shall be punished with vnquencheable and euerlasting fire Therefore what shall it néede to forge a newe Lymbe for them Many Doctours consideryng the great rigour that he did vse against the litle infantes haue been of another opinion much contrary in so much that some among them did not sticke to call Saint Augustine Carnificem infantium that is to say an vnmerciful tormentour of infantes though he be worthy that men should speake of him more reuerently But first and formost it is vncertaine whether this booke out of the which this sentence is taken be saint Augustines or not For the stile and phrase of this booke doeth nothing resemble the phrase that Saint Augustine doth vse in those bookes that be certainely knowen to be his For this holy doctour doeth alwayes with great modestie and sobrietie both write speake of those thinges that do parteyne vnto the Church vnto the saluation of men being neuer woont to affirme anye thing rashly without some sure grounde or foundation in Gods worde which thing he doth not obserue in this booke For what Scriptures doth he aleadge for to proue that rigorous sentence that he doth geue against those poore infantes that dye without baptisme And yet he saith holde this for a suretie and not only in this place but also in many other thorowout al the whole booke hauing alwaies these words in his mouth holde for a suretie beléeue vndoubtedly I do here let passe many other reasons that did moue many great learned men to doubt of the aucthour of this booke But let vs graunt that it is Saint Augustines Ye haue hearde already howe he doeth trimme their newe forged Lymbe that they do assigne vnto the poore séely infantes that either be styll borne or dye without baptisme Againe we must not thinke that he him selfe wyll haue these wordes of his to be taken after the rigour of the letter And therefore we must consider what occasions he might haue to write after the same sort For if the necessitie and vnablenesse doth excuse them that be of age why shoulde young infantes be more vnexcusable which haue yet a more reasonable excuse then they that be of yeres can haue For when they dye being little ones either in their mothers belly or out of it was it long of them that they were not baptized Hath God conceaued a greater hatred against those poore séely infantes which are onely infected with originall sinne than against them which being of age haue besides originall sinne ten hundred thousande talentes weyght of their owne actuall sinnes Although the baptisme of water were as necessarie vnto saluation as ye do make it yet if there be some exception for the one by what right or reason shoulde it be denied vnto the other when the cause and excuses be a like But we must weigh and marke that in Saint Augustines time there were many that had not the Sacramentes in such estimation and reuerence as they ought to haue them As in these our dayes we see that some folke do attribute so much vnto them that they make of the visible signes and corruptible clementes a Iesu Christ and an ydoll and some againe do take them but for bare signes without any vertue or efficacie estéeming them no more then they estéeme the common badges or cognisaunces that the seruauntes or souldiours doe weare for to declare what Lordes or maisters thei doe serue And in this thing the Anabaptistes excéeded aboue al other not onely in this that thei would be baptized againe but most chiefly in that that thei doe vtterly condemne the baptisme of yong children and will haue it to be deferred till they come to yeres of discretion whose doctrine is no more to bee allowed then the doctrine and opinion of them that doe affirme that yong infantes that dye without baptisme are euerlastyngly banished from the kyngdome of God. For sith that the infantes are sanctified by the holy spirite of God beyng washed in the blood of his onely begotten sonne our Sauiour Iesu christ and comprehended in the couenaunt that he hath made with vs and our séede by the vertue and efficacie of which couenaunt beyng confirmed by the bloodsheddyng of the onely begotten sonne of God we looke onely to bée saued why should the seale of this euerlastyng Testament be denied vnto them nowe more then it was to the children of the Hebrewes Bicause forsooth that they doe not beleeue nor be able yet to make any profession of their faith What if I should reason after this forte without faith it is impossible to please GOD but litle infantes and babes doe please God in so muche that our sauiour christ rebuked them that would not suffer them to bee brought vnto hym I might then conclude that they haue faith though they cannot yet declare it outwardely And Saint Augustine doth plainely saie that they haue faith whose wordes are these Infantes habent fidem propâ—er fidei sacramentum The litle infantes or children haue faith bicause they haue the Sacrament of faith As then the children of the Hebrewes were circumcised in their infancie and childehoode afterwardes were brought vp in the knowledge of the Lawe of God and in his true religion and worshippyng so it is behoueful that the infantes and children of the Christians be baptized and receaue the Scale of the euerlasting couenaunt For sith that by the faith of the parentes though but one of them did beléeue they are sanctified afterwards that thei be brought vp in the true religion of Christe As it appeareth that it was doen in the olde auncient catholike church wherof confirmation did come that children after certaine yeares were presented to the Bishop and renderyng an accompte of that faithe of theirs whiche their parentes or fréendes in baptisme professed to haue them baptized therein haue handes layde on them whiche is nothyng els but prayer made for them so saieth Saincte Augustine Quid enim est aliud manum impositio quà m oratio super hominem For what is laiyng on of handes els but praier ouer a man Whiche thyng is now tourned among the Papistes to be one of the Sacramentes to make vp the number of their fiue fained Sacramentes yea and such a Sacrament thei affirme it to be that it is greater then Baptisme for this they write them selfe in their owne bookes Sacramentum confirmationis dicitur esse maius baptismo quia à dignioribus datur in digniore parte corporis That is to saie the Sacrament of confirmation is said to be greater then the Sacrament of baptisme and afterwarde the cause is added bicause it is geuen of worthier persons and in the worthier parte of the bodie here we maye easely sée an heresie of Donatus mainteined by the Papistes which will haue Sacramentes to take their force and aucthoritie in respecte of the person that ministreth it not onely the maister of sentences saith this but also
Spiritus est Vicarius Christi in terra A breefe and pithie summe of the christian faith made in fourme of a confession vvith a confutation of the papistes obiections and argumentes in sundry pointes of religion repugnaunt to the christian faith made by Iohn Northbrooke Minister and Preacher of the worde of God. Rom. x. ¶ Corde enim creditur ad iustitiam ore autem confessio fit in salutem For with the heart man beleueth vnto righteousnesse And with the mouth man confesseth to saluation ¶ Seene and allowed according to the order appointed in the Queenes Iniunctions ¶ At London Printed by Iohn Kingston for W. Williamson dwelling in Powles Churchyarde at the signe of the whyte Horse Anno. 1571. ¶ To the right reuerende Father in God and his singuler good Lorde Gylbert by the mercifull prouidence of God Bishop of Bathe and Welles Iohn Northbrooke wisheth all health and peace in Christe Iesu our only Sauiour IF my power and abilitie were aunswereable to my good will right reuerende father this token of myne humble dutie which I doe now offer vnto your honour shoulde be as greate and precious as by reason of the contrarie it is base and slender VVherfore I most humblie beseche your honour in no worse parte to accepte this litle offer then as the present of hym that is bound of duetie to loue you whiche would haue brought better if his power had beene thereafter But followyng the example of the poore widowe whiche is so highly of our Sauiour commended in the Gospell I offer vnto your honour parte of suche fruictes as haue growen in a poore studentes Garden I haue alwaies been assured of your L. that you will accepte that that a man hath and not that he hath not and this Sainct Paul geueth for doctrine whereby to encourage the godly forwardes in the Lordes busines For all are bydden to the buildyng of Gods house for when the Tabernacle of the lorde was made by Moyses euery one brought suche as he had some brought golde and siluer other some brought precious stones others brought clothe others skinnes and heere of Goates and weathers others brought woodde And the poore and meanest sorte brought somewhat also for they brought stones and all this was put to the worke Euen so I iudge for the buildyng of this house of the Lorde whiche is his Churche euery one shoulde and ought to bryng suche as they haue some more some lesse accordyng to the talentes whiche the Lorde of the house hath geuen them to profite withall I wil content my selfe to bring the litle stones of the common sorte for this buildyng and I hope that the maister of the worke will not refuse my seruice nor my litle stones although they be not hewen of the finest sorte yet I truste they be all hewen out by the Square and rule of Gods worde forasmuch as they may be a furtheraunce to the buildyng as I hope they wil be with gods helpe For as many as are christians haue geuen their faith vnto Christe in their baptisme to forsake the deuill the worlde and the fleshe and to continewe Christes faithfull souldiers and seruauntes to fight vnder his Banner all the dayes of their life to the healping and mainteynyng of the warring and striuing faith All this well considered three causes hath moued mee to set foorth this litle treatise of my faith at this tyme The first is for that the Lorde hath in his handes to fanne examine and make cleane againe his Churche To whom also it were verie good in my iudgement that the faith of euery one shoulde bee knowen and especially of those whiche make profession of the Gospell to instructe others as the Doctours Pastours and Ministers of the worde and Sacramentes to the ende that the false Prophetes and Papistes whiche nowe bowe downe their shoulders and stretche out their eares to the false papisticall doctrine of that Antichriste of Rome were knowen driuen awaie and caste out from among the godly and faithfull For as Barnarde saieth Plus longè nocet falsus catholicus quà m si verus apparcat haereticus Therefore Christe gaue vs warnyng to be ware of them that come in Sheepes clothyng but inwardly are rauening woolues comming and liuyng amonges vs as the Angels of light but all is to beguile the innocent and simple people to make them twise the children of hell worse then them selues are How Iosua was deceiued by the dissemblyng Gibeonites through their fained and cloked holines saiyng VVe become from farre for the name of the Lorde thy God the historie declareth So right reuerende father in these our daies wee haue many and specially of the Cleargie that can saie nowe to our godly Bishops how thei are come from Rome for the name of the Lorde our God with their moulded and wafer cake bread olde ragged garmentes and shoes when in deede it is but meere dissimulation that they doe to enter into the Churche for liâ—yng to mainteine ignoraunce there and to keepe out Godly preachers And these men haue learned Arius practise to conuey all their beleefe of the Romishe faith into their secrete bosomes and yet wil with hande and penne declare by subscribing and swearyng as though they were throughly perswaded and conuerted They drawe nye with tongue and penne vnto vs but their heartes are to Rome a number of them haue gospell talke but yet a Romishe faith an Englishe face but Spanishe hearts VVe reade in Eusebius Caesariensis that writeth how that Constantius the father of Constantine fained vppon a tyme that he woulde put out all the christians whiche woulde abide in their faith and religion from their honours and offices but in deede the Godly woulde in no wise denie but rather choosed the losse of promotions and honour but the others denied the true faith bicause they would not loose their dignities Vpon which triall he excluded these dissemblers and double faced neuters out of his realme saiyng They woulde not be faithfull to hym which had broken their faithe vnto god So no doubt if these men in our daies were tried we should finde of them the lyke Therfore if they were called not onely to confesse their faith with worde and penne but also to geue a reason of their faith to proue and openly to shewe by textes of the holy Scriptures and manifest reasons builded thereon in whom thei beleue what thei beleue wherfore they beleue and how they beleue in open pulpit and also in writyng shoulde do a thousande tymes more good then that they now doe For they thinke nowe that if they subscribe obserue the order of seruice and weare a side gowne a square Cap a Cope and a Surples none can saie blacke is their eyes but that they are good protestantes yet all this while they run into hugger mugger a whispering in corners saiyng to the simple people beleue not this newe doctrine it is
firste would sainct Augustine haue left it out thinke you or at least â–ª neuer to haue spoken woorde of it in this place hauyng suche an occasion and oportunitie as he had in entreatyng of the beleife I can neuer beleue that for of al the old writers he was moste precise and vigilante in suche poinctes of Religion that touched faithe So that it must euidently appeare that it was putte in by some aftercommers as Erasmus before hath saied Whereby we maie vnderstande the care of the godlie ones then that woulde not putte foorth or affirme any thyng whiche could not bee proued by the Scriptures So Hierome saieth Omne quod loquimur debemus affirmare de scripturis sanctis What soeuer we affirme we must proue it by the holie scriptures For Augustine saieth Sine scripturarum autoritate nihil definiendum est Nothyng is to bee determined or affirmed without the aucthoritie of the holie and sacred scriptures And likewise Saincte Paule saieth Now is the righteousnesse of God made manifeste without the Lawe hauyng witnesse of the Lawe and of the Prophetes Whereby is gathered that all truthe and righteousnesse of Gods Religion and our faith in the redemption of his sonne muste haue the witnesse of the Lawe and the Prophetes that is to saie the holie Scriptures will euer acknowledge and allowe it And whereto it giueth no witnesse that is alwaies false and erronious For as sainct Hierome saieth Hoc quia ex sacris literis authoritatem non habet eadem facilitate refellitur qua probatur Seyng this saieth he speakyng againste those Fathers that did affirme that that Zacharie whiche Christ spake of beyng the sonne of Barachie was Iohn Baptists father hath no aucthoritie out of the scriptures it maie bee as easely denied as affirmed Therefore I saie searche the holy scriptures as they of Berea did as coÌ„cernyng this matter in question and yet thou shalte neuer bee able to finde there that euer Christe our Sauiour in bodie or soule descended into hell after his death to the place of the daÌ„pned or into any Limbo Onely thou shalt finde there that he died and rose againe the thirde daie c. Some will here replie and saie What sir you saie not truely Are there not scriptures sufficient to proue he descended into hell although there are sondrie places yet there are fower principall places as in the Psalmes in Zacharie in the Actes of the Apostles and in Saincte Peters Epistle I praie you saie thei is it not writen in the Psalme thus Non derelinques animam meam in inferno I doe graunte it is so written but it followeth not hereby to proue that his soule or that Christes soule should goe vnto hell the place of the damned for soule in this place doeth not signifie the soule of Christe but it signifieth the bodie or persone of Christe and by hell he vnderstandeth not the place of the damned but the graue or sepulchre and therefore Stephanus translation hath Non relinques corpus meuÌ„ in sepulchro thou shalte not leaue my bodie or persone in the graue So hath the Tygurian translation also For this Hebrue woorde Nâ—pesch signifieth a bodie or person as you maie reade in Leuiticus and in Numeri Also for this worde Soule in that place and many others is taken for the whole naturall man for we reade in Genesis that all the soules that came with Iacob into Egypt whiche came out of his loynes were in the whole thréescore and sixe foules that is thréescore and sixe persons or bodyes And in the Actes it is sayde There were added to the Churche by Peters Sermon about thrée thousande soules that is thrée thousand persons And so Peter vseth the same when he saith Wherein fewe that is eight soules were saued in the water that is eight persons or bodyes S. Paul also vseth that worde saying Let euery soule be subiect vnto the higher powers c. That is let euery body or person be subiect c. By this you may soone perceaue what Dauid meaneth by this word soule that it shoulde not lye in the graue for euer but shoulde rise vp againe So Iob saieth in matter one although in other wordes where he saieth Though after my skinne wormes destroy this body yet I shall see God in my fleshe As for this worde Hell it is taken in diuers significations in the Scriptures as you may â—ée in my booke where I do intreate of this article but in this place it signifieth not the place of the damned but the graue wherein he was buryed So likewise S. Cyprian dâ—eth expounde that worde hell saying Vis tamen verbi eadem videtur esse in eo quod sepultuâ— dicitur That is howbeit there séemeth to be the same strength of the worde hell in that he is sayde to haue béen buryed As for the place of Zacharie where he saieth Thou also shalt be saued through the blood of thy couenaunt I haue loosed thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water serueth litle and nothyng at all for the proofe of Christes descention into hell For the Prophetes meanyng is in that place that God saueth his Churche by the blood of Christe whereof the blood of the sacrifices was a figure and is here called the couenaunt of the Churche which he did make with Abraham promisyng vnto him that all nations should be blessed in his séede which is our sauiour Christ. And so Zacharie compareth the babylonicall ouerthrowe wherein the people was oppressed to a drie pyt So that he vnderstandeth by the prisoners not any soules in hell but the children and seruauntes of God which were and are captiues vnder Sathan the deuyll mans enemie who was prefigured before by that cruell tyraunt Pharao and by the king of Babylon And by the waterlesse pit he vnderstandeth the goulfe of all miseries calamities whence it is impossible for man to come out by any meanes without the helping hande and out stretched arme of Gods almightie power And that you shall not thinke this to be of my owne exposition I wyll shewe you what S. Augustine saith vppon this place Alio loco ad ipsum Christum in spiritu Propheâ—ia loquens de remissioâ—e peccatorum per eius sanguinem Tu quoque inquit in sanguine Testamenti tui â—misisti vinctos tuos de lacu in quo non est aqua Quid per hunc locum velit intelligi possunt diuersa sentiri etiam secundum rectam fidem Mihi autem videtur non eo significari melius nisi humanae miseriae siâ—cam profundiâ—atem quodammodo sterilem vbi non sunt fluentia iustitiae sed iniquitatis lucum Dâ— hoc quippe lacâ—â— in psalmo dicitur eduxit me de lacu miseriae de luâ—â— lâ—mi that is to saie And in an other place speakyng of the spirite of prophecie vnto Christe hym selfe touchyng the remission of synnes through his blood
the decree confirmeth that doctrine Melchiades an aucther of the Papistes and a Pope saieth Sacramentum manus impositionis sicut nisi à maioribus perfici non potest ita maiori veneratione venerandum est tenendum The Sacramente of laiyng on of handes as it cannot be made but onely of the greater so is it to be worshipped with greater reuerence and so to be defended This is a verie straunge religion that a drop of grease enchaunted and coniured with mumblyng of a fewe wordes to be compared to Christes sacrament preferred before the water sanctified by the worde of god But this is their maner to depraue Gods lawes dignifie their owne I marueile what aucthoritie thei haue to make this a sacrament for I am sure that none can make a sacrament but he that can geue power strength and vertue to it but the Pope can geue no power strength and vertue to it therefore he cannot make a Sacrament for we are not makers nor cōsecrators of sacraments but ministrators Saint Augustine saieth Accedat verbum elemento fit sacramentum Let the worde come to the element and it is made a sacrament Here I consider two thinges that a sacrament consisteth of the worde and the element now let them shewe mée the worde for their sacrament of confirmation that it maye bee put to the elemente but here they are dumbe To speake further howe they haue brought this order of confirmation whiche at the beginnyng was ordained as you haue heard before for good purposes to toyes trifles and gewgawes As Oyle to grease them Spittle to poyson them Salte to drie them vp Bandes aboute their neckes to choke them Tapers burning in their hands to consume them with a nomber of other toyes and superstitions of them deuised without any foundation or warraunt in Gods worde Wherfore I perswade my selfe that rather fonde Nurses haue inured them then conscience or reason perswaded them Scriptures haue thei none but the same condemne them nor godly fathers any but the same be against them But now come againe to some other of the Anabaptistes saiynges and obiections that they bryng against the baptisme of infantes we doe not reade saie they that the Apostles did baptize any children in those families housholdes which thei did baptize Howe coulde it then be that they had baptized the whole housholdes as they them selues do write that thei did if thei had left the children that were in them if at least there were any vnbaptized Are not the children part of the householde yea are they not rather the chief parts of the houshold Isaac was so of the housholde of Abraham that for his sake Ismaell with his mother was driuen out of the doore and cleane put awaie If then the Apostles did baptize the whole housholdes as thei themselues doe testifie without all doubte they baptized also the litle infantes that were in them For as in the olde lawe when any straunger forsaking his Idolatrie would be ioyned vnto the people of God professe the same religion that they professed both he and all his men children were circumcised were they neuer so young so in the Apostles tyme and many yeres after when any were conuerted vnto the faith of christ not onely they but all their whole housholdes both olde and yong were sealed vp with the seale of the people of God. The holy Apostle saieth that any man that hath not the spirite of Christe the same is none of his Whereby it foloweth that whosoeuer hath the spirite of Christe the same is one of his And againe that any man whiche is Christes the same hath his spirite But the litle infantes children of the christians not only as soone as they be borne but also as soone as thei beginne to liue in the mothers belly are Christes that is to saie they pertaine vnto Christe and vnto his kyngdome as he hath plainely declared vnto vs by the example of Iohn Baptiste Ieremie and of many other Therefore I doe conclude that they haue his spirite and that thei ought to be baptized For Saint Peter saieth can any man forbid water that these should not bee baptized whiche haue receaued the holy ghoste as well as we Sith then that yong children haue the spirite of Christe bicause that thei are his who but Antichriste will forbid them to be baptized It is to be noted then that in Augustines tyme many were exceedyng negligent about the sacramentes which thing hath caused the auncient fathers to magnifie the same so muche And therefore they that did come after them not consideryng the causes why they had doen so did take the wordes rawly taking no héede to their figuratiue and hiperbolicall speaches wherby it did come to passe at length that thei did make plain ydols of the sacramentes as though the vertue of our sauiour Christ and the whole efficacie of our religion shoulde consist in the visible and corruptible elementes or signes There were many among them that had receaued the Gospell whiche did deferre to be baptized till the very houre of their death some of them doyng it by negligence and some againe bicause that thei were perswaded that in baptisme all the synnes that could be in man should be washed awaie for this cause thei taried as long as they coulde that so thei might depart out of this life cleane and pure from all synnes yea many whiche thyng was worse did take vpon that hope the greater boldenesse to synne Which thyng did moue S. Chrisostome also Basilius Magnus to write very sharply against their maner of doynges and to rebuke them that dye so very sore As they then that were of age did deferre and prolong their baptisme so it is not to be doubted but that thei did the like in their owne children for the causes aboue rehearsed And therfore it is no marueile if Saint Augustine or any other in his name whosoeuer he be hath written and spoken this of baptisme for to redresse suche faultes negligences and opinions and for to stirre and moue the christians to do better their duetie in that pointe aswell for themselues as for their children For this cause it was also ordained in the auncient catholike churche for as the ecclesiasticall histories doe testifie they baptized but once in the yere in Thessalia where it came to passe that many dyed without baptisme that baptisme shoulde be ministred twise in the yere that is to saie at Easter and at Whitsontyde There might be yet an other cause that did moue this authour to speake after this fashion He did see that many were infected with the heresie of the Pelagians which did attribute litle or nothyng vnto the grace of God and as they regarded nothyng originall synne so thei did wonderfully magnifie and extol the strength and power of man Wherfore thei had also baptisme