Fryer Iohn Frauncis of Nigeon in Fraunce A Replication to that lewde aunswere which Fryer Iohn Frauncis of the Minimes Order in Nigeon nigh vnto Paris in Fraunce hath made to a Letter that his Mother caused to be written and sent to him out of England in August 1585. Wherevnto is annexed an aunswere to that which the same Fryer hath written to his father and mother in defence and to the prayse of that Religion which he dooth nowe professe and to the disprayse and defacing of that Religion which is nowe professed in Englande Whereof the Fryer himselfe was a Scholler and professor vntill the yeere 1583. which was the 18. yeere of hys age ⸪ VVritten by Robert Crowley Anno. 1586. AT LONDON Printed by John Charlewoode dwelling in Barbican at the signe of the halfe Eagle and the Key To all such Gentlemen as beeing English borne haue Romysh hartes and doo fauoure the Romish Catholicke Religion and especially such amongst them as doo inhabite in the Counties of Sussex and Hampshyre and about London WYshing well to the Common weale of my nature Country and to the Churche of Christ in this our English nation I haue in my younger daies taken some paynes haue béene at some charges and yet am in the education of some such young Schollers as haue séemed to bée likely to prooue profitable members in this Church or Common weale of Englande Amongst whome one Samuell Debnam was one Hys Father and Mother are yet lyuing and doo by theyr honest labor sustayne theyr owne bodies and according to theyr hability they doo help to reléeue the impotent and néedy This Samuell was theyr eldest and first borne Sonne and their hope was that he should haue béene the staffe of their age And because the mother was my seruaunt in the time of her virginity my wyfe became Godmother to that young babe and as the custome of the Church is vndertooke for him at the Fountaine of Regeneration which mooued both her and mée to haue together with his naturall Parents an especiall care for his good education Hee prospered in learning and was like in time to haue prooued a profitable member of the Englishe Common weale Yea some gifts that he had receiued from God séemed to be somewhat rare in one of hys yéeres and that did pusâ—e him vp and make him proude I did then beginne to feare that which is nowe come to passe For as Syrach hath written Chap. 10 Initium superbiae hominis apostatare a Deo quoniam ab eo qui fecit illum recessit cor eius The beginning of mans pride is to fall away from GOD for his hart is departed from him that hath made him This pryde was it that caused him to harken to such amongst you as first enticed him to forsake his Parents and other fréendes in so vndutiful manner as he did on Monday which was the eyght day of Apryll 1583. In aunswering Letters that his Mother caused to bee written to him the 28. day of August 1585. Hée wryteth that he was lodged not farre from London the same night that he stept away from hys Father and her and shortly after hée was as he sayth conueyghed by night a myle of from London where hée stayed thrée weekes And on May day in the Morning carely hée was sette on horsebacke and conueighed into Suffer and so into Hampshyre where he had maintenaunce tyll the Euen of S. James the Apostle c. At his departing from London good Gentlemen as he termeth them gaue him money to the value of forty or fyftie shillinges to bring him ouer the Seas By these thinges it appeareth manifestly howe vnfréendly you popysh Gentlemen are to the Crowne and Common weale of Englande Can you worke any greater displeasure to the Crowne Common weale of England then to robbe them both of the younge frye that is likely to bée the continuance of this and the beginning of the next generation This youth béeing about the age of eightéene yéeres was meete to bée imployed to that kinde of life wherin he might haue béene moste like to doo best seruice to God his Prince and his natiue Countrey But sée what you haue doone you haue caused him to be reconciled to the Romish Catholicke Churche which is to bée a sworne enemy to the Crowne and Common weale of thys his and your natiue Country You haue robbed our Prince of her Subiect and seruice that she might and ought to haue had of him as of one borne with in her dominions You haue robbed a poore father and mother of theyr sonne and onely childe the staffe of theyr age theyr greatest treasure in this world theyr onely hope of posterity and of that gyft of God which by natural Order hath béene most pleasaunt and delectable to them and should haue béene most profitable you haue robbed mée and the rest that haue taken paynes and haue bestowed of our goods vpon him in the nourishing and bringing of him vp to that estate wherein you found him and in making him able to doo some seruice in the Common weale of our Country you haue I say robbed vs of all this of that hope which wée had to sée him a profitable member of the Church of Christ in England you haue robbed hym of that benefit which a naturall English man may and ought to enioye within the English dominions yea as much as in you may bée you haue robbed him of that inheritaunce which Christ Jesus hath bought for him for you haue perswaded him that not Christ Jesus but the Romish Antichrist is the way that leadeth into that inheritance you haue taught him to leaue the study of the scriptures and not to looke vppon or to giue credite vnto those wrytinges that men of sounde iudgement haue left behinde them concerning the true interpretation of the scriptures but to beléeue all that the Romysh Catholicke Church beléeueth holdeth and teacheth although he doo neither knowe what the beléefe of that Church is neither howe it may bée warrented or defended by the scriptures when it is knowne yea although it doo surpasse and excell mans vnderstanding yet it muste be beléeued onely because the Romysh Catholicke Church dooth beléeue it Sâ—ynt Peter was of an other minde when he wrote thus Dominum ChristuÌ„ sanctificate in cordibus vestris parati semper ad satisfactionem omni poscenti vos rationem de ea quae in vobis est spe Sanctisy the Lord Christ in your harts béeing alwayes prepared to satisfy euery one that shall aske you a reason of that hope that is in you 1. Pet. 3. Our sauiour Christ sayde Scrutamini Scripturas Search the scriptures Iohn 5. yea and talking with two of his Disciples in the way toward Emaus He prooued the necessity of his death and resurrection by the scriptures Luk. 24. The Jewes which dwelt in Bâ—rrhaea searched the scriptures dayly to sée if that were true that the Apostles preached Acts. 17. But you haue taught this
I haue them to shewe in that Letter which he wrote with his owne hand not altering or leauing out or adding to my knowledge one worde sillable or letter If any amongst the learned Romish Catholickes shall vouchsafe to reade that which I haue written and shall thinke himselfe able to disproue that which I haue doone let the same deale with me as I haue dealt with Fryer John and I hope I shalbe able so to reprooue his disproofe so y t he shall in the end wysh hée had let my wrytings passe without disproofe For Fryer John hath so quickened mine aged spirits that I séeme to my selfe able to trye thys matter by wryting euen with the stoutest Champion that the Pope hath And if Fryer John or any of his Fraternitie yea if it bee the Pope Sixtus quintus himselfe which as I heare was a Franciscane Fryer shalbe able to prooue by Scriptures and probable reasons that the Romysh Relygion which nowe is professed in Rome is Catholicke and that the Religion nowe professed in Englande is schismaticall then wyll I créepe into a Minimes wéede in Nigeon and whyppe my selfe with a discipline as Fryer John doth nowe whyppe himselfe there Otherwise if any shall enterprise to disprooue my wrytinges and shall not doo it substantially to my disproofe indéede I wyll doo what I shall be able to doo in helping him to some whipping chéere in our Bridewell if euer hee may be caught in Englande Fare you well from my house without Creplegate of London the syxt of August Anno Domini 1586. Your welwiller Robert Crowley Clarke ⧠Reade all or Reade nothing Crovvley WHen your mother shewed mée your Letters of the xvii of Marchâ— last past I did call to minde that which I had tolde her more then thrée months before you departed from her Which was that I sawe in you such signes of Arrogancie that I thought you to bee a méete stocke to graffe a Papist vpon In reading of those your Letters I perceiued that I was not deceiued in that my coniecture This spirite of Arrogancie beginneth to shewe it selfe euen in the beginning of those your Letters for you disdaine to vse those duetifull spéeches that naturall children ought to vse when they wryte to their naturall Parents You séeme to be perswaded that you abase your selfe enough yea ouermuch to write thus to such Parents as they be The Fryar Welbeloued Father and mother after my harty commendations which I haue vnto you these are to certify you that I haue receiued your Letter dated the xviii of August Crovvley If you had written to the meanest amongst them that haue béen your playfellowes you must either haue passed y e bounds of ciuill honestie or els haue vsed as reuerent spéeches as these be But did your Arrogant spirit suffer you to stay héere no. For your Parents are so vile in your sight and in comparison of your selfe that you must needes write thus The Fryar Were your Prayers any thing worth I woulde thanke you for that you pray vnto God to blesse me and to endue me with the grace of his holy spirit as also to lighten my hart to the ende that I may vnderstand the troth Were as I saide before your prayers any thing worth I would thanke you hartily for these your wishinges but alas they being such as they seeme to bee scarsly can I keepe my selfe from teares Crovvley If Lucifer himselfe who is noted to be the father of pryde shold haue writteÌ„ to his damme could he haue vsed words of greater Arrogancie You haue forgotten I thinke that commandement of God which you did once knowe did acknowledge before a great congregation of Christians in my Church at Crepiegate Honour thy father thy mother c. You remember not the saying of Syrache in his 3. Chap. Quâ— timet dominum honorat parentes et quasi dominis seruiet hijs qui se genuerunt He that feareth the Lord dooth honour his Parents and doth seruice to them that begat him euen as though they were his Lordes And againe Quam malae famae est qui derelinquet Patrem est maledictus a Deo qui exasperat matrâ— How euill a report hath he that forsaketh his Father And he that vexeth his mother is accursed of God Yea and in the same Chapter he saith euen immediatlie after those wordes that I haue cited before In opere et sermone et omni patientia honora patrem tuum c. Honour thy father in déede and in spéeche and in all patience that blessing from God may come vpon thée c. The Fathers blessing doth establish the houses of the Children but the mothers cursse doth roote out the foundations thereof Yea and Salomon saith in the 15. of his Prouerbs Stultus irridet disciplinâ—m patrâ—s sui c. The folish man doth deride the discipline of his father c. And againe Stultus homo despicit matrem suam The foolishe man despiseth his mother These sayings written in the Scriptures were farre out of your minde both when you harkened to these Counsellers that first aduised you to leaue your father and mother in such sorte as you haue doone and euer since as may be gathered by that which you haue written in your Letters directed to them but I coniecture that you wyll staie your selfe vpon the words of our Sauiour Christ written by the Euangelist Math. 19. Qui reâ—querit domum vel fratres aut sorores aut Patrem aut matrem aut vxorem aut fâ—lios aut agros propter nomen mâ—um centuplum accip 〈…〉 vâ—â—am aeternam possidebit Who so shall forsake house or brethren or sisters or father or mother or wife or childe or fréends for my name sake shall receiue an hundreth folde and possesse life euerlasting But will you knowe what Chrysostome writeth vpon this place Qui perdit animam suam propter me inueniet eam non vt nosmetipsos interimamus neque vt animam nostram violenter a corpore disiungamus sed vt religionis pietatem caeteris omnibus anteferamus It a de vxore quoque ac fratribus intelligendum est Who so looseth his owne life for me shall finde it not that we should kill our selues neither that we should violentlie seperate our owne soule from our bodie but that we should preferre the godlines of Religion before all the rest Euen so must we vnderstande that which is spoken of the wife and brethren Now if those words of our Sauiour written by S. Mathew doo not enforce you to kyll your selfe why shoulde they cause you to leaue your father and your mother in such sort as you haue doone the staffe of whose age you should haue béene if you had béene carefull to doo as once you confessed in my Church that by Gods law you are bound to doo That is to loue honour and succour your father and mother to obey them and serue them to feare and reuerence them not onely in word and déede
that they should stand in néede of greater mercy then Christ Jesus hath already shewed vnto them But more of this when I shall come to speake of these wordes of yours You say that we are fooles to pray for the deade Your Brother Aaron you say was liuing at that time when you did so vnduetifullie depart from your mother but he is nowe dead to whom as to your Father and mother you béeséeche Christ to giue life euerlasting A good and charitable petition I wysh the same to you and to all others whatsoeuer knowing that none can haue euerlasting life otherwise then by Gods frée gyft thorowe Jesus Christ our Lord. But your selfe and men of your sorte may not acknowledge anie such free gyft for that you doo by your often and long prayers your holines and austerity of life and your continuall fastinges and often scourging of your selues with your holie whyppes deserue this life euerlasting both for your selues and for others So that you are become sauiours of your selues of as many as doo or will beléeue as you doo teache others to beléeue And thus you conclude your answer to the Letter which your mother sent you written as you think by Master Kings man the Scriuner As touching y e writer of that Letter your coniecture is right You procéede and say Fryar I am now to certify you of my state welfare abyding how I am likely to liue First of al therfore I beseech Iesus Christ giue you the grace of his holie spirit vnto the inteÌ„t that this which I write may be to his honor to your coÌ„uersioÌ„ your souls health Crowley Wee shall nowe bee certified of your estate welfare c. You beséeche Jesus Christe to giue the grace of his holye spirit to your mother c. I hope she hath already receiued so large a measure of that holy spirite y t whatsoeuer you haue or shall write shall not be able to remooue her from that foundation whereon shée is builded which is the Rocke Christ that notwithstanding anie assaults that you can make she shall remaine still setled vppon that Rocke to her soules health And that your writings and mine together shalbe to the honor of Christ Jesus either in your returning againe from your Apostacie or els in your vtter confusion Nowe you enter into your discourse concerning your departing your trauell and dangers that you endured and escaped before you were brought to this blessed rest wherein you nowe remaine the manner and holines of the life that you leade there and haue vowed and so purpose to leade so long as GOD shall giue you life vppon earth Last of all you vse an earnest and as you think a pithie Oration to mooue your mother to be at destance with that Religion that she nowe holdeth and with all the teachers thereof As Crowley and the rest to burne her Bookes of Sermons to vse the English Bible no more to goe no more to the Sermons of Protestants but to praie to our blessed Ladie and to hang her faith vpon her son Samuels sléeue And thus your discourse beginneth The Fryar My departure from you was vpon the Monday as I remember after Lowe Sundaie in the after noone That night I was lodged not farre from London Two or three nights after that I went by night a mile from London The Saterday before that I departed from you I went to shrift as wee call it in Englande or in other words I was at confession in a place where I confessed my sins to a Priest who gaue me absolution penaunce The Mondaie after that I departed from you vnder pretence of the Hebrewe Lesson which the mischieuous Hereticke Barber taught me The Fridaie after that I went by night a mile from London where I remained in great feare the space of two or three weekes There I heard the first masse that euer I hearde Crovvley Concerning the time of your departing from your mother your going to shrift the Saterdaie before your lodging so nighe London for the space of two or thrée nights after your departing your going by night a mile of from London your tarrying there for the space of thrée wéekes in great feare and hearing the first masse that euer you hearde the Fridaie after you were gon from your mother I must passe ouer as matter more to be mused at then to bee entreated of in this my discourse But this séemeth something straunge to me that your ghostlie father would absolue you before he had giuen you penance By like he was some vnskilfull penitancer or els you being yet but a Nouice in Popery haue vsed the Fygure Hysteron Proteron in making the report I perceiue that I my selfe was at your age a much more skilfull Papist then you bée and was much more able to defende Popery then you are or are like to bee In poprie Contrition and confession goe before satisfaction and both must be voluntarie full and vnfained and then the ghostly father the ghostly childe must agrée vpon penance For no Popishe ghostly father will or may enioyne his ghostlie childe any other or greater penance then himself will acknowledge y t he is centented to take and to do And this séemeth to me yet more strange that hauing confessed your sinnes and receiued absolution and penance béeing reconsiled on the Saterdaie you could be partaker of our Communion on the next daie in companie of your mother whose prayers as you haue said before are nothing worth because shée is not of that societie that you were by that ghostlie father receiued into Haue Papistes nowe such a priuiledge that they may simulâ—re dissimulare counterfait and dissemble at their pleasure Christ hath said thus Whosoeuer shall denie me before men I will deny him before my heauenlie father and before all his holie Angelles You haue not therefore taken vp your Crosse to followe Christ as you séeme to be perswaded that you haue doone but you haue dissembled with Christ and Christians that you might with lesse daunger of bodie â—â—ippe from them and followe Antichrist If I might talke with you mouth to mouth I would desire to know of you what manner of sinnes they were that you confessed to that Prieste your ghostlie Father I suppose they were not the stubburnesses points of disobedience that you from time to time haue vsed in all your behauiour towards your father and mother and all other your Gouernors and betters Neither can I thinke that they were the subtill sleights that you haue vsed in deceiuing your father and mother me and your Godmother my wife others your Tutors freends and fellowes or the false lyes that you haue made and sâ—outlie faced out when due proofe of that which you had doone coulde not be made You know what I meane If you were present I woulde be more plaine and plentifull in spéeches then in writing I doo thinke if méete to bée To be briefe I
can not thinke that you confessed the transgression of anie one of the Commanndements of God But that you had béene at the Sermons of the protestant Preachers and had heard them and taken the notes of them and had framed your selfe in some points to follow them although in very déede but verie little Yea and that you had not holden defended to the vtter most of your power the Romish Catholike Religion but had willinglie heard and read and sometimes your selfe vttered vnreuerent spéeches both by word and by writing to the derogation of that high dignitie of your most holie Father the Popes holines Gods Vicar vpon earth and the vniuersall head of the vniuersall Catholique Church of Christ Yea and in derogation of that holye Order that you your selfe doo now professe If I had béene with you when you made that confession of your sinnes I coulde haue put you in mind of that English Enterlude that you wrote wheÌ„ you last dwelt in my house wherein you appointed my little kinsman to play one parte in the habite of a Fryer with this spéeche Deus hic Deus hic and God be héere is not this an holie spéech for a Fryer You confessed I thinke that you neuer tooke ashes on Ashewensday nor beare Palme on Palme Sondaie nor crept to the crosse on good Fridaie nor fasted on the Ember daies nor on anie saints vigill nor yet on anie Friday in the whole yéere But I feare mee you did forget that blasphemy that in your forenamed Enterlude in that part that you appointed for your fellowe John Goughe in these wordes to be spoken in the person of the mother of Christ in the derogation of the Popes dooings in that he tooke vppon him to alter the Calender of the yéere The words are these What meaneth this foolish man to prate Nowe surelie I maruaile much What dooth him cause this wise to chat As though there were none such As he himselfe throughout the world Upon him so doth take As though that he the heauens and earth And eke the sea did make Hee changeth my byrth day And wyll my child bed rule at his will Which he shall neuer bring to passe Whilst world remaineth styll If you did in your shrift forget these wordes of blasphemy breathed out against your holie father the Popes holines your confession that you then made was vnperfecte and so all that then was doone not woorth a drye Walnut Yea and although you did not forget to confesse it yet if the Priest your ghostlie Father that gaue you absolution had not a more large Commission then commonlie your holie father vseth to giue to such single soled sir Johns as they be which in these daies come from Rome he hadde no power to absolue you for so horrible a sinne committed against your holie Fathers owne personne his triple crowne and dignitie No remedie you must to Rome for that absolution that you haue already receiued is not worth the leanest â—owse that euer crawled in the cowle of a Francisean Fryer But to let these things passe till you and I shall méete together againe I would gladly knowe wherein you can note Barber to be so mischieuous an hereticke Is it because hée taught you a Lesson of the Hebrewe tongue or was it because hee did it gratis and tooke no reward of your father for his paines taken therein Surely his meaning was good to you wardes and that reward that you render vnto him nowe saueureth of too too great ingratitude A vice that all honest men doo abhorre But let this passe also till Master Barber you may come to talke together I doubt not but you shall then 〈…〉 de him more fréendlie to you then by those words written by you you haue deserued I meruaile howe you could stay your laughter when you saâ—e the iestures and behauiours that the priest vsed in the first masse that euer you heard Dyd you not laugh in your slaeue to sée an olde foole or a young boy for I knowe not of what age the Priest that said the masse was play with a white round cake as a young Catte vseth to play with a Mouse that is more then halfe dead Dyd you not smyle wythin your selfe to sée him in his Plaiers garments and to vse his turnes and halfe turnes his winckings his staringes his liftinges and his layings downe and in the ende the eating vp and his slouenly supping vp of all himselfe and blessing such as were present with the emptie Cup Or if he did vouchsafe to make you Communicants with him did you not marke howe hée gaue you Wine ouer which he had vsed no words of coniuration or as they doo terme it consecration as he had doone ouer the other Wine which hée had lifted ouer his head and supped vp himselfe If none of all these thinges could cause you to laugh or simyle then vndoubtedlie you had loste that accident which the Logicians call Proprium hominis An accident proper to man to be apt to laugh or smyle But let vs sée now what you did on May day next after your departing from your mother The Fryaer From thence I departed vpon May day earely in the morning on horâ—backe toward Sussex I was in Sussex and Hampshire three monthes Good Gentlemen gaue mee when I departed from London fortie or fyftie shillings to come ouer Seas The danger was so great and the examinations at the Sea shore so straight that I knewe not what to dog Againe other letts I had that I could not take shipping vntill the ende of lulie welnere All this whyle I thanke God I wanted nothing neither apparrell meate nor drinke nor money Vpon S. Iames euen I tooke shipping at mydnight with a Gentleman a good Catholicke or as you would terme him a Papist I being a Papist with him So we two Papistes tooke shipping at Arundell Hauen in Sussex to goe to Rome We were in great hazard of our liues vpon the Seas from Sunday night vntill wednesday afternoone At what time wee arriued bothe in Fraunce at Diepe in Normandie From Diepe wee came to Roane in Normandâ—e where I stayed a fortnight After that I came to Paris the cheefest Cittie in Fraunce from thence to Rhemes where I stayed a tweluemonth and aboue So I trauelled in Fraunce before I came to an abyding place welnere fourescore leagues that is to say eightscore miles almost Being at Rhemes I went or at the least I should haue gone euerie day to the morning masse After which masse our custome was to breake our faste and after that to goe studie I was in the English Colledge at Rhemes where wee were welnere two hundred English men I liued there passing well as concerning meate drinke and other necessities Crovvley By this discourse of your peregrination it appeareth that Antichrist hath his fréendes amongst English men bothe in and about London and also abroade in other partes of y e Realme and in Fraunce also Good
this meaning S. Paul writeth thus to Timothe 1. Tim. 4. Attende tibi doctrinae insta in illis Hoc enim faciens et teipsum salum facies et eos qui te audiunt Take héede to thy selfe and vnto doctrine be instant or earnest therein for in dooing this thing thou shalt saue thy selfe and them that heare thée Héere we sée that Timothe being careful in looking to hys owne lyfe and to the soundnes of his doctrine and being earnestly bent to teache both by good example of life and by sownde doctrine is by S. Paule sayd to be the sauiour of himselfe and of them that heare him And yet it is manifest that he was neither the sauiour of himselfe nor of any other but an instrument that God vsed in working saluation both in himselfe and in other Because that by his carefull diligence in looking to his owne lyfe and sowndnes of doctrine and by his earnestnes in preaching the same fayth was begunne and increased in his hearers and continued and confirmed in himselfe Which fayth both in him in his hearers layd holde vpon and heldfast y e mercifull promise of God made in the mediation of the onely Mediator betwixt GOD and man euen the man Christ Iesus our Lorde 1. Tim. 1. And so bothe Timothe hys hearers and all the rest that haue béene are or shalbée by Gods good meanes made faithful are by Gods frée mercy saued according to the saying of the Apostle to the Ephesians Cha. 2. Gratia enim estis saluati per fidem et hoc non ex vobis Dei enim donum est non ex operibus vt nequis glorietur Ipsius enim sumus factura creati in Christo Iesu ad opera bona quae preparauit Deus vt in illis ambulemus By Grace are you saued through fayth and that not of your selues for it is Gods gyft not of workes least any man shoulde boaste For we are hys workmanshyppe created in Christ Iesus vnto good workes which God hath prepared that we shoulde walke in them And to the Rom. 9. Chapter The Apostle sayth thus Non volentis neque currentis sed miserentis est dei It standeth neyther in mans willing nor in mans running but in the mercy of God It séemeth to me a strange thing that any man professing the Religion of Christ dare conclude as you doo so directly contrary to the expresse wordes of the Apostle Paule You say in your conclusion we are iustified or saued by fayth good works together S. Paule sayth Wée suppose that man is iustified by fayth without the déedes of the Lawe Nowe if you can teil vs of any déedes y t are of more force to make vs righteous before God then the déedes that God hath commaunded in his Law then haue you sayd somewhat although but a little For those déedes must bée déedes commaunded of men whereof the Prophet Esay writeth thus Chap. 29. Theyr feare towards me was taught by the precepts of men therefore beholde I wyll take in hand to worke a strange worke that shall be a miracle and an astonishment to this people For wysemen shall loose their wisedome and vnderstanding shalbe hydde from the prudent I would wysh you to weighe well these wordes of the Prophet Esay and to consider whether they be not already verified in you and in men of your sorte Consider also what our sauiour Christ addeth to these wordes Mat. 15. In vayne doo they worship me teaching the doctrines and commaundements of men Whereby we are admonished that it is but lost labour for a man to goe about to be made righteous before God by such workes as men doo or can deuise and commaund S. Paule to the Ephe. 2. sayth That through fayth wee are saued by frée mercie and that not of our selues For it is the gyft of GOD and commeth not of workes least any man might haue any occasion to boast and how dare any man conclude as you doo that faith and works coupled together may make vs righteous before God I doo therfore conclude according to y e true meaning of the wordes of our sauiour Christ the Prophet Esay and the Apostle Paul that neither the workes that God hath commaunded nor the workes that men haue deuised or can deuise and commaund yea or y e faith that God hath dooth or shall worke in the harts of men either bée or can be the efficient cause of mans righteousnes or saluation But the frée mercy of God onely is the alone efficient cause that hath wrought doth and shall worke saluation in the faithful onelie and in none other In whom he himselfe worketh faith that by that fayth they may laie hold vpon holde fast that saluation that in frée mercy he doth and will fréely bestowe vpon them And surder I conclude that though the workes that GOD hath prepared for the faithfull to walke in neither be nor can be the efficient cause of saluation yet they are Causa sine qua non that is a cause that must be founde in them to whom it shalbe sayde Come yee blessed of my Father c. so that they that shall heare that ioyfull sentence must hunger and thirst after righteousnes of life all the dayes of their life And vse that faith that GOD hath wrought in them in laying holde vpon and holding fast that righteousnes that God hath in frée mercy bestowed fréely vpon them hauing a continuall care to shewe themselues thankfull to him for the same by walking in those good workes that hee hath prepared for them to walke in Nowe for the meaning of those places that you direct vs vnto namely the 2. to the Romans the 16. of S. Mathew and many other wherin we may by search find how God will reward al men according to their works I say thus I could by y e knowledg that God hath giuen me answere you sufficiently Yet because my wordes be of small credite with you I wyll aunswere you by the wordes of a holy father of the Catholicke Church whose wordes I hope you will admit and giue credite to them although as I coniecture you be not much acquainted with them S. Augustine writeth thus Quod est ergo meritum hominis ante gratiam quo merito accipiat gratiam cum omne meritum nostrū non in nobis faciat nisi gratia Et cum Deus coronat merita nostra nihil aliud coronet quam munera sua What is the merite of man before whereby he may receiue grace séeing that nothing but grace dooth worke in vs all our merite And when God doth crowne our merits he crowneth none other thing but his owne gifts Thus writeth S. Augustine Tom. 2. Epistola 105. And againe in his 7. Tom. in the 7. Chap ter of his booke De gratia libero arbitrio he wryteth thus Si ergo Dei dona sunt bona merita tua non Deus coronat merita tua tanquā merita tua sed tanquam dona sua
lust to make it it can not be of such antiquitâ— that you may compare with vs. We hold not of anie of them that you name Captaine Protestants We are not Caluinists we are not Zwynglians we are not Lutherans Wickliffians nor Hussians yea we holde neyther of Apollo of Peter nor of Paule but wee holde of Christ onely and are and wylbe called Christians You are and wilbe called Minimes Franciscans Dominickes Minorites Carmelites Benedictines Augustines Barnardines and I knowe not what And by a common name you wylbe called Papists Your popish Religion beganne when the Popes did first take vppon them the high dignitie of vniuersall Byshops and heades of the vniuersall Church of Christ which was about 610. yéeres after the Ascention of our Sauiour Christ not full 1000. yéeres before this day At which time Bonifacins the third of that name was ordeyned the high and vniuersall Bishop But our Religion beganne in Adam and continued in the posterity of Sethe euen tyll the incarnation of Christ and was by him made Catholicke to bée vniuersally receiued of all Nations And that Religion onelie doo we holde and professe And in this Religion were you baptized amongst vs. And this Religion did you once professe before many witnesses I would therefore wysh you to leaue your newe Religion and professe your olde Religion againe repenting vnfainedly your Apostacie and crauing forgiuenes at our heauenly fathers handes who is alwayes more ready to graunt vs pardon then we can be to craue it So shall you shewe your selfe to doo as you wysh your mother to doo that is you shall leaue the worlde and worldly deuises and cleaue vnto God alone as your mother and al vnfained Protestants doo You procéede and say thus The Fryer Beleeue me if you wyll I know as wel as you the heresies of Caluine and Luther and could peraduentnre haue defended them better then you can And therefore knowing their opinions and seeing that they were moste false and damnable contrary to all holesome doctrine and to the Scripture it selfe I was by reason of thys constrained to leaue them and to make my selfe a Papist For trust me if you wyll when ye shall yeelde your soules to God your bodies returning to the earthe you wyll then tell me another tale You would then if you could bewayle your sinnes but you shall not be able c. Crowley If we wyll beléeue you we may But for my parte I can hardly beléeue that eyther you did then or doo nowe knowe the doctrines that Luther and Caluine taught which you call heresies so well as your Father and mother both did then and doo now knowe them But be it that you did yet without peraduenture you were neuer able to defende them halfe so well as they bothe could and can For if you had béene of such habilitie to defend our Religion as your Father and mother were then and be now also vndoubtedly you coulde neuer haue béene so soone vanquished as you were by so weake aduersaries as by all likelihoode you had But it séemeth that you had no outward aduersary at all but the spirit of Arrogancie onely that lurked within you and mooued you to presume vpon your selfe and to take vppon you to iudge of the doctrine of others before you had any knowledge of doctrine your selfe But we must beleeue you if wee lust when you say that you did knowe theyr opinions did sée that they were moste false and abhominable and contrary to all holesome doctrine and to the Scripture it selfe and by reason of thys you were constrained to leaue them and to make your selfe a Papist A meruailous matter more to be mused at then to be beléeued that so young a man as Samuell Debnam was in Anno. 1583. at which time he was not Fryer John Frauncis shoulde haue in that little corps of his all holesome learning and such a knowledge of Scriptures that he was able to affyrme for truth that the opinions that Caluine and Luther helde are contrary both to all holesome doctrine and to the Scripture it selfe And yet I dare affyrme for trueth that this profounde Clarke did neuer before that time wherein hee sayth he was enforced to make himselfe a Papyst reade any one worke thorowe that either Caluine or Luther haue written Yea and as I thinke I may be bolde to affyrme that this prosounde Diuine had at that time as little knowledge of that doctrine which he calleth sounde as any young Grammarian eyther hath or can haue of the déepest misteries of Diuinitie For I knowe that before that time he neuer gaue himselfe to any graue study neyther dyd he gyue himselfe to any manner of orderly reading But his whole time in manner was spent in toying and tryfling and for y e most parte in idlenes and vayne playing And in the Scriptures hee coulde haue none other knowledge then such as he might attayne vnto either by hearing in the Churches where he neuer vsed to hearken attentiuely or els by reading in my house at the times of myne ordinary dinners and suppers vnto which exercise I did employe him as I did other young boyes that I kept in my house as I kept him And yet sée howe he taketh vppon him to condemne for most false damnable and contrary to all holesome doctrine yea and to the Scripture it selfe the opinions that those two excellent men John Caluine and Martine Luther helde and taught and haue left behinde them in wryting to the viewe of all posteritye Arroganting to himselfe the full and perfect knowledge as well of the Scriptures as of all humane Doctrines both good and bad Yea by those spéeches that he vseth he would seeme to haue read and wayed both the one and the other and to haue conferred the one with the other as one very desirous to haue founde them agreeable the one to the other But the falshode of that which hee then fauoured was so great and damnable and the contrariety to all holesome doctrine and to the Scripture it self so manifest that although â—ore agaynst his wyll he was constrayned to leaue the doctrine and professyon of a Protestant and to make himselfe a Papyst Yea by the wordes that he addeth he seemeth to be perswaded that except he had doone so he must of necessity haue perished euerlastingly For thus he sayth Trust me if you wyll when yee shall yéelde your soules to God c. You wyll tell me another tale you woulde then yf you coulde c. But you shall not be able Would not a man that readeth these wordes thinke that thys young Fryer hath as much knowledge as is possible for a man to haue And yet when he is opened and thorowly searched there is not one crumme of knowledge founde in him Undoubtedly it was but a vision in sléepe that deceiued him He dreamed that he knewe the opinions that he wryteth of and that he compared them with all holesome doctrine and with the Scripture
Religion saith S. Austen of the worshipping of dead men and dead women For if they liued godly they be not of that minde that they woulde séeke to haue such honor at our hands but theyr desire is that we shoulde worship him by whose illumining they reioyce that we are companions with them of his merite They must therefore be honored by immitation not worshipped for Religion If you woulde reade that Booke of S. Augustâ—ne I thinke you woulde forethinke that euer you went about to perswade your mother to make prayers to anie creature Although â—he blessed virgine be amongst creatures most excellent yet is shée not Deified She remaineth still a creature She is still a woman méete to be honoured by immitation as S. Austen saith but not to be worshipped for Religion The honour that we may giue to her or to anie other holie saint of God is to followe that good example of life that they haue left behinde them Who so will honor her a right must call to minde her great humility her most stedfast and constant fayth and her integritie of life in all conditions and endeuour to follow her therein But to make prayers to her and to â—raue helpe at her handes as you exhorte your mother to doo is to put her in the place of God by giuing Gods honour to her and so making an Idole of her If it be not lawful to beléeue in her then is it not lawfull to pray to her For the Apostle saith Quomodo inuocabuÌ„t in quem non crediderunt Howe shall they call vpon him in whom they haue not beléeued Rom. 10. The Prophet Dauid in the Psalme 50. speaking in the personne of GOD sayeth Call vppon mee in the day of thy trouble I wyll deliuer thee and thou shalt glorifie mée The same Prophete sayth Psalme 145 The Lorde is harde at hande with euerie one that calleth vppon him with euerie one that calleth vpon him faithfully In another Psalme the same Prophete sayth thus speaking in the person of GOD. I am the Lorde thy God which brought thee out of the lande of Egypt open thy mouth wyde and I wyll fill it By opening the mouth is there meant the crauing at Gods handes by prayer which the people of GOD are there commanded to vse Psalme 81. Assuring themselues to receiue at his hands as much as they doo or can aske If you would marke well the Psalmes that you vse to sing in your midnight Mattins you shoulde finde in them many such encouragements to call vppon GOD but not one worde to encourage you to call vpon any creature be the same neuer so excellent or holy Yea if you shall reade the whole Scriptures thorow from the first word in Genesis to the laste in the Reuâ—lations of Iohn you shall not finde one worde that beeing rightly vnderstanded may giue you any manner of encouragement to make Prayers to anie creature or discourage you to make prayers to God Yea you shall not finde any one example in any holy man that hath fledde from GOD to seeke helpe at the handes of creatures at anie time But you shall finde that Ieremie the Prophete complayneth agaynst them that haue doone so Ieremie 2. His wordes be these Obstupescite caeli super hoc portaeeius desolamini vehementer dicit Dominus Duo enimmala fecit populus meus Me dereliquerunt fone tem aquae viâ—ae foderunt sibi cisternas cisternas discipatas quae continere non valent aquas O yee Heauens sayth the Lord bée astonished at this thing yee Gates thereof be ye greatly abashed For my people haue committed two euills They haue forsaken me which am the Fountaine of lyuing water and they haue dygged Ceasternes for themselues Ceasternes that can not holde Water Heere the Prophet leremie disprooueth the people of Iuda for two euills And hee dooth it in the personne of God himselfe One of those euils is the forsaking of him the Fountayne of liuing water as you teache your mother to doo when you will her to burne her Bookes and to leaue the vse of the Englishe Byble The other euill is the dygging of Ceasterns that can not holde any water This euill you feache your mother to commit when you wyll her to buy a payre of Beades and to pray our blessed Ladie to helpe her Although that blessed virgin bee a most excellent creature yet she is but a creature and therefore but a broken Ceasterne in comparison of GOD which is the Fountaine of lyuing Water They therefore that séeke helpe at her hande doo but dygge a broken Cesterne for she could neuer helpe her selfe as before I haue most plainely prooued much lesse can she helpe them that flée from God and séeke helpe at her hande The sentences of Scripture that I haue before cited doo most manifestly proue that there is no cause that may giue vs occasion to flée from God to séeke help at the handes of any other He is almighty able to helpe in euery neede Hee is mercifull and readie to helpe in all distresses He is faithfull and hath promised to helpe such as call vpon him faythfully He knoweth our case and néedeth not any Memoransor to put him in minde of our case He hath a prouident and fatherly care for vs so that he letteth no occasion slyppe but taketh euery occasion to doo vs good And would you wysh your mother to forsake thys so mighty so mercifull so faythfull and so prouident a father and to gyue herselfe to the seruice of hys daughter in whom none of these thinges be otherwyse then by participation from thys father in whom the fulnes of all these things remayneth God forbid Remember your selfe better Samuell and make haste home againe Tarry no longer in that Dungeon of darknes in Nigeon Take againe that fruition of the light of the Gospell that once you did enioye in Englande Shake of those chaynes of ignoraunce wherein sathan hath so bywrapped you and embrace againe with vs the fréedome of knowledge which the almighty GOD hath so plentifully bestowed vpon Englande But let vs consider that which is next in your exhortation Your mother must wyshe in her hart that she had a Prieste to confesse her and she must doo thys as often as she can but especially when she shall fall sicke and shall be like to die And she must purpose stedfastly to confesse her sinnes and to goe to shryft if shee could conueniently Of such Priestes as you would haue your mother to wyshe for I haue before written sufficiently I haue wrytten also enough concerning that confessyon of sinnes that God requireth at the handes of Christians Your mother knewe before you were borne and knoweth styll what sinnes she ought to confesse and to whome she ought to make her confessyon She myndeth not to wysh after to séeke for or to acquaint herselfe with any such Ghostly Father as you meanâ— of although she might with out all bodily danger doo it She
knoweth them to be Traytours to GOD to our Prince and Countrey and to all such simple Christians as doo hearken to them Her stâ—dfast purpose therefore is to confesse her sinnes to God euerie day bothe in sicknes and in health She doth continually craue at Gods hande the grace of continuall and vnfained repentaunce Of full and frée pardon of all hâ—â— sinnes by the mediation of Christ Iesus she craueth a full and perfect assuraunce With all popish Priestes pepish shriâ—t and with all maner of popery she is and styll wylbe at defiaunce But you procéede with your exhortation and thus you say The Fryer Beleeue without doubting all that the holy Catholicke Romaine and Apostolicke Church doth belceue although that they surpasse and excell mans vnderstanding To be briefe say euery day these wordes O sweete Iesus I doo stedfastly beleeue all that my Sonne Saâ—â—uell beleeueth And in that fayth in which he is I will liue and die Be mercifull vnto me a moste wretched sinner for thy names sake Holie Marie mother of GOD pray for me thyne vnworthy handmayde nowe and in the hower of my death Say thys prayer onely euerie day And if you can goe to shrift confesse your sinnes and receiue the bodie and blood of our Lord and Sauiour Iesus Christ Crovvley Your mother hath iust cause to musâ— what you meane by this part of your exhortation wherein you will her to beléeue all y e the holy Catholick Romane and Aposâ—â—lick Church doth beléeue For there is no such Church as that in any part of the world There is indéede a Romaine Church but that Church is neither holy Catholick nor Apostolick Holy shee is not because she renounceth that holines that is fréely giuen in Christ and cleaueth to an holines that she imagineth to be in her owne workes wherein no holines at all either is or can be before God The case of this Romaine Church is as euill or worse then the case of the Church of the Jewes was when they béeing ignorant of the righteousnes of God sought to establish their owne rightâ—ousnes and so neyther were nor could be subiect to the rightcousnes of God Rom. 10 Euen so these Romaines which you call the Romaine Churche beeing ignoraunt of that holines that is fréely giuen in Christ and is therefore the holines of GOD and not of men doo séeke to sette vppe and aduaunce their owne holines which is no holines indeede and so are not neither can be subiecte to that holines that God giueth in Christ and so by good consequence there is in them no holines at all Catholicke that Romaine Church is not for that she holdeth not that fayth which Christ in his owne person taught in Jerusalem and in other parts of the lande of Iewrie and at the time of his Ascention into heauen commaunded his Apostles to teache Catholickly that is all the worlde ouer according to the signification of the worde Catholicè That is Catholickly or vniuersally In his owne personne our Sauiour Christ did preache this fayth as appeareth in the first Chapter of S. Marke PostquaÌ„ autem tradiâ—us est Johannes c. After that Iohn was imprisoned Iesus came into Galile preaching the Gospell of the kingdome of GOD and saying The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God draweth nigh Repent and beléeue the Gospell To beléeue the Gospell is that fayth which is called Catholicke And whosoeuer beléeueth the Gospell is a Catholicke And on the contrary he that beléeueth not the Gospell is no Catholicke To beléeue the Gospell is to bâ—léeue Gods word For in our olde Englishe spéeche Gods worde was called Gods speale and nowe corruptly we doo call it Gospell This Gospell or Gods speale is that promise that GOD made firste to Adam the firste man when he promised that the womans séede shoulde breake the Serpentes heade Gen. 3. This promise was renued to Abraham when GOD sayd to him In thy séede shall all the Nations of the earth bee blessed Gen. 22. And this Gospell is by the Grecians called Euangelion which worde dooth by interpretation signifie a gladde tydinges This Glad tydings dyd our Sauiour declare first to the lost shéepe of the house of Israell both in his owne personne and by the ministerie of his Apostles And at y e time of his ascending into heauen he gaue commaundement to those Apostles to declare the same Catholickly that is to say generally all the worlde ouer For thus he sayd vnto them then Euntes in mundnm vniuersum praedicate Euangelium omni creaturae Goe into all the world and preach the Gospell to euery creature Vnderstanding by creatures all Nations and sortes of men By thys meanes thys Gospell or Gladde tydinges which at the first was made knowne but to few in comparison of all was made knowne to the whole worlde and was therefore called Catholicke And when in the primitiue time of the preaching of thys Gospell certayne fantasticall heades beganne to teache doctrines contrary to thys Catholick doctrine and to drawe disciples after them then the Fathers that held taught thys doctrine called themselues Catholicks and those other Schismatickes and Heretickes The first Romysh Christians were right Catholicks as appeareth by that Epistle that the Apostle Paule wrote to them and so the Christians of that Cittie continued many yéeres after saynt Paules time as appeareth in the Histories of the Church But for the space of a thousande yéeres last past almost that Church that hath béene and is in Rome hath béene and is styll schismaticall and therefore the name Catholick is no méete name for that Romyshe Church They denie the frée iustification by fayth which S. Paule taught the first Romysh Chrystians and they beleeâ—ed hys doctrine They glory in theyr owne wysedome ryghteousnes holines and redemption presuming to redéeme theyr owne sinnes and the sinnes of others also by theyr fastings their prayers theyr whyppings and other workes that they haue deuised whereby they thinke and perswade as many as they can to think that satisfaction may be made to God for sinne committed in breaking the commaundements of God whereas by the Catholicke fayth we are taught that as there is but one God so there is but one mediator betwixt God and man which is the man Christ Iesus â— Tim. 2. And this Mediator had none other meane wherby hée might worke our reconciliation but onely the shedding his of own hart bloude for vs. That death which our sinnes had deserued was and of necessity must bee suffered by him y t purchased our peace with God I conclude therefore that the Romish Church taking vpon it in some sorte the Oâ—â—yce of the Mediatour is not Catholicke but Antichristian And therefore your mother béeing a Catholicke Christian indéede may not harken to her sonne Samuell when he wylleth her to beléeue all that the holye Catholicke Romaine and Apostolicke Church dooth beléeue c. And whereas you name the Romaine Churche Apostolicke you doo great wrong to that
Church which is Apostolick indéede and so doo yée to the Apostles themselues For you father vpon them all your hypocrisies and superstitions all your counterfayt false Religions all your Idolatrous abhominations and all your inordinate and great power and vsurpations from which the Apostolicke Church both is and euer hath béene as farre scuered as in distance of place heauen and earth are seperated The Apostles and the Apostolicke Church neither doth at this day neither any time héeretofore hath receiued or maintained wittingly and wyllinglie any maner of hypocrisies or superstitions It neyther dooth nor hath embraced willingly and wittingly anie counterfayte or false Religions It neuer hath nor doth embrace vpholde or main taine any Idolatrous abhomination It neuer hath doth or wyl delight it selfe in anie inordinate power or vsurpation The Apostles themselues did according to the example of our Sauiour Christ wyllingly submitte themselues to Princes and all other Noble estates as to such as by Gods ordinaunce haue the supreame authority ouer the bodies and goods of all men of all sorts and professions that liue within those Countryes that of right doo belong to their dominiâ—ns Rom. 13. â— Pet. 2. The Apostolicke Church neuer tooke vppon her to depose Kinges or to dispose of kyngdomes at anie time heretofore neither presently dooth nor in time to come will The Apostolick Church hath alwayes dooth styll and for euer will embrace vpholde mainetaine teache and preache that doctrine which by the appointment of Christ Iesus to whome all power in heauen and earth dooth belong the Apostles themselues dyd whilst they liued vpon earth embrace vpholde maintayne teach and preach without any manner of adding to taking from or altering or changing in any manner of respect so far foorth as Christ Iesus whose spouse she is pleaseth by his holy spyrite to direct her and to make her able to doo The Apostolick Churche dooth not neither hath nor will commaunde or counsell men or women to beléeue all that she beléeueth before shee hath let them vnderstande what she beléeueth and so enstructed them that they may be able to render a reason of that hope that is in them neyther dooth she wyll them to beléeue any thing that dooth surpasse mans vnderstanding tyll shee haue made them vnderstand what moueth her to beléeue those thinges But your Romainâ— Church which you call Apostolick doth and for these 1000. yéeres last past almoste hath doone and still pretendeth to doo the contrary to all these thinges I conclude thereforâ— that shee is not Apostolicke but Apostatate and therefore all thynges that shee beléeueth are to bée suspected and not to be receiued till they shalbée throughly tryed and founde to bée Apostolicke But now you wyll growe to a conclusion and thus you say The Fryar To be breefe Say euery day these wordes O sweete Iesus c. Crovvley In your conclusion wherein you are bréefe you giue me occasion to be longer then willingly I would You prescribe your mother an order of protestation and prayer which shee must vse euery day if she hope to be accepted amongst the Romish Catholicks It beginneth very well for thus she must say O swéete Iesus But in the next wordes you teache her to flée from Iesus and to be at defiaunce with him For she must say thus I doo stedfastly beléeue all that my sonne Samuell beléeueth Which is as much as if she shoulde say thus Farwell swéete Iesus I wil no longer depende vpon thée For my swéete sonne Samuell hath commaunded me to depende vppon hym I may no longer beléeue as thou hast taught me but I must and wyll beléeue all that my sonne Samuell beléeueth Thou haste taught me to beléeue that whosoeuer beléeueth and is baptised shalbe saued Mar. 16. But my sonne Samuell saith that except I confesse my sinnes to a Priest and be by him absolued and reconciled to the Romysh Catholicke Churche I shall bee damned both body and soule and I am sure hée woulde not say it except hee dyd beléeue it O swéete Iesus thou haste called mee and haste sayde vnto mée amongst other Come vnto mée all yee that laboure and be heauy laden and I wyll refreshe you Take my yoke vppon you and learne of mée for I am méeke and humble of harte and you shall finde rest vnto your soules for my yoke is pleasaunt and my burden is lyghte Mathew 11. But my sonne Samuell beléeueth that euery man and woman must suffer for theyr owne sinnes and therefore hee goeth and lyeth woolwarde hée refrayneth the eating of fleshe and of al white meates he riseth euery night at midnight he doth scourge himselfe naked often times yea he gyueth himselfe 400. strypes at one time Yea fearing to fall into the handes of the liuing God which is horrible hée hath for saken the world as he sayth and the life of a Scholler and hath made himselfe a Minime Fryer choosing rather that way to fall into the hands of GOD then liuing as his Father and I doo to fall into the pawes of the deuill His ghostly father hath tolde him and he doth beléeue it y t though thou doost cal him and offer to take the heauy burden of sinne from him yet it is necessary that he doo penaunce in hys owne person by that penaunce he do redéeme his owne soule And although thou hast bydden him bowe downe hys necke vnder thy yoke take thy burden vppon his backe assuring him that thy yoke is easie and thy burden light and that in thus dooing he shall finde rest to hys soule yet if he wyll finde that rest indéede hee must of necessitye take the yoke and burden of S. Frauncis vppon his necke and shoulders and doo penaunce all the dayes of hys life according to the rule of S. Frauncis Order O swéete Iesus beare with me I must beléeue all this for my sonne Samuell dooth beléeue it and hath wylled mee to say euery day that I doo beléeue all that hee dooth beléeue O swéete Iesus thou hast sayde Let such as hath eares to heare hearken Math. 13. And thy holy Apostle Iames hath sayde Be swyft to heare Iam. 1. And thine Apostle Paule sayth that fayth commeth by hearing Rom. 10 But my sonne Samuell wylleth me to leaue my early rysing and goe no more to the Lectures and Sermons of Crowly Barber and Fielde or of any other Protestants for hee sayth that they are the deuills Ministers and that the deuill of â—ell is the foundation of that Religion that they doo teache And I must beléeue that this is true if I wyll beléeue all that my sonne Samuell doth beléeue But my conscience telleth me O swéete Iesus that thou art that Rocke on which Crowley Barber Fyelde and the reste that bée the Protestant Preachers doo builde and I thynke that I doo plainely sée that they doo not builde vppon thée eyther straw or stubble but Gold Syluer and such other matter that can not be consumed by the
force of the fire of Gods spirit which in hys good time wyll trye all that men haue builded vpon thée which art that foundation that all the builders which wyll buylde the Temple of GOD must needes builde vppon because there is none other foundation to builde vppon 1. Cor. 3. O swéete Iesus thou haste commaunded mee to searche the Scriptures Iob. 5. And thy holy Euangelist saynt Luke reporteth that in Berroaea such as receiued the doctrine of the Gospell gladly dyd searche the Scriptures daily Acts. 17. But my sonne Samuell forbyddeth mée the vse of the Byble in English And hée knoweth that I vnderstande none other language Hys meaning therefore must needes bée to forbydde that which thou hath commaunded O swéete Iesus suffer mée not to be seduced by my sonne Samuels flattering and hypocriticall spéeches Hée teacheth mée to beseeche thee to bée mercifull to mée a most wretched sinner for thy name sake A better lesson then this no man can teache O swéete Lorde Iesus doo thou imprint thys lesson in my harte that I doo neuer forgette it And worke thou in my hart by thy holye spyrite that I may haue a ready good will dayly to vse it But alas he beléeueth that thy blessed Mother Mary is able to helpe such as call vppon her and therefore hée teacheth me to pray vnto her to helpe mée But thou hast taught me a lesson contrary to that When you pray you shall say O our Father which art in heauen hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy wyll be doone in earth as it is in heauen c. O swéete Iesus let me neuer forgette that forme of prayer Gyue mée grace I beséeche thee to vse it nyght and day to craue continuallye at the handes of thy heauenly Father which through thee is become my heauenlye Father all those thyngs that in that forme of Prayer thou haste taught mee to craue Let mee not so hearken to my Sonne Samuell as that following hys counsell I shoulde doo contrary to thy commaundements Blessed Lorde Iesus I doo knowe that thy blessed mother is a most blessed creature But thou with thy Father and the holye Ghoste art her Creator and mine and the Creator of all creatures Wée must say of her as the Prophette Esay sayde of Abraham Isaac and Iacob Abraham neuer knewe vs Israell is ignoraunt of our case but thou art our Father thou art our deliuerer Esay 63. Thinkest thou oh thou blynde Fryer Iohn that thy mother that bare thee is so blinded with affection towardes thee that shee wyll turne her backe vppon Christe Iesus to follow thee Thou teachest her to vse daily a forme of prayer which in the first words is swéeter then honnie to the taste of a faithfull Christian but in all the wordes that followe it is full of most pestilent and deadlye poyson She wyll none of it therefore She wyll pray to the heauenly Father in such sorte as Christ Iesus the sonne of God hath taught her and not to creatures as thou doost exhort her Though she coulde yet she wyll not goe to shryft to make confessyen of her sinnes to a Priest Shée knoweth who it is against whome shée hath sinned To him alone she wyll confesse all her secrete sinnes At his handes onely she wyl aske forgiuenes of her sinnes because she knoweth that he onely is able to forgiue them And when she shall sinne against men she wyll confesse those sinnes to those men agaynst whom she shall committe them Shee will doo all that shée shall bee able to doo in making satisfaction to them Shée wyll craue forgiuenes at their handes and beséeche them to pray to GOD for her that she may obtaine forgiuenes at hys handes also The blessed body and bloude of our Lorde and Sauiour Iesus Christe shée will receiue as often as shée may but not after so bloudy a manner as you imagine that you doo Shee hath learned to receiue an outwarde Sacrament into her mouth and stomache and by fayth to receyue spirituallie into her soule the thing that is signified by that outwarde Sacrament Shée knoweth that if shée dwell in Christe and haue Christ dwelling in her shée dooth at the Lordes Table receiue eate and drinke the Lordes bodye and bloude in the Sacrament exhibited to her and to the reste of the faithfull But if shée shoulde intrude herselfe into the companye of Christians not dwelling in Christ neyther hauing Christe dwelling in her she knoweth that though she shoulde receiue the Sacramentall breade and drinke the Sacramentall wyne neuer so often yet shée shoulde neither eate the bodye nor drinke the bloude of Christe but the Sacrament of so excellent a thing to her owne condemnation August in sermone de Sacramentis fidelium Feria 2. Paschae Thys is the iudgment of saynt Augustine in hys Sermon that he made of the Sacraments of the faythfull the seconde day of Easter And Fryer Iohn I must aduise you to call to remembraunce that dealing of yours when you presumed to bée partaker of the Sacrament of the body and bloude of Christe in company wyth your mother the morrowe after you hadde béene at shryfte and were as your selfe haue in these your Letters confessed reconciled to the Romish Catholicke Church If Christe did then dwell in you vndoubtedly bothe Christ and Antichrist may dwell together which is knowne to bée a thing impossible You were reconciled to Antichrist therefore hée dwelt in you and not Christ You presumed with Iudas to eate the Lordes breade against y e Lord as Iudas did when he had before bounde himselfe by promise for money to deliuer the Lorde into the handes of the high Priestes and Elders of the people Euen so had you compacted with your new fréendes and made promise to forsake the Protestants Religion as you terme it and to embrace the Romish Catholicke Religion during the whole time of your transitory life And howe durst you then thrust your selfe into our Communion the next day after you hadde made thys promise to your ghostly father that had béene the meane and instrument of your reconciliation and so dissemble both wyth your newe and your olde fréendes as a Newter or Iacke on both sides But it may be that your ghostly Father had some large Commission from the holy father of Rome to disspence in such cases For such doo account our Sacrament to bée but a péece of breade and a cuppe of wyne and that therefore there is no danger in the receiuing of it in such manner as you did then receiue it But that dispensation can not helpe you for it was Panis Domini the Lords breade as well to you as that other was to Iudas And you receiued it Contra Dominum against the Lord as Iudas did euen to your owne condemnation because you made no difference of the Lordes body To your mother and to other the faithfull that dyd at that time receiue that Sacrament it was Panis Dominus The breade which is the Lorde