that is nothing to the cause which by priuat mens errors cannot be eyther charged or preiudiced But if the Pope of Rome to whom the papists flie in all controuersies and extremities commit falsifications then is the cause of poperie quite ruined and ouerthrowne For he is the Sanders Rock Bellar. in praefat in lib. de pontif rocke and Bellar. ibid. lib 2. de pontif Rom. Stapleton doctrinal princip foundation vpon whom the papists build all their religion Againe if the Church of Rome haue practised these falsifications then is no trust to be giuen to her If both the Pope himselfe and the Church of Rome doe deliuer vnto vs lyes and fables then is the pope no vpright iudge but a lying hypocrite and the Church of Rome is not the true Church nor a mistris of truth but a mistresse of errors and lyes Let vs therefore sée whether the pope or Church of Rome may not in this poynt be more iustly charged then we and whether they be cleare of this fault or no. For that is a point farre more materiall then any thing which the aduersary can deuise against vs. Let vs also consider how Bellarmine Baronius and others the Popes agents haue acquited themselues in their narrations and allegations For so it may best appeare how vnaduisedly this detector began his quarell our aduersaries being so notorious offenders in telling vntruthes and committing most grosse and wicked forgeryes and wée so cleare and innocent at the least from all willfulnesse violence and malice if not from error L. qui testameÌ„tum ff ad leg Corneliam de falsis Whosoeuer shall conceâ—e or hide away a testament or take it from a man or shall blot it or adde by interlining or else shall forge or write a false testament or exhibite it or signe it or vse it and fraudulently reherse it is punishable as guiltie of forgery by the lawe Cornelia concerning forgery and falsitie And this is the determination of Paulus the lawyer and allowed by all men of vnderstanding and iudgement in law Qui testamentum amouerit celauerit eripuerit deleuerit interleuerit subiecerit resignauerit saith Paulus the lawyer quiue testamentum falsuÌ„ scripserit signauerit recitauerit c. legis corneliae Poena damnatur Those also are guilty and by this law punishable Ibidem quorum dolo malo id factum est by whose procurement and fraude any of the foresaid points are committed But the pope and Church of Rome many wayes offende against this lawe as is most euidente by many particulers falsification 1 First they do suppresse as much as they can the eternall testament of almightie God conteined in the bookes which we for this cause call the old and new testament For simply do they prohibit all translations of scriptures made by any of our doctors not without streite limitatioÌ„s do they permit chrâ—stiaÌ„s to haue scriptures translated into vulgar tonges by theÌ„selues publikely by no meanes will they haue scriptures red being translated into tonges vnderstood of the multitude And all these thrée points are manifestly proued by the index of prohibited bookes set out by Pius quartus and by the decrée of the councell of Trent speaking of our mens translations librorum veteris testamenti versiones viris tantum pijs doctis Index lib prohib regul 3. saith he iudicio episcopi concedi poterunt And afterwarde versiones noui testamenti c. nemini concedantur Speaking of vulgar translations of scriptures Ibid. regula 4. he saith hac in parte iudicio episcopi aut inquisitoris stetur vt cum consilio parochi vel confessarij bibliorum a catholicis authoribus versorum lectionem in vulgari lingua concedere possint So it appeareth they first absolutely forbidde al vulgar translations made by any of our doctors and Secondly with harde conditions grant licence that to very few to reade their owne vulgar translations of scriptures and Thirdly that they doe forbid all latin translations made by vs of the new testament and with conditions and limitations permit our translations of the old testament to be read and that of very few Concil Trid. Sess 22. c. 9. In publike liturgies of the Church they also signifie that scriptures are not to be read in vulgar tongues And by their practise we gather that they thinke the publike reading of scriptures in vulgar tongues to be nothing for their profit and purpose Who then seeth not that by al meanes the pope and Romish Church endeuore to suppresse Gods testament and shew themselues therein notorious falsaries falsification 2 Secondly they burne the holy scriptures vnder pretence of false translations as may be prooued by diuers witnesses and by their owne practise And I thinke they will not deny but that they haue burned scriptures traÌ„slated by our doctors wil defend it yet to corrupt or teare or spoyle a testament is the part of a falsary as these wordes declare si quis testâ—mentum deleuerit Neither could the lawe speake more playnely against Papistes vnlesse it had sayd si quis testamentum dei combusserit falsification 3 Thirdly they haue depriued the Lords people of the cup which our Sauiour Christ calleth the newe testament in his bloud hic est calix saith he nouum testamentum in sanguine meo Luc. 22. In the conuenticle of Constance they decrée vt sacramentum a laicis sub vna specie tantummodo recipiatur that is Sess 13. that lay men are to receiue the sacrament onely vnder one kinde In the conuenticle of Trent they pronounce them Anathema or accursed that shall say that the faithfull ought to receiue the sacrament vnder both kinds Sess 21. c. 1. 2. or that shal denie that they tooke away the cuppe from the communicants and ministred the communion vnder one kinde onely for iust and reasonable causes Whether then the Lords cup be the new testament or the seale of the new testament it is euident that the Pope and Church of Rome doe shew themselues to be notorious falsaryes the words of the law are cleare si quis testamentum celauerit amouerit c. that is whosoeuer doth concele or keepe a testament out of the way he is to be punished as a falsary the same also is apparant for that they goe about to breake the seale of Gods testament And although man cannot or will not punish this falsity in the Romish Church and in the masse préests yet God will assuredly punish so notorious a falsification of his eternall testament falsification 4 Fourthly the Pope and Romish Church haue added to Gods eternall testament corrupting the same by their traditions and makg ivnnwritten traditions equall to the canonicall scriptures omnes libros tam veteris quam noui testamenti Sess 4 concil Trid. say the Popes slaues assembled at Trent cum vtriusque vnus deus sit author nec non traditiones ipsas tum ad fidem tum ad mores pertinentes tanquam vel oretenus a Christo vel
a spiritu sancto dictatas c. pari pietatis affectu ac reuerentia suscipit ac veneratur scilicet haec synodus and afterward they pronounce alâ— cursed Lib. de verbo Dei that shall conteÌ„ne the sayd traditions Bellarmine also and the rest of his consorts teach that there is one word of God written and another vnwritten and that both are of equall authority But it is playne falsity to forge any part of a testameÌ„t Galat. 3. or to interline it or to adde to it hominis testamentuÌ„ saith the Apostle nemo spernit aut super ordinat that is no man addeth to a testament or taketh on him to superordinate or set downe more then is declared by the testators will And he signifieth that it is much more odious to adde to Gods testament and as it were with pretended nuncupatiue additions to corrupt Gods writen will and testament Qui testamentum falsum scripserit signauerit recitauerit dolo malo saith Paulus L. qui testameÌ„tum ad L. Cornel de falsis cuiusue dolo malo id factum erit legis corneliae de falsis poena damnatur Againe si quis legatum sibi ascripserit saith Africanus tenetur poena legis corneliae So if the Romish Church haue added to Gods eternall testameÌ„t any traditions vpon the credit of the church L. siquis legatum ff ad L. cornel de falsis and made them parte of Gods testament or meane to receiue benefit or as it were a legacie or authoritie by any thing therein contained the same is guilty of falsification falsification 5 Fiftly the Romish Church hath committed falshood by making the old latin translation authenticall which differeth in many poynts from the originall bookes of the old and new testament Statuit declarat saith the conuenticle of Trent speaking of it selfe vt haec ipsa vetus vulgataeditio quae longo tempore tot seculorum vsu in ipsa ecclesia probata est Sess 4. in pub licis lectionibus disputationibus praedicationibus expositionibus pro authentica habeatur Now that this translation doth differ from the originall bookes it cannot bée denyed For that by collation of both is apparent Beside that it is proued by the testimony of Isidorus Clarius in his preface to his translation of the Bible of Erasmus and diuers other learned men and sometime confessed by the aduersaries theÌ„selues that this is falshood it is proued for that to exhibit a false copie of a testament is falsity It is also a notorious absurdity to preferre a translation or a copy before the originall falsification 6 Sixtly it is falsity to adde to the rule of faith or canon of scriptures For if a man may not add to the rules and lawes of men but he shall falle within the danger of the law cornelia de falsis much lesse may a man adde to the rule of faith and canon of scripture Concil Trid. Sess 4. but he shall bee condemned for falsification But the Church of Rome hath in two sorts added to the rule of faith first making the bookes of Tobias Iudith Ecclesiasticus Wisedome the Machabees and others by the councell of Laodicea and Hierome and other auncient Fathers excluded out of the canon canonicall and next by making the Popes determinations and vnwritten traditions the rule of faith as is proued by Stapletons discourse de doctrinalibus principijs and other treatises of the Romanistes concerning that argument Neither hath the Romish Synagogue any thing to alleadge in excuse of her falsitie but that such bookes haue sometime béene accompted canonicall by the councell of Carthage Can. 47. and S. Augustine and next that traditions haue béene much stood vpon by the auncient Fathers But the third councell of Carthage and S. Augustine speake onely of the bookes of the Bible that were publikely read and of the canon as it prescribed a rule for the reading of bookes and not otherwise and by tradition they meane no other doctrine then that which is contained in holy scriptures and gathered out of them falsification 7 7. Either hath Sixtus Quintus or Clement the 8. egregiously falsified the holy scriptures For both of them hauing taken vpon them to set out the same according to the olde latin translation we finde in diuers places either manifest contradictions or at the least notorious differences betwixt them As for example Gen. 4. the Clementine edition hath in foribus pettatum aderit In Sixtus Quintus his edition set out at Louain peccatum tuum aderit Gen. 5. v. 3. Clement readeth genuit ad imaginem similitudinem suam Sixtus hath genuit filium ad imaginem Contrariwise Genes 1.27 Clement readeth creauit deus hominem ad imaginem suam ad imaginem dei creauit illum and Sixtus hath creauit deus hominem ad imaginem similitudinem suam ad imaginem dei c. Genes 9. Clement readeth de manu viri fratris eius requiram Sixtus hath onely de manu fratris eius requiram Exod. 16. Clement readeth cur eduxistis nos in desertum istud Sixtus contrariwise readeth cur induxistis Exod. 23. Clement readeth victimae meae and Sixtus victimae tuae Leuit. 27. Clement readeth iuxta aestimationem tuam Sixtus iuxta aestimationem suam and it the 28. verse of the same chapter Clement readeth non vendetur and Sixtus non veniet Deut. 24. Clement readeth animam opposuit tibi Sixtus apposuit tibi Deut. 29.19 Clement readeth absumat ebria sitientem Sixtus readeth assumat ebria sitientem Iosue 11.19 Clement readeth non fuit ciuitas quae se traderet and Sixtus quite contrarie quae se non traderet 2. Reg. 6. v. 13. These words that are found in Sixtus his edition dixitque Dauid ibo reducam arcam cum benedictione in domum meam are not found in Clements bible 2. Reg. c. 15.23 Clement readeth contra viam quae respicit ad desertum Sixtus readeth contra viam oliuae 2. Reg. 16.1 Clement hath vtre vini Sixtus readeth duobus vtribus 3. Reg. 7.9 Clement hath extrinsecus vsque Sixtus intrinsecus vsque 1. Paralip 8. v. vlt. Clement readeth vsque ad centum quinquaginta omnes Sixtus readeth ad centum quinquaginta millia lib. 1. Ezrae c. 2. v. 66. Clement readeth septingenti triginta sex Sixtus sexcenti triginta sex Sapientiae c. 2.11 Clement hath sit fortitudo lex iustitiae nostrae Sixtus readeth lex iniustitiae Eccles 8.8 Clement readeth in gâ—udium nolumus venire Sixtus readeth volumus venire c. 21. v. 15. Clement readeth est autem sapientia Sixtus hath est autem insipientia Iohn 6.65 Clement readeth qui essent non credentes Sixtus readeth qui essent credentes Heb. c. 5.11 Clement readeth grandis sermo ininterpretabilis Sixtus readeth grandis sermo interpretabilis Infinit repugnances also there are more betwixt these editions which who so list to sée let him peruse M. Th. Iames his painefull treatise intituled Bellum papale wherein he hath
ancient church accounted apocryphal as g In epist ad Paulin. in prolog in prouerb Hierome h In Synops Athanasius and diuers of the ancient fathers 〈◊〉 witnesse It alloweth also the old latin translation of the bible though different from the originall bookes the same also admitteth for principles of faith the sentences of popes the doctrine of the Romish church that now is the traditions of the Romish church the consent of fathers and diuers other grounds as Stapleton disputeth in his bookes De doctrinalibus principijs argument 7 i Arg. 7. Neuer certes did the church of Christ speake euill of scriptures k Lib. 3 aduersus haeres c. 2. Irenaeus saith It is the property of heretikes when they are conuinced by scriptures to fal into dislike of them and to accuse them as for the children of God they cannot either calumniate or lightly estéeme their heauenly fathers testameÌ„t or refuse to heare his voice but the scriptures conteine a declaration of the eternall testament of our heauenly father and therefore they are rightly called his testament in the scriptures also God speaketh vnto vs. and therefore if we be Christs sheepe we caÌ„not but hearken to his voice My sheepe saith our l Iohn 10. Sauiour heare my voice but the Romish church is still carping at scriptures as if they were neither sufficient nor perspicuous m Lib. 4. de verl die c. 4. Bellarmine saith they are neither necessarie nor sufficient without traditions n Praefat in reâ—act princip doctr Stapleton denieth them to be a sufficient foundation or rule of our faith the authors of the annotations vpon the Rhemish testament doe call them most blasphemously a killing letter and signifie that the reading of them is pernicious o Censur coloâ— others slander them as if they were a nose of waxe or a matter and subiect of contention argument 8 The church of God neuer called the bishop of Rome either a god on the earth or Christes vicar generall or vniuersall bishop but the church of Rome admitteth all this the canonists exalt him like a god p Epist ad Gregorium 13. ante princip doct Stapleton calleth him supremum numen in terris generally they call him vniuersall bishop and condemne all that hold contrary argument 9 The church of God doth kéepe the doctrine of the apostles and prophets q Gal. 1. without addition alteration or corruption and the apostle pronounceth him accursed r Aduers haeres c. 34. that teacheth any other Gospel than that which he taught Vincentius Lirinensis saith that this is the propertie of catholicks to kéepe the faith and doctrine of the fathers committed to them in trust and to condemne prophane nouelties CatholicoruÌ„ saith he hoc ferè proprium deposita sanctorum patrum commissa seruare damnare prophanas vocum nouitates sicut dixit iterum dixit apostolus si quis annuntiauerit praeterquam quod acceptum est anathematizare but the papists kéepe not entire the originall writings of the olde and new testament nor allow them as authenticall neither will they yéeld the canonicall scriptures to be a perfect and sufficient rule of faith nor doe they allow the law of God to be a perfect law nor doe they kéepe Christes institution in the Sacrament of the Lords supper distributing the kinds of bread and wine to the communicants but haue vnto this rule added vnwritten traditions and the determinations of popes concerning matters of faith they haue also encreased the numbers of Sacraments and added many precepts and rules not receiued in the Apostolicke church argument 10 The true Church can not endure hereticks and false apostles that teach doctrine contrary to the faith of Christ and doctrine of Christes apostles Christ Iesus speaking of his shéepe saith They will not follow a stranger but flie from him for that they know not the voice of strangers The apostles gaue vnto Christians a speciall charge concerning this point If there come any vnto you saith S. Å¿ Epist 2. Iohn and bring not this doctrine receiue him not to house neither salute him Tantum apostoli horum discipuli saith t Lib. 3. aduers haeres c. 3. Irenaeus habuerunt timorem vt neque verbotenus communicarent alicui eorum qui adulterauerant veritatem Let vs separate our selues saith Cyprian as farre from them as they separate themselues from the church The true church certes can not embrace erroneous doctrine neither can any heretiks be accounted Christians Si haeretici sint saith u De praescrip aduers haeret Tertullian Christianiesse non possunt But the Papists communicate with hereticks as Liberius Felix Vigilius Honorius Iohn the 22. and 23. whom in my treatise De pontifice Rom. I declared to be heretiks they do also embrace the heresie of Angelicks in worshipping angels of the Collyridians in worshipping the blessed Virgin of Marcion Valentinus and others in denying Christes true bodie in the Sacrament to be solide and palpaple of the Pelagians in magnifying their merits and the force of frée will of the Carpocratians in burning incense and worshipping the images of Iesus and Paul and diuers others as we shall héereafter particularly declare argument 11 The true Church of Christ admitteth not the apocryphal legends of S. George Cyricus and Iulitta for these are condemned by the censure of Gelasius who testifieth that the olde Church of Rome receiued not any such legends but the latter Church of Rome and papists of our time doe admit these legends and out them they gather their traditions which they make equall to the word of God argument 12 The Church of God is the mistresse and teacher of trueth and admitteth no falshood nor vntrueth the apostle doeth call her the pillar and ground of trueth Est fons veritatis saith x Instit diuin lib. 4. c. vlt. Lactantius speaking of the church hoc est domicilium fidei that is she is the fountaine of trueth she is the house where true faith dwelleth but the church of Rome that now is is not only a receptacle of leud opinions but also the mother and mistresse of lies and vanities and so Petrarch for aboue two hundred yéeres doubted not to call her Madre d'errori e tempio d'haeresia saith he which authoritie albeit they regard not yet the same which he auoucheth is prooued first in that the church of Rome auoucheth lying traditions as for example the tradition concerning Ember fasts and fasts vpon Saints vigiles concerning the ceremonies of the masse concerning the words aeterni mysterium fidei thrust into the words of consecration of the challice and such like secondly the same approoueth lying and forged decretals as for example C. Constantinus dist 96. and c. ego Ludouicus dist 63. and c. quis nesciat dist 11. infinit more of that nature thirdly the same giueth credit to Caesar Baronius his most lying and fabulous narrations and the popes haue commended them
by consent may depart asunder and enter into monasticall religion and that mariages contracted may be dissolued by putting on a monkes or friers coule and lastly that children may abandon their parents and follow Iebusites and other monkes and firiers where vnder pretence of religion they commit all abomination and serue for bardassaes and Ganimedes to this new race of sodomites that this doctrine is new it appeareth by Bellarmines weake dispute of monkes and in my treatise against the stinking orders of friers and monkes which because Cardinall Bellarmine is not now at laisure to answere I would pray Robert Parsons because he taketh on him to be learned or some other of his scholars to vndertake to refute argument 51 The apostles and ancient fathers did neither vse candle salt nor spittle nor that maner of blowing nor greasing that the papists now vse in baptisme and that a man may see without a candle and shall be proued godwilling hereafter when I come to gripe my aduersary that taketh exception to this point argument 52 The ancient church of Christ was neuer wont to coniure salt water nor to say y In missal Rom. c. benedict diuersae exorizo te creatura salis c. vt efficiaris sal exorcizatum in salutem credentium sis omnibus sumentibus te sanitas animae corporis neither did Christians in times past pray that holy water might serue to cast out diuels to driue away diseases and to clense mens houses from vncleane spirits could Robert Parsons be at leisure and leaue dreaming of Cardinals hats he might doe a great pleasure to shew vs this coniuration of salt and holy water out of some holy mens writings argument 53 It is also a mere nouelty if not foolery that the priest sprincles the altar and the whole assistance with water and z Ibidem saith asperges me domine hyssopo mundabor for the water sprinkle is not made of hyssop nor is the priest so honest a man as Dauid nor can drops of water clense his faults argument 54 It is also in Christian religion a nouelty to consecrate the flesh of paschal lambes and cannot be proued to haue bene long practised in the Romish church but now since the priests of Baal are proued shéepe stealers they to satisfie the owners losses consecrate the flesh of lambs argument 55 The a In ordinar missae blessing also of incense by the intercession of Michael the archangel as the papists vse it in their masse sauoreth not onely of superstition but also of nouelty argument 56 The swinging also of the chalice and host about the priests head and crossing of all sides of both as it is in the missall of Sarum and partly in the Romish missal is both superstitious and new argument 57 The ancient fathers neuer taught that either the body and blood of Christ were really vnder the accidents of bread and wine or that the accidents of bread and wine did subsist without a subiect for that was first decréed in the councell of Constance though idelly talked of before argument 58 Neither did they euer imagine that a dogge or a hogge or a mouse swallowing a consecrate host did also swallow Christ Iesus God and man and his very body as some of the schoolemen teach for that were not onely to cast precious stones before hogges but to blaspheme the most holy name of Iesus and to bring Christian religion into contempt argument 59 They neuer beléeued that Christs true body was inuisible and impalpable for well they remembred Christes words to his disciples Videte palpate but how can this be truely said if as the papists teach he were in the sacrament inuisible and impalble argument 60 In the fathers writings we neuer read where this word species doth signifie lightnesse roundnesse smoothnesse hardnesse swéetnesse relish and all other accidents of the sacramentall signes as the papists beléeue and teach argument 61 The doctrine of Transubstantiation was first established by b C. firmiter de sum trenit fide cath Innocent the third and his consorts about the yéere of our Lord 1212. this mystery therefore of transubstantiation is not so ancient argument 62 The ancient fathers did neuer beléeue that euery masse-priest did worke thrée seuerall miracles as oft as he did consecrate as the authors of the Tridentine catechisme do teach argument 63 Nor did they beléeue that the same humane body was in heauen in earth and euery altar all at one time as our papists that are more corporall than spirituall teach argument 64 In the ancient church those that receiued the sacrament of the Lords body receiued also the cup. neither is the prohibition of the cup more ancient than the wicked councell of Constance argument 65 Then also the priest neuer receiued alone nor did Christians looke on while the priest ate and dranke all for this was contrary to Christes institution and the nature of the sacrament that was instituted for a c 1. Cor. 10. signe of our mutuall coniunction one with another and the contrary custome is refuted by all ancient liturgies but now the priest eateth and drinketh all alone by himselfe and the rest depart fasting or at the least without the sacrament of the cup. argument 66 In ancient time the Lords supper was accounted no sacrifice for quicke and dead but a holy sacrament wherein a memoriall of Christes sacrifice on the crosse is celebrated as S. Augustine teacheth and I haue shewed at large in my treatise De missa against Bellarmine but now as if Christ had not said take eat drinke they offer it for those that can neither take nor eat nor drinke argument 67 The ancient church had no seuerall masses for warre for peace for bridegromes for mariners for hogges for the plague and for all times and occasions as now the d Missal Rom. Paris Sarum Romanists haue argument 68 There were no masses in the primitiue church made in honor of saints of angels of the virgine Mary nay in the old formulary of the church of Rome some seuen hundred or eight hundred yéeres agone there are no masses of this new cut argument 69 The parts of the masse were framed piecemeale long after the age of the learned fathers of the church as I haue prooued in my fift booke De missa against Bellarmine which I recommend to Robert Parsons for a cordiall or a scarlet stomacher to warme himselfe withall requesting him to shape vs an answere argument 70 The sacrament of the Lords supper in olde time was neuer administred in a tongue not vnderstood for that is the late pleasure of the trenchant fathers of Trent argument 71 The ancient fathers neuer praied to our Lady after the new Romish fashion nor said Sancta Maria ora pro nobis nunc in hora mortis nor thought it lawfull to say e Breuiar Rom. offic beatae Mariae Maria mater gratiae mater misericordiae
In offic beat Mariae to a woodden crosse increase in the godly righteousnesse and pardon sinners and also crux Christi protege me crux Christi defende me ab omni malo and which before the printed face which they call Volto santo pray thus Salue sancta facies impresta panniculo nos ab omni macula purga vitiorum atque nos consortio iunge beatorum argument 62 Catholikes beléeue that their sacrifices of praise are accepted through Christ but papists beléeue that Christes bodie is accepted through the mediation of the priest and of saints the priest in the canon beséecheth God to looke fauourably vpon the body and blood of Christ Supra quae saith he propitio ac sereno vultu respicere digneris and in the missal of Sarum on Batildis day they pray that God would accept their sacrifice viz. of Christes body and blood through the merits of S. Batildis vt haec munera tibi Domine accepta sint say they sanctae Batildis obtineant merita quae seipsam tibi hostiam viuam sanctam bene placentem exhibuit argument 63 Catholikes beléeue that the apostles and their successours receiued the keyes of the kingdome of heauen and power to binde and loose onely vpon earth but the papists beléeue that the pope hath receiued the keyes of the kingdome of hell and purgatory Damascen and other authors of Romish legends tell vs that Gregory the first deliuered Traians soule out of hel and euery pety pope thinketh he is abused if any tell him that he can not let out of purgatory as many as he pleaseth Commonly all papists pray for the dead that they may haue a place of rest giuen them and that their sinnes may be pardoned them as if sinnes might be forgiuen after this life argument 64 Catholikes neither worshipped saints departed nor their images nor the crosse of Christ Hierome in an epistle to Ripatius denieth that any creature is to be worshipped or adored d Lib. 22. deciuit Dei c. 10. Augustine sheweth that Christians did not worship martyrs nor erect temples in honor of them and saith that they gaue thanks and praise vnto God onely at their monuments ecclesia catholica mater Christianorum verissima saith e De morib eccles lib. 1. c. 30. he solum ipsum deum cuius adeptio vita est beatissima purissimè atque castisimè colendum praedicat nullam nobis adorandam creaturam inducens cui seruire iubeamur whereby plainly he excludeth the worship of Doulia f De obitu Theodosij Ambrose declareth that Helene finding the crosse worshipped not the crosse but Christ but the papists worship not onely the saints but dumbe images they say masses in honor of S. Francis and S. Dominicke and diuers other saints they knéele to images and burne incense vnto them finally they giue Latriam that is due by their owne confession to God only to the crosse to the crucifix and to the images of the Trinity argument 65 True catholicks neuer made the images of God the father or the holy trinity nor did thinke it lawfull to worship them with diuine worship but the papists both make such images and allow such worship to be giuen to them argument 66 True catholicks neuer had any psalter in honor of our blessed Lady nor vsed to say a hundred and 50. Auemariaes and after euery fifty Auemariaes one Creed and after euery tenne Auemaries one Pater Noster nay our sauiour expressly forbad his desciples to vse battologies and odious repetitions in their praiers But papists put great religion in our Ladies psalter and in their rosaries and often repetitions of the name of Iesu and of their Auemariaes argument 67 True catholicks neuer coniured salt nor holy water nor oile nor chrisme nor superstitiously sanctified candles crosses and images in such sort as the papists vse to doe neither did they grease stone alters or describe the Gréeke alphabet on the pauement of churches to be consecrated or abuse the scriptures as the papists doe in that act as may appeare by the formulary commonly vsed in such cases that ancient catholicks neuer vsed any such ceremonies it may appeare by the writings of the fathers and also in old rituall books for in them such formes of consecrations exorcizations and such abuses are not to be found argument 68 True g Iohn 4. catholicks worship God in spirit and trueth but the papists place most of Gods worship in externall ceremonies and vse in their worship a tong not vnderstood so that their praiers cannot procéed from the spirit nor be true nor catholicke argument 69 True catholicks neuer worshipped angels h Coloss 2. the apostle Paule doth expressly condemne the worship of them as Chrysostome Theodoret Oecumenius writing vpon the 2. and 3. chap. of the epistle to the Colossians do testifie the councell of Laodicea doth also prohibit the worship of Angels and Saint i De hares c. 39. Augustine numbreth the worshippers of Angels among hereticks Neither may we thinke that they were therefore condemned because they atrtibuted the creation of the world to angels but because they worshipped angels and as Chrysostome homil 7. in coloss 2. affirmeth thought we were to come to God by the mediation of angels and yet papists k Horae ad vsum sacrum pray to angels that they would protect them and driue diuils from them and open their sight they say also masses in their honor set vp lights to them make confession of their sinns to them and all this contrary to the practise of the ancient catholicke church argument 70 Our l Matth. 15. sauiour Christ teacheth that those worship God in uaine which worship him according to the doctrines and commandements of men and therefore all true catholicks haue had principall respect herein to the commandements and lawes of God but the Romish church doth wholy depend vppon the decretales of popes and vaine fancies of men their missals breuiaries offices and whole seruice procéedeth from no other fountaine argument 71 The m Psal 32. prophet declareth that they are blessed whose iniquities are forgiuen and whose sinns are couered and the apostle saith that being instified by faith we haue peace with god and this is the hope of all catholicks that Christ hath reconciled vs to his father and washed away our sinnes and paid a ransome for them on the crosse but this comfort papists doe take from vs that teach and holde that after our sinnes forgiuen we are to satisfie for temporall paines due for our sinnes either here or in purgatory and that such are there to sustaine great torments in which paines and place none but mad men can place felicity argument 72 Catholicks beléeue that through faith we are made partakers of Christs satisfaction the papists beléeue that the pope can apply them by his bulles both in purgatory and in this life according to his lawes argument 73 Catholicks beléeue that no man can satisfie for his
they built all vpon Christ Iesus and taught that which immediatly they receiued from God but the Pope receiueth nothing immediatly from God nor doth he now preach Christ as did saint Peter argument 2 Further the true church of Christ is built vpon a rocke most solide and vnmouable against which the gates of hell can neuer preuaile but the church of Rome is built vpon the popes and their see against which the gates of hell both haue already and may further preuaile as appeareth by the Ch. Si papa dist 40. where it is supposed that the Pope may draw with him innumerable soules into hel and m In Matth. 16. Lyra confesseth that diuers popes haue proued apostataes from the faith and that finally is proued by diuers particular examples as of Marcellinus that sacrificed to idoles of Liberius that fell into Arrianisme of Honorius condemned for a monothelite and diuers other popes that fell into diuers heresies and forsooke the true faith neither doe I thinke the papistes will denie but that some of their popes for diuers impieties and wickednesses are damned and cast downe to the nethermost hell How then can that be the true church of Christ which is built vpon a foundation against which the gates of hell haue preuailed argument 3 n Arg. 3. The true church of Christ is neuer without her head for Christ Iesus who is the head of the church was yesterday and to day and the same for euermore he is the head of the church and shall alwaies so continue and of him his church hath continuall dependance but the church of Rome is often without her head the pope and hath no such dependance on him but that she may well subsist without him as the continuall vacation of the papacy doth shew and p Lib. de auferribilitatâ— papa Gerson doth confesse the church of Rome therefore cannot be the church of Christ vnlesse we will grant that the church of God may be without a head or that the church of Rome neuer wanteth a head argument 4 q Arg. 4. The church of God also hath but one faith for as there is but one Lord r Ephes 4. so there is but one faith and one baptisme but the faith of the church of Rome is not that one faith which was professed in the apostles times and in the primitiue church as appeareth by the doctrine of faith published in the wicked conuenticles of Constance and Trent and by ihat profession which Pius the 4. decreed to be exacted of all that are promoted in schooles for neither did the first christians admit all the traditions which the church of Rome now calleth apostolicall nor the 7. sacraments and vsuall rites practised by the church of Rome in the administration of them nor the sacrifice of the masse or transubstantiation or the rest of the doctrine therein contained if any papist thinke otherwise let him shew me either any such like faith or proue me any such doctrine to haue bene in the ancient church of Rome or else we must needs beleeue that this doctrine was first published by the conuenticle of Trent and by Pius the 4. by name but a wicked man for doctrine and life and by other popes confirmed argument 5 Å¿ Arg. 5. The grounds also and foundations of the catholike christian faith are diuers from the grounds foundations of the faith of the church of Rome the t Ephes 2. apostle saith that the houshold of God and citizens of saints are built vpon the foundations of the apostles and prophets Iesus Christ being the chiefe corner stone neither doeth he admit any other foundation Saint u Apocal. 21. Iohn sheweth that the wall of the city of God hath twelue foundations and in them the names of the twelue apostles and this because vpon that doctrine which they deliuered the faith of the church is built for as x Lib. 3. aduers haeres c. 1. Ireneus signifieth the canonicall scriptures which she apostles left vnto vs are the foundation of our faith neither may we thinke that Peter was more the foundation of the church then Paule or the rest of the apostles at dicis super Petrum fundatur ecclesia saith y Lib. aduers Jâ—uiâ— Hierome licèt id ipsum in alio loco super omnes apostolos cuncti claues regni coelorum accipiant ex aequo super eos ecclesia solidetur Theophylact also without giuing any prerogatiue to one saith z In Ephes 2. the church is built vpon the apostles and prophets neither doe the auncient fathers either allow or mention any foundation beside Christ Iesus and the apostles and prophets who in all their writings doe preach Christ Iesus But the faith of the Romish synagogue is now built vpon a diuers foundation for first they acknowledge vnwritten traditions to be a foundation equall to the written word of God a Sess 4. concil Trid. traditiones ipsas tum ad fidem tum ad mores pertinentes tanquam vel oretenus à Christo vel à spiritu sancto dictatas continua successione in ecclesia catholica conseruatas pari pietatis affectu ac reuerentia scilicet ac scripturas sacras suscipit ac veneratur the conuenticle of Trent maketh traditions as well concerning faith as maners to be equall to the written word of God whereof it foloweth that we must as well beléeue the fashions and ceremonies of the Romish church as the written word of God Demonstrate conabimur saith b Lib 4. de verb. dei c. 4. Bellarmine scripturas sine traditionibus nec fuisse simpliciter necessarias nec sufficientes he denieth also the scriptures to be a perfect canon or rule of our faith without traditions next they receiue the popes decretals and vpon their determinations doe they build their faith as c C. inter dist 19. c. sancta dist 15. appeareth by their decretals though counterfeit and d Jn praefat in relect princip doctr Stapleton sticketh not to affirme so much in expresse words Alij nunc à Christo missi saith he eorumue doctrina praedicatio determinatio fundamenti apud me locum habebunt and e ibidem againe Christianae religionis fundamentum habemus ab ipsis literis euangelicis apostolicis aliud We haue saith he another foundation of Christian religion diuers from the writings of the apostles and prophets can then the Romish congregation be the church of Christ that euen in the maine foundation of religion is departed from the church of Christ argument 6 f Arg. 6. The principles likewise of the doctrine of the Romish church are diuers froÌ„ the grounds principles of Christs true church for we haue shewed in our last argument that the true church hath no canon or rule of faith or certeine principle of faith beside the canonicall scriptures but the church of Rome admitteth the books of Iudith Tobia Ecclesiasticus Wisdome of the Machabees by the
by solemne decretals although we doubt not but to make the vanitie of them appeare partly in this discourse but farre more at large hereafter finally the same admitteth most lying legends and now and then permitteth them to be read publikely in the church as for example the legends of Catherine Clement Gregory called also Thaumaturgus Peter Martyr a dominican S. Catharine of Siena S. Christopher and diuers others in the legend of S. Catherine y In breuiaer Ro. in festâ— Catharinae they write that she was a maiden of Alexandria and so well learned that at the age of eighteene yeeres she passed the most learned and in dispute ouercame fiftie Philosophers and that also she conuerted Faustina the empresse and Porphyrius a captaine of the emperors to the faith they say also that she broke the tormenting wheele with her praiers that after her death her body was buried in mount Sinah by angels in the feast of S. Clement in the Romish breuiary we read that Clement Peters successor was by Traian sent into the wildernesse of z Let Parsons tell vs where this is Cersona and that there he saw a lambe make a well to sally out of the top of the mountaine and that he being cast into the sea with a millstone about his necke the sea fled three miles from the shore and that in the very same place a little chappell was found in the sea where his body was bestowed On the festiuall day of Gregory of Neocesaria the church of Rome a In breuiar Rom. appointeth his legend to be read where it is said that he caused the riuer of Lycus to keepe within the chanell by planting his staffe on the banke and that his staffe grew presently into a great tree in the rituall books of Sarum we read that Gregory the first deliuered Traians soule out of hell which if it were true why is it now crossed out of the new bookes if false how hapeneth it that the church of Rome so long beléeued that tale b I'n breuiar Rom. in fest Petr. Mart. Peter Martyr one of Dominickes order as they write I thinke beléeue did keepe his virginity both in body and minde and in that sort that he neuer felt himselfe defiled with any mortall sinne they tell vs also that he did fast so long that he could scarce open his mouth to eat They tell vs further many wonders of Saint Nicolas Valerian and Tiburtius Lucia Christopher and other saints in the c Historia Louâ—bard del volto santo italic legend of Ieames of the colepit for else I cannot tell how to English Iacobus de Voragne we read that a certaine picture of our sauiour did lift vp his foot and cast off his slipper to a certaine pilgrime that deuoutly stood before it and would haue offred somewhat having nothing to offer Of Saint Catherine of Siena they say that she was betrothed to our sauiour Christ all which points are very incredible and not to be found in any authenticall writing If then the church of Rome publish and teach these fables and lies then is she no mistresse of trueth but of lies if Robert Parsons will say they are no lies I would pray him to declare vs the trueth out of authenticall histories argument 13 The faith of Gods true church cannot be built vpon any vncertainty or vntrueth for faith is an argument certaine or an euidence of things not seene est fides saith the d Hebr. 11. apostle sperandarum rerum substantia argumentum non apparentium and it is built on Christ Iesus that is trueth and on a rocke that is unmouable neither neede we long profes for this point for the aduersaries themselues confesse this to be true Nihil saith Thomas Aquinas cadere potest sub fide nisi inquantum stat sub veritate prima sub qua nullum falsum stare potest and afterward he saith quod fidei non potest subesse aliquod falsum if then the faith of the church of Rome be grounded on falshood then is it no true faith and if that churches faith be no faith then is not that church the true church but that the faith of the church of Rome is built vpon diuers false positions it may easily be proued for first the same beleeueth that the traditions of the church of Rome are either descended from Christ or the apostles for the most part and namely such as concerne the canon and ceremonies of the masse fastes praiexs for the dead praiers to saints and such like secondly it beleeueth all the determinations of popes concerning faith and manners to be true and infallible as for example that it is necessary for euery christian to be subiect to the Pope that he hath power to depose kings to giue power to cutthrotes to kill kings to dispense with the vncle to marry his neece with the brother to marry his brothers wife and such like thirdly that church beléeueth what is contained in the breuiary and missale as for example the stories or rather legends of Saint Christopher Saint George Saint Catherine and such like finally the same must beléeue whatsoeuer the Pope shall determine to be de fide But among such traditions determinations and legendes there are diuers both false and ridiculous fables neither can it be denied but that the Pope hath determined and may also determine falsely and contrary to the faith and this is shewed in my bookes de Pontifice Rom. at large e Lib. 4. de pontif Rom. and cannot be denied unlesse Robert Parsons can prooue vnto vs that all the Popes decretales concerning matters of faith and maners and all the traditions of that church and all legendes are true which to him will be a matter of some difficulty argument 14 The church of Christ is bounded within the limits of the holy canonicall scriptures habet vrbes legis prophetarum euangelii saith Saint f In Mich. lib. 1. c. 1. Hierome and againe non est egressa de finibus suis id est de scripturis sanctis he g Ibidem c. 7. saith also that it is the property of heretickes to flie to mens commandements and the leauen of the pharisees S. h Lib. 19. de ciuit Dei c. 18. Augustine also concureth with him and saith that the city of God beleeueth the holy scriptures that are called canonicall but of other reports he saith she doubteth but the church of Rome will not be bounded within the limites of holy scriptures neither will she acknowledge the canonicall scriptures to be a perfect rule of faith the same also from scriptures flieth to vnwritten traditions and is much soured with the leauen of the pharisées and mixture of Popish and Iewish ceremonies deuised and established by men finally the same doth rather or at the least as soone beleeue the determination of the Pope as the letter of holy scriptures for in the Pope Stapleton placeth the chiefe authority of the church
per manus sancti angeli tui in sublime altare tuum Command these things saith the priest speaking of the bodie and blood of Christ to be brought by the hands of the holy angell vnto thy high altar these things are blasphemous and cannot be allowed of Christ his church neither can Parsons or Bellarmine answere that these words are found in the booke of sacraments attributed to S. Ambrose lib. 4. c. 6. for there is great difference betwixt the words of the canon of the masse the words of that author and the meaning of him is cleane contrary for neuer shall it be prooued that the author of that treatise beléeued that the body and blood of Christ was vnder the formes of bread and wine in the sacrament or that he meant the body and blood of Christ where he compareth the sacrament to the sacrifices of Abel and Abraham argument 40 The true church of Christ neuer added to the words of Christ in the consecration of the cup saying noui aeterni testamenti mysterium fidei neither are these words found in the old formularies of the liturgies of the church of Rome as I haue shewed in my treatise of the masse against Bellarmine doth not then this new tricke of the latter Romish church departing from the former shew a manifest difference betwixt them argument 41 The true church did neuer offer the sacrament pro redemptione animarum suarum neither did the same vse the commemoration for the dead as it is in the Romish missal saying memento domine famulorum famularúmque qui nos praecesserunt cum signo fidei dormiunt in somno pacis nay this forme is not to be found in the olde formulary which the Romans vsed about fiue or six hundred yeeres agone but now all m In canone missae Romanists do thus say and pray if then Rob. Parsons could shew this forme or any such prayers or words in ancient authors he might doe a great pleasure to the church of Rome that otherwise is like to proue the synagogue of Antichrist argument 42 The true church of Christ did neuer consecrate incense nor say n In ordinar missae per intercessioneÌ„ beati Michaelis archangeli stantis a dextris altaris incensi omnium electorum suorum incensum istud dignetur dominus benedicere in odorem suauitatis accipere if Robert Parsons can prooue the contrary let him do it otherwise the Romish church will fall out not to be Christes true church argument 43 The true church neuer had distinct masses whereof some were ordinary others proper for the times others proper for saints others for particular mens deuotions as for example for the election of the pope for taking away schismaticall contentions for time of warre for time of sicknesse and such other occasions but the o Missale Rom. Romish church hath masses for all these causes and occasions argument 44 The true church did neuer consecrate holy water and say exorcizo te creatura salis c. and exorcizo te creatura aquae c. vt fias aqua exorcizata ad effugandam omnem potestatem inimici ipsum inimicum eradicare explantare valeas cum angelis suis apostaticis it is not the true church therefore that doth practise these exorcismes argument 45 The Christian church doth not reteine the ceremonies of the Iewes nor eat the Paschall lambe for as the p 1. Cor. 5. apostle saith Pascha nostrum immolatus est Christus but the q In fine missalis Rom. Romanists according to the rules of their missal doe consecrate and eat a Paschal lambe and pray thus Deus qui per famulum tuum Moysem in liberatione populi tui de Aegypto agnum occidi iussisti in similitudinem Domini nostri Iesu Christi vtrosque postes domorum de sanguine huius agni perungi praecepisti ita benedicere sanctificare digneris hanc creaturam carnis quam nos famuli tui ad laudem tuam sumere desideramus argument 46 The true church of God neuer formed any image of God the Father or God the Holy ghost or of Gods diuine essence neither did the same euer set vp images in churches to be worshipped with lights incense kissing crowching prayers or other such like ceremonies the second commandement directly forbiddeth the making of grauen images to be worshipped and districtly commandeth vs that we should not bow downe vnto them and that this commandement was direct against the worwip of images the first Christians did well vnderstand r Aduers gentes Arnobius saith that they had no altars nor temples nor images worshiped in open shew ne simulachra quidem veneramur saith Å¿ Contra Celsum lib. 7. Origen quippe qui Dei vt inuisibilis ita incorporei formam nullam effigiamus t Lib. 2. diuin instit c. 19. Lactantius doubteth not to affirme that there is no religion where there is an image and when images and pictures began to créepe into the churches as an outward ornament the councell of Eliberis to preuent all inconueniences forbad pictures in churches Placuit saith the u Concil Elib c. 36. councell picturas in ecclesia esse non debere ne quod colitur aut adoratur in parietibus depingatur such was then the religion of Spaine Arnobius declareth that Christians were not woont to worship the crosse Cruces saith x Aduers gentes lib. 8. he nec colimus nec optamus nay y Lib. 9. epist 9. Gregory the first himselfe albeit he would not haue images broken downe yet would he not haue them adored or worshipped and Ionas Aurelianensis albeit a defender of images yet writeth thus of them Creaturam adorari eÃque aliquid diuinae seruitutis impendi proh nefas ducimus huiusque sceleris patratorem detestandum anathematizandum libera voce proclamumus saith z De cultu imaginum lib. 4. Ionas but papists fall downe before images and giue diuine worship to the crosse and crucifixe neither do they onely make the images of the Father and Holy ghost but worship them finally they burne incense knéele and pray to stocks and stones argument 47 The true church did neuer pray or administer the holy sacraments of the Lords supper and Baptisme in a strange tongue not vnderstood of the common sort Si orem lingua saith the a 1. Cor. 14. apostle spiritus meus orat mens autem mea fine fructu est he saith it is fruitlesse to pray in a tongue not vnderstood and reason teacheth vs that this is true for if God respect not the mouing of our lips vnlesse our heart accord with our tongue how can our heart accord when we vnderstand not what our tongue vttereth finally the practise of the church teacheth vs that a knowen tongue is to be vsed in publike praiers and in the administration of sacraments as the answers of the people to the priest in all ancient liturgies and the
of late time haue not any that deserue to be entituled either bishops or priests where least any fond cauiller should mistake me as a certeine n A detection of vntrueths and falsifications disciple of antichrist hath done of late I doe giue them to vnderstand that my meaning is not to deny them to be the church that haue ministers or bishops faulty for life or defectiue in the execution of their office but onely those that haue bishops and priests without lawfull ordination and that doe not at all execute the office and function of a pastor or bishop and because the synagogue of Rome hath onely such priests and bishops as want lawfull ordination and vtterly cease to execute pastorall functions I saie that the same cannot be the true church of Christ I say then that Romish priests haue no lawfull ordination because they are ordeined first by heretikes by excommunicate and simoniacall persons which the canons doe prohibit to lay hands on any and disallow such as are ordeined by them that the popes of Rome and bishops ordeined by them are simonicall persons it appeareth by the practises of the conclaue in election of popes by the compacts made betwixt the pope and such as he ordeineth by the testimony of the conscience of papal creatures and publike writings o Lib. de schism Theodorick a Niem testifieth against Boniface the 9. and others and saith that Boniface sold the same benefice to diuers and when he lay a dying bought and sold and said he should doe well if he had money Vllerstone in his petitions crieth out of the simony of his time that was a cause also of the complaint of the Germaines in their grieuances venalia nobis saith Mantuan Templa sacerdotes altaria sacra coronae Ignis thura preces coelum est venale deúsque that they are heretikes it shall be prooued by the seuerall heresies old and new which the church of Rome holdeth Secondly they are not ordeined lawfully because they are not ordeined to teach and administer the sacraments but to offer sacrifices for the quicke and dead as appeareth by their p Machab. in lib. de missis episcop pro ordinib formularies of ordring priests q Lib. de sacra ord c. 9. Bellarmine likewise confesseth that this is the due forme of ordring priests respondeo saith he sacerdotes ordinari cum illis dicitur accipe potestatem sacrificium offerendi this ordination I prooue to be vnlawfull first because it conteineth no commission for the principall point of apostolicall or priestly function and next because it giueth them an office of sacrificing for quicke and dead which is more then belongeth to their charge or was executed by the apostles or ancient bishops of the church Thirdly they are ordeined by bishops that haue themselues no due ordination being sent abroad by antichrist rather to suppresse the trueth then to teach the trueth now euery man well vnderstandeth that no man can giue orders but such as haue receiued orders Finally they are most of them vncapable of ministeriall function and can neither teach nor administer the sacraments duly and if they were able yet doe they not teach Gods people but rather by their masses and confessions draw them to superstition and disloialty That the Romish church hath no true bishops it is to be proued both by the same and other reasons first no heretikes haue power to ordeine others but the pope is an heretike ergo the first the aduersaries will not deny the second we shall prooue by diuers arguments in his proper place secondly we haue declared and the world knoweth that the popes of Rome are simoniacall persons of which it also followeth that they haue no power to ordeine pastors thirdly Antichrist hath no power to ordeine pastors in Christes church but that the pope is Antichrist and the head of Antichrists kingdome I haue declared in my fift booke De pontifice Rom. fourthly he that is no bishop can not ordeine bishops but I haue declared that the pope is no bishop and it is euident for that r 1. Tim. 3. episcopatus is opus but the pope doth not the office of a bishop either in teaching or administring the sacraments further bishops as Cyprian diuersly declareth are the successours of the apostles but the Pope succéedeth Caesar in the gouernment of Rome rather than Peter and Paul in gouerning the church and other Romish bishops they rather kill Christes shéepe and massacre his lambs than feed them finally Romish bishops albeit they are after a sort sent to teach and administer sacraments yet most of them are vncapable of that charge and all leaue the office of teaching to a packe of loud mouthed monks and babling friers thinking that too base an office for their great and high estate But had Romish priests and bishops any mission or ordination yet is the same very defectiue and diuers from the graue forme practised in the ancient church for neither is such regard had of the capacity and ability of the persons chosen to this function but that often times boies and infamous persons are called to this charge neither are the solemnities prescribed in the canons obserued nor doe either the priests or bishops teach true doctrine and sincerely administer the sacraments nor doe they finally attend that office and execute that worke whereto they are called If therfore the Romish priests and bishops haue no due ordination or calling then are not the papists the true church if their ordination be imperfect and faultie then such is the popish church as their popish ordination of ministers is that is faulty defectiue and imperfect argument 61 The true church of Christ can not adhere to Antichrist our sauior Christ speaking of his shéepe ſ Iohn 10. saith they will not follow a stranger but will flie from him neither doth Antichrist seduce any bur such as perish as the apostle teacheth vs 2. Thess 2. but the Romish church adhereth to the pope which is declared manifestly to be Antichrist both by his doctrine by his maners by the forme circumstances of his reigne and diuers arguments which because I would not draw out this discourse into length I would desire the learned to reade in my fift booke De pontifice Rom. and our aduersaries to answere if they holde contrary Robert Parsons should also doe well to answere such arguments as I vsed in my answere to his Wardword to proue the pope to be Antichrist argument 62 As the true church of Christ was figured by the holy city of Ierusalem so the malignant church of Antichrist is figured and represented partly by Babylon Apocalyps 18. and partly by the purple whore Apocalyp 17. that rideth on a beast with seuen heads and had a cup of gold in her hand ful of all abominations and spirituall carnall filthinesse If then the state of Rome and the Romish church be represented by this purple harlot and by Babylon
idolatries and whose doctrine is confirmed by scriptures most certeine traditions councels fathers and practise of the ancient church and which teacheth the narrow way and maketh subiects obedient and is sure to continue but neither is the church of Rome catholike nor apostolike which embraceth vncerteine traditions and apocryphall scriptures with equall affection to canonicall scriptures and which receiueth all the popes decretales concerning matters of faith albeit they conteine doctrine neither apostolicall nor general secondly it will be an easie matter to shew that the Romish church abhorreth neither heresie nor idolatrie nor noueltie thirdly in diuerse discourses against Bellarmine I haue shewed that popish doctrine hath neither ground of scriptures councels nor fathers thereby also it may appeare that popish traditions are most vaine vncerteine and superstitious fourthly the way which that church teacheth is broad and easie for what is more easie than to heare masses and to eat fish and to confesse sinnes and to obserue diuers externall ceremonies and yet by these small things papists hope to be saued fiftly we finde that all the rebellions of England Ireland and France haue wholly procéeded from the church of Rome and the doctrine of the seditious Iebusites and Cananites and masse priests neither will euer rebellion be rooted out vnlesse the tyrannicall vsurpation of popes be repressed and their parasites taught to submit themselues to their liege princes sixthly what certeinty in iudgement can the papists haue that depend vpon the resolutions of blinde vnlearned and wicked popes finally we sée Antichrist to be reuealed and the city of Babylon to fall to confusion who then doth not expect and beléeue the vtter ruine and desolation of Antichrists state Further Bristow telleth vs that euery church that is risen after the first planting of religion and gone out of the catholike church and from apostolike doctrine and is not the communion of saints nor euer visible and which is not the teacher of all diuine trueth and the vndoubted mother of Christes children is not the true church But the church of Rome as it is now visible in the pope and cardinals in the officers of the popes chamber in popish prelates sacrificing priests monks friers and nunnes and their officers and adherents whose faith is built on popish decretals and mincing scholasticall distinctions as fine wouen as any spider webbe rose out of the earth long after the apostles times and first planting of religion and that the Romish church crept out by little and little out of the catholike and apostolike church for apostolicall doctrine embracing apostaticall and light fancies and traditions and for the maintenance of mens bellies and the popes authoritie is departed from Christ and hath made war vpon the saints in the same also whores are openly mainteined cutthrotes by rewards incited to kill and poison princes and a way to all periuries and vices by the popes indulgences opened how then can any call this a communion of saints finally he that expecteth trueth at the popes hands shal be gulled with fables and he that calleth Rome a mother can be content for gaine to call the whore of Babylon and mother of errours his mother argument 70 The church of Christ neuer allowed the decretals of popes or the extrauagants or rules of Chancery concerning the popes authoritie and procéeding but in these lawes the church of Rome hath diuers rules of the Romish faith and thereby gouerneth her procéedings argument 71 In the church of Christ clerks were not exempt from the subiection of princes The apostle saith Let euery soule be subiect to higher powers But in the church of Rome all clerks are quited and exempted from the princes power as Bellarmine in his booke of that argument by the popes canons and all his wit endeuoureth to proue argument 72 The true church neuer baptized belles nor held monkes coules to be equall to baptisme but the popish church as the l Grauam 51. Germanes in their grieuances declare baptizeth belles and compareth the entrance into monkish profession with baptisme argument 73 Finally neuer was Christes church or any part of Christes church within any kingdome gouerned by an archpriest and certeine seditious Iebusites masse priests and such like vermine Howsoeuer then they deny it in others yet can they not deny but that the papists of England are not members of Christes church but rather of the synagogue of Satan CHAP. II. That the doctrines and traditions of the Romish church which the church of England refuseth are mere nouelties and late deuised fancies IF when the papists doe recommend vnto vs their old religion they meant nothing els but the religion of Christ Iesus which the apostles first taught and which the apostolicall and most ancient Christians receiued and deliuered to posterity we should not much contend with thim for that is the religion which we professe not varying in any thing from the apostles créed and other créeds either set out by Athanasius or the most ancient generall councels of the church nor denying any thing that is expressed or proued out of the holy canonicall scriptures But when they talke of old religion they meane the religion of the church of Rome which was either established by later popes or taken vp by lewd custome and vncerteine tradition the which though it séeme to some ancient yet in very truth is new and no way to be compared to the religion that was first deliuered by Christ and his apostles neither doth it deserue the name of old religion for as Ignatius said a Epist ad Philadelph sometime antiquitas mea Christus est so we may say that Christ is the top of our ancestry that the apostles doctrine is both ancient most true id verius quod prius saith b Lib. 4. contra Marcion Tertullian id prius quod ab initio id ab initio quod ab apostolis if thē the papists as they bragge could prooue their religion to be deriued from the apostles then would we indéed confesse it were ancient if they cannot then we must say to them as c Epist 65. ad Pammach Ocean Hierome said to one in his time cur profers in medium saith he quod Petrus Paulus edere noluerunt why doe they produce articles of faith vnknowen to the apostles nay why doe they teach vs points of religion which in times of the ancient fathers of the church were vnheard of will they haue that accounted old which the fathers of the church which were long after the apostles neuer knew nor the ancient church euer receiued they would so d Contra. haeres c. 35. but Vincentius Lirinensis doeth call him a true catholike that doeth onely beléeue and hold whatsoeuer the ancient catholike church did vniuersally beléeue quicquid saith he vniuersaliter antiquitus ecclesiam catholicam tenuisse cognouerit id solum sibi tenendum credendumque decernit if then the papists will hold all the religion which now
they professe their religion will neuer prooue ancient nor catholike not ancient for that diuers doctrines and traditions which they hold are new and vnheard of in the ancient catholike church argument 1 First they teach vs that the holy canonicall scriptures are no perfect canon of our faith for this doctrine is gathered out of the decrée of the councell of Trent that with equall affection embraceth vnwritten traditions and canonicall scriptures e Lib. 4. de verbo Dei c. 12. Bellarmine saith that scriptures are a part of the canon or rule of faith and not a whole rule dico secundò saith he scripturam etsi non sit facta praecipuè vt sit regula fidei esse tamen regulam fidei non totalem sed partialem f De doctrin princip li. 7. c. 1. Stapleton beside scriptures frameth a new rule which he calleth the order of tradition but this doctrine is new and contrary both to scriptures and fathers The g 2. Tim. 3. apostle he teacheth vs that the scriptures are able to make the man of God perfect and furnished for euery good worke he teacheth vs also that they are able to make vs wise to saluation likewise the fathers testifie that the scriptures are a perfect canon sufficiunt sanctae ac diuinitus inspitatae scripturae saith h Lib. contr idola Athanasius ad veritatis indicationem Basil in serm de fid confess saith it is an argument of infidelity and pride either to reiect scriptures or to bring in matter not conteined in scriptures he meaneth in questions of faith cum habeamus omnium exactissimam trutinam gnomonem regulam diuinarum legum assertionem saith i In 2. ad Corinth homil 13. Chrysostome oro vos omnes vt relinquatis quid huic vel illi videatur de his à scripturis haec omnia inquirite Tertullian writing against Hermogenes saith that he adoreth the fulnesse of scriptures And saint k Lib. 2. de doctr Christian c. 9. Augustine teacheth that all things concerning faith and maners are found in scriptures clearely propounded to conclude this point most derogatory it were to Gods diuine wisedome if any man should suppose the scripture to be an imperfect canon or halfe a rule or maimed doctrine as the papistes lately haue begun to teach argument 2 They haue made the bookes of Tobia Iudith Wisedome Ecclesiasticus Machabeies and such fragments of bookes as are in the old Latin interpreter and not in Hebrew equall to the bookes of Moyses and other prophets and to the writings also of the apostles this is the determination of the councell of Trent and the common doctrine now of the Iebusites and papists but new and no way approoued by the ancient church for these bookes were neuer allowed by any prophets or by the church of God before Christs time nor did the ancient fathers allow them Gregory in his morals lib. 19. c. 16. directly affirmeth the bookes of Machabeis not to be canonicall sicut ergo Iudith Tobiae Machabaeorum libros legit quidem ecclesia saith l In Prouerb Solomon Hierome sed eos inter canonicas scripturas non recipit he saith m In praefat in lib. paralip also where controuersie is concerning Apocryphall writings we must haue recourse to the Hebrews neither doth Augustine so make them canonicall as he reputeth them equall to other scriptures as appeareth by his words lib. 18. de ciuit dei c. 36. conrra Gaudent lib. 2. c. 23. nay Sixtus Senensis albeit he make all these bookes canonicall yet doeth he not giue to all equall authoritie let vs therefore sée any ancient writer that alloweth the decrée of the councell of Trent if the papists will not haue all men sée that they haue innouated the very canon of the Christian faith argument 3 They haue also made the old Latin translation authenticall contrary not onely to reason séeing it differeth not onely from the originall bookes but also is contrary to it selfe as may appeare by the editions of Sixtus Quintus and Clement the 8. but also to antiquity which as appeareth by the testimony of Hierome and Augustine alwaies preferred the originall bookes in matter of difference before translations argument 4 Concerning the interpretation of scriptures the conuenticle of Trent n Sess 4. determineth that no man shall interpret them against that sense and meaning which the holy mother church holdeth to whome it belongeth to iudge of the true meaning and interpretation of scriptures end by the church they vnderstand the the pope and church of Rome but this act is altogether new for we do not finde that euer the easterne or African churches were forbidden to interpret scriptures as well as the church of Rome or that the fathers of the church were tied to expound scriptures after the opinions of the bishop of Rome nay we finde that no interpretations are more absurd then theirs or more contrary to the meaning of the holy ghost as for example may appeare in these two points In the law of Moyses we are expresly forbidden to make grauen images to worship them but the church of Rome interpreteth these words so galantly that men may both make grauen images and worship them our sauior Christ saith bibitē ex hoc omnes but the Romanistes turne it contrary and will haue no communicantes to drinke of the Lords cuppe but the priest onely argument 5 In time past o Dist 15. c. sancta Romana Christians were forbidden to read the legends of Quiricus Iulitta and George the 8. books of Clement the acts of Tecla and Paul the booke of the assumption of the virgine Mary and such like The acts also of Siluestre bishop of Rome and writings concerning the inuention of the holy crosse and of the head of Saint Iohn Baptist were doubted of but now these legends for the most part are the grounds of Romish traditions which the church of Rome placeth in equall ranke with holy canonicall scriptures is it not then apparent that the very grounds of Romish traditions are laid vpon fables and of late inuention argument 6 The foundation of the ancient apostolicke faith was laid vpon the scriptures as is euident for that the city and church of God is built vpon the prophets and apostles Christ Iesus being the corner stone p Lib. 3. aduers haeres c. 1. Ieremy saith that the apostles first preached the gospell and afterward by the will of God deliuered the same in scriptures that they might be a foundation and piller of our faith but now Bellar. teachech vs that the pope is the foundation of the church and Stapleton doubteth not to q De doctr princip in praefat say that the pope is the chiefe subiect of ecclesiasticall authority and r Cancanonicis dist 19. Gratian like a shamelesse fellow vnder the name of Saint Augustine doubteth not to recken the popes decretale epistles among the canonicall scriptures argument 7 Stapleton
grant that any is saued iumbling catholike and Romane together as appeareth by the confession of the Iebusites of Burdeaux by Canisius Catechisme translated into Spanish by Hierome Campos Bristowes 12. motiue in the margent the cardinall of Cusa epist 5. ad Bohemos Cochlaeus hist Hussit lib. 11. argument 15 The papists also to fit their new fantasies haue coined a new definition of the church h De eccles milit c. 2. Bellarmine defineth the church to be a company of men conioined in one profession of faith and communion of sacraments vnder the gouernment of lawful pastors and especially of the bishop of Rome which definition is neither to be shewed in any authenticall writer nor prooued by any good argument for neither is it sufficient to professe the faith outwardly and to communicate in sacraments and to liue in subiection vnder lawfull pastors to make a man a true member of the catholike church nor can it be shewed that all christians haue euer liued in subiection of Romish bishops not that for that most wicked persons and atheists and heretikes may make an externall profession of their faith and receiue the sacraments as did Iudas and liue in outward subiection to their pastors which notwithstanding the ancient fathers doe not acknowledge to be true members of the church not this for the Easterne and Africane churches in time past were neuer gouerned by the popes decretales If Robert Parsons thinke otherwise let him produce thrée or foure decretales of popes whereto these churches yéelded obedience argument 16 The ancient fathers beléeued that the catholike church is a communion of saints and a multitude of true beléeuers the first is proued by an article of our creed and so proued that it may appeare that the fathers accounted no licentious liuers true members of the church Non ideo putandi sunt mali saith S. i Lib. 2. contr lit petil c. vlt. Augustine esse in Christi corpore quod est ecclesia quia sacramentorum eius corporaliter participes sunt the second is proued for that faith is the life of Christans Ecclesia est domus Dei saith k In Psal 51. Hilary omnes euangelicae fidei sectatores likewise l Lib. 1. de sacrament Ambrose saith that the first thing that is required in a Christian is faith and both these points I haue at large prooued against m Lib. de eccles part uat sedec 6. 7. Bellarmine but the papists if any credit be to be giuen to n Lib. de eccles miâ—it c. 2. Bellarmine do hold that a man may be a part and true member of the true church albeit he haue neither faith nor charitie nor any inward vertue so that by his confession the Romish church may consist of infidels atheists sodomites and abominable persons argument 17 The ancient church was wont to reuerence the apostles canons but the late Romish church doth not much regard them as is apparent by the the 5.9 and 31. canons which are not now obserued Ex 84. apostolicis canonibus saith o Lib. 5. de sacror hom continent c. 105. Michael Medina quos Clemens Romanus pontifex eorundem apostolorum discipulus in vnum coegit vix sex aut octo Latina ecclesia nunc obseruat likewise Martin Perez de tradit part 3. c. de autorit can apost saith that many things are conteined in the apostles canons which through the corruptions of times are not fully obserued argument 18 The ancient church neuer vsed to confesse their sinnes to angels saints and to the virgine Mary neither were Christians inioined in time past to say Confiteor Deo omnipotenti beatae Mariae semper virgini beato Michaeli archangelo beato Ioanni Baptistae sanctis apostolis Petro Paulo omnibúsque sanctis as the papists say in euery masse nay in ancient p In missa Jacobi Marci Basilij Chrysostomi missals this forme is not found argument 19 Neither did the priests clerke in ancient time giue absolution to the priest as it is in the missale of Rome nor say Misereatur tui omnipotens Deus dimissis omnibus peccatis tuis perducat te ad vitam aeternam for that is nothing els but to giue the keies to boies and preferre the scholar before the master argument 20 The confession of faith also set out by q Bulla Pij 4. super forma profess fidei Pius the fourth wherein all that take degrées in schooles or take charge of soules professe that they beleeue and admit ecclesiasticall traditions and constitutions and the scriptures according to the Romish sense the seuen sacraments and the doctrine of the councell of Trent concerning originall sinne iustice of works the sacrifice of the masse transubstantiation and other points there established is new and no where to be prooued out of the ancient fathers of the church argument 21 In the rehersall of the tenne commandements the ancient fathers neuer vsed to leaue out that commandement that concerneth the making of grauen images like to God and the worshipping of them But the Romish church knowing it selfe guilty of the breach of this commandement in their litle catechismes put before the office of the blessed virgine and diuers other r Catechism de Hieronymode campos bookes doe leaue the same quite out argument 22 In ancient time Christians beléeued that all was sinne that was contrary to the commandements of God for so they collected of the words of the law that pronounced all accursed Å¿ Deut. 27. Galat. 3. that did not abide in all things t 1. Iohn 5. that are written in the booke of the law to doe them and Saint Iohn saith expresly that all vnrighteousnesse is sinne and if it were not so then were the law of God a most imperfect and vncertaine rule but the u Consur colon f. 46. papists of late time affirme that all that is repugnant to the law is not sinne and that concupiscence is not sinne in the regenerate and finally that it is no sinne not to loue God withall our hart and all our soule argument 23 Ancient Christians beléeued that concupiscence euen in the regenerate is sinne for that is prohibited by the law of God that saith thou shalt not couet the apostle also doth call concupiscence in himselfe being now regenerate sinne and necessarily it must be so séeing we are by the x Deut. 6. law of God bound to loue God withall our hart all our soule all our strength Saint Hierome y In Amos 1. saith that it is sinne to thinke things that are euill and Saint z Lib. 2. contr Faust Manich. c. 27. Augustine teacheth vs that whatsoeuer is desired or coueted against the law is sinne but the late conuenticle of Trent decréeth that concupiscence in the regenerate is no sinne argument 24 The apostle Iames teacheth that we doe all of vs sinne and that in diuers things and Saint Iohn saith that he
tu nos ab hoste protege hora mortis suscipe argument 72 Neither did Christians in olde time chant such Letanies as now are vsuall in the Romish missals and breuiaries saying Sancte Michael sancte Gabriel sancte Raphael nor sancta Maria Magdalena sancta Agnes sancta Agatha nor omnes sancti sanctae intercedite pro nobis argument 73 In ancient f Vid. ordinem Rom. missals the praier memento for the dead is not in the canon the ancient fathers did neuer vse such a form argument 74 In ancient time it would haue bene thought very strange to pray in a tongue not vnderstood especially when the apostle g 1. Cor. 14. teacheth vs that it profiteth nothing argument 75 The psalter of our lady and her peculier offices are not to be iustified by ancient precedents argument 76 If any had bene taken praying to a stocke or stone he would haue bene condemned for an idolater but now papists commonly pray to images of wood and stone and to the crosse they say auge pijs iustitiam reisque dona veniam which although it may be thought sottish and sencelesse yet will they not haue it counted idolatrous argument 77 Christ forbadde vs to vse battologies or often repetitions in our praiers but the papists neither regarding his doctrine nor the practise of the ancient church in their psalter of Iesu repeat the name of Iesu infinit times they reherse also infinit Aue Mariaes and Pater Nosters argument 78 In the Missale of Salsbury the priest saith to the sacrament Aue. he boweth also to it contrary to the ancient churches practise argument 79 The Rosaries and beades of our lady containing 63. Aue Mariaes and 7. Pater Nosters which are now much reckoned of in Spaine and Italy as appeareth by the manuall of Geronymo Campos are but new tricks of late popes and superstitious priests to catch mony argument 80 In time past Christians were wont to entombe holy martyrs and to call vpon God at their tombes and monuments But of late time the blinde papists haue digged the saints out of their graues and thinke it religion to call vpon them and to kisse rotten bones and ragges yea sometimes which belong not to the saints to whome they are attributed argument 81 The papists also worship wicked men as George of Cappadocia an Arrian hereticke Thomas Becket an impure fellow and a traitor to his country h La fulminante Ieames Clement the murderer of his liege soueraine Campian and Sherwin and such as died in England for notorious treasons argument 82 Neither are they ashamed to call the sacrament their lord and god as appeareth by the words of Alane in his treatise de sacrific euchar c. 41. and Bristow in his 26. motiue which they cannot iustifie by testimony of antiquity argument 83 They also worship the sacrament with diuine honour as if God and the sacrament were one person the priest after consecration doth adore it as it is in the rubrike of the i Missal Rom. missal and boweth his knee vnto it they hang the sacrament vpon the altar with light before it and cary it about with lightes and bells and great solemnity all which Robert Parsons will not proue to be practised by the ancient church of Christ nay when he goeth about it he shall finde that the principall authors of this idolatry were Honorius the 3. Vrbane the 4. and Clement the fift men of late time and leud stampe argument 84 To the crosse they say ô crux aue spes vnica and venite adoremus as is proued by the Romish portesse sabbat in hebd 4. quadrages and booke of ceremonies and pontificall in die parasc neither are they ashamed to confesse that latria or diuine worship is due to the crosse albeit all antiquity abhorred such grosse idolatry argument 85 They worship the images of god the father of god the sonne and god the holy ghost and the whole trinity with latria or diuine worship as may be gathered by their practise by the decrée of the conuenticle of Trent the 25. session by the testimony of Suares in 3. part Thom. tom 1. disp 54. sect 4. and of vellosillus in aduertent in 5. tom Hieronym ad 10. quae sit which the ancient fathers neuer did nay the idolatrous second councell of Nice allowed not this supreme worship of Latria to be due to any images argument 86 Gregory the first in a certaine epistle to Serenus declareth that albeit images are not to be broken downe and vtterly abolished out of churches yet they are not to be worshipped Epiphanius vtterly condemneth the hauing of them in churches and to that effect the councell of Eliberis in Spaine made a solemne k Can. 36 act Placuit say the fathers of that councell picturas in ecclesia esse non debere ne quod colitur aut adoratur in parietibus depingatur but now the papists not onely place them in churches but also adore them and worship them argument 87 Antiquity neuer burnt incense to images nor kissed them nor bowed downe to them nor said their praiers before them for that is repugnant to the second commandement and is derogatory to Gods honor but the papists now doe all this and thinke it piously doone also argument 87 In ancient time Christians serued God in spirit and trueth according to the saying of our sauiour Iohn 4. but the religion of papists consisteth in eating of redde herrings and salt fish in abstinence from flesh and white meats in knocking knéeling greasing shauing washing ducking crouching crossing and such like outward ceremonies argument 88 The ancient fathers did neuer take the bishop of Rome to be head or foundation of the church for well they remembred that our Sauiour Christ is the head of the church and Sauiour of his body and l 1. Cor. 3. that no man can lay other foundation then that which is laid which is Christ Iesus and that the church is built vpon the apostles and prophets Christ Iesus being the corner stone but vpon apostles and prophets because they preach vnto vs Christ Iesus but the papists now teach that the pope is both the foundation and the head of the church for that doth Bellarmine teach in his preface before his bookes de Pontifice Rom. and in the second booke chap. 31. of that treatise neither doe I thinke that any papists will denie it argument 89 Neither did they call the pope in ancient time the spouse of the church for that doeth onely belong to Christ adiunxi vos vni viro saith the apostle 2. Corinth 10. ad exhibendam virginem castam Christo but the papists m C. vbi periculum de elect in sexto doe not sticke to call the pope the spouse of the church and Bellarmine of his liberalitie doeth giue the pope that title lib. 2. de Pontif. Rom. c. 31. and the pope like a good fellow taketh the same to himselfe c. quoniam de
relect princip doctrin man intreating of the sure grounds and principles of Christian religion doeth leaue the scriptures quite out of the reckoning but Athanasius in Synopsi doth call the canonicall Scriptures the anchor and stay of our faith a Lib. 3. aduers haeres c. 1. Irenaeus saith that the apostles first preached and afterward deliuered the Gospell in Scriptures that they might be a foundation and pillar of our faith the church saith b Homil. 6. in Matth. Chrysostome is Hierusalem whose foundations are placed vpon the mountaines of the scriptures and with them doe consent all true catholikes condemning the error of the papists falsely called catholikes argument 5 The papists call the scriptures a killing letter as appeareth by the Remish annotations vpon the 3. chap. of the 2. epistle to the Corinthians as if God had deliuered his will in writing to the entent to kill them that read them they c Annot. Rhemens in Ioan. c. 5. slander them also as if they were darke and hard to be vnderstood finally they disgrace them d Ibidem in c. 4. Matth. saying that the diuell and heretikes alledge scriptures others call them a nose of waxe Inken diuinitie and matter of strife and contention and condemne the reading of scriptures as pernicious and hurtfull but true catholikes had alwaies a reuerent regard of holy scriptures as the grounds of faith and directions of holy life e Lib. 3. aduers hares c 2. Irenaeus saith that it is the property of heretikes when they are conuinced by scriptures to fall into dislike of them and to accuse them the papists therefore in this point are rather heretikes then catholikes argument 6 The papists among canonicall scriptures reckon the decretales of popes inter canonicas scripturas decretales epistòlae connumerantur saith the rubrike dist 19. c. in canonicis and this Gratian goeth about to prooue by a place of saint Augustine which he there falsifieth this also séemeth by Gregory the 13. to be approoued in his edition of the canon law neither doe I thinke that any papist will deny that the popes decretales in matters of faith are to be receiued of all men but ancient catholikes neuer had the decretals in this estimation nor thought them to be canonicall scriptures or grounds of faith or infallible as the papists call them nay Thomas Aquinas albeit no catholike f 2. 2. q. 1. art 1. confesseth that the ground of Christian faith is the first trueth or God himselfe and not onely Cyprian tooke exceptions against Cornelius Ireney against Victor the councell of Carthage against Sozimus but also diuers catholikes against the decretales of diuers popes argument 7 The conuenticle of g Sess 4. Trent vnto the canon of scriptures of the olde testament hath added not onely the books of Tobias Iudith Wisdome Ecclesiasticus and of the Machabeies but also such additions as are found in the olde latine translation albeit they be not found in the originall text and these they place in equall ranke and degrée with the books of the prophets and apostles which is contrary to the faith of the catholicke church as appeareth by the testimony of Hierome in his preface to the prouerbs of Salomon in his epistle to Paulinus and in his generall prologue before the bible which he calleth prologum galeatum of Athanasius in synopsi of Epiphanius in his booke of waightes and measures of Melito of the councell of Laodicea can 59. of the canons of the apostles can 84. and diuers others neither is it materiall that Augustine lib. 2. de doctr christ c. 8. and a certaine councell of Carthage doe reckon the books of Tobias Iudith Wisedome Ecclesiasticus and the Machabeies among the canonicall scriptures for by canonicall scriptures they vnderstand such books as by order of the church were read publickely and commonly ioined together in one booke and were rather for some part a canon and rule of maners then of faith for that may be gathered out of the words of Saint Augustine and the councell that speake rather of the books as they were read then as they were authenticall Ruffine speaking of these books saith legi voluerunt in ecclesiis non tamen proferri ad authoritatem fidei ex his confirmandam Augustine also lib. de ciuit dei 18. c. 36. speaking properly of canonicall scriptures excludeth the books of the Machabeies though some churches receiue them for canonicall Athanasius in Synopsi accounteth the 3. and 4. of Esdras as canonicall as these books and Sixtus senensis doth not accounpt them equall to the rest of canonicall scriptures finally no one catholicke writer can be produced that alloweth the fragments and additions that in the olde latine interpreter are added to the originall text to be canonicall scripture are the papists then catholicks that haue no catholicke grounds of their faith argument 8 Papists allow no interpretations of scriptures against that sense which the church of Rome holdeth contra eum sensum h Concil Trid. sess 4. quem tenuit tenet sancta mater ecclesia but true catholicks neuer allowed such senses and interpretations as the church of Rome doth make as for example the church of Rome beléeueth that Christ when he said to Peter pasce oues meas gaue power to the pope to depose princes Againe where God saith to Hieremy chap. 1. ecce constitui te hodie super gentes regna Boniface the 8. concludeth that the pope hath power to iudge all earthly princes and these words ecce duo gladij hic he k C. vnam sanctam de maior obed expoundeth so as if the pope had two swords giuen to him the words deus fecit duo magna luminaria the pope interpreteth so as if the pope were meant by thy sonne and the emperor by the moone and as if the pope did so farre excell the emperor as the sonne is greater then the moone bibite ex hoc omnes they expound thus drinke not all of this and these words scrutamini scripturas they interpret as if lay men might not search the scriptures without license of the inquisitors infinit such like interpretations the church of Rome hath deuised but all contrary to the expositions of the fathers and the catholicke church argument 9 The conuenticle of Trent doth adiudge the old vulgar latin translation of the bible to be authenticall and preferreth it before the originall text but catholicks haue alwaies preferred the originall text before the latin translation Saint l In Epist ad Suniam Fretel ad Damasum Hierome saith that in the olde testament in matters of doubt concerning the translation we must haue recourse to the Hebrew as to the fountaine and in the new to the Greeke ad exemplaria Hebrea Graeca à latinis recurratur saith m Lib. 2. de doctr Chr. c. 10. Augustine Hilary also writing vpon the 118. psalme confesseth that the latin translation cannot satisfie the reader
fathers how downe to grauen images or worship them the i Exod. 20. commandement of God is direct against such images thou shalt not make to thy selfe any grauen image c. thou shalt not bow downe vnto it nor worship it k Lib. 2. institut c. 19. Lactantius saith that there is no religion where grauen images are religio nulla est vbîcunque simulachrum est The papists therefore that make the images of God and worship them are no catholicks nor haue any good religion neither can it auaile them that they say they worship not the matter of the image for so did the gentils answere in excuse of their idolatry as testifieth l Institut lib. 2. c. 2. Lactantius argument 22 True catholicks beléeue that by the law we know sinne and that m 1. Iohn 5. all vnrighteousnesse is sinne and thirdly that n Deut. 27. Galat. 3. he is accursed that abideth not in all things that are written in the booke of the law to doe them if then the papists teach that all is not sinne that is repugnant to Gods law as the Iebusits doe in the censure of Coleine fol. 26. and as others doe that it is not sinne in this world not to loue God withall our heart and all our soule which is commanded by the law of God then are they no catholicks argument 23 Catholicks holde that we haue but one lawgiuer and iudge that is able to destroy and to saue vnus est legislator index saith Saint o Iacob 4. Iames qui potest perdere liberare that the transgression of the popes lawes is sufficient to condemn vs and the obseruance of them to iustifie vs as papists holde was neuer generally taught or holden argument 24 Catholicks holde that Gods law is perfect and that nothing is sinne but that which is repugnant to the law of God but papists beléeue that it is sinne not onely to neglect the precepts of the church as they are called but also the lawes and decretales of popes as appeareth by the enchiridion of Nauarrus and other books of cases of conscience argument 25 The law of God p Exod. 20. saith directly Thou shalt not couet and catholikes doe expound this law so that it bindeth the regenerat aswel as the vnregenerat as appeareth by the words of the apostle Rom. 7. I should not haue knowen sinne saith he but by the law for I knew not concupiscence but because the law said Thou shalt not couet and this sinne he confesseth to be mortall Who saith he shall deliuer me from the body of this death S. q Lib. 2. contr Faustum Manich c. 27. Augustine also teacheth that whatsoeuer is desired or coueted against the law is sinne and very absurd it is to surmise that baptisme should sanctifie concupiscence and of sinne in the vnregenerate to make no sinne The conuenticle of Trent therefore that r Sess 5. determineth that concupiscence in the regenerate is not sinne and all adherents vnto it are no catholikes argument 26 The scriptures teach vs that euen the iust man falleth seuen times a day and as the apostle saint Iames saith that we offend all in many things our Sauiour Christ taught his apostles to pray for remission of sinnes and to confesse when they had done all they could that they were notwithstanding vnprofitable seruants so likewise teach catholike fathers Saint ſ Lib. 1. aduers Pelag. Hierome saith that then we are iust when we confesse our sinnes and saint t De spirit lit Augustine signifieth that in the frailtie of this life we can not perfectly performe Gods law we shall then saith he performe the law of God with all our soule and all our heart and loue our neighbour as our selfe when we shal see God face to face the papists therefore that teach first that the regenerate are able to performe the law of God perfectly and secondly that they are also able to performe more then is commanded and to doe works of supererogation are no catholikes nor shall they euer be able to prooue that this doctrine of theirs was generally holden by the fathers and by all Christians or by any man of note argument 27 The apostle teacheth vs that the law is the minister of death and u Lib. 3. aduers haeres c. 20. Irenaeus affirmeth that the law being spirituall doth onely manifest sinne and not kill it the papists therefore that hold that all our life and saluation doeth consist in the law as appeareth by the censure of Coleyn are no catholikes argument 28 The councell of x Sess 6. c. 10. Trent condemneth those that say they are iustified formally by Christes iustice and their meaning is that we are formally iustified by charity and by the works of the law but the catholike church teacheth vs farre otherwise no flesh faith the y Galat. 2. apostle is iustified by the works of the law he denieth also that z Rom. 4. Abraham was iustified by the works of the law and saint a Lib. 1. aduers Pelag. Hierome saith that our iustice doeth not consist in our merits but in the mercy of God this also is prooued by an inuincible reason for that none are iustified by the law but such as performe the law and are not to be accused of sinne by the law but if our aduersaries will say that all that shall be saued are such they will bring the number of them into a small compasse for as b De inter pellat Dauid Ambrose saith Dauid doeth acknowledge his sinne and Paule doeth acknowledge himselfe guiltie who is then innocent argument 29 The apostle c Rom. 5. teacheth vs that through the offence of one all men were subiect to condemnation and that is the doctrine of all catholikes but the d Bellar. lib. 4. de amissi grat c. 15. papists exempt the holy virgine Mary from originall sinne as appeareth by the determination of Sixtus 4. and conuenticles of Trent doctrine sess 5. some of them also hold that the prophet Heremy and saint Iohn Baptist were sanctified from this sinne and so borne without originall sinne at the least argument 30 Catholikes hold that original sinne is a great sinne as infecting all by ordinary course descending from Adam excluding them out of the kingdome of heauen and which could not be purged but by Christes passion but the papists hold that it is the least of all sinnes as hauing the least force of our fréewill and that it deserueth not sensible paines in hell which in effect is as much as if they should deny that all men sinned originally in Adam or néeded to be saued from sensible paines by Christ argument 31 The e Th. Aquin. dd in 2. sent dist 33. Bellar de amis grat lib. 6. c. 4. papists also teach that children departing without baptisme and with originall sinne onely shall not be punished with hell fire nor with sensible
the law the prophet also doeth shew that our righteousnesse is like a defiled cloth of an vncleane woman neither can this distinction of first and second iustice or that wicked doctrine that followeth of it be found in all the fathers argument 41 In the sacraments also most fouly they haue digressed from the catholicke saith y Apolog. ad Antonin Iustin Martyr where he hath occasion to describe the sacraments and rites of the first church doth onely mention two sacraments this number also may be prooued by the testimony of Ireney Dionysius Tertullian lib. 1. 4. contr Marcionem Ambroses books of sacraments Cyrilles catechisticall instructions and all the fathers that in no place mention 7. sacraments nor compare any rite or sacrament to baptisme and the Lords supper Pauca pro multis saith z Lib. 3. de doctr Christ c. 9. Augustine eademque factu facillima intellectu augustissima conseruatione castissima ipse dominus apostolica tradidit disciplina sicut est baptismi sacramentum celebratio corporis sanguinis domini and this may be proued also by the weake dispute of Bellarmine for his 7. sacraments who is not able to bring either good argument or testimony for his opinion argument 42 The councell of a Sess 6. c. 1. Trent doth anathematize all that hold that the 7. sacraments of the Romish church were not all instituted by Christ Iesus or that there are either more or lesse then iust 7 which doctrine if Robert Parsons can proue to be catholicke let him take a cardinals hat which he hath so long desired for his labour his friends doe much doubt of his good successe in this matter for they finde that matrimony was instituted in paradise and that repentance hath alwaies béene in the church priesthood was either established by the law of Moyses or else then by lawes and rites adorned confirmation and extreme vnction were neither instituted by Christ nor déemed necessary or ordinany rites by the church as the silence of fathers that speake of the sacraments of the church may teach vs. argument 43 In the sacrament of baptisme the papists vse exorcismes blowings salt spitle hallowed water anointings light and diuers ceremonies neither vsed by the apostles nor practised by the ancient church now in the b C. Benedict fontis missales they pray that the font may be sanctified and made fruitfull with the oile of saluation to those that shall be regenerate by it to life then the priest powreth in oile and chrisme in forme of the crosse they also sprincle all the assistants with holy water out of the font and none of all these ceremonies they c Sess 7. c. 13. concil Trid. say may be omitted without sinne if then Robert Parsons cannot proue these ceremonies to haue bene either ancient or generally vsed he cannot deny but the papists are no catholicks argument 44 They denounce them acursed that shall not hold baptisme to be necessary to saluation which curse and doctrine cannot be sound in ancient catholicke fathers nay we read in ancient writers that not the want but the contempt of baptisme condemneth and the d Bellar. lib. 1. de baptis c. 6. papists to mollifie this hard sentence haue found diuers meanes to supply baptisme argument 45 They dissolue mariage contracted by entring into monkish religion although both the parties consent not and after mariage consummated they holde that maried couples may depart asunder and that it shall not be lawfull for them afterward as man and wife to company together which doctrine is neither catholicke nor true for e Matth. 19. what man can seperate them whom God hath ioined together againe what reason haue maried couples kéeping asunder for exercise of deuotion not to come together againe séeing the apostle commandeth such to returne and cohabite together least Satan should tempt them Iterum f 1. Cor. 7. saith he reuertimini in idipsum ne tentet vos Satanas argument 46 They seperate also mariages for spirituall kinred and force priests monks and friers to forsweare mariage yet can they not shew that catholicke religion forbiddeth spirituall gossips to entermary nor that monkish vowes and abiurations of mariages haue bene allowed in the ancient church and by catholicke doctors nay where God g Leuit. 18. appointeth limits and degrées within which it is not lawfull to marry there is no signification that spirituall gossips are forbidden to entermarry and the apostle signifieth that mariage is honorable among all sorts of men and the bed of maried folks vndefiled happie were popish priests and votaries if they were able to say that their beds and bodies were vndefiled argument 47 They beléeue that penance standeth vpon contrition confession and satisfaction and that these thrée are the parts of it and yet themselues say that absolution is the forme of penance and that confession is not alwaies necessary the catholicke church certes did neuer thinke either auricular confession or publicke satisfaction inioined by priests to be required necessarily in repentance argument 48 They h Sess 14. concil Trid. pronounce him anathema that beléeueth not that penance is properly a sacrament of the new law or that denieth auricular confession in the priests eares to haue béene instituted by Christ in the new testament and yet are they not able to shew that any catholike father saith that our Sauiour Christ in the new testament did institute the act of repentance nor can they denie that the people of God vnder the law vsed to repent themselues of their sinnes nor can they shew any place where Christians were commanded to confesse their sinnes to the priest and were otherwise excluded from all hope of pardon nay they cannot shew that any was tied to confession in the Romish church before Innocents decretale beginning omnis vtriusque sexus de poenit remiss and in the Gréeke church there was neuer any such course established as for the power which monkes and friers claim in hearing of confessions that dependeth wholly vpon the popes grant beneuolence and authority argument 49 They i Concil Trid. sess 13. c. 1. teach that our Sauiour Christes body that was borne of the virgine Mary and crucified on the crosse is properly and substantially present vnder the accidents of bread and likewise that his blood is conteined really and properly vnder the accidents of wine as may be séene in the acts of the conuenticle of Trent but true catholikes beléeue that his body is k Mâ—… vlt. act 1. taken vp into heauen and that concerning his bodily presence he hath left the earth and that his blood is in the veines of his body and not properly shedde foorth in the chalice further they know that when we are commanded to eat Christes flesh and to drinke his blood we are to vnderstand it and to doe it spiritually and not carnally as doe the Canibales and that Christ when he said this is my
owne sinnes much lesse for the sinnes of others n Bellar. lib. 1. de indulgent papists beléeue that a mans sufferings may be so great as they may serue for his own and other mens sinnes and are laid vp in a treasury whereof the pope hath the dispensation argument 74 Catholicks neuer beleeued that there are 7. orders and euery one of these a sacrament and yet all but one sacrament for that is as much as if a man should deny one and one to make two yet papists beléeue this o Sess 23. concil Trid. and accurse them that shall say contrary argument 75 Catholikes doe not beléeue that Christ ordeined seuen orders in the church or that exorcistes doore-kéepers and subdeacons were instituted by him or that they are a holy sacrament the papists notwithstanding doe hold contrary or at the least the contrary may be gathered out of their doctrine argument 76 Catholikes doe not deny but that second mariages are as well to be blessed as first mariages why then doe papists obserue and teach the contrary if they will be accounted catholikes argument 77 Catholikes doe not beléeue that by almes and fasting they are either iustified or able to satisfie for their sinnes but papistes as appeareth by Bellarmines disputes holde contrarie argument 78 Catholikes did neuer tie themselues to beléeue whatsoeuer the church of Rome or the pope determined for not onely the Asian churches dissented from Victor and the African churches from Sozimus but long since all haue left the popes that would not be oppressed by them Saint p Lib. de sacrament Ambrose sheweth that he was not bound to follow the church of Romes direction in all ceremonies but papists are tied to Peters chaire as they séeme to confesse by Pius 4. his constitution are bound to beleeue all things conteined in the Creed which the church of Rome vseth seruilly also they submit themselues for the most part to the decrées of the counsell of Trent argument 79 Catholikes doe not condemne all for heretikes that either teach or thinke otherwise of the sacrament of the altar or of confession of sinnes or other Romish sacraments then the church of Rome for concerning the Lords supper I haue q Lib. de missa papist cont Bellar. shewed that al antiquity is against the Romanistes and the rest shall be prooued as occasion serueth but papists condemne all that dissent from the church of Rome in the points aboue mentioned argument 80 Catholiks beléeue the catholike church but the papists only beléeue the catholike Romane church that is so much of the Catholike church as agréeth with the Romanists for so the Iebusites of Bordeaux in their confession doe signifie and the same is prooued by Bristowes 12. motiue the 5. epistle of cardinall Cusanus to the Bohemians and Sanders in his fift booke of his visible monarchy r Lib. 2 de eccles milit Bellarmine also admitteth none to be of the church but such as are subiect to the pope and that is Boniface the eight his determination c. vnam sanctam extr de maior obedientia argument 81 Catholikes are the shéepe of Christ and therefore kill none especially none of Christs shéepe but papists like woolues murder all that like not of the popes gouernment and doctrine argument 82 Catholikes are a society of saints and true beléeuers as S. Augustine sheweth lib. de ver relig c. 6. 7. but to be a true member of the popish church neither faith nor holinesse nor inward vertue is required as saith Bellarmine lib. de eccles milit c. 2. but onely an outward profession and obedience argument 83 Catholikes neuer beléeued that the pope of Rome was by Christ made his vicar generall or the spouse or the monarke or head of the church ſ De pontif Rom. lib. 2. c. 31. Bellarmine albeit he searcheth all corners yet cannot finde that any catholike writer had any such conceit is it not then apparent that the pope is a plaine intruder into ecclesiasticall gouernment and that the papists holding with him haue forsaken the catholike doctrine of the church argument 84 In ancient time the bishops of Rome were subiect to councels and at their entrance into their bishopricks professed and acknowledged their canons as appeareth by the chapters sancta Romana ecclesia and sicut sancti dist 15. but now papists will haue them to be aboue councels argument 85 In times past the bishops of Rome were subiect to emperors as appeareth by the lawes of Iustinian and diuers other emperors before him which are to be séene in the code vnder the titles de summa trinit fid cath de episc audient authent de ordinat episcop but now contrary to the old forme of gouernment of the church papists exclude the emperour and giue all authority to the pope t Sic omne dist 19. Agatho determines that all the decrees of the apostolike see are to be receiued as if they had beene established by the voice of Peter argument 86 Saint Cyprian teacheth that the apostles had all equall power and that is prooued for that they had like calling and u Luk. 9. Matth. 28. Iohn 20. like commission and for that the church was equally founded vpon them all but papists beleeue that Peter was head and monarke of the church x Summa de ecclesia and that the rest of the apostles were to him as the cardinals are to the pope for so Turrecremata a cardinall séemeth to holde argument 87 Among catholiks Christian emperors were alwaies wont to assemble generall councels as appeareth by the first foure generall councels of Nice Constantinople Ephesus the 1. Chalcedon and diuers others and that the cardinall of Cusa and Anastasius the popes principall agent in his library confesse ex superioribus habetur saith y De Concord Cath. li. 3. c. 13. Cusanus imperatores sanctos congregationes synodales vniuersalium conciliorum semper fecisse ita ego perlustrans gesta omnium vniuersalium conciliorum vsque ad octauum inclusiuè Basilij tempore celebratum verum esse reperi z Ibid. Anastasius also affirmeth vniuersales synodos de omni terra imperatores colligere solitos fuisse but to the papists this catholike forme of assembling councels is much displeasing argument 88 Our Sauiour Christ committed the gouernment of the church to his apostles and a Ephes 4. ascending vp on hie gaue some apostles some prophets some euangelists some pastors and teachers and these he thought to be sufficient for the gouernment and building vp of the church and gathering together the saints and worke of the ministery and he is no catholike that thinketh contrary the hierarchy therefore of the church of Rome where we sée a triple crowned pope a multitude of carnall cardinals a heard of fat abbots and generals of orders of friers and whole swarmes of monkes and friers is not catholike these friers a certeine popish b
apostles did not commit all things necessary to saluation to writing cum ex scripturis arguuntur saith e Aduers hares lib. 3. c. 2. Ireney in accusationem conuertuntur scripturarum quasi non rectè habeant neque sint ex authoritate quia varie sunt dictae quia non possit ex his inueniri veritas ab his qui nesciant traditionem norrenim per literas traditam illam sed per vinam vocem ob quam causam Paulum dixisse sapientiam loquimur inter perfectos Tertullian saith it is a tricke of heretikes either to falsifie or by false interpretations to peruert scriptures alius manu scripturas saith f De praescript aduers haeres he alius sensu expositiones interuertit he saith againe that hereticks cannot stand if they be brought to try their cause by scriptures aufer haereticis saith g De resurr caernis he quae cumque ethnici sapiunt vt de scripturis solis quaestiones suas sistant stare non possunt in these points therefore these two fathers haue stricken the papists albeit generally they speake of hereticks for first h Bellar. de verb. Dei non scripto they deny that the scriptures containe doctrine sufficient to saluation or that we can learne all trueth necessary out of them without their traditions secondly they speake euill of scriptures as before hath bene shewed thirdly they say that scriptures receiue authority from the church fourthly they accuse them of vncertenty Turrian aduers Sadeelem lib. 1. doth call them Delphicum gladium and others call them a nose of waxe fiftly they allow no sence but such as the synagogue of Rome authorizeth sixtly either Sixtus Quintus or Clement the 8. hath corrupted the scriptures for both pretending to set our the olde latine translation the one is in diuers places contrary to the other finally they will not haue the scriptures to decide controuersies about matters of faith argument 42 i Lib. 8. Orig. c de haeres Isidore doth declare them to be heretikes that doe otherwise vndeâ—stand the scriptures then the meaning of the holie Ghost requireth quicunque saith he aliter scripturam sacram intelligit quam sensus spiritus sancti flagitat a quo conscripta est licèt de ecclesia non recesserit tamen haereticus potest appellari if then we list to reade the popes decretales or the writings of the popish faction we need not doubt but they are tresgrand heretikes hauing so notoriously peruerted the Scriptures and turned them to sences neuer intended by the holy Ghost as for example these words of the k Isai 1. prophet à planta pedis vsque ad verticem non est in eo sanitas which he spoke of the people of Israel being then most sinfull Clement the sixt in the chap. vnigenitus extr de poenit remiss doeth turne to our Sauiour Christ as if our Sauiour had béene vnsound from the foot to the head or that the prophet had ment that our Sauiour had shed all his blood that the pope might make sale of the frute of it at his pleasure God by his prophet l Hierem. 1. saith I haue appointed thee ouer nations and kingdomes ergo saith m C. vnam sanctam ext de maior obed Boniface the 8. if earthly princes goe out of the way they must be iudged by the pope Againe out of these words of the apostle the spirituall man iudgeth all things he n Ibidem o Ibid. collecteth that the pope hath no superior iudge thirdly because Christ saith to Peter put vp thy sword into the sheath he concludeth that both Peter and his successors ought to haue a temporall sword fourthly of these words ecce duo gladij hic p Ibid. he inferreth that the pope is to command and exercise both the swords The q Isai 8 28. prophets and r Rom. 9. 1. Pet. 2. apostles by the corner stone placed in the foundation of the church doe vnderstand Christ Iesus but Bellarmine in his preface prefixed before his bookes de potifice Rom. draweth these words to the pope and forceth them to serue to make him to be a corner stone and a foundation also of the church he will also haue these words super hanc Petram aedificabo ecclesiam meam to be ment of the pope these words of our Sauiour drinke yee all of this the papists expound in such sort as if Christ had said drinke not all of this the words of our Sauiour to Peter when he said pasce oues meas they appropriate to the pope that féedeth not as if none were to féed but the pope The apostle saith mariage is honorable among all men yet will they not allow that mariage is honourable among nunnes and monks and friers and masse priests and the rest of the Romish clergy where our Sauiour Christ saith scrutamini scripturas they say contrary search not the scriptures the apostle saith they are profitable they Å¿ Index libror. prohibit regul 4 say they are pernicious our sauiour saith that those doe in vaine worship him that teach doctrines of men these doe teach humane traditions and yet doubt not but that God is well pleased with them The spirit of God commandeth that praiers be made for princes and willeth euery Christian man to submit himselfe to the magistrate and to higher powers but the papists doe so expound these words as if it were lawfull for the pope to curse Gods annointed to excommunicate kings and emperors to massacre them if they can to raise rebellion against them It were infinite to reherse all the false interpretations of Scriptures deuised by papists beside that in this place it is not necessarie séeing by these few which we haue alledged already it may in part appeare that neuer any heretikes alledged Scriptures more peruersly nor more direct contrarie to the meaning of the holy Ghost then they argument 43 As the t Damascene de haeres Herodians gaue the name and honour of Christ to Herode so the papists doe giue the names and honour of Christ to the pope allowing these words of Bernard to Eugenius vnctione Christus es they cal him the foundation rocke of the church the head and spouse of the church the monarke of the church and Christes vicar generall u In epist dedic ante princip doctrin Stapleton doth call him supremum numen in terris some teach that he and Christ haue but one consistory betwéene them x Lib. Caerem others saie that all power is giuen to the pope in heauen and earth which words our Sauiour Matth. 28. speaketh of himselfe if then the Herodians deserue for honouring Herod with Christs titles to be reputed heretikes who can cleare the papists from the note of heresie that farre more impudently and wickedly giue Christs honour to the pope argument 44 y De haeres c. beicetae Damascene numbreth those
be imperfectly and analogically argument 25 Saint Ambrose teacheth vs that to worship the crosse or crucifix is plaine idolatry and paganisme Inuenit Helena crucem domini saith h De qbitu Theodosi ◠he regem adorauit non lignum vtique quia hic Gentilis est error sed adorauit illum qui pependit in cruce he saith that Helene finding the crosse did adore her king that is Christ Iesus and not the wood because this is the error of the heathen idolaters he addeth also that she worshipped him that hung on the crosse i In epist ad Ioan. Hierosolym apud Hieron Epiphanius also sheweth that the image of Christ is not to be worshipped nor hung vp in churches for that he tore a vaile wherein such an image was figured and that contrary to scriptures as he saith inueni velum pendens in foribus eiusdem ecclesiae tinctum atque depictum habens imaginem quasi Christi saith Epiphanius and afterward cum hoc vidissem in ecclesia Christi contra authoritatem scripturarum hominis pendere imaginem scidi illud the papists therefore by the iudgement of Epiphanius place Christ his image in the church contrary to scriptures and like to the heathen idolaters worship the crosse giuing to it latria as to Christ Iesus himselfe argument 26 The worship also of angels which the papists practise is idolatrous for they pray vnto them k In litanijc saying sancte Michael sancte Gabriel sancte Raphael omnes angeli archangeli orate pro nobis they l In itinerario ad finem Breuiarij pray likewise to vnknowen angels they confesse their sinnes to them saying confite or beato Michaeli archangelo they set them out in imagery and bow to them and burne incense to them and kisse them finally they erect churches and altars and say masses in honour of angels all which to be idolatrous not onely the scriptures but also the fathers teach vs. non oportet Christianos say the fathers of the m Can. 35. councell of Laodicea derelicta ecclesia abire adangelos idolatriae abominandae congregationes facere Christians say they ought not to leaue the church of God and to assemble themselues idolatrously to worship angels they do also excommunicate such as worship angels as idolaters n In summa concil Laod. c. 35. ◠Carranza to wipe away this blot from the papists turneth angelos into angulos but Chrysostome and Theodoret in their commentaries and homilies vpon the epistle to the Colloss c. 2. 3. doe plainly shew that the councell condemned the worship of angels which they also condemne synodus quae conuenit Laodiceae saith Theodoret in epist ad Coloss c. 3. lege prohibuit ne precarentur angelos Nos non dico martyrum reliquias saith o In epist ad Riparium Hierome sed ne solem quidem Iunam non angelos non archangelos non cherubim non seraphim omne nomen quod nominatur in praesenti seculo in futuro colimus adoramus ne seruiamus creaturae potius quam creatori qui est benedictus in secula he saith p Haeres 79. that Christians do not worship or adore angels and signifieth that such worship is idolatrous as sauoring of seruice of creatures honoramus eos charitate saith saint Augustine lib. de ver relig c. 55. speaking of angels non seruitute nec eis templa construimus angelos adorari non vult that is God will not haue vs saith l Epiphanius to adore angels and againe angeli non capiunt talem glorificationem Augustine doeth therefore condemne the Angelikes as heretikes for that they worshipped angels Angelici saith he de haeres c. 39. in angelorum cultu inclinati argument 27 The papists worship the sacrament of the altar in the rubrike of the Romish misial after the words of consecration the priest is enioined to worship the sacrament hostiam consecratam genu flexo adorat likewise calicem genu flexo adorat the people also knocke their brests and adore it neither doe the papists deny but that the sacrament is to be adored latriae cultu that is with such worship as is due to God but the sacrament is a creature therefore they are plaine idolaters that worship it and this is prooued by the testimony of Epiphanius stultum est saith q Haeres 69. Epiphanius creaturam deificare reprobat autem primum praeceptum quod dicit dominum deum tuum adorabis ipsi soli cultum praestabis he saith it is a foolish thing to worship a creature as God and therefore prooueth that Christ is God and no creature because he is worshipped and for that the church doeth not worship a creature vnlesse therefore Christ be hypostatically and personally vnited to the sacrament those that worship the sacrament are idolaters as for those that worship vnconsecrated hostes the papists themselues deny not to be idolaters argument 28 They are also idolaters that worship the images and pictures of the virgine Mary of angels and saints departed this life the councell of Eliberis to auoid this idolatry r Can. 36. decréed picturas in ecclesijs esse non debere ne quod colitur aut adoratur in parietibus depingatur that is that pictures should not be in the church least any thing that is worshipped or adored should be painted on walles Non est dubium saith ſ Lib. 2. instit diuin c. 18. Lactantius quin religio nulla sit vbicunque simulachrum est nam si religio ex diuinis rebus est diuini autem nihil est nisi in caelestibus rebus carent ergo religione simulachra quia nihil potest esse coeleste in ea re quae fit ex terra he teacheth vs that there is no religion where images are worshipped as being earth and not sauoring of any heauenly or diuine quality or substance Inueni velum pendens in foribus eiusdem ecclesiae tinctum atque depictum saith t Ad Ioan. Hierosolym apud Hieronymous Epiphanius habens imaginem quasi Christi vel sancti non enim satis memini cuius imago fuerit cum ergo hoc vidissem in ecclesia Christi contra authoritatem scripturarum hominis pendere imaginem scidi illud and afterward Precor vt iubeas presbyteros eiusdem loci suscipere velum à latore quod à nobis missum est deinceps praecipere in ecclesia Christi istiusmodi vela quae contra religionem nostram veniunt non appendi he doth plainly shew that to place pictures images in churches is contrary to scriptures religion neither doth he only condemne heathen idoles but images in churches also Vnto this place our aduersaries answer that these words were not written by Epiphanius but soisted in by some other but in his booke against heresies he sheweth himselfe to be of the same opinion and doth strongly confirme that which is héere said Writing against the Collyridians haeres 79.
fathers of the Church nor that they were vsed in the forme the Romanists vse them Let him conclude if he list and then he shall see his error Further if he be obstinate let him proue that the fathers prayed in consecrating light In Missali in Sabbato saÌ„cto that diuelish fraud might be expulsed by it and while they halowed water that it might be effectuall to purge mens mindes and that they coniured water and salt as the Romanists doe praying ouer halowed water Vt fiat aqua exorcizata ad effugandam omnem potestatem inimici All which I trust he doth not beleeue that Caluin said or thought to be ancient Nazianzen sayth onely ne contemnas De sancto baptism or as our aduersaries translation hath ne despuas exorcismi curationem that is Despise not the helpe of exorcisme But that is nothing to other ceremonies about which wee contend neither out of these wordes can it be proued that exorcismes were vsed in the act of baptisme but rather otherwise when by extraordinarie grace diuels were driuen out of the possessed Rehearsing the wordes of Origen he doth curtall them He reporteth them thus Qui renascitur debet sale saliri Origens wordes stand thus Oportet eum ergo qui renascitur vtique in Christo renascentem rationabile sinceruÌ„ lac desiderare prius quam rationabile sine dolo lac desideret debet sale saliri pannorum inuolucris colligari ne dicatur ad eum sale non es salitus pannis non es inuolutus Where I would pray the Archpriest Blackwell to put on his spectacles see whether Owlyglasse hath not with his glasse eyes corrupted the place Against me this place of OrigeÌ„ maketh nothing for neither doth hee mention all the ceremonies which are in question nor doth he speake one worde of the popish formes of exorcismes nor doth he speake as it seemeth literally of salting but allegorically vnderstaÌ„ding true beleeuing Si credidero spiritui qui in Apostolo loquutus est sayth he Sale condior And if our aduersarie will needs vrge the litterall sense then must he needes confesse that men being baptized are to be lapped in clouts and to drâ—…ke milke For Origen speaketh of all these things alike Finally it is a very ridiculous poynt to thinke that euerie ceremonie spoken of by Origen was vseâ— throughout the vniuersall Church De sacrament lib. 1. cap. 1. Saint Ambrose sheweth that the priest vsed to touch the eares and nostrils of those that were baptized At the least he sayth so vnder whose name the bookes of sacraments that are among S. Ambroses workes do passe But that is nothing to the purpose vnlesse Owlyglasse will confesse that whosoeuer doth touch his nose doth spit in his face also which were a wonderfull and archpresbyterall interpretation He sendeth vs also to Petrus Chrysologus But if the man had saide any thing to the purpose I doubt not but hee would haue taken paines out of this golden fellow to fetch golde him selfe whereas now he deliuereth to his reader nothing but drosse Lib. 1. de Baptism ca. 25 Neither is Bellarmine able to affoord Owliglasse any helpe in this case For albeit he raketh into all authours good and bad yet can he alledge no sufficient testimonie out of antiquitie for the formes and ceremonies vsed by the Popish Priests Furthermore he cannot iustifie that the rites of baptisme that any one father speaketh of were generally receyued in all the Churches Finally the formes of celebrating baptisme described by ClemeÌ„t Dionysius Iustin Martyr Tertullian Cyprian Basil and other fathers do declare that no such formes were in ancient â—…me vsed as the rituall bookes now in practise in the Romish Church do prescribe I haue therefore sufficiently discharged my selfe of the accusation he would fasten vpon me Secondly Caluin doth not affirme any thing contrarie to my wordes For albeit he knew how ancient some of the ceremonies are which I denie to be vsed in the first Churches yet doth he not expresse howe ancient they are nor speake any thing of their seuerall formes nor confesse any other thing contrarie to my assertion To coÌ„clude this point the conuenticle of Trent affirmeth Sess 7 cap 13. that none of these Ceremonies which wee speake of can bee omitted without sinne Which doctrine I hope Owlyglasse will not confirme either out of the fathers or out of Caluin It is hee therefore and not I that hath committed this fault of lying vnlesse he haue somewhat else to alledge for himselfe Cap. 1. Sect. 2. That it is not vntruth to say that the doctrine of the Councell of Trent that denounceth men accursed that shall not hold baptisme to be necessarie to saluation is not Catholike MY aduersarie doth also challenge me Cap 2. pag. 12 because I affirme that the doctrine of the Councell of Trent that denounceth men accursed that shall not hold baptisme to bee necessarie to saluation is not Catholike And to iustifie his challenge he alledgeth for himselfe first S. Augustine lib. 3. de Orig. animae c. 9. Secondly the wordes of our booke of Common prayer And thirdly mine owne testimonie where I speake of the paines of originall sin And in the end he concludeth that if the want of baptisme sendeth infants into hel fire that it is necessary to saluatioÌ„ But al this tedious discourse is farre from the purpose For neither doth any father affirme that such are accursed that hold not baptisme to be necessarie to saluation which is the doctrine that I condemne as not Catholike nor can any such thing be gathered out of the wordes of the Common prayer booke or of any thing deliuered by mee How then durst this vaine fellowe charge me with vntruth being not able to alledge one argument to conuince mee or any Catholike Father to speake agaynst mee had hee not steeled his face and dulled his vnderstanding so that hee neyther shameth at any thing nor well vnderstandeth what he writeth Further this is contrarie to promise made in the beginning for there hee promised that he would put the Reader to no more labour then to open the bookes and view the places that should bee alledged And here hee argueth to his vttermost skill and yet proueth nothing But suppose I had indeede said that all that die without baptisme are not damned and had sayd that only and not aâ—ded any thing concerning the curse of the conuenticle of Trent as I did yet I hope this will not be proued to bee any vntruth For if Circumcision did resemble baptisme why should all infants especially borne of godly parents rather be damned dying before Baptisme then such as dyed before Circumcision Secondly I hope our aduersarie will not say that the theefe which confessed Christ on the crosse was damned albeit he died without Baptisme Nor is hée able to shew that he was baptized for that troubled Saint Augustine Lib. 3. de Orig. animae cap. 9. a man farre more learned then himselfe
and yet that could not resolue himselfe in this poynt Thirdly Ambrose doubted not but Valentinian was saued albeit he dyed without Baptisme De obitu Theodosâ— Fourthly our aduersaries say that there are three sortes of Baptismes viz. Of water of the holy Ghost and of bloud and Bellarmine confesseth that without Baptisme men may be saued Lib. 1. de baptismo cap. 6. martyâ—dome and the conuersion of the hart to God supplying the defect of Baptisme and it is a common saying that not the want but the contempt of Baptisme doth damne those that depart this life without Baptisme Finally the grouÌ„d of that opinion that condemneth al dying without baptisme is laid vpon these words Nisi quis renatus fuerit ex aqua spiritu sancto Iohn 3. non potest intâ—oire in regnum Dei And yet our Sauiour doth speake these wordes of Baptisme no otherwise then he vttereth these wordes in the sixt of Iohn Vnlesse ye eate the flesh of the Sonne of man and dâ—inke his bloud ye shall haue no life in you If then no interpreter that expoundeth these wordes of the Lordes Supper will thereupon conclude that no man can bee saued vnlesse he receiue the Lordes Supper then doe not the other words inferre necessitie of Baptisme Vnto S. Augustines wordes lib. 3. de anima cap. 9. I answere that hee speaketh of such as die in originall sinne and seeme to contemne Baptisme But diuerse may die without baptisme and yet not contemne it We say also in the administration of Baptisme that none is saued that is not regenerate But it is impious to tie Gods grace vnto Sacraments We doe also speake of the ordinarie externall meanes by which saluation is obtained But we exclude not extraordinarie courses I doe also confesse that infants dying in originall sinne are damned to hell fire But I hope no man will say that all that die before Baptisme albeit they much desired it and beleeued in Christ Iesus dyed in originall sinne But sayth Owlyglasse You say that children by Baptisme are receyued into the Arke of Christes Church psal 1â— But he was simple to conclude thereof that none is receyued into the Arke without Baptisme He sayth also that Lay men and women by the booke are permitted to Baptise but he should remember that it is shame for him to speake vntruth who taketh on him to controll others in that behalfe He concludeth finally Seeing the want of Baptisme doth send Infants to hell that Baptisme is necessarie to saluation But his consequent is weake and of no value For many die for want of knowledge and for want of small matters and not onely of Baptisme And yet God is not necessarily tyed to saue none but such as are baptized Sicke men also die for want of Physicke and yet is not physicke absolutely necessary In this place therfore the detector wandreth out of the way and yet effecteth nothing Sect. 3. That Catholikes vse not after the Popish maner to separate man wife vpon occasion of monastical vowes HIs third accusation is grounded vpoÌ„ these words They holde that by mutuall consent the maried couple may depart asunder and that it shall not be lawfull afterward to company together A matter not onely strange in the catholike church during the Apostles and their successors times for many hundred yeares but also contrary to Christes doctrine For what man can separate them whom God hath conioined but séeking to fasten an vntruth vpon me he committeth a grosse falsification himselfe for hee cutteth off my words in the beginning See the challenge pag. 20. and midst of the sentence â—umbling the rest together very ill fauoredly and marring the grace of my sentence with his lewde handling To helpe out the matter he alleadgeth other wordes of mine out of the 35. page where I say that this proceedeth from the newe forge of popish inuention But as before so in this place he maketh mee speake of one thing in the singular number where I speake of prohibition and dissoluing of marriages for spirituall kinred and dissoluing of marriages contracted and other matters in the plurall And hauing framed my wordes after his owne lewd fashion and curtalled them at his pleasure he chargeth me with a notable vntruth as he calleth it For sayth he there be testimonies and examples in the Primitiue Church of married folkes pag. 15. that with mutuall consent vowed perpetual chastity And to that purpose he alleadgeth Epiphanius Hierom the 2. councel of Arles S. Augustine But first he minceth the matter dare not say any thing directly contrary to that which I haue written For I say that married folks might not be so separated but that they might come together againe And he talketh of separation for a time Now that which I say is most true is proued first by our sauiours words Mat. 19. for as our sauior saith that which God hath ioined let not man separate Therefore marriage being instituted by God is not to be broken by the tradition of man Secondly the words of the Apostle 1. Cor. 7. are direct for me To those that are coÌ„ioyned in matrimony saith he not I command but the Lord that the wife depart not from her husband And if man and wife for a time depart he willeth theÌ„ to come together againe least the diuell tempt them Thirdly the practise of the church proueth that I haue said true Scelus est saith Chrysostome homil 63. in Math. 19. in duo diuidere vnam carneÌ„ sic et muliereÌ„ a suo viro diripere iniquissimum est So likewise saith Theophylact. Siâ—ut impiuÌ„ est suaÌ„ carnem diuidere ita et coniuges diuellere He sayth It is a wicked thing to separate married folks Fourthly reason sheweth that if mariage be a knot indiuisible that maried folks cannot be vpon pleasure sundered that it is a presuÌ„ption intollerable for the Pope to dissolue mariage whose institution is from God Finally it appeareth by Bellarmines dispute de Monachis c. 37. who handling this point with more cunning then this poore swad yet is not able to proue that maried couples were separated for religion in auncient time or that this practise was conformable to Christes or his Apostles doctrine as I haue verified against Bellarmine in my treatise de Monachis As for the exaÌ„ples testimonies alledged by Owliglasse they eyther are from the purpose or make against him Neither Epiphanius nor Hierome saith that maried folks vsed not to be admitted vnto holy orders except they did promise perpetual continency froÌ„ their wiues as Owliglasse with his glassy conscience affirmeth for neyther of them hath one word of promise or vow but the contrary rather Haeres 59. Ad huc viuenteÌ„ et liberos gignentem vnius vxoris viruÌ„ saith Epiphanius non suscipit ecclesia sed eum qui se ab vna continuit He hath not one word of any promise nor doth he deny that priests may returne backe againe to company with their
decreeth that due honour is to be giuen to Images but not so as that wee are to put trust in them as the Gentiles did sometimes But what if the Papists regarde not the decree of this absurd conuenticle And what if the Papists doe more trust in the Image of the Ladie of Loreto then the Gentiles did in the Images of Aesculapius or Mercurie Wist not Owliglasse then confesse that his consortes doe put some trust in these Images But that is apparent for they beleeue shee is able to doe more then euer the Gentiles beleeued that Aesculapsus or Mercurie was able to doe Furthermore the Gentiles did excuse themselues that they did not worship their Images mateâ—ially but rather the persons represented by their Images as appeareth by Lactantius li. 2. ca. 2. and Augustine in Psal 11â— and doth not this selfe same excuse serue the Papists likewise It is apparent by all their writings and Bellarmine and Gregorie de Valentia haue no better defence for this their Idolatrie in their treatises of the worship of Images That the Papists do pray vnto Saints and offer their praiers before their Images it cannot be denied Bellarmine calleth Saints Deos per participationem Lib. 3. de cult sanct c. 9. Votum saith he non conuenit sanctis nisi quatenus sunt dij per participationem That is vowes are not conueniently made to Saints but as they are gods by participation I trust therefore hereafter Owlyglasse will not charge me with desperate vntruth in this point nor vrge me to exhibit proofes for the more I bring the more shame will fall vpon his face In the meane while I would haue the Papists to obserue for their learning that Owlyglasses metaphores are drawne either from gamesters as here Page 20. 21. where he talketh of playing at barestake and laying downe sufficient pawnes or from women Page 6. as where hee talketh of more towe to our Rockes Which sheweth that he is a better gamester then a disputer and is as much conuersant in womens closets as in his study Wherefore if Recusants be wise they will take better heede hereafter howe such compagnions come neare their houses that are so well acquainted with their wiues rockes and frockes to say no more Sect. VI. That the Popes decretales before Gregorie the 7. his time had no force of lawe THe sixt exception which Owlyglasse taketh against me p. 22. is for that I say that before Hildebrands time which otherwise is called Gregorie the seuenth the Popes decretales had no force of lawe This saith Owlyglasse is vntruth And he prooueth it by a certaine decree of Pope Hilarie that liued long before Gregorie the seuenth who threatned all with danger of their state that should violate either diuine lawes or the decrees of the Apostolike see and by a constitution of Gelasius c. sancta Romana dist 15. where he determineth that the Popes decretales are with reuerence to be receiued But his proofes are too weake to conuince me of vntruth For first neither of these authorities are authenticall seeing it is not likely that Hilarie would match the Popes decretales with Gods lawes nor the Church of Rome neglect Gelasius his decree concerning apocryphal writings if his authoritie were so great as is pretended Secondly albeit Hilarie threaten yet it appeareth not that his threats were regarded Thirdly it is one thing to accept mens letters with reuerence and another thing to accept them as lawes Fourthly it is a ridiculous thing to require men to beleeue the Popes in their own cause Fiftly lawes are not enacted by letters nor recorded in scrowes but solemnly established by publike seales and monuments that giue them credite which Owlyglasse cannot shew to haue beene practised in Hilaries or Gelasius his decretales Finally the state of the Church was not such then as that the Popes could command or binde all Churches by their letters That therefore which he saith is nothing But I doe alleadge the testimonie of the Records of the church of Rome which containe no ancienter decretales then those of Gregorie the seuenth as appeareth by the book of Bulles called Bullarium Secondly Bellarmine that is a man of greater knowledge then Owlyglasse doth faile where hee goeth about to prooue that the Popes had power alwaies to make lawes For his records lib. 2. de pontif Rom. c. 19. are weake and all of them refuted in my answere to him Cod de sum Trin. fid Cath. de episc audient acta concil Finally it is euident that for diuers hundred yeares Emperors and councels made lawes and not the Popes and that this course continued vntill such time as Popes by suppressing the authoritie of both preuailed and vntill the power of Antichrist began to shew it selfe in Gregorie the seuenth In this point therefore Owlyglasse sheweth himselfe ignorant of the storie of the Church and not onely vagrant from his purpose Sect. VII That the fasts of the synagogue of Rome their vsual formes were not established by the ancient Church IN the seuenth article of his supposed vntruthes because Owlyglasse could not otherwise fasten the lie vpon me conueniently hee doth curtall my words with an c. and mangleth my sentence applying that to one particular which I direct to diuers matters I say that if we seeke all antiquitie we shall not finde where the church of Christ hath commanded vs to keepe this Popes day and that Popes day and to abstaine froÌ„ worke on S. Francis and S. Dominicks and other canonized Friers daies or where the same hath enioyned Christians to heare masse or to fast lent and embre daies vigils of Saints other tides according to the fashion of the Church of Rome But our aduersarie doth vnhandsomely place my wordes thus as if I had said that if we seeke all antiquitie we shall not finde where the church of Christ hath enioyned Christians to fast lent and embre daies and vigils of Saints c. But if he had done me right he should haue added these wordes and other tides according to the fashion of the Church of Rome Which if he had done my wordes would haue giuen him no occasion of cauill For then neither out of the 50. canon of the councell of Laodicea nor out of the 63. canon of the fourth councell of Carthage nor Hieroms epistle to Marcella nor S. Augustines sermon de tempore nor Leo nor Epiphanius his wordes nor any other authoritie by him alleadged could he haue brought any thing to contradict my assertion neither doth master Willets confession any whit relieue him The Councell of Laodicea doth not establish the fast of lent nor saith any thing of choyce of meates or the manner of fasting but would that men should fast vpon thursday before Easter Which argueth that before that time that day was not necessarily fasted Besides that the Councell hath nothing concerning embre daies or fasts on vigils of Saints and therefore short of my aduersaries purpose Finally
saith that Saints are mediators not of redemption but of intercession and that Saint Paule 2. Thess 3. Desired the Thessalonians to pray for him making them mediators of intercession But first the scriptures and fathers allow none for mediators but Christ Iesus that hath redéemed vs and mediated our peace they are also vtterly vnacquainted with this Popish distinction Secondly it is a ridiculous thing because the Apostle desireth the Thessalonians to pray for him to whome he might come and which did vnderstand his prayer to conclude after Owlyglasse his faâ—hion that therefore either they were to be tearmed his mediators or that wee may pray to those which neither can heare vs in all places nor grant our prayers The Second part of my assertion is proued First by the doctrine of our Sauiour that taught vs to pray to the Father in his name Which is also confirmed by the practise of the Church testified in the 3 counsell of Carthage c. 23. Secondly the words of the Apostle are direct for vs. How shall they call saith he on him on whome they haue not beleeued Rom. 10. Thirdly the fathers condemne the practise of the Romish Church in praying to Saints Mariam saith Epiphanius nemo adoret neque muliâ—rum neque virum And againe neque Tecla neque quisquam sanctu adoretur non enim dominabitur nobis antiquus error vt relinquamus viuentem adoremus ea Rom. 1. quae ab ipso fâ—cta sunt S. Ambrose saith that wee haue accesse to kings by mediation of tribunes and noble men because they are men but to come to God that we neede noe spokeseman but a dâ—uout minde Fourthly both councels and fathers condemne worship of Angels non oportet christianos say the fathers of the councell of Laodicea Can. 35. derelicta ecclesia abire ad angelos idololatriae abominandae congregationes facere They say christians are not to relinquish the Church and to runne into corners to worship Angels for that they signifie to be Idolatrie Chrysostome in his 7. homily vpon the Epistle to the Colossians refuteth the opinion of those that vsed the mediation of Angels Sunt nonnulli saith hée qui dicunt non oportere per Christum reconciliari ad patrem accedere sed per angelos propterea sursum ac deorsum quae de Christo sunt versat Epiphanius and S. Augustine where they talke of the heresie of the Angelikes condemne the worshippers of Angels for heretickes Fiftly the practise of the auncient Church doth vtterly repugne against the forme of prayer vsed by the Popâ—sh Church for if we séeke all the rituall bookes of auncient Churches we shall not finde where christians prayed thus Sancta maria Mater dei ora pro nobis nunc in hora mortis Neither was this prayer vsed Maria mater gratiae mater misericordiae Tu nos ab hoste protege hora mortis suscipe Neither do I beléeue shall Owlyglasse find where christians prayed thus Sancta Maria succurre misâ—ris iuua pusillanimes Mens febr retoue fâ—ebiles and so forth Or as in the missall of Sarum Vt haec munera tibi accepta sint sanctae Batildis obtineant merita Neither can any formes of litanyes to Angels and Romish Saints in auncient bookes be found Finally these formes of prayers to Saints and Angels are most absurde for what reason haue christians not to pray to God through Christ as they are commanded but to run to Saints who neither vnderstand mens thoughts nor are present in all places nor can helpe vs. Nay it is a thing very vncertaine whether many of those that the Romish Church doth worship are Saints or no. the lye therefore that Owlyglasse would fasten on me doth touch the Apostles holy fathers whose doctrine I follow and not me only and may well be returned backe on him But saith he of prayers to Saints and Angels Page 34 there are such plentifull proofes that nothing can excuse him from ashamelesse vnttuth And there vpon he both bringeth forth Basill the Councell of Chalcedon Chrysostome Saint Ambrose and Ruffinus But no one of these hath one such prayer as the Romish missals and breuiaries haue many Further the twentith homily in honor of 40. Martiâ—es is not authenticall nor was euer written by Basill Neither is euery rude voyce that passed in councell to be ascribed to the councell as authorized vy solemne act besides that many Epistles and writings are set out among the actes of counsels that deserue no credit so we say of the 66 homily of Saint Chrysostome and Ambroses booke de viduis that they haue passed the handes of idolaters and falsaries Ruffin telleth vs onely Lib. 2. hist c. 33. what some did not what they ought to do but suppose some of these fathers should either by an apostrophe name Saints or Angels or else desire in a generality that God will heare the prayers which the triumphant Church offereth to God for the militant Church or admit also that any one man should pray to Saintes yet that is nothing to iustifie the blasphemous prayers of the Church of Rome made to Angels and Saints nor doth it appeare that in auncient time there were any publike prayers to the Virgin Mary to Angels and Saints Finally the fathers did rather praye to God at the tombes of martyrs then praye to martyrs as God And we are rather to follow the most authenticall fathers and best learned and their authenticall writings then either such ragges as are falsesly countenanced by the names of fathers or some hard speaches of fathers Further Owlyglasse signifieth that Hierome against Vigilantius defended prayers to Saints But he must alleadge good proofe or els his reader and euery one that readeth Hierome will tell him he lieth Finally he alleadgeth M. Bell against mee and adioyneth M. Gough in a treatise against M. Fecknam vnto him But wee all agree against him and his erroneous and superstitious doctrine concerning prayer to Saints For albeit some one or two long since called vpon Saints yet we all agrée that auncient christians had no such formes allowed or publikely vsed and frequented in the church So it appeareth that for prayers to Angels and our Lady our aduersarie can alleadge nothing but the custome of Collyridians and Angelikes Neither can he alleadge any thing for prayers to Romish Saints nor to Martyres but certaine counterfeit writings and priuat practises of one or two Fathers which against the rest and against authenticall writings of the same authors are of no validitie Sect. XIII That auriculer confession after the Romish fashion was not established nor receiued into the Church before Innocentius the third his time THe last exception which concerning matter of vntruth Owlyglasse taketh against me is for that I denie the Romish auriculer confession to be auncient A matter that seemeth much to pinch my aduersarie and his consorts for that vpon this point for the most part dependeth the gaine of their faculties the credit
of massepriests with their clients the accesse they haue into womens closets and the ground of their trecherous practises Take away confession the faculties of Priestes togither with their dispensations and absolutions fal and masse-priests will be put to their beades Their credit also will decay with their clients if they cannot bring them on their knees before the priest sitting iudicially in his chaire Neither shall they be admitted further into womens closets nor haue such opportunitie to corrupt them Et sic perierunt illae coÌ„fabulationes amatoriae labelloruÌ„ molles morsâ—unculae carnales contrectatiuÌ„culae multae ad rem gerendaÌ„ opportunitates Finally they shal not be able any more to draw subiects froÌ„ their alleageance nor to instill rebellion into mens mindes vnder colour of religion Owlyglasse therefore is longer in this point then in any of the rest and would gladly prooue his auriculer confession if by any meanes he could but his testimonies are all weake and counterfeit He alleadgeth first the testimony of the 2. councell of Chalon but first that councell had no confirmation but from Charles the great by whose authoritie it was as is said assembled Secondly Surius Tom. concil 3. that councell doth neither excommunicate those that confesse not their sinnes nor exclude them from christian buriall as doth Innocentius Thirdly C. omnis de poenit remiss the canons purpose was rather to instruct them how to confesse when they did it then to force men to doe it Fourthly the 33. canon seemeth to allow confession to God onely in those that are instructed and sheweth how that diuers thought that to be sufficient Finally it were a hard law for the Romanists if they should be bound to stand to all canons of councels Why then doe they vrge vs to that which they will not performe themselues Owlyglasse his conclusions out of this canon concerning the distinction of publike and priuat confession might well haue been spared Secondly he produceth Leoes testimonie Epist 80. ad episc Campaniae who séemeth to say that it is sufficient in secret confession to declare the guiltinesse of mens consciences to the Priest But neither doth he commaund men to doe it nor exclude from buriall those that refuse it nor writeth to others but his suffragan bishops of Campania nor is his word a law nor finally must Owlyglasse thinke that we are bound to beleeue this their domesticall witnesse or whatsoeuer falsaries haue published vnder the name of Leo. His third witnesse is Rabanus Maurus lib. 2. de instit cleric c. 3. who saith that the penance must be secret for such matters as by voluntarie confession are reuealed to the priest or bishop But this doth not shew that euerie man was bound to confesse or punished for not confessing but rather that it was voluntarie and of such sins as grieued mens consciences against which we dispute not His fourth witnesse is S. Bernard but he deposeth nothing for him nor against vs blaming onely those which for shame did hide their secret sinnes De interiori domo c. 37. Which sheweth that men at that time were not bound to open their sinnes by any lawe nor punished for not confessing as is now the practise of the Romish synagogue His fift witnesse is M. Caluin instit lib. 3. c. 4. numb 7. but he saith nothing which may seeme to make for the aduersaries but onely that the vse of confession was auncient For vs he saith confession was free and that there was no law binding men to confession before Innocent the third which is that which I holde And that which Owlyglasse layeth hold of â—aketh nothing for his purpose For albeit in auncient time christians grieued in conscience were wont to consult with such as had charge of their soules and some doe yet take that course among vs yet that doth not prooue that Romish auriculer confession was auncient or that christians must necessarily confesse all sinnes and be excluded from absolution yea from christian buriall if they doe not confesse in the priests eare His sixt witnesse is M. Bell in his suruey p. 536. who acknowledgeth as it seemeth auriculer confession to haue been established the yeare 254. But he speaketh according to the conceit of the aduersaries recordes that deriue it no higher and percase vnderstandeth a voluntarie frée confession and in cases of publike penance enioyned But all our dispute is whether before Innocentius the thirds decretal men were bound to confesse all their sinnes in the Priests eares and were excluded out of the church and from buriall if they did it not To which point M. Bell saith nothing that will relieue Oâ—lygâ—asse in this point of confession but that euerie indifferent man will confesse he was an idle fellow to triumph vpon such poore aduantages His last testimonie is deriued out of our communion booke where a forme of confâ—ssion is prescribed for the comfort of the sicke And this he enforceth because as he saith our communion booke was framed after the imitation of the Romish portesse and masse-booke and thereupon imagineth that the booke speaketh of auriculer confession vsuall in the Romish Church But first he wrongeth vs to compare our coÌ„munion booke to their filthy and abominable masse bookâ—s portesses full of abominable and idolatrous prayers and most wicked and superstitious ceremonies as I haue declared in my refutation of Bellarmines bookes de Eucharistia missa Secondly he doth wilfully and maliciously vtter vntruthes For neither is there any affinitie betwixt our bookes and the Romish missals and portesses nor tooke wée any patterne from them but rather from the old formularyes of the primitiue Church which prescribed reading singing of Psalmes reading of scriptures prayers and formes of ministratioÌ„ of baptisme and the Lords supper and preaching as may appeare by the testimony of Iustin Martyr Apolog. 2. ad Antoninum of Dionysius the Areopagite and others that mention the formes of auncient liturgies Further not this matter of auricular confession is enioyned by the missals or breuiaries but rather publike confession and absolution before the face of the whole Church Finally the forme of confession which the booke requireth is neither of all particuler sinnes nor enforced vpon any nor required but of such as are troubled in conscience And therefore if Papists were not blind and obstinat they would confesse that Owlyglasse had little reason or honesty when he went about to proue auricular confession out of our communion booke Owlyglasse himselfe if he had not béene past shame would neuer haue affirmed that auricular confession had beene ordeined of Christ and he meaneth no doubt the Romish auricular confession Viz. Vt omnis vtriusque sexus postquaÌ„ ad aÌ„nos discretionis peruenerit omnia sua peccata solus coÌ„fiteatur proprio sacerdoti infunctam sibi poenitentiam proprijs viribus studeat adimplere That is that euery man and woman of yeares of discretion confesse all their sinnes to their owne Priest secretly and fulfill
he goeth about to shew that the Pepuzians and Papists are vnlike and namely for that the Papistes doe permit wemen to baptize only in time of necessitie And for that the Pepuzians did giue priesthood to wemen In which two points he would inferre that there is a mayne difference betwixt Papists Pepuzians But his conclusion is so simple that it can abide noe touch For he is an hereticke that holdeth any pointe condemned for heresie not those only which do iumpe with heretickes in all points and circumstances If then the Papists should differ in two or thrée points from Pepuzians yet must they néedes sauour of that heresie in permitting wemen to baptize and deriuing the succession of Popes from Pope Ioane and other particulers before rehersed Finally he would willingly proue the vnlawfulnes of wemeÌ„s baptisme by the practise of our Church For saith he the same doctrine is found in the communion booke in the treatise of priuat baptisme where albeit wemen are nor mentioned yet for that wemeÌ„ are then present only they are expressed He affirmeth also that M. Hooker doth defend womens baptisme that I must defend it vnlesse I will change my opinion But while he goeth about to excuse his consorts he runneth himselfe into danger and like a shamelesse fellow bouldly auoucheth diuers vntruthes For first the practise of the Church of England is against wemens baptisme and diuers Popish callats haue béene punished for attempting to administer that holy sacrament Secondly the booke doth expresse no such matter as Owlyglasse pretendeth but onely would haue children in extremitie baptized priuatly which may be done by the minister if the parents and friends of the childe be diligent Thirdly M. Hooker neuer was of that opinion that the communion booke allowed priuat baptisme as Owlygl impudently affirmeth Nay albeit he will not denie such baptisme to be of validitie yet he saith that such persons as doe baptize infants being no ministers doe vnlawfully vsurpe the ministers office But Owlyglasse alleadging M. Hookers first booke p. 62. for the fift booke sect 62. seemeth not to haue read the booke which he quoteth Finally for my selfe I answere that hee cannot with any deuise make it appeare that in this point or any other I do oppugne or digresse from the communion booke Owlyglasse therefore may doe well to bring better stuffe if he will conuince me of falsification and to cease to talke of tippets and caps himselfe hauing as much learning almost in his cap as in his head and so well deseruing a Tiburne tippet for his treacherous Diuinitie In the meane while let him put on a paire of spectacles and he shall sée that he was much deceiued where he saith I doe guilefully quote S. Augustine For to this point of wemens baptisme I quote him not at all Sect. VI. Of the heresie of barefooted brethren OF Heretikes that went barefoote Owlyglasse speaketh very nakedly poorely and barely If the men he speaketh of had been like to his discourse they should not onely haue béen called Nudipedales for their going barefoote but Adamitae for going naked He promised to conuince me of falsification but here forgetting his argument he chargeth me for not setting downe S. Augustines words As if it were a crime not to set downe impertinent words or as if all lawyers and diuines that referre themselues to places not set downe were to be accused in so doing For the matter it selfe Owlyglasse cannot take any iust exception vnto my spéech vnlesse he will deny that bare-footed brethren were numbred among heretikes or that the Franciscanes and Excalceatae and Capuchins go barefoot Neither is it materiall that Augustine c. 64. de haeres doth accompt these fellowes heretikes for that they went barefoote vpon a misunderstanding of scriptures and not for penance For it is not the misconstruing of places onely but the verie euill opinion that heretikes holde that maketh them heretikes Admit then that Capuchins Franciscans and their deare sisters the Excalceatae go barefoote vpon other reasons then the olde barefooted heretikes yet in the substance of their opinion that is in the singularitie of going barefoote both of them doe well agrée Vnlesse therefore this masked brother of the Capuchins Owlyglasse can bring better ground of his accusation he hath no reason on the behalfe of his barefooted brethren and sisters to complaine of iniurious slander But contrarywise we haue reason to wish that séeing he will néeds go masked he would take a shooe laid aside by some one of his holy barefooted sisters and make a maske of it to couer his false visage that no honest man may euer know so impudent and foolish a wrangler Sect. VII Of S. Augustines relation concerning the Priscillianists SAint Augustine speaking of the Priscillianists saith Haeres 70. they disioyned maried folkes for religion sake And these wordes I quote most truely why then am I charged by Owlyglasse with falsification Forsooth saith he because ye leaue out the wordes following But if this were a rule to prooue falsification then would it be proued that Bellarmine hath falsified almost al the places he quoteth for he in most places leaueth out wordes following yea and sometimes wordes going before and comming in the middest To shewe the agréement of Papists and Priscillianists in one point I leaue out nothing that they agrée in all points I doe not affirme Yet in making sleight accompt of othes they both doe well agrée And in this point also wherein our aduersarie pretendeth disagréement yet they agrée better then Owlyglasse thinketh For albeit Papists in open termes doe not say mariage is vnlawfull yet if those that are maried liue in the flesh as is said in a decretale vnder the name of Syricius and if maried folkes be a state imperfect and cannot please God as diuers stifly holde then by a consequent the Papists condemne mariage Finally if that was a propertie of Priscillianists to separate maried folks one from another against the will of either party then in separating mariages not consummate the Papists are Priscillianists by the confession of Owlyglasse They are also in this Priscillianists that they kéepe maried couples a sunder being once separated by â—…nsent and will not let them come togither againe although they much desire it Of which point I haue discoursed more at large in the chapter going before which may abate his rage in crying out of falsifications and lies if he be not altogether furious and beside himselfe Sect. VIII That Infidels sinne in all their morall actions OF the Pelagian heresie now lately reuiued by the Papists I haue spoken already sufficiently in my former treatise chap. 4. I did also deliuer diuers arguments and testimonies in my late Challenge to prooue Papists to be Pelagians which if Owlyglasse had béene the man he taketh himselte to be he would haue encountred and answered but he poore ideot had no such stuffe in him Therefore denying not that Papists and Pelagians agrée well
in England is nothing but a packe of impostures lies fables and superstitious toyes I shall haue occasion to declare at full in some other treatise But least any might thinke that I wronged the sée of Rome from whom all these abuses are deriued I would pray euerie man that hath skill and leysure with indifferencie to reade the Legends of the Romish Church the Rubtikes of the masse their rituall and ceremoniall bookes their treatises of the Popes authoritie the fabulous lies of Caesar Baronius that filthy lying Cardinall and such like testimonials as they prooue their religion by Now we will onely talke of the definition of a Romish Catholike that euery man may sée what a bare fellowe he is and how little religion and honesty he hath I say that Bellarmine teacheth that he is a good Romish Catholike and a true member of the Romish church that professeth the Romish faith and communicateth with the Romanistes in their sacraments and is obedient to the Pope yea although he haue neither inward faith nor charitie nor other inward vertue And thereupon I conclude that the Papists are like to the Eunomians that taught that so a man were of their religion it skilled not what sinnes he committed That Bellarmine so teacheth it is apparant by his words in his second chapter de ecclesia militanti Nostra sententia est saith he ecclesiam vnam esse non duas illam vnam veram coetum hominum eiusdem christianae fidei professione eorundem sacramentorum communione colligatum sub regimine legitimorum pastorum ac praecipuè vnius Christi in terris vicarij Romani pontificis And afterward he saith Non putamus requiri vllam internam virtutem sed tantum externam professionem fidei sacramentorum communionem scilicet vt aliquis aliquo modo dici possit pars verae ecclesiae de qua scripturae loquuntur If then he be a good Romane catholike of whom the true definition of a Romane catholike may be affirmed then may all wicked and damnable heretikes be true Romish catholikes if they professe the Romish faith and communicate with the Romanists in sacraments and submit themselues to the Pope But saith Owlyglasse Bellarmine saith not that such as want inward verrues are good Catholikes but onely that they are true members of the Church As if the true members of Christs church were not good catholikes or as if he were not a good citizen of whom the definition of a citizen may truly be affirmed and as if he could not be a good and true pope that is no good man Of which point our aduersarie must beware least he touch too rudely the sores of his holy father and of a pope make no pope He saith further that this obiection of Eunomianisme is rather to be charged vpon Lutherans and Caluinists for so this papal swad doth call Christians and vpon M. Willet they giuing excessiue prerogatiues to faith and such as teach that a true faith cannot be lost But albeit he take his pleasure to rayle vpon me yet should he forbeare to wrong those that are either at rest or at the least neuer wronged him And in this place hauing his hands so full of me he might well haue spared to contend with others being no match for any To his charge I answere that Eunomius his heresies touch vs nothing For neither doe we déeme them good Christians as Eunomius did that haue no inward faith nor workes nor did Eunomius talke of the faith of Christ Iesus as we doe when we say the iust shall liue by faith but of his owne new deuised faith Owlyglasse therefore hath no reason for any thing done by me to crie out that Bellarmine is abused and his words falsified nor to charge vs with Eunomius his heresie But his consorts will and iustly may thinke him an idle fellow if he can no better either cleare himselfe or conuince others especially taking vpon him to doe both Sect. XIII Of second mariages and whether the Papists dislike them or no. THe last place out of which our aduersarie goeth about to fasten an imputation of falsification vpon me is for that I say that the Papists like to the Montanists dislike second mariages and denie to blesse them accounting these mariages not so holy a sacrament as the first And this he saith is a slander for that Papists doe not mislike second mariages But here as before oftentimes he forgetteth the subiect of his discourse for he should haue conuinced me of falsifications if he had remembred what he had in hand And yet in this place he doth not so much as touch any place by me alleadged or supposed to be falsified Onely to conuince himselfe of notorious ignorance he hath quoted a marginall note belonging not to this but to the next place as he might haue perceiued by the direction if hee had not béene blinde and hath set the same ouer against my words in this place as if I had proued my sayings of the Montanistes by Damascens chapter beginning Christianocategori in his booke de haeresibus such a learned aduersarie haue we to deale withall I answere further that I doe not slander the Papists as my aduersarie chargeth me when I say that they sauour of Montanisme in disliking second mariages for their counterfeit canons doe pronounce them punishable by excommunication that marie more then once De his qui frequenter vxores ducunt say they de his quae saepius nubunt 31. q 1. de hi◠tempus quidem poenitentiae his manifestum constitutum est And afterward Cum praecipiatur say they Ibidem secundis nuptijs poenitentiam tribuere quis erit presbyter qui propter conuiuium illis consentiat nuptijs It appeareth therefore that they enioyned penance for second mariages as for a grieuous crime and forbad the priest to be present at the feast of such maried folkes Beside that they doe not allow that a Priest shall blesse the second mariage nor doe they accompt the second mariage to be so holy a sacrament as the first Finally Syricius calleth maried folkes C. Plurimos dist 82. and defenders of priests mariages followers of lustes and teachers of vices sectatores libidinum C. proposuisti Ibidem praeceptores vitiorum And Innocentius as if they were vnholy and could not please God and were in the flesh excludeth maried folkes from the ministerie of the altar Which sheweth that they sauour of Montanisme if not worse But saith Owlyglasse if it be Montanisme to denie second mariages to be so holy a sacrament as the first what then be they that denie first and second mariages to be any sacrament at all But this is a balde kinde of disputing to propose a mans argument otherwise then he frameth it We doe not say they be Montanists in denying the second mariages to be a sacrament but that they sauour of Montanisme in disliking second mariages and preferring the first before the second Of which that is
there hath béene some difference betwéene priuat persons about ceremonies and gouernment and that without disagréement in religion yet now all that quarrell to the great griefe of Owlyglasse and his consorts is ended and all godly christians iointly concurre to the repressing of the seditious massepriests and their adherents that by faction and heresie seeke to vndermine both the Church and state In this obseruation he goeth about also to prooue that I doe not séeme to allow the doctrine established in this church of England But as in the rest so in this Owlyglasse doth but trifle I doe holde I confesse that baptisme is not so necessarie but that diuers may and haue beene saued without it especially where there is no contempt committed in procuring it Further I doe beléeue that it is vnlawfull for women to take vpon them to administer baptisme and doe aduise in case of extremitie all christians to procure the ministers presence Thirdly I doe vtterly condemne the doctrine of the papistes concerning their limbus patrum Fourthly I doe much mislike their superstitious stationary obambulations about the limits of parishes for the blessing of new corne and their superstitious letanies and ceremonies vsed in the fame Fiftly I deny that euer the catholike church had any precepts or canons to forbid mariages on such daies and in such sort and for such respects as the Romish Church doth practise Sixtly I doe beléeue that Luthers opinion absolutely considered in it selfe is not a fundamentall point of religion especially if we giue his wordes a fauourable construction Finally I accompt none to be true christians and professours that make no conscience of sinne and liue not according to their profession But what of all this doe I therefore teach contrarie to any point of doctrine maintained by the church of England so Owlyglasse my good friend would insinuate But his proofes are simple and his assertions most false He saith Page 111. that the Church of England teacheth that baptisme is necessarie to saluation But the booke which he alleadgeth out of which he cannot bring one word to prooue his saying doth conuince him both of lying and impudencie Secondly he affirmeth that to deny womens baptisme is contrarie to religion established But it is not contrarie to his religion to lie and face out lies most impudently Thirdly to prooue that our church beléeueth limbus patrum he should haue alleadged our confession and not a certaine verset of the créede in méeter Beside that in that verset nothing is said but that Christ illuminated those that sate in darknesse which is nothing to limbus patrum a place that cannot be illuminated as papistes holde Further that verset may be rather an exposition of the words of the song of Zacharie Luke 2. of the illumination of the ignorant and of the like wordes of the Prophet Esay chap. 9. then an assertion of limbus pactum Fourthly the papists in their perambulations of parishes vse to blesse or rather to exorcise corne and to say most wicked litanyes They vse also diuers superstitious ceremonies which vnlesse Owlyglasse prooue to be allowed by our Church he will prooue himselfe a cogging compagnion Fifthly he talketh of prohibitions of the solemnizations of mariages at certaine times but he alleadgeth neither lawe nor record to prooue that our Church alloweth either the doctrine or the ceremonies of the Romish congregation in this point And there whither he sendeth vs we finde nothing but the testimonie of an Almanacke Sixtly albeit the church of England doth not holde Luthers real presence of Christes body in the sacrament yet cannot the detractor shewe but that his opinion may be reconciled with the Christian faith if a man will not vrge those points that follow of that doctrine too seuerely and further percase then at the first Luther himselfe allowed them If a man doe gather what doth followe of it then is the doctrine dangerous as I and others confesse Finally he doth not so much as go about to shewe that I haue deliuered any thing contrary to the doctrine of our Church where I affirme that good life is as well required in a true professour as true faith Why then is this point touched in this place Doth it grieue him that I touch the filthy Sodomiticall priests and friers and shut that abhominable generation out of Gods church It séemeth so and therefore to requite me he saith that this doctrine may touch me for that I haue falsified and maliciously corrupted the fathers But if I haue cleared my selfe of all those matters that he hath laide to my charge I hope the vanitie of his collection will manifestly appeare to all indifferent men But hee poore ideot appeareth not but séeing the Romish Church and diuers of her principall pillers to be charged with notorious lies and falsifications passeth away in silence and is not able to answere one worde Nay hee leaueth his clients in the briers and signifieth for ought he can doe they must pleade for themselues Wherefore to leaue off further to vrge this distressed followe that is able to say nothing for the defence of them whom he doth principally fauour I may well conclude séeing the arguments which I brought in my Challenge stand immooueable and the detectors exceptions are prooued to be vaine and friuolous first that the Romish church is not the true Church of Christ Iesus Secondly that the religion of Papists is neither auncient nor catholike Thirdly that all papists maintaining the doctrine of the Pope and his adherents are heretikes Fourthly that such as embrace popish religion are idolaters Fifthly that all the Popes adherents and agents that haue suffered for his cause in England are to be reputed no better then disloyall traytors and not as some would haue it Martyres Finally that my aduersary by his friuolous obiections hath much confirmed and strengthened our cause against which he was not able to obiect any one thing of moment and iustified my allegations being not able to take any iust exception against any thing said by me nor to obiect any thing which is not fully answered CHAP. IIII. Of diuers falsities committed by the Popes and Church of Rome IF our aduersarie had well remembred his promise he ought not onely to haue conuinced me of vntruthes corruptions contradictions and falsifications according to the title of his pamphlet but also of maliciousnesse and wilfulnesse for so he vaunteth he will I challenge the challenger saith he of many malicious vntruthes Cap. 1. pag. 8. and many palpable and wilfull falsifications But when it commeth to performance of corruptions he saith nothing contradictions he toucheth slenderly vntruthes and falsifications he can by no meanes fasten vpon me The qualitie of maliciousnes and wilfulnesse being a matter purposed and fully promised he vtterly forgot In the rest how poorely he hath demeaned himselfe by my answere to his whole dispute it will appeare But suppose I had either mistaken a report misalleadged a place yet
compared these two editions throughout And if in the edition of Sixtus Quintus his bible at Antwerpe Anno 1599. thou doe not finde these lections mentioned thou maiest thereby further vnderstand that some of late since Sixtus his death haue taken paines to falsifie his edition and to make him to speake contrary to himselfe If then Hierome say true In praefat in Iosue in praefat in 4. cuangel non posse verum esse quod dissonat that is that what doth differ cannot be true then is it notorious that one of these two popes hath falsified not onely the scriptures but also the authenticall latin translation as they call it And if they make no scruple to falsifie the holy scriptures of God it is no maruell if impudently they falsifie the writings of men The Popes also and their consorts haue committed notorious falsifications in publishing couÌ„terfeit canons and constitutions partly vnder the name of the Apostles and partly vnder the name of diuers auncient bishops of Rome and lastly of diuers councels and fathers falsification 8 For first they haue set vs out 84. C. sextam synodum dist 16. Ibidem canons vnder the names of the Apostles Hadrian the Pope alloweth and receiueth the vi Synode and all her canons in one of which the canons of the Apostles were confirmed and thereupon Gratiâ—n concludeth that they were authenticall And commonly the church of Rome alleadgeth these canons whensoeuer she hopeth to winne any aduantage by them But many reasons declare them to bee counterfeit As first for that contrary to the doctrine of the Church the baptisme of heretikes is condemned can 45. Secondly can 65. saterdaies fast is forbidden Thirdly once dipping in baptisme is déemed vnsufuÌ„cient can 49. contrary to the orders of the Church Fourthly the catalogue of scriptures rehearsed can 84. is by none allowed for neither wil the Church of Rome allow of the third booke of Machabeyes nor of the Epistles of Clement Fifthly the Apostles as is said in those canons confirme the Gospell of S. Iohn yet stories report that the same was not written before the rest of the Apostles were dead Sixthly these counterfeit canons mention diuers orders of ministers of fastes of bestowing of ecclesiasticall liuings and such like not vsed in the Apostles times Finally not only Isidore c. canones dist 16. and Leo c. Clementis dist 16. but also Gelasius c. sancta Romana dist 15. doth number these canons among apocryphal writings But in nothing doth the impudencie of the Romish Synagogue and her agents appeare more then in the falsisâ—…ation of the actes of councels For they haue not onely falsified diuers particuler actes and canons and foisted them in among the actes of councels but also deuised whole procéedings as passed in auncient councels which notwithstanding are méerely forged falsification 9 The actes of the councell of Sinuessa reported by Peter Crabbe and Surius seeme to be much falsified For first of the thrée copies that are in Surius not one agréeth with another Secondly séeing as 318. bishops could hardly be drawne to the great councell of Nice in the peace of the church albeit Constantine called them out of all parts of the world if is not like that in time of persecution 300. bishops could bee drawne to Sinuess about Marcellinus according as it is reported in the actâ—s of the councell Thirdly the spéeches of Marcellinus and the rest are so simple and the stile so much differing from those times that he must be of a very dull vnderstanding that perceiueth not the falshood of the author of those actes Fourthly the actes of that pretended councel are contrary to themselues For in the latter ende they say prima sedes non iudicabitur a quoquam and yet a little before it is said that the bishoppes did condemne Marcellinus damnauerunt cum say they extra ciuitatem Finally the procéeding in Mâ—rcellinus his sacrificing to Idoles and in his triall by 72. witnesses is most ridiculous and no way to be iustified by authenticall records falsification 10 Likewise seeme the actes of the councell of Neocaesarea and Ancyra to be counterfeit For in times of persecution it was not like that many biâ—hops could assemble or had any care of commaund and superioritie or any credit to make lawes concerning gouernment Besides that histories authentical make no mention of law-making councels before the generall councell of Nice Finally the actes are so simple and so euill agrée with those times in which they are said to passe that we must either haue authenticall proofe for them or els must haue leaue to beléeue them to be forged falsification 11 The actes of the councell of Rome vnder Siluester doe so plainly appeare to be forged that I doe wonder that our aduersaries are not much ashamed of them The number of bishops is said to be greater then in the councell of Nice The names of them are méere One is called Squiro another Cleopatris another Vultibus and the rest also seeme names of coniuration barbarous and One is called Simplex another Exitiosus the 3. speâ— in deo the 4. quod vult deus Gréeke bishops comming to that councell commonly haue latine names The fable of cleansing of Constantine from his leprosie is there reported 57. bishops of I would gladly know where this is Rinocoruris are said to be present yet did they not subscribe The councell was said to be assembled by the aduise of Constantine or of his mother they séeme not to know whether The actes are most disagréeing from those times and some of them very ridiculous as for example that Nonnes should not professe virginitie vntill the age of 72. yeares when such profession is néedlesse Finally the words are so barbarous that they sauor of gothicall and lombardicall monkerie and the actes so beneficiall to the sea of Rome that euery man may sée that later Popes vnder the title of this councell meant to couer their owne ambitious decrées and humors falsification 12 Most shamefully also haue the agentes of the Romish church corrupted the actes of the councell of Nice Ruffin and all authenticall writers mention no more but onely 20. canons C. viginri dist 16. Pope Stephen also confesseth that there are but only 20. canons receiued of the Romish church viginti tantum capitula Nicenae synodi in sancta Romana ecclesia habentur saith he C. septuaginta dist 16. Summa concil apud Horatium Cardon excus anno 1601. But Gratian vnder colour of an Epistle of Athanasius affirmeth that there are seuenty canons made in that councell and now of late one Alphonsus of Pisa a Iebusite hath set out 80. canons of that councell translated as he saith out of Arabicke He might haue done well to haue said translated out of the language of China for then rather would diuers haue beléeued them then gone to China to search or examine the truth of Alphonsus his report falsification 13 In the sixt councel of Carthage Sozimus bishop of Rome was manifestly
S. Christopher or Saint Catherine in the worlde falsification 29 Likewise doth Capgraue tell strange matters which of English papists were beléeued in time past Capgraue in Bernaco Saint Bernacus saith he killed a mortiferous beast at Rome that before had killed and deuoured much people and cattell but it is not like that Bernac coulde doe more then his holy father the Pope A certaine fellow that stroke S. Bernac was punished with swarmes of flying lice toto corpore pediculis saith Capgraue alatis obsessus He spoke with Angels sayled ouer the sea vpon a broade stone turned oke leaues into loaues viz. by changing one letter stones into fishes water into wine his cow being cut in pieces he restored notwithstanding to life and committed her to be kept by a wolfe Finally ke yoaked Harts and made them draw in a cart which Owlyglasse will hardly defend to be nâ— lies falsification 30 He saith that Christ appeared to Augustine the monke and talked familiarly with him Capgraue in Augustino and telleth also how hee plagued the men of Dorset with fire But the Saints of God in time past did rather pray for poore men then call for fire downe from heauen vpon them Saint Peter also a man of as good credit as Capgraue saith the heauens must containe Christ that is thither ascended vntill the time of the restoring of all things falsification 31 When Bartilmew a monke came to Durrham and saluted the crucifixe the same wodden crucifixe bowing downe himselfe saith Capgraue resaluted him againe He saith also that he sawe the diuell sometime in the forme of a mouse sometime of a cat and that he imprisoned a Hawke two daies and made her to fast for killing him a little bird and many such lies telleth Capgraue of Bartilmew the monke falsification 32 Scripsit ex ore angeli sanctus Brendanus sanctam regulam saith Capgraue In Brendano quae vsque hodie manet that is he wrote his rule as he receiued it of an Angel When as a poore fellow being followed by his enemies that meant to kill him fledde to Brendan desiring succour he willed him to get vp vpon a stone hard by and not to mooue this done his enemies that followed stroke the stone for the man and beleeued the man to bee the stone He caused a fountain also to rise out of a drie ground and was carried into paradise as for dead men hee raised them to life without any difficulty Which things no man can passe for truth vnlesse he be as sencelesse as the stone that Capgraue talketh of falsification 33 Of Edith Capgraue writeth that when she died Angels were heard to sing harmoniously In Editha and seene carying her soule to heauen that she appeared to Dunstane being dead that her body remained without corruption especially her thumbe with which she made the signe of the crosse That she did quiet the seas and deliuered Aldred Archbishop of Yorke being in danger in the Adriaticke sea when he called vpon her All which lies if Owlyglasse will beléeue he must be very credulous and one of those that are giuen ouer to beléeue lies But to make others beléeue that these are no lies he néedeth more eloquence then he hath now ignorance In the 8. session of the councell of Constance as it is called the popish church affirmeth that Wickleffe taught quod deus debet obedire diabolo That is that God must obey the diuell also that Princes being in mortall sinne are not to bee obeyed And diuers other matters neuer taught by Wickleffe which may appeare first by his bookes and neâ—t by the articles collected against him and recorded by Thomas Walsingham Neither haue our aduersaries any arguments to proue the contrary vnlesse a man wil beléeue those infamous articles which were by his aduersaries obiected against him after his death which neither law nor reason will admit to passe for proofe falsification 35 Likewise did the papists deale with Iohn Husse in that wicked assembly condemning him for holding articles which he in open audience denied One reported Sess 15. that he should affirme that there was a fourth person in the trinitie others that he should call Gregory the first rimer matters which hee vtterly disclaymed Yet these and many more lies that conuenticle beléeued of him and condemned him for them and these lies of that holy man the synagogue of Rome now commonly beléeueth falsification 36 Now the church of Rome not being able to ouerthrow our doctrine goeth about to calumniate our principal teachers as Luther Caluin Zuinglius Oecolampadius Bucer Beza and others the principall agents either in shaking of the popes tyranny or the establishing of religion and namely her Maiesties most noble father her mother her brother her selfe her counsellors and principall agens the prince of Condey and his father the Admirall of France Henry the 4. nowe reigning and diuers others in Scotland Germany and otherwhere Vnto Luther Leo the tenth imputeth calumnious assertions which he neuer held Commonly the papists giue out that he taught that if the wife would not yeeld to her husband that the husband might go vnto his maide that he died sodainly that his body did stincke and many such like slanders stincking in the nostrils of all honest men Of Bucer they report that he turned Iewe and died blaspheming a matter refuted by the testimony of his enemies that were present at his death and not onely by his friends Of late they published a lying pamphlet of the reuolt of Beza and of his death which he yet liuing refuted The slanders of Sanders and ribaldry of that ribald Ribadineira which the papists receiue with such applause shall shortly godwilling be made manifest to the world Now it may appeare that they are false being deuised by Sanders and Rishton two lewde lozels vnacquainted with state matters and as it is thought published and much encreased by Rob. Parsons the most notorious traytor and infamous libeller that the congregation of Iesuites euer did affoord vs. falsification 37 Pius the fift in his letters to the Emperor most impudently affirmeth In vita Pij quinti. that the councell of Nice made the Pope which he termeth the successour of Peter Lord and gouernour of all Princes christened and also of all prouinces and nations whatsoeuer and that the same councell did anathematise all that should contradict that authority A matter proued to be a notorious lye by the actes of the councell for therein no such matter is found The same also is refuted by this argument for that councels haue not to doe with the disposing of temporall states falsification 38 Sixtus Quintus in his rayling bull against the king of Nauarre now raigning and swaying the scepter of France and the Prince of Condey publisheth most notorious lies He saith they polluted and spoyled Churches and with torments killed Priests monkes and friers and did compell men to religion with threates and bastonadaes minis verberibusque No one point being to be
proued against them or that they did any thing more then the lawes of armes enforced them for their owne necessary defence The like slandrous Buls did Paul the third publish against Henry the 8. king of England and Pius Quintus and Gregory the 13. against her Maiesty Wherefore vnlesse Rob. Parsons and his consorts can iustifie these matters to be true it will appeare that the Romish religion is not onely maintained with lies but also grounded vpon a packe of lies For such as these are an infinite multitude of lies may be found in the Popes and the Churches of Romes principall recordes Of which I shall haue occasion if God bee pleased to talke more at large otherwhere CHAP. VI. A taste of Bellarmines vnsauoury falsifications I Would be loth to wrong any especially in writing where all that reade may be witnesses of the wrong if any be offered Wherfore to answere my aduersaries accusatioÌ„ that saith I haue slandered and infamed the worthy prelate Cardinal Bellarmine Praeface where I charged him with falsifications and lies I will nowe godwilling iustifie my saying and shewe that his workes are not as Owlyglasse saith the sworde of Gedeon but rather the sworde of Goliath whereby a man with labour and diligence may cut off both his owne head and the head of antichrist The same is also like a leaden sworde guilted ouer and fayre in shew but nothing trenchant in proofe Hee might more fitly haue compared them to Augias stable that coÌ„tained an infinit heape of dung but to be purged if learned men would take the paines to examine them For my part I doe testifie before God that they haue much confirmed mee in the truth and truly affirme that they are more tedious to read then hard to refute in matters especially that concerne vs. But now to come to the matter I will offer to the reader a taste of his falsifications and lowde leasings purposing to adde more if our aduersaries please to continew this course of examination of ours and popish authors writings I will also ioyne with him his fellow Caesar Baronius with his x. legions of lyes Not doubting but if they vnderstand their errours their faces will turne crimsin And why not their faces as well as their roabes especially if they haue any remaynder of their pretended Virginall modestie falsification 1 First he doth wilfully corrupt the sixt canon of the councell of Nice lib. 2. de pontif Rom. c. 13. the canon beginneth thus mos antiquus perdurat in Aegypto vel Lybia vel PeÌ„tapoli But Bellarmine maketh the canon to begin far otherwise Obseruandum saith hée in libris vulgatis dâ—esse initium huius canonis quod tale est ecclesia Rom. semper habuit primatum but these last words are playnly forged as may appeare by all the copyes of the actes of the Nicene councel neither can it excuse him that one Paschasius act 16. concil chalced hath these words or that Copus a counterfect câ—mpagnion doth affirme that a certaine Abbot called Dionysius doth so read this canon for Abbots may proue forgers as well as others and little credit is to be giuen to the Popes agente in his owne cause Further Paschasius his words so stand that we may probably coniecture that some latter falsary hath so set down the words of this canon as we read them now in the tâ—mes of councels set out by Papists Finally all authenticall histories testifie that before the councell of Nice the Church of Rome was litle respected and Aeneas Siluius doth in playne termes confesse so much Neither can Parsons deny it vnlesie he put on his visor of impudency falsification 2 In his booke de pontif Rom. c. 31. he falsifieth Hieromes words and peruerteth his meaning to proue that he called Damasus the foundation of the Church Hieronymus saith he in epist ad Dâ—masum de nomine hypostasis super hanc petram ecclesiam aedificataâ— scio vbi Damasum petram ecclesiae vocat But Hieremes words stand thus ego nullum primum nisi Christum sequens beatitudini tuae id est cathedâ—ae Petri coÌ„munione consocior super â—am petram ecclesiam aedificatam scio Whereby it appeareth that Hierome meant to follow none but Christ and that he meant Christ when he speaketh of the Rocke For so the pronoune Illam that is referred to that which is further of doth teach vs. But Bellar. to proue the Pope to bée the foundation of the Church leaueth out Christ and for the pronounce Illam writeth hanc like a cunning falsary falsification 3 In the same booke and chapter he falsifieth the actes of the councell of Chalcedon septimum est saith hée caput ecclesiae quo vtitur concilium Chalcedonense in epistola ad Leonem qui but tu veâ—ut caput membris praeeras These words I say are falsely alledged For first it cannot bee prooued that this epistle was written by the councell as Surius hath recorded Act. 3. Concil Chalced. Secondly admit the whole epistle was not forged yet there is no mention made of the heade of the Church as Bellarmine affirmeth for the worde Caput in these words quibus tu velut Caput membris praecras is referred to certeine Priests of Leoes order in which ranke he sheweth himselfe principall Bellarmine therefore to make some shew leaueth out both the words going before and the words following after which playnly shew that the authors of that epistle neuer meant to cal him the head of the Church His falshood may appeare by the words as they follow in that epistle Act. 3. concil Chalced. set out by Surius Si vbi sunt duo aut tres congregati in nomine eius say they ibi se in medio eorum fore perhibuit quantam circa sacerdotes peculiaritatem potuit demonstrare qui patriae labori suae confessionis notitiam praetulerunt quibus tu quidem sicut caput membris prae eras in his qui tuum tenebant ordinem beneuo lenriam praeferens imperatores vero ad ornandum decentissimè praesidebant The Latin is rude and barbarous sauoring of a monkish humor But by the words we may sée that the authors of that epistle made Leo heade of preestes and men of his cote and not of the Church nor councell Wherein emperors most decentely did praeside and sitte as cheefe moderators as the fathers of that councell teach vs. falsification 4 Likewise reckening vp the names and titles of the bishops of Rome he saith that Eusebius in his cronicle anno 44. doth giue them the title of Pontifex Christianorum Which is a mere forgery For not the bishops af Rome but to Peter only is that title giuen if it be not thrust into the text But what belongeth and is peculierly giuen to Peter may not be claymed by euery bishop of Rome For I hope euery one of them will not be called Simon nor an Apostle nor the cheefe or first Apostle Nor will they I suppose write as Peter did in his
second epistle Simon Petrus seruus apostolus Iesu Christi Finally I hope Clement the 8. will not write Clemens octauus alter Simon Petrus seruus apostolus Iesu Christi falsification 5 In his booke de Monachis c. 6. We read these words Dicit Lutherus saepissime repetit inculcat Paulū cū ait se potuisse circumducere sororē mulierem 1. cor 9. voluisse dicere se potuisse ducere vxorem that is Luther doth say and often repeat and inculcat that Paule when he sayd he might leade aboute a sister a woman as it is 1. cor 9. meant that he might mary a wife But he doth falsifie Luthers words For Luther saith onely that the words 1. cor 9. do not compell vs to beleeue that Paule had no wife but rather shew In. 1. cor 7. that he had a wife and would not lead her about with him for speaking of this place and of those that collected out of it that Paule was vnmaried hoc saith he non cog it verum multo magis indicat eum habuisse vxorem sed eam circumducere noluisse He doth also impudently affirme that Luther doth repeate inculcat that often which he is not able to shew to haue béene once vttred by him He speaketh also very improbably For séeing Luther affirmed that Paule had a wife already it is very vnlikely that he should say and that often that Paule might mary an other wife If then he will not be condemned both as a falsary and a lying fellow let him set downe Luthers words where that is often repeated falsification 6 He alledgeth also in the same place these words as taken out of Luther Voueo castitatem paupertatem obedientiam dicit saith Bellarmine formam vouendi hanc esse debere si piè vouendum sit voueo castitatem paupertatem obedientiam vsque ad mortē liberè id est vt mutare possim quando volo that is Luther saith that this is the best forme of vowes if we will make godly vowes I do vowe chastity pouerty obedience vnto death but freely or conditionally that is to say that I may change when I please But Luther speaketh not one word of the vowe of pouerty and monasticall obedience nor euer thought that any godly man might make a vowe concerning either nor doth he speake or place his words so ridiculously as Bellarmine doth report All that Luther saith to this purpose is this Videtur forma voti apud deum sic habere De votis monast voueo castitatem quam diu possibilis fuerit si autem seruare nequi ero vt liceat nubere That is in effect thus much That forme of vowe seemeth most pleasing to God that is thus vttered I vowe chastity as longe as I am able to containe if I be not able then that it may be lawfull for me to mary Doth it not appeare that Bellarmine hath falsified Luthers words made him contrary to his owne doctrine to allowe vowes of pouerty and monasticall obedience and to speake ridiculously and foolishly and far otherwise then euer he spoke or wrote falsification 7 In the same booke chap. 31. He saith that Chrysostome in his commentaries vpon the 19. of Math. teacheth vs that Christ by the similitude of Eunuches would proue that it is easie and profitable to absteine from mariage facile vtile esse abstinere a nuptiis But like a falsary where Chrysostome hath possible there he placeth facile But many thinges are possible that are not facile and easie falsification 8 Likewise in the same booke chap. 27. he falsifieth a place of Saint Chrysostome homil 15. in priorem ad Timoth. He rehearseth Chrysostomes words thus vidua in uiduitatis professione christo consentit id est christo nubit But these words id est Christo nubit are added by Bellarmine and that peruersely For Christ is the spouse of the Church and not of euery capriccious nonne falsification 9 In his booke de notis ecclesiae c. 9. he maketh Luther to speake thus non alia via potest homo cum deo conuenire aut agere quam per fidem opera ille non curat But Luthers words as they are set downe in his booke de captiuitate Baby Ionica c de Eucharistia which booke with the rest of his workes were set out at Wittemberge are these nec alia via potest homo cum deo conuenire aut agere quam per fidem id est vt non homo operibus suis vllis sed deus promissione sua sit author salutis vt omnia pendeant portentur seruenturque in verbo virtutis suae So it appeareth that Bellarmine cutteth off the ende of Luthers sentence and addeth these words opera ille non curat to make his doctrine odious falsification 10 In the same booke and chapter likewise Bellarmine falsifieth another place of Luther making him to speake thus tam diues est homo Christianus vt non possit perire si velit quantumcunque malè viuat But Luthers wordes in his booke de Capt. Babyl c. de baptismo of the edition aboue mentioned stand thus tam diues est homo Christianus vt volens non possit perdere salutem suam quantiscunque peccatis nisi nolit credere These wordes quantumcunque malè viuat are added by Bellarmine to make Luthers doctrine seeme contrarie to good workes falsification 11 He would make his reader beléeue that Caluin should say that God is cause of sinne De notis eccles c. 9. The place quoted instit lib. 1. c. 18. doth acquite Caluin and shew Bellarmine to be a falsary for he doth not teach any such matter nor hath any such words falsification 12 These wordes he setteth downe as taken out of Caluins instit Ibidem lib. 1. c. 18. § 2. non solum permissu sed voluntate dei homines peccant ita vt nihil ipsi deliberando agitent nisi quod deus apud se decreuerit arcana directione constituit but he forgeth these words quod dei voluntate homines peccant and altereth the latter end of the sentence falsification 13 Lib. 3. instit c. 23. § 24. dicit Caluinus saith Bellar. lib. de notis ecclesiae c. 9. dei non solum praeuisione permissione sed etiam voluntate in peccatum lapsum esse Adamum But these wordes are no where to be found in Caluin for he hath onely these wordes lapsus est primus homo quia dominus ita expedire censuerat falsification 14 Likewise he affirmeth that Caluin hath these wordes lib. 3. instit Ibidem c. 24. § 14. quod aliqui verbum dei audire contemnunt ipsorum est prauitas sed in hanc prauitatem à deo addicti sunt but these words à Deo are Bellarmines addition falsification 15 Speaking of Philip Melancthon dicit saith he ita fuisse opus dei Iudae proditionem Ibidem ac Pauli conuersionem and these wordes saith he are found in his commentaries vpon the eight
is now an infant or that he hath communicated his gouerment with his mother Thirdly neither doth Peter nor any other Disciple of Christ teach or maintaine the Romish doctrine concerning the worshippe of our Lady and the Popes authority All these figures therefore are lying and false figures falsification 7 Sixtus quintus in his decretall epistle profired before Baronious his bookes saith that he hath faithfully and diligentlye reported the stories of the Church and deliuered the true fountaines of apostolicall traditions speaking of his booke he calleth it opus fideliter scriptuÌ„ and not only reporteth so of his bookes that already were published but of those that yet he had not séene prophesiyng belike of Caesar Baronius his future workes perfections and exploytes speaking of his diligence in describing of Romish traditions he saith that in his bookes of Annales apostolicarum traditionum purissimi fontes aperiuntur But this is a notorious and large vntruth for not only his traditioÌ„s are fabulous but his discourse most vaine and false being grounded for the most part vpon lying legendes counterfect sermons and orations set out vnder the names of fathers lewd authors and such as Simeon Metaphrastes Anastasius Gratian Iuo Theodorus Studites certein bookes that neuer yet sawe light and Baronius allowing this Epistle of Sixtus must néedes proue himselfe a lyar falsification 8 The yeare and precise time of Christs natiuity being the ground of all his worke it must néedes follow that if he faile in that then that his whole booke is nothing but a packe of lies That the whole worke is layed vpon that point himselfe confesseth haec basis quaedam ac fundamentum annalium esto saith he Apparaâ—us ad annales eclesiast But that he hath erred in that point it is very probable Epiphanius in panario haeres 51. saith that our Sauiour was borne Augustus and Siluanus being consuls Seuerus hist lib. 2. saith hee was borne when Sabinus and Ruffinus were consuls why then should we rather beléeue Cassiodorus whoÌ„e Baronius followeth then the other two But if this were not erroneous yet in the supputation of yeares continually he erreth reducing matters rather to the false tradition of the Romish Breuiaries and other rituall bookes then to the truth falsification 9 This sentence which he placeth in the front of his booke in petra exaltauit me nunc exaltauit caput meum super inimi cos meos he doth falsely apply to the Romish church contrary to the meaning of the Prophet Psal 26. For he speaketh of himselfe Beside that he saith abscondit me in tabernaculo suoâ— in die malorum protexit me in abscondito tabernaculi sui that is he hath hidden me in his tabernacle and in the dayes of my trouble hath protected me in the secret place of his tabernacle But the Romanistes will not graunt that the Church of Rome is a congregation hidden or that God doth place the same in the secret place of his tabernacle Furthermore that which the prophet speaketh of himselfe cannot by any meanes be applyed to the Pope or Romish Church for it is not God that hath aduanced the Pope to this height of pride nor doe those heresies which the Church of Rome maynteineth nor those massacres and impostures which shée worketh proceede from god Finally God shall destroy antichrist with the breath of his mouth and shall not exalt him nor suffer him long to be thus exalted falsification 10 In his epistle to Sixtus quintus he giueth the title of Vniuersal or Catholike to the Romish Church and doubteth not to affirme the traditions of the Romish Church to be holy and auncient pro sacrarum traditionum antiquitate saith he ac saÌ„ctae Romanae catholicae ecclesiae potestate but of the prophanenesse and nouelty of the Romish traditions I haue spoken already both in my challenge and in my bookes de missa and other treatises against Bellarmine and I doubt not but thereby euery man may conuince him of lying both concerning the holinesse and also the antiquitie of Romish traditions To affirme that the Romish church is catholike concerning faith vniuersally taught I haue declared in my challenge to be most false to affirme that the Romish Church is the vniuersall and catholike Church in regard of time and place is not only most false but also most absurd for were the Church of Rome the true church as it was sometime yet as wel may we call London all england as the Romish Church the catholike Church falsification 11 In the same epistle most impudently he applyeth these words of Iacob Genes 27. surge sede comede de venatione mea vt benedicat mihi anima tua to himselfe as if he had béene a hunting about Rome and brought Sixtus quintus a goate or some like venaison and as if Sixtus quintus were a prophet like to Iacob And to fitte the words to his purpose he addeth to the text the word Pater and taketh away the word sede and saith surge pater comede de venatione mea vt benedicat mihi anima tua Which is a false and leud kinde of abusing of scriptures falsification 12 Concerning the visible monarchy of the Pope he telleth if not a visible yet a very palpable lye In praefat Catholicae ecclesiae visibilem monarchiam saith he à Christo domino institutam super Petrum fundatam ac eius legitimos verosque successores romanos nimirum pontifices inuiolatè conseruatam c. demonstrabimus But if Christ had apointed any such visible monarchy it is strange that neither the Apostles nor first church of christians could euer sée it Againe it is absurd to thinke that generall councels would haue made lawes if there had béene a generall monarke apoynted ouer them Thirdly if Peter had béene a monarke yet it is absurde to say that the visible monarchy is founded vpon him For no man saith that the kingdoÌ„e is founded vpon the King neither is it probable the foundation being inuisible that the building should bée visible Finally this being a ground of his legendicall fables that the bishops of Rome succeeded Peter in the visible monarchy of the church it must néedes follow if this ground faile him the cardinall lyeth in euery page of his annales and as often as he talketh of this matter But that neither Peter was constituted monarke of the church nor the bishops of Rome haue succeeded in any such phantasticall monarchy I haue at large proued in my booke de pontifice Rom. set out against Bellarmine some fowre or or fiue yeares sence falsification 13 Out of Clement lib. strom 6. most simply and falsely he affirmeth Apparat. p. 17. Cod. Antuerp that as the Iewes knew God by the prophets so God did separat from the commoÌ„ multitude of the Gentiles the most excellent of the philosophers and made them capable of Gods beneficence He alledgeth also an apocryphal text out of Paule and seemeth to affirme that some Gentiles did knowe Christ
popes vsurped supremacy for which his grosse head fit to beleeue all fond fables was neuer framed falsification 44 Out of Abdias which he confesseth to be an apocryphall author he telleth that Iohn the Euangelist by Christs perswasion did neuer desire mariage as if Christ were an enemy to mariage falsification 45 He saith that it was Simon Zelotes that was maried when Christ was present in Cana of Galiley Tom annal 1. p. 122. Antwerp and turned water into wine and declareth how the memory of that miracle being celebrated in the Church the vi day of Ianuary diuers riuers and fountaines that day ranne wine Matters méerely fabulous and which bring christian religion into question if not into contempt being auouched without any good ground falsification 46 Pag. 132. he alloweth the epistle of Abagarus to Iesus Christ and his epistle also to Abagarus which by the testimony of Gelasius c. sancta Rom. dist 15. are testified to be apocryphal and by the letters themselues appeare to be forged falsification 47 In the same place also he reporteth that our Sauiour Christ printed his image in a cloke and sent it to Abgarus The painter should haue taken the portrait but saith Baronius for the beames that came from his countenance he could not doe it He sheweth also that by this image diuers miracles were done and all this to confirme the worship of images falsification 48 Pag. 157. he telleth vs that by diuine and humane lawes one chiefe bishop both in time past did and ought to decide all ecclesiasticall controuersies But the place Deut. 17. and diuers places of the new testament doe shew this to be a notorious vntruth as I haue shewed in my bookes de Pontifice Rom. falsification 49 Pag. 167. he telleth out of Euthymius that the rich man Luc. 16. was called Nynensis and doubteth not to affirme that this was a story and not a parable because diuers churches are erected in the honour of Lazarus but the fathers thinke otherwise And the naming of tongues fingers and other things which are corporal where our Sauiour talketh of soules doth shew this discourse to be parabolicall and the papists to be idolaters that worship their owne fancies and imaginations In the meane while it is no hard matter to discerne Baronius to be a fabler falsification 50 Pag. 176. he would make his reader beléeue that our Sauiour did celebrate his passeouer in S. Iohn the euangelists house But Simeon Metaphrastes denieth it which is often alleadged by Baronius as a graue witnesse and the words of the gospell séeme to speake of the owner of that house as of a stranger falsification 51 Pag. 191. he saith Missa is deriued from the Hebrew or Chaldey word but Bellarmine his fellow telleth him Lib. 1. de missa he is deceiued In the same page he alleadgeth the counterfeit epistles of Pius ad Iustum and Cornelius ad Lupicinum and other forged writings and all to shew that the word Missa was vsed in their times falsification 52 Out of Gregory of Tours he reporteth this fable that diuers making thonges put them about the piller whereto Christ was tyed when he was scourged and that the same heale diuers diseases He would haue tolde vs als◠if he could haue brought any proofe for it that the same piller is to be shewed in Saint Peters Church at Rome for that is a Romish tradition but he perceiued that he had tolde a lye sufficient alreadie And thus we may sée albeit I tell not all how many lies are contained in the beginning of his first booke of Annales being by iudgement of all men the best and most frée from lyes and yet I neither touch his errors in Chronology nor much meddle with his forged and false writings After this he telleth things most incredible and yet without good testimony of any man of credit Of S. Paul he writeth that his head being stricken off there issued out milke in steade of bloud He telleth also that Peters chaines being kept by Plautilla worke great wonders and saith that when Iohn the Euangelist wrote the gospell it thundered and lightened as when the lawe was giuen in mount Sinah Infinit such strange tales are contained in his huge legends If then we would doe him right we should rather call them Aniles fabulas then Annales CHAP. IX A sampler of Robert Parsons alias Coobucke his manifold falsities and lies taken out of diuers libels and pamphlets published by him NOw I come to Robert Parsons alias Coobuck a man I confesse vnworthy to bee ioyned with Bellarmine and Baronius being farre inferiour to them in learning yet in regard of his falsehood and treacherous dealing comparable with the most wicked and shamelesse Iebusite of the whole order and with the most false packer of all the popish faction His scholers beléeue that he is learned but if his trecherous complots and packings were not more to be feared then his learning he were not to be reputed halfe so dangerous as we finde him The which albeit I meant not here to dispute being without the reatch of my purpose yet because I would not haue euery such woodden fellow as Philip Woodward alias Owlyglasse for so men call the author of the detectiō to take exceptions vnto my sayings as destitute of proofe I will briefly verifie in this place and that by two of his bookes which his followers for learning workmanship beléeue to be singular If any man néede any further trial he may if he please read my reply to his wardword where I haue sounded his learning to be very shallow The first of the two is entituled a briefe discourse containing certaine reasons why papists whom falsely he termeth Catholikes refuse to go to Church and this booke Parsons vnder the maske of Iohn Howlet a fit name for such a night-bird doth presume most impudently to offer to her Maiesty The next is called a christian directory and commonly knowne by the name of Parsons his resolution His former discourse is wholy grounded vpon this rotten foundation that the popish religion which the Iebusiticall faction and their followers by all their witte learning and other meanes séeke to promote is the true Catholike religion This being the foundation of the worke if he had béene a wise builder he would haue confirmed and proued so strongly that her Maiesty before whom he pleadeth might haue conceiued well of his cause and allowed of his reasons but alleadging no one word to prooue this the whole worke doth not onely fall to the ground but also ministreth matter that may be turned backe vpon himselfe and employed to the hurt and preiudice of his clients For as it is a good reason if the popish religion be the true christian religion to mooue men to refuse all religions opposite vnto it so if the same be false odious trecherous damnable then neither haue papists any reason to professe it nor others to beare with those that obstinately defend it but
I haue shewed that it is not onely new and false but also superstitious and hereticall Againe if Parsons can say nothing why the religion professed in England is not Catholike and apostolical then all his reasons fall to the ground and all his pretenses of feare of infection of scandale of schisme of casting away the marke of distinction of participation with vs of dissimulation of naughty seruice of the benefit of popish religion may be retorted against himselfe and his clients For neither are Christians to suffer the practise of the idolatrous masse nor the faction and packing of wicked dissembling papists nor may any magistrate or other good christian with good conscience suffer Gods true religion by schismatickes and heretickes to be scorned And these reasons are so effectuall that I doubt not but those that haue the managing of these causes will both take vp such Howlets and deliuer Christian religion from contempt of such impostors and Atheistes Secondly purposing and promising three things whereof the first was a demonstration of reasons why Papists should not goe to the Church the next contained a declaration of meanes how papists should remedy or ease themselues of their afflictions the third was an instruction how with patience to endure affliction the first he handleth most lewdly and loosely the other two parts he was not able to make out abusing both his friends and his aduersaries with his false promises Further it may be that his remedies were nothing but practises of treason and rebellion and that he meant nothing lesse then to exhort men to patience and that therefore he omitted to speake of these two points But why then did he promise doth he promise that which hee purposeth not to performe and doth he meane to kéepe no touch in any thing His directory also is a most idle and vaine discourse It should consist of thrée partes whereof the first as he saith appertaineth to resolution the second treateth of entrance the third of perseuerance but as his fashion is of thrée partes promised he kéepeth backe two and performeth the third most simply For first that which he hath written concerning resolution is very impertinent for it is a very euil signe of resolution in matters of christian religion for a man to dispute whether there be a God or no and whether christian religion be true or no as Parsons doth Againe despaire of Gods mercy temptations feare of persecution and such like impediments as Parsons alleadgeth doe rather hinder a man to leade a christian life then helpe to resolue him to doe it Secondly the greatest part of his discourse is either stollen out of Gaspar Loarti or Granatensis or Stella or such like frier like and idle discourses Thirdly it argueth that he hath a bad conceit of popish cacolikes in England for if he tooke them to be christians he would neither go about to teach them that there is a God nor that christian religion is true nor that there are rewards offered to those that doe well both in the life to come and in this life and punishments likewise for euill doers both in this life and after this life for euery childe among christians knoweth all this without his teaching Fourthly we doe not finde that this directory hath made any one christian or directed him the way to life But I doe heare many complaine that diuers simple young men haue béen directed by him to the gallowes Fifthly it should séeme that this booke hath wrought little good effect in Parsons himselfe that hauing so long stood vpon resolution is not yet come to the entrance of religion Sixthly as lawes are made to restraine common abuses so likewise divines should discourse of such matters as may make most for reformation of christian mens manners This discourse therefore of his wherein he endeuoureth to prooue that there is a God that there is one true religion that there is a heauen and a hell among christians already well perswaded is impertinent and woulde better haue béene bestowed vpon Italians and Spaniardes that scarce beleeue in God or know any of the principall points of christian religion Furthermore intreating of resolution which as himselfe declareth goeth before entrance and perseuerance yet doth he very wisely diuide the treatise of resolution into speculation and practise The first part saith he shall containe matter of discourse speculation consideration the second shall handle things appertaining to exercise vse and practise As if a man could practise that is not entered into the exercise of religion or as if resolution were not farre different from practise Finally the booke is so full fraught with idle discourses and the principall points so weakely proued that it will rather make Christians to doubt of religion then Atheistes to beleeue It doth also containe so much poyson that no physicke can make it holesome I would therefore aduise all Christians to beware of his booke of resolution by him intituled a directorie containing little truth but much superstition and hereticall poyson The same is also a disgrace to all papistes whome he presumeth as yet not to be resolued that there is a God or that christian religion is true To christians it can yeelde no instruction being a packe of stollen and bad stuffe euill trussed together Neither is the same good although it hath béene purged the whole substance being leud and full of poyson Much I wonder that any christian would sette it forth in this Church and more that christians should beleeue that any good was like to come of such a wicked writing And I doubt not but that such as are in authority will remoue both that and other such venemous treatises out of all true Christian mens handes being rather fit for Italian atheistes then the English nation To leaue the rest of his treacheries heresies and other faults which are rather to be corrected by the publike exequutioner then noted by the stile of a writer I will only in this discourse set downe certaine notorious falsifications committed by him in sundry pamphlets set out vnder diuers counterfect names and giue you a tast of his vnsauory lies of which in Parsons writinges there is great store And this so much the rather for that in his relation sent vs from Rōe concerning the conference some two yeares agone passed in France betwéene Monsieur de plessis and the pretended bishop of Eureux he séemeth earnestly to desire a triall concerning these points The man also in his preface before his reasons of refusall of going to the Church vnder the name of Iohn Houlet desireth that some indifferent triall may be had either by disputation or otherwise wherein I desire he should be satisfied falsification 1 First then I challenge the man as a notorious falsificator in that he hath set forth his owne booke concerning titles vnder the name of another preist called Dolman who was neuer acquanted with the matter Wherein albeit he hath cōmitted far more haynous faults then
forgery endeuoring by notorious vntruthes to set the crowne of england vpon the Infantaes head yet is it a fault also worthy to be censured to father his bastard writinges vpon others that this is forgery it is apparent by the testimony of the doctors in L. Cornel. de falsis and their iudgement is grounded vpon great reason For if it be forgery to adde one clause to a testament or other writing then it is a mayne forgery to publishe a false testament a false booke or other false writing vnder other meÌ„s names falsification 2 D. Bagsh in his answere to his late apology chargeth him with 8. sundrie libels Secondly he hath published vnder the name of Sanders and Rishton diuers enormous and wicked slanders against King Henry the 8. of famous memory against her maiesty and the principall persons of this church and realme of Enland setting out his owne vilanous lyes vnder the name of Sanders long before dead and of Rishton a man no way likely to commit any such wickednesse against his Prince and country of Howlet Dolman and others As for Rishton it is now well knowne he had small intelligence of state matters Neither did he vse to meddle or practise in them Further those that know him doe testifie that the stile of Sanders his booke is farre vnlike his Thirdly his credit was not such as that he was able to get his bookes printed especially being of that nature Finally we doe not beléeue that Rishton hauing receiued grace at her Maiesties hands and being deliuered from death which he had deserued by her great fauour would thus requite her or that being a man of milde disposition he would rayle so maliciously and falsely against his prince and contry And therefore I beleeue if the man be aliue and were examined vpon his oth that he would deny that booke to be his and declare it to be Robert Parsons his worke And though he doe it not yet diuers others doe playnly declare so much we haue great reason to beléeue their declaration to be true For he is a great stickeler in matters of state and he hath writen such like libels before Furthermore at his request Ribadineira his fellow Iebusite seemeth to haue set forth the same booke translated into spanish Finally I doe not thinke that Parsons will vpon his oth and without all equiuocation affirme that he had noe finger in the making and publishing of that most wicked and slaunderous booke falsification 3 In those bookes which goe vnder the name of Sanders and Rishton Robert Parsons hath committed diuers particuler falsities and namely in publishing diuers letters in the name of Frier Forest and others which neuer were made by the authors whose name they carry For first we doe not finde them in the first edition of that booke anno 1585. Secondly it is absurde to thinke that either Forest or simple women did write as is reported Finally they doe rather sauor of Parsons his veine who is able to make to speake and to write whome he pleaseth and what himselfe listeth So plentifull and impudent he is in forging false writings falsification 4 Fourthly vnder the name of Iohn Houlet whome nowe all the seculer masse préestes in England doe wonder at like an Owlet he hath set forth an impudent discourse concerning reasons why papistes goe not to the Church He will not I thinke deny it to be his how then can he deny himselfe to be a falsary To come to particuler falsifications albeit in his booke of resolution he hath noe reason to falsifie any place alleadged winning no aduantage by it yet hath he so dealt therein and so hath he enured his fingers in this practise that he cannot forget to forge and falsifie falsification 5 In the margent of his preface fol. 8. he saith it is an old tricke of heretikes to abuse simple people with obscure places of the scriptures and for this he quoteth Epiphanius contra haereses and Augustine ad quod vult deum as if they should say so He would also inferre that it is a matter very dangerous to alledge scriptures But if he doe not exhibit their testimonies it will be an easie matter to proue that this is an old tricke of Parsons to father his owne bastardly fancies both vpon the fathers and vpon others Is not this then bastardly dealing falsification 6 In the same preface fol. 10 he ascribeth this sentence to Luther in epist ad Iohan. Herâ—agium Typographum Argentinensem their opinion of the sacrament they beganne with lyes and with lyes they doe defende the same And they doe broch it abroade with wicked fraud of corrupting others mens bookes Likewise he affirmeth of Zuinglius that in his booke de sacrament fol. 412. he should call Luther a fowle corrupter and horrible falsifier of Gods word and one that followed the Marcionistes and Arians that razed out such places out of holy writte as were against them He maketh also Carolus Molinaeus in translat testam noui part 11. to accuse Caluin that he made the text of the gospell to leape vp and downe at his pleasure and that he vsed violence to the same and added of his owne to the very letter for drawing it to his purpose But who so list to peruse the writings of Luther Zuinglius and Molineus shall plainly perceiue that like a falsary he changeth and altereth their wordes at his pleasure neither can he excuse himselfe vnlesse he be able to shewe these wordes out of the authors which he mentioneth He chargeth Beza also for that in the preface to his new testament set out anno 1556. he accuseth Oecolampadius with all his brethren the diuines of Basil for great impietie in abusing the sacred scriptures translated by them But he abuseth his reader in laying that to Bezaes charge that was neuer vttered by him nor is to be found in his preface falsification 7 Fol. 11. of his preface he quoteth Saint Augustine lib. 8. confess c. 12. as if he should say that Saint Anthony had reuealed to his mother a religious rule of life which he should followe And fol. 12. he saith that Saint Augustine did so reuerence Anthonies doings that he made the same a principall motiue to his owne conuersion But Saint Augustine doth not so much as in one word mention any rule of religious life nor did he follow Saint Anthony in other matter then in reading the scriptures Nor doth he say that Saint Anthony reuealed any religious rule to Monica S. Augustines mother In this therefore Rob. Parsons followeth his olde rule or rather vnruly course of forgery falsification 8 Pag. 64 of his bookes printed at Louan he alleadgeth for his ground the counterfeit writings of Aristaeas which he calleth Aristeus and vpon his credit telleth diuers histories But such false grounds are more likely to peruert then to confirme men in the faith falsification 9 Pag. 259. he corrupteth Saint Augustines wordes de fid operibus c. 14. and peruerteth