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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A04285	Triplici nodo, triplex cuneus. Or An apologie for the Oath of allegiance against the two breues of Pope Paulus Quintus, and the late letter of Cardinal Bellarmine to G. Blackvvel the Arch-priest. Authoritate regiâ.	James I, King of England, 1566-1625.; Paul V, Pope, 1552-1621.; Bellarmino, Roberto Francesco Romolo, Saint, 1542-1621.	1607 (1607)	STC 14400; ESTC S121305	37,662	98

Christian Kingdomes it is altogether idle as all that haue any vnderstanding may easily perceiue For it was neuer heard of from the Churches infancie vntill this day that euer any Pope did command that any Prince though an Heretike though an Ethnike though a Persecuter should be murdered or did approue of the fact when it was done by any other And why I pray you doeth onely the King of England feare that which none of all other the Princes in Christendome either doeth feare or euer did feare But as I sayd these vaine pretexts are but the Trappes and Stratagemes of Sathan Of which kind I could produce not a few out of ancient Stories if I went about to write a booke and not an Epistle One only for example sake I will call to your memory S. Gregorius Nazianzenus in his first Oration against Iulian the Emperour reporteth That he the more easily to beguile the simple Christians did insert the Images of the false gods into the pictures of the Emperor which the Romanes did vse to bow downe vnto with a ciuill kind of reuerence so that no man could doe reuerence to the Emperours picture but withall he must adore the Images of the false gods Whereupon it came to passe that many were deceiued And if there were any that found out the Emperours craft and refused to worship his picture those were most grieuously punished as men that had contemned the Emperour in his Image Some such like thing me thinkes I see in the Oath that is offered to you which is so craftily composed that no man can detest Treason against the King and make profession of his Ciuill subiection but he must be constrayned perfidiously to denie the Primacie of the Apostolike Sea But the seruants of Christ and especially the chiefe Priests of the Lord ought to be so farre from taking an vnlawfull Oath where they may indamage their Faith that they ought to beware that ry the Great hath written in his 42. Epistle of his 11. booke Let not the Reuerence due to the Apostolique Sea bee troubled by any mans presumption for then the state of the members doeth remaine entire when the head of the faith is not bruised by any iniurie Therefore by S. Gregories testimonie when they are busie about disturbing or diminishing or taking away of the Primacie of the Apostolique Sea then are they busie about cutting off the very head of the faith and dissoluing of the state of the whole body and of all the members Which selfe same thing S. Leo doeth confirme in his third Sermon of his Assumption to the Pope-dome when he saith Our Lord had a speciall care of Peter and prayed properly for Peters faith as though the state of others were more stable when their Princes minde was not to be ouercome Whereupon himselfe in his Epistle to the Bishop of Vienna doth not doubt to affirme That he is not partaker of the Diuine Mysterie that dare depart from the soliditie of Peter who also saith That hee who thinketh the Primacie to bee denied to that Sea hee can in no sort lessen the Authoritie of it but by being puft vp with the spirit of pride doeth cast himselfe headlong into hell These and many other of this kinde I am very sure are most familiar to you who besides many other bookes haue diligently read ouer the visible Monarchie of your owne Saunders a most diligent writer and one who hath worthily deserued of the Church of England Neither can you be ignorant that most holy and learned men Iohn Bishop of Rochester and Thomas More within our memorie for this one most weightie head of doctrine ledde the way to Martyrdome to many others to the exceeding glory of the English Nation But I would put you in remembrance that you should take heart and considering the weightinesse of the cause not to trust too much to your owne iudgement neither be wise aboue that is meete to bee wise And if peraduenture your fall haue proceeded not vpon want of consideration but through humane infirmitie and for feare of punishment and imprisonment yet doe not preferre a temporall libertie to the libertie of the glory of the Sonnes of God neither for escaping a light and momentanie tribulation loose an eternall waight world to wonder with me at the committing of so grosse an Errour by so learned a man as that hee should haue pained himselfe to haue set downe so elaborate a Letter for the refutation of a quite mistaken Question For it appeareth that our English Fugitiues of whose inward societie with him he so greatly vaunteth haue so fast hammered in his head the Oath of Supremacie which hath euer bene so great a Scarre vnto them as hee thinking by his Letter to haue refuted the last Oath hath in place thereof onely payd the Oath of Supremacie which was most in his head As a man that being earnestly caried in his thoughts vpon another matter then hee is presently in doing will often name the matter or person hee is thinking of in place of the other thing hee hath at that time in hand For as the Oath of Supremacy was deuised for putting a difference betweene Papists and them of our profession So was this Oath which hee would seeme to impugne The difference betweene the Oath of Supremacie and this of Allegiance ordained for making a difference betweene the Ciuilly obedient Papists and the peruerse Disciples of the Powder-Treason Yet doth all his Letter runne vpon an Inuectiue against the compulsion of Catholikes to denie the authoritie of Saint Peters successors and in place thereof to acknowledge the successors of King Henry the eight For in King Henry the eights time was the Oath of Supremacie first made By him were Thomas Moore and Roffensis put to death partly for refusing of it From his time till now haue all our Princes professing this Religion successiuely in effect mainteined the same And in that Oath only is conteined the Kings absolute power to bee Iudge ouer all persons aswell Ciuill as Ecclesiasticall excluding all forreigne Powers and Potentates to be Iudges within his Dominions Whereas this last made Oath containeth no such matter onely medling with the Ciuill Obedience of Subiects to their Soueraigne in meere Temporall causes And that it may the better appeare that whereas by name hee seemeth to condemne the last Oath yet indeede his whole letter runneth vpon nothing but vpon the some other authority of the Church and Sea of Rome yet by other meanes with others helpe he may depose our King That the Pope may dispose of his Maiesties Kingdomes and Dominions That the Pope may giue authoritie to some Forrein Prince to inuade his Maiesties Dominions That the Pope may discharge his Subiects of their Allegiance and Obedience to his Maiestie That the Pope may giue Licence to one or more of his Maiesties Subiects to beare Armes against his Maiestie That the Pope may giue leaue to the King his Subiects to offer violence

in all matters appertaining to Faith and Religion that if they shall continue in a fault against Christian Religion after one or two admonitions obstinately for that cause they may and ought to bee deposed by the Bishops from all the Authority they hold amongst Christians f Ibidem Bishops are set ouer Imperiall Kingdomes if those Kingdomes do submit themselues to the Faith of CHRIST We doe constantly g Sand. de clau Dauid lib. 5. cap. 2. affirme That all Secular power whether Regall or any other is of Men. The h Ibidem Anoynting which is powred vpon the head of the King by the Priest doeth declare that he is inferiour to the Priest It is altogether against the will of i Sand. de clau Dauid lib. 5. cap. 4. CHRIST that Christian Kings should haue Supremacy in the Church And whereas for the Crowne and conclusion of all his examples he reckoneth his The Card. paire of Martyrs weighed two English Martyrs Moore and Roffensis who died for that one most weightie head of Doctrine as he alleadgeth refusing the Oath of Supremacie I must tell him that he hath not bene well informed in some materiall points which doe very neerely concerne his two said Martyrs For it is cleare and apparantly to be proued by diuers Records That they were both of them committed to the Tower about a yeere before either of them was called in question vpon their liues for the Popes Supremacy And that partly for their backwardnesse in the point of the establishment of the Kings Succession whereunto the whole Realme had subscribed and partly for that one of them to wit Fisher had had his hand in the matter of the holy a Called Anna Burton See the Act of Parliament maid of Kent he being for his concealement of that false Prophets abuse found guilty of Misprision of Treason And as these were the principall causes of their Imprisonment the King resting secure of his Supremacy as the Realme stood then affected but especially troubled for setling the Crowne vpon the Issue of his second Marriage So was it easily to be conceiued that being thereupon discontented their humors were thereby made apt to drawe them by degrees to further opposition against the King and his Authority as indeed it fell out For in the time of their being in prison the Kings lawfull Authoritie in cases Ecclesiasticall being published and promulged as well by a generall Decree of the Clergie in their Synode as by an Acte of Parliament made thereupon they behaued themselues so peeuishly therein as the old coales of the Kings anger being thereby raked vp of new they were againe brought in question as well for this one most weightie head of Doctrine of the Pope his Supremacie as for the matter of the Kings marriage and Succession as by the confession of one of themselues euen Thomas Moore is euident For being condemned hee vsed these words at the Barre before the Lords Non ignoro cur me morti adiudicaueritis videlicet ob id quod nunquam voluerim assentire in Hist aliquot Martyrum nostri seculi Anno 1550. negotio Matrimonij Regis That is I am not ignorant why you haue adiudged me to death to wit for that I would neuer consent in the businesse of the new marriage of the King By which his owne confession it is plaine that this great Martyr himselfe tooke the cause of his owne death to be onely for his being refractary to the King in this said matter of Marriage and Succession which is but a very fleshly cause of Martyrdom as I conceiue And as for Roffensis his fellow Martyr who could haue bene content to haue taken the oath of the Kings Supremacy with a certaine modification which Moore refused as his imprisonment was neither only nor principally for the cause of Supremacy so dyed he but a halting and a singular Martyr or witnes for that most waightie head of doctrine the whole Church of England going at that time in one current and streame as it were against him in that Argument diuers of them being of farre greater reputation for learning and sound iudgement then euer he was So as in this point we may well arme our selues with the Cardinals owne reason where he giueth amongst other notes of the true Church Vniuersality for one we hauing the generall and Catholike conclusion of the whole Church of England on our side in this case as appeareth by their booke set out by the whole Conuocation of England called The Institution of a Christian man the same matter being likewise very learnedly handled by diuers particular learned men of our Church as by Steuen Gardiner in his booke De vera Obedientia with a Preface of Bishop Boners adioyned to it De summo absoluto Regis imperio published by Master Bekinsaw De vera differentia Regiae Potestatis Ecclesiae Bishop Tonstals Sermon Bishop Longlands Sermon the letter of Tonstall to Cardinall Poole and diuers other both in English and Latine And if the bitternesse of Fishers discontentment had not bin fed with his daily ambitious expectation of the Cardinals hat which came so neere as Calis before he lost his head to fill it with I haue great reason to doubt if hee would haue constantly perseuered in induring his Martyrdome for that one most waightie head of doctrine And surely these two Captaines and ringleaders to Martyrdome were but ill followed by the rest of their countrymen for I can neuer reade of any after them being of any great account and that not many that euer sealed that waightie head of doctrine with their blood in England So as the true causes of their first falling in trouble whereof I haue already made mention being rightly considered vpon the one part and vpon the other the scant number of witnesses that with their blood sealed a point so greatly accounted of by our Cardinall there can but small glory redound thereby to our English Nation these only two Enoch and Elias seruing for witnesses against our Antichristian doctrine And I am sure the Supremacy of Kings The supremacie of Kings sufficiently warranted by the Scriptures may and will euer be better maintained by the word of God which must euer be the true rule to discerne all waightie heads of doctrine by to be the true and proper office of Christian Kings in their owne Dominions then he will be euer able to maintaine his annihilating Kings and their Authorities together with his base and vnreuerend speeches of them wherewith both his former great Volumes and his late Bookes against Venice are filled In the old Testament Kings were directly a 2. Chron. 19. 4. Gouernours ouer the Church within their Dominions b 2. Sam. 5. 6. purged their corruptions reformed their abuses brought the c 1. Chron. 13. 12. Arke to her resting place the King e 2. Sam. 6. 16 dauncing before it f 1. Chro. 28. 6. built the

Temple g 2. Chron. 6. dedicated the same assisting in their owne persons to the sanctification thereof h 2. King 22 1 made the booke of the Lawe new-found to be read to the people i Nehe. 9. 38 Dauid Salomon 2. Kings 8. 4. renued the couenant betweene God and his people brused the brasen Serpent in peeces which was set vp by the expresse commandement of God and was a figure of Christ destroyed k 1. Kings 15. 12. 2 kings 13. 4. all Idols and false gods made l 2. Chron. 7. 8. a publike reformation by a Commission of Priests and Secular men mixed for that purpose deposed m 1. Kings ● 27. the High Priest and set vp another in his place and generally ordered euery thing belonging to the Church-gouernment their Titles and Prerogatiues giuen them by God agreeing to these their actions They are called the n 2. Sam. 7 4 Sonnes of the Most High nay Gods o Psal 82. 6 Exod. 23. 8 themselues The p 1. Chron. 14. 8. Lords anoynted Sitting q 2. Sam. 3. 1● 2. Chron. 6. 15 in Gods Throne His r seruants The Angels ſ 2 Sam. 14 ●0 of God According to his t 1. Sam. 13. 4 hearts desire The light u 2. Sam. 21 7 of Israel The x Isa 49. 23 nursing fathers of the Church with innumerable such stiles of honour wherewith the old Testament is filled whereof our Aduersary can pretend no ignorance And as to the New Testament Euery soule is commanded to be subiect vnto them euen for y Rom. 13 5 conscience sake All men z 1. Tim. 2. 2 must be prayed for but especially Kings and those that are in Authority that vnder them we may leade a godly peaceable and an honest life The a Rom. 13. 4 Magistrate is the minister of God to doe vengeance on him that doth euill and reward him that doth well Ye must obey all higher Powers but b 1. Pet. 2. 13 especially Princes and those that are Supereminent Giue euery man his due feare c Rom. 13. 7 to whome feare belongeth and loue to whome loue belongeth Giue d Matth. 22 ●1 vnto Caesar what is Caesars and to God what is Gods e Ioh. 18. 36 Regnum meum non est huius mundi f Luk. 12. 14 Quis me constituit Iudicem super vos g Luke 22. 25. Reges gentium dominantur eorum vos autem non sic If these Sentences Titles and Prerogatiues and innumerable other in the old and new Testament do not warrant Christian Kings within their owne Dominions to gouerne their Church as well as the rest of their people in being Custodes vtriusque tabulae not by making new Articles of faith which is the Popes office as I said before but by commanding obedience to be giuen to the word of God by reforming the Religion according to his prescribed will by assisting the Spirituall power with the Temporall Sword by reforming of corruptions by procuring due obedience to the Church by iudging and cutting off all friuolous Questions and Schismes as Constantine did And finally by making Decorum to be obserued in euery thing and establishing orders to be obserued in all indifferent things for that purpose which is the only intent of our Oath of Supremacy If this Office of a King I say doe not agree with the power giuen him by Gods word let any indifferent man voyd of passion iudge But how these honorable Offices Stiles and Prerogatiues giuen by God to Kings in the old and new Testament as I haue now cited can agree with the braue Stiles and Titles that Bellarmine giueth them I can hardly conceiue 1 De laicis ca. 7. That Kings are rather slaues then Lords 2 De Pont. lib. 1. cap. 7. That they are not only Subiects to Popes to Bishops to Priests but euen to Deacons 3 Ibidem That an Emperor must content himselfe to drinke not onely after a Bishop but after a Bishops Chaplen 4 Ibidem de cler cap 26. That Kings haue not their Authoritie nor Office from God nor his Lawe but onely from the Lawe of Nations 5 De Pont. lib. 3 cap. 16. That Popes haue degraded many Emperors but neuer Emperour degraded a Pope nay euen Bishops that are but the Popes vassals may depose Kings and abrogate their Lawes 6 De laicis cap. 18. That Church-men are as farre aboue Kings as the Soule aboue the Body 7 De Pont. lib. 5. cap 8. That Kings may bee deposed by their people for diuerse respects 8 De Pout lib. 2. cap. 26. But Popes cannot be deposed for no flesh hath power to iudge of them 9 De Pont. lib. ● cap. 15. That obedience due to the Pope is for Conscience sake 10 De clericis cap. ●8 But the obedience due to Kings is onely for certaine respects of Order Policie 11 I●idem That these very Church men that are borne and inhabite in Soueraigne Princes Countreyes are notwithstanding not their Subiects and cannot be iudged by them although they may iudge them 12 Ibidem And that the obedience that Church men giue to Princes euen in the meanest and meere Temporall things is not by way of necessary subiection but onely out of discretion for obseruation of good Order These contrarieties betweene the Booke of God and Bellarmines bookes haue I here set in opposition to other Vt ex contrarijs iuxta se positis veritas magis elucescere possit And thus farre I dare boldly affirme That whosoeuer will indifferently weigh these inreconcileable Contradictions here set down will easily confesse that GOD is no more contrary to Belial Light to Darkenesse and Heauen to Hell then Bellarmines estimation of Kings is to Gods Now as to the conclusion of his Letter which is onely filled with strong and pithy Exhortations to perswade and confirme Blackwell to the patient and constant induring of Martyrdome I haue nothing to answere saue by way of regrate That so many good sentences drawen out of the Scripture so well and so handsomely packed vp together should be so ill and vntruely applied But an euill Cause is neuer the better for so good a Cloake And an ill matter neuer amended by good wordes And therefore I may iustly turne ouer that craft of the Deuill vpon himselfe in vsing so Holy-like an exhortation to so euill a purpose Onely I could haue wished him that he had a litle better obserued his Decorum herein in not letting slippe two or three prophane wordes amongst so many godly mortified Scripture sentences For in all the Scripture especially in the New Testament I neuer read of Pontifex Maximus And the Pope must be content in that stile to succeede to Numa Pompilius and not to Saint Peter who neuer heard nor dreamed of such an office And for his Caput fidei which I remembred before the Apostles I am sure neuer gaue that stile to any but to CHRIST So as these stiles whereof some were neuer found in Scripture and some were neuer applied but to CHRIST in that sense as hee applieth it had bene better to haue bene left out of so holy and mortified a Letter To conclude then this present Discourse I heartily wish all indifferent readers of the Breues and Letter not to iudge by the speciousnesse of the wordes but by the weight of the matter Not looking to that which is strongly alledged but iudiciously to consider what is iustly proued And for all our Soueraignes good Subiects that their hearts may remaine established in the Trueth That these forraine inticements may not seduce them from their naturall duety And that all aswell Strangers as Naturall Subiectes to whose eyes this Discourse shall come may wisely and vnpartially iudge of the Veritie as it is nakedly here set downe for clearing these mistes and cloudes of Calumnies which were iniustly heaped vpon our Soueraigne For which ende onely I heartily pray the courteous Reader to be perswaded that this discourse was published