Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
religion_n	apostle_n	church_n	doctrine_n	4,033	5	6.2595	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A14436	The waie home to Christ and truth leadinge from Antichrist and errour, made and set furth in the Latine tongue, by that famous and great clearke Vincent, French man borne, aboue .xi. hundred yeres paste, for the comforte of all true Christian men, against the most pernitious and detestable crafte of heretikes, which in his tyme by all subtell wayes, deuised to obscure and deface the doctrine and religion of the vniuersall churche. And now the same worke is englished, and by the Quenes highnes authorised to be sette furthe for the reliefe fo diuers Englishe menne, which yet stande in doubte, whether they may goe to heauen in the peace and vnitie of Christes vniuersall churche, or to hell in the dissention and confusion of heretikes; Pro catholicae fidei antiquitate libellus. English	Vincent, of Lérins, Saint, d. ca. 450.; Proctor, John, 1521?-1584.	1554 (1554)	STC 24754; ESTC S104650	58,039	228

voyce together wished Verely that suche doctrine as was of olde taught and receyued shoulde be euermore allowed and imbraced and what of late dayes was newely deuised should for euer be refused After whiche thinges I was for my parte brought into a very greate admiration of their doinges and coulde not sufficientlye as me thought cōmend the wonderful humilitie and godly deuotion of so great clerkes and holy men For although they were suche and so many indued with suche excellent knowledge with such inestimable iudgement that eche and euery of them mought haue frelye questioned in anye matter of the auncient faythe and againe theyr assembly and congregation together mighte seeme to incourage and imbolden the same newe matters of theyr owne heades deuised to decree and set furthe yet would they innouate nothinge but by al maner meanes cared that no doctrine should be deliuered vn to theyr posteritie but such as they had receyued of the forefathers Thus dyd these fathers not onelye for the good disosition of thynges at that present tune but also to leaue example to suche as should folow them what they shoulde doe in lyke case That they ought with all their studie to honour the auncient faith and not deuise new to mayntayne suche religion as they had receyued and not to set furth what of their owne braynes was deuised I inueighed also agayust the most wicked and pestilent presumption of deuillishe Nestorius who bragged of hym selfe that he first and onelye of all other vnderstode the scriptures rightlye and that all other before his time wandred in ignoraunce and errour as many as ener had taught or written vpon the scriptures as all Priestes Bishoppes Matyrs Eonfessours that eyther haue expounded the scriptures or geuē credit to others expositions vpon the same And who finallye affirmed the whole church euen nowe to be in blindnes and errour and euer to haue been whiche nowe folowed and at all tymes had folowed as it seemed vnto hym ignoraunt blinde and erronious doctours and teachers And although to haue sayde thus muche might seeme sufficient to ouerthrowe and vtterlye to deface all prophane nouelties yet for the better furnishynge vp of the matter I haue adiected two authorities of the Apostolike See The one of Xistus Byshoppe of Rome The other of his predecessour S. Celestine whiche here I shall recount Holye Xistus in the epistle whiche he wrote vnto the Byshoppe of Antioche concernynge Nestorius matter sayeth thus For asmuche as ther is but one fayth accordynge to the Apostle whiche nowe most euidently hath obteined what ought to be taught let vs beleue that and lette vs firmelye holde what we ought to beleue Nowe what that is that ought to be taught and beleued he in his progresse doeth after declare Let no noueltie be receiued sayeth he and no credit be geuen vnto it hensfurth Because nothinge ought to be added vnto auncientie The manifest and well knowen faieth and credulitie of our elders be it troubled with no permixtion of myer Thus wrote Xistus and verye Apostolike commending the faythe of our auncetours with the termes of perspicuite and describynge prophane nouelties by permirtion of mier Holye Celestine in maner and sentence like confirmed the same in the Epistle whiche he sent vnto the priestes and preachers in Fraūce blaming them for their silence whereby they semed to geue ouer the auncient faith and suffered prophane nouelties to arise and saieth Merito nos causa respicit si silentio foueamus errorem c. The matter toucheth vs sayeth he if we by silence doe norishe and vpholde an errour Let such therfore be punished neither let it be lawfull for suche to speake what they lyst Here some man may perhappes doubt who be they whiche he forbiddeth to talke at pleasure and to speake what they lyst Whether it be ment by the preachers of the auncient doctrine or by the deuisers of fantastical nouelties Let holy Celestine hym selfe saye and dissolue this doubte in whome it foloweth desinat si ita res est If the matter be so saieth he that is to witte if it be so as diuers haue blamed your prouinces and cities for that ye through your daungerous dissimulynge and hurtfull silence cause them to consent vnto certaine nouelties If it be so sayth he let noueltie cesse to vexe and disturbe holy anncientie This was the sentence of blessed Celestine which tended not to distroye the auncient religion but to extirpe and banishe al newe inuentions contrarye to the catholike and old tradition of our forefathers Wherfore suche as contemne and wythstande the religion taught set furth by the apostolike catholike decrees what els doe they but preferre theyr owne fonde fansy iumlyng iudgement before the iuste sentence sounde iudgement of so manye godlye fathers and holy martyrs First thei herken not to S. Celestine who decreed vt desmeret nouítas incessere vetustatem That is that noueltie shoulde cesse to vexe and disturbe the auncientie They also laugh to skorne the wise counsel of holye Xistus who decreed in this wise Nihil vltra liceat nouitatí quia nihil addi conuenit vetustati They neglecte likewyse the statutes of blessed Cyril who honorablye allowed and commended the godlye zeale of reuerent Capreolus for that he by hys Epistle desyred the aunciente lessons and decrees concernyng religion to be confirmed and al new contrarye inuentions to be condempned They doe in lyke sorte treade vnder foote all the decrees lawes statutes made and agreed vpō in the Synode kept at Ephesus wherunto all the holy Byshoppes of the East part assembled and there with one voyce consent and mynde authorised and confirmed all suche doctrine as by the elders was deliuered and condemned Nestorius as an heretike for that he impugned the auncient beliefe woulde haue brought in newe nouelties The consent of whiche fathers in that counsell and so in other generall counselles the consent of other also stablishing the catholike religion who euer neglecteth whom els dothe he neglecte and despise but the holye ghost by whose inspiration their hartes were ruled and the true catholike Churche whiche they maintened and the maisters of the same the Prophetes and Apostles whom they followed And expreslye he speaketh against S. Paule his doctrine who saieth O Timothee depositum custodi c. That is O Timothe kepe that whiche was lefte vnto the auoidinge prophane nouelties of wordes And in an other place he saith to the same sense If any shall shewe vnto you any other doctrine than that ye haue receaued accursed be he Nowe if the apostolike counselles and the ecclesiasticall decrees by which in holy consent of vniuersalitie and auncientie all heretikes hetherunto haue ben condempned and the catholike religion mainteyned are in no wise to be cōtemned and despised then shall it be necessarie for all suche as desire to be coumpted the legitimate children of our mother the catholike Churche firmely to cleue adhere and sticke sure to the vnspotted faieth of oure holy auncetours and vtterlye derest abhorre and persecute al wicked nouelties of prophane men that in any point resist the vniuersal religion receiued Finis Imprynted at London by Robert Caly within the precincte of the late dissolued house of the graye Freers nowe conuerted to an Hospitall called Christes Hospitall ⁂ The .xxij. daye of Detober ⁂ 1554. Cum priuilegio ad imprimendum solum

otherwise can not be perfect without dayly emendation yea rather reprehēsion of the same the diuine Oracles criyng to the contrarye Ne transferas terminos quos posuerunt patres tui that is to sai beware thou go not beyonde the bondes whiche thy auncetours haue set Agayne Super iudicātem ne iudices That is to say Iudge not thou of or vpō him that hath iudged Likwise Scindentēsepem mordebít eū serpēs Whiche is in our tonge The serpent wil stinge him that breaketh or cutteth the hedge Whereby is ment that the deuyl which is figured by the serpent in the scripture wil poison stinge him to deathe that presumeth to breake the hedge of the catholike faythe and contemneth the vnitie of Christ his vniuersall churche Hereto belongeth the worthye counsail of S. Paul wherwith as with a certayne spirituall sworde all detestable nouelties of cursed heresies are and at all times haue been cut of and shal be to the worldes ende O Timothe sayeth he kepe that doctrine whiche was lefte vnto thee and auoyde all prophane nouelties of wordes and termes Beware of oppositions and obiectiōs of false named science whiche certayne promisyng haue erred cōcerning the faith What can be more vehemētly spoken against new innouations contrary to the auncient order of the vniuersall church thē this yet behold the indurate hartes the shamelesse impudēcie the stiffe outragious pertinacie of diuers whom neyther the great weight of so manifest scriptures can moue to yelde nor the weyghtie importaunce of so highe authorities canne force to retyre ne yet so terrible threatenynges of high vengeaunce can persuade to repent O Timothe sayeth S. Paule auoyde prophane nouelties of wordes and voyces He sayth not antiquities and auncienties But therby sheweth what on the other syde he shoulde folowe For he sayeth not Auoide the olde auncient receiued termes phrases and sentences but newfangled gere and prophane nouelties Then if noueltie is to be auoyded antiquitie oughte to be admitted if noueltie be prophane then is auncientie holye and diuine Auoide also sayeth he and resist oppositions and obiections of knowledge falselye so called That is obiections made by heretikes agaynst the receyued order of the catholike churche vpon knowledge as they wold lyghtlye perswade But it is not so sayeth S. Paule It is falsely called knowledge The knowledge of Heretikes is grosse ignoraunce their brightnesse is mere dymnesse Theyr light is hellishe darkenesse Yet woulde they so disgyse and colour them that in apparaunce they might seeme the selfe same thinges whiche promisyng sayeth S. Paule they haue fallen from the faithe What haue they promised Surelye I wote not what newe and vnknowen doctrine For ye shall here some say vnto you The verie fourme of wordesth heretikes vse O ye fooles and selye poore soules whiche commonly are called catholike come ye vnto vs saye they and learne of vs the true faythe which none knoweth besides vs whiche hath ben hidden from you this many hundred yeres and is nowe of late reueled and shewen vnto a fewe of vs. But learne it of vs priuelye and secretlye and you shall finde great pleasure therin And whē ye haue learned it at our handes teache it other also but priuelye in corners that the worlde heare it not and that the Churche knowe it not For thei can not beare it because it is geuen but to a fewe to vnderstande and receiue the secrete of so great mysterie I praye you be not theise the very wordes of that abhominable and deceytefull harlot spoken of in the pronerbes of Salomon Which doth allure to come vnto her suche as passe by the waye goynge in theyr iourneye sayinge He that is vnwisest of you al let him come to me And the simple she intiseth also saying Panes occultos libenter attingite et aquam dulcemfurtim bibite That is to saye Come and eate gladlye the loues whiche are hidden and drinke priuely a swete pleasaunt water These are the flattering and deceyuable wordes of that false wicked harlot the churche of Antichrist But it is worthe the labour to trauerse more at large the wordes of S. Paule O Timothe saith he kepe that which is left vnto the auoyding prophane nouelties of wordes O is an exclamation aswell of prescience as also of charitie For he aforesawe the errours to come and afore hande was careful howe to auoyde them He speaketh vnto Timothe Who is now Timothe But eyther the vniuersal churche generally or the whole bodye of the rulers speciallye For bothe them selues oughte to haue the sounde and perfect knowledge of Gods religion and also to teache the same to other What is meaned by that Deposita custodi Kepe that whiche is lefte vnto the. Kepe sayeth saynct Paule because of fylchynge theues and enuyous aduersaries Least thei when men be at rest shoulde sowe theyr zizan and Cocle vpon that good seede of Wheate whiche the sonne of man hadde sowen before in his feelde Kepe that whiche was lefte vnto thee sayeth the Apostle What was that Forsothe that whiche was credited and committed vnto thee and not that whyche was deuised by thee The religion whiche thou haste receyued and not whiche thou of thy selfe haste imagined a matter not of wyt but of doctrine not of priuate vsurpation but of publike traditiō brought vnto the from thyne auncetours not brought fnrthe by the for thy successors Wherof thou oughtest not to be an authour but keper not an institutour but folower Hold assuredly saieth S. Paule saue kepe the inuiolate and pure talent of the catholike faieth committed vnto the. Exchaunge not but what thou hast receiued holde that still and delyuer that same vnto other Thou hast receiued golde yeld golde againe I will not that thou rendre either impudentlye leade or craftely coper for good golde restore in value and substaunce gold in deed and not that whiche glistereth and hath a showe lyke to golde and yet is none O Timothe O thou priest thou doctour preacher or expoūder of scriptures if the gift of God hath made the a fitte instrument thereunto in witte doctrine and exercise bee thou Beselehel the workeman of the spirituall tabernacle Cut and graue workemanly the pretious Gemmes of the heauenly doctrine Coapt set and applye them faithfully Adorne decke set thē furth wisely Adde with the vttermost of thy power shyning grace bewtie Through the and thyne expositions let it be perceiued more clearelye whiche before was darke and yet beleued faithfully Through the and thy frauel let the posteritie reioyce in the vnderstandinge of that whiche tofore the antiquitie did worship and not vnderstande But yet teach the same thinges whiche thou hast learned and none other that when thou speakest newely yet thou speake not newe matters Here some wil saye What shal there be no increase had of religion in the churche of Christe-Yes what els Who is so iniurious bothe to God and man that would not so But increase I would should be not

this mother there can be no health in you but all diseases there can bee no knowledge in you but al ignoraunce there can be no hoope of lyfe lefte in you but assurednes of deathe Yea ye can not be of God but of the deuyl Qui matrem ecclesiam relinquit August in sym bolo ad Catechumenod Libro mi. cap. r. quomodo est in Christo qui in membris eius nō est Quomode est in Christo qni in corpore Christi non est Ne that leaueth his mother the church sayeth S. Austen howe may he be of Christ whiche is not of his membres Nowe maye he be in Christ whiche is not in the bodie of Christ The bodie of Christ is the churche If you wil be healthfull come home and haue it If you couet knowledge come home and sucke it at your mothers brestes in forme and maner as it shall please her and not you If you wil haue life come home bide at home with our louinge mother where deathe ne hell can preuail against you If you wil be of god come home and be incorporate into the bodie of God and man Iesus Christe and then the deuil shall haue no power ouer you Do thus and you shall be assured to inherite heauen where that wicked harlot and her hareheades shal neuer come you shal doubtlesse possesse the celestiall Paradise which that wicked maistres and her minstrelles can neuer entre You shall receiue eternite which that hereticall churche and her chyckines shall neuer haue Their disobedience and false beleife shal tomble them together into hel your true obedience and faieth shall mounte you to heauen They as vnfaithfull rebelles shal be destitute of all heauenlie grace you as obedient and faithfull children shal be supported with the maiestie of Angels For them euerlasting tormentes are appointed for you heauenlye ioyes preparedeuer to ēdure Thei shal perishe wicked with the wicked you shall raigne sanctified with saintes I feare not but you that are at home wiltarie at home for feare of so many daūgers and I mistrust not but you that are from home wyll make hast homeward allured with so many benefites There is no doubte if cloked crafte begile you not if flattering fawninge of that deceiteful auoutresse hold you not but that you wyll make spede as I said to come home againe that haue straied from home so longe But as at home with our mother there is no lacke of trueth so that harlot our cruell stepmother lacketh no crafte to entrap and entangle you no falshood no flatteringe to allure and intice you Come vnto me saith she for here is Christ here is health here is saluaciō Thus the Ape can ruffle in purple thus the Asse can strowt in the Lyons skynne thus the iarringe Iaye canne counterfeicte the pleasaunt note of the nightingale But beware brethren be not deceaued It is and euer hath been the practise of the deuill and his ministers by coulor of trueth to perswade falshood vnder the cloke of good to bringe in al euil Our true mother the true church is but one in all respectes but one only one in one vniforme vse of one Baptisme sacramētes one faith one spirite This mother is not a mother of a fewe but of many her power is not particular but vniuersall as she is extended through all the foure partes of the earth her glorie diffused in the whole world For of her it is saied Dabo tibi gentes haereditatem tuā possessionem tuam terminos terrae I wyll giue the nations thine inheritaunce and the extremities of the earthe shal be thy possession This our mother the true churche hateth not light loueth not to lurke in corners where she maye not be seene but as her power hath euer more been vniuersall so vniuersally she hath been at all tymes aperte plaine and manifest For how can she be obscure and hidden saith fainte Austē Quae obtinuit omnes gentes is that citie of whiche it is spoken Non potest abscondi ciuitas super montem constituta The citie cannot be hid which is set vppon a mountaine Our lorde hath set hys tabernacle in the sōne saith the propher his tabernacle is our mother the catholike church saith S. Austē which is set in the bright sonne not in the darke shade whiche walketh openly by daye and not preuilye by night Whose aduersarie the hereticall churche is of a contrary nature For she neither is vniuersall nor at all tymes but at some certaine time and in some one certaine place And againe she goeth and commeth preuilie and in her doinges there is no vnitie no certeintie at all Her ministers are diuided now they dreme one thinge nowe an other this daye they like to morowe they mislike one is against an other of them euen in the highest mysteries of Christ his religion Who list to cōsidre their writinges shall proue true that I saie Howe be it experience of their doinges without readinge of their bookes mighte perswade vs of Englande what thei were and wherehence they be that yeres past haue been preachers and teachers here amongest vs that haue persecuted our true mother the vniuersall churche of Christ and haue set vp their lorde Antichriste and his hereticall churche What orders what forme of religion haue they set furth sins their firste raigne that shortly after they altered not Whiche three of them amougest them all that agreed together in their matters No marueill for the deuill is their chiefe head whō they serue and he is full of lyes variaunce diuision and discorde And vnder him their scholemaisters were Hus Luther Zuinglius Decolampadius Bucer Melanethon Tindall Frythe whiche in their doctrine agree not one with an other Such maisters suche scholers come of them And this diuision this vncōstancie of doctrine was a manifest token that they were not the children of oure true mother the catholike churche nor ministers of Christ but the children of the deuill and ministers of Antichrist yea very Autichristes For who soeuer saith S. Austen is gone from the vnitie of the catholike churche he is become Antichrist Those Antichristes haue borne a great stroke here nowe to longe time in Englande in whom was no constācie no staye no stedfastues of religion and doctrine Howebeit thei al agreed wel in some thinges They all woulde be as proude as headdy as false and suttle as the deuill their father wherhence they came They al would haue wyues longe berdes and finally no olde trueth or fashions but all newe knackes and fansies as their scholemaisters lyked Bucer c. of whō they were taught Yet woulde they bere vs in haud the they wer catholike christiās But howe can ye be catholike christiaus saith sainte Austen in his treatise vpon sainte Iohn his Epistle that do not communicate and agre to the vnitie of doctrine and faith whiche is receiued and vsed through all christianitie They woulde be counted true preachers of the

a remedy Thē begin where ye left teach them better and feede them lesse And for praying how it hath decaied which of you cannot beare witnesse Finallye what kinde of wickednes is there that ye haue not aboue other and what one vertue is there that ye haue not lesse then other that professe the contrarie religion to you One demaunded of kinge Agesilans what fruit and benefite the lawes that Lycurgus made had brought vnto the Citie of Spart marie quod he Contemptum vitiorum that is the contempte of vices But whoo shoulde require of me what fruit the innouatiō of religion hath brought into this realme of Englande I muste nedes saye as I knowe Contemptum virtutum the contempte of vertues and al godly liuing If it be true knowledge that ye bragge your selues to haue of Gods worde came ye not to it by the spirite of God And doth the spirite of God increase knowledge in you and decrease godlines that shoulde be in you according to your knowledge Is godlie zeale is the feare of God is holynes of life is charitee towardes your neighbours wrought in your hartes without the knowledge of Christe his true religion or els with the knowledge therof If it be in the right knowledge of worshippinge God then of necessitie must ye cōfesse that before this innouation you were in better state of knowledge because your liues were then more agreable to knowledge and that sins ye haue been erroniouslye taught and deuillishelye seduced because your dedes doinges haue euer sins been more and more vngodly and deuillishe For God did neuer begin to plante a doctrine vnknowen tofore or renewe a doctrine afore neglected and forgotten but by suche as were godly and vnspotted as in dede expressed the strength and vertue of their doctrine in their life and behauiours For as S. Ambrose saith the wordes of teaching do vehementlie moue the hartes of the hearers when the life of the teacher is not dissonant Thē is the authoritie of the preacher firme sure alewable when he clencheth his sayinges in the mindes of the hearers with the efficatie of godly workes For the iuste man in his worde and dede is alowed in his sayinges this is required in all preachers and teachers commonlie howe much more is it requisite in them that will preache and teache a newe vnknowen doctrine and woulde repell and olde knowen and well grounded religion to plant some newe fangled inuētion If thei were moued by God then no doubte God woulde also inspire them to doo it orderlie that is accordinge as him selfe did and required other to doe He him selfe as is reported of him Caepit faeere docere Began first to doe and then to teach And he instructing his preachers said who soeuer breaketh one of these least cōmaundementes and so teacheth other he shal be called the least in the kingdome of heauen but whosoeuer obserueth teacheth the same shal be called great in the kingdome of God And S. Paule the worthie preacher of Christe his trueth dothe testifie of him selfe I doe chasten my bodie saith he and bringe it into subiection least peraduenture while I preache to other I my selfe be made a reprobate Surely if God woulde innouate or alter the religion so longe receiued by reprobate men then is he not the same that he was nor one with his promise For when he first began to plant the doctrine of his sonne Christ he chose such ministers and preachers therof as for integritie of life and also for diuers miracles effectuall persuasions of anye thinge that they shoulde teache were notable through all the worlde But our holy preachers beginning to plant a newe religion or as they saye renewe an olde doctrine this .xv. C. yeres neglected lacke both Thei haue neither good conditions to authorise ne miracles to cōfirme their sayinges O you will say vnto me though they liued not accordinglye yet was their teachinge good I saie they taughte naughtie false doctrine How proue I that because it is contrarie to the faith receiued and taught by our mother the vniuersall churche But they brought the scriptures for them ye wil fai. Yea so did the deuil so did Arreus Donate Sabellius and as many heretikes as euer were to maintaine their doctrine yet was their doctrine hereticall and blasphemous and the scripture true and moost true But thei alleged the Doctours and Fathers vppon the scriptures They did in dede but in like sort and maner as diuers were noted to allege Homers verses 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hedles endles for whatsoeuer they founde in any of the fathers workes that mighte in any respecte seeme in apparaunce to mainteine their errors the same wolde thei continuallie chat and charme on allthoughe in dede it made either against them and their errouious doctrine or at least nothinge with them if they had well waied their workes throughlye as they did not But they were snatchers and patchers only and only snatched here and there a piece to patche vp a botching mater I mighte well liken them to Apes for diuers qualities that were in them for as the Ape being neither apt to kepe that house as doth the mastie cur nor fitte to bere burthen as can the hors nor meete to turne and till the grounde as can the Oxe she only flattereth she only moueth vs to laughter and pleasure and with her folishe mockes and mowes maketh vs pleasaunt and merie So these newe fangled preachers for as much as thei had not the grace neither to kepe home with their mother the vniuersall churche and with her to watch and kepe the wardes that her enemies assaulte her not neither to turne till the groūde of mans soule that it might be apt to receiue that good feéde of whete whiche their mother woulde haue sowen neither yet paciontlie to bere the burthen and loode of her motherlie correction by fastinge and praiyng and to suffre the crosse of her spouse Christe which she would haue leide vpon their showlders being vnfitte I saye and vnprofitable membres to these good purposes and vses they became ministers of pleasure libertie lyeence and ease and they thēselues knowrle dope in them all Whos 's onlie purpose was as Trasmus well noteth in his epistle to Bylibaldus Census vxor thryuing and wyuing ergo in this point they be apishe Againe when so euer they toke vpon them the handlinge of any good and weightie matter their handling of it was apishelie for either thei woulde rent and teare it into peices and make it nought worth orels by wrasting and wrething of it they woulde force the same to mainteine their principall intente wyuinge and thriuynge and this is apishe Further as of euill commeth good many times so of thē came some good also For we reade that the wantonnes plaie and pastime that the Ape maketh driueth away the Agew from the Lyon In like sort the foly the lyceutious libertie of these new fangled preachers haue driuen

who in his seconde booke vnto Themperoure Gratian deploringe and lamentinge the cruell bitternes of that tyme writeth in thys wyse O almightie god we haue now sufficientlie purged and cleansed the slaughter of thy confessours the murder of thy ministers the wickednes of soo great impietie with our bloude and with oure destruction Thou hast now sufficiently declared that they cannot be saued whiche haue uiolated broken thy catholike faith Likewise in the thirde booke of the same worke Let us obserue therfore saith S. Ambrose the preceptes of thelders let us beware through presūptuous temeritie to uiolate the seales of oure inheritaunce The fast sealed booke of the prophet nor thi seniours nor the powers nor the Angelles ne Archaungelles durste unseale To Christ onely was the prerogatiue reserued to open the same The boke of Apostolike fathers who of us dare open being sealed by so many confessours and halowed with the bloud of so many godlie martyrs They were holie confessours and martyrs howe maie we dense their faithe whose uictorie we commende Yea playnelye holye S. Ambrose we commende and greatlye alowe thē For who is so mad who so euyl disposed that wisheth not to trace and folowe their steppes all if he cannot ouertake them whom no violence no crueltie no kinde of death coulde terrifie whome no allurementes of worldlie felicitie no hope of life no desire of libertie no flatterie of frendshippe coulde withhold from the defense of the faieth whiche their auncetours had Whom I say our heauenly lord for their cōstancie in the aūcient faieth iudged worthie by whō his diuine maiestie mighte restore his churches beinge greuouslie mangled reuiue and quicken vp the spirites of well disposed people merueilouslye discomforted set vp and restore againe the holye ordre of hys priesthood beinge trode vnder foote and by whom finally his inscrutable prouidence mought with the bloude of so innocente martyrs cleanse the people being pitiouslye defiled with the stinkinge frothe of daungerous heresies And with the plentifull teares of so godlye by shoppes washe cleane awaye and vtterly deface suche newefangled not properly writīges but rather wrestinges of well written verities And so reuoke almoost the whole worlde frome pestilent heresies vnto the most certaine trueth of hys worde from altering noueltie vnto the sounde and constante auncientie from newetangled fantasies vnto the approued iudgment of his catholike Churche But in this heauenly constācie this is to be noted and earnestlie to be considered of vs that in the auncientie of the Church they defēded nat any one singular part but the catholyke that is to witte the vniuersal faith vniuersallie receiued Neither is it leefull to thinke that suche and so many sage and learned fathers would with suche constauncie affirme maintaine and defende the dreaines of one or two persones A rule or would for the fantasticall conspiracie as it were of one smale prouince cōtende euen to deathe But they imbracinge and faithfullye ensuing the decrees censures and definitions of all the ministers of the holye Churche and of the apostolike veritie had rather to deliuer their bodies vnto moost cruell tourmentes then to be deliuered from the auncient beliefe rather to be ouerthrowen by their enemies to death thē to geue ouer their catholike faith whereby they shoulde lose the hope of life at Goddes handes Thus losing al to wyn Christ suffering themselues willingly to be ouercome of al that truth might ouercome by them they haue pourchaced vnto theire name suche inestunable glorie that they be moost rightlye reputed and accompted not onlye confessors but the princes and cheife heades of all other confessors and Martyrs Wherefore this diuine and heauēly example of these blessed fathers ought to be a special president vnto all singular Catholike mē worthie in cōtinual meditation to be recorded who in maner of the seuenfolde candelsticke braushing which the seuēfold light of the heauenly spirit haue foreshowen vnto all their posteritee a verye manifest and cleare forme howe hereafter in al vprores of vaine errours the vnaduised temeritie of fantasticall innouation ought to be repressed vtterly to be suppressed by the authoritie of holy An tiquitie and by the force of the vniuersal consent of Christ his churche This hath not been straunge amonges the fathers of the Churche For euermore the holyer the better disposed any haue been the more ernest prompt and ready he hath been alwayes to withstand newe inuentions Examples hereof are plentie But to auoide tediousnes I wyll passe ouer many only recite one whereby it may be euident vnto all with howe great care studie and contention the blessed succession of the Apostles haue at all tymes defended the integritie of the religion once allowed receyued by the consent of the vniuersall Churche Agrippinus So it was therefore that Agrippinus bishop of Carthage first of all other thought good to be rebaptised contrary to the canon and rule lefte by the Apostles contrarye to the custome or order of the elders contrary to the general consent of the Clergie Which presumption of his raysed vp so much mischiefe that therby was geuen not onelye matter of factious sacrylege to Heretikes but also to certayne catholikes occasion of errour Howe be it on euerye syde eche good man withstod it earnestly Stephen But Stephen of honourable memorie then byshoppe of Rome with certayne other godlye men most vehementlye of all other did resist that fantasye of Agrippinus And in an Epistle sent vnto Affrike vpon that occasion he ordeyned that nothinge ought to be altred or renewed but all thinges to be obserued and kept as thei were by tradition left For that holy and prudent father well perceyued that ther was not the true religion where all thinges are not receyued in lyke faythe of the children as they were lefte of the fathers where we be not led by religion but we lede religion whether we like And this is the propertie of christen sobrutie and grauitie not to deuise new sectes and fashions for his posteritie but with all his power to obserue the old and holsome lawes receyued of antiquitie What was then the ende of that busines raysed by Agrippinus Forsoth the vsuall and tofore obserued the auncient custome was reteyned the newe deuise vtterly refused But ye wyll say perchaunce Note that suche men lacke power and learninge to defende theyr new deuised opinions Yea they were so excellent in wit so stowing in eloquence and so many in numbre agayne they had so greate likelyhode of trueth and brought so many sentences of the scriptures for their purpose but wrongfully vnderstanded that assuredlye they coulde by no meanes haue been ouermated had not their matters quailed in them selues as moost vntrue and contrarye to the will of God To be shorte what shall I saye of the decrees passed in the counsell kepte by certain in Affrica Howe did God fauour the same Were not all thynges therein done accōpted as dreames abolyshed as fables abrogated and vtterlye

refused as vntrue and contrarie to the catholike faith And O wōderful turne and merueilous conuersion The first authours of the same opinion are reputed catho like and the folowers of the same are iudged heretikes The maisters be absolued and the disciples be condempned The writers of the bokes out of whiche they falselye forged their opinion are made the children of the heauenly kingdome and the auouchers burne in hel For who is so mad that doubteth but that so blessed lyght of al holy martyrs and byshoppes S. Cyprian S. Cyprian and his felowship do raigne-euerlastinglye with Iesus Christe in heauen Agayne who is so deuellishe and wicked to denaye that the Donatistes and other lyke heretikes that brag that they were led by the counsell and authoritie of the saied S. Cyprian to rebaptize burne with their graundesyre the deuill euerlastinglye in hell And surely it semeth vnto me that that counsell in Affrike was promulgate and setfurthe euen by the prouidence and will of God thereby to detect and disclose the shamfull crafte of such hellyshe heretikes whose wicked fashion is when they entende to patche vp an heresie in an other mannes name to induce the bookes of suche auncient writers in that point darkly penned and leafte vnto vs whiche for the obscuritie and darknes thereof might serue as it were for the maintenaūce of their trecherie falshoode and heresie And so they might seme not to be the first nor the onely authors of such opinion Whose wickednes in this poīt I iudge worthie double hatred Firste because they feare not to quaffe the poison of heresie to open the gappe of damnable error vnto other Secondelye for that they slaunderouslye renewe the memorie of holye men in suche matter and as it were with their prophane hande do fanne abrode into the ayre the ashes whiche were well raked vp reuiuinge that not without diffamation whiche were better to be buried in perpetuall silence Herein they leappe not one inch from their graundsyre Cham. Cham. who not only vouchesafed not to couer the naked membres of his naturall father Noe Noe. but also showed other of it to laughe at Wherein he somuche transgressed the reuerence due to the parentes and somuch thereby displeased God that he and hys posteritie were cursed for hys faulte And his bretherne blessed by the mouthe of God who would neither see the nakednes of their reuerend father neither permit other to se it For turnig their backes towardes him as it is written they couered him Whiche their facte dothe let vs tunderstande that they did neither allowe ne yet be wraie the faulte of the holye man their father And therfore they and their posteritie were rewarded with the blessed benediction of God But nowe let vs returne to our purpose We ought therfore I saye greatlye to feare and to dreade the daunger and punishemente of alteringe the faieth and violating the auncient religion From whiche temerous enterpryse as well the doctrine of ecclesiasticall constitution dothe feare vs as the censure of Apostolike authoritie dothe terrifie vs. It is well knowen howe greatlye howe seuerely and with what vehemencie blessed saint Paule doth inuaighe against suche as with marueilous lightnes were allured from him by whom they were called into the grace of Christe and his true Ghospell and had heaped vnto them a numbre of maisters accordinge to their desyre and lust turning awaye their care from the veritie geuinge themselfes vp to fables hauinge dampnation What were they that wente from their firste professed faith Such as those deceiued of whō the same Apostle writeth vnto hys bretherne at Rome sayinge Ro. xvi I beseche you bretherne marke well them which sowe diuision and geue occasions of euill contrarie to the doctrine whiche ye haue learned and auoide them For suche serue not Christe our lorde but their owne bellies and with swete preaching and flatteringe wordes they deceyue and seduce the hartes of the innocent people ii Ty. iii. whiche enter into houses and bringe into bondage women laden with sinne whiche women be led with dyuers lustes euer learninge and neuer able to come to the knowledge of the trueth Thei are men full of vaine talke and deceiuers whiche subuert all houses and teache for lucre sake suche kinde of doctrine as they oughte not to teache They be men of corrupt mindes lewde corcerning the faith proud harted ignorāt yet do they busy them selues in questions and contenciōs of wordes 〈◊〉 Ty. iiii They are destitute of the truth iudginge gaines to be holinesse Also thei as idle persons doe learne to cōpasse about houses They be not onely idle but also full of wordes and very curious speaking suche thinges as they ought not whiche repelling a good conscience haue erred concerning the faith whose prophane and vaine talke auaileth much to impietie their speche crepeth furth as the canker But it is well that is written of them also in the scripture But they shall preuaile no lenger ii Tim. iii. for their madnes shal be made manifest vnto all men as theirs also was When therfore the like wanderinge from prouince to prouince from towne to towne and cariyng with them sale errours about had come also to the Galathians and when the Galathians after that they had heard of them beinge nowe as it wer glutted weried with the trueth remouing from thē the comfortable foode of the Apostolike and Catholike doctrine delited them selues with the dragges and fylthes of that hereticall noueltie S. Paule did so execute his Apostolical authoritie that with great seueritie he thus decreed Although sayeth he eyther we or an Angell from heauen preacheth vnto you any other ghospell then we haue preached accursed be he What is that whiche he sayeth although we Why doeth he not say rather although I It is to say although Peter Andrew or Iohn also finally although the hole company of the Apostles preache vnto you any other Ghospell thē we haue preached vnto you accursed be he or they This is a fearefull sentence that for the affirming and stablishynge of the first fayth he neyther fauoureth hym selfe nor anye other of thapostles But this is a smale matter He sayeth further Although an Angell from heauen preache any other ghospell thē we haue preached vnto you accursed be he It sufficed not blessed S. Paul for the retētion of the faith once taught preached to remēbre the nature of mans condicion vnlesse he had comprehended therein also the Angelical excellēcie Foralthouh we sayeth he or an Angell from heauen c. Not because the holye and heauenlye angels can now syn But this is his meanynge Yf it maye be sayeth he that which can not be Whosoeuer he be that shall attempte to chaunge and alter the faythe once taught and receyued accursed be he But S. Paule maye seeme to some perchaunce rather to haue said this of some humane affection then of anye godlye counsayle and consideration to hane decreed

humayne letters then he Whose breste was farced vp with a most plenteous varietie of all maner of knowledge There was no sect of Philosophers no part of theyr studies whiche he had not sought and faithfully placed in the treasurye of remembraunce He so far excelled in grauitie and vehemencie of witte that he hath not at anye time almoste purposed to withstande or ouerthrow anye controuersie which either by finesse of witte or by wayghte of argumentes he archiued not The prayse of whose oration who can expresse Whiche was interlased wyth so greate necessitie of reason that it did impell and inforce to his opinion such as otherwyse he could not induce and perswade In which almost howe manye wordes so manye sentences be And howe many sentences so many victories A great many can recorde this and speciallye Marciones Apelles Praxee Hermogenes the Iewes the Gentiles the detestable heretikes called Gnostici Whose blasphemies he hath in great large volumes defaced and as it were with the violent stroke of percinge lightninge clene ouerthrowen And yet euē this Tertulliā after al these godly practises not stedfastlye cleuing vnto the faithful shore of the catholik trueth the vniuersal and auncient faith beinge more eloquēt then happy more pregnāt in wit then cōstant in faith forgetting as it wer him self his former profession did at length as the blessed confessor Hillary in a certaine place dothe wryte of him saiyng Tertulliā tracing and folowing error hath pluckte awaie authoritie from his probable writinges And he also hathe ben in the Churche a greate tempracion But I shall spare to speake any more of this man Onely thys shall I remembre that forasmuche as he mainteined the newfangled furies of Montanus beinge raysed in the Churche contrarie to Moyses precepte affirmed those mad dreames of newe doctrine deuised by worse then mad women to be true prophesies he therefore hath deserued that of him and his writynges it shoulde be said If a Prophet shal rise among you you shal not herkē to the wordes of that prophet Wherefore Because saieth Moyses the lorde your god tēpteth you whether you loue him or not By these other the lyke so many and so greate examples we maye euidentlye perceiue and by the lawes of Deuteronomie more clearly see and vnderstande that if at any tyme any ecclesiasticall prelate orlearned man shall erre from the catholike faith in any point that then the heauenlye prouidence dothe suffre the same to tempte and proue vs thereby whether we loue God or not in all our harte and in all our soule Wherfore seyng it is so he then is a true and perfecte catholike man whiche loueth the trueth of god which loueth the church the mysticall bodye of Christe whiche estemeth no singular mans authoritie witte or iudgemēt knowlege or eloquence aboue the true religiō of Christ whiche preferreth not the affection loue or frendeship of anye singular person before the vniuersall and catholike faith But despising all those thinges doth abide permanent and stable in faith and resolueth with him selfe to receiue hold and beleue which he knoweth the catholike Churche vniuersally and continually to haue receiued holdē beliued And what euer new doctrine at any time after he shall perceiue to be brought in by any one either besides or aboue or contrarie and repugnant to that whiche the catholike fathers haue in consente agreid vpon he adiudgeth the same to pertaine not to religion but vnto temptation onely accordinge to the holesome doctrine of blessed S. Paule expressed in the firste epistle vnto the Corrinthians Oportet hęreses esse ut probatimanifesti fíant in uobis That is to saie Heresies must be to th ende that the proued may be made manifest amonge you As if he had saied the authors of heresies be not by by rooted oute but permitted for the time by God that euery man beinge proued maye be made manifest and euidentlye to appeare howe stedfaste faithful and sure louer he is of the catholike faith And in dede as oft as any noueltie riseth vp thē esely is the good corne tried by his weighte and the chaffe by his lightnes Then the good corn abideth within the floore notwithstandinge any puffe of noueltie And the chaffe is therwith lightly pufte out hauinge not the substaūce of good corne to keepe it within the floore of the catholike vnitie For thē we see howe some take their leaue shake handes for euer some other hange houerynge in the ayre and kepe them aloufe both fearing to depart and ashamed to retourne beynge wounded halfe dead and half aliue For why They haue receiued suche quantitie of the poyson as neither killeth ne can be digested neither forceth to dye ne suffereth to lyue Ah moost wretched and miserable condition In what restles cares are their hartes broyled trowe ye Now thei will nowe they nil one whyle they are violently plucked with the raised error where the wind of noueltie dryueth another while reuersed vpon them selues as contrarie waues they do relide and beate against the walles of theire owne conscience Nowe with foule hardie presūption they approue that whiche semeth vncertaine now throughe causelesse feare they dreade and feare to cōfesse such thinges as are moost certaine being al vncertaine which way to god or come what to desire and what to auoide what to hold or what to let passe Which affliction of so doubtfull wauering hart is no doubt the remedie and medicine of Goddes mercie towardes them if they be wise For beinge without the moost surest porte of the catholike faieth they are shaken beaten and almost slayne with the violente stormes of sondrye thoughtes to th ende that they put downe the sayles of proude minde whiche they had hoyssed alofte and vnaduisedlye had spreed to the windes of noueltie and that they ariue againe home warde into the quiet and calme hauen of their good and peaceable mother the churche where they myghte drinke the streemes of lyuelye and springing waters that thei vnlearne well whiche they learned not well and to prouoke them to forget with speede that whiche they receiued in ouer great hast And of the whole doctrine of the churche what can be comprehended in their vnderstandynge and reason to vnderstand the same and learne it by reason and what is aboue their capacitee of reason that same firmelye to beleue Thys beinge thus reuoluynge and many times recordynge the same with my selfe I cannot sufficientlye wondre at the greate madnes of certayne menne the greate impietie of blinded mindes and finallye the greate luste and desyre to erre that some haue that they cannot be contented with the auncient beleife taughte and receyued vniuersally in the churche but muste seke daylye newe gere Euermore couetynge to alter and innouate the religion eyther by adding some thing that is newe or by pullinge awaye parte of that whiche was olde As thoughe the religion of the churche were not an heauenlye decree but an earthly institucion whiche