of all our thoughtes and that wee conclude that if wee see nothing the faulte thereof is in our eyes and not in the light They alledge that the Scripture is doubtefull because that Satan alledged it vnto Iesus Christ I aunswere that there is no lawe that a man may not reiect by this argument for all lawes are subiect to be alledged both by good bad But let them also marke that by the same Iesus Christ stopped his mouth Also your Sauiour Christ hath spoken in parables and similitudes we know that similitudes are to make cleare and not to darken and I make their owne consciences iudges whether those parables of Christ so expoūded as we haue them in the scriptures tend to any other end When he would teach vs who is our neighbour he maketh it playne by the similitude of the man descending from Iericho what the kingdome of heauen is by the similitude of the sower what the vocation of the Gentiles is by the prodigall childe and so likewise of other I aske if by these parables we may iudge more clearely or more darkely whether all the gloses or long cōmentaries of the Pharises were able so clearly to expound this matter But they will say you cannot deny but the there are manye darke places for S. Peter himself saith that there are such in the epistles of S. Paul nay but rather we may say that forasmuch as there are only certaine places darke it followeth contrariwise that the Scripture is not darke For this is an euill argument to reason from some to all and hee that sayeth that vpon a garment there are blacke spottes he sayeth by consequence that that garment is not all blacke And as concerning those we say that the light of the Scripture is sufficient for to giue them such light as they neede not dwell anye more in darkenesse vnlesse it be those whome the God of this worlde hath blinded in their vnderstanding as Saynt Paul sayth to the end they should perish that the lyght of the Gospell shoulde not shine vnto them or as Saynt Peter sayeth in the selfe same place which they alledge to the vnstable and vnlearned which peruert the Scriptures to their owne destruction This is the sentence of all the auncient fathers with whome wee conclude thys poynte There are sayeth Saynt Augustine handling this matter certaine harde places in the Scripture and yet notwithstanding there is no other thing but that which is expounded in most expresse wordes in other places whereby the holy Ghoste hath wonderfully measured and tempered the holy Scriptures to the ende that those cleare places shoulde serue healthfully to satisfie the hunger of the readers and those darker places shoulde encrease their appetite to take away all contempt but in that that is spoken clearly in the Scriptures they shall finde all things which conteyne fayth and the waye to liue well to witte hope and charitye And hee that will haue more examples hereof in the foresayde places he alledgeth more Saynt Ambrose There is sayth he much obscurity in the Propheticall writings he speaketh namely of the Prophets but if thou knocke at the doore of the Scriptures with the hand of thyne owne vnderstanding thou shalt gather the sense of the darke places and the woorde of God it selfe shall be that that shall open it vnto thee The most obscure and darke then that is therin may be made plain by it selfe S. Basill If wee be commanded to doe any thing and we knowe not howe let vs take the LORD for our guyde who sayeth vnto vs Searche the Scriptures and let vs followe the Apostles who asked him selfe of the interpretatiō of those thinges which hee had spoken vnto them and of those thinges which hee hath spoken to vs in one place let vs learne to vnderstand those things which he hath spoken in another This is that which Marsilius of Padua disputed against the Pope 300. yeeres agoe that the Lawe of the Gospell is sufficient perfect and plaine of it selfe immediatly to direct vs to euerlasting saluation and to turne vs away from the path of miserie But to thē which finde nothing in the light but darknes I feare that it is to no purpose to alledge plaine places out of the auncient doctors The mischief is that we finde not in the Scriptures in any place neither the Masse nor Purgatory neither the papacie nor the power of one man alone ouer the whole Church and such other inuentions of the prince of darkenesse and therefore we accuse Gods worde to be darke to the ende we may fetch these goodly doctrines from thence by meane of some colde Allegorie that wheresoeuer this light shineth not vnto vs in the Churche wee shoulde knowe that there is nothing but darkenesse But yet see a farther matter then the former for it is so farre of that they will accept the Scriptures for their iudge that they them selues will bee Iudges ouer the Scripture If the Churche saye they had not kept the Scriptures and witnessed of them they had bene of no more authoritye then any other writing Therefore the Churche is Iudge ouer the Scripture and not the Scripture ouer the Churche First I demaunde what that Churche is which hath kept the Scriptures whether this bee onelye the Christian Churche or the Iewish Churche also Nowe wee knowe that the Olde Testament was deliuered from hand to hande vnto vs by the Iewes and therefore the auncient doctours called them the booke keepers of the Churche For they were so curious that they would enter euerye tittle and poynte both the accentes and letters and made a Register of them Therefore the Iewishe Churche was iudge of the Olde Testament when Iesus Christ came and therefore to verye euill purpose our Sauiour Christe sendeth the people to the Scriptures who might more safely haue bene sent to the high Priestes and Pharisees But these Iudges of the Scriptures they iudged Christe to death the Schollers and Students of the Scriptures acknowledged him for their lyfe And at this daye euen by this argument the Iewes shoulde winne the victorye It followeth then whether they renounce this Sophistrye or whether they will mainetayne it that they renounce their Saluation Consequentlye I demaunde of them Whether the Church of Rome aloue haue kept the Scriptures or other Churches also They can not saye that it was the Churche of Rome or the Latine Churche alone For the Ecclesiasticall storye wytnesseth that the Primitiue Churche gathered the Canon of the Registers of those Churches which were founded by the Apostles and to which the same Apostles had written Nowe there is but one Epistle written to the Romaines and all the rest are written to the Easte Churches In like maner the Gospell of Iohn was kept at Ephesits and that of Saynt Marke at Alexandria c. If then the Easte Churches had a greater parte in keeping the Scriptures then the Romaine and therefore
shoulde say to the ende it should be deliuered vnto the posteritie so as we haue it there registred by foure sworne Notaries of the holie Ghost and expounded in many Epistles of the Apostles Finally these Registers of the kingdome of heauen haue gathered them together by the common care of the Churches wherein they haue bene kept the which haue witnessed that this worde proceeded from them and thereto haue put to their seale and to the ende that no Scripture myght be made equall vnto them and to take away also the foundation of all heretikes which euery where alledge it and bring in to serue euery turne the traditions of the Apostles the Churches haue brought them into one booke which they call the Canon that is the rule and the Canonical Scriptures See then that in the Christian Church we haue now as was vnder the lawe one rule to iudge the right from the crooked a squire to direct our buylding a compasse to guyde our barke a lawe to iudge controuersies and a God in his woorde to determine all matters which shall arise in the Churches All that is agreeable to this word of God is of God for that it is his owne word All that is not agreeable to this worde is of man and no man hath any voyce in the Churche to make any lawes concerning the seruice of god The sonne of mā alone God and man hath onely this power of whom it is onely sayd Heare him Al then that is ouer and besides this ought to haue no place in the Church By this worde thus limited within the bookes of the Canonicall Scripture the primatiue Church hath taken away an infinite nomber of traditions which heretiks haue made to passe vnder the name of the Apostles allowing nothing but that which they haue found contained in the foresayde bookes By the same also they haue stopped the mouth of heresies which sprong vp of the noughtie and vnsound interpretations thereof to be short they neuer complained when they had any thing to doe with heretikes who agreed of this Iudge accompting their matter wonne but rather when they vanquished them which refused the same worde forasmuch as it is impossible to finde a Iudge to them that refuse to be iudged of God. Our aduersaries alwaies cry with open mouth The Fathers Fathers Fathers but beholde whereby the Fathers woulde bee iudged and before whome they would pleade This controuersie sayeth S. August requireth a Iudge let Christ then be Iudge himselfe and tel vs himself wherefore he dyed Let the Apostle also be iudge together with him for in the Apostle also Christ himselfe speaketh It is sayde that he hath not spared his owne sonne c. but hath giuen him to the death for vs See then the Iudge before whome he calleth the Pelagians from whome our aduersaries haue borowed their doctrine Against the Donatistes his ordinarie wordes are We haue founde Christ in the scriptures there also must wee finde the Church Also let it not be heard any more betwene vs I say this thou sayest that but rather see what the Lord sayth for we haue saith he the bookes of the Lord to which we both giue consent we both beleeue and keepe Againe the canonicall Scripture is the rule of all The epistles of Bishops gyue place one to an other and Councels are amended and corrected one by an other but that must correct all Also where shall wee feede the sheepe of the Lorde Vpon the mountaynes of Israel these mountaines of Israel are the altars of the Scriptures of god When any man shall preach according to that from thence take taste thereof and all that is not from thence cast it awaye for feare of straying in the mystes And when the Donatistes alleadged Saint Cyprian vnto him of whome notwithstanding hee maketh a great accompt in all his workes and specially through whome he myght haue ouercome them in many matters I sayeth he allowe not the wrytings of Saint Cyprian for canonicall And yet herein I doe him no wrong for not in vayne was this so healthfull a Canon made in which are comprehēded the bookes which we dare not iudge and through which notwithstanding wee iudge of all bookes as well of infidelles as of Christians That which I finde there agreeable with Scripture I accept it with prayse that which I finde not agreeable to the Scripture by his good leaue I reiect it And there is no doubt sayeth hee in another place but that nowe he seeth all more cleare and bryght then when he was conuersant in darkenes that he will rather be glad to know how comfortable it is for vs that in the writinges of Christian orators and learned preachers a man may finde things to be reproued and that in the writings of those poore fishers that is to say of the Apostles a man shall finde no such thing in them Alledge not therefore to me sayeth he in this case their writings but the Lawe the Prophets the Psalmes the Gospell and the Apostle For from hence it is that I holde the Church is spread ouer all and is not tyed vnto any certayne place And the rule which hee gyueth vs out of the bookes of Cyprian he hath also gyuen out of his owne and out of all the rest and the places also repeated by Gratian in his Decretalles I knowe very wel that Gratian to get credite to himselfe gyueth no lesse aucthoritie to the decretall Epistles of the Pope then to the Canonicall bookes of the scripture impudently corrupting a place taken out of the bookes of Christian doctrine where he speaketh the quite contrarie But this is not worth the confutation And Alfonsus de Castro himselfe who is one of the chiefe pillars of the Papacie doth acknowledge this fault very liuely reproueth him for it The Arriās in a more high matter of the Christian faith woulde escape by the Councilles but he alwayes draweth them to this Let vs not alledge saith he disputing against Maximine their Bish neither thou the Council of Ariminium nor I the Councill of Nicee for neyther I am bound to the aucthoritie of that there nor thou to the aucthoritie of this here but let vs dispute by the aucthoritie of the Scriptures which are common witnesses to vs both cause against cause and reason against reason c. All his bookes are ful of such places especially against the Manichees who denyed one part of the Scriptures following the example of Christ who vanquished the Sadduces in the matter of the resurrection specially by the bookes of Moses because they reiected all the others And yet this is he that so astonished all the heretikes of his time that he put them to vtter silence But to the end that they condemne him not for an heretike whome they haue already so sore suspected it is necessarie to see what others doe holde concerning this matter Basil the great woulde that wee examine all doctrines
by the Scriptures which were giuen vnto vs by the holie Ghost reiecting whatsoeuer is not agreeable to them as enemie to our saluation And against all heretikes he demaundeth that onely the Scripture be vmpire Chrysostom calleth it the most exact balaunce the squire the rule and iudge of all doctrine And in a certayne other place the same sayeth that the Scripture is the accomplishment of the holie Ghost as Christ is of the lawe and that without it we may not alledge the spirite Irence calleth it the foundation and pillar of our faith Tertullian sayeth Take from heretikes the bookes of Ethnikes and winne so much of them that they will rest vpon the Scriptures and they can not stande Also let the shoppe of Hermogenes shewe that it is written if they cannot let them feare the curse which is appoynted for them that adde to or diminishe To bee short they all dryue to this poynt that to examine all doctrine to maintayne the true to vanquishe the false we must haue no other touchstone no other Buckler or sworde but this And this was the cause in the thirde Councill of Carthage it was forbidden to read any thing in the Church but the Canonicall Scriptures And the Imperiall lawe distinguisheth Catholikes from heretikes by the Apostolicall and Euangelicall doctrine and Constantine the great the first Christian Emperour hauing assembled that famous Councill of Nicee wherein there were three hundreth and eyghtene Fathers to dispute agaynst the heresie of Arrius he prescribed them this rule We haue sayeth he the bookes of the Euangelistes Apostles and Prophetes which instruct vs in the holie lawe By these bookes then it behooueth vs to resolue all doubtes and questions And this rule also was there so exactly kept that one Minister alone Paphnutius by name alleadging the Scripture made all the rest to chaunge their opinion who without any grounde of the Scripture for certayne politike and humane considerations were readie to haue abolished the marriage of Ministers To be shorte Gerson and Panormitane euen when the Popes thunderbolts and lyghtning excommunications were most hotte durst yet say and write that one poore lay man alleadging a text of the olde or newe Testament ought to be preferred before the Pope yea and before a generall Councill erring through ignorance or of malice against the text of Gods worde which ought to bee thought no more straunge then if they had sayde that the worde of God alone hath more wayght then all the Doctors of the worlde together who are nothing else with all their knowledge but ignorance and vanitie I haue bene long in this poynt because nowe a dayes they alwayes speake vnto vs of the fathers and I pray the readers to take a little payne to reade the places themselues because they shall finde them yet more playne and full then the desire that I haue to be short suffereth me to write at large With Isaie the Prophete therefore we call our aduersaries to the Lawe with Abraham to Moses and the Prophetes with Christ to the Scriptures with all the fathers and Christian Doctors to the olde and newe Testament If this Iudge then which heretofore hath decyded all cōtrouersies which hath bene so reuerently accepted euen of the greatest parte of heretikes themselues can not please thē either they must alledge great causes of refusall against it or else all the worlde will holde their doctrine more suspect then the doctrine of al the heretiks that euer were Their first cause of refusing the holie Scriptures is for that they are imperfect But I demaunde of them if they will require any other perfection then a doctrine sufficient to saluation If they content themselues to be saued Saint Iohn hath tolde vs that that which he hath written is sufficient to beleeue in Christ and to haue lyfe in his name and as concerning the things which are omitted S. Augustine pronounceth that he is rash which presumeth to ghesse what they are Saint Paul also sayth that the holy Scriptures are sufficient to make the man of God perfect and wise to saluation That they comprehende sufficiently the rule of faith and whatsoeuer belongeth to the seruice of god Beholde then sufficiently wherewithall to saue them If they wil not cōtent thēselues with saluation but call the Scriptures imperfect because they finde not there the determination of certaine curious questions which they handle in their schooles and yet they doe the Scriptures wrong for there they shall finde their condemnation Moreouer I demaunde of them from whence this imperfection can come Is this of Christ nay rather he is perfection it selfe And seeyng he came to accomplishe our saluation it must needes bee he of whome the Church must wayte for the reuelation of all things He then coulde beyng perfectly wise and woulde beyng perfectly good teache his Church whatsoeuer myght belong vnto her saluation Or is this imperfection of the Apostles but they receyued this woorde of lyfe from his mouth and after hee sent vnto them his holie Spirite to recorde it and to put them in minde thereof in such sorte that they preached saluation to all nations and as Ireneus sayeth that which they preached by mouth they haue left vnto vs by wryting to be the pillar and foundation of our fayth The whole faulte then commeth not that wayes it remayneth then that the whole imperfection bee in men who not fynding in the Scriptures their imperfections they esteeme it imperfect as they that haue swilled in the snowe waters from the mountaynes call those imperfect which haue not wyde and hanging throtes like themselues for that they haue not their superfluous imperfection We finde in the Scriptures the inuocation of one God alone by meanes of Iesus Christ alone but they would find there the inuocation of Saints We there finde that purgatorie cleansing is in the onely blood of Iesus Christ they woulde finde there that purgatorie which they haue taken out of Virgill and Plato We there finde one onely Mediator but they would finde as manie there as there are saints in their kalender They call these things imperfections in the Scripture which are rather so manie infections in their Church Furthermore I demaunde be it that a man thinke that there wanteth something who shall be so hardie after such a workeman to put to his hande to make it perfect If a man saye the Doctors why then quite contrarie finde it onely perfect in it as in a glasse they acknowledge the imperfections both of others and of themselues If they will bryng in the Church through her traditions why it is shee that hath taught vs to cut of by the bookes of this Canon all that we finde not therein and further shee is forbidden to serue God according to her traditions and commaunded to be a scholer of this word and we knowe that this is not the parte of a scholer to vsurpe aboue
the master If the Pope doe it he is no longer a scholer of Christ but in this poynt he declareth himselfe to be Antichrist lifting vp himselfe aboue all that is God and by such a like gate the Alcoran of Mahomet hath entred into the worlde The more safe way then is to followe this worde and to beleeue that that perfect lawegiuer hath gyuen vnto vs a perfect lawe by the mouth of his Sonne to the which we ought a great deale lesse to presume to adde any thing of our owne then to that which was deliuered to Moses And if there were neuer founde Paynter which durst take vpon him to finishe the image of Apelles nor Poete the Aeneides of Virgill which were but the woorkes of vayne men what man shall bee so arrogant vnlesse it be that sonne of perdition which dareth put to his hande to the worke of him which hath made man and all that which a man loueth and beholdeth in this worlde Their seconde refufall is that the holie Scripture is obscure and thereupon they call it doubtfull a dead letter a letter which killeth a matter of contention and not the voyce of the Iudge riddles or darke speaches and such other like names whereof their bookes are full yea one of the great Masters of this tyme could not abstayne from saying that Paul went so farre beyonde himselfe that he entangled himselfe with many matters But the holy Ghost calleth the Scripture the Testament couenant And we know that a good prince dealing with his subiects wil not haue them to be circumuented and caught in words as also a good father making his last wil endeuoreth to set his children at one and not to sowe discord and to giue occasion of going to law quarels amōgst them The presumption then ought to be on the contrarie to witte that he which hath vouchsafed to saue his people so mercifully and which onely may be called a true father hath also deliuered his couenaunt in as cleare tearmes and expresse clauses as he coulde And in deede in all our Scriptures the Ethnikes haue not blamed any thing so much as to great playnenesse of them which is farre otherwise then that they woulde make men beleeue that they are riddles or darke speaches Agayne I demaunde of them whether the obscuritie of Christian doctrine be in the matter it selfe or in the maner of handling it In the matter they dare not saye for there is nothing more cleare and more simple then the doctrine of saluation and this is the answere of Origen to Celsus who blamed the simplicitie of it because that it must be such as it was because it was not such a philosophie as was brought to a little nomber of men as that of Pythagoras of Plato or of Aristotle but a saluation taught and preached to the whole world which the whole world great small learned and vnlearned might easily comprehende If it be in the maner of handling such obscurity of anye authour must arise eyther of ignoraunce or of malice Of ignorāce because that that which a man vnderstandeth but darkely a man can not teache plainely Of malice when wee will boaste our cunning and not teach it as Aristotle sayeth that hee did expressely in those same bookes of his naturall philosophie which yet notwithstanding all the worlde boast to vnderstand and as also certeyne other authours of profounde Sciences in our tyme haue done of set purpose Nowe of ignorance there can bee none in that wisedome which hath spoken to the Apostles nor in that spirite which hath inspired them Of enuious malice there can be as litle in him which dyed to accomplish our saluation and in them which haue published the same euen vnto their suffering after him It remaineth then for to auoide these blasphemies that either ignorance or much rather malice bee in our aduersaries and not in him which is wisdome and goodnes it selfe Againe I demaunde whether in their iudgement is more obscure the Gospel or the Prophets They will not saye I am sure that it is the Gospell for then litle children would laugh them to scorne And moreouer Saint Peter sayeth The Prophets were as shining candles in a darke place in steade whereof Christ is the true Sunne and that light that lighteneth euerye man that commeth into the worlde Moreouer both in the one and the other we finde Christ in the one promised in the other giuen in the one to come in the other come in the one foretolde in the other speaking him selfe of him selfe It is therefore sure that the doctrine of saluation in Iesus Christ is lesse darke in the Gospell then in the Prophets in the Newe Testament then in the Olde which is expounded and declared by the Newe Nowe Dauid sayeth that this woorde is vnto him as a lanterne for hys feete and not onely a lanterne but which serueth to leade him in the path yea in the path it selfe which can not leade astray That by the same hee is more wise then they that are elder Contrariwise Esaye pronounceth that the watchemen of the house of GOD who thought them selues verye cleare sighted were blinde because they had no regarde thereto Moreouer Christ sendeth not his hearers to the gloses of the Rabbins to traditions to the Thalmud to the Lawe not written wherewith the Pharises were puffed vp but to the Scriptures to the Lawe written and hee neuer alledgeth Testimonyes from anye other place Saynt Luke also prayseth those of Beroa which searched them and they which searched them found there their saluation whereas they which gaue them selues egarly to the speculations of men crucified him It followeth then that by a more strong reason wee ought at this daye to searche our saluation in the Scriptures hauing the Olde and Newe Testament together the shadowe and the body the starres and the sunne the messages of saluation and saluation it selfe If anye man yet finde obscuritie in the doctrine of saluatiō I leaue it to be iudged of all which of the two is more plaine eyther that which is in the worde of him which is the light of light or in the blindenesse of those whose spirits naturally are nothing else but darkenesse But putting the case there were such great obscurite as they say let vs see a litle by whome they would make it brighter Shall it be by the doctors Nay rather contrariwise as we shall see hereafter they reioyce not but in the brightnesse of this sunne What thē shal it be by the Church But the Church is the moone a body shadowed and darke of it selfe which hath no light but that which it giueth her What then shall it be Thomas shall it be Scotus shall it be Bricot and a rablement of such like I report me to al men of iudgement whether they darken or make more bright the woorde of god It remaineth then that we search in this light the light
by this argument as much or more aucthoritie ouer the Scriptures then it I aske of the indifferentest amongest them who shal iudge but the Scriptures And if they iudge the Scriptures who shall pronounce sentence ouer them If the Easte Churches shall then the Romishe Churche hath loste her Cause If the Church of Rome then thys shall hee in another respecte then of keeping the Scriptures If they saye it bee by their pretended prerogatiue of Saynt Peters Seate it is meete that they prooue it by the Scriptures And therefore marke Peters Sea which doeth take vpon it to iudge the Scriptures beyng yet subiecte to the Scripture it selfe Furthermore I praye euerye man to examine this conclusion The Church of GOD hath kept the Scripture The Church beareth witnesse of the Scripture Ergo shee is aboue the Scripture The edictes of a Prince are registred in all his Countries The lawes are gathered together and written by Clarkes All Contractes and bargaines are subsigned by witnesses And yet for all that he that woulde saye that they were aboue the Kinges aboue the lawes contracts hee shoulde make him selfe a laughing stocke If they say that the Lawes of God haue no place neyther more nor lesse then edictes of some Princes except they be agreeable to the worde of God I answere them that it is not the Church of God that hath this priuiledge for shee is the Spouse of Christ and hath learned to obey her husbande without anye examination of his commaundement and must by and by holde her peace assoone as shee heareth his woord For she knoweth also that the wisedome of her husband whose will is the rule of doctrine is not like that of Princes which it is necessarye to examine whether it bee honest and profitable Ciuile or vnciuile but if they be so stiffe for the obteyning of this priuiledge yet let them agree with mee herein that this is that assemblie which hath lyfted vp it selfe aboue all that is called GOD which fearing to bee discomfited by the Spirite of his mouth woulde therefore moussell and stoppe vp hys mouth all that it might The place of Saynt Augustine which they alledge maketh nothing agaynst that which hath bene sayde before I woulde not sayeth hee beleeue the Gospell vnlesse the aucthoritye of the Church constrained or moued me Ni me Ecclesiae Catholicae commoueret authoritas where it is specially to be noted that according to the style of Affricke Commoueret is taken for commouisset that is to say I had not beleeued the Gospell vnlesse the consent of the vniuersall Church had moued mee thereto hee meaneth not that the holy Ghost had not such a style as myght make it selfe sufficientlye knowen from other wrytings of men For he him selfe instructeth vs in this matter in many places Much lesse meaneth hee that the Church shoulde be aboue the Gospell For it is by the Gospell that hee examineth all the Churches of his tyme but rather that the vniuersall consent of the Churches the which receiued such such bookes for the Gospels of Christ made that he could not doubt but that they were so and that the apostles whose names thei did beare were true authours of them No otherwise then as the consent of manye ages acknowledging such and such bookes to be Ciceroes Hippocrates and Platoes doe assure vs that they were theirs These were his very words against the Manichees themselues who denyed part of the holy scriptures in another place Oh vnhappie enemies saith he of your owne soules What Scriptures shal be had in price if the Euangelicall and Apostolicall bee not Of what booke shall men hold the certaine authour if a man doubt that those holy books which the Church holdeth were of the Apostles shoulde not be theirs Who shall knowe whether the bookes of Plato Hippocrates Aristotle Cicero were theirs vnles it be for that frō their time euen vnto ours alwayes mē haue bene perswaded that they came frō hand to hand c. Like as then I beleeue that the books of Manichee are his because men haue beleeued that they came thence frō hand to hand so also I beleeue the booke of S. Matth. because euē vntil vs the church hath so held The questiō is not thē in this place whether the writings of the Apostles haue any voice to determine matters in the church for as we haue already shewed S. Aug. teacheth vs that in a M. places but only whether such and such scriptures were the Apostles yea or no. For the heretikes denied not but that the books of the Apostles had such authority as they must be obeyed but they denyed that they were theirs because that if they had once allowed thē they knew that they must of necessity rest in them And yet they pretēded that they were neuer a whitte lesse the church then the Romane church doth For they helde that Manichee the chiefe of their secte was the holy Ghoste him selfe But this was a blasphemie not yet knowen to the most damnablest heretikes that euer were that the holye Scripture was subiect to the Church and that without her as one of the Popes Chāpions of our time saith it hath no more aucthority thē Esops fables The Iewes haue taught the Gentiles that the Olde Testament was the worde of God and manye of the Gentiles beleeued it better thē the Iewes The Gentiles haue kept for the Christians many good and auncient bookes and haue taught them that such and such were the authours of them and yet for all that they haue not giuen anye credyte vnto them The bookeseller will teach vs that such a booke is Hippocrates woorke and yet for all that hee shall not be a physitian as Hippocrates was For it is one thing to beleeue the word of any some man an other thing to be the authour of a booke This is that which was saide long agoe by a great learned man That the Church is true or vndouted but as we say by occasiō because she beleeueth the trueth of the Scripture but the holye Scripture is simplie true of it selfe For it is the trueth it self There foloweth another argument that the Church is before the Scripture Ergo it is aboue the Scripture When we speake of the Scripture we vnderstand the word of God the which at the first was not written and afterward was written aswell by Gods owne finger as by the pennes of his seruants inspired by his holy spirite as we haue before declared But now I would demaund of them from whence they fetch the beginning of the Church If from the creation of man and before sinne entred immediatly after they were created God gaue them a commaundement that they should not touche the tree of knowledge of good and euill and we must not dispute whether they had authoritie aboue this word for why they hauing disobeyed it all the world from man to beastes sighes and grones for it But will they not
Princes and people haue bene such noddies so ignorant that they haue suffered them selues to be troden vnder their feete And this were to doe the auncient doctors great wrong to apply thē to the refuting of this place whereupon some by the two swords vnderstand the olde and newe Testament others sounde doctrine and good example of life as also their owne glose doth But I report me to euery man if this be not opēly to deride Christ his word to say vnto him Haile king of the Iewes as the Pharises did whether these goodly swords deserue any otherwise to be refuted then by the lawfull sword of all Princes which beare the title of Christians And euē as wel grosided is that God hath made two lights the Pope is the Sunne the Emperour the Moone Ergo the Pope I know not howe many thousande times is greater then the Emperor Against which I will oppose none but their owne I sidore alledged by a Sorbonist who by the Sunne vnderstandeth a kingdome by the Moone the priesthood Also Iesus Christ comaunded the deuils to enter into the swine ergo the Pope is lord of the Temporaltie This passeth al kinde of blasphemy Our Lord saith Al power is giuē to me from the father aswel in heauen as in earth The Pope hath therefore an absolute cōmaundement ouer heauē earth And yet are these the ordinarie allegations of their decretals But they are now better aduised in their last disputations touching certeine other places but as ill to the purpose as blasphemous as the other It is writtē say the Iesuits of our time I will iudge saith the Lord betvvixt the sheepe and the sheepe betvvixt the Rāmes the Goates Therefore S. Peter his successors are iudges of al the earth S. August hath made an whole booke vpon this Chap. of Eze. yet neuer thought of this article of faith which was hidden in this verse But let vs reason of their words quite contrary Ezechiel saith that God vvil iudge betvvene the sheepe the sheepe c. the Pope saith that he will be he therefore he setteth himselfe in Gods seate It followeth therefore that the Pope is he of whō S. Paul hath foretold vs that would lift vp himselfe aboue all that is called god Also S Peter saith that baptizme was represēted by the Arke whereof this conclusiō foloweth that as by the Arke mankind was saued as it were begottē againe euen so Christiās are regenerated by baptizme c. They reason thereupō quite cōtrary Baptizme was figured by the Arke Noah was head of his sonnes in the Arke ergo Saint Peter his sonnes in the Arke ergo Saint Peter his successors are heads of the church I aske thē in what Lorgicke schoole this maner of reasoning may be allowed But with their leaue we will conclude otherwise Iustine Martyr one of that aunciētst doctors of the Church expounding this place He saith that Noah vvas a figure of Christ because he vvas the beginning of another generation regenerated by vvater And the Pope sayth that he was a figure of him It followeth then either that the Pope is Christ or else that he cannot be any other but he who woulde aduaunce himselfe to that place in the Church to wit Antichrist I woulde haue bene ashamed to haue alledged these places for them were it not that they which haue no shame to defende the Pope in this time are so impudent to alledge them and to make great bookes thereof And by this a man may see howe destitute they are of playne places when they are driuen to haue recourse to such But forasmuch as it appeareth not by the holy Scripture that our Lord hath ordeyned Peter head of the Church but altogether the contrary It followeth then that we see if S. Peter before his death hath euer exercised this charge and also if the other Apostles haue yeelded so much vnto him He was sent with Iohn into Samaria by the Apostles Now amongst men he that sendeth is aboue him that is sent he was accused amongst the brethren for hauing cōuersation amongst the Gentiles This vvent fore and yet notwithstanding he excuseth himselfe towardes them He did not then what seemed good to himselfe without beyng answereable for it to the brethren In the Councill at Ierusalem he propounded his opinion concerning the matter of the Gentiles whose vocation was reueyled vnto him and Iames there concludeth as President and letters are dispatched awaye in the name of the whole assemblie And yet this shoulde haue bene the place where this preeminence ought to haue appeared To be short he calleth himselfe a companion or fellowe of the Elders of the Church and louingly exhorteth them as his equalles and not by decrees and commaundementes c. If we should goe any further Saint Paul in two first chapters of the Epistle to the Galatians declareth that he was not subiect vnto him that Saint Peter required it not of him but onely that he gaue him the hande of fellowshippe to trauayle in the Lordes vineyarde and that he reprooued him to his face and that he resisted him as his fellowe and companion And their ordinarie glose sayeth vpon this place The other Apostles seemed to be more worthie then Paul because they were sent by Iesus Christ but he was a great deale more woorthie then they because he was sent by Christ altogether immortall whereas they were but sent by Christ then a mortall man Also he learned nothing of Peter nor of the rest but contrariwise he taught Peter and they conferred not any thing to him but he rather conferred and profited Peter Also the Lord Iesus sayeth Saint Paul which is in vs all hath ordeyned some Apostles some Prophets some Doctors c. for the Ministerie of his Gospell Also we are one body and one spirite hauing the same hope of calling one God one faith one Baptisme It shoulde haue followed that he shoulde haue adioyned in recommendation of this vnitie a ministeriall head of the Church Peter and his successours in the See of Rome Hitherto then we haue not so much as any appearance of primacie Yea but Peter is sometyme first named A poore foundation of so monstruous a buylding And the Uirgine Marie is named in some places the last and Saint Peter himselfe by Paul after S. Iames. But he was wont oftentymes to speake first and he was endowed with great giftes and oftentimes he is called by the fathers the chiefe amōgst the Apostles And who of vs is there that doth denie S. Peters excellencie that doeth not wonder at his incomparable zeale that doeth not place him in the vppermost seate of the Church And contrariwise who is he that doth more dishonour him then the Pope who hideth his filthinesses and vilanies vnder S. Peters Cloke vnder the colour of his name filleth all the worlde ful
time to time howe they are groūded vpon mans lawe and that which wee call positiue They holde that S. Peter was crucified vnder Nero in the yeere of our Lorde 69 and that Clement succeeded him Others say that Linus succeeded him then Saint Iohn yea and Iames himselfe If we beleeue those bookes supposed to bee Clements they shoulde haue obeyed Clement as head of the Church for he succeeded as they saye in Peters Authoritie he ought to haue no lesse authoritie then the popes at this daye who can dispense with Paules epistles A wonderfull case that the primitiue Church when they made the Canon of those bookes that should haue authoritie in the Church that they should rather put in those bookes of Iames and Iohn then of Clement the principall heire and successour of the holy ghost by the vertue of Saint Peters chaire A wonderfull matter further that this Clemēt made so smal accompt of succession so necessary in the Church seeing that in his epistle which he writeth to Iames Bishop of Ierusalem he calleth him our Lordes brother the Bishoppe of Bishops and gouernour of the Church of Ierusalem and of all others throughout all the worlde But yet a more wonderfull matter that they shoulde bee found so impudent in the light of good learning that at this day shineth as to foūd the papacie vpon those gaye bookes of Clement in which there are so many falsehoodes Clement writeth to Saynt Iames after Peters death and teacheth him the institution of our Lorde when as the Scripture witnesseth that S. Iames was martyred long before in Ierusalem and that as long as hee liued he was to teach Clement such matters and not to learne them of him And yet this is one of the notablest authors that they can alledge But let vs proceede We holde the Apostles Creede from the beginning of the Christian Church And we there finde the Catholike church But this article of the faith that pope Boniface the eight made is not therein That if we will be saued we must acknovvledge the pope to be the soueraigne Lord. Saint Cyprian saith That there is but one Bishoppricke of vvhich euery Bishop holdeth his parte vvholy vvithout any diuision Also that none of his time either called or made him selfe Bishoppe of Bishops eyther made through tyrannie his companions subiect to his obedience Also he complaineth that certaine prophane men and Schismatikes vvith drevve them selues to the bish of Rome who saith he hath none but certaine desperate wicked fellovves that stay vpon him making thē selues beleeue that the Bishops of Affricke haue lesse povver then the Bishops of Rome And in very deede he calleth not Stephen Cornelius bishops of Rome other thē brethren cōpanions handleth Stephen rudely enough in manye places To be short a litle after his death the church of Affricke decreed in the councill of Carthage that none should be called the prince or chiefe of ministers or the first Bishoppe but onely according to the dignitie of Cities the Bishoppe of the first See. Irenee very liuely reproueth Victor the Bishop of Rome who through a certaine shamelesse ambition had excommunicated the Churches of Asia for disagreeing about the Passeouer The Ministers saith he vvhich haue helde the eldershippe of the Church ouer vvhich thou novv doest gouerne Anicetus Pius Higinus c. haue not done as thou hast done neither they also vvhich vvere vvith them Tertullian who otherwise is wont to attribute verye much to Saint Peter scorneth the Bishop of Rome his great ambition which then began to shew it selfe albeit in a certaine place he maketh a long narration of the praises of the Church of Rome yet he teacheth not neither neere nor farre of that which is the principall to wit that it was the infallible seat of the holy Ghost by Peters successiō And yet these are for all that the very firste of all antiquitie and in whose time the Church of Christ more florished then at any time In the time of Constātine as the church had more liberty so it had also more ambition then Bishops begā first to think on miters that before time thought nothing els but to be martyrs That same famous Council of Nice was then called together by Constantine the Emperour to the ende to decide the matter of Arrius The B. of Romes deputies were there but they sate onely in the fourth place Yea one decree was there made by which certaine limits were attributed to euerie patriarke ouer which the Canon gaue them equall authority which the Bishop of Rome was wont to haue ouer the neighbour Churches of his citie They went about by infinite meanes to corrupt the canons of this councill as the histories do witnesse vnto vs But Cusan the Cardinal alledging this Councill acknowledgeth the trueth in these words By this we see saith he how much authoritie the Pope hath gotten in our time against the sacred auncient constitutions and altogether through the lēgth of time and custome of a slauish subiectionall obedience And yet in meane time Iulius with standeth it not neither doe his Legates alledge to the fathers of the Councill their Tibi dabo I will giue vnto thee nor their Pasce oues meas Feed my sheep for as yet they were not studyed so deeply therin but they rested onely in the ordinance of the Councill which afterwardes was confirmed by the Councils of Antioche and of Constantinople And this was about the time that they woulde deuise the donation of Constantine to pope Syluester confuted by so many learned men so long time agoe that none but such as are ignorant will beleeue it But if they will beleeue the original which is kept in Vaticā in the popes library in goldē letters let thē also beleeue these words which are written added in the end Quam fabulā longi tēporis mēdacia finxit that is to say in the proper words of ill latine This is a fable which an old lye hath forged Or if they wil therin beleeue the legend of Pope Syluester then let them also beleeue that which it sayeth that then was hearde a voyce from heauen saying Hodie effusum est venenum in Ecclesiam that is to say At this day poyson is shedde into the middest of the Church In the first and seconde Councill of Ephesus Cyrillus and Dioscorus Patriarches of Alexandria did gouerne there though the Bishoppe of Rome there had his deputies And it forceth not to saye that the seconde was not lawfull For this can not be knowen but by the yssue but it sufficeth that in the beginning and then when men thought that it was verye lawfull and that in such a time as the ceremonies were kept there Leo the Bishoppe of Rome neyther his deputies did not there striue for the chiefe place because they thought it to haue no good grounde In the Councill of Chalcedon
were so impudent as to falsifie a decree of the council of Nice bringing foorth in steade thereof the articles of the councill of Sardes yet corrupted and falsified pretending that from all parts men might appeale to the bishop of Rome But the fathers of the councill had learned well to saye that they would not beleeue those productions and therfore sent to the originalls and they being seene they pronounced the quite contrary Leo the first receiued Eutyches condemned by Flauianus the bishop of Constantinople for a time mainteyned him against him whereupon his heresie first tooke footing and grewe which might then at once haue bene quenched But none approued this vsurpation To be short in the time of Chrysostome this ambition was so great amongest them that he complained that to obteine supremacie the bishops of Rome had filled the Churches with blood had defiled the Supper of the Lord with murthers vntill they had vtterly for it destroyed whole cities And he that will see the ciuil warres for they likewise name them which were at Rome betweene Damasus and Vrsicius in the time of Saint Hierome whether of them should be bishop and afterwards betweene Laurence and Symmachus he maye reade them in Ruffinus Amian Marcellin and their owne Pontificall it selfe And howsoeuer it were all the contentions that were made by the bishops of Rome in the auncient Church yea till the time of the murthering of Phocas for the supremacie looke how many they were they were alwaies arguments from age to age and as determined sentences against them in so much that they alwayes lost their cause whatsoeuer instāce they made or whatsoeuer diligence they vsed in pleading of it But they will obiecte vnto me that neuerthelesse the bishop of Rome hath helde the chiefe place amongst the Patriarches I agree thereto but yet I deuie that it was to commaunde others And in deede it is expressely said that he shall not be called vniuersall bishop but onely the bishop of the first See. I say moreouer that this is not in respect that he was the successour of S. Peter and lesse by vertue of those places alledged out of the holy Scripture But because that in seates there must be a first a second place according to humame order I say that this was ordeyned in consideration of that order wherby the citie of Rome was set aboue others If it had bene by the Scriptures it should haue bene a wonderfull thing that for 600. yeeres together these mysteries should haue bene hidden from the Church If in respecte of the founder why not rather at Antioche and at Alexandria after Gregorie or to all other bishopricks after Cusan who saith that all bishops are Peters successors equall in the essentiall dignitie although they differ in the administration and gouernment as the bishops of Spaine themselues haue disputed in the last councill of Trent Moreouer that Hierusalem should be the first and not the fourth seeing the Saluation of the world did there gouerne Or why is Antioche whereof Saint Peter was bishop put after Alexandria which can alledge nothing but the succession of Saint Marke his disciple To be short what hurt hath Saint Iohn the welbeloued disciple of our Lord done vnto them who so long time preached in Ephesus which notwithstanding is not nombred amongst the patriarchall cities Or what newe Apostle hath founded Constantinople three hundred yeres after the death of our Lord to attribute vnto it the second See But there is none that hath but a litle iudgement that doth not well enough marke that all the preeminences of these Sees rather proceede from the rancke and places which their cities holde then from the establishment of Christian religion Rome was then the seat of the Empire and the glorie of all the world good learning there flourished it was the chiefe of all the peoples of the earth and therefore when all the bishops were gathered together they gaue the bishop of Rome the first place for ciuilitie and courtesies sake Likewise wee reade in the histories that Alexandria and Antioch were after Rome the most famous cities and according to that degree which their gouernours helde they also helde their bishopprickes And concerning Ierusalem that was so greatly accompted of for the first originall of true Religion and therefore likewise was not reckoned in the least place for Plinie calleth it the head of all the East but yet her place was ill kept after she had lost her first glorie Afterwards Constantinople came to be builded which was called the second Rome And then also we see the councill of Constantinople where there were sixe hundreth bishops who gaue vnto it the second place which had not bene done if they had had regard to the degree of the founder and not to the degree of the citie by reason of whose might also this dignitie was confirmed vnto it by the Emperour Iustinian Aquila in Italie was called the second Rome Also there was a Patriarchship there established yea Rauenna it selfe was a long time holden not to be subiecte to Rome and it had her owne Cardinalls apart and by themselues and as Venice beganne to growe great so it had the Patriarchship of Grado for it To be short he that shall marke from countrey to countrey the erection of patriarchships and archbishopricks he shal finde no other consideration then this the same that Pope Lucinus saith alledged by Gratian That at the first they instituted Primates of the Church according to temporall policie Also Pope Clement himselfe saith That where there were chiefe Priests of the Painims there they established Primats of Christians the which is repeated in the same wordes by Peter Lombard in his fourth booke of Sentences The councill of Chalcedon wherein notwithstanding the earnest requests of Pope Leo the first the second See was giuen to the Citie Constantinople vseth also the same woordes The fathers vpon good righte with one consent agreed that the priuiledge of the first See should belong vnto olde Rome because of the Empire there and wee also moued with the same consideration agree that the second shal be at new Rome And in the 12. Act of the same council the reasoning betwixt the bishop of Nice of Basianopolis is grounded vpon the dignitie of the cities And to cut of all such controuersies this Canon was there passed That these Cities onely shoulde be holden for Metropolitans to which Kings and Princes had done this honor by their statutes And the Council of Thurin there addeth That if the earthly superioritie were translated from one Citie to another that then the right of the Archbishoprick should be translated likewise To be short when the seate of the Empire was translated to newe Rome that is to say to Constantinople we see that the Bishop of that place by by tooke vnto himselfe the primacie whereof they held euen as much as they coulde and when that
thereupon alwayes after Agaynst this open Apostasie then all the Churches of Greece Dace Illyricum c. did oppose themselues euen to the accusing of Pope Symmachus before Theodoricus the king of the Gothes for that he vaunted himselfe not to be subiect to the reprehension of any Spayne and Englande also were a long time without receyuing the legates of Rome One Claudius Byshop of Thurine in the time of Charles the great wrote very learnedly agaynst the Popes Supremacie and agaynst his doctrine yea about the reygne of Hugh Capet there was a Councill helde at Rheims which denyed vnto him al obedience and pronounced him to bee Antichrist But finally as it was bredde of the superfluous and euill humoures of the Church so it was skilfull to nourishe it selfe of the factions enmities and diuisions of Christendome that one in despite of other haue suffered all to goe to wracke Nowe if wee shall reade that which Saynt Bernard wrote of the state of the Church in his time about the yere of our Lorde 1140. aswell in his Epistles as in his bookes of considerations to Pope Eugenius they are nothing but lamentations of the ruine of the Church like to those of Ieremie of the Church vnder the captiuitie of Babylon or thundringes against the tyranny of Antichrist who shewed him selfe in his time He sayeth That the Popes Court is a parke of deuils That they vsurpe an vnlawfull and an intolerable authoritie That there was not any more shewe of Peters succession That the Bishops of his time were marchantes enriched with the riches of the vvhore That in steade of keeping the spouse of Christ they made port sale of her and prostituted and layde her open to all the lechers of the world to commit fornication vvith her And a litle after hauing sayde vpon the 91. Psalme That Antichrist shall haue his seat in the South part he addeth What differeth then the estate of our Church from that same pestilēt estate which walketh in darkenes What differeth it more from the seate of Antichrist Therefore yours sayth he is in very deede the state of Antichrist He made three expresse Satyres agaynst the Pope court of Rome and he that would alledge al that is writtē to that end he must here put in his whole bookes Nowe after the manifest Apostasie and falling awaye of the popedome the Church of Rome hath not brought forth so excellent a man as he was Frauncis Petrarch the Archdeacon of Parma and a Chanon of Padua lyued about the yeere 1350. whom we may call in al kinde of good learning The light of his age But I wil not say howe he decifreth out the court of Rome in his Sonets vnder the name of Babylō calling it whore the schoole of error and the Temple of heresie for some will saye that much is permitted to poetrie but I beseeche the readers to reade his latine Epistles which are full of grauitie zeale and doctrine He sayth there in plaine termes That in the Pope and his shauelings there is neyther fayth godlinesse nor trueth That the Popes chaire is the chaire of lying That this is a falling awaye of a people which vnder the banner of Christ rebell against Christe and fight for Satan That they esteeme the Gospel but for fables and the promises of the life to come for dreames He compareth the Pope to Iudas who betrayed Iesus Christe with a kisse and his clergie to the Iewes which sayd vnto him Aue Rex Iudaeorū Al haile king of the Iewes his prelates to the Pharisies who in mockerye clothed him with purple and afterwardes crucified him in the moūt of Caluery And after he sayth Denie it nowe if thou canst that thou art she which the holy Euangelist Iohn sawe in the spirit set downe vpō the great waters Thou art none other that Babylon the mother of the whoredomes of the earth Thou art drunken vvith the bloud of the Martyrs of Iesus Thou art she vvhich hast made all the kings of the earth drūken vvith the Cuppe of thy poyson If thou deny it shew vs some other to vvhom these thinges maye better agree If thou canst not then vvayte for that to fall vpō thine ovvne head vvhich Iohn the Euāgelist addeth a litle after She is fallen Babylon the great and is made an habitation of deuils c. But what do I say Wayt for it Yea thou hast it already For hovv much better is the sonne of perdition then the deuill Thou art in very deed a kingdome of deuils vvhich reigne in the midst of thee in mans shape And in another place Let it not my friend euer grieue thee to returne from these princes of darkenesse And in deede vvhat vvouldest thou see in the Court of Rome Christ in exile Antichrist reigning in his stead Beelzebub the iudge Woolues let loose The Lambes in the stockes Ah good God vvho shall deliuer the vvorlde from this oppression Who shall gather together the sheepe Who shall vanquishe these vvicked Pastors Shall there neuer be a limitation and end of this intolerable mischiefe Now when there was such that durst crye so lowde wee may be sure that there were many more that lamented in their heartes To be short the most notable spirits that the worlde brought forth in the most ignorant ages and in the greatest thicknes of darkenes they perceyued this some more clerely and others as it were through a clowde vnlesse it were some such as ambition and glorie of the worlde had blynded Insomuch that when abomination was come to his full toppe God raysed vp Iohn Hus Hierome of Prage Wickliefe Luther and others which haue so lowdly published and proclaymed it that all the worlde doth vnderstād it And what will we more With leaue of those good Fathers of the Councill not long agoe holden at Trent we may make this Syllogisme Whosoeuer wil be called the vniuersal Bishop he is the forerunner of Antichrist the father of the sonne of pryde and a very Lucifer saith Saint Gregory the Pope and principall Doctor of the Church of Rome But Boniface the thirde his successour tooke this title they which followed him haue continued it and haue encreased it more more And the Councill of Trent excommunicateth all those that will not acknowledge him for vniuersall Byshop Ergo the Pope is Antichrist and al they are holden for excommunicate by the Councill of Trent that doe not acknowledge him for Antichrist Yea but the clergie of Rome wil say If the Pope were the Antichrist whereof the Church was before threatned we which are the Church shoulde haue knowen him Contrarywise I say vnto you that if you had knowen him for Antichrist he had not bene Antichrist This is that which the Pharises saide when Christ came If this were Christ who shoulde knowe him better then we We haue the Church we haue the Scriptures we are the interpreters therof We are the eyes of the people It cannot escape vs
more health nor soundnesse therein and had bin altogether the death of the bodie had not God of his singular mercie opened the same vnto vs. Thirdly we say that this empoysoner with his complices hath cast into the fountaine of life that is to say into the doctrine of saluation in Iesus Christe all the poyson he coulde deuise and that he hath infected with his venime the most dainty meates which God had giuen for the nourishment of his people But that GOD hath giuen grace to some to absteine from it to some in tyme to vomit it vp againe to others to mingle it with the meate and to certaine to ouercome it by the soundnes of their complexion in such sort that many haue dayly escaped it notwithstanding his accursed intention and purpose For example we knowe that the most part of the people haue byn ignorant of those mischieuous doctrines which the schoolemen haue left by writing that is to say of the principal blasphemies of the papacie Also that the more parte haue neuer beleeued that they coulde merite euerlasting life by their owne workes whatsoeuer men preached vnto them thereof Againe albeit that through custome and ignorance they went to Saints and Images and frequented Masses and pylgrimages yet notwithstanding in their conflictes of death they alwayes principally claue to the Crosse of Iesus Christ and al the Franciscans preaching in their eares the habite vanishing toyes of S. Frauncis could not pull it away from them We haue an example in S. Bernard himselfe and we haue seene many more in our tyme S. Bernard in certaine places sauoureth of the contagion of his time as it was hard he should doe otherwise But see his refuge when he was tempted of the Deuill in his last dayes I confesse sayth he that I am not worthie of it I know that I cannot by mine ovvne workes obtaine the kingdome of heauen But my Lord hath obtained it by a double right by inheritance from the Father and by the merite of his passion Novve he is contented vvith the one and giueth mee the other And vvhen I attribute it to my selfe by the gift vvhich he hath made vnto me thereof I cannot be confounded And in another place My merite is the mercie of the lord And I am not poore in merits because he is riche in his mercies I haue greatly sinned but I vvill comfort my selfe in the stripes of my Lord. Euen so likewise we assure our selues in the mercy of God that a great nōber held the foūdation in Iesus Christ wherof the Apostle speaketh albeit Antichrist shooke it as it were endeuored to ouerturne it in thē all that he might Finally we say with S. Cyprian That if my predecessors either by ignorance or by simplicitie holding notvvithstanding the foundation haue not kept and holden that which our Lord hath taught them by his exāple aucthoritie as it is most certaine they did not that the mercie of our Lord might pardon thē But as this good Doctor addeth That we cannot hope for the like beyng admonished at this day and instructed by him But this matter shall be for the chapter following That euery one is bound to separate himselfe from the Communion of Antichrist and that the Romanists are Schismatikes and not they which separate themselues from them CHAP. X. THe matters beyng as wee haue before proued there shall be no great neede now that we render a reason for that we haue withdrawen our selues frō the cōmunion of the Pope frō those false worshippes which he hath foysted into the Church For seeing that he is Antichrist of whom the Church is warned threatned his synagogue is that same Babylō of idolatry out of which we haue an expresse cōmādemēt to come if we wil not be partakers of her sins plagues drinke of the cup of the wrath of God which is prepared for her we should be iustly charged with a very vile abominable faulte if we shoulde vse our selues otherwise And in deede if it were lawfull for the true citizens of Rome the citie being vnder the power of the Gaules to retire themselues into the litle towne of Veies with Camillus and if all the auncientes haue iudged that then the common weale was at Veies albeit the walles were still about Rome by a stronger reason wee ought to retire from the Temple which Antichrist hath inuaded and prophaned with so many pollutions not beyng able at the first dashe to dryue him awaye so that hauing gathered together the true seruaunts and champions of Iesus Christ from vnder his clawes we shall by the grace of God be strong ynough to dryue him from thence and there to place againe the true seruice of god And if he be to be holden for a traitor and to be accompted guyltie of hie treason that followeth the armie and ensigne of a Vicegerent or generall Lieutenant which is reuolted from his Prince much more shoulde we be traitors against the honour of our God and to him who hath vouchsafed to saue vs by his owne blood if we should fight against him vnder Antichrist who hath inuaded his place and shoulde any maner of way take his part yea seeing that it is a false title they are false ensignes that he vsurpeth of generall lieutenantship he beyng nothing more in Christendome then the least Bishops But notwithstanding to satisfie all the doubtes that may arise about this matter I am content to hādle it more largely When it pleased God to giue vs grace to know the false Cōmission of the Pope by vertue whereof he made himselfe head of the Church and that by examination aswell of his doctrine as of those markes which he ought to haue we found euidently that this is the Antichrist none other they who were called to preach the trueth haue preached in the Church they which had charge to teache haue declared published it by bookes and many to whome God gaue zeale courage haue protested it alowde and clearely euen amiddest the flaming fire Some haue shewed it to the people and common weales Some cryed it out in the eares of princes Some haue offered to verifie the impietie of his doctrine in a free generall Councill In the Councill in stead of disputing by the holy Scriptures they haue refused the Scriptures in stead of hearkening to their quick reasons according to faith they haue burned them quicke against the faith And to the ende they shoulde neuer haue occasion to hope for a free Councill and should not dare vnder the safe conduits of any to come thither they haue passed therein an article That faith and promise is not to be kept with heretikes Afterwardes all this notwithstanding we haue alwayes required a free Council where they haue condemned vs without euer calling for vs Some haue answered vs for all That these were matters done long ago whereof we should not speake any more They