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
12 By your doctrine he sinneth not who hath probable reason for that which he doth For Non peccat is qui probabiliter licere id existimat quod agit saith a Iesuite And by your doctrine he hath probable reason for that which he doth who hath the opinion of two or three yea of one graue Author For in foro conscientiae ad effectum non peccandi sufficit eligere pro vera eius opinionem quem merito censeâ—â—us essevirâ—m ideneum ad id scientia conscientis saith Nâ—â—arrus Now doth it not herehence follow that he who hath the opinion of Iohn Mariana touching the lawfulnesse of poysoning Kings may poyson Kings without sinne He that hath the opinion of him who made the book touching the lawfulnesse of Aequiuocation may equiuocate without sinne He that hath the opinion of Binetus the Iesuite touching the necessitie of concealing Confession may conceale without sinne whatsoeuer is confessed though that concealing cost all the Kings in Christendome yea in the world their liues What villanie approued by any of your Writers or Diuines may not lawfully be practised though thousands be of another opinion according to this your doctrine 13 You teach that the word of God is partly written partly vnwritten And the written word you call Scripture the vnwritten Tradition yet you vndertake to proue diuers of your opinions both by Scripture and by Tradition As for example Praying to Saints praying for the dead setting vp of Images in Churches and worshipping them when they are set vp Christs descention into hell the Virgine Maries perpetuall virginitie c. Now I would know with what honestie you can alledge Scripture for that which you say is a tradition or tradition for that which you say you haue Scriptures Can one and the same truth be written and not written 14 You teach that it was not meete all mâ—steries should be written in Scripture lest euery ordinarie person should come to the knowledge of them and because of the commonnesse of them contemne them Now I desire to know why the mysteries of the Trinitie should be written in Scripture rather then those mysteries you speake of if there be such danger that ordinarie persons should attaine to the knowledge of whatsoeuer is written in Scripture and vpon their knowledge of them should contemne them Secondly I desire to know why it should be lesse meete that the mysteries you speake of should be written in Scripture then in the Fathers and in your Catechismes Ordinarie persons are as like to come to the knowledge of them by reading if not the Fathers yet of your Catechismes wherein you discourse of them at large as if they were written in Scripture Are they not thinke you 15 Men say you teach that Licet praceptum praelati sit irrationale pro tali merito quandoque haberi potest tenetur tamen subditus illud obseruare Though the commandement of the superiour be vnreasonable and may well enough be thought so yet the inferiour is bound to obey it Men say you teach Si Papa erraret pracipiendâ— vitia vel prohibendo virtutes teneretur Ecclesia credere vitia esse bona virtutes malas nisâ—vellet contra conscientiam peccare that if the Pope should erre in commanding vice and forbidding vertue the Church was bound to beleeue vnlesse she would sinne against her conscience that vice was commendable and vertue dispraisable Men are bound Papae sententiam exequi to put the Popes sentence in execution albeit they know it to be vniust Any man illaesae conscientia with a good conscience may execute the Popes vnlawfull mandate by your learning Now I pray you how agrees this doctrine with that of the Apostles Act 5. 29. It is better to obey God then man 16 Sir Priest I reade in your bookes that your Pope is called Caput tâ—tius Ecclesiae Pater Ecclesiae Fillius Ecclesiae Sponsus Ecclesiae Mater Ecclesia The head of the whole Church the Father of the Church the sonne of the Church the Spouse of the Church the Church our mother Now I would know of you how he can be the Church her selfe and yet head of the Church and the Churches husband how can he be Father to the Church and and yet a sonne of the Church how without committing incest the father may marrie his daughter the brother may marrie his sister the sonne may marrie his mother 17 I reade in your bookes that your Pope is nor onely called the Vicar of Christ and Successor of S. Peter but d S. Peters Vicar and Christs Successor in respect of the gouernment of the Church Now here I desire to know two things of you first how your Pope comes to be S. Peters Vicar seeing S. Peter himselfe is but a Vicar and it is a rule in your Law Vicarius non potest substituere Vicarium A Vicar cannot substitute a Vicar Secondly how without blasphemie your Pope can be called Christs Successor seeing he to whom another succeedeth in office doth cease himselfe to beaâ—e that office as Felix did cease to be gouernour in Iurie when Festus came in place to be his successor I hope you do not thinke that Christ who endureth for euer hath turned ouer all care of his Church to your Pope 18 I reade in your bookes that in the yeare 1552. your Pope was intituled by a certaine Patriark called Siud The Peter of our time and the Paul of our dayes and that Clemens the eight was intituled by one Gabriel Patriarke of Alexandria Tertius detimus Apostolorum gloriosi Domini nostri Iesu Christi quintus sanctorum Euangelistarum The thirteenth Apostle of our Lord and Sauiour Iesus Christ and the fift Euangelist And that Genebrard approued of the titles which Siud gaue and Baronius of those which Gabriel gaue Now I desire to know of you why Genebrard should like that any Pope should be called the Peter of our time seeing Sergius the fourth being christened Peter vpon his election to be Pope in reuerence to S. Peter renounced the name of Peter and tooke the name of Sergius and secondly how Clemens the 8. can with any wisedome be held the thirteenth Apostle of our Sauiour Christ and the fifth Euangelist considering there were seuen Popes of his owne name and vpon the point of 230 Popes of other names before him For I cannot heare that he was such an A perse as that he deserued these titles rather then any of his predecessors And if all or any of his predecessors deserued to be called Apostles and Euangelists Gabriel in my opinion failed in his Arithmeticke when he termed him the thirteenth Apostle and the fifth Euangelist 19 I reade in your bookes that the iurisdiction of your Pope is boundlesse I His dominion as Christs Psal 72. 8. is from sea to sea and from the riuer vnto the ends of
the world whereas the iurisdiction of the rest of the Clergie hath narrower bounds by much Yet I reade in Eusebius of Chrytofersons translations that in Traians time Pope Clemens gouerned the church of Rome and Iohn the Euangelist the churches in Asia Now I desire to know whether this doth not argue that Pope Clemens iurisdiction was lesser then S. Iohns seeing it is apparent hereby that Pope Clemens gouerned but one Church and S. Iohn many 20 I reade in your bookes that S. Peter had authoritie ouer all the Apostles and that the Apostles depended vpon him as vpon their head and commander who was to direct them and to go in and out before them and to chastile them I reade likewise that after Saint Peters death your Popes succeeded him in tota ipsius dignitate potestate in all his dignitie and soueraigntie Now it is euident that diuers of the Apostles suruiued S. Peter as namely S. Andrew and S. Symon surnamed the Cananite not in regard of his countrey but of his zeale as S. Luke witnesseth and Saint Iohn the Euangelist Two of these if not all three liued till Traians dayes in which time Linus Cletus Clemens sate Bishops of Rome Now my desire is to know of you whether you thinke Linus Cletus Clemens challenged any soueraigntie ouer Saint Andrew and Saint Simon the zealous and Saint Iohn the Euangelist Me thinkes Saint Iohn being the Disciple whom Iesus loued Saint Iohn being the person who was allowed to leane on our Sauiours breast at the eating of the Passeouer S. Iohn being the man to whoÌ„ our Sauiour x recoÌ„mended his mother at his death Saint Iohn being such a one as that his writings are receiued for Canonicall me thinks I say Saint Iohn not to speake of the other two should not haue bene vnderling to these three Popes Me thinkes he should not haue depended vpon them as on his head for direction Me thinks they should not haue had that superioritie ouer him that they might haue chastised him 21 I reade in your bookes that an Archbishop and Cardinall of yours called Francis Zabarel who liued about the yeare 1400. confessed that certaine flatterers for many ages before his time and till his time had perswaded the Popes quòd omnia possent sic quod facerent quicquid liberet etiam illicita sic plus quam Deus they could do all things and might do any thing were it neuer so vnlawfull and by that meanes they could do more then God And to tell you truly I do verily beleeue him For I do finde they were told they might dispense contra ius naturale against the law of nature contra vetus Testamentum against the old Testament and contra Apostolum against the Apostle Paul I find they were told De nihilo possent facere aliquid they might of nothing make something de iniustitis facere possent iustitiam they might make wrong right and in his quae vellent ijs esse pro ratione voluntatem they might do as they list and no bodie might say Domine cur â—ta facis I pray you sir why do you so I finde some taught that St homitidium Samsonis quod ex se malum est interpretamuâ— quod instinctu diuino fuit factum multo magis omne factum sanctissimi Patris interpretari debemus in bonum siquidem fuer it furtum Vel aliud ex se malum interpretari debemas quod diuino instinct uâ—siat If we impute the slaughter which Samson made of the Philistines to an inspiration of Gods Spirit much more are we bound to interprete in the best part whatsoeuer the holy Father the Pope doth if it be theft or any other thing which of it selfe is euill as for example murther or adulterie we must likewise impute that to the inspiration of Gods Spirit About the time Zabarel speakes of it seemes it went for currant which is noted by a late Historian Episcopos Romanos ne peccata quidem sine laude committere the Popes could do nothing were it neuer so mischieuous but it was commendable His geese were all swanâ— his vices were vertues I reade in your bookes that men are bound to worship him with dulia and that some haue professed in his hearing that they worshipped him with hyperdulia and that in effect many haue giuen him latriam For to omit that some haue affirmed he was alter Deus in terris a second God vpon earth Deus mortalis in terris immortalis homo in coelis a mortall God vpon earth and an immortall man in the heauens That he hath so much greater power then any of the Prophets quanto differentius praeill is nomen hereditauit viz. Tues Petra c. by how much he hath a more excellent name giuen him then any of them had to wit Thou art a rocke Some of you haue giuen out that he is non Deus non homâ— sed vtrumque neither God nor man but both Some of you haue styled him as Saint Thomas did out Sauiour Christ with the titles of Dominus Deus noster our Lord and Godâ— and as Saint Iohn likewise did with Rex regum Dominus dominantium King of Kings and Lord of Lords Some of you now write Christus omnem quam à patre accepit poteâ—â—atem transfudit insuoâ—â— Christ passed ouer all the power which God the Father gaue him vnto his meaning your Popes Agreeably to others who in former ages were not ashamed to tell the Pope that z Tibi vni to him alone was granted all power both in heauen and in earth Yea that there was in Popes all power supra omnes potestates tam coeli quam terrae aboue all powers both in heauen and in earth I need not to tell you of the Bishop who put vp a supplication to Pope Nicolas in these words Miserere meifili Dauid O sonne of Dauid haue mereie vpon me nor of the Religious persons who came from Panormi and other parts of Sicily as Embassadours to Pope Martin the fourth to craue his fauour who cried thrice thus Agnus Dei qui tollis peccata mâ—ndi miserent nobis O thou Lambe of God who takest away the sinnes of the world haue mercie vpon vs nor of him who in way of prouing your Popes omnipotencie bids his reader note Quod in concessionibus vtitur illo verbo Fiat quo Deus vniuersum creauit orbema that your Pope in subscribing petitions vseth the word Let it be by which God created the whole world intimating that as God so your Pope by a word of his mouth may doe any thing nor of them who against the comming of Paul the third vnto the Citie of Tolentonum in Italy set this inscription ouer the gates Paulo 3. opt max. in terris Deo To Paul the third the
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