Thou bearest the person An. Do. 862 Annal. Boior lib. 4. of a Bishop say they but thou playest the tyrant vnder the habite or attire of a pastour wee feele a Wolfe the lying title calleth thee Father thou in thy deedes boastest thy selfe to be another Iupiter When as thou art the seruaunt of seruants thou striuest to be the Lorde of Lords c. Hee counterfeiteth the Lambe in calling himselfe the vicar of Christ and exercising the very same office which Christ himselfe had Bellarm. whiles he was vpon the earth And because by horne in the Scriptures often is meant power he may be saide to haue two hornes like the Lambe whiles he challengeth that two-fold power which is peculiar to Christ the Lambe as our King and Priest and vsurpeth both the swordes I meane both spirituall and temporall He speaketh like the Dragon in teaching those doctrines of Diuels mentioned 1. Tim. 4. 3. forbidding to mary and commaunding abstinence from meates in belching foorth most horrible blasphemies whereof wee will remember some in the next chapter in his diuellish curses against the Saints and Satannicall promises of the worlde and kingdomes thereof to them that will adore him Luc. 4. 6. Ecce in potestate nostra est imperium vt demus illud cui volumus Auentin Annal Boior lib. 6. saith Adrian the Pope Beholde the Empyre is in our power that wee may giue it to whom wee will And whereas Hierome writing of those wordes 1. Tim. 4. They speake in Hypocrisie saith he who being not continent would seeme to be so chaste as that they condemne mariage and so abstemious as that they iudge those who vse the creature sparingly whereas thēselues are giuen ouer to belly cheere what could haue bene spoken more fitly to shewe foorth the hypocrisie of the Pope Papists For do not they whiles they condēne contemne mariage vnder the shew of vowed chastity practise all vncleannesse and whiles they cōdemne all moderate eating of flesh do not they vnder a colour of fasting feast feed themselues with the choisest dainties Doe not many of them vnder the pretence of voluntary pouerty gather infinite riches And doth not all their religion stande in Opere operate in the bare performaunce of the outwarde worke that is to say in hypocrisie Neither are wee to omitte an hypocriticall pollicie which of late they haue vsed For when as they coulde not preuaile with their Sophistry that is to say with their Bookes of controuersies they hoped to preuaile among the simple with their hypocrisie that is to say with their bookes of deuotion Wherein there is a notable shewe of counterfait deuotion zeale and holinesse to bleare the eyes of the simple and vnstaied But it were to be wished that as they are so they were esteemed to be no better then baits of Antichrist seruing to allure men vnder shew of deuotion vnto idolatry apostasie from God especially if we cōsider that the principall of these bookes were set forth by Parsons other Iesuits who Quodlibet c. are plainly discouered euen by some of their owne side to be mere Machiuilians and wicked Atheists 5. Thus you see what maner of aduersary Antichrist is Now wee must shewe in particular wherein he is opposed to Iesus Christ. He is opposed vnto him as he is Christ and as he is Iesus as hee is Christ that is as he was annointed of God to be our Prophet our King and our Priest in which respect especially he is called Antichrist He is also opposed vnto him as he is Iesus that is to say as he is our Sauiour So that Antichrist opposeth himselfe both to the offices of Christ signified in the name Christ and also to the benefites signified in the name Iesus Now these things also most fitly agree to the Pope who opposeth himselfe to Christ in all these respectes not indeede aperto Marte as an open and professed enemy for so it becōmeth not Antichrist who was to be an hypocrit sitting in the Church of God c. but couertly and cunningly For we must remember that Antichristianisme is the mystery of iniquity wherin Christ was in word shew to be professed but indeed truth denied First thē to Christ our Prophet he is opposed partly as he oppugneth the prophecy of Christ and partly as himselfe is a false Prophet He oppugneth the prophecy of Christ First in denying Christ to be our onely Prophet whose voice in the canonicall Scriptures concerning matters necessarily to be beleeued vnto saluation wee ought onely to heare whiles he and his followers do teach that the scriptures are not perfect and that besides the Apocryphall writings which they haue matched with the canonical their owne traditions also are necessary and of equall authority with the scriptures Secondly by withholding from the people the scriptures which containe the whole doctrine of Christ our prophet in a strange language and also by reading and preaching vnto them their owne fancies and inuentions out of the legends and liues of saints and festiualls c. in steede of the sincere truth of God And by these two practises the Pope whiles he leaueth to Christ the name and title of beeing our prophet he taketh the thing to himselfe Againe he is opposed to Christ our prophet as himselfe is the false prophet spoken of in the Apocalypse teaching Antichristian errours and doctrines of diuells For so many errors as are taught and held by the Pope and church of Rome are so many oppositions betwixt him and Christ our prophet Of the errours of the Romish church there be many centuryes or hundreds and diuerse of them fundamentall In respect whereof wee may truly say that the catholike Apostasie for so I call the Romish religion is the common sewre of many grosse heresyes 6 But it will be said that howsoeuer the Pope holdeth diuerse errours yet he teacheth not those which the holy ghost hath noted as the peculiar doctrines of Antichrist Whereof the authour of the Wardword reckoneth vp three and Bellar-mine hath a fourth But neither of them durst mention those two doctrines of diuells which Paul assigneth to that Apostasie 1. Tim. 4. 3. whereof Antichrist is the head The first doctrine of Antichrist say they is to deny Iesus to be Christ. Which they Of this see more in the 2. booke and 14. chapter would proue out of 1. Iohn 2. 22. 4. 3. and 2. Iohn 7. But the Pope say they doth not deny Iesus to be Christ. To the prosyllogisme or proofe of the proposition I answere that these places of the Apostle Iohn doe not speake properly of the graund Antichrist who is the head of the Antichristian body but of certaine petite Antichrists or heretickes of those times which denied either of the natures of Christ for he speaketh of such as were then already come into the world and therefore from thence it cannot be proued that the great Antichrist shall
the scriptures And if the Hervaeus de potest Tap. e. R. Cupers Petrus de palude de potest Papae â—…t 4. church be aboue the Scriptures then much more is he For he not onely virtualiter est tota ecclesia that is virtually the whole church but also his power alone exceedeth the power of all the whole church besides Now that the authority of the church much more of the Pope who is superior to the church is aboue the scripture it is both generally affirmed by som particulars coÌ„firmed Cardinal Cusanus entitleth his book De authoritate ecclesia concilij supra coÌ„tra scripturaÌ„ Of the authority of the Church councell aboue against the Scripture Syluester Prierias master of the Popes pallace saith That indulgences are warranted vnto vs not by the authoritie of the Scripture Contra Lutheri conclusiones de potestate Papae but by the authoritie of the Church and Pope of Rome which is greater Boniface the Archbishop of Mentz saith That all men so reuerence the Apostolicke See of Rome that they rather desire the auncient institution of Christian religion from the Pope then from the holy Scriptures This saying the Pope hath so approued that he hath caused it to be inserted into the Dist. 40. c. si Papa Canon lawe The particulars which proue the Pope to aduaunce himselfe aboue the Scriptures are these 1 Because he hath as they say authoritie to adde to the Canonicall Scriptures other bookes that are not in the Canon And that those Dist. 19. c. si Romanorum Ioan. de turrecrem l. 〈◊〉 cap. 112. which be in the Canon haue their Canonicall authority from him In the 19. distinction cap. Si Romanorum Pope Nicolas not onely matcheth their decretall Epistles with the holy Scriptures but also affirmeth that the Scriptures are therefore to be receiued because the Pope hath iudged them canonicall Another saith Whosoeuer resteth not on the doctrine of the Romane church and Bishop of Rome as the infallible rule of God Syluester Prierias contra Lutherum à qua sacra scriptura robur trabis authoritatem From which the sacred Scripture draweth strength and authority hee is an Hereticke Eckius saith Scriptura nisiecclesiae authoritate non De ecclesia est authentica The Scripture is not authenticall but by the authority of the Church For I will not tell you how some of them haue not bene ashamed to say that the Scripture without the authoritie of the Church is of it selfe no better worth then AEsopes fables Pighius saith The authority of the church Vid. Chemnit exam part 1. pag. 47. is aboue the Scriptures because the authoritie of the Church hath giuen the Scriptures canonicall authority Secondly whereas the Scriptures are not the words and syllables but the true sence and meaning thereof They teach that the scriptures are to be vnderstood according to the interpretation of the Pope and Church of Rome and that sence which the Pope assigneth to the Scriptures must bee taken for the vndoubted word of God The Pope saith one hath authority so to expound Heruauâ—… de potestate Papae the scriptures that it is not lawful to hold or thinke the contrary A Cardinall of Rome saith If any man haue the interpretation of the church of Rome concerning any place of scripture although he neither know nor vnderstand whether and Cardinal Hosius de expresso dei verbo how it agreeth with the words of the scripture notwithstanding he hath ipsimum verbum Dei the very wordof God And if the sence which they giue be diuerse according to the variety of their practise and diuersitie of times we must acknowledge that the scripture is to follow the church and not the church to follow the scriptures Whereupon Cardinall Cusanus It is no Nicol. Cusanus ad Bohem. epist. 7. maruell saith he though the practise of the church expound the scriptures at one time one way and at another time another way For the vnderstanding or sence of the scripture runneth with the practise And that sence so agreeing with the practise is the quickning spirit And therefore the scriptures follow the church but contrarywise the church followeth not the scriptures And this is that which one who was no small foole in Rome auouched The Pope saith he may change the holy gospell and may Henricus Doctor magister sacri palatij Romae ad legatos â—…ohemicos sub Felice Papa 1447. giue to the gospell according to place and time another sence And to the same purpose was the speech of that blasphemous Cardinall that if any man did not beleeue that Christ is very God and man and the Pope thought the same he should not bee condemned To conclude therefore with Cardinall Cusanus This is the iudgement saith he of all them that thinke rightlie Cardinal s. Angeli ad cosdeâ—… legatos Bohemicos that found the authoritie and vnderstanding of the scriptures in the allowance of the church and not contrariwise lay the foundation of the church in the authority of the scriptures Ad Bohemos epist. 2. 11 Thirdly the Pope challengeth authority aboue the scriptures when he taketh vpon him to dispense with the word and law of God For whosoeuer taketh vpon him to dispense with the law of another challengeth greater authority then the others and it is a rule among themselues In praecepto superioris non debet dispensare inferior the inferiour may not dispense Antonin part 3. lit 22. cap. 6. §. 2. with the commaundement of the superiour That the Pope doth dispense with the lawes of God it is euident For scarcely is there any sinne forbidden there where with he doth not sometimes dispense nay whereof hee will not if it be for his aduantage make a meritorious worke Incest is an horrible sinne forbidden by the law of God and by the lawe of nature And yet there is no incest excepting that which is committed betwixt the parents and the children which hee hath not authority forsooth to dispense with for as they say hee may dispense against the law of nature The Pope dispensed with Henrie the eightth to marie his sister in law and 25. q. 6 authoritatem in glâ—…ss with Philip the late king of Spaine to mary his owne niece Pope Martin the fift dispensed with a certaine brother that Antonin sum 3. part tit 1. cap. 11. §. quod Papa sum angel diâ—…t Papa maried his owne sister And Clement the seauenth licensed Petrus Aluaraâ—…lus the spaniard for a summe of money to marie two sisters at once c. Disobedience to parents periury that is breaking of lawfull oathes rebellion against lawfull princes murdering of a sacred prince are condemned by the lawe of God as haynous offences But if children shall cast of their parents to enter into a Sodomiticall cloister if the Pope shall absolue the subiects from their oathes and forbidde them
bad e Nicolaus EgmuÌ„danus apud Bal. de vit poÌ„l. Pontificem RomanuÌ„ habere imperium in angelos ac daemonas That the Pope hath rule ouer the Angels and Diuels That he hath power to command the Angels for so they say f Gregor Haimburg in appellat Sigism apud Iuell Papa Angelis habet imperare g Camotensis Papa angelis praecipit And according to these testimonies which auouch his right is the Popes practise For not onely he callengeth greater honour reuerence to be done to himselfe then is due to the angels for he admitteth of adorations fallings downe before him which the angels refuse because they are our fellow seruants but also he taketh vpon him to coÌ„maund the holy Angels at his pleasure to remoue soules departed out of purgatory into heauen Clement the 6. in his bull concerning those which should come to Rome to celebrate the Iubile he coÌ„maundeth the Angels of heauen that if any of theÌ„ should die in that lourney to bring their soules being wholy freed from Purgatory into the glory of Paradise His words be these Prorsus mandamus angelis paradisi quatenus animam à purgatorio penitus absolutam in paradisi gloriam introducant 5. It remaineth that I should shew how the Pope aduanceth himselfe aboue the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is the thinges wherein God is worshipped or which are worshipped as God in the church of Rome as namely the Saints the crosse the altar and their God of bread As for the saints they are subiect to the Antonin part 3. lit 22. cap. 5. §. 5. Pope quoad canonizationem standing at the curtesie and free disposition of the Pope whether to bee deified that is as they speake to bee canonized or to be deposed For such is his authority Troilus Maluil in tract de canonis sanct 3. dub if you will beleeue him in canonizing of Saints that hee can canonize whom he will yea of a damned person cast into hell he can make a saint in heauen and contrariwise hee Antoninus part 3. lit 22 c 5. §. 6. can vnsaint those which before wore canonized The crosse which they say is to bee worshipped with diuine worshippe is notwithstanding made an ensigne of the Popes authoritie Traianum Gregorius per orationem sud a poena infâ—…rni quae infinita est absoluit and is borne before him as the mace before the magistrate or the sword before the prince when their procession is at an end it is laid vnder his feet And that he may be knowne euen literally so to sitte in the material temple as if he were a God it is to be noated that his seat in the church is aboue the altar But their chiefe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is their God of bread which because they imagine it to be Christ himselfe it is worshipped among them as their maker and redeemer notwithstanding in the Popes processions and iourneyes it is made an attendaunt on his holinesse For I shall not neede to tell you now which you heard before how Pope Hildebrand when it did not answere his demands as being not vsed to speake did cast it into the fire It is worthy to bee remembred which is reported by Ioannes Monlucius the Bishop of Valence who was the french Lib de religione ad Reginam matrâ—… Fulmen brut pag. 12. 13. kings Embassadour at Rome testified by others that when the Pope is to trauell abroad three or foure dayes before hee sendeth the Eucharist that is Christ their maker on horseback accompanied with muletors and horsekeepers and courtisants and cookes with sumpterhorses and all the baggage of his court Afterwards the Pope who professeth himselfe his vicar followeth attended with Cardinalls Primates Bishops and Potentates And when he commeth neere to the place whether he trauelleth their Christ is brought to meete him on the way that it may be caried before him into the towne But with what difference of honour is hee and his attendant caried in such solemne processions The Pope either rideth on a goodly white horse vnder a stately canopie or else is caried aloft vpon noble mens shoulders in a chaire of golde when the Christ of the Papists the Popes attendaunt is caried vpon a simple hackney in comparison with no such magnificence yet that hackney is the Popes vicar appointed in his steed to Stapleton in epist. ded cat ante pâ—…incip doâ—…in caâ—…ie the Monstrame In a word he is supremuÌ„ numen in terris the chiefe or supreme 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is to be worshipped on earth 6 But let vs come to the height of Antichrists pride For it is not sufficient for the Pope to be lifted vp aboue all that is called God or that is worshipped vnlesse he take vpon him as if he were God and seeke to match himselfe with Christ as the name Antichrist importeth that vnto him the height of Antichrists a In c. ecclesia vt lite peâ—…dente in Concil Lateran sub Iuâ—…o Bald. in l. barbar de off praet pride may also be applied which is described in these words insomuch that hee sit teth in the temple of God as God behauing himselfe as if he were god or which is all one shewing himselfe that he is god For of his followers and flatterers hee is said to be all and aboue all the cause of causes and the first b Gomesius de regul cancell cause Bald. in c. ecclesia vt lite pendente that hee is numen quoddam visibilem quendam Deum praese serens a certaine diuine maiesty shewing himself to be a certaine visible God Agreeable to the prophecy 2. Thess. 2. 4. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is as Beza translateth praese ferens hebr moreh i. facrens se apparere of some he is called c Decius c. 1. de constitutionib Caâ—…dill pro concil trident Bald. Cod. sentent rescindendi 1. vit de electione Felin c. ego N de iureius terrenus Deus or Deus in terris a God vpon earth In the councel of Laterane it was said to him he heard it willingly d Christoph. Marcellan conâ—…l Lateran sess 4. In arca triumph Impress Lugâ—…uni 〈◊〉 1555 Tu es alter Deus in terris thou art another God vpon earth in honour of that hellhound Sixtus the 4. it was written and presented to his view that he is worthilie beleeued to be a God vpon earth Orac'lo vocis mundi moderaris habenas Et meritò in terris crederis esse Deus By the oracle of thy voice thou gouernest the world and worthily art thou beleeued to be a god vpon earth The Canonists call him Our Lord God the Pope For so it is written not onely in diuerse old editions but also in that newe edition which by the authority of Pope Gregory 13. was corrected and published Credere dominum Deum nostrum Papam conditorem dictae
decretalis istius nö sic potuisse statucre prout statuit haereticum censeatur to beleeue that our Lord God the Pope the authour of this and the aforesaid decretal could not decree as he hath decreed it ought to be indged hereticall And as they willinglie heare themselues called God and not onelie themselues heare or reade it but by their authoritie appoint the same to be published vnto the world so they are content to bee worshipped and adored as God Neither was the complaint of Frederic the second vntrue Pontifices Romanos affectare dominationem diuinitatem atque In Epist ad Othon Bauar duc apud Aâ—…entin lib. 7 vt ab hominibus haud aliter imó magis quà m Deus timeantur That the Popes of Rome affect Lordshippe and diuinity and that they may bee feared of men no otherwise yea more then God Franciscus Zabarella a Cardinall of Rome saith The Popes haue beene made to beleeue such is their pride that Apud Iuellum they can doe all things what they list euen vnlawfull things and that they are plusquam Deus more then God These are more then sufficieÌ„t to prooue that the Pope taketh vpoÌ„ him as if he were a God although he should not in word affirme any such thing of himself But so shamelesse is this Antichrist Gregor 9. de translat episc c. quanto canter corporalia that he affirmeth the like things of himselfe As namely that those things which he doth be done by a diuine power and the reason is giuen by his Lawyers because the Pope canonicallie elected is a God vpon earth Whereupon Innocentiue 3. vseth vt eccles benesic c. vâ—… nosâ—…uÌ„ Capistran fol. 23. these words vt nostrum prodeat de Dei vultu iudicium that our iudgement may proceed from the face of god That Peter con sequently his successor the Pope for to that purpose it is alleaged is assumd into the felowship of the vndiuided vnity And in Bonifac. in 8. de elect one place he not only affirmeth but by testimony also confirmeth C. Fundamenta in sexto that he is God Satis euidenter saith he osteÌ„ditur a seeulari potestâ—…te nâ—… ligart prorsus nee solâ—…i posse pontificeÌ„ queÌ„ constat Distinct. 96. c. satis cuidenter a pio principe Constantino DeuÌ„ appellatuÌ„ nec posse DeuÌ„ ab hominibus iudicari manifestuÌ„ est Wher the Pope proueth he caÌ„not be iudged by any secular power by this reasoÌ„ God caÌ„not be iudged of meÌ„ The Pope is god therfore the pope may not be iudged of meÌ„ assumption he approueth by the forged testimonie of Constantine And therefore not vnworthily by a worthy Bishoppe in Auentinus the Pope is said to be Antichrist in whose forehead this name of blasphemy is written Deus sum errare non possum Lib. 7. Eberharduâ—… Ep. silâ—…sourgensis I am God I cannot erre 7 But as I said the name Antichrist signifieth such a one as seeketh to match Christ. Let vs therefore farther consider how this agreeth to the Pope For if the Pope doe seeke to match himselfe with Christ then by this argument alone if there were no more hee may be certainely conuinced to bee Antichrist In Christ wee consider his natures and his offices As touching his nature the Pope if you will beleeue their blasphemies a Extrau in Ioan. 22. aequè ac Christus Deus est ens secundae intentionis compositum ex Deo homine As well as Christ he is god a being Vid Erasm. annotat in 1. Tim. 1. Papa stupor mundi Clemen in pro aem in gloss of the second intention compounded of god and man And as Christ in respect of the one nature is greater then man and in regard of the other lesse then God so they say of the Pope b Ioan. a Capistr de Papae ecclesiae authoritate Est quasi deus in terris maior homine minor Deo plenitudinem obtinens potestatis He is as it were a god vpon earth greater then a man and lesse then god hauing the fulnesse of power That he is a man I shall not neede to proue howbeit some of his followers cannot well tell what to make of him They say hee is the wonderment of the world c Nec deus es nec homo quasi neuter es inter vâ—…rumque neither God nor man but a neuter betwixt both That hee would bee supposed and acknowledged as a God besides all the allegations in the former section it appeareth also by the diuine properties which are attributed to the Pope His holinesse that is to say the Pope for his holinesse is himselfe is d Ps. 94. 1. Rod. Cupers de ecclesia pag. 61. num 52. Deus vindictae the god of reuenge true without errour yea without possibilitie of erring for hee cannot erre whose e Sub finem tit de censib exact procur in Clement ad verbum volumus Abb. Panorm de constitut de translat it episc c quanto in gloss will must stande for reason as if it were the rule of iustice For euen as some of his f Gerâ—…chus apud Auentin lib. 5. friends say he often beateth vpon that of the Satyre Sic volo sic iubeo sit proratione volunt as So I will so I command my will must stand for reason And therefore it were no better then g Dist. 40. non nos in gloss sacriledge to call in question any of his doings For power whether you vnderstand potestatem or potentiam that is authority or might hee would seeme to be infinit in respect of both for h Lib. caerem. 1. sect 7. infinit power is giuen vnto him And if vnto Christ i Cupers de eccl pag 50. num 45. 46. De maior obed c. vnam sanctam in gloss was giuen all power in heauen and in earth then the Pope who is his vicar hath the same power He forsoth is the k Bald. c. ecclesia vt lite pendente cause of causes of whose power none must enquire seeing of the first cause there is no cause yea to l In L. sacrilegij c. de crim sacril doubt of his power is no better then sacriledge m Panormit ex Hostiensi extr de translat praelat c. quanto de electi c. licet Excepto peccato potest quasi omnia facere quae potest Deus Sinne excepted the Pope may doe all things as it were which God may doe He can chaunge the nature of things yea n De translat episc c. quaÌ„to in gloss of nothing he can make something and of vniustice righteousnesse for hee hath the fulnesse of power 8. If you respect his office he hath the same o Bellarm. de pont Rom. l. 5. c. 4. which Christ had whiles he was on the earth howbeit there is great oddes in their outward estates p R. Cupers de eccl pag. 50. num