such vniforme order as that they might not vary from amongst themselues in some poynt or other by the space of so many hundred yeares For looke how many conuenticles of orders be amongest them so many factions are they The Dominickanes do not agreé with the Mynorites nor the Benedictines with the Barnardines Yea euery particuler faction is many tymes dyuided in it selfe The Obseruauntes do hate the Coletes The Couent Fryers a third kynde vnlike to the other two doth enuy them both hereunto if you list to adde the Iangling opiniones of the Schoolemen how great warres are commonly betwixt the Scotistes and the Thomistes about Congresum and Condignum touching originall Sinne in the blessed Uirgine about solemne vowes and simple vowes betwixt the Camonistes And the Scholemen touching auriculer cōfession which th one part affirmeth was established by man the other part doth say that it was ordayned by God The olde brabble about Nominales and Reales is knowne of euery body common and stale now In fine what man is able to rehearse the maners of diuisiones whereof as euery particuler sect hath hys Patrone So euery Patrone hath his seuerall assertiones whiche are quite contrary to others So doth Thomas de Aquino dissent from Peter Lombard Occam cannot agreé with Scotus Haliensis opugneth Occam Albert Pighius Impugneth Cardinal Caietaue And to speake nothing of other things in the one onely matter of the Lordes Supper how variable are the controuersies and opiniones of their owne fraternities whiles some teache that Christ is present flesh bloud and bone others vtterly deny that othersome ascribe vnto him a body of dimensiones others otherwise some say that the body is torne with the teéthe of the communicants at the tyme of the communion others are to squeimish at that they cānot abyde it There be some agayne that say that the body of Christ is consecrated by the deuine operation And that by this Pronowne hoc the bread is noted others had rather to call it indiuiduum Vagum Some thinke that Myse may gnawe the body of Christ truely and in deede which others Iudge to be to grossely spoken Some are of opinion that the accidentes of bread and wyne may nourish many do deny that say that the Substance of the bread remayneth But these thinges may seeme but very trifles I will come now to the very secrette closett and of this Seé and will treat now not of the externall schismes and deuisions of Friers Moncks and opinions but of the very Seé of the Bishop of Rome it selfe For the first creation whereof how soeuer Osorius paynt it out in wordes as that it was erected not by any pollicy of man but by the power of the holy ghost yet hath he vouched for proofe thereof not so much as a sillable out of the holy Scriptures yea though he did yet should he gett no more thereby then if he cast his capp against the wynde for although in the first booke some reasons wrongfully wrested seeme to haue bene gathered by him to this effect out of the holy scriptures yet those haue bene both learnedly and playnely confuted by our Haddon already Yet because there is now nothing touched els then that whiche doth magnifie that holy Tabernacle onely it may be lawfull for me with as good leaue to set downe myne opinion also touching the same See Which Seé in that case wherein it standeth now a daies I may boldly tearme to be not an holy sacred Seé but a deadly Secte rather not the mother church but the Metrapolitane of all vnsaciable couetousnes not instituted by Christ but purchased by ambitiō raysed by fraud armed with power and force of mighty Monarches defended with bloud and boochery which carrieth a resemblaunce not of true Peace but an horrible vysor of discention which doth not aswage cōtenciouse and troublous sectes but which is rather an vncessaūt whirlewinde and troublesome Tempest of the whole world Finally is nothing els how great soeuer it is but a very naturall Secte for if thys word Secte do take his name as deriued from the word Sectari in what one place throughout the whole scriptures are there any names Seés or Tytles of any person set down for a patterne for vs to imitate and followe but the onely example of Christ the sonne of God Although Paule did rebuke the Corint as backsliders from Christ and that worthely which called thē selues some after the name of Peter some of Paule and some of Apollo considering that they were all members of one Christ what cōmunication would the same Paule vse now to the Romanistes who glory so much vpon the chayre of Peter and the succession thereof Peter sate at Rome say they and what matter is it where Peter sate or where he stoode so that Christ sitte in our hartes And what if I deny Osorius that Peter euer sate at Rome by what argument will you iustifie that he sate there or if one or too small stories perhappes fauour your cause I will proue for one tenne to the contrary which perhappes you shall not so easily confute But to admitte that he sate at Rome what is it to the purpose where Peter sate more then where he walked vnlesse in your conceipte Peter seeme more holy sitting then walking or whā he sate at Rome then whē he walked at Cesaria But he sate in such wise at Rome say you as bearing Souereigntie in Rome O wonderfull and inuincible defence But I pray you graunt vnto vs that Rome is now in the same estate that it was when Peter sate there Such Tirannous Emperors and such Martyrs And I will surely wonder if the Pope of Rome would euer craue for such a souereigntie yea though it might be geuen him But let vs returne agayn to Sectes and tumultes because the question doth properly cōcerne those matters And therefore forasmuch as your tongue vaunteth so gloriously of your deépe knowledge in tryall experience and knowledge of the chaunges and chaunces of this world and of Auncient Antiquitie wherein you bragge not a little that you are not vnskilfull surely you could haue alleadged nothing more directly against your selfe then this same and more properly to serue to the truth of our cause for that no one thing hath terrified vs from pertaking with the fraternitie of that Chayre of pestilence more then the very same that wee haue long sithence found true confirmed herein by our owne knowledge and dayly experience Namely that Brambles and Briars of tumultes Scismes do not fructifie and take so deépe root in any prouince or Nation in the world as within the Iurisdiction of this your Romish Ierarchie And as I haue spoken somewhat already of other their trinckettes so will I now touch a little of the very Toppe Gallaunte of their Pontificall Shippe Let any man of sound Iudgemēt take a full and perfect view of all the vsage of the church of Rome as it is now and
without any proofe at all I returned the same into your owne bosome with approued circumstaunces of tyme and persons But hereunto our new vpstarte Pythagoras maketh none aūswere but that my examples are counterfaite and reiected of approued writers Of whom I pray you where how what booteth it to enquire further my Lord Byshop doth affirme it we must needes beleue it Herein yet your companion of Angrence is somwhat more tractable who rather then he will leaue the matter vnconfessed will set two Monkes by the eares and confute the one with the testimonie of the other O gay payre of Byshops which are so intangled in two examples onely that the one is enforced vtterly to disclayme the other to take such witnesses whom no wise man will admit But Osorius forsooth hath gottē an other couert to play boe peépe in where he shrowdeth him self alwayes when he is narrowly chased I force not sayth hee what rules of lyfe our Monkes obserued for such haynous offences as are committed in common weales by men not altogether endued with heauenly wisedome should haue bene cured or vtterly abandoned by the sinceritie of your most holy discipline by the wholesome medicine of this Gospell and by that excellēt remedy which your Doctours haue deliuered vnto the world O notable Diuine is this speach meéte for a diuine and a Byshop is it lawfull for you to be murtherers māquellers bloudsukers vnpunished Is there not one baptisme onely one profession one onely Lord father of all one onely redeémer Iesus Christ what prerogatiue then cā your sect chalenge more vnto your wickednes then ours We allow no amendement of maners but such as that authoritie of the Gospell sacred Scriptures do approue none other integritie of life but that whiche the Gospell doth exact if you be exempt from this discipline the world goeth well on your side lōg may you enioy that your freédome a Gods name But if there be but one profession one name one bonde of peace why do you so dismēber this vnitie or rather rend it in peéces as though it were nothyng materiall in what sorte you behaue your selues bycause we haue an especiall profession and regard of innocencie and vprightnes of life If this were so as you do most absurdely confesse what could this auayle to your Monkes how could they be cured of their festered vlcers beyng aboue an hundred yeares old by these our newly vpstarte lieches as you tearme them You see here how you rubbe your selfe on the gall where soeuer ye touch so hard it is to finde a startyng hoale for such frameshapen cauils And yet beyng altogether vnlucky in handlyng your matters you hauke after tiltes of wordes that so at the least ye may fease vpon gnates I affirmed that you dwelt nearer the worke maister of poyson then I You demaunde what I meane by that whether I note your person your countrey or any other nation Whereunto I demaunde agayne whether the wordes be not Latin wordes and playne enough But they note nothyng of certeintie say you This is your owne fault who vse to chop of the head of the sentence and slyly huddle the rest And I otherwise accusing no man willingly am ashamed to depraue any whole Natiō Wherfore though you haue endited Englād by name it shal be lawfull for me to vse more modestie for more arrogācie and impudencie I can not You snatch at an other vocable which is Perpessa Printed for Persparsa But yet at the last you release me of this quarell cōfesse that it might be the ouersight of the Printer as though you or any other hauyng any smatch of learnyng could doubt that I had written the seédes of warres to be scattered abroad But you are an immoderate brabbler that can scarcely admitte that which your selfe do seé must of necessitie seéme to be true Here you play hickscorner concernyng the reformation of our maners after the rules of the Gospell Where you sportyngly promise that you will sayle ouer vnto vs to learne this notable discipline of life Come not at vs I pray you except you throw away your hypocritical visour and cal to your memory the saying of the Propheticall kyng Thy worde O Lord is a lanterne to me feete which sentence lyeth drowned amongest you in so deépe a dongeon of bald ceremonies and mens traditions that like night owles you are starke blynd in the midday and are not able to endure the bright beames of the cleare shynyng Gospell Now to the end I might more sensibly disclose the ouglinesse of your fonde superstitions I noted two speciall botches of your lothsome customes Whereof one consisteth in that vnbridled licēcious Bulles of Pardons The other entreateth of prayers ouerunne and mumbled vp without feélyng sence or vnderstandyng These two forlorne matters you ouerskip in the playne field succourles without touch of breath wherein surely you deale very discreétly for your Schoolemaister Cicero him selfe if he were now aliue could not perswade this blacke to be white the matter beyng so absurde And yet you haue here illfaudredly prouided for your honestie that so playnly deny that men were not accustomed to assigne the affiaūce of their saluation to those two plaisters aboue mentioned For as touchyng those leadden Bulles what prerogatiue they obteined how wyde and how farre they stretched with how cruell bondage they had cramped mens consciences not onely the auncient age and receaued custome of many yeares most truly recordeth but the rotten carcasses also buried in graue will beare sufficiēt witnes against you Amongest a great number of whom were foūde caskettes full of pardons safely folded and lapt together in the bottome of their graues Which I suppose would neuer haue chaunced vnlesse vnmeasurable superstitious affiaunce had bene attributed to this peltyng leadē pilfe Now if the liuely authoritie of the holy scriptures haue so vtterly quasshed blurred out this bald ceremonie that at length you confesse now that all confidence of saluation ought to bee ascribed to the onely bountie and mercy of Iesu Christ as your selfe protest in the selfe same wordes Uerely I do hartely reioyce in the behalfe of Spayne But as I haue no quarell with that famous Natiō at all so haue I very great agaynst you whose communicatiō is so wonderfully variable that a man may scarse trust you in this matter For if it be true that our righteousnesse doth partly depend vpon good workes agayn if it be meritorious to pray to the virgine Marie which both you do verifie and likewise earnestly auow that she hath bene oftentymes founde mercyfull to your petitions of these then proceédeth a good consequente that all the hope of our iustification ought not to be ascribed to Christ onely But these thyngs shal be better cōsidered hereafter in place fit for them in the meane tyme call to your remembraūce what a thyng it is to speake honorably and largely of the
bolster out uphold this sowsie ragged rabble with stout countenauÌ„ce But it will not be you come all to late And your labour is all lost It was not without reason that I noted haw this huge heapes of Pictures were the offcombe of that vnsauory schoolekitchen Neither did I erre in notyng the certeine limitation of their whelpyng no more can you cease from your old cankred custome of cauilling scarse one minute of an houre You flée ouer to your Councell of Nice as to an inuincible bulwarke as though what soeuer a Councell doth thrust vpon vs ought to be holden of vs for inuiolable In déede your filthy vnmaryed life crawled first into the Churche after this maner So also your friuolous and Sophisticall Transubstantiation was commaunded in the begynnyng But let vs scanne this Deuine Decrée of the Councell touchyng Images which was vttered in that second Nicene CouÌ„cell vnder these wordes Images ought to be worshipped as reuereÌ„tly as God is worshipped But you will not admit this to be true I trow when as els where you are of opinion that Images and Pictures remaine to be viewed onely all worship set apart wherein neuertheles you disagrée in your selfe also For in the same place you tell vs a tale of Robinhoode alledgyng miracles withall to witte that bloud hath bene séene to gush out of Images perdy and certeine uertue of healyng hath issued froÌ„ theÌ„ And that for this cause they ought to be worshypped Hereby meanyng to proue both of the whiche a litle earst you admitted neither What grossenesse is this Osorius what ouersight what forgetfulnesse of your selfe and your owne wordes you reporte that Eusychius did behold the Images of the Apostles exquisitely paynted What hereof This was but a commendation of Paynters my good Osorius and not a prayse of Pictures Yet you notwithstaÌ„dyng as though you had made a fayre speake do affirme that it is without all coÌ„trouersie that Images were in the Apostles tyme. How or from whence doe you persuade this Osorius is this a good Argument to proue that Images were uisited in the Apostles tyme bycause without comptrollement you tell vs a smoath tale of Thomas of Inde of Eusebius and of Pope Siluester Do ye so conclude my Lord beyng an old man a Priest and a Byshop Semblable and lyke drousinesse is in you where you charge me that I did accuse your Scholemen to be the first founders of Images This is false I doe not charge them withall but I will abyde by this that this uenemous doctrine was wonderfull encreased with the corruption of this poysoned Schoole â—y wordes are as followeth When true Religion began to decay Images crept into the Churche by title and litle and that former earnest desire of pure doctrine waxed cold in mens hartes and that bastard and deformed superstitious Schoole Diuinitie vaunted it selfe at the length and immediatly all places were patched vppe with Images c. Now speake Parrotte of Portingall I pray you Did I not orderly enough distinguish the seasons of tymes By litle and litle crept Images in yea long before the péepyng of Schoolemen abroad but beyng settled in their stalles all places were stuffed with Pictures You sée their Originall before Schoolemen but the increasinges thereof in the chief reigne and sway of that brotherhoode And yet ye dare impudently affirme that I named Schoolemen to bee the very wellsprynges of Pictures And at length ye crye out What dulnesse what negligeÌ„ce when as I might more iustly haue exclaimed O forgetfull dottard O rayling scolde After that you haue long turmoyled your selfe in this gulfe sometymes treatyng of Pictures sometymes inducyng them as representations of holy personages you packe vp your trunckes and returne to your former course of exhortation wherein you persuade that bycause Images be sauory Instrumentes to enforme the vnlettered people therefore they ought bee reserued to that vse But learned and godly men will rather say that Images are daungerous Rockes of manifest Idolatry And as I will not much gaynesay that discréete men and well exercized in the Scriptures may haue in their Closettes without any perill the Image of the Crucifixe so doe I boldly pronounce that without great daunger of Idolatry Images can not be placed in Churches to the uiewe of the rude people beyng naturally incliuable to all superstition And therefore it is most necessary to abandone Images out of Churches and to instruct the people in the holy Scriptures the often hearyng and readyng wherof will make the diligent and uertuous followers to finde no want of any such paynted bables Sathan carying our Lord and Sauiour Iesus into the wildernesse willed him to fall downe and worshyp him Our Lord Iesu despising and rebukyng him sayd It is written Thou shalt worshippe the Lord thy God and him onely shalt thou serue Ueryly when I ponder the Maiestie of these wordes throughly in my mynde and the dayly practizes of your Churches wherein so perillous and euident tokens of Image worshyp and knéelyng to Pictures is frequented my very hart panteth and trembleth within me to thinke how this expresse commaundement of God the Father and of our Lord Iesus Christ séemeth vtterly buried in obliuion with you But runne on sith it so pleaseth you and scorche your soules in the flames of Idolatry we beyng terrified with the Deuine Oracles of the sacred Scriptures haue vtterly subuerted Images and Pictures and exiled them from our Churches In like maner we passe ouer the Saintes in our prayers make intercession onely vnto God the Father and our Lord and Sauiour Iesu Christ and vpon them do we call onely for succour Unto whom with the holy Ghost we do confesse and professe all glory all honour all power euerlastyng eternitie to be due And to confirme this our confession to bee most pure and true the testimonies of eche Testament are plentyfull wherein we doe also follow the manifold examples of the Patriarches Apostles and Martyrs As for you there is nothyng vttered of your part sauoryng of the auncient pure founteine of the primitiue Church either in coÌ„uersation of life or profession in Religion We haue heard the voyce of our Lord Iesu Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him onely shalt thou serue Certes if the onely Maiestie of God must be worshipped alone the worshipping of saintes ought in no case to be admitted theÌ„ The Euangelist Iohn begaÌ„ to worship the Angell but the Angell withstood him yelded the reason I am quoth he thy fellow seruant If we haue Angels our fellow seruaunts Osor. surely we haue no Saints to be our Aduocates There is but one Aduocate betwixt God and man The God and man Christ Iesu. If Saintes make no intercession for vs then to worship them is but vayne Semblably take worshyp away to what purpose serue Images For to gaze vpoÌ„ them auayleth litle Let the people heare the Scriptures Let them be busied therein There is Christ
it quoth Cicero for if you had bene taught any thyng at all you would neuer haue written so absurdely Euen in like maner may I beleue no man better theÌ„ Osorius him selfe that he neuer had any other Schoolemisters besides Confession For of a wicked and corrupt Schoolemysters is hatched a proude and hautie sholer standyng in his owne light a despiser of all others an importunate brauler a prattlyng Sophister a shamelesse rayler an vnmeasurable slauÌ„der and a peruertour of holy Scriptures and true godlynes How much better had it bene for you if you had had lesse conference with Massemongers and bene more acquainted with S. Paule Hee would haue instructed you in all sobrietie modestie iustice pietie fayth charitie patience and meckenesse Whereof you seéme to haue leâ—rned no title in all your sweéte confessions nor so much as heard whether any such matter be or euer haue bene So farre and wyde doth both your speach your reason dissent and disagreé as altogether estrauÌ„ged from them Yet ye proceéde notwithstandyng in this desperate trauaile of Confession which beyng staggeryng and ready to fall you doe vnderproppe with workes least it fall to the grounde For thus ye write Yet notwithstandyng we doe not so content our selues with this Confession of sinnes but that we exact fruites of RepentauÌ„ce which we vse to name Satisfactions a word that you scorne at most insoleÌ„tly Behold this fine scholer of Confession so well poolished in the schoole of his Massemongers that hee hath learned that Christians are required to bryng foorth fruites worthy of Repentaunce O deépe and profounde doctrine as though any Cobbler or Carter did euer deny or were ignoraunt in this point but you haue coupled hereunto an other new companion a meare straunger to ChristiaÌ„ eares For you say that the fruites of Repentaunce are named of you by this name SatisfactioÌ„s I do know very well that your MassemoÌ„gers Friers schoolemen haue thrust into the church this new wicked name of Satisfaction but I know this also that you haue done this to your great shame and reproch For it is a manifest vntruth contrary to all holy Scriptures contrary to the doctrine of the sacred and Apostolicque Church contrary to the iudgements of the approued auncient fathers But we do heare Iohn say you exhorting them which had confessed their faultes to bryng forth fruites worthy of Repentaunce and you adde that the same wordes were repeated by that great maister of righteousnes the Redemer of mankynd I doe confesse this Osorius what conclude you hereof we must bryng forth fruites worthy of Repentaunce Ergo fruites worthy of RepentauÌ„ce must be named SatisfactioÌ„s Cursed be your Confessours Osorius that could instruct you no better in Logicke Osorius hath suckt out of Confession the rules of good lyfe Ergo he must do nothyng els A very like conclusion a fit whelpe of that schoole where you were trayned vp But let vs seé if your Satisfactions be not vtterly ouerthrowen with the same Scriptures wherewith you thinke to establish them Iohn pointyng vnto Christ with his finger Behold quoth he the Lambe of God which taketh away the sinnes of the world If Christ take away the sinnes of the world how caÌ„ workes satisfie but harken vnto Christ him selfe whom you do worthely name the great Schoolemaster of righteousnesse When you haue done all sayth hee that are commaunded you say yet we are vnprofitable seruauntes we did no more then we ought to doe Behold we are vnprofitable seruauntes in the chiefest perfection of our workes Ergo your Satisfactions are cold nothyng worthe That pure and chosen vessell of God Paule doth teache in this maner I am not guiltie of any thyng yet am I not iustified hereby If Paules vndesiled conscience cleare of all crimes were not auaylable to iustification then of very necessitie all your owne and the SatisfactioÌ„s of all your sect are lame and cripled But let vs learne of the same Paule from wheâ—ce true Christians ought to fetche full Satisfaction and absolute perfection Christ sayth he hath by one onely oblation made perfect for euer them whiche are sanctified This one onely Sacrifice of Christ offred vp in the Altar of the Crosse is our Satisfaction our perfection and our witnessing and shal be for euer not ours onely but of all those also which shal be made perfect in tyme to come We doe beleue Paule we doe beleue Iohn and we doe beleue Christ. If you do not beleue those there be other companions fit for you to company withall namely the Pharisies whiche scorned Christes preachyng vnto whom he sayd You be they which iustifie your selues before men but God knoweth your harts for that whiche is glorious in the sight of men is abhomination before God Take heéde Osorius take heéde I say that you be not of the nuÌ„ber of those Pharisies lest God abhorre you turne his face froÌ„ your glorious SatisfactioÌ„s shyne they neuer so gorgiously in the sight of meÌ„ You cauill after your old maner I can not tell what agaynst the vanitie of me and our Deuines wherein I will not braule with you lest I fill whole Uolumes with superfluous matters as you do but I will meéte with you in those thynges onely wherein seémeth some matter of coÌ„trouersie You bryng a very sit and elegant cause surely whereby you would shewe why we should not confesse to God alone but rather fleé out to your Confessours For that God you say can not be so easily perceaued of vs hee hath appointed his Vicares on the earth whiche should exercise his authoritie so that who would refuse them would refuse God him selfe c. First of all ye deny that God caÌ„ be clearely perceaued as though the sight of God were necessarie to the daÌ„nation of sinners This is to to lumpish Osorius more fit for that Cowled Asse your companioÌ„ then for you No maÌ„ euer hath sene God nor caÌ„ seé him and yet through Christ we do offer vnto God the father the sacrifice of thankesgeuyng and magnifie his holy name This matter apperteineth not to the sight of the eyes it apperteineth to the mynde and inward seélyng of the soule which clyming vnto God in harty sorrow and sighyng is neuer throwen downe from the beholdyng of his infinite goodnesse I liue sayth the Lord and take no pleasure in the death of a sinner but rather that the wicked conuerte from his wicked way and liue be ye conuerted therfore be ye conuerted from your wicked wayes wherfore will ye dye O ye house of Israel With like geÌ„tlenes doth our Sauiour Iesus Christ call vs vnto him Come vnto me all ye that are laden and I will refresh you I will geue to them that are thirstie of the well of life freely And yet Osorius beleueth that bycause of the absence of Christ Uicares must be substituted Paule taught vs farre otherwise saying The Lord is neare vnto all them that call vpon
in the remembraunce of Christes death and perseuered in the same Custome The Fathers name it Bread and a Sacrament a mysterie and a figure of Christes body And yet Pope Innocentius commyng lately out of hell with a detestable superstition horrible Sacriledge doth Transubstantiate this mysticall Bread into our Sauiour Iesus Christ. There followed him certeine phantasticall Schoolemen which did most wickedly defile the pure Supper of our Lord with durtie schoole dregges And now at the length starteth by our Osorius a braue champion of this Schoole tromperies Ierome Osorius I say that great Maister in Israell a deépe and incomparable Deuine whō no man exceédeth in witte nor surmounteth in learnyng if a man may beleue him as hee reporteth him selfe Wherfore I would now aske one question good maister Proctour of you of this Transubstātiation whether our Lord Iesus Christ when hee did first institute the Sacrament of the Euchariste did make any mention in his speach of any remouing of the substaunce of Bread of the accidentes that should remayne or whether the substaunce of his body should supply the substaunce of Bread Did Paule touche any of these did the primitiue and Apostolique Churche receiue any such thyng haue the auncient Fathers made mention of any such matter in their bookes Sithence therefore this your wonderfull conuersion of the Substaunce of Bread into the body of Christ whiche your Schoolemen by a more grosse name call Trasubstantiatiō hath bene shapen forged out of these Monasteries whereof not so much as one title can be founde in the holy Scriptures in the Custome of the Apostles in the bookes of auncient Fathers it is a wonderfull straunge matter that a bishop so exquisite in diuinity as you are or would seeme to be would yet vndertake so desperate a cause and obtrude vpon vs such cold schoole dreames in steéde of most apparaūt knowen thynges Ye seé now how pitthily my Peter Martyr hath aunswered you in all thyngs whose soule you would not haue teazed to quarell if you had had any witte For he was worthely esteémed an excellent Deuine amongest the chiefest Deuines of our age whose Scholer you might haue bene in all knowledge and litterature except your eloquence onely in the Latine tounge But you do leaue our Peter now at that length whō if you had neuer prouoked you had done better so neéded you not to doe me so great iniurie as to challēge me for my familiar acquaintaunce with him For if you thinke that ye may with your honesty keépe company and vse frendly familiaritie with that doltish Calfe Angrence hauyng no vtteraunce no witte no sence no vnderstādyng why should not I rather acquainte my selfe with a man not onely excellēt in learnyng but replenished with all comlynesse ciuilitie of maners Make choise of your familiars Osorius as you please Suffer me to enioy myne owne neither is it reason that you should limitte me or I you in this kynde of affaires humanitie cōmon course of mās life requireth that choise be made of frendship as liketh eche mans owne iudgement best not to be ruled by others phantasies Be not you squeymish therfore at the cōmēdations of godly learned men my especiall frendes Martin Bucer and Peter Martyr I loued thē when they lyued I will not forget them beyng dead I frequēted their familiaritie whiles they lyued as much as I might their names remēbraūce of thē though they be dead I will defende as much as I may and if they were now alyue I would esteéme more of a whole yeares conference with them then of one day with you for their conuersation had a certeine discreéte pleasauntnes their conference had a wholesome wisedome the whole course of their demeanour was a most absolute paterne of honestie and godlynesse And I am throughly persuaded that nothing could haue aduaunced my estimation such as it is more then myne acquaintaunce and familiaritie with these two godly Fathers You come at the length to our Church the orders whereof you do captiously snatch at but this ye do so disorderly stāme ringly that all men may iudge that ye did roaue at it in your dreame rather then dispute beyng awake I affirmed that fayth came by hearyng What say you is it no so I sayd also that our Preachers are sent abroad into all the coastes of our Realme to teach the cōmon people their duties in all thynges what will you deny this to be done You can not the matter is manifest But you exclaime and say that our Preachers are Lutherans Bucerans and Caluinistes First of all how know you this to be true then if it be so let the names goe confute their doctrine if you can But this lesson you learned of your Cowled Coockowes to braule alwayes with bare names whē you cā not ouerthrow a sillable of their doctrine Your Maister shyp will not allow that our Parliamēt and publicke assemblie of the Realme should entermedle with matters of Religion for herein ye suppose that the dignitie of Priestes is empayred First what thyng can be publiquely receaued vnlesse it be proclaymed by publique authoritie Then our Prelates and Ecclesiasticall Fathers do propoūde the rules of Religion after that the Prince with the consent of the whole estates do ratifie the same What may be done more orderly or more circumspectly This custome was obserued in the tyme of the kynges of Israell This vsage preuayled in all Counseils vntill that Romishe Ierarche had burst in sunder these lawes with his false ambitious picklockes and had commaūded all thyngs to be subiect to his absolute power I wrate also that there was great reuerence geuen to the holy Scriptures in our Churches and that vnitie and the bonde of peace was wonderfully preserued You demaunde on the other side From whence so troublesome contentions in opinions are raysed in our Churches Shew what contentions there be and we will satisfie your request But if you will not or cā not hold your toūg most wicked rayler require not to be beleued for your onely affirmatiues sake Deale in this maner with your charge of Siluain for ye shall obteine nothyng here but by meare force of Argument I did affirme likewise that our deuine seruice is ministred with vs in the mother and vulgare toūg accordyng to Paules doctrine the approued custome of the Apostolicke Churche what say you to this forsooth you can not like of it bycause it is repugnant to the ordinaūce of Rome and yet you can not well deny so manifest a truth for S. Paule did establish this doctrine of the holy Ghost with so many and so strōg Argumētes as though hee did euen then foreseé in mynde that some such erronious botches would infect our Religion that by such meanes they might blot out vtterly extinguish out of our Churches this most fruitefull worshyppyng of God beyng the very foundation of all Christian godlynes And therfore this godly mā
now sithence this vpstarte wrestler is skipt ouer the old barriers and hath catcht the collers in hand may any man doubt but that the whole force of the Enemy beyng vtterly discomsited and compelled to fleé the field the Maiestie of Freéwill hauyng bene long tyme wounded and weakened with greéuous maladie yea and through feéblenesse euen yeldyng vp the ghost shall presently recouer health stand vpon her feéte and be strong For this lusty gallaunt disdayneth to encounter as Bythus did sometyme with Bacchius or as Ecerinus with Pacidianus or as Hercules agaynst two or as Horarius agaynst threé brethren at once or with one man hand to hand onely but of valiaunt courage challengeth the field agaynst foure choise and tryed souldiours at one choppe together to witte Luther Melancthon Bucer Caluine Yea with them also agaynst the whole armye of Lutheranes Agaynst whom neuerthelesse if Osorius durst haue cast his gloue when they liued amongest vs or if they were present now to aunswere the challenge and defende the cause no doubt the iustie crakes of proude Iacke bragger would carry but a small coūtenaunce to moue the godly to be displeasaunt withall But as to rake the dead out of their graues and to pike quarell agaynst ghostes and spirites is the common guise of euery rascall varlet so to the discreét and well disposed hath it bene accompted most filthy and contemptuous yea most to be abhorred in our Osorius at this present who in all this his discourse of Freéwill alledgyng no one thyng agaynst them but that whiche in their writynges and bookes is fully aunswered and satisfied yet as though they had made no aunswere at all crawleth hee foreward neuerthelesse patchyng together his rotten and motheaten trumperie wherein neither is any thyng of his owne inuētion nor any new stuffe but that he hath somewhat furbushed the old rusty Argumentes of other raynebeaten souldiours with a fresh glaze of raylyng and slaunderous tearmes like the foolish Choughe attiryng him selfe wholy with the feathers of other Fowles and in this respect also more vyle and lothsome That where the other doe in their arguyng make a certeine shew of some reason vouched either out of Scriptures or of Doctours wrongfully wrested but he for the more part doth so frame his discourse rather to the accusing of men then to the discussing of the controuersie and doth so handle his matters as one hauyng regarde rather to the persons agaynst whom hee quarelleth then to the cause which ought to haue bene discouered by him The man is fully persuaded that Freewill ought to be mainteyned by all meanes possible But what the will or choyse of mā is what thyng is freé or not freé in the will of man what is necessary and what difference is betwixt freé and necessary and how many maner of wayes necessary to be taken he doth neither discouer by definition nor distinguishe by Argument nor deuide by partition nor doth declare what diuersitie and difference ought to be betwixt braunche and braunche Many sondry persons before him haue stoutely maynteined the quarell of Freewill yea with no lesse courage then they would haue done if the state of their countrey had bene in hazard In the same quarell long sithence the Celestines and Pelagians kept a great sturre agaynst Augustin Amōgest many others of late yeares wrate chiefly Roffensis and Eckius agaynst Luther Cardinall Pighius hath stuffed vp tenne Inuectiues full agaynst Caluine Likewise many others haue written agaynst Melancthon agaynst Bucer and others All which albeit preuayled very litle agaynst the truth yet to the end they might the more easily deceaue vnder a certeine visour of the truth they did shuffle amōgest their owne writynges many sentences of the Scriptures and many also of the most approued Doctours After all these our Osorius intendyng to vphold Freewill beyng in great ieopardie to perish what doth he what bryngeth he what vttereth he at length elles but certeine simple croppes scattered here and there in the fieldes of holy Scriptures which he hath gleaned together and wretchedly misordereth to make his Assertions get some credite yet nothyng auayleable to his purpose God knoweth In the meane whiles he citeth not one world so much out of the autenticke monumentes of the auncient Authours nor out of Augustine who was altogether busied in decydyng this controuersie and by whom he ought chiefly haue bene guided in this cause either bycause he hath practised other sciences and read nothyng of this writer or els bycause he is wicked and craftely dissembleth the thynges whiche he hath read And yet all this notwithstandyng this our Portingall champion so carrion leaue in the knowledge of Scriptures altogether disfournished of Doctours persuadeth him selfe to be man good enough if it may please the Muses to beare the whole brūt of the battell in the behalfe of Freewill against freély Luther Melancthon Bucer and Caluine not with mayne strength onely but euen with a proude Portingall looke But go to bycause we will not protract any long tyme with the Reader in wordes purposing to wrestle somewhat with Osorius herein Let vs approche to the marke And bycause the whole force of his communication seémeth to tend to this end to accuse men rather then to open any matter worthy to be learned and for as much he obserueth no order in teachyng in accusing ne yet in disputyng but beyng violently whirled and carried as it were in some forcible whirlewinde of accusation raūgeth the field without Iudgement and out of all aray and after a certeine confused maner of talke doth wrappe vp and mingle all thynges togethers as it were vnder one confused heape we on the contrary part will to temper our aunswere that as neare as the matters will permit we may dispose in some reasonable frame the chief pillers and Arguments of his accusation which him selfe hath set downe most disorderly And therefore in my simple conceite the whole substaunce of all his accusation whatsoeuer may bee gathered into foure or fiue principall places chiefly whiche he seémeth to finde fault with all most in Luthers doctrine as matters full of absurditie and which he obiectagayust Luther in this wise First that Luther affirmeth that there is no freé choyse or freédome in the will of man That all thyngs haue their begynnyng through absolute and vnanoydeable necessitie That impossible thynges are commaunded by God That men are damned for the thynges which they commit not of their owne freé and voluntary motion but compelled by fatall necessitie That God is to be taken for the originall and Authour of all mischief and wickednesse For into these few places as in a short Cataloge may be deuided all whatsoeuer is comprehended in this huge masse of Osorius Inuectiues Which beyng in this wise placed it remaineth that we frame our aunswere to euery of them particularly as oportunitie and place shall offer them in the discourse and so to purge and wash away as
eyes and hādes yea the very body in deéde naturally corporally and substauncially present the very same Christ I say full and whole in qualitie and quātitie with all his dimensions euen as he sitteth now at the right hand of the Father so that Christ may seéme now to dwell no lōger in heauen but to haue translated him selfe into much more precious and purer tabernacles And hereupon this cōmeth to passe That Priestes Monckes and Bishops as the very familiar guestes of Christ Nourished with this heauenly foode and dayly more and more strēgthened thereby doe attaine those heauenly and euerlastyng treasures so happely doe withstād the rage of lust so stoughtly and keepe their vowed chastitie most purely And no maruell for whosoeuer be so nourished with the most sacred body of Christ and carry him about dayly not in their myndes onely but in their bodies also how can it be chosen but that of very necessitie All drousinesse of sinnes must be shakē from them and an heauenly dawnyng of cleare light must shyne in them and must needes be replenished with heauēly treasures and out of the same yeld most glorious fruites of righteousnesse All which to be true the presidentes of their Angelicke holynes and chastitie scattered abroad euery where of the which the commō people tell so many and so commendable tales doe manifestly declare Let not this be forgotten among that whereas in the sacred holy Masse is such a miraculous operation also which as it were a certeine soueraigne Panax and a casket full of Pādoraes treasory may serue to cure the greéfes of all malladies is medicinable for the pestilence for all noysome cōtagions preseruatiue agaynst thūder agaynst Infidels agaynst misfortunes agaynst Agues a present remedy to obteine seasonable weather liquour of life for the sicke a cleare acquitall to the dead from all paynes of Purgatory a medicinable drenche for sicke Horses and Swine what maruell is it if these dayly worshippers of so heauenly a treasure beyng garded with the garrison of so inestimable a Iewell do become such creatures as in whose maners nothyng can be espyed but altogether chast and maydenly yea poolished beautified with all blossomes of vertue But amongest these this one thyng chiefly happeneth very straunge and incredible to be spoken especially in those Byshoppes and Massemongers who beyng enuironed about with so many comfortable Sacrifices dayly whenas they be otherwise rauished with so ardent and zealous affection towardes all other partes of Relligion towardes Masses toward pypyng and singyng toward Confessions and such like holy exercizes that to heare any Godly Sermons to Preach the Gospell of peace wherein the glory of Christ and the sauetie of the people consisteth chiefly they are so hard frosen and so thoroughly benommed as that they seéme scarse warme yea and altogether without sense and feélyng of their duety towardes Christ or of any carefull regard at all of their flocke or of any remorse of conscience to performe their function I speake not here of Oso nor of a few others like vnto him against whō this complaint happely may not so truly be enforced namely sithēce this Bishop is carefull and diligent in curyng his owne charge as him selfe telleth vs But of other Massemongers and shauelynges what will Osorius him selfe say vnto me who to the great fraude and detriment of the Church do so carelesly negligently attend their charge yea and neuer come at it at all They doe performe their duties by the ministery of others say you And such as of them selues are lesse able and vnfitte to preach do yet procure good wise and Relligious mē not of Bucers or Martyrs Relligion but such as are nouseled vp in the readyng of holy Scriptures Doctours and holy Fathers of the Churche who haue skill to teache the people pure chaste and Relligious doctrine Be it as you say Osorius but in the meane space where is that power and efficacy of that wonderfull Sacrament wherewith men are so inflamed and so raysed vppe as you say to all earnest and studious endeuour of godlynesse and to the desire of attainyng all heauenly Treasory At the least where is that charitie which beyng alwayes ready and inclined to doe good to all men by all meanes possible ought not deteigne and foreclose other men from the knowledge of holy Scripture And what shall we say then to those pastours and shepheardes who hauyng charge of Christs sheépe either of them selues can not or will not feéde their flock do not onely not opē their mouthes them selues vnto them but also do forbidd them the vse of the Scriptures in that lāguage wherewith they be acquainted whereby they might more easily attayne to the vnderstandyng of the same by their own industry This contumelious iniury beyng not in any respect collerable in the Church of Christ nor defensible by any coulourable excuse yet this delicate Rhetorician to helpe the ignoraūce of the vnlettered seémeth to haue foūde out of his perspectiues a certeine old wormeaten quircke or shift framing his Similitude from the pearcyng light of the Sunne Which beyng either vnpearceable for the clearenes therof doth blind the sight if the eyes be ouer much bente thereunto or if it shyne not at all profiteth not to thē that are enclosed in a darke doūgeon or do turne their eyes frō it In like maner they which turne away their dazeled eyes from the bright light and knowledge of holy scripture or do force the eye sight of the mynde thereunto more earnestly then is needefull do waxe blynd altogether Wherfore sithence it is so he concludeth herupon that it is a very great poynt of wysedome in them to foresee that the Rude people be not altogether defrauded of all light of Gods word nor yet that they may be oppressed with the ouermuch clearnes thereof For Aunswere For as much as the word of God is as your selfe do confesse the light of the worlde I beseech you Osorius what can be more appropried or peculiar to light then that it spread it selfe abroad ouer all places and persones or what can be more contrary vnto light then to be pent vppe vnder a Bushell And what els doth your discreéte foresight and prouident prouision but shut the word of God close vnder a Bushell when as you procure so pretely that the sacred Testament of Christ may not be deliuered in any other Language but such as the vnletteredd cannot vnderstand And what is this els I pray you but that the rude multitude shall see no light at all but be ouerwhelmed with a perpetuall dazellnes of sight whiles heé that readeth may not vnderstand what heé doth reade and whiles also in your Churches Masses Ceremonyes Supplications and Sacramentes they seé nothing but vtter darckenesse and heare nothing but in an vnknowne Language but in holy Sermones say you we do enstruct and teach them as much as shall seeme Necessary to the endeuour of godlynes
as was declared before And this was to cleare him selfe Osorius not to purge cleanse the Gospell with like submission humblenesse he testified his innocencie and vttered his conscieuce before the Emperour freély standyng then in perill of his owne life rather then making any bragge or vaunt of him selfe Phil. Mclancthon beyng Sommoned to appeare before the Councell rendered a Confession of his Fayth not so much of any hope to do any good as enforced by necessary constraint of obedience to make aunswere for him selfe beyng in no lesse hassard of his life then Luther The same in his common places of Diuinitie what vaunting or bragges hath he vttered Bucer and before him then Huldricke Zuinglius also after them both Iohn Caluine many other Deuines besides those for the earnest desire they had to know the truth applyed their wittes industry to the readyng of holy Scriptures For what could they do more coÌ„meÌ„dably wherein wheÌ„ they had well trauailed read and vnderstoode them immediately began the couert conueyaunces of fraude and desceipt to be made manifesâ— none otherwise then as thynges that lurcke before in darknesse do at the enlightenyng of a candle or torche immediately discouer them selues Now let Osorius tell vs what he would haue these faythfull Pastours do should they be mumme and say nothyng their coÌ„science would not permitte them For this had bene not to teach the flocke of Christ but to forsake it not to guide but to beguile it not to play the Shepheardes but wolues Theéues should they truly then and freely vndertake to defend the forlorne estate of the Veritie EueÌ„ this is it this is the very thyng they vndertooke if you be ignoraunt thereof Osorius and besides this nothyng els Whereas you say that this was a great and a hard enterprise you speake herein but the truth For whereas Veritie is a matter of great importaunce and doth commonly engeÌ„der to it selfe hatred surely they could not haue attempted any one thyng with more perill of their owne liues nor more daungerous for that present tyme yea I caÌ„ not well tell whether the Apostles them selues professing the Fayth of Christ first or the Prophetes when theâ— reproued mens traditions superstitious obseruatioÌ„ of ceremonies to much affiaunce in Sacrifices and the blind and preposterous opinioÌ„s of their people did euer enter vpon matter of more difficultie or daunger And therfore as touchyng the substaunce of the matter I do confesse that it was a perillous and an hard enterprise when they vndertooke the defence of the Veritie And yet they neuer attempted it of any such courage or confidence as to dare to promise any good successe of their labours to any others For neither was the state of that tyme so appliable as would permit them to promise any thing of theÌ„ selues though they would neuer so fayne wherein if they could escape without losse of life albeit they atchieued nought els yet they might well iudge that they had done a notable exploite So farre was it of that they could euer imagine or dreame of so great a renewyng of the Church of the vtter ouerthrow of the pope and Idolles and the like successes that ensued thereupoÌ„ the which thyng Luther shameth not to confesse simply without all dissimulation as that he could neuer so much as hope for the hundreth part of those thynges which God of his meare mercy and goodnesse brought to passe in them Whereby we do you to vnderstand Osorius that these matters were not begon by mans power or pollicie nor through any lightenes or braggyng of men but performed perfitted by the onely worke of the holy Ghost doubtles And therefore this Tertullus makyng his foundation with a manifest lye doth with like deceaueable falsehoode proceéde to the rest of his declamation that so he may seéme neuer vnlike him selfe You sayth he haue afflicted the Authoritie of the Bishop of Rome c. O affliction O cruell tormentes O holy Martyrdome O greéuous passions and woundes which this Godly Pope doth suffer for Christes sake Whiles I was readyng these wordes of yours Osorius I began to be sodenly in some doubt whether this were an ouerscape of your penne or the ouersight of Theobald your Printer whenas in steade of the Pope afflicted You would haue sayd the Lutherans afflicted or at least you should haue sayd so Certes if you indifferently and vprightly render a iust accompt of all the imprisonmentes setters gibbettes burning plates pyles of flaming woode recaÌ„tatioÌ„s beheadings boocheries fiers repeales armies tortures hostes rackynges and persecutions by fier and fagot it will easily appeare whether part hath afflicted and doth dayly afflict the other But bycause mention is made here of the afflictions of the Romish Authoritie it were neédefull for me to enquire of Osorius first what kinde of Authoritie Osorius doth define vnto vs For if he meane that Iurisdiction which the Byshop of Rome hath ouer his owne Seé of Rome and the other Prouinces aunexed to the same limited him by the Councell of Nice no man will striue agaynst him for this Authoritie But if by this name of Authoritie he will haue to be signified that hygh and vniuersall Authoritie which the Pope doth exercize and vsurpe equall with God him selfe ouer all Churches Prouinces Pastours and Byshops and aboue all generall Coâ—â—cels This Authoritie for as much as the true written Veritie doth not geue vnto him in any place yea rather oppugneth it very mightely and doth call it the See of the Beast to the which also it threateneth a vyall of vtter darkenes it can by no meanes be auoyded but one of these must neédes come to passe either that this vnmeasurable Authoritie of the Pope must geue place to the Scriptures of God or that this vniuersall Byshop shall triumphe and haue the victory the Scriptures of God beyng vtterly vanquished and put to sciâ—ence For as much as these two Authorities beyng so directly contrary eche to other can not stand together For if Christ would not permitte any superioritie amongest his owne Apostles will he suffer it amongest Byshoppes If the Lord himselfe came for this purpose as the scriptures do witnesse to become a minister to others to wash the feét of his disciples if he refused to be a king being sought vpon earnestlye for the same will there be any so proude a Disciple of Christ that will with his heéles treade vpoÌ„ the neckes of Emperours and will blaze abroad Scepters and Diademes of S. Peter in the poore and base Church of Christ what although the Pope of Rome will take vpon him more then the Authoritie of the Scriptures will allow him shall it not be lawfull therfore for godly Pastours learned Deuines to professe freély by the testimonies of the holy Scriptures that which they seé with their eyes and feéle with their handes but that they must be accounted scourgers of the Seé Apostolick But how much more wisely
extinguished true pietie neglected not the consciences onely but the lyues also of men endaungered through none other so perillous a contagion as this glitteryng pompe of gorgeous Ceremonies Amongest the which this is one that Reporte telleth of two persoÌ„s in FrauÌ„ce who not many yeares agoe were in daunger to be burned for none other matter but bycause they did eate flesh two dayes in Lent beyng constrained thereunto by necessitie of sicknesse Behold the fruites of Ceremonies to witte that for mens Traditions we shall breake the CoÌ„maundements of God recoÌ„ptyng murther to be a more tollerable offence then to leaue a peltyng coÌ„stitution of a Pope vndone I could rehearse six huÌ„dreth like exaÌ„ples out of the Monuments of our own Martyrs chiefly who were more often and more sharpely punished for despising meÌ„s Traditions then for breakyng the CoÌ„maundementes of God in so much that a maÌ„ would thinke that the whole face of Christian Relligion had bene estraunged into Ceremonies or els to hang more vpon these then vpon the word of God And whereas you say that Images Signes Crosses and Altares are throwen downe I thinke veryly that Luther and the other ministers of the Gospell cannot be duely charged with this slaunderous reproch forasmuch as they neuer put their handes to the breaking or plucking downe of Images nor is it conuenient for any priuate person to presume vpon any innouation in Christian coÌ„mon weales or Churches by force and vproare But if the Magistrate do execute his office godly and peaceably acording as he may lawfully do in the things which he doth perceiue to be consonaunt with the word of God What maketh Osorius here with vs being but a priuate man himself and a meére straunger to keépe a skolding or medling with our matters If the famous king of Portingall Sebastian be of the mind to remayne a fawtor and follower of those Romish superstitious Ragges in Altares Pictures Signes and worshippyng of Images He hath on the one side the testimonies of the Scriptures on the other side the Parasiticall pratyng of Monckes let him follow which he will let him doe in hys owne Realme vpon his owne perill what him pleaseth best On the other side If the most vertuous Queéne of England Elizabeth by the guiding of Scriptures haue thought it more conuenient to expell and Banish out of her Realme the stincking pilfe of durty superstition the sight whereof no Christian Prince can endure without great perill daunger of himselfe and hys subiectes Truely she doth nothing herein but that she may safely do iustify the doing therof by the manifest authority of the sacred scripture and singuler examples of most famous and renowmed kings Unlesse peradueÌ„ture Osorius doth make small account of the commendable remembraunce of Ezekias Iosias Iosaphat and others which brake downe and krusht in peéces Altares Idolles Groanes and the Brasen Serpent Or the example of Gedeon also who though were not a kyng did yet cut downe the Groaue and tare abroad the Altar What now The same which was lawfull for the kinges of the Iewes in the carnall law shall not be as lawfull for our Rulers and Potenâ—ates in the spirituall kingdome of Christ shall that which redouÌ„ded to their glory and prayse in the olde law be condemned in our age in Christian Princes for Sacriledge And what if Osorius had liued in that season when as Epiphanius Byshoppe of Cypres seing the Image of Chryst agaynst the manifest authoritie of the Scriptures as he sayed paynted in a veyle rent it in peéces with his owne handes what if he had liued in the time of Origen or in that florishing age of the primitiue church at what time Augustine Lactantius Ambrose Eusebius would not suffer in the church this kind of Paâ—anisme at what time as yet was not any shadow so much of an Image in the temples of Christians Or what if afterwardes he had happened in the Court of Phillippicus Leo Isaurick an Emperor of Greéce and of his sonne Constantine the fifth or of Leo the 4 What if he had bene present at those threé councels Constantinople vnder Constantine the fifth Emperour or at the Elibertine and Franckfordine Councels vnder Charles the great in the which Images were vtterly Banished out of Churches by most manifest argumentes out of the holy Scriptures and by the generall consentes and voyces of the whole counsell at what tyme great and inuincible reasons were alleadged to proue directly that the Images of Chryst of our Ladye of the Apostles Martyres as neuer instituted by any tradition of Christ of the Apostles no nor of any that auncient Fathers ought not in any wise be brought into Churches or being brought in not to bée permitted and suffered in any respect The Catholicke Church say they standing amids Iewishnesse and Gentility doth neither allow the bloody Sacrifices of the Iewes and in Sacrificing doth vtterly abandone all manner of Gentility gaze of Images And agayne a litle after Whosoeuer shall practise to erect Pictures or Images of Sayntes after the errour of the Gentiles shal be adiudged a Blasphemer c. And so concluding at the last We say they that are inuested in Priestly dignity being asseÌ„bled together do with one voyce determine and decre that all manner Imagery of whatsoeuer mettall wood or stuffe deuised by the wicked practise of paynters shal be vtterly abolished out of the churches of Christians as execrable and abhominable And whosoeuer shall presume to sette vppe aâ—y such Image either in the Church or in his priuate house or secret closet If he be a Byshop or a Deacon Let him be deposed If he be a seculer or a lay person let him be holden aceursed and turned ouer to the punishment of the Imperiall constitutions as one that doth wilfully impugne the ordinaunces of God and breake the Rules thereof c. Not vnlike vnto this was the decreé established in the Elibertine couÌ„cell It seemeth good vnto vs that Images ought not be in Churches and that no thing be paynted vpon the walles that is reuerenced or worshipped c. Of these I say and of other the like decreés of councels if Osorius had bene an eye witnesse himselfe or would yet vouchsafe to peruse the monumentes of auncient Fathers he would surelye conceiue an other opinion of Images he would beleue the testimony of Lactantius who sayth that there is no Religion where any picture is in place Agayne he would geue creditte to Chrisostome saying we do enioy the presence of Sayntes by reading their writinges hauing therein a present view not of their bodyes but of their soules To this may be added the testimony of Amphilochius Byshoppe of Iconium We esteeme it not worth the labour to paynt any corporall shape of Sayntes in coloured tables because we haue no need of them but we ought to be mindfull of their good liues And from this differeth very
nor vndertaken of any ranckor or malice nor supported with earthly treasure but to haue bene furthered and encreased by the speciall prouidence of almighty God Neither is it to be doubted if it had bene a pollicy of man onely and not rather the speciall appoyntment of the heauenly Father but that it could neuer haue bene able to haue endured and proceéded in so prosperous a course agaynst your so great and vnmeasurable Tyranny and agaynst so many conspyring confederates of factious furies Which onely successe if the Testimonies of holy scripture can not otherwise preuayle with you and the conduct of Gods mercy which guideth the stearne together with the prophecies and foreshewings which were apparauntly pronounced before the comming of Luther whereof many tokens sent from aboue are mentioned in the Chronicles of the Abbot of vsperge and in the booke entituled Staurosticon Iohannis Frauncisci and Picus Mirandula might haue bene good presidentes vnto you Osorius to instruct you that this Gospell is not the Gospell of Luther of Zuinglius of Bucer nor of Caluine ne yet of men as you prattle and lye but the Gospell of God and that the preachers were not raised vpp by Sathan as your impiety doth blaspheme but sent from an other founder namely the very same who in S. Iohns Reuelation is called by this name the word of God vpon whose Garment and vpon whose thigh is written King of kings and Lord of Lordes Out of whose mouth issueth a sharpe two edged sword agaynst the which neither all the confederate coūcels of the wicked nor Hell gates themselues shal be able to preuayle But to proceéde of the selfe same stampe is that slaunderous cauillation which this Scourgeluther hath coupled in Rancke Of the continuaunce of thirty yeares of title of prescription of the fiue yeares prosperous Reigne of Queene Elizabeth of the grayheadded auncienty of our doctrine and Religiō Wherein it pleased the hoareheadded Syre of his seémely modesty to trifle most apishly of purpose to represent vnto vs as I suppose that old toothlesse Witch of whom is made mention in a certain Greéke Poett Loe what a dust the old Trotte rayseth with her tayle when she daunceth For what if Uerity Trueth which is called the daughter of time being discouered with a farre more excellent lightsonnesse in these our dayes doe beginne to florish more fresh greéne in a certayn largesse of ouerflowing plenty by the inestimable benefite of God shall it therefore be accompted a newe doctrine in your sight because it is cloathed with flesh colors or because it buddeth out blossomes a fresh and is restored to the auncient beauty will you therefore call it new-hatcht neuer heard of before as though it were neuer seéne nor heard of before thirty yeares sithēce what shall we say of Christ who after three dayes lying in graue returned agayne to life frō out his Tombe was not he therfore the same Christ wh he was before his death We read in the Apocalips of two Prophetes whose bodyes being throwen out into the streétes did reuiue and came to life agayne after theé dayes and a halfe And after iij. dayes and a halfe sayth he the breath of life was breathed into thē by God c. The meanyng whereof cann not be extended any wayes to any thyng els but vnto the doctrine of the Gospell And what if the doctryne of the Gospell of Christ be nowe risen agayne into the open world out of the doungeon of darckenesse and deépe drowned blindenesse wherein it hath bene so long suppressed by you is it not therefore the same Gospell that it was alwayes before What did not Iohn Husse Ierome of Prage and the greater part of all Boheme embrace the same Gospell before Luther was borne was not the same order of Doctrine professed in England many yeares before our dayes in the time of Wiclef Swinderbee Brute and others also and in other places likewise amōgest others namely the Valdenses Albingenses with the Grecians Italians Moskouites in Asye in Affricke and in Europe Betengarius Bertrame Peter de Aliaco Iohn Scotus Peter Iohannes William de sancto amore Robert the frenchman whom the hott zealous Pope raked out of his graue and consumed with fire foure hundred yeares agoe Niemus Ioachimus Sauanarola Veselus many others in their time before theyr time with whose goare the bloudy slaughterhowse of the Tyrannous Pope was throughly embrued Did not all these worshipp the same Christ then that we doe professe at this present did they not confesse the same fayth and the same Articles of the Creéde that we do now professe Barnard in his dyscourse of the freé iustification by fayth did he not teach the same doctrine then that Luther hath vttered in writing Augustine disputyng vpon fayth and grace agaynst freé will doth he not treat vpon the same matter that Zuinglius and Caluine doe treat vpon now Of the vse of Sacramentes we haue extaunt with vs long treatises written in the Saxon toung many hundred yeares before those thirty yeares that you speake of witnesses and professours of the same doctrine and fayth which we Englishmen do acknowledge at this present If this be the cause that doth enduce you to thinke that we are entred vpon a new Gospell because we dare shake frō our shoulders the yoake of subiectiō vsurped by the Papisticall Seé the same did long before our dayes Robert Gostred a mā notably learned and famous who beyng Byshop of Lincolne and commaunded by speciall letters from Innocētius the Pope to enduct a certein boy a kinsman of his owne into a Benefice within the Byshopricke of Lincolne being unlearned and unskillfull of the Language did openly resist him and withall did most sharpely inueigh agaynst the Popes detestable prouisions as they call them But why doe I alledge examples of men for the ratifying of the continuaunce of Christes Gospell◠the creditt whereof doth neither depend vpon the maintenaunce of man nor is streighted within any prescription of tyme howsoeuer humaine actions tosse to an fro and neuer persist in any one setled state certes the Gospell of Christ if it be the Gospel of Christ in deede can not be any new or straunge thing nor can haue any other originall or author but Christ himselfe the very sonne of God But whereas in those latter dayes the tongues and mouthes of godly preachers being stopt and shutt vp through terror and Tyranny of the Pope not daring to manifest themselues in the open congregation be now sett at libertye by the boūtifull mercy of God and restored to their auncient Freédome shall we therefore accuse the Gospell of innouation or shall we rather embrace this great liberalitye of God with thankfulnes of mindes and geue our dutifull attendaunce vpon the trueth wherefore whereas this Portingall Parrot prateth so much of xxx or xl yeares limitation herein he behaueth himselfe very iniuriously He perceaueth now a new face
marke of Circumcision haue glorified your Church carrying the marke of the Beast vpon your crownes that Barbour of Horace whatsoeuer he be will serue for your turne much more fittly Upon which wordes of the Poet you proceéde forewarde But by what meanes doe you know me so well Who did euertell you say you that I haue not bestowed longer tyme vpon the Readyng of holy Scriptures then vpon Cicero Demosthenes Aristotle and Plato Truly if you perfourme in deéde Osorius as your wordes do emporte you are much to be commended But your bookes declare otherwise Howbeit we do nothyng mistrust but that you are busily exercized in readyng the Scriptures as your function and dignitie requireth nor did Haddon obrayde you with any such matter as that you did litle or nothyng at all apply the perusing and conference of Scriptures and so also did he meane nothyng lesse then to forbidd you beyng a Byshop as you say and a Priest from the study and practize of Gods holy Testament Wherein you doe vnhonestlye slaunder him and belye him without cause And therefore I cann not seé to what end these wordes of yours which you inferre hereupon and wherewith you seéme to fight with your owne shadow as it were do preuaile on this wise Is it lawfull for you to geue full liberty to wemen to Porters and Carters to tattle and clatter without Iudgement of matters of Diuinitie and will you presume to prohibite me I do not say a Byshop I do not say a Priest finally I do not say a mā many yeares exercised in the most sacred Scriptures furnished with no small encrease of knowledge but as you doe affirme a man of vnderstandyng and wisedome that I may not medle with this most holy learnyng Abate somewhat of your courage good my Lord Byshop I pray you if you can And lett vs reason together vpon some true allegations Tell vs a good fellowshypp where in what place when and at what tyme in whose presence with what phrase of wordes did Haddon euer forbidd you the study of heauenly Philosophy in speach or in thought If you can not Iustifie agaynst him by any meanes to what purpose then is all this so gorgeous and glorious floorish of wordes about the Mooneshine in the water But this braue Marchaunt would neédes blaze out his bracelettes and Iewells lately transported vnto him from out the Calecutes and therefore on this maner ietteth forth this Buskine Portingall Moreouer by what law by what authoritye by what power may it be lawfull for you being a Cyuilian to pearch so presumptuously to handle Gods booke Renouncing the proctorshipp for old Rotten walles windowes and gutters vyle and base contractes Couenaunts and bargains and pleading with pelting libells and may not I who am called to this function to instruct my flock committed vnto me with the word of God be so bold to employ some labour and diligence vpon the interpreting and expounding thereof without your comptrollement c. You haue heard an accusation tragicall enough if I be not deceaued and a very haynous complaynt of this babler For the rest now harken to the Morall of the Fable You offer me a double iniurye sayth he for you doe both entrude vpon an other mans possession and you dispossesse me from my right with most iniurious prohibitions c. Yea but if a man may be so bold vnder correction by your leaue being so great a Byshop so wise a Priest so great a Clarke to speake as the trueth is your selfe haue made two lyes together Osorius without touch of breath For neither he beyng a Ciuilian forsaking his pleadyng of walles windowes gutters doth entrude vpon any other mans possessions nor yet doth force you out of your owne right nor doth prohibite you with any such kynde of prohibitions but that you may proceéde in that course of studies which beseémeth your age profession best bestow as much trauaile thereupon as you can by all meanes possible Yea rather he doth earnestly perswade your holynesse thereunto Enioy therefore a Gods name those possessions which you clayme as your right as much and as longe as you may Haddon will neuer interrupt your course no more will any Christian man els driue you from your interest therein But in the meane space lett vs behold what maner of possessions these be whereof you speake verely if you meane the knowledge of Christ the word of lyfe holy Scriptures readyng hearing of heauenly Pphilosophye Certes I seé no cause why you should haue any more especiall prerogatiue in these possessiōs then any other Nor why this treasure ought apperteigne more to Osori because he is a Priest then to Haddon being a Ciuiliā for as much as by Godes institution this one learning aboue all other is prescribed to all persons indifferently as the chiefe and principall rule of this lyfe vnlesse we will accompt this saying Search the Scriptures to be spoken to Priestes onely and that for this cause Lawyers and Ciuilians ought not intermedle therein But if it were lawfull for Bartillmew Latomes being a Lawyer to write agaynst M. Bucer in matters of highest Diuinitye If Iulius Phlugius a professed Ciuilian might be warrāted by themperour Charles the 5. to sitt in Synodes and disputations of Deuines If Albert Pius Earle of Carporites writing agaynst Erasmus a Deuine and a Priest If King Henry the 8. doing the lyke agaynst Luther and descending into disputation in matters of Diuinitye being neither a Byshopp nor a Priest was supposed neuerthelesse to doe nothing vnseémely his Regall magnificence nor contrary to order Why is Haddon accused then as an encrocher vpon other mens possessions because being a Ciuilian he dare presume to encounter with a priest in matters of Religion But he should haue yelded ouer the charge of writing against you to Deuines and Byshops rather Truely it is not to be doughted but he would haue done so Osorius If in this kinde of conflict he could haue bene perswaded that he should haue contended agaynst a Deuine But whenas he perceaued by the course of your writing that your whole discourse sauored of nothing but of a Rhetorician and a Philosopher and that in your treaty of Diuinitye you alleadged skarse any one sentence of true Dyuinytye and sound doctrine he being himselfe a Rhetorician and withall throughly studyed in the same kinde of exercizes did conceaue in his minde that there could be no fitter match for him then being a Rhetorician to deale agaynst a Rhetorician as Bithus did in tymes past with Bachius that so with one manner of weapō and one kinde of furniture he might encoūter your lyes wherewith you doe so nimbly seéke the ouerthrow of the verytye In this poynt therefore of Haddons determination touching the debating of this cause he did nothing vncomely or vnseémely for his personage nor did he for this cause relinquish his owne walles and encroch vpon your possession yea so much
Ionas Iohn Iero. in Ezec. Lect. 14. Cap. 46. August ad Bonif. Lib. 3. Cap. 7. August de Spirit Lit. Cap. â— Basil. in conc de humilit Aug. Lib. cont 9. Cap. â—â— Aug. Serm. de temp 49 August de Spirit Liter Cap. 11 Ierom. ad Ctesiphon coÌ„tr Pelag. Tomo 3. Ierom. coÌ„tr Pelag. Lib. 1. The holy and perfect life of Oso compared with S. FraÌ„cise Osor. Lib. 2 Cap. 100. How great the force of Popish coÌ„fession is Pag. 148. Osori ArgumentatioÌ„ discussed To be irreprehensible how it is taken in the Scriptures Rom. 8. August Epist 95. The Cause and end of Election Osori Obiection The confutatioÌ„ of the Obiection August de natura gra Cap. 53. 1. Timo. 5. 1. Tit. 3. 1. Timo. 6. Tit. 2. Collos. 1. How holynes frayltie be concurraunt in the holy ones Rom. 7. Of PredestinatioÌ„ and Freewill Pag. 149. 150. 151. Hercules not able to staÌ„d agaynst two yet Osorius agaynst foure Osori more couragious in accusing then in arguyng Osori his stinolous foolish treatyng of Free will The principall partes of Osor. accusation reduced into certeine places Luther in his AssertioÌ„ Article 36. Pag. 151. The repulse of the cauill Will caÌ„ not be seuered froÌ„ Reason The substaunce of Freewill is neuer seuered from Nature Adam created in absolate freedome How mans will is free not free The title onely of Freewill The name of Freewill without effect August vpoÌ„ the wordes of the Apost Serm. 13. Luther doth not take away will from man but freedome from will The words of Luther touchyng title onely are expounded Freewill beyng with out grace whiles she doth what it can of it selfe sinneth deadly Of Luthers Hyperbolicall maner of speach Outragious Hyperbolicall speaches in the Popish doctrine The Papistes can neither away with fayth onely nor with grace onely Luthers vehemencie whereupon it began August de grat Lib. Aâ—bit Cap. 16. Aug. in his booke de bono perseuerentie Cap. 13. The differences of tymes and persoÌ„s must bee distinguished Foure degrees of Freewill after Lomband 2. Lib. Distinct. 25 Freewill weakened after the fall but here must be obserued a distinctioÌ„ of actions Naturall actions Ciuill actions belongyng to the vse of common lyfe Actions merely spirituall Fiue kyndes of Questions 1. Quest. Aug. vpon the worde of the Apostle Serm. 2. 2. Quest. Ambros. of the callyng of the GeÌ„tils Lib. 1. Cap. 3. Capacitie 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 August Epist 46. August de grat Lib. Aâ—b Lib. 1. Cap. 15. Mans freedome is twofold How freedome of will must be coÌ„strued How Free-will must be taken 3. Quest. Whether will be free to those thynges whiche are ruled by reason The Maister of the Sentences 2 booke Dist. 24.25 Nazienzenus in Oratione 4. Quest. August de peccat merit Lib. 1. Cap. 5. Aug. writyng against 2. Epistles of the Pelag 1. booke Cap. 2. Iohn 8. In the same booke the. 3 Chap. Aug. of the wordes of the Apostle Serm. 13. Aug. of the wordes of the Apostle Serm. 2. 11. De Ecclesiastic Dogmatibus 21 Mans will how it is free not free 5. Quest. Whether nature beyng not regenerated haue any free motioÌ„s in spirituall thinges Reason Will. Freewill in respect of spirituall functions is not onely weakened in vs but altogether blotted out 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 power Aug. de boâ—â— no perseue Cap. 6.13 Luthers proposition of bonde will defended The bare Freewill of man beyng deuoyde of grace is none otherwise theÌ„ as a dead man without a Soule 1. Cor. 1. Aug. in his booke of Retract Aug. Enâ—hirid Freewill of it selfe vtterly lost Osâ—c 13. The Grace of God without our Free-will onely sounde and perfect August de Nuptijs coÌ„câ—p Lib. 2. Cap. 3. Pag. 148. Whether our conuersion be the worke of God onely Pag. 149. An aunswere of August De peccat merit Lib. 2 Cap. 18. August De peccat merit Lib. 2 Cap. 5. August De peccat merit Lib. 2. Cap. 5. Obiection Aunswere out of August Freewill hath no power of her selfe either of the whole or of any part to worke A Fallax a Diuisis ad Coniuncta Pag. 149. Against the 2. Epistle of the Pelag. 1. booke Cap. 18. The sutteltie of the Argument framed by not yeldyng cause sufficient August agaynst the 2. Epistle of Pelag. 1. booke Cap. 19. Grace doth not knocke alone but openeth mans will also August de verbis Apost Sermo 13. O Lord opeÌ„ thou our lyppes Obiection Aunswere Aug. vpon the wordes of the Apostle the. 15. Sermon August de grat Lib. Arbit Cap. 16. Freewill is made naked of all maner merite Aug. in the same booke the 13. Chap. Pag. 149. The beatyng down of Osorius Argument Ezechiell 11. Chap. and 36. Chap. The Fallax from the proposition Secundum quid to Simpliciter Osori double fault Aug. contra Iulian. Lib. 4. Cap. 3. Aristotles Ethickes booke 3. Cap. 1.5 Obiection The Aunswere How mans will doth execute the force of an instrument By what meanes wil doth both worke and suffer Aug. Lib. de Correp gratia Cap. 2. How will demeaneth it selfe passiuely and actiuely Mans will is taken for an Instrument yet free neuerthelesse Wherein the papistes do attribute to much to Freewill Pag. 149. 1. Cor. 3. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The state substaunce of the questioÌ„ of Free-will How it is to be vnderstaÌ„ded that the Apostles were together workers with God The Argument of Osorius and the Papistes Tne Aunswere How Luthers wordes are to be coÌ„strued An other Argument of Osorius Pag. 149. An Aunswere Phil. 2. The double errour of Osorius Pag. 149. Osori doth attribute our Saluation partly to Grace partly to Freewill Osorius Obiection Aunswere August de grat Lib. Arbit Otherwise worketh Gods Spirite otherwise mans Freewill the diuersitie of them both Will doth nothyng in good things but wheÌ„ it is holpen applyed Grace doth plye but is neuer plyed Examples of maÌ„s will beyng hindered euen in the euill whiche it purposed Will obeyeth the spirite of God many times whether it will or no. The exaÌ„ple of Paule Peter August de Correp grat Cap. 8 Ierem. Cap. 10. Luther in his booke of Assertions Art 36 Prouer. 16. Man is not altogether depriued of free will to euil though the same be many tymes stayed Pag. 151. Pag. 152. Osor. lyeng rayling agaynst â—uther MelaÌ„cthon Caluine c. Osor. Pag. 151. Freewill is not of powder simply absolutely to make his wayes euill August de Ciuita Del Lib. 5. Cap. 9. Aug. in the same place August de Correp gratia Luthers Artic. 36. Osorius a lyeng Rhethoritian a grosse Logician Mans Free-will is an Instrument of Gods Grace Esay Ezechi Cap. 11. 36. This worde freedome is discussed distinguished Luther Lib. de Sâ—râ—o Arb. Cap. 46. August The power of doyng waÌ„teth not but it â—â— the freedome of power that wanteth August de bono perseuer Lib. 2.
vnam Sanctam What kinde of obedieÌ„ce popes vse towardes Magistrates A conspiracie of Iohn 12. most abhominably practized against Otto the Emperour ContentioÌ„â— raysed betwixt the Emperours and the popes rehearsed out of Hystories A singuler president of the popes obedience towardes the lawfull Magistrate Conrade his brother HeÌ„ry the 5. teazed agaynst their own father through the popes faction Anselme agaynst HeÌ„ry 1. Kyng of England Henry 5. is enforced to yeld to the popes commauÌ„demeÌ„t 25. Quest. 1 violatores The popes of Rome do challenge a certeine heauenly power vpon earth Gratian his booke of Decretalls Ionocent 2. ouerthroweth the order of Senatours in Rome The cruelty of Alexander 3. agaynst the Emperour Fridericke Barbarossa The singuler insolency of Hadrian 4. in banishyng the dignitie of Consulshyp The troublesome seditions of HadriaÌ„ the pope Hadrian choaked with a flye 1159. The seditious tumults of AlexaÌ„der the pope agaynst Caesar his soueraigne Lord and Prince The vnspeakeable pride of a seditious pope A president of the popes pryde farre passing Tarquines pride Iudas â— Nazianzen Oration vpon the holy Penthecost The incredible fury and outrage of Innocent 3. of Honor. and Gregory 9. agrynst Frederick 2. Extimo Concil 49. Pag. 639. The filthy gaynes of the pope Innocent 4. doth sette vpon the same Frederick the Emperour Agaynst the Successours of Frederick do Vrbane 4. and Clement 4. kept warre The pope Clement doth conspire the death of Conrade Frydericke Nicholas 3. doth sowe the seedes of discention betwixt Charles King of Sycile and Peter Kyng of Arragon The seditiouse troubles of Boniface 8. agaynst Celestine agaynst the Family of Columne agaynst phillyppe the Frenche kyng and agaynst Albert the Emperour Clement 5. doth prescribe lawes to Emperours Ludouick the Emperour most shamefully abused by Clement 6. Charles 4. appoynted Emperour agaynst Ludouick the true Emperour by the procuremeÌ„t of Clement 6. The onely popes of Rome the common pestilence of Christianes and of all Europe How little the Romish obedience doth agree with the Rule of Paules obedience Chilpericke the French kyng Henry 2. kyng of England Iohn kyng of England Victor a Byshoppe Phillippe the French kyng Henry 6. the Emperour Wicked practize of Pius 2. agaynst the Emperour Out of Recordes of Germany Henry the 8. kyng of EnglaÌ„d excommunicated by pope Clement the 7. Pius the 5. keepeth a sturre agaynst Elizabeth Queene of England Osori pag. 170. B. The maner of Popishe obedieÌ„ce to their Princes The horrible crueltie of the Spanish Inquisitours against English Marchauntes The king of Spayne subiect to his owne subiectes Inquisitours How the Catholicks be obedient subiectes to their owne kynges Anselme Theobald Thom. Archb of cauÌ„terbury Byshop of Ely Stephen Langton Edmund Archb. of Caunt Iohn Peccham Rob. Wilkelse Gualter Archb. The froward coÌ„tumacy of Monckes agaynst their kyng Out of Mathewe Parisâ— vpon the lyfe of Henry 3. Math. Parisiensis The proude rebellion of the pope the Bishops agaynst the kyng A tenth of all moueables in EnglaÌ„d and in Scotland graunted to the pope Mathaeus Parisiensis The auncient lawes and ordinaunces of Emperours enfringed by Popes Dist. 63. Out of the Englishe Chronicles Osor. The Troumpetour of the Romishe Ierarchy Pag. 170. The picture of the crosse must be worshipped Images of Sainctes Sanctusâ—es Lord for the bloud of Thomas graunte our prayers to wend c. No Nation in the world hath any pictures or grauen Images in their Churches but Papistes onely Osorius doth defend pictures to be as Kalenders of remeÌ„braunce Osorius pag. 17. The monument of the Brasan Serpent and the bookes of SalomoÌ„ de curandis morbis abrogated by Ezechias for the abuse Osorius pag. 171. How the Fayth of the Catholickes is ioyned with hope and feare Confidence of workes by Osor. Fayth How feare ought to be ioined with the fayth of the gospell Of workes Osorius pag. 172. Of Ceremonyes and Sacraments Pag. 171. Of Confession Osori pag. 172. 1. Iohn â— Pag. 172. Plaut in Bacchid Luke 10. The Charecter of the priest The Character of the Beast in the Apocalips Math. 9. Luke 7. Mar. 5. Mar. 9. Luke 4. Chrisost. vpon the 51. Psalme Homel 2. Actes 15. Actes 26. Actes 10. The Reformation of Confession The Superstition of SatisfactioÌ„ A poena culpa Osori pag. 172. Osori pag. 173. FroÌ„ wheÌ„ce that so holy lyfe and so great chastitie of the papistes doth proceede The incredible force and efficacy of the Masse Osori pag. 173. Osorius reason to proue that the rude people should be restrayned froÌ„ readyng the Scriptures Vnknowne tounges in the Papists churches Osor. pag. 173. Smale care had of preaching the word in the popes churches The senteÌ„ce of Barnard To muche light or no light at all How light must bee quallified according to Barnard that there be not too much light nor to litle Psal. 19. Psal. No man ought to be forbidden from reading the Scriptures Ephes. 3. Ephes. 1. The cause is fouÌ„d out why the Byshoppes do fle so much the light of the scriptures What kinde of authority it is of the Popes and Byshoppes in the Popish church Osor. pag. 173. Out of the Trepartite history 9. Booke cap. 35. Si non caste tameÌ„ cauté How farre the lawfull authority of the church extendeth it selfe Luk. 10. Ioh. 20. The Ecclesiasticall dignitye wherein it consisteth There is one power of the church an other of this world Iohn 5. Of the Rites and state holy dayes of the Romish churche Osori pag. 174. How great occasion of idlenes and dronkennes the multitude of holy dayes do engender How blasphemous Idolatrous the songes of the Romish Churchebe Christemasse day Pag. 175. Ashewednesday Palmesonday Good Friday Easter EueÌ„ Easterday Ascention day Whitsonday All HolleÌ„day What thingeâ— be reproued in the papistes holy dayes ceremonies Esay â— Popish worshyppyng compared with the worshyppyng of the Iewes in the olde law The superstitioÌ„ of the people in their state holy dayes ceremonies ought to be reformed Osori pag. 175. Esay 58. Gala. 4. Osor. pag. 176. Principles of Osorius Religion How much commodity and necessity there is in outward ceremonies and signes in Osorius iudgement Sarcasmus a nipping skoffe An Aunswere to Osorius mocke The papists acquayntaunce with mortall fragility The vow of chastity What Ceremonies are necessary with the Christians Baptisme The Communion All Ceremonies are not to be coÌ„demned yet in the allowaunce of Ceremonies Reason and choyse must be â—â—dâ— Osorius spightfull â—nuectiue by a Rhetoricall figure wrest back vpon the Lutheranes Pag. â—77 Osor. pag. 178. Osor. pag. 179. Osorius bauld Rhetorick The confutation of Osorius inuectiue Luther Phillippe MelancthoÌ„ Martin Bucer Huldricke Zuinglius Iohn Caluiâ—e Luther vpoÌ„ the 15. Psalmes of Degrees How the Pope is afflicted by the Lutheranes Apoc. 1â— The authoritie of the Romish See can not agree with the authoritie of the Scriptures The complaint of Osori concernyng the ouerthrow of Monckeryes and Nunneries It was
Peter particularly yea and in earnest will you vrge and defende stoutly the very same senteÌ„ce wherein Mathew Iohn by manifest proofe do coÌ„uince you who expresly do protest that the very same power of byndyng and loosing was geuen by our Sauiour Christ to the other Apostles in generall what will you not dare to do in the darcke good Syr that practize to defraude vs of the cleare shynyng sunne how will you peruert and wrest the fathers that will so craftely iuggle with the expresse wordes of the Scriptures truely you must either bewray your pestilent â—eger de mayne in this place or confesse your grosse errour Your thyrd place is this I haue prayed for thee that thy fayth saynte not and thou beyng at last conuerted confirme thy brethren And what hereof Can any man bee so witlesse to say that those wordes of our Sauiour Christ were not aswell spoken to the rest of the Apostles as to Peter by name I will therfore first scanne the wordes of the Euangelist in order that they may be more apparaunt But you are they which haue perseuered with me in all my temptations And I do prouide for you euen as my Father hath prouided for me a kingdome that you may eate and drinke at my table in my kingdome and may sit on seates iudging the xij Tribes of Israell And the Lord sayd Symon Symon behold Sathan hath desired to sist you as wheate but I haue prayed for thee that thy fayth faint not and thou at length being coÌ„uerted confirme thy brethren In this parcell of Scripture is nothyng particular to Peter but the same is common to all the Apostles That they perseuered with Christ was common to them all The reward likewise is common to them all videl to sit at the heauenly table Agayne the thyrd parcell had relation to them all Symon Symon Sathan hath desired to sift you as wheate Sithence the whole processe of the Text therfore was referred to them all by what Argument may it be applyed vnto Peter onely Namely sithence our Lord Iesus goyng a whiles after suffer death and makyng preparation for his Ascention into heauen poured out most earnest prayers vnto his Father with a long and vehement repetition of wordes not for Peter particularly but for all the rest of the Apostles in generall whiche last and generall prayer of Christ to the Father who so aduisedly considereth shall easely conceaue that our Lord Iesu Christ made not intercession for Peters faith alone but for all the rest of the Apostles And hereof will also maruell much how great learned Clarkes dayly exercised in the Scriptures can Iudge therof otherwise Truly the most notable of the auncient Fathers do constantly affirme that the very same sentences wherewith Supremacie is challenged vnto Peter are commoÌ„ to all the other Apostles together with Peter And this haue I most manifestly proued by the selfe same places which your selfe vouched And albeit we passe ouer all these geue eare to the holy Ghost speakyng vnto vs by the mouth of the sacred Scriptures yet all this Monarchie of Peter which you do so exquisitely aduaunce aboue the Moone and the seuen Starres shal be founde to haue bene vsurped by the inordinate ambition of Byshops of Rome and not by any authoritie grosided vpon the doctrine of the auncient Apostolicke Church I will begyn with our Lord and Sauiour Iesu Christ who hauyng spoken these wordes Thou art Peter c immediately after calleth Peter Sathan and commaunded him to departe from him bycause hee knew not the thynges that apparteined vnto God How did Christ then I beseéch you erect the supremacie of his Church in the person of Peter whom immediately almost with one breath he rebuked bytterly by that most execrable name of Sathan and that not without cause for hee dissuaded him from goyng to Ierusalem Moreouer if Christ made intercession to the Father for Peter onely that his fayth should not faynt how came it to passe that within a few dayes after Peter onely with open mouth denyed forsware Christ his Lord and Maister But I doe much miscontentedly make mention of the fall of so notable an Apostle whoÌ„ I do acknowledge the most excellent amongest the famous Apostles Onely this I would to be knowen that he was ordeined to no seuerall supremacie in the Churche of Christ by any authoritie of the Scriptures We haue heard Christ let vs come now a litle lower to his Apostles and namely vnto Paule who laboured in the Churche of God as hee reporteth of him selfe more then they all he therefore doth playnly and constantly affirme that he had receaued as great authoritie from Christ to be an Apostle ouer the Gentiles as Peter had ouer the Iewes and addeth further that he had conference with Iames Cephas and Iohn whom he nameth Pillers of the Church as the chief of all the rest Yet in the meane whiles hee acknowledgeth no singular prerogatiue of prheminence in Peter Nay rather he vseth great libertie of speach agaynst Peter him selfe without all respect of Principalitie or mention of dignitie But why seéke we other testimonies Peter is a good witnesse concernyng him selfe I beseech the Elders whiche are amongest you sayth heé that am also an Elder and a witnesse of the Passion of Christ and partaker of the same glorie which shal be reuealed c. Behold here the dignitie behold the Supremacy and Monarchie of this reuerend father He is an Elder amongest Elders A witnesse amongest other witnesses of the Passion of Christ partaker with the rest of the same glory to be reuealed Here is a Triple Crowne truely yea a most precious Crowne not made of goldâ— nor beset with precious stones A most honorable Ambassadour of the heauenly glory to bee reuealed not of any Temporall or earthly dominion Lastly a most Reuerend Father not in any singular Lordlynes but by especiall ordinary power of his fellow brethren Who so will throughly sift the doctrine the ordinaunces the lyfe and conuersation of the Apostles shall finde a most perfect patterne of vnchaungeable consent but shall not smell any tast no not one sparke so much of this Lordly Monarchie wherof this ghostly Prelate doth so subtlely and largely dispute Unlesse perhaps he will driue vs to friuolous gesses as to picke vp children kyckesses together As that Peter went before That hee spake oftentymes first that hee looked into Christes Sepulchre before Iohn But if we shall hunte after such gnattes The honour geueÌ„ to Iames is of more substaunce Namely when in their publicke assembly the rest of the Apostles did subscribe to the ordinaunce that he made And that other also to wit when Peter was desirous to know who should betray our Lord Sauiour Iesu Christ to the Iewes him selfe did not enquire therof but beckened to Iohn whiche did leane vpon the breast of our Lord that hee might demaunde the question But howsoeuer these
weaken the Maiestie of the Romane Empire but ransacked and rent in peéces the whole world almost Euen so the Romishe Byshops in the first swathling cloutes of the first primitiue time of the church were very godly and sounde and to vse the wordes of the scripture did many tymes withstand the enemies of the Gospell euen with losse of lyfe But after they had erected this Lordly superioritie of the Papane Monarchy there was of godlynes and integritie of lyfe no dramme at all but of intollerable ambition vnbridled licentiousnes whole swarmes did appeare And yet I speake but a litle It is not therefore requisite to hang all the keyes vnder one maus gyrdle alwayes nor yet scarse good pollicie For if it were so there might be some daūger therein lest the frowardnesse of one person might ouerthrowe the whole estate of Christianitie There is farre lesse ieoperdy where seuerall Prouinces are ruled by their seuerall Pastours for proofe wherof if it be not sufficient to haue alledged reason experience I will recite vnto you out of the Register of Romish Byshops for witnes Gregorie the first Who in this matter vttereth the same reason in the same wordes And for playnesse of the matter I will set them downe as hee hath spoken them whiche are these If we haue but one onely head the fall of that head is the fall of the whole Churche it any mā presume to take vpon him this name of vniuersall Byshop the whole Church falleth downe from her estate when he falleth which is called vniuersall But farre may this name of blasphemie be from all Christian myndes whereby the honour of all Priests is diminished in part whiles this arrogaunt singularitie is presumed vpon c. May any thyng be sayd more playnly or plentyfully can any thyng be pronounced more vehemently or effectually agaynst this extraordinary and presumptuous Lordlynes of Papacie Neither did Gregorie otherwise then he spake For when this Satanicall name of vniuersall Byshop was offred vnto him by the Coūcell of Calcedon hee refused it with great detestation and would by no meanes be acquainted therewith although you deny the same most shamelesly as shal be declared afterwardes But here you obtrude agaynst vs the misticall Sonet of Salomon Wherein he commaundeth his spouse to catch the Foxes destroying the vynes which be as you interpret it heretiques peruertyng the Churche And this you affirme cā by none other meane be brought to passe except some one be set in authoritie that may roote vp the mores of hereticall contagion before they be ripe First of all Osorius it is hard to establish a firme doctrine by an Allegorie Moreouer the denomination of Foxes doth no more resemble heretiques then any other wicked persons But to graunt this vnto you in some respect by what argument do ye proue that heretiques can by no meanes els be apprehended vnlesse your singular Monarchy be admitted The Emperour Phocas did first of all erect this Papal Empire in Boniface the iij. What then Had not Peter long before Foxes in chase and the other Apostles likewise Call to your remembraunce Ananias Saphira and Elymas the sorcerour forget not other pestilent examples like vnto the same and you will be better aduised Proceéde a degreé lower to those graue Fathers the first Byshops of the Romish Church Clemēs Anacletus Marcellus many others Could the holy Martyrs haue sealed our Religion with their bloud vnlesse they had first daunted the pride of Tyrauntes and heretiques with the sword of the Scriptures But here paraduenture you will Triumph bycause I make so honorable mention of the Romish Seé I wis it is neédelesse For I doe here commend Byshops not Popes Martyrs not Monarches And yet in truth I haue no quarell with the Romishe Seé or the Byshop therof nor euer had It is that vsurped authoritie that exalteth it selfe aboue all earthly power which I do challenge and will proclaime open warre agaynst whiles breath is in my body except I finde a stronger Goliath then you are hetherto But we will returne to your Foxes whereof I haue noted the ouerthrow of sondry most subtill and craftie before the Papacie This our later age praysed be God doth punish and vtterly suppresse whole sects of heresies although the same doth not acknowledge your Papane principalitie I dare be bold to vouch England and I conceaue no lesse frendly of other common weales agaynst the which you can not forge any probable reason to the contrary or why it should not be so For if there were no vniuersall Monarche of the Churche sittyng in that stately chayre at Rome ought that be any estoppell to the Byshops of England Scotland Poland or Germany yea of Spayne or Portingall or any other dominion or common weale but that they may apprehend hereticques yea and punish them Haue they no Magistrates do they lacke lawes are they voyde of sense and vnderstanding Put on your spectacles Osorius and behold all Christian Nations and marke wel the maners of the people Are they not sufficiently prouided for their common safetie and tranquilitie by their owne peculiar lawes do not Princes gouerne their seuerall territories in orderly pollicie may they administer all other matters well and can not confute the absurdities of heresies without this Tyrannous Ierarchy of Rome Can not we touch an heretique or can not other Regions do the like which are in the furthermost part of the world seuered from the costes of Italy except they gad to Rome for a Pelting Oracle do you iustifie this Osorius is this the wisedome of an old man are you so altogether voyde of learnyng experience and discretion also Yea rather before any Pope was at all heretiques were layd handes vpon Euen now also rigour of law is executed agaynst them Neither can any Foxe be foside so crafty as your reasons alluded vnto thē are vtterly friuolous vnskillfull But ye skippe from Salomon to Paule and of him you write in this maner Therfore Paule in his second Epistle to the Thessaloniās denyeth that it may come to passe that Antichrist shall come before there be a departyng from the fayth First of all this is somewhat straunge in you that you note the place And surely in very good tyme haue ye done it for euen here your vnshamefast imprudencie is taken tardy Paule pronounceth in that place that our Lord Iesu Christ shall not come before a departyng be of the fayth first but you for our Lord and Sauiour Christ haue placed Antichrist Paules wordes are these Let no man deceaue you by any meanes for the Lord shall not come except there come a departyng first and that sonne of perdition be reuealed You are caught Osorius and so entangled in this snatch that ye can not escape Are you not ashamed to depraue Paules sentence so blasphemously can you with so execrable impietie and horrible ignoraunce place Antichrist in steéde of Christ and the sonne
for their defence also as appeareth playnly by their bookes but I enterlaced this withall that if our writers had vsed scriptures onely they had followed herein the example of Iesu Christ and his Apostles What sayth our graue father to this Forsoth he Preacheth much of the Diuine power of Christ our Sauiour how that he was the mynde and wisedome of the father and the accomplisher of the Law and did make new ordinaunces of our Religion which were not expressed in the whole course of the old Law First of all this vnweldie old man perceiueth not how hee hath ouerthrowen him selfe in his owne turne for if Christ be the mynde and wisedome of the father as he hath most truely sayd hereupon consequently followeth that all the particular testimonies of Christ are speciall Oracles of the truth and that all his particular sayinges ought to be engrauen in our harts as heauenly Oracles This did our heauenly Father pronounce vnto Moyses and Moyses declared the same vnto the people in these wordes The Lorde thy God will rayse vp a Prophet lyke vnto me from among you ouer thy brethren him shall ye barken vnto Wherfore if we must harken vnto Christ as vnto Moyses then are we bounde as necessarely to his preceptes as to the ordinaunces of Moyses Behold the same more playnly yet in the Gospell Iesus beyng baptised came forth of the water and behold the heauens were opened and he saw the spirite of God descendyng as a Doue and standyng ouer him and loe there came a voyce from heauen This is my welbeloued sonne in whom I am well pleased Therfore sith the authoritie of Iesu Christ is sealed vnto vs by the mouth of almighty God what greater Maiestie of Scriptures may be pronoūced in the Scriptures taught or imagined more excellent then this doctrine Iames doth recorde That our Lord and Sauiour Iesu Christ is the onely Lawmaker which can saue and destroy Wherfore in his onely right and interest he did partly establishe new lawes partly amend the old partly expoūde the obscure partly restore them that were worne out of mynde and partly abolishe them that were receaued But what maketh this to your purpose when our Lord Iesus doth vse Scriptures doth he alledge any other then the sacred testimonies of the old Testament it could not otherwise bee say you doth he vouche any other interpreters then the holy Ghost sent downe from heauen he neéded not say you For he whom God hath sent speaketh the wordes of God for God doth not geue him the Spirite by measure The Father loueth the Sonne and hath yelded all thynges vnto his hand This is a true saying of Iohn concernyng Christ which beyng so in deéde that must bee also true whiche I enterlaced That Iesus Christ beyng contented with the testimonie of the holy Scriptures alleadged none other interpretour besides him selfe This is also vndoubted true at the last That you are a very vnskilfull and blockishe Deuine whiche professing the knowledge of God do wauder so erroniously in the nature and power of God If I should sift out the examples particularly that you haue taked together for this purpose I should finde them altogether voyde of all maner probabilitie stuffed full with grosse errours Two onely will I shake out amongest all the rest which shall condemne you of your disguised maskyng You deny that this sentence can be founde in the Law in the Prophets or in the Psalmes that the way is narrow that leadeth to saluatiō or that we must turne the left checke to him that hath striken on the right If you exact wordes you play by that Sophister If you require substaūce or sentence I do affirme it to be found euery where both in the Law in the Prophetes and in the Psalmes The old law hath an expresse commaundement That we shall not bow to the right hand nor the left hand nor adde to the Law nor diminishe there from Is it not apparaunt therfore that we are placed in straightes Truly Dauid perceaued it well who beyng a kyng and a Prophet chosen by that singular prouidence of God to gouerne the people of Israell yet doth greuously complayne that hee was partly placed in narrowe straightes partly forsaken in the darke and sometymes maketh most humble supplication to God to direct his feete in the right way but very often confesseth that the word of the Lord is a Lanterne to his feete and a light to his pathes But what neédeth a Lanterne but in combersome and narrow straightes where a man may easely goe amasked if you be ignoraunt in all those places what doe ye vnderstand that is requisite in a Deuine and Byshop or if ye know them and dissemble them what can be more wayward then you Likewise you obiect that saying of geuyng a blow on the cheékes which wordes do employ nothyng els but that we are commaūded to be patient But patience is most learnedly conteined in that first and speciall commaundement of God Thou shalt loue thy neighbour as thy selfe There is no mā that will offer iniurie to him selfe in any matter wherfore he ought not to wrong his neighbour at all cā you haue any thyng more plainly spoken The vngratefull people of Israell did exclame and rage agaynst their good mild paynfull guide Moyses sometyme with secret conspiracies sometimes with open exclamations many tymes with threatnynges and very oftē with wicked cursinges What might this gentle Captaine doe in the meane space Beyng stricken yea and buffeted also vpon the cheéke doth hee not turne ouer his other cheéke What els I pray you is meant hereby that he doth often pray vnto God for such cursed caytiues his enemies when he doth so earnestly and vehemently cry out to God either to forgeue them or to blotte his name out of the booke of life if you require yet a more notable example of patience Behold our Lord Iesus Christ is prefigured vnto vs in Esay the Prophet drawen vnto death as a Lambe to be slayne who beyng rayled vpon on euery side vexed by the Iewes and buffeted with fistes on the face held his peace and as a sheepe before the Shearer neuer opened his mouth what may be thought of the whole history of Iob but a conquest of patience and in most miserable calamitie a most ioyfull Triumphe thereof And yet this veépe Deuine is so voyde of common sense that he vtterly deuyeth any sentence to be founde in the Scriptures touchyng patient sufferaunce of our enemyes wronges You say that you haue passed ouer many thyngs It had bene better for you truely that you had passed ouer all thynges then in all thynges with malice and foule speakyng so to turne the catte in the panne that your wordes can neither finde head nor foote to stand vpon can explane nothyng soundly cōclude nothyng duely proue nothyng effectually but raūge in rayling brawle with bare affirmatiues and with pratlyng past measure pester and
gay copes of sentences yet ye lose herein both your trauaile coste For you garnishe but a schooleharlotte a nurse of superstition a drudge of couetousnes and the common shoppe of all abomination And therfore you do well that in the enshryning of so filthy an inueÌ„tion of man you flye from all ayde of Scriptures And yet bycause ye produce some somwhat styâ—ye according to your discretion apply them as wisely though ye promise quyte contrary we will sift them a litle by your leaue and sée how they will helpe you in your iourney I speake nothyng here you say how in the old lawâ— in their sacrifices offred for cleansing of sinnes a certein confession of vnpure liuyng was brought to the Priestes But speake aloude rather what confession was that you speake of by what custome receaued in what place when and with what circumstaunces was it frequented either you ought haue vttered one of these or els we must playnly iudge that this confession was a certeine somewhat we know not what Whereof is no such thyng in all Scriptures as you make it or if any such were amongest the ordinaunces of the Priestes the same is worne out of â—re euen as the old sacrifices are quyte forgotten and this you can not deny vnlesse you be altogether ignoraunt in Diuinitie No nor that you thinke worthy to be noted you say that those whiche came to the Baptisme of Iohn Baptiste did of an earnest zeale confesse their sinnes You do wel Osorius that you do not note it but you had done better if you had neuer touched that place For at that tyme were no MassemoÌ„gers nor Cowled lozelles into whose eares the wretched rude people might particularly whisper their offences without whom this your goodly confession is of no value No nor it pleaseth you you say to rehearse the confession that ChristiaÌ„ men made to the Apostles of Christ meÌ„tioned in the Actes of the Apostles If it pleased you not to rehearse it why do you rehearse it theÌ„ nay rather why do ye make a speciall note out of the Actes of that which is not there The hartes of the Iewes were pricked at the preaching of Peter whom also Peter doth exhort to amendemeÌ„t of lyfe Here is no word of Confession and yet I doubt not but they did confesse their sinnes vnto God But I would not haue you Osorius beyng a Deuine and a Byshop so vnaduisedly to vouche any thyng out of scriptures wherof is no mentioÌ„ made there You say also that you will passe ouer in silence the Commaundement which Iames gaue coÌ„cernyng Confession Truly you ought to haue made no mention therof bycause that coÌ„maundement caÌ„ not be restrayned to Priests onely but exteÌ„deth it selfe to all persons indifferently and belongeth no lesse to common prayer then to mutuall confession as is euident by Iames his owne wordes Lastly you say that you will not vse these wordes where with Christ did manifestly commit vnto Priestes the iurisdictioÌ„ of the soule Ye do very well truly that you will not vse those places I would to God you would not abuse them But you do corrupt them fouly Osorius and that laudable wholesome order of the Apostles in remittyng offences whiche they vsed with prayers openly spoken in the name of our Lord Iesu you do depraue with a certeine authoritie of your owne in blynd corners either for lucre of some powlyng pence or for someother worse matters In a straunge toung ye send away the people that come vnto you nothyng ameÌ„ded nay rather ofteÌ„tymes more apte to deuise mischief surely for the more part much more corrupted rather then amended I do not lye Osorius though you stomacke my wordes Dayly practize common experience and the perpetuall hystorie of all ages will witnes the same to be true And beyng here destitute of Diuinitie you hauke for other helpes abroad and you raunge to two vertues very godly ones I promise you yet such as they be as farre wyde from your forged CoÌ„fession as heaueÌ„ is distant froÌ„ the earth You suppose it a goodly matter that we do know our selues And so it is in deéde You commende humilitie much I agreé with you therein But from whence come these vnto vs out of Friers Cowles or Priestes wyde sleéues or from the bosome of God the father from whom euery good and perfect gift is deliuered vnto vs Peruse you that Psalmes of Dauid what shall you finde in them but submission humilitie knowledge and embacyng of a mans selfe and yet that Prophet of God did not learne them of your Priests but of the creatour of all thynges God our most louyng and bountefull father of that same great mighty God I say who pronounceth of him selfe saying Behold therfore that I euen I I say am the same Lord and that there is no God besides me I do kill and I make aliue agayne I doe make the wounde but I will heale agayne c. Wherefore we must obey Iames who pronounceth in this maner Humble your selues in the sight of the Lord and he will exalte you But wherfore bryng you these thynges seuerally The whole discourse and tenour of the Scriptures doth teach humilitie and submissioÌ„ of myndes it breaketh obstinacie it abateth pride and â—ameth arrogancie And yet Osorius a Deuine and a Byshop doth leade vs away from the Scriptures and will thrust vs vnto market Confession to gather preceptes of good lyfe from Massemongers and Cowled Friers O blynd guide of the blind It is no maruell truely though you and your sheépe of Siluain fall both together into the ditche But at the length hee bringeth forth an inuincible ArgumeÌ„t and doth testifie of him selfe in earnest and as it were with Protestation That the holy Ghost hath wrought all that goodnesse that is in him by the meane of Confession He doth playnly Confesse that confession hath bene his Schoolemystres and nurse of all his godlynes in so much that he hath not one sparkle of the loue of God for so hee speaketh besides that whiche hath bene reuealed vnto him by illumination of this eare Confession First of all Maister Doctour I am easely persuaded this to bee true that you speake of your selfe and next I am ashamed and wery of you that haue altogether so hanged vpon CoÌ„fession that neither prayers nor study nor preceptes of holy Scriptures haue preuailed in any respect to enduce your mynde to godlynesse beyng a grayheaded Deuine a man of threé score yeares almost Then also I can not but beleue that either you haue bene a very blockheaded Scholer or that your maisters of Confession were very vnlucky which in so many yeares after so much buzzing in their eares after so many coÌ„ferences of godly matters could worke nothyng els in you theÌ„ to shape a madde Byshop of a senselesse Priest Epicure as you know was accustomed to glory that hee had neuer instructour in Philosophie I beleue
is this to make guiltie of the body and bloud of Christ your naturall brother that hath not offended you as though he had written that which he neuer wrate as though he had done that which heé neuer did as though you haue affirmed that which you do not proue nor can euer iustifie nay rather which you haue not endeuoured to proue for what haue you alledged of myne what wordes what sentences haue you noted out of my writyngs lastly what one thing haue you explaned whereby you may not bee adiudged of all men a most shamelesse slaunderour and notorious rayler Your processe that ensueth is stuffed full with demaundes wherein albeit I dyd pittie your singular amazednesse very much yet could I scarse hold my laughter in them they were so cold so friuolous so variable and to speake my mynde at a word so altogether like Osorius him selfe Your first question is That though myne eyes are so dazeled in matters of Diuinitie that I can not cōceaue that wonderfull chaunge of earthly bread into the nature of heauenly bread yet why I would notwithstādyng with quarelling peruert so wonderfull a benefite of God Truely I doe confesse right reuerend Prelate that myne eye sight hath bene alwayes so dymme that I could neuer discerne this your counterfait Trāsubstantiation But I ought to haue beén pardoned herein bycause it hath beén a generall disease and blindnes of all tymes of all ages and of all Nations The Apostles neuer saw so foolishe a thyng The auncient Fathers could neuer discerne so cloudy a forgerie at the last Sathan opened the eyes of your Schoolemen made them so sharpe sighted that in Distinctions eccyties and quiddities they could many time easely seé that thing which was no where at all This kinde of people enlumined by the Prince of darkenes furnished with the authoritie of the Laterane Coūcell and Innocentius Pope of Rome not much aboue 300. yeares past did rayse out of hell this newfangled monster of Trāsubstantiation Euen then when that Councell had sitte abrood Transubstantiation began first to peépe out of the shell beyng neuer heard of before any where nor knowē so much as by any name Why then do ye vpbrayde me with blindnes so sharpely sith your selfe I say your selfe do know that all the world was as blind as I before that Laterane Coūcell But do you as ye list I for my part will continue blind still with Christ with the Apostles with the aūcient Fathers with all the commendable company of godly Deuines in this Laberinthe of Transubstātiation rather then I will acquaynte my selfe with so monstruous a frameshapen new start vp puppet with your Schooleianglers confessours and lousie Friers But you begyn here to waxe very whote and teastie and spurre questions at me on all sides What is it you say that you do vnderstand what do you conceaue in your mynde and reasons Lastly what is it that your vnderstandyng doth feele and know I will tell you my good father and without any cholor I promise you if you will heare me patiently First I do seé that you doe childishly wander in this bitter talke that demaunde one and the selfe same thyng in threé seuerall distinct questions Then I do also playnly seé that you are so doltishe and blockishe a patrone of Transubstātiation that ye can not with any honesty open your packe amongest your owne pedlers But you neuer cease demaundyng You aske of me what doth trouble me in the mysterie of the Sacrament Truly nothyng at all graue Prelate troubleth me there but your vnmeasurable vnskilfulnes in so great a mysterie which is no small reproch to your profession and dignitie yea to your gray heares also But ye will know more yet Whether I doe mistrust the power or the clemencie of God Neither of both finewitted Gentleman no more doe I trust your selfe nor yet your Transubstantiation bycause ye goe about to throw it vpon vs contrary to the meanyng of the holy Scriptures in the which God the Father hath most fully declared vnto vs his power and will by his Sonne our Lord and Sauiour Iesu Christ. Lastly ye demaūde What the cause should be why I should thinke wherefore you should beleue that the body and bloud of Christ is cōteined in the Sacrament in a wonderfull meane and that I my selfe can not beleue the same whereunto you annexe this that in witte and learnyng ye doe farre surmonte me It is a very hard matter holy father to descry any peculiar cause whiche moueth you to beleue and defende Transubstantiation but I will gesse somewhat nearer the chiefest Forsooth you are addicted wholy to your Schooletriflers and Confessours but very litle to the Scriptures by meanes wherof it is come to passe that ye skyppe ouer the open Oracles of truth and are entangled in the weuett of errour peraduenture also ye are become an apprētice to the Romish Seé and ye meane to procure with the prety Marchaūdize of your pedlers pilfe some Cardinals Hatte It may likewise be that for countenaunce sake ye will face out your false packe with a carde often bycause ye thinke it will empaire the credite of your gray heares to be ouersene in any thyng Besides all these custome perhappes of many yeares had made your iudgement rotten before it was ripe as men vse to say of common lyers which redouble a lye so often that by their often rehearsall beleue it to be true at the length euen so may you thinke to establishe the countenaunce of your imagined Transubstantiation by alledgyng in defence therof a continuall allowaunce of long tyme. If none of all these haue moued you I thinke surely ouermuch pride hath blinded you wherewith ye swell in such sort that you dare boldly without blushyng make vaunt of your selfe more like vnto a bragging Thraso or if any thing cā be more vayne thē Thraso then like a Deuine For you doe not exceede me in witte say you nor excell me in learnyng Truely I will not compare my selfe with you nor with any other person Neither do I professe my selfe to know any thyng at all but Iesus Christ and him also Crucified As for you if one droppe of Christian humilitie or ciuill modestie were in you so hautie a bragge of your braue witte and learnyng would neuer haue escaped you Consider with your selfe in good earnest my holy father this your foolish communication and learne somewhat of Christian humilitie lest almightie God besides this your most vnsauory errour of Transubstantiation adde a more heauie plague vpon you for your vnmeasurable arrogancie You accuse me that I doe trust to much to my naturall senses but that you doe direct all the course of your life to the fayth of the Churche and that I doe shake of from my shoulders the yoke of Christ but you take it vpon you and that I doe forsake the benefites of God but that you doe leane stedfastly to fayth All which are cleane contrary
a matter It is very manifest you say for one of you doth sacrifice to lust an other to frensie an other to the paunche an other to slauÌ„deryng Cursed be thou thou Chapplein of the deuill Thy sect doth publickly worshyp a peéce of bread insteade of a golden Calfe and lyeth grouelyng on the grounde before a God made of bread your solemnities be ló Bacchus ló Venus You are defiled and contaminated with all kynde of wickednesse you do most abhominably mainteine slewes and Brothelhouses and yet in the meane whiles will translate your Idols vnto vs. But ye caÌ„ not Osorius Printe and painte and do what ye list ye caÌ„ not bring that to passe All the world almost is so well acquainted with your horrible filthy lyfe that a boye of seuen yeares of age can point with his finger at the places the persons and the whole course of your abhominations But where as you adde further that there is one fayth of Luther an other fayth of Bucer an other of Zuinglius and an other of Caluine This is your old quarell alwayes hacked vpon but neuer proued These worthy persons and graue Fathers of the Churche were alwayes of one fayth and of most agreable constaÌ„cy to the ouerthrow of your erreonious deuises In some pointes they did varie but in the substaunce of fayth they were of one mynde The like blemish happened to Augustine Ierome and Cyprian men very famous for their learnyng vertue in Origine TertulliaÌ„ were somewhat greater blottes whose fayth notwithstandyng as farre forth as is agreable with the Scriptures is not discredited by our Deuines ne yet by your owne Maistershyp if a maÌ„ may be so bold to tell you as also what I thinke you shall perhaps know hereafter in those your huge Uolumes entituled De Iusticia wherin you are of a cleane contrary opinioÌ„ to that learned man August in the thiefest part of all not in any small matter but in the Treatise of righteousnes it selfe wherein is conteined the foundation of our fayth and herein ye wrangle so bitterly so obstinately and so ouerthwartly that Cardinall Poole did wonderfully reprehend your arrogancy herein and thereunto replyed with most godly wordes That the abilitie of man could not bee to much embaced and the power of God could not be to much aduaunced But sith you can presume so much vpon your selfe as with such proude boldnesse to attempt the ouerthrow of so notable a father in the principall point of our Religion We neéde not marueile that ye can not forbeare vs if we varie in small matters of no value for amongest them truely was no litle controuersie in matters of great importaunce if they might haue had vpright iudges and learned vnlike to this our Osorius The functioÌ„ of the Apostles was equall their Iurisdiction in all respect one whereby it commeth to passe that amongest them no one may be in hyghest authoritie and this haue we partly approued before by the examples of Paul Peter and Iames and the same also haue I made so manifest in this Booke where I treated of the Monarchie of the Romish Prelate That you haue now no startyng hole to hyde your head in You say that it is euident in the writynges of Clement of Euaristus Lucius Marcellus and Pius that they were of opinion alwayes that the supremacie of the vniuersaâ—l Churche of Christendome was attributed to the Romishe See You rehearse vnto them Irenaeus Augustine and other holy auncient Fathers Afterwardes you vouche the whole Register of Antiquitie What impudencie is this What vntollerable arrogancie nay rather what retchiesse negligence and singular foolishnesse is this you doe recken vp many Byshops of Rome by name and yet alledge no one sillable so much out of their writinges to establish this prerogatiue of this Romish See no more do you cite out of Augustine and Irenaeus any one title for the maintenauÌ„ce of this your Ierarchie Lastly you make mention of all the auncient antiquitie yet vouch no one worde out of all that great number of yeares whereby that may appeare to bee true whereof you make so stoute a warraunt by your bare affirmatiue Is this to be accoumpted a Deuine Do ye defende the Romishe Seé no better Haue you no better a Target to couer this your holy and Emperour-like power Belike ye come vnto vs a new Pithagoras would haue the old Poesie in vre agayne 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 But we yeld not so much Osorius we receaue not your affirmatiue neither can you wryng any thyng out of our hands in the coÌ„ference of matters apperteinyng to fayth more then that you shal be able to Iustifie by good and sounde Argumentes We follow not your sayth as the which we haue tasted to bee almost in all thynges most detestable Wherfore if you meane to wynne any credite herein Let this be a watchword for you that ye must vnfold agayne all that lumpe of confused disputation and abandone those vnmeasurable raylinges forsake those clamorous exclamations renounce that vnaduised rashnesse of bare affirmatiues and argue with probable reasons iustifie with approued Argumentes and make good proofe by expresse sentences of holy Scriptures auÌ„cient Fathers But you are well furnished with Fathers forsooth for in your Bedroll ye haue lapped together not onely the old fathers but vnfold also vnto vs a certeine new Schoole of Fathers That is to say Ecckius Coclaeus Rossensis Pighius Auaunte with all these sworne bondslaues of your Monarchie whereof part were common dronkardes some lechers some traytours the remembrance of whom is odious as yet and notoriously infamous for sundry their notable crimes Or if ye will neédes allowe of these dregges of the Church beyng in deéde the sworne humble vassals of the Romish Seé Yeld me this much agayne my request to peruse the writynges of Bucer Melancthon Zuinglius Oecolampadius Peter Martyr Caluin and Beza men most excellent in conuersation of life and of singular learning And ye shall seé the contagious botches of your Papacie so raked abroad and ransackt by them that ye will neuer hereafter take any regard to any such scabbed Iades if you be wise You seeme to marueile much that I beyng a CiuiliaÌ„ and exercized in pleadyng temporall causes would spend my tyme to knowe your mysteries Truly you are herein somewhat to inquisitiue Osorius For albeit I do professe the Ciuill Law yet am I a Christian and desire to be edified in the law of the Lord And if you will haue this much graunted vnto you to apply your selfe to the knowledge of the tounges to be addict wholy to the study of eloquence to raunge in the bookes of Philosopers and will notwithstanding be accompted a ruler of the Roast in Diuinitie as in the speciall peculiar of your own profession looke not so coye vpon vs poore Ciuilians I pray you bycause we geue our endeuour to learne the Statutes of Christian Religion and are desirous to bathe
and are you not ashamed to obtrude vnto them this grosse errour whiche is ech where most euidently conuinced in the whole discourse of the Gospell treatise of holy Scriptures Cākred malice hath not onely blinded you Osorius but so bewitched your senses that as ye can not seé the truth your selfe so yet of a most arrogaunt waywardnesse you will frowardly kicke agaynst the Preachers of the truth And yet this notwithstāding is most true That sinne doth alwayes dwell within vs and that there is alwayes a law lurking in our mēbers rebellyng agaynst the law of the mynde which draweth vs as bondeslaues to sinnyng But the Lord doth deliuer vs from this body of death through the bloud of Iesu Christ not by rootyng out sinne from vs altogether but for Christes sake pardonyng the sinnes of them that repent And hereof arise those comfortable reioysinges of the faythfull He that spared not his onely begotten Sonne but deliuered him to be slayne for vs all how can it bee possible but that he should geue vs all thynges together with him Agayne who shall accuse the elect of God Thirdly it is the Lord that doth Iustifie who shall condemne vs These are not spoken to the end to set out our innocencie perfection whereunto we can not aspire whiles we are pilgrimes in this miserable flesh but doe expresse vnto vs that God doth geue vs freé remission through Iesu Christ so that we will set our whole affiaunce and hope vpon him which pronounceth of him selfe that hee was sent not to the righteous but to the Sinners bycause they should repent and amende their lyues But you can not well disgest these sayinges my Lord for what can you beyng an old Byshop allow in the Scriptures that haue bounde your selfe apprentice to such bussardly Schooledregges And yet this confidence in the death and bloud of Christ will rayse vs vp into heauen at that dreadfull day when you and your couled generation with all your peltyng trinkettes of superstitious workes shal be throwen headlong into hell vnlesse ye repent in tyme. For we doe assuredly knowe that if we confesse with our mouthes our Lord Iesus and beleue stedfastly in our hart that God hath raysed him from death to lyfe we shal be saued For with the hart we beleue vnto righteousnesse and with the mouth we confesse to Saluation And yet this confession of fayth doth neuerthelesse want no testimonie of good workes as where withall she is alwayes accompanied for we are not so indebted to the fleshe that we should walke accordyng to the flesh for if we liue accordyng to the fleshe we shall dye But if in the spirite we mortifie the sinnes of our bodies we shall liue For all those that are guided by the spirite of God the same are the sonnes of God Wherfore renoūce once at the length such lothsome communicatiō where withall lyke a most filthy hogge mooselyng in the durtie swynesty of Epicure you vse most wickedly to scorne and deride the faythfull seruauntes of Christ. For ye write that it is the maner of their thought We are in good case enough for we are most acceptable vnto GOD through fayth Wherfore we are as righteous as Peter and as Paule yea as the most holy mother of God Ye goe amasked altogether Osorius the faythfull Ministers of Christ doe not acquainte them selues with this vnsauory and hautie spirite of pride but rather doe earnestly call to their remembraunce the sayinges of Paule The night is passed the day is come nye let vs therefore cast awaye the workes of darkenesse and let vs put on the armour of light Let vs walke honestly as it were in the day light not in eating and drinking nother in chambring and wantonnesse c. But let vs put on Iesu Christ and not make prouision for the fleshe fulfill the lustes thereof c. Hitherto Walter Haddon The residue aunswered by I. F. begynnyng where Maister Haddon left agaynst Osorius APelles the most famous Painter of the worlde endeuouryng in most curious exquisite maner to expresse the feature of Venus at Coe in Greéce called in Greéke 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was preuented by death as Plinie reporteth whē as yet he had drawen but the halfe of the portrait and thereby cōpelled to relinquishe the residue so vnperformed that no man of the Arte were he neuer so expert durst at any tyme after presume with pencill to pursue the President The like lot albeit in vnlike endeuour that ouertooke Apelles amiddes his blazing the beautie of Venus seémeth to haue encountred our noble Gentleman Walter Haddon in displaying the veritie of the Gospell For after hee had vndertaken the commendable and prayse worthy defence of the truth agaynst Ierome Osorius albeit he neither obteined to beautifie the part which he had begon nor to accomplish his purpose in the rest and yeldyng ouer to nature was amyddes his race constrained to surcease his exploite yet hath hee so poolished that part whiche hee left vnfinished with Apelles Pencill that is to say hath framed so singular a Paterne in excellencie of Arte that with the sight therof the whole posteritie may be afrayde to set hand to the attempt For determinyng with him selfe to aunswere the slaunderous Inuectiues of Ierome Osorius compiled into threé bookes although it was not graunted him to performe the whole yet hath he so singularely endited one booke and the halfe of an other agaynst the same confuted the reasons which were none at all discouered his lyes whiche were most shamelesse daunted his hauty pride and vtterly discomfited his vaine glorious Peacocklike Rhetoricke with such grauitie wisedome and so well disposed stile that if there were no supply made by any other the truth of the Gospell beyng of it selfe otherwise vnuanquishable might seéme to haue no neéde of any other patronage Wherefore so long as we enioyed the lyfe of this excellent learned man and him selfe endured amongest vs as the Churche of Christ had a very worthy and valiaunt Captaine So had Osorius also a couragious and puissaunt an enconterer and meéte conquerour for such a monster But now sithence he is taken from vs albeit the veritie it selfe haue no iust cause to dispayre yet can not we chose but be vnderfully dismayed if not for M. Haddons sake yet for our losse chiefly For as concernyng M. Haddon hee can not but be in most happy estate whom Gods good prouidence hath mercyfully trāslated out of this furious wretched world into more blessed quyet calme euen then especially when as beyng conuersaunt in the race of perfect godlynes he employed his vertuous endeuour in so sacred a cause where now neither Ierome Osorius nor any other braulyng barker can from henceforth disquyet or molest him There is greater cause rather to moue vs all the learned to much sorrow and grief of mynde who haue lost so great and learned a ryngleader of learning the losse of
but by the Mediatour the Sonne through whom righteousnesse is Imputed not purchased by workes neither to him that worketh saith hee but to him that beleeueth in Christ that Iustifieth the wicked And yet you seémyng not to bee so much as acquainted with this righteousnes by Imputation as that ye dare not once name this worde Imputation doe notwithstandyng stand so much in your owne conceite as though Christ at his commyng should finde all fayth in Osorius but no fayth at all in Luther If a man might be so bold with you it were no vneasie matter to pike out diuers other sentences out of Scripture whiche would quickly cracke the credite of your fayth As where the Apostle writyng vnto Timothe doth so manifestly Prophecie That it should come come to passe before the end of the world That many should departe from the faith beleeuing lyeng Spirites and doctrines of Deuilles forbidding Marriadge and the eating of meates which the Lord hath prepared to be receaued with thankes geuing These doctrines of Deuils for as much as the lying spirite of Osorius doth so stoutely mainteine bende all his force to vphold in this latter age of the world as besides him no man more obstinately what may be thoughe els but that either he is departed from the fayth or that the Apostle is an open lyar Agayne Where the same Apostle writeth touchyng Antichrist paintyng him out in his colours as it were so liuely expressing him to the apparasit view of the world his Throne his wickednesse his iuggling his lyes his pride his immesurable arrogancie vauntyng him selfe beyond all hautynesse of mans Nature What may a man Iudge of these sentences the meanyng of the whiche can by no meanes possible be applyed to any thyng els thē to the Romish Sée 2. Thess. 2. Agayne in the Reuelatiō of S. Iohn where the same Antichrist is set in open stage hauing the shape and countenaunce of a meeke Lambe whiche vnder the visour of false hornes should resemble the true Lambe and restore the Image of the wounded beast to lyfe and speache Whiche place of Scripture bycause can not be wrested any other wayes then to that Romishe Ierarchie whiche bendyng to ruine at the first was restored by that great Archeprelate of Rome yet in this most apparaunt Text of Scripture if Osorius faith he demaūded whether it may be applyable to the Bishop of Rome we shall finde him as farre dissentyng from the purpose of this Prophecie as if he were demaunded the way to Canterbury he might aunswere a poake full of Plummes We haue hitherto sufficiently enough declared I suppose that Osorius for all his bragges is voyde of all ayde to defende his Fayth And so for this tyme I will commit the cēfure of those gay workes which flowe so plentyfully out of that glorious Fayth to that Iudge which shall display the hidden corners of darkenesse and to the consideration of them who by the view of his bookes haue skill to discerne a Lyon by his pawes or rather an Asse by his lolieeares Now remayneth at length to discouer briefly that which he barketh agaynst Luthers fayth Now let vs see Luthers fayth sayth hee whether it can bryng forth any liuely fruite It cā not by any meanes c. Lye on yet more a Gods name First of all bycause hee teacheth that all workes appeare they neuer so godly are desiled with sinne Nay rather but that you were by nature of so corrupt a Iudgement that ye can not frame your selfe so much as to speake the truth you would neuer haue patched this lye amōgest the ragges of your leasings Luthers disputation cōcerning faith good workes tendeth to nothyng els but that which the Scriptures euery where the sacred spirite of truth and S. Paule inspired with the holy Ghost doe by all meanes and reasons confirme which we all ought of very duetie to embrace For Luther endeuouryng to make euidēt the doctrine of Iustification comparyng our good workes with the lawe of God is enforced to confesse the very truth of the matter that is to say That there is nothing so holy in workes but beyng of it owne nature in some respect vncleane and defiled must néedes be vnsauorie in the sight of God if without Christ it bee racked with exact scrutyne of Gods seuere Iudgement And hereof quarell is pyked forthwith agaynst Luther as though he should affirme that whatsoeuer workes the very regenerated engraffed in Christ them selues did worke were nothyng els but méere sinnes and wickednesse And bycause he doth abbridge good workes in that part onely wherein they be falsely adiudged to be of valew to Iustifie before God Osorius doth argue agaynst him in this wise as though he did vtterly roote out of mans lyfe all Ciuill and Morall vertues and vertuous conuersation Wherein a mā can not easilye determine whether he doth shewe him selfe more iniurious to Luther or bewray rather his owne blockish grosenesse No man euer taught more soundly no man more highly commended good workes then Luther did beyng separated a part from the doctrine of Iustification And whereas he doth extenuate the force of workes in the treatize of Iustification he doth not therein so altogether derogate from workes as rather frendly aduertize them whiche through vayne Confidence of workes doe challenge to them selues righteousnesse in the sight of God and do depende so much vpon the deseruynges of workes as though there were none other foūteine from whence our Saluation might be deriued Luther therfore vsing Argumēt agaynst those persons doth boldly auow that all our workes are defiled yet not simply but in respect of their application beyng considered without the fayth of the Mediatour Whiche beyng most truely spoken by Luther is as sinisterly wrested by Osorius as though he had spoken it simply that there is no good or commendable thyng in workes nothyng in them acceptable to God though neuer so duetyfully or vertuously performed And for this cause hee concludeth at last as with an vnuanquishable Argument That by no meanes possible Luthers fayth could bryng forth any frutefull workes like as that barren figge tree growyng neare vnto the high way whereupon grewe nothyng but leaues But this is Osorius his owne conclusion not Luthers a Sophisticall cauill concludyng falsely If S. Paule doubted nothing at all to esteeme all thinges sinnefull which were done without faith Rom. 4. If it were lawfull for Augustine to write in this wise Thy workes are examined sayth he and are foūde all defiled Why doth he rage so furiously agaynst Luther bycause he doth professe that the déedes which we call good are in none other respect to be daémed for good thē as they bee valued by the fayth of the Mediatour The consideration of this doctrine as is of it selfe most assured so doth it not tende to that end that Osorius imagineth to discourage godly myndes from vertuous endeuour Rather well disposed
Sinne do reteyne still that force and strength of freédome in those spirituall thyngs before rehearsed as that it be effectuall of it selfe before Grace or beyng holpen by Grace could preuayle so farreforth inspirituall thynges as that through grace and the naturall force of Freewill workyng together it might become sufficient cause of it selfe to enterprise spirituall motions and with all to put them also in practize For all those thynges must be duely considered Osorius If we will shew our selues vpright and hādsome disputers of Freewill in debatyng of which question if ye will permit our Cōfession to be coupled with the authoritie of the most sacred Scripture we must of necessitie hold this rule fast whiche teacheth that albeit mans nature is fallen from the integritie of that excellent and absolute freédome yet it is not ouerthrowen into that miserable state of seruilitie whiche is proper to brute beastes neither that it is so altogether dispoyled of all the power of the first creation as hauyng no sparkes at all of her aūcient dignitie remaynyng For the nymblenesse of the mynde deuiseth many thynges with vnderstādyng digesteth with Reason comprehēdeth with memory debateth with aduise gathereth in order with wisedome inuenteth Artes learneth Sciences Recordeth thinges past obserueth thynges present and prouideth for thynges to come Semblably will doth chuse and refuse the thynges that seéme either agreable to reason or profitable to the senses So that by those qualities appeareth sufficiently I suppose the difference that is betwixt vs and brute beastes and vnsensible creatures Which actions beyng naturally engraffed within vs yea without grace albeit proceéde from the voluntary motion of the vnderstandyng mynde yet bycause they extende no further then to this present lyfe and perishe together with this mortall body serue but to small purpose yea euen then chiefly when we make our best accompt of them Moreouer although they bee after a sort freé of their owne nature yet stand they not alwayes in such an vnchaūgeable integritie but that reason is many tymes deluded by great errours will ouercharged with waywardnesse the power of the mynde suffereth many defectes Almightie God many tymes by secrete operation communicatyng his handy-worke to gether with these actiōs doth apply the willes of men hether and thether whereunto it pleaseth him confoūdeth their deuises aduaunceth their endeuours not after the freé Imagination of men but according to his own freé decreé and purpose And this much hetherto concernyng those obiectes and externall operatiōs onely which concerne the common preseruation of this present lyfe and which perish together with the same But yet truely as concernyng either the enterprising or accomplishyng of those spirituall motions and operations for as much as they do farre exceéde the capacitie of mans nature the Scripture doth vtterly deny that man beyng not as yet regenerated is naturally endued with any force or abilitie of will sithence the first creatiō but that all those giftes are vtterly lost through the greatnesse of Sinne and that by this meanes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 imbecillitie and weakenesse of nature is by propagation discended vpon all men and nature it selfe corrupted with miserable faultinesse yea and not with faultynesse onely that doth exclude vs from those euerlastyng good thynges but besides this also that through this corruption of nature hath succeéded in steéde of that auncient integritie a certeine rebellious contumacie and filthy infection of Diabolicall seéde which doth depriue vs of all heauēly knowledge and carry vs headlong into all maner of abhomination whereupon the doctrine of Luther is not vnfitly confirmed wherew t they do conclude with Augustine most truly as agaynst the Romish Doctours that Freewill is not onely weakened in vs but vtterly extinct also and so thoroughly defaced that if we bee any tyme enlightened with any sparcle of Regeneration the same ought wholy be ascribed to the grace of God and not to Freewill nor to any strēgth of ours and to speake the wordes of Augustine neither wholy ne yet of any part For vpon this point chiefly dependeth the whole variaunce betwixt vs and the Papistes touchyng Freewill These thyngs therfore beyng in thus sort discouered which ought in deéde haue bene distinguished at the first for the better demonstration of the manifold diuersitie of questiōs I will now returne agayne to Luthers position who doth professe that Freewill is a thyng of Title onely and a Name or Title without substaunce Wherein if Osorius shall Iudge any worde to be misspoken and blameworthy in him hee must then first aunswere me to this question For as much as Freewill is not all alike in the persons that are regenerate and in them that are not regenerate and for as much as libertie also is to be construed in humane actions after one sort but taken after a contrary cōstruction in spirituall exercizes hee must I say tell me which sorte of Freewill or what maner of actions he doth treate of If he meane that Freewill which is now gouerned by the Spirite of God Surely Luthers position maketh therof no mention at all Or if he meane those naturall obiectes whiche proceéde of common nature or whiche are vsually frequented in the dayly practize of common conuersation after the conduct of Morall reason either in doyng right or executyng wrong So doth not Luthers position tende to these actions in any respect But if the question bee after this maner Of how much force and efficacie the bare choyse of man may be of her owne naturall abilitie either in enterprising or performyng those thynges which doe obteine Gods grace for vs or make an entrey for vs into heauen then will Luther aunswere most truly That there is scarse any substaunce at all in Freewill auayleable to the purchassing of the kyngdome of heauen except a glorious visour of Title onely no more substaunce veryly then is in a dead man who besides the onely shape and denomination of a man hath nothyng in him whereby hee may receaue breath and recouer life to the dead carcasse For of what force is mans Freewill els towardes the thynges that apperteine vnto God before it haue receaued grace then as a dead man without lyfe And for this cause the Scripture in many places expressing our natures in their most liuely and natiue colours calleth vs darkenesse blinde to see deafe to heare vncircumcized of hart wicked in the deuises and imaginatiōs of our conceites stonie harted cast awayes enemies in respect of our fleshly thoughtes Rebelles against the Spirite vnprofitable Seruauntes bondslaues sold vnder Sinne dead vnto iniquitie vnexcusable subiect to wrath S. Paule describyng the callyng of Gods Elect in the first Chap. of his first Epistle to the Corinthes And those thinges whiche were not sayth hee God hath called c. If Paule doe affirme that the thynges which are were not so at the first and that truely How can Osorius Iustifie that will was any thyng worthe in
them which as yet were not I will rehearse vnto you the saying of our Sauiour in the Gospell where settyng vs forth to behold our selues as it were in a glasse Let the dead quoth hee burie their dead Come thou and preach the kingdome of God Tell vs here Osorius in what sense did Christ call them dead whose bodies were not dead if their life were endued with Freewill able to come vnto God in any respect howsoeuer they seémed to be alyue in the Iudgement of men But and if they had no lyfe in God how then could Freewill be liuely and forcible in the dead Goe to And how can the dead by any meanes restore him selfe to lyfe May it please you to heare Augustine treatyng of the same matter Man can not rise againe sayth Augustine of his owne accorde as hee fell voluntaryly Let vs take holdfast of the right hand of God which he reatcheth out vnto vs. c. So that I would wish you to consider with your selfe aduisedly what thyng it is whiche we ought to receaue at Christes handes without Freewill first and what afterwardes of Free-will without Christ for the which we ought to be thankefull to him for them both For if accordyng to the testimony of Augustine There was none other cause of our destruction greater then mans Freewill by abuse wherof man lost both it and him selfe by what reason will you proue that to be sounde which Augustine affirmeth to bee vtterly lost or how can you restore lyfe to that thyng whereunto you are indebted for your owne death Or what reliefe can you finde towardes the purchasing of eternall life from nature beyng so vtterly dispoyled which euen then especially when it stoode in most perfect integritie could neither helpe you nor her selfe nay rather whiche brought you and her selfe both to vtter destruction The Lord cryeth out in a certein place by the mouth of his Prophet O Israell thy perdition is of thy selfe but in me onely is thine helpe c. If there bee no helpe els where then in the Lord onely vpon whō alone all helpe dependeth what is there left then in Freewill that we miserable wretches may trust vnto If you be ignoraunt therof Maister Osorius the Prophet will forthwith declare it vnto you Forsooth what els think◠you but vtter destruction For in as much as one man by one faulte onely wherein he alone offended did through his freédome of will whenas yet it was most pure and sounde throw headlong both him selfe and all his ofspryng into so horrible thraldome frō most absolute and most perfect Maiestie of freédome what other thynges will Osorius then gape after out of this his Freewill sithence nature is altogether defiled now who hath made so often shypwracke of his freédome of all his Freewill also standyng as it were in dispayred case is enforced dayly to runne to the second table of Penitentiary Confession for relief but vtter perditiō vnlesse he take holdfast by fayth of that right hand of God whereof S. Augustine doth make mētion before Therfore let this great Proctour of Free-will take good heéde least whiles he accuse Luther to much he cōmit a more execrable fact bewray him selfe a more deadly enemy to Gods grace thē the other may seéme aduersary to Free-will For if this controuersie here debated touchyng the merite of Saluation tende to this end onely to sifte out from whence the cause therof ariseth to witte whether from the onely grace of God or whether from Freewill as a necessary and vnseparable coperterner therewith truely if it be true which the Propheticall Scripture doth most truely conclude That all helpe consisteth onely in the Lord and in our selues nothing but destruction I can not seé but that by how much soeuer it shall please Osorius to establishe Freewill by so much shall hee disployle GOD of his Grace and that most iniuriously But I heare the colorable pretence of Osorius wherewith he practizeth to make his defence carry a certeine shewe of truth paintyng it out with a deceauable foyle so that hee may seéme neither to yeld all to the grace of God accordyng to the Catholicke fayth nor yet after the errour of the Pelagians leaue nothyng at all to the operation of Grace For whereas the deuilish doctrine of the Pelagians which taught that euery mā was endued with sufficient freédome to doe good without the helpe of God hath bene long sithence condemned for hereticall accordyng to the testimony of Augustine This Gentleman fearyng to bee deémed a Pelagian doth deuide his Assertion after such a sort that he may neither seéme vtterly to exclude Grace altogether nor yet so yeld ouer all to Grace but that Freewill must of necessitie be copemate with Grace But let vs heare Osorius vtteryng his owne wordes Veryly we do cōfesse this to be true that our thoughtes our workes which we deuise bring to passe vertuously and godly ought to be ascribed vnto God through whose grace and fauour they are accomplished in vs. Behold godly Reader how this godly Prelate of his Catholicke pietie attributeth some thyng to the Grace of God whiche doth ascribe our godly sayinges thoughtes deédes to the worke of God And this much truly did neuer any of the Pelagians deny but affirmed alwayes that onely God must bee accompted the Authour not onely of our lyfe of our beyng yea of all the actiōs also of our lyfe but also that all our Freewill ought to be referred to him beyng the Authour thereof But this is not enough Osorius for question is not demaunded here whether God be the Authour of all good workes which no man will deny But the question is whether those thynges which belong to the purchasing of our conuersion and Saluation in the sight of God do so proceéde from God the Authour therof as that his onely Grace do worke the same altogether in vs or whether Freewill also doth worke any thyng together with Grace For herein consisteth the chief knot of all the controuersie Which shal be debated afterwardes more at large in place fit for it by Gods grace In the meane space let vs marke how Osorius goeth foreward For vnlesse God had restrayned me from rushyng wilfully into wickednesse vnlesse Gods spirite had forewarned me with his coūsell that I should not throw my selfe headlong into euerlastyng calamitie vnlesse he had strengthened me with his wholesome and strong protection made me able to worke the good worke that he cōmaunded me I should neuer haue bene able either to thinke a good thought or to doe a good deede and all myne endeuour employed either to the purposing or accomplishyng my worke should haue bene vtterly vneffectuall What neéde I aunswere much hereunto Neither could Luther him selfe if he were alyue speake or professe any sentence more godlyly if a man regard the wordes and not the meanyng of the man For what can be more truely or
substaūce of God what kynde of couplyng do ye desire to be had betwixt Reason and the will of God Who in deéde can will nothyng but that whiche is perfect sithe that nothyng is perfect but that which he willeth And whereupō then riseth this hauty crest of yours that can not be satisfied with the bare will of God beyng expressed in his playne word Neither seémeth it sufficiēt in your Iudgement that God should chuse any to saluation vnlesse his secret counsell herein may be made discernable by the deépe reach of your owne reason and that he should render an accoumpt and reason of his decreéd will herein vnto your Maistershyppe Albeit I doe not deny this to be true that the profounde wisedome of the Deuine Godhead can not be sundered from the knittyng together of his Reason and counsell that is to say from it selfe Yet out of what Schoole suckt you such Diuinitie O singuler Piller of the Romishe route so earnestly to require and to sift out the counsell and Reason of the Creatour euen in the very vnsearcheable wisedome of him that created you I suppose ye were thus schooled in your sacred confessions Surely you neuer learned it out of holy Scriptures If you neuer noted what aunswere the Lord made to Moyses in the Scriptures marke now somewhat more attentiuely I will haue mercy sayth he on whom I haue mercy and I will take compassion on whom I will take compassion c. Here you may seé a singuler Mercy of God in takyng compassion whereof you nor seé nor heare any other rendred in the whole Scriptures besides the onely will of God I will haue Mercy saith he will you know the causes and the persons the doth not say bycause I perceaue thē to be worthy of my benignitie whose foreseéne workes doe delight me now before I take Mercy but I do therfore take Mercy bycause I will take Mercy and I will take compassion on him of whom it pleaseth me to haue Mercy And therfore S. Paule addyng a very fitte conclusion Ergo sayth he God will haue mercy on whom he will haue mercy and will harden whom he will harden With these wordes bridlyng our nyce curiositie as it were and withall geuyng vs to vnderstand that it is enough for vs to know that so is the will of the Lord although there be no manifest demonstration made vnto vs of the cause wherfore he would so do For of what soeuer it shall please the Lord to bryng to passe albeit we can not atteyne the Reason yet ought we to grounde our selues vpon this for sufficient and lawfull Reason bycause the Lord hath brought it so to passe we ought also to learne of Christ this lesson Bycause it hath so pleased thy good will O Father For as much as it is not lawfull for any creature to presume to enquire any reason beyond the will of God Right well therfore and very profoundly doth Augustine geue vs this lesson It is not meete sayth he to search for the causes of Gods vnsearcheable will it is not lawfull to know it for that the will of God is the principall and highest cause of all thinges that are and therefore if when it is asked why the Lord did it it is to be aūswered bycause he so willed it if thou go further in asking why he willed it thou askest some greater and higher thyng then the will of God is Which can not possibly be founde out And agayne the same Augustine in an other place writyng of Predestinatiō and grace God sayth he taketh mercy on whō he will haue mercy and of whom be will not haue mercy he will not take mercy He geueth to whom him listeth and requireth that whiche is due vnto him of whom he will Here agayne ye heare the Will of God named yea and that alone wherewith if you be not yet satisfied bycause it is named alone harken what is immediately annexed by the same Augustine for thus it followeth He that shall continue to say God is vnrighteous let him harken vnto the Apostle O man what art thou that contendest with God man with God earth with the Potter c. Doth he herein not note you excellently Osorius and as it were poynt at you with the finger as that no man could possibly haue noted any matter more notably Paule the Apostle doth render no causes at all of Gods Election but his will onely Augustine dare enquire after none All the whole Scripture is throughly satisfied with his will onely Onely Osorius can not be satisfied nor thinketh it lawfull enough for God to doe that him lyketh best vnlesse with sutteltie of Reasonyng as it were with cutted Sophismes and Sillogismes mā mainteyne Argument with his GOD earth with the Potter Which thing how horrible it is learne at the least out of Esay the Prophet Woe sayth he vnto him that will contend with his maker a brittle pottesharde of the outcast potteshardes of the earth shall the clay say vnto the Potter why doest thou make me thus did thy handes fayle thee in thy worke c. As though there were any of the Creatures of God that doth vnderstand the mynde of the Lord or were euer counsellours vnto him or as though it were not permitted him to will as him lysteth or as though what soeuer pleaseth him were not lawfull for him to do vnlesse he did geue vs a reason and orderly render vnto vs the causes that moued him thereunto And what if he will not discouer it Osorius Yea and what if he ought not what if when him lysteth to display it most manifestly your balde mazer and the blockyshnes of your nymble capacitie can not be able to pearce into the vnsearcheable depth of his glory wisedome and counsell Ieremy the Prophet beyng commaunded to go downe into the house of the Potter and there to behold throughly the workemanshyppe of the runnyng wheéle and the hand of the craftesman when he saw the Uessell that was newly made and was by and by broken agayne neither doth he require a reason thereof of the workeman nor yet doth the Lord beyng the workeman rēder any reason vnto him onely he declareth his power in makyng new and renewyng agayne of that which was broken in these wordes Am not I of power to do vnto you as this Potter doth to his claye O house of Israell sayth the Lord. Behold as the clay in the hand of the Potter so are you in my hand O ye house of Israell And will Osor. dare be so bold beyng a fashioned lumpe of the Potters wheéle neither reuerencyng the Maiestie of his maker nor contented with his onely will to require a reason of his creation besides the lawfull will of the Creator and will he not permit it to be sufficient for God to doe in his owne workes what it pleaseth him best For what do these wordes of Osorius emporte els Where beyng squeymish at Luthers speache He doth
the people to be taught on this wise rather That God of hys goodnes and mercye would haue all men to be saued And that the cause why all are not saued is for that all will not receaue the grace indifferently offered vnto them And this maner of teaching they do suppose to be sound On the contrary that the other doctrine of predestinatiō doth take cleane away all force vse of wholesome preachinges exhortations and disciplines c. If we onely eyther were alone or were the first that were vrged with these slaunders and cauillationes there were lesse cause to wōder at the wickednes of this our age But I do seé now no new thinge here neuer spoken of before nor any other thinge but such as many notable learned men haue bene sundry tymes combred withall long sithence Emongest whom cōmeth first to hand Augustine whom beyng occupyed in thys cause sometyme the Pelagianes but most of all the Massilianes did molest much with the very same obiectiones as appeareth playnely by the transcript of Prosper and Hillary their letters to Augustine euen the which obiections our deuines are now a dayes pressed withall which if were true then might he seeme to haue vndertaken this quarrell not rashly nor altogether in vayne as our men haue done also But let vs aunswere to their complayntes Such as are appoynted teachers in the congregation of God if they should beate into the grosse eares of the rude multitude this part of doctrine which treateth of the secrett predestination of God so nakedly and barren of it selfe as not doyng ought els nor respecting any other thing ne yet applying wtall any wholesome exhortations and allurementes to vertue shold stirre and prouoke none to vertues endeuour honest carefulnes and godly lyfe these reasons might carry some showe of truth perhapps But this matter ought to haue bene foreseene Osor. how these preachers behaue thēselues what they preach how in what maner and to what end they do lay this doctrine open before the people before you should haue burst out into those cruell accusacions and slaunderous reproches If some yoūglings peraduenture may be found not so modestly and soberly to demeane themselues as may beseeme them allured either through delight of noueltie or caryed thereunto through lightnes of witte or to braue out their knowledge and learning it is not conuenient that the lowse and vncircumspect dealing of some particuler persons should be preiudiciall to the truth of the doctrine Godly and modest wittes surely as they conceaue the true reason of this doctrine so doe they Iudge it no lesse necessary to be applyed to the end they may pluck downe that pernicious opinion of yours treating of merites of confidence in workes and of doughtfulnes of Saluation For the ouerthrow whereof what more necessary doctrine to edifie the congregacion withall may be applyed in the Church of Christians And therfore to conclude briefly For asmuch as all the doctrine of Predestination doth tend to this ende chiefly that men may be forewarned not to trust to much to their owne strength but to repose all their hope and affiaunce in God It is vntrue that you do obiect That the doctrine of predestination doth perswade rather to desperation then to godly lyfe For what is this els as Augustine sayth then as that you should say that men do then dispayre of their owne safety when they beginne to learne to repose their hope and affiaunce in God and not in themselues in any wise c Whosoeuer therefore shall instruct the ignoraunt people in the true doctrine of predestination of the holy ones discretly and modestly and in due season when case so requireth and shall ioyne withall godly and wholesome exhortations the same shall he do profitably enough without anye inconuenience seeing that the preaching of both may be well coupled and agree together according to the testimony of Augustine who affirmeth that neyther the preaching of fayth profiting in godly fruits ought to be hindered by the preaching of predestination that they which are taught may learue how to obey And agayne that the preachīg of Predestinatiō ought not to be hindered by the preaching of fayth profiting in godly fruites that they which obey may know in whom they ought to reioyce not in thoir owne obedience but in him of whom it is written he that doth reioyce let him reioyce in the Lord. Will you vnderstand Osorius how the coupling of these too doctrines is not preiudiciall to the preaching of the one to the other Paule the Apostle of the Gentills did many tymes sette forth the doctrine of predestination to the Rom. Ephe. Timot. The same did Luke in the Actes of the Apostles Christ himself likewise doth make often mencion of the same in hys sermons all which did not cease to preach the word of God neuerthelesse and do notwithstanding withal entermixt diuers good and godly exhortations to liue well Paule when he sayd it is God that doth worke in vs to will and to bring to passe according to hys good pleasure did he therefore abate any thing of hys godly lessons to make vs lesse carefull to will and to worke the thinges that are acceptable vnto God In like maner where he sayth he that hath begonne a good worke in you will bring the same to effect euen vntill the day of Christ Iesu Yet did he not cease to perswade them earnestly in the same Epistle written to the Phillippianes that they should not onelye beginne but perseuere vntill the end Beleue sayth Christ in God and beleue in me yet is thys neuerthelesse true that he speaketh in an other place No man commeth vnto me or beleeueth in me vnlesse it be geuen him from the father Christ sayth also he that hath eares to heare let hym heare Yet doth God speake in the scriptures these wordes also that he will geue them a hart frō aboue that they may vnderstand eyes that they may see and eares that they may heare c. And although it were not vnknowne vnto hym who had eares to heare and who had not that is to say the gifte of obedience Yet doth he exhort all men to heare Although Cipriane did both know and wryte that fayth and obedience were the gift of God and that we ought not reioyce in any thing because we haue nothing of our owne yet this was no hindraunce at all vnto his earnest preaching but that he taught Fayth and obedience neuerthelesse and most constantly perswaded to good life When we heare S. Iames teach vs that euery good and perfect gift commeth downe from the father of lightes yet this preaching of grace nothing withstoode but that he continued to rebuke such as troubled the cōgregation saying If you be bitterly zelous and your hartes be full of contencion doe not reioyce nor lye not against the truth for this is not the Wisedome that came from aboue but earthly beastly and diabollicall
bookes name out of your mouth the tearme of Iustification or of Predestination Yea truly I maruell also why ye durst name the name of Christ also amōgest your writyngs sith that Cicero neuer made mention therof in all his bookes But this ridiculous Silenus doth neuer play his part more pleasauntly then whenas takyng the rodde in his hād and sittyng in the Schoolemaisters chayre he calleth forth poore seély Haddon into the middes of the Schoole and cōmaundeth him to harken to him to learne of his Maister And no maruell for he is full of such cōmaundementes But good M. Osorius you must beare with poore Haddō in this behalfe for he is occupied about other matters he can not come to your Schoole now And if he could be presēt he would not be so foolish yet though otherwise in eloquēce neuer so childishly ignoraūt as to be much afrayde of this vgly Buggebeare in a Lyons skynne but he would sooner espye him to be an Asse by his lollyng eares then a Lyon by his pawes Wherfore keépe these Maisterly preceptes now to your selfe which you may then at the length with shame enough lay vpon others neckes when you haue your selfe learned to vse them well before For if we lysted to set downe here to the viewe how oft your Reasons and Argumentes fayle you how vndiscretly how fayntly you roaue and raunge to vnseasonable exclamations and vntymely scornefull braggynges braying out as it were a madd man where no cause is triumphyng there where is no victory yea and many tymes where no aduersary is how stoughtly sometymes ye stād by incōgruitie I could easily shew that the faultes which you carpe at to be in Haddon cā be applyable to no mā more fitly then to your selfe Now whereas you adde last of all that there is no man of any Iudgement which will blame Haddon for that he is addicted to Cicero more then is neédefull as I am not ignoraunt whereunto that your vnsauory and more then foolishe scoffe tendeth so can I not sufficiently coniecture what this malicious bragge of the name of a Ciceronian and emulation of speache should emporte amōgest Christiās It is not my part to Iudge rashly of your meanyng And it may be that ye write this agaynst Haddon not so much of any true knowledge as to vnlade you of some cholericke humours And yet if you will geue me leaue to tell you in your care what I thinke if you thinke as you haue writtē and be of the very same mynde in deéde certeinly there can not be hidden vnder this couerte meanyng of yours any other thyng then very lurkyng Heathenish infidelitie For if you be carried into such a wonderfull admiration of Cicero that ye thinke him worthy to be noted for infamous that is not more then enough addicted to Cicero for so doe your wordes emporte and ou the contrary part thinke also a speciall poynt of hyghe commēdation if a man with whole bent of affection endeuour to become a Ciceronian◠where is thē I pray you the Glory of Christ where is that mynde that knoweth not to reioyce in any thyng but in the Crosse of our Lord and Sauiour Iesu Christ The Lord in the Gospell doth playnly deny that a man may serue two Maisters at once And the Apostle doth exhorte not in one place alone that we frame not our selues to the fashiō of this world But you will say that by these wordes Mammon is vnderstāded Be it so in deéde Ergo who so is addicted ouermuch vnto Mammon him you deny to be the seruaunt of Iesu Christ. And shall he be the seruaūt of Christ that is addicted to Cicero more then enough But it is prayseworthy to imitate the gorgeous neattnes of Ciceroes speach worthy of great cōmēdatiō to matche him in excellēcy nor is it any thyng preiudiciall to Christes glory But what if Christ will not be glorified on this wise what if the simplicity of the gospell will not admit such pyrlyd pyked delicate speéch what if the same that Synesius spake of the young man may be as aptly verified of speach that is to say That fine poolished speach is alwayes impudēt But eloquēce was alwayes had in great estimatiō amongest all men you will say As though that whatsoeuer were vnlike vnto Ciceroes phrase were by by barbarous and as though Cicero him selfe if he were now aliue agayne would not vse an other phrase of speach in the doctrine of the Scriptures thē he vsed at that tyme. And as I suppose this one mā Cicero did not accomplish all maner of learnyng Neither is one phrase of speach meéte applyable to all persons causes and Argumēts But now Maister Osorius other maner of matters are in hand we lyue now in an other world In that which we may not occupy our wittes so much about the poolishyng of speach but rather with earnest bent affectiōs seéke for life euerlasting for remissiō of sinnes for the kyngdome of God learne how to turne away the seueritie of Gods wrath Iudgemēt frō vs for that day surely hāgeth ouer our heades which shall bring vs either to euerlastyng glory or els to euerlasting destruction We must be well aduized how we shall aūswere in that Parliament before that Iudgemēt seate For the Iudge may not be dealt withall with floorishyng wordes but with substaunciall matter This must be all our care endeuour hereunto must we enforce all the powers of our soules not how measurably or aboundaūtly our toung may be framed to pretie cōceiptes not how loftely our style mayaduaūced But by what meanes the terrible coūtenaūce of God may be pacified All other thynges whatsoeuer are but shadowes though they delight prophane eyes of this world with neuer so glorious spectackles Undoughtedly whosoeuer is strickē with an earnest feare of God whose soule beyng terrified with the multitude of his haynous sinnes doth with inward harty sorrow sighe and scrytche out vnto Christ whom the holy Ghost hath endued with a true and liuely contemplation of this transitory world who hath in hart and mynde vtterly renoūced the world with the pompe therof Finally whom the vnmeasurable magnificence and vnspeakeable Maiestie of the kyngdome of the Sonne of GOD doth wholy possesse what shall he regarde the lofty grace of Cicero or the proude stately wordes of his phrase or his myniō deuises and toyes so that he speake purely plainly lightsomely and directly to purpose so that his speach be cleane ioyned with a meane comlynesse what neédes there any more aboundaunce be required in that man But he speaketh not lyke a Ciceronian veryly Christ him selfe spake not like a Ciceronian yea although he had so spoken he should haue profited lesse For it commeth to passe I can not tell by what secret operation and influence of thinges that the humilitie of the Crosse which consisteth wholy in Deuine inspiration will not agreé with this hauty and lofty
the Lord and there let the Church be sought out Now what the experience of Osorius doth seé let him selfe looke thereto Sure I am that Cyprian seémeth to haue experimented an other kynde of experimeÌ„t where he writeth Hereupon grow all maner of Scismes sayth he bycause the head is not sought for meÌ„ come not to the wellspring it selfe neither are the ordinaunces and rules of the heauenly Maister kept nor obserued Wherein I thinke you seé matter sufficieÌ„t enough by how much the testimony of this Martyr doth differre from you whereas you do racke all thynges to humaine authoritie onely he calleth all men backe to the very founteines of the Scriptures rather And yet doe I not deny but that humaine authoritie doth many tymes auayle very much to bridle the vnruly raungyng of sectes if Osorius would limitte this authoritie humaine within certeine measurable boundes But he raketh all thynges now to the authoritie of the Romishe Seé onely as though there were none other authoritie elles that might stay sectes and Schismes besides this Romishe Pope onely Which Assumption is altogether vntrue And therefore to make the same appeare more euidently Let vs note the wonderfull Logicke of Osorius somewhat more aduisedly The Authoritie of the Romishe See beyng taken away sayth he will be an occasion that heresies will grow in vse How shall this be knowen bycause Osorius doth seé it for such are the strongest pyllers of Osorius buildyng for the more part Thus sayth Osorius Thus is well knowen to the world who doth not see this Experience teacheth all men this But what if some meéry conceipted Carneades of the Academickes schoole will deny your bare Affirmatiues to your teéth what if he will geue no credite to your opinions no nor yet to your wapper eyes that are bleared dimme with raÌ„cour malice as it is a kynde of Philosophers you know well enough very hard laced scarse applyable to credite any maner of bare Affirmatiues Nay rather what if some other hauyng bene enured to contrary experieÌ„ce will contend with you on this wise say That he doth seé with his eyes that this Romish Seé wherof you speake is the chief Metropolitane of all sectes and heresies what shall become of this your notable defeÌ„ce The thyngs which are seene with the eyes say you whiche are knowen which are notorious in all mens mouthes which experieÌ„ce witnessing also doth ratifie to be true which are sensibly felt with eares and eyes to call these thynges in question whether they be true or no is meare ignoraunce but to deny them is a point of most shamelesse impudency Not so Osorius we do not deny the thynges that men do seé with their eyes But the thyngs that you do Assume falsely for thinges certeine concludyng false and slaunderous cauilles for meére truth those thynges we do constantly deny to be true not bycause we trust not mens senses which be of souÌ„de IudgemeÌ„t but bycause we geue to credite no Osorius lyeng But goe to Let vs moue forewardes a litle that we may seé the thyng at the length that this sharpe sighted Lynx doth so easily seé Forsooth he doth see sayth he that noysome sectes and troublesome controuersies would forthwith raunge in the Churche if the authoritie of the Romishe see should be cleane put downe I beleéue it in deéde But with what eyes doth he seé this with that left eye I thinke which is couered with a pynne and webbe of desire to slaunder But if he would vouchsafe to open agayne that right eye I would not dought but that experience wherof he speaketh would teach him a new lesson For if this Romish authoritie were vtterly abolished he shall by experience proue that this will forthwith ensue which many of vs through the inestimable benefite of God haue proued to be most true in all places namely that common weales shall recouer their auÌ„cient priuiledges consciences shall possesse their wonted freédome men shall be restored to the sauetie of their lyues all Christendome shall enioy peace and tranquilitie he shall seé horrible fiers quenched whole pyles of Fagottes and fier coÌ„sumyng â— bodyes of Christians to Ashes to be extinguished stockes to be set wyde open imprisonmentes rackynges recantations and Fagottes to be shaken from mens shoulders he shall seé the lyues and goodes of many thousands to be saued out of the â—awes of death and froÌ„ the bloudy bootchers knife he shall seé pilladge polladge confiscations of goodes Popish exaction deceiptfull buyng and sellyng of Pardons fayres and gaynefull marketts of dispensations taxes of Citizens spoylinges of the CoÌ„mons tenthes first fruites of benefices yearely contributions of Byshops great impositions of Monasteries payementes of pentions for Palles for mysters for ringes for liberties for exemptions Finally for whores and concubines to be diminished and vtterly abolished he shall seé their drousie superstitions and ceremonies and their triflyng traditioÌ„s geue place to the Orient bright Sunne shynne of the truth Temples cleansed agayne from filthy Idolatry Kynges to become Kynges and Lordes of their own and once agayne at the last to beare their sword theÌ„ selues which before bare nothyng but bare titles and scarse titles onely he shall seé Citizens and Subiectes deliuered from straunge Tyranny and subiect to their lawfull authoritie â—o them onely to yeld obedience vnto whom they ought to doe Finally he shall seé coÌ„moÌ„ weales begyn to take breath agayne after a certeine sort now at the length and the hartes of the faythfull to rayse them selues vp at the ioyfull countenaunce of their auncient sauetie and to geue most humble thankes to almightie God for their most happy peace and deliueraunce Certes Osorius if the chaunges and chaunces of thynges which men seé with their eyes feéle by practize and dayly experience may without checke be open to the viewe of the worlde you should playnly discerne and seé all those thynges if you were here in England and not in England onely but in Germany in Denmarke Sweuland Scotland Polande and the more part of FrauÌ„ce in SwitzerlaÌ„d finally throughout all incorporatioÌ„s and freé Citties this authoritie vtterly abolished Goe to And where now are those sectes Schismaticall dissentions which you do obiect agaynst vs If you know not this to be true Osorius or if happely you be ashamed to confesse the thynges that you know I will confesse the same for you and will speake the same as frankely as truely If I shall say that euen with you in the very Court of Rome in your Churches in your Monasteries Colledges Rules and Orders of Friers briefly wheresoeuer that shauelyng marke of the Romish Prelate is emprinted or wheresoeuer that authoritie is of most force that there are whole swarmes and sectes most outragiously raungyng I feare nothyng lesse least that my wordes may seéme to emporte more then the truth Nay rather I am sure I haue yet spoken very litle I should haue spoken in this maner
and Charitie As though amongest all other this were not the least porcion of your care whenas Bishoppes beé for the more part busily exercized about other affayres some very flowbackes some bussardes and blockheades vnappt altogether to teache and whenas Priestes attend their singing and piping no tyme canne be spared for preaching I speake of many of this sort For the whole charge of teaching is throwen vpon momish Monckes flattering Fryers and others such lyke Religious Rackhells altogether almost And these do teache the people in deede But what do they teach Osorius the word of God or the traditions of men do they preach the Gospell or do they seek to please seély women doe they persequut their Enemyes and reuenge priuate griefes or preach the kingdome of heauen or do they scatter abroad olde false fables out of the legend of lies or out of pupilla oculi◠or out of manipulus Curatorum doe they barcke agaynst the Lutheranes and Zuinglianes and with full mouth keépe a sturre about the reall natural corporal Identicall formes and presence more then metaphysticall in the Sacrament For these be commonly the Theames about which theyr whole prating preaching is spent But go to Admitte that amongst those are many also which in their preaching do expresse these thinges which be auaileable to the endeuor of godlinesse and piety and for that cause do sette open display to the view of their audytory the glorious crown os eternall Glory and the horrible paynes of euerlasting Tormentes Yet sithence the people and vnlettered are admitted to heare such preachers why may they not also be permitted to reade at home in their houses the Prophettes preaching vnto them in the olde Testament and the Apostles yea Christ hym selfe in the new Testament teaching them more perfectly forsooth you descry me here a great and daūgerous Rock to witte least being dazeled with the brightnes of that light which they are not able to endure like as men that bend the force of their eies directly agaynst the sunne beames they may be ouertaken with blindnes Truely I do know and confesse that there be many thinges of such nature as will require a necessary moderation and quallification of light Of which sort is the inaccessible brightnes of the glory of Gods Maiestie So was also the Apparition of Christ when he was manifested vnto Paule the brightnes whereof exceeded the reach of mans capacitie Not much vnlyke vnto the same is the cleare beholding of the vnspeakeable righteousnes of God and the contemplation of our owne Sinnes without confidence in Christ Whereof Barnarde speaketh very fittely in a certayn place the prayer of a Sinner is hindered two wayes sayth he eyther by ouermuch light or by no light at all that Sinner is enlightened with no light that neyther seeth hys owne sinnes nor confesse them Agayne that Sinner is blinded with to much light which seeth hys sinnes to be so great that he doth dispayre of release from them Neyther of these two do pray truely What then this light must be quallified that the Sinner may behold hys sinnes and may pray to be forgeuen them In these therefore Osorius and in others like vnto the same you might well haue required a certayne quallification But where was euer any daunger to be feared of ouermuch lightsomnes in any man that were willing to reade the Scriptures The Psalmist doth call the light of the Lord a bright light enlightening the eyes not blynding the eyes And agayne Blessed is that man called that doth exercize himselfe in the Law of the Lord day and night And therfore forasmuch as the kingdome of Christ is the very principall matter handled through the whole Scriptures what man is able to bend the eyes of hys mynde or of hys body sufficiently to the searching out of the glory of this kingdome Whereas Paule himselfe wryting to the Ephesianes of the incomprehensible Maiestie of this glory desireth nothing in his prayers more earnestly then that God would vouchsafe to open the eyes of their hartes whereby they might perceaue and knowe the heighth length breadth and depth of the knowledge and loue which is in Iesu Christ. And the same Paule doth pray in an other place that the Ephesians may know Wher is the vnmeasurable greatnes of hys power towardes vs c. But where can a man attayne to any more perfect or plentifull knowledge hereof then in reading the holy Scriptures We heare the saying of our Maister Christ cōmaunding all persons without exception on this wise Search the scriptures What And shall we suffer the Romish Philistines to stoppe vpp agayne from vs the Cesternes of holy Scriptures which the mouth of the Lord hath discouered vnto vs Albeit I know that there be many which doe wickedly wrest and wrieth the holy Scriptures to their peuish sensuality and corrupt hereticall affections Yet forasmuch as this commeth to passe not through the fault of tounges in the which the enlightned efficacy of the holy Ghost doth speake indifferently to all creatures ingenerall without exception but through the peruerse waywardnesse of some men abusing good thinges for the most part to an euill purpose I seé no cause why the reading of holy scriptures in what toung soeuer may be any thing preiudiciall to the lay people so that they be endued with an earnest godly desire wh is the best interpretor to the vnderstanding of Gods word On the contrary part where so euer wāteth this godly affection of minde which is gouerned by the holy Ghost there the reading is very perilous doubtles yea euen in the learned themselues Therefore where these wise fathers are so prouident to preserue the vnlettered from gathering a dimnesse of vnderstanding by reading Gods word I cannot discern wherein their wisedome may be praysed To my iudgemēt they should do much more wisely if themselues would employ theyr carefull endeuor to read the scriptures least themselues which do take vpon them to be guides of the blinde doe become most blinde of all others So also if they doe eschue those thinges chiefly which they finde to be manifest vntruthes contrary to the sincerity of the written word But now whereas these godlye Catholickes do so behaue themfelues as that they cannot choose but feéle the Gospell of Christ directly repugnant agaynst their intollerable pride their horrible cruelty theyr peéuish decreés their stately dignities their vnmeasureable couetousnesse their pompous trayue and theyr vnspekeable lust and portlye Lordlinesse their filthye superstition and abhominable Idolatry what maruell is it if they prouide so circumspectly that the greater part of the people may not become acquaynted with the Scriptures because they may more freely disport themselues in that generall blindenes of men and rule the roast as they list There remayneth now to treat of the Authority of Popes and Byshoppes because Osorius doth make a freshe challenge herein and offereth the field with a new onset
to draw once somewhat nearer to the Epilogue of his notable Oration hauyng dispatcht that part of the accusation now wherein he hath discouered whatsoeuer hath bene spoyled by the Lutheranes he bendeth his eloquence to declare by the rest of his talke what supply hath come in for that which hath bene spoyled And here our proper fine Orator takyng a through and circumspect view of all thynges I warraūt you can espy no one thing of all that is reformed any thing prayseworthy nor any thyng in any respect aunswerable to the promises of these men who promising to cure the woundes and blemishes of the Church haue brought it into farre worse case more putrified and fuller of corruption And why so Bycause they do see that not onely the professours but the hearers also of this new Gospell are not onely not made better but defiled with many more haynous offences more prouoked to troublesome diuisions to venerous lust to theeuery and murther and to all other horrible practizes This is a stale deuise and an old practize of a pratyng Rhetorician that when thou seést thy selfe confounded with truth of matter to fleé forthwith to slaunderyng scoldyng and backbyting But to aunswere you somewhat hereunto What do ye note all the professours of the word Osorius or some particuler persons I thinke neither you will nor iustly can iustifie your saying agaynst all no more can ye agaynst many of them for as much as ye know not throughly the one halfe of our conuersations But if you thinke thus of some particuler person why do ye maruell so much at this sithence the state and condition of mans life attained neuer yet so perfect a felicitie but that there was alwayes iust cause of cōplaint agaynst the maners of many men and the worst part commonly were more in nomber thē the better Yea in Paradise it selfe sithence man and woman alone beyng but two onely could not liue long together in that humaine flesh without sinne how much lesse is this to be wondered in a multitude And yet in respect of those some persons whom you note as it were with a coale I know some also and could note them by name whose commendable conuersation of life I would rather chuse then all the holynes of all your Portingalls whatsoeuer vnlesse you demeane your selues more godly at home in Portingall then some of you lately behaued your selues here in England whom notwithstandyng I will not at this present openly diffame nor speake of them all that I know concealing their names of set purpose to the end your noble Nation shall not be infamed for their lewdenes by any reporte of myne And therfore let all that be Catholick be heauenly and Angelicke also for me And in this sort also had it bene as seémely for you good Catholicke Syr not to haue rusht so rudely with your vnmanerly penne agaynst them whose maners be altogether as farre from your knowledge as their names be As touchyng report what hath bene carried vnto you or what not I do not so much esteéme which as you know carrieth lyes for the more part rather then truth But admitte that the report be true marke yet I pray you how iniurious and slaūderous you are both in respect of the persons agaynst whō you do inueighe so much in respect of the cause which you do defende For wheras they do treate vpon Relligion and doctrine onely you apply all the action to life and maners without all cōsideratiō of the differēce betwixt these two For whereas Relligion is referred to God onely and maners respect mans state and condition properly hereby it commeth to passe that in that one nothyng ought to be permitted except it be most sincere and pure and in these other nothyng at all can be founde that is in any respect perfect Now if the order and course of mans life be not in all pointes correspondent to that absolute and exact rule of doctrine which we professe yet doth this neither countenaūce your errour nor preiudice the sinceritie of the Relligion that is taught out of the Gospell Wherfore this was altogether besides the cushian Osorius to raunge so lauishly agaynst men to speake so litle of the matter and substaunce of the question which concerned not mens maners but the pointes of doctrine properly But peraduenture this place serued here to the Rhetoricall commō place of vice and vertue taken out somewhere of some Oratours booke which perhappes you would haue cleane forgotten vnlesse you had furbushed it a fresh at this present Wherein notwithstandyng I do neither disallow your diligence much nor despise your Rhetoricall florishyng and beautifieng of righteousnesse For I know and confesse that this integritie of life which you commēde so highly apperteineth much to the dignifieng of the Church But yet this great boast maketh but small roast and serueth as litle to this present cause Which in deéde is this That a playne demonstration ought to haue bene made by the testimony of the Scriptures not what is pure or what is corrupt in mens maners but in the cōtrouersies of Relligion what is true and what is false Now if you be not so well furnished with Scriptures as to be able to debate throughly of the controuersies of Relligiō and therfore would conuerte your penne to this Rhetoricall kynde of cauillyng and scoldyng thē should you haue for seéne this much that this your hideous barkyng might at the least haue resembled the barking of those dogges that were trayned vppe lōg sithence in the Capitoll of Rome not to barke at honest Citizēs walking abroad in the day tyme but to driue away theéues gadders by night and to discouer thē with their barkyng But you so frame your accusation now I know not how preposterously ouerthwartly as that ye seéme more worthy to be noted for a Sycophant thē an accuser as one who passing ouer those lazye Drones and waspes which of all others chiefly ought to haue bene beaten away farre from the Hyues of the Church ye rush onely vpō thē altogether whose worthy trauailes if you were an honest man you would thinke neuer to be able to requite with cōdigne thankefulnes And yet in this your accusation agaynst them you do so enforce the whole bent of your Inuectiue and speach as that no part thereof at all carrieth any shew of truth nor agreément in it selfe First you doe say That these men tooke vpon them this enterprise of a great courage arrogancie and boldnesse whereby they promised to reforme the corrupt maners of the Church accordyng to her former auncient beauty and to bryng this to passe they bounde them selues by solemne oathe Which I haue already declared to be most vntrue yea the whole world witnessing same though I would hold my peace Yea annexe further That many ordinaūces well established in the Church first are taken away by them and abrogated Which also hath bene disproued to be no
natures yet shall you neuer be able to raze out the remembraunce of them from the posterity so long as this world doth endure And as for theyr vertuous liues and cōmendable monumentes of their godlynesse left behinde them all the packe of your popish prelacy priestes and parasites will neuer be able to reach vnto Let me be so bolde to annexe somewhat of Luther himselfe Reported euen of him who is so much the more to be beleued as he seémed to be wholly seuered from partaking his doctrine For after this maner Erasmus writing to Thomas Arch. of Yorke in a certayne Epistle concerning Luther doth constātly affirme that his life was irreproueable by all mens iudgement and addeth furthermore which he confesseth to be no smal argument of his commendation That he was of such integrity of maners and common conuersation of life that his enemies could finde nothing whereat they might cauill And albeit the credite of this testimony seéme but of small estimation with you as appereth by your writing Yet whoseuer is endued with sound iudgement shall easily perceiue that in respect of theyr age and countrey wherein they were both borne he was better acquaynted with the whole life and cause of Luther then you were I could also recite vnto you the testimony of Fisher Byshoppe of Rochester touching the same Luther out of an Epistle of his written to Erasmus who although was more outragiously bent agaynst Luthers doctrine then beseémed him yet made he much more honest and commēdable report of Luther then you do The words of Roffensis as I finde them are these Luther of whom you wrate vnto me is a man endued with singuler dexterity of witte and hath the scriptures at his fingers endes For I haue readde ouer his writinges very earnestly And as willingly would I haue some conference with the man if I might with out any preiudice to my person that I might debate many matters with him which trouble me c. Agayne in an other Epistle to Erasmus I doe heare say that Luthers Commentaries vpon the Psalmes and vpon the Epistle to the Ephesians shall shortly come forth in print I am maruey lously delighted with the mans witte and his wonderfull knowledge in the scriptures Truely I could wish that he had quallified his speeches agaynst the high Byshoppe and masters appertayning to the See Apostolicke c. But go to if this be your reason Osorius that the soundnes of the doctrine shal be aportioned according to the liues of the teachers I beseech you forgette a whiles that your collericke passion of your blinde affection vouchsafe to aunswere vprightly What fault finde you in the liues of Phil. Melancthon Mart Bucer Oecolampadius Zuinglius Peter Martyr and Iohn Caluyne For their liues were not led in hugger mugger nor theyr conuersations so closely cloystered but that there be yet eye witnesses liuing Recordes by whome this question may easily be decided betwixt vs whether I doe Imagine or flater more in praysing then you erre more monstrously in slaundering them And where are now those horrible wickednesses mōstruous sacrileges murthers lust outrages and Treasons Surelye wheresoeuer they be they are not in Luther nor euer published by his doctrine sithēce his doctrine is none other maner of doctrine then is of all true Christiās therfore let Osorius him selfe looke out who these be and what Auditory of what Gospell they be whom he accuseth guilty of such horrible crimes whatsoeuer they be surely they are neither Lutheranes nor Gospellers And forasmuch as there is none so holy a profession but doth shrowd oftentymes many such persons as in deéd are nothing lesse then they seéme in outward countenaunce Osorius doth argue skarse Clarkly like a doctor herein that valueth the dignity of the doctrine by the quallity of the Auditory Logitians call it Fallax consequentis For whereas Signes are not all of one nature but some called accidentes some likely hoodes many perpetuall and necessary he learned Logitians therefore teach that an argument can not lightly be deduced from Signes except it be from snch Signes onely which in their owne nature appropried to the thinges it selfe haue alwayes a perpetuall and necessary cause of consequence coupled with them For Parentes are not alwayes to be adiudged wicked though their childrē be vnthrifty and go out of kinde Nor is the scholemayster to be blamed alwayes if his schollers profitte not in learnyng accordingly Nero was enstructed by a very godly Mayster in all godly and vertuous preceptes of learning and life yet what man was euer more wicked The soundnes of doctrine doth not alwayes appeare in the maners of the Schollers And sometimes also the matter fareth quite contrary as that vnder the veyle of vertuous maners may lurcke perilous poyson of most contagious doctrine Doctrine therefore ought alwayes to be measured by her owne principles and groundes chiefly from whence it taketh her Roote Otherwise whereas all those are accounted Christians in name and profession which are infected with semblable vyces and corruptions It should follow vpon this rule of Logick that Christian doctrine were in this respect worthy to be blamed because many Christians at this day do abuse the name of Christians to cloake and couer theyr wicked and abhominable lustes I haue aunswered all the partes of Osorius Inuectiue reasonably well Wherein he bringeth himselfe expostulating with the Lutheranes by a figure called Apostrophe or a Rhethoricall sleight rather but in such wise as that you may not so easily discerne Osorius as that old witch called Slaunder it selfe speaking in the wordes of Osorius This quarrell therefore being now throughly canuassed which seémed to pinch Haddós maisters most He remoueth his camp bendeth his whole force now agaynst his opposed enemy Haddon whom he determineth to assayle on euery syde First touching the most auncient profession of the Church next concerning a comparison made betwixt both Churches to seé whether of thē do resemble the Apostles Church nearest In which part many things are discoursed of all partes of the ordinaunces of both Churches of manners and lyfe of preaching of Masses of the communion of the variablenesse of opinions of the Papane of Images of praying to Sayntes of sacrifice and of Purgatory For these be almost the chiefest furniture of this wiffeler And first as touching Prescription of Antiquity Osorius perpleding demaūdeth of Haddon in what wise he defendeth that his innouation or new gospell If Haddon were present this matter could not be destitute of a sufficient Aduocate And because Haddon can not now come I will by your patience aunswere not so artificially peraduenture as him selfe could haue done yet as effectually in his behalfe as shall satisfie the cause though can not stopp your ianglyng which cause neuerthelesse remaineth vnuāquishable not so much by any my defēce as fortified thoroughly with her owne strength and force of the truth And that I may know first
some glymering of dawning day and to refresh the razed Rent of his ruynous Church and to restore a recouery of his auncient recordes of written veritye the Braynesuck beastes of Romyshe rowte ganne fret aud fume and our sweéte shauelinges seéke at the length that we render them a reason of our Noueltye And because veritye Euangelicall oppressed with Tyranny through the Reuell of Sathās raunging abroad these few yeares eyther durst not shewe it selfe into the open world or could not be heard to plead for it selfe through their outragious vilaines being now quickened from aboue beginneth to display her oryent beames she is called to corā before these cloisterers as though Christe and the doctrine Apostolicall were some straunger in the world and commaunded to Iustifie her chalenge of Antiquitye to them which are neither able to render any reason of theyr counterfayt Antiquitie nor Iustify the trueth of their own cause by any recordes or reportes of probable auncienty or by any testimonie or president of the prymatyue Churche whatsoeuer Wherein me seémeth they behaue themselues no more modestly and shamefastly then theéues and murtherers which breakyng in by nyght into an other mans house hauing by violnce and wrong either slayne or thrust the true owner out of dores chalenge vnto themselues a title of possession And so pleadyng in possession by wrongfull disseisin for tearme of certeyne yeares doe plead occupation and prescription of time agaynst the lawfull heire that hath right by lawe to recouer and demaund Iudgement thrusting the true heire out from his true inheritaunce who in ryght equitye demaundeth restitution For what other thing doe they herein who finding their cause to be no way bettered by vouching of Scriptures which make nothing for thē at all fleé ouer forthwith to yt. Fathers Custome continued of olde by long prescription of time crying out agaynst vs with full mouthes that they haue enioyed their possession in the Church more then xv hundreth yeares and commaund vs to tell them where our Church was litle aboue xl yeares sithence And because they aske it I will tell them conditionally that they will distinctly tell me first what they doe meane by this worde Church If they meane the people perhappes we were not all borne then if they vnderstand the Roofes Walls and Tymber of the Churches they stand euen now in the same place where they were wont to stand are enuironed with the same churchyardes where they stood of old But yf they speake of the doctrine verely it was in the word of God and in the Scriptures discernable enough where also it resteth now rested euer heretofore and shall rest hereafter for euer If they demaund of the forme of gouernment It was in the primitiue Church and many yeares after in Asia Greece Affrick Europe dispersed abroad in all Churches at what tyme euery particular Church was gouerned by theyr peculiar Patriarches and not pente vppe and straighted into one hole vnder the commaundement of one man onely when also neither was any Byshoppe called vniuersall Byshoppe no nor my Lord Byshoppe of Rome called as then vniuersall Byshoppe I haue now told where our Church was before these fourtye yeares It remayneth that I be so bold to demaund agayne of them but especially of our Osorius that he vouchsafe to declare vnto vs where this fine Ciceronisme thys braue poolyshed speach where thys exquisited eloquence of writyng and speaking where this gorgeous furniture of fyled toūges this pyked and straunge statelynes of style was fourty yeares agoe where this wonderfull increase of Artes and Mathematicall sciences was will he eyther say that it is newely found out now or restored agayne rather and deliuered long sithence from olde auncient teachers If he will confesse that they be not new nor speciall deuises of our proper wittes but renewed and reuiued rather out of auncient authors let him then so account him selfe satisfied in his question touching the state of the Church not that it is a newe vpstart but reuiued from olde not garnished with new Coapes but returning agayne in her old Fryse gown For we doe not now build a new Church but we bring forth and beautifye the olde Church But now if any man will seéme to maruell what the verye cause reason should be that these artes and disciplines do rather in these dayes now florishe agayne at length after so long scylence and so long continuaunce in exile and banishment and would neédes know the very true naturall cause hereof What better aūswere shall I make him then that it is done by the speciall prouidence of GOD who of his inestimable goodnesse vouchsafed in these latter dayes to discouer abroad into the world the famous Art of Emprinting By meanes wherof aswell the seédes and principles of all liberall sciences as the knowledge of Diuinitye are extant and in dayly exercise not newly begon now but sproughted vppe of the olde Rootes and recouering their olde beauty So that you haue lesse cause to wonder Osorius that our Deuines beyng enlightened thus with so opē a light of the manifest scriptures and furnyshed with so great store of bookes and helpes of learning doe seé much more in matters of Diuinitye than many our Elders haue done Which helpes and furnitures of bookes if had bene so plentifull in those aūcient yeares of Gregory 7. Nicholas 2. and Innocent 3. for the exercise of wittes as we seé them now dayly and hourely handled and frequented beleue me Osorius The Pope of Rome had neuer so long lurcked in his lazye denne nor so long had bewitched the senses of selly ones with his leger demayne and crafty conueyaunce Nor had Osorius euer sturred his stumpes so stoughtly in this quarell agaynst Haddon Nor had Haddon bene forced to this streight to make defence of his Noueltye at this present But here some one of Osorius Impes will say peraduenture For as much as the state condition of the Church is such that wheresoeuer it be it must neédes be visible and apparaunt to be seéne not thrust vnder a bushell but set on hygh vpon an hill that it may shyne clearely vnto all and for as much also as the Churche of Rome was euer euē from the very swathlyng cloutes of Christian Religion of that excellency as to be able to Iustifie her dignitie and renowme by the whole and full agreable consent of all estates times and places euen vnto this day and that none other Church besides this one alone can mainteyne so lōg a continuaunce of yeares and so great a title of authoritie who may dought hereof but that this Seé of Rome is the onely Seé where onely is refiaunt a true face and profession of the true Church And that on the contrary part the Lutheranes Church beyng but of a few yeares continuaunce and neuer heard of before must therfore be accoumpted not worthy of place or name of a Church
to witte That the Church is a multitude of people such as is bounde to obey the Pope of Rome seuered from other Nations by certeine Ceremonies which the Popes haue ordeyned fast tyed to the ordinary cōtinued course of Succession of Byshops and to that onely interpretation of Scriptures which the Byshops and Councels doe deliuer And this is the true proportion and full Definitiō of your Church if I be not deceaued But this Definitiō the learned in Logicke will deny to be good sounde where the thyng defined is not of all partes equiualēt with the Definitiō Which rule is not obserued here For to admitte this vnto you that in the true Church of Christ must be Popes Byshops who must be obeyed who also must haue an ordinary outward succession and who may challenge vnto them selues a speciall prerogatiue in the interpretation of the holy Scripture yet is not this by and by true that all Popes Byshops which are entituled by the name of Popes and Byshops which do pretende a continuall succession which do carry the countenaunce of consentes which do challenge a right in the interpretatiō of Scriptures are the true sheapherds of the Lordes flocke And why so forsooth bycause that thyng wāteth which makyng specially for the purpose you haue specially left out namely the truth of sounde doctrine which may be able to treade downe and crushe in peéces errour and hypocrisie That is to say That Byshops do truly and vnfaynedly become the same in the sight of God which in vtter shew they would fayne seéme in the sight of men Agayne that Succession be not of persons onely but a speciall Succession of Fayth vertuous lyfe that the obedience of the people may not proceéde so much of feare of punishment as of harty affection and willyngnesse of mynde that the interpretation of scriptures be not wrested to the maintenaunce of errour and mens sensualitie but be directed and aunswerable to the meanyng of the holy Ghost and the true naturall sense of the Scripture For these be the true markes Osor. whereby a true Church is discernable from a false not the title and name of a Church not the authoritie and Succession of Byshops not the opinion of a multitude besides the truth of Gods word But the very Rule of the word must be kept which will so describe vnto vs a true Church by true markes tokēs boundes and foundations That it be a Congregation dispersed abroad euery where ouer the face of the whole earth vnited agreéyng together in soūd◠doctrine of Fayth and the true worshyppyng of God which beyng sanctified by the holy Ghost and admitted by partaking the Sacramentes do truly beleéue in God through the Sonne of God Iesu Christ accordyng to the doctrine of the Gospell although some be enlightened with more spiritual graces gifts and some with lesse By this standard and Rule let vs measure now the Argumentes of Osorius Luther and Melancthon are fallen away from the Pope of Rome and his Cardinalles Ergo Luther and Melancthon haue rent in sunder the vnitie of the Church The onely Church of Rome hath an ordinary succession from Peter Ergo The onely Church of Rome is the true Church The great part of Christendome doth acknowledge the Church of Rome Ergo The Churche of Rome is the Mother Churche and Queene of all Churches The Churche of God hath a promise that it shall neuer erre Ergo He that doth interprete the Scriptures otherwise then after the meaning of the Church of Rome or that doth not acknowledge him selfe obedient to the Romish Decrees in all thynges is an heretique and doth sequester him selfe from the boundes and communiō of the Church To this aunswere shal be made briefly and logically These be meére fallacyes and deceites of the Equiuocation deriued from a false description of the Church and the succession thereof and from false markes For as touching the names and Tytles as touching the long pedigreés of neuer interrupted course of Succession as touching the consent of the multitude and the promises made by God if the other tagges were tyed to these poyntes and made suteable namely sound doctrine true godlynesse surely it would seéme somewhat to the purpose that Osorius mayntayneth But now whatsoeuer they bragge and vaunt of tytles and other reliques without the especiall coupling and cōioyning of the Euangelicall and Apostolicall doctrine is altogether nought els but smoake and winde nothing auayleable to establish the true vnity of the Church First as concerning the name of the Church we do heare Christ himselfe speaking Many shall come in my name Touching Successiō we heare out of Ierome Not they that sitte in the places of Sainctes c. Touching the multitude Augustine doth teach vs. That the consentes of voyces must be weyed and measured not numbred Touching Gods promise made for perseuerance in the trueth harken what Iohn Baptist speaketh Do not say we haue Abrahā to our Father For God is of power to rayse vppe sonnes to Abraham out of these stoanes If Osorius will argue after this maner why should not these arguments be of as great force The high Priest of the old law in the Iewish Regiment did beare the face and name of the Church with full allowaunce and cōmon consent of all the multitude yea euen in the tyme of Esay Ieremy Amos Elias and Christ. The same also did conuey theyr Succession from the priesthood of Aaron And did vouch also theyr authority seat lawe and the promise agaynst Ieremy agaynst the Prophettes and agaynst Christ. The Law say they shall not perish from the Priestes Ergo Those high priestes did enioy a true Church nor coulde possibly erre at any tyme. But if Osorius shall thinke with him selfe that these Argumentes were not forcible enough in the olde Church why should they be more effectuall in the new Churche In the olde lawe it was lawfull to examine the very prophettes themselues if they spake the word of the Lord yea certayne infallible tokens were set downe whereby they might be discerned In like maner euen in the new testament we are commaunded to proue the Spirites if obey be of God being forewarned by the spirite of God that we beleue not euery spirite And what kinde of people then be these Popes and Cardinals of Rome which of a more then Imperious Lordlynesse doe commaund and require all men to receaue and reuerence their Satutes Ordinaunces Ceremonies opinions and all theyr wordes and deédes ingenerall without exception and contradictiō vpon greéuous paynes and Penalties that shall ensue agaynst him whosoeuer dare presume to make a question of the right of their authoritye or to make any doubt of any theyr deuises and imaginations And so geuing the slippe to all those he commeth downe againe to our Church with a maruailous blaff of windy words but with no reason at all imagining to proue
of the dead I do commend you But will you heare me agaye If the death of Christ were vndertaken for them that are in Purgatotory in the maner as you before sayd then is it a good consequēt hereupon that either your Purgatory was vtterly abolished by the death of Christ or els that Christ himselfe suffered death in vayne Aunswere either of them which you list Moreouer if this be true that your Diuinity doth inferr that Paule and manye others did dye as you say a satisfactory death for the cleansing of the dead and for the saluation of the whole world what difference then will you make betwixt the death of Christ and the death of those others Nay rather what neéde haue we of the death of Christ at all if Paule and many other did dye a satisfactory death for the saluation of the world as you say how thys your reason and communicatiō delighteth you and your Catholickes I know not in my iudgement surely it seémeth none other then as if any Turke or Iew had taken penn in hand and of sett purpose deuised to write agaynst Christ he could not haue written any thing more despightfully agaynst Christ nor more horribly agaynst the Catholicke fayth The Lord of his mercye open your eyes and endue you once at the length with a better minde if it may so please his heauenly Maiesty But I returne agayne to the course of your disputation wherein albeit I seé nothing worth the refuting yet because you bragg here so shamelesly that we be vtterly ouerthrowne with your most manifest Testimonies and that your argumentes are not resolued I thinke it conuenient to make manifest what maner of argumentes you haue sett downe and of what force the substaunce of your argumentes may seéme to be First touching the testimony of Saynt Paule in the 1. to the Corinthians the 15. Chapter before mentioned where Saynt Paule treateth of Baptisme and Resurrection You thinke to haue a great aduaūtadge here to build your Purgatory vpō And why so Because Baptisme is many times vsed in the Scriptures for Sacrifices and offeringes Where finde you that Forsooth where the Lord doth demaunde of the two brethren that were at strife betwixt them selues for the chiefe and highest seat in the kingdome of heauen whether they were able to be partakers of the same Baptisme In deéd the scripture vseth many times peculiar Tropes figures and I am not ignoraūt that amongest the latter Deuines Baptisme is deuided into threé sortes to witte Baptisme of water of Fire of Bloud Howbeit these two latter kindes haue not in them any proper nature of a Sacrament if you haue regard to the naturall propertyes of Baptisme to wit Matter Forme as they call them And therfore howsoeuer it pleaseth the new Deuines to ascribe vnto thē the matter of a Sacrament yet doe they not attribute vnto them a Sacrament no nor so much as the name of a Sacrament but acquiuoce But what doth this concerne this place of Paule cited by you where it is out of all controuersy that the wordes of the Apostle ought to be vnderstanded not of Blood nor of Fier but simply of that kind of Baptisme onely wherewith all Christians in generall without exception are washed through the foūtayne of regeneration into hope of rising agayne to life euerlasting Therfore I do here appeale to the Iudgement of the Reader how blockishly Osorius doth wrest this discourse of Paule to Martirdome yea much more Doltishly to Purgatory There is besides this an other place cited out of the same chap. where Paule as appeareth purposing to sanctify himselfe not onely for the dead but for the liuing also hath these wordes Why do we vndertake daūger euery houre I do dayly dye through the reioysing that I haue of you in Christ Iesu our Lord. And these forsooth be those substaunciall Testimonies wherewith we are ouerwhelmed a Gods name accordaunt to the matter nowe in question as iumpe as Germaynes lippes It remayneth now that we discusse the substaunce and pith of the Argumentes likewise deriued from the prayers and oblations of the Church You do mayntayne stiffely that Sacrifices offred for the saluation of the dead be very effectuall which forasmuch as are auaileable to none but such as be in Purgatory hereupon therefore you doe conclude that there must be a Purgatory of very necessity But what if I would deny all this vnto you euen by the same law and order as you haue propounded them For what reason is there to the contrary but that I may aswell deny at a word as you affirme at a word First as touching Prayers which you affirme that the Church is enured vnto for saluation of the dead If you meane here the true Apostolicke Church You say most vntruly If you note the vsage of your owne Babylonicall Tēple it forceth not of a rush what you do there Neither do I enqurie what you haue in hādling there but what you ought to looke vnto what duety doth exact of you and what you ought to do according to the prescript rule of the scripture Moreouer whereas you annexe afterwardes that these Supplications and Prayers made for the saluation of the dead are altogether vneffectuall and vnprofitable vnlesse they be applyed onely vnto them which are afflcted in Purgatory We would fayne learne first how you proue this Forsooth say you because the soules that be drowned in the deepe doungeon and euerlasting darcknesse of hell can be redeemed from thence with no prayers This is true and what hereof Agayne you say the Soules that are in heauen haue no need of those prayers neither am I displeased with this Rhetorical partition Goe to what is it that this Orators pertition will conclude at the last Behold reader now a conclusion more then logicall wonderfully wrought and called frō out the very braines of capacity it selfe wherby you may forth with note a very disciple of Theophrast Damned Soules being in hell sayth he are not eased by the prayers of the liuing And agayne the soules that are in heauen haue no need of any supplications It followeth therefore that there is some middle place betwixt heauen and hell which we are wont to call Purgatory As if the Argument were on this wise If there be no Purgatory the supplicatiōs of the church for the saluation of Soules are voyde and vneffectuall But the Supplications for the deadd are not voyde and vneffectuall Ergo It is concluded that there must be a Purgatory of very Necessitie We are come backe agayne now ad Petitionem Principij as the Logicians do tearme it Where one vncerteintie is confirmed by an other vncerteintie in all respectes as vncertein For I am as farre to seéke whether Prayers and Supplications for soules departed be vnprofitable as when Osorius doth affirme that there must neédes be a Purgatory And therfore in my conceipt you shall do very discretly Osorius bicause
of this milde Phenix our most gracious Soueraigne a few yeares more in this life truely I doe nothing mistrust but that the whole generatiō of your Catholick Caterpillers loytering lozels shall be driuen shortlye not to the gallowes but to that howling outcries and gnashing of teéth described in the xviij Chapter of the Apocalipps which you may reade and peruse at your leysure and afterwardes aunswere vs when time and place wil serue for it But we must cōmitt all these as all other our actions successes els to the guidyng and conduct of him in whose handes are the hartes of Princes and Potentates and the order and disposition of tymes and of chaunces He is our Lord. Let him determine of vs as seémeth best in his sight whether his pleasure be of his infinite mercy to blesse vs with a continuaunce and settled stay of this quyett calme which he hath fauourably bestowed vpon vs or whether he will scourge our Sinnes with the cruell whippes of these Popish Philistines or whether he will vouchsafe accordyng to his promise after the long and greéuous afflictions of his tourmented Church to roote vpp the foundations of your Babylonicall Towres and ouerwhelme them in the deépe doungeon as it were a mylstoane in the Sea But whatsoeuer the successes shal be of our hope it can not be but most acceptable and commodious for his faythfull whatsoeuer his prouident Maiestie shall determine This one thyng I would wish from the bottom of my hart that our lyues and and conuersations were aunswerable to our publique profession and that our maners were so conformed as might no more prouoke his indignation and wrath then the doctrine that we embrace and professe doth moue him to displeasure which one Request if might preuayle with our Englishmen there were no cause then wherefore we should be afrayed of hundred Romes sixe hundred Osorianes and as many Portingall Dalmadaes Now the onely thyng of all other whereat I am dismayed most is not the force of your Argumentes not the brauery of your bookes not the crakes of your courage not the legion of your lyes Osorius but our home harmes onely our pestilent botches of pestiferous wickednesse and licentious insolency Wherein you seé Osorius how litle I doe beare with the maners of our people and how much I doe agreé with you in condemnyng their waiwardnesse whose maners you do gnawe vpon so fiercely whose Fayth and Religion neuerthelesse I can not choose but defēd agaynst your Sycophanticall barkyng with iust commendation as they do duely deserue But for as much as we haue treated largely of Queéne Elizabeth I will now come downe vnto others and will pursue the conclusion and end of your booke furious enough and full of indignation wherein you heape whole mounteynes of wordes brauely and behaue your selfe most exquisitely and artificially and besturre your stumpes lyke a sturdy pleader couragiously and launche out lyes as lustely yet herein not as Oratours vse orderly but after the Cretensian guise ouersauishely Of whom S. Paule maketh mention The men of Creete are common lyars For you say that Haddon dyd counsayle you that you should not meddle with the holy Scriptures Which coūsell as neuer entred into Haddones head so neuer raunged out of Haddons penne And out of this lye beyng as it were the coyne of the whole buildyng it is a wonder to seé how you shoulder out the matter what greéuous complaintes you doe lay to our charge which haue neither toppe nor tayle foote nor head I would wish you to peruse the place of Haddon once agayne whereat you cauill so much but with more deliberation For this was neuer any part of his meanyng to abbridge you the Readyng of one lyne so much of holy Scriptures Moreouer neither did he so couple you to the Colledge of Philosophers and Oratours as to exclude you from the noumber of Deuines as your cauillation doth sinisterly emporte without all cause of iust quarrell For what can be more conuenient for a Byshopp and a Deuine and an old man also then to be exercized in the mysteries of heauenly Philosophy night and day or what dyd Haddon euer imagine lesse then to rase your name out of the Roll and order of Deuines But when he perceaued as truth was that you did behaue your selfe much more plausibly in other causes and therefore highely commended many qualities in you to witte an excellency of style exquisite eloquence ioyned with ingenious capacitie stoare of Authours and many bookes of yours likewise and especially your booke De Nobilitate and withall did grauely consider by the conference of your bookes that you were by nature more enclined or by Arte better furnished to treate of other causes then to dispute of those controuersies of Religion wherein you seéme a meére straunger and goe groapyng lyke a blyndman wandryng altogether in Iudgement and withall a professed enemy to the Maiestie of the glorious Gospell takyng vpon him the part of an honest friendly man thought good to aduertize you friendly and louingly not that you should not employ any study or trauayle in this kynde of learnyng but surceasing that presumptuous boldnesse of rash writyng and vnaduised decyding of controuersies wherewith you were but meanely acquainted that you would with a more circumspect deliberation consider of the matters whereof you purposed to discourse and that you would not from thenceforth rush so rudely agaynst vs with such disordered Inuectiues which doe in deéde bewray nought els but your ignoraunce procure generall myslikyng and auayle nothyng at all to publique commoditie For hereunto tended the whole scope mynde and meanyng of Haddon Which you doe causelesly miscouster agaynst him euen as though he had debated with you as your Catholickes doe vsually accustome with old wemen poore badgers Carters Cobblers the meaner state of poore Christiās whom you doe prohibite with horrible manacings cruell prohibitiōs frō the reading of sacred Scriptures none otherwise then as from bookes of hygh Treason But in very deéde you doe interprete of the matter farre otherwise then euer Haddon did meane And therfore here was no place for your nyppyng Satyricall scoffe which you did pretily pyke out of Horace Uerses wherewithall he doth dally with his Damasippus and you beyng an old and meary conceited man resembling the old dottarde Silenus of Virgile do ridiculously and vnseasonably deride Haddō withall The Goddes and the Goddesses Rewarde you with a Barbour for your good counsell Nay rather keépe this Barbour in stoare for your selfe Osor and for the rascall rabble of your sinoath shauelynges who in respect of your first and second clippyng nypping shearing and shauing must neédes room dayly to the Barbours shoppes who also doe accompt it an haynous matter to weare a long bearde as is also especified in the same Satyre For you I say euen for you and those dishheaded dranes of that shauelyng and Cowled rowte who with bare scraped scalpes beyng a new fangled