yet any one wise man no nor sound Catholike or good Christian in the world vnlesse he were either a Ieseuit in re or in spe or a broker for them THE VII ARTICLE VVHether any other profession or religious order haue done like good for instructing of youth or conuerting of countries to Gods Church or reformation of life and manners of such as liue in the Church as the Iesuits haue or not THE ANSWERE LIke as I told you before the Iesuites intrude themselues into both secular religious and temporall Princes affaires and must euery one of them be Rector chori Dominus fac totum and an absolute superlatiue in all things or else all is naught So herein they challenge a prerogatiue royall to themselues alone so farre beyond all measure of copartnership with any other as they haue bene bold to affirme that religion had vtterly quailed if they had not bene yea the Catholike Church in eminent danger to haue bene quite extinct and ouerthrowne In so much as they haue not feared to affirme that the Pope erred de facto in the reconciliation of the French King which great no lesse impudency and insolency then arrogancy and impiety in them as it may be put amongst others of their malepart errors and vsurpate censures so know they to their owne perdition shame and confusion that the Church of God hath no need of them But let them all as I pray God for their wretched soules sakes that too many of them do not proue ranke heretikes yet for the Catholike saith and Church of God neither they neither portae inferi preualebunt aduersus eam and that he qui potens est ex lapidibus suscitare filios Abrahae can raise vp better more learned prudent and perfecter and purer then any pure illuminate amongst them out of the very ashes and dust of seculars or other religious bodies when they are all dead and gone to the place prepared for them And therfore in answer to the Article I say First that as it hath alwayes bin seene hitherto in Gods Church at the rising of any new and extraordinary sect or opinion in religion that God hath stirred vp some certaine person or order of religion to be a curbe to that new sect or heresie as is cleare by S. Benedict by S. Dominicke by S. Augustine by S. Thomas Aquinas and sundry others and yet not these such as without whom the Catholike faith had bin extinct or the Church of God ouerthrowne So reâ—rend a regard was alwaies had of both secular and religious persons as no Noble or other Peere of highest honor in this laÌ„d but would haue had their childreÌ„ yea their heires brought vp in Bishops pallaces or Abbots monasteries vnder those spirituall guides before euer any Iesuit came within ken of humane knowledge Yea some Bishops in England are recorded to haue had 7. or 8. Earles with other Noble mens sonnes attending vpon theÌ„ at one time not that any Bishop did expect seruice at their hands but that it was thought fit to traine them vp these in their youth c. So no question of it but the Iesuits at the first institution of their society did much good in these dangerous times of heresies sects and innouations wherewith the Christian world was and is yet intangled more is the pitty but yet being far inferior to the aboue named religious orders as the church of God could theÌ„ haue bin without theÌ„ so now much more without these yet done aswel perhaps better as now the case staÌ„ds theÌ„ she hath done by their helpes meanes Secondly for their instructioÌ„ of youth c. I haue told you inough before it is but a double diligence like to a Beares loue to his whelpes to pray for his owne paunch And yet take it in best sense there haue bin are wil be youths brought vp better then they do both by secular religious teachers wheÌ„ they shal be far to seeke Mary that it is so now for the present it proceeds of one of their former trickes of gaining credit fame as by alluring sweet natured youths vnto them withall in stopping by disgracing speeches other meanes that none whom they can hinder shal be gouerned taught or instructed by any but themselues Yea was not this one speciall cause of foisting in the Iesuites readers into the Romane Colledge and other places was not this one speciall cause to hinder the Benedictines religious intent charitable designments when they offered to haue brought vp and maintained 30. English youthes from time to time to prepare them for their natiue country Which these Momists Zoilists Aristerkists and enuious Iesuits could not endure to heare of was not this the cause of their Archpriests late command that no youth should go ouer to any Colledge without his approbation testimony giuen of him to the fathers Yea and withall hath not this bene the cause that many fine yong Gentlemen haue lost their wits haue bene made vncapable of all gouernment either in the Church or common-wealth euer after Let one William Tempest as fine a youth one who had as many signes of a generous hart and gentle bloud in him as any that euer went out of England in this age be a heauy spectacle as it cannot chuse but be so to all his friends for all others to looke vpoÌ„ wheÌ„ they are moued to send their children to be brought vp vnder Iesuits Thirdly concerning their paines taken in conuersion of countries I pray you what nation is there that is wholly conuerted by their only meanes They entred Polony and streight there followed vpon it a rebellion against their Soueraigne in conclusioÌ„ the Danskers wold not admit him to be their King vnlesse he wold cast off that seditious society that had raised such mutinies against the Cleargy They pierced India thrust out the Dominicans Augustinians other poore religious Friers in fine made the Spaniards become odious to that straÌ„ge people natioÌ„ They ruled the rost ouer al in France And wherunto tended all their seeming religious indeuor but treason to the king rebellion in his subiects population ruine destruction of their natiue country common-wealth They came here into England and no sooner had they set foote on shore but presently their harts were inflamed with flashes of conspiracies how to top the highest place They haue residence in Spaine and how mightily haue they labored to wring the bucklers out of the Dominicans haÌ„ds for possessing the chaire to teach at Salamanca And with the like busie turbulent seditious heads is Germany Bohemia Cicily Italy and Rome it selfe molested pestered and disquieted Therefore as they haue neither conuerted any countrey directly and by their owne only labours but peruerted many a deuout soule by sinister dealings so neither haue they done halfe that good in any place wheresoeuet they yet came as sundry both secular religious Priests haue
Sophister to confound natures freedome in her specificall brood differenced by reason and sense and so leaue quite out the third vniuersale as rationale and irrationale or thus naturall reason and naturall sense the former being naturally as free to change as the latter is naturally bound to his obiect Neither is any so sottish as not to know the distinction of naturall actions in creatura rationali irrationali sensibili insensibili and that by a liberty naturally inserted in the will of man it is as free as common and as fitly agreeing to the law of God and nature that man should be mutable in all his humane actions and by consequent as naturall for him vt creatura rationalis to alter his forme of gouernement and manner of succession as it is of necessity voide of all liberty or choise by the same lawes in him vt homo vel creatura humana sensibilis mortalis to be immutable in his naturall actions as it is immutable by natures law for smoake to ascend vpward and a stone fall downeward and yet God and nature common and all one in their ordinarie concurrence granted to secondarie causes to the one as well as the other But for this and other some halfe score of grosse errours like vnto it you shall see I hope sufficient matter in confutation of things in the Antiperistasis to the first part of Parsons Doleman concerning his many many grosse abuses of both Canon Ciuill and common lawes decrees and customes Another principle or proposicion of a Iesuit concerning their false doctrine contrary to the beleefe of the Romane Catholike Church is that the stewes are in Rome cum approbatione as lawfull as any Citizen Magistrate or order of religion or yet the Pope himselfe Another like hereticall and most dangerous assertion of theirs is that the auncient fathers rem transubstantiationis ne attigerunt A like to this is their scoffe and iest at Priesthood affirming it to be but a toy that a Priest is made by tradition of the Challice patten and oast into his hands c. And a not much vnlike contempt of Priesthood is collected out of the three farewels of the soule made simply God-wot by a wiseman and yet commended to the skies by the Iesuits and their faction because forsooth if that absurd booke might haue taken place none should haue had any ghostly father but a Iesuite or some substitute Priest vnder him Yea the Author of that false doctrine and most arrogant hypocriticall or Pharisaicall errour being friendly admonished in a letter from a reuerend Priest to be warie of his writings and not to be so lauish of his pen nor rash with his tongue as he had bene rescribing backe in a most saucie and peremptorie manner taking it in scorne to receiue any charitable admonition much lesse such correction as he had iustly deserued at anie secular Priestes hands was grosly bold to tell him amongst other things that whereas he acknowledged a dutie and respect to be had to religeous Priestes meaning Iesuits as the tenor of his letter imports yet to him he acknowledged none be being but a secular Priest and himselfe a secular gentleman and no difference vnlesse it were in this that he might minister the Sacraments to him which he could not c. A like to these is there no lesse absurd then erronious doctrine concerning their Generals in fallability of truth for deciding of matters their absurd paradoxes of equiuocation malepert bold and damnable doctrine in preiudice of the Sea Apostolike secretly laboring to infringe the appeale admitting a company of silly women to be the Archpriests and Iesuites graue Counsellors an odde conceit fit to haue bene laughed at by the Romane Senate whiles gentilisme there ruled When the wily wagge told his curious mother the Senators were consulting about pluralitie of wiues c. Well yet our English gossippes thus fawned vppon by these seducing guides and thereby poore soules made fond of them must be set on with a companie of greene heades God wot and some but base fellowes for so their base conditions and vnhonest dealing makes them where otherwise being some of them gentles of auncient houses yet deserue to haue their armes reuersed and their coates pulled ouer their eares for speaking or officiously intruding them selues for bribes and gaine to bee brokers of these seditious Iesuites errours against their owne consciences to conicatch those as ignorant as themselues and to worke as much as in them lyes to make all Catholikes abhorre contemne and loath both Priestes and all or any of the seculars that are in the appeale yea which is most odious and seditious they maintaine a popularitie to set all subiects on against their Princes as hereafter shall be touched at large Which with many the like if they should maintaine in any Catholike countrey they would be burnt at a stake for it as absurd heretikes one after another I shall be too long perforce but for the rest I referre the reader to sundry bookes set out and to be published against them For it is high time for all Christendome to looke to them and either to infringe their insolencie and make them keepe their cloisters and meddle onely with their bookes and beades if they be religious as they would be counted or at least if to teach preach heare confessions and minister Sacraments they would haue leaue yea I say leaue for leaue they must haue how proudly soeuer they looke and submit themselues to Bishops Prelates secular Cleargie and the state Ecclesiasticall though this word I know will make them startle and looke as wild as March hares or rather sauage Canibals as some haue sayd that were they not religeous men I must account to find them if euer they get me within their clooches Well esto quod sic in the meane time yet so it must be in spite of their arrogant vsurpate authoritie or else not allowed of so much as to heare any one confession nor to say Masse abroad at all then let them not presume to take state and iurisdiction Ecclesiasticall vpon them and thereby to censure secular Priestes at their pleasure vnder whom they must perforce liue or else runne out of their order and abiure it as preiudiciall to their preferment THE V. ARTICLE WHether any of them haue stood in defence of any of the premises or of any other error or heresie by them No one thing â—â—â—deth greater â—â—â—ed and danger to all Catholike in England then the Iesuits aâ—â—se of equiuocating making it indeed nothing else but an art of being cogging â—â—â—sting and â—oâ—ging and that without all respect of matter time place person so it be not to a superior Iesuit or other circumstance whatsoeuer All is one vtiscuentia â—â—ra partura secretuÌ„ prodere noli either published in bookes or insinuated openly or taught secretly or not any at all THE ANSWERE THere haue sundrie of them apostataed fallen out of Gods
and sellers of their deare countriemens bloud they go about busily to perswade such a reciprocation to be betwixt the King Catholicke of Spaine and the faith Catholicke of Rome that as reall relations the latter relatiue cannot be without his former correlatiue which must giue him his being and essence in nature Insomuch as it is become a point of necessitie or as they absurdly and heretically would make men beleeue a thirteenth Article of our faith that either all Catholicke Christians must endeuour to put all Europe into a Spaniards hands or otherwise that the Catholicke religion will be vtterly extinguished and perish and so by consequent all runne Hysteron Protheron a milne horse a King Pope a Curch Spaniard and the faith of S. Peter and his successours must hang vpon the monarchie of King Philip and his heires And how long forsooth Mary euen so long as the Iesuits shall please which is vntill they may be able to pull him and all other Princes downe from their thrones by causing popular rebellions as hereafter shall be proued Well well these fellowes must be talked withall in time and made to know themselues and their grosse errours against al diuinitie philosophie policie pietie and order Meane while we leaue them to chop logicke in barbarisme and feede their chimericall conceits with Relatiues of Ens rationis or rather Ens insensibile insensatum irroale infatuatum fictum and so passe on to the next point of plot-casting by Fame and Report of the vnworthie heroicall matchlesse magnificall Mecenates THE ARGVMENT FOR THE THIRD GENERALL QVODLIBET ONe naile driues in another the first partie prouokes a reioynder by a second encounter and vpon occasion of plots cast by doctrine principles rules and obseruations of practise doth necessarily follow a Quodlibet of new plots cast by Fame and Report and how the Iesuits come to be enriched honoured and regarded with preferments aboue their deserts by that meanes THE THIRD GENERALL QVODlibet of plots by Fame and Report THE I. ARTICLE WHether the Iesuits or any other religious order be to be preferred before secular Priests or not or if not whether the said Iesuits are to be preferred before all other monasticall or religious orders or which and how many are before them THE ANSWERE IT is neuer enough to be admired at that religious men being by vow and profession dead and buried to the world should be blinded with a conceit Note here a simple coÌ„ceit of good father Gerard to inferre a Iesuits place to be aboue a secular Priestes because forsooth an old Queen Marie Priest told him that he had seene religious men sit aboue other priests at Table Well poore man I pitie his simplicitie in that being otherwise of a good nature he is much blinded and corrupted in his life maners by being a Iesuit which societie would God he did and would forsake considering how it is now corrupted as any one amongst them But for his author God wot many Priestâ— other men women were and are too submissiue at somtimes to their inferiors though in carresie a religious person as a stranger be placed aboue a priest as an ordinarie guest or friend or in his owne house which is ciuilitie so to do yet it is no way of due right nor euer was so taken that they can possibly simul semel sub vno eodem subiecto be dead and aliue mortified and made liuely yea and that spiritu carne simul for to be mortificatos quidem carne viuificatos autem spiritu is no lesse then euery Christian Catholicke may and should be to be wholy sequestrate from the world in body and mind and yet withall al wholy substantially actually plodding in it with bodie and soule ouer head eares Yet we must beleeue that such is the Iesuits rare calling and state that forsooth they are wholy dead and wholy aliue absolute spiritual men and yet meere worldlings which if they can make good and go through with it I say it is a greater miracle to speak ad homineÌ„ for in respect of Gods omnipotencie miracles admit not maius minus then to raise a triduane Lazarus from death to life againe yea onely to the patible and withall impatible body of our Sauiour Christ was this priuiledge left as a prerogatiue royall reserued to his sacred Maiestie diuine that it should be simul semel dead and aliue And this only by reason of the hypostasis or hypostaticall vnion of his deitie to his humanity By meanes whereof restraming infringing and holding in the impregnable force of the first in the time of his bitter death and passion for otherwise he could not haue suffered in speech of miracles we say it was more miraculous because more seeming impossible how that euer he could suffer death then for him to rise from death to life againe suffering the same power diuine to haue his yet limited force againe after that fearefull and last gaspe in giuing vp his blessed ghost vpon the crosse it followed that the same tres-sacred bodie or totum compositum Christ himselfe was both dead and buried and yet the same Christ aliue both in soule descending into hell vntouched and also in body lying three dayes and nights in his graue and yet not corrupted as powerably preserued per concomitantiam diuinitatis so as no corruption of mans mortality could then take place And therefore the Iesuits striuing for a superiority aboue seculars would go an ace aboue both their and our Lord and maister Iesus the circumstances considered in this their miraculous working of wonders in themselues by their spirituall death and temporall resurrection Here may be well remeÌ„bred a merry iest of a Gentlewoman in Fetter-lâ—ne who talking of one maister Edward Cossin a sorry fellow god-wot but who is so bold as blind Bayard and none more arrogant in place taking then this punie father a Priest gone then ouer to be a Iesuit yea quoth she is he gone now truly then I see he will seeke to a state of more perfection Well yet pure Lady by her leave this thogh a Iesuiticall fond perswasion was quite contrary to a solemne protestation made by a chiefe father at Rome in excuse of inticing the English youth who said that â—f hee were to chuse a state of perfectioÌ„ he would sooner chuse to go as a Seminary Priest into England theÌ„ to enter into or be of the strâ—ctest order of religion whatsoeuer Of this matter I haue written a peculiar Treatise which is one of the 10. volumes or bookes I meane to set out against these new masters the Iesuits and their especially father Parsons errors as time place approbation and other occasions shall permit perswade allow me wherein I haue made an historicall discourse or chronicle of the conuersion of all countries to the Christian faith the beginning progresse end and fall of such and so many as are gone of euery religious order as
Generall at Rome of all the occurrents in these parts of the world which they dispatch to and fro by such secret ciphers as are to themselues best and commonly but onely to them knowne So as nothing is done in England but it is knowne in Rome within a moneth after at least and reply made backe as occasion is offered 5 Hauing thus established a Councell almost in euery Princes Court where the president or chiefe agent or intelligent must alwaies be a Iesuit in re or in spe and action to discouer propter bonum not Reipublicae but rei priuatae societatis without all scruple to them the secrets of their Soueraigns to their vttermost knowledge though with the consequent ouerthrowe of their own natiue Prince countrie and all as their prodigious and more then heathenish practises in France to haue lifted the Spaniard into that throne and kingdome to their perpetuall shame and reproch all Christendome ringing of those their vnnaturall treasons against their owne naturall Countrie doth make it manifest to omit or referre ouer to another place what and how spitefully traiterously and irreligiously they haue delt against England and our Soueraign Lady and Queene Then followeth another shift for managing of their actions which is that if as often it hath so hapned their treasons and trecheries be discouered either by intercepting of their letters and the mysteries therein vtcunque made knowne or apprehension of their messengers or some of their inferior intelligents then to calumniate deny and falsifie all the actions and proceedings of the Councel and State very iudicially publikely and apparantly against them they either pretend that the parties confessed such things by constraint of tortures or that it was a plot of the State to make all Catholikes odious whereas in deede they make vs odious by this meanes to the State and all as being all thought guiltie of their conspiracies because they know not how to put a distinction or difference in these tamperings amongst vs. This calumniation must be seconded for a shift with a like vnto it which they call a lawfull equiuocation and herein though there be no question to be made of it but that in some sense it may be lawfull as for example if a Iudge or other ciuill magistrate appointed to sit in Commission vpon a matter of fact should examine in matter of law not pertaining to that purpose or being of one and the selfe same kind in specie yet no way pertinent to the knowledge or true information of the matter there to be examined so as if the question be which is common whether such a one being a Catholike haue euer heard it preached or taught that it was lawfull for a subiect to lay violent hands vpon his Soueraigne or not and now the Iudge in examining this partie asketh him whether he know any Seminarie priest or were euer at Masse or confession By the euill taught lesson of equiuocation one M. Iames Standish a Iesuit priest abused his Holinesse when being aâ—ked whether the matter proponed by him for setting vp the new Hierarchie was done by all the rest of the Priests consents in England or not he answered but very falslâ— for scâ—â—ce one of the seâ—â—â—lâ—â— in England in respect of the whâ—le nuÌ„bâ—r knew of it that it was reseruing to himselfe as since poore ignorant mâ—n not considering what he did to lie to his Holinesse he hath confessed this part viz. as I presuppose or presume c. Iust like whereunto may be interpreted Card. Caietanes letters for estabshing M. Blackwel Archpresbiter who hauing by Parsons and Garnets cousinage got a long Catalogue of names out of England exhibited to his Grace for election of M Blackwell c. his Lordship affirmed in the said letter that it was by generall consent of most Priests in England being abused indeed with names taken here for one purpose and giuen vp there for another the parties altogether ignorant of what was intended and the Iesuits excusing the matter vpon the aforesaid equiuocate presupposition scil that all would like of it c. or no. To this he were no way bound to answer but might absolutely deny it because it is as a thing impertinent to his place and office at that time and maketh neither here nor there for comming to the knowledge of this article scil whether it be lawfull to kill an annointed Queene or no. But now if the case be proposed the examination made of such articles as may either directly or indirectly boult out and make known the truth of the matter intended then of due right to be examined then and therein equiuocation is but a meere deuice of periurie cogging and lying As for example what say you saith the Magistrate if the Pope come in with hostile hand to inuade this Realme thereby to set vp the Catholikes religion whose part will you take c and the Catholike answereth I will take the Queenes part meaning to himselfe if the Pope will commaund me so to do or for any thing further of my mind that you shall know This I say is wicked cogging and vnlawfull as being nothing else but a secret concealed treason It being sure that inuasion hostile power and force of armes do denotate a population of the whole land and no restoring but per accidens only of religion or the Catholike faith at all And therfore as euery Catholicke in England is bound in that respect to defend his Prince and countrie against all forreine inuasion of King Pope or whosoeuer else shall come in with hostile hand vnder what pretence soeuer as hereafter shall be proued so ought the partie examined to answere absolutely without al doubling or concealed intents for that matter it being a point directly tending to treason to her Maiesties person and the Crown and State Sixtly vpon this slie deuice of equiuocation whereby the Iesuits hold it dogmatizando that they may not only to our aduersaries but euen also to any Catholike Magistrate yea to the Pope himselfe answer one way and meane another so as impossible it is for any that is not a Iesuit to know a Iesuits heart here-hence they haue gotten or arrogated vnto themselues an immunitie of so ample priuiledge as go where they list neither Chancellor Bishop nor Archbishop may meddle with them when they do amisse stat pro ratione voluntas their owne pleasure are their guides and so strict a law imposed vpon all others where euer they liue as do they but only pretend a matter they may not be called in question nor once asked why they do it so as their arrogancie is grown to that height now as the whole Clergie vnlesse some few persons desirous to liue quiet let all run on wheels aswell secular as religious throughout Italy France and Spaine are brought almost to a non plus not knowing what course to take to reforme theÌ„ And as for the English seculars presently vpon the coming in of Fa.
and least of all merited any thing at Englands hands vnlesse it be the guerdon of traitors for their conspiracies against both Prince State and Peere And a happy thing it had bene to this land and especially to all Catholikes if neuer any of them had bene borne THE VIII ARTICLE VVHether any other order of religion be so mightily impugned of all professions as their society is or no THE ANSWERE I Thinke none at all at this present What mischiefe falshood heresie or other impiety but hath bene bolstered oâ—â— with authority of Scripture and examples to confirme 〈◊〉 with all which being turned backe vpon the wicked sets them rightly forth in their proper colours Yet notwithstanding non quia res agatur apud Graecos impetrabunt Demosthenem Let them not thinke that all goeth wholly on their sides because they are repugned on all sides as they vainely make their vaunt of nor thinke their cause to be any whit the better because Catholikes aswel say they as heretikes do speake and write against them No no let father Parsons recall his vaine vaunt and ostentation made in his Ward-word to Sir Francis Hastings Watch-word Let him cease from comparing himselfe with his and our Lord and maister Christ for his comparison is odious if it had bene but in that sense he there sets it downe in with a meere mortall man of Christ his rare indowments abstracted from his diety Let him returne vpon his owne turbulent seditious irreligious head and heart all his allegations and examples out of Saint Paules Epistes and other places falsly applied by him to the secular Priestes and Catholike laity that are in opposition against the Iesuites For if he esteeme euery Catholike to be a Diotriphe that is against him vtterly dislike of his course and condemne in his best thoughts many of his assertions as heresies or at least most grosse and impudent errors he must esteeme so not onely of the secular Priests in England with the whole Cleargy here The Iesuites reprochfull speeches against all Catholikes in generall built vppon these 2. erronious principles scil one that it is a testimony of their sanctity holinesse rightfull cause c. because they are persecucuted of all men most the other that it shewes all those to be inclined to heresie that speake or write against theÌ„ because all heretikes do so These 2. proud Luciferian assertions in arrogating a preheminence of all excellencie to themselues with contempt of all opposites vnto them declare a most dangerous downefall of theÌ„ all into some horrible blasphemous heresie it being morally impossible otherwise but that what peculiar order society corporation of company soeuer should follow singularly in opposition and controlment of all other orders fellowship yea and the whole state of Gods Church as the Iesuits do affirming all to be amisse erronious and out of order but where they are and goâ—â—â—nâ— must consequeÌ„tly become heretikes the very proporsion of arrogating all vnto themselues in this sort necessitating these sequels following scil ergo the truth is onely with them ergo the Church only theirs and where they are ergo no truth nor Church without them ergo all the secular Priestes are schismatikes and heretikes ergo no Catholike amongst them ergo no faith no religion no Church no Pope but a Iesuit an indubitate piller of truth in all things but the Sorbonists in Fraunce with the whole Cleargy there yea and throughout Christendome all for the most part disliking of them the Dominicans in Spaine with al religious orders there the Franciscans in Italy with all Friers obseruants there the Benedictines in Cicily and Naples with all the religious Monkes there In few name me that nation people profession or order that I may omit here to recite the temporall state or to name King Prince or other Noble in Christendome that is not a Iesuit in affection or faction but mightily dislikes of them but doth impugne them but wisheth either their amendment or speedy downefall ere they bring all to ruine and destruction with them Therefore neuer let them boast of this that it is a testimonie of their vertue of their holinesse of their religious zeale of their painfull indeuors and of twenty odde cogging trickes they haue to bewitch the people with all in making themselues famous their quarrell good and their cause iust against the secular Priestes For if the Zuinglians rising vp in armes in Germany though they had many moe thousands to take their part against the Lutherans then I hope the Iesuits shall euer haue against the secular Priestes could not thereby iustifie themselues or perswade any but their owne faction that they had right on their side because not onely all the Catholikes in Christendome spoke and wrote against them but also all the Protestants and others that were departed from the Catholike Romane Church aswell as they if the Mahumetanes in Turkey howsoeuer they flatter themselues cannot make others beleeue that they haue the right because they are not onely impugned of all Christians throughout the world but also and most bitterly by the Persian Mahumetane and diuerse others so deadly a contention being amongst them about the body of Mahumet and rightfull heires of Ella as in the open streetes they haue fallen together by the eares and murthered one another in the strife and contention about that matter One saying this was the heire of Ella and another this And yet who is ignorant of it that they are moe Mahumetanes then Catholikes and then à fortiori many moe then there are Iesuits If finally it were no argument worthy the answering that because during the time of the Arrians the Donatists the Sabellianists the Manichees the Nouatians or other Arch-heretikes there rising vp some fine fingerd figge-boyes in the Church that would teach a new tricke which neither the Catholiks whom they seemed and did to outward shew in all things side with all neither yet those heretikes gone before out of the Church could either allowe or like of that therefore the same new maisters should thinke all men would bee bewitched by them Or if in case they could winne moe vnto them then either the former Catholikes or other sectaries could as ordinarily it hath fallen out so cum sit natura hominum nouitatis auida that therefore that was an argument of the truth to be in all things on their side But rather quite contrary that they comming in with new innouations did directly prepare the way to some new heresie as the experience of all ages doth make apparant Then let the Iesuites take vp in time and vaunt if vaunt they will of some thing else more to their credit and driuing of suspition iealousie and irremoueable conceit to be had of some monstrous heresie to be in brewing amongst them the common saying being not more old then true that that which one or two reports may well be false but that which all men say must needes be true And
told you before when he was so vehement against the peace in speech to haue beene betwixt her Maiestie and the king of Spaine in that league with Fraunce c. And did not the same tend to the same effect in France when one saide I pray God it be for good that this peace is made betwixt Spaine and Fraunce an other the king of Fraunce is but a dissembler and neuer meant nor wil meane well to the catholike church or setting vp of religion and an other that he was a reprobate of God forsaken and therefore made but shew of religion for a time to intrap the catholike more cunningly thereby And euen so say they heere in England that this extraordinary fauour granted to some in speciall is but to intrappe all in generall to get out the number of concealed catholiks by this meanes and to take aduantages of I cannot tell you what nor they much lesse haue any reason to imagine what they malitiously babble of As though the number of catholiks yea and of those that are catholike affected were not known in euery shire citie towne and parish throughout England ere euer any of those fauors were shewed or as though there neede any fitter speedier or more assured meanes to intrap whom they please then are already and of long time haue beene vsed by spies searches and other meanes or finally as though fauour in mitigation were as dangerous as rigour in execution of iustice or inflicting of punishments ordained by lawes already made of no lesse force then to take away the liues of what catholike soeuer they please if extremitie were shewed against them according to the statutes as now our ticklish state by meanes of these Iesuiticall conspiracies stands Therefore still say I and euery day will pray for it on my knees in my best poore deuotions God of his mercy send vs peace that we may liue without feare of seruing our Lord God in any the closest manner secretly in our chambers And further it is to be both wished and praied for that God may mooue First his Holines hart to call these seditions out from amongst vs who hinder of meere spite pride and enuie all good acts done by any that are not theirs Secondly then her Maiestie and honorable Counsell to looke vpon our miseries not to impute to the innocent these malignant speeches of the Iesuits in preiudicial iealousies suspicions had of this greatly and onely hoped for fauour to ease languishing harts with all Thirdly and last of all the deuout catholike laitie that they may no longer be blinded with the workers of their woes such as they may see daily more and more Quaere quae sunt deorsum non quae sunt sursum and care not what miserie danger persecution or other affliction any or all the catholikes in England suffer so their turnes may be serued thereby THE VI. ARTICLE WHether then if no danger can possiblie come to those that side with the seculars in labouring for this generall good ease and safetie of and to all catholikes or schismatikes that would be catholikes but for feare of imprisonment losse of lands and goods and life it selfe or other sharpe punishments ordeined to be inflicted vpon catholike Recusants by penall lawes can any danger come to the countrey to such either catholike or schismatike as either ioyne or at least seeme to fauour the Iesuits more then the seculars and speake all wholly on their behalfe against the other partie or if they stand neuters and indifferents to both yet refuse either to subscribe to the generall appeale on their Prince their countrey their owne and the seculars behalfe or to be Vmpiers in the matter for the conditions to be agreed vpon betwixt her Maiesties honorable assignes on the one side and the catholikes her loyall subiects suppliants on the other side or otherwise deny their consent yeeld and concurrence to the furtherance of this so gracious and in very deede miraculous incline of her Maiestie and honorable Counsell to mitigate our generall heauy persecution and affliction or how stands or is like to stand the case with such as refuse in the premisses THE ANSWERE MIght it be without offence to exemplate out of Parsons Philopater by what meanes the change of religion came I could descrie the coast by colour of the sand and set you downe the case cleere and easie to be vnderstood of euery one But letting former examples passe I say no more thereof then this that be you fully perswaded and assured what bribes can worke what gifts can winne what women can mooue and none more potent in moouing then they said Parsons in Greenecote what lying can deceiue in what impudency can face what flattery can allure to what promises can intice to what hope can vrge what protestations can perswade to what wit can inuent to hinder all furtherance aide consent or good liking to be had of this fauour to be shewed that same shall not be wanting to the vttermost But yet this withall will I giue them to weerds that those who are now furthest of from liking or consenting to the seculars in their action shall wish when they cannot helpe it that it had beene neerest them in smothering of them and it both with all their might and so to the diuersly membred article I answere thus diuersly First that these lay catholiks as are eager on the Iesuits or Archpriests behalfe are heereafter in the same predicament of a praemunire treason c. that their good ghostly fathers before spoken of are in Secondly that ere these matters came to light before the appeale was made there was no more danger in following of a Iesuit or the Archpriest then in following a Seminary or other secular priest bicause they were not then discouered the one from the other nor euer should haue beene in those cases if the Iesuits might haue had their wils as the only Scugge buckler and sconce they had to beare off all the blowes that of due right should haue fallen vpon them and not of the innocent seculars which was and is one speciall cause why they labour so mightily to make all bookes written of these matters in discouery of their egregious impietie both against the Church and common-wealth to seeme so odious and to suppresse so much as lieth in them the Printing and if not the Printing yet the reading and if not the reading yet the beleeuing of any thing in them to be true though the authors haue and doe still offer body for body to burne at a stake or hang on the gallowes for triall in auerring or recanting of whatsoeuer in substance hath beene written or spoken against them Thirdly as for neuters or indifferents they do but themselues wrong in causing a iealous conceite perhaps causelesse to be had of them Fourthly for those that refuse to deale being moued to be vmpiers or otherwise to further so good commendable and memorable an enterprise which no doubt
brought all to be had in ielousie And sure if it were for none other cause yet were this alone sufficient to mooue all catholikes to vrge the Iesuits exile out of the land that our aduersaries might hereafter haue no excuse in putting any to death for religion vnder pretence as now caeteris paribus considering the occasions by some giuen whereof we will treate in the next Quodlibet of State they haue had iust cause to prosecute all alike not knowing who was innocent of state matters and conspiracies and who was free Therefore doe I conclude that this speech is but a meere coggerie and Machiuillian deuise of the Iesuits faction to breake of this intercourse and cleerely to take away all meanes of libertie to any seculars or other catholikes that is not for their tooth to the vttermost THE IX ARTICLE VVHether any assurance or hope be of the conuersion of our countrie by this course taken by the seculars sooner then by that the Iesuits take all this while the Iesuits affirming that all that they do or intend against their country proceeds of pure zeale and meere intent and meaning they haue to set foorth Gods glorie And by consequent though some are possessed with Machiuillian deuises on their side for to serue their owne priuate turnes withall and others perhaps on the seculars to serue themselues also yet forasmuch as all in both or either company are not of one humor nor mind in the particulars then holding them for a faction for the present the seculars for their countrie the Iesuits for Spaine whether the contention in generall be not or at least may be thought to proceede of true zeale to the glorie of God and spirituall good of their countrie or not and how their intents being many of both parties in generall very vertuous wise learned and discreete men yea and no doubt but far from treason or conspiracies in themselues howsoeuer they are or may be corrupted in virtute principalis agentis may be interpreted in seeking the one partie for conuersion of their countrie by inuasion and possessing of the land with strangers The other with apostolicall manner and accustomed course of preaching teaching martyrdome c. THE ANSWERE THis article conteining sundry interrogatories represents a memorable discourse I once did read in Sir Anthony Guiueraes writings Which for that it may fitly be applied to our purpose concerning this contention betwixt the seculars and Iesuits I will first set it downe at large to the same effect he hath left it to posteritie to looke vpon and then apply it to our particular case and cause The summe of his speech consists of this point to wit how that the contention which amongst the wicked is naught as proceeding of rancor malice and reuenge the same amongst the good and otherwise sincerely vertuous is commendable as proceeding of zeale true pietie and perfect charitie euen in the middest of their hart breaking broiles The sequele ensuing vpon his speech is this that if there haue been in heauen high ambition in paradise too much curiositie in the Apostles schoole a contentious desire of soueraigntie in the indubitate seate of infallible truth three and twenty schismes already past sometimes two otherwhile three Popes though but one Summus pontifex and he holy and Peter in opposition by different elections one against an other and so continuing the schisme 3. 7. 20. 30. 40. 50. yeeres together some lucidum interuallum passing now and then betweene ere it was ended Emperors and kings and the mighties of the world interchangeably standing in a faction now with one then with an other sometimes with most infest warres yea cruell deathes of the vanquished Antipapes and perturbers of the Churches peace which with all those tempestuous stormie blasts could not be blowne vp nor faile in faith standing the oracle irreprooueable ego rogaui pro te Petre vt non deficiat fides tua c. Then neither is it to be wondered at in these contentions if some wicked Iesuits of Luciferian ambition Euauistian curiositie Iudastiall desire of gaine contempt of ordinarie authoritie stir vp strife cause rebellion and make inuouations of ancient customes and new gods amongst the people set vp an Antipape golden calfe or Archpriest and commit all impietie vnder colour of religion and yet with Core Dathan and Abiram saucily presume to tell both Moses and Aaron Pope and Prince state ecclesiasticall and temporall that they take too much vpon them nay that they are seditious disobedient and factious that speake against them for so doing and that they are but trifles which they make so much adoe about Neither is it to be iudged that all haue dipt their hands a like deepe in these contentions or intentions on the Iesuits side though all alike dangerous that concurre with them or are agents for them as I said before both to the Church and common wealth by reason of the aide and furtherance of the conspirators and principall agents which in this case they yeeld in the intent of the plot-casters to the ouerthrowe of all gouernment religion and authoritie but in their owne intent at least in many of them to the setting vp of religion againe in our countrie simply and plainly some of them no doubt thinking it impossible to be brought to passe but by inuasion and conquest of the land and this onely by false perswasions of the Iesuits whose intents many deuout both men and women thinking to be sincere good iust and conformable to the lawes both of God and the catholike Church doe hereupon prosecute their purpose as being led away with indiscreete zeale Of this sort of catholikes then is the question here to be made Whether their course supposing one or two Iesuits be of that minde and go no further gaping after gaine honor or renowne which Parsons and other of their chiefe ambitious practitionall state Iesuits aime at or the seculars course be of more assurance for the conuersion of our countrie which of them is most conformable to catholike doctrine and beleefe and what examples can be brought on either side This is the point I now stand vpon and the effect of the Spanish Bishops and cronicle before mentioned tends to this end in forme following Amongst the many visions which good Daniell had one was of the two gardian angels of the Hebrues empire and the Persian monarchie two nations vowed enimies one to the other the former being transported by the latter and led captiue out of Babylon into Susan in change of the conquerors imperiall place and regall throne In this Babylonian transmigration Daniels Hebdomades beginning to take their place in working in the hart of Cyrus for deliuerie of Gods people out of captiuitie a question rose and thereupon a great contention followed with hote disputes amongst the heauenly spirits concerning the Iewes deliuerie out of bondage scil whether it were more fitting to Gods glorie to mooue the Persian hart to grace and fauor at
for contempt of all authoritie power and soueraigntie in regall maiestie Whereupon entring into a new league of confederacie that from thencefoorth they would neuer come at the Queene though she sent for them without consent of their companie they animated their faction to be alwaies readie and to stand vpon their guarde They gaue their Queene the lie diuers times and vsed her with most despitefull speeches They sawcily termed her part a faction euen iust in all things like to the Iesuiticall proceeding and renouncing their obedience vnto her protested that whosoeuer should take her part should be punished as a traitor whensoeuer God should put the sword of iustice into their hands They consulted with Wilcocke Knox and other ministers for deposing of the Queene regent from her gouernment who assuring the rest that it was lawfull for them so to doe processe was made sentence was giuen and her highnes was depriued of all regiment by a formall act set downe in the same storie penned by Knox and printed in part afterward here in England Sixtly another most grosse antistatisticall principle of theirs is that they of their exorbitant word and authoritie might call a parliament and enact what they pleased without consent of king Queene or other state Whereupon holding a mocke parliament ann Dom. 1560. by consent of the French king and their Queene his wife they forsooth therein reformed religion and set out a confession of the Christian faith And vpon intelligence giuen to the said king and Queene denied to confirme or ratifie the actes thereof being mooued thereunto the confederates answered We little said they regard it for all that we did was rather to shew our dutifull obedience then to beg of them any strength to our religion And when it was obiected that it could not be a lawfull parliament where there was neither scepter crowne nor sword borne They made light of it saying that these were rather pompous and glorious vaine ceremonies then any substantiall points of necessitie required to a lawfull parliament Thus much for their principles of practise Now for their doctrine of statizing the principles are also of like condition whereof these are chiefe scil First that reformation of religion belongeth to the commonaltie Secondly that the commonaltie by their power may bridle the cruell beasts to vse that beast Knox his words the priests Thirdly that the commonaltie if the king be negligent may iustly prouide themselues of true preachers and maintaine and defend them against all that doe persecute them and withall deteine the profit of the Church liuings from the other sort Fourthly the commonaltie and nobilitie ought to reforme religion and in that case may remooue from honor and punish such as God hath condemned he meaneth idolaters in the Deuteronomicall law of what estate condition or honor soeuer Fiftly it is not birth-right onely nor propinquitie of blood that maketh a king lawfully to raigne aboue a people professing Christ Iesus Sixtly if princes be tyrants against God and his truth their subiects are freed from their othes of obedience Seuenthly the people are better then their king and of greater authoritie Eightly the people haue right to bestow the crowne at their pleasure Ninthly the making of lawes belongs to the people and kings are but as Masters of the Roles Tabulariorum custodes Tenthly the people haue the same power ouer the king that the king hath ouer any one person Eleuenthly it were good that rewardes were appointed by the people for such as should kill tyrants as commonly there is for those qui lupos aut vrsos occiderunt aut catulos eorum deprehenderunt saith Buchan de iure regni Twelftly the people may arraigne their princes Thirteenthly the ministers may excommunicate the king Fourteenthly he that by excommunication is cast into hell is not woorthy to inioy any life vpon earth c. There are an hundred twise told of the like statisticall principles and practises to be collected out of Caluine of Beza of Buchanan of Hotaman of Vrsin as he commeth out from Newstad vindici contra tyrannos and of other puritan ministers of the consistoriall tribe fitly agreeing to the Iesuitical platforme in their high councels of reformation and other writings All which are such matters of state indeed as no true subiect can deale in allowing of them but is a ranke traitor for his paines THE II. ARTICLE VVHether the seculars doe or may preiudice the crowne common-wealth or both or either state or gouernment of England ecclesiasticall or temporall by dealing in these affaires now in hand THE ANSWERE NO way possible for them or any other loyall and naturall English subiect to preiudice hurt or offend any either publike or priuate person or body naturall ciuill or politicall dealing as they doe in seeking onely a relaxation of persecution on their owne and the catholiks behalfe and a securitie of state and quiet on the behalfe of their prince and countrie for both which nature conscience loue loyaltie and dutie doe binde them all to pleade as is euident by discourse vpon all the particulars As first for her Maiestie it is a preuention of all dangers to her royall person bicause hereby a singular meanes may in her high wisedome be vsed as well to finde out the puritane as the Iesuiticall faction as also to roote both out of the land by information giuen and discouerie of the one faction on the part of the protestants of the other on the part of the catholikes Secondly for the state present in generall it giueth an assurance that by no word writing or other practise there can be any thing attempted without their priuitie bicause euery one for their owne indemnitie will be ready to reueale it and thereby stop the impotencie of traitors from so attempting for feare of discouerie ere euer it come to acting Thirdly to the Lords temporall or ciuill state there cannot come any thing for them to dislike of as there being nothing desired at their hands by the seculars and other catholikes but onely a good word on their poore distressed countrymens behalfe to her Maiestie that they may be hereafter without feare of losse of life lands or goods or to be sackt ransackt pild and polde as by inferior officers they haue sometimes hitherto been And that the penall lawes for paiment of money for their recusancie may so be tempered as both her loyall catholike subiects may be able to liue her Maiesties cofers more inriched their seruice done with more alacritie to her Highnes in time of neede and all better appointed and able to performe what they take in hand on her royall person and countries behalfe by this meanes Fourthly to the Lords spirituall there can in like sort no inconuenience grow thereby for that there is no suite either made or intended in preiudice of their present incumbencie or hinderance of one farthing they inioy of the ancient catholike church reuenues or abatement of one inch of their honor knowing
of them their owne priuate foule spirits of deceit and error so quot homines tot sententiae So many men so many minds But to the purpose I say if they or you deere Catholikes will not be smattered with any smacke or smell of heresie then doe not wrest the text otherwise then the letter importeth nor do not mince nor mangle it in leauing out the principall part which giues light and life vnto it For wheresoeuer I talke of the non validity of bulles c. or the wrong done to her Maiestie in procuring of them I therewithall do shew the case and cause why they were so sory for that they were procured either merily by subreption or wrong and false information and erronious grounds as that of Pius Quintus whose holines was made beleeue that the Duke of Norfolke was a Catholike and yet he died a professed enimy to the Catholike church and religion also that the Spaniards pretence was wholy merely and absolutely for restoring of religion and yet both by bookes words and actions it hath and doth proue to the contrary scil that he pretends a conquest of the land if by Parsons proiects he cannot otherwise haue it by compremise and composition giuen him And for our disobedience to the Popes commaund in subiecting our selues to the Iesuits or Archpriest the very words following to wit to aduance an enimy to the English crowne together with the whole context tenure of my speech in that place and throughout the whole booke doth make it manifest that it is absolutely meant in causes meere temporal yea marshiall nay bloody inhumane vnnaturall hostility in betraying our Prince or countrey or both and all our posterity into aliens and strangers hands by the Iesuits vrging and procuring an inuasion and conquest of this land and setting vp an Archpriest principally for that intent as an ignorant plaine man God wot fittest for their purpose to worke withall And this being not onely a cleering of the Pope of Rome for sending foorth bulles c. as most irreligiously abused by the Iesuiticall Spanish faction making many sacrilegious lies to incense his holines against our countrey Soueraigne and state and against vs all that be natiue subiects of the English blood vnder pretence forsooth of religion when the very ground was ambition and greedie affectation of English Soueraigntie but withall a plaine manifestation of high preiudice offered by that vnnatural Iesuiticall factiō to the See Apostolike I know not whether to inueigh more against their malice or your folly in storming against me for that booke as you doe For considering that the whole contents tenure scope and drift of that booke is to lay open the Iesuiticall conspiracies to set before your eies the plaine intent and meaning of the Spanish faction for inuasion to shew the danger wherein you stand that sway with those alien Princes and their procurators the Iesuits who labour for nothing more then to sway the scepter royall of this Imperiall Isle and to manifest vnto you our great dislikes of such vnnaturall practises our intent to draw you if it be possible from applauding vnto them hereafter our deepe desire to take away all occasion on our side of the argument and augment of our miseries and our publike confession of our owne and harty wish of your continuance in the Catholike Romane church and faith constant to death These things well weighed and withall that there is few or none of you but will acknowledge as much if you come before any ciuill magistrate yea some of your hot spurres haue already confessed and acknowledged more and that by vertue of your solemne oath then I haue written concerning this kind of disobedience to the See Apostolike who notwithstanding hauing rayled and scolded against me since in the fury of your zeale thrown the said booke into the fire I cannot see what equiuocation can excuse you from at least a mentall periury This it that which makes me amased to see your great simplicitie in murthering your selues with your owne weapons at a Iesuits craftie perswasion in finding fault you cannot tell with what or at most with that whereof when you are examined from point to point not one of you all but will acknowledge as much and euen the Iesuits though with a false hart in all or most part of them in their Apologies and other writings and examens haue and will confesse as much as I haue written concerning that mattter They say I vse certaine rowling phrases and Rhetoricall wordes which smell of heresie as in affectation of speech by often repetition of one thing vz. Disobedient we are c. and neuer shall c. these words Romish Iesuiticall and the deuill c. To which I answere as to the last first that if some words be placed or printed amisse as Romish for Romane alas for pure neede what beggerly quarrelling obiections are these but yet to make a direct response deare catholikes I was not present at the printing to be a corrector nor had I the sight of one proofe vntill the whole booke was out in print and sold and then too late to set downe errata which in that word Romish and in sundry others I found A reason whereof aswell to confirme my sound conceite as also to excuse the Printer in some sort may be this that where I had written Romane out at length there they printed so which you may find both in the beginning and ending of the Epistle and thereby iudge of me aright and where they found I had written short Rom. there they printing it out at length added ishe and so made it Romish thinking it to be so as English Scottish Irish Flemish c. To the next to wit Iesuiticall I cannot maruael though they cauil about it for some 3. yeeres agone I remember a reuerend graue and vertuous priest yea and as sound resolute and constant a catholike as the purest Iesuite among them all that I goe no further hauing written a very learned religious and priestlike apology or reioynder to the Iesuiticall calumniation about the Archpriest and other matters bicause he vsed this word Iesuite very often did not forsooth call euery puny or nouice of theirs by the name of a father of the societie or breefly the fathers therefore was he censured then to smell of heresie and onely for that word and none other But to answere these carping Cynickes directly I vse that word Iesuiticall not in contempt of their societie nor of themselues in generall for I alwaies esteemed of it as of a holy good and religious institution as well in the intent of their founder Ignatius as also in the forme and manner prescribed for obseruations of the rules set downe by him and the more holy bicause confirmed by the Pope his holinesse and for that sundry good deuout religious men haue beene of it though no sance peres Neither doe I call them Iesuiticall by way of analogy as
woman or not c. and withall to bring arguments sillogisticall enthimematicall and inductiue or exemplarie pro contra for auerring and impugning of the same then to put foorth a question whether a Seminarie Priest or a Iesuite ought sooner to be credited esteemed of and followed whether a Iesuite be a good or a bad man whether their doctrine be erronious trecherous and seditious or not whether it be lawfull to call a knaue a knaue an hereticke an hereticke a traitor a traitor a bastard a bastard c. or not and how when where and vpon what occasions such questions doubts and interrogatories may and ought to be proposed and answer made pro contra agreeing to humane conceit morall capacitie and iust censure of and in such cases cannot iustly incurre any reprehension or blame Besides this kind of proceeding shall as I haue said both driue the true conceipt of matters the better into peoples hearts heads and eares and yet not exasperate any by galling words which positiue discourses in accusations do ordinarily occasionate and cannot be auoyded further then the ripping vp of truth in things necessarie to be knowne must needs stirre and moue the guiltie constrained by this meanes to hold vp his hand at barre and to haue his wounds launced searched and discouered to the very naked heart in open sight This then being the summe of what I intend to write and here propose to no other end as I take my sweet Sauiour and all his holy Angels and Saints to witnesse then to deliuer the ignorant out of errour to giue to the tersacred Apostolicall Romane Church faith and Religion their due and to make known what loyaltie what seruice what deare affection ought to be in euery subiect euen by authoritie of all lawes of God or man in defence of their Prince countrie and state where they liue I will hold the indifferent dispassionate and diligent Reader with no longer discourse of a Preamble but leauing all to his best conceipts and desiring no euill opinion sinister construction or hard censure to passe of my well meant indeuors I commit his sharpe wits or her swift thoughts to the speedie encounter of this Bucke of the first head in the quest at euery Quodlibeticall relay set in the pursuit of their game LENVOY THE contents of this booke shall appeare in the Table of the Articles meane while be pleased gentle Reader to take these rules to guide you in this Discourse First be not hastie to censure of any part or parcell vntill you haue read the whole booke throughout if you will be free from partialitie and rest reformed of errour and quieted in Catholike vnitie loue and peace Secondly if you find in some Page the names of particular persons places c. expresly set downe and in other Pages concealed take the reason cause thereof to be this to wit that in the concealement the respect is had to the hurt that might be done by opening such matters men time place words writings c. and againe in the expresse discouery of them the respect is had to the common cause hindred by concealement of such persons actions c. Thirdly take this for a rule infallible that no secret is written of here in particular which was not before publikely knowne aswell to our common aduersaries as to our owne company and that aswell by letters taken as by their owne confessions in publike manner whom the fact concerned Fourthly be not too curious in these two points vz. if you find sundry faults escaped by the Printer as quae for quod Malto for Malta anno primo for actione prima and many such like which the prudent Reader may correct by the sense and vpon his owne knowledge without setting downe Errata here for euery particular Againe if you find some words more sharpe and biting then in your conceit is requisite yet do not for that condemne either the whole Booke which respecteth the matter whereupon all our company in effect do agree and not the words sentences or phrase of speech which respecteth the humour of euery man with such a difference as almost impossible to please all mens veines or symbolize with their methods conceits and meanings neither yet do you vpon dislike of such speeches or of the Author condemne the cause or the rest of his brethren for what is more common then for one man to giue censure and iudge of a case thus and for another so and withall euen in points of most importance a controuersie decided in sacred synode is set downe infallibly true but the Scribe notwithstanding in adding a reason of his owne in explaning the Text or Canon may commit a great sinne and grosse errour and yet not the decree of the Councell to be euer the worse thought of or of lesse credite THE ARGVMENT OF THE first Generall Quodlibet FOrasmuch as all these 10 Quodlibets consisting of 10 Articles a peece haue a relation to the good or harme done in and to the Church common-wealth the heads of both and principall members either specificall or indiuiduall in either of them by the Iesuits faction and confederats in casting of plots for their purpose and most aduantage aswell by plausible perswasions in passages of speech as also by countermined platformes in practicall conspiracies I thought it good to giue you to vnderstand as a point of importance necessary to be knowne that all and euery of these Quodlibets and Articles are of such speciall matter as they are not to be tearmed Metaphisicall conceits or coniectured inuentions of speculatiue knowledge but are in very deed Phisicall practicall and knowne things which rise in question and are talked of euery where of Cleargy and Laity Catholikes and Protestants men and women nobles and gentiles boyes and girles home-borne subiects and aliens or strangers yea what part of Christendome nay of the whole Macrocosme this day almost is free or exempted from the knowledge or hearing of what I meane to discusse and reason of in briefe no nation vnder the cope of heauen but shall find thēselues touched and to haue an interest part and portion in some one or other of these questions quodlibetical articles here proposed For which cause the first Quodlibet offered as an obiect to the eyes of the ignorant seemeth sitly to be tearmed a Quodlibet of plots by scandale and offence taken by some Pharisaically or Iewishlike and therefore not to be regarded by others superstitiously or rather too scrupulously and therefore necessary to be informed of the truth and reformed of their errour as being in the originall scandale not directly giuen but onely taken of their infirmity and weake iudgement and vnderstanding for a prudent wise and sound Catholike or other person of stayd wit censure and conceit will neuer be scandalized at these contentions or the like And therefore haue I placed it in the first ranke and before all other as an introduction to take away all scruple out of
regard or esteeme to be had of him aboue a Seminarie or secular Priest or no. Thirdly the authoritie of the See Apostolike is here made doubt of sci whether the Priests might lawfully appeale from this mock-powerable audacious blind authority of the Ies Archpriest or no. Fourthly the inextinguible inexpugnable indelible vertue of the sacraments of Christs church is here weakned and made scruple of scil whether it be of equall force and validity in a secular Priest as in a Iesuit c. Fiftly the temporall state and common-wealth of this land especially all Catholike subiects vnder her Maiesty are indangered by running of the Iesuits fatall course as hereafter shall be proued Sixtly the innocent laitie of the simpler but well meaning harts are already seduced by the Iesuits factioÌ„ moe will be nay vtterly ouerthrown and led away in errour aswell against the Catholike church as their natiue countrie and common wealth if the seculars let the play fall and now sleep in silence Seuenthly the life maners good name all that is in priesthood in religion in conscience to be respected stands now vpon to be tried betwixt the Iesuits and the seculars Therefore I say that for these and many other waighty reasons they ought in bounden dutie to prosecute so laudable memorable and spiritually heroicall an act begun to the vttermost and nothing to doubt of aiders throughout all parts of Christendom to assist theÌ„ to the pulling downe of these seditious Templarian Iesuiticall sectaries THE VIII ARTICLE VVHether then is not the former charity zeale feruor of Catholikes on all sides much hindred by these vnsauorie contentions or no how it comes and whether the like haue euer bene before amongst Catholike Priests THE ANSWERE FIrst whosoeuer was Catholike a 20. yeares or but 16. yeares agone about which time there was a muttering of this Allobrogical gouernmeÌ„t of Fa. Westons my selfe being one though minimus fratrum meorum of 22. Seminarie Priests and so many moe of the Catholike laitie of honorable worshipfull and meaner calling all prisoners together in the Marshalseas he should there haue seene so palpable a difference betwixt the loose Catholikes that were then the strictest that are now as the first might haue bene patterns of pietie to the second for all religious charitable and Catholike actions Secondly no question there is in it but that the like contentioÌ„s haue bene in Gods church heretofore and will be to the worlds end otherwise could not the church Catholike be called militant here on earth nor be fitly coÌ„pared to a ship tossed vpon the sea one while in danger of sinking another while of splitting and then again of running vpon some rock or on ground and still interchangeably fleeting betwixt stormes and calmes nor yet parabolized with a net cast into the sea gathering containing in it all kinds of fish and frie or with new sowne seed which growing vp is intermixed with weeds Thirdly although it be rather to be accounted of as a miracle that all this while there hath not then to hold it as a scandale that now there hath fallen out such coÌ„tentions amongst Gods seruants Priests seeing that in heauen and that in a second instant of time or third of angelicall existence there was high ambition in paradise and that as some learned Diuines do hold within 3. houres space there was too much curiositie in the Apostles schoole and that within 3. yeres space there was too deep emulation contention auarice and treason wrought against the supreame Maiestie What should I say more if in the Catholike Roman church and Apostolicall chaire of Peter there haue bene already 23. schismes past although then no wonder to heare see the like contentions to these of ours yet that the first brochers of any such went away scotfree it was neuer yet heard of without a curse as Lucifer as the serpent as Iudas or else that they were the beginners of some new heresie or other in the end as Nicholas as Arius as Donatus as Nouatus all as rare men as great shew of zeale in theÌ„ as Catholikly bent and as many deuout graue and learned men to side with them at the first as either Fa. Parsons or Maist Blackwel hath Fourthly it is cleare that the Iesuits contempt of priesthood and irreligious doctrine was and is the originall cause before God and man of the decay of charitie piety and deuotion And therefore wo to the first brochers of these mischiefes Sed nunquid in aeternum irascetur Deus no God forbid THE IX ARTICLE VVHether then all religious zeale being turned into temporized platformes to cast omnia pro tempore nihil pro veritate all Christian charitie counterfetted all iustice violated all pietie decayed and gone and that spirit of humilitie innocencie and simplicitie of heart which earst was in the late Primitiues of English Catholikes being lost expelled and almost quite extinct amongst vs. Is it not the cause of withholding others that would come into Gods church or is it no let at all and if it be then by whose meanes THE ANSWERE IT is questionlesse the hinderance to some and rock of scandale to many that otherwise wold be members visibly of the Catholike church militaÌ„t on earth though not one soule is nor can be kept out thereby that is of God chosen though to vs vnknowne to be of the same church triumphant in excelsis and all this by the slie deuises and Machiuilean practises of the Iesuits as is manifest First for that sundrie Schismatickes and well willers to the Catholike church and religion standing out hitherto vpon worldly respects as being more prudent in their mundane muddy generations said our Sauiour then the children of light and feares of losses troubles and the like are now brought into a fooles paradise of conceit that they are in a better state or at least more secure for the time then those that are alreadie catholike Recusants by reason of these daungerous contentions they heare of to be betwixt the secular cleargie and this should be Monasticall now mock-religious whilst the Catholike laitie following the parts of this and that faction contend with Ego sum Pauli ego Apollo for a supremacie And thus thinke worldlings to haue a good excuse to hold out and so be of neither side but be as neuters or impersonals in terra Secondly amongst many Atheall Paradoxes taught in the Iesuits conclaue or close conuenticles I remember an honorable person and Lord of high degree It was a flat Atheall doctrine secretly taught in Scotland where these three things are common to eate flesh as company occasioneth to reade al kind of bookes indifferently and to go to the masse in the forenoone and to a Puritans serâ—on the afternoone All 3. acts indispensable of the Pope himselfe respecting persons time and place once obiecting vnto me that the Seminary Priests were too scrupulous nice and precise in state cases of conscience said that herein the Iesuits
to haue liued by theÌ„ in England to haue past on their time in this vale of teares here during the short time of their transitory life full of all heauinesse and not molested innocent lambes that sought no establishing of houses Colledges sodalities societies or corporations to remaine to posterity which the Iesuits chiefly aimed at This being the grouÌ„d of al their cruell oppression of the innocent crying to heauen for vengeance I vndoubtedly beleeue it was Gods holy will to haue the Iesuits impiety knowne sooner by the Seminary Priests then by any other secular or religious and that no doubt to Gods great glorie and the benefit comfort and reliefe of all true Catholike harts either in England or elsewhere THE ARGVMENT OF THE second Generall Quodlibet I Haue stayed longer vpon the first Quodlibet then time which hasteneth me to depart hence will well allow me the like demurre vpon the rest The next generall Quodlibet followeth very fitly to be of plots cast by the Iesuits doctrine how neare they come to Puritanisme what it is their doctrinals of policies do arme at wherein there are ten Articles to be discussed vpon concerning that matter THE I. ARTICLE VVHether the Iesuites or the Puritanes be more dangerous pernitious and noysome to the common-wealth either of England Scotland or any other Realme where both or either of them liue together or apart THE ANSWERE 〈◊〉 that all Catholikes would seriously weigh the danger that they do occasionate both to the Church and common wealth yea aâ—d to their owne both bodies and soules reputation and present state by siding with these seditiâ—â— and â—actiâ—uâ—â—â—â—◠〈◊〉 many 〈◊〉 will not be â—â—â—med of 〈…〉 nor 〈◊〉 â—â—ed of 〈◊〉 owne folly THe Iesuits without all question are more dangerous not that their doctrine is as yet either so absurd as the Puritanes I meane in matters not of faith for therein I must and will so long as they remaine visible members of Gods Church euer esteeme of the worst and baddest Iesuit better then of the best and sanctliest seeming Puritane that liues but in matters and doctrine pertaining to manners gouernement and order of life nor that their intent is manifested as yet to be more malicious against both Church common-wealth Prince and Peere then the Puritanes are but because the meanes and their manner of proceeding is more couert more seeming substantiall more formall and orderly in it selfe and therefore are they more dangerous because of the two they are more like to preuaile by managing of whatsoeuer they take in hand And the rather for that their grounds are more firme their perswasions more plausible their performance more certaine as hauing many singular fine wits amongst them whereas the Puritanes haue none but grossum caputs many learned men on their sides the Puritanes not one many Gentles Nobles yea some Princes to side with them the Puritanes but few of the first rare to haue any of the second none at all vnlesse it be one of the last on their side And so by consequent if matters come to hearing hammering handling betwixt the Iesuits and Puritanes the latter are sure to be ridden like fooles and come to wracke Whereupon it also followeth that the former are in these respects more dangerous both to the Church and common-wealth as hereafter shall at large more manifestly appeare THE II. ARTICLE VVHether the Iesuites doctrine abstracted from matters of faith and religion come neerer in matters of life and manners to the Protestants or to the Puritanes THE ANSWERE THey are in this respect all wholly Puritanes and therefore do some for distinctions sake call the one Puritane Papists and the other Puritane Protestants To the better vnderstanding whereof a certaine great person is sayd to haue vsed a comparison in way of discourse betwixt Iesuits and Puritanes conferring them together in this manner or to this effect here ensuing Of all sects or religions the Iesuit and the Puritane quoth he come neerest and are fittest to be coupled like cats and dogs together First for that the Puritanes count all to be wicked sinfull creatures but theÌ„selues A reason why some Catholike Gentlemen that liue about London whom I could name and what they haue sayd about those â—arieâ— were discontented when wanting their wiues 3. or 4. or mo dayes and nights together they must bee forsooth in the holy exercise how they haue conceited these matters and whether a new sect of Anabaptists or family of loue be not greatly suspected to be ingendred of some foule monster or other amongst these new illuminated Iesuits I leaue it there the Iesuits will haue none to be counted holy vertuous or religious that are not of their societie or followers Secondly the Puritanes haue their secret conuenticles and meetings which none other must be acquainted withall and so haue the Iesuites Thirdly the Puritanes are entred into secret league of conspiracy against all other professors of the Gospell and so are the Iesuits against all other professors of the Romane faith Fourthly the Puritanes call themselues the sainctly brotherhood deuided from all others that are not of their sect and opinion and the Iesuits call themselues the holy diuision separated from all other that are not of their faction Fiftly the Puritanes haue a secret watchword to know whom to trust or to admitte to be of their confederacy and so haue the Iesuites Sixtly the Puritanes take an oath as it is reported neuer to reueale to death any secret done attempted or intended by them or amongst them and to the same effect is the Iesuits oath or vow of obedience Seuenthly the Puritanes iudge all men bound to tell them what they demaund and yet they bound to tell none any thing but what they please and euen right so the Iesuites Eightly the Puritane holds he may denie any thing before any Iudge whatsoeuer that is not of his fraternitie with iura periura secretum prodere noli and to the same sense is the Iesuites equiuocations to any but to one of their societie Ninthly the Puritanes vse all scoffing scolding and ignominious disgracing speeches that may be with most infamous libels against the Bishops and English Cleargie and euen so so the Iesuits vse the like against all the Bishops and Prelates of the Romane Cleargy Tenthly the Puritanes all wholly affect singularity in gate in countenance in speech in apparell and all their actions and euen so do the Iesuits Eleuenthly the Puritanes cannot endure to heare of any to equall them in any thing and no more or much lesse can the Iesuits Twelftly the Puritanes must haue all men to obey them An◠〈…〉 hereof was iâ— Wâ—â—ch where being all examined by ciuill Magistrates which were Iesuits and which were not not one of those that are knowne and acknowledge themselues to be so indeed amongst then Iesuiticall confederates but did deny it vnto the said iusticâ—rs vnlesse one Irishâ—an c. so must the Iesuits Thirteenthly
and haue many signes of grace in them yet being but of shallow wits simple conceits meane iudgement for casting of plots or statizing they must silly soules be imployed as practitioners in another kind to wit to win affections vnto them and admiration to be had of them either by a vowed silence Quia stultus si tacuerit pro sapiente reputabitur or else by rules giuen them what they may speake and not passe those limits assigned them or otherwise to employ themselues as they find euery one fittest and best agreeing to feede humorists with phantasticall conceits Which points if any either make scruple of yea or thinke it not meritorious for obedience sake or otherwise do not manage it hansomely he is sure to be thrust out for a reprobate or some euill end to come to him one way or other But now for heretikes and Apostataes I haue said enough in the former Quodlibets that there are many of them fallen alreadie out of Gods church without euer returne againe and so they do daily and questionlesse so they will do still there being no more certaintie nor assurance of their stand then of any other either secular or religious person nor in very deed so much as they now liue because they haue made religion but an art of such as liue by their wits and as I said before a very hotch potch of omnium githerum religious secular cleargicall laicall ecclesiastical monasticall spirituall temporall martiall ciuill oeconomicall politicall liberall mechanicall municipiall irregular and all without order And howsoeuer they brag band and boast of their familiaritie with God their rare and special indowments for guiding and gouernement of soules more then secular Priests haue whom Catholickes are admonished to take heed of and beware of all Priests in generall that are not either Iesuites or guided by Iesuites in all things their high contempt of Priesthood their fanaticall dreams of extraordinary inspirations insufflations illuminations or terme them incantations or what you list for all is starke nought yet will they neuer or hardly be able to recouer that credite they haue lost throughout all Christendome by these arrogant vaunts of their holinesse And as for the last point whether any of them haue returned againe into Gods Church after their lapse or no another question might be made whether they haue not brewed a new heresie in a greene fustie vessell or broched an old raised vp ab orco out of a rotten stinking caske in maintaining it in precise termes as they haue viz that after a man is fallen out of the Catholick Church although he returne again be recoâ—â—iled to outward shew yet is he still an Apostata so to be accounted for euer after neuer to be admitted of into the Church of God to beare any authoritie or to be preferred to any ecclesiasticall dignitie as one of God forsaken impossible for such euer to recouer their former grace stand againe Insomuch as hereby you may note that if S. Peter had come vnder a Iesuits censure as he did vnder his mercifull Lord Master Iesus after his relapse with thrise denial forswearing of him he shold neuer to death haue bene head of the Church afterward no nor euer numbred amongst the twelue Apostles nor yet iudged worthie to haue bene one of the seuen Deacons equals but well if he had recouered the name of one of the seuentie Disciples amongst these sharp censurers of all men And this is the cause why it hath seemed so rare amongest the ignorant people to heare of a Iesuits fall out of the church Were it not that al histories Chronicles antiquities dailye examples make it manifest that there is no error so grosse no sect so absurd no hereâ—y so blasphemous no archbroker of any impietie so base but hath had and still will haue millions of folowers yea at the first before they be discouered some very wise blessed and perhaps learned men to folow fauor and defend or allow of them I shold otherwise haue thought it impossible that so many sound Catholickes some wise learned and vertuâ—â—â— should euer haâ—e bene blinded with thesâ—â—â—arisaâ—call Iesuites as they are 〈◊〉 it is â—â—â—oueltie neither â—â—y â—â—â—â—â—ent of a Ieâ—â—â—â— pietie of iust caâ—se Nay whosoeuer should say so or yet that a Iesuit could fal or erre or misgouern himself or others or do any thing amisse you shall haue a yong Iesuitesse ready to flie in his face to cast the house out at the window where she stands and better had it bene for such an infamous detractor forsooth to haue gone an hundred miles on his bare feet then euer to haue spoken such a word as being sure to be accounted of as a spie an heretick or at least an vnsound Catholike attainted in his good name euer after for who can fasteÌ„ such a slander vpon these new illuminates they haue such cogging shifts with them and so many of them as that amoÌ„gst others if any going vnder the name of a Iesuit chance to fall then it shall be giuen out that he was a Seminarie or secular Priest and quite discarded from the societie If it be so manifest as it cannot be denied but he was a Iesuit indeede then shall he either be gotten in and reconciled againe and so secretly conueied out of the land or else the matter hushed vp in hucker mucker so as it shall neuer be after spoken of for you know a wonder lasteth but nine daies and then it is forgotten especially if no reckoning be made of it as though it had neuer bene And this Machiuilian trick they haue by meanes of their spials intelligents in euery country court and corner that so soone as euer any mishap doth happeÌ„ to any one they presently being certified therof set down the conclusion whether such a partie his fall or other euill demeanure be fitter to be blazed abroade or smoothered vp or in what sort it may be handled to their most aduantage and accordingly hereunto if he be one of theirs and that the fact cannot be concealed then to giue it out as a trifle light matter or thing of nothing or else that the partie was one long agone reiected and neuer accounted of amongst them but yet let alone for that they knew what end he would make before hand c. And so the speech going abroade amongst Catholickes as sent first from the fathers there is litle or no talke of it as not worthie of anie memorie or notice and such in a sort was Maister Wrights case though to their shame he hath proued better then anie of them as yet haue proued and farre better since he hath consorted himselfe to liue as other Priestes did then when at the first he had a smacke of their singularitie in his proceedings But let it be of anie Seminarie or secular Priest and then all the belles in the Towne nay in the whole Realme must ring of it nay sea and
land must be coursed and canuassed with their letters postes and messengers in the passe and repasse out of England into Fraunce and from Fraunce to Flaunders and thence into Italy Germanie Rome Spaine Portugall and Ierusalem to blaze it abroade of the weakenesse loosenesse scandale badde and corrupt life of all Seminaries and secular Priestes in generall and how vnfit they are to come into England or for any of them to take the charge of soules vpon them for one mans offence or miscariage And he vnhappie man whose life death good name for euer after must hang in the blast of their mouths though he repent with S. Peter or recant with S. Marcelline yet shall his first fault be laid in his dish euer after with Pharisaicall vpbraiding of him whensoeuer occasion is offered of a malitious reuenge to betaken Nay what is more common with these precise pure illuminates then thus to censure of the most constant Martyrs and Confessours if not wholy Iesuited of this age Who though they neuer could be touched with any act word or thought of reuolt from Gods Church or stepping any whit awrie yet these diuellish spirites of a Luciferian pride and conceit of their owne proper excellencie will touch them to the quicke with these speeches I pray God he may stand he is but a weake man such a father had bene fitter then he to haue managed such a matter c. THE IX ARTICLE VVHether in regard of the premises if the Iesuits be such wicked men and so farre gone astray from the first prescript and institution of their order is there any likelihood of their continuance or if not then of what downefall THE ANSWERE I Told you before that Nullum violentum est perpetuum which is to be vnderstood of all humane and naturall causes acts and motions and that some of the Iesuits themselues haue presaged if not prophesied by manie fearefull signes a heauie destruction ruine and downefall to come vnto their societie by reason of the great pride insolencie heate of ambition and vnquenchable thirst in affecting of soueraigntie which raigneth amongst them But what fall it is they shall haue or where or when it will happen God he knoweth as for me Non sum Propheta nec filius Prophetae neither wish I to be but shal truly rather bewaile to see the genius of their hard fortune that men of so many good talents worthie parts singular abilities and rare indowments as sundrie of them haue should be bewitched as they are and as men inuolued in laberinths of errours drowne themselues in the Stigean lake of their owne folly Well Salomon was wiser more learned of better gouernment fitter to rule had a more peculiar gift and grace in all things and more often secreter and nearer familiaritie with God then euer any of them had to this houre here on earth and yet he became a prophane Idolater And therefore howsoeuer the Machiuilian or rather Mahumetane-like factiō giue it out that it hath bin reuealed vnto their foūder how mightily his societie should be impugned but still shall preuaile c. whereof I will speake hereafter yet am I rather moued to embrace the common opinion scil that their end will be a right Templarian downefall which for to make seeme probable because I am still in euery Quodlibet forced to be too tedious I will refeerre you for this matter to a peculiar worke which I haue taken some paines about in comparing first the Templars and the Iesuits together then the Iesuits and Machiuell after that Cardinall Wolsey and father Parsons and last of all the comtemplatiues of the said Parsons in Greencoate to the actiues of the same man in his practised Doleman for a Monarchy In which booke if it happen to come forth you shall see how all ambitions aspirers haue risen vp at the first and by what meanes how base persons haue attained to highest dignities how a man may insinuate himselfe to become great famous and admired at and what is required to make fortune as thsy say a mans friend In the meane space let it suffise that the Iesuits are and shall be well warned and therefore surely armed if they haue grace to accept of it to look to themselues and alter their course in time lest they be taken napping at vnwares as the Templars were THE X. ARTICLE WHether any danger to Gods Church to erre and vtterly to be ouerthrowne by the Iesuits ruine if it happen or no danger at all THE ANSWERE NO danger at all of either errour or any ouerthrow hurt or inconuenience to come to the Church yea or to the least member thereof by their outcast but rather in verie deede a greater securitie to all to haue such infectious poison burst and stinking weedes rooted out that the good and bad do not perish altogether by their abode amongst vs. So that amongst many other fables of their folly or rather of the ignorant multitudes folly seduced by them this is one to beare people in hand that these gallants courtly rabbies I hill warrant you in their coaches haue such a speciall charge care and authoritie committed vnto them of and ouer the whole Cotholicke Church that faile they or be they once expelled and thrust out of England all pietie deuotion Christian discipline and religion Before euer anie Iesuites came in England to plot conspiracies against our Soueraigne and her Realme to sow sedition amongst Catholicke and contention amongest Priests there was more ioy cōfort and truly Catholickes vnfeined charitie shewed to one another in one day then there is now in a whole yeare will presently quaile perish and play turne Turke into Atheisme Thus said they before and at their expulsion for high treason out of France but yet they proued false Prophets Gods Church hauing flourished more since their exile thence then euer it did whiles they were amongst thē Nay what haue they said more and auerd auouched and confirmed the same by writings preachings and other passages all their endeuours tending to this end forsooth they haue not bene scrupulous to affirme that he could not be a sound Catholicke and therefore father Parsons in Philopater is bold to call great Henry the now most Christian King of France a verie reprobate and one impossible to be a sound Catholicke nor yet the whole Realme of France euer soundly to be conuerted and so of others that should anie way dislike of the Iesuits proceedings against England But for any directly to oppose himselfe against those mens holy designements as sundrie Catholickes did in France mary sir that were matter enough to make him burne at a stake the like it were to impugne the king of Spaine or Archduches his daughters pretended title to the English Crown Nay which is a most odious and lothsome breath of bloudie broiles garboiles and cruelties threatned to all Nations by these Ascismists for what are they all say some that know them but massacring butcherly buyers
duty and iustice had against him yet is the contrary course commended and amongst ciuill Gentlemen yea and Nobles generally more vsed viz. to place their guests as strangers and their friends in their own house at table before them vnlesse they be farre their inferiours And once being in companie where were foure secular Priestes at supper with a Noble person a Lord of high renowne I noted that his Lordship would not sit downe vntill they all were set and placed before him though it was not their place no not in his owne house so high to be exalted but such was his Noble mind merily iesting it out with these words How he had heard and seene it that Priests and women had all the preheminences in the land of peace and especially the first in the Church aboue Princes and both at the table aboue all others their otherwise equals but that in the field of war Captaines Coronels honorable souldiers went before them But now that a religious man in respect that he is a religious man should haue or looke for a place of honour or preheminence amongst men hauing by solemne vow renounced all earthly honours and dignities quite abandoned the company of all persons where states of honour or place-taking is of due right respected and wholly confined themselues to a priuate Cell Cloister or Monasterie there to be occupied onely with their bookes and beades for them to looke for places as the Iesuites do it was neuer heard of before this day religious persons hauing no place indeede at all abroad in the world because they haue or should haue quite forsaken the world and only in three times of publike assemblies or affaires they participate with the world and yet therein with the Ecclesiasticall or secular onely not with the temporall state whereunto the Iesuits are more neare incorporate by conuersation practise popular life then secular Priests themselues are one is in time of solemne processions at which it hath bin noted that the Iesuits wil seldome or neuer come because say some who call them Theatins they must take there the lowest place as inferiour to other religious orders Another is in time of general or prouincial Coūcel where how they haue shuffeled for place taking is not so openly knowne because there hath bin but one general Councel since their order first began then probably it being in the primitiues of their institutions they had better lowlier and more religious spirits then now they haue Marry notwithstanding for Prouincials father Heywoods Councell holden in Norfolke and father Westons contention in Wisbich declares what spirit they haue had long agone daily more and more do smell of in their humility for place taking yea and in all other respects of honor reuerence and esteeme in such high Courts and Councels The third and last is in times of Bishops visitations which of all things a Iesuit cannot endure to heare of to come amongst them And whereas all other religious orders do humbly obey their Bishops yeld to their Sūmons yea and seeke to haue visitations made amongst them the Iesuits quite cōtrary will acknowledge no superior but the Pope only no nor his Holinesse neither if he anger them Whereupon one of their great Rabbies in time of the Bishops visitatiō at Doway refused absolutly to come at his Lordship vpon summons or sending for him alleaging in plaine termes for his excuse that he had a superior of his owne order that he acknowledged no obedience due vnto his honor and that he would know his generals will and pleasure therein then he would giue him an answer But when the Bishop replied that both he and his Generall if they liued within his Diocesse should acknowledge an obedience vnto him or else get them both packing thence and that he would lay him fast by the heeles if he were so peremptory Then forsooth this haughty Rabby crouched hūbled himselfe craued pardō of error Let no man take exceptions at this my speech or thinke it needlesse to talke of Iesuits Priests Prelates and Bishops places forseeing England is become wild Priesthood had in contempt religion made but a matter of Atheall pollicie our gallants swaggerers and lusty Brutes neglecting their duty to God and man and a cōpany of new vpstart squibs vnder colour of zeale religion and holinesse fie fie take vpon them to ouertop Pope Prelate and Priest it is high time and very necessary as the times are to put the forgetfull in mind what things in times past haue bene what God and his Church exacteth at all our hands what hath bene by pontificall and imperiall lawes instituted and heretofore by sundrie Parliamentall acts and municipiall lawes of this land ordeined How by all lawes in all nations amongst all professions Priests and such as bare that name amongst Iewes Pagans and Christians of what religion soeuer were alwayes had in highest esteeme saue onely now brought in contempt by the Iesuits Amongst the Aegyptians a Priest was alwayes next in honour to a Pharoao amongst the Caules the Druides had the renowne amongst the Britons three Archflamines with thirty Flamines supplied the place of three Archbishops thirty Bishops throughout Logiers Cambre and Albanus now England Wales and Scotland with other Priests vnder them And sundry other Heathen nations had their Priests in stead of Princes as Kings to gouerne as Presbiter Iohn is at this present and to this day the high Courts of Parliament in England do consist by ancient custome of calling to that honorable Court of the Lords spirituall and temporall vnderstood by the Lords spirituall the Archbishops and Bishops as the most ancient inuested Barrons and some of their Earles and others Graces of this land and therefore alwaies first in place next vnder our Soueraigne King Queene Emperor Empresse Lord and Lady for there is no difference of sexe in Regall Maiesty This being so and that by the lawes Armoriall Ciuill and of armes a Priest his place in ciuill conuersation is alwayes before any Esquire There are 3. reasons of the contempt of Priestes one in that euery Gentleman of any reckening had his Chaplaine in house with him nimia familiaritas parit contemptum and an other in that some were but simple vnlearned god-wot not knowing their owne office nor the laities duty and a third in that many wanting patrimonies and meanes to liue were forced to sing placebo in applauding to all abuses These were the causes of religious fal Priesthoods dishonour which all feele smart of because all offended both Cleargy Laity therein as being a Knights fellow by his holy orders the third of the three syrs which only were in request of old no Barron Vicount Earle not Marquesse being then in vse to wit Sir King Sir Knight sir Priest this word Dominus in Latine being a nowne substantiue common to them all as Dominus meus Rex Dominus meus Ioab Dominus Sacerdos and
few Often and often againe must the Iesuites arrogancie and deceitful dealings in euery action transforming themselues into Angels of light be made knowne to the world and inculcated into the simple and some wilfully blinded ignorant peoples heads that will beleeue any thing they fable of against any secular Priest whosoeuer be he Seminarie Bishop Card. or Pope yet will beleeue nothing on the contrarie writteÌ„ or spoken by any whosoeuer against theÌ„ though the affirmer or apellant will euer seale it with his bloud which blind drowsie coÌ„ceit of many doth argue some horrible monster to be in breeding amongst them whom sundry of their fautor will honour as a God Otherwise sure they would neuer be so besotted as to thinke but that a religious man may be exorbitant a wise man forget himselfe a bad liuer creepe into fauor and so Fa. Parsons to be familiar with Princes and yet a starke c. For what greater meanes to worke mischiefe theÌ„ wit and fauor what sooner deceiueth and longer cloaketh deceit then a religious habite vpon a lewd person when doth the Wolfe rauine more cruelly then when he is cloathed in a sheepes skin And when did euer any heresie arise but vnder zealous pretence at the first of the churches aduancement Then seeing a veluet hearse may couer a vile and stinking hide a noysome action abuse an innocent meane and a religious yea and that truly a holy and blessed order and habite be abused by bâ—â— persons irreligiously liuing in it Let none hereafter be seduced with outward signs of religious pietie where apparant verities are of iniquity the common lawes must be wholly annihilated abolished and troden down vnder foot and Caesars ciuill Imperials brought in amongest vs and sway for a time in their places All whatsoeuer England yeelds being but base barbarous and void of all sense knowledge or discretion shewed in the first founders and legisers and on the other side all whatsoeuer is or shall be brought in by those outcasts of Moses staine of Solon and refuse of Licurgus must be reputed for Metaphisicall semie Diuine and of more excellencie then the other were The fift statute there made was concerning calumniation not much vnlike that statute of Association I meane in Father Parsons sense as he in Greencoate makes it seeme to haue bene put in at the procurement of the Earle of Leicester or like the Proclamation he there talkes of to haue bene made by his Lordships procurement against talkers of such great mens doings as he was whilst be himselfe might calumniate and call in question whom he pleased And so conformably hereunto doth this Iesuiticall act of detraction or statute of calumniation tend scil to bar all men from speaking of Fa. Parsons that blessed liue Saint or any other Iesuit whosoeuer they being such rare men as neither are their actions to be sifted canuassed or discountenanced by any secular Priest whosoeuer perhaps the Pope excepted if he keepe silence and seeme not to dislike of theÌ„ which if he do not haue at him amongst the rest with heaue and hoe rumbelow neither can it be otherwise thought of but as an act and signe of an euill spirit and vnsound in religion for any one that dare take that course they being religious men nay Iesuits and Fa. Parsons of all the rest the rarest wise man of our nation most familiar with Princes admired at in Spaine reuerenced in Italy only hated in England which is a sufficient argument of his integritie a manifest token of their euill affection to the Catholike church and religion that talke against him This collusion of Iesuiticall sanctitie caused a prouiso in the foresaid statute that whosoeuer did offend a Iesuit or speake against this high councell of Reformation it should be lawfull for the Fathers or their Syn-odicall ministers to defame destract and calumniate him or her at their pleasure be who they shall be Noble Peere or Prince Bishop Cardinall or the Pope himselfe For which cause and for the better vnderstanding of the said statute they hold two propositions one is that detraction is lawfull in generall and so was it practised at Wisbich by a Iesuit affirming that there were so many and grieuous enormities there committed amongst the prisoners that Fa. Weston and his adherents were constrained to separate themselues from the other Priests and being charged to name some particulars or if he could not he was to be reckned of for an iniurious calumniator so therein to haue offended greatly in slaundering the whole house he answered nay my words were generall and therefore I offended none Another proposition is for particulars scil that whatsoeuer particular person be he priuate or publike and that eminent or a chiefe is directly bent against them they neuer must leaue him but calumniate slaunder and inuent new matter against him to death Thus did they calumniate Doctor Gifford and maligne him to this day a man of good desert and of as many good parts abilities and graces as euer past the seas in this age and hath not his better if any be his equall of any English man beyond the English Ocean now aliue This reuerend Priest then for that he did not admire these monsters nor applaud with Panigeries of praises to their worthlesse designments for in very deede they had no other cause to calumniate or dislike him they presently deuised sundrie most vile and vniust calumniations against him They defamed him in England for a sower of sedition an informer against the Iesuits and an exhibiter of the Memoriall to the Pope They procured him to be examined before the Nuncio in the Low countries and failing of their purpose that way the Nuncio after long delaies affirming in plaine termes that he was wronged one Fa. Baldwin a turbulent fellow of a Belial breede dealt with the Nuncio for a generall pacification remission on all sides and Fa. Baldwin in the name of Father Parsons and all the Iesuits asked him forgiuenesse So shamelesse are the Iesuits as the very pulpits are prophaned by them wheÌ„ it stands them vpon to maintaine their reputation per fas aut â—efas they care not how nor what tyrannie they commit against any as poore Fisher if aliue can witnesse whom some say they sent to the Galleys at Naples after they had got what from him as they cold where he remained a galley slaue euer after and so is full if aliue or not murdered as it is lately reporâ—â—d by Parsons meanes in his way to Naples and the Doctor for his owne part for ciuilitie sake performing asmuch with this addition if he had offended any of them Which being done and the Nuncio commanding them both to be secret of what had past in fauour indeed of the Iesuits yet Father Baldwin gaue it out in a glorious sort that the Doctor had asked Father Parsons the Iesuits forgiuenesse and thereby to disgrace him a new and to make their former
the dorter of Gods Church waking readie to barke at euerie passe-by out of the way thereby rowzing the Lionesse the sweete spouse of Christ who sleepes with open eyes day and night beholding what is done or said euery where being noted of singularitie and suspected of innouation by sundrie tergiuersations equiuocations sophistications windings twindings tracings and doublings being often driuen to repeale recall recant renounce and deny all their doings speeches practises and proceedings in seducing of the innocent at length when they could colour their malice ambition lewdnesse no longer then lo they burst out into open warres against the Catholike church and deuiding themselues from all other Catholikes as in a sort the Iesuits at Wisbich first and now since throughout England do beginne pretily well to ominate what they ayme at affirming that the Catholike church was onely and wholly amongst them and that all others that were not of their company were Schismatickes or Heretickes they then aduanced their dismall banners and so many thousands otherwise vertuous deuout and religious persons were thus seduced by them became absurd heretickes in following of them and in the end died many thousands loosing their liues and many hundred thousands of soules perishing in defence of them and their hereticall doctrine sects and opinions And euen like to all other hereticall proceedings is this course that the Iesuits take God amend them or cut them off that no Catholikes be euer seduced in the end of their downefall by them THE ARGVMENT OF THE fifth Generall Quodlibet BY reason of the great obloquie hatred and disgrace that the English nation is brought into by the Iesuits practises as in the last Quodlibet appeareth and especially concerning the English Students at Rome most cruelly handled by the seditious faction of the Iesuits it followeth sitly in this place to put foorth a Quodlibet of Gouernement to search out what may be the Iesuites drift in plotting for the sway sword and authoritie euerie where to be in their hands Therefore shall this fifth generall Quodlibet be of their plots by gouernement and rule in manner following THE FIFTH QVODLIBET of Plots by Gouernement THE I. ARTICLE WHether the Iesuites or the Seminarie Priests be fitter for Gouernment in the Colledges beyond the seas and whether of the two is more necessarie either respecting Gods church or the weale of our countrey to haue the bringing vp of English youths there THE ANSWERE IF Cardinall Boromeus whose rare vertues all Europe talked of had had the hearing of this disputation and bene vmpier moderator or iudge paramount of this question he would sure haue bene on the Seminarie and secular Priests side For this good Cardinall obseruing well the pride of the Iesuits their practises for inriching aduancing bringing of themselues to be admired at of all men right Lucifer like as much as to say am I not the chiefe and their conicatching deuises for alluring of the finest wits children of most towardnesse and those of rarest aspects and greatest hopes to their spiery hauing intelligence how they held in diuerse Seminaries within the Duchy of Millan the like course and state taken vpon them vnder colour of teaching and bringing vp of youths there as they did in other countries and prouinces about him and where euer they came he thought them no fit men to remaine within his iurisdiction Wherupon he banished them out of all these places esteeming it farre more necessary to haue such apt men and those of the finest wits quickest spirits and likeliest to proue great clerkes to become secular Priests as those appointed by institution diuine to take vpon them the care of soules and therefore woe vnto them if they be ignorant in the law they are to giue and expound to their flocke and charge This he prudently conceited as it was more conuenient yea of bounden dutie for those that were indifferent what state of life they tooke them vnto in the Church of God rather to haue them secular Priests then intruded into any order of religion or monasticall life whatsoeuer which intermedleth not ex professo with any such charge but liue after the prescript rules of their orders priuate to themselues as their vow and profession bindeth them vnto and none more then the Iesuites if they say true or as they would sometimes for a deuice make people beleeue they do So as it cannot be otherwise which this worthy Cardinall well noted in them but that the Iesuites in all their practises plots and pretences shadowed ouer with neuer so condensate a bright colour of religious zeale aime at a higher marke in the apple of the worlds eye then to do all things gratis and of poore pure deuotion charitie humilitie obedience and I cannot tell how many Academicall vertues and perfections which must forsooth be attributed vnto these perfect states-men and religious illuminates For how is it possible if they had any good religious Catholike or bare Christian meaning with them that they should make exceptions of persons in admitting none into their company or society but such as either by his wit wealth birth or other meanes may bring some gaine helpe and meanes to their further preferment and aduancement here on earth You progenie of vipers to vse our Sauiours words against you the offals of the old Scribes and Pharisees who hath taught you to eschue iram venturam to sequestrate your selues from the world to take vpon you a state of perfection and to include and exclude to chuse and refuse to force whom you list or otherwise to raile vpon them and condemne them to hell on liue in your arrogant censures and to thrust backe whom you like not of that gladly would enter in no doubt but of a religious conceit they haue of you though happie those that are so thrust out from among you Is this your holy societie Is this your perfection of life Is this your zeale of soules Is this your freedome from errour Is this your skill of gouernement Is this your doctrine of reformation Is this your familiaritie with God Is this your neerenesse by illuminated admittance to know secrets to others vnknowne that you dare put out and put in whom you please to haue this familiarity and to be illuminated as you vainely vaunt of No fie blasphemous wretches you preiudice Christ our Sauiour his sweete spouse and his sacred annointed Priests Nos talem consuetudinem non habemus neque Ecclesia Dei Neuer was there any religious order that tooke your course nor held such phantasticall extrauagant exorbitant irregular opinions as you do It is flat singularitie innouation and absurdity of your idle braines without any authoritie either of the Catholike Church or Scripture for you to single out any one soule in this sort Did our Sauiour teach did his Apostles practise did the Church deliuer by tradition vnto you that you might or ought to admit none but wise but wealthy but of great parentage or busie headed bodies
bestowed that silly simple man if the Spaniard had preuailed in the yeare 88. For to haue made him onely a Pater minister they could not with honestie because he was then a Cardinall and to haue made him Archbishop of Canterbury or Yorke or Bishop of London these were all too high places for him as not a man of sufficiencie to gouerne or deale in such affaires as these places did require And againe the Spaniards should haue bene our Bishops for a time and the English Iesuits their Interpreters So as it was a very difficult and doubtfull case what should haue become of the poore Cardinall till at length considering he could not liue long they determined to haue bestowed some of the meanest Bishoprikes in the land vpon him as Carlile or some such like Sed parturiant montes nascetur ridiculus mus all turned to a iest there was no such matter THE III. ARTICLE VVHether then do the Iesuits intend in that case the preferment of any temporall person seeing they intend no secular of England or not in the temporall state THE ANSWER THey do questionlesse intend it for the preferment of some for a while at the first otherwise they had no pollicy in them for I doubt not of their ingratitude further then to serue their turnes withall First for that some of their greatest aduersaries of the temporall Lords as the Lord Dacre c. are no way to be bearded out but by their ioyning with some such honourable persons as may and will make the Iesuites quarrell theirs against him for their owne aduantage Secondly for that it cannot otherwise be but that there are many secret promises with bonds vowes and protestations deepely made of sundry great and high preferments to those that now are sticklers for them Thirdly for that they haue receiued large summes of sundry great persons alreadie and therefore must repay them vpon other mens lands c. Fourthly for that they are not able to win nor yet keepe this so mighty a Monarchie but by the ayde of such c. But yet shall none of these be so aduanced but that they shall stand at the Iesuites deuotion as now the Archpriest doth to continue so long and no longer then is for their turne and that they shall be ruled and subiected vnder them THE IIII. ARTICLE WHether then seeing it appeares plaine we shall haue a change if the Iesuits preuaile do they intend a change of gouernement in the Monarchy onely or therewithall in the Vniuersities Innes of Court Chancery and in all other Colledges corporations companies and societies also or do they onely aime at some few chiefe houses c. THE ANSWERE NOw when you talke of societies you make me remember the new buildings in Edenborough called the Colledge or society house of the City where the Puritanes haue many prety orders obseruations and rules set downe amongst them for gouernement not much vnlike the orders of the Iesuits society For all these new illuminates must haue one tricke or other of innouation and singularity in euery thing And so I make no question of it but if the Iesuites preuaile they intend and will turne all things topsie turuie vpside downe sincke shal vp and sice shall vnder a dead man shall rise and do great wonder not so much as the society drinke but shall quite be changed and a lacke what ailes my minnie at me heigh hoe In Parsons high Councell of Reformacion wherein as those report that haue seene it this whole monarchicall Ile containing England Scotland and Ireland is made a Prouince depending vpon Spaine and Iesuitisme all the whole state must be changed as I told you before and the lands and seigniories of Cleargy and Nobility Vniuersities Colledges what not must be altered abridged or taken quite away Yea these popular Francklines great rich farmers or muckle carles of the countrey these Kentish yeomen vntriall Gentlemen the Iesuites officers must be authorised to confiscate certaine houses of speciall note in particular as this ignoble bastard Parsons in his vaine childish but arrogant hope hath already in conceit confiscated Cecill house to be Casa professa and another there by it to be Nouitiatum and so of others all must be changed into noua vitia yea such vices as were neuer heard of before For it is an imagined principle amongst the Iesuits which infatuates them to aduenture credit conscience and all that where they once set footing they must preuaile Vpon which vaine conceit their tormenting and troubling euery nation where they come causeth religiō to be blasphemed neuer any thing prospering in Gods Church where they come haue anie medling or dealing France abounded with Hugonites a kind of Puritanes and was neuer quiet so long as they were there yet now we see the Catholike religion hath maruelously increased since they for their sedition treacheries conspiracies were iustly banished thence How mightily Polonia was pestered and troubled by them it appeares in a booke intituled Equitis Poloni in Iesuitas anno primo Yea the Danskers made it an obiection of not admittance of the Sweden king to be their Soueraigne without condition of expelling the Iesuits from his Court and Counsell what fruite the Indians haue reaped by them the Spaniards shall themselues report it But so it is that by the crueltie of the Iesuits and Spaniards together let them take it betwixt them they are brought into that hatred as there is expected rebellions and reuolts from vnder King Philips allegiance euerie houre The like is of their garboiles in Italy Spaine Germany and other places and for England we haue said inough already all the world seeth it what mischiefe they haue brought and wrought amongst vs. Neither I will warrant shall you heare of one Iesuit that euer will acknowledge himselfe faulty nor say with Ionas Si orta sit haec tempestas propter me proijcite me in mare no it stands not with their lofty humilitie nor Atheall obedience nor Pharisaicall zeale to do so sed ex fructibus eorum cognoscetis eos Name me that nation that euer prospered in those actions wherein the Iesuits dipt their fingers in the fat or had any speciall commoditie or gaine in re or in spe thereby What good haue they done in the Low-countries or in Germany or in Scotland or in any other place where they come Onely this they haue done they come in with gloria patri euery where and vntill they haue like great fawcons or hawkes of the Tower firmely seazed vpon the pray kild at randon wing or souce they proceed forward with filio holding the panting heart fast in their talents for euery puny Iesuit though he be scarse able to say boe to a goose yet must he be as a correlatiue to his admired at holy father his Iesuit predecessor that went before him and so by consequent a rauening bird of pray to make poore foules I should haue sayd silly fooles sweet soules to tremble
Article proposed after so many reasons in confirmation of what I speake with that most famous Vniuersitie of Paris which spite of their malice hath a better authoritie to define of such matters then any Iesuit hath deciding the case to be cleare that the seculars committed neither schisme nor sinne in resisting or but onely indeed not consenting at the first to the Archpriests authority For to say troth they resisted him in nothing but onely of desire to be satisfied sent to Rome liuing in the meane while without willing offence giuen to him or any of his And yet the peeuish felow could not be quiet to suffer thē to winke at him vnlesse they either put out both their eyes or stared him full in the face So hard a matter it is to stay the impotent violence of an ambitious heart where it comes to be in any conceit of neuer before cōceited Soueraigntie And so by consequent seeing they neuer might nor ought to haue accepted of him to gouerne them who knew not how to gouerne himselfe it was an act of iustice in the secular Priests and al others to resist his cousining foisted in banded intruded vsurpate tyrannicall vnnaturall Atheall barbarous mocke authoritie THE V. ARTICLE WHether seeing by the precedent Articles the chiefe daunger for the present incurred by the Archpriest came to Catholikes by this occasiō scil that it was procured from the Pope Sea and Court of Rome and that by a Bull and in such maner as not only a premunire was incurred therby by ancient lawes of this land as before I sayd but also and much more by recent statute lawes there being treason vpon treason committed in this action may then the seculars appeale to the same prohibited court against this Archpriest and these Iesuits and yet be in no danger of a premunire at least by so doing or not THE ANSWER THe case is quite altered in the Iesuites procurement of a Bull for establishing the Archpriests authoritie and the seculars appeale to the same Sea against it vz. First cui enim iniuria fit ei accreuit ius vindictae But the Pope his Holinesse was iniured by their suggestions in obtaining the Bull ergo Secondly the Iesuits in procuring that Bull and authority made it a matter of state in preiudice of regall maiesty But the seculars in appealing made it a matter of conscience thereby to refell infringe and abrogate all such premunireall treachery Thirdly the pretence was made outwardly by the Iesuits to be wholly for matters pertaining to the Catholike Church religion and order in workes of charity piety deuotion c. ergo the seculars approuing the contrarie that they neuer had such a meaning neither did the Archpriest practise any such matter meddle no way in any thing by their appeale whereby a premunire can be incurred no not so much as interpretatiuely Fourthly the Iesuits bolster out and build aswell the intruded vsurpate authority of the Archpriest as also their owne treasonable attempts plots and practises vpon the sayd Bull and his Holinesse authority ergo none other to appeale vnto for iustice against them Fiftly the seculars by their appeale clearly exempt redeeme and keepe out themselues from acknowledging any obedience to that already premunirized Archpriest and by consequent from all danger of incurring a premunire Sixtly they labour by their appeale for security to her Maiesties person for quiet to the State for auoidance of all inuasions for cutting off all conspiracies State tamperings exasperating libels c. and for an assurance of relaxation and freedome from their heauie persecution procured by the Iesuits against them aswell by false suggestions to his Holinesse as also by stirring vp other Princes against our Soueraigne and nation and thereby bringing warres and feares vpon all and hart-breaking frownes to be cast vpon the innocent ergo so cleare and farre from all danger of any offence committed by appealing from the Archpriest to the Sea of Rome as most dangerous vniust vnnatural indiscrete irreligious preiudicial to all both Pope Prince Church common-wealth and all estates if they had not appealed but let the matter lye dead in discontent obloquy and danger of forest trials THE VI. ARTICLE VVHether any daunger for the appellants to side wholly with the Archpriest hereafter by making a generall peace vpon his assurance made and giuen of a non partiality hereafter and so let the appeale faile and the pursuite cease or not THE ANSWER IN two cases it were no danger but a happy yeeld to the great content comfort and quiet of many a deuout soule whose tender harts lye a bleeding to heare and see into what pickle we all are brought by the wicked Iesuits seditious brables broiles made and raised amongst vs. The one case were thus if that his Holinesse her Maiesty and the whole realme wherein I take partē meliorem pro toto excluding all Iesuited or Puritanized neither of which will euer like of or consent to any good that to our whole nation in this case would be should make a generall attonement league and peace together vpō such conditions as in their sacred wisdomes princely prudence should seeme meete with mutuall consent to expell and call all the Iesuits and other seditious persons out of the land or otherwise to haue iustice done vpon thē where they shall be taken The other case might be this to wit If the Archpriest could wold cleare himselfe shake off these turbulent Iesuits and vtterly renouncing them their counsell aduice and company sticke fast hereafter to the seculars which as it were his best and surest way to deale for his owne quiet safety and security both of body and soule letting passe these brablings medlings in matters aboue his reach thrust vpon him by the Iesuits of purpose to make a gull a stale a laughing-stocke and but an officious instrument of him to serue their turne withall so if the vaine conceit of honor to be of due right belonging vnto him by his place office and title of Archpresbitery do still second his former course in proceeding against the seculars on the Iesuits behalfe then may there no condition be admitted of by the appealants for peace with him and them but with the indangering of themselues to incurre a Premunire and be in the same state wherein the sayd Archpriest and all that seditious faction now stand which is to be all hanged for traytors if the lawes be suffered to passe against them as now they are and as the case stands Yea the seculars by putting vp the matter with a colourable peace betwixt them and the Archpriest before any order set downe by his Holinesse for courbing the insolencie of the Iesuits would be preiudiciall not onely to themselues but also to his Holinesse on whom they will vndoubtedly father all their wicked practises hereafter and so by consequent this yeeld would also turne to the preiudice of the Catholike Church the common-wealth of this land and
or otherwise left in the Church dictante spiritu sancto therefore called the Law diuine bicause it is of diuine institutioÌ„ Though in very deed the law primary of reason depending vpon synderisis the Law diuine or of God relatione ad creaturas and also the Law of nature be often taken for all one vpon which coniunctions diuisions and distinctions I haue treated at large in the answere to the first part of Parsons Doleman and therefore thereupon we will not now stand Onely this is inough to know for the present that all humane lawes are subordinate to natures Lawe and natures Lawes to the Lawe Primary of God himselfe which we call Diuina voluntas or the aeternall Lawe and by consequent the legifers of the same lawes are so subordinate one vnder an other as when a case comes once to the highest Legifer on earth there is thence no further appeale to be made but all wholy left to Gods iust iudgements Primam enim sedem nemo iudicare potest Out of these grounds then I gather these corolaries First that the Popes excommunication c. for any matters vnder his Pontificall iurisdiction and power although vniustly inflicted were to be obeied in not ministring nor receiuing of any Sacrament vntill the party were absolued c. Secondly that no excommunication can stoppe any man from seeking of iustice Thirdly that no excommunication of his for disobedience to his holinesse selfe in things commanded by him contra ius diuinum vel naturae doth or can take place either in foro conscientiae vel ecclesiae bicause these lawes and legifers are aboue him and his law Fourthly that master Blackwell and his Iesuits with all those of their faction are ipso facto thought to be excommunicated for vsurping the Popes authoritie c. Fiftly that he can debarre no man froÌ„ appealing to the Sea apostolike for any cause whatsoeuer the worst being the appellants if the cause be naught as thereby incurring sometimes an excommunication suspencion c. Sixtly that it is meere calumniation falshood and slander for that seditious faction to giue out that any one of the Catholikes are excommunicated Seuenthly that neither he nor any Iesuite in England dare for their liues stande to it to affirme that all or any of the appellants are excommunicated for that action Eightly that he is a flat antipope in presuming to command any not to seeke for iustice against him to the Sea apostolike and the like is for his and his Iesuiticall faction in their extreame arrogancy in blazing it abroad that it is an act of disobedience contempt c. Ninthly that no such authority can be giuen him as to command any to obey him in all things Tenthly that not the Pope himselfe can command any in and by such generall termes of obedience in all things Eleuenthly that if the seculars had beene iustly excommunicated for any matter depending vpon the appeale it had and ought to haue holden still hanging the same appeale bicause no dispensation can be granted where the partie is bent to continue in that state for the prosecuting whereof the excommunication suspencion c. past against him Twelfthly that if the seculars had beene excommunicated for any other matter independent vpon the appeale there is not a priest in England almost but hath authority to absolue him and so doth it shew the malice of the Iesuits to be so much greater seeing no such thing but that if it were yet an absolution did free them againe they notwithstanding doe driue conceits into the peoples harts as though they remained still in a damnable state which is as much to say as they cannot be absolued the grossest absurdity and greatest impiety that euer was heard of euery one seeing and knowing that the greatest heretike that is may be absolued and restored to his former state againe And therefore they denying this benefite to a Catholike priest shew themselues flat vsurpers as before and a woorse thing besides 13. That there is no question to be made of it but if it be possible the Iesuits will procure an excommunication against the seculars to confirme their former false reports and slanders that they were excommunicated c. before 14. That no excommunication on the inuadors behalfe doth bind any man to take his part against his prince and countrey 15. That to this day was there neuer any excommunication suspencion interdiction c. gotten from the Sea of Rome and denounced against any Prince person common-weath or other state on the behalfe of any one ceteris paribus like to this procured already by the Iesuiticall faction against their Prince and countrey on the behalfe of Spainiards 16. That as the prudent Greeke appealed from Alexander furious to Alexander sober and bishop Crostate from Pope Adrian priuate to Pope Adrian publike and as Summus pontifex in cathedra Petri so may the seculars notwithstanding any decree set downe by his holinesse to the contrary by wrong information giuen appeale euen from the Pope as Clement vnto his holinesse as Peter on their owne and their Prince and countries behalfe THE ARGVMENT OF THE SEVENTH GENERAL QVODLIBET THe reasons alledged in the last Quodlibet against the mischieuous plots and practises aswell in esse as intended by the Iesuiticall intruded authoritie of Blackwels vsurpate Archpresbytery ministreth occasion to speake in this place of matters concerning aswell the seculars as the Iesuits proceedings with and on the behalfe of the catholike Church and common-welth Of which subiect there are two distinct Quodlibets occurring fitly to our purpose to be discussed and reasoned of and both of them tend to one end but by a diuersitie of plots casting in the way and manner of progresse to the thing they ayme at on both sides And therefore shall the first be a Quodlibet of plots by religion that is in what sort and how farre both seculars and Iesuits do and may deale on the behalfe of Gods church for conuersion of their countrey and re-establishing of the catholike faith and religion The other generall Quodlibet shall be of State affaires as how they either do or may meddle therein on the behalfe of their countrey pretending religion as the ground of all the controuersie THE SEVENTH GENERALL QVODLIBET OF PLOTS by Religion THE I. ARTICLE VVHether the seculars or Iesuits seeke more soundly the conuersion of their countrey from all schisme and heresie THE ANSWERE IT is without all question the seculars seeke it more soundly sincerely religiously and Apostlelikely pêª for that the seculars take the very direct course that our Sauior Christ left for and to all his apostles to imitate scil First to seeke the conuersion of soules by preaching and teaching and good example giuing by word and action Secondly by doing all things gratis taking onely things necessary for their maintenance and relieuing of their present wants Thirdly not fishing after vnlawfull gaines to inrich themselues by couine and hypocrisie or other meanes Fourthly
against the Iesuits which euery catholike priest is bound vnto to make things knowne and euery loyall subiect and dutifull childe is to take notice thereof for auoiding their owne danger both of body and soule Therefore must it needs follow that forasmuch as a libell or inuectiue imports a calumniation or slander against any or many publike or priuate persons vpon a special peculiar intent either of reuenge or preferring a priuate faction or action in opposition against a publike cause the matter here handled and the wrong done being no priuate hurt but a publike harme no sole foule danger but a common-wealth damage no indiuiduall action of the person but a specificall or rather genericall faction of the case that is heere in request amongst vs on the behalfe of the catholike church in generall and our natiue countrey togither with all other common-wealths * It may not be left nor accounted of as a libelling against the seditious Iesuits and their priuate faction but turning backe the diuels malice vpon himselfe and their slanders of the innocent vpon their owne heads I conclude that as the relinquishing of the Iesuits for Pharisees and conspirators against God and their countrey as they are were the safest way for all catholikes schismatiks or other of their and the Puritanes fautors so were it also the Iesuits best course to auoide the lande and those pure spirited children of theirs that will come now at no seculars nor much lesse heereafter if they euer depart it were best for them to be packing with them and make triall what will be the end of them both if they delight so much as it seemeth they doe in nouelties and change and when they are all gone and the great new Abbot with them or whether they be all exiled and banished the land or no which were great pittie but they should let them know this that the Church of God hath no neede of any of them and the common-wealth much lesse as both being now so pestered with them as a greater securitie could not come to either state Ecclesiasticall or temporall then to concurre by one consent vtterly to expell them the land And although it greeues my very hart to thinke that so many vertuous and truely sincere catholikes and religious men and women are deluded by their Pharisaicall life so much as greatly it is to be feared because greatly if it happen to be lamented that if they should fall into manifest Apostasie or open rebellion as they are in a great forwardnesse to both or any other execrable error these fondlings would follow them euen into hell mouth spite of priest or pope himselfe so vainly are many perswaded of them Yet false prophets shall they prooue and so let them trust vnto it as a generall receiued veritie of all true catholikes throughout the world and flat heresie to defend the contrary that shall dare presume to affirme the fall and stand of the catholike church faith and religion to depend vpon them No no if euery one of their brokers were a professed Iesuit and euery professed Iesuite a prouinciall ouer a 1000. Rectors and euery Rector had vnder him 10000. ministers and euery minister so many nouices euery nouice a Parsonian spirite and after all this if the prowd gates of infernall dungeons were broken vp and that they had all the helpes out of Stix Corceris and Fligiton that olde satanas Segnior Belzebuh Don Lucifer or Damp. Bemoth could affoord them yet neither should they neither could they euer preuaile against the impregnable rocke which standing post alone would split them all one after another THE VIII ARTICLE VVHether was it of secret intelligence giuen from some of the Lords of the Counsell or did it rise onely of a Iesuiticall Machiuillian deuise that catholikes should haue such a iealousie and feare as many seeme to haue least these proceedings of certaine secular priests against the Iesuits togither with the extraordinary intercourse betwixt them and the State be like to occasionate all the said catholikes ouerthrow heeretofore or not THE ANSWERE IT was spoken of late as from a Lady of high renowne to one of her women in her bed chamber but I will not say the Countesse spoke it because her woman not her Lady was Iesuited and therefore likely to be a plot of her ghostly fathers fathered vpon her honorable Mistres that neither her Maiestie nor the Lords of her Highnesse honorable Counsell ment any more good or scant so much to the seculars as to the Iesuits but only for the time present to get out of the seculars being but simple men what they coulde by this meanes and first set them forward to worke out the Iesuits and then to picke a quarrell at the saide seculars to make them all away c. Which wordes smell so ranke of a Iesuiticall breth as they can not be imagined to come of any other spirite First for the great indignitie included in them to regall Maiesty especially against our dread Soueraigne and honorable Counsell as to impute vnto them so cruell and neuer heard of the like tyranny to massacre the innocent who labouring wholy for her Maiesties realmes safety desire nothing to themselues but an abiect quiet in a frownd on state Secondly for the accustomed arrogancie of a Iesuiticall spirite in that in contempt of priesthood and all seculars they would impute this danger to come as their manner is by reason of the seculars want of experience c. Thirdly be it so as it were too to preiudiciall presumptuous and saucie a part for any subiect especially liuing in like to this of our frownd on state to cause any such iealousie to be had of their Soueraigne and honorable Counsel that no good were ment but hard measure intended to be offred to the innocent by shedding of guiltlesse bloud adding affliction to affliction and so increasing all our miseries by this small comfort of liberty graunted to some few particulars yet three commodities would ensue heereof which now we al do want one is that we should then suffer but one kinde of persecution whereas now we suffer two at once the Iesuits tongue torments being more cruel and heauie vnto vs then our aduersaries racks ropes or Tiburne tippets an other is that if we may by meanes of his holinesse commaund get riddance of the Iesuits hence out of the land and an absolute confinde libertie granted to all catholike prisoners we should not then feare to die of famine which now many are very like shortly to die of vnlesse her Maiestie take pittie of them euen of her innate princely disposition and of her meere mercy all that be in Framlingham castel readie to starue already as receiuing no maintenance nor reliefe of the common beneuolence And a third but not the least is an assured hope that by such a means al should die glorious martyrs as freed from those factious seditions and trayterous dispositions wherewith Parsons that traitor attainted hath
a holier place then earth the land of Eden far before Palestine Paradise terrestriall alwaies to be preferred before Hierusalem and yet out of these haue our fellow Angels and Israels ancestors mans protophlast both bene thrust out with infliction of perpetuall exile out of heauen vpon the former and an inhibition to the latter neuer to returne into the countrey of Eden nor garden of Paradise againe and then à simili no reason of their returne home to the land of behest hereafter nor to account them Gods people th◠〈◊〉 Nation and the like more then any other inhabitants vpon the 〈◊〉 the middle earth seeing all are one by creation as come of one man Adam all one by preseruation as we are appointed to guarde the Persians with as tender care ouer them as you haue ouer the Iewes and so hath euery guardian Angell ouer that countrey and people allotted to his custody all one by Synderisis and instinct of proper kinde as inclined to seeke for good to eschewe euill and wishing after summum bonum if in paris naturalibus they could haue obtained it and all one by relation betwixt the D. attributes and mans deserts on Gods part as one qui neminem vult perire sed omnes animas saluas facere aswell Gentile as Iewe or proselite Yet for all this an other Angell replied and it was our blessed Ladies paranimphe Saint Gabriell as may be well coniectured because Daniell saith that this holy spirite appeered vnto him from the beginning and told him of things to come towards the end of the world what should happen in these latter daies and how the Septuaginta Hebdomades were abbreuiated ouer his people and ouer the holy citie meaning Hierusalem This Archangell then reuiued the plea on the Iewes behalfe that needes they must returne to Hierusalem againe to repaire the holy Citie to restore the Temple to reinstall their high priest to consecrate the altar to annoint the holy of holies to purge the place of sacrifice polluted by the Gentiles and to exercise their many ceremonies sacraments and sacrifices which were not to be vsed made or offered extra ciuitatem sanctam Hierusalem and bicause that after 62. weeks vnderstand 8. Hebdomads to be first ended in time of this altercation and despicion amongst the Angels occidetur Christus therefore to confirme what God hath promised by his Angels speaking in the mouth of his prophets the Iewes of necessitie must returne againe that God may be glorified his church florish and his priests offer sacrifice vnto him in the place appointed them But to this roundly and readily Malachies Angell made answere agreeing to the minde of the Persians guardian that as he had said so true it was that non est personarum acceptio apud Deum but that who when and in what place soeuer the name of God shall be called vpon there then and by that same person shall his name be glorified And for the particulars Hierusalem in deed was the holy city and so it should be counted to the worlds end not for that Adam was therein created liued died and his scul buried in mount Caluarie not for that it was the seate of the holy line deuoluted from Adam to Christ not for that the law the prophets the sacrifice and the high priests gaue the prerogatiues of all sanctitie and holines to this place before any other But that which made that land holy that people holy that line holy that city holy was bicause the holy of all holies Christ Iesus the sonne of God and Mary the immaculate tressacred blessed virgine came out of that line liued in that land was linked in blood to that people by the two tribes of Iuda and Leui kings and priests watred many a house with his teares and sanctified that citie with his owne most pretious blood imbruing the streetes earth and stones from Pilats palace to Caiphas his place and from thence to the Caluarian mount without the gates of the citie Whose personall birth life and death as they left an inestimable sanctitie behinde them to that land so the Iewes wilfully depriuing themselues of so inualuable a price as he paied for mans redemption haue woorthily deserued an vtter extirpation of their race a subuersion of their state and a captiuity bondage and slauerie of themselues and their posteritie for euer And although there had been and were during the time of captiuitie many holy religious and deuout men and women amongst them yet not onely bicause the greatest part of the multitude and sundry of their kings princes and gouernors had offended their Lord God in the highest degree which is in schisme heresie and apostasie with idolatrie so highly displeasing the diuine maiestie as the punishment of those vices hath alwaies beene this videl a conquest of the land a downefall of nobilitie a desolation of the state a deflowring of their virgins a dishonoring of their wiues a massacre of their ancients a population of the common wealth and a seruile life to all their youth led captiues out of their natiue land But withall as the Persian had said bicause the prouidence in appointing of Guardians for euery prouince prince people and particular person had been in vaine and to no purpose if God should for euer withdraw his mercie frō all saue only those of his owne flesh and blood as he was a Iew borne and if our Iewes prophets spoke in generall when they said that Deus non vult mortem peccatoris sed magis vt conuertatur viuat then can it be no otherwise but that the Hebrues Israelites and Iewes hauing continued these three thousand and od hundreds of yeeres vnder one kinde of true worship of our Lord God the onely visible Church true faith sacrifice and religion remaining inuiolate amongst them alone reason doth conuince on the part of man and mercy and iustice on Gods behalfe doth ratifie and confirme the argument to be good lawfull and expedient that the Iewes should be dispersed before the Messias come into so many nations prouinces and kingdomes of the Gentiles as his holy will is to haue partakers of his merits And all this to the end that the Gentiles being by creation in God himselfe and preseruation in the power of his angels his owne people as well as they liuing now in darknes ouerwhelmed with ignorance and giuen ouer vnto prophane idolatrie might by this their conuersing and familiar liuing amongst them come to haue some knowledge of their end that there is another world after this and that they are to acknowledge honor and latrially adore but one God alone That this was the meaning of the holy Ghost Malachies corrupt heretikes The former constantly expecting Gods iust designments in these causes alledge that they come as Apostles of their countrie whose peculiar propertie is to conuert soules by suffering their owne blood to be shed not in procuring the shedding of any others Sanguis enim martyrum est semen
the purpose to make an end of this Quodlibet I say First that there is more assurance and haue beene more perfect and true tokens of constancie wisedome pietie religion learning vertue and gouernment in all these whom the Iesuits doe most kicke at and spurne against for familiarity or intercourse by writing accesse personall parlee and other meanes with those in authoritie vnder her Maiestie then in the prowdest spirited Iesuit in this land whosoeuer that may freeliest say Non sum sicut caeteri homines nor like these Publican seculars Yea neither master Clarke master Barneby nor master Champney who are the yoongest of these thus extraordinary fauoured but a priestly behauiour hath merited vnto them by their constant sufferance before it came to this gratious conniuence to fauour them so reuerend a respectiue opinion to be had of them by all men as that their yoong yeeres ouer-shadowed with venerable grauitie of hoariest haires might in their milde conceits with modest blush mooue them to take S. Paules words to Bishop Timothie as spoken vnto euery one of them apart nemo te contemnat propter inuentutem yea euen master Barneby the yoongest as I take it a most sweete natured faire conditioned and humble harted gentleman of good abilitie might well haue merited that grace and fauour at the Apostles hands And for the rest scz doctor Bagshawe master Bluet master Mushe and master Colington with others but those especially had of the Iesuits faction nowe in chase I am fully perswaded that howsoeuer some surly syres or mincing outraiers doe scorne and scoffe at them behinde their backes yet woulde their very presence countenance and conuersation put them to silence or at the least dash them from euer entring into so contemptuous speeches as now they vse against them Not one of these fower but being any Iesuits auncient as a Iesuite in England this day they woulde be iudged of all indifferent persons to be more fit to gouerne both master Blackwell and all his puny Fathers then to be gouerned of all or any of them Secondly the Iesuiticall arrogancie is most egregious in this point when they say I pray God master Bluet be not ouertaken hee trusts and tels the Bishop of London too much and doctor Bagshaw he doth the like with master Waade and so others of them and I pray God they stand saith one and they are but weake men saith another and vnfit to deale in such matters and O that such or such a father had had the managing of the matter he could and would I mary would he haue handled it more substantially and to the purpose whereas like vaine glorious Pharisees as they are many of those of whom they vaunt most knew neuer what imprisonment nor any triall meant but riding to and fro in their coaches like Sur-le-boyes mount-segniors or other men of state as vnwoorthie the name of a Iesuite vnlesse withall a statist they lie pampering themselues heere and there surfeiting in sedition ambition and deepe disdaine and when they haue put on the cap of maintenance amongst their admirabliers then they begin to descant vpon al mens actions and fyle their tongues agreeing to their auditors fancies Thirdly there neither is neither can be any offence committed or danger incurd or scandall giuen in these fauours receiued vnlesse it be Iewish Pharisaicall otherwise now rightly called a malitious Iesuiticall scandall which to refraine from were the most simple indiscrete vncharitable vniust vnciuill and immodest part that euer was plaied Therefore let these newe Pharisees choose whether they will be scandalized or no it is nothing to the purpose For if they finde a Haggard readie to baite at euery bush or an eyeese ready to crie at sight of euery cricket or a scrupulous tender and timerous hart readie to feare offending in euery worde he speakes then haue these master Faulconers that which they looke for these great Burgo-masters the thing they seeke for and the Iesuiticall tribe their treacherous harts desire Fourthly there is no assurance of any one catholikes perseuerance to the end that liues on earth For who that had seene Lucifer the day star glistring in excelsis but would haue honoured him before Saint Michaell the Archangell and yet in ictu occuli he became a fowle fiend and loathsomest creature to looke vpon that euer God created Who that knew king Salomon to haue had the rarest and chiefest gift that euer was giuen to man besides that the gift of prophecie also a more neere familiarity with God then I thinke any Iesuite dare presume to affirme he euer had and yet I cannot tell they are so arrogant as for to walke and talke with him be it mediate or immediate all is one face to face who then that had seene him in his highest pompe royallest Maiestie and greatest glory would not haue come with the Saban Queene to admire him and adore him who that had seene Iudas chosen by God himselfe who could not be ignorant of what was in the man to be a priest an apostle yea and one of the twelue that our Sauiour chose out of the whole worlde but would haue kissed the ground where he went c who of like sort that had heard the holy Ghost speake it and consecrate designe and single out seauen Deacons whereof Nicholas was one would euer haue thought he would haue prooued a puritane or one infected with the family of loue or rather the first beginner and brocher of the same who that had read Apollonaris workes in 33. huge volumes against the heretikes of his daies would euer haue censured or thought he would in the end haue become a ranke heretike yea and a father and author of most blasphemous heresies who that had seene the Chanon or Doctor of Paris liuing a life irreprehensible of any man would not haue beene ready to come and kissed his feete gone on pilgrimage to his shrine or done any worship vnto him on earth and yet with horror to thinke of mans heauy state not one of these but are knowne to be condemned vnlesse it be king Salomon of whom some doctors doubt who yet I thinke would not be in his place for a myriades of millions of massie golde ergo qui stat videat ne cadat Fiftly as our stand in Gods church is vncertaine and knowne onely to God alone So there is not the hottest of our aduersaries in religion that a man can say or iustifie and bide by it that it is impossible or no possibilitie nor likelihood in the world that euer such or such a one should become a catholike for we haue to the contrary innumerable examples in this age Many of our owne knowledge hauing been noted and knowne to all the world for most lewd prophane and bad liuers yet haue come afterwards to giue manifest signes tokens and testimonies of their true repentance rare graces and extraordinarie amendment Yea euen Parsons a lewder body then whom was not I verily thinke of any
England were Catholicks and those of the bloud royall so in esse with all yet were her title as good as the best saith he and by consequent concludes with this bobbe giuen to all our nation that the gift of the crowne of England was in the oldking Catholiks hands who perhaps quoth this patch Parsons may be perswaded as also his sonne the now king may be to the like set to giue ouer his claime and surrender vp his whole interest and right thereunto to his daughter Clara Eugenia Isabella yeelding her aide for atchieuing of the same to her and some such chatholicks Noble as his Maiestie shall thinke fit for a husband to a Lady of so high parentage Who being now the Archduke Albert late Cardinall c. if followeth that he is the Peere must be our Prince by Coruester Parsons designements And seeing he there insinuates as much and that the foresaid Cardinall Allan had dealt with the king of Spaine as he would make the world beleeue to that intent and purpose the case then and therein is cleere that this same booke here mentioned and that Appendix were both of Parsons owne doing as birds of one nest feather and wing hatched by the vnnaturall heate of his ambitious hart Secondly I obserue both heere there that there was great difficultie and doubts put in perswading the king of Spaine to this exploit for the conquest of England and that there was much adoo to draw him vnto it had not the parties mentioned importuned him to our countries ouerthrow Thirdly they account the intended massacre of her Maiestie and of so many thousands of her good subiects as must haue died if the Spaniard had preuailed as before I prooued it vnto you by the words of the Duke of Medina and other testimonies to that purpose a holy and glorious acte and to haue beene vndertaken of an vnspeakeable zeale and pietie c. Loe Nobles and Gentiles you deere catholikes of both sexes and all degrees Medina vowes he will spare none be he or she Catholicke Protestant or whosoeuer this booke affirmes the massacre intended is an acte of zeale what case are you now in if your Soueraigne forsake you also and who shal can or will defend you if she giue you ouer to the persecutor what haue you to say in your owne defence to saue your liues if her highnes draw the sword of iustice and lay it vpon you Truely nothing at all but so many of you as are loyall subiects your religious catholicke consciences reserued being as innocent as ignorant of those practises whereof I dare boldly speake it in the worde of a priest many thousands in England neuer heard of before the publishing of these Quodlibets might iustly haue fed your dying soules with hope of Beati qui persecutionem patiuntur propter iustitiam quoniam ipsorum est regnum caelorum But for other hopes you could haue none Fourthly the false harted Cateline inuolueth all the catholicks that were then beyond the seas in that his most Turkish Iesuitish Puritanian and barbarous designements Fiftly he intangleth such as receiued so great fauors at her Maiesties hands and the state heere as that where by the lawes they might all haue beene put to death they were onely banished Yet notwithstanding he forceth them to become intercessors both for the destruction of her Highnesse and of her kingdome Sixtly what iust cause is heere giuen to her Maiestie and the state of seuere proceeding against all such catholicks as were then beyond the seas when they should come home in that they all sought and thirsted after the blood of their countrey vos iudicate But I hope and in part I know it that the false bastard Iesuits pen when he writ those words did but expresse the traitorous harts of himselfe and some fewe of his consorts and that he hath most egregiously belied many For of the Lord Dacres and sundrie others as well of the cleargie as laitie it is well knowne they were euer most opposite to those traitorous practises and therefore most mightily persecuted by Parsons and his confederates notwithstanding they still helde and do holde out as loyall English subiects vsque ad sanguinem as obedient catholicke children vsque ad aras and as seruiceable in hart to both God and man Pope Prince and to the catholicke Romish church and the English common wealth as soule and body in one person can affoord or faith fealtie religion and loyaltie diuine loue and naturall affection can expect or demaund at their hands And for the rest if any were so sotted and bewitched with Iesuitisme or infected with the Spaniards as I doubt too many were I wish for my owne part euen from the bottome of my poore but resolued catholicke loyall hart so many of them as remaine obstinate with Parsons in that vnnaturall combination faire and well buried in their graues Thus hauing made the first part of the Interrogatory most apparant and manifest I wil now prosecute the answere to the second in as briefe and plaine a method as I may Say then for the present which yet is more then I would willingly put to mainteine the time and our afflicted state considered that his Holinesse and the king of Spaine might lawfully haue taken armes against her Maiestie and this her kingdome our natiue land yet it was shamefull part of father Parsons his companions to be the contriuers or instigators of it as it is to be prooued by many memorable examples agreeing to this purpose scil First out of holy writ it is manifest and apparant that the Iebusites and other inhabitants of the land of behest were permitted there to liue euen after the Israelites had obteined the land as their owne ancient inheritance ergo a forreine people of a natiue broode are not to be by Gods lawes subiected in their natiue soyle by strangers of an alien land Secondly Gregorius magnus when he might haue ridde the parts and coasts of Italy from the tyranny of the Gothes and other sauage peo-people if he would haue intermedled in matters of blood refused so to do accounting it to be a course not fitte for a man of his calling to deale in Thirdly by the lawes customes and practise of all kingdomes such persons as shall machinate and deuise to execute such outragious designements against their prince and countrey haue euer beene iustly condemned and detested of all honest men and good subiects yea and euen of those same princes inuadors or vsurpers that comming to sway the scepter royall of a kingdome by such meanes neuer suffred such traitors to passe vnpunished nor without the iust guerdon of treason deducere canes ad inferos as by sundry examples in the Antiperistasis to Parsons Doleman I haue prooued it true Fourthly it had beene Parsons dutie and so also the dutie of all other priests Iesuits and religious persons to haue praied for her Maiestie and their countrey and by preaching to haue sought the reformation
any especially so neere her Maiestie as those were c. But amongst many woorthy examples and reasons alledged by these ancient fathers to the heathen emperors in the primitiue Church why they should grant libertie of conscience to Christians arguments deduced from policie ciuilitie humanitie and their owne princely benignitie for they not accustomed with matters of faith religion conscience being infidels onely morall ciuill politicall and humane respects such as some sparks of Synderesis the lawes of reason of nature and nations are in man were motiues to moone them to surcease from persecution or else nothing Of all the rest Athenagoras in his Apologie to the emperor Commodus on the behalfe of the Christians frameth his speech to the best construction and fitliest agreeing to the matter now in question to the iudgement of many on the English catholikes behalfe to our Soueraigne For the summe of Athenagoras speech consisting as it doth in this that one and a chiefe reason why the emperor should grant free vse and libertie of conscience to the Christians was for that his Maiestie together with all his predecessors freely granted the same freedome to all other sects sectaries professors of religion and worshippers of sundry gods and goddesses as far different in the worship done to and derogating from the Maiestie and honor of Caesar as the God of the Christians or worship done vnto him did or could any way differ or derogate And seeing that euery particular prouince countrie and people had their peculiar gods to themselues whom they worshipped with a kinde of singularitie vsed in one thing or other towardes them that others wanted where euer they went or liued either in the prouince of their birth or else transported to some region further of or nearer hand and yet neuer once examined nor asked the question why they did so then ab inductione Athenagoras did conclude euen iure gentium that the Christians throughout the emperors dominions ought to haue the like libertie tolleration and conniuence granted them Whereupon our catholikes in England bringing in an argument à simili that if there wâ—re reason why the Emperor should permit the Christian religion as well as other religions opposite to the Romane rites in gentilisme that were then allowed of with all their pluralities of like sort then say ours seeing her Maiestie permitteth Puritanes Brownists or Barowists Familians c. to liue quiet within her dominions it were agreeing as well to mercy suited alwaies best with maiestie as also to if not our iust yet our lawfull desires for to haue the like libertie or at least not to bee haunted with continuall searchings hazard of life ordinarie taxations and losses of lands and goods taken from them as the catholike recusants are and haue beene long in these vexations troubles and dangers from whence all other are free Amidst this argument they vrge further for that the emperors in those daies were heathen our Soueraigne a Christian their 's often strangers to the Romanes yea alwaies strangers to one nation or other ouer which they gouerned especially during the raignes of some thirty emperors euen vntill Constantine the great his time by reason that the emperiall crowne of Caesar went by meere election that while whereupon followed so many bloodie murthers massacrings and open warres against one another for aspiring to the emperiall soueraigntie Here one proclaimed emperor in the field by a rabble of vnruly soldiers there another denounced installed and crowned emperor by the Senate and he sometimes an Italian otherwhile a Spaniard otherwhile a Frenchman then a Britane borne in this lande and after that perhaps a Grecian c Whereas now our Lady and Soueraigne is of our owne nation birth blood education naturall incline and all things to mooue to lenitie Againe their pluralities of gods and diuersities of worships sacrifices and ceremonies tended onely to points of religion sects and opinions amongst themselues no way otherwise derogating to the imperiall crowne of Caesar But these in England which yet as I said are permissible differ not onely all of them in generall from the present church of England yea and one from another in matters of faith and points of religion besides as much as the catholikes do differ from the Protestants if not more but euen also in matters of state in the highest degree the Puritans as eagerly seeking and wishing the death of her Maiestie and both writing and speaking as boldly vnto her as any traytor euer did or durst speake to his prince and yet they are permitted to liue and enioy their liberty whereas the catholiks can not be any way endured which to nations abroad giueth no little cause of admiration Fourthly they otherwhiles turnd ouer their bookes wherein they had registred the imperiall decrees of Caesar and finding amongst other points of importance belonging to this great cause of our heauines and woonder how that euer so sore an affliction of catholikes should haue fallen out in our infortunate age and that in our natiue countrey and amongst our owne deerest and neerest friends by all coniunctions of lawes orders motiues they had there quoted how that in time of Arrianisme other afflictions persecutions of the church vnder Iulian vnder Valens vnder Constans vnder Constantius vnder Theodoret and others the like when the same emperors were fautors yea and earnest persecutuors protectors and patrons of the catholikes aduersaries and that all the Christian world was infected with those heresies which continued 400. yeeres ere they were quite extinct yet were these great Monarches and mighties of the world so far from inflicting such a generall affliction vpon all catholikes in those daies as now the English catholikes do sustaine that they thought it enough to haue them and that but in some places for to be depriued of their Benefices Bishopricks and other as well ecclesiasticall as temporall dignities and offices suffragating Arrian Bishops and others in their places without further taxes laide vpon them or other troubles and vexations in generall For what was done in speciall against Saint Siluester and Saint Siluerius martyr against Saint Basill and Saint Martin martyr against Saint Iohn and Saint Donatus both martyrs against Saint Athanasius Saint Chrysostom and others it was of priuate grudge and no generall cause Nay which was more euen those same emperors that persecuted the catholikes most yet often of their owne princely benignity and meere motion proceeding of their innate clemencie they would and did authorise graunt and make offer from their imperiall throne to sundrie catholike Bishops and other prelats euen vnder their hands For as I said before in places prouinces and countries further of though subiect to the Romane empire there was no question made of hauing catholiks or Arrian Bishops equally alike as the number of the one or other religions did sway most that they might vse their Episcopal iurisdictions and other rites and ceremonies agreeing to the custome of the catholike
how iniuriously he hath dealt against his natiue Prince countrey catholike and all his friends and how preiudiciall he hath been in his proiects principles and practises against the See Apostolike and S. Peter by his audacious refusall to take his holinesse for a patterne and sampler to imitate in these his so weightie eminent difficult and dangerous proceedings He being but a poore silly impotent priuate man forbibden latenter euen by his order by his function by his priesthood by his profession by his religion by his calling to vrge or vse any passionate violent exasperating furious course against his Prince and countrey quite contrary to his holinesse direction minde and commission giuen vnto him Who most agreeable to the practise of the tressacred Apostolicall catholike Romane Church as most wise sweete and truly compassionate louing mother hath euer esteemed it the best safest and readiest way to draw and gaine such Princes and common wealthes as are gone astray to the right and true religion by sacrifice prayer teaching preaching good example giuing and that aboue all of obedience to their soueraignes and ciuill magistrates in points of due right belonging to them in such cases yea and patiently to suffer their owne blood to be shed agreeing to the Apostolicall rule for conuersion of countries rather then once to lift vp their eyes with discontent or set downe their pen to paper in their passions to suffer a flying thought of reuenge to take repose vpon the buttresse of their brest or once to goe about to tamper with state and temporize with Princes in temporall affaires Which seeing he and his societie haue not onely plunged themselues in ouer head and eares but also he this father Parsons winding himselfe out of the dangers hath set all in an vprore by his seditious courses and not content therewith hath laboured by his preposterous agents to cast all the whole load burden and bundell on our backes with most extreme obloquie diffamation and disgraces that would not yeeld a free consent to his turbulent factions and dangerous stepe eminent downe falles in conspiracies Neither thinking this ynough but as a lunatike or one raging in his affectate soueraigntie laying about him like Will Somers on all sides opposing himselfe together with his confederates against Pope Prelate and priest against Prince peere and subiect and against all that are not Iesuites without al respect had of any that crosseth his designments in the way this then being so as too too true it is can any man that hath either true charitie or other vertue learning religion wit worship worth or valor of spirite in him but see what it is he aymeth at detest him as an egregious hypocrite dissembling Pharisie sly soule murthering parasite In pugna vi armis dentibus ensibus vsque ad aras all his false positions forgeries and foysted in authorities and make it knowne to all the world that he and his societie do most greedily affect soueraignty most traiterously aspire to an absolute monarchy most ambitiously ayme at a supremacy and most treacherously delude both Pope Prince and people with a seeming kind of zeale religion and holinesse to bring all in subiection vnder them THE IX ARTICLE VVHether seeing the Iesuits ayme not as it seemeth at a sole temporall monarchie such as Nabuchodonozer as Cyrus as Alexander as Caesar atchiued attayned vnto but such a monarchie as Adam by creation as Noe by preseruation as Christ himselfe by reparation or restoring of mankinde to his first right obtained possessed and enioyed ioyning in one person that the two chiefe diuine attributes mercy and iustice the former proper to a priest the latter to a prince and so by consequent their intended gouernment including in it as these three Adams Noes and Iesus Christ did the whole and absolute iurisdiction power and authority monarchiall of priesthood and princedome ouer the whole world Is there then any intent in the Iesuits platforme of any such gouernment as may beare the name and title of a monarchie indeed or intend they a Democracy nor an Aristocracy or an Ologarcy or what kind of gouernment is intended by them THE ANSWERE I Am of opinion that no man on earth can tell what gouernment it is they intend to establish ratifie confirme when they come to their preconceited monarchie No not any of their plotcasters be it the exlegall legifer Fa. Parsons can tell before hand what gouernment he will haue and continue withall For considering that he intends to alter and chaunge all lawes customs and orders which make me often remember some mens strange conceits that he should either beget or immediately procure Antichrist it cannot be but that the popularity he now so greatly in couert wise commendeth will breake out vpon one occasion or other ere euer he be settled or well warmed in his kingdome into some open rebellion against him otherwise should such a rable loose the name of Mobile vulgus And further admit that his prouidence fore cast and foresight were such as euen in the establishing of the Iesuiticall state there should be such gouernors as lay brothers of the societie appointed at the sacke of euery city winning of euery hold fort or sluce and conquest of euery kingdome countrey or prouince as by their marshiall prowes combinde with ciuill policie might keepe them all in order subordinately one vnder another and all vnder their Generall-Pope-monarchiall-sole Emperor ouer the whole world yet considering the extreme ambition of that kinde of people as before hath beene passantly touched here and there especially noted in the brabling contentions betwixt the two great emperors Fa. Parsons and Fa. Heywood this order whatsoeuer it shall be or how orderly soeuer obserued for the whole vntil they haue gotten that into their hands they all do gape after No question but it will breake off in short time and that they shall be forced to alter chaunge and make new lawes againe And this being fitly agreeing to a principle of their owne set downe by M. Paget as he hath obserued in them scil Omnia pro tempore nihil pro veritate no question of it but their gouernment shall be as vncertaine as their new conceited monarchie their monarchie as mutable as their raigne and their raigne as variable as the weathercocke in the winde or Protheus in his Complements or the sea Euripus in his crosse tyde ebbes and flowes who for his in constancy hath not of olde beene holden for more infamous then Fa. Parsons for the like offence is iustly iudged and accounted as most monstrous in our daies But to answere directy to the Article proposed no question is to be made of it but that the gouernment they do directly intend at this present is a most absolute soueraigntie dominion and state cleerely exempted from subordination to any lawe or legifer diuine or humane and therefore it is rightly called Despoticon in the highest degree of exemption immunitie imperialtie and absolute
silent c. it is manifest by demonstration in it selfe yet bicause many can not and most will not see into it therefore is it of necessitie that the way meanes and occasions of the one and the other should be set forth to the viewe of the ignorant multitude that are led away through misconceite into error If you aske of the Philosopher or Naturian how to make the very quintessence and naturall qualitie of any thing best made knowne he will say that contraria iuxta se posita magis elucescunt Now what can be more contrary then the Iesuits secular priests proceedings therefore by consequent there is no other course to be taken for clearing of the innocents then to haue both their dealings intents and purposes made knowne in opposition set one against the other as in these bookes they are at large If you aske a Phisition how to cure a desperat disease Doctor Atslewe if he were a liue would giue you a desperate yet a sound answere but any and all agree in this that as Calida frigidis humida siccis sic contraria contrarijs curantur And alwaies the more dangerous the disease is the more desperare is the cure sharp corasiues are to be vsed and few or no lenitiues will serue for the purpose Now I report me to you whither a more dangerous desperate and infectious a plague could euer haue light amongst you and vs all deare catholikes or not then this Iesuiticall poyson is which makes you runne ryot after them and so infatuates your Galathian mindes as some of you haue fared like infernall furies when you had heard or read of any fault in a Iesuite or of any defence of a secular priest therefore maugre the deuill and a Iesuits malice corasiues shall they haue as fast as this hand can trot and shall be lanced into the quicke spite of spite it selfe without euer giuing ouer vnto you deare catholikes be freed from further infection by them the innocent cured of the deadly wounds which they wilfully and you witlesly haue giuen them And these friendly admonitions giuen with harty desire of an vpright conceite of things as they are in themselues not as you or I or any other sound catholike and right English nature could wish them to be I will now enlarge my selfe a litle in more particulers wherein my credite is touched and lieth ingaged by the Iesuiticall faction in censuring and putting into your heads deare catholikes a deformed censure of my vniforme and vpright meaning in the foresaid pamphlet The Iesuites and their fautors doe obiect against me or rather suggest to you deere catholikes many odious points of great importance and no lesse scandalous then irreligious at least if not hereticall to be contained in my writings and by name in that booke intituled Important considerations c. The epistle whereunto they and many of you deere catholikes say still deluded by them through your too too scrupulous credulous deuoute simplicity haue rashly preiudicated to smell of an hereticall spirite which they vrge as maliciously iniuriously and vncharitablie as falsly senselesly and irreligiously vpon such friuolous wrangling grounds calumniations and surmises as in particular shal be here laid downe with the answeres vnto them making this humble confession in generall before hand in forme following I W.W. from the bottome of my hart plainely and sincerely without all equiuocation or doubling in the presence of the diuine Maiestie and all his holy Angels and Saints in all dutifull and obedient manner offer and acknowledge by these presents an humble submission of my poore selfe and of all my worthlesse works and writings to the censure of our holie mother the catholike Romane church to correct and amend by her sacred wisedome whatsoeuer hath beene is or shal be found amisse in me And I wish no longer to draw breath on earth then I haue the least auersion of mind from her holy censure and decrees in any one word sillable tittle or title by her defined deposed or decreed humblie acknowledging that if any thing in that booke or else where in any other of my words or writings be fault worthie it is mine and not our holie mother to be stained therewith but if any quintessence of grace or other good guift be in me it floweth from her and is not mine but as a wretched poore miserable yet a liuely member of that body misticall from whence it is deriued and giuen vnto me to vse to her spouses and her owne honour and glory And if I knew but one drop of my deerest hart bloud or the swiftest turne of a thought in my braines or a word falling frō my lips or but a leter dropping from my pen in preiudice of Saint Peters chaire the See apostolique the catholique Romane church faith and religion our mother citie to be harbored fostered or fauoured by me as such I wish and attest it in verbo Sacerdotis vnfeinedly from my naked hart both the one and the other hart head hand and all burnt into ashes and consumed in open sight In regard whereof I charge and challenge the purest and prowdest spirited Iesuite or whosoeuer shall dare so malitiously to call my name in question on Gods behalfe and in defence of that body whereof how vnworthie soeuer yet a visible member I am I haue resolued to remaine and hope by Gods speciall grace concurring with my good will to die and wish not otherwise to liue to name the least point or title for triall of toutch tast or smell of heresie wherin they as appellants and I defendant may be first be found creant And hoping this in generall may suffice for your satisfaction deere catholikes on my behalfe and not to beleeue these false harted Iesuites calumniations and slaunders raised on me hereafter vntill you find by proofe toutch and tryall made of my workes writings whether they be such or no as they terme them I will now goe to the particulers thereby to make knowen their Matchiuilian spite more apparant to lay downe here more plaine your ignorance simplicity and folly Patience deere Catholikes for I am angry at the diuell and malice which two haue so mightily possessed your harts with error as I know not with whom first to chide whether with them in suggesting or with you in consenting c. They say and many of you deere Catholikes confirme it in a doubtfull speech that I haue written against the Pope his holines and in preiudice of the See Apostolike because I affirme that the bulles and excommunications past against her Maiestie were wrongfully procured and therefore of no validity and againe for that I say that if the Popes holines should charge vs to obey the Archpriest and the Iesuits yet we would not yeeld to it In which two cauilling obiections they play the right puritans or other heretikes that stand wrangling about the text and leauing the common sense and spirit of the church they follow each one
hoping that the more they haue to side with them against vs the greater feare they will put the state in and make it more ready and willing to pardon and accept of them vpon any condition at their pleasure For to that sense doth tend their banding it out with friends their threatening of opposites their vaunt made of moe honorable and great persons in cour◠and countrie that fauor their Spanish faction and cause then we haue that labor to withdraw all English harts from such vnnaturall intents attempts and proceedings To the third obiection of our common aduersaries disgracefull speeches giuen out against vs more then against the Iesuits it is a senselesse forgerie and smels of a Iesuiticall spirit whose Luciferian pride is such as it delighteth to be counted famous in mischiefe extraordinary in suffering of torments and to haue none to equall him in impietie but all base and meanely esteemed of compared with himselfe in villanie Which proude conceit seeing the Iesuits haue it much good or mischiefe whether they more delight in may it doe them I will promise them we will neuer compare with them mary to say that any honorable person should haue vs in contempt and them in grace and fauor for our opposite courses taken that is as far from sense to thinke it as neere to sottishnes to beleeue it vnles they could make vs beleeue that all the state or those honors they meane of are throughly spanified and entred into a trayterous league confederacie against their Prince and countrey And the like answere may serue to the fourth obiection of making one of vs cut one an others throte c. which are childish arguments and but bugges bulbeggers or hobgoblins fit to feare babies withall as these patches by their cogging foysting and deuises make you all deare catholikes none other and yet you will not see into it For what can the councell or state get out of vs more then is in our harts and inward intents and meanings and what is inwardly in vs which outwardly we doe not professe and make knowne to all the world to wit a catholike resolue for our Romane faith church and religion an English resolution for our natiue Prince state and countrey and a resolute intent euer God before assisting vs with his grace in well and in woe to remaine constant loyall seruiceable and faithfull to both to death And more then this neither Angell man woman nor deuill can get out of vs bicause more then this we haue not in vs and if this will cut our throts or make one of vs vndoe an other or vrge the state against vs or cause vs to be euil thought of and in the end cut off when they the said state haue gotten out of vs what may steed them and the like vos iudicate Of this I am sure we shall dye for religion and not for treason and this is also morally certaine that the state will neuer in policie if we would like Iesuites conceite them full of all impietie seeke the secular priests destruction who labour wholy for the preseruation of our Countrey and in excuse of their law made so farre as is possible to excuse them against vs all in generall for some priuate persons offences and on the other side leaue them scotfree whom they know for professed enimies against them and all the world seeth how vnnaturally they haue sought the destruction of our countrey This also is probable that if the Iesuites haue so many great persons in Court of the Spanish faction and their fautors as they make boast of they may vnder hand preuaile so farre as to get vs all cut off together with them without daigning vs any notice to be taken of our loyalty more then theirs but if such an extremitie should happen as questionlesse no one thing that craft of deuill or wit of man or waight of Mammon can afford shall be left vntried to effect it yet what then shal we for that cōsent to the desolation of our countrey and vtter extripation of all your deare catholikes posterity only to reuenge our selues of so inhumane cruelty and extreme wrong offered vs no certainely we will all rather dye in miserie one after an other and leaue our innocent blood to crie for vengeance to him who both can and will take vengeance on those should so afflict vs knowing as they doe our intent and harmeles harts And last of all for the preachments of some at Paules crosse and other places against vs equally as against the Iesuites that first doth manifest that we are accounted of as opposite to our aduersaries in points of Religion and therefore no such yeelde as the Iesuiticall faction report we haue made Secondly it is no maruaile though they preach against vs seeing those who are most noted to haue done so are knowne to be Puritanes by common report and also by their inueighing against sundry great persons in authority who are thought nothing to fauour their Allobrogicall gouernment And no doubt the more earnest and outragious they are against vs by reason that they heare alredy of these Quodlibets wherein they and the Iesuits are coupled together in matters of state medles sedition faction and trechery Thirdly who so looketh into the ticklish state of things as by these turbulent persons meanes they now do stand euery one being already brought into such iealousie and suspition of one another as hard to tel whether more dangerous to speake or keepe silence in these nationall contentions and factions it is easie to be seene from what spirit such preachmēts do proceed euen none other questionles then from the like blowen abroad in the Court to the same effect scil that these bookes haue done the secular priests great harme hindered our common cause giuen great aduantage to be taken against vs and that it makes the Iesuits laugh in their sleeue c. which is nothing else but an old stale principle of Machiauel or a new Atheall canuasse of Iesuitisme which you please and in very deed but a ridiculous iest to see what poore shifts these polititians are driuen vnto to packe and sacke vp sackes of money to bring and binde mens toongs therewith to preach and prate in Court countrey and pulpilt what they will haue them to keepe themselues in that they be not banished the land or put to exquisite deathes And if any hurt come to vs or hinderance to our cause by these bookes it is this No maruell though the Iesuits faction stop all waies meanes of making knowen their impietie being forced by this discouery to pay lay out their euill gotten gold whiles many a catholike starued for want to keepe in that they be not vtterly cast out on all sides as well amongst catholikes as Protestants and schismatikes None vnlesse it be puritanes and such like factious statisers that begin already to discouer themselues by storming against these bookes and the authors in open pulpit but
doe begin will daily more and more looke as well into their peruerse hypocrisie and irreligious policy as also into the secular priests sincere loyalty and catholikes innocency howsoeuer for the time present both Iesuits puritanes seeme couertly to applaude the one to the other in exclaâ—ming against her Maiesties more ioy all catholikes subiects then themselues are But a woonder lasteth but nine daies and when passionate clouds are vanished then will all true English harts of whatsoeuer religion giue thee thankes c. to wit that whereas before the Iesuits had vs all vpon the hip for god a mercie and threatned vs with all disgrace bondage and staruing which they brought to passe for nothing whiles we kept silence Now by our writing they are and shall be forced to let corrupt Angels fly and pay sweetly for it as well to preuent their iust deserued expulsion out of the land as also to bring vs into the former obloquie For what is it that god Mammon cannot worke amongst mortall men and they whose harts were hardned to see our great wants whiles they wallowed in worlds wealth giuen of deuout catholikes at the first for all our reliefes it were contrary to Gods iustice and the Iesuits deserts if they should not finde some crosse encounters to make them spend all againe contrary to their wretched intents and mindes for the saying is not more old then true that one euill gotten penny sets away a pound and that which passeth ouer the diuels backe must needs repasse ouer his belly againe and so it is of the Iesuits euill gotten riches whiles many a soule meane while doth perish They say moreouer that in the said booke of Important considerations I doe condemne all priests and by consequent then my selfe if that were true in generall that are or haue come into England to be equally traytors as well as the Iesuits and their confederates Good Lord how these cogging mates belabour themselues in sophistication and wrangling without any proofe sense or reason Well let it goe as a false lye calumniation and slander as I both there and more expresly in these Quodlibets haue manifested it to the contrary setting downe conceptis verbis what a reuerend conceit I euer had and haue of all priests that are not Iesuits in re or in spe and directly acknowledging all the seminary and secular priests as in my very hart I do beleeue it and esteeme of them with all respectiue reuerence for no lesse then so to haue died glorious martyrs as suffering only and wholy on their parts and in their deuout holy and catholike intents for religion and conscience sake And all that I said to the seeming contrary was that our aduersaries said and say still they died for treason but not any of vs euer said or thought so and my selfe without preiudice to any other of my brethren be it spoken least of all bicause most of all and in plainest tearmes I haue named aboue thirty twice told of our company most iniuriously defamed slaundered and detracted by the Iesuiticall faction all which said I in that same place are now glorious martyrs in heauen And further I yeelded a reason of our aduersaries opinion why they account them for traitors to be this scil for that they knowing directly by bookes letters and their owne hand writings together with many witnesses and testimonies that the Iesuites had dipt their hands too deepe in plotting practising and contriuing the meanes how to shed their natiue Prince and naturall countrey men women and childrens blood the state iudging of vs all promiscually Any man that readeth those bookes set out with the Epistles before them may easily discerne them al to be different from one another and neither the stile of and in all the said bookes to be out neither yet the Epistles to be of the same authors that the bookes themselues are of Onely the question is whether the said bookes were set out by any secular priests or other catholikes of the laytie or else by some Bishop or other person of the English religion the latter is vtterly denied as well by reason that there is nothing in these bookes of any materiall point but all those in the appeale yea the rest of priests and catholikes or so many as are not Iesuited or puritanized doe agree in allow ratifie and confirme the same And for the former the speech the phrase the whole terme is such as any may discerne it to be of a catholike recusants worke no Bishop nor other Protestant in England this day that will or would by word or much lesse by writing haue giuen so many pretogatiues or spoken so much in defence of the catholike Romane church and secular seminarie priests as in these bookes are deliuered at large But it spites the Iesuits and Puritanes to be compared together and therefore the one doth preach the other speaketh and both of them fretâ— so much against the secular priests Englands present state as they do not conceiting at that time any difference in points of hostile inuasion to be amongst vs nor and much lesse knowing who were guilty and who were free and hauing withall iust cause standing the Queene state oppositely affected to vs all in general for religion to suspect vs all alike as comming all from those places where these conspiracies were set abroch and professing all one kinde of doctrine in all these matters to outward shew I therefore said and so say still that as on the one side our single harts did and doe iustifie our cause before God and in the face of the catholike Romane church that we suffered directly for our conscience and religions sake so on the other side the Iesuits prouocations exasperations and incentiues did iustifie the state here in their dealings and sharpe lawes made against vs. And thereupon I said that caeteris paribus her Maiesties proceedings had beene both milde and mercifull and that we are not so much to exclame against the crueltie of the persecution as to admire how that any of vs are left on liue to talke of religion the premises considered of the contrarie affectation of religion in the state one way and the occasion giuen another way forcibly in all humane policie moouing our aduersaries to haue left nothing vndone for securing of themselues from those dangers they sawe hang eminent ouer their heads They say besides this that I haue renounced or denied the said booke to be mine that we are at contention amongst our selues about it and that all the secular and seminarie priests doe dislike and condemne it as much as the Iesuits doe if not more Which notable Iesuiticall deuise setting neuters a worke for this and the like blazons as I said before I answere at one bare word that all this is most false For neither did I neither doe I neither will I euer denie whatsoeuer I haue written concerning that matter And againe neither did neither
that the gift of the Bishoprickes in England as well by ancient catholike as also by recent lawes are in the prince to bestow where her Maiestie pleaseth And therfore committing the controuersie of religion succession and calling to silence in points of pacification and humble suite for release of affliction they yeelding to them the honor of Earles or Barons as their place by gift of the prince doth inuest them withall there is no cause moouing them to disswade from toleration but rather in truth both states and persons ecclesiasticall and temporall in respect of the premisses for the safer continuance in their present interest may conceiue iust cause and many weightie reasons moouing them on the seculars and other catholike recusants behalfe against the Iesuiticall and puritanian faction to commence their humble suite to her highnes for libertie of conscience with a repeale or at least a gratious milde and comfortable mitigation of former sharpe penall lawes made aswel against the seminarie priests themselues as also against all those that receiue or relieue them any manner of way Fiftly to the catholike recusants themselues there is none sanae mentis vnles bewitched with the Iesuiticall vaine hope of future aduancements but may and no doubt but doe and will daily more and more easily perceiue it that this betwixt the seculars and Iesuits was the happiest contention that euer rose and that all discreet vertuous and sound catholikes in deede haue iust cause especially if of a naturall humane breede and not mungrels nor bastards to giue God thanks euery day vpon their knees for this so sweete vnexpected extraordinarie comfortable and to be admired at meanes to all posteritie scil how euer such hart-breaking broiles should haue turned to so great a good on all sides as doubtlesse if the diuell play not the knaue too too egregiously and preuaile more then ordinarie these cannot choose but turne vnto First in receiuing hereby a holesome mithridate or antidotum to the spirituall health and recouerie of many a deuoute soule against the most dangerous infections and by all other meanes irremedilesse poyson of the Iesuiticall doctrine then by banishing out of their mindes this vnsauorie comparison and distinction of persons in bestowing of spiritual graces with ego sum Pauli ego Apollo c. after that by breeding in euery vertuous sincere religious catholike hart a more reuerend regard to priesthood in generall and to their ghostly fathers in speciall then now they haue by the Iesuiticall policies and most Machiuillian perswasions And last of all there would be then the woonted ioy at meeting of priests and catholikes together whereas now and so long as the Iesuits remaine in this land there is none other to be expected but mutinies brabbles detractions defamations watchings intrappings betrayings of one another and nothing but a mournefull blacke sanctus in steede of a ioyfull Alleluia at the conuersion of any soule or furtherance of any good catholike and charitable action THE III. ARTICLE VVHether any religious person may or ought to meddle or haue any dealings in state matters or secular affaires as other ecclesiacticall persons or as now the secular priests do deale or not and if any other may then why not the Iesuits THE ANSWERE TO this interrogatory I answere First that Ex officio de iure no religious person one or other ought or may lawfully deale either in state or any other secular affaires bicause the worde secular à fortiori stat are wordes resumed into wordly actions in their practise and therefore as farre from a religious profession to meddle withall in regard of their vowe of pouertie whose essentials are humilitie silence solitary life renuntiation of the world and a ciuill voluntary monasticall death as for them to breake out of their cloisters and take a benefice without leaue in regard of their vowe of obedience or to take a wife in regard of their vow of chastity c. Secondly as notwithstanding their vow of voluntary pouertie they may haue and possesse lands and all other things in common so may they also carry a kind of state amongst themselues and thereupon being subiects also to their prince and members incorporate to the common wealth wherein they liue their Abbots Priors Guardians and other superiors chosen amongst them to rule ouer them may be admitted by the two states ecclesiasticall and temporall to deale in secular affaires and matters of state as other Bishops and Parsons ecclesiasticall may and so was the custome of old in this land that commonly the Abbot of Westminster was Lord Treasurer of England the Archbishop of Yorke Lord president of the North and sometimes one Bishop and other while an other was Lord Chauncellour of the realme Thirdly yet was neither this a freedome to the monkes of their cloister to liue secularly neither was it allowed of as generall to all religious orders to be aduanced so bicause some are bound by vow to the contrary and as repugnant to their profession they beare no state amongst themselues but liue all in humiliation without possessiōs lands or any thing that smels of the world saue onely a house to shrowde them from cold a church to serue God in and meate and drinke to keepe life and soule together as of almes shal be giuen them c. Fourthly of all other religious orders the Iesuites by profession should be furthest of from all secularity statising or other worldly dealings and yet on the contrary they of all the rest are become not onely most secular and ecclesiasticall but also most laicall temporall and prophane yea most treacherous ambitious seditious and daungerous both to themselues and all others where they liue as these articles here shall discouer of our owne countrey Iesuites more at large THE IIII. ARTICLE VVHether any clergy person of what religion profession or sect soeuer he be for I take it to be all one when we talke of state affaires whether the statist be catholike protestant or puritane euery one thinking his owne course to be best may or ought to labour for planting of his owne religion or onely ought he to seeke the temporall good of his country letting religion goe where and how it pleaseth God it shall THE ANSWERE THere is no question in it but abstracting in this point of statizing from a matter of faith to a matter of policy all men of what religion soeuer supposing they haue and thinke in conscience that they haue the truth on their side are bound to propagate plant and establish the religion they are of to the vttermost of their power yet so as all may be ad aedificationem non ad destructionem And whosoeuer thinkes his religion best must thinke this withall that the meanes of restoring it be it the puritanes amongst protestants or protestants amongst catholikes or catholikes amongst either of these or any other must not be by treasons conspiracies and inuasions The conuersion of any country by such attempts did