So his Saint Leo lift vp Saint Peter with praises to the Skie that he being his d For so he calleth himselfe in sermo 1. in die â—ssum heire might haue gone vp with him For his Saint Leo was a great Orator who by the power of his Eloquence redeemed Rome from fire when both e Exbreniario Romano Attilas and Gensericus would haue burnt it Some fruits of this Rhetorick he bestowed vpon Saint Peter saying The Lord f Epist 89. did take Peter into the fellowship of the indiuisible vnitie which words being coupled to the sentence alleadged by the Cardinall That hee hath no part in the diuine Mystery that dare depart from the solidity of Peter should haue giuen him I thinke such a Sare as he should neuer haue dared to haue taken any aduantage by the words immediatly preceding for the benefit of the church of Rome and the head thereof since those which immediatly follow are so much derogatory to the diuine Maiestie And againe My g Epist 52. writings bee strengthned by the merit and Authority of my Lord most blessed Saint Peter We h Epist 89. beseech you to keepe the things decreed by vs thorough the inspiration of God and the Apostle most blessed Saint Peter If i In ser 2. in die anâ—â—â—er asâ—um suae any thing be well done or decreed of vs If any thing be obtained of Gods mercy by dayly prayers it is to be ascribed to Saint Peters works and merits whose power doth liue and Authority excell in his owne Sea He k Ser. 3. in die annâ— assump suâ— was so plentifully watered of the fountaine of all Graces that whereas hee receiued many things alone yet nothing passeth ouer to any man but by him And in a word he was so desirous to extoll Saint Peter That a message from him was an c Epist 24. Embassage from S. Peter Any thing done in his presence was in Saint Peters d Epist 4. presence Neither did he vse all this Rhetorick without purpose for at that time the Patriarke of Constantinople contended with him for Primacy And in the Councell of e Concil Calcâ—d Act. 16. c. â— 28 Calcedon the Bishops sixe hundred and more gaue equall Authority to the Patriark of that Sea and would not admit any priuiledge to the Sea of Rome aboue him but went against him And yet hee that gaue so much to Peter tooke nothing from Caesar but gaue him both his Titles and due giuing the power of calling a Councell to the Emperour as it may appeare by these one or two places following of many If it may please your f Epi. 9. Theodo sio Godlines to vouchsafe at our Supplication to condescend that you will command a Councell to be holden within Italy And writing vnto the Bishop of Constantinople Because the most Clement g Epist 16. Flauiano Emperour carefull of the peace of the Church will haue a Councell to be holden Albeit it euidently appeare the matter to be handled doth in no case stand in neede of a generall Councell Albeit h Epist 17. Theodosio my occasions will not permit me to be present vpon the day of the Councell which your Godlinesse hath appointed So as by this it may well appeare that he that gaue so much to Peter gaue also to Caesar his due and prerogatiue But yet he playeth not faire play in this that euen in all these his wrong applied Arguments and Examples he produceth no other witnesses but the parties themselues bringing euer the Popes Sentences for approbation of their owne Authority Now indeede for one word of his in the middest of his Examples I cannot but greatly commend him that is that Martyrs ought to indure all sorts of tortures and death before they suffer one syllable to be corrupted of the Law of God Which lesson if he and all the rest of his owne profession would applie to themselues then would not the Sacrament be administred sub vnâ specie directly contrary to Christs Institution the practise of the Apostles and of the whole Primatiue Church for many hundred yeres then would not the priuate Masses bee in place of the Lords Supper then would not the words of the a Bellar. de sacra Eucharist lib. 4. cap. 14. Canon of the Masse be opposed to the wordes of Saint Paul and Saint Luke as our Aduersary himselfe confesseth and cannot reconcile them nor then would not so many hundreths other Traditions of men be set vp in their Church not only as equall but euen preferred to the word of God But sure in this point I feare I haue mistaken him for I thinke he doth not meane by his Diuina dogmata the word of the God of heauen but onely the Canons and Lawes of his Dominus Deus Papa otherwise all his Primacy of the Apostolike Sea would not bee so much sticken vpon hauing so slender ground in the word of God And for the great feare he hath that the suddainty of the Apprehension the bitternesse of the Persecution the weakenesse of his Age and other such infirmities might haue bene the cause of the Arch-priests fal in this I haue already sufficiently answered him hauing declared as the trueth is and as the said Blackwell himselfe will yet testifie That hee tooke this Oath freely of himselfe without any inducement thereunto either Precibus or Minis But amongst all his citations he must not Some of Sanders his worthy sayings remembred forget holy Sanderus and his Visibilis Monarchia whose person and actions I did already a little touch And surely who will with vnpartiall eyes reade his Bookes they may well thinke that he hath deserued well of his English Roman-Church But they can neuer thinke but that he deserued very ill of his English Soueraigne and State Witnesse his owne bookes whereout I haue made choice to set downe heere these fewe Sentences following as flowers pickt out of so worthy a Garland a Sand. de visib monar lib. 6. cap. 4. ELIZABETH Queene of England doeth exercise the Priestly acte of teaching and preaching the Gospell in England with no lesse authority then CHRIST himselfe or MOSES euer did The Supremacie of a b Sand de cla Dauid lib. 6. cap. 1. woman in Church matters is from no other then from the Deuill And of all Kings in generall thus hee speaketh The c Sand. de visib Monar lib. 2. cap. 4. King that will not inthrall himselfe to the Popes authority he ought not to be tollerated but his Subiects ought to giue all diligence that another may be chosen in his place assoone as may be A King that is an d Ibidem Heretike ought to be remoued from the Kingdome that he holdeth amongst Christians and the Bishops ought to endeuour to set vp another assoone as possibly they can We doe constantly e Ibidem affirme that all Christian Kings are so farre vnder Bishops and Priests
Christian Kingdomes it is altogether idle as all that haue any vnderstanding may easily perceiue For it was neuer heard of from the Churches infancie vntill this day that euer any Pope did command that any Prince though an Heretike though an Ethnike though a Persecuter should be murdered or did approue of the fact when it was done by any other And why I pray you doeth onely the King of England feare that which none of all other the Princes in Christendome either doeth feare or euer did feare But as I sayd these vaine pretexts are but the Trappes and Stratagemes of Sathan Of which kind I could produce not a few out of ancient Stories if I went about to write a booke and not an Epistle One only for example sake I will call to your memory S. Gregorius Nazianzenus in his first Oration against Iulian the Emperour reporteth That he the more easily to beguile the simple Christians did insert the Images of the false gods into the pictures of the Emperor which the Romanes did vse to bow downe vnto with a ciuill kind of reuerence so that no man could doe reuerence to the Emperours picture but withall he must adore the Images of the false gods Whereupon it came to passe that many were deceiued And if there were any that found out the Emperours craft and refused to worship his picture those were most grieuously punished as men that had contemned the Emperour in his Image Some such like thing me thinkes I see in the Oath that is offered to you which is so craftily composed that no man can detest Treason against the King and make profession of his Ciuill subiection but he must be constrayned perfidiously to denie the Primacie of the Apostolike Sea But the seruants of Christ and especially the chiefe Priests of the Lord ought to be so farre from taking an vnlawfull Oath where they may indamage their Faith that they ought to beware that ry the Great hath written in his 42. Epistle of his 11. booke Let not the Reuerence due to the Apostolique Sea bee troubled by any mans presumption for then the state of the members doeth remaine entire when the head of the faith is not bruised by any iniurie Therefore by S. Gregories testimonie when they are busie about disturbing or diminishing or taking away of the Primacie of the Apostolique Sea then are they busie about cutting off the very head of the faith and dissoluing of the state of the whole body and of all the members Which selfe same thing S. Leo doeth confirme in his third Sermon of his Assumption to the Pope-dome when he saith Our Lord had a speciall care of Peter and prayed properly for Peters faith as though the state of others were more stable when their Princes minde was not to be ouercome Whereupon himselfe in his Epistle to the Bishop of Vienna doth not doubt to affirme That he is not partaker of the Diuine Mysterie that dare depart from the soliditie of Peter who also saith That hee who thinketh the Primacie to bee denied to that Sea hee can in no sort lessen the Authoritie of it but by being puft vp with the spirit of pride doeth cast himselfe headlong into hell These and many other of this kinde I am very sure are most familiar to you who besides many other bookes haue diligently read ouer the visible Monarchie of your owne Saunders a most diligent writer and one who hath worthily deserued of the Church of England Neither can you be ignorant that most holy and learned men Iohn Bishop of Rochester and Thomas More within our memorie for this one most weightie head of doctrine ledde the way to Martyrdome to many others to the exceeding glory of the English Nation But I would put you in remembrance that you should take heart and considering the weightinesse of the cause not to trust too much to your owne iudgement neither be wise aboue that is meete to bee wise And if peraduenture your fall haue proceeded not vpon want of consideration but through humane infirmitie and for feare of punishment and imprisonment yet doe not preferre a temporall libertie to the libertie of the glory of the Sonnes of God neither for escaping a light and momentanie tribulation loose an eternall waight world to wonder with me at the committing of so grosse an Errour by so learned a man as that hee should haue pained himselfe to haue set downe so elaborate a Letter for the refutation of a quite mistaken Question For it appeareth that our English Fugitiues of whose inward societie with him he so greatly vaunteth haue so fast hammered in his head the Oath of Supremacie which hath euer bene so great a Scarre vnto them as hee thinking by his Letter to haue refuted the last Oath hath in place thereof onely payd the Oath of Supremacie which was most in his head As a man that being earnestly caried in his thoughts vpon another matter then hee is presently in doing will often name the matter or person hee is thinking of in place of the other thing hee hath at that time in hand For as the Oath of Supremacy was deuised for putting a difference betweene Papists and them of our profession So was this Oath which hee would seeme to impugne The difference betweene the Oath of Supremacie and this of Allegiance ordained for making a difference betweene the Ciuilly obedient Papists and the peruerse Disciples of the Powder-Treason Yet doth all his Letter runne vpon an Inuectiue against the compulsion of Catholikes to denie the authoritie of Saint Peters successors and in place thereof to acknowledge the successors of King Henry the eight For in King Henry the eights time was the Oath of Supremacie first made By him were Thomas Moore and Roffensis put to death partly for refusing of it From his time till now haue all our Princes professing this Religion successiuely in effect mainteined the same And in that Oath only is conteined the Kings absolute power to bee Iudge ouer all persons aswell Ciuill as Ecclesiasticall excluding all forreigne Powers and Potentates to be Iudges within his Dominions Whereas this last made Oath containeth no such matter onely medling with the Ciuill Obedience of Subiects to their Soueraigne in meere Temporall causes And that it may the better appeare that whereas by name hee seemeth to condemne the last Oath yet indeede his whole letter runneth vpon nothing but vpon the some other authority of the Church and Sea of Rome yet by other meanes with others helpe he may depose our King That the Pope may dispose of his Maiesties Kingdomes and Dominions That the Pope may giue authoritie to some Forrein Prince to inuade his Maiesties Dominions That the Pope may discharge his Subiects of their Allegiance and Obedience to his Maiestie That the Pope may giue Licence to one or more of his Maiesties Subiects to beare Armes against his Maiestie That the Pope may giue leaue to the King his Subiects to offer violence
put any of his Subiects to a needlesse extremitie might haue bene contented in some sort to haue reformed or interpreted those wordes With his owne Catholikes Either if his Maiestie had so done they had bene thereby fully eased in that businesse Or at least if his Maiestie would not haue condescended to haue altered any thing in the said Oath yet would thereby some appearance or shadow of excuse haue bene left vnto them for refusing the same not as seeming thereby to swarue from their Obedience and Allegiance vnto his Maiestie but onely being stayed from taking the same vpon the scrupulous tendernesse of their Consciences in regard of those particular words which the Pope had noted and condemned therein And now let vs heare the wordes of his Thunder POPE PAVLVS the fifth to the English Catholikes WElbeloued sonnes Salutation The Pope his first Breue and Apostolicall Benediction The tribulations and calamities which ye haue continually susteined for the keeping of the Catholike Faith haue alwayes afflicted vs with great griefe of minde But for as much as we vnderstand that at this time all things are more grieuous our affliction hereby is wonderfully increased For we haue heard how you are compelled by most grieuous punishments set before you to goe to the Churches of Heretikes to frequent their Assemblies to be present at their Sermons Truely wee doe vndoubtedly beleeue that they which with so great constancie and fortitude haue hither to indured almost infinite and most cruel persecutions that they may walke without spot in the Law of the Lord will neuer suffer themselues to bee defiled with the communion of those that haue forsaken the diuine Law Yet notwithstanding being compelled by the zeale of our Pastorall Office and by our Fatherly care which we doe continually take for the saluation of your soules we are inforced to admonish and desire you that by no meanes you come vnto the Churches of the Heretikes or heare their Sermons or communicate with them in their Rites lest you incurre the wrath of God For these things may yee not doe without indamaging the worship of God and your owne saluation As likewise you cannot without most euident and grieuous wronging of Gods Honour binde your selues by the Oath which in like maner we haue heard with very great griefe of our heart is administred vnto you of the tenor vnder written viz. I A. B. doe truely and sincerely acknowledge The Oath professe testifie and declare in my conscience before God and the world That our Soueraigne Lord King IAMES is lawfull King of this Realme and of all other his Maiesties Dominions and Countreys And that the Pope neither of himselfe nor by any authoritie of the Church or Sea of Rome or by any other meanes with any other hath any power or authoritie to depose the King or to dispose any of his Maiesties Kingdomes or Dominions or to authorize any forraigne Prince to inuade or annoy him or his Countreys or to discharge any of his Subiects of their Allegiance and obedience to his Maiestie or to giue Licence or leaue to any of them to beare Armes raise tumults or to offer any violence or hurt to his Maiesties Royall person State or Gouernement or to any of his Maiesties Subiects within his Maiesties Dominions Also I doe sweare from my heart that notwithstanding any declaration or sentence of Excommunication or depriuation made or granted or to be made or granted by the Pope or his successors or by any Authoritie deriued or pretended to be deriued from him or his Sea against the said King his Heires or Successors or any Absolution of the said subiects from their Obedience I wil beare faith and true Allegiance to his Maiestie his Heires and Successors and him and them will defend to the vttermost of my power against all Conspiracies and Attempts whatsoeuer which shal be made against his or their Persons their Crowne and dignitie by reason or colour of any such Sentence or declaration or otherwise and will doe my best endeuour to disclose and make knowen vnto his Maiestie his Heires and Successors all Treasons and traiterous Conspiracies which I shall know or heare of to be against him or any of them And I doe further sweare That I doe from my heart abhorre detest and abiure as impious and Hereticall this damnable doctrine and Position That Princes which be Excommunicated or depriued by the Pope may be deposed or murthered by their Subiects or any other whatsoeuer And I doe beleeue and in conscience am resolued that neither the Pope nor any person whatsoeuer hath power to absolue me of this Oath or any part thereof which I acknowledge by good and full Authoritie to be lawfully ministred vnto me and doe renounce all pardons and dispensations to the contrary And all these things I doe plainely and sincerely acknowledge and sweare according to these expresse wordes by me spoken and according to the plaine and common sense and vnderstanding of the same words without any Aequiuocation or mentall euasion or secret reseruation whatsoeuer And I doe make this Recognition and acknowledgement heartily willingly and truely vpon the true Faith of a Christian So helpe me GOD. Which things since they are thus it must euidently appeare vnto you by the words themselues That such an Oath cannot be taken without hurting of the Catholique Faith and the Saluation of your Soules seeing it conteines many things which are flat contrary to Faith and Saluation Wherefore wee doe admonish you that you doe vtterly abstaine from taking this and the like Oathes which thing we doe the more earnestly require of you because we haue experience of the Constancie of your Faith which is tried like Gold in the fire of perpetuall Tribulation We doe well knowe that you will cheerefully vnder-goe all kinde of cruell Torments whatsoeuer yea and constantly endure death it selfe rather then you wil any thing offend the Maiestie of God And this our Confidence is confirmed by those things which are dayly reported vnto vs of the singular vertue valour and fortitude which in these last times doeth no lesse shine in your Martyrs then it did in the first beginnings of the Church Stand therefore your Loynes being girt about with Veritie and hauing on the Brest-plate of Righteousnesse taking the Shielde of Faith be ye strong in the Lord and in the power of his might And let nothing hinder you He which will crowne you and doeth in Heauen beholde your Conflicts will finish the good worke which he hath begun in you You knowe how he hath promised his Disciples that hee will neuer leaue them Orphanes for hee is faithfull which hath promised Hold fast therefore his correction that is being rooted and grounded in Charitie Whatsoeuer ye doe whatsoeuer ye indeuour doe it with one accord in simplicity of Heart in meekenesse of Spirit without murmuring or doubting For by this doe all men knowe that we are the Disciples of Christ if we haue Loue
sufficient to exhort him to Courage and Constancie by Eleazars and Basils examples but he must be vtterly cast downe with the comparing his fall to S. Peters and Marcellinus which two mens cases were the most fearefull considering their persons and places that are to bee found or read of either in all the Bookes of Diuine Scripture or the volumes of Ecclesiasticall Stories the one denying the onely true God the other our Lord and Sauiour IESVS CHRIST the one sacrificing to Idols with the profane Heathen the other forswearing his Lord and Master with the hard-hearted Iewes Vnles the Cardinall would driue the Arch-priest to some horror of conscience pit of despaire I know not what he can meane by this comparison For sure I am all that are not intoxicated with their cup cannot but wonder to heare of an oath of Allegiance to a naturall Soueraigne to be likened to an Apostats denying of God forswearing of his Sauiour But to let passe the Disdiapason of the Cases as his ill fauored coupling Saint Peter the head of their Church with an Apostate Pope I maruaile he would remember this example of a Looke Platina in vita Marcellini Marcellinus since his brother Cardinall Baronius and the late Edition of the Councels by b Concil Tom. 1. pag. 222. Looke Baronius Anno 302 â—â—m 96. Binnius seeme to call the credit of the whole Story into question saying That it might plainely be refuted and that it is probably to be shewed that the story is but obreptitious but that hee would not swarue from the common receiued opinion And Subiects from their obedience to their naturall King nor bee so cruell to their owne Mancipia as returning them with these wares put either a State in iealousie of them or them in hazard of their owne liues Now to our Apostle since the Cardinall will haue him so called I perswade my selfe I should doe a good seruice to the Church in this my labour if I could but reape this one fruite of it to moue the Cardinall to deale faithfully with the Fathers and neuer to alleadge their opinions against their owne purpose For this letter of Gregorius was written to Iohn Bishop of a Greg. lib. 11. cap. 42. Palermo in Sicily to whom hee granted vsum pallij to be worne in such times and in such order as the Priests in the I le of Sicily and his Predecessours were wont to vse and withall giueth him a Caueat that the reuerence to the Apostolique Sea be not disturbed by the presumption of any For then the State of the members doeth remaine sound when the head of the faith is not broken by any iniury and the authoritie of the Canons remaine safe and sound Now let vs examine the vvordes The Epistle was written to a Bishop especially to graunt him the vse of the Pall a ceremonie and matter indifferent As it appeareth the Bishop of Rome tooke it well at his hands that hee would not presume to take it vpon him without leaue from the Apostolike Sea and giuing him that admonition which followeth in the wordes alleadged out of him which doctrine wee are so farre from impugning that we altogether approue and allow of the same That whatsoeuer Ceremonie for order is thought meete by the Christian Magistrate and the Church the same ought inuiolably to be kept And where the Head and gouernours in matters of that nature are not obeyed the members of that Church must needes runne to Hellish confusion But that Gregory by that terme Caput fidei held himselfe the head of our Faith and the head of all Religion cannot stand with the course of his doctrine and vvritings For first vvhen an a Iohan. Constan Greg. lib. 4. Epist 32. other vvould haue had this stile to be called Vniuersalis Episcopus he said Whosoeuer would giue himselfe that Title was the Fore-runner of Antichrist Which notvvithstanding vvas a Stile farre inferiour to that of Caput fidei And vvhen it vvas offered to himselfe the vvords of Saint Gregory be these refusing that Title a Greg. lib. 4. Epist 32. 36. That none of my Predecessors Bishops of Rome euer consented to vse this vngodly name of Vniuersall Bishop None of the Bishops of Rome euer tooke upon vs this name of Singularitie Wee the Bishops of Rome will not receiue this Honour being offered vnto vs. And novv I pray you vvould he that refused to be called Vniuersall Bishop be stiled Caput fidei vnlesse it vvere in that sense as I haue expressed Which sense if you vvill not admit giue me leaue to say that once of one which himselfe saith often of many of the Fathers b Bellar. de Rom. Pontif lib. 2. cap. â—0 lib. 2 de Christo cap. 2. Minùs cautè locutus est To redeeme therefore our Apostle out of his hands and to let him remaine ours and not his in this case It is very true that he saith in that sense hee spake it When yee goe about to disturbe diminish or take away the Authority or Supremacy of the Church which resteth on the head of the King within his Maiesties Dominions ye cut off the head and chiefe Gouernour thereof and disturbe the State and members of the whole Body And for a Conclusion of this point I pray him to thinke that wee are so well perswaded of the good mind of our Apostle Saint Gregory to vs that wee desire no other thing to be suggested to the Pope and his Cardinals then our Apostle Saint Gregory desired the Deputy of the Emperour a Greg. lib. 7. Epist 1. Sabinian to suggest vnto the Emperour and the State in his time His words be these One thing there is of which I would desire you would suggest it to your noble Lord and Master That if I his seruant would haue had my hand in staying of the Lombards at this day the Nation of the Lombards had neither had Kings nor Dukes nor Earles and had bene diuided asunder in vtter confusion but because I feare God I dread to haue my hand in the blood of any man And thus hauing answered to S. Gregory An answere to the authoritie out of Leo. I come to another Pope his Apostle S. Leo. And that hee may see I haue not in the former Citations quareled him like a Sophister for contention sake but for finding out of the Truth I do graunt that the Authorities out of b Leo primus in diâ—â—sâ—ump suae â—d Pontificat 〈◊〉 mone 3. Leo epist. 89 ad â—pisc V. en Idem ibid. cap. 2. Leo are rightly alleadged all three the words truely set downe together with his true intent and purpose But withall let me tell him and I appeale vnto his owne conscience whether I speake not truely that what Tully sayd to c Cicero in Hort. Hortensius when he did immoderatly praise Eloquence that he would haue lift her vp to heauen that himselfe might haue gone vp with her
in all matters appertaining to Faith and Religion that if they shall continue in a fault against Christian Religion after one or two admonitions obstinately for that cause they may and ought to bee deposed by the Bishops from all the Authority they hold amongst Christians f Ibidem Bishops are set ouer Imperiall Kingdomes if those Kingdomes do submit themselues to the Faith of CHRIST We doe constantly g Sand. de clau Dauid lib. 5. cap. 2. affirme That all Secular power whether Regall or any other is of Men. The h Ibidem Anoynting which is powred vpon the head of the King by the Priest doeth declare that he is inferiour to the Priest It is altogether against the will of i Sand. de clau Dauid lib. 5. cap. 4. CHRIST that Christian Kings should haue Supremacy in the Church And whereas for the Crowne and conclusion of all his examples he reckoneth his The Card. paire of Martyrs weighed two English Martyrs Moore and Roffensis who died for that one most weightie head of Doctrine as he alleadgeth refusing the Oath of Supremacie I must tell him that he hath not bene well informed in some materiall points which doe very neerely concerne his two said Martyrs For it is cleare and apparantly to be proued by diuers Records That they were both of them committed to the Tower about a yeere before either of them was called in question vpon their liues for the Popes Supremacy And that partly for their backwardnesse in the point of the establishment of the Kings Succession whereunto the whole Realme had subscribed and partly for that one of them to wit Fisher had had his hand in the matter of the holy a Called Anna Burton See the Act of Parliament maid of Kent he being for his concealement of that false Prophets abuse found guilty of Misprision of Treason And as these were the principall causes of their Imprisonment the King resting secure of his Supremacy as the Realme stood then affected but especially troubled for setling the Crowne vpon the Issue of his second Marriage So was it easily to be conceiued that being thereupon discontented their humors were thereby made apt to drawe them by degrees to further opposition against the King and his Authority as indeed it fell out For in the time of their being in prison the Kings lawfull Authoritie in cases Ecclesiasticall being published and promulged as well by a generall Decree of the Clergie in their Synode as by an Acte of Parliament made thereupon they behaued themselues so peeuishly therein as the old coales of the Kings anger being thereby raked vp of new they were againe brought in question as well for this one most weightie head of Doctrine of the Pope his Supremacie as for the matter of the Kings marriage and Succession as by the confession of one of themselues euen Thomas Moore is euident For being condemned hee vsed these words at the Barre before the Lords Non ignoro cur me morti adiudicaueritis videlicet ob id quod nunquam voluerim assentire in Hist aliquot Martyrum nostri seculi Anno 1550. negotio Matrimonij Regis That is I am not ignorant why you haue adiudged me to death to wit for that I would neuer consent in the businesse of the new marriage of the King By which his owne confession it is plaine that this great Martyr himselfe tooke the cause of his owne death to be onely for his being refractary to the King in this said matter of Marriage and Succession which is but a very fleshly cause of Martyrdom as I conceiue And as for Roffensis his fellow Martyr who could haue bene content to haue taken the oath of the Kings Supremacy with a certaine modification which Moore refused as his imprisonment was neither only nor principally for the cause of Supremacy so dyed he but a halting and a singular Martyr or witnes for that most waightie head of doctrine the whole Church of England going at that time in one current and streame as it were against him in that Argument diuers of them being of farre greater reputation for learning and sound iudgement then euer he was So as in this point we may well arme our selues with the Cardinals owne reason where he giueth amongst other notes of the true Church Vniuersality for one we hauing the generall and Catholike conclusion of the whole Church of England on our side in this case as appeareth by their booke set out by the whole Conuocation of England called The Institution of a Christian man the same matter being likewise very learnedly handled by diuers particular learned men of our Church as by Steuen Gardiner in his booke De vera Obedientia with a Preface of Bishop Boners adioyned to it De summo absoluto Regis imperio published by Master Bekinsaw De vera differentia Regiae Potestatis Ecclesiae Bishop Tonstals Sermon Bishop Longlands Sermon the letter of Tonstall to Cardinall Poole and diuers other both in English and Latine And if the bitternesse of Fishers discontentment had not bin fed with his daily ambitious expectation of the Cardinals hat which came so neere as Calis before he lost his head to fill it with I haue great reason to doubt if hee would haue constantly perseuered in induring his Martyrdome for that one most waightie head of doctrine And surely these two Captaines and ringleaders to Martyrdome were but ill followed by the rest of their countrymen for I can neuer reade of any after them being of any great account and that not many that euer sealed that waightie head of doctrine with their blood in England So as the true causes of their first falling in trouble whereof I haue already made mention being rightly considered vpon the one part and vpon the other the scant number of witnesses that with their blood sealed a point so greatly accounted of by our Cardinall there can but small glory redound thereby to our English Nation these only two Enoch and Elias seruing for witnesses against our Antichristian doctrine And I am sure the Supremacy of Kings The supremacie of Kings sufficiently warranted by the Scriptures may and will euer be better maintained by the word of God which must euer be the true rule to discerne all waightie heads of doctrine by to be the true and proper office of Christian Kings in their owne Dominions then he will be euer able to maintaine his annihilating Kings and their Authorities together with his base and vnreuerend speeches of them wherewith both his former great Volumes and his late Bookes against Venice are filled In the old Testament Kings were directly a 2. Chron. 19. 4. Gouernours ouer the Church within their Dominions b 2. Sam. 5. 6. purged their corruptions reformed their abuses brought the c 1. Chron. 13. 12. Arke to her resting place the King e 2. Sam. 6. 16 dauncing before it f 1. Chro. 28. 6. built the
Temple g 2. Chron. 6. dedicated the same assisting in their owne persons to the sanctification thereof h 2. King 22 1 made the booke of the Lawe new-found to be read to the people i Nehe. 9. 38 Dauid Salomon 2. Kings 8. 4. renued the couenant betweene God and his people brused the brasen Serpent in peeces which was set vp by the expresse commandement of God and was a figure of Christ destroyed k 1. Kings 15. 12. 2 kings 13. 4. all Idols and false gods made l 2. Chron. 7. 8. a publike reformation by a Commission of Priests and Secular men mixed for that purpose deposed m 1. Kings â— 27. the High Priest and set vp another in his place and generally ordered euery thing belonging to the Church-gouernment their Titles and Prerogatiues giuen them by God agreeing to these their actions They are called the n 2. Sam. 7 4 Sonnes of the Most High nay Gods o Psal 82. 6 Exod. 23. 8 themselues The p 1. Chron. 14. 8. Lords anoynted Sitting q 2. Sam. 3. 1â— 2. Chron. 6. 15 in Gods Throne His r seruants The Angels Å¿ 2 Sam. 14 â—0 of God According to his t 1. Sam. 13. 4 hearts desire The light u 2. Sam. 21 7 of Israel The x Isa 49. 23 nursing fathers of the Church with innumerable such stiles of honour wherewith the old Testament is filled whereof our Aduersary can pretend no ignorance And as to the New Testament Euery soule is commanded to be subiect vnto them euen for y Rom. 13 5 conscience sake All men z 1. Tim. 2. 2 must be prayed for but especially Kings and those that are in Authority that vnder them we may leade a godly peaceable and an honest life The a Rom. 13. 4 Magistrate is the minister of God to doe vengeance on him that doth euill and reward him that doth well Ye must obey all higher Powers but b 1. Pet. 2. 13 especially Princes and those that are Supereminent Giue euery man his due feare c Rom. 13. 7 to whome feare belongeth and loue to whome loue belongeth Giue d Matth. 22 â—1 vnto Caesar what is Caesars and to God what is Gods e Ioh. 18. 36 Regnum meum non est huius mundi f Luk. 12. 14 Quis me constituit Iudicem super vos g Luke 22. 25. Reges gentium dominantur eorum vos autem non sic If these Sentences Titles and Prerogatiues and innumerable other in the old and new Testament do not warrant Christian Kings within their owne Dominions to gouerne their Church as well as the rest of their people in being Custodes vtriusque tabulae not by making new Articles of faith which is the Popes office as I said before but by commanding obedience to be giuen to the word of God by reforming the Religion according to his prescribed will by assisting the Spirituall power with the Temporall Sword by reforming of corruptions by procuring due obedience to the Church by iudging and cutting off all friuolous Questions and Schismes as Constantine did And finally by making Decorum to be obserued in euery thing and establishing orders to be obserued in all indifferent things for that purpose which is the only intent of our Oath of Supremacy If this Office of a King I say doe not agree with the power giuen him by Gods word let any indifferent man voyd of passion iudge But how these honorable Offices Stiles and Prerogatiues giuen by God to Kings in the old and new Testament as I haue now cited can agree with the braue Stiles and Titles that Bellarmine giueth them I can hardly conceiue 1 De laicis ca. 7. That Kings are rather slaues then Lords 2 De Pont. lib. 1. cap. 7. That they are not only Subiects to Popes to Bishops to Priests but euen to Deacons 3 Ibidem That an Emperor must content himselfe to drinke not onely after a Bishop but after a Bishops Chaplen 4 Ibidem de cler cap 26. That Kings haue not their Authoritie nor Office from God nor his Lawe but onely from the Lawe of Nations 5 De Pont. lib. 3 cap. 16. That Popes haue degraded many Emperors but neuer Emperour degraded a Pope nay euen Bishops that are but the Popes vassals may depose Kings and abrogate their Lawes 6 De laicis cap. 18. That Church-men are as farre aboue Kings as the Soule aboue the Body 7 De Pont. lib. 5. cap 8. That Kings may bee deposed by their people for diuerse respects 8 De Pout lib. 2. cap. 26. But Popes cannot be deposed for no flesh hath power to iudge of them 9 De Pont. lib. â— cap. 15. That obedience due to the Pope is for Conscience sake 10 De clericis cap. â—8 But the obedience due to Kings is onely for certaine respects of Order Policie 11 Iâ—idem That these very Church men that are borne and inhabite in Soueraigne Princes Countreyes are notwithstanding not their Subiects and cannot be iudged by them although they may iudge them 12 Ibidem And that the obedience that Church men giue to Princes euen in the meanest and meere Temporall things is not by way of necessary subiection but onely out of discretion for obseruation of good Order These contrarieties betweene the Booke of God and Bellarmines bookes haue I here set in opposition to other Vt ex contrarijs iuxta se positis veritas magis elucescere possit And thus farre I dare boldly affirme That whosoeuer will indifferently weigh these inreconcileable Contradictions here set down will easily confesse that GOD is no more contrary to Belial Light to Darkenesse and Heauen to Hell then Bellarmines estimation of Kings is to Gods Now as to the conclusion of his Letter which is onely filled with strong and pithy Exhortations to perswade and confirme Blackwell to the patient and constant induring of Martyrdome I haue nothing to answere saue by way of regrate That so many good sentences drawen out of the Scripture so well and so handsomely packed vp together should be so ill and vntruely applied But an euill Cause is neuer the better for so good a Cloake And an ill matter neuer amended by good wordes And therefore I may iustly turne ouer that craft of the Deuill vpon himselfe in vsing so Holy-like an exhortation to so euill a purpose Onely I could haue wished him that he had a litle better obserued his Decorum herein in not letting slippe two or three prophane wordes amongst so many godly mortified Scripture sentences For in all the Scripture especially in the New Testament I neuer read of Pontifex Maximus And the Pope must be content in that stile to succeede to Numa Pompilius and not to Saint Peter who neuer heard nor dreamed of such an office And for his Caput fidei which I remembred before the Apostles I am sure neuer gaue that stile to any but to CHRIST So as these stiles whereof some were neuer found in Scripture and some were neuer applied but to CHRIST in that sense as hee applieth it had bene better to haue bene left out of so holy and mortified a Letter To conclude then this present Discourse I heartily wish all indifferent readers of the Breues and Letter not to iudge by the speciousnesse of the wordes but by the weight of the matter Not looking to that which is strongly alledged but iudiciously to consider what is iustly proued And for all our Soueraignes good Subiects that their hearts may remaine established in the Trueth That these forraine inticements may not seduce them from their naturall duety And that all aswell Strangers as Naturall Subiectes to whose eyes this Discourse shall come may wisely and vnpartially iudge of the Veritie as it is nakedly here set downe for clearing these mistes and cloudes of Calumnies which were iniustly heaped vpon our Soueraigne For which ende onely I heartily pray the courteous Reader to be perswaded that this discourse was published