perilous dissēsion amonge the papistes If our doctours and diuines should vse suche arguments against them howe woulde they scoffe and scorne at it But these ghospelling preachers vsing such must not onely not be founde faute withall but must be highely praised and commended therefore as men of excellent vertu and knowleadge Whiche allthough it be very iniurious and may well be complained of yet sence that it liketh them so to vse vs we must take it in good parte and beare it But as touching the matter euen as in our Christen religion we haue lerned of S. Paule to acknowleadge and beleue in one God euen so we must professe one faith and one baptim Although therefore among religious men and womē there be diuers orders and sundry rules likewise betwene the clergy and the laite diuers professions and vocatiōs and that by the sure and certain prouidēce of almightie God yet among these al there is but one God one faith one Christ one church one and the selfe same interpretation of holy scripture We by the true vnderstanding of Gods worde haue lerned in the churche the difference betwene the Catholike faythe of all men and the priuate hope of eueryman First in the articles of oure belefe we beleue al one thinge and al after one sort But to euery man priuately it is permitted that vpō right cōscience and due consideration for the encrease and cōfirmation of his hope which lacketh not his sure rewarde he maye take and chose vnto him some such honest trade of life and cōuersation as is agreable to his nature though he differ hereby from the common life and vocation of other men Therefore as concerning the agreement of our faithe we reade in the Apostle If there be therefore any consolation in Christ if there be any comforte of loue if there be any feloweship of the spirit if there be any compassion and mercie fullfill ye my ioye that ye be like minded hauing one loue being of one accorde that no thing be done through strife or of vaine glory And againe Neuertheles vnto that whiche we haue attained vnto let vs procede by one rule that we may be off one accorde Many such sentences are in holy Scripture whereby we are admonished that the doctrine of our faithe and belefe ought not to be referred to any one state or person but to the whole communite off Christ his churche Wherefore S. Iames commaundeth That we esteme not the faith of our Lorde Iesus Christe in respect of personnes Whereof it appeareth euidently that the vnite consent and agreement of our faith is builded and grounded vppon the communite off Christes Catholike churche Whereby all schismes and particular heresies are excluded But that the diuersite of grace of giftes and vocatiō is to be referred to the condition of euery man And what is the reason hereof Bicause as we haue many membres in one body but all membres haue not one office so all Christen men are one body in Christ but euery one hath his singular and peculiar giftes grace and vocation And this blessed Apostle saithe also in an other place Let euery man trie his owne doing and so he shall haue glorie in him selfe onely and not in an other For we shall all stande before the iudgment of Christe that euery man maye receaue the workes of his body according to that he hath done whether it be good or bad Seing thē these two pointes the agreement of faithe and diuersite of vocations are in the Catholike churche by due reason to be waighed and eche in his place to be osberued I can not sufficiently maruaill at the sutle shifte and wily deceit off these Lutherans forcing the Catholikes to suffer amonge them heretikes beleuing as they list and sowing schismes at their pleasure bidding them withall dissemble and winke at the matter whereas yet them selues will not suffer the like liberty in diuersite of vocations amonge the Catholikes but will persuade Princes and Magistrates to force their subiects bothe temporall and Spirituall and Religious of all sorte to forsake their godly vocatiō and perfit professiō and to take such a frame of faith as it shall please the Prince or Magistrat to prescribe them What other thinge is this then to make that diuers and different in the Catholike faith whiche should be one and vniforme and that one and vniforme in persons and vocations whiche should be diuers and different O horrible confusion If there were not beside this point manifest and outragious impietes of the Lutherans repugning bothe to right reason and to the worde of God whereby we might iudge howe pestiferous abominable and wicked the doctrines and doings of these Lutheran preachers and protestant Ministres are yet of this only matter it might appeare euident while they confunde Vniformite and Diuersite Teaching that which ought to be in our belefe consonant and agreable that it maye varie and be diuers and cōtrairely those things whiche in euery mans peculiar vocation shoulde be proper and distinct maie in no wise varie or differ Whereof spronge the insurrection of the commōs in Germany the sedition of the Anabaptistes in West phalia and the rebellion against their highe rulers and magistrats Surely of no other roote then that Luther and all protestant preachers haue taught and do yet teache and write to that seing There is no respect of personnes before God therefore there ougth to be no difference of persons no magistrat in the church but that all Christen men are fre and therefore all other distinct estats dignites and qualites as well greate as small ought to be all one and all a like And whereof arise these greate and enormous dissensions in religiō but only of this occasiō that the Lutherās take awaie from the Catholike faithe all vnite and agreement and teache that euery man may be saued by his owne priuat faith which he forgeth him selfe and that he maye for his owne person frely beleue what he listeth Thus they would force the Catholikes to a certain dissembling deceit such as neuer was heard of As that they should suffer euery man to beleue as he list and set vp newe factiōs and schismes against the vnite and agrement of our faith But the difference of vocations qualites and degrees as is betwene lowe and high tēporall and spirituall priuat and publike they should no more suffer but make all estates cōmon all vocatiōs aequall al trade of life one and vniforme If this be not to confounde heauen and earthe surely I knowe not what heauen and earthe meaneth Colde which procedeth of water is of this nature that it knitteth and fastneth together diuers thinges in to one masse and substaunce and cōserueth them also in the same as golde siluer bras tinne leade claie also durte and wodde But heate contrairely resolueth and seuereth all these substaunces So likewise the property of faithe is to knitte ioyne
from the church of Rome yet their faith and belefe touching such articles as the Lutherans haue swarued in from the Catholike churche is in moste pointes agreable to the Catholike doctrine If therefore o true and vertuous Germans we liste to put out this greate blotte of our good name to auoide the vtter destruction and desolation of our dere countre and purchase the eternall saluation of our soules this is the onely waie for it to seke after againe the steppes and pathes off our dere forefathers to ioyne our selues with the whole corps off Christendome and to call backe againe and restore that doctrine that faith that church and that ghospell by the which we were first made Christen men and haue continewed so many a hundred yeare For what so euer the Lutherans bable of their newe forged religion howe so euer the protestants pratle in pulpits of the primitiue church yet they can not denie but that this their doctrine their trade of ecclesiasticall gouuernement their maner of common prayer and all other ordinaunces was neuer yet sene nor heard of in Germany sence it was first Christned vntell Luther Charlemain the first Germain Emperour with his successours brought the Saxons to Christen religion founded amonge them their chefe bishoprickes churches and Colledges planted in Germany the very same doctrine the very same religion the very same cerimonies the selfe same Masse and seruice of god as it is at this daye vsed amonge all Catholikes and so left it to all Emperours after him Likewise those holy bishops and Martirs the Apostles of higher Germany which first brought Christendome in to it instructed it not with that doctrine or ecclesiasticall gouuernement as the Lutherans vse but with the very same vnderstanding of holy scripture with the same religion and gouuernement of the church whiche the Catholikes euen to this daye do practise S. Seuerin Archebishop of Rauenna conuerted Austriche to Christendome S. Eleutherius and Quirinus the countre aboute Anisus S. Maximinus and Rupertus the bishoprick off Salispurg S. Valentin and VVolfgang the cyte off Passau S. Paulinus and after him S. Emeranus Regenspurg S. Corbinianus Frising S. Richard and Vilibaldus the cyte of Eystat S. Narcissus and Viricus Augspurg and Algouia S. Kiliaenus and Burchaerdus Virtzbourg S. Columbinus and Gallus Suethelande S. Maternus and Valerius the inhabitants of Rhene S. Paternus and Laudo Costnitz S. Amandus and Argobastus Strasbourg S. Victor and Seruatius Wormes S. Crescens the disciple of S. Paule and Maximus Ments Whiche all beside many other blessed Martirs and lerned bishops in other countres where they planted Christes religion and instituted gods seruice taught no other doctrine preached no other ghospell practised no other religion saide no other Masse vsed no other clergy then suche as from the Apostles time through out all Christendome hath ben hetherto kept and vsed In this religion we germans were traded first to Christendome With this religion our godly and vertuous forefathers attained to euerlasting life By this religion the Romain Empire hath ben translated to the Nobilite of Germany Through this religion the auÌ„cient germans haue had greate victories haue dilated their dominion hath brought infidels to the Christen faythe as Hungary Bohem Pole Vandale Slavony Prussia LiflaÌ„de Denmarke and Swetheland which partly by force of armes they haue constrained partly by instruction of holy bishops they haue persuaded to receaue Christendome All this maye be sene in our Chronicles and awncient foundations But now we see to our greate grefe and shame that within the space of fourty yeares all these countres are all moste come to destruction The hainous heresies the sundry schismes and the horrible blasphemies euery where practised proue it to clerely Farder the greate decaie of the German Empire the contempt off our nation being nowe in obloquy with all the worlde whom before all nations other loued or feared testifie this abundantly Where is nowe become Thiethmarsh whiche belonged before to the diosece of the Archebishop of Breme The Danes haue taken it Where is LifelaÌ„de the olde soiourne and retire of the Saxon Nobilite The Moscouite by maine force hathe wronged it out of our handes Prussia what is come of it whiche was wonte to be the receite and soiourne of higher germany The Polonians haue chalenged it and enioye it And these two countres of Liflande and Prussia be no smal territories but two riche and large Realmes especially Prussia which hathe in length aboue threscore miles and in bredth fourtye and containeth diuers cytes portes and villages greate and small so riche and full of commodites as no place of Germany beside And although Lifâ—lande be not comparable to Prussia either in riches or in power yet is it a goodly beawtifull and large countre from whence not onely the Nobles of Saxony and townes of the seacoste drawe sundry commodites but all the state of the Empire also and many foren countres And these two countres Prussia and Liflande are as two sure feete of the Germain Empire which nowe by our dissension being bothe cut from the Empire it is easye to coniecture howe hansomly and surely it is like to stande And howe haue we loste these noble countres and prouinces by the force and power of oure enemies No truly For the knightes of the Order in Alemaigne forced the Prussians being yet heatheÌ„ to receaue the olde Christen religion whiche they had lerned off their Apostles and forefathers and vntell oure daies haue stoutely kept them in the same And as longe as that worshipfull Order continued in this godly purpose that countre flourished and encreased in all wealth But as soone as that Order receaued the newe ghospell of Luther abandoning the true ghospell off Christ and forsoke the spirituall Crosse of that Order folowing the fleshly doctrine of Luthers crosse incontinently that whole countre being gotte and kept so many yeares vnder the olde ghospell was sodenly loste through the newe ghospell of Luther the Nobilite of Germany thereof berefted and yelded to the prince of Pole so that nowe they rule ouer the germans whiche in times paste paied tribut to the Emperours of germany The like happened of Liflande for as longe as the knightes of the Order in Lifelande kepte and maintained the Catholike faith whereby they first subdued that countre ten thousand of them coulde in open filde put to flighte fourescore thousand of the Moscouites but sens that the same worshipfull Order put downe the awncient religion whereby they obtained such victories planting in the place of it heresie all the victory hathe enclined to our aduersaries and the Moscouites haue obtained the countre For so it is By agrement small thinges encrease by discord greate thinges fall awaye The olde Catholike faith worketh by charite which is the bonde of perfection and all prosperite The Lutheran fayth abideth not charite with it but will iustifie man
these fewe what to iudge of the rest and by the soure taste of these mislike the remnant of his vnpleasant and most poisonned doctrine For if in these two blessed Sacraments the one being the gate and entry of saluation the other being a most heauenly foode to preserue vs therein he sticketh not to vtter so harnous heresies and setteth him selfe so wickedly against the church of god what conscience trowe ye is he like to take in other pointes of oure Christen religion lesse necessary and of lesse importance well Though he were in al the rest sounde and withoute blot yet these his heresies of vs recited of him vttered and taught maye be sufficient to discredit him in the cōscience of any Christien harte For I thinke and trust verely there is no Christen man in all the realme of England be he neuer so farre waded in heresy but that he dothe reuerence the primitiue church of Christ of the first fyue or six hundred yeares and will be ready to condemne all suche heresies as were in that time and age cōdemned Nowe the Maniches the Ariās the Valētinians the Marcionistes the Nestorians the Nouatians the Pelagians the Samosatencall and other whose heresies Caluin hath renewed were in the compas of those fiue hundred yeares condēned If we woulde come downe lower we coulde recite a number more of heretikes condemned also in Christ his church with whose heresies the doctrine of Caluin dothe agree But in consideration of the impudent bragges made nowe in euery pulpit that all is reduced to the state of the primitiue churche I haue chosen oute suche heresies in Caluins doctrine as were in that time condemned geuing you to vnderstand that all is not the gospell which is there spoken vnlesse perhaps by reducing all to the state of the primitiue church they meane renewing of olde heresies condemned in the primitiue church And truly so must they meane if they saie truly But let vs returne to Caluin In the doctrine of free will I will make no especiall recitall of his heresies But note you his contradictions of the which euer one part is an heresy In his Institutions the .14 chapter he writeth that God did not only foresee the fall of the first man Adam and in it the fall of all his posterite but also it was his will it should be so Againe in his booke of predestination against Pighius he hath the same doctrine saying that God would not haue suffred Adam to fall but that he would haue it so to be Also that God so determined it and ordained it Now in his booke of free will against Pighius also he saith in two places these wordes I confesse with Origen that those which take away free will from Adā before he sinned be heretikes How agree these sayings of him If it were not only the will of God that Adam should fall but also that he determined and ordained it so to be then he fell of necessite For the determined will of God can not be frustrated Adā therefore could not if he had would continewed in his innocency And yet had he free will If hotte and colde be all one then is this doctrine vniforme Againe in his booke of predestination he saith All wsuchickednes as man committeth by malice of his owne procedethae so of God and that not without good reason although we knowe it not And to make his opinion herein most clere in the same booke he saieth It is a fonde solution of S. Paules saying Esadu odio habui I hated Esau to saie that the reprobats do worke their owne destruction by their owne malice And yet see what he saith in his institutions the .2 chapter Man saith he can not impute the hardnes of his hart to any other cause then to him selfe This lo is most true But why then saied he before the wickednes of man procedeth of God Why reprouueth he that solution which he now maketh him selfe Farder Caluin in his booke of predestination going aboute to mitigat his former doctrine where he taught that the reprobats could not chose but do euill saieth afterwarde he meaneth not of euery particular worke for a litle before he confesseth Saul had done certain thinges well But directly contrary to this shift is an other expresse doctrine of his in the very same booke where he saieth Men can not possibly haue any affection to do well vnlesse they be of the chosen and elected such as reprobats neuer be For of Iudas a sure reprobat Caluin him selfe pronoūceth Certum est Iudam nunquam fuisse membrum Christi Certain it is that Iudas was neuer any membre of Christ. Caluin yet for the better auauncement of his wicked doctrine against free will pretendeth to folow S. Augustin in all pointes And therefore in his booke of predestination he saieth he varieth not from S. Augustin so much as one sillable in this question of predestination Notwithstanding in his Institutions he saieth that S. Augustin was sometime scrupulous and would not tell the truthe of predestination roundely as when in his booke De praedestinatione gratia he saieth that the induration and blinding of the reprobats is not to be referred to the worke and operation of God but only to his foreknowleadg Here in this most gracious doctrine of that good Father Caluin chargeth him with scrupulosite And yet he will beare vs in hand forsothe that he agreeth euen in euery sillable with S. Augustin Where in the one he declareth him selfe a praesumptuous heretike in the other a false contradictour of his owne sayings Finally Caluin as in wordes and doctrine so in doings and behauiour contrarieth his owne self In his Institutions he wrireth It was neuer permitted to preachers of Gods worde to adde any one sillable to holy scriptare or diminish from thence but to preache the only bare worde as it lieth Now as in all his doctrine he talketh more then halfe beside holy scripture so in this matter of predestination he is not afeard to adde to the very text of S. Paule wordes of his owne for the maintenaunce of his wicked doctrine For in his Institutions labouring to refer the induration of the reprobats to the proper and eternall will of God as a superiour cause then their owne deserts and malice thus he talketh Restat nunc vt videamus curid Dominus faciat quod eum facere palam est Si respondeatur sic fieri quia sic impietate nequitia ingratitudine sua meriti sunt homines bene id quidem vere dicetur Sed quia nondum patet istius varietatis ratio cur alijs in obedientiam flexis isti obdurati persistant in ea excutienda necessario ad illud quod ex Moyse adnotauit Paulus transeundum erit Nēpe quod ab initio eos excitarit Dominus vt ostenderet nomen suum in vniuersa terra That is It remaineth nowe to see why God doth that
the people knew theÌ„ selues the Senatours remained in authorite Particular fautes were redressed the whole order and estat remained Sucha Pacuuius I say was at the entry of these heresies to be wished and preseÌ„tly may also be heard For although that which is past caÌ„ not be reuoked yet it may be amended Let vs then with Pacuuius demaunde of such as lothe their auncient and receiued belefe what newe faith will they embrace For without some faith I thinke none yet that beare the name of Christians will line Will they be right and zelous Lutherans taking Luther for the very man of God and vndoubted prophet to reuele his holy worde in these our later dayes Will they reiect all Fathers all Councells all that Christendom hath hetherto beleued as you haue heard before Luther doth Then beside all that we haue saied of his doctrine and behauiour sufficieÌ„t I trust to proue him a right heretike if an heretike may be knowen by his frutes let them satisfie the ciuill and disordrely or repining Lutherans let them accrode with the Sacramentaries the Anabaptistes the Osiandrins the Swenkcfeldians and all the remnant of Luthers branches as you may see and vew in the petigrew of his ofspring drawen out by Staphylus If they set light by that fonde frier as the more part of protestants do to the great grief and bitter complaining of all zelous Lutherans what secte wil they be of Will they ciuilly beleue at pleasure as MelaÌ„chthon did and be euerlerning as S. Paule of heretikes pronounceth but neuer attaining to the truthe Who laugheth not at so fonde a chaunge if in so waighty a cause any Christen hart can laugh and not rather lament such willfull blindnesse or blind willfulnesse as in these ciuil Lutherans appeareth Will they forsake Luther vtterly and become Sacramentaries Yet then we may demaunde of what secte of Sacramentaries they will be For Caluin and Bullinger Geneua and Zurich agre not But if they will be Caluinistes as most parte of Sacramentaries are who yet will not disdayne there at knowing the pride of Caluin setting light by the holy Fathers his corrupting of holy Scripture wicked renewing of olde condemned heresies fonde auouching off most clere contradictions rashe teaching of moste absurd doctrine in that article where he we was thought moste to haue excelled All which and much more we haue in this simple discourse discouered vnto you gentle Readers to the entent that you may see what an euill chaunge you make to leaue the auncient fathers the Catholike and vniuersall belefe the faith you were baptised in and in the which all our forefathers these thousand fiue hundred yeares and vpwarde haue serued allmighty God and liued as Christen men and true membres of Christes church to leaue I saie all this and to become protestants or new ghospellers that is men of a new faith and religion which you must lerne of some one of these three Luther Melanchthon or Caluin or of such as haue lerned it of them By this consideration I trust you shall pereiue that though the vniuersall name of refourmed ghospellers and chalengers off gods worde haue pleased you though the generall name of papistry haue displeased and misliked you yet the particular being now discouered as well off the persons as of the doctrine you will either incontinently returne from whence you departed or at lest deliberat thereof and of these fewe lerne to mistrust the rest Fridericus Staphylus whose Apologie we haue here translated you being a Lutheran many yeares and so farre in credit with the protestants that he might haue ben a doctour of diuinite amonge them also a Superintendent at Augspurg at Brunsuick Lubeck and Hamburg by this very consideration became a Catholike For hauing many years ben a Lutheran and a familiar frend of Melanchthon aduised with him selfe to write also in defence of the Lutheran doctrine He had not yet at that time read the auncient fathers but had heard them much alleaged of Luther and Melanchthon and trusting to their allegations thought vndoubtedly that the doctrine of Luther was agreable with the lerned fathers and the primitiue church Hereupon he diuised after the imitation of the Master of the sentence and other schole men to set forthe in one volume the whole effect and summe of Luthers doctrine This booke he intituled Corpus doctrinae Lutheranae the body or summe of Luthers doctrine For this purpose he began to â—eke the doctours and serche the original of Luthers and MelaÌ„chthons allegatioÌ„s But here lo in this particular serche and examinatioÌ„he found the doctours and auncient writers to condemne directly the doctrine of Luther At this he was maruailousely astonned brake of his enterprise began with priuat study to peruse him selfe the auncieÌ„t and approued writers in Christes church as well the grekes as the latins and to conferre with them these new writers of our time About this study he bestowed as he writeth in this very Apologie two and tweÌ„ty yeares not medling with any other ciuil or worldly matters in al that time By this meanes though slowly and slackely as in the preface of this Apologie he complaineth him selfe he shifted at length him selfe out of the captious coÌ„trouersies of this time and became not only a right good Catholike priuately and in coÌ„science but opeÌ„ly also to al the worlde he declared it and discouered more theÌ„ any of our time hath done bothe the false grounde of all their pretended doctrine that is the bare title of gods worde without the right vnderstanding of the same and also their variaunces sectes and dissensions amonge them selues Whereby in diuers partes of Germany especially in the territory of Bauaria many haue returned from the dissolut heresy of Luther to the holesom discipline of the Catholike church This he did to his dere countre of Germany in this Apologie writen of him in his mother tongue This I haue made now common to my dere countre also hauing no lesse nede thereof then that miserable countre of Germany hath I trust herein I shall offende none but suche perhaps as firste muste be offended before they can be amended Heresy is compared to a caÌ„cre Vnlesse it be launced it festereth and groweth to the corruption not only of it self but of other To make an ende I desire the protestant to make the example of this lerned and vertuous maÌ„ Fridericus Staphylus to reade this his labour to consider the grouÌ„de of false doctrine taught by Luther and his successours to vewe the diuersite and contrariete of his scholers the numbre of sectes the blasphemies of eche one to waigh the issue off this doctrine the dissolut life and contempt of order the countres of Hungary Lifland and Prussia lost by Luthers heresy finally to beholde the olde heresies renewed by Luther and other his behauiour resembling heretikes the incoÌ„stancy variete and wilfulnesse of Melanchthon the fonde absurdites clere contradictitions and most hainous heresies of Ihon Caluin I besech the
by them left vnto their lawfull successours with the very text of the scripture therefore it is cōmonly called the Tradition of the holy fathers and oftentimes the vnwriten verite in respect of the writen texte And bicause the truthe off the text and of the right vnderstanding of the texte must nedes be all one truly our aduersaries do slaunder vs fayning that in triall off cōtrouersies we woulde beside the worde of God sett as iudge the traditions of men directly against the worde of God The third principle is that holy continuall succession of the See Apostolike and other bishops in the Catholike churche For if we be able to proue by order of continuall succession that all bishops as well before vs as nowe haue allwaies expounded the holy scriptures euen as the first Apostles did can there be any more certain waye for the vnderstanding of scripture then this is I would gladly heare what can be saied against it The fourthe principle is the vnite and consent of the Catholike churche Whereby it is made that the like truthe be in euery part that is in the whole and so contrary wise These are moste Reuerend Prelate the right principles of Christian doctrine these are the foundations of all truthe these as foure quarres or corner stones holde vp the Catholike churche and therefore it is called One Holy Catholike and Apostolike churche For of these principles dependeth the Authorite of the councels Of these the holy Canons haue their beginning and of these all laufull and laudable rites of the church take force and strength These then being the principles of our religion not those which Brentius falsely chargeth vs withal Princes and rulers ought to looke more nerer vnto the doings and sayings of their preachers But nowe Bretius to make an oppositiō of the foresaide forged principles our principles are saieth he the worde of God Christ and an assured certainte of oure confidence in Christ But what is I praie you this your worde of God This it is that all maner of folke mē and womē cookes and coblers baudes and buchers tinkers and tailers pedlers and poticaries minstrels and mummers and all such like be priestes be bishops be doctours and pastours and haue authoritie to administrat the Sacraments to interpret Scripture and what interpretation eche one by the drifte of his braine draweth out of scripture that to be the pure ghospell off the Lorde and the expresse worde of God This is not right Reuerend father the worde of God but the worde of the diuell him selfe inuēted of Luther not inspired by the sprit of God For that man entending to peruert all that appertained to God or to man laboured trauailed and endeuoured by al meanes possible that there might remaine no spirituall magistrat whiche might by authorite discerne betwene leper and leper maintaining the right doctrine of the ghospell and remouing the bastard And this labour of Luther being well liked of Sathan he imagined an other worde of God as that among Christen men shoulde be no ciuill magistrat for all princes were fooles tyrans and men of no religion to thentent that if perhaps the heresies of Luther were condemned by the Spirituall magistrat and so forth with cōmitted to the secular sworde princes therunto might haue no authorite Hereuppon he forbiddeth Christen men to kepe warre against the Turke and commaundeth subiects to rebel against their princes Strait vppon this arose an other worde of an other God that all lawes of chaste and single life shoulde be taken awaye teaching amonge a sorte of maydes and yonge men that Man was no more able to refraine his fleshly lustes then not to spet when nature prouoked Againe that fasting and abstinence from flesh nothing helped prayer nothing furdered deuotion made nothing to sobriete These smaller pointes being first all most conquered he reacheth to higher and diuiner matters First bicause he teacheth that sinne is not by the grace of baptime taken away in dede but is saide and fained only to be taken away hereof he savve it vvolde folovve that mē oughte not be estemed righteous and good in dede but onely accompted and imputed for such Then bycause he made no difference nor degre of grace he admitted no encrease in vertu and therefore could not abide the Sacramēt of Confirmation Fardermore bicause if sinne be not rooted out if there be no encrease of grace nor goodnes but al is only by maner of accōpte and imputing thē must he also infer that the presence of Christes body may not be in earthe that no sacrifice be admitted and vvhich folovved thereupon no priesthood nether And of this point the Zuinglians picked out one worde of their straunge God and the Lutherās an other of this spring also arose the doctrine teaching mā to be iustified by only faith hope charite repentaunce and other good workes being pernicious and hurtefull to saluation what frute then thinke you proceded hereof This sothely and many other For if God doth compell man to sinne as Luther and the Caluinistes do write howe can God require good workes or by what lawe can be punish sinne seing that he worketh sinne in vs and good workes are thought to be pernicious And truly if there be no rewarde for vertu there shall be no punishment for sinne And then there is no hel nor place of punishment as in the seacoste townes of Germany it is taught there is no diuell to execute that punishment as Osiander teacheth This worde not of God but of the diuell beyng laied this principle being put an other principle concerning Christ ensued as that the humain nature of Christe is god as the Swenckfeldians will haue it or contrairely that Christe is not God as the Seruetians teache and Mathias Flaccius affirming that the worde in the first of Iohn is not the sonne of God Lo how fertill and abundant was this principle of Luther and Brentius There were in times past and are also nowe a dayes whiche openly denie Christ to be the son of God affirming him to be the son of Ioseph and Mary Which Mary also had as they saye many other children beside Christ. Other there be nowe which teache the ghospell of S. Iohn to be a tale of Plato baptim to be the inuentiō of the diuell And that there is not in God the Trinite of persons some other doubting whether this Trinite be man or woman So taught euen this winter a certayn new ghospeller in Sternberg a towne of Morauia and that with the fauour of the people but much against the will of the Bishop of Omoluke their diocesian There be nowe in Hungary also which in their baptim leaue out cleane the name of the Son There be in many places the Seruetians which call the blessed Trinite by the name of the hellhownd Cerberus whom the poetes fained to haue thre heads With like horrible blasphemies two other ghospellers daily
preache the one in the hilles of Gutni the other in Zary a village of Silesia In Pintzou a towne of Poleone George Brandat and Peter Statorius teache openly that there is not one but thre Gods and eche of them of diuers and distinct natures no lesse then thre diuers men So that there is not one substaunce of the godhed but thre and thre different operations thre diuers willes And that the Son is lesse then the father As for the crede of Athanasius that it ought rather be called the crede of Sathanasius the diuell him self And these felowes Brandat and Statorius being admonished of such blasphemous doctrine and required by what authorite or whose persuasioÌ„ they durste sowe suche blasphemies they answered they were moued thereunto first by the authorite of Caluin of wolfgangus Musculus of Peter Martyr of Bullinger and such like masters then by the euidence of the holy truthe which hitherto hath layen hidd and nowe was from God vnto them reueled These thinges to be as we saye Stanislaus a Baron of the realme of Pole Mathias Stadnitzky and Franciscus Stancarus do write But bicause this parted confusion of so diuers opinions can not well be perceaued and is harde to be tried or discerned of such as gladly receaue al nouelties there is vpsterte this very winter in Bohem a newe Secte The which to take awaye this confusion and to sett forthe a brefe and compendiouse waie of the Lutheran doctrine teacheth openly and affirmeth that all other opinions and doctrine of God of the worshipping of God of faith of good or euill workes and to be short of any saluation of man be but olde wyues tales and fonde inuentioÌ„s This onely to be a sure and infallible lawe and the true sincere doctrine that man bothe body and soule after this life vtterly perisheth no sence or life remaining after death here Lo to what point the preachers of the newe ghospel haue brought their doctrine vnto Lo the marke and scope of all their doings The third principle of the Lutheran ghospell is saieth Brentius an assured certainte that euery maÌ„ hath of his faith in Christ. But for the loue of God what is this assured certainte of faith May we not as well call day night and light darknes But what I praye you is this so assured and vndoubted certeinte of faith amonge the Lutherans It is peraduenâ—ure that certainte of faith which for the clerenes and euidence of it hathe so surely and with suche constaÌ„t consent and maruaylous agreement ioyned together the Lutherans that in all their new ghospell no dissension can be founde no variaunce in any article of their faythe no heresyes at all in their doctrine may be espied For if constant certaynte bredeth true concorde and agreement as a certain philosopher wittely reporteth then surely vncertainte and wauering in opinions muste nedes brede strife Hereof then we may clerely gather howe trew this thirde principle of Luther is for such is the certaynte of their faithe as the agreement of their opinions is The whiche howe greate and of what maner it is they haue them selues declared and we will not dissemble it These are the principles of the reformed ghospell laied by Luther repeted by BreÌ„tius and admitted of the whole swarme of sectaries Nowe bicause in the principle all is contained and many labels depend thereof what roufe thinke yow will the diuell buyld vppon these foundations of Luther For the effect neuer excelleth the cause Truly these consequents and labels depended of suche holy principles To make of chaste membres of Christ filthy membres of an harlot of deuoute and well disposed Christians wicked and vnruly subiects of sober and temperat glutons and Epicures yelding to all filthy lust and pleasure whose bely is their God whose faithe is perfidiousnes and no faith at all And to this butte and scope of Luther many haue preuily aimed at but those of BoheÌ„ haue nowe openly shott at it and stroken the very marke preaching in open pulpits that the soule dieth with the body But bicause Epicure him selfe taught that to get pleasure a coulour of vertu must be caste and the diuel perceauing wel that publick magistrats could better be chauÌ„ged theÌ„ vtterly takeÌ„ away he thought better to traine this herde of Epicures fleshly and worldly meÌ„ to the yoke of MahometaÌ„s doctrine being so sure they should be his owne theÌ„ to leaue theÌ„ vnder the roufe of the Catholike church where he stoode allwayes in doubte to lese them The diuell therefore hath so directed allwaies and trayned all contentions and variaunces in religion that all heresies ende in the Alcoran Mahomets lawe All historiographers that write of the first beginning of Turkes affirme with one assent that the lawe of Mahomet writen in the Alcoran was compiled by one Sergius an Arrian and Ihon a Nestorian bothe auncient heretiques and of a certain Iewe of the Talmudistes Now although the heresies which haue in our vnhappy time spronge vp be many and diuers yet if the chiefe of theÌ„ and moste receaued were examined and coÌ„ferred diligeÌ„tly with those thre sectes aboue mencioned we should plainely and euidently perceaue that the drift of the diuell is no other nowe a dayes then by the meane of these heresies to traine vs vnwares from the faith of Christ to the cursed infidelite of Mahomet Petrus Statorius chargeth Franciscus Stancarus with the heresie of Nestorius and he againe the other with the heresie of Arrius And bicause Stancarus is a famous Iew and Talmudist and Statorius is by professioÌ„ a Caluiniste partes hath so hotly and earnestly beÌ„ taken on bothe sides that nowe not only in Pole and Hungary whiche are Realmes nighe vnto the Turkes but also in Silesia in Morauia in Bohem and other prouinces more remote greate contentions haue ben kindled thereupon and be yet hotte And what other thinge o mercifull God can we looke for If Christen men call the faith of Christ in doubte if they denie it openly if they embrace the abhominable doctrine off Mahomet is it likely that whose doctrine they allowe his power and rule they will refuse no truly But these may seme paradoxes and beyonde all credence Woulde God they were so But I feare me they are as true as the ghospell The causes be euident and open surely the euent of all likelyhood will be correspondent Let them enquire that be ignoraÌ„t and those that see and knowe the thinges to be as we saie let them well waighe them But I will not make so euill abodement I will rather wish and hope well and much more rather woulde I be counted a lyar and vnprouident that it might not so proue then true and wise that they shoulde so proue But nowe to couple more closely and to strike more directly oure aduersarie whom I labour here to saue I saye the only remedy for the mischef that hangeth on vs the only meanes to escape this vtter destruction of ChristendoÌ„ is
difference then is there betwene the right Catholike and the deceaued heretike Truly herein heretikes agree with the Catholikes that bothe embrace alleage and defend holy scripture as the very worde of God hut herein differ all heretikes from the Catholikes that these bring the Catholike and vniuersall interpretation of holy scripture they bring their owne priuat and heretikall These are able to proue their doctrine by miracles they are neuer able Last of all that these are able to showe the matter of the newe Testament by the figures of the olde lawe as in the sacrifice in the sâ—craments and ceremonies they can not These two different waies being by iust balances indifferently pondered and tried it will soone appeare whiche ouerwaieth the other And in dede if they bereue vs of the common and receaued iudgement of the whole churche wherewith all thinges in the church are iudged why may they not in like maner take away all the rest For as if ye plucked out a mans eyes and yet wolde saie that ye bereued him not of that which might be sene euen so it is if heretikes graunt vs the text of the bible and yet take from vs the true vnderstanding thereof If it forceth not whether we vnderstand holy Scripture rightly or no howe shall we then discerne fashood from the truthe Whereby shall we trie the truthe or what iudgement shall the churche haue of the truthe And who woulde folowe such teachers of religion whiche confoundeth truthe and falshood together which spoileth vs of all iudgement of the truthe which leaueth vs no meanes to trie the truthe which blindeth and blereth our eyes of all intelligence Yet in better case were the Cimmerij who although they had loste the light of the Son yet might vse the fire But these men that take awaye from vs the consent of Christendom and the iudgement of the churche which mocke and scorne at the miracles of God which refuse the doctrine and figures of Moyses do leaue vs in such horrible darcknes that we haue not so much as one sparckle of light remaininâ— Euen in the time of the Apostles heresies sprange vp as of Simon Magus of Hermogenes of Philetus and such like But by what marke trowe ye was the doctrine of these heretikes knowen from the doctrine of the Apostles but that the Apostles and all that folowed them were Of one harte one minde and one belefe And this only touchestone left Christ to knowe the church by that whereas two or thre be gathered together in his name and agree in any matter there he is to be founde in the middest of them This consent then and agreement in any matter as in the Apostolicall doctrine and right vnderstanding of holy Scripture being vniforme and all one in all howe can it not be the sure and certain iudgement of the Apostolicall doctrine and of the churche Beside as in Christ him felse so in his Apostles it happened that such as beleued not their wordes through infirmitie were yet forced to beleue their miraculous workes they being an euident proufe from God of their doctrine Farder such ordre of the church as the Apostles began to frame and left to their successours to be perfited and thoroughly poolished they thought it to be shadowed in the figures of Moyses lawe and expressed in the light of the newe lawe But what like to these marks of the true church did Simon Magus Hermogenes and Philetus bring euen so much as nowe of late Luther Melanchthon and Caluin For these newe doctours be not of one harte one minde nor one beleefe and much lesse such disciples as folowed these false preachers For these dissent in euery point agree in no point and therefore Christ the author and God of vnite is not among them but the diuell the master of all dissension Caluin very childishely and vainely going about to excuse him selfe saieth that the LutheraÌ„s are no more to be blamed for that so diuers and so horrible heresies springe vp nowe a daies in euery place then the Apostles were in their time vnder whom many haeresies also sprange vp This maketh nothing for your excuse Caluin You denie flat Master Caluin and so do al your companyons of Zurich that Luther was any prophet at all or in any point like to the Apostles But you saie the diuell spake in his mouthe not the holy goste The which testimonie of your church of Zurich the truer it is the more ye proue the very same diuell to speake in your selues For the very same Luther in diuers pointes of your doctrine you folowe whom you write and affirme to speake by the instinct of the diuell And what newe secte is nowe in any place of Christendom which hath not drawen the first acte of his tragedie out of Luthers schole wheÌ„ce toke Munzer the beginning of that greate rebellion of the commons in Germanie but of Luther For He forbad men openly to obey their princes and condemned al warre againe the Turkes whom he writeth to be tenfolde better then our foolish and madde princes So he termeth them Whence digged out the Anabaptistes that carreÌ„ of the olde heresie of the Donatistes Out of a certaine epistle of Luther ad WaldeÌ„ses in the which he writeth That it were better not to baptise children at all then to baptise them without faith Whence toke Carolostadius occasion to renew the heresie of Berengarius Out of his commentary on S. Ihon and the translation of these wordes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The fleshe profiteth nothing I reaken here vp the notable and principal sectes only of our time I coulde saye as much of the baser sorte if it were nedefull whiche are so diuers and so many that we see almost as many sectes as families amonge the Lutherans For these therefore and other waighty considerations which all to recounte were now out of time If I mought be credited or beare any authorite amonge princes in this matter most Reuerend prelate I would geue theÌ„ that aduise that Sisinius made vnto the Emperour Theodosius That is They should charge and commaund their preachers and ministers to accept and acknowledg for right that sense and vnderstaÌ„ding of holy scripture which is Catholike and may be deriued from the Apostles and approued by the testimonie of miracles and that to be false which is priuat of their owne forging and whereof they be not able to showe any furder euidence And truly vnlesse this aduise other by my suggestion or by some other maÌ„s be not put in to the head of princes and persuaded them we shall neuer liue in quiet the churche will be ouerrunne and we of Germany shal other become slaues to the Turkes as the grekes are or to the Moscouites as the Liflandmen are or whiche will be more miserable we shall be vtterly in perpetuall thraldome as the Iewes the Hungarians and many other countres are now But I will leaue as I
continuall succession of time vncorrupted whole and perfite whiche maketh me more to maruaill what wicked and malitious sprit moued these protestants to terme them selues only ghospellers and professours of Gods worde calling the Catholikes papistes and enemies of the worde of God seing that bothe nowe and in all ages we reade the ghospell in our churches we preache the worde of God in our pulpits and interpret it to the people we expresse it by outward ceremonies rites and gestures such as we haue receaued of our forefathers euen from the primitiue church and the Apostles time And this Luther knewe him selfe well inough But why dissembled he it then forsothe to deceaue and entrappe the easier the simple people in to his preteÌ„ded religion For Luther and all his ministers knowe very wel that in the ghospel and worde of God two thinges are to be considered First that the text be sownd and not corrupted then that the same text be expounded Catholikely and not heretically For as S. Bernard saieth looke with what sprit the scriptures were writen with the same must they be read and vnderstanded Seing then the text by the instinct of the holy ghost hath ben geuen vs true and perfit the vnderstanding also and interpretation thereof coming of the holy ghost must be true and perfit so that one shall be as true and of as much force as the other It is not inough therefore to reade holy scripture perfitly but to vnderstande it well also For as S. Hierom sayeth The scriptures consist not in reading but in vnderstanding All this Luther was not ignorant of But to depraue and corrupt the right interpretation of holy scripture and to bring in place his owne hereticall and forged expositions he maketh no mencion off the text but crieth still the worde of God calling the dreames of his braine pure and holy scripture For if ye aske of the Lutherans when they preache that God coÌ„straineth men to do euill that God was the cause of Iudas his reprobation and obstinat desperation that good workes are hurtefull to saluation and such like matters what maner of doctrine that is they will incontinently awnswer you that This is the pure ghospell the sincere worde of God and holy scripture it selfe But then if ye go farder and desire them to showe yow these very wordes and propositions in holy scripture there they hush Yet will they tell you that the wordes in dede them selues be not in the Bible but the meaning of them is there To the which if ye replie agayn and vrge them farder it will soone appere that the controuersie betwene the protestants and vs is not of holy scripture it self but of the true vnderstanding of the same And so S. Hilary hauing to do with heretikes in his time pronounced Heresie sayth he is in the vnderstaÌ„ding not in the scripture And truly all heretikes neuer cried other thing theÌ„ the holy scripture the worde of God and we that are Catholikes also haue holy scripture allwaies in our mouth Nowe then a man may maruaill and aske howe cometh it to passe that the Lutherans and the Catholikes the protestants and the papistes striue and contend so one with an other where as yet bothe haue the ghospell bothe loue and embrace it bothe cleaue vnto it and bothe are ready to spende their good and their life for it Here I beseche the Christian reader marke and perceaue well that this is not the coÌ„trouersie whether the Catholikes or the Lutherans haue the worde of God but which of them doth truly rightely and sincerely expounde that worde off God For this is the Lutherans common saying The papistes vnderstand not the Bible but we haue founde the right interpretation thereof and the kaye of all truthe And to set a good coulour vppon this holy protestation they saye farder That all bisshops prelats priestes and Monkes be all without lerning all incoÌ„tinent all of euill life geauen to couetousnes to pleasure and to the bely But they theÌ„ selues that is the Lutherans be learned chaste sobre liberall deuowte and of perfit life and such as haue done great miracles and yet do Neither are these impudeÌ„t heretikes ashamed of these lowde lies although all the worlde well knoweth it is nothing so while they see Churches hospitalls religious houses of all sorte colledges and bishoprickes of these men partly cleane ouerthrowen partly rifled all taken into their handes and conuerted into palaces armories barnes cole houses shops of Marchaundrise yea and in some places in to stables These lo be the miracles of this new ghospell abundantly practised all this fourty yeares As for other miracles not one of these new ghospellers was euer able so much as to cure a lame colte or a halting biche so farre is it that these meÌ„ could euer cast out deuils heale the lame cure the blinde restore the deafe or raise vp the dead all which miracles many holy fathers of the olde ghospell as I may so speake which these men call Papistes haue wrought from time to time in Christ his churche as right approued histories do manifestly declare Now as for the good and perfit life of these men and excellent lerning all the worlde seeth it An olde sorte of heretikes called Donatistes obiected in times past to S. Augustin the very same argumeÌ„t saying that their church only was vpright holy pure and lerned But the Catholike churche was nothing so And therefore the doctrine of the Donatistes was vndoubtedly souÌ„de and perfit but that of the Catholikes false and vntrue But what awnswered theÌ„ here S. Augustin The argument saieth he that proueth mens doctrine by their life is false But let vs suppose that these holy protestants passed al the vniuersall Catholike church of Christ sens the time of the Apostles bothe in godlines of life and excellency of lerning Which I thinke in good sothe they wil not al together affirme But if it were so it wil not yet thereuppon ensue that only the Lutherans vnderstande holy scripture and the Catholikes neuer vnderstoode it For if the right intelligence of holy Scripture be only to be sought amonge such as will stoutely affirme of them selues to passe all the rest of men in vprightnes of life and excellency of lerning then in very dede must we nedes leaue this great treasure of the right meaning of holy scripture vnto heretikes For in all ages heretikes allwaies craked of their great lerning and perfit life as the ecclesiasticall histories well declare of the Arrians the Manâ—ches the Pelagians and such like And what other thinge dothe Luther in many of his workes especially in his booke against the pope Then call the olde Catholike writers and holy fathers fooles asses rude and vnlerned babes of the pope hermaphrodites and such like Neither contemneth he only the Catholikes but euen his owne coÌ„panions and felow heretikes also as Zuinglius
God but by his propre will and operation yea and whensoeuer men labour to do well that then they sinne deadly Of this tre haue growen all mischef fornication aduoutrie ryot dronknes extorsions robberies rebellion periuries deceites lies all contempt of honesty and vertu procliuite to all vice beside blasphemies of Gods holy name backbiting slaundering reproches iniuries and all kinde of wickednes frely and without grudge of coÌ„science practised Be not these noble and faire frutes of Luthers ghospell May not well the rule of Christ here take place By their frutes ye shall knowe them For looke what the tre is such is the frute and looke what the frute is such is thetre Although therefore we can not denie but amonge vs Catholikes much enormite is and much euill life yet no man can saie that we teache and allow these vices or that our doctrine is the cause off oure naughty liuing no man I saye can charge the Catholike doctrine to prescribe any thing against holy scripture against ciuill policie or publike magistrates as the newe forged ghospell of Luther doth Exacting therefore the Lutherans vnto this rule of Christ we worthely iudge them of their frutes to be false prophets and daungerous deceiuers The like they caÌ„ not do of vs for that the euill frutes that are in vs procede of oure selues not of our doctrine of swaruing from the precepts and godly constitutions off our faith not of obseruing them But the Lutherans naughty life procedeth euen of their doctrine as we haue in some certain pointes for example before declared Yet as touching the life of spirituall teachers and rulers god hath prescribed to the laitie and common people a perfit and absolute rule to discerne true doctrine from the false saying The scribes and Pharises sit in the Chaire of Moyses Do as they commaunde you to do not as they do theÌ„ selues in the which saying of Christ euery Christen man that regardeth his soule helth ought diligently waie two pointes First to know which is the lawfull chaire of Moyses and which is not then how the laye and common sort of people ought to beare them selues towardes the euill life of the clergy Let vs then first speake of the first point Sithen the time that these newe doctrines of Luther hath ben putin the peoples heads and so many diuers and contrary opinions hathe ben taught that the simple and vnlerned know not all most which waie to turne them selues many are brouht to that point that they reiect all religion at ones and think oure Christen faith to be but prety policies of mens inuention or rather olde wyues tales to feare childreÌ„ and with this imagination are become worldly Epicures terming their felicite in present pleasure as a great number do nowe in Germany Whereof truly we haue great cause to feare vnles these cursed heresies be spedely extinguished that almightie God of his dreadfull iustice will sturre vp the Turke or some cruell tiraÌ„ to rippe vp the belies of these fleshely swine and gredy gloutons destroying also with the wicked whiche God of his tender mercie forbid the good and vertuous But to thentent that all good and vertuous people may beware of such infidelite and wiâ—ked cogitations despering vtterly of all religion S. Paule hathe forewarned his scholer Timothe and in him vs all writing All scripture inspired froÌ„ God is profitable to teach to improue to amend and to instruct in righteousnes that the man of God may be perfit and prepared vnto all good workes These are not mens imaginations but the very wordes of God pronounced by the holy ghoste in the mouthe of the Apostle And this is an expres commaundement of God that we beleue vndoubtedly in holy scripture that we seke our saluation therein walking and continuing vprightly in the pathes of that holy write not swaruing either on the right hande either on the left But that we maye so do it behoueth vs not only to reade the bare and literall text of holy scripture but to enquire also for the true and right vnderstanding of the same For the letter killeth but the Spirit geueth life Wherefore our Lorde speaking to the Iewes saieth Searche the scriptures for in them ye thinke to haue eternall life But it is one thinge to reade another to serche They are therefore much deceaued which crie now a daies that nothing must be receiued but holy scripture that all other interpretations being but the imaginations of man are not to be beleued If the protestants speake herein as they thinke I woÌ„der why the Lutherans and the Zuinglians haue writen so many and so large interpretations vpon the olde and newe testament and caused them to be printed abrode yea why make they suche continuall sermons to the people wherein they recite not allwaies expresse scripture but talke much beside the text adding their interpretations and expositions vnto it commaunding also and charging the people to take those their interpretations for the very worde of God And is not this a maruailous impudent and proude presumption of these protestant preachers When we on our part alleage the expositions of the holy fathers vpon holy scripture they as if it were in a rage crie out incontinently The holy fathers were but men the church hath erred in many pointes the expositions of those fathers are but their imaginations and deuises not the worde off God And therefore we nede not geue any credit vnto them But when they them selues preache vnto the people the commauÌ„de and persuade the people that if they tender their soule health they must vndoubtedly beleue that which is there preached vnto them and the interpretation of holy scripture which they bring is the pure and sincere worde of God the ghospell it selfe Is not this as I saied a a maruailous impudent and proude presumption of these protestant preachers Is it not an horrible arrogancie to terme their owne fantasies holy scripture their imaginations the ghospell the meaning and sens of their owne inuention the very worde off God condemning withall and reiecting the vniforme true and receaued interpretations of all olde holy fathers and writers approued hitherto in the Church of Christ by whom the same church hath ben from time to time gouuerned directed and instructed in all truthe sens the time of the Apostles this thowsand fiue hundred yeares and more vnder whose doctrine and godly instructions so many blessed martirs holy confessours and infinit thousands of other Christen soules haue attained to euerlasting life Whereas contrary wise by the expositions and interpretations of these newe preachers horrible schismes diuers and hainous heresies dissolute and licentious liuing strifes contentions and rebellions haue spronge vp and all most ouergrowen the garden off Christes church well planted before and tended by the holy fathers rulers thereof what can be more impudently and arrogantly presumed Yet these newe preachers to wrappe and entrappe the people more and
Wittenberg the newe Lutheran Papacye Holy order he added to the entent that the Masters of Wittenberg sending abrode their preachers might binde them with an othe to preache and teache no otherwise then they had lerned of their masters as the tenour of the othe set forthe in the Ordonnaunce of the vniuersite of Wittenberg declareth Although therefore the Lutheran protestants raile and inueigh without measure against the Pope bicause vnder him doctours and other be sworne to the obedience of the Catholike church and vniforme consent of doctrine in the same yet they them selues swere and charge by othe against all reason their scholers for the mainteaunce and vpholding of their heresies and abhominable doctrine Notwithstanding these Masters of Wittenberge could not obtaine their purpose Amsdorfius and Illyricus two great masters of Luthers schole woulde neuer agree vnto them but prouoked to the former writings of Melanchthon and Luther wherein they plainely teache that all laye people men and women are priestes may minister the sacraments may baptise expounde holy scripture teache and preache This Illyricus lately wrote against Menius who had obiected him the saying of the prophet that he ranne being not sent that is that he toke vppō him the highe vocation of a bishop that he interpreted scripture after his owne pleasure corrected his brethen cōdemned them of heresie ruled the churche not in one place only but through out the whole state of Lutherans whereas yet Melanchthon and the masters off Wittenberg neuer permitted him but had decreed against him finally that he was neuer called to the ministery like a Lutheran nor neuer ordained priest as a Catholike but from teaching of a grammer schole had taken vppon him the authorite of a bishop Thus in this bely fest kingdome of Lutherans you may see howe soone visards be chaunged and howe easie a matter it is to come a lofte For when Menius and Maior two great masters of the Lutheran ghospellers obiect vnto Illyricus that he was neuer called to the ministery neuer appointed to the worde nor sent to preache and therefore he should be ashamed to plaie the bishop in the churche of Luther and to cōdemne all other Superintendts and Ministers that would not agree to his propre and seuerall doctrines he awnswereth them againe that according to the doctrine of our father Luther Euery man was a priest as cacthepolles millers barbers Phisicians vshers and scholemasters especially such as professed the Hebrewe grammer But consider here I beseche the gentle reader how soone this wether is ouercast Now faire now fowle now clere now darke For here as you see while Illyricus hath to do with the masters of Wittenberg the Scripture saieth that Euery man is a priest and fit to teache in the cōgregation But a litle after the same Illyricus hauing to do with Osiāder and his cōpaniōs in Prussia curseth and banneth them crying and writing that to dogged Phisicians naming so the Phisicians of the prince who then were preachers of Osianders doctrine Matters of religion and ruling of churches ought not to be committed for that Phisicians were not called nor appointed to any such function Be not these trim preachers and masters of the newe ghospell is there not a ioly vniformite in their doctrine Maior and Melanchthon when they fight against the Catholikes if then you aske them what authorite they haue with their newe reformation to comptroll the whole corps of Christendom and the church of Christ being neuer called nor ordained of the churche to any such office by and by they will awnswer you out of Luthers bookes De Christiana libertate de Captiuitate Babilonica that euery man is a priest euery man hath authoritie to reade the Bible to discerne true and false interpretation of holy scripture But euen in the same moment before they moue a foote furder you maye see them accuse and crie out at Illyricus that he being nother priest nor called to the ministerie behaueth him selfe very seditiousely in Germanie taking vppon him to comptroll the masters of Wittenberge and of Lipsia by his owne priuat and proper authorite Notwithstanding all these enormites and aburdities ensuing of the bare text of scripture the Lutherans seing them selues on euery side entrapped and coūicted yet euer they plaie fox to the hole and rūne to this impudent shift to saie that The next of holy scripture is sufficient for all instruction and doctrine that it may be vnderstanded of all men and nede no gloses nor expositions Is not this I beseche the good reader a captious and suttle shift to thrust only the writen text to the people defrauding thē off the true meaning and interpretation of the text Euē so did the Sadduces heretikes of the olde lawe before Christes time as Iosephus in his Chronicles witnesseth So did after Christ the Arrians Dimeritae Apostolici and many such other heretikes as it is to be senein S. Basill Epiphanius and S. Augustin If the text of holy write nedeth no expositiō what meaned oure Sauiour when after his resurrection He expounded to his disciples all such scriptures as were writen of him beginning with Moyses and so all the prophets What meaned Philippus to aske the Eunuche of the Quene of Candace sitting vppon his chariot whether he vnderstoode that whiche he reade in Esaie the prophet and after the Eunuches awnswer saying howe can I if some expounde it not vnto me to expounde him the text declaring the right interpretation and meaninge thereof Againe what will they saie to that which the Apostle writeth That the holy ghost diuideth and distributeth to euery one his giftes as it pleaseth him so that all men haue not all giftes but euery man certaine and seuerall as some the gifte of healing other the gifte of diuers tonges and other the interpretation of tonges Euery man is not a Phisician diuine or lawier as S. Paule to the Corinthians largely declareth taking a comparison of the body of mā where are many mēbres and euery membre hathe his propre and seuerall function for what could be more absurde then if the feete would playe the handes or the hādes do that which belongeth to the head The like reason is to be cōsidered of functions offices and giftes in the gouuernement of Christen religion to the setting vp whereof God hath appointed diuers and sundry ministeries especially for the instructing and teaching the right vnderstanding of holy scripture that we might thereby knowe his will and pleasure in all thinges without doubt or controuersie Whiche if euery priuat and meane man without a teacher and interpreter were able to vnderstande to what purpose hathe the holy ghoste geuen in his churche vnto some the gifte of interpretation But what nede we spend herein many wordes let vs reade the bookes of Moyses the psalmes and the Prophets see we not there a number of highe and secret misteries which before the coming of Christ
daily more and more vnlesse God of his mercie stretch forthe his helping hande Howbeit whatsoeuer befall of me I am ready to lese body and life honour and goods for the furderaunce of the auncient Catholike religion And I wish to my dere countre of Germanie that minde also For sure I am whosoeuer is no Catholike he must nedes be an heretike Seing therefore that holy write aduertiseth vs to flie from heresies euen as from present poison I be seche all good men to marke wel this example which I knowe to be true and wil here recite to showe what it is to be ones fallen in to heresie A certain young man of my acquayntaunce very well lerned and sometime preacher in Misnia being according to the doctrine of Melanchthon and Maior an Adiaphoriste that is of that secte of Lutherans which take good workes and constitutions of the church to be thinges indifferent c. departed in to Saxony vppon hope of some ecclesiastical liuing there Being then demaunded of what religion he was he awnswered that he was of the opinion of Philip Melanchthon and Georgius Maior Then saieth vnto him the Illyrican Superintendent it semeth thou arte an apostat heretike And withall asked him whether he thought good workes to be pernicious vnto saluation Whereunto this poore preacher awnswering he beleued that they helped rather then hindered saluation the Superintendent strait saith vnto him Seing you are an heretike of the ghospell you maye not abide in this cite nor countre and therefore get you hence With this awnswer he departed and went in to Prussia where meting with an Osiandr in Superintendent and desiring some ecclesiasticall seruice he was demaunded whether he beleued That man ought to be made iuste by the essentiall iustice of God and whether he iudged those for heretikes which thought or taught the contrary Whereunto awnswering that he could not so thinke seing that Melanchthō and Illyricus interpreted the scripture otherwise incontinently he was thrust backe like an heretike and commaunded to depart out of all the dominions of that countre After this he came in to Pole and meting with certain Caluinistes being of thē examined and founde that he agreed not with the Zuinglians he was repelled also of them for an heretike Seing then he could not spede there passing on furder by the waye he came to the Picardi hoping that he might be receaued in to their secte But when he refused to abiure all other sectes and religions and beleue onely them he was faine to departe thence also After which he came to a Noble man of Silesia requiring seruice of whom being required howe he liked the doctrine of Swenck feldius whether he beleued That the externall ministerie or preaching was but superfluous and that the internall worde or rather the power and operacion off the worde being preached were the Son of God him selfe he awnswered that this doctrine semed vnto him an olde heresie confuted thouroughly of Illyricus Melanchthō Caluin and diuers other writers Which awnswer nothing pleasing that Noble mā our poore Minister was forced to get him packing Seing therefore that he loste his labour and spent his time in vaine he stroke ouer to Morauia where the Anabaptistes beare rule Not that he minded to tary and abide with them but to trie and knowe their religion But they craftely preuēting him asking him first of what religion he was though he went about the bush with them thinking to coulour the matter yet they perceauing that he liked not their rebaptising he was also chased from thence as an heretike At the last after longe and wery trauail and trouble this poore Minister came vnto Vienna where he happened vpon a Catholike lerned man vnto whom he declared his trauaill aduersites and diuersites off heresies that he chaunced vpon beseching him for the loue of God to helpe him and instruct him howe he might attaine to some sure and certaine doctrine and interpretatiō off holy scripture Then was it tolde him that he should folowe such doctrine and embrace such interpretation of Gods worde as was Catholike and vniuersally receiued in all places and at al times casting awaie all priuat opinions and propre interpretations of this secte or that secte For it was impossible that any priuat secte could admit the Catholike exposition of scripture whiche is commō to all or that the sectes could euer agree among them selues eche one setting forthe his owne opinion and condemning all the rest As it is writen in the prophet Ezechiel Wo be vnto these foolish prophetes which folowe their owne sprit and see nothing Therefore if he would be a Christen man and in all places be taken for such he should embrace and folowe the Catholike vnderstanding of scripture such as in Catholike doctours and writers we find From the which Catholike and vniforme expositiō of scripture although many in diuers countres haue failed and departed yet before our time it was in all places without contradictiō or gainesaieng receiued and beleued and many thousands of soules haue in that belefe ben saued Beside that there are also yet diuers Christen Countres and kingdomes diuers natiōs and people which acknowledg no other doctrine or interpreation of holy scripture then the Catholike and olde accustomed which they haue receaued of the Apostles and their first founders of religion Wherein if any doubt nowe a daies ariseth or any cōtrary interpretation be brought it is most expedient to seke of the first and most auncient teachers of Christen religion the truthe thereof For so Scripture willeth vs to do and all auncient and approued doctours as in S. Irenee a writer very nie vnto the Apostles you may see whose wordes are these These thinges then being so euident we ought not to seke the truthe at other mens handes which we maye easely haue of the Church For the Apostles left vnto the church and layde vp in her as in a riche aumerie all truthe that whosoeuer listeth may drawe of her the drinke of life For the Church is the gate of life all other are theues therefore we must auoide them but loue all that the Church teacheth vs and embrace the traditiō of truthe For what if there were but a small matter called in controuersie ought we not to haue recourse to the most aūciēt Churches in the which the Apostles haue liued and enquire of them the truthe and certainte of our doubt And what if the Apostles had not left vnto vs scripture at all ought we not to haue folowed the order of tradition which they deliuered vntothē whom they left to gouuerne the Churche after them the which order many nations of Barbarous people such as beleue in Christ do folowe hauing their saluation without paper and ynke by the holy ghoste writen in their harte and keping diligently their olde traditions Thus farre S. Irenee With this good lesson and information the Lutheran Minister being somewhat amended afterward in shorte time
vtterly detesting all sectes and heresies becometh a right good Catholike And surely so it happeneth that who so ones departeth from the church if he entre but a litle with other heresies he is accompted an heretike of the heretikes them selues From the which our Lorde of his tender mercy preserue vs alwaies Amen Our forefathers the auncient Germans were euer accompted men of grauite constancie and of a setled iudgement not light brayned inconstant or wauering with euery wind as peraduenture some other countres were noted for For lightnes in dede in men of wisedome is a greate blotte But what can be more light or more vaine then to beleue euery light person without any sure grounde of his doctrine He that beleueth quickely saith the wise man is light of hart These preachers and newe ghospellers that nowe a daies runne from countre to countre be vile vagabondes light and wilde persones men of no grauite nor whorthy of any authorite And that their outewarde behauiour declareth Their bearde they let growe only vppon the vpper lippe like the Turkes their cotes be cut shorte at the buttokes with large wide sleues as the sergents or catchepolles in times past were wont to haue and thus like frogges they leape in to the pulpit crieng and creking there Our Confession of Auspurg is grounded vppon the writings of the Apostles and Prophets and hathe endured these thirty yeares Beholde good Catholike reader a wonderous matter The Confession of Augspurg is thirty yeares olde Is not this a maruailous loÌ„ge continaunce and yet these felowes will not be a knowen that our Catholike religion hath continued these thousand fyue hundred yeares and aboue twise their thirty without breache or interruption Nowe where they bable that their Confession is grounded vppon the writings of the Apostles and Prophets doth not euery secte and euery heretike crake the same Do not the Anabaptistes crie it is writen in the xxvj of Marke He that will not beleue shall be condemned But children haue no faith and can not beleue ergo they can not be saued nor ought not be baptised â—Like wise the ZuingliaÌ„s crie they not that it is writeÌ„ in the vj. of Ihon. The flesh profiteth nothing and therefore they will haue it but bread in the Sacrament Againe the scholers of Osiander alleage they not the saying of the prophet the 23. of Ieremie Iehouah is our iustice Who can denie but all these allegations be the writinges of the Apostles and prophets why theÌ„ do the LutheraÌ„s abhorre the Anabaptistes why condeÌ„ne they Osiander and his felowes why doth Luther call Zuinglius an heretike Do not they crie that their doctrine as well as the other crie that their Confession is grounded vpon the writings of the Apostles and prophets yes they crie truly so euen as lowde and as truly as the Lutherans What theÌ„ lacketh in this matter Truly not who alleageth Scripture for that euery heretike doth but who can proue his doctrine in dede not only in wordes by Scripture For who caÌ„ abide the preacher be he neuer so Catholike that crieth only that his doctrine is grounded vppon the writings of the Apostles and Prophets It is not sufficient to alleage and hudle vp many places of scripture which the heretikes do as roundely as the Catholikes but you must by good reason and sure grouÌ„de proue that those your places be well and duly alleaged and expounded But by what grouÌ„de and reason may this be proued By thre maners of waies First the teacher of any doctrine or preacher ought to proue and euidently declare that his doctrine or interpretation of holy Sripture is Catholike deriued from the Apostles receaued through out whole Christendom and continued vnto our time Secondarely that all the ordre maner and disposition of the church of Christ in the newe lawe was figured and shadowed by other obseruaunces and doings in the olde lawe Thirdly that euery principall article of our Catholike religion hath beÌ„ confirmed with some miracle whereby the verite of it hathe vnuincibly ben warranted As for example Amonge vs Catholikes it is a sure and vndoubted point in our religion that in the blessed Sacrament of the aultar vnder one kinde the whole and perfit body of Christe is contained as well as vnder bothe This point we first proue by the expresse worde of God vttered by the Apostle saying that Christ can not be diuided Nowe that this saying of the Apostle is well applied to the one kinde of bread in the Sacrament the common practise of Christes Catholike churche these many hundred yeares dothe abundantly witnesse Againe it is proued by an euident figure of the olde lawe For we reade in Moyses that although some gathered more some lesse of Manna which vndoubtedly as S. Paule witnesseth was the figure of our Lordes supper yet he that gathered lesse had as much as he that gathered more So Hilarius pope of Rome decreeth saying Where parte of the body is there is the whole for the like is in the body of our Lorde that was in Manna that figured it For not the visible quantite is to be considered in this misterie but the spirituall efficacie and vertu of the Sacrament Last of all this hath ben confirmed by so sundry and strauÌ„ge miracles wrought from God that who so hath any sparckle of Christen faith remaining in him can neuer doubt but that the body of Christ is as well vnder one kinde as vnder bothe The stories of the Iewes may testifie clerely this matter which happened in diuers places as at Passau Breslau Regenspurg and Tekendorph in Bauaria in the yeare of our Lorde 1337. and afterward at Berlin in the Marchise of Brandeburg in the yere 1512. and now lately in Pole in the dyocese of the Archebishop of Gnesna In whiche all places it hathe ben seen that out of the Hoste of our Lordes body foined in with daggers by the Iewes bloud hath gushed out and many other miracles haue befallen The which all surely almightie God of his mercie hath wrought for the confirmation of his churche in this article that vnder the forme of bread is fully contained his precious body and bloud and for the conuicting also of the damnable heresie of the Maniches who aboue a thousand yeares agone affirmed that vnder the forme of bread was the body without bloud This I haue brought in for an example to show howe the Catholike doctours are able to proue euery article of Catholike religioÌ„ That is by the Catholike vniuersal and receaued expositioÌ„ of holy scripture by the figures and shadowes of the olde lawe by the operation of miracles Surely who can thus proue his doctrine he may boldely saie that it is grounded vppon the writings of the Apostles and prophets Nowe if the Confessionistes speake as they think when they saie their doctrine is grounded vppon the Apostles and prophets and that they will proue it to be so in
the Roman Breuiary in to the German tongue in so handsome and pure stile that the Psalter the lessons and the ghospels be as pleasauntely to be reade in the German tongue as they are in the Latin It were therefore peraduenture more expedient for the common and vnlerned laye men to haue with them some such to praie and reade in then rashely trust to euery translation or confusely reade euery thinge they list Especially being so perilous a matter to swarue from the right vnderstanding of holy scripture that the danger ensuing is no lesse then heresie It were also very profitable that certain Homelies and Sermons were gathered out of S. Chrisostome S. Ambrose S. Augustin S. Gregory S. Bernarde S. Bede and such other holy fathers whiche being distributed in to the Sondayes and holy dayes of the yeare and well and truly translated in to the vulgar tongue might safely and with great profit be reade off the common people Beside where as many godly praiers for diuers necessites are to be founde in the doctours they might serue also for common praier for the people being truly translated in to the vulgar tonge Surely any laie man that desireth to reade scripture not of curiosite but to strengthen his faith to encrease his hope and to kindle his charite may in such bookes as we haue saide satisfie fully his desire and appetit OF DISAGREMENT IN DOCTRINE AMONGE THE PROTESTANTS THe third matter wherewith the Lutherans charge me is that I haue alleaged falsely certain of their articles whereby their enormous dissension appeareth partly haue fathered some vppon them which they neuer taught As touching the first point doctour Smidelin preacher of Gopping sturreth vp heauē and earth against me sweareth and affirmeth that the Lutheran preachers vary in no one point or groūde of their doctrine But if there be any controuersie amonge them the same is saith he not of any article of their faith or of their Confession made at Augspurg A man may verely in many places finde light and impudent persons which wil not sticke to call chauke chese and saie white is black But such an impudent preacher as this Iames Smidelin of Gopping is not this fourty yeares hath ben seen in Germany which is not ashamed to write and set forthe in printe yea that in bookes dedicated to men of worship that amonge the Lutherans is no one iote of variaunce in all their doctrine nor no dissension in any article of their Confession In dede this argument troubleth much the mā that where diuision and dissension is in the chefe pointes of Christen religion there must nedes heresies be But the Lutherans can not denie their enormous dissension and open variaūce in sondry pointes yea in these articles of their Confession made at Augspurg Ergo there be heretikes amonge thē and heresies great store For whereas to the first proposition of this argument no man can gainsaie but if he be extreme impudent or very foolish M. Smidelin shifteth him selfe to the other part and denieth stoutely that there is any one iote of variaunce or controuersie betwene them Nowe then to proue the contrary and to stoppe the impudent felowes mouthe who being oftentimes frendely warned perseuereth yet in his folie I will bringe here certain of his felowe Ministers and such as him selfe is which may a litle remoue his bonet from his eyes and showe him the glasse where he may see his owne impudēt face and shameles looke that blusheth not at so lowde a lie Nicolaus Amsdorfius in his booke entituled Publica Confessio purae doctrinae Euangelij confutatio praesentium Swermerorum vel factiosorum writeth thus The matter amendeth neuer a whit but wexeth daily worse and worse It is no other wise likely but that we shall vtterly lese the ghospell and in stede of it haue nothing but mere lies and hainous errours and that for no other cause then that euery man foloweth his owne witte and desireth not after the truthe In the diet and conference had lately at wormes Brentius and the Adiaphoristes would not condemne Zuinglius and Osiander bicause they were men lerned in the tongues and liberall sciences But hissed vs out of the cōpany and laughed vs to scorne bicause we refused to agree vnto the conference and diet onles those men were condemned Some of our felowes the Lutherans pretend that they cōdemne the Zwinglians but Brentius his praeface vpon Master Iames Smidelins booke testifieth the contrary For here they go about to reconcile godly Luther and Zuinglius which is impossible For who euer heard that two contradictories could agree Such childish and impossible matters they be not ashamed to affirme which wil be counted teachers and Masters of Christen religion as though we and all other were stockes and blockes But surely we can not embrace with quiet conscience the heresies of Zuinglius and Osiander Neither can we subscribe and yelde to such as haue departed and seuered them selues from Luther Truly if they had constātly cleaued vnto the worde of God and Luther and had not geuē them selues to alteratious or yelded to them whiche first altered from Luther there should haue ben no dissension nor variaunce amongest vs and al these mischefs which we see nowe hang ouer our heades had ben escaped Farder although the Ministers which after our departure remained in the conference at wormes wrote after and published it abrode that they woulde not departe from the Cōfession of Augspurg yet in dede they do cleane cōtrary For while they wil not condemne the Zwinglians and the Osiandrines they can by no meanes agree with our Confession off Augspurg but in so doing they be all ready departed from it So haue they caused dissēsion and remoued all meanes of agreement For if they would cōdemne with vs the foresaide errours of Zwinglius and Osiander then might we agree together against the papistes But no we whereas the Confession of Augspurg teacheth that the Bloud and passion of Christ is our righteousnes and that the bread in the Lordes supper is the body of Christ this can not possibly agree with the madnes of Zwinglius and Osiander Therefore these two repugne to saie they remaine in the Confession off Augspurg and yet go aboute to defend Zwinglius and Osiander VVe therefore first and formest do condemne for heretikes Caspar Swenckfeldius and the Anabaptistes which do contemne and refuse the externall preaching of Gods worde Secondarely we condemne the Secte of Osiander which holdeth no lesse grosse and impudent heresies Thirdly we condemne the Sacramentaries Zwinglius and his felowes Fourthely we condemne the Indifferents bicause in their churches beside the ghospell they will haue mens traditions to be obserued For the ghospell admitteth no commaundements of men to be kept in their churches But these indifferents coulour and counterfaite all thinges to please the Emperour they embrace the papisticall Masse and religion which yet they loue not in dede and
people This much Melanchthon who although he would neuer before this time openly in writing professe his minde of the Sacrament yet he allwaies tolde his familiar frendes and men of worship that in this point he condemned Luther and claue vnto Swinglius correcting yet a litle his opinion For where as Swinglius saide This signifieth my body he will haue it saied This is the participation of my body which newe interpretation is plainely a newe Sacramentary heresie and neuer heard of amonge the rest of the Swinglians And to maintaine this his proper and newe heresie he vseth two pointes of sutteltie and falshood first when he saith the holy fathers taught no conuersion or transsubstantiation of the bread which is a very impudent and lowde lie For the conuersion of the bread and reall presence of Christ his true body and bloud in the Sacrament may euidently be proued out of all the fathers aboue named and many mo and the contrary opinion clerely condemned Secondarely whē he rebuketh his owne scholers and chargeth them with fiue other Sacramentarie heresies For he saith some be of Heshusius minde some of Sarcerius some other folowe the ministers of Breme and some Ioachimus Morlinus then he alleageth other whose opinion is that Christ his body may be in euery place These fiue heresies which as Melāchthon testifieth are amonge the Lutherans and the other eight which Luther showeth to be amonge the Swingliās make all together thirten heresies which al noweadaies vpon the Sacramēt only are folowed professed and defended amonge the protestants Here againe we may consider the honesty and truthe of M. Doctor Smidelin which is not ashamed to terme such open schismes manifest to al the worlde a sure and certain agremēt of Catholike religion who beside all this knoweth well inough what agreate and vehement altercation there was this present yeare 1560 at Heidelberg amonge the diuines and ministres there touching only this point of the blessed Sacramēt of the which matter Guilelmus Klebicius of Brandeburg hath writen very bitterly and sharpely And this much hitherto of the dissension amonge the protestants touching only the point of the blessed Sacrament The dissension and variaunce of the Lutherans touching the doctrine of Penaunce I haue noted before in a litle booke For some of them put two some thre partes of penaunce But doctor Smidelin will accorde all this discorde with a worde saing it is all one to put two or thre partes of penaunce As though that al other Superintendents and ministres of Luthers secte ought to couche and obey the pontificall authorite of Doctor Smidelin taking vppon him like a pope of protestants But Illyricus will not abide that persuading him selfe that he is of as good mettall to make a Lutheran pope as any other is and therefore he will not graunte to the Masters of Wittenberg no nor to his owne Master Luther to define diuide and determinat the ghospell at their pleasur For in the booke which he intituled An information vpon certain articles of Christen religion he writeth in this sort But not so much he meaning Melanchthon as his proctours do exasperat this matter although they agree not amōg them selues for one interpreteth the matter after one sorte and the other after an other as it happeneth in euill causes One saieh that the worde Penaunce signifieth only sorowe or contrition an other that it signifieth contrition and faithe with al. One saith that the ghospell preacheth repentaunce of one sinne only as of infidelite an other saith of all sinnes Some imagin this glose that the ghospell preacheth repentaunce vnproperly vndirectly and by occasion only some saie that consequently it preacheth repentaunce An other saithe by a figure of contrariete the fourth saith after a sorte and in some point The fift saith it doth but argue mens incredulite or slacknes of belefe The sixt saieth that it reiecteth the small faithe The seuenth saith that it preacheth repentaunce not principally Thus they disagree amonge thē selues no lesse then the Sacramentaries or Babylonians or those builders of idols that Esaie speaketh of where one thinketh to holde vp the idoll with glue another with nailes and the third with chaines But all these gloses bothe destroy them selues one another and the definition also Thus farre Illyricus Doth not Illyricus affirme here that Melanchthons diuines varie one from an other and sett vp seuen sondry opinions neuer a true and all repugnant one with an other no lesse then the sectes of the Sacramentaries and that they agree as the builders of the towre of Babilon in olde time Saithe not directly all this Illyricus And what saieth Smidelinus VVe in the principall articles and grounde of our doctrine do not vary Which if it be true then must we saie that the doctrine of penaunce and of the Sacrament of the aultar appertaine not to the grounde of Christen religion nor are not necessary articles of the same For Smidelin in his litle booke whiche he set forth against me standeth stiffe in this minde That it forceth not whether two or thre partes of penaunce be taught nor skilleth any whit whether you beleue vprightly or embrace that seuenfolde heresie contrary in it selfe in the matter of penaunce Againe in his booke against my table writing of the altercations betwene the Illyricans and the Adiaphoristes he saith Although one write bitterly against the other yet in their churches there is no alteration of doctrine but they professe and teache the pure doctrine of the ghospell in perfit agrement with vs and them selues euen as before this altercation beganne Howe soūdeth thinke you these wordes of Smidelin with the saieng of Illyricus In like maner doth he defend Andreas Musculus For where I write that he teacheth the Godhead of Christ to haue as well died in the Crosse as the māhood Smidelin goeth about to purge him in these wordes I haue vnderstode nowe that Staphylus dothe iniuriously slaunder Andreas Musculus For Musculus in open writing published and printed hathe purged him self against Staphylus Thus saithe Smidelin It is the nature and custome of all heretikes not to continew longe in one minde But to denie to morowe which they saide to daie So dothe Musculus And although Smidelin as he confesseth him selfe be vtterly ignorant of the debate betwene Musculus and Stācarus wherein those wordes be vttered yet he sticketh not to write that I slaunder Musculus Truly bicause he would be counted a common pacifier of all contentions a physician for all sores and a reconciler of all vnruly heresies But what will bothe Musculus and Smidelin saie vnto me if I bring their owne brethern and felowe heretikes witnesses against them The Lutheran churches of Pole sent to the vniuersite of Lausana for the determination of this matter betwene Musculus and Stancarus and the doctours of Lausana sent them this awnswer Although well beloued brethern we can neuer saie inough
of Ihon Caluin in his booke of predestination and of Theodore Beza the archeheretike of FrauÌ„ce in his defence for Caluin This yeare 1561. one Lucas Sternberger in Omoluke a towne of Morauia being cast in to preson preaching amonge the Sternbergers and in diuers other places bearing him selfe for a Minister of the ghospel and scholer of Luther and Melanchthon preached and persuaded the people this doctrine that foloweth for the true and expresse worde of God First he openly taught and confessed That al suche as worship the name of the Blessed Trinite do imagin falsely the Gods That the name of the Trinite is vaine and superfluous bicause that worde is no where expressed in holy scripture beinge also but one God in heauen Therefore he forbad that the same songe O veneranda Trinitas O blessed Trinite should be songe and commaunded in his place to singe O blessed goodnes of God He wisheth also that all the deuills of hell woulde come and cary awaye this Trinite saieng he can not tell whether it be a man or a woman yet that he is sure that the same Trinite was ones a woman which had thre husbands Secondarely he confessed and taught that Christe was not true god but maÌ„ only like other meÌ„ For if he had beÌ„ god he should haue descended out of he auen in to earthe and committed the gouuernemeÌ„t of the worlde here to Angels That he was borne only of Mary and Ioseph the carpenter and that he exercised that crafte with Ioseph vntel the thirtyth yeare of his aage Beside he teacheth That Christ rose froÌ„ death not by his owne power but by the power of god almightie and that he worked no miracle but by the power and operatioÌ„ of almightie god which had endued him with more excellent giftes and graces then al the other prophets adopting him for his son at the leghth for his vertuous and honeste life when he was baptised of Ihon in the Iordayn and the voyce from heauen came downe saieng This is my welbeloued son in whom I am delited so that Christ is not the son of god but touching his soule onely bicause in the crosse he commended and gaue vp but his soule to god Thirdly he mocketh at the holy ghoste saieng that it is nothing els but a pigeon affirming beside that nothinge is writen of his diuinite in all scripture nether of the olde testameÌ„t nether of the newe and that it is not knowen what is this holy ghost Finally he had rather returne to the cloyster and be a papiste then to beleue in the holy ghoste Fourthely he will not the blessed virgin Mary mother of god to be a perpetuall virgin but that she had before two or thre sonnes and that she nothing differeth froÌ„ the rest of wemen and therefore nether she nor any other saints ought to be worshipped or haue their holy daies kepte Againe that men ought to worke the Sonday and reste the Saterday bicause in holy scripture the Saterday is coÌ„maunded to be kept holy But of the SoÌ„day nothing is prescribed nor appointed for as Luther taught nothinge ought to be admitted or obserued which god hath not in expres wordes commaunded or forbyd in holy scripture Fiftely he reiecteth holy baptim calling it a diuelish institution affirming also that it procureth nought els but hell and eternall damnation for circumcision was instituted of god not baptim Sixtely as touching the blessed Sacrament of the aultar he can neuer satisfie himselfe with mocking iesting and scorning at it for he saith the Iewes haue longe ago eaten vp the paschall lambe and if any thing were lefte they burned it Finally he confesseth he is of that opinion in this Sacrament as Melanchthon is For at a certain time hauing some communicating with him but fewer then he thought he inuited all other by speaking to them in these wordes Come hether for â—am not able to deuoure him vpp alone as for other sacraments he foloweth Luther in all points as his schole master of whom he receaued this doctrine Now that these heresies here reakoned vp be rife in Morauia and that many a soule is miserably in ueigled and seduced with them the experience showeth They also which are sene in the Alcoran of Mahomet and in Luthers doctrine may well consider and perceaue that this fifte ghospell of Luther prepareth and fostifieth the waie for Mahomets Alcoran to come in to Germany And though the Lutherans to excuse them selues and their ghospell will here obiect that Luther neuer inuented neuer thought nor taught these detestable heresies published by Lucas Sternberg it maye and ought well be awnswered vnto them that though Luther neuer tought these matters expresly which yet is to be doubted of yet he gaue abundant and sufficient occasion for these and all other heresies and schismes onely in that he writeth and bableth all waies that nothing ought to be receaued approued or obserued in the church which was not manifest euident and expresse in holy scripture And what other grounde hath this Lucas Sternberg to abolish al truthe of our Christen religion and to plante his deuelish doctrines then this lesson of Luther For euer he crieth VVhere is it writen where is it in holy scripture that there be thre persons VVhere is it read that Christ in the vnion of his godhead and manhood should be the Second person in Trinite or that Christ is the true and naturall son of God and not a creature according to his euerlasting and diuine generation VVhere is it expressed in scripture that the holy ghoste it selfe is any other then the euerlasting father VVhere is it noted in holy scripture that Mary the mother of Christe was a Virgin before and after the byrthe and that shee continued a Virgin allwaies In what place of the Bible can we reade that the Sabbaoth daie should be abrogated and the Sonday instituted And what heretike I pray you maye not saie the like of all the articles of our catholike faithe For what scripture hath saie the Anabaptistes that infants shoulde be baptised And the Swinglians VVhat Scripture saie they affirmeth that the true body and not the figure off Christ his body is in the Supper of the Lorde Againe the Lutherans VVhat place of scripture saie they dothe testifie that Christ instituted the Masse in his Supper Therefore if Luther had raised vp no other particular heresie yet this was detestable and cursed inoughe that he taught nothing to be obserued or receaued in the church but whiche god had expresly directly and in plaine wordes commaunded or forbed in the Bible To this heresie of Lucas Sternberg an other secte directly repugnant and contrary rose vp very lately at Pinczouia in Pole in the which place two new ghospellers Petrus Statorius and Georgius Brandata teach that there is not one God but thre gods and they so diuers one from an other as thre men yet that the son is somewhat lesse then the father and
ronge of trompetts and musike and as thoughe this article I beleue the Catholike Churche vere scraped out of the Crede or as thoughe that were no more true that Christ hath saide that the Churche is builded vpon a sure rocke not able to be shaken or as though it were false that the Apostle writeth calling the Churche the piller and grounde of truthe Who thē fell in to the ditche was it not he that first threwe his neighbour in and after was constrained to plucke him out again and fall in him selfe all the worlde knoweth and seeth it This then lo is the first prophecy of Martin Luther in this foresaide booke Nowe let vs here an other straite folowing hereupon To the entent saithe he that our conscience be not burdned with the sinnes of an other and we be counted afore God as wicked Achab. For if he be deliuered out of preson the papistes withoute doute will blaspheme our God and will crake after this sorte Lo be not our praiers hearde of God VVe haue praied for the Duke Harry of Brunsuicke and God hathe tried oure patience but he hath heard vs at the lēgth For although he suffred the Duke Harry to fall in to the heretikes handes for our temporall punishment yet they haue not ben able to kepe him still but were compelled off God to dismiss him Thankes be to our God whiche hathe not forsaken the churche and awncient religiō And in dede true it is that this argumēt hathe most moued me For we knowe the pope and his parasites be incurable therefore they can do nought els but euen in their moste miseries and wicked dedes comforte coulour and tricke vp them selues His other prophecy whereby he woulde be counted a thirde Elias he confirmeth by this reason That the same must nedes be the right church off Christ whiche was able by their good praiers to restore their princes in to liberte Therefore if the Duke Harry through the earnest and continuall praiers of the papistes were dismissed of his enemies thē euery man will thinke verely that the papistes are the true and right church of Christ. And this is true in dede For this reason therefore Luther as he writeth was most moued in no case to suffer the Duke to be sette at liberty lest perhaps the papistes shoulde be taken for the true churche of God and he and his felowes for the maligne churche Here let euery man that lacketh not common iudgement consider whether Luther be not suche a prophet as Caiphas was For he prophecieth nowe the truthe but as Caiphas did against him selfe and for the contrary parte The Catholikes in dede praied continually and earnestly for the emprisonned prince that he might escape out of his enemies handes Luther wroughte by force and by crafte all that he coulde to kepe him continually in preson and in his enemies handes Whiche parte then did God heare vndoubtedly the righter and more iuste For God is no vniuste iudge but paieth euery man according to his paines Therefore he succoured the presonner deliuered him and so dealed with hym that he might saye Iudge me o Lorde according to my righteousnes God therefore gaue the right and true sentence and nowe which parte and whose praiers were heard the euent declared But howe laboureth Luther to ouerthrowe the reason of the papistes wherewith he was so muche moued and by that ouerthrow to set vp his prowde and arrogant prophecye The first parte of the reason he letteth stāde and graunteth that God heareth the praiers of his churche But he laieth at the other parte and denieth stoutely that the papistes are able to obtaine any thinge of God For so he goeth forth in his foresaide booke Their praier therefore is not to be feared no more then Elias feared the praiers of the prophets of Baal But as he laughed to scorne their praiers and their God so we maye lawfully laughe to scorne the papistes and their God For we knowe their praiers are execrable as their doctrine and belefe is According to that of the psalme 199. Let their praier turne in to sinne And whomsoeuer they teache he can not chose but be condemned Nether are their praiers other then such as the deuill ones mocked at what time a certain priest being wel tipled saieng his complet in his bead and spetting as he praied letted also a greate farte well quôd he Diuell ▪ such praier such frankensence The like maye be saide of all their mumbling in churches and monasterys For they can not praie nor wil not praie nor know not what to praie nor how to praie The hereticall doctrine of Luther is so printed in some mens hartes by the instinct of some euill sprit that they passe vppon no praier beleue no truthe no miracle not God him selfe but one worde of Luthers mouth more persuadeth them be it neuer so false then God him selfe or his worde or the whole Catholike church Therefore if any man at that time had ben so bolde as to haue saide that the Catholike churche shoulde throughe her deuoute praiers obtaine the victory against her enemies and that this Duke thē prisonner should be deliuered and the other the Duke of Saxony and the Lantgraue caste in preson that man had ben mocked and scoffed to deathe presuming so to contemne the authorite off the thirde Elias Luther And I doubte whether yet vntel this daie some simple mē are deceaued by that his prophecy though the ende of this tragedy being so open to all the worlde geueth euident testimony that allmightie God hath heard the praiers of the papistes and reiected those of the Lutherans deliuering the Duke Harry and bringing the other two Princes in to the Emperours handes as presonners Nowe Luther to absolue and consummat this his laste worke for with this holesom piece he ended his fifte ghospell he prouoketh mē of armes and power to fighte courageously against their chief and Liege Souueraines For thus he writeth Only God must be honoured only god must be praised to him only thankes are due to the entent that he which maketh all thinges may geue also the victory For god can abide none of these twaine either that mā tempt him or that he truste to much to himselfe VVe must walke the high waie turning neither on the right hāde nether on the lefte VVhosoeuer taketh not weapon when he may he vseth not the giftes of god he turneth on the lefte hande and seing a blowe coming laieth out his head He tempteth god wherefore it happeneth wel and worthely that such mēs heades beare awaie the rappes This coūsell of Luther is true and good touching Magistrats Kinges Emperours Princes and rulers But not for them which are subiects and priuat men For Luther him self writeth and teacheth that no Prince or Lorde whiche is vnder a higher power and oweth allegeaunce vnto him can rightely make warre againste any other prince or Lorde muche lesse against his
owne Liege and Souuerain Therefore it should at that time diligently ben prouided that men folowed not this seditious and false high waie of Luther which no subiect can treade without his princes leaue Especially perceauing that this highe waie of Luther hath euer an vnhappy and miserable ende repugning manifestly to the worde of God all writen lawe and Luthers owne doctrine Demosthenes the lerned and eloquent oratour saith wise men deliberat before the facte and fooles after the facte For as Liuy writeth the euent teacheth fooles And we Germans vse to saie the Italian taketh aduise before he begin the french man when he is a doing and the German when he hath done Which although it hath hindered much our countre in diuers affaires yet this is in vs no voluntary negligence but a naturall infirmite For Hesiodus the poet noteth thre sorts of men to be on the earthe saieng VVho knoweth all him selfe is the best man aliue He is the nexte that counsell can vse But he is the worste that woteth not to thriue And yet of an other doth counsell refuse Seing then we Germans are not so quicke of iudgement which peraduenture procedeth of our colde countre as the Italian is to foresee what is to be done yet we maye nowe by this lamentable calamite that we see hath befallen vs and the present greate waste of our deare countre lerne and remembre howe within this fourty yeares it flourished and prospered in al respects before this German prophet and fifte euangelist Luther ranne out of his cloister And although our dutie had ben at that time to haue remembred that saieng of our Lorde Beware of false prophets and the wordes of S. Ihon. Trie the spirits whether they be of God and so to deliberat before the facte yet seing we haue forslowen that let vs at the leste after the smarte be wise and haue recourse nowe at laste to that cōmaundement of almighty God where he commaundeth the simple people to warde them selues from false prophets and teachers For this question being in holy writ propounded Howe shall I vnderstande the worde that oure Lorde hathe spoken God awnswereth and saithe This token I will geue the to vnderstāde it That which the prophet hath foresaied in the name of the Lorde and cometh not to passe that worde the Lorde spake not but the prophet of his owne vaine fantasie forged it If we drawe the line of Luthers prophecye to this rule we shall euidently see that he is not onely a false prophet but also as his greate grande father Satan is a cruell murderer Is it not a greate pride and rashe arrogancy of Luther to prophecye and write that the god of the Catholikes whō he calleth papistes wil not heare their praiers for the deliuraūce of the Duke by what reuelation had he this Againe that no man liuing shoud be able or so bolde as to restore him in to liberte Againe that those his princes the Duke of Saxony and the Lantgraue should not be bound with those fetters which the coyne brought from base Germany pretended Farder that the warre thē ensuing should haue a prosperous successe Laste of all that S. Brigids prophecy was false and his true saieng that the See of Rome and estat of the Pope should then vtterly perish and neuer rise vp againe All these thinges did Luther prophecye in the booke aboue mencioned And did the euent proue all this Not one iote But in euery point it hathe proued cleane contrary Then this worde of Luther was not the worde off the Lorde as Moyses teacheth but it was the worde of the deuill in the person of Luther Againe that Luther hath ben a very murderer of men and a stronge thefe in Gods churche it is euident hereby that his doctrine and vaine prophecyes setting together the princes by the eares hath ben the onely cause of all seditions warre and bloudshed that within this fourty yeares haue happened in Germany The first booke that Luther made to spoyle and ransacke the churche was his booke De Captiuitate Babylonica Christiana libertate In the whiche booke he so debaseth reuileth and bringeth in contempt not onely the awncient true and Catholike religion of Christ his churche but also the lawes bothe Canon and Ciuill that it maye seme he lacked but a head and capitaine to make a perfit sedition But whereas at that time there was yet amonge men more feare of God and reuerence to their magistrats thē that they would be moued with Luthers light talke fewe were founde to helpe blowe the fire which he had kindled vntell at the length Luther him selfe moued peraduenture more hotely with the sprit ronge the alarum him selfe in the yeare 1523. setting forthe a booke entituled De saeculari potestate in a parte whereoff he writeth these wordes These are our Christen princes which defende the faith and deuoure the Turke In dede worthy men and such as you maie truste that by their greate wisedome they are likely to do some what as to breake their owne neckes first and then leade whole countres and peoples to breake necke after These blinde princes I would well aduise to be ware onely of one small sentence of the 166. psalme whiche is this He pooreth oute contempt vppon Princes I swere vnto you by God that if through your negligence this poore sentence ones take holde on you you are vndone were you as mighty and of as greate power as the Turke himselfe Nether will your storming any thinge profit you The matter is nowe all ready well begonne For fewe princes are nowe that are not counted for villaines and fooles and that bicause they showe themselues for such and the people beginneth nowe to wexe wise and the plage of princes which god calleth contēpt encreaseth daily in the peoples hartes and I feare me it will not be staied onles princes behaue themselues as it becometh them and begin againe to rule more modestly For men ne will ne can lenger abyde your tiranny O wellbeloued Princes and Lordes Therefore prouide for yourselues God wil not suffre this your tiranny any more the worlde is not no we as it was in times paste when you were wonte to hunte and chase men like bestes awaie therefore with your pride power and haugtynes and labour to do that is right and good suffer the worde of God to haue his course which yet it must haue and shall haue and you shall not be able to let it If we teach heresie let it be confuted by the worde of God If you will trie the matter with the sworde take hede leste some man cōmaunde you to put vp your sworde not in Gods name But you wil saie peraduenture If amonge the Christians there ought to be no secular sworde nor Ciuill gouuernement howe then shall men be kepte in order howe shall they be gouuerned For amonge Christen mē must be magistrats and officers
hath done most harme of any other Truly who so knewe what maner of men these were what abhominable doctrine they haue taught how variable and inconstant they haue ben in their owne sayings and doings if he be a ChristeÌ„ man and feareth God he will neuer forsake the whole corps of Christendom and the Catholike faithe of so many hundred yeares to folowe the priuat newe and variable doctrine of their braynes But it semeth they are of a number vnknowen and hereuppon rashely beleued I will therefore adde vnto this worke of Staphylus a short discours touching the doctrine of these thre Archeprotestants of our time For euen as the intent and purpose of that vertuous and lerned man Fridericus Staphylus in this his Apology by vs translated was to reduce his deere countremen of Germany wandering like straie shepe to the flocke off Christes churche againe partly by discouering the falshod of their guides craking of Gods worde without the right meaning thereof and abusing the vnlerned with false forged translating off the same which in the first and second part of his Apology he hath done partly also by setting before mens eyes their greate variaunces and most clere dissensions in doctrine an euident argumeÌ„t of heresy euen so our intent and pupose is for the edifieng of such of my dere countremeÌ„ as haue not of malice but of ignoraÌ„ce cleaued vnto the plausible and pernicious doctrine of these thre Archeheretikes Martin Luther Phil. MelanchthoÌ„ and Iohn Caluin to make an especiall discours of their doctrine bicause they are in our countre aboue all other secte masters most folowed For not only the common sorte of deceiued protestants but the lerned and pretended prelats and ministres of our countre are partly LutheraÌ„s partly Sacramâ—taries And of the LutheraÌ„s some though the fewer nuÌ„bre are zelous and rigorous LutheraÌ„s that is such as wil in al points folow Luther taking hym for the verâ— prophet of God the fifte Euangelist and the third Elias of our time Some are ciuill Lutherans gentle and courtly protestants which admit Luther so farre as theÌ„ list professing a kinde of indifferency in many matters of religioÌ„ as Melanchthon their first Master taught them The third sorte of protestaÌ„ts the most common and allowed secte in Englande are the Sacramentaries of Geneua Who are so greate in nuÌ„bre and authorite that the other are allmost of no accoÌ„pt or reputatioÌ„ To these meÌ„ Luther is a papist and Caluin is the right and vndoubted prophet To the entent therefore that beside the generall discours of Staphylus the particular humours of our countre may somewhat be serued I haue thought it necessary to annexe here vnto a particular discours of these thre sectes by examining the thre first founders and fathers thereof But especially and most largely we entend to treate of the Sacramentary secte as being the greatest sore of the corrupted body off our countre And although we saie not herein al that may be saied which would require a large volume and perhap more tedious then profitable yet these fewe that we shal bring may be sufficient arguments to discredit the authorite of any one of them which in many mens eyes semeth so greate that at the warrant off their mouthe they sticke not to caste awaye all credit off all the lerned men in Christe his churche this fiftene hundred yeares and vpwarde For if I declare vnto you most manifest and clere heresies such as haue ben condemned aboue a thousand yeares paste in that state and time of Christes church as our protestants yet acknowleadg or â—eme at the lest to acknowledg for pure and vncorrupted to be in the doctrine of Caluin If I showe most manifest contradictions and brutish absurdites oute off his writings in the waightiest articles of our belefe as of the blessed Sacrament of Baptim and of free will of man if I declare vnto you such inconstancy of Melanchthon as woulde scarse become a meane scholer in matters of common lerning yf I discouer a numbre of olde heresies condemned also in the primitiue church renewed by Luther generally receaued of all protestants beside diuers other most certain tokens of hereticall doctrine auouched by him all this I truste shall be a iuste and sufficient cause not only to suspect but vtterly to mislike the residew off their doctrine and opinions whereby they haue inueigled the hartes of men to the vtter destruction off thousands of soules For truly if they be men sent especially from God to restore vnto vs the light of his holy worde after the darcknes of so many hundred yeares as they pretend to be and are taken for such it can not possibly be but that their sayings and doings must sauour of the Apostles holy Martirs and awncient fathers of Christes church by whom the faith of Christ was first planted here on earth and spred through oute the whole worlde That is they must haue Cor vnum animam vnam One harte and one mynde as the Apostles had they must Obedire excorde in eam formam doctrinae in qua traditi sunt Obeyeuen from their harte to that mâ—ner of doctrine wherein they were brought vp as the first Christians did they must haue the ensample of holesom wordes and doctrine which they heard of their first fathers and teachers as the churche of Christ hath allwaies continued But iff their sayings and doings repugne directly against the manner and vsage of these holy men if they be at variaunce amonge them selues and with them selues as especially you shall see in Caluin if they forsake the trade of olde doctrine and renewe in their place olde condemned heresies if they forsake the ensample of other forging doctrine of their owne no Christen man may doubte but that they are not off that race nor line but rather of the issue of the olde heretikes whose doctrine they renew and behauiour they folow For vndoubtedly the saying of our Sauiour can not be false By their frutes you shall knowe them But now to the matter and first of Luther It is well knowen by all the histories of our time as of Fontanus Reuerus Sleidan and other that the first breache of the well ordred aray of Christes churche was by Luther attempted not of reuelatioÌ„ conscience or lerning but only for the grief of a repulse taken touching the publishing of that famous pardon of the Croâ—sad For hereuppon began he first to open his lippes against the abuse of pardons after against the pardons them selues theÌ„ against the whole authorite of the church not only in that matter but almost in al other necessary articles of belefe And biâ—ause we wil not go by coÌ„iectures but by mostâ—â— redemonstrations I will bring you the wordes of Luthâ—â— him sâ—lfe In a disputation before the Duke George of Saxony helde openly at Lipsia with D. Eâ—kius he doth plainly pronounce That the quarell of religion theÌ„ by him enter prâ—sâ—d was not begonn for the honour
or of so smal faith as to doubt of their reste and perfit blisse which are already in heauen Let vs cōsider your maner of reasoning It is manifest saie you that those holy fathers ment nothing lesse then by praying for the dead to establish purgatorie or third place This you suppose as manifest without any proufe at all which you ought well and substātially to haue proued For hereupon depend your distinctions that folow But how better and trulyer saie we M. Grindall it is manifest that those holy fathers seing they praied for the dead that they ment vndoubtedly there was a purgatory or third place You suppose they prayed only for such as were already in heauen and herupon you make your distinctions But as your supposition is a point of sophistry called petitio principij and beside all reason and truthe so are your imagined distinctiōs vaine and foolish Wil you haue clere and euident proufes that the fathers praiyng for the dead meaned nothing so and that your suppositiō is voide of all truthe Or will you be contented hereafter that praier for the dead be solemnised in your churches if we proue vnto you the practise of the eldest fathers to haue ben such S. Denys you reiect for an awncient writer bicause of the iudgmēt of Erasmus Let vs geue you leaue to reiect him whom the sixtgenerall councell and second of Nice alleageth for awncient euen for Denys the Areopagita S. Paules scholer Whom thē may we alleage to testifie against you of such authorite that you will be contented to rest vpō him Your olde frēd and Master Ihon Caluin calleth oftentimes S. Augustin in dogmatibus ecclesiae fidelissimum vetustatis interpretem the faith fullest reporter of antiquite in doctrines of the church Let vs thē see what S Augustin reporteth of praying for the dead and of the meaning of the church therein Awnswering to the questions of Dulcitius demaunding amōge other thinges howe the soules departed were relieued by the praiers of the church after lōge debating the matter he concludeth in these wordes Cum ergo sacrificia siue altaris siue quarūcūque eleemosynarū pro baptisatis defunctis omnibus offeruntur pro valde bonis gratiarū actiones sunt pro non valde malis propitiationes sunt pro valde malis etiam si nulla sunt adiumenta mortuorum qualescunque viuorum consolationes sunt that is Therefore when the sacrifices either of the aultar or of any aulmes geuinge are offred for all Christen folcke departed this life for the perfit and very good they are thankes geuinges for meane euill though they are no reliefe to the dead yet they are certayn comfortes for the frendes that liue Thus farre S. Augustin In these wordes M. Grindall we lerne the meaning of the fathers prayng and offering sacrifices for the dead not to be allwaies thankes geuings or figures of eloquence as yow woulde haue them meane but to be thē only thanckes geuinges when they are offred for such as haue departed this worlde in a perfit estate and vprightnes of life For other departing as sinners but not extreme hainous and wicked they are he saieth Propitiationes propitiatory sacrifices that is such as purchase fauour and mercy at Gods hande The third sorte of men though Christned yet being Valde mali that is so euill that they die without true repentaunce they auaile not at al. We knowe well M. Grindall youre doctrine beinge builded vppon onely faith admitteth not these distinctions of the estates of men But the Catholike churche which condemned your heresy of onely faith in Eunomius and Aerius aboue twelue hundred yeares past as you heard before acknowledgeth them and teacheth them By the which distinctions also we lerne the meaning of the church praying and offering sacrifices for the dead As for the figures of eloquence Master Grindall which you imagin the fathers vsed praying for the dead is a figure of your owne called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and in latin is called Mendacium we english men terme it a lye But you saie yow can showe by examples that the fathers so meaned Let vs heare and cōsider what they are You saie But I will make this matter more plaine by an example or twaine caete And then you bringe the wordes of S. Ambrose affirming first Theodosium frui luce perpetua tranquillitate diuturna pro ijs quae in hoc gessit corpore muner ationis diuinae fructibus gratulari to enoiye perpetuall light and continuall quietnesse and for those thinges that he did in this body to reioyse in the fruition of Gods rewarde and yet afterward praying for him in these wordes Domine da requiem perfecto seruo tuo Theodosio requiem quam parasti sanctis tuis Lorde geue rest to thy perfect seruaunt Theodosius the reast I meane which thou hast prepared for thy Saints In the first wordes say you he pronounceth plainly that Theodosius was vndoubtedly saued and in the later he praieth for him vsing a figure of eloquence and vehemency of affection Here ones again M. Grindall you turne the cat in to the panne and reason tout au rebours as the frenche prouerb goeth euen as you did before for as then you woulde ouerthrowe praier for the dead bicause you supposed there was no third place whereas the third place must nedes therefore be bicause the churche praieth for the dead so nowe the praying off S. Ambrose for Theodosius you call a figure off eloquence and vehemencie of affection but his wordes commending Theodosius you call a certain persuasion and plaine pronouncing of his vndoubted saluation whereas in dede the wordes of S. Ambrose commending Theodosius procede of a vehement affection and loue towardes that Emperour for how coulde he be assured in dede of his blessed state semed he neuer so perfitt in his life without some speciall reuelation from allmighty God which yet M. Grindall I dare saie you will not saie he had but his praier for the Emperour was the vsuall practise of the church vsed at all funerals in all ages sence Christen religion began Againe these wordes of S. Ambrose pronouncing Theodosius to enioy the perpetuall light and continual quietnesse cae may well be a figure of eloquence of Amplification and exclamation but the praying for him tel vs I praye you M. Grindall in what figure of Rhetorike you will put it Farder if that saying of S. Ambrose Domin◠da requiem perfecto seruo tuo Theodosio cae Lorde geue rest to thy perfect seruaunt Theodosius cae be a figure of eloquence vsed in that solemne funerall of that mighty and vertuous Emperour Theodosius howe wel might it haue becomed you also M. Grindal occupying the place of a Bishop as that blessed Doctor S. Ambrose then was and preaching at the funerall solemnite of that most highe mighty and vertuous Emperoure Ferdinandus as he did of Theodosius to haue saied also Da requiem Domine perfecto seruo tuo Ferdinando Lorde geue rest
the broode of that fonde frier sing the same song Beza and his companions at the late Synod of Poissy in FrauÌ„ce were stiff in that opinion aloÌ„g time but at the leÌ„gth were driuen from it whereupoÌ„ they chaunged the tenour of their supplication calling them selues Les esleus de Dieu the chosen of God This wilde persuasion is allmost receiued of all protestants It is the very heresy of the Pelagians condemned therefore in S. Augustins time as in his booke De heresibus he reciteth at large What a great corrupter of holy Scripture Luther hath ben in the second part of this Apologie it is at large declared by Fridericus Staphylus How our protestants also haue folowed his example therein and how manifoldly they haue peruerted the very text of holy Scripture I haue in part touched to geue good warning in the rest Who list to see how this hath ben the guiâ—e and maner of olde heretikes Let him reade Tertullian in his praescriptions S. Ambrose vpon the epistle of S. Paul to Titus Iraeneus also and S. Augustin writing against Adimantus the manichee cap. 12. 14. 16. What should I procede farder in declaring how Luther and his scholers folowe rhe race of olde heretikes bothe in their doctrine and in the maner and setting forthe thereof The very refusall of the auncient fathers in Christes church pronouÌ„ced as you haue heard so impudently of Luther and folowed with no lesse impudence of his scholers is no new point but euen the very shift of their forefathers cursed heretikes of olde time This appeareth well by the disputations of Athanasius with Arrius by the counsell of Sisinnius to the Emperour Theodosius by the maner of Eutyches in the Councell of Chalcedon by the writings of Cirillus touching Nestorius and of S. Basil coÌ„cerning Eunonius For all these lerned fathers could not drawe those vnruly heretikes to the rule of the auncient and holy writers in the Church of Christ. They appealed to only Scripture and would be tried only by that as Luther would and the protestants of our time wil though many heretikes receiued not the whole corps of Scripture but such partes only as liked them reiecting all that made against them euen as now a daies also Luther and his scholers reiect the bookes of Machabees and the epistle of S. Iames the one bicause it praieth for the dead the other bicause it writeth directly against their only faith Of what heretikes they lerned this shift we haue already declared defending the Machabees against M. Grindall Aduise your selues now good Christen readers whether you thinke the surer waie to saluatioÌ„ to for lowe the steppes of these fathers of Luther and all new ghospellers all condemned heretikes aboue a thousand yeares past or embrace the doctrine of the holy Fathers and lerned approued writers in Christes church May we not wel iudge and assuredly persuade our selues that the very sprit of heresy spake in Luther and speaketh in all new ghospellers preaching and defending olde condemned heresies Why haue protestants departed from the olde Catholike religion and embraced the new doctrine of Luther they saie forsothe bicause all thinges are reformed after the paterne and practise of the primitiue Church What meane they trow ye herein truly I do not otherwise thinke but that a great numbre the vnlerned and deceiued sorte take them to meane wel and that all is reduced to the doctrine and religion approued and generally receiued in the primitiue church for the espace of fiue or six hundred yeares after Christ. But vndoubtedly the lerned and ringleaders of this new fangled faith if they meane truly must nedes meane the renewing of such heresies as were in that time condemned For thus and no otherwise do they folow doctrine practised in that time that is of heretikes as in a numbre of particular assertions you haue sene But to returne to Luther what point of a right heretike is there that hath not in him ben verified He condemneth the Church and holy Fathers appointed of the holy Ghoste to gouuerne and direct his church as you see by his owne wordes before alleaged He corrupteth holy scripture by false translations as the secoÌ„de part of this Apologie hath declared you He denied partes hereof at his pleasure after the acustomed maner of al heretikes He holdeth teacheth and defendeth olde cursed and loÌ„ge condeÌ„ned heresies as we haue before deducted vnto you He hath bredd diuers sectes by his owne doctrine repugnaÌ„t and coÌ„trary one to an other to wit the Anabaptistes the SacrameÌ„taries the S weÌ„ck feldiaÌ„s and diuers other as it appeareth clerely by the Table of his Ofspring in the thrid part of this Apologie Finally bicause al heretikes are knoweÌ„ by their frutes what the frutes of this maÌ„s doctrine haue beÌ„ it is in this Apologie of Staphylus in diuers places expresly set forth as wel for the great decaye of deuotion and spirituall vertus as for the temporall waste and misery that of this heresy hath ensued Of his terrible arrogancy and pride the most euident token of a wilfull heretiken and voide of all grace and goodnes all that haue read his writings can testifie abundantly None more complaine thereof then his felowe protestants the Sacramentaries of Zurich as partly by their wordes in the thirde parte of this boke alleaged it maye well appeare Neuer baude in bridwell nor scolde in the stewes so railed as this man doth beinge comptrolled of his doctrine His awnswers against all such as wrote againste him abundantly declare the same For hereupon the ciuill Lutherans do swarue in many pointes from such doctrine as he was wonte to vtter in the vehemency of sprit as they cal it and in his cholere He wrote him selfe an Euangelist off Christ euen as Manicheus called him selfe an Apostle of Christ as S. Augustin witnesseth And off his scholers he is called the thirde Helias as in the story of his deathe we reade writen by Melanchthon Ionas and Pomeranus Euen as Manicheus was of his scolers called the holy ghost and Montanus of his secte also He writeth that he is sure and certain he hath his doctrine from heaueÌ„ eueÌ„ as Aetius sayde also of him selfe I knowe God moste clerely and euen as perfitly as I knowe my selfe The cause and original of Luthers departure from the church was ambitioÌ„ as all the ecclesiasticall histories of our time FoÌ„tanus Rouerus and other do testifie to witt bicause he was not preferred to the publishing of the famous pardon of the croisad The same ambition made Aerius an heretike bicause Eustathius was preferred before him in a certain bishoprike as Epiphanius recordeth The like writeth Tertullian of ValeÌ„tinus and Nicephorus reporteth of Montanus lib. 4 cap. 2. of Nouatus libro 6. capite 3. of Florinus libro 4. capite 20. and of Thebutes one of the firste heretikes in the Apostles time the very same cause of falling in
Againe these two sectes in diuers other articles vary out off measure As in originall sinne in free will in baptim and in Penaunce For Caluin denieth all these as the Church teacheth whereas the Melanchthonistes acknowleadg them The Lutherans of Saxony to witt the zelous Lutheraus agree with the Caluinistes denying free will and braule with the Melanchthonistes for allowing free will against the doctrine of their Father Luther Yet againe these zelous Lutherans in the article of originall sinne agree with the Ciuill Lutherans and defie the Caluinistes But in the articles of Iustification of good workes of the Supper of our Lorde and how the lawe and the ghospel ought to be distinguished in these the zelous Lutherans dissent bothe from the Ciuill Lutherans and from the Caluinistes For they teache good workes to be pernicious to saluation they acknowleadg the reall presence which bothe the other sectes denie The Osiandrins agree with the zelous Lutherans of Saxony in the article of the Supper of our Lorde with the Ciuill Lutherans in the article of free will with the Caluinistes in the article of good workes But these againe dissent from all those three sectes in the article of Iustification and diuers other speciall pointes of doctrine The Suenckfeldians agree with the Osiandrins in the article of Iustification with the Melanchthonistes in the article of free will with the Caluinistes that euill men receiue not Christ in the Sacrament But with all other sectes they disagree in the doctrine of baptim and of al the Sacraments of preaching the worde of faith of the church of the humanite of Christ and of diuers other Thus you see brefely sett before you the vnite consent and agreement of this late ghospel You see what man Luther was what Melanchthon what Caluin the three cursed springs of three most wicked sectes swarming now in Christendom where this new ghospel hath spred his branches to witt of the zelous and vpright Lutherans of the Ciuill and conformable Lutherans and of the Caluinistes or Sacramentaries You may iudge by the heads what the ofspring is by their frutes what their sprits be by these particulars of their doctrine which for a taste only we haue discoursed vpon what their whole ghospell is These are the blinde guides and lying Masters whom in place of all approued writers in Christes church a numbre of deceiued persons haue folowed In stede of holy Hierom lewde Luther of lerned Augustin inconstant Melanchthon of blessed Ambrose proude Caluin In place of sounde religion olde condemned heresies of constant faith contrary opinions of vniuersall belefe priuat imaginations of Gods holy worde mens deuises A great shame to forsake auncient belefe A hainous offence to make partes in Christes church A wicked impiete to departe from Christ and his dere spouse the grounde and piller of all truthe But a farre greater shame to embrace the lewde liberte of Luther to folow the variable brayne of Melanchthon to cleaue to the cursed heresies fonde absurdites and clere contradictiōs of Caluin The heresies of Marcion Valentinus Arrius Nestorius and other had coulour of lerning The Montanistes the Tatiani the Manichees the Nouatians had pretence of holynes and vertu These two conditions were vehement persuasions to drawe the worlde vnto them But the heresies of our time be grosse blasphemous and dissolut The denial of the blessed Sacraments and right vse thereof procede of ignoraunce in true diuinite The deniall off free will and wicked assertion of fatall destine vnder the name of Gods forekuowleadge is a horrible blasphemy The breach of ecclesiasticall authorite doctrine of only faith contempt of all good order and constitutions is a mere licentious liberte and wantō dissolutnesse How then happenteh it that men are so abused that the lerned are drawen the vnlerned deceiued Wil you haue the truthe tolde Peccata nostra diuiserunt inter nos Deum Our sinnes haue diuided betwene God and vs. The gate of his grace is shutt from vs. And why We loue the worlde we let slippe our faith we be nailed to our tēporal trash we make it our God We will rather become hethen then suffer for our conscience Otherwise if we feared God we would mistrust this dissolut religion if we were not blinded with selfewill and hardnesse of hart the plage of former sinnes we should espie the absurdite and fondnesse off this vpstert ghospell Howe were it to be wished that at the entry of these newe preachers and planters of straunge doctrines we had had a Pacuuius amonge vs I will recite you the story of him It is writen first of Liuy and repeted of Macchiauell in his discourses After the greate bartaill lost by the Romains at Canne al Italy allmost forsaking their allegeaūce to the cyte of Rome and trēbling at the power of Hanniball the cyte of Capua misliking the gouuernement of their Senatours and Counsellers as it fareth in time of calamite and distresse that the faulte is layed to the Rulers conceiued a great hatred against them and deliberated to murher them euery one and to place other in their rowmes which they thought should better direct their cōmon welthe and more to their cōtentation This Pacuuius being then the chefest Ruler of the cyte perceauing well the peoples furious intention and the daunger the whole Senat stode in deuised with him selfe a witty policie both to appease the people and to saue the Senat. He calleth the Senat together Declareth them the intent of the people openeth them his meaning and saieth My aduise is you suffer your selfe to be shut vp in the palace in my custody I will assemble the people and showe them what case you stande in For the rest if you dare trust me I will take such order that no harme shall befall you They trusted him He calleth the people and saieth vnto them People the time is now come that you may order the Senatours as you desire without any farder tumult But yet bicause I know well you wil not leaue the cyte withoult a Senat and counsel you must nedes if you will destroye the old make a new And therefore lo here the names of all the Senatours As I name you one to deliuer vp in to your handes so you must name me an other to succede him This being saied he opened the scrolle and named an auncient and graue Senatour The people hearing his name cried straight he was a proude and cruell man and not worthy to beare rule Well then quod Pacuuius Who shall succede him Here the people was at a staie and looking one vpon an other knewe not a longe time whom to name At the length one being named some began to smile some to laugh other to disdaine All perceiued well as Macchiauell wittely noteth that the fault appearing in the Senat vniuersally when it came to particular examination was no faute in dede but a misseconstruing and wronge iudgemēt of the people By this meanes
Catholike that nedeth not this eure and instructions to thanke allmighty God therefore to praie for the protestant and all deceiued persons in matters of conscience and soule helth Vt idipsum dicamus omnes noÌ„ sint in nobis schismata simus autem perfecti in eodem sensu in eadem scientia that is that we may say all one thing and that there be no schismes amonge vs but that we be perfit in one self vnderstanding and in one self knowleadg Such perfectnes of vnite and agrement with amendment of life and true repentaunce our Lorde for his tendre mercy graunt our countre and all ChristeÌ„dom through the merites of his dere SoÌ„ our Sauiour and Redemer Christ Iesus To whom with the Father and the holy Ghoste be all honour and glory now and euer AMEN FINIS Quoniam viri doctissimi Angli sacraruÌ„ literaruÌ„ peritissimi apud me fide dignissimi ApologiaÌ„ hanc Friderici Staphylia Thoma Stapletono fideliter traductam attestati sunt itemque disceptationem ab ipso scriptam aduersus doctrinam Lutheri Melanchthonis Caluini vtilem per omnia Catholicam iudicarunt merito vtramque typis excudendam iudico Ita attestor Cunnerus Petri pastor S. Petri Louanij sacrae Theologiae professor .16 Nouembris an 1564. A TABLE OF THE SPECIALL MATTERS CONTAINED IN THE APOLOGIE OF STAPHYLVS IN THE DIScourse of the Translatour and in the prefaces off bothe Gathered by the order off the A B C. The figure fignifieth the leafe B the second side A short description of the Author of the Apologie fol. 9. b. seq Abhominable heresics of the Lutherans touching Christ. fol 17 Heresies of Caluin about the Sacrament of baptim fol. 231. and in the leaues folowing The opinion of Caluin touching baptim refuted fol. 202. A contradiction of Caluin about baptim fol. 203. Certain protestants call baptim a bathe for swine fol. 109. Certain false translations of the english Bible fol. 5. b. Item fol. 152. seq The duty of a conuerted Catholike fol. 56. b. VVhat is Catholike 49. b. The church ought to be obeyed 62. b 63. VVhy Caluin may worthely be charged with the heresies off the Arrians the Maniches and other fol. 224. Detestable doctrines off Caluin fol. 112. Absurdites in the doctrine off Caluin fol. 190. seq The confession off Ausgpurg resemble the Synods off the Arrians fol. 186. The ciuill Lutherans resemble olde beretikes fol. 185. b. Vniuersalite Antiquite and Consent sure notes off the Catholike doctrine fol. 144 Conferring off Scribture is no certain rule to interpret scripture fol. 159. b. 160. VVhat the communion off England is fol. 205. That we receaue not a communion of Christes body poored downe vpon vs in the sacrament fol. 190. The communion off Caluin destroieth the necessite off communicants fol. 191. b. People nede not resorte to the communion by the doctrine off Caluin fol. 198. b. 204. b. Caluins doctrine about the blessed Sacrament condemneth the practise of the primitiue church fol. 198. excludeth the Apostles from receauing Christ in the laste Supper fol. 199. excludeth the triall that S. Paul requireth fol. 201. Caluin denieth scripture fol. 237. An impudent foly off him fol. 238. he furdereth the cause off the Anabaptistes fol. 240 he auoucheth doctrine off his owne without scripture and wil not allow the doctrine off the church without the same fol. 241. he requireth to be heard against expresse scripture ibidem b. The principles off the Catholike religion fol. 15 The difference of the present communion from the first fol. 8. Olde condemned heresies renewed by Caluin in the doctrine off the blessed Sacrament fol. 222. Contradictions in the doctrine off Caluin fol. 206. and in the leaues folowing Caluin belieth holy Scripture fol. 209. The cause off contradictions in caluin fol. 208. b. The Lutherans haue corrupted the Crede fol. 97. b. They denie an article off the Crede fol. 106. The communion off the protestants is but foode for refection fol. 228. b. VVhat the iudge off praesent controuersies ought to be fol. 20. b. A clere example off debating a controuersy fol. 21. VVhat is all the controuersy betwene the Catholikes and the protestants fol. 35. Caluin teacheth Christ to haue suffred in hell fol. 229. VVhat his doctrine is fol. 233. b. Off the Ciuill Lutherans fol. 182. b. The difference betwene Catholikes and heretikes fol. 24. The Catholikes haue the worde off God no lesse then the protestants fol. 33. The late death off many great princes in a short time fol. 26. b. Such death a token off Gods wrath fol. 27. Difference betwene life and doctrine fol. 35. b. Doctrine how it is to be tried by the frutes fol. 38. b. How to discerne true doctrine from false fol. 41. A brief recapitulation off the schismes and dissensions amonge the protestants fol. 93. Item fol. 249. Testimonies off Lutheran Superintendents and Ministres witnessing the disagreement in doctrine amonge them selues fol. 78. and in many leaues folowing Dissension destroieth heresies fol. 98. b. It is a sure token off heresy fol. 99. Praier for the dead defended again M. Grindall fol. 163. and in the leaues folowing commaundement in Scripture to praie for the dead beside the place off the Machabees fol. 163. The meaning off the Fathers praying for the dead fol. 171. English corrupted translations lerned of Luther fol. 68. 71. b. 72. b. off Munster fol. 155. b. 156. off Caluin fol. 158. Excommunication off the protestants embarreth not from the communion by the doctrine off Caluin fol. 196. b. A good lesson for England fol. 126. 138. b. A corrupted text off Luthers in the english transl fol. 68. 71. b. .72 b. Brauling amonge the Archeprotestants for ecclesiasticall gouuernement fol. 45. 46. Holy Fathers despised by olde hertikes as by our protestants now fol. 32. b. 178. A very good faith off a coolyar fol. 53. Faith is one in all but trade off life diuers fol. 122. Lutherans do thaunge hope in to faith and cosidence fol. 124. The frute off only faith fol. 128. That we eate not the body off Christ only by faith fol. 196. b. A question to the Geneuians off England fol. 204. b. A straunge order off seruing the church in Germany fol. 43. b. A notable example off the sundry sectes in Germany fol. 56. b. 57. The ghospell off Luther decaieth daily fol. 121. The first Apostles off the Germans fol. 126. b. The ghospellers doubt and vary what the ghospell preacheth fol. 91. The mariages off new ghospellers fol. 96. b. The miracles off the new ghospell fol. 35. The markes off the heretikes off the primitiue church 24. The same marke in our heretikes fol. 25. A readie waie to trie out an heretike fol. 53. An answer to stoppe the mouth off an heretike fol. 54. A lesson off S. Antony to auoide â—eretikes fol. 62. The maner off heretikes fol. 67. Heretikes off great vertu in apparence fol. 38. Off the Canonicall howres off