if hee breake the discipline Hee that is guiltie in the ceremonies is guilty also in the faith saieth the o Concil Toleran 4 Can. 40. Councill of Toledo How doe the Papistes bewaile an p Carol. Bouius in praefat in Clement Constitut Antiquation of their ceremonies as for causing a downefall of their religion it selfe How doe Protestants on the other side foresee a daunger of our religion where popish ceremonies doe remaine q Pet. Martyr in epist amic cuidaÌ„ in Angl. Vtinam vidissent saith one qua haec conseruanda censuerunt euangelium ijs manentibus non satis esse firmum Therefore wee are by our r Conâ—ad Vorstins in praefat Euchirid controuers leaders directed to hate as the doctrine so also the rites of Rome Yea by name we are willed to abolish the signe of the s Simon Goulatt in Cypria epi 56. not 31. Crosse if we meane that the doctrine of Christ crucified shal be throughly fixed and setled in our Church These premisses considered we may well assure our selues that popish ceremonies retained amongst vs will robbe in the end and riffle our faith Away with them then Nunquam securus cum the sauro latro tenetur inclusus t Author lib. de singularitat clericor apud Cypr. #Sect 7. The Crosse sinneth against this maine principle of the word he that addeth or taketh from it c. Popish Ceremonies worse then Iewish AS the signe of the Crosse sinneth against the letter of this Commaundement Sect. 7. and the rule of Gods worship which it intendeth which is the word so is transgresseth against a maine authorament of it which is this 1 Deut. 4 2. 12.32 Thou shalt not adde to it nor take away from it 2 Exod. 20.25 He that of old lifted an axe ouer an Altar to hew and frame it to his owne liking did pollute it and can it be then without the polluting of the Sacrament that the Crosse is lift vp ouer it not onely an axe that serueth to polish according to policie but also such as hath bene whet at the Philistins forge nay bought or borrowed from them It this to obey the coÌ„maundement 3 Deut. 12.31 Thou shalt not doe so to the Lord thy God as they doe to theirs Is this to feare the reproofe 4 Ezech. 43.8 They set their thresholdes by my thresholdes and their postes by my postes and defile mine holy name Lastly Is this to reuerence the inhibition 5 Hosi 2.16 Thou shalt not call me Baali that is serue me in like manner as Baal is serued withall Heere the patrones of the ceremonies controuersed diuide the house some taking no shame to borrow from Papists others for shame standing on a deniall that these ceremonies are borrowed from them The former of these how doe they weaken their brethrens hands and blunt their weapons against the Papists For against the antiquitie of their lights and incense with the like the best a Magdeburgens centur 4. cap. 6. plea that we haue is this that they are borrowed by a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 From the Pagans and the Iewes The whole bodie of popish ceremonies which Durand hath anatomized we vse to thrust through with this spit b Hospinian de re teÌ„plar lib. 4. ca. 1. Hee professeth that they are taken from the Iewes Whole Treatises and
That the primitiue church had many things from the Iewes that we our selues retaine at this day the Ring in mariage from the heathen and Tythes from the Iewes and keepe sett fastes though Montanus were the first that did sett downe sett dayes for fasting Wee answer The ordayner of the most of these was God of whom if any say hee borrowed he blasphemeth as also he presumeth in his pride that thinketh he hath the same power that God hath to ordaine the ceremonies of his seruice Howbeit to particulars The Priestes of Egypt borrowed their linnen from the Iewes as it is likely euen as they did their circūcision f Ioh. Bohem Auhan de morib gentiū li. 1. ca. 45. Mythra g Tertul. de praescript borrowed his bread frō God To say the Agapae of the Christians were not an imitatiō of the Iewes feastes after their sacrifices rather then of the Gentiles and that they were not abolished when time of abolition came or that Hercules which is Iosua was before Moses to haue his Tythes imitated by him is ignorāce or falshood To iustifie popish rites in vse religious by customes of the primitiue Church by tythes fasting dayes of our owne at home either tollerated for a time only or cōtinued by a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and perverse imitation or vsed only in civill matters and not religious is inconsequent absurde h August de vnico bapt contra Petilian ca. 9. Augustine also is wont to be cited but he only alloweth to take from heretiques the things that be good in such as Crosse and Surplice are he is with vs as shall be shewed Now mention we only that grand position which euer the Church of God allowed l Tertul. de coron milit Nihil dandum Idolo nec sumendum ab Idolo a rule so strictly and seriouslie kept in the primitiue Church as that they abhorred the very wordes and names them seiues which did symbolize with aliens This the Papistes them selues confesse the word Priest and Sacrifice was not wont to bee vsed say m Durant de rit li. 1. ca. 1. sect 7 they till the dayes of Irenaeus For feare of Co-incidence with the Iewes And wherefore feared they this Co-incidence least they should seeme saieth n Bellar. de miss ca. 17. Bellarmine to renew their rites or to confirme them For the very same cause another pronounceth o Garol Bonius schol in Clement li. 7. ca. 39. Haereticorum etiam vocabula timenda sunt And our p Rhemist Annotat. in 1. Tim. 6. sect 4. Rhemistes We shall keepe the faith of our Fathers if we keepe their verie wordes themselues But avoid we the wordes of heretiques although they seeme to haue no harme in them Is there a sinfull seeming in the vse of the names of hereticall rites and doeth the verie vse of their names renew confirme them And will Papistes forbeare the very words themselues of heretiques though they doe not so much as seeme to haue hurt and is there no sinne for vs to renew and confirme the rites of papistes when we not only vse their names honorably but also vse their rites themselues yea commaunde them yea revenge them and that not only when they haue a seeming of hurt but also doe effect much harme Oh take we heed it is an heauy thing to expect euen papistes themselues to rise vp in iudgement against vs. Howbeit what say wee to the names of Idolls 1 Act. 18.24 Apollo 2 Act. 17.34 Dionysius 3 Rom. 16.14 Mercurius 4 Rom. 16. Phebe with the like which the Christians retayned euen in their baptisme as some of our Opposites would perswade vs against the letter of the old law Thou shalt not take vp their names within thy lippes In deed some thinke they haue found out herein a great peece of matter against vs if yet it be against vs and not rather against the Lord against his seruant Moses The christians were called by their old names which were taken from Idols True as the street in Athens is called Mors street out of a necessitie for who had power to chaunge and alter them And marke not our Opposites this instance is wholy ciuill No say they for euen in baptisme these names of Idols were imposed on them A Papist himselfe will not say so who thinketh there were Godfathers in the Primatiue Church and that mens names were giuen vnto them in the administration of Baptisme For hee thinketh their old Idolatrous names were q Caesar Baron Anal. anno 258. an 259. chaunged when they were made Christians As for vs who know there were no Godfathers at the first as now there be nor no new r Iohn Reynold de Idololat li. 1. cap. 5. sect 28. names giuen in Baptisme this obiection might very well haue bene omitted The truth is when an Infant was baptised the order was very strictly s Durant de rit li. 1. ca. 19. sect 20. kept which is fathered vpon the Councill of Nice t Concil Nicen can 30 Nefidelis nomina gentilium filijs suis imponant And we may euen hence perceiue that the parents set the name at home as also by an other ensample u Caesar Baron Anal. in an 290. Parentes mei vocarunt me Tharacum And also by the common order w Dionis Ecclesiast Hitrarch registred thus The Minister was wont at the Church doore not in Baptisme to aske the name of him that was to be Baptised marke aske and enquire and not to giue the name himselfe As for the aged there was ordinarily no medling of their names at Baptisme but the order was to come before hand at what time they were called competentes and giue their names to wit their old ones which were written downe in a Register which order continued long after Christ as many vndoubted x Cyril Hierosol Catechis 1. Concil Carthag 4. cap. 85. August epist 155. Baron an◠in an 284. witnesses shew And that these names were totally ciuill it appeareth by this that men did chaunge their names when they would As one called Tharacus at the first when he entreth into warre he giueth himselfe the new name y Caesar Baron ana an 290. Cod. lib. 9. Tit. 25. ca. 1. of Victor And the ciuill z Law it selfe permitted this chaunge In which often the Christians of Africa chaunged their olde Idolatrous names into such as present occasion did require a Caesar Baron annal an 303. As these names shewe habet Deum hee hath God spes in Deo hope in God benè seruatus graciously saued which are they not the very same which our Opposites thinke fantasticall when now they are imitated #Sect 8. The Opposites that affirme their Ceremonies to come from the primitiue Church immediatlie and not from poperie are confused THe seconde side of our Opposites will not deny but that it is a thing vnseemly for the Church
from the heathens when condescending to the infirmitie of men conuerted from their Gentilisme he abolished x Szegedin in specul pontifi Polydor li. 6. cap. vlt. not their feastes in the church but altered and changed them into refreshings for the poore Did not the Archbishop of Turone intende an imitation when he was instant to haue the sacrifices and the feastes of the 11 last daies of y Tho. Morescin in verb. ptâ—â—es February changed in festum aepularum beati Petri ad tollendum abusum et popull super stitionem male instituti in Christianismo vt qui adhuc faperet suum ethnicismum Seing in all these changes our writers do accuse the papistes for an vnlawfull imitation how can we be excused our selues who haue changed our Crosse and Surplice from their Idolatrous Crosse and Surplice in manner like vnto the same end The fourth marke is substitution For as the brother in Moses lawe intended a continuance of the name of the dead wheÌ„ he substituted in his place an other to beare it so it will be interpreted we intend to continue the name of the popishe Crosse and Surplice in case they were dead which were to be wished in that we raise other Crosses and other Surplices to bee as it were their heires By which meanes it will come to passe that their names wil neuer out in the gates of the people Surcease we then this substitution or cease we to charg the papistes for the like as their substituting of z Ioh. Reynold de Idololat lib. 1. ca. 2. sect 5. Mary in the place of Venus and their substituting of other sainctes to fill vp the roome of heathen Gods and Goddesses for example their Theodulus is the Christian Aeolus Their Agata the Christian Vesta their Nicholas Christopher the Castor et Pollux of the Christians their Vrban the new Bacchus their Katherine a late Minerua say a Bulling de origin error li. 1. cap. 34. our writers because they are sought to as hauing power ouer windes ouer fire ouer fea-tempestes ouer wine and drinking meetings and ouer learning euen as the heathen sought to the former out of an opinion they had the gouernment of the same things But do we seeke to Crosse and Surplice In profession we doe not in practise there be too many that do who are incoraged by our substitutioÌ„ of crosse and Surplice in holy vse for whose sakes we should avoyd euen all shew although but in parte of their abhominable substitution And our substitution is it not in a manner the very same which we mislike in others as when in the roome of the pagan feastes which they made for their dead the Christians b August confess lib. 6. cap. 2. substituted feastes that were like at the Martyrs memorials as when Gregorie c Gregor Nyssen in vlt. eins Thaumatourgus permisit memorias Martyrum ne vulgus imperitum propter voluptates in errore simulacrorum permanerent as when feastes were substituted to Peter d Theodor. de euang veritat cognit li. 8 Paule Thomas Sergius in Roome of the auncient heatenish solemnities as when e Ioh. Crispin Chronolog in valent Sixtus substituted the feast of Saint Peter ad vincula in place of Augustus feaste the first of Auguste for his victorie against Antonius Cleopatra as when Boniface the fourth turned the pagan Pantheon at Rome which was dedicated to all their Gods to the Church of all Saincts whose feaste was in Maye at first the same time that the heathenish feaste was kept wee worthely condemne all these substitutions f Ioh. Funccius Carol. Sigon because they g Ioh. Crispin in Phoca Change not chase awaye the old superstition euen as our Crosse and Surplice do not Farre better h Decret p. 2. cans 26. q. 7. cap. 14. Zacharie when he sawe some celebrate the Kalends of Ianuarie and to feaste and daunce Paganorum more illico omnia haec amputauimus saith he because that paganisine and so papisme will repullulare vnlesse all the customes of it be hewne downe at the roote The fift marke and last of all of an intended receauing from papistes is retention of some likenes in name in vse l Ioh Bohem Auban de gent. moribâ— lib. 1. cap. 5. in office Euen the papist himself wil confesse an imitatioÌ„ where there is a likenes as because there are like rites in Rome to them in Aegipt therfore one saith pleraque c. many things translated from the Aegyptians which haue crept into our religion as the linnen garments the turnings and windings at the Altar the pompe of sacrificing the soundes of Musique with many like m Ioh. Reynold de Idololat li. 1. cap. 6. sect 5. Our writers take part with Vigilantius against Hierome therein they take part with vs. For what was his quarrell but this that in the reliques of Martyrs Christians came prope ritum gentilium as all the quarrell which wee haue now against the rites that are controuersed is this because they come prope ritum Antichristi to neare the rites of Antichrist The Image of Ambrose Sebastian at Millaine wee say are heathenish imitations Wherefore because the latter is not n Bulling de origin error li. 1. cap. 34. multum absimilis to Homers Apollo casting his deadly arrowes into the campe of the Gretians the former set forth with Miter Staffe and Whippe is o Ibid. cap. 33. haud absimilis to Iupiter stator Papistes reuelling at Christmasse is acknowledged to bee heathenish p Blond de Rom. triumphant lib. 2. Wherefore Quia similia à nostris comittuntur to those sportes which Pagans made about the fourteenth of the Calende of Ianuarie The Parentalia which the Papistes performe to the dead are q Idem in cod lib. confessed to come from Pagans Wherefore because Non dissimiliter à nostris fit The Oscilla which Papistes offer with other Imagunculae of their members cured and healed yea of their sheepe and horses recouered are professed to bee an imitation non Religionis modo verum superstitionis etiam of the Pagans Wherefore because they are r Polydor. Virgil. de inuentor rerum li. 5. cap. 1. Consimilia like to those expiations which the Pagans were wont to offer for their liues and for their healthes in the Chappell of Dis their God The herses couered with a blacke cloth and with a white Crosse are said to be borrowed from the Pagans Wherefore because Simile s Tho. Morescin in verb. lectistern Quid is heere committed to the Lectisterina of the Pagans Last of all the Amulets fascinations of the Pagans are said to be imitated by the t Idem in verb. Amulate Papistes when by the Crosse and a peece of Scripture written they goe about to effect strange things In all these ensamples it is a borrowing when the rites come neare when they are not vnlike when they are done according to some like manner and
say wee vse the same Crosse that Papistes vse but not as a worship as they vse it How the Papistes vse their incense before the Crosse I leaue in the middest their making of the Crosse with incense is thus described l Durant rational lib. 1. ca. 7. Num. 36. Crucem cum incenso facere est Christi passionem patriostendere ipsum pro nobis interpellare What difference heere betweene them and vs For we vse to signe with the Crosse to signifie the merit of Christes death they the Crosse and incense withall to signifie his intercession by the merit of the same Secondly though we vse not the signe of the Crosse as a worship yet our vsing it in Gods worship giueth occasion of wil-worship in other men We may not thinke but this commaundement forbiddeth all occasions as well as other commandements doe and that in the Crosse it selfe which because it is an occasion of superstition it is to be done away in the iudgement of our m Calfh ag Mart art 1. D. Fulke reioynd art 1. p. 140 Exod. 12.15 writers Is it sufficient the leauen be not put in the bread of the Paschall supper or that it be not eaten with it as a part of that worship No it is further required that it bee not suffered so much as in the basest roome of the house The equitie heereof hath feared our Diuines from suffering ceremonies lesse hurtfull least in the end they giue occasion of a worship superstitious As they remooue the receauing of the communion with the n Bucer in Censur cap. 3. mouth least in the end it should breed an opinion of holinesse in the consecrate handes of the Priests And the o Ibid. ca. 4. p. 464. reseruing of the communion Bread and Wine to auoyde the occasion which it giueth of thinking them holy extra vsum or chaunged in substance The same Diuines of ours condemne euen omnem speciem of the popish superstition euen p August epist 19. as Augustine long since affirmed The man is throwne downe into the dungeon of the Deuill that obserueth a Iewish ceremonie in deede or in shew so much the more because in this land q Bucer in Censur cap. 3. Omnia sunt superstitione referta This last clause willeth vs to be more wary of shew when the people are readie to take hurt by it I say take hurt euen as our Communion Booke forbiddeth the wafer cake to take away all superstition which any might r Rubrie after the L. supper take marke take in it in which wafer cake when was there put the one halfe of that superstition which is now in the Crosse Nay the censure is yet more strict If we loue Christ Iesus s Bucer in Censur cap. 9. p. 472. Nihil prorsus loci apud nos inuenient eaeres omnes verba gestus in quibus vel appareat esse aliquid tantis impietatibus affine aut ad vllam rapiatur quanquam improbè absque data causa harum suarum impietatum commendationem Howbeit in Crosse and Surplice there is euen occasion giuen first by that shew of a will-worship which is greater in them then of a Masse in the Priestes going vp to the Communion table to say the prayers before the Offertorie which notwithstanding we haue t Bucer in Censur cap. 3. p. 458.459 censured for occasioning and through that representing of a popish worship which is as great in Crosse and Surplice as in the eleuation of the bread for ostension to the people which is condemned for u Alexand. Alesius in proaemio leitourg a prouoker And last of all by the appointing of them to be vsed in holy vse which is adiudged offensiue euen as the w August epist 86. ad casulan appointing of a fast on a Sunday it being the same day as the Manichees do appoint sauoureth too much of approbation But there be instances fit for this purpose euen in the very Crosse it selfe Our Diuines could not abide those nigrae cruculae which were in x Bucer in Censur cap. 9. p. 472. King Edwards communion booke to direct the Minister how to make Crosses on the bread and on the wine It is forbidden by the popish y Missal secund vsum sacrum in offic peregrinor Canons that any pilgrimes should burne a Crosse in their flesh Wherfore It seemeth because they were to meet at Hierusalem with the z Bernard Bridenbac peregrinat Hierosol p. 2. de Abyssen Pet. Bellan obseruas li. 2. ca. 85. Aethyophians the a Danaeus de haeresib cap. 97. Iacobites with others who in their baptisme burne som one som two som tree crosses with an hot iron in the forheades in the cheekes and aboue the noses of their children By proportion from hence we may not figure the Crosse in baptisme because they figure it as they burne it not because the superstitous burne it Let the Germane Diuines shut vp all who alleadged against the Surplice and other ceremonies thē inforced that al b Lib. Concord apud Conrad Schluselburg tom 13. P. 751. shadow of shew was to be shunned with popely #Sect 14. The holines and necessitie of the Crosse cause it to smell very ranckely of superstition NOw this participation and this occasioning is much aduaunced by the ranke sauour which the Crosse hath amongst vs both of that holines and of that necessitie which are propet to a worship What faults find we in a popish ceremonie but only these a Bellar. de effect Sacrament cap. 31. two when it is made a worship by them But now a ranke sauour of these two cleaueth as closely to the Crosse vnto this houre as did the leap rosie of Gehazi vnto his seede Begin we with the former first how neare are we to the yoke of fellowship with them in the efficient of the Crosses holines For when they recite what doth make an Image holy and a Crosse they b Suar. tom 1. in Tho. disput 54. sect 4.7 name antiquitie and the authoritie of holy persons that haue vsed it and the presence of God that hath wrought miracles by it the benediction of the church In which who heareth not the very sound of our home pulpits which declaime before the people how ancient the signe of the Crosse is How much reckoning the Fathers made of it What miracles God hath wroght by it how devoutly our Church hath sanctified it to be a meane whereby to dedicate our seede to him that dyed vpon the tree therof But they say that the Crosse hath power against Sathan c Ibid. disput 56. sect 3. ex diuina institutione and that it is holy by way of d Bellarm quo supra impetration for that God heareth his Church when she doth blesse it But what if in the former by diuine institution they meane naught else but Apostolicall vse then so many of our Opposites concurre with them as hold the
the historie telleth vs it was his former almes to the poore that was rewarded in this treasure I giue instance of the like in them that vse the signe of the Crosse as little as we our selues do wish I meane the Protestants of t Cōmenta de stat religion Reg. Gal. Beziers in Fraunce who as they were digging the foundation of a Church found a table of siluer in time of extremitie when they wanted pay for their soldiers But it was the Crosse that kept Tiberius his treasure And it was an Image with a brazen head in Apulia hauing this written about it u Platina in vit Leonis 9. Calendis Maij sole oriente aureum caput habebo that kept an huge masse of treasure for a long season Robertus Guiscardi ransacking the countrey was he that discouered it in the middest of a thicket but it was a Saracen by the helpe of the Deuill that found out the meaning of the inscription to be this that in the Calends of May at Sunne rising the shadow of the Images head where it lighted on the ground should haue great treasure of gold vnderneath it But to returne to our purpose when will our w D. Rabing vpon a. commandem Reuerend Fathers returne to their old inuectiues against the holines of crossing Our children to the doctrine of their Fathers which is that the Crosse x D. Fulke ag Saund. of imag cap. 13. D. Willet contro 9. ◠5 art 1. must be remoued as the serpent was broken before the opinion of his holines will out of the flesh both Fathers and children to the auncient zeale which hath bene shewed from time to time against the holy things of aliens When the Sheepe and the Oxen were holy in y Nichol. Galalius in Exod. 8.26 Aegypt the people of God must put them to such vse in sacrifice as will debase them No vse then of the holy Crosse and Surplice is now pleasing to the Lord but that which most will deseyze them of this honorable estimation And such is the first smatch of popish leauen in Crosse and Surplice to wit such a twange of holines as is proper to a worship #Sect 16. The second pretence for defence of the Crosse is necessitie THe second is an other propertie which also doth pertaine to a worship and that is Necessitie Heere the a Rhemist Annotat. 2. Thess 2. sect 17. Papist reckoneth the Crosse not only among such traditions as are necessary to saluation but also among such as are principall partes of faith It being so we are much in fault to dwell so neare them as we do there being almost no pretence which their necessitie admitteth not as well as ours no blame which our necessitie incurreth not as well as theirs Touching the first what are we able to say for our selues more then this that we commaunde it in Baptisme not tanquam necessarium but oblige the conscience in respect of the Magistrates commaundement only not in respect of the rite it selfe As though the Papistes commaunde it otherwise Seeing in baptisme they confesse it is not necessarie perse it must be confessed they commaund it there in the very same manner that we commaund it as also all the rest of their rites Thus Aquinas b Tho. Aquin 2.2 qu. 147. art 4. respons ad 1. statuta Ecclesiae sunt de his quae non per se sunt de necessitate salutis sed solum ex institutione Ecclesia Neither fishe nor flesh of it selfe doeth defile saye the c Rhemist in Math 15 sect 5. Rhemistes but a breach of the Churches precept defileth They who hold the single life of Ministers to be indifferent describe the necessitie of it in such termes of not d Tho. A. quin. 2.2 qu. 88. art 11. essentialiter sed ex statuto Ecclesia accidentaliter of not absolutè ratione ordinis sed ex statuto Ecclesiae of not e Durand in 4. distinct 37 qu.1 f Caietan opulcul tom 2. tractat 31. absolutely loquendo seclusis legibus Ecclesiasticis as that a Protestant him selfe cannot deuise better to shew that the Crosse is not necessarie of it selfe but as authoritie doeth commaund it Is not the Crosse à Satramentale And how commaund they their Sacramentalia but as wee nowe the Crosse g Carol. Bouius in schol in Clement li. 7 ca. 44. Bellar. de effect Sacrament cap. 21. proposit 2 not ex necessitate Sacramenti sed ex necessitate praecepti not h Durant de rit lib. 2. cap 27. ex necessitate Sacramenti but ex necessitate ministantis Sacramētum Last of all l Alexand. ab Alis apud Thesang Theolog p. 4. qu. 12. not ex necessitate faciendi but ex necessitate facientis only And what the very Crosse it self m Bellarm. de verb. non script lib. 4. ca 7. Quaedam etsi ex se c. some things there are which although they be not necessarie of them selues yet after they be commaunded they bee so necessarie as that if purposely they be omitted men grieuously sinne of which sort is the signe of the Crosse in consecrating the water c. We haue the Crosse then made necessarie in poperie no otherwse then we our selues doe make it necessarie yet our n Francisc Iun. cont Bellar. ibid. not 29. Math. 15.2 writers bende them selues against the necessitie of it euen after this manner introduced So did our Sauiour stand out against the necessitie of washing hands though pressed vpon him by vertue of the Elders commaundement and of the order of the Church When Peter conformed to the Iewes ceremonies he did it o Hieron apud Augustin epist 11. consuetudine solemnitatis non necessitate salutis and yet he did ill And wherefore ill because though he did not predicare that they were necessary yet his vsing of them did p August ad consent cont mendac simulare a necessitie in them which also was so much the more faultie because there were many who in error did putare that is hold them to be necessarie All while then papistes and simple men holde the Crosse to be necessarie as other worships of God are it is no sufficient excuse we doe not predicare teach a necessitie in him our vsing of him doeth simulare so much and breed such error in other men One exāple more They that kept the Passeouer like the Iewes q Socrat histor lib 5. cap. 21. pari ratione cum Iudaeis condemnantur though they pretende a sublimior sensus in their observation because they did pedibus proterere their diuerse manner of obseruing by that bellum grauissimum which they raysed against their brethren about the same Hence any may collect that our diuerse manner of crossing saueth vs not from being condemned with the Papistes all while we make them so necessarie as to make warre vpon our brethren about them #Sect 17. We can hardly accuse the Papistes of any abuse of
then after which is the place of greatest ambition seruing to perfect seeming to consummate all the rest that went before as experience it selfe hath tryed and that in the greatest men Thus Cyprian z Cyprian epist 73. ad Iubaian baptizati signo dominico consummantur Thus Ambrose a Ambros de Sacra lib. 3. ca. 2. superest signaculum vt perfectio fiat Thus b Euseb hist lib. 6. cap. 35. Cas Baron Annal. in an 254. Cornelius because Nouatus was not signed therefore he had not all his christendome Thus the custome of the whole Church the c Durant de rit li. 1. ca. 20. sect 8. obsignation is the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 euen the vpshot of all the rest The d Censur oriental cap. 3. Greeke Church saith of the after complements of Baptisme to wit the Oyle of confirming and of the bread of the Supper which they put into the mouth of the Infant that is Baptized hic est finis omnis mysterij It hath a long time bene held by the Latine Church that the rites of Baptisme which came after the water did make a Christian and giue Christendome which none could haue it was thought without them Illa e Dionis eccles Hierarch perficiens vnctio facit perfectum quippe diuinae regenerationis perfectio f Tho. Aquin p. 3 q. 66. art 10. Durant â—â— supra Qui confirmatus non est non est perfectus Christianus nec sidem habei inter perfectos A place cited out of Clemens to which there acordeth another brought out of Rabbanus Omnes fideles per manus impositionem Episcoporum accipere debent spiritum sanctum vt pleni Christiani inueniantur Euermore then hath the last place of the folemnitie of this Sacrament bene a stage where those ceremonies haue shewed themselues that would be esteemed the perfecters and finishers of our Christendome The water we see is powred on and here is not finis Mysterij Neither is a man made hereby a Christian no he shall not be called a Christian by any nor suffered to sit among Christians vntill he partake of the after rites of Baptisme and by name the Oylie-Crosse It may be some wil thinke I will apply the former testimonies to the after rites of Baptisme which seeme to belong to the Sacrament of confirmation But let them not deceue themselues There was at the first no confirmation out of Baptisme but it was within the solemnitie of Baptisme that the child receaued the water the bread of the Supper the oyle of confirmation g Simon Goulart in Cypri de vncti Chrismat Carol Bonius schol in Clemen Stanisla Socolouins in Censur Oriental eccles ca. 3. Perk. problem chris art 7. as all evidences and writings shew Haue wee not done then a great deed and with admirable wisdome preuented occasion of a necessary estimation in the Crosse To wit we haue set him at the latter hand of the water as Peter is set at the lefte hand of Paule h Act. Monu fol. 241. in the Popes Bull I ende with the title of the Canon which doth it say of the signe of the Crosse after Baptisme No but it goeth thus of the signe of the Crosse in Baptisme #Sect 25. A third fault wherein th' Opposite vsurpeth vpon Sacramentall offices THus haue we seene how guilty this Sacramentale is in a Sacramentall power and in a necessitie Sacramentall Come we now to a third fault wherin he vsurpeth vpon Sacramentall offices which he beareth in this Sacrament or vnto it Touching the former we reioyce I knowe to follow the Fathers and so to vse the Crosse in Baptisme as they did vse it but there and in the other Sacrament of the Supper which was a August in Iohan tractat 118. signare Christi bona which how can it be iustified For first as none can signe a lease but he that hath power to lett and demise it so none deuise a signe of the couenant or of any grace therof but God alone that promiseth This the schoole men saw taught b Tho. Aquin p. 3. qu. 60. art 5. ad 1. determinare quo signo c. It pertaineth only to the signifier to determine what signe must be vsed to signifie But it is God who is the signifier vnto vs of things spirituall by things sensible in the Sacrament and by words similitudinarie in the scriptures therefore as it is determined by the Iudgement of the holy spirit by what similitudes things spirituall should be signified in certaine places of the Scripture so it ought to be determined also by divine institution what things should bee chosen to signifie in this or in that Sacrament I adde to this the coÌ„mentary added by a Cardinall c Caietan Ibid. Aduerte quam c. Consider from hence how presumptuous and iniurious their wittines is which write or preach or interpret the similitudes of poetes or some of their owne therby to represent things spirituall For they vsurpe the office of the Holy Ghost by whose iudgement some things are ordained to be figures of other things and they vilifie the sacred Sripture while by such fiction they giue occasion to beleeue that the things which are in the Scripture are figurs by humane spirit euen as these which they haue framed by the dexteritie of humane wit so much authoritie is detracted froÌ„ the figures of the holy Scripture I presse here that God only is significans that it commeth from carnal wisdom to deuise any significations that he vsurpeth the office of the holy Ghost that added new signes and lastly that new signes deuised are so farre from adorning the water of Baptisme as that they vilifie it and detract much authoritie from it One maine ground of this doctrine is mainly refused I knowe by the d Bellar. de sacram in gen ca. 21. proposit 2 papistes which is that no man may deuise any worship of God and another ground is brought in place to wit the Sacraments of the new Testament do giue grace and none can giue grace but God only And therfore none ordaine a signe but God alone How neare our Opposites come to this Iesuit all men may knowe who heare them distinguishe though a man may not deuise an exhibitiue signe yet hee may deuise a significatiue one such as is the signe of the Crosse Alas to what poore shiftes are these men driuen For we haue heard out of the schoole men already that God is the only signifier both in things and in words therfore a signe euen quatenus it signifieth must be from him Nay this cannot stand before Bellarmine himselfe euen he therfore shall be their iudge For though the signes of the old Testament be not in his iudgment exhibitiue of any grace but significatiue only yet he saith they were all ordained of God so ought to be Vpon this reason which now taketh hold on the signe of
we are recalled to the simplicitie of these first times well neare by all our f Phillip Moruae de Eucharist lib. 1. ca. 1. D. Willet cont 2 q. 4 p. 2. writers Some g D. Pilkin epist ad comit Leicest Ann. 1578. of them wishe that the glory of Christ may shine nakedly of it selfe as in the beginning when it was purest when all these deuises of men were vnknowne h Chemnit vt supra Bucer in Censur Others will that it be now as it was then when in Baptisme there was no ceremony but that which had expresse cōmaundement or ensample in the Scripture As a man runneth to the fountaine saith Cyprian when the channels are defiled so l Cypr. cont epist Stephan must we repaire to the practise of the first Church which is the m Anton. Sadeel cont Mon. Burdegalens art 1.3 fountaine of all piety All customes which are growne vp since we are to reiect be they neuer so ancient not sparing the signes which the Fathers themselues did vse whose ceremonies arose frō an n Ibid. p. 98. euill roote which was indeed a fond desire to please the Pagans the Iewes proceeded with a mind not humble nor obedient and ended in an euill euent For God accursed this their presumptiō suffered Satan to o Theodor. Baeza cont Balouin work out of it euen Antich defection it self frō the faith Fiftly to bring in ceremonies to giue them a signification is to p Hamburg epistol ad Phillip melanthon conficere nouū rationale diuinorū officiorū to the iustifying of Durand yea of the whole church of Rome in all her symbolicall signes deuised if not in all the worst of which is not worse then the Crosse yet in the white garment the taper in Baptisme and the head vayle sith these were not abused by them to operation but were vsed for significatiō only as we pretend we vse the crosse Our q D Willet de bapt q. 8. error 5.1 cor 11.2 3. Mat. 28.19 Act. 10.47 writers vse to alleadge that of the Apost What I haue receiued that doe I deliuer that of our Lord Goe baptize teaching to obserue all that I haue cōmanded That of Peter Can any forbidde water that these may not be baptized against the oyle the salt the spittle the rest of that ragged rewe I aske are these scriptures forcible against these then they exclude the crosse as well which is worse then these And when r Bellar. de bapt ca. 24 Bellarmine biddeth vs cease to teach we must haue no other signes in Baptisme then such as the scripture warrāteth or else leaue out our crosse what shall we answer him Sixtly we haue on our side all the Protestantes downe frō Wickliefe not one of them but hath fled to this bulwark No signe must be receiued in Baptisme which hath ben deuised by man It was s Tho. Waldens tom 3. de sacra tit 5. ca. 45. Wicklief himself that sett it on foote t Ioh. Crisp Cronolog an 1400. Iohn Husse continued it u Ioh. Calu. instit li. 4. c. 15 sec 19. Mr Caluin resumed it w Harm cōf sect 17 whole Churches confesse it x Magdeb. cent 1. li 2. ca. 6. cent 2 c. 6. D. Willet de bapt q. 8. error 5. All Writers make it good against the Papistes When Bellarmine excuseth the signes of his Church and sayeth they are not advmbrations because the thinges that are signified by them are res spirituales presentes and not things that be to come hee receiueth answere from vs. y Lambert Danae cont Bellar. de cult sanct lib. 3. ca. 7. It is blasphemie to thinke that any outward thing may be made a signe in the Church of any thing that is spirituall vnlesse it be expresly ordained in the word and commaunded by God himselfe to be vsed to that end When the Monkes of Burdeaux affirme the signes which are added to Baptisme are an ornament to it we thus reply a Sadeel cont Monach Burdegalens art 12. Num igitur sunt c. Are they wiser then Christ Iesus who hath ordained his Sacrament in so great puritie and simplicitie and who knoweth better then all the men in the worlde what ornament was fittest for it If it be but the couenant of a man when it is confirmed no man abrogateth it or addeth any thing to it what arrogancy is it then to adde to the institution of Christ b Bucer in Censur cap. 25. Maister Bucer condemneth them that deuise vllum signum invsum religionis c Act. monu in hist cius Maister Hawkes holy Martyr I denie saith he in Baptisme all things deuised by man as your oyle salt spittell c. Iohn d Ibid. in hist cius Denlie a Martyr likewise the Punuch saith he said to Phillip Loe here is water we doe not read that he asked for Oyle creame spittell or any thing else Hereby it appeareth that the ancient Religion of the Protestants is with vs that libertie to deuise new signes is but a young wanton nouice which the licentious Adiaphorisme hath begotten #Sect 27. Though it were lawfull for the Church to denise new signes yet not for religious vse especially where God hath ordained signes for the same purpose already SEcondly though it were lawfull to deuise new signes yet not where and for what God hath ordained signes already in vse religious as the Crosse wee know signifieth that which Baptisme hath already signed by the ordinance of the Lord. Exod. 30.38 Leuit. 17.3 Leuit 10.1 Eccles. 3.14 Psal For first it beseemeth vs to acknowledge God so wise in the signe that he hath chosen as to hold it presumption for any to imitate him in deuising of the like For ensample None must deuise an Oyle like his none an Altar besides his none a fire like the fire which he hath chosen Yea in his workes themselues he is not magnified as he deserueth till we confesse none is able to come after him and till wee say who is able to doe the like Secondly when man deuiseth newe signes the signes of God are a Caiet in Thom. p. 3 qu. 6. art 5. vilified as if they also were but from an humane spirit Yea as if they were b Chemnit exam p. 2. tit de rit p. 37. minus idoneae sufficientes in particular as if the water were not inough euen as our owne c Homil. for Witson p. 2. Law speaketh Thirdly whereas man is carnall blinde and impotent and yet a louer of his owne deuises no lesse then Pigmalion of his owne picture if he should bee suffered to inuent newe signes they would be carnall and not spirituall dead hauing no power they would be darke also vayling the brightnesse of the Sacrament and yet more loued and delighted in then the Sacraments themselues For ensample Gedcon setteth vp an Ephod and other ceremonies like
epulum praeparet vbi sanctum spiritum cognoscitur aduocasse et ibi esum Carnium crapulatus assumat vbi diuina visus est celebrasse mysteria By this we perceiue how odious an additiō of meat would be to the Sacrament of the Supper and me thinkes our addition is worse For the Agapae are more auncient then the Crosse and they followe after the bread and wine with greater distance then the Crosse doth after the water are more homogene to the bread and to the wine then he is to the water Thirdly If our Opposites wil match the Crosse and these feastes together then must he packe out of the Church For the o Carol Bouius in Schol. ad Clement li. 2. ca. 32. papist himselfe will confesse that the Apostle misliked these feastes and quite p Durant de rit li. 1. ca. 26. sect 8. abolished them Knowne it is that diuerse q Concil Laodi en can 28 Trullan can 74. Councils did forbid them in the Church and the Canon r Decret p. 1 distinct 42 cap. 3.4 Lawe still keepeth them out when Paulinus could not banishe them out of saint Faelix Church at Nola he mourneth thus s Paulin. Nolan Natal 9. Verum vtinam suis agerent haec gaudia votis Nec sua liminibus miscerent pocula sanctis Which is a president to our Gouernours to grieue at the Crosse in Baptisme as long as they see it there #Sect 29. No outward signe ought to be added by the Church to Christes institution MY second instance is in the addition of the water to the wine of the Supper For as much as against this addition and in it the former rule hath euer ben kept to wit that no outward signe must be added by the Church to Christes institution Against it a Tho. Mort apolog part 1. cap. 78. Maister Morton alleadgeth a Canon out of a Synode at Orleans that runneth thus Nullus in oblationibus sacri calicis nisi quod ex fructu sacrae viniae speratur hoc sine aqua mixium offerre praesamat quia sacrilegium iudicatur aliud offerre quam quod in mandatis sacratissimis saluator instituit What edition Mr. Morton followeth I knowe not but the doctrine is acknowledged by our Church which holdeth the adding of the water to be against the institutiō as the Council of Trent interpreteth And what reason then to adde the Crosse to Baptisme b Concil Trident. sess 22. can 9. The water of the Supper is more auncient the Crosse in Baptisme yonger Christ vsed the water in the Supper by all probabilitie the Crosse hee vsed neuer in all certaintie The water was mixt before the solemnitie of the Supper began the Crosse is adioyned in the cheese place of it The water was added for civill vse to alay the wine at first the Crosse was added for vse religious yea Sacramentall The water was neuer abused but to signification only the Crosse euen to Idolatrous operation The water of the Supper became one with the wine the Crosse remayneth still a signe by it selfe and that of a diuerse kinde If then our Church hath yet abolished the water from the wine of the Supper least it should heare from the former councill Thou that abhorrest Idols committest thou sacriledg much more should the Crosse be remoued from the water of Baptisme Rom. 2.22 seeing in the addition therof ther is both sacriledge cōmitted as the former Council censureth and an Idoll blest besides And the dutie of not adding hath ben seuerely kept by those who haue added this water for that they c Hieron in Marc. c. 14 Damas li. 4 de fid c. 14. hold it instituted by Christ prophesied of by Salomon d Cypr. cpist 48. de consecrat distinct 2. cap. 2. bibite ex vino quod miscui vobis and commended for euer to be vsed in the Sacraments of Christs death because it flowed forth frō e Ibid Martin Bracarens in Synod can 55. his side what time he died whence Sacraments flowe Vpon these grounds the f Aurelianens Concil 4. ca. 4. 4. Councill of Orleans in the cōmon edition cōmandeth this mixture vpon the verie same reason that is in the Council which Mr Morton alledged before to wit because it is sacriledg to vse any outward signe in the Supper which is not ordained by Christ So the Coūcil of g Hipponen Concil can 25. Hippo h Concil Carthag 3 can 24. Carthage cōmandeth this mixture no more vt in sacramentis nihil aliud offeratur quam quod Dominus tradidit So the decree of l Iulii 1. decret 7. Iulius the m Bracanens 3. cap. 1. councill of Bracara commaunde this mixture and no more vpon this reason that nothing be done in the Sacrament but that the Lord did So the Councill of Cōstantinople cōmandeth this mixture to the Armenians because nothing must be diminished nor added to that n Synod 6. in Trull can 32. Quod Dominus tradidit Last of all So the Councill of o Wormatiens Concil can 4. Wormes held in the yeare 868. cōmandeth this mixture no more because aliud offerri non debet quam quod Christus sub hoc Sacramento praebuisse cognoscimus My third instance is in the honnie added to the wine of the Supper like to which addition was the honny added to the water of Baptisme and put into the mouth of the infant baptized These are as p Tertul. de coron milit Baron ann 294. ancient as the Crosse and they were neuer so much abused neither are they now likely to doe like hurt Yet a q Antisiodorens Concil can 8. Exod. Coūcil thought the honny added to the wine vnlawful because our L. ordained it not our own Church hath cast out the other Moses forbad hony in everie sacrifice Wherfore to shut out all humane additions which are honny-sweet to his carnall wisdome in which relishe the crosse exceedeth all his fellowes My fourth instance is in the addition of the milke to the L. supper like to which was the milke added to the water in Baptisme and put into the mouth of the partie baptized This was as r Tertul. de coron milis ancient as the crosse it was neuer so much abused it hath his analogie of signification out of the scripture it was giuen to the baptized s Hieron epist cont Luciferianos ad infantiae significationē out of Peters words As new borne babes desire the sincere milke of the word c. which is still the epistle read now as of old saith t Bellar. de bapt ca. 27. Bellarmine to the baptized in Dominica in albis the next Sunday after Easter Howbeit for all this we haue turned it headlong out of Baptisme as the Councills u Bracarens 3. cap. 1. Iulii 1. decret 7. cashiered it out of the supper because the L. ordained it not This is in
iust like the water Secondly our writers defend this imposition of handes was euer ritus liber whereas we are bound now to the Crosse although it want that ensample in the word which this signe hath Thirdly whereas the Catechized had the handes laide on them before they were baptized and thereby were receiued into the Church though some differences may be alleadged betweene the signe of the crosse and it yet we holde it superstitious like the Crosse which was made in it and with whom it arose for the highest mentioner of it is a Concil Carthag senten 37. Vincentius Tibaritanus co-equall with Cyprian for that counterfeit Dionisius b Dionis Areopag in Ecclesiast Hierarch Areopagita who cannot be more auncient Fourthlie imposition of handes following Baptisme is cancelled by the reformed Churches for the popish abuse thereof no where is it vsed but in England and in Boheme where some thinke it to be c Harmon confesse in obseruat in sect 13. ad Bohemic tollerable because it hath some profit there and breedeth no offence neither of which can be saide here of this signe of the Crosse The fift signe added by man is the Osculum pacis which was vsed in the primitiue Church Which seeing it was lawfully added to the Sacrament of the Supper why may not the Crosse a like signe vnto it be adiected vnto Baptism First this went d Iusti Martyr apolog 2. ad finem Tertul. in lib. de oration before the very solemnitie of the supper e Chrysost Homil. de prodit Iudae to prepare men to a worthie receiuing in loue and charitie It had no state in the sacrament it selfe as the Crosse hath now in Baptisme Secondly this was a meere naturall signe of peace and not symbolicall or sacramentall all the people of the earth vse to imbrace and to strike handes and to kisse when they will shew forth indicant signes of peace and reconciliation Two men that were enemies ioyne handes together in the Church before they goe to the communion table in token of recōciliation will you make a sacramentall signe of this or will you say it is an addition to the sacrament or affirme the signe of the Crosse is no worse nor no more an addition then it but now the kisse of the primitiue Church was such men ioyned hands in it men embraced one another in it as f Chrysost ad popul Antiochē homil 51. Chrysostome telleth vs and these verses of Paulinus Tunc ambo nexi ad invicem dextras damus In osculo pacis sacrae c. Quisquisne tibi g Hieron ad Theophil Alexand. saith Hierome invitus communicat quisquamne extensa manu vertit faciem inter sacras apulas Iudae osculum porrigit So is this kisse a signe of Loue as the turning away of the face is a signe of hatred that is a naturall indicant signe not symbolicall or sacramentall like the Crosse Thirdly what is now become of this kisse It is cast forth of the Church Wherefore because it was abused for it begate in poperie the kissing of a table which had the Image of Christ or of some saint in it called the Paxe and wherefore was it turnde at first into the kissing of this Paxe why for the same reason that kissing h Clemens in constie li. 8. ca 11. of men and women together was forbidden before l Gabr. Biel. in can missae lect 8 1 Durant de rit lib. 2. ca. 54. sect 7. ne recti specie aliquid libidinis diabolico afflatu irrepat Alas then for vs who cannot euen by this learne to abolish the signe of the Crosse lesse auncient lesse profitable more abused it selfe hauing begotten a worse Idolatrie no though it be needfull to abolish it not onely to prevent ne quid irrepat but also to remedie that which is crept in alreadie Nowe besides this kisse before the Communion there was one giuen to the partie baptized before his baptisme about which wee need bee no more carefull then about the exsufflation which went immediatly before it or the salt that followed after it and as it quickly n Durant de rit li. 1. ca. 19. sect 24 vanished away so I would it had taken the Crosse away with it it could not haue had better companie Thus farre of the sinne of the Crosses office which it doeth beare in Baptisme where we vse it for a symbolicall and a sacramentall signe There followe now the offices which he performeth to Baptisme which are in number 4. #Sect 35. Foure offices which the Crosse performeth in Baptisme THe first is to consecrate the water thereof Sect. 35. to make it effectuall whereof if we be ashamed why loth we not the rest aswell seeing this office is as auncient as they are What though it be fathered vpon Augustine by a Amolar de Ecclesiast offic lib. 3. cap. 24. some Is Augustine no body but we may fetch it a great deale higher as these wordes of Cyprian shewe b Cypri lib. 1. epist 12. Oportet mundari sanctificari aquam prius à sacerdote vt possit Baptismo suo peccata hominis qui baptizatur abluere The second is to procure reuerence to Baptisme c Thom. Aquin p. 3. qu. 66. art 10. ne putetur esse communis ablutio Which is the office of the salt the taper and the rest of popish signes which how cut wee of but with this axe that beheadeth the Crosse aswell d D. Whita contra Dureum li. 8. pa. 65 8. Non existimandum c. We must not thinke but that the baptisme of Christ and of the Apostles was performed with reuerence inough when these signes were wanting neither must we take vpon vs to be wiser then they To procure right reuerence to the Sacrament is to lay open the institution by the preaching of the word and then to deliuer it in that simplicitie in which we haue receiued it To adde signes ouer and aboue is not to honour it but to defile it In deed had not the Arke bene more honorably intreated if it had bene sent home againe as it came into the lande and hand of the Philistians They thought they could not honor it sufficiently ◠Sam. 6. vnlesse they set a budget by it of certaine new devised signes to waite vpon it which did defile it Dauid emptied this budget did well Howbeit their cart he thinketh cannot well be spared for which the Lord made a breach in Israell ◠Chron. 13 vntill he draue him to confesse that he was not sought in due order as long as one ceremonie of the Philistins did remaine The Lord shew mercy to our Church otherwise he will shewe that our emptying of the popishe budget in banishing the salt the oyle the spittell with the rest will not be iudged sufficient vnlesse wee cease also with a Crosse of theirs to cart Baptisme which should be borne vp to reuerēce no
now a dayes many a Minister fatt and shining in his benefice howsoeuer before the Lord they are poore and miserable that doe make him especially they that doe make him for feare of their liuing as Dauid made his Taues and markes for feare of life But to conclude it is here the worde Tau that signifieth signum in general which cannot bee restrained to the signe of the Crosse of all other signes because during the time of the old Testament it was held and esteemed execrable as a papist p Alanus de sacrament lib. 1. ar 2. himselfe confesseth #Sect 39. Though Tau were in the text yet cannot a Crosse be colleleth from it vnles we ground doctrine vpon the mysteries of Letters which the Gnostickes Valentinians and the Cabalistes vse SEcondly what if the letter T. be in the texte yet cannot a Crosse bee collected hence without wringing and churning yea without parte of that vanitie also of grounding doctrines vpon the mysteries of letters which the Gnostick heretiques the ValeÌ„tinians the Cabalistes vse the a Sixt. senens Bibliothec li. 3. pag. 146. Genebrad in ann ante Christum nat 87. papists themselues condemne All the letters of the Hebrewe Alphabet are mysticall saith b Hieron de nominibus Hebra Hierome who holdeth not this position vaine yet is it the ground wherevpon the Crosse is foundded in this place and that by this mysticall Hierome who yet resolueth not on the matter but rather rehearseth what the opinions of others ar as these words shew c Hieron in hunc loc et vs ad mostra veniamus and his whole drift not in this place only but in all his commentaries in which as he telleth his reader elsewhere he writeth rather out of the opinions of other men then out of his owne iudgement And when hee explicateth the signe here meant by the wordes of Salomon pone me sicut signum Cant. 8. of Dauid signatum est super nos Iumen vultus tui Psal 4. and of Paule Nolite contristari spiritum à quo signati estis it is plaine that some of the authors whom he followed vnderstood this signe to be spirituall not an outward marke which is the â—enent of all our d Calfhil again Mart. art 1.2 D. Fulk reloâ—â—d ibid. writers If our Opposites haue found out since the signe of an outward Crosse in this place I would they would tell vs which way they came by it The Machabees in their banner vsed the first-letter of the wordes in Exod. 15.11 M. C. B. I. to expresse the whole sentence Is this coursâ— heere vsed Then by the letter T. what more likely to bee meant then the word Torah which signifieth the Law to shewe the men here preserued were such as kept the Law and bewayled the transgressions which were committed against it which was the opinion of the Iewes as e Hieron in hunc loc glos ordi Hierome mentioneth and which conlecture f fâ—â—â—t-sâ—â—en bibliâ—â— heâ— li. 2. fo 121 some pâ—pistes with g Lyran. in hunc loc others cannot reiect In the Apoc. the situation of α and ω in the Alphabet is vsed to describe the Lord Christ Iesus to be the beginning and the end Is this course here taken then what more likely by the letter T. the last consonant to be meant then either Christ the end of all as h Hector Pintus in hunc loc some or the perfection of knowledge taught by Christ as l Petrus Serranus in hunc loc others or perfection of science in the men here signed as m Hieron Strab. in glos ordi others or a n Sixt. Sâ—nens vt supr perfection of obedience in them as humane frailtie did permit Last of all the figures of letters were respected by Pythagoras when he described the life of man by the letter Y. and by the o Idem Bibliot li. 3â— pa. 145. officers of warre when T. noted the liuing ☉ the dead and slaine because this letter hath the forme of a men thrust thorough as it were with a dart It were hard to say the holy Ghost taketh this course here But what if he doe For a papist him selfe confesseth longe p Hector Bint in hunc loc falluntur opinione qui asserunt hanc literam apud Hebraeos crucem esse nullam enim habet crucis figuram Ita. n. scribitur ∩ which maketh a faire paire of q Calfhil art 2. fo 44 gallowes in deed but commeth nothing neare a Crosse Hence it is that the cheefe defenders of this opinion wauer much as is to be seene in one of them for all the rest r Sixt. senens Bibliothec li. 2. pag. 120. Fuit signum T. nifallor marke ni fallor figura Crucis But it is obiected out of s Hieron ad Paulln Hierome that the old Hebrue T. had the forme of a t 〈…〉 Crosse like to the Greek that this ∩ which now hath not the forme of a Crosse was chaunged by Ezrah witnes this that the Tau of the Samaritanes who kept the olde Hebrew letters was of the Crosses forme First it is vnlikely that Ezrah would leaue to the Samaritanes the enemies of God the ancient characters of Gods owne finger wherin the Oracles of God were written put the Church to new Secondly though he chaunged in other places yet not here because the fashion of this T. being marred the mysterie was marred which depended vpon it which he no question vnderstood if there were any such Thirdly It is vntrue that the old Samaritane T. was a crosse u Guilibelm Postell de liter Faenitum Postellus telleth vs it was of an other fashion a man in this matter to be rather beleeued then they who cannot tell how to referre it whether to this figure ✚ as w Sixt. Senens vt supra some or to this T. out of x Tertul. cont Marcion ca. 30 Tertullian as others which by y Isidor Hispalens some is called the Greeke T. by z Mart. in reply art â— others the Roman T. Others say Ezechiell had reference to the Hebrew Greeke and Romane and all as a Act. mo nument pa. 1940. Fryar Billing Parson of Wilton at the burning of Spicer and Maundrell at Sarum Fourthly there is no agreement about Ezrahes exchaunge of the Hebrew letters One b Genebrar Chronic. li. 2. in anmun 36â—â— affirmeth there was a chaunge a while but after a returne to the old letters againe Rabbi Simon denieth that euer there was any chaunge at all Rabbi Moyses Gerundensis saith The chaunge of them was at the first c Ibid. in anmun 3203 Diuision of the Kingdome in the dayes of Rhehoboam to differ froÌ„ the tenne Tribes that were growne Idolatrous The d Ibid in an 3710. most common opinion is that Ezra chaunged them immediatly vpon the returne from Babilon to differ from the Samaritans But all this
vnsauorie salt cast forth because good for nothing Math. 5.13 Ier. Heb. 13.9 The frutlesse Vine throwne into the fire because good for no vse The old ceremonies of the Iewes forbidden because they did not profit them that were exercised in them doe all declare how ill God is pleased with that which is vaine through inanitie of commoditie and of proffit which ought to bee in it Doth not this suffice to cashier a thing It is not profitable it edifieth not euen as a Thom. Aquin Commen 2 cor 5. Aquinas himself obserueth Nay doth not our owne Law b Admonit de ceremo apud Buce in Censur pag. 45 3. condemne the ceremonies quae 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And what though they haue bene profitable heere to fore must they be kept for their old seruice No c Chemnit examin pag. 2. tit de rit pag. 39. omnes ritus remouendi sunt qui ad adificationem vtiles esse desinunt and againe d Pet. Mart. in 1. Sam. cap. 14. Ceremonia vbi nullus est amplius earum vsus absque omni dubitatione tollenda The light herof hath forced our adversaries to make this their issue e The examinat of the declar of the Minist of London wee doubt not but great good wil be done by the ceremonies controuersed what great good of a tryfle for so you iudg your selfe of the Crosse Then behold ether a great miracle to wit a thistle bringing forth not only a figg but also a pomgranate or else a great Monster to wit a fountaine sending forth both sower water and sweet And what meanes in the Crosse by which these proffites may arise First bee the reuerend antiquitie of it which giueth contentement to the people with whom experience it selfe sheweth f Rich. Hook lib. 5. cap. 65. how much through custome a ceremonie worketh This reason when time was would haue serued Pilate well 1 Mar. 15.8 When to content the people of Iewry crying for their old custome hee let Barrabas loose amongst them not much worse then the Crosse vnlesse we count soul-murther nothing and the stirring of sedition in our Church And it would haue well serueth Symmacus also backing his paganisme with the custome of former times whom when one answereth he replyeth for vs in the cause of the Crosse o Prudent cont Simach Quid mihi tu ritus solitos Romane Senator Obiectas cum scita Patrum populique frequenter In tabulis placiti sententia flexa novarit Nunc etiam quoties solitis decedere prodest Praeteritosque habitus cultu damnare recenti And the abuse of this signe considered the more auncient the worse the more contentment it giveth the more superstition it breedeth there having place heare what one said of the Surplice once g Bucer in censur c 2. pag. 45 8. St singulis parochijs idonei mittantur doctores pijs hominibus grata erit ista vestium sublatio impiorum vero gratia si Christi serui esse volumus nulla modo captanda est benevolentia multo minus eorum vlla ratione sustentanda est superstitio The seconde way whereby the Crosse is supposed able to bring in profit is that complement that is in it ad ornatum O saye the Procters of it The Crosse h Ric. Hook vb sup must not be pulled of Will ye so strippe this Sacrament from the attire with which the wisedome of man hath clothed it The wisedome of man had devised chariottes in Christes tyme. But what he Euen when he was to shewe foorth his greatest pompe l Francis Iun. paral 36. recalled he not the auncient simplicitie of the Iudges in Israell who 2 Iudg 5.10 10.4 rode vpon Asses Wherevpon one against the Adiaphoristes m Herman HamelmaÌ„ de tradit pa. 1. lib. 4. colum 373 Christus non opus habet isla externa sapientia in suis Sacramentis Venit pauper sedens in Asina ad filiam Syon in quo aduentu noluit aliquam exornationem ergo non vult quoque illam in suis Sacramentis Shall we thinke the Baptisme of the primitiue Church was not as richlie attyred as ours for want of the Crosse or that the Baptisme of the moderne Churches nowe is more beggerlie clothed then ours because they doe not vse this signe Thinke not to saye we clothe Baptisme with the Crosse not as with an ornament of necessitie but of decencie onely n Bellarm. de cult sanct ca. 6. Bellarmine him selfe will pleade so much for the whole wayne-loade of popishe ceremonies Doe but thinke the robe of mans wisedome to be necessary for a decencie and run into Montanisme which pleadeth in like maner o Chemnit examin p. 1. de tradi gen 8. pag. 93. The rawnes of the first times must be perfected with an ampliation of Ceremonies such as may be vestimentum quodammodo fidei quae retro erat nuda and into papisme which reasoneth in like sort p Marcell Corcyrens in praefat ad lib. de ceremoniis Religio sine debito ceremoniarum ornatu inculta est informis omni pulchretudine vacua And last of al into Lutheranisme and Adiaphorisme which contend for images and all ad ornatum in like fashion out of Rupertus q Herman HamelmaÌ„ de tradit pa. 1. lib. 4. colum 373 fides Apostolorum rudis fuit A posterioribus verò adhibitis ceremonijs exornata But if there were needfull some robes of mans wisedome he is a bad tayler that hath chosen the crosse wh ch indeed dishiteth baptisme more wayes then one First because it is to gaye in the eyes of the people like the braue attire of a servant that turneth away the peoples eyes froÌ„ his Master to him self or like the painting of a womans face which disfigureth the natural beautie of this sacrameÌ„t and maketh men thinke that r Tertul. de cult foeminar plastica Dei and the ordinance of the water is not beautifull enough reprehenduntâ—n qui emendant As it is an iniurie saith s August de tempore serm 247. Augustin to a painter when another cometh to adde ornament to his picture so is it an iniurie to God when men will presume to adde beautie to his creature and so by consequent to his ordinance Cyprian speaking against those who added beautie to their faces by painting t Cypri de habitu virgin opus Dei est saieth hee omne quod nascitur diaboli quodcunque mutatur So likewise here All that is instituted is Gods all that is added against the word of God by man indeed is the Devills Secondly The robe of the Crosse is too fleshly for baptisme Knowe wee not the Queenes garment saieth u August epist 86. ad CasulaÌ„ Augustine which is wouen of ceremonies must be sutable to hir inwarde beautie and so be spiritual especially in this time of the gospell Thirdly the robe of the Crosse smelleth too much of the stewes whereas
condemneth all likenes of fasting with the Manichees Die Dominico iciunare scandalum est magnum maxime post quam innotuit haeresis Manichaorum qui suis anditoribus ipsum constituerunt ad iciunandum tanquam legitimum diem Per quod factum est vt ieiunium die Dominico horribilius haberetur Leo will not haue incurvation towards the East like to that which Heathen vse v Leo Serm. 7. de natiu Domin vpon this reason u abstinendum est ab ipsa huiu smodi specie officij quam cum in nostris invenit qui deorum cultum reliquit nonne hanc secum partem opinionis vetustae tanquam probabilem retentabit quaÌ„ Christianis impijs viderit esse communem Gregorie the great abolished an auncienter cermonie then the Crosse to avoyde communion with the w Gregor Regist in dict 9. c. 41 Arrians quia hucvsque ab haereticis infans tertio mergebatur a pub nos fiendum esse non censeo x Bernard in Apolog. ad Willihelm Comit. Bernard will not haue any thing in the Church the pompous adorning there of by name that may quodammodo representare antiquum Iudeorum ritum Come we downe to moderne times The y Censur orient cecl. c. 10. p. 137. Greeke Church obiected to the Romane that it Iudaizeth because it vseth vnleauened bread like to the Iewes The z Stanislau Socolu Ibid in c. 21. pag. 416. Romane obiected to the Greek that they Iudaize because they vse abstinence from bloud and strangled like them The Churches of Fraunce Heluetia Germanie haue a forme of prayer chaunged of purpose to be vnlike the Masse-booke these Churches as they haue abolished the whole drosse a D. BilshoÌ„ cont apo log pag. 1 pag. 31. of popishe doctrine so they retayne not so much as any one dram of their ceremonies What our owne Church at home though at the first it tollerated the Crosse whereas the papistes praye towards the Easte our Church bidds the Ministers to stand at the North side of the communion table the reason whereof is this as the Primatiue Church saith b D. Fulk ag Rast sect 4. pag. 710. Doctor Fulke did choose to pray towardes the East to avoide the superstition of the Iewes that prayed towards the West so we doe now pray towards the South to avoyd the superstition of the Papistes who vse to pray towardes the Easte Nay our very adversaries themselues will yeelde to vs herein A Lutheran c Herman Hamelma de tradit apendic ad pag 1 Colum 456. affirming the vaile is how vnfit in marriage which was vsed in Ambrose time because it is a rite of the Iewes and Bellarmine himselfe condemning them who haue more care to adorne Churches then to fill them with Preachers because howsoeuer their meaning be diuers d Bellar. de cult Sanct. cap. 6 yet videntur factis aliquo modo affines esse superstitioni Iudeorum So is the nakednes of this first excuse detected which denyeth a communion with papistes because the Crosse is not vsed with vs as it is with them for as much as we see that not only the same vse but the same rites themselues are vnlawfull yea all likenes all nearnes all imitation all shewe all representation and as Bellarmine himselfe speaketh all affinitie in fact with them #Sect 6. The second excuse that the crosse is imposed by Christian Magistrates is taken away in diverse respectes especially because it is taken as a consenting in a part to the ceremonies of the Church of Rome THe second excuse fumbleth thus If the Crosse were imposed by papistes for a marke of their profession it were somwhat but being imposed by Christian gouernours to an other ende now the vse of him no way crazeth our confession against them First the papist drawed the very commaund of the Magistrate it self to a certaine kinde of confession and approbation of his rites and in them of his Religion which maketh his rites vnlawfull This is that which a whole Church saith Cum Adiâ—phora rapiuntur marke rapiuntur a Narmon confess sect â—7 in Helâ—â—â—i poste ad confessionem libera esse de sinunt sicuti Paulus ostendit licitum esse vesci carnibus si quis non submonâ—as Idolis esse litatas alioquin fore illicitas quod qui his vescituriam vescendo Idololatriam approbare videatur Now it is easie to shew the papistes doe drawe the ceremonies controversed to an approbation and confession of their religion b Mart of the Crosse in praefat Martiall iustifieth the popish crosse by the crosse which standeth in the Queenes Chappell c Nic. Saund de imag cap. 13. Saunders iustifieth popish images by the crosses which we vse d Harding ag Apolo in praefat Harding iustifieth his church service by our Crosse and Surplice and other rites which we retaine from them No e Parsons of the 3 convers of England p. 2. little advantage doe they sucke out of our coÌ„munion booke which they terme an English translation out of the Masse-booke and out of the difficultie whereby it came in manie Protestantes them selues adiudging that the stable of popishe superstition was not throughly purged out of it Doeth no Bristowe f Brist moe 34. drawe the likenes of our seruice booke to a countenancing of their Masse-booke g Wil Reynold in praefat Raynoldes drawe our private Baptisme to a proofe of that necessitie that they put in the Sacrament The h Rhem. in Ioh 20. sect 5. Rhemistes drawe the absolution of the sicke prescribed in the communion booke to an approbation of their absolution auricular confession and Sacrament of penaunce Our home l Humble mot for tolerat Pseudo-catholiques drawe they not the signe of the Crosse to a motiue for their religion as which they holde a speciall cognizance of their faith Seeing these things bee thus drawne to confession it skilleth not whether we intende to confesse their faith or no. Secondly our governours professe an intent to giue contentement to the papistes by the retention of the Crosse and Surplice which the zeale of English Preachers if they cannot endure it is to bee pardoned as m Conrad Schlusselburg li. 13 pa. 566.571 hauing the Divines of Germanie before them who stoode out with a greater edge against the ceremonies enforced vpoÌ„ them in the dayes of Charles the fift because they sawe their Princes sought no other thing in them but to please the popish faction And vntill these ceremonies be abolished they will be abused to the gracing of poperie it selfe to the disparagement of the Gospell and to the gagging of the mouthes of many a painfull and profitable a Preacher so that wee are in Paules case then refusing to circumcize when his libertie was spied into and spited at when the Gospells disgrace was sought by his conformitie In this respect we are also often in the case of Iulians souldiers then disclayming all incense
of all What pleasure nowe in our olde yeares when our strength wasted in the labours of the Church doeth fayle vs and when the naturall dayes drawe on of which men naturally vse to saye we haue no pleasure or delight in them now I say to lye vnder the walles of those houses which once were ours to bidd long farewell to our long-loved harbours to goe and embrace the thistle for a dwelling and the rocke for a covering the dongue for a pallat the Ostriche or Pellicane for a companion where Ismaell starveth Hagar weepeth Elias fainteth and wearie of life desires to dye because by reason of disastrous tymes he is no better then his fathers Howbeit all this is welcome all while there is walking in the middest of vs one that is like to the sonne of man c Cyri. lib. 4 epist 6. 2 Sam. 25.31 solus non est cui Christus Comes est * Tiburtius martyr apud Baron in An. 168. Omnis nobis vilis est poena vbi pura Comes est conscientia We know we feele what force Abigaels perswasion hath So shall it bee no griefe of minde Whereas on the other side howe doe wee feare the griefe and knowledge of an ill conscience vpon the eating of this fruite We stande nowe on the holy of holies and looke vp boldly and haue hope Nevertheles let it be proved that the throwing downe of our selues into some other conscience is warrantable by the worde of God Psal 91.11 Mat. 4.6 and we will adventure to be borne vp But if this clause in his wayes be left out in this temptation as of olde then blame vs not if we shake if we shiver to see to surveye the stones the flatts vpon which wee are like to fall For what the douting conscience foundeth heavily like a shalme to him that doubted to him it is sinne and if our heartes condemne vs God is greater then our heartes The accusing conscience chattereth dolefully like a swallow or a crane 2. Reg. 5.18 The Lord be mercifull in this poynt 1 Gro 13.15 1 Sam. 13.10 The benummed conscience which seeth not what sinne is committed when baptisme is carted with a Philistines carte wil be awaked to sense and feeling by some iudgement The audacious conscience is too profane It saith with Saule I wil be bolde whether it be well or no. and as for the conscience superstitious it cryeth like a prisoner out of the chaines wherewith the Councill of Trente hath fettered it d Concil Trident. de Sacram. can 13. ses 7. It is damnable sinne to omit any of the rites of baptisme that bee commaunded Neither will it be comforted or reformed by all our e Chemnit examin p. 2. tit de rit Sacrament Writers standing for our christian libertie against this bondage By this it appeareth to what exigent this vnworthy rite hath brought vs. Vnhappy times you must heare again the old complaintes of the f Conrad Schlnssenburg li. 13 pag 506. 589. Germane Divines when the Adiaphorisme ceremonies were prest on them the heart sigheth the minde is troubled the spirit is sadd the ioye of the holy ghost it selfe is obscured Haue pittie vpon vs haue pittie vpon vs O you our governours how long wil you feed vs with that you tread on how long fill vs with the puddle the mudd how long make vs in your presence as a troubled muddy spring all for a beggerlie ceremonies sakes Are ye not ledd from such a course to an abolition of the crosse by the example of Epiphanius he taketh downe g Hieron in translat epist Epiphan ad Iohan. Hierosol Anablathaes Image and forbiddeth all other Images because occasions of scrupulositie in the Church And as for the conscience superstitious which this signe breedeth may it be any other way remedied saue exemplo h Zach. Vrsi de Adiaphor omissionis For besides that the scripture like an Notrh winde scattereth away al the humane coÌ„stitutions that tye mens coÌ„sciences to themselues as it were with a l Io. Piscator in 1 Cor. 7 35. corde or 1 Colos 2.20 burthen the soule or 2 Gal. 5.1 enthrall libertie or bring the free men of the Lord into 3 1 Cor. 6.12 subiection we haue a plaine censure that wipeth the Crosse out of our Leyturgie when there is found an m Bucer in censu c. 12 elementi servitutis in it as also euery ceremonie else a n Ibid. ca. 8. Cuius inviili servitute populus abstrahi se aegrè patitur #Sect 11. The hypocrisie and preposteration of the Crosse in the Will in respect of the meanes for â—â—cayning to the right end is proved THE fourth hipocrie of the Crosse is in the Will which when is vpright when it desireth a Thom. Aquin 2.2 ques 9. art 7. bonum sub ratione boni for the ende and electeth bonum propter bonum in the meanes wherby the end is compast This sinceritie of the election the crosse preposterateth first of all in that it is chosen being an vnlawfull ceremonie before those that are lawfull being a tradition of mans before Gods precept and being but Annisseed and Cummin before waightier thinges of the Lawe For consider we the Crosse first as an auncient custome Maister Bucer speaking against the consecrating of the Font b Bucer in censur cap. 16. p. 482. sunt perquam multae constitutiones Patrum sayth he c. there be very many constitutions of the Fathers and many observations of theirs pertaining to the discipline of the Church which are taken out of the worde of God it selfe these alas most seuerely are trodd vnder foot when they seeme to be contrary to our humors what a preposterous thing is it then to borrow those rites froÌ„ the Fathers which as they agree not with the word of God so they serue SataÌ„s turne amongst too many meÌ„ for the confirming of manifest superstitions opinions plainly magicall That this lighteth on the Crosses backe in comparison of other auncient obseruations an instance in one or in two of them wil make plaine when Cassander stroue for the Chrisme and pleaded the antiquitie of it it was replyed he dealt absurdly to c Herman Hamelma de tradit appendi ad primam colum 499 arripere from the Fathers Quod humanum omittere quod diuinum to wit the gouernement of the Church communi consilio Praesbyterorum This may we not apply to some who inforce the Crosse vpon vs by reason of the antiquitie of it when in the meane time they shut the dore against this gouernement which is d Io Whitgifc defence of the ans to the admonit pag. 638 Mat. Sutclif de Roman pontifi c. 5 confessed by some of their owne to haue bene vsed in the primatiue Church and that long before the Crosse that which the e Irenae li. 4 cap. 43. Tertul. Apolo ca. 39. Hiero. in Tit. 1. Ambros in 1. Tim.
5. ver 17. vewe of the Fathers doth confirme Againe it was an f Cypri in serm de eleemofin Irenae lib. 4 ca. 32.34 August retractat lib. 2. cap. 11. auncient custome that none should receaue the Lords Supper empty handed but guie somewhat to the poore which certaine Deacons did distribute to the needie that did worke the idellbeing excomunicated out of the Church of which thus Bucer once againe g Nimis magno c. It is too great a shame for this Kingdome that this parte of Ecclesiasticall reformation hath bene hitherto neglected whereas in the Low countries it hath bene long a goe receaued where neuerthelesse the true profession of the Gospell is punished with death I aske is there not a preposteration to renewe a Crosse so zealously while we burry so carelesly this auncient custome raysing vp in the roome thereof newe courses of our owne which doe no good Againe there was in old time a custome there should be a communion every h Chrisosâ—â— homil 3 in Ephes Regino lib. de Ecclecsiast Disciplin cap. 191. Hugo Cardinal in Luc. 24. Lordes day euery one not receauing without lawfull excuse being l Nicol. Cusan Epist ad Bohe. 7. excommunicated which m Ansegis in leg Franci lib. 1. c. 132 Charles the great in some sort renewed b Bucer in censur cap. 4 pag. 464. and which Bucer advised King Edward in this land to restore n Bucer in Censur c. 3 p. 460. 461. againe what now There is not any one peece of the canon for the Crosse which is not egerly pursued whereas all the Canons made for the SacrameÌ„t of the Supper it selfe lye lowe in the dyrt men thinking it sufficient to come for fashion once a yeere as they were wont to doe in popery and that without all examinatioÌ„ for the most parte reconciliatioÌ„ or separatioÌ„ of offenders though most notorious Last of al it was the custom of the primatiue church to haue no assembly without a sermoÌ„ as shal be shewed in the next chapter which through the hypocrisie of the Crosse is nowe neglected this rite must haue place whether Preacher or preaching haue any or no. o Alexan. Ales in proaem Lieturg Anglic. Quo tamen neglecto frustra in alijs constituendis apice sci cultu ministri de gestu rituque sacrorum opera sumitur Inducitur n. ita parieti vicioso labanti tectorium quod ruinas hiatus diu non poterit tegere vel erunt haec potius sepulchra incrustata intus refer ta foeditate abhominabili Secondly consider the Crosse as a custome which for the present is in vse and wee cannot misse of an other preposteration in it Wee prooue p D. Whitâ— cont Dureum lib. 9. hereby the papistes preferre their owne traditions before Gods Lawes because they punishe more seuerely the breach of one of their owne fastes then when the Lawe of God is broken by fornication or the like It is also obserued amongst Saules hipocrisies that hee was more ready to punishe with death the breach of a Lawe of his owne in Ionathan then to punish the people with the least mulcte when they brake the law of God in eating bloud which facte of his also when an q Ambros sem 25. Ambrose alleadgeth to make the sinne of a man sinfull that doeth breake a Lenten-faste he is r Herm. HamelmaÌ„ de tradit p. 1. lib 5. folio 446. censured as one in error Ought not the Non-Residentes the Idell and Idoll ministers be rather punished who break Gods Law in feeding not on the bloud of beastes but on the bloud of the soules of men then those poore Ionathans transgressors of an humane lawe and that in a trifle whose desertes to the Church haue not bene so small but that they call for a better rewarde What a thing is this there should be no lawe to punishe a loyterer that hideth his talent in the grounde to put out a dumbe dogge that can not barke or that a drunkard a fornicator a gamster should scarce haue their names called into questioÌ„ nay that s Math Sutcliu in answer to the humb motit for tolerat papistes them selues should be vsed kindlie while the paynefull and profitable Minister is pursued euen to proscription for a Crosse and is made the t Poenicentiarius Asini Act. Monument p. 359. Asse that must dye for a strawe when the u Gualt Mapes in Cathalog testium verit fol 422. Non pastor ovium sed pastus ovibus much like to the Foxe or the Woulfe escapeth in his soule murder Chrisostome began with the life of the Ministers hee did not for the breach of a Ceremonie thrust out the moste paynfull that were in the Church but those who aunswered not to their calling w Theodoret histor lib. 5. c. 28. A sacris arcebat quod negaret frui Sacerdotali honore cos oportere qui vererum Sacerdotum vitam non sequerentur Wee taking on the other side runne within the censure of Augustine x August ad Ianuar. epi. 119 c. 19. sed hoc nimis doleo c. This I much bewayle that the commaundements of the holy Scripture which are most wholesome are neglected and all thinges are so full with so many presumptions that he is punished more grievouslie that toucheth the earth with his bare feete per octauas suas then he that shall drowne his minde in dronkennes A like hipocrisie vnto this is that which an Historiographer mentioneth y Socrat. li. 5 cap 22. Nonnulli islis neglectis omnem scortationem rem quidem indifferentem arbitrantur sed tamen de diebus festis tanquam de vita deceriant Is not the breach of the Crosse more seuerely punished then dronkennes Is there not more stirre to vpholde this Ceremonie then the preaching of the word We crye out vpon the papists because they take more care about the ceremonies of the sacrament theÌ„ about the Sacramentit selfe as because he will haue z Durant lib. 2. cap. 4. sect 8. Missa sicca without consecration when he is on the sea be cause of the logging of the shippe On drie lande when he consecrateth hee will not minister the Wine ad a Durant li. 2. cap. 41. sect 6. evitanda quaedam pericula Last of all though the coulour of redde wine represonteth Christes bloud farre better to the edifying of the people b Concil Mediolan 1. c. quae pertinent ad celebr yet white wine must bee vsed to prevent the stayning of the clothes of the Altar What if as Diogenes once some bidde vs heere Beginne with our selues who although it be apparant that integritie of Baptisme and the peoples edification would be farre better provided for by the remoouall of the Crosse yet keepe it still being as loth to see it stayned as the papistes their Altar clothes and to see it fall to the grounde as they as they some droppes out of their
de cult sanctor cap 7. Crosse with other sacramentalia applye Christes bloud vnto vs to the washing away of sinne and that as a fellow worker with our faith And the complaint is true of them which one of our writers p Phil Mornaeus de En charist li. 1 cap. 6. p 49 maketh roundly and altogither at a blowe we see them come downe from this crosse that is the death and passion of our Lord o See Fulk reioynd art 5. the effectuall powerfulnes whereof is adored of the Angells to the onely figne of the Crosse and there passing over according to their custome from the signes to the things from the things to the signes they come to attribute all whatsoever is said by the Apostles or by the old Fathers of the true and verie crosse of Christ vnto this dumbe and naked signe By meanes hereof crossing hath bredd such inconvenience saith q M. Calfh cont Mart. art 1. fo â—6 one that the externe action had in reverence hath made the inward faith to be neglected and that vertue ascribed to the signe which onely proceedeth from him that was signified in regard whereof it may well be lefte PLACE = marg Philip. 3.19 In deed as Moses ceremonies became enimies to the crosse of Christ when men began to beleeue in them for which cause they were remoued so the signe of the Crosse now is an enimie to Christes crosse much people trusting in it for which cause it ought to bee displanted Had it bene fit for the Apostles to haue vsed in Gods service the Robe the Reede the Crowne the Scepter wherewith Christ at that time was mocket but now it is with the signe of the crosse in poperie that Christ and his crosse is mockt when they haue robbed him of his Scepter and of his Priesthood they giue him a Crosse to mocke him withall saith one r And Willet contro 4. Q 10 p. 3. art 2. of our writers #Sect 15. That the Crosse evacuateth and polluteth Faith SEcondly The figne of the Crosse doeth evacuat faith Whereas Paule saith 2. Cor. 5.7 We walke by faith and not by sight it may a And. Willet controvers 9. qu. 6. pa. 3. be inferred that the sight of outward representations which are earthly hurteth fayth which is of thinges that are spirituall and not seene Vpon this ground as I take it reasoneth Arnobius against the Heathen b Arnobius contr gent. lib. 6. Convincitur non habere sua religioni fidem cui opus est videre quod credit ne inane forte sit quod non videtur Vpon this ground it was that when c Cyrill con Iulian. li. 6 Numâ— would invre his people to serue the Gods spiritually hee built temples to fayth whence he remoued all Images all representations as which he thought contrary vnto fayth Last of all vpon this ground it is that our d D Bilson cont Apolog pag 4. pag. â—49 owne writers dealing for a sound fayth beholding and adoring God in spirit and truth cashier all dourn be shewes that mans wit can furnish to winne the eye or moone the heart binding vs onely to the hearing of his word and partaking of his mysteries which onely can instruct ciur faith Another way the signe of the Crosse doeth hinder faith in that it occasioneth diverse to rest in the historicall knowledge of Christes death onely all of which he remembreth not neither because not the sufferings of his soule which are the cheefe whereof one thus e M. Calfh cont Mart in praefat fol. 1â— Suppose the Crosse tell me that Christ died what am I the better for that vnlesse I knowe that he dyed for me and the meane how his death may be applied to me which no picture can expresse the promises of the worde must declare me that without the which the Image is nothing yea worse then nothing Thirdly the Crosse polluteth faith and that with infidelitie For as when Bellarmine teacheth charges expended vpon garnishing Churches is an action of faith It f Lambert Dane cont Bellarmin de Cult Sanctor cap 6. is replyed that it is infidelitie rather and disobedience because a presumption without the worde So when it is said the Crosse is a gesture of faith it may be replyed It is a gesture of infidelitie and vnbeleefe seeing is hath no warrant from the scripture And looke on the effectes it worketh For as a man in daunger of drowning catcheth euen at a rushe or a flagge for want of better stay so it is out of fearfull distrust of better refuge that men catche at the crosse to helpe them For example g Act and Monu in Histor eius Thomas Becket armeth him selfe with a Crucifixe in his boosome and with a Crosse in his hande when he cometh to the court in dauÌ„ger The h Historica collect of Massacr in France in Hen 3. Archbishop of Lyons of late at the sight of the executioner as he first entred into the prison fled strait to the Crucifixe Certaine l Act and MonumeÌ„ heads of houses in Oxon. being in St Maries and thinking the Church had bene on light fire betooke them to the Crucifixe on the Altar Compare not this with m Sozom. li. 2. cap. 29. Alexanders flying to the Table of the Lord when the Arrians straightened him with Ambrose his flying to the same table when n Ambros Epist 33. Iustina the Empresse pursued him with o Gregor Nazeanze orat 11. de Land Gorgon Gergonia hir flying thither in the darke night when she was extreemly sicke Lastly with Theodosius his circuting p Ruffin lib. 2 cap 33. Omnia orationum loca when Eugenius made warre against him neither saye that this is no other then that which the Christians did when they alwayes crossed themselues in the time of daunger for these men fledd to these places mentioned because they were the fittest for prayer as it is said of q Epiphan in epist ad Ioh. Hierosolomit Epiphanius that seeing a light at Anablatha and thereby perceyving it was a Church he tooke occasion to goe and pray in it As for the custome of the Christians crossing them selues in time of daunger let it be surveyed first in these ensamples and then bee rightly iudged of A Deacon when he entred the shippe to goe into exile r Theodor. histor lib. 4 cap. 22. signum Diuina Crucis fronti afformauit WheÌ„ Christians s Euseb histor lib. 8. cap. 7. stood readie to be deuoured by the Panthers they clappe their armes athwarte to expresse a crosse Tiburtius t Cesar Bar. Annal in ann 286. when he is to walke barefoote vpon hoate coales signeth him selfe with a crosse and so prepareth him selfe to the myracle The stuffe of v Ibid in ann 293. Domnax Macrina holy Christians wherewith their chambers were wont to be furnished are said to be a booke of scripture a Crosse a censor and
nowe Flagrabant enim summa Deâ— observantia gratitudine adversus eius benesicia pâ—pâ—lus ad bapiâ—smum magna religione advenerat Whereas now thorough the coldnes of these our dayes ista signa hodie singula apud minime pauces magis retinendae augendae superstitioni ludis quam pietati serviunt religioni Who is then desirous of the Crosse to be added to the water for a signe to expresse his loue to Christ Iesus crucified For he must confesse his loue zeale doeth so burne and abound in him that the one signe of the water doth not suffice to expresse the same Which if any wil say of him self I would gladly see with what face he looketh For mine own part I could thus resemble him b Carionis Pencer Chronis lib. 5. in Adolphâ— Nassâ—niens pa. 849. Margret CouÌ„tesse of Turinge being loth to depart from her children and constrayned to flye at midnight to saue her life sitteth by the bedside of Fredericus her eldest sonn embracing him kissing him bedewing his face brest with her teares and when the companions of her flight pulled her away for hastening departure out of a strauÌ„g motherly passion she biteth his cheek in kissing of him so that he was surnamend admorsus euer after The like is done nowe by them in Baptisme who not contented to expresse their loue to Christ by the ordinarie signe of the water must needes kisse him with a secoÌ„d signe the signe of the crosse which fayeth so illfavoredly as that in kissing him they bite him so deepely in his members that if not in their names yet in their goods wines and children they beare the marke all their liues after One c Pliniuâ— natural histo lib. 7. ca. â— apple in an eye is wholesome when two in women do hurt and bewitch so the one signe of the water in baptisme which God hath ordained is alwayes comfortable when the signe of the Crosse vnnaturally doubling what God would haue single doeth vnder the maske of counterfeit zeale who can expresse what hurt as to the soule which it bewitcheth so to the body whiche it blasteth and goods which it wasteth without all pittie The bewitching is with a loue-drench towardes Antichrist to the quenching of zeale the manifest signes whereof are these First Zeale d Bâ—cer in Mat. 1â— nihil penitùs ferre potest Antichristi no not the name of any thing that belongeth vnto him and is defiled by his polluted members When Nebuchadnezzer is zealous for Bell doeth he not abolish the very names that savour of pietie towards the holy God of Israell When e Carol. Sigon dâ— reg Ital. Constantine the Pope hath a zeale against Philippicus doeth he not abandon his name it self and that from common coyne and all not onely from the diptich When God is ielous against Hattâ— the Archbishop of Meniz doeth he not sende rattes as to consume his body from the face of the earth so to gnawe f Genebrard in Cronolog Ann. Chri. 970. out his name it selfe out of all papers parchementes walles to witt this is the loue that hath fierie coles and vehement flames this is the ielousie that will not abide the sight of raunsome this the zeale that is stronge to the death and cruell to the graue which if we beare to our heauenly husband in any good measure we will entertaine no pollicie to spare to raunsome I say not the Idol of the crosse it self but the sound of his name so much from death from the pitt of full destruction Secondly g Bucer in Censur c. â— p. 460 Omnia quae sunt Antichr Romoni habentur abhominationâ— saltem quo ad externam speciem attinet It is a signe theÌ„ that the ceremonies coÌ„troversed haue crazed our zeale in that we sticke not at the shew and appearaÌ„ce of popery that is in them God so detesteth al shew of idolatry eueÌ„ in the eyes of papists themselues as that they h Vasq de adâ—rat li 1. disput 5. cap. 2. think God forbad images to the people of Israel to avoyde all shew of Canaans jmages Wherfore chose God the forme of an Arke for a testimony of his presence but to be in shew l Idem lib. â— disp 4. c. 4. coÌ„trary to Idolaters for there was never any people that ever did abuse this forme Wherfore doth God forbid to set vp stones monumentes in Israel but to avoyd all shew of likenes with Idolaters m Idem lib. 2. disput 4. cap 3. per titulos n. intelligit statuas quas GeÌ„tiles in sui memoriam posteris relinquebant vt docent Isichius Rodolphus Flauiacensis in eum locum n Caesar Baron Annal. in anno 10â— The primitiue church could not endure that any should looke towards IerusaleÌ„ in time of prayer to avoyd all shew of Iudaisme Although to continue fasting vntill midnight to heare the worde be lawfull enough vpon a Sunday as the example of Paule doeth shewe yet because the Manichees appoint that day for fasting Augustin thinketh it to be vnlawfull for that shewe that it beareth towards them and thence forbiddeth it o Augustin Epistol 86 ad Casula Ne maius malum incurratur in scandalo quam bonum percipiatur ex verbo It is lawfull enough to singe songes p Concil Toletan 4 Can. 10. of Halleluiah and of ioye in the Calendes of Ianuarie yet because the Heathens then solemnize the feastes of their chiefest mirthe therefore propter errorem Gentilitatis and to avoyde all shewe towardes them the Christians keepe no feaste of mirth throughout that season Doeth not the equitie heereof shine in the heartes of q Caesar Baron Annal 184. papistes them selues who condemne Christians for madnes and lightnes who personati agere consuescunt the like playes in the beginning of the Spring which the Heathen were wonte to performe about the same tyme to the Mother of their Gods When diverse abstayned from the trimming and garnishing of their houses and from the dressing of their victualles vppon the Lords day they were forbidden this shewe of Iudaisme in these wordes r Concil Aurelian 3. Can. 27. Quia ad Iudaicam magis quam ad Christianam observantiam hoc pertinere probatur The consideration hereof may make vs ashamed to count our selues zealous who forbeare not shewe of likenes with the papistes no not in the cheefest ceremonies Thirdly Zeale cannot endure any conformitie with aliens no not in civill guises as the primitiue church doeth shew of which one truly giueth this testimonie s Magdebur Centur. 3. cap. 6. column 141. hoc vnum egregie maxime inter caetera Christianos cavisse videas ne quid Ethnicorum moribus consuetudinibus commune haberent A Christian would not bee seene in a Theater wherefore because this place t Tertul. in lib. de spectacul ad idololatriam pertinere videbatur A Christian man and woman must not washe
Sola Cruce Christo duce Hostis fugat millia Ista suos fortiores Semper facit victores Morbos sanat languores Reprimit daemonia Dat captiuis libertatem Vitae confert nouitatem Ad antiquam dignitatem Crux reducit omnia O Crux signum trium phale Mundi vera salus vale Inter ligna nullum tale Fronde flore germine Medicina Christiana Salua sanos aegres sana Quod non valet vis humana Fit in tuo nomine Insistences crucis laudi Consecrater Crucis audi Atque seruos tuae Crucis Post hanc vitam verae lucis Transfer ad palatia Quos tormento vis seruire Fac tormenta non sentire Sed cùm dies erit â—re Nobis confer largire Sempiterna gaudia What is here lesse then Israells Idolatrie Qui dicit ligno pater mens es Et lapidi tu peperisti me Ier. 2.27 For that this is said to the crosse and not to Christ crucified onely yea to the aereall signe of the crosse and not alone to the materiall there are many manifest reasons Vpon these wordes of Prudentius his hymne tali dicata signo mens fluctuare nescit y Lib. expo hymnor secund vsum Sarum fol. 25. this is the commentarie mens confirmata signo sanctae Crucis nessit dubitare de fide errare à conscientia intentionis virtuosa vpon these wordes formerly mentioned Quae Christo suos reconsignas z Ibid in exposit sequentiar fol. 34. this is the exposition Crux reconsignat id est marketh again cui sci Cruci laus id est honor sit in auum id est eternaliter The Fathers and the papistes do they not apply the figure of the bloud sprinkled on the postes the wood that made the water sweet the two stickes of the widow of Sarepta even to the aerial signe of the crosse One of our a Lambert Danaeus cont Bellarmin controuer 7. l. 2. c. 29 writers speaking of the aereall crosse etiam isti Cruci saith he Innocentius Sextus anno Dom. 1460. festum solemne instituit And the homilies of these feastes intitle euen the crosse aereall to the honor of these soleÌ„nities as one b Frederic Nausea centur 2. homil 92. in feriis exalta 5. cru may shew in steed of al In whoÌ„ this very signe is praised as signuÌ„ vivificum cut in nostram salutem Christus mirabiles contulit virtutes vtilitates and of which his will is that it should be tanto honoratius gloriosius quanto crebrius efformaretur One of our c Sam. Hars in Declara of weston imposture Cap. 20. Opposites referreth also a peece of the last hymne morbos sanat languores deprimit damonia euen to the aerial Crosse Consider all these premisses and then thinke with thyselfe whether the stommakes of the people will euer be eased of these surfietes of the Crosses idolatrous Sabbothes vntill there be a vomit giuen them to cast the signe of the Crosse it selfe out of our Church #Sect 2. That the Crosse mocketh the Lor. Sabboths in darkning them guiding the popish processions and with whorish braverie in the worship of God SEcondly the Crosse mocketh the Lords Sabbothes in that it darkeneth the light of them with a latin tongue vnknowne sith this tongue holdeth his title by the title of the Crosse which set ouer the head of our Lord when he was crucified is said to a Rhem. in Iohan. 19. sect 1. Item in Annota in 1. cor 14. sect 14 hallow it to his seruice Thirdly the Crosse mocketh the Lord Sabbothes in that he is becomme the guide of the popishe processions as one of them b Polider virgil de inventor rer l. 6. c. 11 writeth Modus iste c. This manner of supplication is brought in that beeing marshalleth in the order of a certaine heauenly armie we should ioyfullie triumphe of the victorie purchased in the Crosse of Christ for which cause it is that the Crosse it selfe is borne before as a standart of Christ his warfare The same writer detecteth the Crosses Sabbothes breach herein when hee maketh little better of this procession then of an heathenish may-game and a pompous Athenian sacrifice not so acceptable as a simple and chast offering of Lacedemon As for our c Ioh. Reynold confe ca. 8. diuis 4. pa. 495. writers they drawe the first originall of it from the Graecians who bare their Idolls in procession in like manner and from the d Câ—lfh art 7. fol. 138. D. Fulk reioyn art 7. p 186. Montanistes and the Arrians who of Christians were the first that set it on foote And our Matyrs they chose rather to dye then to bare a crosse or a taper in it eueÌ„ as e Act. and monum 20 33. in his article obiect 7. Richard Gibson did to omit others Of the same kinde is their creeping to the crosse like to the Sicilians f Io. Reyno vb Supra creeping to Hercules which offereth indignitie more to man then anie other Idolatrie else because it maketh him subiect to a worse thing then a creature which is the poynt whereby the g Cypri coÌ„tra Deme. triaÌ„ Lacta lib. 2. institut cap. 2. Fathers vse to amplifie the Idolatrie of the Heathens and howe subiect euen by a beastlike fower-foot creaping then which there is nothing more vnworthy of him who is created to looke vp wheÌ„ he worshippeth as the auncient Christians did witnes Tertulli Occulis ad Coâ—lum sublatis adoramus Fourthly the crosse mocketh the Sabboth through out all the Churches of popery in that it together with Images and other ornaments bring in a certaine whorish brauery into the seruice of God the worship wherof they make to be l Andr. Willet contro 2. quest 4. p. 1. Doct. Fulk cont Rhem. in 1. Tim. 4. sect 1. Baeza in li. â—â—nfâ—ss de â—ccle art 1â— 19.20 Carnal m Concil Nieâ—â— 2. act 1. Templi nulla ratio quod non ornatur Imagine saith the Council of Nice The protestant Church is like a barne saith n Bellarmi de effect Sacramen cap. 3â— Bellarmine it hath only a pulpit ad Concionandum and a table to take the Sacrament therfore there must be Crosses in it to drawe men thither with delight for which end in o Durand rationall lib. 1. c. de pictor ornamen Eccles other will haue Ostrich egges with the like rare sightes to be hanged vp in the Church likewise well and truly p Hospin de re Temp. lib. a c. 1â— one of our owne vera causa c. the true cause of this is that the stupide people hauing their mindes occupied in these externall sightes should neglect Christ Iesus and his merit and his worde Indeed this was that which Satan aymed at from the first day that the Crosse drew breath thefore hath he from time to time sett him out to the vttmost like a Virgine of Moab q Evagri lib
6. ca. 21. Theodora confecrateth two Crosse of pure golde to Saint Sergius Church at Antiohe r Paul Diacon lib. 16 Belifarius giueth a golden Crosse of an hundred pounde to Sainte Peeters Church at Rome and the same adorned with most pretious gemmes in qua suas victorias inscripserat An other setteth vp a Crosse of solide gold in the Church of Mentz with this inscription s Beat. Rhenan lib. 2. rer germa Auri sexcentas habet haec crux aurea libras Honorius at Rome setteth vp a great Crosse adorned with pearle so that it is said the Councill of Aquisgrane did not well like it St Ludouicus redeeming the peece of the Crosse which Baldwin the Emperor had laide in morgage to the Venetians t Genebra Cronolog lib 4. in ann 1243. in Regio saecello Lutetiae condidit institutis ibi sacrorum ministris What should I speake of the famous Churches that haue bene built throughout whole Cristendome as to the name so to the honor of the Crosse For from the mother which is the Church de sancta Cruce at Hierusalem standing in Rome adorned which no lesse then u Baleus in Honor. 3. great stations euery yeere to the least of the daughters v Onâ—phri de station vrb Rom. they are all enriched with the spoiles of Christ Iesus It is obserued in the church of Simon Stellites w Euagri lib. 1. c. 14. Templi aedificium extructum est in mod im Crucis are not other Churches built in the same forme If they be there is an ambition in the Crosse to bee honored in euery Churh with what honour one of his proctors will plainly shewe vs In this position x Detzesinâ— de indulge Amand Polanus in orat de scient cruc Crux rubra c. A red Crosse set vp in the middest of the Church with the Popes armes according to the similitude of the Lords Crosse hath no lesse power to doe away sinnes quam Crux ipsa domini nostri Iesu Christi The Crosse so many wayes Idolized must when it standeth in an holy place come within that generall dooume wher is ought not more then the people of an Idoll Mar. 13.14 when they stand only without the walles of a cittie that hath bene holy For are the people of an Idoll abhominable and not the Idoll it selfe much more or may not they be better permitted to stand in an holy place then it be suffered in an holy worship #Sect 3. That the Crosse corrupteth the simplicitie of the Sabboth BVt if the popishe Sabboth breach bee not a sufficient guilt to condemne the Crosse wee haue further cuidence of home pollution for that euen amongst our selues he both corrupteth the simplicitie hindreth the sanctitie of this day Touching the former the Crosse being not founde in the Leiturgies of the primatiue Church it ought not to appeare in ours no more then the surplice ought of which thus one a Bucer in Censur ca. 2. pag 458. Consentaneum est c. It is meet that we should aspire as in all outwards things so in the attire of the Minister vnto the simplicitie of Christ our Sauiour of his Apostles when Iewell Bullinger Mornaeus and the rest of our writers cite the Leiturgies of the first Churches as Iustinus Irenaeus do describe them to exclude the ceremonies of the Masse dispute they not vpon this ground the simplicitie of the first Church is a patterne for vs to followe The purer Church of those whom we terme sub vna in Boheme beare the torche as it were before vs in this dutie b Dauid Chytreus in oration prelect Cronic anâ— 1569. Pontificios ritus c. They haue altogether hissed out all popish rites either as impious of themselues or otherwise vnprofitable to edification to the discipline of true pietie and haue recalled omnes Ceremonias euen all their ceremonies to the grauitie and to the simplicitie of the first Apostolicall Church Ascende we vpward and we finde the like doctrine c Gregor Nazians ad Gregor Nissen orat 3. Sanctorum patrâ—m constitutiones qui proximiores fuerunt Christo agnoscamus Come we downward and we meet againe with the like doctrine d Act. and monu pa. 1494. Those orders be most pure that come most nigh to the ensample of the primatiue Church saith Saunders holy Martyr when wee are come quite downe we finde the same doctrine Those times be purest saith one e Andre Willet controner 2. quest 4. of our writers that bee neerest to Christ and to the Apostles as the waters be cleerest that be neerest the fountaine yea when we are come home to the crosse it selfe we finde the like doctrine f Philip Motnae de Euchari lib. 1. cap. 6. pag. 50. Dispute wee not against the Papistes the Crosse was not vsed in the Lords Supper in the primatiue times of the Church as apppeareth by Dionisius Areopagita who amongst so many Ceremonies which he rehearseth maketh no mentioned of the signe of the Crosse It is here replyed that the Crosse was an Ecclesiasticall and a Sabboths rite before Tertullian for in his booke de praescriptionibus which is one of his first workes among other auncient rites of the Christians which Satan imitated he reckoneth the signe of the Crosse for one in these wordes g Tertul de prescript signat illic in fronte milites suos First we are made beleeue h Genebr lib. 3. in anno 220. by some that this booke was one of the last he wrote for a testimonie of his returne from Montanisme l Caesat Baron Annal in hiâ—tor eius Others tell vs it was one of the first hee wrote before Montanus had infected him Neither of which coniectures is probable because in this very place cited he approueth the Monogamie of Montamus which beareth witnes vnto vs who hold the Crosse came into the Sabboth by Montanus and grewe to credit with the rest of his inventions Let it be then the signe of the Crosse which Sathan doth imitate in the words of Tertullian so in these wordes of Tertullian he doth imitate the Monogamie which is no auncienter then Montanus Secondly why should it be the signe of the Crosse that here is imitated or not rather some Iewish ceremonie seeing the conclusion of the whole treatice is this that Satan doth imitate morositatem Iudeae he maketh mention of a summus pontifex which was it not the highe Priest of the Iewes the deuill in Mytraes bread doth imitate panis oblationum that is the bread of proposition For Mytraes bread is more auncient then the bread of the Supper Will our Opposites say that though the bread of Mytrae be more ancient then the bread of the Supper yet that Tertul doth say that Satan doeth imitate it then we say on the other side that this place proueth not any auncientnes in the Crosse because Tertullian may referre it to som
ceremonie of the pagans which was auncienter then it selfe What then we cannot reade of any Idolatrours signe in the forehead vnlesse it be the foreheads garlands which may be said to imitate the oyle in the Forehead or the priestes petalum as m Rhenan ibid. in aedit Basil 2528. Rhenaenus in his first notes seemeth to insinuate Thirdly Tertullian saith it is Sathan that imitateth Morositatem Iudeae in hir rites is Rome better then Ierusalem that we may imitate her morositie in her ceremonies and yet be ledd by a good spirit frons cum signo Dei pura saith Cyprian diabolt cotonam ferre not potuit no more will the water in Baptisme abide the Crosse which being an hereticall and Idolatrous rite of the forehead it is as badde as a pagane garlande about the forehead else is Tertullian much deceiued who in the very place affirmeth Non distat Haeresis ab Idololatria #Sect 4. That the signe of the Crosse defyleth the sanctitie of the Sabboth SEcondly Sect 4. Exod. 31.17 1. cor 10.17 the signe of the Crosse defileth the Sanctitie of the Sabboth both in the generall end thereof and also in the speciall worships which it performeth The generall durie of the Sabboth is to be a marke of outward difference betwene the Church and a Andr. Willer Controâ—e 9. quest 5. p. 1. p. 4â—â— other religions This doth appeare by the chaunge of the Sabbtoh day it selfe For did not the Apostles chaunge it from the last day of the weeke to the firste to make difference and distinction betweene the Christians and the Iewes even as b Bellarmi de effect Sacramen cap. 31. Iacob Ledesin de di vin c. ca. 24. Thomas Morton Apolog. p. 2. li. 1. c. 43 Ignarius in epist ad Philadelpâ—â— Decret p. 1 disti 30. c. 7 Decret p. 1. distinct 30 cap. 17. Augustin epist 86. Decret pa. 2. caus 26. q. 7. ca. 6. Epiphan heres 42. Caesar Baron Annal in an 146. Idem in ann 102. Concil Eliber ca. 26. Ignar Epist 1. Concil Nicen 1. in Concilior tom 1. pa. 352. Can. Apostol 8. Concil Carthag 4 can 89. Carol. Bouius in Clâ—ment li. 5. cap. 8. Epiphan haeres August haeres Nicephor li. 8. ca. 1â— Concil Laodicens Can. 29. Clement constitue lib. 7. ca. 24 34. August n 1 Epist 86. Carol. Bouius in Clement ibid. Tripartit histor lib. 6. ca. 4â— Bellarmine him selfe doeth tell vs the Iewes did faste on that day in contempt of it And when the Manichees fasted vpon this day saieth a Iesuite howbeit falselie for the Manichees sprange vpp longe after but when the Iewes in deed fasted vpon this day the Christians to bee vnlike vnto them appointed the contrarie Nefas est Sabbato ieiunare as speaketh Tertullian And that it were the Iewes which the Church heerein avoyded it is playne first by Ignatius wordes which allude to them Ieiunare in Sabbato est Christum occidere and then by the reason of after tymes which bendeth them selues in this custome against all Iewish contempt of this day Afterwarde the Manichees fasted vpon it and now to avoyde all likenes with them Qui ieiunaverit die Dominica sicut Manichaei anathema sit So Augustine affirmeth that since the tyme that the Manichees appointed that day for fastinge it is a fearfull and an horrible thing for the Christians to faste like them vpon it This conformitie was the more horrible the more earnest a man was in it as men nowe are eger in Crosse and Surplice in like manner to conforme with papistes Qui Dominico die studiose ieiunat non creditur esse Catholicus The like care had the primitiue Church to avoyde the Saterdayes faste because it did conforme with Marcion Qui Sabbato ieiunavit in odium Dei Creatoris omnium Before this faste of Marcions the Christians of the West did vse to faste vpon the Saterday after he once arose this faste was forbidden to a lay man vpon payne of excommunication to a Cleric vpon payne of deposition by the sixtiefifth Canon of the Apostles which was not devised till nowe euen in the iudgement of Baronius If they left an auncient faste when once heretiques did abuse it should not wee leaue an auncient Crosse nowe the papistes doe abuse it The like care we see taken to avoyde likenes with the Iewes in the celebration of their Passcouer or any other of their festiuities This being founde in one of the Epistles of Ignatius Si quis cum Iudaeis celebrat Pascha aut Symbola festiuitatis eorum recipit particeps est eorum qui Dominum occiderunt Apostolos eius The Councill of Nice did after appoint a diverse day vppon this reason There ought nothing to bee common betweene the Iewes and the Christians The Canons of the Apostles of Christ excommunicated him that folemnized his Easter vppon the fourteenth day of the moneth like to the Iewes and so doe the Councilles A contrarie day to make vnlike vnto the Iewes was thought to be fitt and convenient by all In so much that the Audaeani and Quartadecimani were censured for heretiques that did concurre in the same day with them When certaine Countries in the East did the like how did Constantine take on against them Further yet Doe the Iewes rest on a Saterday The Christian that doeth the like is excommunicate he may on the Saterday meditate there may bee an Assemblie vpon that day but hee that resteth vppon that day Iudaizeth and is not to be suffered We reade amongest Iulians policies for the subversion of Christianitie this to be one that he sett on the Iewes to sett vppe their Temple and the Sabboth service thereof partly to disgrace the Christian seruice which vsed not that outwarde splendencie in their ceremonies to please the eye and partly to grace the Ethnicke worship which concorded with the Iewish in sacrifizing and in diuerse other rites I adde this to the former that by the comparison of contrarietie it may the better appeare vnto vs howe necessarie a duetie it is to make our Sabboth a distinction betweene our selues and the panistes lett our Sabbothes our feastes and the rites and ceremonies of them be different and we trace the steppes of the primitiue Church and keepe our faith in puritie lett them bee like and then wee disgrace our Sister Churches that are reformed but grace the Antichristian Synagogue with whom we choose to concurre then to concorde with them As if a Crosse or a Surplice saye our Opposites were such matters of importance to breede concordance or concurrence Who must consider that wee doe concurre with papistes in holy-day “ Tertul. in Apolog. cap. 21. and in feastes themselues in singing chaunting and in church Musicke in Coapes in Cappes in fastes and I knowe not howe many things besides But speake wee of the Crosse alone and of the Surplice a Concil Laodicon Can 37. Concil Meldens cap. 73. Neque de victus exceptionibus neque
our countrey as that it will neuer out of the flesh as long as so strong occasions of of it doe remaine To speake but of the crosse it self is he not among those gestures of the papistes which c Andre Willet controvers 13. quest 7. one calleth frivoulous and hipocriticall stealing away true devotion from the hart and making men rest in the outward gestures of the body Who prepareth him selfe to the worship of the Sabboth any other way I speak of the Crosse-mongers amongst the vulgar and simple people then by the crossing of his foread when he entreth into the church and when he kneeleth down in his seate And as for the affectiō of the hart in the time of the Sabboth-worship there is nothing that either sooner reviveth the fault that aunciently taxed d Arnob. cont gent◠lib. 2. dissoluti est pectoris in rebus serijs quaerere voluptatem or renueth the complainte auncientlie made e Lactant. adeone Deorum religio nihil aliud est quam quod humanos sensus delectat then the sight of the Cope Crosse and Surplice and the hearinge of the descant and the Organes in Gods service Euen in the singing of a Psalme f Bernar. meditat ca. 1◠libido audiendi sonum magis quam sensum g Hieron in Ephes 5. modulationes magis quam verba h August lib. confes cap. concentum magis quam sensum thorough which the vox doeth l Glos decret distin 92. praedominari non votum cordula non cor is verie sinfull But for this carnall delight in singing must singing it selfe bee quite remooued as Hilarius thought m August retractat li. 2. cap. 1◠once and was censured as hereticall I aunswere The singing of Psalmes and the Water of Baptisme doe symbolize The Descant and Organes and a carnall delightfull serving of God are of the verie same stampe therfore the singinge of Psalmes must not bee abolished though some abuse it because it is a thing l Ephes 5.19 Coloss 3.16 commaunded when the n Hieron in Ephes 5. Theatralis musica must and the o Hieron Zanch. in Ephes 5. Pet. Martyr loc-commun de music Reforma ecclesiastic Edward 6. pag 43. Iewel ar 3 divis 2. tō c. musica fracta of Cathedrall churches and light p Concil Coloniens pag 2. c. 12 Erasm in 1. Cor 14. Harmon Confess in obserua sect 15. obseruat 2. Hospin de re templa cap. de organ playing on Organs and the q Organs them selues Quibus fit vt ad Templum concurratur tanquam ad Theatrum Lastly there is wherein the ceremonies cōtroversed defile and hinder the after dutie of the sabboth that rumination of the word especially wherof the Bereans doe giue vs ensample For the appearance hereof set we downe the Crosses pagents which I take to be so many instrumentes of exsection that haue cutt out the cudd from the people that might chewe the holesome word which on the Sabboth they receyue The Deacon forsooth must be blest with a crosse before the reading of the Gospell because r Duran de rit lib 2. ca. 23. sec 3 Quomodo predicabunt nisi mitt antur Two s Sect. 8. tapers are carried before him when he goeth to the deske to signifie the illumination of mankinde by the preaching of the Gospell and with them a Censor of incense to signifie the t Sect. 9.10 sweet sauour of it wheresoeuer it is preached This done he ascendeth the u Sect 11. pulpit vt ab omnibus audiatur iuxta illud Esaiae Super montem ascende tu qui Evangelizas Syon being there he setteth his face towardes the North w Sect. 14. vt ostend at verbum Dei annuntiationem spiritus sancti contra eum dirigi qui semper spiritui sancto contrarius existit Having thus placed him self on the stage he saluteth the people Dominus vobiscum illud obseruans quod Dominus iusserat in quamcunque domum intraveritis salutate The people make aunswere as men that haue receiued their cue cum spiritu tuo then the Deacon x Sect. 15. he falleth to crossing himselfe in the forehead vt cum Aposto lo non erubescat de Evangelio Christi in the breast ne aliqua suggestio Diaboli eum impediat quin puro corde Evangelium Dei annuntiare valeat and in the mouth quia praedicamus inquit Apostolus Iesum Christum hunc crucifixum and then beginneth sequentia sancti Evangelij c. The people hearing the Gospell named cry out Gloria tibi Domine glorificantes Dominum quod ijs miserit verbum salutis and so fall a y Sect 16. crossing mouth breast and forehead vt contra Diabulum se z Amalar. lib. 3. c. 18. muniant à a Alemin de offic ca. de celebrat Miss malis cogitationibus corda sua emundent vt ad intelligenda verba salutis pura permaneant and as one singeth in verse thus Neue b Hildebert Cenoman de myster Miss superveniens zizania seminet hostis Frontibus imprimitur mystica forma crucis Adde to this that the very making of the Crosse in Baptisme hath bene commonlie helde to be c Duran de nt lib. 1. c. 19. sec 12 praedicatio crucis and what of this This sheweth the Origen of the common tenent of our Opposites that reading is preaching of the Gospell of the common error of the people that a bodily presence at a lesson or a Gospell sanctified with the signe of the crosse is hearing sufficient and learning enough which though it be an notorious Sabboth-breach yet are they hardened to this howre in it by the same pulpit where the Gospell is read by the same attire wherein by the same gesture of standing vp by the same answeres which they vsed of olde yea by their crossings in the forehead too which none will reprooue or leaue all while they see the crosse countenaunced by our vse thereof in Baptisme And whereas the papistes sett vp the Masse for a proper worke of the d Catechis Trident ad Parocho pag 649. Eccles. 4.17 Sabboth whence the error is growne that it is sufficient to affoord a bodily presence in a fooles sacrifice I meane an ignorant seeing and praying the ceremonies in present controversie can not be cleered from occasiō of like Sabboth breaking now as the even it self doth witnes sith in the churches in which are preachers that doe disvse them the Sabboth is spiritually kept with great holynes but in most churches where Curates vse them both e Bucer in Censur ca. 7. pag. 466 1 Cor. 11.17 sacra ipsa perturbatè leuiter praecipitanter recitantur and the people vnprepared by their Levites to Sabboth-worship non plus ea quae legūtur intelligunt quam si lingua recitarentur Turcita aut Indica Now because in this maner mē come to Church to their owne hurt so that qui ingreditur ad
thinke it sufficient if they preach by others which iumpeth againe with that position of the Papistes w Bellarmi de pontif lib. 3. c 24. Satis est si ista curent ab alijs praestari And againe x Idem ibid lib 1. ca. 14 Ez 44.8 Episcopi quod per se concionando non saciunt hoc faciunt per alios Nowe God contesteth against this setting foorth of the charge of the Sanctuarie vnto others Our y Thom. Morton Apolog. p. 1 li. 1. c 10 Writers affirme That he that preached by others shall goe to heauen by others but to hell in his owne person There be z Maldon vb supra Iesuites who teach a Minister can no more feede by another then a Physition can cure by another And that if a Minister would labour by another then hee must eate by another also but himselfe eate nothing Last of all this heresie seareth the conscience of hundreds so that they passe over many Sabothes without preaching and some of them preach not at all neither by them selues nor others But a Gregor in pastor p. 2 cap. 4. Gregoric the b Decret p. 1. distinc 43. cap. 1. Canon Lawe yea our c D Babing on the Lords pra pag. 194. Opposites them selues haue taught that a Minister can no more enter into the Church vpon a Saboth without preaching and not be culpable of a damnable sinne then Aaron could enter at any time into the Congregation without death in case hee soundeth not his bells at what time he entred Some d Idem in 4 commaun p. 165. of our Fathers haue also taught that he sinneth the sinne of a dumbe dogge that passeth ouer a Saboth-day without preaching and that he suffereth the people to pollute the Saboth for want of teaching in so sinning To this e Thom. Morton quo sup doth Origene out of him Espencaeus draw and apply that Lawe of Moses which coÌ„maundeth the Priest not to depart from the Tabernacle of the Lord. But as for them whom this heresie hath so paded benummed that they thinke they are well enough discharged if the Leiturgie bee read though preaching bee wanting eueÌ„ for whole monethes together I leaue them to a papist doome which is thus passed ouer them f Ioh Ferus in coÌ„ment in math 16 Olim portenti inslar habitum fuit si pro Episcopo haberetur qui non etiam re ipsa verum Episcopi munus exhibuisset quod hodie plusquam monstri loco habetur si quis exhibeat quos cum temporum natura scriptura Ecclesia Consilia Pontifices Patres Superi Inferi accusent damnentque quis est qui absoluat Further this heresie layeth wast the Saboth sith it dismembreth it of preaching the chiefest worshipp of all the rest It is more principall then the administring of the Sacramentes as Paule was sent to preach the Gopsell rather then to Baptize that which our Opposites g D Bilson agai Apol. p. 2. p 360 them selues confesse who also adde that it is better then gouerning is the administring of the discipline when they say God h Ibid pa. 3 pag. 300. gathereth his Church by the mouthes of preachers not by the summons of consistories It is aboue reading where the Apothecarie breaketh not the perfume to cause it to smel the householder cutteth not the whole loafe that euerie one may haue a full morsell nor the bellowes stirre vp the fire to cause it to flash into the harts of the hearers as preaching doth euen as our l D. Babing on the lords pray p 185 1. Cro. 14.1 Eccles 4.17 Eccles 4.17 Opposites themselues haue taught It is more excellent then prayer also because Paule himselfe preferreth prophecying euen wher he speaketh of prayer and prayer must be sanctified by the the word be directed by preaching of it and prayer is a speaking of ours to God whereas preaching is Gods voyce it selfe to vs. To come to Church then and there to pray but not to heare were the vnmanerlines of a clowne that being in his Princes presence will haue all the talke him selfe and not suffer his Prince to speake it were also that m Thom. Morton Apolog p 2 li. 1 c. 24. Popish barbarousnes which holdeth that the dueties of the Saboth serue not to edifie the Church but to serue the Lord forsooth with the sacrifice of a foole with a sacrifice that is blinde because without knowledge which his soule abhorreth In respect hereof a whole volume suffiseth not to shewe the indignitie of this heresie Why then conclude we not with our n D Babing on the lords pray pag. 189. Opposites who coÌ„fesse some of them that the Lord hath ordayned preaching as the most notablest of all other meanes and as o Pag. 194. the chiefest for the erecting of his kingdome in the word which if it bee true 1 Exod 10.19 Deut. 18.17 must not prayer giue place to sitt below it althought an holy worshippe But whether it be the most principall of the Saboth worshippes or no a worshipp it is that is necessarie so that a Saboth can not be sanctified well without it This all reason yeeldeth forasmuch as it is an ordinance of the Lorde a 2 Math 231 RoÌ„ 1.7 commaundement of Christes a 3 Act 18.4 17.1 2 3 practise of the Apostles yea euer thorough all ages till here of late in the 4 Nehe. â— 8 act â—â— 14. old Church and in the new 5 Act 2 42 â—5 21 there was preaching euery Saboth 6 Am. 8.10.11 1 Sam. 3.1 2. Câ—o. 15.3 so that the meeting was thought to suffer a notable deformitie whensoeuer it was wanting In p Iustin Martir Apolog 2. Iustinus dayes reading and opening of the word lasted for an houre longe ordinarilie on euerie Saboth In Tertullians q Terâ—ullia Apolo c. 3 there was not a meeting of the Christians but their soules were fedd sacris sermonibus before they brake vp the assemblie Now it is precisenes to say a sermon is needfull in euerie Saboth not so of olde Fuerunt ante haec tempora sanctissimi Patres saith r Roffeus art 33. a papist himselfe qui singulis Dominicis homilias ad po pulum declamitarant Which our s Tho Morton Apolo pag 1. lib. 1 cap 80. Writers require as needfull to be performed practised now This Homelie declaymed was a Sermon preached read and homilie the Minister could not and so bee discharged in auncient times the rising t Valens concil 2. cap. 2. of Homilies was this when the Minister of a Countrey-parish was sicke and could not preach then the Deacon was set to reade an Homilie I say the Deacon at the first and not the Pastour who neuer fayled to preache the worde if hee were able to come to the Church Hence is it that another u Mogunti concil Iub Carol. Magn c. 25 Councill tooke order in
Cities and Townes that though the Bishoppe were sicke yet the place should be supplied vt nunquam defit Dominicis diebus aut festiuitatibus qui verbum Dei praedicit iuxtà quod intelligere vulgus possit To the same purpose tende the Decrees of other Councills to wit vt w Synod Trullan can 10. ouibus diebus praecipue Dominicis populum doceat pietatis eloquia which that it passed through all ages we haue this witnes x Concil Coloni pag. 9 ca. 9. Dies Dominicus à temporibus Apostolorum celebris vt in vnum oues coÌ„uenirent ad audiendum verbum Domint The Leiturgie of publique prayer yeelding therto as these wordes shewe y Synod August cap 18. Euangelia et Epistolae diebus Dominicis lingua Germanica exponantur eoque tempore nulla Missa ne populum ab auscultatione distrahi contingat celebretur Indeed the reading it selfe of the Lawe the Psalmes the Epistles and Gospells reverently vsed did not preiudice preaching as now it doth but furthered it rather forasmuch as the cutting of the Lessons a Ioh. Belet diume offi cap. 56. by Hierome before b Philip. Motâ—ae de Eucharist lib. 1. cap. 4 whom whole bookes were read in order as they be now in the Churches reformed was to shorten the Leiturgie that so there might be time for preaching and the Lessons did ordinarilie yeeld c lord p. 31. textes for the Preachers or the Psalmes vnles it were on the feastes of the Natiuitie Easter and Pentecoste when speciall textes were wont to bee chosen fit for the solemnitie of those times Hence it is that the d Durant de rit lib. 2 cap. 23. Act. 13.15 15.21 Papistes themselues can alleadge for the antiquitie of their readinges such places only as proue they were afterward preached vpon after the example of the Church of the Iewes as these doe shewe e Ambros lib. de offic 1. cap. 8. Pulchrè dum legimus hodie Euangelium spiritus sanctus obtulit nobis l ctionem c. Audiuistis lectionem Euangelij c. with the f Ambrof epistol 75. 33. in lib de Ele. Ieiu ca. 20. August in epistol 1 Ioan. c. like which were their entrances into their sermons The moderne Churches continew preaching as a necessarie duetie of the Saboth both in their iudgement and in their practise As for their iudgement they teach g Pet. Ram. commenta de Relig lib. 2. ca. 6. Schola Domini praecipuè commendatur in the precept of the Saboth and they sett downe h Philip. Melancth pie fungi ministerio verbi for a principal duetie of it As for their practise whereas we thinke it a poynte of precisenes to haue a sermon euery Saboth the lawes of Geneua coÌ„maund l in praecep 4 Ioh. Reyn. de Idolola lib. 1. cap. 8. sect 3. two in euery church within their territorie and of other places we haue this testimonie which sheweth our coldnes m Bucer in Math 12.11 Diebus Dominicis apud nos in singulis parochijs ad minimum duae si non tres habentur conciones Fiftlie this Abaddon slayeth all pietie and religion in the people and quencheth all zeale through contempt of prophecying This of n Constitu Aposto cap. 61. Act. 1.12.1 1â— eg 4.23 Cantic 1.7 Dan 12.4 Deut. 33.19 Psal 84 7. Is 23. olde they helde it a matter without excuse to bee absent on a Saboth from the hearing of the worde whereas now to seeme to excuse such a manner is become a shew of precisenes and that out of this heresie This of olde appointed a Saboth-dayes iourney to travayle abroad to heare the word wheÌ„ no sermon was at home and that in our o D. Rabing 4 commau pag. 157. Opposites owne confession whereas now so to doe is sermon-gadding and sermon-ringe and that out of this heresie This of olde ruminated the worde at home which had bene preached and meditated on it euen the Saboth throughout yea in priuate p Conrad Heresbach Christian IurisprudeÌ„ edict 4 pag. 105. conferred about it as our q Opposites them selues haue taught which now is become factious gathering of conventicles and that by reason of this heresie This last of all will abhorre all hinderance of r Aureliane concil 3. Can. 27. travayling s CabiloneÌ„ conercaÌ„ 18 husbandrie t Matiscone 2. can 1. sitting vpon ciuill causes u Colenien pag. 9. c. 10 keeping of fayres w Mogunt cap. 61. stage-playes dauncinges with the like that vse to hinder this one duetie of hearing the word 3 Luc. 10 42 which onely is necessarie all of which nowe are lawfull enough vpon any pretended excuse and that out of this heresie Sixtly this Abaddon bringeth the curse of God on men and eternall damnation of soule and body For the preaching of the worde being the ordinarie meanes of 4 1. cor 4.15 Gal 4.19 1. Pet. 1.23 Iac. 1.18 regeneration and the speciall applying of the worde by the same the ordinarie meane of our speciall 5 Rom. 1.16 10.14 1 Cor. 1.21 fayth without which there is no grace or fauour with God or saluation to bee looked for this heresie that scanteth preaching and maketh men to be careles of it is it not a murtherer 6 RoÌ„ 10.14 How shall they beleeue without a Preacher 7 Marc. 9.50 How shall they bee seasoned without the salt of the worde 8 Cantâ—â— 8. What shal be done for the sister that hath no brestes to feede her yonge These speaches doe they not euen as it were dispayre of them that want the practise of the worde So x Decret pa. 2. caus 8. q 1. cap. 18. Hierome saith The Minister that preacheth not is sent for a plague sub quo famem sitim populus patiaetur non famem panis neque sitim aquae sed famen audiendi verbum Domini Espencaeus a papist him selfe accordeth vnder a Minister that is not diligent to preach paeruuli petunt panem saith he non est qui frangat ijs Which our y Thom. Morton Apolog. p. 1. cap. 20. Exod. 16.25 Writers doe approoue If this matter should be handled to the full there would bee none ende To conclude therfore whereas all meanes of Saboth pollution must be abolished as God him selfe doeth giue example in taking the Manna out of the way when once it grew to be an occasion of Saboth-breach and the ceremonies of present controversie are many wayes guiltier of his impietie praye we against them as Mr Foxe prayed hartily once against the Surplice z Act and Monumen pag. 1873. It is pitie such baytes of poperie are left saith he to take christians in God take them away froÌ„ vs or els vs froÌ„ them for God knoweth they be the cause of much blindnes and strife amongst men AMEN A Table of the contents of the severall Chapters and Sections of this booke The Idolatrie of
which is onely proper to an essentiall part of the sacrament sect 23. The opposites obiection saying the crosse in Baptisme is inferior to the water because it comes after confuted sect 24. A third fault wherein the opposites vsurpeth vpon sacramentall offices sect 25. Though the devising of new signes corrupt the simplicitie of Sacramentes ordayned by Christ yet it hindereth not but something is left to the Church concerning circumstances as time place order c. sect 26. Though it were lawfull for the Church to devise newe signes yet not for religious vse especiallie where God hath ordayned signes for the same purpose alreadie sest 27. And although it were lawfull there to ordaine new signes where God hath alreadie ordayned yet is it not lawfull to annex them to the holy signes of God as with vs the Crosse Sect. 28. No outwarde signe ought to bee added by the churh to Christes institution sect 29. Though it were lawfull to devise newe symbolicall signes in the Sacrament where God hath ordayned alreadie yet not to take a Crosse from the brothelhouse of superstition Sect. 30. Obiections of the Opposites the crosse is sooner to be vsed in that it teacheth good things and hath a profitable signification therefore everie ceremonie is significant or els vains that the Lorde delighted much in signes which the woman shewed and blamed Simon for not shewing the like c. sect 31. The seconde obiection of the opposites there bee manie similitudes in scripture drawne from Gods creatures which imploy so many signes c. sect 32. The thirde obiection of the Opposites there bee divers signes added in the scripture by man lawfully as the knife of stone and such like sect 33. The fourth signe alleadged for the defence of the Crosse is the imposition of handes and why should not the signe of the crosse bee as lawfull as it sect 34. Foure offices which the crosse performeth in baptisme sect 35. The fourth sinne that maketh this crosse Sacramentale in these words We receiue this childe into the congregation of Christes flocke sect 36. It followeth not because wee vse the Lords prayer and Creede in Baptisme that therefore wee may vse the crosse For the worde crosse implyeth three senses contrarie to the word sect 37. The opposites saying that the crosse is the signe of Christ crucified confuted sect 38. Though Tau were in the text yet can not acrosse be collected from it vnles we ground doctrine vpon the mysteries of letters which the Gnostickes Valentinians and the Cabalistes vse sect 39. That the signe of the crosse is not the signe of the Sonne of man sect 40. An answere to the argument of the Opposites which is taken from Visions and Apparitions sect 41. Answeres to the arguments which the opposites take from miracles sect 42. the refuge which the opposites seeke to haue by the Fathers remooved both because they passed measure herein as also that the case and time is now farre chaunged sect 43. The Hypocrisie of the Crosse Sect. 1. CHAP. III. That the vsing of the Crosse is but an idle apish toye and lighter then the Surplice which is also too light Sect. 2. That the crosse is vnprofitable fleshlie smelling of Idolatrie and of too light a colour Sect. 3. The profits alledged to accompanie the crosse for commendation thereof as to keepe from sinne confusion cause zeale and to helpe in the instant of temptation are refuted sect 4. That the crosse is nowe not onely vnprofitable but also verie hurtfull sect 5. The seconde excuse that the crosse is imposed by Christian Magistrates is taken away in divers respectes especiallie because it is taken as a consenting in a part to the ceremonies of the church of Rome sect 6. That the crosse fostereth hypocrisie in the middes of our church and hindereth spirituall worshipp sect 7. The hipocrisie of the crosse in preposterating evacuating and polluting the vnderstanding which is the first part of the soule reasonable is proved sect 8. That the crosse is not a monitorium to the memorie but defileth it with the hipocrisie of preposteration with vacuitie of the remembrance pretended and with forgetfulnes of God and his word sect 9. That the crosse occasioneth and breedeth canker in the conscience and that which the Opposites alleadge that conscience is but a pretence is anticipat Sect. 10. The hipocrisie and preposteration of the crosse in the Will in respect of the meanes for attayning to the right end is proved Sect. 11. How the crosse is vrged by our Opposites for sininister end and not in synceritie Sect. 12. That the crosse preposterateth evacuateth and polluteth the affection of feare sect 13. How the signe of the crosse is an enimie to our affiance in the merites of Christ sect 14. That the crosse evacuateth and polluteth faith sect 15. That the Crosse evacuateth and polluteth loue zeale both for matter and measure sect 16. The hipocrisie of the crosse in prayer is prooved in respect it is thought to be operatiue sanctificatiue and helpefull thereto sect 17. The speciall hipocrisie of the crosse is evidentlie declared in the life and conversation of those that did beare it sect 18. The Impietie of the Crosse Sect. 1. CHAP. IIII. THAT the Crosse mocketh the Lords Sabboths in darkening them guiding the popish Processions and with whorishe braverie in the worship of God Sect. 2. That the crosse corrupteth the simplicitie of the Sabboth sect 3. That the signe of the crosse defileth the sanctitie of the Sabboth sect 4. That the ceremonies and the crosse in speciall steale away true devotion from the heart and are occasions of irreverence sect 5. That the ceremonies controversed not onely defile but hinder the worshipp of the Sabboth sect 6. The Ceremonies hinder the Preaching of the Sabboth both in parte and in the whole sect 7. That the Ceremonies controversed hinder the word in whole sect 8. That the Ceremonies with their subscription shutt out good shepheardes suffers and fosters hyrelinges ignorance pluralitie and non residencie sect 9. That the Ceremonies controversed hinder preaching shutting out the Preachers and putting the light vnder a bushell sect 10. An aunswere to the reproche of the Opposites which is that these who stande for Discipline are vnlearned sect 11. That the fault why faithfull Ministers are cast out of their Ministerie lyeth not vppon them selves sect 12. The calumnie of peevishnes and foolishnes imputed to the Ministers for not receyving Cappe and Surplice is aunswered sect 13. The calumnie of leaving the Ministerie is answered and the ignorantes and others who subscribe to abide in the Ministerie are by the way chalenged and convicted sect 14. That the losse of the Ministerie vnto the faithfull Ministers rather then to approove the Ceremonies shall be the Lords gaine also as the iudgement of our best Divines is so to doe Sect. 15. That the small estimation of Preaching vnder pretence to care for praying as the opposites alleadge is the abaddone or murthering sinne
It is a beggerlie ceremonie wanting power to inrich with grace spiritual pa. 138. It is matched with the word in some sort preferred before it p. 136 It is held to be better theÌ„ a sermon and worthy of worshippe and adotation pa. 140. It is a mute character dumbe signe a blind guide and a dumbe vicar of the Devill ibid. It hath no instructions in it but onely the lessons of grosse Idolatrie penned by the Devill ibid. It defileth like an Harpie whatsoever it toucheth with all his hypocrisies pa. 141. By retayning it we open a gappe to Lutheranisme Adiaphorisme and all Idolatrie pag. 141. It is a thorne in the â—ande of a violent man to hurt others and to vndoe them pag. 142. It is but a Tradition of mans and yet it is preferred before the lawes of God pa. 147. There is more stirre to vpholde it then the preaching of the word pa. 148. It is a deceiptfull toy pag. 154. It was at the firste a faithles invention taken vp without all warrant occasion or neede pag. 155. It is made a Magicall inchauntment Ibid The pruning knife of doctrine was never able to this houre to loppe of the abuses of it ibidem It bewitcheth the soule it blasteth the body and wasteth the goods without all pitty pag. 156. It is a mutuall prayer pag. 160. The maintayners of it haue nothing to cover it withall but figge-leeves pa. 165. It is dounge that polluteth the Sabbath pa. 166. It mocketh the Sabbath by the mocke-sabbaths which it hath sett vpp to it selfe ibid. It is not founde in the Leiturgies of the primitiue Church pag. 169. It came into the Sabbath by Montanus and grewe into credite with the rest of his inventions pa. 170. It is an hereticall and idolatrous rite of the forehead as badde as a pagan garland ibi It is a badge of the Devill fodered into the verie forehead of the Sacrament it selfe pa. 172. Blessing with it is no better then blessing with an old shooe-sole pa. 161. D. The Deacon was wont to teade an Homilie when the Minister of a Countrey-parish was sicke and could not preach pa. 195. The Devill doeth bend him selfe against the Pastors that he may make the more havock of the flocke pa. 181. To devise new signes is to set the church to schoole againe after the Iewish maner pa. 98. and to vilifie the signes which God hath appointed pa. 100. Everie new devised signe is a newe devised sacrament pag 90. Great diversitie and doubtfulnes touching the fashion of the crosse pa. 60. A Done let downe of old vpon the baptised for a signe of regeneration by the spirit an vnlawfull signe pa. 101. The duties of the Sabbath serve to edifie the Church as well as for the service of God pag. 195. E. The Ephod set vp by Gedeon in short time made Ophra more famous then the Tubernacle pa. 100. F. The Fathers holde the water in Baptisme to be nothing worth without the crosse pa. 77. 90 92. 113. They can be no vizard for a ceremonie which hath beene abused since pag. 75. They called the signe of the crosse a sacrament pa. 89. They are verie vnsavourie in the matter of the crosse pa. 90. The Feast came after the worshipping of the calfe and after the substance of Idolatrie and yet the Apostle counteth it a principall part of the Idoles service pag. 95. Formalistes for livings sake lye downe vnder the burden of Subscription and conformitie which wring the shoulders of their coÌ„sciences pag. 188. Many of them cut our their toÌ„gues either not vsing their giftes at all or having no giftes to vse or abusing their giftes or vsing them to no purpose pag. 189. Some of them are non-residentes loco others officio by their conformitie gracing popery and for the vpholding of their conformitie broaching many popish pointes in their preaching Ibid. Maister Foxe prayeth hartily against the Surplice pa. 196. G. GOD bestoweth no grace vpon any but by his owne meanes which the crosse is not pa. 4. He alloweth no Teacher but him selfe nor meanes of Teaching but his holy Worde and Sacraments pa. 62. There were no Godfathers in the primitive church pa. 71. H. Heathenish Jdolatrie sprang from a desire to adde visible signes to the booke of the creaturs pag. 139. Hezekiah was bound to demolish the brazeÌ„ serpent pa. 36. 37. 41. The holy kisse is cast out of the church though it went before the solemnitie of the Supper was a meere naturall signe of peace and had no state in the Sacrament it selfe pag. 111. Holy water a meere prophanation and repetition of Baptisme pag. 101. Homilies dubd with the name of preaching and held to bee a preaching sufficient for the sanctifying and saving of the church pa. 175. A Homilie is too leane a sacrifice for a Sabbath Ibid. It is but a dead letter pa. 176. There wanteth in it the gift of the spirit the arte of the husbandman the heate of the nurse the opening of the Booke the dressing of the meate the interpreter which is one amongest a thousande and that ordinance of God which onely bringeth the blessing with it Ibid. It is but a woodden shadow of preaching and nothing worth Ibid. How Homelies beganne pa. 195. Hony added to the wine of the Supper and to the water of Baptisme is as auncient as the crosse and hath bene lesse abused and yet is vnlawfull pag. 103. I. An Jdole is to the Lord as doungue pa. 3. Jdolaters defile whatsoever belongeth vnto them if their vse which is religious hath but touched it pa. 9. Yea so as it cannot be made cleane to vs pa. 18. 24. Things that haue once served Idolatrie are Idolatrous pa. 40. 56. An Jdoles name must not bee mentioned in common talke pag. 53. The Idole and ignorant ministerie is the bane of our church pag. 150. It is the very sinnewes of Antichrist pa. 179. An Jdolothite defined pag. 9. A thing being knowne to bee Idolothious a protestation that we honor not the Idole serveth not the turne pag. 23. All Jmages in churches daungerous and vnlawfull though not worshipped pa. 64. 65. Jmages of God in poperie are as vile Idoles as the Images of the Pagans were pa. 38. Imposition of handes is vsed with vs effectiuely pa. 34. All Inventions of man in the worshippe of God are forbidden in the second commaundement pag. 61. K. Sundrie sortes of Knightes which beare the crosse for their badge and why pa. 163. L. In what case the leaving of the Ministerie is sinfull pa. 188. A long Leiturgie wearieth the people before the Sermon beginneth cloyeth the Minister and filleth vp the roome of preaching pa. 177. Libertie turned into necessitie is libertie no longer pa. 87. Libertie to devise newe signes is but a young wanton novice which the licentious Adiaphorisme hath begotten pag. 100. All likenes of Cerem with Idolaters forbidden pa. 78. 133. R. 3. pa. 1. 134. R. 3. p. 2. 171. No worse livers in
perfecit Constantinus quod Philippus iam coeperat Concerning Theodosius thus goeth the storie g Theodor. histor Ecclesiast li. â— cap. 20 Magnus dignissimus omni laude qui primus exornavit Imperium pietate cùm adhuc insanire cerneret orbem terrarum interdicto suo sacra Daemonum prorsus sustulit fand tamen non subvertit sed Theodosius funditus subversa oblivioni dedit Whence it came to passe vt h Ruffin histor Ecclesiast lib 2. cap. 19. Idolorum cultus qui Constantini Magni instituttone negligi destrui coeptus fuerat eo imperante collapsus sit poenitus It King Edward or Queene Elizabeth did not poenitus overthrowe poperie wee must marke and consider they had all the worlde as it were in furie against them as Constantine had Now the Gospell shineth amongst vs as at l Math â—urcleef survey oâ— discipl cap. 28. high noone and is it not a shame then for vs if any of their morning cloudes which eclipsed their reformation remayne to be seene in our Horison And the day starre was not risen so high in their dayes when yet Elizabeth reformed the defectes of K. Edw. communion booke and K. Edw. the defectes of his owne and that in the m Bucer in Censur cap. 12. case of the crosse it selfe by the edition of a second Euen Rome her selfe though affecting immunitie from errour hath suffered her Breviaries to bereformed once vnder n Breuiar Roman ex sacra scrip per Cardinal Quignonium Paule the 3. another time vnder Pius the 5. Goe but to reason it will not haue vs to followe o Senec. in lib. de beatitud Antecedentium gregem so preciselie as if we were sheepe and not reasonable men Goe to equitie it forbiddeth a p Cornel. Tacit. histor lib. 1. priscus rigor cui iam pares non sunt homines and the Ceremonies growe more intollerable euery day then other on men that are lesse able to brooke them Goe to policie it condemneth a perverse affectation of constancie which doth not turne the sterne q Plutarch in Phocion of the shipp to serue for euery winde water both which are now against the ceremonies throughout the most part of the Churches Goe to Religion last of all what more r Bucer in Censur contrarie vnto it then olde popishe fashions The Kings of Iuda were not blessed of God but when they purged the lande of Iurie from all s D. Bils ag apolog p. 1. p. 32. ceremonies not prescribed by Moses lawe When Valetinian tooke the course which our Opposites now thinke best which was to meddle with nothing in Church affaires but to leaue them as he founde them he escapeth not the Censure of the Godly no nor of some of our t D. Bils ibi p. 2. p. 243 adversaries them selues Anastasius for peace will haue nothing chaunged but he will haue euery Bishop to be thrust out that either defendeth or condemneth the Chalcedon Councell against the tenent and the custome of his place what great hurt he did by this not chaunging the u Euagr. li. 3 cap. 30. storie will tell you Germanus standeth for Images the course which he taketh to keepe them vp is the same which our Opposites now doe follow to wit he chargeth the Emperour with his oathe w Carol. Sigon de reg Ital. lib. 3. An. 729. se Diuinos Ecclesiae ritus nulla ex parte moturum Their excuse therefore is nothing worth which thinke the ceremonies controversed must stay amongst vs because at first they were not thrust out #Sect 3. Answere to this Obiection There is difficultie in the Remoâ—vall of Ceremonies Therefore they are rather to bee let alone THirdly it is obiected against this our petition that there is difficultie in the remouall of the Ceremonies which rather then it should breede inconvenience they are to bee let alone First of all it excuseth not the sluggard when he saith there is a Lyon in the way nor the bad husbande when he soweth not because he feareth there is foule weather towards Pro. 26.13 Ecclesi 11.4 The Priestes of a Theodor. histor li. 5. cap. 22. Serapis in old time made the people beleeue that if any should drawe neare his Image to remoue it motum exoriturum omnia occidione interitura The like craft vse our Opposites in their maintayning of the corruptions of our Church They beare men in hande the reforming of them would bring heauen and earth togither Heere who is wise like Theophil of AlexaÌ„dria to discerne this scar-crowe In deed what difficultie in this busines vnlesse it be in the coÌ„tinuing perpetuating of them sith their remouall is euer looked for the people of Parliament speaking now as once of olde Rise for the matter pertayneth to thee be of good courage and doe it Ezra 10.4 Secondly This excuse hath place when there is no neede of a chaunge as there was no need to chaunge the olde Calender for the Popes new one whervpon happened great hurly-burlye both at b Dauid Chytre in Rodolph 2 Riga in Lyvonia at Augusta wheras the remoual of these needlesse ceremonies is most needfull for that they make against faith and good manners as hath been shewed in which case c Augustin epist 119. cap. 19. Augustine will not haue them to be tollerated in a Church Thirdly this feare of difficultie and inconvenience goeth for good payment when the evill to be chaunged is likely in time to languish of it selfe in case it be let alone but to get strength if it be sturred the Magistrat being as a Physition who theÌ„ must let an abuse alone d Titus Liuius lib. 22 quando quiete magis proficit quam agendo mouendo which heere hath no place because it is impossible that either the scandall or superstition of these ceremonies should in their liues time dye or be healed by their reste which doeth indeed much strengthen them Fourthly feare of inconvenience and difficultie then holdeth water when time convenient is not stayed for and therfore serued for Q. Elizabeth and K. Edward if for any when mens weake vessells newly converted could not beare without breaking the new wine of an exact reformation in all things wheras to vs there may be applied Mat. 9.17 what one of our writers hath e Bucer in Mat. 18. non pauci c. not a few fearing trouble indeavoring in vaine to please God men together euen where the Gospel hath been a long time preached where the worde doth now require example of deedes pretending the infirmitie of others whereas their owne weaknes doth only withholde them doe both themselues serue mans traditions and compell others therevnto Fiftly this feare of inconvenience doth passe for currant when a Magistatte is vnable to reforme in this case only f Senec. honestè succumbit qui seruit tempori at this time onely g Cicero ad Attic. li. 12 epist 1. parendum
tempori they being h Cornel. Tacit. Anal lib. 3. adulta prevalida vitta which are alone to bee tollerated in which potius est omittere quam illud assequi vt palam fiat quibus flagitijs impares simus And the phisicke which must be forborne as immature is when the sicknes being in full strength it rather l Senec. de consolat ad Heluia Matrem irritateth then cureth euen as the olde counsell goeth multa m August epist 119. tolleranda vbi facultas non datur resecandi and the new n Francis Iun. instit princip in praefat expendere convenit non solum quod debeas sed quid possis Now what strength in the corruptions of our Church to make resistance who are strooke through throughout the Realme and haue no meanes to maintayne life but the plasters drugges and salues which the Bishoppes and their dependantes minister to them Now by the iudgment of Saint o Augustin ibid. Augustine we are not only to leaue them languishing but also euen to stoppe their breath for his wordes are these Though a Ceremonie haue not euident hurt yet because it is vnfit the Church now should bee burthened with humane presumptions if it haue no authoritie from scripture nor from generall Councells nor from the custome of the Vniversall Church but is of a variable and doubtful beginning vbi facultas tribuitur absque omni dubitatione resecanda Are not our ceremonies humane presumptions are they not burthensome to the Church doth any moderne Councell commaunde them doeth any Church beside our owne vse them are they not in nature variable and vncommaunded in the worde Nay are they not indeed to bee varied because contrarie to the worde I ende with the wordes which one writeth against the Crosse p Calfh against Mar. praesa fol. 10. Beware of these Syren tunes these inchaunting charmes that the wise men of the world are wont to vse beare for a time vse discretion be not rashe in reformation c. we are rather to hearken to Christ him selfe To walke in the light whiles we haue the light if the miste thorough our sufferance once ouercast the cleere shining of the Sunne darknes sooner will ouertake vs then we would #Sect 4. Answere to this Obiection The change of a law bringeth dishonour of an Innovation and extenuates the lawes authoritie FOurthly and last of all It is replied to this our petition that though no inconvenience be discerned nor difficultie seene yet the verie chaunge of a lawe bringeth dishonour of an innovation and extenuateth the lawes authoritie First this excuse holdeth when there is no need of chaunge nor profit by it even as a Augustin epist 112. cap. 5. Augustine doth restraine it in these wordes mutatio quae vtilis non est perturbatione infructuasa consequenter noxia est In the cause of Ceremonies as it swerueth too farre from the true line b P. Martyr in 1. Sam. cap. 14. Hester 2.1 and 1.8 Dan. 6 13.16 when ceremonies once cease to be profitable they are without all sticking to be remooued So also it draweth too neare the iron leavell of a Persian affected constancie which while some imitate they drawe vpon themselves this censure Magistratus c Amand. Polan in Dan. ibid. ne quidem inconsideratum edictum retractabunt ne vilescat ipsorum authoritas quia affectant laudem constantiae quam non discernunt à perversa animi obstinatione tum denique ne videantur concessisse quicquam servis Dei recta monentibus This excuse holdeth also where the chaunge inferreth a violent burthensome and notorious noveltie as Augustine doth restraine it againe d August epist 18. ipsa mutatio consuetudinis etiam quae vtilitate adiuvat novitate perturbat which in the ceremonies hath no place because the Churches long since haue banished them and many Parishes here at home a long time disvsed them with the good willing contentement of the people In the third place this excuse holdeth when the change is for the worse euen as an historian doth restraine it e Cornel. Tacit. Anal li. 15. melius atque rectius olim provesum quae convertuntur in deterius mutantur which in the ceremonies hath no place neither because the corne I meane the doctrine wil prosper the better when they are purged of these weedes in which case Ambrose is to be heard f Ambros in epistol ad Theodos Valent. Nullus pudor est ad meliora transire And g Augustin epist 45 Augustines comfort Foelix est necessitas quae in meliora compellit There will be perchaunce obiected what an Emperour hath h Augustin Imperat apuddion lib. 52. Quae in suo statu eademque manent etsi deteriora sunt tamen vtiliora sunt reipublicae quam quae per innovationem vel meliora inducuntur But what is this to rites religious the ende of which is not properly l pax politica as the German Divines once helde against the Adiaphorisme Ceremonies but the glorie of God and the edifying of the Church boâ—h which require that euery custome of Forefathers which is amisse be presently purged and new rites setteled in their roome which may be fitted diverslie as the times them selues are m Ludovic Lavater in Hest Homil 34. diverse where the Canon law taketh strictest order for the Churches observations that none should chaunge them there Gratian putteth in this caveat n Gratian. decret p. 2. caus 35. q. 9 cap. 2. quae illiâ—ttè à praedecessoribus admissa inveniuntur in melius revocari oportet And in the chapter that next followeth when the decree it selfe speaketh thus o Ibid. c. 3. Qui in causis Dei quod perperam fecit abolere aut quod à praedecessoribus suis male invenerit admissum vitare noluerit in se quicquid in alio non resecaverit inveniet it plainly teacheth that though in civill affaires an old bad custome may seeme better then some good new one yet that in causis Dei an olde bad custome must be cut of or punishment expected A little after a chaunge is commaunded p Ibid. cap. 6 pro consideratione aetatum vel temporum as Paule did some things without lenitie quae postea dignoscitur reprobasse In this case Augustine hath this similitude As a patient may not mislike or call in question his physitions skill q Augustin cont Paust Manich. li. 32. c. 14. si aliud ille hodie praecipiat aliud cras prohibens etiam quod antea praeceperat sic n. se habet sanandi eius corporis ratio so none must mislike a variable or a contrarie chaunge in the ceremonies of Gods service because the Churches edification doth require it Secondly the imposition of the ceremonies breedeth the greatest chaunge that may bee in the Churches where they haue been long time disvsed Can there be any chaunge like to this that the people after twentie or thirtie
execution of a thing indifferent let it also be lawfull for him sometimes to command a sinne I trust I neede not feare here that any opposite will affirme that the evill vse of a thing indifferent becometh good when the Magistrat doth commaund it seeing one of the most learned of thē hath given vs a quietus esto frō this obiection when he saith g D. Bils ag the Apolo p. 2. p. 338. Good euil are to be measured by Gods lawes not by man◠for as no mā is good but only God so no mans lawe is the rule of good evill but only Gods And tēporall things are neither good nor evil but altogither indifferent ergo Princes were not ordained of God for temporal things but the goods bodies and liues of their subiects be cōmitted to them for the preservation of faith and good manners In the margent hereof we finde these wordes Worldly things be neither good nor evill Rom. 13.4 1 Pet 2.14 for which two causes Princes beare the sworde I marvell what those Opposites of ours will say to this who haue nothing in their mouthes against vs but this that if we leaue not an absolute power in things indifferent to the Magistrat that thē we leaue him no power at all For what haue we here affirmed Princes are not ordayned for worldly things because they are indifferent Princes are ordained for good and evil to further the one and resist the other worldly things are not such indifferent things are not such therefore the power of the Prince doeth not consiste in worldly things quatenus worldly nor in things that are indifferent quatenus they bee indifferent This out of our Opposites owne confession to shewe that the Magistrate hath no other power but that which the Apostle had to wit a power to edification and not to destruction which in things that are indifferent furthereth the good vse thereof because it doth edifie but correcteth the evill vse because it doth destroye But what if it were graunted that the Magistrate had absolute power in a thing indifferent know they not that when an il circumstance cleaueth to their vse that then h Benedict Arct. Proble loc 58. desinunt esse adiaphora l Magdebu centur 1. li 2. cap. 10. Adiaphororum naturam exuunt m Harmon confess sect 17. ex Helvet posterior libera esse desinunt n Ibid. confess Augusta art 7 Non iam sunt medio o Iosias Simler in Exod. 20. mandat 2. fol. 85. Iam non sunt libera p Zaueh de Imag. c. 15. pag. 357. Iam est ab illis abstinendum #Sect 6. 3. Suit that practised commaunding of Ceremonies be reformed for time to come and the Church freed from divers greevances As that there be 2. Gods c. OVr third suite is that the practised commaunding of them bee reformed for time to come and we freed from diverse greevances brought vpō vs by the same First we are grieued to heare that there are twoo Gods the one in heaven commaunding absolutly in matters necessarie the other in earth commanding absolutely in things indifferent a Bellarm. de Pontifi lib. 4. c. 16 Bellarmine him selfe speaketh not so audaciouslie for he draweth the absolute authoritie of Man not from God as he is God but as he is Legis-lator only Now this distinction notwithstanding b Mat. Sut. de Pontifi lib 4. cap. 7 Sybrand Lubbert de pap Romā li. 8. c. 7 Fran. Iun. controuers 2. lib. 4. ca. 16. not 8. our writers all holde his allotting of an absolute power to man is blasphemous his allotting it to the Pope maketh him Antichrist sitting in the Temple of God as if he were God And whereas Andradius agreeth with Bellarmine and so holdeth that man may partake an authoritie non limitata our common writers build vp against him this sure principle c Chemnit exam pag. 202.204 Nulla est plenitudo potestatis amongst men d Fran. Iun. controuers 3. lib. 4 ca. 16. not 89. Plenitudo potestatis non est instrumenti sed solius principalis causae e A. Willet controuers 4. qu. 5. p. 3 The Princes high and soueraigne authoritie we make not infinite the word of God must be his rule square So that the f Idem controuer 2. que 4. p. 2. ceremonies which he commaundeth must be limited to the rules of the scripture which require order and decencie for the glorie of God and the edification of the Church This is that which Tertul. wrote long since and August after him the former of which requireth in a ceremonie g Tertul. de corō milit vt fidei congruat saluti proficiat disciplinae conducat The latter denyeth that to be indifferent which is h August epist 118. cap. 11. contra fidem bonos more 's l Ibid cap 4 freeing vs from every ceremonie that hath either of these faultes as these ceremonies now in handling haue them both Here of late Peter Martyr m P. Martyr comment in hunc loc taught No rite by any mans authoritie is well ordayned vnlesse the rules be obserued which God setteth downe to wit in the 1. Cor. 14. The latest of all thus one of our Opposites n D. Bils ag Apolog. p. 2. pa. 344. To deuise new rites and ceremonies of the Church is not the Princes vocation but to receaue and allowe such as the Scriptures and Canons commend such as the Bishops and Pastors of the place shall advise not infringing the scriptures or Canons and so for all other Ecclesiasticall things and causes Princes be neither the devisers nor directors of them but the Confirmers establishers of that which is good and displacers of that which is evill Secondlie we are grieued that we haue these ceremonies enforced vpon vs by the meer will of our Reverend Fathers who haue thought vs vnworthie that any reason should be giuen vs or assuming vs vnto conference 1 Cor 11.6 haue expected we should obey although they haue giuen vs no better reason then such as for the sleightnes of them haue confirmed vs in our opinion more then before Paule him self will proue the covering of the woman to be decent both by the law of God nature before he throw it on the church o Tertuli in Apolo cap. 4. Nulla lex sibi soli conscientiam iustitiae suae debet sed ijs à quibus obsequium expectat sayeth Tertull. coeterum suspecta lex est quae probari se non vult improba autem si non probata dominetur When Augustine was asked his iudgement about the ceremonie of the Satersdayes faste he would not p 〈◊〉 epist 118. cap. 11. admonere sola sua authoritaete nulla addita ratione The same thrusteth out euery ceremonie of which it is doubtfull q Idem epist 119. quam rationem sequuti sunt who first ordayned it Constantine in the
fayled likewise whether the ius of a good lawe in generall be respected or the ius of this lawe of our lande in speciall Touching the first for asmuch as the end of the law is loue which hath two daughters Goodnes Iustice we are to consider this ius ordinariuÌ„ first as it is ouerswayed by goodnes then as iustice doth direct it apart by it self The first goodnes that maketh intercessioÌ„ is gentlenes which wil not be 1 NeheÌ„ 5.24 burthensome but abstaine rather from the bread of the gouernor nor be 2 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1. Thes â— 7 grievous but forbeare rather the 3 1. cor 9 15 power of the governor which leadeth with the bonds of 4 Hos 11.4 Loue taketh away euery hard yoke delighteth in willingnes of obedience rather then feare therefore enlureth not terrifieth only which is a Sum. Siluestrin verb. iust proper vnto rigour b Gregor epist 126. tit 6. Ipsa gubernacula sunt mag no moderamine temperanda ne potestas mentem surripiat Then is the gouernement righteous c Idem in rescrip Faeliâ—i Siciliae Tom concil â— p. 7â—2 saith he elswhere quando nihil potestati sed totum equitati tribuitur what though then our Reverend Fathers haue a power to exact these things doth not gentlenes intreate them not to vse this power of theirs rather then to encoÌ„ber burthen quiet coÌ„sciences hartes single before their God Let none say they may choose also whether they will forbeare their power or no but he that thinketh it is in their choyse whether they wil be gentle or no. which how can they be sith they must needs make their litle finger heauy who make a gesture of the finger so heavy 1 Reg. 12.14 toso many prophets of the Lord This is not with Irenaeus to be gentle in a ceremonie this is rather to walke with Victor like vnto theÌ„ of whom Erasmus his d Erasm in Schol. virae Irenae modis nos magnaÌ„ orbis partem per didimus dum omnes ceremonias ad viuuÌ„ exigimus Know est thou not said Pharoes servants once to him that Egipt goeth to wracke know not out Rever Fathers now what a great part of the church is wasted If things were in integro we would beseech theÌ„ to be left to our selues euen as in e Zozom histor li. 7. cap. 19. Easters controversie all were at the first permitted to do as they would But seeing now there is a law made which bindeth to one side we wishe that gentle carriage towards vs which hath euermore been shewed in matters of like qualitie August speaking of the Lenten faste which was by the church in his time commanded giueth libertie to keepe it f August conita Faust Manichae lib. 30 cap. 5. quanto magriâ— quisâ—ue vel minus seu voluerit seu potuerit Theodoret speaking of the sâ—◠〈◊〉 notwithstading it was a custome yet hath these words g Theodor epi. diuin decret Abstinentia c sas parti â—â—â—tie sâ—nt â—â—mentis potesiâ—te Prosper affirmeth the coÌ„mandement of fasting was â—â—gently â—â—â—cted that men fasted h Prosp de vin contem 2. c vlt. noÌ„ coacti sed denoti to wit the coÌ„mandement was a canon rather then a law as appeareth by Primasius l Primas in Rom. 14. De ieiunto saith he â—ex noâ—â—est posita sed quomodo potest vnusquisque vult Chrisostome is alleadged by m Bellat de Pontifie lib. 4 ca. 17 Beâ—â—armiâ— to proue a necessarie obseruatioÌ„ of this faesting who yet notwithstanding leaueth both it self the circumstances of it in n Chrysost in 1. cor homil 9. Mal. 2.6 Mat. 15.3 Isa 10.1 cuiusque opinione I need not shew how we haue fayled of this gentlenes in these ceremonies who haue sued for it to this houre yet sue to our Reu. Fathers without any other answer theÌ„ this There is a lawe it must be obeyed But doth it suffize thus to say without respect to him that will aske should not my law the lawe of trueth be in your mouthes that so ye might haue walked with me in peace and equitie Is it not so that ye haue broken my law to set vp your owne and that against my heavie threat woe vnto them that make heauy lawes The second goodnes tempering Iustice is indulgeÌ„ce which exacteth no performaÌ„ce in a ceremonie but that which the partie is ablero do that without an IncoÌ„venieÌ„ce to himself For may not the Sabbothday be brokeÌ„ wheÌ„ the observatioÌ„ of it doth hurt the body Mat. 12 12â— the Sabboth being made for man not maÌ„ for the Sabboth TheÌ„ are we bereaued of christian indulgence when to these ceremonies we are inforced to the hurt of our coÌ„scieÌ„ces or els forced to loose our states as if we were made for the ceremonies not the cerem made for vs which were theÌ„selues neuer made by God as was the Sabboth Hierom for the necessitie of the Lenten faste leaueth men notwithstanding to do in their fastings o Hieâ—on episto ad Nepotian quantuÌ„ possunt requireth moderatuÌ„ ieiunium only as the body is able to beare further theÌ„ which if any maÌ„ fast he calleth it superstitiosum Nay p Belâ—ar de Poncific li. 4 ca. 18. Bellar. exacteth not now the canoÌ„ of fasting though his church severely enioyneth it either of children old men or sicke who cannot beare it or whose health it would hurt so that it seemeth it were well with vs if we had but the bread which Antichrist himselfe breaketh to his children in any good proportion for as much as we can protest against these ceremonies that they stande not with the health of our soules which are more precious then our bodies and that our consciences are made sicke with them This is our weaknes some will say as if Christ spared not to conforme his disciples to the rigour of the Pharisies fastings yea of the fastings of Iohns disciples when by reason of their infirmitie he sawe they were as vessells weake Mat. 9.17 that could not beare it without bursting In regard hereof if we call on our Reuerend Fathers to be spared we doe but recall their owne doctrine to their mindes which euen speaking of the Magistrate hath these wordes q Doc. Bils cont Apolog pag. 1. pag. 46. we may not for things indifferent trouble the weak mindes of the brethreÌ„ #Sect 11. Thirdly Iustice borrowed temper from Equinanimitie which dispenseth on iust cause Fourtly from forbearance which passeth by a ceremoniall transgression THe third goodnes from which iustice is contented to borrow temper is that equinanimitie which dispenseth vpon iust cause and accepteth a iust excuse which yet the crosse would neuer The doctrine of the first Bishopp of this lande when this controversie first brake forth was this a The treatise whether it bee mottall fin to transgresse a civill precept A man without sinne
a necessitie thereof on them who haue given foorth sufficient shew of their vnwillingnes by their general disvse aforesaide in al of which as the ceremonies are advaunced too high so christian libertie is too lowe depressed As the proceeding of the ceremonies oppresse our libertie in regard of former disvse which the inferior hath shewed so also doeth he impeach the same in regarde of the present vse which the superior presseth This is a necessarie observation the fountaine and the grounde whereof doe shewe sufficiently what it is The fountaine of it is poperie To what ende should Canons be made say some if men should not be tyed to a necessitie of keeping of them Iuste so Bellarmine f Bellarmin de Pontifie lib. 4. ca. 17 actus indifferens si praecipiatur iam erit necessarius alioquin frustra praecipitur The ground from whence this fountaine issueth is an opinion that mans lawe doth binde the conscience euen as it appeareth by Bellarmine who being to speake of a necessitie of obseruation in the outward vse of ceremonies g Bellarmi de effect Sacrament cap 31. hoc dependet saith he ab alia quaestione Anleges ecclesiasticae obligent conscientias This fountaine thus flowing our of this grounde falleth into a marishe to speake with Ezechiel where standeth a poole of vnwholesome water which is this h Bellarmi controuers 5. li. 3. c. i 1 as Gods commandement maketh actions indifferent to be vertues his inhibitions to be sinnes so mens precepts doe likewise This blasphemie of theirs equaling the creature with the Creator how do our l D. Field vb sub cap. 34. writers handle which notwithstanding our Opposites must fortifie or else their whole tower will like to a Babell down to the ground For if the ceremonies be of necessarie observation and must absolutly be kept then must they become things absolutely good forasmuch as there is nothing to bee done necessarilie but that which is good and vertuous And as the papistes equall man with God so shall we by this our conceyt of a necessarie observation that which wee may see by m Gers de auferibili papae consideratio 8. Gerson who complayneth that men will haue their constitutions to bee observed aequali tenore with Gods lawes because they will haue them necessarilie kept Quemadmodum custodiri divinaÌ„ legem absque vlla variatione necesse est Sweeter waters are they farre which flowe from the sanctuarie of our home writers vpon these grounds The law of man is not infallible as Gods is ruleth not over the heart as Gods doth is not absolute and perfecte as Gods is cometh not from a supreme Lorde as Gods doth therefore there is due vnto it no certaine obedience no obedience in the heart at all no absolute obedience in the outward behaviour in the outward behaviour only such obedience is due to it as is proportionable to the right end of that subordinate power and authoritie to which the supreme Lord hath chosen him This being bonum commune which nothing hurteth but scandall onely and contempt it cometh to passe that extra casum contemptus scandali the observation of hamane lawe is left free to vs. This doe all our n D. Whitak controuers 1. quest 6. ca. 16. pa. 503 Sibrand Lubbert de Pap. Roman li. 8. cap. 8. Mat Sutcl lib. 4. cap. 7 Pran Iun. controuer 3. lib. 4. ca. 17. D. Willet controuers 9. qu. 8 pag. 2. c. writers testifie yea this whole churches confesse vnto vs yea this our owne church holdeth There be bookes lately set foorth saith the o Harmon confess sect 17. ex confess Saxon. 228. church of Saxonie full of labytinthes in quibus scribitur peccata esse mortalia violationes talium rituum extra casum scandali but the true consolation is the voyce of the Gospell which will haue a contrarie vnderstanding of our libertie to be knowne in the Church against this error An other church thus p Ibid. Augustan coÌ„fest p. 218. sentiendum est quod res adiaphorae extra casum scandali omitti possunt And againe q Ibid. pag. 224. contra libertatem nostram sancitam authoritate divina non est recipienda opinio vt violatio rerum mediarum extra casum scandali sit peccatum Yea r The trearise whether it bee mortall sinne to transgresse a ciuil law whole home treatises affirme asmuch yea our owne communion s Admonit de ceremo praefix leiturg booke yea some of the very papistes themselues as the Authour of summa t Sum. Sisuestrin in verb. inodience verb. neyligen Ier. 35 11. 2. act 15.19.3 1. cor 1â— 27 Angelica and as many as followe his way The apposition of examples I trust will not be tedious The Rechabites retire vnto Ierusalem when Nebuchadnezzar invadeth the lande so breaking the commaundement which their Father Ionadab gaue them against dwelling in any cittie and are guiltlesse because they break it on private occasion without contempt and a 2 Corinthian eateth an Idolothire breaking the Apostles decree and 3 sinneth not because he breaketh it without scandall But v Bellar. dâ— Pontifie lib. 4. ca. 17 Blandina thought it a sinne to breake their lawe against bloud euen in private where was no daunger of any scandall euen in secret did other Christians abstaine from bloud aswell as shee Our answere is shee with the rest abstained for daunger of w Fra. Iun. ibi nota â—0 future scandall which might haue followed They were charged by the pagans to spill the bloud of infants in secret if they had not euen in secret abstayned from bloude how could they haue contested openly as now they doe It is not likely that we should eate the bloud of infantes whose custome is to abstayne from the very bloud of beastes Spiridion doubted not to breake the order of the Church in Lent and to vse his christian libertie when without scandall it might be vsed For when his gueste said I can eate no flesh in Lent because I am a christian he replyed x Sozom. histor lib. 2. cap. 11. 2 Cor. 6.17 tanto minus recusare debes quia omnia munda mundis wee haue more cause to omit the Crosse then he his fishe he onely did it because he had none readie we because the Crosse is a meate vncleane It was the y Concill Gerunden Melden cap. 6. order of the church to baptize solemnly at no other time but at Easter and Pentecoste onlie so that z Leo de coÌ„secrat distinct 5. ca. vt Ieiuni Leo calleth it a rash presumption to baptize at any time else and a certaine a Concil Antisiodor Councell excommunicateth them that doe so and yet this order did not all men keepe some b Socrat. Histor lib. 5. cap. 22. wrote against it because by this meanes many dyed vnbaptized others c Chryso in Genes homil 40. Bafil in orat ad Bapt. Nazianze
quod potuit à diligenti prouideri prouisum non est culpa lata when that is not preuented with men communiter diligentes would haue foreseene culpa leuissima which commeth short of preuenting that which homines diligentissimi would haue looked vnto I see not howe a Magistrate or a Minister may bee excused who suffereth or commaundeth or doth vse the Crosse and the rest of the Ceremonies receaued from poperie seeing it is evident they prevent not the daunger which hath been and is preuented not only by the churches abroad which are most carefull and diligentissimi in this respect but also by some at home that are but communiter diligentes Concerning the third h August contra Parmenian lib. 3. cap. 1. Augustine speaketh of the dutie of auferte malum ex vobis ipsa negligentia saith he in re tanta graue malum est ideo sicut Apostolus admonet si auferat malum à seipso non solum auferet audatiam committendi aut pestilentiam consentiendi sed etiam pigritiam corrigendi negligentiam vindicandi Now this negligence to take away evill is found in the patrones of the ceremonies with all her complements First there is in them an affected ignorance of the daungers of the ceremonies and a carelesse not knowing the need and sicknes of their owne flockes Ezech. 34.4 which is it not euen more then negligence for l Summa Siluestrin vb sup sect 1. ignorare quod communiter scitur est lata culpa Secondly there is in them a vacuitie of feare an other daughter of m Thom. Aquin 2.2 q. â—4 art 2 negligence for whereas sagax est parentum cura least the child should hurt himselfe these spirituall Fathers cast that such feare about the ceremonies is pusilanimitie Thirdly and last of all there is in them a defect of care which suffereth the ceremonies abroad with the same guilt Exod 21.29 vers 34. that a Maister suffereth a goring oxe to goe abroad whereby hee hurteth A worke man suffereth a pitt to lye open whereby somwhat falleth into it A man suffereth fire to remaine abroad so that it taketh into the drye hedges and consumeth them The equitie of these lawes must still be kept If a man suffer a goring oxe to goe abroad he must by the ciuill lawe restore n Summa Siluestrin in verb. restitutio pa. 2. sect 10 17 the hurt he doth The auncient o Carol Sigon de reg Ital. lib 9. ann 1 105. lawe of Millaine was to prevent the daunger of fire Ne quis slante vento ignem in aedibus haberet so that when a Noble-man p Ibid li. 10 ann 1 106. nuptiarum causa ignem spirante vento in aedibus accendisset ac propterea novo vrbem incendio afflixisset ipse cum tota progenie perpetuo exilio est mulctatus The equitie of the middle lawe is to be seene in those courses which haue been commaunded practized alwayes in which those things haue been quite remoued from all vse by whose abuse there might any daunger any way ensue For example to avoyd the abuse of Images there is forbidden to the Iewes in the iudgement of some q Vazq de adorat li. 2 dispu 4. c. 3 papistes that there be no vse of any Image at all agmongst them and to the end there might be no Image at all there was no Image-maker r Origen cont Celsu lib. 4 suffered to liue amongst them So the s Can. 36. Councell of Eliberis to prevent all daunger of Idolatry forbadd there should be any Image at all as Iuocarnotensis t Vazq vb sub disput 5. cap. 2. Martinus de Ayala and Sixtus Senensis doe interpret This doth it nor cashiere the Crosse out of all vse to preuent the daunger of Idolatrie and superstition which may come of it #Sect 8. The Crosse is scandalum datum notwithstanding there be no intent to drawe any sinne thereby SEcondly it will appeare Sect. 8. that there is euen a scandalum datum in the Crosse and the rest of the ceremonies controuersed it not hindering which some doe argue there is no intent to draw any to sinne by them First who can thinke there be none in the land that retaine and vrge their vse with an intent to drawe backe to Egipt againe Is our church happier especially in these declining daies then the church of Israell was in her growing tyme in which there were found Egiptians many which not well purged from old Idolatrie tooke euerie occasion to solicit to a returne Secondly a man may intende to drawe to sinne and superstition other explicitè which men for the most part doe not in these ceremonies or a implicitè num 11.4 as a thing is intended in the occasion and in the cause u Somma Silvestrin in verb scaÌ„dal sect 2. of which intent they must be guiltie who now doe vse them For example he that intendeth to runne thorough a river doth intend implicitè to durt and wet his feete he that intendeth to touch pitch doth intende implicitè to defyle his handes shee that intendeth to come into the company of him that is in loue with her necessarie busines only excepted doth intende implicitè to stirre vp loue or lust so in case we intend to vse the Crosse we must implicitè intende of necessitie to durt and defile and stirre vp popishe lust stande we a little vpon this last instance Is not the crosse an harlot suppose she were but a bewtiful woman that hath no necessarie busines to doe in the service of God euen by our adversaries owne confession in this case the Crosses presence it selfe is scandalous This appeareth by b Cypr. lib. de singular clericor Cyprian or the author of that worke which is commonly imputed to him omnis inconveniens sodalitas mulierum gluten est delictorum viscus toxicatum quod diabolus aucupatur this appeareth by the canon lawe which forbiddeth to priestes all cohabitation and presence with woman where no necessarie busines intercedeth because c Decret pa. 1. distinct 81. cap. 29. vbi talis fuerit commorantium cohabitatio antiqui hostis stimuli non desunt This appeareth by Saint d Gregor li. 7. epist 39. Augustine who would not dwell with his owne sister because quae cum sorore mea sunt sorores meae non sunt as now the things which doe accompanie the English Crosse are not the Englishe Crosse This appeareth by the councells e Concill Turonic 1. Can. 3. one of which thus nullam clerici cum exiraneis faeminis and the Crosse is a strange women habeant familiaritatem quia frequenter per hanc indecentem occasionem contingit vt diabolus qui in sidiatur ficut Leo in cubili suo de ruinae seruorum Dei exultat We read of f Caesar Baron anal in ann 233 Alexander after Bishop of Comana that being very bewtifull hee became a Collier
533. nemini dandum est scandalum quapropter non est ita malum assistere ceremonijs missificationi papisticae ne illi offendantur Secondly ne veniale quidem peccatum committendum est say the c Thorn Aquin 2.2 quest 43. art 7. respons ad 5. Siluest Priet in summa verb. scaÌ„dal Papistes vt evitetur scandalum Let vs not be worse then they to commit a great sinne for such we haue prooved the crosse to be to avoyde a supposed scaÌ„dall only which indeed is none at all Thirdly the papist is best edified when he is most displeased by our refusall of his rites as Christ to edifie the Pharisies and Paule the Iewes tooke a course of not conforming which did displease them Against pleasing of them we haue this sure and certaine rule levyed against all conformitie with the Ceremonies of the German Adiaphorisme d Decret Eccles Geâ—man apuâ— Conrad Schlusselâ— tom 13. pag 566. Nulla est concedenda in gratiam adversariorum mutatio externi cullus seu ceremoniarum e Ibid. nisi prius nobis consentiant in fundamento hoc est in vera doctrina vsu sacramentorum are not the papistes obstinate nowe contra veritatis obstinatos hostes exercenda est Christiana libertas Fourthly to please the papistes whom wee are to displease and to displease our owne brethren at home whom wee are to please is to incurre the fault of Peter which was this f Beza in Gal. 2. he chose rather to please the Iewes by conforming to their Ceremonies when he should haue rather pleased the converted gentiles by abstinence from them g Docret Eccles German vb sup Offendicusum infirmorum quod existit ex abnegatione veritatis vel inconstantia in confessione pluris factendum est quam omnium hostium gratia benevolentia h Iosias Simler in Exod 26. fol. 87. Si volumus consulere obstinatis papistis plures interea è nostris laedemus Peter so doing who feared to displease the Iewes and therevpon displeased the Gentiles was reprehended of Paule An l Bucer in Math. 18. other giueth a generall direction in this comparison infirmorum rationem ita hebebunt vt eas exemplis provehere dabunt operam neque paucorum qui Antichristi Ceremonijs plus aequo addictiores sunt fortassis non verâ— fratres morabuntur caecitatem vt plurimos interim alios offendant quibus nunequam ista cogitatio non in animis versatur Si ista tam male essent abolerentur si tam bona opera ca cuncti prafertim qui Christs haberi volunt am plecterentur we are not then to vse the ceremonies in regard of any offence which the papistes may take of our disvse or any of our owne brethren at home that are popishly giuen But now what might those offences be which may arise on our refusall and remouall of their rites First it is said that if the ceremonies be remoued the papist will holde it a point of profanes in vs. as also an affectation of noveltie ioyned with a contempt of the gray haires of antiquitie which ought to be reuerenced by vs. First the remouall of these ceremonies hath been proued a dutie therfore all obtrectations are to be troden vnder foote was not our Lord held common and profane Mark 7. wheÌ„ he refused the auncient ceremonie of washing handes Isa 36.7 was not Hezechias counted profane and new fangled for pulling downe the auncient altars and high places was not m Eunapiâ—â— Constantine esteemed profane for defacing the Idolls temples were not the Christians held the most profane and the most irreligious men in the world for refusing the incense of pagan Gods well one n Bucer in Censâ—s Net quicquam noâ—itatis temerè irreligiose admissuri estis vt maleuoli semper obijcere solent de omnibus ijs qui expurgare student vetus Antichristi fermentum nouam domino exhibere student populi conspertionem Secondly if for this calumniation wee must keepe the Crosse and Surplice then must we reduce the rest of their trash which we haue long since abolished They affirme our communioÌ„ will come at last to a profane o Rhem. in annotat in Io. 4. sect 4 sacrifice of Ceres and Bacchus and the bread of our p Fidem in â— Cor. 11. sect 18. communion they hold profane as for the want of a Surplice so for the want of a consecrated altar of a Priest vnmarried of hallowed handes and of the signe of the Crosse all which seeing we haue abolished notwithstanding this imputation why should it hinder vs from the abolishing of the baptisme crosse aswell where doe they lay to our charge that we abolishe all true religion out of the world and make men plaine atheistes for the remouall of Crosses where they lay not the same to our charge for abolishing of other q Rheum 〈◊〉 Philip. 2. sect 2. Images we haue abolished other Images notwithstanding this obtractation why not then this Crosse aswell And we pull downe vnnecessarie chappells and Churches without all feare which is more subiect ten times r Bristow Moâ—â—â—e to this slaunder then the remouall of the Ceremonies controuersed for they s Duraut de rit lib. 1. ca. 2. sect 5. match vs for doing this euen with Arrians and with Donatistes and with Eustathians and with what not Neither can the remouall of present Ceremonies beare the like colour or heare the like clamor of profanes as the breaking of Images doth for which they yoke vs with the t Idem li. 1. c. 4. sect 13. Manichees with Xenaias the heathen and with Andrewe u Mart. of the Crossâ— art 8. Lampugnan beginning his murther of Galiatius Maria Duke of Millane with a stabbing of his Image to get him couradge Finally we breake downe their altars still though herein they make vs w Dâ—rant lib. 1. ca. 15 sect 12. Donatistes and match vs with Iulianus Praefectus for profanes stricken with a fearfull disease for his pissing against an altar and lastly with the souldiers of Stillico torne in pieces with Leopardes for that they violated an altar by drawing one Cresconius from it who had made it his sanctuarie #Sect 12. A scandall of the papistes removed saying If Ceremo be removed it will harden them against vs and breed an hostile alienation of their mindes froÌ„ our religion THere is a second scandall pressed in case the ceremonies be removed to witt an hardening of them against vs Sect. 12. an hostile alienatioÌ„ of their mindes from our religion who by the retention of these ceremonies might be wonne First this is to runne with the papistes with a Feuerdent in IrenaeuÌ„ lib. 1. c. 24. Feuardentius by name who knoweth no other course to winne pagans then this Gentium idolomanià sudaeorum superstitioni opponendae sunt imagines b The examin of the declarat of the Minist of London One of our Opposites
to maintayne this axiome we must retayne some of the popish rites to winne them willeth vs to see what course Gregorie tooke with Nellitus This course we haue seene he c Beda histo li. 1. ca. 30. Gregor Epistol l. 9. in dict 4. epist 7. forbiddeth Nellitus to pull downe the idolatrous temples he commaundeth to lett their festivities alone he will haue their temples sanctified with altars holy-water and reliques of Saintes he adviseth that on their birth dayes of the Martyrs whose Reliques be there layde the people should sett vp greene bowers about the church and make holy banquets such as the heathen vsed to make in the feastes of their idolls See what a goodly popish course for winning we are sett to see Secondlie It is a duetie that there be a difference in rites and ceremonies betweene Gods Church and heretiques d Tertul. in Il. de cotoÌ„ milit Longum divortium sayth Tertullianus mandas Deus ab idolatria in nullo proximè agendum Draco etiam terrenus de longinquo hominis spiritâ—s absorbet c Bellarmin controvers 6. ca 4. de Monach. Bellarmine him selfe confesseth that the shaving of the head was forbidden to the Iewe in respect of the Gentiles least they should be like them which the reason of the text confirmeth for yee are an holy people to the Lord. Herevpon one f D. Willet controvers 6. q. 6. p. 2. It was vnlawfull because a superstitious rite of the Heathen which did not beseeme the people of God In regard hereof the onely lawfull course to winne is that which accordeth with this duetie and that is to roote out all hereticall rites and ceremonies idolatrous observations God is wisest now he ordayned an abolition of all the idolatrous rites of Canaan to winne the remnant of the Cananites which he foresawe would be reserved as the offspring of Rahab and of the Gibeonites and all other proselites that should come over to the Church And the Fathers of the Church giue like advise g August de verb. Dom. serm 6. Si quaeritis vnde vincantur Pagani sayth Augustin vnde illuminentur vnde ad salutem vocentur Deserite â—â—â—â—as solennitates ipsorum Deserite nugas eorum Et si non consentiunt veritati nostra saltem pudeat paucitatis suae The Councells also take like order For whereas h Concil Eliberti can 34. one of them forbiddeth Tapers at funeralls with such like this reason is rendered euen by a l Duâ—ant de rit li. 1. c. 4. sect 11. ca. 23. sect â—4 papist him selfe because the people of Spaine but newly converted were still distayned with some of their olde superstitious customes therefore this Councell forbiddeth many things ad extirpandas funditus tollendas Gentilium superstitiones quas novi Christiani in ijs Hispaniae locis tum retinebant But haue yee neuer read saye our Opposites that olde rites ceremonies haue been retayned in the Church for their sakes who would haue been alienated if they might not haue been permitted to vse them as they and their Forefathers had donne longe tyme before Yes we haue read and nowe allowe of a certaine tolleration of olde customes but that maketh nothing for our retayle of popishe ceremonies nowe controversed First a tolleration is an involuÌ„tarie permission against our wills it doth m Decret p. 2. caus 1 qu. 7. c. 18. quaedam tollerare quaedam amputare with the same vnwillingnes that a n Cap. 16. Pilote in a tempest saveth some of his wares and others of them he doth cast over bord and when o Ibid. caus 23. qu. 4. cap. 5. quod salvo pacis vinculo excludere non possumus equitate improbamus yea tolleration is with p August epist 64. greefe yea with lamentation as August q Idem de ciuit Deâ— lib. 18. lamented those coÌ„mon sinnes which he was constrayned to tollerat for that he could not redresse them Now what like to this in our retention of these ceremonies controversed Is it out of an vnwillingnes that our governours keepe in these ceremonies Is it not rather their will and pleasure and doe they disprove them equitate doe they not constrayne vs to approve them rather doe they greeue at them doe they not rather increase the greefe of them that doe greeue and bring lamentation on them and theirs who hartily lament to see the Church so pestered with them Secondly a tolleration of aliene rites is only a libertie to new converts which cannot well be wayned from them such as the decree gaue once to the Iewes r Decret p. â— distin 45. cap. 3. omnes festiuitates suas sicut hactenus tam ip si quam patres eorum per longa colentes tempora tenuerunt liberam habeant obseruandi colendique potestatem the reason is giuen by Augustine s August dâ— vtilitat â—eiun modestè vetusia vulnera pertractemus cauti simus ne inter manus medici deficiat qui curatur and by an other canon else where t Decret pa. 1. dinct 4. c. 6. Quia tali consuetudine averti non possunt ideo cum venia suo ingenio relinquendi sunt ne fortè peiores existant si à tali consuetudine prohibeantur what like to this againe in our retention of the ceremonies controversed Is it only a libertie to the rawe coÌ„verted papistes that desire them Is it not a necessitie rather throwne on the children of the church that haue been bread and brought vp in it yea on the Fathers of the church them selves that doe abhorre them and that to the vtter losse and impeachment of their owne christian libertie Thirdly a tolleration is onely ad diem ne u Augustin cont Parâ—nem lib. 3. cap. 1. eradicetur triticum not excusing either pigritiem corrigend or negligenti aÌ„ vindicandi after a long time and season when nowe a scandall may without hurt be done away and it worketh on men that are not firma radice w Decret p. 2. cans 35. qu. 3â— cap. 20. sollidati giving milke not meate vnto them ne bonum quod infirma adhuc radice plantatum erat erueretur sed aliquantulum firma retur vsque ad perfectionem custodiretur What like to this once more in our retention of these ceremonies controversed is it not after fortie yeeres preaching of the Gospell that they continue And hath there been no oportunitie found in so long tyme to roote them out And is not the tyme of our Churches infancie past as yet Is it not yet fit for meate so to laye this milke aside Fourthly tolleration is onely of those things x Ibid. caâ—â—â— 2. qu. 1. ca. 23. quae sola nocere non valent si caterorum confletintegritas illa magnopere praecavenda sunt in a tolleration quae recepi nisi manifesta decoloratione non possunt Againe Ea sinenda sunt quae nullo detrimento aliquoties indulgenda creduntur quae rerum temporumque
cogit intuitus velacceleratae provisionis respectus excusat To this y August epist 64. Augustine accordeth who when the abuse of Martyrs festivities grewe to an heigth he thought them to bee no longer tollerable vpon this reason res sacrilega non tolleranda The Schoole-men likewise walke in the same path the tolleration of hereticall rites is not helde lawfull by them no not in the rawe converts them selves z Thom. Aquin 2.2 q. 10. art 1â— no not in the times of weaknes but derationabili causa such as is the good of the Church or the avoydinge of a worse mischief meant by Saint Matthewe chapter 13. least yee plucke vp corne and all a a Ibid obiect 2. proofe being brought from the example of Godly Emperors qui templaidolorum primuÌ„ claudi deinde destrui fecerunt which St Augustine approveth No reason in the earth then lefte that these ceremonies should surviue which doe they not hurt Are they not a manifest blemishe to our Church Are they not so farre from being such as the state of the time exacteth or acceleratae provisionis respectus excuseth as that presently they must bee abolished if the voyce of the tyme may be heard or their suit that liue therein And if there be any care left to make speedie provision of the churches good are they not sacrilegious also Last of all they doe no good they doe drawe in mischiefe but drive none away the corne would farre better thrive if they were gone Fâ—stlie a tolleration proceedeth thus when by reason of the multitude an abuse cannot be redressed it first setteth vpon those that are the more spirituall then it doth b August epist 64. monere till they be woÌ„ne then are they set to admonish others till what by their counsell what by their example all be reclaymed Nowe I need not to say this course is not taken in this our tollerating old popish rites and customs when all the world may perceive there is taken a quite contrarie to it no winning here of multitudes from them that will not leaue them there is an enforcing here of whole multitudes to them who would not haue them no admonishing here to leaue them there is a punishing here of those who doe leaue them no incouraging here of those that are the more spirituall that they might draw others from them these are first nipped crushed and discouraged as men too forward when they indeavour to drawe men from them Against this and the like courses in Africa a c Concil Aphric â—â—n 27â— Councell thus requested illud etiam petendum vt quae contra praecepta divina convivia multis in locis exercentur quae ab errore gentili attractae sunt ita vt nunt à paganis Christiani ad haec celebranda cogantur ex qua re temporibus ChristianoruÌ„ imperatorum persecutio altera fieri occultè videatur vetari talia iubent how many things are there here to be observed A law must be made against all customes which doe arise from the old accustomed error of aliens none of the Christians must be compelled to the vse of them though the aliens them selves be suffered to vse them When the Christians be compelled it is a shewe of a secret persecution this may fall out in the tyme of godly Princes if things be not looked to the aliens themselues will growe to such heigth as that they will be able divers wayes to vexe and molest the seruants of God that will not conforme themselues to these their customes Sixtly a prudent tolleration will consider whether it doth winne or no d Gregor li. 11. â—pi 15 cur Iudais qualiter Ceremâ—nias suas colere debeant regulas ponimus si per hoc eos luâ—rari non possumus so to what end should papistes be permitted now to vse their ceremonies or to what end should we ponere regulas how our own Church should vse them seeing the experience of more then fortie yeeres doth shewe that by this meanes we can doe no good to gaine and winne them For mine owne part I neuer knewe papist yet trulie converted but he grewe to that religious detestation of popishe Crosses which is e Fenarden in Irenaesi lib. 1. ca. 24 imputed vnto Beza confiteor me Crucifixi imaginem etiam ex animo detestari and as I remember on the other side I haue read in the storie of France that the leaguers would neuer beleeue when they had taken any towne that any were Catholiques vntill they did sweare and crosse hemselues Indeed the papist cannot thinke any to be truly converted to this faith vntill he doe crosse himselfe by a principle of his faith which is this f Iacob Ledesima catechis vaux catechis Doul inâ—truction that which also they set downe in the beginning of everie catechisme that they make It is the signe of the crosse that is the signe marke and badge of a Catholique Christiam man No pretence then to keepe in the ceremonies for the winning of the papist #Sect 13. The defence of tolleration of ceremonies from Act. 15. confuted THe replie that is wont to be brought against this plea Sect. 13. is drawne from the example of the Apostles and primitiue Church who are saide to retaine certaine Iewish and certaine hearhenish rites to winne them And here is obiected first the decree made by the Apostles for the retayning of bloud and strangled First as an old a Wilfridus ap Bedam in histor lib. 1. ca. 25 stickler for conformitie said once there is a difference betweene the rites of Idolaters which by and by must be throwne away the rites of the Iewes which Iohn and the Apostles observed for a time ad vitandum scandalum that say I here there is great difference betweene the ceremonies of the Iewes and the ceremonies of the man of sinne the Antichrist they were instituted of God and therfore b August epist 19. non continuo deserendae vel canum morsibus obijciendae but they were to stay till the Gospell was preached and the people instructed to a leaving of them and when the day of funerall came which is c Hieron Zanch. de vitiâ—s exter cult opposit Thes 11. p. 40â— supposed to be the time of the Temples destruction then to be layd in the grave with honor whereas to these ther must be applied what one of our writers d Io Caluâ—â— in act 13. vers 3. hath Nunc cum satis coÌ„tat tales ceremonias nec vela esse nec sepulchra quibus tegitur Christus sed foetida potius stercora quibus obruta est sincera fides religio qui promiscuè faciunt liberum earum vsum longè plus Papae arrogant quam legi suae Deus concedit Secondly the Apostles retayned the abstinence from bloude and strangled for a time onely during the weaknes of the Iewes which reason ceasing they are now e August quo sup mortiferae quocunque animo quis
controversies among the greatest often aiso more about them then about matters of the faith so an whole church d CoÌ„fess Eccles Mansfild aedit an no 1560. ap Conrad Schlussel burg tom 13. p. 526. sic fieri solet vt semper adiaphora maiores excitent tumultus quaÌ„ ipsa doctrina they proue it by these instaÌ„ces the Prophets had more to doe to dispute against humane traditions theÌ„ to deliuer the true doctrine Christ in his time had many bickerings against the ceremonies of the Pharisies In the time of St August in tanta fuerunt certationes de traditionibus humanis rebus indiffereÌ„tibus vt secuta sit inde miserabilis vastitas in ecclesia of which he coÌ„plaineth say they in his answer ad inquisitiones Ianuarij lib. 1. cap 2. They proceed nec dubitamus affirmare quandocunque tandem erit concilium plus nobis facesset negoiij controversia de adiaphoris quam tota doctrina and they giue two reasons hereof the first is because men contemne the simplicitie of Gods service are delighted with the magnificence and with the splendencie of rites and ceremonies vt expleantur aures oculi Et quidaÌ„ veluti habitus nudo per se cultui accommodetur whervpon they assume that ornament of ceremonies qui fuit adhibitus in papatu etiumsiipsas ceremonias non probant The second is because diverse men doe hope by admitting multipâ—ying the adiaphora to mitigate content and appease the papistes Against the first of these say they we must holde faste this consolation that God doth choose loue that which is base abiect in the eves of the world Against the second that omnes spes de placatione hostium frustra sunt because they will never rest in our admissioÌ„ of their indifferent things vntil the whole body of their falshoods be received withal To leaue this church goe we to the greatest lights of the former churches where wee shall finde that manie profitable for the ministerie haue not been able often tymes to be perswaded in things indifferent as the controversie of Easter sheweth in which Neque e Euseb histor lib. 5. c. 23. Anicetus Polycarpo persuadere poterat nec Polycarpus Aniceto suasit Take another instance in the fast of a Sabboth day where scripture speaketh neither one way nor other Is this easie to be resolved f August Epist 86. ad Caesulâ—â— when once controversie is mooued about it No interminabilis est ista coÌ„tentio saith August generans lites noÌ„ finiens quaestiones There may another instance be given in the controversie about long haire of Monkes of which August againe g August l. de opere Monachor c. 33. Existunt inter fratres infirmiores firmiores amarissimae periculosissimae contentiones quod illi fortè si scirent hoc quoque sine dubitatione corrigerent quorum caetera miramur amamus Are there no profitable ministers that cannot perswade them selues in our retayle of popish ceremonies Quorum caetera miramur amamus then are there no profitable Ministers neither thorough out Germanie Fraunce Helvetia and the rest of the Churches One speaking about popishe rites ceremonies retayned in our church h Alexand. Ales in proem leirurg Anglic magna ardua res est indicium saith he And as for the addition of the crosse to baptisme an proceres in ecclesia saith l Herman Hamelman de tradit p. 1. l. 5. in fine another addere aliquid debeant in SacrameÌ„tis magna est quaestio In which language another speaketh likewise m Chemnit Exam. p. 2. de rit p. 37 cùm ipse silius Dei Sacramenta ita instituerit vt ea certis à se institutis ritibus praeceperit administrari valde ardua est quaestio an hominibus permissum sit alios praeterea quocunque consiliâ— superaddere Indeed though adherent circumstances which one calleth n A Hiper non sacramentales be in the churches disposition as tyme place c. yet of inherent that belong to the manner of administration as eating giving c. or to the matter administred such as the elementes are and the signes which are ceremoniae sacramentales he that doubteth not whether the church may adde or no hee may perchance come too neare the Iesuiticall o Bellarmi de Effect Sacram. c. 31. assertion Christ ordayned but a fewe ceremonies about the Sacraments of purpose to leaue the adding of more to the Pastours of the Church And is it an easie question to be resolved on that the Magistrate hath authoritie to diminish from the signes Nowe he may aswell diminish as adde in all proportion #Sect 18. The 4. scandall of the Cerem is that they offende all sortes of men among the people A Fourth scandall giue the ceremonies in that they offende all sortes of men among the people The first sorte is of them who as yet cleaue to their olde mumpsimus where their auncient crosse most deare how doth it confirme them The Israelites must needes haue a calfe for a signe of Gods presence it is because of the olde a Ios Simler in Exod 32. Ioh. Caluin in Act. 7.1 Cronic 17.6 1. King 22 44. twange of Egyptes idolatrie which yet sticketh in their stomackes Iehosaphat forbiddeth the high places yet the people will vse them still which incorrigiblenes of theirs must be greater in a crosse then in a calfe or high place because it hath the commendation of antiquitie aswell as it the Magistrates commaund too boote Because the b Hospin de origin templor c. 1. viscus of an old Oke was among the Heathens of old accounted signum à Deo electae arboris therefore the converted Christians could not be wayned no not from buying with their money this prisca stultitia so that the crosse counted of old signum à Deo electum yea sanctified with Christes owne bloud and being commaunded by lawe besides how madd will men bee vpon it The Gnostickes haue they images like the Heathen then will they grow at last to c Epiphan â—â—â—res 27. perficere Gentium mysteria about them The papistes haue they images after the manner of the Gentiles then will the Gentiles superstition be sound in them as one of their owne d Ludouiâ— Viues in August de ciuita Dei l. 8. c. vlt. non video in multis quod sit discrimen inter corum opinionem de sanctis id quod Gentiles putabant de suis dijs In like maner haue the people a popish crosse in vse amongst them they will vse it no otherwise then papistes vse it many of them Quicquid lex praetexat as one of e Beza Epiâ—â— 8. our writers speaketh or what diverse vse soever it prescribeth what meaneth else their decking of crosses in gang-weeke their feasting and revelling every holly-roode day and their keeping of that day holy to the honour of the crosse their sewing of redd crosses over right
idolatry by causse though nâ—w they be not honored yet there is daunger for time to come Gedeons Ephed is ill suffered to stand still if it be but for future daunger and the Altars of the high place must downe least hereafter they should hurt And Moses body must be buried out of the way to prevent occasion of future idolatrie Iudg. 8. Exod. 20.25 Deut. 34.6 Gen. 34.2 Reg. 23.13 that which also must be done with Rahells images Salomons Temples stande now forlorne yet must they be razed because in time they may recouer credit againe so must the temples of the heathens of which one thus c P. Martyrâ— loc commun de imag sect 24. etiam extera c. Images must not be kept whole no not out of the church because if there be a chauÌ„g they will be restored againe CoÌ„stantine the great shut vp the temples of the Gods but razed them not These Iulian the Apostata opened againe which if they had bene overthrowne before non tam facilè reaedificari potuissent which Theodosius and other Princes marking either they razed them altogither or grauÌ„ted them to the vses of Christians Gratian remooved the Ara victoriae which stood in Curia Senatoria and at which the Senators were wont to be sworne for feare of daunger in tyme to come Symachus sued to Valentinian who succeeded to haue it restored the christians them selues that were of his counsell yeelded those the Emperour accused perfidiae and further replied d Carol. Sigon de Imper. ocâ—idental lib. 9. quomodo quod frater eripuit me reddere suadetis cùm religionem laesurus sim fratrem à quo nolo pietatis officio superari These ceremonies laedunt fidem laedunt fratres in other churches that haue remooued them and they will be a meane to reedifie poperie magis facile they emboldeÌ„ the popishe Symachùs not only to hope but also to sue for tolleration and they are a roote of bitternes to defile many in time and lastly a stompe of the popish tree remayning to make it reflorish at last againe Heb. 12.15 Dan. 4.12 I conclude therefore with that saying of Zisca the famous e Ludonie Lauat in Deuteron leader of the Thaborites diruendi sunt etiam ipsi ciconiarum nidi neredeant Secondly these ceremonies hurt the gospell in regard of the present prosperitie of it and that many wayes which I will set downe in order out of one f Flaccus Illirie in lib. de Adiaph of our writers First the ceremonies are the sinewes of poperie in which they place the whole summe of their religioÌ„ neither is it possible these foundations of their superstitious standing to keepe away from vs their superstition we see our Preachers are scarse able to hisse out abuses when the foundations of abuses are abolished nothing more light theÌ„ the foolish multitude which can not be kept within the boundes of their dutie no not when all occasions of impietie are taken away how much lesse then can they be contayned when occasion shall be restored Secondly these ceremonies breed discord and strife which weakeneth the gospell devideth the church and giveth advaÌ„tage for poperie to growe Thirdly these ceremonies both keepe out Preachers and turne out preachers vntill the flockes be left without shepheardes yea left to wolues or hirelings Fourthly the zealous when they see these ceremonies reinforced which they haue despised will loath the service of God the more the simple who will thinke the worse of all the religion because they will indge summanâ— esse lenitatem ministrorum qui iam abrogant ceremonias pontificias extreme vituperant iam verò easdem restituunt Fiftly when the Minister yeeldeth to these ceremonies he being their captaine and thus shrinking it coÌ„meth to passe what Chabrias said once Better an armie of hartes with a Lyon to their Captaine then an armie of Lyons with an Hart to their Captaine the people are most vnwilling to suffer though there be neuer so great neede when they can drawe the inconstancie of their Minister to cloake their coldnes they thinke they haue excuse sufficient and the Minister him selfe whatsoeuer neede should be can not exhort them vnto perseverance and to suffering if he doe his wordes moue not because he is but held a turne-coat Sixtly these ceremonies hinder the refutation of poperie in the pulpit they make men beleeue Preachers are too vehement against the papistes as the Interim when it came forth made men to say of Martine Luther he was not a man of moderation they make the people beleeue also that the vehement and zealous Preachers against poperie are Stoickes and precise and inhumane and too strickt and severe even as the Germane Preachers were iudged of at the same time Seventhly by reason of these ceremonies the people wil be induced to say as they did once wheÌ„ popish ceremonies did reenter in Germanie we perceaue now the Pope is not so blacke as Luther made him and that wee may come to some agreement if we will so by these meanes the Preachers labouring to season mens heartes with an hatred of poperie will see their labours come al to nothing Eightlie our yeelding to the ceremonies will drawe others by our example against their consciences for that the Germane Epiphonema will be taken vp againe vide quid illi num tu es illis doctior aut sanctior qua machina constat partim oppugnatas partim subrutas Ecclesias tum in Germania tum in Hungaria Ninthly These ceremonies yeelded to by vs will make the sonnes of Gath to reioyce and the daughters of the Philistines to triumphe which were litle discretion in vs if the old rule hold neque tu tuae occasioni desis neque suaÌ„ hosti Dei They make accouÌ„t that their side shall now goe vp that as many as returne to their ceremoni are coÌ„ming towards them will be wholy theirs in the end eveÌ„ as Luther was wont to say papistae nostras concessiones intelligunt largè largius largissimè suas a. strictè strictius strictissimè quod cum sctant nostri Theologi tanto malo occasionem dare non deberent And the libertine who maketh more account of his swine then of Christ will hereby count him self freed from all care of religion as which he seeth left in the suddes even by the chief professors themselues when once they come ad vocem ancillae for let a Minister but conforme who before was zealous and who will thinke better of him theÌ„ of one that is arundo vacua inclinans ad quemvis ventum Here I apply not to our Reverend Fathers what once was spoken of this scandall yet thinke I it fit to set it downe that they may coÌ„sider of it g Hilar. l. 1. contra CoÌ„stant defunct only dogges treturne to their vomit and will you compel the ministers of Christ to suppe vp those things which they had spit foorth Tenthly last of all there be
not preachers enough in the lande men say and therfore the Nonresidents the dumbe dogges must continue what wound then will there be giveÌ„ in this want when the subscription shall sweepe out a great part of them which ordinarilie preach on every Sabboth that which will follow hereof is this the people will returne to their old lipp-labour which now for the want of preachers is said to be found in the Greeke church if their priestes saith h Dauid Chytre in praerat Antelection Chtonie one can reade the common Orologie they count nothing more required to the duetie of a true Pastor And if the people heare it read or reade it them selues in private they thinke nothing vnperformed which true devotion requiteth of them This who seeth not in great part is come vpon our church alreadie but this may suffice for the murther of ceremonies thorough scandall #Sect 20. The third murther of the Crosse is thorough home contention FRom the crosses murther of the body through crueltie of the soule through scandall we are to come now to a third murther of them both thorough contention For the home dissentioÌ„ which these ceremonies haue raised amongst vs hath brought forth no fewer evills then the contention of Nazianzens dayes of which so tragically he a Gregor Nazianz. in Apalog coÌ„playneth whither we respect the coÌ„suming quite of all remnant of loue at home or our growing contemptible to papists hatefull to the churches abroad or the losse of our name credit among the better sort of our brethreÌ„ or their building on our backes that are lewde while what we obiect one against another they catch greedily to the commoÌ„ disgrace of vs all It being so 2. Sam. 20.21 who is wise amongst vs to cut of the make bates head that the inheritance of the Lord be no longer troubled the peaceable in Israell no longer pursued Psal 35.20 nor the quiet of the lande molested b Ioachim Vadian in Iouia Claudius the Emperour was vniust they were the Iewes that raysed the tumult in Rome but he exiled and banished the christians as if they had bin the authors of it To prevent the like iniustice now we craue of every in different man before he condemne vs for the authors of this dissention which is in our Church to heare with patience this our Apologie and defence 1. King 17.18 Firâ—te it is no contention to contende for the trueth or to labour to purge corruptions out of the Church in regarde whereof Iohn c. 4. we can no more be accused for troubling the Lande who indeavour to cleanse it of all reliques of superstition then Elias could when he cleansed Israell from the Altars of Baall or be blamed more then the Angell was to bee blamed for troubling the water sith it is to cure the sicknesses and diseases of the Church that we doe trouble it Let there be considered heere the similitude which c Gelas in epist ad Anastas August Gelaesius vseth It is the qualitie and condition of the sicke to accuse his Phisition rather then to represse his owne hurtful lustes humors but if we be proud who minister a salue for health quid vocaÌ„di sunt qui resultant If we be proud who say there must be obedieÌ„ce yeelded to Gods word qui refragantur quo appellaÌ„di sunt nomine If we be proud qui diuinuÌ„ cultum pùro atque illibato copimus tenore servari what are they to be called who defile it with the things vncleane of Antichrist vbi spiritus superbiae veraciter pugnet veritas ipsa indicat It must be the truth that must be iudge which side is coÌ„teÌ„tious A strang thing crie our Opposites here that men should be fouÌ„d crying out for truth in a church that professeth the truth Zeph. 1.4 vnder pretence of the gospell breeding disturbaÌ„ce in such peace of the gospell as by the infinite blessing of God our land at this time enioyeth As if vnder Iosias him selfe that great reformer of the church there were not remnants of Baal left against which a Zephaniah is bound to contend strive vntill they be removed clensed the very idolatrous garments themselues of the Chemarims not excepted as badd as which the Cope the Surplice are or els our d Gualt in Sophon ho nil 2. writers are deceaued Thus one of theÌ„ even when the Magistrat retayneth rites of baptisme popish it is the duty of the Minister to e Zâ—nch in Epist ad Philippens cap. 1. doctrin 2. dâ—cere publicè priuatim quid facienduÌ„ sit modo placidè prudeÌ„ter hoc fiat absque seditione turbatione ecclesiae Secondly wise men will remeÌ„ber the loving coÌ„sent wherin the Pastors laboured togither in the beginning of Eliza. dayes at which time seeing there was no such haÌ„mering noyse in our temple noâ— cry in our streetes I speak in coÌ„parison til the subscriptioÌ„ stepped in like an Vsher cryed roome for the ceremo they will I doubt not iudge this subscript conformitie to be the very evill spirits that haue divided Sichem So Paule iudgeth the circumcizion to be the concision because the stirre began about it whereas the church was quiet before WheÌ„ Ioab was accused by Abner for devouring th'inheritaÌ„ce of the Lord by civil dissention Iudg. 9.23 he excuseth himself thus who provoked which now is our Apologie who would be quiet in our places but cannot be suffred who strike neither first nor second blow Philip. 3.2 nor offer any occasion of strise but suffer only only defend that with a quiet Apologie only 2. Sam. 2.27 deserue not so much as that coÌ„plaint that we do not totum telum recipere when did we ever offer to drink aboue them who now teare vs in pieces for troubling their waters when ever refused we to bowe down our backes to theÌ„ although they haue fetched the bloud with their spurres in which case is there not f Ioh. Sarisburiens Exra 4.15 leave given eueÌ„ to Balaams asse her self to open her mouth Thidly it is not nothing that it may be obiected The citie hath bin of old seditious now thus a whole church g Harm coÌ„fess sect 17. ex confess Saxonica p 228. 8. August 223. the necessitie of imposing ceremo is that which hath bred contention froÌ„ time to time let it be examined whether there was not more peace in the primitiue church wheÌ„ no h Socrat histor lib. 5. cap. 22. lawes of an necessarie observation in rites and ceremonies were enacted Let it be examined on the other side since a necessitie of rites and ceremonies hath been imposed what controversies from time to time haue bin in the church about them iudge by the first tumult of all the rest Victor goeth about to throw a necessitie of conformitie vpoÌ„ the churches in observing Easter day did not Irenaeus reprove him for this tanquaÌ„ pacis perturbatorem
recompence the losse of so many worthie Preachers and what wisedome to vse a medicine worse then the disease Thirdly we are commaunded a contrarie meane which is easie and without any hurt yea to much good for cast this Ionas out of the shippe and what a calme will there presently followe In the controversie about Images at Constantinople Germanus purposing not to yeelde h Carol. Sigon do reg Ital. si ego sum Ionas sayeth he mittite me in mare and so resigned It seemeth he borrowed this out of Epiphanius who writing against Manes hath these wordes l Epiphan haerel 66. Nonne oportebat cum Iona dicere tollite me proijcite in mare propter me enim tempestas ista What then A man of Ionas spirit will not sticke to throwe into the Sea to gaine vnitie and peace vnto the Church I say not such tryfling wares as these Ceremonies are in strife but also their honours and dignities them selves they being the matters of that strife and contention which doeth so trouble it vnnecessarilie The wise and skilfull m Decret p. 2. c. 1. q. 7. cap. 16. Pilote tempestate vrgente quaedam exonerat vt caetera salva permaneant yea though the wares bee precious And shall we then cast out the Pilotes of the shippe them selues and all to spare the wares of Rome which are no lawfull Trafficque And when Christ commaundeth to pull out the verie eye to cutt off the verie hande it selfe that offendeth this course to spare the paring of an nayle or worse commaundeth to cutt off not the member that doeth offende but all the members yea principall members to witt the faithfull Preachers of the Gospell that are iustly offended by it Itane propter Consuetudines audes iubere vt pij viri qui alias sincerè docent eijciantur sayd n Herman HamelmaÌ„ de tradit p. 1. lib. 4. col 377. one to Cassander once And this is the first lawfull meane for the appeasing of our contention the remoovall of the ceremonies and subscription who are the make-bates of our Church But if this cannot bee obtayned then the next way to appease contention is that whiche is next vnto it to leaue these ceremonies as they are helde to be indifferent so to be vsed indifferentlie as everie man thinketh good The example heereof wee haue in Polycarpe and Anicetus Policrates and Victor who though they dissented in the controversie of Easter daye yet communicated one with another suffered all men to enioy their own iudgements and by this meanes o Sozora l. 7. c. 19. Nicephor lib. 12. cap. 31. sapienter extinxerunt hanc contentionem The verie same course was there taken for vnitie and concord by certaine Bishopps assembling together who made a Canon which they called p Socrat histor lib. 5. cap. 20. adiaphoron because it left the observation of Easter daye indifferent as men would them selues The long warre betweene the Greeke and the Latin Church howe was it comprimised at the last but by the same course the decree of the vnion running thus q concil Florentin sess vlt. Item in Azimo siue fermentato pane vnusquisque Domini corpus conficiat iuxta suae ecclesiae siue Occidentalis siue Orientalis morem Augustin speaking of a Satersdayes fast or Dinner hath these wordes r August epist 86. ad Casulan In his nihil mihi videtur tutius pacatiusque servari quam vt qui non manducat manducantem non spernat siue iudicet and speaking of a like matter he hath these s Idem epist 118. Si quis dixerit non quotidie accipiendam esse Eucharistiam alius affirmet quotidie faciat vnusquisque quod secundum fidem suam pie credit faciendum Hierome speaking of receaving the communion as it seemeth for private eating in a white linnen cloth t Hierom. in Apolog cont Iouâ—nian scio Romae saith he hanc esse consuetudinem vt fideles corpus Christi accipiant quod nec repraehendo nec probo vnusquisque enim in suo sensu abundat Gregorie speaking of the trim-immersion u Gregor Epistolar l. 1. epist 41 non est repraehensibile saith he infantem vel semel vel ter immergi Come we to the Crosse w Amalar. de Ecclesiast offic li. 3. cap. 24. Satius est signum Crucis semel fieri super panem vinum non tamen est abs re si bis fiat One thus of our English ceremonies x Alexand. Ales in proemio Leiturg Anglican sunt haec certe eiusmodi cuiusmodi sunt illa de quibus beatus Paulus iubet vt vnusquisque intellectu proprio abundare hoc est sine dubitatione sequi debeat suam sententiam This holdeth onely will some say in the private vse of things indifferent of which there is no Canon made As if these thinges forementioned were not all of them overruled by the custome of the church if they speake of a Canon inferring necessitie they must knowe there were no such Canons in auncient time christian libertie was more tendered in those dayes It was poperie that first brought in Canons of necessitie y Decret p. 1. distinc 4. cap. 6. Decretum necessitatem facit exhortatio autem liberam voluntatem excitat saith Gratian. Adde to him z Bellarm. Bellarmine aspersio aquae lustralis vtomnis traditio quae traditur in forma concilij non in forma praecepti libera dicitur We see by these whence Canons of necessitie came in rites and ceremonies to wit out of an opinion that the Church hath power in such matters to take away christian libertie This opinion who will say is not popish vnto the auncient times vnknowne One of our latest writers of reverend and of great account proveth out of Socrates that holy dayes were antiquitus liberi and that therefore a Tho. Morton Apolog p. 2. li. 2. cap. 9. non imponendam esse christinis vllam necessitatem to which he addeth of his owne quod non docet papale iugum videtur excutere A plaine testimonie that necessitie in rites taketh away libertie that antiquitus there was in rites a libertie permitted and no necessitie imposed Lastly that necessitie in rites is iugum papale neuer heard of the church til Antichrist began to vsurpe over the libertie of christian men #Sect 23. Conformitie in Ceremon ought not to hinder peace though with diversitie of Ceremonie AGainst this second meane of peace aunciently vsed there is coÌ„formitie now opposed which our Opposites hold so necessarie as that this libertie forespoken of can haue no place or hearing But if she might be suffered to speak shee would iustifie first that varietie of ceremonies no way impeacheth the vnitie of faith but sometimes adorneth it in which faith the true peace of the church consisteth So Irenaeus to a Euseb hist lib. 5. c. 23. Victor dissonantia ieiunia commendat vnitatem fidei which how b Lib. concord apud Conrad Schlusselb tom 13
p. 597. Articul Smalcaldic An. 1537. ap eundem p. 608. often did the Germane Divines alleage to prove that conformitie to the ceremonies of their Adiaphorisme was not necessarie for the churches peace Socrates hath these wordes c Socrat. histor lib. 5. cap. 22. Nulla religio eosdem ritus custodit etiamsi eandem de illis doctrinam amplectantur Nam qui eiusdem sunt fidei de ritibus inter se dissentiunt Sozomen that the like d Sozom. histor lib. 7. cap. 19. stultum est consuetudinis gratia se invicem seperari eos qui in primarijs religionis capitibus consentiunt Etenim easdem per omnia similes traditiones in omnibus concordibus Ecclesijs in venire non datur Augustine resembleth the churches ceremonies to the Queenes garment in which varietie serveth for beautie and addeth e August epist 86 ad Casulan sit vna fides ecclesiae vniversae quae vbique dilatatur tanquam intus in membris etiamsi ipsa fidei vnitas quibusdam diversis observationibus celebratur quibus nullo modo id quod in fide verum est impeditur Gregorie hath the like f Gregor ad Leandrum epist 41. In vna fide nihil officit consuetudo diversa to which effect he wrote g Idem epist lib. 12. cap 3. epist also to Augustine the Monke when for England he required of him some vniforme order in the ceremonies of the Church Leo is of the same iudgement h Decret pa 1. distinct 11. cap. 3. Nihil obsunt saluti credentium diversae pro loco tempore consuetudines quando vna fides per dilectionem operans bona quae potest vni Deo commendat omnes Waltramus Bishop of Nurenburgh writeth to l Anselm epist 327. Anselme about the question of leavened bread and receaveth this answere The diversitie of rites I thinke is rather to be borne with in agreement of peace then to be condemned with offence For we haue this from the holy Fathers that if the vnitie of charitie be kept in the Catholique faith the diversitie of customes hurt nothing But if it be demaunded whereof this diversitie of customes doeth spring I perceave no other cause thereof but the diversitie of mens wittes which although they differ not in strength and trueth of the thing yet they agree not in the fitnes and comelines of the ministring For that which one iudgeth to be meeter often times another thinketh lesse meet wherefore not to agree in such diversities I thinke it not to fwerue from the trueth of the thing Our m Harmo conf sec 17 owne Churches that be reformed are of the same iudgement Yea some of our n D. Bils cont Apolog pa. 2. p 305.306 Opposites and our owne o Iewel defence of Apolo â— p. 2. c. 1â— diui 1 writers One of whom citeth Lindanus p Thom. Morton Apolog. p. 2 li â— c. 39 Paschae celebranda illa olim varietate per regiones diversitas nihil fidei officiebat There is first replied to this that though these auncient Fathers haue taught that the vnitie of fayth may stande in diversitie of rites yet that they haue euer laboured for a conformitie in ceremonies for a further strengthening of it So a Councell q Concil Toleta 10 cap 1. confesseth that vnitatem Catholicae regulae varietas nulla deser pit who yet will haue a conformitie in the celebratioÌ„ of the Annunciation least in time the diversitie of it might bring forth discord and dissention in the Church Others will haue a conformitie in ceremonies least there should be thought to be a diversitie where there is none So a Councell r Concil Venetic can 15. rectum quoque duximus vt vel intra provinciam nostram sacrorum ordo psallendi vna sit consuetudo vt sicut vnam cum trinitâ—tis confessione fidem tenemus vnam officiorum regulam teneamus ne variata observatione in aliquo observatio nostra discrepari credatur An other s Concil Toletan 4 Can. 5. propter quod in Hispanijs quidam Sacerdotes trinam quidam simplam mersionem faciunt à nonnullis scisma esse conspicitur vnitas fidei scindi videtur nam dum partes diversae in baptizandis aliqua contrario modo agunt alij alios non baptizatos esse contendunt The same Councell before post recte fidei confessionem placuit vt nihil diver sum aut dissonum in ecclestaslicis sacramentis agamus ne quaelibet nostra diversitas apud ignotos seu carnales scismatis errorem videatur ostendere multis extet in scandalum varietas Ecclesiarum vnus ergo ordo orandi atque psallendi à nobis conservetur First this conformitie was aunciently sought t Thes de â—â—â—aphor â—â—â—colog â—â—â—on ap â—â—ourad â—â—â—luselbâ—r Tom. 13. p â—62 quantum fieri potuit and no further in which maner the greatest resisters of the conformitie in Germanie will allow of an honest seemlie and godlie similitude even as we our selues doe now This appeareth by u Anselm vb sup Anselme If the Sacrament saith he were ministred after one sort agreeing throughout the whole church it were good and laudable but this because it can not well be obtayned therefore a diversitie is to be borne withall So a certaine Councell wisheth that there might be an agreement through the whole church in the single life of ministers who yet because it could not well or conveniently be brought about giveth this libertie of diversitie placet caeteros clericos ad hoc non cogi sed secundum vniuscuiusque Ecclesiae consuetudinem observari debere In regard hereof this conformitie giveth no countenance to the vniformitie present which our Opposites doe seeke after which fieri non potest without innumerable hurtes evills inconveniences scandals as hath been shewed alreadie Secondly This auncient conformitie obiected was therefore wished and sought that every particular congregation might be vnited to the whole vniversall Church So Leo forbiddeth disagreement in the Passeover because w Leo. epist 62. ex coplerunque fit quod non licet vt noÌ„ simul omnes Ecclesiae quod non nisi vnum esse oporiet observet So a Councell will haue a conformitie in a ceremonie vpon this reason x Concil Tolâ—tan 4 Can. 8. quia haec observatio per multarum loca terrarum in ecclesij commendatur dignum est propter vnitatem pacis vt in Gallicanis ecclesijs conservetur So the Councill of Nice will haue a conformitie in fastings and in the Passover y Nicephor li. 8. ca 25. ap Concil Tom. 1 pa 352. vt decens extet ordo quem omnes habitabiles orbis Ecclesiae observant In regard hereof the auncient conformitie sought for giveth no countenance once againe to that which our Opposites doe now pursue which is so farre from vniting our church to other churches Orthodox as that it divideth vs from theÌ„ all so that therof there is like to ensue
sayth he instituta maiorum pro lege tenenda sunt sicut prauaricatores diuinarum legum it a contemptores Ecclesiasticarum consuetudinum coerceudi sunt yet can this l Idem epist ad Ianuar. 119. c. 18. August in a thing truly indifferent which our ceremonies are not giue a man leaue and scope to differ h August epist 86. ad Casulan when aliquorum infirmitas requireth a breach and when there is a detrimentum in conformitie The trim immersion was strengthened with I knowe not how long coÌ„tinuance in which notwithstanding was permitted m Glossa in distinct 4. de consecrat cap. de trina diuersa ecclesiarum consuetudo The Gregorian order hath ben established a long time in Spayne yet neuer was there an vniformitie so precisely exacted but that to this hower from the begining the old Nozorabique is n P. Morne de Eucharist lib. 1. cap. 8. permitted in sixe churches of Toledo in the Cathedrall church it self of Salamanca in the chappels of Doct. Talabricas and of the Cardinall Ximenes Secondly though an exact vniformitie in these ceremonies not Catholice were lawfull and good for the churches peace yet not when it compelleth to forraigne rites as our vniformitie doth o F. Illiric apud conrad Schlusselburg tom 13. P. 166. Cicero disputeth much de proprio decoro which being now in every church it must haue ceremonies of it owne Besides the people stay at home and goe not abroad so much as to see the ceremonies of other churches The diuines of Germany p Thes de Adiaphor Theolog. Saxon. ap eund P. 462. non sunt cogendae Ecclesiae saith they rectè sentientes benè constitutae vt se prorsus aliorum ceremonijs accommodent seu conformeÌ„t Thirdly though it were for the churches peace to presse an exact vniformitie in the lesser ceremonies and the same fetched from other places yet were it not either peace or pietie to fetch them from Rome the throne of Satan and seate of Antichrist the Sodom and Aegipt of our times q Gelas epi. ad Anastas Augustum Gelasius well Quomodo potest esse pax vera cut charitas intemerata defuerit quae est de cor de puro conscientia bona fide non ficta Quomodo quaeso te de corde erit puro si contagio inficiatur externo quomodo de conscientia bona si prauis fuerit malisque commixta quemadmodum fide non ficta si maneat sociata cum perfidis Haec à me necesse est tandius non taceri quandiu nomen pacis obtenditur vt talem pacem doceamus qualis solapax est praeter quam nulla esse monstratur Ought not we to say to Rome as Iehu to Iezabel what peace as longe as thy witchcraftes and thy whoredomes abound in great number Sure we must according to the Germane rule r Deâ—â—â— eccles German apud Conrad Schlusselb tom 13. p. 666. Nulla est concedenda gratia adversarijs in mutatione ceremoniarum nisi prius nobiscum consentiant in fundamento hoc est in vera doctrina vsu SacrameutoruÌ„ What meane we then for a peace to our owne church to make a kinde of peace with Rome for that conformitie in these ceremonies doeth make vs to partake with her according to Gelasius wordes it hath been shewed long s Cap. 1. since Is such a peace godlie Suppose it were it may be well saide of this way there is no peace in it seeing it is easie to be proved that vniformitie to popish ceremonies whether in whole or in parte hath coÌ„tinually like a furie leaped out of hell set all in flame and fierie combustion t Nucler generat 22. Charles the great commaundeth an Vniformitie to the Romane order what a doe this bredde the complaintes of those dayes testifie Alphon sus the sixt of Spaine enioyneth an vniformitie to the Gregorian order what hurly burly it bredde the u Roderic Toletan lib. 6. c 14 recordes of that age doe witnes w P. Morne vb sup Venofride an English man afterward named Boniface commaundeth in Germanie an vniformitie to the Romane order the resistance of it bredde not civill warre because Charles Martill did assist him whom none in that age could match howbeit an hott contention it raysed vp in which Vergilius Bishopp of Saltzburg Clemens Scotus Sampson and other great persons suffered great things one Albertus dyed in prison for writing against it Augustine the Monke commaundeth the christians about Bangor to conforme to Rome which they refusing a cruell warre is moued against them as Beda sheweth Augustine the Monke required of them of Bangor saith x Beda hist gent. Aâ—glor li. 2. ca. 12. he primum vt codem c. first that they should obserue the Easter the same tyme that Rome did Secondly that in the administration of Baptisine they should vse the same rites and ceremonies which the Romans vsed Thirdly that they should ioyne with them to preach the Gospell genti Angliae And not onely a totall imposing of Romane rites doth breede this mischief but also a pressing of them in part thorough a certaine kinde of mixture Doeth not our Lord him selfe forewarne vs that peecing of olde and new patches together maketh the breach wider That mingling old and new wine together marreth barrell all The first reconciliation made betweene papistes and a church reformed was at Basil 1436. There Rochezana with some other Hussites yeelded to a certaine mixture they to haue their communion vnder both kindes and libertie to be governed by the Senat of Prage not by the Pope with some other fewe things and the papistes to retayne the rest as of olde And what followed of this mixture The y Dauid Chytreus in praelect Chronic. sincerer sort of the Hussites separated them selves into Moravia Polonia other places where Pontificios ritus omnes planè exploseruut And whereas the followers of Rochezana thought hereby to haue made their peace with the papistes that also fayled them because it was not longe after that by the preaching of Iohannes Capistranus they were reduced to their sub vna againe and made subiect to the tyrannie of the Pope This first conformitie and mixture then sped very ill as fayling in that peace which it promised with the papistes bringing warre into the Church in steed of peace The conformitie of Germanie spedd as ill Great expectation was there of peace by the Interim which notwithstanding brake foorth like a fire not onely betweene Protestantes and papistes but also betweene the protestant Churches them selves iust as the sincerer sort of Divines foresawe and divined would questionles followe vpon such mingled compositions z Math. Index in lib. de gravissimo mandat exeundi de Babylon One of them giveth many instances Constantius to haue a reconciliation made a mixture to wit homoousios must be turned into homoiousios to concord the Arrians Zeno to haue peace maketh an
fauebo eis qui negotium famulis Dei facessunt The reason is giuen by a Bishop of Rome o Iulius Pap. 1. decret ca. 33. non vult Dominus tam leuiter suos tractari ministros Columnas suas firmiter stare vult nec à quibuscunque agitari Secondly the fault pretended for this punishment maketh this wrong and robberie great For we plead with Dauid what haue wee done what evill is in our handes Or with the later Orthodox Ministers â— Sam. 26.18 p Victor de persequnt Vandal vt quid taliter affligimur pro quibus malis forte commissis ista perpetimur When our aduersaries themselues can lay nothing to our charg no nor an angrie Iudge condemne vs for any thing else then for disvsage of a trifle euen as themselues confesse what is the robbing of the church of worthie Ministers in this great want the robbing of the people of their great coÌ„fort the vndoing of sincere Preachers of the Gospell of Iesus Christ are these I say trifles also I feare how they will passe for trifles at that great day wheÌ„ it will be in vaine to vse that gloze of Iulian q Theodor. histor li. 3. ca. 15. Not for your conscience doe I punish you but for your obstinacie and contempt There was a Bishop not long since liuing who misliked his Chauncellour for excommunicating in light matters he replyed what nowe is common not for the matter but for the contempt to whom it was answered which nowe serueth for our Apollogie and defence to a great contempt is required à subiectum eiusdem generis to witt a great offence Why did the r Vorm atiens concil can 13.14 Councell of Wormes I trowe forbid to suspend from the Communion pro parvis leuibus causis Why did it censure a Bishopp that should so excommunicate for one that had passed the boundes omnis sacerdotalis moderationis was not the witt then come into the world which nowe is growne aged though the matter be small yet the contempt deserueth more punishment then is sutable to the subiect of the crime and fault committed The Empresse s Soxom l. â— c. 20. Eudoxia caused Chrysostome to be deposed for inveighing against the abuses which were committed at the setting vp of her Image and all ages since haue abhorred her violence Yet what shewe of contempt can there be imputed to vs like that appearance which was in this facte of his his opposition was in the Image of the Empresse herself our forbearance in a popish image only and he had not so much cause to invaigh against the setting vp of the one neare to the Church but wee haue more cause against the other vsed religiouslie in Gods service and in the verie church it selfe And make wee comparison once more out of a like storie t Theodoâ— histor li. 5. c. 20. When the Image of Theodosius his Empresse was broken at Antioch and men of warre were now approaching neare the Citie to reuenge it one Macedonius fell a board with them in these words the Emperour must consider that man is the Image of God and therefore more to be tendred then the Image of the Empresse which also may bee repayred againe whereas the Emperour with all his power cannot restore so much as one haire of the heade when once it is perished These with the like considerations did appease the Emperour well but as great nowe doe pleade for vs. we breake down no Image of our superiors we only professe that word of God that doth disable a popishe Image from vse religious in his Church when yet notwithstanding ther are wronged for his sake the men that beare more then a commo Image of God because the Ministers of the Gospell beare before their seuerall churches a speciall Image and representation Gal. 4.14 which deserveth they should be receaued as the Angels of God yea euen as Christ Iesus when Iohn Patriarch u Zonoras in hist eiâ—â— of Constantinople pulled out the eyes of the Image of Marie which in the raigne of Theodora a whole Sinod had set vp she giueth sentence his eyes should be pulled out likewise which what age hath not disliked although shee executed not the sentence but gaue him pardon But the ceremonies controversed and the crosse by name haue euen executed eye for eye tooth for tooth vpon the preachers many of them as they haue disgraced the crosse so haue they been disgraced themselues as by the word they haue thrust it out of Baptisine so through vniustice haue they been themselues thrust out from their ministerie and from their flockes Thirdlie the matter of our punishment maketh the wrong great It being true what the w Thom. Aquin. 2. â— q. 66. Scholmen teach The thefte is great when res ablata though of it selfe little is Chara possessori or when the possessor or owner is poore whom a little being taken away doth x Summa silvestrin verb. furt sect 4. 5. multum grauare euen as obolus aliquando is quid magis pauperi quam aureus diuiti that which our Sauiour backeth when he affirmeth a Mite is asmuch to a widow as a Sehecle to one that is rich For the first of these that which is taken away from vs is deare vnto vs. When Theophilus thrust Chysostome out of his charge which he had at Constantinople he y Sorom l. â— c. 18. compareth him to Pharoes seruants by whose meanes and incitation Abraham had his Wife taken from him Paule 1 Thes 2.17 when the Iewes of Thessalonica drave him away from the Church that was there he compared himselfe to an Orphan that had lost as it were his Father So that when the Crosse bereaveth vs of our flockes there is a man bereaved of his Wife a child be reaved of his Father whom he loueth when it reaveth vs of our ministery more is done then euen animae dimidia pars is torne rent sawed of from our bodies As for the latter the Crosse and the cemonies take away from vs what doth multum grauare for wee are poor men and that one benefice which it taketh away is all the 1 2 Sam. 12.3 sheepe we had and there with sustayned we our 2 Deut. 24.6 liues and now it is gonne there commeth in place wherewith shall we be 3 ver 15. Deut. 20.5.6 couered God so desireth a man should haue comfort in his own that to goe home and eate of his vineyarde and dwell in his house he is to bee freed from the warre which is a service of the church whereas the crosse even to the hinderance of the churches service taketh from vs all comfort in the blessings wherewith the Lord and not man had blessed vs and for which he is so carefull we should enioye them And the infamie which doth accompanie this great wrong must not be pretermitted When Nehemiah would exaggerate the oppression of his time nehem 5.9
profitable and well commaunded seeing our accusers fayle of performance who yet holde them selues good subiectes they are voyde of all reason to sound so loude the blast of faction and disobedience against vs who swerue in a fewe tryfles onely not needfull not profitable and as we take it not well commaunded Fourthly we appeale to the common carryage of our liues to the loyaltie of the parishes in which we labour to the effectes of our ministerie to which the Apostle Paule appealed yea our very Lord him selfe when they were burthened with this slaunder a slaunder that hath pursued the professors of the truth from time to time without any ceasing Athanasius called in his time propugnaculum veritatis could not enioy his innocencie long in Constantius his court by reason he had informers against him that he was a q Socra l. 1 c. 13. Soxom l. 6. c. 5. Niceph. l. 9. c. 29. pestilent man a sower of discord betweene Constance and the Emperour his brother one that troubleth the Church yea set whole Aegypt whole Lybbi in a combustion But our Soveraigne whom the Lord preserue is not a Constantius to beleeue any thing that is vntrue no we compare him with Constantinus who the better he was the more readie to thinke well of their informations who were in place to be beleeued till Athanasius lost his fauour and his credit euen with him also r Epiphan here 's 68. habebat enim divinum zelum beatus ille non tamen novit quod sycophantae essent propter aemulationem c. euen s Theodoret histor l. 2. c. 11. he that burned the libelles which were offerred against Bishopps yet burned not the libell which was presented against Athanasius to him because they were Bishopps that presented it whom he trusted preposterously And by such was t D. Bilson cont Apolog p. 2. p. 220. Chrysostome also defamed before Arcadius and that in such sorte that whosoeuer petitioned for him was reproched as a troubler of the Empire and the more that he was sued for the further was he sent in exile and newe edictes were sent forth against all those that tooke part with him or bore him fauour For the preventing of a like mischiefe now let it be considered what Iulian him selfe said once Quis erit innocens si accusasse sufficiat For there will be accusers alwayes as long as the Maxime liveth which one gaue once in Alexanders Court fortiter calumniare nam etsi vnlnus curetur cicatrix tamen remanebit Be there no moe captaines think ye to lay to the charge of Paule that he is the Aegyptian thinke not why should these reportes be given of vs vnlesse they were true for there was no reason in the world why Paule should be thought to be the Aegyptian Act. 2.38 it must be considered invidia loquitur non quod est sed quod subest as Seneca telleth vs. As therefore we desired before so doe we still let our Carriage be remembred of which we may say as said the olde Christians once we are defamed concerning the Emperours Maiestie but never yet Albinians Nigrians nor Cassians Albinus Niger and “ Tertullian ad Scapul Cassius being rebelles in those times could be found to be christians Thus much to this slaunder in grosse Now to the particuler braunches of it The first of which is obstinacie wherein we haue the olde Christians for our fellowes who because they would not yeeld to the willes of their superiours in matters of Religion had this proverbe passed vpon them u Caesar Baron Annal nihil obstinatius Christiano we haue Chrysostome partaking with vs in this slaunder aboue all others Severianus then saying of him as our accusers speake of vs w Tripartit histor l. 10 c. 13. Et si nullo alio vituperandus Iohannes est eius tamen superbiae crimen est ad damnationem sufficiens Now one maketh an apologie for him which cleareth vs x Suidas in Chrysost We must not thinke that he who refuseth to flatter is by an by proud nor on the other side that he who yeeldeth out of a base and flattering spirit is by and by moderate but that he is moderate rather who keepeth him selfe within a fit and a free course For it beseemeth to be magnanimus and yet not proud manly and yet not rash milde and yet not basely servile free lastly and not a slaue The second slaunder is that we are singuler But wherfore singuler others conforme but wee wil not so the Proconsull said once to Pionius y Caesar Baion Annal ann 254. caeteri immolarunt to whom he answered for all that ego Proconsul non immolo But they are the whole church that haue cōformed besides your selues and all the Bishops of Asia subscribed when time was against the councel of Chalcedon vpon the letters of the Emperour who would haue them so to doe who yet afterward came and acknowledged z Evagr. histor l. 3. c. 9 nos non nostra voluntate sed necessitate adducti subscripsimus non animo sed verbis duntaxat consensimus what if the whole world did conforme against vs we might answere notwithstanding with Liberius hoc orbis terrarum comprobanit said the Emperour to him quota tu pars es orbis terrarum qui pacem orbis dissolnis He replyed a Theodor. histor lib. 3. cap. 16. non diminuitur solitudine mea verbum fidei sicolim tres pueri tantum in venti sunt qui regis edicto non parerent Howbeit the Lord be blessed wee may turne the scaffold aske of our Opposites howe great a part they be of the church who in these ceremonies controversed seperat themselues from the rest that are called in the world As Basil once touching singing that may wee say nowe b Basil epist 66. ad cleric Eccles Neocaesari ad id vero quo accusamur qua re potissimum simpliciores perterraefaciunt qui nos traducunt hoc habeo quod dicam the course I take omnibus Ecclesijs Dei concors est consona Tertullian thinketh it no small argument that hee hath on his side the agrement of the churches c Tertul. in lib de prescrip advers heres ecquid verisimile est vt tot ac tantae Eeclesiae errarint nullus inter multos eventus vnus exitus variasse debuerat ordinem doctrinae Ecclesiarum caeterum quod apud multos vnum invenitur non est erratum I graunt hee speaketh of vnitie in doctrine but the argument holdeth more strongly in the ceremonies because the conveniencie of them varying according to circumstances of time and place it is indeed admirable that so many churches should leaue and abolishe them without finding any one inconvenience arising from their abolition But what if our church haue more learned men within it then all the rest of the churches haue It becommeth me to say no more but I would it had In the meane season
the men of Hamborough put this answere in my mouth d Hamburg epist ad Philip. Melancthen ipse sibi habeat suae eruditionis laudem Islebius relinquat nobis simplicitatem nostrae innocentiae vt sequamur sacrae scripture Orthodoxae Ecclesiae iudicium quae Adiaphora libera pronuntiat quae bis vult Ecclesiam aedificari non destrui scandalis mederi non ea suscitari superstitionem corruptelas impietates Ecclesia excludi non introduci The third slaunder bewrayeth it own venime For when it giueth forth the puritans are worse then papistes more daungerous to be tollerated in a common wealth then they what faith it else but that Christ Iesus is worse then Barrabas and more daungerous to the state why speaketh it not out like the e W. Giffoe in Caluino Turcisin Frogges of the Dragons mouth the Protestants are worse them Turkes for these false puritanes are true protestants and they that be but as bad as papistes be in some sort as bad as Turkes or else f Math. Sutcli in Turk papism our writers erre Howbeit we see herein wee are not better then our Fathers so the Christians were counted g Caesar Baron Annal ann 100. omnium scelestissimi quam obrem summa pietas summaque visa est esse religio hos vrgere vexare ac penitus profligare they were counted also so daungerous to the state as that their very meetings together were forbidden vpon most seuere punishment All the h Idem anno 170. publique evils also were thrown on then backes it was neuer well since they began it neuer will bee well vntill they bee rooted out So the Arrian Bishops perswaded Valens that the Orthodox Christlans were worse then pagans whereupon he l Theodor. histor lib. 5. cap. 20. cum cunctis alijs quam delegissent religionem eiusque cultum permisserit cum solis propug natoribus dogmatum Apostolicorum bellare nunquam cessauit So now in Rome the Iewes are counted beter then Protestants so that the Iewes haue tolleration when true Christians are put to the fire So in m Io. Bodin de republ Genebrard Chron. anno 1560. Frankford the exiled Caluinistes are worste of all others Papistes Lutherans deserue to be tollerated they must be thrust out But the fittest for our turne is the diuision of Boheme the Hussites there that were conformed Pontificijs in suis ritibus esteemed better of the papists then of their sincere brethreÌ„ called the Waldenses Picardi in despite for these because they were ab vtrisque seiuncti in their ceremonies and their rites Dauid Chytre in praelect Chronit therefore they were helde velut n Catharmata peripsemata here may men see as in a glasse the true picture of a false puritane against whom not Ephraim onely but Iudah also bande them selues without all cause or merite #Sect 5. Seekers of Reformation no Newfangelistes no haters of Antiquitie nor delighters in Noveltie c. THE fift slaunder of the ceremonies is that we are Newfanglistes hating antiquitie and delighting in noveltie and through a certaine giddines of head seeking after innovations First let the fountaine of this slaunder be considered for it sloweth both from papisme and from Adiaphorisme also among the papistes we haue a Concil Tridentin fession 7. can 13. coÌ„demned by the Councell of Trent all those that shall thinke any auncient rite of any Sacrament may be omitted without damnable sinne And as for the Sacrament of Baptisme in particular they are novatores that is newfanglistes in b Bellar. de baptism c. 24. Bellarmines iudgement that shall now thrust out any rite that hath been aunciently vsed therein This he cryeth with open mouth against all the protestant churches for dashing our the Oyle and Spitle with the rest c Mart. Art 5. see Calfh Ibid tol 119. Martial more particularly reveleth at vs about the crosse which in case it be disvsed all antiquitie is disauthorized in his iudgement Among the Adiaphoristes d Harman HamelmaÌ„ de tradit apendic ad p. 1. col 499. Cassander contesteth all Antiquitie is defaced f the Fonts consecration with the oyle and with the crosse be left why will our brethren take a shafte out of the quiuer of these men to throwe it at their fellowes which caÌ„not hurt but by the venime wherewith the enimie him selfe hath dressed it For the ground of these our accusers must be the same with Bellarmines as longe as the new-fanglistes cannot prove our baptisme rites to be e Bellamin quosup contra sacras literas it shall suffice si adferamus testimonia antiquitatis Secondly we plead it is neither levitie nor noveltie nor contempt of antiquitie for which we disvse forbeare the ceremonies but we haue other causes iustifiable which induce vs to that we doe in which maner to leaue antiquitie it was never deemed vnlawfull For example The administring of the Communion to infantes is now disvsed a rite as auncient as Cyprtans f Cypri de laps time and a rite that did g Ansegis de legib Fran cor lib. 1. c. 155. continue in the church aboue 600. yeares The custome of not fasting betweene Easter and Whitsontyde is disvsed although h August epist 86. ad Casulan auncient that which also we may say of l Iust Mart. q 155. Baâ—â—l de spirit sanct not keeling in prayer betweene these two feastes enacted in the 20. Canon of the Councell of Nice and after growing to be m Cassand in defens libel de offic pii viri firmata observatio divina Ecclesiarum consuetudine It is Cassander the Adiaphorist that testifieth this who also affirmeth of the Satersdayes fast religio sissime celebrabatur adding moreover of these ceremonies ne vestigium quidem superest quia non tanti momenti putabantur vt earum observatio retinenda putaretur Come wee to Tertull. ceremonies amongst which the crosse arose the trin-immersion the hony the milke of Baptisme the abstinence from washing for a wecke after baptisme the receaving of the L Supper in time of meat oblarions on byrth dayes with the like of all which thus one of our writers n D. Whitak cont Bellarmin controueâ—s 1. q 6. c. 12. p. 450. respondeo omnes has traditionet quas Tertullianus laudat pro quibus tam acriter pugnat abrogatas iam esse à Papistis ipsis si vnum signum crucis excipias An other o Thom. Morton Apolog. p. 2. l. 1. cap. 43. of our writers glorieth to proue out of the papistes them selues the abolishing of these rites one of whom affirmeth that the trin-immersioÌ„ in baptisme was enacted by a Canon of the Apostles them selues yet that iam diu per contrariam consuetudinem abolita est An other nor fasting on the Sab. that since the Manichees began to fast vpon that day it is not onely become lawfull but also necessarie atque etiam hodie ex
praeccepto rectè ieiunamus Sabbato another p Maldona◠comment in Iohan. cap. 6. thus of another auncient rite and ceremonie nowe left of missam ego faciam c. I omit the opinion of Augustine and Innocentius the first that the Eucharist is necessarie to infantes which continued in the Church about 600. yeres hath nowe ben left by the custome of many ages not only as not necessatie but also as not decent the night Vigills saith another which Tertull. and Hierome and other of the Fathers praise so much q Ledesima l. de divin quavis lingua nō legend c. 19 in desuetudinem abiere afterwards in the Councel of Eliberis it was decreed ne foeminae ad eas se conferant the same affirmeth that the Eucharist was wont to be giuen into mens hands at modò eius vsum non imitamur If these churches of poperie of the Adiaphorisme haue left all these ancient rites the signe of the crosse only excepted without newfanglednes then why are we newfangled now for omitting the crosse it selfe seeing it is confessed to be a ceremonie non tanti momenti and seeing our r D. Fulk reioyn◠ag Mart. art 4 p. 163. Writers thus reason against it why should not crossing be lefte as well which hath no better ground and hath been worse abused And againe s Ibid. art 52 p 177. seeing none worse abused then the crosse the crosse must be abrogated as well as they The oblations of Martyrs memorialles were forbidden by Ambrose t Luddovie Vives in August do civit Dei l. 8 c. 27. quia quasi parentalia super stitioni gentilium essent similima and the meliores Christiani in u August l. retractat c. 11. Augustines time did of themselues omitt them till at the last it was saide of them in plerisque mortalium nulla talis est consuetudo What more like to the custome of crossing then this tradition for it is auncient and the Crosse is tam similis papistis as that was to the Heathen and in plerisque Ecclesijs nulla est crucis signandi consuetudo w Ambros l. 3. de Sacramen c. ◠Ambrose striveth much for the rite and ceremnie of washing the feet in baptisme against them who would haue turned it out of baptisme to civill vse only to witt to the washing of straungers feete the succession of whom prevayled so both against him and against antiquitie that x August epist 119. Augustine was able to say of them because it seemed quasi observatio baptismi quidam cam de consuetudine auferre non dubitarunt Euery thing heere speaketh for vs what if we doubt not to auferre the Crosse from Baptisme it seemeth quasi pars baptismi Away with him then into civill vse if into any vse at all Indeed in that we abide the crosse for his antiquitie in Banners Coynes Princes Balles and Noble mens armes and everie where else where he is vsed without superstition which is all the vse that our writers require y D. Fulkes answar to Rhem. in Mat. 24. vers 30. therein we shewe our loue and reverence to antiquitie and that we doe omit it in Baptisme for some other cause then for newfanglednes even as the rest of our carriage testifieth Poperie hath defiled doles at burialles yet because the custome is auncient to haue oblations z Origen in Iob l. 3. Ephreem de poenitent c. 2 August confess l. 6. c. 2. at the funeralls and memorialls of the dead and the vse is civill not religious therefore you see we suffer it Poperie hath likewise defiled Lent yet because the auncients had a certayne fast before the commemoration of the passion of the Lord and the vse thereof is also civill not religious therefore we tollerate it Last of all it is b Math Beroald chronolog l. 4. c. 2. evicted by scripture reason that the Nativitie of our Lord was about the poynt of Aequinoctium Autumnale so that we cannot approue the communiō booke which willeth vs to acknowledge it to haue fallen out as on December 25. Neverehelesse because this observation is auncient and the vse of it is mixtly civill although we subscribe not to it yet we beare with it Seeing then we reverence Antiquitie euen in customes defiled by poperie to the vttermost bound and limit of a good conscience what reason haue any to condemne vs for contemners of the same or one or two ceremonies that are saide to be of light moment But it is made hey nous in Eunomius that he brake a rite of baptisme the Trin-immersion euen for this c Zorom l. 6. c. 26. because it was in vse downeward frō the Apostles true and he deserved to be cōdēned who did this out of a pride singularitie to the corrupting of the doctrine it self of baptisme there immediatly eusuing out of it an opinion that it was sufficiēt to baptize into the death of Iesus Ch. wheras the Toletan d Toletan Concil 4. c. 5. councell did abrogate this rite and ceremonie and e Gregor epist 11. ad Leand◠Gregorie perswaded the omission of it without any violating of antiquitie because they did it vpon iust cause to seperat the church frō the custome of heretiques who vsed it amisse for which we now omit the crosse In Africa men f Zago Zabo in Confession Aethiop aedit 15.34 baptize themselues everie Epiphanie not for any worship of God but for an imitation of Christ only which is far to be preferred before the imitation of any of the auncient Fathers Now would our accusers if they liued in that church thinke it newfanglednes and noveltie for them to forbeare this ancient rite And whereas the communion is given to infantes both in g Dauid Chythre in praelection Chronic. Bohemia and in h Paul Odorbor de relig Russo rum Russia are the sincere forte of the Hussites called Waldenses to be condemned for newfanglednes and innovation because they will not conforme them selves to this ceremonie old and ancient like the crosse #Sect 6. Aiust excuse both in regarde of the matter and manner of the Crosse AS we are able to iustifie ourselves for the maner whereby we swerue frō Antiquitie in the ceremonies controversed so also for the matter it self in which we leaue it First we plead with Arnobius a Amob. cont gent. lib. 1. quasi verò errorū non antiquitas plenissima mater sit which we haue by b R. Brottus in prefat translation Simeon Metaphor one applied against the antiquitie of the crosse by name Tell me not here what c August ad Ianuar. Augustine hath Antiquns mos populi Dei pro lege habēdus est his meaning is not we must follow the Fathers ad vltimū iota as the glosse of the canō law cōmandeth The canon d Decret pag. 1. distine 9. c. 3 it self out of August himself cōdemneth such slavish scrupulositie as wel it may
to put vs to preoue the negatiue you cannot prooue they had that is cause sufficient for vs to avouche they had not Againe the profe l Ibid. p 346 must be yours since the facte is yours Againe speaking of a matter of antiquitie m Ibid p. 1 p. 56. presume you no more then you can proove Last of all when the papist reasoneth after this manner sure the Apostles had some precise forme of seruice though we know it not the reply is to thē which may be in our case replyed n bid p. 4. p 409. since you knowe it not why make you it your ancre hold seeing what the Apostles did obserue none would haue dared but haue observed it after their example Another reason there is vsed to proue the antiquitie of the crosse to be immediate Did not Christ vse it for an instrument of his death why doe we call it his crosse in case it be not his To which D o D Fulke ag Saund. of Imag c. 12. p. 652. Fulke thus answereth Christ did not choose the crosse but the Iewes and his Iudge they appointed it to him If any meane of his eternall counsell so he chose Iudas and Caiaphas to be the instrumentes of his death as well as the crosse who gaine no credit by this choosing and if the crosse be the instrument of mans redemption because the instrument of his death then say the Axes and Gallouse and Gibbettes are the holy instrumentes of the Martyrs felicitie Whereas also it is obiected that we our selues doe call it his crosse to witt Christes men must know we doe it in the same sense whereby we call Iudas his traytor the Iewes his enimies the souldiers his executioners and not otherwise his A third reason for the antiquitie of the crosse immediat may chaūce to renew the popish p Albert Magn. cum reliquis lāsenius concord Evāg c. vlt Rhem annorat in Luc. 24. sect 5 c. assertion That Christ did crosse his Disciples at his ascending the bread of his sacrament at his last supper the litle children which he tooke into his armes when he did blesse them That he blessed the bread with the crosse q Amalar. de ecclesiast offic l. 3. c. 24 Amalarius doubteth a r W. Alanus de Sacram. in gen l. 1. art 2. grand Papist him selfe denyeth not without reason How is it likely saith he that Christ should crosse when he blessed seeing the signe of the crosse was execrable and euer had bene before his tyme throughout all ages so that I need not cite our s D. Fulk agai Rhem. on Luk 24 sect 5. D. Bils ag Apolog. p. 4 p. 466.468 owne writers in this behalfe A fourth reason to proue the signe of the crosse immediate is drawne from the Apostles phrase which comprizeth in the crosse all the summe of our redemption by the merites of Christes death Better doe our t D. Willet controver 9. q 5. ar 3 writers prooue from this phrase that the signe of the crosse is not mentioned in the scripture because all the crosses that are mentioned there are either the efficacie of Christes death 1. Cor. 1.17 or the preaching of Christes death Philip. 3.18 or the affliction that doeth follow the preaching and the professing of it Galat. 6.14 But the vse of the crosses signe was taken vp by reason of this phrase and speaking But this is not to dispute but to divine and that absurdlie For it is as if I should say that Images tooke their rising from those similitudes which u Hospin de re templar c. de imag fol 46. Athanasiut and Basil and the rest of the Fathers drew frō Images in their sermons A fift reason which is brought to prooue the antiquitie of the Crosse immediate is that the Fathers who are them selues auncient doe giue it the title of an auncient tradition yea they terme it w Durant de rit l. 2. c. 45. Apostolicall The auncientest Father that is said to doe this is x Rhem. in Luke 24. sect 5. Tertullian who reckoneth it vp for a tradition indeed howbeit not for an auncient tradition that is a sixt finger of the x Rhem. in Luk 24. sect 5. Iesuites No he reckoneth it vp for a tradition so new rawe and as yet vnsettled as that he is fayne to make a long exhortation to the Church that they would settle it by their receauing it and conforme it by the continuance of their practize And we may perceaue by him how it grewe to be Apostolicall to witt as did the hony the oyle the milke in baptisme not because it came frō the Apostles but as y Tertul. de coron milit mos habiturus qandoque Apostoli authoritatem to wit through long custome ex inter praetatione rationis not otherwise Thus goeth the text in the Basil editiō Anno 1528. whereof I thought good to advertize the reader least he should be astonished at the edition of Pamelius or any other from which these wordes are gelded Basil is an other Father that is alleadged to prooue the crosse to be Apostolicall but his treatise of traditions I take to be counterfeit and since inserted one reason is St Ambrose translateth this booke of Basil de spiritu sancto whether ex bonis Graecis faciens latina non bona or no as St Hierome seemeth to cēsure him I will not iudg and leaueth it out But beit he calleth the crosse Apostolicall knowe we not that tempera Apostolorum in z Isidor de concil prae fix tom 1. Concilior Isidors account last downe to the Nicene Councell so that they who were present at it might very wel be called Apostles in that speach of Damassus a Damass op 5. haec sola fides quae Nicea Apostolorum authoritate fundata est perpetua est firmitate servanda Caesar Baronius mannureth much vpon this that Scithianus and Terebinthus are said to liue temporibus Apostolorū who liued in Aurelians time towards 300. yeares after Christ But the good man considered not that b Epiphan here◠66. Epiphanius spake according to the auncient phrase which termed the 300. yeares after Christ euen Apostolicall Againe diverse traditions are termed Apostolicall which rose long after because they seemed grounded vpon the Apostles and to be drawne from their practize and example In whiche sense speaketh Hierome c Hieron epi ad Luc vnaquaeque provincia precepta maiorum leges Apostolicas arbitratur So the d Cyril in Ioh. ll 12 c. 64. threefold demaund in Baptisme and the threefold confession of the baptized is said to be Apostolicall because it rose vp long after out of an imitation of Christs threefold demaund and Peters threefold answer So Lent is held by the Fathers to be e Ambros serin 25. consecrate by Christ him selfe and to proceed from f Theophil Alexandri epist 1. evangelicall constitution when it is certayne neverthelesse
auncient kisse of the primitiue church pa. 132. Every shew of Poperie is to be avoyded p. 63. Popish ceremonies farre worse then Iewish pa. 70. Popish Rites are to be detested togither with their doctrine pa. 93. The Practise of our Church induceth an adoring of man as if he were God or at least a servitude to him pa. 21. Prayer to Saints had a base beginning Q. p. z The Prelates sinne in pressing the cerem p. 77 The Priestes going vp to the Communion table to say some of the prayers is superstitious pag. 34. The Princes authoritie is not infinite but limited to the rules of the scripture pa. 10. 113. 114 Private circumstances haue power to make evill the private vse of a thing as well as generall ones haue power to make the whole kinde of it evill pa. 15. The nick-name of Puritane was first brought vp by the papistes of purpose to make our religion odious pa. 111. It serveth for a colour in every papistes and Atheistes mouthes to raile at Religion and all honestie vnder the name of Puritanisme ibid. The Puritanes are slaundered to bee worse then papistes and more daungerous to be tollerated in a common wealth as if Christ Iesu were worse then Barrabas pag. 119. Nothing is helde good in any writer or in any Church that maketh for them Q. 4. pa. 1. Puritanes are true Protestants and they that be as badd as papistes be in som forte as bad as Turkes ibid. The nick-name of Puritane while it staundreth vs it commendeth vs pa. 113. R. Receiving of the Lords Supper in time of meate though it be as auncient as Tertullians time is abolished by the papistes them selves pa. 120. The first Reconciliation betweene the papistes and a church reformed spedde very ill pag. 97. Reconciliation was never obtayned by mixtures but strife hath alwayes insued ibid. Reducing of popish ceremonies is very scandalous pa. 46. Nothing more contrarie to Religion then old popish fashions pa. 4. Resolution in ceremonies is no easie matter there being commonly more controversie about them then about matters of faith pa. 75. Rites are not to be multiplied or increased inasmuch as the Sonne of God hath ordained sufficiently or rather perfectly pa. 124. Rome the throne of Satan and seate of Antichrist the Sodome and Egypt of our times pag. 96. Rome is become an Egypt for spirituall and a Sodome for bodily fornication pa. 99. Rome the stepmother of pietie pa. 112. Rome her selfe hath suffered her Breviaries to be reformed pa. 4. Some Rubrickes and sentences in the Service Booke cannot be salved but by some shifting glosse which swarveth from the intent of the Booke and serveth onely for a figge-leafe to cover the nakednes of it pa. 51. S. Salt and spitle are the Crosses fellowes in Baptisme pa. 8. they were heretofore vniversal as well as the crosse pag. 131. The least Scandall is a great sinne pag. 59. A Scandall is not prevented in a thing vnnecessarie vnlesse for the abuses sake it be removed as the brasen Serpent was pag. 64. The Scandall is not small which is giuen to the Separatistes by the slovenly performaÌ„ce of Gods service by dumbe dogges and scaÌ„dalous ministers with Idolatrous attire and Idolles them selves pa. 74. He is a Schismatike which breaketh the vnitie of the church as hee is seditious that disturbeth the peace of it pag. 116. Our Service booke is not that booke of King Edw. to which the law bindeth vs pa. 39. 109. Spirituall and carnall fornication goe vsuallâ—e togither pa. 99. A strange thing it is to see in one the same Prison a papist committed for not coÌ„forming him selfe to England an Anti-papist to wit a Preacher punished for not conforming him selfe to Rome pa. 1. Subscription like an Vsher steppeth in and crieth roome for the ceremonies pag. 82. Subscription and Conformitie bee the evill spirites that haue divided Sichem pa. 82. they are the make-bates of our church pa. 90. The Subscription required of the Ministers is directly against the lawes of the land p. 108. Suffering is as sure a signe of subiection as obaying pa. 33. The Surplice and Coape are as bad as the idolatrous garments of the Chemarims pa. 82. T. Tertullian was a man very infamous after his fall Q p. 1. Things of them selves good may by reason of circumstances become evill pa. 8. 9. 15. Things indifferent are to be left to the discretion of every man pa. 15. the observation of them iâ— free so that respect be had to the glorie of God and the edification of out brethren â—bid Tolerating is onely a permission of theirs voyde of doing and of approving which they doe pag. 50. It is an involuntarie permission with grief lamentation pa. 67. A Transgression in an aereall Crosse deserveth but an aereall punishment p. 37. Trin-immersion was in Cyprianus time a tradition and order of the church yet doeth he allow the omitting of it and the vsing of Aspersion C. p. 2. It is abolished by the papistes them selves pa. 120. 132. Turkish women come not abroad but with a vayle over their faces pa. 143. V. Valentinus or rather the Devill in him begate the crosse Montanus first gave it credit amoÌ„gst christiaÌ„s for religious vse in the church and the common people bred it vp Q. p. 1. Varietie of ceremonies no way impeacheth the vnitie of faith which may stande in diversitie of Rites pa. 91. 92. 94. 95. The Virgines of Carthage wore vayles when they came abroad to church pa. 143. Vniformitie in forraine Rites vnlawfull p. 96. Vniformitie to popish ceremonies whether in whole or in part hath continually like a furie stept out of hell set all on a flame fierie combustion pa. 97. W. The round Wafers of the papistes are verie ridiculously defended by the round oblations of bread in the old church pa. 132. There is Weaknes in the strongest during this lifâ— and the reason why pa. 75. Y. Yeelding in popish ceremonies is verie daungerous it is an evil example to posteritie it confirmeth papistes in their impietie it offendeth our weake brethren c. pa. 46. We may not Yeeld one iott in Gods matters pa. 86. 87. Z. Zeale hath her vayle of holines taken from her and walketh at this day disguised as it were vnder an harlots habite pa. 111. Faults escaped in the printing of the second part PAge 2. l. 4â— reade abqui praestareâ— pa. 8. l. â—9 delighteth and l. 21. veriuâ— pa. 6. l. 36. levitie pa. 10. l. 9. media p. 13. l. 3. renewe l. 15. nutatque p. 26. l. 12. and 16. Equanimitie p. 19. l. 27. and â—â—aâ—some of p. 20. l. 14. to our l. â—4 Heâ—ter pa. 〈…〉 yes by the c. p. 22. l. 21. liberate and l. 48. doth it p. 35. l. 31. donum p. â—â— l. 9. oraâ— l. 36. ground l. 39. fraâ—de p. 38. l. 48. the same Papists p. â—â— l. 28. want p. 40. l. 39. vere p. 41. l. 40. 180. p. 42. l. 12. â—onjaâ—â— p. 45. l. 7. minus rectum p. 46. l. 27. â—eviâ—e p. 47. l. 18. receâ—â—â—â— p. 51. l. 4. existinabâ—â— l. 42. 〈…〉 p. 53. l. 7. paralel p. 54. l. 47. 〈…〉 l. 50 detotalâ— p. 97. l. 33. 〈…〉 p. 58. l. 1 condemned without â—uppoâ—â—ante p. 59 〈…〉 p. 6â— l. 2 〈…〉 62. l. 2. charâ—◠〈…〉 p. 64. l. 7. wee ill 〈…〉 p. 65. l. 14. 〈…〉 l. 36. 〈…〉 p. 70. l. 〈…〉 and l. 39. Iewes p. 75. l. 2. quiâ— p. 75. l. 35. â—â—iamâ—◠〈…〉 p. 78. l. 9. 〈…〉 pa. â—â— l. 2â— put ou◠〈…〉 l. â—â— ditisâ—â—â—â— p. 89. l. â—â— otherwise they l. 42. conâ—â—â—â—ed p. â—0 l. 5. to men 〈…〉 l. 10. 〈◊〉 p. 91. l. 10. 〈…〉 〈…〉 p. 93. 〈…〉 l. 14. habitâ—â— l. 32. wore l. â—7 combineth p. 94. l. 32. celebrent p. 95. l. 4. Germans p 96. l. 19. Ecclesia p. 9â— l. â— Monothelits l. 16. loveth p 99 l. 11. spirituall tyrannie p. 101 l. 25. put out who l. vlt. reade layd p. 103. l. 38. shecle p. 105. l. 20. be judged p 106. l. 4. put out in l. 42 reade expedient p. 107. l. 33. fight p. 108. l. 10. offered l. 13. comites l. 16. proconsulis p. 1â—9 l 2 without obstinacy p. 10 l. 40 purple l vlt. innote scere p. â—11 l. 6. slaunders l. 11. were l 44 as farre foorth p 114. l. 34. a Cush p. 115. l 13. nego p. 116. l. 27. Schismaticum l. 44. diversum l. 48. objecta p. 117. l. 1. Sacramento p. 120 l 40. with the Crosse p. 121. l. 21. cruce l. 47. for one or two p. 124. to the letter r ad in the margine Pet. Martyr is â— Reg. 2. l. 30 the Councell p. 125. l. 7. inficianti p. 126. l. 4. confirme and in the margin l. 15. ad Lyc. p. 128. l. 29. See then l. 34. hactenus quidam Q. pa. 121. l. 50. received Q. p. 122. l. â— a meâ—ne l. 35. ecclesia l. 48. speech pag. 131. l. 40. labefactetur l. 44. is as very p. 134. l. penult Petrobusiani Q. p. 127. l. 29. hote R. p. 138. l. 2. fifth p. 139. l. 9. have gone p. 149. l. is convenient p. 141. l. 8. and 9. securus l. 37. playeth p. 142. l. 16. vetâ—â—tus p. 143. l. 16. pariter p. 144. l. 1. occasions and l. 10. yet doth If any other thing not here observed hath escaped I would pray thee gentle Reader to pardon it especially literall faults many of which being of no great moment I have purposely omitted FINIS
retardare zelum of the late couverted Gentiles and so to incurre the reproofe of them who doe w Gualt in Act. 21. Gal. 5.7 remoras obijeere ardentioribus by their retayning of popish ceremonies if not also the Apostles curse our brethren ranne well who are these that haue hindered them By the former we incurre the censure of the Councill of Eliberis which forbiddeth to conforme to the pagan ceremonie of lighting tapers at the monumentes of Martyrs vpon this reason x Concil Elibetin can 39. sanctorum spiritus non sunt inquietandi doth not our conformitie to popish ceremonies disquiet now the heartes of the sainctes as much as that conformitie of theirs vnto the Gentiles For this is the disquieting which the Councill there forbiddeth in the iudgement of the most y Vasq de adorat lib. 3. disput 3. cap. 7. Durant de rit c. learned among the verie papistes them selues The third ranke of the people contayneth such as be weak and these this controversie troubleth now Act. 15.19.24 as much as the weak were once incumbred about the ceremonies of Moses law While they doubt which side they should coÌ„demne whether the one for their crueltie in pursuing their brethren for these trifles or the other for their nicenes to stande on trifles for these are their censures on both they ende in a loathing of the ministerie of both yea of the whole religion They are also hereby inclined towardes Antichrist both by the reducing it selfe of the ceremonies of which Melancthon though he were a counsellour of coÌ„formitie in the Germane adiaphorisme z P. Melanc in epist ad Christophor Carlowitâ— Nihil tam tenerum est nihil facilius iurbatur quam innovatio in mentibus hominum he meaneth the innovation of the popish trash reduced nec maius vllum malum est nec atrior vllus dolor quam innovationis languefactio and then by the common opinion which is had of this reducing like to that which was had to wit that we are à a Lib. concord ap Conrard Schlusselburg tom â—3 pa. 599. vera Evangelij doctrina paulatim recessuri The first reply to this denyeth there is any such effect wrought by the ceremonies which wheÌ„ it was replyed once in the Germane adiaphorisme it was answered first by Augustins authoritie in multitudine ceremoniarum periclitatur fides then by experience for as the white and pale colour of the inhabitantes is a signe sufficient that the ayre is vnhealthie so the indifferencie of religion and the lithernes of profession against popery which is found in those places wher these ceremonies are in greatest estimate is a signe sufficient they are vnwholesome to the soule others thus replie vnto it The b Libel supplicator Theolog. ann 1561. apu Courad Schlussel tom 13 p. 594. Apocalips teacheth that after the revealing of the gospel there shall other Angells followe that shall commaund to come out of Babilon forbidde to receaue any of her markes or badges Woe therefore to them that shall extenuate the fightes and combates of these Angells or goe about to stopp their mouthes For if the revealing of Antichrist be an vnspeakable benefite of Gods then an Adiaphoristicall collusion with him which is coÌ„trarie to the same must needes include much impietie Plurimum enim Antichristi patefactionem obscurat Sure from hence we haue this evill vnto this day that many altogether doubt whether the pope be the Antichrist or no. The second reply e The Examim of the declarat of the Ministerâ— of Lond. throweth the fault on vs we seed not the weake people with milke nor condescende vnto their weaknes as we ought we should haue vsed the ceremonies to please them then would they haue profited more by our teaching in which also wee might haue instructed them that these ceremonies are not imposed for the Popes sake but for obedience to the civill Magistrate First our forbearance of conformitie is a necessary duety there is therein no fault of any scandall in vs either towards the weake or any sort of people else d Terrul de veland virgia Scandalum ni fallor non bonae rei sed mali exempluÌ„ est Bonae res nemineÌ„ scandalizant nisi malaÌ„ mentem Secondly by the vse of the ceremonies we should not feed the people with milke but with Antichrists leaven or if with milke yet not with milke vnmixte 1. Pet. 2.1 whereas these ceremonies are denyed to be a milke mixt with the leauen of Antichrist because they are coÌ„ maunded only as things indifferent not as any necessarie worshipps of Gods as Antichrist commaundeth them we reply with the Germane Divines e Ap. Conrad Schlusselburg tom 13. p. 599. si quaÌ„detalia sub titulo praetextu externarum rerum adia phorarum proponuntur quae licet alius color illis inducatur revera verbo Dei adversantur ea nequaquam pro rebus Adiaphoris habenda sed tanquam verbo Dei prohibita vitanda sunt Thirdly this obiection supposeth that we offend the people because we displease theÌ„ will not let theÌ„ haue their desire whereas the sicke crauing and calling for things hurtfull are theÌ„ most offended wheÌ„ they haue that they aske for as none more offeÌ„ded Iulius the thirde then they that pleased him f Onuphri in Iulio 3. capis è Caietta advectis with other grosse meates which he desired are not the weake sicke in soule Are not these grosse ceremonies fert from Rome too grosse a feeding for them that be soule sicke Fourthly where are the people strong if not where we haue laboured where weake if not where our Opposites haue been ouer theÌ„ for we see fulfilled with our eyes which Bucer foresawe where the Gospelis preached these shadowes of Antichrist vanish away he meaneth in regard of love and good liking #Sect 19. The fift scandall that Ceremo giue is against the whole Church and Gospell which it professeth THe fift scandall wich is given by the ceremonies is against the whole church of God and the gospell which it professeth Sect. 19. our conformitie being now the very same which Peters was who then scandalized the gospell when he conformed to the ceremonies of the Iewes for which even by a papist him selfe he is censured thus a Tho. Aquin in Gal. c. 2. lect 3. veritas nunquam dimittenda est propter timorem scandali In publicum ergo crimem incurrit Petrus neque levem dedit Paulo reprehendendi occasionem sci periculum Evangelicae veritatis Now these ceremonies hurt the Gospell manie wayes First they helpe to the restoring of popery in time to come which as it groweth vp the Gospell must goe downe like as we see in a payre of scales consider what our owne b Homil. ag peril of Idolac p. 3. Homilies by law established A man must haue regard of posteritie therefore no Image must be suffered in the Church nor any remnant of popish