jure divino though it was not publisht in Session by reason of the suddain dissolution of the Council ... The Cardinal of Mantua caused the Acts of that time to be search'd that to be read by the Secretary which was then defined to be published ... Three Heads of Doctrine were then composed and in the third which was of Hierarchy it was said The Holy Synod doth teach that those are not to be hearkned unto who say that Bishops are not instituted jure divino it appearing manifestly by the words of the Ghospel that Christ our Lord hath himself call'd the Apostles promoted them to the degree of Apostleship into whose place the Bishops are subrogated neither ought we to think that this so eminent necessary a Degree hath been brought into the Church by human institution There were also eight Canons the last whereof said thus He that shall say that Bishops are not instituted Jure divino or are not Superior to Priests or have not power to ordain or that this doth belong to Priests Let him be Anathema This the Cardinal of Mantua interpreted only of the power of Order the Bishop of Segovia understood it of All which containeth Order Jurisdiction and though he answer'd reverently in appearance there past so many replies that they were forced to break up the Congregation When the Cardinal of Lorain came to Trent he told the Cardinal of Mantua he * p 583. would not be curious in unprofitable questions that for his own part he was more inclined to the opinion which doth affirm the Institution of Bishops the Obligation of Residence to be de jure divino but though it were certainly true he saw no necessity or opportunity to proceed to a declaration thereof Nevertheless when Lorain came to Council * p. 596. The Bishop of Liria to inform him of all the reasons of the Spaniards did recapitulate with great eloquence whatsoever they had said in this matter And added besides that nothing was more in favour of the Lutherans than to say that Bishops are instituted by the Law of man When Lorain gave his suffrage he proposed the reasons on both sides he * p. 596. concluded in the end that the Question was boundless and exhorted the Fathers to leave it omitting jure divino saying instituted by Christ But notwithstanding this * ibid. The French Prelates who spoke after Lorain did not use the same ambiguity but maintain'd openly that the Authority of Bishops was de jure divino Again in another Congregation * p. 598. The French made proof of their liberty They said that the Institution Jurisdiction of Bishops was de jure divino as well as that of the Pope that there was no difference but in degree of Superiority and that the Pope's Authority is confined within the limits of the Canons relating commending the stile of the Parliaments of France that when any Pope's Bull is presented which containeth any thing contrary to the Canons receiv'd in France they pronounce it to be abusive forbid the execution Have you never heard that such boldness as this even in a free Parliament has been enough to send a man to the Tower And yet Soave confesses They were heard with much patience Consider well these passages from the beginning to the end of this Dispute and tell me then what liberty was wanting in the Council XXVII If the Prelates were so bold took such liberty How was it possible for the Council to end so quietly A. In some matters they had full * p. 728. satisfaction as in the clause Proponentibus Legatis In some a considerable part opposed as in the Doctrine of Residence which therefore according to the * p. 538. general Maxim of the Council could not be determin'd In others as the Institution of Bishops the Pope's Authority although their arguments had been urged repeated amplified in several Congregations yet still the major part was of another opinion it was therefore impossible to come to any determination And you know how natural it is for reasonable men to be quiet and silent when they plainly see it is in vain to speak XXVIII Was not the Pope's Authority at length made use of to restrain their liberty under pretence of their abusing it A. Soave himself who never makes the best of things is pleas'd to tell us quite another story Lorain who at his first coming to Trent had oppos'd the * p. 583. declaration of these points had * p. 596. exhorted the Fathers to leave it * p. 684. proposed the omission of the two Articles of the Institution of Bishops and Authority of the Pope as things wherein the parties were too passionate And very fitly says your Author * ibid. an Order came from the Emperour to his Ambassadors to use all means that the Authority of the Pope should not be discuss'd in Council which his Majesty did because he saw the major part inclined to enlarge it ... The Ambassadors having treated with the Legates in conformity hereof as also with Lorain other principal Prelates did cause this Article to be omitted as also that other of the Institution of Bishops But first they made many consultations about it that all might rest contented XXIX Why were the Popes of those times so afraid of a General Council Why so averse from it Why did they to secure themselves shift sides so often betwixt the Emperour King of France A. You might as well have ask'd me Why dos a Pilot fear a storm Why is he so averse from it Why dos he trimm the boat so often S. Peter's Ship in those days was grievously toss'd almost coverd with the waves But our Lord who seem'd to sleep at length arose commanded the winds the Sea there follow'd a great Calm XXX Why did they avoid defer so long the General Reformation Why were Bulls given secretly to the Legates to suspend or transfer the Council as occasion serv'd Why did they openly declare that a Council is ever dangerous when the Pope's Authority is question'd A. You 'l never have done with these cramp-questions except a man give you as good as you bring Is not the Reformation of Abuses in the Church as dangerous as the Redressing of Grievances in the State If our Nation were in the same ferment as under the reign of Charles I. would you blame his Majesty for pretending to prorogue or dissolve as he pleases And have we not ever since great reason to believe that a Parliament though otherwise excellent in it self is always dangerous when the King's Authority is question'd In those tumults of Ecclesiastical Affairs Reformation was a dangerous business And had the Reformers been let slip at the Abuses they would perhaps have worry'd the whole Church If S. Paul was in perils among false Brethren the Successor of S. Peter was no less * p.
forbid the debating of this matter 2. After experience of the contentions about Residence they could not but foresee that this dispute so much connected with the other might occasion greater disorders of which they would have been guilty had they given leave therefore they * ibid. would not consent by any means 3. The Divines Prelates freely took leave though it was not given them never spoke more boldly than they did upon this subject If you will not believe me believe your friend Soave Read what follows believe your own eyes Michael Orencuspe a Divine of the Bishop of Pampelona argued * p. 558. that howsoever it be true and certain that Bishops are superior jure Pontificio yet the Lutherans are not in this regard to be condemn'd for Hereticks because that cannot be an Article of Faith which is grounded only upon the Law of man * ibid. John Fonseca a Divine of the Archbishop of Granata follow'd saying it neither was nor could be forbidden to speak of it For the Article being propos'd to be discuss'd whether it be heretical or no it is necessary to understand whether it be against Faith against which it cannot be if it do not repugn to the Law of God He said that if the Pope be instituted by Christ because he hath said to Peter Feed my Lambs Bishops are likewise instituted by him because he hath said alike to all the Apostles as my Father hath sent me so I send you And if the Pope be Successor of S. Peter the Bishops are Successors of the Apostles which he prov'd by many Authorities out of the Fathers He added that to be confirm'd or created by the Pope did not conclude that they were not instituted by Christ or had not authority from him For the Pope himself is created by the Cardinals and yet hath his authority from Christ So the Bishops receive the Diocess from the Pope authority from Christ Their Superiority over Priests he prov'd to be jure divino by authority of many Fathers who say that Bishops succeed the Apostles Priests the seventy two Disciples Antony Grossetus insisted upon the same point * p. 559. He said it was necessary to declare that Bishops have not commission for their Office from men for so they would be Hirelings to whom the Lambs do not belong because the man who had committed the care unto them being satisfied they had no more to think on .... In the end he excused himself that he had spoken without premeditation ... not remembring that that point was forbidden to be spoke of Here it is that Soave would make us believe that Grossetus fear'd some bad encounter but I am sure if any bad encounter had ever hapned to him upon this account Soave would have taken care to let us know it Have but a little patience to observe how freely boldly the Bishops deliver'd their opinions in the following Congregations and then Pl give you leave to tell me if you can what bad encounter they fear'd The Archbishop of Granata said * p. 565. They must needs declare both these two points that is that Bishops are instituted jure divino and are jure divino superior to Priests And he confirm'd his opinion at large with many reasons arguments authorities ... He cited Pope Eleutherius who in an epistle to the Bishops of France wrote that Christ had committed the Church Universal to them He added that Ambrose upon the Epistle to the Corinthians saith that the Bishop holdeth the place of Christ is Vicar of the Lord ... that there are extant Epistles of Cyprian to Fabianus Cornelius Lucius and Stephanus Popes where he giveth them the title of Brothers and of Austin written in his own name of the Bishops of Africa in which the Popes Innocentius and Bonifacius are likewise call'd Brothers which is most plain not only in the Epistles of those two Saints but of many others the Pope is call'd Colleague ... that it is against the nature of a Colledge to consist of persons of divers kinds ... In this Colledg of Bishops the Pope is Head but for edification only ... that S. Gregory saith in his epistle to Johannes Syracusanus that when a Bishop is in a fault he is subject to the Apostolick See but otherwise all are equal by reason of humility which Christian Humility is never separated from the Truth He inveigh'd against those Theologues who said that S. Peter had ordain'd the other Apostles Bishops ... * p. 566. He jested at those Divines who had said that all the Apostles were instituted by Christ and made equal in authority but that it was personal in them ought not to pass to their Successors except that of S. Peter asking them as if they had been present with what ground authority or reason they were induced to make such a bold affirmation invented within these fifty years only expressly contrary to the Scripture in which Christ said to all the Apostles I will be with you untill the end of the world which words because they cannot be expounded of their particular persons only must be necessarily understood of the succession of all * p. 567. The Archbishop of Braga prov'd at large the Institution of Bishops de jure divino He said that the Pope cannot take from Bishops the Authority given them in their consecration which doth contain in it the power not only of Order but of Jurisdiction ... that to Titular Bishops a City is allotted which would not be necessary if the Episcopal Order could subsist without Jurisdiction He was follow'd by the Bishops of Segovia of Segna others who spoke as boldy as himself not fearing any bad encounter and Soave says * p. 569. almost the half were of that opinion Afterwards * p. 577. to quench the boyling heat of the controversy about the Institution of Bishops that it might not increase by means of so many who were prepar'd to contradict Laynez they would not hold any Congregation for many days And yet they were so far from fearing any bad encounter that almost every day * p 578. three or four of them joyn'd together went to some of the Legates to renew the instance And one day the Bishop of Guadice with four others told them among other things that * ibid. as a Prince dos institute in a City a Judge of the first instante a Judge of Appeal who though he be superior yet cannot take authority from the other nor usurp the causes belonging to him so Christ in the Church hath instituted all Bishops the Pope superior in whom the Supreme Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction was yet so that others had theirs depending on Christ alone After all this the Bishop of Segovia when the Prelates met again in Congregation argued * p. 582. that it was decided in the Congregations under Julius III. that Bishops are instituted
avoid but the Judge must be a Party For this must be the first controversy whether he be a Judge or no and in that he must be a Party Such is the Pope's Case in the Definition of his Supremacy The same necessity is found in supreme Civil power Inferiour Courts are liable to Appeals But if some of the King's subjects rebell against him oppose his prerogatives or laws 't is evidently necessary that the King must judge his own case or the Offence must not be judg'd at all What must the King do Substitute an equal number of Royalists Rebells This can never be an effectual provision for the Common Peace of Government Or must he remit the arbitration to a neighbouring State 1. This state is always interess'd therefore partial 2. This does not leave within the compass of any Kingdom upon earth sufficient power to procure the common good 3. Were it allow'd in Civil Power it cannot be applied to our present case unless Controversies in Religion could be decided out of the Church by men of no Religion at all In the National Synod of Dort in the year 1618. the Low-country Remonstrants seeing themselves like to be over-voted by the Protestants made the same excuses saying that the major part of the Synod was declar'd of a contrary party that they were already excommunicated by them and therefore they ought not to be Judges To this the Synod replied that if this exception were admitted it would subvert the whole frame of Ecclesiastical Government that Pastors would be discourag'd from their duty of opposing the first beginnings of Heresy if therefore they must forfeit their right of giving suffrages or being Judges afterwards that the Arians other Hereticks might ever have pleaded the same exception against the Orthodox Fathers that Divines neither are nor ought to be indifferent in matters of Religion so that if only Neuters may be judges there will be none left in the Church and we must go abroad no body knows where to look for ' em This was the substance of their Answer which I here set down in the Latin to satisfie your curiosity Nunquam praxim hanc Ecclesiarum fuisse ut Pastores quoties exorientibus erroribus ex officio se opponerent propterea jure suffragiorum aut de illis ipsis erroribus judicandipotestate exciderent Ita enim omnem everti judiciorum Ecclesiasticorum ordinem efficique ne Pastores officio suo fideliter fungi queant .... Eos qui in doctrinâ aut moribus scandalorum autores sunt semper Censores suoge Consistoria Classes Synodos ceu partem adversam rejicere .... ad eum modum Arianis aliisque olim hereticis adversus Orthodoxos Pastores semper licuisset excipere The English Divines deliver'd their opinion in these terms 1. Huic sententiae refragatur perpetua praxis omnium Ecclesiarum Nam in Synodis Oecumenicis Nicaeno c. ii qui antiquitus receptam doctrinam oppugnarunt ab illis qui eandem sibi traditam admiserunt approbarunt examinati judicati damnati sunt 2. Ipsius rei necessitas huc cogit Theologi enim in negotio religionis neque esse solent tanquam abrasae tabulae neque esse debent Si igitur soli neutrales possent esse judices extra Ecclesiam in quâ lites enatae sunt quaerendi essent 3. Ipsa aequitas suadere videtur Nam quae ratio reddi potest ut suffragiorum jure priventur omnes illi Pastores qui ex officio receptam Ecclesia Doctrinam propugnantes secus docentibus adversati sunt Si hoc obtinuerit nova dogmata spargentibus nemo obsisteret ne ipso facto jus omne postmodum de illis controversiis judicandi amitteret Pray give me leave now to ask Why might not the Parties be Judges in the Council of Trent as well as in the Synod of Dort If in one case the Remonstrants were oblig'd to submit to the Protestants Why were not the Protestants oblig'd to submit to the Catholicks in the other The Synod was forc'd to pretend some disparity and for want of a better alledg'd this that the Protestants and Remonstrants were under the same Magistracy And what if if they were We are not now talking of Civil Assemblies but of Ecclesiastical Dos the division of Civil Power destroy the Unity of the Catholick Church which we believe in our Creed Or if there be any reason why when any Schisme arises the Authority of the Whole is devolved to the major part does not the same Reason conclude as evidently in favour of a General as of a National Council IX To make it better appear which was the major part the Protestants ought to have had a decisive voice in Council A. 1. Binius says that the Council premitted this caution that if the Protestants were allow'd for once to give a Placet it should be no prejudice to the right honour of the present future Councils which looks as if the Council were not fully resolv'd to deny this to them if much insisted upon 2. They who openly maintain such doctrines as have been formerly condemn'd in General Councils are cutt of from the Catholick Church they are not Members of it therefore can have no right to a decisive voice 3. If it had been permitted they were still certain to be over-voted by 270. Bishops to whom if you add the Catholick Divines by the same rule as the Protestants there remain'd no ground for any hopes This the Protestants saw well enough therefore were willing to wave all Ecclesiastical Judges Soave tells you how they shuffled in this point One time they proposed a Decision by Laicks indifferently chosen in an equal number on both sides Another time they appeal'd to * p. 73. a godly free Council which is not the Tribunal of Pope Priests only but of all the Orders of the Church not excluding the Seculars Here indeed the Clergy were admitted to this godly free Council but it was only by way of spectators to see what the Laity would please to do there for * ibid. the Pope making himself a party to the cause it was just that the manner and form of the proceeding should be determin'd by the Princes This was the * ib. Answer of 15. Princes 30 Cities assembled in Smalcalda 1535. Again about two years after when the * p. 76. Emperour sent his Vice Chancellor to exhort them to receive the Council they answerd that they had always demanded a free Christian Council that every man may freely speak Turks Infidels being excluded Here you see that every man who call'd himself a Christian no matter how otherwise qualified was to have a free Vote in Council only Turks Infidels were to be excluded Judge you what a free godly Council this was like to be Mean time all this was only a copy of their countenance They clearly foresaw that the much greater part of those to whom
God has committed the care of his Church would certainly condemn their errors They were already self-condemn'd as to Authority And therefore they never intended to appear in any legal Council but hated the very thought of it Although the Name of a Council was very plausible and fit to be made use of for a time to amuse the world with 〈◊〉 an opinion of the Reformers that they were not proud obstinate but always willing to hear reason desirous to be better informed The Duke of Prussia was more sincere when Canobius came to invite him He * p. 413. answer'd plainly without any mincing or disguising of the matter that he was of the Augustan Confession therefore could not consent to a Popish Council Yet after all to do the Protestants justice I must needs confess that as soon as they were no longer in fear of the Emperour they began to unmask speak as plainly as the Duke did Read Soave's Annals 1562. he says that * p. 599. so soon as the Diet was assembled in Francfort the Prince of Condé sent to treat an union of the Huguenots with those of the Confession of Ausburg and in particular to make a joynt demand for a free new Council in which the resolutions of Trent might be examin'd the French men of the old Catholick Religion giving hope also that they would agree unto it ... But the Dutch Protestants were most averse from a Council so long as Germany might be in peace without it And therefore a book was printed in Francfort full of reasons why they neither would nor could come to Trent with protestation of the nullity of all that was or would be done in that place One thing which makes me less wonder they could never agree to any Council of ours is this that I find in Soave they could not agree in a Council of their own * p. 411. In Germany says he the Princes of the Augustan Confession assembled in Neumburg being ashamed that their Religion should be esteem'd a Confusion for the variety of Doctrines amongst them did propose that they might first agree in one then resolve whether they ought to refuse or accept the Synod ... They said the Augustan Confession was to be the ground of their Dottrine but there being divers copies of that Confession which differ'd in regard of divers additions made in divers of them some approving one some another Many thought they ought to take that only which was presented to Charles in the year 1530. Whereunto those of the Palatinate did not consent unless it were declared in a Proheme made unto it that the other Edition did agree with it The Duke of Saxony answer'd that they could not stop the eyes ears of the world that they should not see hear their differences that if they would make shew of union where they were at variance they should be convinc'd of vanity lying And after many contentions they remain'd without agreement in that point How should the Catholicks please them if they knew not how to please themselves X. The burning of John Huss was a sufficient excuse for the Protestants not to rely upon any Safe conduct A. I must beg your pardon if I believe no such matter It was no excuse at all His Safe conduct was of the ordinary form Theirs was extraordinary And there fore the Case was quite different 'T is certain that the Ordinary Safe-conducts secure a man only from unjust violence but not from the just execution of a legal sentence if he be found guilty When a person suspected of a crime is cited to appear to answer for himself the Ordinary Safe-conduct secures him from all abuses or affronts which might otherwise be offer'd to him either going staying or returning but however if after a fair Trial he be legally condemn'd it will never save him from suffering according to Law If this were all the Security that Huss relied upon we may justly admire his confidence in going so boldly to the Council but cannot reasonably wonder either at his imprisonment or execution That this was all the Security given him appears by the testimony of one of his own Disciples who wrote his Acts which are publish'd in the beginning of his Works says he was an eyewitness of what pass'd He relates the words of the Emperour Sigismond telling Huss to his face at Constance * Acta Iohannis Huss p. 15. Although says he Some say that by your friends patrons you receiv'd our Letters of Publick Faith fifteen days after your imprisonment yet we can prove by the testimony of many Princes men of chief note that before you lest Prague you receiv'd our Letters by Wenceslaus of Duha John of Chlum to whose trusty care we recommended you THAT NO INJURY MIGHT BE DONE TO YOU but that you might speak freely answer for your self before the whole Council concerning your faith doctrine And this you see the most Reverend Lords Cardinals Bishops have so perform'd that I have reason to give them many thanks ... Now therefore we advise you not to defend any thing obstinately but to submit your self with what obedience you ought to the Authority of the Holy Council If you do this we will endeavour that for our sakes you may be favourably dismiss'd by the Council If not ... We truly will never patronize your obstinacy your errors In this discourse of the Emperour I observe 1. That the Letters of Publick Faith were given to Huss only that no injury might be done to him And therefore conclude that if contrary to the common law of Safe-conducts he endeavour'd to make his escape his imprisonment was just and no injury done See Bremus a Protestant Lawyer Quaest ult de Securitate who cites a great number of others agreeing with him this opinion that Publick Faith is ended or forfeited if a man having receiv'd Publick Faith committs a new crime be cause for this he may be punish'd 2. That the friends of Huss made no great scruple of telling stories in favour of him of raising a false report that the Letters were given him the fifteenth day after his confinement thinking perhaps that by this rumour the Emperour would be oblig'd in honour to rescue him out of prison Which deceitful dealing makes me less wonder either that his Disciples make no mention of his endeavouring to escape or that the Nobles of Bohemia take no notice of it in their Letters of complaint to the Emperour makes me more apt to believe the Relation of it set down by Ulricus Reichental an inhabitant of Constance an eye witness of what hapned an accurate Historian of the Council whom if you understand not in the original Teutonick you may read this part translated into Latin by Cochlaeus lib. 11. Hist. Hussitarum pag. 73. Before Huss was guilty of this crime he had been kindly receiv'd and favourably treated
had none from the Council appears not only by his silence but by Soave's History pages 298. 307. which I shall cite in the following Objection That the Safe-conduct which he had from the Emperour was never intended to hinder the Council's proceeding against him according to the Canons is manifest not only by what has been already said but by the Emperour's Letters of Publick Faith dated from Spire Octob. 18. 1414. extant in Goldastus his Appendix Documentorum ad Commentarios de Regni Bohemiae Juribus Privilegiis p. 81. We heartily recommend to all every one of you the honourable Master John Huss Batchelor of Divinity Master of Arts the Bearer of These whom We have taken into Our protection Safeguard of the Holy Empire passing from the Kingdom of Bohemia to the General Council which is shortly to be held in the City of Constance Desiring you to receive him kindly treat him favourably whensoever he shall come unto you and that you will ought to shew your readiness in promoting what belongs to his speed safety either by Land or Water permitting also him his servants his horses all things else beionging to him freely without any hindrance to passe to stop to stay to return by any passages ports bridges lands dominions jurisdictions cities towns castles villages whatsoever places of yours without any expence of tribute toll or any other payment And that you will ought for the honour respect of our Majesty to provide Secure Safe conduct for him his when occasion shall ' require All this the Emperour commanded as much as lay in Him And in all this his subjects obeyd as much as lay in them He had no Authority over the Council in matters of Religion Nor do I find the least syllable of any promise made by the Emperour to him that the Council should not proceed against him according to Law He came upon his good behaviour and in his own defence confiding in his own prudence and abilities as well as in the Emperour's Letters in which there is no sign of these two promises 1. that he should not be imprison'd if by any misdemeanour he deserv'd it 2. that he should nor be executed if legally condemn'd Both these promises were plainly included in the Extraordinary Safe-conduct which the Tridentine Council granted to the Protestants And therefore as I told you in the beginning The Case was quite different Read Soave and if you believe him you 'l begin to be asham'd of your objection * p. 348 Conc. Trid Sess 15. 18. The Synod doth make Faith to all Priests Princes Persons of what condition soever ... Safe conduct to come remain PROPOSE speak IN THE SYNOD to HANDLE EXAMINE WHAT THEY THINK FIT. give Articles confirm them ANSWER the OBJECTIONS of the Council DISPUTE with those whom it doth elect declaring that the CONTROVERSIES in this Council shall be handled according to the HOLY SCRIPTURE Traditions of the APOSTLES approv'd COUNCILS Consent of the CATHOLICK CHURCH Authority of the Holy FATHERS adding that they SHALL NOT BE PUNISH'D upon PRETENCE OF RELIGION or OFFENCES COMITTED or which WILL BE COMMITTED ... and shall RETURN when it shall seem good unto them WITHOUT LET with SAFETY OF THEIR ROBE HONOUR PERSONS but with the knowledg of the Deputies of the Synod that provision may be made for their Security granting that in this Safe-coduct ALL those CLAUSES be held to be included which are NECESSARY FOR REAL FULL ASSURANCE Adding that if any of the Protestants either in coming or in Trent or in returning SHALL COMMIT ANY ENORMITY which shall NULLIFIE THE BENEFIT OF THIS PUBLICK FAITH he shall be PUNISH'D BY THEIR OWN Protestant JUDGES so that the Synod may be satisfied and on the other side if any Catholick in coming hither remaining here or returning SHALL COMMIT ANY THING which may VIOLATE THIS SAFE CONDUCT he shall be punish'd by the Synod WITH APPROBATION OF THE GERMAN Protestant 's THEMSELVES who shall be present in Trent .... which things it promiseth faithfully in the name of all faithfull Christians Ecclesiastical Secular If Huss Jerome had come to Constance with such a Safe-conduct they had neither been imprison'd nor executed With such a one as this the Bohemians went afterwards to Basil were civilly used return'd quietly home With this the Wittenberg Protestants went to Trent remain'd quiet there return'd without receiving any affront That no more of the Protestants follow'd their example in going thither was their own fault They knew very well they might have gone remain'd return'd securely if they pleas'd Confider all this at leisure and then tell me if you can what 's become of your Excuse XI The Councils of Constance Sienna had declared it lawfull to break the faith of any Safe-conduct whatsoever A. Read the Decrees you 'l plainly see the contrary The Council of Constance dos not say 't is lawfull for any whosoever they are to violate the faith of their promises but only declares that no Secular Power can legally hinder the exercise of Ecclesiustical Jurisdiction because it is not only independent of it but manifestly superior to it in matters of Religion T is a common Maxim of the Law Superior legibus aut pactis Inferioris non ligatur And in all appearance the design of the Council was to satisfie the World that although the Emperour had pretended to grant an Extraordinary Safe-conduct such as exempts a man from Justice as well as Violence it could nor have hindred the supreme Power of Pope Council from proceeding according to the Canons in Causes which are purely of Religion This was the reason why the Protestants would not rely upon the Emperour 's Safe-conduct Nor can I blame them for it See Soave p. 298. Duke Maurice wrote to the Emperour that his Safe-conduct was not sufficient For in the Council of Constance it was determin'd that THEY MIGHT PROCEED AGAINST THOSE THAT CAME TO THE COUNCIL THOUGH THEY HAD SAFE-CONDUCT FROM THE EMPEROUR And that therefore the Bohemians would not go Basil but under the Publick Faith of the whole Council See p. 307. The Ambassadors went all together to the Presidents told them that the Emperour had given the Protestants a Safe-conduct but that they were not contented with it alledging that it was decreed in the Council of Constance and really executed that THE COUNCIL IS NOT bound BY THE SAFE-CONDUCT OF ANY WHOSOEVER HE BE therefore they required one from the Synod These Protestants you see understood the Council in the same sense as I do How come you to understand it otherwise Let the Decree speak for it self judge case betwixt us It runs thus Presens Sancta Synodus ex QUOVIS SALVO CONDUCTU per Imperatorem Reges alios Seculi Principes HAERETICIS vel de Haeresi diffamatis putantes eosdem sic a suis erroribus
cutting them up by the Roots I had almost quite forgot to tell you that in the end of the General Reformation the Council has taken particular care that no Dispensing power may obstruct the force benefit of the Decrees Be it known to all men says the Council * p. 756. n. 18. that the Canons shall be observed exactly indistinctly by all shall not be dispensed but for an urgent and just cause heard with great maturity without cost by whosoere they are to whom it appertains Otherwise the Dispensation shall be judg'd Surreptitious If the Cause be not only just but urgent if the justice and urgency be well known before the grant of it if nothing be given to any whosoever for it Such a Dispensation is unquestionably blameless And now I desire to know How was it possible for the Council to provide more effectually for the punctual observance of all these three conditions than by declaring that otherwise the Dispensation is shall be surreptitious of no effect XXXI In the end of the Council there was great joy in Rome for having cheated the world and advanced their interest where they fear'd to have their wings clipp'd A. Here I know not how you 'l be able to make the two ends of Soave's History meet In his first book he talks much at this rate and in his last he largely contradicts it He tells us in the end how the Pope and Cardinals deliberated upon the matter whether or no the Decrees of Reformation were to be confirmed And says that * p. 759. the Court understanding that the Pope was resolved upon the Confirmation chang'd their joy into grief All the Officers complain'd of the losses they should receive in their offices if that Reformation were executed ... Supplications also Memorials were given to the Pope by those who having bought their Offices foreseeing this loss demanded restitution ... The Pope having diligently consider'd thereof deputed eight Cardinals to consult upon the Confirmation to think upon some remedies for the complaints of the Court ... He concludes It is certain that they who did procure the Council had no aim but to pull down the Pope's Authority And while the Council did last every one did speak as if it had power to give Laws to him After all you think to mortifie me with objecting that the corruptions of the Court the abuses tolerated in the Church are as great as ever But you must give me leave to tell you 1. I am not obliged to take your bare word for 't 2. Whether it be true or false 't is nothing to my present purpose If false you are to blame for saying so If true 't is none of the Council's fault Having proceeded legally having made good Laws the Council has done its part 't is ours to do the rest My business is to defend the Council I have nothing to do to rake the dunghill of the Church Has the Decalogue less Authority because the greatest part of mankind are so disobedient Or is the Ghospel less Sacred because there are so few who live according to the maxims of it If this be the onely reason why you Protest against the Council of Trent because the Decrees of Reformation are not every where in all things punctually observ'd I see no reason why you may not with as good a grace Protest against the Ghospel the Ten Commandments I have now done with your Objections And although I am not of the Poet's mind that Brevity is always good be it or be it not understood Yet I have endeavour'd to be as short as possibly I could because when I deal with a man of your parts a word is enough to the wise few words are best As for Soave whom you so much admire I desire to ask you a few questions before I tell you what I think of him Suppose a mortal enemy of yours should Libel you by the way of History call you Rogue Rascal in the very Preface and at the same time perswade his Reader that he follows exactly the truth Would you have me take this Author for an Oracle Would you not think me reasonable if I suspected almost every word he said And ought not I to do the Council as much Justice as I would my Friend T is certain that Soave was a mortal enemy of the Council In the very beginning he declares it He says * p. 2. it has caused the greatest deformation that ever was calls it the Iliad of the Age which is as kind a compliment to the Fathers as if he had call'd them a pack of Villains He tells us indeed in the same place that he is not possess'd with any passion which may make him erre and this was well enough said But how shall a body do to believe him If it were your own case I 'm sure you would not like my being credulous And how do I know but that an Enemy of the Council may deserve as little credit as an Enemy of yours Another reason why I do not like him is because he takes upon him to write men's private thoughts with as much assurance as he writes their words and actions He hardly ever speaks of any intelligence coming to Rome but he entertains his Reader with a pleasant Scene in which he brings the Pope alone upon the Stage discoursing with himself his secret apprehensions deliberations upon every matter such thoughts as no wise man would trust his neighbour with although he were the best surest friend he had in the world How Soave could possibly come to any certain knowledg of such things I am not able to comprehend And truly if a man in one case will tell me more than he can know I have just reason to be afraid that in another he 'l tell me more than he dos know A third reason which weighs more with me than all the rest is this You tell me on the one side He was a Popish Frier And on the other I cannot believe but that although perhaps for some reasons he did not openly profess it He was really a Protestant It appears so plainly by his censuring the Decrees of Doctrine as well as those of Reformation by the severe reflections of his own which he intermixes with those of the Lutheran Criticks that I do not conceive how any man of sense who reads him with attention can be of another opinion Had he been a barefaced Protestant I should be more inclined to believe him There is something of integrity honour in a man that openly professes what he is And although passion prejudice may blind him yet I am apt to think that such a person will never deceive me more than he deceives himself But a Protestant that lives dies in the profession of a Popish Frier How can I believe his words when the most serious of his actions are only so many lies For my own part I would as soon make choice of a Catholick Jew to comment upon the Ghospel to write the life of Christ as I would choose a Protestant Frier to write the History of a General Council Before I end my Letter give me leave once more to mind you of the Discourse we had when we saw one another last We both agreed that * C. II. p. 1. it were a very irrational thing to make Laws for a Country leave it to the inhabitants to be the Interpreters Judges of those Laws for then every man will be his own Judge by consequence no such thing as either Right or Wrong that * ibid. therefore we cannot suppose that God Almighty would leave us at those Uncertainties as to give us a Rule to go by leave every man to be his own Judge that * ib. Christ left his Spirit Power to his Church by which they were the Judges even of the Scripture it self many years after the Apostles-which Books were Canonical which were not that * ibid. p. 2. the Judgment of the Church is without Appeal otherwise what they decide would be no farther to be follow'd than it agrees with every man's private Judgment that because in the Apostles Creed we believe in the Holy Catholick Church therefore we ought to believe in the first four General Councils which were true legal Representatives of it And lastly that if the Council of Trent were prov'd to be as General as free as legal in all it's circumstances as any of the first four Councils were then you must needs own your self obliged in Conscience to submit to it to leave of Protesting against it This last part I have here endeavour'd to prove out of Soave himself your own Historian who always makes the worst of things never speaks a favourable word but when the Power of Truth constrains him to it If I have not perform'd according to expectation 't is your own fault who are to blame for having a better opinion of me than I deserve I am no Doctor nor Graduate but every way unfit to be a Champion of the Cause Yet having receiv'd your Commands I have just reason to expect that you will easily pardon a man who in this occasion is guilty of no other crime than being ready to shew himself Sept. 22. 1686. Your Obedient Servant N. N. Page 70. line 1. read rewarded p. 75. * 4. r. ch 14. p. 76. l. 8. r. his 9. book p. 85. l. 26. r. many p. 86. l. 29. r. the year 831. p. 89. l. 8. dele de p. 114. l. 21. r. his 2. book p. 152. l. 27. r. shut out p. 161. l. 6. r. it has p. 165. l. 1. r. your p. 168. l. 5. r. haereticis p. 172. l. 3. dele an p. 176. l. 26. r. in this p. 189. l. 22. r. to Basil p. 190. l. 9. r. the case ibid. l. 13. r. HAERETICIS p. 194. l. 1. r. another p. 225 l. 3. r. Charles II. p. 240. * 2. r. 590. FINIS
284. Not only the Protestants did impugn his Authority but many Princes also would restrain it many Bishops did think to moderate it * p. 205. The Spaniards had a secret which they communicated only among themselves to make great the Episcopal Authority so that the Pope could not restrain it The French had * p. 522. ever pretended to limit the Pope's power subject it to the Canons Councils * p. 34â— The Emperour's Ambassadors had given the Protestants hope to moderate the Papal Authority said that they expected to see a Gate laid open by their negotiation that afterwards they might second it and Julius III. had intelligence that the Emperour had a design to advance himself by debasing of the Papacy This was enough to make the Popes of that Age take care to look before they leap'd But yet this was not all if Soave says true The * p. 17. Governours of Countries regarded not much what the Council might determine concerning Doctrines but desired it might be such a one as might reduce the Priests Friers to their beginning hoping that by that means the regalities temporal jurisdictions might return unto them And therefore they said it was in vain to call a Council where the Bishops other Prelates only should have a deliberative voice because they ought to be reform'd and it was necessary that others should have the charge thereof who could not be deceiv'd by their proper interests Here you see in plain English what the Reformation was like to come to 1. The design was laid to bring the Ecclesiasticks to their beginning They were to be brought to their Staff and Scrip again sent about their business whilst the Reformers plunder'd the Church divided the spoiles 2. To do it with more ease it was in vain to call a Council of Bishops but the Laity were to have the charge thereof who could not be deceiv'd by their proper interests This Reason I confess if it had taken place would have been worth it's weight in gold but pray give me leave to make the case your own Suppose a man should demand your purse and upon refusal tell you He is the better Judge whether or no you ought to deliver because your interest blinds you but He cannot be deceiv'd by his proper interest Would you believe this honest Gentleman How did you like this method of Reforming when our English Rebels threw the Sovereignty out of doors the Church of England out of the windows Did you fancy that those Church-and-State-Menders deserv'd to have the charge of those matters and that it was necessary they should have it because they could not be deceiv'd by their proper interests If such a Throughout-Reformation as this had been effectually procured All had been well Complaints would then have ceas'd because there would have been nothing left to complain of The Reformers would have reduced the Pope the Cardinals the Bishops Priests Friers to their beginning which in plain English is little better than reducing them to their end The Faction would then have triumph'd according to their hearts desire just as our Rebels did when they had brought our Monarchy to it's beginning by beheading of the Government But this not being effected All the rest was nothing to the purpose One would think that eleven or twelve Decrees containing above 140. chapters of Reformation might be some degree of satisfaction to any reasonable men But when people are disappointed in their principal design right or wrong 't is all the same they are out of humour and when they are so t is a hard matter to please them This was the reason why the Lutheran Criticks were so sharp in censuring ridiculing the Decrees as soon as each Session of the Council was publish'd in Germany p. 504. The Birth of the Mountains was a proverb much in vogue which Soave has recorded in more places than one though otherwise worded The travail of the mountains and the nativity of the mouse an expression proper enough to let us understand what vast projects they had laid of reducing all things to their beginning how much they were disappointed in them since what was decreed by the Council compar'd with what they would have done themselves was no more than a mouse to a mountain In the same page he goes on Concerning the Reformation it was said that more light points could not be handled nor more lightly and that they did imitate the Physician who in a hectical body laboured to kill the Itch. This was another pleasant jest which Soave took care of for fear it should be lost But let him jest as he pleases the Itch he talks of is not so easily cured This humour of Reforming is a very itching humour And the Itch is a strange restless disease Even the wiser sort of mankind when they have once got it cannot for their lives forbear Scratching though they know by experience that it dos more harm than good Read the Decrees of Reformation from the beginning to the end and if you read them with a serious attention I am very confident an impartial man as you are will not say they are either light or lightly handled If you have the Council in your Library I had rather you would read them there than in Soave who I must needs tell you is not so exact as I could wish him Under pretence of relating the substance he leaves out a great many circumstances which a curious man would be desirous to know And besides although I have compar'd a very small part of his translation with the original I find several mistakes in it p. 503. n. 1. he reads is for is not p. 692. n. 12. he reads six for five p. 733. n. 2. he reads two for three p 753. n. 1. of two express commands he has made only one exhortation Such negligences as these are enough to make me suspect him in other matters are a great argument that it was more his business to find fault with the Reformation than to give an exact account of it But whether you consult the Council or his History that you may find out all the Decrees in order without any trouble I have directed you to all the Sessions of the one pages of the other V. 173.174 VI. 211.212 VII 247.248 XIII 320.321 XIV 331.332.333.334 XXI 503. XXII 537.538 XXIII 691.692.693 XXIV 730.731.732.733.734.735 XXV 751.752.753.754.755.756 And for your better satisfaction I have set down some few instances of Soave's Translation comparing it with the Original enclosing what he has either alter'd or omitted in a parenthesis like this 1. Concerning Scripture The first point of Reformation in the first chapter of the first Decree is this * p. 173. n. 1. that in the Churches where there is a stipend allotted for reading Divinity the Bishop should provide that the Holy Scripture should be read by the Stipendary if he be