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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A68090	An apology or defence for the Christians of Frau[n]ce which are of the eua[n]gelicall or reformed religion for the satisfiing of such as wil not liue in peace and concord with them. Whereby the purenes of the same religion in the chiefe poyntes that are in variance, is euidently shewed, not onely by the holy scriptures, and by reason: but also by the Popes owne canons. Written to the king of Nauarre and translated out of french into English by Sir Iherom Bowes Knight.; Apologie ou défense pour les chretiens de France de la religion reformée. English	Gentillet, Innocent, ca. 1535-ca. 1595.; Bowes, Jerome, Sir, d. 1616.	1579 (1579)	STC 11742; ESTC S103023	118,829	284

part of this sentēce seemeth to forbidde a good deed for it sayth receyue not the sinner Vnderstand therefore that this is spoken by a figure taking the sinner for the sin to the ende that thou admit not any sinne Thus haue you heard the very wordes of S. Augustine which doe very well declare vnto vs as well by the rule as by the first example which he setteth downe that the eating of the flesh and bloud of christ in his supper ought to be vnderstoode spiritually sacramentally and not after the manner of the cannibals which is vtterly voyd of all humanity and good manners as those transubstantiatiers would make vs beleue And whereas the catholickes vphold that this sacramēt ought not to be distributed vnto the lay people but by halfes which they doe terme vnder one kinde the same is expresly cōdemned by their owne canons as hie treason towardes god For you shall here what a canon sayth which is taken out of the decrees of Pope Gelasius It is done vs to vnderstand that some hauing receyued the holy sacrament of the body do abstayne from the cup of the holy bloud which thing they ought not to do for in asmuch as it is euident that in so doing they entangle themselues in I wot not what a kind of superstition they ought to receyue the sacrament whole togither or els to abstayne from it altogither For the deuiding a sunder of one selfe same mistery can not be done without great trechery And furthermore where as the most part of the lay catholikes do content themselues with the receyuing of the sacrament onely once a yeare which is at Easter they are condemned by the canons which declare that those are not to be taken for catholikes which receyue not three times in a yeare These be the very wordes of a cannon taken out of the councell of Agatha The laye people which receyue not the Lordes supper at Christmas at Easter and at whitsontide let them not bee taken ne reputed for Catholikes Thus may all men perceyue iudge with what manner of passion these catholikes are caried away which do so boldly condemne the Protestants as heretiques for their doctrine concerning this poynt of the supper of the Lord and so do spitefully name them Sacramentaries as though they denied this sacramēt For in so doing they do also vnawares condemne their owne cānons which otherwise they esteme so greatly that many of them do attribute more authority vnto those Cannons than to the holy scripture saying that they be the determinations of the holy mother church wherunto they ought to sticke bicause the scripture is to obscure and may be taken both wayes But indede it is nothing so for the scripture hath but one sence which is easy to be found out of a man that is willing to learne by conferring one text with another But the cannons are in many cases quite contrary one to another I know full well that too shift off these contrarieties the schole men say that we must always hold vs to those that were last made But I answer them that that is asmuch to say as we must alwayes hold vs to the worst For euery man of sound iudgement may always easely perceyue that the ancient cannons are better than those of latter tyme. And further to abate the authority of their canōs by their canōs thēselues I say that the cannons do will vs to serch the vnderstāding of the obscure textes of the scripture in the scripture it selfe And those which seeke it elsewhere are the very scholemasters of errour These are the very wordes of a cannon What is more vngodly than to hold an vngodly doctrine and not to beleue those that are most wise and learned But all such do fall into this kind of ignorance as make not their recourse to the wordes of the Prophets to the writing of the Apostles and to the authority of the Euangelistes to learne the knowledge of the truth in any obscure poynt but will needes trust to their own wit And therefore they become scholemaisters of errour because they list not to be disciples of the truth Which cannon in very deede doth deeply in few wordes condemne the scholedeuines that make more accompt of the authority of the Cannons and doctors of the church than of the very text of the scripture which they accompt to be to obscure And true it is that some textes of the scripture are in some places very darke howbeit there is no text so obscure but it may be made playne by other textes of the same scripture Specially if they resort not to the cannons and decretalls but to the Hebrue text for the the olde testament and to the Greeke text for the new testament as S. Augustine doth teach vs who sayth in this wise Such as vnderstand the latine tongue must for the better vnderstanding of the whole Scriptures haue the knowledge of two other languages more that is to wit of the Hebrue and of the Greek to the end they may haue recourse to the very fountayne of the originall coppies when the diuersitye of the Latin rranslations doth breede any doubte And hereto accordeth a Canon which sayth thus Like as the trueth of the things that are contayned in the old Testament ought to be examined by the Hebrue books Euen so the truth which is written in the new Testament ought to be made playne and cleere by the Greek bookes I besech you what can be braied aagaynst this Canon by the whole herd of these Asses which are so bold as to say that the Hebrue and Greeke tongues be the Languages of Heritickes and therefore doe vtterly reiect and condemne them Do they not by the same meanes condemne the canons and auncient doctors And if they condemne them Are they to bee holden for good Catholickes Well let vs come now to speake of the Masse Of the Masse The viii Chapter THe difference betwixt the Masse and the Supper of our Lord is great For the Catholick schoolemen which vnderstand what the masse is for all of them vnderstand it not doe say that it is a Sacrifice whereby the Priest offereth vp the body and the bloud of our Lord Iesus Christ vnto God for the soule health both of the quick and of the dead Which Sacrifice is accompanied with diuers other parcels as accessaries that is to say with diuers prayers and diuers texts taken out of the gospels and epistles of the new Testament and with divers verses taken out of the Psalmes of Dauid and other bookes of the olde Testament and interlarded throughout with many and diuers Ceremonies And this goodly omnigatherū hath bene patched together at many Sondry tymes by dyuers Popes And that is the cause why the Catholickes do put the masse among the cōmaundementes of their holy mother Church For this commaundement Thou shalt heare masse vpō the Sondayes and vpon other feastfull dayes inioyned is the first

still spight of all the corruptinges and darckninges of this world and of the maintayners of them And in very deede God who gouerneth the doings of all men in the world by his prouidence hath reserued still in this miserable world a great number of good and honest mē and of such as loue vertue And like as in the foresayd time of the Ciuill warres among the Romaynes Tacitus sayth that that age was not so barrayn of honest men but that it brought forth some good examples so also may we say that euen in this age of oures how much soeuer it be infected and corrupted yet hath God of his gratious goodnes reserued many still which to follow the pure Religion and vertue haue constantly indured pouerty losse of their goods the cruell murthering of their children kinsfolke and frendes banishment out of their Countrey absence from their houses and an infinite number of other aduersities and inconueniences Which thing geueth vs assurance that our Lord god will alwayes maintayne a certayn number of good men here below which shall imbrace vertue by maintayning good lawes and discipline and follow the light of the truth which abideth inuincible for euer and shall scatter the mistes and cloudes that set themselues agaynst it The worthy iudgement of that great monarch Darius king of the Medes and Persians will neuer slippe out of the remembrāce of men For this king hauing vpon a time made a royall feast to all the Gouernors Captaynes and other Officers of his Dominion which was so great that it extended ouer a hundreth and seuen and twenty Prouinces was contented to heare a disputatiō between three young Gentlemen of Iury that were attendant vpon his own person Of whom the one maintayned that nothing is stronger than wine because that commonly it ouercommeth aswell the great as the small Another sayd that nothing was stronger than a king because that with one only word of his mouth he can make men to be slayne Cities to be razed and Fortresses to be beaten down when he listeth And the third named Zorobabell a gentleman of the bloud royall descended of the line of Dauid vpheld that truth is strongest of all things because it contynueth in force euerlastingly and shall raigne for euer and euer Darius hauing heard this disputation and knowing well how it is most certayne that truth is the thing of greatest strength and of longest contynuance in all the world gaue the prize to zorabable as to him that had been of best opinion and gaue him great giftes and priuiledges aswell for himselfe as for all his wholl nation commaunding that from thence forth Zorobabell should be called the kinges Cosen Which iudgement of this great king ought to be wel considered of all persons and specially of kinges and Princes that they may geue themselues earnestly to the seeking out of the truth in all thinges as well in case of Religion as in Ciuil and worldly affaires and esteeme it more strong and inuincible thā any force of man. For certainly there is neither king nor Emperor fire nor sword payne nor tormēts that euer could quench the truth or ouercome it But forasmuch as in these dayes many men are doutfull in the case of Religiō where they should seeke the truth I will not here forget the rule which the great Emperor of Rome Constantine did set down at the cosicell of Nice in Bithinia for the decyding of the points of doctrine which were to be handeled and treated of there For hauing assembled the Councell together to determine vpon the doctrine that Arrius had sowed at that time When he had made the Bishoppes to take their places euery one in his degree which were to the number of 318. besides the Elders and Deacons that accompanyed thē who were aboue 500. he sate him down among them in a low chaire and made this Oration to them well beseeming his Maiestie and godlynes My Lords and fathers quoth he forasmuch as God hath vouchsafed to put down the cruell Princes by my hand and to geue peace to the world vnder my raign it is meete that you also in this holy assembly should doe your indeuoures to set a stable vnitie and cōcord in the Church For it were to euill an example if after the ouercomming of our enemies the publick peace should now be disturbed by the controuersies and disagreementes of the Shepheards of the Church a thing that would minister occasion and matter to the vngodly to mock our Religion to laugh it to scorn Now then sith we be to treat here of diuine matters we must tak the doctrine of the holy Ghost for our rule and resort to the bookes of the Euangelistes Apostles and Prophets which teach vs what opinion we ought to be of concerning Gods holy law Therfore setting aside all stoutnes of contention let vs seeke the resolution of our questions in the word that is inspired by God. After this short and notable speech made by that great Emperor the Councel was held and the doctrine of Arrius was throughly debated by the only word of God and in the end iustly condemned by those holy Fathers as vtterly contrary to a number of expresse places of the holy Scriptures which auow vnto vs the Godhead and euerlastingnes of the sonne of God which thing Arrius did wickedly deny But I must tell you by the way that in this speech of Constantines we haue three dueties to marke which doe wel beseeme a great Prince The one is to be inclyned to publicke peace and tranquillitie and to procure the maintenance thereof by all lawfull meanes Another is to loue the truth aboue al things chiefly in cases of Religion And the third is to seeke the same truth in the Scripture inspired by God. Now I beseech God of his gracious goodnes to make your Maiesties vertue godlines to shine forth dayly more and more in those holy dueties and to cause your Royall highnes to grow greater and greater in all his heauenly giftes and in all honor and felicitie Dated the 15. day of February the yere of our sauiour Christ 1578. The author of this Apology his Song THe Pope of Rome a thousand Canons bendes Agaynst the Church which doth Gods word imbrace And stoutly forth his own Decrees he sendes The soueraign Lords commaundements to deface Or rather quite and cleane away to chase Presuming proudly for to beare chiefe sway In mannes saluation euery kinde of way He thinkes ere long that noble fort to win And tryumphing aforehand in despight Of heauenly truth he sets him down within Gods Temple boasting euen in open sight Himselfe as God and striues with al his might To maintayne still his Lordly soueraintie Aswell aboue as vnderneath the Skie But thou O Christ our King omnipotent Reach out thine arme and with thy skilfull hand Lay holde vpon the Canons that are bent Agaynst thee by the Romish Tirants band And turne them back at him that hath them

taken out of S. Ambrose S. Peter and S. Paule haue preheminence aboue all other Apostles by speciall prerogatiue But yet is it vncertayne whether of them two were preferred before the other For I think that they were both equall in deserts likewise in their deathes and passions and also that they liued in like deuotion of faith and finally came Both together to the glory of martirdome And I beleue that it hapned not with out some cause that they both suffered martirdome in one day in one place and vnder one persecuter for they suffered in one day that they might goe together in company to Christ and in one place to the end that Rome should not want either of them both vnder one persecuter that both of them might be partakers of one cruelty The day therefore was ordayned for their desert the place for their glory and the persecuter for their vertue And they both suffered martirdome at Rome the soueraign Lady and head of all nations to the end that where the head of superstition was there should rest the head of holines where the princes of the Gentils dwelt there should remayn the Princes of the Church By which Canon it may easely be iudged that S. Peter was in nothing to be preferred before S. Paule that both were equal in all respects which sheweth plainly that S. Peter was neuer head of the Church neither in respect of nature nor in respect of ministration For if he had been thē should as much haue been sayd of S. Paul according to the Canon And so by consequence we should say that the Church had then two heads like a monster a thing that were to absurde strange I know wel that such as imagine the gouernment of the Church to be like the gouernment of a kingdome doe thinke it meete that there should be one supreme head and gouerner and that the same should haue Cardinals as great Princes of his court Archbishops somewhat in lower degree than the Cardinals and Bishops as inferiors to the Archbishops and so consequently Abbots Priors Channons and Curats ech in degree vnder other And in good sooth this order of holy gouernment hath a fayre outward shew but there is one thing that marreth all which is that it hath no foundation in the word of God which doth not teach that there is any inequalitie amongest the Shepheards but that they ought to gouern their Churches with one common consent by Gods word making assemblies or meetings which are cōmonly called Sinodes or Councels for the same purpose if need require And moreouer that they ought to submit themselues to the Ciuill Magistrate And the very Canons themselues doe agree herewith specially one Canon which is taken out of S. Iherom seeing that in the time of the primitiue Church there was no difference betwixt a priest or an elder and a bishop and that the Church was then gouerned by the common councell of the elders Let vs heare the very words of the Canon In olde time an Elder and a Bishop were all one thing till scismes and parttakings crept into Religion by the deuils inspiration and that folke began to say I hold of Paule and I of Apollo and I of Cephas Vntill this time the Churches were gouerned by common aduice of the Elders But after that euery man began to brag of his own disciples whom he had baptised and not of Christ then it was ordayned that in euery Church one of the Elders should haue authoritie ouer the rest to take away the seede of scizme Wherefore like as the Priests know that by the custome of the Church they be put in subiection to the party that is set in authoritie ouer them So let the bishops know also that wheras they themselues are of more authoritie than the Priest it is not by the ordynance of God but by custome and that they ought to gouerne the Church by common aduise Which Canon in very truth is very notable specially for that it doth euidently shew that all the degrees and dignities which are infinite at this day in the Church of Rome are not grounded vpon the expresse ordinance of God but only vpon the positiue law of custome for looke what the Canon speaketh of Bishops is much more by all reason to be spoken of Cardinals Patriarches Archbishops and other dignities seeing that the office of a Bishop wherof the holy Scripture maketh mention was instituted long time before the dignities of the Cardinals and the others And hereupon it followeth that men should not make so great reckning of any of these great and pompous dignities which are founded but onely vpon custome which ought not to be of any or at least wise of very litle authoritie in the Church of God as shal be declared more at large in the last chapter of this booke As touching the residue if it be alleaged that the Bishop of Rome had in olde time and still ought to haue cheefe authoritie and preheminence at the least wise in the assemblies of coūcels and Sinodes the answere is that he hath nothing to doe with the matter for the Ecclesiastical histories and the acts of the auncient councels as that of Nice holden in the time of Constantine the Emperor doe witnesse vnto vs that the Bishoppe of Rome was so far of from ouerruling the coūcels that he tooke his place in sitting but as fourth in degree which is a good way offe from the first and cheef place as he did at the generall councell of Nice But forasmuch as in this point of the Popes Supremacie the Romish Catholicks chiefly the Canonists doe maintaine the authoritie of the Pope by meanes of a donation and of certaine prerogatiues which they affirme to haue been graunted vnto the Pope by the Emperor Constantine the great I will here a litle examine the truth of the matter I say therfore that this donation and graunt of prerogatiues inregistred by Gratian in his decrees is a thing inuented of pleasure and altogether false and that it neither is like nor possible that the Emperor Constantine did at any time make such a pretended gifte or graūt of prerogatiues as may easely be perceiued by the histories of his time And for proofe of this matter ye must first vnderstand that in their sayd surmised donation they make the Emperor Constantine to say within foure dayes after he was baptised that he wold haue all the Bishops and Priestes of the Romayn Empire to acknowledge and hold the Bishop of Rome for their head in like sort as the iudges of a Realme doe holde their king and that he should haue greater authoritie than the Emperor himselfe Geuing vnto Siluester the vniuersall Pope and to his successors his Imperiall Pallace of Lateran which is at Rome and the Citie of Rome it selfe with al the Prouinces Places and Cities of Italy and all the west part of the Empire together with