togeither with a true and profound tranquillitie to deliuer such as are alreadie infected with the plague and preserue the rest and to succour the Church in the present necessities which she grones vnder THE II. OBSERVATION WHAT appeares yet but good and vertuous and well beseeming that common Father He neither speakes of selling or euen giueing out of any store of his owne but out of the common stocke of the Catholike Church Or by any other authoritie but that which was left by Iesus Christ to the Church and deriued vpon his person by lawfull succession euen from the Chaire of Peter erected by Christ Iesus Nor doth he make vse of this authoritie vpon a slight occasion but in a generall and crying calamitie Nor yet doth he imploye this common treasure for any sordide lucre or otherwise badd end or by such indulgence to make Christians lesse carefull to performe good workes c. But for a most laudable and Christian one to th end saith he that their fastes prayers and penitentiall practises to which he exhortes them may be done with more fruite feruour of Spirit Therfordoth he open communicate distribute the treasure of the same Church on the behalfe of Almigh tie God Father onne and H. G. Nor doth he take vpon him to begin a new thing neuer before heard of in the Church of God but proceedes according to the ancient custome of the Romane and Mother Church Which is deliuered in the Councell of Trent as followes Wheras the power of granting Indulgences was conferred vpon the Church by Christ and that she vsed this kind of power deliuered vnto her by the diuine prouidence in the most anceent tymes the holy Synode doth teach and commande that the vse of Indulgences which is verie profitable to all Christians and made good by the authoritie of holy Councells should be retayned in the Church and doth anathematise or curse all such as either affirme that they are vnprofitable or denye that the Church hath power to grant them Howbeit the Councell desires that moderation be vsed in granting them according to the ancient and approued custome of the Church least otherwise Ecclesisticall discipline might be shaken by too much facilitie And desiring that the abuses which were vpon haue creptin wherby the fomous name of indulgences is blaspheamed by the heretikes should be corrected and amended it orders in generall by this present Decree that all base lucre for the gayning of them which hath bene a great cause of many abuses among the Christian people should be vtterly abolished THE III. OBSERVATION HENCE you may see Madame that the Pope goes not along without Counsell authoritie nor did the Councell of Trent begin any neW thinge but continued an old runing still secure in the foote stepps of Ancesters and ancient Councells But wheras neither Pope proceede he neuer so fairely fatherly and Christianly nor ancient Fathers nor Councells will find any great credit with our Souueraigne Aduersaries who may seeme to say with those arrogant persons described in the 11. Psalme We will magnifie our tongue our lipps are our owne who is our Lord and vpon that proud accompt will be their owne and the worlds great iudges I will onely out of respect to your Honour and other louers of truth point at the authorities in the margent taking vp with one passage out of S. Paule which me thinkes should satisfie all men and giue them occasion to reflect that the Churches and Popes proceeding in point of Indulgences was drawen vpon that Originall This holy Apostle then Corinthians 1. and 5. planely exercises the power which Christ S. Matthe the 16. conferred vpon his Apostles and in them to his Church as to the first parte of it to witt to retayne sinne c. vpon the incestuous Corinthian I indeede absent in body saith he but present in Spirit haue alreadie iudged in Spirit him that hath so done in the name of our Lord Iesus Christ c. to deliuer such an one to Sathan for the destruction of the flesh that the Spirit may be saued in the day of our Lord Iesus-Christ Behold the offender excommunicated or cutt of from the Communion of his Christian brethren kept in pennance for his cryme But as to the seconde parte of remitting or loosing c. in the 2. to the Corinthians 2. being moued to compassiō by Tymothie Titus c. he grantes him an Indulgence or pardon and remits the rest of his pennance For my selfe also that which I pardoned if I pardoned any thinge for you in the person of Christ that we be not circumuented by Satan Nor is the Popes Indulgence any other thinge then a remitting or pardoning part of Penance or satisfaction inioyned for or otherwise due to sinne and that too in the name person or by the authoritie of Christ the guilt therof being alreadie pardoned The Bull againe Wherfor we confiding in the mercy of Almightie God and in the authoritie of his blessed Apostles S. Peter and S. Paule in vertue of that verie power which we haue receiued of our Lord Iesus Christ without any merite of ours to tye and vntie doe grant and giue by the tenure of the presentes most plenarie Indulgences and remission of all the sinns as it is wont to be granted in the Iubilie yeare c. to all faithfull Christians that are in our said holie citie who within the space of a month after the dare hereof shall faste one of the frydayes of the said month and hauing first confessed their sinnes shall reuerently receiue the most holy Sacrament of the Eucharist And least by the great concurse of people should they visite Churches after the ordinarie manner the infection might be increased deuoutely say their the Rosarie of the Blessea Virgine Marie or the seauen Penitentiall I salmes with the Litanies and prayers following at home in their owne particular and prayed for the foresaid purposes and giuen almes to the poore as their owne charitie may suggest to each one in particular As also to all others in what places soeuer without our said citie who are in places where there is noe suspicion of the plague which we leaue to the iudgements of the ordinaries of the respectiue places shall visite the Churches appointed by the said Ordinaries their Vicaires Officialls or by their order or in want of them by such as haue charge of soules in those places presently after these presentes are come to their knowledge c. The rest of the Bull I omit as contayning onely the style of the Court togeither with the Priuiledges granted to all Preists approued by lawfull authoritie to absolue all reserued cases irregulariries Censures changing vowes c. and permission for all Penitents to make free choyce of any Preist so approued THE IV. OBSERVATION AND I beseech you good Madame hat can malice meete with in all this I doe not say iustly lyable to so blacke calumntes but euen not worthy of highest
gathered from some particular Authours within the large compasse of the Catholike Church whose single and loose practises are neither beleeued nor approued by the same Church and consequently are vnworthily imposed vpon her and her dutifull children THE IV. PARAGRAPHE NOR is this Madame as they falsely say to haue a countenance forsooth for couetousnesse But to haue a second and sure table after the shipwrake of sinne which is bought by noe other somme but the repentant teares of a contrite and an humbled hart which being stamped by Gods grace are by all Catholikes held to be current money in the sight of God without the addition of any other somme as is basely asserred and imposed vpon Catholikes without all ground of truth saying as it were in the person of a Catholike That the offendants must haue a true Contrition or their somme of Money will doe them noe good noe more then will a true Contrition without the somme Let those slaunderers produce at least one Catholike Authour who holds this abomnable opinion the Catholike Church will anathematise him to free their credit or it will be taken for granted that it is more then they can doe noe lesse indeede then an absolute Calumnie vnlesse it be a somme that ought to be restored to the right owner before the sinne can be absolued according to that ancient Maxime non absoluitâ—r peccarum nisi restituatur ablatum Such is the Iustice of Gods Church of hich there is noe practise among those that liue without as your Honour well knowes and noe protestante can deney Thus farre haue I deliuered what is not taught by but falsely imposed vpon the Catholike Church to remoue all such causelesse Calumnies Now Madame with your permission will I passe on to put downe what I haue bene alwayes taught in the same Church That you may clearely see from what sourse that power of Indulgences is deriued and how ancient they are And with what effects and fruites they are practised amongst vs And wherasnow while I writeth ese thinges it hath pleased God to send vs a Iubilie which all Paris is endeuouring to gayne I haue iudged it not out of the way of our present discourse to bring you acquainted with the forme and teneur of it word for word as it lyes in the Popes Bull which being in some passages attended with short obseruations may happily proue more satisfactorie then any other thinge could be said vpon that subiect The Vniuersall Iubilie granted by our holy Father Pope Alexander by the diuine prouidence the seauenth of that name to implore Gods grace and assistance in the present necessitie of the Church ALEXANDER Pope the seauenth to all faithfull Christians to whom these presentes shall come health and Apostolicall Benediction Casting the eyes of our soule from the most eminent Sea of the Church vpon all the partes of the world and attentiuely considering the continuall calamities which afflict the flocke wherwith we are intrusted from aboue we are not able to represse the frequent sobbs which burst out from the become of our harte nor the teares which flow from our eyes in abundance For what hart of iron would not be sensibly touched with the present miseries which ouerflow the Christian world Warre is sett on fooâ—e and growes euery day more and more obstinate among Catholike Princes and to appease it all the inuentions of humane prudence haue hitherto proued vnprofitalle In the East the countries which were subiect to the power of a most pious common wealth are infested by the turkish warrs of ten yeares continuance In the North a parte of the kingdome of a most Catholike kinge is inuaded by hereticall armes and the frontiers of the rest is not safe from their malice and power In the south partes a cruell plague is begun which depopula es the neighbouring nations and horribly th eatens this capitall Citie of the true Religion All is full of the terrour and iust apprebensions of the miseries which inuirone vs So that now more then euer we resent the hand of God to lye heauie vpon vs because our crymes prouoke his wroth to appease which though we cease not to imploye our owne sacryfices in particular and those of others togeither with the oblations of prayers it out intermission yet we iudge that we shall more promptly receiue the effects which we hope from Gods mercy if the Prayers of all faithfull Christians were ioyned with ours their soules being first purged of the sinns which defile them by the holsome remedic of sinceere Pennance for our good God is myld and mercifull and pardons all that inuoke him in sinceritie of harte THE I. OBSERVATION MADAME you will obserue that we meete with nothing yet that seemes any thinge to Sauour of that base trading which our enemyes would impose vpon vs nor will there any other appeare in all the Bull Marie this appeares and is made visible and intelligible to all that haue eyes to see and eares to heare That ehaue a good Pastour who sleepes not but is vigilant ouer all his vniuersall flocke That he wants not care to consider nor bowells of mercy to commiserate his childrens calamities which by compassion he makes his owne He knowes that his sheepe which he calls are spred all the world ouer and they heare his call to the furdest corners of the earth and know him and acknowledge him by their prompt obedience He calls them not to inrich himselfe with the fleese but to inrich them with the blessings of remission and pardon the fruites of Christs Passion intrusted in his hands He calls them to fasting praying pennance workes of mercy vse of Sacramentes c. and his order is hardly distinguished from the execution therof they all run the Emperour Kinge Prelate Prince Preist and people with vnanimous hartes and ioynt endeuours to make violence against heauen and force as it were necessarie blessings from the hands of Mercy The Pope goes on Now that all these thinges may be done with more fruite and profit and accompaigned with more feruour of Spirit we haue thought good following the ancient custome of the Romane Church the Mother and Mistresse of all the rest to open communicate and distribute the treasures of the same Church wherof we are made the Dispensers by the grace and authoritie of our Sauiour Iesus-Christ And to this effect on the behalfe of Almightie God Father Sonne and holy Ghost by Apostolicall authoritie withall fatherly affection we request admonish and exhorte in our Lord Iesus all faithfull Christians in generall of both sexes as well those of this our holy Citie as those that are out of it in what place soeuer that they would deuoutly sett vpon and accomplish the thinges following and that they would beseech God our Sauiour by the bowells of his mercy to vouchsafe to protect the Catholike faith and defend it against the attempes and ambushes of her enemyes to extirpate heresie to grant peace to Christian Princes
conserue it an affected allurement They communicate promiscuously with all sortes of people For though they be of diuers opinions it matters not so they conspire all togeither to the ouerthrow of truth They are all swelled vp with pride all of them promesse knowledge They are perfect Catecumenes before they be instructed How malepart are the verie hereticall women hauing the boldnesse to teache to dispute to exorcise to promise cures yea happly to baptise in publike Their manner of giuing orders is light rashe inconstant Sometymes they preferre Neophites sometymes secular persons and sometymes againe our verie Apostates that they might oblidge them at least by glorie whom they cannot by Truth A man neuer meetes with preferment with more facilitie then in the tents of Rebel's where their verie being there posses for worth and merite Hence one is Bishope to day and to morowe another today a Deacon to morowe a Lector Today a Preist to morow a Layman For they impose Preistly functions vpon lay-people THE III. PARAGRAPHE MADAME this excellent description of an Heretike was Tertullians who liued and putt it downe 1400. yeares a goe while he could neither be suspected of thinking of aduantageing ourcause nor preiudiceing yours Yet had we not named the Author of it who would not haue thought it had bene diuised to point out the miserable tymes wherin we liue so absolutly doth it come home to what we dayly see among the sectaries Is there any thinge more abiect earthly and fleshily then the beggerly way wherin God is serued among them while they make a iest of our graue gracefull and ancient ceremonies Their practises are accompaigned with noe grauitie noe authoritie noe discipline so that any honest gentleman is serued with more state in his priuate house then God there publikly in his temple Doth not the Preist appeare iust such as the people mounting into the pulpet noe otherwise accoutred then though he were to walke abrode about some ordinarie affaire with his cloke his hatt and his gloues on vnlesse you would say he is differenced from his flocke by his inbrodded nightcappe and veluet cussion and so is fitted rather for an after noones nappe then a good instruction Doe they not all run promiscuously to the same Church and the same seruice vnlesse their zeale leade them rather into some tubb or chimney corner to bable as well the Caluinist as the Lutheran as well the Quaker the seeker and the expecter as the Brownist the adamite and the familist of loue with all the rest of the confused tribes without any visible meanes to discerne them or to discouer what they hold or what they practise May not the Iew and gentile euen the Turke himselfe steppe in amongst them and fall to such fare as he finds vpon the table without euer being questioned who he is or whence he came they saith Tertullian communicate indifferently with all sortes of people see how bountifull they are while we are the Couetous and what an open house is kept where all enter eate drinke and welcome without paying a pennie We say they at least sell our ceremonies and they grant we with Tertullian giue away or cast away their verie Sacraments gratis they cast their holy thinges to dogges We forsooth make money of all while they throw gemmes euen to swinne THE IV. PARAGRAPHE THEY laugh at our simplicitie as being destructiue of discipline And their wisdome ought surely to be magnified who keepe it vp so gloriously as you haue alreadie heard They laugh I say at the simplicitie of the poore blind credulous mislead Catholike they qualifie them as they please because they beleeue what they vnderstand not though they were longe since taught by S. Augustine that not the viuacitie of vnder standing but the simplicitie of beleiuing is the peoples greatest securitie They laugh at the sillie Catholike I say Because they captiuate their vnderstanding to the obedience of faith by S. Paules counsell Because they sticke to authoritie to which they owe their beleife howeuer S. Augustine assures them that they owe their beleefe to authoritie Because they walke in the footstepps of their fore fathers conseruing the same Doctrine sacrifice Sacraments and ceremonie which ancient tradition deliuered into their hands O happie and gloriours errours They the while with their proud promises of knowledge haue indeede taught the people witt enough not to giue credit euen to themselues who are but men and may lye and so hauing broken downe the hedge and inlarged the Fathers bounds they haue exposed the doctrine and discipline of the Church to be torne in peeces by the people who deliciously feaste themselues with their owne inuentions while they interprete all that they read in Scriptures and that those new masters haue taught them to their owne fancies as those new masters also deliuered to them what they had inuented and composed after their owne fancies If Luther and Caluine tooke to themselues the Priuiledge to forge new opinions why should not the Lutheran and Caluinisticall Ministers inherite that prerogatiue And if they inioy that libertie of coyning why should not a part of the power descend vpon the flocke that the improuement of the doctrine may sinypathise with the sourse whence it tooke its origine In the interim they haue brought their hogges to a faire market But we must not laught at them nay rather ought we to lament and commiserate their miserie THE III. CALVMNIE They sett all Gods mercyes to sale for what sinnes cannot be bought for money as adulterie inceft murther blasphemie sins past and present THE XIV REFLECTION HERE enters more lyes then lynes fiue manye slaunders vented with one breath You le pardon me friends I cannot beleeue you Especially when you deliuer your selues in such vaste generalities that all Gods mercyes should be set to sale all without exception had it bene but some few of them and by some few we might haue looked vpon it with some feare that there might be yet some Iudas amongst vs who would not onely sell Christ mercies but euen Christ himselfe or some Symon that would haue bought or sold the gift of the holy Ghost for money but that the practise of the whole Catholike Church should be to sell all or any of Gods mercies I cannot beleeue you I my selfe haue bene a Catholike these many yeares and yet I was neuer taught it We haue store of Sermons at Paris and yet I neuer heard it We haue Catechismes in great number yet I neuer read it We haue the Councell of Trent which delluers many thinges that are not much aggreeable to your daintie palates and yet you cannot point it out there neither But contrarily had you had as much mynd to discouer truthes as to publish falfities you might haue there met vith as much care as men assisted by the holy Ghost might easily haue put downe to haue preuented or at least punished all couetousnesse and base trading in holy thinges as appeares