appertaineth vnto the blood of Christ Iesus and not to any other to wit the remission of sinnes And finally the doctrine of the Iubilee importeth as much as if the blood of Christ were of smaller worth at one time then another CHAP. XXV Of the conception of the virgin Mary YOu keepe holy the feast of the conception of the virgin Mary and beleeue that shee was conceiued without originall sinne an opinion grounded vpon the Thalmud of the Rabbins and principally of Rabbi Iuda the sonne of Simon who saith that the matter whereof the mother of the Messias was to be engendred was created before Adam had sinned and was thus preserued in a little boxe from generation to generation without any spot or corruption and gathereth these misteries out of the words of the Psalme O Lord looke downe from heauen and beholde and visite the plant that thy right hand hath planted And why haue you not learned of S. Bernard that shee taketh no delight in those counterfeit honours Which hee speaketh of purpose of the feast of the Conception and of Origene That her chiefe honour is to bee saued iustified and redeemed through the blood of her sonne And your idolatrie by the contrary hath mounted vnto such blasphemies as to attribute vnto the virgin Mary and to transferre vnto her in all your Offices all whatsoeuer the Prophets and the Psalmist spake of God and of Iesus Christ. O Lord how long CHAP. XXVI Of the Lymbus EVen to the Lymbus the antichamber of hell haue you stretched forth your armes that you may draw from thence the tradition of those master Carpenters the Cabalists or the Thalmudists And such as are versed in the reading of their bookes know how that they beleeue that the Patriarches and others the first Fathers are still lodging there and looking for the comming of their Messias And doe you know where they haue found the Godmothers of this building Euen at hand in the booke of Ecclesiastes which saith That there are some iust men who perish in their iustice Is not this to ground the borders and suburbs of hell vpon a place which neither farre nor neere approcheth any waies vnto this Thalmudicall exposition We are not ignorant what your proofes are concerning the Lymbus and chiefly how you haue caused wrest that place of S. Peters which is so much chatted among you toward that side Howsoeuer the matter goeth yet it is wonderfull that you haue thus stumbled and that so long agoe sith it appeareth manifestly that the Apostle speaketh not there of the old faithfull Fathers but contrariwise of the vnfaithfull for example whereof hee bringeth forth those that perished in the flood because they would not hearken vnto Christ Iesus that preached vnto them spiritually by the mouth of Noah CHAP. XXVII Of the Law YOu haue that also common with the Iewes who were euill taught and thinke that the doctrine of the Gospell abolisheth the Law For to what end tendeth the calumny of your Sorbonique Doctors and Iesuites against the Christian Church in accusing her that shee hath abolished good workes and made way vnto all manner of disorder Indeede we say after S. Paul that we are iustified by faith in Iesus Christ and not by the workes of the Law and concerning the morrall law as it killeth vs in regard of vs that are transgressors thereof for whose instruction it was giuen so also wee are iustified through the same in Iesus Christ as in him that hath payed the debt which the law required of vs and hauing fully accomplished and ratified all the promises thereof in all those that beleeue And what is to be seene there that is not Apostolicke And when you say that you are able to fulfill Gods law are you not like him that vaunted himselfe that hee had fulfilled all the commandements euen from his youth head Is there not a fine harmony betweene you and that proud bragging Pharisie We beleeue better to wit that the regenerate man cannot fulfill the law of God the same notwithstanding being iustly required at his hands because it is iust in it selfe and because it was giuen vnto the first man while hee was yet in the estate of innocency and fell afterwards through his owne fault from all abilitie to fulfill the same and we all in him From thence it is that S. Austin saith to vs Who is he that is able to accomplish the Law in all points but he by whom all the commandements of God are fulfilled that is to say Christ Iesus And a little after But all the commandements are thought to be fulfilled when that which is not fulfilled is pardoned And so speaketh hee in more then a hundred places And S. Ambrose Prosper Aquitannus S. Bernard and all the Fathers To what purpose then your Pharisaicall pride and disdaine here to disanull the effect of the Crosse CHAP. XXVIII Of Iustification ANd concerning Iustification like as the Iews being euill aduised did teach that man was iustified by the workes of the Law so likewise you attribute iustification before God vnto the merits of good workes And that which you acknowledge touching the merits of the death of Christ Iesus is by you so restrained and tyed to that which precedeth Baptisme that the satisfactions of men are much esteemed and valued at an high rate as all your bookes doe testifie And if some of you doe at any time presse to speake of of Christ Iesus and of his vertue it is done with so much ignorance and sophistry that it is perceiued incontinent that as yet you haue not learned to renounce your false and counterfeit righteousnes to the end that you may destroy that which is in Iesus Christ. CHAP. XXIX Of opus Operatum FVrthermore like as the Iewes who were Iewes onely in name were contented with the letter without the spirit that is to say they thought that they had deserued much if with their bodies and lips they had drawne neere to the temple to the sacrifices the sacraments without faith or any true repentance for which cause they were bitterly checked by the Prophets In like manner your Doctors haue made the poore superstitious people beleeue that to bee present at diuine seruice to rehearse certaine words without vnderstanding or deuotion in the minde to be present and behold their sacrifices and sacramentall signes were as many meritorious workes although they had beene without all deuotion and inward feeling euen like to a stone or a logge of wood So grosse an errour and so preiudiciall vnto spirituall and euerlasting life as if one should teach such persons as are diseased of any bodily and mortall disease that it should be sufficient for them to trust to the Physicians skill and to the Apothecaries boxes not knowing what they were or taking any receipt or as if one should say to a poore hungry man that if he would be filled it should be sufficient for
of Christ of no auale doe not beleeue that man after he hath fallen from the estate of innocencie is depriued of the power to fulfill the Law And what will they answere to S. Austin Who is he saith he that can performe the Law in all points but he through whom the commandements of God were made that is to say Christ. The Church indeede hath called them Hereticks that denied free will but that ought to be vnderstood of that will wherewith man was adorned by God in his first creation That which wee doe auouch and teach in our Churches touching this point is conforme to the Scripture and to that which the holy Fathers haue taught The vnregenerate are named darkenesse and in another place are called not onely weake and diseased but dead also And how will that stand which the councell of Trent hath determined touching this strength of man in the motions and actions of heauenly things with these maximes that follow The naturall man receiueth not the things of the Spirit of God The world by wisedome knew not God we are not sufficient of our selues to thinke any thing as of our selues Where is this free will then which you blase abroad so much I shall be briefe and will content my selfe to send you back to those other places of Scripture which I haue set downe in the margent And the Prophets beare witnesse vnto vs not onely of the defect in well doing but likewise teach vs that vnto those naturall forces which wee had in our originall iustice haue succeeded in our soules desires and hearts of vicious habits toward euill and of such like corruptions in our nature which like vnto great floods and raging streames doe carie vs downe headlong after our filthy desire not being able of our selues to releuate vs againe to doe well It is a hard heart that we haue hee hath a heart of stone that is vnregenerate he hath a head of Iron a forehead of brasse a corrupted heart that cannot change its skinne no more then an Aethiopian How then can they bee able to accomplish the Law of God how can they through their righteousnesse obtaine and deserue life euerlasting Let the same bee said of the regenerate ones whose saluation dependeth of the pure mercy of God seeing that euerlasting life is a gift of God and cannot bee deserued by men Verily I doe confesse that there is some difference betweene you and the Pelagians which consisteth in so much as you ioyne grace with free-will which was taken away by them at least you come both so neere together that you hold that man after his fall may doe good through the benefit of his will Iodocus Tiletanus hath so taught and written But he and you together what answere will you returne to S. Austin that hath written whole treatises of the free and pure mercy of God through Iesus Christ Of iustification by Faith Of the infirmitie and finall corruption of mans will Of the filthinesse of our workes and the basenesse of our merits Truely hee is farre from that Pharisaicall pride which maketh you presume so much of your selues S. Chrysostome and S. Hierome did not hold any such opinion touching this matter that is taught in your schooles And concerning God commaundements to wit that wee are excluded from the power of accomplishing them wee alone beleeue not so for we haue on our side S. Ambrose Prosper Aquitannus S. Bernard and an infinite number of the Fathers If the Pelagians haue confessed that to this end the grace of iustification was giuen that we might the more easilie accomplish through grace that which wee were commanded by the Law The councell of Affricke hath sent forth a curse against them you that are fellowes with them as if without grace but with greater difficultie we were able to performe the Law seeing that Iesus Christ saith not Without mee you may worke with greater difficultie but very plainely without me you are able to doe nothing The second Councel of Aransike holden in the time of Leo the first and of the Emperour Theodosius the younger ouerthrew the doctrine of free-will and of iustification by workes and hath determined by the word of God that all whatsoeuer is in vs and in our power dependeth of the one onely and free mercy of God Where then will this nature of man be which is helped to doe well by the grace of creation and of the doctrine of the Law We doe not gainsay this grace but wee will not make the same equall with nature as a fellow helper as you and the Pelagians doe for we must receiue all from the liberalitie and free gift of the holy Ghost as it were by begging without any power or naturall facultie in vs to prepare our selues for grace And what will you answere to the Mileuitane Councell which condemneth those that say that the grace of God through Iesus Christ is giuen for this purpose onely that wee may receiue helpe and assistance or that the true meaning of the commandements may bee laid open vnto vs that we may know what we ought to follow and what we should auoide Truely this grace hath not this scope by the contrarie it was giuen to vs to worke vnto this effect that wee might desire and be able to doe well You doe attribute as much authoritie or little lesse to your Canons as to the holy Euangiles of Christ Iesus we beseech you to peruse them and you shall finde as it were in dust this free will with the appertenances thereof and the conclusions of the doctrine of merites and workes of supererogation by whole chests and coffers full To conclude then you hold constantly and will acknowledge a francke and free will to be not onely in the estate of innocencie but likewise in the corrupted estate of sinne through which man is able of himselfe and his owne motion to doe well and if he receiue any helpe that it is onely by the grace of congruitie which is the same thing with that which the Pelagians affirmed CHAP. VII Of the Commandements of the Law THe Anomians were so called as being without any Law They taught many things that were contrary to the Law and that the obedience which man oweth thereunto was not necessarie And are you not Anomians For what is your Poperie but a contreopposition to the holy ordinances of God but an abolishing of the Law A Law that conuerteth the soule a Law that threatneth the transgressor thereof with cursing a Law which we ought to graue in our hearts And what is the Pope but that aduersarie who exalteth himselfe aboue all that which is called God as God This is indeed that shepheard on earth who will not visite those that be cut off who shall eate the flesh of the fat and teare their clawes in pieces We are commanded
to loue God with our whole heart Syluester Prierias holdeth that this commandement is not of necessitie but of honestie Which is the very same opinion of Molanus and this is as much as if they had taught that it were not needfull to loue God most perfectly but that it should be sufficient for vs to know that he ought to be loued so Let vs reason briefely vpon euery one of the commaundements and let vs see the antithesis which is betweene them the Popes Thou shalt haue no other God but me The Pope is called God not hyperbolically but effectually Dominùs Deus noster Papa Thou shalt not make vnto thee any grauen image Contrariwise the Pope commandeth that all manner of images and representations be affixrd and set vp in the Temples and Churches of Christians that they may be honoured apparelled lighted and that we may bow downe our selues before them in all reuerence as it may be seene in your Canons and the Bookes of your chiefest Doctors Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vaine sayth the Eternall The Pope absolueth subiects from the oath which they haue made to their naturall Prince Honour thy father and thy mother The Pope dispenseth with his Priests and Fryers yea and with all those that be on his side Thou shalt not kill Our Fraunce hath made triall in the parricide that was practised on the person of the most Christian King Henry the third what dispensation is graunted in this case Thou shalt not commit adulterie but Hildebrand a Fryer of the order of the Clumacenses called Gregorie the seuenth forbade mariage neuerthelesse it is well knowne after what manner he behaued himselfe with Mehant Countesse of Mantua And who knoweth not that the Pope approueth whordome sith he receiueth tribute from the whores of Rome Robberies and false witnesses are but childrens sport And touching concupiscence you are of the opinion that it is not forbidden and that it is no sinne vnlesse the fact be ioyned therewith What shall I say farther In the Romish Church they take away change diminish and adde to the Law what pleaseth those best that haue the charge thereof They haue taken away the knowledge of the word of God from the people reseruing the same for great Doctors They haue forbidden to read the holy Bible which is against Gods ordinance Enniche the mother of Timothie shall rise vp in iudgement and condemne them They haue bin so bold as to stretch forth their sacrilegious hands vnto the sanctuarie of God that they might pull away from thence the second commandement of the first Table They haue changed their Priests into Sacrificers the Euangiles into Masses the preaching into ringing of Bels singing lights and such like trash They haue changed the breaking of the bread in the holy Supper into hostes altogether round They haue diminished to wit the cup contenting themselues with a part onely They haue added namely the commandements which they call of the Church Christ comwaunded vs to loue our enemies and pray for them Yet notwithstanding your Molanus denieth that God hath commaunded vs to pray chiefly for our enemies and that we ought to salute them louingly You vpbraid vs with the debates that are among vs. We are at one together praised be God But make Torrensis agree with Catherin to whom he reprocheth that he hath written that the law of Moyses is not the Law of God and that the commaundements of the Apostle S. Paul are not the commandements of Iesus Christ. CHAP. VIII Of Predestination THis Doctrine of Predestination is of great importance S. Austin hath written whole Treatises thereof Through it we know that without Christ there is no saluation It is a refuge in time of temptation to perswade vs more and more of the assurance of our saluation which we beleeue to be grounded on the sonne of God that we may cast away farre from vs all manner of desperation It is a spurre to pricke vs forward to the studie of good works which are the effects of our election It is a bridle to containe our insolencie and bragging within the limites of Christian modestie that we may not attribute to our selues that which proceedeth of the grace of God All the holy antiquitie doth send vs vnto the pure free mercy of God through Iesus Christ vnto iustification by faith vnto our infirmitie and wretchednes of our workes And neuerthelesse you are not contented with this simplicitie contrariwise you doe attribute predestination vnto good workes that are foreseene as the Pelagians haue done The common opinion of the greater part of your Schoolemen is bent that way as Catharin can well reproch vnto your Diuines his fellowes CHAP. IX Of the Scripture IS it not true that the theefe abhorreth nothing so much as the Law nor the heretick any thing so much as the Scripture May I not liken you to the Owles that cannot endure those glistering beames of Gods word Vnto those betelles that aboue all things hate the balme of those celestiall decrees You say that it is imperfect obscure doubtfull ambiguous a dead letter that killeth a matter of debate and riddles Your whole refuge is vnto homilies trophonaries passions legends lectures antiphonas graduaries breuiaries fermologues and Missals And for the Scriptures you beleeue them no more then the fables of Aesope vnlesse they be authorised by the Pope Eusebius sayth that the holy auncient Fathers accused and that with very good reason Samasatenus because that by departing from the Canonicall bookes he had beene the author of an hereticall Doctrine in so farre as he had not followed the Apostolicke Doctrine And to whom belongeth this censure more then to you Ought you to speake not onely when the holy Scripture is silent but also when you are flatly condemned therby Would to God we had not this right to blame you of that which S. Austin sayd in old times vnto those that were like you That you ayme at no other thing but that the whole authoritie of the holy Scripture may turne to nothing Bellarmine hath laboured much for his part when of purpose he hath made a whole Chapter of the insufficiencie of the Scripture the Scripture I say which is the true rule of our vnderstanding and the solide anchor of our saluation Tertullian in his time fought against your fellowes who denied the Scriptures to be perfect And likewise the heretickes would neuer graunt them to be the true rule of faith notwithstanding that Ireneus did send them backe vnto this doctrine of the Apostles which S. Chrysostome and Basill in diuers places of their workes haue called the exquisite balance the rule of equity and the canon of veritie Your Eckius your Pighius yeeld no more authoritie vnto the holy Scripture then that which your Church is pleased to bestow theron And in that
them from the Kingdome of God We and you are ordained to be contraries You call vs Hereticks and wee returne againe this title vnto you like a ball in the Tennis-court Who will beleeue you Who will beleeue vs There is no difficulty here let vs examine the doctrines let vs search diligently for that which is true That is true saith a certaine Father which is the first that is first which is from the beginning and that is from the beginning which is from the Apostles Wee haue this true this first this beginning the doctrine of the Apostles which is the Anchor of our Faith There will nothing remaine for you therefore but the last and false to wit the dregges of heresie Yet doe you not cease to reproach vnto vs that we haue renued and as it were drawne out of hell many old Heresies which as you exclaime we haue broached in these latter times and haue insinuated them into the beleefe of men for Euangelicall doctrines And to the end that none should thinke that you had spoken idlely and without reason you set downe their number and if you might be trusted there is no scab or sore of the auncient Hereticks whereon we haue not rubbed our selues It is after this manner that you tickle your selues to make you laugh and when you haue spent all your force whether it be in sleight or eloquence to rouse vp the implicite faith of your flockes you thinke it is enough and that we haue nothing to reply thereto Wee deplore the heresies and haue the register thereof in our memorie to the intent that we may beware of the same Epiphanius gathereth to the number of 80. S. Austin reckoneth eight more Philastrius more yet And before these Ireneus and Tertullian made some catalogues In reading of them we haue found matter enough against you because we haue learned and bee not offended that you are fellowes and fauourers of those who through their Heresies sought to destroy the Church How then can it be possible that we are their companions Thereupon you pay those of your side not with reason or with any likelyhood but with false calumnies against such as withstand you and to this end you picke out certaine Heresies at your pleasure which you say haue beene as it were renued and restored againe by those great Heralds the restorers of true piety which haue gone before vs in the reformation of the Church This little Preface shall declare the contrary and such Christian soules as are mildely disposed shall be iudges of our right and of your wrong Ireneus saith of the Simonians that they taught that men were saued through the mercy of Simon and that workes were not necessary vnto saluation from whom Eunomius hath not gone farre who witnesse S. Austin g did hold the opinion that men could take no harme by sinne how great soeuer it were prouided that their faith had not fayled Bellarmine accuseth Luther for consenting to these follies being followed by Caluin Brencius and others who verily confessed that good workes were the effects of Faith but denyed that they could merit life euerlasting The learned treatises which haue beene compiled by our writers on this subject should haue serued for phisicke vnto your eye-sight and should haue taken the moate out of your eyes that you might behold the truth against your preiudicate doctrine Wee will not doe you so much wrong as to debauch them from your companie that we may draw them to our side Then let them remaine still there in a good time we denounce them accursed Those infamous persons wallowed themselues in all manner of crimes No thing as they thought could hurt them if they had acknowledged Simon Magus to bee the chiefe way vnto saluation Haue you found any thing in our Churches like vnto this Simon reiected all manner of vertuous and iust workes as superfluous wee acknowledge them as necessary but not as meritorious for grace can get no entry there where merits haue taken place already We abhorre Eumenius likewise We confesse the separation of faith from good workes to bee more impossible then to separate the beames and light from the Sunne And what doe you finde worthy to be censured whiles we teach that sinne cannot hurt him that hath the act of Faith You couer your selues with the ambiguity of this word Faith whereby you vnderstand nothing but a simple knowledge of the doctrine and a naked insight in Religion and not this certaine perswasiou that the iust man liues by his Faith Truth it is that the sinnes which make vs guilty before God doe astonish vs but we say in like manner that they are not imputed vnto vs and that they are couered through the iustice of the sonne of God and mediator Christ Iesus Also you would haue vs to bee fellowes withone Florinus and to say with him that God is the author of sinne an heresie which Vincent de Lirin did likewise attribute vnto Simon Magus For an answere hereunto Bellarmine is your oracle it sufficeth if he hath said so to you This assertion saith Ireneus is more then heresie Shall we therefore defend the same Truely all things moue vnder the prouidence of God The wicked and their sinnes are not exempted from this celestiall power and gouernement Is God therefore the cause of sinne Fie on this blasphemie It is not he that inspireth man with wickednesse this worke is of the Diuell The Butt that wee ayme at discerneth the actions The scope of mens euill actions is nothing but rebellion and contempt of the Creator and by the contrarie God aymeth onely at the execution of his immoueable and eternall decree The good and the bad Trees being nourished both with one manner of iuice in the same soyle and place are different notwithstanding in their fruites Who can blame the ground Let vs therefore exeeme God from the imputation of iniquitie and let vs not play the Marcionists Origen thought that Adam through his fall had altogether lost the image of God whereunto he was created in his originall vprightnesse and that Hell was nothing else but a terror of Conscience You doe inclose Caluin within the compasse of the same errors and are not ashamed to cite those places which you vnderstand amisse and interpret worse that you may make him bee detested like an Hereticke Wee abhorre both the one and the other reauing of Origine Caluin speaketh not so grosly he saith indeede that the image of God is not altogether defaced that there are many remnants left vnto vs after this ship-wracke the reason the vnderstanding and other naturall gifts This wee affirme with Caluin that those supernaturall graces wherewith God had honoured man were quenched and lost as the wisedome which made vs to know God the righteousnesse which pushed vs forward vnto a voluntarie obedience of his commandements and holinesse