spiritus energiam gratiae habent who haue no grace of speech to perswade but onely the power and efficacie of the spirit The summe of his answer is that this place is no cloake for the rude and illiterate preaching of any seeing Paule speakes nought here against the vse of good arts in Sermons as if they were repugnant to pietie 2. That he spake but this to taxe the itching eares of the Corinths who thirsted after nought but eloquence in their preachers for which cause he preached to them onely in simplicitie of words to bring them backe from that humor 3. That a Minister may lawfully yea must necessarily nitidiùs Paulo disserere preach more eloquently then Paule that his eloquence like a cryer or perswader may allure auditors to the simplicitie of the Gospell and get audience to those fishermen and idiots who haue no grace of perswading but from the efficacie of the spirit What should I cite the rest Plato est instar omnium to these men Hemingius on this place iumpeth with Caluins exposition resoluing that a Preacher may adorne and beautifie the Gospel nitidiori sermone Paulo with more enticing speech of mans wisdome with wisedome of words and a more polished stile then Saint Paules Licet quidem omni eloquentiae gratia illustrare Euangelium It is lawfull saith he to illustrate and garnish the Gospell with al grace of eloquence so that men be not made drunk with vaine delight of words And in fine he aduiseth vs in what part of our Sermon we should vse it praestat it is best to vse plainnesse and simplicitie in teaching grandiloquence and eloquence in exhorting and confuting Peter Martyr agreeing with both their expositions giues two good lessons one to learned Preachers that although in preaching the Gospell they be decked with these good arts yet they trust not in them Another to illiterate and rude speakers Neque praetextu sermonis impolitioris diuinarum Scripturarum committere debent Ecclesiastici homines vt de industria putide loquantur Ministers and Ecclesiasticall men must not of purpose speake rudely vnder this pretence that the Scriptures stile is not so eloquent Gualther is of the same iudgement on this place and Aretius in his cited Problemes answereth this place so largely that I cannot cite him The reasons why the Apostles vsed not nor needed eloquence and why for vs it is more necessarie are these out of P. Martyr First perfect Rhetoricke was so rare a thing as Tully prescribed an Orator that none could attaine that Christ at first publishing of his Gospell chose not so rare hard and laborious a meanes because he had need of many who could not easily be found and when afterward they came he refused them not saith Chrysostome 2 It had bene suspitious to haue perswaded this new doctrine as it seemed by wisedome of words enticing speech of Orators Philosophers Poets and coloured eloquence lest the hearers should report they were allured by enticing speech to beleeue it and not forced by the spirit but we knowing it to be true and beleeuing it to be of God want onely eloquent preaching it to perswade vs obedience and to allure vs to follow it in our liues which cannot be effected without grace of speech and power from aboue as k Nequa quam per se satu valet quod dicitur etsi de se sic verius si◠〈◊〉 digmissiâ—um vt humana◠〈◊〉 maâ— queat instruere nisi diuinitùs virtus dicenti aâ— cesserit dictu gratia afforescat quae vtique nec siâ—e Deo his traâ—â—tur qui ad aliorum profectum â—oquuntur Lib 6. contr Celsum Origen obserues 3 The spirit wherewith they were inspired was more powerfull in them then it is in vs Paul spake in the euidence of the spirit 1. Cor. 2. and therefore as l Lib. 2 â—e ras concion Erasmus well obserueth Quoniam non omnibus fortè etiam nullis ea donorum vbertas obtingit à spiritu quae Apostolis nulla fuerit impiet as quod donis illius diminutum est supplere disciplinarum adminiculis Seeing few or none haue that power and gifts of the spirit that the Apostles had it is not amisse to supply that defect with eloquence and the arts 4 God gaue them power to worke miracles and when they preached the Lord wrought with them and confirmed and perswaded their word with signes that followed Mark 16. 20. God himselfe bare witnesse to their preaching both with signes and wonders and with diuerse miracles and gifts of the holy Ghost according to his owne will Heb. 2. 4. And therefore needed they not in eloquence because their preaching was with power of doing miracles 1. Cor. 2. as Theophilact and Chrysostom obserue Which power to perswade seeing we want with those other extraordinarie gifts 1. Cor. 12. Maioribus dicendi viribus opus est saith m Lib 4. de doc Christ cap 40. Austine Et quaecunque valuit ad commouendos animos sunt necessaria 5 It was meet rude and illiterate men should first plant the Gospell a new and strange doctrine to the Iewes that such weake things confounding the mightie and foolish things the wise it might appeare to be the finger of God and worke of his hands and therefore was it so maruellous in their eyes as we see Act. 2. 7. Act. 4. 13. But for vs id explodendum est saith Peter n Comment in 1. Cor. 2. 6. Martyr quòd multi falsò arbitrantur They are to be hissed at who falsly thinke that Paul or the Gospell doth tollere aut debilit are either take away or lessen this wisedome of the world It is not condemned of the Apostle but in that the false Apostles so mingled it with religion that they left Christ troubled the Church with scisme eique primas darent summam iudicij de pietate and preferred it before the doctrine of the Gospell making it the chiefest Iudge and Vmpier in matters of faith which none in this Church doth I am sure The summe of his answer is that although Christ for good reasons vsed not then this externall eloquence in first planting the Gospell yet refuseth he it not when it commeth as we see in all ages For as o Homil. 3. in 1. Cor. 1. Chrysostome well noteth on this place which they vrge He who at first needed not learned men if afterward he tooke them to preach it was quoniam noluit vllam facere differentiam because he would not make any difference of either and afterward when they came he refused them not Secondly whereas they pleade the impolished and rude stile of the Scripture for a cloake of their homely if not barbarous speaking they build vpon a false ground It is not so naked as they thinke nor so incult as their manner of teaching It appeareth saith p Homil. 15. in Gen. 45. 46. Origen Scripturam diuinam non vt plurimis videtur inerudito agresti sermone
loue Ephes 5. 2. and so walke that not onely with Dauid we runne viam the common and Kings high way of his m Psal 10. 11 â—â— commandements and n Iames 2. royall law to blesse benefite and be beneuolent to our enemies Math. 5. 44. but walke also like him in o Psalme 119. 35 semitis in the pathes thereof which are the nearest and gainst way to heauen not as more wittily then wisely p Sâ—ellâ—â—narraâ— in Lâ—c. 3. 4. some distinguish his Euangelicall precepts and counsels for euen these q Ferus in Math 3. 3 semita are mandata Psalme 119. 35. that not onely we loue from our heart but so feruently without faining that as r Exod. â—2 32. Moses willed it for the Hebrewes Å¿ Rom. 9. 3. Paul wished it for the Israelites t Ios 2 2. Rahab ventured it for the spies v Iudges 10. Iudith indangered it for Israel x 1. Kings 18. 4. Obadiah hazarded it for the Prophets y Esther 4. 16 Ester for the Iewes z 1. Sam. 19. cap. 20. 33 Ionathan for Dauid a 1 Sam. 17. Dauid for his countrey b Iohn 13. 37 Peter promised it for Christ and Christ performed it to lay downe his life for his enemies Rom. 5. 6. so we also should walke in this path of loue that as hereby we perceiued his loue in that he layed downe his life for vs therefore ought we to lay downe our life for the brethren 1. Iohn 3. 16. then which as no man hath greater loue of heart then when he is willing to bestow his life for his friend Iohn 15. 13. so if like Christ who layed it downe voluntarily of himselfe without any taking it from him Iohn 10. 18. for he died c Bern. ser 3 de pacificat Marâ—a Non quia meruit nec quia Iudeus praualuit sed quia ipse voluit not because he deserued for he layed it downe for his sheepe verse 15. nor because the Iew preuailed for none could take it from him verse 18. but because he was willing for he layed it downe of himselfe Nec modo voluit oblatus est quia voluit oblatus est neither was he willing because to be offered but was offered because he was willing as d Ser in Feria â—ebâ— pâ—â—os de pâ—ss Dâ—m Bernard elsewhere speaketh If we could I say like Christ thus walke in loue of our hearts we should be perfect as he is perfect sith as Paul epitomizeth religion into faith and repentance Hebr. 6. 1. and Salomon repentance into feare God and keepe his commaundements Eccles 12. 13. so our Sauiour his ten commaundements into two of loue Marke 12. 31. and the Apostle e Auiâ— Pet. Mart. in Rom. 1â— those two of loue into this one of louing our neighbour Rom. 13. 9. to shew that this heartie loue of our foe is the castle-gate of religion the staires of repentance the tower and turret of faith the watch of the feare of God and the keepe of his commandements all which are wholly kept and fulfilled in one word which is this Thou shalt loue thy neighbour as thy selfe Gal. 5. 14. Wherefore if offending in many things thou canst not fulfill the royall law it is so large vis compendium seruandarum omnium legum wilt thou haue saith a f Arâ—t in Rom. 13 8. Writer a short cut to keepe all Monstrabo tibi Epitomen I will shew thee a compendious way Loue thy neighbour and thou shalt fulfill the royall law Iam. 2. 8. and praise God saith Austine with an instrument of tenne strings for as Iames said of him who failes in one point that he is guiltie of all so contrariwise may I say that he who fulfils this one point in some sort is guiltlesse of all And thus are we knowne to loue God when we loue our brother and cannot before him assure our hearts till our hearts be sure to the other For as g Dâ—roth deâ—â— 6. ne iudicemus proximum lines in a circle drawne to the circumference from the center the nearer they come the center whence they first proceeded the nearer needs must they come one to another the further off they go from it the more are they distant one from another so our liues in this great round as they haue their first being from that indiuisible center of whom and to whom are all things Rom. 11. 36 so the nearer they come him in loue the nearer must they needes in affection come one another And as euery one that loueth his brother loueth God also and is borne of him so he that hateth his brother hateth God and if he say he loueth him he is but a lyer 1. Ioh. 4. Howbeit if through naturall deprauation and humane infirmitie surripit ira Christiano anger as h Aug. Prâ—fat in Psal 25. one speaketh stealeth on thy heart and like that foule of the heauen catcheth away the seed of loue out of thy heart for i Idem hom 40. humanum est irasci vtinam ne hoc possemus yet must it not be kept so long in thy breast vt fiat pridiana that it liue past a day lest the mote of anger being fed in the night with the dew of suspition become a beame in the morning to put out the eye of reason For seeing k Hâ—rat Epist as an heathen well resembleth it Anger is like an head-strong horse which must not haue the reines lest he throw headloÌ„g his rider we had need curbe this heart-strong passion and perturbation of the mind lest it carry vs headlong into mischiefe and as we put bits in horses mouths that they should obey vs whereby we rule them in the right way so hunc fraenis hunc tu compesce caâ—ena its mouth also like horse and mule without vnderstanding must be holden with bit and bridle lest it fall vpon thee Which naturall edge and sharpe affection seeing it is whetted and sharpened by Satan on the stonie heart of man to wound the name or the person of his foe therefore our l Arist lib 4. Ethic. cap. 5. maister of moralitie sheweth Why against whom how when and how farre it may be drawne and vnsheathed Why in the offence of God and defence of goodnesse as m Exod. 32. 19 Moses waxed hot against Israel for their idolatrie against n Num. 16 15. Korah Dathan and Abiram for their conspiracie o 1. Sam. 19. 14 Elias against Israel for their Apostasie p Ier. 6. 11. Ieremie against the Iewes for their impietie and Christ looked angerly on their children for their obstinacie Mark 3. 5. Secondly if thou wouldst know against whom though thou carry this sword of anger in the sheath of thine heart yet like the minister of iustice Rom. 13. must thou draw it against not the good and them that do well but the bad and them that do euill And thus did holy
Simplicianus Prosper and Hilarie Gregorie and Eutychius of Constantinople but especially Austine and S. Ierome who fought as hotly with their pennes as euer did Caesar and Pompey with their swords as one speaketh but see their challenge and combate each with other h Ierons Epist ad August â— Tres sâ—â—â—l c. Tom. 2. Faxit Deus vt veritas ipsa nostrae disputationis elucescat God grant said they that the truth by our disputation may appeare for if I be ouercome saith Ierome I shall ouercome in my brother Austine and conquer mine error wherein I was entangled for I seeke not mine owne prayse but the glorie of Christ Iesus But alas when we write like Aeschines and Demosthenes we write bitter things one against another Et nos discordes sumus sine vlla reconciliatione vt nunquam in vnum conueniamus as i Oras 2. de pace Nazianzene speaketh of such like We are so stiffe in our opinions that when we are perswaded of the truth we cannot be perswaded to confesse it For which iarres whether in matter of some doctrine or manner of our discipline if any Iesuite of Philips faction as k Not. 7. de Eâ—â—l Bellarmine doth vpbraid vs with rents and scismes among our selues I may bandie it backe againe and answer him as l Plâ—t de adâ—l amic dâ—â—corâ— Demaratu â— did Philip of Macedon who asking him tauntingly How do ye Graecians agree at Athens and Peloponnesus when himselfe was fallen out with his wife and owne sonne Indeed thou doest well quoth he Philip to enquire of our concord qui familiam tuam tanta patris seditione dissentione laborare who hast so great discord dissention at home in thine house I may answer them with m Orat. 2. de Pace Nazianzene asking in a like imputation Vbi sunt qui vulneribus sunt pleni nobis verò cicatricis exprobrant qui pedum offensiones traducunt quum ipsi pleno ruant casu qui coeno sunt obuoluti propter maculas nostras exultant qui trabem in oculis habent festucas nobis obijciunt Where are these fellowes who are full of wounds and vpbraid vs with scarres which traduce vs for slipping when themselues fall down headlong which are couered with mire and triumph at our spots which see a mote in our eyes and haue a beame in their owne And though Bellarmine boast of their vnitie that They are brethren in one religion he put in a li too much as that n Musâ— loc com de minist Rainold admonâ—t ad Typog Printer who put out a di to such made it Carnales for Cardinales Carnals for Cardinals For sith they haue Monkes Nunnes Eremites Anchorites Friars blacke white gray Augustines Benedictines Franciscans Dominicans Carthusians Capouchians Carmelites euen an hundred Orders as o â—ox tom 1. pag. 339. one counteth their catalogue which haue as many dissentions in their * Vide Mus loc com Marraâ—â—a Papisme as euer had the p Vide August lib. 18. de ciuit Dei cap. 41. heathens in their Paganisme Et quot sunt sodalitia tot sunt factiones as q Pacâ—s quaer Erasmus well obserued and so many orders so many factions so many men so many minds We may thinke the Lord hath come downe to these builders of Babel and confounded their language seeing he hath thus set euery mans sword I meane tongue and pen of these r Iud. 7. 22. Madianites vpon his brother in the hoast And I may answer the Iesuite with the Å¿ Hâ—rat lib. 2. Saâ— 3. Poet O maior tandem parcas insane minori hypocrite first cast out the beame the beame in thine owne eye and then shalt thou see clearely to cast out the mote that is in ours Wherfore seeing we all to end this like lines meet and consent in the center of religion though not all in the circumference of opinion this harmonie of minds in the matter of doctrine should breed such a consort in the manner of discipline that hencefoorth we should be all of one mind and one iudgement Rather seeing as good t Euseb lib 2. de vit Const ca â—7 Constantine that great Emperor exhorted Arius and Alexander to put away a foolish question that fired the Church so our gracious Soueraigne like a blessed peace-maker hath decided the difference of ceremonies indifferent who as he hath ioyned the wood of Iuda and the wood of Ioseph in one tree by his happie succession that they shall no more be two peoples nor diuided hencefoorth into two kingdomes as the u Ezek. 37. 19. 22. Prophet speaketh so hath he bene in these controuersies our peace and made of two one by breaking downe this partitioÌ„ wal whose pacifying wisedom in that Conference seemes to me like that counsell of Constantine There is no cause offered you to striue about the greatest commandement in the Scripture nor any new error of religion brought in but ye all hold one the same Creed of faith so that ye may easily agree in one iudgement Consider then whether it be meet that for a light and vaine strife of words brethren should contend and vnitie by our iarres who striue for such trifles shold pitifully be rent Popularia sunt ista puerili inscitia magis quà m sacerdotum prudentum hominum sapientiae congruentia These strawes rather Laickes then Clericks children then Church-men idiots then Preachers should stumble at Sith then we haue one faith x Euseb ibid. cap 68. and one iudgement of our religion and lastly one decree of the law and discipline this that hath bred so great contention seeing it concerneth no great matter of our religion there is no cause it should breed any disagreement in your minds Sirs ye are brethren why do ye wrong one to another Ioyne then hearts and hands against the common aduersarie of the truth The y Pâ—ut de soâ—â—â— animal Wolfe and the Serpent because they haue a common enemie the Eagle take truce with their mutuall enmitie and combine their force As z Luk. 23. 1â— Herod and Pilate of foes became friends when they ioyned against Christ Though these be conspirationes non amicitiae as a Lib. 3. Oâ—â—ic Tully speaketh and seeing we haue not the Eagle but the prince of the ayre for our aduersarie Ephes 2. 2. me thinkes it should vnite vs against the common foe of our faith Seeing therefore ye are sworne fellow-souldiers in one Baptisme continue knit together in one mind and one iudgement fighting together through the Gospell the rather sith after we haue fought this good fight there is laid vp for vs a crowne of victorie which is One hope of our vocation that is the riches of one glorious 7. and last â—â—nk One 〈◊〉 inheritance Ephes 1. 18. whereof we hope to be coheires We are all here in this world like the sonnes of Israell in Egypt compassed with enemies on