it easely sene vpon how good grownde this doctrine standeth whereby it is affirmed that the bishop of Rome his Primacie hath his force by gods lawe and not onely by mannes lawe much lesse by vniust vsurpation The scriptures by which as well these as all other holy and learned fathers were leadde to acknowledge and confesse the Primacie of Peter and his successours were partly such as Anacletus and Gregorie here alleageth and Cyprian meaneth as it appeareth by his third treatise De simplicitate praelatorum and sundry mo of the newe testament as to the learned is knowen of which to treate here largely and piththely as the weight of the matter requyreth at this tyme I haue no leisure neither if I had yet myght I conueniently performe it in this treatise which otherwise will amount to a sufficiēt bignes and that matter throughly handeled will fill a right great volume Wherfore referring the readers to the credite of these worthy fathers who so vnderstoode the scriptures as thereof thei were persuaded the Primacie to be attributed to Peters successour by God him selfe I will procede keping my prefixed order The 2. proufe coūcelles Whereas the preeminence of power and auctoritie which to the bishop of Rome by speciall and singular priuiledge God hath graunted is commended to the worlde by many and sundry councelles for auoiding of tediousnesse I will rehearse the testimonies of a fewe Amonge the canons made by the three hundred and eighten bishops at the Nicene Councell which were in number 70. and all burnt by heretikes in the East church saue xx and yet the whole number was kepte diligently in the church of Rome in the originall it selfe sent to Syluester the bishop there from the councell subscribed with the said 318. fathers handes Vide Frācisc Turrianū lib. 3. charact dogmat the 44. canon which is of the power of the patriarke ouer the Metropolitanes and bishops and of the Metropolitane ouer bishops in the ende hath this decree Vt autem cunctis ditionis suae nationibus etc. As the patriarke beareth rule ouer all nations of his iurisdiction and geueth lawes to them and as Peter Christes vicare at the beginning sette in auctoritie ouer religion ouer the churches and ouer all other thinges perteining to Christ was Maister and ruler of christen princes prouinces and of all nations So he whose principalitie or chieftie is at Rome like vnto Peter and equall in auctoritie obteineth the rule and souerainetie ouer all patriakes After a sewe wordes it foloweth there If any man repine against this statute or dare resist it by the decree of the whole councell he is accursed Iulius that worthy bishop of Rome not long after the councell of Nice in his epistle that he wrote to the 90. Ariane bishops assembled in councell at Antioche against Athanasius bishop of Alexandria reprouing them for theire vniust treating of him saith of the canons of the Nicene councell then freshe in their remembrance that thei commaunde Non debere praeter sententiā Romani pontificis vllo modo concilia celebrari nec episcopos damnari That without the auctoritie of the Bishop of Rome neither Councelles ought to be kepte nor bishops condemned Againe that nothing be decreed without the Bishop of Rome Cui haec maiora ecclesiarum negotia tam ab ipso domino quà m ab omnibus vniuersorum conciliorum fratribus speciali priuilegio contradita sunt To whom these and other the weighty matters of the churches be committed by speciall priuiledge as well by our lord him selfe as by all oure brethren of the whole vniuersall councelles Among other principalle pointes which he reciteth in that epistle out of the Nicene councelles canōs this is one Vt omnes episcopi etc. That all bishops who susteine wronge in weighty causes so often as nede shall require make their appeale freely to the See Apostolike and flie to it for succour as to their mother that frō thence they may be charitably susteined defended and deliuered To the disposition of which See the auncient auctoritie of th'Apostles and their successours and of the canons hath reserued all weighty or great ecclesiasticall causes and iudgementes of bishops Athanasius and the whole companie of bishops of Egypte Thebaida and Libya assembled together in councell at Alexandria complaining in their epistle to Felix the Pope of the great iniuries and griefes they susteined at the Arianes alleageth the determination of the Nicene councell touching the supreme auctoritie and power of that See Apostolike ouer all other bishops Similiter à supradictis patribus est definitum consonanter etc. Likewise saie they it hath ben determined by common assent of the foresaide fathers of Nice that if any of the bishops suspecte the Metropolitane or theire felowbishops of the same prouince or the iudges that then they make their appeale to your holy See of Rome to whom by our lord him selfe power to binde and louse Matt. 16. by speciall priuiledge aboue other hath ben graunted This much alleaged out os the canōs of the Nicene councell gathered partly out of Iulius epistle who wrote to them that were present at the making of them which taketh awaye all suspicion of vntruth and partly out of Athanasius and others that were a great parte of the same councell For further declaration of this matter it were easy here to alleage the councell of Sardica the councell of Chalcedon Ca. 4. ca. 9 certaine councelles of Aphrica yea some councelles also holden by heretikes and sundry other but such store of auctorities commonly knowen these may suffise The Christen princes that ratified and confirmed with their proclamations and edictes The 3. proufe Edictes of Emperours the decrees of the canons concerning the Popes Primacie and gaue not to him first that auctoritie as the aduersaries doo vntruly reporte were Iustinian and Phocas the Emperours The wordes of Iustinianes edicte be these In authēt de Eccles tit Sancimus secundum canonum definitiones sanctissimum senioris Romae Papam primum esse omnium sacerdotum We ordeine according to the determinations of the canons that the most holy Pope of the elder Rome be formest and chiefe of all priestes About three score and ten yeres after Iustinian Phocas the Emperour in the tyme of Bonifacius to represse the arrogancie of the bishop of Constantinople Lib. 4. historiae lōgobardicae cap. 36. as Paulus Diaconus writeth who vainely and as Gregorie sayeth contrary to our lordes teachinges and the decrees of the canons and for that wickedly tooke vpon him the name of the vniuersall or oecumenicall bishop and wrote him selfe chiefe of all bishops made the like decree and ordinance that the holy See of the Romaine and Apostolike church shuld be holden for the head of all churches The 4. proufe doctoures Of the doctours what shall I say verely this matter is so often and so commonly reported of them that their sainges laide together would scantly be
perhappes that had ben done by cōmaundement of Mauritius the Emperour who did many other thinges wickedly thereof writeth to Constantina the Emperesse thus Salonitanae ciuitatis episcopus me ac responsali meo nesciente ordinatus est Et facta est res quae sub nullis anterioribus principibus euenit The bishop of the citie of Salonae sayeth he is ordered neither I nor my depute made priuye to it And herein that thing hath ben done which neuer happened in the tyme of any princes before our daies Thus it appeareth that before a thousand yeres past bishops had their ordination and election confirmed by the See Apostolike The Popes approuing of coūcelles That the bishops of Rome by accustomed practise of the church had auctoritie to approue or disproue councelles I nede to saye nothing for prouse of it Li. 4. c. 19. seing that the ecclesiasticall rule as we reade in the Tripartite storie commaundeth that no councell be celebrate and kepte without the aduise and auctoritie of the Pope Verely the councelles holden at Ariminum at Seleucia at Sirmium at Antiochia and at the seconde tyme at Ephesus for that they were not summoned nor approued by the auctoritie of the B. of Rome haue not ben accompted for laufull councelles but as well for that reiected as also for their hereticall determinatiōs The fathers assembled in the councell of Nice sent their epistle to Siluester the Pope beseching him with his consent to ratifie and confirme Quas Romana suscipiēs cōfirmauit Ecclesia In praefatione Niceni concilij what so euer they had ordeined Isidorus witnesseth that the Nicene councell had set forth rules the which sayeth he the church of Rome receiued and confirmed The second generall councell holden at Constantinople was likewise allowed and approued by Damasus specially requested by the fathers of the same thereto So was the third councell holden at Ephesus ratified and confirmed by Celestinus who had there for his vicares or deputes Cyrillus the famouse B. of Alexandria and one Arcadius a bishop out of Italie As for the fouerth councell kepte at Chalcedon the fathers thereof also in their epistle to Leo the Pope subscribed with the handes of 44. bishops made humble requeste vnto him to establish fortifie and allowe the decrees and ordinances of the same This being fownde true for the fower first chiefe councelles we nede not to say any thinge of the rest that folowed But for the suer proufe of all this that chiefly is to be alleaged that Constantius the Arian Emperour made so importune and so earnest sute to Liberius the Pope to confirme the actes of the councell holden at Antioche by the 90. Ariane bishops wherein Athanasius was depriued and put out of his bishoprike For he beleved as Ammianus Marcellinus writeth Lib. 15. that what had ben done in that councell shuld not stande and take effecte onlesse it had ben approued and confirmed by the auctoritie of the B. of Rome which he termeth the eternall citie Now what auctoritie the bishops of Rome haue euer had and exercised in the assoiling of bishops vniustly condemned Absolutiōs from the Pope and in restoring of them againe to their churches of which they were wrongfully thruste out by heretikes or other disorder it is a thing so well knowen of all that reade the stories in which the auncient state of the church is described that I nede not but rehearse the names onely Athanasius of Alexandria and Paulus of Constantinople depriued and thrust out of their bishoprikes by the violence of the Arianes assisted with the Emperour Constantius appealed to Rome to Iulius the Pope and bishop there and by his auctoritie were restored to their romes againe So Leo assoiled Flauianus the B. of Constantinople excommunicated by Dioscorus So Nicolaus the first restored Ignatius to the see of Constantinople though Michael the Emperour wroughte all that he could against it Many other bishops haue ben in all ages assoiled and restored to their churches by the auctoritie of the See Apostolike who haue ben without deserte excommunicated depriued and put from all their dignities But to haue rehearsed these fewe it may suffise Concerning the reconciliation of the prelates of the church both bishops and patriarkes to the B. of Rome Reconciliatiōs to the Pope wherby his primacie is acknowleged and cōfessed I nede not say much the matter being so euident After that the whole churches of Aphrica had continewed in schisme and withdrawen them selues from the obedience of the See Apostolike through the entisement of Aurelius archebishop of Carthago for the space of one hundred yeres during which tyme by gods punishment they came in to captiuitie of the barbarous and cruell Vandales who were Arians at the length when it pleased God of his goodnes to haue pitie on his people of that prouince sending them Bellisarius the valiant capitaine that vanquished and destroyed the Vandales and likewyse Eulalius that godly archebishop of Carthago that brought the churches home againe and ioyned the diuided members vnto the whole body the catholike church A publike instrument conteining the forme of their repentance and of their humble submission was offered and exhibited solemly to Bonifacius the second then Pope by Eulalius in the name of that whole prouince which was ioyfully receiued and he thereupon forthwith reconciled Of this reconciliation and restoring of the Affricane churches to the catholike church the mysticall body of Christ Bonifacius writeth his letters to Eulalius bisshop of Thessalonica requiring him with the churches there about to geue almighty God thankes for it But here if I would shewe what bishops diuiding them selues through heresie schisme or other enormitie from the obedience of the See of Rome haue vpon better aduise submitted them selues to the same againe and thereupon haue ben reconciled I had a large field to walke in As inferiour bishops of sundry prouinces haue done it so haue the great patriarkes done likewise Among them that to satisfie the maliciouse mynde of Eudoxia the Emperesse practised their wicked conspiracie against Chrysostome through which he was deposed and caried awaye in to banishment Alexander B. of Antioche and primate of the orient was one who at length strooken with repentance for that he had ben both a cōsenter and a promotour of that wicked acte submitted him selfe humby to Innocētius the Pope and by all meanes sought to be assoiled and reconciled And therfore sent his legates to Rome to exhibite to Innocentius a solemne instrumēt of his repentāce and lowly submission and to accepte what shuld be enioyned By which his hūblenes Innocētius moued graunted to his petitions receiued him in to the lappe of the catholike church againe and thus was he reconciled Sundry the like reconciliations of the patriarkes of Alexandria and Ierusalem to the See of Rome in like cases might easely be recited which for auoiding of tediousnesse I passe ouer as likewise of the patriarkes of Constantinople which as we reade
affirmeth the Catholikes to haue nothing for their parte ouer peartly as to sober wittes it semeth egging and prouoking them to bring somewhat in their defence O Mercifull God Iuell In the sermon folio 43. vvho vvould thinke there could be so muche vvilfulnes in the heart of man O Gregorie O Augustine O Hierome O Chrysostome O Leo O Dionise O Anacletus O Sistus O Paule O Christ If vve be deceiued herein ye are they that haue deceiued vs. You haue taught vs those schismes and diuisions ye haue taught vs these heresies Thus ye ordred the holy communion in your tyme the same vve receiued at your hand and haue faithfully delyuered it vnto the people And that ye maye the more meruel at the vvilfulnes of such men they stand this daye against so many old fathers so many Doctoures so many examples of the primitiue churche so manifest and so plaine vvordes of the holy scriptures and yet haue they here in not one father not one Doctour not one allovved example of the primitiue churche to make for them And vvhen I saye not one I speake not this in vehemencie of spirite or heate of talke but euen as before God by the vvaye of simplicitie and truth least any of you should happely be deceiued and thinke there is more vveight in the other syde then in conclusion there shall be fovvnde And therefore once againe I saye of all the vvordes of the holy scriptures of all the examples of the primitiue churche of all the old fathers of all the auncient Doctoures in these causes they haue not one Here the matter it self that I haue novv in hand putteth me in remembraunce of certaine thinges that I vttered vnto you to the same purpose at my last being in this place I remember I layed oâ—â— then here before you a number of things that are nâ—vv in controuerâ—â—e vvhere vnto our aduersaries vvil not yelde And I sayd perhaps boldly as it might then seeme to summe man but as I my self and the learned of our aduersaries theÌ„ selues do vvel knovve syncerely and truly that none of all them that this daye stand against vs are hable or shal euer be hable to proue against vs any one of all these points eyther by the scriptures or by example of the primitiue churche or by the old â—oâ—â—â—â—res or by the auncient generall councelâ—â— Synâ—â— that tyme it hath ben reported in places that I spake then more then I vvas hable to iustifie and make good Hovv be it these reportes vvere onely made in corners and therfore ought the lesse to trouble me Bâ—â— if my sayinges had ben so vveake and might so easely haue than reproued I maruaile that the paâ—ieâ— neuer come to the light to take the aduauntage For my promise vvas and that openly here before you all that if any man vvere able to proue the contrarye I vvould yelde and subscribe to him and he shuld depart vvith the victorieâ— Loth I am to trouble you vvith rehersall of such thinges as I haue spoken afore and yet because the case so requyreth I shall desyre you that haue all ready heard me to beare the more vvith me in this behalf Better it vvere to trouble your eares vvith tvvise hearing of one thing then to betray the truth of God The vvordes that I then spake as neare as I can call them to mynde vvere these If any learned man of all our aduersaries or if all the learned men that be alyue be hable to bring any one sufficient senteÌ„ce out of any olde catholike Doctour or father out of any olde generall councell out of the holy scriptures of God or any one example of the primitiue church vvhereby it may be clearely and plainely proued â–ª Article 1 That there vvas any priuate Masse in the vvorld at that tyme for the space of syxe hundred yeares after Christ Article 2 Or that there vvas then any CoÌ„munion ministred vnto the people vnder one kinde Article 3 Or that the people had theire common prayers then in a straunge tonge that they vnderstoode not Article 4 Or that the Bisshop of Rome vvas then called an vniuersall Bisshop or the head of the vniuersall churche Article 5 Or that the people vvas then taught to beleue that Christes body is really substantially corporalli carnally or-naturally in the Sacrament Article 6 Or that his body is or may be in a thousand places or mo at one tyme Article 7 Or that the priest dyd then hold vp the Sacrament ouer his head Article 8 Or that the people dyd then fall dovvne and vvorship it vvith godly honour Article 9 Or that the Sacrament vvas then or novv ought to be hanged vp vnder a canopie Article 10 Or that in the Sacrament after the vvordes of CoÌ„secration there remayneth onely the accidentes and shevves vvith out the substaunce of bread and vvine Article 11 Or that the priest then diuyded the Sacrament in three partes and aftervvarde receiued him self all alone Article 12 Or that vvho so euer had sayde the Sacrament is a figure a pledge a token or a remembraunce of Christes bodye had therefore been iudged for an heretike Article 13 Or that it vvas lavvfull then to haue xxx xx.xv.x or v. Masses sayd in one churche in one daye Article 14 Or that Images vvere then set vp in the churches to the entent the people might vvorship them Article 15 Or that the laye people vvas then forbydden to reade the vvorde of God in their ovvne tonge If any man a lyue vvere hable to proue any of these Articles by any one cleare or plaine clause or sentence eyther of the scriptures or of the old doctoures or of any old generall councell or by any example of the primitiue churche I promysed then that I vvould geue ouer and subscribe vnto him These vvordes or the very like I remember I spake here openly before you all And these be the thinges that summe men saye I haue spoken and can not iustifie But I for my part vvill not onely not call in any thing that I then sayde being vvell assuted of the truth there in but also vvill laye more matter to the same That if they that seeke occasion haue any thing to the contrary they may haue the larger scope to replye against me VVherefor besyde all that I haue sayde allready I vvil saye farther and yet nothing so much as might be sayde If any one of all our aduersaries be hable clearely and plainely to proue by such authoritie of the scriptures the olde Doctoures and councelles as I sayde before Article 16 That it vvas then lavvfull for the priest to pronounce the vvordes of consecration closely and in silence to him self Article 17 Or that the priest had auctoritie to offer vp Christ vnto his father Article 18 Or to communicat and receiue the Sacrament for an other as they doo Article 19 Or to applye the vertue of Christes death and passion to any man by the meane of the Masse Article 20
Or that it vvas then thought a sovvnde doctrine to teache the people that the Masse ex opere operato that is euen for that it is sayde and donne is hable to remoue any part of oure synne Article 21 Or that then any Christian man called the Sacrament his lorde and God Article 22 Or that the people vvas then taught to beleue that the body of christ remaineth in the Sacrament as long as the accidētes of the bread remayne there vvith out corruptiō Article 23 Or that a Mouse or any other vvorme or beaste maye eate the body of Christ for so some of oure aduersaries haue sayd and taught Article 24 Or that vvhen Christ sayde Hoe est corpus meum This vvord Hoc pointeth not the bread but indiuiduum vagum as summe of them saye Article 25 Or that the accidentes or formes or shevves of bread and vvyne be the Sacramentes of Christes body and bloud and not rather the very bread and vvyne it selfe Article 26 Or that the Sacrament is a signe or token of the body of Christ that lyeth hydden vnderneathe it Article 27 Or that Ignoraunce is the mother and cause of true deuotion and obedience These be the highest mysteries and greatest keys of theire Religion and vvith out them their doctrine can neuer be mainteined and stand vpright If any one of all oure aduersaries be hable to auouch any one of all these articles by any such sufficient authoritie of scriptures doctoures or councelles as I haue required as I sayde before so saye I novv agayne I am content to yelde vnto him and to subscribe But I am vvell assured they shall neuer be hable truly to alleage one sentence And because I knovv it therefor I speake it lest ye happely shuld be deceiued They that haue auaunted them selues of doctoures and councelles and cōtinuance of tyme in any of these pointes Fol. 51. vvhen they shall be called to tryall to shew their proufes they shall open their handes and fynde nothing I speake not this of arrogancie thou lord knovvest it best that knovvest all thinges But for as muche as it is godes cause and the truth of God I shuld doo God great iniurie if I shuld concele it THE VVORDES OF MAISTER THE SAME CHALENGE AND offer and imputing to the catholikes of vnhablenes to defend their doctrine vttered by M. Iuell in other places of his booke as folovveth MY offer vvas this he meaneth in the sermon vvich he made in the courte that if any of all those thinges that I then rehearsed In the first ansvver to D. Coles letter fol. 4. could be proued of your syde by any sufficiēt authoritie other of the scriptures or of the aunciēt Councelles or by any one allovved example of the primitiue churche that then I vvould be content to yelde vnto you I saye you haue none of all those helps nor scriptures nor councelles nor doctours nother any other antiquitie and this is the negatiue Novv it standeth you vpon to proue but one affirmatiue to the contrary and so to requyre my promise The Articles that I sayde could not be proued of your parte vvere these That it can not appeare by any authoritie other of the olde doctours or of the auncient Councelles that there vvas any priuate Masse in the vvhole churche of Christ at that tyme Or that there vvas then any communion ministred etc. the articles rekened there it foloweth And if any one of all these articles can be sufficiently proued by such atuhoritie as I haue sayde Fol. 5. and as ye haue borne the people in hand ye can proue them by I am vvell content to stand to my promise After in the first ansvver to D. C. fol. 6. In the ende there fol. 7. I thought it best to make my entree vvith such thinges as vvhere in I vvas vvell assured ye shuld be able to finde not so much as any colour at all But to conclude as I begane I ansvver that in these Articles I hold only the negatiue and therefore I looke hovv you vvil be able to affirme the cōtrarie and that as I sayde afore by sufficient authoritie vvhich if ye doo not you shall cause me the more to be resolued and others to stand the more in doubt of the rest of your learning In my Sermon at poules and els vvhere I required you to bring forth on your part eyther sum scripture sn the second ansvver to D. C. fo 13 or sum old doctour or sum aunciēt councell or els some allovve example of the primiue churchē For these are good grovvndes to buyld vpon And I vvould haue marueiled that you brought nothing all this vvhile sauing that I knevv ye had nothing to bring As truly as god is god if ye vvold haue vouchesaued to folovv either the scriptures or the auncient doctours In the 2. ansvver fol. 15. and councelles ye vvold neuer haue restored agayne the Sup̄macie of Rome after it vvas once abolished or the priuate Masse or the communion vnder one kinde etc. Novv if ye thinke ye haue vvrong There fol. 17. shevv your euidence out of the doctours the councels or scriptures that you may haue yout right and reentre I require you to no great paine one good sentence shall be sufficient You vvold haue your priuate Masse the bisshop of Romes sup̄macie the commē prayer in an vnknovven tonge Fol. 18. and for defence of the same ye haue made no small a doo Me thinketh it reasonable ye bring sum one authoritie besyde your ovvne to auouche the same vvith all Ye haue made the vnlearned people beleue ye had all the doctours all the councelles and fiften hundred yeres on your syde For your credites sake let not all these great vauntes comme to naught Ye desyre ye may not be put of Fol. 18. but that your suite maye be consydered And yet this half yeare long I haue desyred of you and of your brethren but one sentence and still I knovv not hovv I am cast of and can gete nothing at your handes You call for the special proufes of our doctrine Fol. 21. vvhich vvould require a vvhole booke vvhere as if you of your part could vouchesafe to bring but tvvo lines the vvhole matter vvere concluded VVe only tell the people as our devvtie is that you vvithstand the manifest truth and yet haue neither doctour nor councell nor scripture for you and that ye haue shevved such extremitie as the like hath not bē seene and novv cā giue no rekening vvhy Or if ye can let it appeare Fol. 23. You are bovvnde ye saye and maye not dispute etc. But I vvould vvish the quenes Maiestie vvould not only set you at libertie in that behalfe but also cōmaunde you to shevve your grovvndes VVhere as you saye you vvould haue the sainges of bothe parties vveighed by the balance of the olde doctours ye see that is oure only request and that in the matters ye vvrite of I
desyre eueÌ„ so to be tried But vvhy throvv you avvaye these balance and being so earnestly requyred vvhy be ye so loth to shevv forth but one olde doctour of your syde ye make me beleue ye vvould not haue the matter comme to tryall etc. 26 VVhat thinke ye is there novv iudged of you that being so long tyme requyred yet can not be vvonne to bring one sentence in your ovvn defence Fol. 26. I protest before God bring me but one sufficient authoritie in the matters I haue requyred and aftervvard I vvil gentilly and quietly conferre vvith you farther at your pleasure VVherefore for as much as it is goddes cause if ye meane simply deale simply betraie not your right if ye maye saue it by the speaking of one vvorde The people must nedes muse some vvhat at your silence and mistrust your doctrine if it shall appeare to haue no grovvnde neither of the olde councelles nor of the doctours nor of the scripture nor any alovved example of the primitiue churche to stand vpon and so fiften hundred yeres and the consent of antiquitie and generalitie that ye haue so loÌ„g and so much talkte of shall comme to nothing For thinke not that any vvise man vvill be so much your frend that in so vveighty matters vvill be satisfied vvith your silence Here I leaue putting you In the ende of the 2. ansvver to D. C. fol. 27. eftsones gently in remembraunce that being so osteÌ„ and so openly desyred to shevv forth one doctour or Councell etc. in the matters a fore mencioned yet hitherto ye haue brought nothing and that if ye stand so still it must needes be thought ye doo it conscientia imbecillitatis for that there vvas nothing to be brought You saye vve lacke stuffe to proue our purpose In the reply to D. Coles last letter fol. 43. O vvould to God your stuffe and oures might be layed together then shuld it sone appeare hovv true it is that ye saye and hovv faithfully ye haue vsed the people of God Me thinketh bothe reason and humanitie vvould Fol. 44. ye shuld haue ansvvered me sumvvhat specially being so ofteÌ„ and so openly required at the least you shuld haue alleaged Augustine Ambrose Chrysostome Hierome etc. VVhereas a man hath nothing to saye it is good reason he kepe silence as you doo You knovv that the matters that lie in question betvveÌ„ vs haue ben taught as vve novv teache them Fol. 53. bothe by Christ him self and by his Apostles and by the olde doctours and by the auncient generall Councelles and that you hauing none of these or like authorities haue set vp a religion of your ovvne and built it only vpon your selfe Therefor I may iustly and truly â—â—â—nclude that you novv teache and of long tyme haue taught the people touching the Masse the Supremacie the commen prayers etc. is naught For neither Christ nor his Apostles nor the olde Doctours Tertulliane Cypriane S. Hierome S. Augustine S. Ambrose S. Chrisostom etc. euer taught the people so as you haue taught them Not vvithstanding your great vavvntes that ye haue made ye see novv ye are discomfyted Fol. 62. ye see the field is almost lost vvhere ar novv your crakes of doctours and councelles VVhy stampe ye not your bookes vvhy comme ye not forth vvith your euidence Novv ye stand in nede of it novv it vvill serue and take place if ye haue any Fol. 65. As I haue offred you oftentymes bring ye but tvvo lines of your syde and the field is yours Fol. 110. Hilarius sayeth vnto the Arians cedo aliud Euangelium shevv me some other gospell for this that ye bring helpeth you not Euen so vvill I saye to you Cedo alios doctores shevv me some other doctours for these that ye bring are not vvorthy the hearing I hoped ye vvould haue comme in vvith some fressher bande It must nedes be some miserable cause that can fynde no better patrones to cleaue vnto I knovv it vvas not for lacke of good vvill of your part ye vvould haue brought other doctours if ye could haue fovvnd them Fol. 112. O Master Doctour deale simply in Gods causes and saye ye haue doctours vvhen ye haue them in dede and vvhen ye haue them not neuer laye the fault of not alleaging them to the defence of your doctrine in your recognisaunce Fol. 114. But alas small rhetorike vvould suffise to shevv hovv litle ye haue of your syde to alleage for your selfe In the conclusion of the replyes to D. Cole fol. 129. Here once againe I conclude as before putting you in remembrance that this long I haue desyred you to bring forth some suâ—â—â—â—ent authoritie for prouf of your partie and yet hitherto can obteine nothing VVhich thing I must nedes novv pronounce simply and plainely because it is true vvith out if or and ye doo conscientia imbecillitatis because as ye knovv there is nothing to be brought THE PREFACE TO Maister Iuell THIS heape of Articles which you haue layde to gether Maister Iuell the greater it ryseth the lesse is your aduantage For whereas you require but one sentence for the auouching of any one of them all the more groweth your number the more enlarged is the libertie of the answerer It semeth you haue conceiued a great confidence in the cause and that your aduersaries so it liketh you to terme vs whom God hath so stayde with his grace as we can not beare you coÌ„panie in departing from his catholike churche haue litle or nothing to saye in their defence Els what shuld moue you both in your printed Sermon and also in your answeres and Replyes to Doctour Cole to shew such courage to vse such amplification of wordes so often and with such vehemencie to prouoke vs to encounter and as it were at the blast of a trumpet to make your chalenge What feared you reproche of dastardnes if you had called forth no more but one learned maÌ„ of all your aduersaries and therefore to shew your hardynesse added more weight of wordes to your proclamatioÌ„ and chalenged all the learned men that be a lyue In the sermoÌ„ fol. 46 Among cowardes perhappes it serueth the tourne some tymes to looke fiercely to speake terribly to shake the weapon furiously to threaten bloudily no lesse then cutting hewing and killing but amoÌ„g such we see many tymes sore frayes foughten and neuer a blowe geuen With such bragges of him self and reproche of all others Homer the wisest of all poetes setteth forth Thersites for the fondest man of all the Grecians that came to Troye Goliath the giaunt so stoute as he was made offer to fight but with one Israelite 1. Reg. 17. Eligite ex vobis vituÌ„ descendat ad singulare certamen Choose out a man amongst you quoth he and let him come and fight with me man for man But you Maister Iuell in this quarell aske not the combate of one catholike man
bread which Christ there tooke blessed brake and gaue to them was not simple and common bread but the Sacrament of the bodye and bloude of Christ For so a In MatthaeuÌ„ homil 17. Chrysostome b De consensu EuaÌ„gelist li. 3. cap. 25. Augustine c In Luc. Bede and d In LucaÌ„ Act. 2. Theophylacte with one accorde doo witnesse It appeareth also that the communion vnder one kynde was vsed at Ierusalem among christes disciples by that S. Luke writeth in the Actes of the Apostles of the breaking of the bread If M. Iuell here thinke to auoyde these places by their accustomed figure synecdoche among his owne secte happely it may be accepted but among men of right and learded iudgement that shifte will seme ouer weake and vaine Now to conclude touching the sixth chapter of S. Ihon as thereof they can bring no one worde mentioning the cuppe or wyne for proufe of their bothe kyndes so it sheweth and not in very obscure wise that the forme of breade alone is sufficient where as Christ sayeth Qui manducat panem hunc viuet in aeternum He that eateth this bread shall lyue for euer Thus oure aduersaries haue nothing to bring out of the scriptures against the vse of the catholike churche in ministring the communion vnder one kynde And yet they cease not crying out vpon the breache of christes expresse commaundement and M. Iuell for his parte in his first answere to D. Cole sayeth that the councell of Constance pronounced openly against Christ him selfe But for as much as they are so hote in this pointe I will send them to Martin Luther him selfe their patriarke that either by his sobrietie in this matter they may be some what colded or by his and his scolers incoÌ„stancie herein be brought to be a shamed of them selues Though the places be well knowen as oftentymes cited of the catholike writers of oure tyme against the gospellers yet here I thinke good to rehearse them that the vnlearned may see how them selues make not so greate a matter of this Article as some seme to beare the people in hand it is Luther wryteth to them of Bohemia these very wordes Quoniam pulchrum quidem esset Luther and his ofspryng doth not necessitate Communion vnder both kyndes vtraque specie eucharistiae vti Christus hac in re nihil tanquam necessarium praecepit praestaret pacem vnitatem quam Christus vbique praecepit sectari quam de speciebus SacrameÌ„ti coÌ„tendere Whereas it were a fayre thinge sayeth he to vse bothe kyndes of the sacrament yet for that Christ herein hath commaunded nothing as necessary it were better to kepe peace and vnitie which Christ hath euery where charged vs withall then to striue for the outward kyndes of the sacrament Agayne his wordes be these in a declaration that he wrote of the sacrament Non dixi neque consului neque est intentio mea vt vnus aut aliquot Episcopi propria authoritate alicui incipiant vtramque speciem porrigere nisi ita constitueretur mandaretur in concilio generali Neither haue I sayde nor counsailed nor my minde is that any one or moe bishops begynne by their owne auctoritie to geue bothe kyndes of the sacrameÌ„t to any person onlesse it were so ordeined and coÌ„maunded in generall councell Thus he wrote before that he had conceiued perfite hatred against the church Of his coÌ„ference vvith the deuill he vvriteth libello de Missa angulari But after that he had ben better acquainted with the deuill and of him appearing vnto him sensibly had ben instructed with argumentes against the sacrifice of the Masse that the memorie of oure redemption by Christ wrought on the crosse might vtterly be abolyshed he wrote hereof farre otherwise Si quo casu concilium statueret minimè omnium nos vellemus vtraque specie potiri imò tunc primuÌ„ in despectum concilij vellemus aut vna aut neutra nequaquaÌ„ vtraque potiri eos planè anathema habere quicuÌ„que talis coÌ„cilij auctoritate potirentur vtraque If in any case the councell would so ordeyne we would in no wise haue bothe the kyndes but euen then in dispite of the councell we would haue one kynde or neither of them and in no wise bothe and holde them for accurfed who so euer by auctoritie of such a councell would haue bothe These wordes declare what sprite Luther was of They shewe him lyke him selfe Who so euer readeth his bookes with indifferent iudgement shall fynde that sythens the Apostles tyme neuer wrote man so arrogaÌ„tly ne so dispitefully against the churche nor so contraryly to him selfe Which markes be so euident that who so euer will not see them but suffreth him selfe to be caried a waye in to errour hatred of the church and contempte of all godlynes either by him or by his scolers except he repent and retourne he is gyltie of his owne damnation vtterly ouerthrowen Tit. 3. and synneth inexcusably as one condemned by his owne iudgement But for excuse hereof in his booke of the captiuitie of Babylon he confesseth that he wrote thus not for that he thought so nor for that he iudged the vse of one kynde vnlawfull but because he was stirred by hatred and anger so to doo His wordes doo sounde so much plainely Prouocatus imò per vim raptus I wrote this sayeth he otherwise then I thought in my harte prouoked and by violence pulled to it whether I would or no. Here I doubte not but wise men will regarde more that Luther wrote when his minde was quiet and calme then when it was enraged with blustering stormes of naughty affections Now to put this matter that Luther iudged it a thing indifferent whether one receiue the sacrament vnder one kynde or bothe more out of doubte Philip MelaÌ„chthon his scoler and nearest of his counsell wryteth Sicut edere suillam aut abstinere a suilla In locis coÌ„munibus sic alterutra signi parte vti mediuÌ„ esse That as it is a thing indiffereÌ„t to eate swines fleshe or to forbeare swines fleshe so it is also to vse which parte of the signe a man lysteth By the word signe he meaneth the Sacrament lyking better that straunge word then the accustomed word of the churche leaste he might perhaps be thought of the brethren of his secte in some what to ioyne with the catholikes Bucer also is of the same opinion who in the conference that was had betwene the catholikes and protestantes for agreement in controuersies of Religion at Ratisbone confirmed and allowed this article by his full consent with these wordes Ad controuersiam quae est de vna aut vtraque specie tollendam cum primis conducturum vt sancta Ecclesia liberam faceret potestatem sacramentum hoc in vna vel in vtraque specie sumendi Ea tamen lege â—r nulli per hoc detur occasio quem vsum tantopere retinuit Ecclesia
Innocētius Zosimus and other auncient fathers what better reason haue they to kepe the infantes from the cuppe then the Anabaptistes haue to kepe them from theire baptisme If they allege their impotencie of remembring our lordes death the Anabaptistes will lihewise allege their impotencie of receiuing and vnderstāding doctrine that Christes institution in this behalfe semeth to require Thus th' aduersaries of the churche them selues doo agnise that the vse of the cuppe in the Sacrament perteineth not to all of necessitie So haue they neither godly charitie to ioyne with the churche neither sufficient reason to impugne the churche And although herein we could be content infantes not to be spoken of yet it maye easely be proued that the communion vnder bothe kyndes hath not euer ben generall And as we doo not cōdemne it but confesse it might be restored agayne by th'auctoritie of the churche lawfully assembled in a generall councell vppon mature deliberation before had and a holesome remedie against the inconueniences thereof prouided euen so are we hable to shewe good auctoritie for the defence of the one kynde now vsed in the churche And because M. Iuell beareth the world in hand nothing can be brought for it of oure syde some places I will allege here that seme to me very euidently to proue that the vse of bothe kyndes hath not alwayes ben thought necessary to all persons and that the communion vnder one kynde hathe ben practised and holden for good within the six hundred yeres after Christ that he would so faine bynde vs vnto Proufes for communion vnder one kinde Here maye be alleaged first the example of our lord him selfe out of the 24. chapter of S. Luke which is spoken of before where it is declared that he gaue the Sacrament to the two disciples at Emaus vnder the forme of bread only which place ought to haue the more weight of auctoritie in a catholike mannes iudgement because it is brought by the councell of Constance and also by the councell of Basile for proufe of the communion vnder one kynde That it was the Sacrament the auncient doctours doo affirme it playnely and the wordes cōferred with the wordes of our lordes supper doo agree and that it is not nedeful of oure owne head to adde thereto the administration of the cuppe as oure aduersaries doo by their figure synecdoche it appeareth by that those two disciples declared to the twelue Apostles assembled together in Ierusalem how they knew our lorde in fractione panis in breakinge of the breade to them which can not be taken for the wine and as sone as they knewe him in breaking of the breade he vanished awaye from theire syght er that he tooke the cuppe in to his handes and blessed it and gaue it vnto them as it appeareth euidently ynough to S. Augustine to Bede and to all other that be not willfully opinatiue Agayne what nede is it to vse violence in this scripture and ioyne vnto it a patche of oure owne deuise by so simple a warrant of a figure sith that according to the minde of the learned fathers Christ gaue here to the two disciples not a piece of the sacrament but the whole Sacrament as it is proued by th'effecte of the same and th'effecte presupposeth the cause For saint Augustine confesseth by that Sacrament of breade so he calleth it De cōsensu Euangelistarū li. 3. ca. 25. Vnitate corporis participata remoueri impedimentum inimici vt Christus posset agnosci that thereby they were made partakers of the vnitie of Christes bodye that is to saye made one bodye with Christ and that all impediment or lette of the ennemie the deuil was taken awaye so as Christ might be acknowleged What more should they haue gotten if they had receiued the cuppe also Here might be alleaged the place of the Actes in the 2. chapter where mention is made of the communion of breakinge of the breade the cuppe not spoken of which the heretikes called Waldēses dyd confesse that it must be vnderstanded of the Sacrament in confessione ad Vladislaū and likewise the place of the twentith chapter and specially that of the seuen and twentith chapter of the Actes Where Chrysostome and other fathers vnderstād the breade that saint Paul in perile of shipwracke tooke gaue thankes ouer brake and eate to be the holy Sacrament It is not to be merueiled at albe it S. Paul deliuered to the Corinthians the institution of oure lordes supper vnder hothe kyndes that yet vppon occasion geuen and when condition of tyme so required he ministred the communion vnder one kynde sith that with out doubte he tooke that holy mystery vnder one kynde for the whole Sacrament as we perceiue by his wordes 2. Cor. 10. where he sayeth Vnus panis et vnum corpus multi sumus omnes qui de vno pane participamus One breade and one body we being many are all that doo participate of one breade Where he speaketh nothing of the cuppe And likewise by his wordes where he speaketh disiūctiuely as the greke and the true latine texte hath Quicunque manducauerit panem 1. Cor. 11. vel biberit calicem domini indignê reus erit corporis et sanguinis domini Who so euer eateth the bread or drynketh of the cuppe of our lord vnworthely he shall be gylty of the bodye and bloude of our lorde Whereon dependeth an argument of the contrary that who so euer either eateth this bread worthely or drinketh this cuppe worthely he eateth and drinketh righteousnes and lyfe For thys purpose we haue a notable place in the hebrew gospell of S. Matthew which S. Hierome sayeth he sawe in the librarie of Caesarea and translated it This place is cited by S. Hierome in his booke de ecclesiasticis scriptoribus in Iacobo fratre domini The wordes touching the communion that S. Hierome rehearseth agree thoroughly with those of S. Luke 24. chapter Matthaeus sic refert Dominus autem etc. Matthew reporteth thus When oure lorde had geuen his shrowde vnto the bishopes seruant he went to Iames and appeared vnto him for Iames had made an oth that he would not eate breade from that howre he dranke of the cuppe of our lorde vntill he saw him raysed from the dead It foloweth a litle after Afferte ait dominus mensam panem Statimque addit Tulit panem benedixit ac fregit dedit Iacobo iusto dixit ei frater comede panem tuum quia resurrexit filius hominis à dormientibus Bring the table and set on bread quoth our lorde and by and by it is added he tooke bread and blessed it and brake it and gaue it to Iames the iust and sayde vnto him my brother eate thy breade for the sonne of man is risen agayne from the dead No man can doubte but this was the Sacrament And wine was there none geuen for any thing that may be gathered For it is not likely that S. Iames had
all this so much might easely be sayde as shuld serue to a whole volume But In this treatise seeking to auoide prolixitie hauing purposed to saye somewhat to this number of the other Articles and knowing this matter of the Primacie to be allready largely and learnedly handeled of others will but trippe as it were lightly ouer at this tyme and not sette my fast footing in the deepe debating and treating of it The Popes Primacie not of Man but of gods ordināce The first proufe of the Popes primacie scripture expoūded Matth. 16. First as concerning the right of the Popes primacie by gods lawe by these auncient autorities it hath ben auouched Anacletus that holy bishop and martyr S. Peters scholer and of him cōsecrated priest in his epistle to the bishops of Italie writeth thus In nouo testamento post Christum etc. In the newe testament the order of priestes beganne after our lord Christ of Peter because to him bishoprike was first geuen in the churche of Christ where as our lord saide vnto him Thou art Peter and vpon this rocke I will buylde my church and the gates of hell shall not preuaile against it and vnto thee I will geue the keies of the kingdome of heauen Wherfore this Peter receiued of our lord first of all power to binde and to lowse and first of all he brought people to the faith by vertue of his preaching As for the other Apostles they receiued honour and power in like felowship with him and willed him to be their prince or chiefe gouernour In an other epistle to all bishoppes alleaging the same texte for the Primacie of the See of Rome speaking of the disposition of churches committed to Patriarkes and Primates saith thus most plainely This holy ad Apostolike church of Rome hath obteined the Primacie not of the Apostles but of our lord Sauiour him selfe and hath gotten the preeminence of power ouer all churches and ouer the whole flocke of Christen people euen so as he saide to blessed Peter th'Apostle Thou art Peter and vpon this rocke etc. S. Gregorie writing to Mauritius the Emperoure against Iohn the bishop of Constantinople ambitiously claiming and vsurping the name of an vniuersall bishop proueth the bishop of Rome succeding in Peters chaier to be Primate and to haue charge ouer all the church of Christ by scriptures thus Cunctis euangelium scientibus liquet etc. Epist 32. It is euident to all that knowe the gospell that the cure and charge of the whole church hath ben committed by the worde of our lord to the holy Apostle Peter prince of all the Apostles for to him it is sayde Peter Ioan. 21. Luc. 22. louest thou me feede my sheepe to him it is sayd Beholde Sathan hath desyred to syfte you as it were wheate and I haue prayed for thee Peter that thy faith faile not And thou being once conuerted strengthen thy brethren To him it is saide Thou art Peter Matth. 26 and vpon this rocke I will buylde my church and the gates of hell shall not preuaile against it And vnto the I will geue the keies of the kingdom of heauen And what so euer thou byndest vpon earth shal be bounde also in heauen and what so euer thou lowsest on earth shable lovvsed also in heauen Beholde he receiueth the keies of the heauenly kingdome Cura ei totius Ecclesiae principatus committitur the power of bynding and lowsing is geuen to him the charge of the whole church and principalitie is committed to him Thus farre Gregorie But because our aduersaries though without iuste cause refuse the witnes of the Bishops of Rome in this article as vnlawfull witnesses in their owne cause were thei neuer so holy martyrs or learned confessours they may vnderstand we are able to alleage sundry other authorities to the confirmation hereof that be aboue all exception S. Cyprian declaring the contempte of the high Priest Christes Vicarie in earth to be cause of schismes and heresies writeth thus to Cornelius Pope and Martyr Neque enim aliunde haereses obortae sunt etc. Neither haue heresies or schismes rysen of any other occasiō then of that the Priest of God is not obeied and that one Priest for the tyme in the church and one iudge for the tyme in stede of Christ is not thoughte vpon To whom if the whole brotherhed that is the whole number of Christē people which be brethren together and were so called in the primatiue church would be obedient according to gods teachinges Secūdum magisteria diuina then no man would make adoo against the colledge of priestes no mā woulde make him selfe iudge not of the bishop nowe but of God after gods iudgement after the fauour of the people declared by theire voices at the Election after the consent of his felowbishops no man through breach of vnitie and strife would diuide the church of Christ no man standing in his owne conceite and swelling with pride would sette vp by him selfe abroade without the church a newe heresie Of all other authorities that of Athanasius and of the bishops of Egypte and Libya gathered together in a Synode at Alexandria is to be regarded Who making humble sute to Felix then bishop of Rome for aide and succour against the Arianes through the whole epistle confessing the supreme auctoritie of that Apostolike See vtter these very wordes Vestrae apostolicae sedis imploramus auxilium etc. In primo tomo Cōciliorum We humbly besech you of the helpe of your Apostolike See Because as verely we beleue God hath not despised the praiers of his seruantes offered vp to him with teares but hath constituted and placed you your predecessours who were Apostolike Prelates in the highest tower or supreme state In summitatis arce constituit and commaunded them to haue cure and charge of all churches to th' intent you helpe and succour vs and that defending vs as to whom iudgemēt of bishops is committed you forslowe not through negligence to delyuer vs from our enemies Now if the Apostolike church of Rome hath obteined the Primacie and preeminence of power ouer all churches and ouer the whole flocke of Christen people of our lord Sauiour him selfe as Anacletus saith If it be euident to all that knowe the gospell that the cure and charge of the whole church hath ben committed to the holy Apostle Peter Prince of all the Apostles by the worde of our lord as Gregorie witnesseth If the whole brotherhed that is to say all christen folke ought to obeye the one hygh Priest or bishop of God and the one Iudge that is Christes Vicare or in the steede of Christ for the tyme according to the preceptes and teachinges of God as Cyprian writeth If it be God that hath placed and ordeined the bishop of Rome in the highest state of the church as Athanasius with all the fathers of that Alexandrine councell recordeth If this I say be true then is
comprised within a great volume The recitall of a fewe shall here geue a taste as it were of the whole and so suffise Lib. 3. c. 3. Irenaeus hauing much praised the church of Rome at length vttereth these wordes by which the souerainetie therof is confessed Ad hanc Ecclesiam propter potentiorem principalitatem necesse est omnem conuenire ecclesiam hoc est eos qui vndique sunt fideles To this church of Rome it is necessary all the church that is to say all that be faithfull any where to repaire and come together for the mightier principalitie of the same that is to witte for that it is of greater power and auctoritie then other churches and the principallest of all Androw folowed our Sauiour before that Peter dyd tamen primatum non accepit Andreas sed Petrus and yet Androw receiued not the Primacie but Peter In 2. Corinth 12. sayeth Ambrose In the epistle of Athanasius and the bishops of Egipte to Liberius the Pope in which they sue for helpe against the oppressions of the Arianes we fynde these wordes Huius rei gratia vniuersalis vobis à Christo Iesu commissa est ecclesia etc. Euen for this cause the vniuersall church hath ben committed to you of Christ Iesus that you shuld trauaile for all and not be negligent to helpe euery one Luc. 11. for whyles the stronge man being armed kepeth his house all thinges that he possesseth are in peace Hilarius speaking much to th'extolling of Peter and his successour in that See sayeth De Trinita lib. 6. Supereminentem beatae fidei suae confessione locum promeruit Matt. 16. that for the confession of his blessed faith he deserued a place of preeminence aboue all other S. Ambros confessing him selfe to beleue that the largenesse of the Romaine Empire was by gods prouidence prepared that the gospell might haue his course and be spredde abrode the better sayeth thus of Rome De vocatione gētium li. 2. cap. 6. Quae tamen per Apostolici sacerdotij principatum amplior facta est arce religionis quà m solio potestatis Which for all that hath ben aduaunced more by the chieftie of the Apostolike priesthod in the tower of Religion then in the throne of temporall power Saint Augustine in his 162. epistle sayeth In Ecclesia Romana semper apostolicae cathedrae viguit principatus The primacie or principalitie of the Apostolike chaier Lib. 1. cōtra 2. epistolas Pelagianorum ad Bonifaciū cap. 1. Quamuis ipse in eo preemi◠celsiore fastigio speculae pastoralis Lib. 2. de baptismo cōtrà Donatistas hath euermore ben in force in the Romaine church The same saint Augustine speaking to Bonifacius Bishop of Rome this care sayeth he complaining of the Pelagians is common to vs all that haue the office of a bishop albe it therein thou thy selfe hast the preeminence ouer all being on the toppe of the pastorall watchetower In an other place he hath these wordes Caeterum magis vereri debeo ne in Petrum contumeliosus existam Quis enim nescit illum apostolatus principatum cuilibet episcopatui praeferendum But I ought rather to be afraied least I be reprochefull towarde Peter For who is he that knoweth not that that principalitie of Apostleship is to be preferred before any bishoprike that is An other most euidēt place he hath in his booke De vtilitate credendi Cap. 17. ad Honoratum Cum tantum auxilium Dei etc. Whereas sayeth he we see so great helpe of God so great profite and fruite shall we stande in doubte whether we may hide our selues in the lappe of that church which though heretikes barke at it in vaine rownde about condemned partly by the iudgement of the people them selues Culmen auctoritatis obtinuit Cui primas dare nolle vel summae profecto impietatis est vel praecipitis arrogantiae Cōtrà Luciferianos partly by the sadnes of Councelles and partly by the maiestie of miracles euen to the confession of mankynde from the Apostolike See by successions of bishops hath obteined the toppe or highest degree of auctoritie to which church if we will not geue and graunt the Primacie soothly it is a point either of most high wickednes or of hedlong arrogancie The notable saying of S. Hierome may not be let passe Ecclesiae salus à summi sacerdotis dignitate pendet cui si non exors quaedam ab omnibus eminens detur potestas tot in ecclesiis efficientur schismata quot sacerdotes The saftie of the church hangeth of the worship of the high Priest he meaneth the Pope Peters successour to whom if there be not geuen a power peerelesse and surmonting all others in the churches we shall haue so many schismes as there be priestes There is an epistle of Theodoritus bishop of Cyrus extāt in greke written to Leo bishop of Rome Wherein we finde a worthy witnes of the Primacie of the See Apostolike His wordes may thus be englished If Paul sayeth he the preacher of truth and trumpet of the holy ghoste ranne to Peter to bring from him a determination and declaration for them who at Antioche were in argument and contention concerning lyuing after Moyses lawe much more wee who are but small and vile shall runne vnto your throne Apostolike that of you we may haue salue for the sores of the churches there folowe these wordes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 id est per omnia enim vobis conuenit primas tenere that is to saye 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The 5 proufe Reason For in all thinges perteining to faith or religion so he meaneth it is meete that you haue the chiefe dooinges or that you haue the Primacie For your high seate or throne is endewed with many prerogatiues and priuileges Now let vs see whether this chiefe auctoritie may be fownde necessary by reason That a multitude which is in it selfe one can not continewe one onlesse it be conteined and holden in by one bothe learned philosophers haue declared and the common nature of thinges teacheth For euery multitude of their owne nature goeth a sunder in to many and from an other it cometh that it is one and that it contineweth one And that whereof it is one and is kepte in vnion or onenesse it is necessary that it be one elles that selfe also shall nede the helpe of an other that it bee one For which cause that saying of Homere was alleaged by Aristotle as most notable It is not good to haue many rulers 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 let one be ruler Whereby is meant that pluralitie of soueraine rulers is not fitte to conteine and kepe vnitie of a multitude of subiectes Therefore sith that the churche of Christ is one for as there is one faith one baptisme one calling so there is one churche yea all we are one body and membres one of an other as S. Paul sayeth and in our Crede we all professe to
the begynning vntill the fourth daye was not in any subiecte but susteined by the power of God as him lyked For that first light and the sunne were as whitenesse and a body withed sayeth S. Basile Neither then was Wiclef yet borne who might teache them that the power of God can not put an accidēt without a subiect Lib. 2. histor hussitarum For so he sayeth in his booke de apostasia cap. 5. as Cochlaeus reporteth Hereof it appeareth out of what roote the Gospellers of our countrie spring Who smatching of the sape of that wicked tree and hereby shewing theire kinde appoint bowndes and borders to the power of God that is infinite and incomprehēsible And thus by those fathers we maye conclude that if God can susteine and kepe accidentes with substance he can so doo without substance Or that the priest then diuided the Sacrament in three partes and afterward receiued him selfe all alone Iuell Of diuiding the Sacrament in three partes ARTICLE XI OF the priestes receiuing the Sacrament him selfe alone ynough hath ben sayde before This terme All here smatcheth of spite For if any deuout person require to be partetaker with the priest being worthely disposed and examined he is not tourned of but with all gentlenes admitted And in this case the priest is not to be charged with receiuing all alone Albeit respecte had to the thing receiued how many so euer receiue it is all of all and all of euery one receiued Concerning the breaking of the Sacrament and the diuiding of it in three partes first it is broken by the priest that we may knowe our lord in fractione panis in the breaking of the breade as the two disciples acknowleged him to whom Iesus appeared in the daye of his Resurrection Luc. 24. as they were going to Emaus And also that thereby the passion of Christ may be represented to our remembraunce at which his pretiouse body was for our synnes broken rent and torne on the crosse And this maner was vsed at the Sacrifice in the Apostles tyme as it is witnessed by Dionysius S. Paules scoler Ecclesias hierarch cap. 3. Opertum panem Pontifex aperit in frusta concidens etc. The bishop sayeth he openeth the couered breade diuiding it in pieces etc. Now touching the diuiding of the Sacramēt in three partes The diuiding of the Sac. in three partes a tradition of the Apostles it may appeare to be a Tradition of the Apostles or otherwise a custome very auncient for as much as Sergius the bishop of Rome who lyued within lxxx yeres of the syx hundred yeres after Christ that M. Iuell referreth vs vnto wrote of the mysterie of that breaking or diuiding the outward forme of bread and declared the signification of the same It is no small argument of the antiquitie of this obseruation that S. Basile as Amphilochius writeth of him diuided the Sacramēt in three partes at his Masse as is aboue rehearsed De consecrat dist 2 can Triforme And where as Sergius sayeth that the portion of the hoste which is put in to the chalice betokeneth the body of Christ that is now risen againe and the portion which is receiued and eaten sheweth his body yet walking on the earth and that other portion remayning on the aulter signifieth his body in the sepulchre what I praye you is there herein that any man shuld be offended with all I acknowledge that the mysterie hereof is otherwise of some declared and of all to this ende to put vs in mynde of the benefites purchaced to vs by Christ in his bodye Now that this custom or mysticall ceremonie was not first ordeined by Sergius for ought that can be gathered but of him expounded onely touching the mysterie of it as vsed before his tyme from the beginning of the churche no one auncient councell or authour fownde vppon whom it may be fathered of good reason sith it hath generally ben obserued we may referre the first institution of it to the Apostles and that according to the mynde of S. Augustine whose notable saying for that behalfe is this Quod vniuersa tenet Ecclesia nec in concilijs constitutum sed semper retentum est non nisi auctoritate Apostolica traditū rectissimè creditur What sayeth he the vniuersall churche kepeth neither hath ben ordeined in councelles but hath alwaies ben obserued of good right we beleeue it hath ben delyuered to the church as a Tradition by the auctoritie of the Apostles To conclude if any sparke of godlynes remaine in our deceiued countrie men and brethren they will not scorne and dispyse this auncient ceremonie of diuiding the Sacrament in three partes at the blessed Sacrifice of the Masse whereof any occasion of euill is not onely not ministred but rather contrarywise whereby we are admonished and stirred to tender our owne soule helth and to rendre thākes to God for the great benefite of our redemption Or that who so euer had sayed the Sacrament is a figure Iuell a pledge a token or a remembraunce of Christes bodye had therefor ben iudged for an heretike Of the termes figure figne token etc. by the fathers applyed to the Sacrament ARTICLE XII IN this article we doo agree with M. Iuell in some respecte For we confesse it can not be auouched by scripture auncient councell doctour or example of the primitiue church that who so euer had sayde the Sacrament is a figure a pledge a token or a remēbraunce of Christes body had therefore ben iudged for an heretike No man of any learning euer wrote so vnlearnedly Much lesse to impute heresie to any man for saying thus hath ben any of the highest mysteries or greatest keyes of our Religion with which vntruth M. Iuell goeth abowt to deface the truth Wherefore this article semeth to haue ben put in either of malice toward the church or of ignorance or onely to fill vp the heape for lacke of better stuffe Perusing the workes of the auncient and learned fathers we fynde that oftentymes they call the Sacrament a figure a signe a token a mysterie a sampler The wordes of them vsed to this purpose in their learned tonges are these Figura Signum Symbolum Mysteriū Exemplar 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Imago etc. By which they meane not to diminish the truth of Cristes body in the Sacrament but to signifie the secrete maner of his being in the same For the better vnderstāding of such places where these termes are vsed in the matter of the Sacramēt the doctrine of S. Augustine in sententijs Prosperi may serue very well De consecrat dist 2 can hoc est quod dicimus Which is thus Hoc est quod dicimus quod omnibus modis approbare contendimus sacrificium Ecclesiae duobus confici duobus constare visibili elementorum specie inuisibili Domini nostri Iesu Christi carne sangnine Sacramento id est externo sacro signo et re sacramenti id
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by Gods prouidence were fownde grauen in stones representing the figure of the crosse the signification whereof after their interpretation was life to come Which thing espyed by the christians and by the painimes present at the spoile serued maruelously to furtheraunce of the christen faith no lesse then the inscription of the aulter at Athens Ignoto Deo Actor 17. vnto the vnknowen God serued to the same purpose through S. Paules preaching Which all together was before wrought by Gods holy prouidence as Socrates one of the writers of the ecclesiasticall stories reporteth Thus it appeareth plainely how Gods prouideÌ„ce hath commended vnto true beleuers the signe of the crosse For which cause and for remembraunce of our RedemptioÌ„ it hath ben in olde tyme and allwayes sithens much frequented and honoured For besyde that we reade hereof in Tertullian who was neare the Apostles tyme in Apologeâ—ico Cap. 16. we finde in the writers of the ecclesiasticall stories that the Christen people of Alexandria Eccl. hist lib. 11. ca. 29. autore Rufino after they had pulled downe and taken awaye the armes and monuments of Serapis the Idoll euery man caused the signe of our lordes crosse in place of them to be paineted and set vp in their postes entreis windowes walles and pillours that where so euer the eye was tourned it shuld light on the holy signe of the crosse Constantine the Emperour loued and honoured this signe so much Histo tripart li. 1. Cap. 9. that he caused the same to be paineted in all his flagges and banners of warre to be stroken in his coines and monneys to be purtraited in his armes stutchins and targets Of this Aurelius Prudentius maketh mention Lib. 1. coÌ„trà Symmachum Christus purpureum gemmanti textus in auro Signabat labarum clypeorum insignia Christus Scripserat ardebat summis crux addita cristis The sense whereof is this much in English The chiefe baÌ„ner which was of purple had the image of Christ in it wrought in golde and stones The targets were paineted all ouer with Christ The Crosse shyned fyerbright in the crestes of theire helmettes That the banner coÌ„monly borne before the Emperour in warre in Latine called Labarum was of this sorte it appeareth by an epistle that S. Ambrose wrote to Theodosius the Emperour Lib. 5. epistol 29. Neither was the figure of the crosse then onely in flagges and banners paineted wouen embrodered or otherwise wrought in golde or pretiouse stones but also made in whole golde and set vpon a long staffe or pole and borne before men as the maner is now in processions as it semeth plainely by these verses of Prudentius Agnoscas Regina lubens mea signa necesse est In quibus effigies crucis aut gemmata refulget Aut longis solido ex auro praefertur in hastis It houeth you Madame that gladly you acknowledge myne enseignes in which the figure of the Crosse is either glittering in stones or of whole golde is borne on long staues before vs. This much haue I gathered out of the auncient fathers writinges concerning the signe of our lordes crosse the fight whereof the professours of this newe gospell can not abyde to the entent the diuersitie of our tyme and of olde tyme maye appeare to the maners of which fos a perfite reformatioÌ„ these preachers would seme to bring the world againe Images from the Apostles tyme. CoÌ„cerning the images of Christ and of his sainctes that they haue ben greatly estemed and vsed in houses churches and places of prayer from the Apostles tyme foreward it is so euident that it can not be denyed Athanasius writeth that Nicodeme who came to Iesus by night made an image of Christ with his owne handes and that when he laye in his death bedde he delyuered it to Gamaliel who was S. Paules scoolemaister Gamaliel when he sawe he shuld dye lefte it to Iames Iames lefte it to Simon and Zachaeus This image came from hand to hand by succession and continewed a long tyme in Hierusalem From Hierusalem it was caried into Syria and at length it was brought to the citie Berytus not farre from Tyre and Sydon Where how despitefully it was vsed of the Iewes and what woÌ„ders ensued thereupoÌ„ who list to knowe may he reade it largely declared in a litle booke written by Athanasius of that matter Eusebius Caesariensis in the seuenth booke of his ecclesiasticall storie Cap. 14. writeth of the auncient image of Christ made in brasse and of the woman that was healed by our Sauiour of her bloudy flixe in the citie of Phoenicia called Caesarea Philippi whereof that woman was a citizen Which image he sayeth he sawe as likewise the images of Peter and Paul kepte by some of olde tyme. And there he coÌ„fesseth that the images of Peter and Paul and of our Sauiour were in his tyme made and painted in tables and set forth After Eusebius death Iulian the renegate tooke downe this image of Christ Lib. 6. tripart cap. 41. and set vp his owne in the same place Which with violent fyer that fell from heaueÌ„ was clefte asunder in the brest the hedde broken of with a peece of the necke and stickt in the grownde The rest of it so remayned long after as a token of lightning and gods displeasur might be reserued That image of Christ after that the painimes had haled pulled broken and mangled it villainously by the christiaÌ„s was taken vp set together and placed in the church where it is yet reserued sayeth Socrates of his tyme. Of the miraculouse herbe that grewe at the foote of this image which after that id had growen so high as it touched the images skirtes takeÌ„ and ministred was a medecine and present remedie for all diseases as Eusebius writeth because it perteineth not specially to the matter of images I rehearse nothing It is euident by Chrysostomes Masse that there was some vse of images in the church of Constantinople in his tyme for he speaketh of the image of the crucifixe Who so euer is desyrous to see testimonies of the fathers for prouf of images let him read the seuenth generall councell holden in Nicea the citie of Bithynia against Imagebreakers and there he shall fynde no small number I will not let here to recite some which so farre as I remember be not fownde there euery one one onely excepted which is of S. Basile of right good and auncient auctoritie Simeon Metaphrastes a greke writer describing rhe lyfe of S. Luke th'euangelist sayeth that he made the images of Christ and of his mother Mary Sainct Ambrose witnesseth that in his tyme the Images of the Apostles were vsed in pictures for where he declareth the maruelous appearing of the holy martyrs Geruasius and Protasius vnto him in a vision In vita Geruasij et Protasij he sayeth that a third person appeared with them that tolde him where their bodyes laye which semed like
To conclude the being of Christes body in the Sacrament is to vs certaine the maner of his being there to vs vncertaine and to God onely certaine Iuell Or that Ignoraunce is the mother and cause of true deuotion and obedience MAister Iuell had great nede of Articles for some shewe to be made against the catholike churche when he aduised him selfe to put this in for an Article Verely this is none of the highest mysteries nor none of the greatest keyes of our Religion as he sayeth it is but vntruly and knoweth that for an vntruth For him selfe imputeth it to D. Cole Fol. 77. in his replyes to him as a straunge saying by him vttered in the disputation at Westminster to the wondering of the most parte of the honorable and worshipfull of this realme If it were one of the highest mysteries and greatest keyes of the catholike religion I trust the most parte of the honorable and worshipfull of the realme would not wonder at it Concerning the matter it selfe I leaue it to D. Cole He is of age to answere for him selfe Whether he sayde it or no I knowe not As he is learned wise and godly so I doubte not but if he sayde it therein he had a good meaning and can shewe good reason for the same if he may be admitted to declare his saying as wise men would the lawes to be declared 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so as the mynde be taken and the word spoken not alwayes rigorously exacted August de Trinit lib. 1. cap. 4. Haec mea fides est quoniam haec est catholica fides This is my faith for as much as this is the catholike faith THE CONCLVSION EXHORting M. Iuell to stande to his promise THus your Chalenge M. Iuell is answered Thus your negatiues be auouched Thus the pointes you went about to improue by good auctoritie be proued and many others by you ouer rashely affirmed clearly improued Thus the catholike Religion with all your forces layd at and impugned is sufficiently defended The places of prouses which we haue here vsed are such as your selfe allowe for good and lawfull The scriptures examples of the Primitiue church aunciēt Councelles and the fathers of syx hundred yeres after Christ You might and ought likewise to haue allowed Reason Traditiō Custome and auctoritie of the Church without limitation of tyme. The maner of this dealing with you is gentle sober and charitable Put awaye all mystes of blynde selfe loue you shall perceiue the same to be so The purpose and intent towardes you right good and louing in regard of the truth no lesse then due for behoofe of Christen people no lesse then necessary That you hereby might be enduced to bethinke your selfe of that wherein you haue done vnaduisedly and stayde from hasty running forth prickte with vaine fauour and praise of the world to euerlasting damnation appointed to be the reward at the ende of your game that truth might thus be tryed set forth and defended and that our brethren be leadde as it were by the hāde from perilous erroures and dāger of their soules to a right sense and to suertie Now it remaineth that you performe your promise Which is that if any one cleare sentēce or clause be brought for proufe of any one of all your negatiue Articles you would yelde and subscribe What hath ben brought euery one that wilfully will not blindefold him selfe may plainely see If some happely who will seme to haue both eyes and eares and to be right learned will saye hereof they seene heare nothing no marueill The fauour of the parte whereto they cleaue hauing cutte of them selues from the body the dispite of the catholike religion and hatred of the church hath so blinded their hartes as places alleaged to the disproufe of their false doctrine being neuer so euident they see not ne heare not or rather they seing see not Matt. 13. ne hearing heare not Verely you must either refuse the balance which your selfe haue offred and required for triall of these Articles which be the scriptures examples councelles and doctours of antiquitie or the better weight of auctoritie sweaing to our syde that is the truth founde in the auncient doctrine of the catholike church and not in the mangled dissensions of the Gospellers aduisedly retourne frō whence vnaduisedly you haue departed humbly yelde to that you haue stubbernly kickte against and imbrace holesomly that which you haue hated damnably Touching the daily Sacrifice of the Church commaunded by Christ to be done in remembrance of his death that it hath ben and may be well and godly celebrated without a number of communicantes with the priest together in one place which you call priuate Masse within the compasse of your syx hundred yeres after Christ That the communion was then sometymes as now also it is and may be ministred vnder one kynde Of the publike Seruice of the church or commō prayers in a tonge not knowen to all the people That the Bishop of Rome was sometyme called vniuersall bishop and both called and holden for head of the vniuersall church That by auncient doctoures it hath ben taught Christes body to be really substantially corporally carnally or naturally in the blessed Sacramēt of the aulter Of the wonderous but true being of Christes body in mo places at one tyme and of the Adoration of the Sacrament or rather of the body of Christ in the Sacrament we haue brought good and sufficient proufes alleaging for the more parte of these Articles the scriptures and for all right good euidence out of auncient examples councelles or fathers Concerning Eleuation Reseruatiō Remayning of the Accidentes without substance Diuiding the hoste in three partes the termes of figure signe token etc. applyed to the Sacrament many Masses in one church in one daye the reuerent vse of Images the scriptures to be had in vulgar tonges for the common people to reade which are matters not specially treated of in the scriptures by expresse termes all these haue ben sufficiently auouched and proued either by proufes by your selfe allowed or by the doctrine and common sense of the churche As for your twelue last Articles which you put in by addition to the former for shewe of your courage and confidence of the cause and to seme to the ignorāt to haue much matter to charge vs withall as it appeareth they reporte matter certaine excepted of lesse importance Some of them conteine doctrine true I graunt but ouer curiouse and not most necessary for the simple people Some others be through the maner of your vtterance peruerted and in termes drawen from the sense they haue ben vttered in by the church Which by you being denyed might of vs also be denyed in regard of the termes they be expressed in were not a sleight of falsehed which might redounde to the preiudice of the truth therein worthely suspected Verely to them all we haue sayde so much as to sober quiet and godly