man in himselfe so hath euery Bishop for his part the whole nature of a bisshop in hiÌ„self This equalitie of bishoply order and office notwithstanding the Apostles were in their bishoply prelateshippe and Iurisdiction a great way behiÌ„d S. Peter because he had a higher and larger power of gouerning geuen to him ouer Christes shepe then any of the other had in that behalfe Touching then the superiority of S. Peters iurisdiction for asmuch as all the power he had was either Apostolike or bishoply seing he could not easily haue more coÌ„mitted to hiÌ„ ouer the rest of the shepe by his Apostolike office Math. 2â— then the other Apostles had for ech of theÌ„ had charge ouer the whole Church and the gouerment of their owne persons excepted what greater power could S. Peter haue if this notwithstandig I proue euideÌ„tly that Christ committed to S. Peter more Ecclesiastical power eueÌ„ ouer his shepe then to anie other it must needes be rather meant of more bishoply then of more Apostolike power And so albeit the power and iurisdictioÌ„ of the Apostles ouer the rest of the shepe be equal yet the power of bishops euen ouer the same shepe is not equal How proue I theÌ„ that S. Peter had more coÌ„mitted to his charge theÌ„ the other Apostles Verily because Christ in the presence of S. Iohn S. Iames aÌ„d S. Thomas the Apostles aÌ„d of other three disciples said to Peter SimoÌ„ IoaÌ„nis diligis me plê° his Ioan. 21. Simon the son of Iohn doest thou loue me more then these And surely seing S. Iohn was among them who was so tenderly beloued of Christ that he was knowen by the name of the Disciple whom Iesus loued Ibidem when Peter is asked whether he loue more theÌ„ they he is in effect asked whether he loue more then any other Apostle or Disciple Neither doth our Lord demaunde this question as a thing whereof he doubted but to instruct vs that Peter loued him more then the other Wherevpon S. Augustine concludeth In Ioan. Tract 24. Sciebat igitur Dominus noÌ„ soluÌ„ quôd diligeret verumetiam quôd plus illis diligeret eum Petrus Therefore our Lord did know that Peter did not onely loue him but also that he loued him more then they And yet seing Peter could not loue Christ more then the other did except Christ had first loued Peter more then he loued the other for Peters excelleÌ„t loue towards Christ must nedes come of the former exceding loue of Christ toward Peter as the scripture it selfe doth teache vs it is out of all controuersie that Christ first loued S. Peter 1. Ioan. 4. Prior dilexit nos more then he loued any other man in the whole world What The question more then he loued S. Iohn Or more then he loued his own Mother I answere An exaÌ„ple that there are diuerse coÌ„siderations of loue Alexander the great had two frindes who loued him for diuerse respects The one called Craterus loued him as king and loked to his honour in matters belonging therevnto The other called Hephestion loued his ê‘son and diligently ê“cured his health aÌ„d priuate wel doing WhereupoÌ„ King Alexander was wont to saie that Craterus loued the King but Hephestion loued Alexander EueÌ„ so Christ loued his Morther aboue all creatures in the respect of that loue which it pleased him as her Sonne to owe vnto his Mother by the Law of nature Exod. 20. And therein he loued her almost incoÌ„parablie aboue S. Peter Likewise he loued personally S. Iohn the Euangelist August in Ioan. Tractat 124. and S. Iohn loued him more then other in that he was a virgin by Christes gift as who had dedicated his bodie and soule to Christ alone But in respect of Christes flock which was to be fed aÌ„d gouerned in the earth in that respect Christ loued S. Peter and S. Peter him more theÌ„ others The which distinction being kept we maie well say that our Lady loued Christ as the Sonne of God taking flesh of her own bodie more then any other and that S. Iohn loued Christ as the cause of his virginitie and the Athour of his chast loue more then any other and that S. Peter loued Christ as the prince of pastours more then anie other 1. Pet. 5. of which last kind of loue Christ now speaketh as it may wel appeare by his owne words For wheÌ„ S. Peter had answered yea Lord thou knowest that I loue thee Iesus said to hiÌ„ fede my laÌ„bs As who should saie for asmuch as thou in respect of my pastoral power louest me more then these take more power then they to feede my lambs For now sith Peters loue is the cause why Christ geueth him power to feede his lambs according to the measure of the loue the measure of the feeding must be vnderstanded De temp serm 149. Dominus Iesus saith S. Augustine respondenti amoreÌ„ commendat agnos suos dicit pasce oues meas tanquam diceret quid retribues quia diliges me dilectionem ostende in omnibus To Peter answering that he loueth our Lord Iesus commendeth his lambs and saith Feede my shepe as if he should say what wilt thou render to me because thou louest me Shew thy loue toward the shepe The same verie sense S. Chrysostom geueth In Ioan. Hom. 87. Si amas me fratruÌ„ curaÌ„ susci pias If thou louest me or seing thou louest me take the care of thy brethern Yf then the authority of feeding be the reward of Peters loue for asmuch as accordiÌ„g to S. Augustines iudgemeÌ„t grouÌ„ded vpoÌ„ the expresse word of God Peter loued more theÌ„ the other Peter is now bid to shew more loue in taking cure of his brethern then any other Which thing because he can not doe except he receiue more power and authoritie to feed his brethern Iacob 1. then other haue for Peter can doe no more in that behalfe then is from heaueÌ„ committed to him it doth inuinciblie follow that Christ at this time geueth to Peter alone more povver and authority to feede his sheepe then any other had or can haue For the literal meaning of Christes whole discourse is none other thing then to say for as muche as thou louest me more then these feede my sheepe In the cumpasse or meaning of which wordes it is not possible for any other Apostle to be comprehended aequallie with S. Peter Note this reason For if any other may feed aequallie with him by the force of this commission the same cause of feeding must be in him which is named in this commission That is to say More theÌ„ these he must loue more then these But if any other doe so then hath Peter no commission to feed Christes sheepe because he then doth not loue more then they seing they must loue more then he or els no coÌ„missioÌ„ of feeding is geueÌ„ theÌ„ Who so euer hath this commission to feed
Christes sheep he must first loue Christ the prince of Pastours more thē these as Peter now doth And by these I shewed before alth ' Apostles and disciples to be meant Therefore they are al excluded from this authoritie wherof Christ speaketh presentlie And yet seing the sheepe of the whole worlde are in other places committed to all Io◠7.20 the Apostles the which power concerning al other beside the Apostles them selues is so great that this cā be no greater if these things be wel conferred and weighed together Note we are forced to confesse that this commission whiche geueth more authoritie ouer the sheepe to one then to the reast is not proprely anie Apostolike power for then al the Apostles should haue it aequally but it is an other kind of power which being perhaps not much inferiour to the Apostolike authoritie must stil so remaine in one aboue others so long as the shepe of Christ doe remain as it is now geuen to one more then to other because he loueth more then the other This kind of power is now called the power of one chiefe Bisshop or pastour wherevpon S. Augustine saith cōcerning this very text of scripture and this one pastour S. Peter Dominus in ipso Petro vnitatem commendauit Multi erant Apostoli In hom de pastor c. 13. vni dicitur pasce oues meas Absit vt desint modò boni pastores sed omnes boni pastores in vno sunt vnum sunt Our Lord hath cōmended vnity in Peter himself There were many Apostles and it is said to one feed my shepe God forbid there shoulde lacke now good Pastours but al they are in one they are one S. Augustine manifestly declareth hereby that Saint Peter alone was spoken vnto among other causes for this also to signifie in him selfe being one Pastour the vnitie which al Pastours haue in Christ De sanctis serm 24 the Prince of Pastours In vno Petro figurabatur vnitas omniū Pastorū The vnity of al pastours was signified in Peter alone or in Peter being one Pastour But whereas the vnitie of all good Pastours in Ghrist alone is not literallie expressed in this place of the holy scripture but is onely builded mysticallie vpon the literal storie of Peter being made one shepheard that mystical and allegorical sense is void except this other literal sense be true 1. Cor. 10. Gal. 4. Heb. 9. For al maner allegories are grounded vpon some true and literal historie Therefore S. Peter is indeed made Pastour alone who may conteine al the Pastours of the earth in his vnitie to the ende he thereby may shew that al the good Pastours which haue ben be or shal be are one in Christ the prince of Pastours So that by S. Augustines discourse it is cleare two waies that Peter hath no fellow in this pastoral office whereof Christ now speaketh Both because he alone loueth more then other and he is one pastour in earth for the time to shew that Christ is one euerlasting pastour of his whole flock both in earth and in heauen From S. Augustine let vs passe ouer to S. Chrysostome who hauinge taught that Christe asketh whether Peter loueth him not to teache vs that S. Peter loued him but to informe vs Quantae sibi curae sit gregis huius praefectura how greate care he taketh of the gouernment of this flock concludeth in this wise lib. 2. de Sacerdoti◠Petrū Christus authoritate praeditum esse voluit acreliquos item Apostolos lōgè praecellere Christe would haue Peter to be indowed with authoritie and also to passe a great waie the other Apostles Marke first that it is praefectura gregis the rule and gouernement of the flocke which Christ intendeth Secondlie that Christe would haue Peter to be indowed not onely with grace and vertue but with such authoritie as did apperteine to the feeding of Christes sheep Thirdly that he would him to passe the Apostles and wherein I pray you but in authoritie For he passed them in that thinge wherewith he was indowed But Christ indowed him with authority therefore Peter passed the other Apostles in authoritie Fourthly he passed them longè a great way He passed the Apostles in al other power after some certain sort Hovv S. Peter passed the Apostles either because he had that power first which was geuen them afterward or els because he had that power ordinarily which was extraordinarily geuen them or els because whereas they were heads of the shepe together with him thorough their Apostleshippe he was also their head as being the prince and chefe of the Apostles But aboue all other respects he passed them longè a great way in the power of feeding the shepe as the chiefe bisshop In epist ad Episc per Viennēsem prouinc constitut So that Leo had iust cause to saye Cûm Petro prae caeteris soluendi ligandi sit tradita potestas pascendarum tn̄ ouiū cura specialius mandata est Whereas the power of bindīg and loosing is deliuered to Peter aboue others yet the care of feeding the shepe is more specially committed Will you see how much more specially Arnobius noteth none of the Apostles euer to haue had the name of a Pastour geuen to him by Christ beside S. Peter alone to whome it was said pasce oues meas feede mie sheepe That is to say be thou the pastour of my sheepe Arnobius in Psalm 138. Ioan. 10. Nullus Apostolorum nomen pastoris accepit Solus enim Dominus Iesus Christus dicebat Ego sum Pastor bonus iterum me inquit sequuntur oues meae Hoc ergo nomen sanctum ipsius nominis potestatem post resurrectionem suam Petro poenitenti concessit Ioan. 21. ter negatus negatori suo hāc quam solus habuit tribuit potestatem None of the Apostles hath receaued the name of a pastour Four our Lord Iesus Christ alone did saie I am a good pastour and againe he saith My shepe doe follow me But this holy name and the power thereof after his resurrection he graunted to Peter repenting and being thrise denied he did geue vnto him who denied him this power which he alone had Christ alone had the power to feede his owne flocke this power he gaue to Peter in such sort as none other Apostles had it For he gaue to Peter the name of a Pastour ipsius nominis potestatem and that power which the name did import But as Arnobius said before nullus Apostolorum nomen Pastoris accepit None of the Apostles toke the name of a pastour therefore none of them toke the power of feeding after such sort as the name and power thereof was now geuē to Peter And seing euery Apostle had authority before to feede all nations through his Apostleship this feeding which is now geuen to Peter alone and must be meāt of some other power beside the Apostolike function is doutlesse meant of Peters bishoply
power I beseche the discreete Reader neither to vse cauils himself nor to geue care to them who loue to wrāgle Here would M. Iewel straight way shew that Christ gaue manie pastours and teachers to his Church Ephes 4. 1. Pet. 5. and that euery Apostle did feede of which things I deny no one But I say there was beside the Apostleship a kind of feeding so peculiar to Peter that no Apostle toke so specially as S. Peter did either the name thereof or the thing meant by the name Which thing the holy scripture doth insinuate when it sheweth Peter to haue loued more then other and consequentlie according to the measure of his loue to haue taken the measure of feeding In which sense Saint Chrysostom S. Augustine Leo and Arnobius doe euidētly agree We must therfore confesse a supereminent power of the pastoral office in Peter that preeminence say I consisted in the ordinarie power of being the chief shepherd He that denieth my interpretation must bring a better which I marueile how he shall come by But lette vs also consyder the mind of S. Ambrose in this behalf Ambros in 24. ca. Lucae Who hauing said by S. Peter that he was vbique aut solus aut primus euery where either alone or chiefe at the last he cometh to speake of these woordes of Christ spoken to Peter amas me doest thou loue me Dominus interrogabat non vt disceret sed vt doceret quem eleuandus in coelum amoris sui nobis velut Vicarium relinquebat Sic enim habes Simon Ioannis diligis me vtique tu scis Domine quia amo te Dicit ei Iesus pasce agnos meos bene conscius sui nō ad tempus assumptum sed iamdudum Deo cognitum Petrus testificatur affectum Quis est enim alius qui de se hoc facilè profiteri possit Et ideo quia solus profitetur ex omnibus oībus antefertur Our Lord asked not to lerne but to teache him whō he being to be assumpted into heauen The Vicar of Christes loue did leaue to vs as the Vicar of his loue For so thou readest Simon the Son of Ion doest thou loue me Yea Lord thou knowest that I loue thee Iesus said to him feede mie lambs Peter being priuy of a good conscience doth testifie his own affection not taken for the time but already wel knowen to God For who els were able to professe this thing of himself And because he alone among all professeth he is preferred before all First note well that S. Ambrose compareth the loue with the feeding For he reasoneth alwaies from the one to the other Secondlie he saieth that Christ in consideration that he shoulde ascend into heauen Vicare taught him whome he left the Vicar of his loue Behold if Peter be the Vicar of Christ it is no wonder that the Pope sitting in Peters chaire is called also the Vicar of Christ. Yea but say you he is the Vicare of his loue and not of his pastoral office Yeas Syr of both For now S. Ambrose speaketh of that loue which consisted in hauing authority to fede the flock For it foloweth in S. Ambrose Sic enim habes for thus thou readest And immediatly he commeth to the power of feeding which Christ gaue vnto Peter in the highest degree of any mortall pastour because Peter loued more then other Christ left to vs a Vicar of his loue who was that Peter when was he leaft a Vicar When Christ said feede mie lambs The loue then left to vs was the power of feeding which Peter had ouer vs and the Vicar of Christes loue was the Vicare of Christes power which he had to feede vs. Although Christ our euerlasting meate fede vs alwayes by his mightie power Ioan. 6. yet when he should goe corporallie into heauen he leaft vs a Vicar of his corporall kinde of feeding His woordes doe not nowe sound in our eares as they did whiles he liued in preaching in teaching in administring the Sacraments in gouerning the Churche and in sending other to preache Christ hath a Vicar whome to that effect he loueth aboue all other and who loueth him aboue all other to that effect I saye of feeding his flocke Moreouer S. Ambrose noteth that Peter omnibus antefertur is preferred before al why so Quia solus profitetur ex omnibus Because he alone of them al doth professe But why saith S. Ambrose that he alone doth professe Might any other man professe when Peter alone was asked No verilie And so dooth S. Ambrose meane that Peter alone professeth his loue because he alone is asked whether he loued more thē these otherwise if S. Iohn who stoode by had ben asked I thinke he was not giltie of any lack of louing Christ But Christ intended to geue vnto Peter more loue then the other had euen for this purpose that he might receiue a higher power to feed then other had Last of al S. Ambrose noteth as it were three degrees in the commissiō of Peters autority of feeding and that accordīg to the power of feeding thrise repeated Agnus Iā non agnos vt primo quodam lacte vescendos Cuicula Ouis. nec ouiculas vt secundo sed oues pascere iubetur perfectiores vt perfectior gubernaret At the third time wherein our Lord said to Peter pasce feed he was not now bid to feede as it were with milke the lambes as at the first time nor the smaller sheep as at the second time but the sheep to th' end he being more perfit might gouern the more perfit It is now also to be noted that S. Ambrose putteth the worde gubernare to gouerne in steed of pascere to feed For in deed the shepheard hath authoritie to rule and gouerne his sheepe Peter then hath autority not only ouer the lambes which are as it were the childern and the vnlearned Christiās nor only ouer the smaller sheep which yet are elder then the lambes as the Christian lawyers the learned physicions the Iudges and Princes of Christendom but also he hath power to gouern euen the sheep which are of most perfit age Verely the ewes Oues the weathers yea the rams themselues which in diuers places are capitaines of diuers flocks So that parissh Priests Bisshops Archebisshoppes and Patriarches are committed to the gouernement of Peter alone He is the vicar of Christe in loue and power of feeding therefore as none was without the cumpasse of Christes folde no more may he be without the cumpasse of Peters fold who wil be reckened in Christes fold De consid ad Eugen. lib. 2. S. Bernard writing to Eugenius the Pope of Rome whose bookes he that readeth may wel perceue he spake it for no flatterie hath these wordes Alij Pastores habent sibi assignatos greges singuli singulos tibi vniuersi crediti vni vnus Nec modò ouium sed Pastorum tu vnus omnium pastor Ex