Linguistic DNA - Concept Modelling Demonstrator

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
church_n	apostle_n	authority_n	doctrine_n	4,352	5	5.8491	4	false

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A15978	[A notable discourse, plainelye and truely discussing, who are the right ministers of the Catholike Church written against Calvin and his disciples, ... with an offer made by a Catholike to be a learned Protestant ... .]; Marques de la vraye église catholique. English	Albin de Valsergues, Jean d', d. 1566.; Rishton, Edward, 1550-1586, attributed name. aut; Allen, William, 1532-1594.	1575 (1575)	STC 274; ESTC S112318	85,201	271

learned protestant proue that the true and catholike churche of Christe may at any time be voyde of Gods spirite which he hath promised to be with his churche for euer saying Et ego rogabo patreÌ„ et alium paracletum dabit vobis vt maneat vobiscum in aeternum or falsly to interprete any senteÌ„ce of holy scripture or to induce any error among the people or approue vnprofitable and hurtful vsages among the christians or that she suffereth any damnable abuse in her religion without open reprehension thereof Let the learned protestant proue anye of these poyntes And I will then yeelde and recant and not before One twentie If vnitie in faith austeritie of life sharpe discipline great penance muche fasting large almes godly deuotion obedience to higher powers grauitie and true charitie be not more euidentlye exercised and vsed in our common knowen catholike church then in the protestants congregation And contrarywise if discord in religion licentiousnes in liuing contempt of discipline reiecting of penaunce lothsomnes of fasting lacke of zeale and deuotion disobedience to Magistrates Sacrilege Apostacie breaking of vowes vnlawfull lustes wantonnes in all life and maners doo not agree better and more cleere to the protestantes then to the catholikes being the playne signes and fruits of a false churche Then wil I recant and not before Two and twenty Let the learned protestant proue vnto me that their churche congregation might rightlye be called catholike which for the space of a thousande yeres together was so particuler that no man could name any certaine place where their churche was or that it might be called holye which had for so longe time and space neyther the doctrine of Christes Gospell taught in it neyther Baptisme nor anye other Sacrament of Christe vsed to sanctifye them withal or that it could be called one church which assoone as it grew vp and shewed it selfe to the worlde was deuided into so many sundry sects of Lutherans Zuinglians Illiricans Caluinists Swenfeldians Anabaptists and such other or that it might be called Apostolike whiche coulde neuer make an accompt by orderly succession and discent from any one of Christe his Apostles or any other Apostolike man or that their secrete hid and vnknowen congregation was euer of that maiestie or authoriti that it had at any one time or season the true obedience of all christian nations or that it was euer able to assemble and gather vniuersall and generall Councels of all nations christian people or to exercise any discipline or correction vppon offenders throughout all kingdomes and regions professing Christe or that these titles folowing properly applyed by the Scriptures and doctors to the true churche of Christe could euer be chalenged by any right to their hid vnknowen congregation I mean these titles namelye Corpus Christi The body of Christe Sponsa Christi The spouse of Christe Amica Christi The louer of Christ Vnice dilecta Christo Dearely beloued of Christ Columba speciosa The beautifull doue Domus dei The house of God Columna veritatis The piller of truth Ciuitas dei The Citie of God Ciuitas super montem posita A Citie set vppon an hill Fons signatus A spring or fountayne surely signed and sealed Sponsa Agni The spouse of the Lambe Mulier amicta sole A woman clothed with the Sun Habitatio fratruÌ„ inuiceÌ„ a dwelling of brethren all together Mons dei The hill of God Sacra Anchora The holye Anchore Vinea Domini Our Lordes vineyarde Terra viuentium The lande of the liuing Ecclesia magna The great and mightie Churche Archa Noe Noes Arche Vna Sancta Catholica et Apostolica Ecclesia One holye Catholike and Apostolike Churche Domus pacis The house of peace Domus refugij The house of refuge Domus veritatis The house of truth Societas Sanctorum The felowship of holy Saints Nutrix Christianorum The Norishe of the Christians Vxor de latere Christi The Spouse out of Christe his syde sicut Eua de latere Adam like as Eue was out of the syde of Adam Let the learned Protestant make proufe that these moste excellent propertyes and peculier Denominations and Callinges maye possiblye agree to their hid and vnknowen congregations and priuate societies or to any other knowen societie of the whole worlde but onely to the holy societie moste blessed companye and felowship of the common knowen catholike Church of Christ And I will then relent yeelde and recant and not before Last of all when these notes folowing being most certayne and sure signes and tokens of Antichristians false Prophetes heretikes and schismatikes mentioned and manifestlye expressed in diuers partes of the scriptures shall by the learned protestant be proued more aptly and truely to agree vnto vs of the common knowen catholike Church of Christe then vnto the protestants of so many sundrye and diuers sects and congregations I shal submit yeelde and recant and not before First signe and token appropriated to Antichristes false Prophetes heretikes and schismatikes in the scripture is their departure from the coÌ„mon knowen catholike churche of Christe wherein they were baptised and first receaued christian faith and religion of the which sygne and token speaketh Thapostle S. Iohn saying Ex nobis prodierunt sed non erant ex nobis nam si fuissent ex nobis permansissent vtique nobiscum They departed from vs but they were not of vs for if they had bene of vs and of our Churche they woulde sayeth Thapostle S. Iohn haue continued with vs still and not haue departed from vs And here nowe the learned protestant not being able to denye that they haue departed from our coÌ„mon knowen catholike church from our fayth and religion wherein they were fyrste baptised and not we departed from them but still remaining in the profession of the same fayth religion that we fyrste receaued he must needes by the dryfte of argument and reason graunt also that this fyrste signe and token of false prophetes heretikes and schismatiks was before spoken of the Apostle S. Iohn onely of them and not of vs. Second sure marke sygne and token of false prophetes heretikes and schismatikes is that they being thus departed from the Catholike church doo of themselues and of their owne authoritie without warrant beinge not sent set vp a newe Gospell a new fayth and religion by preaching of a newe doctrine to assemble and set vp a newe churche and congregation Of this signe and token and great presumption speaketh thapostle S. Paule Quomodo enim praedicabunt nisi mittantur How shall men preach except they be sent And in his Epistle to the Hebrewes he sayeth Nec quisquam sibi sumit honorem nisi qui vocatur a deo quemadmodum et Aaron Let no man take vnto himselfe honoure except he be called of God like as Aaron was Certayne it is that Aaron was called vnto the office and dignitie of a Bishop ordinarily by Moyses and by externall and

much to say as if she meant thus I see many sheperdes in these mountains which haue great aboundance of sheepe I see those of the Romane Church I see Donatistes I see Nouatians or to speake of our time I see one flocke folowe Luther another flocke folowe Zuinglius another folow Caluin another the Anabaptists another the Sacramentaries and so forth diuers others of whom when I demaunde particulerly Whose is this flocke they doo al aunswer me It is of Christ and euery one saieth this is the Catholike Churche euery one doeth saye that he is his felowe that is to saye as touching the guyding of his flock Now it is not possible that they doo all teache the truth considering howe they vary amonge them selues therfore I do desire thee to tell me where thou doest rest thy selfe at noone dayes that is as much to saye teache me which is the true Catholike Churche which doth celebrate the true misterie of the Crosse which is the place where thou wast nayled at noone dayes being nayled both handes and feete Heare nowe the aunswer of Iesus Christe If thou doest not know the place where I rest O moste beautifull among all women folowe thou the pathe that thy flocke hath made before thee setting thy tabernacle or thy lodge hard by the tabernacle of thy Shepherds If we well note and vnderstande this aunswere it will learne vs that that shal suffise to kepe vs froÌ„ ruÌ„ning euer astray The sense is this O thou Christian which art troubled in thy conscience not knowing because of so many heresyes which waye thou shalt goe or howe thou shalt decerne the true religion from other false doctrine take my counsaile the which is to folowe steppe by steppe the flocke that went before thee If that a thousande or two thousand sheepe runne ouer a plaine those that come afterwarde doo not they know well the path that is made before them doo not they discerne the waye that the firste went Yes surely although there be no Sheperd to guide them And if thou doest aunswere that this doth not suffise for I doo see diuers pathes I see the pathe of the Caluinistes the path of the Lutherans and the pathe of those of the Romane Churche but yet doo not I knowe which flocke I should chose To this I answere thus Set thy Tabernacle by the Tabernacle of the Shepherdes and of thy Pastors I mean that I woulde haue thee to leane to that flocke that can leade thee from age to age and from yere to yere vnto the Crosse of Iesus Christ on the which he was nailed at noone dayes and there it is where thou oughtest to quiet thy selfe and thy conscience Then to beginne If thou doest aske the Caluinistes Where is the true fayth the which as they saye doeth consiste in the true preaching of the worde of the Lorde and in the administration of the Sacramentes according to the institution of Iesus Christe they will aunswere It is at Geneua the Lutherans will aunswere At Wittemberge and the Anabaptistes will aunswere at Monasterium The Vbiquitaries they will aunswere At Tubinge and the Trinitaries At Petricone and so consequently of the rest And then pursue and aske farther where it was twentye yeares agone They will say in the saide Cities but if thou come to demaunde of them wher it was a hundred or two hundred yeres agone if they are ashamed anye thing at all to lye they will not aunswere at all for there is none of them that can deny but that Luther who beganne to preache his newe Gospell the yere 1517. was the firste beginner of all these troubles the father of all those that teache this reformed religion Then is it farre froÌ„ that place where thy frend was nailed at middaie or where he was crucifyed aboue 1500. yeres agone before the newe Churche was dreampt of And therefore thou maiest easelye perceaue that this flock cannot leade thee to the place that thou doest desire and consequently that is not the flocke that we shoulde folowe Then let vs com vnto the Romane Church demaund where was this flock an hundred yeres agone They wil aunswere thee In Fraunce Spaine Englande Germanie and so ouer all Christendom And if thou aske where it was 500. yeres agone they will say In the saide places And a thousande yeres agone likewise and likewise a thousande and fiue hundred yeres agone This flocke then will not leaue thee by the waye as the others doo but it will leade thee vnto the very time of the death and passion of Christe by continuaunce of one doctrine and by succession of pastors which Salomon doth call the tabernacle of the Shepherdes And therefore this is the place where thou must seeke thy Tabernacle and quiet thy conscience to the ende that thou be not a lost sheepe and that thou be not readie to turne at euery blast of newe doctrine that our newe Coggers of the Scriptures doo set forth to deceaue the simple sheepe Â¶ The .5 Chapter THe like vnto this is confirmed by Vincentius Lyrinensis of whom we haue spoken before for he saith in the booke aboue named that that person ought to be estemed a true Catholike that hath nothing in greater commendation then the true religion of the Catholike faith yea although it were the wisest man in the world and the greatest Philosopher the fairest speaker that euer was if he came to speake against the olde doctrine that hath bene taught vs of our forefathers time out of mind we ought saith he to disdaine that learned Clarke with all his philosophie cunning and to hold our selues to the auncient opinion of the Churche the which hath continued vntill this present day And if that nowe one should bring a newe doctrine that was not hearde of before contrary vnto that that hath euer ben taught in the Churche say that it doth not apperteine vnto the state of the Catholike faith that it is no religion but a temptatioÌ„ And therfore if we wil be saued we ought to liue and dye in that faith that hath continued by succession of Pastours euen from Christes time vnto these dayes S. Irenaeus a very famous writer in his fourth booke against heresies the. 65. Chapter who was within a fewe yeres of the Apostles Archbishop of Lions writeth the veri like saying that the true faith and the true knowledge of God is the doctrine of the Apostles and the auncient estate of the Church throughout the world according to the succession of those Bishops vnto whom only the Apostles committed the custodye of the Churche throughout the worlde the which sayeth he is come to vs This sayde Irenaeus doeth write in his thyrde booke and seconde Chapiter that he and his felowes did withstande the Valentinians and the Marcionistes which were great heretikes by the traditions of the Apostles that is to saye the doctrine not written but receued from age to age of the Apostles and so continued till

their time He saith likewise vnto the Traditions which are of the Apostles and that by succession of pastors haue bene vsed in the Churche we do persuade prouoke those that speake against Traditions He writes as much more in the thirde Chapter of the saide booke Forasmuch sayth he as it were to tedious to set forth in one booke the Successours of all the Churches and to tell them one by one we doo ouerthrowe those that for vayne glorie doo seeke to gather disciples together teaching them contrary to that that doth apperteyn vnto the Traditions of the Apostles the which we doo shewe to them by the saide Traditions and by the faith that hath bene taught and is come to vs by succession of the Bishops of the great and auncient Church of Rome the which was founded by the two glorious Martyrs and Apostles S. Peter and S. Paule These are his wordes in his thirde booke aduersus haereses the fyfth Chapter And at the beginning of the saide Chapter he saith thus All those that will vnderstand the truth may presently regard the traditions of the Apostles which are manifest throughout the world and we cannot coumpt the number of those that haue bene instituted and ordeyned Bishops in the Churche their Successoures till our dayes which haue neither knowen nor taughte anye thing like vnto the fables and tales that these doo preache vnto vs c. Not without cause wee may nowe a dayes say the like of the Lutherans Caluinistes other sectes of our time After this he doeth set forth all the Popes of Rome from S. Peter vnto Eleutherius which was Pope in his time And he did affirme that that number did suffise to proue that the doctrine of Marcian and Valentinian was false and very hurtfull because that it was vnknowen or at the least not receaued or approued by the Churche being vnder the gouernaunce of any of those Popes Then with greater reason ought prescriptioÌ„ to take place against a new doctrine which hath beene vnknowen this 1500. yeres or at the least if any bodie sought to publishe it he was condemned as a false pernitious heretike Â¶ The .6 Chapter S. Augustine in his Epistle 365. about the like matter doeth set forth all the Popes by order which haue bene from S. Peters time vntil Anastasius which was pope in his time and by his continuall succession he doeth proue that the doctrine of the Donatists is heretical because that none of those popes which he did recite nor no part of the Churche did receaue it I pray you maye not we saye the like by the Caluinistes and other heretikes The saide S. Augustine in the Epistle that he doth call Epistola fundamenti Cap. 4. doeth write the reasons that did keepe him vnder the obedience of the Catholike Romane Church And amonge other he doeth alleage the common consent of all nations and the continuall succession of Bishops And in his booke which he made against the aduersarie of the olde and newe lawe he doeth name the succession of the bishops as most certain to answer to that that we sayd before of S. Paul I mean that he would not haue vs to be wauering doubtfull in our doctrin but that we should be firm stable the which stablenes is obteined by the knowledge and intelligence of the Scriptures according to the traditions of the Churche and the succession of the Apostles and Bishops The Churche saieth S. Augustine froÌ„ the Apostles time hath continued through the certaine succession of the Bishops vntill our dayes Â¶ The .7 Chapter YOu doo studie as muche as you canne to reiect our succession and not without cause knowing that this onely doeth suffise to ouerthrowe all the heresies of those new reformed Gospellers Caluin as the moste apparant doth seeke to proue that our reason is of no force because that the Greekes haue had euer succession of Pastours and yet we doo not holde them as Catholikes But if the Reader doo well note that that we haue alreadie sayde he shall finde the aunswere vnto this obiection I meane because that the Greekes haue not had succession and continuaunce of doctrine called vnitie of fayth by the Apostles the which ought euer to be ioyned to the continuaunce of the Pastors to shew the true recognisaunce of the Catholike religion There is none that doo study reade of those matters but that doo know the vnconstant faith of the Greekes as touching the proceeding of the holye ghoste the which errour they had abiured at the last Councell of Florence and yet notwithstanding they did turne to it againe besides diuers other light thinges to speake moderatelye which are not approued by their auncient fathers S. Iohn Chrisostome S. Cirill S. Basil and Athanasius nor yet by our aduersaries at this present time The which errours I haue no neede to set foorth in this booke for my intent is but to speake of that that prickes vs at hande because of ill neighborhood Some doo alleage vnto vs the negligence of our pastors and their ill liues for the which cause they say that the meÌ„tioned succession cannot take place But this argument is of no force For althogh that the carelesse liues of some Bisshops and ecclesiasticall persons haue bene so great and so hurtfull vnto the blud of our Sauior Christ I mean to the soules bought with it yet notwithstanding that the Churche hath not lost the succession continuaunce of one doctrine as touching the administration of the Sacramentes by those that were deputed by the Bisshops If one should see a Prelate doing nothing and his lieftenant doing all which of those two woulde you take to be Bishop they haue both deuided their charges the one receueth the profite the other takes all the payne If they be both content what losse doo you feele he that hath anye interest let him valewe the damage And although that the negligence of the Bishop be not excusable before God with the diligence of the deputie nor his conscience cleere yet this ought to suffise that though his faultes be through negligence or through euil liuing yet that ought not to perturbe the assurance of our doctrin the which wee haue taught vs by the word of God interpreted by the true doctours that haue bene before vs agreing in vnitie of faith as I haue alredie said For neither the naughtines of Achas Num. 1. nor of Ioram nor of diuers other great sinners which are inrolled in the booke of the generation of Iesus Christe were not able to withstande the fulfilling of the promise of God made to Abraham that is to sai that he would be borne of this line Euen so the ill liues and conuersatioÌ„ of diuers wicked Popes that haue folowed after Saint Peter haue neuer beene able to moue Christe to breake his promise that is to saye that the fayth of his Churche shoulde neuer fayle Math. 16. and that the gates of hell that is to saye of

past haue required your ancient ministers to haue geueÌ„ you a warrant for the coÌ„firmatioÌ„ of your estate wheÌ„ one doth demaund of you since when your religion begon you are not content to claime the beginning from the Apostles but rather stepping hardly forwarde ye are not content to staye at Dauid or Abraham but you must needes fetche it from Abell yea from Adam And if one should spurre you forwarde you would go I knowe not whether Then seing that your Churche is so auncient and that it hath indured till our dayes if we wil beleeue you it is not like to be true that it hath beene destitute altogether of ministers for although it be so that God did greatly afflicte the Israelites with the captiuitie of Babilon yet did he neuer leue them without comfort of good doctours suche as Daniel Ezechias Abdias and many others Euen so you that thinke in your owne heades to be the people of God I cannot thinke if it be so he would so haue geuen you ouer as to want ministers to comfort you in your afflictions and to ordeyne your ministerie by the imposition of handes What stayes you that you doo not go to them seing that you haue nothing to do with oures And if you say that you haue done so doo vs so muche plesure as to let vs heare their names and in what time they did florishe or otherwise you may pardon vs if we geue no credite to your fayned imaginations Â¶ The .14 Chapter CAluin doth alleage to vs that the Apostles doo saye that is that no body ought to take vpon him the honour of the high priesthood except he be called to it as Aaron was meaning by that to conclude that of our owne authoritie wee haue vsurped the dignitie of priesthood We haue aunswered him at large of our vocation by the succession of Pastors ioyned with the imposition of handes I doe demaunde of him or of his if they can make any true answer to the like obiection You do lay to our charge the yl liues of our Popes Bishops and the naughtines that you pretend to find in our Preachers but al those inuectiues serue to no other purpose but to shewe howe you keepe a learned schoole of rayling the which preheminence we do yelde to you without any debate or processe for ye may attribute that vnto your selues as your owne by right in steede of the imposition of hands which ye want But in one thing to my iudgement you are greatly ouerseene and that is this Why doe ye not fyll bothe sides of your Booke in the one you sette foorth at large without omitting anye poynte of their yll dooinges all the naughtie lyues of oure Pastours and Byshoppes but the other sydes of the leaues are emptie you shoulde haue written on them the holye lyues of your Ministers succeeding one after an other this thousande and fiue hundred yeeres When the Popes Bonifacius and Gregorius didde gouerne yll their Seates at Rome whiche were the good and holy Ministers that dyd their duety at Geneua When our Doctours dyd preache agaynst god in times paste in what part or vnder what signe were your Ministers lodged that dyd then preache the pure woorde of the Lorde yf they dydde hyde them selues they dydde not followe the pure worde of the Lorde the whiche you say is necessarie too knowe the true and faythfull beleeuers For Christe doth say Matthewe 10. That hee that shall denye him before men him will he denie before his father in heauen And S Paul doth say Rom. 10. That with the heart one doth beleue to Iustice and with the mouth one must confesse to saluation But to say the truth your religion was not then founde out and the Grandfathers great Grandfathers of Caluin had neuer dreampt of the heresyes that now their reformed childe hath set so newly abroche And therefore thinke it not straunge if that those people that are not light headed send you to preache in newe found landes as one that hath here at home geuen manifestly iudgement against himself confessing as we haue alleaged aboue that the Churche of God hath vsed the imposition of handes yours hath not done so therfore it doth folowe that it is not of God and that that doth folow consequently is that it is of the deuill For we knowe that you alowe no Purgatorie I meane no meane betweene them both Â¶ The .15 Chapter YOu will saye to me that this argument ought to take place in an ordinarie Commission but yours is extraordinarie as that was of the Prophetes of the olde Testament whom God did sende to correct the Scribes and Pharises and that eueÌ„ so God hath inspired you and others of your sect to the like effect that is to saye to correct the superstitious liues and doctrine of the Papistes Idolaters and by this as farre as I can see ye are Commissaries of God in his behalfe and ye may say wel with S. Paule although ye haue not bene rauished vnto the third heauen that ye are not sent by man or of man but by the authoritie of oure Sauiour Christe But what woulde you saye if we shoulde speake against it as a number doo and that to reuenge this quarel we should write against your Commission we might well aide our selues with a Sillogisme of our sauiour Christe if we woulde come to pleade the matter which is this He that is of God doth obey the worde of God but you doo not obey the worde of God therefore ye are not of God. I knowe that you wil denye the Minor and therefore it doeth appertaine to vs to proue it Christe doeth saye Giue vnto Coesar that that apperteyneth to Coesar and to God that that apperteyneth to God. That is to saye to speake familiarlye Geue Geneua vnto his Lorde and the Bishopricke vnto his Bishop Nowe you doo not obeye this commaundement and therefore as one that doeth not apperteyne vnto God you haue prouided your selfe a newe master And because we woulde not haue some to thinke that we that are not of the countrey doo beare false witnes against you or that we doo it without hauing anye interest vnto the matter I am sure that all the world doeth knowe that ye haue set all Fraunce in as ill an estate as ye haue done the dukedome of Sauoye In that that appertayneth to the Church is there any Bishoprick or dioces left where ye haue not sought with all youre power to preache youre holye doctrine where haue ye forgotten that that Saint Paule doeth saye whiche is Howe shall they preache if they are not sent What righte haue you to come to reape other mennes corne Doo not you remember that that Tertulian doeth write against youre elders that did persecute the Catholike Churche against whom he sayeth in his booke de praescriptione haereticorum What are ye and from whence doo ye come By what right O Marcian doest thou cut downe my wood why

other goddes and therefore that he did counsel the sayde Caesar quietly to retyre himselfe and to make no more adoe the verses are these Me puer Hebraeus diuos deos ipse gubernans Cedere sede iubet tristemque redire suborcum Aris ergo dehinc tacitus abscedito nostris Â¶ The .21 Chapter THus you see that Iesus christ was anounced among the gentiles before the coÌ„ming of the Apostles who notwithstanding this dyd not let to set forth the doctrine that they wer sent to preache with many notable miracles although they did not reach but that doctrine that was verye ancient And although that their doctrine was newe and vnknowen to the Gentiles yet you cannot alleage that it was so vnto the Iewes for they being studied learned in Moyses lawe they hearde nothing of the Apostles but had bene prophecied by the Prophetes Doeth not S. Paule say at the beginning of his Epistle to the Romanes that he was seperated to preache the Gospel the which God promised by the holye Scriptures S. Peter talking with the Iewes doeth geue them plainelye to vnderstande that his was no newe doctrine because that he did preach Iesus Christe of whom Moyses had prophecied longe before saying thus God shall rayse a Prophete among your brethren you shall obey him as you doo me and he that doth refuse it shal be put to death S. Peter saith afterwarde All the prophetes that haue beene from Samuell vnto this time doo announce vnto you these dayes that is to saye the doctrine that we doo preache That that the Apostles did preach vnto the Iewes that is to wit the remissioÌ„ of their sinnes by the death and passion of Christe it was no newe thing for as S. Peter sayde vnto Cornelius All the Prophetes haue witnessed that these that beleue in him shall obteyne remission of their sins for it had bene so prophecied by Esay cap. 55. vnto the people aboue .800 yeres saying that he had layed vpon his sonne all oure iniquities as it doeth appere in his booke in the which he doth shew him selfe more an Euangelist then a Prophete for there he doth write the torments of our Sauiour euen as if he had bene present at his passioÌ„ Dauid likewise doth talk of the like where he doeth mention the extreme affliction of our Redeemer and of the gal the Isope and the Vinager Daniel did not onely discrye the death of our Sauiour but therewithall the verye time that he shoulde come And to be briefe all the Prophetes haue announced vnto the Iewes that that the Apostles did preache vnto them Nowe if we desire to knowe why this olde doctrine preached aswell to the gentiles as to the Iewes by the Apostles was confirmed with many miracles which they did in the name of God who sent them the cause is this the deuill had so obscured and hidden the truth ouer all nations that superstitious Idolatrye had taken place in steede of the true seruice of God so that the poore Painims did not put their trust in one God but in a multitude of goddes And in like maner the true religion geuen by god to the Israelites had ben troubled and almoste cleane abolished by the traditions of the Scribes and Pharises in the which they did truste for the iustification and remission of theyr synnes The like doo you reporte of vs and of your great curtesye yee are content to matche vs with the superstitious Iewes and Idolatrous Paynims plating your selues in the degree of the pure Gospellers and the true children of God taking vppon you the Succession of the Apostles and calling youre Congregation the true Catholike and Apostolicall Churche This soundes notablye well but seeing that youre cause is absolutelye to refourme the Churche as they didde preaching the auncient doctrine of God as they did and dealing with superstitious Idolaters that cleaue more to the traditions of menne then vnto the pure worde of god as the Iewes Seing theÌ„ that our case is reported vnto the similitude of the Iewes and yours to the Apostles Prophetes howe comes it to passe that you doo not as they did seeing that you are sent from one master Why doo ye not make your commission appere by signes and miracles seeing that God hath euer done the like heretofore when he hath sent the like Commission to yours Â¶ The .22 Chapter YOu doo coniure vs by the name of the liuing God to receaue youre Gospell and pure word of God or els you doo threaten vs that you will shake off the dust of your feet in testimonie against vs because that wee will not beleue your wordes But in this matter ye doo alleage a wronge text for we were very simple if we shoulde forsake or remoue the foundation of our Churche vppon suche an occasion as I will shewe by this discourse that doeth folowe I am sure that you are not ignorant howe that Luther after he began to preache his Gospell was not founde barren for immediatlye after his beginning he did ingender another Gospeller that is to wyt Andrew Coralstadius and from thence was produced another called Zuinglius of Zuinglius Oecolampadius Then Thomas Muncerus considering that he had no lesse the gifte of the spirite then the rest he began to forge a newe Gospell of the Anabaptists with the which he thought to gratifye the Towne of Milhouse who had receaued alreadie the Gospell of Luther But the Senate of that Towne being weried alreadye with to many straunge Gospels they aduertised Luther your fyrste Apostle of it And he wrote to them againe that Thomas Muncerus ought not to be receaued if he could not proue his vocation by some miracle And if you demaunde where I haue founde this I saye to you not in the workes of some lying Papist but in the Commentaryes of youre deere Historiographer master Sleydon who hath so good a grace in his writing and is so moued with the trueth of his spirite that he doth omit nothing in his Historie but that that doeth go agaynst himselfe and the professours of his religion I doo wishe those that doo vnderstande the Latine to reade this aunswere of Luther in the Commentaries them selues and for the rest I will set it forth translated not by me but by a minister of youre owne sect called Robert Preuost who dwelleth in a segnorie of Berne According to his translation the wordes are these Luther was of opinion that the Senate of Milhouse should do very well and wisely to demaunde of Muncer who had geuen him commission to teache and who had called him vnto it If he say that it is God let them demaunde of him to shewe some signe or miracle to proue his vocation and yf he could not do it that they should banishe him for it is common to God to declare his will by some miracle at any time when he will haue the common custome and order chaunged These are the wordes of Luther We ought to yeelde that

woulde be mercifull to them because their error proceeded of ignoraunce and so that he will haue pitie of vs because of ours But I knowe that you will say that we are nowe vnexcusable because that wee do refuse the truth that you do preach By the selfe same reason our auncesters can alleage before God no good excuse forasmuch as they do make no accompt of the receauing of such ministers as you are and that haue preched the like Gospell that you doo announce vnto vs S. Hierome and al the Christians of his time are then condemned because they woulde not receaue the Gospell of Vigilantius who did euen as you doo preache that we shoulde not allowe the exposition of the doctours nor honour the relicques of Martyrs S. Augustine is likewise condemned because he wrote preached against the Arrians who taught as you do that it is an offence to pray for the dead And to be briefe if that which you doo preach ought to be called the Gospel and true word of God since the Apostles time ther hath bene neuer a Christian Doctour in the Church for they haue all taught the contrarye to your forged Gospell as euery man may see that will take the payne but to looke in their workes or to reade those places that are quoted by me and diuers others that haue confuted your heresies manye a hundred yeere agone by their authorities Let them then that haue any eyes beholde the hazarde that ye runne into and so manye others throughout the worlde which folowe your opinion If one shoulde come to accuse another of falsehoode and that before he be assured of this matter wherewith he did seeke to attaynt the defendaunt woulde not one thinke his matter verye great or his knowledge very small to run headlong into the daunger of that crime which if he could not proue he shoulde be condemned for himselfe What then shall become of you O most simple sheepe which seeke with fayned arguments to condemne not one or two but all the Christians and Catholikes that haue bene in this worlde since the Passion of Christ the which haue refused and reproued your doctrine as hereticall haue taught vs this that wee holde at this day But now to aunswer vnto that that was mentioned a litle before and that which a number of your flocke haue told me when I haue coÌ„ferred with them which is that the errour of our predecessours was not imputed vnto theÌ„ forasmuch as these good simple people went to worke after the grossest sort thinking to doo well and that as then they did not vnderstande well the truth which is nowe brought to light through your Gospell I saye that in this ye are deceaued more then halfe the value of your religion for before some of them dyed they had forgotten more then euer you haue learned for all that that you know you haue learned it of their bookes or stollen it to say the truth interpreting both their workes and the Scriptures contrary to the truth of their meaning And although it were so that they had al erred your colored excuse of simplicitie could auaile them nothing for the worde of God would accuse them If the Gospell saith S. Paule had bene hidden it hath bene hidden to those that haue perished the spirites of the which the God of this world hath blinded then if that those vnto whom the truth hath beene hiddeÌ„ haue perished wherfore doth your excuse serue them This being true as it is moste like I meane that they haue not erred nor that you onely shal be saued and they all condemned To my iudgement our auncesters with all their simplicitie did neuer erre so muche as your disciples doo to folowe such masters as condemne that faith that the catholike church hath taught mainteyned these 1500 yeres to mainteyn those heresies that haue bene buried in hel many an hundred yere agone and nowe are called vp againe by Martin Luther Caluin and his felowes Â¶ The .40 Chapter YF that by a good and a right title your disciples call them selues the children of god this makes me beleue that the saying of our Sauiour is fulfilled in them the which is The childreÌ„ of this world are wiser in their generation then the children of light To proue this true we see this daily experience for a wise worldly man when he doth put out his money to gayne he will not trust the promise so soone of one or two or three as he will doo the bondes of a whole Towne or Citie that should warrant or assure his gayne But you nor your disciples haue not done thus but rather the contrarye It had bene better for you to haue fyrste put youre fayth and truste in God beleeuing that he hath geuen his holye spirite and declared the meaning as touching the Scriptures vnto the Catholike Churche and not to hazarde the hope of your saluation putting it into the handes of Luther Zuinglius Oecolampadius and three or fowre other such pelting merchantes which haue newly set vp shoppes at Wittemberge Geneua and Losane which one of these dayes we shall see bankruptes as their predecessours haue bene before them the which after that they had deceaued the poore simple Catholikes and gayned some of their soules for the deuill they haue at the laste solde all theyr their honestie and credite so that at this daye except that it be those that reade the auncient historyes no bodye els doth remember that euer they liued in the world You are come now last of al to make vp their merchaundise but your credite can hardlye be good before God for you shall haue against you all the auncient Catholike Churche which hath continued visible since the comming of Christe vnto this daye all the doctours of all the vniuersities all the Empires Kingdomes and priuate state throughout all the worlde which haue receaued honoured this doctrine that you call Papistical And if you saye that you will not trust men but the very word of the Lord we agree to the like that we ought all to beleue the Scripture but we vary about the interpretation for you interprete it after one sort and we after another you expounde it after a new sort and the Catholike Churche doth folowe the olde exposition of the auncient Doctours and traditions which you haue forsaken or to saye the truth your Ministers haue led the sheepe astraye from the olde flocke at the departing from the which they haue bene all scatered abroade some folowing Luther some Caluine some the Anabaptists and so forth for the which the Popes and kinges and others that haue had the gouernment of the Churche shal answere at the last day of iudgement for as much as while they slept you haue come and sowed weedes among the good corne Then seeing you are the sheepe that rome astray what excuse can they make before God that wilfully folowe your steppes We confesse that we are the poore sheepe of God

the best of the worlde yea whollye without spot or sinne as some of you doo affyrme yet were not they sufficient to moue vs to chaunge our religion nor to forsake that that our forefathers haue taught vs for although it be so that our Sauiour Christe was as iust and as innocent as any can be hath beene or euer shal be yet neyther his holy life nor the Scriptures that he did alleage to proue his comming by the authoritie of the Prophetes nor the testimonie of S. Iohn Baptist all these thinges together wer not sufficient to perswade the Iewes to forsake their old lawes and to receaue the Gospell without the testimonie of the great miracles that he did in their presence He doeth confesse this plainely where he sayth If I had not done in their presence the workes and miracles that neuer any had done they should haue no sin This sentence is moste notable and woorthy to be grauen in the heartes of all Catholikes to assure their consciences which are troubled with such diuersitie of opinions For although it were so that you my masters were the honestest men of the worlde sent from God to teache and preache a true doctrine yet shoulde we be excusable before God for not receauing of your commission euen as the Iewes had bene for not receuing of our Sauiour Christe if he had not done so manye miracles For we knowe no cause why you shoulde be more priuileged then Christe And seing that you haue shewed nothing to verifye it this waye and that the Scriptures make no mention of your vocation nor you shewe no miracles and that your liues are at the least as yll as ours what moues you to be so bolde and so vnshamefaced as to threaten vs with eternall damnation if we receaue not your hereticall doctrine the which is so full of discordes and diuisions that one maye easilye gather by this from whence it came and whither it doeth leade one although yee haue nothing in your mouthes but the Gospell the worde of the Lorde and as S. Augustine sayde vnto your semblables Sola personat apud vos veritatis pollicitatio I say no more at this time but that I beseeche God to drawe you as nere to vs as you are farre from vs and to inspire youre mindes to turne to the flock of Christ the which both to your owne harme and ours you haue forsaken FINIS Â¶ An offer made by a Catholike to a learned Protestant wherein shall appere the difference betwixte the open knowen Churche of the Catholikes from the hidde and vnknowen congregation of the Protestants FIrste seeing it cannot be denyed that our Sauiour Christe before his departure and Ascension did commit the charge and gouernment of his Churche the testimonie of his word the truth of his Gospell the ministration of his Sacramentes to his Apostles and Disciples that not only for them selues but to their successors Bishops and priests to none other saying onely vnto them Euntes docete omnes gentes Goe ye and teache all people and nations of the worlde baptising them in the name of the father and of the sonne and of the holy ghoste teaching them to obserue and keepe all thinges which I haue commaunded you Further Thapostle S Paule being at Miletum in executing of his charge and gouernment gaue this admonition to the bishops and priestes there assembled before him saying Attendite vobis et vniuerso gregi Take hede vnto your selues and vnto the whole flocke of Christe in the which the holy ghoste hath ordeyned you bishops Regere ecclesiam dei to gouerne the church of God. And in the thirtenth Chapiter of his Epistle to the Hebrews he doth commaunde al other sortes of men without exception of Emperours kinges Queenes princes to obey their bisshops and priestes saying Obedite Praepositis vestris et subiacete eis ipsi enim peruigilant quasi rationem pro animabus vestris reddituri Obey your Prelates and doo what they appoynt you for they doo watche as men that shall render accoumptes for your soules Seeing that by the testimonies before alleaged it can not be denyed but that the charge and gouernment of Christe his churche the preaching of his doctrine the administration of his Sacraments was by him committed to his Apostles disciples and to all Bishops and priestes as Successors of them to plant christian fayth and religion in his catholike churche vniuersally throughout all nations coastes and quarters of the worlde Seeing this is by the playnnes of the sayde Testimonyes of suche an vndoubted truth that it cannot be denyed Nowe let the learned Protestant affyrming princes to be the supreme heades of the Church eyther shewe by some suche other like playne testimonyes of the scriptures that our Sauiour Christe did committe the chiefe charge and supreme gouernment of his Churche to Emperours kinges Queenes and princes to plant christian fayth religion in the same or that anye one of Christe his Apostles or disciples did conuert any people lande or countrey from their Idolatry Ethnike kinde of liuing to Christian fayth religion by preaching the doctrine of the Protestantes as of onely fayth to iustifye the contempt of good workes and that they be all vncleane in the sight of God the denyall of free will of the reall presence of Christes bodye in the holy Eucharist of the sacrifice of the moste blessed Masse the abolishing of Christe his Sacramentes of all grace and goodnes by them coÌ„ferred vnto vs then I shal yeelde and recant and not before Seconde Christe his Catholike Churche being on this wise planted by Thapostles disciples of Christe by Bishops and priests the successors of them had at all times a special care and regarde not onelye of preaching Gods worde but also of the preseruation of the same worde and Gospel by writing of the sacred Bible and holy Scriptures and did discerne iudge them from all other writinges prophane or authentique of all sortes What Churche hath had from time to time the custody of the sacred scriptures and moste safely hath preserued them for the necessary foode of Gods people and from the corruption of the aduersaries aswel Iewes and Gentiles as schismatikes and heretikes of all sortes but onely the common knowen Catholike Church of Christ When therefore the learned Protestantes shal be able to bring proufe to the contrarye that their priuate conuenticles and congregations were the firste bringers forth of this sacred Bible and the worde of God written the chiefe preseruers and defenders of the same in all times and ages from all Iewes Gentiles heretikes and schismatikes Then I will as I saide before reuolte and recant Thirde shew me good reason why ye protestants doo beleeue our catholike churche enfourming and telling you this to be the word of God written the true Bible and sacred Scriptures and doo refuse to credite her in the true sense and vnderstanding of the same Scripture she being

heresyes of Valentine and suche other whose wordes taken out of his fourth Chapter of the sayde booke I will briefely rehearse Si quae de aliqua modica quaestione disceptatio esset nonnÃ¨ oporteret in antiquissimas recurrere ecclesias in quibus Apostoli conuersati sunt ab eis de praesenti quaestione sumere quod certum re liquidum est If any controuersie shoulde be of any question were it neuer so litle must it not be mÃ©ete to haue our recourse vnto the moste auncient Churches in the which the Apostles were conuersant and of them to receaue the playne certaintie thereof It foloweth Quid autem si neque Apostoli quidem Scripturas reliquissent nobis nonnÃ¨ oportebat ordinem sequi traditionis quam tradiderunt his quibus committebant ecclesias But what if the Apostles left nothing written of that matter must we not folow the tradition of them to whose gouernaunce they committed the Churches Here haue you the minde of Irenaeus who was nÃ©ere vnto Christ his time for as S. Hierome testifyeth in an Epistle to one Theodora he was Disciple to Papias who was S. Iohn the Euangelists scholler He woulde haue men to be taught of Christe of his Apostles and their successours and not of euery one which rashelye and without lawfull authoritie taketh vpon him to be a teacher Christen men should be obedient to christen ordinaunces and folowe that doctrine that is alowed by them that are lawfully called and haue the censure of doctrine committed to them Such were the Apostles called and put in authoritie by Christe Suche were they to whom these agayne gaue the charge ouer anye faythfull congregation Suche are all they which haue so from time to time bÃ©ene lawfully called by them that haue power to put others in authoritie and so succÃ©eded in due order els QuomodÃ² praedicabuÌ„t nisi mittantur Howe shall they preache except they be sent as it is written in the tenth to the Romanes and sent by them which haue authoritie to sende Did not S. Paule for that purpose leaue Titus in Crete Did he not also geue Timothie charge to laye handes to quickelye on no man To these that be thus lawfullye ordeyned and called to haue cure and charge of soules ye are bounde to geue an eare by these ye must be ruled in matters of religion as obedient children to their spiriritual fathers And this biddeth S. Hierome writing to Nepotian Esto subiectus pontifici tuo quasi animae parentem suspice Be subiect to thy Bishop reuerence him as thy soules father The same lesson teacheth Chrisostome in an Homilye De recipiendo Seueriano where he beginneth thus Sicuti capiti corpus cohaerere necessarium est ita ecclesiam sacerdoti principi populum As it is of necessitie that the body cleaue to the head so it is likewise of necessitie that the congregation cleaue to their Priest and spirituall ruler and the people to their prince And within a fewe wordes after he alleageth for the confirmation of this matter the Apostle writing thus to the Hebrewes in the thirtenth Chapter Obedite praepositis vestris obtemperate eis quia ipsi peruigilant pro vobis quasi pro animabus vestris rationem reddituri Obeye them that haue the ouersight of you and doo as they would haue you for they watch for your sakes as they which shall geue accoumptes for your soules This obedience doth our Sauiour require of all men saying Qui vos audit me audit He that heareth you heareth me This obedience to Christes Churche hath continued throughout all Christendome time out of minde And if the authoritie of the learned and holye fathers ought to beare swaye and preuayle as of right it ought to doo in dÃ©ede Arrogantium enim hominum est maiorum suorum authoritatem aspernari se illis ingenio vel sapientia anteponere For it is the maner and propertie of proude arrogant persons to contemne the authoritie of their elders and to preferre themselues before themin wit or learning If the consent of all christen Regions should be regarded probabilia sayth Aristotle in the first Chapter of the firste booke of his Topikes quae videntur omnibus vel plurimis Those things are probable which all men or at the least the most part doo iudge to be so If the long continuaunce of time must be of importance In his enim as witnesseth S. Hilarie vpon the hundred and eyghtÃ©ene psalme tanquÃ m in coelo verbum dei permanet in quibus hoc verbum non offenditur In theÌ„ doth the word of God abide among whom that worde is not offended If these thrÃ©e I saye The authoritie of the learned Fathers The common consent of christian Regions The long continuaunce of time may be a sufficient testimonie for the veritie we haue the true Gospell and the true sense of it Our religion is the very christian religion The order of Ceremonyes that the Catholike Churche doth vse is the right order Our fasting and praying is according to the Scriptures Our Church is the true and lawfull spouse of Christ from the which as many as seperate them selues they are no shÃ©epe of Christes folde they are reprobate persons they are the children of Beliall they are ympes of hell You know what order your fathers kept howe they liued and howe they belÃ©eued You are not ignoraunt howe you haue bÃ©ene brought vp instructed and trained in the lawes of Christe Whosoeuer goeth about to infringe or breake any part of that godly order of that auncient custome and laudable vsage he is an heretike an enemye to God a murtherer to mannes soule a disturber of the common wealth a subuerter of all honest discipline and therfore moste vnwoorthy to liue among men I haue hearde read and sÃ©ene manye thinges yet can I not reade heare or sÃ©e any worlde more contaminate and proue to all kinde of vices then this our age is And howbeit afore our dayes haue bÃ©ene in all times and ages men and women verye vitious and monstrous in their liuing yet then vertue was vertue and vice was vice But nowe in our corrupt time we haue lost the true names and vse of all thinges and vertue with vs is taken for vice and contrarily vice is coumpted for vertue They that be studious of modestie obseruers of temperancie and louers of sobrietie they be nowe a dayes called Pinchepennyes and suche that hunger droppeth out of their noses If any be vertuous folowers of the Catholike which is the true religion they be called Phariseys Papists The discrete maÌ„ he is called an hipocrite the small talker a foole and an ignorant person On the other side they that leade their liues in all kinde of ryote they be called hansome men men of the right making and suche as can tell howe to kÃ©epe honest mennes companye Agayne the statelyer that one goeth the higher that he looketh and the stouter and malapertlier that he speaketh the more is

he praysed among the worldlings for a wise man who will not suffer himselfe to be ouertroden and made a laughing stocke to euery Rascall With such vayne glorious prayses be suche proude Thrasoes extolled and magnifyed of the more parte and no small number are geuen to flatterie and enhausing of Clawbacks that neuer could that saying of Terence be better verifyed then it is nowe Obsequium amicos veritas odium parit To holde vp mennes yea and their naye in holding with the hare and running with the hounde getteth a man frendes but he that will lay flattery aside and tell the playne truth shall get nothing but hatred Thus in these dayes vice is extolled and vertue contemned Ill rule is made of and good rule neglected O heart dissimuled which vnder coloure to be iust and true canst cloke vnto vs hipocrisie for deuotion ambition for gentlenes couetousnes for competencie crueltie for zeale bolde babling without learning for eloquence florishing Rhetorike without fruite or reason follye for grauitie wilines without wit and fleshly wanton libertie for libertie of the Gospell This is nothing els but the deuils drifte alway couering his poyson vnder some taste of sugar Fallit enim vitium specie virtutis vmbra For the summe and ende of all their false doctrine is nothing els but malice with murther to the ouerthrowe of Christes religion and the true ministers thereof This is their shÃ©epes clothing for an vnhappie reformation Nam impia sub dulci melle venena latent Vnder swÃ©ete honye is deadly venome hid O blinde ignorance and ignorant blindnes O cruell damnable mischiefe comming froÌ„ the bottomles pit of hell O intolerable furiousnes and heresie more detestable then it may any longer be suffered The great displeasure the extreme vengeaunce the cruell plagues of God hange ouer our heades if this horrible heresie be not shortly remoued from mens mindes O good God howe long wilt thou suffer this intolerable abhomination It shameth me it abhorreth me to thinke that these shamelesse beastes are not ashamed to speake of the moste belssed Sacramentes of Christes Churche who is able to expresse eyther by tonge or penne their wicked abhomination whye haue we a pleasure to forsake the true vnderstanding of Gods moste sacred worde and become folowers and bondslaues of the deuils couÌ„terfeite â–ª and deceiptfull expositions and carnall reasons set out by his ministers who in religion are so deuided that nowe they dreame one thing and now another this day they like to morowe they mislike and one is against another of them euen in the highest misterie of Christe his religion And no meruaile for the deuill is their chiefe head whom they serue and he is full of lyes variaunce diuision and discorde and vnder him their Schoolemasters were Hus Luther Zuinglius Oecolampadius Bucer Melancthon and the Archeheretike Caluine whose heresies are confuted in the Discourse hereafter ensuing These with the rest of that rable did neuer agrÃ©e one with another in their doinges there is no vnitie no certaintie at all and therfore such masters such scollers come of them And this diuision this vnconstancie of doctrine was a manifest tokeÌ„ that they were not the children of our true mother the catholike Churche nor ministers of of Christe but the children of the deuill and ministers of Antichriste yea very Antichristes For whosoeuer sayth S. Augustine is gone from the vnitie of the Catholike Churche he is become an Antichriste These Antichristes haue borne a great stroke nowe too longe time in our Realm of England in whoÌ„ is no constancie no stedfastnes of religion and doctrine These are they that haue damnably deceued you haue with their damnable preachinges intised you from Churche to Churche from an heauenly Churche to a malignant Church from a louing mother to a flattering harlot from the condition of grace to the state of perdition from truth to falshood from faythfull belÃ©euing to carnall reasoning from sauing Christe to deceauing Antichriste But good Reader beware be not deceaued and be not ashamed to arise that haste so shamefullye fallen be not ashamed to come home to your mother the Churche sith she is not ashamed to receaue you Let not follye lose the thing that grace hath so preciously offered purchased Let not wilfulnes and blindnes put out so great light as is nowe shewed vnto thÃ©e but embrace moste humbly the doctrine of our Mother the Catholike Church so shall you sit in the lappe of so tender a mother which will cherish you into life euerlasting Choose the best whiles choyse lyeth in lot A notable discourse plainly and truely discussing who be the right ministers of the Catholique Churche Â¶ The firste Chapter CAluin your Patriarch doth laie to our charge a great and an outragious boldnes saying according to his opinion that we haue introduced or taken in hande the ministerie of Iesus Christe without being called to it by him that did institute Aaron in the saide estate And because that he himselfe can better then I expresse his complaint or accusation I thinke it beste to set foorth his owne writinges which according to his disciples opinions are of great force and vertue His wordes as you may reade are these Seing that the Papistes heare S. Paule saye that no person ought to take vpon him or vsurpe the name and the honoure of Priesthoode but he that is called to it as Aaron was And that Iesus Christe tooke it not vpon him selfe but did obeye the vocation of his father either they ought to shewe that God is the Author and institutour of their priesthood or els they must confesse that they are not called of God seing that of their owne boldenes they haue taken it in hande These are Caluins wordes by the which the reader maye gather that Caluin doeth enioyne vs to render him an accoumpt of oure vocation And although that it be so that by the Ciuill lawe one ought to trye the righte of the possession before he come to demaunde it and the spoyle as we are to him and his felowes as touching oure Temples and Reuennues in manye places ought to be restored agayne before the sute proceede Yet releassing this that the lawe doeth alowe vs we are content to aunswere to his demaund adding this request therto that both you that are his disciples and he doo make readie your papers to aunswere vs the like as touching yours But before I proceede in mine aunswere vnder correction of a man that thinkes to haue suche good eyes me seemeth that his argument is but very simple to sai that of we cannot shewe that God is the Authour of our Priesthood that we should be constrained to confesse that it is not of God seeing that without being called we take it vpon vs For what reason is there I praye you in this for although it were so that of our owne priuate power and authoritie without being called wee shoulde take it vppon vs it shoulde not

folowe by that that it is not of god For by that reason one mighte saye that GOD was not the authour of the priesthood of Aaron seing that Dathan Abyron and Ozias tooke it vpon theÌ„ of their owne boldenes the which is not true And as touching this that he saieth that our order of priesthood is not of God we will proue that false in some other place but at this time we must treat of our vocation to aunswere him his complices howe and by what vertue we exercise our ministerie We are called to this estate according to the ordinarie way that is to saye by the right succession of Bisshops and Pastors and by the continuance of one Catholique faith deriued from the Apostles to our dayes without the interruption of it vniuersallye for in diuers places of the worlde it hath bene euer cleere and certaine manifestlye shining like the light set on the table to geue light to all those of the house and not vnder the busshell to be shadowed with darknes S. Paule after that he had recited by order the Ecclesiasticall Hierarchie I meane of the Apostles Prophetes and Euangelists he doth declare at the last the cause why they were instituted being for the edification of the misticall body of Christe the which is the Catholique Church vntill saith he that in the vnitie of faith we go to meete him He taketh his similitude of many that come froÌ„ diuerse wayes and meete all in one waye And thus he meanes that the spirituall edification of the Churche ordeined of Bishops Pastours and Doctours shall endure vntill that the Gospell be preached through all nations By the effecte of the whiche Gospell both Frenche Spanish English Greeke Persian Arabian Latines and Barbares with manye other nations which were to tedious to name haue met together hauing of great antiquitie all one kinde of Catholike faith by the Apostles and their successors for euer As the sonne of God before he suffered did attaine and arriue to the perfection of his age euen so his misticall body of the Churche shall continue in this world vntill it be perfect in his members and that the number of the chosen be accomplished And eueÌ„ as a materiall building cannot be perfectly atchieued without continuance of workemen and Masons euen so the spirituall building of the Churche cannot be atchieued without the succession of Bishops and Pastors preaching or causing the worde of God to be preached which is the verye spiritual building the which hath bene euer common and visible in the Churche according to the prophecie of Esaye Sap. 61. who meaning to declare the care that God taketh as touching the preseruation of his Churche he did saye as it were representing the state of Hierusalem I haue established and ordeined watchemen vpon the walles the whiche shall neuer holde their peace neither daye nor night These watchemen are those that haue announced to vs our saluation They are the trompettes of Iesus Christe which neuer haue left their sounding in the true Churche of God from the Apostles time vnto this present daye Â¶ The .2 Chapter SAint Paule foloweth this discourse in the fourth Chapiter vnto the Ephesians where as he doeth declare vnto vs the fruit that doth procede of this succession of Pastors and of the perseuerance of the reasonable sheepe in one kinde of spirituall doctrine called the vnitie of fayth For he sayeth that God established this order to that ende that we shoulde not be like light childreÌ„ caried away with euerye blast of false doctrine through the subtilitie of men their craftie wordes full of deceipte In these wordes you doo see howe the Apostle doeth declare vnto vs the counsaile and the intention of the holye Ghoste I meane that we should be constant in our fayth the which is grounded vpon the worde of God interpreted and declared vnto vs by the Doctours and Pastors that successiuely haue continued in one kinde of faith and Catholike religion from the firste time that it was preached without turning with euery winde but rather that we ought to stande firme and stable Here is to be noted that when the Apostle doth tell how he hath lefte vs pastors and doctors to warne vs of the subtilitie of false teachers he doth vse a certain greeke worde very apte for this purpose the which hath in Englishe the signification of the playing or cogging at dise And euen as he that hath no great skill if he playe with suche a one he will soone loose his money because the other can cast what he wil Euen so if a simple man being vnlearned doo chaunce to talke with such a one as can cog or to speake plainely falsly interprete the Scriptures he may soone be deceaued as we see it dayly happen to many that playe awaye and put in hazarde the rest of al their spirituall inheritaunce I meane the faith which hath beene lefte to them by their fathers from age to age since Christes time Thus haue the Arrians the Nestorians and diuers other heretikes deceiued many a maÌ„ as I will shewe more at large hereafter The .3 Chapter THe place that I haue quoted of the Apostle doth shew howe dangerous a thinge it is to fall into the handes of such Coggers of the scriptures and likewise howe certaine a thinge it is to folowe the interpretation of the auncient Doctours standing to that that euer the Catholike Churche hath taught and not to turne at euery blast Vpon this matter one Vincentius Lyrinensis who florished aboue a thousande yeres agone he saith thus If anye man perchaunce demaunde saying Since that the rules of the Scripture are certaine and sufficient of them selues And what neede haue we then of the authoritie of the Churche He aunswereth For that sayeth he that the secretes and misteries of the holye Scriptures are such that euery man doeth not vnderstande them and interprete them after one sorte but that of one place this man and that man shall seeme to mainteyne their opinions being cleane contrary one to another so that looke howe manye men so many interpretations For one way it is interpreted by Nestorius another waye by Arrius another way by Sabellius and so forth according to diuers heresies that haue risen from time to time And therefore it is necessarye for the knowledge of the trueth among so manye errours to drawe the right line of the Propheticall and Apostolicall interpretation according to the rule and true sense of the Catholike Churche This is the learned opinion of this auncient father Vincentius Lyrinensis Â¶ The .4 Chapter WHose discourse doeth make me remember the Complaynt that the Soule doeth make vnto her Spouse IESVS CHRISTE being both represented by SalomoÌ„ and his legitimate spouse I praye thee saith she O my dere frende tell me in what place thou doest lye and rest at noone dayes for I woulde be very glad and desirous to folowe the flockes of thy felowes The which is as

the right and auncient Catholike fayth For we that are the sheepe of Christe doo folow as touching our religioÌ„ the steppes that our fathers led before vs and as it were going vp vppon the ladder of Iacob Gen. 28. we mount by degree and degree I meane from yeere to yeere and from age to age vntill that we come to S. Saturim S. Denice S. Marcial and S. Gratian which were those that did firste teache the Catholike faith in Tholose in Paris and to those of Guyenna and Lorayne and so consequently to all the rest of the Saintes that firste did teache the Catholike fayth through all Christendome whom we doo call in iudgement before God to defend that fayth which they haue geuen vs from hande to hande they may call vppon the Apostles which sent them and the Apostles may direct theÌ„selues to Christe who by the mouth of his moste louing Apostle doth commaunde vs to continue in that that was taught vs at the beginning 1. Ioan. 2. And so we shall continue and rest with the Father the Sonne and the holy Ghost And if any body doth come to teache vs anye other doctrine then that which hath bene taught vs at the beginning I doo not saye written in booke but printed in our hearts that he be holden as an Anathema or an excommunicate person yea although it were an Angell of heauen The which doeth perswade vs not to receaue your newe doctrine or Gospell but to keepe our selues vnder the gouernaunce of our olde Pastours and Bishops without hauing any respect to their euill or good liues for as touching our faith and saluation that doth unport nothing The good and holye liues of Iesus Christe and his Apostles hath profited nothing neither to the obstinate Iewes nor to the vnbeleuing Gentiles Nor in the like case the depraued life of manye euil Bishops that haue bene at Rome and in other places haue not shut the dores of heauen against those that are true Catholikes and leade perticuler liues the which are two principall poyntes that doo quiet our consciences I meane the one that we beleue that that our Pastours the vniuersall Church haue beleued these thousande and fiue hundred yeres and the other that their euill liues cannot hurt vs For as the Apostle doth saye Euery man shall beare his owne bundell Â¶ The .10 Chapter NOwe to turne vnto the taking of your accompts may it please you to shewe vs howe you haue folowed the steppes of the flocke of Christ according to the counsell that we gaue to his reasonable sheepe as we haue sayde before Who hath taught you the way that you doo folowe what doctours were your first tutors who hath taught you that the precious body of our Sauiour is not really in the Sacrament of the Aultare who hath taught the doctrine or if it be not grief vnto you heresy which you wold haue vs to receiue as a Gospel I know before hand that you wil alleage me Iesus Christe and his holy Apostles whose steppes you doo professe to folow preching euery wher that there is no difference betweene your Church or to say truth Sinagog the church of the Apostles But I pray Let me vnderstand by what means you canne ioyne your selues vnto the Churche of the Apostles seing that you condemne and cut off all the Christians that haue beene and are betweene you and them For to verifye this I will alleage no other but your owne workes for Caluin in his Institutions at the Treatise of the Supper of the Lord speaking of the oblation of the body of our Sauiour Christe as it was offered in olde time he doeth write punctually these wordes Caluinus in sua institutione tradita de Coena Domini I finde sayth he that those of olde time haue chaunged this fashion otherwise then the Institution of our Sauiour did require seing that their supper did represent a certaine spectacle of a straunge Inuention or at the least of a newe maner There is nothing more sure vnto the faythfull then for them to holde them selues vnto the pure ordinance of the Lorde by whom it was called a supper to the ende that onely his authoritie may be our rule Yet it is true that when I consider their good meaning and that their intent was neuer to derogate from the onely sacrifice of Christe I dare not condemne them of folye and yet I thinke that one cannot excuse them that they haue not somewhat fayled in the exteriour forme for they haue folowed more the Cerimonies of the Iewes then the order of Iesus Christe did permit And this is the point in which they ought to be resisted for they haue conformed to muche vnto the olde Testament not contenting themselues with the simple institution of Christe they haue to muche inclined themselues vnto the shadowed Ceremonies of the Iewes lawe These are Caluins words The Reader may by them see well howe this noble Reformer of the Gospell doeth correct al ages and Churches be they of Martyrs Confessors Doctours Interpreters Preachers or anye others from the Apostles time vnto our age yet doth he not deny but that hauing some regard of their simple ignoraÌ„ce he is content to be so good to them as for this time not to condemne their error or impietie because that which they did was with a good intent but yet fearing that the bearing theÌ„ to muche fauour woulde trouble his conscience he geueth sentence against them saying that they ought to be resisted because they were not content with the onely institution of Christe but rather that in this case they haue folowed the shadows of the Iewes Nowe for my part I thinke Caluin and his felowes so scrupulous that they would not ioyn themselues vnto persons that are spotted with Iewish Ceremonies And because that all maner of people howe wise soeuer they were froÌ„ the Apostles time vntil our dayes haue fallen into this error he doth counsel my masters his deformed folowers according to his sentence to folowe none of them at all but only the pure worde of the Lord preached by Iesus Christe and by his aboue mentioned Apostles Â¶ The .11 Chapter YOu doo knowe very well that S. Paule doth compare many times the misticall body of the Churche vnto a natural body seing that Iesus Christ is the head vnto whoÌ„ the body is ioined by ioints bones sinews If one should then demaund of you howe the feete are ioined to the head you wil answere me by the legs which are next vnto the feete And if I aske you how the legs are ioined to the hed you wil answere by the ioints and by the reins of the back so consequently froÌ„ member to member I do beleue that we are al of one accorde that the ende of the world is at hande and so consequentlye that we are the lowermost part of the body so that we are the feete or the legges Then my masters you that haue made so fine an

Anotomie of the Masse at my request make another of the ministerie of your congregation If you should see such another as Apelles that would paint a man and that he had drawen his head and without painting the rest of his bodye he had set his feete vnder his eares what would you say to suche a Table Spectatum admissi risum teneatis amici Would you not thinke that he was a simple painter or els a great Iester Euen so doo you deserue that one should laugh at youre ministerie For you will ioyne youre Churche if it may be so called vnto the Churche of the Apostles without setting forth any members betweene them You take but scant measure when you will cut of al the Bishops Pastors and doctors that haue bene from the Apostles time til our dayes they being the members that folowe the head of the Churche This maye well be called a newe Religion or to say the truth it is a meere presumption to flye without winges or to clymbe without a ladder And I say to you againe that this is not the waye to folowe the Counsell of the great Shepherde that I mentioned before who doth say to vs that if we will not misse the way of the Catholikes we ought to folow the flocke of those shepe that haue gone before vs that is to saye that we should recken by succession the Pastors that haue succeeded in continuance of one kind of doctrine the which as we haue shewed the Catholike Churche doth and hath euer done Â¶ The .12 Chapter AS touching the rest you haue accustomed in your ministerie to vse the imposition or laying on of hands and you saye that it is an auncient and honest Ceremonie In this you say the truth For as we reade of great antiquitie this Cerimonie hath beene vsed aswell in the olde lawe as in the lawe of grace And vnto that did redounde the imposition of handes laid vpon the Wether that was brought to the immolation of the Sacrifice of Moyses lawe to declare that those that are ordeined vnto the seruice of God and vnto the ministerie of the Church ought to retaine the like Ceremonie so the Israelites did laye their handes vppon the Leuites and Moyses likewise did laye his handes vpon Iosua wheÌ„ he was made a captain of the Israelites who did represent the Church of Christ The apostles haue vsed the like as we find wher we read that S. Peter and S. Iohn did lay their handes vpon the ChristiaÌ„ people of Samaria S. Paule vpon the Ephesians and likewise the Apostles vpon the seuen Deacons vpon S. Paule and Barnabas S. Paule doeth admonishe Timothe not to despise the grace that he had receued by the impositioÌ„ of handes that he should set forth the gifte of God that he had receiued with the imposition of the handes of S. Paul vpoÌ„ him He doth likewise coÌ„maunde him not to vse this impositioÌ„ of haÌ„ds without discretioÌ„ to the end that he do not coÌ„municat with the sin of another Caluin according to these authorities in his institutioÌ„ booke Ar. 8. ca. 50. of faith doth coÌ„maund the like to be vsed in his Churche It doth appere saith he that the Apostles haue vsed no other Ceremonie in the vocation to the ministery but this imposition of handes Now I thinke that thei tooke this custom of the Iewes who did present vnto god by the imposition of hands that that they wold blesse coÌ„secrate After this sort Iacob Gen. 48. wheÌ„ he would blesse Ephraim and Manasses he laide his handes vpon their heades Our Sauiour did the like vppon the litle children when he did praye Math. 19. And as I thinke it was all to one ende ordeined in the lawe and therefore the Apostles by the imposition of handes did signifye that they did offer vnto God him that they did receaue into the ministerie althoughe they did vse it likewise with those vnto whom they did distribute the visible giftes of the holy Ghost How so euer it be they haue vsed this solemnitie as many times as they did ordeyne any body to the ministerie of the Churche as we see by example aswell touching the Pastours and doctours as the Deacons Now although there be no special commaundement as touching the imposition of handes yet notwithstanding seeing that we reade that the Apostles did vse it continuallye that which they did vse so diligently ought to be vnto vs as a precept And surely it is a profitable thing to set forth to the people the dignitie of the Ministerie by suche a Ceremonie and to make him know that is thus ordeyned minister that he apperteyneth no more to himselfe but that he is dedicated to the Seruice of God and of his Churche c. Thus seing that Caluin doth confesse the imposition of handes to be so necessary for the ministerie of the Churche and that it is approued aswell by the lawe of nature as by the lawe of Moyses or of the Gospell Answere vs then who was he that laide his handes vpon Caluin to safe conduct the charge of his conscience You will aunswere me Zuinglius or Oecolampadius or the others of his time And if by chaunce one would be so curious as to pursue this demaund mounting a litle higher I meane to know of whom these abouenamed haue receued their blessing and imposition of handes I thinke you will not name the Apostles if you will not haue euery man to laughe at your follye for there is none so simple but doeth knowe that they died aboue 1500. yeres agone And seing that your patriarch hath made vs so goodly an oration as touching this imposition of handes affirming it to be necessarye both by the lawe of Nature the lawe of Moyses and the lawe of Grace howe doeth it come to passe that Zuinglius hath not vsed it to confirme his ministerie Â¶ The .13 Chapter If that the good doctour S. Ciprian had bene in these our dayes might he not well haue saide against youre Schollers that which he did write against Nouatus there needed no other but in steede of Nouatus to put in Caluinus or Zuinglius et nomine mu tato de vobis fabula narrabitur Seing that the saide S. Ciprian doth holde affirme that Nouatus oughte to be accompted as no Bishop because he succeded no bodie but rather that he did make himselfe a Bishop without anye imposition of handes Then to what purpose I praye you are ye of the opinion that Caluin and Zuinglius are such faithful ministers considering that they are as far from prouing that confirmation of their ministerie as euer was Nouatus You wil answer me that you haue no nede of the impositioÌ„ of haÌ„ds of the Papists superstitious Idolaters Infidels But this maketh your cause neuer the better for if you are so scrupulous by nature that it goeth against your coÌ„sciences to come to kneele to our Bisshops you shuld I say in times

doest thou O Apelles remoue my landes And a litle after he sayeth The place is mine I haue bene thus long time in possession and before thee I haue good title and euidence to mainteine my right of those to whom it did appertayne which lefte it me by inheritaunce from the Apostles etc. Our Churche of Fraunce which is one of the principall members of all the Catholike Churche might with good cause say vnto you the like And I praye what would you answere you cannot denye but that aboue a thousand yeres before ye were borne that the fayth in which ye were baptized and the which you haue falselye denied was planted I doo not saye in this onelye kingdome of Fraunce but ouer all Christendome If you pretende anye right to the contrary shewe the reason of your possession by the euidence of the auncient doctours and after come to demaund it as I haue saide before I meane that you should yeld the ecclesiasticall gouernment which you haue vsurped in manye places with to great libertie of conscience licence to doo euill which is the very death of the soule as Saint Augustine doth say epist. 166. And after that ye haue restored Fraunce to his olde estate then there wil be more apparaunce of the matter that ye are sent to preache the true worde of God then there is now But in this estate that ye are although that God had geuen you commission the which he neuer thought he would haue called it backe because of your noble actes Theodosius and Arcades whiche in old time were Emperours of Rome L. si quis in tantam cod vnde vi did establish or make an Edict that if the true owner or lorde of a thing should vse any force or to seeke by the waye of violence without staying for the sentence of the Iudge to get possession of his owne from another man yea although the other had no right to it he shoulde not onely lose the possession but likewise the propertie but if it were founde that he that did enter by force had no right to the Mannur he should not onely be depriued of it but moreouer he shoulde be condemned to geue as much more of his owne vnto him against whom he had vsed the force as the thinge was valued at that he sought to vsurpe If one shoulde call you my masters the newe refourmed Gospellers to such a reckening ye might well packe vp your pipes and transporte your fidelye into another countrey for you shoulde haue no other remedie but to runne awaye with the goodes and preache pouertie Â¶ The .16 Chapter FOr your defence you alleage no other reason but youre good zeale and your ardent Apostolical affection the which hath moued you to sowe this seede of sedition You saye that the fielde is great and there are fewe good reapers but if you marke that that doth folowe afterwarde and to take the counsaile of the wise Christe doeth not commaunde therefore that euerye one shoulde take his sickle and goe and cut downe other mennes corne But he sayeth Praye the master of the worke to the ende that he sende more woorkemenne to his vine He doeth teache vs that if we see anye estate out of order we shoulde praye to God to redresse it And in the meane time we ought to correct and amend our own liues for if euery man were for him selfe God would be for vs all Yet notwithstanding this it is not reasonable that vnder the colour of a good zeale a seruant shoulde take in hand an acte of so great importance without expresse commaundement of his master as it is saide But now that we are come to talke of your good zeale if it please you let vs knowe if those ardent flames of charitie haue so inflamed you that you haue ouerthrowen the Chaires of the negligent Pastors and Bishops and in their roomes ye haue collocated your ministers in euery place where ye could beare any swaye as it doeth appere in many townes and Cities in this Realme I doo not doubt but that you will doo the best that ye can to doo the like with the rest I mean aswell Temporall as Spiritual For eueÌ„ as God of whom ye speake so often doeth make no exception of persons euen so you that call your selues his Lieuetenants wil make no difference betwene the euyl estates the good Euery one doth know that the administration of iustice is very honourable before God and that there be many in this vocation that would not for any thing do any wrong vnto the widowe fatherlesse childe and yet we see and knowe by experience that ther are many others that without any conscience doe take brybes and offer wrong both to the fatherles and to the widowe the whiche crimes are no lesse in that estate then the careles liuing of the Bishops and Pastors So that I thinke by this that he that hath geuen you charge and power to turne the Byshops out of their seates the Curates out of their benefices and the Monkes Abbots out of their Abbeys because of their euil liuings would likewise extende your commission to put downe Lordes Knightes Iudges and Gentlemen because of the corrupt liues of many of them And to make an ende of the reformation your holy Ghoste and those zealous flames of the spirite woulde moue you to goe a litle higher for there is nothing done but the spirite may amend it Against the great trees striue the great windes and against great dignities great abuses It is not vnknowen to all meÌ„ that ther are good and godly Catholike princes and kinges whiche are surely to the people the great giftes of God but likewise one cannot denye but that there hath beene and are diuers ill princes that do gouerne their people carelesly and without Iustice And if by chaunce your Gospell shuld fal into some kingdom wher the prince were not so sage nor so wise as you would haue him in your conscience what wold you do to him I think that that very zeal if you could that hath moued you vnder the coulor of a refor Gospell to trouble so muche our state woulde likewise commaunde you to dispossesse those kinges that do abuse their owne kingdoms euen aswel as to depriue those Bishoppes that doo abuse their bishoprickes But O Lorde what a Gospell is this if it be permitted that the people shall call their princes to accompt or that they may correct their superiours vnder the color of a reformed gospel what seditions troubles warres shal we see ouer al Christendome we shal see fulfilled to our great harme the prophecie of Esay who saieth The people shall seeke to rayse one against another and euerye one against his neibour the yong man shal disdain the old and the ignoble the noble etc. But what coulor soeuer ye cloke your new gospel withal ye run far wide froÌ„ him that doth coÌ„maund vs to obeye all creatures for the loue of God.

passe drye foote ouer the redde Sea Whye did ye not require at his hande that it mighte please him to authorize his worde preached by youre ministers with Signes miracles and tokens as he did when he sente youre felowes the Apostles seeinge that you are Prophetes howe commeth it to passe that you haue not foreseene that we would not beleue you for who is he although he were a deuil that could not say as muche But we haue one disauowe which God hath geuen to manye which doo report that they doo come from him whiche doth greatly ouerthrowe the authoritie of your commission He doth say in the .14 of Hieremie The Prophets preache falsely in my name I haue not sent them I haue not commaunded them nor I haue not spoken vnto theÌ„ but they prophecie vnto you false visions and naughtie diuinations to deceaue your heartes And likewise in the .27 Chapiter I haue not sent them saith the Lord God and they prophecie in my name falselye to thintent I should forsake you and that aswell you as your prophetes should perishe Item in the .29 Let not your Prophetes seduce you that are amongest you nor your Southsayers and doo not marke the dreames that ye dreame for they doo prophecie falselye vnto you in my name seing that I haue not sent them saith the Lorde etc. So that although it wer true that God hath sent you as it is false we might with a iust cause pretend an excuse of ignorance and to saye with great assuraunce that that Abymilech sayde vnto God where he threatned that he woulde kill him because he kepte Abrahams wife O Lorde God sayde he would you kill a poore simple nation Shall it be sayde that we beleue all those that fayne to come in youre name haue not you commaunded vs by the Apostle That we shoulde not beleue euery spirite and that the Angel of darknes doth transfourme himselfe into an Angell of light Haue not you commaunded to be written that we should beware which way we take that suche a waye doth seeme good the whiche notwithstanding doeth leade vnto damnation and perdition If any saying that he is our princes seruant should come to demaunde a summe of mony in his masters name and that he had neither his hand nor his seale to warrant his demaunde would not we sende him awaye like a false merchant fering that he wold deceaue vs then with greater reason ought we to feare the committing of our faith and the hope of our saluation into their hands whom we know not nor that cannot shewe any miracles to confirme their preaching as the Apostles did Qui confirmabant sermonem sequentibus signis That is which did confyrme their preaching with Signes or miracles folowing why do not they sai as he said whose successors they professe to be the signs of my commission Apostleship haue bene accomplished among you with signes and miracles 2. Cor. 12. Â¶ The .18 Chapter YOu do aunswere vs as that Iewes were answered by Christe when they did demaund him to shew some Miracles The generation adulterous and peruerse doeth demaunde signes but no signe shal be geuen them etc. But this comparison can not be applyed vnto vs for we are not so hard of beliefe as the Iewes nor you such faithful messengers of God as Christ was of whom the Iewes did demaunde some signes of obstinate hatred after thei had sene so many lame healed so many blinde receiue their sight so many deafe heare so many dispossest that had spirites but as for you we haue sene your coÌ„mission not to haue extended so far as to restore a flie to life againe or to heale a lame goose although that greater matters are required to confirme so straunge and so new a reformed Gospel These wordes doo make you mad crying out and preching in euery place that your Churche ought not to be called newe but rather that it is olde and Apostolicall and that your doctrine is the verye same that S. Peter and S. Paule did preache And to drawe the simple people to beleue that that you saye you doo declare your faith saying that you doo beleue doo preach that there is one God in Trinitie of persons and the second which is our Sauiour became manne from the wombe of the virgin and that he suffered and did rise againe and to be briefe you shewe that you haue profited in your religion for you haue bene but fortie yeeres which is the time since it began in learning the great Creede the Pater noster the whiche you coulde not learne in a thousande and fyue hundred of ours But in all this you say nothing to the purpose for we doo not demaunde of you whether you can well your Cathechisme the which you hauing learned of vs you teache to others And as Sampson saide Iud. 15. If you had not labored with my Cowe ye would neuer haue hit my Riddle That is to sai That if that our Churche had not nursed or taught you which are her rebellious children you woulde haue knowen nothing for it is of our Churche that you haue learned the principles of your faith She is the Cowe that hath nourished Caluin in a Chanonrie of Noyon Theodore de Bexa in the Priorie of Louinnam harde by Paris and consequentlye all the other ministers which haue learned all that they knowe at the Conuent of S. Fraunces S. Dominick S. Augustine and of S. Bennet where ye were nourished spirituallye as touching your doctrine and temporally as touching the mainteyning of your studie at the charge of that Church against the which ye doo nowe so striue as the Camels whiche sometime rewarde their masters for their good keeping with yerking biting so that coulor it howe you list ye cannot denye but that ye set forth newe deuises For althogh it is so that your heresyes which to please the eares of the vnlearned ye call the refourmed Gospel and pure worde of God haue bene in times past yet they were buried in the very depth of hell and you haue raised them againe cloked with newe coulors But although it were so that your doctrine were not new but very olde yet ought not you to be more priuiledged theÌ„ Moyses and the Prophetes whose simple and playne wordes the world would not beleue although they preached no new doctrine no more then you say that you doo Moyses did shewe manye miracles in Egipt and why was the principall cause to deliuer the children of Israell out of the captiuitie of Pharao No surelye for to what purpose I pray you shuld God shewe such great power and might against a simple worme of earth Is it like to be true that he shoulde moue the whole heauens with suche great darkenes to send so many notable plages to bring him to yeld which had confessed his wickednes for the torment that he suffered with the flyes the frogges Grashoppers Surely no he himselfe doth

eyght of Genesis where God doth saye Increase and multiplye and replenishe the earth If you doo saye that this is a foolishe opinion I confesse it to be so but that very Churche which hath condemned this heresye of theirs doeth likewise condemne yours When the deuil determined to fight with Christe he thought he could in no wise ayde him selfe so well as with the holy Scripture perswading him that the best way for him to shewe him selfe to be the sonne of God was to breake his necke castinge himselfe downe from the Pinnacle of the TemTemple And he did alleage this text saying as it is written That the Angels of God shoulde so preserue him that he shoulde not hurt his foote against the stones folowing that Dauid saide And if I should go about to write al the places of Scripture that the heretikes haue alleaged to mainteyne their horrible errours I thinke surely I might make a bigger booke then the Bible Â¶ The .24 Chapter YF that the sonne doo hate the father or the father the son or if the wife doo hate the husband or the husband the wife they may take the word of God yll vnderstoode to defende their cause for he doth coÌ„maunde vs that we shall hate those that are neerest vnto vs as vnder the payne of not entring into Paradise if we doo contrarye But this ought to be vnderstoode that we ought not to preferre the loue of any creature howe neere soeuer they be to vs before the loue of god In like maner he that will saye that we shoulde not eate of the blud of those beasts that ar smothered he may soone alleage the Scripture for it which doeth saye That at the Councell that the Apostles helde at Ierusalem being present the holye Ghoste this ordinance was made as we reade in the .15 Chapter of the Actes And if that one should take in hande to bring all the places of scripture that the heretikes haue alleaged to mainteyne their opinions I dare boldly saye that he shall fynde it an endlesse piece of worke For amonge so great a number of false prophetes there hath bene very fewe or almoste none but they haue sought to mainteyne their opinions by Scripture drawing the places as it were by violence to a depraued and a corrupte sense being this the maner of interpreting of the Scriptures called at this day the pure worde of God by those that haue professed to be as long as they liue enemies to the trueth The learned and auncient Doctour Epiphanius in his fyrst booke against heresyes doeth alleage as touchinge this matter a verye familier example saying that if some good Caruer had made the Image of a king adorned with manye Iewelles and precious stones and that another should come afterward and should take the same Iewels precious stones and make with them the Image of a Foxe or a Dogge and that he should saye Beholde here is the Image of a king woulde not euery body laugh him to scorne and say that he did it in mockerie or els that he were mad Yes surely for although they be the same Iewelles and that very stuffe wherewith was made the Image of the kinge yet because that this other workeman hath taken them awaye and fashioned them after another sorte it ought no more to be called the Image of a king but the picture of a foxe or a dogge Euen thus is it with the holye Scriptures whiche were lefte vs by the Apostles and Prophetes for to paint in riche coulours the Image of the great kinge of glorye but seeinge that you take those precious stones from the Image of this kinge and doo appropriate them vnto the Image of a foxe making them serue to cloake youre heresyes withall it ought no more to be called the worde of God nor the holye Scripture but the woorde of menne and false doctrine And therefore yf you will haue it to beare the fyrste name you must set it in the fyrst estate that is to saye that it ought to be interpreted by him that did firste indite it It is not by the will of man sayth S. Peter epist. 2. Ca. 1. That the prophecie was brought but by the inspiration of the holy Ghoste that holye persons haue spoken c. I knowe well that you attribute the intelligence of the Scripture vnto your Sinagog But howe shall we beleue that the holy Ghoste doth dwell more in you then in all the vniuersall Churche which hath continued from the passion of Christ vntil this time I pray doo so much as aunswere me if you my masters be the lodging of the holye Ghoste where did he make his residence before ye were borne I know already your aunswere the which is In the heartes of the faithfull And where were those faythfull Marye where the holy Ghoste was Answer thus still and ye shal be sure that ye shall not be ouertakeÌ„ for it is as good as to playe Handie dandie and so ye shall accomplishe the olde Prouerbe the which sayeth It is as farre from Douer to Caleys as from Caleys to Douer But to the ende that all the worlde may see the great hazarde of eternall damnation that those runne into that are so ready to beleue euery body thinking that they are assured of their health forasmuche as those that seduce them say beholde there is the Scripture it is the pure worde of God and the verye Gospell I will set forth some heresyes that haue bene in times past condemned by the Catholike Churche the which notwithstanding haue bene aswell yea and more largelye confyrmed by Scripture then you can confyrme anye of yours Â¶ The .25 Chapter THe Catholike Church continually hath faythfully holden and doeth hold that our Sauiour Iesus Christ is true God and man hauing taken naturall fleshe in the wombe of the virgin Marye whollye like vnto ours as touching the corporal essence that is to saye excepted onelye sinne the which bodye he did fourme of the verye fleshe and substaunce of his mother by the operation of the holye Ghoste who hath wrought so notable and excellent a woorke that two contrary or diuers natures are miraculouslye ioyned and vnited in one person without confusion or conuersion of the one substaunce into the other but by coniunction and vnion of them both called by the diuines Hypostatique This doctrine hath euer beene receaued and holden by the Churche in equall degree of trueth and reuerence with the rest of the poyntes of religion which nowe you seeke to abolishe And notwithstanding this diuers Ministers and Preachers deriued from the sacred consistoryes of Valentinus Photinus Manes Theodorus Nestorius Apollinaris Eutichus Macharius Eutiocheus besydes a great number of other famous heretikes that I cannot here name haue sought to teache the contrarye saying that they were sent from him that sent the Apostles to refourme the Churche not by the Traditions of men which you call Papisticall but by the pure worde of god For euen like you

to that that is outwardlye written For if so manye men of great learning and excellent vnderstanding haue found such great rocks in this rough sea which haue manye times ouerthrowen their ships howe daungerous then must it needes be vnto those that will take it in hande so doubtfull a nauigation hauing litle skill or none at all But as for you my masters of the contrarye syde you canne sayle with all tides and al winds geuing the gouernance of the ship or the guiding of the sterne without consideration to all kinde of people We haue at this daye in Fraunce I will not say in Englande many that haue the holy spirite Interpreters of the Scriptures And forsooth what are they Mary Pedlers Cobblers Tanners Bankrouts Runnegates and suche others which hauing no other liuing sue to my Lorde Bishop and he makes them ministers being not one of them but hath the holy spirite for assoone as they can saye the Lorde and rayle vpon the Pope the Bishops and al the learned men that haue bene in times past Oh these are great doctors no place of Scripture to them is harde all the auncient doctours were men and the generall Councels did erre I knowe that you doo mainteine your opinion with the saying of Christe alleaging it as other heretikes haue done the whiche is That the heauenly father hath hid these high and profound things from the great Clerkes and hath reuealed them vnto the meeke and humble This is true but it ought to be vnderstoode to the humble and meeke of spirite and not to those which trust so much to their owne wittes beinge puffed vp with arrogant ignoraunce that they thinke to knowe more in three dayes reading then the Doctours coulde in fyftie yeres studie faining themselues to be like the Apostles as if that god gouerned by their appetites did sende euery month the feast of Pentecost Â¶ The .28 Chapter I Praye Syrs since you are so absolute aunswere me to this obiection Is it good to beleeue all maner of people that doo alleage the Scriptures or no If ye saye yea why doo not you beleue the abouenamed Valentinus Apollinaris Hebion Cherintus and Nestorius with diuers others that haue sought to mainteyne their errours with the newe and olde Testament If you saye no but that we ought rather to folowe the counsell of S. Iohn in his fyrste Epistle cap. 4. The which is not to beleue euery spirite but that we ought to proue whether it be of God or no What proufe will you shewe vs of yours Shewe the priuiledge that you haue by the which God doth enioyne vs to beleue your Gospell rather then the Gospell of the Pelagians Nouatians Nestorians and other suche false Apostles considering that they haue alleaged the Scriptures aswell as you If you saye that they were heretikes abusers of the people and rauishing wolues cloathed in lambes Skins and false Interpreters of the Scriptures all this is certaine But what though the like reporte goeth of you Ye saye that ye are sent from God to refourme the Churche They saye as muche They preached that the Pope was Antichriste shewinge themselues verye eloquent in detracting and rayling against the Catholike Romane Churche you doo the like At euery worde they did alleage the Scriptures in their Sermons to confyrme their doctrine as you do for yours That that they preached was called by them the Gospell and the pure worde of the Lord these are the very tearmes that you vse amonge your holye prophetes they haue beene condemned as heretikes by the generall Councels you are so likewise They did appeal vnto the pure word of God you doo the like Yet are they proued to be false cogging knaues and so shall you Then seing there is so great an vniformitie betweene you vppon what grounde shall we confyrme that reason that shoulde condemne theym as heretikes and allowe you for Catholikes S. Augustine in his Epistle .161 did put vnto a Donatist called Honoratus this probleme We desire thee not to think it much to aunswere vs to this what cause doest thou knowe or what thing hath there bene done that hath made Christ lose his inheritance spred ouer all the worlde to come to be contayned only in Affrick there only to remayne We put the like question to Caluin Beza Virett and the rest that it may please them to tell vs if that by chaunce they haue ben aduertised through what occasion our Sauiour Christ hath lost his inheritaunce that is to saye the Churche spread ouer all the worlde to remaine nowe in the latter dayes with a company of rude Swizers or in two or three corners besydes and not among the rest for there is a great number of good Catholikes what badge can ye shewe or what signe to make vs know that you are the successors of the Apostles of Christe If that the Scriptures that you alleage ought to be a sufficient proufe we are content to accepte it if you will be content to graunt the like vnto the abouenamed heretikes whiche haue fortifyed their campe with as manye places more then you doo alleage Nowe if that notwithstanding the Scriptures by them alleaged you doo condemne them as heretikes because that they did interprete them contrary to that that the Churche doth teache and to say truth you can imagine no other excuse to what purpose doo you take vpon you the names of Catholikes seeing that you commit the like offence The diuersities of those old heresyes grounded vppon the Scriptures yll interpreted doo teache vs that we shoulde not permit the noyse of youre reformed Gospell that soundeth so shrill to make vs reele from our auncient fayth and without going so farre to seek that that we haue so neere at hande Let vs talke of the present time howe many contrarye sectes doth there reigne howe many heades of heresyes Some are Lutherans some Anabaptists some Puritans some Protestants some Precisians and all these do fortifye their campes with Scriptures to fight one against another The Zuinglians and the Caluinists on the other syde doo write that all these doo erre and they proue it by Scripture The Anabaptists laughe at all the rest The Prophetes Celestes which is another secte doo no lesse grounding theym selues vppon their reuelations because that Dauid sayeth Heare what the Lorde doeth speake in me The Deists or Trinitaries which are come last of all crye out and saye that all they are heretikes and they proue it by the olde and newe Testament I praye nowe tell me which of al these shall I receaue seeing that they doo all alleage the holye Scriptures If we receaue some and not all those that are refused will saye that we offer them wronge for they haue their shoppes stored with as good stuffe of the Scriptures and as wel alleaged as all the rest If we receaue them all it will be a renewing of the olde confusion of Babilon through the neglecting of so manye Gospels If you

saye that we oughte to folowe those that conforme them selues moste vnto the pure worde of God that will come to one ende for if I doo demaunde of you how we shall know whiche do conforme theym selues moste vnto the truthe you aunswere me that it must be done by the grace of the holye Ghoste sent by the Lorde yf with a true hearte he is inuocated of the faythfull Seeing you knowe so well the way how to agree together howe comes it to passe that you haue not vsed it this fortie or fiftie yeres which are the precinctes of the time since your auncient Churche beganne seeing that you haue assembled so manye times together why haue ye not prayed vnto the Lorde to sende the spirite of truth to make peace amongst his Apostles I thinke that you are not so vnshamfaste that you will denye the quarels and debates that haue risen amonge you I doo not saye in light wordes but in great battailes in rayling processes in horrible excommunications sent from the Churches of the Lutherans vnto the Caluinists and from the Caluinists vnto the Lutherans as I haue set foorth at large in the booke that I made of the Sacrament and therefore ye are greatlye ouerseene that ye haue not inuocated the spirite of the Lorde as Caluin hath taught you in his Cathechisme to the ende that you may come to some accorde Â¶ The .29 Chapter NOwe to turne againe to our former purpose if it were so that of our owne free deliberation we were minded to forsake our Catholike religion the iniurious disputations that you vse amonge your selues were sufficient to make vs to suspende oure iudgement without leaning to anye of both parties vntill that we coulde see you more resolute in youre opinions being the hardest matter the knowing in what countrey the residence shoulde be kepte for that matter You haue geueÌ„ absolute sentence saying that the Catholike Churche hath erred euen from the Apostles time vnto this present in praying to God for the soules of those that are deade constituted in a thirde place called Purgatorye You shoulde me thinke at the least allowe a thirde place although it be not that to receaue the soules of those whose consciences you haue so troubled that they knowe nowe neither what is their faith nor of what religion they should be for wheÌ„ they reade Luthers workes they are Lutherans wheÌ„ they meete with Caluins workes they are Caluinists and at the last they do not know which side in deede is the truest being both false and therfore I think it were good that a sequestration were made that neyther God nor the Deuill might haue parte of their soules till there were a farther inquirye made of suche a number of sects and that some good and honest arbitratour might geue iudgement as concerning which partie hath moste right And in the meane while I beseeche God to open so the eyes of the people that they maye see both youre errours and their owne and that through the aboundaunce of their sinnes he permit them not to fall into an Heathenisme vnto the which you doo seeke to drawe them with so manye contrary Gospels Â¶ The .30 Chapter IT doth appere well by that that I haue saide howe the assuraunce of your vocation to the ministerie is but founded vpon sande forasmuche as you doo seeke particulerly a contrary meaning euery one to his owne perticuler sense being not this the waye that an extraordinarye minister sent from God shoulde vse to confyrme his doctrine for this hath beene the custome of all olde heretikes as I haue alreadye sayde There is a verye great difference betweene setting foorth the Scripture to refourme ones religion to reforme ones conditions for when there is any questioÌ„ of the refourming of ones maners there is no neede to regarde whether the doctrine be newe or olde for as the Apostle sayth let euery man take it to his owne sense but when it is to be talked of as touching ones fayth the Catholike ought greatlye to beware of singuler interpretations and to holde them as very suspitious He ought to folowe the sentence that is holden and taught by the auncient Catholike Churche without making any accompt of all these new deuises for euen as when one will repaire an olde house he dares commit it to anye Mason although his cunning be but small but if the foundation must be touched he will seeke the best masters he can fynde Euen so when one will correct me for my euill life or conditions although that it be so that he that seeks to reforme me be not of the wisest of the worlde and that he alleage to me some place or figure of the Sceipture not altogether to the purpose yet all this ought to turne to me to one effect for I know his meaning although he cannot well expresse it the which is to haue me chaunge my naughtie life and to leaue my yll conditions But when he shall come to touche my fayth and to perswade me from that that all my auncetours did euer holde froÌ„ that that the Catholike Churche deriued from the Apostles hath holden and doth holde and from that that both the Scripture and the generall Councels and all the auncient doctours teache and affyrme In the repayre of this foundation I ought to trust none but euen the verye best I meane not one or two but all these that I haue named And now if you say that they maye all erre I praye remember the olde prouerbe that saith He is a foole that thinkes that he onely is wise and all the other fooles and that it is more agreable to reason that one onely should erre then one great multitude for as thei say commonly two eyes see more then one and fowre more then two Â¶ The .31 Chapter OVr Sauiour Christe did approue his vocation after another sort theÌ„ you doo yours Searche saith he the Scriptures for they beare witnes of me he doth not say that they ar Iudges as you saye for you will haue none other arbitrator but the word of god You knowe that they are two different thinges to beare witnes and to be a Iudge yet the scriptures of the old Testament doo conteine not only the veritie of the doctrine of our Sauiour Christ but therwithall the very sufficient probation of his person to teache vs the true worde of God to ouerthrow destroy the whole kingdome of Sathan as it is plainlye seene by those that list to looke vppon the oracles of the olde patriarchs and Prophetes It is written in the third of Genesis that God saide vnto the woman that her seede shoulde breake downe the serpents head And likewise in the said booke ther is mentioÌ„ made of this diuine seede of Abraham in the. 15. and. 53. Chapters of Esay in the. 2. Psalme Dauid doth talke of it And in like maner Daniell Moyses Aaron with al the rest of the prophets in their sacrifices haue very

perfectly painted the comming and passion of our Sauiour Moyses left written in the prophecie of Iacob that the Messias should come when the Royall scepter and the administration of it should be taken from the line of Iuda Daniell was not content to saye as the rest that he should come but he did assign the very time that is to say by the seuentie two weeks counting from the fourth yere of the reigne of Zedechias vntill the time that our Sauiour was nayled vpon the Crosse the which time was iust fyue hundred yeres Then seeing that Christe came at the verye prescribed time he might well haue sayde vnto the Iewes that the scriptures did beare witnes of him But yet to say the truth if he had done no other but this he had not fully approued his vocation to condemne their incredulitie For they might haue said vnto him We know well that by the saying of the olde prophetes the Messias should come of the line of Iacob about this time forasmuche as the Scepter of this kingdome is taken from the line of Iuda to be deliuered vnto Herode But what though is this a good consequence the Messias ought to come about this time therefore it is I No no shewe vs your Commission let vs see some Signes howe we shall knowe it for if wee shoulde receaue you as our king it may be that some other woulde come and craue the like saying that wee were abused Our Sauiour Christe sore fearing this obiection tooke another witnes with him besydes the scripture I meane his Miracles The workes that I doo sayth Christe in the name of my father beare witnes of me The like proufe is made when S. Iohn Baptist sent his Disciples to our Sauiour to haue him teache the true beliefe that they should haue in him this question was put to him Art thou he that shoulde come or ought we to attende for some other Go your wayes sayde Christe and tell Iohn what ye haue hearde and seene The blinde receaue their sight the lame do walk vpright the dumbe speake the deafe heare the lepers are cured the dead are raised againe and the poore are preched vnto the which is as much to say as tell Iohn that I am the true Messias and that he ought to attende no other I doo verifye my doctrine both by the Scripture and by Miracles For firste Esay doeth write that when the Messias shoulde come he should doo the Miracles aboue mentioned Then seeing that I haue done them in youre presence it foloweth that I am he that should come Thus you see Sirs that both the Scripture and Miracles were necessarye for the confyrmation of the comming of Christe amonge the Iewes who were neuer harder of beliefe then we are according to your opinion and therefore blame vs not if we sende you packing like Coggers of the Scriptures the which doo neither beare witnes of your comming nor yet doo any miracles the which two things and more are necessary to make vs beleue your reformed Gospell Â¶ The .32 Chapter YOu doo alleage the inuincible patience of your holye Martyrs in times past for at this present if it plesed God that you did martyrizate no more soules with your false preching then there are bodyes that suffer for your doctrine your sect were nothing so daungerous as it is You glorye in your Martyrs of times past which haue sealed with their owne bloud the doctrine of that holye Citie Geneua But in this ye are much deceaued for S. Iohn Chrisostome in his fyrste oration against the Iewes doth say That the payne doeth not make the Martyr but the cause for otherwise the theeues and murderers might clayme the like title although they suffer for another cause for we honour and loue the Martys saith he not for the tormentes that they doo suffer but for that it is for Christe and that they suffer for Iustice And S. Augustine in his fyrste booke contra Epistolam Parmeniani Capit. septimo writing agaynst some of your felowes that presumed to be Martyrs he doth say that euery one is not a Martyr that is punished by the Emperour or by the king for matters of religion otherwise saith he the deuils might attribute vnto themselues the glorye of martyrdome because they suffered persecution at the christian Emperours handes when thoroughout the worlde their Idolles were pulled downe and they caste out and those that did offer sacrifice vnto them greuouslye punished then saith he the Iustice is not certaine through the passion or for hauing suffered death but the death and passion is glorious when it is for the sustayning of the true fayth And therefore sayeth he our Sauiour because he would not haue the simple deceaued vnder this coulour of truth he did not onely saye Blessed are those that suffer but he added for Iustice But this can in no wise be attributed vnvnto those heretikes that suffer to seperate the vnion and concorde of the Catholike Churche And in his booke de vnitate Ecclesiae contra Epistolam Petiliani he doth write that the Donatists which were a sect of heretikes that reigned in his time to confyrme their doctrine they did not attende that others should put them to death but they did cast them selues downe from high places Others did burne them selues in the fyre to be honored after their death as Martyrs and that is more they did threaten men if they woulde not kill them S. Ciprian in like maner doth write in the fyrste booke of his Epistles in the fyrste Epistle that though an heretike suffer death for Christe that doeth not confyrme him as a Martyr but that his death is the verye punishment of his error and that he cannot go to heauen which is the mansion of the humble for seing that he doth seperate himselfe from the house of peace which is the Churche ye know well of what Churche he doth speake that he cannot be receaued into heauen c All those that haue written the historyes of the Bohemians doo saye that in the time of one Zischa a martiall minister of the heresye of the Heborites or Hussites there were a certaine sect of heretikes called Adamites like vnto the olde heresye of the Nicholaites for they did say as these doo that mens wiues should be common and they went al naked euery one taking the woman he liked best whom he did carye vnto their minister and before him he did saye The holy Ghoste doth inspire me to lye with this person then the saide reuerent father did geue him his blessing saying Increase and multiplye so they went awaye This abouenamed Zischa althoughe he had done a number of wicked deedes yet he determined to abolish and take away this sect and so he caused two women to be burnt for this abhominatioÌ„ the which two notwithstanding the torment of the fyre did sing geue thankes to God for that it had pleased him to permit them do dy for so holy and so

that haue continued with oure olde flocke stedfast and whole as touching our religion but verye weake sickly as touching our maners that is to say full of sinnes and vices attending some sage phisitions to heale vs and good pastors to keepe vs casting out the chaffe from the corne I mean cutting off those abuses that are offensiue not to suche scrupulous consciences as you haue but vnto him that doth threaten them for the carelesse liues of their sheepe and so to continue in that auncient fayth that by succession of pastors we haue receued from the Apostles Â¶ The .41 Chapter I Knowe well that you wil take this confessioÌ„ of mine to your aduantage saying that for feare of being infected with our superstitious diseases you haue seperated your selues froÌ„ the common flocke but if you do consider my firste wordes they haue barred you al maner of wayes to reply iustly for I haue already said that althogh we be sickly and weake sheepe as touching our doings or maners yet in regarde of our fayth thankes be to God we are safe and sounde keeping still that integritie of religion that by succession of pastors we haue receaued from the Apostles without adding or diminishing any thing to the grounde of our catholike beliefe for as for ceremonies the Church hath vsed theÌ„ euer as touching that time the place to the honor of god edification of our neighbor and therfore if you did seperate your selues from our kind of liuing to leade a holy solitarye life as the holy Heremites and saintes haue done in times past forsaking the conuersatioÌ„ of the coÌ„mon people to liue in contemplation without seperating theÌ„ selues froÌ„ the coÌ„munion of the Churche in the which they haue bene baptised and had receaued their faith your doings had ben as much worthi of praise in that respect as nowe they are damnable considering howe you forsake the common tabernacle within the which both you and we haue receaued the Sacraments of regeneration and our spirituall foode altogether And to the ende that no bodye runne astray from the right path that he should folowe the good Christian ought to fixe in his minde this resolution I mean to serue God and to liue in the Catholike fayth commonlye or priuately for when there is any question put as touching the life the common way as Christe doth saye doeth leade one to perdition and the narow waye doth guide vnto the port of saluation But if one speake of religion the contrarye is verifyed for the common way is the way of health the priuate way is the path of damnation The Prophete Dauid in the. 24. Psalme had a regarde to this when he prayed god to teach him his waies by the religion and his pathes by the maners and customes Â¶ The .42 Chapter NOw to turne to the partition that we haue vpon the. 34. and. 37. of Ezechiell and vppon the tenth of Iohn it is playne that we are the flockes of weake and sickly sheepe and your disciples are the sheepe that runne this way and that way astraye those that are our yll prelats take vpon them the title of Mercenarij pastoris but vnto your Ministers the titles of deuouring wolues may be applyed without any scrupulositie of conscience for you watche to none other intent but to make the sheepe runne out of the fold and to deuour them because that our pastors haue not taken care to keepe them And although they bee not excusable aswell for their silence as for their naughtie liues I see not your Patriarchs and zealous Ministers amende muche them selues the faultes that they finde in vs for besydes the true and certayne experience that we haue had by the tryall that we haue seene to our coste in this Realme within these fyue or six yeres I haue read full manye a golden Legend of your sacred martyrs and holy Bishops which do not altogether redound to the honor of your pretended reformed Church And among others Theodore de Beza Caluins successor in the Pontificate seate of the holy Citie of Geneua of whom suche thinges are preached abrode that if the one halfe of them be true he is scant so good a man as S. Iohn Baptist And because I woulde not haue you to mislike them for their religion I will not alleage to verifye this anye Catholike authour but some of Luthers Successours your fyrste founder who taught you to write so learnedlye I woulde saye raylinglye againste the Churche of Rome Tilemanus Heshusius a Minister of the Lutherans in the booke that I haue alreadye noted doeth openlye accuse the sayde Beza of great infamye that he did not onely content the fansie of his minde with leading a luxurious and a licentious life and to stayne his vow with a bolte of adulterous loue but that that is worse he himselfe hath set forth in writing al his lasciuious acts the which saith he he hath songe in sacrilege ryme to the Instrument to manifest his synne to the whole sight of the worlde And in that very booke he doth say that Beza who as I haue tolde you is a Bishop of the holy Citie of Geneua is an infamous monster whose naughty life any man maye reade set forth by himselfe in his owne Epigrams notwithstanding sayth he to heare him speake you woulde thinke he were Saint Iohn Baptist for he can talke of nothinge but of his holye life This same very Minister in the booke where he writeth these thinges he doeth laye to Bezas charge that he tooke with him to Geneua another mans wife without the knowledge of her husbande whose name was Candida Thus seeing by the verye testimonie of those that are our enemies that are your brethren as touching the seeking to ouerthrowe the Catholike Churche The principall pillers of your Church are bawdes theeues and adulterers ruffins why doo ye not firste begin to reforme your selues to this intent that when we see that you haue taken the blocke out of your own eyes we may be the better content that you should spye the mote in ours Remember that our Sauiour sayth in the Gospel that the phisition ought to cure himselfe Â¶ The .43 Chapter YOu that can saye so well that one ought to liue according to the scripture and that you will by it refourme vs why do ye not beginne with your selues to geue vs the better example From whence come so many kinde of vsuries and excessiue interests as you doo vse You call our Churche abhominable and adulterous He that is among you without sinne let him cast the fyrste stone You doo abhorre oure Idols as you terme them talking of our Images howe commeth it to passe then that some of youres should come so neere vs that are Idolaters as to rob our Churches and to carye away the Images and reliques and to go and sell them in other places But nowe to make an ende of this discourse although it were so that your woorkes were

vndoubtedly led with the spirite of god in them both For if the Catholike Churche had the true spirite of God in discerning and iudging the true Scriptures of God from the rest not Scriptures why shoulde not we beleeue that same catholike churche gouerned and led by the same spirite in geuing the true sense meaning and vnderstanding of the scriptures WheÌ„ ye shal be able to render a sufficient reason of the one and not of the other I shall then yeelde and recant and not before Fourth Let the protestantes make sufficient proufe by auncient writers of the ecclesiasticall historyes what church it is that all these fyftene hundred yeeres past hath continued thoroughout fyrme and stedfast whiles all other conuenticles and congregations aswell of the Atrians as of the Nestorians Maniches Nouatians Vigilians Iouinians and the rest of heretikes of all sortes haue decayed bene conuinced and ouerthrowen that by any other church then by the common knowen catholike Churche of Christe And I shal then yeeld and recant and not before Fyfte If it may sufficiently be proued that any other Churche then the common knowen catholike churche of Christe hath instituted and ordeyned all goodly ceremonies solemne obseruations in the same dayly practised and vsed as the festiuall dayes of Christmas Candlemas Easter Whitsontide the feasts of thapostles and holy Euangelists of S. Michaell tharchangell and of all halowes blessed Saintes the obseruation of the holye fast of Lent and Imber dayes the faste of thapostles and of all the aforesaide festiual Eues beside the weekely fast of Frydayes Saturdayes the rest yet obserued and allowed on both sydes to the honour and glorye of God Then I will recante and not before Sixth let the protestantes shewe what Church from Christe his time hitherto and for the whole space of these fiftene hundred yeres past hath exercised discipline and due correction vpon offenders in all degrees and for that purpose hath not onely prouided and made but continuallye executed lawes canons and decrees ecclesiasticall by suspension excommunication degradation and such other like Let theÌ„ proue this discipline to haue proceeded of the Protestants congregations or to haue continued from time to time in anye other Churche then in the common knowen Catholike Churche of Christe And I will then recant and not before Seuenth let me know of the Protestants what Church hath brought forth for the space of these fyftene hundred yeres past as children begotten of her owne wombe so manye thousandes of blessed Martyrs of stoute and bolde confessors of pure and innocent virgins and of other holye Saintes of al sortes and so acknowledged of eyther partie And if it shall in fine fall out that anye one of them was of the Protestants congregatioÌ„ faith or belief whiles they liued here and not of the coÌ„mon knowen faith and religion of the Catholike Church of Christe or that they were approued and canonized for Saintes when they were deade by the protestantes congregation and not only by the catholike churche of Christe I shal then submit and recant and not before Eight Wheras the Apostle Saint Paule testifieth that Christ gaue vnto his Churche some Apostles some Prophetes some Euangelistes some pastors and doctours ad consummationem sanctorum in opus ministerij and so to continue to the edifying of his body the catholike Churche vntill his comming agayne Nowe if the Protestants shal be able to proue by ecclesiasticall historyes of all ages the continuance and vse of the said functions and degrees in their congregations and that by some orderly succession and playne accompt made from Christ his time hitherto thei haue neuer lacked the sayde appoynted officers or that any other church theÌ„ the common knowen catholike church of Christe hath had at all times the continuance of the same I shall then recant and relent and not before Ninth whereas the protestants by the drift of reason and argument are forced of the Catholikes to acknowledge and confesse their churche and congregations to haue lyen hydden vnknowen for the space of one whole thousand yeres together without all the foresayde functions and ministrations of Apostles prophets Euangelists pastors doctors of their gospel fayth and religion at the least wise to be openly perceyued and knowen If therefore they shal be able for the space of that whole time to proue by auncient writers of ecclesiastical historyes any other worde Gospell or doctrine to be vniuersally and openly taught any other Sacramentes to be ministred anye other discipline or correction to be practised anye other Iudgementes Decrees Canons or lawes to be exeuted then those which were dayly practised in the coÌ„mon knowen Catholike Churche of Christe I will then recant and not before Tenth forasmuche as the Protestantes doo affyrme their congregations faith and religion to haue bene practised in the primatiue Churche of Christe some of them for the space of the firste three hundreth yeeres as Iohn Caluine some for the space of foure or fyue hundred yeres as Martine Luther and his complices some for the whole space of the fyrste sixe hundreth yeeres as master Iewell and the authours of the Apologie of the Churche of Ingland and therin not agreeing among them selues as the maner of heretikes is I requyre some better stayed and certayne tale of them where and when this sodeyn change from the Protestants religioÌ„ to the Papists should be made as in what yere of our Lorde vnder what Pope and Emperour by what persons of name it was so wrought and brought to passe and vpon what occasion what Apostles Prophetes Euangelistes Pastors and doctours of their congregations did gaynesay or withstande the same And who doth make anye mention of this sodeyne and meruailous change of the Protestantes religion to Papistrie what one eccesiastical writer or auncient father of the whole world And when they shal be able reasonablye to aunswere and to satisfye these my demaundes then I will recant yeelde to them and not before Eleuenth Let the learned Protestant shewe me what order of seruice or common prayer what order of ministration of Sacramentes their Churche had before papistrie as they call it preuayled in the worlde Let im shewe me one booke or copie of any Communion or what els you liste that was in Englishe or in anye vulgare or common tonge beside the Hebrewe Greeke and Latine or that lacked prayer for the soules departed or inuocation to Saintes or sacrifice for the sinnes both of the quicke the deade or that charged a number to receaue with the prieste or that he could not els consecrate or say Masse receauing alone or that the people should take the sacrament for breade and wine and not for the reall bodye and bloud of Christe or that they should geue no honour to it or not reserue the same for the comfort of the sicke and diseased people or that denied extreme vnction with the rest of the Sacramentes to be behoufull or necessary for

them Let the learned protestant bring foorth and shewe suche a Communion booke or anye leafe lyne or worde of any suche doctrine or any churche or congregation that euer had any authenticall seruice or ministration of the Sacraments other then that which is yet daylye openly practised in the coÌ„mon knowen catholike churche of Christe And I shall then recant and not before Twelfth I demaunde of the learned protestant to knowe cause reason why their congregations do admit and receaue all Bishops priests deacons and other officers spirituall ordered by our catholike Churche as men lawfull and sufficient to preache the worde of God to minister the sacramentes and to exercise al spiritual Iurisdiction in no lesse wise but rather more then if they had bene ordered in their owne priuate congregations whereas the catholike churche of Christ doth not acknowledge any man of their ordering calling to be any whit the more fit for any spirituall function in Christ his church then other coÌ„mon lay men When therfore the learned Protestant shal be able to shewe good cause and reason whye our Catholike Churche hauing by their owne consent and approuing lawfull priestes Bishops and spiritual ministers not to be also the lawful true and catholike churche of Christe I will then recant and not before Thirtene I require of the learned protestant to expresse what furniture furtherance or commoditie to the honor and seruice of God did christianitie or any part of Christendome receaue by his Churche or congregations what temple or churche did you build at any time for your assemblies and seruice of god what Bishopriks for the better gouernment of the church did you founde or procure what vniuersities schooles or colleges did you at any time erect for the maintenaunce of christian doctrine fayth and religion When the learned Protestant shal be able to proue by ecclesiasticall histories and olde auncient writers these thinges to be the monumentes of their conuenticles and priuate congregations of their fayth and religion and not of the common knowen fayth religion and catholike Churche of Christe Then I shal in like maner yeelde and recant and not before Fourthtene Let the learned Protestant name anye one felowship or companye of beleeuers in the whole christian worlde that in all Articles of faith and religion be in one vnitie in one meaning and beliefe and contented also to captiue submit their seuerall meaninges to the iudgementes of their prelates and spirituall gouernours and of one chiefe head and pastor among them in all ecclesiasticall thinges and causes Let I saye the learned protestant name any one company thus agreing among them selues and thus humblye affected in Christian fayth and religion sauing onely the holye and blessed felowship of the common knowen catholike churche of Christe And I will then recant and not before Fyftene Againe I doo demaunde of the learned protestant whether the Lutherans Zuinglians Illirians Caluinists Confessionists Swenkfeldians Anabaptists and suche like be al of one church and congregation or no And if he be able to proue these sectes being of such diuersitie in fayth and religion to make one church and that euery one of them may geue saluation to their felowes being so disagreable one with another in high misteryes and poyntes of fayth and religion or that I ought to beleeue all those rather then the one true catholike churche of Christe or yet anye of these more one then another all of them making such a bolde chalenge of the truth of Gods worde and Gospell When the learned protestant shall be able by good reason or drifte of argument to satisfye these my requestes Then I shall yeelde and recant and not before Sixtene when the protestant shall be able to proue that those persons which in their departure made from the catholike churche of Christe haue more desyre to beare the name of Sectaryes as of Lutherans Suinglians Illyrians Caluinists Swenkfeldians and Anabaptistes then the name of Christians or Catholikes are the true members of Christe his Churche and not heretikes and schismatikes nor yet folowers therein of their forefathers the Arrians whiche toke their names of Arrius the Maniches of Manes the Nestorians of Nestorius the Nouatians the Vigilians the Iouinians Pelagians Eutichians and others Then I shall yeeld recant and not before Seuenthtene I demaunde of the learned protestant whether if the whole space of that thousand yeres of blindnes wherein their Churche laye hid and vnknowen suppressed by papistrie superstition and Idolatrye as they terme it whether they whiche were then baptized and openly professed Christ wer saued or not If the Protestant doo aunswere yea consequently it foloweth that they were saued without the Church of Christe liuing in all ignorance superstition Idolatry as they say If he aunswer no and that there was no saluation out of their hid vnknowen Church then all men of all degrees yong and olde for the whole space of the foresayde thousand yeeres by the Protestants iudgement perished without all hope of Gods mercye and were damned When therefore the learned Protestant shall be able to proue by good reason and argument eyther that ther is a way to saluation without the Churche of Christe or that all people professing Christe perished for so many hundreth yeeres together Then I will recant and not before Eightene Let the learned Protestant make prouf vnto me how their hid vnknowen and secrete churche not hauing in it the doctrine of Christ his Gospell openlye taught no ministration of Sacramentes no spirite of prophecying no discipline of rod or correction no ordering of Bisshops priestes and ecclesiasticall ministers nor yet anye other spirituall function executed in the same for the space of one thousand yeres together Let him proue their hid vnknowen Churche with the lacke of all these thinges to be the true spouse and Catholike church of Christe And I will recant and not before Ninthtene Againe on the other side let the learned protestant proue that it is not the true Churche of Christe that hath in the face of the world for the space of fiftene hundred yeres past exercised preaching the coÌ„uersion of nations to the obedience of the Gospell that hath alwayes had the administration of Sacraments the hearing of matters in controuersie the orderlye succession of Bishops the vniformitie of solemne Ceremonies and the vnitie of fayth that hath in her selfe all holye functions of the spirite as working of miracles remission of synnes the true sense and interpretation of Gods word that is beautifyed with diuersitie of states commended by Christe as with martyrs with confessors holye virgins such other Let the protestant proue vnto me that this is not the true churche and that we are not bound to obey beleue this church none other in all controuersies doubtes vprising eyther by the difficultie of scripture or by vain contention pride of heretikes and I wil yeld recant not before Twentie Moreouer let the

visible vnction Moyses himselfe was extraordinarilye called and sent of God approued by miracle as it appereth in the fourth Chapiter of Exodus And therfore the Apostle S Paule nameth Aaron and not Moises to signifye that all extraordinary vocations by miracles as Moyses was are nowe ceassed and that we must from hencefoorth be ordinarilye called by externall vnction as Aaron was When therfore the learned protestant shal be able to proue their iust and due vocation ordinarily or extraordinarilye to proceede of God and not onely of man I shall then yeelde and recant and not before Thirde signe token of false Prophetes heretikes and Schismatiks is that they being first departed from the catholike churche and secondarily not called doo forthwith al of them selues preache and teach contentiouslye and seditiously against the doctrine before time taught of the common knowen catholike churche of Christe as against the Sacraments of Christe his Churche by a flat denyall of manye of them against the reall presence of Christe his bodye in the holy Eucharist against the blessed sacrifice of the Masse propitiatorye both for the liue the deade against penaunce and worthy fruites therof by fasting watche prayer and all straightnes of life against vowes inuocation of Saintes prayer for soules departed and finally agaynst the churche it selfe flatlye denying that Christe hath here vpon the earth any Spouse or visible churche here to be heard speake perceaued or seene The Apostle S. Paule in admonition geuing vnto vs to beware of this sygne and token sayeth Doctrinis varijs et peregrinis nolite abduci Be not you led and caried awaye with these diuers and straunge doctrines so termed of Thapostle S. Paule because they are not agreing but contrary to the receaued and common knowen doctrine of Christ his catholike churche When therfore the learned Protestant sâ—al be able to proue that they and their congregations are not the raysers vp of these contentions and strifes by their preaching of these straunge doctrines but we that are members of the catholike Churche Then I will submit and recant and not before Fourth signe and token of false prophetes heretikes and schismatikes is Schisma in ecclesiam introducere To bring into the churche of Christe by their doctrine schisme diuision and seperatioÌ„ of one member from another and of the whole misticall body from the true heade Iesus Christe For whereas the health and saluation of Christe his flocke people doth moste chiefely consist in peace concorde and vnitie they therfore which by schisme doo deuide and disperse his flock and of one societie and felowship before do make many and diuers they innot sparing nor preseruing in vnitie the flock of Christe are become raueâ—â—ng wolues Thapostle S. Paule knowing the great daunger and hurt vprising of schisme doth moste humblye beseeche vs with all diligent circumspection to auoyde the same saying Obsecro vos fratres per nomen domini nostri Iesu Christi vt idipsum dicatis omnes et non sint in vobis schismata sitis autem perfecti in eodem sensu et in eadem sententia I beseeche you brethren by the name of our Lorde Iesus Christe that ye all say one thinge and that there be no schismes among you but be perfect in one minde and one meaning Nowe if the learned protestant shal be able to proue that wheras about the time of three score yeres and aboue we were al not onlye here in this Realme but vniuersallye in all other Realmes professing Christe of one Churche of one fayth and religion and of one vnitie therein if he shal be able to proue that this late schisme whereby we are so deuided and dispersed that some are become Lutherans some Zuinglians some Caluinists some Puritans and Anabaptists did proceede from vs and from the common knowen Catholike Church of Christe and not whollye from their priuate Churche and congregations and of the deceptfull and false doctrine by them preached and taught I shall then stay no longer but yeeld and recant and not before Fyfte signe and token of false prophetes heretikes and schismatikes is disobedience Et non obedire sed resistere eis qui praesunt in ecclesia dei And not to obey but resist those which doo beare rule and gouerne in the church of God of the which sort of men the Apostle S. Paule geueth vs warning saying Quemadmodum Iamnes et Mambres restiterunt Moysi ita et hi resistunt veritati homines corrupti meÌ„te reprobi circa fidem Like as Iamnes and Mambres did resist Moises euen so do these resist the truth being men of corrupt mind and reprobates in faith Now when the learned protestant shal be able to proue that this rebellion and disobedience to all Bisshops prelates and ecclesiasticall gouernours is to be found in the catholike churche and not in the priuate churche congregations of the protestantes Then I shall yeelde submit and recant and not before Sixte signe and token of false prophets heretikes and schismatikes is the ficklenes weak slippernes of errors heresies QuÃ²d quaelibet haeresis prae catholicae fidei peepetua firmitate facile transit ac perit For that euerye heresye in comparison of the stabilitie and perpetual continuance and firmnes of the catholike fayth doth soone perish and passe away Thapostle S Peter in speaking of these false prophetes sayeth Magistri mendaces superducent sibi celerem perditionem et perditio eorum non dormitat These lying masters doo bring vppon them selues a quick and speedie ouerthrow and their destruction shall not be slacked nor slowed The truth of this testimonie is to be tryed by all sectaries and sortes of heretikes that euer haue bene as of the Nicolaites Arrians Donatists Maniches Pelagians Iouinists Nestorians Nouatians Sabellians and the rest of heretikes whose errors and heresyes being neuer so stoutly vpholdeÌ„ by Emperors kinges and princes yet by generall councels and censures of Christe his catholike churche they had in fyne their iust condemnation and ouerthrowe What shoulde I here make mention of the Lutherans and protestants of our time When the Lutherans here in this Realme haue taken their iust ouerthrowe already for the great desyre the protestants had to preferre the doctrine of the Oecolampadians Suinglians and Caluinists The Suinglians and Caluinists with the rest sectaryes of all sortes are nowe here in this Realme at the very neere and like poynte they being nowe readye to yeelde vp the ghoste and to tylte vp their heeles for the great desyre the common and baser sorte of the people haue to be Precisians and Puritans And they being winked at of the Magistrats there be no small number of all degrees and sortes of men that doo further and fauour them in this their attempt to the great increase of theÌ„ It cannot therefore be denyed but that all sectaryes and heresyes are on this wise mouing sitting and euer passing from one secte to another without any long time of continuance

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