Selected quad for the lemma: tradition_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
tradition_n	faith_n	scripture_n	write_v	3,423	5	6.0492	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A14436	The waie home to Christ and truth leadinge from Antichrist and errour, made and set furth in the Latine tongue, by that famous and great clearke Vincent, French man borne, aboue .xi. hundred yeres paste, for the comforte of all true Christian men, against the most pernitious and detestable crafte of heretikes, which in his tyme by all subtell wayes, deuised to obscure and deface the doctrine and religion of the vniuersall churche. And now the same worke is englished, and by the Quenes highnes authorised to be sette furthe for the reliefe fo diuers Englishe menne, which yet stande in doubte, whether they may goe to heauen in the peace and vnitie of Christes vniuersall churche, or to hell in the dissention and confusion of heretikes; Pro catholicae fidei antiquitate libellus. English	Vincent, of Lérins, Saint, d. ca. 450.; Proctor, John, 1521?-1584.	1554 (1554)	STC 24754; ESTC S104650	58,039	228

expressed and throughly resolued the same to cōsolidate confirme and assure What hathe been confirmed and ratified the same faythfullye to kepe folowe and beleue For what hath the churche purposed at anye time by the decrees of general counsailles but that such thynges shoulde afterwarde more diligentlye be obserued whiche afore were simply beleued And that whiche tofore was but slackly taught should afterwarde be preached more in stantlye This I say at al tymes and nothing els the churche being vexed with the furious nouelties of wicked herelikes hathe purposed to doe in the decrees of her counseylles that suche doctrine as was receyued by tradition onely from the auncetours might be assigned sealed hensforth vnto the posteritie by scripture cōprising in litle writyng a great weight of matters And manye times for the better vnderstanding of them vttereth expresseth the olde sense and meaning of our faith in new termes newly deuised for the playne opening of suche matters as might otherwise apeare obscure But let vs returne to the apostle S. Paule He sayeth Depositum custodi Kepe that whiche was left vnto the auoidynge prophane nouelties of words auoide saith he hate as a viper as a scorpiō as a venemous cockatrice least they hurt thee not onelye with their touching but also with their sight and pestilent brethe What is it to auoide Forsothe not once to eate or drinke with thē Auoide sayth S. Paule What Yf anye sayth he cōmeth vnto you and bringeth not with him this doctrine What doctrine The catholycke and vniuersall doctrine which hath remained one and the same by all succession of ages through incorrupt tradition of verite shall remayne to the worldes end whosoeuer saye naye What then Doe not receyue him sayeth S. Paule into thy house neither shalte thou saye vnto hym aue God spede For he that sayeth vnto him God spede or all hayle he doeth communicate with hys wickednes He sayth prophane nonelties of wordes What is prophane Verely that whiche is neither God! ye nor goodly all whory and nothing holy that whiche straieth without the borders and boundes of the catholyke Churche whiche is the temple of God He saith Prophane nouelties of wordes or voices What is that No doubt nouelties of wordes opinions censures sectes contrarie to antiquitie repugnaunte to the auncient faieth of the vniuersal churche For if suche nouelties be receiued suche innouations admitted thē of necessitie must the faieth of the holy fathers be greatlye stayned then must all faiethfull of all ages all holye and chast fathers all contment and godly virgins all clerkes leuites and priestes theu must so many thowsande of confessours so greate hostes of martyrs so innumerable multitude of cities of peoples of Islādes and prouinces so many thowsande kinges and nations Finally in maner the whole world being incorporate vnto our heed Christ throughe the catholyke faieth must of necessitie I say be indged all this while so many hundreth yeres to haue been ignoraunt to haue erred and blasphemed God not to haue knowen what they shoulde beleue Prophane nouelties of wordes saieth Paule auoide Whye auoyde Because it was neuer the custome and propertie of catholyke men but onely of heretikes to receiue and folowe thē And in dede what heresie hathe there been that spronge not vp vnder a singular and certaine name in a singular and certaine bothe time and place Who euer forged any heresies but that he first diuided him selfe from the consent of the vniuersalitie and aunciētie of the catholike church Whoo euer presumed so greate force of frewill that he thought it sufficiente to worke all good actions without the helpe of Goddes grace before that prophane heretike Pelagius Whoo euer denaied all mankinde to be boūde in the offēse of Adam his preuaricatiō before Celestius the prodigious disciple of that monstruous maister Pelagius Who euer durst either to diuide the vnitie of the blessed trinitie before that cursed Arrius or confound the Trinitie of the ineffable vnitie before wicked Sabellius Who euer saied before that mooste cruell Nouatianus that GOD woulde rather haue the deathe of a sinner then that hee shoulde returne and liue Who euer before Symon Magus of whome that olde goulfe of filthes euen vnto Priscillianus by continuall and priuie succession haue issued dursie saye God our creatour to be the authour of euell that is of oure wicked impious abhominable dedes For he affirmeth that God hath created such a nature in man that by a certaine propre motion and impulse of necessarie wyll he neither can ne wil any thinge els but sinne for being exagitate in flamed with the furies of al vices he is pluct and pulled throughe insatiable desyre into al kinde of iniquitie There be inumerable examples of this sorte whiche I omit for breuities sake by whiche it is clerely and manifestly declared that this hath been as it were a solemne vowe euer moore amonges heretikes to set vp prophane nouelties to neglecte the orders of auncietie And by oppositions of doctrine falselye termed to hasarde the catholyke faith Of thother side this euermore hathe ben the propertie of the catholikes to kepe maintaine saue all suche godly orders and constitutions deliuered and left of the holye fathers to condempne vtterly all prophane nouelties according to the counsel of S. Paul Who earnestly warneth if any shal preache vnto you any other doctrine thē ye haue receiued accurse him Here perchaūce some wyll saye vnto me do not suche as ye call heretikes vse the scriptures And can the scriptures lye Surely the scriptures lye not Yet lyinge heretikes abuse the testimony of the scriptures yea and veray vehementlie For ye shall se them flye throughe euerie volume and parte therof throughe all the bokes of Moy ses of the kynges throughe all the Psalmes the Apostles gospelles and Prophetes Wheresoeuer and with whomsoeuer they talke beinge at home or a brode whether they preache or write be they at feast or in the stretes scripture droppeth out of their mouthes as thicke as hayle from heauen They bring not one iote of their owne but the same is shadowed with scripture termes Reade who list the workes of Paulus Samosatenus or Priscillianus Eunomius Iouinianus all other heretikes that euer haue ben or hereafter shal be And ye shall finde an infinite heape of examples yea ye shall se not one leafe in all their bookes almoost but it is painted set as thicke with quotations notes in the margente of sentences as well of tholde as the newe testamente as possybly the margente canne holde Yet are they detestable heretikes Of whome we oughte so muche the more to beware and feare the more priuely they lurk vnder the bowers of diuine scriptures For they know well that their trecherie and filthes ill stenches coulde not quickly please if they were nakedlye and simply brethed furth And therefore they all besprincle thē with the swet spices as it were of the heauenlye doctrine that he

S. Paule shall not be knowen That is to saye whosoeuer eyther doeth not learne whyche he knoweth not or beyng knowen doeth contemne the same man shal not be knowen That is he shal be counted vnworthy on whome amongest other vnited in fay the and knitte in christian humilitie the heauenlye mercye maye be extended And what thynge worsse What euyll more bytter canne be deuysed then thys And yet accordynge to thys Apostolycke commination we see the same hathe chaunced vnto Iulian Pelagian who eyther neglected to incorporate hym selfe to the mynde and sentence of other fathers or presumed to excorporate hym selfe that tofore was one of them But nowe time it is that accordinge to my promise I declare by example when and how the sentences of the holy fathers may be gathered together that by them the rule of Ecclesiasticall faythe myghte be assured and confirmed accordynge as by decree and authoritie of counsayle is sette furthe And to doe thys fytte and necessarye it is that I doe eftsoones reuoke what tofore was sayde I sayde at the begynnynge that thys euermore was and styl is the custome of Catholike and true beleuers to approue the true faythe by two wayes First by the authoritie of diuine Scripture Secondlye by tradition of the catholyke Churche Not because the Scripture sufficeth not or plentuously contayneth not all thinges necessarye but because euery man expounding the same accordynge to theyr owne fantasies do often times conceyue dyuers errours and straunge opinions centrary to the intent of the holy scriptures And therefore it is necessarye that the intelligence vnderstandinge of the heaueuly scripture be directed according to one vniforme rule of the ecclesiastical iudgement especiallye in those questions on whiche the foundacion of the whole catholike doctrine doeth staye We sayde moreouer that we ought to consider in the churche the consent aswel of the vniuersalitie as also of antiquitie Least we be broken of from the integritie of vnitie into some prophane error or least we be tumbled from the religion of auncientie headlong into nouelties of vnknowen heresie I haue sayde also that in the same antiquitie of the churche we ought vehementlye and studiously to obserue two thinges vnto which eche man must cleue fast that will not be an heretike The first is if any thinge in the antiquitie of the churche hathe been decreed by all catholike teachers and holy fathers and hathe been setfurth by authoritie of vniuersall counsell Next if there hap to arise any newe question whiche is not decided by generall counsell that then euery good man ought to haue recourse vnto the auncient writers which are knowē to haue stedfastly perseuered in the vnitie of the catholike communion and faieth And whatsoeuer they in one minde and consente haue receyued and taught the same we ought to iudge and accept as moost syncere pure and catholike doctrine And that this myght not seeme to be spoken rather of my owne head then by authoritie ecclesiastical I haue drawen to example the godly counsell kepte in Afia at Ephesus Bassus and Antiochus two noble persones then beinge consulles In which counsell a motion beinge made for orders and rules to be deuised for the stablishinge of the faieth it semed vnto all the fathers there assembled whiche were aboute C C. in numbre a thinge verye catholike right faiethfull and moste beest to be done lest any prophane noueltie shoulde by chaunce crepe in contrarye to their godly purpose as to fore in the counsell kepte at Arimine in Italy to bringe furthe the sentences censures opinions of the holye fathers of whiche some were Martyrs some wer Confessors and al were constātly remained catholike priestes true faiethful teachers And according to their minde consente and decree well and deuoutly considered the religion of christian faieth might be confirmed and the blasphemie of prophan noueltie condempned This thus done of righte that wicked Nestorius was condempned as an heretike iniurious to the catholike auncientye and blessed Cyrillus was pronoūced catholike consenting and agreable vnto the holye antiquitie And for the better warrant of the matter I learned the names of the same fathers although I haue forgotten their order accordinge to whose censure and iudgement both suche sentences as then were cōtrouerted were expounded and also the rule of the diuine doctrine stablished Whiche fathers here to reherse by name I thinke it not superfluous For thereby shal my memorie be confirmed Wherefore these were they whose wrytinges are recited beinge either iudges or witnesses in that coūsell S. Peter Byshop of Alexandria a verie excellente teacher mooste blessed Martyr Holy Athanasius highe prelate of the same citie a right faithful preacher and moost worthie confessor Holy Theophilus Byshoppe also of the same citie a man for his faieth lyfe and knowledge very famous Whom succeded Cyrill a father of muche reuerence To these holy fathers and godlye Byshoppes of our Citie and prouince adde those shining beames of Cappadocia as saint Gregorie Byshoppe and confessor of Nazianse S. Basil Byshop cōfessor of Caesarea Cappadocia other S. Gregorie also byshop of Nice a man for his faith conuersation integritie and wisedome most worthie to be as he was brother to holye Basill All these were Greekes Amongest the Latines also were manye that by their iudgemēt allowed the matters passed in that counsel as S. Felix martyr and S. Iulie Byshoppes of Rome Lykewise blessed S. Cyprian Byshop of Carthage martyr Holye sainte Ambrose Byshop of Mediolanū These were they whiche were in the counsell of Ephesus as iudges witnesses Maisters and Counsellers whose doctrine that blessed Synode faiethfullye imbraced and folowinge theire counsell beleuinge their testimonie obeinge their iudgement haue syncerely truely and faiethfullye pronounced of matters concerning faieth These fathers were but tenne in numbre A greater numbre mought haue been called thereto but there was noo necessitie because as the tyme serued the matters consisted not in the multitude of witnesses and noman doubted but all other catholike men thoughte and beleued as these tenne did After all these thinges I also added S. Cyrill his sentence Whiche is conteined in the eccle siasticall gestes For what tyme the Epistle of holye Capreolus Byshoppe of Carthage was readen who intended and desired nothinge els but that the holye antiquitie mought be defēded and wicked noueltie anulled and vtterlye refused then S. Cyrill pronounced defined in fourme as followeth And this Epistle saied he of the reuerend and most godly father Capreolus Bisshop of Carthage shal be regestred in the boke of our gestes and decrees concerninge the faieth whose sentence is so playne For he will that the sentences and decrees of the auncient faieth be confirmed and stablished and that newe founde fansies and inuentions be reproued and condēpned as bothe superfluous and wicked Hereto all the Byshoppes gaue their consent al wholly agreed therupon all together with one voyce wished the same Wherto gaue they their consent What was it that they in one

Iacob Verè hic est domus dci porta coeli id est In dede this is the house of God and the gate of heauen For be out of doubt if ye he not of this house ye cannot entre into heauen where God raigneth If ye kepe not your selues within the Arke of this vniuersall churche ye cannot auoide destruction Ye must nedes perishe bodie and soule Wherefore louinge frendes if you desire to be saued to raign with Christ be at home with his spousesse If ye louge to inherite as the children of our heauenly father despice not the doctrine of oure mother the catholike churche If ye longe to drinke the liuely water that springeth into euerlastinge life resorte home to the cleare fountaines of your kinde mother the churche and abandon the company of heretikes Leaue their broken and vncleane cesterues whiche can holde no water but poudle miere For briefe if ye desire to worshippe God rightly and to walke in this true religion accordinge to his most holy will pleasure then stagger not to embrace and folowe the olde religion newlye recouered and set furthe by our heauenlye and vertuous maiden Quene For bee out of doubt there is nothinge in this religion but what the scriptures of God haue occasioned the heauenlye spirite hath suggested our true mother the catholike church hath authorised the holye learned fathers of all Christendome haue set furth the consent of many generall counselles hath confirmed the longe succession and cōtinuaunce hath approued to be moost true syncere and perfect O moost dere beloued frendes be not ashamed to repent wherein the Angelles of heauen will reioyce Be not ashamed to arise that haue so shamefully fallen Be not ashamed to come home to your mother the churche sith she is not ashamed to receiue you Thinke it not vilenesse to forsake the society of heretikes that ye maie bee made the children of God Thinke it no folye to twyne your selues out of the armes of an harlot whiche will gripe you to deathe that ye maye sit in the lappe of so tender a mother whiche will cherishe you into life euerlastinge Well it is time I see to breake of for I haue exceded the iust measure of a Preface And yet am I loth to leaue Blame me not though I cannot obserue measure in my talke to you towardes whom my loue hartie affectiō knoweth no mean And though I am in doubte how you shall lyke my doinges yet be ye out of all doubte I haue done the same of a great zeale and most frendlye affection towardes you all And I protest before God I onlye seeke therby your soules health Neither haue I written this to shame you but as my dere beloued bretherne I warne you and call you into the feloweship of the soonne of God Iesus Christe our lorde Wherein if I ought preuaile wel is it with me but muche better with you Here I will leaue gyue place to holy Vincent Too whom I beseche you hartely giue attentiue eare and willinge harte to vnderstand his counselles and no doubt but ye shal be glad therof The blessed God in perfite Trinitie direct your hertes waies The booke THE Scripture saiing and admonishinge Demaūde of thy fathers Deu .xxxi and they wil tel the Enquire of thyne aūcetours and they wil shew the Lykewise Applie thine eares un to the wordes of the wyse Prouer .iii Agayne My sōne forget not my sayinges let thy harte kepe my wordes It semeth vnto me that am of al the seruauntes of God the verye basest Pilgrime a matter wel worth the trauel and lyke throughe Gods grace to profite verie much if I shuld comprise together in wrytynge all such godly comfortable and holsome preceptes and coūsels as I haue faithfullye receiued of the fathers concerninge the true and catholyke faieth A worke no doubte ryghte necessarye for mine owne infirmitie hauinge thereby prompte and redye that might through dayly reading repaire and help the wekenes of my memory Vnto whiche enterprice not the fruit onely of the selfe worke hathe moued me but also the iust consideration of tyme and oportunitie of place haue and doo vehementlye encourage me to attempte the same Tyme Tyme I saye for time we see passeth awaye irreuocablye suatching with it man and all humaine worldly thinges Wherefore sittinge it is that we of tyme catche also somewhat that might in tyme aduantage vs into lyfe lastinge beyonde tyme. And at this time especially when both a certaine terrible expectation of Goddes fearefull iudgement nowe imminent and approchinge verye nigh at hande exactethe in vs a more feruente studie towardes his religion and also the subteltie and crafte of newe fangled heretikes nedeth nowe greate care watche and diligence The place I saye Place because sequestratinge and deuidynge me from the frequencie and haunt of Cities and Townes I haue bestowed my self in an out smal village and in a Monasterie where without greate let or hinderaunce that maye be accomplished whiche the Psalme speaketh of Vacate uidete quoniam ego sum deus Moreouer the consideration of my purpose agrieth hereto well For whereas ones I was tossed with diuers and boysteous waues of the secular traffyque at length Christe beynge my helper I arriued vnto the porte of religion a moost sure hauen for all menne that there pullyng downe the combe of pryde and vanitie and applying my selfe to please God with the sacrifice of Christian humilitie I mighte happelye auoyde not onely the wrekes and troubles of this present lyfe but the inquencheable flames alsoo of the worlde hereafter But now I shall in the name our lorde sette vpon the matter purposed That is to describe and set furth such good lessons as by tradition are diriued by writtinge are lefte vnto vs frō our auncetours forefathers desirynge to be accepted rather as reporter thereof then presuminge to seeme authour of the same And further I shall obserue this ordre in writting not all but of all the moost necessarie matters to gather and reherse and that not in fyne and pyked phrase but in facile and cōmon speche so that the moost part may seeme rather signified thē explicated rather sleight lye touched then exactly discussed I leaue the florishinge curious and painted maner of endicting to other whiche either vpon confidence of their wittes or respect of dutie or office attempt the lyke enterprise As for me I intende nothinge els but to prouide vnto my selfe and for mine own singular vse a byll of remembraunce as it were agaiust obliuion wherby memorie moughte be holpen whiche I feele nowe to decaye in me And yet I shal endeuour with Goddes helpe to amende and daylye enlarge the same as my leysure and oportunitie shal serue to recognise and recompt suche thinges as I haue learned And this to this end I say that if thꝭ my treatise which I make for my selfe onely escape my handes and happe to lyght into the

examples in the rehersal allegation of such as at the beginninge were este med catholike in faieth and sound in doctrine at length not withstandynge either fell into some other sect or diuised some newe of their owne braines Verely it is a great matter profitable to be knowen verie necessarie to be often recorded worthye by dyuers examples continually to be illustrated and dryuen into euery mannes harte howe that all catholike men at all times haue thought themselues bounde to receiue the teachers within the church and not forsake the faith of the Churche with the teachers beinge in errour But where as I am able to bryng furth many in thys kind of tēpting yet I suppose none to be compared with Origenes teptacion Origenes in whom were so many excellent singular and merueilous giftes that he was as it were a marke for euery man to gase and wonder at Whose sentence iudgemēt and opinion in all matters all men iudged moost worthie to be embraced And no merueill For if the lyfe geueth any authoritie to man no doubte he did leade a verye perfect holy and continent life in much pacience and suffering Yf the stocke parentage who more noble then he which was sprong of that honorable house that firste was bewtified with blessed Martyrdome Who afterwarde for Christe his sake not onely forsakinge his naturall father but leauyng also all hys goodes and substaunce somuche proffeted amongest the harde straightes of holy pouertie that many times and oft he was sharpely handled for cōfes synge the name of oure Lorde Adde therto that so great was his knowledge in all kinde of literature matched with suche finenes of wit powdered with such pleasaūt deliueraūce of his wordes that he was thoughte pierelesse without felowe The highe magnificence of whose absolute knowledge was suche that few or none were thought to approche His pronunciatiō and vtteraunce so swete that from his lyppes not wordes but hony might haue semed to flowe What matters seminge neuer so hard hath not he with force of disputatiō made smoth cleere What thinges seminge veray hard to be done hath not he made to appeare easie by his owne example But some wyll thinke that he perswaded hys assertions by subteltie of argumente onely Yea there was not one of the Churche that vsed mo examples out of the holy scriptures then he did in anye worke that he made as he made veray many And that no thing might be lacking in him that either coulde encrease his knowledge or inlarge his estimation he atteined the full perfection of age And in his time he had so many disciples whom effectually bothe by continuall instruction of doctrine and effectuall example of maners he had soo framed that of hym and as it were out of his bosome issued innumerable Doctours Ministers Confessours and Martyrs Finally in howe great admiration glorye and fauour he was with all men who can expresse vnto whom diuers godlye men from all partes swarmed whome the Christians honoured as a Prophete The Philosophers reuerenced as a maister Whome for the worthines of his heauenly wisdom not onely men of priuate condition but also themperiall state honoured Recorde of histories whiche report that the mother of Alexander the Emperour sent for hym to learne at hys mouth heauenly wisdom wher of he had a speciall grace she a burnyng desire The same histories also reporte vnto vs the testimonye of an epistle whiche he endicted with the maiestie of christian prelacie and sent it vnto Philippe themperour Philippe who first was made christian of the Romayne Princes Touching the incredible knowledge expressed in that epistle yf any accept not the christian testimonye at my reporte at least wise let him receyue the gentle confession vpon the testimonye of prophane Philosophers For that impious and wicked man Porphyrius doeth confesse Porphyrius that by the sounde of his fame he was styred to trauel as far as Alexandria being in maner yet but a boye and that he there sawe Origines well stept in age but such one of such maiestie as who had buylded in him selfe a towre of all knowledge No doubt he was a man ful of worthines Al whos most worthye qualities I coulde not rehearse in a daye no not the least part of them And they all do pertayne not onelye vnto the glorye of religion but also vnto the greatnes of the temptatiō For who woulde eyther suspect such a mā of so excellēt wit so great knowledge of so wonderfull grace Or woulde not rather vse that sentence that I had leuer erre with Origent hen to thinke trueth with other What nedes many wordes It came to this passe that the moste daūgerous tēptation of so notable a person so great a mayster so hiegh a prophet allured very many from the integrite of their faythe Wherfore the same Origen whilest he more insolentlye abuseth the grace of God whilest he ouermuche trusteth to hys owne witte and iudgement slenderlye regardeth the auncient simplicitie and presumyng to be more wise then other doeth contemne the traditions of the churche and the preceptes of thelders He at length taketh vpon him to interpretate expound certen partes of the scriptures after a new guyse Wherby he hath also deserued that of him it shoulde be sayde Si sura rexerit in medio tui Propheta non audias verba illius prophetae quia tent at uos dominus deus uester vtrum díligatís eum an non That is to say If there aryse amonge you a Prophet thou shalte not heare the voyce of that Prophet because the Lorde your God tempteth you whether you loue him or not Doubtlesse it is not onelye a temptacion but a very great temptacion when he on whome the congregation of Christ doth wholly stai vnto whō the churche leneth allured by the admiration of his witte knowledge eloquence conuersation and grace whiche were all wonderfull in him doeth sodaynlye traduce the same nothing fearinge or suspectynge from the auncient religion into newe prophanities But some man wyll saye that the bookes of Origen are corrupted I doe not withstande that Yea I would that Origens bokes wer corrupt rather then Origen him selfe And that his bookes are corrupted diuers aswell of the catholykes as heretikes haue firmed How be it this it is that we ought now to attend that if not Origen him selfe yet the bokes put furth in his name were a great temptaciō Which scatterynge full of foule blasphemies were read and receyued for his and not for anye other mans In so muche that al be it in conceyuynge anye errour it was not the minde of Origen yet to the persuasion of errour the authoritie of Origen maye seeme muche to preuayle The like may be spoken of Tertullian Tertullian a man no lesse notable and famous amongest the Latines then was Origen amongest the Greekes For what coulde be more excellent then this man Who more exercised in the holy scriptures and in all other