For the Marble stones be annoynted wyth it and a verse of the Psalme Psalm 45. song The Lord hath annoynted thée with the oyle of gladnesse aboue thy fellowes O stony hearts To apply the words which the spirite of God properly spake of Salomon vnder Salomons person of Christ to a greasy stone that euery man doth treade on euery dog berayes Then doth the quire sing Erexit Iacob lapidem Genes 28. Psalm 67. Iacob reared vp a stone whereof they knowe not the signification Also they bleate out wyth wyde throtes Ibi est Beniamin adolesceÌ„tulus in mentis excessu There is little Beniamin out of hys wyttes as they translate it And thinke ye that they were well in their wittes which for Dominator eorum would put in Mentu excessu Wheras they should haue sayd There is little Beniamin their gouernoure To saye There is yong Beniamin rauished of his wittes But this is scripture of Church hallowing This is the purpose These be the textes The prayers are the same that Salomon vsed when he was commaunded to make the temple saue that they wyll haue a crop of Colocyntida to marre a whole pot full of pottage For they adde vnto these Inuocation of Saintes derogation to God abuse of hys creatures When thys is done the rotten bones and reliques are halowed with like ceremonies and soleÌ„nities as they had before And then they put on their masking coates come lyke blinde fooles with candels in their handes at none dayes and so procede to the holy masse with renting of throtes and tearing of notes chaÌ„ting of priests howliÌ„g of clarkes flinging of coales and piping of organes Thus they continue a long while in mirth and iolyty many mad partes be played But wheÌ„ the vice is come from the altare and the people shall haue no more sport they conclude theyr seruice with a true sentence Terribilis est locus iste This place is terrible And haue they not faire fysht think you to make such a doe to bryng in the diuel O blynde beastes O senselesse hipocrites whom God hath geuen ouer vnto themselues that they shall not sée their own folly yet bewray their shame to all the world beside And is not thys youre Church halowing that ye talke of Thys is it that youre Church hath ordayned Now that ye may proue in particularitie that which generally ye did auouch before The signe of the Crosse to be vsed in all Sacramentes ye come to an enumeration of them all And I dare say ye be glad to catch such occasion to treate of the vii Sacramentes yet dout I not but before I haue done with you I shall make ye contented to cut of .v. of them First as touching the vse of baptisme ye begyn with Dionisius Dionisius Areopagita Folio 52. b Euseb Eccl. Hist li. 3. ca. 4. lib. 4. cap. 21. to whom ye geue the surname of Areopagita and honorable title of Saint Paules scholer Eusebius in dede maketh mention of such a one and sayth that he was the first byshop of Athens and thys he speaketh of the report of an other Dionisius of Alexandria But as for any writing of hys he hath no worde at all And doutlesse if it had bene true which you affirme he would not haue suppressed it S. Hierome maketh mention of two In catal Scripit Eccles of that name One that was at Corynth in the raygne of Marcê° Antoninus verus and Lucius Commodus An other that was scholer somtyme to Origene and byshop afterwarde of Alexandria in the raygne of Galienus But not a worde yet among all their writings which he moste diligeÌ„tly doth rehearse eyther of the heauenly or ecclesiasticall hierarchie out of which ye cite all your authorities Wherfore it is a bastarde booke vniustly fathered vpon S. Paul his Dionise wheras the style it selfe and matter there intreated of do argue that it is of no such antiquitie For to go no further thaÌ„ to those wordes that you do alleage of hys Folio 52. hovv the bishop assigneth some man to be godfather to hym that is to be baptised here is a playne lye For the vse of godfathers was not inuented forty yeare after It is euident by consent of all men yea the decrée it selfe beareth witnesse with me De Cons Dist 4. Cap. In catechismo Platina in vita Higini that Hyginus was first founder of Godfathers and among all the receaued writers of that age ye shall not lightly reade of any gossipping But suppose it be true that our recordes haue that Hyginus hatched thys egge he lyued at the least an hundreth and forty yeare after Christ And how can S. Paul hys scholer whose lyfe your selfe can stretch no longer than to the .96 yeare after Christ speake of that which he neuer thought on In the names of the authors alleaged by Martiall whiche was so long deuised after But to the matter I know ryghte well that within CC. yeare after Christ there were crept into the Church many idle Ceremonies and the simplicity of Christ hys ordinaÌ„ce refused Eche maÌ„ as he had either credite or authority presumed of hymselfe to adde somewhat to Christes institution and the fleshe deliting in hir own deuises deliuered the same with as straight a charge as if that Christ hymselfe had taken order for it notwithstaÌ„ding if ought beside the authoritie of Scripture were so auncient in dede as I last spake of admitted at any time into God his seruice yet were we no more bouÌ„d to obserue the same thaÌ„ the fathers themselues haue yelded to it For if they haue repelled the traditions TraditioÌ„s no grouÌ„d of doctrine TraditioÌ„s vary of their elders and after established some other of their own their example proueth no vse Apostolique or necessitie to haue bene in the one their president authoryseth that we may as lawfully dysanull the other Enforce not therefore a doctrine of a custome traditions alwayes haue varyed and many such as Cyprian Tertullian Augustine with other haue thought to be necessary for saluation the Church of Rome it selfe hath not thought expedient to be vsed for instruction Christ gaue commaundemente Baptisme to be ministred Math. 28. in the name of the father and of the sonne and of the holy ghoste Actes 10. The Apostles continued in the same order Ceremonies or circumstances we reade of no more in Scripture saue only the water without all coniuratioÌ„ consecration Luc. 3. or insufflation the persons Baptised the preaching of God hys promises and fayth in Christ and prayer of the faythfull Nowe come ye bowne to Tertullians tyme and ye shall fynde many straunge inuentions Thrée dyppynges in the water Tasting of mylke and hony Lib. de Cormil Abstaynyng from all other washing for a seuen nyght after In Hieromes tyme Lib. 15. Com. in Esaiam Epist 72. Epi. ad Bonifacium De pec mer. remis cap. 20. there was no hony vsed but in
as supply theyr roumes For if it be presumed to be otherwyse let it be voide and of no effect But how came that bishops by thys prerogatiue How chaunce that euery priest may minister baptisme the supper of the Lord but only byshops may confirme Only the Apostles dyd in their tyme minister these Sacramentes and therfore by that reason onely byshops should haue that office nowe But are onely byshops the Apostles successors when ye inhibite any of the lay fée to take the host in hys hande thys cause ye alleage that it was deliuered only to the Apostles Papistes contrarye to themselues In thys case ye admytte euery poore priest a successor vnto them But why not in the other Bicause if any be lesse successors to the Apostles thā other they be your bishops But to make a deuise of your own brayne although in matters of religion it be not sufferable yet to make a lye of the holy ghost to falsify the Scripture is more intolerable And is it not a straunge case that the holy father writing the law Gratian collecting it so many seraphicall doctors commenting of it Papistes beelye the Scripture so long vse in all realmes confirming it it should there be written and suffered to remayne that in the Apostles tyme it was neuer red or knowen that imposition of handes was done by any but by the Apostles themselues Why what dyd Ananias He layed hys handes vpon Saul Acte 9. wherby he receyued hys syght was indued with the holy ghost What bishop was he No bishop forsoth In glosa preced Dist Monkes Apostles vicegerentes But a Monke by all lykelyhode For by the cannon law they be alwayes the Apostles vicegerentes Sée you not by thys tyme youre own shame Shal this notwithstanding your cōfirmation be styll a Sacrament hauing nothing else but mans deuises and a sort of impudent lies to support it If it had bene a truth that only the Apostles had layd on hands if it were a good order that only bishops should do the lyke how falleth it out that the popes themselues haue dispensed with the matter Gregory wryteth thus Vbi episcopi desunt Decr parte 1. Dist 95. ca peruenit vt presbyteri etiam in frōtibus baptizatos chrismate tangere debeant concedimus Where bishops want we graunte that priestes also may annoynt in the foreheades suche as be baptised How is thys presumption auoyded howe doth the Sacrament now stande in force But who wyll seke for any reason constancy or truth in popery The example of Christe is pretended Yet Christ neuer bad it Nor the facte of Christ can be drawen to imitation nor their selues wyll sticke vnto it Christ neuer vsed oyle They make it necessary Christe promised indifferently to all the faithfull hys holy spirite They do restrayne it to their owne ceremonies Christ for our behoofe instituted baptisme that we myght dye to synne and lyue to ryghteousnesse They by confirmation haue cutte awaye halfe the effecte thereof The Apostles withdrawe vs from the elementes of thys world they wyll haue vs seke our saluatiō in an oyle box The Apostles vsed imposition of handes which had effect when miracles were in place they wyll haue the same order although they can not haue the same ende The Apostles layed handes but onely vpon some which had the gyft of the holy ghost withall they without respect or differences of persons confirme euery body Therfore it is but a mere tradition and the same neither Christian nor Apostolique In the order of it they be contrary to themselues They wyll haue it necessary to saluation and yet they let many dye without it They say that only bishops are the Apostles successors and yet in other cases they graunt that euery priest is a successor too They affirme that the Apostles gaue them only their president and yet Ananias that was no Apostle is proued to haue done the same They teach that a byshop must only minister it and yet they dispence for a priest to do it And may not we biblers be bold to cal you bablers If only these heresies lyes absurdities were in your proufes of Confirmation they only were sufficient to confirme you fooles But sée a fouler matter of all Christian eares to be abhorred Whyle ye go about to auaunce your inuention ye deface the ordinance of almighty God and ouerthrow the grounde work of our saluation Confirmation a Sacramēt yea a Sacrament worthier thā baptisme For the master of the sentence sayeth Lib. 4. Dist 7. Cap. 2. Sacramentum confirmationis dicitur esse maius baptismo The Sacrament of Confirmation is sayd to be greater thā the Sacrament of Baptisme And afterwarde the cause is added Quia à dignioribus datur in digniore parte corporis bicause it is giuen of worthier persons and in the worthier part of the body For only bishops as is sayd confirme but euery priest may minister baptisme And in baptisme oyle is layd vpon the head but in Confirmation vpon the forehead Where fyrst is to be noted Papistes attribute more to oyle in baptisme than to vvater that ye sticke in one myre styll ascribing more to the oyle your inuention than to the water which is Gods element It suffiseth vs to haue as Christ and his Apostles had fayre water in our baptisme your oyle is better for a sallet than a sacrament Then also by the way ye fall into another heresie For when ye decrée the byshopping of children to be greater sacramente than baptisme is bycause euery priest may christen but only byshops may confirme shewe ye not therein your selues to be very Donatistes Papistes are Donatistes esteming the dignitie of the sacraments of the worthinesse of the minister Yet not only the master of the sentence but also the decrée confirmeth that doctrine Melchiades an author of yours and a Pope sayth Sacramentum manus impositionis De con dist 5. cap. de his vero sicut nisi à maioribus perfici non potest ita maiori veneratione venerandum est et tenēdum The sacrament of laying on of hands as it cā not be made but only of the greater so is it to be worshipped with greater reuerence and so to be defended But O God Diffinition of Popish by-shopping what a strange religion is this A droppe of grease infected and filed with the stinking breath of a sorcerous priest inchaunted and coniured with a few fumbled words to be compared to Christes holy sacrament preferred to the water sanctified by the word of God But this is your maner to depraue the scriptures in euery point corrupt the sacramentes with your owne leauen and let nothing that good is stand in due force for your spirituall pollicies and fresh inuentions Gyue ouer therefore at length the breast of fornication leaue sucking of the dregs of superstition and poperie whereto I persuade my self that rather fond nurses haue inured you than
Where is that bodyly shape which hath the spituall fruite Hath Contrition Confession or Satisfaction a bodye Be these subiecte to the eye as breade wine and water are Be they not vertues proceding from the minde or things vttered by the mouth and wil you make them to be things sensible as boyes and girles brought out in a pageant Wherefore your sacrament is cut of by the waste Make as good shift with the words as you can your visible and bodyly signe is gone Vnitie in Papistes doctrine And I maruell howe ye dare so precisely speake of your Sacrament of Penaunce affirming the externall acte to be the visible signe of release of sinne the inuisible grace where as your master of the sentence Lib. 4. Sent. Dis 22. ca. 2. is put to his shiftes in this case and putting two opinions determineth vpon none Whether the outwarde act should be the Sacrament or els the outward and inwarde together As for the outwarde which you do rest vpon he feareth to graunt lest this inconuenience ensue Non omne sacramentuÌ„ euaÌ„gelicum efficere quod figurat that al the sacraments of the gospell haue not the effect of that which they figure But who is so bold as blinde bayard Hitherto haue I spoken not so much as I might to derogation of your diuels doctrine but so much as your ignoraunce and ouersight doth cause me of conscience to put you in minde of For the rest Folio 69. b. ye referre me to the boke of the seauen sacramentes set forth by the late King of famous memorie Henry the .viij. And bicause this is but a popish deuise whoso euer defend it I referre you to the same boke to knowe what ye ought to thinke of the Pope Now as for Extreme vnction Extreme vnction which you say was prouided of Gods mercy and goodnesse that in the last and perillous extremitie we should not be destitute of ayde comforte In dede God neuer forsaketh his he hath lefte hys promises to heale the mindes infirmities and vse of physick for diseases of the body But that oyle can enter into the soule or is so soueraine a medicine for the fleshe resteth to be proued Folio 70. a. Mark 6. The Apostles annoynted vvith Oyle many sicke folkes and they vvere healed The priests annoynt euery sicke body and none of them is the better The Apostles were coÌ„maunded to cast out diuels to cure diseases to cleanse the lepres and to rayse the deade the priests neuer had any such commission The Apostles signified by their annoynting the vertue and power of the holy ghost by which the cure was wrought The priestes wyth their oyle mocke the holy ghost and make the body but greasier for the graue If euery example that we reade in scripture shall be followed of vs If euery thing that was a signe to other shal be a sacrament to vs then dust and spittle shal be a sacrament to heale sore eyes Then the poole of Siloah Ioan. 9. shall be a Sacrament to washe away the filth Then lying on the deade Act. 20. shall be a sacrament to rayse them vp to lyfe Wherefore though anoynting were in the primitiue Church vsed and the same was a signe of grace conferred yet can not this president extende to vs bycause the commaundement concerneth vs not and also the effecte and end thereof is ceassed Ye haue a common prouerbe in your lawe Accessorium si qui naturam principalis that the accessory thing doth follow the nature of the principall Anoynting vvas a signe of healing Wherefore since the principal is gone the working of miracles and healing of the sicke what shall we doe with the accessorie the signe thereof and outwarde annoynting Ye vrge vehemently the institution of God by his Apostle S. Iames but the Apostle meant not preposterously to draw to imitation that which was temporall and onely touched the present state When the doctrine of Christ was rawe in the peoples mouthes and a newe Church beganne to be gathered miracles were necessary many gyftes were graunted and amongst the reste Anoynting no cause of health the power of healing the ministers wherof vsed their oyle not as a cause of health but as a signe that the vertue proceded from aboue and they were but instruments of the same Nowe since the gyfte of healing is gone as I am sure ye wil confesse to what purpose is it to vse the oyle If ye wyll therein be the Apostles successours If ye wyll followe Sainct Iames his counsell saue the sycke and you can shewe the grace of your grease Anoynting must ceasse bycause the gift of healing ceasseth The greasy merchaunts that take this cure nowe a dayes in hande be no more exhibiters of the grace then graunted than the player on the stage is a King in déede when he â—â—mmeth dysguised in a golden coate Christ dyspensed many things by his Apostles the effecte whereof he denyeth vnto vs. And anoynting better might be vsed of such as haue the power of healing Surgians or Physitians than of such as haue no skyll but onely in murdering and in kylling Here I rehearse not the contradiction that in your ydle decrées I finde Contradiction in Papistes doctrine and is only sufficient to dysproue your assertion For whylest eche man goeth aboute to establishe hys owne deuise and eche man is contrary to another ye shewe therein that ye be lyers all You say that Priestes onely must be the ministers of this Sacramente Priestes muste be called for Foli 70. a. b. Priestes must anoynte But Innocentius a father of your Church hath long agoe decréed the contrary Anno DoÌ„i 404. For Sigebertus in hys Chronicle affyrmeth that he made an Acte Oleo ad vsus infirmorum ab Episcopo consecrato licere vti non solum presbyteris sed omnibus etiam christianis in suam suorumque necessitatem vngeÌ„do That it shoulde be lawefull not onely for the Priestes but also for all Christians to vse the oyle consecrated of the Byshoppe for the behoufe of the sycke anoynting therewyth according to the necessitie of themselues and their friendes But ye alleage Sainct Iames Iames. 5. for you Is there any sycke among you let hym bring in the Priestes of the Church for so ye translate it and let them pray ouer hym anoynting hym vvyth Oyle in the name of oure Lorde Ye abhorre the name of the Lorde for by Stories position Hovv the Papists in all poynts svvarne from S. Iames his order that is the marke of an heretique and yet all Prophetes and Apostles vse it Then it followeth The prayer of fayth shall saue the sycke and if he be in synnes they shall be forgyuen hym Nowe if a man shoulde graunte which I haue proued to be moste vntrue that the annoynting here spoken of agréed to thys age yet had ye furthered your cause nothing in asmuch as so shamefully ye doe decline from the Apostles
had bene abused by them yet in that terrible Interraigne of Antichrist a Pilgrimage in Wales was straight erected Faire fruite followed Much resort vnto it neuer any of the learned fathers opened once his mouth against it Such is the trust to men So ready and apt we are to followe as the Prophet sayth as I did alleage before the abhominations of our owne eies attempering Gods seruice vnto our outward senses Whereby it commes to passe as Lactantius doth say vt Relligio nulla sit De fal Rel 1.2 Cap. 19. vbi simulachrum est that no Relligion is there where an Image is And since to come néere to our present purpose Crosses in market places and not in Churches are as by good proufe we finde great stumbling stones not onely to the simple but also to such as wil séeme to be wyser impossible me think it is a Crosse to be erected in place of Gods seruice and him that hanged on the Crosse to be honored as he ought For the minde is rapt from heauenly consideration to the earthly creature from the soule to the substance from the heart to the eye Cause we can assigne none other but as the same Lactantius doth say Esse aliquam peruersam potestatē De fal Rel. li. 2. Cap. 1. qua veritatis sit semper inimica quae humanis erroribus gaudeat cui vnicum ac perpetuum sit opus offundere tenebras hominum caecare mentes ne lucem videant ne denique in caelum aspiciant ac naturā corporis sui seruent There is a certaine peruerse power which alwayes is enimie vnto the truth which taketh pleasure in mans error whose only and continuall work it is to ouercast cloudes and mistes of darkenesse to blinde the mindes of men that they sée not the light that they loke not vp into heauen and kepe the nature of their owne body For where as other liuing creatures in that they haue not receiued wit and reason bende groueling to the grounde but we haue an vpright state a countenaunce aloft from God our maker giuē vs it appeareth that the religion and seruice of God accordeth not vnto mens reason which bends and bowes the heauenly creature to worship to knéele to knocke to the earthly God would haue vs to loke vpon the heauens to séeke for our religion there in that place which is the seate of his glory to beholde him in heart whome with our eye we can neuer sée And is not this an extreme folly yea a mere madnesse to aduaunce the metal which is but corruptible to abase the minde which is eterne where as the shape and proportion of oure bodies doe teache vs no lesse but that our mindes should be lifted thither whetherward ye sée our heads erected yet hath our enimy so enchaunted vs that we haue for his sake forsaken our frend forgotten God and our selues to But he hath not done this at once and altogether by a lyttle and a lyttle he hath crept in vpon vs til at the length he hath wholly possessed vs. At the firste Images among Christen men were only kept in priuate houses paynted or grauen in story wise which had some meaning and signification in thē Afterward they crept into the Church by a zeale not according to knowledge as by Paulinus at Nola yet nothing lesse was meant than worship of them So that at the firste they séemed in some respecte to be tollerable as meanes to excite men to thankfulnesse and deuotion vntil the Diuel shewed himselfe in his likenesse and turned the glory of the immortall God to the seruice of a vile and earthly creature Yet if we had not séene that effect follow which in dede we haue to lamentably to the desperate destruction of many christen soules we might notwithstanding iustly condemne the whole faithlesse and fond inuention For it was but a wilworship a naughty seruice hauing no ground of the worde of God and onely spring of error and Gentilitie For according to the cōmaundement of the Almighty Deut. 12. Euery man must not do vvhat soeuer seemeth good in his ovvn eyes VVhat soeuer God hath cōmaunded vs vve must take heede to it neyther adding any thing vnto it nor taking any thing avvay from it Lykewise the Prophet Ieremie Ierem. 23. doth aduise vs Not to hearken to them that speake the vision of their ovvne heart and not out of the mouth of the Lorde For vvhat is chaffe to vvheate And the Apostle to the same effect Rom. 14. VVhat soeuer is not of faith is sinne faith is by hearing and hearing by the vvord of God Wherefore Tertullian doth well affirme quod nobis nihil licet de nostro arbitrio indulgere De pres aduers Heret sed nec eligere quod aliquis de arbitrio suo induxerit Apostolos domini habemus authores qui nec ipsi quidque de suo arbitrio quod inducerent elegerunt sed acceptam a Christo disciplinam fideliter nationibus assignarunt That it is not lawfull for vs to flatter our selues with any thing of our own iudgement and discretion nor to chose that which any man hath brought in of hys owne head we haue the paterne of the Apostles for vs which toke nothing to bring in after their own pleasure but faythfully assigned to the nations the doctrine that they had receiued of Christ Ciprian also Cecilio fratri Epis 6 8. Non hominis consuetudinem sequi oportet sed Dei veritatem cum per Esaiam Prophetam Deus loquatur dicat Sine causa autem colunt me mandata et doctrinas hominum docentes Et iterum Dominus in Euangelio hoc idem repetat dicens Reijcitis mandatum Dei vt traditionem vestram statuatis We muste not followe the custome of man but the truth of God in asmuch as he speaketh by his Prophet Esay and sayth They honor me in vayne teaching the doctrines and preceptes of men And agayne in the Gospel Christ himselfe repeateth the same saying Ye refuse the commaundement of God to establish your owne tradition And learned Austin doth teache vs no lesse wryting on this sorte Extat authoritas diuinarum Scripturarum De Trinita lib. 3. Cap. 11. vnde mens nostra deuiare non debet nec relicto solidamento diuini eloquij per suspicionum suarum abrupta praecipitari vbi nec sensus corporis regit nec perspicua ratio veritatis elucet There is extant wyth vs the authoritie of holy Scripture from the whiche our minde oughte not to swarue nor leauing the substantiall ground of Gods word runne hedlong on the perilles of our owne surmises where we neyther haue sense of body to rule vs nor apparant reason of truth to directe vs. Wherefore syth the scripture hath taught and Fathers confirmed that onely God is sufficient scholemaster and his worde prescribeth vs one certayne order Eche man by preaching to be instructed in the truthe What should we runne to
garmente and layde it vpon his eyes The place is the .xxxvij. of Genesis where only we read that the sonnes of Iacob brought vnto their father Ioseph his party coloured coate sayd this haue we founde sée nowe whether it be thy sonnes coate or no. Then he knewe it and sayde It is my sonnes coate A wicked beast hath deuoured him Ioseph is surely torne in pieces And Iacob rent his clothes and put sacke cloth about his loynes and sorrowed for his sonne a long seasoÌ„ Where is the kissing of the coate laying it on his eyes But if kyssing had bene there what is that to worshipping But to kysse and to worship is all one with them They worshippe where they kysse let them kysse where they worshippe not Another worthy father of that sacred assemblie bycause he would haue a freshe deuise coyned out of hande another piece of Scripture saying Car. Mag. de Imag. Li. 1. ca. 13. Iacob summitatem virgae Ioseph adorauit Iacob worshipped the top of Iosephs rod. Therefore we may worshippe the picture of Christ Let me aske of his fatherhode where he fyndeth the place Let him put on his spectacles and poare on his Portasse If this be lawful that euery noddy that commeth to a Synode may chop and chaunge the word of God as he will what nede we to care for Moses writing or Esdras restoring or Septuagints translating or the Apostles handeling of the Scripture The great vertue profound knowledge of those Synodicall men may serue and suffise vs. And to prosecute the cause of Iacob another ryseth vp and puts in his verdite saying Benedixit Iacob Pharaonem Car. Mag. Li. 1. Cap. 14. sed non vt Deum benedixit adoramus nos Imaginem sed non vt Deum adoramus Iacob blessed Pharao but he blessed him not as God We worship an Image but we worship it not as God This man had wit without al reason he compared the blessing that the holy Patriark gaue vnto the king the bounden man to the well doseruer the subiect to the superior vnto the worshippe of a senslesse Image that standeth in the wall doth no more good But another brought in a sounder proufe and framed his argument after this sorte Cap. 15. Impitiatorium duos Cherubin aureos ariam testamenti iussi Dei Moses secit Ergo licet sacere et adorare Imagine Moses by the coÌ„maundement of God made the propitiatorie the two golden Cherubins and the arke of wytnesse Therefore it is lawfull to make and worship Images This fellowe began in good diuinitie but ended in foolish sophistry For in the conclusion he put more than was in the premisses Moses made this and that Therefore we may both make worship Where doth he reade that they were worshipped Yea how can those examples be applied vnto Images since they be set in the face of the people only to this ende to be gazed on but the arke of witnesse with the furniture therof was in the oracle of the house in the most holy place couered that it might not be séene without Num. 4. 2. Par. 5. Agayne the Cherubins were but a peculier ordinance of God and therefore could not preiudice an vniuersall lawe But to procéede it is written in the law say they Ecce vocaui ex nomine Beseleel filij Vr filij Hor de tribu Iuda repleui eum spiritu sapientiae Car. Mag. Lib. 1. Ca. 16. Exod. 31. intelligentiae ad perficienduÌ„ opus ex auro argento Ergo licet adorare Imagines I haue called by name Bezaliell the sonne of Vri the sonne of Hur of the tribe of Iuda whome I haue fylled wyth the spirit of God in wisedome in vnderstanding and in knowledge and in al workmaÌ„ship to finde out curious works to make in gold siluer therfore it is lawfull to worship Images A reason as if it had bene of your making M. Martiall Ab ignoratione Elenchi Therefore the Synode aunswered that it was not onely an extreme folly but a mere madnesse to apply the figures of the olde lawe which onely were made as God deuised and had a secrete meaning in them to the Images of our time which euery caruer goldsmyth painter make as their fansy leadeth them to an ill example and to no good vse in the world But what shuld I stand in exaggerating of their folly I will truely reporte the reasons of the one parte and abridge what I can the aunsweres of the other Sicut Israeliticus populus serpentis aenei inspectione seruatus est Iconolatra Car. Mag. Lib. 1. Ca. 18. Sic nos sanctorum effigies inspicientes saluabimur As the people of Israel was preserued by the loking on the brasen serpent So we shall be saued by loking on the Images of Sainctes ê™ the Image worshippers The Aunsvvere They that repose their hope in Images Iconomachi Rom. 8. are condemned by the Apostle ê™ the fathers of Franckforde Councel Spes quae videtur non est spes That hope which is séene is no hope Furthermore the brasen serpent was not commaunded to be worshipped therefore the worshipping of an Image is falsly inferred of it Thirdely the brasen serpent was commauÌ„ded of God But no piece of Scripture doth beare with Images The Reason Si secundum Mosis traditionem praecipitur populo Iconolatrae Car. Mag. Lib. 1. Ca. 17. purpura hyacinthina in fimbrijs in extremis vestimentis poni ad memoriaÌ„ custodiam praeceptorum multo magis nobis est per adsimulatam picturam sanctorum virorum videre exitum conuersationis eorum eorum imitari fidem secundum Apostolicam traditionem Which worde for worde in english is thus If according to Moses tradition a purple violet be commauÌ„ded to the people to be put in their purfles and skirtes of their garments for a memory and keping of the commaundements much more must we by the counterfet picture of holy men sée the ende of their conuersation and imitate their fayth according to the tradion Apostolique The Aunsvvere Iconomachi Eche part of this argument consists of vntruthes First by corrupting the Scripture in calling it a purple violet whereas purple is one colour and violet another Then by comparing things vnlike together wearing of a garment and worshipping of an Image Thirdely in alleaging a most vntruth of al that the conuersation of holy men is sene in an Image For fayth hope and charitie which be the chiefe vertues of Sainctes are thinges inuisible But Images and pictures are visible As for imitation what it ought to be 1. Cor. 4. the Apostle sheweth vs saying Imitatores mei estote sicut filij charissimi Be ye followers of me as most deare children 1. Cor. 11. And in another place Imitator s mei estote sicut ego Christi Be ye followers of me euen as I am of Christ Whereby it appeareth that the tradition of the Apostles is to behold the godly
for Images For the Church it self the congregation of faithful people is that hill of his that Sion wherein he dwelleth Then in that hill we must not superstitiously worship Images but Christ himselfe the captayne of that hill who to purchas that hill vnto him vouchsaued not only to take our shape but in our shape to suffer death The Reason Iconolatrae Car. Mag. Lib. 2. Ca. 10. Scribitur in Canticis Ostende mihi faciem tuam Ergo Imagines ostendendae It is written in the Canticles Shewe me thy face Therefore Images are to be shewed The Aunsvvere Iconomachi The Church it is whome Christ there speaketh to whome sometime he calleth a doue sometime his faire one sometyme his loue The Church that is to say his elect and chosen he willeth there to ryse that is to say beleue to hasten to him to fructifie in good works to come that is to say receyue an euerlasting reward The face of this church is not corporall but spirituall not by proportion of Imagry but by properties of vertue to be discerned Then is it an impudent application of the face of this church to Images vnlesse what soeuer is there spoken mystically must be taken carnally The Reason Iconolatrae Esay 19. Car. Mag. Li. 2. Ca. 11. Erit altare in medio Aegypti Ergo Imagines in medio templi There shall be an altare sayth the Prophete in the midst of Egipt Therfore Images in the midst of the Church The Aunsvvere This prophecy was perfourmed in Christ Iconomachi who in the middest of Egipt that is to say the world hath erected his altare his fayth and beliefe by which we may make oure prayers to him Stolidum estergo say they It is a doltishe parte to apply it to Images The Reason Nemo accendit lucernam ponit eam sub modio Ergo Iconolatrae Math. 5. Car. Mag. Li. 2. Ca. 12. Imagines habendae sunt colendae luminibus No man lighteth a candle putteth it vnder a bushell Therfore Images must be had and worshipped with candels The Aunsvvere Ores inconsequens et risu digna O matter impertinent Iconomachi and worthy to be laughed at The Reason Ecce virgo concipiet pariet filium Iconolatrae Esay 7. Car. Mag. Li. 4. Ca. 21. Hanc autem Prophetiam in Imagine nos videntes videlicet virginem ferentem in vinis quem genuit quomodo sustinebimus non adorare osculari Beholde sayth the Prophete a virgin shal conceyue and bring forth a sonne And whereas we behold this prophecy in a picture seing a virgin carying hir sonne in hir armes howe can we forbeare but worship it and kysse it The Aunsvvere The perfourmance of this prophecy Iconomachi must not be sene in vncertayne Images of mannes hand but fastly be fixed in the heart of man Nor the mysteries thereof to be sought in pictures but in holy scriptures And as for worshipping or kyssing a senslesse thing who wil presume so to do say they Quis tale faciunt perpetrare audebit Who shall dare commyt such an heynous facte The Reason Imaginis honor in primaÌ„ formaÌ„ transit Ergo Imagines honorandae Iconolatrae Car. Mag. Lib. 3. Ca. 16. The honor done to an Image passeth into the first shape after which it was made Therfore images are to be honored The Aunsvvere Iconomachi Math. 25. A straunge case neuer hearde tell of before neuer to be proued hereafter Christ sayde not That which you haue done to Images you haue done to me but whatsoeuer you haue done to one of these little ones ye haue done to me Nor thus he said He that receiueth an Image receiueth me but he that receiueth you mine Apostles receiueth me Math. 10. 1. Ioan. 3. Nor Christ his Apostle sayd Let vs loue Images but loue one another Wherefore it is a vayne dreame contrary to all scripture and reason too that honor done to a senslesse thing shall passe to him that neyther peraduenture hath the lyke shape nor euer is present with it But if it were possible as they falsly affirme that honor and reuerence done to an Image redoundeth to the glory of the first sampler Howe can we ymagine that Sainctes are so ambitious that they will haue such honor done to them If in the fleshe they did abhorre it In the spirite shall they accept it The Reason Iconolatrae Car. Mag. Lib. 3. Ca. 17. Suscipio et aÌ„plector honorabiliter sanctas et veneraÌ„das Imagines secuÌ„dum seruitiuÌ„ adorationis quod consubstantiali viuificatrici trinitati emitto qui sic non sentiunt neque glorificant à sancta catholica Apostolica ecclesia segrego anathemati submitto parti qui abnegauerunt incarnatam saluabilem dispensationem Christi veri Dei nostri emitto I do receiue ê™ Constantinus byshop of Constance in Cypres and honorably embrace the holy and reuerende Images according to that seruice of adoration worship which I giue to the Trinity of one substaÌ„ce together of one quickening power And those that thinke not so nor glorify them so I seperate from the holy catholique Apostolique Church I pronounce them accursed as such as take parte with them that denied the incarnate and saluable dispensation of Christ our true God The Aunsvvere Iconomachi O horrible blasphemy What man in his right wittes would euer say such a thing or consent to the saying that a vile Image or a blinde picture should be honored as the eternall and almighty Trinitie That an earthly creature should haue the seruice that is only due to the heauenly creator Who coulde abide him Nauscantem potius quam loquentem Spuing rather than speaking What honest eares would not rather detest than delite in the hearing of him It only suffised his fatherhode to affirme the damnable and shamelesse heresie It onely suffiseth to rehearse his absurdities to make all christians mislyke with him and maintainers of such lies and diuelish deuises For suppose that it were good to haue Images and to honor them Shal it therefore be made equiualent with a matter of oure fayth without the which we can not be saued Shal we be accursed for that which Scripture neuer taught vs but is directe contrary agaynst the Scripture Dominum Deum tuum adorabis illi soli seruies Thou shalt honor the Lorde thy God Deut. 6. and him onely shalt thou serue The Reason Qui deum timet honorat omnino adorat veneratur Iconolatre Car. Mag. Lib. 3. Ca. 28 sicut filiuÌ„ dei Christum deum nostrum et signum Crucis eius et figuram sanctorum eius He that feareth God doth honor worship and reuerence the signe of the Crosse of Christ and figure of hys saincts no otherwise than the sonne of God euen Christ our God The Aunsvvere This is a different phrase Iconomachi a coÌ„trary opinioÌ„ to al the Scripture The holy men of God did euer teach the feare of
conscience or reason persuaded you For scriptures haue ye none but the same condemne you nor godly Fathers any but the same be agaynst you For proufe whereof as I haue hitherto discoursed of your scriptures for Confirmation and vttered your doctrines disagreing from the same so now wil I come to iudgement of your doctors For Confirmation to be a sacrament ye bring Denise Fabianus Of which the one I haue already sufficientely disproued The other was but a Pope and neuer receyued author But I will set agaynst them Tertullian and Augustine two for two substauntiall and honest for suspected and infamous Aduersus Martionem Libro 4. Tertullian speaking of the sacraments of the primitiue Church rekeneth no more but baptisme and the supper of the Lord saying Quomodo tu nuptias dirimis nec coniungens marem foeminā nec alibi coniunctos ad Sacramentum baptismatis eucharistiae admittens c. How doest thou breake mariage neyther coupling the man the womā together nor being coupled otherwise admitting thē to the sacramēt of baptisme thankesgiuing Likewise in his boke de corona Militis Cap. 3. intreating purposely of the order of the church beginneth with baptisme sheweth what ceremonies were obserued therein and then he procedeth to the supper of the Lord for sacraments no further Augustine also most playnly sayth De doctrin Christiana Lib. 3. Cap. 9 Dominus signis nos non onerauit sed quaedam pauca pro multis eademque factu facillima intellectu augustissima obseruatione castissima ipse dominus apostolica tradidit disciplina sicuti est Baptismi sacramētū celebratio corporis sanguinis domini Which words in english be these Our lord hath not burdened vs with signes but Christ himself the discipline of the Apostles hath deliuered vs in the steade of many a very few the same most easy to be done most royall to be vnderstode most pure to be obserued as are the sacrament of Baptisme celebration of the body bloud of the Lord. The like wherof and in effect the same he hath ad Ianuarium Ep. 118. This is the doctrine of the true church This only auncient and whatsoeuer is against it newe What it pleased men to vse in the ceremony of Confirmation maketh very smally to purpose And the thing it self being so shamefully abused as it hath bene the signe of the Crosse to haue bene vsed therein is a good matter agaynst you But sory I am and ashamed of you that stil ye bewray your ignoraunce and folly Nedes will ye haue .vij. sacramentes and yet in your discourse ye confound them alleaging that for proufe of Confirmation which the authors onely did meane of Baptisme Thus do ye fall into the olde absurditie that as before where so euer ye redde thys word Crosse ye would lyft it to the Roodeloft or to the forehead so nowe where so euer ye heare mention of oyle ye make it onely to serue for byshopping Learne M. Martial to vnderstand your author before ye presume to become a writer Denise Tertullian Augustine Cyprian in the places that ye bring of Christians annoynting spake as it is euident but onely of baptizing them For in their dayes as is before approued oyle was receyued to the elemente of water And specially the wordes of Denise Denise doe confute you For he ioyneth together The Christening Folio 55. b. the Chrisome the Chrisme and the Communion which all in one sacramente of Baptisme did concurre Then what is thys to your purpose that Tertullian Tertulliā hath Caro signatur vt anima muniatur The fleshe is signed that the soule may be defended Was there neuer any signing of the fleshe but in Confyrmation Your selfe I dare say wyll not admytte it But if ye were so fonde as to affyrme it yet Tertullian himselfe dysproueth you For the very nexte wordes that followe be these Caro manuum impositione adumbratur the flesh is ouershaddowed by imposition of handes And where as diuers thinges be spoken of Confirmation if in any place muste be vnderstode in the latter clause and there is no worde of the signe of the Crosse Wherefore howe doth it appeare by these your proues that the holye Fathers vsed also the signe of the Crosse in thys youre holye Sacramente Augus lib. de Catach rudib ca. 20 Augustine if you had euer readde hym should not haue bene alleadged of you For in all the Chapter he treateth howe the Iewes were brought to Hierusalem by those meanes as are fygures vnto vs mentioning especially baptism reepresented in the water of Iordan and the supper of the Lorde by slaying of the lambe whose bloud was sprinckled on the dore postes vpon which wordes he immediately inferreth Passionis Crucis signo c. Thou must be marked in thy forehead with the signe of the passion and Crosse of Christ as it were in a post What is this to Confirmation As much as a texte out of Beuys of Hampton And as for Cyprian although the wordes alleaged by you Folio 56 b. be the very worste in all hys works which argueth very smal discretion in your choise yet are they quite from the purpose too I omit how Cyprian Cyprian without a commaundement made in God his seruise anoynting necessary condemning therein all htat before him had bene baptised and had not any oyle poured vpon them Forsoth by his reason not heretiques onely retourning to the church should be partakers of his heretical Rebaptisation but the baptisme of Christ of the Apostles of all them them that we reade of in the Scripture should be insufficient For neyther will he haue the element of water to be sufficient to baptize withall vnlesse it be consecrate De Heret bapt Ep. 72. Oportet mundari sanctificari aquam prius à Sacerdote The water muste be cleansed and sanctified firste of the priest Nor yet this consecrated water to serue vnlesse we haue a lyttle oyle to boote Vngi quoque necesse est eum c. It is necessary sayth he that whosoeuer is baptised be anointed that the oyntment being once receyued he may be the anoynted of God and haue in him the grace of Christ Yet we neuer reade that the Apostles vsed any wordes of Consecration that they thought themselues in that case to be priests whome the new testament calleth ministers of the word Ad Tit. ca. 2 Rō 14. or that they could repute contrary to the expresse word any creature vncleane Omnia munda mundis All things are cleane to the cleane Christ by his word and institution of baptisme sanctified al water vsed according vnto his wil No man ought to adde to his ordināce any thing no priest by coniuring can bring such holinesse and perfection vnto it that in his respecte as Cyprian would haue it it shal be more auayleable for remission of sinnes Wherefore S. Cyprian was to farre wide
fathers bring an inuention of their owne do I otherwise deny them the right sense of scripture The fathers may haue sometime their fansies and yet besyde the word Then if their fansies be misliked is their exposition of the word condemned whereas they meddle not with the worde Apelles shoomaker was worthily checkt when he would be busy aboue the knée but that did not set but he might haue iudgement good ynough of the shooe Yet in a shooe made on anothers last the best shoomaker for al his skil may chaunce be deceyued In déede good cause we haue only to depend vpon the word of God and not be ruled ouer by time or custome bycause in matters of our religion as Christ hath taken perfecte order therein so hath he commaunded vs to go no further but him obey August de Consen Euā Li. 1. Cap. 18. Socrates was wont to say Vnumquemque Deum sic coli oportere quomodo seipsum colendum esse praecepisset That euery God was so to be serued as he himselfe had commaunded to be serued And this was the cause why the Romaines would neuer receyue the God of the Hebrewes For grounding vpon this foresayd principle they saw it necessary that eyther al their ydols shuld be excluded and onely the true God entertayned or he only not admitted the rest be honored For by the worde of God they found that they could not agrée together and cōtrary to his word they would not séeke to serue him If they had this affect as Augustine declareth gathered by morall reason and by no further insight of faith Shal we that professe more knowledge and perfection be folisher than they hearing continually Christ and his Apostles inueighing agaynst wilworshippers Therefore I say we aske for the worde you answere vs by wyl we cal for Scripture you reache vs custome Epig. lib. 6. Martiall a mery man a poet of your name a man of more learning and wit than you had some tyme to do with such a lawyer as you For a neighboure of hys had stolen .iij. goates The matter was called into the courte the party should come to proue the inditement He gat hym a counsailler to declare the case When the iudge was ready to heare it his counsailer fel a discoursing of the fight at Cannas the battayl wyth Mithridates the wrōges and iniuries sustayned by the Africanes Thus whē he had filled their eares a great whyle with dyn thūping on the barre and squekyng in hys smal pipes Martiall tenderyng hys own cause more than the babbling of his vaine aduocate at length pulled hym by the sléeue and sayd And please your worship I gaue ye my fée to talke of .iij. goates And thus had I néede to put you in remembrance For where ye appointed to speake of Gods seruice ye tell vs a tale of thys man and that man what he dyd and they dyd And yet not a worde what God hath commaunded Fol. 82. Ye call vs curious when we require Scripture We can get at your handes nothing else but custome And speakyng of custome accordyng to your custome ye make a lye and falsefie Tertulliā Martiall corrupteth Tertullian For these are your words We say vvith Tertullian that custome increser confirmer and obseruer of fayth taught thys vse of the Crosse c. As if the increase confirmatiō and obseruing of Fayth proceded of custom Hys wordes are otherwise For speakyng of hys traditions he sayth S. legem expostules scripturarū nullā reperies traditiō tibi praetendetur auctrix consuetudo confirmatrix fides obseruatrix If thou demaunde a law of Scripture for these thou shalt fynd none Traditione shal be pretēded to thée as increaser custom confirmer and faith obseruer of them Where you may sée that custome is not made increaser and confirmer of fayth but fayth obseruer of custome Notwithstanding I must still beare with you For ye be driuen to narrowe shyftes fayne would ye say something But it is a foule shyft to make a lye Thys custome ye proue came of tradition For as Tertulliā Tertulian de corona millitis sayth how can a thing be vsed if it were not first deliuered To graunt it a tradition I wil not sticke with you But Tertulliā wyll haue the same to be builded vpon reason or els he refuseth it He maketh the Antithesis not betwene written and vnwritten but betwene written and reasonable And so he thynketh a Tradition not writtē to be admitted so it be reasonable Therfore he sayth Rationem traditioni consuetudini fidei patrocinaturā perspicies Martial is still by his ovvne authors ouerthrovven Ye shall sée that reason wyll defende tradition custome and fayth And afterwarde Non differt scriptura an ratione consistat quando legem ratio commendet It is no matter whether custome consist of writing or of reason inasmuch as reason also commendeth law So that reasonable must be the tradition And how shall thys reasonable be defined Tertulliā hymselfe doth tel you limiting how a mā maye make a custome if he conceue decrée duntaxat quod Deo cōgruat quod disciplinae conducat quod saluti proficiat Only that is agreable to God furthering vnto discipline and profitable to saluation If the tradition of the Crosse signe may be proued to be such I wyll yelde vnto you with all my hart Consider the reasōs and the examples that the Doctor vseth First of the Lordes authorite who sayd Cur non a vobis ipsis quod iustū est iudicatis Vt nō de iuditio tantum sed de omni sētentia rerum examinandarum Why do you not of your selues iudge that that is rightuous that it be not onely vnderstode of iudgement but of euery sentence of things to be examined And it followeth Dicit Apostolus Si quid ignoratis Deus vobis reuelabit Solitus ipse cōsilium subministrare cum praeceptum domini non habebat quaedā edicere à semetipso sed ipse spiritū dei habens deductorē omnis veritatis Itaque consiliū edictū eius diuini iā praecepti instar obtinuit de rationis diuinae patrocinio Hanc nunc expostula saluo traditionis respectu quocunque traditore censetur necl authorem respicias sed authoritatem c. And the Apostle sayth If ye be ignoraunte of any thyng God shall reueale it to you He hymselfe when he had not a commaundemente from the Lorde was wonte to giue counsell and prescribe some thinges of hymselfe but as one that had the spirit of God directer of all trueth Wherefore hys counsell and edict hath now obtayned to be as it were the commaundement of God through supportation and defēce of the reason diuine Thys reason inquire for sauing the respect of tradition whosoeuer be the deliuerer therof nor respect the author but the authoritie So farre Tertulliā And in hys wordes In a custome maker the spirite of God In custōe commoditie and
Scripture honorable commendation we may the more mistrust of other whose liues and vertues we can by no meanes be so well assured of As for authorities though Scripture it selfe doth suffise the faythfull and such as delite not to be contentious yet that men of good iudgement vtterly abhorred as heathenish diuelish and Idolatrous this keping inclosing honoring of a piece of woode or any such earthly matter I haue brought you Hierome Chrisostome whose plaine words condemne the superstition of you and al other that you do talke of Last of all I haue touched the grosse absurdities that consequently do follow of your doctrine which though I haue not thorowly vnripped your beastlinesse vanity being so lothsome to me yet haue I touched sufficiently to driue you if any grace be in you to consider your duty better to write with more reason or be stil with lesse shame Is this the profession of your priesthode Is this the cōmissiō that men of your coate haue to preach the fables of olde gentility stirre vp the kenel of stinking superstitiō which euery olde wife is a wery of euery childe doth scorne at Learne Christianity of Christ himself true order of preaching of the Apostles seke not so much what men haue done but how well they haue done It is written to the Hebrewes Hebr. 2. that God of olde time spake at sūdrie times and in diuers maners to our fathers by the Prophetes But in these last dayes hath spoken vnto vs by his deare sonne Whereby what other thing is to be meant but that God hereafter will not vse the mouth of many nor heape vs prophecy vpon prophecy reuelation vppon reuelation but that he did so fully instruct vs by his sonne that the very last euerlasting testimony of truth must be had of him He gaue him therefore a singuler prerogatiue to be our Prophete our master and our guyde commaunding him onely no church no councel no man to be heard The Church I trust will take no more vpon them than the Apostles did What the synagoge of Antichrist doth I care not what the true Christians ought to do I proue Christ sent forth his Apostles into the worlde and gaue them commission to teach and preach not what soeuer they could inuent but what he had fyrst commaunded them And nothing could be more playnly sayd than that which he speaketh in another place Math. 23. Be not ye called Rabbi as masters or rulers ouer your brothers fayth for one is your Doctor and your teacher Christ Then if nothing can be allowed in matters of fayth and saluation but that which is grounded on Christ the Gospell all doctrines of men all Crosses all Crucifixes Roodeloftes and all which haue no colour of scripture to defend them but be most iniurious and contrary to the same muste cleane be abolished and put out of the Church If Christ did call them hypocrites Math. 15. and honourers of him in vayne which teach the doctrines that procéede of man surely you Papistes for fowler name of heresie can I giue you none which bring vs mens authorities without the warrāt of Gods holy word that binde vs to beleue things most contrary to it are neyther shepherds nor shéepe of the folde but for all your fléese be rauening wolues This doth Ignatius on this wise confirme Omnis igitur qui dixerit prater ea quae tradita sunt tametsi fide dignus sit In episto ad Hieronim tametsi ieiunet tametsi virginitatem seruet tametsi signa faciat tametsi prophetet lupus tibi appareat in grege ouium Who so euer speaketh any thing more than is written although he be worthy credit although he fast although he kepe his virginitie although he do miracles although he prophecie yet let him seme to thée a wolfe in the flock of shepe This hath bene alwayes the opinion of the godly This all the doctors haue taught and written Onely you good sir and certaine of your factious fellowship will be wiser than Christ bolder than the Apostles better lerned than the Doctors and giue vs out new lessons that Scripture neuer thought of I wil not tarry here in rehearsall of your errours in other poynts which hasten to the end of my reprouf of this Only you good readers I shall exhorte and for the mercies of Christ besech you that as ye tender your owne health and wish to be gathered into the fold of life ye wil hearken to the voyce of your shepherd Christ come at no strangers call giue credite to no man in matters of your fayth further thā he brings his warrant with him Beleue no report for it is a liar Beware of the woluish generation which now being hungry kept and féeding vpon carrein breath out nothing else but horrible blasphemies and stinking lyes They prate of good life themselues most licentious They burden men with breach of lawes themselues most rebellious and dissolute They goe about to discredit vs as teachers of carnall libertie themselues embrewed wyth all kinde of filth and abhomination As for all their doctrine and religion I may say vnto them as Christ did to the Pharises Populus iste labijs me honorat cor autem eorum longe est à me This people honor me with their lips but their heartes are farre of from me Their eyes their hands their head their féete they frame in such wise as shall tend to some piece of obseruāce of the lawe Their winking their nodding their mouing their crossing is all Gods seruice as they do tell vs. But where is the heart Where is the minde and inward puritie that God requireth When they heare Thou shalt not kyl thou shalt not steale thou shalt not cōmit adulterie The purest of them all what do they Peraduerture not draw the sword to slay any man not lay their hādes on other mens goods not depart their bodies with harlots which yet is a marueilous rare byrde to be hatched in the nest of poperie but they compasse mischiefe and destruction in their hearts they burne in desire they fret consume away for enuy So that which is the chief of the law is least among thē That which semeth gay to the outward shewe is onely retayned and kept And for conclusion beside that they expel fayth which is that goodnesse of al works they set vp works of their own making to destroy the works of God be holier than they First with their chastity they destroy the chastity that God ordayned only requireth With their obedience they take awaye the order that God in thys world hath set and exacteth none other With their pouertie they peruert humility the true pouerty of the spirite which Christ taught onely which is onely not to loue the worldly goodes With their faste filling their vnsatiable paunches they forget the fast which God commaundeth a perpetuall sobrenesse to tame the fleshe With their pattering of prayers they haue put away
Si angeli sacrificia sibi petant fieri adhibuerint signa ac è diuerso alij testeÌ„tur vni Deo sacrificaÌ„dum neque vlla miracula fecerint ijs vtique non illis credere oportet If Angels require sacrifice to be done vnto them and worke signes with all and contrary wyse some other testifie that Sacrifice must only be made to God and yet doe no miracles we must beleue these and not them And in an other place concerning the Maniches he sayth Signa vt vobis credatur nulla facitis Contra faustum quamuis si ea faceretis vobis credendum non esset Ye worke no miracles sayth Augustine to the Maniches whereby ye may induce vs to beleue you though if ye dyd worke such we ought not therefore to credit you And so say I to you M. Martiall you say the Crosse is able to doe thys and that we sée it not no miracles ye worke and yet if ye dyd so straunge thynges as ye talke of we were not bounde to beleue your doctrine For miracles alone are not sufficient Miracles alone no proufe of doctrine to coÌ„firme and stablish vs in a ryght fayth First of all by the lyne of Scripture we must examine the doctrine that is taught vs then if it do agrée to that we must beleue it yea though we haue no miracle at al but if miracles do come beside theÌ„ are the beleuers more established and such as yet do not beleue be made the more attente to heare and haue a way made for them to come to the fayth Wherfore in some condition they be like to Sacraments Miracles in some part lyke to Sacramentes For both are added as assurances to promises as seales to wrytinges And as Sacramentes do bryng no comfort vnlesse they be receiued by fayth so miracles do not auayle except we haue first a regarde to doctrine In this diuersity to make no difference is ouersight to commend the worse and omit the better is falshode Folio 99. a. You are you say in a great perplexitie vvhere ye shal begin as he that sytteth at a table furnished vvith many delicate dishes vvhereof he shal first taste And I maruell that you so fine a féeder will fall to your crambe Ye are come to a garden set rounde about vvith fresh fragrant flovvers yet ye gather but an handfull of nettels for vs to smell vnto Christ by the touch of his hand spettle of his mouth by a playster of dyrt as you call it healed the sicke opened the eares of the deafe restored the eyes of the blinde And why should not the dyrte of the streats be aswell honoured as the Crosse of the altare since the Scripture doth commende the dyrte but maketh no mention at all of the Crosse since better proufe we haue of miracle wrought by the one than euer can be made for the other If any external meanes Thre reasons vvhy miracles shuld not make for the crosse whereby strange wonders haue come to passe be to be had in admiratioÌ„ why not such as Christ and his Apostles vsed the Scripture mentioneth rather than the ydle deuise of man whereof there is no lawful president Agayne if your assertion were true that miracles vvere vvrought by the signe of the Crosse yet were they not only by the signe of the crosse and therefore the Crosse onely according to your treatise should not without the rest be magnified Last of all if it were true as ye shall neuer proue that such things as you alleage were done sometime by the signe of the Crosse yet this can be no reason why the Crosse shuld now be had in estimation vnlesse ye will haue all meanes and instruments of wonders heretofore wroughte as the hem of Christes garmente the spettle and the clay the shaddowe of Peter and napkin of Paule to be likewise honoured and estéemed of vs. But let me come to rehearsal of your miracles Among theÌ„ this is the fyrst And bycause I will haue your truth in allegations appeare I will put it downe as you haue written it Martiall worde for worde in order At vvhat time the vertuous Lady Helena vvilled as the story mentioneth by reuelation from God Euseb li. 10 Cap. 7. .8 Eccl. Histo. to seeke the Crosse of Christ in Hierusalem fouÌ„d after long digging in the mount of Caluary thre Crosses so confuse that neyther by the title that Pilate set vp in Hebrevve Greeke and Latine neyther by any other means they could discern vvhich vvas the Crosse that bare our sauiour Christ a noble vvoman of the city consumed and spent vvith long sickenesse did he at deathes dore c. Ye note for your credite in the margent the place whence ye haue the story and that you affirme to be out of Eusebiê° his ecclesiasticall historie the tenth boke the seauenth and eyght Chapters Martial belyeth Eusebius But this is a shamefull lye For Eusebiê° hath no such worde And this is a better proufe of the vanitie of your historie that where Eusebius in his third boke de vita Constantini maketh mention of Helena and the place it selfe of Christes sepulchre which by the Emperors commaundement was cleansed yet he speaketh not a word of this miraculous inuention of the Crosse Yet he liued at the same time and was more likely to knowe a truth than other Ye be to blame therfore to belye Eusebius In déede Ruffinus in his first boke seauenth Chapter hath the like that ye talke of But what may be iudged of the story shal afterward appeare And firste for the vertue of Ladye Helena thoughe I woulde be gladde to speake as much good of my countrey-woman as I can yet she was a concubine by your leaue to Constance as it apeareth in Catalogo Caesarum Cap. 1. which is inserted into the Ecclesiasticall history Likewise S. Ambrose Ambros de obitu Theodosij calleth hir StabulariaÌ„ a woman brought vp in an hostrie And as for hir superstition which in part I haue touched before it is too euident But whatsoeuer she was let vs goe to hir facte If she found the Crosse a time was when she found it and the same must be after hir conuersion when Siluester was byshop of Rome For otherwise she could not be so vertuous and religious as ye talke of And Nicephorus Nicephorus Li. 7. ca. 40. affirmeth that by Siluester she was conuerted to the fayth For which cause the author whose credite in this tale ye followe doth write the Inuention of the Crosse to haue bene in the raigne of Constantinus the greate But what sayth your Popeholy lawe to thys Reade your decrée In Decre de Consec di 3. Cap. Crucis Eusebius Papa Crucis Domini nostri Iesu Christi quae nuper nobis gubernacula sanctae Romanae ecclesiae tenentibus quinto nonas Maij inuenta est Eusebius the Pope The Crosse of our Lorde Iesus Christ which of late was
Papistes degenerate from all good order ib. The Crosses of Constantinop what they were 140. Howe Martiall in one storie maketh .iiij. lyes 141. a. Concerning the vse of Tapers 141. b. seq Ther must be no Tapers on the Lords table 142. b. Howe Martiall proueth Luther no heretique 143. a. The affaires of August the Monke in England 143. b. Papistes superstitious and why 145. b. The true ensigne of Christ 146. b. For Reliques ib. seq In the .viij. Article MIracles no prouf of doctrine Folio 150. seq Wrought by the diuel 149. b. Thre reasons why miracles make not for the Crosse 151. a. How M. belieth Euseb ib. b. How the Papists agree not for inuentioÌ„ of the crosse 152. a. What lies be made of peces of the Crosse 153. b. Of the nayles that Christ was crucified withall 154. seq The answere to the miracles that were affirmed to haue ben done by the Crosse 155. How Papistry breedeth securitie in synne 156. seq Miracles paste no proufe of present vse 157. a. That as well we may haue the signe of Idols as the signe of the Crosse for any miracle ib. b. Whether the miracles of the Crosse were true or no they can proue no lawefull vse thereof 158. seq The similitude of the cloth of estate 161. b. For memorie holpen wyth a Crosse 162. b. In the .ix. Article VAnities alleaged for coÌ„modities of the Crosse Folio 164. a. The true effects of Images ibid. b. The Reason that Images shoulde not be vnlawefull though not expedient aunswered 164. 165. seq Gods bookes commaunded forbydden for pollicy mans bookes for pollicy must needes be maintayned 165. se Whether Images can teach things necessary to saluation 166. b. That Crosses teach no humilitie no vertue 167. b. That Images speak doubtfully teach diuelishly bee red vnlawfully 168. b. 169. a That ther can be no such ignorance as should driue vs to seeke knowledge in an Image 169. a. The titles and commendation of Scripture 170. a. That for wante of preachers we must not seeke to Images ib. b. What leud affectioÌ„s be stirred by Imagery 171. a. What affections were stirred in the heathen by Images ib. b. No ymagery with preaching much lesse without 172. a. Howe Images must not be admitted for help of memorie ib. b. How Cyrill alloweth no Images in Churches 173. b. A diuelishe memory the muste be holpeÌ„ with a crosse 174. a In the .x. Article WHat Adoration worship is Folio 175. b. That adoration by the scripture is forbydden to Images 176. a. Authorities for adoration of the crosse falsly aleaged 176. b Authorities of the fathers agaynst the Adoration of the Crosse ib. seq A strange prouf that no man may feare Idolatry in worshippers of the Crosse 183. b The absurde argumente of Martiall 184. a. ij Kindes of Idolatrie 185. a. That bowing kneeling to Crosses and Images doth proue Idolatry 185. 186. The Authors alleaged agaynst both the hauing and Worshipping of the Crosse Clemens Rom. Epis Folio 4. b. 177. a. Ireneus 14. b. 178. a. Clemens Alexandrinus 177. b. Iosephus 15. a. Cyprianus 178. b. Tertullianus 6. 7. 49. a. 178 a. Origenes 31. 32. 178. b. Arnobius 13. b. 179. a. 82. a. Lactantius 5. b. 14. a. 142. a. 179. b. Eusebius 7. b. Athanasius 29. a. 127. a. 180. a. Epiphanius 14. b. 117. b. 181. a. Ambrosius 86. b. 181. b. Hieronimus 97. a. 133. a. 181. b. Augustinus 15. a. 52. a. 83. 84. 88. a. 181. Chrysostomus 46. b. 106. b. 133. b. Cyrillus 173. b. Prudentius 53. b. Gregorius PP In the Epistle to M. Also 8. b. 182. a. Alfonsus de Castro 182. a. Carolus Magnus 68. b. Petrus Crinitus 85. Erasmus In the Epistle to Martiall The author of the Turkes hystorie 15. b. COVNCELS The CouÌ„cel of Constantinople vnder Leo Isauricê° 58. a. The Councell of Granata 68. a. The Councell of Franckforde 68 a. seq Leafe Syde Lyne  Faultes  Corrected 3 b 2 For was a Reade was not a 10 b 29 strayning strayeng 17 a 18 taught naught 24 a 1 toy our to your 67 b 11 were deified were not deified 68 a 22 whether whyther 86 a 9 preasseth presumeth 88 a 12 vnfounde vnsounde 89 a 26 worde wood 93 a 26 gayne game 95 a 33 hath ordayned hath ordayned 102 b 15 htat that Ib b 20 them them them 107 a 21 Christome Chrisostome 116 b 34 Eueria Euoria 129 a 28 pristinuÌ„ pistrinum 135 a 33 follo wed both followed both 141 b 28 is was it was In the Epistle to Martiall the .4 leafe the seconde syde and in the last Quotation for Ep. 109. reade Cap. 109. In the .5 leafe the fyrst syde and line .2 for quid reade quidem Wheras two leaues together be escaped wyth the number of 23. reade for the laste of them .24 and for the number of the next leafe following which is .26 reade .25 In the mergine of the .97 leafe for Cofirmaion reade Confirmation And in the margine of the .110 leafe in the second syde for martrimonye reade Matrimonie If ought else be escaped I trust the gentle Reader will beare with it and of himself amend it Mortis Crucis collatio QVI cupis ad Vitam renouari Morte futuram Mortem Christi animo fac meditere tuo Mors ea Vita fuit vitamque fidelibus omnem Praestitit in sola mortuus ille Cruce Non tamen ipsa licet Cruce Mors inflicta ministra Mortis erit celebri dira ministra loco Mors peperit victa solidos de Morte triumphos Crux valet ad vitam materiata nihil Mors affert animis onerum folatia pressis Crux dare lenimen lignea nulla potest Stigmata Mortis habent animi defixa fideles Stigmata formatae sunt malefida Crucis Mors in honore pijs aeterno tempore stabit Effigiata pijs Crux abolenda venit Mortis vt obrepat mala non obliuio nobis Corporeae remanet mystica Coena dapis Haec data firmandis quasi tessera mentibus olim Solaque perpetuo quae paragatur erit Non sic ille Crucem Christus praeceptor habendam Instituit valeat Crux vbi coena valet Sin Crucis ante oculos monumentum velle videmur Subdita sunt Christi viuida membra Cruci Viuida si nequeant animos percellere nostros Incutiantne magis mortua Signa fidem Perfida visibili gens est contenta Figura Dum Res interea significata perit Sic quos debuerat verum vox viua docere Fusilis errorem semper Imago docet Quos Deus in sacrae demissus viscera mentis Non facit Offitij sic meminisse sui Vana Creaturae facies subiecta proteruis Luminibus memores scilicet efficiat Nec tamen hic scelerum finis sceleratior inde Cultus ab effectu deteriore venit Namque velut diui Lapides Ligna coluntur Artificis postquam forma fit arte Crucis Sin ea forma magis precioso obducta Metallo Protinus Idolum Crux facit vna duplex Ergo Crucifixus nobis in honore locetur Cruxque sit a nobis materiata procul The same in English WHo doest desire to Life to come by Death to be restorde Recorde alway in mindeful heart the Death of Christ thy Lord. This Death gaue Life and he that dyed did on his Crosse alone Bring euerlasting Life to those that him beleue vpon But though by meane of that his Crosse this death was brought to passe Yet ought not Crosse in steade thereof to holde the sacred place A perfect triumph ouer Death this Death did once atchieue But the materiall Crosse to Life no help at all doth giue This Death doth bring a full release vnto the grieued minde But in the framed Crosse of wood no comfort is to finde The markes of this most holsome Death the faithful hearts do beare The marke of formed Crosse God wote is but vntrusty geare With godly men this Death for aye in honour shall abyde Of godly men the shapen Crosse is to be layde asyde Least this good Death that bringeth Life should flip out of our minde He of his sacred body hath his Supper left behinde This as a pledge to strength our soules is poynted to endure And this alone ordayned is to be in dayly vre Our Master Christ commaunded not the Crosse be holden so But where this Supper is in place the Crosse may be let go But of the Crosse some monument if we desire to sée The liuely members of our Christ to Crosse styll subiect be If liuely ones want force ynough to moue our resty minde Alas in liuelesse Signes what force of credite shall we finde The faythfull sorte content themselues with Signes yséene with eye Euen while the Matter signified is wholly lost thereby So them that should by liuely Voyce haue learnde the truth to know The forged Image euermore doth into errour throw Shall they whome God that doth descende into the godly brest Doth not so make to call to minde the duetie they profest Shall they forsoth in heart be brought to holde the same aright By fickle forme of Creature subiect to erring sight Yet is not here the ende of ylles For hereof doth ensue From worse effect false Worship done where it was neuer due For after once a forme of Crosse is made by workemans arte To Stockes and Stones as heauenly Gods then honor they imparte But if with precious Metall it be garnisht to the eye A double Idoll of one Crosse is honorde by and by Let him therefore that Dyed on Crosse deuoutly be adorde And let materiall Crosse be farre from vs that feare the Lorde FINIS Imprinted at London by Henry Denham for Lucas Harrison dwelling in Paules Churchyarde at the Signe of the Crane Anno Domini 1565. Nouembres 3.