cap 12.32 against adding to his precepts And Rev. 22.18 a Woe pronounced to him that addes And Gal. 1.6 an Anathema to them that bring in another Gospel beside what they had received And Gal. 3.15 to a mans Testament none addes much lesse to Gods And Mat. 15. our Saviour expresly condemnes the Pharisees that taught for Doctrines of Worship the Traditions and Commandements of men Now see what shift they make with these places One is that the prohibition of adding concernes the whole Word of God written and unwritten no man may adde to that We answer that the places of Deut. and of Rev. are expresly of the written Word Also that of Gal. 1. and Gal. 3. must be meant of the written for that which is written beares the name of the Gespel and of the Testament of God and can we thinke it beares it partially Saint Aug. lib. 3. contra Lit. Petil. and elswhere expresly applies that of Gal. 1. to the Scripture thereby excluding all doctrines of Faith not received from Scripture And Saint Hier. upon 1. of Hag. relating to that place saith Percutit Dei gladius that sword of God or Anathema strikes through all those doctrines which absque authoritate testimonio scripturae quasi traditione Apostolicâ confingunt without the authority and testimony of Scripture they hold forth under pretence of Apostolical Tradition And for that other of Gods Testament The Romanists must suppose that God Almighty has done as it fares with many men who intending to write their Will and having begun and prefixed the Title This is my Will and Testament and proceeded far in it being prevented by hastening death leave the rest by word of mouth so will they have God to make a Will partly Written partly Nuncupatory Now how derogatory this is to the providence of God who sees not Another shift That those Traditions are onely forbid which are contrary to what is written and so no man may adde We answer The Apostle saith Gal. 1. praeter beside that which ye have received and Bell. expresly interprets that praeter by contra but in the judgement of Saint Aug. and St. Hier. in the places above cited it is enough to incurre the Anathema if they teach any thing of faith which is besides that which is received from Scripture saith St. Aug. and absque authoritate testimonio Scripturae the authority and testimony of the Scripture saith St. Hier. to which adde Tertul. against Hermogenes Non est scriptum timeat vae illud adâ—icientibus It is not written Let him fear that curse which is denounced against them that adde It was then enough to bring a man under the woe pronounced against them that added if the thing they added was not written and not onely because it was contrary to what was written But our Saviours speech Mat. 15. taken from Is 29.13 Their fear towards me is taught by the precepts of men shews that all Traditions though not contrary to what is written yet if they teach for Worship or Faith necessary to salvation that which is not commanded or written they are to be condemned For though the Pharisees Corban was directly against the written command yet their superstitious washing was not And upon that occasion our Saviour condemnes them as to this point To this very purpose is one of St. Basil's Ethick Rules Quicquid extra Scripturam est cum non sit ex side peccatum est He saies not contrà against but extra besides or without Scripture and being so it cannot be of Faith and therefore sinfull if so propounded and imposed And this excludes the Romish Traditions from being rules of Faith or Worship besides that they are to be challenged of contrariety and repugnancy to Scripture for the most part CHAP. XXIV Their Arguments against Scriptures sufficiencie and for Traditions THeir Arguments for their Traditions and against the sufficiency of Scripture are so many aspersions cast upon the undoubted Word of God not without derogation to the Providence and Wisdome of God nor for the most part without some contradiction to themselves Their first concerns the purpose of God in it That he did not purpose it to contain a perfect Rule because the Pen-men of holy Scripture had no command to write but did it upon occasion or as Bel. necessitate quadam coacti upon occasions ministred and urging them to write We answer 1. If the necessity of the Churches call'd for Scripture and urged them to write it shews of what concernment it is to the Church But 2. though the necessity of the Church ministred the outward occasion to some bookes it supposes the purpose and special providence of God in applying them to the work Hear Bell. himself acknowledging lib. 4. c. 3. Deo volente inspirante Aposelos scripsisse quae scripserunt That the Apostles wrote what they did write by the will and inspiration of God This is well but this amounts not to a command faith he Being then prest with St Aug. saying Quicquid ille Christus de suis dictis factis nos legere voluit hoc scribendum illis tanquam manibus imperavit Whatsoever Christ would have us read of his sayings and deeds that he commanded them to write lib. 1. de consens evang c. ult He is forced to confesse they had mandatum internum an internal command to write And now what needs more for if they had had all of them as expresse outward command as Saint John had to write his Revelations or as Moses had to write what he had from God it would not have made it more the purpose of God than did the inward command Nor would it have made Bellarmine any whit more granted the Scripture of the Apostles to be written for such a Rule for he does not grant it of Moses Writings though he had such a command and therefore we may leave it as a vaine reasoning But see what he saith of Scripture as written for a Rule That it is a Rule and Regula fidei Catholicae the Rule of Catholike Faith and Regula credendi certissima tutissima The Rule of Belief and that most certain most safe Bell. affirms l. 1. c. 2. and this is well towards a perfect Rule and there he inferres upon it seeing it is so sunâ—â— profecto non erit qui eâ neglectâ spiritus interni semper incerti saepe fallacis judiciose commiserit He is not well advised who neglecting Scripture rests upon the judgement of a private spirit which is alwaies uncertain often deceiving How well might the inference been made so against unwritten Traditions seeing the scripture is Regula fidei Catholicae regula credendi certissima tutissima sanus profecto non erit c. He is ill advised who neglecting Scripture commits himself to unwritten Traditions which are often deceitfull alwaies uncertaine But in his fourth Book cap 12. Scripture is with him but a partial Rule unwritten Tradition is the other part Nay
by the Apostles or in their time yea and give us reasons why it was not published at first because say Eckius Copus Salmeron It had been unseasonable and dangerous for Jew and Gentile at first to have heard it lest they might think the Christians set forth and worshipped many Gods or that the Apostles were ambitious of having such honour done them after their death It is then acknowledged not to have been so much as taught in that first Age and yet will they again when they come to maintain it make the world believe it was also written then and bring many places of the New Testament for a seeming proof of it So of Image-worship Purgatory Indulgences and most of their Sacraments the more ingenuous among them acknowledge as our Authors have gathered their Testimonies they have not ground in Scripture and indeed if they truly had why should the Romanist so earnestly contend for unwritten Traditions to hold them by yet must Scripture be alledged for them all by every Controversie-writer Which consequently as was observed does acknowledge that Doctrines of Faith and Religion should be grounded there Secondly that the necessity they have of resting upon unwritten Traditions equalized in Authority to the written Word of God is a plain confession they cannot stand by the undoubted Word of God nor have any certaine ground of their New faith which rests upon pretended unwritten Traditions and these you must take upon the word of their own Church Thirdly that the same necessity of resting upon unwritten Traditions forces them to lay upon Scripture Imputations of Imperfection and Insufficiency of darknesse and obscurity very unbeseeming the Testament of God written by the dictate of Gods Spirit and left us as a signification of his will and a Rule for the direction of his Church Let us then take leave a little more largely to speake to these two points of the sufficient perfection of this written Rule then of the sufficient perspicuity of it The one casts off the necessity of their unwritten Tradition the other the pretence of their Infallible Judge or Interpreter And upon these indeed rests the whole frame of the New Roman faith and therefore worthy of all other points to be a little insisted on CHAP. XXII Sufficient perfection of the Scripture as a Rule FIrst then of the sufficient perfection of Scripture which we say containes all things of themselves necessary to be believed or done to salvation All such things we say it contains not expresly and in so many words but either so or as deducible thence by evident and sufficient consequence The Romanists are forced to grant that the Scripture contains plainly the prima credibilia as some of them expresse it the first and chiefe points of belief or those that are simpliciter necessaria and omnia omnibus necessaria as Bell. expresses it lib. 4. cap. 1. but they also say that there are many other things necessary in belief and practise to salvation not there contained or thence deduced therefore they adde Traditions to make a supply CHAP. XXIII Of Traditions which we allow FOr Tradition We allow 1. That Universal Tradition which brings down Scripture unto us through the consent of all Ages for that Tradition is supposed in the reception of the Scripture But we say the Scripture contains all material objects of Faith necessary to Salvation i.e. all things that had been necessary for Christians to believe and doe for Salvation though there had been no Scripture Secondly we allow that kind of Tradition which brings down the sense of Scripture to us through all Ages of the Church So the Creed may be called a Tradition and other Catholike Declarations of the Church bringing downe the sense of Scripture in any point of Faith Now as the Scripture does suppose the former Tradition so this kind supposes the Scriptures for its ground delivering nothing but what is contained in them and neither of these sorts derogatory to the sufficiency of them Thirdly we allow some Traditions that bring down matters of practise touching Order Ceremony Usages in the Church as of Fasts or Festivals or Rites about Sacraments and the like But such if they be not contained in the Scripture so neither are they within the limits of the question which concerns necessaries to salvation such we deny those to be and such things as are necessary to believe to salvation we deny to come down to us by unwritten Tradition and what Traditions the Romanists pretend for the controverted points we deny that they contain such things necessary or to have been delivered down in all Ages and therefore can be no ground for necessary faith whether we consider the matter of them or the uncertainty of them Our Arguments briefly are I. Such as shew the Scriptures sufficient for Salvation as Joh. 5. ver 39. for in them ye think ye have salvation Where our Saviour supposes they thought true in it or else his reason had not been good for because they might have Salvation by them i. e. know all things necessary to it therefore he bids them search the Scriptures and they should find they testified of him So 2 Tim. 3.15 expresly they are able to make wise unto salvation c. They have two shifts here 1. That Scripture is profitable to that end for that word Profitable the Romanists lay hold on because the Apostle saith there All Scripture is profitable for doctrine c. and so say they is every book profitable to that end though not sufficient and so they will have the whole Scripture but partially profitable But we answer Sufficiencie belongs to the whole Scripture though in proportion also to every Book And the other expressions of the Apostle there shew this to be onely a shift For he said before that Scriptures are able to make wise to salvation can that be said to be able to make a man wise to such a purpose and onely to doe it in part and imperfectly teaching him onely some knowledges to that purpose Also he saith after ver 17. by the Scripture The man of God is throughly furnished or perfected to every good work i.e. to Doctrine Instruction c. such as he spoke of before which must needs imply a sufficiencie to that end 2. Their other shift is That the Scripture is said to doe this because it contains many things plainly in it self and shews from whence we may have the rest i.e. from their Church We answer Had it shewn us that which it does not yet could not this shift be reasonable here For so the Law might have been said to make us perfect because it shews us Christ and was a School-master to him Gal. 3. and John Baptist might have been said to have perfected his Disciples by shewing them Christ II. Such Arguments as forbid and exclude all Additions to the Scripture and so imply the perfection and sufficiency of it and condemne their super-added Traditions as Deut. 4.2 and
Testimony of Antiquity 2. That we have enough in the writings of Antiquity to discover the novelty of the Romish doctrines which may generally appeare upon this evidence CHAP. XXX Application of the Rule to their Doctrine in several points FIrst the great silence in the writings of the firster Ages touching the points of Romish faith which cannot be imagined would have been if such had been the doctrine of the Church or the faith that all Christians were to learn and hold they call to us to name Professors of the Protestant doctrine in all Ages but that is unreasonable we should be bound to it our part being the Negative of what they erroneously affirm yea and impossible too because the errors we deny were not affirmed or thought of in many Ages and how then should any expresly appear against them But it is most reasonable and just to exact of thē who affirm Transubstantiation Invocation of Saints Purgatory half Communion Image Worship c. for Catholick doctrines to shew and prove them professed in all Ages at least so profound a Silence as we finde in the first Ages is sufficient argument against them yea and Silence when there was occasion to vouch and defend them had they been the doctrines of the Christian Church As when we see so many Apologies written and declaring the faith and practice of the Church so many Books purposely written on that subject Epiphanius wrote two his Ancoratus de fide Christiana and his Compendium fidei Catholicae Ecclesiae S. Augustine wrote three one De vera Religione where he sayes at the beginning haec est nostris temporibus Christiana Religio Another De doctrina Christiana and his Enchiridion to Lanrentius of which he saith ibi diligenter mihi videor complexus quo modo colendus sit Deus in which only he has one thing sounding to the Popish doctrine that is about helping the dead by Almes or Sacrifice and that was but his private opinion grounded upon a false supposal not of Purgatory but of common receptacles of all mens souls out of Heaven till the Day of Judgment in the 109 Chapter of that Book For that which he saith in the 70 Chap. Per Eleëmosynas de peccatis praeteritis propitiandus est Deus he qualifies himself in the same place and excellently speaks of the free reward of Good works in the 107 Chap. Now can it be Imagined that in such Books purposely written there should be such silence and pretermission of the Romish doctrines of Faith had they been the Doctrine of the Church Again in the first 300 years when there was such occasion to urge and hold up their publick Penance and Satisfaction by it also so much written and spoken about it had they believed a Romish Purgatory after this life can we think but they would often have mentioned it also and told the people of the pains they should undergoe there if not careful to perform due Penance and Satisfaction here Also when occasion was given by Adversaries to aslert such doctrines had the Church known and professed them can it be imagined those Fathers that answered those Adversaries should be silent in the Cause As for example In the point of Transubstantiation when Marcion affirmed CHRIST had a body phantastick or in appearance onely how obvious had it been for him had Transubstantiation been the doctrine of the Church to have objected that the signe of his Body in the Eucharist was but a body in appearance the shew of bread onely and his body there under any shape figure c. how necessary had it been for the Church to have maintained that point against him it could not have escaped the disputation had it been any doctrine of faith in the Church Whereas on the contrary Tertullian takes it for granted that the bread which was the figure of his body was a true body and thence infers that Christs body of which bread was the figure was also true and real l. 4. contra Marc. c. 40. So when the Eutichians affirmed the conversion of the Humane nature into the Divine and drew some phrases of the Doctors of the Church which seemed to imply a conversion of the bread after consecration to the proving or illustrating of it had the doctrine of the Church been so could they have declined the expresse maintenance of Transubstantiation against that argument whereas on the contrary we see the Eutychians confuted by Theodoret Gelasius and others by denying plainly a substantial conversion of the bread and so taking away the ground of the argument and all belief of Transubstantiation So in the point of Invocation and Worship of Saints when it was objected to Origer by Celsus in defence of the Heathen Invocating their Daemons Heroes whom they held to be Internuncios intermedios betwixt the supreme God and themselves that the Christians also allowed the ministery of Angels and that their Saints departed were Amici Dei. Had the Church then held Invocation of Angels or Saints departed Origen had been bound to assert and maintain it and not to answer as he doth that Christians invocated God only by their high Priest JESVS CHRIST and they that doe so want not the Ministery or help of Angels in his 8 Book against Celsus and elswhere The very like does S. August speak of the Heathen Daemons and Heroes in his 8 9 books de Civ Dei. Shewing the Christians did not so to the Martyrs And when it was objected to him by Faustus the Manichaean that instead of the heathen Idols they had set up the Martyrs because they resorted to their Monuments and there offered up prayers and sacrifice Had the Church then held the Romish belief and practice of Saint-Worship and Invocation could he have declined the maintenance of it whereas he there and elsewhere disclaims it in expresse terms and shews Faustus his mistake in the end and purpose of the Christians resorting to Martyrs Tombs which was to offer up the Sacrifice and worship and prayers to God onely lib. 20. contra Faust Lastly when the Invocating of Christ was used by the Church as an argument for his Godhead against the Arrians would it have been good if Invocating of Saints also had been the doctrine and practice of the Church and if that shift of the Romanists had then been allowable that they doe not invocate Saints as God or with invocation which is due to God but as friends of God and excellent instruments of his glory had not the Arrians had a pat answer to the former argument viz That Christ was to be invocated yet not as God but as the Son of God after a more excellent way than any other creature is But they that used the former argument feared no such answer because Invocation and worship of Saints was then no doctrine of the Church Thus much for the silence of the Fathers when occasion was given them to defend those points had they been doctrines of the
he denyes in the same Chapter that it was the proper and chief end of Scripture to be a Rule but to be utile quoddam commonitorium ad conservaudam doctrinam ex praedicatione acceptam A profitable means to admonish and remember them of the doctrine they had heard preached That profit indeed the Scripture did afford but the end of that remembrance and conserving of the Doctrine preached was that the Scripture should be as a standing Rule or Guide to them and so to us that did not heare what the Apostles preached To us it is not properly a Remembrancer but a Guide and Rule and that must be the chief end wherefore it was written But this to note how this engagement for unwritten Tradition in hâ—s fourth Book would not let him be constant to what he had fairly spoken of Scripture in his first So it fares with most of them Truth forces much from them till they come to be confronted with an adversary in defence of some point of their New Faith Their second sort of Reasoning against the sufficiency of Scripture is by enumeration of some things necessary to be believed which are not contained say they in Scripture As first That Scripture is the Word of God is necessary to be believed but not contained or shewn by Scripture This is in every of their mouthes Among the rest Bell. thus lib. 4. Scripture cannot shew it self to be the Word of God for the Alcoran affirms also of it self the same that it is the Word of God We answer First to the Impertinency of this Cavil That as it was said above in the stating of the Question to believe Scripture to be the Word of God is not of those material objects of Faith which we say are contained in Scripture and are such as had been necessary for Christians to believe though there had been no Scripture also that the Scripture being received upon Universal Tradition as we said does not derogate from the sufficiency of Scripture for that is a Tradition which Scripture supposes does not exclude in this question For had the Scripture been never so full and sufficient according to the Papists mind i. e. had it plainly confirmed if we may suppose such a thing all that they say is necessary to be learnt by unwritten Tradition yet would it not have contained this that it is the Word of God otherwise then it doth but must suppose that universall Tradition still to bring it down to us But we also say that although Scripture is so brought down to us yet being received upon such Tradition it discovers it selfe to be divine by it own light or those internal arguments as they are called which appear in it to those that are versed in it And now see what Bellarmine does here acknowledge lib. 1. cap. â— he makes the title of the Chapter Libriâ— canâ—niâ—is verbum Dei contineri among other argâ—ments he proves it excellently well by some reasons drawne from Scripture it selfe as by the conspiration of the parts the event of Prophecies and the like and there saith Sacris-Scripturis nihil notius nihil certius Now when he comes to contend for unwritten Tradition against Scripture Scripture cannot shew it selfe to be the Word of God more than the Alcoran It had been well if Bell. had sate down with his own dishonour in contradicting himselfe and not used this odious instance of the Alcoran to Gods dishonour But as I noted at the beginning their Necessity of resting upon unwritten Traditions forces them to cast many aspersions upon the undoubted Word of Almighty God Heare what others say upon the same score the Jesuite Bailius in his Catechisme Without the Testimony of the Church I would believe the Scripture no more than my Livy no more than Aesops Fables saith another And how can it prove it selfe to be no Fable saith another Romanist more than any other writing that is mixed with Fables To this purpose are those other reproaches that sall from them The Scripture a mute letter as if no sense in it but as the Church gives it a nose of wax as if applyable of it self any way This the language their Disciples must learne to speake reproachfully of that Word which was written by the Holy spirit of God given them to salvation and must judge them at the last day Another of their Instances of things necessary but not contained in Scripture is Baptism of Infants This generally objected by them all And amongst them I single out Bell. to answer himselfe or as I may say contradict himself in it For lib. 1. de baptis c. 8. he proves it by places of Scripture and saith the argument is strong and effectual and cannot be avoyded and that the thing is evident in Scripture Now when he contends for Tradition against Scripture This thing of Childrens Baptisme must be one of them that is necessary and not contained in Scripture This is not ingenuous nor conscionable but enough to answer the objection We say further that Baptism of Children as to the practise of it is not contained expresly in Scripture i. e. it is no where commanded to be done or said that they did doe it But the grounds and necessity of it are sufficiently delivered in Scripture and that 's enough for the doing of it and that the Arguments from Scripture by Bel. and others alledged doe sufficiently shew And these are their chief Instances Their third and last sort of reasoning is from places of Scripture expresly naming Traditions as 1 Cor. 11.2 2 Thes 2.15 Answ The whole Gospel was Tradition till it was written Now if they will have these places make for them they must shew those Traditions mentioned did contain things necessary to salvation and no where written It is plain they did not The first concerns Rites and Orders in their Assemblies and the other if unwritten concerned the coming of Antichrist the falling away before it the things spoken of in that Chapter and not of necessity to know unto salvation and that Tradition if any more then was written touching those points being lost it appeares how well the Church of Rome is to be trusted in this businesse of unwritten Tradition that cannot shew those which were nor prove those she has to be delivered by the Apostles Also from places of Scripture which they will have to imply Tradition as Ioh. 16 1â— I have yet many things to say to you c. 1 Cor. 2.6 We speak wisdome among the perfect and that to Timothy Custodi depositum That good thing committed to thee keep 2 Tim 1.14 Answ These prove no more than the former place unlesse they can also prove and demonstrate to us that they concerned things not written and yet necessary to salvation 2. We must tell them that Hereticks of old did usually pretend these very places for their unwritten doctrines and made the like Inferences as the Papists do St. Aug. upon John shews they would say their
doctrines were of the multa which Christ had to say and Tert. de praescript c. 5. tels us Hereticks alledged the Apostles delivered some things openly to all some things secretly to a few the very thing the Papists say and they proved it suth he by St. Pauls saying to Timothy Custodi depositum St. Iraen l 3. c. 2. shews Hereticks alledged the scriptures were obscure not to be understood by those that know not Tradition alledging for it that of St. Paul 1 Cor. 2. we speak wisdome c. Terp in his Book de resur tels us Hereticks cannot stand if you binde them de solis Scripturis quaestiones suas sistere to be judged by the Scriptures alone and in the same book calls all Hereticks Lucifugas scripturarum such as fly the light of the scripture And now we must say in the last place their usual objection of Hereticks alwaies alledging Scriptures and shunning Tradition is most vain as appeares by the former Testimonies As for their alledging scripture it made for the dignity and sufficiency of scripture Hereticks well knowing the Authority Scripture had in the Church and therefore that it was in vain to use other proofs without it and so the Romanists are necessitated as was said above Chap. 21. to pretend it for the proving of those points which they know and sometimes confesse are not grounded on scripture As for Hereticks shunning Tradition it is most true they carefully shunned that Tradition which delivered down the sense of scripture in the points of Faith through all Ages of the Church for to shun that was to shun the evidence and light of scripture But as for unwritten Traditions such as we and the Romanists contend about they shelter themselves under the darknesse of them made great advantage as we saw by pretence of them alledging the very same reasons and places of scripture for them as the Romanists do and so we leave them both well agreed in this point CHAP. XXV The evidence of Antiquitie in the point NOw for the evidence of Antiquity Though we are to speake more generally to that trial by the Fathers afterward yet here in brief to this particular point There is scarce one Father but we bring him expresly witnessing as we affirm the fulnesse and sufficiency of scripture in all things necessary Bell. in l. 4. c. 11. sets down very many of them and admits them for the sayings of those Fathers how then does hee decline them 1. One of his General answers and it is what others answer to that the Fathers speake of omnia omnibus necessaria to be contained in scripture This the expresse testimonies of those Fathers have extorted from him which is no little prejudice to their cause who equal tradition to the written Word and plead the necessity of what is conveyed to us thereby for if all things necessary for all be contained in Scripture then surely the doctrines and faith delivered in unwritten Traditions are not necessary for all They indeed that have given up their belief to all the dictates of that Church are consequently necessitated to believe them but we may be good Christians and yet not believe them because not written and not necessary it seemeth to all That which they can pretend to say here is that such unwritten Traditions become necessary to be believed upon the proposall of the Church and to be by all believed to whom they are sufficiently propounded or made known Indeed of Scripture we grant All things there revealed become upon sufficient proposal of them necessary to be believed as true yet not all to be believed as necessary in themselves to salvation But of unwritten Traditions we cannot say Men are bound to believe them as true upon the proposall of their Church unlesse they can demonstrate the testimony of their Church to be Infallible or that she propounds them upon full Catholike or Universal Tradition and consent of all Ages which they cannot doe Much lesse can we say Men are bound upon the proposal of their Church to believe them as containing things necessary in themselves to salvation unlesse they can prove the contents of those Traditions to be so which is impossible or that their Church can make new Articles of Faith or those things necessary to be believed to salvation which were not so in themselves before This the sober and moderate Romanist must and will deny 2. He shifteth off their Testimonies by restraining them to the particular thing there spoken of as if they onely meant the scripture was full to that point onely When as indeed upon occasion of some particular point which they were proving they speak in general of the sufficiency of Scripture saying it contains all things necessary Therefore to take away these and all such shifts which they bring to restraine what the Fathers spoke generally We shew they spoke so generally of the sufficiency of Scripture that they left no room for unwritten Traditions to come into the rule of Faith This we shew unanswerably by the Fathers alledged above chap. 23. arguing negatively as Tertul. sometimes Non est scriâ—tum therefore not to be received and speaking exclusively to all things not written as that we must not say or teach any thing of faith praeterquam quod scriptum est saith Saint Augustine lib. 3. contra Lit Petil. Sine his Testibus saith St. Chrysost and citra Scipturam in Psal 95. and absque authoritate testimonio Scripturae saith St. Hier. in 1. cap. Hag. and Quicquid extra Scripturam est cùm non sit ex fide peccatum est Basil in Regulis Eth. Such exclusive words praeterquà m sinè citrà absque extrà they use against admitting of unwritten Tradition for a Rule of Faith which words and speeches are not any way to be eluded That they bring many sayings out of the Fathers for Tradition it is true and Bellarmine boasts in the number but to what purpose when they do but beat the aire strike us not For they either meane the Scripture it self or Evangelical Doctrine contained in and delivered to the Church by the written Word to which the name of Tradition is often given by the more ancient Fathers Iraen Tertul. Cyprian or else they mean the forme of Doctrine and Belief delivered downe in the Church which though they often call Tradition yet is it written and contained in Scripture and is but the explication of it or the Traditive sense nothing to the unwritten Traditions we speak of or else by unwritten Tradition as they often mention that too they imply things of Practise and Rites and Festivals or Fasts and the like not matters of Faith necessary to Salvation And among these some Fathers avouch such for Apostolical Traditions which the Romanists will not allow as standing at Prayer between Easter and Whitsontide and every Lords day and the Trine immersion in Baptism In a word where the Fathers say the Apostles left some things to us unwritten let the