terms England neyther is nor euer shall be the patrimony of S. Peter Math. Paris p. 270. Anno 1216 A King cannot giue his Kingdome without the consent of his Barons And thereupon all the French Nobility cryed out that they would fight to the death in that quarrell IOHN being dead Math. Paris pag. 425. Rex inclinato ad genua eius capite vsque ad interior a regni deduxit officiosè his sonne and successor HENRY the third did homage to the Pope and payed the accustomed tribute Shortly after the Pope sent into England a new Legate one Otho a Cardinall before whom the King bowed himselfe soâ—low as to touch the Legates knees with his head which Cardinall behaued himselfe more like a King then a Legate This Cardinall being desirous to haue entred into Scotland the King would not receiue him Non me memini Legatum in terra mea vidisse nec opus esse Pag 530. Rex in ampliori regia Westmonasterij pransurus Legatum â—uem inuitanerat in eminentiori loco mensae scilicet in Regali sede quae in Medio mensae crat non sine muliorum obliquantibus oculis collocauit saying that he had neuer seene Legate in his Kingdome neyther had he neede of them But in England he was his owne caruer cutting and paring away at his pleasure euen so farre as that he presumed to sit at table in the Chaire of State aboue the king as hee did at a feast which king Henry the third made at Westminster as Matth. Paris witnesseth which Authour also Ann. 1241. speaking of his Legates returne saith that according to the account then made he carried away more money with him then he left in all the kingdome besides hauing rifled and spoyled it like a Vine brouzed and troden downe by wilde Boares yea all the Historians of England doe complaine of the pillages and exactions of Rome which sucked the Englishmen to the very blood And as I vnderstand Cardinall Bellarmine hath lately made a booke against the king of England Bellarm. in his new booke pa. 19. Rex AngloruÌ„ duplici iure subiectus Papae vno communi omnib ' Christianis ratione Apostolicae potestatis quae in omnes extenditur iuxta illud Psal 44. Constitues eos principes super omnem terram altero proprio ratione recti Dominij c. wherein he maintayneth that the Pope is direct Lord of England and Ireland and that these kingdomes are the Churches fee Farmes and the King the Popes vassall or feudatary Things which I thought good to represent at large to the end that his Maiesty of England may know and acknowledge how much the Crowne which God hath giuen him is beholding to the purity of the Gospell the preaching whereof hath broken that yoake and hath made libertie to spring forth together with the truth dissipating at once both superstition and tyranny Iesus Christ saith Ioh. 8. You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free which saying may after a sort bee applyed to this purpose for there our Lord speaketh of the seruitude of sinne and here we speake of the slauery vnder the man of sinne there our Lord speaketh of the freedome and deliuerance from the bondage of the father of lies here we speake of being enfranchized from the thraldome of the sonne of perdition and indeede that temporall seruitude of the Crowne of England came from the spirituall bondage of the conscience For the Popes laid this subiection vpon men as a meanes and condition of obtayning remission of sinnes Then England enioyed the happy golden age in which euery man for his money might enter into Paradise but Iesus Christ ouerthrew this bancke of money-changers set vp in the Temple and detecting the abuses sheered asunder those inuisible chains of Custome and Opinion which held mens soules ensnared in and vniust seruitude Certainely then the doctrine of the Gospell is the setling and establishment of Thrones and that which exalteth raiseth Kings seeing that it doth not subiect their Crownes to any man liuing and further stoppeth vp all wayes and accesse to rebellion and disloyaltie Now out of that which aboue hath beene said it is euident that Coeffeteau telling the king of great Britaine that the Pope doth neyther expose kingdomes as a prey nor pretend any thing vpon the temporalties of kings thought the king a stranger at his owne home and one that knew not his Genealogie nor the story of his owne house or else deemed him blinde and bereft of sense when hee complayneth in his Apologie that Bellarm. writing against him dooth importunately inculcate this position that the Pope may depose kings in that he may excommunicate them It must needes be then if we beleeue Coeffeteau that the king of great Britainecy ther did not read or else vnderstood not the booke of his Aduersary If we would seeke out examples of the like cases besides these of England we might fill a iust volume How many Germane Emperours haue beene degraded from their Empire by excommunications and Papall fulminations and their Imperiall Diadem giuen in prey to him that could catch it Did not Pope Iulius the second Anno 1511. take from king Iohn of Nauarre his kingdome and giue it to Ferdinand king of Castile This Bull of Alexander is found in the beginning of Francisco Lopez de Gomara his Story of the â—ndies Did not Pope Alexander the sixt Anno 1492. diuide the Indies betweene the Portugals and the Spaniards allotting the west Indies to the Spaniards and the East to the Portugals whereat Atabalippa the poore king of Peru asked who the Pope was that gaue that which did not belong vnto him To omit the confusions and hurly-burlies of later times which of fresh memory haue blasted and singed our kings with the lightnings of excommunications and almost burnt them to powder and haue made the people to rise in rebellion against their soueraigne Prince the soares doe yet bleede neyther is the wound yet soundly cured Now if experience be not strong enough to enforce the certainty of Papall vsurpations ouer kings let vs heare the Popes themselues speake Clementina Pastoralis de sententia reiudicata Nos tam ex superioritate quam ad imperium non est dubium nos habere quam ex potestate in quam vacante imperio Imperatori succedimus In ipsa vrbe vtriusque potestatis Monarchiam Romanis Pontisicibus declararet and let vs learne what their intent is rather from their owne mouthes then from the fearefull and doubtfull termes of this Iacobin Clement the fift being in the Councell of Vienna speaketh thus We aswell by that Superiority which wee haue ouer the Empire as by the power whereunto we succeed the Empire being vacant c. As it is contayned in the Clementine Pastoralis And in the Chapter Fundamenta de Electione in 6 Pope Nicholas the third sayth that Constantine hath graunted to the Bishoppes of Rome both the one
I will not enquire But I well know that in other times and in other places he would for these wordes haue beene sent to the Inquisition For he opposeth himselfe against all the actions of Popes and the iudgement of the whole Romish Church The examples fallen out in England shall be most pertinent to this purpose and such as shall represent vnto his Maiestie of England how farre the Pope had set footing vpon the temporalties of his predecessors and how much dishonoured their Crowne Pag. 117 Cum Rex Archiepiscopus in partem sesessissent bisque descendissent his equos ascendissent his habenaÌ„ Archiepiscopi Rex tenuit cum equum ascenderet Mathew Paris a Monke of the order of S. Bennet at S. Albans in England and a diligent Historian witnesseth that in the yeare 1170. HENRY the second being reconciled to THOMAS BECKET Archbishop of Canterbury he twice helde the bridle whiles the said Archbishop got to horse what submission then should he haue yeelded to the Pope himselfe seeing that one of his Prelates and the King subiects would mit that his King and Master should make him so seruile a submission The same Authour testifieth Pag. 125. Carnem suam nudamdisciplinae virgarum supponens a singules viris religiosis quorum multitudo magna conuenerat ictus ternos vel quinos accepit that the aforesaid HENRY was scourged by way of penance vpon his bare flesh by a company of Monks some of which gaue him three stripes others fiue The Pope not content therewith amerced him to keepe two hundred souldiers in pay for the warres of Palestina and to suffer that his subiects of what quality or condition soeuer might thenceforward euoke their suites out of his Courts and appeale to Rome Of which punishment Michauel in the first booke of his storie of Florence dedicated to Pope Clement the seuenth speaketh in this manner Le quali coscfurono da Enrico accettate sattomessesi a quel giudico vn tanto Rè che hoggi vn huomo priuato sivergognarebbe a sottomettersi which things Henry yeelded vnto and he so great a King submitted himselfe to that censure which a priuate man now a dayes would be ashamed to vndergoe And further addeth that the Citizens of Rome scornefully vsed and curbed that very Pope who did thus domineere in England and would not suffer him to dwell in their Citie and thereupon he taketh vp this exclamation tanto le cose che patono sono piu discoste che d'appresso temute that things did appeare more to be feared farre off then neere at hand After this HENRY succeeded RICHARD whom the Pope sent into the Leuant and he being dead his brother IOHN came to the Crowne Matt Paris pag 215. This IOHN complayned that the Pope drew more money out of England then out of any Countrey on this side of the Aples Pag. 223. Papa ex consilio Cardinalium Episcoporum aliorum virorum prudentium senteÌ„tialiter definiuit vt Rex Anglorum a solio deponeretur Ad huius quoque sententiae executionem scripsit Dominus Papa potentâ—ssimo Regi Francorum Philippo quatenus in remissionem omnium suorum peccaminum hunc laborem assumeret c. and because hee therein withstood Pope Innocent the third who couered his tyranny vnder a title of The liberties of the Church he was by the said Pope in the yeare 1212 declared to be fallen from the Crowne and his Kingdome giuen in perpetual title to Philippus Augustus the French King and his successors with condition that he should conquer him graunting him thereupon remission of all his sinnes and causing the Croisade to be preached against the sayde King IOHN of England by meanes whereof he was brought into that perplexity that he was constrayned to vndergo all the conditions which Pandulphus the Popes Legate imposed vpon him as namely that King IOHN to obtaine remission of his sinnes should render vp his Crowne into the Legates handes and should giue vp his Kingdomes of England Ireland to the Pope that he should yeelde faith and homage to the Pope as holding his said Kingdoms in fee from the Church as parts of the Popes Demaines and of the patrimony of S. Peter * Saluis per omnia denarijs beati Petri Ecclesiae Romanae mille marcas Estrelin gorum percipiat annuatim The same Peters tribute was afterward brought into Poland as Albert ' Krantz writeth Hist Vandal li. 8. c. 2. and in acknowledgement hereof hee should pay yearely to the Pope a thousand Markes in money to be payd at two seuerall times besides the Peter-pence which were paide by the pole All which was executed accordingly and the homage solemnly and formally done the King himselfe tendered the money in all submission which the Legate †Pandulphus autem pecuniam quam in arram subiectionis Rex contulerat sub pede suo conculcauit trod vnder his feete in token to Lordly dominion following the custome which the Pope began then to put in practise ouer the Emperours of Germany to wit * Imperator genu flectit demuÌ„ ad Pontificis pedes peruenit illos in reuerentiam Saluatoris deuotè osculator Iterum genu flectns aurimassam ad pedes Pontificis offert c. that they should be bound to come and take the Crowne at his handes and after three lowly curtesies on the knee and kissing of the Popes feete the Emperour was to lay downe at the Popes feete sitting in his Throne a masse of golde thanking his Holinesse humbly vpon his knee as it is at large set downe in their holy Ceremonies Lib 1. Sect. 5. cap. 3. The like is reported by Polydore Virgill in the fifteenth booke of his Storie and by Blondus Decad. 2. lib. 6. Howbeit the abouesaid King IOHN bare this yoake very impatiently His Barons also hated him for hauing enthralled his Kingdome and England was so farre exhausted by cruel exactions that the said King IOHN out of extreame dispaire resolued to cast himselfe and his Kingdome into the hands of the Mahumetans and to that effect hee sent Ambassadors to Morocco in Barbary to Amiral Murmelin King of Barbary and of Granada to make him offer of his Kingdome but the Barbarian would not accept it Whereupon the Pope made his yoake more greeuous vpon the King and his land the Oath of subiection was renued and ingrossed in writing the instruments which before were onely sealed on waxe were now sealed on golde and in stead of one thousand Markes the King was condemned to pay * According to Pope Innocents Letters reported by Math. Paris Ann. 1214 pag. 239. twelue thousand Markes Since that time the Popes haue called the Kings of England their vassals and England their Demaines Vpon which consideration Ann. 1216 the Pope sent letters of inhibition to Philip Augustus and Lewes his sonne being then at Lyons to forbid them to passe ouer into England but Philip answered the Popes Nuncio in these
and stirre vp the mildest spirits and was desirous by pardoning the wicked to make them become good and though he could not find cause in them why to pardon he fouÌ„d it in himselfe for though they no way deserued mercy yet he shewed himself worthy of his greatnesse in doing good to those of so euill demerite He considered that God whom hee represents sendeth raine vpon the Bryers and Thistles as well as on fruit Trees and makes the Sunne to rise alike to the good and to the euill or else it may be that his clemency was accompanied and assisted with a neglect of his enemies esteeming many of them not worthy of his wrath But for the better preuenting of such conspiracies in future times the Parliament together with the King framed a forme of Oath to be administred to all his Maiesties subiects which is to this effect That they acknowledge IAMES the first King of great Britaine for their lawfull King and that the Pope cannot by any right whatsoeuer depose him from his Kingdomes nor discharge his subiects of their obedience to him nor giue them licence to beare Armes against him Also that notwithstanding any Declaration or Sentence of ExcoÌ„munication made or granted or to be made or granted against the said King his Successors they wil beare faith and true alleageance to him his heyrs Successors him and theÌ„ wil defend to the vttermost of their power against all attempts conspiracies whatsoeuer And that they wil reueale al treasons and trayterous Conspiracies which they shall know or heare of against him or any of them And that they do abhor detest and abiure this damnable position that Princes which be excommunicated by the Pope may be deposed or murdered by their subiects And that they beleeue and in conscience are resclued that the Pope hath no power to absolue them of this Oath or any part thereof And renounce all pardons and dispensations to the contrary And that without any Equiuocation mentall Euasion or secret Reseruation whatsoeuer they doe sincerely acknowledge and sweare all these things and doe make this acknowledgement heartely willingly and truely So helpe them God This Oath being offered to those of the Romish Church diuers of them tooke it without difficulty and amongst the rest Blackwell the Arch-Priest who then was and still remaines in England These things being come to the knowledge of the Bishop of Rome Paul the fift that raignes at this present he dispatches presently for England a breue or as they terme it letters Apostolique bearing date the two twentieth of September 1606. by which he declares That this Oath cannot be taken with good conscience exhorting them rather to vndergoe all cruell torments whatsoeuer yea Death it selfe rather then to offend the Maiestie of God by such an Oath and to imitate the constancy and fortitude of the other English Martyrs willing them to haue their loynes girt about with verity and to haue the Brest-plate of righteousnes and to take the shield of faith That God that hath begunne this good worke might finish it in them who wil not leaue them Orphants c. And finally willeth them exactly to put in practise that which is commaunded in the Letters of Clement the eight his Predecessor written to Mr. George Black well the Arch-priest of England by which Letters all Princes of any Religion contrary to their owne are excluded from the kingdome of England These Letters being come into England were not receiued by those of the Romish Church with such respect as the Pope expected for many iudged them ridiculous as exhorting them to suffer Martyrdome for ill doing since none can be a Martyr but for hauing done well As also for that they declare that this Oath is contrary to the Catholique faith without telling why or wherefore as likewise for that the exhortations of holy Scripture to shun vice and to perseuere in the profession of the Gospell and to resist the Diuell are in this Papall breue drawne to a contrary sense to kindle sedition and to incite subiects to disobedience And aboue all for that these Letters ingaging the subiects to reuolt doe necessarily plucke vpon them persecution and the iust anger of their natural Prince who being vnwilling to require any caution of them in any thing contrary to their beliefe demaundeth no more of them but fidelity and ciuill obedience For these considerations some part of the Priests and Friers of England said that these Letters of the Pope were shufled in by their Aduersaries and forged by the Heretiques for so they of their goodnes are pleased to tearme vs to kindle the anger of the King against them which was already prouoked by the plot of the Powder-mine which onely fell out to ruine the vndertakers By reason whereof the same Pope being aduertised that through these doubts whether they were true or fained the Authority of his Letters were infringed hee writ others more expresly bearing date the three and twentieth of August 1607. In which he seemeth to wonder that they any way suspect the truth of the Apostolique letters Non solum motu proprio exceâ—â—a nostra scientia verum etiam post longam grauem deliberationem that vnder that pretence they might exempt themselues from his commaunds and therefore declareth vnto them that those letters were written not onely vpon his proper motion and of his certaine knowledge but also after long and weighty deliberation and therfore again inioyneth them fully to obserue them for such is his will and pleasure To these letters giuing the Alarums to rebellion for their greater confirmation were added the letters of Cardinall Bellarmine to George Blackewell the Arch-Priest In which after he had put him in minde of their auncient acquaintance hee greatly blameth him for taking the Oath the which vnder colour of modifications hath no other aime or drift but to transferre the authority of the Pope the head of the Church to a Successor of HENRY the eight by the examples of his Predecessors he exhorreth him constantly to defend the primacy of the Pope whom he calleth the head of the faith But he sheweth neyther what wordes or clauses in this Oath are contrary to the faith of the Romish Church nor wherefore this Arch-Priest should rather chuse to die then to obliege himselfe by Oath to be loyall to his King in things meerly ciuill and which no way meddle with the Primacy of the Pope and yet this is the onely thing whereof question is made and whereof proose is expected These letters both of the Pope and Cardinall being fallen into the handes of his Maiestie might wel haue kindled the anger of a very patient Prince and haue armed and stirred him vp against those with whom these Papall letters were of more power then eyther their faith to their King or their obedience to God For what Prince can permit in his Kingdome subiects that acknowledge him not or that to retaine
his fellowes where he saith that the rebellion of a Clergie man against his King cannot be treason in that he is not subiect to the King which agreeth with that which is written by the Iesuite Saunders in his second booke of his visible Monarchie whereof the King of great Britaine in his first booke cyteth many passages Now whereas the Iesuites of France did make a booke intituled * In the pag. 70. of the Edition of the bigger print 1595. you shall finde these wordes The Pope pretendeth nothing ouer Souerainty but to correct as a father as a Iudge such as are pernitious to the Church For then he may not alone but he is bound to shew himselfe their Superior Security wold make thee peruerse froward but thou must be kept down be made to confes that thou hast neyther reason nor conscience For it is fit that Princes shold be often held in and curbed by feare of their temporalities The defence of the truth against the pleading of Anthony Arnold In which they maintaine at large that the Pope may as Iudge depriue Princes of their temporalties This is wholly to be imputed to the times for then it was fit to speake in that manner but now they reserue those Maximes for fitter seasons Diuinity is to be applyed as occasions serue and wee are now in an age that if wee would know how wee were to teach and moue the people we must first looke into the Aâ—minake and accommodate our selues to the affaires of the Common wealth and therefore it is to be hoped that such * The which are produced in the Chapter following passages of Bellarmine that do make the liues and Crownes of Kings subiect to the Pope will be mended in the next Edition And as for the troubles and seditions which these Fathers haue stirred in Polonia which hath cost Demetrius his life and as for the causes which haue moned the Venetians to banish them out of their estate this a thing wholly to be imputed to the Climate or to the strange humors of the Country which is farre differing from Fraunce All this being considered it is to be hoped that the King of great Britaine following the counsell of Doctor Coeffeteau will take them to be neare about his person The other Reasons which are brought to recommend them seeme not to me of any great weight It is said that they carefully instruct youth if it be so how commeth it to passe that since they haue vndertaken to teach learning is so much decayed I would willingly that one could shew mee in Fraunce any of their Disciples that were of exact and exquisite learning or whom haue they in their society that may bee compared with those that were the Schollers of Turnebus or of Cuias Who are yet as many of them as are left the very lights and ornaments of the Court where is now the Vniuersitie of Paris which had wont to haue in it thirty thousand schollers but hath declined towards barbarisme euer since this kinde of people haue vndertaken to teach by their abridgements and Epitomies the which haue beene framed and composed by a rable of Pedants that teach all by rote in stead of drawing their instructions from the Fountaines of the Greeke and in stead ofâ—etling their iudgements by the course of auncient Philosophy And as for humane learning Scaliger Casaubon Passerate Lipsius and diuers like vnto them were they brought vp in their schooles Or indeede whom haue they brought vp comparable to them But Coeffeteau saith that the most Christian King is serued by them dealeth well with them and taketh them neere vnto his person our condition is too low and our vnderstanding too weake to search out the Counsels of so great a King whom God hath endued with an incomparable wisedome but yet I thinke that this serues not to iustifie them for who can tell whether his Maiesty doth this onely to put in practise that rule of the Gospell which is To doe well to those that hate vs Or whether he endeauoureth by his goodnes to master and ouercome their wickednesse and so by that meanes to binde them to fidelity Or who can tell whether his Maiestie herein imitateth the example of God who imployeth the wicked spirits for such causes and to such purposes as are best knowne to his diuine wisedome Or who knoweth whether in this he doth like Vlisses who for auoyding of tempests would keepe the winds with him shut vp in a leather bagge This great King whose paines and industry procureth our generall repose whose vigilancy makes vs to sleepe securely who bereaueth himselfe of himselfe and bestoweth himselfe on the publique and who maketh peace to flourish vnder the shaddow of his victories Long may hee enioy that quiet and repose which he hath broght euen to those that hate him Let his Counsels be euer blessed with happy successe his life with safety his subiects with fidelity his Crowne with glory and his Kingdome with prosperity CHAP. V. Of the power of the Pope ouer the temporalities of Kings and that he cannot take from Kings their Crownes nor free subiects from the Oath of fidelity And thereupon the reasons of Bellarmine are examined THe King of great Britaine in his Apology complayneth of two Breues or letters Apostolique of Clement the eight sent into England a little before the death of the late Queene ELIZABETH which were produced at the arrainment of Garnet the Iesuite by which the said Pope excludeth him from the succession of the Kingdome by a generall debarring of all such as were not of the Romane Religion This thing being so notoriously vniust and so publique yet notwithstanding Coeffeteau saith that there hath beene a wrong interpretation made of this Popes intentions and that it hath beene some particular mens drift to put it into his Maiesties head that he went about to hinder his establishment in the Kingdome These are insurious speeches to say that the King of great Britaine hath beene circumuented and that men haue only made him beleeue things but that he hath not seene any such Breues but speaketh this onely vpon trust There likewise turning to the side of Kings against the consent of the whole Romish Church he speaks thus It is a thing without doubt Fol. 6. pag. 2. that if the Pope would inuade Kingdoms and giue them in prey to whom he pleaseth deuesting the right possessors of them he well deserueth that Princes should stand stiffe against his viosence and should ioyntly runne vpon him as vpon a robber and spoiler of their inheritances And a litle after The Popes pretend nothing ouer the temporalties of Kings are contented only to make their authority appear ouer the crimes of men which he bindeth or looseth without stretching of it tyranically to dispose of their possessions otherwise then such as are fallen vnto him what causes here moued Coeffeteau thus to fauour Kings and to pare the Popes nayles so neare
Churches and Orders haue fortie yeares Prescription This ought also moreouer to be added which is a thing that doth greatly redound to the weakening of the power of kings And that is that al Fee-farms and lands of the most noble Tenure assoone as they enter into the Possession of Ecclesiasticall persons they become exempted from all charges and payments as well in regard of their persons as of their goods being no longer bound to that personall seruice which the possessour formerly owed vnto the Prince Whence it came to passe that our auncient kings were able within lesse circuite of Countrey to leuie Armies of an hundred thousand men whereas now a dayes within a farre larger extent fewer troupes are gathered because there is a third part of the lands of Fraunce which contribute nothing to publique necessities And yet notwithstanding naturall reason requireth that they who enioy the fruite and benefite of peace should contribute toward the warre that those that liue at case should cherish and releeue them that fight for their conseruation Wherefore then whiles the Nobility and the third State do oppose themselues to the inuasion of strangers whiles the King doth fortifie his Frontiere Townes doth intertaine Garisons dooth appoint Officers as well for ciuill gouernement as for discipline of warre why should not Ecclesiasticall persons who by these meanes doe quietly enioy the fat and best of the Kingdome why should not they I say contribute to the publicke necessity why should their increase be a deminution to their Princes forces who watcheth ouer them for their quiet Furthermore no man can be ignorant but that this is a thing greatly threatning the dammage and impouerishing of the Kingdome that a third part of Fraunce should be tributary to a stranger vnder a title of Annates Dates Dispensations Absolutions and cases of marriage Against all which biting extortion our auncient Kings prouided by the Pragmaticke Sanction being angryed and agreeued to see the faire pence of the Kingdome to passe ouer the Alpes vnder a Religious kinde of pillage and to enter into the purses of those who made a mocke at our simplicity But aboue all this is that which is most pernitious to Kings and their estates that so many persons are exempted from iustice and from the arme of the secular power For by this meanes if a Clerke doe himselfe vndertake or doe abet another to attempt against the life of his Prince if he coyne false money set fire on a towne or entertaine secret intelligence with strangers or if hee infect the common people by the example of his lewde manners The Prince for all this cannot lay handes on him without leaue from his Bishop and hee shall not dare to touch him vntil he be first degraded in such sort that the King hath in his kingdome an infinite number of persons who are Lords of the fairest and best choyce of his Countrey and who are not his subiects but do acknowledge another for their Superiour out of the kingdome This is verily one of the boldest wiles and the subtilest sleights of the mystery of iniquity to haue found out a meanes whereby to make a king by sufferance to giue way to another to establish an estate within his owne estate and in the end to thanke him for it too and to thinke himselfe beholding to him for the same Who will then maruell hereupon if the king of great Britaine whom God hath freed from so heauy a yoake doe looke with compassion vpon those other kingdomes who yet do groane vnder this burthen and as standing safe on the shoare giueth aduise and counsell to his brethren whom he seeth weather-beaten with these surges and carryed away with the current of an olde inueterate custome Now here I protest againe as heretofore I haue done that I doe not speake of the persons but of the rules and orders of the Church of Rome I know that in this great body of the Clergy there is a great number that would willingly dye for the seruice of their king in whom their Priestly character of shauing hath not made them forget that they are borne subiects In whose spirits nature hath more force then their habites and the loue of their Countrey more then the Maximes of Italy but they are beholden to their owne good dispositions for this and not to the rules of the Church Some to colour this abuse say that Clerkes are exempted from the power of Princes not by Gods law but onely by mans positiue law whereunto I say that first they contradict not onely Bellarmine himselfe who in his booke of the exemption of Clerkes Ecclesiae Ecclesiasticaeque personae ac res ipsaâ—um non solum iure humano quinim mo diuino a secularium personarum exactionibus sint immunes hee doth exempt them by Gods diuine Law but also Pope Boniface the eight who speaketh in this maner in the Title De Censibus in Sexto The Churches and Ecclesiasticall persons their goods let them be exempt from the exactions of secular persons not onely by mans lawe but also by Gods Diuine law Secondly I say that it little importeth Princes vnder what title men take away their dues seeing that they are eyther way alike riffeled and despoyled And it goeth against the heart of him that hath been robbed to pay himselfe with a distruction certaine it is that if this be graunted that the exemptions of Clerkes is founded onely vpon mans lawes yet if a Prince should goe about to clippe the priuiledges of Church-men and should continue on to draw those rights and dues vppon their lands which he had vpon them whiles they were yet in the hands of secular men such a Prince I say shall be neuer a whit the more excused nay rather he shall be cursed and banned as blacke as a coale and shall be ground to powder with hote excommunications as a persecutor and diminisher of the liberty of the Church And if any Iesuite should come to suffer death in any such quarrel he should be put in the Kalendar of Saints and Martirs as was Thomas of Canterbury who suffered only for this very subiect And indeede it is a thing very easie for vs to prooue that Clerkes haue exempted themselues from Taxes and Subsidies and Contributions and from subiection to the secular sword not onely without all law both of God and man but directly contrary to Gods Diuine law For S. Paul Rom. 13. will haue euery soule subiect to the higher powers He that will exempt Clerkes from this rule saith by a consequent that they haue no soule Now if they be subiect then doe they owe Tribute for S. Paul addeth that this subiection consisteth in paying of tribute For this cause sayth he you pay tribute because they are the Ministers of God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Wheruppon Saint Chrysostome in his Commentary on that place speaketh roundly to the purpose The Apostle sayth he enioyneth this to all euen to Priests
of inflicting corporall punishment vpon them but of this we haue spoken at large before Thence doth Coeffeteau proceede to the Example of Henry the fourth which he saith cannot be alleadged because the times were then troublesome but the example suits very well to our purpose for that the Popes were the onely instruments of raising those troubles to exempt themselues from the Emperours subiection and to subiect the Emperours to themselues euen in seruices more seruile then seuuitude it selfe stirring vp the sonne to seeke the life and Crowne of Henry his father who died being depriued of his Imperiall dignity by his sonne the Popes instrument therein who vouchsafed not his father so much fauour See Helmoldus in the Chronicles of Sclauonia Naucl. 39. genera Baronius de vitis Pontificum and many others as to cause his body to be buried Fredericke Barbarossa being come soone after into Italy to be Crowned Emperour the Pope enforced him to hold his stirrope when he tooke horse But this Emperour little-skil'd in these seruices putting himselfe forward to hold the left in stead of the right stirrop was adiudged to practise the same submission the day following and howbeit he performed it very mannerly yet in conclusion the Pope sought to pull his Crowne from him And in the same degree of pride did Alexander the third treade vpon the said Frederickes necke vpon the staires of S. Markes Church in Venice the History is reported by many writers and alleadged by the King of great Britaine in his confutation of Bellarmine about the end of the booke and it is paynted at Venice in the hall of del Scrutinio del grand Constiglio the Maps and Tables thereof are reckoned vp and expounded by Girolam Bardi in a booke expresly written of that argument In the sequel of his discourse Coeffeteau fals into that wretchlesse negligence that he accuseth the King of mistaking the History not alleadging so much as one passage for his confutation And sure it is not Platina that doth alone record the deposition of these three Popes by Henry the fourth for Stella a Venetian Monke who hath written the liues of the Popes hath the same in these wordes Henricus Caesar habita Synodo Benedictum praedictum Syluestrum hunc Gregorium abdicare se Pontificatu coegit His Maiesty of England alleadgeth to the same purpose the example of Philip le bel K. of France that wrote with liberty enough vnto Boniface the eight who first inuented the Iubile Platina Stella in these wordes Let your great folleship vnderstand that in in temporall matters we are not subiect to any man c. And he it was that surprised the aforesaid Pope at Anagnia and committed him to prison at Rome where for griefe hee died An. 1303. To the example of Lewes the ninth King of Fraunce that established the law called Pragmatica sanctio against the pillaging and merchandizing of the Court of Rome he ioyneth the example of Lewes the eleauenth who being vrged by Pius the second to repeale that Sanction remitted his Legates to the faculty of the Diuines of Sorbone Iohannes Maierius libra de schismat Concil who made it good against the Pope with whom Iohannes Romanus the Kings Aduocate was ioyned that opposed them so farre with his conclusions that the Court appealed to the next Councell as indeeede they did The said King saith farther that the facultie of Sorbone came to maintaine this point that if the Pope should offer violence to our King the French Church had authority to establish a Patriarch and seuer themselues from the See of Rome And that Gerson Chaunceller of the Vniuersitie of Paris was so farre from defending this pretended temporall power of the Popes that he wrote a booke De auferibilitate Papae ab Ecclesia that is Of the possibility of forsaking the Pope and remoueing him from the Church How much more did hee beleeue then that the temporall power of Kings might be free from the insulting of Papall authority To this doth Coeffeteau make no other answere but that these contentions were onely for temporall matters and that Philip or Lewes or the faculty of Sorbonne or the Kings Aduocate desired not to preiudice the Popes authority in any regard as he is head of the Church so that here he answeres well to the King of Englands question whose ayme is onely vnto matters temporall and to the vsurpation of Popes ouer Monarches Touching the title of Head of the Church which is an abuse more intollerable hee reserues that for an after-discourse Now if so be the dissention betweene Philip and the See of Rome continued not many yeares as Coeffeteau obserueth Fol. 22 pag 2 it was because the Pope gaue way vnto him and Benedict the eleuenth was very glad to giue Philip absolution Platina Stella which he graunted of his owne accord because the other might haue beene well without it That we may close vp this point the King of great Britaine drawes many examples out of Matthew Paris and out of the Records of his Kingdom to this purpose as William Gifford whom King Henry the first inuested with his Bishopricke and Rodulphus whom the same King inuested with the Archbishopricke of Canterbury by his Ring and Crosier-staffe and Thurstan nominated to the Archbishopricke of Yorke depriued by the King of his temporalties for corrupting with bribes the Popes agents in the Councell of Rhemes The said King alleadgeth many examples of Abbots Bishops and Deanes in England that haue eyther against the Popes will yeelded obedience to their Soueraignes or haue beene degraded censured and imprisoned by their Princes for their disobedience in adhaering to the Popes And which is more considerable these are late examples such as haue happened while the Papacy domineered most How stood the case then when the Bishoppe of Rome had nothing to doe in England with matters eyther temporall or spirituall The Kingdome of Fraunce doth furnish vs with examples of more pregnancy The Synode of Fraunce is of speciall note to this purpose which is to be found in the third Tome of the Councels of the Colleyn Edition pag. 39. where Carolomanus qualifying himselfe as Duke and Prince of Fraunce vseth this speach By the aduise of my Clergie and others of principall esteeme of the Realme Ordinauimus Episcopos We haue ordayned Bishops in the Cities and haue established Boniface Archbishop ouer them The Councell of Maurice holden vnder Charlemaine Anno 813. beginneth thus Carolo Augusto verae religionis rectori ac defensori sanctae Dei Ecclesie and the first Councell of Mayence vnder Lewes le Debonaire Ludouico verae relligionis serenissimo rectori And these I trow should haue been accounted irreligious Titles now-a-dayes And here let it be principally noted that Coeffeteau trusts more to his heeles then to his hands for he buckles onely with the first of these examples and all his answere is that Anselme Archbishop of Canterbury opposed this
booke against Iouinian The Church saith he is founded vpon S. Peter albeit in an other place the same is also built vpon the other Apostles and the strength thereof is equally grounded vpon them all Vnica est faelix fidei pâ—tra Petri ore confessa Hilary in his second booke of the Trinity It is the only blessed stone of the faith confessed by the mouth of S. Peter And in his sixth booke Vpon this Rocke of the Confession the Church is founded S. Ambrose vpon the nine and thirtieth Psalme Quod Petro dicitur caeteris Apostolis dicitur That which was said vnto S. Peter was said vnto the rest of the Apostles also Cyril in his fourth booke of the Trinity expounding the same place saith Opinor per Petram nihil aliud quam inconcussam fir misâ—mam discipuli fidem voluit I thinke that by the Rocke was nothing else meant but the firme and constant faith of the Disciple S. Augustine in his 124. Treatise vpon S. Iohn expounding these wordes Super hanc ergo petram quam confessus es aedificabo Ecclesiam meam Petra enim erat Christus Quid est supra hanc petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam Super hanc fidem Super id quod dictum est Tues Christus filiê° Dei viui Bellar. lib. 1. cap. 10. § Addo Augustinum ex sola ignorantia Hebreae linguae deceptum esse faith Vpon this Rocke that thou hast canfessed will I found my Church And vpon the Epistle of S. Iohn his 10. Treatise and 60. Sermon vpon the wordes of our Lord What meaneth this Vpon this Rocke will I build my Church Surely thus much is meant Vpon this faith vpon this that hath beene said Thou art that Christ the Sonne of the liuing God And forasmuch as he had said in other places that the Church was founded vpon Peter he recalleth himself in his first book of retractations cap. 21. Because saith he that Iesus Christ said not vnto him Tu es petra Thou art the Rocke But Tu es Petrus Thou art Peter Now this Rocke saith he is Christ Which Bellarmine vnable to denie thought it better to affirme that Augustine erred for want of knowledge in the Hebrew tongue Chrysostome vpon Matth. 16 Vpon this Rocke that is vpon the faith of this confession And in this Sermon vpon the Pentecost 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he hath said vpon this Rock and not vpon Peter for he hath not founded his Church vpon men but vpon faith and what faith was this Thou art Christ c. Eusebius Emissenus in his homily vpon the Natiuity of S. Peter expoundeth these wordes in this manner I will build my Church vpon that stone which thou beginnest to lay in the Foundation of faith vpon that faith which thou teachest saying Thou art Christ the Sonne of the liuing God For the Apostle agreeing with this opinion saith That none can lay any other Foundation then that that is laid Iesus Christ What say the Councels hereunto In the Councell of Calcedon Super hanc confessionem robora ta est Ecclesia Dei fidem pag. 223. of the Edition of Collen vpon this Confession which Peter hath made and vpon that faith is the Church grounded Super hanc petraÌ„ id est super meipsuÌ„ qui significor per petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam Nay the Glosse of the Canon-Doctors themselues vpon the goodly extrauagant Vnam sanctam saith Super hanc petram id est super meipsum qui significor per petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam Vpon this Rocke that is to say vpon my selfe that am the Rocke and am signified by the Rocke will I found my Church Reade the exposition of Lyranus vpon Matth. 16. for it agreeth fully with this and setteth it downe in expresse termes But it may be Coeffeteau alleadgeth this passage or sentence because it saith I will giue thee the keyes of the Kingdome of heauen and whatsoeuer thou bindest on earth shall be bound in heauen and whatsoeuer thou shalt lose on earth shall be losed in heauen By the Kingdome of God the Gospell ordinarily doth vnderstand the Church of God vpon earth and consequently the Keyes of the Kingdome of God signifie the Church to bring men into the Church or exclude them from it This is cheefly done by preaching the word of God which our Lord for that cause Luc. 11. calleth the key of knowledge vnto which Preaching is annexed the power of admitting sinners to repentance and to the peace of the Church when they are come to receiue the word and submit themselues vnto it or if they are impenitent to shut them out from the communion of the faithfull This same power is signified by the wordes of binding and losing for wee are naturally in the bondes of Sathan but the preaching of the Gospel freeth and deliuereth vs when by faith we apprehend it by which the children of Abraham are vnbound whom Sathan hath fettered Luc. 13. ver 16. And if any man oppose himselfe against this word either by vnbeleefe or of a prophane humor by the same preaching first generally propounded and after particularly applied to the impenitent sinner by Ecclesiasticall censure the iudgements of God and his curse are denounced vnto him the which holdeth the sinner bound and are vnto him as chaines by which Sathan leadeth him captiue and draweth him with an insensible violence into perdition vnlesse by his earnest repentance hee free himselfe of those bonds and returne to God Here then Iesus Christ sheweth that God ratifieth in heauen both the reception of a repenting sinner and the reiecting of him that is impenitent and willeth that during his obstinacy by which he dispiseth the Church he be held as a Publican and an heathen Matth. 18.17.18 We are then to learne whether this power was giuen to S. Peter alone or to all the Apostles I say that that which was promised to S. Peter Matth. 16. was also promised to all the Apostles the eighteenth of the same Euangelist ver 18. Verily I say vnto you that whatsoeuer you shall binde vpon earth shall be bound in heauen and whatsoeuer you shall lose vpon earth the same shall be losed in heauen 2 Assuredly it is a most ridiculous presumption to thinke that any man now adayes doth better vnderstand the wordes of Iesus Christ then the Apostles did But it is more then euident that the Apostles did neuer suppose that by these wordes of Christ any superiority was giuen to S. Peter for had they so beleeued they would neuer after that haue contended amongst themselues for preheminence as they did Luke 22. but one day before the death of our Lord. 3 Aboue all things this is to be noted that Iesus Christ doth not here giue vnto Peter the power of binding and losing but only promiseth to giue it him which he performed after his resurrection Iohn 20. in which place he giueth like power to all his Disciples saying Receiue yee
the holy Ghost to whom soeuer you shall forgiue their sinnes they shall be forgiuen and looke whose sinnes yee retaine they shall be retained Now to vnderstand how farre the gift of any charge extendeth it selfe we must not so much respect the promises made as the actuall donation and the maner how it is receaued 4 Doubtlesse if by these words Iesus Christ had giuen vnto S. Peter power ouer the other Apostles he would haue commanded them to obey S. Peter and to acknowledge him for their Superior which is not found in any place of Scripture Now that Iesus Christ gaue the Keyes and power of binding and losing to all the Apostles Putas soli Petro dantur à Christo claues coelorum nemo ali bea toruÌ„ accipiet cas Si auteÌ„ coÌ„mune est inter omnes quod dicitur dabo tibi claues reg ni coelorum quomodo non omnia quae superius sunt dicta ad Petrum omnium videantur esse communia it doth appeare not only by the reasons afore alleadged but also by the testimony of auncient Fathers Origen vpon the sixteenth of Matthew the first Treatise How then saith he hath Iesus Christ giuen the Keyes onely to S. Peter And shall not the other receiue them also Or if that which is said I will giue vnto thee the Keyes of the Kingdome of Heauen be also common to all the other why should not as well also all that that goeth before and that which followeth after be common though it were spoken to Peter Hilary in the fixth booke of the Trinity speaking to the Apostles Vos ô Sancti beati viri ob fidei vestrae meritum claues regai coelorum ligandi soluen dâ—ius in terra adepti O ye blessed men that by the merite of your faith haue the Keyes of the Kingdome and the power to binde and lose And then hee further saith Heare the Lordsaying I will giue thee the keyes c. That which is spoken to Peter is spoken to the Apostles Audi dicentem Tibi dabo c. Quod Petro dicitur Apostol's dicitur S. Ierome in his first booke against Iouinian All the Apostles receiue the Keyes of the Kingdome of heauen Cum illud vnus pro omnibus dixerit hoc cum omaib tauquam bersonam gerens ipsius vnitatis acceperit Ideo vnus pro omnib quia vnitas est in omnib S. Augustine in his 218. Tract vpon Iohn saith S. Peter spake these wordes for all and receiued the aunswere with all the other as representing the vnity in his person and therefore one receiued it for all because there was one vnity amongst them all In the Councell of Aix vnder Lewes the courteous the people is brought in speaking thus of the Clergy in generall By whom we are made Christians Tom. 3. Concil pag. 416. per quos Christiani sumus qui claues regni coelorum habentes quodommodo ante diem iudicij iudicant Who hauing the Keyes of the kingdome of heauen doe after asort Iudge before the day of Iudgement In the Councell of Paris vnder Lewes and Lotharius Emperours the third booke and eight chapter the Bishops of France speake thus This may easily be vnderstood by the wordes of the Lord Quod ex verbis Domini facile intelligere possunt quibus beato Petro cuiê° vicem indigni gerimus ait Quaecunque liga ueris c. when he said to Peter Whose place we vnwrothily occupie whatsoeuer thou bindest c. you see that they be all called the Successours of Peter and that they enioy his place And chap. 3. they giue those titles vnto Priests They are the strong Pillars vpon whom the whole multitude of beleeuers being founded Cap. 9. Ipsi sunt Ianitores quibus claues datae sunt regni coelorum Fol. 84. p. 2. are by them vpheld and supported Againe they are the Porters vnto whom the keyes of the kingdome of heauen are giuen But the Priests of Fraunce dare not speake now adayes in this stile To be short the case is so cleare that Coeffeteau is constrained to confesse that the Keyes were giuen to all the Apostles but he saith not with so large extent as they were to Peter See then the issue of this difference all our aduersaries acknowledge that the Keyes were equally giuen to all the Apostles but not in so high a degree as to S. Peter being demaunded where they finde this difference Or if there be any place of Scripture where Iesus Christ giueth the Keyes to S. Peter more then to the rest here they are as dumbe as fishes and when they come to the very exigent and issue of the matter they bleede at the nose and cannot produce any kind of proofe from the word of God Coeffeteau onely alleadgeth Hilary which is to bring in mans testimony against God and yet hee speaketh not any thing that eyther contradicteth the Gospell or vs for he onely saith that S. Peter is the Foundation of the Church and that he hath the Keyes but he saith not that he hath them more then the rest of the Apostles And if that Coeffeteau acknowledge that the Keyes are giuen to all the Aposties let him shew me in what place of scripture for there is not any place in the Gospell that speaketh of the giueing of keyes but this onely and here is no speech made of two kindes of giuing the keyes Besides it is easie for vs to proue that the Pope doth vniustly diminish the power of the Keyes giuen to all Bishops and Priests for since they be all Successors of the Apostles they ought to haue the same Keyes which the Apostles had Whence it followeth that God saith to all the faithful Pastors of the Church in the person of the Apostles That whatsoeuer they shal binde on earth shal be bound in heauen But the Pope correcteth this and sayth vnto them whatsoeuer you lose shall not be vnbound for there are certaine great offences which are called Cases reserued the absolution whereof lyeth not in your power but is a priuiledge peculiar vnto me Vnderstand now what these greeuous sinnes are that are thus reserued to the Pope Is it Paricide Incest treason against Princes murder or blasphemy against God No such matter that is euer pardoned by euery Bishop for such sinnes are but against the law of God but the sinnes that be out of their power are these See the Bull de caena Domini which is of cases reserued to the pope If any man hinder them that goe to Rome for Pardons if any man be an intruder into any Benefice or office Ecclesiasticall if any haue purloyned the goods of the Church or if any haue offended the Sea Apostolicall the absolution of such horrible sinnes as these are is no where else to be had but at Rome These are the cases reserued For to offend the Pope or to bereaue him of his profite is matter farre more heynous then to