body and he alone performeth the dutie of an head vnto it by giuing it power of life of feeling of mouing and him hath God appointed to be the head to the Church and by him all the body furnished and knit togither by iointes and bandes encreaseth with the encreasing of God Hart. We graunt that Christ is properly the head of the church the principall and quickning head But this head is imperiall so to terme him and inuisible The Pope is a visible and ministeriall head yet in truth a head also For of the head there are two dueties the one to bee the fountaine out of the which there floweth life into the rest of the body the other to direct by his rule and power the outward functions of the body The former duety doth agree to God alone and Christ. The later to the seruice and ministery of men too Rainoldes This your answere of two heades doth stand with more reason then his who said that Christ and Christes vicar Peter and Peters successor the Pope are all but one head of the church Howbeit so to make a twofold head as you do by the variety of two dueties it is not to diuide but to rent a sunder the dueties of the head and to make the Pope a head imperiall rather then a ministeriall For by rule and power to direct either the inward or outward functions of the bodie is the chiefe and proper function of the head agréeing to that head alone that giueth power of life and féeling and mouing to the body Wherefore sith Christ hauing bound him selfe by his promise to be with vs vntill the end of the world doth giue this power vnto his church by the effectuall working of his holy spirite which doth quicken both the whole and euery member of his body they who do diuide the preeminence of this duety betwéene him and the Pope allotting to him the inward to the Pope the outward functions to be directed deserue to be attainted of treason against the Lord. For séeing that to exercise this rule and dominion is a prerogatiue royall and proper to the king of kings to giue it either in whole or in part to any subiect can not be a lesser offence then hie treason Hart. If you account this to be treason against the Lord and do attaint vs of it You must attaint him selfe of it who by his word hath brought vs to it For S. Paule comparing the church vnto a body to shew the sundry giftes of Christians and in their sundry giftes their seuerall dueties by the similitude of members doth mention a head amongst them The eâ—e cannot say vnto the hand I haue no neede of thee nor the head to the feete I haue no neede of you Here the name of head must by al likelyhood bee meant of the Pastor in respect of the flock But it cannot be meant of Christ. For he may say to vs I haue no neede of you and so he willeth vs also when we shal haue done all things that are coÌ„manded vs to say we are vnprofitable seruants It must be meant therefore of Peter in respect of the rest of the Apostles and by consequent of the Pope in respect of all Bishops Rainoldes If Paule had so meant it either of Peter or of the Pope he had a tongue of the learned he could easily haue so expounded it But in the applying of his similitude to his purpose he sheweth that he meant by the name of head them who had the greatest graces of Gods spirite by feete hands and eies them who not so great though greater some then other Hart. Them who had the greatest Nay the name of head doth shew it must be one and that one visible head which wée call a ministeriall head vnder Christ proportionable to the body of Christ I meane the Church Of the which visible and ministeriall head those wordes of S. Paule may bee truely verified The head cannot say to the feete I haue no neede of you Rainoldes Indeede if the Pope be signified by the head those words will fitte him well For Cardinall Poole discoursing on the same reason of the Popes supremacie doth make as him the head so kings to be the féete And it is true the Pope can not say to kings I haue no neede of you It would bée hard going for him if they were not But if because Saint Paule doth in that similitude mention a head therefore there must be one visible head proportionable to the body of Christ that is the Church then because S. Paule doth mention the féete there must bee néedes also two visible féete by the like proportion Now I would gladly know of you Maister Hart which you will make the two féete of your church The Emperour I trow must be the right foote The left who The king of Spaine What shall the French king do then It is well that the king of Scots is no member of it nor the king of Denmarke Marry we had newes of the king of Swethland that Iesuits had conuerted him Shal he be the left foote Or shall the king of Poleland set in a foote for it Or is the king of Boheme nearer it There is a king of Bungo too who is reported to protect your religion in his countries and likewise the Great Turke other princes of Mahomets sect they may be féete in time also But how many féete may this body haue May it haue sixe seauen eight may it haue twentie visible féete and may it not haue ten not foure not two may it haue but one visible head Hart. Cardinall Pole compareth kinges vnto féete not as though they were the lowest partes of the church for hée counteth them as speciall members though not heads but because the church in the course of her growth was last of all increased with them as with féete and so did make an end of growing Rainoldes Then in Saint Paules time the church had no féete but a head without them And what doth he meane to saye that the head could not speake to the feete when it had no féete to speake too Hart. Yes it had féete then but of an other sort For they who were of lower degrees and meaner giftes in the church of Christ are resembled to féete in comparison of others who were in those respects as hands and eies aboue them Rainoldes And do you thinke the church had but two such féete Or had it many hundreds For christians were growne long before to thousands and it is not likely the most of them were eyes and hands Hart. It had no doubt many But you must not racke the members of similitudes beyond the principall pointes whereto they are applied and meant For els you might infer too that the church must haue but two eies and two hands because a mans body to which S. Paule resembleth the church hath no more Rainoldes As you say Yet
this is the mould of your owne reason wherein you cast the church to haue one visible head proportionable to the body A fansy more proportionable to the limmes of Popery then to Saint Paules doctrine touching the body of Christ. For his drift and purpose therein is to shew that as a mans body is made of sundry members which are not all as excellent one as an other the hand as the head the foote as the hand yet they are ioined togither to care one for an other all to maintaine the bodie so the bodie of Christ that is to say the church consisteth of sundry Christians as members some of greater gifts and callings then some the Apostles then that teachers the teachers then the helpers yet al ioyned together to loue and serue one an other and kéepe the church in vnitie wherby it is manifest first that in naming the head he considereth it not as a head properly but onely as a principall member For so he applieth it naming all Christians members and calling them the bodie of Christ he putteth Christ to be the head Next that by the name of head so considered hée meaneth no one man but all the Apostles as them who were indued with the chéefest gifts and placed in the highest function UUherefore if that word be strained to the vttermost as far as by the text it may the proofe that it yeldeth will argue a preeminence of the Apostles in generall ouer the inferiour members of the church but no power of Peter ouer the rest of the Apostles much lesse of the Pope ouer his fellow-bishops Hart. Yet this it doth proue that the name of head is not so giuen vnto Christ but that it may be giuen vnto a mortall man also Not as a head properly you say but as a principall member And what said I els For I graunted that Christ is properly the head of the church the Pope improperly Yet you reproued me for it Rainoldes I reproued you not because you gaue the title of head vnto the Pope for hee should be a pastour of the church of Rome and pastours for their giftes aboue the members of their churches ought to be like heads though many of them be tailes as the prophet calleth them but because you named him head of the whole church and that in such sort as it is due to none but Christ. For though you graunted Christ to be the quickening head that is to say the fountaine whence there floweth life into the rest of the bodie yet you gaue the Pope this soueraintie of headship that he should direct by his rule and power the outward functions of the bodie Wherein as of the one side you debase the worthinesse of his gifts who giueth vs Pastors and Teachers in that you doe appoint them to guide onely the outward functions of his bodie whereas he hath giuen them to the ful perfiting of his Saintes so of the other side you detract somewhat from the soueraintie of Christ when you giue his seruants dominion to guide his church by rule and power whereas they are ordeined to the worke of the ministery Wherfore howsoeuer you alay the title which you giue the Pope and say you call him head not properly but improperly a ministeriall head yet you doe imply that in this improperly which can agrée to none but him that properly is a head a head that doeth quicken guide and moue the bodie Euen as in your Canon lawe it is said of Peter The Lord did commit the charge of preaching the truth vnto him principally to the intent that from him as it were from a certaine head he might powre abroad his gifts as it were into all the bodie Hart. These wordes that you reproue in the Canon lawe are the wordes of a man of singular wit and iudgement famous both for holinesse and learning Saint Leo an auncient father who did flourish aboue a thousand yeares ago Rainoldes They aâ—e the wordes I grant of an auncient a wittie a learned holie man but a man and that is more a Bishop of Rome Now men euen the holiest while they liue in the flesh haue some contagion of the flesh and learning may puffe vp as it did the Corinthians and the best wittes are soonest tainted with ambition yea Iames and Iohn the sonnes of thunder desired superioritie and Rome a great Citie did nourish great statelinesse and that euen in the Bishops of that Citie before Leo. So they louing preeminence as Diotrephes did tooke all occasions to get it and sought some colours to mainteine it Wherefore as one in Tully said to Hortensius when he immoderately praysed eloquence that hee would haue lift her vp into heauen that himselfe might haue gone vp with her as hauing greatest right vnto her so many Bishops of Rome and Leo not the least of them did lift vp Saint Peter with prayses to the skye that themselues might rise vp with him as being forsooth his heires The Epistles and Sermons of Leo haue manifest markes of this affection as to giue a taste of them The Lord did take Peter into the feloship of the indiuisible vnitie and Wee acknowledge the most singular care of the most blessed Peter for vs all in this that God hath loosed the deceites of all slaunderers and My writings be strengthened by the merite and authoritie of my Lorde most blessed Peter the Apostle and Peter hauing confirmed the iudgement of his See in decision of faith hath not suffered any thing amisse to be seene about any of your persons who haue labored with vs for the Catholike faith and We beseech you and aduise you to keepe the thinges decreed of vs through the inspiration of God the Apostle most blessed Peter If any thing be well done or decreed of vs if any thing bee obtained of Gods mercy by daily praiers it is to be ascribed to S. Peters workes and merites whose power doth liue and authoritie excell in his owne See and He was so plentifully watred of the fountaine of all graces that whereas he receiued many things alone yet nothing passeth ouer to any man but by him To be short Leo by his exaÌ„ple his successors after him are so full of such spéeches that in the common phrase of themselues and their Secretaries all thinges pertaining to the Popes were growne to be S. Peters their prerogatiue S. Peters right their dignitie Saint Peters honour their statelinesse S. Peters reuerence subiection to them subiection to S. Peter A message from them an embassage from S. Peter Things done in their presence done in S. Peters presence Landes and possessions giuen them giuen to S. Peter And when they would haue kingdomes Princes must get them for S. Peter Their territories and Lordships S.
is called into question euery knée must bow in heauen in earth and vnder the earth and yéeld it vnto him whom God hath set at his right hand aboue all powers and principalities Wherefore I say not if a maÌ„ if Leo whom hope of profit might blind taking himselfe for Peters heire but if an Angell from heauen do giue it vnto Peter shall I say with the Apostle Let him be accursed I will not take on me that sentence but this I will say the sinne is verie heinous How much more heinous that it is pretended in shew vnto Peter in déede by Peters name conueied to the Pope For as boldly as Leo applieth it to Peter so boldly doth a Cardinall apply it to the Pope And a Bishop venturing further then the Cardinall not content to vouch that the Pope is Melchisedec excelling the rest incoÌ„parably in priesthood affirmeth farther of him that he is head of all Bishops from whom they do grow as members grow from the head and of whose fulnesse they do all receiue Of Christ it is written that of his fulnesse we do all receiue that he is a Priest for euer after the order of Melchisedec that he is the head of whom al the bodie being coupled and knit togither by euerie ioint giuen to furnish it through the effectuall power in the measure of euerie part receiueth encrease of the bodie But to giue these priuiledges vnto the Pope that he is Melchisedec the head of al Bishops and of his fulnesse they doe all receiue O Lord in how miserable state was the Church when this did go for catholike doctrine Was not the prophecie then fulfilled of the man who should sit in the Temple of God as God Hart. I maruell what you meane to take vs vp so sharply as for a heinous matter that we call the Pope head of the church whereas you giue that title your selues to the Quéene whom it may lesse agrée to So one that preached to vs hâ—re not long agoe in the Tower-chappell did make a long talke to proue that Christ onely is head of the church and charged vs with blasphemy for saying that the Pope is head yet him selfe praying for the Quéenes maiesty did name her supreme head of the church of England wherin we smiled at his folly For if it be no blasphemy to call the Quéene head why should it bée blasphemy to call the Pope head Rainoldes We giue vnto her Highnes the title not of head but of Supreme gouernour and that vpon how iust grounde of Gods word and high commission from the highest it shall in due place be shewed if you will As for the Preacher whom you mention I had rather you would deale with me by publike monuments and writings of our church as I doe with you then by reports of priuate spéeches for perhaps you fansied more then he said perhaps he said so much that you were glad to smile it out with that fansie But if your report of his Sermon be true it is likely that he gaue the name of head to the Quéene in the same meaning that we doe the title of supreme gouernour which I will proue to be godly and he denied the Pope to be head in an other meaning in which that name belongeth vnto Christ alone condemning them of blasphemy who giue it him so And they who did smile hereat as at folly because they were Papists might if they were Painims smile at the scriptures too which doe giue the title of Gods vnto gouernors and yet condemne them who haue other Gods beside the Lord. For if it be no blasphemy to call the Magistrates Gods why should it bée blasphemy to call Mercurius and Iupiter Gods Is not this your reason But our doctrine as it is holy and true so it is plaine if men will rather learne it humbly as Christians then laugh at it as Lucians or as Iulians reuolt from it For wée teach that Christ is the head of the church as hee doth quicken it with his spirite as he is the light the health the life of it and is present alwayes to fill it with his blessinges and with his grace to gouerne it In the which respects because the Scripture giueth the name of head to Christ alone by an excellency thereof we so conclude that he is the onely head of the church For otherwise we know that in an other kinde and degrée of resemblance they may be called heads who haue any preeminence of place or gouernment ouer others As in the Hebrue text we reade the heads of the Leuites for the chéefe of them and the priest the head that is to say the chiefe Priest After the which sort I will not contend if you entitle Bishops heads of the churches as Athanasius doth and Gregorie when he had named our Sauiour Christ the head of the vniuersall church hée calleth Christes ministers as it were heads Paul Andrew Iohn heads of particular flocks yet members of the church all vnder one head Hart. You graunt in effect as much as I require For if either Bishoppe or Cardinall haue giuen that vnto the Pope which is due to Christ as he is head properlie wée maintaine them not UUe say that as pastors all who haue the charge to gouerne the church are heads after a sort that is improperly as I termed it so the Pope who is the chiefest of them all is the supreme head And in this sense you must take vs when we do entitle the Bishop of Rome the supreme head of the church Rainoldes I will take you so Howbeit for as much as the name of head hath sundrie significations in this kind of spéeches as the scripture sheweth God is the head of Christ Christ is the head of man man is the head of the woman the head of Syria Damascus the head of Damascus Retzin the king the head of the tribes of Israel and the heads of housholdes the eldest and the head of the people the formost and the head of the mountaines the highest and the head of the spices the chiefest in offenders the heads the principall and amongst Dauids captaines the heads the most excellent some of the which import a preeminence of other things not of power and they that do of power some import a greater power some a lesser I would vnderstand particularlie what power you giue vnto the Pope by calling him supreme head least afterward we vary about the meaning of it Hart. The power which we meane to him by this title is that the gouernement of the whole church of Christ throughout the world doth depend of him in him doth lye the power of iudging and determining all causes of faith of ruling councels as President and ratifying their decrées of ordering and confirming Bishops and pastors of deciding causes brought him by appeales from
as it appeareth by S. Hilarie Who giuing him the title of the foundatiō of the church expoundeth it some times of his faith in Christ some times of Christ himselfe in whom he beléeued But admitte that Christ had meant Peters person when he promised him that he would build his church vpon him What conclude you of it Hart. This I do conclude that séeing the church was built vpon Peter and the Apostles themselues were part of the Church therefore the Apostles were built vpon him and so was he their foundation By consequent whereof séeing the foundation is the same to a house which a head is to a bodie I do conclude againe that Peter was the head of all the Apostles And so my purpose is proued Rainoldes This conclusion hath neither foundation nor head For by as good reason you may conclude also that séeing the Church was built vpon Peter and Peter him selfe is a part of the church therefore was Peter built vpon him selfe and so was he his own foundatiō And because a foundation is the same to a house which a head is to a bodie therefore S. Peter was S. Peters head Or if you sée not either the necessitie or folly of this consequence as it is made of Peter you may frame the lyke of any other of the Apostles and you will espy it For the church of Christ is the great Citie that holie Ierusalem whereof the wall had twelue foundations and in them the names of the Lambs twelue Apostles Then séeing that the church was built vpon euerie one of those twelue as vpon Iames by name and Peter was a part of the church it foloweth that Peter was built vpon Iames and so was Iames his foundation And séeing a foundation is the same to a house which a head is to a bodie it followeth againe that Iames was Peters head which if your self denie you must denie that wherof it doth folow by force of like reason And so your purpose is not proued Hart. But we do imagine that in this building of the church and laying the foundations of it Christ did laie Peter next vpon himselfe as the foundation of the rest and other Apostles vpon him Rainoldes Indéede you doo imagin it And you consider not that your imagination is crossed by it selfe not onelye by the truth For if the twelue Apostles of the Lambe on whom hee built his church were laid as twelue foundations one vpon an other Peter lowest of them then as Peter was foundation of eleuen so the next to him must be of ten the next to him of nine and likewise ech of the next vntill the last of none A thing flatte repugnant to your imagination wherein you make Peter onely head of the rest the rest of them equall all amongst themselues Neither doth it stand with that proportion of the building which the scripture maketh reseruing the prerogatiue of the onely singular foundation to Christ and ioyning the Apostles all in equall honour of the twelue foundations as I haue shewed For Christ in this house is as it were a rocke a rockie sure and firme ground on which both the Apostles and all his church is built as the citie of Dauid was on the mount Sion The Apostles are as stones as twelue most pretious stones which being laid ioyntlie one by an other all on Christ are as twelue foundations and walles of chosen stones are raysed vp on them vntill the whole number of the elect be laid on and the building finished One of these foundations might excell an other in pretiousnes of graces For the first foundation saith Iohn was a Iasper the second a Sapphire the third a Chalcedonie the fourth an Emeraude and so forth the rest Or because I know not the vertues of these stones the stones which the Disciples of Christ did meruaile at in the temple of Ierusalem for the fairenes and greatnes of them were as Iosephus writeth fiue and twentie cubites long eight cubites hie and twelue cubites broad Now as among such stones one might be fairer or better wrought then other so might one Apostle of Christ excell his felowes in zeale or other giftes as namelie S. Peter Unlesse perhaps S. Paul whom Christ did adde to the twelue excelled both him and them which I do thinke rather for he labored more then they all and by your owne confession conuerted more vnto the faith But neither Paule nor Peter were foundations of the rest they were altogither ioint-foundations of the church laid on Christ the onely and singular foundation to speake of a foundation properly UUherefore though our Sauiour in saying to Peter Thou art stone and vpon this stone will I build my church had meant that he would build it vpon Peters person which serueth best your fansy yet doth not that saying inferre a supreme-headship But doubtles if your fansy can yéeld vnto the truth he meant not Peters person but his faith and function in preaching of the faith For the onely person that the church is built on as on a foundation by the strength and vertue whereof it is vpholden is the sonne of God our Sauiour Iesus Christ beside whom no other foundation may be laid in whom all the building being coupled togither groweth vnto an holy temple in the Lord. Now because that faith in the sonne of God doth make the liuing stones whereof the building is compact and knitte vp on Christ a stone of which sort Peter had shewed himselfe to be by beleeuing and professing that faith Christ told him that he was according to his name stone a stone indeede and hauing chosen him to preach the same faith whereby there shoulde be laide more stones on that building hee saide vpon this stone will I build my church UUherin as he shewed that whosoeuer should be members of his church must be members of it by felowship with Peters faith so he shewed withall that hee would impart that faith to his church by the ministerie of Peter As appeareth farther by that which he added To thee will I giue the keyes of the kingdome of heauen Hart. Yet euen this doth argue still the same prerogatiue which we giue to Peter For séeing Christ said that he woulde build his Church vpon that stone or rocke as I take it and that which a church is builded vpon must needes be a foundation it foloweth that Peter was a foundation of the church Not a principall foundation for that is Christ onely of whom it is true that other foundation no man can laye beside that which is laid which is Christ Iesus but as wee terme it a ministeriall foundation UUhich by the proportion of a foundation to a house and a head to a bodie is enough to proue that Christ would make Peter head of the Apostles I meane a ministeriall head Rainoldes But here againe you fal into your former fault and
that which was common to all the Apostles by the meaning of Christ you chalenge as proper vnto Peter onely For as the confession of Peter touching Christ shewed their common faith by the mouth of one so the answere of Christ directed vnto one conteined that blessing that should be common to them all And this is declared by the holy scripture which to the Ephesians mēbers of the church saith that they are built vpō the foundatiō of the Apostles Prophets Not of Peter onely but of the Apostles who lay the same foundation all that Peter did and thereupon are called all of them foundations And the church relying vpon their doctrine that is the Christian faith the onely and sure foundatiō of the church as the truth hath forced your owne mouthes to witnesse may bee iustly saide to be built on them euen as well on all of them as on Peter Wherfore by the proportion that you grate vpon of a foundation to a house and a head to a bodie as Christ is head onely so is he the onely foundation of the Church as the name of foundation is giuen to the Apostles so the twelue foundations doth proue them twelue heads You must séeke therefore some other foundation of Peters headship ouer them For neither the name of stone that Christ gaue him nor the wordes of building his church vpon that stone proue that he promised him to make him head of all the Apostles Hart. Not in your iudgement but in mine they doo And so dooth the other part of the promise also which Christ made vnto him To thee will I giue the keyes of the kingdome of heuen For by the name of keyes is signified the fulnes of ecclesiasticall power But to giue the fulnes of ecclesiasticall power is to make him head Therefore Christ did promise to make him head of the church Rainoldes These keyes will not open more in the house then did the foundation lay in the building For if you meane by fulnes of ecclesiasticall power the lawfull power of the Apostleship then the which no greater was euer giuen to anie ministers of the church Christ gaue it both to Peter and to euerie Apostle If you meane such power as the Pope claimeth by fulnes of power a soueraine power not onely spirituall but also temporall Christ gaue it neither to Peter nor to anie Apostle So that in the former sense al were heads in the latter none and thus your headship proued by neither But what soeuer you meane by fulnes of power this is cleere and certaine that our Sauiour promised no more power to Peter then he meant and performed to all the Apostles And therefore what soeuer he promised to him he promised in him to them For as amongst them when they were all asked Whom say ye that I am Peter answered alone Thou art Christ the Sonne of the liuing God so Christ said to him alone I will giue thee the keyes of the kingdome of heauen as though he had alone receaued power to bind and loose whereas he made that answere one in stead of them all and receiued this power one togither with them all Wherefore sith no more was promised then giuen and equall power was giuen to all the Apostles this promise proueth not your headship You must bring vs foorth some better euidence or else your title will be naught Hart. The euidence is good For it saith in plaine and expresse termes that Christ would giue the keyes to Peter Then the which what could be more manifestly spoken Rainoldes In shew to the simple Chiefely when they sée the matter set forth as that is at Rome where Christ is painted out not as promising Peter that he would giue him keyes but as giuing them to him at that present and giuing them to him alone not to all the Apostles with the wordes of Christ paraphrased feately thereto by some poet Be thou the Prince of pastors to thee alone is giuen The power to shut the dore of heauen and eke to set it open Pastorum princeps esto tibi ius datur vni Claudere celestes reserare fores Hart. Nay the very words as they lie in scripture are plainer in shew for vs then for you which also may be noted in other pointes of controuersie betwéene you and vs. As about the reall presence this is my bodie For Christ did not say this is a signe of my bodie And againe the bread that I will giue is my flesh He said not it is but the signe of my flesh Rainoldes Neither do we say that Christ did so meane in this of flesh and bread For we teach that the true bread the bread of God which came downe from heauen and giueth life vnto the world is Christ euen the flesh the very flesh of Christ that is Christ incarnate The greater wrong they do vs who lay to our charge that we expound it not of the thing but of a signe themselues indéede guiltie thereof expounding it of a sacrament of Christ where it is meant of Christ him selfe the word that was made flesh But what if in the other place and sundry mo the wordes of the scripture bee plainer in shew for you then for vs It is not the shew but the sense of the wordes that doth import the truth and must decide controuersies For wordes were ordained to open the meaning and minde of him that speaketh them The meaning of the word of God is alwaies true because God who speaketh it is true and cannot lie The shew of it is false sometimes and deceitfull as men are whose iudgement this shew dependeth of and that may séeme to them to be meant by it which is not meant by God Wherfore it is not the shew but the sense the substance not the semblance of the wordes of scriptures that you must proue doth make for you in points of controuersie if you will proue ought Hart. Why do you graunt then that the wordes of scripture make more for vs in shew though not in substance then they doo for you It were not good for you that this should be knowne Rainoldes What Not that the wordes of scripture sometimes make more for you then vs in shewe though not in substance Yes truely M. Hart and for the Anabaptistes too that Christians had all things common And for Pope Clemens too that wiues must be common because in all things wiues are implyed also And I am so farre from being afraid that this should be knowne that euen in the very example which you mētion as making for you most I grant that the words of Christ this is my body are plainer in shew though not for your monster of transubstantiation yet for your reall presence then for our sacramentall But so that I graunt the same in like maner of other sacramentall and
mysticall spéeches wherein the scriptures giue the name of the thing to that which it betokneth as of the passeouer to the lambe and of the rocke to Christ. For I hope you wil not conclude of this shew that really Christ was a rocke or a lambe the passeouer really Hart. These spéeches are not like to that of Christes bodie in the Sacrament of the Eucharist For it is manifest that when the lambe was called the passeouer and Christ the rocke it was meant not really but figuratiuely that the rocke signified Christ the lambe the passeouer But it is not manifest in that of Christes bodie Rainoldes Whither it be manifest or no is not the question but whither the spéeches be like in shew of wordes the rocke was Christ this is my bodie Or to come néerer to your owne example and proofe of that point Christ saith of himselfe that he is true bread and my flesh is meate indeede and my blood is drinke indeede True and indeede these termes are more pregnant for a reall presence then that of Christes bodie Yet if you say that Christ is bread really and his flesh meate and his blood drinke you may as well say that he is really a vine and his disciples branches really and other such reall either blasphemies or follies Hart. Nay we doo confesse that many things in scripture are spoken and meant figuratiuely but neither all nor this concerning the Sacrament nor any thing els whereof the literall and proper sense hath not somewhat contrarie to God to religion and to Christian life As D. Allen saith that S. Austin teacheth Out of whom he citeth withall a woorthie sentence touching such as you are If the minde be preuented with an opinion of some errour whatsoeuer the scripture dooth affirme otherwise men thinke it to be spoken figuratiuely Rainoldes That sentence is good as S. Austin vttereth it But D. Allen vseth it ill against vs. The woorse because S. Austin sheweth straight vpon it in the same booke of the same point that to eate the flesh of Christ and drinke his blood was spoken not properly for so it were a wicked deede but figuratiuely flat against that error of the reall presence which hée is pretended to proue by D. Allen. But howsoeuer D. Allen deale in that the point which you graunt with him sufficeth me for proofe of that I saide For if many things in scripture are spoken and meant figuratiuely it followeth that the sense of scripture is against the shew of wordes in sundrie places and therfore that the shew of words sundrie times is against the truth Which sith you cannot sée in this Sacrament because of your preiudice of the reall presence I will bring an example of the sacrament of baptisme wherein you must needes sée it There were some of old who as we sprinckle children with water in baptizing of them so they vsed to print and stampe certaine marks vpon them with fire For the which vsage they alleaged the scripture I meane the wordes thereof that touching Iohn Baptist who saying of himselfe I baptize you with water addeth of our Sauiour He will baptize you with the holie Ghost and fire Now I put the matter to your owne iudgement whether they did better who baptized with fire or we who without it Hart. Who doubteth but we For they were deceiued who tooke the name of fire properly in that place where it is vsed figuratiuely to signifie the graces of the holie Ghost who lighteneth and purgeth the hartes of the faithfull They who did baptize in that sort were heretikes as Alphonsus sheweth Rainoldes Yet the shew of words dooth make more for thē Iohn baptized with water Christ baptizeth with fire Neither haue you here so much as that euasion which yet if you had were nothing to the purpose that it is manifest to be meant not properly but figuratiuely For there haue béene sundry churches and nations these many hundred yeares that vsed it and doo still induced all thereto by the shew of wordes as manifest to be meant not figuratiuely but properly in their iudgement And your reall presence hath not gone so far in the one Sacrament with this is my bodie as their firie markes haue gone in the other with the holie Ghost and fire Wherefore to returne to the point in questiō although it may séeme by the shew of words that our Sauiour promised the keyes of the kingdome of heauen to Peter onely yet sith he meant them to all the Apostles as I haue declared your claime will be a bare shew if all your proofe be shew of wordes And therefore as I said so I say againe that you must bring vs foorth some better euidence or els your title will be naught Hart. And I tell you againe that the euidence is good and hath not onely shew of words but sense too if it be rightly taken But we retaine not you to be our lawier to expound it Rainoldes I am not in hast to be retained of you But what mislike you in my expounding of it Hart. That which shall kéepe me from yelding thereunto For your exposition is a priuate exposition which we allow not of We allow onely of the churches exposition Rainoldes Then I perceiue the church shall be your lawier And what is I pray you the churches exposition Hart. That which all the Fathers make with one consent Rainoldes Which all the Fathers make We had néede to haue bodies like the bodies of Oakes and memories as strong as stéele to endure to reade and be sure to remember of euery exposition so much as may ascertaine vs that all the Fathers make it Hath any man liuing read them all Nay haue all the men liuing read them Nay can they shewe them Can they get them I had almost said can they name them Hart. Womeane of the Fathers which are extant commonly and may be had and read If many of them make it and the rest either gainsay it not or say nought of it we count it to bée made of all with one consent Rainoldes That count is euill cast For as in the writings of Fathers which we haue some one expoundeth places of Scripture oftentimes otherwise then all the rest a thing notorious and confessed so it is likely that in those which we haue not some places were otherwise expounded thē they be in those which we haue Yet I will not deny but you had reason so to count For else your lawier had béene dumbe and could not haue spoken a word for his client But if this be your rule of the churches exposition then I could haue made mine exposition the churches with a wet finger if I would haue stuffed it with the names of Fathers For my words of Peter that he alone made answere for all the Apostles receiued the keyes togither with them all are the wordes of S. Austin though I did
flocke And what is this to Peters successour the Pope who preacheth not as Peter did For he vseth not to preach but when he saith Masse nor then vnlesse he list and he saith not Masse but on a fewe hie feastes nor then if he be let and the Italian gouernment specially the Papacy so discreetly menaged must néedes haue le ts a number His Princely cares do trouble him he leaueth Priestly to the Friers Wherefore that sacrilegious vsurper of Rome committeth two euils against both the head and the bodie of the Church Against the head in that he maketh the prerogatiue of one Pastor common to all Popes which is proper to Christ. Against the body in that hee claimeth the title of Christes vicar as proper to him selfe which is common to all Pastours Hart. Nay you who reuile the high priest of God commit a great euill But he coÌ„mitteth none at all For he taketh not the prerogatiue of one Pastor as Christ but vnder Christ. And he claimeth the title of Christes vicar by an excellencie as the chiefe and generall though all other Bishops be Christes vicars also Rainoldes This is to roale the stone of Sisyphus You driue it vp the hill and still it slippeth backeward yet cease you not to striue but you striue in vaine For though you fetch it vp neuer so often downe againe it will All Bishops you say are the vicars of Christ but the Pope claimeth that title by an excellencie True By an excellencie he robbeth al Bishops of that honour which Christ hath giuen them For he doth account them all to be his vicars as Cardinall Turrecremata calleth them expressely the vicars of the Pope and proueth by the Popes owne law that they are so Wherefore if you will haue them Christes vicars too the matter must be helped out with your distinction that first and directly they are the Popes vicars and Christes by a consequent and secondarilie As for the man whom you call the hie priest of God I know him not For he is not the hie priest of the Iewes I trow And Christians haue no hie priest but the Sonne of the Highest euen him of whom it is writen such an hie priest it became vs to haue which is holy harmelesse vndefiled separate from sinners and made higher then the heauens Wherefore I speake not the wordes of reuiling but of truth and modestie when I call him a sacrilegious vsurper who taketh the crowne of the king of kings and fetteth it on his owne head This doth that man of sinne who saith that it is necessarie for euery man vnto saluation to be subiect to the Pope and that they who say hee hath not charge ouer them are not of Christs sheepe because the Lord saith in Iohn that there shall be one flocke and one pastour Hart. You néede not account it so heinous a matter to conclude that doctrine by these wordes of Christ. Chiefely sith it is probable that he meant them rather of the Pope then him selfe For he saith there shall be one flocke and one Pastor he saith not there hath beene but there shall be Now him selfe as being God was alway Pastor of the Gentiles also no lesse theÌ„ of the Iewes And so in respect of him there had before bene one flocke and one pastor Wherfore sith he speaketh of a thing that should be not that had bene alreadie he might be well thought to haue meant not him selfe but the Pope rather who in his stéed is Pastor both of Iewes and Gentiles Rainoldes Had the Gentiles alway God for their Pastor as well as the Iewes What meant S. Paule then who saith to the Gentiles ye were without Christ and aliants from the common wealth of Israell and straungers from the couenants of promise and had no hope and were without God in the world For God is called Pastor in respect of them whom he guideth and feedeth with the foode of life So that if he were Pastor of the Gentiles alway as you say he was then they were alway faithfull and members of the Church and had the hope of God in Christ. But if they were before without Christ without hope without God in the world and aliants from the common wealth of Israell that is the Church and straungers from the couenants of promise made to the faithfull as they were S. Paule saith then neither were they one flocke with the Iewes neither was God their one Pastor wherfore what â—oeuer shew of probabilitie the Pope might séeme to haue for abusing those wordes to maintaine his own pride in truth they agree to him who broke the stoppe of the partition-wall and made of both one that is to Christ Iesus and onely to Christ. Hart. Well If the wordes agree not to the Pope perhaps in one sense they may in an other For there are sundry senses of the holy scriptures but in generall two as Father Robert sheweth whereof the one is called historicall or literall the other mysticall or spirituall And so the spéech of Christ touching one Pastor might signifie the Pope in a mysticall sense though not in the literall As likewise the name of hye priest signifying the Iewish literally doth mystically betoken him Rainoldes That sense is the right sense of the scriptures which the holy Ghost the author of them meant Now the holye Ghost hath vttered them in such sort that not the wordes onely do signifie things according to their naturall sense but the things also expressed by the wordes do signifie other things according to the Lordes ordinance who shadowed that by figures in the olde Testament which is performed in the newe As for example it is writen in the law of Moses you shall not breake a bone of him These wordes are spoken touching the lambe of the passeouer and signifie as they sound that the Iewes should dresse it whole without breaking any bone thereof But this thing doth signifie a faâ—ther thing in secret to wéete that when Christ who was represented figured by the lambe should suffer death to saue vs a bone of him should not be broken Thus of one place there are two senses the former called literall because the letter as it were that is the very wordes being vnderstood aright do import it and the later mysticall because the thing imported and meant by the letter doth betoken a déeper mysterie Of these the literall sense is knowne to be the meaning of the holy Ghost For wordes were made to open the conceites of our mind and so are they vsed by the holy Ghost to shew the will of God vnto vs. The mysticall is known to be his meaning also when himselfe reuealeth it as he hath done in that touching the lambe Otherwise it is not For men may deuise many mysticall senses of a place in scripture and them one contrarie to an other as often times they doo Which all could not be meant by
of the state of the Church both in generall and particular the Roman and the reformed Churches of sundry nations it commeth first to be declared what is the holy catholike church whereof we professe in our Creede that wee beleeue it And hereof I say the holy catholike church is the whole company of Gods elect and chosen Which is termed a Church that is a company ofmen and an assembly of people called togither holy because God hath chosen this company and sanctified it to him selfe Catholike for that it consisteth not of one nation but of all spred through the whole world For God to the entent that he might impart the riches of his glorious grace vnto mankinde did choose from euerlasting a certaine number of men as a peculiar people who should possesse with him the kingdome of heauen prepared for them from the foundations of the world And although this people be sundred by the distance of places and times for the seuerall persons and members thereof yet hath hee ioyned and knit them all togither by the bond of his holy spirit into the felowship of one body and a ciuill or rather a spirituall communion as it were into one citie The name of which citie is the heauenly new and holy Ierusalem the citie of the liuing God the king is God almightie who founded establisheth and ruleth the citie the lawes are Gods word which the citizens heare and folow as sheepe the voice of the shepheard the citizens are the Saintes euen all and singular holy men who therefore are called felow-citizens of the Saintes and men of Gods houshold the register wherein their names are enrolled is called the booke of life finally the liberties and commoâ—ities which they enioy are most ample benefites both of this life and of the life to come to wit the grace of God the fountaine of goodnes the treasures of Christ who is heire of all things the forgiuenes of sinnes the peace of conscience the giftes of righteousnes of godlines of holines one spirit one faith one hope of our calling and sacraments which are the seales of our hope in a worde all thinges which are expedient for vs to the necessarie maintenance of our earthly life and after this life the inheritance of life eternall in heauen with endlesse blisse and glory But because the citizens of this citie of God hauing disobeyed rebelled against him had lost their fréedom through their treason and being put therby from euerlasting life wâ—re to suffer death in the chaines of darkenesse God the father of infinite mercy and compassion did send his onely begotten sonne into the world that he being appointed king of Gods citie should redéeme the citizens from the powerof darkenesse out of the thraldom of the diuell and translating them a fresh into his kingdom should blesse them and endow them with all the priuileges and liberties of the citizens of God And so it pleased him though we had played the traitors in reuolting from him to his and our enimie yet of his frée fauour to make a league with vs enter into couenant Which couenant being one and the same in substance yet diuersly considered and by reason of this diuersitie diuided into two the one called olde grounded on Christ being promised to come the other new on Christ being come into the world God hath set it downe in the instruments of his câ—uenant wherein he hath said I will be your God and ye shall be my people What is the tenour how greate the vse how vnspeakable the benefit of this holy couenant made with the Patriarkes the Prophets the Apostles and all the Saintes of God it is recorded in the sacred instruments of the olde and new testament or couenant An abridgement whereof containing the summeof the Apostles doctrine is deliuered in the articles of our Christian faith or Creede as we terme it gathered out of Gods worde Wherefore as the couenant consisteth of two branches so the Creede expressing it conteineth two partes One of them instructeth our faith touching God who saide to his seruants I will be your God the other touching the people of God that is the Church to whom God saide you shall be my people Touching God it teacheth vs to beleeue in him who is one God in nature distinct in three persons the Father the creator the Sonne the redéemer the holy Ghost the sanctifier Touching the people of God it teacheth vs to beleeue that they are a Church holy and Catholike which hath communion of the Saints to whom their sinnes are forgiuen whose bodies shal be raised vp againe from death and being ioyned with their soules shall liue euerlastingly Now to make the matter more euident and plaine that this citie of God and company of the chosen is the holy Catholike Church first it is certaine that the people of God is called effectually out of the filth of other men to know and serue him by Christ who doth lighten their mindes and moue their hartes through the power of the holy Ghost and ministerie of the word And the whole company of them who are so called is named the Church by an excellencie not a common one but a passing eminent and most noble Church as wherein the faithfull all are comprehended that eyther be or haue béene or shal be to the end from the beginning of the world Which is termed in scripture the Church of the first borne who are writen in heauen Which God did predestinate to be adopted in him self according to the good pleasure of his wil. Which Christ being giuen to it by his Father as a head to the body loued as his spouse redeemed it from Satan and quickneth it with his Spirit hauing suffered death him selfe to deliuer vs from the gulfe of death Moreouer as it is cleere that this Church is called out of the rascall sort of the world to be partaker of the inheritance of the kingdom of heauen so is it cléere too that it ought to be holy For the holy one of Israell can not abide them who are workers of iniquitie neither shall any Cananite be in the house of the Lord of hostes and into the heauenly citie there shall enter no vncleane thing nor whatsoeuer worketh abomination or lye Christ therefore the Sauiour of the Church his body who as he called them whoÌ„ he predestinate so iustified them whom he called hauing clensed the Church from her sinnes by his blood renueth her from the filth of the flesh vnto holinesse which he beginneth in this life and perfitteth in the life to come when he shall present her without spot and wrincle a glorious spouse vnto him selfe So that both the Church may well be termed holy and the communion of Saintes the Churches communion which militant on earth is holy in affection triumphant in heauen is holier in perfection both militant and triumphant is in
Catholike Church without the which there is no saluatioÌ„ nor forgiuenes of sinnes he créepeth vp to the head of the Church eueÌ„ Iesus Christ from Christ the head he slippeth downe by stealth vnto Christs vicar one and the same head as he saith with Christ euen the Pope of Rome whom yet to be the head of the Catholike Church not him selfe would say vnlesse perhaps in a dreame for theÌ„ he shuld be head of the triumphant church which is a part of the Catholike but he would be head of the visible church which he nameth Catholike therby the more easily to deceiue the simple who being astonied and snared with that name the fowler shutteth vp the net and concludeth that euery earthly creature if he will be saued must of necessitie be subiect to the Pope Thus saith Pope Boniface But vnlesse the Pope him selfe and the Fathers of his Councell of Trent being thereto forced by the truth of scripture confesse against them selues that the holy Catholike Church doth not signify the visible company of the Church militant coÌ„sisting of the good and badde mixt together which sense the Papists giue it with their Pope Boniface to the intent they may be kings I will not request you to beleue me in it For in the Catechisme which was set foorth by Pope Pius the fifth according to the decree of the Councell of Trent hauing said that the Church in the Creed doth chiefly signifie the company of the good bad togither they adde that Christ is head of the Church as of his body so that as bodily members haue life from the soule in like sort the faithfull haue from Christs spirit and therefore it is holy because it hath receiued the grace of holines and forgiuenes of sinnes from Christ who sanctifieth washeth it with his blood and it is called Catholike because it is spred in the light of one faith from the east to the west receiuing men of all sortes be they Scythians or Barbarians bond or free male or female conteining all the faithfull which haue bene from Adam euen till this day or shall be hereafter till the ende of the world proâ—essing the true faith being built vpon Christ vpon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets Pope Pius therefore and the Fathers of the Councell of Trent affirme that the Church which is specified in the Creede is the body of Christ. Now the scripture teacheth that all the body of Christ is quickned and increased by the holy Ghost as if he were the soule of it But the bad and wicked are neither quickned nor increased Then are they no part of the body of Christ and therfore neither of the Church Pope Pius and the Fathers of the Councel of Trent affirme that the Church is holy being washed by the blood of Christ indued with grace of holines and with forgiuenes of sinnes Now blessed are they whose sinnes are forgiuen blessed are the cleane in heart for they shall see God But the bad and wicked shall neither see God nor are blessed Therefore neither haue they forgiuenes of sinnes nor are their harts cleane Then are they no part of the church Pope Pius and the Fathers of the Councell of Trent affirme that the church is called Catholike in respect that it conteineth all the faithfull from the first to the last professing the true faith and being built vpon Christ. But the wicked and hypocrites either are not faithfull or if they may be called so yet they professe not the true faith or if they professe it yet they are not built on Christ. For they who are built on Christ are built on a rocke and shall neuer be remoued But the wicked shall be remoued Then are they no part of the church Yet they must néedes be a part of the church if the name of church did signifie the visible church as we call it consisting of the good and bad Wherfore it foloweth thereof that the church mentioned in the Créede betokeneth not the visible church that is the company of good and bad together which it is imagined to do by the builders of the Popes monarchie Thus as Caiaphas in the Gospel although he spake many things amisse against Christ yet being the high Priest that same yeere he saide well in this spéech though ill meant too that it was expedient for them that one man should dye for the people so the Pope and the Fathers of the Councell of Trent being the high Priestes that same yere though they meant yll in saying that the holy catholike church which we beléeue is the company of good and bad mixt together yet being lead and moued by some diuine force to speake better then they meant they added such an exposition that their owne doctrine is ouerthrowen by it the errour of the Councell of Constance is discouered and the truth of the scripture confirmed and established Wherefore I may iustly conclude against the Papists out of the Pope him selfe and the Councell of Trent that all the good and holy men and none but they do make the holy Catholike church But séeing our faith must haue a better ground then humane decrées either of Popes or Councels whose breath is in their nosethrils whose houses are of clay and their foundation is sande therefore let vs stay our selues on that conclusion which I made before on warrant of the holy Ghost who hath spoken to vs by the Apostles and Prophets The holy Catholik Church which we beleeue is the whole company of Gods elect and chosen And let this suffice for the first Conclusion The second doth folow The church of Rome is not the catholike church nor a sound meÌ„ber of the catholike church Of the which position that we may the better perceiue the drift and truth we must search somewhat déeper and fetch the beginnings of particular churches out of the fountaine whence they flowe God hauing chosen in his eternall purpose the holy catholike church that is all his children to be the heires of his kingdome and to triumph in heauenly glory with him and his elect Angels doth first of all sende them abroade into the earth as it were into a campe there to serue him in warre against the flesh the world the deuill and all the powers of darkenes vnder the banner of Christ that they may come conquerours out of warfare to the triumph and may striue lawfully before they be crowned Whereto that they may be the stronger made and better furnished to endure the labour and hardnes of warfare God begetteth them a new by his word the word working effectually through the holy Ghost as it were by seede and with the same word he nourisheth them as with milke strengtheneth them as with meat armeth them as with a sword of the Spirit and frameth them a shield of faith wherewith they may quench the firie dartes of the wicked one Yea the more
you complaine I know you may haue more bookes if you would haue such as are best for you to read But you would haue such as might nourish your humor from reading of the which they who restraine you are your friendes If a man do surfet of varietie of dishes the Phisicion doth well to dyet him with one wholsome kinde of meat Perhaps it were better for some of vs who read all sortes that we were tyed to that alone suffred part of your restraint We are troubled about many things but one thing is needfull Many please the fansie better but one doth profit more the minde He was a wise preacher who said The reading of many bookes is a wearinesse vnto the flesh and therefore exhorted men to take instruction by the wordes of trueth the wordes of the wise which are giuen by one pastor euen by Iesus Christ whose spirit did speake in the Prophets and Apostles and taught his Church the trueth by them Howbeit for as much as God hath giuen giftes to men pastours and teachers whose labour might helpe vs to vnderstand the words of that one pastor we do receaue thankfully the monuments of their labour left in wryting to the Church which they were set to builde eyther seuerall as the Doctors or assembled as the Councels we do gladly read them as Pastors of the Church Yet so that we put a difference betwene them and that one Pastor For God did giue him the spirite not by measure the rest had a measure of grace and knowledge through him Wherfore if to supply your whatsoeuer wants you would haue the bookes of Doctors and Councels to vse them as helps for the better vnderstanding of the booke of Christ your wants shal be supplyed you shall not need to feare disaduantage in this respect For M. Secretarie hath taken order that you shall haue what bookes you will vnlesse you will such as cannot be gotten Hart. The bookes that I would haue are principally in déed the Fathers and the Councels which all do make for vs as do the scriptures also But for my direction to finde out their places in all poyntes of controuersie which I can neither remember redily nor dare to trust my selfe in them I would haue our writers which in the seuerall poyntes whereof they treate haue cited them and buyld themselues vpon them In the question of the Church and the supremacie Doctor Stapleton of the Sacraments and sacrifice of the Masse Doctor Allen of the worshipping of Sayntes and Images Doctor Harpsfield whose bookes were set forth by Alan Cope beare his name as certaine letters in them shew Likewise for the rest of the pointes that lie in controuersie them who in particular haue best written of them for them al in generall S. Thomas of Aquine Father Roberts Dictates and chiefly the confession that Torrensis an other father of the societie of Iesus hath gathered out of S. Augustine which booke we set the more by because of al the Fathers S. Augustine is the chéefest as well in our as your iudgement and his doctrine is the common doctrine of the Fathers whose consent is the rule whereby controuersies should be ended Rainoldes These you shall haue God willing and if you will Canisius too because he is so full of textes of Scriptures and Fathers and many doe estéeme him highly But this I must request you to looke on the originalles of Scriptures Councels Fathers which they doe alleadge For they doe perswade you that all doe make for you but they abuse you in it They borrow some gold out of the Lordes treasure house and wine out of the Doctors presses but they are deceitful workmen they do corrupt their golde with drosse their wine with worse then water Hart. You shall finde it harder to conuince them of it then to charge them with it Rainoldes And you shall finde it harder to make proofe of halfe then to make claime of all Yet you shall see both youre claime of all the Scriptures and Fathers to bee more confidente then iust and my reproofe of your wryters for theyr corrupting and forging of them as plainly prooued as vttered if you haue eyes to see God lighten your eyes that you may see open your eares that you may heare and geue you both a softe hart and vnderstanding minde that you may be able wisely to discerne and gladly to embrace the trueth when you shall heare it Hart. I trust I shall be able alwayes both to see and to followe the trueth But I am perswaded you will be neuer able to shew that that is the trueth which your Church professeth As by our conference I hope it shal be manifest Rainoldes UUill you then to lay the ground of our conference let me know the causes why you separate your selfe and refuse to communicate with the Church of England in prayers and religion Hart. The causes are not many They may be al comprysed in one Your Church is no Church You are not members of the Church Rainoldes How proue you that Hart. By this argument The Church is a companie of Christian men professing one faith vnder one head You professe not one faith vnder one head Therefore you are not of the Church Rainoldes What is that one faith Hart. The catholike faith Rainoldes Who is that one head Hart. The Bishop of Rome Rainoldes Then both the propositions of which you frame your argument are in part faultie The first in that you say the church is a companie of Christian men vnder one head The second in that you charge vs of the church of England that wee professe not one faith For we do professe that one faith the catholike faith But we deny that the church is bound to be subiect to that one head the bishop of Rome Hart. I will proue the pointes of both my propositions the which you haue denied First that the church must be subiect to the Bishop of Rome as to her head Next that the faith which you professe in England is not the catholike faith Rainoldes You will say somewhat for them but you will neuer proue them Hart. Let the church iudge For the first thus I proue it S. Peter was head of all the Apostles The Bishop of Rome succeedeth Peter in the same power ouer Bishops that he had ouer the Apostles Therefore the Bishop of Rome is head of all Bishops If of Bishops then by consequent of the dioceses subiect to them If of all their dioceses then of the whole church The Bishop of Rome therefore is head of the whole church of Christ. Rainoldes S. Peter was head of all the Apostles The Bishop of Rome is head of all Bishops I had thought that Christ our Sauiour both was and is the head as of the whole church so of Apostles of Bishops of all the members of it For the church is his
Peter not only my Lord but as Thomas did our Sauiour My Lord my God It is a desperate cause that wil admit no colour The Stewes of Rome haue found patrones and that which is worse then Stewes The heathens called Domitian Our Lord God the Emperor A Canoniste saith of the Pope Our Lord God the Pope Blasphemous spéeches both yet a quareller might alleadge in defense of them I haue sayde ye are Gods But the very heathens by the light of nature mislyked the one as insolent neither haue I read any Papiste no nor Iesuite that durst defend the other It was a common practise amongst the young students of our Uniuersities in the time of the Dunses and is yet amongst too many whom spottes of Dunsery haue stayned that if in disputation they were brought to an inconuenience were it neuer so absurd they would haue a distinction though voyde of braine and sense yet a distinction to mainteyne it If a man wil be peruerse it is no mastery to doe it But as a wise and learned man doth say of them that they are base wits which are so affected whereas ingenuous mindes natures wel geuen wil rather seeke howe true that is which they holde then how they may defend it making greater price of veritie then victorie so I may say yea much more in matters of religion of faith of life eternall a Christian witte and godly minde will search and weigh rather what should be saide truely then what may be said probably or colourably at the lest And I wish if it had béene the good will of God master Campian had had the grace in the Tower-conference to haue aimed at this marke rather in sinceritie to haue sought the truth then with shiftes and cauilles the mayntenance of his cause and credit But though he were froward and did shut his eyes against the beams of the light yet doe you not so for Gods sake master Hart in this conference of ours Be content to open your minde to hys grace who standeth at the dore knocketh and hearken to his voice while it is to day Beware of their example who could not beleeue or if they did beleeue durst not confes Christ because they loued the praise of men more then the praise of God and hunted after honor one of another not seking for that honor which commeth from the Lord alone Deny your selfe and your frends and all fleshly respectes geue the glory to the Highest Hart. I neither séeke for shiftes to darken the trueth nor loue the praise of men more then the praise of God It were a madnesse for a man to aduenture his life as we doe you see for the maintenance of error or of his own credit As for M. Campian I thinke of him as of my selfe I heard the disputations wherein he answered them who came to reason with him and I perceyued nothing in any of his answeres but synceritie and trueth Rainoldes My selfe was not present at the disputations but I haue read them written and that least you suspect the wryter as partiall by a fauourer of yours who was present as he saith at the whole action And I doe affyrme it in singlenesse of heart as before the Lord neither doe I doubt but al who haue the wisdome to discerne spirites wil see the same if they peruse them he sought in such sort to maintaine the credite of his cause or person as though he had set nothing more before his eyes then to perswade his proselytes that nothing could bee brought against him but he would shew it made for him I would not say so much vnlesse I knew it by his fruites For to passe ouer his often glosing against the text and facing out of places which pressed him most forcibly thinges alleadged out of the Councels of the Fathers of others which by the iudgementes of your own doctors haue that sense wherin we cyte them he by shifts and cauilles would turne their neckes cleane about and wreste them vnto his side which argued more witte then trueth and sophistrie then sinceritie But to leaue him to the Lords iudgemēt and come vnto your selfe you neither séeke for shiftes you say to darken the trueth nor loue the praise of men more then the praise of God I pray God your déedes be not as plaine to prooue you do it as the reason which you adde to proue you do it not is weake For what although it were a madnesse to doe it Many things are done which madde men scarce would doe and yet they that doe them doe think themselues well in their wittes as the Donatistes did who aduentured their liues in most desperate maner for the defence of their error and maintenance of theyr credite yea they offred themselues to the sword the fire the water séeking for death as for a treasure that they might die they thought Martyrs But whether you doe set the praise of men at that price I leaue it to your owne conscience That you seeke for shiftes the thing it self doth crie For your very answere in the defense of Leo touching vnitie of will not vnitie of substance on these words of his that Christ receiued Peter into the felowship of the indiuisible vnity is a shifte to shield him from a iust reproofe Let his owne Discourse speake and it wil graunt it For hauing saide before that Christ did place Peter as it were a certaine head to poure his giftes from him as it were into all the body to this poynt he knitteth these words by way of proofe So that if the proofe haue any kin with the thing proued the words must néedes import some preeminence in Peter aboue all the rest of the Disciples of Christ. But vnitie of wil wherein Christ doth pray that his Disciples may be one as he is one with his Father is common vnto all not peculiar to Peter as Christ himselfe doth shewe That plaister then of yours hath no vertue in it to salue the sore of Leo. Neither can you cure it indéed with any other For the vnitie which the Scriptures doe note in God and vs is of three sortes the first of persons in one nature the second of natures in one person the third of sundrie natures and persons in one qualitie In the first is One God In the second is One Christ In the third is One church The Lord receiued not Peter into the first vnitie wherein the father the sonne the holy Ghost are one God Not into the second wherein he himselfe consisting of two natures God and man is one Christ. Into the third wherein the Churche is one with Christ her head and the Churches members are one amōgst them selues he did receaue Peter but in societie with his brethren not without them in singularitie The multitude of the belieuers were of one hart
all their wordes be weighed For Ambrose saith that Andrew did first folowe Christ and they say that Peter was called first of Christ. The truth of both which is plaine by the scriptures For Andrewe folowed Christ before Peter knewe him and he brought Peter vnto Christ. But Christ said to Peter Thou shalt be called Cephas wherein he meant him the Apostleship before hee spake a word of the Apostleship to Andrewe And so doth Ambrose séeme him selfe to expound his meaning otherwhere affirming of Peter that he was the first among the Apostles to whom our Sauiour had committed the charge of the churches Whereby he giueth Peter the primacie in being called to the Apostleship thogh he gaue a primacie in discipleship as it were I meane in folowing Christ to Andrew As for S. Austins words which you say import that he meant a primacie notin calling but preeminēce you should haue rather said that he meant a primacie in calling preeminence both For out of al doubt he meant a primacie in calling But your fréends who dismember the sayings of the Fathers doo stand in your light that you can not sée it For as Stapleton did cut out the former wordes of Ambrose that Peter might be thought the onely man who had the charge of the churches not the first of them who had it so hath Torrensis cut of the later words of Austin that the primacie of Peter might be thoght a primacie in power not in calling or if in calling in power too The primacie of the Apostles is conspicuous and praeeminent with excellent grace in the Apostle Peter thus saith Torrensis out of Austin And these are Austins wordes but his words say farther that Peter the Apostle in whom that grace and primacie are so preeminent was corrected by Paule a later Apostle Wherein naming Paule a later Apostle as made Apostle after Peter in time he sheweth that of the other side he meant by the primacie that Peter was an Apostle in time before Paule As Ambrose saith of the chiefest of the Apostles that they were before Paule not in dignitie but in time And Cyprian whom Austin alleageth and foloweth doth vse the worde primacie in the same sense of being first in time also Wherefore the Fathers proue not your supremacie by giuing the prerogatiue of primacie to Peter Hart. The bare name of primacie is not enough to prooue it But some by that name haue meant a supremacie And surely the preeminence with excellent grace which Austin giueth Peter doth note a higher primacie then either of order or calling or time though it with all too Rainoldes It doth so I graunt And I noted that in the third prerogatiue which the Fathers giue him namely principalitie For Austin hauing ioined his primacie and preeminence with excellent grace togither doth terme them both in one the principalitie of the Apostleship Which if some haue meant by the name of primacie as perhaps they haue they might because the word is borowed often times from the proper signification of the first in order to signifie the chiefe in quality And so when Austin saith that Peter was a man by nature a Christian by grace by more aboundant grace an Apostle of Christ yea the first Apostle by the first Apostle he meant the chiefe Apostle the principalitie by the primacie But this principalitie of the Apostleship this preeminence of the primacie with grace so excellent and aboundant cometh no néerer vnto your supremacie then did the primacie of order For to be chiefe in grace is one thing and to be chiefe in power an other Hart. And is it not a great grace to be chiefe in power Rainoldes As you say the greatest grace that your Popes of long time haue fought for Yet there is a difference betwéene grace and power Which the Popes Lawiers haue obserued well as it behoued them to doo For many Doctors haue beene endued with greater grace of the holy Ghost then sundry Popes saith Gratian yet in the deciding of controuersies and causes the writings of the Doctors are of lesse authoritie then the Popes decrees Why because the Popes are in power aboue them But what speake I of Doctors when the meanest Christians may passe the Pope in grace as it is confessed by Cardinall Turrecremata Who handling the question betwéen the Pope and the Church whether of them is greater when he had set downe the reason of his aduersaries that the Church is greater because it is the bodie the Pope a member of it and the whole must needes be greater then the part he answereth thereto that the question is not whether the Church be greater then the Pope simply to weete in perfection of grace and amplenes of vertues for euen an old woman may in this sort be perfiter and greater then the Pope him selfe but in power of iurisdiction he saith the Pope is greater Wherfore if the Popes supremacie do stand in power of iurisdiction and a woman may be aboue him in grace then Peter might excel with the preeminence of grace as Austin saith he did and yet not excel in supremacie of power which you conclude of it Else you must take the supremacie from Peter and giue it to the blessed virgin Unlesse you you will deny that she excelled him in grace Hart. I will not deny it Neither did I meane to prooue the supremacy by the preeminence of grace alone in Peter but by the preeminence of so excellent grace concurring with the primacy Whereto because you think these priuileges touched by Austin doo not prooue it the title of the Prince of the Apostles which all antiquitie geueth him may adde weight and strength Rainoldes Which all antiquitie geueth him That spéech is too lauishing Beside that some of them who geue it to him geue it to Paul also But suppose that all and to him onely What is there implyed more in this title then I haue graunted you already For must he not be needes the Prince of the Apostles to whom the principalitie of the Apostleship is allowed And if the principalitie of the Apostleship inferre not your supremacie can you inferre a supreme head by the Prince of the Apostles But the name of Prince perhaps doth deceiue you or you deceiue others by it For our English tongue dooth vse it to note a soueraine power in gouernment as the Princes of Iuda the Princes of Israel the Princes of the Gentiles are named in the scriptures Whereas the Fathers vsed it after the Latin phrase for chiefe and most excellent as Plato is named the prince of the Philosophers As Plato saith Ierom was prince of the philosophers so was Peter of the Apostles Wherefore this is all you may conclude of it that Peter did excell amongst the Apostles for grace and giftes of grace
in the Gospell he who said he would not goe into the vineyarde repented afterward and went so you may yéeld to this on better aduise to which you say you will not yéeld Though if your opinion of Peters supremacie were graunted to be true it proueth not your title to the Popes supremacie the principall point in question which you claime thereby For let vs faine that Peter was head of the Apostles How followeth it thereof that the Bishop of Rome is head of all the Church of Christ Hart. It foloweth by the second part of my reason The Bishop of Rome succeedeth Peter in the same power ouer Bishops that he had ouer the Apostles For if Peters power ouer the Apostles did reach vnto the whole flock both of the shéepe and the lambes then must the same power of his successor ouer Bishops reach by like reason vnto the same flocke and so to all the Church of Christ. Rainoldes But how doo you proue that the Bishop of Rome succéedeth Peter in his power Hart. Because that the power committed to Peter was not to dye with Peter For this had not bene agréeable to the goodnes and wisedom of Christ vpō whom it lay to prouide for his church vntill the end of the world as Austin sheweth he did Thinke not saith hee to the Church thinke not thy selfe forsaken because thou seest not Peter because thou seest not Paule because thou seest not them by whom thou art begotten Of thine ofspring there is growne vnto thee a fatherhood in steed of thy fathers children are borne vnto thee Rainoldes The goodnes and wisedome of our Sauiour Christ prouided for his Church as S. Paule witnesseth by giuing Pastors and teachers Pastors and teachers not one to the whole but many to the seuerall partes of his Church For they whom Christ hath chosen to serue him in the ordinarie feeding of his flocke to instruct his people and guide them in the way of life vntill the end of the world are named in the scripture sometime Elders of their age sometime Bishops of their duetie And he hath taken order by his spirite and word that such should be appointed in euery Church through euery citie This was it that Austin regarded when he said the church is not forsaken although she see not the Apostles considering that in steed of the Apostles she hath Bishops For by the name of Fathers he meant the Apostles and by the name of children bishops In steed of thy fathers children are borne vnto thee Which how it may serue your purpose I see not Unlesse perhaps you meane that amongst those children the Bishop of Rome should be heire as eldest and Bishops of other cities should be handled al like younger brethren But Austin saith not so Hart. It is proued by Austin that our Sauiour Christ prouided for his church And this I graunt he did by giuing seueral Pastors vnto seuerall flockes but so that he committed the charge of them all to one supreme Pastor which is the Bishop of Rome Rainoldes Thus I heare you say But I had rather heare Thus saith the Lord. Hart. You shall heare it The Lord saith that there shal be one flocke and one shepheard or as we translate it one folde and one Pastor whereof I make this reason By the name of Pastor is noted an ordinarie gouernment and charge which hath relation to a flocke and therefore as long as the flocke continueth the Pastors office must continue the office of one Pastor as the flocke is one It continued in Peter when Christ made him supreme Pastor Now when Peter dyed it should continue in his successor And the successor of Peter is the Bishop of Rome The Bishop of Rome therefore is the supreme Pastor of the Church of Christ. Rainoldes I perceiue your Pope can make no shew of title to supreme-headship of the Church vnlesse he put Christ from the possession of it For Christ by one Pastor doth signifie himselfe as it may appeare by the drift of all his spéech wherein he maintaineth his office and autoritie against the slanders of the Phariseis I am saith he the good Pastor and know mine owne and am known of mine As the Father knoweth me so know I the Father and I lay downe my life for my sheepe Other sheepe I haue also which are not of this fold and them must I bring and they shall heare my voyce and there shal be one flocke one Pastor One Pastor who but he of whome the wordes afore and after are meant He who is the good Pastor who knoweth his sheepe who layeth downe his life for them who hath other sheepe beside the Iewes to wéete the Gentiles whom hee will bring to his folde and so of them both the Church shal be as one flocke obeying Christ as one Pastor This is the one Pastor that our Sauiour meant Which if you wil not beléeue on my word or rather on his word who spake it beléeue your own Bible expoūding it by conferēce of scripture with scripture of Iohn with Ezekiel In whom God doth promise that he wil make of Israel Iuda one people and set his seruant Dauid that is Christ the sonne of Dauid to be one Pastor vnto them all and hee shall feede them Thus in Gods law the wordes are meant of Christ. The Pope in his law wil haue him selfe meant by them You are angry with vs when we call him Antichrist Is not the name of Antichrist too gentle for him who claimeth that to himselfe which is proper to Christ Hart. The Pope will haue himselfe to be meant by them as the vicar of Christ and so they doo belong to him Though they belong also to Christ which we deny not For thus saith the Pope Of the Church which is one there is one bodie and one head not two heades as a monster namely Christ and Christes vicar Peter and Peters successor sith the Lord saith to Peter himselfe Feede my sheepe my sheepe saith he in generall not in particular these or these whereby hee is vnderstood to haue committed all to him Whether they bee therfore Grecians or others who say that they are not committed to Peter and to his successors they must needes confesse them selues not to bee of the sheepe of Christ Sith the Lord saith in Iohn that there is one folde and one Pastor Which wordes though they conclude the Pope to bée that one Pastor yet you must not take them as though the Pope meant them of himselfe alone but that they are verified first in Christ then in Peter lastly in himselfe And so there continueth one Pastor by succession euen as the Church continueth one Rainoldes Doo you know what you say when you say there continueth one Pastor by succession Peter after Christ the Pope after Peter I hope you doo it ignorantly and therefore may obteine mercy though
so then For though the Arian heresie did set vpon Liberius fiersly and ouerthrew him when he being weeried with the tediousnes of his banishment did subscribe to it yet sith he recouered himselfe from his fall and manfully withstood it afterwarde it cannot be saide to haue preuailed against him Whether it preuailed or no against Felix of whom some report that he was an Arian some that he communicated only with the Arians it is no matter to S. Austin who reckeneth him not amongst the Roman Bishops Wherein though your Genebrard doo dissent from him because Felix dyed a martyr as he saith citeth Sozomen to proue it but he belyeth Sozomen to infer on that lye that Peters chaire hath such a vertue that it could rather beare a martyr then an heretike or a Pope that fauoured heretikes yet others not séeing belike such a mystery in the death of Felix are of S. Austins minde euen your Onuphâ—ius also who neither doth acknowledge his Popedome nor his martyrdome Now the heresie of the Donatistes had lesse preuailed against them For as they had before withstood the Nouatians the coosin germans to the Donatists so did they withstand the Donatists them selues both by their communion with the Catholikes and by their doctrine And this is the point on the which S. Austin did cast his eye chiefly when he commended their succession As it appeereth farther by a reply that hee made to a Donatists epistle where hauing reckened vp all the Roman Bishops from Linus who succéeded Peter to Anastasius liuing then he concludeth with these wordes in the ranke of this succession there is not one Bishop found that was a Donatist Wherewithall ifwe consider how they maintained the truth against the heresies of Carpocrates Valentinus Marcion Sabellius Macedonius Photinus Apollinaris and the rest of those miscreants who vndermined the foundation of the Christian faith the doctrine of the blessed Trinitie the reason will be manifest why to moue the Donatists by the succession of the Bishops of Rome and their autoritie S. Austin gaue it this prayse that the gates of hell did not preuaile against it Hart. Well The succession then of the Roman Bishops is vsed by S. Austin for a certaine marke of the Catholike religion of the true Church and of the right faith Neither onely by S. Austin but by the rest of the Fathers too For Epiphanius alleageth it against the Carpocratians let no man maruaile saith he that we rehearse al thinges so exactly for that which is manifest in faith is thereby shewed And Tertullian hauing said of them selues in Afrike that they haue autority from the Church of Rome doth teach that the succession of that Church and See is to be set against all heretikes And Irenaeus reckening vp all the Roman Bishops in order from Peter to Eleutherius of his time doth adde that it is a most ample declaration of the Apostolike faith to be of his side against the Valentinians And Optatus reckneth farther from Peter to Siricius of his time against the Donatists As likewise S. Austin farther yet from Peter to Anastasius of his time that he saith much more surely and to the soules health in deed Wherefore the Church of Rome and we who are of that Church haue an assured warrant that the faith which we professe is the true faith For we haue the succession of the Roman Bishops from Peter to Gregory the thirtenth of our time which is an inuincible fort against all heretikes as the Fathers Epiphanius Tertullian Irenaeus Optatus and Austin testifie Rainoldes You will neuer leaue to daly with the Church of Rome as Tullie did with Maistresse Fabia The succession of the Roman Bishops is a proofe of the true faith for so it was in the time of Austin Epiphanius Optatus Tertullian Irenaeus twelue hundred yeares ago vpwarde Succession was a proofe of the true faith till Bishops who varied from the truth succéeded euen as sheepes clothing was a marke of true Prophets till false Prophets came in it But neither are true Prophets knowne now by shéepes clothing nor the true faith by succession The succession of Bishops was a proofe of true faith not in the Church of Rome alone but in all while they who succéeded the Apostles in place succéeded them in doctrine too kept that which Paule deliuered to Timothee Timothee to others But when rauening woolues were gotten into the roomes of pastours and that was fulfilled which Paul foretold the Bishops of Ephesus of your own selues there shall arise men speaking peruerse thinges to draw disciples after them then succession ceased to be a proofe of true faith for that it was no longer peculiar to the truth but common to it with errour and so a marke of neither because a marke of both This difference of succession betwene the later age and the former the primitiue churches time and ours is manifest by the Fathers them selues whom you alleage For Irenaeus to beginne with the most auncient of them saith that the succession of Bishops in all Churches through the whole world doth keepe and teach that doctrine which the Apostles deliuered Now it doth not so nor hath these many ages since Irenaeus died Hath it Hart. Not in all Churches But in the Church of Rome it doth and hath and shall for euer Rainoldes But if you would say as much for al Churches you might proue it as wisely out of Irenaens as you doo for the Church of Rome Hart. I deny that For he doth not fetch the succession of true doctrine but from the Church of Rome against the Valentinians Rainoldes D. Stapleton told you so and you beleeued it I know not whether I should more pitie your credulitie or detest his impudencie who hath abused you with such lewde vntruthes and that against his owne knowledge vnlesse he knew not what he had writen himselfe For him selfe had cited the wordes of Irenaeus which auouch the contrarie to wéete we can recken them who were ordeined Bishops by the Apostles in the Churches their successours vntill our time who taught not any such thing and so foorth But for as much as it would be verie long to recken the successions of all Churches we declare the faith of the greatest the most auncient and famous Church of Rome Which faith hath continued vntill our time by the successions of Bishops And againe the true knowledge is the doctrine of the Apostles and the auncient state of the Church in the whole world and the forme of Christes body according to the successions of Bishops vnto whom they did commit the Church which is in euery place which hath continued vntill our time being kept and so foorth By the which sentences it is plaine that Irenaeus although he recken not the successions of all Churches because it
and loosing giuen Peter as though after Peter it were proper to the Pope Denys saith the contrarie that it is common to all Bishops Whereby you may perceiue beside that if the title which he giueth Peter did proue his supremacie though I haue shewed it doth not but if it did yet your commoÌ„ reason from Peters supremacie to the Popes is iointlesse For he who calleth Peter chiefe of the Apostles yet maketh Bishops equal and giueth Rome no greater priuilege then Antioche or Ierusalem But to knit vp that which brought vs vnto this of Denys you sée that your Rhemists tale of the assumption of the blessed virgin is contrarie to the scriptures Yet they doo beléeue it for the authoritie of Fathers That I might dout iustly whether you would beléeue the Fathers in those things in which they are conuicted of errour by the scriptures Hart. I cannot beléeue that the scriptures are against it For the Church doth holde it I meane the Catholike Church of Rome Rainoldes In that your Rhemists lauish too For though the lying Greekes as your Molanus calleth them doo vouch it very boldly yet the Latin writers do say it is vncertaine Yea the verie Martyrologe of the Roman Church affirmeth that the Church celebrateth the memory of S. Maries death but where it hath pleased God to hide her body the Churches sobrietie hath chosen rather to be ignorant therof religiously then to holde and teach some friuolous thing forged How much the more shamefull is the misdemeanor first of a Papist who saith that it is certaine she was assumpted by death not onely in soule but in body also then of the Pope who setting foorth his new Portesse saith that those things which are vncertaine are put out where this is left in which they can not denie themselues to be vncertaine But your Rhemists passe Who as though the Porâ—esse were not bolde enough in alleaging Damascene though it mende his tale with more then one lye they take that which their Portesse doth tell them lye and al and father it vpon S. Denys that it may haue the greater credit Hart. Our Rhemists will render good account I dout not of this which they haue writen when they shall heare what is said against it And that which you declared out of the holy scriptures concerning the time of S. Denys conuersion which is the greatest argument that you brought yet to disproue the storie auouched of his preseÌ„ce at the departure of our Lady I must referre to them For I my selfe know not indéede how to accord it But why do you presse that point about the Fathers touching their ouerseeing ether the wordes or meaning or consequent of the scriptures We are past the scriptures and proofes that the Fathers do gather out of them Rainoldes But if they may gather amisse out of the scriptures and ouershoote them selues in the word of God they may be deceiued in the word of man too and either not conceiue well or not remember well or not conclude well of it Which hapned to S. Ierom in that same point that I reproued a litle rather in Eusebius For he reckning Philo the Iew amongst the Christian ecclesiastical writers doth it he saith for this reason because Philo writing a booke touching the first Church planted by the Euangelist S. Mark in Alexandria hath praised the Christians reporting them to be not onely there but in many countries and calling their dwelling places Monasteries Whereby it is apparant that the Church of beleeuers in Christ at the first was such as moonkes endeuour and seeke to be now that nothing is any mans owne in proprietie none is rich amongst them none poore their patrimonies are distributed to the needy they giue them selues wholy to prayer and to singing of Psalmes and to learning and to continencie of life such as S. Luke also doth write that the beleeuers were first at Ierusalem And this booke of Philo touching the life of our men that is of men Apostolike is entitled of the contemplatiue life of men that pray because they did contemplate studie and meditate heauenly things and prayed to God alwayes Thus farre S. Ierom. Wherein that the pointes of contemplation and prayer being somewhat like in them whom Philo wrote off and in the Christian Church did make him to mistake the one for the other as likenes they say is the mother of error but that they were not Christians whom Philo meant in that booke it may appeere by foure circumstances of names of deedes of times and of places For they of whom Philo doth write were called Essees which was a sect of Iewes of whom some liued in action and some in contemplation The Christians were neuer knowne by name of Essees either contemplatiue or actiue Againe they in Philo did leaue their goods and substance to their sonnes or daughters or kinsemen or if they had no kinsemen to their friendes The Christians gaue them to the poore and such as stood in need of succour Moreouer the solemne day which they in Philo did meete together publikely to heare the word of God taught was the seuenth day of the weeke which was the Sabbat of the Iewes the saterday as we cal it The Christians were wont to meete on the first day of the weeke that is sonday the Lordes day as S. Iohn termeth it Finally they whom Philo discourseth of did liue in no towne or citie but without in gardens and solitarie places The Christians liued in cities Euen they who are namely mentioned by Ierom I meane the Christian Church placed by S. Marke in Alexandria were planted in the citie Alexandria it selfe whereas it is precisely noted by Philo that his Iewish moonkes did dwell about it and without it Wherefore it is manifest that Ierom did mistake or had forgot the wordes of Philo. Howbeit if he had both well conceiued and remembred them yet he thereof inferred amisse that the moonkes in his time were such as S. Luke doth write that the beleeuers were first at Ierusalem For the beleeuers at Ierusalem might keepe their owne if they listed as Peter saith to Ananias while it remained perteined it not to thee And when it was sold was it not in thine own power But Ierom saith that his moonks may not haue proprietie in any thing of their owne Beside the moonkes of Ierom did liue in continencie The beléeuers at Ierusalem had wiues vsed them for any thing that S. Luke sheweth Though by the way to note the difference betwéene the Iewish moonkes the Christian who els would be too like some of the Christian moonks in Ieroms time had wiues did beget childreÌ„ which I haue not read that anie of the Iewish did Last of all the moonkes whom Ierom doth meane as he must néedes by Philo were moonkes according to their
true that the Greeke word as also the Hebrewe answering thereunto in the olde testament signifieth properly an altar to sacrifice on and not a metaphoricall or spirituall altar And if it were as much for the aduantage of their cause to proue that Masse is said in heauen as that in earth and that Christ is properly bread without a figure as that bread is properly Christ in the sacrament the text of the scripture where Christ is called bread yea the true bread would proue the one cléerely as they could fit it with this note and the word altar would put the other out of controuersie chiefely if that were noted withall that an Angell stood before the altar hauing a golden censer though others there also affirme the altar to be Christ. But it fareth with your Rhemists as it is wont with false prophets one buildeth vp a muddy wall and others daube it ouer with a rotten plaister and when a storme cometh the wall falleth and plaister with it For though as they lay it on it séemeth hansom that wordes signifie properly the naturall things which they are vsed to signifie and not metaphoricâ—ll or spirituall things yet if it be opened that hereby is meant that wordes may not be vsed by metaphores or other figures to signifie those thinges which properly they doo not signifie the boyes in grammer schooles who know what a metaphore is will laugh at it Wherefore this plaister will not helpe the weakenes of your muddy wall I meane of the conclusion which you would proue by it and doo inferre vpon it that we haue an altar in the proper sense to sacrifice Christes body vpon In the daubing vp whereof yet your plaisterers do shew a péece of greater art partly by drawing vs into hatred who haue not Popish altars but communion tables partly by winding the names of Fathers in as if they made for you against vs. Both with skill and cunning but more of sophistrie then diuinitie For that which the scripture doth call the Lords table because it is ordeined for the Lords supper in the administration of the blessed sacrament of his bodie and blood the Fathers also call it a table in respect of the heauenly banket that is serued vpon it And this in proper sense Marry by a figure of speech by which the names of thinges that are like one an other in some qualitie are giuen one vnto an other as Christ is called Dauid Iohn Baptist Elias the citie of Rome Babylon the Church of God Ierusalem the Fathers for resemblance of the Ministers and sacraments in the new testament to them in the olde are wont to giue the name as of Priestes and Leuites to Pastours and Deacons so of a sacrifice to the Lords supper and of an altar to the Lords table For these thinges are lynked by nature in relation and mutuall dependence as I may say one of an other the altar the sacrifice and the sacrificers who serue the altar that is Priestes and Leuites Wherefore if the Fathers meant a very altar in the proper sense to sacrifice Christes bodie vpon then must they meane also the Leuitical Priesthood to serue in sacrificing of it But the Leuiticall Priesthood is gone and they knew it nether did they call the ministerie of the Gospell so but by a figure Your Rhemists therefore doo abuse them in prouing as by them that the communion table is called an altar properly But vs of the other side they doo abuse more by setting an altar against a common table in such sort of spéech as if we whose Churches haue not a very altar to kill our Sauiour Christ and sacrifice him vpon it had but a common table and profane communion boord to eate meere bread vpon A feate to make vs odious in the eyes of men whom you would perswade that we discerne not the body of the Lord. Which your priuie sclander doth vs open iniurie For we haue not a common but a holy table as both we call it and estéeme it not a profane communion boorde but a sanctified to eate not meere bread but the Lords supper wherein we receiue the bread of thankes-giuing and the cuppe of blessing as the Apostles doctrine and practise of the Fathers teach vs. Your selues are guiltie rather of féeding men with meere bread who do take away the cuppe of the new testament in the blood of Christ from the Christian people and in stéede of the blessed bread of the sacrament do giue in your Masses meere bread in déede by your owne confession the common bread that goeth vnder the name of holy-bread I would to God M. Hart you would thinke with your selfe euen in your bed as the Prophet speaketh and consider more déepely both the wicked abuses wherewith the holy sacrament of the Lords supper is profaned in your vnholy sacrifice of the Masse and the treacherous meanes whereby your Maister and Felowes of the College of Rhemes doo séeke to maintaine it Who being not able to proue it by the scriptures either of the altar or of the cleane offering the principall places whereon their shew standeth they go about to bréede a good opinion of it in the heartes of the simple partly by discrediting vs with false reproches partly by abusing the credit of the Fathers Which two kinds of proofe do beare the greatest sway through all your Rhemish Annotations Hart. We do not abuse the credit of the Fathers to perswade an errour but as we endeuour to folow them in truth so alleage we them to proue the truth by them And howsoeuer you auoide the place of S. Paule where it is said we haue an altar the prophecie of Malachie that in euery place there is sacrificed and offered a cleane offering to God must néedes belong to the verie and outward sacrifice of the Masse not to spirituall sacrifices Which because that reuerend man D Allen whose treatise of the Masse is such a moate in your eye doth proue by sixe reasons the pith whereof he greatly praiseth I will bring them forth in his owne wordes that you may yéelde the rather to them First therefore the word to sacrifice and to offer being vsed by it selfe without a terme abridging it is taken in the scripture alwaies properly for the act of outward sacrifice But when it is said the sacrifice of praise the sacrifice of crying the sacrifice of contrition and the like it is perceiued easily by the wordes annexed that they be taken improperly Secondly this sacrifice of the which the Prophet speaketh is one but spirituall sacrifices there are so many as there are good workes of Christian religion Thirdly this is the proper and peculiar sacrifice of the new law and the Gentiles not of the Iewes But spirituall sacrifices of praiers and workes are common to the Iewes with vs. Fourthly
keepe the name so we kéepe the meaning of the name too and therefore the thing it selfe with S. Paul But turne it to your Masse and it is very true For in S. Ambroses time the Christian people hauing publike prayers in many Churches dayly did therewithall dayly receiue the holy sacrament of Christes body and bloud Now because sundry were at other partes of diuine seruice for whom it was not lawful to receiue the sacrament as nouices in the faith who were not yet baptized and such as Church discipline remoued from the communion therefore they were wont after prayers made and scriptures read and taught to dimisse the rest who might not communicate the faithful onely staying to receue together And this dimission of them was noted by the word missa vsed for missio that is a sending away or licensing to depart Whence it came to passe that the very name of missa was geuen to that part of the seruice and they were said missam facere who celebrated the communion as S. Ambrose did Wherefore though your sacrifice keepeth the name of Masse that S. Ambrose vsed yet doth it not keepe the thing meant thereby For nether send you them away who receiue not and many a Masse is said that hath no communicants Hart. But we wish as the Councell of Trent hath declared that the faithful who stand by at Masse would communicate Wherefore if they doe not it is through their owne default and not through ours Rainoldes But it is your faute that you send not them away from the communion who communicate not And herein your Councell doth vary from S. Ambrose and other ancient Fathers that it alloweth non-communicants to be standers by For in the primitiue Church yea in S. Gregories time who for naming Masse too is made a Masse-priest by your Doctor the Deacon was accustomed to bid them depart who did not communicate Wherefore séeing that they meant the Communion by the name of Masse and termed it so because they sent away the non-communicants from it you who doo not so may see how fond a reason D. Allen maketh for your Masse and Masse-priestes when he sheweth Ambrose Gregorie and Leo to haue vsed that name Then which there can be nothing in deede more against him For if the name open the nature of the thing as Aristotle sheweth then is not your Masse the masse of the Fathers because it is not missa that is a dimissing and sending away of them who receiue not Harte Nay it is not onely the name of the Masse whereon he relieth but the thing it selfe For who knoweth not saith he that S. Gregory the great was a Masse-priest who hath the very word the maner and the partes thereof so expresly in his Epistles who sent all holy furniture and ornamentes for the same to our Blessed Apostle Rainoldes What to S. Paul the Apostle of the Gentiles Hart. I meane to S. Austin the Apostle of the Englishmen Rainoldes I know no such Apostle if you meane of that sort of which Christ gaue Apostles as the maiestie of the words our Blessed Apostle should import But the ornaments and furniture which S. Gregorie sent to Austin the Moonke were not Massing-vestiments no more then the vessels and clothes that you mentioned before out of Optatus and other ancient Fathers which serued for the Communion As for the maner and partes of the Masse which he hath you say in his Epistles so expresly all that which he hath is that there was said praise ye the Lord and the clergie saying Lord haue mercy vpon vs the people answered them with the same wordes and Christ haue mercy vpon vs was saide in like sort and the Lordes prayer with the prayer called the Canon was saide ouer the offering and after consecration the Communion was ministred Now compare the maner and partes of your Masse with this of S. Gregorie and they are as like it as is an * ape vnto a man For in outward gestures and shape of face body that is in shew of actions and forme of wordes prayers yours resemble it But the soule reason as it were of it which is that the people did pray with the Pastour nor onely pray together but communicate too that your Masse hath not Hart. They pray and communicate both in affection though they receyue not alwayes the communion bodily nor vnderstand the prayers Rainoldes But to communicate is to eate and drinke which the people did in S. Gregories time and they vnderstoode the prayers which were made that they might say Amen thereto Now the Priest hath swalowed vp their right in the one and the Clerke in the other Hart. But the Canon of the Masse which is the chiefest part we haue in like sorte as S. Gregorie had And therein the worship of Saintes and prayers for the dead where of there is no shadow at all in your Communion neither can you abide them The greater wrong you doo both to him and vs to make as though you folowed that which he practised and to say that our Masse is no lyker his then is an ape vnto a man Rainoldes We folow him in that wherein he folowed Christ and the folowers of Christ. Himselfe beareth witnesse that the Apostles neither vsed nor made that Canon but I know not what Scholer Wherefore though a Scholer presenteth the merits and prayers of the Saintes before the throne of God desiring helpe for their sakes and prayeth for the faithful who do rest in Christ that they may haue a place of cooling peace and light yet because our Maister teacheth that himselfe alone wrought all righteousnesse that we might finde fauour through his desert and intercession and sheweth that the dead who dye in him are blessed and rest from their labours in light peace and comfort we folow not S. Gregories Canon in those pointes but answere him with Christ from the beginning it was not so And you who thinke your Masse better then an ape in respect of his because it resembleth his in the Canon the chiefest part of it may know that it resembleth his therein no better then doth an ape a man when he sweareth by the crosse of his ten bones For the Canon also beside that the people did heare vnderstand it recordeth their receyuing of the body blood as doo the other praiers too after the communion Which being as it were the soule and reason of it your Masse which hath it not is but an apish counterfeit of his for all the Canon Nay it is in déede so much the more apish because it hath his wordes and not the meaning of them Hart. You grate on the Communion still as if the Canon and all S.
through bashfulnes least any man should thinke me to hunt after glory which young men are too gréedie of partly through the knowledge of mine owne weaknes who neither in respect of wit nor age nor learning was ripe inough to bring foorth fruites which might be set before all men to be tasted off For though I desire to benefitte all whom I may hauing learned of Plato that I am not borne for my selfe alone but for my countrey neither can I benefitte my countrey more by any meanes then by teaching the waies how to attaine to good artes as Tully thought well yet I feared least I should offend in a common faute an itching lust to write which Horace did terme madnes in his daies what would he haue done if he had liued in ours in which there is such plenty both of passing wits and of works excellent that wise men may iustly thinke it vnmeete to publish any thing that is not wrought with cunning filed with iudgement poolished with labour fruitfull for commoditie and for vse necessary Howbeit after that I was discharged of that profession of artes of humanitie that I might the better applie the studie of diuinitie what before of bashfulnes and iudgement I had still refrained to doo in things of lesse importance least I should doo it more rawly then I thought méete the duetie which I owe to God and his Church hath mooued me now to do that in a weightie matter though not so ripely as I would Which thing vndertaken both by the aduise and the request of the godly I was occasioned to thinke off by one Richard Bristow an Englishman borne abiding at Doway professing the Romish faith who hath set foorth a poisoned worke against the faith and Church of Iesus Christ the faith which we professe the Church of which we be That worke entitled Motiues to the catholike faith when first he set it foorth he hath abridged since into a pamphlet of Demaundes to be proponed of catholikes to heretikes and printed it againe setting before vs the same vnsauory Coleworts twise sodden by himselfe a thousand times by Popish cookes to the great anoyance of guestes if they féede on it great loathing if they féede not What a gréeuous iniury therein be hath doon to the Church of England nor only to the whole bodie thereof but to the seuerall partes also by raysing vp vntrue and wicked surmises by casting out reprochfull spéeches by laying heresies to our charge it shal be declared as I heare shortly in the meane season let the godly iudge whiles to beginne with our most gratious Queene the daughter of godlinesse the defender of the faith the mainteiner of peace the nurse of the Church the preseruer of the weale publik◠the mother of our countrey he doth not onely note her by the name of Pharao but also putteth secretely into mens heads that she is not a lawfull but a pretensed Queene as the Papistes terms her of her Maiesties faithfull and obedient subiectes he saith that they obey her for common humanitie not of duetie to traitors who suffred for taking armes against her he geueth the title of holy and most glorious Martyrs he sclaunderously reporteth that the wiser sort and principall of the Realme haue prooued by experience of our dooings that our religion is no religion at all that our Bishops and Ministers are most ill and wicked and very fewe who preach and they scarce euer preach vpon the mysteries of faith that our people the neerer they come to the preachers doctrine the more they fall away from order and godlines assuring yet themselues to be saued by faith only be they neuer so wicked that in our Vniuersities either nothing is studied or the arte of speaking only not Diuinitie or if Diuinitie not all but a fewe points of it that our countrey is full not of men but of monsters of Atheistes of Achrists of them who beléeue not that a mans soule dooth liue more then a beasts when it is gone out of the body finally not to rake out of those caues of brimstone the rest of the coales of iuniper which he dooth throw both generally vpon whole estates and vpon many learned and godly men particularly that our Church the very body of our Church dooth not foster an heresie or two but hath reuiued many old heresies besides at least a thousand more of their owne inuention that it committeth not a sinne or two but holdeth a common schoole of sinne wherein the scholers be most lewde and the masters lewder that it thinketh verely there is no saluation at all no religion a thing which I tremble to mention but this cockatrice with venemous mouth hath said hath said nay he hath written it and he hath writen it with a penne of iron he hath writen it to last as a monument of his sclaunder that we thinke verily there is no saluation at all none at all and that our religion indeede is no religion Now these false and sclaunderous spéeches against our Church wherewith he hath besette his worke in sundry places as with precious stones are vnderlaide with reasons against our Churches faith begotten of the same father and sisters germaine to the sclaunders loose and dull in truth yet in apparance sharpe and sound which although the skilfull might crush in péeces without harme yet might they doo harme by stinging the vnskilfull euen as a scorpion if he sting a man dooth hurt him with his sting but if you bruse him straight and with his body brused anoint the part stoong he dooth you no hurt Wherefore to the intent that this scorpion of Bristow pricking with two stings as the worst kind of scorpions is wont the one of sclaunders the other of cauilles might doo no hurt to our men whom in the vniuersities or other parts of the realme he is thought to haue stoong many godly men haue wished him to be brused that if not all the parts yet at least so many as the grace of God which only healeth would recure might therewith be anointed And this doo they séeme to haue wished so much the more because some men hauing litle skill in physiche doo thinke that this scorpions stingings are uncurable For both Bristow himselfe as Thraso 〈◊〉 Terence praising his owne spéeches And now they were all afraide of me doth proudly aske whether any of our great Masters will answere his Demaundes as though we had neither shield in the Church to quench the fierie dartes of Satan nor physician in Israel to heale such as are wounded and I know not what Gnatho which hath cast abroad of late infamous verses in our vniuersitie hath insolently boasted that the Captaines tremble amazed with Bristowes lightning as though he had astonied the Coronells of our army not the souldiers onely But let Bristow know that nether all doo feare him howsoeuer he hath touched
doctrine swéete of Christ their master fedde By preaching first by wryting then to nations all if spred And these bookes hath the holy Ghost set foorth for mortall wights That we in course of faith and life might folow them as lights Auant all ye who brain-sick toies and fansies vaine defend Who on humane traditions and Fathers sawes depend The holy written word of God doth shew the perfit way Whereby from death to life arise from curse to blisse we may 2 The militant Church may erre both in maners and in doctrine TO warfare euery one dooth goe that serueth Christ in field To warfare all their names are billed who doo Gods armour wéelde And doost thou man in warfare serue and art thou frée from blowes And may no dart thy body pearce assaulted by the foes The citie of Ierusalem with holy Church was dight That holy Church kept not her course at all assaies aright Corinthus godly was and pure Philippi shone full bright The faith of Thessalonians was spred in glorious plight Corinthus pure is stayned now Philippi lyes defaced Your praise O Thessalonians is by the Turke disgraced And thou O Rome the Qâ—éene of pride which swell'st on mountaines seuen Thy hart is pearst with deadly wound thou fall'st to hell from heauen While that the Church doth make abode on earth in seats of clay Am I deceiued or may she féele the dint of errours sway 3 The holy scripture is of greater autoritie then the Church THe godlesse rowt inflam'd with lust of holding scepter hie Dooth lift the stately throne of Rome vnto the golden skie Unto the skie that pride were â—inall nay faâ—re aboue the skie Subduing Christ his scepter great to Romish royaltie Men say that Giants did attempt the heauenly powers to quell What doo they raise new warres againe from grisly gulfe of hell The holy church may for it selfe claime worthy gifts of right T is great I graunt but lesse I trust then is the Lord of might Let mortall things geue place to God let men to Christ accord The wife to man the earth to heauen the subiect to the Lord. ALthough I am not ignorant right worshipfull audience that Cato the graue Censour reprooued a certaine Roman who taking vpon him to write a storie in Greeke had rather craue pardon of his fault in dooing it then kéepe himselfe cléere from committing that fault yet so it hath hapned to me at this present yelding shal I say thereto or refusing it surely some what against my will but so it hath hapned that I who could not choose but commit a faut am forced to request you to pardon my faut For both the weakenes of my voice because it is not able to fill the largenesse of this place wil discontent perhaps them who heare me not and the vnripenesse of my abilitiâ— which I feare me will not answere the solemnitie of this assemblie in handling those things that are to be debated will of likelihoode be reproued by them who heare me How much the more earnestly I am to request by word you that heare me by will the rest who heare me not that either you wil be no Censours at all or els be more fauourable Censours then Cato least either you iudge me to haue dealt vnwisely who did not kéepe my selfe from fault or impudent who first commit it and then request you not to blame it Neither do I dout but I shal finde defense for the weakenes of my voice in your frendly curtesiâ— before whom I speake for the vnripenes of my abilitie in the goodnes of the cause which I haue to speake off For that your curtesie will condemne me of that fault which I could not eschew I néede not to feare And the goodnes of the cause hath in it such euident and cléere light of trueth that I doo not dout it will defend it selfe though no man pleade for it Wherein I hope also that you euen your selues either doo already or will agrée with me if you shall heare me open as briefly as I may the meaning of the thrée Conclusions that I hâ—ld the perfection of the scripture the infirmitie of the Church the autoritie of them both For as for the praise and commendation of Diuinitie whereof the beginning is from heauen the maiestie diuine the office to be an instrument of saluation to mankinde which was ordeyned by God the father reueled by Iesus Christ registred in writing by the holy Ghost I cannot speake thereof as I would according to the woorthines of the thing as I may according to my power I ought not In the one I hope you approue my good will in the other I beséech you take my iudgement in good part For I doâ— not say by way of amplification colourably that I refraine therefore from the praising of it because my woundering at it dooth dasell like the brightnesse of the sun-beames the eyes of my minde as Tully faineth of Caesar that the people shewed not their good will toward him by ioyful clapping of their hands because that they being amazed with woondring at him could not stirre themselues But as the prophet Esay witnesseth of God that when he behelde his maiestie he was dismaied because he was a man of polluted lips vnworthie to behold the king and Lord of hostes so may I protesâ— from my hart in trueth that when I consider the highnes of Gods worde I holde my peace as amazed because I am a man of polluted lips vnfitte to touch the noblenesse of a thing so woorthie Wherefore I willingly leaue these Iuy-garlands to be hanged vp by them who vent the wine of Philosophie Physike and Lawe which artes very profitable but for the life that fadeth excellent but humaine commendable but transitorie beutifull but brittle I dout not but already the learning and eloquence of men well séene therein hath made you wel to like of in this exercise of disputations Now I take a greater enterprise in hand for the valour of the thing which I am to deale with though nether with better witte nor deeper iudgement then they whom I folow in the course of dealing Liuie reporteth that Annibal hauing purposed to fightâ—with the Romans did cause certaine couples of captiues to fight one with an other hand to hand before he set his souldiers in battaile aray that his Carthaginians might by that pastime of the captiues combat addresse them selues with better consideration and courage to the serious and set battaile In like sorte there haue béene brought before you gentle audience to the combat sundrie opinions of sundrie artes as it were cooples of captiues which whether they liue or dye be so or not so it skilleth not greatly the state of the realme is not ventured vpon it But now from that sporting conflict of light matters there cometh to the battaile for earnest tryall of thinges of weight host against host truth against falshood religion against errour wherein if we swarue out
of the right way it is the death not of captiues but of Carthaginians not opinions of men but the truth of God is hazarded not life not health not wealth and possessions but the inheritance of heauen and saluation cometh into controuersie Lend me therefore I pray you the presence of your mindes and patience of your eares to that which shall be spoken remembring that we haue not toyes as on a stage but serious thinges in hand And because we handle the matters of the Lord I pray him to sanctifie with his holy spirit our tongues and your eares and the mindes of all that neither we dispute to any other end then to bring foorth the truth into light by conference of reasons neither you in hearing haue any other minde then to beléeue the truth when it shal be brought foorth and proued To beginne therefore with the first Conclusion and so runne ouer the rest briefly the holy scripture teacheth the Church all things necessarie to saluation God the father of eternall goodnes and mercy did choose of his frée and singular fauour before the foundations of the world were laide a great number of men whom he would indue with euerlasting life and make them heires of heauenly glory Now that the chosen might come to this inheritance they were to be made the children of God by adoption through Iesus Christ. For this hath euer béene the onely way to saluation In consideration whereof the holy ghost speaking of the company of such as God hath chosen termeth them sometime the children of God by adoption not by nature yet felow heires with Christ sometime the wife of the Lambe which is indowed with al the wealth of her husband some time the body of Christ by the power and vertue of whom as of a head they are gouerned and moued sometime the citizens of heauen appointed to bee inhabitants of the new Ierusalem finally Christ him selfe to omit the rest doth call them his Church which the gates of hell shall not preuaile against This Church then euen the company of the elect and chosen the children of God the wife of the Lambe the body of Christ the citizens of heauen that is to say the holy Catholike Church as it is chosen and ordained by God to life euerlasting so hath it béene alwayes taught by his worde the way of saluation whereby it might come to the possession of that life His word being vttered in old time sundry wayes was published at length in writing And so it came to passe that the holy writinges of God did teach the Church such thinges as must be knowne for the obteining of saluation For who could reueale the way to obtaine the inheritance of the kingdom of God but God alone And he reueled it to his Church as first without writing in such sort as séemed best to his wisdome so afterwarde in writing by the hand of his seruants inspired with the holy Ghost without writing to Adam and from Adams time till Moses in writing to Moses and from Moses forwarde till the ende of the world Wherfore in these writings giuen out by the holy Ghost and penned by the seruants of God which writings S. Paul calleth scripture by an excellencie as you would say the writings which surpasse all others the way of saluation whereby wee come to heauen the light of our soules which shineth in this worlds darkenesse the foode of life which nourisheth vs to grow in Christ is deliuered to the Church For cléerer proofe whereof let vs diuide the Church into the olde and the new the olde before Christ the new since Christ was borne The Prophets taught the old Church the way of saluation the Apostles with the Prophets together teach the new more plenteously and fully The doctrine of the Prophets and Apostles is comprised in the holy scripture The scripture therefore teacheth the Church whatsoeuer is behoofefull to saluation For the Church is the company of the elect and chosen Now they who are elect are of the houshold of God and they of his houshold are built on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophetes Iesus Christ himselfe being the chiefe corner stone But this foundation of the Apostles and Prophets is the doctrine touching Christ which they preached to the Church And that doctrine which they preached is enrolled in scripture Wherefore the scripture teacheth the Church all thinges that for saluation are requisite to be knowne Moses to beginne with the first of the Prophets hauing published the law of God to the Israelites Giue eare saith he O Israel to the ordinances which I teach Ye shall not adde to the worde which I command you nor shall you take from it but whatsoeuer I command you that shall ye obserue to doo that ye may keepe the commandements of the Lord your God Now the Israelites were to labour for the obtaining of saluation But they might do nothing which was not prescribed by the law of God Therefore the writen law of God did deliuer whatsoeuer was needfull for the saluation of the Israelites And there is no dout but the Israelites were the Church The law then did teach whatsoeuer was needfull for the saluation of the Church The Prophets who folowed were expounders of the law that as they were inspired with the same spirit by which Moses wrote so they neither added any thing to his law nor tooke from it onely they vnfolded it to the edifying of the Church as it séemed best to the holy ghost I let passe Dauid in whom there are not many mo Psalmes then there are testimonies of the sufficiency of the law Esay examineth both the faith and life of the Priestes and people by the law and testimonie Idolaters are condemned by the Lord in Ieremie for dooing in their sacrifices thinges which he commanded not In Malachie the last Prophet God willeth his people to remember the law of Moses that he as a schoolemaister may leade them to Christ whose forerunner should be Elias But these thinges could not haue beene spoken by God or the seruants of God vnlesse the law of Moses had shewed the whole and perfit way of saluation The law of Moses therefore did wholy and perfitly instruâ—â— the Church therein Which if the law of Moses did performe alone much more all the Prophets together with Moses How may it then be douted but the olde Church was taught out of the scriptures the way of saluation wholly and perfitly S. Iohn to passe ouer from the Prophets to the Apostles after that the sunne of righteousnesse was risen not to abolish the law but to fulfill it and to bring a brighter and cléerer light into the worlde declareth in the gospell how Iesus Christ our Sauiour doing the office of our soueraine Prophet Priest and King accomplished our saluation by teaching by dying by rising from the dead Our saluation then is fully wrought by Christ. But
but earthly not spirituall but like the kingdomes of this world presently to come not after to be looked for proper to Israel not common to all nations by vertue of the promises Yea that more is when they had receiued the holy Ghost in greater measure from heauen Peter went not rightly to the truth of the Gospell Iohn would haue worshipped an Angell once or twise the Apostles brethren who were in Iudaea thought that the word of God was not to be preached to the Gentiles But yet al these errours of the Apostles were curable For both they returned to Christ when he was risen againe from death to life and first them selues acknowledged then they taught others the state of his kingdome and Peter being reproued by Paul did yeeld vnto him and Iohn stayed himselfe vpon the Angels admonition and the Apostles with the brethren being taught the truth were glad that God had graunted to the Gentiles also repentance vnto life Wherein that is performed which was promised by Christ when Peter hauing made that worthy profession of faith he said vnto him Thou art Peter and on this stone will I build my church and the gates of hell shall not preuaile against it The gates of hell shal not preuaile against the church they shall not preuaile They shall bée of strength then against the Church but they shall not preuaile by strength For the elect and chosen of God may take a fall but fall a way they can not Perhaps they build stubble but they build on the foundation And the foundation is Christ Iesus from whom they shall neuer be plucked away For as Fabius saith in Liuie that right doth faint often as being not able well to proue the truth but it neuer dyeth so men who cleaue to right and truth are oft assaulted but they are neuer conquered The sheepe of Christ may go astray in the wildernes but they can not perish The prodigall sonne may go away from his father but he shall come againe The faith of Peter him selfe did sowne as you would say but it failed not Hée was turned away a while from the Lord whom he denied too but he was turned againe vnto him To conclude the faithfull are sorely pressed often by many enemies and mightie but they shall neuer be suppressed Often haue they assaulted mee from my youth vp may Israel now say often haue they assaulted mee from my youth vp but they haue not preuailed against me It is certaine therefore that the elect and chosen though they be made the children of God by adoption yet are subiect to errour Howbeit of the other side they are subiect so that they are freed from the gilt of errour by Christ and are accepted as holy of God because they are in part holy I am blacke ô yee daughters of Ierusalem saith the spowse yet I am comely as the tentes of Kedar yet as the hangings of Salomon Yea farther the bridegrome saith that shee is faire nay that is more the Fairest but the fairest of wemen not simply the fairest as Bernard well noteth but in comparison of wemen but in respect of earthly creatures To teach the Church thereby least shée waxe proude that as long as she liueth in the tabernacle of the body she goeth on towardes but is not yet come to the perfection of fairenes and therefore that she is not I vse S. Bernardes wordes faire altogither though shee be therefore commended for her fairenesse because shee walketh after the spirit not after the flesh But here peraduenture some man will obiect an argument which Papists are euer hammering on that the holy Ghost is promised and giuen by Christ to the elect and the holy Ghost is the Ghost or spirit of holines and truth whereof it may seeme to be well gathered that they can neither erre in doctrine nor in maners To this if it be obiected thus I answere that the holy Ghost hath filled with the vnmeasurable abundance of his grace none but Christ onely of whose fulnes we all receiue Christ in déed hath giuen the holy ghost to the elect but he hath giuen it by measure as I may say with Iohn not to this effect that they may not erre but that they may not erre to death For it is a sentence not onely proued by Philosophers but also knowen to simple men by common experience that whatsoeuer thing is receiued of an other it is receiued according to the capacitie of that which receiueth it We receiue therefore the gifts of the holy Ghost according to the simple capacitie of mans weakenesse not to the maiestie of Gods spirit There is water enough in the maine sea to quench the raging flames that waste a whole towne but a small dish can not containe enough to asswage the fier that burketh one house Men who are begotten in the image and likenes of their father Adam doo flame burne as the Prophet speaketh Though they be borne anew of water and of the spirit yet the water of the spirit dâ—â—th not quite put out all sparkes of faultes and ouersights For there remaineth a strife betwéen the spirit and the flesh euen in the godly and the remnants of the flesh stick in the hart and mind both and now while we liue we know but in part and the power of God is perfitted in weaknes and Ieremie praieth heale me O Lord and I shal be healed and Paul acknowledgeth of himselfe that he is not yet perfitte though labouring hard toward the marke and Iames saith generally concerning the faithfull In many things we all offend and our Sauiour witnesseth that he which is washed hath neede to wash his feete Wherefore though the chosen and elect of God be renued by the holy Ghost yet they are not clensed so in this life from all peruersenes of hart and blindnes of minde that they can neither swarne from dooing their duetie nor be deeeiued in iudgement For the holy Ghost no dout as Christ promised dooth leade theÌ„ into all truth yea I say farther into all holines but so as S. Paul professeth to the Ephesians that he shewed them all the counsell of God Now he shewed them all the counsell of God not absolutely and simply but so farre as was profitable for them The holy Ghost therefore doth lighten the mindes and sanctiâ—â—e the harts of the elect and chosen so farre as is expedient for their saluation But it is expedient for vs to erre in some things that we may geue all glory vnto God alone that knowing what we are we be not high minded that we may be taught to beare ech others burdens that we may worke forth our own saluation with feare that we may learn with Paul that the grace of God is sufficient for vs that we may sharpen our
trust in him stirre vp our loue towardes him and pray vnto him hartily increase our faith forgeue our sinnes in a word that we may runne the whole race of our life with greater stedfastnes and constancie Then sith these things are thus it is to be concluded that the godly are lead by the holy Ghost into all trueth and holinesse euen to saluation but to this saluation they are so lead that they are not frée from all spot and wrincle either of maners or of doctrine Touching which point on the one side in respect of maners Sebastian Castellio hath erred very shamefully holding this hereticall opinion amongst others that the regenerate are able to performe the law of God perfitly which thing it is blasphemous to affirme of any but of Christ onely On the other side in respect of doctrine Hosius the Cardinall hath ouershot him selfe as fowly saying that euerie one of the elect may erre as by S. Cyprians example he sheweth but that all the faithfull gathered together in one cannot erre which is a fansy of a man that would build castles in the ayre It is a matter therefore most sure and out of dout that the elect and chosen may erre as in maners so in doctrine too though in such sort that they shall not die but liue notwithstanding and be cured of their errors Marry that they who are not chosen but onely called may erre euen to death as well in doctrine as in maners in maners it appeereth by the example of Iudas who was brought through couetousnes to betray Christ in doctrine we may sée by those monstrous heretikes of whom S. Iohn saith they went out from vs but they were not of vs. Wherefore sith both the chosen and the called may erre the one to their triall the other to their destruction and the church militant consisteth of none but of the called and the chosen that which I proposed is prooued sufficiently that the militant church may erre not onely in maners but in doctrine also If any man for proofe thereof require examples hée hath the churches of Galatia of Corinth of Pergamus of Thyatira of Sardis and of Laâ—dicea All the which to omit examples of our owne time the scripture witnesseth to haue erred some of them in maners some in doctrine some in both Yea the very church of Ephesus it selfe which Christ shewed to Iohn in the figure of a candlesticke because it held the light of life which Timothee abode in when Paul wrote vnto him that the church is the piller and ground of the truth euen this church of Ephesus was impaired so greatly by leauing of her first loue that Christ did therefore threaten her he would remoue her candlesticke out of his place vnlesse shee repented She repented not but by litle and litle became woorse woorse and heaped faut vpon faut yea many fautes vpon one both in maners and doctrine Therefore Christ remoued her candlesticke out of his place the chosen who shined with the light of faith he gathered to himselfe the called who hated the light he gaue ouer to darkenes the shadow of death the godly he made pillers in the temple of his God the hypocrites the filth of the temple he cast out to the dunghill of the vngodly and he left the citie of Ephesus desolate to wicked Mahomets impietie Now that may befall to euery one as they say which may befall to any one Then looke what hath befallen to the Church of Ephesus that may to euery Church But the Church of Ephesus was shaken first and crased afterwarde quite ouerthrowne and being hereft of the light of Christ is now a Church no longer Then is there no Church vpon the face of the earth howsoeuer it flatter it selfe with those titles of the candlesticke of Christ piller of the truth there is no Church I say whose bodie that is the chosen may not be ouertaken with faintnesse and darkenesse whose dregges that is the hypocrites may not be consumed with rottennesse and destruction finally whose whole frame constitution may not be depriued both of strength and beautie I know that the Papists answere hereunto that the militant Church may erre for the flockes the people that are in it but the guides and Pastours whose assemblie is called the Church by Christ saying tell the Church can not Which is false and fond For as there are sheepe and goates in the flockes so the Pastours of them are good hirelinges or theeues The good ones do slumber sometimes as the Apostles the hirelinges fly assoone as the woolfe commeth the theeues come to steale to kill and to destroy Wherefore no Pastour is exempt from danger of erring more or lesse And for the former point that they may erre in maners what néede I bring Apostles or Prophets to proue it The complaint of Bernard is fresh I would to God it were not too fresh there creepeth an owgly rot at this present through the whole body of the Church Which wordes being spoken in reproof of the life and conuersation of the Prelates that is of the Bishops Pastours of the Church doo shew that not a common disease but a rot and that not small but ougly and that creeping on not kéeping at a stay may infect not onely this or that member but the whole body of Pastors for their maners Now that they may also be ouerseene in doctrine and erre in pointes of faith it is plainely proued by those Corinthian Pastours who built hay and stubble vpon the foundation that S. Paul had layde by them of whom S. Peter foretelleth that there should be false teachers in the new Church as in the old there were false prophets by Samosatenus Arius Nestorius Pastors of famous Churches and autors of most heinous heresies yea by the Bishops of the whole world who all were Arians in a maner when there were scarce left a few Catholiks when the whole world did grone wonder at it selfe that it was become an Arian But the Papistes will reply that when they say the Church caÌ„not erre they meane the Church in that sense in which the Schoole-men call it representatiue that is Bishops and Prelates representing the whole church in a generall Councell What And hath that Church I meane a generall Councell this priuilege that it can not erre They hold so in deede But what will they say of so many Councels of the Arians which caused Gregorie Nazianzene to despaire that any good would be doon by Councels But they deny these to haue béene lawfull Councels What will they answere then to those which them selues confesse to haue béene lawfull The Councell of Laodicea though a prouinciall Councell yet allowed by a generall did set downe the same Canon of the scriptures which both the olde Church had
Christ most holy Finally sith God hath called the holy church not out of this or that countrey not out of this or that people but out of all nations spred through the whole world for that cause the church is intitled Catholike that is vniuersall not Iewish not Roman not English not of one people or prouince but vniuersall and Catholike coÌ„pacted as it were into one body out of all sorts of estates sexes ages nations Iewes Heathens Greeks Barbarians bond and free men and wemen old and young rich and poore For both the old Church before the birth of Christ which saw the day of Christ to come and was saued did gather children of God vnto her selfe at first out of any people afterward when the grace of God shined chiefly among the people of Israel she did ioyne conuertes to Israel out of the rest and much more the new Church called since Christ was borne hath enlarged her tabernacle as Esay the Prophet speaketh to all nations beginning at Ierusalem Iudaea Samaria and going forward thence euen to the vttermost endes of the earth For God hath not called the circumcised Iewes alone to be his Church as the time was when the Apostles thought through a litle ouersight the Iewes in our dayes haue too presumptuously wéened but Christ being crucified hath broken the stoppe of the partition-wall and is become the chiefe stone of the corner on which a dooble wall ariseth and as Dauid prophecied the Egyptian the Babylonian the Tyrian the Aethiopian the Philistine are borne in Sion and as the Elders in whom is represented the company of the faithfull doo sing vnto Christ Thou hast redeemed vs to God by thy blood out of euery kinred and tounge and people and nation and hast made vs kings and priests to our God we shall raigne vpon the earth Wherefore sith the church which the holy scriptures doo commend vnto vs betokeneth the company and assembly of the faithfull whom God hath chosen Christ hath sanctified and called out of all nations to the inheritance of his owne kingdome the holy Ghost who spake by the Prophets and Apostles doth warrantise me to resolue on my Conclusion that the holy catholike church which we beleeue is the whole company of Gods electâ—and chosen You maruell perhaps why I propose this article of the ChristiaÌ„ faith to be discussed by disputation as though either any man stood in dout of it or things not douted of were to be handled as doutfull But if you consider that the true meaning therof which I haue opened most agréeable to the scripture most comfortable to the faithfull is condemned and accursed by the standerd-bearers of the church of Rome you will cease to maruell For in the Councell of Constance in which they condemned Iohn Husse for an heretike they condemned these two sayings as hereticall to be burned with him that there is one holy vniuersall Church which is the whole company of them that are predestinate and that the Church as it is takeÌ„ in this sense for the company of them that are predestinate is the article of our faith Which sayings of his to be counted vngodly it séemed strange to me and so much the more because I perceiued that the Fathers whose words the Papistes will séeme to make great account of when they serue their purpose did vse the same squire to measure out the Catholike church by For Clemens Alexandrinus dooth expresly call it the company of the elect into which are gathered the faithfull and iust whom God did predestinate before the creation of the world Likewise Ambrose hauing said that the honour of God the father is in Christ and in the church defineth the church to be a people which God hath vouchsafed to adopt to him selfe Furthermore Gregorie the Bishop of Rome affirmeth that all the elect are contained within the compasse and circuite of the church all the reprobate are without it And Bernard declaring the church to be the company of all the elect which company was predestinate before the world began doth touch it as a mysterie which he had learned of Paul and saith that he will boldly vtter it As for Austin a man of sharpest iudgement of them all he neither acknowledgeth any city of God but this elect church in his most lerned worke touching the citie of God and in another touching the catechizing of the vnskilfull he saith that all the holy and sanctified men which are which haue been which shal be are citizens of this heauenly Ierusalem and in another touching baptisme against the Donatists against whom he vrgeth the Catholike church most he confesseth that those things in the song of songs the garden inclosed the fountaine sealed vp the lilie the sister the spouse of Iesus Christ are meant of the holy and righteous alone who are Iewes inwardly by circumcision of the hart of which holy men the number is certaine praedestinate before the foundation of the world Wherefore if the Prelates of the Romish Church had had any reuerence I say not of the scriptuâ—es ouer which they play the Lordes as they list but of the Fathers of whom as of orphans they beare men in hand that they haue vndertooke the wardship they would neuer haue wounded or rather burnt in Husses person Clemens Alexandrinus Ambrose Gregorie Bernard and Austin who taught the same point that is condemned in Husse namely that the holy vniuersall Church is the whole company of the elect of God But it is I sée an vndouted truth which a learned man liking the Popes religion but not the Popes presumption hath set downe in writing that amongst the Popes and men like to Popes it is a sure principle If wrong he to be doon it is to be doon when thou maist get a kingdome by it For they wrest the holy catholike Church taught vs in the Creede from the right meaning to the intent they may be kings hoyse vp the sayles of their owne ambition in as much as they apply it like vnskilfull men if they doo it ignorantly impious if wittingly they apply it I say not to the Catholike Church but to the militant nor to that as it is choseÌ„ but as it is visible mingled with hypocrites and vngodly persons The cause why they do so is that all Christians by reason they beleeue the holy Catholike Church may be induced to thinke that the visible Church must be held for Catholike and a visible monarchie must be in the visible Church and the Pope is Prince of the visible monarchie and all Christians must be subiect to him as Prince For this to be the marke whereat the Popes shoote it is as cléere as the light by the verie Extrauagants as they are termed of the Canon law in that royall decrée of Boniface the eighth beginning with these wordes One holy Catholike Church Where from one
to harten them against all dangers and deceites of enemies with the skill of warfare and sure hope of victorie he bindeth them with sacraments as with bonds of obedience and pledges of his grace he willeth them to call for his helpe in distresses promiseth it if they call for it he appointeth them warlike discipline to kéepe them selues in order and gard them safer from their enemies to be short be deliuereth them the whole trade of warfare opened by himselfe the Generall of the armie and writen in his word To the intent then that all the souldiers of God who be sent at diuers times into diuers countries to serue him in this warfare might learne it practise it he hath ordeined as ciuill assemblies societies for the mainteinance of this life so likewise for the next ecclesiasticall In which ecclesiasticall societies and assemblies it is his will pleasure that there should be captaines to teach and souldiers to learne both of them warriours faithfully to practise and wage the warre of the Lord. And these are called churches but particular churches to distinguish them from the catholike because they are diuers partes of the catholike that is the whole church diuers members of one body diuers bandes of one army Which for the diuers regard of place and time wherein they go to warfare are specified by diuers names In regard of place the church which serued God at Ierusalem is called the church of Ierusalem that which at Samaria the church of Samaria that which at Ephesus the church of Ephesus that which at Rome the church of Rome they which in England in France in Germany are called the English the French the Dutch churches In regard of time wée say the Iewish church in the dayes of Moses of Dauid of Ezekias the Roman vnder Nero Constantine Boniface the English in King Henries raigne King Edwardes Queene Maries or how soeuer els the difference of times be noted Now the rule of reason and honestie would that euery one of these churches ordeined by God to that end should bring foorth the children of God as a mother yeld dutifull honour to God as a spouse and fight the spirituall battailes of God as a valiant and faithfull army But the deuill the enemy of the chosen woman in nature a Satan in subtletie a serpent in fiercenes a dragon which furiously pursueth the woman her seede soweth rares among the wheate in the field of the Lord that is to say he mingleth his souldiors with the souldiours of God in the campe and amongst the godly he foysteth in hypocrites that they being felow-souldiors in shew but traitours in déede may corrupt the army And him selfe prouoketh the faithfull to reuolt from God by all his practises open and secret force and fraude some time by fyer and sword of tyrantes some time by baites of pleasures and wealth some time by the pretense of religion and charitie By the which meanes he procureth often partly through the craft and cunning of hypocrites chiefly when they are made captaines of some band partly through the frailtie and infirmitie of the elect whom flesh and blood doo weaken that the church which is billed to the warfare of Christ knoweth not or careth not for the trade of warfare and serueth perhaps vnder her captaines banner but retchlessely and loosely perhaps is betrayed to the enemy by her watchmen while either they doo fall a sleepe or deale falsely And so commeth that to passe at the length which the Prophets lament in the church of the Iewes too many churches since Christes time haue felt that the church which should be a mother is a stepmother shée whose faith is plight to Christ becometh an adulteresse bands of souldiers breaking their promise yea their oth doo rebell against the Highest So the churches of Galatia when they had beléeued the Gospell of Christ and their names were billed by their owne consent to serue in his warres were remoued away by such as troubled them to an other Gospell So S. Paul feareth for the Church of Corinth least as the serpent beguiled Eue through his suttletie so their minds should be corrupted and seduced from the simplicitie that is in Christ. So Christ him selfe teacheth vs that the church of Pergamus was stayned with the filth of the Nicolaitans that the church of Laodicea was blind naked luke-warme neither hot nor cold that the church of Sardis was in part dead in part readie to dye though aliue in part The assemblies therefore of the churches militant called visible churches which doo containe the good togither with the bad the chosen with the reprobate the faithfull with the treacherous the holy with the hypocrites chaffe with corne tares with wheate wooden and earthen vessels with vessels of gold and siluer some of them for honour and some vnto dishonour I say these visible churches may doo their dutie faintly may leaue it altogither vndoon may be discharged of their oth and dismissed from souldiers seruice they may be sicke of lesser diseases and infirmities they may be of a deadly pestilence they may lose the spirit of Christ and so dye Furthermore to make it easier to be séene what churches ought to be accounted dead what churches sicke what churches whole and sound we haue to consider the causes of death of sicknesse and of health The causes of these things do come in mens bodies as Physicians teach partly from the seede that wee are begotten of partly from the foode wherewith wee are nourished Whereof the one appeereth in sicknesse and diseases that come by inheritance such as are deriued from the parents to the children the other as it hath a great force in all men so experience sheweth that it hath greatest force in armies For the souldiors who serued Marcus Antonius being faine to eate rootes for want of corne fell vpon an herb which brought them first to madnesse and afterward to death and Vegetius a writer of the trade of warfare geuing charge that souldiers drinke not of marish waters saith that naughty water is like vnto poyson and doth breede the plague in them who drinke of it Not vnlike is the case of spirituall death diseases and health in the bodies of Churches For they doo either liue in pâ—rfit good health or fall into sicknes or come to their death according to the nature of their seede and foode Now the seede whereof and foode with the which they are wont and ought to be begotten anew and nourished is the word of God as S. Peter witnesseth preached by the seruants and ministers of Christ. Therefore in what Churches the ministers doo preach the word of God pure sincere and vncorrupt that it may bréede good iuyce and blood in them through the inward woorking of the holy Ghost those churches must we count to be â—ound and whole some of them
indeede more sound then other some according as the word is more purely preaâ—â—ed and the spirit worketh more effectually but all of them sound But where the word of God either is not preached so that there groweth a famine or is preached corruptly mixt with mans word as it were with leauen or darnell or poyson as they who receiue no foode are like to dye through hunger such as eate bread made of corne and â—â—rnel doo fall into a light frenâ—â—â— so must we néedes iudge that churches whose foode is either none or naught are apt to diseases and neere to their deathe For Amos declareth that men are cast away through want of the word in that he telleth Israel that God will send a famine and a thirst of hearing the word of the Lord which when they shall seeke for to and fro and finde no where it shall come to passe that virgins and young men shall faint with thirst and fall and neuer rise againe Now that the corruption of the worde doth hurt too the Apostle noteth in aduertising Timothee that they who teach other doctrine and consent not to the wholesome wordes of Christ and to the doctrine which is according to godlines are sick and do dote about noysome folies which edifie not to godly faith in so muâ—h that their word doth fret as a kinde of canker which hauing taken hold of one part of the body doth eate out the next partes by litle litle vntill the whole body at last be cleane consumed Which if it come to passe as it must of necessitie vnlesse the better remedy be spéedily prouided for healing of the body that which was a body doth become a carkasse and is no longer a church it is left destitute of the spirit of God which is the soule thereof and of the soules instrument that is the word of God And this death is threatned by Christ to the Iewes in the old church refusing him their Messias therefore shal the kingdome of God be taken from you and geuen to a nation which shall bring foorth the fruites of it and in the new church to the EphesiaÌ„s hauing left their first loue I wil come against thee shortly wil remoue thy candlestick out of his place except thou amend Which two things foretold by our sauiour Christ were fulfilled in the destruction of the two churches of the church of the Iewes within a few yeares when the gospel was remoued from them to the Gentiles of the church of Ephesus many ages after when hauing béen sick first of sundrie heresies it died a while ago of the plague of Mahomet Thus I haue declared as briefly as I could how particular churches are called members of the catholike how they are ordeyned to learn and practise Goâ—s seruice how the good in them are intermingled with the bad the godly with hypocrites finally what their health is what their diseases be and when they must be counted sound when vnsound Which pointes being marked my paines wil be the lesser in opening the Conclusion the two stemmes whereof on what rootes they grow you perceiue already The church of Rome is not the catholike church it is no sound member of the catholike church The church of Rome is not the catholike church What can be more cléere For the catholike church is the church vniuersall the church of Rome is particular So that in my iudgement the Papistes speake monstrously when they call the Romane church the catholike church and make them all one Some will say perhaps that when they call it catholike they meane it to be sound and of a right beleefe such as doth hold the catholike faith as the ciuil law doth terme the right beléeuers catholike Christians and the church of Afrike is named catholike by Cyprian Yet that is false too For they geue the title of catholike church of Rome that they may put into the heads of the vnskilfull that that is the church out of which there is no saluation But out of the church of Rome there haue beene saued innumerable shall be out of the catholike church not one But let it be graunted that they meane by catholike a church holding the right faith I deny that the church of Rome doth hold the right faith and that is the other part of my Conclusion it is no â—ound member of the catholike church Now when I deny it to be a sound member of the catholike church I meane not that it languisheth of a litle sicknes or disease not dangerous which may seeme rather to haue abated somewhat of exquisite health then haue bereft her of all health For as Galen teacheth of the health of the body that it hath a reasonable bredth as you would say and certaine degrees as it were of perfitnes that they who are able to go about their businesse and doo affaires of life are to be counted whole though they enioy not a most perfit health so in the health of churches I déeme there are certaine degrées of sinceritie that they who doo the functions of spirituall life reasonably well are to be counted â—ound although they attaine not to a most absolute soundnesse And for that cause as we iudge our owne churches to be sound although there remaine some distemper in them by the relikes of those diseases wherewith the contagion of the church of Rome had cast them downe so that they could not yet be recouered fully in like sort we iudge of the churches of Germanie which are troubled with the errour of consubstantiation as it were with the grudging of a litle ague if other wise they holde Christian faith and loue soundly and sincerely But the church of Rome is not distempered with a litle ague such as hindereth not the functions of life greatly but is sicke of a canker or rather of a leprosy or rather of a pestilence in so much that she is past hope of recouery vnlesse our Sauiour Christ the heauenly physician doo giue her wholesome medicins to purge her of pernicious humours And therefore I pronounce that the church of Rome is no sound member of the catholike church Which I will proue by two reasons the one of the causes the other of the effectes whereof from the one diseases doo arise in the other they shew them selues by them both they are surely proued I would to God I might discourse hereof at large according as the weightines of the thinges requireth But we must be content to doo as time wil license vs. You wil pardon me therefore I trust if I runne them ouer somewhat hastily and as they say touch and go I will hold out my finger toward the well head gesse you the lion by his pawes Concerning the causes which doo bréed diseases and sicknesse in the church it is as I haue touched already cléere and certaine that they are either the want of food of Gods word
fruites and other policies of the Popes to the end that he and his Courtly traine may be more rich in wealth more galant in brauery more high in Princely state Hath not all Christendome borne to their griefe the yoke of the ambition and couetousnes of Rome which crieth out like Iudas what wil ye geue me There is extant in print the defense and Apologie of the Church of England shewing fresh markes of the Roman tyranny wherewith our countrie hath béen seared as with a hote burning yron There is extant a supplication of the parlament of Paris wherein the Frenchmen request their king to ease them of the cursed extortions iniuries and guiles of the Court of Rome There are extant the hundred greeuances of Germany whose complaints writen as it were with their own blood doo shew with what outrage the Sée of Rome hath throwen down oppressed brused and spoyled that most noble nation There are extant infinite bookes of lamentations writen by lerned men of al coastes quarters in the middest of the Papacy confessing all with one consent that the discipline of the church is greatly decayed The Papistes themselues in the Councell of Trent doo not confesse it onely but also witnesse it by publike writing to the world There was gathered together a Councell at Constance about an eight score yéeres since that the church might be reformed both in the head and in the members The matter not being accomplished at Constance was enterprised againe at Basill But Eugenius the fourth who was Pope then could not abide the reformation and therefore reuoked the Councell of Basill by messages and bulles which sith they disobeied he brake it vp by force of armes And whereas there was made an act by the French king with his States that sundry decrees and ordinances of that Councel should be of force in France the Popes who succéeded Eugenius neuer rested till they had gotten that act repealed The last hope remained in the Councell of Trent and truely many things were decréed there for points of reformation wisely and worthily But thrée spots of mischiefes touched by Heruetus a Papist of so much the greater weight his testimonie is against Papists doo renue the old corruptions one that the decrees although they were made were not obserued yet another that although they should be obserued yet they are not such as might restore fully the ancient good orders the last that although they restored the ancient orders yet doo they litle good because the Pope is not bound to lawes him selfe and he dispenseth with whom he list so that medicines heale not the wounds but make them woorse as long as the Pope may repeale alter peruert and breake through the decrees of the Councell with his dispensations And out of all dout that detestable clause annexed to decrees of reformation in the Councell prouided alwaies that the Popes autoritie be safe and no way preiudiced dooth shew the Roman Church to be not onely sick but also past hope of recouering her health For as in mens bodies the greater the spleene waxeth the lesser waxe the rest of the members they say so the more safe the Popes autoritie is the lesse safe will all parts of the Church be The Court of Rome with poyson strōg infected to destroy With the contagion of her sores dooth countries all anoy Wherfore to knitte vp the summe of my reason séeing it is manifest by the very euidence of the things themselues that nether the faith of Christ is taught purely nor the sacraments rightly ministred nor prayers made religiously nor discipline duely practised in the Church of Rome if the former reason of causes séeme too weake yet is it fully proued I hope by the effects that the Church of Rome is no sound member of the Catholike church How much more absurde were it to count her the Catholike Church The Church of Rome therefore is neither the Catholike nor a sound member of the Catholike Church I haue stayed longer in opening this Conclusion then I had purposed but I may runne ouer the last so much the more speedily For knowing how the Church of Rome is infected with pestilent diseases the contagion whereof as the lepers sore because it is daungerous to them who dwell neere it must therefore be remoued out of the campe of the faithfull we may be assured that the reformed Churches in England Scotland Fraunce Germanie and other kingdomes common weales haue seuered themselues lawfully from the Church of Rome For that is done lawfully which is done by the warrant of the word of God all whose commaundements are righteousnesse saith the Prophet But the reformed Churches obeyed his commandement in seuering themselues from the Church of Rome Therefore they seuered themselues from the Church of Rome lawfully For as ecclesiasticall societies and Church-assemblies were ordained by God that his elect and chosen should seeke him and praise him that is learne to know him and worship him being known so where his right faith and knowledge is not taught or he is not serued and worshipped aright thence doth he commaund his seruants to depart To depart first from that Church-assemblie where his right faith and knowlege is not taught the charge is giuen to Timothee Whom S. Paul aduertising of such as taught other doctrine then he did and not the wholesome words of Christ and godly doctrine declareth the qualities and fruites of those woolues and biddeth him depart from them from such sayth Paul depart thou depart thou frō their assembly and Church For so must such teachers be departed from as himselfe declared by his example at Ephesus Where he frequented the synagogue of the Iewes for the space of three moneths But when certaine obstinate disobedient persons spake euill of the way of God before the multitude he departed from them and separated the disciples So that hée seuered not himselfe onely but others also from that Church wherein the way of God was euill spoken of and men were not taught to know and beléeue in him aright Now that we must likewise depart from that Church wherein God is not serued and worshipped aright it is writen to the Corinthians Who being admonished to flee from idolatrie and from al communion with idolatrous worship are charged not to yoke thēselues with idolaters in their assemblies méetinges For what fellowship hath righteousnesse with vnrighteousnesse light with darkenesse Christ with Belial the faithful with the infidell the temple of God with idols Wherfore come out from among them and separate your selues sayth the Lord. Separate your selues from them sayth the Lord the Lord sayth not I. The Lord sayth to the Iewes go ye not vp to Beth-auen not Hosea but the Lord sayth It is called Beth-el but it is
to vs. But the Doctor saw that Babylon would fall if the distinction stoode Wherefore if he had no stronger shot then this to discharge against it I will beare with him as in the rest of his tauntes also Loosers must haue their wordes An other point he carpeth at is mine exposition of holy catholike church Which I hauing proued by the Papistes themselues that it must needes signifie the company of the chosen alone not mixt with wicked ones because by their catechisme it is the body of Christ all the body of Christ is quickned by his spirit which the wicked are not he replieth that the church is said in the scripture to be the body of Christ quickned by his spirite because some partes of it are so not all the body An aunswere somewhat straunge considering that the scripture which I had alleaged saith that al the body of Christ is quickned so As for that he noteth of the word Catholike that I and Philip Mornay expound it not in one sorte Philip Mornayes excellent giftes and fruitfull labors I reuerence and loue And both of vs hauing aymed at the trueth whether hath come neerer it let the Prophets iudge But if among Prophets in the church of Christ somewhat be reueiled to one that is not to an other this iustifieth not them who say they are Iewes are not but are the Synagogue of Satan Yet this is the soundest reason that he hath against my Conclusion that the holy Catholike church which we beleue is the whole company of Gods elect and chosen For touching that he addeth that he hath disproued it by shewing that the church is distinguished from hereticall assemblies by the name of Catholike he hath disproued it as soundly therby as if he should say that the Catholike epistles in the new Testament were not so called as generall writen to no certaine persons because that other writings are named catholike also to distinguish them from hereticall The third point he taketh vpon him to confute is an argument that I made to proue my third Conclusion All the wordes of scripture be the wordes of trueth some wordes of the Church be the wordes of errour But he that telleth the trueth alwayes is more to be credited theÌ„ he that lyeth sometimes Therefore the holy scripture is to be credited more theÌ„ is the Church And to this argumeÌ„t saith he I answere briefly that no words of the Church are the words of error that is that no erroneus thing is euer taught defined or approued by the Church in her Bishops Pastors teaching vniformly in the decrees of Councels chiefly of generall Councels in that which the Fathers teach with one consent in her head the Pope defining deliuering any thing publikely finally in the rule of faith which all the Church holdeth though â—euerally some Bishops may priuately erre in teaching and one or moe Fathers may write some vntrue thing or be in some erâ—or and somewhat euen in CouÌ„cels without the decree it self may be said or reasoned inconueniently and to conclude the Pope may be ouerseene priuately in somewhat But this must be certes imputed to the frailtie of men not to the Church her selfe Which speech of D. Stapletons if it be an aunswere vnto my argument then can I tell him a very briefe way to aunswere my Conclusions all with one word How By graunting them all to be true For though it were so that nether Bishops teaching vniformely might erre nor Fathers consenting nor Councels in decrees nor the Pope in publike and definitiue sentence which I both there else where haue shewed to be otherwise but if it were so yet seeing that Bishops and Fathers and Councels and the Pope himselfe may erre as he confesseth in this or that point and this or that maner he graunteth that which I said that some wordes of the Church are the wordes of errour But those wordes must certes saith he be imputed to the frailtie of men not to the Church her selfe Now certes M Doctor is a mery maÌ„ who can shift an argument off with such a iest As though the Church her selfe consisted not of men and therefore must needes offend so through frailtie the men offending so The fourth and last point wherewith he findeth fault is that amongst the reasons why the Church of Rome is no sound member of the Catholike Church I bring this that touching expounding of the Scripture she condemneth all senses and meanings thereof which are against the sense that her selfe holdeth or against the Fathers coÌ„senting all in one Whereof in that he gathereth that I allow not the expositions of the Fathers yea that I affirme that it is a marke and token of a false Church to admitte the ioint-consent of the Fathers in expounding of the scripture he dooth me great wrong For though by folowing too much breuitie in Latin I fell into obscuritie and said not so plainly that which I would and should as in the English now I haue yet that which I said dooth cleere me of his sclaunder as D. Fulke hath shewed whom I can better thanke for his defending of me then deserue the praise that he hath geuen me therein Nay I was so far from noting that as faulty in the Church of Rome that the faulte which I noted was her vile abusing the name of the Fathers against their iudgemeÌ„t in that point For I declared straight in the words ensuing that first shee autoriseth thereby her owne practise as the right sense and meaning of the Scripture though contrarie to it selfe next she alloweth the puddles of the Schoolemen wil haue theÌ„ taken for waters of life lastly when some Fathers gainsay her she reiecteth them because they all consent not and admitteth them who doo make for her as hauing hit the mark Of the which branches the last importeth not that I refuse the Fathers consenting all in one The former two import that I condemne the frensie of the Church of Rome mainteining her Dunses and deedes against the Fathers But the serpentes assembled in the Councell of Trent haue set downe that I spake of touching the expounding of the scripture so suttilly that a simple man would thinke they allow such senses and meanings of the Scripture onely as the Fathers geue all with one consent Whereas in very trueth they do nothing lesse they disallow them rather For whether by the Fathers consenting all in one they meane the Fathers all simply none excepted that consent is a Phoenix and neuer will be found or whether they meane a good number of them as M. Hart expoundeth it they dissent froÌ„ senses agreed on by that number For example the scripture saith There shal be one flock one Pastour The Fathers Austin Chrysostome Cyrill Ierome Gregorie expounde this of Christ. The church of Romes
ecclesia Roman libr. â— sect 5. l c. Quoniam quidam Distinâ—â— 1â—â— m Sacrar ceremonia eccle Roman lib. 1. sect 10. n c. Ego N. Episcopus extra de iureiurando o Felinus Comment in c. Ego N. episcopus de iureiurando p c. Ego N. Episcopus Papatum sanctae Romanae ecclesiae regulas sanctoruÌ„ patrum adiutorero ad defendenduÌ„ retinendum * Pope Gregory the 7. Mat. Paris in Henrico tert Pope Gregory the 13. in bulla ad Mauricium episcopum Imelacensem q Iohn 20.28 Hardin confutation of the Apologie The Author of the discouery of Nichols s Iohan. Casa episcop Beneâ—ent t Sueton. in vita Domitian u c. Cum inter in glossa extravagant Ioh. 22. x Psal. 82.6 y Sueton. Sext. aur Vict. in Domit. z Vineâ— lib. 1. de causis art corrupt * Reâ— 3 2â— a Hebr. 3.13 b Ioh. 5.44 c Ioh. 12. â—3 1 In a booke intitled A true declaration report of the conference had in the Tower of London with CaÌ„pian c. wrâ—â—ten by one 〈◊〉 was present at the whole action * Mat. â—3 1â— d As of the second Nicen councell action quint. e As of Chrysostom in Mat. hom 49. oper imperf f As of Gratian dist 19. can in canonicis g For the Nicen councel Sixt. Senens biblioth sanct lib. 5. annot 8. Barthol CarraÌ„z in samm concil For Chrysostom Sixt. Senens bib· sanct l. 6. ann 104. Robert Bellarmin controu 1. quaest 6. For Gratian Alfons a Castr. aduersus haer lib. 1. cap. 2. Andrad defension sidei Trident lib. 3. and Campian himself almost too at last h Augustin epist. â—0 ad Bonif Com. i Leo ep 87. * Hunc enim in consortium indiuiduae vnitatis assumptum id quod ipse erat voluit nominari k Ioh. 17. vers 11. l ver 20. 21. m Deut. 6.4 n 1. Cor. 8.6 o Cant. 6.8 p Act. 4 3â— q Ephes. 4.4 r Harding in his Detect lib. 3. cap. 33. s Ioh. 17. vers 22. 24. t In Ephesin synod secund concil Chalced. Leo. ep 10. ad Flauianum u Sermon 2. in anniuers die assumpt suae Serm. 2. in Nata Apost Pet. Paul x Hebr. 4 8. Colos. 4.11 Aggae 2.2 Zachar. 3.1 Psal. 105.15 z Mat. 5.14 * Chap. 2. Diuis 1. a Leo Serm. 3. in anniuers die assumption suae b Esai 42.8 c In the places before alleaged Dan. 7.9 Iob. 32.6 f 33.12 g 32.21 h Platina de vlt. Pontif. in Gregorio Septimo 1 Sâ—ruum tuum 2 quem educasti abinfantia 3 ab iniquoram manibus vindicasti 4 pro mea in te fide 5 Tu mihi testis es optimus 6 gratia tua noâ— meritis meis 7 Hac fiducia fretus 8 tuae ecclesiae Sigon de regno Italiae lib. 9. which better agreeth with the rest then as Platina hath it suae 9 in ecclesiam tuam i 〈◊〉 1.8 k Iohan. de Turâ—ecremat in Suâ—â—m de Ecclesiâ— lib. 2. cap. 12. l Gul. Durand in Rationali diuinâ—r officior lib 2. cap. 1. m Ioh. 1.16 n Heb. 6.20 o Ephe 4.16 p 2. Thess. 2.4 q The othe of the 〈…〉 li. 5. c. 5. * Chap. 10. Diuis 1. Exod. 22.28 Ioh. 10.35 s Exod. 20.3 Deut. 13 2. t Act. 14.11 u Apologia ecclesiae Angl. Confess Heluâ—â— cap. 17. x Ephes. 1.22 4.15 5.23 Coloss. 1.18 2.19 and so the Church his bodie y Nehem. 11.16 z 2. Chr. 31.10 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a In apolog 2. b In Registr li. 4. epist 38. Stapleton in dedicat prin cipiorum fid doctrin Gregor deâ—imo tertio Pon. Opt. Max. 1. Cor. 11.3 Esay 7.8 1. Sam. 15.17 Exod. 6.13 1. Kin. 21.9 Esay 2.2 Exod. 30.23 Num. 25.4 2. Sam. 23. ver â— 13. 18. * Stapleâ— princip doct lib. 6. in praefat And herin the Rheâ—ish annotations on the new Testament Mat. 16 â—9 folow D. â—â—â—apleton as also in the handling of Scriptures and Fathers for this whole matter of the Popes supremacie commonlie they 〈◊〉 The first Diuision * Staplet priâ—cip doctrin lib 6. cap. 2. n Mat. 16.18 o Sanders rocke of the church Bristow Meâ—tin 47. As in their Annotations on Mat. 16.18 they say it should be by Christs words speaking in the Syriake tongue yea and by the meaning of the greeke wordes too Though they keepe the name of rocke in their text because of the latin p Ioh. 1.42 * Staplet princ doctr li. 6. ca. 3. q In dictionar Syro-chald Regior Biblior Tom. 6. r Session 4. s S. Andr. Mas. coÌ„mentar in Iosu. cap. 14. ver 15. * Sciens t Ioh. Molanus Louaniensis a Multúm elucidat veterem vulgatam editionem u Gen. 8.21 1 Lat. in malum prona 2 Hebr. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 x Censura Colon in Dialog 2. * Longé consultius q In Lexie graâ— ad Sacri appar instruct Reg. Bâ—â—blior Tom. 6. r Thesaur lingâ— Graecâ—e congâ—â—t ab Henr. Stephan Hen. Stephan de similit ling. Graecae Gallicae lib. 3. * Pierre t In Dictionar Syro-chaldaico u Elias Leuita in Thisbi * As Elias writeth it He meaneth pietra which word in the Italian keepeth that meaning of petra from which the name of Peter grew x Aber. Ezra in Daniel cap. 11. vers 37. y 1. De visib Monarchia eccles l. 6. c. 7. z lib. 6. ca. 2. a As him selfe termeth it in his letters written to Vllick Burck an Irish Gentleman b In his booke entitled the rocke of the church c In the chap. 1. d Princ. doctrin lib. 6. cap. 5. e Ioh. 1 4â— f Maâ— 22 1â— g 1. Pet. 2.5 h Esai 2â— â—â— 1 Eph. 2.14 * 1. Cor. 3.11 h Esai 28.16 i Reu. 21.14 k 1. Pet. 2.5 l 1. Cor. 12.26 m Eph. 2. ver 20. n ver 21. o ver 22. p In sophismatis Turrian loc 2. q The treatise of the church chap. 7. r Augustin de verb. Dom. Seâ—m 1â— t In testimon â—a vet Testam de Trinitat contr Iud. u De Trinitat lib 4. x In Matth. homâ—l 55. y In epist. ad Ephe. cap. 2. z De Trinitat lib. 2. 6. * That is to say an â—â—ersight such as happeneth to men a Staplet princip doctr lib. 6. cap. 3. b Retractation lib. 1. cap. 21. c Reuerendi patris Roberti Bellarmini praelectiones Romae ann Dom. 1577. In praefat Controuers de summo Pontisice d Esai 28. â—â— e 1. Pet. 2. ver 6. 8. * Expositio Augustini habet â—ententiam veram Staplet â— 6. c. 3. f Numb 28. â— g Iere. 7.22 h Mat. 16.16 i 1. Cor. 1.12 1 As Gregorie Nyssen doth and Hilarie 2 As Ambrose Chrysostom Cyrill k Sander de â—isib monar Eccles. lib. 7. Torren confesâ— August lib. 1. cap. 9. tit 2. l Hilar. in Maâ—thaeum can 16. Felix ecclesiae fundamentum m De Trinit lâ—b 6. Christum Dei
and of one soule They all are one body sanctified by one spirit through the Sacrament of one baptisme knit to Christ by one faith to themselues in one loue to serue togither one Lord in one hope and expectation of one eternall blisse and glory So that of this vnitie whereof Peters state and nature is capable apply which you list vnto the wordes of Leo either vnitie of will as you seeme to do or vnity of grace as others answere for it or vnitie of glory which Christ did pray for also and some will like that better none of these doe reach vnto that maiestie which Leos wordes aspire to by giuing him the felowship of the indiuisible vnitie Yet God forbid that any man should suspect of him that he meant vnitie either of nature with God or of person with Christ. He hath deserued better then to be thought so euill off But that which in trueth may be said for him is that his meaning was as other-where him selfe doth open it that Christ did impart his name of rocke and foundation of the church to Peter Now some mist of fansie daisled his eyes or els he would neuer haue saide thereupon that Christ receyued Peter into the felowship of the indiuisible vnitie and that in such preeminence as he receyued none but him chiefly sith hée imparted his greater names and titles of Iesus of Christ of the light of the world one of them to some the rest to all his seruants neither did he giue his name of rocke to Peter or of foundation to Peter onely as shall appeare after But if yet you see not that Leo did outreach in making Peter as it were a felow-head a partie-rocke and the halfe-foundation of the Church with Christ behold a farther felowship wherein he ioyneth Peter as mate and partner with God a felowship of power God hath giuen to Peter a great and a wonderfull felowship of his power and if he would haue any thing to be common vnto other princes with him he neuer gaue but by him whatsoeuer he gaue to others Out of all controuersie these wordes do lift vp Peter vnto the felowship of that glory of which God is so iealous that he hath protested he will not giue it to any other he hath giuen it to Christ who is one with himselfe God of God light of light if any man presume to ioyne a mortall creature whomsoeuer as companion vnto Christ in it he robbeth Christ of his honor of the onely mediator betwéene God and man And what doth he els who saith as Leo doth that S. Peters care shineth ouer Bishops in that their slaunderers are defaced that Peters merit and autoritie doth strengthen the writings of his seruant against heretikes that Peter doth not suffer their persons to be stained who labour for the catholike faith that the Popes decrees are made by the inspiration of God and S. Peter that it must be imputed vnto S. Peters workes and merits if any thing be gotten of God by dayly prayers that nothing passeth ouer vnto the chiefest of the Church no not vnto any man from God but by S. Peter Let euery Christian hart whome the zeale of God hath giuen any warmth vnto and his Spirit wisedome be iudge betwéene you and vs whether that to yeald such power such authoritie such souerainetie and rule of the Church of Christ to any Saint in heauen be not an empairing of the maiestie dominion and soueraine authoritie of the king of Saints the holy one of Israel It gréeueth me to speake so much against Leo whose learning I doe loue and reuerence his auncient yeares But the Auncient of dayes is more auncient then he must be had in greater reuerence who taught young Elihu to reproue his auncients euen holy Iob amongst them and to say of them I will not accept the person of any neither will I giue titles vnto man for I may not giue titles If I should doe it a litle he that made me would take mee away UUherefore I doe fréely without curtesie of titles and accepting of persons professe that I mislike those hawtie spéeches in Leo and I thinke that the mysterie of iniquitie so wrought through his ambitious aduancing Peter that of the egges which he cherished two of the most venemous cokcatrices were bred that euer poysoned the church of Christ the one the Popes supremacie vsurping Princely power ouer the church and common-weale with breach of faith to God and man the other the worshipping of Saintes wherin that honour is giuen to creatures which ought to be giuen to the Creator onely One example may shew them both euen Hildebrand called Gregorie the seuenth in his Popedome who depriuing Henrie the Emperour of his Empire and discharging his subiects of their othe of allegiance pronounced sentence with such an inuocation of Peter as a true Christian would trēble to haue heard vsed to any but to God Incline thine eares ô blessed Peter Prince of the Apostles heare me thy seruant whom thou hast brought vp from mine infancy and hast preserued to this day from the handes of the vnrighteous who hate and vexe me for my fayth in thee Thou canst beare me witnesse best and the holy mother of Christ and thy brother Paule partaker with thee of martyrdome that I haue vndertaken the gouernmēt of the Papacie vnwillingly Not that I thought it robbery to clime into thy See lawfully but I had rather liue in pilgrimage thē occupie thy roome for fame and glorie only I doe confesse and good cause why that the charge of the Christiā people was committed and the power of binding loosing granted vnto me not through my desertes but by thy grace Trusting therefore on this assuraunce for the honour and sauegard of thy holy church in the name of God almightie the father the sonne and the holy Ghost I throwe downe King Henry the sonne of Henry sometime Emperour who hath laide handes too boldly and rashly vpon thy church from his imperiall and kingly gouernment and I absolue al Christians subiect to the Empire frō that othe by the which they are wont to beare faith alleagiance vnto true Kings Doe you sée to what iniquitie their pride abusing Peters name and claiming al by him hath puffed them vp To what vsurping ouer Emperours To what dishonouring of the Almightie But of this we shall haue fitter occasion to conferre when we come to the question of the worship of Saintes For the other to returne to the point which we haue in hand the name of head in that sense as it is made a conduit of the giftes of God to powre them abroad into al the body is onely due and proper vnto the Mediatour betwéene God man the Apostle of our profession our Sauiour Iesus Christ. When the right of this title