none allmost vnderstode And what meaned our Sauiour when he sayde vnto his disciples It is geuen vnto you to knowe the misteries of the kingdome of God but to the other in parables that seing they see not and hearing they vnderstande not What meaned our Lorde in these wordes Truly this that it is a speciall gifte of God to vnderstande well holy scripture and that this gifte was especially geuen vnto the Apostles and to their disciples and successours which should after thē beare their roume in Christes church Againe that it was inough for the people that as much as is necessary for saluation they might lerne of their pastours preachers and curates the exposition of holy scripture by similitudes and parables agreable to their capacite which may farther be proued by diuers places of holy scripture But I would here gladly aske of our newe Masters when they saye that the texte of scripture is sufficient that there nedeth no expositiō nor glose why write they so many cōmentaries such longe gloses vppon scripture so many bookes and that without all measure if we nede no exposition then surely all the Lutherans bookes and writings be vtterly superfluous vaine and to no purpose but only crafty snares to catche the simple and vnlerned withall But to tell you plainely what the protestāts meane by this sutle shifte to cleaue to the only writen worde surely this it is they would not haue the scripture vtterly not expoūded they meane nothing so for that in dede nothing serueth their turne but they would haue their expositions their maner of expounding to be receaued and beleued as the very worde of god But contrary wise when they haue to do with vs reiecting all interpretation of scripture they ring their olde songe in our eare The worde of god is cleare perspicuous aud plaine it nedeth no exposition it requireth no interpretatiō of the olde fathers or of the Churche wherein you see what is their impudencie and contrariete And this much haue we saide to showe that Scripture ought to be expounded that the bare text suffiseth not But here riseth now agreat question and worthy to be waighed Seing that holy scripture must be interpreted and that we see abrode many and diuers interpretations thereof and yet in one thing there can be but one truthe and as scripture it selfe is vndoubtedly true so the interpretation thereof must be vndoubted and certain whether of all these interpretations or what maner is to be accompted the right proper and vndoubted As for example No Christen man denieth but that these wordes of the last supper Take eate this is my body be the very wordes of God Christ him self And what coulde be sayde more plainely more distinctly more directly then these wordes of Christ are yet what happened Al the sectes and heresies that raign nowe adaies acknowlegde them for the wordes of God No secte denieth thē Whereupon then riseth these greate and horrible dissensions surely not whether secte hathe the worde of god but whether of them well expoundeth it And see howe diuersly these fewe wordes are expounded Zwinglius saith these wordes This is my body are as much to saie This significeth and betokeneth my body Oecolāpadius thus expoundeth them This is the signe or token of my body Carolstadius after this sorte Herein sitteth my body Swenck feldius yet after an other sorte This is my spiritual body Luther thus This is my naturall body in naturall breade The Catholikes haue allwaies thus expounded it Vnder the forme of bread it is the true boly of oure Lorde Nowe what shall here a simple and vnlerned man of the countre do hearing so diuers and contrary interpretations of so fewe wordes Truly if he will here of his owne head confer scriptures together and serch the true meaning of these wordes in scripture and the writen text he shall be as wise herein as these men aboue mentioned who all by conference of scripture you see howe swetely they agreed vpon the truthe But if there were any certainte in conference as sometimes it helpeth much yet the simple vnlerned man by common order of witt shal neuer finde it out For how can the vnlerned and ignorant iudge of that which he neuer lerned no more truly then the showemaker is able to iudge of the goldesmithes worke which he was neuer practised in And were not that showemaker to be accōpted very impudēt and vndiscret who seing two goldesmithes contending of the fines of some piece of gold or siluer would steppe in and take vpō him to determinat the matter betwene them much lesse ought the vnlerned medle with or determinat matters of Diuinite or take vpon them to expounde the meaning of the holy ghoste seing that in worldly affaires there can no waightier matter of more difficultie or of greater importaunce be taken in hande what then shal the vnlerned man do in this case If he may cleaue to no part at all then must he be of no church but make him selfe a newe secte forge him selfe a newe faith and so at length lese all faith and become a very painim whiche god forbid that euer any man should persuade the vnlerned If he cleaue to any part yet is he in greate daūger For almightie god cōmaūdeth straitly by his Apostle that we auoide the heretike Here truly the laye man ought to take good aduise For he is bounde him selfe to take hede of false prophets lest being blinde him selfe and not able to vnderstande holy scripture he suffer him selfe to be lead of a blinde guide such as the heretike is But howe can the blinde man see whether is guide be blinde or no Truly of him felfe he cā not see it vnlesse he hath lerned of suche as see wel some certain token howe to knowe it Is there then any such tokē or signe or where may a man seke it verely the mercifull prouidence of almighte God hath not failed in this point but hath left vnto the laie simple and vnlerned man a certain and vnfallible token whereby he may if he regarde his owne saluation beware of all false and heretical corruption in interpreting scripture There is no Christē man so rude or ignorant that knoweth not perfitly his Crede and can reherse it frō the beginning to the ending In the which though euery article ought diligētly to be marked and borne awaye yet in this time none more then the article where we saye Credo sanctā Catholicā Ecclesiam I beleue the holy Catholike church For in this worde Catholike is the very true token and marke to knowe the right interpretatiō of scripture by for that is called Catholike as S. Austin teacheth which euery where and at al times is and hath ben Thē this worde Chatolike attributed to the church is that which hath continued frō the Apostles time to our daies without any breache diuision or intermission For such a church did God the Father
not be brought about being to abolish olde and auncient religion and to plant a newe of his owne inuention To coulour therefore this his intent and fetch he forceth me the Apostle to speake for him and to vtter his doctrine in the vulgar tongue putting in for the wordes of the Apostle after the elements of the worlde his owne wordes after the lawes and ordonaunces of the worlde As though the Apostle had commaunded that bicause the ciuill lawes and decrees be not worde for worde expressed in the prophets or the Apostles but instituted for a policy and worldy gouuernement therefore that no man was bounde to obey them And this pageant so pretely entred of Luther proued not amisse especially for the trim tricked translation or rather transposing and altering of S. Paules wordes In an other booke entituled Of the secular power he writeth that amonge Christen men there ought to be no superiorite no power nor no Magistrat In the very same booke and in an Epistle againste the two edictes of the Emperour he writeth That our princes of Germany be lyars obstinat men without reason very bestes and to vse his owne wordes wild pret in himel that is like wilde dere in the element that we ought to praie to God that the subiectes obey not their magistrats nor go not to warre being pressed nor geue any thing towarde battaill against the Turke for that the Turke him selfe is ten times better then our Princes In the booke of his assertions against Leo the pope he affirmeth that To fight against the Turkes is to resiste God punishing vs by the Turkes tyranny In his booke de Captiuitate Babylonica he saieth There is no remedy to be hoped for onles the libertie of the ghospell he meaneth his owne being restored and all mens lawes vtterly extinguished we iudge and rule our selues For no Magistrat saythe he no nor angell of heauen hath the authorite to prescribe any lawe ouer Christen men other then they will be content them selues to folowe For Christen men are fre from al subiection Again in a litle booke againste the Collectours of wormes he writeth that no common welth is well ruled by lawes Last of all in his awnswer against Ambrosius Catharinus he stormeth like a madde man and crieth out that the Church of Christ and the ghospell caÌ„ in no wise acknowleadg or suffer any Magistrat or iurisdiction For al these thinges be but torments and cruell inuentions of men against Christians Luther then hauing by this false and foisted interpretation of S. Paule founde the meanes to burne the Canon lawe to bring in contempt the Ciuill lawe to raise vp the commons against their princes beside many other seditions and rebellions hereby procured I trust men will take hede and beware off such false forged and foisted interpretations For who seeth not that there is great difference betwene The elements of the worlde and the ordonnauÌ„ces of the worlde Chrisostom Theophilact Theodoret and other holy fathers interpreting this place of the Apostle teache vs that the worde Elemenâ—s do meane that we should auoide the Astronomicall predictions which are seldome without enchantemeÌ„ts and coungering And this is not only forbiddeÌ„ by scripture but also by Canons of the church and by the ciuill lawes as in Codice de Iudaeis Mathematicis a man may se is greuousely punished yet Luther wil haue no other thing ment by those wordes of the Apostle whatsoeuer the holy fathers saie then politick and ciuill ordonnaunces whiche he lowdely and lewdely curseth And Melanchthon in despite of the fathers and Canons maintaineth at Wittenberg most aboue other sciences Astrologie so that in no place it is so much folowed and practised as there I could bring here diuers other false and corrupted traÌ„slations of Luther but that I feare me I should wery the reader with ouer long and superfluous recitall thereof Notwithstanding who so loueth the truthe and will not willfully be abused he may iudge of these fewe examples what trust is to be geuen to the rest of Luthers translation an such other heretikes especially if he consider that he that is ones ouer the showes will not sticke yet to wade furder But here peraduenture a man will demaunde Sir if it be so that the reading of the Bible in the vulgar tongue be so perilous a matter howe shall the vnlerned laye man prouide that he be not abused in this case For many there are amonge the laite that caÌ„ not refraine from reading holy scripture taking it for a greate comfort and instruction as well to bridle their passions as to moue them to vertu What part then of holy scripture might well be permitted them to reade For the whole corps of the Bible were it neuer so wel translated yet I doubt whether it were expedient for the laye to reade it For it might be an occasion of idle and light thoughtes if euery girle or yonge womaÌ„ should reade the stories of Lot and his doughters of Lia and Rachel the wiues of Iacob of Iudas and Thamar and howe aduoutrie may be tried in wemen Whiche all in the olde testament is to be reade Amonge the Iewes it was a lawe that before the age of taking priesthood which was of thirty yeares no man should be suffred to reade the beginning of the Genesis the Canticles the ende and beginning of Echechiels prophecy And that bicause although all this were the worde of God yet it was not thought expedieÌ„t that euery one indifferently should lightely come to these secret and high misteries whiche God would not haue reueled to all lest being coÌ„moÌ„ as it happeneth they should the lesse be estemed Nor it hath not ben without the singular disposition and maruailous prouideÌ„ce of God that throughe all the west churche the wordes of his holy Sacraments haue amonge so many barbarous nations ben kept so longe time in the Latin tonge vnknoweÌ„ and straunge to the common sorte of men Yet that the laite be not vtterly excluded from the misteries of holy Scripture but that they may as farre as is expedient for them reade and knowe them this our counsell were not paraduenture amisse Bicause in holy scripture there are many stories and other thinges which are not necessary to be knowen not only of the laite but also of the inferiour sorte of the clergy certain bishops of Rome many yeares past haue piked out of the whole corps of the Bible certain most necessary parcels thereof and set it forthe together in the forme of a Breuiary or portise to be read of the clergy by dutie and of the laite such as listeth This is so distributed in to the seuen howres of Christes passion that who so listeth applie him selfe to praier and deuocioÌ„ can surely imagin no better order then that is The right Noble and excellent lerned man George Gienger one of the preuy counsell to the Emperours Maiestie well perceauing the great commodite thereof hathe translated
amator ciuitatis vt valde bene audiens c I stam vero eius mortem mirabiliorem quā quā prudentiorem narrauit quemadmodum facta esset non tanquam facienda esset scriptura laudauit Nostrum est autem sicut Apostolus admonet omnia probare quod bonum est tenere Et hanc quidem scripturam que appellatur Machabaeorum non habent Iudaei sicut legem Prophetas psalmos sed recepta est ab Ecclesia non inutiliter si sobrie legatur vel audiatur that is Razias therefore was praised as one that tendred the cyte and a man of a very good name c. But his deathe more straunge and wonderfull then wise and discret is declared of the scripture howe it was done not commended as if it ought so to be done But it is our parte as the Apostle teacheth vs to proue and trie all thinges and to holde that good is And this Scripture which is called the Machabees the Iewes in dede receiue not as the lawe the prophets and the psalmes But it is receaued of the church not vnprofitably if it be read and heard with discretion Thus farre S. Augustin In whose Wordes you see M. Grindall that not only he acknowledgeth the bookes off the Machabees for Scripture and that receiued off the Church but also he telleth vs how Razias is commended in these bookes not as you obiect in your Sermon bicause he killed him selfe but bicause he was amator ciuitatis c. Howe thinke you shall we condemne the bookes of the Iudges bicause we reade there of Sampson that he killed him selfe or the Genesis bicause we reade there of Lot that he laie with his daughters and off Iudas that he compained as he thought with a hoore by the high waie shall we not rather reuerence the holy Scripture and saie with S. Augustin that Scripture declareth these thinges howe they were done not commending them as if they ought to be done As for your other sory shift where you gesse that the place of the Machabees commēding praier for the dead hath ben put to the text by some addition of late yeares bicause you saie certain of the oldest copies in greke haue no mention thereof I answer to charge the Church withe any such addition hauing no proufe thereof as yet you bringe none is the maner of olde heretikes the Manichees by name who saied also the genealogie in S. Matthew was added to his ghospell by some they knew not who And as for greke copies that lacke that place of praieng for the dead if you haue sene any such M. Grindall you may rather thinke they are corrupted of some olde or new Aerians heretikes as you haue heard in that point then to doubte of the common receiued text of holy Scripture els what heresy is there that may not escape by this shift if it may be lawfull vpon variete off copies which may rise of sundry causes as well the printed as the writen to call in doubt the authorite of holy scripture which ought without all doubt being ones vniuersally authorised assuredly and constantly be beleued and folowed And thus much to the reasons and arguments brought against the bookes of Machabees You go forthe M. Grindall and you saie Secondarely we haue no example in the Canonicall Scripture of any inuocation for the dead What then M. Grindall if that were true as we haue proued it already false will you therefore condemne the practise of the vniuersall Church which is clere and euident in this point What example in Canonicall scripture haue you off celebrating the Sonday holy daie Will you therefore driue men to their craftes that daie with the Sabbataries a secte of the Anabaptistes of oure time what example of Canonicall scripture haue you of inuocation of the holy Ghost Will you therefore as that protestant Minister of Morauia preached rather be a papist then beleue in the holy Ghoste What example haue you in Canonicall Scripture of baptising infants before the yeares of discretion Will you therefore with the Anabaptistes baptise no children hereafter in the Realme and call vs all to the fonte againe And did not thinke you the Anabaptiste laugh in his sleue when he heard you make youre reasons in pulpit vpon lacke of example of Canonicall scripture Especially when you concluded afterward so stoutely and solemnely For most certain it is if praier for the dead had ben so necessarie as many now adaies woulde haue it seme it had not lacked all authorite and example of the Canonicall Scriptures as it doth Surely M. Grindal you can neuer speake better worde for heretikes then graunting them this your proposition that without example and authorite of Canonicall scripture nothing is to be admitted And yet this one sentence is the grounde and foundation of all your newe doctrine For why May not the Anabaptiste saie vnto you iff yow hadde him in consistory before you Most certain it is my L. if baptising of infants and babes were so necessary as you would haue it seme it had not lacked all authorite and example of the Canonicall Scriptures as it doth And could you then repell him for so saying seing you preache it in pulpit and make it your strongest argument to ouerthrow praier for the dead Againe might not Nestorius haue tolde Cyrillus and all the fathers of the Ephesin Councell We haue no example in the Canonicall scripture that Our Lady is called the Mother of God And certain it is if it were so necessary a matter to haue her so called and beleued for such as you will haue it seme pronouncing me an heretike for denying it and assembling your selues so from al partes of the worlde for approuing and defending it it had not lacked all authorite and example of Canonicall Scriptures as it dothe might he not I saie thus haue tolde them as you M. Grindall do tell vs if that argument had ben thought worth the telling Might not Arrius haue quarelled in like maner with the fathers of the Nicen Councel for the wordes Consubstantiall and ingenitus might not Heluidius haue vsed the like againste S. Hierom for the perpetuall virginite of our Lady and Nouatus with S. Cyprian for reconciling of such as had abiured Christ For none of al these had any authorite or exāple in the Canonical Scriptures And yet M. Grin dall the Anabaptistes the Nestorians the Arrians the Nouatians the Heluidians be all condēned heretikes euen by your owne iudgement I doubt not though the Catholike doctrine in confuting of al those heresies lacke all authorite and example of the Canonicall Scriptures Where is then nowe become your argument against vs for lacke of Scripture supposing it were true we did so lacke Where is nowe that stoute and great assertion Most certain it is cae But to ouerthrow with one worde this forte and shooteancker of all your pretended religion tell vs I praie yow if without authorite and
master to rule the sterne medling not with that he hath no skill of right so when preuy rebells or open apostatas of Christen religion sowe seditious schismes and preache hereticall doctrine troubling thereby the quiet and settled consciences of true and vpright beleuers euery Christen man especially such as are of the laye and inferiour sorte ought to cleaue vnto their heades and rulers in Christ his church medling not with the determination of any point called then in controuersy but looke to be directed as they haue allwaies ben by their catholike pastours and ouerseers to whom they are commaunded by the Apostle to obey and submitte them selues truly no lesse then the souldiar to his Capitain or the passanger to his master Therefore oure Sauiour biddeth the people to beware and Take hede of false prophets nor to beleue euery spirit but trie and discern whether they be of God or no. But this lo howe maye it be Howe shal the ignorant and laye man trie false doctrine from the true It hath ben put in to mens heads of late yeares that euery man for this purpose ought to reade holy scripture and thereby to trie and discern truthe from falshood It were perhaps to be wished if it had so pleased God that as holy scripture is the true triall thereof so it were open and euident to all men that seke the triall therein but what haue lerned men iudged in times past of holy scripture Many things saieth S. Augustin are darke in scriptures and it hath so ben prouided of God to the entent that our pridemight be tamed by trauail and our knowledg not cloyed with facilite which quickely contemneth that easely hath ben lerned In like maner S. Hierom. All prophecy or interpretation of scripture contayneth the truthe in darcknes and obscurite to the entent that the scholers and lerners within may vnderstande but the rude people set without may not knowe what is saied Orels we shall cast precious stones before hogges iff we open the treasure of holy scripture to euery man Epiphanius likewise The Scripture saieth he telleth all truthe but we haue nede of good intelligēce and perceiuerance to knowe God and his word There is in the ghospell saieth Origen the letter that killeth for the destroying letter is not only in the olde Testament but also in the newe Testament to him that vnderstandeth not spiritually that which is saied Tertullian speaketh yet more vehemently hereof I am not afeared saieth he to saie that the scriptures them selues haue ben so disposed by the will of God that they mought minister matter vnto heretikes seing that I reade that heresies must be which without scripture coulde not be This is the iudgement of the lerned fathers who haue trauailed more in holy scripture then any new preacher of oure time and yet can espie no greate facilite in it but rather do complaine of the maruailous difficulte thereof And doth not S. Peter write plainly that in the epistles of S. Paule Certain thinges were very harde to be vnderstanded which the vnlerned and inconstant depraued euen as other parts of scripture to their owne destruction Doth not S. Paule write that The ghospell is vailed and couered from those that perish Are we not commaunded to serch holy scripture doth not this serching importe a diligence and difficulty more then laye men can either attend vppon or attaine vnto The Eunuchus vnderstode not the prophet vntill the Apostle had expounded it vnto him And Christ after his Ascension opened the vnderstanding off his disciples that they might vnderstand the scriptures And thincke we oure selues able to vnderstand all that we reade This then being so howe shall the laye and vnlerned man perfourme the commaundement of the ghospell bidding him To beware of false prophetes and to discern the sprits whether they be of god or no Euery secte nowe a daies chalengeth the worde of god and the right vnderstanding thereof The Catholike likewise by prescription out of memory standeth in possession thereof and will not be brought from it for all the bragges the heretike maketh Howe then shall the vnlerned man hearing bothe tales conclude with him selfe which to folowe Were it not nowe good readers much to be wished that some clere and euident doctrine were taught by what meanes and howe the holy worde of God maye rightly be vnder standed and the false prophets preachers and protestants of oure time might be auoided Truly as the sauegarde of the soule passeth all worldly interest so euery Christen hart ought aboue all thinges tender the same and with all diligence possible procure spedy remedies for the pestiferous venim off heresy which crepeth on like a cancre and corrupteth the whole estat of our saluation Hauing therefore sene and perused a certain booke of Fridericus Staphylus writen first in the Allemain tongue and after translated in to Latin wherein he first teacheth the vnlerned laye man howe to beware of false and wrong interpretation of holy scripture which is no lesse necessary then the reading off scripture it selfe secondarely detecteth certain false translations of the Bible by Luther in to his mother tongue laste of all declareth the maruailous dissension and variaunces of the Lutherans in their doctrine and chiefest articles of our faith which is a most euident argument of the sprit of dissension the diuell him selfe speaking in thē and a clere proufe of hereticall doctrine for the truthe is but one I haue thought good to translate the whole in to our mother tongue trusting in almighty God to profit hereby many a Christen soule of my dere deceined countremen which as God is my witnes was my only respect in this smal labour The first part of this booke is a very necessary lesson for the vnlerned laye man For without the true and right interpretation of holy scripture such as the church teacheth he can haue no right faith and so hazardeth his soule and euerlasting life which he ought aboue all worldly respect tender and procure For as our Sauiour saieth What auaileth it a man to winne the whole worlde and lese his soule The second parte is a good admonition for al such as are not sene in the tongues to beware of newe translations of holy scripture falsely forged for a vauntage Our english bibles sette forth these last yeares lack not such foisting in of false termes In the epistles of S. Paule as ofte as the worde Idoll is founde in the greke and latin text so ofte they turne it Image as though 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in greke idolum and imago in laten or idol and image in english were all one When God saieth in holy scripture Let vs make man according to our image will these men saie that God hath an idoll according to the which man was made and howe be they not ashamed to call couetousnes worshipping of images
yeares serued then this lerned father against the thirty yeares of the Arrians how much more may fiften hundred and twise thirty yeares serue vs for a most stronge presciption against the protestants of our countre who haue not yet half thirty yeares among vs ben in possession of this their pretended religion in such sorte as it is now professed TO THE RIGHT REVEREND FATHER IN GOD PRINCE AND LORDE HIS SINGVLAR GOOD LORDE the Lorde Martin Bishop of Eystat FRIDERICVS STAPHYLVS wisheth health VVhereas you are most Reuerēd Prelat as you forefathers were by orderly vocation placed as Patrone and protectour to this vniuersite of Ingolstad sithen that also the right honorable Prince Albert Duke of Bauaria hath set me ouerseer and gouuerner of the same it had becomed me long ere this time to haue offred vnto you my seruice especially hauing certain matters committed to my charge whereof I should before this time haue conferred with you But whereas oure voluntarie deliberation by trouble of time was defeated being constrained not as I would but as I was forced to yelde to necessite and therefore must omitte the one and do the other Yet in this busines to be somewhat occupied and in the principall by the waye to be doing I haue not suffred suche leasure as at times happened to passe withoute some frute of publicke commodite Whereof hauing longe thought it semed me I coulde not by the waie more profitably be doing then if at what time other plaie or banquet I laboured vppon some such thing as might enforme the poore deceaued people and not offend rulers and magistrats And to this ende truly these darke winter dayes as leasure serued me I haue compiled this booke framing my stile after a rude and simple sorte that the vnlearned might vnderstande me but letting passe no iote of the truthe to cure and remedy the falshood Although therefor the lerned by this booke shall not perhaps be much instructed yet the good witte shall finde herein that is right worthy to be knowen and truly in medecines the wise Phisician will not so much regarde that they be pleasaunt or fayre to the eye as that they be holesome This is therefor my meaning and the marke I shoote at that the good people may be admonished of their saluation and aduertised of the daungerous deceites of heretikes by whose crafte and guile we see the noble Romain empire much weakened and empaired euen nowe to fainte and thousands of Christen soules other where daily to perish But the deceites of these heretikes being spredd so farre and so diuersly in Christendom that the vnlerned can not comprise them and the lerned scant espie them it shall be inoughe for the people to lerne to knowe them selues to be people that is to vnderstande that it is ynough for their parte to learne of the spirituall magistrat howe to do their duty to God and of the ciuill or temporall magistrat to learne their duty to their prince and in all thinges rather to lerne then to teache rather to obey then to commaunde For these two estates the spirituall and the temporall haue of God him selfe ben ordained duly receaued of vs confirmed and established by lawes and haue serued vs as two walles by the which the power of the Romain empire hath ben in Germany stayed vp and continued all most these eight hundred yeares And truly as longe as matters appertaining to God were by the spiritualty and the common welthe by the temporalty gouuerned and the lawes off bothe estates ordained were inuiolatly obserued thē Germany might contend in wisedō with the grekes in stoutnes of courage with the Romanes in godlines with all Christen nations then it mought more surely of vs then of the Romanes be saied By auncient lawes and men doth stande Thestate of Germany and Allemain lande Then it could when lawes ruled men not men the lawes maintaine peace abrode and reste at home kepe out their enemie valiantly and gouuerne their people in all felicite But Satan not abiding the repos of this countre stirred vp Martin Luther a German borne pricked him with furious rage and draue him so forwarde that he ouerthrew all auncient lawes by the which this Empire hitherto hath staied and continued and placed for them newe by the which it should perishe and fall Luther iolted and enraged by this rider Satan began with a fury to set vpon the two saide walles of the empire and in shorte time as well by his battering the walles were sore beaten as by the sounde slepe of the rulers the warde and watche was forsaken And that in such sorte vntel one of the walles the Spiritualty was vtterly ouerthrowen the other the Temporalty was put in greate hazarde For so it proueth in dede when that as the poete saieth The sore dissembled doth fester and growe While the idle shepeard taking his ease Sercheth not spedely the wounde to knowe But asketh the Gods to cure the desease But this negligence being ones committed and done it can not nowe be vndone Yet although of thinges past we haue the remembraunce only consultation or deliberation we haue none truly I can not forget with what a perpetuall ignominie and shame we are to be noted that coulde suffer a lewd frier and that neither craftely cladde in his shepes cote neither excellently lerned to worcke so foule and so pernicious a mischef against all Christendom that hauing first all most ouerthrowen the Spiritualty he hath so shaken and weakened also the Temporalty that it semeth rather already fallen downe then liekely to fall But what entry made Luther Howe began he to ouerthrowe these two estates His beginning was surely vaine and foolish and stuffed all with lies The principles and growndes saieth he of the papistes are the traditions of men not expressed in holy write the pope of Rome doubting and vncertainte of the grace of god But who saieth this Luther euery where What witnes hath he Ihon Brentius in his booke of the causes of dissension But howe proueth he it to be trewe for none other reason forsothe but for that Luther is as he saieth an Euāgelist and Brentius is an other S. Ihon. I thinke the thirtenth Apostle But as for these principles or groundes there was neuer Catholike that so much as dreamed them so farre is it that any man affirmed them or defended them The true principles of Diuinite with vs are and haue allwayes ben these first the worde of God to wit the doctrine of the prophets and the Apostles and brefely al the holy Scripture whiche we call the Bible The seconde principle is the right and Catholike sence and vnderstanding of tbe worde of God deliuered by the Apostles to their successours and by them spred through the whole worlde declared also in many Councels of the holy fathers and brought in to Canons For this Catholike exposition of the holy scripture bicause it was deliuered vnto the Apostles by Christ him selfe and
by them left vnto their lawfull successours with the very text of the scripture therefore it is cōmonly called the Tradition of the holy fathers and oftentimes the vnwriten verite in respect of the writen texte And bicause the truthe off the text and of the right vnderstanding of the texte must nedes be all one truly our aduersaries do slaunder vs fayning that in triall off cōtrouersies we woulde beside the worde of God sett as iudge the traditions of men directly against the worde of God The third principle is that holy continuall succession of the See Apostolike and other bishops in the Catholike churche For if we be able to proue by order of continuall succession that all bishops as well before vs as nowe haue allwaies expounded the holy scriptures euen as the first Apostles did can there be any more certain waye for the vnderstanding of scripture then this is I would gladly heare what can be saied against it The fourthe principle is the vnite and consent of the Catholike churche Whereby it is made that the like truthe be in euery part that is in the whole and so contrary wise These are moste Reuerend Prelate the right principles of Christian doctrine these are the foundations of all truthe these as foure quarres or corner stones holde vp the Catholike churche and therefore it is called One Holy Catholike and Apostolike churche For of these principles dependeth the Authorite of the councels Of these the holy Canons haue their beginning and of these all laufull and laudable rites of the church take force and strength These then being the principles of our religion not those which Brentius falsely chargeth vs withal Princes and rulers ought to looke more nerer vnto the doings and sayings of their preachers But nowe Bretius to make an oppositiō of the foresaide forged principles our principles are saieth he the worde of God Christ and an assured certainte of oure confidence in Christ But what is I praie you this your worde of God This it is that all maner of folke mē and womē cookes and coblers baudes and buchers tinkers and tailers pedlers and poticaries minstrels and mummers and all such like be priestes be bishops be doctours and pastours and haue authoritie to administrat the Sacraments to interpret Scripture and what interpretation eche one by the drifte of his braine draweth out of scripture that to be the pure ghospell off the Lorde and the expresse worde of God This is not right Reuerend father the worde of God but the worde of the diuell him selfe inuēted of Luther not inspired by the sprit of God For that man entending to peruert all that appertained to God or to man laboured trauailed and endeuoured by al meanes possible that there might remaine no spirituall magistrat whiche might by authorite discerne betwene leper and leper maintaining the right doctrine of the ghospell and remouing the bastard And this labour of Luther being well liked of Sathan he imagined an other worde of God as that among Christen men shoulde be no ciuill magistrat for all princes were fooles tyrans and men of no religion to thentent that if perhaps the heresies of Luther were condemned by the Spirituall magistrat and so forth with cōmitted to the secular sworde princes therunto might haue no authorite Hereuppon he forbiddeth Christen men to kepe warre against the Turke and commaundeth subiects to rebel against their princes Strait vppon this arose an other worde of an other God that all lawes of chaste and single life shoulde be taken awaye teaching amonge a sorte of maydes and yonge men that Man was no more able to refraine his fleshly lustes then not to spet when nature prouoked Againe that fasting and abstinence from flesh nothing helped prayer nothing furdered deuotion made nothing to sobriete These smaller pointes being first all most conquered he reacheth to higher and diuiner matters First bicause he teacheth that sinne is not by the grace of baptime taken away in dede but is saide and fained only to be taken away hereof he savve it vvolde folovve that mē oughte not be estemed righteous and good in dede but onely accompted and imputed for such Then bycause he made no difference nor degre of grace he admitted no encrease in vertu and therefore could not abide the Sacramēt of Confirmation Fardermore bicause if sinne be not rooted out if there be no encrease of grace nor goodnes but al is only by maner of accōpte and imputing thē must he also infer that the presence of Christes body may not be in earthe that no sacrifice be admitted and vvhich folovved thereupon no priesthood nether And of this point the Zuinglians picked out one worde of their straunge God and the Lutherās an other of this spring also arose the doctrine teaching mā to be iustified by only faith hope charite repentaunce and other good workes being pernicious and hurtefull to saluation what frute then thinke you proceded hereof This sothely and many other For if God doth compell man to sinne as Luther and the Caluinistes do write howe can God require good workes or by what lawe can be punish sinne seing that he worketh sinne in vs and good workes are thought to be pernicious And truly if there be no rewarde for vertu there shall be no punishment for sinne And then there is no hel nor place of punishment as in the seacoste townes of Germany it is taught there is no diuell to execute that punishment as Osiander teacheth This worde not of God but of the diuell beyng laied this principle being put an other principle concerning Christ ensued as that the humain nature of Christe is god as the Swenckfeldians will haue it or contrairely that Christe is not God as the Seruetians teache and Mathias Flaccius affirming that the worde in the first of Iohn is not the sonne of God Lo how fertill and abundant was this principle of Luther and Brentius There were in times past and are also nowe a dayes whiche openly denie Christ to be the son of God affirming him to be the son of Ioseph and Mary Which Mary also had as they saye many other children beside Christ. Other there be nowe which teache the ghospell of S. Iohn to be a tale of Plato baptim to be the inuentiō of the diuell And that there is not in God the Trinite of persons some other doubting whether this Trinite be man or woman So taught euen this winter a certayn new ghospeller in Sternberg a towne of Morauia and that with the fauour of the people but much against the will of the Bishop of Omoluke their diocesian There be nowe in Hungary also which in their baptim leaue out cleane the name of the Son There be in many places the Seruetians which call the blessed Trinite by the name of the hellhownd Cerberus whom the poetes fained to haue thre heads With like horrible blasphemies two other ghospellers daily
to come backe frō whence we departed to returne to the vnite and cōsent of Christendom and all Catholike people For why be we Germans Christē men So are other nations and countres also Yf then we be not the whole corps off Christendom we are yet a parte of it But that parte is foule say the S. Austen whiche agreeth not with his whole What then surely this is the only medicine for our desease the only remedy for this mischef the only hope of amendment if that we being not the whole corps of Christendome but a parte of it suffer not our selues to be persuaded that any one parte of the body can be saued when the whole perisheth The nature and property of a generall councel is to cure euery parte of Christendom neglecting none Such a councell nowe therefore being called and prouulgated we are al called no man is excluded Truly no mans greafe or desease can be so greate but that the Coūcel is able to remedy it Nor none is of such vertu and perfection but that by the councel he may be more commēded Will we therefore auoide in time ths paganisme of these Epicures let vs all embrace the wholesom rule of Christen faithe submitting our selues to the holy Councell Will we caste of the yoke of Mahomet Will we flie the idolatry of the Alcoran Let vs seeke vnite let vs come vnto the Councell and all force of armes laied aside let vs quietly and with leasure debate our cause let vs in al softnes and loue deliberat and cōsult of the publike weale of vs al. For Charite as S. Paul teacheth is patiēt is gētle Charite striueth not it doth not frowardly it is not prowde not ambitious it seketh not her owne interest it is not prouoked it thinketh no euil it reioyseth not of iniquite but is delyted in verite it suffreth al thinges it beleueth al things it hopeth al things it abideth al things Let this lawe of the Apostle and rule of Christian Charite be the foundation of the proclaimed councell the maner of ordering it and the intent of debating in it But you will saye VVe are greuously offended with them Truly that is greate pitie But Charitie is patient suffreth all thinges is not prouoked Our aduersaires be vnlerned Charite striueth not is not proude not ambitious Our aduersaries be riche and kepe that is not their owne yea they haue that is oures Charite seketh not her owne interest it doth not frowardly It semeth the councel wil deceaue vs and not kepe promis with vs Charite thinketh no harme but beleueth al things hopeth all thinges But what if peraduenture we be there cast and condemned Charite reioyseth not of iniquite but is delited in verite Truly I am fully persuaded that if we woulde all with this minde and intent come to the Councell we shoude seking all for the truthe quickely see an ende of controuersies and seeking all vnite returne home in perfit agreement But you require to knowe the iudge and order of this councell In good time for the protestants woulde one of their flocke to be iudge and likewise the Catholikes of theirs againe they desire one order and these an other For priuat affections are on bothe sides feared lest the true iudgement be thereby corrupted Howe shall we then do to haue a Iudge voide of all suspicion that may vprightly iudge Let the worde of God and the Catholike and right interpretation of that worde be iudge in the whiche interpretation there is surely no lesse truthe then in the very texte of the worde of God For what can be more impudent and vnreasonable then to embrace the text only and reiecte the right and Catholike vnderstanding of the same to admit that is spoken and refuse that is mēt to vrge the letter that of it selfe killeth and flye the spiritual meaning which geueth life Herein therefore the greatest point of our debate cōsisteth whē the Catholike shal interpret holy scripture otherwise then the protestant or the protestāt otherwise then the Catholike to knowe which of these two bringeth forthe the more Catholike more right and more receaued interpretation And in this debate the ende must nedes be that they be iudged to haue brought the righter the more Catholike and the more receaued interpretation which are able euidently to showe their interpretation alleaged to be Catholike and Apostolicall that is to haue proceded from the Apostles to haue ben receaued of their successours deliuered from hande to hande by continuall succession and spred through the whole corps of Christēdom and so to haue come and reached euen to vs. They agayne must nedes be thought to haue alleaged the false and bastard interpretation of holy scripture which are not able to deduct it from the Apostles nor to proue it vniuersall As for example Let vs suppose that now in the councell with these newe Arrians of our dayes this question were to be debated Whether Christ be in dede the Son of God and of aequall substaunce with the father or no. where as the Arrians denie this the Catholikes do affirme it and the Arrians for their parte alleage that place of scripture where it is writē Pater maior me est The father is greater then I am againe the Catholikes alleage an other place Ego pater vnum sumus I and the father be alone and eche of them interpreting their place alleaged but bothe of them diuersly what can now help the very writen worde of God and bare text of the scripture to terminat this debate the writen worde is on bothe partes expresse and of bothe admitted Wherein then standeth the controuersie truly not in the text but in the right vnderstanding of the text Not in that which is spokē but in that which is ment Is not this I praie you agreable to the worde of God standeth it not with all reason that the same interpretation and vnderstanding of an alleaged text be iudged right and lawful which can euidētly be proued to haue ben deriued from the Apostles and so receaued and vsed in the whole corps of Christēdom I verely can imagin no better And with this my iudgmēt agreeth wel that Noble and wise Emperour Theodosius the first who in this very question of vs propounded chose for iudge in that controuersie the Catholike and receaued interpretatiō of holy scripture For thus we reade in the ecclesiastical historie of Socrates of one Sisinnius who gaue the Emperour this councell to aswage the greate contentions that were then in the church through that heresie of Arrius This Sisinius was as Socrates writeth an eloquent mā a man of much experience very well sene in the olde writers expounding holy scripture and a good philosopher This man therefore perceauing that by disputations and conferences with heretikes the schisme grewe on more and wexed more cōtentious he aduised Nectarius then Patriarche of Constantinople in this maner The olde writers saieth
continuall succession of time vncorrupted whole and perfite whiche maketh me more to maruaill what wicked and malitious sprit moued these protestants to terme them selues only ghospellers and professours of Gods worde calling the Catholikes papistes and enemies of the worde of God seing that bothe nowe and in all ages we reade the ghospell in our churches we preache the worde of God in our pulpits and interpret it to the people we expresse it by outward ceremonies rites and gestures such as we haue receaued of our forefathers euen from the primitiue church and the Apostles time And this Luther knewe him selfe well inough But why dissembled he it then forsothe to deceaue and entrappe the easier the simple people in to his preteÌ„ded religion For Luther and all his ministers knowe very wel that in the ghospel and worde of God two thinges are to be considered First that the text be sownd and not corrupted then that the same text be expounded Catholikely and not heretically For as S. Bernard saieth looke with what sprit the scriptures were writen with the same must they be read and vnderstanded Seing then the text by the instinct of the holy ghost hath ben geuen vs true and perfit the vnderstanding also and interpretation thereof coming of the holy ghost must be true and perfit so that one shall be as true and of as much force as the other It is not inough therefore to reade holy scripture perfitly but to vnderstande it well also For as S. Hierom sayeth The scriptures consist not in reading but in vnderstanding All this Luther was not ignorant of But to depraue and corrupt the right interpretation of holy scripture and to bring in place his owne hereticall and forged expositions he maketh no mencion off the text but crieth still the worde of God calling the dreames of his braine pure and holy scripture For if ye aske of the Lutherans when they preache that God coÌ„straineth men to do euill that God was the cause of Iudas his reprobation and obstinat desperation that good workes are hurtefull to saluation and such like matters what maner of doctrine that is they will incontinently awnswer you that This is the pure ghospell the sincere worde of God and holy scripture it selfe But then if ye go farder and desire them to showe yow these very wordes and propositions in holy scripture there they hush Yet will they tell you that the wordes in dede them selues be not in the Bible but the meaning of them is there To the which if ye replie agayn and vrge them farder it will soone appere that the controuersie betwene the protestants and vs is not of holy scripture it self but of the true vnderstanding of the same And so S. Hilary hauing to do with heretikes in his time pronounced Heresie sayth he is in the vnderstaÌ„ding not in the scripture And truly all heretikes neuer cried other thing theÌ„ the holy scripture the worde of God and we that are Catholikes also haue holy scripture allwaies in our mouth Nowe then a man may maruaill and aske howe cometh it to passe that the Lutherans and the Catholikes the protestants and the papistes striue and contend so one with an other where as yet bothe haue the ghospell bothe loue and embrace it bothe cleaue vnto it and bothe are ready to spende their good and their life for it Here I beseche the Christian reader marke and perceaue well that this is not the coÌ„trouersie whether the Catholikes or the Lutherans haue the worde of God but which of them doth truly rightely and sincerely expounde that worde off God For this is the Lutherans common saying The papistes vnderstand not the Bible but we haue founde the right interpretation thereof and the kaye of all truthe And to set a good coulour vppon this holy protestation they saye farder That all bisshops prelats priestes and Monkes be all without lerning all incoÌ„tinent all of euill life geauen to couetousnes to pleasure and to the bely But they theÌ„ selues that is the Lutherans be learned chaste sobre liberall deuowte and of perfit life and such as haue done great miracles and yet do Neither are these impudeÌ„t heretikes ashamed of these lowde lies although all the worlde well knoweth it is nothing so while they see Churches hospitalls religious houses of all sorte colledges and bishoprickes of these men partly cleane ouerthrowen partly rifled all taken into their handes and conuerted into palaces armories barnes cole houses shops of Marchaundrise yea and in some places in to stables These lo be the miracles of this new ghospell abundantly practised all this fourty yeares As for other miracles not one of these new ghospellers was euer able so much as to cure a lame colte or a halting biche so farre is it that these meÌ„ could euer cast out deuils heale the lame cure the blinde restore the deafe or raise vp the dead all which miracles many holy fathers of the olde ghospell as I may so speake which these men call Papistes haue wrought from time to time in Christ his churche as right approued histories do manifestly declare Now as for the good and perfit life of these men and excellent lerning all the worlde seeth it An olde sorte of heretikes called Donatistes obiected in times past to S. Augustin the very same argumeÌ„t saying that their church only was vpright holy pure and lerned But the Catholike churche was nothing so And therefore the doctrine of the Donatistes was vndoubtedly souÌ„de and perfit but that of the Catholikes false and vntrue But what awnswered theÌ„ here S. Augustin The argument saieth he that proueth mens doctrine by their life is false But let vs suppose that these holy protestants passed al the vniuersall Catholike church of Christ sens the time of the Apostles bothe in godlines of life and excellency of lerning Which I thinke in good sothe they wil not al together affirme But if it were so it wil not yet thereuppon ensue that only the Lutherans vnderstande holy scripture and the Catholikes neuer vnderstoode it For if the right intelligence of holy Scripture be only to be sought amonge such as will stoutely affirme of them selues to passe all the rest of men in vprightnes of life and excellency of lerning then in very dede must we nedes leaue this great treasure of the right meaning of holy scripture vnto heretikes For in all ages heretikes allwaies craked of their great lerning and perfit life as the ecclesiasticall histories well declare of the Arrians the Manâ—ches the Pelagians and such like And what other thinge dothe Luther in many of his workes especially in his booke against the pope Then call the olde Catholike writers and holy fathers fooles asses rude and vnlerned babes of the pope hermaphrodites and such like Neither contemneth he only the Catholikes but euen his owne coÌ„panions and felow heretikes also as Zuinglius
God but by his propre will and operation yea and whensoeuer men labour to do well that then they sinne deadly Of this tre haue growen all mischef fornication aduoutrie ryot dronknes extorsions robberies rebellion periuries deceites lies all contempt of honesty and vertu procliuite to all vice beside blasphemies of Gods holy name backbiting slaundering reproches iniuries and all kinde of wickednes frely and without grudge of coÌ„science practised Be not these noble and faire frutes of Luthers ghospell May not well the rule of Christ here take place By their frutes ye shall knowe them For looke what the tre is such is the frute and looke what the frute is such is thetre Although therefore we can not denie but amonge vs Catholikes much enormite is and much euill life yet no man can saie that we teache and allow these vices or that our doctrine is the cause off oure naughty liuing no man I saye can charge the Catholike doctrine to prescribe any thing against holy scripture against ciuill policie or publike magistrates as the newe forged ghospell of Luther doth Exacting therefore the Lutherans vnto this rule of Christ we worthely iudge them of their frutes to be false prophets and daungerous deceiuers The like they caÌ„ not do of vs for that the euill frutes that are in vs procede of oure selues not of our doctrine of swaruing from the precepts and godly constitutions off our faith not of obseruing them But the Lutherans naughty life procedeth euen of their doctrine as we haue in some certain pointes for example before declared Yet as touching the life of spirituall teachers and rulers god hath prescribed to the laitie and common people a perfit and absolute rule to discerne true doctrine from the false saying The scribes and Pharises sit in the Chaire of Moyses Do as they commaunde you to do not as they do theÌ„ selues in the which saying of Christ euery Christen man that regardeth his soule helth ought diligently waie two pointes First to know which is the lawfull chaire of Moyses and which is not then how the laye and common sort of people ought to beare them selues towardes the euill life of the clergy Let vs then first speake of the first point Sithen the time that these newe doctrines of Luther hath ben putin the peoples heads and so many diuers and contrary opinions hathe ben taught that the simple and vnlerned know not all most which waie to turne them selues many are brouht to that point that they reiect all religion at ones and think oure Christen faith to be but prety policies of mens inuention or rather olde wyues tales to feare childreÌ„ and with this imagination are become worldly Epicures terming their felicite in present pleasure as a great number do nowe in Germany Whereof truly we haue great cause to feare vnles these cursed heresies be spedely extinguished that almightie God of his dreadfull iustice will sturre vp the Turke or some cruell tiraÌ„ to rippe vp the belies of these fleshely swine and gredy gloutons destroying also with the wicked whiche God of his tender mercie forbid the good and vertuous But to thentent that all good and vertuous people may beware of such infidelite and wiâ—ked cogitations despering vtterly of all religion S. Paule hathe forewarned his scholer Timothe and in him vs all writing All scripture inspired froÌ„ God is profitable to teach to improue to amend and to instruct in righteousnes that the man of God may be perfit and prepared vnto all good workes These are not mens imaginations but the very wordes of God pronounced by the holy ghoste in the mouthe of the Apostle And this is an expres commaundement of God that we beleue vndoubtedly in holy scripture that we seke our saluation therein walking and continuing vprightly in the pathes of that holy write not swaruing either on the right hande either on the left But that we maye so do it behoueth vs not only to reade the bare and literall text of holy scripture but to enquire also for the true and right vnderstanding of the same For the letter killeth but the Spirit geueth life Wherefore our Lorde speaking to the Iewes saieth Searche the scriptures for in them ye thinke to haue eternall life But it is one thinge to reade another to serche They are therefore much deceaued which crie now a daies that nothing must be receiued but holy scripture that all other interpretations being but the imaginations of man are not to be beleued If the protestants speake herein as they thinke I woÌ„der why the Lutherans and the Zuinglians haue writen so many and so large interpretations vpon the olde and newe testament and caused them to be printed abrode yea why make they suche continuall sermons to the people wherein they recite not allwaies expresse scripture but talke much beside the text adding their interpretations and expositions vnto it commaunding also and charging the people to take those their interpretations for the very worde of God And is not this a maruailous impudent and proude presumption of these protestant preachers When we on our part alleage the expositions of the holy fathers vpon holy scripture they as if it were in a rage crie out incontinently The holy fathers were but men the church hath erred in many pointes the expositions of those fathers are but their imaginations and deuises not the worde off God And therefore we nede not geue any credit vnto them But when they them selues preache vnto the people the commauÌ„de and persuade the people that if they tender their soule health they must vndoubtedly beleue that which is there preached vnto them and the interpretation of holy scripture which they bring is the pure and sincere worde of God the ghospell it selfe Is not this as I saied a a maruailous impudent and proude presumption of these protestant preachers Is it not an horrible arrogancie to terme their owne fantasies holy scripture their imaginations the ghospell the meaning and sens of their owne inuention the very worde off God condemning withall and reiecting the vniforme true and receaued interpretations of all olde holy fathers and writers approued hitherto in the Church of Christ by whom the same church hath ben from time to time gouuerned directed and instructed in all truthe sens the time of the Apostles this thowsand fiue hundred yeares and more vnder whose doctrine and godly instructions so many blessed martirs holy confessours and infinit thousands of other Christen soules haue attained to euerlasting life Whereas contrary wise by the expositions and interpretations of these newe preachers horrible schismes diuers and hainous heresies dissolute and licentious liuing strifes contentions and rebellions haue spronge vp and all most ouergrowen the garden off Christes church well planted before and tended by the holy fathers rulers thereof what can be more impudently and arrogantly presumed Yet these newe preachers to wrappe and entrappe the people more and
more in their former snare they patche on an other dangerous deceit vsing this guile with them You must good people in dede beleue the only writen worde of god but to the expositions of the preachers ye ought so farre to beleue as their expositions agreeth with the writen worde that is that the simple and vnlerned people must iudg of their owne faith and be able to trie whether their preachers teache false or no whether their expositions agre so iust with the worde of God that they may be bolde to beleue them euen as the very worde of God Yf this be true that the poeple must nowe iudge their preachers and teachers then was S. Paule to blame describing the prouidence of Christ toward his church to saie these wordes Christ ascending on high lead captiuite captiue and gaue giftes vnto men These giftes were vndoubtedly his holy worde and to make it out of doubt what maner of giftes he meaneth it foloweth strait vppon And he hath geuen some Apostles some prophets and some Euangelistes For by these thre sortes of men by the prophets the Apostles the Euangelistes inspired of the holy ghost holy scripture was writen but bicause in the writen worde many mysteries lye hidden therefore Christ left not to his church only Prophets Apostles and Euangelistes but as it foloweth in S. Paule He gaue pastours and doctours shepeards and teachers which should fede the people with the true intelligence of the holy write and teache them the true vnderstāding of the same Now then either the Shepeardes and teachers must instructe the people and interpret holy scripture vnto thē as S. Paule prescribeth or els the people him self must take vppon him the person of a iudge ouer his shepeards and teachers as the protestants will haue it Chose here good reader whom thou list to folow Surely I must nedes obey and beleue the blessed Apostle whatsoeuer these men bable Therefore I saie againe the people ought to lerne not to teache They ought to obey those that haue charge off their soules their sheaperdes and teachers not to iudge or instruct them in matters of religion Contrary wise the pastours and teachers ougth diligently to instruct their flocke and expounde vnto them the right meaning of holy scripture that they may with the kaye off truthe binde and loose the sinnes of the people accordingly Nowe whereas in cytes Mayres and scholemasters in villages the gentlemen and in the courtes of princes the Chauncellers prescribe and appoint vnto their parish prestes and vicars the maner of interpreting holy scripture the order of ministring the sacramēts the forme of common prayer at the pleasure of euery laie magistrat and Temporall Lorde what will become of this straunge fashions the time will ones declare For nothing is so preuy but that it will ones come to light Euery wise man may easely cast what is likely to folowe when euery magistrat or secular ruler vtterly vnlerned and but of meane abilite yet do at their pleasure appoint ministres and put downe prescribing what docrine they liste to the poore people or what secte liketh them best hereof it happeneth that if the Mayre scholemaster or gentleman be a Suenckseldian then the preacher of that parish must folow onely the doctrine of Suenck feldius or if he be a Zuinglian an Osiandrin an Anabaptiste an Illyrican a Wittenberger a Maiorist or of any other secte the poore simple people must lerne the newe faith of the Maire scholemaster or gentleman and vtterly renounce his olde nor may not be so bolde as to hush to the cōtrary When this newe straunge order was first taken in hande that all spirituall Magistrates constitutions and ordonaunces should be disannulled some there were that thought it not reason that men should be forced to embrace this opinion or that but it shoulde be left free to euery man to beleue whatsoeuer the sprit moued him vnto without any let to the cōtrary So wrote Luther in his booke De Christiana libertate and in an other De capti uitate Babilonica in the which bookes he so embrued the hartes of men with the loue of licentious libertie that al Christen constitutions lawes aud decrees of the church were vtterly abolished and trode vnder foote Out of these bookes also Thomas Munzer toke occasion to make the insurrection of the commons in Germany wherein perished more then a hundred thousand off our dere countremen as Sleidan noteth in the fifte booke of his story Of this licentious doctrine off Luther also one Bernard Rotmā begā the heresy of the Anabaptistes and that by these wordes of Luther that no man could be compelled to any faith that al Christen men are free and taught of God him selfe immediatly that there nedeth no interpretation of scripture but it is al plaine and perspicuous that a simple man of the countre can more readily expounde and vnderstande holy scripture then any Doctour in diuinite But after that Luther espied this vntoward course of his doctrine and that now his owne scholers Mūtzer Rotman Carolstadius Zuinglius and diuers other bette him with his owne rodde he inuented strait a new shift or rather succoured him selfe with the olde practise of the Catholike churche as the folowers of Melanchthon and Brentius do now a daies who seing the people caryed away daily in to newe sectes by other ghospellers leauing their former new masters do call their felowes renagates and apostatas compelling them by ecclesiasticall censure and force off pretended excommunication to returne home again When Luther first began to write and set forthe bookes his scholers murmured and saied it was against the Christian liberte that Christen men might not frely reade what bookes they listed But nowe when the Lutherās them selues do swarue from their master and write one against an other they runne to the refuge of the Catholike churche and make inhibitions forbidding all such bookes as their felowes write against them to be read or solde banishing out of their townes and countres with all the power they can all such ministres and preachers as dissent from them so it is now true amonge these heretikes that Athanasius and Tertullian wrote of the olde heretikes of their time that is what they approue to daie they reproue tomorowe What they preache as the worde of God this yeare they condemne as hereticall nexte yeare wauering like the rede with the winde and framing their faith as occasion serueth Melanchthon seing that the licentious liberte planted by Luther gaue occasiō of much suaruing and departing of one from an other amonge them selues he put a newe cote vpon his religion and whereas before he acknowledged but two Sacraments Baptim and the Supper of our Lorde nowe he addeth two more Penaunce and holy Ordre Penaunce he added to bring againe in order the dissolut consciences off his brethern to set vp excommunication and to erect in
promis to his onely begotten Son speaking by the prophet Dauid in this wise Thou arte my Son this daie haue I begotten the aske of me and I shall geue the nations for thine inheritaunce and the vtmost partes of the earthe for thy possession which place all holy fathers haue so expounded that God the father hathe geuen to Christ such a church as should be spred through out the whole worlde not only in Suethelande Denmarke or Germanie So the Son of god taking vpon him the nature of man after he had here in earthe purchased our saluatioÌ„ sente abrode the holy Apostles as Embassadours through out the whole world to take possession of the foresaide inheritaunce charging them in this wise All power is geuen vnto me in heauen and in earthe Go ye and teache all nations baptising them in the name of the Father and the SoÌ„ and the Holy ghoste teaching them to kepe al those thinges whatsoeuer I haue commaunded vnto you And beholde I am with you all waies euen to the ende of the worlde In this highe and waightie embassage of our Sauiour Iesus Christ two thinges are especially notised First that his Apostles should go and preache trough out the whole worlde Secondarely that he will tary with them vntell the end of the worlde In whiche two pointes as S. Augustin at large disputeth against the heretikes of his time this artikle of our Crede is comprised I beleue the Catholike churche In the which wordes we confesse that the church of Christ must be vniuersall and spred through out the whole worlde and that from the time of the Apostles forwarde it should continewe by the continuall assistaunce and presence of Christ. And in this consideration the Apostle calleth the church the Piller and grouÌ„d of truthe signifieng by the worde ground the largenes of Christendome by the worde Piller the continuall smothe and not interrupted succession of the Apostles and their scholers vpon whom al truthe is builded And this interpretatioÌ„ of the worde Catholike S. Augustin teacheth in many places against the Donatistes especially in his booke de vnitate ecclesiae Therefore to denie it were to become a Donatiste and to take the parte of those detestable heretikes And this much of this question But to returne nowe to the true exposition of holy scripture euery Christen man ought not only beleue this article of the Catholike church but be also one of the same and beleue what so euer it beleueth expounde and interpret the scriptures as it expoundeth and interpreteth them condemne and reproue all such thinges as it condemneth and reproueth And what surer token or more certain marke could God geue to discerne false expositions of scripture from the true then this article of our Crede I beleue the holy Catholike Church For when thre coÌ„trary opinions thre diuers interpretations of holy scripture are brought forthe whereof two are fresh and newe neuer taught nor heard of before our time the third is auncient accustomed and receaued of our forefathers deriued euen from the Apostles time and continued hitherto what laye or vnlerned man is in this case so rude or ignorant but if he liste as he professeth in his Crede to beleue the Catholike church which is allwaies and in all places maye easely iudge this thirde interpretation to be the right meaning off the holy ghoste the other two to be false and hereticall For the more declaration of this matter I will recite here a storie whiche I lerned being a boye and happened at Lubek In Lubek there dwelled a riche man whose familie and kinred was of Turing This man being in Lubeck at point of death and hauing no child to be his heire bequeued his goods to certaine of his kinsfolkes at Turing They shortly after this mans decease coming to Lubek bring with them a Proctour open the will and founde there that the widowe of the departed man beside other goods bequeued should deliuer them a thousand and two hundred shipbordes commonly called there Wagenschoff But the Proctour and heyres of Turing cauilling vppon the worde Wagenschoff required a thousand and two hundred greate pieces of artillerie saying that in their countre the worde so signified Neither would these men of Turing be brought from their chalenge vntell at the length the matter must be tried by iudgement Wherein their processe being longe debated and bothe partes heard it was founde that the interpretation of the worde Wagenschoff alleaged by those of Turing was a newe and straunge interpretation neuer heard of before in that countre whereas the widowe by the consent of all the people and the whole countre proued that of olde time the worde Wagenschoff signified nothing els theÌ„ shipbordes which are coÌ„monly brought thither out of Lifland and Pole Whereuppon the interpretation of the proctour of Turing was reiected and laughed to scorne as newe curious superstitious and straunge Much more ought we that are Christians do the like in these newe and straunge expositions of Gods worde inuented by proude and presumptuous heretikes detesting and auoidinge them as present poison For surely such newe forged interpretatioÌ„s ones spread abrode do crepe like a cancre and infect daily more and more as we see nowe by experience in sundry places Euery man nowe a daies calleth vpon scripture euery man demaundeth the expres worde of God And what I praie you can be more expresse then that the Apostle S. Peter saieth So that ye first knowe this that no prophecie in the scripture hath any priâ—â—t interpretation In the which wordes it is to be noted that S. Peter will haue vs first and before al other thinges knowe this that no prophecie in the scripture hathe any priuat interpretation Therefore it must nedes be very perilous to beleue straight this or that interpretation whatsoeuer we here For it is a common saying it is euill toying with the eye with maydenhood and with our faith But many there are nowe a daies which when they heare contrarietes in doctrine and diuers interpretations of scripture they comforte them selues carelesly in this sort What nede we passe for the contentions of preachers and controuersies of Diuines Although they misse in certain pointes and disagree in some certain articles yet our faith and belefe is not brokeÌ„ or empaired We in the meane season will saie oure Pater noster beare awaye oure Crede and the ten commaundements and peraduenture the catechisme of children As for other matters let the lerned contend amonge theÌ„ selues as longe as they list we passe not vppon it But alas o mercifull God what a vaine comforte and pernicious persuasion is this For what saythe S. Iames the Apostle Whosoeuer saythe he shall kepe the whole lawe and yet faile in one point he is giltie of all So is it in our faith who denieth one article denieth the whole This vayne comfort teached first the Zwinglians against the which Luther in his
daily more and more vnlesse God of his mercie stretch forthe his helping hande Howbeit whatsoeuer befall of me I am ready to lese body and life honour and goods for the furderaunce of the auncient Catholike religion And I wish to my dere countre of Germanie that minde also For sure I am whosoeuer is no Catholike he must nedes be an heretike Seing therefore that holy write aduertiseth vs to flie from heresies euen as from present poison I be seche all good men to marke wel this example which I knowe to be true and wil here recite to showe what it is to be ones fallen in to heresie A certain young man of my acquayntaunce very well lerned and sometime preacher in Misnia being according to the doctrine of Melanchthon and Maior an Adiaphoriste that is of that secte of Lutherans which take good workes and constitutions of the church to be thinges indifferent c. departed in to Saxony vppon hope of some ecclesiastical liuing there Being then demaunded of what religion he was he awnswered that he was of the opinion of Philip Melanchthon and Georgius Maior Then saieth vnto him the Illyrican Superintendent it semeth thou arte an apostat heretike And withall asked him whether he thought good workes to be pernicious vnto saluation Whereunto this poore preacher awnswering he beleued that they helped rather then hindered saluation the Superintendent strait saith vnto him Seing you are an heretike of the ghospell you maye not abide in this cite nor countre and therefore get you hence With this awnswer he departed and went in to Prussia where meting with an Osiandr in Superintendent and desiring some ecclesiasticall seruice he was demaunded whether he beleued That man ought to be made iuste by the essentiall iustice of God and whether he iudged those for heretikes which thought or taught the contrary Whereunto awnswering that he could not so thinke seing that Melanchthō and Illyricus interpreted the scripture otherwise incontinently he was thrust backe like an heretike and commaunded to depart out of all the dominions of that countre After this he came in to Pole and meting with certain Caluinistes being of thē examined and founde that he agreed not with the Zuinglians he was repelled also of them for an heretike Seing then he could not spede there passing on furder by the waye he came to the Picardi hoping that he might be receaued in to their secte But when he refused to abiure all other sectes and religions and beleue onely them he was faine to departe thence also After which he came to a Noble man of Silesia requiring seruice of whom being required howe he liked the doctrine of Swenck feldius whether he beleued That the externall ministerie or preaching was but superfluous and that the internall worde or rather the power and operacion off the worde being preached were the Son of God him selfe he awnswered that this doctrine semed vnto him an olde heresie confuted thouroughly of Illyricus Melanchthō Caluin and diuers other writers Which awnswer nothing pleasing that Noble mā our poore Minister was forced to get him packing Seing therefore that he loste his labour and spent his time in vaine he stroke ouer to Morauia where the Anabaptistes beare rule Not that he minded to tary and abide with them but to trie and knowe their religion But they craftely preuēting him asking him first of what religion he was though he went about the bush with them thinking to coulour the matter yet they perceauing that he liked not their rebaptising he was also chased from thence as an heretike At the last after longe and wery trauail and trouble this poore Minister came vnto Vienna where he happened vpon a Catholike lerned man vnto whom he declared his trauaill aduersites and diuersites off heresies that he chaunced vpon beseching him for the loue of God to helpe him and instruct him howe he might attaine to some sure and certaine doctrine and interpretatiō off holy scripture Then was it tolde him that he should folowe such doctrine and embrace such interpretation of Gods worde as was Catholike and vniuersally receiued in all places and at al times casting awaie all priuat opinions and propre interpretations of this secte or that secte For it was impossible that any priuat secte could admit the Catholike exposition of scripture whiche is commō to all or that the sectes could euer agree among them selues eche one setting forthe his owne opinion and condemning all the rest As it is writen in the prophet Ezechiel Wo be vnto these foolish prophetes which folowe their owne sprit and see nothing Therefore if he would be a Christen man and in all places be taken for such he should embrace and folowe the Catholike vnderstanding of scripture such as in Catholike doctours and writers we find From the which Catholike and vniforme expositiō of scripture although many in diuers countres haue failed and departed yet before our time it was in all places without contradictiō or gainesaieng receiued and beleued and many thousands of soules haue in that belefe ben saued Beside that there are also yet diuers Christen Countres and kingdomes diuers natiōs and people which acknowledg no other doctrine or interpreation of holy scripture then the Catholike and olde accustomed which they haue receaued of the Apostles and their first founders of religion Wherein if any doubt nowe a daies ariseth or any cōtrary interpretation be brought it is most expedient to seke of the first and most auncient teachers of Christen religion the truthe thereof For so Scripture willeth vs to do and all auncient and approued doctours as in S. Irenee a writer very nie vnto the Apostles you may see whose wordes are these These thinges then being so euident we ought not to seke the truthe at other mens handes which we maye easely haue of the Church For the Apostles left vnto the church and layde vp in her as in a riche aumerie all truthe that whosoeuer listeth may drawe of her the drinke of life For the Church is the gate of life all other are theues therefore we must auoide them but loue all that the Church teacheth vs and embrace the traditiō of truthe For what if there were but a small matter called in controuersie ought we not to haue recourse to the most aūciēt Churches in the which the Apostles haue liued and enquire of them the truthe and certainte of our doubt And what if the Apostles had not left vnto vs scripture at all ought we not to haue folowed the order of tradition which they deliuered vntothē whom they left to gouuerne the Churche after them the which order many nations of Barbarous people such as beleue in Christ do folowe hauing their saluation without paper and ynke by the holy ghoste writen in their harte and keping diligently their olde traditions Thus farre S. Irenee With this good lesson and information the Lutheran Minister being somewhat amended afterward in shorte time
vtterly detesting all sectes and heresies becometh a right good Catholike And surely so it happeneth that who so ones departeth from the church if he entre but a litle with other heresies he is accompted an heretike of the heretikes them selues From the which our Lorde of his tender mercy preserue vs alwaies Amen Our forefathers the auncient Germans were euer accompted men of grauite constancie and of a setled iudgement not light brayned inconstant or wauering with euery wind as peraduenture some other countres were noted for For lightnes in dede in men of wisedome is a greate blotte But what can be more light or more vaine then to beleue euery light person without any sure grounde of his doctrine He that beleueth quickely saith the wise man is light of hart These preachers and newe ghospellers that nowe a daies runne from countre to countre be vile vagabondes light and wilde persones men of no grauite nor whorthy of any authorite And that their outewarde behauiour declareth Their bearde they let growe only vppon the vpper lippe like the Turkes their cotes be cut shorte at the buttokes with large wide sleues as the sergents or catchepolles in times past were wont to haue and thus like frogges they leape in to the pulpit crieng and creking there Our Confession of Auspurg is grounded vppon the writings of the Apostles and Prophets and hathe endured these thirty yeares Beholde good Catholike reader a wonderous matter The Confession of Augspurg is thirty yeares olde Is not this a maruailous loÌ„ge continaunce and yet these felowes will not be a knowen that our Catholike religion hath continued these thousand fyue hundred yeares and aboue twise their thirty without breache or interruption Nowe where they bable that their Confession is grounded vppon the writings of the Apostles and Prophets doth not euery secte and euery heretike crake the same Do not the Anabaptistes crie it is writen in the xxvj of Marke He that will not beleue shall be condemned But children haue no faith and can not beleue ergo they can not be saued nor ought not be baptised â—Like wise the ZuingliaÌ„s crie they not that it is writeÌ„ in the vj. of Ihon. The flesh profiteth nothing and therefore they will haue it but bread in the Sacrament Againe the scholers of Osiander alleage they not the saying of the prophet the 23. of Ieremie Iehouah is our iustice Who can denie but all these allegations be the writinges of the Apostles and prophets why theÌ„ do the LutheraÌ„s abhorre the Anabaptistes why condeÌ„ne they Osiander and his felowes why doth Luther call Zuinglius an heretike Do not they crie that their doctrine as well as the other crie that their Confession is grounded vpon the writings of the Apostles and prophets yes they crie truly so euen as lowde and as truly as the Lutherans What theÌ„ lacketh in this matter Truly not who alleageth Scripture for that euery heretike doth but who can proue his doctrine in dede not only in wordes by Scripture For who caÌ„ abide the preacher be he neuer so Catholike that crieth only that his doctrine is grounded vppon the writings of the Apostles and Prophets It is not sufficient to alleage and hudle vp many places of scripture which the heretikes do as roundely as the Catholikes but you must by good reason and sure grouÌ„de proue that those your places be well and duly alleaged and expounded But by what grouÌ„de and reason may this be proued By thre maners of waies First the teacher of any doctrine or preacher ought to proue and euidently declare that his doctrine or interpretation of holy Sripture is Catholike deriued from the Apostles receaued through out whole Christendom and continued vnto our time Secondarely that all the ordre maner and disposition of the church of Christ in the newe lawe was figured and shadowed by other obseruaunces and doings in the olde lawe Thirdly that euery principall article of our Catholike religion hath beÌ„ confirmed with some miracle whereby the verite of it hathe vnuincibly ben warranted As for example Amonge vs Catholikes it is a sure and vndoubted point in our religion that in the blessed Sacrament of the aultar vnder one kinde the whole and perfit body of Christe is contained as well as vnder bothe This point we first proue by the expresse worde of God vttered by the Apostle saying that Christ can not be diuided Nowe that this saying of the Apostle is well applied to the one kinde of bread in the Sacrament the common practise of Christes Catholike churche these many hundred yeares dothe abundantly witnesse Againe it is proued by an euident figure of the olde lawe For we reade in Moyses that although some gathered more some lesse of Manna which vndoubtedly as S. Paule witnesseth was the figure of our Lordes supper yet he that gathered lesse had as much as he that gathered more So Hilarius pope of Rome decreeth saying Where parte of the body is there is the whole for the like is in the body of our Lorde that was in Manna that figured it For not the visible quantite is to be considered in this misterie but the spirituall efficacie and vertu of the Sacrament Last of all this hath ben confirmed by so sundry and strauÌ„ge miracles wrought from God that who so hath any sparckle of Christen faith remaining in him can neuer doubt but that the body of Christ is as well vnder one kinde as vnder bothe The stories of the Iewes may testifie clerely this matter which happened in diuers places as at Passau Breslau Regenspurg and Tekendorph in Bauaria in the yeare of our Lorde 1337. and afterward at Berlin in the Marchise of Brandeburg in the yere 1512. and now lately in Pole in the dyocese of the Archebishop of Gnesna In whiche all places it hathe ben seen that out of the Hoste of our Lordes body foined in with daggers by the Iewes bloud hath gushed out and many other miracles haue befallen The which all surely almightie God of his mercie hath wrought for the confirmation of his churche in this article that vnder the forme of bread is fully contained his precious body and bloud and for the conuicting also of the damnable heresie of the Maniches who aboue a thousand yeares agone affirmed that vnder the forme of bread was the body without bloud This I haue brought in for an example to show howe the Catholike doctours are able to proue euery article of Catholike religioÌ„ That is by the Catholike vniuersal and receaued expositioÌ„ of holy scripture by the figures and shadowes of the olde lawe by the operation of miracles Surely who can thus proue his doctrine he may boldely saie that it is grounded vppon the writings of the Apostles and prophets Nowe if the Confessionistes speake as they think when they saie their doctrine is grounded vppon the Apostles and prophets and that they will proue it to be so in
iustification is necessary and that good workes were pernicious to saluatioÌ„ yet afterward writing against the Antinomi his scholers he corrected his former doctrine after this sort That the lawe before iustification is in dede necessary for the knowleadg of sinne but afterward is vtterly vnprofitable For the maintenaunce therefore of this PelagiaÌ„ and Manichean heresie the shifting in of the worde Nur nothinge but fitted his purpose maruailous well For by this only worde he hath planted againe two notable and auncient heresies The one of the Pelagians whiche saide that the lawe auailed nothing but for the knowleadg of sinne teaching what we ought to do and not to do and that by the ghospell we haue no grace geuen vs to perfourme that which by the lawe we learne to be good and godly An other of the Maniches which teache as Luther doth that the lawe is made for wicked men not for Christen men which can be helde in by no lawe nor are not bounde to any good workes In an other place where the Apostle according to the Latin and Greke text hath thus Haue we not power to leade about a sister a womaÌ„ Luther thus traÌ„slateth it Haben wir nicht macht ein Schwester zum Weib mit vmbher zu fijrn that is Haue we not power to leade about a sister for a wife Here againe like a false foister he shifteth in counterfaited droges amonge the swete spice of holy scripture adding thereunto of his owne these wordes zum Weib that is for a wife which is farre different from the meaning of the holy ghoste and was neuer writen by the Apostle nor reade in holy scripture from the beginning of the church by any Christen Catholike man But what intended Luther by this his addition surely to roote out of mens hartes all loue off chastite and virginite lest perhaps if S. Paule and the rest of the Apostles had caried no wiues aboute with them some woulde be content also by their example to lacke them yea he maketh the blessed Apostle a lyar whereby he might remoue him cleane out of the Bible For the Apostle say the in an other place I would haue allenâ—n be as my selfe That is as he expoundeth himselfe that all priestes and preachers off the worde of God should abstaine from matrimonie and all pleasure of the flesh to the entent that they might studie rather to please God then their wife As also againe when he saythe He that marieth his virgin doth wel and he that marieth her not doth better meaning thereby that bothe are right good bothe to mary and to liue single Yet whem one of the twaine and the better must be chosen certain it is that the Apostle preferreth single life before mariage But Luther by iumbling in only these wordes Lum Weib that is for a wife hath taken awaie the meaning and godly inteÌ„t of the Apostle not only out of the scripture but also out of thousandes of mens hartes not without great losse of many a soule He hath beside hereby not only disgraced the excellent vertu of chastite and virginite but also brought so in contempt the holy sacrameÌ„t of wedlock as if it were in inuention of maÌ„ that nothing is now more common then as Luther him self teacheth in the sixt tome of his workes If the wife will not let the maide come And there be yet extant certaine epistles of Luther and Melanchthon and aduises geuen by their letters wherein they do openly permit and pronounce it to be lawefull that one husband may haue two lawfull wiues I could also alleage and note with my finger diuers examples hereof agreable to the doctrine of these blessed ghospellers Neither may any man here thinck that this false and deceitefull translation of Luther is any newe inuented tricke of him selfe it was practised also in the time of S. Augustin who coÌ„futeth it with these wordes For vpon this respect sayth he speaking of relief made to the Apostles godly and faithefull wemen hauing wordly substaunce went about with the Apostles and ministred vnto theÌ„ of their substance that they lacked nothing necessary for this present life Which S. Paule showeth he might lawfully haue done as the other Apostles did but he saieth afterward he woulde not vse his power and authorite herein And this point certain men not perceauing expounded not asister woman where the Apostle saith haue we not power to leade aboute a sister woman but a wife These men seme to be deceaued by the ambiguite of the graeke worde For that in graeke one worde signifieth bothe a woman and a wife Allthouh the Apostle so placed that greke worde that they might not be deceaued For neither he sayde a woman only but a sister woman nor to mary but to leade aboute but other interpretours were nothing deceaued with this ambiguite translating it a woman not a wife Thus farre S. Augustin very plainely and roundely confuting the fonde interpretation or translation of Luther There is in the church a laudable custome and godly institution of the Apostles to applie holy scripture to the passion of Christ. So that Lessons and other praiers in the church especially of priestes and other in holy orders be so deuided and distributed in to certain howres that bothe the storie of Christ his passion and the rest of holy scripture may by that orderly distribution more coÌ„ueniently be vnderstaÌ„ded Hereof as we haue before touched were instituted the Canonical houres of Matins of Prime of the iij. vj and ix howres of EueÌ„song and CoÌ„plin And that al this is not by mans coÌ„stitutions or traditioÌ„s it may by diuers places of holy scripture euidently be confirmed Dauid in a certain psalme writeth SeueÌ„ times in the daye haue I saide laudes vnto the vpon the iudgemeÌ„ts of thy righteousnes And that this was done at certain houres and prescribed times it appereth by an other place of the same psalme I arose at midnight to confesse vnto the vpon the iudgements of thy righteousnes And in an other psalme he writeth At euening at morning and at none daie I wil praie and he shall heare my voice Morning praier in the church is couÌ„ted the Prime None daie the ix howre after Masse At euening the EueÌ„song In the Actes we reade of the Sixte howre Where it is writen that Peter ascended in the vpper partes to praie about the Sixte howre The iij. also the vj. and the ix howre aremeÌ„cioned in Daniel at the which howres he praied with teares ouer against HierusaleÌ„ Complin time of praier appeareth by that which S. Luke writeth of our Sauiour It happened in those daies he weÌ„t vp in to the MouÌ„te to praie alone and continued all night in praier to God These howres also by Gods institutioÌ„ are so distributed for the remeÌ„brauÌ„ce of Christes passioÌ„ that euery howre coÌ„taineth the remeÌ„braunce of some speciall acte of the passioÌ„ For at Matins
the holy ghoste Againe that the Crede which the churche vseth to singe is not to be called the Crede of Athanasius but of Sathanasius as you woulde saie of the deuill Certain noble men of Pole demaunding of Petrus Statorius and Georgius Brandata where they had lerned this doctrine being newe and neuer heard off before in Pole they awnswered It was the pure ghospell and very worde off god and the very same doctrine which they had lerned of their masters Caluin Bullinger Peter Martir and VVolfgangus Musculus But the cause why it was not before heard of in Pole nor abrode in the worlde was that it pleased god to reuele to the worlde this highe misterie and greate treasure nowe in these later daies by his faithefull Ministres The Lorde Stanislaus Baron Mathias Stadnitzky and Franciscus Stancarus by their patent letters writen to to the Swinglian doctours aboue mencioned in the yeare 1561. and sent by their owne Messenger do testifie and write these thinges of Petrus Statorius and Brandata IN VVHAT ARTICLES THE CONFESSIONISTES SVCCESSOVRS OF LVTHER DO YET Agree and accorde HEtherto by the sondry and diuers factions of heretikes of vs rehearsed it may appeare howe and in what matters they swarue and disagree amonge them selues For who readeth nowe all the articles of the Confession off Augspurg he shall see that swaruing and scattering in all the reste they haue remained onely in these fewe of one accorde and agrement And of those articles this is the firste Firste they agree all in this that all sectes wil be called ghospellers all boaste them selues to folowe the worde of God the ghospell the Crede of the Apostles and of Athanasius they all saie that the worde off God is cleare and opeÌ„ and nedeth no interpretation that women and men laie and priestes maye al a like handle and treate off the worde off God And whatsoeuer sence of holy scripture shall like any man that he maye folowe and defend it for the worde of God it selfe The Second Article wherein they do all agree is that they do all with like endeuour and malice striue against the Catholike church that none of them all admitteth any Catholike or vniuersally receaued exposition of holy scripture that they all accompte the bishop of Rome for Antichriste all bishops Prelats Priestes for the meÌ„bres of the deuil that they do all abhorre constitutions and ceremonies of the Catholike churche That all hate and detest a like the blessed sacrifice of the Masse that all go aboute to take oute of the churche all priesthood and clergy The third article wherein all the protestants agree is that for the moste parte al leaders and Masters off sectes forge some notable lies vppon the Catholike writers and then persuade the people they are the doctrine of the papistes As for example They make the people wene that the papistes taught man to be able to merit the grace of God and the benefit off iustificatioÌ„ with his only good workes This and suche other lies they haue already so persuaded the people that although neuer Catholike man taught so yet they put this absurdite as the foundation and grounde of papisticall doctrine The fourth article wherein all protestants agree is that to confesse and reaken vp our sinnes to do any satisfaction whereby the temporall paine due for sinne may be released to labour and endeuoure to purchase euerlasting life by good workes proceding of the grace of God and depending of the merites of Christe is naught els but a papisticall buchery and torment of coÌ„sciences that CoÌ„firmatioÌ„ Matrimony and extreme vnction be mans inuentions not Sacraments of the church They agree also al in this that no man can liue chaste no more then he can liue withoute spetting as Luther writeth and that to faste certain appointed daies is the worshipping of deuils In these articles off the Confession off Augspurg in these articles of the fifte ghospell all sectes of our time agree wonderfully But in al other pointes they braule and snarle one at an other like cats and dogges A SHOVVE OF THE PROTESTANTS PETIGREVV as ye haue it before at large deducted An ougly Monster brought forth of a cowe in the yeare 1523. in Waltersdorff one myle from Friberg in one Steckers farme much resembling the cowle of a Fryer Whereby Luthers Monstrous life and doctrine was boded Bicause no coulours might expresse Luther the friers grace As also that such Champions might be knowen by their race Nature therefore in his chefe time of wedding and of preaching Did blase his armes in this Monster to geue the a warning Such faire figures such like truthes such foule rootes such ofspring Such holy fathers such good sonnes such ghospell such blessing Yet thou which maiest reade vpon this Monster do not musâ— But to haue more deformites his broode in this booke peruse A. Martin Luther of an Austin Fryer an ambitious Apostata A wicked deuiser of damnable doctrines Father of all the sectes of protestants The Archeheretike of our time Katerin Bore a Nonne by Luthers procurement ranne out of the Nonnery of Nymick in Saxony Easter eue at night in the yeare of our Lorde 1523. Came to Wittenberg liued twoo yeares a lewd life with the scholers there Then coupled her selfe in pretensed wedlock with Martin Luther a Nonne with a Fryer Apostatesse with Apostata B. C. Bernard Rotman an vnlerned laye man by reading of Luthers epistle ad Waldenses 〈…〉 Lutheran 〈…〉 meth 〈…〉 Of him spronge vp the buddes off this branche Adamites Sabbataries Anabaptistes Holders in common Howling Anabaptistes Mennonites Manywiuers Dauidgeorgians Byslepers Daemoniacalls Close Anabaptistes Steblers D. Zwinglius of a spiritual pastour a secular souldiar Reading the Assertions the Resolutions of Luther and his booke de formula Missa Becometh Father of the Sacramentaries multiplieng in to the sectes aboue named Signifiers Valuers Presentaries Iudaistes Imagebreakers Neutersacramentaries Metamorphistes Pleadgers Figurers E. Philip Melanchthon first the slaue of Luther allwaies a variable and inconstant felowe Euer lerning as S. Paul saieth but neuer attaining to the truthe Father and founder off the CoÌ„fessionistes spredding them selues in to thre famous factions eche faction breding a plentifull issue Zealous Lutherans diuided in to Lawles Lutherans Hellmasters Antidaemoniacalls Antidiapherists Antisuenckfeldians Handlayers Priesters Inuisiblers Twosacramenters Anticaluinistes Autofiandrins Amsâ—â—rsians Helltormenters Samosatenicalls Disordrely and vnruly Lutherans parted in to Suenckfeldians Stancarians Newpelagians Manichees and Marcionite alumisles Newmanichees Antistanckarians Osiandrins Ciuil Lutherans scattered in to Scripturians Thresacramenters Lutherancalicinistes Maiouristes Newpelagians Politick Lutherans Penitentiaries Halfosiandrins Foursacramenters Adiaphoristes THE PLACES AND COVNTRES VVHEREIN THE FORESAIDE PROTESTANTS AND HEREtikes either dwell openly or be conuersaunt secretly THe Anabaptistes dwell frely and opeÌ„ly in easte and weste Friselande and especially about Geddan Dantsch Elbing and Coiningsberg also in Morauia abundantly in Bohem not so com mon. Yet vnder pretext of Lutherans they liue here and there priuely vppon the
import Now Caluin in his frēch trāslatiō printed at Geneua and at Lyōs by the heires of Iohn Michel turneth it thus Ila tue ses victuailles il a verse son vin that is She hath killed her victuals powred out her wine and prepared her table And this is the very trāslation also of our english Bible printed in the yeares 1549. 1551. 1552. and 1562. But bothe the trāslatiōs of our Bible and of Caluin herein their Master are other them selues much deceaued or do malitiously deceaue other For the latin the greke and the hebrew all with one accorde reade after the first english translation aleaged by vs. The hebrew hath 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the greke readeth thus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The latin hath Immolauit victimassuas miscuit vinum suum c. Nowe I appeale to all the lerned in these tongues whether the wordes of these textes aunswer not worde for worde to the first translation brought by vs. True it is that in the greke text the worde 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is ambiguous and may signifie to mingle or to fill out But the hebrewe text admitting no suche ambiguite from whence the greke was deriued nor the latin which folowed the greke that worde must nedes be takē in such sence as the greke receiued of the hebrew and as the latins folowed in the greke Therefore the french translation of Caluin and our english folowing the same is not the worde of God nor the text of holy scripture but the worde of Caluin and his text What may not heretikes do if they maye sette vs forthe their worde for the worde off God their imaginations for holy scripture their poisonned heresies for sounde faith You haue sene what conscience our protestants make of it and howe many places of holy scripture they haue altered peruerted and corrupted for the maintenaūce of their pretēded ghospel I will not in wordes exaggerat this wicked presumption of our protestāts The matter it selfe doth I truste sufficiently speake it And I do not vtterly despeare their amendment when they shall see and fele their falshood discouered and broughte to light seing that in the later translations they betray sometime their former iuggling as in certain places here noted by Staphylus of Luther it is euident For although as we saied in our preface of all the places corrupted by Luther and noted here by Staphylus there is but one readen in the cōmon translations off our countre yet that is to be vnderstanded of the later onely printed in the yeares 1552. and 1562. For in the former translations printed in the yeares 1549. and 1551. the place of S. Paule in the 1. to Timothe the 4. chapter and the first to the Corinthians the 9. chapter are corrupted euen as Luther had first taught them but in their later editions they haue made the holy ghoste to talke in an other language Well I beseche God to geue thē grace farder to see and to amēde their owne fautes and other men spedely to beware of them And truly what one man yea what one colledge or vniuersite of lerned men may take vpon it to sette forthe any translation other then whiche allwaies hath ben receiued Erasmus Roterodam a lerned man vndoubtedly but in this point ouer rashe was the firste of our time that with his newe translation in latin of the newe Testament comptrolled the olde Whereof he is worthely reprehended of diuers And what folowed Soone after Sebastian Castalion sette forthe an other translation in latin also Likewise Luther in the vulgar tongue which only was commaunded amonge the protestants to be reade and vsed in a publick decree made at Lipsia But an on after the Zwinglians of Zurich published yet an other translation of the Bible And in the preface of it they write plainely that the congregation ought to be bounde to no certain trāslation but that euery man may turne the text of holy Scripture according to his iudgement Thus we see by this bare text of scripture left of Luther more then Antichrist will leaue as they saie in the liberte of so many and diuers translations to be a very bare and weake staye of mens consciences and litle better then if with Antichrist we had no Scripture at all For when a doubte ariseth in holy Scripture as thousandes do what helpe haue we The expositions of holy fathers Councells and so forthe by the vardit of Luther auaileth not Translations be false diuers and vncertain What then Forsothe there is yet one shifte more Places of scripture they saie must be conferred and laied together so one place shall geue light to the other Is this allwaies true Maye this be a generall rule Let vs take for example some parcel of holy scripture Greate controuersies and sundry sectes are nowe a daies vpon these fewe wordes of Christ Take eate this is my body Luther and Zuinglius Brentius and Carolostadius were at defiaunce one with an other vppon the true meaning thereoff Luther excommunicateth all that confesse not the naturall body withe the bread to be there Zuinglius and Carolostadius will haue the breade to be but a signe or tokē of the body The latin text is plaine and euident for the reall presence The greke likewise Will they counsell the hebrewe ghospell of S. Matthewe If any hebrewe text serued their turne were it neuer so barbarous or Rabbinicall they would not spare to sett it out to the vttermost Let vs then see what that text hath I meane not the barbarous text of Munster nor the lerned exercise of Quinquarboreus but that text which beinge founde in Italy amonge the Iewes was of late yeares printed and sett forthe in Paris without points by the diligence of Ioannes Mercerus That text readeth thus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That is Take and eate this which is my body Here the hebrew text though it haue some one worde more then the latin and greke translation yet it furdereth the meaning of the Catholikes and fighteth directly against the Sacramentaries But let these interpretations by helpe of tongues passe Let vs see howe by conference of other places this sentēce may be lightned Luther compareth these wordes to the saying of S. Iohn Verbum caro factum est The worde is made flesh Zuinglius compareth them with an other place Caro non prodest quicquam The fleshe profiteth nothing Caluin varying from Zuinglius though bothe Sacramentaries in his commentaries vppon S. Matthew saieth Corporis appellatio pani tribuitur ea ratione qua Spiritum Sanctum Ioannes columbam vocat that is The bread is called the body of Christ as Iohn calleth the holy ghoste a pigeon An other sacramentary cometh yet and saieth those wordes are like to the saying of S. Paule The rocke was Christ. Lo these men haue conferred these wordes of Christ This is my body with other places of Scripture But haue they nowe founde out the truthe
being preached of a preteÌ„ded prelat of the Realme before so honourable an audience and at such a solemne memoriall or Obsequy I must here craue pardon gentle Reader of the if I diuert a litle from my principall purpose to examin that parte off the sermon as defendeth this olde heresie of Aerius Neither may you M. Grindall be offended herewith when you shall vnderstand it as I wish you maye iff a young scholer and puine student in diuinite adueÌ„ter to encounter with you The cause of the Catholike church whom wickedly with the olde heretike Aerius you blame and reproue the honourable Nobilite of the realme which in that place presumptuousely you abused the vnlerned audience of our dere countremen which shamefully you deceaued maketh me bothe to breake the order of my discourse and not to feare your person whom authorite hath more auaunced then lerning or true religion commended Non enim possumus aliquid aduersus veritatem sed pro veritate for we can not do any thinge against the truthe but for the truthe And what is it good Sir that moueth you to disproue praier for the dead First of all saie you in the Scriptures we finde no commaundement to praie for the soules of the dead vnlesse they will cite the place of the booke off Machabees And then S. Hierom shall make theÌ„ awnswer who permitteth in dede these bookes of Machabees to be read but bicause they be not of the Canon of the Scriptures they be not saieth S. Hierom sufficient of them selues to establish any doctrines in the Church of God This is your first reason Master Grindall why we ought not to praie for the dead and it containeth two partes First that we haue no coÌ„maundement in Scripture to praie for the soules of the dead but the place of the Machabees and then that the same place is not in the Canon off the Scriptures As touching the first parte I awnswer it that we are commaunded of S. Paul Tenere traditiones quas accepimus siue per sermonem siue per epistolam To kepe suche traditions as we haue receiued either by worde or by writing And S. Chrisostom telleth vs that it is a tradition of the Apostles to pray for the dead these are his wordes Non temere ab Apostolis haec sancita fuerunt vt in tremendis mysterijs defunctorum agatur commemoratio sciunt enim illis inde multum contingere lucrum vtilitatem multam Quum enim totus constiterit populus extensis manibus sacerdotalis plenitudo tremeÌ„duÌ„ proponatur sacrificiuÌ„ quo modo DeuÌ„ noÌ„ exorabimus pro his deprecantes that is These things saieth Chrisostom were not without cause decreed of the Apostles that in the dreadful mysteries we should remeÌ„bre the dead For they do know that it shall much auaile them For when al the people staÌ„deth with their haÌ„des stretched forthe and the number of priestes wheÌ„ the dreadfull sacrifice is proposed howe maye it be but that we shall obtaine of God praiyng for theÌ„ Now Sir S. ChrisostoÌ„ telleth vs it is a decree of the Apostles to pray for the dead which decree being not expressed in scripture is called a tradition And S. Paul biddeth vs kepe such traditions ergo we haue coÌ„maundement in Scripture to praie for the dead beside the place of the Machabees Againe are we not commaunded in scripture to praie one for an other Howe farre doth this commaundement extende doth it not reache to all those whose sinnes are remissible who are in the state to haue their sinnes forgeuen What then if scripture tel vs that after this life some sinnes are forgeuen Ought we not then praie for our brethern departed this life and burdned yet with such sinnes Let vs harken what our Sauiour saieth in the ghospell Whosoeuer saieth our Sauiour shall speà ke against the holy Ghoste it shall not be forgeuen him neither in this worlde neither in the worlde to come Other sinnes then of lesse offence and importaunce though they be not here forgeueÌ„ yet in the worlde to come they may be pardoned and released What place that is let your wisedome instruct vs M. Grindall In hel you knowe nulla est redeÌ„ptio there is no redemption and in to heauen nihil coinquinatum intrabit no defiled or spotted thinge shall enter How saie we then Scripture commaunding vs to praie one for an other and that praier extending to all suche as are in the state to haue their sinnes forgeueÌ„ such a state also being proued by scripture to be in the world to come which caÌ„ not be but of such as haue departed this world haue we not againe fouÌ„de in scripture a coÌ„maundement to pray for the deade and departed soules of this worlde beside the place of the Machabees What will you replie M. Grindall or what can you obiect against these arguments The principle of S. Paul bidding vs to kepe vnwriten traditioÌ„s if you limit and restraine it neuer so much yet must you nedes suffer it to extende to suche traditions as the Apostles them selues left vnto vs. You will not I dare saie prescribe against the Apostles And that the Apostles decreed praier to be done at the Masse time for the dead you heare Chrisostom saie and affirme Will you discredit S. Chrisostom Will you as Brentius youre mate saied of Epiphanius affirming that the Apostles had deliuered and taught that the vowe of virginite could not be broken Iudico eum tam bonum tam pium virum vt hac asseueratione non voluerit Ecclesiam Domini scienter fallere sed cum non fuerit admodum vicinus temporibus Apostolorum cogito multa ad eum publica sed incerta fama nomine Apostolorum relata esse quae fortassis alijde Apostolis vt plausibiâ—ior a essent coÌ„finxerunt so saie also of Chrisostom that you iudge Chrisostom in dede so good and â—â—tuous a man that he woulde not wittingly beguile the church of God with so stoute an asseueration and yet bicause he was not very nigh the Apostles you imagin that he might haue hearde many thinges by reporte as froÌ„ the Apostles which other perhaps to make such matters more plausible had fained that they came eueÌ„ froÌ„ the Apostles Will you thus I saie as your mate Brentius did delude the authorite of Chrisostom Truly other shift you haue none And theÌ„ we may aske you whether you were nerer to the Apostles and more assured what doctrine they lefte behind them then Chrisostom was There is no lesse you knowe then twelue hundred yeares betwene you and Chrisostom And yet not only Brentius but your selfe and all such as with you haue departed from the Catholike doctrine of Christes churche do stoutely affirme that the Apostles neuer praied for the dead nor neuer decreed any such matter Nowe then let the Christen Reader iudge who is herein more to be trusted Chrisostom or you and iff one Chrisostom fuffise not let S. Augustin a
most trusty witnes by the verdit of Iohn Caluin whose iudgemeÌ„t you will not I suppose discredit of antiquite in the doctrine of the churche come and affirme as muche Who writing to Paulinus of praieng for the dead saieth Allbeit it were not read in the olde scriptures yet the authorite off the vniuersall church is not small which in this custome is euident VVhere in the praier of the priestes which are offred to our Lorde God at his aultar the commendation of the dead hath his place Io here S. Augustin calleth it a custome of the vniuersail churche to praie for the dead at the aultar of God And vninersall is that by the meaning of S. Augustin which euery where and at all times is and hath ben which in all places euen from the Apostles them selues hath ben obserued Epiphanius also coufuting Aerius affirmeth it to be a tradition of the Apostles to pray for the dead Thus much then of the first parte of your first reason M. Grindall that we haue no commaundement in Scripture to praie for the dead but the place of the Machabees Nowe Sir as touching the second parte that you saie the same place of the Machabees is not in the Canon of the Scriptures I maruail not much hereat considering of what race youre doctrine procedeth For as you haue lerned of the olde heretike Aerius condemned aboue twelue hundred yeares past to disproue praier for the dead so haue you lerned off a numbre of olde heretikes to denie for scripture suche places as ouerthrow your heresy For euen so did the Marcionistes allowe but 9. of S. Paules epistles whereas the church alloweth 14. So did the Manichees take awaie the first chapter of S. Mathewes ghospell and reiected allmost all the olde Testament as S. Augustin witnesseth So the Arrians disallowed the epistle of S. Paul to the hebrewes as Theodoret recordeth in the prohem of his commentary vpon that epistle So Aetius also denied much of the olde Testament as Epiphanius mencioneth of him Briefly it was the manner of all heretikes so to do as Tertullian in his prescriptioÌ„s noteth Therefore as I saied I maruail the lesse at your demeanour herein considering that it is no new thing for an heretike to denie scripture it self wheÌ„ al other shiftes faile What theÌ„ M. Grindal Must we proue vnto you that the bookes of the Maechabees are in the canoÌ„ of the Scriptures O the blessed daies of our time wherein not only al the articles almost of our belefe but the Scriptures theÌ„ selues also are called in coÌ„trouersy and that of such meÌ„ as beare the persoÌ„s of Prelats and rulers in Christes church What authorites theÌ„ may be sufficient to proue that those bookes are of the CanoÌ„ You bring against vs S. HieroÌ„ you tel vs he saieth that these bookes of Machabees be not sufficieÌ„t of them selues to establish any doctrines in the church of God You quote vs his preface vpoÌ„ the boo kes of Salomon Sir if you reade the place againe and marke it wel you shal finde that he saieth this of the Prouerbes of SalomoÌ„ and of the Ecclesiastes not of the Machabees though in dede he saie in that place that they are not of the Canon And this saying of S. HieroÌ„ in that place I may wel expouÌ„d by his wordes in an other place In his preface vpoÌ„ these bookes of the Machabees he saieth expressely that they are not in the CanoÌ„ of the Iewes but of the church of Christ they are receiued inter diuina volumina amoÌ„g Gods bookes But what if S. HieroÌ„ do not acknowledg them for Canonicall scripture What if in reakoning off the Canonicall Scripture he folow the Hebrewes and Iosephus especially as lerned men haue noted of him What if in his time they were not with full authorite receiued The whole corps off scripture was not you know at one push approued It was longe doubted of the epistle to the Hebrewes off the second epistle of S Peter of S. Iohns Reuelation and yet afterward without doubte and controuersy they were in all Christendom receiued and reuerenced for holy Scripture Shall it nowe be lawfull for euery heretike to condemne such parcells of holy Scripture as haue ben so many hundred yeares of all Christendom vniformely receiued bicause they were ones doubted of It is not sitting for the wisedome of a Prelat it staÌ„deth not with the Charite of a Christen maÌ„ to renew suche doubtes and to make a schisme in the church of God vpon priuat presumption and affectioÌ„ But to matche the authorite of S. Hierom whom only you alleage and to knitt vp this matter shortly you shall see what we can saie for the bookes of the Machabees The 85. canons of the Apostles allowed for such by the generall Councell helde at Constantinople in Tâ—ullo in reakoning vp the bookes of Canonicall scripture recite the thre bookes of the Machabees amonge them The third Councell of Carthage helde not longe after the time that S. Hierom liued reakoneth them vp also for Canonicall Scripture Isidorus declareth also that in his time they were vndoubtedly approued for holy Scripture S. Augustin is most clere in this point for not onely in his bookes de doctrina Christiana where of sette purpose he reakoneth the whole corps of the olde and new Testament he placeth these bookes of the Machabees amonge them but also in his bookes de ciuitate dei he doth constantly affirme that they are approued of the Church for holy Scripture And beholde a most clere testimony of S. Augustins iudgement herein A sorte of Donatistes called Circuncelliones murdered and sâ—ewe them selues commonly being persecuted for their heresy of the Catholikes they defended this their diuelish fury and rage with the example of Razias who slew him selfe as in the Machabees it appeareth They builded vpon this fact of Razias as vpon an example of holy Scripture What aunswered them here S. Augustin It had ben truly a ready answer for him to saye those bookes are not of the Canon off holy Scripture and therefore the example of him can nothing helpe you if he had so thought in dede off these bookes But S. Augustin denieth them not to be of the Canon as you do M. Grindall for the maintenaunce of your heresy though it had ben much then for his vauntage and might soone so haue stopped the heretikes mouth if he had thought it the duty of a Catholike bishop to flit from scripture when vauntage serued His obedience to the Church off God his lerning and vertu taught him to cleaue vnto the Church in determining holy Scripture and to seke other meanes to awnswer heretikes Therefore notwithstanding the facte of Razias who semeth in that booke to be commended for killing him selfe he acknowledgeth the bookes for Canonicall Scriptures and teacheth vs also how such examples in holy Scripture are to be read These are his wordes Landatus est itaque iste Razias
the Iewes were as verely and as truly baptised in the clowde vnder Moyses whiche Caluin most impudently affirmeth as we are in the fonte vnder Christ and his minister why were they baptised againe of S. Ihon or of the Apostles when they came to the faithe of Christ What a numbre of baptims dothe Caluin teache vs beside the one onely baptim of Christ whiche the Catholike church hathe lerned in holy scripture Circuncision the clowde the sea the baptim of S. Ihon and al these the very same and of the selfe same effect and force as the baptim of Christ. Is not Caluin trowe ye a ioyly Anabaptiste Nay dothe he not farre passe the Anabaptistes They go aboute to repete one twise Caluin maketh vs fyue for one off the which euery Christned Iewe by his doctrine hathe foure and euery vnchristened Iewe hathe three I woulde nowe passe from his heresies to his contradictions But I muste nedes put you in minde off one ioyly tricke of Caluin which he practised in the planting of this heresy In his commentaries vpon S Paule where he teacheth this doctrine after longe labour and strife seing he coulde bringe forthe no true childe but that it proued to a mōster and ougle vnnatural thinge and perceauing one foule faute in it which he thought most of all those of his generatiō would abhorre he goeth aboute to cloke it and colour it as wel as he maie The greate faute that he espied him selfe in this doctrine is that it had no expresse scripture for it You shall heare him finde the faute and see howe he will remedy it These be his wordes Sed rursum obijcitur nullum de his verbum extare I d ego fateor sed neque dubium hoc est quin Deus spiritu suo defectum externae praedicationis suppleuerit that is But they will obiecte againe That there is no worde extant hereof That do I confesse but it is not to be doubted but that God by his Spirit hath supplied the lacke of external preaching Lo Caluin nowe is glad to runne to the refuge of the holy ghoste for his doctrine whē scripture faileth him But when the Catholike churche directed allwaies and assisted by the holy ghoste teacheth vs any thinge that is not expressed in holy scripture Caluin can not abide it Hereupon in his Institutiōs he raileth at the adoratiō of Christ in the blessed sacrament bicause in holy scripture saieth he Nulla eius mentio ostendi potest quae tamen non fuisset pretermissa si deo accepta foret that is No mentiō there of cā be showed which notwithstāding had not bē omitted if it had liked god And in the matter of reseruatiō though he graūt that the primitiue church vsed it yet bicause it is not expressed in scripture he wil none of it Thus whē it pleaseth Caluin scripture is requisit and whē it pleaseth him not scripture may be lacked and the spirit of god maie supplie it In like maner though he crie vpō scripture alwaies and as we noted you before oute of his Institutitiōs wil not allow the church no farder thē she bringeth expresse scripture for her yet not only in this place he teacheth beside scripture and cōfesseth it to but also in many other places In the matter of the blessed sacrament of the aultar you haue sene in howe many and sundry pointes his doctrine repugneth to holy scripture while he laboureth to persuade men that to be but bread and wine which oure Sauiour pronounced to be his body and bloud It cometh nowe to my minde howe impudenly he shifteth awaie the authorite of expresse scripture where with he sawe him selfe pressed You shall heare his wordes In his Institutions the 18. chapter thus he writeth Vtcunque verborū Christi tangi se religione quiritentur quo minus figuraté intelligere ausint que sunt tam aperté dicta non est tamen hic satis iustus praetextus cur omnes quae contra obijciuntnr rationes ita respuāt that is Howesoeuer they crie and cōplaine that for the reuerence of Christ his wordes they dare not take it for a figure which was so plainly spoken yet this is no sufficient pretēce why they shuld refuse al such reasons as we bringe against thē This he writeth against the Lutherās which will not go frō the real presence of Christ in the Sacramēt And see we not here the vncredible arrogancy of this proude heretike Doth he not showe him felfe to be a very Antichriste For what can Antichriste require more off men then to haue the expresse wordes of Christ yelde to suche reasons as he will obiect against And dothe not Caluin require the very same Doth he not bidd the Lutherans beleue his reasons against the expresse wordes of Christ And where as the Lutheran alleageth that bicause the wordes of Christ are plaine saieng This is my body he can not be brought to make it a figure as Caluin dothe what other shifte hathe Caluin then to saie that this is no sufficient pretence why they shoulde refuse his reasons for the contrary Which is as much to saie Though Christ speake plainely yet you must harken also what we can saie against it and ye must geue eare to suche reasons as we can laie against him and then folowe my reasō what soeuer Christe or the ghospel telleth you Nowe what cā Antichriste require more Verely as S. Iohn saied of the heretikes of his time Antichristi multi sunt there are many Antichristes so may we most truly say of our time there are many Antichristes but none a more righter Antichrist thē this heretike Calui You haue sene good readers what heresies and howe diuers Caluin hathe partely renewed partly forged of his owne in his doctrine aboute these two Sacraments which onely he acknowleadgeth and taketh for Sacraments If we woulde vse the like diligence in other points of his doctrine we coulde be longe and should be I feare tedious And truly it were to be wished that neither the heresies of this man neither any heresie at all were knowen to the common and vnlerned people But bicause this suttle heretike hathe so wined him selfe in to mens hartes that he hathe trained them not onely from the Catholike churche of Christ but also from the Lutherās and Melanchthonistes which before bore all the swaie of this new gospell I thought good to discouer his heresies and other abominable doctrine aboute these two Sacraments as two of the waightiest articles nowe in controuersy and most of all other touching oure saluation to the entent that not onely the Catholikes and suche as god of his goodnes hathe hetherto staied in the faithe of the churche may as they do vtterly abhorre his doctrine neither yelde by the wickednes of the time to any one point thereof but also oure dere deceiued countremen that so gladly reade his workes and so gredely deuoure his diue lish doctrine maye lerne of
which it is nowe clere he doth If ye answer that so it is done bicause men by their owne wickednes malice and vngratefulnesse haue so deserued to be forsaken of God that shall be well and truly answered But bicause yet we see not the reason of this variete why some being brought to obedience other continewe indurated in the discussion of this doubte we must nedes haue recourse to that whiche S. Paule noted oute of Moyses to witt that from the beginning the Lorde had stirred them vp to showe his name through out all the worlde Now these wordes from the beginning are not in S. Paule nor Moyses in any text latin greke or hebrewe but are the wordes of Iohn Caluin added to the text of Gods worde for a vauntage to witt to make vs beleue that from the beginning euen before the fall of Adam God was the cause off induration aud harde hart of reprobats For he is not you see coÌ„teÌ„ted to attribut it only to their owne deserts and malice but seketh a superiour cause in God and that by the wordes of S. Paule from the beginning which he nor none of all his scholers are euer able to showe vs in any text of S. Paule that is This is lo the plaine dealing of these ghospellers and refourmers of Christes Church These be the chalengers of Gods worde This is the pure text they vaunte and boaste of They pretend to couet after the pure text and bare letter But as the poet saied ex vno disce omnes By Caluin lerne what the rest are And Time Danaos dona ferentes trust not an heretike though he bringe you scripture it selfe What false tricke is there that Caluin hath not plaied He hath corrupted the text with false translation as we showed you in the 9. chapter of Salomons prouerbes He belieth holy Scripture as yow heard in the S. chapter of S. Paull to the Romans He denieth expresse scripture as we declared you in the 19. chapter of the Actes of the Apostles He requireth to be heard against expresse scripture as we recited you oute of his Institutions And nowe you see he addeth to holy Scripture If this archeprotestant and greate ghospelling doctour behaueth him selfe so in his printed workes which remaine to be vewed of all lerned men what will the nouices of his religion and young prinking preachers sticke to do in pulpits where they knowe their audience to be not allwaies lerned and of the lerned some of a presumed preiudice to take all for good other to winke at all vti foro Albeit the doctrine of Caluin as you haue partly sene be stuffed with abhominable heresies and most absurde contradictions yet in all his doctrine he talketh peremptorely He matcheth him selfe with the Apostles He condemneth and reprouueth at his pleasure all holy fathers Whereby his pride and presumptuousnes sure mates of heresy vttereth it selfe I will for example note you a fewe of his sayinges where you shall see howe proudely he demeaneth him selfe and howe courteousely he ordereth the holy auncient and lerned fathers First as touching his contradictions about free will witting and feeling him selfe very well that he might wottly be charged therewith in one place of his booke of predestination he vtereth his feare and with a worde of his mouthe thinketh to make all the matter smothe These are his wordes I saie again I am not ignorant what apparent absurdite and contradiction this doctrine hath with prophane men and dispisors of God But whatsoeuer they bable or barke our conscience ought to serue vs for a thousand witnesses Is not this a gaie solution trow ye hath he not geuen vs a substaÌ„tiall warrant of the vniformite of his doctrine For what saieth he Forsothe whatsoeuer contradictions we see and beholde with our eyes yet we must trust Caluins coÌ„science that he is so honest a man that he would neuer saie or vtter any such thing Now reade againe those fewe of his contradictions that we haue recited who list and let him iudge in his owne conscience what the conscieÌ„ce of Caluin is and howe farre it is to be trusted Againe as touching the singularite off his doctrine which he knoweth and confesseth to be contrary to the olde fathers what reason thinke ye bringeth he for the defence off it In his treatise of baptim the 17. chapter of his Institutions he expouÌ„deth the wordes of Christ to Nicodemus Vnlesse a maÌ„ be borne again by water and the holy Ghost he shall not enter in to the knigdoÌ„ of heauen to be but an allegoricall speache against the whole practise off Christes church and consent of all holy fathers and lerned writers expounding the wordes off Christ literally as the text hath for necessite of baptim This Caluin knewe and confessed But how then thinke you doeth he excuse the matter what clâ—ke hath he for his singularite Ye shall heare After longe talke thus he concludeth Scio alios aliter interpretari sed hunc esse germanum sensum non dubito that is I knowe that other men haue otherwise expounded this but I doubt not but this is the right sence Lo Caluin doubteth not and therefore we must beleue him more theÌ„ all the church beside What is arrogancy if this be not Likewise in his doctrine and booke of predestination such as finde fault with his doctrine he saieth they blaspheme God and crieth vnto them as S. Paul did to such as Caluin is VVhat arte thou man which disputest with God Now what the doctrine off Caluin is you haue sene partly by this our simple discourse and more especially it appeareth in the third parte of this Apologie Yet he matcheth him selfe with God and vaunteth the coÌ„ptrollers of his hereticall doctrine with the check of S. Paul as curious serchers of Gods depe secrets And therefore no maruail iff he sett light by the holy Fathers off Christes church and reuerence them no deale at all In his treatise of baptim labouring to promote his heresy touching the baptim off S. Ihon that it should be equall with the baptim of Christ remembring that the Fathers of the church laie in his waie and withstode him to make the restafeared he geueth the venter vpon S. Augustin and saieth Nec recipienda est illa Augustini argutia in spe dimissa fuisse peccata Ioannis baptismo Christi baptismo reipsa dimitti that is Neither is that sutteltly off Augustin to be admitted that by the baptim of Ihon sinnes were forgeuen but in hope by the baptim off Christ they are forgeuen in dede In other places he calleth S. Augustin in dogmatibus ecclesiae fidelissimuÌ„ vetustatis interpreteÌ„ a most trusty reporter of antiquite in doctrines of the church But when it pleaseth M. Caluin S. Augustins doctrine is but a suttelty Likewise reprouuing the doctrine of penaunce where it is compared to the borde after a shipwracke which is a vsuall similitude off all
he teache all waies the Son to be coeternall with the father wherefore they neuer would affirme that the Son had any beginning of substance Let vs thē leaue these Logicall disputations and looke vnto the expositiōs of the olde writers Put it therfore in the Emperours head that he cal the heretikes before him and aske thē what accōpt they make of such doctours and fathers as wrote before their heresie began and whether they iudge them to be Christen men or none of the church If they mislike thē let them if they dare condemne and anathematise them If they so do the very people will ouerrunne them And so truthe shall ouer come But yf they do not repell the olde doctours it shall thē be our part to bring forth their sayengs and by their testimonies confirme our doctrine This being tolde of Sisinius Nectarius goeth forth with vnto the Courte and declareth vnto the Emperour the aduise off Sisinius who liking it very well and going wisely aboute the matter called the heretikes before him and dissembling his purpose demanded them only whether they made any accompt of the Doctours of the church which liued before their heresie began or no. They not reiecting those writers but calling them their masters and fathers the Emperour asketh them againe whether they woulde admit them as worthy witnesses of the Christen faith The chief masters of that heresie hearing those wordes doubted much what they might answer Whereuppon they striued amonge them selues some thinking the Emperourment wel some mistrusting the issue of his demaundes and perceauing they made litle for their purpose For they were not all of one minde touching the writinges of the olde fathers differing in that point not only from other religions but also from them selues who professed all one religion Thus their wicked doctrine was discouered and confounded as the buylders of Babel by their variaunce in language For the emperour preceauing their disagrement and seing they trusted only vpon contentious disputing regarding not the exposition of olde writers he toke an otherwaie with them commaunding that eche religion should in writing shortly comprise the effect of their doctrine and opinion Thus farre the history of Socrates That Sisinius though good not to dispute with heretikes it was not his first deuise The holy canons had commaunded the same Tertullian and other holy fathers had writen the same And the cause why they thinke it not expedient to trie by disputation matters of our faith is that all heretikes do vtterly take away the true principles off Christen religion which are the sure groundes off good disputation and place in their stede false and forged which are all vncertain and maye serue as we see in coūting sometime for more sometime for lesse sometime nothing at all For he that taketh away the generall and the whole howe can he be sure of the partes Or if ye denie the substance to what purpose were it to dispute of the accident To none at all Therefore he that listeth dialectically and schole like to reason with an heretike if he agree not first with him for the principles he shall fight he woteth not against what nor to what purpose and sooner shall ye take a hare with a taburin then conclude a suttell heretike with an argument For he hath no certainte in his doctrine but is ready to denie that he graunted the last worde before and likewise to graunte that he laste denied flitting and flieng as vauntage serueth Brentius affirmeth the only text of the writen worde to be the first principle of Lutheran religion But in such sorte that it may be lawfull out of this writen text to cut of the epistle of S. Iames cast awaie the epistle to the Hebrews refuse the Apocalypse of S. Ihon and condemne the bookes of Machabes This principle serueth also to reiect any other part of the whole Bible for if any sentence euidently expressed in sctipture be brought against him strayte Brentius crieth The Hebrewe text readeth not so The greke copies haue otherwise And this principle of the only text serueth so fit for these heretikes purpose that for conference with them no waye can be made nor ende can be founde Then the Catholike and Apostolicall vnderstanding of holy Scripture which is euery where one and allwaies agreable with it selfe which is deriued from the Apostles which is the present iudge in all controuersies they vtterly refuse and very rudely and impudently appeale vnto Christ whom in earthe present iudge we can not haue Whom yet some of them denie to be God some to be man and some other saie he is but a tale of Plato And yet forsothe they boaste of the certainte of their faith which in dede is most vncertain as their most manifest dissension well declareth A very vaine and childish crake it is to crie allwaies that their Cōfession of Augspurg is grounded vppon the doctrine of the prophetes and of the Apostles For who saieth so but they them selues and of their only fecte which first inuented it and would impudently compel all Christendō to receaue it But if you ask them howe they proue it they will saie vnto you All the articles of our Confession agree with the prophets and the Apostles and differ frō thence in no point O the madnes of our countre That which is called in question they laie for their groūdes bringing for proufe that which ought to be proued What child in logick would so fondly reason For if you denie againe that the articles of this their confession is grounded vpon the doctrine of the prophets and the Apostles what haue they then to saye peraduenture left they may seme to be put to silence they will beginne to interpret and cōfer Scripture together after their maner But is not this the foule faute in logike called Petitio principij that is to aske that whiche ought to be proued For when we blame the Cōfessiō of Augspurg we blame nothing els but the false and wronge interpretation of holy Scripture vsed in that Confession But you will saye We may as well refuse the interpretation that the Catholikes do bringe of their owne Well truly and worthely For who will heare the Catholike doctour if he bring forthe nothing but saie only that the doctrine of the Catholike churche is grounded in holy Scriptures This must not be tolde but be proued What then will the Catholike bring that the heretike shall not be able to bring He will surely bring and declare first the interprerarion of Scripture which he vseth to be vniuersall to haue ben deriued from the Apostles to be receaued and allowed in all Christendom Then he will showe that euery article and principall point of our faith hath ben confirmed by miracles Last of all he will teache you that all matters of the Catholike church which be proper of the newe testament are founde expressed by euident figures in the olde Testament What
difference then is there betwene the right Catholike and the deceaued heretike Truly herein heretikes agree with the Catholikes that bothe embrace alleage and defend holy scripture as the very worde of God hut herein differ all heretikes from the Catholikes that these bring the Catholike and vniuersall interpretation of holy scripture they bring their owne priuat and heretikall These are able to proue their doctrine by miracles they are neuer able Last of all that these are able to showe the matter of the newe Testament by the figures of the olde lawe as in the sacrifice in the sâ—craments and ceremonies they can not These two different waies being by iust balances indifferently pondered and tried it will soone appeare whiche ouerwaieth the other And in dede if they bereue vs of the common and receaued iudgement of the whole churche wherewith all thinges in the church are iudged why may they not in like maner take away all the rest For as if ye plucked out a mans eyes and yet wolde saie that ye bereued him not of that which might be sene euen so it is if heretikes graunt vs the text of the bible and yet take from vs the true vnderstanding thereof If it forceth not whether we vnderstand holy Scripture rightly or no howe shall we then discerne fashood from the truthe Whereby shall we trie the truthe or what iudgement shall the churche haue of the truthe And who woulde folowe such teachers of religion whiche confoundeth truthe and falshood together which spoileth vs of all iudgement of the truthe which leaueth vs no meanes to trie the truthe which blindeth and blereth our eyes of all intelligence Yet in better case were the Cimmerij who although they had loste the light of the Son yet might vse the fire But these men that take awaye from vs the consent of Christendom and the iudgement of the churche which mocke and scorne at the miracles of God which refuse the doctrine and figures of Moyses do leaue vs in such horrible darcknes that we haue not so much as one sparckle of light remaininâ— Euen in the time of the Apostles heresies sprange vp as of Simon Magus of Hermogenes of Philetus and such like But by what marke trowe ye was the doctrine of these heretikes knowen from the doctrine of the Apostles but that the Apostles and all that folowed them were Of one harte one minde and one belefe And this only touchestone left Christ to knowe the church by that whereas two or thre be gathered together in his name and agree in any matter there he is to be founde in the middest of them This consent then and agreement in any matter as in the Apostolicall doctrine and right vnderstanding of holy Scripture being vniforme and all one in all howe can it not be the sure and certain iudgement of the Apostolicall doctrine and of the churche Beside as in Christ him felse so in his Apostles it happened that such as beleued not their wordes through infirmitie were yet forced to beleue their miraculous workes they being an euident proufe from God of their doctrine Farder such ordre of the church as the Apostles began to frame and left to their successours to be perfited and thoroughly poolished they thought it to be shadowed in the figures of Moyses lawe and expressed in the light of the newe lawe But what like to these marks of the true church did Simon Magus Hermogenes and Philetus bring euen so much as nowe of late Luther Melanchthon and Caluin For these newe doctours be not of one harte one minde nor one beleefe and much lesse such disciples as folowed these false preachers For these dissent in euery point agree in no point and therefore Christ the author and God of vnite is not among them but the diuell the master of all dissension Caluin very childishely and vainely going about to excuse him selfe saieth that the LutheraÌ„s are no more to be blamed for that so diuers and so horrible heresies springe vp nowe a daies in euery place then the Apostles were in their time vnder whom many haeresies also sprange vp This maketh nothing for your excuse Caluin You denie flat Master Caluin and so do al your companyons of Zurich that Luther was any prophet at all or in any point like to the Apostles But you saie the diuell spake in his mouthe not the holy goste The which testimonie of your church of Zurich the truer it is the more ye proue the very same diuell to speake in your selues For the very same Luther in diuers pointes of your doctrine you folowe whom you write and affirme to speake by the instinct of the diuell And what newe secte is nowe in any place of Christendom which hath not drawen the first acte of his tragedie out of Luthers schole wheÌ„ce toke Munzer the beginning of that greate rebellion of the commons in Germanie but of Luther For He forbad men openly to obey their princes and condemned al warre againe the Turkes whom he writeth to be tenfolde better then our foolish and madde princes So he termeth them Whence digged out the Anabaptistes that carreÌ„ of the olde heresie of the Donatistes Out of a certaine epistle of Luther ad WaldeÌ„ses in the which he writeth That it were better not to baptise children at all then to baptise them without faith Whence toke Carolostadius occasion to renew the heresie of Berengarius Out of his commentary on S. Ihon and the translation of these wordes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The fleshe profiteth nothing I reaken here vp the notable and principal sectes only of our time I coulde saye as much of the baser sorte if it were nedefull whiche are so diuers and so many that we see almost as many sectes as families amonge the Lutherans For these therefore and other waighty considerations which all to recounte were now out of time If I mought be credited or beare any authorite amonge princes in this matter most Reuerend prelate I would geue theÌ„ that aduise that Sisinius made vnto the Emperour Theodosius That is They should charge and commaund their preachers and ministers to accept and acknowledg for right that sense and vnderstaÌ„ding of holy scripture which is Catholike and may be deriued from the Apostles and approued by the testimonie of miracles and that to be false which is priuat of their owne forging and whereof they be not able to showe any furder euidence And truly vnlesse this aduise other by my suggestion or by some other maÌ„s be not put in to the head of princes and persuaded them we shall neuer liue in quiet the churche will be ouerrunne and we of Germany shal other become slaues to the Turkes as the grekes are or to the Moscouites as the Liflandmen are or whiche will be more miserable we shall be vtterly in perpetuall thraldome as the Iewes the Hungarians and many other countres are now But I will leaue as I
for shame denie partly go about to reconcile with the rest of their doctrine To the ende that hereby they may persuade the worlde that I belied thē hitherto affirming such to be their articles and charging them with dissension amonge themselues With these thre pointes by the grace of god I shal defend my simple conuersation and geue due information of my belief vsing herein a plaine and familiar stile of our vulgar tongue that the simple lay mā may also vnderstande me declaring sincerely and with all modestie the truth in all pointes without railing biting or any other vnciuill demeanour For so it becometh well meaning men to do Although my aduersaries to bring me in infamie and reproche omitte no such kinde of rethorike laieng on greate lode of lies and reproches whereby they haue cut awaie all honest meanes of reconciliation auoiding al maner of iudgement and ciuil triall Being yet frō god commaunded by Moises That all controuersies and debates should be tried by the lawfull Magistrat For this hathe alwaies ben my only desire and is yet that my aduersaries which either priuely or in open libels cease not to backbite me cōuēt me before my ordinary and lawfull magistrat and there make their complainte not making them selues the partie plaintif and defendant yea and iudges in their owne cause as against all order and lawe bothe spirituall and temporall thei haue hitherto most impudently done Truly as I haueben allwaies so am I now ready and desirous to present my self before my ordinary Magistrat and to abide the whole ordre and proces of the lawes against me For thanked be God I knowe my life and cōuersation hath ben such be it not spoken for any pride that I am not ashamed nor afeard to showe my face before any mā a liue And sure I am that if I had not laboured with the Emperours Maiestie and other Catholike princes for the maintenaūce of the Catholike religion against heretikes my life shoulde neuer haue bē touched of thē But seing that the Catholike doctrine it self praised be God can not by any good reason or coulour be impugned they laie at my person and fight against me letting the doctrine it selfe alone Vsing this argument that I against my owne conscience only for honour and riches sake defend the Catholikes whereas yet they knowe well them selues that I haue sustained the losse of some thousands of crownes and empaired much the helthe of my body in the quarell of the Catholike faith But howsoeuer the matter goeth Our Lorde knoweth who are his and he trieth the hartes of men and as Clemens Alexandrinus writeth No man is so great but God passeth him nor no mā so smal but God espieth him and he shal geue to euery man according to his desertes If I therefore do against my conscience herein wo is vnto me For only God knoweth the conscience of man But if I do vprightely herein wo is vnto you that take vpon you the secret iudgement of God Aud thus farre off my selfe inough Let vs nowe come vnto the matter OF THE TRVE AND RIGHT VNDERSTANDING OF HOLY SCRIPTVRE AS touching the first part whereas they laye to my charge that I labour to oppresse and tread vnder foot the holy ghospell and worde of God hauing before professed the same c. To this I aunswere plainely that herein they deale very vncourteously with me and do iniuriously slaunder me And I am very sure they haue not one iote to proue this their saying by But to remoue this their vaine and forged opinion with sure and vndoubted reason I would gladly knowe of them what is that they call the holy ghospell and worde of God Here if they awnswer me that the worde of God is no other thinge then the holy scripture commonly called the Bible that is the olde and newe Testament thē againe I awnswer thē they do most iniuriously slaunder me For they are neuer able to proue that euer I reiected or persecuted any one litle peace or parcell of the ghospell or of the lawe But I embrace and reuerence al the holy Bible the lawe and the ghospel and take it for no lesse thē the very worde of Gods mouth Yea and I graunte that sooner heauē and earth shal perish then any one iote of that worde Which I dare saie not only for my owne part but in the name of all Catholike Christians which hitherto euen from the Apostles time allmost these thousand six hundred yeares without any intermission haue read in churches songe alwaies in publick seruice of the Masse and taught openly in pulpits and haue also in the common breuiaries and portyses of the Romane vse comprised almost the whole corps of the Bible and that in such ordre that the priestes are bounde wekely to reade ouer the whole Psalter and yearely for lessons allmost all the ghospell and epistles and prophets as the most auncient custom practised so many hundred yeares past of the Canonicall howres the Prime the Third the Sixt the Ninth howres Euensong and Complin doth well declare which disposition and ordre of times was off the Apostles them selues as it may appeare in the Actes and other where so well and diligently appointed that to euery daye for the howres of our lordes passion psalmes lessons and ghospells do correspond with a reuerent and deuoute remēbraunce of Christes benefits whereby the church from the beginning vnto our time through out the whole worlde would testifie and teache vnto vs that all holy scripture ought to be construed and grounded on the passion of our Sauiour Iesus Christ as in the true corner stone for the saluation of our soules as hereafter we shall in his due place by the scripture most plainely proue It is therefore a wonderfull slaunder that these men saye of the Catholikes That hitherto the ghospell and the worde of God hath ben bannished from the church kept in hucker mucker and at the length vnder the pope to haue ben vtterly extinguished but now is reuoked vnto light therefore those that embrace this newe ghospell to be worthely called men of the ghospell but that we which folow our swete parents and forefathers with the whole Catholike church keping and maintaining the olde Apostolicall doctrine must be called wicked papistes But here he that hath eyes to see let him open them and he that hath any regard of his saluation let him here take hede for this is that suttell deceit of these protestants and the mist wherewith they dimme the eyes of the simple people making them beleue that they only professe the worde of God And yet these newe preachers and masters knowe very well them selues the contrary as Luther him selfe in his booke against the Anabaptistes and the Zuinglians witnesseth saying that among the papistes that is in the churche of Rome the holy ghospell aud all holy scripture with al the bookes sentences wordes and prickes thereof hath remained in
laste confession writen against the Sacramentaries saieth that faith is like to a bell which as longe as it is whole kepeth his true sounde but when it is anything crased or cleft it iarreth and leseth cleane his proper tune like as an ear then vessel as longe as it is whole and sounde is called a pot a crocke or some like thing but ones broken or cleft it leseth his name and is called a potsheard Let no man therefore comforte him selfe with this vaine hope that although their preachers and ministres erre in some pointes yet are good Christians in other pointes for that auaileth nothing You must be saued within the arke of Noe or be drowned with out it There is herein no middle waye Therefore you must take very good hede that you be not deceaued lest that while wantōly and negligently you harken to euery newe doctrine and forged interpretation of scripture that one or two newe preachers teache you lese youre soules in good earnest Remembre rather what the prophet saieth Euery man is a lyar He meaneth not al men together For I for my part and you for youre part and euery man a part may lie erre and be deceaued But all good men together that is the whole Catholike churche of Christ can not erre in any article of faith For it is builded vpon the rocke of truthe and vpon that consideration is called the piller and grounde of al truthe Therefore when the simple and vnlerned man heareth sundry and cōtrary expositions of holy Scripture let him haue recours to his faith and fully determinat with him selfe for that he is not lerned in holy scripture not to take any other waie or folow any other guide then the article of his Crede I beleue the holy Catholike church persuading him selfe vndoubtedly that to be the only true interpretation of scripture which is Catholike That is which together with the writen text hath by the Apostles and their successours ben spred trough the whole worlde and continued vniforme and vncorrupted euen to our time And this only rule may serue as a buckler for the vnlerned mā that as ofte as newe preachers set a broche any newe doctrine and straunge then to thinke this with him selfe I am a man vnlerned I can not perceiue the drift of their disputing I can not iudge of their cōtrouersie But seing that my Crede teacheth me to beleue nothing but that which is Catholike and hath allwaies ben kept and receaued in Christēdom what shall I do to knowe whether these newe preachers doctrine be Catholike or no Here this vnlerned man must remembre the counsell of Moyses saying Aske of the daies that are past which were before the sence the daie that God created man vpon the earthe and aske frō one side of the heauē vnto the other and in an other place Remēbre the daies of the worlde that is past Consider the yeares from time to time aske thy father and he will showe the thy elders and they well tell the. For this is the true guide of a blinde man and ignorant to aske and enquire what his forefathers what his neighbours what the townes and countres about haue allwaies obserued and beleued sence the time they were first traded in Christen religion and haue so many yeares continued in This is the faith of that cooliar which being at point of deathe and tempted of the deuill what his faith was awnswered I beleue and die in the faith of Christes church Being againe demaunded what the faith of Christ his church was that faith saied he that I beleue in Thus the deuil getting no other awnswer of the simple man was ouercomed and put to flight By this faith of the cooliar euery vnlerned man may trie the spirits of men whether they be of god or no by this faith he may resist the deuill iudge the true interpretation of scripture from the false and discerne the Catholike preacher from the hereticall Minister the true doctrine from the forged But to set this whole matter before your eies as it were in a glasse take this example Suppose there came to some greate cyte fiue different and contrary preachers as by name Caluin a Zwinglian Longinusa Swencfeldiā Functius an Osiandrin Illyricus a Lutherā and some Catholike doctour suppose the magistrates of the cite graunted these fiue euery one to preache and defend openly his owne priuat doctrine what shal the vnlerned laie mā do here that he folowe not a blind guide and so fall bothe in to the dike surely as we haue saied before so must he do he shall aske first of Master Caluin whether his doctrine be the pure and very worde of god when he writeth that in the Supper of the Lorde not the true body of Christ but only the figure of his body is there and is geuē Againe that originall sinne is but a naturall infirmitie of the minde not giltie of eternall dānation Or els that God is the cause of the sinne of man that god compelleth and forceth men to wickednes blasphemies horedome theft lyeng deceites and such other Here of Caluin awnswer that al this is the pure and cleare worde of god let him aske him againe in what place of the Bible he readeth expresly these wordes In the Supper is not the true body of Christ but the figure only Originall sinne is but an infirmitie not giltie of eternall damnation laste of all that men are constrained of God to sinne To this Caluin will surely awnswer that although this his doctrine be not founde in scripture expresly in these wordes or termes yet that this sentence and meaning is there Marke here then that the doctrine of Caluin is not the expresse worde of God but the meaning and interpretation of it And this lo is their first deceite Let the laye man go yet farder with Caluin and aske whether this his interpretation be Catholike whether that Christen religion began with this doctrine in Germany Fraunce Italy England or any other where whether this his doctrine was preached of the Apostles and their successours receaued and vsed in the Catholike churche and deriued from our forefathers to vs through out al these countres For I maye the laye man saie haue asked here of my elders which denie they euer heard any such thing I haue enquired of the cytes and countres here about they knowe it not but saie it is newe and very straunge vnto them And here Caluin can not denie but that it is so and our men are not ashamed to sai◠that these thousand yeares all truthe hath ben loste therefore the vnlerned man may here boldly saye vnto him Well Sir if it be so fare you well I entend not to medle with you nor your doctrine any more So Athanasius writeth to Epictetus the bisshop that it is inough to awnswere an heretike after this sort The Catholike Church neuer taught this the
holy fathers neuer receaued this VVherefore it is writen Auoide the heretike man In the like maner shall the vnlerned and laie man behaue himselfe with the Suenck feldian demaunding of him whether this be the pure worde of God when he teacheth That Christ as touching his humain nature is not a creature but a begotten thing conceiued and borne of the holy ghoste and that afther the ascension of Christ in to heauen his humanite was made God or rather was chaunged in to God Againe that the same power and operation which is in the worde of God preached is the only begotten euerlasting Son of God Laste of all that all the giftes and graces of God be parcels of the diuine nature For when Longinus the Swenckfeldian shall saie that these doctrines are the very sincere worde of God the laye man maye aske of him againe where holy scripture doth clerely expresse this doctrine To this LoÌ„ginus caÌ„ make no other awnswer then that although it be not there expressed yet it is there mente and vnderstanded here if to the laye maÌ„ asking whether this meaning and vnderstandinge be Catholike and planted by the Apostles or their scholers in Swethen and Silesia and from thence deriued vnto our time Longinus do awnswer ye then must he proue in what place of Silesia and vnder what bisshop that happened Which being not able to do he proueth him selfe a vaine folowe and a lyar But if he saie that this doctrine vntell this time was not receaued in Silesia bicause our forefathers were not of capacite to conceaue these high misteries the laye man may roundely saie vnto him Auaunt heretike and take this fâ—r a finall awnswer The Catholike church neuer taught this the holy fathers neuer receaued this Wherefore it is writen Auoide the heretike man After the same order also maye the laye man aske of Functius the Osiandrin when he teacheth vpon these wordes of Hieremie God is our righteousnes that man ought to be iust by the essentiall iustice of God againe that Christ doth iustifie vs with his only diuinite the humanite being excluded and such like doctrine which he calleth the very expresse worde of God in what place of scripture it is read When he awnswereth that worde for worde it is not in scripture but it agreeth well with the meaning of scripture let him be asked againe whether this his meaning agree with the Catholike expositioÌ„ of scripture deriued from the holy fathers and successours of the Apostles and obserued hitherto continually in the church of Christ without contradiction Here if Functius his conscience forcing him do confesse that this doctrine was of late planted in Prussia by Andreas Osiander and although it was not vntell nowe reueled yet according to his iudgement it agreeth very well with the worde of God and the ghospell the laie man may geue him the finall awnswer of Athanasius The Catholike churche neuer taught this the holy fathers neuer receaued this Wherefore it is writen Auoide the heretike man The like awnswer also may be made to the straunge doctrine of Illyricus the Lutheran writing That good workes are pernicious to saluation that God doth iustifie men by wordes and not by dedes And truly this awnswer is of such force and so mete for a Christen man that vnto all heretikall interpretations to all erroneous doctrine yea though an Angel froÌ„ heaueÌ„ if it were possible should bring any newe ghospell it might with these wordes be awnswered A waye false prophet the third Elias the fifte Euangelist For The catholike church neuer taught this the holy fathers neuer receaued this Wherefore it is writen Auoide the heretike man Last of all the vnlerned laye man may well also demaunde of the Catholike doctour or preacher howe he liketh the opinions of these newe ghospellers whereunto he will awnswer that he hathe perceaued these newe and straunge interpretations of holy scripture and after longe waighing and coÌ„sidering theÌ„ hath founde that they are all auncient condemned heresies which nowe certain braynsicke men by the instinct of the deuill raised vp againe to the vtter destruction of the Romane empire and our dere countre of Germanie Therefore he is readie to showe by good groundes of holy scripture by the right and Catholike vnderstanding of Scripture that the olde religion hitherto receaued is grounded vppon those two pillers and vpon them hath ben sustained from the Apostles time vntel our daies through out the whole corps of Christendom and maintained sounde and perfit against al busy barking of heretikes and cruell bytes of pagan princes And is not this most agreable bothe with religion and with reason that we should embrace and accept that interpretation of the holy Bible for the true and sincere which in all churches of all people and countres hath ben receaued confessed preached maintained and sence the Apostles time hitherto continued as by the testimonies of auncient doctours we are able in all pointes euidently to declare Contrary wise may we not worthely esteme these newe doctrines broched so lately proceding of olde condemned heresies and renued by wild worldely men to be hainous heresies and detestable deceites of the deuill Surely this was the chefe and principall cause why I accompted the diuers doctrine of Luther and his felowes to be hereticall and for such do vâ—terly forsake it and detest it this againe is the cause why I esteme the doctrine in all Christendom which they call the Papacy receaued to be the only true and wholesom doctrine bicause this doctrine is the Catholike and vniuersally receaued interpretation of scripture but their doctrine is only their priuat opinioÌ„ and their priuat deprauatioÌ„ off holy scripture I coÌ„fesse I haue emploied the studie off Diuinite and laboured matters of controuersie about these two and twenty yeares not medling with any other worldely or ciuill matter in all that time nor I can not denie but I haue ben a scholer of the Lutherans and haue so farre lerned their misteries that within these fourten or fiften yeares the diuines of WitteÌ„berg would allmost haue coÌ„strained me to be a doctour of their vniuersitie Againe I haue bestowed much time that I might thoroughely and substantially be lerned in the Catholike doctrine conferring allwaies the sayings and writings of bothe partes And allthough that I had much a do to shift my selfe out of their crafty captious and contentious controuersies yet as sone as by the helpe of God I attained thereunto espieng the erroneous and hereticall doctrine of the Lutherans and perceauing the true and sounde doctrine of the Catholikes I laboured not only vtterly to ridde my stomacke of that poisonned doctrine of Luther but also to auoide all company and familiarite of heretikes that I might neither see them nor heare of them Which lacke of my olde acquaintaunce and maner of liuing bothe empaired much the helthe of my body and procured also great losse of my substaunce And is like to do
and abominations were found in the whole clergy and rulers of Christes flocke notwithstanding the commaundement of Christ must remaine in his full force and effect That the darnell be suffred to growe that the scribes and pharises sitt in the chaire of Moyses do as they commaunde you to do but do not as they do thēselues Againe Obey thē that haue the ouersight of you for they watche as those that must geue accompte for your soules And euery man must plucke first the beame out of his owne eye and then take the mote out of the priestes eye Let vs therefore good Christian reader suffer the church to stande and continewe in his former and most receaued course For without doubt she is so surely grounded vpon the Rocke that hell gates shall neuer be able to ouerthrowe her or preuaile against her As for the life of the clergy God is their iudge For as of virginite so of priesthode man can not iudge Yet we discharge not here the clergy of the Ecclesiasticall censures and punishements For as it is sayde to the laye men touching the euill life of the clergy Let the darnell growe on so is it saide to the bishops as S. Augustin declareth against the Donatistes Take awaye the euill from amonge you Wherefore we reade of that notable Emperour Constantinus the great at what time certain bishops offered vp certain cōplaintes to be determined by him to haue awnswered in this sorte God hath ordained you priestes in his church and hath geuen you authorite to iudge vs and therefore we are well iudged of you but you cānot be iudged of any men It were surely very expedient that some reformation were had to correct and chasten the corrupted clergy according to the prescription of their owne Canons to thentent that such offences as rise in mens hartes against the clergy and the church throughe their inordinat life might be remedied and taken awaie But this is not in the hands of the laite or temporall rulers whose part it is to suffer and obey OF TRANSLATING THE BIBLE IN TO THE VVLGAR TONGVE ANother thing that the Lutherās obiect vnto me is that they saie it hathe ben by my meanes and counsell procured that the Bible is no more reade in the vulgar tongue especially as Luther translated it Nowe although I remembre not that I euer saide or wrote that the laye men ought not to haue the Bible in their vulgar tongue yet iff I had so done it had ben no greate trespas For surely I could neuer yet finde in holy scripture that the common people ought of necessite to reade scripture But that of the reading thereof much schisme and the destruction of many soules hath proceded daily experience teacheth vs. And holy write warneth vs where our Sauiour thus speaketh It is geuen to you to knowe the misterie of the kingdome of God but to the rest in parables that seing yet they see not and hearing they vnderstande not Who are these vnto whom our Lorde saith To you it is geuen c Surely the Apostles and their successours the rulers of Christes flocke And who are they that should lerne by parables surely such men as were better not to knowe the misteries lest misusing them they procure them selues a greater damnation For precious stones ought not to be cast before hogges and such of all likelihod are the laye ignorant people Beside our Lord in that his former sayeng may seme very well to haue alluded to the .xij. tribes of Israel whiche figured the twelue Apostles and to the threscore and ten elders chosen out of those twelue tribes which also did represente the threscore and twelue disciples that were beside the Apostles These threscore and ten elders of the Iewes had only the power as stories declare to reade and and vnderstand the misteries of the Scripture For at that time the hebrewe text vsed of the Iewes had no vowels in all the text but only consonants And this maner of reading without vowels was knowen only to the threscore and .x. elders the other Iewes knewe it not lest peraduenture the precious misteries of that olde lawe should be cast before hogges the rude and curious people These threscore and ten elders also very miraculousely translated the Hebrew Bible in to Graeke before the coming of Christ they only hauing the knowledge of the text So in like wise bicause the threscore and twelue disciples were chosen to reade and vnderstande the misteries of holy write vnto whom priestes haue succeded as in the principall seas and Bishopriks in Christendom by stories we are able to showe therof it is euident that vnto Priestes Pastours and Bishops whō God hath placed to ouersee his church the grace of the holy ghost allwaies assisteth to interpret and expounde the misteries of holy scripture by parables vnto the people as farre as for them is requisit Wherefore the vnlerned laie men maye well be admonished to refrain from all curious and gredy reading of holy scripture First lest rashely and vnaduisedly they take vppon them the office cōmitted by God to the elders to priestes and bishops wich presumptiō we see hath ben greuousely punished in the examples of King Ozias of Core Dathan and Abiron Thē also because experience of our time hath taught howe dangerous it is that euery laie man craftes man labourer or otherwise all without discretion should reade and examine scripture at their pleasure The sectes of the Picardi of the Anabaptistes of the Swenckfeldians and diuers other heresies proceded off no other cause then that certain vnlerned laie people toke vpon them to reade interpret and expounde scripture And what text do these vnlerned men reade surely such as Luther him selfe or some other archeretike hathe translated in to the vulgar tongue and corrupted partly with false additions and preuy foisting partly with hereticall gloses put in the margin Againe they come all to reading of it with a certain preiudice that Luther hath appointed them teaching that he which will reade holy scripture ought not to bringe with him any iudgement but seke it in the text Which is as much to saie that the vnlerned laie man nothing informed before in the faith of the church nothing prepared with deuotion and humilite nothing instructed by what meanes to vnderstande holy scripture may rashly and roundely set vpon it as if it were Beuis of Hampton or a tale of Robin hoode In this case if the vnlerned mā sodenly imagin an exposition of some place that liketh his braine and serueth well his humour be it neuer so contrary and repugnant to the true vnderstanding of holy scripture yet he will not be brought from it but cleauing vnto it tothe and naile forgeth him selfe a newe religion frameth a faith of his owne and setteth vp in his hart a newe idoll in the defence whereof he will spend his body his goods his life
and his soule And this is lo the well spring of sondry heresies nowe a daies Wherein me thinketh it fareth as if the common craftes men of a cite vpon a stomach of priuat presumption would sodenly displace all phisicians and remoue poticaries from their shops persuading themselues to knowe as wel as they the vertu of their medicines balmes drogges waters ointmēts rootes herbes and other such ware and hereuppon would take vpon them to minister bothe to them selues and vnto other potions purgations and all kinde of medicine Were not these men thinke you likely to do much good in shorte time especially if other would be so madde as to beleue them would not experience quickely teache them to call home againe their olde Masters Phisicians and poticaries and set these men to their craftes againe Surely so it is of the holy scripture translated in to the vulgar tongue and so made common for all men For the laye man may so reade them and picke out metsons mete for his appetit but for lacke of skill as experience hath tried he will cast him selfe downe being whole before and so as they saie shall paie for touching For in very dede the vnlerned man is not acquainted with the phrase of scripture he knoweth not the language of the holy ghoste and although he heare the sounde yet he seeth nothing nor vnderstādeth not to what ende or purpose this or that be spokē For it fareth in scripture as in medicines which although they are ordained of God for the helthe of mans body and are the giftes of God yet if they be not vsed in time and place as the desease requireth and as the lerned physician appointeth they may be mischef in stede of a remedy and serue to kill man being made to heale man By this similitude the vnlerned maie gather howe dangerous it is for him to reade the scripture in his mother tongue especially with the entēt to interpret it as he shal thinke best him selfe Nowe whereas I haue in dede founde faute with the translation of Luther and haue withdrawen men frō reading of it I haue don it vpon good reason and waightie considerations For it is euident that Luther in his translatiō hath bothe corrupted the text omitting and altering the very wordes and also hath depraued the sence of the text by false and hereticall gloses partly added in the margin partly foisted in the text it selfe So by clipping awaie the termes of the text and patching on the suttle shiftes of his owne braine he hath gaily coloured his pernicious doctrine with the painted shethe of pretended scripture I wil here bringe you for a taste some fewe examples of his liegerdemain geuing you to vnderstāde what conscience he is likely to haue in other doctrine that feareth not to iugle to cogge and to foist in holy scripture it selfe S. Paule writeth thus vnto the Ephesians according to the Latin translation Which also worde for worde agreeth with the graeke text Wherefore take vnto you the whole armour of God that ye maye be able to resist in the euill daie and stande perfite in all thinges These wordes of S. Paule the honourable and lerned man George Gienger one of the preuie counsell vnto the Emperoures Maiestie translated after this sorte Darum ergreift den harnisch Gottes auf daffir andem boesen tag widersteē kundt vnd in al len dingē als die volkommen vesteen mijghr that is Therefore take on the barnis of God to the entent that in the euill daie you maie resist and in all thinges stande as the perfite But Luther clipping the text translated it thus Omb des wegen so ergreifft den hamisch Gottes auff daf ir widersteen kundt an dem bosen tag vnd in allen ewren thun besteen mijgt which soundeth thus Therefore so take on the barnis of God to the entent that you may resiste in the euill daie and stande in all workes In the which sentence Luther omitteth the worde perfecti in laten als die volkommen in dutche perfyte in englishe which deprauation of the text in this place and cutting awaie the worde perfyte serued his turne very well to raise vp againe the stinking heresie of the Maniches For he writeth that Sinne is parte of man and a thing giltie it selfe which cleaueth also so fast vnto man that it can in this life be taken a waie by no vertu of the grace of God or of the Sacraments and therefore that man remaineth allwaies in sinne nor is not able to attaine to any point of righteousnes in this life And herein Luther as the maner and custome of heretikes is fighteth against scripture with scripture it selfe For S. Paule saieth Not bicause I am alreadye perfyte but I folowe iff that I may comprehend and a litle after Let vs therefore as many as be perfyte be thus wise minded Here he maketh mencion of two sortes of perfectiō One which cōsisteth in hope and is looked for in the life to come of the wich the Apostle in an other place speaketh By hope we are saued an other which Christ speaketh of saying Be ye perfyte as your father of heauē is perfyte and again Be merciful as your father of heauē is merciful which perfectiō is as for exāple that oure glory be the witnes of our owne conscience which we are boūde to haue in this life and therefore ought to labour as S. Paule before exhorted vs that taking vpon vs the armour of God we may stāde perfyte in all thinges Now Luther admitteth no perfectiō in this life but teacheth that man is so farre from being perfyte in this life that God doth compell him to sinne S. Paule vseth often times the worde perfection but so that he confoundeth not the perfectiō of the life to come with the present which in this life as procliue and subiect to sinne maye and ought be kept of vs as farre as our infirmitie beareth Yet this perfection as litle as it is Luther to the entent he might vtterly take awaie he sticketh not as you see to clippe the coyne of Gods worde and bereue the text of the worde perfite lest any man perhaps woulde labour to be honest and vertuous The like slight vsed he in an other place of the Apostle for the like purpose and intent For whereas the Latin and Greke text bothe do reade By the lawe we haue knowleadge of sinne Luther corrupteth it translating after this sorte Durchs Gesetz ist nur erkantuus dee Sijnden that is By the lawe is nothing but knowledg of sinne For as before he clipped awaie the worde perfyte so here he foisteth in the worde Nur nothinge but to buylde againe the former heresie vpon this text But although Luther as by his writinges it is manifest and as the Illyricans and Antinomi his scholers do yet teache professed at the first that the lawe nor before nor after
time which is in the night Christ was borne takē beatē mocked and scorned At the prime which is in the morning he was presented to Pilate and falsely accused At the same time he appeared after his resurrectiō vnto Mary Maudelen At the third howre he was whipped crowned with thornes mocked cōdēned and bearing his crosse was lead to the place where he should be crucified At the same time also the holy ghost was geuē to the Apostles At the vj. howre he was crucified geuen to drinke with gall and vineger and reputed amonge theues At the ninth howre he rendred vp his Spirit in to the handes of the Father At Euensong he was takē downe from the Crosse at last in the Complin time he was anoynted and buried This laudable godly and deuoute custome of daily setting forthe the passion of Christ by seuen distincted howres of praier the Apostles and their successours haue allwaies from time to time reuerently obserued But Luther to the greate reproche of Christes church and inestimable dōmage of Christen soules hath in many places vtterly extinguished and abolished it placing for it the olde cursed heresie of Vigilantius Which his purpose lest it should in any point be staied such expresse scripture as declareth this maner of praier he thought good by his false translation to depraue In the actes of the Apostles according to the graeke and latin text thus we reade Peter and Ihon went vp in to the temple at the ninth howre of praier In all languages these wordes at the ninth howre of praier be so translated that they signifie some certain determinat and appointed time of praier which Luther being desirous to abolise interpreteth that place thus Petrus vnd Johannes gieugen hmauff in den Tempel vmb die neund stund zu veten that is Peter and Ihon wente vp in to the temple about nyne of the clocke to praie as though that the Apostles had by chaunce and not of a set and prefixed order praied at nine of the clocke And as though it were all one to reade in scripture the howre of praier or in some howre to praie But if a man list to see what greate desolation and confusion hath ensued of so litle an alteration of the text in churches and other place of godly foūdatiō let him remēbre with him self the nūber of religious houses Monasteries Nunneries Chappels Hospitals Almes houses yea and cathedral churches where God hath in times past ben honoured and serued at distinct and sundry times for the continuall remembraunce of his blessed passion bothe daie and night and nowe no seruice there at all but are become either prophane dwelling places or schismaticall conuenticles And all this vnder pretence of abuses which though they had crepte in and blemished that most godly institution and order of Christes church the abuse should haue ben corrected the good vse should haue remained In the same chapter of the Actes of the Apostles S. Peter when he had healed the same man he spake thus vnto the people Ye men of Israel why maruaile you at this or why looke ye so on vs as though by our owne power or vertu we had made this man goe that which the Latin text hathe pietatem the Greke hathe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and is well translated vertu or godlynes Luther hath translated it merit as though the Apostles had denied merit But there is great difference betwene vertu or godlynes and merit or desert Yet Luther to take away all loue of vertu and good workes laboured all that he could to persuade men That good workes haue no merit dejert or rewarde before God and that they procure nothing but goddes wrath Wherefore all merites seming to Luther vaine and superfluous for the maintenaunce of this his heresie scripture must be corrupted seing directly it would not serue him In like maner behaued he him selfe in the Sacrament of holy Orders to the entent he might take awaie all priesthood out of the church and set in their places rennagat prentices and vnthrifty seruaunts such as had spent their owne and robbed their masters to gouuerne the newe church by him erected For this his purpose scripture must be wrethed and peruerted lest the holy ghospeller might perhaps seme to saie somewhat without scripture Therefore whereas S. Pause admonisheth his disciple Timothe whom he had then ordained bishop of Ephesus to vse well those giftes and graces of God as had ben geuen him with laying on of the handes of the priest hood that is in taking his holy Orders vising to him these wordes Despise not the gift which is in the which was geuen the thourough prophesy with the laieng on of hādes by the authorite of priesthood for the worde priesthood Luther hath translated Der altisten that is of the elders Persuading thereby the people that holy orders is no Sacrament and that it is not necessary that those which must minister the Sacraments preache and gouuerne churches be ordained of bisshops which haue the authorite of priesthood but that it suffiseth to be called to the ministery by the elders of the people as of the mayre the shrifes and other temporal rulers Whereof we see it hath happened that in Cites townes and Villages where the Lutherā ghospel taketh place showe makers and sadlers poticaries and pedlers taylers and tinkards butlers aud bakers and such other rif raf neuer admitted to holy orders men of no lerning nor sobriete take vpō them the holy office of priesthood preache their pleasure to the people to the vtter destruction of many a soule and ministre the Sacraments without authorite thereunto But Luther and Melanchthon perceauing at the last this cōfusion proceding by reason of this false interpretation to growe on so farre that euery light and seditious knaue as for example Thomas Muntzer in Turinge Bernard Rotman in Westphalia Matthias Illyricus in Saxony and diuers other in other places toke vppon them not being called nor ordained nor admitted by the masters of Wittenberg to preache and gouuerne the people sowing newe heresies and sondry schismes in the congregation sodenly they chaunged their tune For Luther to refraine a litle his euill translation that it may serue for the Sacrament of order in his last edition of the Bible vppon the worde Altisten of the elders he made this glose in the margin That is of the priestes or of the priesthood Melanchthon for the like consideration though at the first he counted all the Sacraments to be but the inuention of man and forged deceites yet in his booke of common places he reakeneth holy Order amonge the Sacraments charging expresly that it should be taken and vsed for a holy Sacrament But this recantation of Luther and Melanchthon neither serued then to any purpose nor is nowe off any force For the brethern stande stoute◠in that which Luther and Melanchthon taught first that holy order and priesthood was no sacrament at all
that euery mā and womā were priestes Although this be an olde condemned heresie of the Aerians of Aetius and Pepusius raised vp now againe of Martin Luther by chaunging the worde Priesthoode in the worde Elders cōtrary the meaning of S. Paule and the common receaued interpretation of all Christendom hitherto Yet hath it pleased Master Luther to renew and preache to the worlde and olde detestable heresie vnder pretence of S. Paules doctrine and the expresse worde of God Nowe although these fewe examples might suffise to declare the honesty of Luther and vpright dealing in translation of the holy scripture yet for the more declaration thereof I will adde yet one place notably misused and willfully corrupted of Luther The Apostle writeth thus to the Colossians Beware lest any man deceiue you by philosophie or vaine deceites after the tradition of men after the elements of the worlde and not after Christ. Thus readeth the greke and the latin text But Luther drawing after his fashion the scripture for his purpose where it is in the text After the elements of the worlde he turneth it Nach der welt satzungen that is after the lawes and ordinaunces of the worlde It is surely a straunge case to see howe variabel and braynsicke these ghospellers are At the first broching of this newe ghospel while Luther as the rumor was lyued yet in his Patmus Philip Melanchthon taught that sithen Christen men were all 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 taught immediatly of God him self no man should study philosophie For al the writings of Plato Aristotle Cicero and such other were but friuolous tales and daungerous deceites and to be burned and destroied as in dede in many places so they were but onely the Bible ought to be read and studied For by these the holy ghoste would minister all knowledge bothe to serue God and to liue in this worlde bothe for euerlasting saluation and for this temporal estate That a Christē man should not liue a studious quyet life for that it was writē In the sweate of thy brow thou shalt eate thy bread that is as they expounde it thou must be a plowemā a showemaker a bucher a tayler or some such handy craftes man and so with thy owne labour get thy liuinge This fowle errour beside other occasions ministred thereunto was of Luther in sundry places of his workes stoutely maintained and defended One of such places I will here at large alleage Writing vnto the Nobilite of Germany he hath these wordes The vniuersites also haue nede of an earnest and sharp reformation Truly I must speake as I think let him be angry that listeth VVhatsoeuer was instituted or ordained vnder the pope tended only to the furderance of vice and encrease of errours for the vniuersites if they be not otherwise ordered then they haue ben hitherto what other thing are they then as it is noted in the Machabees scholes of children and of the greke glorie where is all licentious dissolutnes holy Scripture and Christen faith is not taught but that blind ethnick philosopher Aristotle ruleth aboue Christ him selfe VVhe refore by my aduise the Phisicks the Methaphisiks the bookes de Anima the Ethikes should vtterly be abolished with all the rest of his workes which professe to teache the naturall causes of thinges Although therein nether natural nor spirituall knowledg is to be gotte Beside that they are of such obscurite that fewe haue hitherto vnderstode them good wittes lesing bothe labour and time about them I dare well saie that euery coblar hath as much knowleadg of natural thinges as is to be gotte in those bookes It greueth me euen to the hart that this cursed and crafty proude ethnike could so longe a time abuse and deceaue the lerned men of Christendō VVith this scorge haue we ben whipped for our sinnes This much wrote Luther in the yere of our Lorde 1520. out of these and such other writings of Luther Carolostadius and Melanchthon first sucked out the contempt of philosophie and all good lerning being so moued by the authorite of this german prophet Luther And by the yeare 152◠they furdered the matter so farre that in many famous vniuersites and cites all study of philosophie vtterly decaied And although this doctrine of Luther and Melanchthon taking awaie from Christen men as Iulian the apostat Emperour did all honest discipline liberall sciences and good lerning whereby the estat of Christēdom hathe alwaies ben in knowleadg and vertu directed and to driue all men to handycraft workes and husbandry only by a rude and bestly doctrine yet it so serued that time and was so wel liked that at Wittēberg many scholers burned all their bookes and became craftes men sheaperdes husband men and so forth Carolostadius him selfe being before Archedeacon of Wittenberg getting him to a village thereby became sodenly a ploweman tilled and sowed the grounde him self and brought wodde to the market of Wittenberg to be solde Beside many other cites especially Breslau did shet vp cleane all scholes and for the space of certain yeares suffred their youth to roue abrode without any education or instruction Which if a man had asked them why they did so the text of S. Paule serued them for a cloke of their foly where it was writen Beware ye that no man deceiue you by philosophie and vaine suttelties after the tradition of men But now Luther perceauing afterward that this serued nothing his purpose retourning from his Patmus to Wittenberg he corrected Melanchthon and draue Carolostadius out of the dominiō of Wittenberg professing then openly and declaring that without grammer logick and philosophie his ghospell could not be spread abrode conueniently Therefore in the yeare 1524. writing to the Magistrates and cites of Germanie of setting vp and main taining scholes he laboureth very ernestly to haue restored againe such as had decaied or were neglected making yet no mention of Carolostadius or Melanchthon by whom that enormite was committed To quenche therefore and appaise the tumultes stirred vp by his former doctrine and by Melanchthon letting passe the foresaied text of S. Paule he teacheth that philosophie is good in it selfe if it be wel vsed and not abused to deceiue mē Which in dede had ben of him well saide if he him selfe had not much abused philosophie to sett forthe his fleshely ghospell and to persuade his wily and suttle opinons But seing that he could not without philosophie and helpe of scholes vtter the wicked wares of his fresh and newe lerning letting passe as I saide the former text of the Apostle he toke holde of the wordes that folowed The elements of the worlde turning it the lawes and ordonaunces of the worlde For philosophie hindered not so much his purpose as the Magistrates and and lawes of the countre did Whose authorite onlesse he first ouerthrew drawing men from due obedience vnto their superiours he perceaued right wel that his purpose could
of Ihon Caluin in his booke of predestination and of Theodore Beza the archeheretike of FrauÌ„ce in his defence for Caluin This yeare 1561. one Lucas Sternberger in Omoluke a towne of Morauia being cast in to preson preaching amonge the Sternbergers and in diuers other places bearing him selfe for a Minister of the ghospel and scholer of Luther and Melanchthon preached and persuaded the people this doctrine that foloweth for the true and expresse worde of God First he openly taught and confessed That al suche as worship the name of the Blessed Trinite do imagin falsely the Gods That the name of the Trinite is vaine and superfluous bicause that worde is no where expressed in holy scripture beinge also but one God in heauen Therefore he forbad that the same songe O veneranda Trinitas O blessed Trinite should be songe and commaunded in his place to singe O blessed goodnes of God He wisheth also that all the deuills of hell woulde come and cary awaye this Trinite saieng he can not tell whether it be a man or a woman yet that he is sure that the same Trinite was ones a woman which had thre husbands Secondarely he confessed and taught that Christe was not true god but maÌ„ only like other meÌ„ For if he had beÌ„ god he should haue descended out of he auen in to earthe and committed the gouuernemeÌ„t of the worlde here to Angels That he was borne only of Mary and Ioseph the carpenter and that he exercised that crafte with Ioseph vntel the thirtyth yeare of his aage Beside he teacheth That Christ rose froÌ„ death not by his owne power but by the power of god almightie and that he worked no miracle but by the power and operatioÌ„ of almightie god which had endued him with more excellent giftes and graces then al the other prophets adopting him for his son at the leghth for his vertuous and honeste life when he was baptised of Ihon in the Iordayn and the voyce from heauen came downe saieng This is my welbeloued son in whom I am delited so that Christ is not the son of god but touching his soule onely bicause in the crosse he commended and gaue vp but his soule to god Thirdly he mocketh at the holy ghoste saieng that it is nothing els but a pigeon affirming beside that nothinge is writen of his diuinite in all scripture nether of the olde testameÌ„t nether of the newe and that it is not knowen what is this holy ghost Finally he had rather returne to the cloyster and be a papiste then to beleue in the holy ghoste Fourthely he will not the blessed virgin Mary mother of god to be a perpetuall virgin but that she had before two or thre sonnes and that she nothing differeth froÌ„ the rest of wemen and therefore nether she nor any other saints ought to be worshipped or haue their holy daies kepte Againe that men ought to worke the Sonday and reste the Saterday bicause in holy scripture the Saterday is coÌ„maunded to be kept holy But of the SoÌ„day nothing is prescribed nor appointed for as Luther taught nothinge ought to be admitted or obserued which god hath not in expres wordes commaunded or forbyd in holy scripture Fiftely he reiecteth holy baptim calling it a diuelish institution affirming also that it procureth nought els but hell and eternall damnation for circumcision was instituted of god not baptim Sixtely as touching the blessed Sacrament of the aultar he can neuer satisfie himselfe with mocking iesting and scorning at it for he saith the Iewes haue longe ago eaten vp the paschall lambe and if any thing were lefte they burned it Finally he confesseth he is of that opinion in this Sacrament as Melanchthon is For at a certain time hauing some communicating with him but fewer then he thought he inuited all other by speaking to them in these wordes Come hether for â—am not able to deuoure him vpp alone as for other sacraments he foloweth Luther in all points as his schole master of whom he receaued this doctrine Now that these heresies here reakoned vp be rife in Morauia and that many a soule is miserably in ueigled and seduced with them the experience showeth They also which are sene in the Alcoran of Mahomet and in Luthers doctrine may well consider and perceaue that this fifte ghospell of Luther prepareth and fostifieth the waie for Mahomets Alcoran to come in to Germany And though the Lutherans to excuse them selues and their ghospell will here obiect that Luther neuer inuented neuer thought nor taught these detestable heresies published by Lucas Sternberg it maye and ought well be awnswered vnto them that though Luther neuer tought these matters expresly which yet is to be doubted of yet he gaue abundant and sufficient occasion for these and all other heresies and schismes onely in that he writeth and bableth all waies that nothing ought to be receaued approued or obserued in the church which was not manifest euident and expresse in holy scripture And what other grounde hath this Lucas Sternberg to abolish al truthe of our Christen religion and to plante his deuelish doctrines then this lesson of Luther For euer he crieth VVhere is it writen where is it in holy scripture that there be thre persons VVhere is it read that Christ in the vnion of his godhead and manhood should be the Second person in Trinite or that Christ is the true and naturall son of God and not a creature according to his euerlasting and diuine generation VVhere is it expressed in scripture that the holy ghoste it selfe is any other then the euerlasting father VVhere is it noted in holy scripture that Mary the mother of Christe was a Virgin before and after the byrthe and that shee continued a Virgin allwaies In what place of the Bible can we reade that the Sabbaoth daie should be abrogated and the Sonday instituted And what heretike I pray you maye not saie the like of all the articles of our catholike faithe For what scripture hath saie the Anabaptistes that infants shoulde be baptised And the Swinglians VVhat Scripture saie they affirmeth that the true body and not the figure off Christ his body is in the Supper of the Lorde Againe the Lutherans VVhat place of scripture saie they dothe testifie that Christ instituted the Masse in his Supper Therefore if Luther had raised vp no other particular heresie yet this was detestable and cursed inoughe that he taught nothing to be obserued or receaued in the church but whiche god had expresly directly and in plaine wordes commaunded or forbed in the Bible To this heresie of Lucas Sternberg an other secte directly repugnant and contrary rose vp very lately at Pinczouia in Pole in the which place two new ghospellers Petrus Statorius and Georgius Brandata teach that there is not one God but thre gods and they so diuers one from an other as thre men yet that the son is somewhat lesse then the father and
perilous dissēsion amonge the papistes If our doctours and diuines should vse suche arguments against them howe woulde they scoffe and scorne at it But these ghospelling preachers vsing such must not onely not be founde faute withall but must be highely praised and commended therefore as men of excellent vertu and knowleadge Whiche allthough it be very iniurious and may well be complained of yet sence that it liketh them so to vse vs we must take it in good parte and beare it But as touching the matter euen as in our Christen religion we haue lerned of S. Paule to acknowleadge and beleue in one God euen so we must professe one faith and one baptim Although therefore among religious men and womē there be diuers orders and sundry rules likewise betwene the clergy and the laite diuers professions and vocatiōs and that by the sure and certain prouidēce of almightie God yet among these al there is but one God one faith one Christ one church one and the selfe same interpretation of holy scripture We by the true vnderstanding of Gods worde haue lerned in the churche the difference betwene the Catholike faythe of all men and the priuate hope of eueryman First in the articles of oure belefe we beleue al one thinge and al after one sort But to euery man priuately it is permitted that vpō right cōscience and due consideration for the encrease and cōfirmation of his hope which lacketh not his sure rewarde he maye take and chose vnto him some such honest trade of life and cōuersation as is agreable to his nature though he differ hereby from the common life and vocation of other men Therefore as concerning the agreement of our faithe we reade in the Apostle If there be therefore any consolation in Christ if there be any comforte of loue if there be any feloweship of the spirit if there be any compassion and mercie fullfill ye my ioye that ye be like minded hauing one loue being of one accorde that no thing be done through strife or of vaine glory And againe Neuertheles vnto that whiche we haue attained vnto let vs procede by one rule that we may be off one accorde Many such sentences are in holy Scripture whereby we are admonished that the doctrine of our faithe and belefe ought not to be referred to any one state or person but to the whole communite off Christ his churche Wherefore S. Iames commaundeth That we esteme not the faith of our Lorde Iesus Christe in respect of personnes Whereof it appeareth euidently that the vnite consent and agreement of our faith is builded and grounded vppon the communite off Christes Catholike churche Whereby all schismes and particular heresies are excluded But that the diuersite of grace of giftes and vocatiō is to be referred to the condition of euery man And what is the reason hereof Bicause as we haue many membres in one body but all membres haue not one office so all Christen men are one body in Christ but euery one hath his singular and peculiar giftes grace and vocation And this blessed Apostle saithe also in an other place Let euery man trie his owne doing and so he shall haue glorie in him selfe onely and not in an other For we shall all stande before the iudgment of Christe that euery man maye receaue the workes of his body according to that he hath done whether it be good or bad Seing thē these two pointes the agreement of faithe and diuersite of vocations are in the Catholike churche by due reason to be waighed and eche in his place to be osberued I can not sufficiently maruaill at the sutle shifte and wily deceit off these Lutherans forcing the Catholikes to suffer amonge them heretikes beleuing as they list and sowing schismes at their pleasure bidding them withall dissemble and winke at the matter whereas yet them selues will not suffer the like liberty in diuersite of vocations amonge the Catholikes but will persuade Princes and Magistrates to force their subiects bothe temporall and Spirituall and Religious of all sorte to forsake their godly vocatiō and perfit professiō and to take such a frame of faith as it shall please the Prince or Magistrat to prescribe them What other thinge is this then to make that diuers and different in the Catholike faith whiche should be one and vniforme and that one and vniforme in persons and vocations whiche should be diuers and different O horrible confusion If there were not beside this point manifest and outragious impietes of the Lutherans repugning bothe to right reason and to the worde of God whereby we might iudge howe pestiferous abominable and wicked the doctrines and doings of these Lutheran preachers and protestant Ministres are yet of this only matter it might appeare euident while they confunde Vniformite and Diuersite Teaching that which ought to be in our belefe consonant and agreable that it maye varie and be diuers and cōtrairely those things whiche in euery mans peculiar vocation shoulde be proper and distinct maie in no wise varie or differ Whereof spronge the insurrection of the commōs in Germany the sedition of the Anabaptistes in West phalia and the rebellion against their highe rulers and magistrats Surely of no other roote then that Luther and all protestant preachers haue taught and do yet teache and write to that seing There is no respect of personnes before God therefore there ougth to be no difference of persons no magistrat in the church but that all Christen men are fre and therefore all other distinct estats dignites and qualites as well greate as small ought to be all one and all a like And whereof arise these greate and enormous dissensions in religiō but only of this occasiō that the Lutherās take awaie from the Catholike faithe all vnite and agreement and teache that euery man may be saued by his owne priuat faith which he forgeth him selfe and that he maye for his owne person frely beleue what he listeth Thus they would force the Catholikes to a certain dissembling deceit such as neuer was heard of As that they should suffer euery man to beleue as he list and set vp newe factiōs and schismes against the vnite and agrement of our faith But the difference of vocations qualites and degrees as is betwene lowe and high tēporall and spirituall priuat and publike they should no more suffer but make all estates cōmon all vocatiōs aequall al trade of life one and vniforme If this be not to confounde heauen and earthe surely I knowe not what heauen and earthe meaneth Colde which procedeth of water is of this nature that it knitteth and fastneth together diuers thinges in to one masse and substaunce and cōserueth them also in the same as golde siluer bras tinne leade claie also durte and wodde But heate contrairely resolueth and seuereth all these substaunces So likewise the property of faithe is to knitte ioyne
from the church of Rome yet their faith and belefe touching such articles as the Lutherans haue swarued in from the Catholike churche is in moste pointes agreable to the Catholike doctrine If therefore o true and vertuous Germans we liste to put out this greate blotte of our good name to auoide the vtter destruction and desolation of our dere countre and purchase the eternall saluation of our soules this is the onely waie for it to seke after againe the steppes and pathes off our dere forefathers to ioyne our selues with the whole corps off Christendome and to call backe againe and restore that doctrine that faith that church and that ghospell by the which we were first made Christen men and haue continewed so many a hundred yeare For what so euer the Lutherans bable of their newe forged religion howe so euer the protestants pratle in pulpits of the primitiue church yet they can not denie but that this their doctrine their trade of ecclesiasticall gouuernement their maner of common prayer and all other ordinaunces was neuer yet sene nor heard of in Germany sence it was first Christned vntell Luther Charlemain the first Germain Emperour with his successours brought the Saxons to Christen religion founded amonge them their chefe bishoprickes churches and Colledges planted in Germany the very same doctrine the very same religion the very same cerimonies the selfe same Masse and seruice of god as it is at this daye vsed amonge all Catholikes and so left it to all Emperours after him Likewise those holy bishops and Martirs the Apostles of higher Germany which first brought Christendome in to it instructed it not with that doctrine or ecclesiasticall gouuernement as the Lutherans vse but with the very same vnderstanding of holy scripture with the same religion and gouuernement of the church whiche the Catholikes euen to this daye do practise S. Seuerin Archebishop of Rauenna conuerted Austriche to Christendome S. Eleutherius and Quirinus the countre aboute Anisus S. Maximinus and Rupertus the bishoprick off Salispurg S. Valentin and VVolfgang the cyte off Passau S. Paulinus and after him S. Emeranus Regenspurg S. Corbinianus Frising S. Richard and Vilibaldus the cyte of Eystat S. Narcissus and Viricus Augspurg and Algouia S. Kiliaenus and Burchaerdus Virtzbourg S. Columbinus and Gallus Suethelande S. Maternus and Valerius the inhabitants of Rhene S. Paternus and Laudo Costnitz S. Amandus and Argobastus Strasbourg S. Victor and Seruatius Wormes S. Crescens the disciple of S. Paule and Maximus Ments Whiche all beside many other blessed Martirs and lerned bishops in other countres where they planted Christes religion and instituted gods seruice taught no other doctrine preached no other ghospell practised no other religion saide no other Masse vsed no other clergy then suche as from the Apostles time through out all Christendome hath ben hetherto kept and vsed In this religion we germans were traded first to Christendome With this religion our godly and vertuous forefathers attained to euerlasting life By this religion the Romain Empire hath ben translated to the Nobilite of Germany Through this religion the auÌ„cient germans haue had greate victories haue dilated their dominion hath brought infidels to the Christen faythe as Hungary Bohem Pole Vandale Slavony Prussia LiflaÌ„de Denmarke and Swetheland which partly by force of armes they haue constrained partly by instruction of holy bishops they haue persuaded to receaue Christendome All this maye be sene in our Chronicles and awncient foundations But now we see to our greate grefe and shame that within the space of fourty yeares all these countres are all moste come to destruction The hainous heresies the sundry schismes and the horrible blasphemies euery where practised proue it to clerely Farder the greate decaie of the German Empire the contempt off our nation being nowe in obloquy with all the worlde whom before all nations other loued or feared testifie this abundantly Where is nowe become Thiethmarsh whiche belonged before to the diosece of the Archebishop of Breme The Danes haue taken it Where is LifelaÌ„de the olde soiourne and retire of the Saxon Nobilite The Moscouite by maine force hathe wronged it out of our handes Prussia what is come of it whiche was wonte to be the receite and soiourne of higher germany The Polonians haue chalenged it and enioye it And these two countres of Liflande and Prussia be no smal territories but two riche and large Realmes especially Prussia which hathe in length aboue threscore miles and in bredth fourtye and containeth diuers cytes portes and villages greate and small so riche and full of commodites as no place of Germany beside And although Lifâ—lande be not comparable to Prussia either in riches or in power yet is it a goodly beawtifull and large countre from whence not onely the Nobles of Saxony and townes of the seacoste drawe sundry commodites but all the state of the Empire also and many foren countres And these two countres Prussia and Liflande are as two sure feete of the Germain Empire which nowe by our dissension being bothe cut from the Empire it is easye to coniecture howe hansomly and surely it is like to stande And howe haue we loste these noble countres and prouinces by the force and power of oure enemies No truly For the knightes of the Order in Alemaigne forced the Prussians being yet heatheÌ„ to receaue the olde Christen religion whiche they had lerned off their Apostles and forefathers and vntell oure daies haue stoutely kept them in the same And as longe as that worshipfull Order continued in this godly purpose that countre flourished and encreased in all wealth But as soone as that Order receaued the newe ghospell of Luther abandoning the true ghospell off Christ and forsoke the spirituall Crosse of that Order folowing the fleshly doctrine of Luthers crosse incontinently that whole countre being gotte and kept so many yeares vnder the olde ghospell was sodenly loste through the newe ghospell of Luther the Nobilite of Germany thereof berefted and yelded to the prince of Pole so that nowe they rule ouer the germans whiche in times paste paied tribut to the Emperours of germany The like happened of Liflande for as longe as the knightes of the Order in Lifelande kepte and maintained the Catholike faith whereby they first subdued that countre ten thousand of them coulde in open filde put to flighte fourescore thousand of the Moscouites but sens that the same worshipfull Order put downe the awncient religion whereby they obtained such victories planting in the place of it heresie all the victory hathe enclined to our aduersaries and the Moscouites haue obtained the countre For so it is By agrement small thinges encrease by discord greate thinges fall awaye The olde Catholike faith worketh by charite which is the bonde of perfection and all prosperite The Lutheran fayth abideth not charite with it but will iustifie man
of God nor should not ende to his honour Luther in all his doinges declared well this his intent and purpose but nowe bicause Ex abundâ—ntia cordis os loquitur as the harte thinketh the tongue speaketh he vttereth it also in wordes and be wraieth his deuelish intent rashely perhaps and vnprouidently on his owne parte but not without the mercyfull prouidence of allmighty god in our behalf And in very dede according to his talke the matter proued For see howe he made his entry to this ioly enterprise He knew right well that the authorite of lerned writers staÌ„ding he could not plant his deuelish and wicked doctrine Therefore at the first he persuadeth the worlde that the ghospell hitherto hath ben trod vnder foote and mens constitutions haue preuailed Wherefore nothing ought to be receiued but the only clere and expresse text of holy Scripture For these be his wordes in his booke De sâ—ruo arbitrio against Eraesmus Laie aside all the armour and defence which the olde Catholike writers all scholes of diuines authorite of Councells and popes the consent of all ages and all Christendom do minister vnto you VVe admitt nothing but Scripture VVhatsoeuer the olde writers taught the authorite of the church hath deliuered Christen people hath embraced Scholes haue defended it is all the pestilent poison of the deuill I will no iudgement but I require obedience Nor let not any maÌ„ be any whit moued with the miracles or holynes of the Saints off the church They are all damned if they thought as they wrote Thus farre Frier Luther Be these the wordes thinke you of a Christen maÌ„ If Porphirius Lucian Iulian the Apostata or any Turke or Pagan shoulde go about to withdraw Christen men from the faith of Iesus Christ and of his holy worde what surer grounde could he vse of his persuasion what suttler entry coulde he make then to persuade them that all Counsells al doctours al Popes haue erred damnably and taught Satanicall doctrine There arose in Holland about twenty yeares past one George Dauid first a Lutheran protestant and after a most detestable Apostata affirming him selfe to be the true Messias and Christ. He liued afterward in Basill certain yeares vnder pretence of a Lutheran protestant and naming him selfe Iohn of Bruncke he died at Basill and but two yeares after his deathe was espied to be that George Dauid whom so many Anabaptistes folowed and beleued At what time his bookes and writings being serched coÌ„taining the reasons and persuasions of his doctrine amonge many other this was founde and is the viij th in number If saieth he the doctrine of Christ and his Apostles had ben the true and perfit doctrine truly the church which they planted and framed by their doctrine should necessarely haue continued and neuer perished Bicause hell gates them selues as Iesus saied should not preuaile against his church but nowe it is euident that Antichrist hath vtterly ouerthrowen the doctrine and building of the Apostles For this saieth he is manifest in the papacy Whereof he will haue it necessarely ensue that the doctrine of the Apostles be vnperfitt and false but the doctrine that he bringeth for the be the perfit and true These are the very wordes of the history of his life sette forthe by the vniuersite of Basill Beholde the reason of Luther to plant his newe ghospell and the reason of George Dauid to ouerthrowe the ghospell is all one Luther groundeth vppon the errour of the church George Dauid groundeth vppon the same Luther maketh his entry by condemning the churche George Dauid maketh the same Onely this is the difference Dauid goeth plainly to worke and openeth his diuelish intent at the first and therefore he prospered not Luther craftely pretendeth the defence of Gods worde though he condemne the church and therefore it succeded ioylely with him For tenfolde worse is a preuy enemy then an open and sooner is the Turke auoided then the heretike though they bringe vs bothe to one pitte the Turke walketh naked he asketh all at ones his filthynes appeareth at the first sight and therefore the Christen man at the first blushe abhorreth him But the heretike is cloked with the name of a Christian asketh but the deniall of some part of our saith pretendeth the worde of God and therefore is not off many espied Our Sauiour in that most tender and longe praiers that he made for mankinde after the mysticall Supper praieth thus O holy father kepe them in thy name whom thou hast geuen vnto me that they may be one as we are I aske not only for them but for all such as by their worde shall beleue in me that they all be one as thou father in me and I in the that they also be one in vs that the worlde may beleue that thou hast sent me Christ here praieth for vnite in his Church and that to continue for euer For he saied before he would praie the Father and he should geue a comforter to tary with vs for euer the Spirit of truthe And why doeth our Sauiour praie for this vnite and truthe to continew for euer in his Churche forsothe he protesteth it vnto his Father and saieth to the entent that the worlde may beleue that thou hast sent me Lo Christ would haue the continuaunce of truthe and vnite in his Church to be a most euident argument to all the worlde that he was the true Son of God the only Sauiour and Redemer of the worlde Nowe Luther and George Dauid denie this vnite and truthe to haue continewed and our protestants appeale to the first six hundred yeares condemning wickedly the whole corps of Christendom off these last ix hundred yeares of errours superstition and idolatry And what other coÌ„sequeÌ„t looke we hereof to folowe then that with George Dauid and his secte they denie Christ him selfe In the preface off Staphylus to the bishop of Eistat you haue sene howe the protestants of Bohem are allready come to this point where this heresie first began and hath most continued But here peraduenture some ciuill Lutheran will be offended with vs for vrging these wordes of Luther and charging him so farre therewith and awnswer with their common distinction saying The writinges of Luther are of thre maner of sortes to witt some writen before he thouroughly espied what popery was some again writen in vehemency of contention wherein sometime he showed him selfe to much passioned some again that he wrote in mekenes of spirit and such to be taken for the very pure kernell and vndoubted verite of his ghospell This distinction and poore shift though Luther vsed it before the Emperour at Wormes and be a common cloke of the ciuill protestants to couer the filthynes off their father Luther yet bothe it standeth litle with the truthe of an Euangelist as he termeth him selfe or of the third Elias as his scholers call him and will neuer be graunted of
example of Canonicall scri pture yow admit nothing where finde you in all the corps of the Canonical Scripture from the beginning of the Genesis to the ende of S. Iohns ReuelatioÌ„ this very rule and sayinge of yours that If it were a necessary matter to praie for the dead it had not lacked all authorite and example of the Canonicall Scriptures Where finde you in Scriptures that without Scripture nothing is to be admitted wil you driue vs for lacke of holy scripture to praye no more for the dead and binde vs to your owne rule hauing the same lacke also Will you make a rule of your selfe withoute Scripture and will not admitt the rules and lawes of the church except they bring you example and authorite out of scripture I trust your wisedom considereth how vnreasonable the request is and I doubt not but the ChristeÌ„ reader wil by this coÌ„sideration beware off such deceitful persuasions whereby great part of our faith in Christ Iesus may by the guile of heretikes be deluded To passe therefore to your other reasons let vs coÌ„sider the remnant of your talke Thirdly saie you where in the olde Testament be Sacrifices and expiations appointed for many and sundry thinges whereoff some semed small offenses yet was there neuer any Sacrifices appointed for any purgation or expiation of the dead What if there were any such sacrifices for the dead in the olde lawe would you theÌ„ nowe practise theÌ„ M. Grindal in your coÌ„mon praier and seruice of the church If you woulde why vse you no sacrifice for the sinnes and trespasses of the quicke as you see in the olde lawe practised abundantly Why reiect you the blessed Sacrifice of the Masse clerely figured and foreshowed in the ceremonies of the olde lawe Why leaue you the Realme without any sacrifice at all as well after the order of Melchisedech whiche you knowe was proper to Christ and shoulde endure for euer amonge Christians as after the order of Aaron which was proper to the olde lawe and shoulde ende when the light off the ghospell appeared If you woulde not vse any Sacrifice for the dead though in the olde lawe you hadde fouÌ„de example thereof as it is moste euident you woulde not no more then you vse the other why then finde you that lacke and refuse to offer sacrifices for the dead bicause you haue no example in the olde lawe Do not wise men see youre collusion and false plaie herein I will not spend time and paper in amplifying youre guile I leaue it to the prudent Reader to be coÌ„sidered I come to your other reasons that I may ones returne to my principall purpose againe You saie Nowe if they shall alleage that the auncient doctours make for them first it is to be saied that mens writinges alone are not sufficient in matters of faith and Religion I answer we haue not only mens writinges but holy scripture euen beside the Machabees as we haue sufficiently proued Againe make you so light of mens writinges what are Caluin Beza Bale and such other whose writinges you reuerence and reade are they not men also why commaunde you the priestes of England to reade the Institutions of Caluin why in your notes vpon the Bible referre you vs to baudy Bale for the right vnderstanding of it laste of all why make you so vaunting a chaleÌ„ge against al the Catholikes that liue and offer to yelde if they can bringe but one poore sentence of any one doctour or Councell against you As touching the writings of men we knowe that Animalis homo non percipit ea que dei sunt the fleshly maÌ„ knoweth not those thinges that appertaine to God Yet we are bidde in holy Scripture Interrog are patres nostros c To aske our fathers and they will declare vs to enquire of our elders and they shall tell vs. And S. Peter sayth Spiritu saÌ„cto inspirato locuti sunt sancti Dei homines The holy men of God haue spoken as inspired with the holy Ghost Neither can we forgett that beside the prophets the Euangelistes and the Apostles of whom we haue receaued the holy write of Gods worde Christ hath left to his Church also Pastores doctores Pastours and doctours as meÌ„ by whom the Scripture ought to be expounded and the church directed And according to these lessons of holy Scripture heretikes haue ben confuted by mens writinges without holy Scripture as in the conflictes of Athanasius with the Arrians of Cirillus with the Nestorians of S Augustin with the Pelagians of Tertuâ—lian and Irenee with the Valentinians of S. Basill with Eunomius you may reade and see M. Grindall if you haue not yet sene But let vs passe on and see what you saie farder It can not be denied but from Gregories time But the eldest writers and doctours of the Church speake not at all of praying for the dead wel then M. Grindall att one push you condeÌ„ne all the ChristeÌ„ people of England that euer hath ben of errour and superstion For sence the time of S. Gregory only you knowe we englishmen haue had the faith of Christ and of that blessed Pope we receiued it But let that passe your stomach is good that caÌ„ digest so many hundred yeares without grudge of conscience The eldest writers saie you speake not at all of praying for dead Not at all M. Grindall will you abide by it Before so honourable an auditory at such a solemne funerall in so open and publick a place blushe you not at so lowde a lie I am sory you did so farre forget your self You spake then in pulpit and now you speake in print These two conditions require deliberatioÌ„ truthe and honesty And how shall I proue you the contrary where shal I beginne I showed yow before out of S. Augustin and Epiphanius that Aerius was condemned for an heretike euen for this cause that he disallowed praier and oblation for the dead Be not Augustin and Epiphanius elder then S. Gregory Your freÌ„des CarioÌ„ and Pantaleon can tell you they are his auncetours the one aboue a hundred the other allmost two hundred yeares But these wordes may seme to haue escaped you though if they had in pulpit escaped yet in print they might haue ben corrected for euen in your wordes folowing you remembre your selfe better and then you runne to your distinctions and you saie If the auÌ„cient fathers when they praie for the dead meane of the dead which are already in heauen and not els where then must we nedes by their praier vnderstande either thankes geuing or ells take such petitions for the dead for figures of eloquence and exornation of their stile and oration rather then necessary groundes of reason of any doctrine Howe can you suppose M. Grindall any such meaning in the olde fathers as though they were either of so litle wisedome as to praie for those that neded no praier
dissension For truthe is allwaies vniforme and agreable with it selfe And as the philosopher saieth of vertu so in truthe there is but one waie to hitt the marke a man may shoote aside diuers waies Wherefote two contrary sayings maye bothe be false and vntrue but truthe can neuer stand with a contrary Who then teacheth contradiction as he must nedes teach some falshood so possibly he may teach al false and beside the marke euen as it happeneth with all heretikes that leaue the common highe waie of their forefathers and seke out by pathes of their owne inuentioÌ„s wherein the faster they runne the farder they straye and the harder they finde the right waie againe Secondarely as touching the repugnaunce that is in Caluins doctrine against the expresse worde off God I will also by two maner of waies declare First by a number of his propositions and assertions coÌ„trary to the expresse wordes of Christ and his Apostles next by the auouching of such doctrine as concurreth with olde heresies condemned aboue a thousand yeares past in that state and time off Christ his church as Caluin him selfe doth in sundry places especially vpon the prophets and in his epistle to Sadoletus allowe and reuerence We recited you before diuers olde carren heresies that Luther stirred vp but Caluin beside all those hath nouseled yet a litle farder and digged deper then Luther did For euen as a a bestly sowe coming in to a faire garden sett with diuers swete flowres and pleasaunt herbes if in some corner thereof she espie a donghell or heape of rotten wedes or other filthe cast aside will straite nousell there and tomble her selfe in the filth and carren thereof not medling with the swete floures or pleasaunt herbes so truly these bestly heretikes of our time especially Luther and Caluin liuing in the church of Christ compared in scripture to the garden of the bridegrom wherein are bothe swete herbes of heauenly doctrine and most delectable floures of vertuous liuing lacking not yet her spottes and wrincles of euil life wich she alloweth neuer but tolerateth of necessite and lamenteth hauing also not in her but by her and cast oute of her a nuÌ„ber of olde coÌ„demned heresies they like bestly swine nether embrace the vertuous liuing that she vseth but raiseth at the infirmities whiâ—h she is constrained to suffer nether folow the steps of her heauenly discipline and vpright belefe but getting them to the donghell nouâ—ell them selues in the olde condemned heresies and veÌ„t them abrode to the world But nowe to come to the matter it self let vs considre first the absurde doctrine that he leaueth vs in his writings I entend not to discourse vpon all the pointes of his hereticall doctrine but for a taste off the rest I will examin his assertions about the blessed SacrameÌ„t of the aultar bicause this article doth most nearest touche the glory and maiesty off oure Sauiour being the most precious iewell that he left vnto his church After also we wil note diuers heresies bothe olde and new in his doctrine vpon the sacrament of baptim Last of all a fewe notable contradictions aboute his doctrine of the fre will of man But now to the first point Caluin in his Institutions in his treatise of the Lordes Supper teaching howe by his imagination we receiue Christ in the Sacrament after long dalying as though he would graunte a reall receiuing off Christ his body at the length he concludeth in these wordes Corporis communionem Spiritus sui virtute Christus in nos diffundit that is Christ pooreth downe vpoÌ„ vs the communion of his body by the vertu of his Spirit Which is as much to saie Christ communicateth vnto vs his body by the vertu of his Spirit This is in fewe wordes the communion of Caluin and all the Sacramentarieâ—â— denieng that we eate in dede the body of Christ otherwise then by faith Nowe let vs see what absurdites folowe thereof First no scripture hath this doctrine And how absurde a thing it is to folowe any doctrine without Scripture Caluin him him selfe telleth vs. In his institutions thus he writeth I ought not to seme to any man coÌ„tentious that I staie so earnestly vpon this point that it is not lawfull for the Churche to make any new doctrine that is to teache or deliuer for truthe any more then the Lorde hath reueled by his worde For wise men do see howe great a danger that is if so much authorite were graunted to men They see what a windowe is opened to the mockes and scoffes of wicked men if we sayie that to be taken for truthe among Christians which men shall thinke good Let now then any scholer of Caluin showe in all Scripture where it is writen that Christ by the vertu of his spirit pooreth downe vppon vs the communion off his body For Caluin as he writeth in his Harmony vpon the ghospelles thinketh it an absurde thinge to saie that the flesh of Christ it selfe should be deriued vnto vs. But he sayeth the communion of Christ his flesh is deriued vnto vs which he interpreteth to be a quikening vertu out of Christ his flesh correcting Christe promising vs his very flesh Now as I saied of the deriuation of any such communion of Christes fleshe no Scripture mencioneth But it is a sophisticall suttelty of Caluins imagination not reueled in any place by Gods worde This is lo then one dangerous absurdite by the confession off Caluin him selfe onles perhaps he haue some priuiledge more then the whole Churche hathe For in the Churche he alloweth nothing beside the expresse worde off God Againe let vs consider what is the communion of Christ his body poored downe vpon vs. It is saieth Caluin vis quaedam viuifica ex Christi carne in nos diffusa that is a certain quickening power poored downe vpon vs out of the flesh of Christ. Christ saieth in S. Iohn that his flesh is meat in dede and biddeth vs eate his flesh and drinke his bloud and in the other thre Euangelistes he saieth Eate this is my body but Caluin saieth we eate the bread and haue a certain quickening power out of the fleshe not as in his Harmony he saieth the flesh it self and that we haue a communioÌ„ of his body poored downe vpon vs which is not to eate the body as Christ badde vs. This lo is not only beside scriture but expresly against holy Scripture Thirdly where Christ biddeth vs eate his fleshe saying he that eateth my fleshe abydeth in me he teacheth an action on oure part touching the receiuing of Christ But where Caluin telleth vs that a communioÌ„ of Christ his body is deriued vnto vs he putteth no action on oure part touching the receiuing off Christ but only touching the eating off the bread For we eate not the body of Christ by Caluins doctrine but a coÌ„munion of the same body is deriued vpon vs and poored downe
was also a spirituall foode yea and the very same which we receaue in the Sacrament the doctrine of Caluin defendeth though blasphemously as you shal see anon in the conferences of his doctrine with holy scripture Hereof will it folowe by the absurde doctrine of Caluin that the figure shal excell the verite Manna shall passe the body of oure Lorde the synagoge of Iewes shall be off more perfection then the Church off Christ ransomned with his precious bloud Againe if the soule onely be fedde in this blessed Sacrament the paschall lambe shall also passe and excel it The paschal lambe was eatē contra spiritum percussorem against the destroyer spirit for a sure preseruation of the Iewes bothe bodely and ghostely euen as this heauenly passeouer wardeth vs bothe body and soule frō the assautes of the deuill And our Sauiour beginning with his disciples this heauenly banquet calleth it a passeouer as Tertullian expoundeth it and Origē saying I haue inwardely desired to eate this passeouer with you before I suffer ▪ if the Iewes passeouer excelled this as the sacramētary doctrine of Ihon Caluin importeth why desired Christ so inwardly to eate this passeouer with his disciples doth the lambe of God Christ him selfe not so much profit the due receauers thereof as the paschall lambe of the Iewes Whereunto thinke you tendeth this doctrine but by litle and litle to traine vs euen to infidelite who tendreth his soule helthe and life euerlasting let him spedely beware of it Thirdly I might aske Caluin and all the ranke of sacramentaries swarming nowe so miserably in oure dere countre to the vtter destruction off the same where they reade in holy scripture that the soule onely fedeth on Christ and receaueth the body off Christ. The wordes of holy scripture declaring vnto vs the promis of this heauenly foode be directed vnto men consisting of body and soule not to the soule onely Beside that life and resurrection the promis of this blessed Sacrament are no lesse requisit to the body ▪ then to the soule as we shall hereafter more at large declare when we come to the olde heresies depending of Caluins doctrine Where you shal see that this doctrine of the Sacrrmentaries graunting only to the soule the eating of Christes his flesh denieth the resurrection of the body As touching the seconde pointe to witt that we receaue the body of Christ truly and really and yet so that the same body of Christ is as farre distant from vs as heauen is from the earthe I knowe not what can be more absurdely saide Caluin in dede will haue this to be a miraculous operation of the holy ghoste For saith he the vertu of the holy ghost is such that it is able not onely to gather together thinges by distaunce of place separated one from the other but also to vnite them together and make them one Marke and ponder well the saing of Caluin for this reason is the onely ancre off this point of his doctrine He semeth perhaps to some that lightly ouerrunne his wordes to speake reason Let vs thē cōsidre his wordes It is most true that the holy ghost being god him self can do al thinges that can be done and therefore can as Caluin saith knitte in one those thinges that are farre distant as God can by his omnipotency ioyne heauē and earthe together which we see are most distant but then they being so ioyned shall no more be distant We graunte that by the vertu off the holy ghoste the body off Christ which is in heauen may be the foode of oure soules But then it shall not onely be in heauen but here also or els oure soules shall be there to and then seing oure bodyes remaine here I see not but whosoeuer communicateth after Caluins doctrine he must dye the soule being separated from the body and we saie not onely he can do so but the Catholike churche teacheth vs he doth so Nowe Caluin bicause he will denie the real presence of Christ ▪ in the Sacrament imagineth that we eate the body of Christe really withoute the reall presence But this imagination is a plaine contradictition And contradiction is of those thinges that can not be done A thing can not be present and distant to A thing can not be hotte and cold to in one very place and moment of time And therefore all lerned men haue euer saide that God worketh no contradiction This then being a plaine contradiction to haue Christ present and not present to haue him in the Sacrament and not in the Sacrament we saye the holy ghoste dothe not worke it Not bycause off any impossibilite off God but bycause the thinge it selfe is impossible And euen as we may wel say God can not sinne and yet derogat no whit from the omnipotency of God so maye we saye God can not worke a contradiction God can not make a thinge present that is in dede absent and not present and yet we diminishe not the omnipotency of allmightye God For that consisteth in suche thinges as are semely for his diuine Maiesty and are of them selues possible Nowe contradiction is of it selfe vtterly impossible Againe the workes of God are permanent and vniforme the one of them destroieth not the other But in contradictions one parte destroyeth the other as a thinge to be present taketh awaye the absence thereoff And likewise the absence destroieth the presence To saie therefore as all lerned men saye that God can worke no contradiction argueth not an impopotency or lacke of abylite in God But rather the doctrine of Caluin making God the authour of contradiction argueth it Theodore Beza and his companions at the late Synod off Poissy in Fraunce praesenting vpp their confession touching this blessed Sacrament thoughe they were all scholers of Caluin yet they dyd not attribute this contradiction to the operation off the holy ghoste but vnto faith The wordes of their Confession presented the laste daye of September vnto the councell are these Bycause the worde off God vpon the which oure fayth is stayed warranteth vs the true and naturall body by the vertu of the holy Ghoste In this respect we acknowleadge that the body and bloud of oure Lorde Iesus Christ is in the Supper By these wordes Encestesgard In this respect we meane that we apprehēd this great and excellent mystery by faith which is of such vertu and efficacy that it maketh thinges absent to be praesent Hitherto the wordes of their confession Wherein they attribute that to faithe whiche Caluin their Master attributeth to the operation of the holy ghoste But be their faithe neuer so stronge and vehement yet shall they neuer obtaine thereby that one selfe thinge shall be bothe present and not present For this being a contradiction is a thinge impossible and suche as God him selfe worketh not Faith saieth S. Paule est argumentum rerum non apparentium Is a certainte off thinges which are not sene By faith
flesh and bloud off Christ yet he meaneth nothing so But why did he thus dally and delude the world a man maye demaunde Forsothe as I suppose euen for this cause Caluin being lerned and knowing the truthe wel if he had listed to vtter it perceaued right wel by the expresse wordes of scripture in sundry places that Christ of his passing mercy and goodnes woulde be ioyned to man not onely Spiritually and by grace but euē really and truly by the participation of his body and bloud Caluin knewe all this and acknowledged it as you haue heard in his wordes before for expresse scripture moued him thereunto Notwithstanding being vndoubtedly malitious and selfe willed and in dede a very heretike desirous to plāte a newe doctrine to bringe the churche in cōtēpt pricked with malice against the clergy which in his workes he vttereth many times though he graunted that man receaued whole Christ bothe in body and Spirit as he writeth in the 18. chapter of his Institutions yet he would not graunt the reall presence off Christ his body which the church teacheth and all holy fathers haue acknowledged as a most necessary consequent to the reall receauing but as you see imagineth a communion of Christ his fleshe to be deriued vnto vs by the Spirit off Christ as by a pipe Bicause therefore truthe and falshood can not possibly agree he falleth often in to open contradictions sayeng one thinge as truthe and conscience taught him and then saieng an other thinge as pride malice ▪ and enuy moued him the walking mates of heresy Hereof rise the sundry and manifold contradictions in his writings not onely aboute this most holy mistery but in the doctrine off baptim and of fre will especially as we shall in parte note hereafter vnto you And truly it hath so pleased God to confounde the counsell of these Achitophels rebelling againste their Liege Souerain the churche of God that not onely one against the other teacheth most contrary but also eche one with him selfe disagreeth And this mercifull prouidēce of God hathe ben allwayes a souerain meanes for the vtter cōfusiō of heretikes Let vs returne to the wordes of Caluin aboue alleaged and see why Caluin graunting first a reall and true receauing of Christ his body and bloud afterwarde denieth the reall presence thereof whiche is to denie that he saied before He saieth that Scripture speaking of oure partaking with Christ referreth the whole power thereof vnto the Spirit for S. Paule saieth he writing to the Romanes in the eight chapter teacheth that Christ dwelleth in vs no otherwise then by his Spirit Marke here well good Readers and see the truthe off Caluin S. Paule saieth in that eight chapter that the Spirit of god dwelleth in vs and againe that the Spirit of him that raised vp Iesus from deathe dwelleth in vs and that he whiche raised vp Christ from deathe shall quicken oure mortall bodies bicause of his Spirit that dwelleth in vs. In all these wordes S. Paule teacheth the Spirit off god god him selfe to dwell in vs to quicken oure mortall bodies that they die no more in sinne but liue to god Other thē this S. Paule in all that chapter speaketh not touching the dwelling of the Spirit of god in vs. Reade the chapter and see Nowe is this to saie that Christ dwelleth in vs no otherwise then by his Spirit Marke the saieng of S. Paule and the consequence of Caluin S. Paule saieth the Spirit off god dwelleth in vs. and Caluin saieth Christ dwelleth in vs no otherwise then by his Spirit is this a good consequence The spirit of god dwelleth in vs. Ergo he dwelleth in vs no otherwise then by his Spirit Euē as good as this VVe are iustified by faith ergo by only faith These wordes no otherwise then are the wordes of Caluin fathered vpon S. Paule not the wordes of S. Paule they are the limitation of a prowde heretike set vpon holy scripture not the wordes off holy scripture He folowed herein his father Luther who translating the wordes of S. Paule per legem cognitio peccati By the lawe cometh the knowledge of sinne turneth it thus By the lawe cometh naught els but knowledge of sinne which texte to what purpose he so peruerted you haue sene in the seconde parte of this Apologye But what will some scholer of Caluin saie though S. Paule saie not expressly so yet perhaps he meane so seing that no scripture beside expresseth any other dwelling of Christ in vs thē by his Spirit I awnswer All were it true that scripture expressed no other dwelling of Christ in vs then by his Spirit yet were it not true that S. Paule saied so in that chapter as Caluin saieth he doeth But the Scripture saieth plaine that we are ioyned to Christe not onely in Spirit but also in body heard you not before that S. Paule sayed that we are membres of Christ his body bones of his bones and fleshe of his fleshe And dothe not Caluin saie that this can not be perfourmed onles whole Christ bothe in Spirit and in body cleaue vnto vs they are his wordes before alleaged oute of his Institutions in the. 18 chapter And dothe not Caluin here ones againe write a plaine contradiction he tolde vs euen nowe that Christ dwelleth in vs no otherwise then by his Spirit and that S. Paule taught so Nowe he telleth vs that whole Christ must cleaue vnto vs bothe in Spirit and body and that bicause S. Paule teacheth so sayeng that we are membres of Christ his body bones of his bones and fleshe of his fleshe Lo you see him in cōtrary tales nowe truste his euidence who liste Thanked be god Caluin hath turned the weapon vpon him selfe minding to strike the churche of Christe Againe Caluin disputing against the Catholikes that the euill men receaue not Christ in the Sacrament maketh his argument of the body of Christ whiche if euill men receaued seing they receaue no life but damnation they shoulde saieth Caluin receaue a dead body and the body of Christ without the Spirit of Christe If this reason of Caluin be good thē the good and worthy receauer muste nedes receaue the body of Christ not onely the Spirit of Christ he muste nedes haue Christ dwelling in him bodely not onely Spiritually as he saied before His wordes are these in his commentaries vppon S. Paule to the Corinthians Ego hoc axioma teneo neque mihi vnquam excuti patiar Christum non posse a Spiritu suo diuelli vnde constituo non recipi mortuum eius corpus neque etiam eum otiosum aut disiunctum a Spiritus sui gratia virtute that is I holde this principle and will neuer be brought from it that Christ can not be diuided from his Spirit wherefore I determin that his dead body can not be receaued nor he also vnfrutefull seuered from the grace or vertu off his Spirit Here Caluin
Dieu that is Beside the profit which we receaue at the Sacraments ought not to be restrained to the time we receaue thē as if the visible signe as soone as it is presented vs brought with it forthwith the grace of God Be not these two tales cōtrary First he biddeth vs not doubt but with the signe we receaue the body which as you heard before of Caluin can not be voide of grace Now he saith that the visible signe bringeth not forthwith the grace of god First he maketh it a rule that seing the signes the verite also Christ him self be present Nowe he saith the profit of the Sacramēts ought not to be restrained to the time we receaue thē Peraduēture he meaneth we shoulde receaue the signes and not see thē els how these two saiengs maie be reconciled I see not and I thinke no man els dothe see But it is not ones nor twise that he thus contradicteth him selfe but many times and often and that in small space as oute of his resolutions vpon the Sacraēnts I will note nowe vnto you In the thirde article of his resolutions he writeth Christ estant fils eternell de Dieu d'vne mesme essence c. that is Christ being the eternal Son of God of one very substaunce and glory with the father hathe taken vpon him oure fleshe to the ende that he should communicat vs that whiche he had properly by nature In these wordes are two doctrines cōtrary to his former saiengs First if Christ be as he is in dede of the very same substaunce and glory with the father then he is not a folowing cause of life as he teacheth writing vpon the sixte of Ihon. We will alleage you his wordes herafter when we shall detecte you his heresies Againe here he confesseth Christ to communicat vnto vs that which he had properly by nature to witt his fleshe before he graunteth not vs his fleshe but a spirituall communion thereof to wit a quickening power oute of that fleshe In the. 9. article thus he writeth Albeit we putte a difference betwene the signe and the thinges figured thereby yet we separat not the verite from the figures The figure or signe which Caluin meaneth is bread it selfe the thinge figured is Christe Now if he seuer not Christ from the bread then is he there present really as the bread is with the bread Which Caluin writing against Westphalus and other Lutherans dothe allwaies declaime and inueigh against In the nexte article folowing thus he writeth But we muste not haue a regarde to the bare signe but to the promis which is thereto annexed Beholde I beseche you what fonde contradictiō this is For what is the promis of the blessed sacrament Christ saith Who eateth my flesh hath life and I wil raise him again at the later daie Lo life and resurrectiō is the promis If this as Caluin teacheth be annexed to the signe how calleth he it a bare signe But Christ teacheth vs as you see that this promis is not annexed to the bread which is impossible but to his very flesh and that full of all diuinite which is no bread pardy It foloweth in the article Therefore the simple matter of water of bread and wine doth not present vs nor geue vs Christ. Lo here againe he calleth the signe a simple matter of bread and wine Howe then I praie you is that waighty promis of life and resurrection annexed vnto it Beside he sayth the signe dothe not present vs Christ. Yet before in the seuēth article he wrote that the principall office off the sacraments was that god by them dothe testifie vnto vs his grace representeth it and sealeth it vnto vs. And in the .8 article he calleth them true witnesses and seales and euery where he calleth the bread the figure of Christ his body If all this be true howe saieth he nowe true saieng that the signe dothe not present vs Christ howe calleth he it a simple matter of bread and wine Lo howe many contradictions are couched in one of his articles But let vs considre the reste In the twelueth article thus he writeth Farder as for that which is geuen vnto vs by the Sacraments that is not by their owne proper vertu although that the promis is comprised in them whereby they are indued with the qualite thereof Here he confesseth againe in the sacraments is comprised or contained the promis of the ghospell and that this promis remaineth in the sacraments as the qualite dothe in a substaunce First if bare bread be as he saied defore the sacrament calling it a signe such as with Caluin all sacraments are howe can it haue any suche promis or any suche qualite in it who euer heard that life and oure resurrection were promised to a piece of bread Then if the sacraments as in his Institutions he defineth them be not onely bare signes but sure witnesses of gods grace towardes vs their vertu being the worke of God why denieth he by their vertu any thinge to be geuen He woulde deface the sacraments but he cōtradicteth him selfe But wil you see a cleane repugnant and direct contrary doctrine to all that hetherto hathe ben saied For hetherto you heare Caluin saie that he seuereth not the verite from the figure that the promis is annexed to the signe and againe that the promis is comprised in the Sacrament Nowe at the very ende of all his resolutions see I praie you how he resolueth him self In the laste article thus he concludeth Although saieth he the bread be geuen vnto vs as a marke or pleadge of the communion yet because it is a signe not the thing it self nor hath not the thinge included in it they which staie their minde thereupō worshipping therein Christ they make an idol of it Lo now Caluin hath plucked of his visard and plaieth his parte kindely now he saieth the thing of the sacrament to witt Christ is not included contained or comprised in the sacrament that it is but a signe or a pleadge In dede we agre with Caluin that Christ is not in the bread and much lesse is the bread a pleadge or marke of oure communion or participation of Christ. S. Paule saieth the holy ghoste is geuen vnto vs as a pleadge no scripture saieth so of bread Againe we confesse that the true flesh of oure Sauiour is geuen vs in this moste blessed sacrament in forme and shape of bread not remaining but by the omnipotency of the worde as S. Ciprian speaketh made flesh But why dothe Caluin make the Sacrament nowe but a bare signe Why denieth he now the thinge or verite of the Sacrament to be therein included hauing graunted it before Forsothe the deuill him selfe moued Caluin to saie so enuieng at the glory of god and desiring as litle honour to be done to Christe as might be For after that Caluin as the proctour of the deuill
in the ghospell off S. Ihon. Who eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hathe life euerlasting Caluin in his institutions and in his coÌ„mentaries vpon that place teacheth thus Who eateth the bread at the communion he receaueth a cundyte pipe by the whiche life is deriued vnto him Marke I beseche you Christen readers howe he hathe altered the wordes of oure Sauiour Where Christ saith Who eateth my flesh Caluin saithe who eateth the bread at the communion and where Christ saithe he hathe life euer lasting Caluin saithe he hathe a cundyte pipe by the whiche life is deriued calling the blessed fleshe of oure Sauiour one person with the godhead a coundyt pype or instrument by the whiche life is deriued from god the Father For that is his meaning as you shall see more plainely hereafter when I come to his heresies attributing life not to the fleshe of Christ as Christ him selfe dothe but to the Father in whom he teacheth life to remaine principally as you shall anon see But nowe to an other proposition Christ saithe I am the resurrection and the life Caluin saythe in his commentaries vpon the sixte off Ihon The Son is as a riuer by the whiche the life abiding in the father is deriued vnto vs. Here again Christ speaking as god and man saith him selfe to be the life For as the general councell of Ephesus charely warneth vs the wordes of the ghospell are all waies to be attributed to Christe as to one person thoughe consisting of two natures â–ª Caluin saithe the life to remaine in the father Where blasphemousely he excludeth Christ making him as a riuer or meanes by the whiche life is deriued vnto vs. But of this we shall haue more occasion to speake hereafter Oure Sauiour after he had sayde in the sixte off Ihon my fleshe is meate in dede and my bloud is drinke in dede expounding those his wordes vnto the carnall Iewes thinking he had meaned his fleshe and bloud after the bare nature of man saithe thus The wordes which I spake vnto you are Spirit and life geuing vs to vnderstande as the lerned Father Cirillus noteth that he spake of his fleshe and blood inseparably annexed to the godhead and one person with the same Nowe Caluin in his institutions affirmeth that by the Spirit of Christe his fleshe is deriued vnto vs and made our foode In the whiche doctrine he separateth the Spirit of Christe from his blessed fleshe geuing vs the one without the other whereas Christ him selfe aboue affirmed that he meaned his fleshe coupled and vnited to the Spirit sayeng the wordes whiche I spake vnto you to witt of my flesh and blood are Spirit and life that is not bare flesh but endued with my Spirit the godhead it selfe nor to be deriued vnto vs by the Spirit as separated from the fleshe or as a cundit pype to conducte the fleshe vnto vs whiche Caluin in his institutions saythe as you haue heard before but to be geuen vnto vs with the Spirit and deite of oure Sauiour iointly and inseparably as they are in him one person and one Christ. Thus you see howe he correcteth and altereth the wordes off oure Sauiour at his pleasure Againe whereas Christe saythe in S. Ihon He that eateth my fleshe and drinketh my bloud hathe life euerlasting promising vs by eating to haue life Caluin correcting the sayeng of oure Sauiour in his commentaries vpon S. Ihon where Christe promiseth life and resurrection by the eating of his fleshe and drinking of his bloud he saythe Christ speaketh not here of the Supper but of the perpetuall communion of him which we haue beside the vse of the Supper And yet that ye maye not thinke he meaneth of any other communion naming the perpetuall communion then the very same whiche we haue in the celebration of oure lordes Supper in fewe wordes after he addeth thus muche And yet I confesse that nothinge is here spoken whiche is not also figured and truly exhibited vnto vs in the Supper Thus he maketh him selfe as sure off Christe withoute the receauing of this blessed Sacrament as when he receaueth it whiche by the coÌ„ference of an other place of holy Scripture you shall see yet ones again S. Paule saieth The bread whiche we breake is the participation of the body of our Lorde whereby we lerne in this blessed SacrameÌ„t to receaue the body of Christ. Caluin teacheth vs without the blessed sacrameÌ„t to receaue it For in his resolutioÌ„s vpoÌ„ the sacrameÌ„ts he hathe these wordes Right as the infidell by the vse of the Sacraments receaueth no more profit thereby theÌ„ if he vsed theÌ„ not eueÌ„ so the verite figured in the sacraments is coÌ„municated to the faitheful and beleuers thoughe not receauing the signes or sacrameÌ„ts By this rule we receaue Christ in the supper which before hath bâ—n geueÌ„ vnto vs and dwelleth in vs perpetually And in the .9 article of the same worke he saythe that such as haue before receaued Christ receauing the Sacrament do renewe and continew that which they had before receaued By this his doctrine you see he correcteth the wordes of Christe teaching vs to receaue him by eating his fleshe and drinking his blood And the wordes of S. Paule sayeng the bread to be the participation of our Lordes body by whiche worde he meaneth the blessed Sacrament naming it so of that which it was before as the serpent was called Moyses rodd and the wine water in Cana Galilea S. Paul sayth Who so euer eateth the bread and drinketh the cuppe of the Lord vnworthely he eateth and drinketh his owne daÌ„nation geuing vs to vnderstaÌ„de that at the receauing of the blessed sacrameÌ„t we receaue other life by the worthy receauing other daÌ„nation by the vnworthy Now the doctrine of Caluin directly repugneth For thus he writeth in his resolutioÌ„s vpoÌ„ the sacrameÌ„ts Farder saith he the profit which we receaue at the sacrameÌ„ts ought not to be restrained to the time we receaue theÌ„ as if that the visible signe as soone as it is geueÌ„ vs should bringe vs forthewith the grace of god It may happen that the receite of the sacrament which in the acte profited nothing through our defaulte or slacknes maie afterward bring forth better fruict Thus farre Caluin CoÌ„sider nowe if this doctrine be not cleane coÌ„trary to the meaning of S. Paul For if as S. Paul saith receauing the sacrameÌ„t vnworthely we receaue our own daÌ„nation why also in receauing it worthely receaue we not withal incontinently the grace and vertu thereof Againe if by our defaulte it worketh vs daÌ„nation as the Apostle saith howe caÌ„ it afterwarde auaile vs as Caluin teacheth Thirdly if at the receite of the sacrameÌ„t we receaue nothing what shall the bread that Caluin imagineth alone signifie shall it signifie that by eating it we receaue no profit thereby In good sothe it will signifie vnto vs that Caluin mocketh with God and
Ieremy speaking against the perilous presumption of those which forsake him and his holy worde pronounceth the plage that falleth on theÌ„ in these wordes They haue forsake me the fouÌ„taine of life and haue digged theÌ„ selues pittes and pudles al to broken and suche as can holde no water geuing vs to vnderstand that who so forsaketh the right waie prescribed vnto vs by allmighty god in his holy worde and refuseth the moste holesom drinke of the fountaine god him selfe is forced forthewith being as a man berefted of his right vnderstanding and sence to lappe in suche pudle as the fonde imagination of his owne braine instructed and supported with the deuill ready to thruste forwarde when god forsaketh can inueÌ„t Of suche it is saied in holy scripture Who loueth the peril shall perish in it and againe VVho toucheth the pitche shal be filed therewith You haue sene howe Caluin hathe forsaken the expresse wordes of god in his ghospell to furder thereby the plausible doctrine and pleasaunt poison of his owne imaginations You shall nowe see what pittes and pudles he is faine to lappe in forsaking the doctrine of Christ in the ghospell Truly they are suche and so filthy that I feare the recitall thereof maie be to good Christian hartes more noysom then profitable Notwithstanding bicause this man is of suche credit amonge the deceaued sorte of oure countre that his Institutions the very fardle of all his beggarly doctrine and boxe of his venimous heresies is commaunded to be read of suche as haue charge of soules a sufficient meanes truly to drawe all the vnlerned of England but if god staie them to eternall daÌ„nation I will by the grace of God geue you for a taste suche instructions touching the most blessed sacrament of the aultar and the sacrament of Baptim which only for sacrameÌ„ts he alloweth that you maie hereafter litle lust after the perilous persuasions of his doctrine in other inferiour pointes of oure Christen faithe the dearest and most precious iewell that we haue on earthe The pittes and pudles that Caluin hathe digged him selfe are olde heresies condemned aboue a thousand yeares and nowe renewed by him partly in expresse wordes partly by most assured and necessary consequence of his writings Caluin in his commentaries vpon S. Ihon hathe these wordes It is to be noted there are thre degres of life The liuing Father hathe the first place as the fountaine off life but yet farre distant and hidde The Son foloweth him whom we haue sette before vs as a riuer by the which the life abiding in the father is deriued vnto vs. the thirde life is that which we drawe of him Thus farre Caluin This doctrine beside that it is a mere imagination of Caluin and a broken pudle of his brickle brain it conteineth in it sundry heresies First if the Son of god Christ him selfe be a folowing that is a second cause of life as Caluin saithe then is it not equall with the first and so is it a creature not god the Creatour which is first and chefest and secoÌ„d to none TheÌ„ he coÌ„pareth Christ to a riuer and god the father to a fountaine Now the fouÌ„taine is before the riuer and is cause of the riuer theÌ„ by the doctrine of Caluin god the father is before the Son and cause of the life in the Son For al this he meaneth of god the Son not of the flesh off Christ which he denieth to geue life or to be quickening of it selfe This lo is the cursed and detestable heresy of Arrius condemned in the first general councell of Nice aboue twelue hundred yeres paste If Sâ—ruetus whom Caluin burned at Geneua for an Arrian were nowe aliue again and Caluin to he might chalenge M. Caluin for the like and call him worthely to the stake Againe this doctrine of Caluin resembleth much in wordes but in effect passeth farre the doctrine of Faustus Manicheus who sayde that god the father occupied the chefest and principall light but the Son consisted in a seconde light Which fonde opinion of him Saint Augustin confuteth as a detestable heresy Muche more maye we so do in this distinction of degres of life that Caluin imagineth to be in the blessed Trinite Thirdly he affirmeth the life whiche we receaue of Christ the Son to abide in the Father as though Christ of him selfe gaue not vs life by the participation of his diuine fleshe Which to saie is the heresy of Valentinus whom S. Irene confuteth Caluin in his commentarie vpon the resolution of the Sacraments saythe that Vnto the substaunce of bread remaining bread the body of oure lorde whiche is the verite figured by the bread is so coupled and vnited as the godhead was to the fleshe of Christ it remaining true and naturall fleshe And this his doctrine he goeth aboute to proue by the wordes of Gelasius in his epistle to kinge Frauncis prefixed before his Institutions It is also the doctrine of Caluin that Christ is in the Sacrament onely by faithe not corporally â–ª For so sayeth he he is onely in heauen Then will it folowe by the reason of Caluin that the godhead was ioyned and vnited to the fleshe of Christ onely by faithe and that the fleshe was not deified and one person with god This was the heresy of Paulus Samosatenus condemned all most thirten hundred yeares paste The doctrine of Caluin in his Institutions is as you partly heard before that in the blessed Sacrament the maner of receauing Christ is by the operation of his Spirit whiche saythe he is as a certain â—undyt pipe whereby what soeuer Christ is or hathe is deriued vnto vs. and by the Spirit of Christe he sayth we receaue in to oure soules his body and bloud whiche yet departeth not from the right hande of the father This doctrine separateth Christ making his holy Spirit to serue as a cundyt pipe for the conuaiaunce of his fleshe in to oure soules Beside the absurdite of the doctrine whiche we before declared you it sauoureth of the heresy of Nestorius For as he denied the fleshe off Christ to be inseparably vnited to the godhead and therefore taught that we receaued not whole Christe but his fleshe onely and not his godhead for these were his wordes as Cirillus recordeth Qui manducat carnem meam non dixit qui manducat diuinitatem that is Christ sayde he that eateth my fleshe he sayde not he that eateth my diuinite c. so Caluin denieth we receaue whole Christ graunting vs a spirituall foode onely For so in his commentaries vpon S. Paule he concludeth saieng that a certain quickening vertu is deriued vnto vs out of the flesh of Christ by his Spirit thoughe the flâ—sh be farre distant from vs and not ioyned with vs. The doctrine of Caluin as it containeth variable and contrary assertions so it bredeth diuers and sundry heresies You heard euen nowe that by making the Spirit of Christ a pipe for the
should fight and combat with the Hostes of hell and horrour off eternall death Lo he saieth Christ ought beside his bodely death which was on the Chrosse fele also the rigour of gods vengeaunce satisfise also his most iust iudgment and abide the horrour of eternall death O horrible blasphemy mete for a sacramentary ghospeller For how then saied Christ in his Crosse after all the bitter torments suffred for mankind and accomplished Consummatum est It is finished Was he yet to suffer more in hell And how cried he in his last most blessed wordes Father in to thy handes I commend my Spirit Was that to be tormented after of the deuils in hel Dyd his Father kepe it no better but let it be tormeÌ„ted yet again Finally how was that only sacrifice on the Crosse as S. Paul saieth a perfit coÌ„summatioÌ„ and sanctification for euer Must he yet besides suffer torments in hell So saieth Caluin Master to all the Geneuian protestants of England expresly against scripture blasphemously against God and heretically against the Catholike doctrine And where writeth he this In his Institutions a booke so precious in the eyes off some pretended bishops that it is by them coÌ„maunded to be read of such as haue charge of soules May not we worthely crie with that holy father Policarpus O Deus in quae nos tempora reseruasti O God to what times hast thou reserued vs Do we yet looke whether these protestants tende that so blasphemously write of the blessed passion of Christ and commaunde such writings to be read of the vnlerned priests which shall teache it againe to the simple and vnlerned people And yet Caluin will proue his blasphemyes by scripture truly euen as he proueth the rest of his doctrine For lo these are his wordes folowing The prophet teacheth that the chastisement of our peace was layed on him he was smitten of the father for our offences and brused for our wickednes by the which wordes he signifieth that he was sent in to the place of sinners as a surety a pleadg yea and as a gilty person to paie and abide all such paines as were to be required of them only this excepted that he could not be continually staied with the sorowes of death Therefore no maruail if he be sayed to haue descended in to â—ell seing he suffred such death as God in his wrath punisheth the wicked withall Thus farre you haue the wordes of Caluin and his hainous heresy therein contained As for the saying off the prophet which as he and his felowes do in infinit other texts of holy scripture he wresteth from the true meaning the Catholike church hath allwaies taken it to haue ben fulfilled on the Crosse in the bodely death of Christ. For there he was smitten off the Father for our offences and brused for our wickednes there the chastisement of our peace and attonement was layed vpon him But Caluin as if he were a man priuileged from God to saie and teache as he listeth will haue it so ment that Christ beside his bodely death on the Crosse be sent in to the place of sinners which is hell for of Christes descending in to hell he now disputeth vnlesse as some protestants do he make no hell at all and saie that Christ descended no otherwise in to hell but that he was tormented on the Crosse there to paie and abide all the torments of sinners sauing that he suffreth it not eternally This is lo the rewarde off heresy and of such as forsake their faith to fall in to most horrible blasphemies such as a Turk would abhorre and yet to see them not but persuade them selues they haue the light of the gospell and be only true Christians and all the worlde beside blind superstitious and idolaters not only that now is but that hath ben this thousand yeares I will no more exaggerat the matter I wish them amendment and knowledg of the truthe and desire all other to beware in time of such perilous heresies as these vnghostly ghospellers of Geneua bring to our deceiued countre We will now passe to the doctrine of Caluin touching the sacrament of baptim and consider how pure and euangelicall his doctrine thereof is In the sacrament of baptim though the doctrine of Caluin be allmost of all protestants of our countre not onely the sacramentaries receiued and embraced yet it containeth many straunge and horrible heresies Which so in that man happened bicause he serched all suttle shiftes and pried out all the preuy fetches he could deuise whereby he might defeate the doctrine of the Catholike church For hereupon he vvttereth in his doctrine diuers hainous heresies other ignorantly or malitiously First therefore we wil discouer vnto you such of his heresies as are taken off the olde condemned heretikes in the primitiue Church Then such as he forged him selfe expresly against holy scripture and yet defendeth them no lesse foolishely then wickedly as allwaies the proper of heretikes is to do It was the heresy of Pelagius as S â–ª Augustin recordeth that children were not borne in originall sinne His wordes of theÌ„ are these Paruulos etiam negant secundum Adam carnaliter natos contagium mortis antiquoe prima natiuitate contrahere sic enim eos sine vllo peccati originalis vinculo asserunt nasci vt prorsus non sit quod eis oporteat secunda natiuitate dimitti that is The pelagians denie that children borne by fleshe after AdaÌ„ be giltie of deathe by their first natiuite For they make them to be borne so withoute bonde of originall sinne that they nede no remission in their seconde natiuite or regeneration Here the Pelagians make children to be borne in state off grace and not giltie of originall sinne This these heretikes taught generally of all children Caluin teacheth the same in children borne off Christen parents Heare his wordes oute off the 17. chapter off his Institutions towardes the ende Infantes nostros antequam nascaÌ„tur se adoptare in suos pronunciat Deus cum se nobis in deum fore promittit seminique noâ—tro post nos Hoc verbo continetur eorum salus that is God promising that he will be oure God and oure childrens after vs pronounceth that he adopteth and admitteth oure children for his owne before they are borne In this worde their saluation is contained And in an other place thus he writeth Sancta videlicet câ—te The issue of Christen parents is borne holy bicause of the promis of God and their children euen yet in the wombe before they come to open life are admitted in to the leage of life euerlastinge Caluin here and the Pelagians agree in this that children are borne withoute original sinne and in state of grace The difference maie seme to be that Caluin speaketh this of Christen children onely whereas the Pelagians speake generally of all children But you shall see that by the proufe whiche Caluin bringeth for this
abominable doctrine it shall stretche to all children For what is the proufe he bringeth Forsothe the promis of God What promis is that that whiche he made to Abrahan saieng he woulde be his god and his sede after him In this worde saieth Caluin their saluation is contained Let vs theÌ„ suppose that by the warrant of Caluins mouthe all the realme of Englande being nowe Christian shoulde leaue their childreÌ„ vnbaptised bicause they are allready admitted in to the leage of life euerlasting Those children coming to the age of meÌ„ and hauing other children muste they baptise their children or must they not If they muste baptise their children then the promis of God reacheth not vnto them For if it reached to them it should ereache also to their children In which case they nede not be baptised but maie liue by the baptim of their grandfathers If they may not baptise their children but let them liue withoute baptim theÌ„ see what detestable enormites and hainous blasphemies will ensue thereupon First by this rule all the christening of children in England sens the faithe first planted there and the realme thouroughely baptised wiche pricketh nowe wel vpon a thousande yeares hathe ben in vaine and to no purpose for that they came of the issue and bloud of Christen parents Secondarely all baptim nowe maie cease in the realme all fontes maie be shutt vp and of two sacraments whiche onely remaine they maie take away one to witt baptim and then talke no more of the Sacraments in Christ his churche but of a sacrameÌ„t whiche also in what pointe Caluin hathe lefte vs we haue I truste sufficiently before declared Thirdly Christendome shall be no more a spirituall matter geuen by the administration of Sacraments but a temporall benefit entailed to the bloud of the pareÌ„ts And then greate questions might arise of bastards being not the â—ede of Christen mariage but the frute of filthy fornication or sinnefull aduoutry Fourthely we muste put oute of the scripture the wordes of oure Sauiour Nisi quis renatus fuerit ex aqua spiritu sancto non intrabit in regnum caelorum that is Onles a man be borne againe of water and the holy ghoste he shall not enter into the kingdome of heauen And truly they drawe well towarde to do so For looke in the Englishe bibles who will printed of late yeares and he shall finde the worde againe to be lefte oute And euen as nowe they haue lefte oute that one worde by the which oure regeneration by baptim is moste necessarely imported â—o may they within fewe yeares leaue oute the whole sentence and theÌ„ make a scripture of their owne For what other can we looke for of these impudent presumptuous heretikes if they may be suffred to runne their race at will Oure lorde staie it if it be his pleasure Laste of all if Christendome so dependeth of oure parents why haue all Christen men euer so charely baptised their children as all stories do testify Was it as Caluin writeth bicause they shoulde not departe withoute the signe or badge of a Christian man Truly he writeth so and in so writing he holdeth the heresy of the Maniches as in the other he dothe of the Pelagians as ye shal anon see But nowe harken what lesâ—on S. Augustin geueth vs touching the baptim of children These are his wordes Quisquis dixreit quód in Christo viuificantur paruuli qui sine SacrameÌ„ti eius participatione de vita exeuÌ„t hic profecto contra Apostolicam praedicationem venit totaÌ„ condemnat Ecclesiam vbi propterea cum baptisandis paruulis festinatur curritur quia sine dubio creditur aliter eos in Christo viuificari omnino non posse that is Whosoeuer shall saie that infants shall haue life in Christe which departe oute of this life withoute receauing baptim truly that man bothe procedeth against the doctrine of the Apostles and also condemneth the whole Churche where men make haste and runne to baptise their infants for that cause surely bicause vndoubtedly they beleue that other wise they can haue no life in Christ. Lo the testimony of S. Augustin a most assured witnes of antiquite and beste to be trusted in reporte of awncient belefe by the verdit of Caluin him selfe Let vs a litle considre the place Caluin as you heard before saieth that children of ChristeÌ„ parents are borne holy and are admitted in to the leage of life euerlasting being yet in the mother wombe and that by the promis of god they are all ready saued S. Austen saieth with oute baptim they haue no life in Christ and that who so saieth contrary as Caluin dothe teaching them to be saued afore baptim he procedeth against the doctrine of the Apostles and condemneth the whole Churche Lo nowe you see expresly what the doctrine of Caluin is It fighteth directly against the doctrine of the Apostles It condemneth the whole churche It is the heresy of the Pelagians But some scholer of Caluin will saie that S. Agustin here speaketh of the children of hetheÌ„ parents No truly For marke his wordes He saieth meÌ„ make haste and runne to baptise infants What men trowe ye were they hethen Would the hethen runne to baptise their children being them selues vnchristned and detesting all Christendome Or would Christen men runne with the children of hethen parents No that was against the lawe of the primitiue churche For the childe coulde not be baptised or Christened against the fathers will vntel he came to full age and discretion And therefore at this houre the practise is in Italy where Iewes are coÌ„mon that the father remaining a Iewe the childe vnder age can not be forced to baptim against the fathers wil. Els by this time all Iewes had ben christned in Italy and other where By this testimony therefore of S. Augustin it is clere that Caluin by this detestable doctrine defendeth the cursed heresy of Pelagius Nowe ye shall see he teacheth also as the Maniches dyd S. Augustin reakoning vp the suÌ„dry and hainous he resies of the Maniches amonge the rest reakoneth also their heresy against baptim writing of them in these wordes Hij baptismum in aqua nihil cuiquam perhibent salutis afferre nec quenquam eorum quos decipiunt baptisandum putant that is These men affirme that baptime done in water bringeth no saluation to any And thereupon such as they deceiue they thinke they nede not be baptised Let vs nowe heare whether Caluin saie not eueÌ„ the same of baptim In his institutions in the treatise of baptim defining it to be but a signe and token or badge of a Christen man he concludeth with these wordes Quis ergo aqua ista mundari nos dicat quae certo testatur Christi sanguinem veruÌ„ esse atque vnicum nostrum lauacrum That is Who then will saie that we are clensed with this water which dothe assuredly testifie that the bloude of Christ
parare rias eius thou shalt go before the face of oure Lorde to praepare his waies and saie with Caluin that he Christned mē as well as Christ dyd and was the Lorde him selfe that should weane vs in to the faithe by his baptim Thirdly the baptim of S. Ihon is called in holy scripture no other but baptismus penitentiae the baptim of repentaunce For repentaunce was the waie that S. Ihon made to bring men to Christ. Nowe the baptim of Christ is called lauacrum regenerationis renouationis spiritus sancti the fountaine of regeneration and renewing of the holy ghoste Be these all one Is there not a farre passing difference betwene them Laste of all we reade in the actes of the Apostles euidētly that suche as were baptised before of Ihon were after baptised againe by S. Paule The wordes of the scripture are these Paule coming to Ephesus founde there certain disciples that is suche as bore them selues for Christians and he saied vnto them haue ye receiued the holy ghost and do ye beleue but they saied vnto him We haue not so muche as heard if there be any holy Ghoste Then he saied Wherein then are ye baptised which awnswered vnto him In the baptim of Ihon. Then Paule saied Ihon baptised the people with the baptim of penaunce telling thē they should beleue in him that should come after him that is in Iesus This being heard they were baptised in the name of oure Lorde Iesus Hetherto the wordes of holy scripture Nowe if the baptim of Ihō and Christ were al one as Caluin saieth why dyd S. Paule baptise them againe as the scripture here declareth Doth Caluin allowe rebaptisation Is he an Anabaptist Or were they baptised againe bicause they were not instructed before in the holy ghoste This were in dede a good reason for the furious Anabaptistes to make vs all come to the fonte again bicause when we were babes we vnderstode nothing of the holy ghoste What shift then hath Caluin here to defeate this most expresse text of holy scripture Truly he laboureth impudently to defeate in it his institutions but with no lesse foly then impudency For whereas it is writen they were baptised in the name of Iesus that is saieth Caluin they receaued visible and sensible graces of the holy ghost they were not baptised again Lo the scripture saieth they were baptised in the name of Iesus Caluin saieth they receaued visible graces of the holy ghoste Maye not a mā by this meanes come and denie baptim vtterly and saie that after the ascension of Christ none were baptised For in all the newe testament after the ascension of Christ we reade of no other baptim but that men were baptised in the name of Iesus So we reade in the first sermon of S. Peter made after the coming downe of the holy goste Baptizetur vnusquisque vestrum in nomine Iesu Christi Let euery one of you be baptised in the name of Iesus Christ. And of the Centurion and all his house it is writen they were baptised in the name of oure lorde Iesus Christ. Nowe all this by Caluins doctrine was no baptim but onely a receauing of visible graces from the holy ghoste For why maye it not as well meane so in other places as here shall scripture meane sometime one thinge sometimes an other as it pleaseth Caluin Againe many were baptised that receaued not those visible graces Or els Caluin must saie there is no baptim nowe in the worlde nor hath no ben these many hundred yeares Cornelius also and his family receaued those visible graces before they were baptised Whereby we lerne it is not al one to receaue those visible graces and to be baptised But what nede we farder refute this impudent hereticall shifte of Caluin It foloweth immediately in the text aboue recited Et quum imposuisset manus eis Paulus venit Spiritus Sanctus super eos loquebantur lin guis prophetabant that is And when Paule had laied handes ouer them the holy ghoste came down vpon them and they spake with tongues and prophecied Lo these visible giftes were geuen them after they were baptised by laieng on of handes For the scripture telleth vs that first S. Paule baptised them and after layed handes on them which being done the visible graces were geuen them What thinke ye now did Caluin trow ye reade so farre yes sothely And yet goeth he forth to defend impudently that which he had ones wickedly affirmed For he saieth all this was but one action though it be diuersly tolde for two seuerall actions and he saieth so onely But by what authorite by what reason saieth he so He telleth vs it is the maner of the hebrew phrase to speake first the matter shortely and after to sette it forthe mere at large What if it be the maner of the hebrew phrase Is it so allwaies or sometimes onely If it be so all waies then shoulde he at leste haue brought here one example Nowe he bringeth none at al. Beside that he shooteth very wide of the marke No tounge auoideth more idle repetitions of one thinge no tounge affecteth more breuite and speaketh more in fewer wordes then the hebrew dothe and therefore it is called of al other most chaste frugall and lesse ryotous in lāguage I reporte me herein to the skilful thereof If he meane it is the hebrewe phrase sometimes to speake so what of that so is it the greke phrase the latin phrase and the phrase of all tongues sometimes to do What then Bicause it dothe so sometime ergo dothe it so in this place But where trowe ye was Caluins witt and remembraunce when he wrote this What meaned he to bleare oure eyes with the authorite of an hebrew phrase in this place whiche nother was writen in the hebrew tongue nor of any hebrician For whose wordes are those we alleaged you before Be they not writen in the Actes of the Apostles the .19 chapter Was the Actes of the Apostles euer writen in the hebrewe tongue we neuer heard yet that any parte of the new testament was writen in the hebrewe tongue except S. Matthewes ghospell onely and the epistle vnto the hebrewes Againe who wrote the Actes of the Apostles Was it not S. Luke the Euangelist a greke borne to witt at Antiochia To what a miserable shift trowe ye was this willfull proude heretike driuen when to vpholde his heresy against the expresse wordes of scripture after all other shiftes he was glad at the length to flie to the succour of an hebrewe phrase in suche a text as neither was writen in the hebrewe tongue neither of any hebrewe borne But what will not an heretike do rather then he will acknowleadg the truthe We reade that onely Christ was able to put the Pharises to silence and stoppe the mouthes of the Sadduces two hereticall sectes of the Iewes as the Lutherans and the Caluinistes are nowe of the
these fewe what to iudge of the rest and by the soure taste of these mislike the remnant of his vnpleasant and most poisonned doctrine For if in these two blessed Sacraments the one being the gate and entry of saluation the other being a most heauenly foode to preserue vs therein he sticketh not to vtter so harnous heresies and setteth him selfe so wickedly against the church of god what conscience trowe ye is he like to take in other pointes of oure Christen religion lesse necessary and of lesse importance well Though he were in al the rest sounde and withoute blot yet these his heresies of vs recited of him vttered and taught maye be sufficient to discredit him in the cōscience of any Christien harte For I thinke and trust verely there is no Christen man in all the realme of England be he neuer so farre waded in heresy but that he dothe reuerence the primitiue church of Christ of the first fyue or six hundred yeares and will be ready to condemne all suche heresies as were in that time and age cōdemned Nowe the Maniches the Ariās the Valētinians the Marcionistes the Nestorians the Nouatians the Pelagians the Samosatencall and other whose heresies Caluin hath renewed were in the compas of those fiue hundred yeares condēned If we woulde come downe lower we coulde recite a number more of heretikes condemned also in Christ his church with whose heresies the doctrine of Caluin dothe agree But in consideration of the impudent bragges made nowe in euery pulpit that all is reduced to the state of the primitiue churche I haue chosen oute suche heresies in Caluins doctrine as were in that time condemned geuing you to vnderstand that all is not the gospell which is there spoken vnlesse perhaps by reducing all to the state of the primitiue church they meane renewing of olde heresies condemned in the primitiue church And truly so must they meane if they saie truly But let vs returne to Caluin In the doctrine of free will I will make no especiall recitall of his heresies But note you his contradictions of the which euer one part is an heresy In his Institutions the .14 chapter he writeth that God did not only foresee the fall of the first man Adam and in it the fall of all his posterite but also it was his will it should be so Againe in his booke of predestination against Pighius he hath the same doctrine saying that God would not haue suffred Adam to fall but that he would haue it so to be Also that God so determined it and ordained it Now in his booke of free will against Pighius also he saith in two places these wordes I confesse with Origen that those which take away free will from Adā before he sinned be heretikes How agree these sayings of him If it were not only the will of God that Adam should fall but also that he determined and ordained it so to be then he fell of necessite For the determined will of God can not be frustrated Adā therefore could not if he had would continewed in his innocency And yet had he free will If hotte and colde be all one then is this doctrine vniforme Againe in his booke of predestination he saith All wsuchickednes as man committeth by malice of his owne procedethae so of God and that not without good reason although we knowe it not And to make his opinion herein most clere in the same booke he saieth It is a fonde solution of S. Paules saying Esadu odio habui I hated Esau to saie that the reprobats do worke their owne destruction by their owne malice And yet see what he saith in his institutions the .2 chapter Man saith he can not impute the hardnes of his hart to any other cause then to him selfe This lo is most true But why then saied he before the wickednes of man procedeth of God Why reprouueth he that solution which he now maketh him selfe Farder Caluin in his booke of predestination going aboute to mitigat his former doctrine where he taught that the reprobats could not chose but do euill saieth afterwarde he meaneth not of euery particular worke for a litle before he confesseth Saul had done certain thinges well But directly contrary to this shift is an other expresse doctrine of his in the very same booke where he saieth Men can not possibly haue any affection to do well vnlesse they be of the chosen and elected such as reprobats neuer be For of Iudas a sure reprobat Caluin him selfe pronoūceth Certum est Iudam nunquam fuisse membrum Christi Certain it is that Iudas was neuer any membre of Christ. Caluin yet for the better auauncement of his wicked doctrine against free will pretendeth to folow S. Augustin in all pointes And therefore in his booke of predestination he saieth he varieth not from S. Augustin so much as one sillable in this question of predestination Notwithstanding in his Institutions he saieth that S. Augustin was sometime scrupulous and would not tell the truthe of predestination roundely as when in his booke De praedestinatione gratia he saieth that the induration and blinding of the reprobats is not to be referred to the worke and operation of God but only to his foreknowleadg Here in this most gracious doctrine of that good Father Caluin chargeth him with scrupulosite And yet he will beare vs in hand forsothe that he agreeth euen in euery sillable with S. Augustin Where in the one he declareth him selfe a praesumptuous heretike in the other a false contradictour of his owne sayings Finally Caluin as in wordes and doctrine so in doings and behauiour contrarieth his owne self In his Institutions he wrireth It was neuer permitted to preachers of Gods worde to adde any one sillable to holy scriptare or diminish from thence but to preache the only bare worde as it lieth Now as in all his doctrine he talketh more then halfe beside holy scripture so in this matter of predestination he is not afeard to adde to the very text of S. Paule wordes of his owne for the maintenaunce of his wicked doctrine For in his Institutions labouring to refer the induration of the reprobats to the proper and eternall will of God as a superiour cause then their owne deserts and malice thus he talketh Restat nunc vt videamus curid Dominus faciat quod eum facere palam est Si respondeatur sic fieri quia sic impietate nequitia ingratitudine sua meriti sunt homines bene id quidem vere dicetur Sed quia nondum patet istius varietatis ratio cur alijs in obedientiam flexis isti obdurati persistant in ea excutienda necessario ad illud quod ex Moyse adnotauit Paulus transeundum erit Nēpe quod ab initio eos excitarit Dominus vt ostenderet nomen suum in vniuersa terra That is It remaineth nowe to see why God doth that
Catholike that nedeth not this eure and instructions to thanke allmighty God therefore to praie for the protestant and all deceiued persons in matters of conscience and soule helth Vt idipsum dicamus omnes noÌ„ sint in nobis schismata simus autem perfecti in eodem sensu in eadem scientia that is that we may say all one thing and that there be no schismes amonge vs but that we be perfit in one self vnderstanding and in one self knowleadg Such perfectnes of vnite and agrement with amendment of life and true repentaunce our Lorde for his tendre mercy graunt our countre and all ChristeÌ„dom through the merites of his dere SoÌ„ our Sauiour and Redemer Christ Iesus To whom with the Father and the holy Ghoste be all honour and glory now and euer AMEN FINIS Quoniam viri doctissimi Angli sacraruÌ„ literaruÌ„ peritissimi apud me fide dignissimi ApologiaÌ„ hanc Friderici Staphylia Thoma Stapletono fideliter traductam attestati sunt itemque disceptationem ab ipso scriptam aduersus doctrinam Lutheri Melanchthonis Caluini vtilem per omnia Catholicam iudicarunt merito vtramque typis excudendam iudico Ita attestor Cunnerus Petri pastor S. Petri Louanij sacrae Theologiae professor .16 Nouembris an 1564. A TABLE OF THE SPECIALL MATTERS CONTAINED IN THE APOLOGIE OF STAPHYLVS IN THE DIScourse of the Translatour and in the prefaces off bothe Gathered by the order off the A B C. The figure fignifieth the leafe B the second side A short description of the Author of the Apologie fol. 9. b. seq Abhominable heresics of the Lutherans touching Christ. fol 17 Heresies of Caluin about the Sacrament of baptim fol. 231. and in the leaues folowing The opinion of Caluin touching baptim refuted fol. 202. A contradiction of Caluin about baptim fol. 203. Certain protestants call baptim a bathe for swine fol. 109. Certain false translations of the english Bible fol. 5. b. Item fol. 152. seq The duty of a conuerted Catholike fol. 56. b. VVhat is Catholike 49. b. The church ought to be obeyed 62. b 63. VVhy Caluin may worthely be charged with the heresies off the Arrians the Maniches and other fol. 224. Detestable doctrines off Caluin fol. 112. Absurdites in the doctrine off Caluin fol. 190. seq The confession off Ausgpurg resemble the Synods off the Arrians fol. 186. The ciuill Lutherans resemble olde beretikes fol. 185. b. Vniuersalite Antiquite and Consent sure notes off the Catholike doctrine fol. 144 Conferring off Scribture is no certain rule to interpret scripture fol. 159. b. 160. VVhat the communion off England is fol. 205. That we receaue not a communion of Christes body poored downe vpon vs in the sacrament fol. 190. The communion off Caluin destroieth the necessite off communicants fol. 191. b. People nede not resorte to the communion by the doctrine off Caluin fol. 198. b. 204. b. Caluins doctrine about the blessed Sacrament condemneth the practise of the primitiue church fol. 198. excludeth the Apostles from receauing Christ in the laste Supper fol. 199. excludeth the triall that S. Paul requireth fol. 201. Caluin denieth scripture fol. 237. An impudent foly off him fol. 238. he furdereth the cause off the Anabaptistes fol. 240 he auoucheth doctrine off his owne without scripture and wil not allow the doctrine off the church without the same fol. 241. he requireth to be heard against expresse scripture ibidem b. The principles off the Catholike religion fol. 15 The difference of the present communion from the first fol. 8. Olde condemned heresies renewed by Caluin in the doctrine off the blessed Sacrament fol. 222. Contradictions in the doctrine off Caluin fol. 206. and in the leaues folowing Caluin belieth holy Scripture fol. 209. The cause off contradictions in caluin fol. 208. b. The Lutherans haue corrupted the Crede fol. 97. b. They denie an article off the Crede fol. 106. The communion off the protestants is but foode for refection fol. 228. b. VVhat the iudge off praesent controuersies ought to be fol. 20. b. A clere example off debating a controuersy fol. 21. VVhat is all the controuersy betwene the Catholikes and the protestants fol. 35. Caluin teacheth Christ to haue suffred in hell fol. 229. VVhat his doctrine is fol. 233. b. Off the Ciuill Lutherans fol. 182. b. The difference betwene Catholikes and heretikes fol. 24. The Catholikes haue the worde off God no lesse then the protestants fol. 33. The late death off many great princes in a short time fol. 26. b. Such death a token off Gods wrath fol. 27. Difference betwene life and doctrine fol. 35. b. Doctrine how it is to be tried by the frutes fol. 38. b. How to discerne true doctrine from false fol. 41. A brief recapitulation off the schismes and dissensions amonge the protestants fol. 93. Item fol. 249. Testimonies off Lutheran Superintendents and Ministres witnessing the disagreement in doctrine amonge them selues fol. 78. and in many leaues folowing Dissension destroieth heresies fol. 98. b. It is a sure token off heresy fol. 99. Praier for the dead defended again M. Grindall fol. 163. and in the leaues folowing commaundement in Scripture to praie for the dead beside the place off the Machabees fol. 163. The meaning off the Fathers praying for the dead fol. 171. English corrupted translations lerned of Luther fol. 68. 71. b. 72. b. off Munster fol. 155. b. 156. off Caluin fol. 158. Excommunication off the protestants embarreth not from the communion by the doctrine off Caluin fol. 196. b. A good lesson for England fol. 126. 138. b. A corrupted text off Luthers in the english transl fol. 68. 71. b. .72 b. Brauling amonge the Archeprotestants for ecclesiasticall gouuernement fol. 45. 46. Holy Fathers despised by olde hertikes as by our protestants now fol. 32. b. 178. A very good faith off a coolyar fol. 53. Faith is one in all but trade off life diuers fol. 122. Lutherans do thaunge hope in to faith and cosidence fol. 124. The frute off only faith fol. 128. That we eate not the body off Christ only by faith fol. 196. b. A question to the Geneuians off England fol. 204. b. A straunge order off seruing the church in Germany fol. 43. b. A notable example off the sundry sectes in Germany fol. 56. b. 57. The ghospell off Luther decaieth daily fol. 121. The first Apostles off the Germans fol. 126. b. The ghospellers doubt and vary what the ghospell preacheth fol. 91. The mariages off new ghospellers fol. 96. b. The miracles off the new ghospell fol. 35. The markes off the heretikes off the primitiue church 24. The same marke in our heretikes fol. 25. A readie waie to trie out an heretike fol. 53. An answer to stoppe the mouth off an heretike fol. 54. A lesson off S. Antony to auoide â—eretikes fol. 62. The maner off heretikes fol. 67. Heretikes off great vertu in apparence fol. 38. Off the Canonicall howres off
praier fol. 69. Heresies suffred in the church for our triall fol. 2. .3 The duty off a Christen man in time off heresy fol. 3. b. Hungary loste by Luthers heresy fol. 128. b. The destruction off Grece through heresy fol. 129. Hierusalem destroied by schismes fol. 129. b. The miserable estat off Lislande through heresy fol. 130. Countres lost in Germany by heresy fol. 127. b The meanes whereby many haue fallen in to heresy fol. 146. The heretike more dangerous then the Turke fol. 150. b. Grece and Afrike loste the faith by heresy fol. 182. The ende of present heresies fol. 19. Good counsell of Sisinnius to defeat heretikes fol. 21. b. It behoueth not to dispute with heretikes fol. 22. b. Inconstancy of Lutherans fol. 97. b. Inconstancy of Lutherans fol. 44. b. A lowde lie of the Lutherans against the Catholike church 33. b A prety story of wronge interpretation fo 51. The liberty of Luthers ghospell fo 75. VVhat partes of scripture may be read of the laite fol. 78. b Liflande loste by Luthers heresy f. 128 The pride and presumption of Luther f. 132. Luthers penaunce fol. 133. He becometh a papist for a vauntage fol. 134. b. He is a false prophet fo 139. A murderer and stroÌ„ge thefe in the church ibi The Lutherans vary at their metings and conferences like the Arrians fo 186. b. The labells of the Lutherans principles fol. 18. b Sacramentary sectes amonge the Lutherans fol. 87. b The outward behauiour off Lutherans in Germany fol. 59. VVhy protestants barke at the euill life of the clergy fo 61. b. The church ought not to be forsaken for the euill life off men in the church fo 62. Laye men are not commaunded to read scripture f. 64. The hebrew text could not be read off the laye Iewes folio 64. b. The dangers proceding off the laites reading scripture fo 65. Luther will proue by Scripture there ought to be no Magistrats amonge Christen men f. 140. b. The marriage off Luther fol. 141. b. Contrariete in his doctrine fol. 142. The cause of Luthers breache from the church and the maner of the first entry thereof fo 149. a. b. Luther proued an heretike fo 179. His proper heresy touching the Sacrament hath wrought his owne confusion fo 181. b. Lutherans in Bohem teache the soule to die with the body fol. 17. b. Luther at the first planting of his heresy writeth against obedience to princes fol. 16. He maketh chastite a thing impossible ibid. Luther clippeth the coyne of Gods worde fol. 66. He addeth to the text fol. â—8 Enemy to virginite and wedlock bothe Ibidem b. He teacheth pluralite of wiues fol. 69. reneweth the heresy of the Pelagians and off the Manichees fol. 68. Item of Vigilantius fol 69. Chaungeth opinion in doctrine fol. 72. 74. con demneth good lerning fol. 73. writeth against obedience to Magistrats fol. 75. A notable testimony of the Caluinistes against Luther fol. 25. All new sectes haue begonne of Luther ibidem b. The frute off liberty preached by Luther fo 44. The pride of Luther fol. 36. A notable testimony of Luther of the life of his scholers lbi b. The frutes of the Lutherans doctrine fol. 39. The euill life of the Catholikes and of the Lutherans procede of diuers causes fo 40. b. 41. MelaÌ„chthon teacheth pluralite of wiues fol. 69. chaungeth opinion in doctrine fo 72. becometh a Suinglian fo 88. is a dissembling ghospeller fol. 90. he becometh a baker fo 107. b. Horrible blasphemies of a ghospelling Minister f. 112. b VVicked doctrine of Luther touching Matrimony fol. 96. Melanchthon inconstant in doctrine fol. 183. A corrupter off Luthers bookes ibidem b. A breder of sedition and rebellion f. 185. a. b malitious and cruell fo 187. b. The Machâ—bees proued to be of the Canon fol. 166. The writings of men in the churche to be folowed fol. 168. The fathers off the protestants fo 161. 162. Item fol. 165. b. and in the leaues folowing The doctrine of our protestants consisteth of olde heresies folio 161. 162. Item fol. 175. and in the leaues folowing The principle off the only written text how it is ment of protestants fol. 7. Protestants refusing the Councell show them selues to lacke Charite fol. 20. Luther proueth coÌ„tempte of Princes by scripture fol. 139. b. his counsell to â—rinces fol. 140. Protestants are proued to be heretikes fol. 98. The protestants are Manichâ—es fol. 111. b. Protestants confounde vniformite and diuersite fol. 122. b. The frutes of protestants confusion in doâ—â—rine fol. 123. Prussia loste by Luthers heresy fol. 127. b A necessary lesson for deceiued protestants fol. 58. A vaine crake of protestants fol. 59. No certainte of Faith in protestants fol. 18. Disagreement in doctrine amonge our protestants fol. 7. Outward pretence off agreement in the same ibidem b. Speciall articles off contradictions amonge the protestants fol. 80. b. Thirten heresies amonge the protestants touching the blessed sacrament fol. 90. b. Fiue amonge the Lutherans fol. 90. and eight amonge the Zwinglians 86. b. The grounde off all protestants doctrine false and deceitfull fol. 42. An other decitfull ground off protestants fol. 43. A persit rule to discern false preachers fol. 37. A charitable shift of the protestants fol. 29. b. Reall receauing can not stand without reall presence fol. 194. The cause of diuers professions of religion in the Catholike church fol. 125. Hereticall rebellion neuer proueth fol. 125. b. Scripture nedeth exposition 47. VVhy the protestants crie vpon only Scripture fol. 48. VVhat the vnlerned shall do in variete off interpretations off scripture fol. 48. b. A token to know false interpretation off scripture from true fol. 49. b. Euery heretike alleageth scripture fol. 59. b. How interpretation off Scripture is tried true fol. 60. The body of Christe vnder one kinde of the SacrameÌ„t perfit and whole 60. A similitude fol. 3. b. fol. 65. b. fol. 124. b. .189 b. Scripture corrupted by Luther fol. 66. and many leaues folowing The doctrine of Sacramentaries destroieth the resurrection of our bodies fol. 227. Caluin maketh the blessed Sacraments bare signes tokens and badges fol. 203. Of the Sacrament of the aultar see in the worde Caluin That the soule only is not fedd of Christ in the Sacrament f. 193 Chalenging of only Scripture cause of heresies fol. 114. The ground of the Leage at Smalcaldium brickle and variable fol. 110. The Sacramentaries desire to be vnder the winge of the Lutherans fol. 81. b. they condemne Luther fol. 84. b. Luther condemneth them fol. 84. and fol. 86. b. Foure Sacraments acknowledged of Melanchthon fol. 45. Scripture alone suffiseth not fol. 41. b. 42. Great confusion in the church by small alteration of the Scripture fol. 70. b. Scripture hard to be vnderstanded fol. 4. The custome of heretikes to denie partes of scripture fol. 165. doctrine defended without expresse coÌ„maundement in scripture fol. 169. Staphylus refuseth to be doctour of
diuinite bicause of the othe of wittenberg fol. 10. b. VVhy he forsoke the Lutherans fol 11. 56. .252 VVhy Caluin maketh the SacrameÌ„t of the aultar but a bare signe fol. 214. b. The Sacramentaries tye Christ to the bread fol. 216. Repugnances in Caluin to holy Scripture fol. 217. The lawe of the Turkes compiled by heretikes fol. 19. A refuge for false translations of Scripture confuted fol. 154. Detestable heresies concerning the Blessed Trinite fol. 17. To cleaue to the writen text only is an olde heresie fol. 47. In the worde of God two thinges are to be considered fol. 34. A wicked persuasion of worldly carelesse men fol. 51. b. A buckler for the vulerned against new preachers fol. 52. b. Zuinglius is a pelagian fol. 111. Faultes escaped in Printing â—l Pag. Lin. 3. 1. 2. Reade for good goods 99. 2. 27. for wrath in wrath as iâ— 157. 1. 28. for the righteous the workes of the righteous FINIS 1. Cor. 11. 1. Cor. 9. Hebr. 6. Rom. 4. Matth. 16. 2. Tim. 2. Apocal. 2. 2. Petri. 2. Iudâ— 2. Dan. 3. Hierem. 5 1. Ioan. 2. The duty of a Christen man in time of heresy Heb. 13. Math. 7. â— Ioan. 4. Scripture hard to be vnderstanded Lib. 2. de doctr Christi Cap. 6. In Ezech. Cap. 45. In anchorae tu Lib. 7. in Leuiticum Iâ—praescrip haereticoâ—uÌ„ 2. Petr. 3. 2. Cor 4. Ioan. 5. Act. 8. Luc. 24. Math. 7. 1. Ioan. 4. 2. Tim. 2. The contents of the Apologie Lucae 9. Genes 1. Ephes. 5. Epiphanius li. 2. coÌ„trea har August ad Quoduult 1. Timo. 4. Disagrement in doctrine among our protestans Caunterbury Chichester Glocester Rochester In the yeare 1557. The difference of the present communion from the first Tomo 6. fel. 60. Ephes. 4. In Apologia absoluta pag. 78. Esa. 1â— Staphylus refuseth to be Doctour bicause of the othe Indefensione contra Musculum VVhy Staphylus forsoke the Luthe rans Lib. 9. cap. 46. histor Epist. 2. ad Clidonium This epistle vvas vvriten in laten by the author him selfe The inteÌ„t of the author in this vvorke Câ—or 3. The principles of the catholike religion Leuit. 13. In his booke de seculari potestate In a booke against the tvvo commauÌ„dements of the Emperour In lib. de Matrimo In libel de matrimo In AssertioÌ„ ad LeoneÌ„ In his sermons at Smalcaldium Caluin in his institutions Abhominable heresies of the Lutherans touching Christ. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Detestable heresies coÌ„cerning the Blessed Trinite LutheraÌ„s in Bohem teache the soule to die vvith the body No certainte of faithe in LutheraÌ„s See the third parte of this booke the labels of the LutheraÌ„s priÌ„ciples The lavv of the Turkes compiled by heretikes Note the ende of present heresies â—ib confes The councell being novve ended vve ought vvith other Christen countres conforme ou our selues thereuÌ„to 1. Cor. 13. If Chatite vvere in protestaÌ„ts they vvoulde neuer refuse the Councel The Catholikes desire no other iudge of present Controuersies 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A clere example off debating a controuersy Ioan. 14. Ioan. 10. Socrates li. 5. cap. 10. Sozomenus li. a. ca. 17 Nicephor libro 12. Cap. 15. Good Counsell of Sifiniê° to defeate heretiker Olde heretikes dispise the holy fathers as our protestaÌ„ts novv In prescript vvhy it be houeth not to dispute vvith heretikes Vide praefationes Lutheri in hoslibros primae editio In Bohem and in the seacost tovvnes of germany The difference betvvene catholikes and heretikes Actor 8. 2. Tim. 1. The marke of the heretikes of the primitiue church Actor 4. Math. 18. The same marck in our heretikes A notable testimonie of the Caluinistes against Luther In the third treatise of the churche of Zurich against Luther All nevve sectes haue begon of Luther In a booke against the tvvo coÌ„mauÌ„deâ—ments off Caesar. Ican 6. See the 3. treatise of the churche of Zurich and The â—eauenly prophets off Luther The deathe of many greate Princes in a shorte time Moguntia In Noâ—th An. 1560 Esaiae 3. Non nisi 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In orat aduers ebrios 1. Cor. 2. Deâ—ost procâ—roâ—a A charitable shifte of the protestants Psal. 141. Lib. confes 9. cap. 13. 1. Cor. 4. Psalm 7. 2. Cor. 1. 1. Pet. 3. Lib. de bono viduita tis cap. 22. Prou. 22. Deute 17. The cause of the protestaÌ„ts grief against Staphylus 2. Tim. 2. 2. Thess. 2. Lib. 5. stâ—matum Math. 16. Mar. 13. The Catholikes haue the vvorde of God no lesse then the ptotestants Actor 3. A lovvdlie of the LutheraÌ„s against the Catholike churche Note vvel In the vvorde of God tvvo thinges are to be considered Ad fratres de monte Dei. Aduers Luciferianos Lutherus inassertio MelaÌ„chthoÌ„ in PauluÌ„ ad Rom. Caluinus iâ—institut Lib. 2. de Trinitate Note vvel VVhat is al the coÌ„trouersy betvvene the catholikes and the protestants RemeÌ„bre the state of germany of Scotland and the late spoyle in FrauÌ„ce The miracles of the nevve ghospell In lib. de vnitate ecclesiae DiffereÌ„ce betvvene life and doctrine Luther in parua Confessione coÌ„tra Zuinglianos Libr. quod Papatus supra infernuÌ„ exstructus sit Libr. coÌ„trae coelestes prophetas The pride of Luther In sua Apologia coÌ„trae postremam Lutheri coÌ„fessionem 1. Pet. 5. Psal. 103. Esaiae 40 Rom. 1. A notable testimonie of Luther of the life of his scholers Math. 7. Luc. 6. Math. 7. 2. Timo. 2. Againe repetauÌ„ce of the most vvicked may be soden and secret A perfit rule to discerne fal se preachers The first part Matth. 23. Esaiae 5. Math. 23. Matth. 7. Ioan. 8. Galat. 6. Rom. 2. The scoÌ„d part of the ruie Matth. 7. Heretikes of greate vertu in appareÌ„ce Matthae 7. The third part of the rule Hovve to knovve doctrine by the frutes Matth. 12. Ioan. 10. Math. 7. The frutes of the LutheraÌ„s doctrine In libro de Matrimonio Tom. 6 Luther in the 6. tome libello de matrimo Marc. 6. In the 6. tome of his vvorkes printed in the yeare 1553 Lib. de christiana libertate Contra duâ— Caesaris maÌ„data RemeÌ„bre the late rebellion in Fraunce In Captiuitate Babilonica Lntherâ—s in 3. ca. ad Gal. Illyricani mulâ—is lib. Aboue in the 36. leafe Caluinus in instituti onibus cap. 14. In assertio nibus art 31. Matthaei 7. Note the differeÌ„ce betvvene the euil life of the Catholikes and the Lutherans Note Matth. 3. Hovve to discerne true doctrine froÌ„ the false 2. Tim. 3. It is not â—ough to reade scripture with oâ—t the true vnderstaÌ„diÌ„g of the same 2. Câ—r 3. Ioan. 5. A daÌ„gerous deceite of the protestants Note An other daÌ„gerous deceite of the protestants Ephes. 4. Heb. 13. The straunge order of seruing the churche in germany Matth. 10. Lutherus lib. de Christiana libertate The frutes of Luthers libertie lib. Contra. 2. maÌ„da a Caesaris in literis ad ducem Saxâ—uiae Vide scriptuÌ„ Philippi ad Com. Palatinum aeditum an no. 1560. Heidelbergae The incoÌ„ stancy
the worlde and that in eating the bread we eate nothing els â–ª And truly if you remembre his doctrine before yow see he meaneth nought ells S. Paule speaking of our Lordes body and bloud geuen vs in the blessed sacrament saithe thus He that eateth and drinketh vnworthely eateth and drinketh his owne damnation not discerning the body of oure Lorde Caluin in his coÌ„mentaries vppoÌ„ this place saithe That the wicked person therefore eateth vnworthely bicause he refuseth the body of our Lorde offred vnto him eating thereby the onely signe to wit bare bared Marke the differeÌ„ce of S. Paules doctrine and Caluins imagination For howe dothe the wicked eate the body and therewith his daÌ„nation whiche S. Paule teacheth iff he eate but bread and refuse the body which Caluin imagineth I will graunte who refuseth Christ refuseth life and thereby worketh his owne damnation But this is not to eate his damnation in such sorte as S. Paule speaketh there Our Sauiour in the sixte of Ihon saithe Your fathers did eate Manna in the desert and are dead This is that bread whiche cometh downe from heauen that a man maye eate thereof and not die Caluin in his commentaries vpoÌ„ the first to the CorinthiaÌ„s the tenth chapter teacheth that the Iewes eating MaÌ„na did eate the very body of Christ spiritually as we do and receaued the same effect by eating the Manna as we do by the communion He laboureth muche in that place to proue this fonde doctrine and forgeth a sory shifte to auoide these wordes of our Sauiour in S. Ihon. Christ saythe he hauing to do with the Iewes preferring Moyses before him in his answer to them expounded not what Manna signified but letting all other thinges passe framed them an answer mete for their capacite speaking not according to the nature of the thinge but according to the meaning and sâ—ns of the hearers Thus muche Caluin But beholde I beseche you the sophistry of this wily heretike He woulde make vs beleue that Christ in S. IhoÌ„ plaied the RhetoriciaÌ„s part and withall is not afeared to make our Sauiour O blasphemous Sacramentary a lyar For Christe saithe plainely That the Iewes eating Manna died for not by eating Manna but by beleuing in the Messias to come they were fedde of Christ But the bread which he would geue shoulde be life euerlasting to those whiche eate off it Iff nowe as Caluin saithe the eating of Manna serued their turne no lesse then the bread of life Christ him selfe serued oures to witt that they receaued also the bread of life spiritually in eating Manna as we do in eating the blessed Sacrament then were not that sayieng off Christe true nor his comparison good preferring the bread of life which he would geue vs before the Manna of the Iewes For their Manna as Caluin saithe was bread of life to them then was it not inferiour to that whiche Christe woulde geue but all one and the same But nowe to an other Our Sauiour in S. Ihon hath these wordes Who eateth my fleshe and drinketh my bloud dwelleth in me and I in him Caluin correcteth these wordes in his doctrine of the Supper and maketh this proposition Who beleueth in the death and resurrectioÌ„ of Christ the coÌ„munion of his flesh is deriued vnto him by the vertu of his holy Spirit First in this doctrine where Christ biddeth vs eate his flesh and so promiseth him selfe to dwel with vs and in vs Caluin biddeth vs beleue in Christ his death saieng thereby we eate his flesh and theÌ„ in stede of Christ God and maÌ„ abiding in vs which our Sauiour in this most holy SacrameÌ„t promiseth and no doubt perfourmeth vnto vs Caluin warraÌ„teth vs of a certain coÌ„munioÌ„ of the flesh remaining only in heaueÌ„ which shal be deriued he sayeth by the Spirit off Christ vnto vs. This is lo not to haue God and man Christ him selfe abiding in vs which bicause Christ promiseth vs we must vndoubtedly beleue so but to haue him onely spiritually abiding in vs to witt coming to vs onely by spirit and abiding onely in heauen by fleshe How false and howe farre disagreble with the wordes of our Sauiour this doctrine of Caluin is we haue in his absurdites and contradictions declared Presently it suffiseth to knowe that he dothe bothe in termes and in sense comptroll and alter the wordes and meaning of oure Sauiour S. Paule writing to the Corinthians of the due accesse and reuerence of this blessed Sacrament saith Let euery maÌ„ trie him selfe and so eate of this bread Caluin in his Institutions and vpon the sixte of Ihon teacheth that by beleuing we eate Christ. Nowe seing that no man trieth him selfe but first he beleueth and in beleuing we eate Christ then before we trie oure selues we do eate contrary to the expresse wordes off the Apostle bidding vs first to trie our selues and so to eate of this bread of life And truly according to the doctrine of Caluin as you haue sene before beleuing in Christes deathe and resurrection we eate and receaue the body and bloud off Christ allwaies no lesse then in the vse of the Supper or communion Which excludeth all triall of our selues required by S. Paul For the maintenance of this wicked Sacramentary doctrine Caluin abuseth and turneth from their right vnderstanding not onely suche places of holy scripture as directly make against him as you haue hetherto partly sene but also suche as by any consequence of reason might seme to hinder the course of his wicked doctrine For example I will pnt you in minde of one or two Whereas it is writen in S. Ihon that Christ entred where his disciples were the doores being shutt bicause this miracle might importe to the body of oure Sauiour a possibilite of being in sundry places at ones and so destroy the false grounde of these sacramentaries tying Christ to the right hande of his Father Caluin in his institutions saithe that Christ entred not the dores being shutt but that the dores opened of them selues Otherwhere he writeth that an erthequake was made and so the dores opened Brefely he inuenteth what shifte he maie rather them he will yelde to the truthe of the churche With like confidence this presumptuous SacrameÌ„tary Ihon Caluin peruerteth by false traÌ„slatioÌ„ the wordes of holy scripture in the prouerbes of SalomoÌ„ coÌ„taining a clere prophecy of this blessed sacrameÌ„t We alleaged you the place before and after what sort it was by him corrupted If we would in other pointes and articles of the Catholike faith by him denied and impugned vse the like diligence we could be as loÌ„ge in the retical and setting forthe of theÌ„ as he is in the whole corps of his workes where such doctrine is taught But nowe I will procede to the other partes of oure promis touching this one article and after saie somewhat of some other point of his doctrine Oure Lorde in holy scripture by the mouthe off his prophet