trouble when he was in the Tower other men ruled his howse I was willed to receaue the Communion or to depart if I would haue yeelded I had verye large offers which I neede not tell It pleased God to staye me so with his grace that I chose rather to forsake all then to doe agaynst my beleefe against my knowledge agaynst my conscience agaynst the law of almightie God For a time I lay secretly in England afterwards I came beyond the seas into these catholicke countries out of schisme and heresie for the which I do thāke almighty God much more then for all the estimation that I had or mighte haue had in Englande Whatsoeuer my estate is here I doe more esteeme it then all the riches of England as it now standeth And were I so mad thinke you to forsake all preferment all liuinges all estimation to liue from my good Mother from you my louinge Sisters and your husbandes from other my deere frendes and companions out of mine owne most pleasant countrie would I doe this thinke you but that my learning my conscience telleth me that to solow your religion is present danger of body and soule and to be in the CATHOLIKE CHVRCH is the onely way to saluation Fye vpon all worldy ryches when the soule is in danger nothing is so precious as the soule first seeke for the kingdome of heauen for other things as it pleaseth God O that I might vnderstand once that you were of my mind and of the catholike religion O my harte would leape for ioy to consider that althoughe we can not lyue together vpon earth yet we may hereafter meete in heauen which is vnpossible as long as we disagree in fayth S. Paule sayeth There is one God one fayth one baptisme S. Austen sayeth speaking of one Emeritus He can not be saued but in the Catholicke Church Doe you thinke it sufficient to beleeue in the Father the Sonne and the holy Ghost Vpō the 88 psalme Harken what S. Austē sayth VVhat doth it profit thee if thou consesse the Lord If thou bonour God If thou preach and praise him If thou acknovvledge his Sonne If thou confesse that he sitteth at the right hand of his father VVhat dooth this profit thee if thou blaspheme his Churche S. Athanasius in his creede saith VVhosoeuer vvil be saued it is necessarie that he holde the Catholicke faith vvhich faith vnlesse a man beleeue in all points and euery article vvithout doubt sayth he he shall perish euerlastingly One poynte is good Sisters that Christ gaue vs at his laste supper his owne blessed bodye and bloude to feede vpon in the remembrance of his bitter death he that saith it is not so doth he beleeue in Christ Doth he not in effecte say that Christ was not able to doe it and by that reason that he was not omnipotent For when the three Euangelists reporte it so playnly Mat. 26. Mat. 14. Luc. 22. 1. Cor. 11. S. Paule after them Take eate THIS IS MY BODY that shall be delyuered for you THIS IS MY BLOVD that shall be shed for you What maketh a man to doubt but that it is so in deede O you will say I see nothing but bread and wine If you should see his body no god a mercy if you did beleeue it But Christ sayed to Thomas Thou Thomas doest beleeue because thou hast seene 10.20 but happy are they that beleeue vvhen they see not Mat. 2. I pray you when the three wise men came from the East to worship Christ what did they see in him Forsooth a yong infant not able to helpe himselfe suckinge his mother a poore carpenters wyfe and that in an oxe stawle yet they fell downe and worshipped him as a God Is it not as easie to beleeue the body of Christ is vnder the forme of bread as that almightie God himselfe was then vnder the shape of a seely weake infante O good Sisters vnlesse you beleeue you shall neuer vnderstande beleeue once Ghrist his wordes and that he is Almightie and that he is able to doe what soeuer he sayeth and you will thinke that all is easye returne to the CATHOLIKE CHVRCH and be content to learne that which you know not of them that wil not for all the world deceaue you and you shal fynde exceeding comfort When Christ shall say at the later day as it were in this maner Was it not of my great kyndnes that I lefte vnto you mine owne body and bloud And was it not of my exceedinge goodnes and wisdome to leaue it not in the forme of flesh and bloud least your nature should abhorre it but of bread wyne which can be lothsome to no man and you make me this gaye recompence saying that it was nothing but bread wyne because you could tast nothing els in your mouth and because your new preachers tould you so whom I sente not Were not you christened in an other fayth Did not my church vvhich is my spouse and the piller of truth Apoc. 21 1. Timo. 3. alwayes teach otherwayes What haue you to saye for your selfe but that you haue most vukindly abused that BLESSED SACRAMENT and heauenly misterie and make me a lyer and deny my omnipotencie and therefore deserue eternall damnation with all such as haue deceaued you When Christ shall say this will it not be a heauye case When Cyprian Ambrose Chrisostome Austen Ierom Gregorie Bernard all the olde Fathers now Saints in heauen shall come and beare witnesse against you and say that they taught otherwise When your Bishops that are now partly deade and partly in prison for the defendinge of this cause shal condemne you because you did not folowe their good example When your owne doctors teachers shall not be able to answere for themselues will it not be a pitifull case But I hope better of you good Sisters I can not mistruste your good natures but that you will be glad to learne the truth which almighay God graunt vnto you for his deere Sonnes sake who died for vs and that I may heare some comfortable newes from you Doe but signifie vnto me that you are content if any thing be amisse to be better instructed Proue me what I can say for any thinge that trowbleth your consciences It shall be farre better newes vnto me to receaue two lines from you to such a purpose then to vnderstād that your husbands were made Lords and you Ladies He is rich that is in the Catholike Church and he is honorable that is in the fauour of God Sisters if I might doe you good to God-warde I would not sticke to aduenture this body of myne to saue your soules to come and talke with you my bodye is not more precious vnto me then your soules How you are disposed what you would haue me to doe for your sakes let me vnderstand by the next Deale wisely I pray you warily both for
sometyme the Paynims in so much that the learned bookes of Chrysostome Austen and others made in this case to proue agaynst them are not sufficient to perswade our owne faythlesse false brotherhood wherein I maruaile they are not ashamed pretending the name and profession of Christians agaynst the authorytye of the wholle Prymytiue Church to plead the Paynims causeâ— who to discredit the miracles of Christ and his Apostles 22. eiuit c. 8. obiected thus as S. Austen writeth Cur nunc illa miracula quae praedicatis facta esse non fiunt VVhy are not the lyke myracles donne novv a dayes to them vvhich you saye vvere vvrought sometyme by the Apostles To answere them fully although to alleage later myracles was not necessary because at the beginning they were requisite til faith was planted afterwarde they were not to be loked for yet to answere them fully whereas it pleased God alwayes from tyme to tyme to nourishe fayth and deuotion by them these holy Fathers alleadge myracles wrought at sayntes tombes by their Relikes The paynims were at a poynt to beleeue neither the one nor the other what doth Luther what Caluin The former they are content to admit least they shold be otherwise no christiaÌ„s The later they wil not grauÌ„t least they should be good Catholiks But S. Austen saith of both sorts thus Non creduÌ„t hoc qui etiam dominuÌ„ Iesum per integra virginalia matris enixum ad dissâ—pulos suos ostiis clausis ingressum fuisse non credunt They do not beleeue these later which also do not beleeue that our Lord Iesus was borne of his mother wythout empayring of her virginitie and that he entred in to his disciples the doores beyng shutte The auncyent Doctors did easely-beleue myracles Againe he saieth to philosophers concernyng the former that which may verie wel be sayd to our aduersaries touching the later Vlt. ciuit-dei Si rem credibilem crediderunt c. If christian people did beleeue such thinges as vvere not incredible let them consider vvhat fooles they are that do not also beleeue it Agayne if it vvere incredible hovv is it that al the vvorld hath so long beleeued it S. Hierome in another case of certen meruelous fasters but in the same case concerning faythles heretikes saith verie fynely Hoc illis incredibile videbitur qui non credunt omnia possibilia esse credentibus â—n vita Pauâ—i Eremitae This wil seme incredible to such as do not beleeue that al thinges are possible to them that beleeue Nafianzene also that famous doctor wryteth thus Et illud est narratu dignum Corin. devita sua That also is vvorthy to be toulde vvhich to many seemeth incredible as other things doe such men as thinke nothing that they see done playnely and vvithout delusion My selfe dare not discredit them vvhom strang thyngs do moue as much as any man for in deed it is vvorse to stand styfly agaynst all thinges vniuersally then contrarievvyse to be conteÌ„t to beleeue any thing easely this proceedeth of simplicitye and lightnes that of presumptuous bouldnes Fynally the Apostle sayth Charitas omnia credit Charitie beleeueth al things which is trew in this sense that a charitable man is not conteÌ„tious and selfwilled to stand agaynst the likely report of an honest man much lesse against al senses al reason al authority al custome practise and therfore to such S. Austen sheweth also the reason why it is verie credible that saynts do worke these myracles at their tombs Reliks Haec a domino impetrare possunt propter cuius nomen occisi sunt 22. ciuit ca. 8 9. 10. They can easely obteyne these thinges of our Lord for vvhose names sake they vvere put to death Praecessit corum mira patieÌ„tia vt in bi miraculis tanta ista potentia sequeretur Their vvoÌ„derful patience vvent before that in these myracles this so great povver might folovve after Credamus ergo eis vera dicentibus mira facientibus Dicendo enim vera passi sunt vt possint facere mira Let vs therfore beleeue them both when they say truly and when they do wonderfully for by sayeng trewly they suffred death that they might be able to do wonderfully So far S. Austen To conclude this point agaynst al stubbourne negatiues and Ethnyshe reasoning the same holy Father him selfe was so easie to beleeue and so careful to publysh them because he knew God was much glorified in them that he toke orderin his owne Church where S. Steuens Relikes were to haue al the miracles from tme to time written Id namque fieri voluimus cum videremus antiquis similia diuinarum signa virtutum etiam nostris temporibus frequentari ea non debere multorum noticiae deperire For we would haue it so for asmuch as we saw that the like signes of God his power to them of olde tyme were often shewed in our age also to the ende they might not dye but be knowen of manye To say the very truth there are two euident causes why the heretikes of our tyme abhorre from this article and others The causes of heretical incredulitie and hatred of Relikes Lacke of fayth and want of deuotion such as S. Iude discribeth in his epistle Animales spiritum non habentes Brutish men that haue no feelinge of the spirit at all Arbores autumnales lyke dead trees when their leafe is sâ—llen They litle consider the power that Christ so assuredly promised to his sayntes Amen Amen dico vobis Verely Verely I say vnto you he that beleeueth me the workes that I doe shal he also doe and greater then they are shall he be able to doe They can be as stoute as S. Thomas to auouche and to sweare it that they wyll not beleeue vnles they put their fingers in the verie print of the nayles But when the thing is so euident palpable Heretikes haue no spritual film of feruenâ— deuotion that in deede they may see touch handle the glorious myracles wrought at holie places as it were the marks of martyrs blood and certen prints of Christes nayles left to vs by the vertue of his passion they are farre from the heauenly affection that Thomas felt when he brake out with hart voise into this goodly confession Dominus meus Deus meus My Lord and my God O if they did know what it were to touch the memorie onely of Christs wounds and his ayntes what it were to adore but in the place where his feete stoode to sitte at his feete a whyle with Mary and washe them with weepinge teares to touch the hemme onely of his garment and feele the vertue that proceadeth from thence to see but a glimse of his glory and his saynts with the three Apostles and in all this to heare as it were this voyce of S. Iohn vnto Peter Dominus est It is our Lorde it is he that maketh the diuils rore he healeth the
sicke he rayseth the dead because his saynts doe it by him his presence and power is in all these thinges then vndoubtedly they would take Peters fayth and nothing doubt safely to tread vpon the seas and waues of infidelitie they would conceaue his inestimable ioy saying Bonum est nobis hic esse O this is a sweete place well were we if we might tarry here The wonderful deuotion of chatholiks let vs make here tabernacles to thee O Lord first and next to thy glorious sayntes This fayth and affection had Paula when she came to the place in Bethlehem where Christ was borne saying here is my restinge place because it is my Lords country here wil I dwell because our Sauiour hath chosen it and agayne when in her letters to Marcella which S. Hierome penned Shall it euer be our good happe to see the day vvhen vve maye goe together into the litle vaulte vvhere our Sauiour vvas borne To vveepe a litle in our Lords sepulcher to licke the vvood of the holy Crosse and in Mount-oliuet vvith vvill and vvish to ascende after a sorte vvith our Lord as if he vvere very novv ascending To see Lazarus come furth tyed in his vvynding sheete Amos the prophet euen yet playing on his bag-pype vpon some litle hillocke aftervvard in Samaria to honour the ashes of Iohn Baptist Heliseus and Abdias all three together This deuotioÌ„ had Chrysostome to Paules cheynes the people of the Easte parts to Samuels Reliks the beste men out of all places to the holy land as before I haue mentioned This made blessed Anthony to goe a dangerous iourney to Paule the wonderfull Eremite of whom he reported to his scholers thus I haue seene I tell you Elias â—â—er in viâ—a pauli I haue seene Iohn in the vvildernes and to say truely I haue seene Paule in Paradyse This deuotion was it that made Hilarion to doe the lyke toward S. â—iero in viâ—a Hilarioâ—is Antony after his death in whose litle cabbin he layed him downe and as though he had felte it warme as yet of the holy man departed so he culled and kissed it This was it that caused the godlye contention betweene the Palestines and them of Cypres aboute the selfe same wonderfull man Hilarion who after his death in both places wrought greate miracles but especially in Cypres belyke sayeth S. Hierome because he loued that place best 〈◊〉 2. Ciuit. 3. This deuotion and this fayth was it that worked in those Africanes â—ouch of relikes which S. Austen wryteth of when they touched three dead persons with the garmentes and anoynted the body of an other with the oyle that had touched onely S. Steuens Reliks immediatly all fower were reuyued Where marke for your comforte and ioy al you good religious and wel disposed persons that carry Crosse or beades The laudable deuotion of Catholiks toward 〈◊〉 esser thinges then relike hauing touched glorious Relikes the better to put you in mynd of such sayntes and to pray the more deuoutly for to that purpose I would haue it employed Marke I say how exceedinglye such deuotion pleaseth God wheras he confirmed it so long agoe by myracles And no maruaile for he is the same good Lorde still that streight perceaued the feruente fayth of the pore woman that thought it sufficient with great feare and reuerence to touch but the hemme of his garmeÌ„t He that by Peters shadowe and Paules clothes healed the sicke and cured the lame must now also needs accepte all deuotion donne towarde him and his sayntes for his sake he can not chose because he is alwayes lyke him selfe Fidelis est seipsum negare non potest You also that delight to haue Agnos-Dei Mâ—dalias Graynes or the lyke honorable memories of heauenly thinges and inslamers of deuotion such I say as the holy hande of Christs high Vicar hath blessed for that intent geue God harty thankes for your religious mynde if you feele in deede that it proceede of deuotion It is not geuen to euerye man although he would to haue toward small thinges no small deuotion Smal things in comparison otherwyse not small that haue greate commodities Litle halowed tokens sent fromâ— Byshoppes as appereth in their epistles The learned Fathers and holye men of auncient tyme Austen Paulinus Leo Gregory here also haue geuen you example who although by their excellent knowledge of scriptures they vnderstoode all diuine misteries and thereby were inflamed to loue Christ exceedingly yet they gladly vsed to practyse their deuotion by these lesser meanes also Leo. ep 72. sending one to the other panes benedictos imagunculas particulas terrae sanctae particulam Dominicae Crucis cum culogiis halowed bread litle images of Christ our Ladye and the Apostles some portion of the holy lande and as Leo speaketh a litle peece of our Lords Crosse with blessings adioyned S. Li. 8â— â—y 60. Gregory in an epistle to Edelbertus Kinge of our country hath these wordes Parua autem xenia transinisi quae vobis non crunt parua cum a vobis ex beati Petri Apostoli benedictione fuerint suscepta I haue sent you certen small tokens which shall not be of small valew to you when you haue receaued them as hauing the blessing of S. Peter the Apostle Wherby he meaneth that the gratious blessing of Peter the firste Bishop of Rome remayneth still in al his Successours to blesse and sanctifie sacred tokens So that the Bishop of Rome his blessing is the very blessing of S. Peter him selfe euen as in other cases also the whole Councell of Chalcedon protested Petrus per Leonem locutus est Peter him selfe hath spoken by the mouth of Leo. It is a very common phrase or speach in S. Gregory that he sendeth S. Peters blessinge when he sendeth litle golden keyes or crosses that had touched his bodye to noble men to Princes to the Emperesse to Bishops in all countries wherin sometyme to make the gifte more pretious he put a litle of the holy Crosse of S. Peters cheyne of S. Iohn Baptists heare of S. Laurence gridyron which the forsayed partyes did weare aboute their neckes for most holy and sacred rewels Li. 2. cp 72. 86. li. 3. cp 30 li. 5. cp 6. li. 7. epist 126. ind 2. full of spirituall grace and heauenly blessinge Men of comon sense and colder feeling in religioÌ„ if they be catholiks are moued with the reuerence of sacraments sacrifise and great solemnities but the morefe ruent a man is and as it were the more famylier With Christ the soner he espyeth him if he doe see but his shadow and sayth with S. Iohn Dominus est it is our Lord which other thincke to be pbantasma an imaginatioÌ„ onely and darke appearance of some tryfling thing S Antbony a man of so deepe contemplation that he desyred no other booke to know the infinite wysdome and mercie of God but onely the sighte of his goodly creatures
your owne sake and for our good frend this berer It is not reason that for his good will he should incurre any danger God forbid my truste is in your wisdome that you will keepe this very close til hereafter by reason of the great persecution The matter is waighty and concerneth both you and this berer verye much be wise and trusty and deceaue not your brother that loueth you as himselfe and therefore wisheth by all meanes to do you good S. Paule sayth He that hath not regard of his ovvne kindred 1. Timoth. 5. hath denied the fayth and is vvorse then an Infidell S. Chrisostome vpoÌ„ the same place wryteth thus If a man instruct strangers in the fayth and suffer his ovvne kinne to continevve in their error vvith vvhom he vvere lykelly to preuaile most because they make most accompt of him vvere he not a most cruell and barberous man For this cause I wryte vnto you and wish you al grace al goodnes al heauenly comfort laste of all and least of all to prosper in this world and yet I wish you that with all my hart at the pleasure of God Other good thing I haue none to sende you but this I will remayne in your debte for your gentle tokens Commend me to your selues your louing husbands and your litle ones and when you haue learned to beleeue ryght your selues bringe them vp accordingly teach them to feare God Make much of this berer I praye you and saue him harmelesse by your wyse and discreate dealings Almighty God preserue you and by his holy spirite leade you into all truth Amen THE COPY OF A LETTER WRITTEN TO M. DOCTOVR Whyte Warden of the new Colledge in Oxforde RYGHTE Worshipfull although your worldly dignitie and the iuste opinion of your greate wysdome compared with my contraries mighte feare me from writing vnto you in this bould maner yet many thinges moued me especially my charitie towardes you to whom I am beholding for causes which you may remember and my dewtie towards God whose good motion I hope it was that I should tell you rather frendly then finely playnely theÌ„ curiously that which your selfe doe knowe much better but haue not cause so well to remember Isa 28. Because that vexation doth geue vnderstanding Ps â—8 and man vvhen he vvas in honor did not vnderstand Which differeÌ„ce in estate maketh that the yonger man for yeres more simple for wit and knowledge may notwithstanding sometime truly say with the prophete Ps 118. Aboue auncients haue I vnderstood Quare doctoralis ille facessat splendor cuiuscunque dignitatis recedat ambitio cum fratre conseruo meo filig matris ecclefiae discipulo Iesu Christi loquor Therefore setting a side that doctor all honour and the respect of vvhat dignitie soeuer I may be bould to speake playnely vvith my brother and fellovv-seruant in Christ vvith a childe of our Mother the Church and a scholler of Iesus Christ Presupposing then that you are in conscience a catholike and seing that in outward shew you professe the contrary I am bould to reason familiarly with you and to demaunde whether you thinke it lawfull to beleeue one thing inwardly to protest the contrary openly and how you can auoyd these euident scriptures VVith the harte vve beleeue to Iustice But when there is necessary occasion Ro. 10.10 VVith the mouth confession is made to saluation He that shal deny me before men Mat. 10.33 I also vvill deny him before my Father vvhich is in heauen But if you thinke it vnlawfull so to doe because you wote well it is condemned of old in the hereticks called Helcesaitistes and Priscilianistes and yet doe agaynst your owne perswasion Buscb li. 6. ca. 31. Aug. coÌ„t Mendac Cap. 2. Ro. 14.22 how answere you these places Blessed is he that iudgeth not himselfe in that vvhich he approueth And vvhatsoeuer is not of fayth is sinne Ro. 6. That is as S. Augustine and others expounde it reluctante conscientia Our conscience striuing against it If neither the one nor the other but you are perswaded that a man may lawfully professe both religions as time and Prince altereth Besids that it was the heresie of Basilides Lib. 4. ca. 2. Tò ádiaphore in as Nicephorus wryteth What interpretatioÌ„ haue you for these scriptures Vsquequo claudicatis in vtramque partem c. 3. Re. 18.21 Hovve longe haulte you on both sides I four Lorde be God solovv him But if Baal folovv him Ecclesiast 3. And agayne Coringrediens duas vias c. A harte that goeth tvvo vvayes shall not haue successe and the peruerse of harte shall be scandalized in them And 1. Cor. 10.11 you can not drincke the chalice of our Lorde and the chalice of deuils Mat. 6.24 Mat. 12.30 you can not serue tvvo Maisters He that gathereth not vvith me scattereth And agayne Iac. 3.16 Doth the fountayne geue foorth at one hole svveete and sovver vvater And yet agayne Apoc. 3.16 But because thou art lukevvarme and neither could nor vvhot I vvill begin to vomit thee out of my mouth I neede not vrge the terrible threatenings your wisdome may carnestly consider of it But it is possible that you mislyke of certen things in the Catholicke religion which you would wish to be otherwise and conceaue a mixte religion compounded of that which is best in both But M. Doctor you are in myne opinion wyser then they whoe notwithstanding for this singularitie are esteemed to be wyse men and of graue iudgement but of the vnwyser sort You know concerning things to be mislyked ether they pertayne to fayth or to manners If these later offend you wot what S. Augustine hath long agone answered the Donatistes Tollerare ecclesiam non probare paleas in tanta copia esse vt frumentum tegant donec veniat is qui ventilabrum habet in manu sua vt purget aream suam That the Church doth tollerate and not approue them and that their is so great quantitie of chaffe that it couereth the corne till he come that hath the fanne in his hand to purge his floore If any poynte of doctrine agreed vpon by the whole Church which is alwayes directed by the holy Ghoste mislyketh you you may vpon deeper consideration iustlye feare leste your selfe or any other man in this case be not a true Catholicke nor of that Church out of which is no saluation For that which is the grounde of your fayth in one poynt must consequently be the grounde of it in all the rest So that if you beleeue as you doe the presence of Christ in the blessed SacrameÌ„t because the vniuersal Church out of the scriptures hath so concluded then if the same Church doe define any other Article for example Of Purgatorie of praying to Saincts of Pilgrimage of Pardons of Images you must in like maner beleeue the same If not What authoritie doe you folow What doe you