by and by to be confounded as one in truthe and nature the names whereof be confounded Otherwise because the Apostles are in the gospell called disciples an Apostle and a disciple are all one which is well knowen not to be so Likewise though the termes of prieste and bishop were common yeat the thinges were neuer one in so muche that S. Austen making mention of the heresie of Aerius saieth Dicebat etiam praesbiterum ab episcopo nulla differentia secerni debere He saide Ad quod vult Deum haeres 57. also that a prieste ought to be distinguished from a bishop by no difference But what meane you here M. Nowell to talcke so much of the equalitie of bishoppes and priestes being a matter in this place nothing to oure purpose Or if it were seing it might be saide that euen as the olde canons as I declared before in that equalitie which is in priestehode vsed yeat In the 6. chapitre fol. 33. b. the worde Archipraesbiter chiefe prieste and ordeined suche a dignitie in the churche so there is nothing that letteth why in the equalitie of bishoppes and priestes while no one is more bishop or prieste then an other there maie How one bishop is equall to an other not be degrees notwithstanding of superioritie allthough not in the sacrament of ordres which is common to them all yeat in the execution of that power that is conferred thereby But perhappes you be of the opinion youre selfe that there ought to be no difference betwene a bishop and a prieste and therefore are the gladder to snatche occasion by all meanes direct or indirect to vtter youre minde therin Nowe foloweth vpon this grounde laied that bishoppes and priestes be by the first institution and the lawe of God one youre conclusion whereby you will make it appeare that you haue not without cause made mention of this equalitie of bishoppes and priestes So that all bishoppes which be the successours of the Apostles Nowell b. 24. be also praesbiteri that is to saie elders or priestes Whereof it foloweth also that there is an equalitie emongest all bishoppes by goddes lawe as the equall successours of the Apostles And that this is S. Hieromes minde in that place all learned men who haue reade the saide epistle doe well knowe This was not the minde of S. Hierome but is an idle Dorman phantasy of youre owne The learned knowe and to their iudgement I appeale that his minde was here to compare together the state of a prieste and a bishop in the sacrament of holie ordres common aswell to the one as to the other that so he might refell the better the errour of those who helde that deacons ought to be equall to priestes as appeareth by these wordes of his in the beginning of the epistle In this epistle ad Euagri◠Nam quum Apostolus c. For whereas the Apostle teacheth manifestly that priestes and bishoppes be one what eyleth the seruaūt * He meaneth deacons of widowes and tables arrogātly to extoll him selfe aboue them at whose praiers the bodie and bloud of Christe is made Doth not this example put in the consecrating of the bodie and bloude off Christe the whiche the poorest prieste that is hathe as good auctoritie to doe giuen hym in the sacrament of holie ordres as the pope him selfe declare that S. Hieromes minde was no otherwise to make priestes equall to bishoppes but in the only ordre of priestehode common to bothe Yea but yow will saie that the Apostles were equall in all respectes for if you saie not so you can not conclude absolutely as yow doe that all bishoppes their successours be so equall If yow saie so that is but your bare Lib. 1. contra Iouinianum saing only not by the auctoritie of S. Hierome confirmed but most plainly by the same impugned Who in one place saieth that emongest the twelue there was a heade chosen Peter by name and in an other place that Christ made Peter In cap. Marci 14. Note the cause of appointing one heade the maister of his house THAT VNDER ONE SHEPHERD THERE MAY BE ONE FAITH Which is directly against the equalitie that you build vpō But let it be graunted vnto you that the apostles were equal yeat shall not your cōclusion folow for all that For it is to be considered that in the Apostles there is a double respect which is to be weighed nowe of vs. Either we considre them as they were all Apostles or as they were bishoppes As they were Apostles they How the Apostles were all equall were all equall they had all like power to preache and teache thorough out the whole worlde As they were bishoppes and rulers of particuler churches they were all subiect to Petre the chiefe bishop of all As they were Apostles that is to saye generall legates to plante Christes faithe thorough out all the world to founde churchs to preach the word of God finally to gouerne vniuersally in all places where their should come they trāsmitted this right none of thē to their successours but only Peter who was the generall shepherd of all Which is the cause that some of the fathers namely S. Austē saie that the power giuen to Peter was giuē to him In psalm 208. in the persone of the church because it was not giuē to him alone but to all his successours to cōtinue for euer As the Apostles were bishops of particuler places their auctoritie ended not with them but wēt further to the whole church to cōtinue for euer Now to applye this to our purpose howe doe the bishoppes that now are succede the Apostles They succede them as bishoppes not as Apostles For if they succeded them so who seeth not that as the Apostles made lawes absolued excommunicated and ruled thorough out all How bisshoppes be the successours of the Apostles the worlde where so euer they came so might the bishoppes that nowe succede thē doe the like The which thing seing we finde by no recordes sith the apostles time that euer it was practised in the church and if it should it were the nexte waie to disquiet al the worlde and to fill the churche full of schismes and heresies reason it selfe dothe conuince that the ordre taken emongest the Apostles was but by speciall priuileage not appointed to continue for euer or to derogate anie thing from the generall ordre begonne in Peter and appointed to be perpetuall as long as the church shoulde endure To conclude therfore I graunte to you M. Nowell that the Apostles were equall as they were all the generall legates of Christe but not as they had their speciall bishoprikes and charges limited vnto them In which latter sense because the bishoppes that are nowe succede the Apostles in which pointe they were not equall it foloweth against you that all bishoppes be not equall Iff yow will saye that the Apostles were also equall euen in that that
nombre of priestes there ought to be one chiefe ruler chosen as though only Petre had bene a bishop and the other apostles pore priestes and no more Where is nowe the equalitie that you are wont to obiect to vs of the Apostles with Petre Who maketh the Apostles more inferiour to Peter you or we We saie the Apostles all of them were bishoppes in one place or other you make youre count that they were only inferiour priestes Now being all of them bishoppes and Peter by youre confession their heade Who seeth not that the ordre planted by Christe in his church is that there be one bishop for the pacifieng of schismes ouer the rest Againe if 12. persones so well instructed by the spirite of God as the Apostles were had a heade appointed ouer them for remedie against schismes what reason leadeth yow to thinke that emongest so manye â—ades as be in the vniuersall churche gouernours of particuler churches not so priuileaged with grace there maye not be the like yea greater cause to feare schismes and so consequently that there ought not to be the same remedie that is to saye one heade So that if you counte youre selfe hurt when it is proued that there ought to be one chiefe heade of Christes churche you are by graunting of this prerogatiue to S. Peter aboue the rest of the Apostles verie daungerously hurte Yea but you were prouided for all suche after clappes before I doubte not Other wise so circumspect a man as you are woulde neuer haue yealded so farre And therfore you adde And if M. Dorman vpon this graunte woulde inferre suche a Nowell supremacie of one ouer the rest of the Apostles as the pope claimeth ouer the churche S. Paule reprouing Peter more sharpely Galat. 2. to his face then is laufull nowe for any bishop to deale with the pope dothe proue that Peter had no suche supremacy One thing I must here tell you by the waie M. Nowell Dorman that in debating this matter of the auctoritie of S. Peter aboue the rest of the Apostles except you forsake S. Hierome you must forgo this example of S. Paule his reprouing of S. Peter which S. Hierome holdeth against S. Austen how truly I dispute not in this place to haue bene but a made matter betwene them that Paule shoulde reprehende and Peter suffer him selfe to be reprehendid for vsing the legall ceremonies as appeareth in the epistles written to and fro betwene them And therfore if you will be tried by S. Hierome he shoulde rather holde with this supremacie as the man who if he erred in striuing with S. Austen about this reprehending of Peter erred onely because he thought it a thing vnsemely and vnlikely that S. Paule woulde so reprehende the prince of the Apostles Which was he saieth the cause why Origen and other to stoppe the mouthe of Porphirius the heretike who laied to S. Paules charge that he was ouerbolde to reprehende Peter the chiefe of the Apostles expounded this place as he did But leauing S. Hierome and graunting that Peter was truly and in deede reprehended by S. Paule let vs examine whether suche a supremacie as is here spoken of maie not by the iudgement of the learned fathers of Christes churche stande wel inough for all this reprouing of S. Peter vsed by S. Paule I will emongest other alleage to this purpose two only S. Cyprian and S. Austen Epist ad Quintum The wordes S. Cyprian are these Naâ— nec Petrus quem primum dominus elegit super quem aedificauit ecclesiam suam c. For neither Pure whome oure lorde chose to be the chiefe and vpon whome he builded his church when he contended after with Paule about circuÌ„cision reuenged him selfe or chalenged anie thing insolently or arrogaÌ„tly in saing that he had the primacy and that he ought rather to be obeied of those that were nouices and came after Thus farre S. Cyprian With whome agreeth S. Austen as he that alleageth this verie place to proue that S. Cyprian to whose auctoritie the Donatistes leaned Lib. 2. de baptis contra Donatist ea for the baptising againe of suche as were Christened by heretikes woulde easely suffer him selfe for his humilitie being but one bishop or the doinges of his owne prouince either to be corrected by the statutes of the whole churche seing that he praised S. Peter in whome was the primacie of the Apostles for the same vertue of humilitie in suffering him selfe to be reproued of S. Paule Thus it appeareth that S. Paules resisting of S. Peter was no derogatioÌ„ to S. Peters auctoritie as the which by the confessioÌ„ of both these learned fathers remained saufe and whole notwithstanding the reprehension of S. Paule and withall that you and your fellowes M. Nowell who vse so often to the derogation of S. Peters auctoritie to cite this place of the epistle Galat. 2. to the Galathians doe shamefully abuse the same with no small iniurie to the blessed apostles bothe But yeat you fare that I haue saide nothing all this while to this that Peters supremacie was no suche as is the popes whome no man may blame what so euer he doe Yes sir the pope maie be blamed Neither doe the texte nor the glose by you here alleaged saye the contrarie And so haue diuerse good men freelie reprehended diuerse popes S. Bernard a moÌ„ke reprehended Eugenius the third more sharpely iwisse as youre selues can full well tel and therfore make much of him in that respect then euer did S. Paule reproue S. Petre. Paulus 4. was admonished by lettres writteÌ„ by one in Rome of the vnhonest behauiour of his nephues the two Caraffas He toke the aduertisemeÌ„t in good parte and banished them the courte immediatly What should I remembre the lettres written by Petrus a So to a frier also to Pius the pope that nowe is wherin he admonished him freely to take ordre that bishoppes and other inferiour pastours might be compelled Dat. Tridenti 17. Aprilis Anno Do. 1563. Nowell fol. 44. b. 24. to kepe resideÌ„ce with their charges and threatened to him vtter daÌ„nation in the iudgemeÌ„t of God vnlesse he did It foloweth not you saye that one being chosen to beruler emongest twelue that therefore one maie be also chosen to be ruler ouer all the cleargie of the worlde No more do the it that because there was one chosen of euerye one churche or diocesse to rule the reste that therefore there shoulde be one chosen to rule all bishoppes of all diocesses namely at Rome and the saide ruler to be called pope or heade of the vniuersall churche The first answere touching that one heade emongest Dorman Institut li. 4. cap. 6. Sect. 8. fol. 53. a. b the Apostles you learned of youre Maister Caluin against whome I haue proued that the consequent holdeth verye well in my first booke The argument I haue showed oftentimes howe it holdeth and last of all in the
to 15. wordes I can not but thinke that his pleasure was by a young man suche as I am to shewe how little those greate pillers off their side were hable to doe I am not I confesse of that reading and studie in diuinitie that manie other be in oure countrie What so euer it be that is in me I vowe it to Christe and his catholike faithe against all heretikes and heresies during my life And suerlye that littell which I haue shal I trust I will saie with S. Cyprian dico prouocatus dico dolens dico compulsus I saie it being prouoked I saie it sorowfully I saie it compelled by yow thereto be sufficient at all times to matche with yow in anie of those foure questions that I haue handled in my boke For why should I doubte by the aide of God to be hable to saie in defence of the catholike faithe more then yow shall against it Yow saie that hetherto I haue proued nothing and that I Nowell fo 51. b. 1. haue gone about most lewdely to gather that because euerie seuerall countrie citie and companie haue their seuerall princes rulers and heades that all churches dispersed in all countries cities townes villages c. shoulde haue one onelie heade here in earthe I reasoned and yeat doe reason in this wise Euerie seuerall Dorman countrie because it is one bodie euerie seuerall citie and companie for the same cause must haue their seuerall rulers and heades Therefore all the churches in the worlde being but one misticall bodie must haue one chiefe heade to rule and gouerne the same I reasoned after the same māner Euerie particuler churche as hath S. Ciprian and S. Hierome must haue one bishop to rule the same and to be the heade thereof Therefore the whole churche of Christe where the daunger of schismes is greater and the mischiefe likelier to happen must haue in like case one heade I haue shewed yow nowe that youre reasons to the contrarie There is no one head ouer all the kingdoms in the world and it is impossible that there shoulde be one suche therfore in like maner it is impossible that there shoulde be one generall heade in earthe ouer the vniuersall church Fol. 32. b. 14. ar of no force forasmoche as the difference of these two states is suche as suffreth Supra cap. 11. fol. 49. b. 50. b fol. 50. a 61. a. not youre argument to holde As because the diuision off vnitie that is of faithe in the churche for the maintenaunce wherof this ordre was takē that there should be one heade in the whole church is merueilouse daungerouse to christian men forasmoch as without faith there is no saluatiō as hath our Sauiour him selfe Qui non crediderit condemnabitur Marci vlt. Heb. 11. he that beleueth not shall be damned And the Apostle Sine fide impossibile est placere deo To please God without faithe it is a thing impossibile Whereas it is not so touching the obseruation of anie other vnitie emongest Christian men in ciuile policie forasmuche as it is not necessarie that all agree in common gouernement but they maie well according to the diuersitie of countries tongues conditions of men haue diuerse maners of liuing and gouernement Yea it is necessarie the contrarie natures of men and countries so requiring that there be not onelie diuerse but contrarie positiue lawes in diuerse countries and prouinces When notwithstanding no diuersitie of natures no varietie of customes no circumstances what so euer they be can excuse them from the vniforme obseruing in all the whole worlde of godde◠commaundementes and ministring of his sacramentes without the which there is no entraunce to life To this maye be added that to gouerne the whole churche in spirituall thinges how harde and impossible a thing so euer it seme to you is yeat much more easie to be done then to gouerne the worlde in temporall gouernement bothe because the businesse and affaires of the worlde are more diuerse and contrarie then are those of the church and also because the sworde of excommunication wherewith the heade of the churche dothe punishe rebelles and suche as forsake the truthe passeth soner and easelier to the correction of suche offendours be they neuer so far of then doth the materiall sworde which the temporall magistrate vseth Againe that there shoulde be one head ouer the whole churche it is Christes institution who woulde so haue it when committing to Peter the charge of aswell his shepe as his lambes he made him generall shepherde and Homil. 87 in cap. 10. han 21. ruler as saith Chrisostome ouer the whole world Whereas in temporall gouernement it appeareth not by the scriptures that he planted euer anie suche ordre Naye the scripture Eccles 17. maketh mention of the contrarie if we will beleue yow It foloweth Nowell b. 17. You haue hearde also how ignorantly if he did not vnderstande how shamelesly if he did vnderstande he hathe alleaged S. Cyprian and S. Hieromo for him c. Men haue hearde M. Nowell doubt you not how like a Dorman propre mā you haue quit your selfe And yeat as though no man had sene you hetherto with a shamelesse repetition of a nombre of lies made before you turne you as it were about againe to be better considred Howe S. Ciprian and S. Hierome make not againste me but euidentlye with me how vaine or rather a balsphemouse lye it is to saie seing God hath so appointed it to be that it is impossible that there shoulde be one only heade ouer the whole churche How my witnesses agree with moste perfite consent it hathe bene to your shame before declared Yow see there was no suche opinion muche lesse knowledge Nowell of any suche heade emongest the Apostles or in the primitiue churche but that it is a newe diuelishe deuise of the late ambitiouse bishoppes of Rome who when they were neuer able yeat hitherto well to rule the churche of Rome one citie as by all histories and experience is euident woulde yeat of the worlde vsurpe the superioritie and supremacy And if S. Paule did thinke he was not meete to haue charge of one church who coulde not well gouern his own house of what mōstrouse ambitiō and presumption is he that being neuer yeat hable to gouern one peculier church doth claime the regiment of all churches thorough out the world whereas he is not hable to tell the onelie names of a small parte of the saide churches neither knoweth in what parte a greate many of them be Are yow not ashamed M. Nowell to call it a newe diuelishe Dorman deuise of the late bishoppes of Rome and to saye that there was no suche opinion of one heade emongest the Apostles or in the primitiue churche seing that S. Cyprian and Hierome who yow saye vntrulye are againste Epist ad Quint. fracrem Lib. 1. aduers Ioninian me doe make mention thereof as I shewed before
for the B. of Rome his supremacie but rather dothe vttrely ouerthrowe it as apperteining specially to the B. of Carthage in Afrike not to the B. of Rome in Italie and declaring in dede the bishoppes of all places to be equall in auctoritie and consequently ouerthrowing the supremacy of one ouer all I denie not but that this phrase maye here specially apperteine Dorman to the B. of Carthage No more ought yow make strange to confesse that if S. Cyprian woulde saie that heresies and schismes rise of the contempte of the B. which is one in a diocesse muche more of him which is one in the whole churche and who is the chiefe and roote of byshoply ordre as shall hereafter be by S. Cyprian declared And thus yow see that I applied it not euill to the purpose although it proue not immediatly the popes supremacy the thing which here I take not vpon me to proue That which yow saie of these testimonies that they declare the A lye fathered vpon S. Cyprian 3 bishoppes of all places to be of equall auctoritie is a moste vaine and impudent lye fathered vpon S. Cyprian That the place of S. Basile was alleaged to the purpose and that the same and the other taken oute of S. Cyprian are bothe falsely impugned The. 3. Chapter It is farre yow saie from all purpose that I alleage by Nowell patching here and there out of Basilius magnus his 69. epistle to the bishoppes of Italy and Fraunce c. If yow in this Reproufe of youres had brought nothing Dorman furder from the purpose it woulde neuer by the tenth parte haue bene halfe so greate as it is For I tell yow once againe that my purpose was not here as yow vntruly surmise to proue the B. of Romes supremacy My meaning was to persuade men to continue and abide in the obedience of the heade of the churche the rather because as Ciprian before gaue a generall rule that all heresies and schismes rise by going from the heade so here S. Basile exemplifieth the same in that vnreuerent demeanure and vnsemely behauiour that the Arrians of his time vsed towardes their heades and gouernours how saie yow maketh the place for this purpose or no I abuse bothe the Readers mine owne and other mennes time Nowell fol. 3. b. 1. yow saie in charging yow with the crimes of those men whose heresies and wickednes it is well knowen yow detest I trust no man thinketh so but yow and youre felowes Dorman M. Nowell For standing the case so that yow detest the Arrian heresie where withall I charge yow not and therefore A lye 4. yow haue beelied me yeat maye yow this not withstanding right well agree with them in other their euill maners I will not charge yow to be infidelles with Iulian the Apostata yeat is youre hatred against the crosse off Christe no lesse then his Yow note me in the margent for turning the wordes Nowell fol. 3. a. b. praesidentias inuadunt they inuade and sett vpon their heades and saye He shoulde haue saide they doe inuade the chiefe roumes or places and againe for ioyning blasphemias protulit to those which folowe ad populi episcopum For the first I susteine that I translated the wordes well Dorman and truly as he shoulde that woulde giue to the worde potestati resistit in S. Paule this englishe resisteth the magistrate Roma 13. by the figure called Metonymia As for the faulte in pointing if it be one yeat of this am I suer that neither is it greate nor came of malice suche as it is but of some suche small ouersight as maye happen some time to the diligentest writer that is Howe euer it be this the rigorouse nothing thereof maye giue men to vndrestande that it went harde with yow when yow were driuen to seke after suche aduauntages Yow saye of this place of S. Basile that it dothe moste Nowell b. 30. liuely represent the doinges of the Papistes You re onely proufe hereof standeth vpon a heape off Dorman sclaunderouse lies Because the place of S. Basile is extant to be seene I will trouble no fardre the learned reader but desire him only to confer it withe these M. Nowelles sclaundres Here M. Nowell yow charge me once againe with a conclusion gathered yow saie out of that which hetherto Nowell fol. 4. b. 22 hathe bene alleaged out of S. Cyprian and S. Basile and saie that I am not ashamed to applye the places before mentioned to the proufe of the B. of Romes supremacy First I gather here no conclusion out of the places before Dorman alleaged and therfore applye not by the waye of concluding these auctorities to the B. of Rome his supremacie and so that is an other lye It is a transition rather so drawen A lye 5. out of the 3. first alleaged auctorities that it serued also to make a steppe and a newe degree to the seconde pointe touching more specially the pope wherein I much maruell that yow shoulde so fowly misse youre termes M. Nowell And as here yow missed the quisshin so plaied yow as homelie a parte in making me to reason vpon the pretended conclusion in this wise The entry into all heresies M. Nowell maketh me to reason after his pleasure fol. 5. ◠1. is to make open warre against the bishopp appointed by God to be the laufull gouernour and heade of the churche but the B. of Rome is the bishopp appointed by God to be here in earthe the laufull gouernour and heade of the churche Ergo the entrye into all heresies is to make open warre against the B. of Rome The which reason althoughe it be moste true in it selfe and I minded to defende euery parte thereof yeat reasoned I not so here but minded only in this place to passe to the example of Nouatus the heretike that as before I had showed how heretikes in diuerse particuler churches went from the obedience of their laufull bishoppes so here I might set before the Readers eyes one who spared not euen the Bishop of Rome him selfe that so this propertie of heretikes and schismatikes might appeare and be the better proued while they forsake not onely the inferiour bishoppes but him also that is the chiefe of all other But what if I had reasoned as you woulde make me to reason M. Nowel might I not haue defended that argumēt trowe you Yeas forsothe might I not prouing my minor by this place of S. Cyprian but supposing it to be true till suche time as I came to the place where it ought to be proued So that you nede not to tormente and vex youreselfe about these wordes the bishopp appointed by God to be the laufull gouernour and heade of the churche which I neuer alleaged as you vntruly saye of me to proue directly the B. of Romes supremacie but only to proue A fortiori that muche greater occasion there was
taken in verie good parte seing that euen for that which as not perteining to the matter I omitted yow reprehende me cauilling that I haue passed ouer in silence that which is against me Yow returne yow saie to the purpose againe and to discredite Nowell a. 17. me for euer yow couche together a nombre of euident lies which yow affirme no lesse then in one halfe leafe siue on a clustre to haue bene made by me Well seing then nowe we be come to that pointe let vs Dorman two counte together that by euen reconing we maye continue long friendes and see who is in others debt Nowe saye on M. Nowell which is the first of these fiue lyes The first lie is that after his discourse out of S. Cyprian of the Nowell bishop appointed by God to be the gouernour and heade of the churche he saieth the B. of Rome is that heade whereas by S. Cyprian the contrarie is euident and that him selfe or B. Rogatian is that heade whereof he speaketh They are two thinges to saye that the B. of Rome is the heade appointed by God to gouerne the churche and Dorman that in the places alleaged out of S. Cyprian for an other purpose S. Cyprian ment so I saide I graunte that the B. of Rome is the heade appointed by god to gouerne the churche proue yow the contrarye then saye I haue lied That S. Cyprian in the places by me alleaged was of that minde that saide I neuer as by the place whither I referre my selfe I offer to be tried So that of this I am cleered and the lye returneth to yow for belying me not alone but accompanied with an other in that yow saie that by S. Cyprian A double lye 8. 9. the contrarie is euident that is to saie that the B. of Rome is not heade of the churche and so is this on youre parte a pregnant lye The seconde is that to make warre against the B. of Rome is the first entrie in to heresie Whereas S. Cyprian teacheth that the Nowell a. 24. contempt of euery godly Bishop in his owne diocesse by suche as are their inferiours is the beginning of heresies If yow meane that directly I vsed as for a proufe S. Cyprian Dorman to proue that to make warre against the B. of Rome is the first entrye to heresie that I denie and so yow belye me therein If yow meane that because I concluded so muche by the waye of introduction that therefore I lyed then yow haue made youre selfe a lye that waies For the argument holdeth and is verye good The beginning and entrie into heresies is to rebell against the heade ergo a fortiori to rebell against the chiefe heade of all other by S. Cyprian must nedes be the beginning of schismes and heresies And so this standeth for an other lye A lye 10. The. 3. lye that yow laye to me is because I saie that Nouatus made his first entrie in to his heresies by making open warre against the B. of Rome c. Which yow call a double lye because first Nouatus began his heresies by youre opinion in Afrike next because I saie that Nouatus made warre against Cornelius as the gouernour and heade of the churche For yow saye my wordes Thus did Nouatus must nedes be referred to that which went before ▪ To the first parte of this forcked lye I answered before in prouing that wheresoeuer heretikes begin they assault the heade of the churche and therefore to saye the contrary because Nouatus shoulde begin his heresies first in Afrike is a lye on youre behalfe As is also the seconde parte when yow charge me to haue saide that Nouatus striued against the pope as heade of the church thinking to proue the same by referring my wordes Thus did Nouatus to those that went before which if yow doe yow shall proue therby naught elles but that he made warre against the beautifull ordre of the churche and the bishop of Rome by god appointed to be the heade thereof * Not all one to striue against the heade of the churche and to striue against him as heade of the churche two Lies 11. 12. For those are the wordes that go before And so haue yow made here two lyes The fourth lye that yow burden we withall is a very sclaunderouse and moste peuish lye without al reason wrested and wrong by force out of my wordes to make vp a nombre As first that I saye the receiuing of the blessed sacrament of the altar in stede of the distribution of the bread that you count one lye because Nicephorus you saye b. 25. 26. hath no suche wordes Nicephorus hath not I confesse the same wordes nor I euer saied he had nor promised to alleage the verie same but was contented to vse a worde signifieng asmoche and better knowen to all men then the other and therefore as long as I kept the sense of the auctor as you can not denie but I did I lyed not Ergo yow lyed The other surmised lye is because I saye they that minded to receiue it etc. And why is this a lye M. Nowell Yow answere because they had receiued it allready in to their handes Yea but I tell you againe M. Nowell that they came not thither as muche as yow triumphe of receiuing in to their handes to receiue it onely in to their handes but especially to receiue it into their bodies and therefore yow should to proue me herein a lier haue concluded that they coulde not be said minded to receiue as they who had receiued allready bothe into their handes and bodies And of this principall M. Nowell a wrangler receiuing seing yow coulde not be ignorant that I ment yow haue not onelie proued youre selfe a lier but declared also to the worlde that yow conforme not youre selfe in writing to that spirit that becommeth a diuine but to such wrangling and quarelling where no cause is as verye common skoldes would be ashamed to vse The 5. lye is that I affirme you saye that yow sweare Nowell fol. 10. a. 1. men in suche sorte as Nouatus did And here yow repeate againe that the othe exacted by Nouatus was vnlaufull because he exacted an othe of the Romaines to cleaue to him against their owne bishop you require an othe of subiectes English men of obediēce to their and oure natural prince and of renouncing all foraine and vsurped power Again Nouatus caused thē to sweare that his heresie was the truth and that Cornelius true doctrine was heresie yow haue no suche matters in hande but are on Cornelius side against Nouatus c. Vpon these two differences yowe conclude that loke how often I saie so did Luther so did Caluin So doo those wicked men in oure country c as ofte as I saie They exacted this othe c. If he giue not this othe c. so many lowde and lewde lyes I haue made
the worlde This one heade executed the censures of the churche vpon See M. Doctor Hardinges booke the seconde edition fol. 111. b. malefactours and transgressours of the ecclesiasticall canons confirmed the ordinations and elections off bishoppes approued or disalowed councelles restored bishoppes wrongfully condemned and depriued receiued into the church such as had erred and gone a straie and all this thorough out the whole worlde But with all this I saye I will not presse you because youre Apologie and you be it neuer so easy to be proued will yeat for your honour sake perhappes denie it Only this I aske of yow how yow be not ashamed to saie that it is impossible for one man to gouerne the whole churche seing by youre owne confession for 900. yeares it hathe bene so If yow will saie that the churche hathe bene euill gouerned these latter 900. yeares allthough that yow coulde right well proue as you shal neuer be hable what maketh that for this assertion off youres that one man can not possybly gouerne the whole churche conteining to vse yowre owne wordes so manie nations so diuerse Languages and natures of men Howe proueth it that one generall heade can not so ouersee his charge that he shall be able to kepe all churches from schismes and troubles and pacifie them when they are risen If one man alone coulde for the space of 900. yeares so rule all churches dispersed thorough out all the worlde that he Note was able to plant emongest so manie nations so diuerse languages and natures of men one naughty and corrupte faithe as yow saie might not the same or maye not an other with as muche facilitie haue planted or plant if it were to be planted a truthe thorough out the whole worlde If the churche haue bene so gouerned during this terme of 900. yeares that all the affaires of the churche haue by one heade bene so ordered that no membre hath had iust cause to complaine that all membres haue agreed in perfecte quietnesse one with an other and all with their heade as youre selfe hereafter confesse allthough yow labour to qualifye the matter in this wise In deede we must nedes confesse a truthe M. Nowels confession cōcerning the quiet agrement vnder the gouernement off the Pope fol. 56. b. 25. that whilest we all remained vnder the quiet obedience off youre Romishe heade in doctrine of his traditiōs there was a coloured hinde of quietnesse concorde and loue emongest all the membres of that heade the subiectes of that one gouernour and ruler and specially emongest the cleargie of that one churche if I saye by youre confession there was suche a quiete agreing thorough out all the worlde in false doctrine will you still abide by it that the same one heade that gouerned in this peasable maner all the worlde whome he fedde with euill doctrine might not haue gouerned them as quietly if he had deliuerd to them sounde and wholesome doctrine Or will you saye that God can doe lesse in procuring good thinges then the diuell in promoting euill that God can make one man hable alone to gouerne all the worlde without schismes or to appease them being moued as great as it is in euill gouernement but not in good If you will not saye thus you must nedes saie that it is nothing impossible for one man assisted by goddes grace to gouerne the churche of the whole worlde were it greater then it is and so to confesse with all that the Apologie in saing the contrary and yow in defending the Apologie haue bothe off yow falsely blasphemously and foolishely erred As for the reason whereunto the Apologie and yow leane that as God hathe giuen to no one king to be aboue all so to no one bishop to rule the whole churche that is as I tolde you before to appoint God because he hathe made manie kingdomes to make many heades of the churche which is but one and so consequently to multiply religions and make many faithes But because you repeate verie often this comparison and thinke it so absurde that there shoulde be any more one heade ouer the whole churche thē one chiefe king aboue all the kingdomes in the worlde I will here proue that within the first six hundred yeares it was taken for no absurditie There is no man I thinke that hathe bestowed anie time in the ecclesiasticall histories ignorant what a doe Theodora the Empresse wife to Iustinian the Emperour made to haue Siluerius the pope depriue Menna the good archebishop of Constantinople and to restore Anthimius the heretike laufully before by Agapetus the pope depriued To the which wicked attempt when by no meanes the good pope coulde be brought to consent false accusations were brought in against him and so he was by tirannie remoued and cōstreined to flee to a towne called Patara of the prouince of Lycia Whither the emperour Liberatus in Breuiario cap. 22. on a time comming the bishopp there as Liberatus the Archedeacon of Carthage writeth complaining to him and calling to witnesse the iust and terrible iudgemēt of God for the vniust expulsion of the bishop of so greate a seate addeth at the last these wordes Multos esse in hoc Many Kinges to gouerne the worlde one pope to gouerne the churche mundo reges non esse vnum sicut ille papa est super ecclesiam mundi totius a sua sede expulsus that there are manie kinges in this worlde and that there is no one only kinge as that pope is ouer all the whole churche of the worlde expelled from his seate Doe you not here see M. Nowell that within the first 600. yeares the whole worlde was gouerned by one heade in spirituall matters without anie necessitie to haue it so gouerned in temporall Woulde this good bishop is it credible being a suter to the Emperour if the churche had not bene gouerned by one heade at that time or if it had bene an absurditie that there shoulde be one chiefe bishop and manie equall kinges haue dasshed the Emperour in the mouthe with suche an absurde and flatte lye Or woulde the Emperour vpon this talcke immediatly haue caused Siluerius to be called backe againe into Italie and not rather haue checked the bishop for abusing him with a lye if he had not acknowledged his wordes to be true Thus muche I trust maye serue to make the indifferent reader vnderstande that I reprehended not the Apologie without iust cause You re railing against me because it is as youre selfe cōfesse fol. 39. a. beside the matter I passe ouer But so can I this by no meanes that yow take it for no reproche yow saye to haue Nowell b. 1. youre congregation secrete scattred and vnknowen to all the worlde because this is common to yow with the primitiue churche of oure Sauiour Christe and his holie Apostles Considre I beseche the good Reader whether these newe Dorman vpstart heretikes of oure age be not brought
they were bishoppees of priuate places yow haue against yow S. Hierome him selfe Who can not be otherwise taken theÌ„ to meane thus by calling Petre as you hard before the heade of the other Apostles the maister of Christes house the one shepherd vndre whome there might be one faith You shall speake against Chrisostome who speaking of S. Iames the B. of Hierusalem hathe Quôd si quis percontaretur quomodo Homil. â—â—lt in cap. Ioan. vlt. igitur Iacobus sedem Hierosolomis acceperit responderem hunc totius orbis magistrum praeposuisse That if any man woulde aske how then Iames came by the bishoprike of HierusaleÌ„ I woulde answere that the maister of all the worlde Peter made him bishop And a litle after in the same place Nam quum magna Christus Petro communicasset c. For when Christe had communicated greate thinges to Peter and committed to his charge the care of the whole worlde c. Last of all if you will nedes contentiously mainteine that Petre was no more aboue the Apostles as they were bishoppes Arnobius then as they were Apostles theÌ„ to omitte diuerse other that might be alleaged to this effect yow shall saie againste that auncient eloquent and learned father who liued in the In psalm 138. time of persecution before the reigne of Constantine the greate Arnobius the scholemaistre of that eloquent and learned Lactantius who by name calleth Peter EPISCOPVS EPISCOPORVM the B. of bishoppes Seing nowe that Peter is coÌ„fessed by the fathers to be the heade of the apostles the one pastour the maister of the whole world and bishop of bishops which caÌ„ not be in that respecte that the Apostles were all the generall legates of Christe thorough out the whole world what remaineth but to acknowledge that superioritie to haue place as Arnobius wordes importe ouer them as bishoppes And so is youre argument taken from the equalitye of the Apostles shewed to be insufficient to proue your fantasied equalitie of all bishoppes Hetherto you haue talked generally of this epistle of S. Hierome to Euagrius Nowe will you come to the place you saie alleaged by me oute of this epistle Quòd autem postea vnus electus est c. That one was afterwarde chosen to rule the reste that was done for a remedie against schismes c. To this place you adde an other sentence of S. Hierome where for example of that which he had saide he bringeth the churche of Alexandria VVhere from Marke the Euangelist vnto Heracla and Dionisius being bishoppes the priestes did euer place one chosen off their companye in the higher roume and named him bishoppe c. Vpon this place yow conclude as foloweth VVhereby it appeareth plainely that the wordes of Saint Hierrome Nowell â— â–ª a. one chosen afterwarde emongest them to rule the reste for a remedie of schismes doe apperteine to euery bishoppe as heade ruler of the cleargie off his ownâ— diocesse For saieth Saint Hierome suche an heade ruler was chosen at Alexandria in Aegypt c. The example of Alexandria maketh nothing against Dorman my vnderstanding of these wordes to be ment of the Apostles For why might not S. Marke the B. of Alexandria be made bishop there after this fourme of gouernement vsed emongest the Apostles that as emongest the Apostles one was aboue the reste so in Alexandria shoulde be one chiefe ruler aboue the rest of the cleargie there But in this pointe I will contende with no man For howe euer they be to be vnderstande of the Apostles or of euerye bishop as heade ruler off the cleargye in his owne diocesse once this is cleere that by them is proued that of one company there must for the better auoiding of schismes be one heade Againe on the other side you seme to be as indifferent and therefore you adde And withall what so euer was done afterwarde was not done Nowell fol. 43. a. 23 de iure diuino vpon the grounde of Goddes lawe but of an ecclesiasticall ordre and policie I praye you what if this were but an ecclesiasticall ordre Dorman M. Nowell Thinke you it nothing to breake the canons and constitutions of the vniuersall churche Because with men of youre vocation that is counted a small faulte I will proue to the reader euen by S. Hierome him selfe that this ordre to haue one generall heade ouer Christes churche is neither the inuention of ambitiouse popes as before sclaunderously you saide neither grounded only vpon anye ecclesiasticall ordre and policie as here vpon better aduise more modestly you reporte but vpon the infallible grounde of Christes owne expresse ordinaunce S. Hierome therefore writing against one of youre auncestors Iouinian the heretike who maintained that votaries and professed persones might laufully mary for the defence Aug. lib. 2. Retractat cap. 22. Haeresi 82. of this heresie of his for so hath S. Augustine termed it brought the example of Peter who was he saide a maried man By this occasion offred S. Hierome vttreth of S. Peter these wordes At dicis super Petrum fundatur ecclesia Lib. 1. coÌ„trâ— Iouin licet idipsum in alio loco super omnes Apostolos fiat cuncti claues regni coelorum accipiant ex aequo super eos ecclesiae fortitudo solidetur tamen propterea inter duodeeim vnus eligitur vt capite constituto schismatis tollatur occasiâ— â–ª Sed cur non Ioannet electus est virgo AEtati delatum erat quia Petrus senior erat ne adhuc adolescens ac pené puer progressae aetatis hominibus praeferretur magister bonus qui occasionem iurgij debuerat auferre discipulis c. causam praebere videtur inuidiae That is to saye But thou saiest the churche is builded vpon Petre allthough the same in an other place be done vppon all the Apostles and al of them receiue the keyes of heaueÌ„ and indiffereÌ„tly vpon theÌ„ is the strength of the church grounded yeat therfore is there one chosen emoÌ„gest the 12 THAT BY APPOINTING A HEADE OCCASION OF SCHISMES BE TAKEN AWAYE But why was not Iohn chosen being a virgin Age was preferred because Peter was elder Lest a strippling and yeat almost a childe should be preferred before auncient and elderly meÌ„ and the good maister which Christ appointed Peter to be heade shoulde take from his scholers occasion of strife c. might some to ministre cause of enuie Hetherto the wordes off S. Hierome Of the which maye be concluded Firste that this ordre to haue one heade in Christes churche is no ecclesiasticall ordre and policie but an ordre appointed by Christes owne mouthe to begin in his blessed Apostles in whome if this gouernement were necessary for the auoiding of schismes howe muche more necessary it is emongest vs I leaue to the learned and wise to iudge The secoÌ„de coÌ„clusion that I gather vpoÌ„ this place is that here S. Hierome teacheth vs that this common obiection of the heretikes
Italie or Rome it selfe for his wordes haue euidentlie that relation and that none thinke the auctoritie of one bishop to be lesse then the auctoritie an other but a few wicked and desperate men You were driuē to the wall M. Nowell when you were forced Dorman for a pore shift to say that Leo said as he did because he wolde haue bene lord and heade ouer the church S. Cipriā saith that euerie bishop hath his seuerall portion The same saieth Leo. Leo saieth that the charge of the vniuersall church must Lib. 1. ep 3 haue recourse to Peters chaire S. Ciprian saieth not the cōtrarie Yea so saieth S. Ciprian toe calling Rome matricem the mother church And whither should children I pray you haue recourse for succour but to their mother He saith not that the subiecte of one bishop may not appeale to an other Lyes that is one lie He saieth not that the cause determined by one bishop may be called before no other that is an other lie He maketh no comparison as you say he doth betwene the bishoppes of Afrike Italie and Rome behold the third lye He saieth not that none but a fewe wicked and desperate men thinke the auctoritie of one bishop to be lesse then the auctoritie of an other which if he shoulde youre selfe were like by that meanes to be of the nombre of such desperate and wicked men who before acknowledged chiefe prelates a worde that presupposeth other that be inferiour and fol. 32. 2. be cōtrarie to him selfe as I proued before by his writing to Steuen the pope wherby he required him to take ordre by his lettres for the remouing from his bishoprike Martianus the B. of Arles and by that that him selfe sent to Rome to Cornelius to trie the matter before him with those euill mē that complained vpon him there by his excepting againste the sentence giuen by the pope for the restitution of Basilides for no other cause but because it was obteined by false information All which exāples doe not only proue that he was not of the minde that no one bishop was aboue an other but this also that the B. of Rome was of greater auctoritie then the bishoppes of Fraunce Spaine or Afrike Hetherto of the disagrement betwene S. Ciprian and Leo which by this time all men I trust perceiue to be no suche as you vaunted it was yea to be none at all but suche consent rather as in diuerse wordes there can not be greater It foloweth that we examine how Hierome and Leo agree S Hierome yow saye hath that all churches worshipping one Nowell fo 51. a. 10 Borowed out of Caluin Inst. lib. 4 cap. 7. Sect. 3. Christe and obseruing one rule of truthe are equall with the churche of Rome that all bishoppes be the successours of the Apostles and of one priestehod and of the same merite and dignitie But Leo saieth contrarie that it was giuen to one to be aboue all the rest and that they who be in greater diocesses or cities haue more care and auctoritie and that the onelie see of Peter hath charge of the vniuersall churche and is heade thereof Yow belye S. Hierome He saieth not that all the churches Dorman A lye 38. in the worlde be equall If he did he shoulde saie contrarie to Irinaeus who saieth that the churche of Rome hath potentiorem principalitatem greater souereintie then other churches haue contrary to S. Cipriā who calleth Rome the Li. 1. cap. 3 Lib. 1. ep 3. mother churche the roote and principall churche and contrarie to S. Austen who calleth it the churche in the which the principalitie of the apostolicall see hath allwaies florished Epist 162. He saieth that Christes church is not diuided * Nec altera Romanae vrbis ecclesia altera totius orbis existimanda as thoghe Rome were one and the whole worlde an other As for that that he saieth that all bishoppes be the successours off the apostles those wordes make merueilously for the opinion of Leo against you For vpon that proposition of S. Hierome I reason thus All bishoppes be the successours of the Apostles but the Apostles were not all equal because as S Hierom saith Peter was their head Ergo by S. Hieromes minde all bishoppes who be their successours be not equall but haue the successour of Peter their heade Againe Peter was heade of the Apostles and made because there shoulde arise no schisme emongest them Ergo the B. off Rome who is Peters successour must be heade of his felowe bishoppes for the same cause These two propositions that there was emongest the Apostles one heade and that that was Peter be S. Hieromes owne in his first boke against Iouinian The wordes although I rehersed before yeat because they perteine not onelie to this matter but to shewe also how these thre Ciprian Hierome and Leo mete and knit as it were together in this sentence that Christ appointed ouer his church one generall heade I will recite once againe The wordes therfore of S. Hierō to Iouiniā be these At dicis super Petrum fundatur ecclesia licet idipsum in alio loco super omnes apostolos fiat cuncti claues regni coelorum accipiant ex aequo super eos ecclesiae fortitudo solidetur tamen propterea inter duodecim vnus eligitur vt capite constituto schismatis tollatur occasio That is to saie But thou saiest The churche is builded vpon Peter although the same in an other place be done vpon all the Apostles and all of them receiue the keyes of heauen and equallye is the strength of the churche grounded vpon them yeat for all that is there one chosen emongest the twelue that by making a heade emongest them occasion of schisme maye be taken awaye See yow not nowe by this place of S. Hierome M. Nowell howe the equalitie of power that S. Cyprian speaketh of the similitude of honour and equalitie of calling that Leo remembreth the building of the churche in one place vpon all the Apostles indifferentlie that S. Hierome mentioneth notwithstanding they all three conclude in one maner with this worde tamen notwithstanding that the churche was builded vpon one that there was one heade that there was one preferred before the reste This place of S. Hierome as it vtterly stoppeth their mouthes who reason that the Apostles were absolutely in all pointes equall so confirmeth it moste strongly the answere made before to the place of S. Ciprian that the Apostles were all of equall power and auctority that that was true at the first but Ioan. 20. that after oure Lorde last before his ascension gaue the Ioan. 21. chiefe auctoritie to one in respecte as one was chosen from the rest vpon whome the churche shoulde be builded S. Hierome saieth that al bishoppes are of one priesthode and of the same merite you plaie the falsefier and adde of youre owne and of the same dignitie The gentlewoman
this is a frowarde heretike might denie S. Paules epistles to the Corinthiās especiallie the Latter in the which the case so requiring he glorieth so farre that him selfe confesseth that he hath played the foole 2. Corinth cap. 11. 1◠compelled thereto by them Ywisse S. Paule was as much subiect to persecution and deathe as anie of the popes that you haue named He had as litle lust or leisour to occupie his heade or pen about the setting furthe of him selfe to boaste of his apostleship to tel of his reuelations as anie of them But necessitie compelling bothe him and them to stande vpon their auctoritie it was expedient that they shoulde earnestlie set furthe the same The epistles that you speake of here to haue bene forged were gathered together aboue nine hundred yeares past by one Isidorus archebisshop of Hispalis in Spaine so that when you come to proue this matter those popes of these latter nine hundred yeares you see how they be discharged Now M. Nowell if you thinke that you haue walcked long inough out of the waye we will returne thither from whence we departed to the. 53. Leafe of youre booke The which because as the reader maye see it conteineth nothing but very matter of bragges not worthy to be answered I steppe ouer Ofschismes and sectes wherewith M. Nowell burdeneth the Catholikes The 17. Chapitre HERE M. Nowell by occasion of a fewe lines but such Nowell fol. 54. a. belike as touched him to the quicke and made him to wynse discourseth in manie leaues in defence of schismes and sectes This note of mine whereby I admonished the reader for better credite to be giuen hereafter to the auncient fathers Cypriā and Hierom who telling vs that the not obeing of one chiefe heade in one seuerall diocesse is the cause of schismes and heresies saye withall allthough not in expresse wordes asmuche by force of greater reason vnlesse there be one suche heade acknowledged and obeied in the vniforme gouernement of the whole churche to haue an eye to the present schismes whiche haue burst in vpon vs in oure countrie in stede of one commō receiued truthe in the daies of oure fathers this note I saie so graueled M. Nowell rubbing him on the verie heade of that festred boile of his poisoned heresie that he coulde finde no grounde to stande vpon but nedes must he fling out and laie about him as a man halfe wood and beside himselfe sparing none not the blessed Apostles them selues He beginneth this pastime after his accustomed maner with this Lewde lye It is well knowen that there is as muche consent in true doctrine Nowell A facing lye 44. in the churche of Englande at this time as euer was in anie realme at anie time What a face thinke you hath this man or hath he anie Dorman face or forheade at all I will not trouble him with forein realmes shewing him what consent in true doctrine there is presently in manie Catholike countries nor I will not appeale to all the former ages that haue passed I will only put him in remembraunce of the consent in true doctrine in oure owne countrie fifty yeares ago Can you saye M. Nowel for with you I loue gladliest to talcke that there was then anie dissention in doctrine at all Can yow recken vs vp anie diuersitie of opinions touching beliefe in all the realme of England at that time Will you saie they had no true doctrine at all and therfore no consent in true doctrine If you saie so then name vs a time when there was euer true doctrine in Englande that suche a time being knowen it maie be proued vnto you that there were no suche sectes and schismes then as rage emongest you nowe Note vnto vs the yeare and religion vsed at any tyme since oure realme was firste christened when yow write nexte that we maye aske you whether at that tyme Caūtorbury Rochester Glocestre were of one opiniō cōcerning the presence of Christes most blessed body bloude in the sacramēt and Londō Winchester and Dirham of a cleane contrary as they are nowe that occupye these roomes Who hathe not hearde of a sermon latelye preached before the Queenes maiestye in the defence of the reall presence and the preacher called of his brethern for his labour an asse in a Rochet the Sermon it selfe by a mightye Samson shortly after as it semed confuted Is this a consent in true doctrine M. Nowell Haue you not hearde off these Sermones Or if you hearde them did you nodde there while and beare so litle awaye that you haue cleane forgotten the whole matter telling vs nowe scarse oute of youre sleepe that you haue as muche consent in true doctrine as euer was in anye realme at anye tyme How many of youre brethern be of Verons minde touching predestination Let M. Moulins the vsurper of the Archedeaconry of London youre neighbour tell you M. Nowell why he did excommunicate M. Thomas Walbot a ministre in London Let the saide Walbot instructe you who they are that in his learned supplication to M. Doctour Parker he calleth Florinitians Tell vs M. Nowell whereof it procedeth that three of the moste graue modeste and learned emongest yow men to saye the truthe in all respectes heresye set a parte worthy to beare the office off M. D. Parker M. Cheyny M. Gest true bishoppes in Christes churche are of their subiectes so contemptuouslye set at naught whereof I saye it procedeth that one is called Matthewe meale mouthe a Lince wolsy bishoppe c. that the other hathe Moyer the ministre of Wootton vnder headge borne out against him the thirde termed an Asse but of this that there be schismes and sectes emongest you Are you ignoraunt M. Nowell what cōmunion M. Whittingham celebrated at Duresme not onely against the mynde of his bishoppe but the ordre appointed also by the communion booke Neuer hearde you what a singuler and straunge maner off baptisme he deuised and ministred at Duresme Is al this in your eye consent in true doctrine when you agree not emongest youre selues neither in the substance of the chiefest Sacramentes neither in the maner of their ministration Are we ignoraunt thinke you of the Anabaptistes Arrians Eluidians and whole swarmes of these and other heretikes that lye smoothering in corners looking for the ioyfull tyme of their deliueraunce in to the world and broade light as you and youre felowes did 30. yeares ago Are we ignoraunt thereoff because when some of them sturring before their tyme are brought before youre bishoppes they are with good wordes of greate policie dismissed with exhortation to them to lyue lyke quiet subiectes c. Lest suche hastie and vntimely teeming might be not onely the vtter ruine and ouerthrowe of all those heresyes that hauing nowe continued almost twentie yeares begin to growe to mannes state but of so muche faire issue allso as that cursed moother is lyke to bring furthe hereafter Iudge you vs to
be suche doltes and so depriued of common sense that we vnderstand not to what ende the fauour shewed to an Anabaptist an Eluidian or anye other heretike for the crueltie practised on the catholike tendeth Argueth it not to the worlde that you seke rather meanes politikely for the tyme to staye them then vtterly for euer to represse them Well thus muche off youre priuate dissensions and lurking heresies whereof one of late in spite of all polycie sustening Verons heresie touching praedestination to abyde no longre burst oute hathe the blaste off common fame blowen ouer to vs. What other priuey store of opinions and seuerall doctrines maye be founde emonge you they knowe best that best are acquainted with you We as we can not knowe all so we can not reporte all This that hathe bene brought is sufficient to proue yowe M. Nowell a lowde lyer vntill you shewe the like to haue bene emongest vs before your heresies began The whiche because yow dispaired to be euer able to doe for yow confesse hereafter that there was at that time a coloured kinde off quietnesse emongest vs fol. 56. b. Yow bethought yow off a better councell that is to saye that emongest the Apostles of Christe the learned fathers of the councell off Nice and other off no lesse fame in Christes churche there haue bene also schismes and sectes You re wordes are these And though there were not a perfecte consent of all men in all pointes what merueile yeat were it if that shoulde happen emongest Nowell vs which was not alltogether lacking emongest the Apostles themselues c. This impudent and blasphemouse shifte you haue borowed Dorman of your Apologie the Apologie of Iohn Caluin he of that greate Lombard the diuell him selfe But here I beseche Staphilus in Epist ad Episcop Eystetēsen the considre with me good reader what either a miserable and detestable religiō is this either elles what weake but shamelesse patrones hathe it founde when suche faultes as be noted therein can no otherwise be excused but by sclaundring moste wickedly the learned doctours of the churche the generall councelles of the same yea the moste blessed and gloriouse apostles them selues Tell these newe gospellers that whereas the churche of Christe is Matth. 5. a citie builded vpon the toppe of a hill a candell set in the house to giue light to all that be in it a kingdome that reacheth from sea to sea and from the East to the west that Lucae 11. Psalm 71. their churche that they boast of is a secrete scattred congregation vnknowen to all the worlde and to them selues toe yow shall haue a peuishe proctour steppe furthe and answere as M. Nowell dyd before we take this obiection as Supra fol. 39. a. 32. no reproche being common to oure congregation with the primitiue churche of oure sauiour Christe and his holie apostles specially in the time of persecution Charge them as I doe here with schismes and you haue hearde the answere thereto allready The reporter whereof and as manie as before haue vsed this and like defences I can resemble to no worldly thing better then to a filthy and beastly sowe who being fowle and bemired her selfe neuer careth to be cleane but fodeth on still in the durte beraieng all thinges that she meeteth or rubbeth her selfe vpon as these schismaticall proctours doe not caring so muche to purge them selues as to laie their filthe vpon other that be cleane and to make them tomble and walowe in the mire as they doe Now to this blasphemouse shift because it is in the confutation of In the 3. parte fol. 136. and seq the Apologie so learnedly answered I will saie no more but that it is moste directly repugnant to the holie scriptures which beare witnesse that credentiū erat cor vnū anima vna Those which beleued at the first preaching of the Act. 4. Apostles were of one harte and of one minde It tendeth The Apostles varied dot in doctrine openly to the defacing of that marcke which Christe as of all other the moste certeine and suer to discerne those whiche are his gaue to his disciples when commending peace and vnitie he tolde them In hoc cognoscent omnes quia mei Ioan. 13. discipuli estis si diligatis inuicem In this marcke shall all men knowe that you are my disciples if you loue together M. Nowell chargeth the Apostles as the heathen philosophers dyd that finally it commeth from the ethnike and heathen spirite of certeine vaine philosophers as witnesseth the learned father Cirillus the B. of Alexandria who made in his time this verie obiection that M. Nowell nowe dothe Th◠Lib. 1. contra lulianū which place maie it please the learned reader to viewe and there shall he finde that this good bishop was so assured off that perfecte agrement of the Apostles that he was not afearde to make the offer to those vaine philosophers that so reasoned with him as M. Nowell dothe with me to leaue to defende them anie farder in case they coulde proue anie disagrement emongest them in doctrine Nowe that yow haue done with the Apostles yow come to the fathers and doctours of Christes churche of whome yow saye What wondre if that were emongest vs touching some pointes Nowell that was not wanting in the primitiue churche emongest the olde fathers Let the variance emongest the bishoppes assembled at Nicene councell let the contention betwene the bishoppes of the east and west churche about the keping of Easter daye * Beholde an arrogant spirite taking vpon him to iudge and reprehende the most vertuouse and learned bishoppes of the East and west churche Dorman a matter not worthy of suche variance be a witnesse thereof This vaine obiection borowed also of youre Apologie as is allmost alltogether what so euer yow haue here patched vp in fiue leaues concerning this matter of schismes is in the answere therto made abundantly satisfied Thither I referre the good reader where as thow maiest finde that some of these controuersies here mentioned by M. Nowell were of matters indifferent and not determined by the churche other some not of doctrine or religion but off priuate quarelles as happened emongest the fathers in the councell of Nice finally some suche as be schismes if they be schismes at all in logike not in diuinitie or matters off faithe so in matters of weight arrested vpon by the determination of the churche such striffes can not be named neither by this schismaticall proctour neither yeat by anye other So greate cause we haue to giue thankes to allmightie God the preseruer of his churche who hathe so mightely defended the same that when schismatikes and heretikes haue done all that they can for the better cloking of their dissension to proue the like in the fathers and learned doctours that haue gone before they being not able with all that malice can deuise or falsehode
an other yeat all this notwithstanding the firste stone of this building that shoulde be laide vpon the rocke were also the foundation but not as hauing soliditie or strength of it selfe but of that other perfect fundation whereunto it leaneth To this alluded Saint Ambrose when in a certeine place he calleth Petre firmissimam petrā the moste strong rocke quae ab illa principali petra Lib. 2. de vocat gēt cap. 9. communionem virtutis sumsit nominis which tooke from that principall rocke he meaneth Christe communion bothe of vertue and name What can be saide more plainely to expresse that Petre is called a rocke as well as Christe to confirme this distinction of rockes or fundations Hauing nowe detected the vanitie of youre prouffes whereby you laboure to proue that this place of S. Hierom shoulde be falsified by me I will confirme the catholike doctrine in this pointe and showe that this Parenthesis added by me for the better vnderstanding of the place was trulie added And because yowe complaine of me for leauing out two lynes I will proue not onelie by them but by the preamble of the epistle that S. Hierome wrote not to Damasus as to his owne bishop but to him as heade of the churche and successour to Petre. In the two lines that yow saie I cut of are these wordes cum successore piscatoris discipulo crucis loquor with the successour of the fissher Peter and a disciple of the crosse I speake Of these wordes I make this argument S. Hierome wrote to Damasus as to the successor of S. Peter But S. Petre was acknowledged by S. Hierome to be heade of the church therefore S. Hierome wrote vnto him as heade of the churche The minor proposition is proued by S. Hieron in Psalm 13. Hierome writing vpon the 13. Psalme where expounding these wordes Non est qui faciat bonum c. no saieth he not Petre him selfe which is heade of the churche Againe in an other place where he saieth Coenaculum grande ecclesia magna In cap. Marci 14. est in qua narratur nomen domini strata varietate virtutum linguarum vt est illud circumamicta varietate in qua paratur domino Pascha Dominus domus Petrus apostolus est cui dominus domum suam credidit vt sit vna fides sub vno pastore That is to saie The greate parler is the greate churche in the which is preached the name of oure Lorde garnished with varietie of giftes and tongues according to the saing Clothed with change of apparell in the whiche is prepared our Psal 44. Lordes passeouer The maister of the house is Petre the apostle to whome oure Lorde committed his house that Note this reason there maie be one faithe vndre one shepeherd The consequent of this argument is proued to be good by this reason of S. Hieromes why God appointed S. Petre to be the ruler of the churche For seing we muste nowe aswell auoide multitudes of faithe as the churche was bounde in S. Petres time to doe there must as necessarilie be nowe one heade as there was then whiche no man can iustly doubte whether S. Hierome ment that Damasus shoulde be seing he confesseth that Damasus is Petres successour who was by his confession that one heade And that it maie the better appeare that this was in S. Hieromes time the faithe of the church that as Petre was heade therof so were also his successours S. Ambrose liuing with S. Hierome calleth this verie Damasus ruler of gods house the churche whome I woulde In 1. Timoth 3. not alleage but trie out S. Hieromes meaning by him selfe were it not that yow might see how vniformely they agree in this point Hierome calling Petre the maister Ambrose calling Damasus his successour the ruler of goddes house the churche Moreouer that in calling Peter heade of the churche and Damasus his successour S. Hierome called Damasus also heade of the churche is proued by this that S. Hierome in this place protesting that he was ioyned to Damasus in communion expoundeth him selfe id est cathedrae Petri that is to saie to the chaire of Petre. Thus did S. Cyprian in his time describing the bishoprike of Rome by these wordes Locus Fabiani Fabians place expounde by and by his meaning in this wise id est locus Petri gradus cathedrae sacerdotalis that is to saie Petres place and the degree Lib. 4. epist 2. of the priestely chaire If therefore the popes that succede S. Peter haue the same place the same chaire that is to saie the same auctoritie for this worde chaire signifieth no thing elles that S. Petre had who doubteth but that S. Hierom in this place acknowledging him selfe to speake to Petres successour did agnise also the same auctorite in him that he did in S. Petre Next after this weigh I beseche yow the preamble of this epistle of S. Hierome to Damasus vttred in these wordes Quoniam vetusto Oriens inter se populorum furore collisus c. Because the Easte being sore broosed and shaken with the olde furie of the people emongest them selues teareth pece meale the whole and seamelesse coate of oure Lorde and the foxes destroye Christes vineiarde so that emongest the leaking pittes that haue no water it is harde to vnderstande where is that sealed founteine and walled gardein therefore I thought that Petres chaire and Rom. 1. the faithe praised by the Apostles owne mouthe ought to be consulted by me from thence nowe asking foode for my soule from whence once I receiued Christes lyuory Thus far S. Hierome By which wordes we maie vnderstande that he wrote this epistle to Damasus as to him that being successour to Petre was heade of the churche and therefore in all doubtefull cases to be consulted not as to his owne proprebishop For if he had why shoulde he then haue mentioned Petres chaire which worde because S. Peter was heade of the whole churche as hath bene proued out of S. Hierome argueth a rule ouer the whole not of a particuler place alone If nowe S. Hierome were not afearde to saie that he ioyned him selfe in communion to Petres chaire that in this doubtefull case he thought that that chaire was to be consulted why take yowe the matter so whotly against me for saing with S. Hierome that the churche is builded vpon Petres chaire Why call you this more blasphemie then the other to be ioyned in communion to Petres chaire to consult Petres chaire Is it vnlikely that S. Hierome shoulde saie that Petres chaire was the rocke whereon the churche was builded to the whiche chaire he sought for councel to the which he protested to be ioyned in the same communion Or is it likely that he woulde haue so saide of anie chaire saue that on the which the churche was builded I can not here but note by the waie how to make the matter seme odiouse to the
vnlearned you vse termes like youre selfe against this chaire of S. Petre minding as I take it to persuade that I shoulde drawe S. Hieromes wordes to suche a meaning as that he shoulde meane that Christes churche were builded vpon a materiall chaire You maye be ashamed M. Nowel where you lacke iust matter to blotte paper and waste incke with suche cauilling triffles as euerie man that hath common sense wil as sone as they haue passed once youre mouthe be hable to discouer and reproue Dothe not S. Hierome in this place make twise expresse mention of Petres chaire Why triumphe you not ouer him as you crowe against me with youre foolishe and vnsauory Rhetorike and saie that he was well occupied to write from Siria to Rome for councell from a rotten chaire that he was a wise man to ioyne him selfe in communion theretoe Who seeth not that yow woulde haue taken the matter as whotly with S. Hierome as you doe with me hauing as good cause alltogether sauing that yow feared the burning of youre lippes I saie therefore M. Nowell that VVhat S. Hierome ment by Peters chayre S. Hierome to answere you in this pointe if you were so verie a dolt that you vnderstode it not before by building the churche vpon Petres chaire meaneth euen as he did in those two places before where you can not denie but that he maketh expresse mention of that chaire Sainte Hierome meaneth there no materiall chaire and therefore no rotten chaire as you like a rotten membre and deuided from the churche blasphemously saie He meaneth as Matt◠23 Christe doeth in the ghospell speaking of Moises chaire as the fathers Cipriā Epiphanius Austen Ambrose Optatus and the rest doe as often as they vse this worde that is to saie by the chayre the power and bishoplike auctoritie which Petre hauing giuē to him cōmitted to his successours For euē as a riuer though it runne manie thousandes of miles leeseth not yeat but reteineth neuerthelesse the name of the founteine and heade spring from whence it came so fareth it in the succession of bishoppes that how many so euer there be that succede yeat they are all saide to possesse the chaire of him that ruled firste yea allthough euerie of them had made for him selfe a newe chaire For the matter consisteth not as I saide before in materiall chaires no more then doth the opening or shutting of heauen gates depende vpon materiall keyes And as well might you like a Lucianist or a Porphirian haue scoffed at Christe for saing that the scribes and Phariseis sate vpon Moises chaire which if they had had emōgest them if euer Moises sate in anie should at that time haue bene as rotten as is S. Petres nowe there being betwene Moises and S. Petre not manie fewer yeares then are nowe betwene S. Petre and oure time or for making keyes for heauen as yow doe against me But to let this passe and to exaggerate no furder that for the which at the handes of suche as be of the learneder and wiser sorte you are like to susteine punishment enough by incurring the note of this infamie to be no learned reasoner but a railing wrangler I will nowe as compendiously as maie be iustifie the inserting of this Parenthesis Peters chaire First these wordes vpon this rocke I knowe the churche to be builded ought to be referred rather as youre selfe before confessed and in this case if in anie you ought to be beleued for you haue bene a scholemaister and practised better in the gramer rules then in the scriptures and fathers writinges to the wordes that go nearest before but the wordes Peters chaire are placed nearest before Therefore by youre owne confession the building of the churche ought to be referred thither Againe S. Hierome in this place it is to be presumed alluded in these wordes I knowe the churche to be buylded on that rocke to the wordes of the ghospell Tues petrus super hanc petram aedificabo ecclesiam meam Thow Matt. 16. arte Petre and vpon this rocke wil I builde my church But in that place Christe appointed an other fundation of the church beside him selfe to wit Peter It foloweth therefore that S. Hierome in this place ment not of Christ but of Peters chaire that is Peters auctoritie or Peter him selfe Thirdly it is more then probable that sainte Hierome mēt not in this place of building the churche vpon Christe only but vpon Petre also nexte after Christe because to him that with iudgement wil reade the epistle considre duly the circunstances especially the beginning it shal appeare that his whole talcke is so framed that whereas of purpose and directly he maketh mention of consulting Peters chaire off ioyning him selfe to Peters chaire and in that whole discourse of his setteth furthe the praises of the churche off Rome he speaketh of Christe but incidently and as it were by the waie of a parenthesis and that toe to auaunce the dignitye of the See of Rome as before the which he woulde preferre he saide none but Christe The whiche being so what sounde iudgement will not rather refer these wordes aboute whiche the controuersie is to that whiche is principally and directly handled rather then to that which is mentioned but incidently and indirectly Last of all it is to be iudged that S. Hierome agreeth here with his owne writinges in other places Nowe is this euident that euen the thirde epistle before thys he saieth in plaine wordes that the churche was builded vppon Petre. His wordes are Apostolus Petrus super quem Dominus fundauit ecclesiam Tom. 2. epist ad Marcellā Petre the Apostle vpon whom our lorde founded his churche Thus you see good Readers I trust howe falselye and withoute all cause M. Nowell hathe quarelled with me for this parenthesis added only to make more plaine the wordes of Saint Hierome It foloweth that I showe to you howe he prosecuteth his purposed malice by the auctorities of Erasmus and S. Augustine in the 108. 109. and 110. leaues Erasmus saieth M. Nowell cleane contrarye to all papistes Nowell fol. 108. a. 18. saieth in his notes vpon these wordes Super illam petram c. Non super Romam vt arbitror c. That is to saie Vpon that rocke not vpon Rome I trowe c. From Erasmus thus farre we dissent not that we knowe Dorman as well as he that the church was not built vpō Rome For if Rome were sacked as God forbid to morowe nexte the church should continue neuerthelesse although the bishop went from thence and shoulde sit at the meanest towne in all Italye or elles where As for that that he woulde haue the churche to be builded by S. Hieromes meaning vppon Peters faithe that first he affirmeth not confidently but saieth he troweth so next it maye be saide that in this place Erasmus telleth his owne opinion in the other place off this epistle vpon these wordes Extra hanc domum without this
his election be vncerteine or vnlaufull Must he yeat Nowell fol. 115. a. 2 be the moste certeine and onely iudge If the election be not lauful it giueth to the elected person Dorman no right VVhat if we haue a shee pope suche as was pope Ioane otherwise Nowell Iohn the eight What iff that be a lye and to be founde in no storye Dorman of worthy credite Iff suche a chaunce should yeat happen then were there no pope but for the time the See vacant VVhat if the popes successours doe disanull their praedecessours Nowell popes decrees c In matters perteining to thinges indifferent it maye so Dorman chaunce time and place so requiring but in faithe and doctrine deliuered to the whole church that any such chaunge or alteration hath happened you are not able to shewe nor euer shall and therfore you might haue kepte this what if with the rest in youre purse Thus are these doubtes of youres answered M. Nowell and so shall I trust the other great manie mo that you threaten me withall which you loked for belike at the writing hereof to come shortly from Franckeforde marte The pope is not iudge in his owne cause The cause is A. 19. gods and the churches So I tolde yow before Yow make muche a doe to proue that the scriptures are the waye of truthe iudgementes yea and iudgementes off truthe whiche no man denieth For it hathe bene allwaies graunted vnto yow that the scriptures conteine all truthe in them sufficient to confirme all true doctrine and to ouerthrowe the contrarie when by the voice of the churche they are interpreted and made manifest When we harcken to the popes interpretation of scripture we acknowledge and so ought all true catholikes that we heare the holy gost speaking by his mouthe in which case we saie that the credite whiche we giue to his sentence is not giuen to him as he is a man but to gods worde whereby we are taught that the thing whiche mannes nature coulde not obteine Christe God and man obteined for Peter the first pope of Rome Lucae 22. that is that his faithe shoulde not faile and so consequently for all that shoulde after him succede in the gouernement of the churche And so is youre texte answered God is true but euerie man is a lier Or elles we coulde not be assured of that which the prophetes and Apostles teache vs. Of the title heade of the churche of England giuen to oure late souereigne Kinge Henry the 8. The 31. Chapter I ASKED here by occasion of that foolishe reason of fo 116. a. 1. your Apologie Christ is heade of the church Ergo it hath or nedeth no other how it happened then that youre companions gaue to kinge Henry the 8. the title of heade of the churche of Englande and yow youre selues to oure moste gratiouse lady his daughter the same also in effecte To this yow saie If it will please yow to resorte to the recordes of the 22. and 24. Nowell 1. b. 7. yeares of King Henry the 8. there shall yow finde who they were that first offred this title to the saide Kinge there shall yowe finde that all Abbottes and other religiouse all the bishoppes Deanes Archedeacons and cleargie of both the houses of the conuocation then liuing gaue him that title To the latter question of the Quenes maiestie to that yowe will shortly answere yowe saie but presently yow doe not When yow haue ransacked all the recordes and saide all Dorman that yow can to make the Catholikes oure forefathers partakers withe yow of this facte yeat is this moste surelie recorded in all mennes remembraunce that all Catholikes ioyned not with yow and those that did were folowers and no leaders consented to that title which was required and offred it not of their owne motion The first auctors that put that wicked deuise in to the kinges moste noble heade were not the catholikes but heretikes and the scholers of Luther suche as were Cromwell Cranmere and other I speake not this notwithstanding to excuse them who confesse their owne faultes and are moste sorie and penitent therefore This was a case wherein we maie saie withe oure forefathers peccauimus iniusté egimus iniquitatem fecimus We haue sinned we haue done vniustly we haue committed iniquitie But what is all this to the purpose What if the catholikes did amisse withe yow as they did how can yowe answere this standing in youre wicked opinion still that a particuler church maie haue one heade gouernour vnder Christe in earthe and the whole maie not To that yow saie I truste the reason is not to seeke in the good readers memorie Nowell fo 117. a. 22. seing it hathe bene so ofte declared before yet will I answere M. Dormans question by an other question Yow burden verie sore the readers memorie to remembre Dorman that which hetherto yowe neuer vttred Yow are not wont to be so daungerouse I reporte me to the reader to repeate one thing diuerse times but there was good cause that yow shoulde here doe as yow did to wit because yow are not hable standing in strength the argument of youre Apologie to giue anie reason why the churche of one particuler realme hauing two prouinces two archebishoppes and vndre them aboue 20. bishoppes whereof Christe is as muche the heade as of the whole churche shoulde more haue an other heade beside Christ ouer all these particuler heades then all the particuler heades of Christes vniuersall churche shoulde haue an other heade beside Christe ouer them Yeat I knowe yowe meane that reason of youres whiche being so foolishe so wicked and blasphemouse that one man is not hable to rule and gouerne vndre Christe the whole churche alone yow haue so often repeated hauing no other shift of descant that euen verie shame compelleth yow now at the last to wrappe and inuolue it in silence As for the answere that yowe make by a question VVhy one kingdome maye haue in earth vnder God one head and the whole world can not to that I saie that it is a false proposition that the whole worlde can not haue one onlye head in earth vndre God often in this youre Reproufe stoutely affirmed but neuer as yeat proued To this answere I ioyne also the seconde that the questions be not like But then you saye If M. Dorman saye the questions be not like I aske with what Nowell b. 1. face he can so saye seing that in the beginning of this his treatie he brought the example of ciuile gouernement in the whiche euery kingdome hath his king euerie countrie citie and companie haue their seuerall gouernours c. to proue that the church ought likewise to haue one head I acknowledge this example and dare further make Dorman you M. Nowell youre selfe the iudge whether these questions of youres and mine be lyke I compare one kingdome to the whole church which is also
that to deceiue the simple vseth here these wordes Yealde vp the honour and glorie of gouerning the whole world and church to god as though any man so claimed the gouernement of the churche as that he woulde displace Christe thereof Also you see that in this treatie hetherto as M. Dorman hathe Nowell not one worde out of the newe testament so hath he alleaged but only two textes out of the olde testament one oute of Deuteron cap. 17. c. an other of Numeri 16. which bothe make directly against him c. You see and knowe I doubte not that one texte of holye Dorman scripture is as good as a hundred You see that M. Nowell goeth guilefully aboute to abuse the simple by this terme nation as thoughe because the Iues whiche were but one nation had their chiefe prieste and high bishoppe therefore there shoulde folowe thereof naught elles but that euerye nation countrye diocesse or churche shoulde haue also their chiefe bishoppe withoute anye one heade ouer the whole whereas the Iues althoughe they were but one nation were yeat the chosen people and churche of God and emongest diuerse heades of seuerall tribues there was ouer all those heades one chiefe heade You haue seene that of S. Cyprians applieng of this texte to inferiour magistrates can be gathered no necessary argument that it maie not be otherwise applyed that is to the higher You haue seene as many as haue readen my first booke fol. 33. 34. 35. that Moises was a prieste that yeat there foloweth no absurditie of being two high priestes at once because as S. Augustine Lu quaest super Leuitic lib. 3. cap. 23. saieth they were bothe high priestes in diuerse respectes the one in commaunding to be done the other in executing thinges commaunded And withall you see that we are here by M. Nowell vntruly burdened of disobedience to oure Souereigne as not acknowledging suche auctoritye in the same ouer spirituall matters as was in Moises and Aaron VVherefore you maye well vnderstande that were it either Nowell proffitable or necessary c to haue such an one heade God woulde haue certified vs of a thing so proffitable and necessarie more plainely and exprossely then by two olde shadowes of the Iuishe churche which doe teache vs also the contrary God hath certified vs by building his church vpon one Dorman by making one generall pastour ouer all the rest that his Matth 16. Ioan. vlt. pleasure was to appointe this maner of gouernement in his churche But what meane yow to finde faulte with the testimonies of the olde testament calling them shadowes and to demaunde other of the newe hauing brought for youre opinion not so muche as one piece of a sentence out of either the olde testament or the newe Yow see howe blindely he going aboute to proue that there Nowell fo 120. a. 1 ought to be one onelye heade ouer all the church bringeth in for proufe thereof the regiment of seuerall countries kingdomes cities c. by seuerall princes seuerall magistrates and heades whiche maketh moste directly with vs that seuerall churches should in likewise haue their seuerall heades Yow see that oure question being whether the catholike Dorman churche of Christe whiche is but one ought to be ruled by one heade or manie M. Nowell here like the blinde bayard that he speakethe of saieth that my example proueth for them that it ought to be ruled by manye because many kingdomes haue many kinges wherein yow see that diuiding the church which is but one he goeth against the faithe of the churche Yow see that he dissembleth my reason which is that as a kingdom because it is one is best ruled by one heade so the church which is but one is best ruled by one heade Yow see that to this reason hetherto he neuer answered Yow see how often S. Cyprian is by him alleaged for the pope Nowell of Rome his supremacy in those places where he speaketh of Rogatian and of him selfe being bothe bishoppes c. Yow see howe the places of S. Cyprian and S. Hierom Dormna expressely mainteining the superioritie of one aboue the rest in euerye diocesse with the cause added for the auoiding of schismes brought by me to proue by more forcible reason the necessitie of one heade ouer the whole M. Nowell wresteth to the directe prouing of the B. of Rome his supremacy wherof in that place as it was not my purpose to intreate so if I had I had done preposterously and confounded my appointed ordre of writing Yow see howe the place of S. Basile brought to declare the maner off heretikes in contemning the auctoritie of their bishoppes he laieth to my charge vntruly to haue bene brought as spoken of the pope of Rome Yow see that the comparison made betwene Nouatus and oure protestantes of England holdeth in this that either of them laboureth to withdrawe the subiectes from their laufull obedience Yow haue heard good Readers the sory melodie of M. Nowelles harpe whereupon twanging on a false string he made a shamefull lye in saing that Vrsitius and Valens offred vp their recantation as well to Athanasius as to Iulius the pope Yow see that he hath oftentimes beelied S. Cyprian and S. Hierome feining them to make all bishoppes equall in auctoritie and no one to be aboue the other Yowe see his owne inconstancie and disagrement withe him selfe one while affirming all bishoppes to be equall and none to be aboue the other an other while denieng and making chiefe prelates in euerie prouince yow see him reiecting pope Leo as witnesse in his owne cause and bringing in the African to esbeare witnesse to them selues Yow see to deface pope Leo howe shamefully he sclaundreth Zosimus of whome the whole Africane councell wrote so reuerently Yow see howe he burdeneth without all maner of proufe Celestinus of whome Prosper writeth so honorably with other his successours to haue forged a greate many of the epistles nowe abrode in the names of Clement Anacletus c. yowe see howe he spareth no iniuriouse wordes to Leo calling him theefe noting him of ambition whome the councell of Calcedon called thrise blessed and God honoured withe miracles Yow see that he chalengeth vntrulie the copies of Leo to be contrarye one to an other Yow see that he is a plaine makebate and to mende his cause by setting the doctours at variance betwene them selues how he heweth mangleth and cutteth awaie from the auctors that he alleageth wordes yea sentences to serue his purpose You see in defence of schismes howe he laboureth to finde vnquietnesse emongest the Apostles and disciples of Christe you see that to deface vnitie as he taketh it from the Apostles so he attributeth it to the Phariseis and enemies of Christe You see for lacke of weightier matter he chargeth vs with the disputable opinions of scholemen and logiciners with diuersitie of apparell of diete and meates which maners as
wolud woulde   26 ouersthrowe ouerthrowe 27 b 25 tho warte thow arte 51 a 32 betwe betwene 57 b 3 saunderouse slaunderouse 58 a 29 as in well as well 64 b 2 plaees places 65 b 3 praesbiterum presbyterum 74 a 24 ades heades 81 b 25 Macedonio Macedonia 82 b 5 nexte chap. nexte chap. saue one 96 b 6 Agipto AEgipto 98 b 26 Aricans Africans 108 a 1 toke on take on 155 b 10 amsuer am suer 179 a 15 churchand churche and 182 a 13 not not cōpare not compare 192 b 23 * Specially to be corrected fidei ecclesiae 198 b 1 call then call them 205 b 32 African Africanes    esbeare beare 211 b 7 in ipiet incipiet    * Specially to be corrected ipsa est sedes Petri ipsa est petra    shall not doe not In margine 86 a 21 Dorman Nowell 108 a 28 Goddes gooddes If yow finde any other faultes I trust yow will frendely amende them youre selues and considre that we printe not withe suche ease as doe oure aduersaries whose bookes yeat lacke not their faultes HONY SOYT QVI. MAL. Y. PENSE God saue the Quene A DISPROVFE OF M. NOVVELLES REPROVFE THAT the sentence prefixed before my boke to proue the Protestants Schismatikes was not abused and that M. Nowell hath passed ouer in silence the chiefe pointe in it The. 1. Chapter I TOLDE yow M. Nowell before that in this youre long Reproufe of mine so fewe leaues yow had for youre pleasure walcked oftentimes farre out of the way and that therfore I woulde in no wise binde my selfe allwaies to folowe your steppes As euen here in the very entrie to giue men to vnderstande what they are lyke to finde yow in youre whole processe leauing S. Austens interpretation vpon the place of scripture wherby he proueth them to be Math. 7. the rauening wolues that are schismatikes and those to be schismatikes who communicate not with all nations nor those churches that haue bene founded by the Apostles labour yow slily slip from that to youre owne and beare vs in hande that we are the Phariseis of whome oure Sauiour spake the saide wordes Because we walcke grauely in long garmentes pretende long praiers c. Leauing therfore all this by talcke of youres as wide from our purpose I will come to the pointe of the question which is betwene vs M. Nowell whether I lacked iudgement or store of choise in choosing this sentence of S. Austen to sette before my boke or no. Of the which I saie that all were it so that yow had clerely vanquished S. Austen and proued that this texte had bene to be vnderstande against vs because we go in long gownes grauely and yow clime in clokes vp in to pulpites or walcke in long robes lightly yeat had this mised to leaue no one suche sentence vnanswered Ergo the reader maye iudge by this how likely yow are to deale truly hereafter that begin so trustely That the places alleaged by me oute of S. Cyprian Lib. 3. epist 11. and lib. 4. epist 9. were alleaged to the purpose The. 2. Chapter I conclude therefore that these places are by M. Dorman falsely Nowell Fol. 2. b. 7 and shamelesly alleaged to make a showe or as he calleth it an introduction to the B. of Romes auctoritie whereunto they appertaine nothing at all but onely to the euersion thereof I neuer brought these places M. Nowell to proue the Dorman popes supremacie Yow nede not therfore to trouble youre selfe with the prouse of this that they apperteine to the deacon disobeing his bishop Rogatian and to Pupianus abusing S. Cyprian But allthough I graunte yow thus much M. Nowell yeat that these places because they proue not the popes supremacie appertaine therefore nothing at all to him but only to the euersion of his auctoritie that faultie and vntrue conclusion I can in no wise graunte to yow not allthough yow thinke to vnderproppe that ruinouse collection as yow doe with this sclendre staye that there is not one worde in these places of the bishop of Rome Fol. 2. a. 1. b. 6. or hys Supremacy nor he as muche as once named therein For yow shoulde haue considered M. Nowell that I entreate here in this place of the maner and nature of heretikes and schismatikes Which is I saie to rebell against their heades to contemne their superiours and laufull gouernours Nowe as youre selfe woulde not I trowe saie that if anie of yow shoulde by writing or anie other vnlaufull meanes which god forbid go about to stirre vpp the people against oure laufull Quene he shoulde speake impertinently to the purpose that to disswade them therefro shoulde begin his purposed talcke after this manner Remembre my frendes that the nature and propretie of heretikes is and allwaies hath bene after that they be once waxen strong to rebell and make warre against their laufull gouernours Remembre the late tumultes raysed in Fraunce by the Huguenotes there against their gouernour as I saie it is not to be thought that yow woulde reiect this mannes exhortation calling it impertinent to the matter tending to the euersion of the Quenes auctoritie because the example brought was of disobedience to an other prince betwene him and his subiectes and not in termes of the Quene oure maistres so surely ought yow no more to haue quarelled against me bringing these examples out of S. Cyprian Especially seing that I presupposed and afterwardes proued in the discourse of that article that the B. of Romes auctoritie was no lesse ouer the whole churche in spirituall matters then is that of other princes ouer their seuerall kingdomes in temporall iurisdiction The which pointe if yow had done ordrely yow ought first to haue confuted that so iustlie after suche disproufe yow might haue reproued the applieng of these auctorities There is no mention made in anie of these places of the B. of Cauntorbury ne yeat of London neither all though youre selfe graunte that by these places yt is proued that euery inferiour ought to be obedient to his owne bishop as Fol. ◠b. 14. his superiour and that the disobedience of suche is cause of schismes and heresies Whereupon what letted me in my preface to applie aswell these places to the disobeing of the B. of Rome allthough he be not there named as for yow when the case shall so requier to applie them to the bishoppes of Cauntorbury or London no more there then the pope mentioned by name Who is as I saide before as truly the bishop of the whole church as anie other is ouer his owne propre diocesse Yow go forwarde and saie Onely this is moste euident in what sense so euer S. Cyprian Nowell fo 2. b. 19. taketh these wordes One bishopp that ruleth the churche the B. of Carthage is that one bishop and not the B. of Rome and therfore that phrase of one bishop can make nothing
of heresies and schismes when men shoulde departe from the obedience of the pope the chiefe bishop of all other and therefore neither without cause or guilefully to deceiue the simple as yow vncharitably surmise Which youre selfe also perceiued verie well and therefore by the figure called extenuatio you terme this reason of mine a simple collection after this maner Now if he thinke yeat that he might make suche a simple collection Nowell fol. 5. a. 31. of S. Cyprian and S. Basile his wordes as this that as the beginning of heresies in their time was the contempte of the inferiours towardes their owne bishoppes for so Saint Cyprian teacheth so in likewise is the contempte of the Pope as the highest of all bishoppes the beginning of heresies nowe First I denie the argument for that it foloweth not though it be euill for the inferiour to disobey his owne bishop to whose obedience in all godlines he is bounden therefore it is euill for a straungier not to obey a straunge forraine vsurper to whome he oweth no dutie of obedience Againe I saie though it be the beginning of heresie to disobey Cyprian Rogatian yea or Cornelius being godly or catholike bishoppes yeat is it not likewise the beginning of heresies to disobeye any the late Popes of Rome who were not only no godly bishoppes as were Cyprian Rogatian and Cornelius but bothe moste wicked and in deede no bishoppes att all but false vsurpers of wordly tirannie Whome for the subiectes of an other Christian and laufull soueraigne to obeye and not to disobey is the beginning of heresies treasons and other mischiefes This is my simple collection you saie I acknowledge it Dâ—â—man for mine as simple as it is and to youre double answere thereto replye as foloweth First to the first that it is moste false that you laye for a grounded truthe that the bishop of Rome is a forraine vsurper as when I so gathered in my introduction I minded to proue in the handling of the first principall article of the popes auctoritie and so sence haue done Whereof seing youre selfe are not ignorant you haue delt not simply but doubly labouring to deceiue the simple by defacing as you thougth my preface as vnskilfully written for that I haue there only sayde and not proued that the pope is the chiefe heade of Christes churche in earthe whereas that I referred as by good ordre of writing the learned knowe I ought to the first article of the popes supremacie To the reasons and proufes in which place brought as in all youre answere you neuer come neare but cauill and wrangle against my Introduction whiche showeth the cause of schismes to be disobedience against pastours and bishops so if they be applied to this place as they must then shall it appeare how falsely you saye that the wordes of S. Cyprian were alleaged without all cause But because the whole force of this first answere of youres to proue my argument naught standeth in this that the bishop of Rome being a forriner no suche reason can be made from S. Cyprian and S. Basile his wordes I will here ouer and aboue that which I haue allreadie saide in the handling of this article in his propre place presently proue The pope taken for no foriner by S. Cyprian and S. Basile by S. Cyprian and S. Basile bothe that he was taken by them for no foriner neither in Africa Fraunce Spaine neither yeat in the Easte churche of the whiche S. Basile was For Africa first was the B. of Rome thinke yow taken Afrike there by S. Cyprian to be a forraine vsurpar whose churche he called ecclesiae catholicae radicem matricem the roote Lib. 4. epist 8. and mother churche of the catholike churche If the churche of Rome be the roote and mother to all other churches then if the mother be aboue the children if the mother and roote be no foriners to the children and branches of the tree it will folowe verie wel first that the churche of Rome as it is no foriner to the churches of Africa and to the other churches through out the worlde but aboue them all that so the bishop of the same is aboue the B. of Carthage and all other bishoppes and no foriner or vsurper And as carnall children how farre so euer they lyue from their naturall parentes cease not therfore to be their children nor their saide parentes become therby forriners euen so the bishop of Rome who gouerneth that churche that is mother to all other ceasseth not to be a father to his children dwell they neuer so farre of Was the B. of Rome reputed a straunger to the bishoppes of Africa Lib. 4. epist 8. who vsed to sende their legates to him to pacifie matters and to bring knowledge of the truthe Whose communion to holde S. Cyprian calleth in this epistle the firme holding and allowing of the vnitie and charitie of the catholike churche When all the African bishoppes assembled together in councel directed their lettres to the bishop Apud August epi â–ª 90. of Rome praying him to confirme their doings by the auctoritie of the Apostolicall See pro tuenda salute multorum quorundam peruersitate corrigenda for the preseruation of the healthe of manie and the amendement of the frowardenes of diuerse toke they him thinke yow for a forriner If S. Cyprian had had of the See of Rome that opinioÌ„ that you would gladlie persuade men he had woulde he thinke we haue saide of those schismatikes that sailed oute off Africa to Rome to complaine vpon him to Cornelius Post ista adhuc insuper c. Beside all this they haue bene so Lib. 1. Epist 3. bolde hauing appointed to them by the heretikes a false bishop to saile euen to Peters chaire and the principal churche from whence priestly vnitie sprang and to carie from schismatikes and prophane men lettres not considering that the Romaines are they whose faithe by the Apostles mouthe is praised and to whome false faithe can haue no accesse Woulde he haue saide Romam cum mendaciorum suorum merce nauigarunt quasi veritas post eos nauigare non posset quae mendaces linguas rei certae probatione conuinceret They are sailed to Rome with their marchandise of lies as though truthe coulde not saile after them able to conuince their lieng tongues by suer and vndoubted proufe Naye he shoulde and woulde you maie be suer had he bene of youre minde haue saide Let them go on goddes name what care I for the bishop of Rome Shall I be so foolishe to folowe them to debate the matter before him who is a plaine forriner to vs and hathe nothing to doe therein For thus woulde yow I dare saie at this daye answere if one shoulde go to Rome and complayne of you But nowe considering that saint Cyprian saied not thus but contrariewise made his account to stande with them and trie the matter before the bishop of
call it maie be taken as it is for good and sufficient Youre seconde answere for the first it semeth that youre Euill maners of rulers no cause to with drawe obedience selfe mistrusted and therfore added this as it were to vndreprop it is of all other moste vaine and fonde For what scripture haue you what Doctours what councelles if it were graunted to yow that the bishoppes of Rome haue bene of late yeares wicked men to proue that because of their euill maners their subiectes maie forsake them Oure Sauiour saide of the Phariseis allthough Matth. â—3 naughty and wicked men to his disciples that no man shoulde withdrawe his obedience from them but euery man Doe what they taught to be done but not what they did them selues vpon the which wordes S. Austen saith Illa ergo De doctr Christ lâ—b 4. Cap. 27. cathedra non illorum sed Mosis cogebat eos bona dicere etiam non bona facientes Agebant ergo sua in vita sua docere autem sua cathedra illos non permittebat aliena That chaire therfore being not theirs but Moyses his compelled them doing euill to speake good thinges They did therfore in their owne life their owne deedes but to teache their owne an other mannes chaire woulde not suffer them If moyses his chaire had this priuileage as if yow wil beleue S. Austen it had that they that possessed it how vile so euer their lyues were were yeat assured allwaies to teache no euill doctrine what obiect you for defence of youre running oute of the church and forsaking the head therof the euil life and wicked maners of theÌ„ that of late yeares haue you saie sitten in Peters chaire for whome oure Lorde praied that his faithe Lucae 22. might neuer faile as though oure Lorde god had only remembred the Iues and forgotten his churche But considre I praie yow M. Nowel against what men yow speake Yow reason against the gouernement of the bishoppes of Rome whose succession hath continued these 1500 yeares and holde that because of the euill maners of the latter popes they are not to be obeid as who woulde saie so long as their life was vpright and maners honest they were to be obeied otherwise this exception shoulde be in vaine Noweturne that parte of the wallat that hangeth before yow and is euer in youre eyes behinde and placing the other before loke vpon youre owne bishoppes not yeat settled in full 15. yeares quiet possession See whether they that before cried out vpon ambition pride couetousnes lacke of hospitalitie and suche like haue not in these fewe yeares ouertaken the bishoppes of 900. yeares before them and gone beyonde them toe What were to be loked for then might yow quietly continue after one hundred yeares that haue profited in wickednesse so muche in these fewe Might not youre scholers thinke yow euen by youre owne lesson bothe nowe and then giue yow ouer in the plaine fielde But if there be no remedie but that yow will nedes conclude thus of the popes of this latter age by which I thinke yow vnderstande as yow are wont all since S. Gregories time and without anie greate streining of curtosy him toe that because of their euill maners they were no bishoppes at all then giue me I praie yow leaue good sir to saie as muche to yow being as yeat no bishop but taking vpon yow to reproue the chiefe of al bishoppes as did S. Cyprian to Pupianus iudging his rulers no lesse then yow doe nowe all the latter popes Quis est enim hic superbiae tumor c. VVhat swelling pride is this VVhat arrogancie Lib. 4. epist. 9. and puffing vp of minde for the to call to thy examination thy rulers and priestes and except we make oure purgation before the and be absolued by thy sentence for the space of six yeares neither had the brotherhode anie bishop neither the people any heade neither the flocke anie shepherd neither the churche any gouernour neither Christe any bishop nor God any prieste Is it not so with vs M. Nowell not for the space of six yeares but for the continual space of 900 if it were true that yow Absurditie saye Should not the church by this meanes haue beÌ„ without any heade at all vniuersall or particuler Seing that all other bishoppes thorough out the worlde haue bene made bishoppes by the popes who being them selues no bisshoppes coulde not haue the auctoritie to make other And then will it folowe also that the churche hauing no bishoppes coulde haue no priestes if no priestes no sacramentes rightely ministred beside infinite absurdities mo that will folowe if that of all other moste foolishe doctrine of youres were true that naughty maners shoulde make of bishoppes no bishoppes Thus youre double answere made to my simple collection being confuted it remaineth that either yow confesse the collection to be good or seke out newe matter to impugne it One sclaunderouse lye of youres there remaineth yeat to be confuted Which allthough to the learneder sorte be nedelesse yeat for their sakes who be of the simpler with whome youre chiefe labour taken in youre boke is to deface me I shall shortly answere therto in mine owne defence Nowell fo 5. b. 23. In the conclusion it is to be noted when Basile speaketh of all the bishoppes of the East as the shepherdes striken M. Dorman altering the nombre speaketh it of the Pope as the only shepherd Here appeareth M. Nowell youre singuler honestie who burne with suche a hatred towardes my persone that so that somewhat you maie saye to ease youre stomacke yow passe not all is one to yow by what right or wrong For I A sclaunderouse lye 6. neuer alleaged these wordes as the wordes of S. Basile but alluded only to the scriptures where the prophete hathe Zachar. 13. Percute pastorem dispergentur oues Strike the shepheard and the sheepe shall be scattred Yow haue therfore delt vncharitably so falsely to sclaundre me and giuen the worlde withall to vnderstande that youre maliciouse affections beare no lesse swaye in youre pen in writing then in youre tongue in preaching That the historie of Nouatus is truly applied and that I am cleere from those lyes which M. Nowell sclaunderously laieth to my charge The. 4. Chapter Yow say M. Nowell that I maie be ashamed to forge so manifest alye as that Nouatus exacted an othe against the Popes supremacie Nowell Fo. 7. q. 3 or that yow folowe Nouatus in exacting the like othe as he did and to proue this conclusion of youres you laie for a ground that Nouatus his othe is not onely vnlike but cleane contrary to youre othes that the controuersie betwixt Cornelius and Nouatus was not whether the B. of Rome were the supreme heade as it is nowe betwene yow and vs but whether Cornelius or he was by right the B. of Rome I neuer saide that Nouatus exacted an othe against
the Dorman popes supremacie I saide and do still that he exacted an vnlaufull othe against Cornelius then Pope and in that respecte the heade and gouernour of Christes church The likenes of the othe wherein I matched yow was that bothe that othe which Nouatus offred and this which yow tendre tende to one ende to trouble the beautifull ordre of Christes churche and to withdrawe men from the obedience of their laufull pastour For as laufully is the B. of Rome in spirituall matters oure heade as he was heade to Nouatus So that what so euer yow saie here of the controuersie betwene Cornelius and Nouatus for the bishoprike of Rome what so euer yow imagine of the laufulnesse of youre othes being as yow saye of obedience to youre naturall prince and oures and of the iniquitie of Nouatus othe being against his laufull bishop all is to no purpose For I susteine still that let the controuersie be as yow imagine it was yeat till yow be hable to proue that the B. of Rome is to vs a forriner and that oure obedience to him in spiritual causes cā in no wise stande with oure lauful odience to oure prince in temporall iurisdiction the resemblaunce made betwene Nouatus and yow will euer holde and be good Of oure obedience towardes oure prince whome as Gods ministre in earthe in worldly affaires we honour and reuerence as oure doinges for the time past can beare sufficient testimonie so shall I trust oure demeanure for the time to come be such as shal be able to stoppe the mouthes of al such fawning parasites as labour to make princes beleue that these two obediēces can not stande together as here M. Nowell doth making that the grounde of this lye of his that Nouatus his othe was not only vnlike but A lye 7. cleane contrarie to theirs You bring for an other difference betwene Nouatus case Nowell Fo. 6. b. 27 ▪ and youres that his othe concerned the maintenaunce of his heresie which aswell S. Cyprian B. of Carthage as Cornelius B. of Rome with all other godly bishoppes condemned What conclude yow M. Nowel herof Do the that proue anie difference Naie dothe not that match you together so Dorman much themore For youre othe is it not for the mainteinaunce of your heresies which be so horrible that aswel by al generall councelles and all the godly learned bishoppes in the world as by Pius the Pope thy are condemned Yow saye that as Nouatus required an othe of his folowers c Nowell fol. 7. a. 7. So did the professours of the same heresies trauell in Afrike with their disciples there being Africanes that they shoulde not returne to Cyprian B. of Carthage to communicate with him which as it maketh nothing for any supremacie of S. Cyprian B. of Carthage no more maketh the other for anie supremacy of Cornelius B. of Rome If yow meane that the professours of Nouatus his heresies Dorman in Afrike did exacte an othe as did Nouatus as youre wordes so did the professours c. which must nedes haue relation to that which goeth before doe importe no lesse or if yow meane not so but that they traueiled to wyn men from Cyprian as the other did from Cornelius how so euer yow meane yow can not proue so muche out of the place that yow alleage If yow coulde yeat woulde it Lib. 4. epist 9. make nothing for youre purpose for I neuer alleaged the othe of Nouatus to make for the bishop of Romes supremacie and therfore care not whether this that yow saie the folowers of Nouatus did in Africa make for S. Cyprians supremacie or no. I alleaged the facte of Nouatus to proue that heretikes trouble the ordre of the churche that did they that yow speake of in Africa aswell as Nouatus in Rome If Dorman had writen thus absurdely he had dreamed but suche egle byrdes as M. Nowell is neuer sleepe I warraunt yow but be allwaies waking It foloweth And where Nouatus began first his heresie in Afrike by striuing Nowell fol. 7◠24. against S. Cyprian and not by striuing first against Cornelius B. of Rome as M. Dorman vntruly reporteth the beginning of heresies is rather to make warre and strife against the B. of Carthage then against the B. of Rome Yow obserue well the preceptes of youre arte to staye Dorman vpon small pointes when to the greater yow be hable to saye nothing But to the matter where so euer heretikes begin in Africa as yow saie of Nouatus concerning his heresies vntruly though concerning schisme trulie or in Germanie as did Luther or in England as diuerse haue done as immediatly they make warre against the whole churche so striue they specially against the heade whose parte is to prouide for the bodie For seing that no man is to be counted an heretike but he that renounceth the vnitie of the churche no man do the that who is contented to obeye the heade thereof it foloweth verie well that who so euer is an heretike whether he beginne in Africa England or elles where striueth furthwith against the pope the heade of the churche which can not be saide of the bishop of Carthage who hath no suche office in the churche I haue done you saie maliciously and vntruly calling Nouatus Nowell b. 11. youre auncestour and youre bishoppes as his disciples indurate heretikes You purge youre selfe of that which before I charged Dorman yow not withall For I compared yow only together in that one pointe of forcing men by othes to forsake the B. of Rome Yeat forasmuche as you take the matter as you doe bragging here of youre moste earnest and pithy sermons and writinges against Nouatus doctrine c. I shall desire the learned reader to conferre this place of S. Ambrose Lib. 1. de paenitentia cap. 2. Hist Tripart lib. 8. cap. 9. written of the Nouatians with youre doctrine of penaunce Sed aiunt se domino deferre reuerentiam cui soli remittendorum criminum potestatem reseruant But they saie that they are reuerent towardes God to whom only they reserue power to forgiue synne Doe not you maintaine that man hath no auctoritie to remitte sinne and call vs at youre pleasure for saying that God hath giuen the same power to man his ministre Be not yow the folowers of Nouatus in this pointe Yow saye I beleue also that M. Dorman in the allegation off Nowell Nouatus his othe had a further respecte to that he maketh mention of the bodie and bloude of Christe by the whiche because Nouatus caused them to sweare M. Dorman thought belike thereby to proue or at least to make an insinuation to the simple that the bodie and bloude of Christe shoulde be corporally present in the Sacrament But the daily othes of blasphemouse men swearing likewise in his corporall absence doe confute that collection What respecte so euer I had this answere
of youres to Dorman this place borowed of Ruffians and ribauldes not of any that haue either learning or witte is most farre from the auctours meaning whiche as anie that vieweth the place will easely perceiue so is it in Eusebius from whome Nicephorus toke it moste euident euen at the eye For Eusebius hath that Nouatus made them sweare per ea quae vnusquisque tenebat in manibus by those thinges which euery one Lib. 6. cap. 34. of them helde in his handes but they sware by the bodye and bloud of Christe saieth Nicephorus ergo they had the bodie and bloud of Christe in their handes Well although you doubted whether youre stamping staring and swearing alehouse solution shoulde finde with all men suche credite that they woulde by and by beleue yow yeat of this you doubted nothing to make some men at the least beleue that the doctrine of transsubstantiation Fol. 8 a. 4. were by this place quite ouerthrowen and withall to set furth youre selues to the worlde as the verie folowers of the primitiue churche in deliuering the sacrament into the receiuers handes But this ioy if you conceiued anie hereof you are like to enioy but a while M. Nowell For both Eusebius and Nicephorus calling here the sacrament by the name of bread are to be vnderstand to haue folowed therin the phrase of scripture which either so calleth it as did S. Paule because a littell before it so was as Moises rod being 1. Cor. 11. turned in to a serpent was in scripture called notwithstanding Exod. 7. a rod and saide by the name of a rodde to haue deuoured the roddes of the enchauntors which were also serpentes or as oure sauioure him selfe did not meaning by this worde bread the substance of materiall bread but the true bread of life Ioan. 6. Whereas you saye oute off Nicephorus that they Fol. 8. b 5. tasted that which they receiued and expound it thus that is to saye bread that is youre owne blinde glose and is not in the text If you woulde nedes playe the expositour yow should haue referred that tasting of theirs to the bodye and bloude of Christ which he made them sweare by and which went next in the sentence before So shoulde yow haue done the part of a true interpretour and haue made Nicephorus agree with the auncient fathers of Christes churche and namelie to omitt Tertullian Chrisostome and diuerse other with Cirillus the B. of Alexandria who saith of this matter quomodo Lib. 4. in Ioan ca. 14 non viuemus qui carnem illam gustamus manducamus How can it be that we shoulde not liue who doe both taste and eate that fleshe But what speake I of making him to agree with other when by this meanes you shoulde haue made him to agree with him selfe who in other places for that which he calleth here simply bread ioining thereunto an epithetoÌ„ calleth it vitalis panis liuely bread And whereas Lib. 1. cap. 30. yow would haue him to saye that in this place the communicantes held breade in their haÌ„des and tasted breade in rehearsing the oration which S. Ambrose made to Theodosius the emperour minding to entre in to the churche of Milain bringeth in S. Ambrose emongest other thinges speaking after this sorte Quomodo manus extolles quae caede Lib. 12. cap. 41. iniqua diffluunt Quomodo in eis diuinuÌ„ etiam corpus excipies Quomodo sanguineÌ„ praetiosum ad os afferes per quod ira transuersim actus tantuÌ„ effudisti sanguinis that is How wilt thow lift vp thy handes which flow with wicked murdre yea how wilt thow receiue in them the diuine body How wilt thow bring to thy mouthe the pretiouse blood by the which being caried away with angre thow hast spilt so muche bloud B. 15. S. Austen calleth the sacrament of Chrâ—stes bodie and bloude the sacrament of the altar I made no lye neither yeat dissembled the truthe or cloked the matter as yow charge me vntruly by calling this heauenly and liuely bread the blessed sacrameÌ„t of the altar with the which worde if yow be offended yow maye chalenge S. Austen for his worde it is and not mine It is yow M. Nowell that haue muche daungered youre honestie by falsifieng this place of Nicephorus For where he hath Cum Lib. 10. de Ciuit dei cap. 6. oblationes offerret qui mos sacerdotibus est when he offered the oblations as the maner of priestes is yow adde to the text this worde his and saye when he made his oblations Which The place of Nicephorus falsified worde of youres so conueighed in is such a spiteful worde as destroieth the whole minde of the auctor For whereas we defende the consecration of Christes bodye and bloude of which name yow are ashamed as appeareth by youre ConsecratioÌ„ as they terme it although S. Austen so affirmed the same against Manicheus the heretike that he saieth plainely iff Lib. 20. cap. 13. the bread and chalice be not consecrate it is foode for refection but not a sacrament of religion whereas we I saye defende such consecration to be an oblation and sacrifice when yow sawe the wordes of Nicephorus to meane the publike oblations of the whole churche which are the bodye and bloude of Christe yow thought that sense to be litle for youre aduantage and therfore it semed good counsell to shift in the worde his to the intent it might be thought that Nouatus had offred somewhat of his owne priuate deuotion Let the worlde nowe iudge M. Nowell whether this be true dealing or no. As for youre bragging how yow folow the vsage of the primitiue churche by giuing the sacrament into their handes who receiue it I aske yow this question grounding the Ad Ianuar epist 118. same vpon S. Austen why yow wrangle more aboute the giuing the sacrament in to the receiuers handes because they so toke it in the primitiue churche then yowe doe about the receiuing it fasting which Christ and his apostles did not If that be altered which Christ and his apostles did for the more honour of this greate sacrament why might not for the same reason or for some other as greate or greater the other manner of receiuing it into the handes be abolished also and taken awaye and yow counted schismatikes for breaking the peace of the church Why cause yow not yong babes to communicate againe as once they did in the primitiue churche and then make youre bragges thereof to that yow kepe the vsage of the primitiue churche Now that yow haue discoursed learnedly as yow thinke Fo. 9. a. 3. vpon the place of Nicephorus with charging me off mingling impertinent thinges by the waye c. Whereas he that hath but halfe an eye maye see that without I woulde haue out of halfe the sentence I coulde doe no otherwise then I did Which if I had yow woulde not belike neither haue
iniuriously without auctoritie of speciall commission As for youre promise that yow make in place conuenient fol. 11. b. to bring good proufe that the B. of Rome hath wickedly exacted most vnlaufull othes both of subiectes and of princes c. when you doe so yow shall heare what I will answere in the meane season I count it but an ordinary brag Of the place of S. Basile epist 70. that it was trulye applied to the heretikes of oure time cae The. 5. Chapter M. Nowell woulde induce the reader to thinke that this place of S. Basile shoulde be brought by me to persuade that he and his companions were Arrians And therfore purging him self and his mates of this crime he concludeth thus Wherfore his sainges in that Epistle apperteine nothing to Nowell fol. 12. b. 18 vs who are nothing guiltie of those crimes and heresies but they are brought in by dreaming M. Dorman without anie cause and beside all purpose What nede this affected ignorance M. Nowell Yow Dorman knowe well inough that I neuer charged you with the Arrian heresie But thus it pleaseth yow to handle me as though yow might by this meanes bringe me in to an euill conceite with the reader by persuading that I alleage no place to the purpose The Arrians yow wote well for it is a thing incident to heresies had beside their errours in doctrine manie foule deformities in maners Now what a newe kinde of reason is this I praie yow that yow vse I am not like Dauus or Syrus in one or two properties that they haue Ergo in no propertie at all Doe you agree with the Arrians in no pointe of their maners because yow beleue you saye well concerning the doctrine of the Trinitie If you beleue well God continue you therein at the least some of your pewe felowes pretēding once as good affection therto as you do nowe haue come so farre that they not only haue blasphemed it in open sermons but protested See Staphylus in Englishe fol. 113. a. also to be readier to returne to their Cloisters then to beleue thereoff as the catholike churche dothe But let that be their faulte I saye not here that you be yeat come so farre which notwithstanding youre conclusion that you infer wherefore his sainges in that epistle apperteigne b. 18. nothing to vs is false For you ouerthrowe churches you pull downe altars you contemne the traditions of the fathers the diligent obseruation whereof S. Basile saieth in this place was condemned by the Arrians as a greate faulte beside other thinges as maie to them that reade the histories more plainely appeare So that when you called me dreaming for bringing this as not to the purpose you were belike youre selfe nodding Yow aske why these bisshoppes of the Easte whose epistle Nowell b. 25. I alleaged here wrote not to the pope as head of all the church but indifferently to all the bishoppes of Fraunce and Italy without any mention of the B. of Rome at all whereoff yow gather a folishe fonde coniecture and of that that S. Basile placed the bishoppes off Fraunce before the Italian bisshoppes which I you saie craftely dissembled that the B. of Rome shoulde not be head of the churche Trulye M. Nowell I neuer brought it to proue the bisshop of Romes supremacie I brought it to proue that the face of oure time was not muche vnlike to that of the Arrians and to that it is not impertinent For youre demaunde I aske you againe what if he wrote to the pope speciall lettres for his aide in these difficultyes And if he did how that should not make greately for his supremacie to whome he woulde not write as to a common bishop emongest other but seuerally to him selfe alone as being the head of his other brethern Trulye there is an epistle of his not many before this written by him to Athanasius wherein conferring with him about the withstanding of the Arrians heresie he telleth him that his counsell is that they sende lettres to the B. of Rome that he may considre the matter and Epist 52. giue his sentence that bicause it woulde be verye harde to haue first a common councell called and then so to sende from thence he him selfe chosing mete men for the purpose suche as shoulde aswell be hable to beare out the paines of the iourney as for their gentlenes and sinceritie off manners to warne and reproue suche peruerse men as troubled them should giue auctoritie to the matter c. Why might not this epistle M. Nowell be touching the same matter whereof he wrote to the bishoppes of Fraunce and Italie why might it not be that knowing the honour of that see of Rome to be so greate as it is he woulde by no meanes wright vnto the bishop thereof alone but ioyntly together with bishop Athanasius whose fame he knewe to be in the churche suche that he could aske no reasonable petition whiche shoulde not be graunted or what can you saye why the epistle written to Meletius that they two shoulde sende to Rome for visitours to visite their countrie whiche was in the Easte might not be concerning Epist 57. this matter How euer it be these two places argue that the omitting of the B. of Rome his name here was not as you suppose for contempte of his auctoritie And thus is this fonde coniecture of youres showed to be vaine and of no force Now for dissembling as you saie the ordre of the bishoppes named in the epistle truly you shewe youre selfe to be made euen of the paringes of malice who iudge so maliciously where no cause is For to what purpose shoulde I conceale that which no man coulde suspect that anie woulde euer haue bene so foolishe as to haue brought for an argument against the popes supremacy It foloweth S. Basile with the other bishoppes of the Easte Nowell fol. 13. a. 3. called the bishoppes alltogether brethern and felowes in the ministerie which they would neuer haue done had they had this opinion of his supremacy that M. Dorman and other papistes do nowe defende and maintaine But in the saide 70. epistle the saide bishops of the East which do not once speake of the pope do pray the Frenche and Italian bisshoppes to make humble sute to the Emperoure that he by his auctoritie woulde represse their ennemies the Arrians and relieue their miseries which maketh rather for the Emperours supremacy in the churche then for the bishoppes of Rome I tolde you a litle before of S. Basile his counsell to Dorman Athanasius to sende to the bishop of Rome for helpe against Epist. 52. the Arrians Wherby as it appeareth to be more then probable that these latter lettres were written to the other bishoppes of Italie and fraunce only not to the pope so is it euident also that the mention of the emperour and silence of the pope came not of lacke of acknowledging his auctoritie to
the which before they fledde but of this by ioyning bothe the swordes together the spirituall and the temporall the rather to vanquishe and discomfite the enemie But nowe if it were so that emongest the rest the bishop of Rome had bene comprehended in this epistle yeat the calling of him brother or felowe in the ministerie is no cause to conclude as you doe against his auctoritie For neither doe I nowe nor euer hathe anie Catholike hetherto so defended or mainteined the popes supremacy that it hathe not bene allwaies acknowledged that bothe he and other bishoppes be the ministres of one common maister allthough that maister haue made him the ruler of his felowes and ouerseer of his brethren Yea the popes them selues haue euer vsed to call the other bishoppes their brethern and felowe bishoppes not renouncing therby the auctoritie of their seate What marueile is it therfore if the bisshoppes of the East had called the pope emongest the other to whome they wrote brother and felowe in the ministerie by the which name he calleth him selfe it can not be denied Nowe where M. Dorman speaketh of persecution as he dyd Nowell Fo. 13. a. 13 alittle before of oure moste cruell practise I referre it to the iudgement of all the worlde whether the papistes or we be more cruell persecutours and wheather haue suffred more persecution they or we If they be more cruell persecutours that lacking power Dorman shewe notwithstanding more crueltie in wordes then other doe in deedes if their crueltie be greater who punishe beside and against lawe then theirs who folowe lawe if it be no crueltie at all to punishe a fewe to saue the nombre by terrour of lighter paines to vse the wordes of S. Austen to â—ib de vinit eccl cap. 17. the Donatistes complaining of the Catholikes as you doe nowe to preserue from greater euills then is the matter iudged allreadie in all vpright iudgement then nedeth there no furder processe As for the lenitie by the which you woulde commende youre selues to the worlde youre charitable sermones made aswell before the Quenes moste excellent maiestie at the courte as before the nobles and other honorable of the Realme at the Crosse in the which yow haue consumed all youre eloquence to prouoke oure moste gratiouse soueraigne to imbrue her chaste and vnspotted handes with the innocent bloude of true Catholikes hathe long since made that wel knowen to the worlde So that I maye nowe truly saye to yow as did S. Austen to certeine heretikes in his time bragging of their lenitie towardes the catholikes as you doe of youres Nulla bestia si Epist. 48. neminem vulneret propterea mansueta dicitur quia dentes vngues non habet Seuire vos nolle dicitis ego non posse arbitror No beaste if he wounde no man is therfore called tame because he lacketh teethe and nailes you saye you will vse no crueltie I thinke yow can not Is not this youre verie case M. Nowell See you not a perfect pattern of youre pitie a copy of youre dissembled and countrefeite kindenesse O were youre murdering mouthes by oure most gratiouse Souereignes commaundement vnmoosseled which god for her sake forbid youre bloud thirsty handes at libertie how woulde these tame beastes bestirre them You saye that I go about to burthen you with enuie of churches either pulled downe or altered to other vses and of altars Nowell a. 12. destroied muche like as the rebelles did burthen king Henry the eight c. How the rebelles burdened king Henry or whether Dorman they burdened him at all or no as you saye they did I will not entremedle my selfe therein Of this I am suer that you be burdened of me none otherwise then S. Hierome burdened the Hunnes and wandalles being infected Epist ad HeliodoruÌ„ with Arrius heresie when he wrote of them after this sorte The churches be ouerthrowen at the altars be horses stabled and a litle after Howe manye monasteries be their taken And againe none otherwise then Optatus the bishop of Lib. 6. coÌ„â—â—â— Donatist Mileuite in Afrike burdened the Donatistes there doing the like when he tolde them that there coulde be no greater sacrilege then to breake shaue and remoue cleane away the altars off God on the whicht bothe they them selues some tymes had offred and the prayers off the people and membres off Christ were caried As for youre excuse that you make why Abbayes were ouerthrowen in oure countrye it is not trulie muche pertinent to oure purpose in this place For had it bene all true whereof the greatest parte was moste certeinely false that you sclaunderously and falsely laied to the charges of religiouse men emongest whome as there were manie offendours euen those that haue bene since in England greate pillers and in youre newe churche chiefe fauourers of youre newe religion so were there manie innocent and good who ceassed not daie and night to lament the disordred life of those other their brethren to praie most earnestly to almighty god for their sinnes and the sinnes of the people yeat was this no cause sufficient to turne vp the churches to ouerthrowe the altars Which you youre selfe also perceiuing and knowing that aswell in king Henries time those good fathers of the Chartrehouse as in the late reigne of Quene Marie bothe they in Shene the moÌ„ckes of westminstre the Franciscanes of Grenewich the preachers of S. Bartilmewes the nonnes of Sion and Dertford liued euery ordre so honestlie in all vertue and godlines according to their rule that manie wer edified by their good examples none offeÌ„did by their euil yow flee to an other shifte against the fundations off suche religiouse houses forsothe Which because you say were laied vpoÌ„ prayer for the redemption Nowell fol. 13. 2. 23. of the soules of their founders and their progenitours soules c. Were so vnsuer and weake or rather wicked that they coulde no longre beare suche huge superstructions and buildinges as were laied vpon them Well suche fundations maye be well counted weake Dorman or rather wicked by wicked Aerius who was condeÌ„ned for Aug. lib. de haeresib haer 53. lib. 3. haere 75. the like heresie as witnesse bothe S. Austen and Ephiphanius aboue 12. hundred yeares since But to all good Christian men they seme and euer haue done proufitable and meritoriouse as to him that will take the paines to reade the boke of late learnedly written of purgatorye it shall I doubt not euideÌ„tly appeare Beside that by this meanes our colleages at home in the vniuersities yea your cathedrall churche and Deanery it selfe M. Nowell might be in some daunger to be ouerthrowen if you fal to suche scanning of their first fundations Here you compell me to entre with you into a disputation about altars And for the iustifieng of your communion Fol. 14. b. Altars Nowell 1. Cor. 10. table you alleage first that oure sauiour instituted the sacrament at a
table c. And that S Paule calleth it mensam dominicam oure Lordes table To the facte of Christ maye be answered two wayes Dorman First that we considre not in this word altar so muche the matter whereof it is made as we doe the thing which is executed vpon it For it is not stone that maketh it to be called an altar no more then wood siluer or golde but it is the sacrifice done vpon it which maketh it so to be called So that when Christ our sauiour instituted this sacrifice or oblation of the newe testament as namely the auncient father Irineus calleth it although as yow saye Li. 4. c. 32 men had in those daies in their houses no altars in stede of tables yeat was this table made an altar by Christes offring him selfe thereapō Again if you will yeat reason that because it was a table of wood or a woodden altar therefore we must change the ordre off Christes churche and downe with oure stone altars and set vp tables of wood then must I answere you that this was one of the thinges which oure sauiour determined nothing of but lefte to the discretion August epist 118. of his Apostles by whom he would dispose the busines of the church and that by the same very mene that you wolud haue altars pulled downe you may also ouersthrow churches b. 13. A reason of M. Nowelles to ouerthrowe churches For except you think M. Nowel to vse your own reason made here against altars that mē vsed to dwelle in those daies in churches in stede of priuate housen you wil graunte I dare saye that Christ instituted this sacramēt in a priuate house and so by that reason of youres down with the churches and let your cōmunion be ministred in parlors of priuate houses Neither I nor al the papistes with me yow say cā bring so muche Nowell b. 20. out of the newe testament for altars as you haue done for the Lordes table Yes that I can my selfe alone M. Nowell without anie Dorman other helpe Is the first epistle of S. Paule to the Corinth anie parte of the newe testament I trust you wil saye yea seing that one of youre places is taken out of that epistle Yea but is the ninth chapitre anie parte of that epistle If it be then haue you there expresse mention of altars where the texte saieth that they that serue the altar shall liue by the altar And againe to the Hebrues we haue an altar whereof they maye not eate that serue the taberuacle Where you 1. Cor. 9. can not saye that he ment of any altar other then of the Hebr. 12. newe testament for he compareth together the tabernacle of the olde law and the altar of the new How saye you nowe M. Nowell haue we scripture for altars out of the newe testament or no I thinke you will say that we haue and he that shal wel way the places that they are better applied thē are youres toe For whereas you woulde seme to wipe away all such places of the fathers and aunciēt writers which be infinite and the worde altara hundred times no doubt mētioned in their writinges for the worde table once by a figuratiue speche by which reason and by better to as you haue by figures robbed vs allready of Christes body and bloud the sacrifice of the churche so you might bring the temple it selfe to a figure because the Apostle saieth templum Dei quod estis vos the temple of God which are you it is the worde table that is figuratiuely vsed aswell in the scriptures as the fathers writinges As namely in this place here alleaged by you of the Apostle where it is saide Yow can not be partakers of the table of the Lorde and of the table of the 1. Cor. 10. diuels Is not the worde table which you here bring to proue M. Nowell auoiding the worde alta◠by a figure alleageth the worde table that can not otherwise be vnderstand youre communion table by whereas if you woulde nedes vse that worde you shoulde haue taken the table here mentioned in the seconde place which agreeth more aptly thereto is it not I saye a plaine figuratiue worde signifieng to vs the feast or banket exhibited thereupon For when he sayeth partakers of the table it shoulde go verye harde with them that shoulde eate if that were propre speache you wote well And thus you maye see that we haue not onelye scripture for altars aswell as you but more proper also and that better proue the same then the places by you brought You saye that if S. Basile and some other olde writers call it Nowell fol. 14. b. 27. an altar that is no propre but a figuratiue name c. O M. Nowell you knowe well inough howe euer you Dorman woulde here extenuate the matter that it is not S. Basile alone with some fewe other that so call it but all the auncient writers euen from the Apostle Paules time to oures haue so called it and that the contrarie is moste true that as they haue vsed this worde table seldom times so they haue vsed it at suche times as did S. Paule to signifie by a figure either the heauenly banquet deliuered vpon the same or for that an altar hath the office and is in dede a spirituall table The whiche thing youre selfe woulde not sticke to graunt were it not that the graunting of a true altar were like to enforce a true sacrifice But to the entent the worlde may perceiue how you abuse them both in the one and the other I wil here oute of certaine aunciēt writers saye so muche as I trust they shall all perceiue that this figuratiue altar and figuratiue sacrifice is the false fable and vaine dreame that you speake of onely mete for such figure flingers as you are your selfe M. Nowell Touching altars that they be not so called of the fathers by figure but truly what better proufe can you haue then out of Martialis the B. of Burdeaulx one of the 70. disciples of our Sauiour who speaking of suche altars as were throwen downe by the Apostles and at the last of that dedicated to the vnknowen God whereof is mention made in the actes of the Apostles writeth thus Dum altaria daemonum Act. ca. 17. Epistol ad Burdegalens in puluerem redigerentur aram ignoti Dei reseruari iussimus Qua dedicata in nomine Dei Israel ipsius testis Stephani qui pro eo a Iudeis passus est non hominis cultum sed Dei in ea frequentatis That is to saye while the aultars of the diuels were brought to powder we commaunded the altar of the vnknowen God to be reserued The whiche being dedicate in the name of the God of Israel and of his witnesse Steuin which suffred for him of the Iewes you doe not now practise thereupō the worshipping of man but of god Can there be
a plainer place then this M. Nowell to proue that which you denie and which you woulde drawe to so greate an absurdite as that because the Iewes had altars b. 25. therefore it were vnlaufull for vs to haue them Whereas you here may learne that Christes owne disciples without pulling downe without anie other changing or altering then by dedicating it in the name of god and S. Steuin vsed a material altar to worship God vpon Can you cal this a figuratiue altar Chrysostome in a certaine homely or sermon that he Homil. 53. made to the people of Antioche asketh this question Si quis hanc destrueret domum hoc suffoderet altare nonne quiâ—◠〈…〉 prophanum impium 〈…〉 woulde not euery man caste stones at him as a prophane or wicked man How thinke you M. Nowell when to ouerthrowe altars they must be digged vp ment Chrysostome of figuratiue altars or reall tables There nedeth you wote wel neither matock nor pykeax to remoue youre tables If there did they woulde not I trow walke their stations so often in the churche from place to place as they doe especially if the clarcke or ministre shoulde be in daunger to be stoned to deathe to be taken for a prophane and wicked man so often as he shoulde doe it For altars this maye suffice especially the testimonie of Chrisostome who liuing in the same age ought to persuade all reasonable men what maner of altars they were that S. Basile ment of rather then M. Nowels simple reason because it is saide that Fol. 15. a. â— Christ offred him selfe vpoÌ„ the altar of the crosse therfore no altars maie be set vp vnlesse we will turne all crosses in to altars Wheras although it were true that he imagineth that the crosse whereon Christ suffred was called an altar by a figure as in dede to him that considereth the greke worde it is not true 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but false for a true altar was it yeat had it not folowed that because there was a figure in those wordes where so euer in anie place elles there shoulde be mention made of an altar there it shoulde be vnderstand by a figure For the sacrifice offered vpon oure altars which we saye to be the verie bodye and bloude of Christe Yow phantasye to be a spirituall thankes giuing onely and drawe to the sacrifice of praier how muche might here be saied to the contrarye if it were not impertinent to the matter Omitting therefore Irinaeus Cyprian Ambrose Austen Chrisostome Cirillus Athanasius with the rest I shall here be contented to haue alleaged one onely testimonie oute 〈…〉 councell of Calcedon so euident to the purpose that bothe the distinction of the bloudy and vnbloudy offering of Christes body and bloude which yow M. Nowell thought you might here vpon the credite of youre bare honestie without farder proufe affirme to be abused is proued thereby to be good and youre onely spirituall sacrifice vtterly condeÌ„ned The place is taken out of the libell which one Isâ—hyrion a deacoÌ„ of the church of Alexandria offered vp to Leo the pope and the whole councell against Dioscorus the bishop there and is this Tanta autem contra omnes Act. 3. non sicut decebat episcopum maximè tantae ciuitatis euangelicae illius sedis praesulem constitutum perpetrare ausus est vt etiam frumentum quod a piâ—ssimis nostris imperatoribus ecclesijs Libiae propter ariditatem illius prouinciae quia ibi omnino triticum non nascitur praestitum est inprimis quidem vt ex ipso hostia offeratur deinde vt peregrini nec non etiaÌ„ prouinciales pauperes ali quod mereantur solatium non permitâ—eret suscipere sanctissimos episcopos illius prouinciae sed aestimaret memoratum frumentum largissimis praetijs ipsum verò in tempore famis amarissimis estimationibus venundaret Et ex hoc neque terribile incruentum sacrificium celebratum est neque sic vt dixi peregrini aut prouinciales hoc solatio fruiti sunt That is to saye He hath bene so hardy to commit so greate thinges against all men not as it became a bishop and especially of so greate a citie and of that euangelicall seate that euen the verie corne which was giuen by oure godlye emperours to the churches of Libya for the bareÌ„nesse of that prouince and because there groweth no wheate there chiefelie * Vt ex ipso hoâ—liâ— offâ—ratur that the sacrifice might be offred of that and next that strangiers and suche pore nedy men also as be of the same prouince might receiue some reliefe therby he suffreth not the holy bishoppes of that prouince to receiue but prysing the saide corne at excessiue prices in time of famine he selleth it most rigorously And thereby neither is the dreadefull and vnbloudy sacrifice celebrate neither doe either strangers or those of the prouince enioye this comforte Hetherto the wordes of this godly deacons supplication whereby all men maye see that the beliefe of the churche at that tyme was that the vnbloudy sacrifice which was offred on the altar stoode not in the onely offering vp of praiers and praises vnto god Which kinde of sacrifice might and may be offred at al times were there neuer so great lacke of corne and can be by no meanes called dreadefull For it is not dreadefull M. Nowell to prayse god inwardly it is the onely comfort to oure consciences so far is it from all terrour But terrible is it to come to goddes table where we shall receiue either to oure damnation or saluation the very bodie and bloud of Christ Go nowe and saye that the wheate here mentioned was figuratiue that this naughtie bishop solde and toke monie for it by a figure For excepte yow saie thus yow can neuer auoide this place Now whereas yow call it a false phantasie that the bodye Fo. 15. b. 13 and bloud of Christ are offred for the quicke and the deade c. therein surely yow note not so muche me of dreaming as if it were true that yow saye yow shoulde note all the fathers of Christes churche of sleping For to begin with S. Iames the apostle of oure sauiour praieth he not in his masse extant in the greke tongue to be sene that this oblation sanctified by the holy ghost maye be acceptable to purchase rest for their soules which slepe before vs Doe not Chrisostome and S. Basile the like in their masses Doth not Athanasius expressely affirme that by the vnbloudy oblation the soules of sinners Lib. de Varijs quest q. 34. In cap. 11. prouerb departed this worlde receiue comfort Doth not S. Hierome holde that veniall sinnes maye be purged after this life by the praiers or almoise dedes of their frindes or by the celebrating off masses As for S. Austen who calleth it a tradition of the fathers De verb. apost serm 52. an obseruation of the whole and
13. 1562. aut tonsorem aut circulatorem circumforaneum aut aliqueÌ„ huiusmodi ministerio adhibituÌ„ qui bonas liter as ne à limi ne quideÌ„ vnquaÌ„ salutarit At this daye in manie places a man shal finde either a shoemaker or a cowhearde or a barbar or a iuggler or a mountebancke ronneagate or some suche other made ministre who neuer strided so muche as ouer the tresshold into the schole where good learning is taught Where you saye that we haue burned so many of youre learned clerckes that you are driuen to supply small cures with fol. 17. a. some honest artificiers surelie loke ouer youre calendre againe and you shal finde that the greatest nombre of them was of suche craftesmen as we speake of and that the learned that passed that waies were verye fewe to haue furnished those cures that youre honest craftes men be as it is were into their shoppes crept into Howe the saing of S. Cyprian that heresies and schismes rise of the contempt of the bishop which is one is applied to the B. of Rome The 6. chapitre I saied that it had bene declared by S. Cyprian before Epistol 9. Lib. 4. that the diuell in his attemptes against the churche vsed alwaies to beginne with the banishement of the bishop whiche is one c. By this one bishop in this place you saie I make Saint Cyprian vnderstande the B. of Rome I doe so M. fo 17. b. 18 Nowel but not directly or immediatly You are deceiued much and vnderstaÌ„d not my meaning if you so thinke For as I confesse that bothe in the one place and in the other of S. Cyprian he maie vnderstande the bishoppes and gouernours of euery particuler churche so am I not also ignorant that youre conclusion Ergo there is not one worde ment off the bishop off Rome is moste false For when S. Cyprian saied in these places that schismes whiche arise by the diuels worcking where so euer they springe vp come by the banishing of their auctoritie who be appointed to gouerne the churche let it be I graunt so muche of euery bishop in his owne diocesse might not I who presupposed in this introduction of mine which in the processe also I proued that the B. of Rome was the chiefe heade of all other conclude that then by a greater reason S. Cyprians minde was that schismes and heresies shoulde come by the forsaking of the B. of Rome allthough by name he spake not of him As if for example it were written in the lawes of oure realme Treasons and rebellyoÌ„ ryse by the coÌ„temning of the lieuetenaunt which is one in the Shiere shoulde he now saye amisse that to exhorte men to abide in the obedience of their prince woulde reason from the auctoritie of the lawe that by contempt of the kinge rebellion the trouble-feast of all good ordre taketh beginning I thinke no man will so saye And yeat speaketh not the lawe by name off the king Allthough no man can denie but that if the lawe woulde so saie of an inferiour membre it woulde not let to saie as muche of the chiefe membre of all Yow will graunte youre selfe that although S. Cyprian named not the B. of Rome yeat in that sence as he is bishopp of the diocesse of Rome he ment of him Which seing you doe why maie not I who take him to haue aswell iurisdiction ouer the whole churche as ouer that of Rome applye to him by the waye of introduction this place as well as you doe to euery particuler bishop notwithstanding they be not by name mentioned which is youre reason here made to the contrary And thus muche for the applieng of this place to the B. of Rome And as for the quietnes peace securitie B. 25. plenty of thinges c. that yow saye you haue nowe more then of late vnder the pope if you meane of youre selfe and youre companions comparing youre present state with that of late of Geneua surely I thinke yow saye truthe Although I ment generallie and of the better parte of the realme For allthough you wallow in wealth and youre selues be so prouided for either to abide or to flye with youre banckes as it is supposed all readye made in the marchantes handes although the wooddes wasted the leade plucked from the greate palaces haules and kitchins to greate for youre little hospitalitie and small roste the beneuolences exacted of the pore priestes haue filled youre coffers finally although youre brattes be prouided of the best fermes and manours belonging to the churches to the whiche by the olde canons I speake of the children of Conâ—iâ— Tolâ—â—an 9. Can. 10. priestes for you I vnderstand are but a single solled ministre they ought to be bond sclaues yeat are other men pinched and complaine of the lacke of that quietnes that peace that securitie and plenty of thinges that 30. yeares ago they had For you abuse men to much to compare the time present with the late time of Quene Marye in the which neither was the popes auctoritie fully restored with all men neither would Dauus suffer vs to enioy this quietnes peace c that you speake of who by violent armes by seditiouse bokes by sclaunderouse tongues by infamouse and lieng libelles finally by all meanes sought to hindre the same and to stirre vp the subiect against the prince And yeat in good sooth the comparison being so made the oddes is not so cleare as yowe take it to be But how euer it be M. Nowell I spake here of no suche worldly respectes as yow woulde seme to make me I spake and ment of ouerthrowing of churches and altars of the contempt of learned men of the teaching of euil doctrine of the promoting to ecclesiasticall ministeries weuers tynckers coblers bromemen c. I ment of peace and quietnesse in conscience of simplicitie and vpright dealing betwene man and man with suche like thinges Which if youre selfe doe not perceiue since oure first reuolt from the pope to be muche empaired then are yow a piece of deade fleshe and desperatly braine sicke For so saieth Hippocrates of them who being sicke feale not the griefe of their disease Youre promise to proue that where the pope hath had the greatest auctoritie there he hath brought in with him all miseries mischiefes c. shall in the place where you perfourme it be answered Howe Maximus Vrbanus and Sidonius went from the churche by not acknowledging the auctoritie of the B. of Rome and how they returned to the same againe by acknowledging it The. 7. Chapter M. Nowell after that he hath declared that the state of the controuersie betwene Nouatus whome Maximus Vrbanus and Sidonius folowed and Cornelius the pope was which of them two was a catholike bishop holding the truthe and truly and laufully chosen by God and which was the intruder and not of the catholike churche but an heretike concludeth thus Wherefore it is euident that when M.
Dorman saieth thaâ— Nowell Fo. 19. a. 32 those men returned againe to the churche by this waye that is to saye by the acknowledging Cornelius to be the heade of the vniuersall churche he saieth moste vntruly Yf you considre well my wordes M. Nowell that went Dorman last before and vpon which these depende you shall finde that I doe here as sence the beginning I haue done kepe my selfe close to the argument of my preface or introduction Which is to shewe that the going from the heade is the cause of all schisme and the returning to the same the cause of vnitie and concorde This as it is euidently true whether the heade be particuler or generall so the more that suche heade is generall and vniuersall the more true is it The schisme hath bene proued by the departing of Nouatus the heretike from Cornelius his laufull head the B. of Rome The vnitie is here declared by the returne of Maximus Vrbanus and Sydonius from the Lib. 2. epist 12. faction of Nouatus to pope Cornelius What nede yow then here to laye to my charge that I saye vntruly that these men returned to the churche by acknowledging Cornelius to be the heade of the vniuersall churche which as I saye not in this place so was it not nedefull that I shoulde My wordes haue relation to those other where I saye that we first reuolt froÌ„ the church by contemning and not acknowledging the heade without any expresse mention of the heade of the vniuersall churche and that so muste our returne thither againe be by the coÌ„trary c. And that so did those that after their falle with Nouatus S. Cyprian receiued into the church againe What So did they construe englishe M. Nowell I praye yow did they not so returne to their heade as they had forsaken him Doe not yowe confesse as muche youre selfe in this verye place well then this place proueth well that vnitie acknowledged is the ende of diuision which is the onely marke that I shoote at in this preface That this vnitie is especially to be considered in the pope that was not to be showed here but woulde folowe I knew of it selfe vpoÌ„ this fundatioÌ„ laied here after there where the popes auctoritie shoulde of purpose be handled It coÌ„meth in by the waye as it were that the example is founde betwene the B. of Rome and Nouatus going from his vnitie and Maximus returning to it Any other example would haue serued my turne in this behalfe but the case standing so that I had to treate of the B. of Rome those examples liked me best which being directly of him might better declare the vnitie and more liuely set furthe the schisme by how muche the one or the other was greater as falling from or ioyning with him who was not a common bishop but the head or chiefe of all other Although I might well defende that this exaÌ„ple is suche as is that which foloweth of Vrsatius and Valens as maye serue bothe for my preface to commend vnitie and for the matter it selfe to proue the popes auctoritie by acknowleding thereof For you see here that they confessed that there must be one bishop in the catholike churche Which wordes not withstanding that you labour to drawe to an other sense and I denie not but that they haue some ambiguitie Yeat if we considre of whome they were spoken that is of Cornelius the B. of Rome and successour of Peter called by Arnobius an auncient writer Episcopus episcoporuÌ„ the bishop of bishopps it wil not be absurde to thinke that by that one bishop they meÌ„t the B. In psal 138. of Rome successour of Peter and so the bishop of bishoppes Here because no small vauÌ„tage as you iudge lieth in the traÌ„slating of these words in ecclesia catholica you thinke that Nowell Fol. 20. a. 20. I shoulde haue said in a catholike church In dede if I were of youre minde that the chaire of S. Dorman Peter were but one emongest manie like or equall and his churche as one of the rest the translation might well haue bene vsed that you speake of But whereas I am resolued and proue it in place that there is difference betwene S. Peters Lib. 2. de baptis coÌ„tra Donat Cap. 1. chaire as hath S. Austen and the chaires of other bisshoppes that the churche of Rome is not onely a catholike churche being taken for a peculier place but in a true sense also the catholike churche when it is taken for the mother churche of all Christes flocke because it is all one to saye the churche of Christ in earthe and the churche of Rome as by S. Ambrose it is to be proued who when S. Paule had saide the churche of God to be the piller of truthe S. Ambrose wel knowing that he spake not of any one church but 1. Timoth. 3 of the whole doubted not yeat to say cuiÃs hodie rector est Damasus whose ruler at this daye Damasus is who was thaÌ„ pope you maye not marueile if I traÌ„slate not the wordes as you doe The same S. Ambrose in the funerall oration of his brother Satyrus telleth that minding to receiue theblessed sacrameÌ„t wherby he had a litle before bene saued froÌ„ drowning in the sea he asked the bishop at whose handes he thought to take it whether he agreed with other catholike bishoppes that is saieth S. Ambrose with the churche of Rome What was this elles but to aske him whether he agreed with that churche which because it conteined all catholike bishoppes in her lappe and none he toke for a catholike but him that agreed with that churche he iudged to be the catholike church Yow see therfore M. Nowel that it is no suche absurditie as yow thinke to translate these wordes in catholica ecolesia in the catholike church For what priuileage haue you I praye you more then I that yow maie translate the worde catholicae ecclesiae of the catholike churche and that I must englishe the same wordes of a catholike so 19. b. 8 churche Or why shoulde it be laufull for you so to translate them twise when alleaging those wordes of S. Cyprian Episcopo Cornelio in catholica ecclesia Yow englishe them the second time the B. C ornelius in the catholike churche which fo 20. a. 8 Cipr. li. 3. epist 13. you will not suffer me to doe so much as once Ah M. Nowel is this euen dealing Or thinke you when you haue done to colour the matter by a feined rule of youre owne making which saieth that Episcopus catholicae ecclesiae and Episcopus in ecclesia catholica are as much to say as a catholike bishop I graunte that in some places they are so M. Nowell Will you therefore make a generall rule that they must alwaies be so taken and in no place otherwise Muche like to this is the argument that you make Li. 3. Epist 11. f. 20. a. 13 to
proue that Maximus and his fellowes called not Cornelius bishopp of the catholike churche in this place here brought by me Cyprian saye yow called not Cornelius bisshop Li. 3. ep 13 of the Catholike churche but bishop Cornelius ordeined in the catholike churche Ergo Maximus and his two companions called not Cornelius bishop of the Catholike churche Is not this a goodly kinde of reasoning Wil you see the like M. Nowell preached not at Poules crosse that there was no scripture no councelles no doctours no allowed examples of the primitiue churche to proue the supremacye of the B. of Rome ergo M. Iuell did not I thinke M. Iuell woulde giue you a good flice out of his benefice vpon the condition that you coulde proue this consequent to be good And that thus you reason can you not denie For the Lib. 3. epistol 11. wordes alleaged by me here out of S. Cyprian be not Saint Cyprian his but the verie wordes by his owne confession of the pore penitentes And therefore to bring a phrase out of S. Cyprian to proue that because he did not so saye therefore an other did not if this were all were a greate faulte in reasoning But now if the wordes had bene in bothe the places S. Cyprians owne then had youre reason bene like to this M. Nowell preaching before the Quenes highnes at the courte saide not that it woulde do him good to rase his buckler vpon a papistes face ergo he saied not so at Powles crosse You obiect againe against this place to be ment of one chiefe bishop ouer the whole churche that then as there is one Nowell fol. 20. b. 12. onely God and none but he so there shoulde be but one onely bishop and no more but he That were true M. Nowell if as God is the name off a Dorman moste simple nature and excellencie so the name of a bisshop were suche as woulde admitte no degree of dignitie When it is saide that there is one bishop in the catholike churche it is ment one chiefe bishop For it is not necessarie that in all pointes this similitude of one God and one bishop shoulde agree It ought to suffise you that the similitude standeth vpright in that wherein the comparison is made which is here of gouernement that as one God gouerneth heauen and earthe so there shoulde be one chiefe bishop to gouerne vnder him the churche in earthe Thus forasmuche as there be degrees in bishoppes though in God there be naturally none for by abuse of Idolatres and by participation of name there be also manie Goddes and manie lordes as witnesseth S. Paule it is sufficient that as 1. Cor. 8. there is one God so there ought to be one chiefe bishop not excluding the reste but referring them to their heade by meanes whereof and in which sense there is one bishoprike and one bishop And so consequently it foloweth that my marginall note of one God one bishoppe meaning as you saye I did was not in vaine The next obiection of youres why in this place these wordes one bishop in the catholike churche shoulde not be vnderstand of one especiall bishoppe ouer all you confirme by S. Cypriā in diuerse places First by that which he hath of one Nowell fol. 21. a. 6 Lib. 4. Epist. 9 Bishop in the firste booke the 3. epistle then by a sentence taken out of his epistle to Pupianus afterwardes by certaine wordes of his to Antonius and last of all by that which he hath in his boke de simplicitate praelator or de vnitate Ecclesiae not farre from the beginning To the first two places youre selfe seme not muche Dorman to trust although folowing the preceptes of youre arte you are content to vse them to make a shewe of store either because youre conscience telleth you that the reason foloweth not He saieth so in this place therefore he must nedes saye so in the other either elles because youre selfe perceiued that there is a greate difference betwene these places by reason of the worde catholike For in the place here alleaged the schismatikes returning to the churche confessed that there must be one bishop in the catholike churche in these two places auouched by you S. Cyprian saieth that heresies doo spring or arise by contempt of the bishop whiche gouerneth the churche and is one Now as the latter wordes maye according to the circumstances of the place and here are I doubte not taken for the seuerall heade of euery bishoprike so the firste can not well otherwise be taken then to exclude all particuler churches by reason of the worde catholike which signifieth vniuersall addid thereto especially the wordes being translated the catholike churche and not a catholike churche as by youre owne so turning of them and otherlike to them it appeareth they must Off the thirde place out of the epistle to Antonius you conclude nothing neither but turne the matter ouer to the laste auctoritie of S. Cypriā in his boke De simplicitate praelat where moste plainely you saye he declareth his minde of this one bishoprike wholly and equally possessed of all and ouerie bishop Well then at the length M. Nowell from post to piller you be come thither where you will cast ancre Wherewith I also for my parte am well contented and desire no better then to be in this controuersie tried by S. Cyprian Now showe how S. Cyprian maketh for you that is nothing for the B. of Rome his supremacie but directly against it For those be the wordes that yow conclude Nowell fo 21. b. 25. Lib. de Simplicitat praelator Dorman withall vpon this place That doe yow after this maner S. Cyprian saieth that there is one bishoprike which euery bishop hath wholy for his parte Ergo consequently all bishoppes be equall and no one can be aboue an other I denie the cōsequent M. Nowell Will yow knowe why This worde episcopatus comprehendeth here by S. Cyprian his minde the whole nature of that kinde of gouernement which bishoppes haue as if in like wise a man shoulde saie Vnum est sacerdotium there is one priestehode in the churche which euery prieste hath wholly for his parte woulde yow now thinke that vpon this proposition it were well done to conclude of priestes as yow doe of bishoppes that therefore because in nature off priestehode they be all equall the meanest as trulye and wholly participating the nature thereof as the chiefe there shoulde be no one priest in dignitie of gouernement aboue the other and so ouerthrowe the office of archipresbiteri chiefe priestes whereof the councell Can. 15. itē Concil Carthag 4. can 17. of Toures in Fraunce aboute the time off Pelagius the first aboue a thousand yeares past maketh mention But what speke I of priesthode will yow condemne the whole churche of Christe for making of Archebishoppes I thinke yow wil not And what signifieth this worde Archebishoppe but a chiefe bishop If there
maye be one chiefe bishop in euerye prouince aboue the rest of his felow bishoppes and yeat no hindrance to the rest or diminishing of their power that they shoulde not be bishoppes aswell as he why maye not the same proportion be kept betwene the pope and the rest of the bishoppes of Christendome that is betwene the archebishop and the other bishoppes of the prouince But these be but wordes yow saye Call them what you will they lacke not reason and therefore answere them as yow can for answere them you must without you will giue ouer in the plaine fielde But I will ioyne to reason auctoritie not of any meane writer but euen of S. Austen him selfe who it is likely vnderstode as well the meaning of S. Cyprian as yow M. Nowell I trust yow will not be angry with me for saing so For as good I saye it as other thinke it The wordes of S. Austen writing to pope Boniface about the resisting of the Pelagians heresie are these Cum verò non desinant fremere ad dominici gregis caulas atque ad diripiendas tanto praetio redemptas Lib. 1. cōtra duas epist. Pelag Cap. 1. oues aditus vndecunque rimari communisque sit omnibus nobis qui fungimur Episcopatus officio quamuis ipse in eo praemineas celsiore fastigio speculae pastoralis facio quod possum pro mei particula muneris c Nowe whereas the heretikes ceasse not to gnash and whett their teethe at the foldes of our lordes flocke and by all meanes possible to searche out where they maye finde any entraunce to spoyle those shepe that haue bene so dearely raunsomed and the bishoprike the office whereof we susteine is common to vs all although your selfe haue the preeminence therein by reason of the higher toppe of the pastorall watche tower I doe what I can for that pece of charge which is commited to me as much as oure lorde by the helpe of youre prayers vouchesauffeth to giue me to withstand their pestilent and deceitfull writinges by other that shall be bothe wholesom and defensiue whereby either the rage wherewith they are starcke madde maye be vtterly cured or at the One bishoprike common to all excludeth not one B. to be aboue all the rest least kept frome hurting of others These be the wordes of S. Austen who confesseth with S. Cyprian that the office of a bishoppe is cōmon to al bishoppes with the pope and yeat condemneth notwithstanding most plainely youre consequent falsely brought in there vpon Therefore all bishoppes be aequall and none aboue an other For you haue hearde that the pope Boniface to whome he wrote was aboue all the rest in expresse wordes Thus is this conclusion of youres Euery bishopp hath in solidum that is to saye fo 22. a. b. fully and wholy that one bishopricke or bishoply function and office ergo no one can haue more than the whole and therefore no one can be aboue all other by grauntinge the consequent to be true touching the nature and substaunce of a bishopes auctoritie and office but denieng it to folow in preeminence and dignitie shewed to be a false conclusion But yeat yow goe forwarde and saie that this one bishoprike Nowell a. 25. is diuided aequally emongest all bishoppes as faithe and baptisme are aequally and wholy deuided emongest the faithful baptised and that therefore as no one man hath any superioritie In solidum in baptisme or faith aboue other truely faithfull and baptised so hath no one bishop superioritie ouer other bishoppes c. S. Cyprian maketh not his comparison here betwene Dorman faithe baptisme and the whole bishoprike of the churche otherwise then in this respect that eche of them is one and the point that he compareth them in is this that as baptisme is one as the faith of all faithful christiās is one and yeat al faithful and baptised haue not aequall auctoritie in gouernement so the bishoprike is one that as no man hath superioritie in baptisme or faithe to be more a faithfull man or more baptised thē an other so no bishop hath of the one bishoprike common to all touching the true nature and substance of bishoply ordre more superioritie of being a bishop then an other but all bishoppes a lyke the one as truely a bishop as the other touching ordre although as you heard before out of S. Austen the pope altius praeeminet hathe the higher preeminence that is to say is in higher auctorite of iurisdictiō then other bishoppes are Thus muche touching youre surmised comparison which if it shoulde haue bene made as you imagine then must yow either condemne S. Cyprian him selfe for bearing the name of an Archebishop or feine that there is also an archebaptisme to set against the dignitie of archebishoprike off the which two as no good man will doe the firste so no wiseman will thinke the last But howe so euer yowe take the matter M. Nowell there is no comparison made in this place till yowe come to the sentence Episcopatus vnus est there is one bishoprike For the better knowledge whereof it is to be vnderstande that the thing which in this place S. Cyprian laboureth to persuade is bothe in the bishoprike and in the churche vnitie To proue this he vseth a cōparison in this wise Episcopatus vnus est c. Ecclesia vna est quomodo solis multi radij sed lumen vnum c. The bishoprike is one etc. The church is one euen as many sonne beames make one light etc. But now let vs examine some one of these seuerall comparisons and you shall see how litle this worde in solidum wholly maketh for your pretensed aequalitie emongest all bishoppes and whether S. Cyprian ment as you do or no. Imagine you therfore with S. Cypr. this whole bishoprike The bisshoprike of the churche compared to a tree of the church to be a tree the brāches wherof be the bishop pes seuered the bodie of the tree the same bishoppes ioyned together the roote the chiefe bishoppe that holdeth thē together Except this be the meaning of S. Cyprian you can not make this comparison agree For the waye to make the things cōpared agree is because of thē selues both the bowes of the tree and bishoppes of the church are many to reduce thē to one beginning And as the same thing that maketh the tree one is a membre and parte thereof so must that which shall make the bishoprike one be a mēbre of the same bishoprike that is to saye a bishop although in that respect that he is a parte of the same bodie equall with the rest as the roote by being of one cōmon substāce with the bodie and brāches is aboue the other partes of the tree notwithstāding because they are all made one thereby and take theire life thereof as appeareth at the eye For cut away the roote and the bodie perisheth Take awaye the roote of this
bishoprike that one chiefe bishop which conioyneth all in one you shall see so many schismes as there be bishoppes and so shall all come to naught Thus maye appere how litle the worde in solidum wholy whereby you would wrest S. Cyprian to a forced meaning of youres to saye that be cause euery bishop had a part of this bishoprike wholy therefore they were all equall in that bishoprike maketh for you whereas in this tree compared to the whole bishoprike of the churche all and euery bowe thereof hath of that common life which is in it parte thereof in solidum wholly as well as the roote which conteineth them together and the roote hath but his parte of that life in solidum no more then hath the least branche there and yet is the chiefe parte of the tree for all that Thus you see how euen by S. Cyprians owne auctoritie you be cast in your own turne And loke what hath bene sayed of the tree the same may be sayed of the light of the sonne or of many riuers comming frome one heade spring As for that that you note me of falsehoode for remouing of the worde Sanctâ—ssimae frome his place and changing fo 19. b. 4 it into Sanctissimum for the remouing of any word that is a false lye For it is you that place the word Sanctissimum A lye 20. out of his ordre putting it before Episcopum whereas it shoulde and dothe folowe in S. Cyprian after and not I. As for the worde Sanctissimae changed in to Sanctissimum I confesse that the best bookes reade otherwise Which faulte either I committed by following some copye which had so either els as it is a thinge easely done in writing by taking out the place amisse For to doe it of sett purpose as youre spiders nature whiche is to turne all into poyson surmiseth what vauntage shoulde I haue gotten thereby If such titles would helpe I coulde haue brought furth the Aug. epist 90. et 92. epistles of the fathers of the councels of Carthage and Mileuet where in their seuerall letters they vse oftentimes to the pope the worde Sanctitas tua your holynesse with diuerse other to that effect To conclude the matter you saie that Maximus and his Nowell fo 22. b. in fin fellowes had a controuersie with Cornelius altogether diuerse frome oures and therefore that their example apperteineth nothing thing to this case of the Popes supremacie which then was neither moued nor knowen And againe that being priestes of Rome it was no merueile thoughe they reconciled them selues to theire owne bishop whome they had offended For the first what controuersie so euer they had it maketh Dorman no matter For heretikes they were and went from the communion of the bishop of Rome whether as heade off the church or their peculier bishop and Diocesan I care not This is that which I entendid here to proue that they forsoke their heade and so fell into schismes oute of the whiche it is impossible for any to rise without they ioyne them selues to their heade againe as these did here And iff they were priestes of Rome as I thinke they were not but suche as at that time folowed Nouatus in Rome yeat maketh this still thus farre for me that euery schisme must be holpen by returning to the heade what so euer he be Which is the thing to make you with often repeating to vnderstande it which I seeke in this place For I am here in my preface where eueÌ„ as in my first proposition it is inough to proue that it is expedieÌ„t to haue one heade in Christes church to gouerne the same although I proue it not of the B. of Rome so is it here sufficieÌ„t to proue that heresies beginne by forsaking the heade and that they must ende by returning to the same though I name not any heade by name Although for any thing that hath bene saied to the coÌ„trarie I might defende that euen in this place the same is proued in the Bishop of Rome the generall head of all That the recantation of Vrsatius and Valens offred vp to Iulius then pope maketh muche for the Bishop of Romes Supremacy The 8. Chapitre Doth not M. Nowell thinke you good readers playe the M. Nowel answereth to that which no man obiecteth mery man bothe with you and me and all the worlde beside in the handling of this place of Vrsatius or Vrsitus and Valens First while he maketh me to reason of the titles that these two bishoppes vsed in their libell of recantation and then solemly confuteth my reasons by other out of Saint Augustin and S. Ciprian with double epithetons for my single whereas I haue no suche one worde Next in coÌ„cluding the whole matter to recreate your foreweried spirites and to sende euery man to his home in loue and charitie with a fitte of mirthe For his musike rewarde you him as you shall see cause for for youre sakes it was and not mine To his answeres to my reasons of the titles of beatissimus Dominus Papa the moste blessed lorde pope or what so euer elles I will replye when that or anie other shall be proued to be mine In the meane season to this reason off his Vrsatius and Valens offred vp their recantation to Athanasius the Nowell fol. 23. b. 22. bishop of Alexandria ergo This maketh as muche for the Supremacy of Athanasius as it doth of Iulius the Pope because it hathe some apparence I will here make answere First I saye Dorman M. Nowell that the antecedent that is that they offered in like maner their recantations to Athanasius is a manifeste A lye 19. lye then that if it were true that yeat the conclusion doth not folowe and so the reason is faulty For the first let Nicephorus be examined whome you here alleage in two places the 9. boke the 13. and the 27. chapitres I meane the 27. for in the other chapitre there is no worde of that matter and so shall it appeare whether you be a lyer or no. Nicephorus hath that to Iulius the B. of Rome they offered libellum poenitentiae a libell of their repentance of Athanasius he saieth no more but onely that after their reconciliation to the pope they wrote lettres to him signifieng that they were nowe quieted and agreed in communion with him whome before they had so cruelly persecuted Of their recantation which is vnderstand by the worde Libellus poenitentiae he mentioneth no worde at all But let vs now coÌ„pare together the wordes first in the libell offred to the pope and then in the lettres sent to Athanasius To the pope they saie Beatissimo domino papae Iulio Vrsitius Valens To the moste blessed Lorde pope Iulius Vrsitius and Valens To Athanasius they write Domino fratri Athanasio episcopo Vrsitius Valens episcopi To oure Lorde and brother Athanasius the bishop Vrsitius and Valens bishoppes I doe not here
vrge these wordes as you bring me in at youre pleasure M. Nowell To the moste blessed Lorde c. to proue thereby the popes supremacy but I will here note to the reader in this comparison the familier kinde of writing to the one calling him brother and the reuerent maner of writing to the other where of reuerēce they absteined from that worde To Athanasius they called them selues bishoppes To Iulius they vsed their propre names without all titles And will yow knowe the cause why VVhy Vrsitius and Valēs called not Iulius the Pope brother Forsoth whē they wrote to Iulius they knewe them selues to stande at his mercye as men that were oute of the churche therefore neither durst they call him brother being a catholike bishop and chiefe of all other neither them selues bishoppes hauing made them selues vnworthy that name But as sone as they were pardoned of the pope in their lettres sent to Athanasius they vsed boldly the titles of brother and bishop Whereby maye easelie be gathered that it was no recantation that they sent to Athanasius In the recantation offred to Iulius they professe to desire to be in communion with Athanasius This request saye they to him we trust you will not denie praecipuè quum pietas tua pro insita sibi integritate gratiā nobis erroris facere est dignata Nicephor li. 9. ca. 27. especially seing that youre godlines according to that naturall vprightnes which is in you hath pardoned vs allready oure faulte They adde furder that if these of the Easte churche woulde wickedly yea if Athanasius him selfe Note woulde call them into the lawe touching these matters that without his consent they woulde not goe Finally they abiure Arrius the heretike with all his fautours In the letters to Athanasius there is no renouncing of the Arrians heresie there is no mention of pardon neither of anie thing elles but that he might vnderstande that they were nowe reconciled Whereas if they had conteined a recantation the matters shoulde no doubte in as ample maner haue bene specified as in that to Iulius they were The Tripartite historie saieth that these men offered to Iulius libellum poenitentiae their recantation in writing and that to Lib. 4. cap. 34. Athanasius miserunt literas seqùe ei deinceps communicare professi sunt they sent lettres and professed that they woulde communicate with him hereafter Of all other Epiphanius writeth of this matter moste plainely His wordes are these Vrsatius ac Valens vnà cum libellis profecti ad B. Iulium Ro. Lib. 2. haeresi 68. episcopum pro ratione reddenda de suo errore ac delicto qúod calumnias struxissent papae Athanasio At suscipe inquiunt nos ad communitatem ac ad poenitentiam Sed ad ipsum Athanasium ijsdem conscriptis confirmationibus vsi sunt propter poenitentiam that is to saie Vrsatius and Valens going together with their libelles to Iulius the B. of Rome to giue account of their errour and faulte for that that they had gone about to entrappe Athanasius But receiue vs saie they to the communion and to penaunce Yea and to Athanasius him selfe they vsed the same confirmations for penaunce Lo M. Nowell one of the places that I of set purpose B. 31. woulde not note least my fraude might be perceiued in alleaging that which made nothing to the matter Maketh it not to the matter that these two being bishoppes of the East churche shoulde vpon the forsaking of their heresies take on them so long a iorney offre them selues to suche daungers by sea and by lande to their no small costes and charges to make their submission in writing which they might haue sente and auoided all those difficulties by tarieng them selues as they did in writing to Athanasius at home if the B. of Rome had bene but equall to Athanasius and had had no more to doe in the matter then he Is it impertinent that they confesse of the pope that he hath pardoned them their faulte whereas of Athanasius there is no such worde Or is it lightly to be estemed that they promise to doe nothing in those matters of their faithe not at the calling of the bishoppes of the Easte or Athanasius him selfe without the popes consent Is it not to the purpose that they went to the pope to giue an accompt of their errour and fault committed against Athanasius that they desired of the pope to be receiued to penaunce and wrote to Athanasius for their penaunce Well by this I trust it appeareth that as I had no cause to cōceale these places as though as you saie I feared lest thereby it would fal out that the world should vnderstand my guile in alleaging that which made not to the purpose so that it is you who in saing that Vrsatius and Valēs offred vp their recantation aswell to Athanasius as to Iulius haue to furder youre heresie made an impudent lye and fathered Li. 9. ca. 27. that vpon Nicephorus which is not in him and thought to dor vs and out face vs to with a carde of tē Beside this I say as I saied before that if it had bene true that they had made their recantation to Athanasius also that yeat the consequent foloweth not that then the B. of Alexandria shoulde haue bene by this meanes aswell heade of the churche as Iulius For what letteth why the pope might not enioine them after their recantation made at Rome to make the same againe to the propre bishop of that place where their heresies were moste notoriouse Or how is this any diminishing of his auctoritie The force of this example consisteth VVherin the force of the example of Vrsitius and Valēs dothe consiste in this that being bishoppes so farre from Rome they should skippe Alexandria and come to Rome why they were reconciled at Rome first and then in Alexandria afterward So that what letteth now to conclude as I did By this meanes returned they to the church c. What letteth me to reply to youre I toke my harp into my hande and twang quoth A twang of M. Nowelles harpe my stringe a Youre stringe is broken betwene youre handes and where is now youre twang a O M. Nowell when you thought with suche a seely twang of youre harpe as this is to shift youre hādes of this graue and weighty testimonie you thought belike withal so to bring all the worlde a slepe with that sweete melodie or rather as Orpheus is reported by the poetes to haue by the musike of his harpe moued wooddes mountaines and rockes to appease the furye of wilde beastes so contrary wise by that sweete noise off youres to make wise men suche tame fooles by a strange metamorphosis so to turne them into blockes and stones as that they shoulde not be hable to perceiue youre vneuen dealing Surely in my pore conceite yow littell regarded youre calling yow muche empaired your name in answering thus lewdely Was this
deanlike Was this preacherlike Was this minister like Nay truly it was minstrellike That the places hetherto alleaged are not impertinent to the Popes auctoritie The. 9. Chapter Although I haue heretofore in the seuerall defence off euery one of these places saide so much as maye suffice for the iustifieng of them to be alleaged to the purpose yeat doth youre Rhetoricall repeating of them here enforce also me to trouble the reader therewith againe I saye therefore as I did before that if the going out of the churche be by the rebelling of the deacon or prieste against his bishop as S. CypriaÌ„ saide in the case of the deacon disobeieng his bisshop Rogatianus if Pupianus ought to reconcile him selfe to Cyprian his bishop and metropolitan that then by this reason of S. Cyprian muche more ought the going out of the church to be by the Deacon prieste â–ª or bishoppes rebelling against the Pope the chiefe bishop of al other muche more ought they to reconcile their selues to him who is chiefe shepherd of their soules in earthe If S. Basile spake of the bishoppes in the east churche it is but a sory shift to saye that his wordes maye not be extendid to all rulers where so euer they be If Nouatus sware men to sticke to his heresie to take him and not Cornelius for their bishop he sware men against the Pope and so do you If Maximus Vrbanus and Sidonius reconcile them selues to their owne Romaine bishop whome they had vniustly forsaken yow must doe the like to him being your bishop although not so immediatly whome you haue as vniustly forsaken If Vrsatius and Valens offred onely their recantations to Iulius and not to Athanasius as I shewed before then haue you made a lye and so bothe this auctoritie and the other are not impertinent but to the purpose An answere to suche lyes scoffes sclaunders falsefied auctorities and other cancred matter as M. Nowel in the 25. 26. 27. and 28. leaues hath powred oute against the Popes The. 10. Chapter As I minde not to defende the euill maners of Popes as neither of temporall princes if any haue gouerned euill and haue abused perhappes the power giuen to them by God so will I neither measure their auctoritie by their liues as did the frantike Donatistes and Anabaptistes doe neither reueale the turpitude of my father as did wicked ChaÌ„ Gen. 9. neither iudge my heade as is the maner of heretikes and schismatikes to doe as witnesseth S. Cyprian as hath bene said before applied theÌ„ to the same sense that it is now For Li. 4. ep 9 of this am I suer that how euil so euer their liues be how far so euer they abuse the auctoritie giuen to theÌ„ yeat shall that nothing preiudicate the churche nor hurt the innoceÌ„t ChrifliaÌ„s If these were my words I caÌ„ gesse what were like to be youre answere but being not myne but S. Augustine his nor his so but that they be grounded vpon the wordes of Christe truly if I were my selfe an heretike I confesse I knowe no waye to auoide them The wordes of S. Augustine after that he had rehersed by name all the popes that were from S. Peter to Anastasius time 39. in nombre emongest whome â–ª there was he saide no one Donatist to be founde are these In illum autem ordinem episcoporum qui Epist 165. ducitur ab ipso Petro vsque ad Anastasium qui nunc eandem cathedram sedet etiamsi quisquà m traditor per illa teÌ„por a subrepsisset nihil praeiudicaret ecclesiae innocentibus Christianis quibus Dominus prouidens ait de praepositis malis quae dicuÌ„t facite c. Vt certa sit spes fidelis quae noÌ„ in homine sed in domino collocata nuÌ„que tempestate sacrilegi schismatis dissipetur that is to saye In to this range of bishoppes drawen from Peter him selfe to Anastasius which now sitteth in the same seate althoughe some betrayour had within that compasse crepte in yeat shoulde this nothing haue preiudicate the churche and innocent Christians for whome oure Lorde prouiding faieth of euill heades Do what they bid yow doe c. That Matth. 23. the hope of the Christian man maye be sure whiche being grounded Note not vpon man but vpon God can not by wicked schisme be scattred This place good Reader as it maye serue the for a lesson to beware how thou rashely iudge of their doinges whome God hathe so especially priuileaged so ought it to be no small comfort to all true Christians to thinke that god hath prouided for them suche a heade to direct them here as whose iudgement what euer his lyfe be they are sure can not be false and maye withall serue for an answere to all suche spottes as M. Nowell here and other elles where were they all true and muche worse then they speake of haue noted in the popes manners to ouerthrowe their auctoritie Whereby allso standeth that proposition of mine fol. 25. a. 15. saulfe ment of thinges concerning his office the pope commaundeth it ergo it must be obeyed if S. Augustine haue anye credite with vs if Christ maye be beleued Who beside the wordes alleaged by S. Augustine hath giuen vs also an other moste sure staye to grounde oure selues vpon when Lucae 22. he assureth vs that Petres faithe shall not faile whiche although it please you M. Nowel in youre swinishe eloquence to saye that it pertaineth as muche to the pope as dothe a saddell to a sowe yeat was S. Bernard to alleage him rather then anie other for that youre selfe in this place bring him in against the pope and M. Horne I am credibly enfourmed gaue to him not longe since in the vniuersitie of Oxford suche praise as that he hath it is supposed not a little enflamed the hartes of diuerse younge men to the studie of that blessed author of a farre other iudgement then you are For he writing to InnoceÌ„tius the pope after salutatioÌ„s beginneth his epistle thus Oportet ad vestrum referri Epist 190 Apâ—stolatum pericula quaeque scandala emergentia in regno Dei ea praesertim quae de fide contingunt Dignum nanque arbitror ibi potissimum resarciri damna fidei vbi non possit fides seÌ„tire defectuÌ„ Haec quippe huius praerogatiua sedis Cui enim Lucae 22. alteri aliquando dictum est Ego pro te rogaui Petre vt non deficiat fides tua Ergo quod sequitur à Petri successore exigitur Et tu aliquando conuersus confirma fratres tuos That is to saye All daungers and offences rising in the kingdome of God must be referred to youre apostleship those especially which concerne the faithe For there doe I thinke it to Note be moste mete that the hurtes of faithe shoulde be redressed where faithe is sure not to faile For suche is the prerogatiue of this seate For to what other was it euer saied I haue
praied for the Peter that thy faithe maye not faile Therefore that which foloweth is demaunded of Peters successour And thow being once conuerted strengthen thy brethern Hetherto S. Bernard against whose learning and life as you can take no exception so haue youre selfe clered him of all suspition of flatterye by those wordes which so frely and franckly without all dissimulation he vttred to pope Eugenius Which maketh not a little for his faithe and vprightnesse in applieng this text as he doth This you well perceiuing either elles to shewe youre selfe learned in the canon Lawes attribute rather to Bonifacius the 8. those wordes Ecc◠duo gladij then to S. Bernard whose they are in dede vttred fol. 25. b. 13. Lib. 4. ad Eugen. in this sorte Quid tu denuo vsurpare gladium tentes quem semeliussus e◠ponere in vaginam Quem tamen qui tuum nega◠non satis mihi videtur attendere verbum domini dicentissic Conuerte gladium tuum in vaginam Tuus ergo ipse tuo forsitan nutu etsi non tua manu euaginandus c. VVhy then does thow assaye to vsurpe the sworde which thow wast once bidden to putt vp into thy sheate VVhiche yeat he that denieth to be thine semeth not to me well to considre the worde of oure Lorde saing put vp thy sworde into thy scabbard The sworde is therefore thine to be drawen out at thy becke percase although not by thyne owne hande Otherwise if it shoulde haue perteined to the no waye oure Lorde woulde not haue answered to his Apostles saing Beholde here two swordes it is enough but he woulde haue answered it is to muche Bothe the swordes therefore belong to the churche the spirituall and the materiall but this is to be occupied for the churche that of the churche Thus muche S. Bernard which wordes notwithstanding I confesse and those other also of the prophete Hieremias Behold this daye do I Cap. 1. set the ouer people and kingdomes Bonifacius modestly applieth B. 18. to the churche and ecclesiasticall power and to the pope no otherwise but as to the chiefe ministre of this power Cap. vinc de maiorit obed extrauag com as appeareth by this conclusion Ergo si deuiat terrena potestas iudicabitur a spirituali If the earthly power therefore be out of the waye it shal be iudged of the spirituall By this it appeareth that what so euer S. Bernarde hath written or spoken against the pompe and abuse of the B. of Romes auctoritie that yeat by his example we are taught this lesson not to cut of oure heade because it aketh And therefore him selfe when he had saide all that you are wont to bring against the abuses of the courte of Rome in his time yeat he confessed that as in heauen angelles and archangelles De considerat ad Eugen. li. 3 Seraphins and Cherubins are disposed vnder one heade which is God that so here also vnder one high bishop be primates patriarches archebishoppes bishoppes priestes abbattes with the rest in like maner which head in how manie places of his worckes dothe he call the B. of Rome Yoy saye that the popes bragge that they haue in the box off Nowell fo 25. a. 8. their bosoms all scriptures all interpretation of doctours c. The popes that yow name are Boniface the 8. and Dorman Paule the 2. The place of Boniface is you saie sext Decreta lib. 10. tit 2. cap. licet Yow shoulde haue saide primo No greate faulte I confesse if there were either so manie bokes and not onelie fiue or if yow vsed not so rigorously to note suche scapes in other men youre selfe laing to their charge that they meane to entangle the readers that their fraude yow saye maie not be espied Whereas surely in you there might be greate cause to thinke no lesse For what Doth Bonifacius saie in this place that he hathe all the lawes in his brest No truly doth he not But he saieth A lye 21. that pontifex Romanus censetur habere The B. of Rome is iudged or presumed to haue although sometimes it maye otherwise happen I merueile that you remembred not the chapitre beginning praeterea in the decrees where the B. of Rome hath speaking of lawes that he neuer reade any suche thing except by forgetfulnes he be deceauid wherby Dist 22. you might haue vnderstode that some time by the popes owne confession it maie happen otherwise But if he had saied as you saie he did had he done anye otherwise then borowed a phrase of the emperours Honorius and L. omnium C. de testā How ▪ rulers are vnderstandē to haue the lawes in their breastes Theodosius who vsed first the same Whereby is signified that suche states by reason of their learned councell which they haue allwaies about them ready to instructe them are presupposed to haue the lawes ripe in their remembraunce As for Paulus the seconde I maruell how it happeneth that Platina maie be allowed to be a witnes against him A 19. professing in his life so little good will towardes him for the putting him out of his office seing yow are in the examining of other witnesses so harde But let it be true that Platina saieth hardely it maketh to oure purpose neither of nor on It is a worthy thing to be reade in Platine you saie how Gregory Nowell b. 26. Matth. 16. the 7. vpon these wordes what so euer thow doest binde or lose vpon the earthe shall be bounde or losed in heauen gathereth this reason that muche more the bishoppes of Rome in earthe maye take awaye and giue empires kingdomes principates and what so euer mortall men haue elles It is a worthy thing to be noted howe you continue Dorman allwaies like youre selfe in feeding the reader with vaine matter nothing to the purpose and alleaging suche places as yow bring otherwise then they are in the Originalls from whence you take them For loke in Platine once againe and you shall finde that the wordes be not so odiouse as you woulde haue them seme to be For whereas you affirme them to be spoken of the Pope Platine hath that the B. of Rome spake them of Peter and Paule Howe euer it be it is no pointe to be reasoned here as being impertinent to oure principall question of one heade beside that as I protested in the beginning of this chapitre if these wordes or anie other like were vntruly or arrogantly spoken yeat they coulde derogate nothing from the auctoritie otherwise laufull Yow care not what you saye nor how shamefull or sclaunderouse youre lies be so that yow maye satisfie youre cancred hatred against the Pope as appeareth here by this that you woulde make men beleue that Iulius the third f. 25. b. 2◠caused to be stamped on his coyne these wordes the nation and people that shall not serue me shall perishe as though mēt Hierem. 1. of him selfe whereas
you might haue aswell saied that they were to be referred to the monie it selfe as though all the worlde should be sclaues to monie and yeat neither of these the true meaning of it But if his coyne had anie suche inscription as it maye be doubted for anie proufe that yow here auouche M. Nowell to proue it the meaning was rather this that that coyne apperteining to the church shoulde beare vpon it that prophecy whiche was spoken of the churche as a posy moste meetest for that place specially the maner of that See being to stampe on the one side of their coyne the image of Petre and Paule The pope maye be blamed of no mā doe he neuer so much hurt Nowell fo 26. a. 5. Dist 50. cā si papa Dorman you saie Although the worde from whence yow gather this be redarguere blame or reproue yeat the wordes which folowe conteining the reason of the canon are a nemine est iudicandus that is he is to be iudged of none and so they doe vs to vnderstand that laufull and reuerent admonishing the pope of his faultes is not forbidden to his brethern but as laufull for them to doe now as it was for S. Paule euer but only the iudging of him And except this were the true meaning of the word redarguere in this place surely a homely sense were it to saye The pope must be blamed of no mā because he cā be iudged of no mā Your other place alleaged out of the glose yow vnderstode as euill as you did the texte The texte and the glose bothe Extranag Iuan. 22. cap. fin de Conces praeb speake in that place of the deuiding of certeine churches vnited together in which thinges saieth the glose no man maye be so hardye to aske the pope why he dothe so Because in those thinges that belong to the positiue lawe he maye dispense as shall reasonably please him Thus be the wordes of the glose to be vnderstanden and restreined which it becommeth yow as handsomly to talke of as doth a golde ring the groine of a sow But it is a token that diuinitie goeth lowe with yow and is at a very ebbe when yow fall to the alleaging of lawe Remembre the prouerbe M. Nowel Ne Sutor vltra crepidam Youre text Principes gentium c. Princes of nations beare rule ouer them but yow shall not so but he that will be chiefe let a. 14. Math. 20. Lucae 22. him be youre seruant c. with the rest that folow taketh not awaye auctoritie to rule from the cleargie but ambitiouse and tiranouse ruling as appeareth by S. Bernard who alleaging this very text to Eugenius the Pope saieth notwithstanding in the same booke Habent illi sibi assignatos greges singuli singulos tibi vniuersi crediti vni vnus Nec modo ouium sed pastorum tu vnus omniū pastor They haue their propre flocke assigned vnto thē euery one one to the being one all are cōmitted in one neither only arte thow the only shepherd of the shepe but of the shepherdes to The apostles thē selues ruled they not because they wer seruāts What maner of seruile slauish seruice yow would haue the pope brought to I wote not but S. Paule serued I wote well his maisters so the Corinthiens that he asked them whether he should come to thē with the rodde He gaue some of them to the 1. Co. 4. 1. Cor. 5. 1. Ti. 1. Act. 5. diuell S. Peter was such a seruant that Ananias and Saphyra his wife he punished by deathe If yow saie yow denie not this power but speake against the abuse of that yow harde my minde before and I thinke all good men be of the same who praye moste earnestlie the onely remedye that Christe hath left vs in this case that suche as abuse the same maye acknowledge the faulte and spedely redresse it So shall their mouthes be stopped who when they can saie nothinge against the power it selfe are driuen to picke quarelles and finde faultes in the ministers thereof If you shoulde make a voiage to Rome to the pope to tell him beside the textes of scriptures that you haue alleaged which are Principes gentium c. Nolite vocari Rabbi c. Vos omnes fratres estis Ne sitisseu dominium exercentes in cleros that by the doctours also and councelles he is forbidden to Nowell fol. 27. a. b. 7. vse suche tyrannicall power yow shoulde yow saye profite no more by suche allegations then by the allegation of the scripture it selfe Why you should doe wel to proue it M. Nowel It is not Dorman vnlikely but that so eloquent a man as you are and thereto so well practised in the Popes owne gloses were like surelye to be admitted to his speache and to persuade verye muche Well you will not putt the matter in trial you saye fearing lest by that meanes you might be canonized in M. Foxes calendre and shrined in his dounghill and therefore you are contented to bring furth your doctours and councelles against me whome yow take I doubt not to be the popes proctour You re councelles are the councell off Carthage a. 22. Cipr. in cōcil Carth. and an other whole councell allso you saie although you name no other neither brokē nor whole Your doctours S. Cyprian and S. Augustine Whiche councelles and doctours Aug. lib. 2. contra Donat cap. 2. saye thus muche Nemo nostrum episcopum se episcoporum constituit c. None of vs maketh him selfe bishop of bishoppes or dothe by tyrannnicall feare force his fellowes to the necessitie off obeing seing euery bishop hath according to the licence of his libertie and power his owne iudgement as he that can not be iudged of an other seing that him selfe can not iudge an other These be the wordes of the councell these be the wordes of Saint Cyprian and S. Augustine which serue as muche for your purpose as doth a rammes horne to make a flight For the better declaration whereof it is to be vnderstande that as these wordes were spoken by Saint Ciprian in a prouincial councell that fell into an errour so was the meaning of them to auaunce the opinion of S. Cyprian touching the rebaptising of those that had bene baptised by heretikes which doctrine is now condemned by the churche for an heresie To bring this the better to passe he telleth them first that he had receiued lettres from Iubaianus a bishop who although he were before of a contrary opinion was now come to his parte It remaineth saieth he that euery one of vs show his minde what he thinketh of this matter no man iudging an other or remouing any man from the communion if he thinke otherwise then he doth For none of vs maketh him selfe the bishop of bishoppes and so furthe with gentle wordes the rather to winne them to his opinion and to assure thē that they maye be bolde to saye their mindes seing
that euery one of them had he saide licence to vse the iudgement of his libertie and power Which worde pro licentia M. Nowel mangleth S. Cipriā yow guilefully lefte oute of youre translation showing youre selfe thereby to be no simple translatour but a crafty falsefier Now if they had licence in that councell of theirs euery man to saie frelye his minde if S. Cyprian saide that notwithstanding he was their archebishop and bishop off them all yeat for the present time he did renounce that auctoritie as in this sense his wordes are to be taken what maketh that against the auctoritie of the B. of Rome Dothe not the B. of Rome saye asmuch to all his fellow bishoppes in all general councelles Had not you the same offer made vnto you in the laste councell of Trent to haue bene quietly harde and no man by tirannie to haue bene compelled In saluo cōductu cōcilij Trident. to the necessitie of obeing If this answere satisfie you not let S. Augustine teache you the true vnderstanding of this place Who expounding August li. 3. ca. 3. cōtra Donat. these wordes of S. Cyprian Seing euery bishop hath according to the licence c. against the Donatistes writeth thus Opinor vtique in his quaestionibus quae nondum eliquatissima perspectione S. Cypriā expoūded by S. Austen discussae sunt Nouerat enim quantam sacramenti profunditatem tunc omnis ecclesia varia disputatione versabat liberum que faciebat quaerendi arbitrium vt examinata veritas panderetur I thinke verilie that is to saie that S. Cyprian meaneth in those questions which be not yeat by manifest examination discussed For he knewe what a depe misterie it was that was then tossed in the whole churche with ambiguouse disputations and made it free for euery one to searche and enquire that the truthe being examined might be reuealed Thus you see M. Nowell that youre falsehoode in leauing out in youre translation the worde pro licentia wil not helpe you S. Augustine by this worde liberum faciebat VVherein one bisshop cannot be iudged of another he gaue them licence expounding the meaning of S. Ciprian and telling vs beside that this place of bishoppes libertie whereby euerie one maye thinke what he will and can be iudged of no other is while thinges be not decided but remaine in doubte And therefore if you haue no other doctours or councelles to present to the pope but these yow did like a wise man to tarie at home That you saie that neither the texte of the scriptures nor the fol. 27. b. 7. interpretation of doctours nor iudgementes of councelles can haue any credite against the pope and bring Pighius to proue it that is a manifest lye For when Pighius saieth that for the A lye 22. moste parte there is nothing done in generall councelles but that the bishoppes comming together giue their consent to that which the Apostolike See decreed before he saieth not that it is so allwaies that it can be no otherwise As though the time of deliberation during the Apostolike See vpon the reasons of the councell might not be moued to decree that which otherwise it hath not determined he saieth not that against the pope neither the texte of the scriptures nor the interpretation of doctours nor iudgementes of councelles b. 24. can haue any credite And therefore moste impudently againe I tell yow yow haue belyed Pighius The councell is no councell if it lacke the auctoritie of the heade No generall councell without a head the B. of Rome And therefore you haue Pighius at no such aduantage because he saieth that the onely iudgement of the See of Rome is more sure then the iudgement of an vniuersall councell of the whole worlde which if it be true VVhy councelles be called then were it you saye for bishoppes to come to councelles a vaine thing Not so M. Nowell For although before God and with good men the iudgement arrested vpon by the see of Rome be certeinly true and can not deceiue yeat because men ignorant in the scriptures and lawes of the churche some of thē sometimes because heretikes for the repressing of whome councelles be most cōmonly called for the moste parte be not thus persuaded the pope vseth to communicate with the generall councell concerning decrees to be made The which being with generall consent approued and confirmed by the pope bothe the weake or vnlearned catholike maie be fully persuaded and the stubborne heretike with his owne weightes quite ouer weighed while bothe to the one and the other suche vniforme consent can not but argue the merueilouse grace and assistence off the holie gost An other cause maie be for that the pope by this meanes will be certified by the bishoppes off euery countrie what circumstances what maners of people in eache place maie require the decrees according to the nature of diuerse diseases to be losed slacker or streined harder For although he be so priuileaged that in making lawes for the churche he can not erre yeat hath he not the spirit of prophecie to knowe being absent all the offenses and imperfections in the churche Beside this where as otherwise it might euer be doubted whether the pope made any suche decrees or no in places farre distant from Rome hereby all suche occasion is taken awaie the bishoppes off euery countrie being present who be able to make faithe hereof to their subiectes Last of all this calling together of councelles is not in vaine while Christian princes being present and hearing all thinges debated promise the rather their assistance for the execution of suche thinges as shal be concluded And thus is this pelting obiection of youres answered Now to the next Pighius yow saye teacheth that to the see of Rome the ordering Nowell fo 28. a. 7. defining and determining of all questions and controuersies is giuen by Christe c. And the same dothe M. Dorman to teache in the 62. leafe b. out off pope Innocentius epistle That which I haue there affirmed I haue by the auctoritie Dorman not of Innocentius alone which yeat to anie reasonable Apud August epist. 90. 91. 92 93. man might seme inough considering that they were no babes to whome he wrote but euen by the auctoritie also of those fathers of the two councelles of Carthage and Mileuite especially of S. Austen expressely affirming that he answered them to all their questions euen as was right and for the bishop of the apostolicall See mete sufficiently proued Answere yow to it when yow shall be hable In the meane season it is true that I saide that the auctoritie of the B. of Rome is the fundation of all true religion the comfort and staye of the catholikes c. Against the whiche fewe wordes couched in lesse roome then fiue lynes yow haue not in fower leaues and more brought truly so muche as one worde but in the whole
For so the I should haue concluded with S. Cyprian yow saye ergo b. 11. in likewise euerye diocesse and euery churche ought to haue their seuerall heade prelate or bishop I toke not my reason oute off S. Cyprian and therefore I folowe not his conclusiō What so euer it be my reason is that the whole churche dispersed through the whole worlde is as truly one kingdome of heauen one societie one body as any other company throughe oute the worlde is one be it greate or litle Therefore if I had concluded as S. Cyprian dothe vpon your graunting the same to be true as here you saye you woulde haue done that euerye diocesse and particuler churche nedeth a heade it woulde well haue folowed spite of youre bearde ergo in the whole churche being also one is more nede of one heade These cōclusions of S. Cipriās and mine be not cōtrary but stande wel together Euē as if one should inferre in our countrie vpon suche a proposition as is this of S. Cyprians ergo euery citie euery shiere hath nede of a heade to gouerne it and then vpon that againe ergo the whole realme it selfe conteining all these cities and shieres hathe muche more nede of one heade to gouerne that And yeat yow so shamelesse you are saye that S. Cyprian hath the cleane b. 21. contrarie to this conclusion saing thus Singulis pastoribus c. that is To euery pastour is a portion of our lordes flocke appointed the whiche euery one ought to rule and gouerne who shall giue accompt of his doing to oure Lorde This place you saye Lib. 1. epistol 3. maketh plainely againste the supremacy off one These wordes conuince you plainely of a lye This place if you knowe A lye 22. not how to vnderstand it be not ashamed to learne of S. S. Cypriā expoūded by S. Bernard Bernarde of whome you disdaine not to learne matter to reproue the maners of the bishoppes of Rome when yow thinke he maye serue you to that effect He telleth vs speaking to pope Eugenius Habent illi sibi assignatos greges singuli Lib. 2. ad Eugen. singulos tibi vniuersi crediti vni vnus that is to saie They haue also he meaneth the other bishoppes of the churche euery one their seuerall flockes assigned vnto them to the being one all are committed in one Lo M. Nowell S. Bernard telleth you whome youre selfe bothe alleage for youre purpose and to whome you giue the title of a blessed sainct that this reason of youres is not good Euerye pastour hath a portion off Christes flocke allotted out to him to gouerne Ergo there is no one heade ouer all For by this meanes if suche collections might be allowed aswell might euery parson and vicair because he hath also a portion of the flocke committed to his charge by him selfe be discharged from the obedience of his bishop as maye the bishoppes from the gouernement of one chiefe heade The maior bailif or other officier of anie the Quenes good townes in England hath a portion of the realme committed to his charge to gouerne will youre wisedome serue you M. Nowell to conclude vpon this that therefore there is no one in oure saide countrie who hathe the supremacie ouer all This is S. Cyprian his reason this is you saie his conclusion You beelye S. Cyprian M. Nowel he neither reasoneth nor fol. 30. b. 30. concludeth against the supremacy of one as I trust I haue made euident You might rather thinke that he who was for euery portion so hofull woulde be no lesse carefull to prouide for the whole where was more daunger and cause of feare For that you reason after youre maner negatiuely that neither S. Cyprian nor any other learned man doth vse these examples or similitudes any where to proue that there ought to be one heade or gouernour ouer the vniuersall churche that reason showeth it selfe from whence it commeth Will you now as you haue taught vs a newe kinde of diuinitie so teache vs also a newe waye of reasoning Yea will you teache the learned Lawiers and graue iudges off the realme neuer to decide case but suche as they shall finde recorded in their yeare bokes in the same termes Shall it not be laufull for them by youre depe diuinitie whereas it is impossible so to conceiue lawes that all cases maye be expressely comprehendid when suche a case shall happen to procede therein by the iudgement giuen in other cases where although the case be diuerse the reason is one Iff youre discretion will serue you to alowe this kinde of reasoning in the lawe whiche is nothing elles but altogether reason why take you then suche holde of this that S. Cyprian did not in termes that is to saye in the selfe same case of one heade ouer the vniuersall churche applye these examples seing that as I proued before S. Cyprians reason is one in bothe the cases yea greater and of more force in the fol. 30. b. 31. case of one heade ouer the whole church then of one ouer euery particuler churche Because M. Nowell thinketh as the truthe is that this conclusion that there ought to be one generall heade ouer all churches liketh me well and yeat that I haue handled it but ill it pleaseth him here of an extraordinarye liberalitie for the pitie that he taketh vpon me to playe once againe the scholemaister in his olde dayes and now because I am past my Grammer to teache me logike I shoulde haue reasoned thus my maister saieth There is one generall king ouer al the Nowell fo 31. a. 2. worlde one generall heade ouer all people c. Therefore there must be one generall heade ouer all the churche My maister plaieth here with me as S. Thomas More Dorman writeth that a poet of Cambridge did once with his boye whome plaing with him being a yong Sophister on a time for his pleasure he offred to proue an asse which when the boye denied well quoth the poet thow wilt graunte me this first that euery thing that hath two eares is an asse Nay mary maister will I not quoth the boye No wilt thow quoth the poete Ah wyly boye there thow wentest beyond me For and thow wouldest haue graunted me that I woulde haue proued the an asse anon Mary maister quoth the boye ye might well and so might euery foole toe Well quoth the poet I will goe now an other waye to worcke with the. Thow wilt graunt me that euerie asse hath two eares Naye marie will I not maister quoth the boye Why so boye quoth he Mary maister quoth he some asse maie happē to haue neuer a one for they maie be cut of bothe Naye then quoth the poet I giue the ouer thow arte to frowarde a boye for me Woulde not yow now M. Nowell make me here to reason as pleaseth you as the poet woulde haue made his boye to answere But how little nede I haue of youre
helpe God I thanke therefore to frame this reason to my purpose the argument made before will speake though I holde my peace In the meane season this of youres might haue some probabilitie if as Christe hath appointed one churche so God had assigned one kingdome in the whole worlde But seing that from the time the tongues were dispersed in Babilon many seuerall companies of men and not long after many seuerall Gen. 11. nations and consequently manie seuerall heades were so appointed by God that whether it were for the paine of sinne or elles to haue the partes of the earthe more quickly inhabited ones they were not one of them bounde to be vnder the other nor all to be vnder one heade in earthe whereas on the other side Christ came to gather together Psal 146. the dispersed of Israel in to one bodye one kingdome one folde and all the churches in the worlde be reduced accordingly to one churche which can not be saide of all the kingdomes for you nowe to requier no more one heade in the churche then there is one king in the worlde it is suche a kinde of argument as I thinke beside youre selfe it would haue bene harde to haue founde one other so foolishe that woulde haue made it What D. Harding saieth out of Homere or Aristotle it fol. 31. a. 15 maketh no matter to me allbeit it proueth verye well that those Gentiles sawe that the gouernement of one bodye belongeth to one heade And therefore if they had bene as verilie persuaded then that the whole worlde is but one kingdome as you are that the churche is but one bodie as they woulde of all likelihod haue concluded that it had not bene good to haue manie rulers so liuing now and being persuaded the like of the churche it is not to be doubted but that they woulde haue bene touching the same off the same opinion As for that that you adde scoffingly to deface it that it is M. D. Hardinge his poeticall argument for the popes supremacie I praie you be good M. Nowell to poetos of whome you sauour so muche in youre sermones and writinges and who the time hathe bene were the fairest floure in youre garland Otherwise you will giue men occasion bothe to thinke and to saie that the olde prouerbe is true in you that the parishe prieste remembreth not that once he was parishe clercke But I praie you maye it be laufull for you to folowe poetes in lieng as you doe and maie not other men alleage for their purpose one graue sentence of a poete yea all were it so that it were directly to proue the popes supremacie as this is not so brought in If it be so then scoffe also hardely at S. Paule who to proue the omnipotent power of God alleaged the sentence of the Act. 17. poete Aratus not so famouse iwisse as Homere is Aristotle misliketh not the gouernement of the best and wisest yeat preferreth he Monarchie the gouernement that is to saie of one alone before Aristocratie Euen so doe bothe D. Harding and I And therefore to saye that I am in fol. 31. b. 1. this point against bothe my maister for so you call D. Harding and I will be alwaies readie to confesse no lesse so long as it shall please him not to be ashamed of suche a scholer and Aristoâ—le so noble a philosopher I can call it no better but A lye 23. a verie lye You saye that the gouernement of the vniuersall churche Nowell b. 5. consisting of so many or rather innumerable thousandes of men and women of all countries nations and languages can not possibly be ruled by one neither was by God appointed to be so gouerned What God hath appointed I showed in the article of the Dorman popes supremacie whereunto you durst not approche and this will be bolde to saie thereof in this place that Monarchie Not impossible to gouerne the church by one being as youre selfe can not denie of all other the noblest kinde of gouernement it is likely that Christe would prouide the same for his spouse the churche in the which willing especially vnitie and concorde and commaunding nothing more it foloweth that he woulde binde it in one with that bande wirhout the which it coulde not either at all be had or not so commodiously had As for the possibilitie I praye the gentle reader considre with thy selfe what preachers and maisters thow hast who are nowe so malepart with God that beside that whiche their peuishe heades shall like to fantasye they will allowe him to be hable to doe nothinge Thus in oure present question doth M. Nowell hauing so muche at the length prouffited by teaching in the schole that he dareth now take vpon him to set God him selfe to schole and to tell him plainly that this ordre of his appointing in the churche one heade is suche as by no meanes possible can stande Thinkest thow not good Reader that he mistrusted all other proufes when he fleeth to this sorye shift Yes verelie doth he For as in the matter of the sacrament verie nede driueth them to this miserable refuge so persuade thy selfe that it standeth with them here But nowe to yow M. Nowell is the arme of God shroncken Esaiae 50. 59. or shorter then it was wont to be thinke you Can not he that appointeth one sonne to giue light to the whole worlde he that by diuerse riuers streames and brookes dispersed thorough the partes of all the earth maketh one body of the elementes of water bothe to come from one heade the sea and to returne to the same againe he that of so manie contrarie and disagreing qualities as heate colde moisture drougth maketh one well agreeing worlde is not he M. Nowell possibly able to rule and gouerne his church dispersed through all the earthe by one chiefe and supreme heade Especially sith one prince or Monarche as namely Assuerus being him selfe an infidell was able to gouerne Hester c. 1. from India to Aethiopia a hundred twentie and seuen prouinces The which as he gouerned by captaines and vnder officers after the example of Moises who being Exod. 18. not able to beare the burden of ruling the whole people alone did it notwithstanding with much facilitie by the helpe of suche rulers as he called to parte of his charge whiche were captaines or heades some ouer thousandes some ouer hundreds other some of fifty yea of ten so the pope gouerning the whole churche by patriarches primates archebisshopps bishoppes ArchedeacoÌ„s Archepriestes and priestes euery one in their degree with grace in him for that purpose by the worcking of God sufficiently multiplied is right well able to rule and gouerne the church were it greater then it is And this al wise meÌ„ and such as yealde to the omnipotency of God see to be so farre from all impossibilitie that some one perhappes moued with iust indignation against youre blasphemouse reasoning
is likely inough to tell you that I maie iustlier saie to you that suche talke procedeth not so muche from the absurditie of the matter as b. 12. Nowell Fo. 32. a. 6. it dothe from the disposition of youre noddies nowle M. Nowell and sight not dimme but altogether blinde then you doe to me affirming the contrarie that it maye seme to some that suche kinde of speache springeth not so muche out of the absurditie of the matter as out of the disposition off my drowsy head * Note that M. Nowel aloweth to bishoppes the ordre of religion to kinges and other gouernours the procuring of ciuile ordre and peace Dorman It foloweth that schismes and troubles rising in the church maye by the seuerall bishoppes of euerie diocesse and seueral chiefe prelates of euerie prouince aswell be auoided and appeased as the seuerall kinges of euerie kingdome the seuerall gouernours of euerie countrie and citie c. are able to ouersee their seuerall charges and to kepe their people in ciuile ordre and peace Not so M. Nowell the reason of difference betwe these two states of ecclesiasticall and temporall gouernement is greate For in the one that is in that which perteineth to the The difference betwene the two states off the world and the church worlde euery kingdom euery nation euery people haue their propre and seuerall lawes yea often times not diuerse onely but cōtrarie the one to the other This bredeth no disordre because they be diuerse bodies But to come to the church which as it is one so hath it by Christ one faith the same lawes the same sacramentes deliuered to be cōmon to all that wil be membres thereof without varietie in matters of substāce here what nede is thereof one head that this one faith may be of all mē and euery where inuiolably holden Seing that euen in kingdomes and common wealthes daily experience telleth vs that how well and quietly so euer such kinges and rulers gouerne their subiectes them selues they be not yeat hable so to gouerne while I proude and thou proude eche one thinketh him selfe as good as the other that they can absteine from mortal and cruel battaile wherby their innocent people perishe ful oftē on both sides most miserably If this be so emōgest worldly kinges where the dissenting of their lawes and ordonaūces the one from the other is no breach of amitie how much more is it to be feared emongest bishoppes where one faith must be common in all where vnitie maye be so lightely broken Which if it happen howe shoulde it be suppressed The debates and quarelles of princes are tried for moste parte by battaile Will you that in this case eache bishop make his frēdes and trie the matter by most voices The chiefe prelates you saie of euery prouince are able to take ordre in the matter What M. Nowell is the winde in that dore Haue yow so soddenly founde a superioritie in bishoppes that so lately before pronounced that as no man hathe anye Superioritie in baptisme or in faithe aboue other truly faithefull and baptised so no one bisshop hathe any Superioritie ouer other bishoppes Is it nowe at the length founde out that you mistooke S. Cyprian M. Nowel contrary to him selfe in one leafe when in the 22. leafe of youre boke a. you grounded vpon him that there was no difference of dignitie emongest bishoppes Maye yow not be ashamed in this verie leafe firste to saie that there be chiefe prelates in euery prouince and yeat after in the seconde side of the same leafe to affirme by the auctoritie of S. Ciprian wrongly construed that none but naughty and desperate men doe thinke the auctoritie off some bisshoppes to be inferiour to other Will you nedes be of the nombre of those naughty and desperate men Well M. Nowell as verye necessitie forced yow to go from that principle of youres that all bisshoppes be of equall auctoritie because otherwise you sawe that schismes coulde not possibly be kepte oute of particuler churches so shall I trust the same before yow and I haue ended force you to acknowledge a chiefe prelate ouer the whole and vniuersall churche for the appeasing of schismes therein In this pointe because the verye necessitie of one heade to gouerne Christes churche dothe specially consist I shall desire the learned reader to vse good circumspection and with aduised deliberation to waye with him selfe the reasons brought on bothe sides I obiect therefore to M. Nowell that for the appeasing of schismes and restoring the church being troubled to quietnes it is necessary that there be one chiefe heade He maketh me answere as you heard before that the seuerall chiefe prelates of euery prouince are aswell able An absurde doctrine that schismes may as wel be appeased by manie heades as by one to take ordre therfore as the seuerall gouernours of euery countrie for their seuerall charges The absurditie of this answere shall appeare by a demonstration There is nowe a controuersie in their newe churche of Englande about no small matter but concerning the reall presence of Christes blessed bodie in the sacrament M. Gest preaching at Rochester for the reall presence M. Grindall at London for the contrary Shall these two prelates be tried by M. D. Parkar of Cauntorbury suspected to be a Lutheran Although that I thinke M. Nowel would be lothe to graunte being him selfe a Caluinist yeat if he did and the matter were thoroughly decided on the one side might not the like schisme arise in the prouince of Yorke and bachiler Yong there calling his brethern together determine the cōtrouersy on the other side If this shoulde happen as it easely might in this equalitie of power betwene these two in these seuerall prouinces how should the schisme be appeased They wolde perhappes procure a parliament to be called that by auctoritie thereof the matter might be determined Were the bishoppes that coulde not agree before like the sooner to forsake their cōtentiouse mindes by this meanes Or should the matter be put only to the debating of the laitie Or howe euer it were the matter being brought thither and then the ordre of the house being suche that it must passe as wel through the lower house as the higher might not the house be equally diuided or the thinge brought to so narowe a pointe that the conclusion of this weightie controuersie might depende vpon the mouthe of some simple burgoise and meane artificer who might easely by lacke of iudgement choose the worse part Or if they all agreed vpon the truthe might not the like controuersie arise in Fraunce Germanie Spaine or in some other countrie and euery one determine either in this article or any lyke contrary to the other If they did as by the confesion of Augspurg and their communion boke allowed by the parliament of Englande the one so muche disagreing with the other it appeareth they doe shoulde not the churche in this case be
miserably shaken notwithstāding the labour of the chiefe prelates of euery prouince Now to come to princes and tēporall gouernours if they haue as many seueral or contrary lawes as their be seuerall countries or nations cōcerning the keping of their people in ciuile ordre and peace what breache off vnitie What hurte What disordre in the worlde will folowe hereof I praye you So that to haue made this reason of youres probable you shoulde thus haue reasoned As in the whole worlde there is no disordre because seuerall princes haue seuerall and contrary lawes so in the churche will there be also none if diuerse bishoppes teache diuerse and contrary faithes But as no man is so blinde but he seeth the falsehode of this comparison so is no man I truste so voide of wit but that he seeth this to be as true as that which you made before Thus by reason we finde that schismes can not be appeased without one heade in the churche to whome the greater causes ought to be referred whome the rest ought to credite and obeye To the which heade because he is by Christes owne mouthe so priuileaged in Peters faithe that as he neuer yeat deliuered to the churche any erroniouse doctrine to be beleued but hathe allwaies continued the faith receiued from the Apostles so are we suer that he neuer shall we ought and maye in matters of faithe giue full and assured credite As by S. Austen we be counceled who to this purpose bringeth this saing of the ghospell Quae dicunt Epist 165 Matth. 23. facite c. Doe what they bidde you doe and addeth for the reason that in so doing oure faithe being moste certaine as being grounded not vpon man but vpon goddes promise can neuer be scattred by the tempest of anie schisme This being most true we maie boldely conclude that this state of Monarchie that is of gouerning the churche by one heade as it is moste necessarie so because we are suer that this one heade can not giue wrong iudgement in matters of faithe it is of all other for the churche the moste conuenient as being the verie best For in this pointe doe all men agree euen the moste aduersaries to this state that if one Monarche were suer allwaies to gouerne well that then that state off gouernement were to be preferred before all other To all this that hathe bene saide maye be added that iff you will nedes haue the seuerall diocesses and churches off euerie bishoprike to be like seueral kingdomes then as there is no only kingdome in earthe so by you it shoulde folowe that there is no one only churche in earthe Or if it may be enough for the church in earthe to be one body because Christe in heauen is the one heade thereof why maie not then the kingdomes of the earthe be in earthe one because Christe in heauen is the king of them also This being not I thinke vnknowen vnto you howe vneuen this comparison of youres was made yow will nowe leauing youre reason trie the matter by auctoritie S. Cyprian yow saie dothe most plainely teache that Nowell fo 32. a. 30 it is right and reason that seuerall bishoppes haue the gouernement of seuerall diocesses euen for the same cause for the which I yow saye doe vntruly alleage the necessitie of one heade To the place of S. Cyprian beginning Cum statutum sit Dorman Lib. 1. Epist 3. omnibus nobis c. I answere that it is right and reason that seuerall bishoppes haue the gouernement of seuerall diocesses and that to appease schismes and correcte vices as often as these thinges maie be in suche seueral diocesses commodiously done But that this maie be allwaies perfourmed in particuler bishoprikes and that if it can not recourse maie not be had to higher power that yow shoulde haue proued and that S. Cyprian hathe not Therefore this place maketh not against the auctoritie of one heade But you force it further and saie S. Cyprian affirmeth all suche appellations from a bishop off Nowell one countrie to a bishop of an other countrey to be vnlaufull for that that all bishoppes of all countreys be of like auctoritie and that none but naughtie and desperate men doe thinke the auctoritie of some bishoppes to be inferiour to the auctoritie of other S Cyprian affirmeth not here that all appellations from Dorman one bishop to an other be vnlaufull He saieth that it is reason and hathe bene ordeined emongest them that the subiectes of euery bishop haue their causes hearde there where the faulte was committed And maye not the B. of Rome doe this by sending his legates in all such cases of appeale to the places where the offences were committed there to examine the processe to receiue witnes to determine the matter Beside this if S. Cyprian had in this place vttrely forbidden all maner of appeales to Rome yeat by the phrase of his wordes it appeareth that it was decreed emongest them by a locall statute of their owne for the better maintenaunce of brothrely concorde Which as it extēded no fardre then to that place so if anie of them that once agreed to that ordre refuse at anie time to obey it although it ought to be a barre to him that once gaue his consent to the cōtrary yeat is it none to the pope why he maie not procede in the cause who neuer renounced his right if it be appealed to him The like to this is to be seene in the colleages of oure vniuersities where the founders in most places haue ordeined by their statutes that the membres of such colleages for the better reteining and vpholding of quiet and brotherly agrement emongest them shall propose suche quarelles and contentions as happen emongest them to the seuerall heades of suche colleages This ordre thus taken right and reason woulde haue kepte but if some frowarde body not contented with this will complaine furder to the chauncelor of the vniuersitie or chiefe patron of his colleage he may at their handes haue iustice That this was the case that S. Cyprian speaketh of manie thinges may persuade First that he saieth Cùm statutū sit omnibus nobis wheras an ordre is taken emōgest vs all he giueth vs two thinges to vnderstande that whereas they toke suche an ordre emōgest S. Cyprians place expoundyd thē it was not ordinarily so before but accustomed rather to be otherwise or elles what neded a statute to be made to for bid a thing neuer any otherwise practised Nexte that it was but for thē only for he saieth omnibus nobis emōgest all vs. So that in other places he denieth not yea by these words he cōfesseth rather that it was otherwise And therfore you haue done lewdly and made alowde lie M. Nowel to gather of this place this generall propositiō that all appellations from the bishop of one countrie to the bishop of an other be vnlaufull Whereas this ordre being taken
only in Afrike by common Cypr. lib. 1. epist. 4. consent of the Africans was not in Spaine as appeareth by the appealing from thence of Basilides to Rome Which if it had bene vnlaufull neuer woulde S. Cyprian we may be suer haue made other exception why the sentence giuen by Stephanus the pope for his restitution shoulde not be good then this because it was giuen by him that was no iudge at all of all other the best and moste peremptory neuer would he haue obiected that it was obteined by false suggestion and wrong information which argueth the goodnes and validitie of the appellation of it selfe But what speake I of Spaine when S. Cyprian his owne labouring Li. 1. ep 3. at Rome with the pope by lettres by legates by all meanes possible that this vniust appeale might not be receaued when his counting to saile after them to conuince their lieng tongues by vndoubted and assured proufe of the truthe ought sufficiently to make faithe that seing the pope had neuer confirmed this locall statute of theirs and therby not renounced his right seing his subiectes against the ordre taken had appealed to Rome he must also nedes answere the appeale for the vnlaufulnes wherof on their partes that folowed it he alleageth here their own consent in these words omnibus nobis agreed by al vs to moue therby the rather the B. of Rome not to receiue their appeale but to remit the cause home againe Whereas you saie that S. Cyprian hathe that none but naughty and desperate men doe thinke the auctoritie of some bisshoppes to be inferiour to the auctoritie of other surely yow go about bothe to proue youre selfe S. Cyprian S. Austen and all the learned fathers of Christes church naughty and desperate men You condemne in like maner the auncient generall councelles and continuall practise of the catholike churche For who is so ignorant that he knoweth not that the bookes of the learned fathers the canōs of the auncient councells the vsage of Christes churche haue so religiously alwaies obserued this difference of bishoppes that the verie names of patriarkes primates Archebishoppes reteined allwaies and vsed in the churches are able to conuince him to be an impudent lier that shall susteine the contrary Youre selfe confesse that there be chiefe prelates in euery prouince If chiefe Ergo inferious You call him a naughty and desperate man that thinketh the auctoritie of some bishoppes to be inferiour to the auctoritie of other Yow saye the same youre selfe by graunting that there be chiefe prelates Hauing sought all the meanes that my pore witte can inuent to exempt yow from this companie of naughty and desperate men I finde no other then this that perhappes you only saye it for a shift and thinke it not in deede But if you were to be accounted naught and desperate for this yeat had you in this respecte cause to reioyce that yow were like to haue the companie of S. Austen who telleth Bonifacius the pope that in the Lib. 2. de baptism contra Donat. cap. 1. gouernement of the church he was not onely aboue him but aboue all other bishopps although the office be common to all in sitting in the highest top of the pastor all watche tower who saieth comparing together S. Petre and S. Cyprian Sed si distet cathedrarum gratia vna est tamen martyrum gloria But although betwene the grace of their seates there be difference yeat the glory of martyrdome is all one And againe comparing Innocentius the pope with Irinaeus Ciprian Hilary he hath Cum his Innocentius Romanus Pontifex consedit etsi posterior tempore prior loco With these sate Innocentius the bishop of Rome although behinde them Lib. 1. cōtra Iulian. c. 2. in time yeat before them in place Yea to comfort you the more I dare promise yow the companie of S. Cyprian him selfe For if he had not bene of the minde that some bishoppes are inferiour to other in iurisdiction althoughe not in the substance or nature of bishoply ordre woulde he haue exhorted yea and required the B. of Rome to write lettres in to Fraunce to direct them to the prouince and people of Arles wherby they shoulde depose Martianus the B. there Lib. 3. epi. stol 3. With what face could he haue done this had he thought that the auctoritie of one bishop were no greater then that of an other But here you will vrge me that it is not enough to shewe by probable coniectures that in these wordes Saint Cyprian had no suche meaning vnlesse I showe withal what was his meaning Yes verily M. Nowell it were enough for me to proue that the sense which you giue to these wordes of his coulde not be true but for their sakes who desire to knowe not onely what is false but what is all so true I will open that pointe to This is therefore by this epistle of S. Cyprian moste euident that these naughty men who complained vpon S. Ciprian at Rome went first before they toke their iourney to Rome in to Numidia and there ioyned them selues to certeine hereticall bisshoppes of whome Fortunatus was made a bishop and so by reason that none were made bishoppes that stode excōmunicate it must nedes be that he was by them first absolued These hereticall bishoppes of Numidia these wicked subiectes of his owne who demaunded helpe and complained where they ought not he calleth by the name of a fewe lost and desperate men who had attempted and done so manie thinges to the derogation of the auctoritie of their owne primate and submitted them selues to the vnlaufull auctoritie of heretical and schismaticall bishoppes quasi minor videatur esse authoritas episcoporum in Africa constitutorum As though the auctoritie seme to be lesse of the African bishoppes then of those of Numidia we must supplye who toke vpon them to defende and mainteine Fortunatus and his felowes condemned in Africa before By which is ment Africa the lesser wherein Carthage stoode from which Numidia was a distincte prouince whereas yow M. Nowell take Africa for the whole as it is counted the thirde parte of the worlde pretending as thoughe no one bishop of the other two partes of the worlde had more auctoritie then the bishoppes of Africa Excepte this be the meaning of the place you can not excuse S. Cyprian of being contrary to him selfe as by the auctoritie acknowledged by him in the pope in Fraunce in Spaine in Carthage as you haue hearde as by the calling in this verye epistle the churche of Rome the mother churche and roote of the catholike churche it dothe manifestly appeare Whiche of so graue an auctor is not to be thought To conclude therefore S. Cyprian dothe not here forbid all appellations from a bishop of one countrie to the B. of an other He saieth not that all bishoppes be of like auctoritie that none but naughtie and desperate men doe thinke the auctoritie of some bishoppes to
be inferiour to other Laste off all there is no worde tending to this sense that schismes maye be allwayes whiche yow must proue to deface the necessitie off one heade ouer all appeased by the seuerall bishoppes of seuerall diocesses therefore you haue made fower lyes vpon S. Cyprian A clustre of lyes 27 You repeate againe as that is a greate figure with you Nowell fol. 33. a. 6. that which yow saide before that it is impossible that there shoulde be one generall heade in earthe ouer the vniuersall churche or that suche a heade can ouersee his charge and kepe all churches from schismes and troubles and pacifie them when they are risen This as a thing tried by the state of the worlde at this daie and euer sith the first beginning thereof you will leaue to the reasonable reader to determine betwixt vs. As for the impossibilitie I answered before and saie againe Dorman fol. 50. b. that how euer it seme impossible the weake nature off maÌ„ coÌ„sidered yeat suer we are that he that appointed that ordre God him selfe is so able to multiplye grace in his ministre and to prouide him of suche helpe by the meanes of other inferiour ministres gouerning their seuerall charges vnder him that it shall not only not be impossible but easy enough Whether this one heade be hable to kepe the churche from schismes and pacifie them when they are risen better then many heades let the indifferent reader on Goddes name take the late table of Staphilus and after he hathe vpon the viewe thereof ioyned the fruiteful encrease of heresies in oure daies to the quiet agrement in faithe wherein we liued vndre the obedience of one heade lett him iudge whether he thinke more necessary for either the auoiding of schismes or suppressing of them when they be raised Which offer of youres to betried by the state off the worlde at this daye argueth to the worlde that yow haue neither wit in youre nowle nor shame in youre foreheade That the place taken out of S. Cyprian lib. 1. epist 3. proueth that for the which it was brought that is that there ought to be one generall chiefe heade ouer Christes vniuersall Churche The 12. chapitre I promised to bring the iudgement of certaine notable Nowell fo 33. a. 29 men to proue the necessitie of one heade lest anie man shoulde thinke me to be the auctor of that assertion Yow saie it was the inuention of ambitiouse popes I thinke other men haue bene ambitiouse aswell as the Dorman popes of Rome Yeat neuer was there hetherto any king or emperour muche lesse bishop or spirituall man able so manie hundred yeares to mainteine a superioritie by ambition only without all good title Neither was the diuell able to plant a succession of so many and so notable martirs confessours learned and vertuouse men as haue bene in the See of Rome to deceiue the worlde by the instrumentes of Christe It is Christe M. Nowell who hathe so by his auctoritie disposed the ordre of his churche that if you Lib. de vnit eccl will beleue S. Cyprian to make the same one he hath appointed one heade thereof in earthe as many riuers haue one spring many braunches one roote c. Which neded not by youre high diuinitie seing that it hath Christe the heade thereof in heauen in which respecte it might be one But nowe to the place of S. Cyprian here by me alleaged seing thus muche maye serue to proue you to haue made a saunderousâ—e lye Yow saie that this place of S. Cyprian here alleaged by me Nowell fol. 33. b. is not spoken of the pope Neither dothe it skill whether it be spoken of the pope Dorman or no. And yeat in this pointe yow spende a greate many of idle and superfluouse wordes For I am not as yeat come to proue the pope to be supreame heade of Christes churche but am only in the prouing hereof that it is necessarie that there be one suche heade If you woulde nedes comptrolle the alleaging of this place you shoulde showe that S. Cyprian speaketh not at all of anie necessitie to haue anye one heade or iudge in the stede of Christe obeied in earthe neither in particuler churches neither yeat ouer the vniuersal churche For so long as you coÌ„clude not thus it will euer Note folowe that if one prieste must be obeied in his owne diocesse for the auoiding and appeasing of heresies and schismes that by muche more greater reason must one prieste aboue all priestes be obeied in the stede of Christe to appease heresies and schismes in the vniuersall churche of God I had thought M. Nowell that you had knowen the proportion that is betwene the parte and the whole the lesse and the greater in the same kinde If one villaige can not consist without a heade muche lesse can one citie and yeat lesse can one shiere and lest of all can a prouince or whole kingdome Nowe when we speake of the churche one diocesse is in respecte of the whole churche as one villaige towne or shiere is in respecte of a whole prouince or kingdome As therfore it is not sufficient for the quiet gouerning of a prouince or kingdome that euery village and citie within the same haue a seuerall heade to ouersee the inhabitantes of suche villaiges or cities without there be beside one generall heade to ouersee all those inferiour heades Euen so the seuerall gouernours in particuler diocesses exclude not but inferre by a stronger reason the necessitie of one heade ouer all other heades in Christes being heade of the Churche excludeth not the ministerie of man the whole churche Which reason you can not shift awaie by saing that Christe is that only heade for so it maie be truly replied to you he is of all the particuler churches in the worlde toe And yeat this not withstanding as there woulde heresies and schismes rise in particuler churches if to vse S. Ciprians wordes there were not one prieste and iudge obeied in the same in the steede of Christe and for this cause one suche in euery diocesse supplieth the roome of Christe not visibly present in earthe so is not Christes being heade ouer the vniuersall churche any more let why there shoulde be a visible heade in his steede of the whole churche which is but one Especially seing the bishoppes maye as easely and are muche more likely to styrre vp schismes in the whole churche as are the particuler membres of euery particuler diocesse as the examples of youre first 600. yeares in which there was neuer yeat anie notable heresye that was not by bishoppes either begonne or mainteined sufficiently beare witnes Which chaunce happening seing that meanes must be sought to appease it aswell as the schismes of particuler churches and yeat Christe no more visibly present to be consulted in this case then he is in the other what remaineth to thinke but that he hath supplied
the lacke of his visible presence by appointing as in well one in his steede to the behooffe of the whole churche as of particuler churches For this one heade lest any man might cauill that he might erre and drawe all after Lucae 22. him Christ him selfe prayed saieng in the gospell to Peter whome he left in his place to be that heade I haue praied for the that thy faithe maye not faile We may not doubte therfore but that he obteined his petition We haue no cause to doubte considering that hetherto all other apostolicall seates and moste famouse churches of the worlde as Antioche Alexandria Hierusalem Constantinople hauing perniciously erred in the faithe and being quite ouerthrowen this onley seate of the chiefe heade of Christes churche the churche of Rome I meane against so manie wicked Emperours openly assaulting it so many De vtilit credendi ad Hoaorat Cap. 17. subtile heretikes craftily vndermining it and barcking rounde about it as S. Austen saieth so manie meanes inuented to bring it to defende euill and perniciouse doctrine hathe in all these difficulties continued allwaies and by goddes grace euer shall continue pure and vnspotted Beside this to stoppe all youre starting holes at once nowe for hereafter yow can not saye that by this reason of mine whereby I go about vpon the necessitie of one heade in euerie diocesse to proue the like ouer the whole churche it shoulde folowe aswell that there ought to be ouer all the kingdomes of the worlde one chiefe king or emperour because as I saide once before all the kingdomes in the worlde meete not together by goddes ordinaunce in one kingdome as all the churches doe in one churche Which if they did off necessitie they shoulde being one bodye haue one heade And therfore in this case I Lib. de vnitate eccles Cap. 12 maie saye with S. Austen Nèque enim quia in orbem terarrum plerunque regna diuiduntur ideo Christiana vnitas diuiditur Neither because kingdomes for the moste parte be diuided through the worlde therefore is Christian vnitie diuided also And yeat this is the thing that M. Nowell laboureth to bring to passe that because there be many kingdomes and consequently many kinges there shoulde be many churches and so many rulers of the churche or goddes apointment of gouerning the worlde by many kinges made frustrate and so no mo kingdomes then there be churches Thus I haue showed yow M. Nowell howe this place of S. Cyprian maketh for my purpose referring those wordes Neque vnus in ecclesia ad tempus sacerdos ad tempus iudex c. Neither that there is one prieste and one iudge acknowledged in the churche in the steede of Christe for the time to the proufe of the necessitie of one heade ouer the whole churche by an ineuitable consequent taken from S. Cyprians wordes not as directly ment of the pope as you laboure to make men beleue spending manie wordes here in vaine to proue that these wordes shoulde be spoken of S. Cyprian him selfe To all the which long processe of youres I will then make answere when I shall vse the place to suche purpose as you imagine I doe Although this I will aduertise you of by the way that the case is not altogether so clere as you take it to be that this place of S. Cyprian is only to be taken as spoken of him selfe and not of Cornelius as to him that shall considre that no particuler bishop is able to staye schismes so conueniently whereas the bishoppes of diuerse prouinces be of equall auctoritie as that one bishop that hathe auctoritie ouer the whole nombre of bishoppes it can not but be manifest And yeat maie euerie man see in this place that the one bishopp of whome S. Cyprian speaketh should be suche as being obeied there shoulde be no schismes in Christes church Which can be vnderstande of no one particuler bishop but of some such one as because his auctoritie is vniuersal it will folowe that the obeing of him shall procure to the whole churche to the colleage of priestes quietnes and vnitie Againe when S. Cyprian handling of purpose this argument of the vnitie off the church telleth vs how the the diuel haleth men to heresies and schismes because they go not to the beginning of the truthe seeke not out the heade obserue not the heauenly maisters teaching and addeth immediatly that our lorde saide to Peter Thow arte Peter c. as though he woulde teache * Not as M. Iuell iuglgeth with this place in 3. his printed sermoÌ„ vs therby Matth. 18. to come to the beginning of the truthe to finde out the heade to kepe the teaching of Christ that he disposed by his auctoritie that vnitie shoulde begin of one Last of all that he holdeth not the faithe that holdeth not the vnitie of this churche that began of Petre ought not these wordes vttred to teache vs to auoide schismes be a rule to directe vs to S. Cyprians meaning in this place where he saieth that heresies and schismes rise because one iudge in the church in the stede of Christe is not obeied But leauing the defence of this interpretation to those that haue so alleaged and vnderstode the place who are able it is not to be doubted to giue good reason of their doinges I will procede to that which foloweth Concerning the Apologie wherewith I founde faulte for saing that Christe in the gouernement of his churche â—ol 38. b. 7 vseth not the ministerye off anye one generall heade c which you labour here to defende I saie that it hathe not onely committed this faulte in denieng this maner off gouernement in Christes churche the contrarie whereof S. Cyprians wordes by a necessary consequent importe but is blasphemouse also against Christe whose ordonaunce it is to haue one heade to gouerne in his steade the churche by affirming so peremptorily that it is not possible for anye man alone to be hable to susteine that office To the which two if I shoulde adde this beside that it was moste foolishely vttred first of the Apologie and nowe moste impudently defended by yow it might perhappes moue Not impossible for one man alone to gouerne the churche vnder Christe youre cholere a litle but yeat M. Nowell it is true For what man that had but a cromme of witt in his heade woulde call that a thing impossible to be done which him selfe for the space of 900. yeares can not denie to haue bene done Denye if you can that thus manie yeares the whole worlde hathe not in spirituall matters obeyed one heade the B. of Rome I presse you not nowe with the first six hundred yeares before in the which the ecclesiasticall histories and writinges of the fathers make moste euident mention that this auctoritie of one generall heade was thorough out the whole worlde acknowledged of all men To this one heade appellations were made from all partes of
to a very Exigent and to extreme desperation when to excuse the secretenesse of their congregation their hidden and vnknowen churche they wrappe them selues like crafty wolues for feare of being betraied in the fine fleeses and soft wooll of the name of Christe and his Apostles As though after so manie hundred yeares that Christes faithe hath floorished thorough out all the worlde it were nowe newe to begin againe Considre whether they ought not to be ashamed if shame there were anie in them to saie that the churche was in Christes time and his apostles secrete and vnknoweÌ„ seing that to them that shall reade the Actes Act. 2. 4 alibi of the Apostles it can not be vnknowen howe mightely the churche encreased euen in their tyme Seing that the Apostle S. Paule witnesseth the contrary in saing that the Rom. 1. faithe off the Romaines Christes true faithe was preached euen then in the vniuersall worlde It is therefore a A sclaunderouse and blasphemouse lye 28. moste sclaunderouse and blasphemouse lye to saye that Christes churche was at anye tyme after the comming downe of the holie ghost secrete or vnknowen It is a lye to saie that it was so hidden that who so euer woulde at anie time haue ioyned him selfe thereto might not haue knowen it But this is an olde shift off the Donatistes who when they coulde finde none off their religion but only in Africa were driueÌ„ to say that there the church was only as you must say it was 50. yeares agoe in Germanie or elles no where Of whom as S. AusteÌ„ said then so will I saie of you now O impudenteÌ„ voceÌ„ c. O impudeÌ„t voice is there no church because thow arte not in it See to thy selfe lest thow be not in it In psalm 101. therefore For the churche shal be allthough thow be not This abhominable this detestable voice of presumption and falshoode boulstred with no truthe lightened with no wisdome seasoned with no discretion vaine rashe hedlong perniciouse did the spirite of God forsee and spake euen as it were against them when he preached vnitie In gathering the people and kingdomes together to ser us Psalmus 101. oure lorde Where is now I praie you youre churche spred thorough all nations Where was there anie signe thereof in all the worlde the yeare before that Martin Luther begaÌ„ to preach his gospel When I call youre coÌ„gregation scattered and vnknoweÌ„ I haue relatioÌ„ to that time in which you first shewed your selues to the world For that you now brag that the pope and his haue both more knowledge and feling also of your coÌ„gration theÌ„ liking that is coÌ„mon to you seing you will nedes holde in coÌ„mon with the ArriaÌ„s Whose heresies were as famouse in the world as yours are and yeat coulde neuer by time so grow in credite God be praised therfore that their first beginning bewrayed them not to the worlde as youres doth you Might you not be ashamed M. Nowell if there were anie shame in you to goe about to persuade meÌ„ that Christes churche after fiftene hundred yeares shoulde be now in her enfancy yea within these fifty yeares not borne at all Ihon Caluin youre late maister in a litle treatise that he made against Michael Seruetus whome for his heresies he put to deathe in Geneua disputeth thus against him Ecclesiam fingit ab annis mille ducentis sexaginta fugatam Caluins opinion of the churche a mundo fuisse vt coelum illi exilium fuerit Nos certé é splendidis aedibus eiectam fuisse fatemur sed it a vt electas a se reliquias admirablili gratia seruauerit dominus Alioqui mentitus foret qui semper aliquem sibi populum in terra fore promisit quaÌ„diu Sol Luna in coelo fulgebunt Scimus quid passim de aeterno Christi regno testentur prophetae An eius sedem in coelis locant Imò fore praedicunt vt sceptrum eius é Sion procul dominus ostendat quo dominetur ab ortu vsque ad oâ—casum eius haereditas sit terraruÌ„ orbis Nunc ergo populo eum priuare qui nomeÌ„ eius celebret est ac si abscissa eius parte ipsum in coelo multilum includere tentemus Seruetus saieth Caluin feineth the churche these 12. hundred and thre score yeares to haue bene chased oute of the world so that it must be in banishement in heauen We trulie confesse that she hath bene cast out of glittring and shining palaces but yeat so that the lorde hathe preserued his chosen remenaÌ„tes by his merueilouse grace Otherwise he shoulde haue lyed who euer promised to him selfe some people in the earthe so long as the sonne and mone shoulde shine in the firmament We knowe what the prophetes doe in euerie place witnesse of the aeternal kingdom of Christe Doe they place his throne in heauen Yea trulie they prophecy that it shoulde come to passe that the lorde shoulde showe a far of his sceptre out of Sion with the which he shall rule froÌ„ the easte vnto the west and his enheritaunce shall be the whole worlde Now therefore to depriue him of his people which shoulde glorifie his name it is euen as though cutting of a parte of him we woulde assaie to include him mangled in heauen Thus farre Caluin touching the church And therfore you may not blame me M. Nowell if I reason as youre maister dothe nor maie not thinke your selfe well excused if after fiftie yeares you shewe a fewe remenantes of youre church which at the beginning thereof 51. yeares ago coulde not shewe in all the worlde one man that might be as a stone thereof so secrete so scattred so hidden and vnknowen was it Yow are not headlesse you saye yow haue Christe in heauen and youre prince vnder him c. you haue the rules and groundes Nowell fol. 39. b. 3 of goddes worde You are not headlesse if so manie bishoppes as you haue so manie heads you be vnder But you ioyne in no one head Dorman in earthe for which cause onelie I call you headlesse Your prince in earthe for now youre minde is changed and being past the places of S. Cyprian which made so muche for the auctoritie of priestes and bishoppes yow crie that the prince is youre heade can not make you haue a heade in earthe in so muche as youre whole congregation whereof I trowe yow will confesse youre selues in Englande to be membres is not vnder any one prince â–ª Yow haue not the rules and groundes of goddes worde to staye vpon forasmoche as you reiect the certeine meanes and waies to vnderstande goddes word by And therfore you knowe not whither to goe nor whereupon to rest That S. Hierom was of the minde that there ought to be one chiefe bishop in Christes churche Dialog aduersus Lucifer The 13. Chapter Yow graunt M. Nowell that saint Cyprian and saint Hierome fol. 30. b. 23. fol.
40. a. 1. were bothe of one minde Therefore saie I they bothe proue the necessitie of one heade Neither care I whether S. Hierome speake in this dialogue of the B. of Rome by name or no. It suffiseth to proue my entent that as by youre owne confession S. Cypriah is of the minde that in euerye diocesse there must be one prieste and iudge in the stede of Christe whome all the rest must obeye so S. Hierome also is of the same The which being once graunted it foloweth verie well that seing for one litle diocesse a heade ouer so meane men as parishe priestes be is precisely necessarie muche more is a heade in earthe ouer all the bishoppes which haue euerie one of them so greate power ouer their owne flocke lest theye abuse the same of greter and more forcible necessitie And therefore you take greate paines to no purpose to proue that S. Hierome speaketh not of the B. of Rome but of euery other bishop the which thinge I woulde hier you to proue for me For whereas if he had spoken of the B. of Rome by name it had bene a reason grounded vpon the auctoritie of S. Hierome alone now being spoken of euerie bishop it confirmeth by reconing the necessitie of one heade particulerly in euerye diocesse the greate necessitie of the same one heade in the whole bodie of the churche by naturall reason also which proueth my purpose better then any priuate mānes auctoritie can doe If cancred malice and desire to be reuenged had not caried yow so far and fast awaye that it gaue you no leisor to loke backe to the title of the argument that is here handled youre selfe woulde sone haue perceiued howe litle it were necessarie to haue in this place anie speciall mention made of the B. of Rome Which if yow had once marcked then woulde you neuer haue gathered so foolilishely and vnlearnedly out of the argument of the dialogue fol. 40. a. 6 writen by Erasmus Liber est c. The booke is very worthye to be reade as the whiche doth conceine manie ▪ wholesom preceptes M. Nowell a weake reasoner concerning the life of bishoppes that there was nothing in the same dialogue not asmuche as one worde that is special to the B. of Rome onelye For all thoughe there be no one worde there speciall to the B. of Rome as it is not necessary that there be how shoulde yeat this auctoritie presse him that woulde maintaine the contrary and saye to you what M. Nowell I thinke your wittes faile you Maye there not be some one worde speciall to the B. of Rome in that dialogue because it conteineth manie wholesome preceptes concerning the life of bishoppes Is not the B of Rome a bishop Muche like or more foolishe then this are youre other notes gathered here and there out of this dialogue to proue that which you saie of euerye bishoppes auctoritie and to reproue my wresting as you terme it of this place to the auctority of one bishop ouer the whole church For who sence reason was first poured in to mannes heade harde euer of one that occupieth the place of a wise man a more folishe or brainesicke kinde of reasoning then is this S. Hierome speaketh in diuerse places of this dialogue of manye bishoppes because the question was whether bishoppes returning from their heresies shoulde be vnbishopped or no before they were reconciled Ergo He meant not in the place alleaged that there shoulder be one chiefe bisshoppe in the churche This semed to your self to be farre from the marke I doubte not when you promise to come nearer to the place by fol. 40. b. 22. fol. 41. b. me alleaged And therefore you bring in certeine sentences going next before to proue that which I denie not that S. Hierome speaketh of euery bishop in his owne diocesse And thereupon you conclude And therefore this whole matter is altogether impertinent to Nowell fol. 42. b. 9 D. Harding and M. Dormans purpose of one onelye heade ouer the whole churche Vnlesse M. Dorman woulde frame vs thereof this lewde argument S. Hierome saieth that euery bishop ought to haue auctoritie aboue all other priestes of his owne diocesse Ergo the B. of Rome ought to haue a preeminence peerelesse aboue all bishoppes of all diocesses and ouer the whole church thorough out the whole worlde No M. Nowell I will not reason so in this place because Dorman the argument whiche I handle forceth me not so to doe But if I had so reasoned or woulde so reason as yow thinke no man being awake wil yeat am I he that euē in my slepe M. Nowell were able to defende that argument againste yow staring with bothe youre eyes wide open vpon me And that youre selfe perceiued well inough and therefore like a tendre harted mā as lothe to breake my sweete slepe you stolle from it as softlye as you might For this being I praye you first graunted that euery bishop ought to haue auctoritie aboue all other priestes of his owne diocesse and the reason being as S. Hierome hathe here and you in making the argument guilefully left out for the auoiding of schismes I woulde infer for the minor or seconde proposition but the same reason for the auoiding of schismes dothe no lesse yea more enforce that one haue perelesse auctoritie ouer the bishops and priestes of the whole world Ergo there must be one suche heade and that by a consequent the B. of Rome who hathe euer so bene reputed and taken except you by youre deanely auctoritie haue power to appoint some other But I brought not S. Hieromes auctoritie VVhy S. Hierome was first alleaged M. Nowell to conclude so particulerly or to force it to the B. of Romes supremacy but only to proue the necessitie of one generall heade ouer Christes vniuersal churche the which no reasonable man can denie but that most effectually it dooth So that nowe youre greate musing at any man that shall to this sense alleage this place of S. Hierome maye appeare rather to procede off some dumpish melancolike vapours occupieng youre fonde and idle heade or lacke of other matter to thinke vpon then vpon any iust cause or good grounde and that also yow haue vntruly saide of me that I haue wrested this place In answering the place of S. Hierom to Euagrius you saie Nowell fo 4◠b. 18 first that he sheweth that praesbiter and episcopus a prieste and a bishop be all one by the first institution and by the lawe of God If it had pleased yow so to haue taken S. Hierome he Dorman might haue ment that the name of a prieste and the name of a bishop was all one in the vse of speche in the holie scriptures and in the sacrament of ordres but not in dignitie preeminence and auctoritie For a bishop is preferred before a prieste in iurisdiction allthough their names were once confounded Neither are all those thinges
that Christ gaue power of losing and binding to al indifferently and that therfore Peter had no more premineÌ„ce then the rest is a naughty and vntrue reason as appeareth by these wordes of S. Hierome tamen etcae yeat one is chosen etc. Thirdly I gather that seing the apostles were bishoppes this Maxime of youres is cleane ouerthrowen that all bishoppes be equall and that no one hathe anie other ouer him seing the Apostles being bishoppes had Peter to be their heade Fourthly I note that this confession was wroong as it were by violence from S. Hierome by the force of his aduersarie his reason Which being that priestes might marie seing Peter the heade of the Apostles was maried it had bene for S. Hierome his vantage to haue denyed that he was heade of them to haue sayde as yow doe that they were all equall and no one aboue the other And so woulde he we maie be suer being so vehement and learned an aduersary as he was if it had not bene so manifest a truthe that it coulde be no more denied then that Peter was maried His qualifieng of the place here that the churche was in an other place builded vpon all maie giue vs to vnderstande what he woulde quickly haue done if Christe had not for all that specially made Peter the heade By this appeareth the corrupt iudgement of Erasmus who in his notes vpon the epistle Ad Marcellam where S. Hierome hath againe that the churche was builded Tom. 2. ad Marcellam adueâ—sus Montanum vpon Peter giueth this iudgement Hoc detorquet in commendationem Petri. This he wresteth to the commendation of Peter Last of all it is to be noted that in S. Hieromes time it was acknowledged euen by heretikes that Christe appointed this ordre of one heade as appeareth by this that Iouinian grounded him selfe thereupon in reasoning against S. Hierome for the maintenaunce of his heresie Vpon the which last note some other maie happely note that yow and youre companions are more shamelesse heretikes then were Iouinian and his To this place of S. Hierome I will adde one other to shewe that yow abuse his auctoritie to muche in labouring to founde vpon him this vntrue proposition of youres that not by goddes lawe but by mannes this ordre of one heade in Christes Churche shoulde be established The wordes off S. Hierome alluding to the house mentioned in the ghospell where Christe eate his passeouer are these Dominus domus Petrus apostolus est cui dominus domum suam In cap. 14. Marci credidit VTSVBVNO PASTORE SIT VNA FIDES The maister of the house is Peter the Apostle to whome One head shepherde that the faithe maye be one oure Lorde committed his house that vnder one shepheard the faithe maye be one Doe yow not see M. Nowell the necessitie of one heade that vnder one shepherd the faithe maye be one Heare yow not that it is not mannes deuise that it be so but Christes owne ordinaunce Haue you not with all S. Hierome expounding as it were the wordes of S. Cyprian tamen vt vnitatem manifestaret vnitatis eiusdem originem Lib. de vnitat ecclesiae ab vno incipientem sua auctoritate disposuit yeat to make vnitie manifest he Christe disposed by his auctoritie the beginning of this vnitie to procede from one by these wordes of his That vnder one shepherde there maye be one faithe By this it appeareth that S. Hierome is not of that minde that yow woulde haue him to be that is that this ordre of hauing one heade in the churche shoulde be off mannes ordinaunce not of Christes institution But here yow will aske me how I can then reconcile him and make him agree with him selfe who in this place hath that one Quòd vnus postea electus est S. Hierom expounded by him selfe was afterwarde chosen to rule the rest If after saye yow then not vpon goddes lawe Yes I reconcile him after this sorte M. Nowell If yow vnderstande this place to be of the Apostles then he expoundeth him selfe in the place that you harde before where allthough he confesse that in one place Christe builded the churche equally vpon all his Apostles which was done streight after his resurrection Ioan. 20. yeat in an other he graunteth that the good maister for so he calleth Christe there builded it vpon Peter a little before his ascension into heauen whome he appointed Ioan. vlt. to be the heade of the rest So that the worde here Postea afterwardes hath relation to that ordinarie prerogatiue of S. Peter giuen to him at Christes assension at whiche time he perfourming the promise made before to Peter in the future tense to builde his churche vpon him Matth. 16. appointed him as Chrisostome saieth vpon that place to haue orbis terrarum curaÌ„ the charge of the whole worlde Homil. vlt. in Ioan. vlt. If yow vnderstande not these wordes one chosen afterwarde to rule the rest of the Apostles but of the gouernement in particuler churches as because of the example brought by S. Hierome of the churche of Alexandria you thinke they shoulde then Postea afterwarde must haue this sense that whereas vnder one generall heade of Christes churche the particuler churches were at the beginning gouerned by manye heades and common consent whiche was as Epiphanius saieth because the apostles could not furthwith take ordre for all thinges his wordes are non enim omnia statim potuerunt Apostoli constituere for the apostles could not furthewith take ordre for all things afterwardes the state of the church being better Lib. 3. haeâ—es 75. setled and being come to vse the words of Epiphanius ad propriaÌ„ mensuraÌ„ to her own measure that ordre appearing to be such as was not coÌ„uenieÌ„t for the gouernemeÌ„t of the churche was alltered and one chosen to rule alone for the auoiding of schismes in euery particuler church not as though S. HieroÌ„ should meane that the vniuersall churche lacked at anie time one heade or had bene gouerned by diuerse the coÌ„trarie wherof he affirmed before but that afterward particuler churchs began to see the necessitie of one head ouer euerie churche according to the patern wherein Christ appointed Peter to be the chiefe head of all As S. Hierom him selfe in an other place doth well declare where he saieth An tequà m diaboli instinctu studia in religione fierent c. Before by the instigation of the diuell factions were made in religion and In cap. 1. epi. ad Tit. 1. Cor. 1. one saide I am of Paule I am of Apollo I of Cephas the churches were gouerned by the coÌ„mon councell of priestes But after that euery one thought those that he baptized to be his and not Christes it was thorough out all the worlde decreed that one being chosen out of the priestes shoulde be set ouer the rest to whome all the care of the churche should belong and the occasioÌ„ of
schismes be taken away Thus farre S. Hierom. By which words as it appeareth that the schismes were in particuler churches so the heades of whome he speaketh were afterwarde by his minde chosen in particuler churches Thus is S. Hierome expounded by him selfe which I trust the learned will like much better then suche crooked gloses of youres as tende to no other ende but to the defacing of the graue and learned fathers as this coulde not choose but here discredite S. Hierome if in a matter of suche weight as this is he shoulde be founde contrarie to him selfe It foloweth This which was thus done afterwarde saieth S. Hierome was done rather for the honour of priestehod then for the necessitie of Nowell fol. 43. b. 4 the lawe For by the lawe of God which is first the prieste as S. Hierome saieth may doe asmuche excepting ordering only as maye the bishop but afterwarde for ordre one was placed in the highest place for the auoiding of schismes And if a prieste by S. Hieromes minde may doe as muche as a bishop I thinke also one bishop may by goddes lawe doe as muche as an other bishop Beholde here good reader in M. Nowell a singuler Dorman pointe of false and vntrue dealing which although it be with him in this booke of his and other his companions in their other doinges a thing verie common and therfore the lesse to be merueiled at yeat surelie is it in the wresting of this place of S. Hierome of all other moste euident to be perceiued For whereas S. Hierome in his Dialogues against the Luciferians hath that this ordre in the churche that the bishop confirmeth those that are Christened not the prieste was taken rather for the honour of priestehode then for the necessitie of the lawe M. Nowell to make the matter S. Hierom beelied by M. Nowell 29. probable that this ordre of hauing one heade in the church shoulde not be grounded vpon goddes worde and that there is no necessitie in it but done rather to honour priesthode applieth it to these wordes of S. Hierome to Euagrius where in expresse wordes he hathe that the appointing one to rule and gouerne the rest was to be a remedie against schismes For the better vnderstanding of this false dealing of his I shall wishe those that either haue not the worckes of S. Hierome at hande or if they haue vnderstande not them in Latine or if they doe can not so easelie turne to the place to considre them as they folowe here in this place Quôd si hoc loco quaeris quare in ecclesia baptizatus nisi per manus episcopi non accipiat spiritum sanctum quem nos asserimus in vero baptismate tribui disce hanc obseruationem ex ea authoritate descendere quod post ascensum domini spiritus Hieron in dialog aduer Lucifer sanctus ad apostolos descendit Et multis in locis idem factitatum reperimus ad honorem potius sacer dotij quam ad legis necessitatem Alioqui si ad episcopi tantum imprecationem spiritus sanctus defluit lugēdi sunt qui in viculis aut castellis aut in remotioribus locis per praesbiteros diaconos baptizati ante dormierunt quà m ab episcopis inuiserentur That is to saye But if in this place thow aske of me wherfore he that is baptised in the church dothe not receiue the holie ghost but byt he handes of the bisshop the which holye ghost we doe all affirme to be giuen in true baptisme Learne this obseruation to come of that auctoritie that after the ascension of oure lorde the holie ghost came downe to the Apostles And we finde that the same is done in manie places rather for the honour of priestehode then of necessitie of the lawe Els if the holie ghost come downe only at the praier of the bishop they are to be lamented who being baptised by priestes and deacons in litle townes or villages or places further of doe dye before they be visited by the bishoppes Hetherto the wordes of S. Hierome Nexte after the whiche because it foloweth that the high prieste must haue auctoritie peerelesse aboue all other otherwise that there will be as manie schismes in the churche as there be priestes M. Nowell thinketh that he might vnderstand both the peerelesse auctoritie aboue all other that is mentioned in the dialogue against the Luciferians and the preeminence that one had giuen to rule the rest as for a remedye against schismes spoken off in this epistle to Euagrius to be ment of onely power to confirme children or other lately baptised which because bishoppes had and priestes had not he thinketh S. Hierome should call by the name of a peerelesse power able to be a remedie against all schismes For so vnderstandeth he this place here and before fol. 41. b. 20. But nowe I praye yow let me aske of you M. Nowell when S. Hierome had saide that this obseruation that the bishop shoulde confirme and not the prieste came of this that the holie ghoste after Christes ascension came downe to the Apostles when he added Et multis in locis idem factitatum reperimus c. And in manie places we finde the same to be done rather for the honour of priestehod then necessitie of the lawe What idem what same thing constrew M. Nowell was it that was so done to honour priesthode rather then for necessitie Was not it the ministring of the Sacrament of Confirmation Doe not the wordes that folowe nexte after Alioqui si ad episcopi c. Otherwise if the holye ghoste come downe only at the praier of the bishop c. spoken to proue that there was no suche necessitie of the Sacrament of Confirmation as thoughe to them that dwelling far from the bishop and dieng before they were confirmed the holye ghost shoulde not be giuen in baptisme euidently conuince that S. Hierome ment off that pointe of preeminence that the bishop hathe aboue a prieste in ministring of this sacrament that that was not of the necessitie of the lawe c not of that power of gouernement that we dispute of But what labour I to conuince this wresting of youres to belieng and vntrue which who so euer shall reade the place can not but presently perceiue if he haue his common senses Who is so verie a dolt that when he heareth you bringing in S. Hierome prouiding for the peace of the churche that is the auoiding off schismes this souereigne remedie that the bishop of euerye diocesse maye confirme children or other lately baptised which the priestes cā not do and that there in cōsisteth his peerelesse power wil not be able to tel you that this reason procedeth from some franticke braine M. Nowell not frō the staied and graue heade of S. Hierome For what staye for schismes what remedie against heresies were it like to be tell vs I coniure you by youre wisedome that first founde out this speciall remedie if
the bishop had only this power more then a prieste that yow speake of Might not the meanest prieste in his diocesse for all this imagine and sowe emongest the people what lewde opinions he list and tell the bishop to his face if he shoulde reproue him therefore that he passeth the boundes of his office who hathe nothing elles to doe but to confirme suche as were lately baptised If this be true M. Nowell where is nowe Vnus ad tempus index vice Christi one iudge for the time Lib. 1. epistol 3. in the steede of Christe mentioned before by S. Cyprian and acknowledged by youre selfe to be the bishop in his diocesse If he be the iudge in Christes stede ouer al the rest then his power extendeth further I trowe then to confirmation For what iudiciall acte is there done in the ministring thereof Thus it appeareth howe shamefully you haue beelied S. Hierom how lewdely you haue abused his wordes to suche a foolishe sense as no learned or wise eares can abide Nowe to youre thinking that if a prieste by S. Hieromes minde may doe as much as a bishop that then one bisshop maie doe as muche by Goddes lawe as an other Isaye S. Hierom beelyed againe 30. that I thinke not but I knowe and beleue that you lye vpon S. Hierome who saieth not nor is of that minde that a prieste maye doe asmuche as a bishop For in this epistle to Euagrius he excepteth the power of making priestes in the dialogue against the Luciferians the auctoritie of ordinary confirming and in bothe the places he graunteth to one which must nedes be the bishop a peerelesse power aboue all the rest for the auoiding of schismes So that this being true you shoulde rather haue thought that one bisshop might doe as muche as an other certeine thinges excepted or elles you shoulde haue bene better ocupied to haue thought vpon some other matter I maruell M. Nowell that you harpe so muche vpon this string of making bisshoppes and priestes equall whereunto if youre Archebishoppes and bishoppes loke not in time I thinke those goodfelowe ministres shoemakers weuers tinkers broomemen coweherdes fidlers etc whome youre bishoppes haue made equall to you that be â–ª inferiour ministers yow of youre goodnes will shortly make equall to youre bishoppes and archebishoppes You procede and saye Further seing this one afterwarde chosen to rule the rest was Nowell fo 43. b. â—â— chosen as well at Alexandria as at Rome orolles where c It must nedes fall out that these wordes one chosen to rule the rest either make for no supremacie of any one bishop ouer all the churche as apperteining to euery bishop in his owne diocesse or if M. Dorman will nedes inforce a supremacie by the saide wordes he shal be inforced to confesse the saide supremacie to be common to the B. of Alexandria where S. Hierome saieth this one was chosen to rule the rest with the B. of Rome as by the other place last alleaged by M. Dorman out of S. Cyprian the saide Supremacie shoulde apperteine to the B. of Carthage c. I haue shewed so often before howe I inforce vpon these Dorman wordes a supremacie ouer the whole churche to wit not directly but by an ineuitable consequent that it is needelesse to repeate my wordes againe And therefore in thus applieng this place to my purpose there is no feare of bringing the generall gouernement ouer the whole churche to Charthage or Alexandria If yow haue no other thing to trouble yow then that yow maye be quiet and take youre rest As for that that yow saye that Christe is as muche A sclaunderouse lie 31. blasphemed at Rome as he is either at Alexandria or Carthage that is one of youre sclaunderouse lyes as they can well tell who trauailing thither heretikes and finding there more feruent deuotion then elles where with all thinges contrarie to youre sclaunderouse reportes made at home in youre sermones and writinges haue returned God be praised therefore good and perfect catholikes Of the true religion vsed in the which place as if it were not impertinent here I coulde saie muche so one thing written by S. Hierome in the praise of Rome which I doubte not but yow count emongest those blasphemies that are there you saie vsed against God I caÌ„ in no wise omitte Vbi saieth he alibi tanto studio frequenâ—ia ad ecclesias ad martyrum sâ—pulcra Hieron in proaemio 2. epist. ad Galatas concurritur Where in anie other place is there suche concourse with suche affection and nombre to the churches and sepulchres of martirs Seing that this a praise and token of deuotion for so saieth S. Hierome in this place is more in the Romaines where this frequeting of churches visiting of martyrs is so muche vsed then in other places where it is lesse yea nothing at all as at Carthage and Alexandria if there were nothing elles this alone woulde proue you a lier For euen at this daie the same deuotioÌ„ is as muche vsed at Rome as in S. Hieromes time it was and in Carthage and Alexandria where Machometans now dwel as muche frequented as it is with you and youre felowes in England S. Hierome saith expressely that all bishoppes be equall and Nowell fo 44. a. 3 none superiour and inferiour to another by goddes lawe S. Hierome saith that all bishoppes be of one priestehod Dorman and merite that is to saie no one more a bishop then an other That no one is in iurisdiction aboue or beneathe the other that he hathe in no place And yeat is this the thing that yow shoulde proue It hurteth not oure cause in case that we graunte that this place Nowell do the apperteine to the Apostles and that one was chosen emongest the Apostles them selues to haue the chiefe place that is to speake first to moderate other to staye contention and to remedie schismes Naie it maketh with vs directly who doe graunte that as emongest those 12. one was so chosen to be ruler so it is good that in euery competent nombre of priestes and cleargie 〈◊〉 be chosen likewise to be ruler If yow will be liberall M. Nowell be liberall as yow Dorman shoulde be and marre not all with a little pelting If yow will at the length yealde to the truthe that Petre was heade Lib. 1. contra IouiniaÌ„ of the other apostles confesse also with S. Hierome that it was not the Apostles doing to choose him emongest them â–ª selues Note but that it was magister bonus their good maister who chose Peter to be the heade for the auoiding of schismes Confesse that this maketh not with yow but directly against yow who mainteine that all bishoppes be equall in iurisdiction and no one aboue the other For yow deceiue youre selfe and other toe when you saie that as emongest the 12. apostles there was one aboue the rest so in euerie competent
disposuit Hoc erant vtique caeteri apostoli quod fuit Petrus pari consortio praediti honoris potestatis SED EXORDIVM AB VNITATE PROFICISCITVR VT ECCLESIA VNA MONSTRETVR That is to saye And although oure Lorde gaue like power to all his apostles after his resurrection and saide As my father sent me so sende I you Take you the holie ghost whose synnes you forgiue they are forgiuen whose sinnes you reteine they are reteined yeat to set furthe vnitie he disposed by his auctoritie the same vnitie to beginne of one That were trulie the other apostles also that Peter was indued with like felowship of honour and power but the beginning commeth from vnitie that the churche maie be declared to be one These be the wordes of S. Ciprian faithfullie alleaged and trulie englished I will now repeate the matter euen from the beginning and doe you good Readers to vnderstande the cause why S. Cypriā mentioneth here at all S. Peter and why he entreth in to this comparison betwene him and the other apostles and then after make you priuey to the misteries of M. Nowelles sleight in alleaging this place which he perhappes thinketh that no man knoweth but him selfe and woulde I dare saie be lothe that anie mo shoulde For the first it is to be vnderstande that not manie lines before this place that I haue nowe in hande S. Cyprian complaining of the fraude and subtilite of oure enemie the diuel saith that now that idolles be euerie where destroied he hath bethought him of a newe waie to deceiue mankinde and that is by heresies and schismes to carie them oute of the churche And this commeth to passe saieth he while men come not to the beginning of truthe the heade is not sought out neither the doctrine off oure heauenly maister kepte which thinges if a man woulde considre and examine there woulde nede no long discourse nor greate argumentes The truthe hath made the way to proue the faithe easy Oure Lorde saieth to Peter and vpon this rocke will I builde Math. 18. my churche c. And after his resurrection he saieth to him feede my shepe And although after his resurrection he gaue all his apostles like power and so furthe as I rehersed before After all this he addeth Hanc ecclesiae vnitatem qui non tenet tenere se fidem credit This vnitie of the churche he that holdeth not thinketh he that he holdeth the faith Thus farre S. Cipriā The occasion you see that moued him to mention Peter Note and to compare him with the other apostles was because to auoide schismes we must he said seke out vnitie by the scripture where we shoulde finde that our lord woulde haue his churche to begin of one of him to whome he saide thow art Petre and vpon this rocke will I builde my churche Well then must this be reteined as a truthe in the meane season if we will be within the vnitie of the churche we must kepe vs in that churche which beginning and springing out of one roote or flowing out of one heade founteine for these be also in this place S. Cyprians similitudes is one Now let vs applye the place as it is alleaged by you M. Nowell and see whether you haue vsed S. Cyprian wel or no. You alleage the place to proue such an equalitie emongest th' apostles as that there should be no difference emongest thē and so ouerthrowe all S. Cyprians drift whereby he woulde proue the churche to be one because it taketh beginninge of one For if they be all equall and no difference betwene them then either the churche hathe no one beginning or 12. beginninges If no one beginning howe can the vnitie procede of that which is not if 12 how can the churche be therefore one because as S. Cyprian saieth the vnitie thereof beginneth of one or what beginning call yow that of vnitie that commeth from suche an equall multiplicitie If therefore it be builded vpon one alone as by S. Cyprian it appeareth that it must then is that one aboue the rest Nowe to haue the churche builded vpon one is thus muche to saye that as in a materiall building there is one foundation whereupon all the rest thereof stone tymbre Iron and what so euer elles leaneth so there is in the churche one to whome after Christe the great rocke and firste grounde all the rest that be membres thereof muste as it were leane he him selfe bearing the burdē of the whole building Is not this to be the chiefe stone in Gods building If you shoulde here perhappes wrangle and saye that although it appeare by this place that Christe disposed the beginning of vnitie to procede from one and from Peter toe that yeat here is no mention that the churche shoulde be builded vpon him notwistanding that Christe speaking off Peter saide he woulde builde it vpon that rocke then I remit you for the proufe that S. Cipriāmeaneth so here to those places of his lib. 1. epist 3. epist 8. 12. lib. 4. epist 9. lib. de habit Virgin lib. de bono pati epist ad I ubaianum And last of all to the epistle ad Quintum where he hath in expresse wordes against this equalitie that you dreame of Petrus quem Dominus primum elegit super quē aedificauit ecclesiā suam Peter whome oure Lord chose to be the chiefe and vpon whom he builded his churche This because yow sawe M. Nowell M. Nowell shamefully misuseth S. Cypriā that the verie wordes of S. Cyprian in this place did purport and that alleaged wholly they were to vnequall to serue your fantasied equalitie you first hewed of this knot Et quamuis and although Then you shaued cleane awaye tamen vt vnitatem manifestaret yeat that he might make vnitie manifest vnto this place Hoc erant vtique And yeat that sentence escaped not youre fingers for the last parte thereof Sed exordium but the beginning procedeth from vnitie you pared cleane awaye First the worde Quamuis althoughe is of suche a nature that where so euer it be put it is a messenger that signifieth some diuersitie like to followe as when S. Cyprian saide here although the Apostles were equall that which foloweth yeat he disposed the beginning off vnitie to begin of one argueth in that point some inequalitye Againe the wordes that folowe tamen vt vnitatem manifestaret yeat that he might make vnitie knowen and vt ecclesia vna monstretur that the churche may be shewed to be one These you passed ouer because in them lyeth the very cause why oure Sauioure hath appointed one to be aboue the rest for vnities sake because otherwise it coulde not haue bene chosen but so manie rulers so manie faithes and then where had vnitie bene Beside this the worde ab vno incipientem beginning of one lefte also quite oute ouerthroweth that false proposition of youres that to vnite the churche and make it one in earthe
there neadeth no other heade then Christe which is in heauen Whiche if it had bene so what nede was there that Christe shoulde appointe a mortall man to that office as here it appeareth he did Peter To this moste shamelesse mangling and mutilating of this and other lyke places of the fathers vsed by you and youre fellowes I saye as S. Cyprian in this verie place saieth to such like craftes men that vsed so to alleage thinges to their vauntage in his tyme. Corruptores euangelij atque interpretes falsi extrema ponunt superiora praetereunt partim memores partim subdole corrumpentes Vt ipsi ab ecclesia scissi sunt ita capituli vnius sententiam scindunt That is to saie The corrupters of the ghospell and false interpretours take that which commeth behinde and leaue out that which goeth before partly mindefull partly craftely corrupting As they are them selues cut from the churche so deuide they the meaning The answere to the place of S. Cyprian of one sentence Thus muche of youre falsehode in alleaging this place Nowe to the place I answere that S. Cyprian sayeth not that Christe gaue like power to his Apostles in all respectes absolutely but determineth particulerly wherein this equalitie dothe consist as in being sent to preache thorough out all the worlde as Christ was sent by his Father in power of forgiuing sinnes Which power being giuen to them streight vpon Christes resurrection and being common to them as they were all the generall legates of Christe thorough out the worlde derogateth nothing by S. Cyprians minde from that speciall auctoritie that Christe departing out of this worlde gaue to Peter to continue And therefore to shewe that this was his meaning euen as before S. Hierome after the like equalitie mētioned Cap. 13. in the Apostles concludeth that notwithstanding that Peter was chosen to be the heade emongest them so dothe here S. Cyprian after the generall rule that they had all like power adde as an exception from the rule the same that S. Hierome hath in other wordes Tamen vt vnitatem c. yeat to make vnitie manifeste he disposed the beginning thereof by his auctoritie to begin of one Thus much maye suffice to satisfie youre wondring M. Nowell with what face I haue bene so boulde and busye with S. Cyprian To the place of S. Hierome which you bring also to fol. 50. a. 9. b. 6. proue that the dignitie of a bishop is not estemed by the greatnesse of his diocesse or citie and that all be equall in office I saie that it is true that the dignitie of a bishop dependeth not vpon the greatnesse of his diocesse but it is false that there be no degrees in the office of a bishop That yow bring Erasmus to proue it it forceth not For he is with Catholikes of no more auctoritie thē Pighius is with yow That betwene S. Cyprian Hierome and Leo there is no disagrement The 15. chapiter Yow are now come to the comparing of the sainges of S. Cyprian and S. Hierome with the testimonie of Leo bearing witnesse yow saye to him selfe The which you compare firste after this sorte Leo saieth In the holie Apostles them selues there was a difference Nowell b. 8. of power and that it was geuen to one to be aboue all the rest On the contrarie parte S. Cyprian saieth the Lorde gaue like and equall auctoritie to all his apostles all the Apostles be indewed with like felowship both of honour and power Neither are Leo his wordes trulie alleaged neither yeat Dorman S. Cyprians Leo sayeth that inter beatissimos Apostolos False dealing in alleaging the wordes of Cyprian and Leo. in similitudine honoris fuit quaedam discretio potestatis emongest the blessed Apostles in likenesse of honour there was a certeine difference of power quum omnium par esset electio vni tamen datum est vt coeteris praeemineret And whereas they had all one calling yeat it was giuen to one to be aboue the rest S. Cyprians wordes are that although oure Lorde after his resurrection gaue all his Apostles like power behold the likenesse of honour that Leo speaketh of c. yeat to make vnitie knowen he disposed by his auctoritie that it should begin of one Lo here quaedā discretio potestatis that certeine difference of power acknowledged by S. Cyprian that Leo mentioneth What iarring is there here M. Nowell their wordes being trulie alleaged Naie what swete consent is there betwene these two learned fathers Leo saieth there was emongest the Apostles a likenes of honour but yeat a certeine difference of power he saieth their calling or election was like but yeat giuen to one to be aboue the rest Doth not S. Cyprian saie the same when first in their election to be sent into all the worlde to preache then in the power of remitting sinnes he maketh them equall and yeat in adding afterwarde this particle tamen but yeat he noted a certeine difference of power this forsoth that vpon one of them the beginning and verie fundation of vnitie should be laied notwithstanding all the equalitie otherwise Is this true dealing M. Nowell thus to bring in M. Nowell mangleth the wordes of Leo and S. Cypriā to make them disagree mangled at youre pleasure the sainges of the fathers to deface them to the worlde as here yow doe by taking from the wordes of Leo this particle quaedam making him to seme the more to differ from S. Cyprian and cutting from S. Cyprian those wordes that vnitie should begin of one conteining that certeine difference in likenes of honour that Leo speaketh of Yow saie that S. Cyprian hath this in his boke De simplicitate praelatorum noting them as double faced prelates that teache or attēpt to make one bishop aboue an other The true title of the boke is De vnitate ecelesiae of the vnitie of the churche as to him that shall reade it maie easly by the contentes thereof appeare Yow are therefore a double faced or manie headed prelate that for one chiefe heade giue vs so manie You procede in youre cōparison and saie that Leo hathe out of this fourme is taken oure difference of bishops that in euerie prouince one be Dorman chiefe and of most auctoritie and the bishop of greter cities to haue greater care and consequētly that he that sitteth in Peters chaire should haue charge and be head of the vniuersal church Thus you say Leo saieth because he him selfe wold be Lord and head ouer all the church wheras S. Cyprian on the other side saieth Euerie bishop hath his seuerall portion of Christes flock to rule and gouern c. that those who are vnder the charge of the B. of one coūtrie may not appeale to a bishop of an other for that the auctoritie of one bishop is not inferiour to an other nor the auctorite of the B. of Afrike is lesse then the auctoritie of the bishopps of
The wordes I alleaged before it shall here suffise to note the places There was neuer yeat suche a gouernour as coulde so rule his charge were it of anye compasse that there were not manye thinges amisse therein The churche off Rome hathe bene so gouerned that it was neuer hetherto steined with heresies whiche seing none of the other apostolicall seates can saye bothe must yow be inforced to acknowledge Gods mightye prouidence in preseruing the same and to graunte withall that if that ordre to haue one generall heade ouer the whole churche were nowe to begin and the heade to be chosen that there were none to be preferred before the bishop of that See Because yow make mention of S. Paule who thinketh him vnmete to haue 1. Timoth. 3. the charge of one churche that can not gouerne well his owne house you put me in remembraunce that S. Ambrose expounding the same place calleth Damasus the pope the ruler of the whole churche And so there is one witnesse more by youre good occasion giuen to proue that this maner of heade was not vnknowen in the primitiue churche and that therefore you falselye slaundered the late popes and so haue encreased the nombre of youre lyes Two lies 40. with two mo If no man maye haue vnder his gouernaunce greater compasse then that he can tell if he be required the names off the cities townes villages hamlettes c. that he is king or Lorde ouer and in what parte of his realme they stande yow will with youre wise diuinitie bring the worlde to a good passe shortlye It is not necessarie that the Frenche kinge the Kinge of Spaine the Quene oure maistres or anye other Prince doe knowe the names of all the partes that they be chiefe gouernours of It suffiseth that their inferiour officiers doe and that if there arise anie suche controuersie as they be not able to ordre and determine they maye then aduertise the chiefe gouernour off all who maye by his greater power redresse the same Euen so is it in the Pope M. Nowell who hathe the ouersight of the whole churche not to gouerne all the membres thereof hym selfe by him selfe but by the helpe of his brethren who are called into parte of that charge with him That Zozimus the bishoppe of Rome corrupted not the canons off the Nicene councell The 16. Chapitre BECAVSE yow shall not suppose M. Nowell that I answere here to youre by talke of Zozimus as forced by necessitie but onelye as I tolde you before for this that allthough it be not pertinent to the matter it is yeat a foule fol. 46. b. 3. sclaunder to that blessed bishop and brought commonlye by youre maisters to bring into hatred the See of Rome I will this tell you before hande that yow are lyke to haue as litle honestye by the proposing of this exception in forme of lawe against my witnes as you had worshippe when being prolocutour in the conuocation house yow woulde as it is reported haue first passed by the house that they shoulde all be taken for heretikes that woulde not agree to a lawe that shoulde be afterwarde made And when yow thought to conclude being earnest to haue youre wise deuise take place vpon the silence that then was in the house euerye man being astonied at so foolishe a demaunde by this maxime in the lawe Qui tacet consentire videtur he that holdeth his peace semeth to consent where a wise man and a greate lawier telling you that in making of lawes the consent must be expresse and not presumed you sate downe in youre place as wise as before you stode vp If here therefore happening vpon the rule Qui semel est malus semper praesumitur malus He that is once euill is euer presumed naught yow thought that if you were able to proue Zozimus a falsefier yow shoulde discredite also Leo because he was a pope as well as the other you were surelie greatelye deceaued For this rule is personall M. Nowell and not locall Otherwise because it is in anye courte in Englande a good exception against his testimonie that seruing sometimes in youre churche of Powles and being nowe one of youre chiefe preachers stale away the chalice a man might take the same exception to anye other honest man of the same church But this being I suppose well inough knowē how childish and vnsauorie a kinde of proufe howe farre from the purpose this that you bring of Zozimus is let vs examine howe true it is that he falsefied the canons of the councell of Nice How proue yow this to be true M. Nowell I praye yow I proue it saie yow not by two onelie but by 217. witnesses Nowell fo 46. b. 23 the whole councell of Afrike emongest whome was S. Austen Orosius Prosper with manie other bishoppes notable in learning and vertue Well I am content to winke at yow M. Nowell as cruell Dorman M. Nowell reiecting Leo as witnes in his owne cause alleageth the Africanes in their own cause Nowell fo 47. a. 1. as yow were with me for bringing the testimonie of Leo in his owne cawse and I will be ignorant that this was the Africanes cause or that they were Africane bishoppes that gaue this sentence that you speake of But what be the wordes I praie yow that they vse against Zozimus Doe they call him expresselye a corrupter and a falsifier They all as in their epistle to Celestine one of the successours of this Zozimus appeareth testifie that there was no suche matter for the B. of Romes superioritie as was by pope Zozimus alleaged neither in their vsuall copies of the Nicene councell neither in the authenticall examples which were sent them by Cirill patriarke of Alexandria and by Atticus patriarke of Constantinople which authenticalles agreing with their owne copies and all other copies euerie where had no suche thing as Zozimus alleaged but had the cleane contrarie for that the 6. and 7. decree off the saide Nicene councell make the patriarkes of Alexandria Antiochia and Hierusalem equall with the B. of Rome If this be all M. Nowell then are yow a corrupter and Dorman a falsifier of the sainges of 217. bishoppes The mo they be 217. bishoppes sclaundred by M. Nowell in nombre the greater in vertue and learning the more is youre faulte to be detested of all men They saide that they had receiued from Cyrillus and from Atticus certeine copies of the Nicene councell in the which they coulde finde no suche thing as the pope claimed What thereof M. Nowell was then the copie that Zozimus had at Rome falsified Or if it were falsified must it nedes be by and by falsified by Zozimus Might he not alleage it as he founde it left by his predecessours Seing these learned fathers neuer vsed suche wordes but on the contrarie parte called him in their lettres to Bonifacius after his deathe beatae memoriae Venerabilis memoriae of blessed remembraunce of
in the easte churches that they might the rather ouerronne the catholikes The one parte giueth a perfect cause of their testimonie because they were present when the matter was concluded Imagine nowe the other who hauing sought in the east churche for suche a decree saide they founde no suche to saie which they doe not that they had harde of some that were present at the councell that there was no suche thing decreed which witnesses were to be beleuid This that hath bene saide maye seme I doubte not to anye reasonable man a sufficient cause why we ought to giue full credite to Athanasius and those other bishoppes and pronounce for the innocencie of Zozimus Yeat to make it the better appeare how true it is that Athanasius Manie canons made in the 1. councell of Nice that we haue not nowe saieth of the burning of the Nicene canons I will note vnto yow certeine canons which the fathers and stories off the churche witnes to haue bene concluded in that councell which yeat are not emongest those twentie whiche we haue I will first beginne with S. Ambrose who telleth you M. Nowell that you haue done euell being twise maried Epi. 82. li. 10. colū 11 Note M. Nowell to thrust youre selfe into the ministerie of the church not only because the apostle he saieth forbiddeth it but the fathers also in the councell of Nice S. Augustin reporteth that there was a decree made in the councell of Nice that a bishop shoulde not ordeine his Epist 110. successour bshiop with him notwithstanding that him selfe he confessed by ignorance thereof was so ordeined by Valerius his bishop and predecessour Iustinian the emperour saith that it was defined by the first foure generall councels that the B. of Rome should be Constitut 131. the chiefe of all other priestes S. Hierome saieth that the booke of Iudith was counted emongest the canonicall by the fathers of Nice In praefat in Iudith Theodoritus alleageth a decree of giuing ecclesiasticall degrees of consecrating bishops made also by the councell of Nice Lib. 5. cap. 9. Leo affirmeth that there was an other canon touching the doctrine of Christes incarnation Epist ad Leonē 78. Where is there anie canon of the obseruation of the Easter daye the desire of the vniforme obseruation whereof Histor tripart lib. 1. cap. vlt. Haere 70. Lib. 2. ca. 2 was one cause why the councell of Nice was called Yeat dothe bothe Epiphanius and the tripartite historye make mentiō of a decree made by the fathers touching the same Youre Apologie citeth out of the councell off Nice that we ought not to be humiliter intēti ad panem et vinum ouer basely bent to breade and wine We confesse it to be true but shew you it emongest the canons Who doubteth that the councell of Nice was assembled together against Arrius Yeat shewe one canon againste him emongest the 20. that remaine Was there thinke yow none made That were surely a strange matter that in the whole doinges thereof nothing should haue bene concluded against him for the repressing of whome the councell was specially called together Howe saye you now M. Nowell is it likely that the Arrians burned the canons of the councel or no Are all these falsaries and corrupters that haue alleaged thus manye canons to be of the councell of Nice because at this daye there is none of them extant I thinke you will not saye so If yow will not why Zozimus more then they Yes you saye there is an other cause why if not Zozimus for I thinke by this tyme you be ashamed of that matter yeat some other hath fasified those canons What is that I praye yow Because there appeared in the copies sent from the Easte the Nowell fol. 47. a. 11. cleane contrarye to that whiche the pope claimeth For the sixt and seuenth decree off the sayde Nicene councell make the patriarkes of Alexandria Antiochia and Hierusalem equall with the bisshoppes of Rome Trulye if it had bene so it is merueile that Athanasius Dorman who was there present shoulde haue bene ignorant of it Therefore excepte you will saye that either this epistle is feined and not Athanasius owne as that is wont in other auctorities brought against yow to be youre common and last refuge when you be sore pressed which if you doe you must not onelye saye it but proue it also Or that his memorie was so euill that he coulde not remembre so notable a thing so latelye before done or his malice so greate that he woulde faine that which neuer was done you muste nedes graunte that this sixt and seuenth canon haue an other meaning then to make the patriarkes of Alexandria Antiochia and Hierusalem equall with the bishoppes off Rome And so haue they in dede For the true meaning of The true vnderstanding of the 6. and 7. canon of the councel of Nice them is to appoint the limites and boundes of those primates iurisdictions of whom mention is there made according to the custome of the bishop of Rome As the wordes whiche answere trulye to the greke and are in Latine these doe wel declare Antiqui mores obtineant in Agipto Libia Pentapoli vt Alexandrinus horum omnium habeat potestatem quia episcopo Romano hoc consuetum est Similiter etiam per Antiochiam in caeteris prouincijs priuilegia seruentur ecclesijs Let olde customes be kepte in Aegypt Libia and Pentapoli that the B. of Alexandria haue the auctoritie ouer them all for as muche as the B. of Romes maner is suche Semblablye also thorough out Antioche and in other prouinces let the churches haue their priuileges kepte These wordes of the councell as they doe nothing at all diminishe the B. of Romes auctoritie so doe they confirme it verie muche The reason of the councell why the iurisdiction of the B. of Alexandria shoulde extende so far being beside the auncient custome in those partes the custome also of the B. Rome who it is to be thought vsed of long time so to alow it by conteining in his rescriptes those prouinces vnder the patriarchie of Alexandria Which was now brought as an argumēt to confirme and continue the same For this meaning that they should be all equall in power and auctoritie there is no worde there able to induce Except a man woulde bring in those graue fathers reasoning thus foolishely because the B. of Rome hath iurisdictiō ouer his owne bishoprike for more you giue him not and the councell nameth no place at all therfore the B. of Alexandria shall haue iurisdiction ouer all the bishoppes of Aegipt Libia and Pentapoli Had not this bene thinke you a goodly making of them equall If you will saie that the councell ment that the B. of Rome shoulde be patriarke in the west partes and therein they shoulde be equall beside that there be no suche wordes in the councell to inforce suche a meaning yeat shoulde
together stande in some stede You go forwarde and saye For the which it pleaseth D. Harding to call the Aricans emongest Nowell ◠25. whom S. Austen Orosius and Prosper with manie other learned and godly bishoppes were schismatikes as those that submitted not their neckes to the pope and folowing Hosius his auctor he saith that Africa cōtinued in this schisme 100. yeares to wit from Boniface the first to Boniface the seconde M. Doctour Harding neuer mentto inuolue S. Austen Dorman Orosius or Prosper in anie schisme with the Africanes For as at this councell it appeareth not in the recordes thereof that Orosius who neuer was bishop but only a prieste and therfore could giue no definitiue voice in the councell that cōsisted of only bishoppes or Prosper either were present so is it more then probable that S. Austen who to the first epistle sent to Bonifacius gaue his consent and subscribed with other wherein they protested to obserue all thinges demaunded by the pope till they coulde get from the Easte the true copies of the councell of Nice it is I saie more then probable that forasmoche as in this latter epistle to Celestinus no mention is made of him at all notwithstanding that he was legat for Numidia his name so famouse his bisshoprike so greate that he sawe in the meane season so muche right in the bishop of Romes cause and so little in the other allthough by no meanes their doinges tended to the vniuersall abrogating of the popes auctoritie that he refused so muche as to put his name or suffer him selfe to be named in those lettres of theirs So that before yow had charged M. D. Harding thus odiously you ought to haue proued that suche a decree was made in the African councell and haue noted to vs the canon then that Orosius and Prosper were present at the making thereof and gaue their consentes therto Last because yow seing that the decree of the councell was not to be founde referred youre selfe to the epistle written to Celestinus yow shoulde haue tolde vs in what wordes there the mention of this decree laie hidden and proued allthough S. Austens name be not there mentioned that yeat he consented therto Againe M. Nowell whē this matter betwene the B. of Rome and the Africanes began first to be called in question it was entreated with suche humilitie and submission by the Africanes as appeareth by this epistle to Celestinus that they coulde by no meanes be accounted schismatikes Afterwardes in dede the matter grewe so farre that it burst out in to open schisme and so continued to the time of Boniface the 2. To the which schisme that euer S. Austen Orosius or Prosper consented or any other good catholike prieste or bishop yow shall neuer be able to proue And so this lye with that houge Lye 43. heape of all the rest remaineth with you and the truth with vs. But because you bragge as you doe of the companie of S. Austen and Prosper and sclaundre them to the worlde to be schismatikes I will in defence of their innocency alleage out of their workes so muche as shall I trust with the better sorte suffice for their purgation Who is it I praie you M. Nowell that saieth of the church of Rome that in it the principalitie of the apostolike chaire hathe August epist 162. euer florished Who calleth Bonifacius the same in whose time this controuersie was moued the bishoppe that hathe Lib. 1. contra 2. epis Pelag. ca. 1 the preeminence in the bishoply care aboue all other Who calleth the See of Rome alluding to the wordes of Christe in the Psalm contra partē Donat. gospel the rock which the proude gates of hell shal not ouercome Who but S. Austē whom you be not here ashamed to matche with your selfe as thinking of the pope and See of Rome as heretically as you doe To come to Prosper when you here him acknowledg that Zozimus of whom all this talke riseth added to the decrees of the African councelles sententiae suae robur the strength and force of his sentence Lib. contra Collatorem cap. 41. that with Peters sworde to the cutting of of wicked men he armed the right handes of all bishoppes for so are his wordes in Latine ad impiorum detruncationem gladio Petri dexteras omnium armauit antistitum When you are not ignoraunt if you knowe anye thinge that the same Prosper saieth Lib. contra Collatorem cap. 10. that the holye See of Rome spake to all the worlde by the mouthe of Zozimus Will you not for shame call backe againe that wretched sclaunderouse lye off youres that Prosper shoulde be touching the bishoppe of Rome of the same minde that yow are Was Zozimus taken off Prosper to be a corrupter and falsarye a countrefeite catholike and in deede a false schismatike from Christe and the truthe as youre venimouse tongue hath not feared to pronounce of him Is fier more contrary to water then is this iudgemēt of youres to that of Prospers for his vertue and auctoritie You pretend that the fathers of the coūcel of Carthage would barre Zozimus of al auctority Prosper telleth vs that so much he was estemed of them that they had the strength of his sentence added to their decrees as muche to saye as to confirme and alowe them You call him a corrupter a falsarie a countrefeite catholike a false schismatike Prosper calleth him one that armed the right handes of al bishoppes with Peters sworde to cut of wicked mē from the rest of Christes mistical body the church You restreine his power to Rome Prosper confesseth that by his mouthe the See of Rome spake to all the worlde If this be not more then impudencie good reader in M. Nowel then what is impudencie I confesse I know not But acknowledged Prosper this auctoritie in Zozimus onely no verilye For in Celestinus to whome this epistle here mentioned was sent from the African bishoppes he witnesseth that there was suche power that he cured the Iland The pope meddled in England Scotland Fraunce and in the East off Britannye infected with Pelagius heresie that he ordeined Palladius bishoppe ouer the Scottishe men that with the Apostolicall sworde he aided Cirillus the B. of Alexandria to purge the churches of the East of a double plague the Nestorians and Pelagians that in Fraunce he put them to silence who reported euill of S. Augustins writinges Finally to them that reiected certeine bookes of S. Augustins vpon pretence that they were not allowed by the pope he answered An exception in the primitiue churche againste bookes that they were not allowed by the Pope Ibid. ca. 43 in this wise Agnoscāt calumniatores superfluò se obijcere quòd his libris non speciale neque discretum testimonium si◠perhibitum quorum in cunctis voluminibus norma laudatur Apostolica enim sedes quod a praecognitis sibi non discrepat cum praecognitis probat
inuent to spotte them there with are compelled at the last with shame inough to twhite this greate post to a pudding pricke saing that there be schismes emongest the catholikes about Genus and Species and the rest of the predicables because forsothe some men be of one minde about them and are called by a name agreable to their opinion Nominals other some off an other minde and be called Realles But yow haue better stuffe then this yow will saie for yow aske VVhat be these Benedictines CistertiaÌ„s Carmelites Carthusians Dominicans Franciscanes with others like an huge numbre Nowell 54. b. 25. but names of popishe schismes and sectes Who all forsaking the religion and name of Christe haue chosen to be called religiouse as by a speciall name of a seuerall religion and to be named after Matth. 23. men their fathers on earthe forsaking the heauenly father c. That whereof youre Apologie for shame woulde saie Dorman nothing you so muche are you one alone more impudent then so manie as were the compilers thereof set out to the vauntage making a greate matter therof Youre Apologie saieth I saie nothing of so manie diuersities of friers and mockes You saie they shall not escape youre handes so You call their names the names of popishe schismes and sectes their persones you charge with the forsaking of the name and religion of Christe c. Had it not bene better for you M. Nowell to haue imitated also the countrefeit modestie of youre Apologie rather then by suche vnmercifull dealinge to slaundre and beelye youre Christian brethren Thought you that you should be able to make anie honest nature beleue that these religiouse men whome you here name professing to be of this or that ordre shoulde in so doing forsake bothe the religion and name of Christe What is if this be not an impudent lye of all other that I haue hearde moste like to that made by youre felowe Fox when he saieth that Bradforde was charged by the Quenes councel that then was emongest other thinges with the beleuing Actes and monumentes fo 1173 b. and preaching of Christe crucified What will these lieng Maisters be ashamed to feine that vtter suche vntruthes as these are It is false that you saie to coloure the better youre slaunderousse reporte that they haue chosen to be called religiouse as by a speciall name of a seuerall religion For as the religion is not seuerall but the same that is common to all true Christians so neuer gaue the professours therof anie suche name to them selues to be called religiouse The vniforme consent it is of good men thorough out al the worlde that hath giuen them that name as to those that hauing chosen a kinde of life more streighter and painefull theÌ„ the common sorte of men haue done the rather to atteine to the perfection as muche as mannes infirmitie wil suffer in this life of that one religion which we all professe haue semed best worthy therof It is the maner therfore of conuersation and liuing in this one common religion that seuereth the folowers therof from the rest not religion Religion hath two significations it selfe Religion hathe two significations M. Nowell The one concerneth faithe and so there is in all the worlde but one religion to witte of the catholike Christians as S. Austen noteth the other perteineth to vertue and good life And so there are bothe diuersities and degrees of religion as the same S. Austen reconing vp Anachoretes Eremites Cloister monckes nonnes and colleages of religiouse not without reioising therein obiecteth Lib. de morib eccl Cath. cap. 31. to the Manichees But how forsake they the religion and name of Christe M. Nowell why tell you vs not Thinke you that it maye be laufull for you in print to vse youre pulpite talcke and flowing in your ruffianly Rhetorike to droppe in slaunderouse lies as yow doe without all proufe These religiouse men that yow mention folowe Christe in pouertie as the Apostles did and manie holie men in all ages haue done and as Christe him selfe gaue the yong man councell to doe that asked what waye he shoulde take to get heauen when he bad him if he Matth. 19. woulde be perfecte to sell all that he had giue it to the pore and folowe him They vowe chastitie to be the more apte to serue Christe as the Apostle saieth of them that be 1. Cor. 7. vnmaried They renounce them selues vtterly by vowing obedience to their heade whiche oure Sauiour willeth Lucae 9. them to doe that will folowe him In all this what is there to be misliked where is anie forsaking of Christes name and religion Where are the popishe schismes and sectes that you rauingly talcke of If these be schismes and sectes if to liue thus be to forsake Christes name and religioÌ„ then is Christe the auctor of oure schismes then haue the holie fathers Paulus Hilarion Anthonie Basile Hierome Austen yea the Apostles them selues forsaken Christes name and religion Who bothe haue pracâ—ised this kinde of life in them selues and earnestly commâ—n did the same to their folowers O God for thy mercy how perilouse are the daies that we liue in How farre are the heresies of our time passing those whiche in times past haue bene raised vp and haue raged in thy churche This maner of life which M. Nowell here declameth against and calleth schismaticall persuaded by Christe practised by the Apostles and from their time continued in the churche till oures as the stories of all ages beare witnesse hathe bene by good men alwayes honoured by tirantes and infidelles wondred at euen by the worst kinde of men well spoken of onelye proude protestants and licentiouse Libertines who neither can saye well nor doe well call it schismatical terme it a for saking of Christes name and religion Whereof as we haue here by one of them a glimmering in generall wordes so hath his felowe giuen vs a perfect sight and full viewe thereof in the combate that he kepeth with the blessed spirite of that holye saincte then whome since the Apostles tyme I maye be bolde to saye there liued not one that expressed Fox kepeth a coÌ„bate with S. FrauÌ„ces in his Actes and monumeÌ„tes fol. 70 more neare the lyfe and conuersation of oure sauiour S. Frauncis him selfe He calleth him Assisian asse because he was borne in a towne called Assisium rude idiot and Frantike frauncis him selfe being as verie an asse as euer was breade in the mountaines of Arcadia for so saing a right idiott for calling the wisedome of God foolishenes 1. Cor. 3. and if not when he made that houge donghill yeat surelye at that time when he imagined him selfe to be an Vrinall a frantike Fox And why giueth he to him these reprochefull titles I praie you Forsothe he calleth him Asse rude Ideott c. because I will vse his owne wordes hearing vpon a tyme howe Christ sent furthe his disciples to
they were clothed this is most certeine that those good men that wandred about the worlde in pelttes and gotes skynnes of whome S. Paule maketh Heb. 11. mention and saieth that the world was not worthy of thē had apparel diuerse and distincte from other men and yeat I trust you will not make them schismatikes As for the other diuersities that you gather as of shauing going becking bowing c. Who woulde euer haue thought that a man of youre qualities had bene so scrupulouse or superstitiouse as to requier that all men should be shauen a like that they vse the like gate in going the same maner of becking and bowing and such like But if in shauing there must nedes for the auoiding of schismes be one vniforme fashion why not in clipping I praie you M. Nowel And then you might doe wel when you preache nexte sobrely to persuade withe the barbers that they cut hereafter all mennes beardes alike all a la marquesato all a la philippina all a la moresca all forcked all square or otherwise as to youre wisdome shall seme best so that all be a like and schisme hereby auoided Let your discretion also prescribe some one vniforme maner of going becking and bowing Nowe concerning diuersitie of diete and meates you will not I thinke take vpon you to prescribe al Englāde one diete and one kinde of meate you will rather turne it ouer to the phisicion and bid him vnder perile of schisme to appointe one suche diete to the whole realme But if this be a note of schismes or sectes M. Nowell for one ordre of religiouse men to vse one diet an other to feede after an other sorte bothe of them notwitstāding susteining nature with no other then with suche as by ordre and law they maie what are they I praie you that in the holie time of lent when all the worlde absteineth and from the Apostles time hetherto euer hath absteined from flesh doe then of al other times moste greedily desire the same That religiouse men haue not allwaies obserued vniformitie neither in cutting their heare neither in their diete emongest other of the auncient fathers none witnesseth more euidently then Epiphanius the B. of Cypres who describing the fourme of the church in his daies when he commeth to make mentiō of the religiouse men writeth thus Quidam verò ex solitariā vitā degentibus c. Some of these that Sub sin lib. 3. contra haereses Diuersities of liuing emongest religiouse men in the primitiue churche Acto 18. leade this solitarie life in the church dwell in cities Some continue in monasteries and get them farre out of the waye Some haue thought good to let their heare growe for cōlinesse sake of the propre inuentiō of their minde not of anie cōmaundemēt of the gospel or tradition of the Apostles for S. Paule the Apostle cut of this attyre There be beside other moste excellent conuersations of lyfe which are obserued in the same holye catholike churche I meane off them which absteine from all fleshe foure footed beastes byrdes and fishe yea egges also and cheese and other diuerse rules of lyfe For euery one shall receiue his rewarde according to his owne laboure And some truly absteine from al these other some from foure footed beastes only eating fowle and all other meates Some absteine from fowle and vse egges and fishe Some eate no egges neither some eate fishe onely Some absteine allso from fishe and eate cheese Some there be that eate not so muche as cheese Beside these there be other whiche absteine from breade other allso from harde fruites nuttes and all sodden thinges manye haue the grounde for their bedde Other weare no shoes other were priuey sacke clothe VVearing of sacke clothe for penaunce for vertue and penaunce sake which do trulye well For it is vnsemelye to be sene openlye wearing sacke clothe as some doe Hetherto Epiphanius touching the diuersitie of maners emongest religiouse men in his tyme. How saye yow M. Nowel were yow ignoraunt of this place when yow made youre description of sectes and schismes or knewe yow of it Iff you were ignoraunt thereof acknowledge at the length that you were deceiued if yow knew it crye shame to youre selfe that durst charge the Catholikes with schismes vsing suche maners as the primitiue churche of Christe vsed Nowe iudge good Reader whether thou haddest rather beleue Epiphanius or M. Nowell The one Epiphanius taketh occasion by these diuersityes to sette furthe the beauty of the churche the other M. Nowell to obscure thereby and deface the same The one calleth these diuerse fashions off lyuing praeeminentes vitae conuersationes moste excelling conuerastions of lyfe the other the vorie propertye of schismes and sectes Epiphanius sayeth they shall be rewarded M. Nowell as muche in effect as that they shal be condemned But where hathe Epiphanius these wordes for that maketh not a little to the matter Forsothe in that worke of his where he doeth nothing elles but fight against heresies and sectes in the very ende thereof when hauing declared before howe heretikes and schismatikes had deformed the church he would as it were oppose and set against them the holy lyfe and vertuouse conuersation off suche good men as had decked and garnished the same So that if these diuerse fashions of liuinges had bene the verye propertye of sectes and schismes he woulde neuer we maye be sure that wrote purposely against them haue cōmended thē for good and vertuouse Now for reading singing and tuning it greueth me to heare how farre you be M. Nowel from all good tune As though it were either nedefull or youre churches at home vsed thorough out all the realme one tune and not diuerse But for this matter I will leaue yow to the musicians mercy for diuinitie maketh no matter thereof I assure yow Yeat there is an other diuersitie and that is of churche seruice If diuersitie herein make a schisme then wo be to you M. Nowell and your companions who haue altered the common receiued seruyce thorough out all the latine churche Ex ore tuo te iudico serue nequam But it is not euery diuersitie of churche seruice that maketh a schisme but onely suche diuersitie as is done against ordre and lawe I meane Goddes lawe the lawe off the church giuen by those spirituall rulers and gouernours whome Christe hathe appointed for the building off his Ephes 4. Acto 20. misticall bodye the churche and to guyde and rule the same redemed with his pretiouse bloude Is there anye suche diuersitie M. Nowell in church seruice emongest religiouse men Or howe euer the same seruice be emongest them in this pointe diuerse that in some places it is longer and hathe therefore mo lessons Antiphones Responces then in other in some places shorter and therefore fewer whiche procedeth of this that some of these ordres being specially instituted to preache as the Dominicanes and those of the
sprong vp euen with youre first maister and his scholers as youre selues can not denie and departe from Christes knowen churche or elles Christe had no churche at all as those disciples off Christe that you speake off did With whom youre resemblaunce is so muche the greater because that as these first heretikes departed from the church Christe and his Apostles because they would not beleue in Christes doctrine of the blessed sacrament so haue you parted a greate nombre of yow from vs for the same cause and mainteine the same heresie as S. Augustine In psalm 54. calleth it Nowe as it were no good reason to proue vs schismatikes because yow are parted from vs being onoe as yow can not denye of vs so can no man iustly charge Christe and his Apostles with that crime because his disciples parted from him And as I answere to this so doe I to youre other obiections of the schismatikes in S. Paules time of those other also of the Nicolaites the Simonians Cerinthians c. who all parting from the knowen churche of Christe ought not to preiudicate the same For their departure was alwaies so sensible that the true christian might saye with S. Iohn They haue departed from emongest Ioan. 1. cap. 2. vs but they were none of vs. The Apostles and their companye remained alwaies a visible and knowen churche So that these examples can nothing helpe to couer your schismaticall sores whereas in Christe and the Apostles them selues there was neuer anye breache of vnitie whiche yow shoulde haue proued lykewyse therby to excuse your first Christ and his Apostles Whereas an other plea of youres is that emongest the high priestes and Phariseis there was no dissention but greate vnity and concorde emongest them against Christes Apostles to that I saye that although they agreed in this all to persecute the Apostles yeat emongest them selues they were Ioseph lib. Antiq. Iudaie 13. cap. 8. diuided into sectes and schismes some being called Phariseis other some Sadduces and yeat a thirde secte called Esseni so that they resemble more liuely yow protestantes then vs catholikes agreing as the Phariseis did against the truthe and diuided also with them into sectes emongest youreselues If you departed from vs as Christ and the Apostles you saie did from the high priestes and their churche then should you be at vnitie and concorde emoÌ„gest your selues as the Apostles were then must you shewe out of the scripture the fall of the churche of Christe the corruption of Esaiae 6â— the same and the restitution in the latter daies to come all Esaiae 66. Hierem. 6. Ezech. 44 Habacuc 2. Act. 7. 13. 28. foreprophecied in the lawe as the Apostles proued oute of the scripture the fall of the Sinagoge the corruption of the high priestes the comming of Messias the placing of the newe lawe that shoulde continue When yowe can proue this and defeate Christes promise made of his churche to be visible and vniuersall ouer all the worlde and to his churche to continue for euer then call vs phariseis hardely Matth. 16. and spare not calle youre selues Christe and his apostles we giue yow leaue For furder excuse of your schismes and diuisions yow fo 56. b. 1. tell vs of the troubles that rose in Iurie and shortly after ouer all the world vpoÌ„ the preaching of Christes gospell c. If diuisions and troubles were then it is not to be merueiled at oure sauiour him selfe saing of him selfe non veni pacem Matth. 10. mittere sed gladium I come not to sende peace but a sworde But oure age is not nowe M. Nowell the primitiue churche oure faithe is not nowe to be begonne of newe It hathe bene with consent of all the worlde established these 12. hundred yeares And therefore youre comparison is lewde and vntrue Yow saie furder And as iustly might yow charge the Apostles and their doctrine Nowell with those schismes sectes and troubles as yow do charge vs with those that haue risen in oure dayes Euer yow harpe vpon that string that yow woulde be Dorman like the apostles which when yow can proue that Christ promised to builde an other churche beside that whereof he made Peter the heade and that frier Martine Luther shoulde be the seconde Messias and Zuinglius or Carolstadius the heade therof then we will easely graunte to you But note againe I praie yow M. Nowell the difference of the schismes arising in the Apostles time and of youre schismes arising in our time The Apostles were not at diuision emongest them selues yow are The Apostles were before those schismes yowe haue risen together with the schismes Those schismes departed out from the Apostles your schismes are within youre selues Againe see the agrement of those schismes with youres and confer the case of the state of the churche nowe with that of the primitiue churche then Those schismes and sectes departed out off the primitiue churche euen so haue yow departed nowe oute of the same churche being of longre continuance They being departed multiplied into mo schismes and parted into farder diuision yow being departed multiply daily from schisme to schisme and newe sectes haue risen sence youre departure from Martin Luther They troubled and disquieted the primitiue church of the Apostles yow trouble and disquiet the catholike churche that nowe is If you demaunde the prouffe of this which I saie answer the booke which I am suer yow will neuer be hable to answere lately set furthe in oure tongue moste truly called The forteresse of the faithe c. And shewe vs as you will stande to it hereafter when the faith and light of goddes holy word which yow saie hathe nowe of late sprong againe was extinguished where and by whome Where it is well knowen to the worlde that oure learned men Nowell haue by their writinges more oppugned and repressed the saide sectes then all the papistes haue done This is that whiche I saide before that yow in dede Dorman wright diligently one against an other which is a moste euident assurance of youre dissention in doctrine And if these youre writinges were in the vulgare tongues to be reade of all men there woulde be no better argument in the worlde to disgrace youre doctrine for euer Whereas yow compare your diligence in writing with that of the catholikes if the late writinges of learned catholikes of all countries especially of Germanie it selfe were in dede compared to youres it shoulde appeare howe false and vntrue this is In dede we must nedes confesse a truthe that whilest we all remained Nowell vnder this quiet obedience of youre Romishe heade in one doctrine of his traditions there was a coloured kinde of quiâ—tnesse c. Foelix necessitas quae cogit ad meliora Happye is the Dorman necessitie whiche forceth to the better Here M. Nowell correcting him selfe for that before he charged vs so heynously withe schismes and sectes wyll somewhat
Who obteining that seate by vnlaufull meanes that is to saie vpon promise made to the Empresse to restore to the bishoprike of Constantinople Anthemius depriued thereof by Agapetus for heresie as sone as euer he entred into that seate the empresse chalenging him off his promise so was his wicked minde by gods speciall prouidence soddenly altered made answere that rather then ▪ he woulde restore an heretike to his seate from whence he was iustlie remoued he woulde soner suffer all the extremitie that might be And so did he in dede lyeng longe in prison suffer bothe hongre colde and diuerse other tormentes Whiche notwithstanding he acknowledged to be worthilie due vnto him for his greate offense The priuileage therefore I saie of this seate is suche that we be assured by his promise that saide to Peter that his faithe should Lucae 22. not faile that as hetherto the pope hathe allwaies fedde Christes churche withe sounde faithe and wholesome doctrine so shall he continue to doe so long as there is in earthe anie churche at all that is so longe as there is a worlde so long as Christes churche militant here in earthe and triumphant in heauen mete not in one to ioyne together And therefore yowe talcke of the popes tirannie to doe and say what he listeth yow talcke without boke M. Nowell and continue youre accustomed wont of sclaundring and lyeng Because yow well vnderstode that all this rouing talcke of youres was wide from the marcke that we shoote at and that happelie some one might saie vnto you that the matter which nowe is handled is whether there ought to be one generall heade in Christes churche or no and that therefore this place was brought in not to proue who it shoulde be or where he shoulde be resident yow thought it good to saie somewhat to this effecte to proue that this place is vntrulie applied to the proufe of the supremacy of one heade But howe proue yow this M. Nowell Because S. Cyprian alleageth this and other like places of scripture Nowell fo 60. a. 6 to make for the seuerall auctoritie of euerie peculier bishopp in his owne diocesse not of one heade ouer all bishoppes What thereof M. Nowell maye not one texte be applied Dorman by diuerse men diuersely and yeat no sense contrarie to the truthe The commaundement of S. Paule Omnis anima Rom. 12. potestatibus sublimioribus subditasit Let euerie soule be subiect to the higher powers maketh especiallie for the auctoritie of Emperours and kinges because it importeth moste that they be obeied yeat will you not I thinke saie that if the Iustice of a shiere or maior of a citie woulde bringe this texte to some stubborne man to wyn him to obedience that it were euill applied or were not when occasion serueth thertoe to be applied to the obedience of a kyng or emperour because it serueth also for his subiect The meaning of S. Cyprian was to persuade obedience to suche priestes as haue the charge to rule to the whiche purpose the example of the high prieste is well applied if it were for no other cause yeat euen for this that euerie bishop is in his owne diocesse the high and chiefe prieste of all the other that be of the same and no lesse to be obeied in that portion of his charge of those that be vnder him then he him selfe is bounde to obeye the pope the chiefe and heade in earthe of all bishoppes It agreeth not you saie that because the Iues one nation had Nowell one chiefe prieste therefore all nations thorough out the worlde shoulde haue one high prieste ouer all other You misuse the reader with the terme nation For not Dorman as one nation but as one Sinagoge as the onelie churche that then God had they had one highe prieste And so all Christians being but one catholike churche though manie nations ought to haue one heade bishop ouer all nations For as for the impossibilitie that yeat once againe you repeate of hauing one heade it hathe bene sufficinetly proned allreadie that that plea of youres is of no force and so far wide from the truth that it is not otherwise possible to haue the church well gouerned and without schismes God hauing nowe taken that ordre Which I saye as of the churche consisting of fraile and sinfull men For as touching God as you saie it is possible to him to gouerne the church without one heade so saye we it is not impossible to him to giue vs one heade to rule the whole and so to direct him that he neuer faile in his decrees concerning oure faithe Which because hetherto in dede he hathe done and beside hath promised that the faithe of Peter shall not faile we saye Lucae 22. of necessitie that it is and must be so S. Cyprian you saye alleageth this place of Deuteronomie of obedience to the high priest aswell for the auctoritie of Rogatianus Nowell a. 21. b. 28. as for his owne This is no more then you saied before which you ofte Dorman repeate to seme by ofte saing one thing to saie somewhat In dede it confirmeth verie muche my answere made before For whereas it is manifest that this place concerning the obedience due to the high prieste is alleaged as well for the auctoritie of Rogatianus who was an inferiour bishop as also for S. Cyprian the archebishop and Metropolitane of Africa it foloweth that S. Cyprian in the citing and alleaging therof had no other meaning then to persuade obedience to euerie bishop of what calling so euer he were bishop Archebishop primate patriarke or pope Excepte you will saye that he was of the minde that betwene bisshoppes and Archebishoppes he put no difference Yea verilie saie you of that minde was S. Cypriā in dede Nowell b. 15. For he confesseth in the beginning of his epistle to Rogatianus that he did but of courtesy and not of dutie refer this matter of his disobedient deacon by complaint to him c. I nede not muche to trauaile to proue that S. Cyprian Dorman shoulde not be of this minde seing that the learned knowe that the verie worde it selfe Archiepiscopus vsed in the churche bothe in S. Cyprians time and long before doth proue the contrarie and youre selfe haue vsed before the worde chiefe prelates of euerie prouince which were toe foolishe to be saied if there were betwen bishoppes no difference at al. Li. 3. epist 9. The wordes of S. Ciprian praising Rogatianus for that he did honorably towardes him and according to his accustomed hunulitie in referring the matter of his stubborn deacon to him being his archebishop whereas he him selfe by his owne auctoritie might haue punished him make nothing for this equalitie betwene all bishoppes If they had bene equall then might belike Rogatianus haue punisshed aswell one of S. Ciprians diocesse as he might the deacon who was of Rogatianus diocesse Which if you saye then will it
gouerne all the worlde This fonde reason of youres hath bene sufficiently answered The 11. and 12. chap. It is in dede the effect of youre whole answere in this youre Reprouse as yow call it Yeat haue yow not so greate a clercke yow are in youre whole boke brought so muche as one pore sely reason for the confirmation of it But yow as if yow were in the pulpite tanquam auctoritatem habens affirme manie thinges stoutely and wil be beleued at youre worde without reason or proufe at all Where yow saie There is no confusion in the worlde nor disordre Nowell a. 13. for that sundry partes of it haue sundry ciuile gouernours Surelie youre wittes failed yow muche and yow nodded Dorman a little M. Nowell For what wise man seeth not what learned man readeth not of yearelie and almost daily batailes quarelles contentions bloudeshead conspiracies and of infinite suche disordre to be in the worlde at this present and to haue allwaies bene by the reason of sundrie ciuile gouernours Oure Sauiour when it pleased him to take fleshe and redeme man chose that state wherein moste quiete and rest shoulde be that men might so the better attende to the preaching of goddes word which by warres and tumultuouse hurly burlies can not but be hindred He chose to come at that time when but 15. yeares before the whole knowen worlde of Europe Asia and Afrike was vnder the obedience of one Romaine emperour Octauius Augustus In that state the worlde was ruled certeine hundred yeares after vntill the Christian faithe was published and dilated vnto all the partes of the worlde Doe we not reade M. Nowell that the same emperour August bis clausit Ianum as muche to saie had twise in his daies a perfecte Alexander ab Alexandro lib. 1. Gema dier cap. 14. peace thorough out all the partes of the worlde yea thrise as some write Before that state of one vniuersall Emperour was and sence that state hath decaied how manie warres haue bene to the disquieting of all Christendome stirred vp How manie battailes cruelly fought How muche innocent bloude vnmercifully spilt What one yeare in one place of the worlde or other hath not plentifully brought furthe suche fruites as these are Are not all histories full Haue we not daily experience Haue we not hearde of the Turkes warres scarse yeat colde against vs at the Isle off Malta of the late warres in Fraunce and Scotland of allmoste the continuall warres in the daies of Charles the fifthe now with Fraunce nowe against the Mores nowe in Germanie now in Italie it selfe All this is but in one parte of Europa If we had before oure eyes the actes of other countries how muche might be saide thereof And yeat M. Nowell as though all the worlde were shutt vpp in the house where he dwelleth at Poules saieth there is no confusion in the worlde nor disordre for that sundrie partes of the same haue sundrie ciuile gouernours This is I confesse a matter more mete for some practised Counselour to debate then for scholers suche as I am professing no such policie to entreate of It reacheth I wote well beyonde the compasse of my discourse to saie herein but some small parte of that which might be saied Yeat this small note shall I trust be sufficient to instructe the ignorant and hable to moue the learned to farder consideration Yow saie the scriptures declare it to be so appointed by Nowell a. 16. God that sundrie partes of the worlde shoulde haue sundrie ciuile gouernours Eccles 17 So hathe the churche toe sundrie seuerall gouernours Dorman in sundrie seuerall diocesses and yeat one chiefe heade ouer all notwithstanding And therefore that texte might be verified well inough allthough there were one generall Emperour or other ruler ouer all the worlde And suerlie if this place of Ecclesiasticus were so to be vnderstande as that it did forbid the hauing of one generall ruler ouer the whole neuer woulde yowe maie be suer oure Sauiour haue chosen that time to be borne in and that for a speciall liking as al writers agree that he had in that state of gouernement that then was But if it were so that God had appointed the ordre of the worlde to be suche as that there should be of necessitie in euerie particuler countrie a particuler heade and no one ouer the whole which negatiue wordes the scripture hathe not yeat might there be a secrete cause of goddes prouidence why this ordre shoulde be rather in worldly gouernement then in spirituall whiche we be not worthy to knowe Perhappes to be a punishement for sinne this ordre was taken that one off vs might be a whippe and scourge to the other whiche allthough God by his iustice doe to oure bodies thorough battaile and warre punishing them yeat woulde he not of his mercie so punishe by schismes and heresies oure soules You note to the Reader after the Hagiographa in the English The booke of Ecclesiasticus reiected by the protâ—stants alleaged Bibles that this boke of Ecclesiasticus is of the noÌ„bre of theÌ„ that are not to be alleaged for the proufe of doctrine Nowe what double dealing is this I praye you M. Nowell there to reproue it and here to alleage it and grounde a doctrine vpon it neuer hearde of before to witte that of necessitie euerie countrie must haue a seuerall supreme gouernour If you shoulde preache openly this doctrine in pulpite M. Nowell how soone woulde you either proue a traitour your selfe or make other traitours For were it not thinke you a faulte to the crowne of EnglaÌ„d in the nature of high treason to saie that Ireland being a seuerall countrie diuided from England by the maine Ocean ought to haue a seuerall gouernour other then Englishe Were it not treason for youre brethren protestantes of these lowe countries to preache by this texte as you write that because Spaine and Flaundres be farre diuerse and seuerall countries for this cause they ought not to be vnder one heade prince and kinge as they are Therefore if you loue the quiet of the realme and esteme youre dutie to youre souereigne and oures twange no more vpon that stringe I warne you like a frende You prosecute youre fonde argument and saye So is their no disordre that seuerall churches haue seueral bisshoppes to their heades Nowell a. 17. No disordre at all but moste conuenient ordre if those Dorman seuerall bishoppes obeye the one heade placed by Christe ouer them But to make those seuerall bishoppes to rule the seuerall churches without recourse when occasion shall requier to a higher as you doe we saye it is a greate disordre To returne to Nazianzene his saing where is no rule there Nowell a. 27. b. 1. is no ordre where many rule there is sedition you saye that if manie magistrates haue equall auctoritie in one common wealthe or if manie ecclesiasticall persones haue equall auctoritie in
one seuerall churche it is like to their fantasie who woulde haue manie equall goddes to rule the worlde But one seuerall ruler in one seuerall dominion one seueral bishop in one seuerall diocesse doe resemble one God ruling one whole worlde I take you at youre worde M. Nowell that if many magistrates Dorman haue equall rule in one common wealthe it is like to their fantasie who woulde haue manie equall goddes to rule the worlde But the churche of Christe saye I is but one An argument against M. Nowell vpon his owne graunte christian common wealthe therefore it foloweth by youre owne confessiō that if manie doe equally rule without relation to one head it is like to their fantasie who woulde haue manie equall goddes to rule the worlde One seuerall bishop in one seuerall diocesse dothe not fo 62. b. 4. resemble one God ruling one worlde as you dreame but one chiefe bishop in the catholike churche whiche in your crede you professe to be but one he M. Nowell resembleth trulie one God without anie presumption at all seing goddes pleasure is it shal be so It was no presumption in the apostles to sit still and suffer Christe to washe their Ioan. 3. feete You knowe what Peter had saide vnto him for streining curtosye as he did That you saie it is a thing vnheard of but in the pope of Rome there you made your bargaine somewhat wiselie We graunt the same and adde beside that it were intollerable presumption for anie other to lay claime to that auctoritie And yeat we trust because S. Peter Homil. vlt. in Ioan. was pope and as Chrisostome saieth maister of the whole worlde and thereto out of the compasse of the last nine hundred yeares and had this auctoritie by Christe and not from Phocas you wil be the better for his sake to all the rest Now foloweth youre conclusion VVherefore M. Dorman and D. Harding maie as well saye that Nowell b. 19. the worlde is seditiously gouerned by diuerse Princes as the churche by seuerall bishoppes But as Nazianzene neuer dreamed of one Emperour ouer all the worlde to auoide sedition though he teacheth there is one God no more did he though he teache one Christe yeat euer dreame of one only heade bishop or pope c. I haue oftentimes shewed here before that the regiment Dorman of the churche is farre different from that of the worlde It shal be nedelesse to repeate it here againe Yow can not therefore reason from the one to the other Whereof Nazianzene dreamed I knowe not of this I am suer that to applye by drift of reasoning the sentence of an Auctor to that which he neuer ment or intēded so that to his meaning and intent it be in no wise repugnant or contrarye is not onely no dreame but the vsage also and practise off learned men And therefore in the lawe manye a case is decided by wordes which the lawier neuer dreamed peraduenture that they euer shoulde be so applyed The better and more excellent the Author is the more ample sense maye be gathered in his writinges As in the Scripture especially the infinite variety of commentaries doth declare Wherefore I doe the more meruell that you a man traded and brought vp in good lettres and a professour off the same shoulde raue rather waking then talke after suche a sorte in yowre slepe dreaming But I knowe the cause youre parte is here altogether to reproue not to proue as by the title of youre boke you warned vs before He speaketh further in his sleape and sayeth Howe shall we Nowell fol. 63 a. 1. Psalm 86 then saie oure lord loueth Syon aboue al the tabernacles of Iacob What this dothe meane or to what purpose it is I knowe not Nor I beleue M. Dorman when he waketh if euer he wake can tel him selfe I am glad that my name ministreth you so muche Dorman matter of scoffing mirthe and sorie that so excellent inuention shoulde be more then halfe loste for that that the gretest parte of youre ministres thorough lacke off the Latine tongue can not perceiue that swete allusion that is betwene dormire in Latin and Dorman in Englishe But thinke you thus to passe ouer the scripture with a sleepish scoffe Thinketh youre noddis nowlle I might saye M. Nowell if I listed to contende with you in this kinde of eloquence so to delude the worde of God that yow maye call it a dreame and so let it slepe No M. Nowell truthe will ouercome when it shal be with you as it was in the beginning And therefore I repeate againe if the Sinagoge of the Iues had one heade to rule them and the churche more ample and therefore in more daunger of schisme and consequently standing in more nede of one heade haue yeat no suche heade then I saye M. Nowell howe dothe God tendre Syon the churche of Christe aboue the Synagoge of the Iues By Syon is ment therefore in this place the churche which oure Lorde loueth more then the Synagoge as Saint Augustine vpon this place dothe in these wordes well declare Diligit illam spiritualem ciuitatem super In. psalm 86. omnia figurata quibus intimabatur illa ciuitas semper manens He loueth that spirituall citie aboue all the figuratiue thinges by the which that citie which euer shall continue was signified This being therefore true it foloweth that he hathe left to vs aswell one heade to rule vs and directe vs in one vniforme faithe as he gaue to the Synagoge Nowe am I awake M. Nowell yow see and can tell you and haue tolde yow what I meane by these wordes Iff yow coulde as well tell what you meant by that musicall twang of youre harpe you should take out of many mennes heades manie odde crachettes You nede not now to be carefull for Pighius waking or to make any combate with his spirite for the matter who slepeth not excepte you will defende the heresie of them that beleue so of all soules but is in perfect rest I trust or in assured hope to be Howe God hathe prouided better for the churche then for the Synagoge and of the strength of my reason drawen from the Synagoge to the churche The 20. Chapter God hath prouided for the churche you saye as well as he Nowell fol. 63. a. 24. did for the Iues and better too Here you graunte all that I saied and more too But let Dorman vs marcke youre mightie reasoning howe you proue it I praye you For whereas they had but one chiefe bisshop for their whole Nowell nation he hath prouided for the churche in euery diocesse one that they may be the better gouerned and lesse pained to trauaile far for the decision of their doubtes and controuersies To this saye we if God had done no otherwise he had Dorman done lesse for the church then for the Iues. For better it is to haue one heade
vnto the whiche doubtes of greate importaunce maye be referred then to haue manie in manie places and euerie one without respect to one chiefe to doe as he shall thinke good Howe thinke you M. Nowell is it not better in one familie to haue one Maister in one citye one Maior in one shiere one lieutenant then in a familye manie maisters in a citie manie Maiors in a shiere many lieutenātes I know not who gouerneth in your house your wife or you or bothe but this I thinke I maye be bolde to saye that if youre wife were not quarter maister onely but as muche maister as you that you were not therefore in better case then youre nexte neighbour that had the whole rule of his house him selfe Iff the streightes off youre owne house like you not loke vpon the largenes of the whole realme and iudge whether it be better to haue one liege souereigne or manie Yow hearde S. Augustines opinion Lib. de verarelig ca. 25. a better diuine I trowe then yowe touching this matter before concluding that their auctoritie was greater and they of better credite that reduced all thinges to one God because in the worckes of nature he saied it was so So in the churche M. Nowell seing that as God is one the faithe is also one one heade is better to conserue that one faithe and the vnitie thereof then many Therefore if the Iues had one heade bishoppe and the churche diuerse heades it is by all reason worse prouided for Excepte you will saie that to haue manie equall rulers in one bodie in one common wealthe is better then to haue only one Which notwitstanding before yow resembled to their fantasy who woulde haue manie equall goddes to rule the worlde But yow saie there is muche labour and paines saued Here while yow seke for ease yow leese vnitie while yowe diminishe paines yow prepare the high waie to the multiplieng off schismes Yow haue an eye to the resorting to that one heade from all places of the worlde but yow considre not the fruite of peace and vnitie that is thereby procured Make diuerse equall heades in the churche and you shall neuer be hable to auoide schismes in the same whiche S. Hierome as yow hearde before saieth can not be kepte out of particuler churches without there be one prieste of perelesse auctoritie aboue the rest Now let the learned reader iudge whether paines be well redemed by suche an inestimable benefite Yow clatter still that this heade emongest the Iues was but of one nation I tell yowe againe as I dyd before it was the churche that God had in earthe at that time But M. Dorman dealeth not truly with the Apologie c. The Nowell fo 62. b. 7 Apologie saieth that as the church decaied in the olde lawe where was the same God the same Christe the same holie ghoste c. then as is nowe so maie it and hath it decaied now M. Dorman handleth the matter as though he coulde proue by the Apologie that because where was the same God the same Christe the same holie ghost c. in the Iuishe church as is nowe therfore must there be one heade bishopp ouer all the christian churches thorough out the world as there was one heade bishop ouer all the Iues whiche foloweth no more then that we muste haue circumcision nowe for that the Iues had it then I merueile that yow be not ashamed to make anie mention Dorman The reason of the Apologie The church decaied in the olde lawe ergo it maie and hathe decaied in the newe confuted of that foolishe false and blasphemouse reason vsed by the Apologie For the concealing whereof reason woulde yow shoulde rather haue thanked me then haue accused me of vntrue dealing But wilt thow see good Reader how vntrulie I haue delt Forsothe because the proposition off one God one Christe c. brought by the Apologie serued not for the proufe of that for whiche it was brought I vsed it being a generall and true maxime to proue a true conclusion But why shoulde it not serue his purpose as well yow will saie as mine I will tell yow the cause One especiall cause why this argument of the Apologie The Synagoge hath decaied Ergo the church hath decaied defended here stoutely by M. Nowell shoulde not be good is because God hathe made other maner of promises for the continuance of his church then euer he made to the Synagoge He hath promised that hell gates shall not preuaile Matth. 16. against it This were not true if it had bene either these 15. or nine hundred yeares either ouerrun with heresies He hath appointed it to continue with the sonne and to remaine till the monel be taken awaie If because the churche Psalm 71. of the olde lawe was brought to that paucitie that some times there were but eight as in Noes time or but Elias alone Gen. 7. as he was persuaded but yeat in dede 7000. mo as God tolde him and that in Israel for in Iuda notwithstanding 3. Reg. 19. the churche florished although your Apologie had not reade so farre If I saie the churche of Christe might after 15. hundred yeares continuance be brought to the same case In the Portress◠the 6. 7. 8. and 10. chapitres nowe where were all these promises with diuerse other diligently of late gathered together made to the churche and of the churche If because in the olde lawe God was Notus in Iudea in Israel magnum nomen ei us knowen in Psalm 75. Iurie and his name greate in Israel but so no farder it maie be laufull for yow to defende youre secrete conuenticles at Geneua or elles where where is then thorough out all nations Lucae 24. beginning at Hierusalem Where is the prophecie of Dauid spoken before hande of Christes kingdome the churche that it shoulde rule from sea to sea and from the floud to the Psalm 71. ende of the worlde Seing therefore these greate promises haue bene made by all mightie God to the churche whereas to the Synagoge the figure thereof there were made no such although it decaied although at the last it vanished awaie as the priestehod and lawe did we can not conclude that therfore the same should happen to the church which hath other maner of staies to holde it vp The compilers of youre Apologie might be ashamed M. Nowell if they had not abandoned all shame and honestie to abuse after this sorte the examples of the holie scripture to proue that Christes churche might faile because in the olde lawe it was brought to some pancitie◠whiche reason they borowed of the Donatistes those wicked heretikes as appeareth by Saint Augustine who confuteth the same And Lib. de vnitat eccle cap. 12. thus haue I shewed you M. Nowell a cause why this saing of youre Apologie could not be applied to the churche of Christe that is nowe it remaineth that I answere
youre obiection made of circuncision whiche you saye I maie aswell proue to be to be vsed nowe because it was vsed in the olde lawe as proue the necessitie of one chiefe heade therby No that I can not I will in fewe wordes tell you a cause why The newe lawe is called by the scripture Hebr. 9. tempus correctionis the time of reformation because it correcteth and reformeth the olde whiche brought nothing to perfection Circuncision in the olde lawe was one of Hebr. 7. those thinges that God woulde in the time of grace take awaye and substitute in the place therof a better that is Baptisme So was not the placing of one heade ouer the Synagoge which being done for the quieting of controuersies you maye be suer God would no lesse shoulde continue in the ordre of his churche which he loued so dearely then in the Synagog which was but a figure thereof And yeat if we shoulde folowe youre iudgement the wisdome of God which came to reforme the olde lawe and make a newe perfecte lawe should by appointing ouer his churche manie heades for one make the lawe in that pointe lesse perfecte then was the other Thus you see I can not reason as you saye I might circuncision in respect of baptisme being vtterly an imperfection of the lawe whereas that ordre of one chiefe prieste was moste perfite and appointed to continue for euer excepte you can proue that God hath changed that ordre for the better as he hath in taking awaye circuncision This first side of the. 64. leafe conteineth no other matter fol. 64. a. then greate bragges of the Apologie withe a prophecie of M. Nowells that none of the Romishe cleargie shal euer be able to answere it to anie purpose That prophecie is now thankes be to God proued false and M. Nowell withall a vaine lier and a pelting prophete And nowe I thinke M. Nowell a false prophetâ— that by this time all honest men will maruell the lesse to see so manie lies in this Reproufe of M. Nowelles seing that he hath bene so friendely to shewe him selfe a patrone in defending this lewde lieng Apologie of the whiche iff I haue made any lye it is because I called it but a fardle of lyes whereas I should haue called it as M. Nowell hath sence taught me a whole lighter You blame me not you saye for alleaging anie thinge out Nowell b. â—6 of the olde TestameÌ„t but for my guilefull and vntrue application of places of the olde Testament and of the doctours to suche purposes as they apperteine nothing vnto at all nay are most contrarie to the same You refuse not scripture but the wroÌ„g applicatioÌ„ So wil Dorman anie heretike saye to yow except the Swenckfeldian with whome you shall haue to doe I applie this scripture as the catholike consent of all the worlde dothe applye it whome folowe you in refusing it That there hathe ben nothing proued by me neither fo 65. a. 3. by reason nor by examples of common wealthes it is an impudent lye of youres M. Nowell I haue proued by bothe A lye 52. that as euerie kingdome and countrie hathe his temporall head to gouerne the same by like statutes lawes and customes so the church which is but one muste haue one head to directe it in one faith and religion No reason no examples be againste me for no reason admitteth no example teacheth that one bodie shoulde be better gouerned by manie heades then by one And therfore that is an other Lye 53. lye S. Cyprian and S. Hierome thoughe they speake but of Byshoppes in theire owne diocesse Yeat by greater reason their wordes take place in the whole church as before hathe bene declared That euerie diocesse haue a peculier bishop it is not contrary to the Popes supremacy as you vntruly say And if it should be coÌ„trarie how would you then auoyde his reason that woulde inferre here vpon that the hauing then of seuerall gouernours of euerie shyre in a realme shoulde be contrarie to the gouernement of one supreme gouernour the kinge or the Quene Wel then seinge it is not cleane contrarie to the hauinge of one general heade to haue manie inferiour heades S. Cyprian and S. Hierome be not cleane contrarie to me nor contrarie neither This is therfore allso a lye I gaue to Leo such an epitheton Lye 54. as the whole councell of Calcedon gaue to him before Yf you be angrie there at wreke your selfe vpoÌ„ them Leo maketh for vs directlie all were it trewe that you cauill of Zozimus But as the reader vnderstandeth by this time I dowte not both Zozimus is proued innocente and you a false slaunderer a 18. Neither the lawe neither S. Cyprian vpon the lawe speaketh against one head bishop That is an other flat lye M. Nowell For to testifie one sense of scripture whiche Lye 55. Sainte Cyprian doth is not to condemne an other My collection from the one head bishop of the Synagog hath ben proued to be good and laufully deduced I neade not here to repeate it againe You wishe that I and all other aduersaries of the truth so it Nowell a. 17. pleaseth you to call vs woulde reason from the shadowes off the olde lawe as did S. Paule but you saye we doe not You proue youre sayeng by a bare deniall And then Dorman yowe passe to an other cleane wyde from the purpose But suche is youre rhetorike moste worthye to be noted Well let vs examine youre wanderinge extrauagant note VVe haue made yow yow saye off Christians Iues and Nowell fol. b. 14. oure selues off ministers off the Ghospell Aaronicall Leuites cet Not we M. Nowell but the primitiue churche as youre Dorman selfe confesse in this place in saynge that these thinges beganne in Saint Hieromes tyme. Yow do well to folowe so Lib. 4. cap. 18. neare the steppes of youre Maister Caluin who chargethe in his institutions the fathers of the primitiue churche for counterfeiting the Iuish maner of sacrificing more nearly theÌ„ The fathers off the primitiue churche sclaundered by Caluin other Christ had ordeined or the nature of the gospell did beare But if these thinges were in the primitiue churche then beare the people no more I praye you in hande that you resemble the primitiue church Iff S. Hierome complained of suche thinges in his time then appeale no more to the first six hundrethe yeares if you be wise Then terme not churche ornamentes late superstitions But if S. Hierome complained not at all of suche ornamentes of the church but in the Epistle ad Nepotianum lamented only that weightier matters as the true decking of Christes churche with good ministers were neglected If in the epistle ad Demetriadem he plainelye saieth Non reprehendo non abnuo I reproue it not I dissent not then haue you abused the reader with S. Hieromes name and belied him once agayne
That whiche foloweth is but a common place of railing wherein because you talke but in youre facultie I can the lesse blame you And to reason sadlye with an outragious rayler were but you wot well to preache to frantike Tom of Bedlem The foundation you saye of altars belles banners candels Nowell fol. 67. a. 3. c. leaneth to this reason of mine It was so in the shaddowe therfore it must be so now in the body in the truth in our church This reason you thinke you saie that I like as well as the former reason of one heade and that reason it is that so I shoulde thinke No M. Nowell you are fouly deceaued if you write as Dorman you thinke But what It semeth to me that you foregtte yourselfe Will you I praye you on high dayes when you distribute those holye misteries of youres weare no cope Or if you doe muste the foundation of the wearing thereof be grounded vppon the Iuish ceremonies No you will answere I weare it because the Quenes Maiesties iniunctions will haue me doe so And oure priestes weare them because the lawes of the churche will haue them doe so Iff of youre doinges the Princes lawe maye be the grownde Whie maye not the churche be the same of oures Now if the Prince may commaunde the ministre to weare a cope Why maye not the same commaunde the bishop to weare a mitre albes and tunicles Whye maye not by the same commaundement altars belles banners candels plentie of golde and siluer be brought into the churche And then if the Prince maye commaunde it why maye not the churche of Christe doe as muche Thus reteine we these thinges as commaunded by the church not as vsed by the Iues. Who euer vseth them so is a Iue who so vseth them so sinneth deadly Neither is the reason like why I should reason from ceremonies in the lawe appointed but for the while as you woulde haue me to that by whiche I argue from thinges foreshadowed in the Synagoge to continue in the church for euer You procede and after my maner of reasoning you aske Nowell a. 13. why you maye not also reason for the scriptures to be had in a language that the people do the vnderstande For priestes to haue wiues for images to be taken awaye seing that in the Iuish churche all the people men women and children had the scripture in a language that they did well vnderstand the Leuites and priestes had wiues and children seing that in that church there were no Images especiallie when reason beside the lawe proueth that it ought to be so Who can denie suche a frende his requeste Will yow Dorman gladlye learne why my argumente shoulde holde and not youres Listen a while and you shall knowe Firste for the Scriptures I take not here vpon me to resolue that question whether it be expedient that they shoulde be in the vulgare tonge or no. For I knowe it is impertinent to oure matter But to youre question I answere that whereas you saie that women and children had the scripture in a language that they did well vnderstand that is once false for firste that Hebrue tongue wherein the scriptures were written was not the common tongue that the people vsed emongest them selfes but suche as being peculier to the learned coulde not beinge vttred by the prieste be vnderstande excepte he did firste expounde and interprete it Nexte beinge writen without pointes that is without anye vowell at all noted in the texte as we haue it nowe pointed when or by whom it is not certeinlie knowen but by the learned Iues them selues as it is thought beinge gathered together in a councell at a towne called Tiberia it foloweth that the vnlearned coulde as euill reade it as vnderstande it beinge readen till it were expounded And for this cause the 72. elders had onelie power and auctoritie to interprete the scripture and to reade it to the people as here in the Chapiter by yow alleaged Moyses dyd This beinge Exod. 24. most true as for the first point we haue the testimonie of that learned bishop Theodoretus the B. of Cyrus for the nexte that of longe time the hebrue tongue remained vnpointed the consent of the beste stories howe had then the people of the Iuishe church men women and children the scripture in a language that they did well vnderstande being readen by other The wordes of Theodoretus are these Vocem Hebraicam arbitroresse sacram Quemadmodum enim In quaest in Gen. q. 60 in templis Graecorum quidam sunt literarum characteres peculiares quos sacros appellarunt Sic deus omnium per Moysen donauit hanc linguam non naturalem sed ad docendum aptam Siquidem cum reliqui omnes loquantur lingua gentis suae in qua nati fuerint nati in Italia Italorū vtantur vòce qui in Graecia voce Graecorum qui in Perside Persarum qui in Egipto lingua Aegiptiorum loquantur nihilominus nulli pueri Hebraeorum reperiuntur qui statim hebraica lingua vtuntur sed eorum apud quos nati sunt Deinde cum parum adoleuerint docentur literarum characteres discunt literis scripturam diuinam hebraica voce scriptam That is to saie The hebrue tonge I thinke to be holie for as in the Greke temples there be certeine peculier characters of lettres whiche they call holie euen so the God of all by Moyses hathe geuen this tongue not naturall but apte to teache for whereas all other do speake the tonge of theire owne nation wherein they were borne and they whiche be borne in Italie vse the Italian tongue being borne in Grece speake the greke tongue in Persia the Persian and in Egipte the Egiptian tongue yet notwithstandinge none of the children of the Hebrues be founde whiche from the beginninge vse the hebrue tongue but their language emongest whom they be borne Afterwarde when they waxe somewhat bigge they be taughte the caracters and letters and learne in lettres holie scripture writen in the Hebrue tongue Yowe here M. Nowell that the hebrewe tongue wherin the old lawe was written was no naturall tongue that the characters and letters were peculiar that is to saie not to be vnderstande of euery man and for that cause called holy as those were that the Grekes had in their temples Yow here that it was not learned by nature as are the Englishe french Italian and other vulgare tongues but by arte as are the latine Greke and Hebrue with vs. So that as the readinge of scripture in latine helpethe nothinge the vnlearned Englishman no more did the reading of the lawe in the Hebrewe tongue proffit the vnlearned till the reader did expounde it For whiche cause by the lawe the people was commaunded to Malach. 2. demaunde the lawe at the priestes mowthe who kepte it And thus much for the lawe for your reason that they that are bounde to obey goddes lawe ought to vnderstande it
it is true I graunte by such laufull ministres as are appointed Cap. 31. to teache it as appeareth by the verie place of Deuteron that yow alleage here For the mariage of priestes why yowe maie not reason from the olde lawe to the newe to establishe it the firste cause is because the priestes of the olde lawe did serue in the temple by turnes and when their courses came to serue they were seperated from theire wiues In the lawe of the Lib. 1. contra Iouinia Ca. 3. 1. ad Timoth. distin 31. cap. tenere ghospell the prieste must be readie continually and daylie to ministre This doe S. Hierome S. Ambrose and Innocentius the firste confirme by this argument The priestes off the olde lawe absteined from their wyues when their course came to ministre but the priestes of the newe lawe must be alwaies reaadie to ministre therfore they may not marye at all Againe the church makethe suche only priestes as doe vowe chastitie This vowe is free to be made or not made when it is made not the church onelye but the law of God forceth men to kepe it The single state in the olde law was not so cōmended nowe it is by the Apostle preferred before honorable wedlocke Beside this the Apostle sayeth The maried thinketh 1. Cor. 7. on those thinges that perteine to the worlde and how he maye please his wife the vnmaried man vpon those thinges that perteine to God how he maye please hym Therefore he exhorteth all men most of all the ministers of God to be like to him selfe that is single and vnmaried The fifth cause of differēce may be because priestehode went then by successiō within one tribue and therefore it was necessarie that they maried to continue the same whereas oures goeth by lauful vocatiō and the priestes are and may be chosen through out the worlde and therefore there is no such necessitie Last of al I answere as Sainte Austen did to Faustus the Manichee obiecting Lib. 22. Cap. 47. to Iacob as a greate crime the hauing of foure wiues Quando mos erat crimen non erat nunc propterea crimen est quia mos non est When the maner was so it was no faulte and nowe therfore it is a faulte because it is not the maner Are not these M. Nowell reasons sufficient to assoile youre doubte why priestes should not now mary because they were maried in the olde lawe Replye first againste these and then shall you here more In the meane season thus much be sayed to the lawe Nowe to your reason why ptiestes should be maried nowe as well as they were in the olde lawe You reason not with S. Paule as you bragge here but against him For whereas he saieth that such younge widowes a ▪ 28. 1. Timot. 5 as after theire vowes maried haue theire damnation you bring him for the contrarie disagreing by that meanes bothe with him selfe and the auncient fathers who agree all in the interpretation of this place He that can not conteine let him marye c. that it is to be vnderstanden of such 1. Cor. 7. Amb. cap. 5. ad virg lapsam alij alibi as hauing not vowed to the contrarie be yeat in the ful possession of their libertie and intende not to vse the meanes to atteine chastitie Yow reason against S. Paule whome you wrest here to this meaning that he should will all men to marye Whereas he wissheth on the contrarie parte in this very chapitre all men to be vnmaried as he was him selfe He meaneth here M. Nowell as witnesse S. Hierome S. Lib. 1. contra Iouin Amb. in hoc cap. 7. Chrysost hom 9. in hunclocū Ambrose and S. Chrysostome that the Corinthians whome saieth S. Ambrose he sawe so to swarme with vices that he thought it very harde for them to liue continentlie should continue to kepe euery man the cōpanie of his maried wife which they doubted whether it were laufull for them to doe or no and therefore consulted S. Paule therein That this is the true meaning of the place beside the auctoritie of these fathers by the whole discourse also of the chapitre and these wordes that followe nexte after those alleaged by you Vxori vir debitum reddat c. Let the man yealde to his wife the due debt of mariage it maye manifestly appeare To your last question of images I answere that suche images as Christian men haue were not forbidden They were idolles that were forbidden or images to be worsshipped as God of which sorte we haue none Men doe not stoupe to insensible blockes or stones no more than he dothe reuerence to wax or parchement that kisseth the Quenes broade seale and therefore that reason argueth him that of men hauing life or reason so saieth or thinketh to be him selfe for his witt a blocke for his Christian charitie a verie stone The honour that we giue to images is to the thinges that they represent not to the matter of the image it selfe You haue by this time I trust M. Nowell your request satisfied not by greate leasoure but all other busines set aparte with as much spede as I coulde The reason you see why I maie reason as I doe but not you as you woulde is other than my bare pleasure And therefore I will now procede further In this leafe and first side you saye first that Christ is the onelie fo 68. a. Nowell heade of the catholike churche and none but he alone then that the scriptures are the iudge of all controuersies because they shall iudge vs in the last greate daye Christ is onelie the chiefe heade of his churche and after Dorman that manner there is no other heade thereof but he Whiche as he is also of all the particuler churches that be in the worlde and yeat that no let but that there be other inferiour heades vnder him so is his being heade ouer the whole churche no more let that there shoulde be an other inferioure heade to rule in his corporal absence ouer the whole churche here in earth When you talke of Scripture and thinke it straunge that it shoulde not be the onelie iudge in all controuersies we merueile not seing we remembre that you haue reason to holde with youre forefathers olde condemned heretikes But of this I shall when I come hereafter to your discourse vpon this point haue more occasion to speake Presently I will note to the reader the wise reason that yowe bring to proue that the onelie scripture ought to be the iudge of all controuersies which is because it shall iudge bothe yow and vs in the latter daye So shall oure Sauioure in his visible personne M. Nowell So shall the 12. Apostles wil you proue therby that Christ and the twelue Apostles in their visible persones ought to be the iudges of all controuersies that arise now in the churche Beside that these wordes can not be
run to morowe nexte with the bloude of heretikes as God of his tendre mercie forbid suche hardenes of harte in those that professe them selues to be Christians yeat ought not therefore the cause to be iudged anie whit the better seing that we see the cursed secte of Anabaptistes and haue heard of the wicked Donatistes and knowe beside that the diuell hathe aswell his false witnesses readie to suffer gladlie moste bitter deathe for their conceaued opinions as Christe hathe his true martirs to doe the like for the true catholike faithe Thus muche be saide to M. Nowelles impertinent discourse of copes vestimentes gilted crosses candelstickes c. and to his other idle talcke of the persecution forsothe and martirdome sauing youre reuerences of his deare brethern Nowe at the length he commeth to that whiche he shoulde chiefely haue answered in this place that is of thetrieng of all controuersies by the only scripture To proue that of controuersies rising about the true vnderstandinge of the scripture the scripture it selfe should be the iudge he vseth a similitude wherin he compareth vs to the phariseis and him selfe and his companions to the Apostles And vpon that comparison reasoneth in effecte as foloweth As in the controuersie betwene the Apostles and the Phariseis Nowell fol. 69. a. 1 the question being whether Christe were the true Messias the Apostles affirming the Phariseis denieng if the matter had bene referred to the interpretation and determination of the high prieste and his consistorie we mighte yeat haue loked withe the Iues for Messias to come and as it was no reason that in the controuersie betwene the saide highe priestes and the Apostles whether they had put Christe iustlie or vniustlie to death they shoulde be them selues the iudges who were not onelie accessaries but the principall partes to the murther so must we nowe with the Apostles make the scripture the iudge of oure controuersies and the pope by all reason must be excluded as he that is the sinke of all the abhominations wherewith he that hath but halfe an eye maie see how shamefully the lawe of God is as it was by the Phariseis corrupted Youre similitude M. Nowell halteth and is not able Dorman therefore to go so far as it should For the better declaration whereof it is to be knowen that as sone as Iohn the Baptist Matth. 11. began to preache the Synagoge which had no promise to continue for euer began to languishe and so was at the length weakened that after Christes deathe it came to nothing Christe hauing then established a newe church and made his Apostles the doctours and iudges thereof and Peter the gouernour of all Now see I praye you how this similitude of youres holdeth The Apostles being the true church of Christe referred not their controuersies to the Phariseis which perteined not to the church yea were enemies and persecutours thereof but referred the same to the scriptures and iudged by the scriptures them selues ergo the church of Christe that is nowe maye not be the iudge of controuersies but we must refer the same to the scriptures I denie that consequent M. Nowell You proue it because the Apostles did not referre their controuersies to the high priestes and Phariseis I graunte you for their priestehode and auctoritie was expired When you shal be hable to proue vs Phariseis and your selues the true churche then maie you by this similitude reason that as the Apostles referred not the iudgement of the meaning of the scriptures to the Phariseis which were not the church nor of the church so you will not being the church refer the matter to vs but iudge of the scripture your selues as the Apostles The Apostles being the true churche of Christe iudged of the scriptures did In the meane season as the Apostles alleaged for thē selues the scripture and saied it made for thē wherein they gaue iudgement of the scripture so foloweth it that Christes church which is now the same that was then iudgeth in al controuersies which is the right and true sense Neither can it serue you to saie to the contrarie as you doe sclaunderouslie that the worde of God hauing bene moste shamefully by vs corrupted as he that hath but halfe an eye maie well see it is no reason being parties that we shoulde be iudges therein Seing that thus might the Phariseis haue saide euen of the Apostles them selues and laied to their charges partialitie because they were Christes scholers and disciples and so parties to the cause whiche they mainteined and also for that you haue not as yeat proued nor euer shal be hable to proue that Christes church hath euer erred in the faith or the heade thereof at anie time deliuered to the church any tradition or erroniouse opinion whereby the worde of God hath bene corrupted Which assertion of youres being moste directly against the scriptures bearing witnes so manifestly Math. 14. 16. Ioan. 14. alibi of the continuance of the churche incorrupted so often auouched by you and being the only fundation of this plea of youres that we be the Phariseis and you Christes true Apostles me thinketh you should haue done well once in so often affirming it to haue proued by one sentence of scripture or some approued auctor and not facingly to saye that he that hathe but halfe an eye maie see that it is so or elles till you coulde haue proued it it had bene more for your honestie to haue absteined from suche vnmercifull and vnchristianlike demeanure as you vse towardes bothe the church of Christe and the head thereof Where you saye that I will haue the scripture reiected there you reporte vntrulie of me This I saie that scripture not thorough anie imperfection or insufficiencie that is in it but onelie by occasiō of stubborne wrangling and contentiouse natures who neuer will giue ouer the opinion that they haue once conceiued euerie one being at apoint to receiue no other interpretation thereof thē to them shal seme good is not hable to ende and determine al cōtrouersies moued vpō the lettre thereof and that therfore euen as in the lawes of the realme whiche were to decide all controuersies sufficient so that the lawe being broughte euerie man woulde furthewithe yealde to it because they will not there be iudges by the prince appointed to cut of all altercations and to preserue the realme in quiet who when the councellours bothe of the one parte and the other haue contentiouslie disputed the matter eache of them affirming that the lawe is on his side shall by opening the meaning thereof ende the strife So is it not to be thought but that God forseing the innumerable sectes of heretikes that shoulde trouble his churche of whome there shoulde be no one no not of them that directlie blush not to teache Suencfeldius that there ought to be no scripture at all that woulde not colourablie defende the same by scripture it is not I saie to be
or some other like vnto it If this were not youre meaning M. Nowell why cut you of the worde quaÌ„uis at the beginning and these other in the middest Tell vs some other cause if you can Next after these auctorities you alleage a treatie of one fo 73. a. Borowed of the coÌ„fession of wittenberge Tit. de Eccles that you set furth Rhetorically calling him an auncient auctor printed withe Chrisostome and of long time taken for him to proue that the churche must be tried by the scriptures To this place I answere that whether it be Chrisostomes owne worcke from whence it is taken or no this is a thing moste certeine that it is to be warily readen as the boke which hath thrust into it if it be Chrisostomes owne or anie other catholike mannes by some false Arrian heretike manie poisoned and perniciouse sentences for the maintenaunce of the Arrians heresie Emongest other to note to you one or two euen in the. 48. homilie whiche is the verie nexte before this that you alleage here the Catholikes for mainteining the equalitie of Christe with God the father are nombred emongest heretikes and in the. 45. they are called heretikes that holde that the blessed trinitie is equall of like substance and auctoritie And therefore in suche places as this auctor who so euer it be dissenteth from the common faithe of Christes churche we haue iust cause to suspect that there this heretike who hath it appeareth ouerronne the whole hath dipped in his fingres and therefore that we reiect As in this place it is likely that he thought to make a waie for his heresies by chalenging to be tried by the scripture onelie the common request of the Arrian heretikes because the worde they saide Homousion was not to be founde in the scriptures But nowe if these wordes were Chrisostomes owne and not put in by the heretike yeat foloweth it not that because the churche is to be tried by the scriptures onelie that therefore all other questions maie be decided by the same alone For God whose wisedome diuised whose holie spirite brethed whose finger wrote the scriptures as for heretikes that coÌ„temne the auctoritie of the churche he hath so disposed them as Tertullian writeth that they might ministre them Lib. de praescript aduers haeres matter so hathe he againe for them that shal be content humblie to rest in the lappe of the same made that matter by the scriptures so clere that a catholike man maie be bolde to prouoke an heretike yea all the heretikes in the worlde to dispute by scripture onelie of that question whiche and where is the true churche And suerlie so was it expedient that it shoulde be that the churche whiche shoulde iudge of the true sense and meaning of the scriptures shoulde by the scriptures be so euidentlie proued that about that their might be no wrangling As it is not to be merueiled therefore if anie catholike man giue councell to proue the church by the scriptures the scriptures speaking of the churche as hath S. Austen more plainelie then they â—narrat in psal 30 doe of Christe him selfe and therto being writteÌ„ so euideÌ„tly that the textes making for the trial therof nede no interpretatioÌ„ Lib. de vnitate ecdes ca. 16 so can you not reason that all other controuersies in semblable wise must be tried by the scripture because the scripture is more ambiguouse in other maters and because the church is proued so plainelie that it might afterwarde hauing the continuall assistence of Goddes holie spirite and being the piller of truthe assuer vs being in doubte of the true meaning of scripture And thus muche for answere to your long place alleaged to so little purpose out of that auncient auctor printed withe Chrisostome and of long time takeÌ„ for him By whose auctoritie lest the worekes of S. Clement making so muche against youre newe A sleight of M. nowells doctrine might get anie credite being here alleaged by this auncient auctor printed with Chrisostome and of long time taken for him you toke youre pen in to youre hande and cut that sentence clene awaie Hauing nowe spent youre store of testimonies brought fo 74. b. 9 by you to proue that the scripture alone ought to be the iudge of all controuersies you returne to youre olde plea so often auouched and neuer proued that we be the phariseis and therfore can not be the true churche of god that you alleage scriptures against vs as the Apostles did against the phariseis of whom and vs you saye furder as foloweth And I am suer that the high prieste withe his Iuishe churche Nowell b. 29. was able to saye as muche for the ordinarie succession of the highe priestes his predecessours euen from Aaron vntill his time for antiquitie for consent and for vniuersality against Christe and his Apostles so fewe in comparison and as it semed latelye start vp as yowe are able to saye for youre churche or againste vs. But yeat we doe thinke that the worde of God as it was alleaged by Christe and hys Apostles againste the saide high prieste and his churche so maye it and ought it allso to be alleaged by vs againste youre highe prieste and youre churche cet What so euer the Phariseis had to saye againste the Apostles Dorman for them selues they had not this to saye whiche we haue againste you that theire churche was by the testimonies of the Scriptures promised to continue for euer The Apostles proued to them the contrary oute of the scriptures if you can doe the lyke to vs and shewe by euident scriptures that the churche of Christe shoulde for the space of fiftene hundred or nine hundred yeares either be ouerthrowen and at the length restored by a newe Messias we renounce the benefite off succession we giue ouer antiquitie consent vniuersalitye and what so euer elles Thus alleaged the Apostles the worde of God against the Phariseis Thus must you alleage it against vs if you will alleage it at all And whether you be so or no the true church of god seing it Nowell fol. 75. a. 23. is in question and a greater doubte and controuersie emongest men I am suer then can be aboute the sense of anye place off the scripture yow shall neuer be hable to make anie exception to the scripture as no competent iudge in controuersies but we shall be able ten tymes more to make exception to youre Pope and his churche as no indifferent nor meete iudge We make no exception nor euer did againste the scripture Dorman as of it selfe an incompetent iudge to determine controuersies This we saye that the frowardenes of men addicted to mainteine their once receiued opinions maketh that the scripture is not alone sufficient to decide the same till the church haue giuen sentence betwene those that shall thus contende which is the true meaning of the scripture How the scripture decideth controuet
present when he saide Qui minor est Lucae 9. inter vos omnes hic maior est He that is the leaste emongeste you all is the greatest Belike you woulde haue asked hym how one could be the greater and the lesse But do you not youre selfe confesse that euerye bishop is the heade of hys diocesse And howe then M. Nowell doth that agree I vse youre owne wordes with the humble ecclesiastical ministery Is your heade the bishop a headye seruant and a seruile heade Kinges and Princes are they not the heades of the people whome they gouerne and yeat in that verie respecte that they be heades ministres notwithstanding as S. Paule witnesseth Rom. 13. and seruantes M. Dorman harpeth to muche vpon one string oute of tune Nowell b. 16. for his purpose I meane the example off the Iuish high prieste cet Who twangeth moste vppon one string that let the learned Dorman reader iudge Once this is suer that the string that you shoulde strike here you touche not so muche as once For I bringe not in this example of the high prieste off the Iues at this tyme as because I once did you dreame that I doe still to proue that there ought to be one onelye heade in Christes churche as there was emongest the Iues but to detecte the vanitie of this reason of youres Christe is heade of the churche and able to rule the same him selfe alone ergo there nedeth no other To this answered I so was M. Nowell dissembleth my reasō and twāgeth vpō a false string he being God heade of the Iuish Synagoge also and as wel hable to rule the same without anye helpe or meanes as he is nowe to rule his churche Yeat was his pleasure to appointe a highe prieste c. And therefore that ought to be no reason to persuade vs that he dothe not or maye not do the lyke nowe To this because yow were not hable to replye you dissembled my meaning as a little before in this verye place you doe when you saye that my examples make rather against me then with me The whiche practise you vse also hereafter as in place shal be declared For this matter I haue no more to saye but to aduise you that you take youre harpe into youre hande and twang once vpon the right string In prosecuting the confutation of that naughtie argument fol. 80. a. 24. 1. Reg. 15. of youre Apologie I vse the examples of Saule called in the scripture the heade ouer the tribues of Israel of the husbande called by Paule the heade of his wife off the 1. Cor. 11. Archebishoppe heade ouer the other bishoppes of his prouince and conclude thereupon that as it is no good reason to saye God was heade of the tribues of Israel therefore Saule was not Christe is heade of vs all men and wemen therefore the husbande is not heade of the wife The Arche bishoppe is heade of the other bishoppes of his prouince Therefore the bishoppes be not hedes euen so that the argument of youre Apologie Christe is heade of his churche therfore there is no other head is a faulty argument because if it were good it shoulde exclude also whiche it dothe not the other heades that I named confessed to be true heades in earthe For quae ratio partis ad partem eadem totius ad totum the same proportion that is of the parte to the parte the same is the proportion of the whole to the whole that is if their maie be a heade of one diocesse in earthe which is parte of the whole notwithstanding that God is heade of the whole there is no let by this argument but there maie be an other heade also vnder him ouer the whole And so I proue the reason of the Apologie naught in the whole quia non valet in partibus because it is not good in the partes To this reason of mine you neuer make answere but dissembling it as you did the other before you saie that I bring these examples to proue that there be diuerse seuerall b. 13. heades in earthe vnder Christe So I did in dede But why woulde I proue that To proue that there ought to be one heade ouer the whole Why saye you so for shame M. Nowell Why dissemble you that whiche anye man that hathe his common sense can not but see to be otherwise I bringe it to shewe howe absurde it is for you to graunte that ouer the tribues off Israel there maye be a heade ouer seuerall churches there maye be heades withoute derogation to Christes honour who is the chiefe and yeat you will not graunte so muche to the whole churche for the impediment of that pretended reason because Christe is the heade which letteth not in particuler churches And therfore neither Hosius nor I care whether Saul were head of the tribue of Leui or no this example prouing how euer it were sufficiently our intent whiche is to disproue your folishe reason that because Christ is heade of his church there nedeth no other When Hosius or I alleage this place to gather thereby that there ought to be one head in earth vnder Christ ouer all churches then we will folowe your minde in cōcluding In the meane season we take youre argument that because Christe is the onelie heade ouer the vniuersall churche therefore there nedeth no other generall heade vnder him to be by this example sufficiently confuted as before I shewed Yeat because your desire is that it maie be considered whether when the scripture saieth that Saul was made heade of the tribues of Israēl he were appointed heade ouer the tribue of Leui also that is ouer the cleargie considre it I praie yow and spare not and when yow haue all considered and done yow shall perceiue howe muche this exemption of the cleargie from the auctoritie of king Saul maketh against yow and youre companions that will make kinges to rule the cleargie in causes ecclesiasticall I doubte not but some of youre side that haue more staied heades then yowe and that are lesse passionat will saie that yowe might haue kepte this consideration to youre selfe still And where yow mingle kinges and bishoppes together whose Nowell b. 30. fo 81. a. 1. offices are distinct and vse the examples of the Archebishop off Cauntorbury and the bishop of London what titles so euer your bishoppes when they were in those roumes vsed or abused I am suer they who be nowe in place take it for their chiefe honour to be and to be called also gods ministers in his churche What a worlde is this when protestantes complaine of Dorman mingling kinges and bishoppes together As though the worlde knewe not who confoundeth and iumbleth together these two offices they or we But the faulte is founde with me for reasoning from their offices whiche be distincte Why yow knowe M. Nowell if you haue not forgotten youre logicke that it
is not necessarie that thinges compared should be one in all pointes They agree in this that kinges and bishoppes are bothe heades and gouernours the pointe where in the comparison was made Nowe whereas to this that I saie that the B. of Cauntorbury is heade off the bishoprike and diocesse of London as he is of all the bishoprikes within his prouince and that yeat a man can not infer vpon this that therefore the bishopp of London is not heade of that his diocesse as yow doe in saing that because Christe is heade of the whole churche therfore there is no other vnder him whereas I saie to this yow answere that youre bishoppes take it for theire chiefe honour to be and to be called gods ministres in his churche so doe oure bishoppes to M. Nowell and vsed no other titles then those whiche your false bishoppes hauing falsely vsurped vse and abuse at this daie but what is that to the matter that we entreate of Well be bolde man and blushe not coffe owt that tuffe fleaume that lieth in youre throte and saie that the archebishop is of no more power then the bishop If yow had saide thus then had yow answered yeat some thing whereas nowe yowe haue answered nothinge Except this maie stande for youre answere when yow proue it that neither Archebishop nor bishop maie be called heades of the churches fo 81. a. 6. that they gouerne but rather kinges and princes Whiche opinion because yowe see that it is contrarie to all M. Nowell laboureth to helpe his owne contradiction by a folishe shift that yow saied before touching the places of S. Cyprian and S. Hierome where yowe confessed so often that euerie bishop was heade of his owne diocesse to salue that sore yow saie Yeat I denie not but that bishoppes maie be and haue bene Nowell a. 17. though improprely named heades euen by good writers as the scholemaister of a prince in that the prince is his scholer is his heade c. Surely bishoppes are muche beholden vnto yowe that Dorman yow graunte them so muche auctoritie ouer their flocke as yow had ouer your scholers when yow were scholemaister of Westminstre But I praie you M. Nowell cal to your remēbraunce that S. Ciprian saieth of the bishop that he is in the diocesse where he ruleth the iudge in Christes stede that S. Hierom calleth him the high prieste that he must he saieth haue pearelesse auctoritie aboue all other that schismes rise by not obeing him and iudge with your selfe what a handsome comparison you haue made But admitting euen youre owne similitude you shall see how muche you haue saide for the auctoritie of bishoppes against that vnlaufull othe which you exact of all men Euē as the scholemaistre is in his schole the heade of his scholers allthough they be princes so be bishoppes the heades of suche as be in their seuerall bishoprikes all though they be princes but the scholemaister in his schoole is the supreme gouernour in all thinges and causes belonging to the schole his scholers allthough princes hauing in those thinges no power to commaunde Ergo the bishoppes are euery one in his churche the supreme gouernours in all thinges ecclesiasticall and princes haue no auctoritie to entremedle therein The which conclusion deduced M. nowell from your comparison as youre selfe with honestie can not mislike so I trust it shall displease no prince considering that as S. Ambrose saieth there can be nothing more honorable for Epist 32. ad Valent. the Emperour then to be called the sonne of the churche For a good Emperour saieth he is within the churche not aboue the churche But because this sentence is become nowe in Englande by the meanes of certeine clawbackes to be odioufe I will in defence of M. Nowell if anie perhappes woulde quarell with him for giuing to bishoppes so greate auctoritie adde out of Chrisostome of hūdreds of places that might be brought to that effect only one which is this Quanquā nobis admirandus videtur thronus regius ob gēmas affixas Homil. 5. de Esaiae verbis vidi Dominū The power of the prince and of the priest aurū quo obcinctus est tamen rerum terrenarū administrationē sortitus est nec vltra potestatem hanc preterea quicquā habet auctoritatis verum sacerdoti thronus in coelis collocatus est de coelestibus negotijs pronunciandi habet auctoritatem That is to saye Allthough the kinges throne seme to vs merueilouse for the pretiouse stones and golde wherewith it is garnished yeat hath he only the administration of earthly thinges and aboue this power he hathe no auctoritie but the priest hathe his throne in heauen and auctoritie to pronounce of heauenly affaires And thus muche by occasion of the auctoritie that you giue to bishoppes as greate ouer their diocesse as schoolemaisters haue ouer their schooles I woulde furder if it were not for troubling you haue desired you to haue named some good auctor to iustifie this saing of youres that bishoppes when they be called heades are so called improperly But I refer that to youre good discretion and to your better laisour Whether Christe nede to haue one to gouerne his churche vnder him and howe The 23. Chapitre IT IS true the Apologie and we all likewise saye that neither Nowell a. 30. b. 1. hathe Christe nede of anie suche one only heade vicair ouer all his churche which M. Dorman a little before dothe confesse him selfe neither is it Christes will to haue any suche heade vicair For though M. Dorman affirme that he so woulde yeat shall he neuer by the holie scripture wherein Christes will is declared be able to prome it Thirdly it is impossible for anie earthely man to haue and to execute anie suche office c. For the proufe of the first of these thre pointes yow Dorman bring my selfe for a witnes in my boke fo 9. b. Where I haue no such thing but onelie this that Christe had as little nede to gouerne his churche in the olde lawe by the helpe of one heade as he hath nowe I denied not then but he had nede nowe Therefore you continue youre accustomed wont of beelieng me If you aske me how he hath nede A lye 69. which is God I answere that as he neded the witnesse of men as appeareth by this There was a man sent from God Ioan. 1. whose name was Iohn to beare witnes of the light And againe Ioan. 15. Yow shall beare witnes of me because yow haue ben withe me from the beginning for the infirmities sake of men not for him selfe so for vs which can not commodiously be gouerned Howe God nedeth a heade to gouerne his churche nor well kept in orde without one heade a man as we are oureselues to whome in all controuersies we might haue recourse God hath nede of suche a heade Thus take I neede now taking it in youre
haue loked so farre in the 34. and 35. leafe of my firste booke Nowe to the place of Chore Dathan and Abiron of the whiche you saye Nowell B. 5. thus Concerning the reason made by Chore Dathan and Abiron that the people ought not to obeye their gouernours because they be all holye * These wordes and the lorde is emōgest them left oute by M. Nowell Dorman and that therefore the magistrates ought not to lifte them selues aboue the Lordes people it is not oure reason cet No in dede M. Nowell as you haue alleaged it it is not youre reason But if you had trulye reported it it woulde haue gone as nere to your reason as twelue pense to a shilling But you doe here as you did before with the reasons of Swenckfielde that is leaue oute the chiefe reason wherein the comparison is made and then crie oute vpon me for making suche wise comparisons Who seeth not that I compare you hereto these schismatikes refusing to obeye Moises and Aaron not because they saide they were all holy but because they added in ipsis est Dominus and the Lorde is present with the multitude as you refuse that one heade of Christes churche because Christ is present with his churche As for the wordes that you note here in the margent of youre boke multitudo sanctorum and populus domini papae as though you coulde thereby make some shewe that this place might be applyed to Chanon Chore Deane Dathan and his felowes it deserueth to be rather laughed at then answered seing that bothe it is a manifeste lye wherewith you sclaundre the cleargye who neuer called them selues the holy people of the greate Lorde of Rome as you here feine and also it is well knowen that what so euer libertyes and immunities the cleargye had the same were giuen as the faithe encreased by Emperours and kinges them selues and therefore they were moste far from the maner of reasoning vsed by these schismatikes Nowe whereas M. Dorman alleageth the Apologie as thus reasoning Nowell B. 25. that the churche hathe no neede of anie other ruler because Christ is with it truth it is if M. Dormā doe meane one only heade of the vniuersall church For Christe nedeth no suche generall gouernour seing he is bothe present him selfe continually by his spirite as he promised and also for that he hathe in euery peculier countrie and churche his Moises and Aaron that is to saye his feuerall deputies in his steede euerye where here in earth for that no one mortall man can possibly suffice to the gouernaunce of the whole worlde or churche c. If he nede gouernours of euery peculier churche where Dorman he is no lesse present then with the whole why nedeth he not aswell one chiefe heade to gouerne the whole who shall emongest so manie heades diuided into partes euerye one thinking his opinion to be best strike the stroke and preserue vnitie If yowe saie God maie so preserue euerie bishop that he fall not into heresie you put god to worke daily mo miracles then he doth to preserue the chiefe bisshop of all whiche yet you stagger to graunte as a thinge impossible The wordes folowing in youre Apologie that no one mortall man can suffice to the gouernement of the whole fo 96. a. 3. worlde or church I of my accustomed sinceritie omitted yow saye And what haue you gotten by it nowe you haue alleaged it youre selfe Verilie this that you will make all men vnderstande that god is able with you to doe no more then you list to giue him leaue but of this I haue entreated before sufficiently You saye that you are far from rebelling Nowell against youre naturall soueraigne and other gods ministers appointed to gouerne you c. But how farre M. Nowell I Dorman praie you Who made the boke of succession at home Who sounded the two traiterouse blastes against the mōstrouse regiment of women their Quene being a woman From whence were they blowen but from the lake of Gehenna Who grudgeth against the princes ordinaunce in matters indifferent and of small importance no greater then of a square cap Who made warre against their prince in Scotland Who set all Fraunce in an vprore against their king Who but that vnhappy vermine the protestants That which foloweth fol. 96. b. and 97. a. b. is answered before That the waye to ouerthrow Fol. 68. vsque ad fol. 106. heresies is not by the only scripture The 27. chapiter THIS matter hath bene sufficiently handled before in the 21. chapitre And allthough in me it be a greate faulte and highly laide to my charge to alleage thrise one place of scripture yet muste yowe good readers beare withe M. Nowell if he alleage his absurde and wicked assertions more then six times thrise and maie not in any wise twite him with the prouerbe Crambe his that to muche of one thing is naught yea allthough he neuer proue anie of them once But maie yowe not be ashamed M. Nowell so vniustly to M. Nowell repre hending other men for vnreuerent speaking of the scripture speaketh of all other most vnreuerētly him selfe charge Pighius and Hosius with vnreuerent speaking of the scripture when youre selfe in this place applie your prophane prouer be to signifie that to muche of scripture maie be nought that anie place thereof maie so often be alleaged that it shoulde become vnsauory By what auctoritie claime yow I praie yowe tell vs suche libertie that yowe maie speake of the scriptures that whiche is vnlaufull and plaine blasphemie and other maie not vse so muche as similitudes or comparisons betwene the scriptures and other prophane thinges Why is it laufull for yow so oftentimes to repeate these heathenishe wordes that it is impossible for one man assisted by gods grace for otherwise we affirme it not to gouerne the whole churche of Christe that we be like to the Phariseis and high priestes of the Iues you to Christe and his apostles that there ought no more to be one chiefe heade to gouerne the churche then one emperour to gouerne the whole worlde that the pope can not be iudge in his owne cause as though goddes cause were his owne priuate cause with suche like absurdities a nombre mo and maie not be laufull for me to alleage thrise the holie scripture of God to proue three seuerall pointes Firste that it coulde not be likely that God prouiding for his chosen The place of Deuter. alleaged by me thrise to three seuerall purposes people the Iues a chiefe and heade gouernour to ende and determine all their controuersies woulde not for his churche whiche he loueth more tendrely where he knewe shoulde be greater nede doe the like nexte to answere thereby youre foolishe reason Christe is heade of his churche and present allwaies withe it therefore there nedeth no other By which reason I saide that God shoulde haue prouided for the Iues no chiefe
house he confesseth the minde of S. Hierome whiche he saieth was vtterly that all churches ought to be vndre the Romaine See or no strangers from it If Erasmus in his interpretation before saing that the churche was not as he thought builded vpon Rome but vpon the faith of Petre agree with S. Hierome in this pointe that all churches be subiect to the Romaine See howe happeneth it that you and youre fellowes to withdrawe all men from this subiection to that See make that principle that the churche was builded not vpon Rome but vpon Petres his faithe youre chiefe grounde seing that in Erasmus iudgement bothe might stande well inoughe together Iff on the contrarye parte this interpretation made by Erasmus can not agree with the minde of Saint Hierome Why shoulde we rather credite Erasmus not sure off his owne opinion then S. Hierome confidently affirming the contrarye Yea and furder the same Erasmus in the beginning of his argument Nowell fol. 108. b. 1. vpon his treatye against the Luciferians whiche is nexte to his two epistles to Damasus hathe these wordes Nulla haeresis grauius afflixit c. No heresie hathe more grieuously afflicted the churches of all the worlde then the Arrians in so muche that it hathe wrapped in the bishoppes of Rome and the emperours them selues It pleaseth M. Dorman sometime to alleage Erasmus against vs whose auctoritye if it be good downe goeth the pope and all popery For if the bishoppes of Rome haue bene infected with heresie then is not there that vniuersall rocke As good men as Erasmus and better to haue susteined Dorman the contrary that there was neuer bishoppe of Rome heretike But if there had it foloweth not thereof that there is not that vniuersall rocke Let that be the answere till I come to youre question What if the Pope be an heretike Nowe if M. Dorman did not see these notes of Erasmus vpon Nowell b. 16. the place by him alleaged out of S. Hierome I praise his diligence he maye of Dorman be called Dormitantius as S. Hierome whome he falsely alleageth called Vigilantius and more iustlye bothe by nature and sounde of name may M. Dorman be so called then euer was Vigilantius by S. Hierome c. I sawe them and vnderstode them it appeareth better Dorman then you Reade S. Hierome contra Vigilantium ad Exuperium and then see who is likely by S. Hieromes minde to be called Dormitantius you who with that drowsy sleeping heretike raile against the tapers and lightes in the churche the worshipping of sainctes the reuerent keping of their blessed relikes or I who with saint Hierome mainteine the contrary But I thinke euen for that cause a little thinge woulde make yow to call S. Hierome Dormitantius to for it appeareth that it pleased yow neuer a deale that he shoulde so roughly handle youre deare frinde and therefore yow prefer youre allusion to my name before that of his to the name of Vigilantius But I woulde counsell yow M. No-well either to gette yow some new trym name such as is Theodore Basile or some suche like or elles to leaue scoffing at other till this that yow haue conteining nothing well in it maie be mended Because yowe perceiued that Erasmus either made little for youre purpose or that his auctoritie woulde not be muche set by yow saie But if Erasmus iudgement be nothing worthe c. I will yeat in Christes quarell that he is the rocke and not Petres rotten Nowell B. 26. chaire bring furthe one witnes not onelie greater then Erasmus but also equall with S. Hierome and aboue all papistes in credite and auctoritie S. Austen in his 13. sermon vpon the ghospell off Mathew Yow fight with your owne shadowe M. Nowell when Dorman Fol. 109. ◠1. yow imagine to encountre with anie matche that shoulde offre Christe wrong No man denieth to Christe that excellencie to be the rocke of his churche yow maie therfore put vp youre dagger the fraie was donne before it begonne But yeat hereof it foloweth not that therefore Petres chaire that is to saie Peter is not also a fundation in Christe the first and greatest fundation as a little before I showed To the auctoritie of S. Austen I answere that euen as youre other witnesse that yowe brought before Erasmus durst in this case affirme nothing boldely but only shewed his minde doubtefully so is S. Austen in this question as it Lib. 1. Retractat cap. 21. appeareth in his worckes not fully resolued For in his first booke of Retractations where yow saie most impudently that he repeateth and mainteineth moste earnestlie this interpretation An impudent lye made vpō 12. S. Austen B. 18. that Christe and not Petre is the rocke he proposing bothe the interpretations that Peter is the rocke as he confessed that the same sense he had bothe him selfe giuen in writing against Donatus and was song in his time by the mouthe of manye in the verses of S. Ambrose where speaking of the cocke he saieth Hoc ipsa petra ecclesiae canente culpam diluit at the singing of this cocke the rocke of the churche him selfe purged his faulte he proposing I saie this sense and also that other that Christ is that rocke concludeth in this wise Harum autem duarum sententiarum quae sit probabilior eligat lector Of these two opinions let the reader chose that whiche he thinketh moste probable Is this M. Nowell to defende moste earnestly that Christe and not Petre is the rocke to sett men at libertie to beleue in this pointe as they list Is this the candor the sincere and vpright dealing that yowe speake so muche of But if yowe will yeat by no meanes graunte that S. Austen doubted of this pointe if he were resolued on anie parte I will proue by alleaging diuerse places against this one of youres that he thought as we doe and not with yow First in a sermon that he made of Petres chaire he hathe these wordes Petrū itaque fundamentū ecclesiae dominus nominauit August Serm. de cathedra S. Petri ideo digné fundamentū hoc ecclesia colit supra quod ecclesiastici aedificij altitudo cōsurgit That is to saie Our Lord therfore named Petre the fundation of the church and for that cause dothe the churche worthily worship this fundation vpon the whiche the heigth of the ecclesiasticall building riseth Againe in an other place speaking of the firste miracle Sermon de Sanct. 26. that S. Petre did in restoring to a lame man the vse of his feete he writeth thus Audistis frequenter ipsum Petrum a Act. 3. domino petram nuncupatum sicut ait Tu es Petrus super Matth. 16. hanc petram oedificabo ecclesiam meam Si ergo Petrus petra est supra quam aedificatur ecclesia recté prius pedes sanat vt sicut in ecclesia fidei fundamentum continet ita in homine membrorum
of Rome as Erasmus hathe noted yet he knowing or some man warning him that the house withoute the whiche the paschall lambe maye not be eaten the arke c. by all doctours is interprete to be the one vniuersall church of Christe and by none to be the churche of Rome therefore like a wise man or elles a false fox he let that folowing alone also as he cut of Christe the heade going and ioyned nexte before and so he hathe tolde you a tale bothe withoute heade and tayle thereby to proue the pope who is Antichrist to be the heade of Christes churche Is not this M. Nowell more then intollerable impudencie Dorman to charge me with fraude for the leauing out of that sentence then which there is none either in the workes of S. Hierome him selfe or anie of the other learned doctours that more maketh for the dignitye of the see of Rome for the omitting whereof in my boke I deserued rather to be noted at the catholikes handes of ouermuche simplicitye then at youres of fraude and sutteltye But howe truly here let the place itselfe iudge Omitting Erasmus whose iudgement nowe you condemne which yeat in me might haue bene counted some pointe of leuitie if I had euer praised him as you did before to be no vnskillfull or negligent viewer of the olde fathers writinges I will come to the place it selfe whiche I doubte not but by construing for I truste although you care not muche for the rules of the churche you owe yeat for olde acquaintaunce youre reuerence to the rules of Grammer to make bothe you and other men to vnderstād also how much this place maketh for me and howe little cause I had to suppresse it and howe muche yet lesse you had to make anye mention of it Saint Hieromes wordes therefore concerning this matter are these Ego nullum primum nisi Christum sequens beatit udini tuae id est cathedrae Petri communione consocior Super illam petram aedificatam ecclesiam scio Quicunque extra hanc domum agnum comederit prophanus est Nowe let vs construe M. Nowell Ego I sequens folowing nullum primum none first nisi Christum but Christ cōsocior am ioyned communione in communion beatitudini tuae to thy holynesse id est that is to saie cathedrae Petri to the chaire of Petre. Super illā petrā vpō that rocke what rocke M. Nowel but the same chaire of Peter to the whiche he professed him selfe to be ioyned in communion going nexte before these wordes scio I knowe ecclesiam the churche aedificatam to be builded Quicunque who so euer comederit shall eate agnum the lambe extra hanc domú out of this house prophanus est is prophane Now these wordes being truly by me thus construed euerye man learned and vnlearned maye see that S. Hierome by the house whiche he here mentioneth ment Christes vniuersall churche but builded Super illam petram vpon that rocke whiche rocke in the wordes nexte before he called Petres chaire to saie Petres auctoritie If you can construe them otherwise and make them to haue any other relation then this and proue it by the rulers of Gramer you maye vaunt that you haue showed vs a scholemasters tricke that neuer was harde of yeat But I am halfe in dispare that you shall euer be able seing that youre frinde Erasmus as good a Grammarian as you and as euill in a maner affected to the See of Rome as appeareth in diuerse places by his notes and censures coulde finde no suche shifte and therefore was faine as you muste at the length to confesse the truthe that S. Hierome was of the minde that all churches shoulde be subiecte to the churche of Rome or at the least no strangers from it Nowe whereas you saye that this house that S. Hierome mentioneth is of none interprete to be the churche of Rome what were that to oure purpose if it were so seing it is interprete of the vniuersall churche whiche is of all the auncient fathers acknowledged to be builded vpon Peters chaire as S. Hierome saieth here and as hathe bene declared before S. Cyprian who calleth the churche of Rome for that cause catholicae fidei Lib. 4. epist 8. radicem matricem the rocke and mother churche of the catholike churche Yeat lacke there not also fathers that in a sense that is as in the churche of Rome all other churches are conteined call it also by the name of the catholike churche As in effect S. Ambrose did when he called Damasus the pope ruler of the whole church which he coulde by no meanes be but as he was bishop of Rome Thus In commēt in cap. 3. 1. Tim. muche maie serue for my purgation that I haue not delt fraudulently in leauing out this parte of S. Hieromes sentence Nowe let vs procede Yow make much adoe about Vitalis and Meletius and saie that I saie vntrulie that S. Hierome saieth he knoweth not Nowell fo 111. a. 1. them because they were aduersaries to the seate of Rome the cause being because they were aduersaries to the true doctrine of the moste blessed Trinitie whiche Damasus did defende I reporte me to the learned whether I had cause to saie Dorman so or no not because of these wordes who so euer gathereth not with the scattreth alone which might perhappes be trulie spoken to anie other catholike bishop but because of the circumstances that go before ioyned to these as the consulting of Petres chaire the ioyning of him selfe thereto in communion To the whiche because they did not ioyne them selues as he did he refused them If yow had spoken no more vntrulie then I yowe woulde not to colour the matter the better haue imagined that emongest other causes why S. Hierome kepte not these schismatikes companie one was because they were foriners and not his owne bishoppes an other for that they were of a strange language Ah M. Nowell did yow nodde here that yowe coulde not see that S. Hierome affirmeth that the folowed the Aegiptian confessors the bishop of Romes felowe bishoppes Were not they as muche foriners to him as were Vitalis and Meletius was not their language as strange Yeat yow vpon this desire the reader to note that S. Hierome woulde B. 25. not knowe Vitalis and Meletius because they were foriners not his owne bishoppes c. And so make a comparison betwene youre refusall of the pope and S. Hieromes refusall of these schismatikes laing for a grounde without anye proufe that the pope is a foriner and hathe nothing to doe withe yow Of the place of S. Austen taken out of the 110. question of his questions vpon the olde and newe testament The 29. chapiter HERE M. Nowell vpon the censure of Erasmus of this worcke of S. Austens maketh this shorte but sharpe conclusion against me So that it were to muche impudency for Nowell fo 112. a. 30. Dorman anie man but only M.
Dorman to alleage it for S. Augustines Beholde I praie the good Reader in what credite Erasmus is nowe sodenly with M. Nowell whome before noting S. Hierome to be of the minde that all churches shoulde be subiect to the See of Rome he estemed so little Then he was no body nowe hauing wonne M. Nowelles fauour againe he is so extolled that to denie that whiche he shall affirme or contrarywise is extreme impudency so greate a matter is it to be in his good grace But I praie you M. Nowell in what case then are those shamefull shamefast and modest maisters I woulde haue saide the compilers of youre Apologie who notwithstanding his iudgement vpon S. Austens libri Hypognosticon haue yeat with to much impudency for anie man but onelye for them alleaged them against purgatory What case are yow in youre selfe who notwithstandinge Erasmus iudgement vpon that worcke taken for Chrisostomes vpon the ghospell of S. Mathewe were not ashamed as modest as yow woulde seme Opus imperfectum to be to alleage it against vs I will not be so malapert as to compare withe youre Apologie but surely me thinketh of reason I might as well vse anie thing in this worcke of S. Austens as yow in that of Chrisostome If the difference betwene oure two cases be that yowe handle the matter rhetorically calling the auctor an auncient auctor printed withe Chrisostome and of longe time taken for him whereas I giuing no suche credite nor reuerence neither to Erasmus iudgemente of the true or countrefeite writinges of the olde doctours like a plaine blunt felowe alleage the place as I finde it I will sone mende that faulte if it be one and by imitation saie as yow doe an auncient auctor printed withe S. Augustin and of long time taken for him And nowe what saie yow to this auncient auctor First yow saie that the greatest parte of these wordes alleaged Nowell by me be not to be founde in the place by me noted I graunte nor it is not necessary for I doe not so alleage Dorman the place as though euerie worde shoulde be there I doe allude only to S. Austens wordes It is enough that there is there sufficient to proue youre chaire a chaire of pestilence and youre bodie a bodie without a heade Make of it then a tronck or what yowe list elles For the better declaration herof I will reporte here the wordes of S. Austen or rather this auncient auctor that I misse not my termes printed withe S. Austen and of longe time taken for him whiche are these Quoniam cathedram pestilentiae non esse de August in ques◠veter noui test q. 110. dei ordinatione asseuer auimus etiam eorum qui extra ecclesiam vel contra ecclesiam sedes sibi instituerunt cathedram pestilentiae esse dicimus Qui enim inconcessa praesumit reus est quanto magis si corrumpat traditionem eius cuius sedem vsurpat Nam ordinem ab Apostolo Petro coeptū vsque ad hoc tempus per traducem succedentiū episcoporū seruatū perturbant ordinem sibi sine origine vendicantes hoc est corpus sine capite profitentes vnde congruit etiam eorum sedem cathedram pestilentiae appellare That is to saye for as moche as we affirmed that the chaire of pestilence was not of gods ordinaunce euen their chaire also we call the chaire of pestilence who haue made them selues sees without or against the churche For he that presumeth vpon that which he ought not is guilty how much more if he also corrupte the tradition of him whose seate he vsurpeth For they trouble the ordre begonne of Petre the Apostle and kepte to this time by the continuance of bishoppes succeding chalenging to them selues ordre without beginning that is to saye professing a bodie without a heade * These wordes M. Nowell trāslated falsely thus wherefore it is agreable their seate allso to appeare to be the chaire of pestilence Wherefore it is agreable to call their seate also the chaire of pestilence Hetherto S. Austen or c Of whose wordes I reason thus who so euer make them selues sees against the churche or out of the churche whiche hath continuall succession of bishoppes from S. Peter sit in the chaire of pestilence But oure counterfeit bishoppes of England doe so ergo their chaire is the chaire of pestilence The maior is proued by this auncient auctor the minor allso by him because they trouble the ordre begonne of Petre and continued by the succession of bishoppes to their time They trouble this ordre because they chalenge to them selues ordre without beginning as they who deriue it not from S. Petre the chiefe rocke after Christe and are a bodie without a heade The which thing if you denie M. Nowell thē let vs loke to the ordre begōne of Petre. what was that Let S. Cyprian tel you who in his boke de simplicitate praelatorū or rather De vnitate ecclesiae witnesseth that God by his auctoritie disposed the beginning of vnitie to begin of one that was Petre. If this were the ordre begonne of Petre who seeth not who be the troublers of this ordre We that for vnities sake admitte but one chiefe heade bishop vnder Christe and no other but suche as be deriued from him or yow that will haue manie heades without suche ordinary deriuation Hath not this ordre bene kepte in the church euer since by the continuance of bishoppes without interruption till youre vnhappy time Peruse if you list the ordre in oure churche of England of the bishoppes of Cauntorburie for example beginning at william Warham the last catholike bishop before heresie founde first entreteinement there and so ascende by degrees till you come to sainte Austen oure English Apostle In all this succession the space of allmoste a thousande yeares this ordre hathe bene continued in Englande so that you are not able to shewe for youre liues anie one of all those bishoppes that continued not this ordre begonne of S. Petre. Nowe staye not here but from S. Austen the first bishoppe of Cauntorburie go to him from whence he receiued that ordre to Gregory the bishop of Rome from Gregory to Pelagius from him to Benedictus and so in ordre to S. Petre and name if you can one of them in whom this ordre was not kepte This being most true where began nowe your ordre Who was the auctor thereof but frier Luther From whom conueighed he this ordre but from Sathan the father of all disordre and lorde of all misrule If it be not so proue the contrary If you doe not disturbe the ordre begonne of S. Petre then acknowledge one heade bishop ouer the reast and kicke not against Gods ordonaunce who hath so disposed that the vnitie of the churche shoulde begin of one that is of Petre. Confesse that the cause during still why as saieth saint Hierome sainte
In cap. Marci 14. Peter was made ruler of the churche vt sub vno pastore sit vna fides that vndre one shepherd there maie be one faithe that the same remedie ought to continue also that is that there be one heade But to this will you by no meanes be brought and therefore I maie iustly conclude that you are those headlesse bishoppes that sitte in these pestilēt chaires making to youre selues seates out of the churche and against the church by troubling the ordre begonne by sainte Petre as bothe this auncient auctor saieth here and Optatus moste euidently in his worckes against the Donatistes Lib. 2. doing the like But against this you reason and saie that we must first Nowell fol. 112. proue oure selues to be the true churche of Christe which we shall neuer be hable to doe being in deede the Sinagog of Antichrist We will not proue it M. Nowell but will make you and Dorman youre companions to proue it for vs in spite of your beardes be you neuer so lothe For when being asked where youre church in the which you make youre ministres and bishoppes was but fifty yeares ago you shall not be hable to answere youre verie silence shall speake for vs seing that a church Christe must haue allwaies which because it could not be youres that was no where it must be that of whiche we are that was allwaies and euery where Your nexte refuge is to this that these wordes whose seate Nowell fol. 113. a. 1. he vsurpeth seme to proue that the auctor here noted some Antipope which hath bene no noueltie for these 3. or 4. hundred yeares to haue two or three popes at once And so some writer in fauour of him by like that was chosen and kepte residence at Rome hathe written this against some other that vsurped Petres seate c. It is happy M. Nowell that this is but a bare surmise of Dorman youres leaning to no sure fundation but confirmed by a pore by Like As for the wordes whose seate he vsurpeth they make nothing for youre Antipope but haue relation to suche false bishoppes as being heretikes or schismatikes corrupt the traditiō of catholike bishoppes whose seates they vsurpe by making warre with the church and chalenging to be of the ordre of bishoppes and of the bodye of Christes church whereas of their bishoppes they can shewe no beginning and of their bodye they will haue no heade You can not here saye that because they were oute of the church thys auncient auctor called them a body without Christe their heade For althoughe that be true Yeat the wordes that go next before They trouble the ordre begonne of Peter c. chalenging to them selues an ordre withoute beginning that is to saie professing a body without a heade argue an other heade then Christe whose auctoritie of being heade of his church depended not vpon Petre you wote well but contraryewise Peters vpon his Whereas you restreine this place to be ment against some false pope intruding him selfe into the bishoprike of Rome you doe the auctor greate wronge who as the learned will easely espye speaketh here generally of all suche bishoppes as make them selues sees out off the churche or against the churche You might if it had pleased you haue gessed nearer if you had saide that he had noted the false Donatist bishoppes who making them selues Sees against the churche professed a bodye withoute a heade as you doe As appeareth by Optatus liuing in the same time and writing of their bishoppes in this wise Igitur Optatus lib. 2. de Schismat Donatist quia Claudianus Luciano Lucianus Macrobio Macrobius Encolpio Encolpius Bonifacio Bonifacius Victori successisse videntur si Victori diceretur vbi sederit nec ante se aliquem illic fuisse monstraret nec cathedram aliquā nist pestilentiae ostenderet that is to saie Therefore because Claudianus seemeth to haue succeded Lucianus Lucianus Macrobius Macrobius Encolpius Encolpius Bonifacius Bonifacius Victor if one shoulde aske Victor to whome he succeded neither coulde he name any before him nor shewe any other chaire then the chaire of pestilence That to colour the better this fond fantasy of youres you saie it hath bene no noueltie for these 3. or 400. yeares to haue 2. or 3. popes at once as though some late writer were the auctor of this worcke it is a most miserable shifte seing that bothe there be store of olde writtē copies not vnwritten these 500. yeares where this worcke is to be founde in the name of S. Augustine and therefore can this place by no meanes excepte yowe woulde haue it written by prophecie before the thing were done be vnderstande of anie suche schismaticall pope and againe if it be not S. Augustins it is yeat more auncient for as muche as the auctor thereof counteth but 300. Quaestio 44. yeares from the comming of Christe to his time Howe so euer it be the matter can not be applied to vs who Nowell a. 10. doe not vsurpe Peters chaire Further what worde is there here to proue the chaire of Rome to be the heade of the vniuersall churche c. You trouble the ordre begonne of Petre whiche is inough Dorman to proue youre chaire the chaire of pestilence For that I noted you of althoughe by taking vpon you that whiche belongeth to that chaire you vsurpe his chaire also These wordes the ordre begonne of Petre include the auctoritye of the See of Rome that ordre being first begonne in Peter that he was the heade of the reste as hathe bene declared and so are you answered to youre demaunde what word there is here to proue the chaire of Rome to be the heade of the vniuersall church To procede we hauing Christe to be oure heade our churche Nowell is no deade troncke as lacking an heade and hauing him oure heade onely and other his ministres oure gouernours vnder him oure churche is no lyue monstre as hauing manye heades no more then oure common wealth hauing God the onely heade in heauen oure prince his seruaunt oure heade gouernoure in earthe is therefore a liue monstre or the whole worlde hauing God to his heade is therefore a deade troncke because it hathe no one onely earthly heade nor can haue any suche no more can the vniuersall churche thorough oute the whole worlde haue anye suche one earthly heade c. and so maye he conclude that God and Christe the authors of lyfe be no heades or no suche heades as can saue the bodies whereof they be heades from being deade tronckes excepte the saide bodies haue a false vsurper from Rome to be their heade beside and to giue them life You twang here M. Nowell vpon that olde false string Dorman that euer iarreth and neuer is in tune For as I haue euer tolde you so often as you made mention of this comparison betwene the state of the worlde and the church
currebant ego non mittebam Nowe seing the canon lawe helpeth Hier. cap. 23. you not yea seing it maketh directly against you as the whiche accounteth them headlesse that appointe heades to them selfe without the popes approbation seing at the lawes of the realme you finde as I heare saie as little grace seing that by the scriptures you are condemned for running not being sent what remaineth but to saye that the obeing of your Idoll bishoppes can not excuse you from being headlesse All this a doe hathe M. Dorman made nowe by the space of more Nowell fol. 114. a. 1. Clem. li. 3. Tit. 13. de censib exact cap. cum sit lib. 5. de verb. sig Tit. 10. ca. 1. Ex frequentib Dorman then three leaues to deface scripture as no fitte iudge in controuersies and to persuade vs that the pope like an other Pithagoras by his only bare worde maie and ought to satisfie all men heretikes and others and that it shal be sufficient for him only to saye without reason of scripture why he so saieth sauing this reason only papae est pro ratione voluntas with the pope will standeth for reason as is mentioned in the boke of his owne canon lawe c. Not to deface the scripture M. Nowel haue I made al this a doe there you belye me but to deface heretikes while by this meanes it shall not be laufull for thē to peruert and corrupte it with their false and vntrue expositions The places that you bring out of the canon lawe to proue that it is sufficient for the pope to saye without reason of scripture why he so saieth are two but in neither of those places is that which you saye The first place speaketh of certeine priuileges which the pope for causes and considerations will not haue extendid to monasteries and churches after a certeine time Here saieth the glose vpon this place that the popes will in this case standeth for reason Againe in the seconde place which is not there where you falsely note it here in the margent to be but in the title de sententia excommunicat cap. si summus pontifex of the pope absoluing one excommunicate it saieth as muche but no where in the popes lawe is this odiouse saing of youres founde Loke therfore better bothe vpon the texte and the glose and learne to vnderstande them before you bring them nexte An answere to 8. demaundes made by M. Nowell touching the pope The 30. Chapitre THE FIRST what if there be two or three popes at once Is it not to be doubted which of them shall be this certeine iudge in cōtrouersies Nowell And is not the popish churche in this case in daunger to be a liue monstre as hauing manie heades If there shoulde be so manie popes at once as truly popes Dorman as you professe to haue of your church manie heades at once then should the church be not only in daunger but in deede a liue monstre as youre schismaticall churche is But whereas in truthe there is but one laufull pope it is in no suche daunger as yow fantasy not if there were ten that pretended euery of them right to the papacy If any suche chaunce happen we knowe it chaunceth by Goddes permission who as he hath hetherto so guided his churche that when the like hathe happened it neuer susteined thereby anie detriment in faithe so are we by his promise assured who promised neuer to forsake his churche that he will in no wise permitte in this doubtefull time anye such cōtrouersie to be moued as that maye not withoute the detriment of his church remaine in suspense vntil suche time as God haue reuealed the right iudge and true pope What if there be neuer a pope at all Shall all oure doubtes lye Nowell b. 25. therewhile vndiscussed for lacke of a iudge and youre popishe church so longe two or three yeares together lye as a dead troncke for lacke of an heade If your doubtes be suche as the vsage of the churche the Dorman consent of all nations be not able to explicate then is there no other remedie but by praier to desire allmightye God to kepe from vs no longre this necessarie meane appointed by him in earthe to signifie to vs his holye will and pleasure The churche is not in the meane season a deade troncke no more then one of youre particuler churches is when the bishop dieth For euen as there although not in all thinges the Chapitre supplieth the lacke of the bishop in many so the See of Rome being voide by deathe hathe a graue Senate that supplieth althoughe not in defining of controuersies yeat in manie thinges that want of the heade I trust when the generall heade of the church of England in earthe dieth you will not call your church a deade troncke VVhat if the pope sitte not at Rome in Italie May we not doubt Nowell of the certeintie of the iudge not sitting in the chaire whereof he hath all his certeintie The pope hathe not his certeintie of Peters materiall Dorman chaire but of the auctoritie and power giuen to Petre the signe whereof the chaire is And therefore you nede not to trouble youre selfe with that care whether he sitte in the verye same chaire that Petre did or in some other whether he sit at Auinion in Fraunce or Toletum in Spaine he is allwaies bishoppe of Rome and successour to Petre. And as we saie where the kinge is there is the courte so where the pope sitteth there is Peters chaire to saye Petres auctoritye VVhat if he doe erre VVhat if he be an heretike Nowell The pope maye haue his priuate and personall errours Dorman it can not be denied God onely and not man is priuileaged that he can not so erre But in determining any matter of faithe or deliuering any doctrine to the whole churche he that is the chiefe heade of his churche will neuer suffer him so to erre And therefore I saye with S. Augustine that August epist 165. his misdoinges doe not preiudice the churche If it woulde please you M. Nowell to become scholer to those that you call my maisters as for anie greate learning that you haue showen in this Reproufe of youres it might beseeme you well enough Pighius and Hosius in them shoulde you learne Lib. 4. eccles hierarch cap. 8. Lib. 2. contra Brent folio 83. sequent that all youre companions be not hable to conuince so muche as one pope emongest so manie as haue bene to be an heretike But let that be as doubtefull as this is moste certeine that there was neuer yeat anye pope that gaue in any matter of faithe an hereticall sentence And therfore you are much to blame to conceiue of Goddes prouidence for his churche any such dispaire not being hable for all the time past to shewe so muche as one example of that whiche you captiously demaunde VVhat if
did to those that obiected to Lib. 5. ep 32. him the Emperours auctoritie in matters of religion Soluimus quae sunt Caesaris Caesari quae sunt dei deo Tributuâ— Caesaris est non negatur Ecclesia dei est Caesari vtique non debet addici quia ius Caesaris esse non potest templum dei Quod cum honorificentiâ— Imperatoris nemo dictum potest negare Quid enim honorificeÌ„tius quaÌ„ vt imperator ecclesiae filius esse dicatur Quod sine peccato dicitur cum gratia dicitur Imperator enim bonus inâ—ra ecclesiam non supra ecclâ—siam est We paye to Cesar that which is his and to God that whiche belongeth to God Tribute is due to Cesar it is not denied him The churche is goddes it maye not apperteine to Cesar because the temple of God can not be Caesars right The whiche no man can denie to be saied but with the Emperours honour For what is more honorable then for the Emperour to be called the sonne of the churche The whiche when it is said it is spoken with fauour without offence For a good Emperour is within the church not aboue the churche Thus muche S. Ambrose a prowde prieste by youre iudgement because he acknowledged not the Emperour to be his supreme gouernour in causes ecclesiasticall But because you thinke M. Nowell and saye also that I haue lewdely abused my selfe in confuting that whiche no man holdeth I will make it appeare that you haue lewdely done in so saing and that I went not about to proue that the heade is not the heade because it can not or list not doe all offices of all the principall meÌ„bres of the bodie which you saie vntruly is the effecte of all my seconde long treaty but that temporall princes can not be the heades because they can not doe the office of the heade The whiche to proue I will alleage youre owne wordes wherein the parte of a heade you saye consisteth They are these To commaunde thinges aswell ecclesiasticall as ciuile to be done Nowell to see them done to commende and rewarde all well doers of them to correct and punishe all euill doers of them or negligent in their office is the parte of a heade or supreame gouernour to doe thinges commaunded is the office of inferiour membres and obedient subiectes We haue now good Reader M. Nowels owne limitatioÌ„ Dorman wherein the office of the heade of the church consisteth I praie the coÌ„sidre when I alleaged scripture that the gouernemeÌ„t Act. 20. of the church was coÌ„mitted to bishoppes and priestes that they must be obeied which watche for oure soules spoken also of priestes Hebr. 13. when I alleaged the blessed martyr Ignatus bidding vs Epist. ad SmirneÌ„â—es first to honour God nexte the bishop as bearing his image and then after that the king willing all the people to obeye Epist ad Piladelphenses Lib. 10. cap. 2 eccl histor Ambros lib. 5. epi. 32. the Emperour the Emperour to obey the bisshop the bisshop Christe c. wheÌ„ I alleaged the exaÌ„ple of ConstaÌ„tine the first Christian Emperour refusing to iudge ouer bisshoppes because God had giuen them power to iudge him when I alleaged these wordes of S. Ambrose to the Emperour Quando audisti clementissime imperator in causa fidei laicos de episcopo iudicasse Ita ergo quadaÌ„ adulatione curuamur vt sacerdotalis iuris simus immemores quod deus donauit mihi hoc ipse putem alijs esse credendum Si docendus est episcopus a laico quid sequitur Laicus ergo disputet episcopus audiat episcopus discat a laico At certe si velscripturaruÌ„ seriem diuinaruÌ„ vel vetera tempora retractemus quis est qui abnuat in causa fidei in causa inquam fidei episcopos solerede imperatoribus non imperatores de episcopis iudicare Eris deo fauente etiam senectutis maturitate prouectior tunc de hoc censebis qualis ille episcopus sit qui laicis ius sacerdotale substernit That is to saye when haue you hearde moste gentle Emperour that laye men haue iudged of the bishop Be we therefore so crookened withe flattrye that we shoulde forget the priestly right and that whiche God gaue to me I shoulde thinke to be to be commited to other If the bishop be to be taught of the Laye man what will folowe Let the laye man then dispute and the bishoppe be a hearer let the bishoppe learne off the laye man But truly if we will loke to the course of the Note holy scripture or call to memorye the times past who can denye that in a cause of faithe a matter I saie of faithe the bishoppes were wont to iudge of Christian Emperours not Emperours of bishoppes Yow shall be God willing youre selfe one daye of more ripe age and then you shall iudge what maner of bishoppe he is whiche bringeth the right of priesthode in subiection to lay men Thus farre the wordes of Sainte Ambrose to Valentinian the Emperoure taking vpon him by euell councell to entremedle in ecclesiasticall iurisdiction When to these places I added the notable testimonies out of Athanasius where the Emperour In epist ad Solitar vitam agent is bidden not to entremedle nor commaunde in ecclesiasticall matters He is called Antichriste for making him selfe chiefe of the bishoppes for ruling in ecclesiasticall iudgementes for making his palace the consistory of ecclesiasticall matters Finally when I brought Caluin him selfe against this opinion of making temporall princes the heades in ecclesiasticall matters did I fight with mine owne shadowe Did I laboure in confuting that whiche no man holdeth Are not these auctorities directly against the commaunding of princes in ecclesiasticall thinges against the taking vpon them to correcte or iudge bishoppes in matters of faithe wherein the office M. Nowell saieth of the heade dothe consiste You maye therefore nowe perceiue good Readers that it was but a pretended cause of M. Nowelles parte that he here alleageth to shift of that to M. Iuell at the least from him selfe whiche he was suer he shoulde neuer be able to answere Wherefore nowe to conclude with you M. Nowell I will giue you this frendely councell for a farewell to striue no longre against priestes lest it happen to you that the blessed Martyr S. Cyprian saieth was reuealed to him Qui Lib. 4. epist 9. Christo non credit sacerdotem facienti postea credere in ipiet sacerdotem vindicaÌ„ti He that beleueth not Christ appointing the prieste shall after begin to beleue him reueâ—ging the prieste Struggle no longer against the See of Rome of the A singulier testimonie â—or the churche of Rome It maye be added be fore fol. 192. b. Psal contra paâ—em Donati which S. Augustine saieth Ipsa est sedes Petri quam non vincunt superbae inferorum portae That See is the rocke whiche the proude gates of hell shall not ouercome For iff you doe you are like to leese youre labour as you see except a lymme you thinke be able to doe more then the wide gates off the diuells palace ¿ Deo Gratias Quandoquidem Liber iste perlectus approbatus est a viris Sacrae Theologiae linguae Anglicanae peritissimis iudico eum suto posse imprimi euulgari Ita testor iudico Cunerus Petri pastor Sancti Petri Louaniensis 16. Octobris Anno. 1561.
you haue hearde were yeat emongest the religiouse in the primitiue church You see how often he repeateth and neuer proueth that it is impossible for one man to gouerne the whole churche You see that Nazianzenes wordes were not alleaged by me as spoken of one pope and that therfore therein as in manie other thinges he hathe also beelied me You see the wordes of an auncient auctor printed with S. Austen and of long time taken for him alleaged why not as boldely M. Nowel as you without blusshing alleage a worcke by the title of being printed withe Chrisostome and of long time taken for him And vniuersally you see M. Nowelles falsehode in translating or fraude in corrupting mangling or adding to suche auctors as he dothe alleage you see his lyes as thicke as leaues You see my selfe discharged of suche false translating corrupting mangling as here vntruly he reproueth me of 5. tymes in the margent Neither is his deceite and fol. 120. b. 30. guile comparable to his impudency as being not abasshed to alleage the epistle of the African councell sent to Celestinus for the proufe of a decree pretended to be made in the councell against appealing from thence to Rome and sending legates from Rome thither whereas there is no suche decree specified there And thus you see good Readers while M. Nowell in this long Reproufe of his hathe answered nothing to the scripture alleaged but moste vainely and fondly this that God hathe prouided better for his churche then for the Synagoge by apointing ouer it many heades where as the Synagoge had but one and also that the Iues were but one nation c. which answeres haue bene cōfuted before while the argument taken from S. Cyprian and S. Hierom concluding that seing schismes be raised by not obeing the particuler heades of euery diocesse that then by greater reason schismes are like to growe in the vniuersall church if emongest so manie heades there be not one chiefe heade to rule the rest is not yeat soluted while the reason that euerie seuerall companie that is one ought to haue a seuerall heade to rule the same applied to the churche hath not hetherto bene answered the only reason that M. Nowell leaneth to to the contrarie that it is impossible for one man to gouerne the whole churche being directed by the spirite of God for otherwise we affirme it not neuer being proued it foloweth that my prouffes by the scripture by the mindes of the auncient fathers by good and probable reason stande vpright against youre wrangling Reproufe M. Nowell You re charging of me with impertinent discourses I answered before let the iudgement of that matter be referred to the learned reader But beholde nowe foloweth M. Nowelles conclusion Seing therfore this first and moste principall pointe of one heade of the churche is not proued c. all the popes supremacie Nowell commeth downe vpon their heades If I had proued this first pointe as weakely as you woulde Dorman make men beleue I haue or not proued it all yeat commeth not downe the popes supremacy as before in the beginning of the. 11. cbapitre I shewed And therfore for the councell that you giue me here out of time to recoyle from this Thesis of one heade of the churche to the Hypothesis of the pope heade of the churche as there is no nede to admit it so there is no cause to thanke you for it You saie that I haue placed in the residue of my booke as in the rerewarde bag and baggage withe suche pages drudges Nowell and slaues to attende vpon the same as are more readie to runne awaye then to abide anie brunt of battaile The which saie you I haue not as yeat assailed for that I saw the B. of Sarisbury his bāde bent vpon them whose hādes if anie of that cowardly company escape c. I promise to haue them shortly in the chase vntill I haue left of all M. Dormans bragging but moste cowardly army of lewde popishe reasons and allegations not asmuch as one souldiour vntaken or put to shamefull flight Take heade what you doe and aske councel of your wife Dorman It is possible that the fauourable aspecte of Venus may moderate youre Martiall fury In any case if this great bishoppes bande that you speake of encountre not with this cowardly company as I heare saye he hath inough to doe already and wil combre him selfe with no more venture not your owne person so good a mannes bodye against suche drudges and slaues Against whom as it is possible that you may take some hurte so are you suer neuer to gett honour What should so valiant a capitaine as ful oftē times you haue at Paules crosse shewed your selfe to be when that coragiouse stomacke of youres hath prouoked the papistes to meete with you when they durst whose daggers were as sharpe as theirs you tolde thē when you offere your selfe with a small cōpanie but yeat so that they were of the same spirite that you are to kepe Newehauen against all the power of Fraunce when it woulde you saide doe youre harte good to rase youre buckler vpon a papistes face What shoulde I save so singuler a capitaine matche him selfe with suche a sorte of pages drudges and slaues as were those mecocke and dastardly bishoppes assembled in the coūcelles of Nice Constantinople Ephesus Calcedon as were Beholde what pages drudges and slaues M. Nowell hath foūde oute Ignatius Policarpus Irinaeus Ambrose Hierome Augustine Chrisostome Athanasius Theodoret Leo Innocentius whome I placed as it were in the rerewarde more likelier as you saye to runne awaye or to bide by it and laye their heades vpon the blocke then to plaie the tosse buckler to kepe a holde with you or to dye in the fielde armed with youre maister Swinglius But thanked be God this is but youre opinion and a fewe other suche Bulliners as you are emongest the learned they haue bene allwayes taken to be as they are triarij milites of the verie best souldiors M. Nowell Of this question whether a laye man a woman or a childe maye be heade of the church The last Chapitre THIS being the second pointe of my purposed ordre to proue that the partye that shoulde gouerne in spirituall matters ought to be a prieste no laye man c. it is a worlde to see howe M. Nowell bestyrreth him selfe aboute it and whereas he dareth not come neare to it howe yeat he reacheth at it a farre of as it were with a long pole or a morispike and so laboureth to saue his honour as well as maye be For he saieth that I proue those thinges whiche no man dothe denye to witte that no prince man woman nor childe maie ministre the sacramentes preache excommunicate and absolute c. And lo this is the ioly pretense that M. Nowell maketh to shifte his handes of this seconde pointe as that wherein for excuse of his silence he saieth that