these fewe what to iudge of the rest and by the soure taste of these mislike the remnant of his vnpleasant and most poisonned doctrine For if in these two blessed Sacraments the one being the gate and entry of saluation the other being a most heauenly foode to preserue vs therein he sticketh not to vtter so harnous heresies and setteth him selfe so wickedly against the church of god what conscience trowe ye is he like to take in other pointes of oure Christen religion lesse necessary and of lesse importance well Though he were in al the rest sounde and withoute blot yet these his heresies of vs recited of him vttered and taught maye be sufficient to discredit him in the cōscience of any Christien harte For I thinke and trust verely there is no Christen man in all the realme of England be he neuer so farre waded in heresy but that he dothe reuerence the primitiue church of Christ of the first fyue or six hundred yeares and will be ready to condemne all suche heresies as were in that time and age cōdemned Nowe the Maniches the Ariās the Valētinians the Marcionistes the Nestorians the Nouatians the Pelagians the Samosatencall and other whose heresies Caluin hath renewed were in the compas of those fiue hundred yeares condēned If we woulde come downe lower we coulde recite a number more of heretikes condemned also in Christ his church with whose heresies the doctrine of Caluin dothe agree But in consideration of the impudent bragges made nowe in euery pulpit that all is reduced to the state of the primitiue churche I haue chosen oute suche heresies in Caluins doctrine as were in that time condemned geuing you to vnderstand that all is not the gospell which is there spoken vnlesse perhaps by reducing all to the state of the primitiue church they meane renewing of olde heresies condemned in the primitiue church And truly so must they meane if they saie truly But let vs returne to Caluin In the doctrine of free will I will make no especiall recitall of his heresies But note you his contradictions of the which euer one part is an heresy In his Institutions the .14 chapter he writeth that God did not only foresee the fall of the first man Adam and in it the fall of all his posterite but also it was his will it should be so Againe in his booke of predestination against Pighius he hath the same doctrine saying that God would not haue suffred Adam to fall but that he would haue it so to be Also that God so determined it and ordained it Now in his booke of free will against Pighius also he saith in two places these wordes I confesse with Origen that those which take away free will from Adā before he sinned be heretikes How agree these sayings of him If it were not only the will of God that Adam should fall but also that he determined and ordained it so to be then he fell of necessite For the determined will of God can not be frustrated Adā therefore could not if he had would continewed in his innocency And yet had he free will If hotte and colde be all one then is this doctrine vniforme Againe in his booke of predestination he saith All wsuchickednes as man committeth by malice of his owne procedethae so of God and that not without good reason although we knowe it not And to make his opinion herein most clere in the same booke he saieth It is a fonde solution of S. Paules saying Esadu odio habui I hated Esau to saie that the reprobats do worke their owne destruction by their owne malice And yet see what he saith in his institutions the .2 chapter Man saith he can not impute the hardnes of his hart to any other cause then to him selfe This lo is most true But why then saied he before the wickednes of man procedeth of God Why reprouueth he that solution which he now maketh him selfe Farder Caluin in his booke of predestination going aboute to mitigat his former doctrine where he taught that the reprobats could not chose but do euill saieth afterwarde he meaneth not of euery particular worke for a litle before he confesseth Saul had done certain thinges well But directly contrary to this shift is an other expresse doctrine of his in the very same booke where he saieth Men can not possibly haue any affection to do well vnlesse they be of the chosen and elected such as reprobats neuer be For of Iudas a sure reprobat Caluin him selfe pronoūceth Certum est Iudam nunquam fuisse membrum Christi Certain it is that Iudas was neuer any membre of Christ. Caluin yet for the better auauncement of his wicked doctrine against free will pretendeth to folow S. Augustin in all pointes And therefore in his booke of predestination he saieth he varieth not from S. Augustin so much as one sillable in this question of predestination Notwithstanding in his Institutions he saieth that S. Augustin was sometime scrupulous and would not tell the truthe of predestination roundely as when in his booke De praedestinatione gratia he saieth that the induration and blinding of the reprobats is not to be referred to the worke and operation of God but only to his foreknowleadg Here in this most gracious doctrine of that good Father Caluin chargeth him with scrupulosite And yet he will beare vs in hand forsothe that he agreeth euen in euery sillable with S. Augustin Where in the one he declareth him selfe a praesumptuous heretike in the other a false contradictour of his owne sayings Finally Caluin as in wordes and doctrine so in doings and behauiour contrarieth his owne self In his Institutions he wrireth It was neuer permitted to preachers of Gods worde to adde any one sillable to holy scriptare or diminish from thence but to preache the only bare worde as it lieth Now as in all his doctrine he talketh more then halfe beside holy scripture so in this matter of predestination he is not afeard to adde to the very text of S. Paule wordes of his owne for the maintenaunce of his wicked doctrine For in his Institutions labouring to refer the induration of the reprobats to the proper and eternall will of God as a superiour cause then their owne deserts and malice thus he talketh Restat nunc vt videamus curid Dominus faciat quod eum facere palam est Si respondeatur sic fieri quia sic impietate nequitia ingratitudine sua meriti sunt homines bene id quidem vere dicetur Sed quia nondum patet istius varietatis ratio cur alijs in obedientiam flexis isti obdurati persistant in ea excutienda necessario ad illud quod ex Moyse adnotauit Paulus transeundum erit Nēpe quod ab initio eos excitarit Dominus vt ostenderet nomen suum in vniuersa terra That is It remaineth nowe to see why God doth that
from the Zuinglians and as the Illyricans do now from the Melanchthonistes For the first bothe allowed the real presence in the Sacrament as Luther did and vsed also many olde ceremonies of Christ his church as the Melanchthonistes and the ciuil Lutherans do yet in Wittenberg in Misnia in Franconia at Norimberg at Vlmes where passing by of late we sawe in the churche the holy Roode and aultars of stone yet standing in the Dukedom of Wirtenberg at Breslaw at Briga in Silesia and in many other places The last and present order off communion denieth the reall presence as Zuinglius and Caluin do and reiecteth the ceremonies of the Masse as the Zuingliās and Caluinistes do in the fiue Cantons of Suitzerland Basil Zurich Berna Schafusa and Clarona at Geneua in Sauoye in Scotland and emong the seditious rebelles in Fraunce Now Luther in his litle confession De caena Domini condemneth Zuinglius and his cōplices for heretikes So do Nicolaus Amsdorfius in the booke aboue alleaged and Nicolaus Gallus in his booke intituled Theses hypotyposes etc. Likewise Melanchthon condēneth Illyricus and his felowes as in diuers writings of Illyricus it is to be sene By the iudgement then of Luther of Melanchthon and of all the ciuill Lutherans yea and by the iudgement of all the ghospellers in Kinge Edwardes time and of the stinking martirs of that age our communion now practised in England is hereticall and against the pure doctrine fo the ghospel It were ouer long to recite here all the variaunces in doctrine amonge our protestants I remitt you to the daily experience which you may see better at home then we which are abrode And thus much of the argument of this booke What remaineth then for our part to do but as S. Paule commaundeth vs that we be Solliciti seruare vnitatem spiritus in vinculo pacis that is carefull and diligent to kepe vnite off minde in the bonde off peace being one body and one minde as we be called in to one hope and vocation For there is but one lorde one faith one baptim one God and father of all that we hence forth be no more children wauering and caried aboute with euery winde of doctrine by the wilynes of men and craftines laying waite to deceaue vs. It is truly a world to see what labour and toile what posting and running what paines and charges men sustaine for their right in temporall traihe in worldly commodites and present pleasures which we haue renounced in our baptim which with care being gotten with sorow is kept and yet soone loste and how colde negligent and careles we are aboute the true and sincere worshipping of God which we haue promised and professed in our baptim and which only hath his sure certain and euerlasting rewarde We spare no labour no coste no trauail for the one we moue not a foote nor will not departe from a peny for the other but nodding and sleping in wilfull ignoraunce fuffer our selues to be lead by the noses with euery tinkard and cobler prating in pulpets and planting poisonnous doctrine If rebells arise ageinst their Prince they are with all spede possible and force brought downe again Well and worthely And shall we winke at the rebelles of Christes holy worde and his church The thefe that robbeth and pilleth our temporall riches is hanged and worthely and will we not labour to espie oute and auoy de heresies which bereue vs of the treasure of eternall life If we be thus recheles and careles for our saluation we perish worthely and the plage of god ligh teth vppon vs for our deserts if we will not wittingly be deceiued but haue a care of our soule helth and think vppon the life to come let vs in this perilous ti mes of schismes and abundāce off iniquite harken to such as can teache vs to discerne the true and right in terpretation of gods worde from the peruerted persuasions of heretikes let vs beware of such guides in matters of conscience as stick not to corrupt the ve ry text of gods worde against all honesty and conscience Let vs behold for the better assurance of our Catholike faith which is but one the horrible schismes of the Lutherās Sacramētaries Anabaptistes Cōfessionistes and other amonge them selues all the which are here liuely and expressely sette forth by Fridericus Staphylus and we shall I trust gladly kepe our selues vnder the wing of our mother the Catholike church and geue no more eare to euery new forged fantasie of seditious schismatikes As touching the Author of this booke Fridericus Staphylus in his life time for within these fewe moneths he departed the worlde to the great grief of all good men he was a vertuous lerned and wise Noble mā His vertu wel appereth not only in the feruēt zele of gods worde and the truthe for the setting forth of the which he toke such trade of life as bothe empaired much the helth of his body and procured also greatiosse of his substaunce as he writeth in the first part of this worke but also in the great patience and modesty that he vsed alwaies against his aduersaries writing pasquils libels and famous epigrams against him calling him Iudas runneagat traitour and so forth as the modesty of this new ghospel vseth bycause he forsoke their abhominable heresies after a thourough knowledge of them and detected their iuggling deceites to al the worlde as especially he doth in this worke folowing And this only were they able to obiect against him which declareth well the innocēcy and vprightnes of his life For as herein they spared no kinde of rethorike to exaggerat his departing from them which was a singular grace of God and most in him to be commended so if they had had better matter it should not haue lacked the telling on their part Smidelinus one that of all other to his perpetuall shame and ignominy toke vppon him to encounter with Staphylus labouring to fasten vppon him some great blow of reproche and shame at the lēghth for lacke of better aduauntage entuiteth him his naturall behauiour that he vsed commonly to loke downe to the grounde as he walcked thinking he had thereby raught him a great rappe Which how light a philip it is euery wise man seeth And that gre at ghospeller and doctour of Gopping had forgotte it was writen of our Sauiour that Non secundum visionem oculorum iudicabit He shall not iudge according to the eye sight Truly it is no small argument of his innocency that his most aduersary could laie no greuouser matter vnto him His lerning well appeareth in this and other his workes as in his Absolut apology his epistles and orations against Melanchthon Flaccus and other where he showeth him selfe no lesse lerned Diuin then eloquent oratour and expert of the tongues But of his education in lerning and prospering in the same of what estimation also he was amonge the protestants them selues yow shall vnderstand
that euery mā and womā were priestes Although this be an olde condemned heresie of the Aerians of Aetius and Pepusius raised vp now againe of Martin Luther by chaunging the worde Priesthoode in the worde Elders cōtrary the meaning of S. Paule and the common receaued interpretation of all Christendom hitherto Yet hath it pleased Master Luther to renew and preache to the worlde and olde detestable heresie vnder pretence of S. Paules doctrine and the expresse worde of God Nowe although these fewe examples might suffise to declare the honesty of Luther and vpright dealing in translation of the holy scripture yet for the more declaration thereof I will adde yet one place notably misused and willfully corrupted of Luther The Apostle writeth thus to the Colossians Beware lest any man deceiue you by philosophie or vaine deceites after the tradition of men after the elements of the worlde and not after Christ. Thus readeth the greke and the latin text But Luther drawing after his fashion the scripture for his purpose where it is in the text After the elements of the worlde he turneth it Nach der welt satzungen that is after the lawes and ordinaunces of the worlde It is surely a straunge case to see howe variabel and braynsicke these ghospellers are At the first broching of this newe ghospel while Luther as the rumor was lyued yet in his Patmus Philip Melanchthon taught that sithen Christen men were all 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 taught immediatly of God him self no man should study philosophie For al the writings of Plato Aristotle Cicero and such other were but friuolous tales and daungerous deceites and to be burned and destroied as in dede in many places so they were but onely the Bible ought to be read and studied For by these the holy ghoste would minister all knowledge bothe to serue God and to liue in this worlde bothe for euerlasting saluation and for this temporal estate That a Christē man should not liue a studious quyet life for that it was writē In the sweate of thy brow thou shalt eate thy bread that is as they expounde it thou must be a plowemā a showemaker a bucher a tayler or some such handy craftes man and so with thy owne labour get thy liuinge This fowle errour beside other occasions ministred thereunto was of Luther in sundry places of his workes stoutely maintained and defended One of such places I will here at large alleage Writing vnto the Nobilite of Germany he hath these wordes The vniuersites also haue nede of an earnest and sharp reformation Truly I must speake as I think let him be angry that listeth VVhatsoeuer was instituted or ordained vnder the pope tended only to the furderance of vice and encrease of errours for the vniuersites if they be not otherwise ordered then they haue ben hitherto what other thing are they then as it is noted in the Machabees scholes of children and of the greke glorie where is all licentious dissolutnes holy Scripture and Christen faith is not taught but that blind ethnick philosopher Aristotle ruleth aboue Christ him selfe VVhe refore by my aduise the Phisicks the Methaphisiks the bookes de Anima the Ethikes should vtterly be abolished with all the rest of his workes which professe to teache the naturall causes of thinges Although therein nether natural nor spirituall knowledg is to be gotte Beside that they are of such obscurite that fewe haue hitherto vnderstode them good wittes lesing bothe labour and time about them I dare well saie that euery coblar hath as much knowleadg of natural thinges as is to be gotte in those bookes It greueth me euen to the hart that this cursed and crafty proude ethnike could so longe a time abuse and deceaue the lerned men of Christendō VVith this scorge haue we ben whipped for our sinnes This much wrote Luther in the yere of our Lorde 1520. out of these and such other writings of Luther Carolostadius and Melanchthon first sucked out the contempt of philosophie and all good lerning being so moued by the authorite of this german prophet Luther And by the yeare 152◠they furdered the matter so farre that in many famous vniuersites and cites all study of philosophie vtterly decaied And although this doctrine of Luther and Melanchthon taking awaie from Christen men as Iulian the apostat Emperour did all honest discipline liberall sciences and good lerning whereby the estat of Christēdom hathe alwaies ben in knowleadg and vertu directed and to driue all men to handycraft workes and husbandry only by a rude and bestly doctrine yet it so serued that time and was so wel liked that at Wittēberg many scholers burned all their bookes and became craftes men sheaperdes husband men and so forth Carolostadius him selfe being before Archedeacon of Wittenberg getting him to a village thereby became sodenly a ploweman tilled and sowed the grounde him self and brought wodde to the market of Wittenberg to be solde Beside many other cites especially Breslau did shet vp cleane all scholes and for the space of certain yeares suffred their youth to roue abrode without any education or instruction Which if a man had asked them why they did so the text of S. Paule serued them for a cloke of their foly where it was writen Beware ye that no man deceiue you by philosophie and vaine suttelties after the tradition of men But now Luther perceauing afterward that this serued nothing his purpose retourning from his Patmus to Wittenberg he corrected Melanchthon and draue Carolostadius out of the dominiō of Wittenberg professing then openly and declaring that without grammer logick and philosophie his ghospell could not be spread abrode conueniently Therefore in the yeare 1524. writing to the Magistrates and cites of Germanie of setting vp and main taining scholes he laboureth very ernestly to haue restored againe such as had decaied or were neglected making yet no mention of Carolostadius or Melanchthon by whom that enormite was committed To quenche therefore and appaise the tumultes stirred vp by his former doctrine and by Melanchthon letting passe the foresaied text of S. Paule he teacheth that philosophie is good in it selfe if it be wel vsed and not abused to deceiue mē Which in dede had ben of him well saide if he him selfe had not much abused philosophie to sett forthe his fleshely ghospell and to persuade his wily and suttle opinons But seing that he could not without philosophie and helpe of scholes vtter the wicked wares of his fresh and newe lerning letting passe as I saide the former text of the Apostle he toke holde of the wordes that folowed The elements of the worlde turning it the lawes and ordonaunces of the worlde For philosophie hindered not so much his purpose as the Magistrates and and lawes of the countre did Whose authorite onlesse he first ouerthrew drawing men from due obedience vnto their superiours he perceaued right wel that his purpose could
the Roman Breuiary in to the German tongue in so handsome and pure stile that the Psalter the lessons and the ghospels be as pleasauntely to be reade in the German tongue as they are in the Latin It were therefore peraduenture more expedient for the common and vnlerned laye men to haue with them some such to praie and reade in then rashely trust to euery translation or confusely reade euery thinge they list Especially being so perilous a matter to swarue from the right vnderstanding of holy scripture that the danger ensuing is no lesse then heresie It were also very profitable that certain Homelies and Sermons were gathered out of S. Chrisostome S. Ambrose S. Augustin S. Gregory S. Bernarde S. Bede and such other holy fathers whiche being distributed in to the Sondayes and holy dayes of the yeare and well and truly translated in to the vulgar tongue might safely and with great profit be reade off the common people Beside where as many godly praiers for diuers necessites are to be founde in the doctours they might serue also for common praier for the people being truly translated in to the vulgar tonge Surely any laie man that desireth to reade scripture not of curiosite but to strengthen his faith to encrease his hope and to kindle his charite may in such bookes as we haue saide satisfie fully his desire and appetit OF DISAGREMENT IN DOCTRINE AMONGE THE PROTESTANTS THe third matter wherewith the Lutherans charge me is that I haue alleaged falsely certain of their articles whereby their enormous dissension appeareth partly haue fathered some vppon them which they neuer taught As touching the first point doctour Smidelin preacher of Gopping sturreth vp heauē and earth against me sweareth and affirmeth that the Lutheran preachers vary in no one point or groūde of their doctrine But if there be any controuersie amonge them the same is saith he not of any article of their faith or of their Confession made at Augspurg A man may verely in many places finde light and impudent persons which wil not sticke to call chauke chese and saie white is black But such an impudent preacher as this Iames Smidelin of Gopping is not this fourty yeares hath ben seen in Germany which is not ashamed to write and set forthe in printe yea that in bookes dedicated to men of worship that amonge the Lutherans is no one iote of variaunce in all their doctrine nor no dissension in any article of their Confession In dede this argument troubleth much the mā that where diuision and dissension is in the chefe pointes of Christen religion there must nedes heresies be But the Lutherans can not denie their enormous dissension and open variaūce in sondry pointes yea in these articles of their Confession made at Augspurg Ergo there be heretikes amonge thē and heresies great store For whereas to the first proposition of this argument no man can gainsaie but if he be extreme impudent or very foolish M. Smidelin shifteth him selfe to the other part and denieth stoutely that there is any one iote of variaunce or controuersie betwene them Nowe then to proue the contrary and to stoppe the impudent felowes mouthe who being oftentimes frendely warned perseuereth yet in his folie I will bringe here certain of his felowe Ministers and such as him selfe is which may a litle remoue his bonet from his eyes and showe him the glasse where he may see his owne impudēt face and shameles looke that blusheth not at so lowde a lie Nicolaus Amsdorfius in his booke entituled Publica Confessio purae doctrinae Euangelij confutatio praesentium Swermerorum vel factiosorum writeth thus The matter amendeth neuer a whit but wexeth daily worse and worse It is no other wise likely but that we shall vtterly lese the ghospell and in stede of it haue nothing but mere lies and hainous errours and that for no other cause then that euery man foloweth his owne witte and desireth not after the truthe In the diet and conference had lately at wormes Brentius and the Adiaphoristes would not condemne Zuinglius and Osiander bicause they were men lerned in the tongues and liberall sciences But hissed vs out of the cōpany and laughed vs to scorne bicause we refused to agree vnto the conference and diet onles those men were condemned Some of our felowes the Lutherans pretend that they cōdemne the Zwinglians but Brentius his praeface vpon Master Iames Smidelins booke testifieth the contrary For here they go about to reconcile godly Luther and Zuinglius which is impossible For who euer heard that two contradictories could agree Such childish and impossible matters they be not ashamed to affirme which wil be counted teachers and Masters of Christen religion as though we and all other were stockes and blockes But surely we can not embrace with quiet conscience the heresies of Zuinglius and Osiander Neither can we subscribe and yelde to such as haue departed and seuered them selues from Luther Truly if they had constātly cleaued vnto the worde of God and Luther and had not geuē them selues to alteratious or yelded to them whiche first altered from Luther there should haue ben no dissension nor variaunce amongest vs and al these mischefs which we see nowe hang ouer our heades had ben escaped Farder although the Ministers which after our departure remained in the conference at wormes wrote after and published it abrode that they woulde not departe from the Cōfession of Augspurg yet in dede they do cleane cōtrary For while they wil not condemne the Zwinglians and the Osiandrines they can by no meanes agree with our Confession off Augspurg but in so doing they be all ready departed from it So haue they caused dissēsion and remoued all meanes of agreement For if they would cōdemne with vs the foresaide errours of Zwinglius and Osiander then might we agree together against the papistes But no we whereas the Confession of Augspurg teacheth that the Bloud and passion of Christ is our righteousnes and that the bread in the Lordes supper is the body of Christ this can not possibly agree with the madnes of Zwinglius and Osiander Therefore these two repugne to saie they remaine in the Confession off Augspurg and yet go aboute to defend Zwinglius and Osiander VVe therefore first and formest do condemne for heretikes Caspar Swenckfeldius and the Anabaptistes which do contemne and refuse the externall preaching of Gods worde Secondarely we condemne the Secte of Osiander which holdeth no lesse grosse and impudent heresies Thirdly we condemne the Sacramentaries Zwinglius and his felowes Fourthely we condemne the Indifferents bicause in their churches beside the ghospell they will haue mens traditions to be obserued For the ghospell admitteth no commaundements of men to be kept in their churches But these indifferents coulour and counterfaite all thinges to please the Emperour they embrace the papisticall Masse and religion which yet they loue not in dede and
Osiander wickedly wretheth and corrupteth holy scripture this man saith that the interpretations of them bothe are not contrary Againe in the same booke of the Countes of Mansfeld thus we reade Neither is this errour of Osiander sightely to be passed ouer by the which he bindeth the benefits of Christ to certain circunstaunces to bring men thereby to desperation while the minde of man hangeth in doubt whether he be fit to receaue the benefits of Christ or no. But cleane contrarely writeth Smidelin in the booke aboue named If that Osiander saithe he or his aduersaries bicause of this contention inschole pointes only are to be counted heretikes what shall we saie I praie you of the olde fathers But howe swetely agree the semen The Ministers of Mansfeld saie that the doctrine of Osiander hath such a notable errour annexed vnto it that it forceth men to desperation Smidelin saieth it is but a light contention in schole pointes But this felowe perceauing that such manifeste and diuers heresies can in dede by no meanes be reconciled together he bringeth in the olde fathers for example as thoughe they had vsed to confute heretikes by false interpretation of holy scripture which caÌ„ neuer be proued of them Yea it is impossible that heresies may be ouerthrowen by false doctrine For as Aristotle teacheth it is impossible that of a false grounde any truthe may be coÌ„cluded Farder in this booke of Mansfeld the Ministres saie VVe ought to suspect the doctrine of Osiander bicause it is new and not heard of before in the church and we finde nothing in holy scripture that is anything like to the doctrine of Osiander Let vs nowe here what saithe Master Smidelin in his booke alleaged A childe of seuen yeares olde which had lerned but his cathechisme maye euidently perceaue that bothe these doctrines of Osiander and of the VVitenbergers disagree neuer a whit If there were in oure Germain tongue any one worde that might thouroughely expresse an impudent and shameles felowe surely it would nowe serue well the turne to tricke this doctour in his termes So impudently and so past al shame in the face of al the worlde he lieth so lowdely and boasteth so bestly that amonge them all is no difference in doctrine no variaunce in opinions but all smothe all quiet all vniforme and agreable yea and that so euidently so swetely so like pigeons they agree and coll together that a very childe of seuen yeare olde woulde be the better to see it But seing this good man slepeth so soundely in the swete concent and vniforme harmonie of his brethern that it semeth he hathe forgot all the worlde and remembreth not the prety pageants they haue plaied of late and what notes of discorde hathe fallen amoge I wil be so bolde as a litle to wake him and call him to remembraunce of the fourten Lutheran churches which all of late wrote and set forthe in print their writinges against the Confession of Andreas Osiander amonge the which the chefe are The Ministers or diuines of Wittenberge the Ministres of the younger Lordes of Vinaria the Ministres of Magdenburg The ministers of Franckford on this side of Viader The ministers of Ihon of Costrin the Marquis of the dukes of Pomerain and of the cites on the seacost of Saxony as of Lubek of Hamburg of Breme of Luneburg and diuers other Vnto all the which churches and Ministres Osiander in his booke entituled Schmeckbier awnswered paieng them home with such coine as they laide out so that nowe they are bothe on fire one against an other cursing and charging eche other with hainous and abhominable heresies He that listeth not to beleue me let him proue and trie the truthe in their bookes that are abiode in all mens handes let him serche the printers shops of Germany and he shall finde bitter contentions and greuous controuersies betwene the Lutherans and the Osiandrins Yet Smidelin winketh and noddeth still and will not see all this But if he be an vpright and plaine dealing man let him come forthe and proue in open writing that any thinge here saide in false or fained Well Smidelin goeth forthe after his fashion and laboureth against al reason to make the worlde wene That amonge the Lutherans and the Zwinglians there is no variaunce of any waight or force touching any articles of our faith of Christian religioÌ„ But against this saieng of Smidelin Luther him self directly pronounceth codemning the Swinglians in these wordes I must nedes eschew and auoide them as men condemned by their owne iudgemeÌ„t nether may I ioyne with them in any meanes nor by letters nor by writinges nor by worde nor by dede as the Lorde hathe commaunded whether he be Swenckfeldius Zwinglius or what soeuer he be called For I accompte them all a lyke as in dede they are whosoeuer beleue not that in the Supper of the Lorde the bread is his true and naturall body which as well Iudas and the wicked man doth receaue as S. Peter and all the Saintes VVhosoeuer will not beleue this let him not medle with me or in writing or in talke nor let him not looke for any communion with me For he shall but lese his labour And a litle after It shall nothing helpe the Swermers or Sacramentaries that they trifle aboute the Sacrament of the spirituall eating and drinking of the body and bloud of Christ and of the charite and vnite of Christians c. It is in vaine that they beleue in the father the Son and the holy ghoste and in Christ our Sauyour All this I saye nothing auaileth them howe truly and sincerely so euer they pronounce this faith with their false and blasphemous tongue as longe as they denie this one article or reproue it as false where Christ saith of the Sacrament Take breade and eate This is my body For this is the maner of all heretikes first to beginne but with one article and then after to denie all the rest euen as a ringe if it be ones broken or cleft it is vnprofitable and vnfite and as a bell if he be crackt or crased in any part he leseth his so wnde and is worth nought Thus farre Luther Let vs nowe on the other side here the awnswer of the Swinglians of Zuriâ—h In the third treatise of their booke made against the last Confession of Luther thus they write Luther craketh him selfe to be the prophet and Apostle of the Germans which neuer lerned of any man but all other of him that no man did any thing but Luther hath done all and whatsoeuer he hath not done hath remained vndone VVhatsoeuer he hath saide it must stand and no man so hardy to gainsaie it Iff men speake not iust as Luther doth then they are cursed and persecuted as heretikes And a litle before Luther hath forsaken god and all his honour calling vs a condemned and cursed
secte But let him take hede lest with this teasty and wicked talke he condemne not him selfe and proue him selfe an archeheretike seing that he nether will nor can haue the societe of such as sincerely teache and confesse Christ our Lorde And howe wonderfully doth Luther here betray himself with all his felow sprets and deuills VVhat foule wordes vseth he mete only for the deuill For he saith that there dwelleth in the Zwinglians a malicious deuill bothe nowe and euer that their hart and mynde hath the deuill dwelling in them raining ouer them and percing thourough them that their mouth is full of all lies and the deuill him selfe is poored in them poored ouer them and poored thourough them Did euer any man heare such talke of any sobre or reasonable mans mouth yea or of any furiouâ—e deuill or raging sprit Againe in the same place Luther seketh onely after his owne he is obstinat prowde and high minded condemning boldely and deliuering vp to the deuill all which will not agree vnto his minde He raileth and curseth like a deuill There is no token of mekenes or beneuolence in him Here would I wish M. Smidelin to come forthe and tell vs what Luther meaneth by such wordes of his as we haue here alleaged I am very sure he is neuer able to make accorde betwene the opinions of Luther and Zwinglius touching the Sacrament although he laboureth much about it As when he writeth in an other place VVâ—eÌ„ the one part saithe he teacheth bread in the holy Supper to signifie the body of Christ to be the figurâ— of the body of Christe to be the value of the body of Christ to be the pleadge of the body of Christ yet all these teache beleue and professe one doctrine and one opinion the difference is only in the interpretation as Luther VVitnesseth and in the phrase or maner of speaking not in the thing it selfe This saithe Smidelin and Amsdorffius in his confession obiecteth it vnto him with these wordes There be Lutherans which saie they condemne the Zwinglians but the preface of Brentius vpon Master Iames Smidelins booke testifieth the contrary For here they go about on gods name to reconcile godly Luther and Zwinglius together which is vtterly impossible For who euer heard that contradictories could be made one Such childish matters and impossible thinges they are not ashamed to warrant which beare themselues for Masters of Christian religion as though al we were stockes and blockes Let here the ChristiaÌ„ reader confer together these debates aâ—d contentioÌ„s of the two prophets of god Luther and Swinglius and set Smidelin as a pacifier and arbiter to bring them at one surely I doubt not but he shall soone perâ—eaue that Smidelin in this enterprise other hath lost some peace of his brayne or hath vtterly cast awaie al honesty and shame Luther saieth directly and plainly that the SwingliaÌ„s doctrine is not only contrary bothe in worde and in dede to his doctrine but also that their opinion is so pestiferous and execrable that he doubteth not to pronounce theÌ„ al starke heretikes that subscribe and agree vnto it yea and this with such a vehemeÌ„cie he vttereth that he affirmeth who so euer swarueth in this artikle of the sacrament he is an heretike in all other artikles and pointes of the faith Now cometh Smidelin and saith that the opinion of Luther and Swinglius touching the Supper is all one and that all the controuersie remaineth only in wordes And in his latin booke set forthe against me he saith of them It is most certain that their opinion and minde is all one therefore they agree in doctrine And where as I noted that amonge the Suinglians were eight sectes that Smidelin denieth also and saith Although Zwinglius varied and swarued some what from Luther yet of their schisme there were but two partes Therefore in his booke against my table he raileth in this sort Of these two partes this nightrauen so terming me hath made eight sectes The first part whom he calleth Adessenarii which beleue the praesence of the true body and bloud of Christ in the Supper he diuideth in to foure sectes as the Significatiui the Tropistae the Energici and the Arabonarij wherein who loketh nere to the matter shall see he hath plaied the wicked and naughtie mans parte I knowe very well that the vnlerned man reading these his wordes must nedes suppose that I haue iniuriousely slaundered the Swinglians and done like a false felowe to charge honest men with eight diuers heresies whereas the Lutherans and the Swinglians are diuided only in two partes and those two partes also as Smidelin saith consist only in the phrase or maner of speaking not in the thinge or dede What theÌ„ haue we here to awnswer Luther shal take the paines to do it for me whiche in his brief Confession writeth after this sorte At the very first these men meaning the Sacramentaries were well warned of the holy ghost when vpon that one text they diuided them selues in to seuen sprits eche one differing alwaies froÌ„ the other First Carolstadius would haue the text so that This is my body should signifie Here sitteth my body Then Zwinglius saith that could not be well saide though the father of heauen had reueled it therefore being moued with another holy sprit of his owne thus he turned the text Take eate This signifieth my body The third Oecolampadius brought forthe his third holy sprit which turned that text in to another hewe as this Take eate this is the token of my body The fourth Stencfeldius thinking to make his stenche to smell as muske brought vs forthe out of his holy sprit this rule These wordes This is my body must be remoued from our sight for they do let vs of the spirituall vnderstanding c. The fifte holy sprit being but the excremeÌ„ts of that other do thus reade that text Take and eate That which is deliuered for you is this my body The sixt holy sprit saith Take and eate This is my body in remembraunce as though Christ had saide Take and eate this is the monument of my body The seuenth holy sprit Ioannes Campanus bringeth this exposition Take and eateâ— This is my bready body or body of bread Beside all these an other sprit flieth about for the deuill is an holy and a greate sprit which persuadeth men that herein is no article of our faith and therefore we ougth not to contend of this matter but leaue it fre to euery man to beleue herein what he list Thus farre be the wordes of Luther Is not here Smidelin an honest and an vpright man is he not a kinde scholer towarde his Master Luther The master saith There are amonge the Swinglians eight diuers factioÌ„s or sectes The scholer saieth That the Zwinglians amonge them selues do perfitly agree and from Luther they differ only in wordes and maner of speaking Is not thinke you Master
Smidelin a trim pacifier doth he not by good reason reconcile these protestants together In the booke against my table he raileth and saith he must nedes be a wicked person which woulde saye that amonge the Swinglians were eight diuers and seuerall opinions and who is so blinde that seeth not Luther him selfe in his wordes aboue alleaged to recite eight contrary opinions of the Swinglians It foloweth then by the iudgement and sentence of Doctor Smidelinus that Luther is a wicked and pernicious felowe Surely very well and as it should be for such honour vse kinde scholers to geue to their masters But truly they are bothe vsed according to their deserts while the Master proueth his scholer a liar and the scholer proueth his Master a knaue and nowe it happeneth as we commonly see of a frowarde curre a peuish whelp But what will Smidelin saie if that amonge the Lutherans them selues be sacramentary sectes and schismes and that not a fewe This present yeare 1560. in the seconde of Octobre was printed at Heidelberg the iudgement of Philip Melanchthon touching the Supper of our Lorde dedicated to the honourable prince Electour CouÌ„te palatin of the Rhene where he writeth thus It is not hard but somewhat dangerous to awnswer yet I will declare that debate and controuersie which happened at Heidelberg and admonish men as much as I may at this time I will also praie vnto Christ our Lorde that it will please him prosperously to directe these our aduises and their doinges Greate and greuous coÌ„tentions shal vndoubtedly arise in the worlde vpon the Controuersie of our Lordes supper for the worlde must nedes be punished for their idolatry and other hainous offenses Let vs then praie that the Son of God teache vs and direct vs. But seing that many are yet in many places feble in the faith and not well instructed in this doctrine off the church but rather nouseled in many errours it is mete that first we take order for such I like ther fore very well the aduise of the most honourable prince Electour that all such as contend of the Supper of the Lorde be put to sileÌ„ce lest dissensioÌ„ and variaunce arise in the church yet tendre and weake whereby the febleiÌ„ faith might perhaps be seduced and disquieted And I would wish also that the contentious persons on bothe sides were some other where VVhich being seÌ„t awaie the rest might agree into some forme of wordes And in this controuersie me thinketh it were best to kepe the wordes of S. Paule The bread which we breake is the participation of Christ his body much also must be saide of the frute of the Supper to stirre vp men more to loue this pleadge and the oftener to vse it Againe the worde Participation is to be declared and expounded For S. Paule saith not as the papistes do that the nature of bread is chaunged nor that the bread is the substaÌ„tiall body of Christ as the ministers of Bremesaie Nor as Heshusious saith that bread is the true body of Christ but that it is a participation or communion that is by the which we are coupled and made one with the body off Christ. VVhich copulation and making of one consisteth in the vse not without it imagining that mise could knawe that bread The papistes and such as are like them to earnestly contend that the body of Christ is vnder the forme of bread or included in the bread beside the vse and when it is not receaued they wil haue it adored also as Doctor Morlin of Bruns wicke saith Thou must not saie Mum. Mum But what is that which the priest hath in his handes Sarcerius would haue all the parcels that sal doune to be gathered vp and to be burned together with the earth on which it fell Two yeres past wheÌ„ we were at wormes a quaestioÌ„ was asked vs out of the Courte whether the body of Christ passed downe in to the bely and so forthe Such absurde questions ought not to be moued better it is that the forme of S. Paules wordes be kept and that men be well instructed of the vse and frute of this Sacrament The forme of wordes of the Supper ye may see in the ordinatioÌ„ of the church of the Megapolians where also aduertisement is geueÌ„ of the frute thereoff The Son off God in the ministery of the ghospell is present and worketh also in those that beleue But he is present not for cause of the bread but for mans sake as he saith him selfe Tary in me and I in you I in my father and you in me and I in you And with this true Comfortes he maketh vs his membres and testifieth that he wil raise vp and quicken our bodies Thus do olde writers expounde the Supper of the Lorde but some terme this true and plaine doctrine buskins or showes mete for euery foote and will haue that the body is in the bread or in the forme of bread as though the Sacrament were made for the breads sake or to be adored papistically Then other imagin that the body should be enclosed in the breade some will haue it euery where and in all places Melanchthon dalieth here at his pleasure but all holy fathers and olde writers haue continually hitherto taught the conuersion transmutatioÌ„ and chaunging of the creature of bread in to the body of oure Lorde that we may truly say with Christ This is my body Heshusius saith he can not agree with Origen terming the bread and wine the signes of the the body and bloud So he reiecteth Clemens Alexandrinus ready to do the like to Augustin Ambrose Prosper Dyonisius Tertullian Bede Basill and Gregory Nazianzen which calleth the body 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to Theodoret which writeth that the nature of bread remaineth Is theÌ„ the authorite of Heshusius so great that we will rather bâ—leue him theÌ„ the olde writers which testifie clerely that the church in their time had no adoration nor no such doctrine as the papistes no we teache For seing these are newe and straunge in the church we doubt whether it be conuenient to bring in newe doctrine in the church And I am not ignoraÌ„t that many alleage forged bookes vnder the name of olde writers but let the lerned iudge hereof I will not make any longe debate of this matter presently nor entre to dispute with contentious men defending the idolatry and robberies of their forefathers VVhose tyranny and cruell persecutions I feele also I thought good only to declare my minde herein what were best to be done in respect of our weake and tender church Therefore I am still of that minde that bothe partes be put to silence and that one forme of wordes be vsed VVhich if some like not and will not therefore come vnto the Sacrament they may be permitted to do as they see good so that yet they styrre vp no dissension amonge the
people This much Melanchthon who although he would neuer before this time openly in writing professe his minde of the Sacrament yet he allwaies tolde his familiar frendes and men of worship that in this point he condemned Luther and claue vnto Swinglius correcting yet a litle his opinion For where as Swinglius saide This signifieth my body he will haue it saied This is the participation of my body which newe interpretation is plainely a newe Sacramentary heresie and neuer heard of amonge the rest of the Swinglians And to maintaine this his proper and newe heresie he vseth two pointes of sutteltie and falshood first when he saith the holy fathers taught no conuersion or transsubstantiation of the bread which is a very impudent and lowde lie For the conuersion of the bread and reall presence of Christ his true body and bloud in the Sacrament may euidently be proued out of all the fathers aboue named and many mo and the contrary opinion clerely condemned Secondarely whē he rebuketh his owne scholers and chargeth them with fiue other Sacramentarie heresies For he saith some be of Heshusius minde some of Sarcerius some other folowe the ministers of Breme and some Ioachimus Morlinus then he alleageth other whose opinion is that Christ his body may be in euery place These fiue heresies which as Melāchthon testifieth are amonge the Lutherans and the other eight which Luther showeth to be amonge the Swingliās make all together thirten heresies which al noweadaies vpon the Sacramēt only are folowed professed and defended amonge the protestants Here againe we may consider the honesty and truthe of M. Doctor Smidelin which is not ashamed to terme such open schismes manifest to al the worlde a sure and certain agremēt of Catholike religion who beside all this knoweth well inough what agreate and vehement altercation there was this present yeare 1560 at Heidelberg amonge the diuines and ministres there touching only this point of the blessed Sacramēt of the which matter Guilelmus Klebicius of Brandeburg hath writen very bitterly and sharpely And this much hitherto of the dissension amonge the protestants touching only the point of the blessed Sacrament The dissension and variaunce of the Lutherans touching the doctrine of Penaunce I haue noted before in a litle booke For some of them put two some thre partes of penaunce But doctor Smidelin will accorde all this discorde with a worde saing it is all one to put two or thre partes of penaunce As though that al other Superintendents and ministres of Luthers secte ought to couche and obey the pontificall authorite of Doctor Smidelin taking vppon him like a pope of protestants But Illyricus will not abide that persuading him selfe that he is of as good mettall to make a Lutheran pope as any other is and therefore he will not graunte to the Masters of Wittenberg no nor to his owne Master Luther to define diuide and determinat the ghospell at their pleasur For in the booke which he intituled An information vpon certain articles of Christen religion he writeth in this sort But not so much he meaning Melanchthon as his proctours do exasperat this matter although they agree not amōg them selues for one interpreteth the matter after one sorte and the other after an other as it happeneth in euill causes One saieh that the worde Penaunce signifieth only sorowe or contrition an other that it signifieth contrition and faithe with al. One saith that the ghospell preacheth repentaunce of one sinne only as of infidelite an other saith of all sinnes Some imagin this glose that the ghospell preacheth repentaunce vnproperly vndirectly and by occasion only some saie that consequently it preacheth repentaunce An other saithe by a figure of contrariete the fourth saith after a sorte and in some point The fift saith it doth but argue mens incredulite or slacknes of belefe The sixt saieth that it reiecteth the small faithe The seuenth saith that it preacheth repentaunce not principally Thus they disagree amonge thē selues no lesse then the Sacramentaries or Babylonians or those builders of idols that Esaie speaketh of where one thinketh to holde vp the idoll with glue another with nailes and the third with chaines But all these gloses bothe destroy them selues one another and the definition also Thus farre Illyricus Doth not Illyricus affirme here that Melanchthons diuines varie one from an other and sett vp seuen sondry opinions neuer a true and all repugnant one with an other no lesse then the sectes of the Sacramentaries and that they agree as the builders of the towre of Babilon in olde time Saithe not directly all this Illyricus And what saieth Smidelinus VVe in the principall articles and grounde of our doctrine do not vary Which if it be true then must we saie that the doctrine of penaunce and of the Sacrament of the aultar appertaine not to the grounde of Christen religion nor are not necessary articles of the same For Smidelin in his litle booke whiche he set forth against me standeth stiffe in this minde That it forceth not whether two or thre partes of penaunce be taught nor skilleth any whit whether you beleue vprightly or embrace that seuenfolde heresie contrary in it selfe in the matter of penaunce Againe in his booke against my table writing of the altercations betwene the Illyricans and the Adiaphoristes he saith Although one write bitterly against the other yet in their churches there is no alteration of doctrine but they professe and teache the pure doctrine of the ghospell in perfit agrement with vs and them selues euen as before this altercation beganne Howe soūdeth thinke you these wordes of Smidelin with the saieng of Illyricus In like maner doth he defend Andreas Musculus For where I write that he teacheth the Godhead of Christ to haue as well died in the Crosse as the māhood Smidelin goeth about to purge him in these wordes I haue vnderstode nowe that Staphylus dothe iniuriously slaunder Andreas Musculus For Musculus in open writing published and printed hathe purged him self against Staphylus Thus saithe Smidelin It is the nature and custome of all heretikes not to continew longe in one minde But to denie to morowe which they saide to daie So dothe Musculus And although Smidelin as he confesseth him selfe be vtterly ignorant of the debate betwene Musculus and Stācarus wherein those wordes be vttered yet he sticketh not to write that I slaunder Musculus Truly bicause he would be counted a common pacifier of all contentions a physician for all sores and a reconciler of all vnruly heresies But what will bothe Musculus and Smidelin saie vnto me if I bring their owne brethern and felowe heretikes witnesses against them The Lutheran churches of Pole sent to the vniuersite of Lausana for the determination of this matter betwene Musculus and Stancarus and the doctours of Lausana sent them this awnswer Although well beloued brethern we can neuer saie inough
write and coÌ„demne their owne schismaticall brethern and felowe heretikes and all professing the Confession of Augspurg of more then fiften sundry heresies yea and that about the principall articles of their Confession of Augspurg And whereas Smidelin laboureth to colour the matter and like a pacifier to recoÌ„cile al that is a misse surely he doth but vtter his foly and varieth from other him selfe For Amsdorffius Gallus and Illyricus pretended bishops of the Lutherans write and crie out that these debates and variaunces are mere contradictories not able to be iustified vntell the one part be cast If Amsdorffius with his felowes saie truly then doctor Smidelin lyeth If they lie and saie all vntruly let them trie it amonge them selues and kepe their estimation as well as they can We saide in the beginning of this laste parte that the Lutherans laie to my charge as though I fathered vpon them certain articles whiche they neuer wrote nor taught I haue in dede gathered out as they maie knowe whiche haue reade my other treatises aboue a hundred articles of the Lutherans partly directly false partly mingled with falshood and haue quoted the places of their writings where euery article might be founde Nowe the Masters off Wittenberge haue picked out of the whole summe thre or four fragments only and denie that these pertaine any thinge to their doctrine Hoping thereby that if vnder pretence of innocency they could shake of those fewe then their other heresies and absurdites would the lesse be espied or molested But this goeth the matter In my booke offered vp at the diet of wormes in the which I gathered certain principall pointes wherein the Lutherans differ and vary not only from vs Catholikes but also striue bitterly amonge them selues among other thinges I noted Luthers doctrine aboute Matrimony out of his owne booke where it is writen Let then Mariage be the figure of Christ and his church and a Sacrament not instituted of God but inuented of men in the church being lead with ignoraunce as well of the worde as of the thing This the Masters of Wittenberg vtterly denie and therefore inueigh furiousely and beyonde all reason against me after this sorte Tell vs thou wicked hipocrite where euer it was saide or writen of any man in our churches that matrimony was inuented of men by the ignoraunce as well off the worde as off the thinge Surely I think sobre and wise men will not like this malapert and ouer hotte talke of the Masters of Wit tenberg although I had iniured them in very dede But howe maye they nowe like it where as in this senteÌ„ce I haue nether added nether taken awaie any one sillable or iote but haue euen so recited it worde for worde as it lyeth in the seconde Latin tome off Luthers workes printed at Wittenberg with the preface of Melanchthon But a man peraduenture may here obiect that of these only wordes the doctrine or minde of Luther can not certainely be gathered for that in other places he hath otherwise writen of Matrimony Vnto whom I awnswer thus Howe constant and sure Lu ther and his scholers haue allwaies ben and are yet in their doctrine I haue declared to the whole worlde in my litle booke entituled Trimembris Theologia But what was the sure and settled opinion of Luther touching matrimony he hath declared him selfe in a certain sermon of matrimony printed at Wittenberg in the yeare 1522. And that no man maye thinke that Luther euer chaunged or recanted that doctrine as he did diuers the very same sermon euen worde for worde was printed againe at Wittenberg in the yeare 1553. and is extant in the sixt Germain to me off Luthers workes Where thus he writeth worde for worde Truly this I saide if a woman fitte for the acte of mariage haue a husband vnfitte thereunto nor can not openly mary any other and yet would be lothe to coÌ„mitte any dishonesty bicause the bishop of Rome requireth about it many witnesses and muche busines to no purpose she ought with these wordes talke vnto her husband You se good husband that you can not do your dutie vnto me and you haue disappointed my youthely body and brought me beside in daunger of my good name with greate hinderaunce of my helth you se there is before God no mariage betwene vs two Let me therefore by your good leaue mary priuely with your brother or next Kinsman so that alwaies yet you beare the name of my husbaÌ„d lest your goods come into other mens handes and suffer your selfe of your owne accorde to be deceaued of me as you haue deceaued me against my will I saide also that the husband ought to graunt hereunto and prouide her the duty of mariage and children whiche if he refuse to do she ought priuely to departe from her husband in to some other countre aâ—d there mary an other Such counsell I gaue then when I was yet fearefull But nowe I would geue freer counsell and that husband that beguiled his wife I would handle more roughely and likewise the woman that beguiled her husband although this happened seldomer in wemen then in men In such waightie matters that toucheth our body our goods estimation and helth it is not inough to compasse slightely by crafte our neighbour a iuste and aequal recompense must be required of him That is the woman lustely ought to plaie the hoore and committe aduoutry And a litle after There be wemen so frowarde and so obstinatly sette that allthough her husband fall ten times into incontinencie she passeth not vpon it Here it is time that her husband speake thus vnto her If thou wilt not an other will â–ª if the wife will not let the maide come so that yet the husband warden her twise or thrise before and open the matter to other that her frowardnes be knowen and punished before all the coÌ„gregation if she wil not then dimisse her from the. put a waie Vasthi and take Hester as king Assuerus did Thus farre Luther I knowe very well the Lutherans be angry hereat and would that there were no more talke of these matters for that being discouered and brought to light they worke them muche shame and dishonesty Vnto whom I awnswere that I am not the first that haue discouered this their shamefull doctrine of matrimony Diuers haue done the like before me and especially the vertuous and Catholike Prince of most worthy memory George Duke of Saxony in his aunsuer against Luther Which if Melanchthon haue forgotten yet I truste he remembreth what he wrote him selfe generally of all the sacraments in his annotations vpon the firste epistle to the Corinthians the seconde chapter where he writeth thus There be in all two sacramentall signes baptim and the Supper of the Lord the other which are called sacraments are but mens imaginations Nowe what difference is there betwene the wordes of Luther saieng that
lorde Iudas Iscariot receaued the true body of Christ. So writeth Swenck feldius in a litle booke entituled of this very matter and Caluin in his laste admonition against VVestphalus and other where The Neutres Sacramentaries which teache that nether one kinde nor bothe kindes are necessary but that only faithe suffiseth Againe that if the Councell should determinat that all should communicat vnder bothe kindes then contrairely the laye men ought other communicat vnder one kinde or vtterly refuse bothe they are the wordes off Luther in his booke de formula Missae ant it is the common practise of all Lutherans where by it happeneth that some not in ten yeares come to the communion some neuer at all Iconoclastae Imagebreakers which caste out of the church the images of Christ and all sainctes putting vp in their places their owne pictures and their wiues maruailous finely and amorousely painted as in times paste Simon Magus and his bawde Helena did as Nicephorus witnesseth Our ghospelling protestaÌ„ts practise it daily The examples testifie The third vncleane sprit or tode son of the false prophet Luther is Melanchthon father of the Confessionistes in the yeare 1530. off these there are thre contrary sectes and factions Some are roughe and zelous LutheraÌ„s which without choise or exception defend all the doctrine of Luther be it neuer so absurde taking all that Luther hath writen filthy or carren as it is for the holy and pure ghospell of God Nexte are the softe gentle Ciuill and moderat Lutherans which haue departed in many pointes from the doctrine of Luther And faining as if they woulde ioyne nearer to the Catholikes by making their Interim that is a delaye vntel a Councel come haue yet falleÌ„ froÌ„ errour to errour the later contrary to the first as sometime of Maniches becoming Pelagians The third sorte of these Confessionistes we may cal ExtrauagaÌ„ts and vnruly Lutherans which although they pretend to be Confessionistes for bicause off the authorite of â—uch Princes as haue subscribed to the Confession yet in dede they runne and roue farder from the doctrine of Luther then the common sorte of Lutherans do But nowe first of the zelous and rough Lutherans Antinomi lawles Lutherans which so extoll the ghospell that they affirme the lawe of god to be vtterly vnprofitable and nether before iustification nor after necessary That men of the ghospell are not bouÌ„de to the good workes of Gods lawe So Luther taught in the beginning and of him lerned Ioannes Agricola as he writeth in his annotations vpon S. Ihon. And Luther in his Antinomicall disputations Samo satenici or newe Arrians which denie that this terme 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the worde in S. Ihon signifieth a person of the blessed Trinite The vniuersite of Wittenberg witnesseth that Mathias Illyricus is of that opinion In a litle towne or village of Silesia called Zary there is an other Mathias Minister off that village which vtterly denieth that there is any Trinite In Czeshau a towne of Boheman other Minister with like madnes inueighed against the blessed Trinite preaching in the hilles called Guttni and diuers other in other places Yea they are come to this fury and madnes that they call the Blessed Trinite the thre headed Helhounde Cerberus some other denie there is one God and affirme there are three Gods So a certayn Minister preached openly in Prussia Infernales Hellmasters which denie hell and that Christ descended in to hell affirming that euery maÌ„s graue is called in hebrew hell Therefore where our Crede saith that Christ desceÌ„ded in to hell they saie it must be ment of his graue This is a common doctrine in the seacost townes of Germany as at Breme at Hamburg at Lubek and such other places It semeth also to be the opinion of Brentius Reade his greate Catechisme Infernales of an other sorte helltormenters are which affirme that Christ not onely desceÌ„ded in to hell but also suffred the eternall torments and paines of hell So teacheth Nicolaus Gallus at Regenspurg in his printed Catechisme and Iames Smidelin preacher of Gopping and Caluin in his Institutions Antidaemoniaci which denie there is any deuil or euill sprits or any witchecrafte or enchauntments wrought by the deuills So teache the Dauigeorgians and Andreas Osiander Amsdorffiani which teache that good workes are pernicious for man to saluation So writeth Nicolaus Amsdorffius in his litle booke entituled That this proposition is true Good workes are pernicious to saluatioÌ„ So the scholers of Flaccius and many preachers of Saxony do teache and write Antadiaphoristae which admitte no auncient cerinonies in the church nor no iurisdiction of bishops so write the Illyricans and the Flaccians in many bookes sette forthe against the Adiaphoristes off wittenberg Antosiandrini or Osiandromastiges which denie that man is iustified with that iustice whereby God is essentially iuste teaching that he is iustified by imputing of righteousnes that is as Illyricus doth glose he is called iuste in worde onely he is not so in dede Fourten Lutheran churches haue writen against Osiander but eche of them bringeth a peculiar definition of iustice and contrary to his felowes Sethe writing of Ioannes Functius de origine Osiandrinae litis contra Staphylum Antiswenck feldiani which teache that by the externall preaching only or vocall ministery we attayne to the Christen faith Illyricus in diuers writings set forthe against Swenck feldius Anticaluiniani which although they do well affirme the reall presence of Christes body in the Sacrament yet they do falsely and wickedly denie traÌ„ssubstantiation and adoratioÌ„ Again they falsely holde that the Sacrament consisteth onely in the vse off it Ioachimus VVestphalus in his awnswer against Caluin and diuers other Manus impositorij which will haue that the layeng on of handes of laye men is a Sacrament This secte swarmeth in Saxony in Pomerania and in the seacost townes Se Illyricus against Iustus Menius Bisacramentales which admitte only two Sacramentes so teache Caluin and the Flaccians Sacerdotales which teache that men and women and all laie persons may preache the worde of God in the churche maie minister the Sacraments maye binde and lose For all men are equally priestes that holy order is but a tale and imaginatioÌ„ of men This is the doctrine of Luther in his booke De captitutate Babylonica and of Illyricus in his Apologie againste Iustus Mentus Inuisibiles which teache that no churche is visible bicause onely God knoweth who are his So Luther and Melanchthon taught in the beginninge as it appeareth in the Apology off the Confession of Augspurg but allthough they afterwarde secretly recanted this errour yet neuertheles the Illyricans the Swenck feldians the Osiandrins and the Anabaptistes kepe it still The Seconde Secte of the Confessionistes in the which are as we saide before the softe Philosophers and Masters of Wittenberg which will be counted moderat meke and more ciuil then the reste for the moste parte of these
very same image generally not particularly as the lerned vse to speake And this is the meaning sayth he of the wordes of S. Ihon that Christe is come in to sleshe Martin Luther in the yeare 1539 at Smalcaldiū where the Leage or rather conspiracye was then made preaching vnto the estats and orders of protestants interpreted these wordes of S. Ihon that Christe is come in to fleshe after this sorte That Christe came not therefore in to flesh that he might communicat vnto vs his owne iustice or righteousnes but that he might accepte vs for iuste and righteous outwardly so that our inwarde man should not in dede be iustified or made righteous from vniuste and vnrighteous but we should onely be accounted for suche before God after the maner of acceptation as in times paste the Lacedaemonians made and decreed Alexander a God with these wordes Alexander wil be a God let him he a God and let Alexander be coūted and accepted for a god though he be no god And Luther saith that this doctrine was the sure foundation vpon the which the Leage of Smalcaldiū for the defence of the ghospell might and ought right worthely be builded erected and absolued But anon after when it came to Osianders course to preache he toke the very same theme of S. Ihon that Luther did But leauing the interpretation of Luther he interpreted it after his owne minde in suche sorte that it directly repugned Luther as that the very essentiall iustice or righteousnes off God proceding and flowing out of the foresaide image off God which he calleth Christe is planted in man and at the last though preuely he gaue them to vnderstāde that this his doctrine was the very iewell and treasure of the ghospell farre better then that of Luther in consideration whereof bothe the Leage and the warre of Smalcaldium should be entred made and finished And this sermon of Osiander was allmoste the laste that was made at that meting as I am able to showe by the hande of Melanchthon Thus Luther for the grounde of his iustification would haue as in his owne printed disputation it is euident a kinde of relation and imputing which is the lest of all thinges that are and in dede nothing But Osiander putteth for his grounde the diuine essence God him selfe whiche is all thinges See howe iumpe these two ghospellers and Archeprotestants mete in the very highest point of our religion Vpon this faint and frickle foundation of two false and contrary opinions was that leage of Smalcaldium stroken whereof ensued that lamentable and cruell warre to the greate waste and destruction of Germany with the murder of infinit thousands of men Then experience it selfe declared howe true that prophecye of Luther was when in the yeare .1545 in a certayn litle booke writē to two noble princes of the sight of a certayne coyne brought oute of base Germany whereof we shall speake more anon he warranted vpon his othe and faith all the confederats that by this his doctrine of imputed righteousnes they might boldely and hardely assure them selues of the victory at Brunswicke and off euerlasting saluation at the hande of God But as touching Osiander and his doctrine it may be sene in a litle booke printed in the ye are of our lorde .1550 with this title De imagine dei There be many other articles of the Osiandrins whiche to be short I omitte See the disputation of Osiāder had at Coiningsberg in the yeare 1459. and his open confession sett forthe there also in the yeare 1550. Stancarians which against Osiander vrge and affirme vehemently that Christ iustifieth vs by his manhood onely not by his godhead at all So Stancarus bothe taught openly and wrote against Andreas Musculus at Francford by Odera Antistancarians whiche to refute the opinion of Stācarus do so farre affirme that Christ iustifieth mā and worketh oure righteousnes bothe by his manhood and by his godheade that they doubte not to teache the very godhead of Christ to haue suffered on the Crosse with his manhood that Musculus is of this opinion his extemporall treatise 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 off Luthers doctrine witnesseth and the condemnation of the Swiceran ptotestants for this opinion as it is notised in the writing of Petrus Statorius the frenche man printed this yeare 1560. at Pinczouia in Pole Noui Pelagiani New Pelagians which saie thereis no originall sinne in children but that it is onely an infirmite not worthy of death So teacheth Swinglius in his litle booke of baptim against Vrbanus Regius Againe that Numa Cato Scipio and such other notable men of the ethnikes although they lacked the true faith in Christ to come yet that they are saued by the vertu of the lawe of nature It is the doctrine of Swinglius in the booke aboue alleaged and Luther entwiteth the Swinglians with it in his laste cōfession of the supper of our Lorde Noui Manichei New Manichees be and haue ben diuers protestants in our daies First Luther then Melanchthon Caluin and many other as Amsdorffius Illyricus Gallus Beza VVestphalus Luther and Melanchthō teache that all thinges bothe good and bad come to passe by absolute necessite that God is not only the cause of sinne by permission but also by operation as the worker of it It is the doctrine of Luther in his Assertions against pope Leo and in his Resolutions of Melāchthon in his annotations vpon the epistle to the Romans Againe that The aduoutrie of Dauid the crueltie of Mālius the betraieng of Iudas be as well and as much the worke and operatiō of god as the very Conuersion of S. Paule Melāchthon in his annotations vpon the epistle to the Romans But he recāted this heresie afterwarde as it maye appeare in his common places of the laste edition Luther continued still obstinat in his errour whom also al the obstinat and zelous Lutherans folowe yet as Illyricus Amsdorfius Gallus and other Manichaei Marcionitae Caluiniani which as scholers of Ihon Caluin do professe and spreade abrode these detestable and blasphemous doctrines against God and man as folowe That god chefely created mankinde for to be perpetually damned that god created Adam not onely that he should die but allso from the beginning predestinated him to mischefe and therefore he coulde not choose but sinne That the sinnes committed by men are not onely done by gods permission but by his will and compulsion That all sinnes committed of men are absolutely the workes of god That god worketh in men theft horedome aduoutrie and all suche sinne as man doth That the lawe of god and the will off god be oftentimes contrary one to an other That the deuill by gods commaundement and will lieth in mens hartes That not onely God is the cause of euil but also doth inspire in mēs hartes euil thoughtes to worke euill so that men sinne not but God is the willer and efficient cause of sinne This is the doctrine
owne Liege and Souuerain Therefore it should at that time diligently ben prouided that men folowed not this seditious and false high waie of Luther which no subiect can treade without his princes leaue Especially perceauing that this highe waie of Luther hath euer an vnhappy and miserable ende repugning manifestly to the worde of God all writen lawe and Luthers owne doctrine Demosthenes the lerned and eloquent oratour saith wise men deliberat before the facte and fooles after the facte For as Liuy writeth the euent teacheth fooles And we Germans vse to saie the Italian taketh aduise before he begin the french man when he is a doing and the German when he hath done Which although it hath hindered much our countre in diuers affaires yet this is in vs no voluntary negligence but a naturall infirmite For Hesiodus the poet noteth thre sorts of men to be on the earthe saieng VVho knoweth all him selfe is the best man aliue He is the nexte that counsell can vse But he is the worste that woteth not to thriue And yet of an other doth counsell refuse Seing then we Germans are not so quicke of iudgement which peraduenture procedeth of our colde countre as the Italian is to foresee what is to be done yet we maye nowe by this lamentable calamite that we see hath befallen vs and the present greate waste of our deare countre lerne and remembre howe within this fourty yeares it flourished and prospered in al respects before this German prophet and fifte euangelist Luther ranne out of his cloister And although our dutie had ben at that time to haue remembred that saieng of our Lorde Beware of false prophets and the wordes of S. Ihon. Trie the spirits whether they be of God and so to deliberat before the facte yet seing we haue forslowen that let vs at the leste after the smarte be wise and haue recourse nowe at laste to that cōmaundement of almighty God where he commaundeth the simple people to warde them selues from false prophets and teachers For this question being in holy writ propounded Howe shall I vnderstande the worde that oure Lorde hathe spoken God awnswereth and saithe This token I will geue the to vnderstāde it That which the prophet hath foresaied in the name of the Lorde and cometh not to passe that worde the Lorde spake not but the prophet of his owne vaine fantasie forged it If we drawe the line of Luthers prophecye to this rule we shall euidently see that he is not onely a false prophet but also as his greate grande father Satan is a cruell murderer Is it not a greate pride and rashe arrogancy of Luther to prophecye and write that the god of the Catholikes whō he calleth papistes wil not heare their praiers for the deliuraūce of the Duke by what reuelation had he this Againe that no man liuing shoud be able or so bolde as to restore him in to liberte Againe that those his princes the Duke of Saxony and the Lantgraue should not be bound with those fetters which the coyne brought from base Germany pretended Farder that the warre thē ensuing should haue a prosperous successe Laste of all that S. Brigids prophecy was false and his true saieng that the See of Rome and estat of the Pope should then vtterly perish and neuer rise vp againe All these thinges did Luther prophecye in the booke aboue mencioned And did the euent proue all this Not one iote But in euery point it hathe proued cleane contrary Then this worde of Luther was not the worde off the Lorde as Moyses teacheth but it was the worde of the deuill in the person of Luther Againe that Luther hath ben a very murderer of men and a stronge thefe in Gods churche it is euident hereby that his doctrine and vaine prophecyes setting together the princes by the eares hath ben the onely cause of all seditions warre and bloudshed that within this fourty yeares haue happened in Germany The first booke that Luther made to spoyle and ransacke the churche was his booke De Captiuitate Babylonica Christiana libertate In the whiche booke he so debaseth reuileth and bringeth in contempt not onely the awncient true and Catholike religion of Christ his churche but also the lawes bothe Canon and Ciuill that it maye seme he lacked but a head and capitaine to make a perfit sedition But whereas at that time there was yet amonge men more feare of God and reuerence to their magistrats thē that they would be moued with Luthers light talke fewe were founde to helpe blowe the fire which he had kindled vntell at the length Luther him selfe moued peraduenture more hotely with the sprit ronge the alarum him selfe in the yeare 1523. setting forthe a booke entituled De saeculari potestate in a parte whereoff he writeth these wordes These are our Christen princes which defende the faith and deuoure the Turke In dede worthy men and such as you maie truste that by their greate wisedome they are likely to do some what as to breake their owne neckes first and then leade whole countres and peoples to breake necke after These blinde princes I would well aduise to be ware onely of one small sentence of the 166. psalme whiche is this He pooreth oute contempt vppon Princes I swere vnto you by God that if through your negligence this poore sentence ones take holde on you you are vndone were you as mighty and of as greate power as the Turke himselfe Nether will your storming any thinge profit you The matter is nowe all ready well begonne For fewe princes are nowe that are not counted for villaines and fooles and that bicause they showe themselues for such and the people beginneth nowe to wexe wise and the plage of princes which god calleth contēpt encreaseth daily in the peoples hartes and I feare me it will not be staied onles princes behaue themselues as it becometh them and begin againe to rule more modestly For men ne will ne can lenger abyde your tiranny O wellbeloued Princes and Lordes Therefore prouide for yourselues God wil not suffre this your tiranny any more the worlde is not no we as it was in times paste when you were wonte to hunte and chase men like bestes awaie therefore with your pride power and haugtynes and labour to do that is right and good suffer the worde of God to haue his course which yet it must haue and shall haue and you shall not be able to let it If we teach heresie let it be confuted by the worde of God If you will trie the matter with the sworde take hede leste some man cōmaunde you to put vp your sworde not in Gods name But you wil saie peraduenture If amonge the Christians there ought to be no secular sworde nor Ciuill gouuernement howe then shall men be kepte in order howe shall they be gouuerned For amonge Christen mē must be magistrats and officers
vnto the and we shall be turned And what necessite driueth vs to this crie and lamentation surely euen the very same which moued that Prophet so to bewaile and lament when he saieth VVo be vnto vs bicause we haue sinned For truly I thinke we germans haue sinned tentymes more greuousely then those Iewes And what was the plage of their hainous offences the prophet declareth The crowne and garland of our head is fallen of I feare me we germans shall heue the selfe same plage onles we spedely do penaunce for our wickednes It foloweth in the lamentatiō Therefore my harte is heauy and full of griefe We alas are not yet come so farre towarde penaunce that our harte hath ben heauy for our sinnes For we yet contynew in them and why spede we not to penaunce Bycause our eyes are darkned and wherefore for the hille of Sion that is the Catholike church why what is befallen it bycause it is destroyed O Mercifull god this is to to true with vs Germans For amonge vs one saythe Here is Christ an other saythe there is Christ. this man saythe Amonge the Caluinistes is the churche an other saythe Amonge the Illyricans the thirde amonge the Indifferents the fourthe amonge the Osiandrins the fifte amonge the Swenck feldians and so with the reste whereas yet it is vnpossible it should be amonge them all why so bicause it is destroied it is scattered it is vndone And howe cometh it o holy Ieremije that the holy hill of Sion the Catholike churche is so wasted and destroied Foxes haue walked in it In dede foxes that is as S. Ambrose and S. Augustin expounde it suttle crafty deceitefull stinking and lurking heretikes These foxes haue onerrunne spoiled and destroied the holy hil of Sion the Catholike church of Christ. And as soone as the light that shineth from this hill the Catholike church of whom it is saied I haue set the vp as a lighte to all nations was ones in Germany darkned and extinguished mens eyes and hartes were so blinded that with open eyes they see nothing and are so sicke that they fele no paine at all nor perceaue not howe daily the Croune falleth awaye from their heades Let him therefore pray that can praye and who so euer feareth the smarte of gods rodde let him labour to escape it and crie with the prophet Turne vs o lorde vnto the. and that he faile not also on his parte let him saie with mouthe and perfourme in dede And we will be turned But bicause that as S. Augustin teacheth repentaunce which procedeth not of faithe is vnprofitable there is no hope of true repentaunce amonge vs onles we embrace the true doctrine of Christen fayth To the entent therefore that euery common laie man may be sure and perfit of the faith and religion which he foloweth I will adde hereunto to knitte vp this our simple treatise a litle piece out of a booke that Vincētius lyrenēsis wrote aboue twelue hūdred yeares past vnder Theodosius the Emperour for the mayntenaūce and setting forth of Catholike religiō A man peraduenture maye demaunde saith he seing the Canon of holy scripture is sufficient off it selfe for all pointes what nedeth the interpretation off the Church to be added thereunto to the which question he answereth For bicause forsothe holy scripture being depe and mystical is not of all men after the like sorte expounded but the sentences thereof some man expoundeth one waie some an other that allmoste as many men so diuers expositions may be drawen thereof For the Nouatian expoundeth it one waie Sabellius an other waie Donatus Arrius Eunomius Macedonius Photinus Apollinaris Priscillianus Iouinianus Pelagius Celestius and Nestorius al founders of sundry heresies folowe eche of them their owne proper and peculiar waie of interpreting holy scripture Wherefore it behoueth that in consideration of so many crekes and by erroneous pathes the line of interpreting holy prophets and Apostles be drawē and directed according to the rule of the Catholike and ecclesiasticall exposition In the Catholike churche it selfe we must seriousely prouide that we folowe onely that which is receaued in euery place at al times of al mē for this is Catholike in dede and properly as the worde it self emporteth comprehending all vniuersally This we maie so do if we folowe vniuersalite Antiquite and Consent Vniuersalite we shall folowe if we acknowledg that faith and belefe which the whole church through out the whole worlde acknowledgeth Antiquite if we departe not from those expositions which the holy awncient fathers haue lefte vnto vs. Consent likewise if in the antiquite we cleaue vnto the determinations of all or allmoste all priestes prelats and teachers of the church What then shall the Catholike and Christian man do if any part of the churche cutte it selfe of from the communion and societe of the generall belefe What other then that he muste preferre the whole body before the deseased parte What if some newe infection plage not onely some parte but the whole church Then must he diligently cleaue vnto the Antiquite or awncient receaued faith whiche can be seduced by no guile of nouelty VVhat if two or thre men or some one cyte or countre swarue from the Antiquite and receaued doctrine Then against the rashe ignorance of a fewe he must set the awncient and vniuersall decrees of some generall Councell What if such doubtes arise that no such decree can be founde Then let him labour to seke out and confer together the saiengs of the fathers such as though in diuers times and in diuers places yet remaining in the vnite and belefe of the Catholike church haue bē approued for teachers and doctours of the same and what soeuer he shal finde that not one or two onely of them but that al with one Consent haue clerely taught oftentimes writen and continually helde this without all doubte and stagger he ought to be leue Thus farre that holy father Vincentius Lyren It were much to be wished that this good and profitable booke were soundely and truly trāslated in to the vulgar tongue and so sett in printe to be read of all men For this holy father aboue twelue hundred yeares since hath so writen of this matter that he semeth thereby to cal to the Catholike vnite and prouoke to amendement off life not only the heretikes of his time but also euen these of our time To thentent that shaking off all sinne and heresie we might liue here in peace vnite and cōcorde and obtaine hereafter the euerlasting life praising with all the sainctes our Lorde and God for euer the which his dere son our Sauiour Iesus Christ by his tēder mercie and blessed merites graunte vs. AMEN FINIS A DISCOVRS VPON THE DOCTRINE OF THE PROTESTANTS TRIED BY THE THREE FIRST FOVNDERS and fathers thereof Martin Luther Philip Melanchthon and especially Iohn Caluin oute of whose workes are gathered sundry olde heresies absurdites and contradictions by
of God nor should not ende to his honour Luther in all his doinges declared well this his intent and purpose but nowe bicause Ex abundâ—ntia cordis os loquitur as the harte thinketh the tongue speaketh he vttereth it also in wordes and be wraieth his deuelish intent rashely perhaps and vnprouidently on his owne parte but not without the mercyfull prouidence of allmighty god in our behalf And in very dede according to his talke the matter proued For see howe he made his entry to this ioly enterprise He knew right well that the authorite of lerned writers staÌ„ding he could not plant his deuelish and wicked doctrine Therefore at the first he persuadeth the worlde that the ghospell hitherto hath ben trod vnder foote and mens constitutions haue preuailed Wherefore nothing ought to be receiued but the only clere and expresse text of holy Scripture For these be his wordes in his booke De sâ—ruo arbitrio against Eraesmus Laie aside all the armour and defence which the olde Catholike writers all scholes of diuines authorite of Councells and popes the consent of all ages and all Christendom do minister vnto you VVe admitt nothing but Scripture VVhatsoeuer the olde writers taught the authorite of the church hath deliuered Christen people hath embraced Scholes haue defended it is all the pestilent poison of the deuill I will no iudgement but I require obedience Nor let not any maÌ„ be any whit moued with the miracles or holynes of the Saints off the church They are all damned if they thought as they wrote Thus farre Frier Luther Be these the wordes thinke you of a Christen maÌ„ If Porphirius Lucian Iulian the Apostata or any Turke or Pagan shoulde go about to withdraw Christen men from the faith of Iesus Christ and of his holy worde what surer grounde could he vse of his persuasion what suttler entry coulde he make then to persuade them that all Counsells al doctours al Popes haue erred damnably and taught Satanicall doctrine There arose in Holland about twenty yeares past one George Dauid first a Lutheran protestant and after a most detestable Apostata affirming him selfe to be the true Messias and Christ. He liued afterward in Basill certain yeares vnder pretence of a Lutheran protestant and naming him selfe Iohn of Bruncke he died at Basill and but two yeares after his deathe was espied to be that George Dauid whom so many Anabaptistes folowed and beleued At what time his bookes and writings being serched coÌ„taining the reasons and persuasions of his doctrine amonge many other this was founde and is the viij th in number If saieth he the doctrine of Christ and his Apostles had ben the true and perfit doctrine truly the church which they planted and framed by their doctrine should necessarely haue continued and neuer perished Bicause hell gates them selues as Iesus saied should not preuaile against his church but nowe it is euident that Antichrist hath vtterly ouerthrowen the doctrine and building of the Apostles For this saieth he is manifest in the papacy Whereof he will haue it necessarely ensue that the doctrine of the Apostles be vnperfitt and false but the doctrine that he bringeth for the be the perfit and true These are the very wordes of the history of his life sette forthe by the vniuersite of Basill Beholde the reason of Luther to plant his newe ghospell and the reason of George Dauid to ouerthrowe the ghospell is all one Luther groundeth vppon the errour of the church George Dauid groundeth vppon the same Luther maketh his entry by condemning the churche George Dauid maketh the same Onely this is the difference Dauid goeth plainly to worke and openeth his diuelish intent at the first and therefore he prospered not Luther craftely pretendeth the defence of Gods worde though he condemne the church and therefore it succeded ioylely with him For tenfolde worse is a preuy enemy then an open and sooner is the Turke auoided then the heretike though they bringe vs bothe to one pitte the Turke walketh naked he asketh all at ones his filthynes appeareth at the first sight and therefore the Christen man at the first blushe abhorreth him But the heretike is cloked with the name of a Christian asketh but the deniall of some part of our saith pretendeth the worde of God and therefore is not off many espied Our Sauiour in that most tender and longe praiers that he made for mankinde after the mysticall Supper praieth thus O holy father kepe them in thy name whom thou hast geuen vnto me that they may be one as we are I aske not only for them but for all such as by their worde shall beleue in me that they all be one as thou father in me and I in the that they also be one in vs that the worlde may beleue that thou hast sent me Christ here praieth for vnite in his Church and that to continue for euer For he saied before he would praie the Father and he should geue a comforter to tary with vs for euer the Spirit of truthe And why doeth our Sauiour praie for this vnite and truthe to continew for euer in his Churche forsothe he protesteth it vnto his Father and saieth to the entent that the worlde may beleue that thou hast sent me Lo Christ would haue the continuaunce of truthe and vnite in his Church to be a most euident argument to all the worlde that he was the true Son of God the only Sauiour and Redemer of the worlde Nowe Luther and George Dauid denie this vnite and truthe to haue continewed and our protestants appeale to the first six hundred yeares condemning wickedly the whole corps of Christendom off these last ix hundred yeares of errours superstition and idolatry And what other coÌ„sequeÌ„t looke we hereof to folowe then that with George Dauid and his secte they denie Christ him selfe In the preface off Staphylus to the bishop of Eistat you haue sene howe the protestants of Bohem are allready come to this point where this heresie first began and hath most continued But here peraduenture some ciuill Lutheran will be offended with vs for vrging these wordes of Luther and charging him so farre therewith and awnswer with their common distinction saying The writinges of Luther are of thre maner of sortes to witt some writen before he thouroughly espied what popery was some again writen in vehemency of contention wherein sometime he showed him selfe to much passioned some again that he wrote in mekenes of spirit and such to be taken for the very pure kernell and vndoubted verite of his ghospell This distinction and poore shift though Luther vsed it before the Emperour at Wormes and be a common cloke of the ciuill protestants to couer the filthynes off their father Luther yet bothe it standeth litle with the truthe of an Euangelist as he termeth him selfe or of the third Elias as his scholers call him and will neuer be graunted of
the zelous Lutherans Illyricus Gallus Amssdorffius and such other which will not departe from any one iote of Luthers doctrine No nor Luther him selfe cannot abide it For thus he writeth in his presumptuous booke against our late Souuerain king Henry the eight It repenteth me saith Luther that I submitted my selfe so much before the Emperour at VVormes that I would suffer any man to sitt Iudge on my doctrine or heare if any man could conuince me of any errour For I should not haue declared so foolish an humilite being sure and certain of my doctrine Beside that the same submission nothing auailed me before that tyran A man must be so sure and certain of his doings that although all the worlde be sett against him yet he departe no one iote from them Thus farre Luther Where you see he confesseth not that he speaketh amisse sometime by infirmite sometime of a passion but he maketh him selfe to stande vpon a most sure grounde so that he can not saie a misse Likewise at what time Carolostadius suaruing from Luther would so haue excused him selfe that at the beginning he was but weake in the spirit c. Luther awnswereth him that the spirit of God vseth no such excuse Well then if the doctrine of Luther be so sure and constant that it may not vary will our protestants and new Masters at home stande stoutely to the same Will they condemne all Councells all holy Fathers all authorite of the Church all that Christen people haue hitherto beleued for these are the very wordes of Luther quoted you before oute of his workes Truly this were a compendious waie not only fot their purpose but for the Turkes to Yea and for Antichrist him selfe For when he cometh can he deuise any more politick engin to vnderminde Christendom can he wish for any better harbengers to prepare mens hartes and good wills to lodge him in waight the matter who listeth wisely and diligently he shall finde none like to this Yet Luther they will saie leaueth vs holy Scripture which Antichrist will not do Yea truly but how leaueth he it I meane to be read of the vnlerned laye man Forsothe he translateth it in to the mother tongue And how sincerely and truly I reporte me to the second part of this Apologie where you haue sene how vprightly he hath dealed herein As for the common text which our protestants after their Master Luther do vse and commaunde to be read in Churches we haue in our preface noted you in part the truthe and soundnes thereof But to show to the worlde their fidelite and sincerite yet farder I will here specify some other places of holy Scripture altered and corrupted by them And this I will do but in part and brefely noting such as it hath ben my chaunce here and there to espie not making any speciall discours vpon the whole translation of the english Bible which may with time and more diligence hereafter be done Where as S. Paule hath Haereticum hominem deuita Auoide the heretike man our new english traÌ„slatioÌ„s reade Auoide a man that is an author of sectes as though an heretike and an author of a secte wer all one By this false forged text the doctrine of our protestants being proued hereticall yet Luther Caluin Suâ—nâ—k feldius Osiander and such other were only to be auoided as being the authors and first beginners off these present theresies but our protestants being no authors theÌ„ selues of sectes but folowers of other may notwithstanding S. Paules wodes be embraced and supported But an heretike as S. Augustin defineth is he which for tempor all commodite honour or welth either forgeth him selfe new doctrine or foloweth And all such S. Paule biddeth vs auoide But no maruail iff these men did so alter this text It is good reason a maÌ„ fauour him self for els perhaps the people reading this text of S. Paul would beginne to auoide our protestants whom they see to be heretikes And therefore in an other place where S. Paule saieth Oportet haereses esse There must be heresies they likewise turne it There must be sâ—ctes auoiding allwaies the name of heresy bicause it touched them to nigh And verely it were not amisse for them if the name of heresy and heretikes were quite forgotten seâ—â—g their whole doctrine which they haue lerned of Luther and Caluin is nothingels but olde condemned heresies patched together and newly scoured as in this discourse we shall euidently declare vnto you For this purpose also where S. Paule writeth to Timothe Pâ—ophanas vocum nouitates deuita auoyde straunge nouelties of wordes whereby he ment new â—ereticall doctrine these men turne it auoide vnghostely vanities of voyces altering quite bothe the wordes and the sence of the Apostle for it standeth vpon these men to haue nouelties allowed With the like vaine of euangelicall sincerite bicause they may not abyde to heare off aultar hauing plucked them downe against the expressâ— practise of the primitiue churche and all ages where S. Paule writeth Are not they which eate of the sacrifice partakâ—â—s of the aultar these men turne for the 〈…〉 The latin hath altare and the graeke 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In the same place they make S. Paule talke of images as thoughe Christen men had then worshipped images whiche yet they say is but a late inuention where as he talketh only of idols and idolaters In like maner bicause traditions are a great eye sore to all newe ghospellers they putt out of S. Paule the worde Traditions and put in his place sometime Ordinaunces sometime Institutions as ofte as S. Paule biddeth theÌ„ to be kept In other places when the traditions of the Iewes are reprehended then they kepe the worde gladly All Sacramentaries that folow the banner of Caluin make light of the Sacrament of baptim teaching that the children of Christen parents may withoute daunger lacke it if there be no coÌ„tempt or negligence on our parte We shall haue occasion in examining of Caluins doctrine to speake more of this cursed heresie Nowe bicause the saying of oure Sauiour in S. Iohns ghospel Onlesse a man be borne again of water and the holy Ghoste he shall not entre in to the kingdome of heauen did vtterly ouerthrowe this wicked opinion our protestants in their translatioÌ„s haue founde the meanes so to clippe the text that it might no lenger directly fight against them and therefore they leaue out the worde againe in S. Iohn which of necessite imported a second natiuite of baptim But of this we shal haue occasioÌ„ to speake more hereafter In the me ane ye see the vpright dealing of our protestaÌ„ts How are they to be trusted in their sermoÌ„s in their homelies and in a numbre of assertions and articles which they teache without scripture that corrupt the Scripture it selfe They wil saie they alter sometimes the text bicause of the greke which varieth from the latin
which is but one are they agreed Truly as cattes and dogges Luther neuer wrote so bitterly against vs Catholikes as he doth against the poore Sacramentaries of Zurich You haue the greuous complaint of the brotherhood of Zurich in the third parte of this booke against Luther Reade the later wordes of the place and see howe charitably he vseth them Caluin likewise calleth VVestphalus a papist and findeth faute with Bullinger for teaching that to eate Christ and to beleue in Christ is all one And Brentius woulde proue against all the swarme of Sacramentaries that Christ is euery where really not only in the Sacrament What then is there no meanes lefte vs sure and certain to knowe and vnderstande the right meaning of holy Scripture by Sothely if you take the shameles brode waie that Luther prescribeth you none at all But if ye acknowleadg and reuerence the authorite of holy fathers of awncient Councells off the Catholike and vniuersall Church of Christ during continually from the time of the blessed Apostles hetherto there is a right sure and infallible waie to obtaine your desire In the preface of Staphylus to the Bishop of Eystat and the first parte of this his Apologie you haue a very euident and sensible declaration thereof As you tendre your soule health and the inestimable treasure of life euerlasting which without right belefe is not to be had reade and peruse diligently the Authour And you shall I trust in God finde your felfe satisfied to the vttermost For howe thinke you May you not worthely suspect that mās cause that disableth so many witnesses so lerned so holy as Luther doth condemning all holy Fathers and Councels Is it not a pride comparable to the loftines of Lucifer him selfe to saie I will no iudgement but I require obedience Is it not a most impudent arrogancy and a detestable blasphemy to saie that al holy men of the Church are damned if they thought as they taught Neuer sence the worlde stode was there heretike that vttered such horrible blasphemies as the cursed mouthe and penne of Luther hath done But sithen that Luther condemneth the olde fathers of the Church is he nowe the first father thereof hath he no predecessours in his doctrine Surely the Lutheran protestants of our countre crie so much vpon the fathers that seing their Master denieth all fathers it may much be maruailed where the scholers haue founde them After longe study I haue at the length espied who are their fathers And for the instruction of my dere deceiued countremen I will not lett to declare them S. Paule to the Corinthians saieth Though ye haue thousands of masters in Christ yet not many fathers For in Christ Iesus by the ghospell I haue begotten you Such thē are to be accompted the fathers of Christes Church or of heretikes whose doctrine the church of Christ foloweth or heretikes Let vs see then whose doctrine Luther and his scholers the protestants do folowe First not the doctrine of the Fathers of Christes Church For they pardie by the vardit of Luther are all damned if they thought as they taught Off what fathers then hath he and his scholers lerned their doctrine We shall see by the particulars Luther in his Assertions against Pope Leo teacheth that fre wil after the fal of mā is but a bare title and that man while he doth as much as lieth in him sinneth deadly yea and that the iuste man in his good worke sinneth also deadly And Melanchthon his scholer in his Annotations vpon S. Paule to the Romans saieth that the aduoutry of Dauid is as properly the worke of God as the calling of Paule blaming the glose of such as saie that God permitteth euill but doth none for fonde and foolish So teacheth also Iohn Caluin and Beza his derling This heresy they lerned of Simon Magus of Marcion of the Manichees of Petrus Abailhardus all cōdemned heretikes as in S. Augustin ad Quoduultdeum in Epiphanius in S. Clement of Rome and in S. Bernard it is to be sene The allegations of these places we note only at this present without recitall at large to auoide prolixite Vpon this doctrine it folowed that good workes by the deniall of fre wil being wiped away faith must do the dede Luther therefore and all his felow heretikes teache the sufficiency of only faith to saluation Yea and our protestants are not ashamed to putt it in to their Crede songe in their churches And for this purpose where S. Paul writeth VVe thinke man to be iustified by faith without the workes of the lawe Luther translateth it thus VVe thinke man to be iustified by only faith This olde dānable and most enormous heresie they haue lerned of olde heretikes aboue a thousand yeares ago for ye may not thinke these mē lacke antiquite in their doctrine Their Fathers herein are Eunomius and Aetius who taught likewise only faith to suffise condemned therefore for heretikes off the Church as S. Augustin and Epiphanius recordeth Luther and all his scholers can not abide worshipping of Saints calling such seruice idolatry Their fathers touching this doctrine are Faustus Manicheus the heretike and Maximus Madaureusis the pagan finding faute with the Christians for such deuotion as S. Augustin mencioneth They condemne praieng for the dead they abhorre the blessed Sacrifice of the Masse celebrated for the dead they would make men beleue it was neuer vsed before S. Gregories time how saie we then if the contrary opinion denieng praier for the dead were condemned for an heresy longe before S. Gregories time was not troweye such praier allowed and practised S. Augustin reakoning vp the heresies before his time writeth of the Aerians thus Aeriani ab Aerio qui cum esset praesbyter dolens quôd episcopus nō potuit ordinari in Arrianorū haeresim lapsus propria quoque dogmata addidit nonuulla dicens orare vel offerre pro mortuis oblationem non oportere that is The Aerians so called off Aerius who being priest for grief that he could not be made a bishop fell in to the heresy of the Arrians and added also certain doctrines of his owne saying that men ought not to praie nor to offer oblation for the dead The like writeth of him before S. Augustin Epiphanius in his booke of heresies It was preached of late before diuers of the honourable Nobilite of the Realme in the solemne funerall of the late most Catholike Emperour Ferdinandus that praier for the dead was bothe superfluous and superstitious It was saied a third place such as purgatory is could not be iustified by Scripture and that the auncient fathers before the time of S. Gregory acknowledged no suche place nor praier for the dead in such sence as the Catholikes now take it and vse it This sermon also hath ben thought worthy to be printed and sette forthe to the vewe of the whole world
dere coūtre as nature and iust indignatiō moued mē I haue done this but slightly and shortly and yet I trust sufficiētly hauing first ētred the printing of this booke before I vnderstode of the sermon and yet desirous to saie somewhat rather then to suffer a preached and printed heresy vncōptrolled or the truthe vntolde I desire the catholike reader to take this short digression in good part and I wish the protestāt rather to marke the waight then the copie of that I haue saied Let vs then now returne to the olde cōdemned here sies renewed by Luther and folowed of al protestāts of our vnhappy time Luther with all his scholers contemne fasting daies ordained by the church abusing Christen liberte for a cloke of their fleshly fantasie They haue herein right auncient Fathers the Manichees as Leo witnesseth Aerius as Ephiphanius and S. Augustin write and Eustathius as the Councell of Gangra aboue thirten hundred yeares past recordeth They wedde freres and Nūnes Luther leading the daunce of that wanton trace with Kater Bore and breake vowes of chastite without scruple of consciēce folowing the stepps of their father Iouinian condemned therefore for an heretike as S. Augustin recordeth They throwe downe Martyrs towmes scoffe at the deuout visiting of thē inueigh and raile against pilgrimage holy reliques and places of deuotion Nothing truly was in the primitiue church more frequent then going on pilgrimage in so muche that Chrisostom crieth out in one place Iff I were of a stronge body and without ecclesiasticall charge I woulde not refuse so longe a pilgrimage as to go see onely the chaines wherewith and the prison wherein Paull was bounde Iff I had liued then to haue sene those holy handes bounde for our Lordes sake I would haue put my very eyes on them and continually haue kissed them Thus speaketh Chrisostom an auncient and lerned father of the Catholike church and Bishopp of the greate cyte of Constantinople and thinketh it no superstition to preache it to the people for these wordes he spake in pulpit But what fathers haue the protestāts in their cōtrary opinion Of whom lerned they to mocke and scoffe at suche deuotions Of right worthy masters I warrant you First beside the Pagans of whom The odoret maketh mencion of Iuliā the Apostata as you may see in the workes of Cyrillus against him thē of Eustathius as the Coūcel of Gangra reporteth After these of Vigilantius whom S. Hierom refuteth and aboue seuen hundred yeares paste off one Claudius againste whom Ionas Bishop off Orleans in Fraunce wrote Luther and all that folowe his banner be mortall enemies to the images of Christ and off all Saintes Their holy fathers be olde cursed heretikes the Marcionistes the Manichees Aerius Felicianus and all the wicked secte of Iconomachi as it is at large mencioned in the sixte generall Councell and seconde of Nicea Nicephorus also recordeth off one Xenaias who helde this heresy vnder Anastasius the Emperour about a thousand yeares past Luther taught first in our time that holy Orders is no Sacrament that euery Christen man and woman is a priest And all the zelous Lutherans to this daie beleue and teache the same thoughe Melanchthon and many of the Ciuill Lutherans be departed from that fonde and absurde opinion It is also a currant doctrine in the pulpits in certain dyoceses of oure countre The fathers of this heresy were Pepuziani as S. Augustin maketh mencion and Collyridiani as Epiphanius writeth It is common to all Lutherans and protestants of oure time to abhorre the name and profession of a Mōke This was the maner also of the Donatistes and of the Circumcelliones VVhat meaneth saied these heretikes this name of Monkes Vnto whom S. Augustin awnswereth Howe much better may we saie what meaneth this name off Circumcelliones Againste such writeth Chrisostom whole treatises entituling them Against the dispraisers of monastical life The Lutherans and present protestants of our dayes protest that they haue departed from the see of Rome and other Catholike Bishops for the euil and wicked life of the Popes and prelats in Christes church The Apologie of England pretendeth the same excuse But was this their owne imagination thinke you and deuise No truly It was the very grounde of that cursed secte of the Donatistes And their fathers herein are Cresconius Gaudentius Parmenianus and other As S. Augustin writing against them eftsoones declareth It is the doctrine of Luther in his booke de Christiana libertate and diuers other places that faith ought to be free and no man constrained thereunto In our countre also whē the sworde was against them Frithe and his felowes cried for that liberty though nowe they cease not continually to crie for the contrary It was the olde accustomed maner of al heretikes especially of the Donatistes as S. Augustin in sundry places witnesseth Likewise before these heresies were fauoured off Princes and authorised of higher powers the riches and possessions of Bishops was a great eye sore to all Lutherans and protestants Nowe they can like well the pompe of Prelats being placed them selues in suche preferment But their former griefe was an hereticall grudge of the olde heretikes Vadiani as S. Augustin writeth or Audiani as Epiphanius calleth them What is nowe more common in the mouth of all protestants then that nothing ought to be added to the commaundemēts of God For by this short blowe they wipe awaye all constitutions and ordinaunces of the Churche They lerned this argument off Iulian the Apostata who vsed it against the deuotions off the Christians as in Cyrillus it appeareth Protestants will be counted martirs being cutt of by the secular sworde that their cancred doctrine infect not the sounde shepe of Christes flocke Great crakes are made and greate workes sett forthe of their stiff standing to the stake and glorious embrasing of the fire None do this more stoutely then the Anabaptistes whom yet the greater part of protestants detest and abhorre for hainous heretikes But not only these new heretikes but much more the old as the Marcionistes and especially the Circumcelliones excelled in this pretended patience and proude persuasion of Martyrdom See S. Augustin and the ecclesiasticall history of Nicephorus libro 4. capite 23. S. Cipriā also lib de simplicitate praelatorum Luther at the diet helde at Augspurg in the yeare 1521. being much intreated of diuers tendring him for the authorite of Friderik duke of Saxony to leaue all singularites and not to reiect so rashely auncient Councels of Christes Church he awnswered he disproued none except the councell of Constance and thereto he saied he was moued with an vnuincible reason and most assured argument ▪ that was bicause that councell had condemned Iohn Huss affirming that the church of Christ consisted only of such as were predestined and elected And in this opinion he would liue and die All
to heresy And truly euen as the beginning and course of Luthers doctrine hath thouroughely resembled the maner of olde heretikes so his ende was not much vnlike to witt a soden and vnprouided death For being mery and makinge greate feste ouer night he was fouÌ„de dead in the morning Such soden deathe was neuer reade off any Apostle or Euangelist of Christ. But of diuers heretikes especially of Arrius thoughe as by that the Arrians were nothing moued so the Lutherans of this make smal accompte And this much of Luther the father protestant of oure time as touching the pointes of his doctrine where you see bothe what a godly ground he layde and howe in the course and issue there of he hathe showed him selfe to be but a scholer of olde heretikes as he hathe ben the Master of many newe For this man worse then any gutter or sinke whiche receaueth onely the filthe that is brought vnto it bredeth none not onely toke olde heresies of other but added also thereuÌ„to some of his owne breding of his owne filthy brayne as foule fonde doctrine as any foolish heretike before him And of these his proper inuentioÌ„s one of the maddest is that he teacheth the bread remaining bread to be the very naturall body of Christ in the Sacrament Which hathe semed such a fonde doctrine eueÌ„ to the ghospellers theÌ„ selues his scholers and brethern that the farre greater part off them hath in consideration of this point chefely not doubted to condemne him for an archeheretike â–ª as you may see by the wordes of the brethern of Zurich in the thirde parte of this booke And by reason of this absurde doctrine not onely at the first Zuinglius Oecolampadius and Caluin drewe with them diuers countres from the vnite of Luthers ghospell but also the Lutherans them selues hauing many yeares serued the idoll Luther daily faile and shrinke from him cleauing to the cursed Sacramentaries proceding allwaies in mischef and encreasing with time their heresies and abominations About this time two yeare Brema a greate cyte of Saxony and one of the firste that had receaued the light of Luthers ghospel hauing coÌ„tinued in the foresayde doctrine of Luther aboute fourty yeares as zelous and vpright Lutherans now after greate strife and contention amonge them selues hath openly condemned the same and are become Caluinistes Likewise in Augspurg where the famous CoÌ„fession of the Lutherans was made â—â—fred to the Emperour and confirmed by all the Nobilite of the protestants yet nowe there are mo Caluinistes then Lutherans mo that disproue that CoÌ„fessioÌ„ and doctrine of Luther theÌ„ that approue it How other couÌ„tres also haue flitted froÌ„ Luther hauing many yeares serued hiÌ„ you haue in the thirde part of this booke declared Our countre also being at the firste chaunge all Lutheran is nowe become for the moste parte Caluiniste and Lasconicall as not onely oure doings at home declare but other countres abrode haue noted of vs. Peter Martyr at his first coming to Oxforde was a right LutheraÌ„ in the matter of the Sacrament as he declared him selfe not onely in priuat communication but also in his open lessons where inueighing at a time against the argumeÌ„t of the SacrameÌ„taries Christ is in heauen ergo he is not here in the Sacrament he cried oute Profecto est nodus Diaboli that is Sothely this is a shifte of the deuil him selfe He was wonte also at his first coming to Oxford to complaine Anglos nimiuÌ„ vergere ad Zuinglianismum that we english men enclined to much to the Zwinglians Afterward as al the worlde knoweth he condemned Luther and became him self a ZuingliaÌ„ For he had lerned an other lesson in the Courte Philip Melanchthon him selfe the very darling of Luther and father of the Confessionistes in his later daies became a very Sacramentary as his familiar letters to the Counte Palatin of Rhene printed at Heidelberg in the yeare 1560. hathe declared to al the worlde Thus the proper heresy of Martin Luther that he him self by the spirit of the newe ghospel had inuented in the despite of the Pope for so he protesteth him selfe in a letter of his to the brethern of Strasburg was at the first much misliked and is nowe allmost euerywhere vtterly abhorred Ioachimus VVestphalus the onely staye and piller of this Lutheran doctrine coÌ„plaineth him selfe hereof For thus he writeth No false doctrine is so farre spredde none with so much labour and hypocrisy defended non hath more beguiled the worlde then this false doctrine of the blessed Sacrament â–ª meaning the heresy of the Sacramentaries And Nicolaus Amsdorfsius an other zelous Lutheran writeth thus The Anabaptistes and the SacrameÌ„taries do blinde and deceaue Germany with their pretended holines euen as the monkes before blinded the whole worlde And this verely hathe happened on Luther and his felowes not without the iuste iudgemeÌ„t of God For whereas vpon dispiteous malice he laboured by his new doctrines to ouerthrow the church of Rome where it hath pleased our Sauiour to place his vicar here on earthe as in diuers of his writings it appeareth he hath wrought his oune destruction and shame for though in very dede through the pernicious persuasions of that wedded frere certain places and corners of Christendome haue swarned froÌ„ the Catholike church and authorite of that Apostolike see in these northe partes of the worlde yet it hathe thousands folde more ben enlarged in the west partes and the newe landes founde oute by Spanyardes and Portugalles in these late yeares as the letters off the Iesuites directed from those countres in to these partes do euidently and miraculousely declare And truly eueÌ„ so befel it at what time Grece and the easte churche departing from the head and vnite of Christes church gaue them selues to sundry schismes and heresies For then sprange vp the faithe in Germany Pole Dennemarke Swethen Norwaie and other northe Countres For thus from the east to the northe and from the northe to the west of the faithe of Christe passeth donec as Christe saithe impleantur tempora gentium Vntell the times of the gentils be acomplished Oure Lorde graunte that it passe not from vs by heresy and schisme as it passed from the grekes and from Afrike the southe parte of the worlde For bothe these people through schismes especially of the Arrians and their ofspringe lost the faith of Christe as the histories declare vnto vs. But to returne to our matter the church of Rome the see Apostolike that Luther laboured by heresy to ouerthrowe standeth yet in his full force and interest notwithstanding the miserable losse of a numbre in our countre and otherwhere Truly Luther him selfe cometh very short of the counte he made being reiected nowe allmoste euery where The Catholike also may lerne to auoide and shunne hereby all maner of protestants what so euer name or secte they be of proceding all of this heade beinge all the corrupted issue of
this vncleane spring and the branches of this roote Much more might be saied of other proper heresies of this archeheretike Martin Luther But this one of his maie serue for a taste to the zelous Lutherans of our coūtre that they glory not so much of this their Elias and fiffte euangelist as though all that euer he wrote or sayed were the ghospell it self But nowe to the ciuill Lutherans The ciuill Lutherans are those whiche not with such zele and rigour as the other force men praecisely to euery doctrine and article of Luthers ghospell but are content ciuilly to conforme them selues to better iudgement and take so much of their Master Luther as they shall thinke good and conuenient But these men by this their ciuilite and philosophicall moderation haue conformed them selues to so many frames and facions as there be amonge them Superintēdents and Ministres As for example in the administration of the Sacraments through their ciuilite see in what maruailous vnite their churches be directed At VVittenberg where the see of these ciuill protestants is foure Sacraments are approued and administred to witt baptim the Supper of our Lorde Holy Orders and Penaunce or absolution At Lipsia thre only take place holy orders being wiped awaie At Magdeburg but two are allowed euen as amonge the Caluinistes of our countre And hereof iesting ones merely a lerned mā though with a heuy hart being demaunded why in the Lutherās Churches were not 7. Sacramēts yes forso the quod he there are 7. and two mo For at VVittenberg foure at Lipsia three at Magdeburg are two whiche in all make nyne And these thre cytes be litle distant one from the other The father and head of these ciuill Lutherans is Philip Melanchthon who so longe dalied in this kinde of perilous ciuilite that at the length as you haue heard before he fell to the pestilent heresy of the Sacramentaries And see I praye you how light variable and inconstant a person this man was In the yeare 1540. he wrote bitterly against the Pope defending Luther miserably as if he had ben his slaue or bondmā In the yeare 1548. heenclined again to the Pope and embraced the Interim that was made in Germany that is the delaie and deliberation vntel a generall Councell were called But of late euen a litle before his deathe in the yeare 1559. writing to the Counte Palatin he cōdemned the proper doctrine of his M. Luther and ioyned him selfe to Caluin and the Sacramentaries This graund Captain was the inuentour or rather scribe and writer of that famous Confession made at Augspurg in the yeare 1530. But howe he altered and corrected the same not onely in his Apology in the next yeare after but at diuers other times sometime for better sometime for worse I reporte me to the diuers editions of that booke For who so conferreth the first edition and certain next to the first with the laste he shall clerely see what settled iudgement and constant or grounded knowledge was in that man But after the deathe of Luther howe miserably it hathe ben mangled Nicolaus Gallus a zelous and rigorous Lutherā in opē writing bitterly cōplaineth For thus he reporteth in generall after the reticall of certain particulars Here then saieth he all Christen men may easely perceaue if they wil yelde to reason and consider and conferre together their doctrines howe all those positions whiche our aduersaries in the foresaide articles after the deathe of Luther do teache against vs blasphemousely do in dede in the very grounde touche Luther him selfe and his doctrine though we beare the name thereof yea and beside the person of Luther they belonge properly to the true Confessiō of Augspurg which in the meane while is of them chaunged peruerted and racked in to expresse contrary meaning And this false foisting and iuggling of the ciuill Lutherans though truly very vnciuill in this point is not only euident in the confession of Augspurg the grounde of all their newe broched ghospell but also in the workes of their Master Martin Luther whiche they chaunge and correct daily at their pleasure For Amsdorfius Illyricus and Georgius Rorarius al zelous Lutherans in open treatises and bookes entituled de deprauatoribus librorum Lutheri of the deprauers of Luthers bookes charge the masters of Wittenberg but Melanchthō especially of certain hundreds of places chaūged left oute and corrupted by thē and that as they saie against the ghospel quia non est discipulus super magistrum the scholer is not aboue his master Againe as touching the inconstancy of Melanchthon those whiche haue read and sene his common places can not be ignorant thereof which as ofte as he sette forth so ofte he altered and corrected In the numbre of Sacraments what diuers minde he hathe ben of and vpon what occasion he so chaunged his minde it is very well declared of Staphylus in the first and in the seconde partes of this booke In one other pointeas touching iustification and the workes of man I will showe yow howe contrary he hathe ben to him selfe chaunging his minde with euery wether At the first to gratifie Luther his master denieng fre wil in man In his annotations vppon S. Paule to the Romanes thus he writeth VVe saie that God dothe not onely suffre his creatures to do and worke but him selfe dothe and worketh all thinges properly as we confesse the calling of S. Paule was the proper worke of God so we confesse all other are the proper workes off God whether they be indifferent actions as to eate to drinke and suche like or euill workes as the aduoutry of Dauid the cruelty of Manlius putting to deathe his owne Son And a litle after VVe nede not therefore make that grosse glose commonly vsed to saie that God suffreth euill and doth not worke euill caetera Thus farre Melanchthon where yow see he agreeth with the bonde fre will off Luther and the wicked destyne off Caluin And in this mynde he continewed longe and many yeares But at the length in a conference helde at Wormes he was persuaded by doctor Eckius to reiect this abhominable doctrine And at the next edition off his common places he declared it to all the worlde The zelous and rigorous Lutherans coulde not abyde this his recantation especially Nicolaus Gallus and the Superintendents of higher Saxony But accused him in open writinges of apostasy Farder when diuers vniuersites especially those of Lipsia had subscribed to this later doctrine of Melanchthon directly repugning to Luthers ghospell Nicolaus Gallus a rigorous Lutheran and zelous ghospeller in his booke intituled An awnswer to the booke of the Professours of Wittenberg examineth this their doctrine and chargeth them with Pelagians heresy takē out of Erasmus writings Also in an other litle treatise of his intituled Vox vigilum by certain antitheses and conferences off Luthers sayings he setteth forthe to the worlde the incostāt
should fight and combat with the Hostes of hell and horrour off eternall death Lo he saieth Christ ought beside his bodely death which was on the Chrosse fele also the rigour of gods vengeaunce satisfise also his most iust iudgment and abide the horrour of eternall death O horrible blasphemy mete for a sacramentary ghospeller For how then saied Christ in his Crosse after all the bitter torments suffred for mankind and accomplished Consummatum est It is finished Was he yet to suffer more in hell And how cried he in his last most blessed wordes Father in to thy handes I commend my Spirit Was that to be tormented after of the deuils in hel Dyd his Father kepe it no better but let it be tormeÌ„ted yet again Finally how was that only sacrifice on the Crosse as S. Paul saieth a perfit coÌ„summatioÌ„ and sanctification for euer Must he yet besides suffer torments in hell So saieth Caluin Master to all the Geneuian protestants of England expresly against scripture blasphemously against God and heretically against the Catholike doctrine And where writeth he this In his Institutions a booke so precious in the eyes off some pretended bishops that it is by them coÌ„maunded to be read of such as haue charge of soules May not we worthely crie with that holy father Policarpus O Deus in quae nos tempora reseruasti O God to what times hast thou reserued vs Do we yet looke whether these protestants tende that so blasphemously write of the blessed passion of Christ and commaunde such writings to be read of the vnlerned priests which shall teache it againe to the simple and vnlerned people And yet Caluin will proue his blasphemyes by scripture truly euen as he proueth the rest of his doctrine For lo these are his wordes folowing The prophet teacheth that the chastisement of our peace was layed on him he was smitten of the father for our offences and brused for our wickednes by the which wordes he signifieth that he was sent in to the place of sinners as a surety a pleadg yea and as a gilty person to paie and abide all such paines as were to be required of them only this excepted that he could not be continually staied with the sorowes of death Therefore no maruail if he be sayed to haue descended in to â—ell seing he suffred such death as God in his wrath punisheth the wicked withall Thus farre you haue the wordes of Caluin and his hainous heresy therein contained As for the saying off the prophet which as he and his felowes do in infinit other texts of holy scripture he wresteth from the true meaning the Catholike church hath allwaies taken it to haue ben fulfilled on the Crosse in the bodely death of Christ. For there he was smitten off the Father for our offences and brused for our wickednes there the chastisement of our peace and attonement was layed vpon him But Caluin as if he were a man priuileged from God to saie and teache as he listeth will haue it so ment that Christ beside his bodely death on the Crosse be sent in to the place of sinners which is hell for of Christes descending in to hell he now disputeth vnlesse as some protestants do he make no hell at all and saie that Christ descended no otherwise in to hell but that he was tormented on the Crosse there to paie and abide all the torments of sinners sauing that he suffreth it not eternally This is lo the rewarde off heresy and of such as forsake their faith to fall in to most horrible blasphemies such as a Turk would abhorre and yet to see them not but persuade them selues they haue the light of the gospell and be only true Christians and all the worlde beside blind superstitious and idolaters not only that now is but that hath ben this thousand yeares I will no more exaggerat the matter I wish them amendment and knowledg of the truthe and desire all other to beware in time of such perilous heresies as these vnghostly ghospellers of Geneua bring to our deceiued countre We will now passe to the doctrine of Caluin touching the sacrament of baptim and consider how pure and euangelicall his doctrine thereof is In the sacrament of baptim though the doctrine of Caluin be allmost of all protestants of our countre not onely the sacramentaries receiued and embraced yet it containeth many straunge and horrible heresies Which so in that man happened bicause he serched all suttle shiftes and pried out all the preuy fetches he could deuise whereby he might defeate the doctrine of the Catholike church For hereupon he vvttereth in his doctrine diuers hainous heresies other ignorantly or malitiously First therefore we wil discouer vnto you such of his heresies as are taken off the olde condemned heretikes in the primitiue Church Then such as he forged him selfe expresly against holy scripture and yet defendeth them no lesse foolishely then wickedly as allwaies the proper of heretikes is to do It was the heresy of Pelagius as S â–ª Augustin recordeth that children were not borne in originall sinne His wordes of theÌ„ are these Paruulos etiam negant secundum Adam carnaliter natos contagium mortis antiquoe prima natiuitate contrahere sic enim eos sine vllo peccati originalis vinculo asserunt nasci vt prorsus non sit quod eis oporteat secunda natiuitate dimitti that is The pelagians denie that children borne by fleshe after AdaÌ„ be giltie of deathe by their first natiuite For they make them to be borne so withoute bonde of originall sinne that they nede no remission in their seconde natiuite or regeneration Here the Pelagians make children to be borne in state off grace and not giltie of originall sinne This these heretikes taught generally of all children Caluin teacheth the same in children borne off Christen parents Heare his wordes oute off the 17. chapter off his Institutions towardes the ende Infantes nostros antequam nascaÌ„tur se adoptare in suos pronunciat Deus cum se nobis in deum fore promittit seminique noâ—tro post nos Hoc verbo continetur eorum salus that is God promising that he will be oure God and oure childrens after vs pronounceth that he adopteth and admitteth oure children for his owne before they are borne In this worde their saluation is contained And in an other place thus he writeth Sancta videlicet câ—te The issue of Christen parents is borne holy bicause of the promis of God and their children euen yet in the wombe before they come to open life are admitted in to the leage of life euerlastinge Caluin here and the Pelagians agree in this that children are borne withoute original sinne and in state of grace The difference maie seme to be that Caluin speaketh this of Christen children onely whereas the Pelagians speake generally of all children But you shall see that by the proufe whiche Caluin bringeth for this
which it is nowe clere he doth If ye answer that so it is done bicause men by their owne wickednes malice and vngratefulnesse haue so deserued to be forsaken of God that shall be well and truly answered But bicause yet we see not the reason of this variete why some being brought to obedience other continewe indurated in the discussion of this doubte we must nedes haue recourse to that whiche S. Paule noted oute of Moyses to witt that from the beginning the Lorde had stirred them vp to showe his name through out all the worlde Now these wordes from the beginning are not in S. Paule nor Moyses in any text latin greke or hebrewe but are the wordes of Iohn Caluin added to the text of Gods worde for a vauntage to witt to make vs beleue that from the beginning euen before the fall of Adam God was the cause off induration aud harde hart of reprobats For he is not you see coÌ„teÌ„ted to attribut it only to their owne deserts and malice but seketh a superiour cause in God and that by the wordes of S. Paule from the beginning which he nor none of all his scholers are euer able to showe vs in any text of S. Paule that is This is lo the plaine dealing of these ghospellers and refourmers of Christes Church These be the chalengers of Gods worde This is the pure text they vaunte and boaste of They pretend to couet after the pure text and bare letter But as the poet saied ex vno disce omnes By Caluin lerne what the rest are And Time Danaos dona ferentes trust not an heretike though he bringe you scripture it selfe What false tricke is there that Caluin hath not plaied He hath corrupted the text with false translation as we showed you in the 9. chapter of Salomons prouerbes He belieth holy Scripture as yow heard in the S. chapter of S. Paull to the Romans He denieth expresse scripture as we declared you in the 19. chapter of the Actes of the Apostles He requireth to be heard against expresse scripture as we recited you oute of his Institutions And nowe you see he addeth to holy Scripture If this archeprotestant and greate ghospelling doctour behaueth him selfe so in his printed workes which remaine to be vewed of all lerned men what will the nouices of his religion and young prinking preachers sticke to do in pulpits where they knowe their audience to be not allwaies lerned and of the lerned some of a presumed preiudice to take all for good other to winke at all vti foro Albeit the doctrine of Caluin as you haue partly sene be stuffed with abhominable heresies and most absurde contradictions yet in all his doctrine he talketh peremptorely He matcheth him selfe with the Apostles He condemneth and reprouueth at his pleasure all holy fathers Whereby his pride and presumptuousnes sure mates of heresy vttereth it selfe I will for example note you a fewe of his sayinges where you shall see howe proudely he demeaneth him selfe and howe courteousely he ordereth the holy auncient and lerned fathers First as touching his contradictions about free will witting and feeling him selfe very well that he might wottly be charged therewith in one place of his booke of predestination he vtereth his feare and with a worde of his mouthe thinketh to make all the matter smothe These are his wordes I saie again I am not ignorant what apparent absurdite and contradiction this doctrine hath with prophane men and dispisors of God But whatsoeuer they bable or barke our conscience ought to serue vs for a thousand witnesses Is not this a gaie solution trow ye hath he not geuen vs a substaÌ„tiall warrant of the vniformite of his doctrine For what saieth he Forsothe whatsoeuer contradictions we see and beholde with our eyes yet we must trust Caluins coÌ„science that he is so honest a man that he would neuer saie or vtter any such thing Now reade againe those fewe of his contradictions that we haue recited who list and let him iudge in his owne conscience what the conscieÌ„ce of Caluin is and howe farre it is to be trusted Againe as touching the singularite off his doctrine which he knoweth and confesseth to be contrary to the olde fathers what reason thinke ye bringeth he for the defence off it In his treatise of baptim the 17. chapter of his Institutions he expouÌ„deth the wordes of Christ to Nicodemus Vnlesse a maÌ„ be borne again by water and the holy Ghost he shall not enter in to the knigdoÌ„ of heauen to be but an allegoricall speache against the whole practise off Christes church and consent of all holy fathers and lerned writers expounding the wordes off Christ literally as the text hath for necessite of baptim This Caluin knewe and confessed But how then thinke you doeth he excuse the matter what clâ—ke hath he for his singularite Ye shall heare After longe talke thus he concludeth Scio alios aliter interpretari sed hunc esse germanum sensum non dubito that is I knowe that other men haue otherwise expounded this but I doubt not but this is the right sence Lo Caluin doubteth not and therefore we must beleue him more theÌ„ all the church beside What is arrogancy if this be not Likewise in his doctrine and booke of predestination such as finde fault with his doctrine he saieth they blaspheme God and crieth vnto them as S. Paul did to such as Caluin is VVhat arte thou man which disputest with God Now what the doctrine off Caluin is you haue sene partly by this our simple discourse and more especially it appeareth in the third parte of this Apologie Yet he matcheth him selfe with God and vaunteth the coÌ„ptrollers of his hereticall doctrine with the check of S. Paul as curious serchers of Gods depe secrets And therefore no maruail iff he sett light by the holy Fathers off Christes church and reuerence them no deale at all In his treatise of baptim labouring to promote his heresy touching the baptim off S. Ihon that it should be equall with the baptim of Christ remembring that the Fathers of the church laie in his waie and withstode him to make the restafeared he geueth the venter vpon S. Augustin and saieth Nec recipienda est illa Augustini argutia in spe dimissa fuisse peccata Ioannis baptismo Christi baptismo reipsa dimitti that is Neither is that sutteltly off Augustin to be admitted that by the baptim of Ihon sinnes were forgeuen but in hope by the baptim off Christ they are forgeuen in dede In other places he calleth S. Augustin in dogmatibus ecclesiae fidelissimuÌ„ vetustatis interpreteÌ„ a most trusty reporter of antiquite in doctrines of the church But when it pleaseth M. Caluin S. Augustins doctrine is but a suttelty Likewise reprouuing the doctrine of penaunce where it is compared to the borde after a shipwracke which is a vsuall similitude off all
the people knew theÌ„ selues the Senatours remained in authorite Particular fautes were redressed the whole order and estat remained Sucha Pacuuius I say was at the entry of these heresies to be wished and preseÌ„tly may also be heard For although that which is past caÌ„ not be reuoked yet it may be amended Let vs then with Pacuuius demaunde of such as lothe their auncient and receiued belefe what newe faith will they embrace For without some faith I thinke none yet that beare the name of Christians will line Will they be right and zelous Lutherans taking Luther for the very man of God and vndoubted prophet to reuele his holy worde in these our later dayes Will they reiect all Fathers all Councells all that Christendom hath hetherto beleued as you haue heard before Luther doth Then beside all that we haue saied of his doctrine and behauiour sufficieÌ„t I trust to proue him a right heretike if an heretike may be knowen by his frutes let them satisfie the ciuill and disordrely or repining Lutherans let them accrode with the Sacramentaries the Anabaptistes the Osiandrins the Swenkcfeldians and all the remnant of Luthers branches as you may see and vew in the petigrew of his ofspring drawen out by Staphylus If they set light by that fonde frier as the more part of protestants do to the great grief and bitter complaining of all zelous Lutherans what secte wil they be of Will they ciuilly beleue at pleasure as MelaÌ„chthon did and be euerlerning as S. Paule of heretikes pronounceth but neuer attaining to the truthe Who laugheth not at so fonde a chaunge if in so waighty a cause any Christen hart can laugh and not rather lament such willfull blindnesse or blind willfulnesse as in these ciuil Lutherans appeareth Will they forsake Luther vtterly and become Sacramentaries Yet then we may demaunde of what secte of Sacramentaries they will be For Caluin and Bullinger Geneua and Zurich agre not But if they will be Caluinistes as most parte of Sacramentaries are who yet will not disdayne there at knowing the pride of Caluin setting light by the holy Fathers his corrupting of holy Scripture wicked renewing of olde condemned heresies fonde auouching off most clere contradictions rashe teaching of moste absurd doctrine in that article where he we was thought moste to haue excelled All which and much more we haue in this simple discourse discouered vnto you gentle Readers to the entent that you may see what an euill chaunge you make to leaue the auncient fathers the Catholike and vniuersall belefe the faith you were baptised in and in the which all our forefathers these thousand fiue hundred yeares and vpwarde haue serued allmighty God and liued as Christen men and true membres of Christes church to leaue I saie all this and to become protestants or new ghospellers that is men of a new faith and religion which you must lerne of some one of these three Luther Melanchthon or Caluin or of such as haue lerned it of them By this consideration I trust you shall pereiue that though the vniuersall name of refourmed ghospellers and chalengers off gods worde haue pleased you though the generall name of papistry haue displeased and misliked you yet the particular being now discouered as well off the persons as of the doctrine you will either incontinently returne from whence you departed or at lest deliberat thereof and of these fewe lerne to mistrust the rest Fridericus Staphylus whose Apologie we haue here translated you being a Lutheran many yeares and so farre in credit with the protestants that he might haue ben a doctour of diuinite amonge them also a Superintendent at Augspurg at Brunsuick Lubeck and Hamburg by this very consideration became a Catholike For hauing many years ben a Lutheran and a familiar frend of Melanchthon aduised with him selfe to write also in defence of the Lutheran doctrine He had not yet at that time read the auncient fathers but had heard them much alleaged of Luther and Melanchthon and trusting to their allegations thought vndoubtedly that the doctrine of Luther was agreable with the lerned fathers and the primitiue church Hereupon he diuised after the imitation of the Master of the sentence and other schole men to set forthe in one volume the whole effect and summe of Luthers doctrine This booke he intituled Corpus doctrinae Lutheranae the body or summe of Luthers doctrine For this purpose he began to â—eke the doctours and serche the original of Luthers and MelaÌ„chthons allegatioÌ„s But here lo in this particular serche and examinatioÌ„he found the doctours and auncient writers to condemne directly the doctrine of Luther At this he was maruailousely astonned brake of his enterprise began with priuat study to peruse him selfe the auncieÌ„t and approued writers in Christes church as well the grekes as the latins and to conferre with them these new writers of our time About this study he bestowed as he writeth in this very Apologie two and tweÌ„ty yeares not medling with any other ciuil or worldly matters in al that time By this meanes though slowly and slackely as in the preface of this Apologie he complaineth him selfe he shifted at length him selfe out of the captious coÌ„trouersies of this time and became not only a right good Catholike priuately and in coÌ„science but opeÌ„ly also to al the worlde he declared it and discouered more theÌ„ any of our time hath done bothe the false grounde of all their pretended doctrine that is the bare title of gods worde without the right vnderstanding of the same and also their variaunces sectes and dissensions amonge them selues Whereby in diuers partes of Germany especially in the territory of Bauaria many haue returned from the dissolut heresy of Luther to the holesom discipline of the Catholike church This he did to his dere countre of Germany in this Apologie writen of him in his mother tongue This I haue made now common to my dere countre also hauing no lesse nede thereof then that miserable countre of Germany hath I trust herein I shall offende none but suche perhaps as firste muste be offended before they can be amended Heresy is compared to a caÌ„cre Vnlesse it be launced it festereth and groweth to the corruption not only of it self but of other To make an ende I desire the protestant to make the example of this lerned and vertuous maÌ„ Fridericus Staphylus to reade this his labour to consider the grouÌ„de of false doctrine taught by Luther and his successours to vewe the diuersite and contrariete of his scholers the numbre of sectes the blasphemies of eche one to waigh the issue off this doctrine the dissolut life and contempt of order the countres of Hungary Lifland and Prussia lost by Luthers heresy finally to beholde the olde heresies renewed by Luther and other his behauiour resembling heretikes the incoÌ„stancy variete and wilfulnesse of Melanchthon the fonde absurdites clere contradictitions and most hainous heresies of Ihon Caluin I besech the
praier fol. 69. Heresies suffred in the church for our triall fol. 2. .3 The duty off a Christen man in time off heresy fol. 3. b. Hungary loste by Luthers heresy fol. 128. b. The destruction off Grece through heresy fol. 129. Hierusalem destroied by schismes fol. 129. b. The miserable estat off Lislande through heresy fol. 130. Countres lost in Germany by heresy fol. 127. b The meanes whereby many haue fallen in to heresy fol. 146. The heretike more dangerous then the Turke fol. 150. b. Grece and Afrike loste the faith by heresy fol. 182. The ende of present heresies fol. 19. Good counsell of Sisinnius to defeat heretikes fol. 21. b. It behoueth not to dispute with heretikes fol. 22. b. Inconstancy of Lutherans fol. 97. b. Inconstancy of Lutherans fol. 44. b. A lowde lie of the Lutherans against the Catholike church 33. b A prety story of wronge interpretation fo 51. The liberty of Luthers ghospell fo 75. VVhat partes of scripture may be read of the laite fol. 78. b Liflande loste by Luthers heresy f. 128 The pride and presumption of Luther f. 132. Luthers penaunce fol. 133. He becometh a papist for a vauntage fol. 134. b. He is a false prophet fo 139. A murderer and stroÌ„ge thefe in the church ibi The Lutherans vary at their metings and conferences like the Arrians fo 186. b. The labells of the Lutherans principles fol. 18. b Sacramentary sectes amonge the Lutherans fol. 87. b The outward behauiour off Lutherans in Germany fol. 59. VVhy protestants barke at the euill life of the clergy fo 61. b. The church ought not to be forsaken for the euill life off men in the church fo 62. Laye men are not commaunded to read scripture f. 64. The hebrew text could not be read off the laye Iewes folio 64. b. The dangers proceding off the laites reading scripture fo 65. Luther will proue by Scripture there ought to be no Magistrats amonge Christen men f. 140. b. The marriage off Luther fol. 141. b. Contrariete in his doctrine fol. 142. The cause of Luthers breache from the church and the maner of the first entry thereof fo 149. a. b. Luther proued an heretike fo 179. His proper heresy touching the Sacrament hath wrought his owne confusion fo 181. b. Lutherans in Bohem teache the soule to die with the body fol. 17. b. Luther at the first planting of his heresy writeth against obedience to princes fol. 16. He maketh chastite a thing impossible ibid. Luther clippeth the coyne of Gods worde fol. 66. He addeth to the text fol. â—8 Enemy to virginite and wedlock bothe Ibidem b. He teacheth pluralite of wiues fol. 69. reneweth the heresy of the Pelagians and off the Manichees fol. 68. Item of Vigilantius fol 69. Chaungeth opinion in doctrine fol. 72. 74. con demneth good lerning fol. 73. writeth against obedience to Magistrats fol. 75. A notable testimony of the Caluinistes against Luther fol. 25. All new sectes haue begonne of Luther ibidem b. The frute off liberty preached by Luther fo 44. The pride of Luther fol. 36. A notable testimony of Luther of the life of his scholers lbi b. The frutes of the Lutherans doctrine fol. 39. The euill life of the Catholikes and of the Lutherans procede of diuers causes fo 40. b. 41. MelaÌ„chthon teacheth pluralite of wiues fol. 69. chaungeth opinion in doctrine fo 72. becometh a Suinglian fo 88. is a dissembling ghospeller fol. 90. he becometh a baker fo 107. b. Horrible blasphemies of a ghospelling Minister f. 112. b VVicked doctrine of Luther touching Matrimony fol. 96. Melanchthon inconstant in doctrine fol. 183. A corrupter off Luthers bookes ibidem b. A breder of sedition and rebellion f. 185. a. b malitious and cruell fo 187. b. The Machâ—bees proued to be of the Canon fol. 166. The writings of men in the churche to be folowed fol. 168. The fathers off the protestants fo 161. 162. Item fol. 165. b. and in the leaues folowing The doctrine of our protestants consisteth of olde heresies folio 161. 162. Item fol. 175. and in the leaues folowing The principle off the only written text how it is ment of protestants fol. 7. Protestants refusing the Councell show them selues to lacke Charite fol. 20. Luther proueth coÌ„tempte of Princes by scripture fol. 139. b. his counsell to â—rinces fol. 140. Protestants are proued to be heretikes fol. 98. The protestants are Manichâ—es fol. 111. b. Protestants confounde vniformite and diuersite fol. 122. b. The frutes of protestants confusion in doâ—â—rine fol. 123. Prussia loste by Luthers heresy fol. 127. b A necessary lesson for deceiued protestants fol. 58. A vaine crake of protestants fol. 59. No certainte of Faith in protestants fol. 18. Disagreement in doctrine amonge our protestants fol. 7. Outward pretence off agreement in the same ibidem b. Speciall articles off contradictions amonge the protestants fol. 80. b. Thirten heresies amonge the protestants touching the blessed sacrament fol. 90. b. Fiue amonge the Lutherans fol. 90. and eight amonge the Zwinglians 86. b. The grounde off all protestants doctrine false and deceitfull fol. 42. An other decitfull ground off protestants fol. 43. A persit rule to discern false preachers fol. 37. A charitable shift of the protestants fol. 29. b. Reall receauing can not stand without reall presence fol. 194. The cause of diuers professions of religion in the Catholike church fol. 125. Hereticall rebellion neuer proueth fol. 125. b. Scripture nedeth exposition 47. VVhy the protestants crie vpon only Scripture fol. 48. VVhat the vnlerned shall do in variete off interpretations off scripture fol. 48. b. A token to know false interpretation off scripture from true fol. 49. b. Euery heretike alleageth scripture fol. 59. b. How interpretation off Scripture is tried true fol. 60. The body of Christe vnder one kinde of the SacrameÌ„t perfit and whole 60. A similitude fol. 3. b. fol. 65. b. fol. 124. b. .189 b. Scripture corrupted by Luther fol. 66. and many leaues folowing The doctrine of Sacramentaries destroieth the resurrection of our bodies fol. 227. Caluin maketh the blessed Sacraments bare signes tokens and badges fol. 203. Of the Sacrament of the aultar see in the worde Caluin That the soule only is not fedd of Christ in the Sacrament f. 193 Chalenging of only Scripture cause of heresies fol. 114. The ground of the Leage at Smalcaldium brickle and variable fol. 110. The Sacramentaries desire to be vnder the winge of the Lutherans fol. 81. b. they condemne Luther fol. 84. b. Luther condemneth them fol. 84. and fol. 86. b. Foure Sacraments acknowledged of Melanchthon fol. 45. Scripture alone suffiseth not fol. 41. b. 42. Great confusion in the church by small alteration of the Scripture fol. 70. b. Scripture hard to be vnderstanded fol. 4. The custome of heretikes to denie partes of scripture fol. 165. doctrine defended without expresse coÌ„maundement in scripture fol. 169. Staphylus refuseth to be doctour of
of Ihon Caluin in his booke of predestination and of Theodore Beza the archeheretike of FrauÌ„ce in his defence for Caluin This yeare 1561. one Lucas Sternberger in Omoluke a towne of Morauia being cast in to preson preaching amonge the Sternbergers and in diuers other places bearing him selfe for a Minister of the ghospel and scholer of Luther and Melanchthon preached and persuaded the people this doctrine that foloweth for the true and expresse worde of God First he openly taught and confessed That al suche as worship the name of the Blessed Trinite do imagin falsely the Gods That the name of the Trinite is vaine and superfluous bicause that worde is no where expressed in holy scripture beinge also but one God in heauen Therefore he forbad that the same songe O veneranda Trinitas O blessed Trinite should be songe and commaunded in his place to singe O blessed goodnes of God He wisheth also that all the deuills of hell woulde come and cary awaye this Trinite saieng he can not tell whether it be a man or a woman yet that he is sure that the same Trinite was ones a woman which had thre husbands Secondarely he confessed and taught that Christe was not true god but maÌ„ only like other meÌ„ For if he had beÌ„ god he should haue descended out of he auen in to earthe and committed the gouuernemeÌ„t of the worlde here to Angels That he was borne only of Mary and Ioseph the carpenter and that he exercised that crafte with Ioseph vntel the thirtyth yeare of his aage Beside he teacheth That Christ rose froÌ„ death not by his owne power but by the power of god almightie and that he worked no miracle but by the power and operatioÌ„ of almightie god which had endued him with more excellent giftes and graces then al the other prophets adopting him for his son at the leghth for his vertuous and honeste life when he was baptised of Ihon in the Iordayn and the voyce from heauen came downe saieng This is my welbeloued son in whom I am delited so that Christ is not the son of god but touching his soule onely bicause in the crosse he commended and gaue vp but his soule to god Thirdly he mocketh at the holy ghoste saieng that it is nothing els but a pigeon affirming beside that nothinge is writen of his diuinite in all scripture nether of the olde testameÌ„t nether of the newe and that it is not knowen what is this holy ghost Finally he had rather returne to the cloyster and be a papiste then to beleue in the holy ghoste Fourthely he will not the blessed virgin Mary mother of god to be a perpetuall virgin but that she had before two or thre sonnes and that she nothing differeth froÌ„ the rest of wemen and therefore nether she nor any other saints ought to be worshipped or haue their holy daies kepte Againe that men ought to worke the Sonday and reste the Saterday bicause in holy scripture the Saterday is coÌ„maunded to be kept holy But of the SoÌ„day nothing is prescribed nor appointed for as Luther taught nothinge ought to be admitted or obserued which god hath not in expres wordes commaunded or forbyd in holy scripture Fiftely he reiecteth holy baptim calling it a diuelish institution affirming also that it procureth nought els but hell and eternall damnation for circumcision was instituted of god not baptim Sixtely as touching the blessed Sacrament of the aultar he can neuer satisfie himselfe with mocking iesting and scorning at it for he saith the Iewes haue longe ago eaten vp the paschall lambe and if any thing were lefte they burned it Finally he confesseth he is of that opinion in this Sacrament as Melanchthon is For at a certain time hauing some communicating with him but fewer then he thought he inuited all other by speaking to them in these wordes Come hether for â—am not able to deuoure him vpp alone as for other sacraments he foloweth Luther in all points as his schole master of whom he receaued this doctrine Now that these heresies here reakoned vp be rife in Morauia and that many a soule is miserably in ueigled and seduced with them the experience showeth They also which are sene in the Alcoran of Mahomet and in Luthers doctrine may well consider and perceaue that this fifte ghospell of Luther prepareth and fostifieth the waie for Mahomets Alcoran to come in to Germany And though the Lutherans to excuse them selues and their ghospell will here obiect that Luther neuer inuented neuer thought nor taught these detestable heresies published by Lucas Sternberg it maye and ought well be awnswered vnto them that though Luther neuer tought these matters expresly which yet is to be doubted of yet he gaue abundant and sufficient occasion for these and all other heresies and schismes onely in that he writeth and bableth all waies that nothing ought to be receaued approued or obserued in the church which was not manifest euident and expresse in holy scripture And what other grounde hath this Lucas Sternberg to abolish al truthe of our Christen religion and to plante his deuelish doctrines then this lesson of Luther For euer he crieth VVhere is it writen where is it in holy scripture that there be thre persons VVhere is it read that Christ in the vnion of his godhead and manhood should be the Second person in Trinite or that Christ is the true and naturall son of God and not a creature according to his euerlasting and diuine generation VVhere is it expressed in scripture that the holy ghoste it selfe is any other then the euerlasting father VVhere is it noted in holy scripture that Mary the mother of Christe was a Virgin before and after the byrthe and that shee continued a Virgin allwaies In what place of the Bible can we reade that the Sabbaoth daie should be abrogated and the Sonday instituted And what heretike I pray you maye not saie the like of all the articles of our catholike faithe For what scripture hath saie the Anabaptistes that infants shoulde be baptised And the Swinglians VVhat Scripture saie they affirmeth that the true body and not the figure off Christ his body is in the Supper of the Lorde Againe the Lutherans VVhat place of scripture saie they dothe testifie that Christ instituted the Masse in his Supper Therefore if Luther had raised vp no other particular heresie yet this was detestable and cursed inoughe that he taught nothing to be obserued or receaued in the church but whiche god had expresly directly and in plaine wordes commaunded or forbed in the Bible To this heresie of Lucas Sternberg an other secte directly repugnant and contrary rose vp very lately at Pinczouia in Pole in the which place two new ghospellers Petrus Statorius and Georgius Brandata teach that there is not one God but thre gods and they so diuers one from an other as thre men yet that the son is somewhat lesse then the father and