the Church which is the Cavaliers point to be proved by this place for he denyeth many doctrines and fundamentall ones of the Law and the Prophets yea of God himselfe The next place doth much accuse the Cavaliers need of Allegations and yet withall excuseth him not from an indeavour to deceive his Reader The place alledged by him is this Quod apud multos c. That which is found to be one amongst so many is not to be thought to have crept in by errour but to have beene commended by Tradition The place cited is this Quod apud multos unum invenitur non est erratum sed traditum That which is one among so many is not an errour but a thing delivered The question in hand was concerning the rule of Faith or the Creed as the Reader may see by comparing the thirteenth chapter where the Creed is rehearsed and the end of the one and twentieth where he saith That it remained for him to shew whether the doctrine in the former rule came from the delivery or if you will Tradition so it bee not a Tradition beyond that which is written for there is no such in this rule of faith of the Apostles And having refuted these objections That the Apostles delivered not all and that they knew not all he comes after to this objection That the â—hurches did not purely reteine what the Apostles delivered and thus hee refells this objection Age nunc omnes erraverint deceptus sit Apostolus de Testimonio reddendo Nullam respexerit Spiritus sanctus uti eam in veritatem deduceret ad hoc missus à Christo ad hoc postulatus de Patre ut esset doctor veritatis neglexerit officium Dei Villicus Christi vicarius sinens Ecclesias aliter interim intelligere aliter credere quod ipse pâ—r Apostolos praedicabat Ecquid verisimile est ut tot ac tanâ—a in unam Fidem erraverint Nullus inter multos eventus est uâ—us exitus Varâ—asse debuerat error doctrinae Ecclesiarum â—aeterùm quod apud multos unum invenitur non est erratum sed traditum Whereof the summe is this that though the Holy Ghost the Vicar of Christ had not looked to his office of leading the Church into truth yet there is no likelihood that so many Churches had erred into one Faith But the Faith wherein there is such unity among many should not be an errour but a Truth delivered by the Apostles Now this place is so far from saying that all Churches agreed in sin all points beyond and besides the Creed that it speaks onely of their agreement in the rules of Faith and doctrine of the Creed And he saith that such an agreement comes not by errour which commonly is divers but by one uniforme delivery and doctrine of the Apostles So the Cavalier is still to seeke for a necessary unity in every smal doctrine and in points without the Creed Cyrill is mainly for the Protestants even as himselfe alledgeth him For we agreeably affirme That to be the Catholick Church which teacheth without defect all things necessary to salvation And in the doctrine of faith such things necessary to salvation are points fundamentall Cyprian comes or is rather drawne in next against his will and meaning and thus the Author produceth him The Church being stricken through by the light of our Lord doth send her beames throughout the whole world But yet that light which is cast so far abroad is but one and the same Shee spreads her branches over the whole earth after a plentifull manner Shee extends her flowing streames with great aboundance and to a great distance But yet is Shee one Head and one Root and one Mother who is fruitfull by such store of issue Now I thinke it were needlesse to help a Reader to take this place from the Author For it is plaine to every eye that this place speakes not of the unity of the Church in all points of doctrine but of their unity in one Love and one mysticall Body So that this place is not onely unserviceable to the Author but serves much against him and his lady Mother who cuts off noble and excellent members of the Church from her or rather her selfe from the Church if they doe not submit to her universall Tyranny Cyprian it seemes hath not said enough and therefore he must say more but indeed lesse Let us see how the Cavalier rather teacheth him then suffereth him to speake The same S. also speaking of the sin of Core Dathan and Abiram implies that the one Church must not onely be entirely beleeved but followed also in all her doctrines and directions For hee saith that though Core Dathan and Abiram did beleeve and worship one God and lived in the same Law and Religion with Moses and Aaron yet because they divided themselves from the rest by Schisme resisting their Governours and Priests they were swallowed up quick into Hell Here first wee may observe how hee tells his Reader what hee would have Cyprian say for hee saith not that Cyprian doth speake it plainely but the S. implyes and what doth he imply That the Church must not onely bee intirely beleeved but followed also in all her doctrines and directions But did Core Dathan and Abiram differ from Moses and Aaron in doctrine His owne place denyes it which saith They did beleeve and worship one God and lived in Moses his Law and Religion with Moses and Aaron And the place further assignes the true fault Division by Schisme They denyed the authority of those whom God had placed to be Governours over them Just the same sinne into which Pope Pius the fifth drew the English Papists by his Bull so that this place makes exceedingly against Romish doctrine of rebellion against Princes such as those of the North and in Ireland But let me give the Author one question at parting Was Aaron to bee followed in all his doctrines and directions what doth the Author think of this doctrine concerning the Calfe These be thy Gods O Israel which brought thee up out of the Land of Egypt Saint Basill is next produced thus speaking in Theod. They who are well instructed in holy writ permit not one syllable of divine doctrine to be betrayed or yeelded up but are willing to embrace any kinde of death for the defence thereof if need require Hereupon the Author thus commenteth That man of God had beene sollicited by some to relent for a time to yeeld though it were but to a little he refused in such sort as you have seene and he did it with much disdaine to be attempted in that kinde Now let the Reader see here the fairenesse of our Author Hee speakes of Basils not yeelding to a little and what was this little Denying the sonne of God to be God of one substance with the Father Is this a little Surely he should be a great Hereticke that should deny
next place it will onely remaine to be considered and resolved whether or no both the Catholickes and the Protestants can bee truly said to bee parts and members of this one and selfe same Church For if they cannot the case in question is already judged and there will be no colour of Reason why either of us should hereafter be charged with want of charity for affirming that the other is not saveable without repentance of his Religion Behold a knot of strange things knit together by an invisible cohaerence or a visible incohaerence For first whereas he saith that in the next place It will onely remaine to be considered whether the Protestants and Romists may bee truly said to be parts and members of this one Church For my part I am utterly of opinion that this doth neither in the next place nor at all remaine to bee considered toward the Authors end which is the saving of Rome from uncharitablenesse in damning Protestants For Protestants may bee members of the true Church wherein is salvation and Romists may be out of it and yet Romists may bee uncharitable for damning Protestants who are in the Church wherein is salvation But since hee is out of the way I will thus shew it to him His way of cleering Rome from this charge of uncharitablenesse hath been hitherto by proving it an untruth and his way of proving it an untruth by proving that Protestants are truely in the way of damnation And to prove this againe hee hath shewed that there is but one Church in which is salvation and from which men are excluded by Heresie and Schisme Now as I thinke in the next place to goe on in his way hee should prove that Protestants are guilty of such Heresie and Schisme as separate them from this one Church and so from salvation For then had hee slaine them out-right with a true damnation and had saved his mother Rome from S. Iohns truly mortall uncharitablenesse But it seemes wee are cleere in these points and therefore the Author would not goe against his conscience in a false accusation wherefore let his silence bee taken for a consent and confession But then it seemes the question is at an end we are absolved and Rome is condemned And indeed so it should bee but hee is resolved still to say on though not to the purpose For to what purpose is this that the Protestants and Romists are not one Church toward proving Protestants to bee in the state of Damnation whereby onely Rome can save her selfe from uncharitablenesse in damning us Surely this is so far from proving Protestants to bee in the state of damnation that it is more likely to prove them to bee in the state of salvation and Romists in damnation For Protestants being parts of the true Church by true faith and love are sure to be saved and Romists not being of this Church wherein Protestants are saved are by his owne Allegations in danger to be damned So Romists are both brought into the danger of damnation and the charge of uncharitablenesse layd on the Romists may still stand true because they falsely damne Protestants for being in the state of salvation A second strange position is this That if the Protestants and Romists bee not of one Church then there will be no colour of reason why either party should be charged with want of charity for affirming that the other is not saveable without repentance of his Religion For there is neither reason verity nor charity in affirming that Protestants who may be saved by their Religion are not saveable without repentance of the same Religion But this vanity if not impiety hath beene blowne away in the answer to his third Chapter But if this unreasonable position bee taken out of the way which is made the ground and reason of the future discourse concerning Protestants and Romists being of two Religions then the discourse built on it falls to the ground for indeede to what purpose is it to prove that Protestants and Romists are of two Religions except the Author may hereby save Romists from uncharitablenesse in falsly condemning the Protestants for being in a good religion different from their owne bad Popery For that is his errand and this errand hath hee lost in losing this last monstrous position which hee made for a bridge to his errands end So for ought I see this Cavalier is at the end of his journey in the midst of his way and the rest of his walke is a wandring and this voyage a sayling up and downe from his harbour CHAP. VIII Wherein the sixth Chapter of the Cavaliers is brought to examination which hath this title that Protestants and Catholickes meaning Papists cannot bee of one Religion Faith and Church in two Sections SECT I. First divers untruths of the Cavaliers are discovered touching the difference of Doctrine Sacraments and Discipline which are betweene Protestants and Papists Secondly an objection taken away that Protestants have made a reformation without ordinary Mission and Miracles Thirdly the censures of Lutherans against other reformed Churches not sufficient to prove either of them out of the Church ROme is left bleeding in her uncharitablenesse the bridge being broken down by which the Authors suppy should have come to her rescue so the businesse seems to be ended and therefore as of the tumult at Ephesus so of the throng of words that follow it may be said There can be no cause given of this concourse For though the Author have his purpose and Protestants and Romists bee not of one religion yet Rome may bee uncharitable for condemning Protestants who are of the true religion Yea Rome by the Author being cast out from the Church if Protestants bee in it may be in the state of damnation for the Authors owne title and ground even because there is but one Church and salvation whereof Protestants and Romists cannot be both partakers And now what would this Cavalier have his Antagonist and Answerer to doe would hee have him to prove for Romists that they are in the Church when himselfe proves that they are not surely I confesse that though there bee some untruthes by which hee would prove that Romists are not of the same saved Church which Protestants yet there are some truthes that I cannot answer but must confesse that they prevaile against me in putting Romists out of this Church I will first take notice of his untruths To make a Religion so intire as may make men to bee of one Church saith the Cavalier they must beleeve the same doctrine partake the same sacraments and be obedient to the same discipline and Prelates Here first I deny that there must bee an entirenesse in all points of doctrine and if hee will looke backe hee may see that hee hath laboured to prove it but hath lost his labour Againe hee hath been told that if all have not just seven sacraments yet they may bee saved Thirdly if they bee not under
of it yet I cannot deny that hee hath two Errands one to bring forth a jest upon our Fox and his followers under the names of Fox and Geese But if it had pleased this Author duly to follow this Fox in the reading of his Martyrologie he might have found out the true Fox that followes and teares and destroyes those whom our Author by a new Metamorphosis and Romish transubstantiation hath changed into Birds His second Errand he thus expresseth I finde when they are put to name their particular Professors of former ages they doe but muster up those severall single false doctrines which have bin held by other heretiks by Retaile during ten or twelve 〈◊〉 since Christ our Lord many of which doctrines togethâ—r themselves doe now professe in grosse for what other men of former times did they ever or can they ever name as men of their Religion but such as beleeved some one or two of those hereticall doctrines which now themselves embrace and wherein they are contrary to us But all this as it is not very pertinently brought in to excuse Romish uncharitablenesse so it is not very truly objected for wee can prove our doctrines which hee calls heresies by the Fathers and Scriptures and the Scriptures he cannot deny have beene beleeved above twelve ages Besides Popish Authors doe acknowledge that the Waldenses agree with Protestants in more then one or two doctrines for they are said to bee more then twenty wherein wee agree with them And though afterward this Cavalier affirmes it yet hee proves not that for other points these were expresse hereticks in the Protestants opinion neither doe we hide any fundamentall errours in them which we object against Romists But if these had not beene in the world it is most true that the maine point of Popery which is the Popes tyrannicall headship of the Catholick Church the very root of Idolatries errours and divisions hath in all ages been denyed since it was first broached But our Author is still much displeased with fundamentalls because by them wee have unity with those who have heretofore differed in some doctrines from their Papacy for saith he If it were not for this distinction no man could bee of the same Religion with any other that is not wholly of the same Religion so farre forth at the least as that he must not obstinately deny any one doctrine thereof whether it bee important more or lesse when once as hath beene said it is lawfully and sufficiently propounded and commanded to bee beleeved by the true Church as it is true and certaine when Luther rebelled from the Church of Christ our Lord nor in any age before his time there was in the whole world any one Kingdome or Countrey or City or Town or Family of men or Pastours or Flock yea or any one single person so much as of Luthers own much lesse of the now Protestant Religion which is now forsooth so farre refined beyond his Here the Cavaliers true Church being that confederacie whereof the Pope is the head hee would faine dissolve that solid unity which is made by fundamentals in Christ Jesus the true head to mak a fictitious unity in the Pope But if hee should cast off this onely true and substantiall ground of unity which knits together all the sound Churches that are at this day or ever have been through all Nations on the face of the earth since our Saviour to make an unity by agreeing under paine of damnation in all points propounded and commanded by the Pope and his Church of Rome whether important more or lesse hee shall not onely by this meanes breake the unitie of all the true Churches on earth into pieces but of Rome it selfe For to returne almost his owne words Since the Pope who hath rebelled against Christ and usurped the Headship of the Church first coined and established a Religion in Trent neither then nor in any time before there was in the whole world any one Kingdome or Country or City or Towne or Family of men or Pasture or Flocke yea or any one single person who by a supernaturall Faith which this Authour onely approves did imbrace the whole body and every Article of the Trent Religion Yea even at this day it is not received in divers parts that beare the name of the Church of Rome much lesse in Greece Armenia Syria Ethiopia most of which either know not or acknowledge not this Councell nor the Popes Supremacie All these therefore refusing any of these Articles must be torne in pieces from the body of Christ and cast into Hell fire Thus the Scarlet Whore drunke with the bloud of the Saints speaks in the right voice of the Harlot If she may not have the whole childe let it bee cut in pieces Let the Church be distracted and damned if the Pope may not be her Lord and her Tyrant And so whereas Christ was a head that gave himselfe to death to save his body from damnation is not hee an Antichrist that throwes the body of Christ into hell and damnation to make himselfe the head But in a third place hee objecteth not an use of ours but an abuse of his owne For hee abuseth his Reader in saying to him That the making of this distinction betweene Fundamentall and not Fundamentall points of Faith and the resolving not to declare which is which doth save them with a great part of the ignorant world from the imputation of rigour in their proceeding with us For how could they persecute as they doe without extreme note of cruelty But neither the making nor hiding of Fundamentalls is the cause of prosecuting Romists in this Kingdome but the cause of their punishment hath been their owne making of Treasons miraculously revealed by Gods goodnesse notwithstanding their hiding even in the vaults and depths of the earth And though there were no Fundamentalls of Religion but only Fundamentalls of State the Fundamentalls of State are very plain and cannot well be hidden which justifie the execution of Rebells and Traitours But of this some proofe hath been given in the beginning of this Booke and the Authour will call for more towards the end As for that which followes Yea or even how could they dissent without apparent impiety from our beliefe and practice of those Doctrines wherein wee have had and still have prescription of so many ages if the contrary thereof should be confessed by themselves not to be Fundamentall It is so weak that I wish that some childe and not the Cavalier had spoken it to save his reputation For will any man say that it is impiety to dissent from others in ancient errours though these errours be not Fundamentall Tertullian might have taught our Authour much more wisdome who upon the custome of an errour not very Fundamentall thus saith They that have received the holy Ghost preferre truth before custome SECT IIII. Sheweth the differences amongst Popish Divines about their
doth cause the contrary assertion to bee hereticall And accordingly Vasques saith not onely such a Position is called hereticall which is contrary to the definition of the Church but that which is contrary to Scripture And that wee may come to Saint Augustine wee shall finde that this contrariety to Scripture was that which Saint Augustine accounted heresie and not contrariety to the Pope and his Decrees For thus hee saith in the small matter produced by the Cavalier called by him Putting off shooes in prayer There is an heresie of those that ever goe bare foot because God said to Moses or Josua Put off thy shooes from thy feet and because the Prophet Esay was commandâ—d to goe bare foote But this is an heresie not because they goe thus for the humbling of the body but because they thus understand the Testimony of Scripture So we see that the Author is plainly told by S. Augustine that it was the falsifying of divine Testimonies even the alledged places of Scripture that gave their error the name of an heresie And it were pitie to put the Cavalier to prove that at this time the Pope had decreed and decided That men should not put off their shooes in prayer But the truth is the Fathers take this word heresie sometimes in a large sense accounting that an heresie which was an erring against any truth of Scripture but heresie in the most proper full and killing sense hath been taken to bee an error against the Rule of Faith even such an error as puts men off from the foundation for a soule being put off from the foundation which is God in Christ Iesus cannot possibly bee saved Yet it cannot be denyed but that if lesser errors be so plainly discovered to bee contrary to the Scriptures that this contrariety is made manifest to him that erreth this error being afterwards maintained may be a damnable heresie and the reason only be this Because such an heretick erreth in the foundation of Faith for hee doth not beleeve that God is true and not beleeving Gods Truth hee cannot beleeve the truth of his promises in Christ Jesus And because such lesser errors were sometimes plainly at least as some holy men thought convinced to bee contrary to Scriptures therefore these errors by them might perchance bee called heresies But yet it cannot bee certainely affirmed by any man that what himselfe seeth to bee manifestly against Scriptures and hath delivered this which seemes manifest unto himselfe to another that the other to whom hee hath delivered it doth see it also to bee manifest therefore no man meerely upon such a manifestation can say directly and positively That such an one doth wilfully not beleeve the Truth of God in the Scriptures Wherefore these smaller errors though they might be called heresies at large in regard that they were errors shewed to be contrary to the Scriptures and so there was a possibility that they might bee held wilfully against the known truth yet because there is also a possibility that it might not bee knowne to those that erred that their error was contrary to the Scriptures the sentence of killing and damning on such cannot certainly be pronounced For indeed no Father nor Divine can affirme That one erring not wilfully but by weakenesse or ignorance in such a point as praying bare foote cannot beleeve in Christ Jesus or so beleeving cannot bee saved But howsoever in all this which hee hath allâ—dged there is nothing that makes for the Cavalier but rather all against him For it is still an errour contrary to the Scriptures that makes the Heresie and not pride and disobedience against the Pope and his decisions And indeed this truth was so strong and so prevailed against the Cavalier that it forced him to speake some part of it even against his own proposition For he saith thus The Pride wherewith they presumed to abuse Scripture and to impose such a fond law upon mens consciences and a resolution not to leave it when they were commanded by the Church was that which made it Heresie in them Where the abusing of Scripture is indeed the chiefe if not onely cause of giving it the likenesse of Heresie For imposing it as a law upon mens consciences I hope this Author will not take for Heresie but rather for a vertue seeing he hath ofteÌ„ told us that those who suppose their religion to be true are not to blame if that they tel others that they are in danger by holding the contrary Howsoever I am sure this is not the life of Heresie as the Cavalier presently tels us in the next page But maintaining a doctrine discipline contrary to the judgment commandements of the Church But how he could know by the art of divination that these his barefoot Hereticks had a resolution not to leave their errours when they were commanded by the Church the Church being taken for the Pope and his adhaerents I cannot divine for it is very possible that they seeing the Popes glorious Pantofle adorned with the Crosse might perhaps thinke it more holy by the example of him whom they call his Holinesse to weare shooes of that fashion The Cavaliers misâ—haps still increase and the more comfortlesse because they are drawne by himselfe upon himselfe For this next proofe is from the Quarto Decimani the life of whose Heresie hee would make to be the holding of Easter at another time then was ordained by the Church But if the Pope bee as hee is said to bee the Church vertuall let the Cavalier remember that this Church vertuall was chidden by S. Irenaeus for excommunicating the Easterne Churches because they differed from him in observation of Easter So at that time neither the different observation of Easter nor disobeying the Popes command was accounted an Heresie Hee is also alike unhappy in his Heresie of Rebaptization where hee saith In Saint Cyprian it was but errour because the Church of his time had not absolutely condemned it but growing after to be condemned in the Donatists time it was Heresie in them not to forsake it which drew Vincentius Lirinensis to make this exclamation O admirable change of things The Authors of an opinion are held Catholicks and the followers of the selfe same are judged Hereticks For the Cavaliers matter is hereby overthrowne For the Bishop of Rome and his councell having condemned the errour of rebaptization Cyprian must be an Heretick who disobeyed the Bishop of Rome and his councell thus having condemned it yea having condemned the maintainers of it But if S. Cyprian was hereby no Heretick then the life of Heresie doth not consist in disobeying the Church speaking by the Pope Againe if S. Cyprian escape at this doore I do not see but that for ought the Cavalier saith the same doore stands open for the Donatists For his reason by which he would keepe in the Donatists is Because their errour grew after to bee condemned
many whatsoever this Authour saith have not deprived themselves voluntarily of marriage but have taken it upon them as a yoke and burden which neither they nor their Predecessors were able to beare many sinking under it unto the very pit of Hell And let them labour with their wits and pennes so much as they can they will never by reason nor by the lives of their Priests disprove Christs truth That all men cannot receive it nor prove their owne untruth That all men can receive it And surely the Fornications Adulteries Murders and pollutions that have issued from this Law of Coelibate I doubt not cry aloud to heaven against Rome as once against Sodome for that sore to which it is condemned Hee adds further In like manner Saint Peter saith That Saint Paul in his Epistles had written certaine things which were hard to bee understood and which the unlearned and unstable did pervert to their destruction Saint Augustine declares upon this place that the places misunderstood concerned the doctrine of Iustification which some misconceived to bee by faith alone by occasion of what Saint Paul had writ to the Romanes and of purpose to countermine that errour hee saith that Saint James wrote his Epistle and proved therein that good works were absolutely necessary to the Act of Iustification Hereupon wee may observe two things the one That an errour in this point alone is by the judgement of Saint Peter to worke their destruction who imbrace it And the other That the Apostles Creede which speakes no one word thereof is no good Rule to let us know all the fundamentall points of faith To this I answer First That this Authour goes on still upon a false ground as if wee said that all errours in faith that may damne men were fundamentall and expressely against some Article of the Creede Whereas wee have often affirmed That any errour though not fundamentall may damne men that by a lively faith hold not rightly the fundamentals and so are without Christ. And it seemes that these men were not well grounded and founded by fundamentals in Christ Jesus whom Saint Peter calls unlearned and unstable and their errour the errour of the wicked A generation of vipers turne wholesome food into poyson and abuse Scriptures to their owne condemnation But secondly That faith doth not justifie but that good workes are absolutely necessarie to the Act of Iustification is most untrue and against Saint Augustine himselfe Untrue for a man is justified by faith in Christ and not by his owne merits which in your language are good workes as divers of your owne Authours affirme And a man in the instant of his Justification may dye before he hath had time to do good works and yet his Justification may be good And it is against Saint Austin even in the same place whence the former saying of Saint Peter is taken where you may find that commonly knowne sentence of his Opera sequuntur justificatum non praecedunt justificandum Good works follow justification and doe not goe before it So that whiles this Authour observes two things hee gives more then two scandalls to his Reader For first hee chargeth falsly not Saint Austin onely but Saint Iames with holding this errour That good workes were absolutely necessary to the act of justification And then secondly he will make him to say that the not holding of this errour is an errour which may worke their destruction that embrace it Yea thirdly that the Apostles Creed is no good rule to let us know all the fundamentall points of faith because it speakes no one word to teach us that the Cavaliers errour is a fundamentall point of faith Lastly his owne Doctors doe bring into their Explicites our faith in Christs passion resurrection for justification but not this his Article That good workes are absolutely necessary to the act of justification And if they doe not why doth hee require it of us in our fundamentalls SECT II. Wherein his Exceptions against the 39. Articles of Religion established in this Church are answered BUt having quarrelled in vaine with the Creed to prove the insufficiency of it for fundamentalls now hee comes to the Articles where he thus begins Others say that the Booke of the 39. Articles declares all the fundamentall points of Faith according to the Doctrine of the Church of England but this also is most absurdly affirmed For as it is true that they declare in some confused manner which yet indeed is extremely confused what the Church of England in most things beleeves so it is true that they are very carefull that they bee not too clearly understood And therefore in many Controversies whereof that Book speakes it comes not at all to the main difficulty of the question between them and us and especially in those of the Church and Free-will While the Authour speaks of a confused manner and which is extremely confused his words do returne upon himselfe and his owne discourse For that he may make his discourse confused it seemes hee makes use of this doubtfull word Declare For if wee say That the Booke of Articles declares our fundamentalls of faith wee doe not say it declares all the knots of questions which are between us and the Romists For it is well knowne there are divers controversies between us and the Romists which are not of fundamentalls And neither the Fathers in their rules of Faith neither Romists in their Explicites doe declare the knots of questions which may arise even concerning fundamentalls themselves if the fundamentalls be so expressed that their true and saving sense may bee received and beleeved by the working of that Spirit which makes Christs sheep to hear Christs voice They that thus beleeve shall bee saved though they know not all the knots which cunning and erring men doe make They that write rules of Faith Explicites and Fundamentalls doe not in the same undertake to write all knots of controversies which concerne them And the Cavalier doth not find them in his owne Doctors among their Explicites wherefore the answer which he makes for them let him take for us Secondly for his particulars of the Church and Free-will First for the Church Doth our Church hold that the visibility and inerrability of the Church are fundamentalls And if shee doe not how can this Authour accuse her for not shewing fundamentalls because she shewes not those points which she doth not hold to be fundamentall The Church is not the foundation of the Church but she her selfe is built on that onely foundation Christ Jesus And even your owne men are not agreed about making the Article of the Church one of the Explicites or at least agree not in declaring these points of controversies concerning her to be explicitely beleeved And for Free-will I might aske first Doth this Authour find in any of his Doctors this knot of Free-will for an Explicite But secondly Doth the Councell of
the Pope otherwise to determine But whereas this Authour saith That the guilty consciences of Protestants make them not dare to punish Priests capitally as for a corrupt Religion I leave it to the wisdome of State to consider how farre such an imputation of guilt deserves to bee removed And let his owne fellowes weigh with themselves whether this Authour hath acted the part of a Cavalier both valiant and wise thus to provoke clemencie armed with power by putting the scandall and shame of guiltinesse upon it And whether hee hath not brought a kinde of necessitie of capitall punishments for the removing of his owne objection of guilt especially since they who thus provoke patient clemency to turne into severity have also already made smooth the way for it for they have plentifully proved That Idolatry should bee punished with death And the other halfe have the Protestants mightily and inevitably evicted That right or very Popery is right Idolatry And now what hinders but that this Authour may have his desired conclusion of capitall punishment for an Idolatrous Religion and not onely for Treason But as here his valour was inconsiderate so now his inconsideration is valiant For not weighing the Treasons of Priests nor indeed the reasons by which they have approved the Justice of Lawes made against them this Authour in a blind hardinesse to his owne shame doth accuse Protestants of Impudence and Falsehood For that many Priests have been actuall Traitors our Chronicles too plentifully shew and their owne Pens have witnessed to the world the justice of our Lawes even against those Priests who have not bin taken in actuall Treason And now that this Authour may help us as hee usually doth towards his owne confutation hee giveth us a sentence that is a sword for the slaying of his owne Charity Mistaken His words are these As the Catholick Church is most perfectly charitable so withall shee thinkes shee cannot expresse the vertue better then by clearely distinguishing betweene truth and falshood and by exhorting men to imbrace the one and to avoid the other so far off is she from demeriting by letting Protestants know that if they dye impenitent in that Religion they lose their soules Here is that truth which I told him long since and which hath already served to overthrow a great part of his former discourse That Charity cannot be better expressed then by clearly distinguishing between truth and fashood and by exhorting men to imbrace the one and to avoyd the other For herein doe the Romists exceedingly offend against Charity and can hardly better expresse the contrary Uncharitablenesse then by putting truth into place of falsehood and by exhorting men to imbrace falsehood and to avoyd truth And untill the Authour hath disproved this mistaking our Accusation of Romish uncharitablenesse still stands on foote and his owne plea for Rome lyes still unproved And Rome though very meritorious yet doth much demerit yea sinne against Charity for falsly telling Protestants That they lose their soules if they dye impenitent in a true Religion CHAP. XIII Wherein are discussed divers false inferences from some Protestants doctrine urged by the Cavalier in the Conclusion of his Booke to seduce men to Popery and encountred with some true inferences drawne from Popish doctrines the better to perswade men from that Sect. SECT I. The Protestants denyall of Merit no principle of corrupt living THis Authour having lost or rather given away his cause in the premisses of his discourse the conclusion sutable to such losing premisses should have been a meere surrender and accordingly he should have said That notwithstanding all improbabilities it is very probable that Romists want charity to Protestants when they take them for odious persons fall foule on them blow them up burne them and damne them And secondly That though it be true that there is but one Church and one Faith wherein is salvation yet Protestants being of this one Church and having this Faith and so being in the way of salvation it is not an untruth but a truth that they want charity who hate and damne the Protestants which are saved Yet our Authour goes on like Pharaoh and to him as to Pharaoh may be said Knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed Doth he not know the citie which is spiritually Egypt and Sodome is going to destruction and the probabilities and reasons are dead by which as by garisons this Egypt is maintained and defended Wherefore it were good that both he and Rome would let the men goe that they may serve the Lord their God But Rome still goes on in her purpose of holding the Church in bondage yea shee sends forth Souldiers and Cavaliers to fetch back those who are gone out from her yoke whereof this Champion is one And now that the sonnes of Rome may imitate the infirmities of Saint Peter wherein especially their Fathers are his Successors hee comes with a piece of that pitie wherewith Saint Peter would have Christ to have pitied himselfe but so that without pitie hee should have lost the salvation of the whole world so would this Authour have Protestants to pity themselves even to the danger of their salvation and by a deadly Apostacie to turne from the living God to Romish Idolatry But hee doubts his pitie will prove but a sleight and empty perswasion and therefore to a vaine pitie hee addeth some reasons which want nothing more then truth to make them forcible Hee saith That Protestant doctrine under his false Title of heresie is a Nursery of corrupt principles concerning life and when hee hath said it hee brings as hee is wont proofes that do not prove it yet thus hee begins even in his Conclusion When they teach men that there is no merit belonging to good workes though they bee confess'd by us to flow but from the grace and goodnesse of Christ our Lord what courage doe they give men to bee frequent and chearfull in doing of good works But is not this speech unworthy of a noble Cavalier much more of a Christian For were it not ignoble in a Knight when his Father commands him to doe some valiant service for his honour or defence to answer him hee hath no courage to doe him service because thereby he cannot merit any thing from him seeing hee oweth all his service and himselfe unto him Thus because his Father hath deserved all therefore hee will doe nothing Againe If a Father should tell his Sonne Doe what thou canst to please mee or as Isaac Goe kill mee some venison and I will freely give thee a blessing though the venison deserve it not should the Son wisely returne this answer to his Father Sir I have no encouragement by your free promise or gift of this blessing except I can merit it from you by my venison But ingenuous Christians Saints and Sonnes of God whose understandings and wils are truely ennobled by the Divine Spirit are farre of another minde they