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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A04286	An apologie for the oath of allegiance first set foorth without a name, and now acknowledged by the authour, the Right High and Mightie Prince, Iames, by the grace of God, King of Great Britaine, France and Ireland, defender of the faith, &c. ; together with a premonition of His Maiesties, to all most mightie monarches, kings, free princes and states of Christendome.	James I, King of England, 1566-1625.; Paul V, Pope, 1552-1621.; Bellarmino, Roberto Francesco Romolo, Saint, 1542-1621.	1609 (1609)	STC 14401.5; ESTC S1249	109,056	264

to the Emperours for their Confirmation And this lasted almost seuen hundreth yeeres after CHRIST witnesse Sigebert and Luitprandus with other Popish Historians And for Emperours deposing of Popes there are likewise diuers examples The Emperour Ottho deposed Pope Iohn the twelfth of that name for diuers crimes and vices especially of lecherie The Emperour Henry the third in a short time deposed three Popes Benedict the ninth Siluester the third and Gregory the sixt as well for the sinne of Auarice as for abusing their extraordinarie authoritie against Kings and Princes And as for Kings that haue denied this temporall Superioritie of Popes First we haue the vnanime testimonie of diuers famous Historiographers for the generall of many Christian Kingdomes As Walthram testifieth That the Bishops of Spaine Scotland England Hungary from ancient institution till this moderne noueltie had their Inuestiture by Kings with peaceable inioying of their temporalities wholly and entirely and whosoeuer saith hee is peaceably solicitous let him peruse the liues of the Ancients and read the Histories and hee shall vnderstand thus much And for verification of this generall assertion we will first begin at the practise of the Kings of France though not named by Walthram in this his enumeration of Kingdomes amongst whom my first witnesse shall be that vulgarly knowen Letter of Philip le Bel King of France to Pope Boniface the viij the beginning whereof after a scornefull salutation is Sciat tua maxima fatuitas nos in temporalibus nemini subesse And likewise after that Lewes the ninth surnamed Sanctus had by a publike instrument called Pragmatica Sanctio forbidden all the exactions of the Popes Court within his Realme Pope Pius the ij in the beginning of Lewes the eleuenth his time greatly misliking this Decree so long before made sent his Legate to the said King Lewes with Letters patents vrging his promise which he had made when he was Dolphin of France to repeale that Sanction if euer hee came to bee King The King referreth the Legate ouer with his Letters-patents to the Councel of Paris where the matter being propounded was impugned by Ioan. Romanus the Kings Atturney with whose opinion the Vniuersitie of Paris concurring an Appeale was made from the attempts of the Pope to the next generall Councell the Cardinall departing with indignation But that the Kings of France and Church therof haue euer stoken to their Gallican immunitie in denying the Pope any temporall power ouer them and in resisting the Popes as oft as euer they prest to meddle with their temporall power euen in the donation of Benefices the Histories are so full of them as the onely examples thereof would make vp a bigge Volume by it selfe And so farre were the Sorbonists for the Kings and French Churches priuiledge in this point as they were wont to maintain That if the Pope fell a quarrelling the King for that cause the Gallican Church might elect a Patriarch of their owne renouncing any obedience to the Pope And Gerson was so farre from giuing the Pope that temporall authoritie ouer Kings who otherwise was a deuoute Roman Catholike as hee wrote a Booke de Auferibilitate Papae not onely from the power ouer Kings but euen ouer the Church And now permitting all further examples of forraigne Kings actions I will onely content mee at this time with some of my owne Predecessors examples of this Kingdom of England that it may thereby the more clearly appeare that euen in those times when the worlde was fullest of darkened blindnesse and ignorance the Kings of England haue oftentimes not only repined but euen strongly resisted and withstoode this temporall vsurpation and encroachment of ambitious Popes And I will first begin at King Henry the first of that name after the Conquest who after he was crowned gaue the Bishopricke of Winchester to William Gifford and forthwith inuested him into all the possessions belonging to the Bishopricke contrarie to the Canons of the new Synod King Henrie also gaue the Archbishopricke of Canterburie to Radulph Bishop of London and gaue him inuestiture by a Ring and a Crosiers staffe Also Pope Calixtus held a Councell at Rhemes whither King Henry had appointed certaine Bishops of England and Normandie to goe Thurstan also elected Archbishop of Yorke got leaue of the King to goe thither giuing his faith that hee would not receiue Consecration of the Pope And comming to the Synode by his liberal gifts as the fashion is wanne the Romanes fauour and by their meanes obtained to bee Consecrate at the Popes hand Which as soone as the King of England knewe hee forbad him to come within his Dominions Moreouer King Edward the first prohibited the Abbot of Waltham and Dean of Pauls to collect a tenth of euery mans goods for a supply to the holy Land which the Pope by three Bulles had committed to their charge and the said Deane of Pauls compering before the King and his Councell promised for the reuerence he did beare vnto the King not to meddle any more in that matter without the Kings good leaue and permission Here I hope a Church-man disobeyed the Pope from obedience to his Prince euen in Church matters but this new Iesuited Diuinitie was not then knowen in the world The same Edward I. impleaded the Deane of the Chappell of Vuluerhampton because the said Deane had against the priuiledges of the Kingdome giuen a Prebend of the same Chappell to one at the Popes command whereupon the said Deane compeered and put himselfe in the Kings will for his offence The said Edward I. depriued also the Bishop of Durham of all his liberties for disobeying a prohibition of the Kings So as it appeareth the Kings in those dayes thought the Church men their SVBIECTS though now wee be taught other Seraphicall doctrine For further proofe whereof Iohn of Ibstocke was committed to the goale by the saide King for hauing a suite in the Court of Rome seauen yeares for the Rectorie of Newchurch And Edward II. following the footsteps of his Father after giuing out a Summons against the Abbot of Walden for citing the Abbot of S. Albons and others in the Court of Rome gaue out letters for his apprehension And likewise because a certaine Prebend of Banbury had drawen one Beuercoat by a Plea to Rome without the Kings Dominions therefore were Letters of Caption sent foorth against the said Prebend And Edward III. following likewise the example of his Predecessors Because a Parson of Liche had summoned the Prior of S. Oswalds before the Pope at Auinion for hauing before the Iudges in England recouered the arrerage of a pension directed a Precept for seasing vpon all the goods both spirituall and Temporall of the said Parson because hee had done this in preiudice of the King and Crowne The saide King also made one Harwoden to bee declared culpable and worthy to bee punished for procuring the Popes Bulles

curse those that worship Images that haue eyes and see not that haue eares and heare not would much more haue cursed them that worship a piece of a sticke th●t hath not so much as any resemblance or representation of eyes or eares As for Pugatorie and all the trash depending thereupon it is not worth the talking of Bellarmine cannot finde any ground for it in all the Scriptures Onely I would pray him to tell me If that faire greene Meadow that is in Purgatorie haue a brooke running thorow it that in case I come there I may haue hawking vpon it But as for me I am sure there is a Heauen and a Hell praemium poena for the Elect and reprobate How many other roomes there bee I am not on God his counsell Multae sunt mansiones in domo Patris mei saith CHRIST who is the true Purgatorie for our sinnes But how many chambers and anti-chambers the Deuill hath they can best tell that goe to him But in case there were more places for soules to goe to then wee know of yet let vs content vs with that which in his Word hee hath reuealed vnto vs and not inquire further into his secrets Heauen and Hell are there reuealed to be the eternall home of all mankinde let vs indeauour to winne the one and eschew the other and there is an end Now in all this discourse haue I yet left out the maine Article of the Romish faith and that is the Head of the Church or Peters Primacie for who denieth this denieth fidem Catholicam saith Bellarmine That Bishops ought to be in the Church I euer maintained it as an Apostolike institution and so the ordinance of GOD contrary to the Puritanes and likewise to Bellarmine who denies that Bishops haue their Iurisdiction immediatly from God But it is no wonder he takes the Puritanes part since Iesuits are nothing but Puritan-Papists And as I euer maintained the state of Bishops and the Ecclesiasticall Hierarchie for order sake so was I euer an enemy to the confused Anarchie or paritie of the Puritanes as well appeareth in my 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Heauen is gouerned by order and all the good Angels there nay Hell it selfe could not subsist without some order And the very Deuils are diuided into Legions and haue their chiefetaines how can any societie then vpon earth subsist without order and degrees And therefore I cannot enough wonder with what brasen face this Answerer could say That I was a Puritane in Scotland and an enemy to Protestants I that was persecuted by Puritanes there not from my birth only but euen since foure moneths before my birth I that in the yeere of GOD 84 erected Bishops and depressed all their popular Paritie I then being not 18. yeeres of age I that in my said Booke to my Sonne doe speake tenne times more bitterly of them nor of the Papists hauing in my second Edition therof affixed a long Apologetike Preface onely in odium Puritanorum and I that for the space of sixe yeares before my comming into England laboured nothing so much as to depresse their Paritie and re-erect Bishops againe Nay if the daily Commentaries of my life and actions in Scotland were written as Iulius Caesars were there would scarcely a moneth passe in all my life since my entring into the 13. yeare of my age wherein some accident or other would not conuince the Cardinall of a lye in this point And surely I giue a faire commendation to the Puraitnes in that place of my booke where I affirme that I haue found greater honesty with the high-land and border theeues then with that sort of people But leauing him to his own impudence I returne to my purpose Of Bishops and Church Hierarchie I very well allowe as I saide before and likewise of Rancks and Degrees amongst Bishops Patriarches I know were in the time of the Primitiue Church and I likewise reuerence that institution for order sake and amongst them was a contention for the first place And for my selfe if that were yet the question I would with all my heart giue my consent that the Bishop of Rome should haue the first Seate I being a Westerne King would go with the Patriarch of the West And for his temporall Principalitie ouer the Signory of Rome I doe not quarrell it neither let him in God his Name be Primus Episcopus inter omnes Episcopos and Princeps Episcoporum so it be no other wise but as Peter was Princeps Apostolorum But as I well allow of the Hierarchie of the Church for distinction of Orders for so I vnderstand it so I vtterly denie that there is an earthly Monarch thereof whose word must be a Law and who cannot erre in his Sentence by an infallibilitie of Spirit Because earthly Kingdomes must haue earthly Monarches it doeth not follow that the Church must haue a visible Monarch too for the world hath not ONE earthly temporall Monarch CHRIST is his Churches Monarch and the holy Ghost his Deputie Reges gentium dominantur eorū vos autem non sic CHRIST did not promise before his ascension to leaue Peter with them to direct and instruct them in all things but hee promised to send the holy Ghost vnto them for that end And as for these two before cited places wherby Bellarmine maketh the Pope to triumph ouer Kings I meane Pasce oues and Tibi dabo claues the Cardinall knowes well enough that the same words of Tibi dabo are in another place spoken by Christ in the plural number And he likewise knowes what reason the Ancients doe giue why Christ bade Peter pascere oues and also what a cloude of witnesses there is both of Ancients and euen of late Popish writers yea diuers Cardinals that do all agree that both these speeches vsed to Peter were meant to all the Apostles represented in his person Otherwise how could Paul direct the Church of Corinth to excommunicate the incestuous person cum spiritu suo whereas hee should then haue said cum spiritu Petri And how could all the Apostles haue otherwise vsed all their censures only in Christs Name and neuer a word of his Vicar Peter wee reade did in all the Apostles meetings sit amongst them as one of their number And when chosen men were sent to Anti●chia from that great Apostolike Councell at Ierusalem Acts 15. The text saith It seemed good to the Apostles and Elders with the whole Church to send chosen men but no mention made of the Head therof and so in their Letters no mention is made of Peter but onely of the Apostles Elders and Brethren And it is a wonder why Paul rebuketh the Church of Corinth for making exception of Persons because some followed Paul some Apollos some Cephas if Peter was their visible Head for then those that followed not Peter or Cephas renounced the Catholike faith But it appeareth well that Paul knew

no absurdities Otherwise it is an easie thing for Momus to picke quarrels in another mans tale and tell it worse himselfe it being a more easie practise to finde faults then to amend them Hauing now made this digression anent the Antichrist which I am sure I can better fasten vpon the Pope then Bellarmine can doe his pretended temporall Superioritie ouer Kings I will returne againe to speake of this Answerer who as I haue alreadie told you so fitteth his matter with his maner of answering that as his Style is nothing but a Satyre and heape full of iniurious and reprochfull speeches as well against my Person as my Booke so is his matter as full of lyes and falsities indeed as he vniustly layeth to my charge For three lyes hee maketh against the Oath of Allegiance contained and maintained in my Booke besides that ordinary repeated lye against my Book of his omitting to answere my lyes trattles iniurious speeches and blasphemies One grosse lye hee maketh euen of the Popes first Breue One lye of the Puritanes whom he would gladly haue to bee of his partie And one also of the Powder-Traitors anent the occasion that moued them to vndertake that treasonable practise Three lies he makes of that Acte of Parliament wherein this Oath of Allegiance is contained He also maketh one notable lye against his owne Catholike Writers And two of the causes for which two Iesuites haue bene put to death in England And hee either falsifies denies or wrests fiue sundry Histories and a printed Pamphlet besides that impudent lye that he maketh of my Person that I was a Puritane in Scotland which I haue alreadie refuted And for the better filling vp of his booke with such good stuffe he hath also fiue so strange and new principles of Diuinitie therein as they are either new or at least allowed by very few of his owne Religion All which lyes with diuers others and fiue strange and as I thinke erroneous points of Doctrine with s●n dry falsifications of Hystories are set downe in a Table by themselues in the end of this my Epistle hauing their Refutation annexed to euery one of them But as for the particular answering of his booke it is both vnnecessarie and vncomely for me to make a Reply Vnnecessarie because as I haue alreadie told you my Booke is neuer yet answered so farre as belongeth to the maine question anent the Oath of Allegiance the picking of aduantage vpon the wrong placing of the figures in the citations or such errors in the Print by casuall addition or omission of words that make nothing to the Argument being the greatest weapons wherewith hee assaults my Booke And vncomely it must needs be in my opinion for a King to fall in altercation with a Cardinall at least with one no more nobly descend●d then he is That Ecclesiasticall dignitie though by the sloath of Princes as I said before it bee now come to that height of vsurped honour yet being in the true originall and foundation thereof nothing else but the title of the Priestes and Deacons of the parish Churches in the towne of Rome at the first the style of Cardinals beeing generally giuen to all Priestes and Deacons of any Cathedrall Church though the multitude of such Cardinall Priests and Deacons resorting to Rome was the cause that after bred the restraining of that title of Cardinall Priests and Deacons onely to the Parish priests and Deacons of Rome And since that it is S. Gregorie who in his Epistles sixe hundreth yeares after CHRIST maketh the first mention of Cardinals and so these now Electours of the Apostolike Sea beeing long and many hundreth yeers vnknowen or vnheard of after the Apostol●ke age and yet doth he speake of them but in this sense as I haue now described I hope the Cardinall who calleth him the Apostle of England cannot blame me that am King thereof to acknowledge the Cardinall in no other degree of honour then our said Apostle did But how they should now become to be so strangely exalted aboue their first originall institution that from Parish-priests and Deacons Priests inferiours they should now come to be Princes and Peeres to Kings and from a degree vnder Bishops as both Bellarmine and Onuphrius confesse to be now the Popes sole Electors su●plying with him the place of a General Counsel whereby the conuening of generall Councels is now vtterly antiquated and abolished nay out of their number onely the Pope to be elected who claimeth the absolute Superiority ouer all Kings how this their strange vsurped exaltation I say should thus creepe in and be suffered it belongeth all them in our place and calling to look vnto it who being GOD his Lieute●āts in earth haue good reason to be iealous of such vpstart Princes meane in their originall come to that height by their owne creation and now accounting themselues Kings fellowes But the speciall harme they do vs is by their defrauding vs of our common Christian interest in generall Councels they hauing as I sayd vtterly abolished the same by rowling it vp and making as it were a Monopoly thereof in their Conclaue with the Pope Whereas if euer there were a possibilitie to bee expected of reducing all Christians to an vniformitie of Religion it must come by the meanes of a generall Councell the place of their meeting beeing chosen so indifferēt as all Christian Princes either in their owne Persons or their Deputie Commissioners and all Church men of Christian profession that beleeue and professe all the ancient grounds of the true ancient Catholike and Apostolike Faith might haue tutum accessum thereunto All the incendiaries and Nouelist fire-brands on either side beeing debarred from the same as well Iesuites as Puritanes And therefore hauing resolued not to paine my selfe with making a Reply for these reasons here specified grounded as well vpon the consideration of the matter as of the person of the Answerer I haue thought good to content my selfe with the reprinting of my Apologie hauing in a maner corrected nothing but the Copiers or Printers faults therein and prefixed this my Epistle of Dedication and Warning therunto that I may yet see if any thing will be iustly said against it Not doubting but enow of my Subiects will reply vpon these Libellers and answere them sufficiently wishing YOV deepely to consider and weigh your common interest in this Cause For neither in all my Apologie nor in his pretended Refutation thereof is there any question made anent the Popes power ouer mee in particular for the excommunicating or deposing of me For in my particular the Cardinall doeth me that grace that he saith The Pope thought it not expedient at this time to excommunicate me by name our question beeing onely generall Whether the Pope may lawefully pretend any temporall power ouer Kings or no That no Church men can by his rule be subiect to any temporall Prince I haue already shewed you And what

great griefe of minde But forasmuch as we vnderstand that at this time all things are more grieuous our affliction hereby is wonderfully increased Tortus p. 28. 6 In the first article of the Statute the Lawes of Queene Elizabeth are confirmed Confutation There is no mention at all made of confirming the Lawes of Q. Elizabeth in the first article of that Statute Tortus p. 29. 7 In the 10. article of the sayd Statute it is added that if the Catholikes refuse the third time to take the Oath being tendered vnto them they shall incurre the danger of loosing their liues Confutation There is no mention in this whole Statute either of offring the oath the third time or any endangering of their liues Tortus p. 30. 8 In the 12. article it is enacted that whosoeuer goeth out of the land to serue in the warres vnder forreine Princes they shall first of all take this Oath or else be accounted for Traytors Confutation It is no where said in that Statute that they which shall thus serue in the warres vnder forreine Princes before they haue taken this Oath shal be accounted for Traitors but only for felons Tortus p. 35. 9 We haue already declared that the Popes Apostolike power in binding and loosing is denyed in that Oath of Allegeance Confutation There is no assertory sentence in that Oath nor any word but onely conditionall touching the power of the Pope in binding and loosing Tortus p. 37. 10 The Popes themselues euen wil they nill they were constrained to subiect themselues to Nero and Diocletian Confutation That Christians without exception not vpon constraint but willingly and for conscience sake did subiect themselues to the Ethnicke Emperours it may appeare by our Apologie p. 23 24. and the Apologetickes of the ancient Fathers Tortus p. 47. 11 In which words of the Breues of Clement the 8. not onely Iames King of Scotland was not excluded but included rather Confutation If the Breues of Clement did not exclude mee from the Kingdome but rather did include me why did Garnet burne them why would he not reserue them that I might haue seene them that so he might haue obtained more fauour at mine hands for him and his Catholickes Tortus p. 60. 12 Of those 14. articles contained in the Oath of Allegeance eleuen of them concerne the Primacie of the Pope in matters spirituall Confutation No one article of that Oath doeth meddle with the Primacie of the Pope in matters spirituall for to what end should that haue bene since we haue an expresse Oath els-where against the Popes Primacie in matters spirituall Tortus p. 64. 13 Amongst other calumnies this is mentioned that Bellarmine was priuie to sundry conspiracies against Q Elizabeth if not the authour Confutation It is no where said in the Apologie that Bellarmine was either the Authour or priuie to any conspiracies against Queene Elizabeth but that he was their principall instructer and teacher who corrupted their iudgement with such dangerous positions principles that it was an easie matter to reduce the generals into particulars and to apply the dictates which hee gaue out of his Chaire as opportunity serued to their seuerall designes Tortus p. 64. 14 For hee Bellarmine knoweth that Campian onely conspired against Hereticall impiety Confutation That the true and proper cause of Campians execution was not for his conspiring against hereticall impiety but for conspiring against Queene Elizabeth and the State of this Kingdome it was most euident by the iudiciall proceedings against him Tortus p. 65. 15 Why was H. Garnet a man incomparable for learning in all kindes and holinesse of life put to death but because hee would not reueale that which he could not doe with a safe conscience Confutation That Garnet came to the knowledge of this horrible plot not only in confession as this Libeller would haue it but by other meanes n●ither by the relation of one alone but by diuers so as hee might with safe conscience haue disclosed it See the Premonition p. 125 126 c. and the Earle of Northamptons Booke Tortus p. 71. 16 Pope Sixtus 5. neither commaunded the French King to be murdered neither approued that fact as it was done by a priuate person Confutation The falsehood of this doeth easily appeare by the Oration of Sixtus 5. Tortus p. 91. 17 That which is added concerning Stanley his Treason is neither faithfully nor truely related for the Apologer as his maner is doth miserably depraue it by adding many lyes Confutation That which the Apologie relateth concerning Stanley his Treason is word for word recited out of Cardinall Allens Apologie for Stanley●s treason as it is to be seene there Tortus p. 93. 18 It is very certaine that H. Garnet at his arraignment did alwayes constantly auouch that neither hee nor any Iesuite either were authors or compartners or aduisers or consenting any way to the powder-Treason And a little after The same thing he protested at his death in a large speech in the presence of innumerable people Confutation The booke of the proceedings against the late Traytors and our Premonition pag. 125 126 c. doe clearly prooue the contrary of this to be true Tortus p. 97. 19 King Iames since hee is no Catholike neither is hee a Christian Confutation Contrary I am a true Catholike a professour of the truely ancient Catholike and Apostolike faith and therefore am a true Christian See the confession of my faith in the Premonition pag. 35 36 c. Tortus p. 98. 20 And if the reports of them which knewe him most inwardly be trew When he was in Scotland he was a Puritane and an Enemie to Protestants Now in England hee professeth himselfe a Protestant and an Enemie to the Puritans Confutation Contrary and what a Puritane I was in Scotland See my 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and this my Premonition p. 44 45. ¶ His falsifications in his alledging of Histories together with a briefe declaration of their falshood The words of Tortus p. 70. 1 IT was certaine that hee Hnery 4. the Emperour died a naturall death Confutation It was not certaine since sundry Historians write otherwise that he dyed vpon his imprisonment by his sonne Henry 5. either with the noysomenesse and loathsomenesse of the prison or being pined to death by hunger Read Fasciculus temporum at the yeere 1094. Laziardus epitom vniuersal Histor c. 198. Paulus Langius in Chronico Citizensi at the yeere 1105. and Iacobus Wimphelingus epitome Rerum Germanic c. 28. Tortus p. 83. 2 Henry 4. the Emperour feared indeed but not any corporall death but the censure of Excommunication from the which that he might procure absolution of his owne accord he did thus demissely humble himselfe before Gregory 7. Confutation That Henry 4. thus deiected himselfe before the Pope it was neither of his owne accord neither vpon any feare of the Popes Excommunication which in this particular he esteemed of no force but vpon feare of

the naturall Allegiance and next clearely confirmed by this Oath which doeth nothing but expresse the same so as no man can now hold the faith or procure the saluation of his sould in England that must not abiure and renounce his borne and sworne Allegiance to his naturall Soueraigne And yet it is not sufficient to ratifie the last yeeres Breue by a new one come foorth this yeere but that not onely euery yeere but euery moneth may produce a new monster the great and famous Writer of the Controuersies the late vn-Iesuited Cardinall Bellarmine must adde his talent to this good worke by blowing the bellowes of sedition and sharpening the spur to rebellion by sending such a Letter of his to the Arch-priest here as it is wonder how passion and an ambitious desire of maintaining that Monarchie should charme the wits of so famously learned a man The Copie where of here followeth TO THE VERY REuerend Mr. George Blackwel Arch-priest of the English Robert Bellarmine Cardinall of the holy Church of Rome greeting REuerend Sir and Brother in CHRIST It is almost fourty yeeres since we did see one the other but yet I haue neuer bin vnmindful of our ancient acquaintance neither haue I ceased seeing I could doe you no other good to commend your labouring most painfully in the Lords vineyard in my prayers to GOD. And I doubt not but that I haue liued all this while in your memory and haue had some place in your prayers at the Lords Altar So therefore euen vnto this time wee haue abidden as S. Iohn speaketh in the mutuall loue one of the other not by word or letter but in deede and trueth But a late message which was brought vnto vs within these few dayes of your bonds and imprisonment hath inforced mee to breake off this silence which message although it seemed heauy in regard of the losse which that Church hath receiued by their beeing thus depriued of the comfort of your pastorall function among them yet withall it seemed ioyous because you drewe neere vnto the glory of Martyrdome then the which gift of God there is none more happy That you who haue fed your flocke so many yeeres with the word and doctrine should now feed it more gloriously by the example of your patience But another heauy tidings did not a litle disquiet and almost take away this ioy which immediatly followed of the aduersaries assault and peraduenture of the slip and fall of your Constancy in refusing an vnlawfull Oath Neither truely most deare Brother could that Oath therfore be lawfull because it was offered in sort tempered and modified for you know that those kinde of modifications are nothing else but sleights subtilties of Sathan that the Catholique faith touching the Primacie of the Sea Apostolique might either secretly or openly be shot at for the which faith so many worthy Martyrs euen in that very England it selfe haue resisted vnto blood For most certaine it is that in whatsoeuer wordes the Oath is conceiued by the aduersaries of the faith in that Kingdome it tends to this end that the authoritie of the head of the Church in England may be transferred from the successour of S. Peter to the Successour of K. Henry the eight For that which is pretended of the danger of the Kings life if the high Priest should haue the same power in England which hee hath in all other Christian Kingdomes it is altogether idle as all that haue any vnderstanding may easily perceiue For it was neuer heard of from the Churches infancy vntill this day that euer any Pope did command that any Prince though an Heretike though an Ethnike though a Persecutor should be murdered or did approue of the fact when it was done by any other And why I pray you doeth onely the King of England feare that which none of all other the Princes in Christendome either doeth feare or euer did feare But as I saide these vaine pretexts are but the trappes and stratagemes of Satan Of which kinde I could produce not a f●we out of Ancient Stories if I went about to write a book● and not an Epistle One onely for example sake I will call to your memory S. Gregorius Nazianzenus in his first Oration against Iulian the Emperour reporteth That he the more easily to beguile the simple Christians did insert the Images of the false gods into the pictures of the Emperor which the Romanes did vse to bow dawne vnto with a ciuill kind of reuerence so that no man could doe reuerence to the Emperours picture but withall he must adore the Images of the false gods whereupon it came to passe that many were deceiued And if there were any that found out the Emperours craft and refused to worship his picture those were most grieuously punished as men that had contemned the Emperour in his Image Some such like thing me thinkes I see in the Oath that is offered to you which is to so craftily composed that no man can detest Treason against the King and make profession of his Ciuill subiection but he must be constrained perfidiously to denie the Primacie of the Apostolike Sea But the seruants of Christ and especially the chiefe Priests of the Lord ought to be so farre from taking an vnlawfull Oath where they may indamage the Faith that they ought to beware that they giue not the least suspicion of dissimulation that they haue taken it least they might seeme to haue left any example of preuarication to faithfull people Which thing that worthy Eleazar did most notably performe who would neither eate swines flesh nor so much as faine to haue eaten it although hee saw the great torments that did hang ouer his head least as himselfe speaketh in the second booke of the Machabees many yong men might be brought through that similation to preuaricate with the Law Neither did Basil the great by his example which is more fit for our purpose carrie himselfe lesse worthily toward Valens the Emperour For as Theodoret writeth in his Historie when the Deputy of that heretical Emperour did perswade Saint Basill that he would not resist the Emperour for a little subtiltie of a few points of doctrine that most holy and prudent man made answere That it was not to bee indured that the least syllable of Gods word should bee corrupted but rather all kind of torment was to be embraced for the maintenance of the Trueth thereof Now I suppose that there wants not amongst you who say that they are but subtilties of Opinions that are conteined in the Oath that is offred to the Catholikes and that you are not to striue against the Kings Authoritie for such a little matter But there are not wanting also amongst you holy men like vnto Basil the Great which will openly auow that the very least syllable of Gods diuine trueth is not to be corrupted though many torments were to be endured and death it selfe set before you Amongst whom it is meete

vnto the said Arch-priests charge as I haue neuer done to any for cause of conscience so was Blackwels constancie neuer brangled by taking of this Oath It being a thing which he euer thought lawfull before his apprehension and whereunto hee perswaded all Catholikes to giue obedience like as after his apprehension he neuer made doubt or stop in it but at the first offering it vnto him did freely take it as a thing most lawfull neither meanes of threatning or flatterie being euer vsed vnto him as himselfe can yet beare witnesse And as for the temperature and modification of this Oath except that a reasonable and lawfull matter is there set downe in reasonable temperate words agreeing thereunto I know not what he can meane by quarelling it for that fault For no temperatnes nor modifications in words therein can iustly be called the Deuils craft when the thing it selfe is so plaine and so plainely interpreted to all them that take it as the onely troublesome thing in it all bee the words vsed in the end thereof for eschewing aequiuocation and mentall reseruation Which new Catholique doctrine may farre iustlier bee called the Deuils craft then any plaine and temperate words in so plaine and cleare a matter But what shal we say of these strange countrey clownes whom of with the Satyre we may iustly complaine that they blovv both hote and cold out of one mouth For Luther and our bolde and free speaking Writers are mightily railed vpon by them as hot brained fellovves and speakers by the Deuils instinct and novv if vve speake moderately and temperately of them it must bee tearmed the Deuils craft And therefore we may iustly complaine vvith CHRIST that when we mourne they wil not lament and when vve pipe they vvill not dance But neither Iohn Baptist his seueritie nor CHRIST his meekenesse and lenitie can please them vvho build but to their owne Monarchie vpon the ground of their ovvn Traditions and not to CHRIST vpon the ground of his Word and infallible trueth But vvhat can bee meant by alleadging that the craft of the Deuill herein is onely vsed for subuersion of the Catholique faith and euersion of S. Peters Primacie had need bee commented anevv by Bellarmine himselfe For in all this Letter of his neuer one vvord is vsed to proue that by any part of this Oath the primacy of S. Peter is any vvay medled vvith except Master Bellarmine his bare alledging which without prouing it by more cleare demonstration can neuer satisfie the conscience of any reasonable man For for ought that I know heauen and earth are no farther asunder then the professon of a temporall obedience to a temporall King is different from any thing belonging to the Catholique faith or Supremacie of S. Peter For as for the Catholique faith can there bee one word found in all that Oath tending or sounding to matter of Religion Doeth he that taketh it promise there to beleeue or not to beleeue any article of Religion Or doeth he so much as name a true or a false Church there And as for S. Peters Primacie I know no Apostles name that is therein named except the name of IAMES it being my Christen name though it please him not to deigne to name me in all the Letter albeit the contents thereof concerne me in the highest degree Neither is there any mention at all made therein either disertis verbis or by any other indirect meanes either of the Hierarchie of the Church of S. Peters succession of the Sea Apostolike or of any such matter but that the Author of our Letter doeth brauely make mention of S. Peters succession bringing it in comparison with the succession of Henry the eight Of which vnapt and vnmannerly similitude I wonder hee should not bee much ashamed For as to King Henries successour which he meaneth by mee as I I say neuer did nor will presume to create any article of fayth or to bee Iudge thereof but to submit my exemplary obedience vnto them in as great humilitie as the meanest of the land so if the Pope could bee as well able to proue his either Person all or Doctrinall Succession from S. Peter as I am able to proue my lineall descent from the Kings of England and Scotland there had neuer been so long adoe nor so much sturre kept about this question in Christendome neither had M. Bellarmine himselfe needed to haue bestowed so many sheetes of paper De summo Pontifice in his great bookes of Controuersies and when all is done to conclude with a morall certitude and a piè credēdum bringing in the Popes that are parties in this cause to bee his witnesses and yet their historicall narration must be no article of faith And I am without vantrie sure that I doe farre more neerely imitate the worthy actions of my Predecessors then the Popes in our age can be well proued to be similes Petro especially in cursing of Kings and setting free their Subiects from their Allegiance vnto them But now we come to his strongest argument which is That he would alledge vpon me a Panick terrour as if I were possessed with a needlesse feare For saith the Cardinall from the beginning of the Churches first infancie euen to this day where was it euer heard that euer a Pope either commanded to be killed or allowed the slaughter of any Prince whatsoeuer whether he were an Hereticke an Ethnike or Persecutor But first wherefore doth he here wilfully and of purpose omit the rest of the points mentioned in that Oath for deposing degrading stirring vp of arms or rebelling against them vvhich are as vvell mentioned in tha● Oath as the killing of them as being all of one consequence against a King no Subiect being so scrupulous as that hee will attempt the one and leaue the other vnperformed if he can And yet surely I cannot blame him for passing it ouer since he could not otherwise haue eschewed the direct belying of himselfe in tearmes which hee now doeth but in substance and effect For as for the Popes deposing and degrading of Kings hee maketh so braue vaunts and bragges of it in his former bookes as he could neuer with ciuil honesty haue denied it here But to returne to the Popes allowing of killing of Kings I know not with what face hee can sent so stout a deniall vpon it against his owne knowledge How many Emperors did the Pope raise warre against in their owne bowels Who as they were ouercome in battaile were subiect to haue bene killed therein which I hope the Pope could not but haue allowed when hee was so farre inraged at Henry the fift for giuing buriall to his fathers dead corps after the Pope had stirred him vp to rebell against his father and procured his ruine But leauing these old Histories to Bellarmines owne bookes that doe most authentically cite them as I haue already said let vs turne our eyes vpon