they whom he had banished from Parma were returned thither by the Popes practise and taking the Towne by force had giuen a great ouerthrow to the other Citizens fearing least this example might draw other Cities to the like reuolt he gaue ouer the iourney to Lions and wrote Letters to the French King and all Prelates refuting the Popes friuolous obiections declaring the iustice of his cause and his innocency Innocentius regarding neither iustice nor innocency pursued him by violence malice open warres secret conspiracies seeking all meanes that his vnholy head could inuent to take away the life of Fredericke As he was taking his recreation in hauking at Grossetum by the Sea shore neare to Sien the Pope drew his owne seruants to a conspiracy the conspiracy was detected and the traytors had the reward of their treason Innocentius who could not rest till he had done some Pontificall exploit against the life of this Prince stirred vp the Princes of Germany to thrust downe Fredericke and to set vp another first was set vp Henry Lantgraue of Thuringia this man besieging Vâ—…mes was wounded by the shot of an Arrow and shortly after resigned both his life and the Empire After this was William Earle of Holland set vp this man was slaine in the warres which he had gaged against the Frisians neither of these saith Naucler were numbred among the Emperours At last after so many secret traps laid for the life of this Prince behold the end of the Popes malice where strength faileth the Emperour was destroyed by poison King Iohn of England 124. THe King of England sped no better then others for by this vnbridled power of vsurped Iurisdiction King Iohn with the whole Kingdome was brought into great trouble and perplexity these troubles grew vpon a quarrell of Election betweene the Monkes of Canterbury and the Suffraganes in the seuenth yeare of King Iohn for after the death of Hubert Archbishoppe of Canterbury the Monkes without the knowledge of the King or respect of the Suffraganes chose Reynold the Subpriour of the house to be Archbishoppe who secretly went to Rome to haue this his election confirmed by the Pope but stay was made at Rome because he shewed not Letters commendatory from the King The Monkes perceiuing that without those letters commendatory they could not proceede made request to the King that they might chuse another whom the King might commend this the King liked well and commended Iohn Gray the Bishoppe of Norwich being his Chaplaine and President of his Counsell as Hollinshed saith but Mat. Paris whom he cyteth hath not so much The Monkes gladly obeyed the Kings request and madâ—… choise of this man but the Pope refusing both thrust vpon them Stephen Langton commanding and compelling so many of those Monkes of that Couent as were then at Rome to chuse him the King was herewith much moued because Stephen Langton was brought vp vnder the French King and bound to him betweene whom and King Iohn there was at that time much warre and dissention wherefore the King banished the Monkes that had chosen Stephen and wrote to the Pope that he had no reason to admit Stephen to such a place in his Kingdome a man promoted by the French King and at his commaund This contention continuing the Pope sent to the Bishoppes of England commaunding them to put the King and his land vnder the sentence of interdiction denouncing him and his land accursed The Bishoppes to whom the Pope wrote being by this time become the Popes subiects and sâ—…ruants and not the Kings which is the end which the Pope seeketh by his Iurisdiction denounced the interdiction and then fledde to Rome King Iohn seeing many fall from his obedience to the obedience of the Pope drewe his people to an Oath of Alleageance After this came Paâ—…dulph Legat from the Pope who after that he had beene here a while was commaunded by the Pope to repaire to the French King there with Stephen Langton to take Councell and to stirre vp the French to make warres vpon King Iohn Thus King Iohn was depriuâ—…d of his Gouernement his subiects absolued from their Alleageance by which practise many reuolted from him so that he was left weake and when the Popâ—… had thus weakned him then he set vp the French King in armes against him The issue was this The King circumuented by these practises of the Pope and oppressed being also bereaued of all helpe was forced to deliuer his Crowne to Pandulph and receiued it from him againe as from the Popes hands And thus was Stephen Langton made Archbishoppe this was done in the fifteenth yeare of King Iohn An. Dom. 1213. The Earle of Tholous 125. WHen Frederick the second liued so persecuted by the Pope as we haue declared a new and strange generation rose vp of a suddaine neuer seene in the world before starting vp like those armed Souldiers which the Poets faine to haue sprung vp suddenly of the Serpents teeth being sowed by Cadmus Such a serpentine generation of Friars were newly hatched at this time the first founders of them were Francis and Doâ—…inick For the Popes hauing a purpose to raise themselues aboue the Church and aboue Kings and Emperours as both by their profession and claime in the Canon Law and by their practise was apparant and for this purpose thundring out their excommunications vpon euery occasion practising this power in deposing Princes found themselues much crossed in these courses by Bishops and especially by the Bishops of Germany who stood out for a long time faithfull in the Church and couragious against the Popes tyranny Auentiâ—…us giueth many testimonies of the courage of the German Bishops as else-where also we haue obserued of the English Bishops for he writing of the times of Frederick the second the Bishops then saith he were not as now they are addict to the seruice of the Pope giuen to idlenesse and pleasure but learned industrious louing Christ and declaring their loue by feeding their flockes diligently These were not for the Popes purpose For in diuers Synodes they censured the Popes folly and ambition freely and withstood his tyrannie Then was the Church so gouerned by Bishops all matters so iudged and determined that the Pope might aduise but hee could not by authority attempt any thing in the Prouince of any Bishop thinges being guided by truth law the iudgement of the wisest and best learned in the Prouince and by the Councel and common consent of the Clergy of that Prouince Who had reason to know the estate of their Church and Prouince better then the Pope or any stranger could doe This godly order in the Church the Pope had a purpose to confound to oppâ—…esse the Bishops authority and to draw all power to himselfe Hoc iâ—…stitutum to vse the words of Aueâ—…tinus tollere antiquare Episcoporum autoruatem Labefactare ad vnius cuâ—…cta potestatem redigere complacitum est 126. This being the purpose of Popes
magno maturo consilio ab ipso Domino Iohanne à dicta eius assertione arrestationâ—… infratempus Legitimum meo nomine omnium fratrum mihi adhâ—…rentium Uolentium ac dictâ—… ordinis secundum quod tradunt Canonicâ—… sanctiones ad sanctam Romanam Ecclesiam Catholicam Apostolicam appello That is After great and mature deliberation first had I appeale from the same Pope Iohn and from his said assertion and arrest within lawfull time for my selfe and for all my brethren that do adhaere or will hereafter adhaere to me and for the said Order according as the Canonicall Constitutions doe allow vnto the holy Romane Catholicke and Apostolicke Church In which place he professeth that he doth this by the example of diuers other who had done the like before 18. From whence I would obserue some things declaring the sense iudgement and religion of the men that then liued And first where he saith that he doth this by great and mature deliberation and that herein he hath the approbation of diuers learned men of diuers Vniuersities and that hee doth it by the examples of such as were before him we note that this is not the iudgement of one man but of the most famous learned men of this age For farther confirmation hereof we obserue also that Naucler speaking of this particular and of the cause of Lodouicke Emperour saith that many learned and godly men of Christendome held that Pope Iohn the two and twentieth was an Hereticke conuict of assured errours Iohannem Papam saith he magni multi theologi scientia vita probatidogmatizabant esse haereticum propter cersos errores And speaking of the learned men that wrote against the same Pope he nameth Dante 's and Occhaâ—… among other This agreeth with that which OcchaÌ„ witnesseth of this Pope that his own conscience accusing himselfe of his errors he durst not come to the iudgement of a generall Councell Then I note not here onely the iudgement of these learned men but the sense and iudgement of Christendome of a generall Councell of the Church of Rome For Cezena and Occham who was combined with Cezena in this cause would neuer haue appealed to the Church of Rome or to a generall Councell then representing that Church vnlesse they had been fully secured herein that the Church to which they appealed had condemned the errours of the Pope from whom they appealed They then knowing the sense and iudgement of that Church appealed from the Pope to it â—… which thing is further also confirmed by that which he saith in his appeale Secundum quod tradunt Canonicâ—… sanctiones as the Canonicall Constitutions deliuer then the Canons of the Church allow and approue such an appeale howsoeuer since this time the Popes haue alteâ—…ed the Canons and discipline of the Church yet then this discipline was in force and acknowledged through Christendome that the Pope might be censured in a generall Councell 19. Another thing which we obserue in this appeale is a remarkeable distinction famously obserued in the sense iudgement and religion of the men of this age betweene the Church of Rome and the Court of Rome For Cezeâ—…a after that hee hath appealed from the Pope to the Church of Rome complaineth much of the Court of Rome as being wholly gouerned by the Pope from whence he appealing to the Church of Rome declareth euidently that by the Church of Rome he vnderstood another thing then that which our aduersaries now cal by that name an assembly whereof the Pope is the heade which are wholly to be guided gouerned and directed by the Pope This is now commonly called the â—…hurch of Rome but at this time wherein Cezeâ—… liued the Church of Rome was vnderstood to be a free lawfull holy generall Councell assembled of the Churches of these Westerne parts of Christendome This is the Church of Rome which our forefathers haue so much honoured The sentence of this Câ—…urch they reuerence 〈◊〉 authority of this Church they acknowledge appealing from the Popes sentence as vniust reâ—…ecting his authority as vnlawfull still resting in the iudgement of the Church of Rome This declareth that the Pope may bee separated from the Church of Rome though not from the Court of Rome Now separate once the Pope from the Church of Rome as by these appeales it must so be vnderstood and then it followeth by infallible â—…nference that the Church of Rome as now it is commonly knowne by that name is no other thing then that which â—…se learned men called the Court of Rome and that this prâ—…ent Church of Rome is not that which our fathers called the Church of Rome It is not the same thing for from that Church of Rome the Pope might be separated from this he cannot From the Pope to that Church a Christian might appealâ—… which sentence was iustified by the most learned that then liued From the Pope to this Church there is no appeale Thus much I obserue from this appeale and from the appeale of Lodouâ—… the fourth Emperour which before we haue declared being to the same end and agreeing in the same forme with this being from the Pope to a generall Councell which also he calleth the holy Church of Rome In which same manner did Philip King of Fraunce appeale from Pope Boniface besides diuers other who vsed the same course as Michael Cizena witnesseth 20. Hence riseth this Corollary that the reformed Churches haue made no separation from the Church of Rome but onely from the Court of Rome And that the Pope and his Court that is Friars and Canonists who depend wholly vpon him terming themselues now the Church of Rome haue made the separation and haue altred the auncient bounds of the Church and plucked vp the old hedge which was the partition between the Church and Court of Rome Thus they reteyning onely the name haue chaunged all things and turned them vpside down So that albeit that which I shall say may seeme a strange Paradox yet it is a truth which will euery day bee more and more knowne and confessed The auncient Church of Rome yâ—… euen that Church of Rome which stood in the world before the Councell of Trent can now bee found no where in the world but among Protestants Marsilius Pâ—… obserued the beginning of this alteration thus Apud Mâ—…rnos Ecelesiâ—… 〈◊〉 importat ministros Presbyteros Episcâ—… c. 〈◊〉 Ecclesiâ—… Rom â—…rbis hoâ—… 〈◊〉 obtinuit cuius ministri praâ—…identes sunt Paâ—…a Râ—… Cardinâ—… ipsius qui 〈◊〉 ex usu quodâ—…â—…runt dici 〈◊〉 The Church importeth as much as Ministers Priests Bishoppes in late vse c. as the Church of the Citie of Rome hath now obtained this name whose Ministers and Gouernours are the Pope and his Cardinals who now from a certaine vse are called the Church But that vse was but late brought in especially by Friars for the auncient vse of this which was also long continued
tearme it from whence all Spirituall Iurisdiction must proceed to others some adde also Temporall of Spirituall Iurisdiction Bellarmine saith all Bishops receiue Iurisdiction from the Pope The like some of them or some others teach also of Temporall power the difference which they obserue is that Spirituall power is deriued from the Pope to all Bishops but Temporall power is giuen to execute some seruice Augustinus Triumphus of Ancona who wrote about three hundreth yeeres agoe at the commaundement of Iohn 22. Pope set foorth of late by the authoritie and priuiledge of Gregorie 13. did long before the Iesuits dispute this question of the Popes Soueraigne authoritie ouer Princes since which time the Friars haue closely followed his footsteps His assertion is Omnis potestas imperatorum regum est subdelegata respectu potestatis Papae And againe in the same place Omnis potestas saecularis est restringenda amplianda executioni mandanda ad imperium Papâ—… These and the like positions are now resolutely and stiffely maintained by the Iesuits and others of that faction 3. This agreeth well with the Canon lawes which are the fundamentall lawes of the court of Rome For thus they say Nos tam ex superioritate quam ad imperium non est dubium nos habere c. That is we aswell by that soueraignetie and right which without all doubt we haue to the Empire as also by that power whereby we succâ—…ed the Emperour in the vacancie of the Empire and no lesse also by the fulnesse of that power which Christ the King of kings and Lord of lords hath in the person of Saint Peter graunted to vs though vnworthy declare all such sentences and processes made by Henry 7. void and of none effect Thus saith Clement 5. Pope against Henrie 7. Emperour To the same purpose saith Boniface 8. Pope in a Constitution of his Oportet gladâ—…um esse sub gladio c. That is one sword must be vnder another sword and the Temporall authoritie must be subiected to the Spirituall authoritie for when the Apostle saith there is no power but of God and the powers that are are ordained of God They could not be ordinated vnlesse one sword were vnder another and a little after Thus of the Church and of the power Ecclesiasticall is verified the prophecie of Ieremie behold I haue sâ—…t thee ouer nations and kingdomes to plucke vp and to root out and to destroy and to throw downe and to build and to plant And againe we declare we say we define we pronounce that it is necessarie to saluation to beleeue that euery humane creature is subiect to the Pope of Rome These be the lawes of the court of Rome which some of late haue so much adored as to call them Catholike Diuinitie and which for truth and certaintie and for authoritie ouer their consciences they hold comparable euen with the holy Scriptures 4. By all which wee collect the doctrine of the court of Rome or the Popes faction to be that the Pope hath all power Spirituall and Temporall aboue all other whatsoeuer This I call the opinion of the Court of Rome or the Popes faction because we finde the most learned of the Church of Rome to hold the contrary For concerning spirituall power the best learned of the Church of Rome yea and whole councels maintaine the Spiritual power of the Church to be aboue the Pope as hereafter we shall declare And for this Temporall power aboue Kings and Emperours claimed by the Popes in their Canon Lawe maintained by their flatterers it seemeth so straunge so new and absurd that they who maintaine it are not as yet agreed vpon the state of the question For some hold that the Pope hath this power directly ouer Princes as the Canonists to whom some of the Shoole-men may be added as Triumphus and some of late called Congregationis Oratorij as Cardinall Baronius Bozius and such Others denying this direct power hold that the Pope hath the same power but indirectly as depending vpon his Spirituall power of this opinion is Cardinall Bellarmine and others these both hold the same conclusion but differ in the manner of holding it Others there be who are in some sort content to allowe the Popes Fatherhood in spirituall matters in case lie would not prooue incorrigible but vtterly denie this power ouer princes both direct and indirect of this opinion was Guil. Occham Ma' silius Patauinus and other learned men of the Church of Rome And of late Guil. Berclaius a French Lawyer hath with great learning refuted both the former opinions of the Popes power direct and indirect against Bozius and Bellarmine and yet this man professeth himselfe to be resolued to liue and die a Papist so that on the one side stand all the reformed Churches and many of the best learned of the Church of Rome I may say all the Church of old and of late On the other side standeth the Pope with his faction that is his flatterers and this I call with some of former ages the Court of Rome this is the opinion of our aduersaries 5. Our positiue sentence against this standeth in two parts as the Pope hath incroached on two sides both vpon the right of Kings and of the Church Concerning the Kings right we hold that in externall coactiue Iurisdiction the King hath supreame authoritie in all causes and ouer all persons Ecclesiasticall aswell as Ciuill This is that which hath bene published by diuerse writings and ordinances which by publike authoritie haue beene enacted and published declaring that the King within hi Dominions hath this soueraigne authoritie and that heerein there is no forraine power aboue the King The authority of the Church hath beene in like sort vsurped by the Pope by drawing to himselfe a supposed title of the head of the vniuersall Church by deuising a straunge authority in the fulnesse of power by claiming a newe and straunge priuiledge of his not erring iudgement and making himselfe the onely iudge of controuersies of faith This power in iudging and determining of controuersies of faith and religion being partly in the Church partly in the Scriptures the Pope hath wrested from both first extolling the Church aboue the Scriptures and then setting himselfe aboue the Church Then that the limits of each power may be truely knowne we giue all spirituall power to the Church all externall coactiue iurisdiction to the King when each of these shall haue taken vp his owne right there will not be so much left to the Pope as these great flatterers the Iesuits seeke to heape vpon him Our purpose is first to dispute the right which Kings haue in coactiue power ouer all persons and in all causes euen Ecclesiasticall within his dominions by persons ecclesiasticall wee vnderstand Archbishops Bishops Deans Rectors and all other set in calling and place Ecclesiasticall by causes Ecclesiasticall wee vnderstand causes Ecclesiasticall of externall coactiue
aunswere wee vrge not their Canons onely to rule the Pope but their testimonies to know the truth of those times and before For they made an exact and diligent search through all the famous Churches of Christendome for the Popes Iurisdiction ouer Bishops and hauing once so famously refuted that Iurisdiction we take and reuerence their testimonies which will for euer be held honorable in the Church Before these times the religion sense and iudgement of the world was not that any Bishop or Clarke of forraine Prouinces might appeale to Rome which now is the sense and iudgement of the Court of Rome The Pope claimeth now this Iurisdiction likewise to depose Princes to dissolue and vndoe the obedience of subiects this is now the sense and iudgement of the Court of Rome but before the time of King Pipin the sense and iudgement of the world ran alwayes contrary That the Pope is vniuersall Bishop and the Church of Rome the head of other Churches yea the Pope the head of the vniuersall Church is now the sense and iudgement of the Court of Rome but this was not the sense iudgement and religion of the Church of Rome before the time of Gregorie the first as the same Gregorie doth sufficiently witnesse That criminous Clarkes should be exempted from the Courts of their Kings is now the practise and iudgement sense and religion of the Court of Rome but before the yeere one thousand this was not the sense and iudgement of the world That the Pope is aboue a generall Councell is now the sense and religion of the present Court of Rome but it was not the sense and religion of the Church of Rome before the time of the Councell of Trent In like sort of any part of their Iurisdiction whereof here we speake we are able to point to the time when it was not the sense and iudgement of the Church of Rome 17. About the time wherein Alfred raigned who began his raigne in the yeere of Christ eight hundred seuenty two died in the yeere nine hundred The Popes hauing already intruded vpon the Iurisdiction of Bishops and Archbishops beganne to make many desperate attempts vpon the Iurisdiction of Kings also but they were repressed where the Emperours had any power to resist and though they assumed Iurisdiction ouer Emperours yet they brought not all to an effect Cranâ—…zius speaking of those times saith The Emperour placed a Bishop in Monster and maruaile not that a Bishop was appointed by the Emperour for this was the Custome of those times when Emperours had power to place and displace Popes for there was no free election of Chapters as now the Apostolicall confirmation was not then necessary for whomsoeuer the Prince did nominate that man was to be consecrated a Bishop by the next adioyning Bishops Concerning this Iurisdiction there was a long contention between the Papacie and the Empire this was the Iurisdiction which the two Henries the father and the sonne which the two Frederickes likewise the Grand-father and the Grand-child sought long to defend and maintaine but the sword of the Church preuailed and forced the Emperours to relinquish their right to the Churches By this it may appeare that before the yeere one thousand the Popes entred into no great contention with the Germane Emperours concerning this Iurisdiction But as the contentions betweene the two Henrics and the two Fredericks and others did fully open and reueale to the world the Popes purpose for Iurisdiction so when it was once reuealed and fully knowen to the world it was denied and oppugned by the men of the best learning that then liued in the Church of Rome which thing we are more fully to declare hereafter CHAP. VII How the Papall Iurisdiction was aduanced from the time of the conquest and somewhat before vntill the yeere of Christ one thousand three hundred The meanes raising that Iurisdiction is declared to be by Forgeries Friars Oathes and the parts of the Iurisdiction inuestitures exemptions lawes imposed appellation deposing of Kings and absoluing their subiects from faith and Allegeance IN the time of William the Conquerer about the seuenth yeere of his raigne Hildebrand was chosen Pope named Gregorie the seuenth This man aduaunced the Popes Iurisdiction to an higher pitch then euer it was before Now all that power which was extorted from Princes by such violent practises as Hildebrand vsed was afterward supposed to belong to the Popes Iurisdiction And these late Iesuits make no doubt to tell vs that all came from Christ and his Apostles and that it was a thing neuer heard that Temporall Princes should meddle in such matters and that the Religion deuotion sense and iudgement of all men ranne wholly for it Wee are therefore to obserue how the Popes wrested Iurisdiction from temporall Princes This thing will appeare better if we take a suruay of these times and of the meanes and parts of that Iurisdiction which wee finde chalenged by the Popes in these ages 2. At this time the Popes began first of all to striue for inuestitures Pope Gregory the seuenth began this contention with Henry the fourth Emperour which was the occasion of great warres and blood-shed through Christendome especially in Germany I will for the better vnderstanding of these proceedings with breuity and fidelity report out of the stories of this time in what state the Church of Rome then stoode In the time of Henry the third Emperour the Court of Rome was pestered with a sort of men infamous prodigious who taught Necromancy practised poisoning set vp as it were a schoole of vnlawfull Arts abominable to God and pernicious to men One chiefe of this profession was Theophilactus which was afterward Pope Benedictus the eight called Benedictus the ninth This Theophilact was Master to Hildebrand in his Art Magick who for his better furtherance in that knowledge was also instructed by Laurentius the Malfilan Archbishop and by Iohn the Archpriest of S. Iohn de porta latina This Theophilact gaue himselfe wholly to the sacrifices of deuils with his complices and schollers as he had beene iâ—…structed by Gerbertus which was Pope Syluester the second By these Masters and meanes Hildebrand aspiring to the Papacy ioyned himselfe in a strict league with one Brazutus who poisoned sixe Popes in the space of thirteene yeres their names mine Author setteth down in order thus Clemens this was Clemens the second Damasus 2 Leo 9 Victor 2 Stephaâ—…us 10. Benedictus this Pope escaped the poison but was cast out by force and cunning of Hildebrand Nicholaus 2. Thus he practised to make way for himselfe to the Papacy by poisoning all that stood in his way 3. For redressing of these enormities Henry the third Emperour was entreated by the religious sort of Cardinalls to purge the Church of this hellish rabble that thus pestered it The Emperor being drawne to seeke some reformation of these disorders because many Popes vsurped the Papacie at once he
said Pope had annihilated the Emperours Election and that therefore the Emperor had no right to administer the imperiall lawes but that this administration belonged by right to the Pope To this the Emperour answereth That this standeth against the liberties of the Empire and against the liberties of them that are Electors against the lawes and liberties of all the Princes and subiects of Germany 144. And whereas thirdly the Pope obiecteth that he hath excommunicated all that shall adhaere performe obedience and reuerence to the Emperour and saith that the iudgement of the Pastor whether it be iust or vniust is to be obserued To this the Emperor answereth That these denunciations are of none effect for it is a rule that if a Prelat in commaunding or forbidding shall not keepe the forme prescribed by the Canons they who disobey him doe not incurre the sentence of excommunication Now the Canons and the Church doe take from the Pope power in temporalities which power Iohn the two and twentieth vsurpeth this is one of those cases wherein the sentence of a Prelat is not to be feared Another reason is because by law that sentence is of no force where there is an expresse errour in the sentence as if a subiect should be commanded not to obey his Superiour or if something should be commaunded against God or against holy Scripture Now it is manifest that Iohn the two and twentieth hath commaunded the subiects of the Empire not to obey vs whom they are bound to obey by the lawes of God and man Another reason is because it is a thing confessed that the sentence which is giuen after a lawfull appeale is void and of no strength but it is well knowne that from Iohn the two and twentieth and his Processes against God and iustice we appealed to a generall Councell and to the holy Catholicke Church which appellation was brought to the knowledge of the said Iohn before he published Excommunication against them that fauour vs. 145. If it be said the Pope hath no Superiour and therefore no man may appeale from him To this the Emperour answereth thus It is manifest by the Catholicke doctrine that the Pope in matters of faith is subiect to Councels 16. dist sicut in tex in Gloss. 25. q. 2. sunt quidam 19. di Anastasius 40. di Si Papa Moreouer in matters of diuine right a Councell is aboue the Pope Thus then we haue appealed to a Superiour that is to a generall Councell against our aduersaries who impugne vs the Empire the Catholicke faith which the holy Church of Rome handleth This is the summe of that Decree which the Emperour published against the Pope it was dated at Franckfort the eighth of August Anno one thousand three hundred thirty and eight The processe of this worthy Prince giueth vs occasion to consider some things which declare the sense iudgement and Religion of the Ghurch of Rome at this time By the Church of Rome I vnderstand these Westerne parts of Christendome for so I find it tearmed heere and other-where separate and distinct from the Pope 146. For first by this appeale from the Pope to a generall Councell we finde that it was the iudgement and common receiued sentence of that age that a general Councel is aboue the Pope may iudge the Pope censure and depose him this is here declared and confirmed this was not onely the doctrine of the Church then but long after it continued and was neuer denied by the Church of Rome before the Councell of Trent as hereafter we shall declare Moreouer we finde a distinction obserued by the learned men that held this Assembly that is by the Prelates of the Empire for so the Decree runneth De concilio ac assensu Praelatorum omnium c. And many other learned men of Christendome yea many Friars which were here assembled especially the Minorites who were then oppressed by the Pope The distinction I say betweene the Pope and his flatterers on the one side and the Church of Rome on the other side For the Emperour appealeth from the Pope to the Church and this was a practise vsed by diuers as hereafter we shall obserue Then the Pope and his flatterers did not represent the Church of Rome as now they pretend to doe Againe wee obserue that the Emperour being defamed for heresie and appealing to a generall Councell as he denieth the Pope to be his Iudge so he refuseth not to be iudged by the Church for as S. Ambrose saith Imperator intra Ecclesiam non supra Ecclesiam est Then the authority of the Church bindeth the greatest members thereof euen Kings and Emperours If our aduersaries obiect against vs and our Church why then doe you giue to the King the Title of supreame head or Gouernour of the Church We answere such obiections proceede from an obstinate and wilfull ignorance in mistaking of our doctrine For when the question is of Iurisdiction externall coactiue wee giue to the King the place of a supreame Iudge but if the question bee of faith and Religion we say the King is no Iudge but to be iudged by the Church as we see godly Princes haue beene and namely this worthy Prince Lodouicke who being accused of heresie by the Pope appealeth to the Church 147. Last of all we obserue in the sense and iudgement of this Emperour and of the learned men that were assembled with him that in the point of Iurisdiction no such thing is left to the Pope as he claimeth For in matters of faith the Iurisdiction is in the Church as here it is acknowledged in matters of coactiue power the Iurisdiction is in the Emperor as all these learned men did yeelde in this Councell and after the Councell did maintaine by their writings For wee finde the same trueth maintained by William Ockham Marsilius Patauinus Michael Caesina and many moe who with great courage and learning did maintaine the Emperours Iurisdiction heerein against the Popes vsurpation This wisedome and moderation of the Emperour in defending his right not onely by force of Armes but by learning and iudgement moued the Pope who succeeded Iohn the two twentieth that is Benedict the twelfth in spite of malice to giue him many hoâ—…orable testimonies to promise to restore him by absolâ—… agâ—…ine to this place But the Pope did but fraudulently put him off from day to day which thing when the Emperour perceiued he called a Diet of the Empire at Rensium where he did with that wisedome courtesie and liberality binde the Princes Electours to him that they tooke a solemne Oath to maintaine the liberties of the Empire and decreede that all the processes of Iohn once Pope against Lodâ—…uick were of no force and that the Pope ought not to attempt such things against the Emperour seeing their Iurisdictions were so much distinct 148. Clement the sixth sucoeeded Benedict the twelfth this Clement falling into deeper fits of rage against the Emperour then his Predecessours
thus For other learned men deuoted to the seruice of the truth entred into a further search of this Iurisdiction among whom Michael Cezena and William Occham were famous The occasion whicâ—… stirred them vp to make search of this point was this Michael Cezena Generall of the Order of the Minorites refuted three Constitutions of Pope Iohn the two and twentieth Ad conditorem Canonum Cum inter Quia quorundam These hee refuted and sent his bookes abroad against these Constitutions whereupon Iohn the two and twentieth depriued him and disabled him from taking any other dignity But Michael appealed from the Pope 15. Here arose the question whether a Christian might appeale from the Pope William Occham once a worthy fellow of Merton Colledg in Oxford vndertooke this question disputeth it throughly in that booke which he intitleth Opus nonaginta dierum He concludeth that a man may and might appeale from the Pope and that a Councell is aboue the Pope And saith that many moe learned men wrote diuers bookes at that time for confirmation of the same truth wherein they alleadge strong reasons to proue their purpose and answere all doubts De ista materia saith he plures libri prolixi sunt editi in quibus praedicti 〈◊〉 motiua adducunt quam plurima obiectiones refellunt quae possunt oriri dubia declarare nituntur That is Of this matter many long bookes set forth wherein these foresaid Disputers alledge many reasons refute obiections and seeke to cleare all doubts that can rise Of the Pope he saith thus Iohâ—…es 22. coâ—…scius 〈◊〉 suorâ—… ad iudiciâ—… generalis concilij veâ—…ire recusat That is Pope Iohn the two and twentieth his owne consciâ—…nce accusing himselfe of his errours refuseth to come to the iudgement of a Geâ—…erall Councel Thus the Pope hath euer bin affraid of a General Councell since the time that first he vsurped Iurisdiction The same Author confuteth the Constitutions of Iohâ—… the two and twentieth first by Scriptures then by Canons of Councels and testimonies of holy Fathers and last of al by the determination of the Church of Rome And for this question of Iurisdiction because the Popes then began to chalenge tempâ—…rall Iurisdiction ouer Princes his assertion is â—…eatus â—…etrus non fuit vicarius Christi quantum ad officium regâ—…i temporalis nec in â—…omporalibus qusbâ—…e That is S. Peter was not Christs Vicar in respect of a temporall Kingdome nor in respect of any tempoâ—…alities whatsoeuer Which Assertion he proueth thus If it were so that S. â—…eter were Christs Vicar in temporall Dominion then should S. Peter haue Iurisdiction ouer Emperours and Kings but this the Popes themselues denie for Pope Nicholas saith thus Quuâ—… ad verâ—… veâ—…tum est nec Imperator iura sibi Pontificatâ—…s c. That is When we come to know the truth neither hath the Emperour taken vpon him the right of the Pope nor the Pope vsurped the title of the Emperour for one Mediator of God and man Iesus Christ hath distinguished the Offices of both these powers by their proper actions and distinct dignities Ex hiâ—… saith Occhaâ—… datur 〈◊〉 quod Rom. Pontifex ex successione Petri non habet Iurisdictionem temporalem super 〈◊〉 That is Hence we may vnderstand that the Pope by succeeding Petâ—…r hath no temporall Iurisdiction ouer the Emperour 16. Against this determination he moueth some obiectious or rather taketh the â—…easons of 〈◊〉 Triumphus and maketh them his obiections though he suppresse the name of 〈◊〉 The obiectious are these First The Pope deposeth Kings 15. qu. 6. cap. aliâ—… Secondly The Pope trauslated the Empire Extra de Elect. cap. venerabilem Thirdly The Emperor taketh an Oath of Alleageance These are the reasons of Augustiâ—… Triumphus whereunto he aunswereth thus To the first he saith Rationâ—… eriminis habet spiritualâ—…m Iurisdictionem non temporalem That is In respect of some fault hee hath spirituall Iurisdiction but not temporall Then all the Iurisdiction which the Pope or any other Bishoppe hath is onely spirituall in his opinion in respect of sinne which may be censured by spirituall censures But a power to depose Kings includeth temporall Iurisdiction To the second he saith The Pope translated the Empire Non in qâ—…antum successor Petri sed authoritate Romanorum qui sibi potestatem huinsmodi concesserant That is Not as the successour of Peter but by the authority of the Romanes who graunted him that power To the third he saith the Emperour that first tooke an Oath of Alleageance did it from deuotion and humility and therefore afterward refused it Marfilius answereth to this last obiection somewhat otherwise for he vtterly reiecteth the testimony of that Canon that witnesseth that the Emperour tooke an Oath of Alleageance Intaâ—…tum vero ipsorum quidam prorupit aâ—…daciam saith Marsil vt in suis edectis expresserit Romanum Principem sibi iurameâ—…o fidelitatis ástringitanquam coactiâ—…a Iâ—…risdictione subiectum vt ex suarum narrationum quas decretales appellant derisibili contemptâ—… prorsus inuolucro septimo de Sent re iâ—…dicata palam se inspicientibus offert That is One of them to wit Clement the fift hath broken out in such impudency in his Edicts that he affirmeth the Emperor is bound to him by an Oath of Alleageance as subiect to him in coactiue Iurisdiction as is openly to bee seene in 2. de Sent. re â—…udic out of that ridiculous and most contemptible collection of their Narrations which they call Decretals 17. But to returne to William Occham and Michael Cezena in whose cause Occhaâ—… was ingaged Michael was deposed by Iohn the two and twentieth in Iune in the yeare of Christ one thousand three hundred twentie and eight in his behalfe letters were directed to the Chapter of the Minorites assembled in Parpinian and Auinion in the yeare one thousand three hundred thirty and one These letters were subscribed by Henricus de Chalchem Franâ—…iscus de Esculo and Guilielmus de Occham not onely these men fauoured his cause but those two famous Vniuersities Oxford and Paris did approue the same Whereuppon Michael being arrested by the Pope did appeale from the Pope Consider the nature of his appeale for it openeth the sense and iudgement of learned men then liuing being approued by the greatest learned men then liuing and by all the learned men of that order in England and in Paris for so it is said there Quae determinatio fuit etiam ab omnibâ—…s Magistris baccalarijs in sacra pagina de Parisijs de Aâ—…glia dicti ordinis approbata Vâ—…iuersis Christi fidelibus destinata That is Which determination was also approued of all the Masters and Bachelours in Diuinity of the said order of Paris and England and directed to all Christians I will set downe the forme of his appeale as in the same place I finde it expressed and thus it is Habito prius
liued 30. But was not Bishoppe Grosthead of the same faith and Religion with the Church of Rome Yes verily and so will I be if you grant me his conditions exceptions for he putteth two clauses very memorable by which he will condition with the Church of Rome or any other particular Church whatsoeuer First That the doctrines of that Church be the doctrines of Christ and his Apostles Secondly That so wee may regard the Church of Rome that wee be sure to hold vnity with the true Church the body of Christ. These excellent and famous men that haue heretofore liued in the vnity of the Church of Rome haue beene willing wee confesse to yeelde so much to the Pope and that particular Church as they might doe holding vnity with the true body of Christ. But if the vnity with the Romane Church doe draw them away from the vnity with Christs body then haue they alwaies beene resolued to giue ouer the vnity with that particular Church This confirmeth that which before I obserued in the Distinction betweene the Church of Rome and the Court of Rome because we see many learned and worthy men of our forefathers were of the Church of Rome that is held the bond of vnity with it who were professed enemies to the Court of Rome Now the Pope and his flatterers haue forsaken that vnity with the Church of Rome which stood in Apostolicall doctrines and vnity with the true body of Christ howsoeuer they boast of the name and haue nothing now to shew for themselues but the pride and faction of the Court of Rome 31. Now come we to the time wherein liued Iohn Wiclif another of the worthies of Merton Colledge in Oxford his aduersaries would blot him with the name of an Hereticke some things are vntrue wherewith they iniuriously charge him some things are true which they vniustly call Heresie In this question of Iurisdiction as he receiued the truth from Occham his Senior in Merton Colledge so he deliuered the same faithfully Speaking of the Kings Iurisdiction as well ouer the Clergie as Laity he saith The chiefe Lordshippe in this land of all temporalties both of secular men and religious pertaine to the King of his generall Gouernement for else hee were not King of all England but of a little part thereof Therefore the men that busien them to take away this Lordshippe from the King as don Friars and their sautors in this point beene snarper enemies and Traytors then Frenchmen and all other nations Wiclif labored worthily to descry refute the errors concerning Iurisdiction that in his time came creeping in introduced by Friars For he witnesseth that the Friars taught thus Rex Angliae non est rex totius Angliae sed regulus paruae partis super residiâ—…um vero mortificatum est Papa Dominus Veruntamen non est disp utandum inquiunt de hac materia quousque fuerit in effectu potentius stabilita sed tolerandae sunt iniuriae dominorum saeculâ—…rium quousque arriserit opportunit as temporis That is The King of England is not King of all England but Lord of a little part ouer the residue in a dead hand the Pope is Lord but say they there is no disputing of this matter vntill it be powerfully brought in effect In the meane time they say the iniuries of temporall Lords must be borne vntill an opportunity fauo ur them This is plaine dealing The Friars declare what is that thing at which they haue long aimed For what other meaning haue their pretended exemptions then by making a reuolt from the obedience of their soueraigns to become wholly the Popes seruants and creatures 32. But this late generation of Friars I meane the Iesuites exceeding these olde Friars in admirable practises in the blood and destruction of Princes and states are yet so confident in their wit and eloquence that they thinke themselues able to perswade the Kings of the earth to account them among good and loyall subiects The old Friars dealt more plainely they professed not obedience to Princes these professe more and would colour their deepe deuises in destruction of Princes with impudency and dissimulation as if they meant not the same things which daily they practise Now that which Wiclif taught against these wicked and prophane opinions of these olde Friars was no other thing then the iudgement of the learned Diuines which liued before and in his time for he brought in no nouelties but the Friars introduced the nouelties in Religion and Iurisdiction And that Distinction which before we obserued betweene the Church of Rome and the Court of Rome he confirmeth as a thing notoriâ—…usly marked in his time for of the Church of Rome he saith thus Protestor publice quod amando venerando Romanam Ecclesiam matrem meam desidero procuro defensionem omnium priuilegiorum suorum That is I protest publiquely that louing and honouring the Church of Rome Ireuerence my mother and procure the defence of all her priuiledges But of the Court of Rome or that particular Church of Rome which was gouerned by the Pope hee saith much otherwise not doubting but that the iudgement of the particular Church of England might in many things be preferred before that particular Church of Rome guided by the Pope Fieripotest saith he quod Dominus Papa foret ignarus legis scripturae quod Anglicana Ecclesia foret longe praestantior in iudicio veritatis Catholica quam tota ista Romana Ecclesia collecta de istis Papa Cardinalibus That is It may come to passe that the Lord Pope may be ignorant of the law of Scripture and that the Church of England may be more excellent in the iudgment of the Catholicke truth then all this Romane Church collected of the Pope and Cardinals Then in those dayes there was not much attributed to the Popes not erring iudgement or to the authority of that Church which was wholly gouerned by the Pope seeing the Pope might be ignorant of the lawe of God and the Church of England might haue a more excellent iudgement in the truth then that particular Church of Rome That which Wiclif saith might come to passe the world seeth and acknowledgeth that since that time it is come to passe That Friars were the introducers of Nouelties we haue already shewed out of Iohn Wiclifes obseruations In this sorte things stood vntill the time of the Councell of Pisa which was helde some twentie yeares after Iohn Wiclifes death §. IIII. The Popes Iurisdiction ouerthrowne by Councels 33. THus haue we heard the iudgement of learned men against the Popes Iurisdiction after that the same Iurisdiction began to be practised these haue refuted especially that part of his claime which was in temporalibus Now we will consider another part of his pretended Iurisdiction which was in spiritualibus in this we finde his feathers as well pulled as in the former so that when both temporall and spirituall Iurisdiction is
pulled from him and when Princes take their owne right in temporalties and Councels in spirituall Iurisdiction the Bird will be left naked betweene them that was so glorious with the feathers of others 34. Before the time of the Councell of Trent this hath bin alwaies acknowledged and preserued a trueth in the Church that the authority of a Councell is aboue any particular whatsoeuer whether he be the Bishop of Rome or any other This was neuer once brought in question the first thousand yeares but when the Popes had framed a Ladder of their supposed Iurisdiction to clime aboue Princes and Friars began to puffe vp the Sailes of the Popes pride by the winde of their flatterie then began some question to bee made of the authority of a Councell The Friars hoisted vp the Pope aboue the Councel but there were alwaies in the Church of Rome some remaining yea a great number and sometimes as the best part so the strongest who held and maintained the auncient true Iurisdiction of a lawfull free generall Councell to be aboue the Pope and to haue authority to depose the Pope or otherwise to censure him as in their wisedome they thought meete This question of the Iurisdiction of a Councell had often beene moued as we finde by the appeales of Emperours and Kings and others from the Pope to a generall Councell but it came not to be put in execution before the Councell of Pisa which was gathered vppon this occasion 35. After a â—…ong schisme in the Church of Rome Gregory the twelfth was chusing during the schisme Gregory tooke an Oath as soone as he was elected to take away the schisme by all possible meanes and wrote to Benedict the thirteenth inuiting him to a mutuall abdication for peace Benedict returned an answere to the same words backe again As the Popes colluded together without any sincere purpose of abdication the question began to be mooued of the authority of the Church which might order them both because the Church is aboue all euen the Popes are subiect to this power and therefore it was thought fit that a generall Councell should be called representing the Church of these Westerne parts The Councell was summoned to meete at Pisa the Bishops Prelates and Princes being orderly summoned and meeting heere in the yeare one thousand foure hundred and eight proceeded against both the Popes deposed and depriued them condemning them both for Heretickes and Schismatickes commanding all Christians not to take them for Popes or yeelde obedience to them In this Councell there was great disputation of the authority of a Councell and it was determined none contradicting sayeth mine Authour that the Councell had authority to depose the Popes persisting in a scandall and to chuse another This was the ground and occasion of calling the Councell of Constance not long after this 36. This Councell of Pisa is much commended by Iohn Gerson and by the Councell of Constance as the same Authour Gerson doth witnesse Where he saith also that the Church of England sent learned men to that Synode at Pisa who as they came through Paris were entertained with an Oration of the same Gerson then Chauncellor of the Vniuersity of Paris declaring the consent of that Vniuersity with them Then wee haue the Councell of Pisa and herein the iudgement of the Church of England concurring with many other Churches against the Popes Iurisdiction The same will likewise appeare by the Councell of Constance 37. The Councell of Constance was called by the commandement of Sigismund Emperor in the yeare one thousand foure hundred and fourteene for the same end For the Synode of Pisa had deposed the two Popes that maintained the schisme and chosen a new Pope Alexander the fift but the other two helde their places by force and there were now three Popes after Alexander 5. death Iohâ—… the three and twentieth was chosen this man came to Constance and shewed himselfe willing to be deposed so that the other two in schisme might be ordered and pulled downe from the places which they held but this Iohn finding that the Councell had a purpose after that he was deposed to chuse another and not himselfe fled away from the Councell and refused to be ordered by it but hee was apprehended and brought backe againe so his life and conuersation being examined by the Councell he was deposed but when he sent Charles Malatesta to approue the sentence of the Synode and to make for him and in his name a free abdication of the Papacy he died for griefe that Malatesta had performed that commission so roundly and so quickly 38. The other two Popes Gregory and Benedâ—…ct stood vp mainteining the schisme all this while To order them Sigismund Emperor tooke great paines with the Kings of England Fraunce and Arragon Gregory yeelded to be ruled by the Synode but Benedict stood out stiffely a long time who in the end also was depriued and pronounced an Hereticke and Schismaticke It is obserued that there was nothing concluded in this Councell without the consent of the fiue Nations The Synode hauing thus deposed all those other Popes made choyce of Martin the fift And to preuent such schismes and the troubles which grewe by them it was decreed in the same Synode that such Synodes should be often called the first should bee called fiue yeares after this the second seauen yeares after the first the third tenne yeares after the second and so from tenne yeares to tenne yeares continually This order and Iurisdiction of the Church declared in Synodes did so terrifie the Popes that they sought by all meanes to defeat it they could not indure such a Iurisdiction aboue themselues to call them censure them depose them as this Synode had throwen downe three Popes at once Therefore the Popes after this laboured by all meanes how they might oppresse the authority of a Councell which they could neuer doe before the Councell of Trent and all these partes of Christendome on the other side laboured to maintaine the authority of the Councell aboue the Pope 39. For the better confirmation hereof this Synode declareth the authority and Iurisdiction of a generall Councell thus Declarat haec sancta Synodus quod ipsa in spiritu sancto legitimè congregata Concilium generale faciens EcclesiaÌ„ Catholicam representans potestatem à Christo immediate habet cui quilibet cuiuscunque fuerit status vel dignitatis etiam si Papalis existat obedire tenetur in his quae pertinent ad fidem extirpationem dicti schismatis reformationeÌ„ dictae Ecclesiae in capite in membris That is This holy Synode declareth that they being gathered in the Holy Ghost making a generall Councell and representing the Catholicke Church haue power immediately from Christ to which euery man of what sâ—…ate and dignity soeuer though he be a Pope is bound to obey in those things which pertaine to faith and the extirpation of schisme and reformation
of the Church in the head and members And presently after this they declare and define these points that euery man of what condition soeuer though he be a Pope that shall not obey the ordinances statutes or precepts of the Synode shal be duly corrected and punished that Pope Iohn the three and twentie for this was decreed at the beginning before Iohn was depriued shall not transferre the Court of Rome or any other publicke officers therof or compell them directly or indirectly to follow him without the consent of this Synode And if he shall fulminate any censures Ecclesiasticall against such officers or any other adhaering to this Synode all shall be voide and of none effect neither shall it be lawfull for any man to obey any such censures That all Translations of Prelates all depriuations reuocations monitions Ecclesiasticall censures all processes and whatsoeuer is done or shall be done by the said Pope in preiudice of the said Councell c. shall be voide vaine and of none effect 40. According to the Decree of this Synode Pope Martin the fift after fiue yeares called a Synode at Pauie thither came they that were sent by the Pope and expected the nations without whose presence a generall Councell could not bee held But the plague increasing greatly in that towne they changed the place of this Synode to Sene where Pope Martin perceiuing that Benedict began to stirre againe to preuent troubles dissolued this Synode and according to the Decree of the Synode of Constance appointed the place of another Councell after seuen yeares to be holden at Basil and when the appointed time came hee sent Cardinall Iulianus to Basil for the furthering of the same This is the onely Pope of late that was not affraide of a generall Councell he was elected by a Councell he kept the Decrees of that Councell with great commendation and liued in that moderation that he seemed not to be affraide of the censure of a Councell Martin hauing proceeded thus farre onely to shew himselfe willing to call the Councell of Basil died Eugenius the fourth succeeded who did striue by all meanes to defeate the Councell of Basil but by the authority of Sigismund the Emperour that Synode proceeded thither came the Prelates of those nations without whose consent a generall Councell of these parts of Christendome cannot be held 41. This Synode of Basil thus gathered among other things agreed vpon certaine conclusions concerning this Iurisdiction the Conclusions are these 1. Veritas haec de potestate Concilij generalis vniuersalem Ecclesiam representantis super Papam quemlibet alterum declarata per Constantiense hoc Basiliense generalia Concilia est verit as fidei Catholicae 2. Veritas haec quod Papa Concilium generale c. actu legitimè Congregatum c. nullatenus sine eius consensu potest dissoluere aut ad aliud tempus prorogare aut de loco ad locum transferre est veritas fidei Catholicae 3. Veritatibus duabus praedictis pertinaciter repugnans est censendus hâ—…reticus That is 1. This truth of the Iurisdiction of a generall Councell representing the Catholicke Church that is aboue the Pope or any other as it is declared by the general Councels that of Constance and this of Basil is a truth of the Catholicke faith 2. This truth that the Pope cannot in any case without the consent thereof dissolue a generall Councell c. lawfully and actually gathered c. or proroge it to another time or transfer it from one place to another is a truth of the Catholicke faith 3. Whosoeuer doth with pertinacy resist these two foresaid truths is to be adiudged an hereticke These conclusions they set downe against that Iurisdiction which the Pope claimed whom they called Gâ—…briel Condelmerius otherwise called Eugenius the fourth against which conclusions no man then contended sauing the Pope and his flatterers who are therefore adiudged Heretickes by the Councell In the fiue and fortieth Session of this Synode of Basil there are other conclusions added to declare the pertinacy of Eugenius the fourth condemned by that Councell and first they declare or testifie that not in their owne iudgements onely but in the iudgements of all that before them were men of knowledge and learning in the Church this was euer maintained that the Pope must be subiect to a generall Councell Neâ—… vnquam aliquis peritorum dubitauit saith that Synode summum Pontificem in his quae fidem concernunt iudicio eorundem Conciliorum vniuersalium esse subiectum Then they declare how Eugenius first laboured to dissolue this Synode without the consent of the Synode But after many admonitions he reuoked that dissolution declaring it to be voide and of none effect and so gaue great hope of peace to the Church But after this againe he attempted the second dissolution of the same Councell which after many admonitions hee would not reuoke wherefore these fiue conclusions are declared against him First The first dissolution of this holy Synode of Basil pretended by Eugenius the present Pope from the fulnesse of Apostolicall power as he saith attempted is repugnant to the two foresaid truths Secondly Eugenius the present Pope did in forme of law prescribed vnto him iudicially reuoke all errours repugnant to the two foresaid truths after the first pretensed dissolution or translation being admonished and commaunded by the Synode so to doe Thirdly The pretensed dissolution or translation of this holy Synode of Basil repugnant to the two foresaid truths attempted by Eugenius after he was cyted vpon the point of reformation proceeding as he saith out of the fulnesse of power in case it should proceede against himselfe or any of his Legates Presidents this should conteine an inexcusable errour in faith Fourthly The second pretensed dissolution or translation of this Synode repugnant to the two foresaid truthes doth proue the said Eugenius to be a relapse falling againe into his reuoked and condemned errour Fiftly This second dissolution or translation repugnant to the two foresaid truthes as also the contumacy of Eugenius and his long perseuerance therein and the open rebellion of the said Eugenius after that he was admonished by the Synode to reuoke that pretensed dissolution or translation and also the erection of another Congregation vnder the name of a generall Councell to fortifie that pretensed dissolution and that during the time of this holy Councell of Basil all these are euident testimonies of the pertinacy of the same Eugenius and so euident that they neede not the clamor of any other accuser 42. Vpon these grounds this Councell deposed Eugenius the fourth and elected Amadeus Duke of Sauoy who was called Felix the fifth But Eugenius resisted by force and helde himselfe as Pope the Synode not being strong enough for him by coactiue power though in spirituall Iurisdiction it was aboue him yet would not this Councell acknowledge Eugenius to be the Pope but Felix In the meane time Eugenius dieth and
Nicolaus the fift was chosen in his place All this while the Councell of Basil stood vp so that a new Schisme was like to rise but all was compounded thus Felix the fift should abdicate the office which he was content to doe seeing Eugenius was dead who was deposed by the Synode Nicolaus should be acknowledged and confirmed Pope This Nicolaus thus confirmed should by his bull approue and confirme all the things done and concluded in the Councell of Basill all this was performed and Pope Nicolaus by his Bull maketh a solemne confirmation and approbation of this Synode which Bull is annexed to the Synode bearing date Calend. Iul. 1449. But the Synode seemed not much to respect this confirmation because they rested vpon that authority which the Church hath from Christ. 43. Now let vs consider how this Synode prescribed against the Popes Iurisdiction so much that if the reformed Churches by the power and godly labours of their Princes might once obtaine that which they haue so long wished a generall free lawfull holy Councell they would not desire much more freedome therein then was practised in this Synod of Basill For first concerning the safe conduct for comming to the Councell and manner of proceeding there is so much graunted by this Councell to the Bohemians whom the Councell inuited to a disputation that more then this none will desire For besides the safe conduct for comming and going freely and safely they are agreed vpon the iudge of controuersies admitting that iudge which onely was alwayes acknowledged the iudge in all generall Councels for the Pope was neuer acknowledged to be the iudge This Synode of Basil admitting herein the manner of proceeding held in auncient Councels reiecteth the Pope and admitteth another iudge in these words Lex diuina praxis Christi Apostolica Ecclesiae primitiuae vna cum concilijs doctoribusque fundantibus se veraciter in eadem pro verisfimo indifferente iudice in hoc Basiliensi concilio admittentur That is The law of God the practise of Christs Apostles and of the primitiue Church together with Councels and doctors founding themselues truely vpon the same shall be admitted for the most true and indifferent iudge in this Councell of Basil. Now this is far from the iudgement of our aduersaries who will admit no other iudge of controuersies saue the Pope onely Wee haue the iudgement of the Church against them both of old time and at this time of late and before the Councell of Trent it was neuer otherwise 44. Moreouer whereas the Pope sent his Legates to this Councell of Basil requiring that they might be admitted as Presidents of the Councell in his place this the Councell granted limiting the same graunt with these conditions that these who thus were admitted Presidents of the Councel in the place of Pope Eugenius should be in that place without all coactiue Iurisdiction that the manner of proceeding by disputations should stand inuiolate that all the Councell being equally deuided into foure deputations nothing should be concluded but that which was confirmed by three deputations at the least that the things thus confirmed should be inrolled by the Presidents or one of them that if they refused to inroll such things then should it be lawfull for any other man which was in one of the deputations to doe it which must after this be brought to the congregation and read there and publikely approoued before it be concluded They condition also that all the Actes of the Councell shall be done and dispatched in the name and vnder the seale of the Councell 45. Further in these late Councels there is no memorable mention of the fiue nations There was free accesse for all nations that would come but there is especiall mention of fiue nations because these were the principall nations of these westerne parts they are named in the first session of the Councell of Basill Italy Brittaine Germanie France and Spaine nothing might be concluded vnlesse it were first diuers times published in the presence of the fiue nations and by the generall consent of them confirmed If things had passed in this manner in the Councell of Trent that free accesse might be giuen to all nations that the Scriptures with the Fathers founding themselues vpon Scriptures might bee admitted the onely iudge of controuersies that the Pope should haue no coactiue authoritie that nothing should be concluded but by the consent of the fiue nations then would wee admit that Councell to bee free and generall but because in stead of these the contrary was practised in Trent that no iudge could be admitted there but the Pope that none might haue accesse to that Synod but they who were first bound in an oath to the Pope that therein the Pope practised coactiue power that nothing could there be concluded but by the direction of the Pope therefore when we reiect the Councell of Trent we doe no more then onr forefathers did in the Councell of Basill before that in the Councell of Constance and before that in the Councell of Pisa. We are the children of them that held these Councels whom seeing we finde to be so peremptor ily bent against the Pope and against the proceedings of the late Councell of Trent haue we not warrant following the footsteps of our forefathers vtterly to reiect and to condemne the Popes Iurisdiction which wee haue now found to be so late so basely bred without antiquitie honour honesty or libertie Against the Popes pretensed Iurisdiction what can wee say more then hath beene already concluded by these Councels 46. For they haue concluded that a Councell hath authoritie aboue the Pope that the Church may correct and hath corrected Popes Ecclesia Catholica Saepenumero summos Pontificos siue à fide delirantes siue prauis moribus notorie Ecclesiam scandalizantes correxit iudicauit Neque vbi de fidei periculo aut scandalo religionis Christianae agebatur Romanis Pontificibus pepercit They haue concluded that the Popes may erre as well as other men Certum est Papam errare posse It is certaine that the Pope may erre and in the same place it is said experience prooueth it for we haue often found and read that the Popes haue erred this Christ declareth if thy brother offend against thee dic Ecclesiae tell the Church and if he heare not the Church let him bee to thee as an heathen or Publican this compriseth all men euen Peter and his successors This Paul declareth that resisted Peter to the face and before all then he said it openly in the Church and to the Church which he said before all The Popes that haue not heard the Church haue beene accompted as heathen and Publicanes as we read of Anastasius and Liberius And a little after answering to a testimonie of Thomas Aquinas who held the Pope Peters successor and Pastor of the vniuersall Church they say thus De singularibus Ecclesijs
coactiua quae valet exerceri in alterum etiam inuitum That is Ecclesiasticall power of Iurisdiction in the exteriour Court is an Eccleâ—…iasticall power coactiue which may be exercised against another though it be against his will And a little after speaking of the same coactiue power he saith Potestas haec Iurisdictionis Ecclesiasticae adeo vicina est Iurisdictioni faeculari politicae quodlaicis imò mulieribus pleruinque in multis casibus communicari potest executio vel commiâ—…ti That is This power of Ecclesiasticall Iurisdiction commeth so neere to secular and Ciuill Iurisdiction that the execution hereof may be communicated or committed for the most part and in many cases to Lay-men yea euen to women Then this power is not from Christ directed to Church-gouernours which may be executed by Lay-men and women For Christ gaue no Iurisdiction to his Church which may be executed by such Now if this coactiue Iurisdiction may be executed by Lay-men why not by Magistrates If by women of which thing most of the Popish writers are agreed how then standeth it against the lawes of nature and grace the Ciuill and the Canonicall lawes and I know not what other lawes as the Catholicke diuine telleth vs that a woman should haue this Iurisdiction for if a woman may be a Magistrate it must needs follow that a woman may haue that power which God hath giuen to Magistrates 51. Gerson speaking of the power of the Church not this coactiue but that which is giuen secundum leges Euangelicas declareth that it is founded vpon the text of Mat. 18. Dic Ecclesiae c. Fundaâ—…ur in hoc textu saith he Plenitudo potestatis gladis spiritualis executio eius in Ecclesia super quemlibet Christianum quiest frater noster etiam si Papa fuerit nec accipiendum hic dic Ecclesiae id est Papae quia Christus Petro loquebatur qui non dixisset sibi ipsi That is The fulnesse of the spirituall sword aboue any Christian that is our brother though he be a Pope is founded vpon this Text neither must we take it so tell the Church that is the Pope for Christ spake this to Peter who was not bidden to tell it to himselfe He declareth also and much complaineth that the Ecclesiasticall Iurisdiction was by the practise of Popes intruding â—…pon Ciuill Gouernment so strangely confounded that a man could not in those dayes decerne the difference betweene the right of the Church and of Princes Potestatem Ecclesiasticam confundit magna caligine â—…upiditas ambitiosa quaerens quae sua sunt quae crescentibus beneficâ—…orum dotationibus impudenter excreuit Ita vt vix decerni modo possit quid ex primaria institutione Christi vel inuariabilâ—… iure diuino tenendum sit That is Ambitious coueteousnesse seeking her owne and impudently inlarging her power as the dotation of benefices increased hath confounded the Ecclesiasticall power with a great mist So that now it may scarsely bee decerned what we are to hold of the first institution of Christ or by the inuariable diuine law Then this Iurisdiction was by the Popes hurled into such a confusion that men of the best learning were much troubled with distinguishing this confused masse And so farre did this confusion growe by meanes of the Canonistes extolling the Popes Iurisdiction without measure that the same Author was forced to complaine bitterly thereof thus Hinc â—… quiuocatio per dominos iuristas qui loquentes de plenitudine Ecclesiasticae poâ—…estatis Papalis solum loqui videntur de potestate Iurisdictionis ex qua locutione videtur haec absurditas sequi quod purè Laicus imo foemina posset esse Papa habere plenitudinem Ecclesiasticae potestatis That is Hence commeth equiuocation induced by my masters the Canonists who speaking of the fulnesse of the Papall Ecclesiasticall power seeme to speake onely of the power of Iurisdiction by which speech this absurdity seemeth to follow that a pure Lay-man yea a wòman may be Pope and haue the fulnesse of Ecclesiasticall power 52. And thus I trow they will bring their Iurisdiction to a faire issue that if wee should graunt it as they claime it this inference must also goe with it that a Lay man or a woman may be Pope were it not much better to giue to each his own right to the Magistrate all power coactiue to the Church power ouer the soules of men according to the lawes of the Gospell then to follow all these absurd fancies by taking away from the Church and Magistrates their distinct rights and casting a new vnlawfull confounded Iurisdiction vpon the Pope And that we may vnderstand how the Papal Iurisdiction grew onely by the Popes flatterers of such knaues he saith thus Adulatio negat PapaÌ„posse Simoniacam committere quoniam sua sunt omnia Ecclesiastica bona concedit quod super 〈◊〉 est potens ab altero ius suum tollere quod nec ab eo appellari neque eum iudicâ—…aliter euocari nec obeaientiam ab â—…o subâ—…rahi hic 〈◊〉 symbolum fideâ—… condere hic solus causas eiusdem fidei tractare potest Solus definitiones regulas leges Canones condit alioquin quic quid per alios definitur statuitur c. irritum est fallor si non ante celebrationem huius Concilij Constantiensis sic occupauerat mentes plurimorum ista traditio vt oppositorum dogmatizatio fuisseâ—… de hereticâ—… prauitate vel notata vel damnata That is Flatterie denieth that the Pope can commit Simony because al Ecclesiastical goods are his it graunteth that the Pope is aboue law able to take from a man his right and that neither an appeale may be made from him neither may he be called iudicially to triall nor obedience be drawne from him he onely must make Articles of faith he onely must determine the causes of faith onely hee must make definitions rules laws and Canons otherwise whatsoeuer is defined ordeined by other c. it is voide I am deceiued if before the celebration of this Councell of Constance this tradition did not possesse the mindes of most men insomuch that they who taught otherwise were noted or condemned for hereticall prauity 53. In these words some things are obseruable First That this vnlimited Iurisdiction is giuen to the Pope onely by base fellows flattering knaues against the iudgement of the learned and graue men of the Church of Rome and against the iudgement of these Councels Secondly that the iudicious and graue men of this age as Gerson and such like yea all that were assembled in this Councell were noted by these base flatterers and suspected or condemned of heresie The Pope and his flatterers wanted no good will then to haue made them al hereticks And it is to be obserued that the heresie which most of all troubled the Pope with his flatterers stood in this pretensed Iurisdiction for this is the cause wherefore flatterie as Gerson saith
would haue imputed hereticall prauity to the Councell Thirdly and last of all the distinction betweene the Church of Rome and the Court of Rome wherof we haue so often spoken is here againe confirmed For these flatterers stood for the Popes Iurisdiction against the Church of Rome heere assembled in a Councell but howsoeuer they haue preuailed since wee see heere that by the Church of Rome they were accounted then but a base companie of flatterers These bee they who afterward preuailed in the Councell of Trent lifting vp the priuiledges of the Pope aboue the Church And this is that Church on the other side which then was in danger to be pronounced heretickes by the Pope and these who are marked and branded not by me but by Gerson Cusanus Aeneas Siluius and the rest of both these Councels of Constance and Basil to bee no better then a generation of base flatterers 54. Then there is no great thing done or at which the world may maruel when we see the reformed Churches at this day accounted heretickes by the Pope and his flatterers for this was a thing long looked for The Church did beare the pride of the Pope the ignorance and insolency of his flatterers as long as she could indure it And when there was no remedie made a separation indeede from the Pope and his flatterers holding on still in the auncient waies of our fathers who haue from time to time made resistance against the Pope and his seruants from which auncient way of our forefathers from their profession sense iudgement and religion the Councell of Trent hath made a famous defection hauing declined and turned aside from the ancient and constant profession of the truth in doctrine and Iurisdiction vnto these new and straunge deuises taken vp of late and inuented by Friars and flatterers of the Court of Rome This defection which the Pope hath made from the Church and the Church from him was long before looked for and diuers did speake of it before it came to passe as Mat. Paris declareth that some feared it might haue beene done by Bishop Grost head so Cardinall Cusanus declareth as hereafter we are to shew how the Church may depart from the Pope 55. The same Gerson saith also Concilium generale potestatem à Christo immediatè habet cui quilibet cuiuscunque status etiamsi Papalis existat obedire tenetur in his quae ad fidem extirpationem schismat is pertinent That is A generall Councell hath power immediatly from Christ whereunto euery man is bound to obey in things concerning faith and the extirpation of Schisme of what state soeuer he be though a Pope And he addeth thus much Saluberima haec determinatio lex fundamentalis velut infallibilis aduersus monstrosum horrendùque offendiculum quod positum erat per multos determinantes ex texibus grossè non ad regulam Euangelicam acceptis c. generale concilium totum â Papa robur immeditate sumere That is This most sound determination is a sundamentall law and as it were infallible against that monstrous and horrible offence which is giuen by many concluding from texts grossely vnderstood and not according to the Euangelicall rule c. That a generall Councell receiueth all strength immediatly from the Pope In which wordes hee obserueth that the Popes flatterers who brought in this Papall Iurisdiction aboue the Church Councels did induce hereby a monstrous and horrible offence in the Church This offence saith hee was giuen by such as would proue this Iurisdiction from certaine texts of Scripture as Tu es Petrus super hanc Petram aedisicubo Ecclesiam meam and oraui pro te Petre c. And such like which are wire-drawen to countenance this Papall Iurisdiction Which texts saith Gerson are grossely taken by these flatterers and not according to the rule of the Gospell And seeing we finde that the Iesuites at this day haue no other ground for the Popes Iurisdiction then the same texts by them and their forefathers distorted into a wrong sense as it is obserued by our forefathers against them let the Iesuites know themselues to be the generation of those that haue distorted the holy Scriptures and thereby brought a monstrous and damnable offence into the Church Gerson presenly after this declareth that against these flatterers the reuerend Cardinall Cameracensis whom he calleth his worthy master did write in defence of the truth Scripsit saith he super hanc materiam reuerendiss pater dominus Cardinalis Cameracensis praceptor meus inclytus which booke of Cameracensis if it be extant for I could not see it though I much desired I suppose might make these flatterers to be better knowen and the right of the Church more strongly confirmed 56. Gerson proceedeth and of that Iurisdiction which the Pope claimeth by imposing his Canon lawes vpon other Princes he saith Papa non debet 〈◊〉 vt Canones positi aut alienae traditiones humanaeâ—…nuariabiluer obseruentur per omnes nationes That is The Pope ought not to striue to impose his Canons or that other humane traditions bee kept inuariable of all nations Where he declareth that this imposing of the Popes Iurisdiction vpon other nations gaue occasion to the Greekes to make a separation from the Latins and daily ministreth occasions of contention through Christendome In the same Booke which he Intituleth De â—…uferibilitate Papae he holdeth positiuely that howsoeuer in some other respects there might be some vse of a Pope yet concerning this our question of Iurisdiction the Pope with all his pretensed Iurisdiction might be vtterly remoued from the Church his position is Auferibilis est Papa per generâ—…le concilium perpetuo 〈◊〉 adtempus quoad ea omnia quae sunt â—…urisdictionis That is The Pope may be remooued by a generall Councell either for euer or for a time in respect of all things pertaining to Iurisdiction Now if the Pope may be remoued from the Church in respect of Iurisdiction then the Canonists are quite put downe who hold that the very essence of the Papacy standeth in Iurifdiction Further concerning this question of Iurisdiction the same Iohn Gerson hath made a Treatise wherein he handâ—…eth this question An liceat in causis fidei a summo Poâ—…tifice appellare Wherein he determineth that a man may appeale from the Pope §. VI. Cardinall Cusanus 57. SOmewhat after this wrote Cardinall Cusanus who offered his Booke De concordantia Catholica to the Councell of Basil submitting himselfe and his labours to the iudgement of that Councell It appeareth that about this time there were some motions and consultations of a reuolt from the Pope and Court of Rome which consultations were moderated then for a time by such learned men as were in greatest estimation but afterward vpon the like reasons it brake foorth Cusanus disputeth this point in an Epistle written to Roderic de Treuino â—…rator to the King of Castile Wherein he seemeth first
reward that is reserued for you you will commaund that a Synode may bee gathered Another part of the office of a Prince is saith he Confirmare custodire in concilijs 〈◊〉 which thing hee proueth by diuerse auncient authorities and concludeth that Emperours haue euer had this authoritie Hee saith that in this thing hee had made diligent search and had found this practise continued in all generall Councels vntill the eight Synode inclusiuely In which search saith hee I finde by the acts of all generall Councels aswell in Chalceon as in Constantinople Nice Ephesus that either the Emperour was present in person or some iudges his Vicegerents and those not aboue twentie seldome fifteene but when the Emperour himselfe was present in person I finde saith he that hee was alwayes Presedent of the Councell no other secular Prince hath right to be present in the Councell sauing the Emperour Vnlesse the Emperour appoint some to be present but being present they haue no voice in the Councell but may sit onely to heare this he proueth by that testimony of Ambrose in the cause of faith Bishops are the iudges and not the Emperours 61. And whereas this auncient Iurisdiction of Princes was so disordered by the Pope that by Papall intrusions and incroachments the Princes had well-nigh lost their right and temporall Iurisdiction turned into spiritual Iurisdiction of this he much complaineth and openeth the true cause of all this disorder to be in the insatiable couetousnes of the Court of Rome for thus he saith Rabidus appetitus ad ipsa terrena Ecclesijs annexa Dominia Episcopis ambitiosis hodie inest c. de temporalibus omnis cura de spiritualibus nulla Non fuit ista intentio Impâ—…ratorum non volebant spiritualia à temporalibus absorberi c. dum vacant Ecclesiae semper in periculo schismat is existunt c. Si perelectionem prouidendum est ambitio procurat diâ—…isionem vâ—…torum Si per curiam facilius persuadetur pro plus offerente omnia illâ—… grauamina adueniunt pauperibus subditis curia attrahit quicquid pingue est id quod Imperium contulit pro Deicultus bono publico ordiâ—…auit sanctissime auaritia cupiditate exorta palleatis rationibus nouis adinuentionibus totaliter peruertitur Imperiale efficitur Papale spirituale temporale That is Such a rauenous appetite is in ambitious Bishoppes at this day toward the temporall Dominions annexed to Churches c. all their care is for the temporalties not for spirituall matters this was not the meaning of Princes they meant not that the spirituall labours should be deuoured by temporalties c. Whilst the Churches are vacant there is alwaies some danger of a schisme c. If they proceed by election ambition procureth a diuision of the voyces If by the Court he that bringeth most is best heard and soonest preuaileth And all these greeuances come vpon the poore subiects whatsoeueris fat and rich the Court of Rome draweth to her selfe and that which the Empire as well for the worship of God as for the publicke good hath conferred vpon the Church and ordeined to an holy end all is vtterly peruerted through filthy couetousnesse and certaine painted reasons and new inuentions are deuised to colour it And thus the Imperiall right is now made Papall and temporall right is made spirituall Then these be the obseruations of the learned men of the Church of Rome long before vs that the Pope had intruded vpon the Emperours right now what soeuer the Pope had once practised that must be called spirituall Thus the Iurisdiction of the Emperor being once by cunning or force wrested from the Emperour being found in the Popes hand it was presently called spirituall Iurisdiction as he doth most truely obserue Imperiale efficitur Papale spirituale temporale 62. By all which we find the iudgement of this man to be directly against the Popes pretensed Iurisdiction and for the right of temporall Magistrates when we finde the Cardinals of the Church of Rome to write thus before the time of the contention and before M. Luther was borne wee are not so much to consider their priuate iudgements in these things as the receiued iudgement of the Church wherein they liued that is the Church of Rome from the iudgement of that Church they departed not but in these things do faithfully deliuer vnto vs the iudgement of the same Church standing against the iudgement of the Pope and his Court consisting of Friars and flatterers Thus we see the cause of the Reformed Churches throughly iustified by this learned Cardinall their separation from the Pope and the Court of Rome warranted because the Pope hath first made the separation from the profession of Saint Peter and from the faith of holy Scriptures and the idugement of auncient fathers In which case he granteth that the Church may depart from the Pope and thereby doth iustifie the separation that is made §. VII Aeneas Siluius 63. AT this time wrote Aeneas Siluius afterward called Pope Pius the second he hath written a booke of the actes and proceedings of the Councell of Basil from which I will note some things wherein the iudgement of this man may appeare concurring with the iudgement of the Church of Rome in his time but repugnant to the Pope and his flatterers First handling that Text Tues Petrus super hane Petram c. he saith thus A quibus verbis ideó placuit exordiri quod aliqui verba hâ—…c ad extollendam Rom Pontificis authoritatem solent adducere sed vt statiâ—… patebit alius est vâ—…rborum Christi sensus That is With which words I thought good to begin because some vse to alledge these words to extoll the authoritie of the Bishop of Rome but as it shall soone appeare there is another sense of Christs words Who are they who in the iudgment of this man do peruert the words of Christ Let the Iesuites aunswere and let them giue vs some reason able to satisfie a man of reason why that cause should not bee helde damnable which is condemned by their owne writers their Bishoppes their Cardinals their Popes Let them not tell vs that this Pope Pius was of another mind afterward when he was Pope and before he was Pope he might erre but after he was once Pope he could not erre these bee plaine collusions of them who write such things and illusions of such as beleeue them For it is not possible that any man should write or speake or thinke such things from conscience Shall I thinke that any learned man can thinke in conscience this to bee true that the Pope cannot erre when I heare the testimonie of the Church so full against it When I heare such as come to be Popes refute it before they come to that place When I heare such as haue beene in the place exclaime in the extremitie of desperation that no man in
the world liueth more miserably then the Pope that to be a Pope is to succeed Romulus in Parricide not Peter in feeding that no Pope can bee saued when all this is proued by the Church of Rome confessed by Popes themselues after all this to say the Pope cannot erre is nothing but collusion No man can be drawen to such an opinion by conscience but by such worldly respects as doe binde and blinde and lay waste the conscience of them that will not loue the truth 64. 〈◊〉 Siluius proceedeth and out of S. Hierome expounding those word pâ—…rtas inferi the gates of hell he proueth that they are to be vnderstood of sinnes And declareth that great sinnes and malignant spirits cannot preuaile against the Church Quod de Rom. Pontisice saith he qui homo est nemo dixerit nec illis praestemus aures qui illa verba Christi â—…raui pro te Petre ne deficiat fides tua nolunt ad Ecclesiam referri That is Which thing no man can say of the B. of Rome who is a man neither are we to hearkeÌ„ to theÌ„ who will not haue those words of Christ vnderstood as spoken to the Church when he saith Peter I haue prayed for thee that thy faith failenot Where he proueth out of S. Augustine that those words are to be referred to the Church And that they cannot be vnderstood oâ—… the Bishops of Rome he is resolued giueth such reasons as may resolue any other that will not wilfully blindfold himselfe as many do that the blind doctrine of Iesuits may work more powerfully in them For saith he Romani Episcopi aut haeretici aut infecti vitijs sunt reperti That is The Bishops of Rome haue bin found either Hereticks or vicious men And concerning this Iurisdiction he saith Omnis anima potest atibus sublimioribus subdita sit nec excipit animam Papae That is The Apostle saith let euery soule be subiect to the higher powers hee excepteth not the soule of a Pope And again Maximè Rom. Pontisicem subiectuÌ„ Ecclesiae verba Christi ostendâ—…nt quum PetruÌ„ futurum Papam ad Ecclesiam remittat dic Ecclesiae And afterward Si haeretiâ—…us est qui Romanae Eocle siae primatum aufert c. quanto magis haereticus erit qui Ecclesiae detrahitâ—… qua Romana omnes aliae continentur In which words we find that by the Church of Rome he vnderstandeth not the Catholicke Church dispersed ouer the world but only a particular Church among many other hauing only in his iudgment this priuiledge that in respect of other Churches it had a Primacy This he saith not for the Pope but for the Church of Rome which Church he holdeth but a part of the Catholick Church For if we vnderstand the Church of Rome that particular Church which of old hath bin gouerned by the Romane Bishops this is but a particular Church of this particular the B. of Rome is the chiefe head inspirituall matters But if by the Church of Rome we vnderstand an aâ—…sembly or vnited consent of these westerne Churches among which the Church of Rome hath bin honored as a Mother Church in which respect all these Churches as they are vnited are sometimes called the Romane Church In which sense also I find that distinctioÌ„ obserued between the Church of Rome the court of Rome In this sense the particular Church of Rome is vnderstood a part and member of this and the Pope hath alwayes beene vnderstood as subiect to this Church and not aboue it 65. Now that distinction which before wee haue obserued betweene the Church of Rome on the one side and the Pope with his flatterers on the other side is noted also by the same Author For of the Church he saith thus Opiniâ—… omnium mortuorum est si opinio vocari debet quae idoneis confirmatur authoritatibus quia Rom. Pontifex vniuersali 〈◊〉 subiectus existâ—… That is It is the opinion of all that are dead before vs if it may be called an opinion which is confirmed by such pregnant authorities that the Pope is subiect to the vniuersall Church In which words he declareth the iudgement of the Church which was before his time But speaking of the Pope with his flatterers he saith Sunt aliqui siue auids gloriae fiue quod 〈◊〉 praemia exspectent qui perigrinas quasdam omnino nouas praedicare doctrinas caeperunt ipsumque summum Pontificem ex Iurisdictione sacri concily demere non vâ—…rentur excaecauit â—…os ambitio That is There be some who either because they are greedy of glorie or because by flatterie they hope for rewards begin to preach certaine straunge and altogether new doctrines they are not afraid to exempt the Pope out of the Iurisdiction of an holy Councell ambition hath blinded them This is the religion which the Iesuites would make so auncient heere is their high antiquitie In the time of Aenaeas 〈◊〉 who wrote in the yeere one thousand foure hundred and fiftie their religion is called an absurd a new and a straunge doctrine herein Siluius is a witnesse without exception for so much of their religion as concerneth the Papall Iurisdiction which is in summe all the religion of the Iesuites When thus it is marked and marked by a Pope their mouthes are stopped for euer For he doth deliuer the sense iudgement and religion of the Church in his time faithfully and freely against which testimonie no exception can be taken 66. And that these men that haue brought in this newe straunge monstrous religion may be throughly knowen and no doubt or scruple left behinde hee describeth them thus Alius dicit quod primam sedem nemo iâ—…dicabit quod 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Augusto neque ab omni clero nec à regibus c. iudicars valeat 〈◊〉 â—…ere non veretur Rom. PontificeÌ„ quamuis animas 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ad inferos trahat nullius reprehensioni fore subiâ—…ctum Nec considerant miseri quia quâ—… praedicant tantopere verba aut ipsaâ—… summorum Pontificum sunt suas fimbriâ—…s extendentium aut eorum quieis adulabaâ—…tur That is One saith that no man may iudge the first sea that he may not be iudged either of the Emperour nor by all the Clergie nor by Kings c. Another is not ashamed to affirme that though the Pope should draw innumerable soules with himselfe to hell yet no man ought to reprooue him Neither doe these wretches consider that these doctrines which thus they would aduâ—…nce are either the wordes of the Popes themselues inlarging their fringes or the words of their flatterers Then in his iudgement it is cleere that the Church on the one side held the truth euen till his time in this point of Iurisdiction and on the other side the Pope and his flatterers maintained as he calleth them new and straunge doctrines of Iurisdiction It is well to be obserued that 〈◊〉 Siluiâ—… before he was Pope could so freely condemne this Papall
Iurisdion And was hee trow you a Lutheran verily so was the Church in his time for he doth deliuer not so much his owne priuate iudgement as the iudgement of the Church in his time and in the times before him For he saith it was the iudgement of all that liued and died in the Church before him 〈◊〉 mortuoruâ—… that the Pope is to be iudged by the Church by a Councell and that therefore the Councell is aboue the Pope This faith he is the opinion of all that liued and died in the Church And yet hee knew well that Friars and flatterers had before his time maintained the contrary but these he regarded not because the Church then regarded them not they were but of base and vile accompt in respect of the Church and so much the more vile because against the iudgement of the auncient Church against the rules of interpretation against honestie and conscience they had drawen some textes of Scripture to maintaine this Papal Iurisdiction These are they whom these learned men call 〈◊〉 miserable and wretched soules who will not vnderstand that all this which they bring for the Popes Iurisdiction is nothing but the vain words of the Popes themselues or of their flatterers 67. Now seeing the Pope with his flatterers hath much preuailed since this time against the expectation of these learned men must we not conclude that they haue herein made a departure from the Church that they are but flatterers who now follow the Pope that they were neuer accompted otherwise by the grauer sorâ—… of the Church of Rome that their opiâ—…ions are new and strange Thâ—…n with what countenance can the successours of Aenâ—… 〈◊〉 pâ—…t vpon vâ—… the imputation of heresie who follow the ingenuous free and sincere iudgement of the same Siluiuâ—… leauing these opinions whiâ—…h are confessed by him to be new fond straunge vnreasonable deuises of base flatterers and maintaining the 〈◊〉 truth which by the testimonie of these men alwayes continued in the Church This man with many moâ—… will be raised vp in the day of iudgement against this present generation consisting onely euen by the confession of their own Bishops Cardinals and Popes of the Pope and his flatterers forsaking the fellowship of the Church 〈◊〉 is the ground of their conscience For let me speake onely of this part of their religion which now I handle that is Iurisdiction and what ground can any man finde here whereupon he may rest his conscience Let them not bring vs an idle and impertinent discourse of their three conuersionâ—… which in good time by the grace of God will be reuâ—…rsed but let them come to the point and let them shewe in this particular what ground of conscience any man may haue to rest on for the Popes Iurisdiction which was crossed contradicted and inhibited by the auncient Fathers confuted by the learned men of the Church of Rome condemned by the Councell of the Church of Rome maintained by none â—…ut such as are thus notoriously branded with the ignominious titles of flatterers 68. And because the Pope and his flatterers for spâ—…aking of them I must vse this name and stile which so many writerâ—… of the Church of Rome haue vsed before me let â—…hem not blame me or thinke that I 〈◊〉 them I vse but the words of these other writers whom I haue cited These men I say being driuen in argument from all helpes hauing no meanes to answere the learned that disputed against them did vse to flie for helpe to these words of the Gospell Thou art Peter and to thee will I giue the keyes of the kingdome of heauen and I haue prayed for thee Peter that thy faith faile not and such like the same Author declareth that they did altogether abuse and peruert these places of Scripture against the sense of the wordes and against the expositions of the auncient doctors For thus hee saith Eâ—… quia huiusmodi dicta solutionem habent recurrunt statim ad Euangelium tu es Petrus tibi dabo claues regnicâ—…lorum rogaui pro te Petre ne deficiat fides tua duc in altum rete c. Quâ—… omâ—…ia hi homines miro modo sublimant expositionibus sanctorum doctorum omninò posthabuis That is And because these words conteining their reasons aâ—…e all answered they flie presently to the Gospell thou art Peter and to thee will I giue the keyes of the kingdome of heauen and I haue prayed for thee Peter that thy faith faile not and cast thy net into the deepe c. All which these men after a marueilous maner raise vp to extoll the Pope reiecting altogether casting behind theÌ„ the expositions of anâ—…ient doctors Then we haue one Pope full of our side for he assureth vs that this new strange wresting of these textes to aduance the Popes Iurisdiction standeth wholly against the expositions of the auncient Fathers Aenaeas Siluiuâ—… in the same booke speaketh much in the honour of the French Cardinall of Arles as an especiall admirer of his vertues Lodouicus Cardinalis Arelatensis saith he Uir omnium conâ—…tantissimus ad gubernationem generalium conciliorâ—…m natus That is A man of all other moâ—…t constant and one that was borne for the gouernment of general Councels One testimonie I would produce of this Cardinall and then wee haue three Cardinals for vs Cameracensis Cusanus Arelatensis This Cardinall in the mids of the Councell of Basil professed that the doctrine of the Popes Iurisdiction ouer generall Councels was a new doctrine and strange at that time in the Church â—…ardinalis Arelatensiâ—… saith he aiâ—… Eugenianos nuntios implesse Galliam qui 〈◊〉 doctrinam praedicantes authoritatem Romani Pontificis supra generalia concilia magnifacerent 69. After all this when we finde that Cardinall Bellarmine and the rest of the Friars and flatterers haue nothing to say for the Popes Iurisdiction but that which is condemned by these learned men as a newe and straunge doctrine in the Church haue no other reasons to maintaine this their new doctrine then the peruerting of these texts of Scriptures which distorting of Scriptures is expresly censured by the said learned men as standing against the naturall sense of the words and against the expositions of the ancient Fathers writing of those Scriptures when we find not one or two or a few but the cry of the whole Church against them who is able by any shew of learning to auoid our conclusion that they who thus maintain this Papall Iurisdiction are the followers of their forefathers that is onely Friars and flatterers And that we who denie this Papall Iurisdiction giuing to the Church on the one side and to Soueraigne Princes on the other side their proper distinct auncient rights respectiuely belonging to each of them are the followers and the children of our forefathers that is the true ancient vnchaunged Catholicke Church FINIS Iob. 7. 1. Uitruuius lib. 9. cap. 3. Caluin in Amos
gouernments I meane Ecclesiasticall and Temporal be directed by coactiue power there is no difference in the point of Iurisdiction betweene Temporall and Ecclesiasticall authoritie For the King and only the King is to appoint iudges in matters Temporall and Ecclesiasticall the King hath no more authoritie in reuersing the iudgement of the one then of the other being true iust and lawfull So that the Kings Iurisdiction standeth not in a power to dissanull true and righteous iudgemens but in a power supereminent by which he is charged First to confirme lawes Ecclesiasticall and Temporall Secondly to place Iudges for both causes Thirdly to see that those iudges of both sortes iudge iustly according to right and equity Fourthly to punish them if they shall be found to giue vniust and corrupt sentences Fiftly and last of all his Iurisdiction appeareth in appellations 7. But heere a question will be moued whether a man may appeale from an Ecclesiasticall iudge to the Prince For that one may appeale from a Temporall iudge I suppose it is not doubted at least I see no reason why it should be doubted But in a cause Ecclesiasticall and from a iudge Ecclesiasticall to appeale to the Temporall Magistrate of this some Romish Doctors doubt This doubt which the Canonists haue made may be increased by that place Deu. 17. 10. Thou shalt not decline from that thing which they shall shew thee neither to the right hand nor to the left And that man that will do presumptuously not hearkning to the Priest that standeth before the Lord thy God to minister there or vnto the iudge that man shall die It might seeme to be collected hence that there is no appellation from the Priest no though hee should iudge as some Rabbins expound the words I will declare their exposition because it sauoureth much like the expositions of some Papists where the text saith thou shalt not decline to the right hand nor to the left they expound it that if the Priest shall say thy right hand is thy left or thy left is thy right this sentence thou must receiue and therein rest 8. But this is a fond assertion not only without reason but against the expresse words of the Scripture for it is said according to the law which shall teach thee and according to the iudgement which they shall tell thee thou shalt doe Where we finde two rules for these two kindes of Iudges the Priest and the iudge the sentence of the Priest must be according to the written lawe the sentence of the other according to the truth of iustice and iudgement If a man be able to shew that he is wronged he may vndoubtedly appeale to a Superiour now a man may be able to shew that he is wronged if hee can shew that the Priest declineth from the law of God which is appointed his rule or the Temporall iudge from iustice And therefore if there be a Superiour in the land he may appeale but if there be no Superiour he is without remedie as when Hely was both Priest and iudge from him at that time there could be no appellation but where the forme of a kingdome is established where one King is set vp in lawfull authoritie by whose power iudges Spirituall and Temporall are placed in his dominions heere appeareth a fountaine of Iurisdiction deriued as it were into two inferiour riuers and from these inferior powers appellation may be brought if they shall not in their sentences keepe their rules prescribed to them the lawe and iustice for the appellation being grounded vpon the lawe of Nature to moderate the peruersitie and partialitie of iudges it were an absurd thing to denie this in causes Ecclesiasticall vnlesse a man would suppose that persons Ecclesiasticall may not be corrupt in their iudgements Now if we shall once graunt appellations then assuredly wee confirme the Iurisdiction of Princes in all matters wherein appellation may bee made to them And because Iurisdiction is assuredly proued by appellation we will for the farther manifestation of the truth seeke to cleere this point the rather becâ—…use our aduersaries tell vs confidently that in matters Ecclesiasticall all appellation belongeth to the Pope The Popes say so and they beleeue them we hold that appellation in causes Ecclesiasticall is to bee directed to the King who is by God set ouer the persons appellant 9. In the Old Testament we haue fewe examples or none that I remember of any that appealed from any inferior iudge Ecclesiasticall to the Soueraigne but in the New Testament there is one example sufficient to confirme the truth S. Paul being accused for causes Ecclesiasticall appealed from the high Priest to Câ—…sar Therfore it is lawfull in matters Ecclesiasticall to appeale from iudges Ecclesiasticall to the Ciuill Magistrate The consequence resteth vpon this that Saint Paul heerein did nothing but that which he might doe iustly and lawfully which thing I suppose the greatest enemie of Saint Pauls Doctrine will not denie for he came vp to Ierusalem with this profession and purpose I am ready not to bee bound onely but euen to die for the name of the Lord Iesus Neither durst he for sauing of his life giue a scandall to the Gospell The antecedent consisteth of these two parts First that the matters for which Saint Paul was accused were matters Ecclesiasticall Secondly that therein he appealed from the high Priest both are witnessed by the expresse words of the Scripture For Festusâ—…aith â—…aith They brought no crime against him but had certaine questions against him of their owne superstition and of one Iesus which was dead whom Paul affirmed to be aliue These questions be out of doubt Ecclesiasticall euen in the iudgement of our aduersaries that he appealed from the high Priest reskuing himselfe from his iudgement it is euident by the words in the twentie three Chapter where the Apostle speaketh to the high Priest as to his iudge Thou sittest to iudge me according to the law And when he was reskued from the Priests by Lysias and sent to Felix and left by him to Festus he neuer thinketh of appealing from any of theâ—…e ciuill gouernours But when Festus asked him if he will goe to Ierusalem and there be iudged of these things then Pâ—…ul vtterly refusing the high-Priest appealed to Câ—…sar by which it followeth that in matters Ecclesiasticall a man may appeale from iudges Ecclesiasticall to the Soueraigne Prince Whereupon this vndoubtedly followeth that there resteth Soueraigne Iurisdiction in the Prince And therefore the Popes their flatterers vnderstanding well that Supreame Iurisdiction could neuer bee prooued to rest in the Popes vnlesse first Appellation should be made to them wrought by all subtilty as hereafter we shall declare by right or wrong they neither cared nor spared to cause Appellations to be made to them which thing when once they had obtained that in all causes Ecclesiasticall Appellation might be made to the Popes then and not before
this opinion was r◅olued that Supreame Ecclesiasticall Iurisdiction was in the Popes And therefore we prouing that Supreame and last Appellation doth by the law of God belong to none but to the Soueraigne Prince conclude vndoubtedly that Supreame Iurisdiction belongeth to him onely 10. Heere a question may be mooued whether Saint Paul did well and orderly when he appealed to Caesar and whether Caesar was made iudge of these questions which were Doctrines We aunswere Saint Paul had no meaning to make C◅sar iudge of any point of faith But whereas hee was persecuted by the high Priests who sought his life in this matter of coactiue power Saint Paul giueth Iurisdiction to Caesar. There is also a difference betweene that power which heathen Princes haue and that which Christian Princes haue for heathen Princes haue all power coactiue whatsoeuer the cause be and without this helpe the Church could neuer deale in matters of this nature Christian Princes besides this coactiue power haue also as appeareth in the gouernment of Israel externall discipline in matters Ecclesiasticall 11. Thus we haue declared the distinct right of the King and the Priest after that they were distinguished by the written law of God we haue prooued that the Soueraigne Iurisdiction coactiue resteth in the Prince by a right which God hath giuen and therefore may not be taken away by man It followeth to consider how this right hath beene accordingly exercised by the godly Kings of Israel Ios◅ commanded the people to be circumcised and not Eleazerus the cause was Eccles◅ticall but to command in such causes declareth iurisdiction Dauid reduceth the Arke he appointeth Priests Leuites Singers Porters to serue at the Tabernacle he assigneth Officers of the sonnes of Aaro◅ All which being matters Ecclesiasticall the Prince as hauing soueraigne authority in both causes ordaineth Solomon buildeth the Temple and consecrateth it Asa remoueth Idols and dedicated the Altar of God that was before the porch of the Lord. Iehosaphat abolisheth Idolatry cutteth downe the groues sendeth Priests and Leuites to teach in Townes and Cities Setteth vp Iudges both ciuill and Ecclesiasticall and commandeth both to iudge according to godlinesse truth and Iustice. Because in the words of Iehosaphat these things are distinctly deliuered we will obserue the whole place The wordes are these And hee set iudges in the land throughout all the strong Cities of Iuda Citie by Citie And said to the Iudges take heed what you doe for you execute not the iudgement of man but of the Lord and he will be with you in the cause and iudgement Wherefore now let the feare of the Lord be vpon you take heed and doe it for there is no iniquitie with the Lord our God neither respect of persons nor receiuing of reward Moreouer in Ierusalem did Iehosaphat set of the Leuites and of the Priests and of the chiefe of the families in Israel for the iudgement and cause of the Lord and they returned to Ierusalem And he charged them saying thus shall you doe in the feare of the Lord with a perfect heart And in euery cause that shall come to you of your brethren that dwell in your Cities betweene blood and blood betweene Law and precept Statutes and iudgements you shall iudge them and admonish them that they trespasse not against the Lord that wrath come not vpon you and vpon your brethren And behold Amariah the high Preist shall be the chiefe ouer you in all matters of the Lord. 12. From which words we collect thus much concerning ◅he Kings Iurisdiction and the things wherein it consisteth ◅irst the King appointeth and placeth both Temporall and clesi◅sticall Iudges and commandeth and chargeth them so placed to execute their functions faithfully we inferre vpon this command in both alike that hee hath Iurisdiction ouer both causes But here let me remember a trifling obiection which some of our aduersaries haue deuised of late they would distinguish betweene command and Iurisdiction For they deny not but that all sortes of persons are vnder the Kings commaund and gouernment whom he may command each to doe their Office and yet they vtterly deny the Kings Iurisdiction and tell vs that command and Iurisdiction must not be hudled vp together Now let vs consider what hudling is in this when the Kings command and his Iurisdiction are set as things depending and cohaering one to the other When we say the King may command we meane plainely as we speake that the King hath from God lawfull authoritie to command and to punish them that breake his command This is the common vnderstanding of the Kings command But these Romish sophisters when they say the King may command do not vnderstand neither will they acknowledge at any hand that the King hath lawfull authoritie from God to punish the breach of his command for they vtterly deny that the King hath any authoritie to punish a Clarke though he should breake his commandement And call you this a command The King may command and goe without as the saying is This is the deuils sophistry taken vp by men hardned against shame content to stoupe downe to gather vp the meanest and basest shifts to dazell the simple The Iesuites resolue of this as of a truth most soundly concluded in their schooles That the King may not punish Ecclesiasticall persons that the Kings Court may not heare examine and iudge them though they should commit murders adulteries robberies or what other wickednesse soeuer And yet they tell vs that the King may command them Now to say one thing and yet to let the world see that they are resolued in the contrary this sauoreth strongly of the spirit of illusion when reason learning honestie and all faileth yet well fare a bold and hardned face which neuer faileth this generation 13. The truth is if the King haue not lawfull authority to punish he hath not lawfull authoritie to command and punish he cannot vnlesse he hath authority to iudge or cause iudgement to be done so that they who take away from the King power to iudge persons Ecclesiasticall take from him power to punish and consequently power to command but the Doctrine of the Papists this day as shall hereafter appeare in his due place taketh from the king power to iudge per sons Ecclesiastical therefore they rob him of power to punish and to cōmaund for nothing can more strongly take away the Kings command then to deny him power to punish and to iudge And yet they are not ashamed to tell vs that they deny not the kings cōmand but his Iurisdiction Then to leaue these men with their absurd and perplexed contradictions where the King ◅ay command he may iudge and punish the breach of that command and therefore his Iurisdiction appeareth in his lawfull authority and command Then by this charge and commaund of Iehosaph◅ is declared his Iurisdiction in these causes wherein he hath this authority
extraordinary example that wee see rather that Salomon doth mitigate the ordinary punishment of that crime which Abiathar had committed Moreouer to punish or to release the punishment of treason belongeth not to the office of a Prophet but of the King but Salomon in this action punishing the treason of Abiathar releaseth some part of it All which proue the distorted shift of Tortus to be so vaine and shamelesse that the blushing Hat of a Cardinall is not broad enough to couer the shame In these things and in supreame appellation standeth Ecclesiasticall iurisdiction which by diuine right was placed in these Kings and by them practised CHAP. IIII. Externall Coactiue Iurisdiction was not left by Christ to his Church nor practised by the Church all that while that the Church was without Christian Magistrates wherein is declared the Iurisdiction of the Church and of Bishops that the power of excommunication proceeded not to Coaction NOw let vs make search in the Church of Christians wherein we will consider first the state of the Church after it was called by Christ and his Apostles and gouerned by the Fathers for the space of the first three hundred yeeres in all which time no Christian was the Soueraigne Magistrate In this time it will be to good purpose to search the Iurisdiction of the Church for this is the time wherein it will most cleerely appeare And Christ that appointeth all times states for his Church appointed that all this time she should be without Princes for her nourcing Fathers that by wanting it so long we might vnderstand the greatnesse of this blessing But when the Church of Rome grew insolent by abusing this blessing taking the right of Princes from them and thereby remouing the ancient bounds of the Ordinances which God had set of old then it was not to bee marueiled that such iudgements followed of blindnesse and ignorance among the people of confusion and contempt vpon Princes and Kings which iudgements haue beene so famously apparant in the sight of the world But let vs proceed to the examination of the Churches Iurisdiction for if we consider what Iurisdiction Iesus Christ left to his Church it will consequently appeare what Iurisdiction is in Ciuill Princes for all that Christ gaue not to his Church remaineth with Princes 2. The places from which they would prooue Iurisdiction are these Mat. 18. Whatsoeuer you shall binde on earth shall be bound in heauen And whosoeuers sinnes you retaine shall be retained Now these places make no proofe of this Iurisdiction which is in question For all Popish writers that I could see vpon this question acknowledg these Scripturs not to be meant of externall Iurisdiction coactiue which is our question but of the inward power of remitting of sinnes practised within the court of conscience by the power of Gods spirit and declared by the Priest and ordinarily practised in excommunication or otherwise The greater condemnation deserueth that Catholike Diuine who to disprooue the Iurisdiction of Princes and to proue the Popes pretended Iurisdiction bringeth these places of Scripture which speake of neither Other places they cite as that Thou art Peter and vpon this rocke will I build my Church and I will giue to thee the keyes of the kingdome of heauen And Simon louest thou mee feede my Lambes c. These and such like places they bring to proue the Popes Iurisdiction All of this sort are throughly handled with exact iudgement and learning in that worthy conference written by Doctor Raynolds of blessed memory which booke as a gantlet of one of the worthies of our Church hath lien long betweene vs and the host of the Philistims and none of our adueâ—…saries hath had the courage to take it vp and to aunswere it 3. It is sufficient for vs to pleade that none of the auncient Fathers did euer expound these Scriptures thus or did euer dreame of such senses as they haue found of late out of their owne decretall Epistles It is sufficient that some of their owne best learned writers yea some of their most learned Popes before they were Popes haue with such learning and iudgement refuted their new deuised expositions of these Scriptures as that from themselues and out of their owne mouthes God hath drawen testimonies to ouerthrow these carnall and absurd expositions of Scriptures Iohn Gerson saith that these texts thus by the Popes flatterers applied to prooue his Iurisdiction are vnderstood by them Grossé non secundum regulam Euangelicam And Aenaeas Siluius hath with great life and learning ouerthrowen these grosse and corrupt expositions of whom we shall speake hereafter in due place where it will fully appeare that these expositions of Scripture are by the learned free and iudicious men of that side acknowledged to bee inuented by flatterers as the same Pope Pius the second witnesseth to be new and straunge and to be vrged by miserable and wretched soules which will not vnderstand that these challenges of their Iurisdiction are nothing but either the words of the Popes themselues that would inlarge their fringes without measure or of their flatterers who being blinded by ambition and caried with the winde of vaineglory doe flatter the Popes in hope of reward Though now those flatterers haue gotâ—… the vpper hand in the Councell of Trent and haue vsurped the name of the Church who before were alwayes esteemed a base company standing for the Popes Iurisdiction against the graue and learned men of that Church 4. Then for the places of Scripture which they bring for this Iurisdiction we say with their owne best learned men that they are in that sense wherein they vse them new deuises drawen of late by strange and absurd contortions into this new flattering sense by the Popes flatterers against the auncient expositions of the Fathers and Doctors of the Church Concerning the Iurisdiction which Christ left to his Church let all the Scriptures be searched and there will nothing be found of externall Iurisdiction consisting in power coactiue but all that Christ left was partly yea principally inward and spirituall power partly externall for establishing doctrines of faith and good order in the Church by Councels determinations iudicature spirituall censures excommunication deposing and dispatching of the disobedient so farre as the Church could proceede without coactiue power For by this spirituall power without coaction the Church was called faith was planted diuils were subdued the nations were taken out of the power of darkenesse the world was reduced to the obedience of Christ by this power the Church was gouerned for three hundred yeeres together without any coactiue Iurisdiction But what coactiue power may worke in the Church without this we haue a lamentable experience in the present court of Rome falling away from the truth and from the comfort of the spirit and therefore from the true vse of the power of the spirit of God when the Popes being destitute of this
Theodoret rehearseth a Dialogue betweene Constans the Emperour and Liberius Bishop of Rome who afterward for feare and through weakenesse and irksomnesse of his exile was drawen to subscribe to Arianisme as witnesseth Hierom Ruffinus Platina and other In that Dialogue these words are worth the noting Constans willing Liberius to forsake the Communion with Athanasius and to condemne him Liberius his answere is Ecclesiastica iudicia cum summa iusticiae obseruatione fieri debent quare situae pietati places iudicium cogi impera vbi si damnandus Athanasius videatur sententiam illum ordine modoque Ecclesiastico feratur nam fieri nequit vt condemnetur à nobis de quo iudicium datum non sit That is Ecclesiasticall iudgements ought to proceed with exact obseruation of iustice Therefore if it please your Godlinesse command a Councell to be called wherein if Athanasius seeme worthy to be condemned let sentence passe against him in Ecclesiasticall order and manner For it cannot be that by vs hee should bee condemned seeing wee haue no authoritie to iudge him The Bishop of Rome here confesseth first That Iudicia Ecclesiastica Ecclesiasticall iudgements are to be appointed and established by the Emperour then he graunteth him Ecclesiasticall Iurisdiction and granteth that to call a Councell belongeth to his Iurisdiction Secondly the Emperour cannot make a man an hereticke but this must be done by a Councell or by the iudgement Ecclesiasticall This being a thing not of coactiue Iurisdiction but of knowledge in the word of God Thirdly the Bishop of Rome renounceth all right and authority of iudicature vpon Athanasius therefore in those daies hee had no Iurisdiction ouer other Bishops 6. This mixt Iurisdiction which now is practised by Bishops began in the time of Constantine So Nicephorus witnesseth Constantinus Clericos omnes constitutione lata immunes liberosque esse permisit iudiciumque iurisdictionem in eos Episcopis si ciuilium iudicum cognitionem declinare vellent mandauit quod Episcopi iudicassent id robur autoritatem sententiae omnem habere debere decreuit That is Constantine by an edict graunted the priuiledge of immunity to all Clerkes and graunted to Bishops iudgement and Iurisdiction ouer Clerkes in case they would decline from the courts of ciuill Iudges and he decreed that whatsouer the Bishops iudged that should stand in all strength and authority of a decree Sozomen declareth by what occasion it grew first For some began then to appeale from ciuill iudgements to Ecclesiasticall and some Bishops receiued the appellations which thing being approued by Constantine gaue great authority to this kind of Iurisdiction Episcopi saith he in causis ciuilibus sententias pronuntiarunt si qui à iudicibus ciuilibus ad eorum autoritatem appellassent Quam rem propter venerationem Episcoporum adeò approbauit Constantinus vt ratas haberi pâ—…tioresque quam aliorum iudicum sententias nec minus quam ab ipso imperatore essent pronunciatae per Magistratus milites Magistratuum ministres ad effectum perduci lege edixerit That is Bishops pronounced sentence in ciuill causes if any appeaed to them from ciuill Iudges This thing for the reuerence of Bishops Constantine approued so much that hee ordained by Law that these iudgements should be ratified and of greater authority then the sentences of other Iudges yea to be held of â—…o lesse force then if the Emperour himselfe had pronounced â—…hem so to be executed by the Shriefs their seruants 7 By which it appeareth that these courts with this Iurisdiction were vnderstood then no other then the Emperours courts The Emperour graunteth this Iurisdiction saith Nicephorus the Emperour ratifieth these iudgements saith Sozomen the Emperour commaundeth that the sentence of the Bishop should be euery where receiued as if it proceeded out of his owne mouth Which words are well to be obserued For the Emperour commaundeth not that the Bishops sentence should be receiued as a diuine sentence but only as an humane not as proceeding from the mouth of God but as proceeding from the mouth of the Emperour Now if these Courts were then so euidently proued to be the Emperours Courts our aduersaries may acknowledge their owne ignorance folly who make declamations and many idle discourses without solid proofe against them that call Ecclesiasticall Courts the Kings Courts as if this were a thing new strange and neuer heard of before these late yeares Their error is that common Sophisme which filleth most of their bookes which Aristotle calleth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 compounding confounding those things which we distinguish and which are distinct in nature For in this word of Iurisdiction they confound these two distinct things both that which is spirituall Iurisdiction yeelded by vs the right of the Church and all that also which Princes haue giuen to Ecclesiasticall Courts such as these priuiledges which Constantine gaue to Bishops Courts and other Princes since haue continued and enlarged If these things be not distinguished the truth can neuer appeare in this question by this the Reader may vnderstand who they are that hide and deface the truth by new varnishing of olde rotten Sophismes 8 Then all coactiue Iurisdiction came into the Church from the authority of Princes for as the power of the Church is internall and spirituall so externall and coactiue power was the right of Princes To this purpose Eusebius reporteth a speach of Constantine at a banquet calling himselfe a Bishop for things externall as they were for matters internall His words are these Vos quidem eorum quae intus sunt in Eccle sia agendâ—… ego vtro eorum quae extra hanc sunt Episcopus à Deo sum constitutus And whereas Iurisdiction is best knowne by appellations it hath been often seen that froÌ„ the Pope men haue appealed to a councel as hereafter we are todeclare but from a councel we find no appellation to the Pope but to the Emperor for some personall wrong Athanasius being vniustly condemned by the Synod of Tire appealed to Cinstantine as Socrates witnesseth In like sort Flauianus appealed to the Emperour when the Synod of Capua had referred his cause to Theophilus and the Bishops of Egypt Yea the heretiques themselues in those dayes knew no means to appeale from the Emperour Augustine saith that Donatus did still appeale to the Emperour being condemned by the Bishops and by Synodes And so religious were these auncient Bishops in preseruing the Emperors Iurisdiction and yet maintaining the truth without feare that when they were oppressed by Arians and by the power of an Arian Emperour yet they would vse no other meanes then these direct meanes And therefore the Bishops hauing a purpose to condemne the Arians craued a counsell of Valens an Arian Emperor who granted them a counsell at Lampsacum wherein they condemned the Arian doctrine So that without the Emperour they would not gather a counsell though it were to
quarrell I purpose to handle and discusse in the next Chapter in his proper place Theodoricus de Niem writing of this councell and of the end and purpose of those that held it saith that this Synod was gathered purposely to search out the auncient vses lawes and customes of the Empire and Church that each power knowing their owne limits the one might not encroach vpon the other Celebrata est saith he ab 153. viris religiosis Episcopis Abbatibus c. ab vniuersis regionibus et oramibus almae vrbis à cuncto etiâ—…m Clero huius sanctae Rom. Ecclesiae ex quirentibus vsus leges mores eiusdem Ecclesiae et imperij That is It was celebrated by one hundred and fifty three religious men Bishops Abbots c. by all the regions and degrees of the City of Rome by all the Clergy of this holy Church of Rome making search and inquisition for the vses lawes and customes both of this Church and of the Empire Then we see that Charles recouered some part of the auncient Iurisdiction of the Empire Which notwithstanding since his time the Popes by inuincible contentions wrested from the Emperours chalenging it to be a part of their owne Iurisdiction and charging the Emperours with Heresie and Schisme for practising that right which other Popes before them acknowledged to bee the auncient right of the Empire 14 And because to the Iurisdiction of Princes it belonged of olde both to call councels and to confirme them therefore Charles did not omit this part of Iurisdiction though as the euent declared it was much against the Popes pleasure He called a Synod at Frankford wherein was condemned the doctrine of worshipping of images which doctrine the Pope had late before confirmed The occasion hereof grew thus Leo Isaurus Emperour being much offended that the Saracines had that great and iust exception against Christians that they worshipped images called a Synod at Constantinople wherein the worship of images was condemned and the images burned He sent also to the Bishop of Rome as then Gregory the second commaunding him to doe the like if he would haue his fauour saith Paulus Diaconus Gregory the second tooke this in suâ—…h indignation that he rebelled against the Emperour and raised all Italy into a rebellion by which meanes the Emperour lost all that then was left in Italy Gregory the second in the middes of these stirres died and Gregory the third succeeded who prosecuting the purpose of his predecessour called a Synod at Rome in the yeare seuen hundred thirty three by Sigebert seuen hundred thirty nine by Palmerius In this Synod the doctrine of worshipping images was confirmed Leo the Emperor was excommunicated and depriued Thus began the Pope to practise a new Iurisdiction in deposing Emperours After this Constantine sirnamed or rather nick-named Copronimus in the yeare of Christ saith Sigebert seuen hundred fifty fiue called a Synod at CoÌ„stantinople wherein the worship of images was againe condemned But another Synod was held at Rome by Pope Stephen the third in the yeare of Christ seuen hundred threescore and eight wherein the worshipping of images was againe approued Which was more famously confirmed in the yeare of Christ seuen hundred foure score and eight by another Constanstine and his mother Irene who called the second Nycen Synod wherein Imagerie preuailed much by the helpe of Pope Hadrian 15. Vpon these stirres Charles the great was moued to call a Synod at Franckford Thither sent Pope Hadrian the acts of the second Nicen Synod to be approued there and to direct this Synod at Frankford if they would take any direction from the Pope But the Fathers of this Synode not regarding the Popes direction tooke a meane course betweene the Greekes who destroyed and defaced images and the Church of Rome which maintained the worship thereof For they decreed that it was not impious to set vp images but to giue any worship to them this they held to be vtterly against Christian faith and to be a thing receiued from the superstition of the Gentiles This Synod was called and confirmed by Charles the great Then belike the Pope had not gotten all Iurisdiction ouer Kings which now he claimeth For the Emperour called Synods not the Pope Neither as then had hee gotten Iurisdiction ouer all Bishops because we see many Bishops were found in Germany France Aquitany and England for all these Nations Charles nameth in his letter to Elepandus Metropolitane of Tolet as fauouring and maintaining the trueth against the worship of images which resisted the Pope in this matter so that his great and soueraigne Iurisdiction was not then established 16. About this time that most worthy most religious and learned King Alfred raigned in England Aser Meneuensis writing his life entituleth him Omnium Britanniae insulae Christianorum rectorem Which title doth not much differ from that which is now in part giuen to the King supreame Gouernour of all persons Ecclesiasticall For whereas at this day the discipline of the Court of Rome exempteth Clerkes from the Kings Courts and consequently from the Kings gouernment it appeareth that in King Alfreds time this thing was vtterly vnknowne to the world therefore this King is called and acknowledged to bee the Gouernour of all Christians within his dominions Now because Bishops and Clerks were Christians he was hereby questionlesse vnderstood the gouernour of Clerkes aswell as of others As then all forraine gouernement and Iurisdiction was excluded by that title so nowe there is no other thing sought but in like sort to exclude all forraine power and Iurisdiction whether the Popes or any other At this time whe n King Alsred liued and raigned the sense iudgement and vnderstanding of the world was no other but that Kings were supreme gouernours of all persons and caufes Ecclesiasticall and Temporall within their owne Dominions Ivnderstand gouernment here as throughout this question I haue often admonished gouernment or power coactiue for this exemption of criminous Clarkes from their Kings Courts was a thing vnknowen in the world in those dayes And therfore whereas it is commonly taken by our aduersaries who vse to begge such principles as they cannot prooue that the religion sense and iudgement of the world ranne wholly for the Iurisdiction which now is practised in the Court of Rome this wee vtterly denie For we are able to shew when the sense iudgement and religion of the Church was against them in euery part of their pretended Iurisdiction For first whereas the Pope claimeth Iurisdiction ouer Bishops this is one part of his Iurisdiction and is now the sense and iudgement of the Court of Rome but in the times of the sixt and seuenth Carthaginian Councels of the Affrican and Mileuitan Synodes at this time I say and alwayes before the religion sense and iudgement of the whole world ran contrary If any obiect that these were not generall Councels but prouinciall I
an Oath to stand to the Popes iudgement that at the pleasure of the Pope before the triall of his cause he should be ready either to leaue or to retaine his Kingdom that he should vse no Princely habite or ornament in the meane time that hee should not vndertake any part of gouernement that he should not exact an Oath of Allegeance of his owne subiects that hee should neuer reuenge this wrong vpon the Pope When he had thus hampered the Emperour with an Oath and with such strange and mercilesse conditions such is the Popes mercy where he is Master behold a stratagem a president of humility godlinesse patience mildenesse of a Pope he set vp Rodolph Duke of Sueuia against him in battell 40. The Popes hauing once extorted an Oath of the Emperour were desirous vpon such presidents to make lawes for they had no other meanes to build vp their Iurisdiction therefore when as first by force they extorted some Oathes afterward they set such examples in their Canons and last of all they expounded those Oathes which sometimes Emperours tooke to be Oathes of Allegeance to the Popes For this purpose there is a Canon in the Clementines Clement the first confesseth that Henry the seuenth Emperour refused the Oath which he would haue imposed vpon him and so doe other stories witnesse that the Emperour refused to take that Oath But if we will beleeue Clement in his Canon Henry afterward yeelded to that Oath but would not acknwledge that it was an Oath of Allegeance because the Emperours neuer sweare Allegeance to Popes but Popes to Emperours therefore Clement in that Canon declareth that these which some Emperours yeelded to some Popes were Oathes of Allegeance Declaramns saith he iuramenta praedicta fidelitatis existere censeri debere That is We declare that the foresaid Oathes are and must be accounted to be Oathes of Allegeance 41. By this we see how highly they would aduance the hornes of this Iurisdiction And still we finde this confirmed that the Oath which is giuen to the Pope is vnderstood an Oath of Allegeance And to certifie vs yet more fully of their meaning it is set downe not onely as a law in their Decretals but published as an ordinarie Ceremony which al must take knowledge of In the booke of their Ceremonies it is said that an Oath is to be ministred to all Emperours before their Coronation and before they enter the territories of the Romane Church The Oath is there thus set downe I will exalt the Pope secundum meum posse vitam hee shall neither loose member nor honour by my will councell consent or exhortation In Rome I will make no Decree or ordination of any thing that belongeth to his Holinesse without his councell In the same booke and place before cited it is said that Fredericke the third Emperour tooke that Oath 42. In this Mysterie of Oathes they haue proceeded so far as to exhibite an Oath not onely to the Clergie but to the temporall subiects of other Princes whom they may poyson and peruert by reconciling them to the Pope which as it is a practise most dangerous to them that are so taken and insnared as Birds in the net of their owne destruction so is it no lesse pernitious for such Princes from whose obedience these are drawen whereby the Pope seemeth to bring the question of Iurisdiction to an issue with the Princes of Christendome whether he shall ouerthrow them or they him for it is not possible that both should stand vp together for what is left to Princes if their Crownes and the hearts of their subiects be taken from them Or what is it that Princes can haue a more tender feeling of then of their Crownes and of the hearts of their subiects And what is more forcible to steale away the hearts of subiects from their Prince then to binde them with an Oath of Allegeance to another Prince Then these men that haue bound themselues by an Oath to the Pope how is it possible they should performe true Allegeance to the King For that the Oath which is exhibited to the Pope is an Oath of Allegeance and fidelity the Popes themselues by their Decretals haue assured vs. And if you will seeke it out this you shall finde to be the true reason why Pope Paulus the fift in his late Breues hath forbidden the Recusants of this land to take the Oath of Allegeance to the King because they haue taken an Oath of Allegeance to the Pope Now it is not possible that a man should performe Allegeance to two Soueraignes if one be vassal to the other happily one may hold Allegeance to two as for example a Tenant may sweare homage to his Land-lord and to his Prince also but this cannot be done to two Soueraignes And if one shall take an Oath of Allegeance to diuers Lordes it is concluded that if the Pope be one of those Lords he must be obeyed before all other whatsoeuer Then it is not a Fatherhood in the Church that the Pope striueth for but a power ouer Princes by weakning and vndermining their authority withdrawing the hearts of subiects exacting an Oath of Allegeance of all whom they can reconcile and not permitting their Conuerts to take an Oath of Allegeance to their owne Soueraigne Princes And because we find that moderate and conscionable Papists as Master Hart in the conference with Doctor Reynolds and such like being driuen to vnderstand the cause aright cannot chuse but iustifie our cause and will not yeeld to the Pope a Princehood ouer the world but onely a Fatherhood of the Church not graunting to him a power to depose Princes confessing also that the power which we giue to Princes is not vnderstood of themselues for they before they will vnderstand our cause thinke that wee meane to giue as much to the Prince as they doe to the Pope therefore we haue reason to rest herein assured that if the Iesuites entred not into the Popes battels with a Pontificall furie the Pope would vtterly be forsaken in this wherein all moderate spirits haue already forsaken him or if hee would relinquish this part of the quarrell which hee maintaineth against temporall Princes happily he might make himselfe much more stronger then he is or possibly can be by following this coâ—…rse But as the end is not Religion but a worldly Principality that they shoot at so the meanes which they vse are not the courses of moderation conscience and religion but of force and furie they will haue all or loose all Wherein the wisedome of the Iesuites will be called into great question for setting the Pope vpon such desperate courses at least for being the onely instruments of these new and furious practises which doubtlesse will in the end make an end of his Kingdome §. IIII. Of Inuestitures 43. HAuing spoken somewhat of the meanes whereby this Iurisdiction was sought wee are now to speake of the
of the Popes Canons which vse the same word shall it be thought a sufficient refutation on the other side to say the word was not then vsed and bring no reason thereof Then this thing was vsed in Charles his time and the name of Inuestitures knowne The same thing was vsed long before Charles his time but not vnder the name of Inuestitures This name and the ceremonie of a staffe and a ring came in by the Lumbards Then whether we consider the thing without this new name and ceremony or with it wee finde it alwayes the Princes right Thus Sigebert is iustified the truth tried and the Knaue knowne 62. Now to come to the Kings of England as their authority was no lesse then the authority of other Princes in their Kingdomes so more we seeke not And therefore whereas a certaine Catholique diuine telleth vs that Henry the first chalenged Inuestitures as vsed by his father and brother before him whereof yet saith he we finde no expresse proofe or example in any of our Histories that they had vsed them much lesse that they were lawfully graunted how strange is this dealing beseeming none but such as he is For is not this proofe good and sufficient when the King chalengeth no more then that which was in fresh memory and vse in his brothers dayes and fathers When wee finde so many testimonies of Story of Councels of Popes that there was no other right of giuing Inuestitures knowne through Christendome then the right of Princes shall base persons quarrell the testimonie of a King founded vpon such proofes Let the world iudge of the learning of him who writing hee knoweth not what will tell vs that the sense deuotion and iudgement of the world was neuer to the contrary fancying conclusions like a dreamer not prouing like a disputer Now touching the particular of Henry the first it is certaine that hee began no new custome but Pope Paschalis the second began to debarre him from that ancient custome and right which he and his Elders had alwayes vsed 63. For thus Roger Houeden reporteth In the yeare of Christ one thousand one hundred and three a great dissention grew betweene King Henry and Anselme Archbishop of Canterbury because the Archbishop would not consent that the King should giue Inuestitures of Churches Neither would he consecrate those Bishops to whom the King gaue them Because the Pope had forbid him all the rest to do so Quia Apostolicus saith he sibi omnibus interdixerat And againe he saith Quibusdam ad hoc nitentibus vt Rex eas faceret more patriâ—… fratris sui non iuxta praeceptum obedientiam Apostoliei Because the Pope had forbidden him the rest c. Some perswaded that the king would make Inuestitures after the custome of his father and brother and not according to the precept and obedience of the Pope Where note that it is not the Kings allegation that this was his fathers and brothers right but it is a truth acknowledged by Hoâ—…eden maintained by the Barons denied by none Against which there was nothing then known but onely the new Precept of Pope Paschalis The same Author declareth also that these customes and prerogatiues were not imposed by the King but sought out with exact care diligence by the Bishops Barons iointly For speaking of these customes in the time of Henry the second he recordeth an Epistle which the Bishops of the Prouince of Canterbury wrote to Thomas ' Becket wherein they testifie thus much Ne super his contentionis funis traâ—…eretur in posterum noticie publica delegari ad iuratis itaque per sidem per eam quae in Deum spes est maioribus natu Episcopis alijsque Regni maioribus retroacti temporis insinuato statu dignitates requisitae palam prolatae sunt summorâ—… in Regno virorum testimonijs propalatae Least this occasion of contention should proceede any farther heereafter it was brought to publique triall Therefore the most auncient Bishops and other Barons of the Kingdome tooke an Oath by their faith and by that hope which they haue in God to make a true search whereupon looking into the times past the priuiledges of the Kingdome were sought out and published and divulged by the testimonies of the greatest persons in the Kingdome Then these customes and auncient priuiledges of the Kings were sought out by the grauest and most learned of the Bishops and Barons they were sworne to deliuer the trueth as they should finde it in the auncient Records of the land After all these expresse proofes a masked Romane Catholique telleth vs that no proofe heereof is found in all our Stories If this mans Catholique diuinity were examined as when opportunity serueth it shal be it will appeare that it consisteth of extreme confidence and impudency patched vp with a fewe smooth words without knowledge of Diuinity or of solid learning 64. After this Calixtus held a councell at Rhemes wherein hee condemned all Inuestitures taken from a lay hand With this Pope Henry the second King of England met in conference at Gisars in Fraunce The King pressed the Pope that he might noâ—… be disquieted in his auncient right that the auncient Lawes and customes of his Kingdome might be kept inuiolable as in the time of his progenitours they were The Pope hauing nothing to say against these auncient customes drew the King into another matter intreating the Kings fauour for Thurstinus Archbishop of Yorke that he might be restored to his place for the King had depriued him The King answered that he had sworne the contrary The Pope replied but I am Pope and if you will doe as I bid you I will absolue you from your Oath Ego Apostolicus sum sifeceris quod ego postulo ab hâc fidei sponsione te absoluam This was the olde practise of abusing Kings And it was not much to be meruailed if some kings were then blinded when they were led by such guides Houeden doth likewise declare that the Decrees of that Councell of Rhemes were sent to the Emperour Henry The Emperours answere was Nihil in his se praetermissurum quod sui iuris esset suorumque sibi contulit antiqua consuetudo progenitorum That is That he would loose no part of that his right which the auncient custome of his progenitours had conferred vpon him And afterward saith Houeden other things he graunted Ultimum vero scilicet Inuestituram rerum Ecclesiasticarum concedere noluit The last thing that is to say Inuestitures of Ecclesiasticall dignities he would in no case graunt Then it appeareth that antiquity custome and the right of their progenitors stood for the Princes of this age and against them was nothing but the bare will and new commaundement of the present Popes herein falling away not onely from the auncient vse before but from the sense knowledge confession and iudgement of the auncient Popes 65. I stay the longer vpon this
point and am more willing to search the truth herein because it is a matter of especiall importance concerning this question of Iurisdiction which wee seeke to know For Robert Persons the masked Catholique diuine confesseth in effect thus much that if wee can proue that Inuestitures belong to temporall Princes we haue in his iudgement questionlesse obtained the cause for which we striue Let me set downe his owne words Three things saith he do concurre in making of a Bishop by diuine and Canon law to wit election confirmation and consecration The first to wit election when it is iustly made doth giue right to the elected to pretend the second and third c. Yet can he not vpon his only Election exercise any part of his office of a Bishop either in Iurisdiction or order But when he hath the second part which is confirmation and induction to the benefice which is properly called Inuestiture then hath he Iurisdiction vpon those people and may exercise the Acts thereof by visiting punishing or the like but not the Acts of order vntill he haue consecration also that is to say he cannot make Priests nor administer the Sacrament of confirmation c. And a little after he saith the second which is confirmation and giuing of Iurisdiction must onely proceede from him that is the fountaine of all spirituall Iurisdiction vnder Christ which is the Bishoppe of Rome or some Metropolitane or Bishoppe vnder him that hath authority and Commission from him Thus much the Catholicke Diuine 66. I forgiue many particular escapes in this short discourse not spending time in the examination of by-points I would meete him there where he thinketh himselfe strongest For where he saith confirmation which also he calleth induction or which properly as he graunteth may be called Inuestiture giueth Iurisdiction this we yeeld And then heere wee ioyne issue with olde Sir Robert in that part of his Collection whereon he layeth his greatest hold and are content to trie the whole cause thereon whether Inuestiture which by his confession and the doctrine of his Church and the consent of all giueth Iurisdiction belong of ancient right to the Pope or to temporall Princes If he be able to proue by any auncient full cleare vnsuspected witnesse that the Popes within the space of the first thousand yeares or before Hildebrand either had that right or did practise or so much as challenge that right I will for my part yeeld the cause and will confesse mine errour if thus much be euidently euicted But seeing we haue proued by vndoubted Histories by the consent of Popes themselues by the Decrees established in Councels that this was an auncient right of temporall Princes called Prisca consuetudo by Pope Stephen Antiqua consuetudo by another that the contrarie was neuer heard of vnder any Christian Prince confessed by Gregory the first Then hath he reason either to yeelde vs the cause wholly or to reuoke his wordes againe that Inuestiture giueth Iurisdiction 67. Then the right of Inuestitures standing as the auncient right of our Kings being neuer questioned in Christendome before the time of Pope Gregory the seuenth neuer questioned in this land before the time of Henry the first that King had reason to pleade the vse of his father and brother for himselfe because it being a thing quietly possessed by them was out of doubt peaceably inioyed before them because before them the Popes neuer made title thereto Now concerning the tumults warres blood and confusion in Christendome both in the Church and temporall states which for this quarrell the Popes procured for fiftie yeares together as Malmsbury witnesseth of this it is not my purpose to speake It is enough for mee to open the time when it began and before which time it was neuer challenged by any Pope and to declare that the Popes late practise is condemned by the Iudgement of the auncient Church §. V. Exemption of criminous Clerkes 68. OVr purpose being to take a suruey of that Iurisdiction which we finde challenged by Popes at and somewhat after the time of the Conquest of England at what time the Popes power was at the highest we are to consider in the next place Exemption of criminous Clerkes for as Inuestiture of Bishoppes began then to be claimed so about these times crept exemption of the Popes Clerkes which is taken to be another part of this Iurisdiction My purpose is not to speake of lawfull exemption of the Clergie for both Diuine and humane lawes approue such immunities without which how could the Clergie attend vpon their heauenly businesse These immunities which Emperours and Princes haue giuen to the Church the Church ought to inioy without disturbance and to withdraw such immunities were high sacriledge and impiety against God and his Church But the question is not of these immunities which Christian Kings haue giuen to the Church but of those immunities which the Pope without the leaue or authoritie of Princes hath bestowed out of his fulnesse of power vpon the Clergie which liue vnder the gouernement of other Princes by which the Clergie inioyed a protection from punishment for any sinne This is the thing for which they are not ashamed to striue euen at this day as earnestly as they did in the midst of blindenesse This thing will be better knowne if we search the originall foundation of this errour from the beginning and the occasion by which it grew in the Church For now this opinion is and for some late hundred yeeres hath beene so rooted in the Court of Rome that the Clergie though neuer so much offending by murther treason theft robberies or such like is priuiledged from all temporall Courts of Princes and punishment from the Laity vnlesse first the Church proceede against them and make them no Clerks that they are perswaded both of the truth and antiquity hereof as of a point of faith the occasion grew thus 69. The first auncient and famous Emperours did out of their godly and zealous affections and as we may well iudge vpon good reasons to helpe the Church and to preserue discipline ioyne the aide of their coactiue lawes to the spirituall censures of the Church ordeining that whosoeuer by the gouernours of the Church could not be brought to obedience and order should by the seuerity of temporall punishment be reduced to obedience The vsuall punishment which Emperours did inflict vpon Clerkes was deportation So did Constantine the great punish Eusebius Bishop of Nicomedia and Theognius Bishoppe of Nice And albe it some were threatned with capitall punishment as appeareth by a Letter which Constantine wrote to the Bishoppes of the Nicen Councel recorded by Socrates and inserted in the first Tome of Councels yet the vsuall censure of the Emperour was exile This kind of punishment was often inflicted by other Emperors vpon Bishops the examples are famously knowne and acknowledged I need not to speake of them Insomuch that it began to be
it must be before his Bishoppe if he will accuse the Bishoppe it must be in a prouinciall Synode if he will draw a Metropolitane to answer for some things which he hath done it must be either before the Primate or before the Bishoppe of Constantinople All this we graunt to be orderly established the things intended are matters of Ecclesiasticall Cognisance which are to bee heard in such Courts but our question is of Clerks that are conuinced to be murtherers or Traytors c. Whether such are to bee exempt from triall at Common Law Of which exemptions these auncient Bishops neuer dreamed 76. It is moreouer to be noted that diuers of these places which he citeth as that from Sulpitius of S. Martin and from Ambrose c. are vnderstoode of another thing and not of exemption of Clarkes at all For the auncient Bishops as before I haue declared thought it not lawfull that matters of faith and doctrine should be determined in ciuill Courts by ciuill Magistrates This is true and this is that which those testimonies speake of but what is this to criminous Clarks that Robbers Traytors murtherers of the Clergy should be protected by reason of their Order from triall in Kings Courts this is a doctrine neuer knowne to the auncients It was first knowne in England in the dayes of Henry the second stirred seditiously by Thomas Becket Archbishop of Canterbury when as before that time it was neuer heard of in this land The manner heereof I will briefly recite out of Roger Houeden 77. In the yeare of Christ 1163. the contention concerning exemption of Clerkes grew famous betweene King Henry the second and Thomas Becket Archbishop Rex volebat saith Houeden Presbyteros Diaconos Subdiaconos alios Ecclesiae rectores si comprehensi fuissent in latrocinio vel murdra vel felonia vel iniqua combustione vel in his similibus ducere ad saecularia examina punire sicâ—…t laicum Contra quod Archiepiscopus dicebat quod si Clericus in sacris ordinibus constitutus vel quilibet alius rector Ecclesiae calumniatus fuerit de aliqua re per viros Ecclesiasticos in curia Ecclesiastica debet iudicari Et si conusctus fuerit ordines suos amittere sic alâ—…enatus ab officio beneficio Ecclesiastico si postea forisfecerit secundum voluntatem Regis baliuorum suorum iudicetur That is The King required that Priests Deacons Subdeacons and other Rectors of Churches if they were taken in murther robbery felony burning of houses or such like should be brought to secular Courts and there punished as Lay-men were Against this the Archbishop affirmed that if a Clerke being within holy Orders or any other Parson of a Church were accused of any thing he must be iudged by Ecclesiasticall Iudges in the Ecclesiasticall Court and if he were conuict he should loose his orders And so being excluded from office and benefice Ecclesiasticall if after this he incurred the like fault then might he be iudged at the pleasure of the King and his Officers Thus farre Houeden 78. This manner of degrading and afterward deliuering criminous Clarkes to the Secular power crept in about the time of the Conquest Bellarmine pretending greater antiquity for it can neither bring reason nor testimony for his opinion For whereas he saith Eusebius Bishop of Nicomedia was first deposed by the Nicen Councell and afterward banished by Constantine by this offering to proue that they must first be deliuered to the Secular power before the Magistrate may punish and reproueth Caluin for not considering thus much We answere Bellarmine sheweth his skill in shifting and hiding the truth to deceiue the simple For Caluin in that place which he citeth against this Romish immunitie proueth two things First that coactiue power is in the hand of the Prince and not of the Church Ecclesia cogendi non habet potestatem de ciuili coactione loquor saith he Secondly that criminous Clarkes had no immunities from the ciuill Courts of Princes Now that Bellarmine saith Eusebius was first deposed by the Councell and then banished is nothing against Caluin but for him For the Church did not inflict the coactiue punishment of banishment but the Emperour And Caluin proueth at large in the same place that Kings and Emperours haue no authority to iudge in causes of faith Producing the example of Ambrose who in such a cause resisted the Emperour Valentinian Such a cause was that of Eusebius the Emperour knew not whether he was in fault or not before the Church had iudged the cause But Caluines iudgement and our question standeth in two thinges against which Bellarmine doth not so much as speake one word First that coactiue power was not then in the Church but in the Emperour Secondly that criminous Clerkes were then punished by the Magistrate Eusebius is not there proposed as a criminous Clerke but as an example wherein the coactiue power of the Magistrate appeared But now they say if a Clerke bee proued to be a felon murderer traytor c. the Kings Courts may not censure this man before he be degraded Against these immunities wee speake for which Bellarmine offereth not any proofe Let the manner of Bellarmines answering bee considered for it is easie for him thus to answere Caluin and all Protestants when he toucheth not the point in question but singling out of some peece from the whole wresteth that also from the true intent that he may shape a mis-shapen answere to it Then we say that before those desperate times wherein Iohn Wiclife saith and often affirmeth that Satan was loosed no man claymed such a beastly priuiledge as to be exempt from the Kings Lawes for murder treason and such like Godlinesse reason and the light of Nature seemeth to be extinguished in these men that being contented to take the benefite of Lawes will not be contented to bee ordered by Lawes This hath forced some Princes and States to ordaine Lawes that such should be out of the Kings protection Thus did that noble Prince Edward the third King of England Wherein the King seemed to open the true way to his successors to deale with these men for seeing as then they did so now they doe denie themselues to be the Kings subiects and affirme that neither by Diuine nor humane right they are bound to obey the King with his coactiue Lawes and that they are onely vnder the subiection of the Pope that for no crimes they are to bee examined in the Kings Courts is it not great reason that the protection of the King and of his Lawes should bee denyed to them that reiect both 79. Houeden declareth also that in the yeare one thousand one hundred sixtie foure the King called a Synod and required the Bishops vpon their allegeance to receiue his Graundfathers Lawes to vse and obserue them Thomas Becket answered for him and the rest they would keepe all the Lawes
of his auncetours Saluo in omnibus or dine suo honore dei saâ—…cta ecclesiâ—… This clause was thought new scrupulous and offensiue The King would haue him yeeld without exception but the Archbishop would not In this contention Philippus a Legat from the Popes side came into England by him the Pope and all the Cardinals commanded the Archbishop to yeeld to the King without exception whereupon hee did so but afterward reuolted from that promise Hence a new contention began but being againe perswaded hee promised obedience to the Kings Lawes The King to hold fast this slippery Merchant required all the Bishops to fet to their approbation and seales to those Lawes Hereunto when other assented the Archbishop swore that hee would neuer set his seale to them nor allowe them Afterward the Archbishop suspended himselfe from celebrating Masse and desired to goe to Rome but the King denied him The Bishop of London accused him of Magick The King perceiuing his rebellious disposition required the Barons to giue iudgement of him that being his subiect would not be ruled by his Lawes Cito facite mihi iusticiâ—…m de illo qui homo meus ligius est stare iuri in curia mea recusat As the Barons were attending this seruice and now ready to giue sentence I prohibite you quoth the Archbishop in the behalfe of Almighty God to giue sentence vpon me for I haue appealed to the Pope And so he departed Omnibus clamantibus saith mine Author quo progrederis prodiâ—…er exspecta â—… iudicium tuum The Archbishop after this stole away out of the land changing his apparrell and name for hee called himselfe Deerman The Archbishop thus conueying himselfe out of the land came to the Pope and shewed him a Copy of these Lawes which the King called his Grandfathers Lawes When the Pope heard them reade in the presence of his Cardinals and diuers others he condemned the Lawes and excommunicated all that maintained them Condemnauit illas in perpâ—…tuum anaâ—…hematizauit omnes qui eaâ—… tenerent alâ—…quo modo fauerent saith Houeden 80. Thus did the Popes then stirre to aduance their spirituall Iurisdiction as they called it to such an height that the Kings of the earth who are set vp by God to iudge the world could not execute iustice and iudgement vpon offenders might not be suffered according to the commaundements of God to take vengeance of murtherers robbers incendiaries traytors might not execute that office for which onely they beare the sword Now because the deuotion sense and iudgement of all ages is pretended to be for the Popes Iurisdiction and against the Kings let vs obserue the iudgement of the men that liued at this time We shall finde in all this question of Iurisdiction and of these exemptions in particular that the king was iustified and the Archbishop condemned The Kings auncient Iurisdiction acknowledged the Popes new Iurisdiction and the Archbishops disobedience disallowed and abhorred of all For all the Bishops of the Prouince of Canterbury wrote a letter to the Archbishop the letter is extant in Houeden Therein they entreat him to yeeld to the King they commend the Kings care and zeale for the Church They testifie that the king requireth no more of him then the due honour which his ancestours haue alwaies had Rex a Domino constitutus pacem prouidet subiectorum per omnia vt haâ—…c conserâ—…et Ecclesijs commissis sibi populis dignitates regibus ante se debitas exhibitas sibi vult exhiberi exigit The King ordained by God prouideth his subiects peace by all meanes that he may preserue this in the Churches and people vnder him hee requireth and exacteth that Iurisdiction which was due and exhibited to the Kings which were before him They charge him with rashnesse and furious anger for suspending and condemning the Bishop of Salisbury and the Deane before any question of their fault was moued Ordo iudiciorum nouus say they hic est huc vsque legibus eanonibus vt speramus incognitus damnare primum dâ—… culpa postremo cognoscere This is a new proceeding of iudgements and as wee hope vnknowne in Lawes and Canons to this day first to condemne a man and last of all to know the fault 81. And that the iustification of the King in this cause and the condemnation of the Archbishoppe might be made more euident to all the world the same Suffraganes that is all the Bishops of the Prouince of Canterbury wrote to Pope Alexander the third to whom they giue a worthy famous testimonie of the Kings iustice temperance and chastitie declaring that the King could not be suffred to execute his Princely office nor effect his good and godly purposes in execution of Iustice for the filthinesse of some of the Clergie Rex say they fide Christian ssimus in copula â—…oiugalis castimonij honestissimus pacis iusticiae coÌ„seâ—…uator dilataâ—…or incoÌ„parabiliter strenuissimus hoc voâ—… is agit totis in his feruet desiderijs vt de regno suo tollantur scandala cuÌ„spurciâ—…ijs suis eliminentur peccata pax totum obtineat atque iustitia c. Qui cum pacem regnisui enormi insolentium quorundam Clericorum excessu non medioâ—…riter turbari cognosceret c. That is The King in faith most Christian in the bond of matrimoniall chastity most honest for preseruation and dilatation of peace and iustice without comparison the stoutest doeth with great zeale and affections desire this that scandals may be remoued out of his Kingdome that sinnes with their filth may be banished c. and finding the peace of his Kingdome not a little troubled with the enormous excesse of some insolent Clerks c. And thus they proceede declaring wherein those strange exemptions stood which then began first to bee knowne in the world For say they if a Clerke should commit murder c. the Archbishoppe would haue him punished onely by degrading but the King thought that punishment not sufficient for establishing of peace and order and for execution of iustice Hiâ—… non dominationis ambitâ—… non opprimendae Ecclesia libertatis intuitâ—… sed solummodo pacis affectu eò Rex progressus est vt regni sui consuetudines regibus ante se in regno Angliae à personis Ecclesiasticis obseruatas pacificè reuerenter exhibitas Dominus noster Rex deduci vellet in medium That is Hereupon not through ambition of Domination not with any purpose to oppresse the liberties of the Church but onely in a zeale of peace the King proceedeth thus farre as that hee will haue the customes of his Kingdome now brought to open knowledge which Ecclesiasticall persons haue obserued and peaceably and reuerently exhibited vnto the Kings of the kingdome of England before him And a little after Haec est Domini nostri regis in Ecclesiam Dei toto orbe declamata crudelitas hac ab eo persecutio That is
coactiue power to the spirituall Iurisdiction of the Church This is the meaning of the imperiall Constitutions that are in this manner set forth by Emperors of religions and doctrinall matters For the Emperours neuer tooke vpon them by their authority to define matters of faith and Religion that they left to the Church but when the Church had defined such truthes against Heretiques and had deposed those Heretiques then the Emperours concurring with the Church by their imperiall Constitutions Sicque Diuina 〈◊〉 â—…umana concurrentia saith Iustinian in the same place vnam consonantiam rectis sententijs fecere did by their coactiue power giue strength to the Canons of the Church Aâ—…d thus was the Church then gouerned by the Canons of auncient approued Synodes for matters of faith and doctrine and by the Constitutions of Christian Princes for matters of externall coactiue Iurisdiction That Constantine by whose authority the sixt Synod was held at Constantinople declareth that the Canons of the fiue generall Councels adding this second Constantinopolitan to the other â—…ouce were the rules or Canons of the Church 86. So long as those Canons of auncient Councels stood for Church lawes executed by the Bishoppes who were the Gouernours so long the Gouernement of the Church stood vp in peace order and Godlinesse one Bishoppe incroached not vpon the Iurisdiction of another But after that the Pope had intruded vpon the Iurisdiction of the Church and was growen so great as that by coactiue power hee was able to maintaine his intrusion then began hee to giue lawes such as are comprised in the Decretals of Gregory the ninth who was Pope in the yeare one thousand two hundred and thirty the first publisher of those lawes which were continued by 〈◊〉 the eight 〈◊〉 fift Iohn the two and twentieth 〈◊〉 by some other Popes vnto the yeare one thousand foure hundred and eightie for then liued Sixtus the fourth whose Decrees are published in that part that is called extraâ—… Commun since which times those lawes haue beene in some force in diuers nations where they did not crosse the imperiall lawes of those nations nor the Iurisdiction of the Kings thereof Now seeing that the Popes Iurisdiction is so much set forth and aduanced by these Canon lawes let vs in few wordes examine how he came to this Iurisdiction to giue lawes and by what right he maintaineth it If any man haue right to make and giue lawes this right must either be from God giuen him or from men who haue had this right before in themselues for euery man cannot giue this right but onely such as haue it and haue power to giue it But the Pope receiued not this right of giuing lawes to all Churches from God for God hath no where giuen any such Commission to him The ancient Bishops of Rome either did not claime any such Iurisdiction or if any were carried by leuity and ambition out of their bounds they were presently recalled and repressed by the godly Bishoppes of that age As Anicet was by Polycâ—…rp Victor by 〈◊〉 Polyâ—…rates and the other Bishoppes of Asia Zozimus Boniface and 〈◊〉 by S. Augustine and the Affrican Bishoppes so that the Bishoppes of Rome could neuer be suffered to make lawes to the Church for one thousand or twelue hundred yeares after Christ therefore this right was not from Christ. 87. For if it had beene from Christ then should the Pope haue beene suffered to haue practised the same before twelue hundreth yeares were expired For the godly auncient Fathers did neuer withstand the Bishop of Rome in any Iurisdiction which hee could claime from Christ. But in this thing it is knowne that they withstoode him therefore this Iurisdiction whereunto after so many hundreth yeares hee intruded himselfe against the iudgement of the auncient Fathers who resisted him heerein is not from God Neither can this right bee claimed from man because they who chalenge it will haue it to be a diuine right not humane And they quarrell vs for that we admit that temporall Princes may haue such Iurisdiction so that they vtterly denie that this Iurisdiction is deriued from any humane power Now he 〈◊〉 to execute Iurisdiction which is neither giuen him from God nor man must needs be conuinced to be an intruder and to come in his owne name and consequently to fulfill that Scripture I came in my Fathers name and you receiue mee not If another shall come in his owne name him you will receiue Which the auntient Fathers expound of the comming of Antichrist in his owne name And what more pregnant proofe can be brought of this his comming in his owne name then is this intruding himselfe into a Iurisdiction which he had neither from God nor from the Princes of this world And because the Pope after one thousand and two hundred yeares had no more right to giue Lawes to the Church then in former ages he had therefore this Iurisdiction is vnlawfull which by these Lawes hee practiseth Wherein onely defacto he is found to doe that whereunto he neuer had right 88. Moreouer if Bellarmine haue declared the true conditions of iust and lawfull Lawes it will followe that the Canon Lawes are no iust Lawes Bellarmine confesseth that foure conditions are required in a Law to make it iust the first is drawne from the end for it must be referred to the common good for herein saith Aristotle a King differeth from a tyrant because a King respecteth the common good of his subiects but a tyrant looketh onely vpon his owne priuate profit and thus saith Bellarmine doth a iust Law differ from a tyrannicall Law Then are the Popes Canon Lawes proued tyrannicall and vniust because they respect not the common good but the priuate wealth of the Pope as all those doe that draw all appellations to him The second condition which in Bellarmines iudgement maketh a Law iust is drawne from the efficient For it must be from a man that hath full authority Nemo enim potest legem imponere â—…nsibi subdiâ—…o saith he By this it will likewise follow that the Popes Canons are no iust Lawes because the Pope hath no authority to make such Canons binding them that are not his subiects as we haue declared before The third condition that maketh a Law iust is drawne from the matter saith 〈◊〉 for it must not forbid vertue nor commaund vice but the Canon Lawes are such as forbid vertue and commaund vice as appeareth by all those Canons that proceede with their non obstante I will note one example of many There is a Canon that runneth thus Quum aliquibus recipiendi aliquem in Canonicum alicuius Ecclesiae non obstantibus ciusdem Ecclesiae priuilegijs consuetudinibus vel statutis â—…uramento confirmatione Apostolica vel quacunque firmitate alia roboratis per nostras literas concedimus facultatem c. That is When wee graunt power to any by our letters to receiue any to be
a Canon in some Church notwithstanding the priuiledges of that Church the customes to the contrary or statutes confirmed either by Oath or by Apostolicall confirmation or by any other strength c. By this Lawe as by many other it appeareth that the Popes Canons allowe that men should goe against their owne Oathes when the Popes letters doe commaund them so to doe Which is a forbidding of things honest iust and godly and commanding thinges euill and vnlawfull Therefore these Lawes forbid vertue and commaund vice and are consequently no iust Lawes in the iudgement of Bellarmine 89. The last condition that in Bellarmines opinion is required to make a Law iust is drawne from the forme Because saith hee the Law must keepe that proportion in distributing honours which the Subiects haue in the Common-wealth For example saith he if the Pope should make a Law that onely rich and noble men should be made Bishoppes and not poore and meane men otherwise more learned and more worthy this Law were simply vniust but it is certaine that the Popes Lawes are such I speake not here of their corrupt practise which since the Canon lawes came in was neuer found without strong and strange Simonie but I speake of their Lawes which command it For who made that Law which saith Pallium non datur nisi fortiter postulaâ—…i The Pall is not giuen to any man vnlesse he make a strong suit What is meant by a strong suit they know best that haue purchased Palls at the Popes hand But it is certaine that a poore man did neuer purchase a Pall therefore poore men though more learned then the rich purchaser are excluded from this honour by the Law that alloweth none to make suit but such as can make strong suit then the Law is vniust by Bellarmines confession It is also an vniust and an vngodly Law which saith Though the Pope should draw innumerable soules with himselfe downe into hell yet no mortall man may presume to say to him Sir why do you so It is an vncleane Law which so strictly denying the mariage of Priests yet doth allow them to haue Concubines Many other Lawes there be of this forme So that by all those conditions which Bellarmine will haue to be requisite in all Lawes that bee iust the Popes Lawâ—…s are found to be vniust By all which is euinced that the Pope commeth in his owne name maketh Lawes to rule those Subiects ouer whom he hath no authority respecteth therein his owne ends taketh vp a new Iurisdiction which hath beene denied by the auncient Bishops and which was vnknowne in the world all the while that the Popes liued vnder the obedience of the Emperours as other Bishoppes did vnder seuerall Princes § 7. Of Appellation 90. ANother part of this pretended Iurisdiction stoode in appellation to the Pope This they haue chalenged but it hath alwayes beene denied by the Kings of this land as being a thing preiudiciall to the auncient Lawes and customes of the Kingdome The first question about appeales in this land that I can finde began by Anselme Archbishop of Canterburie in the time of William Rufus For after that some breach was made betweene the King and the Archbishop the Archbishoppe Anselme desired leaue to depart the land to goe to Rome for his Pall. The King perceiuing that hee had a purpose to appeale to the Pope Aunswered That if hee should appeale to Pope Vrban or any other for at that time two stroue for the Papacy without his leaue then should he falsifie his alleageance The King reasoned thus saith Malmsbury Consuetudo Regâ—…imes est à Patre meo instituta vt nullus praeter licentiam Regis appelletur Papa Qui consuetuâ—…ines Regnitollit potestatem quoque toronam Regni violat qui coronam mihi aufert inimicitias infidelitatem in me agit For there was contention betweene the King the Archbishop First because the Archbishop would nominate a Pope without the Kings leaue Secondly because he would appeale to the Pope Concerning this matter of appeale the same Author a little after declareth that there grew an hot contention betweene them Anselme his answere was Tues Petrus super hanc Petram c. And therfore quoth he to the King the obedience which I offer to S. Peters Vicar is not against mine alleageance to the King Thus had the Popes with a strong kind of poyson as it were so enchaunted those words of holy Scripture as to make them serue for a cloake of disobedience and breach of alleageance to temporall Princes Anselme being further vrged by the King that he had promised to keepe all the customes of his kingdome and hee was bound to performe alleageance aunswereth thus What doe you tell me that I breake mine alleageance to the King by appealing to the Sea Apostolique I grant I promised but conditionally that I would keepe those customes which are agreeable to the lawes of God and honesty And therfore where you tell me that I haue broken mine alleageance by preuaricating your laws in appealing to the Sea Apostolique sauing your honour it is not true if another had spoken it For the faith which Iowe to the King I haue it from the faith of God whose Vicar is S. Peter to whose Sea I appeale with much stirre and strife to this effect Anselme held his resolution stiffely 91. Nowe let the Reader bee entreated to compare these times with the times of the Affrican Councell and Anselme Archbishop of Canterburie with Augustine Bishop of Hippo. S. Augustine with the rest of the Affrican Councell condemned appellations to Rome as standing against godlinesse order the freedome of the Church as quenching the light of simplicitie as inducing darkenesse pride and ambition into the Church Now that which in Saint Augustines time was vngodly can it be made godly and lawfull in Anselmes time Yet Anselme we see maketh this thing the cause of God Augustine condemned appellations to Rome simply without consideration of disobedience to Princes What then would he haue done if thereunto had beene added the commaundement of his Prince against such Appellations Anselme standing for Appellation to Rome which Augustine denied and withstanding the iust and 〈◊〉 commaundement of his Soueraigne hath no other coâ—… to cast ouer the matter then the pretence of God and Saint Peters Vicar If this obedience had beene required of God to Saint Peters Vicar in Anselmes time Why was not the same required and yeelded in Saint Augustines time This is the difference betweene the opinions brought in by men and the truths of God that the one standeth alwayes the same in the Church without chaunge the other hath his times of rising and falling as this opinion of Appellation to the Pope which was so strongly reiected by Augustine found a time to rise vp betweene the pride of the Popes and the seruile flattery of some Bishoppes And what greater signe of pride in the Pope and
Persians and that of the Persians by the Macedonians and that of the Macedonians by the Romanes so shal that of the Romanes be destroyed by Antichrist and that of Antichrist by our Lord Iesus Christ. 101. By all which wee findè by the consenting iudgement of the Fathers that Antichrist must rise vp vpon the ruine of the Romane Empire And finding the power and gouernement of the auncient Romane Emperours to be vtterly ruinated by Gregory the second the title of the Empire to be taken away from those Emperours by Gregory the third the rule of the City of Rome which was the auncient seate of the Empire taken vp and surprised by the Pope the Cities of the Empire neere adioyning to Rome to bee brought vnder the subiection of the Pope by conferring the Prophesies of Scripture interpreted by the Fathers with these euents which by History are truly recorded laying one thing to another the conclusion is euident My purpose is not to speake of Antichrist but onely passing through these Stories of the Popes temporall exaltation I thought it a small labour for the Reader to compare the Prophesies of Scripture and the iudgement of auncient Fathers with the euent which fell out in the time of the two Gregories the second and third Before which time the Popes neuer entred into such furious attempts against their Soueraigne Lords the Emperours For they yeelded exact obedience to Emperours from the time of the first Christian Emperour vntill the time of Gregory the first All which while they refused not to be ruled commaunded directed by the Emperours as by their Soueraignes not onely in ciuill affaires but euen in matters concerning the externall Discipline of the Church as calling of Councels and confirming them punishing and censuring disorderous Clarkes and Bishops that offended the Imperiall Lawes and such like In such things the Emperours ruled the Popes obeyed no striuing no threatning no casting off of the yoake appeared all this while But after that Phocas had granted to Beniface the third Pope the title of Oecumenicall Bishop and that the Church of Rome should be head of all other Churches then began that starre to fall from heauen falling from the simplicity of truth from sincerity of obedience into pride ambition and noysome lusts and neuer ceased rolling downwards till at last it fell into the deepe practises of the bottomlesse pit Thus when they began to fall they had one fall after another They fell not into the practise of deposing Princes vntill the time of Gregory the third Childeric or Chilperic 102. THe Popes hauing proceeded thus farre in deposing the Emperour thought all their labour lost vnlesse they might haue those Territories made subiect to themselues from which they had expulsed the Emperor Their feare was that either the seuerall Cities would procure their owne Freedome or that some that were strongest would surprise all the rest and so a small part might come to the Popes share The Lumbards were then strongest in Italy and had soone gotten the rest vnder their Dominion To preuent their rising and to inrich S. Peter with a new Patrimonie the Popes after they had vsed the power of the Lumbards against the Emperour so now against the Lumbards begin to call new aides into Italie drawing first Pipin and then Charles against the Lumbards by whose meanes they obteyned their purpose Pipin was made King of Fraunce for this seruice and Childeric the right King was deposed by Pope Stephen saith Harmannus Contractus other attribute this to Pope Zachary Childeric was shauen and thrust into a Monastery After all this there stuck a scruple in the conscience of Pipin for he had taken an Oath of Allegeance to Childeric his Soueraigne this scruple the Pope vndertooke to remoue For saith Vspergensis Pope Stephen absolued him of his Oath which in former times he had taken to his Soueraigne Childeric Thus were these great affaires ordered and disordered the Emperour deposed his subiects raised in rebellion against him the Pope exalted and inriched by the spoiles of the Empire the French king deposed his subiects absolued from their Oathes and Alleageance another set vp in the kingdome These were practises which before this time were neuer attempted by Popes From these beginnings and examples the succeeding Popes tooke light and made rules of their Gouernement and therefore after this the world could take no rest for the Popes Moreouer after these examples of Pipin and Charles they who through ambition aspired without right or Title to kingdomes haue deuoted their seruice wholly to the Pope And what holdeth the Spaniard so stiffe in Popery but onely an hope that by the Popes authority he may inlarge his Dominions in the same sort It is to be noted also that they who thus offer their seruice to the Pope are honoured by him as the onely defenders of the Church whereas none haue spoiled the Church more then these for Paulus Aemylius recordeth that Carolus Martellus father to Pipin being then Constable of France robbed the Churches and Monasteries of France at his pleasure promising that if he should obtain victorie against the Sarracins he would bountifully repay all But after most great and rich victories he not onely repayed nothing but thrust also the Bishpppes from their Seas held the Seas empty to pay souldiers which thing brought a foule confusion vpon the Church of Fraunce yet this man for his seruice to the Pope was accounted a great defendor of the Church Henry the fourth Emperour 103. THe auncient manner of choosing Popes was by the Emperours consent after that Emperours became Christian This was practised from the time of Constantine till Hadrian the third saith Platina who maketh this Hadrian the first who altred this auncient manner he tooke the opportunity of the absense of Charles the grosse then Emperor who was so incumbred with the warres of the Normanes that he could not attend this businesse But Onuphrius in his Chronicle of Popes setteth Iohn the fift to be the first Pope that was chosen without the Emperours commaundemâ—…nt and appointing both may be well reconciled for Onuphrius speaketh of the Popes vnder the auncient Emperours Platina of the Popes vnder the French and Germane Emperours for from Constantine till Iohn the fift Pope no Pope was chosen without the Emperours consent from Iohn the fift Pope till Charles the first no Pope was chosen by the Emperours consent Charles the first recouered the auncient rights of the Empire as before we declared from his time till Hadrian the third no Pope was chosen without the Emperours consent from Hadrian the third the consent of the Emperour was not required if Plaâ—…ina say true others witnesse that the Popes were alwaies chosen by the consent of the Emperor till Hildebrand The Popes thus striuing to cast off the ancient yoake when Gregory the seuenth was chosen Pope he added vnto this practise of reiecting the Emperours consent many moe practises by blood
confirmed in the publike assembly of the States And so furious was this Vicar of Christ that himselfe led the Army vsing these words as hee went out of Rome that seeing Saint Peters keyes would not preuaile hee would trie what Saint Pauls sword could doe and so hee threw the keyes into Tiber. 157. And thus when the Princes of Christendome shall recompt their miseries the spoâ—…le and desolation of their kingdomes the ruine of auncient houses the vexation of their subiects the circumuention of their persons the exâ—…irpation and extermination of many noble families the bloody warre and by reason of warres all the troubles and calamities of Christendome then must the Pope come to remembrance with his excommunication as a firebrand in his hand taken out of the infernall pit and carried in the handes of these furies who onely hath brought all these troubles vpon the Princes of the earth so that since the time that hee began to exercise his excommunication against Princes there hath not beene much warres in these westerne parts of Christendome but such as the Pope himselfe hath raised dashing one Prince against another when first he had cast them into a deadly sleepe to make them insensible of the wrongs which hee hath done them but when they are awaked out of their sleepe they will remember all For the Popes as the great conspiratours against the States of Princes haue set Friars their resolute creatures to practise all secret treasons against the persons of Princes And because this cannot be done without great bloodshed they come resolued to shed blood like hungry wolues so headlong are they carried herein seeking a temporall Iurisdiction ouer Princes secretly by the conspiracâ—…e of Friars openly by their excommunications that if the world should stand long before the Pope with his Babylon be ouerthrowen wee haue reason to thinke that the Popes will in time vtterly cast off and reiect the maske of religion wherewith they couer their practises now and will in plaine tearmes quarrell the Princes of Christendome for their Temporall right and Iurisdiction And then will the Princes thinke it is time for them to awake CHAP. VIII Wherein is declared what opposition this Iurisdiction found in the Church after it was thus established by Popes It was confuted first by particular learned men then by generall Councels 1. AFter that this Iurisdiction thus deuised and maintained began to bee well knowen in Christendome men of learning and iudgement began to be mooued with the noueltie and examined the whole matter with care and industrie the occasion which first moued them to examine this question was the defence of this strange Iurisdiction first claimed by the Popes and afterward more fully disputed and maintained by â—…ugustinus Triumphus 〈◊〉 who was set on worke vpon this taske by the Pope For in the end of his booke we finde this written 〈◊〉 iâ—… suâ—…ma dâ—… 〈◊〉 Ecclesiasticâ—…â—…dita à frâ—…tre 〈◊〉 Triumpho 〈◊〉 in sacra 〈◊〉 magistro 〈◊〉 Eremit â—…rum sancti Augusti 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 22. 〈◊〉 M. Aâ—… 〈◊〉 1320. Where we find from what spirit this defence of this new Iurisdiction proceedeth conâ—…ing from the especiall direction of the Pope This 〈◊〉 proceedeth herein according to his direction concluding all Iurisdiction both Spirituall and Temporall to be from the Pope 2. Which thing though it seemed straunge newe absurd yet in truth 〈◊〉 could no lesse then publish for he laboureth not so much to prooue it as to publish it the Popes challenge hauing vndertaken the businesse Foâ—… the Popes before this had begunne to prescribe in their Canons so much that their flatterers had their rules now prescribed to them â—…ow farre they must stretch their consciences for the mainetenance of Iurisdiction For â—…ither they â—…ust maintaine all that the Popes had taken vpon them or else giue ouer the cause as desperate From this spirit and direction Triumphus entreth into this cause as an hireling speaking for his fee taking this ground that the Pope is as directly lord of the whole world in Temporalibus as hee is the head of the vniuersall Church in 〈◊〉 and that he hath directly Soueraigne authoritie in respect of such his worldly Dominion ouer all Emperours Kings and Princes to dispose of them and their kingdomes This opinion is now strongly maintained by the Iesuits and hath beene of late by Tho. Bozâ—…us Francisc. Bozius Card. Baronâ—…us Zecchus Carerius and other But because Triumphus is as I take it the first Friar that hath handled this question on the Popes behalfe and the learned men that first wrote against the Popes Iurisdiction haue beene mooued thereto by his writings as alâ—…o because the booke is rare to bee had I will set downe some of his 〈◊〉 poâ—…itions that the Reader may the better vnderstand what it is which they seeke and what is that against which these learned men that I am hereafter to produce doe oppose themselues 3. One poâ—…ition of 〈◊〉 is this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â—…st 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â—… Deâ—… 〈◊〉 alijs Prâ—…latis Ecclesiâ—… iâ—… quibâ—… residet potestâ—… 〈◊〉 which he proâ—…eth by such reasons as need no other reâ—…utation sauing only the recitall thereof For it was truely said of 〈◊〉 Martyr that to know and truely to vnderstand an absurd reason is a sufficient refutation thereof His reason is 〈◊〉 potestaâ—… est data in 〈◊〉 alteri per quâ—…m habet institâ—…i regulari ordinari atque 〈◊〉 si â—…ona sit per quam habet iudâ—…cari si 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sit sed talis est potestas sâ—…cularium Imperatorum regum c. Quia per potestatem Papâ—… habet institui regulari ordiâ—…ari si bâ—…a fit pâ—…r ipsam habet condemâ—…ari iudicari â—…i mala sit That power is giuen for seruice to another by which it must be instituted oâ—…dered and confirmed being good and iudged being euill but such is the power of secular Emperours and Princes c. For by the Pope it must be instituted ruled and ordered being good and by him it must be condemned and iudged being euill All the proofe that he bringeth for this is that Pope Zâ—…chary deposed the French King Câ—…ilperic and set â—…p 〈◊〉 in his place Aâ—… other reason is this Illa pâ—…testas est iâ—… 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 alteri â—…i 〈◊〉 â—…delitatis prâ—…stat ab ea 〈◊〉 esse â—…ne quod habet sed omnis potestas saecâ—…arium Principum Imperatorâ—… â—…iorum â—…st â—…alis Dist. 63. Can. cum tibâ—… 〈◊〉 That power is giuen and subiected for seruice to another to whom it yeeldeth an Oath of Alleageanâ—…e acknowledging all that it hath from the same but such is all the power of temporall Princes Emperours and such like Againe he saith thus Sâ—… 〈◊〉 quandoqâ—…e 〈◊〉 â—…mperatores deâ—…isse aliqua 〈◊〉 sumâ—…is 〈◊〉 sicut 〈◊〉 â—…edit Silâ—…estro hâ—…c non est 〈◊〉 â—…os dâ—…re quod sâ—…m est sed restituere quâ—…d iniusâ—… tyâ—…annice â—…blatum 〈◊〉 If sometimes we finde that
some Emperours haue giuen some â—…emporalities to Popes as 〈◊〉 gaâ—…e to Siluestâ—… wee must not thinke that they gaue that which was their owne but onely restored that which vniustly and tyrannically was taken from Popes These things are such that in the iudgement of all men that are not destitute of iudgment need no reâ—…utation He saith also in the same place Potestâ—… omnis 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 subâ—…legata respectu 〈◊〉 Papâ—… All power of Emperoâ—…s and Kings is to them delegated by the Popes power This is the Iurisdiction which is fought a temporall Iurisdiction ouer Princes this doctrine was deuised onely to maintaine the practise of the Popes excommunication And as this new and strange doctrine was found out for the defence of that new and strange practise so the manner of the defence is no lesse strange for he declareth that this Iurisdiction for which he pleadeth so much is not in the Pope as he is a Priest or Bishoppe but as he is a Prince It followeth then in his confession that this Iurisdiction is proper to Princes and not to Priests For thus he saith Papatus est nomen Iurisdictionis noâ—… ordinis That is The Papacy is a name of Iurisdiction and not of Order And againe Potest Papa habere omnem potestatem pertinentem ad Papam tamen â—…arere potestatâ—… ordinis That is The Pope may haue all Iurisdiction beloâ—…ging to the Pope and yet be no Priest This new doctrine teacheth great wonders that the Pope may haue all Iurisdiction and bee no Priest The Iesuites and our owne Popish Countrie-men crye out against vs for giuing Iurisdiction to such as are no Priests but onely temporall Princes It will be hard for them to accuse vs and defend their owne Doctors 4. Because this manner of maintaining the Popes Iurisdiction is grosse to set him aboue temporall Princes in temporall Iurisdiction therefore diuers since this time haue sought to mollifie this harsh manner of speech by a distinction which they haue found out of late betweene Power direct ouer Princes and indirect These men say that the Pope hath power to depose Princes not directly but indirectly in respect of some spirituall good But when they come to the application of this distinction it appeareth nothing but a Miste to dazzle the eyes of men wherein there is no simplicity or truth Bellarmine is one of those that admitteth this Distinction vpon which Distinction graunted by Cardinall Bellarmine Master Blackwel thinketh he hath a good ground for taking the Oath of Alleageance And when Bâ—…llarmine reproueth him for that he answereth him by his owne Distinction a reasonable answere aâ—…d yet such is the Mist of this Distinction that you can hardly tell whether of these two speaketh more cunningly For Bellarmine saith that the Pope hath power to depose Princes not directly but in respect of some spirituall good but when Master Blackwell saith that in his particular case the spirituall good of Catholickes was respected This Bellarmine will denie for he will say that no priuate man must be iudge of this spirituall good but onely the Pope Now let the Pope bee Iudge and then this Distinction is as good as nothing for whensoeuer the Pope deposeth a Prince or dischargeth his subiects from their Oath of Alleageance he will iudge it to be for some spirituall good So that in this vnderstanding and sense of Bellarmine there is no reall difference betweene direct power and indirect 5. In like sort when Master Blackwell saith the Pope hath power to depose Princes indirectly or in respect of some spirituall good and iudgeth the taking of the Oath of Alleageance to respect a spirituall good end giuing this reason because the refusal of this Oth wold bring vpon vs the ruines of Catholicke families the lamentable extirpation of the whole Catholicke estate among vs We say the case of this man and of those that depend vpon him is much better then the case of them that refuse the Oath but yet to drawe them a little further into the loue of obedience let vs note the imperfection of his defence We commend his action and speake here onely of his manner of defending it for the reason that draweth him to obedience and to take this Oath is not a conscience of that commaundement of God which commaundeth obedience to Magistrates but the danger of Catholickes and of himselfe which proueth an indirect obedience So that in pleading for a verball distinction of power direct or indirect they descry a reall distinction of obedience direct or indirect Now there is not much difference betweene these three opinions of them that holde the Popes direct power and his indirect power and that say his power is to respect the present danger of the Catholickes For whatsoeuer Triumphus bringeth vnder his direct power that Cardinall Bellarmine will reduce vnder indirect power so that though they differ in the manner how this power commeth to the Pope directly or indirectly yet they both are agreed that the Pope hath this power and this is also Master 〈◊〉 iudgement For remooue the danger of his Catholickes and then he hath nothing to say against this power of the Pope so that the question is not how he hath it but whether he hath this power or not Vnto which question all Romance Catholickes answer affirmatiuely and we negatiuely 6. Thus did those learned men conceiue the question that first began to handle it these later distinctions came in by such as would hide themselues in a miste and seeme to say something when they say nothing Now let vs declare the 〈◊〉 of those men that first came to the handling of this question of the Popes power after that it was fully made knowen to the world by the Popes decrees and the writings of 〈◊〉 Triâ—…phus The first occasion that set men on worke vpon the studâ—…e of this question was partly as I haue said the writings of 〈◊〉 but this occasion was â—…otoriously promoted by the vniust vexâ—…ions which the Popes offered to Lodoâ—…icke Duke of Bauâ—…re Emperour in prosecuting of their pretended Iurisdiction ouer Kings and Emperours This Emperour being persecuted by the Popes as before wee haue declared was desirous to know the iudgements of the best learned men that then liued in the world who with 〈◊〉 did search out and by learning did ouâ—…rthrowe this new sophiâ—…ent right The chiefe of them who then wrote â—…gainst the Popes Iurisdiction was Maâ—…sitius 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 Ocâ—… Of these and of some other that in one pâ—…rt or other haue conâ—…uted this Iurisdiction of Popes I am now to speake in order §. I. Obserâ—…ations out of the writings of Marsilius Pat. against the Popes Iurisdiction 7. MArsiliâ—…s about the yeere of Christ one thousand three hundred twentie and foure set ouâ—… that booke which he Intituleth 〈◊〉 pacis wherein hee shaketh the rotten and ruinous reasons of such as maintained this Iurisdiction because the booke is written with
great learning and iudgement I will record heere some obseâ—…uations of his for it seemeth that he had a purpose to reâ—…ute that former worke of Triumpâ—…us though the truth is hee nameth not Triumphâ—…s throughout all his booke concerning this point of Iurisdiction one especiall ground which hee layeth is this Ab â—…fficio principatâ—…s siâ—…e 〈◊〉 iurisdiction is 〈◊〉 soâ—… coactiuâ—… 〈◊〉 cuiuslibet in hoc sâ—…lo Christâ—…s seipsum Apostâ—…los exclusit 〈◊〉 vâ—…luit That is Christ hath excluded and purposed to exclude hiâ—…selfe and his Apostles from principalitie or contentious iurisdiction or regiment or any coactiue iudgment in this world Which thing he prouâ—…th at large both by Scriptures Fathers because Christ â—…aith his kingdome is not of this world by which words coactiue Iurisdiction is excluded as was the doctrine of Christ such was his example of obedience for he was alwayes subiect to the coactiue power of the Magistrate Thus by the â—…ound and cleere Scriptures with the expositions and iudgement of the ancient Fathers he resuâ—…eth that noueltiâ—… which had no other ground then the Popes decretals 8. Therefore he examineth the authority of the Popes deâ—…retals and giueth a learned and iuditious distinction declaring thereby how the Pope may bee obeyed or not obeyed commaunding against the Emperour for saith he if the Emperour commaund any thing against the law of God and the Pope commaund things agreeable to that law thou must ouâ—… of doubt obey the Pope and not the Emperour But if the Emperour commaund something according to his imperial law the Pope command somthing according to his decretals against the imperiall lawes no man subiect to the Emperour ought in such things to obey the Pope Which thing he proueth at large because the ciuill Magistrate beareth the sword because he is the Minister of God the reuenger of disobedience because euery soule is subiect to him Which things saith hee are not spoken of any spiritual Gouernour but of the Temporall Magistrate For the Goueâ—…nours to whom in coactiue Iuâ—…isdiction we must obey are such as by armed power defend their Countries and people which in no case can agree to a Bishop or Priest 9. By such reasons he proceedeth and proueth infallibly his purpose and conclusion that no spirituall Gouernour hath from Christ any Iurisdiction coactiue but this power is left wholly in the hands of the ciuill Magistrate And thus doth cut in sunder the sinewes of their disputations who plead for the Popes Iurisdiction which Iurisdiction they make to consist in power coactiue Of the Popes decretals which then were lately deuised Lawes against the auncient Iurisdiction of the Church as also against the Iurisdiction of Princes he saith Vt ipsi fabulantur in sâ—…is decretalibus quâ—… secundum veritatem nihil aliud sunt quà m ordinationes quaedam Oligarchicae quibus in nullo obedire tenentur Chrsti fideles in quuntum hâ—…smodi That is As they bable in their decretals which in truth are nothing but certaine Oligarchicall ordinations to which Christians are in no case bound to obey as they proceed from the Pope Wherein he deliuereth thus much that these Canon lawes or decretals ought to haue no force among Christians vnlesse they be confirmed by the lawes of the land and by Princes in their Dominions so many as Princes shall thinke fit for the gouernment of the Church in their proper Dominions may be established being established ought to be obeyed but not as the Popes laws vse but as the laws of those Princes for that is it which Marsilius saith the decretals are not to be obeyed in quaÌ„tuÌ„huiusmodi Now that all coactiue power is by God deliuered to the Temporall Magistrate hee prooueth solidly from these words he is the Minister of God to take vengeance by vengeance all coactiue power is vnderstood Neither doth he denie but that the Church gouernours may execute coactiue power but then they must haue it from Princes and from such Temporall powers which haue the same Which being expresly and distinctly written by him three hundred yeres agoe is no other thing then that which we now maintaine at which our aduersaries seeme to wonder as at some new doctrine neuer heard before when the same truth after the saâ—… manner beene maintained by the learned men that haue handled this question before vs. Nec in quenquam presbyterum saith he aut non pres byterum conâ—…enit coactiâ—…am in hoc saeculo Iurisdictionem habere quenquam Episcopum siâ—…e Papam â—…isi eadem siâ—…i per humanum legisâ—…atorem concessa fuerit in cuiâ—…s potestate semper est hanc ab ipsis reuocare That is No man Priest or not Priest can haue Iurisdiction coactiue in this world Bishop or Pope vnlesse it be granted to them by the humane law-maker in whose power it is at his pleasure to recall it from them 10. Concerning the right of calling Councels his determination is this If a cause of religion rise in question the Pope saith he may signifie the same to the chiefe Temporall Gouernour but the authority of gathering and calling the Councell belongeth to him that hath coactiue Iurisdiction and ought to bee gathered by his coactiue precept When it is gathered he leaueth the first and chiefe seat therein to the Bishop of Rome hee giâ—…eth him the honour to propose the matter to collect all together that is spoken to communicate the things determined to others and to excommunicate the transgressors And all this to doe not at his owne pleasure or vpon his owne head sed ex concilij sententia onely by the direction of the Councell This principality he yeeldeth to the Bishop of Rome and to that Church so long as thus it standeth and so long as it doth nothing to the contrary whereby this honour may be iustly withdrawen Secundum quâ—…m modum saith hee Romanae vrbis quamdiâ—… extiterit obicemque ad hoc non apposuerit populus ille c. poterit licitè ac debebit iâ—…m â—…ict a principalitas in Episcopo Eccleâ—…a continue reseruari That is According to which maner this principality may lawfully and ought to be reserued alwayes for that Bishop and that Church as long as it thus standeth and doth nothing to the contrary This honour if the Pope would haue held himselfe contented therewith might long time enough beene reserued vnto him But when this could not content him but he must haue all Iurisdiction ouer the Church and ouer secular Princes if he finde not that honour yeelded to him which hee expecteth he may thanke himselfe because he hath procured his owne contempt and by vsurpation of vndue honour he hath lost that which though it was not due to him yet from some custome was giuen might haue beene continued to this day if himselfe had not caused the Church to withdraw it For saith mine Author Licet circa 〈◊〉 Ecclâ—…sia 〈◊〉 Episcopi Ecclesiae fidelium neque diuina neque
among many and the best in the Church of Rome he declareth to be thus Secâ—… 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ecclesiâ—… 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 proâ—… 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. de Vniuersitate 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Christi But according to another signification and that most truely and properly answering to the first imposition of this name the Church is called the Vniuersall company of all faithâ—…ull beleeuers which call vpon the name of Christ. Then the Church of Rome as the Pope is the Gouernour thereof was obserued to be but a particular Church and not the Catholicke Church which conteineth all Beleeuers 21. Occham hath also written another Booke Intituled Super potestate suâ—…i Pontifieis 〈◊〉 quoâ—… decisiones From whence I will obserue some things concerning our question of Iurisdiction disputing of that which the Friars and flatterers of Popes called 〈◊〉 potestatis he handleth it so that in the conclusion he putteth the Pope downe as low as the flatterers extolled him vp on high For thus he saith Principatui optimo repugnare videtur quod principans illam habeat plenitudinem potestatis c. Nam omnes subditi hâ—…benti talem plenitudinem sunt serui secundum strictissimam significationem vocabuli serui That is It seemeth to be vtterly against the nature of the best Gouernment that the Gouernour should haue this fulnes of power c. For all that are subiects to him that hath such fulnesse are his slaues according to the most strict vnderstanding of a bondslaue And because the Pope then began to flatter himselfe strangely and to swell with those words of pride that he was to iudge all men but no man might iudge him no man might accuse him Occham represseth this swelling vanitie thus Papa potest ab homine accusari destitâ—…i deponi omnis enim accusatio est coram iudice facienda Nec de hoc debet Papa perturbari ne contra doctrinam Christi Apostolis pro se propraelatis Ecclesiae traditam velit tanquam sal infatuatum mitti foras ab omnibus conculcari ne contra praeceptum eiusdem velit pro salute eius corporis mystici vt membrum putridum amputari ne desideret ipse potestatem qua se ex charitate correptum quamuis etiam Ecclesiam non audiret tanquam Ethnicus publicanus non siâ—…at se vt carnes putridas resecari vt ouem scabiosam repellendaâ—… â stabulis expurgandum vt fermentum quod totam massam corrumpit sed velit vt sibi parcatur vt vniuersa Ecclesia ad interitum perducatur Quae omnia à desiderio Papae qui aâ—…imam suam tenetur pro subditis ponere conuenit exulari That is The Pope may be accused forsaken deposed by a man for all accusation must be before the iudge Neither must this thing trouble the Pope otherwise he might sâ—…eme to make himselfe vnprofitable salt good for nothing but to be trod vnderfoot against the doctrine of Christ deliuered to his Apostles for themselues and for the Prelates of the Church and against the commaundement of Christ to be cut off like a rotten member for the preseruation of his mysticall body And so he might seeme to desire such a power by which being reprooued in charitie albeit like an heathen and Publican he should not heare the Chuâ—…ch yet he would not suffer himselfe to be cut of like dead flesh and like a scabbed sheepe to be driuen from the folds and to be purged like leauen that corrupteth the whole lumpe But he should by this seeke that for sparing him the whole Church might be brought to ruine All which ought to be farre from the Pope who ought to giue his life for his flocke Then this man foresaw and in some sort foretold all that mischiefe which fell vpon the Church by the Popes claime of this strange Iurisdiction which Iurisdiction if once it should be obtained by the Pope then hath Occham plainely foretolde that which since this time by too great experience we haue found that the Pope would hereby prooue vnsauery salt good for nothing but to be troden vnderfoot of men a rotten member cut off from the body of the true Church as rotten flesh to be cut off for the preseruation of the whole as a scabbed sheepe to bee kept from the fold as old leauen to be purged from corrupting and infecting the whole lumpe And that for sparing him the vniuersall Church must bee brought to desolation and ouerthrow All this William Occham foresaw all this we haue found by lamentable experience too true and all this followed vpon his intrusion into this Iurisdiction 22. Through this booke William Occham was driuen to carry himselfe cunningly for feare of the Popes greatnesse mouing many questions and doubts and reasoning after the manner of the schooles on both sides making no professed determination or conclusion but he leaueth such strength of reason on the one side and taketh away all obiections on the other side that any man may inferre the conclusion and vnderstand the reason why himselfe did not conclude For thus he saith in the end of that booke Haec breuâ—…er conferendo allegendo disputando sunt dicta non vt certa veritas in dubium reuocetur sed vt aliqua habeatur occasio c. Quid autem sentiam de praedictis non expressi quia hoc vt puto veritati non prodesset That is These things haue we said by conferring alleadging disputing not that a knowen truth should be called into question but to giue an occasion c. I haue not declared what mine opinion is of these things because as I take it that would not helpe the truth Another booke William Occham Intituleth Dialogus from whence I will cite onely one Sillogisme contained in few words but so strongly and soundly collected that it may make an end of all this controuersie his words are these Papa non 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â Iurisdictione 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 iudicumquaâ—… fuerat Christus Apostoli sed Câ—…ristus 〈◊〉 fuerunt ab impâ—…ratore quantuÌ„ ad IurisdictioneÌ„ câ—…actiuam 〈◊〉 That is The Pope is no more exempt from the Iurisdiction of the Emperors other secular iudges then Christ his Apostles were but Christ his Apostles were iudged by the Emperor in respect of coactiue IurisdictioÌ„ therfore so the Pope ought to be iudged This Syllogisâ—…e to this day was neuer answered In respect of which sound and pithy handling of these things as Occhâ—… was surnamed Doctor inuincibilis in arguâ—…nto so the sense and iudgement of learned men was wholly for Occham Insomuch that Naucler witnesseth that this worthy William Occhâ—… threw downe all the Popes Temporall Dominion in the dust and carried the glory in all these disputations wherin many learned men followed him For he speaking of Daâ—…es that learned Florentine saith that this Dante 's also wrote a Booke De Monarchia wherein he prooueth that the Empire hath no
personis id intelligendum est non de vniuersali Ecclesia quae saepe obedientiam iustis de causis Romanis Pontificibus subiraxit vt Marcellino Anastasio Liberio Ioha 12. Benedict 9. Benedicto 13. Iohanni 23. That is That is to be vnderstood of particular Churches persons not of the Vniuersall Church which many times vpon iust occasions hath withdrawen obedience from the Bishops of Rome as for example from Marcellinus Anastasius Liberius Iohn the twelfth Benedict the ninth Benedict the thirteenth Iohn the twentie three They haue in like sort concluded that the Popes Gouernment in the Church is to be admitted not that he rule at his pleasure but according to the doctrine of Saint Peter Ut ipse Ecclesiam Dei salubriter regat non quidem vt pro libito voluntatis suae cuncta peragere velit spreâ—…is canonibus sacrorum conciliorum sed iuxta beatiss Petrâ—… doctrinam sic regat non vt dominans in clero sed vt formafactus gregis Romanus enim Pontifex est vniuersalis Ecclesiae minister non Dominus That is That he may soundly rule the Church of God not that he should doe all things according to the lust of his owne will reiecting the Canons of holy Councels but according to the doctrine of Saint Peter let him so rule not as a lord ouer the Lords inheritance but as examples to their flockes for the Bishop of Rome is the Minister of the Vniuersall Church and not the Lord. They haue concluded that if this Iurisdiction bee graunted to the Pope which he claimeth aâ—…d which his flatterers pretend for him that by this meanes the way is laid wide open for Antichrist Aperite oculos videte qualis ex hoc daretur ingressus Antichristo That is Open your eyes and behold what an entrance by this meanes would be made for Antichrist So that they who yeeld any authoritie and reuerence to these Councels must needs acknowledge that the Popes Iurisdiction is laid downe in the dust 47. Now let Bellarmine come with his fine distinctions and tell vs that these Councels are partly confirmed partly reiocted partim confirmata partim reprobata these be pleasant heads that can take of these Councels what pleaseth them and reiect all that is against them but let them collude with their owne consciences as they list they are not able to answere that which we vrge or any way to shift vs off for wee doe not vrge these conclusions as decrees of Councels though against them they may iustly stand for such but wee doe not produce them to that end but onely to declare the religion sense and iudgement of Christendome what it was at this time and before what was the doctrine of the Church concerning Iurisdiction What the wisest the most learned and best men in Christendome then taught What was the iudgement of the Church of Rome then This is euidently declared by these Councels and that we may vrge no more but this by this wee haue enough to proue that the Church of Rome then stood fully against the Popes Iurisdiction If they tell vs that Eugenius and they who followed him was the Church and not these that were gathered in Basil I aunswere this doth more and more confirme that which I haue obserued betweene the Church of Rome on the one side and the Pope with his flatterers on the other side who albeit they haue gotten the vpper hand by force and fraud yet let them know the basenesse of their birth and progeny they are but a late vpstart generation beginning when Friars began lifted vp by the winde which themselues did raise for increasing the Popes pride crossed and contradicted yea refuted and condemned by the learned and godly that liued in the Church of Rome neuer fully preuailing before the Councell of Trent Then let them not demaund of vs such fâ—…iuolous questions where was our Church before M. Luther for we are able to shew both our Church and their Church the antiquitie and not interrupted continuance of the one and the base vpstart and late rising of the other §. V. Iohn Gerson 48. HAuing thus farre declared the iudgement of the Church of Rome assembled in diuers Councels now let vs consider how in particular the learned men of these ages stood affected in this question and who they were that tooke part with these Councels to aduance the authoritie of the Church aboue the Pope for they who followed the Pope in this faction were onely Friars and flatterers but on the other side were these as then the great lights of Christendome for learning that I may of many remember a few 49. First Iohn Gerson a man of great authoritie in the Councell of Constance who hath written diuers bookes wherein he preferreth the authority of a Councell before the Popes authoritie and speaketh much otherwise of Iurisdiction then the Court of Rome vseth now to speake His booke De potestate Ecclesiastica was pronounced and approued in the Councell of Constance in the yeere of Christ one thousand foure hundred and seuenteene as in the end thereof appeareth from whence I will obserue some things declaring his iudgement in our question of Iurisdiction First he describeth that spirituall power which Christ hath left to his Church thus Potestas Ecclesiastica est potestas quae à Christo supernatur aliter specialiter collata est suis Apostolis discipulis ac eoruÌ„ successoribus legitimis vsque ad fineÌ„ saeculâ—… â—…d aedificationeÌ„ Ecclesiae militantis secunduÌ„ leges Euangelicas pro 〈◊〉 faelicitatis aeternae That is Ecclesiasticall power is a power supernaturally especially giuen by Christ to his Apostles and Disciples and their lawfull successors vnto the end of the world for the edification of the Church Militant according to the Euangelicall lawes for the obteining of eternall life This power we acknowledge with Gerson nay with all the auncients who speake no otherwise of the power which Christ hath committed to his Church But then we wish that our aduersaries might vnderstand how they wander in ignorance and confusion confounding this power which is spirituall executed secundum leges Euangelicas with that power which is coactiue and executed secundum leges Canonicas It is their common manner to confound these things and thereby to perplexe themselues and their readers but of all that euer I read he surpasseth who calleth himselfe the Catholike diuine for confused vnlearned handling of these things Then the power which Christ left to his Church is practised secundum leges Euangelicas this is the true power of the Church But our question hath beene altogether of Iurisdiction coactiue executed not secundum leges Euangelicas therefore not giuen by Christ to his Church but belonging to such lawes to whom all coactâ—…ue power peculiarly belongeth 50. Of this coactiue power the same Gerson saith thus Potestas Ecclesiastica Iurisdictionis in foro exteriori est potest as Ecclesiastica
to disswade the separation producing that out of Augustine Nullam posse causam dari ob quam necessarium sit ad schisma perâ—…enire That is That no cause can bee giuen for which it may bee necessary to come to a schisme But after much dispute at last hee resolueth that the case may be such that the Church may well depart from the Pope Quando sacer Princeps saith he contra sanctorum patrum statuta aliquid praesumit vbi non constat eum ex causa 〈◊〉 aut necessitatis moueri sed ex aliqua particulari indigâ—…a causa time ipse in priora Petri mandata offendit exiens vires potestatis suae Quapropter non esset inconâ—…eniens si pertinaciter in hoc persisteret Ab eo recedi posse per Ecclesiaâ—… That is When the holy Prince presumeth against the lawes of holy Fathers where it appeareth that he is not moued thereto because of the publike good or necessitie but from some particular of his owne and an vnworthy cause then hath he first offended against the former precepts of Peter going beyond the limits and strength of his power Therfore if hee persist therein incorrigibly it is nothing inconuenient for the Church to depart from him 58. Then if a Pope make a departure first from the Mandates Doctrines and faith of Saint Peter thus going out of the bounds of his power in this case it is the iudgement of the graue Cardinals of Rome who liued and wrote long before M. Luther was borne that the Church might make a separation from the Pope Iohn Gerson saith as before we heard that this separation may be for a time or for euer Now then whereas this separation is made from the Pope by the reformed Churches there is nothing done but that which the Church had in consultation to doe long before in case the Pope should persist in his pride and transgressions and shew himselfe incorrigible So that it is no maruaile if the Church which hath so long before thought of this departure being thereunto so much prouoked by the intollerable ambition of the Pope hath once performed that thing which was so long in consultation especially seeing the Church hath for the same both the warrant of holy Scriptures which doth fully not only prophesie of this departure which the Pope hath made from the truth and consequently which the Church was to make from the Pope but also giueth expresse commaundement to the people of God to depart from thence Go out of her my people And besides this warrant of holy Scriptures they had also the iudgement of the Church before them which Church whether we consider it in particular members as the learned men principall instructours and preseruers of doctrine or in generall Councels hath as we see oftentimes declared herselfe to bee wearied with bearing the Popes proud and ambitious Iurisdiction and hath beene in great consultation to cast off the yoake of this Aegyptian bondage 59. Now from that booke which this Cardinall Cusanus wrote De 〈◊〉 Catholicâ—… we will obserue some things wherein he declareth his iudgement against this Papall Iurisdiction And first he disputeth against them that thinke the Pope hath more power then other Bishops Oportet primum si hoc verum foret Petrum aliqâ—…d à Christo singularitatis recepisse Papam in hoc successorem esse sed scimus quod Petrus nihil plus potestatis à Christâ—… accepit alijs Apostolis 21. d. in nouo 24. q. loquitur That is First if this be true it must bee graunted that Peter receiued some singular power from Christ and that herein the Pope is his successor but wee know that Peter receiued no more power from Christ then the other Apostles 21. d. in nouâ—… 24. q. loquitur And of this spirituall Iurisdiction he saith thus Cum potestas ligandi soluendi in qua fundatur omnis Ecclesiastica Iurisâ—…ictio sit immediate à Christo quia ab illa potestate ligandâ—… soluendi sit diuiâ—…a Iurisdictionis potestas patet omnes Episcopos forte etiam presbyteros aequales esse quoad Iurisdictionem That is Seeing the power of binding and loosing in which all Ecclesiasticall Iurisdiction is founded is immediately from Christ and because the power of diuine Iurisdiction is from this power of binding and loosing it is euident that all Bishops perhaps also all Priests are equall in respect of this Iurisdiction And againe hee saith Quod vniuersale concilium propriè captuÌ„ scilicet quod vniuersam EcclesiaÌ„ representat sit supra Patriarchas Roman Pontificem credo â—…ubium esse non debere That is I hold it a truth not to bee doubted that a generall Councell properly taken that is as it representeth the vniuersall Church is aboue Patriarches and the Bishop of Rome And againe Papa per Synodum in criminibus etiam alijs quam hâ—…resi iâ—…dicari potest That is The Pope may be iudged by a Synod for other crimes also besides heresie Now for the Iurisdiction of the ciuill Magistrate the same Author speaketh thus Imperator Christianorum in sua praesidentia est Christi vicarius That is A Christian Emperour in his office is Christs Vicar And againe Omnis rex Imperator habet officium Publicum ad Publicam vtilitatem or diâ—…atum Publica vtilitas est paâ—…ad quam ordinantur iusticia iusta praelia principium autem pacis est ad â—…inem 〈◊〉 â—…rigere subditâ—…s media illum 〈◊〉 sunt sacra institâ—…ta religionum quare prima cura Imperialis in 〈◊〉 obseruandis verâ—…ur That is Euery King and Emperour hath a publike office ordinate to the publike good the publike good is peace whereunto iustice and iust warres are ordinated the fountaine of peace to direct subiects to an eternall end the meanes to obtaine that end the holy ordinances of religion wherefore the first and chiefe care Imperiall consisteth in the obseruation of those ordinances And therefore he saith Imperator curam custodiae gerit And againe isto modo imperator dicitur aduocatus vniuerâ—…alis Ecclesiae custos sides orthodoxae Which thing he proueth by the ancient practise of the Church because in the Chalcedon Councell the Emperour Martiaâ—…us is called custos fidei and the Emperour Basilius in the beginning of the eight Councell saith that the gouernement of the Church was by the prouidence of God committed to his hands 60. The same Author speaking further of the office of Kings and of their Iurisdiction in Church affaires and in Councels saith Debent râ—…ges principes Synodos congregare iuxta admonitionem sancts Gregorij ad Theodoricum regem Francorum ex registro 273. Iterata vos per vestram mercedem adhortatione pulsamus vt congregari Synodum iubeatis That is Kings and Princes ought to gather Synodes according to the admonition of Gregory writing to Theodoricus the French King ex registro 273. We moue you with our redoubled petition that euen for that
to command for otherwise the Kings command is but as the word of a priuat man or of a child if he haue not power to iudge and punish 14. Moreouer whereas Iehosaphat commandeth the Priests and Leuites to iudge betweene blood and blood Law and precepts statutes and iudgements In things that concerned questions of blood as when blood was shed by casualtie in which case the party offending had remedy by sanctuary and the high Priest was the immediat iudge as also in matters concerning lawes precepts â—…tutes iudgements that is ordinances ceremoniall or morall In these things stood the Ecclesiasticall Iurisdiction which then was practised in the Church for to take that distinction which we must often remember in this question it is confessed that all Ecclesiasticall power is either of order or Iurisdiction In both which the King hath a part bâ—…t differently In the power of orders the Kings part and office was to see that things of that nature were orderly done and the breach thereof punished but himselfe was not to execute any thing whereunto the Priests were apointed by the power of their orders as to offer incense c. Wherefore Vzziah was smitten with leprosie for medling with that part of the Priests office Now Iurisdiction is diuided into power internall which as often wee haue said belongeth not to the King and power externall which power externall when it is coactiue is nothing but that which wee call the Kings Iurisdiction though it be in matters Ecclesiastical And this Iurisdiction is here testified to be in Iehosaphat and from him deriued to all to all iudges vnder him both Temporall and Ecclesiasticall For as he commaunded the Temporall iudges so in like sort he commaunded the Ecclesiasticall And as the Ecclesiasticall iudges might replie if they had bene such as now these are of the Romane Clergie that Ecclesiasticall iudgements were holy and the cause of God and not of the King so doth the King witnesse of Temporall iudgements for speaking to Temporall iudges he saith you execute not the iudgements of man but of the Lord. Then Temporall iudgements are the Lords cause aswell as Ecclesiasticall and herein they differ not 15. Now this Iurisdiction which is in coactiue power wee prooue to be in the King and onely in the King I speake according to the forme of the state of Israel in those dayes wherof we now speake aunswerable to which is the Soueraigne magistrate in any other state This right I say we prooue to bee onely in the King and from him deriued to other iudges both Temporall and Spirituall by these reasons first the King and onely the King commaundeth both iudges to doe their duties in their seuerall places and hath lawfull power to punish them if they doe otherwise therfore the Kings Iurisdiction coactiue is ouer both sorts alike The antecedent hath two parts the first drawen from the expresse words of the Scripture in this text the second followeth by a necessitie For the commaund of a King is ridiculous and no commaund vnlesse he haue authoritie to punish The consequence followeth by the very definition of Iurisdiction which will prooue the second part of the antecedent For this Iurisdiction for which we plead is defined by the most learned of the Church of Rome authority coactiue If it be authoritie it may command if coactiue it may punish then it followeth that where Iehosaphat had first authoritie to commaund and last to punish that questionlesse hee had this Soueraigne Iurisdiction 16. If against this any obiect that the King may command in matters of orders of preaching the Word administring the Sacraments c. In all these things the King may lawfully command the parties to doe their duties and may punish them if they doe otherwise and yet no man will put the Kings Iurisdiction in these matters of orders Preaching Sacraments c. For aunswere let me intreat the reader with attention to consider these three things First to commaund secondly to execute thirdly to punish Iurisdiction standeth wholly in the first and last and nothing at all in the second that is in authoritie and not in action So that though the King should execute a thing which belongeth to his office yet in the execution therof his Iurisdiction should not appeare howsoeuer his wisedome knowledge and actiue vertues might appeare therein for Iurisdiction is in the authoritie of commaunding and power of punishing and supereminence that riseth from both And therefore in the preaching of the Word administration of Sacraments the King hath no part because therein Iurisdiction standeth not these things being matters of execution not of commaund but the authoritie to commaund these things by making or vrging lawes for them and to punish the transgression by corporall punishments this because it includeth coactiue power is in the Soueraigne Magistrate onely If the Magistrate should either neglect his dutie as the heathen did or commaund false doctrines to be preached as the Arian Emperours did in this case the Church hath warrant to maintaine the truth but without tumults and rebellion and rather in patience to loose their liues then to forgo any part of the truth 17. Another reason to prooue this Soueraigne authoritie coactiue to be only in the King and from him respectiuely deriued to both sorts of iudges may thus bee drawen For the iudges Temporall there is not so much question made all the doubt is of iudges Ecclesiasticall the chiefe of which iudges Ecclesiasticall in the Church of Israel was the high Priest Then this Iurisdiction whereof we speake must be confessed to haue been principally and originally either in the king or in the high Priest but in the high Priest it was not Therefore in the King it must be That it was not in the high Priest we proue by these reasons The high Priest is commaunded corrected punished and deposed by the King and not the King by the Priest therefore the Soueraigne Iurisdiction is not in the high Priest but in the King Againe the high Priests did neuer practise coactiue authoritie vnlesse when they were Soueraigne Magistrates as sometimes the high Priests in Israel were but as high Priestâ—… they had no such power for the causes betweene blood and blood which were of their cognisance are by the interpreters vnderdood such cases wherein a man was killed by chaunce without the purpose or against the will of the offender in which case the high Priest might graunt him the prâ—…uiledge of sanctuary and so deliuer him from the auenger of blood but he had no power coactiue to inflict death or such punishments at his pleasure which trueth was so constantly receiued and preserued in the Church afterward that euen in the greatest power highest ruffe of Poperie the Church of Rome did not take this full â—…oactiue power but onely proceeded to degradation and then to deliuer men vp to the secular powers which was a â—…ecret confession that they had no right to
done in his first iourney to Rome before he went to the Saxon warres And if he thinketh reason to denie the truth of this Narration because Eginhardus doth not mention it I answer Eginhardus writeth very succinctly and had no purpose to record all particulars For he doth not mention that Charles the great did erect the Vniuersity of Paris by the helpe of Al◅win an English man and Iohn Mailrose a Scottish man and yet this is recorded by others whose credite is nothing impaired by the silence of Eginhardus Baronius doth also obserue that all that wrote before him did not refel Sigebert for an Impostor but only say that those things were graunted by Hadrian but reuoked by other We answer it had beene much more for his credite if he also had kept the same moderation which all before him haue done But now for an especiall seruice to the Pope hee hath by his owne confession pulled vp an olde hedge which no man stirred before him and therefore it is no maruell if a Serpent bite him and that in stead of a graue and faithfull Historiographer hee purchase the iust imputation of a factious writer stuffed with invectiues betraying professed partiality an euill heart a corrupt and pernitious resolution to deface all antiquity that standeth against his purposes 60. But he proceedeth and asketh how this Councel should be called of a sudden And whence should so many Bishoppes and Abbots be so soone gotten together A goodly question These trifling obiections serue to no other end but to helpe to conuince him that dare contradict so many witnesses with so small shew of reason But as in the examination of theeues and Felons many things fall from themselues at vnawares by which their falshood is conuicted so by this question he draweth an ineuitable conuiction vpon himselfe for Charles purposing to hold a Councell brought these Bishoppes and Abbots with him to Rome And thus Anastasius witnesseth for they haue left such markes in the Printed Anastasius as doe plainely shew wh◅re he was stunge with the Scorpions taile For thus saith this printed Anastasius Dumper sex mensium spatium ipse Francorū Rex Papia demoraretur in obsidione ipsius ci◅itatis magnum desiderium habens ad limina Apostolorum approperandi c. Tunt abstollens secum diu◅ sos Episeopos Abbates iudices c Cum pluribus exercuibus Romam per Thusciae partes proper auit That is Whilst Charles stayed sixe moneths in the siege of Pauie hauing a great desire to approach to the doors of the Apostles c. Then taking with him diuers Bishoppes and Abbots and Iudges c. Hee cam by the parts of T◅uscia with many Armies to Rome Where we see that they who expunged Anastasius as Theeues vse to doe in the like case haue left such markes behinde them as are sufficient to conuince them For to what end did Charles bring so many Bishops and Abbots and Iudges with him to Rome This sheweth euidently that he had a purpose to hold a Councell And because Baro◅ius asketh this question whence came so many Bishoppes and Abbots of a sudden We can soone answere him Anastasius witnesseth that Charles brought them with him as purposing this thing aforehand But we aske him a question which hee will neuer assoile vs Why did Charles bring so many Bishoppes and Abbots to Rome Anastasius witnesseth that hee brought a number of Bishoppes and Abbots to Rome so that either Bar◅ius and the Expurgatours should haue spared Anastasius and not expunged that which he had written of the holding of this Councell or this should haue beene also expunged which he writeth of the preparation of that Councell Againe these words which are left in Bibliotheoarius of Charles his comming from Pauy doe further conuince Baronius and detect the purpose offalsifying for Baronius wil not admit that Charles came to Rome at this time from Pauie because Eginhardus faith he was but foure times at Rome and this could not be done at his first iourney because from the expugnation of Pauie he went presently to the Saxon warres and thus he proceedeth vexing his reader with winde and wordes lighter then winde Though he be deepely to be charged for this light and vaine reasoning yet his great and grosse fault wherein he was so grossely ouerseene is that in cutting Anastasius he cut not deep enough For Anastasius in the wordes that are left doth expresly declare that Charles came from the siege of Pauie to Rome which Baronius denieth and that he brought many Bishops and Abbots with him Thus both by cutting out of Anastasius that which Platina witnesseth he wrote and by leauing in Anastasius that which doth proue so much and testifie their falshood they are conuinced to be corrupters of antiquities and new forgers of nouelties 61. Baronius perceiuing that all this that he hath said will not helpe him vnlesse he proceede further to refute likewise all that Gratian saith in the next Canon In Synodo goeth on and vndertaketh also to refute it For what other thing can he do that hath once broken the bounds of modesty and moderation but proceede to a resolution in impudency Gratian cyteth the Canon of Pope Leo who gaue Inuestitures to Otho as Hadrian did to Charles Baronius denieth that Pope Leo wrote so as Gratian cyteth him what authority can be produced to satisfie these men VVe bring the testimonies of Popes we bring them cyted by such as were the greatest maintainers of the Popes Iurisdiction and yet it will not satisfie Why No reason is brought but it standeth not with the liking of the Court of Rome in these daies He saith that the name of Inuestitures was not knowen in that age wherein Charles liued But how doth he proue that No proofe is brought and what neede he bring any proofe seeing there are many that are readie to take all that he saith without proofe Concerning the name of inuestitures the Ciuilians are herein resolued and peremptory that it came from the Lawes of the Lumbards as did also all the Lawes De feudis For of these things there is nothing found in the auncient Romane Lawes nor in the later Imperiall Lawes vntill the gouernment of the Lumbards was raised And therefore it is certaine that before the gouernement of the Lumbards was erected in Italy this word Inuestiture can not be proued to haue beene in vse But seeing by the Lumbards it came in and the Lumbards were at their highest before and in the time of Charles the great for they were ouerthrowne by Charles after that they had raigned two hundred and foure yeares in Italy and had possessed all Italy in a maner except only the City of Rome as diuers Authors doe witnesse it can not be chosen but that in the time of Charles this word was in vse And when we haue of the one side good reason the testimonie of histories the iudgment of Lawyers concurring with the expresse wordes