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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A68090	An apology or defence for the Christians of Frau[n]ce which are of the eua[n]gelicall or reformed religion for the satisfiing of such as wil not liue in peace and concord with them. Whereby the purenes of the same religion in the chiefe poyntes that are in variance, is euidently shewed, not onely by the holy scriptures, and by reason: but also by the Popes owne canons. Written to the king of Nauarre and translated out of french into English by Sir Iherom Bowes Knight.; Apologie ou défense pour les chretiens de France de la religion reformée. English	Gentillet, Innocent, ca. 1535-ca. 1595.; Bowes, Jerome, Sir, d. 1616.	1579 (1579)	STC 11742; ESTC S103023	118,829	284

and bound it with an othe that he did beleeue that those of Meryndoll and Cabryers were better and more honest people than himselfe or any of his other subiectes And what will you infer of this will you say now that this good king was a Protestant or that he mislyked the Romayn Religion I think there is no man so shameles that dares say so For his life and actes do shew that he was very well minded towardes the church of Rome In maintenance wherof he held great warres in Italy against the Venecians and other Princes that vsurped vpon the patrimonies of the Church But he was a good king and did acknowledge that God had put the Scepter in his hand to minister iustice to all his people and not to condemne the accused without hearing their answere nor to iudge of a matter of importance by the consciences of others but meekly to geue hearing to al matters brought before him not to condemne those thinges for euill which may shew themselues to be good I therfore cōclude thus that those which in these dayes doe so presumptuouslye condemne the reformed Religion without knowing any deserued cause or without hearing such as professe the same vnder color of the condemnatiōs done already by the Popes by the councell of Trent and by the Sorbonistes doe shew therby the great forgetfulnesse of their duty of iudging vprightly And that they cary to slack a hand on the bridle of their conscience in suffering it to depende vpon the phantasticall iudgement of others Lactantius Fyrmian speaking to Constantine the great who was the first christiā Emperor did greatly cōplayn and bewayle that the Paganes and Idolaters of his time did condēne the Christian Religion and had it in disdayn without knowing what christian Religion was and without reading their bookes to vnderstand it These be the very words of Lactātius I doubt not most mighty Emperor Constantine but that if this my work wherby I shew that the Creator of all thinges is the Gouernour of the whole world doe fall into the hands of these vnlearned Religious folke they by reason of their great superstition which maketh them too too impatient will assault me with iniuries spitefully fling the booke to the grounde before they haue read so much as the beginning of it imagining that they should defile thēselues with such a crime as could neuer be wyped out again if they should ether reade it or heare it red patiently Neuertheles I beseech them in duty of humanitie not to condemne my wrytinges if it may be before they doe perfectly vnderstand them For if it be allowed by order of law that Churchrobbers Traytors and Poysoners shall speake for thēselues and argue in their own defence and that it is not lawfull to condemne any of them without examination of his cause It is not againste reason that I should intreate those into whose hands this booke shall happen to reade it or heare it read throughout and to deferre their iudgements vntil they haue read it to the end But I know well the wilfulnesse of that kinde of people to be such as I shall not obtayne this suite of them For they be afrayd least the force and strength of the truth should ouercome them and make them yeald vnto vs and to agree with vs That is the cause of their roaring storming least they should heare vs and of their shutting of their eyes least they should see the light which we bring vnto them wherein they shew the litle assurance that they haue in their own fond reasons For they dare neither vnderstand nor enter into disputation because they know they shall soone be vanquished By reason wherof it commeth to Passe that through their shunning of all manner of scanning and sifting of things by disputation They driue discretion quite away And force and fury beare the sway As sayth Ennius And because they are bente to condemn and vtterly to oppres such as they well know to be innocent they be vnwilling that their innocencie should appeare because they deeme it a greater iniquitie to condemne the innocencye that is apparant thē the innocēcy that cōmeth not to tryall Or rather as I sayde afore they are afeard that they should haue no power to condemne vs if they should heare vs. This was the inuectiue which Lactantius wrote against the heathē in his time who condemned the Christians without hearing them Which reason I wil vse against the impatient catholicks desiring them not to shew them selues like vnto those heathen men in being so obstinate as to shutte their eares from hearing and vnderstāding the doctrine which they so condemne persecute without knowing what it contayneth But if those angry Catholicks which oppose themselues as aduersaries against our reformed Religion and so boldly condemn it wold temper their choller passions with such moderation as to geue place to reason and to set naturall discretion in due place and preheminence Truely I durst make thē iudges of this cause and I am wel assured that they would iudge farre otherwise than they haue done hetherto or doe yet And in deed if the loue of truth haue any place in their harts as I beleue it hath I beseech them euen before God and for the truthes sake to vouchsafe to examine this present defence with setled iudgement and to consider of it without affection For I protest vnto them that I will vse such modestie in my wordes as none shall iustly haue cause to accuse me of rigor First therfore I presuppose that betwixt the Romish Catholickes and the Protestantes there is disagreemēt of doctrine in many poyntes yea euen in the most principall as I will shew hereafter But yet neuertheles both the one and the other doe acknowledge generally the vnitye of the person of Iesus Christ in two natures not confounded The holy Trinitye of the Father the Sonne and the holy Ghost and the holy Scripture of the olde and new Testament and therefore they bothe may in this respect be called Christiās howbeit the one more aptly then the other as shall appeare by that which I will say hereafter Now that wee may the better treate of the poyntes which are in question and that all men may the more playnly iudge thereof we will distinctly examine the reasons which are to be considered in this discourse and are commonly alleaged on both sides for the mayntayning of the doctrine of either party and so by comparing the contrary reasons and alegations together the truth will the more apparantly shew it selfe because light is thē most apparant and bright when it is set nigh to his contrary ¶ Of three Maximes groundes or rules whereby a man may iudge of the poyntes of religion which are in questiō The first Chapter FOrasmuch as the whot Catholickes accuse the Religion of the protestantes to be wicked new and heretical and therfore cannot brooke the society of such as professe the same we hope to shew

still spight of all the corruptinges and darckninges of this world and of the maintayners of them And in very deede God who gouerneth the doings of all men in the world by his prouidence hath reserued still in this miserable world a great number of good and honest mē and of such as loue vertue And like as in the foresayd time of the Ciuill warres among the Romaynes Tacitus sayth that that age was not so barrayn of honest men but that it brought forth some good examples so also may we say that euen in this age of oures how much soeuer it be infected and corrupted yet hath God of his gratious goodnes reserued many still which to follow the pure Religion and vertue haue constantly indured pouerty losse of their goods the cruell murthering of their children kinsfolke and frendes banishment out of their Countrey absence from their houses and an infinite number of other aduersities and inconueniences Which thing geueth vs assurance that our Lord god will alwayes maintayne a certayn number of good men here below which shall imbrace vertue by maintayning good lawes and discipline and follow the light of the truth which abideth inuincible for euer and shall scatter the mistes and cloudes that set themselues agaynst it The worthy iudgement of that great monarch Darius king of the Medes and Persians will neuer slippe out of the remembrāce of men For this king hauing vpon a time made a royall feast to all the Gouernors Captaynes and other Officers of his Dominion which was so great that it extended ouer a hundreth and seuen and twenty Prouinces was contented to heare a disputatiō between three young Gentlemen of Iury that were attendant vpon his own person Of whom the one maintayned that nothing is stronger than wine because that commonly it ouercommeth aswell the great as the small Another sayd that nothing was stronger than a king because that with one only word of his mouth he can make men to be slayne Cities to be razed and Fortresses to be beaten down when he listeth And the third named Zorobabell a gentleman of the bloud royall descended of the line of Dauid vpheld that truth is strongest of all things because it contynueth in force euerlastingly and shall raigne for euer and euer Darius hauing heard this disputation and knowing well how it is most certayne that truth is the thing of greatest strength and of longest contynuance in all the world gaue the prize to zorabable as to him that had been of best opinion and gaue him great giftes and priuiledges aswell for himselfe as for all his wholl nation commaunding that from thence forth Zorobabell should be called the kinges Cosen Which iudgement of this great king ought to be wel considered of all persons and specially of kinges and Princes that they may geue themselues earnestly to the seeking out of the truth in all thinges as well in case of Religion as in Ciuil and worldly affaires and esteeme it more strong and inuincible thā any force of man. For certainly there is neither king nor Emperor fire nor sword payne nor tormēts that euer could quench the truth or ouercome it But forasmuch as in these dayes many men are doutfull in the case of Religiō where they should seeke the truth I will not here forget the rule which the great Emperor of Rome Constantine did set down at the cosicell of Nice in Bithinia for the decyding of the points of doctrine which were to be handeled and treated of there For hauing assembled the Councell together to determine vpon the doctrine that Arrius had sowed at that time When he had made the Bishoppes to take their places euery one in his degree which were to the number of 318. besides the Elders and Deacons that accompanyed thē who were aboue 500. he sate him down among them in a low chaire and made this Oration to them well beseeming his Maiestie and godlynes My Lords and fathers quoth he forasmuch as God hath vouchsafed to put down the cruell Princes by my hand and to geue peace to the world vnder my raign it is meete that you also in this holy assembly should doe your indeuoures to set a stable vnitie and cōcord in the Church For it were to euill an example if after the ouercomming of our enemies the publick peace should now be disturbed by the controuersies and disagreementes of the Shepheards of the Church a thing that would minister occasion and matter to the vngodly to mock our Religion to laugh it to scorn Now then sith we be to treat here of diuine matters we must tak the doctrine of the holy Ghost for our rule and resort to the bookes of the Euangelistes Apostles and Prophets which teach vs what opinion we ought to be of concerning Gods holy law Therfore setting aside all stoutnes of contention let vs seeke the resolution of our questions in the word that is inspired by God. After this short and notable speech made by that great Emperor the Councel was held and the doctrine of Arrius was throughly debated by the only word of God and in the end iustly condemned by those holy Fathers as vtterly contrary to a number of expresse places of the holy Scriptures which auow vnto vs the Godhead and euerlastingnes of the sonne of God which thing Arrius did wickedly deny But I must tell you by the way that in this speech of Constantines we haue three dueties to marke which doe wel beseeme a great Prince The one is to be inclyned to publicke peace and tranquillitie and to procure the maintenance thereof by all lawfull meanes Another is to loue the truth aboue al things chiefly in cases of Religion And the third is to seeke the same truth in the Scripture inspired by God. Now I beseech God of his gracious goodnes to make your Maiesties vertue godlines to shine forth dayly more and more in those holy dueties and to cause your Royall highnes to grow greater and greater in all his heauenly giftes and in all honor and felicitie Dated the 15. day of February the yere of our sauiour Christ 1578. The author of this Apology his Song THe Pope of Rome a thousand Canons bendes Agaynst the Church which doth Gods word imbrace And stoutly forth his own Decrees he sendes The soueraign Lords commaundements to deface Or rather quite and cleane away to chase Presuming proudly for to beare chiefe sway In mannes saluation euery kinde of way He thinkes ere long that noble fort to win And tryumphing aforehand in despight Of heauenly truth he sets him down within Gods Temple boasting euen in open sight Himselfe as God and striues with al his might To maintayne still his Lordly soueraintie Aswell aboue as vnderneath the Skie But thou O Christ our King omnipotent Reach out thine arme and with thy skilfull hand Lay holde vpon the Canons that are bent Agaynst thee by the Romish Tirants band And turne them back at him that hath them

to the king himselfe specially seeing we finde that such as dare but speake of the like matters are by the law gilty of high tresō No. And yet these that yeld to the Creature the honor that is due to the name of god which letting god alone do worship their fellow seruaunts think not themselues blame worthy at all as who should say they could reserue any greater honor vnto God. Now the reason why men make their suites to Princes by the meane and fauor of Noble men Captaines and Officers is because the king is borne a man and knoweth not in whom to repose his trust and confidence for the ordering of his publick affaires But as for GOD from whom nothing is hidden for he knoweth euery mans desertes vnto him we haue no need of an Aduocate but of a deuout hart For wheresoeuer such a harte speaketh vnto him he wil answere him By which sayings this good doctor S. Ambrose by good and apparant reasons confoūdeth the doctrine of the Romish Catholicks touching the intercession of Saints So as to vse any other mediator to Godward than our Lord Iesus Christ is a distrusting of his fauor and of the goodwill he beareth vs as though he were like vnto some rough and vncurteous prince that wold take displeasure if a mā preaced to his presence not being presented by some officer of his court For say the Protestants are not we certayn and well assured of the clemency goodnes of our Sauior that doth inuite vs to come directly vnto him Is not he our good Shepheard our Redeemer our attonementmaker our reconciler and our brother Wherfore hath he taken vpon him our flesh borne our iniquities fulfilled the law wherby we were condemned shed his most precious bloud and suffered death and passion vpon the crosse Is it not for vs that he hath done all these thinges to purchase our saluation and reconciliation with God his Father For neither for himselfe nor to increase his own glory needed he to humble and imbase himselfe so much And therefore it is not to be douted but that he doth discharge his office of Mediatorship much better than all the saintes can doe specially seeing that he is the only meanes that they be saints and without him they could not so be Now as it is not to be douted but he hath great good will to do the office of a Mediator for vs so must we beleeue that he will not consent that any other should take vpon him to doe it but is and will be the onely obtayner of our saluation and of the heauenly blessinges which God shall geue vs. These be the reasons which the Protestants do alleadge for the maintenaunce of their doctrine touching prayer Whereby it doth plainly appeare that their doctrine is the best according to our first maxime because that the honor which belongeth to Iesus Christ our Lord is therby better and more soundly and wholly without diminishing rendered vnto him then by the doctrine of the Romish catholicks who would haue so great a number of Mediators as they seem to leaue to Iesus Christ nothing els but onely the name of mediator doe attribute to the saints both the name and the effect Secondlye this doctrine of the Protestants is perfectly groūded vpon the word of God as all men may know by considering as well the precepts as the examples which are in the bible concerning prayer For first of all the holy Scripture teacheth vs to put all our trust in the goodnes of God and to pray onely vnto him assuring vs that he will geue care vnto our prayers saying If you being euill can skill to geue good thinges to your children how much rather will your Father which is in heauē geue good things to those that aske of him And agayne it exhorteth vs to vse the credit of Iesus Christ our Mediator to God the Father saying If any man haue sinned we haue an aduocate with God the Father euen Iesus Christ the righteous And to the end we should not doubt of the power and good will of our Mediator towards vs it doth assure vs of two thinges The one that he sitteth in his Maiestye and might on the right hand of the throne of his Father And the other that he doth pray and make intercessiō for vs. He is saith S. Paul vpon the right hand of God and maketh intercession for vs. And for that we should not abuse our selues in seking many mediators vnto god the holy scripture doth also teach vs that as we haue but one God to whom we ought to pray No more haue we but onely one Mediator saiing For there is but one God and one Mediator betwixt God and man the mā Iesus Christ And because we should not doubt that God is our Father and that we may vse him as a Father we are taught that those which beleeue in the Mediator are made the children of god by the same faith belief saying to all those that haue receued him he hath geuen priuiledge to become the Children of God that is to say To those which beleue in his name So as Iesus Christ himself teaching vs how we should pray to God hath willed vs to call him our Father Moreouer in the Psalmes of Dauid and in the other bookes of the Bible there are infinite numbers of examples which proue that all holy mē haue alwaies made their prayers vnto God and neuer vnto dead mē nor called vpon them to be their meanes and Intercessors vnto God. Wherupon it followeth apparantly that the doctrine of the Protestāts touching prayer is the most auncient and true according to our seconde Maxime Finally the sayd Romish Catholicks ought not to charge the Religion of the Protestants with heresie by the which they say there ought to be no praying to the Saintes which are out of this world for there is no man of so simple iudgement but he will confesse it to be meere madnes to pray to them which cannot heare him as questionles those which be dead cannot vnderstand the prayers which we make vnto thē in this world because as witnesseth the Canon they know nothing of the things which are done in this world except sayth the same Canon that those which die doe cary them newes of the things which they haue seene and vnderstoode before their death These are the very words of the Canon We must needes confes according to the trueth that those which are dead doe know nothing of that which is done here vpon earth but they may well be aduertysed of them by such as die and goe vnto them and yet not of all thinges but onely of such thinges as are lawfull for those that be heare to beare in memory and expediēt for the others to know Thus by this Canon it is most euident that we ought not to pray vnto Saintes seeing they be dead and cā neither heare nor see nor know