saith he rauished with all my affection there will I attend with my deuotion There through loue do I take all my delight and thereunto will I hold my selfe by consent Now although this zeale of S. Austin and S. Bernard hath been followed and obserued badly by their successors who since their time gaue too much credit to their owne Councels and humane fantasies yet Gerson neuerthelesle sought to remedie this abuse through his wholesome aduertisements For in his booke of the spirituall life of the soule he sheweth that the sayings of the Apostles and their disciples were of another kinde of authoritie namely in things which purely concerne our faith then the instructions of their successors and consequently that the authoritie of the Primitiue Church is farre greater then that which is at this day and that there is neither Pope nor Councell that can abate any thing of that which was giuen vs by the Euangelists and S. Paul or which hath the like authoritie to make that any thing should bee of faith as some men dreame And in another place vpon this question if in points of faith one might be called before the Pope No particular man saith he not the Pope himselfe neither the Bishops can make a proposition which is hereticall to be catholicall or which is catholicall to be hereticall And againe in the triall of doctrines Consider 5. Tom. 1. That in case of doctrine more credit is to be giuen to one simple lay man excellently skilfull in the Scripture then to the Popes declaration insomuch as it is certaine that one ought to beleeue the Gospell rather then the Pope Also that such a learned man ought to oppose himselfe against a whole Councell if he be there present and seeth the greater partie to be inclined either through malice or ignorance to that which is contrarie to the Gospell according to the example of S. Hilary Whereunto doth agree that which the Abbat Panorma wrote in his chapter intituled Significat extra de Elect. to wit that in things which concerne faith the saying of a priuate person ought to be preferred before the saying of the Pope if so be it is fortified with better reasons out of the old and new Testament Franciscus Picus de Mirandula saith If in a whole Councell the greater partie would ordaine some things which are â—ontrarie to the holy Scriptures and against things that are not lawfull to bee violated the other which are of the lesser number opposing themselues against the greater wee must rather cleaue vnto the lesser number as it happened in the Councels of Rimini and the second of Ephesus Yea euen a simple countriman a childe or an old woman are more worthie to bee beleeued then the Pope and a thousand Bishops if they should speake against the Gospell Now that which wee haue spoken of the authoritie of Councels ought to be appropriated to the censure of our fathers pastors of the ancient Church to wit that wee ought not to receiue their writings with such a reuerence and obedience of faith as wee receiue the doctrine of the Prophets and Apostles but to iudge and examine them by the Scriptures according to that good counsell and example of some faithfull Doctors of the Primitiue Church We ought not saith S. Ierome inter cap. 9 on the 98. Psalme to follow the errors of our Fathers but the Scriptures authoritie and the commandements of God which â—nctruct vs. Euery other thing which shall be spoken after the Apostles time ought to bee cut off let it haue no authoritie then though the author thereof be holy or eloquent Reade me those things saith S. Austin in his booke of the Church chap. 6. in the Law in the Prophets in the Psalmes or in the Epistles reade them there and we will beleeue them All others saith he how holy or learned soeuer they be I may reade them not to beleeue what they say is true because they say it but in so much as they proue it by those canonicall authors or by probable reason And in his epistle to Fortunatus We ought not saith he to esteeme of all disputes though they proceed from praise worthie and catholike men as the canonicall Scripture but that in such a sort as is lawfull with the honour due vnto such men to gainsay them or to reiect some things in their writings if per aduenture we finde they iudged otherwise then stands with the truth found out through the helpe of God either by others or by our selues For I am such a one in the writings of other men as I would they should be in mine Doe not stand saith he in his preface of the third booke of the Trinitie vpon my words and writings as vpon the canonical Scripture What soeuer in them thou shalt finde beleeue it without doubting but in my writings that which thou holdest not for very certaine or if thou vnderstaÌ„dest it not hold it not as firme The like saith he of S. Cyprians bookes in his second booke against Crescon chap. 32. I hold not S. Cyprians bookes for canonicall that which agreeth with the authoritie of holy Scripture I receiue it with his praise but that which agreeth not with them I reiect by his good leaue and we doe him no wrong to make a distinction betweene his writings and the canonicall For this wholesome canon of the Church was not without cause established whereunto were brought certain bookes of the Prophets and Apostles which wee dare not at all iudge and according vnto which we freely iudge of all other bookes either of beleeuers or Infidels The like saith he also of S. Ieroms books of S. Ambroses and of the rest of the Fathers which haue written since the Apostles time in his epistle 112 and 11 booke against Faustus Manichean cap. 5. I would not bring in the opinions of those great personages lest thou shouldest thinke that it behoueth me to follow the iudgement of any man as the authoritie of the Scripture In all their bookes the reader or hearer hath a free iudgement to approue or reiect them without the necessitie of beleeuing them but with freedome to iudge thereof From thence it commeth that hee exhorteth Vincent his friend in his 48. epistle that hee should take heed of gathering against so many holy cleere and vndoubted testimonies some cauils out of the writings of the Bishops whether saith he of our owne or of Hilaries Cyprians or Agrippines for such writings ought to be distinguished from the authoritie of the canon for men reade them not so is it were to draw any testimonie from them contrary to which it should not be lawfull to deeme if peraduenture their opinion were otherwise then the truth requires Wherewith the sentences of our Fathers agree We haue no commandement frÌ„o Christ saith Iustine the Martyr in Triph. pag. 207 to beleeue in humane doctrines but in those which his Apostles haue preached and himselfe hath taught Therefore
euery man must haue his recourse to the Scriptures that he may finde assurance in all things Wee haue faith Irenaeus in his third booke chap. 1. knowne the disposition of our saluation by no others but by those by whom the Gospell is come vnto vs which in their time they also preached and afterward through the will of God haue giuen it to vs in the Scriptures to the intent it might be the pillar and foundation of our faith Againe Iustine the Martyr saith in his exposition of true faith that among the children of the Church diuine things ought not to be comprehended within humane reasons and discourses but that diuine words ought to be expounded according to the will instruction and doctrine of the holy Ghost S. Tertullian in like manner in his dispute touching the flesh of Iesus Christ saith I receiue not this which thou bringest of thine owne beside the Scripture if thou art Apostolicall then follow the Apostles doctrine Likewise S. Ierome in his Annot. vpon the fifth chapter of Saint Pauls Epistle to the Galathians saith plainly Nulli kne verbo dei esse credendum that is We must not giue beleefe to any one without the word of God Also S. Cyril which was Bishop of Ierusalem Cath. 4. saith That it is not necessarie to teach any thing rashly touching the secrets of faith without the holy Scripture If then I should teach thee these things simply and without any proofe beleeue me not vnlesse thou receiuest some demonstration thereof by the Scripture for the saluation of our faith proceedeth not from a well composed discourse but from the demonstration of diuine Scripture By these sentences our Fathers reduced themselues to the holy Scripture commanding vs seriously to examine their sayings and writings by them and if wee found them not agreeable and correspondent to that vniuersall rule of all sorts of Ecclesiasticall doctrines to hold them in suspition and without any difficultie to reiect them wherein wee cannot bee too rigorous seeing that S. Paul with his companions and the Angels make themselues subiect to that ballance saying in his epistle to the Galathians the first chapter and 8. verse Though that we or an Angel from heauen preach vnto you otherwise then that which we haue preached vnto you let him be accursed Whereupon the Abbat Vincent Lirinensis made an excellent obseruation in his Treatise of the holy Scriptures Canon chap. 22. That the Apostle S. Paul would spare no man no not himselfe nor Peter nor Andrew nor Iohn nor all the rest of the Apostles but hath denounced that all those which would publish beyond that which the Apostles haue published these are the Abbats very words should be accursed thereby to maintaine the first faith stedfastly and strictly Wherein according to the very iudgement of your owne Doctor Canus we do no wrong to our Fathers For hee confesseth freely in the Centur. 3. that al the Saints except those which haue written the canonicall bookes haue spoken by a humane spirit and at sometimes haue erred both in word and in writing euen in the points of faith what learning or innocencie soeuer wee might conceiue in them Behold therefore some of your Doctors make no bones to reproue our Fathers whensoeuer they are of an opinion that they are gone neuer so little astray from the naturall sense of the holy Scripture Without going any further Robert Bellarmine reiecteth the opinion of S. Austin expounding that which S. Luke writeth of the fruite of the vine and saith therein he hath not well obserued the Euangelist text Also he accuseth Durand and Rupert of error as appeareth by the 13. and 15. chapters of his third booke de Eucharistia Whereunto I will adde some of the ancient Fathers directly contrary to yours whereby they wholly reiect the inuocation of Saints as superstitious and hauing no ground in the holy Scripture To begin then with Ignatius the disciple of S. Iohn he giueth this exhortatiō to virgins in his sixth epistle to the Philadelphians Virgins set before your eyes in your prayers one only Iesus Christ and his Father being illuminated through his holy spirit And in his third epistle to the Magnesians Assemble together to pray in one place let your prayer be common one spirit one hope in charitie and faith without spot in Christ runne together as it were one man to the temple of Christ the high priest of God Also Eusebius reciteth in his historie lib. 4. cap. 14. that the other disciple of S. Iohn named Polycarpus being bound to a stake there to be burned for the name of Iesus Christ he calleth not to minde his master in Christ S. Iohn nor any of the Martyrs or holy men which had been before him to pray them to make intercession for him but hee prayed vnto God alone through Christ the only Mediatour and high Priest betweene the iustice of God and the sinnes of his people saying Father of Iesus Christ thy Sonne by whom we haue had knowledge of thee God of Angels and Powers God of euery creature and of all the righteous and of all sorts of races which liue before thy face I giue thankes that thou hast vouchsafed to grant vnto me this happie day and this blessed houre wherein I shall be in the number of the Martyrs and made partaker of the cup and passion of thy Christ vnto the resurrection of eternall life both in soule and body through the immortall vertue of thy holy spirit among which Martyrs I pray thee that I may be received before thy face as a fat and pleasant offering And for all these things I praise thee I blesse thee and I glorifie thee through Iesus Christ thy most deare Sonne and high priest through whom vnto thee with him and with thy holy spirit be glory now and for euermore Also this same Historian sheweth vs in his 4. booke and 14. chapter that the Iewes and Gentiles came to pray the Gouernour Nicetes not to deliuer the bodie of Polycarpus to the Christians lest in forsaking their Christ crucified they should religiously begin to honour him Whereunto the author answereth that these sillie superstitious men had therein through their ignorance deceiued themselues and considered not that true Christians can neuer forsake Iesus Christ who suffered for the saluation of the world neither will they honour religiously any other as God because they know the true God and him which alone as hee addeth ought to bee serued religiously Likewise Clement according to your opinion successor vnto the Apostle S. Peter teacheth vs in his recognitions and Apostolicall institutions that it is not lawfull for the Christians to pray vnto the departed as the Heathen did but that all our meditations and prayers ought to bee addressed onely vnto God and that no man is permitted to come vnto him but through his Sonne and our Aduocate Iesus Christ. Also Irenaeus testifieth in his second booke and 57. chapter
alone giuer of light our great Physitian our King our only Lord and the Christ or anointed of God his Father who alone is capable to make intercession in heauen for vs as hee who hath borne our corruptions and sorrowes vpon him who only hath established poore sinners againe which were not only halfe dead but alreadie rotten in their graues and who heretofore and yet vnto this present hath of his owne gratious affection preserued vs contrary to our owne hope and expectation Finally that none of those which are in heauen had that power to reestablish mankinde and to deliuer him from the perdition whereinto hee was fallen but this only Sauiour Iesus Christ. Therefore to this intent it is written of Constantine the Emperour in the fourth booke of his Ecclesiasticall Historie chap. 21 that he was so zealous at his prayers and calling vpon the name of God that euery day for certaine houres hee locked himselfe into some secret place of his palace falling downe vpon his knees and speaking vnto God crauing of him that which he had need of Furthermore that hee commanded his officers and souldiers daily to pray for him and the prosperitie of his kingdome and to call only vpon God according to the rules and instructions of holy Scripture and in praying to say Lord we acknowledge no God but thee thou art our King wee call vpon thee for our succour through thee wee haue obtained victories from thee we expect felicitie both present and to come Moreouer because the Christians should not only inuocate God the Father but also his sonne Iesus Christ S. Athanasius disputing against the Arrians to proue the Godhead of our Lord Iesus Christ groundeth principally his argument vpon this holy and commendable custome of the ancient Church Neuer any saith he ser. 4. hath prayed to receiue any thing of God and of the Angels or of some other creature and neuer any man hath conceiued such a forme of words as God and the Angels grant it thee but contrariwise from the Father and the Sonne because of the vnion and vniforme reason of giuing And as touching that that Iacob blessed Ephraiâ— and Masasseh saying The God which hath fod me all my life long vnto this day The Angel which hath deliuered me from all ouill blesse the children c. He hath not ioyned with God the Creatour andy of the created Angels and which of their owne nature were Angels he hath not for saken God his nourisher to craue his blessing of an Angel vpon his little sonnes but insomuch that he exprosly spake of that Angel which had deliuered him from all euill he hath shewne sufficiently that his meaning was not to speake of any one of the Angels created but of the Sonne of the Father whom he ioyned as a companion with his Father in his prayers by whom God deliuereth such as it pleaseth him for hee had acknowledged him for the Angel of the great Counsell and hath not by his words signified any other then he alone which blesseth and deliuereth from euill For he meant not that the blessing which be craued of God should be giuen to him and his little sonnes by an Angel but by him only which elsewhere he prayeth vnto saying I will neuer forsake thee except thou blesse me And he was God as Iacobs words make mention when he saith I haue seen God face to face and vnto him say I Iacob prayed for to blesse his children For Iacob called vpon no other then God saying Lord deliuer me from the hands of my brother Esau c. Nor Dauid also called on no other for his deliuerance saying Lord I haue cried vnto thee in my tribulation and thou hast heard me Lord deliuer my soule from lying lips c. Likewise the Apostle S. Paul God in whom we haue hoped hath deliuered me from euill and will deliuer me c. And thereby thou maist perceive that it appertaineth to none but vnto God to blesse and deliuer for no other could deliuer Iacob but God and Iacob called only vpon him as his deliuerer It appeareth then that this Patriarch did not couple with God any one is his prayers but the Word of God of whom S. Iohn writeth to wit that in the beginning it was God with God which Redeemer he calleth an Angel because it is he alone which reuealeth and sheweth God vnto vs and which thing the Apoctlâ— S. Paul doth also oftentimes when he saith Grace be with you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Iesus Christ. And in his second sermon it is written Be my protector O God and a fortresse for my refuge to the end thou maist defend me Item The Lord is made the refuge of the poore and all the rest which is found semblable in the holy Scripture But if our aduersaries maintaine that these words haue been spoken of the Sonne as it is most likelie let them then know that the Saints doe not intreat of a creature that he should be their aid and hereafter let them referre these words he hath been made he hath made he hath created to Christs comming in the flesh when he hath taken vp to the crosse our sins vpon him and said Come vnto me all ye which are laden and I will ease you In like manner Arnobius in his dispute against the Pagans who through the intercession made vnto their little gods and mediatours addressed themselues to the principals signifieth vnto them in his third booke that to serue the Godhead it sufficeth vs to worship the chiefest God who is the soueraigne Father the supreme Lord Creator and conductor of all things and that in him only we serue whatsoeuer is to be serued religiously and worship whatsoeuer is to be worshipped And in the end hee concludeth speaking to the Gentiles of the intercession of our only aduocate Iesus Christ Ye must learne saith he of vs that soules cannot receiue the force of life and saluation from any but from him which this great king hath established in this charge because the almightie Emperour was willing that hee should be the way vnto saluation and as I may say the gate of life through him there is an entrance into light for by no other way can we attaine or enter in by force all other be shut vp inaccessible and fortified with an inumcible fortresse All these prayers and exhortations of the first successors of the Apostles are as so many faithful witnesse which all with one consent doe testifie that these ancient Fathers haue maintained carefully the adoration of one only God to wit of the Father the Sonne and of the holy Ghost more then for three hundred yeeres after the natiuitie of our Lord Iesus Christ. And although that shortly after some Monkes and disciples of the Gentiles newly come foorth of Egypt and Syria with the old leauen of their idolatries sought to bring vp the inuocation of Angels and Saints departed into the
a diadeâ—â— prayeth to a Text-maker and a Fisherman These words you attribute to S. Chrysostome Neuerthelesse sundrie of your Writers haue attributed them vnto S. Austine and some others to a certaine man called Theodore Daphnopath in such sort that you are not of one accord with your fellowes nor of one and the same opinion touching the author of these words from which you cannot conclude that S. Chrysostome was of that minde to recommend to the people the inuocation of Saints as a seruice approued by God For he speaketh not in this discourse of that which ought to bee done according to the rule and instruction of the holy Scriptures but of what was done by the people through their indiscreet zeale after the imitation of the Grecians which yeerely made an assemblie about the graues of those which were slaine in the battell of Marathon to celebrate their Feasts and to recount their praises as S. Cyril noteth in his sixth booke against Iulian the Apostate And albeit that S. Chrysostome did beare with this custome of the vulgar people as many other corruptions and abuses of the like nature which he could not remedie without hurting the weake notwithstanding hee oftentimes made his complaints thereof See saith he in his 12. Homily on the first to the Corinthians how the iudgements of the common people are corrupted vnprofitable and ridiculous partly by foolish men and partly by children that doe suck The Martyrs saith he in his 45. Homily vpon S. Matthew take no delight to be honoured with money for which the poore â—rie out for to wit because you employ it not for their nourishment rather And in his 48. sermon vpon S. Iohns Gospell When thou hearest that the Lord is risen naked from death cease I pray thee from the foolish expence of funerals For to what end is it good seeing it bringeth but lesse to such as doe is and no profit to the dead but rather dammage Finally he is extreamely grieued at the superstitious ceremonies which they made about sepulchres tearming them in his 〈◊〉 Homily vpon the first to the Corinthians foolish deuotions and diabolicall obseruations Now followeth the sentence of a certain Monke called Iohn Damâ—soenus who for his writings began to florish in Damâ—sâ—us the principall citie of Syria about the yeere of Christ 730. Among other bookes which are attributed to him wee haue foure touching the tradition of the Christian faith which haue been translated out of Greeke into French by a certaine Philosopher named Iacobus Faber Stapulensis You affirme that in the 16 chapter of his last booke concerning the Christian faith he saith That through the Saints the diuels are chased away the sicke are healed the blinde see the leprous are clensed tentations and vexations are vanquished and that euery good thing commeth by them in fauour of those which craue them with a stedfast faith Although that superstition is chiefly come forth of the heads of the Monks yet there is great likelihood that this sentence was juggled in amongst his writings For though he liued in those daies when superstition had her full sway and vigour yet notwithstanding the Grecians were not so soone corrupted as the Latins And Emericus one of your writers who liued a long while after him reproueth the Grecians for this opinion that men ought not to inuocate the saints nor the Virgin Mary likewise but one only Mediatour which is Christ and that to offer gifts to them was to present sacrifices to the Diuels Let vs now come to the booke de Viduis composed by S. Ambrose When Peters mother in law saith he had a feuer Andrew and Peter prayed vnto the Lord for her And thou widow hast so many neere friends which pray for thee to wit the Apostles and Martyrs if thou commest to them in vnitie of deuotion It behoueth then to pray vnto them c. For they can pray for our sinnes sith they haue washed away their owne with their owne blood Without searching any further Sixtus Senensis one of your writers confesseth that S. Ierome and some others of the Fathers haue suffered themselues to be transported in such a sort through the heate and vehemencie of their Orations that sometimes they made Hyperboles that is to say and speake more cleerely they surpassed the bonds of truth Erasmus of Roterdam in his preface vpon this booke intituled de Viduis saith that in this fertill matter so pleasing to the eares of the vulgar people he hath let loose the bridle of his tongue and painted his discourse with the colours of Rhetorike in such a â—ort that the ignorant people could not well iudge thereof but the learned only In fine that he thought he laboured to set foorth his language by some artificiall drafts to make a shew florish of the ornaments of his eloquence Howsoeuer if hee were the author of this booke hee hath wandred out of the way and hath not well remembred his owne lesson That Christâ—s our mouth by which we speake to the Father our eye by which we behold the Father our right hand whereby wee offer to the Father and that without this Mediatour there is no comming vnto God neither for vs nor any of the Saints You alleage also for the establishing of your superstition Saint Ieroms letter dedicated to Paula to whom yee appropriate that title which ordinarily your companions doe attribute to the Virgin Mary that is calling her holy Lady But if we examine this epistle of S. Ieroms he speaketh to Paula who was absent and in heauen as if she had been present and that by a figure and certaine manner of speech called in Shooles Apostrophe whereby he not only prayeth vnto Paula to supplicate God for Blesilla but for himselfe also in his extreame age Likewise he saluteth Paula and saith vale to her that is farewell or God keep thee in good health If then you will take these words to the very letter to conclude from thence that hee hath called vpon Paula with a full assurance that she heard him and could perswade the diuine Maiestie to heare her request you must likewise grant me that he discoursed with her mouth to mouth and that in praying to God to preserue her in health he beleeued that she and all the Saints in Paradise desire that after their departure we should recommend them to God in our prayers But as ye will deny me the last point so I deny you the first and that for these three reasons The first is that in the Epitaph he made for his friend Nepotian departed this world he calleth him blessed because hee neither heard nor saw the miseries of this world nor the barbarian rage against the Christians Whereunto hee addeth that those words were as one would say dumbe and pronounced in vaine because thâ—â— Nepotian heard him not and that he with the other Christians in his time was assured that Nepotian was in heauen with Iesus Christ
sure when any point of doctrine is to be disputed or of the true sense of some texts in the Bible then to hold our selues to Gods law which is a faithfull witnesse according to the counsell of the Prophet Esay chap 8. verse 20. to giue the exposition of the law of God in expounding it by the Scripture it selfe imitating the example of Esdras and some other Doctors of the old Testament which is represented by Nehemiah before our eies in the 8. chapter and 2. verse Euen so when a question is of the true rule and manner of prayer there is nothing more expedient then to follow in all our prayers that only forme of prayer which our Lord Iesus Christ taught his Apostles as S. Tertullian and S. Cyprian shew vs by their excellent discourses touching the excellencie and perfection of this prayer And S. Austin in his epistle which he wrote to a Christian widow called Proba Wee say no other thing saith he then that which is contained in the Lords Prayer if we pray rightly and conueniently And whosoeuer should say any thing which is not agreeable with this Euangelicall prayer though he prayeth not vnlawfully yet he prayeth carnally and I know no reason why but that one may say he prayeth vnlawfully sith that such as are regenerated by the holy Ghost ought to pray spiritually By which admonition S. Austin signifieth to all Christians that all prayers which haue not their foundation in the prayer of our Lord Iesus Christ as are such which be addressed to the Saints departed are carnall and vnlawfull But to returne to your obiections where you say that you â—et slip in silence the miracles done through the inuocation of Saints and yet you send vs to the 22 booke of the Citie of God and we send you back againe to that which wee haue formerly noted to wit that Viues testifieth that many sentences haue been annexed to that booke of the Citie of God and for that reason we ought to giue no beleefe thereunto But rather as Origen witnesseth vpon Ieremiah it behoueth vs to call for witnesses the holy Scriptures forasmuch as without those witnesses our sense and discourses are of no credit which S. Austin also giueth vs to vnderstand by this exhortation that whatsoeuer wee would haue men to beleeue we must proue it by cleere testimonies of holy Scripture and vse them against the enemies of the Church And if we should grant you that many miracles haue been done by the inuocation of Saints yet you cannot with a good conscience gather froÌ„ thence that this seruice was pleasing to God seeing that the false prophets and ministers of Satan haue sought to set vp their impieties through the lustre of many miracles Thereupon Moses aduertiseth the people of his time saying in Deut. â—3 1. If there arise among you a Prophet or a dreamer of dreames and give thee a signe or wander and the signe and the wonder which he hath told thee come to passe saying Let vs go after other gods which thou hast not known 〈◊〉 let vs serue them Thou shalt not hearken vnto the words of that prophet or vnto that dreamer of dreames for the Lord your God proueth you to know whether you loue the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soule And Iesus Christ in the 24 of Matthew and 23 verse saith If any shall say vnto you loe here is Christ or there beleeue it not for there shall arise false Christs and false Prophets and shall shew great signes and wonders so that if it were possible they should deceiue the very elect Behold I haue told you before according to which Saint Paul writeth in the â— of Thesâ— 2. that the comming of the Sonne of perdition who sâ—â—ll sit as God in the temple of God and shall exalt himselfe against God and shall be by the working of Satan with all power and signes and lying wonders and in all 〈◊〉 of vnrighteousnesse among them that 〈◊〉 Whereupon S. Austin grounding himselfe saith on the 9. Psalme That Antichrist shall vse force in his empire and deceit in his miracles And in the treatise of Antichrist which is added to his bookes Antichrist saith he shall rise vp against the elect by three manner of waies by terrors by gifts and by miracles And Chrysostome speaking of the false Doctors on the seuenth chapter of S. Matthew They cast forth diuels saith he in the name of Christ hauing the spirit of the enemie or they rather doe not cast them foorth but seeme to cast them foorth through the collusion which they haue with the diuels and so alwaies they cast them foorth and neuer doe heale The diuels euermore crie before them as if they were chastized and they neuer come foorth of them as though they were afraid Behold therefore Theophylact teacheth vs in the explication of the seuenth chapter of S. Luke and namely on the second verse that preaching is confirmed by miracles and miracles by preaching for oftentimes diuers haue done wonders by the diuels but their preaching was not sound therefore their miracles also were not of God Which Anselmus appropriating to the miracles of Antichrist in his Commentaries vpon the second Epistle to the Thessalonians and second chapter These signes and wonders saith he shall be lying either because they should deceiue the mortall through magicall visions or else because that although they should be wonders and prodigious signes yet they should draw vnto lies such as beleeue in them Moreouer Meses recounteth in the booke of Exodus that Pharaohs Magicians haue imitated and counterfeited many miracles which he formerly had done in the countrie of Egypt Also Hippocrates reciteth in his book de Morbo Sacro that some Sorcerers in his time healed many of the falling sicknesse in making sacrifices and certaine prayers because they would be reputed as holy personages The like writeth Bodin of Appolonius Thyaneus and of some other Sorcerers which chased away diuels and did many other wonders through fainednesse and collusion This is that also whereof the Emperour Charles the Great would aduertise vs by his third and fourth bookes made vnder his owne name and approued by Pope Adrians Legats and many other Bishops of France Germany and Italie which were present in the Councel of Frankford in the yeere 794. There is great danger saith he in many miracles because there may be in them some craft of that crooked Serpent which doth transfigure himself into an Angel of light for many miracles are done by those Angels reuolted by Powers or rather by spirituall subtilties which communicate to diuers miserable wretches the gift of prophecying and doe many strange things through their officers of which sort those shal be which shall say Lord Lord haue we not prophecied in thy name and haue wee not cast out diuels in thy name and by thy name done many great workes To whom the Iudge will
authority of Councels An Argument from the least to the greatest Three reasons whereby the dead vnderstand We are not of Paul nor Apollo but of Christ. * Exod 20. 3. A particular refutatioÌ„ from the authoritie of holy Scripture Deut. 6. 13. Psal. 50. 14. 15. Isaiah 42. 8. Isaiah 45. 21. Anticipation Matth. 4. 10. Psal. 44. 20. 21. Rom 10. 14. Inuocation ought to haue the same object as faith Psal. 73. 25. 2. Chron. 20. 9. 1. Tim. 2. â— Transition for the examinatioÌ„ and true vnderstanding of our ArgumeÌ„ts The distinction of Mediatours subordinate and not soueraigne refuted as vaine The examination of the Sophists first reason Although that Christ onely hath redeemed vs with his precious blood it followeth not from thence that he is only the Mediatour of redemption Rom. 8. 34. A forcible reason to shew that Christ is our only Mediatour aswell of intercession as of Redemption The examination of the Sophist second reason by concession The examination of the third reason Partly by concession and partly by Negation Anticipation 1. Iohn 2. 1. Ephes. 3. 12. Heb. 4. 16. Heb. 10. 19. 10. Heb. 7. 24. 25. Reâ—uâ—atâ— on of the Sophists conclusion against vs. Here is shewed how our aduersaries cut the throat of their owne cause with their owne kniues Sequestre The Popists do wrong vnto the word of Mediatour either through ignorance or malice Deut. 5. 5. It is 〈…〉 from the 〈◊〉 of a Sauiour giuen to some as types of the Sauiour himselfe In vaine doe the papists boast of giuing lesus Christ the first ranke of innocation Execrable blaspâ—â—mies of the Romish church Deprauation of an expresse text of Scripture by those in popedome These whole pages shew how the pretended Caâ—holikes which differ much from the words of lesus Christ doe indeed bereaue him of his most sweet flowers of honour to adorne the Virgin with them Blasphematory praises attributed by Papists to two wicked fellowes Saint Francis and S. Dominic An excellent comparison betweene the Prelats of these daies and the Priests of old time Ierem. 18. 18. Ierem. 7. 4. Verse 11. Verse 18. Verse 14. Verse 15. Ierem. 2. 8. Iere. 8. 10. Ezek. 22. 26. 28. 2. Chron. 15. 2 Generall Councels Fathers and great Doctors hâ—ue no authoritie if they doe not conforme theÌ„selues vnto the word of God Exod. 19. 5. 6. The example of the Saints ought to be reformed to the law and not the law to their exaÌ„ples Gal. â— 14. Gal. 1. 6. Gal. 3. 3. 1. Cor. 10. vers 6. 11 12. 1. Cor. 1. 2. 2. Cor. 11. 3. It is a foolish reason that Papists hold that general Councels cannot erre 1. King 22. * As humane infirmitie is perpetuall so men at al times haue been and will be in danger of error 1. Cor. 7. 27. 28. 1. Tim. 5. 14. Councels are subiect to the doctrine of the Prophets and Apostles and to no doctrine contrary to them 1. Tim. 3. 2. That which is hapned to one or many CouÌ„cels may happen to vs if we doe nâ—t hold our selues to the rules of holy Scripture Note 1. Cor. 7. 12. verse 13. verse 14. All these examples of abominable errors shew how necessarie it is to trie the spirits The Papisticall Doctors agree not among themselues and neuerthelesse they hold vnitie and consent for the marke of their Church A graue and a religious iudgment of Charles the greaâ— touching y e Councâ—ll of Nice Councels refuted by othâ—r Councels Truth is one and that which is one cannot be contradicted We are bound to hearken to the Church in the things wherein she giueth eare vnto her Master All the doctrine of men â—ath no authority but in that which is borrowed from the Scripture Our faith is not of eloquence or humane perswasion We must trie the spirits Godly and excellent texts out of the Fathers We ought not to be ashamed to subiect our selues vnto that which the Apostles and the Angels are subiect vnto Galath 1. 8. The Papists are condemned by those which they cite against vs as aduersaries A graâ—e exhortation of Ignatius to pray only vnto God A testimonie giuen by Polycarpus who would not addâ—efle himselfe to any but God An excellent prayer The pietie of Clement A testimonie of Ireuaeus A reproch of Clement Alexandrine Tertullians testimonie Testimonie from Origen An example of S. Cyprians An example of S. Hilaries Forcible reasons of Eusebius to proue that wee are to inuocate none but God A testimonie giuen by Constatine not to addresse our prayers but to God only A necessarie doctrine to refute the seruice of Angels Gen. 48. 15. 16. Gen. 32. 26. A graue exhortation of Arnobius The inuocation of one only God hath remained entire after the natiuitie of Christ notwithstanding the assaults of Satan Coloss. 2. 18. A sentence of S. Theâ—dorets Not to erre in points of Religion we must not giue eare but to the pure word of God The doctrine of Epiphanius an ancient Doctor for the true inuocation A graue censure of the feminine superstition The virgin Mary is sanctified but not de fied and ought to be honoured but not worshipped None was able to know better then Iesus Christ how much the virgin ought to be glorified The Saints are more to be honored for hauing beleeued then the virgin Mary who bore the Son of God in her belly or as Simeon which bore him betweene his armes The end wherefore Iesus Christ would take his flesh of woman was not to the intent that she should be worshipped but that the world might beleeue that he had taken out nature vpon him She which is bound to worship is not capable of being worshipped Honor beseemeth all the Saints but adoration belongeth to God only If the Virgin could speake from heauen she would rebuke these blasphen atory voâ—ves pâ—ayers which they make vnto her Our prayers one for another be witnesses only of our obedience to God and the chaâ—itie wee beate vnto our neighbour which cannot be 〈◊〉 into the intercession of the Sonne of God We haue no need or â—ny other Intercessors tâ—en we our selues â—n that we pray in the name of the Sonne of God A contrite heart is that which can lead vs vnto God It is a great folly in men to addresse themselues to their equals which often pase theÌ„ with excuses in stead of bringing them straight vnto God who is ready to hold his armes open to receiue theÌ„ The faithfull man is neuer better accompaniâ—d then when he prayeth alone in his closet None can doe more with the Father then the Sonne A lie giuen to Iulian the Apostate To depriue the Saints of vnmeete adoration is not to frustrate them from their due reuerence Seeing Christ commandeth vs to pray vnto the Father in his name he excludeth all other names The Father wil neuer yeeld vnto any but 〈◊〉 in whoÌ„ he hath taken his good pleasure The Saints haue receiued the crownes of righteousness but they cannot giue them