besides her Authority She will have your Assent to their being of Divine Authority to depend wholly upon her Testimony Notwithstanding that God Almighty hath vouchsafed to the World marvellously full and plentiful Evidence thereof and such as is adapted to the capacities of all those who have the use of Reason but never once mentioned this as a part of that Evidence and therefore much less can it be thought the Whole How infinitely ill hath this Corrupt Church deserved at the hands of all Christians although this were the onely Abuse she had put upon them For to say nothing of her Horrible Pride and Uncharitableness in making the truth of the Scriptures dependent on her Testimony that her Pretence supposing her making her self the onely true Church this is the greatest injury imaginable to Christianity nor can she take a surer course than this to make all men Infidels And that upon these two Accounts First This Pretence of hers is immediately founded upon a Precarious and most Evidently false Principle viz. That of her Infallibility I dare appeal to those of her own Sons who have studied the Controversie whether there was ever a more shamefully baffled Cause in the World than this is Whether by their Infallible Church they mean with the Iesuits the Pope alone or with others the Pope with his General Council that is a pack of Bishops and Priests of his own Faction As the Psalmist saith If the Foundations be destroyed what shall the Righteous do So if this be the Foundation of our Christian Faith and that be proved to be a Rotten Foundation as nothing was ever proved if this be not then what shall we Christians do We must then acknowledge our selves a Generation of most Credulous Fools and that our Faith is vain If the Foundation be tottering the whole Superstructure must fall to the Ground But so fond is this Unsatiably Covetous and Ambitious Church of her Great Diana Infallibility by the Pretence whereof she hath raised her self to such a Height and Grandeur that she is well content if that must fall that our Saviour and his Apostles both the Old and New Testament should fall with it And she hath done all that lies in her to make it necessary that those who shall have the wisdom to reject her Ridiculous Doctrine of Infallibility should at the self-same time renounce Christianity If Popery were Chargeable with no other Crime as it is with innumerable others and many of them intolerable I say were it Chargeable with no other Crime but the making our Belief of the Authority of the Books of Scripture to be founded on the Infallibility of the Romish Faction we ought to be as zealous for the Preventing its Reestablishment in this Nation from whence it hath happily been twice Expelled as we are desirous to Preserve the Christian Religion Secondly The Romish Churche's making her Authority the sole Foundation of our Belief of the Scriptures makes the Testimony of the Spirit to the Truth of Christianity in our Saviour when on â—arth and in the Apostles and others in the Primitive Ages to be now perfectly Insignificant I think it makes them to be so as to the Church Representative for she pretends to her Infallibility and consequently to her Infallible Assurance of the Truth of Christianity as an immediâ—te Gift of the Holy Ghost therefore what need hath she of the Testimony of Miracles But as to Private Christians I can by no means understand in what stead they stand them for if the Churches Authority be necessary to their believing the truth of the Scriptures and therefore to their believing that there were those Miracles really wrought which the Writings of the Apostles tell us of then why may they not without any more ado make her Authority the immediate ground of their Assent to the truth of Christianity It is said that the truth of the Matters of Fact are not knowable at this distance such as whether there were such Persons as our Saviour and his Apostles whether they performed such Miracles and the Apostles wrote such Books c. but by the Tradition of the Church because no such Matters are to be known at any considerable distance but by Tradition To this it is Answered that it is one thing to believe the Matters of Fact upon the Churche's Tradition and another to believe them upon her Authority founded upon her Infallibility Now this latter we reject but adhere to the former as a Ground of our belief of those things But then by the Tradition of the Church we are far from meaning that of Rome onely We mean the Catholick Church or the whole Collective Body of Christians throughout the World from the Apostles times down to this present Age of which the Roman Church is but a Part and therefore does Impudently in appropriating Catholicism to her self and that a very Vitiated Part too and that Church Representative an exceedingly small Part. And we receive the Tradition of the Catholick Church as a Ground as I said of believing these Matters not as tâ—e Ground because we take in another Tradition viz. that of those who are out of the Church and Enemies to Christianity the Iews especially In short we believe those and the like matters of Fact upon the same ground that we believe all other wherein Religion is not concerned but there are Circumstances which give the Tradition of Christian matters of Fact a mighty Advantage above other Traditions as unquestionable Assurance as these give men when they are General and Uninterrupted But 't is well known to all who are not strangers to the Popish Writers what lamentable work they make in proving the Testimony of the Church to be the foundation of our Faith concerning the Authority of the Scriptures This Proof they fetch out of the Scriptures themselves and their main Text for this purpose and for the Infallibility of their Church is those words of S. Paul 1 Tim. 3. 15. where he calls the Church the Pillar and Ground of Truth But what a manifest Circle is this We ask them how it appears that the Scriptures are the Word of God They answer it appears from the Testimony of the Church We ask again how it appears that the Testimony of the Church is true They reply it appears from the Scriptures And so they prove the Authority of the Scriptures by the Testimony of the Church and then wheel about again and prove the Authority of the Church by the Testimony of the Scriptures But again We can either be certain of the truth of these words of S. Paul setting aside the Authority of the Church or we cannot be Certain If we can be Certain why then not of the truth of the whole Scripture as well as of this single Text If we cannot be certain of the truth of this Text without the consideration of the Churche's Authority what Folly or rather Knavery is it to make this Text an Argument to prove the thing
may be easily mistaken when we undertake to determine of the Fitness of them Thus having with submission to my Superiors offered my Opinion about this weighty Argument in the foregoing Propositions I hope I shan't be censured as immodest if I also add that I do not see but Governours might avoid the two Extremes in reference to Liberty of Conscience as it is called by having a constant regard to such like Rules And that the Governed on the other hand by doing the like might understand without much difficulty within what bounds they ought to confine themselves in Craving of their Governours or Expecting from them this kind of Liberty But I think it seasonable to suggest this one thing more to these that they would so behave themselves that those who have Power to grant it as far as is sitting might not be tempted to think it a thing onely adapted to the serving of Interest and by that means be the more inclined to a total Refusing of any such Liberty I mean that there be no Occasion given to what is so Commonly not without ground said viz. When 't is mens Temporal Interest to plead for Liberty of Conscience then they are Zealous for it but the Tables are no sooner turned but who like them against it Were we as honest as we should be we should be more fixed and constant and not so vary in our Principles as our Circumstances vary We should not in one Circumstance build what before we destroyed and in another destroy what we before built And so declare amidst all our Stir and Noise about Liberty of Conscience that we have either none at all or but very little Conscience But in the Conclusion of all I must not forget that which hath occasioned all this Discourse about Liberty of Conscience viz. that whatever that Liberty of this kind is which we have a Right to it is not a Branch of Christian but of mere Natural Liberty There is no Text of Scripture that mentioneth this as a Liberty of our Saviour's Purchasing and therefore no Christian may claim it as a Christian. 'T is due to men of all Religions who may be supposed to make Conscience of what they do and not only to the Professors of the Christian Religion And 't was always and in all places as much mens Right as it hath been since our Saviour's Appearance in the World and is in those Parts of it where his Gospel is received CHAP. XVI The Third Inference from our Notion of Christian Liberty viz. That Popery is the greatest Enemy in the World thereunto Where it is shewed First That the Church of Rome Robs those who are subject to her of that Natural Liberty which necessarily belongs to them as they are Men viz. That which consists in the free use of their Vnderstandings in matters of Religion That She will not permit men to Examine either her Doctrines or Practices by the Holy Scriptures nor yet to receive the Holy Scriptures themselves otherwise than upon her Authority The Wickedness of this exposed in two Particulars The alledging of Scripture for it shewed to be the grossest Absurdity Their great Text 1 Tim. 3. 15. spoken to Her Tyranny over mens Minds further shewed HAving now spoken to all the False Notions of Christian Liberty that I know of and discovered the intolerable Mischievousness of them as well as Falsity I proceed to another Inference from our Notion thereof namely Thirdly That Popery is a Religion if I honour it not too much in calling it so that is the greatest Enemy in the whole World to Christian Liberty Should all the wicked Wits in the World meet together to Consult and Complot how to Banish out of it this Liberty they could not devise more effectual means for the doing of it than those which are pitch'd upon by the Church of Rome And here we will shew First That She Robs those who Subject themselves to her of that Natural Liberty which necessarily belongs to them as they are Men or Reasonable Creatures And much more Secondly That She Robs them of that Liberty which it was the Design of our Saviour's Coming into the World and of all he did and suffered here to instate us in First That She Robs those who Subject themselves to her of that Natural Liberty which necessarily belongs to them as Men or Reasonable Creatures There is no Liberty so Essential to Humane Nature or so much its Inviolable Right as that which consists in the free use of our Understandings But a Papist is miserably tied up and inslaved here and that in those matters wherein it is of Infinitely the greatest Importance and Concernment to him that his Mind should be free namely in matters of Religion which have such a necessary influence into the Welfare of our Souls and our Eternal Happiness But notwithstanding that Injunction of S. Paul 1 Thes. 5. 21. Prove all things hold fast that which is good And that of S. Iohn 1 Epist. 4. 1. Beloved believe not every Spirit but try the Spirits whether they be of God c. This Church denieth to her Children all judgment of Discretion in Points of Religion at least except in this one Point the choice of the Church for their Guide which having Chosen they must follow her blind-fold all their lives after They must be Implicit Believers and Implicit Chusers She will 〈◊〉 and believe for them All their â—â—dgment and Faith must be resolved into hâ—rs as being if you will believe her 〈◊〉 and Uncapable of being either deceivâ—◠〈◊〉 self or of deceiving others And therefore to take our Saviour's 〈◊〉 to 〈◊〉 thâ— Scriptures except for the forementioned one thing nay for that too as we shall see anon is to put an Affront upon Her Authority and the Bereans who were so highly commended for so doing were guilty of great Sauciness and high Presumption And She takes the most successful course that can be thought of that you shall not Search the Scriptures by locking them up as She does and making the Bible so scarce a Book to be light upon where she hath Power enough to do it and in those places where her Power is Clipt by using a many wicked Artifices to keep the Vulgar from looking into it who are so miserably imposed upon by their wretched Priests as to think it a lighter sin to be Drunk or to commit Fornication and transgress many an express Law of God than to cast their Eyes upon the Holy Scriptures So well aware is this Church that a great part of her Religion is neither to be found there nor agreeable with them but as expresly as it can be done by words contradicted by them And as you may not Examine any of her Doctrines or Practices by comparing them with the Rule of Faith and Practice the Scriptures so neither which is but a necessary consequence from thence may you have any other Foundation for your Belief of the Books of Scripture themselves
we find concerning Obedience to Kings and the Higher Powers S. Peter saith 1 Epist. 2. 13. Submit your selves to every Ordinance of Man for the Lords sake whether it be to the King as Supreme or unto Governours as unto them that are sent by him c. Again Every Soul is commanded to be Subject to the Higher Powers because there is no Power but of God the Powers that be are ordained of God Rom. 13. 1 2 c. And Ver. 5. 't is said We must needs be Subject and that not onely for Wrath but also for Conscience sake But there is not the least syllable either in these or any other places of such a limitation as might Reconcile these Injunctions with this Notion of Christian Liberty And we may be confident that if by virtue of that Liberty Christians were disobliged from Obedience to their Governours whensoever they required things indifferent though very unreasonably enjoyned yet in their own nature not Evil and no where forbidden by God to be done the Apostle would have put in this Exception in the last mentioned place The Emperor being a great Tyrant and rather a Monster than a Man that then Reigned Thirdly If Governours can oblige us to nothing but what Antecedently to their Laws we ought to do there is no formal Obedience at all due to them I am then no more bound in Conscience to obey them than those who have no power over me that are invested by God with no Authority For if such say to me Do not Kill Do not Steal Do not commit Adultery c. I shall greatly sin in not hearkening to them And whereas it will be replied that though such Injunctions of Persons not placed in Power ought to be observed yet not as theirs but as Divine Injunctions I must needs profess that I do not believe it neither to be at all my Duty to obey such Laws of our Governours under the nâ—tion of theirs My obligation to obey all the Laws of God being as strong and indispensable every whit by virtue of His immediate Authority as if they were backt and inforced by never so many and never so severe Laws of his Vicegerents Nor can any of their Laws make what God Almighty hath obliged me either to or from one iot a greater Duty or Sin than it was before For the Divine Authority hath made whatsoever it hath commanded or prohibited as great a Duty or Sin as it is capable of being made that is considered in it self It is so evident that we are not obliged to obey a Law of the Land as such which onely requires or forbids what is required or forbidden by an express Law of God that the less respect any one hath to Humane Laws in such things in doing Iustly in being Temperate and Chaste in attending upon the solemn Worship of God and the like supposing he makes Conscience of them upon the account of the Divine Laws the better Man is he and the more sincere Christian. And therefore such Laws of Men as are Enacted against what God's Law hath forbidden or do enjoyn what was before commanded by God are not made for a Righteous man as the Apostle speaks even of the Law of Moses but for such Wretches as live under no Sense of the Divine Sovereignty and would not have any regard to God's Laws were they not inforced with Men's having severe penalties annexed to them So that if I am disobliged by my Christian Liberty from Doing or Forbearing any thing in Obedience to Humane Laws but what I ought to Do or Forbear though there were no Laws of Men about it that which I now said is very easie to be believed viz. That no Formal Obedience is due to Magistrates and they have no Power to make any New Laws of their own but onely to take the best care that the Old ones viz. the Laws of God be observed And if it be so what becomes of all those Texts wherein Obedience to Governours is with such strictness required of Christians This Opinion that Rulers have no Power over us in regard of our Christian Liberty in matters of an Indifferent Nature doth make the Fifth Commandment and all those Injunctions perfectly insignificant And the Apostle might well have spared his charge to Titus To put those under his care in mind to be subject to Principalities and Powers to obey Magistrates c. Tit. 3. 1. This Monstrously wild Notion of Christian Liberty I should not have taken thus much notice of as little as I have said but that of late days Multitudes by their behaviour would make us suspect they are infected with it who yet will not professedly own it It is come to that sad pass that preaching Obedience to Authority is become as unacceptable Doctrine as can be to even many great Pretenders to Christianity although it be done never so prudently and agreeably to the express Doctrine of our Saviour and his Apostles And the Notion of Obedience for Conscience-sake seems almost lost among not a few Which is one of the great Sins for which we have too good reason to fear there 's a Heavy Scourge near us Secondly As for that Doctrine which limits our disobligation by the means of Christian Liberty from the Laws of Men that impose indifferent things to those that onely relate to Religion and the Worship of God That this is Wild too though more Sober than the other will appear by these Considerations First This Notion of Christian Liberty tends to introduce sad Disorder and Confusion into the Churches of Christ and will certainly do it if practised upon I need not go about to prove that the Order of Ecclesiastical as well as Civil Societies consisteth principally in the due Regulation of things in their own Nature Indifferent S. Paul hath enjoyned that in the Church All things be done decently and in order 1 Cor. 14. 40. But how shall they be so done if it be a Violation of our Christian Liberty to have any thing imposed upon us by our Governours for Decencies and Orders sake Particular Rules being not given us in Scripture about this matter which to be sure would have been were they not left to the Determination of the Governours of each Church upon supposition that 't is possible to give such as would well suit all Churches Calvin upon those words of S. Paul 1 Cor. 11. 2. Now I praise you Brethren that you remember me in all things and keep the Ordinances as I delivered them to you doth thus express his Sense about this matter Saith he We know that every Church is left free to appoint a Form of Polity for it self because our Lord hath prescribed nothing certain And he speaks this you see not as his own sense onely but as the sense and that undoubted too of his other Brethren of the Reformation Whose judgment were it needful we might largely produce to the same purpose But there is no need of it those very
First of these That known Doctrine of the Dependence of the Efficacy of Sacraments upon the Priests intention Such as Baptism the Lords Supper Absolution which is a grand Popish Sacrament c. Can it be other than a great disturbance and distraction to a considering person whether there be any dash of Melancholy in his Temper or no to think with himself thus What if after all my care and all my expence the Priest should either from a principle of Malice or non-advertency not direct his Intention as he ought to do Then if I am not remedilesly damned I am at least in eminent danger of damnation But then as to the Second relating to Confession This ushers in this perplexing difficulty viz. How shall I in enquiring after my particular sins in deed word and thought assure my self that I have used my utmost diligence Which if I have not done my Absolution will signifie nothing to me And as to Confessing the Circumstances of sins the Questions and Scruples which naturally arise from thence are too many to be recited But I 'le transcribe some passages of the Learned Bishop Taylor ' s concerning Auricular Confession which are greatly to our present purpose Saith he in his Disswasive from Popery the First Part How this can be safely done and who is sufficient for these things and who can tell his Circumstances without tempting his Confessor or betraying and defaming another person which is forbidden and in what cases it may be done and in what cases omitted and whether the Confession be valid upon infinite other Considerations and whether it be to be repeated in whole or in part and how often and how much These things are so uncertain casual and contingent and so many cases are multiplied upon every one of these and these so disputed by their greatest Doctors by Thomas and Scotus and all the School-men and by the Casuists that as Beatus Rhenanus complains it was truly observed by the famous John Geilerius that according to their Cases Enquiries and Conclusions it is impossible for any man to make a right Confession And thus he concludes that Section So that although the shame of private Confession be very tolerable and easie yet the Cases and Scruples which they have introduced are neither easie nor tolerable And though as it is now used there be but little in it to restrain sin yet there is very much danger of encreasing it and of receiving no benefit by it But yet for all this the Trent Gentlemen in the fore-cited Session and Chapter call it an impious thing to say that this their Auricular Confession is Carnificina Conscientiarum a Racking and Torturing of Peoples Consciences But it would be a wonder if the greatest Wickedness should be unaccompanied with the most shameless impudence As for the Third Doctrine I named viz. That of their distinction of Sins into Mortal and Venial that is in their own nature so the intanglements it brings men into are inextricable For they cannot be satisfied from their Casuists what Sins are Venial and what are not so in very many instances And much less can they distinguish between the greatest Venial Sins and the least Mortal ones Now considering this little that hath been said as the Apostle saith 2 Cor. 3. 17. Where the Spirit of the Lord is or the true Spirit of Christianity there is Liberty so may we say Where the Spirit of Popery is there is Slavery much worse than Egyptian Slavery No Papist who is disposed to be Devout and Religious can be better than a poor Superstitious Creature Nor can scarcely serve God after a better sort than a Turkish Slave doth his cruel Patron or than the poor Indians Worship the Devil But that those of them who make Conscience of their ways and are Religiously inclined are not beholden to their Popery for being so will be fully made to appear in the next Chapter CHAP. XVIII The Third Particular discoursed on viz. That the Admirable Method our Lord hath taken to Instate us in our Christian Liberty is made lamentably Ineffectual by Popery This shewed as to each of those four Particulars that Method consists of The Second Head briefly spoken to viz. That Popery is also the greatest Enemy to that Liberty Christ purchased for the Jews in Particular A Pathetical Exhortation to a higher valuing of the Priviledges we enjoy in the Church of England concludes the Chapter THirdly The Admirable course and Method which our Lord hath taken to instate us in our Christian Liberty is made lamentably Ineffectual by Popery For First Whereas we have shewed that He hath fully informed us concerning all the parts and particulars of our Liberty what can the Romish Church do more than she doth to keep men in Ignorance of them The Holy Scriptures as hath been said She hath locked up And though as that excellent Gentleman Sir Edwyn Sandys saith as well to beat back the irksome out-cries of their Adversaries as to give some content and satisfaction to their own that they might not think them so terribly afraid of the Bible they were content to let it be translated by some of their Favourers into the Vulgar as also some number of Copies to be saleable a-while at the beginning yet since having hushed that former clamour and made better provision for the Establishment of their Kingdom they have called all Vulgar Bibles straitly in again yea the very Psalms of David which their famous Preacher Bishop Panigarola translated as doubting else the unavoidableness of those former inconveniences And such base blasphemous Reflections upon the Holy Scriptures have been published both from their Pulpits and Presses as speak them exceedingly dangerous by reason of their extreme obscurity even in points necessary to Salvation though the Apostle saith If our Gospel be hid it is hid to them that are lost as well as not worth the reading as being fitted to serve all turns a dead letter and at best an insufficient Rule and not signifying any thing unaccompanied with their paltry Traditions though S. Paul saith The Scriptures are able to make us wise to Salvation Nor do their Preachers make any great amends for this intolerable abuse for as they are too generally most sottishly ignorant and know little more of the Scriptures than the poor people so the most Knowing of them for the most part stuff their Sermons with Legends and Idle tales make as little use of Scripture as they can and feed their Flocks with sorry Trash nay with rank Poison mingled with the sincere milk of the Word and the Saving Doctrines of the Gospel Secondly Whereas we have shewn that our Lord hath furnisht us with the most potent Means for the gaining of our Christian Liberty this Church hath also taken a course to make these unsuccessful We will instance in some of them As for that of Believing himself to be the Son of God c. we need add nothing to what hath been said
to shew how little she befriends it in that she makes her own Authority the onely foundation of that Belief That of Hearing his Word we have now seen how Ineffectual she makes it That of Prayer she makes so as much as she can both by her foresaid Doctrine of the Non-necessity of imploying the Mind therein and her suitable Practice of enjoyning the Reading of Prayers in an unknown Tongue As also by defiling them with Superstitious Rites and even gross Idolatry And by joyning many Mediators with Iesus Christ. That of the Observation of the Lords day for which we have uninterrupted Tradition from the Apostles times she hath made as effectual to the business 't is designed for as the rest of her Holy-days That of Denying our sensitive Appetites she is a wonderful Friend to as appears by the foresaid Doctrine concerning simple Fornication and the forementioned Liberty she allows and the Indulgences her Popes have granted And lastly Those of the Sacraments how unserviceable hath she made them to their intended End by her Doctrines of opus operatum and of making their Efficacy dependent on the Priests Intention And that of the Lords Supper by Robbing the People of half and converting the whole by her prodigious Doctrine of Transubstantiation into the most Shameful Idolatry and by her Doctrine of the Sacrifice of the Mass into a daily Crucifying our Lord afresh and putting him again to an open shame Thirdly Whereas we have shewed that our Lord hath purchased for us a rich supply of Grace to enable us to use these and the like Means with happy success I need not say what an Enemy Popery is to this Grace and the Efficaciousness thereof having now shewn what an Enemy it is to these Means Fourthly Whereas we have likewise presented several most powerful Motives which our Lord hath given us to prevail with our Wills to comply with this Grace Popery is apt greatly to weaken and deaden every one of them to all its Proselytes As for instance 1. That of the Vnconceiveable Love of God expressed in sending his onely Begotten Son upon the Errand of our Deliverance c. Wherein we said are implied two wonderfully exciting Motives to comply heartily with the Method Christ hath taken to set us free from the Dominion of Sin viz. First Gods extremest Hatred of Sin in that he would not propose Terms of Reconciliation to Sinners without the intervention of such a Sacrifice as that of his Dear Son Secondly His as wonderful love to Sinners Now as to the former of these two Motives what influence can it have upon those who are made to believe that a company of little sleight Penances will satisfie for great and enormous Crimes Can they think that God doth account Sin so heinous and intolerable an evil when they presume Him so willing to be reconciled to great Sinners upon the most easie terms and conditions The foresaid Gentleman who was conversant among them tells us that their Penance doth ordinarily consist but in Ave Maries and Pater Nosters with some easie Alms to them that are able and some little Fasting to such as are willing And that he himself hath known when the Penance for Horrible Blasphemy and that frequent too besides much other lewdness hath been but the bare saying of their Beads thrice over which in Italy such good Husbands are they hinders no business but as he also observes they dispatch their Beads as they walk the Streets or rid business at home making it two lips and one fingers work But were the Penance imposed by the Priests never so sharp he shews that the Fathers plenary Pardon sweeps all away at a blow And that of these they have granted especially the Pope that lived in his time so huge a number that he believed there were few Churches of note in Italy which had not purchased or procured a perpetual plenary Indulgence by virtue whereof whosoever at certain days being Confessed and having Communicated pours out his Devotions at some Altar in that Church or gives Alms to the behoof thereof had forthwith free Remission of all sin and punishment Which I say is the most effectual course that can be devised to make people think that the greatest sins are no greater evil in God's than they are in their own account And then as to the latter Motive how is the Love of God to sinners lessened by this Doctrine of theirs viz. That by the Sufferings of Christ true Penitents are indeed delivered from Hell but not from the direful pains of Purgatory which as was said may be equal in all respects to those of Hell except in the duration of them which yet may endure too for many Ages but that they have invented means to shorten them And their eaking out the satisfaction which Christ hath made to the Divine Justice for sinners with satisfactions of their own making doth also not a little disparage his and his Fathers love in what he hath suffered in their behalf 2. As to the Motive of Christ's Admirable Example we have shewed of what little Efficacy this is made by the Vile Examples of his Vicars and Vicegerents and their Spiritual Guides Whereunto I will add this passage of the said Sir Edwin's That the Iniquity of their Chief See hath been so exorbitant as to have raised amidst themselves this Proverb or saying That the worst Christians of Italy are the Romans of the Romans the Priests are Wickedest the Lewdest Priests are preferred to be Cardinals and the baddest Man among the Cardinals is preferred to be Pope 3. As for this Motive viz. The assurance Christ hath given us that he will not take such advantage of our Frailties as to cast us off for them it is even quite taken away by their Doctrine of even Venial Sins being so severely punisht in Purgatory 4. For that of our Saviour's Mediation and Intercession what a little Motive have they made it by making so many Co-Mediators with Iesus Christ as if his Mediation were far from sufficient And nothing hath been more observed than that for one Pater Noster they say very many Ave Maries And the Virgin Mother of God as they call her is Caressed after that rate by them that 't is scarcely uncharitable to suspect that they lay far more stress upon her's than upon her Son's Merits Lastly To joyn together the Motives of the Glorious Reward promised to the subduing of Corrupt Affections and the most Dismal Punishment those are threatned with who gratisie them it appears abundantly from what hath been already said that they have made these exceedingly weak and insignificant But that one Doctrine is enough to do it alone which we find backt with the Authority of the Council of Trent viz. That Imperfect Contrition or Attrition although by it self it cannot bring a sinner to Iustification without the Sacrament of Penance nevertheless it disposeth him for the obtaining of the Grace of God in that