the fourth of France was encouraged thereto by Varade a Iosuite who assured him that hee could not doe a more meritorious worke in the world Are not Papists rare Iewels and much to be esteemed of by Kings 5 It is written in your owne books that Gregory the third deposed Leo the third of his Empire for defacing of Images in Churches And that P Gregorie the seuenth deposed Henrie the fourth of the Empire for commanding the Cardinals to repaire to him to choose a new Pope And Bo'eslaus the second King of Poland for killing of a Bishop It is written in your owne bookes that Pope Zachary deposed Childericke king of France for that he was not so fit for gouernment as Pipin was and that Boniface the eight deposed Philip of France for appealing from him to a generall Councell It is written in your owne bookes that Innocent the third deposed Otho the fourth for that contrary to his oath hee inuaded the Churches patrimonie and our King Iohn of England for that he sought not Absolution at his hands when the whole Realme stood interdicted It is written in your owne bookes that Innocent the fourth deposed Frederike the second for apprehending his Cardinals and Bishops as they were going to a Councell called by him and that Gregorte the tenth tooke the Easterne Empire from Baldwin the second who was lawfull heire to it and gaue it to Michael Paelâ—eologus who had no colour of right to it And that Clemens the sixt deposed Lewis the fourth of Bauaria for holding opinion that the Emperour might depose the Pope and place another in his roome It is written in your bookes that George King of Bohemia was deposed by Paul the second for heresie And that Iohn King of Nauarre was deposed by Iulius the second for fauouring Lewes the twelfth of France whom the Pope had deuounced a schismaticke and that our King Henrie the eight was deposed by Paul the third especially for beheading the Bishop of Rochester and Queene Elizabeth for supposed heresies by three of your Popes one after another viz. by Pius the fift Gregorie the thirteenth and Sixtus the fifth So bold haue your Popes beene with Kings and Emperours de facto But which concernes Emperors and Kings more to take knowledge of it is written in your bookes that your Pope hath right Imperia regna principatus quicquid habere mortales possunt auserre dare to dispose of Empires kingdomes principalities and whatsoeuer any man liuing hath As according to your learning he may Aperire claudereianuas regni coelesâ—is quibus volueriâ— open the gates of heauen to whom he list and shut out of heauen whom he list so he may Auferre conferre regna quaecunque quibus licet take the Crowne from any Kings head and set it on another mans head at his pleasure For as Platina witnesseth Boniface the eight endeuoured to perswade men so If an Emperour or King be haereticus vel schismaticus vel fautor vel receptator vel defensor haereticorum vel schismaticorum an hereticke or schismaticke or fauourer of heretickes or schismatickes If an Emperour or King be a tyrant and tenens regnum contra formam iur is mâ—ntem Pâ—pae dicitur Tyrannus Hee who hath his kingdome contrary to the Popes law and the Popes liking is a tyrant If an Emperour or a King be a sacrilegious person that is such a one as goeth about to infringe the liberties immunities and priuiledges of the Church either by laying hands on Ecclesiasticall persons or their goods or taking vnto himselfe l Ecclesiastica iura to be gouernour next vnder Christ of those particular Churches which are within his territories If they despise Claues Ecclesiae the Popes Suspensions Interdictions Excommunications If they forbid Episcopos Clertcos suo officto fungi Popish Bishops or Priests to say Masse If they doe homines excellentes sine causa perimere hang Priests who came into their kingdomes to steale the hearts of their subiects vnto the Pope If they do Sapientes de regno remouere banish popish priests out of their dominions If they dissolue Societates aut congregationes ad sanctè honesté que viuendâ—m that is Monasteries and Nunneries If they oppresse or grieue populos sibi subiect os their subiects If they gouerne their kingdomes negligenter ignaue inepte inutiliter carelesly and vnprofitably If leges contra Ecclesiae libertatem aut permittunt aut condunt they either make any law against the libertie of the Church or suffer any such law made by some of their predecessors to stand in force If they commit any sin and will not be admonished by your booke-learning they are but gone men they haue forfeited their estates into your Popes hands yea though there be no fault in them yet for publicum bonum if it tend to the Popes profite he may vncrowne them and bestow all they haue vpon such who had no title in the world to any part thereof before the Pope gaue them all And doth not this argue That Kings by your learning are in worse case then Copy-holders 6 By your doctrine sir Priest there is iust cause to make warre against heretickes by Heretickes you meaning Protestants By your doctrine There is no warre so iust and honourable be it ciuill or forraine as that which is waged for the preseruing propagating of your Religion By your doctrine there can be no peace yea there ought to be no peace made with Sectaries Sectaries that is in your language Protestants are more eagerly to be pursued with fire and sword then Turkes And when warre is once proclaimed any priuate man according to your doctrine may take spoile kill such Sectaries and burne their houses ouer their heads Thus you professing further that when the Princes of your Religion make league with Protestant Princes they make them onely for their owne advantage as for example to dispatch some by-businesses which hinder them from falling vpon the Protestants with their whole forces Now this being thus Haue not Protestant Princes and their subiects iust cause to stand vpon their guard and neither to trust to League with Popish Prince nor friendship with popish pesant especially if it be true which is further reported viz. 7 That your famous Bishop Symancha writes Haereticis fides à prinato data seruanda non est Faith made to an heretike by a priuate person is not to be kept A priuate person may reucale an heretike to the Inquisitors Non obstance side aut iuramento though he hath bound himselfe by his oath to the contrary And Nec fides à magistraâ—â—bus data seruanda est haereticis Faith made to heretikes by the magistrates is not to be kept For so some say your Symancha saith prouing his assertion by this that in the Councel
of Constance Iohn Hus and Hieroâ—â— of Prague were iustly burned albeit the Magistrate had giuen safe conduct And that your Pope Martin the fift writ to Alexander Duke of Lituania Scito te mortaliter peccare si seruabis fidem datam haereticis Know thou sinnest mortally if thou keepe thy oath with heretickes And that your Diuines in France An. 1577. Aperto capite in concionibus eunlgatis scriptis ad fidem sectar ijs seruandam non â—bligari Principem contendebant allato in eam rem Cont. Constant decreto taught publikly both in the Pulpit and in the Presse That Princes were not bound to keepe touch with Sectaries alledging to that end the Councell of Constance For If oathes binde not farewell trust with you And the rather for that 8 It is generally reported you teach A man framing to himselfe a true proposition when hee is asked a question may conceale asmuch thereof as hee thinkes good As for example If one of you should be examined whether if the Pope did come in warre-like manner to inuade this Realme by force he would take the Popes part or the Kings that man framing this answer in his minde I will take the Kings part if the Pope will commaund me so to doe may giue this answer lawfully I will take the Kings part concealing the rest and so delude the Examinate In like manner if one of you hauing Horse and Money should be importuned by one of your honest friends to whom you were not bound by law to giue or lend to lend him Horse or Mony you framing this proposition in your mind I haue neither Horse nor Money to giue or lend may safely sweare You haue neither Horse nor Money and keepe the rest to your selfe and so mocke your friend Yea it is said you teach that without any mentall reseruation you may absolutely deny some truths For Confitens non peccat mortaliter qui negat se admisisse peccatum mortale alias legitime confessum That man sinneth not mortally who hauing shriuen himselfe of some mortall sinne denies afterwards that he was euer guiltie of that sinne According to your learning Quod solum audisti potes testificari te nescire Thou maist say thou knowst not that which is knowne to none but thee If one of you see â—eter kill Iohn come to be examined vpon the point if no bodie else sawe you may answer that you know not whether Peter killed Iohn or not according to your diviniâ—e For Can such aequivocation by mentall reseruation and blunt deniall of knowne truths stand with plaine dealing truth and honesty 9 Ipsoiure priuatos esse haereticos omni debito side litat is dominij obligationis obsequij quoillis quicâ—â—nque tenebantur astricti That heretikes are depriued by law of all fidelitie authoritie bond and seruice which anie man owes them is currant doctrine among you Children and seruants and subiects to heretikes owe no duty to their parents maisters er soueraignes Good wiues neede not lie with their husbands Such as are indebted neede not pay their debts to their Creditors Keepers of forts and townes may surrender them into the enemies hands And this being thus Can you be angry if Protestant Princes and their subiects who haue wiues children seruants and money in other mens hands doe wish you all Vltra Garamantas Indos in the vnknowne world Especially seeing 10 You dubbe vs with the name of Heretike affirming that we are to be detested as heretikes You forbid your Bishops your Archbishops your Patriarkes your Cardinalls except they be Inquisitors or Commissioners appointed by your Pope to sit vpon heresie the reading yea the keeping of anie of our bookes You cannot abide that one good word should be spoken of vs For Epitheta honorifica omnia in lâ—udem haereticorum deleantur Let all honorable Epithites and whatsoeuer else in praise of heretikes be blotted out lay you If Vlcichus Hutten a Protestant be commanded for Eques Germaniae docâ—issimus poeta laudâ— tissimas a learned Knight and excellent Poet Iâ— Frederike Duke of Saxony a Protestant be termed Illustrissimus Sapientissimus Christianissimus Princeps an illustrious wise and Christian Prince If our Edward the sixt be found praised as admirande in dolis adoleseens a young Prince of admirable towardlinesse there shall deleatur be set vppon the places In the next impressions such commendations must be put out Yea you cannot find in your hearts that our bare names should be remaining in any bookes vnlesse we be named per ignominiam contemptum with reproach and shame and such is your further hatred to our Princes that you forbid the reprinting of such Dedicatory Epistles as learned men haue prefixed before their bookes for the eternizing of the memorie of our Princes witnesse hereof your note of detrahatur reijciâ—tur deleatur set vpon three severall Epistles written by Hadrianus Iunius and Iohannes Serranus to our late Queene Elizabeth and to Iames by the goodnes of God our present King And so farre are you from approuing of the keeping of a Picture either of Prince or People that you account it though it be kept in a Closet a great presumption that the keeper thereof smels of heresie And such is your burning charity towards vs all that you adiudge vs to the bottomlesse pit of hell Certaine it is that whosoeuer in this new faith and seruice hath ended this life is in hell most certainly saith Bristâ—â— Fieri nequit vt Luther anus moriens saluetur Gehennam euadat aeternts ignibus eripiatur si mentior damner ipse cum Lucifero Let me be damned in Hell with the Diuell if any Lutheran be saued if any Lutheran escape Hell saith Costerus 11 Sixtus Senensis reports That the Iewes are bound to raile vpon all Christians thrice euery day and to pray God he will roote out all Christians with their Kings and Princes from vnder Heauen Sixtus reports That the Iewes are commaunded to account no otherwise of Christians then of beasts that they holde it lawfull to spoyle Christians of their goods and to bereaue them of their liues to pull downe their Churches to burne their Gospel Yea he reports they belch out such blasphemies against Christ as are fearefull to thinke on in no case to be spoken of And yet I reade you holde that wee are acerbâ—ores hostes Christi multo magis detestandi more bitter enemies to Christ and much more to be detested than they are that it is more dangerous to haue any thing to doe with vs than with them And I heare your Pope licenseth them to haue Synagogues in Rome euen vnder his nose whereas wee can not be allowed to have a Chappell in any place where he swayeth Now I desire that either some rime or reason may be giuen to iustifie your iu stifying of the Iewes before vs.
best and greatest God in earth Now that which I desire to know of you is what difference in substance there is betweene many of these speeches concerning your Popes and theirs in the Acts of the Apostles who applauding Herods oration cried amaine Vox Dei non hominis the voice of God and not of man and whether your Pope be not as guiltie as Herod was who hearing with his owne eares diuers of these blasphemous speeches and perhaps all by report did neither reproue them vpon his eare hearing them nor cause them to be razed out of the books wherein they are written hauing knowledge thereof at the second hand 22 I reade in your bookes that you haue had many vnlearned Popes not much wiser then the Bishop who examining one that was to be made Deacon in stead of asking Quot sunt Sacramenta Ecclesiae how many Sacraments are there in the Church demanded Quot sunt 7. Sacramenta how many are the seuen Sacraments To whom the Deacon answering Tres. The Bishop replied In quibus What call you them And the Deacon tolde him their names were Thuribulum Aspersorum sancta Crux For of Iulius the second it is reported that signing a warrant in stead of fiat he wrote fiatur And constat plures corum adeo illiteratos esse vt Grammaticam penitus ignorent It is well knowne that many of the Popes were so vnlearned that they knew not-their Grammar rules saith Alfonsus de Castro I reade in your bookes that some of your Popes were silly creatures You had one whom your Canonists vsually call vnum pecus in eo quod de mane faciebat gratiam de sero reuocabat a veâ—ie Asse for that in the morning he would grant many men many kindnesses and at night reuoke them all againe I reade in your bookes that you had one boy Pope of twelue yeares old viz. Benedict the ninth and a May-pole-morrice-dancer Pope of 18. yeares old viz. Iohn 12. alias 13. who made the Lateran a plaine Stewes as Luitprandus witnesseth I reade that Iohn 11. was a bastardly brat of Pope Sergius and that you had a whore Pope called Ioâ—ne I reade you haue had Necromanticall Popes such as Siluester the second who gaue himselfe to the diuell both body and soule that he might attaine the Popedome Theefe Popes such as Boniface the seuenth who robbed Saint Peters Church Sodomiticall Popes such as Sixtus the fourth who built a famous stewes in Rome Periured Popes such as Gregorie the twelfth Hereticall Popes such as Honorius the first condemned by the 6. and 7. generall Councels for a Monothelite Atheisticall Popes such as Leo the tenth who called the Gospell a Fable Apostaticall Popes such as those fiftie who as Genebrard writeth entred in not by the doore but by a posterne gate I reade that Recentes summi Pontifices videntur laborare vt quantum prisci fuerunt sapientes sanctij tantum isti impij sint stulti The later Popes seeme to striue they may shew themselues as very fooles and knaues as the ancient Popes stroue to approue their wisedome and holinesse vnto the world Your Bellarmine confesseth that the later Popes Parum solliciti de Rep. tooke little care how the world went A pietate veterum degenerauerunt are growne out of kinde Your Victoria professeth they are priscis ill is multis partibus inferiores farre worse then their first predecessors And in Platina I reade that virtus integritas defecit vertue and integritie is decayed in them and in Fasciculus Temporum that sanctitas illos dimisit holinesse hath taken her leaue of them Men of your selues write In Pontificibus bodie nemo sanctitatem requirie optimi putantur sevel leuiter boni sint vel minus mali quam caeteri mortales esse soleant At this day no man lookes for any honestie in a Pope they are accounted excellent good Popes if they haue but a dram of honestie yea if they surpasse not the wickednesse of other men At this day the Papacie is so dangerous that Marcellus the second protested he did not see quomodo qui locum hunc altissimum tenent saluari possint how a Pope can be saued Your Saint Katharin of Sienna told Gregorie the 11. that In Romana Curia vbi deberet esse Paradisus deliciarum virtutum inueniebat foetorem infernalium vitioruÌ„ Whereas she looked to haue found a Paradise of rare vertues in his Court she found in stead thereof a dunghill couered ouer with hellish vices the stinch whereof she smelt to Sienna the place of her dwelling an hundred miles off And the Virgine Marie told Saint Briget as some of you say that Multi Pontifices sunt in inferno Many Popes are in hell And you know that Mantuans counsell was Viuere qui cupitis sancte discedite Romoe Omnia cum liceant non licet esse bonum He that desires to liue honestly let him blesse himselfe from Rome for a man may be there any thing saue honest but honest he cannot be in any wise Now the question wherein I desire to be resolued by you is whether you thinke indeed that when Christ prayed for Saint Peters faith he prayed for the faith of your vnlettered Popes sheepish Popes boy Popes swaggering whore-maister Popes bastardly brat Popes whore Pope Necromanticall Popes theese Popes Sodomiticall Popes periured Popes hereticall Popes Asheisticall Popes and Apostaticall Popes For there is no question but Christ obtaineth alwayes the things which he prayes for and me thinkes there should be no question but when our Sauiour praied for Saint Peters faith that it should not faile by the name of faith he meant a liuely Christian faith which workes by loue and which embraceth the promises of the mercie of God which whosoeuer hath hath assurance of eternall life and if so how is it credible that he prayed for all these 23 Your Sixtus 5. caused your vulgar Latin to be corrected and printed at Rome in the yeare 1590. The paines he tooke therein as it seemeth was wonderfull For notwithstanding all other his papall businesse he read ouer euery word of the Bible before it was printed and after too correcting with his owne hands the faults of the print Then he published it and prefixed his bul before it in stead of a preface signifying therein that his good will and pleasure was that this onely should go for Authenticall and that all other impressions in time to come should be made according to it without any change without taking away or adding so much as a letter â—nd that all former impressions yea and M. S. differing from this should be of no credit and all this he required vpon paine of the greater excommunication Yet after the death of Vrban 7. Greg. 14. and Innocent 9. successors of Sixtus 5.
meane no worse why you speake so harshly certainly the Rich Glutton Luk. 16. 24. when he prayed saying Father Abraham haue mercie on me had a further meaning then to desire Abraham to pray for him And the Patriarke Iacob when his wife Rahel said vnto him Giue me children or else Idle Genes 30. 2. supposed she had a further meaning in those words then to desire him to procure her children of God by his prayers for else why was his wrath kindled against her for saying so Secondly I desire to know if you meane no other why you tell vs so many tales of the virgin Maries descending from heauen to helpe her suppliants on earth and of other Saints personall and actuall performance of such things as were begged of them It is written in your books That a Priest hauing his tongue cut out by heretickes vpon his mentall prayer to the virgine Marie had another put in The virgin Marie digitis ori eius immissis putting her finger into the Priests mouth it was well he bit her not fastned him in a new tongue She helped him not with her prayers but with her fingers 41 In the same bookes of yours it is written That the virgin Marie prescribed physicke to a boy with a scald head who vsed to pray to her and that by laying her owne hands on his head shee preserued him from head acheuer after By Physicke and other meanes then prayers the cured the boy of his infirmities In the same bookes it is written That a good fellow called Peter prayed to the virgin Marie for help and that shee appeared to him with Hyppolitus in her companie commanding Hyppolitus to helpe him which Hyppolitus did not by praying for him but by binding vp his sores with his hands Chirurgion-like In the same bookes it is written that an Abbesse who was with childe by an officer of hers prayed the virgine Marie to help her at a dead lift and to saue her credit which the virgin Marie did not by praying for her but by bringing two Angels with her who played the midwiues helping her to be deliuerd of her child instantly and carying it by the virgin Maries appointment to an Eremite coÌ„manding him in the virgin Maries name to keepe it till it was seuen yeares old In the same bookes it is written that the virgin Marie saued likewise the credit of a whore-Nunne called Beatrix not by praying for her but by personall supplying of her place in an Oratorie by the space of fifteene yeares together whilest she ranne a whoring after a whore-monger Priest and no body knew she was missing Your Cardinall Baronius tels vs soberly that Leo 1. hauing written an Epistle to Flauianus Bishop of Constantinople against Euâ—yches and Nestorius he layed it vpon S. Peters tombe praying him instantly that if there were any error he would amend it and that after certaine dayes it seemes S. Peter tooke time to consider well of it S. Peter appeared vnto Leo and told him that he had amended it Whereupon Leo sumens Epistolam de sepulchro B. Petri aperuit eam inuenit Apostolica manu emendatam the Pope taking the Epistle away and opening it he found it corrected with the Apostles owne hand Which storie seemes to argue that when Leo desired Peter to amend his Epistle hee meant more then to desire him to procure it amended of God by his prayers 42 Your Rhemists tell vs that it is absurd to say that the intersession of our fellowes beneath is more auailable then the prayers of those that be in the glorious sight of God aboue Now if it be indeed absurd to say so I would gladly know of you why S. Paul Rom. 15. 30. desired the Romanes v and 2. Cor. 1. 11. the Corinthians and Ephes 6. 〈◊〉 the Ephesians and Col. 4. 3. the Colossians and 1. Thess 5. 25. 2. Thes 3. 1. the Thessalonians and Heb. 13. 18. the Hebrews all of them his fellowes beneath to pray for him and desired none of the Saints in the glorious sight of God aboue to pray for him And why S. Iames Chap. 5. 16. aduised them to whom he writ that one of them beneath should pray for another and required them not to pray to the Saints in the glorious sight of God aboue for helpe 43 Again if it be absurd to say that the intercession of our fellowet beneath is more auailable then the prayers of those that be in the glorious sight of God aboue I would gladly know why you tell vs so many tales of soules creeping out of Purgatorie crauing the help of their fellowes beneath and not one of any soule crauing the helpe of any of the Saints in the glorious sight of God aboue Haue not the soules in Purgatory so much wit as to repaire to them for helpe who are best able to helpe them Or are you of Leonard de Vtino his mind who holdeth quod efficaciora sunt suffragia Ecclesia praesentis facta pro aliquo in Purgatoric existente quam orationes Sanctorum in patria That the prayers of the Church militant are more auailable for soules in Purgatory then the prayers of the Church triumphant 44 Vergerius reports that it is written in an Italian booke intitled Flosculi S. Franciscs that the virgin Marie by the merit of her virginitie saued all women to the time of S. Clare as Christ by the merit of hiâ— passion saued all men till the time of Saint Francis in whose dayes S. Clare liued And he further reports that whereas he answered that booke his answer was condemned as hereticall in three seuerall Indices of bookes forbidden and so it is in the last of Clemens 8. Now if his report be true I would know how you can saue Cardinal Bellarmines credit who denies that any Catholike did euer equall in any sort the virgin Marie vnto Christ for as it is confessed in that book that Christ saued meÌ„ so the Author professeth that she saued women 45 Ambrosius Catharinus in an Oration which he made An. 1546. in the second Session at Trent termed her Fidelissimam sociam Christi Christs most faithfull fellow or companion And another great Papist did not sticke to write Fuit Dominus cum Maria ipsa cum Domino in eodem labore eodem opere redemptionis Mater enim misericordiae adiuuit Patrem misericor diae in opere nostrae salutis Our Lord was with Marie and Marie with our Lord in the same labour and in the same worke of our redemption for the Mother of mercie helped the Father of mercie in the worke of our saluation Who fearing some might reply on Christs behalfe that it was written Esay 63. I haue trodeâ— the wine-presse alone and of all the people there was not one man with me in way of preuenting that goes on thus Verum est Domine quod non est vir tecum sed mulier vna tecum