harsh and course fitteth not thy taste then I truste that which is fine pleasant delicate will content thy humor Only I am to craue pardon that my rough rude English nothing aunswereth his smoothe and curious latin and therfore I could wish thee if skill serueth rather to cōmon and parle with the Author him selfe then to vse the helpe of his rude interpretor otherwise for such as be not of so deepe reading for whom especially I haue taken this paine I am to desire that they nothing dislike the soueraign medicine for the wodden box nor the exquisit and rare gemme for the course casket These be the reasons gentle Reader which especially moued me to the translating of this aunciēt and learned Father I beseech thee as thou tenderest the saluation of thine owne soule that thou wouldest voutsafe to reade him attentiuely in whom thou shalte see cleerelye as in a glasse the faith of our forefathers the religion of the primatiue Church and in him thou shalt finde by Gods word and authoritie of sacred scripture the madnes of all Heretickes crushed in peeces and that in a short methodicall and eloquēt treatise The holy Ghost which moued no doubt this auncient learned Father to the writing of this worke incline moue thy hart to the diligent reading and sincere folowing of the same A. P. VINCENTIVS LIRInensis for the Antiquitie and Vniuersalitie of the Catholicke faith against the prophane Nouelties of all Heresies THE holy scripture of GOD saying and warning vs in this sorte Aske thy Fathers and they shall tell thee thy elders Deut. 52 and they shall report vnto thee And againe Accommodate thy eares to the workes of wise men Likewise My sonne Prou. 22 Prou. 3. forget not these speeches but let thy hart keepe my wordes It seemeth vnto me a peregram and the least of Gods seruantes that it shall by his gratious helpe be a matter of no small profitte to set downe in writing what I haue of holy Fathers faithfully receaued being a thing very necessary for mine owne infirmitie hauing alwaies therby in readines how by daily reading therof I may helpe my weak memory Vnto which labour not only the profite to be reaped by the worke but also the very consideration of the time and opportunitie of the place moued and inuited me the time because reason it is that seing it consumeth and bereueth vs of all humane and earthly thinges that we should also take out of it something which may auaile vs to life euerlasting especially seing the terrible iudgement of God which we expect drawing neere vpon vs doth seriously inuite prouoke vs to increase our studies and exercises in religion and the fraudulent dealing of new Heretickes requireth much care and attētion The place because hauing forsaken the company and troubles of the world and chosen a solitarie Abbey in a litle towne for mine abiding where I may without any great distraction of mind put in practise that which is song in the Psalme Be vacant and see that I am God With which reasons also accordeth the purposed end and resolution Psa 45 of my whole state of life in that I haue by the helpe of Christ after long diuers stormes indured in the warres shrewded my selfe in the harbour of a religious life a secure port for all states of men where contemning the blastes of vanitie and pride I may pacifie god with the sacrifice of humilitie and so escape not only the shipwracke of this present life but also the fire of the next But now in the name of God will I set vpon that which I haue taken in hand that is to set downe in writing such thinges as our forefathers haue deliuered and committed to our charge vsing herein rather the fidelitie of a reporter then the presumption of an author meaning yet to keepe this rule in my writing not copiously to lay forth all but briefly to handle each necessary point neither that in fine and exacte wordes but in easie and cōmon speach in such sort that most things may seme rather touched then declared Let thē write delicately and penne curiously which trusting either vppon witte or moued with respect of dewty enterprise any such actiō but for me it is sufficient that for helping my memory or rather forgetfulnes I haue gathered togither this Commonitorie which notwithstanding by Gods grace I will daily endeuour by litle and little calling to mind such thinges as in times past I haue learned to correcte and make more perfect And this haue I thought good to forewarne that if haplye this worke of mine passing forth fall into the handes of Censurers they do not ouerhastely in it reprehend that which they vnderstand present promise to vndertake with future correction better to polish and amend CHAP. I. INQVIRING therefore often with great desire and attention of very many excellent holy learned men how and by what meanes I might assuredly and as it were by some generall and ordinary way discerne the true Catholicke faith from false and wicked Heresie To this question I had vsually this answere of thē all that whether I or any other desired to finde out the Note the ansvvere of many excellent holy and learned men fraud of Heretickes daily springing vp and to escape their snares willingly would continue safe and sound in religiō that he ought two maner of waies by Gods assistance to defend and preserue his faith that is first by the authoritie of the law of God secōdly by the tradition of the Catholicke Church Here some man perhaps may aske that seing the Canon of the scripture is perfect most aboundantly of it selfe sufficient for all thinges what need we ioine vnto it the autoritie of the church her vederstanding and interpretation The reason is this because the scripture being of it selfe so deepe and profound all men do not vnderstand it in one and the same sence but diuers men diuersly this man and that man this way that way expound and interpret the sayings therof so that to ones thinking so many men so many opinions almost may be gathered out of them for Nouatus expoundeth it one way Photinus another Sabellius after this sort Donatus after that Arius Eunomius Macedonius will haue this exposition Appolinaris and Priscillian will haue that Iouinian Pelagius Celestius gather this sence and to conclude Nestorius findeth out that and therfore very necessary it is for the auoiding of so greate windings and turnings of diuers errors that the line of expounding the Prophetes and Apostles be directed and drawen according to the rule of the ecclesiasticall Catholicke sence Againe in the Catholicke Church we haue greatly to consider that we hold that which hath bene beleeued euery where alwaies and of all men for that is truely and properly Catholicke as the very force and nature of the word doth declare which comprehendeth all thinges that be truely vniuersall and that shall we do
and receaue what a gods name I shake to speake for they are so proud and presumptuous that as they can not be maintained with-out sin so neither impngned without some blotte of offence CHAP. V. BVT some man will say why then doth god very often permit certaine notable and excellent men in the Church to preach vnto Catholicks a new religion A very good question and such as deserueth a more diligent and ample discourse vnto which notwithstāding I. will answer out of mine owne head but with the authoritie of sacred scripture and the doctrine of a notable master in Gods Church let vs then heare holy Moises let him giue vs the reason why learned men and such as for their great gift of knowledge are called of the Apostle Prophets be some times permitted to preach new doctrine which the olde testament allegorically calleth strange gods because there opinions are so obserued honored of heretickes as the gods were of the gentels thus thē writeth blessed Moyses in Deuteronomie If there shall arise quoth he in the middest Deut. 13 of thee a prophet or one which sayth he hath seene a dreame that is some master in the Church whose disciples or followers suppose to teach by some reuelation from god what then shall fortell quoth he some signe or miracle that shall happen which he hath sayed some greate master is here surely ment and one of so deepe knowledge whom his folowers imagin not only to know things humane but also to foresee future such as shall happē which is far aboue mans reach as the scholers for the most part of Valentinus Donatus Photinus Apollinaris such like did bragge that their masters were What foloweth And shall quoth he say vnto thee let vs go and folow strange Gods which thou knowest not and let vs serue them What is ment by strange Gods but forraine errors which thou knowest not that is new and neuer heard of before and let vs serue them that is beleeue them folow them What thē Thou shalt not quoth he heare the wordes of that Prophet or Dreamer And why I pray you is not that forbidden by GOD to bee taught which is by God forbidden to be heard Because quoth he the Lord your God doth tempt you that it may appeare whether you loue him or no in your wholle heart and in your wholle soule The reason thē is more cleare then day why the prouidence of God doth some time suffer certaine teachers and masters of the Church to preach certaine new opiniōs that your Lord God quoth he may tempt you And surely a great tentation it is when as he whom you thinke a Prophet a disciple of the Prophetes whom you esteeme a Doctor and maintainer of the truth whom you haue highly reuerenced and most intierly loued when he sodenly priuily bringeth in pernicious errors which neither you can quickly spie lead away with preiudice of your old teacher nor easelie condemne hindered with loue to your old master CHAP. VI. HERE some man haply doth earnestly desire to see that proued by some ecclesiasticall examples which by the authoritie of Moises hath already bene auouched The demaund is reasonable and therfore of reason not long to be differred Wherfore to beginne with those which are yet fresh in memorie to the world best knowne What kinde of tentation thincke you was that of late daies when that vngratious and cursed Nestorius sodenly frō a sheepe transformed into a wolfe began to deuour the flocke of Christ at such time as those which were spoiled commonly tooke him for a sheepe and therfore were more subiect to his crueltie For who would haue easely imagined him to haue erred whom euery man knew to haue bene chosen with such iudgement of the Empire who was so highly in grace with the Cleargie so much beloued of all holy men so greatly in fauour with the people who openly expounded the scriptures and also confuted the pestiferous error of the Iewes why could not this man by such meanes easelie perswade any that he taught aright preched aright beleeued aright who to smooth the way make entrance for his owne heresie persecuted preached against the blasphemies of all others But this was that which Moises saith The Lord your God doth tempt you if you loue him or no. And to passeouer Nestorius in whom was alwaies more admiration then profite more fame thē experience whom for some time humane fauour had made greater then Gods grace exalted Lett vs rather speake of them which endowed with many giftes and men of greate industrie haue bene no small tentation to Catholickes as amongst the Pauonians in our Fathers memorie Photinus is recorded to haue tempted the Church of Sirminum in which being preferred with the liking of all men vnto the dignitie of Priesthood for sometime he behaued him selfe very Catholikely but sodenly like that naughtie Prophet or Dreamer of whom Moises speaketh he beganne to perswade the people of God committed to his charge to folow other gods that is strange and vnknowen errors which before they were not acquainted with But as this is vsuall so that was verie pernitiouse that he had so great helpes and furtherance for the aduancing of so great wickednes For he was both of an excelent witte and singulerly well learned and passing eloquent as he which both in disputation and writing was copious graue in either language as appeareth by the bookes which he wrote partly in greek and partly in the latin tong But in hapned well that Christes sheepe committed to his charge very vigilāt and carefull in keeping the Catholike faith did speedely remember Moises warning and therfore albeit they admired much the eloquence of their Prophet and Pastor yet were they not ignorant of the temptation And therefore whom before they folowed as the cheefe leader of the flocke the same very man afterward they auoided as a rauening wolfe Neither do we learne only by Photinus but also by the example of Apollinaris the daunger of this ecclesiasticall tentation and therby also be admonished diligently to keepe retaine our faith and religion For this Apollinaris procured his auditors great trouble anguish of mind whilest the authoritie of the Church drew them one way and the acquaintance of their master haled them another so that wauering tottering betwixt both they were vncertaine whether parte was best to be folowed But haply he was such a one as easely deserued to be contemned Nay he was so famous and worthie a man that in very may thinges he wone credite too fast For who surpassed him in sharpnes of witt in exercise in learning how many heresies in many and greate bookes hath he ouerthrowne how many errors against the faith hath he cōfuted That most notable great worke of thirtie bookes in which with great waight of reason he confounded the franticke cauills of Porphirius doth giue credit to my report and testifie the truth of my relation
the iudgement and opinions of holy Fathers were gathered togither that according to thē by the decree and authority of a Councell the rule of faith might be set down which to the end that I may more commodiously do I will here make an end of this commonitorie and so take a nother beginning for declaring of those thinges which do folow and ensew A RECAPITVLATION of all that hath bene said in the former two bookes WHICH being so it is now time that in the ende of this second booke we recapitulate touch in few wordes the Summe of all that which in these two commonitorie bookes hath bene spoken We saied in the premisses that this alwaies hath bene and at this day is the custome of Catholickes to try and examine true faith two manner of waies First by the authoritie of the deuine scripture secondly by the tradition of the Catholicke Church not because the Canonicall scripture is not of it selfe sufficient for all thinges but because verie many expounding Gods word at there owne pleasure doe thereby bring forth and hatch vp diuers opiniōs errors And for that cause it is necessarie that the interpretatiō of the diuine scripture be directed according to the one onely rule of the Churches vnderstāding especially in those questiōs vpon which the foundatiō of the whole Catholicke religion doth depēd Likewise we said that in the Church we had to consider the consent both of vniuersalitie and antiquitie so that we be neither caried a way from sound vnitie to schisme nor yet cast headlong frō antiquitie of religion into the daungerous gulfe of hereticall nouelties We said also that in antiquity we had diligently to obserue and seriously to consider two thinges vnto which all those that will not bee heretickes must of necessitie stand The first is that which hath in oulde time bene determined by all the bishopes of the Catholicke Church by authority of a generall Councell The second is that if any new question did arise in which the determination of a Councell were not to be found that then we ought to haue recourse to the sayings of the holy fathers but yet of these only who in theire time and place were probable maisters being such as liued and died in the vnitie of the communion and faith And whatsoeuer we knew that they beleeued taught with one mind and consente to iudge and take that without all scruple to be the true and Catholicke Religion of the Church And least any man might think that we saied this rather of presumption thē of any authoritie of the Church we gaue an example of the holy Councell holden almost three yeeres sithence at Ephesus a Citie in Asia in the time of the right honorable Councels Bassus Antiochus in which disputation was had of constituting and setting downe rules of faith and least there might by chance some prophane Noueltie creep in as happened at that persidious meeting in Ariminum this was reputed and thought the most Catholicke holy best course to be taken by the iudgement of all the Bishops there present which were almost two hundred in number that the opinions of these Fathers should be brought forth of whō it was certaine that some of them had bene Martirs diuerse Confessors and all to haue liued and died Catholicke Preists that by their authoritie consent and verdict the old religion might be rightlie and solemnely confirmed and blasphemous prophane nouelties condemned which being so done worthely and iustlie Nestorius was iudged to haue taught contrary to the old Catholicke religiō and blessed Cirill to haue maintained holy and sacred antiquitie And to the end nothing might be wanting which procureth credite we put downe also the names and number of these Fathers although not remēbring their order according to whose consent and vniforme doctrine both the textes of holy scripture were expounded and the rule of Gods word established Neither will it here be superfluous for memory sake to repeate them all once againe These then bee the names of them whose workes were cited in that Councell either as iudges or else as witnesses S. Peter Bishop of Alexandria a most excellent Doctor and blessed Martir S. Athanasius Bishope of the same sea a most faithfull teacher and famous Confessor S. Theophilus Bishope also of the same Citie a notable man for faith life and learning next after whom succeded venerable Cirill who at this present doth honour the Church of Alexandria And that no man happelie should suspecte that this was the doctrine of one Citie or of one Prouince to the former there were adioined those two lightes of Caperdocia Saint Gregory Bishoppe and Confessor of Nazianzene Saint Basill Bishope and Confessor of Cesurea also another Saint Gregory Nissen worthy for his merite of faith conuersation integritie and wisdome of such a brother as Basill was And for proofe that not onely the greeke and Easte Church but also the Latin and Weast were alwaies of the same opinion the letters of Saint Felix Martir and Saint Iulie both Bishops of Rome which they wrote vnto certaine men were there read And that not onely the head of the world but also the other partes should giue testimonie in that iudgement From the South they had blessed S. Ciprian from the North S. Ambrose Bishop of Millan These then be the holy Fathers agreeing with that sacred number of the tenne Commaundements which were alleadged in the Councell of Ephesus as Masters Councellors Witnesses and Iudges whose doctrine the blessed Synod holding following whose counsaile beleeuinge whose testimonie obeyinge whose iudgement without spite without presumption and without fauour pronounced gaue sentence concerning the rules of faith And albeit a farre greater number of Fathers might haue bene set downe yet was it not necessarie because it was not requisite that time should be spent with multitude of witnesses and further no man doubted but that those tenne did litle differ in opinion from all the rest of their fellow Bishopes After all this we sett downe the worthie sentence of Cirill which is to be found in the Ecclesiasticall actes of that Councell For when the epistle of S. Capreolus Bishop of Carthage was reade who intended nothing else nothing else desired but that noueltie might be ouer throwen antiquitie defended Bishope Cirill spake and gaue his definition in this sort for I haue thought good not to omitt it here these then be his wordes in the end of the actes of that Coūcell And this epistle quoth he of the venerable and religious man Capreolus Bishope of Carthage shall be adioyned to the faith of the Councels actes whose opinion is plaine and perspicuous for he desireth that the dostrine of the olde faith may be confirmed and new opinions superfluously inuented impiously spread a brode may be reproued and condemned To which all the Bishopes with one cōsent cried out This we spake all this we teach all this we desire all what I beseech you saied they all
sobernes from new madnesse to auncient light from new darkenesse But in this diuine vertew which they shewed in the confession of their faith this thing is especially of vs to be noted that in that antiquitie of the church they tooke vpon them not the defence of any one part but of the wholle For it was not lawfull that such excelent famous men should maintaine and defend with so great might maine the erroneous suspitions and those contrary each to other of one or two men or should stand in contention for the temararious conspiracie of some small Prouince but they did those by folowing the Canons and decrees of the Catholicke and Apostolicke veritie of all the Preistes of holy Church rather to betray them selues then the vniuersall auncient faith For which fact of theirs they merited so great glorie that they are accounted not only Confessors but also iustly and worthely the Princes of all Confessors Great therfore surely diuine was the example of these blessed Confessors and of euery true Catholicke continually to be remembred who like the seuenfold Candlesticke shining with the seuenfold giftes of the holy Ghost deliuered vnto all posteritie a most notable example how afterward in each foolish and vaine error the boldnes of prophane noueltie was to be repressed with authoritie of sacred Antiquitie CHAP. III. NEITHER is this any new thing but alway vsuall in the Church of God that the more religious a man hath bene the more ready hath he allwayes resisted nouell inuentions examples wherof many might be brought but for breuity sake I will only make choyce of some one which shall be taken from the Apostolique sea by which al men may see most plainly with what force alwayes what zeale what indeuour the blessed succession of the blessed Apostles haue defended the integrity of that religion which they once receaued Therfore in times past Agrippinus of venerable memory Bishope of Carthage the first of all mortall men maintained this assertion against the deuine scripture against the of the vniuersall Church against the minde of all the preistes of his time against the custome and traditiō of his forefathers that rebaptization was to be admitted and put in practise Which presumptiō of his procured so great domage and hurte to the Church that not only it gaue all heriticks a paterne of sacrilege but also ministred occasion of errour to some Catholickes When therfore euery where al men exclaimed against the nouelty of the doctrine and all priestes in all places each one according to his zeale did repugne then Pope Steuē of blessed memory bishop of the Apostolique sea resisted in deed with the rest of his felow byshopes but yet more then the rest thinking it as I suppose reason so much to excell all other in deuotion towardes the faith as he was superiour to them in authoritie of place To conclude in his Epistle which then was sent to Afrike he decreed the same in these wordes That nothing was to bee innouated but that which came by tradition ought to be obserued For that holy and prudent man knew well that the nature of pietie could admitt nothing else but only to deliuer and teach our children that religion and that faith which we receaued and learned of our forefathers and that we ought to folow religion whither it doth lead vs and not to lead religion whither it please vs and that nothing is more proper to Christian modestie and grauitie then not to leaue vnto posteritie our owne inuentions but to preserue and keepe that which our Predecessors left vs. What therfore was thē the end of that wholle busines What else but common and vsuall to wecte antiquitie was retained noueltie abandoned But perhaps that new inuention lacked patrons and defenders To which I say on the contrary that it had such pregnant wittes such eloquent tonges such number of defendants such shew of truth such testimonies of scripture but glosed after a new and naughtie fashion that all that conspiracie and schisme shoulde haue semed vnto me inuincible had not the very profession of noueltie it selfe so taken in hand vnder that name defended with that title recōmended ouerthrowen the very ground of so great a schisme To conclude what force had the Councell or decree of Africke By Gods prouidence none but all things there agreed vpon were abolished disanulled abrogated as dreames as fables as superfluous And O strange change of the worlde the authours of that opinion are iudged and thought Catholickes the folowers accounted reputed Heretickes the masters discharged the schollers condemned the writers of those bookes shall be children of the kingdome of Heauen the maintainers of those books shall burne in Hell For who donbteth but holy S. Ciprian that light of all Saintes that lanterne of Bishops and spectacle of Martirs with the rest of his companions shall raigne with Christ for-euer And contrariwise who is so wicked to deny that the Donatists and such other pestilent Heretickes which by the authority of that Coūcell vaunt that they do practise rebaptization shall burne for euer with the Deuill his Angells Which iudgemēt in mine opinion seemeth to haue come frō God for their fraudulent dealing especially which endeuoring vnder the cloake of an other mans name coningly to frame an heresie commonly laye holde of some darke sayings of one auncient Father or other which by reason of the obscuritie may seeme to make for theire opinion to th end they may be thought that whatsoeuer I know not what they bring forth to the worlde neither to haue bene the first that so taught neither alone of that opinion whose wicked deuice in mine opinion is worthie of dubble hatred both for that they feare not to sow their poisoned seed of heresie amongest others and also because they blemishe the memorie of some holy man as it were with prophane handes cast his dead ashes into the wind bringing infamously that to light which rather with silence were to be buried folowing therin the steps of their father Chā who not only neglected to couer the nakednes of venerable Noë but also shewed it to others to laugh at by which fact of his he incurred so great a crime of impietie that Gen. 9 his posteritie was subiect to the malediction of his sinne his blessed brethrē doing farr otherwise who neither with their owne eies would violate the nakednesse of their reuerend father nor yet permit it to remaine vncouered for other to behold but going backward as the holy text saith they couerd him which is as much to say that they neither approued with harte nor blased with tong the holy mans fault and therfore they their posterity were rewarded with their fathers blessing But to returne to our purpose CHAP. IIII. VVE haue therfore much to feare the sacrilege of a changed faith of a violated religion from which fault not only the discipline of the ecclesiasticall decree doth restraine vs but the authoritie also of the
he was passing olde But yet perchaunce vnfortunate in his schollers What man euer more happie hauing trained vp and bene master to infinite Doctors to Preistes without number to Confessors and Martirs Now who is able to prosecute with wordes in what admiration he was with all men in what glory in what credite grace Who more zealous in religion repaired not to him from the furthest partes of the world What Christian did not almost worship him as a Prophet what Philosopher did not honour him as a master and how greatly he was reuerenced not only of priuate men but also of the Empire it selfe histories doe speake which reporte that he was sent for of Alexander the Emperors mother to weet for his merit of heauenly wisdome with the grace and loue wherof he was inflamed His epistles also testifie the same thing which with authoritie of a Christian master he wrote vnto Phillip the Emperor the first Christian amongest all the Romane Princes And if any man vpon our report admitteth not the testimonie of a Christian touching his wonderfull knowledge and learning at least let him receaue the confession of an heathen Philosopher For that impious Porphirie saith that him selfe being but yet as it were a boy moued with his fame trauailed vnto Alexandria where he did see him being then olde but yet such a one so learned as he that had attained to the perfection of all knowledge Day would sooner faile me then I coulde touch though breiflye those notable gifts which were in that man all which notwithstanding pertained not only to the glorie of religion but also to the greatnes of the temptation For who is he that would willingly haue forsaken a man of such wit of so deepe learning of so rare grace and would not sooner haue vsed that saying that he had rather erre with Origen then beleeue aright with others And what should I say more the matter came to that issue that as the end shewed not an vsuall commō but a passing dangerous tentation of so worthie a man so famous a Doctor so notable a Prophet caried very many from the true and sound faith of the Church For this Origen so rare and singuler a man abusing the grace of God to insolently flattering him selfe to much in his own witte beleeuing him selfe more then reason would litle esteeming the olde simplicitie of Christian religion presuming to be wiser then all other contemning the traditions of the Church and the olde Fathers documents waded so far in expounding cartaine chapters of the scripture after a new fashiō vntill he deserued that the Church of God should also say of him Yf there arise vp in the middest of thee a Prophet a litle after thou shalt not heare quoth he the wordes of that Prophet And againe because quoth he your Lorde God doth tempt you whether you loue him or no. And surely it is not only a tentation but also a great tentation when a man carieth away secretly and by litle and litle the Church depending vpon him admiring his witt knowledge eloquence conuersation grace nothing suspecting him nothing fearing him sodenly from the olde religion to a prophane new doctrine But some will say that Origens bookes be corrupted I will not gaine say it but rather it were so for that hath both bene said written of some not only Catholickes but also Hereticks But this is now the point we haue to cōsider that althogh not he yet the bookes passing abrode vnder his name are a greate tentation which stuffed with many horrible blasphemies are read and vsed loued and liked not as the bookes of others but as his owne workes so that although Origen gaue no cause of erroneous doctrine yet his authoritie hath bene the occasion why the error hath bene liked and folowed The case also of Tertullian is the very same with the former for as Origen is to be thought the best amongest the Greeke Doctors so Tertullian without controuersie the cheefe of all the latin For who was more learned then hee Who in Diuinitie or Humanitie more practised for by his great and wonderfull capacitie of witt he attained to imbraced all Philosophie all the sectes of Philosophers all their authors and patrons all their learning all sortes of histories and studies And for his witt was he not so excellent so graue so sharpe that he almost vndertooke the ouerthrow of nothing which either by quicknes of witt or waight of reason he crushed not in peeces Now who is able to set downe the commendacion and praise which his stile and phrase of speach deserued which was so fraught I know not how with that force of reason that such as could not be perswaded were cōpelled whose almost so many wordes so many sentences so many sences so many victories This is well knowne to Marcion and Appelles well knowne to Praxeas and Hermogenes the Iewes vnderstād this the Gentiles haue tried it the Gnostikcs haue proued it and diuers others haue felt it whose blasphemouse opinions he hath ouerthrowne with his many great volumes as it had bene with thūder and lightning And yet this man after all this this Tertullian I say not holding the Catholicke religion that is the vniuersall and olde faith being far more eloquent then fortunate chāging afterwarde his minde did at last that which the blessed Confessor Hillarie in a certaine place writeth of him He discredited quoth he with his latter error his probable writings and therfore he was also a greate tentation in the Church But hereof I will saye no more only this I add that by his defending against the precept of Moises for true prophecies the new madnesse of Mōtanus springing vp in the church and these mad dreames of a new doctrine of the franticke woman he deserued that we should also say of him and his writinges Yf a Prophete shall rise vp in the midest of thee and straight after thou shalt not heare the wordes of that Prophet Why so Because qnoth he your Lord God doth tempt you whether you loue him or no. We ought therfore euidently to note by these so many so great diuers others such waightie examples and by the law of Deuteronomie most cleerely to vnderstand that if at any time any ecclesiasticall teacher straieth frō the faith that gods prouidence doth suffer that for our triall whether we loue him or no in our wholle hart and in our wholle soule CHAP. XI VVHICH being so he is a true and perfect sincere Catholicke that loueth Gods truth that loueth his body the Church that preferreth nothing beefore the religion of God nothinge before the Catholicke faith not any mans authority not loue not will not eloquēce not philosophie but contemning all these things setled in faith stable permanēt whatsoeuer he knoweth the Catholicke Church vniuersally in old time to haue holden purposeth with him selfe only to hold and beleeue and therfore whatsoeuer new doctrine and not before heard
of such a one perceaue to be brought in of some one man beside or contrarie to the olde Saintes and Doctors lett him know that not to pertaine to religion but rather to tentation for his proofe and triall especially being instructed with the saving of the Apostle Sainte Paule for this is that which he writeth in his first epistle to the Corinthians There must quoth he be heresies also that they which are approued may be made manifest amōgest you As thogh he should say This is the cause why the authors of heresies are not straight rooted out by God that the prooued may bee made manifest that is euery one may appeare how stedfastly faithfully and constantly he loueth the Catholicke faith And certaine it is that straight vpon the springing vp of any Noueltie the waightie corne is discerned from the light chaffe then is that easelie shaken out of the floare which before lightly remained in the floare for some by and by leape away others only shaken are afraid to perish and ashamed to returne remaining wounded halfe dead half aliue like vnto those which haue druncke so much poison as neither killeth nor digesteth neither bringeth death nor yet permitteth to liue Alas the miserable state of such persons with what seas of cares with what stormes are they tossed for some time as the winde driueth them they are caried away headlong into error an other time coming again to thē selues they are shaken beatē like contrary waues striuing togither somtime with rash presumption they allow such thinges as seeme vncertaine an other time of pusillanimitie they feare those thinges which are certaine doubtfull which way to take which way to returne what to desire what to auoide what to holde what to let go which miserie affliction of a wauering harte and not setled were they wise is the salue of Gods mercie towardes them For this is the reason why being out of the safe porte of the Catholike faith they are shaken tossed and almost killed with stormes and troubles to the end they should strike downe the sailes of their proud mind which they nough tely hoised vp to the windes of nouelties so retire keepe thēselues with in the most sure port of their calme and good mother first cast vp those bitter turbulēt waters of errors that afterward they may drinke of the flowing riuers of liuelie runing water Let them learne to forget well which well they haue not learned and those articles which the Church teacheth and by reason are to be attained to let thē in Gods name comprehend and those which surpasse reason let them by faith beleeue CHAP. XII VVHICH being so oftē times calling to minde and remembring the selfe same thing I cannot sufficiently maruell at the great madnes of some men at so great impietie of a blinded harte to conclude at so greate a licentious desire to error that they be not content with the rule of faith once deliuered vs and receiued from our auncestors but do euery day search and seeke for new doctrine euer desirous to add to change and to take a way som thing from religiō as though that were not the doctrine of God which was once sufficiently reuealed but rather mans institutiō which cannot but by continuall correction or rather corruption come to perfection Whereas the diuine scriptures crye out Do not translate the boundes which thy fathers haue set downe and Do not iudge ouer thy iudge And the Serpent will bite him that cutteth the hedge And that saying of the appostles by which all wicked nouelties of all heritickes haue often bene cut in peces as it were with a spiritual sworde and alwaies hereafter are O Timothie keepe the depositum auoiding the prophane nouelties of voices and oppositions of falsly called knowledge which certaine promisinge haue erred about the faith And yet for all this some there be so shameles so impudent so obstinate which will not yelde to such force of diuine scripture which be not moued with such waight of reason nor yet shaken with such heauenly hāmers to conclude which be not beaten in peeces with such celestiall lightning Auoide quoth he the prophane nouelties of voices He saieth not auoide antiquities he saieth not auoid auncientnes nay rather sheweth what contrariwise should folow For if nouelty is to be auoided antiquitie is to be retained if nouelty be prophane antiquitie is sacred oppositiōs quoth he of falsly called knowledge Verily the name of knowledge in the schooles of Hereticks is false where ignorance is called knowledge mist reputed cleerenes darknes termed by the name of light Which certaine quoth he promising haue erred about the faith What promised they when they erred about the faith What else but I know not what new and vnknowen doctrine For you may heare some of them say O ye vnwise and seelie soules which commonly are called Catholickes come and learne the true faith which no creature vnderstādeth besides vs which hath bene hidden many hundred of yeeres past but of late hath bene reuealed and laid open but learne it priuily learne it secretly for it will delight you And againe when you haue learned it teach it secretly that the world may not vnderstand it that the Church may not know it for it is graunted to fewe to vnderstand the secret of so great a misterie Are not these thincke you the wordes of that harlot which in the Prouerbes of Salomon calleth vnto her the passengers Who is quoth she most Prou. 9 foole amōgest you let him turne vnto me And such as be of small iudgement she exhorteth saying Touch willingly secrete bread and drinke sweet water priuily What foloweth But he knoweth not quoth he how in her company earthly men do perish who be these earthly men Let the Apostle declare Those quoth he which haue erred about the faith But it is worth the labour more diligently to examine the Apostle his whole Chapter O Timothie quoth he keepe the depositū auoiding prophane nouelties of voices This exclamation O both sheweth foresight and also argueth charitie for he foresawe certaine errors which before hand he was sory for who at this day hath the place of Timothie but either the whole Church or especially the wholle body of Prelates who ought them selues to haue the wholle knowledge of diuine religion and also to instruct others what is ment by keepe the depositum Keepe it quoth hee for feare of theeues for daunger of enemies least when men be a sleepe they ouer-sow cockell amongest the wheat which the sonne of man hath sowed in his feild Keepe quoth he the depositum What is mēt by this depositum that is that which is An excelent exposition of S. Paules wordes committed to thee not that which is inuented of thee that which thou hast receaued not that which thou hast deuised a thing not of witt but of learning not of priuate vsurpation but of publicke tradition a thing brought to thee
what desired they all surely nothing else but that which was of olde time deliuered might be still retained and that which was newlie inuented might speedelie be reiected After all which we maruailed at and highly commended the greate humilitie and holines of that Councell in which were so many Bishopes the greater part of whom were almost Metropolitanes of such eruditiō of such learning that they were almost all sufficient to haue disputed of matters of faith Which greate assemblie and meeting together although it might in some mans opinion haue imboldened them to presume and determine somwhat of thēselues yet they deliuered nothing presumed nothing arrogated nothing to themselues but before all thinges they were very carefull not to leaue any thing to posteritie which before they had not receiued of their forefathers not thinking it sufficient to dispose well of the businesse then present but also to leaue an example to their posteritie how they in like manner should reuerence the religion of sacred antiquitie and vtterly condemne the inuentions of prophane noueltie We inuaighed also against the wicked presumption of Nestorius who boasted that he was the first and the only man which vnderstood the scriptures and that all others which before his daies preached and taught all that interpreted and expounded the word of God were ignorant and vnskilfull that is all Preistes all Confessors and Martirs of whom some had expoūded Gods lawe others allowed and beleeued them To conclude he maintained that the Church both now did erre and alwaies had erred because as he thought it had and did folow vnlearned and erronious Doctors All which albeit they were abundantly sufficient for the ouerturning extinguishing of all prophane nouelties Yet least that ought shold in such plētie of proofes be wanting we added for a conclusion a doble authoritie of the Sea Apostolique the one of holy Pope Xistus which venerable father nowe honoureth the Church of Rome the other of Pope Celestinus of blessed memorie his predicessor which I haue thought good also here to sett downe Pope Xistus then in his epistle which he wrot to the Bishope of Antioch towching the cause of Nestorius saieth thus Therfore quoth he because as the Apostle saieth the faith is one which euidently hath obtained to be so called let vs beleeue and such thinges as are to bee holden lett vs beleeue Afterward he prosecuteth and explicateth what those thinges be which are to be beleeued what they be which are to be kept saying thus Nothing quoth he is further lawefull for Noueltie because it is cōuenient that nothing be added to Antiquitie The faith beleefe of our forefathers is cleare perspicuous let it not be troubled or defiled with any permixtion of filthie mire Apostolically spoken in commendation of our forefathers faith to compare it to light and perspicuitie and in likening nouell prophanes to the admixtion of filth and mire Pope Celestinus likewise is of the same opinion for in his epistle which he sent to the Preistes of France wherin he reprehendeth their dissimulation in that they left by their silence the old faith destitute and suffered prophane Nouelties to spring vp thus he writeth Worthelie quoth hee the cause doth touch vs if with silence we foster errour therfore let such men be corrected let them haue no libertie to speake at their pleasure Some happely doubteth who they be whom he forbiddeth to haue their libertie in speaking whether the preachers of antiquitie or the inuentors of nouelties Let him speake and discharge the Reader of this doubt for it foloweth Let nouelty cease of quoth he if the matter be so that is if that be true which diuers accuse vnto me your Cities Prouinces that through your pernitious dissimulation you cause thē to yeeld vnto certaine new doctrine Therfore quoth he if the matter be so let noueltie cease of to prouoke Antiquity This then was the blessed opiniō of holy Celestinus not that antiquity should cease to ouerthrow Noueltie but rather that Noueltie should giue ouer to prouoke antiquitie Which Apostolicke and Catholicke decrees whosoeuer resisteth first of necessitie he must proudly contemne the memorie of S. Celestinus who defined that noueltie should giue ouer to prouoke antiquitie Againe he mustiest scoffe at the decree of holy Xistus whose iudgemēt is that nothing is lawfull for noueltie because it is not conuenient that ought be added to antiquitie Againe he must contemne the determinatiō of blessed Cirill who highlie commended the zeale of venerable Capreolus in that he desired that the old articles of faith should be confirmed new inuētions vtterly condemned Likewise he must reiect the Councell of Ephesus that is the iudgement almost of all the holy Bishopes of the East who inspired by God would not decree that posteritie should beleeue ought but that which the sacred antiquitie of our forefathers agreeing togither in Christ had holden beleeued who with their vniforme allowing acclamation testified that they all decreed all wished all gaue iudgemēt that is all heretickes almost before Nestorius contemning antiquitie and defending Noueltie were condēned So likewise Nestorius him selfe the author of noueltie and impugner of antiquitie should bee condemned Whose sacred consent and agreement proceding frō Gods goodnes if any dislike what remaineth but that he maintaine that Nestorius prophane opinion was vniustly condemned Finally hee must also sett light by and contemne the vniuersall Church of Christ and her masters the Apostles and Prophetes and especially the Apostle S. PAVL as dreggs drosse The vniuersal Church beecause shee hath alwaies religiously kepte and maintained that faith which was once deliuered S. PAVL because he hath written thus O Timothy keepe the depositum auoiding prophane Nouelties of voices And againe Yf any preach vnto you otherwise then you haue receiued bee he accursed And if neither the Apostle his definition nor the Ecclesiasticall canōs ought to be violated by which according to the sacred consent of vniuersalitie and antiquitie alwaies all heretickes and lastlie Pelagius Celestius and Nestorius were iustly and worthelie condemned surelie necessarie it is that hereafter all Catholickes which desire to shew thēselues true childrē of their mother the church doe cleaue ioine and sticke vnto the holy faith of their holy Fathers detesting and abhorring pursueing prosecuting the prophane nouelties of all prophane misereantes This almost is the summe of that which in these two commonitorie bookes we haue more amplie discoursed of now after the maner of recapitulatiō in fewer words gathered togither that my memorie for helpinge whereof I haue wrote this Treatise may both with dailye admonition be repaired and yet not ouerlaid with fastidious prolixitie