tumultuarily and in hast hath not had this curiosity It remaineth to examine the place of S. Austin of which euery one that hath a quicke smell will acknowledge the corruption and falsification First of all because it is not credible that this holy Personage would oppose himselfe single to the whole Church of his time and to all the Doctors that went before him and namely to the Councell of Carthage whereat himselfe had beene a present assistant Secondly because it is not credible that S. Austin would contradict himselfe for in the sixe and thirty Chapter of the eighteenth booke of the Citie of God he speaketh thus The supputation of these times since the building vp of the Temple is not found in the holy Scriptures which are called Canonicall but in other bookes among which are the Maccabees Is it possible to say in more plain and expresse termes that the Maccabees are not holy Scriptures nor Canonicall bookes But heere wee admire a pretty pleasant folly and stupidity of a taile handsomely fastened and sowed on by some Monke for after all this they make S. Austin to adde Which bookes not the Iewes but the Church boldeth for Canonicall O grosse Imposture After that hee had simply set downe that the Maccabees are not holy nor Canonicall Scriptures would hee say that the Church receiueth them for Canonicall By the same fraude this other place of S. Austin which Coeffeteau alleadgeth hath beene falsified Let vs adde hereunto that S. Austin cap. 23. of his second booke against Gaudentius answereth thus vnto Gaudentius who serued himselfe with the example of Razis who killed himselfe whereof mention is made in the second booke of the Maccabees The Iewes do not hold this booke in the same rancke with the law the Prophets and the Psalmes to which Iesus Christ beareth witnesse is they that beare record of him But this booke is receiued by the Church not vnprofitably if men read it soberly principally because of the sufferings of certaine Martyrs Who feeth not that he doth weaken the authority of these bookes in that Iesus Christ doth giue no testimony vnto them And if these bookes haue not beene reckoned for holy Scripture amongst the faithfull of the olde Testament I maruell when they became holy Scripture It is also a poynt very considerable that in this place of S. Austin produced by Coeffeteau Ecclesiasticus is put among the Canonicall bookes in which booke it is said cap. 46. Samuel prophesied after his death and declared vnto King Saul his death lifting vp his voyce out of earth An opinion which S. Austin doth condemne in his booke of Questions on the old Testament in the 27 Question saying Porrò autem hoc esi praestigium Satanae quo vt plurimos fallat etiam bonos se in potestate habere confingit that it is a great indignity to beleeue it and maintaineth that it was an illusion of Satan who to deceiue many faineth to haue good men in his power And in his booke of the care that men ought to haue of the dead after hauing spoken doubtfully he saith that men * Huic libro ex Hebraeorum Canone quia â—n eo non est contradicâ—tur controule the booke of Ecclesiasticus because it is not in the Canon of the Hebrews And in his booke of the eight Questions to Dulichius Quaest 6. he canuasseth this Question by way of Probleme leaning notwithstanding to the opinion that it was a meere fantasme or vaine apparition See hereupon the Canon Nec mirum in the Cause 26. Quest 6. where also S Austin is alleadged maintayning that this was done by enchantment Whence I conclude Caietan in fin-Commentaâ—oruÌ„ ad Historiam vet Test Ne turberis No uities si alicubi reperis libros istos inter Canonicos supputari vel in Sacris Con cilijs vel in Sacris Doctoribus Non. nâ—sunt Canonici id est regalares ad probandum ea quae sunt fidei possunt tamen Canonici dici ad aedificationem fidelium that S. Austin should contradict himselfe if after hauing refuted the opinion of Ecclesiasticus he should afterwards put him in the role of the Canonicall bookes These falshoods hauing not beene acknowledged by Cardinall Caietan droue him to finde out another euasion Be not astonished or troubled O thou who art but a Nouice in Diuinity if somtimes thou find eyther in the Councels or in the Doctors these bookes to be counted among the Canonicall For they are not Canonicall to proue the points of faith Notwithstanding they may be called Canonicall for the edification of the faithfull ARTICLE VI. Touching the memory of Saints and of their Feasts and holy dayes AS for the Saints departed I honour their memory The KINGS Confession and in honour of them doe wee in our Church obserue the dayes of so many of them as the Scripture doth Canonize for Saints but I am loath to beleeue all the tales of the Legended Saints Here Coeffeteau beginneth to skirmish without neede Fol 13. He complayneth for that the King speaketh onely of solemnizing the memory of those Saints of whom mention is made in the Scripture He saith that the Church of Smyrna did celebrate the feast of the Martyrdome of Polycarp That Basil did recommend the Feasts of S. Iulitta and of the forty Martyrs That Gregory Nazianzene did solemnize with the other Christians the Feast of S. Cyprian and S. Gregory of Nissa that of the Martyr Theodore That Cyprian commanded that they should marke out the dayes of the Passion of the Martyrs to the end that they mighcelebrate their memories That S. Austins twentieth booke against Faustus Manicheus cap. 21. saith that the Christian people did celebrate the memories of the Martyrs And yet that S. Polycarpe S. Iulitta c. are no Saints of whom there is any mention in the Scripture Hee addeth notwithstanding that the Church of England is in that lesse irreligious then the Caluinists of Fraunce who haue cut off all sorts of holy-daies of Saints aswell Apostles as others As touching the Legends We are saith hee no more credulous of them then you He saith he doth not receiue miracles vnlesse they be approued by the publique testimony of the Church and that euen in the first ages they suggested and foysted in false actes of Martyrs These passages which he alleadgeth are in part false partly they are of no vse to proue the Question Let vs begin with the falshood First in alleadging out of Eusebius the example of the Church of Smyrna who buried the bones of Polycarpe with honour and celebrated his memory Anniuersarily euery yeare there is no mention made of his Feast or Holy-day but onely of a day dedicated to the commemoration of his Martyrdome Ignorantes nos ChristuÌ„nunquam relinquere qui pro totius seruan dorum mundi salute passus est nec alium quenquam colere posse Nam hunc quidem tanquaÌ„ filium Dei adoramus Martyres verò
Reader shall obserue first that these bookes to wit Tobie Iudith the booke of Wisdome Ecclesiasticus the Machabees they are not found in the Hebrew tongue and consequently they are not in the originall of the old Testament wherein there are but two and twenty bookes 2. Secondly we ought also to know that the Church of the old Testament neuer acknowledged these bookes nor receiued into the Church See Eusebius lib. 8. of his Storie cap. 10 as witnesseth Iosephus in his first booke against Appion 3. Thirdly it is also very considerable that Iesus Christ nor his Apostles who alleaged vpon euery purpose Texts and passages out of the old Testament neuer named any of those bookes nor neuer drew quotation out of any of them 4. Fourthly the chiefe and principall is that in these bookes there be many faults aswell in the Doctrine as in the Storie whereof * In my booke intituled the waters of Siloé cap. 6. we haue elsewhere produced many proofes But let vs heare the testimony of the auncients S. Hierome in his preface vpon the bookes of Salomon speaketh of Ecclesiasticus and of the wisdome of Salomon a Sicut ergo Iudith Tobie Machabaeorum libros legit quideÌ„ Ecclesia sed eos inter Canonicas Scripturas noÌ„ recipit Sic haec duo volumina legat ad aedificationem plâ—bis non ad authoritatem Christianorum dogmatum confirmandam As then the Church doth reade indeede the bookes of Iudith of Tobie and the Machabees but doth not receiue them among the Canonicall Scriptures so let it also reade these two volumes for the edification of the people but not to confirme the faith of the Church He saith the same in his Prologus Galcatus and marke by the way that he saith that it is the beleefe of the Church Sciendum tamen est quod alij libri sunt qui non Canonici sed Ecclesiastici a maioribus appellati sunt vt est SapieÌ„tia Solomonis Ecclesiasticus libellus Tobiae Iudith macabaeo rumâ—libri quae omnia legi quidem in Ecclesiis voluerunt non tamen proferri ad authoritatem ex his fidei confirmandam Praeter istos sunt adâ—uc alij eius dem veteris instrumenti libri non Cononici qui Catechumenis tantum leguntur Sapientia Solomonis c. Amongst the workes of S. Cyprian there is a Treatise which seemeth rather to be the worke of Ruffinus touching the exposition of the Creede There he reckoneth vp the bookes of the old and the new Testament Then he addeth * These are then the bookes which the Fathers haue included in the Cannon or Rule and from which are drawne the proofs of our faith Notwithstanding we must know that there are other bookes which the auncients haue not called Canonicall but Ecclesiasticall bookes as is the wisdome of Salomon Ecclesiasticus Tobie Iudith and the bookes of the Machabees Then he addeth All which they would should be reade in the Church but that they should not be produced to confirme the authority of the faith S. Athanasius in his booke intituled Synopsis nameth al the bookes of the old Testament according to the Hebrew Bible Then he addeth Besides these there are yet other bookes of the old Testament not Canonicall which are not read but to the Catechumeni or Nouices newly taught and catechized such are the wisdome of Salomon the wisdome of Iesus the Sonne of Syrach Iudith Tobit c. Melito Bishop of Sardi as witnesseth Eusebius in his fourth booke of his Hystorie and the fiue and twentith Chapter Origen in Eusebius sixt booke and foure and twentieth chapter S. Hilary in his Preface vpon the Psalter S. Gregory Nazianzen in his verses of the holy Scripture Eusebius lib. 3. of his story cap. 10. Epiphanius in his booke of measures Damascene himselfe though long after in his fourth booke of the Orthodoxe faith cap. 18. And diuers other Fathers make an enumeration of the bookes of the olde Testament and yet do they not put in neyther Iudith nor Tobite nor Ecclesiasticus nor the booke of VVisedome nor the Maccabees But rather all with one consent and accord say that there are but two and twenty bookes in the olde Testament as many as there bee letters in the Hebrew Alphabet And yet further to conuince Coeffeteau let vs heare the very iudgement of him whom they most honour of all the Popes And this is Gregorie the first in his twenty sixe booke of morals vpon Iob cap. 29. where being desirous to alleadge the booke of Maccabees in the fact of Eleazar he excuseth himselfe in these wordes Of which thing we speake not out of reason Qua de re non inordinatè agimus si ex libris si non Canonicis sed ad Ecclesiae aedificationem scriptis testimonia proferimus if we produce the testimonies of bookes not Canonicall but written for the edification of the Church This ought to suffice to represent what was the heleefe of particular men who being assembled together are equiualent to a generallity Howbeit for the more store and the better supply let vs heare the Councels The Councell of Laodicea which was almost about the same time with the first Nicene Councell setteth ouer the last Canon this inscription 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That is to say How many bookes there be of the olde Testament that men ought to reade Then it reckoneth vp the number of them as farre as two and twentie Genesis Exodus Leuiticus Numbers Deuteronomie Ioshua Iudges Ruth Hester the Kings or Samuel two bookes of Kings two bookes Paralipomena or the Chronicles Esdras Psalmes Prouerbs Ecclesiastes Canticles Iob the twelue Prophets Esay Ieremy Baruch or the Lamentations and Epistles Ezechiel Daniel But of Tobie or Iudith or the Maccabees c. there is no newes Aboue all it is a thing to be be noted that this Councell of Laodicea is confirmed by the sixt generall Councell 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 at the end of which Councell the Fathers assembled together in the Palace made one hundred and three Canons in the second of which it is said We doe confirme and ratifie the sacred Canons made by our holy Fathers at Laodicea of Phrygia And this was now in the yeare of Iesus Christ 684. I adde the fourth Councell of Carthage which in the Tomes of the Latin Councels which are horribly mangled and falsified hath beene very ill handled For we haue not these Councels in Latine but by the meanes of the Church of Rome who hath deliuered them vnto vs such as she would her selfe But she hath not had that power ouer the Greek Coppies where there is no speech at all of the Maccabees Reade the Greeke Canons of the Councels printed at Paris in the yeare 1540. with a Praeface of Iohn du Tillet and the Canons of Balsamon and you shall finde that which I say to be true But Coeffeteau being content to write as Hunters breake their Fast that is
A DEFENCE OF THE CATHOLICKE FAITH CONTAINED IN THE BOOKE OF THE MOST Mightie and most Gracious King IAMES the first King of Great Britaine France and Ireland Defender of the FAITH AGAINST THE ANSWERE OF N. Coeffeteau Doctour of Diuinitie and Vicar Generall of the Dominican Preaching FRIARS Written in French by PIERRE DV MOVLIN Minister of the word of God in the Church of PARIS Translated into English according to his first Coppie by himselfe reuiewed and corrected LONDON Printed by W. Stansby for Nathaniel Butter and Martin Clerke 1610. To the KINGS most Excellent MAIESTIE I Take mine Authors word and mine owne experience for warrant from beyond the Seas most Dread Soueraigne that your Maiesties excellent knowledge and learning haue wonne you admiration among forraine Nations And for home-affections it is well knowen that your Maiesties sincere loue to the truth of Religion and constant Confession of the Catholicke Faith whereof your Maiestie is worthily stiled The Defender haue knit the hearts of your people vnto you Who well perceiue by your Kingly Apology directed to the Princes of Christendome that God hath made your Maiesty such a one as was DAVID The sweet Singer of Israel euen a Propheticall King 2. â—am 23.1 and a Kingly Prophet whose bold profession it is Psal 119. I will speake of thy testimonies Psal 119.46 euen before Kings and will not be ashamed Such as the Kings also among the Heathen are said to haue beene both Princes and Prophets Rex Anius Virg. Aeneid 3. rex idem hominum Phoebique Sacerdos Concerning the Authour and Pen-man of this booke I neede not say any thing Authorem commendat opus Touching my selfe vpon whom this taske was secundarily imposed I know the Translation will blab out mine imperfections Your Maiesty is apt to pardon greater offences and therfore I hope these The ground worke is your Maiesties owne which maketh me bold to vse that saying toward your Maiesty my Soueraigne Lord wherewith Paulus Orosius dedicateth his Story to S. Austin his Master and Tutor Totum tuum sit quod ex te In initio ad te redit It is all your Maiesties owne doing which comming from you I returne it back againe vnto you And so I dedicate you to your selfe In Apologet. cap. 30. concluding with that which Tertullian reporteth to haue beene the auncient Christians Prayer for the safety of their Emperours and is now in vse also in the Church of Rome if we may beleeue Doctor Coeffeteau but I feare me not with like true affection Fol. 5. Vitam Maiestati tuae prolixam Imperium securum domum tutam exercitum fortem Senatum fiaelem populum probum regnum quietum obnixè precor Your Maiesties most humble and faithfull Subiect IOHN SANFORD To the most Mighty and Gracious King IAMES the first King of great Brittaine and of Ireland SIR AS your greatnesse no way needeth our seruice so your exquisite learning wants not any defence For your greatest enemies to whom your power is redoubtable haue your learning in admiration But were it so that you had vse of any mans pen yet should you haue litle cause to seeke further then your owne kingdomes since amongst your subiects there is so great a number of learned men to whom we are in all regards inferiour Yet notwithstanding we haue held it necessary to declare vnto the world that that religion which you defend is the same which we professe and that it befits vs to make resistance to such as in your particuler person assault the generall truth This vndertaking of mine is great and my abilities but ordinarie besides my vocation very laborious neither is a tempest a fit time to write in or a banke of an vnquiet torrent a fit place for serious meditation But SIR the perfection of your worke may supply my defect for to fight after you cannot be properly termed fighting but the pursuite of your victory for though the point of truth be euer sharpe yet it entreth and pierceth more or lesse according to the force and vigour of the arme It is not then to be maruelled if it strike cleane through errors being guided by so strong and powerfull a hand To you then SIR belongs the glory of this holy worke to vs remaines the good and benefit of following your example for the easiest way to speake well for you is to speake that which we haue learned of you neither is it possible that any one should write well in your defence that writes not in your imitation Wherein these my paines can no way merit to be compared For your Maiesty poureth out largely with a royall hand into the Threasury of the Sanctuary whilest I like the poore widow make offer of my mite the which I do with the more affection boldnesse in respect that our Kings participate with you in the cause and that we do see our crowne already foiled and our kings life endangered for want of considering those things which your Maiesty in your booke propoundeth and God grant that your Maiesties warnings be not prophesies and that our good mercifull and victorious king who flourisheth equally in peace as he is feared in warre being endued with an admired vigor both of body and mind may be long preserued amongst vs who hauing had so good experience and in so many places of our fidelity will not we hope be displeased with this our liberty in defending of our religion to which we are not drawne by the hatred of any but by our zeale to the cause of God and through compassion of the poore peopla who being carried along with the streame of custome thinke they do God good seruice to hate vs yea so farre are they transported as they are become iealous and suspitious of the holy Scriptures fearing lest by the word of God they should be misled and seduced for the saluation of whose enthralled soules we would willingly expose our liues and will not cease daily to pray to God to enlighten them in the truth whom we likewise pray that he will preserue your Maiesty from all euill and blesse your person and kingdomes and the Church that liueth vnder the shade and quiet of your gouernment with praier from my heart I recommend to God remaining From Paris the 20. of Ianuary 1610. Your Maiesties most humble and most obedient seruant P. D. M. The Translator to the Reader Gentle Reader I here present thee a worke very worthy of thy study and Meditation if eyther thou beare a loue to Gods truth or good affection towards thy Soueraigne Onely let me intreat thee out of a common feeling of humane frailty to pardon and before thou reade to amend the faults that haue herein escaped through ouersight of the Printers my sickenesse at that time and the distance of place not giuing me leaue to be alwayes present to preuent the same In the Translation I haue not nicely tyed my selfe to the wordes neyther was it requisite
Non verbum verbo curabit reddere fidus Interpres Horat. in Art poet but retayning the strength and sinew of the Sentence I haue rendred it as best fitted the property of speech in our owne language Where the Kings words were to be inserted I haue chosen rather to follow his Maiesties owne Coppy then the French Translation which sometimes varyeth from it neyther haue I therein wronged mine Author Wherefore omitting those smaller mistakes which the discreete will passe ouer with an easie censure whether they bee wordes redundant as in or the twice repeated Or Syllables disioyned as often for often or letters transposed as villaines for villanies or wordes ill orthographized as Epostle and daceiue in one page for Apostle and deceiue Likewise Alminacke Letonies terent for Almanacke Letanies torrent c. Those other which are represented in the end of the booke I leaue to thy courtesie necessarily to be amended being such as import the matter and in which the Composers omitting or not well reading the wordes interlined wherein I sometimes corrected my selfe haue thrust in their owne coniectures Farewell TO THE READER MAy it please thee gentle Reader to vnderstand that after we had finished our worke and that the booke was now ready to come forth there came to my hands certaine corrections and amplifications of some points from the Author himselfe earnestly intreating to haue them inserted which because they could not conueniently be brought in in their proper places the booke being already printed yet that we might doe him right against the malice of his captious Aduersaries I thought it good to bestow them in this page requesting thee of thy charity which couereth a multitude of sinnes at once to pardon both our faults Page 30.14 reade the last Canon 45.25 r. as though he affirmed it without knowledge and spake it onely vpon trust 80.23 r. iudged to be vniust 181.7 r. the earth is almost full of the chips and pieces thereof Page 338.16 after the word men leaue out the whole sentence ending with the word Saluation then adde as followeth Onely we must note that this word Dulia hath a double and doubtfull signification and that there be two sorts of Dulia The one is a Religious action the other is onely a seruice an humane respect which is yeelded also to the liuing As for that kinde of Dulia which is a Religious worship the holy scripture forbiddeth it to be giuen to any saue onely to God alone as 1. Sam. 7.3 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Prepare your hearts to the Lord and yeeld Dulia or Seruice to him alone And S. Austin Quaest 94. vpon Exodus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 debetur Deo tanquam Domino Doulia is due to GOD as to him who is MASTER And de Ciuit. Dei lib. 10. cap. 1. Religio non est nisi Dei cultus Religion is nothing else but the seruice of God plainly shewing that the seruing of the Creatures is not an action of Religion But if we take the word Dulia for a respect and seruice done vnto men and not for a religious action our aduersaries doe amisse to say that they serue the Saints or other Images with Dulia seeing they yeeld them a religious seruice and a voluntary worship tending to the attainment of saluation Againe ibid line 29. reade that then no miracles were wrought by their Images Page 367.13 r. the whole earth is full of the peeces of it 399.27 Modicum quodque delictum mora resurrectionis illic luendo Page 425.27 r. in the 9. Distinction and the 9. Canon of the Councell of Antioch and the 17. Canon of the Councell of Chalcedon These wordes of the Canon of Antioch are for a marginall note 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Page 433. blot out the 8. last lines and the first line of the next page Page 440.21 read So in the 6. generall Councell Pope Honorius is condemned as an Hereticke and cast out of the Catholicke Church in the 13. Act and the same Councell assembled in the palace in the 13. Act doth by name condemne the Church of Rome c. Page 441.17 reade the 11. Homily of S. Chrysostome vpon Matthew Page 454.14 reade that Christ is an head more absolute and greater then the Pope and that the Pope is of lesse vertue then the holy Ghost Page 470.12 reade vpon the foundation layd by another Apostle The fame and good report and the mutuall communication of the strangers that were Christians with the Romanes had planted the Christian Religion at Rome but the Church of Rome required the presence of some Apostle for her full establishment A Table of the principall matters contained in this worke THE FIRST BOOKE ¶ Of the Vsurpation of Popes ouer Kings CHAP. 1. The occasion why IAMES the first King of Great Brittaine wrote his Booke together with a iudgement vpon Doctor Coeffeteaus Booke Pag. 1. CHAP. 2. Remonstrations of D. Coeffeteau with his iudgement touching the Treasons and attempts vpon the life of the King of England Pag. 16. CHAP. 3. Of Cardinals Pag. 23. CHAP. 4. Of Iesuites Pag. 39. CHAP. 5. Of the power of the Pope ouer the Temporalties of Kings and that he cannot take from Kings their Crownes nor free Subiects from the Oath of fidelitie and thereupon the reasons of Bellarmine are examined Pag. 45. CHAP. 6. Of the Clergie and their Exemptions Pag. 88. CHAP. 7. Of the Authoritie of Emperours and Kings ouer the Bishops of Rome that they haue chosen them punished them and degraded them That Princes haue had power ouer Bishops and their Temporalties The first seede of Poperie in England Pag. 105. CHAP. 8. That they who haue written against the King of Great Brittaine his Booke haue vniustly called him Apostata and Hereticke Pag. 128. THE SECOND BOOKE ¶ A defence of the Confession of IAMES the first King of great Britaine ARTICLE 1. Of the Creede Pag. 133. ART 2. Of the Fathers in generall Pag. 134. ART 3. Of the authority of the Fathers each apart by themselues Pag. 135. ART 4. Of the authority of the holy Scripture Pag. 143. ART 5. Of the Canonical and Apocrypha books Pag. 145 ART 6. Of the memory of Saints and of their Holy-dayes Pag. 154. ART 7. Of the Virgin Mary Pag. 164. ART 8. Of the suffrages of Saints and of the seruice due vnto them Pag. 173. ART 9. Of the Masse without Communicants or Assistants and of the Sacrifice of the Masse Pag. 202. ART 10. Of the Communion vnder one kinde Pag. 246. ART 11. Of Transubstantiation Pag. 258. ART 12. Of the Adoration of the Host Pag. 271. ART 13. Of the eleuation of the Host that it may be adored Pag. 274. ART 14. Of carrying their God in Procession Pag. 275. ART 15. Of workes of Supererogation and of super abundant Satisfaction and of the Treasury of the Church Pag. 276. ART 16. Of the baptizing of Bels. Pag. 308. ART 17. Of the Reliques of Saints Pag. 311.
ART 18. Of Images Pag. 329. ART 19. Of the Image of God Pag. 356. ART 20. Of the Crosse Pag. 361. ART 21. Of Purgatory Pag. 375. ART 22. Of the Anarchy and degrees of Superiority in the Church Pag. 406. ART 23. Of the Popes Supremacy Pag. 413. THE THIRD BOOKE ¶ Of the accomplishment of Prophesies OF THE VSVRPATION OF POPES Ouer KINGS THE FIRST BOOKE CHAP. I. The occasion that moued IAMES the first King of great Britaine to write his booke with the iudgement on COEFFETEAV his booke IT happeneth often that the Lightning falling vpon a man without hurting the flesh breaketh the bones because they onely in the body do make resistance to it and herein the lightning which GOD sends from aboue imitates the nature of him that sendeth it who bruseth the proude and such as withstand him but taketh mercy on the humble which bow vnder his iudgments and tremble at his word But the fulminations of the Bishop of Rome are of a contrary nature for they hurt none but such as feare them nor breake none but such as bow vnder them but he that sets them light is neyther endamaged by them nor breaketh his sleep for them but they fall like the Thunder-bolt into the Sea nay they rather drawe from God a blessing vpon the heads of those that are thus threatned according to that of Dauid Psal 109.28 Though they curse yet wilt thou blesse The happy raigne of the late Queene ELIZABETH will furnish vs with a faire example thereof who notwithstanding the excommuniations of Pope Pius the fift by whom England was interdicted she long time enioyed a Peace without any disturbance or interruption and a prosperity almost beyond example And finally when it pleased God to take her to peace and to gather her to his rest many supposed that the end of her life would be a beginning of troubles and confusions in England and thereupon the opinions and feares were diuers according to the diuersitie of mens desires For the English that were of the Romane Church attentiue and heedy to all occasions had conceiued hope of some great chaunge whether it were that they were led into their hope vpon false grounds or that after the death of a soueraine Prince better things are euer expected from the succeffor or whether that such as are discontented are euer desirous of a change so it was that in this Crisis of humours the spirits of the English waued and floated betwixt hope and feare till by the happy arriuall of IAMES the first the lawfull Successor all things were appeased and cleared euen as by the rising of the Sunne mists and fogges are dispersed and scattered He in the sweetnesse and fairenesse of his owne nature enclined to giue content vnto all his subiects with free liberty of conscience But this his in clination was ouer-ruled by necessity when his wisedome entred into consideration that the matter now in question was not onely Religion but the peace of his estate and the security of his crowne for that it was a thing dangerous to permit publike Assemblies of such persons as had taken Oath to others then himselfe who hold that the Pope may pull downe Kings from their Thrones and dispense with subiects for the oath of their alleageāce Moreouer he called to his remembrance the kings his predecessors whom the Popes had reduced to extream seruitude so farre as to make England parte of the Popes Demaines and in Fee to the Church of Rome and further to make it pay impost and to cause the King to goe beneath his Legats and to giue vp the Crowne into their handes These are considerations that one cannot square or apply to those of the Reformed Religion which liue vnder a Soueraigne of a contrary profession for they take oath to no other but to their Soueraigne Prince They cast their eyes vpon no Forrainer they maintaine that it belongs not to the subiect out of the Religion of the Prince to frame occasions of disobedience making piety the match and kindler of rebellion We are ready to expose our liues for the defence of our King against whomsoeuer though he be of our owne Religion and whosoeuer should doe otherwise should not defend Religion but giue way to his owne ambitions and should draw a great scandall vpon the truth of the Gospell Notwithstanding his Maiestie hath vsed his subiects of the Romane Church in such sorte that excepting the liberty of publique exercise he desired to haue them in like and equall condition with others being vnwilling to haue them disturbed for matter of conscience knowing well that Religion is not by force but by perswasion to take impression and that in this case men will rather follow then be drawne and that persecutions begin when Arguments are at an end Notwithstanding this gentle proceeding those of the Church of Rome now fallen from great hopes which they had imagined turned their despaire into choller and indignation and thereupon plotted an enterprise that should haue enfoulded the King the Queene their children his Maiesties Councell and the Parliament in one and the same destruction the plot was to make a Mine vnder the house of Parliament and so to send the King and his royal family with the chiefe of his Countrey to heauen by a new found way Hatred is an ingenious Mistris of inuention for neyther ancient nor moderne Histories can parallel this with any example The Prince of the world reserued to our times which are the very sinke of former ages something more exquisitely cruell and horrible then euer before hath beene mentioned In the meane time through all their houses there was a certaine forme of prayer prescribed by the Priests and Iesuites for the happy successe of this enterprise to whom the complices did mutually binde themselues by oath sworne vpon the holy Sacrament both for secrecie and perseuerance in the designe The Mine was already finished and the Gun-powder laid ready and nothing wanting but the execution when God who as he is himselfe a King so consequently he is the protector of Kings whom he hath established miraculously discouered this treason the conspiratours being taken suffered according vnto law and amongst others two Iesuites Garnet and Ouldcorne who are now inserted into a catalogue of * It is a table printed at Rome Anno 1608. apud Paulum Mauperinum Matheum Gruterum dedicated to R. Farnesius Prince of Parma in which are the pictures of such Iesuits as haue beene killed and executed sinc◠the yeare 1549. Martyrs imprinted at Rome which is the Spring-head and Forge of all such enterprises Lesse cause would haue sufficed an impatient King to haue exterminated all their complices and to haue let loose the raines of his iust anger but hee with a rare example of clemency suffered punishment to passe no further then to the principall delinquents inuenting and framing to himselfe Causes and Reasons how he might pardon he considered that Superstition might alter
their fidelity to the Pope thinke themselues bound to disloyalty towards their King And yet notwithstanding his Maiestie herein contained himselfe and would not that his mercy shold be surpassed by their wickednes so far that he hath rather chuse to take in hand the pen then the sword and hath studied to instruct those whom he might iustly haue destroyed desiring more to conuince them by reason then to ouercome them by force Maluit sanguinem suffundere quam effundere What would not hee doe for his faithfull subiects that lets himselfe downe so low to his enemies that laies aside the quality of a Iudge to become an Aduocate but he whom God hath lifted vp to a Soueraigne greatnesse neuer exalteth himselfe higher then by humility This King then to refute these Papal Letters and to iustifie what he had done made a booke entituled An Apologie for the Oath of Alleageance but not setting his name thereunto for it was nothing to him vnder what title the truth appeared so that his enemies might come to the knowledge of their fault This was no combat of the ability of wit but a meere manifestation of his innocency But the stile of a King is hardly disguised for Kings being in more eleuated places receiue nearer at hand the inspirations from heauen Their conceptions are as much aboue the vulgar as their conditions this onely thought that they are GODS Lieutenants and that they exercise his iudgements quickens their spirits with an extraordinary life and vigour besides if it so happen that their youth hath beene dressed and ordered by study and their iudgments polished by experience as it hath happened to the King of great BRITAINE why should any body wonder if their their spirits flye a pitch aboue ordinary This Royall Apologie hauing then bin knowne as a Lyon by his clawes stirred vp certaine English-men and Italians to write against it who as this King elegantly saide haue cast lots vpon his booke for that they could not part it for the reasons thereof are vnseparably weaued together but they not being able to bite his worke barke at his person with an incredible impudence so far some of them as to equall themselues with so great a Prince and to compare him to Iulian the Apostate Such are the flowers of their diuellish Rhethorique wherewith their writings are adorned on whom the Apostle S. Peter in his second Epistle Cap. 2.10 11 12 giueth this iudgement calling them brute beasts led with sensuality that despise gouernment which are presumptuous and stand in their owne conceit and feare not to speake euil of them which are in dignity whereas the Angels which are greater both in power and might gaue not rayling iudgement against them before the Lord. Then if it be ill done to speake ill of a Pagan Prince such as in those times all Monarches were how much more of a Christian King and if Angels forbore ill speaking of Princes how much more would it beseeme men and most of all their owne subiects But no more then the Moone is turned out of her course by the barking of Dogges that looke vp to her no more was the tranquility of his Maiesties spirit by these outragious iniuries disturbed nor his resolution diuerted from doing good to those which bore him hatred It is a poore and meane thing to tread vpon wormes There is no glory in ouercomming such people of whom he is sufficiently reuenged by the griefe and displeasure which they sustain in seeing that God hath blessed him and highly exalted him He would therefore haue contemned their sleighting of him would haue abstained from refuting their calumnies by a second writing had it not beene in regard not of them but of his people and of his neighbours and aboue all of the glory of God for God hauing honoured him with the true knowledge of him his Maiestie would not permit that the enemies as well of the Gospel as of his Crowne should find in his persō any subiect or colour to defame the true religion He is then by an admirable example constituted the aduocate of Gods cause by a second booke made in forme of a Preface to his former hath fully and throughly iustified himselfe In which booke he discouereth the flights and backe-turnings of his enemies representing the vniustnes of their proceedings He likewise maketh confession of his Religion conformable to the holy Scriptures and with a happy boldnes figures and depaints the Bishoppe of Rome and his Sea with liuely colours borrowed from the Apocalips and the Apostle S. Paul Neuer was Table drawne with a more exact hand or in liuelyer colours Such is the Torrent of his eloquence such is the weight of his reasons such is the linking together of his discourse such the variety of his learning and such his Maiesty in all thinges as hee may best iudge of it who shall compare them with that puft-vp weakenesse of the Popes letters and with the writing of his Aduersaries Oh happy eloquence which being armed with power is become the hand-maide of Gods word the sourse and spring whereof falling from high are like to the waters of Silo which water the City of our God Hee doth truely exalt his Scepter which layeth it downe at the foote of the Crosse and that placeth his height and greatnesse beneath the reproch of the Sonne of God he sanctifieth his house making his Cabinet a Temple for Diuinity and a retrayt for holy Meditations Then as in ancient times the earth was more fruitfull when it was laboured by Kings as though she had taken pride to beare a crowned Plough and to be tilled with a Triumphall Coulter So it is to be hoped that Religion and Piety will abundantly encrease since Kings are become labourers in the Haruest This latter booke then being come to succour and helpe the first did diuersly stirre mens spirits some with ioy some with feare some with hate but all generally with admiration The booke being little it was giuen out we should haue it answered within three dayes and sure their good will was not wanting but they found it a harder matter then so and that they were faine to take more time For it was eight moneths after it was published before the first Answeres came forth and what kinde of Answeres they were God he knoweth One Coeffeteau was the first that like an Infant perdu of the Romish army aduanced himselfe This Seraphicall Doctor of the order of the Iacobins or preaching Fryers one of the most remarkeable amongst the Sorbonists is of late through his companions negligence become the defender of the cause And he now after eight moneths being in labour hath brought forth a booke which is not like to liue because of the vntimely birth and indeede it had beene already extinct and dead had not the greatnesse of him against whom he writes kept it aliue wherein he shewed a point of skill to addresse himselfe against a person so illustrious that he might
receiue some lustre from his reflection But those that desire to make themselues knowne by the greatnesse of their Aduersaries are alwaies such as haue little in themselues why the world should take note of them This Doctor in his booke handleth the King of great Britaine as a Nurce doth her nurce-childe who after shee hath dandled it beates it mingling curstnesse and flattery For in humble termes hee wrongeth him and giueth him respectfull lyes flatters him with iniuries accuseth him to speake vpon trust and that he busieth himselfe with quirkes and subtleties and sayes that he makes S. Paul an Interpreter of the Apocalips This is the forme of his writing as for the matter and substance of his booke I finde that he hath ill measured his owne strength and that with the weakenesse and meanenesse of his skill he hath made the strength of his Maiesties reasons more manifest Gyants are not to be ouerthrown with a breath neyther is a Lion to be fought against with a Festue Other kind of forces are necessary to make resistance to so exquisite a doctrine that is euer abundantly sustained by the truth And indeede he clearely confesseth his weakenesse in this that hee neuer cyteth the Text of the Kings booke but only reporteth the sense thereof disguised and weakened that he may giue himselfe greater scope and liberty forming to himself Chimera's which he impugneth with other Chimera's of his owne as will sufficiently appeare by the examination of his booke to which we now will enter God herein enlighten vs since that which wee say is for his truth which is the light of our soules CHAP. II. Certaine Remonstrances of COEFFETEAV his iudgement touching the Treasons and attempts vppon the life of the King of England ARISTOTLE in the second booke of his Rhetoriques Chap. 21. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith that the Countrey people vse to haue their speeches very full of sentences but folly is more sufferable then vnseasonable wisedome Coeffeteau beginneth his booke much after such fashion making to the King of great Britaine many sententious Remonstrances interlaced and mingled with threats and commendations But whilst he representeth to Kings their duties he goeth beyond his owne for S. Ierome forbids Monkes to be teachers saying in his booke against Vigilantius Monachus non docentissed plangen tis habet officium wishing Monks rather to bewaile and be sorrowfull for their owne faults then to reprehend those of other men But chiefly his Remonstrances are ill employed to a King that is better read in the Bible then he is in his Missall and that hath carefully put in practise the commaundement of God in the seuenteenth of Deuteronomy where hee commaunds Kings to read the booke of the law all the dayes of their liues verse 19. The exhortation that Luther often vsed by his Letters to Pope Leo the tenth to renounce the papacy and to liue of his owne and to come and doe as he did had more grace with it then this of Coeffeteau for it is more probable of the two Sleidan li. 2. that the Pope was the likelier to haue followed Luthers counsell This Doctor hauing thus employed the seuen first pages of his book in these exhortations which haue no other fault but that they are ill applyed comes to those motiues which estrange and keepe the King of England from the Romane Religion supposing the conspiracies that haue beene against his person to be the causes of it thereupon protesteth Fol. 5. pag. 1. that the Romane Church no way approueth such attempts but condemnes them as parricides and wisheth to Princes secure gouernement victorious armes obedient people and faithfull Councell And after addeth That for these considerations the head of the Church which is the Pope cannot disaproue the courses that your Maiestie holaeth to secure your authority and person against the miserable enterprizes so that they bee not repugnant to that Religion which he is bound to desend To this I say Coeffeteau hath beene very ill enformed for the conspiracies against the King of Englands life haue not with-held or kept him from Popery since euen from his Infancy he hath made open profession of the true Religion and before this conspiracy had published the confession of his faith conformable to that which we professe And whereas he condemnes such attempts as are made vpon the liues of Kings we greatly commend him for it and thereby suppose that he no way approued the enterprize of Iames Clement who was domesticke with him and his companion From thence I likewise gather that when the Iesuite Mariana in the sixt Chapter of his booke De Regno prayseth the Act of Iames Clement saying that he was perswaded and enduced thereunto by Diuines with whom hee had conferr'd I gather that Coeffeteau was none of those Diuines and that when this Parricide Saint and Coeffeteau went a begging together hee made him not acquainted with his secret And further it is no small vertue in this Doctor that he feareth not in so iust a cause to condemne many Iesuites who were complices or instigators of this last conspiracy and haue been executed for it Nay more it sheweth a magnanimity in Coeffeteau that hee dares so couragiously oppose himselfe to the Pope and Bellarmine who by their letters before mentioned incite the English to rebellion which could neuer take effect so long as the Kings life should be in safety By the same meanes he likewise condemneth the Authors of the Legend of S. Iames Clement which wee haue seene with our eyes but not without much wonder and admiration The successe of things haue grudged him this honor and men haue beene nothing fauourable and propitious to this Saint otherwise doubtlesse hee had before this beene put into paradice It is likewise a cause of iust ioy vnto vs to see that a Doctor of the Sorbons dare approue the sentence of the Court of Parliament against Iohn Chastell though the Pope of late hath newly censured it By which it dooth also follow that he doth not thinke it well done that Garnet and Ouldcorne Iesuites and parties in the gunpowder treason are at Rome inserted in a roll of Martyres Whosoeuer prayseth and approueth an acte already done will questionlesse counsel and aduise the doing of it for that which is wicked in the vndertaking cannot be good in the execution But the Pope in his breue before mentioned calleth the punishment of Treason and rebellion by the name of Martyrdom which is a dangerous speech able to make Kings tremble when the people shall be taught by Murders and Treasons to seeke the Crowne of Martyrdome An abhominable and detestable doctrine can there be any so colde and frozen zeale that will not hereby be warmed and moued to a iust anger that this so sacred name of Martyr so much reuerenced in the Church should in such sort be prostituted that whereas the holy Scripture calleth them Martyrs which suffer for the testimony of the
in order as Onuphrius saith Nihil dignitatis aut praeeminentiae illis dabat antiquitus esse Cardinales But now the Cardinals looke downe from a greater height vpon the rest of the Clergy who are very many degrees beneath their greatnesse There was in those times no speech of Cardinall Bishops and if any Cardinall Priest of one of the Parishes of Rome became a Bishop of any City of Italy he reteyned no longer the name of Cardinall no more then a Parson that is made Bishop now reteyneth the name of Parson still but it were now to goe backewards and to stoope very low for a Cardinall to become a Bishop and leaue his Cardinalship Then hee that was made Cardinall was tyed to one certaine Church or Parish but now it is cleane otherwise for by the contrary he that is now created Cardinall is loosed and discharged from the Church that was his cure as appeareth by the forme of the nomination of the new Cardinals contayned in the the first booke of the holy Ceremonies in which the Pope speaketh thus * Sect. 8. cap. 3. Authoritate dei patris omnipotentis sanctorum Apostolorum Petri Pauli nostra N Episcopum Firmanum absoluimus a vinculo quo tenebatur Ecclesiae suae Firmanae c. By the authority of God the Father Almighty and of the holy Apostle S. Paul and S. Peter and likewise by our owne wee discharge and free Iames Bishop of such a place of the bond by which he was tyed to his Church or cure and admit him Carainall Priest * Sect. 9. cap. 14. Cenâ—entâ—r omnia beneficia promo ti vacantia Also by the promotion of a Cardinall all his Benefices are held voyde if he obtaine not a new graunt of them from his Holinesse In those dayes likewise there was no such thing knowne as to receiue a ringe and a red hat at the Popes handes after they had kissed his feete nor the new tricke of opening and shutting their mouthes nor of carrying of * Sacr. Cerem l. 1 Sect. 3. Quatuor nohiles pileos quatuor CardinaliuÌ„ suprà baculos deferentes foure red hats at the end of a staffe before the Pope in solemne procession as saying like to the Doctor whereof it is spoken in Saint Luke Chap. 4. ver 6. All this power will I giue to thee euery whit and the glory of them for that is deliuered vnto me and to whomsoeuer I will giue it Aunciently the duety of the Cardinall Deacons was to carry the Table on which they celebrated the Lords Supper but since their office hath been to carry the Pope vpon their shoulders For which Innocent the third in the first booke of the mysteries of the Masse giueth this reason sayth he It belongeth to the Leuites to carry the Arke of the Couenant which is often in the Scriptures called Euerlasting All that then which was in the time of Gregorie being compared with that which now is hath no manner of resemblance of it but euen as when wanton verses are grauen in the barke of a young tree the letters grow together with the tree Crescent illae crescetis amores Euen so that which was amisse in these Cardinals during the weakenesse and minority of the Sea of Rome since they were glewed and fastened to this Sea they haue growne vp together with it And as it happeneth that in a body generally swolne some parte is more troubled with the swelling then others So this part of the body of the Romane Church is swolne more then the rest and a prodigious deflux is come vnto it The which will be more apparant when I shall haue examined the truth of that which Coeffeteau sayth affirming that Cardinals are most respectfull to Princes and that they desire not to goe vpon euen termes with them I speake not to touch any that are liuing but as it may well be that a man may dislike of his Cloake because it is too gorgeous so it is likewise possible that many of those which haue beene aduanced to this degree doe thinke that there is too great pompe and glittering in this habite we will therfore speake onely of the rules and general customes of the Roman Church which questionlesse doe equall Cardinals with Kings for marke the titles which Pope Pius the second giueth them in the sixt Chapter of the eight Section of the first booke of the holy Ceremonies * Ad collegium Apostolicum vocati consiliarij nostri coniudices orbis terrarum Successores Apostlorum circa thronum sedebitis vos Senatores vrbis regum similes c. Being called to the Apostolique Colledge you shall be our Counsellors and with me shall iudge the world you shall sit about the Throne as the Successors of the Apostles you shall be Senators of the Citie like vnto Kings being the true kings of the world on which the doore of the militant Church must turne But it is not much to equall them with Kings for they are often preferred before them they are not tyed to holde the bridle or the stirrope of the Pope when he getteth to horse-backe neyther are they bound when the Pope is carried by men to giue the assistance of their shoulders as Kings and Emperours are In the publique actions and solemnities at Rome Kings are vnder the Cardinals as for example * Prior Episcoporum in capite ad dextram Et si aderit Rex aliquis erit in secundo loco Si plures Reges mixti erunt cum Card. primis â—ilij vel fratres regum si non seruiunt Papae debent sedere inter Diaconos Cardinales vel post eos Primogenitus autem Regis quia Rex futurus putatur post primum Presbyterum Cardinalem erit In that Papall feast which is made after the Coronation of the Pope described in the first booke of Ceremonies Section the third there is set downe the order that is to be held at the table The first Cardinall Bishop sitteth highest on the right hand of the table If there be any King there he sitteth beneath the Cardinall And if there bee diuers Cardinals and diuers Kings there then they intermingle them placing a Cardinall then a King and then another Cardinall and so another King as for the sonnes and brothers of Kings they eyther serue the Pope at table or else sit amongst the meaner sort of Deacon Cardinals but the eldest sonne of a King hath place next after the first Cardinall Priest so that all the Cardinall Bishops and the first Cardinall Priest are all before him * Dum Papa lauat manus non Praelati sed Laici omaes genu flectunt And when the Pope washeth his hands al the laietie of what degree soeuer kneele downe but all the Prelates stand and not to seeke for examples further off it is not vnknowne to the King of England that Cardinall Wolsey contested with HENRY the eight And we shall hereafter heare what authority Pandulphus and
his fellowes where he saith that the rebellion of a Clergie man against his King cannot be treason in that he is not subiect to the King which agreeth with that which is written by the Iesuite Saunders in his second booke of his visible Monarchie whereof the King of great Britaine in his first booke cyteth many passages Now whereas the Iesuites of France did make a booke intituled * In the pag. 70. of the Edition of the bigger print 1595. you shall finde these wordes The Pope pretendeth nothing ouer Souerainty but to correct as a father as a Iudge such as are pernitious to the Church For then he may not alone but he is bound to shew himselfe their Superior Security wold make thee peruerse froward but thou must be kept down be made to confes that thou hast neyther reason nor conscience For it is fit that Princes shold be often held in and curbed by feare of their temporalities The defence of the truth against the pleading of Anthony Arnold In which they maintaine at large that the Pope may as Iudge depriue Princes of their temporalties This is wholly to be imputed to the times for then it was fit to speake in that manner but now they reserue those Maximes for fitter seasons Diuinity is to be applyed as occasions serue and wee are now in an age that if wee would know how wee were to teach and moue the people we must first looke into the Aâ—minake and accommodate our selues to the affaires of the Common wealth and therefore it is to be hoped that such * The which are produced in the Chapter following passages of Bellarmine that do make the liues and Crownes of Kings subiect to the Pope will be mended in the next Edition And as for the troubles and seditions which these Fathers haue stirred in Polonia which hath cost Demetrius his life and as for the causes which haue moned the Venetians to banish them out of their estate this a thing wholly to be imputed to the Climate or to the strange humors of the Country which is farre differing from Fraunce All this being considered it is to be hoped that the King of great Britaine following the counsell of Doctor Coeffeteau will take them to be neare about his person The other Reasons which are brought to recommend them seeme not to me of any great weight It is said that they carefully instruct youth if it be so how commeth it to passe that since they haue vndertaken to teach learning is so much decayed I would willingly that one could shew mee in Fraunce any of their Disciples that were of exact and exquisite learning or whom haue they in their society that may bee compared with those that were the Schollers of Turnebus or of Cuias Who are yet as many of them as are left the very lights and ornaments of the Court where is now the Vniuersitie of Paris which had wont to haue in it thirty thousand schollers but hath declined towards barbarisme euer since this kinde of people haue vndertaken to teach by their abridgements and Epitomies the which haue beene framed and composed by a rable of Pedants that teach all by rote in stead of drawing their instructions from the Fountaines of the Greeke and in stead ofâ—etling their iudgements by the course of auncient Philosophy And as for humane learning Scaliger Casaubon Passerate Lipsius and diuers like vnto them were they brought vp in their schooles Or indeede whom haue they brought vp comparable to them But Coeffeteau saith that the most Christian King is serued by them dealeth well with them and taketh them neere vnto his person our condition is too low and our vnderstanding too weake to search out the Counsels of so great a King whom God hath endued with an incomparable wisedome but yet I thinke that this serues not to iustifie them for who can tell whether his Maiesty doth this onely to put in practise that rule of the Gospell which is To doe well to those that hate vs Or whether he endeauoureth by his goodnes to master and ouercome their wickednesse and so by that meanes to binde them to fidelity Or who can tell whether his Maiestie herein imitateth the example of God who imployeth the wicked spirits for such causes and to such purposes as are best knowne to his diuine wisedome Or who knoweth whether in this he doth like Vlisses who for auoyding of tempests would keepe the winds with him shut vp in a leather bagge This great King whose paines and industry procureth our generall repose whose vigilancy makes vs to sleepe securely who bereaueth himselfe of himselfe and bestoweth himselfe on the publique and who maketh peace to flourish vnder the shaddow of his victories Long may hee enioy that quiet and repose which he hath broght euen to those that hate him Let his Counsels be euer blessed with happy successe his life with safety his subiects with fidelity his Crowne with glory and his Kingdome with prosperity CHAP. V. Of the power of the Pope ouer the temporalities of Kings and that he cannot take from Kings their Crownes nor free subiects from the Oath of fidelity And thereupon the reasons of Bellarmine are examined THe King of great Britaine in his Apology complayneth of two Breues or letters Apostolique of Clement the eight sent into England a little before the death of the late Queene ELIZABETH which were produced at the arrainment of Garnet the Iesuite by which the said Pope excludeth him from the succession of the Kingdome by a generall debarring of all such as were not of the Romane Religion This thing being so notoriously vniust and so publique yet notwithstanding Coeffeteau saith that there hath beene a wrong interpretation made of this Popes intentions and that it hath beene some particular mens drift to put it into his Maiesties head that he went about to hinder his establishment in the Kingdome These are insurious speeches to say that the King of great Britaine hath beene circumuented and that men haue only made him beleeue things but that he hath not seene any such Breues but speaketh this onely vpon trust There likewise turning to the side of Kings against the consent of the whole Romish Church he speaks thus It is a thing without doubt Fol. 6. pag. 2. that if the Pope would inuade Kingdoms and giue them in prey to whom he pleaseth deuesting the right possessors of them he well deserueth that Princes should stand stiffe against his viosence and should ioyntly runne vpon him as vpon a robber and spoiler of their inheritances And a litle after The Popes pretend nothing ouer the temporalties of Kings are contented only to make their authority appear ouer the crimes of men which he bindeth or looseth without stretching of it tyranically to dispose of their possessions otherwise then such as are fallen vnto him what causes here moued Coeffeteau thus to fauour Kings and to pare the Popes nayles so neare
terms England neyther is nor euer shall be the patrimony of S. Peter Math. Paris p. 270. Anno 1216 A King cannot giue his Kingdome without the consent of his Barons And thereupon all the French Nobility cryed out that they would fight to the death in that quarrell IOHN being dead Math. Paris pag. 425. Rex inclinato ad genua eius capite vsque ad interior a regni deduxit officiosè his sonne and successor HENRY the third did homage to the Pope and payed the accustomed tribute Shortly after the Pope sent into England a new Legate one Otho a Cardinall before whom the King bowed himselfe soâ—low as to touch the Legates knees with his head which Cardinall behaued himselfe more like a King then a Legate This Cardinall being desirous to haue entred into Scotland the King would not receiue him Non me memini Legatum in terra mea vidisse nec opus esse Pag 530. Rex in ampliori regia Westmonasterij pransurus Legatum â—uem inuitanerat in eminentiori loco mensae scilicet in Regali sede quae in Medio mensae crat non sine muliorum obliquantibus oculis collocauit saying that he had neuer seene Legate in his Kingdome neyther had he neede of them But in England he was his owne caruer cutting and paring away at his pleasure euen so farre as that he presumed to sit at table in the Chaire of State aboue the king as hee did at a feast which king Henry the third made at Westminster as Matth. Paris witnesseth which Authour also Ann. 1241. speaking of his Legates returne saith that according to the account then made he carried away more money with him then he left in all the kingdome besides hauing rifled and spoyled it like a Vine brouzed and troden downe by wilde Boares yea all the Historians of England doe complaine of the pillages and exactions of Rome which sucked the Englishmen to the very blood And as I vnderstand Cardinall Bellarmine hath lately made a booke against the king of England Bellarm. in his new booke pa. 19. Rex AngloruÌ„ duplici iure subiectus Papae vno communi omnib ' Christianis ratione Apostolicae potestatis quae in omnes extenditur iuxta illud Psal 44. Constitues eos principes super omnem terram altero proprio ratione recti Dominij c. wherein he maintayneth that the Pope is direct Lord of England and Ireland and that these kingdomes are the Churches fee Farmes and the King the Popes vassall or feudatary Things which I thought good to represent at large to the end that his Maiesty of England may know and acknowledge how much the Crowne which God hath giuen him is beholding to the purity of the Gospell the preaching whereof hath broken that yoake and hath made libertie to spring forth together with the truth dissipating at once both superstition and tyranny Iesus Christ saith Ioh. 8. You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free which saying may after a sort bee applyed to this purpose for there our Lord speaketh of the seruitude of sinne and here we speake of the slauery vnder the man of sinne there our Lord speaketh of the freedome and deliuerance from the bondage of the father of lies here we speake of being enfranchized from the thraldome of the sonne of perdition and indeede that temporall seruitude of the Crowne of England came from the spirituall bondage of the conscience For the Popes laid this subiection vpon men as a meanes and condition of obtayning remission of sinnes Then England enioyed the happy golden age in which euery man for his money might enter into Paradise but Iesus Christ ouerthrew this bancke of money-changers set vp in the Temple and detecting the abuses sheered asunder those inuisible chains of Custome and Opinion which held mens soules ensnared in and vniust seruitude Certainely then the doctrine of the Gospell is the setling and establishment of Thrones and that which exalteth raiseth Kings seeing that it doth not subiect their Crownes to any man liuing and further stoppeth vp all wayes and accesse to rebellion and disloyaltie Now out of that which aboue hath beene said it is euident that Coeffeteau telling the king of great Britaine that the Pope doth neyther expose kingdomes as a prey nor pretend any thing vpon the temporalties of kings thought the king a stranger at his owne home and one that knew not his Genealogie nor the story of his owne house or else deemed him blinde and bereft of sense when hee complayneth in his Apologie that Bellarm. writing against him dooth importunately inculcate this position that the Pope may depose kings in that he may excommunicate them It must needes be then if we beleeue Coeffeteau that the king of great Britainecy ther did not read or else vnderstood not the booke of his Aduersary If we would seeke out examples of the like cases besides these of England we might fill a iust volume How many Germane Emperours haue beene degraded from their Empire by excommunications and Papall fulminations and their Imperiall Diadem giuen in prey to him that could catch it Did not Pope Iulius the second Anno 1511. take from king Iohn of Nauarre his kingdome and giue it to Ferdinand king of Castile This Bull of Alexander is found in the beginning of Francisco Lopez de Gomara his Story of the â—ndies Did not Pope Alexander the sixt Anno 1492. diuide the Indies betweene the Portugals and the Spaniards allotting the west Indies to the Spaniards and the East to the Portugals whereat Atabalippa the poore king of Peru asked who the Pope was that gaue that which did not belong vnto him To omit the confusions and hurly-burlies of later times which of fresh memory haue blasted and singed our kings with the lightnings of excommunications and almost burnt them to powder and haue made the people to rise in rebellion against their soueraigne Prince the soares doe yet bleede neyther is the wound yet soundly cured Now if experience be not strong enough to enforce the certainty of Papall vsurpations ouer kings let vs heare the Popes themselues speake Clementina Pastoralis de sententia reiudicata Nos tam ex superioritate quam ad imperium non est dubium nos habere quam ex potestate in quam vacante imperio Imperatori succedimus In ipsa vrbe vtriusque potestatis Monarchiam Romanis Pontisicibus declararet and let vs learne what their intent is rather from their owne mouthes then from the fearefull and doubtfull termes of this Iacobin Clement the fift being in the Councell of Vienna speaketh thus We aswell by that Superiority which wee haue ouer the Empire as by the power whereunto we succeed the Empire being vacant c. As it is contayned in the Clementine Pastoralis And in the Chapter Fundamenta de Electione in 6 Pope Nicholas the third sayth that Constantine hath graunted to the Bishoppes of Rome both the one
vntil the thirtieth day I cannot see how this can serue to giue vnto the Pope power of deposing Princes For if Theodosius would not haue followed the counsell of Ambrose there had beene no harme done But this good Emperour did of his owne accord yeeld vnto it After him followeth Gregory the first at the end of whose Epistles is found a priuiledge graunted to the Abbey of S. Medard which hath this clause for the burthen of the Song If any King Prelate Iudge or secular person what soeuer shall violate the Decrees of this Apostolicall authority and of our commandement be he of what dignity or greatnes soeuer he may be let him be depriued of his honour I might say that this is onely an imprecation against Kings and not a Decree of deposition But we neede not busie our selues about the sense seeing that the Epistle is false It is a priuiledge indeed vnto which the name of Gregory is put to winne the greater credite and authority The falshood of it appeareth first in the Barbarisme of the style for men did neuer call neyther at Rome nor in Italy farmes or possessions by the name of Mansos It is a word which is found in the Chapter of Charles the great and of Lewes which sheweth that this priuiledge was first composed in France and not written at Rome Which thing also appeareth in this that he vseth these wordes Tusiacum Mortinetum fiscos regios To call the lands of the Kings Demaines Fiscos regios is a Barbarisme that may easily befall some French monke but at Rome this would not haue beene vnderstood and you espye the French vaine in these wordes very often repeated Dominus Medardus Monsieur S. Medard Adde hereunto that this priuiledge is absurd and vniust for it forbiddes to depose the Abbot of S. Medard howsoeuer attainted with crime vnlesse it be after the Popes pleasure known and after a Councel assembled wherein there shall bee found a dousen witnesses besides the accusers Now to breake this goodly priueledge is thought to bee a crime for which a King ought to loose his Kingdome The cheef poynt is that the humor of this Gregorie the first who called himselfe seruant of seruants doth very much disagree with these so arrogant terms which cut after the stile of an earthly Monarch For writing to Mauricius the Emperor in his third booke and sixt Epistle But I the vnworthy seruant of your goodnesse Ego autem indignus pietatis tuae seruus Ego vero haec dominis meis loquens quid sum nisi puluis vermis And a little after Now I speaking these things to you my Lords what am I but dust and a very worme And the King of great Britayne hath wisely obserued in his first booke that the Emperour Mauricius had commaunded this Gregory to publish a law which Gregory himselfe condemned as vniust and yet to obey his Master he published it I sayth he as one subiect to your commaundement haue sent these same lawes into diuers Countries and because they do not agree with God Almighty I haue by these my letters signified it to my Lords and Masters How well this Gregory knew to keepe his rancke and could not finde the way to draw this temporal sword which yet stucke fast in the scabbard For an vpshot of falshoods so at the end of this goodly priuiledge the subscriptions of the Bishops of Alexandria and Carthage who neuer knew the Abbey of S. Medard especially the Bishop of Alexandria who neuer saw Gregory and who beside that signeth his name very low among the thronge of ordinary witnesses albeit he neuer thought himselfe inferiour in any thing to the Bishop of Rome After all signeth King Theodoret as inferiour to all the Bishops After this Gregory wee are brought downe to Gregory the second the great puller downe of Images If we may beleeue Cedrenus and Zonaras great adorers of Images this Gregory went about to hinder the Italians from paying their tributes to Leo Isauricus who had demolished Images But Platina who hath most carefully searched out the story of Popes witnesseth the contrary and sayth in the life of this Gregory that vpon order giuen from the Emperour for the breaking downe of Images The people of Italy were so much moued Qua cohortatione adeo animati sunt Italiae populivt Paulum abfuerit quin sibi alium Imperatorē deligerent Quo minus a id fieret authoritate sua obstare Gregorius amicusest that it wanted but little but that they had chosen themselues another Emperour but Gregory employed his authority to hinder that matter Nay further he neuer for all that declared Leo fallen from the Empire he did not translate his Scepter to another he did not dispense with his subiects for their Oath of Alleageance And yet the Emperour at that time did onely hold a third part of Italy which was a very small portion of the Empire so that his tributes of Italy were vnto him of very little value As for Pope Zacharie when they report in the yeare 750 to haue taken from Childeriche the Kingdome of Fraunce to giue vnto Pipin and likewise Pope Leo the third whom men say to haue translated the Empire of the Greekes to the French by giuing the Empire to Charlemaine I could conuince all this of falshood and shew that the practise and custome of Popes is to giue vnto some one that thing which he cannot take from him Or after hauing incyted some one to inuade the possessions of his neighbour to vaunt afterward and to reproach him that what he got by rapine he now holdeth by his Holinesse liberality or as if in the Sacring of the Emperour because he hath put the Crowne on his head he should say that he hath giuen him the Empire as if in the sacring of a King he that hath inaugurated him by performing the Ceremony should bragge that he hath giuen him the Kingdome By this reason the Bishop of Ostias who hath had for a long time the right of consecrating the Pope should haue bin aboue the Popes and the Bishop of Millan should giue the Kingdome of Italy to the Emperour because from him he is to receiue a Crowne of Iron but this belongeth to another discourse neyther is the proofe of it necessary to this purpose For had these Bishops done much worse then this yet could not their example serue for a rule vnlesse it be shewed where and when God gaue them this power For is it credible that the Bishops of Rome could haue had in their hands this power neare eight hundred yeares together without enploying it or that they suffered this temporall sworde to hang rusting on a pinne without euer making vse of it vntill that after many ages this Zachary bethought himselfe of putting it to seruice in an action which the Church of Rome it selfe confesseth to bevniust Seeing that the Canon Alius before aleadged sayth that Childericke was not deposed for any
of inflicting corporall punishment vpon them but of this we haue spoken at large before Thence doth Coeffeteau proceede to the Example of Henry the fourth which he saith cannot be alleadged because the times were then troublesome but the example suits very well to our purpose for that the Popes were the onely instruments of raising those troubles to exempt themselues from the Emperours subiection and to subiect the Emperours to themselues euen in seruices more seruile then seuuitude it selfe stirring vp the sonne to seeke the life and Crowne of Henry his father who died being depriued of his Imperiall dignity by his sonne the Popes instrument therein who vouchsafed not his father so much fauour See Helmoldus in the Chronicles of Sclauonia Naucl. 39. genera Baronius de vitis Pontificum and many others as to cause his body to be buried Fredericke Barbarossa being come soone after into Italy to be Crowned Emperour the Pope enforced him to hold his stirrope when he tooke horse But this Emperour little-skil'd in these seruices putting himselfe forward to hold the left in stead of the right stirrop was adiudged to practise the same submission the day following and howbeit he performed it very mannerly yet in conclusion the Pope sought to pull his Crowne from him And in the same degree of pride did Alexander the third treade vpon the said Frederickes necke vpon the staires of S. Markes Church in Venice the History is reported by many writers and alleadged by the King of great Britaine in his confutation of Bellarmine about the end of the booke and it is paynted at Venice in the hall of del Scrutinio del grand Constiglio the Maps and Tables thereof are reckoned vp and expounded by Girolam Bardi in a booke expresly written of that argument In the sequel of his discourse Coeffeteau fals into that wretchlesse negligence that he accuseth the King of mistaking the History not alleadging so much as one passage for his confutation And sure it is not Platina that doth alone record the deposition of these three Popes by Henry the fourth for Stella a Venetian Monke who hath written the liues of the Popes hath the same in these wordes Henricus Caesar habita Synodo Benedictum praedictum Syluestrum hunc Gregorium abdicare se Pontificatu coegit His Maiesty of England alleadgeth to the same purpose the example of Philip le bel K. of France that wrote with liberty enough vnto Boniface the eight who first inuented the Iubile Platina Stella in these wordes Let your great folleship vnderstand that in in temporall matters we are not subiect to any man c. And he it was that surprised the aforesaid Pope at Anagnia and committed him to prison at Rome where for griefe hee died An. 1303. To the example of Lewes the ninth King of Fraunce that established the law called Pragmatica sanctio against the pillaging and merchandizing of the Court of Rome he ioyneth the example of Lewes the eleauenth who being vrged by Pius the second to repeale that Sanction remitted his Legates to the faculty of the Diuines of Sorbone Iohannes Maierius libra de schismat Concil who made it good against the Pope with whom Iohannes Romanus the Kings Aduocate was ioyned that opposed them so farre with his conclusions that the Court appealed to the next Councell as indeeede they did The said King saith farther that the facultie of Sorbone came to maintaine this point that if the Pope should offer violence to our King the French Church had authority to establish a Patriarch and seuer themselues from the See of Rome And that Gerson Chaunceller of the Vniuersitie of Paris was so farre from defending this pretended temporall power of the Popes that he wrote a booke De auferibilitate Papae ab Ecclesia that is Of the possibility of forsaking the Pope and remoueing him from the Church How much more did hee beleeue then that the temporall power of Kings might be free from the insulting of Papall authority To this doth Coeffeteau make no other answere but that these contentions were onely for temporall matters and that Philip or Lewes or the faculty of Sorbonne or the Kings Aduocate desired not to preiudice the Popes authority in any regard as he is head of the Church so that here he answeres well to the King of Englands question whose ayme is onely vnto matters temporall and to the vsurpation of Popes ouer Monarches Touching the title of Head of the Church which is an abuse more intollerable hee reserues that for an after-discourse Now if so be the dissention betweene Philip and the See of Rome continued not many yeares as Coeffeteau obserueth Fol. 22 pag 2 it was because the Pope gaue way vnto him and Benedict the eleuenth was very glad to giue Philip absolution Platina Stella which he graunted of his owne accord because the other might haue beene well without it That we may close vp this point the King of great Britaine drawes many examples out of Matthew Paris and out of the Records of his Kingdom to this purpose as William Gifford whom King Henry the first inuested with his Bishopricke and Rodulphus whom the same King inuested with the Archbishopricke of Canterbury by his Ring and Crosier-staffe and Thurstan nominated to the Archbishopricke of Yorke depriued by the King of his temporalties for corrupting with bribes the Popes agents in the Councell of Rhemes The said King alleadgeth many examples of Abbots Bishops and Deanes in England that haue eyther against the Popes will yeelded obedience to their Soueraignes or haue beene degraded censured and imprisoned by their Princes for their disobedience in adhaering to the Popes And which is more considerable these are late examples such as haue happened while the Papacy domineered most How stood the case then when the Bishoppe of Rome had nothing to doe in England with matters eyther temporall or spirituall The Kingdome of Fraunce doth furnish vs with examples of more pregnancy The Synode of Fraunce is of speciall note to this purpose which is to be found in the third Tome of the Councels of the Colleyn Edition pag. 39. where Carolomanus qualifying himselfe as Duke and Prince of Fraunce vseth this speach By the aduise of my Clergie and others of principall esteeme of the Realme Ordinauimus Episcopos We haue ordayned Bishops in the Cities and haue established Boniface Archbishop ouer them The Councell of Maurice holden vnder Charlemaine Anno 813. beginneth thus Carolo Augusto verae religionis rectori ac defensori sanctae Dei Ecclesie and the first Councell of Mayence vnder Lewes le Debonaire Ludouico verae relligionis serenissimo rectori And these I trow should haue been accounted irreligious Titles now-a-dayes And here let it be principally noted that Coeffeteau trusts more to his heeles then to his hands for he buckles onely with the first of these examples and all his answere is that Anselme Archbishop of Canterbury opposed this
course But to this I reply that for this opposition he was forged both to forsake England and quit his Bishopricke The contradiction of one of the Popes pensionary Prelates opposing his Soueraigne is of small moment in this behalfe for Anselme was accounted the Popes not the Kings subiect Nor is it any greater wonder if Mathew Paris who so often magnifies this King Henry doe now and then cast some imputation vpon him in as much as he was a superstitious Monke and liued soone after who in euery passage complaining of the tyrannie and exactions of the Popes doth yet sometimes restrain himselfe for some idle respects in which he oftener gropes for the truth then he doth see or finde it We must also obserue that the principall quarrell betweene the King of England and the Pope being for inuesting men with spirituall promotions the Pope hath bestowed very glorious Titles on those persons that suffered for this quarrell as if he should write Rubarbe vpon a pot of Rats-bane So hath he placed this Anselme in the Kalender of Saints and Confessours and Thomas of Canterbury in the Catalogue of Martyrs that lost his life not for the profession of the Gospell but for a Controuersie of Prebends and the right of Inuestiture Coeffeteau doth here adde That the Kings of England in the matter of ordination of Priests haue neuer violated the Discipline of the Church The King of England alleadgeth these and many other examples of like nature And I suppose that hee had not vouchsafed the reading of the booke against which he writes For the Kings book saith that Henry the first inuested an Archbishop in his Archbishopricke with his Ringe and Crosier-staffe without the Popes leaue which is flat repugnant to the discipline of the Church of Rome Fol. 15. pag. 1 And besides the now Pope Paul the fift doth pretend that the Venetians in punishing the criminall offences of their Clergy doe derogate from the liberty of the Church Edward then the first and second by inflicting corporall punishment vpon the Clergy that would hold a dependancy from the Pope haue by this reckoning derogated from the liberty of the Church To conclude our Doctor sayth that Henry the first did in other things submit himselfe to the lawes of the Church that in the Records of England most of the monuments speake of yeelding obedience to the See Apostolique that his Maiestie embraceth a Religion which his Predecessors neuer possessed but haue euer acknowledged the authority of Rome in all matters depending vpon matter of conscience First I answere that this is to wander from the question for heere is nothing questioned but the Popes Supremacy ouer Kings in matters temporall Secondly that barely to affirme and to confirme nothing especially writing against a King doth eyther discouer much weakenesse or argue ouer-much neglect and indeede his whole allegation is vntrue Concerning Henry the first I confesse that he ascribed too much honour to the Church of Rome for he liued in a dark ignorant age and in the height of the Popes tyranny to which England of all Countries was most enthralled which cannot bee proued of the times more auncient It may well appeare that the Citie of Rome being the seat of the Empire was by consequent the resort of all nations by which meanes the Church of that citie how poore and miserable soeuer might haue aduertisements from all parties and haue intelligence with all the Churches within the Empire and consequently which is the Church of great Brittaine which was originally planted by some of S Iohn Disciples that came thither out of Asia whereof we haue this proofe that euen to the time of August which was sent into England by Gregogorie the first about the yere 596. the Church of the Iland did keepe the feast of Easter according to the custome of Asia vpon the 14. day of the month which if it had beene vnder the iurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome no question but it had abrogated that custome when Victor in the yeare 200. did excommunicate the Churches which made any precise obseruation of the 14. day Helene mother vnto Constantine was of the Iland and held no points of Papistrie maintained at this day Pelagius was also of this Iland and sauing the points of free will and originall sinne dissented not in any opinions from S. Angustine Now S. Angustine receiued no Popish opinions now defended as we haue proued in the 20. chapter of my booke of the Eucharist in another place In the twenty Chapter of my booke of the Eucharist Pontificus Verumnius lib. 4. Jo. Lelandus that he died excommunicate from the Church of Rome The first Christian King of great Brittaine that can be remembred was Lucius that possessed a part of the Iland in the time of Marcus Aurelius who questionlesse had commerce with the Bishop of Rome for he had beene at Rome and held correspondence with the Emperour but that he should be subiect to the Bishop of Rome or acknowledge him the head of the Vniuersal Church admits no manner of proofe In the yeare of our Lord 530. that Warlike Prince Arthur raigned in great Britaine of whom being a Christian it doth not appeare that eyther he depended vpon the Bishops of Rome or that they intermedled in the election or inuesting of the Britaine Bishops during the raigne of Arthur or his Successors In the yeare 596. soone after that the English Saxons being Almaines and at that time Infidels had inuaded Britaine then did Gregory the first send Austen into this Iland a man full of faction and arrogancy to plant the Christian faith although the Christian Religion had beene planted here more then foure hundred yeares before But by the Christian faith these men doe now vnderstand the authority of the Pope This Austen was strongly and stoutly opposed by the Christians of that Countrey who refused to change their auncient forme of Religion which they had receiued from such as were Disciples to the Apostles They had seuen Bishopricks and one Archbishopricke the seat whereof being first errected at Carleon was afterward translated to S. Dauids as it is recorded by Rainulphus Cestrensis lib. 1. cap. 52. for the Archbishop of London was of a later foundation besides they had a Colledge of 2100. religious persons at Bangor who about the yeare 550. when the Order of S. Benet began to flourish in this I le were called by the new name of Monkes Men that adicting themselues to the study of Diuinity got their liuing by the labour of their handes not being tyed to the rigorous obseruation of a Vow whereunto no man by the ancient Order of S. Benet is obliged This Austen then found meanes to insinuate himselfe into the familiar acquaintance of one of the petty Kings of the Countrey called Ethelfred King of Northumberland who was an enemy to the auncient Christians of that land and had inuaded their Countrey and wasted many Churches with this Austen then
he combined against the Christians and both together massacred the poore religious men of Bangor and flew no lesse then 1200. of them The same Ethelfred assisted by the petty English Kings to despite the Christians inhabiting the Countrey remoued the Archiepisopall seate from London and translated it to Canterbury where ordinarily he made his residence Now the principall difference betweene the Christians and the Romish faction was about the day of Easter the single life of Priests and the Church-musique processions and Letany after the order of Rome consider further that some of the people were Pelagians for there was no speech then of transubstantiation nor of the Popes grand Pardons and indulgences nor of the Sacrament vnder one kinde nor of such heresies as were hatched in the after ages Whereof we haue sundry witnesses as Amandus Zirixensis in his his Chronicle Beda in the second booke of his Ecclesiasticall History of England Mantuan in fastis and Polydore Virgill Mantuanus Adde quòd Patres ausi taxare Latinos Causabantur eos stulte imprudentur aequo Durius ad ritum Romae voluisse Britannos cogere c. but especially obserue the wordes of Geffery of Monmouth in his eight booke de Britannorum gestis * In patria Britonum adhuc vigebat Christianitas quae ab Apostolorum tempore nunq tam inter eos defece rat Post quam autem venit Augustinus c. In the Countrey of the Brittà nes Christian Religion flourished which neuer failed among them from the time of the Apostles For Austen being arriued there found seuen Bishoprickes and an Archbishopricke in their Prouince all furnished with very religious Prelates and Abbots men that liued by the labour of their hands The King of England produceth also the Statute of Richard the second King of England by which all English-men were forbidden to holde or sue for any Benefice from the Pope which was in the heigth of the Popes vsurpation and this as the greatest part of the booke doth Coeffeteau passe by being content to scratch where he cannot bite CHAP. VIII That they which haue written against the King of great Britaines booke doe vniustly call him Apostata and Hereticke OVR Aduersaries are as open-handed in bestowing titles vpon vs as they are niggardly in giuing any reason of their doings Bellarmines booke vnder the name of Tortus sayth that the King of great Britaine is no Catholique but shewes neyther in what sense nor for what reason and as vniustly doth he call him an Apostata for an Apostata is one that hauing followed doth againe doth forsake the true Religion Now his Maiestie of England hath not forsaken the true Religion inasmuch as hee still maintaineth the same and should his Religion be as hereticall as it is sound and holy yet could he not be called an Apostata because he neuer professed any other Religion He that hath alwayes done euill is not a backeslider from vertue and no man can forsake that which he neuer had Now graunt that hee had beene baptized in the Church of Rome yet it followes not that he therefore receiued their faith that baptized him for the Church of Rome conferring any thing vpon him that is good bindes him not to follow her in that which is euill But because it may be presumed that the Queene his mother being of the Church of Rome might haue giuen him some impressions of that Religion his Maiesty therefore meeteth therewith and testifies that she adhaered not to the grosser superstitions of Poperie and that in the christening of the King her sonne she charged the Archbishop that baptized him not to vse any spittle in the Ceremonies saying that shee would not haue a rotten and pocky Priest to spit in her childes mouth that at her entreaty the late Queene ELIZABETH who was an enemy of Popery was his God-mother and christened him by her Ambassadour that she neuer vrged him by any letters to adhaere to Popery that euen her last words befor her death were that howbeit she were of a diuers Religion yet shee would not presse him to change the Religion he professed vnlesse he found himselfe moued therevnto in his conscience that if he ledde an honest and a holy life if he did carefully administer iustice and did wisely and religiously gouerne the people committed to his care she made then no question but he might and ought to perseuere in his owne Religion By these Demonstrations doth his Maiesty of England prooue that this great Princesse had no sinister opinion of our religion Hereunto Mr. Coeffeteau sayth hee will giue credite for the respect hee beareth vnto the King although it will with great difficulty bee generally perswaded that some Princes allied vnto his Maiestie could shewe some letters to the contrary Which is as much to say that although that which the King sayes be false yet to doe him a pleasure he will beleeue it and so giues him the lye very mannerly as if he should spit in his face doing him reuerence like the Iewes that cryed all haile to our Sauiour when they buffeted him His Encounter should haue had some coulerable matter at the least for what can argue more weakenesse in him then to mention letters that no man euer saw Or what strength hath it to weaken the testimony of a King concerning his own mother For to whom should she haue opened her minde more familiarly then to her sonne Or what wordes are more serious or more vndissemblingly spoken then such as are the last that dying persons doe vtter For then doth the hand of necessity pull off the maske from the deepest dissemblers then is it no time to hide themselues from men when they must mâ—ke their appearaÌ„ce before God But especially she then speaking to her onely sonne with whom to haue dissembled had beene a most iniurious dissimulation and an vnnaturall skill which if it bee blameable in a mother in any part of her life how much more at the time of her death His Maiesty of England being thus cleared from the crime of Apostasie he dooth likewise acquite himselfe from the imputation of heresie which is the ordinary wrong they doe him The word Heresie signifies a Sect by which name the Christian Religion was in auncient time traduced for so the Iewes speake to the Apostle S. Paul in the last of the Acts 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For as concerning this Sect or heresie We know that it is euery where spoken against And his Maiesty of England may very rightly say with the same Apostle cap. 24. vers 4. This I confes that after the way 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which they call Heresie I worship the God of my fathers beleeuing all things which are written in the law and the Prophets After which phrase of speech Tertullian and Cyprian doe call the Christian religion a Sect Tertul de Pallio c. 6. Denique etiam diuinae sectae ac disciplinae commercium pallio conferri Cyprianê° l
4. Epist 5. or heresie In this sense therefore are we hereticks and Sectaries sith that now-a-dayes to acknowledge no other Mediator then Iesus Christ nor any expiation but by his blood or any propitiatorie sacrifice but his death nor any satisfaction of Gods iustice but by his obedience nor any rule to guide vs to saluation but his Worde conteyned in the holy Scriptures is accounted heresie But more clearely to purge himselfe of this crime his Maiesty of England following the commaundent of the Apostle S. Peter which is to be alwayes ready to yeeld an account of the hope that is in vs doth set downe at large a confession of his faith agreeable to the holy Scripture and al vncorrupted antiquity Who shal henceforward be ashamed to confesse the name of God or defend the truth of the Gospell being thus ensampled by a mighty King but this confession conceiued in choyse and significant wordes full of euidence and of power doth worthily challenge a seuerall Discourse And besides it is that against which Coeffeteau doth principally discharge his choller THE DEFENCE OF THE CONFESSION Of the Faith of IAMES the first King of Great BRITAINE THE SECOND BOOKE ARTICLE I. Touching the Creede The KINGS Confession I Am such a Catholicke Christian as beleeueth the three Creedes That of the Apostles that of the Councel of Nice and that of Athanasius the two latter being Paraphrases to the former And I beleeue them in that sense as the Auncient Fathers and Councels that made them did vnderstand them To which three Creedes all the Ministers of England do subscribe at their Ordination And I also acknowledge for Orthodoxe all those other formes of Creedes that eyther were deuised by Councels or particular Fathers against such Heresies as most raigned in their times To this Article Coeffeteau findeth nothing to reply and holding his peace thereupon hee iustifieth vs by his silence ARTICLE II. Touching the Fathers in generall AS for the Fathers I reuerence them as much and more then the Iesuits doe The KINGS Confession and as much as themselues euer craued For what euer the Fathers for the first fiue hundred yeares did with an vnaâ—ime consent agree upon to be beleeued as a necessary point of saluation I eyther will beleeue it also or at least will be humbly silent not taking vpon me to condemne the same Here againe Coeffeteau is silent and knoweth not what to reprehend The Reader may please to call to minde that the points in which his Maiesty of England doth abstaine to condemne the Fathers albeit his beleefe is not bound to follow them are eyther points not necessary to saluation or opinions in which as well our Church as the Church of Rome doth condemne them The Auncients for the most part held that the fall of the Diuels came to passe by reason of their cohabitation with women This is altogether false and a point little important to our saluation They held also for the most part that the soules shall all be purged by the fire of the last iudgement in the expectation of which day the soules as well of the good as of the bad are shut vp in certaine receptacles And in this point they are neyther followed by vs nor by our Aduersaries ARTICLE III. Touching the Authority of the Fathers in particular The KINGS Confession BVt for euery priuate Fathers opinion it bindes not my conscience more then Bellarmines euery on of the Fathers vsually contradicting others I will therefore in that case follow S. * Lib. 2. cont Cresconium cap. 32. Augustines rule in iudging of their opinions as I finde them agree with the Scriptures what I finde agreeable thereunto I will gladly embrace what is otherwise I will with their reuerence reiect Doctor Coeffeteau dooth yet approue of all this for good seeing he saith nothing to the contrary He acknowledgeth then that the Fathers often disagree among themselues and that they doe not alwayes accord with the word of God neyther must we settle our selues alwayes vpon what some one Father hath taught Causa 12. Quaest 1. Canon Dilectissimi Denique quidam Graecorum sapientissimus haec ita sciens esse colam debeatur ait Amicorum comia esse omnia In omnibus autem sunt sine du bio Coniuges And indeed his Maiesty of England saith this with iust reason for not we alone but also the Church of Rome doth not allow the opinion of Pope Clement the first who would that mens goods and their wiues should be common among Christians Neyther doth the Church of Rome approue the opinion of Ignatius who in the Epistle to the Philippians saith that to fast on the Saterday or on the Sunday it is to be a murtherer of Iesus Christ nor the doctrine of Iustin Martyr who saith in his Dialogue against Tryphon That God in the beginning gaue the Sunne to be adored Nor the opinion of Athanagoras in his Apologie that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That second marriage is but a handsome Kinde exercise of Adulterie Also the Church of Rome doth not beleeue with Origen that the Diuels shall be saued Nor with Clemens Alexandrinus in the sixth booke of his Stromata that the Greeks were saued by their Philosophy Nor with Arnobius in his second booke that God is not the Creator of soules And that the soules of the wicked are reduced to nothing Nor with Ireneus Lib. 2. cap. 63.64 that the soules separated from the body haue feete and handes Iustin was a Chiliast Tertullian a Montanist S. Cyprian an Anabaptist Saint Hilary in his tenth booke of the Trinity mayntaineth in diuers places Virtus corporis sine sensu paenae vim paenae in se desaeuientis excepit Christus cum cibuÌ„ potum accepit non necessitati corporis sed consuetudmi tribuet Secundam ducere secundum praeceptumo Apostoli licitum est ecundum autem veritatis rationem verè fornicatio est He saith the same about the end of his booke De fide Symholo that Iesus Christ in his death suffered no paine And that he did not eate because his body had neede of sustenance but onely by custome Chrysostome alleadged in the Canon Hac Ratione in the Cause 31. Question 1. he saith that S. Paul commaunding second mariages hath spoken against truth and reason and that is truely fornication Saint Austin in his fift booke of his Hypognosticks and in his Epistles 93. and 106. held that the Eucharist is necessary for young children newly borne that they may be saued And in his booke De Dogmatis Eccles cap. 11. He saith that the Angels are Corporeal and in his booke of the Christian combat cap. 32. he sayth that our bodies after the Resurrection shal be no longer flesh nor blood but an heauenly body Gregory of Nyssa in his first Sermon of the resurrection teacheth a prodigious errour namely that the soule of Iesus Christ was already in the graue euen then whiles
the Host to be vsed at the Masse 15. Or that the auncient Church hath held the bookes of Machabees for Canonicall 16. Or that the auncient Church hath beleeued that the Bishop of Rome cannot erre in faith 17. Or that the auncient Church hath beleeued that Iesus Christ by his death and sufferinges did clearely discharge vs of the paine and punishment of the sinnes that went before baptisme But as touching the paine of the sinnes committed after baptisme he hath onely changed it from eternall to temporall and that it lyeth in vs to satisfie the iustice of God for the same which is indeede the most important point of all Christian religion For he that would descend to smaller things and demaund of Coeffeteau if in any of the auncients there be mention made of Iubilees of Agnus Dei or holy Graines consecrated Medals of Cordelier-Friars or Iacobins or Iesuites and an infinite sort of religions and new deuotions I beleeue he would finde himselfe terribly puzled In all this as in those other seauenteene points before handled they receiue not the Fathers for Iudges Those auncient Doctors were not yet arriued to any so high point of learning But these messieurs our masters supply and support their ignorance in these matters In other controuersies they admit and receiue the Fathers for Iudges but with this caution and condition that themselues may be Iudges of the Fathers They allow the auncients to be interpreters of the Scriptures But themselues will be the interpreters of the auncients to the end to make them speake thinges contrary to the Scriptures ARTICLE IIII. Touching the authority of the holy Scriptures The KINGS Confession I Thinke also that no man doubteth but that I settle my faith and beleefe vpon the holy Scriptures according to the duty of a Christian Hereat Coeffeteau holdeth his peace and by his silence approueth the confession of the King of England For he doth not allow of the blasphemies which his companions disgorge against the sacred bookes of the word of God He hath not dared to say with Bellarmine Bellar. lib. 4. de verbo non scripto cap. 12. §. Respondeo Scripturae finem propriū praecipuum nō esse vt esset Regula Fidei Dico secundo Scripturam esseregulam Fidei nō totalem sed partialem that the Scripture is but a peece of a Rule and not the whole entire Rule of faith And that it was not properly made to bee the Rule of our faith It may be also that he doth not approue of Bellarmines saying who in his fourth Chapter of the fourth Booke of the word not written saith * Quarto Necesse nosse extare aliquos libros verè diuines quod certè ex sacris Scripturis haheri nullo modo possunt c. that a man cannot know by the testimony of the Scripture that there be any bookes of diuine inspiration albeit the Scripture doth say it and his reason is Because we reade aswell in the Alcoran of Mahomet that the Alcoran was sent from heauen It may be also that Coeffeteau hath not dared in this place to vse the tearmes of Doctor Charron in his booke called La troisiesme veritè where he saith that the Scripture is a Forrest to forrage in where Atheists lie in ambushments and that by reading it a man becommeth an Atheist Thou beleeuest saith he because thou readest so thou art not then a Christian It is cleare then that his Maiesty of England doth yeeld a thousand times more respect to the holy Scriptures then the Church of Rome or the Councel of Trent which ordaineth in the fourth Session that Traditions be receiued with like affection of piety and reuerence with the holy Scripture equalling mens Traditions with Gods diuine ordinances For the Pope hath letters of credit And we must presuppose that besides the new-Testament Iesus Christ hath made a Codicill or little booke which the Pope hath in his priuate custody whence hee draweth the ordinances that are not contained in the Scripture Yet this is but little For Bellarmine goeth farther and saith that Sunt quaedam Traditiones maiores quod ad obligationem quà m quaedam Scripturae That there are some traditions greater in respect of obligation then some partes of Scripture That is to say to which we are more bound to adhere Hauing good hope that in the end we shall see God to become Disciple to the Bishop of Rome ART V. Touching the Canonicall and Apocryphall bookes of Scripture The KINGS Confession In exposit Symboli BVt euen for the Apocrypha I hold them in the same account that the Auncients did They are still printed and bound with our Bibles and publikely read in our Churches I reuerence them as the writings of holy and good men but since they are not found in the Canon we account them to be secundae lectionis or ordinis which is Bellarmines owne distinction and therefore not sufficient whereupon alone to ground any article of faith except it be confirmed by some other place of Canonicall Scripture Concluding this point with Ruffinus who is no Nouelist I hope that the Apocryphall bookes were by the Fathers permitted to be read not for confirmation of Doctrine but only for instruction of the people Here Coeffeteau begins to put himselfe into the field In exposit Symb. we expected him long agoe He bringeth only two testimonies of the auncients and they are both false howbeit not through his fault for the falsification was made by others before him The first testimony is of S. Austen in his second booke of Christian Doctrine cap. 8. where he maketh an enumeration of the Canonical bookes almost agreeably to the Councell of Trent To this testimony hee adioyneth the third Councell of Carthage which also putteth Iudith Tobie the booke of Wisedome Ecclesiasticus and the Machabees among the Canonicall bookes He saith that it is not iust nor fit to alleage the opinions of particulars where question is of the publike faith testified auouched by this Councell In saying so little as this he spendeth three leaues Answere and yet he contradicteth himselfe and condemneth himselfe of iniustice by alleaging S. Austin who is but one particular If he say that S. Austin doth but report that which was the common beleefe I answere that those particular witnesses whom he reiecteth doe report the same also Againe * Tenebit hunc modum in Scripturis Canonicis vt eas quae ab om nibus recipiuntu Ecclesijs Catholicis praeponat eis quas quaedam non accipiunt it is false that S. Austen doth relate the common beleefe for a little before he had said that there are some books among the Canonicall which were not receiued for such of al the Churches Moreouer Coeffeteau hereby contradicteth the Church of Rome who doth not hold the Councels of Carthage for generall Councels nor their Canons for the publike beleefe of the vniuersall Church 1. To cleare this matter then the
which did neyther sweat nor suffer Which of these two was our Sauiour If hee bee but one how is he contrary to himselfe For we haue shewed else where that the Distinction of diuers respects cannot be but when onething is compared to diuers things at one time as when one and the same man is poore and rich little and great in comparison of diuers persons But here they apply these diuers respects to the body of Iesus Christ without comparing him to any other body nay they oppose him to himselfe That I may not further say that this doctrine doth annihilate the body of our Lord by being receiued into the stomacke for when the formes are altered in the stomacke by the digestion they say that the body of the Lord is no longer there neyther yet is it come forth it must follow then that eyther it is reduced to nothing or changed into something else Both the one and the other are alike blasphemous ARTICLE XII Touching the Adoration of the Host THe Confession of the Kings Booke doth place among the new inuentions of the Church of Rome The Adoration of the Host and the Eleuation which is made to haue it adored This poynt is important and which doth surprise our spirits with a heauinesse mixt with horrour when at the sound of a little Bell the Priest lifteth vp the breade and euery man prostrateth himselfe to adore it Or when the people doth not let to kneele in the dyrt to adore their God which passeth along the street inclosed in a Pixe or Boxe It had beene greatly therefore to haue beene wished that Coeffeteau could haue produced some commandement of God for the same or some example of the Apostles but that could he not doe neyther hath any man done it hithervnto He commeth therefore to the Fathers and produceth for the same three passages the one of Chrysostome in his foure and twentieth Homily vpon the first to the Corinth the other of S. Ambrose in his third booke of the Sacraments chap. 12. And the last of S. Austin vpon the foure-score and eighteene Psalme All three exhort the faithful to adore the flesh of Iesus Christ and that which is more to adore him in the Eucharist Neuer did man more abuse his Reader and he seemeth to thinke that we are beside our selues for is there any thing in all this which we doe not willingly graunt him Is there any amongst vs who hath euer denied that wee ought not to adore the flesh of Iesus Christ Yea who hath euer doubted that we ought not to adore him in the Eucharist Ought not God the Father also to be adored And what is this to the purpose to inclose Iesus Christ vnder formes He that doth adore Iesus Christ in the Eucharist doth not for al that adore that which the Priest holdeth in his hand but he adoreth Iesus Christ which is in heauen Of these three places that which our aduersaries doe most presse is the place of S. Austin vpon the foure-score and eyghteene Psalme where hee saith that no man doth eate this flesh vnlesse hee haue first adored it Nemo carnem illam manducat nisi prius adorauerit An excellent passage For doth not S. Austin speake of the true and serious adoration Iudas then did not eate this flesh for he did not adore it According to this rule the Hypocrites who partake of the Sacrament doe not eate the flesh of the Lord for they doe not adore it Now what it is to eate the flesh of the Lord himselfe hath tolde vs as hath beene before alleadged Lib. 3. de Doctr. Christ cap 16. That to eate his flesh is a figure which signifieth to communicate of his passion and to meditate thereof in our memories And as he speaketh in his twenty sixe Tract vpon S. Iohn To beleeue in him is to eate the bread of life Credere in eum hoc est manducare panem vivumâ—qui credit in eum manducat eum he that doth beleeue in him doth eate him We hoped then that Coeffeteau would here haue produced the publique customes to shewe that it was then the custome to adore the Host which the Priest doth holde vp with diuine worship called Latria but he hath not beene able to finde any Dionysius who in his Ecclesiasticall Hierarchy discribeth very exactly the forme of the publique seruice which was some foure hundred yeares after Iesus Christ and the Apostolical constitutions of Clement where all the Ceremony of that time is depainted and the auncient Liturgies howsoeuer fouly falsified doe in no wise speake of this adoration of the Host Theodoret saith indeede that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the signes are reuerenced This word Signes sheweth sufficiently that he doth not speake of diuine adoration which they call Cultus Latriae For that should be impiety ARTICLE XIII Touching the Eleuation of the Host to haue it to be Adored THe King of great Britaine demaunded proofes out of the fiue first ages or first fiue hundred yeares after Christ that is to say aswell Scripture as the auncient Doctors by which it might appeare that Iesus Christ or his Apostles made eleuation of the host Hereat Coeffeteau holdeth his peace Fol. 50. pag. 2. and in stead thereof saith that the auncient Church did shew the mysteries or sacraments to the people by drawing a Vaile or Curtaine from before the Table which is true 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. and he hath learned that out of my booke of the Apology of the Lords Supper Chrysostome in his third Homily vpon the Epistle to the Ephesians When thou shalt see the double Curtaines to be drawne then thinke that heauen doth open and inlarge it selfe And Dionysius in his Ecclesiasticall Hierarchy The Bishop discouereth and setteth out to open view the thing celebrated by the signes holily proposed And Basil in like manner in his booke of the holy Ghost Who is it of the Saints who hath left in writing the wordes of the prayer when they shew abroad the bread of the Eucharist and the Cup of blessing This vncouering of the Sacrament was done saith Coeffeteau to cause it to be adored and as he speaketh this without all proofe so doth he it most falsely and was not able to alleadge any one authority where mention is made eyther of the eleuation or of the Adoration of the host but in stead thereof he bringeth certaine passages which speake of the vncouering of the bread and of the drawing of a Curtaine ARTICLE XIIII Touching the carrying of God in the Procession The KINGS Confession Pope Vrbane the fourth instituted this feast in the yeare 1264. THe God-feast or Corpus Christi day and the walking or Circumportation of the Sacrament in procession is of this ranck and the King of great Britaine doth place it among the Nouelties Hereupon Coeffeteau fearing the touch and triall maketh an honest retreat without standing vpon his defence for he onely saith Fol 51
his abode by the Reliques of Saints In another place he saith there were non done at all Surely the writings of the Fathers passed throgh certaine ages horribly darkened with ignorance in which some malicious men tooke a pleasure to falsifie them And indeede by the course of Storie of the ages following a man may obserue that by how much the more ignorance increased by corruption of doctrine by so much the more miracles were wrought Reade the Dialogue of Gregorie the first and you shall see that Christ did nothing in a manner in comparison of the miracles then wrought Gregorie himselfe in the fourth booke of his Dialogues chap. 41. wondereth at it and propoundeth this quetion to himselfe Quid hoc est quaeso quod in his extremis tem poribus tam multa de animabus clarescunt quae ante latuerant How commeth it to passe that in these latter times so many thinges are reuealed vnto vs touching the soules of the dead which before were bidden For then in those times men talked of nothing but of Ghosts that appeared which exhorted men liuing to giue to the Church And it was yet but the sixt hundreth yeare of Christ so much had the Prince of this world gotten in short time That which Coeffeteau most maketh bragges off and setteth it out with fairest colour is the testimony of S. Hierome Epistola ad Riparum aduersus Vigilantium Ergo Petri Pauli immundae sunt reliquiae who hath written two Epistles in defence of the Reliques of Saints against Vigilantius who did oppugne them But there is no affinity betweene their quarrell and ours For Hierome accuseth Vigilantius for accounting the Reliques of Saints vncleane a thing which we neuer affirmed nay the King of England speaketh of them with great respect He saith further Epist 2 aduers Vigil SanctoruÌ„ reliquias proijci in sterquilinium vt solus Vigilantius ebriê dormiens adoretur That Vigilantius would haue the reliques of Saints cast out vpon the dung hill that himselfe alone though druncke and asleepe might onely be adored Haue we euer said so Or is there any of vs that would onely be adored But as touching the question whether Reliques be to be adored S. Hierome in the Epistle before alleaged doth flatly denie that they ought to be adored Nos autem non dico Martyrum reliquias sed ne Solem quidem Lunam non Angelos non Archangelos colimus aaoramus We doe not adore I doe not say onely the Reliques of Martyrs But neither Sunne nor Moone for Angels nor Archangels Where is to bee seene that hee would haue it esteemed lesse strange to adore the Sunne then Reliques Which maketh vs to suspect the place in his Epistle to Marcella of falshood where he exhorteth her Samariam pergere Iohannis Baptistae Helisaei quoque Abdiae pariter cineres adorare to come to Samaria and to adore the ashes of Iohn Baptist Elizeus and Abdias Howsoeuer if he would haue beene beleeued he should haue grounded his saying vpon the authority of the word of God according to the rule which himselfe giueth vpon the 23. chapter of S. Matthew Because saith he Hoc quiae de Scripturis non habet authoritatem pari facilitate conteÌ„nitur qua probatur Lib. de Reliquijs Cap. 3. §. Gregor Lib. de Reliquijs c. 3. §. ex Africa this is not grounded vpon the authority of the Scriptures we may as easily reiect it as they proue it The place of Gregorie Nyssenus which Bellarmine produceth is false We haue heretofore shewed the falshood of that Oration vpon Theodorus As also that is false which he saith that the fift Councell of Carthage forbiddeth any Altar to bee dedicated without Reliques The Councell doth not speake in that place of all Altars but of the monuments of Martyrs which the beleeuing Christians assembling themselues together in the Church-yeards vsed in steede of Altars And because that for want of true monuments they sometimes erected in honour of true Martyrs false deuised sepulchres the Councel commandeth them to be plucked downe It is a thing incredible how the workes of this Cardinall doe swarme with vntruthes The other places which he alleageth doe neither speake of adoration nor religious worship Suborning of counterfait Reliques But the maine point is that through tract of time and the malice of men the question is now changed For in those times while the sufferings of the Martyrs were yet fresh in mens mindes and their Reliques certainely knowne men disputed vpon some ground and subiect how far they were to be honoured But now a dayes they thrust vpon vs fained Reliques counterfaite marchandise as a meere Artifice for gaine Reliques which they are wont â—o shew in darke places and that by vncouering them either by halfes or not at al making the seely people to rest content by bare seeing of the box or casket causing them to kneele vnto them with troubled deuotion And if they depart out of thâ—se Oratories without offering or paying it will be thought heresie or ingratitude Some Reliques there are meerely forged to mock and abuse the world And Burgos in Spaine there is a Crucifix whose bearde they cut euery moneth and pare his nailes and these parings are said to bee of great vertue At Rome there is kept in S. Iohns Church in Lateran the circumcised fore-skin of Christ as also the very Altar at the which Iohn Baptist did say diuine seruice in the wildernesse as witnesseth the booke of Romish Indulgences printed at Rome Our Pilgrims bring home out of Galizia the feathers of certaine hennes which are of the race of that cock that crew to S. Peter when he denied his master In S. Sulpitius Church in Paris there is a stone of that fountaine wherein the Virgin Mary washed the swathing-clothes of Christ newly borne There was shewed vnto my selfe at S. Denis Iudas his Lanterne which doubtlesse is a peece of great vertue As also Aarons rodde which by that reckoning must needes haue lasted three thousand and six hundred yeares without rotting and yet our good masters confesse that the coÌ„secrated hosts doe finnow and grow mouldy the presence of Christ in them cannot saue them from putrefaction Men goe to Collein to worship the bodies of the three Kings that neuer yet were The authour of the booke called Opus imperfectum vpon S. Mathew attributed to Chrysostome saith that they were of those whom they called Magi wizards or soothsayers and that they were twelue in number Their names Gaspar Melchior and Balthasar doe shew that it was the inuention of some Almaine Monke for the two first are high-dutch names That good and faithfull seruant of God Theodore Beza whom God hath now gathered to his Saints in glory in his booke against Baldwine reporteth of himselfe that he saw at Tours a crosse laden with rich stones which the people adored at the Passion amongst the rest there was an Achates or an
to his Lordlinesse They alleadge the Images of the Cherubins made by the Commaundement of God which makes very much for our side for they were fastened in the Sanctuary where the people came not at all for God concealing them from the sight of the people preuented their Idolatry Whence appeareth the strange boldenesse of Bellarmine in the 12. Chapter of his booke of Images Imagines Cherubin super arcaÌ„ existentes necessario adorabantur ab ijs qui arcam adorabant where without any purpose he presumeth to affirme that the Israclites did worship the Cherubins with the Arke If so be the Iewes worshipped not the Angels how would they haue worshipped their Images hee should first then haue prooued that the people of God worshipped the Angels in the Temple or addressed their prayers vnto them And had the children of Israel worshipped the Arke as he falsely supposeth may it thence be concluded that they worshipped the Cherubins placed on the Arke he that saluteth the King doth he salute his hat or his habit this hath neither reason nor likelyhood Neither was the brasen Serpent worshipped or adored for as soone as the people began to performe any worship vnto it Ezechias brake it in pieces now it is impossible that the Israelites should haue thought that this peece of brasse was God the wit of man was neuer so blunted but they performed a respectiue seruice vnto the Serpent because of the power of God wherof that was a memoriall These men mend not their market by telling vs that they worship not the Images of false Gods as did the Paynims but the Images of the friends and seruants of God for Idolatry is called in the Scripture adultery and an adulterous woman cannot be excused in saying that she betakes not her selfe to her husbands enemies but onely to his friendes and in so ticklish a point and whereof God is so â—ealous we must be grounded vpon the commaundement of God and to make it appeare that God would haue vs to worship the Images of his seruants or that we should yeeld them some religious seruice or bow our knee before them and not shiftingly to shunne the question in shewing that it is lawfull to make pictures whereas the question is concerning the seruice that ought to bee performed vnto them Being thus vrged in place of alleaging the commandement of God they bring vs a distinction of Latria and Dulia and cast these greeke wordes like a handfull of sand in the peoples eyes It would be easie for vs to shew by a great number of greeke authorities that Dulia belongeth also vnto God * 2. Chron. 12.8 Which is the 4. c. in the greek And 1. Sam. 7. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Obserue also that S. Austin by the word Dulia vnderstaÌ„ds not religious worship but a ciuil reuereÌ„ce yeelded vnto men aliue yea vnto God onlie when it signifies religious seruice and that Latria is often referred vnto men But this matters not inasmuch as the seruice and inferiour adoration which they attribute vnto the Saints to their Images is alwaies a religious seruice and a voluntarie worship tending to the attainement of saluation Therefore they are perpetually foyled seing they can neither proue that this inferior worship belongeth vnto the Saints or to their Images nor that God hath commanded that anie religious seruice should be yeelded vnto their Images They being vnfurnished with proofes out of the word of God they flie vnto miracles and that they haue done of late For the second Councell of Nice saith that b â—ct 4. Quamobrem miracula a nostris imaginibus non eduntur cui sanè ita sit resposum Miracula non creditibê° data sunt then none were made c Lib de imaginibus cap §. Quid quod Bellarmine tels of a Deuil that promised a Heremite that he would trouble him no more vpon condition that hee would promise him not to worship any longer the Image of the Virgin Marie The Image of our Ladie of Montferrat in Spaine that fell from heauen was painted by S. Luke who was a painter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Act. 19.35 if these men may be credited Which S. Hierome in his catalogue hath omitted S. Paul saith that he was a Phisitian But the Church of Rome hath made him a painter since he went to heauen Coloss 4.13 whence also come our Images Certainly we may well say that Clemens Alexandrinus and Tertullian would not haue thought the Art of painting to be wicked and vnlawfull if they had knowne S. Luke had beene a painter and it is strange that the auncient writers make no mention of his Images and where were they al the foure first ages that the Churches of the Christians were without pictures With like abuse doe they auerre that our Ladie of Loretto drawne by the same hand There is one also made by S. Luk at Rome in S. Maries in Porticu Villamont l 1 c. 14. and one at S. Iustines at Padua made also by S. Luke was carryed by Angels through the aire together with the chamber wherein shee was kept from Nazaret into Italie in the yeare 1369. for this fable is of no greater antiquity And it is strange how the auncient Christians which were in Syria neglected that chamber and that Image of such excellencie and how that image could subsist among the spoiles of the Turkes and Saracens which turnde all thinges vpside downe and that it should not be seene till after fourteene hundred yeares and that the Angels had not bethought themselues of transporting it sooner And that so rare a storie should not haue any authour worthie the naming To this Image hath Pope Sixtus the fourth granted an indulgence of eleuen thousand yeares for saying a short praier of three lines which is publikelie sold By reason of the multitude of offerings in his time the farming thereof was enhanced to a price incredible but the gaines are now shrunke to the one halfe There is much adoe made at Rome about the picture of Christ which he sent vnto King Agbarus drawne vpon a peece of linnen concerning which the first that made anie mention is Euagrius whose storie determineth about the sixt hundred yeare of our Lord. Which is doubtlesse a matter admirable that none hath mentioned it before and that Eusebius who neare the end of the first booke of his hystorie speaketh at large of this Agbarus and of certaine Epistles sent from him vnto Christ and from Christ vnto him hath not a word of this picture And yet notwithstanding Gelasius Bishop of Rome in the fifteenth distinction of the Decrees and after him Isidore account these Epistles fabulous and Apocryphall Sith that Eusebius makes him speake erroneously to Thadeus the Apostle sent vnto Agbarus saying that in the death of Iesus Christ his Deitie was diminished 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And which is more if this hystorie of Agbarus were true then had S. Paul told an vntruth
resemble the nayles which pierced our Sauiour and the linnen clothes that wrapped him in his infancy Whereunto if any obiect that these common nayles and linnen are not in any consecrated place nor appointed to that end nor purposely made to serue as Images or memorials of the Passion or birth of Christ I answer that this is to graunt as much as we desire and to fall into the like impiety for this is to affirme that common nayles and ordinary linnen ought to be worshipped if they were carried into some holy place and appointed to serue for the resemblance or commemoration of Christs passion which our aduersaries wil be vnwilling to grant And wherfore then doe they adore all maner of Crosses yea without crucifixes assoone as they are put into some holy place and ordayned to represent the passion For if the question be of the touching the linnen touched the body of Christ as neere as the Crosse yea I say that the nayles and Iron of the Speare touched him nearer euen to the very heart and then whence is it that the nayles and Iron of the Speare put into a holy place are not adored as well as the Image of the Crosse And where is the adoration of this Image commaunded by God To be short I say that if any should doe obeysance or speake vnto the kings cloake although the king did weare it he should neuertheles be thought to be beside himselfe How much more if he spake to the cloake or did obeysance to it when it is hanged vpon a hooke And yet how much more if he should salute or talke to the picture of this cloake In like manner I say that if any had saluted the Crosse whiles our Sauior was fastened thereunto or had spoken vnto it hee would haue beene thought to haue beene madde although his salutation had beene relatiuely made vnto Christ How much more then if he had saluted it alone Christ not being thereon And how much more if he had saluted or spoken to the picture or Image of this Crosse especially to a bare Crosse without a crucifixe as at this day the Church of Rome doth Certainely no wordes can sufficiently expresse the absurdity of this abuse So Coeffeteau doth giue no manner of satisfaction to that which his Maiesty of England doth obiect namely that if the Crosse ought to be worshipped because it touched Iesus Christ then Iudas his mouth and the handes of those that buffeted him and the land of Canaan whereon he walked which is at this day an example of Gods curse ought also to be worshipped Coeffeteau answeres that the reason is not alike because the lips of Iudas and the handes of the executioners were their liuing members that touched him sacrilegiously but the Crosse was a dead thing and a guiltlesse Instrument of the death of our Redeemer This is but a bare shift for first if our Sauiours touching had made dead things adorable it should much more haue made prophane things holy Our aduersaries haue also forged a fable of one S. Longis that with hate and insultation pierced his side and thereby became a Saint And secondly the Crosse as Coeffeteau saith is not to be worshipped the more for that it was a dead thing Thirdly the water wherewith Christ was baptized obteyned no life thereby and to speake with Coeffeteau it was an innocent Instrument of his baptisme and did touch Christ and yet was neuer adored Fourthly our aduersaries as I suppose would not worship the empty Chalices although they did beleeue that the bloud of Christ yea his whole body had beene therein They will not adore the Priest albeit hee haue often eaten God and that he come to take Christ a fresh into his stomacke Fiftly the whips wherewith Christ was bloudied were harmelesse Instruments of his sufferings yet wee finde not that euer Christian worshipped them Sixtly nothing touched Christ so neare as the nayles and speare that pierced him and they were also harmelesse Instruments of his passion and yet the primitiue Christians neuer worshipped them Constantine put two of them into his Helmet and of two others he made a Bitte for a Horse wherein he had some seedes of superstition yet had Constantine adored these nayles he would haue caused them to bee put into the Church rather then to haue put them into the mouth of a Beaste and left them hanging on a post in the Quirry Ambros de obitu Theodosu Theodor. Histor Lib 1. cap. 18 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and yet Theodoret and Ambrose approue this action Seuenthly if the nayles touched the body of Christ nearer and his fore-parts deeper then the Crosse why doe they not adore the Image of the nayles and yet they adore the Image of the Crosse yea without a crucifixe Coeffeteau addeth that there is more in the Crosse besides the touching for it is a representation also of the death of Iesus Christ If he speake of the true Crosse it is not true that it representeth the death of Christ For that of the Crosse which they worship now adayes is but little peeces of worme eaten woode which haue neyther figure nor fashion of the Crosse But if he speake of the Image of the Crosse in siluer or paynting it is false that Christ euer touched it And if these Crosses be without crucifixes they doe not resemble the passion For there is no Image of the passion where there is no Image of him that suffereth it may be some remembrance but no resemblance The Reader shall also note that Coeffeteau omits that excellent obseruation which the King makes touching the bodily touch and the touch of fayth and the example of the woman that touched the hemme of Christs garment as also the example of that woman that said Happy is the wombe that bare thee together with the reason which he doth excellently draw from the person and the shadow of Peter and the comparison of Images condemned by the Prophets which haue eyes and see not eares and heare not with the Crosse which hath no resemblance of eyes or eares This Doctor suffers all this sweetely to slide a way and honestly holdeth his peace hauing of set purpose in my opinion made his booke a foile to giue lustre to the King of great Britaines booke After all these abuse these our Masters haue the good grace to accuse vs of misprision of the Crosse of Christ who say with the Apostle Galat. 6. God for bid that I should reioyce in any thing but the Crosse of our Lord Iesus Our aduersaries talke of the Crosse of Christ but we practise it they paint it wee beare it they glory in some peeces of the Crosse but we in suffering for his name they paint it on walles and we print it in our hearts many carry it tossing vpon their body whose belly is an enemy of the Crosse of Christ Let vs learne then to fasten our affections to his Crosse and to crucifie our olde man with him
or whether one man should haue superiority ouer one onely flocke or ouer many It is another question and tendeth nothing to the kings purpose which is only to withstand the Monarchy of one single man ouer the vniuersall Church For admitting it should be yeelded that in euery Countrey and Prouince there ought to be one soueraine Prelate It would not follow thereupon that therefore there must be one Monarch ouer all Prelates or one head of the Vniuersall Church no more then if a man by proouing that a Monarchy is the most exact forme of Gouernement should by that conclude that therefore there must be one Monarch ouer the whole world No there are no shoulders of strength enough to beare so great a head the prouidence of no one man can stretch or extend it selfe so farre or deuide it selfe into so many peeces Such Countries as are placed vnder an other Hemisphere and fall vnder the tyranny of Lieftenants and officers ouer whose gouernement a carefull eye could not be had The same inconuenience or rather much greater would be in the Church for besides this difficulty pride is much more pernitious in Diuine then in humane things And it would be very hard that any man should climbe so high but that his head would be giddy for if pride get in amongst beggars whom we see quarrell and contest whilst whilst they sit ridding themselues of vermine how much more would it fasten it selfe to such a height of glory which inuesteth a weake man and many times a vitious with the title of the head of the Church which title the Scripture giueth not but to the onely Sonne of God Now the end and scope of the gouernement of the Church and of Ecclesiasticall Discipline is the peace of the Church the reformation of manners suppressions of scandals and the conseruation of the purity of doctrine to which end I conceiue we may attaine by different wayes And he should be rash that would tye all other Churches to that exterior Ecclesiasticall policy which is practised in his owne Countrey or by a peeuish presumption prescribe his particular example for an vniuersall rule Farre is it from the charitable opinion of the King of England who towards the end of his book declareth that he no way intendeth to condemne those Churches which hold a differing forme of gouernement since in the grounds and in all the points of doctrine we fully agree with the English Churches which are our brethren in our Lord Iesus members of the same body sensible of our common greefes and whose quarrell we esteeme to be our owne as persons tending to the selfe same end and by the selfe same way though cloathed perhaps in colours differing For the suspition of Mr. Coeffeteau is ill grounded when vpon the protestation which the King of great Britaine maketh that he disliketh the Puritanes hee inferreth that his confession of faith published in Scotland was a supposed confession made by the Scottish Ministers in which they make him speake like a Puritane for that confession agreeth in substance with that which the same King inserteth into his booke the defence whereof we vndertake But if in Coeffeteau his opinion to pray to God onely in the name of Iesus Christ to denie the fire of Purgatory to reiect the Popes Indulgences to pray in a knowne tongue and to abstaine from Idolatry if this be to be a Puritane there is none of vs that had not rather be a Puritane with the Apostles then be impure with the Bishop of Rome So that his Maiesty by the same wisdome by which he prudently gouerneth his Kingdomes can well discerne in this matter of Ecclesiasticall gouernment betwixt such of his subiects as oppose themselues meerely for contradiction and whose heat is accompanied with contempts from such who though they differ somewhat in opinion yet walke in obedience and with a good conscience desiring nothing more then the establishment of his Throne and are ready to lay downe their liues for his seruice such are the faithfull Ministers who carefully employ themselues to root out those tares which Sathan soweth whilst we sleepe and to pull vp Popery out of mens hearts the encrease whereof being nourished by our petty discords cannot choose but be a weakening to the greatnesse of Kings and the diminution of their Empire for it is certaine vnto himselfe in England so many subiects his Maiesty doth gaine vnto his Crowne seeing that according to the rules of Popery a King is an vsurper if he be not approued by the Pope and that his subiects are bound to rebell assoone as the lightnings of the Vatican haue beene cast forth vpon any soueraigne Prince And seeing that also the Cardinal Bellarmine dareth to affirme and to maintaine that England is part of the Popes Demaines and that the King is Feudatory and Vassall to the Bishop of Rome It is to be presumed that his Maiesty hath sent him his picture drawne out of the Apocalips to pay him his Arrearages and to yeelde homage to his Lord in cheefe These things considered the best meanes to be reuenged of so great an iniury is to giue order that the people bee carefully instructed and that the Countrey Churches be not vnprouided of faithfull Pastors who may watch carefully ouer their Flockes and may expound plainly the benefites of Iesus Christ and the doctrine of the Gospell In presence of which Poperie doth vanish and fall downe as DAGON fell before the Arke of the Couenant ARTICLE XXIII Of the Popes Supremacy ANd for his temporall Principality ouer the Signory of Rome The KINGS Confession I doe not quarrell it neyther let him in God his Name be Primus Episcopus inter omnes Episcopos and Princeps Episcoporum so it be no otherwise but as Peter was Princeps Apostolorum But as I well allow of the Hierarchie of the Church for distinction of Orders for so I vnderstand it so I vtterly denie that there is an earthly Monarch thereof whose word must be a Law and who cannot erre in his Sentence by an infallibility of Spirite Because earthly Kingdomes must haue earthly Monarches it doth not follow that the Church should haue a visible Monarch too for the world hath not One earthly temporall Monarch Christ is his Churches Monarch and the holy Ghost his Deputy Reges gentium dominantur eorum vos autem non sic Luke 22.25 Christ did not promise before his ascension to leaue Peter with them to direct and instruct them in all things but he promised to send the holy Ghost vnto them for that end Iohn 14.26 And as for these two before cyted places whereby Bellarmine maketh the Pope to triumph ouer Kings Matth. 18.18 I mean pasce oues and Tibi dabo claues the Cardinall knowes well enough that the same wordes of Tibi dabo are in another place spoken by Christ in the plurall number And he likewise knowes what reason the Auncients doe giue why Christ bade
vnto him in the Conclaue presently after his election for so soone as hee is named Pope by the Cardinals shut vp in the Conclaue he is stript out of his ordinary habites and there are others giuen him amongst other things redde hose and redde shoes hauing a Crosse of golde a redde girdle with buckles of golde a redde bonet and a rochet And thus being armed at all points with his redde cloake and triple Crowne See this Ceremony described in the first booke of the Ceremonies Sect. 1. cap. 6. glittering with Diamonds they lift him vp as a sacred body and set him on the Altar there the Cardinals kisse his hands and feete This is vulgarly called among the Italians Adoratione which is the more to be noted because they set him vpon the Altar which is the place where they place their Masse-god and it is the place appointed for diuine adoration So that this manner of adoration cannot be taken for ciuill adoration By this also it is euident that forasmuch as Kings are more mighty and powerfull then Popes in ciuill causes if this were a ciuil worship then coÌ„sequently they ought the rather to be worshipped But they are so farre from being worshipped as that themselues are enforced to worship the Popes And if a King should call himselfe God it should little auaile him to alleadge places of the old Testament where Princes are called Gods for that would no way serue his turne but that among Christians he would be accounted a blasphemer for now the Pope taketh this Title vpon himself exclusiuely shutting out al other Princes because with him it carrieth a religious sense and that importeth adoration Againe Princes in respect that they are called Gods doe not arrogate to themselues a liberty of being free 〈…〉 reprehension or of being iudged of any man as doth the Pope in the Canon Satis dist 96. the words whereof are these It is euidently shewed that the Pope can neyther be bound nor vnbound by any secular power Satis euidenter ostenditur à seculari potestate nec solui prorsus nec ligari pontificem quem constat à pio principe Constantino quem longè superê memorauimê Deum appellatum cum nec posse Deum ab hominibus iuiudicari manifestum sit because we know he hath beene called God by that religious Prince Constantine before mentioned and God cannot be iudged by man He excludeth Princes from the Title of Gods to reserue it to himselfe and approuing the saying of Constantine that called him God hee inferreth thereupon that the Pope cannot be iudged of any man But let vs note by the way that Constantine said in the Councell of Nice speaking to all the Bishops there present You are Gods but he neuer spake this particularly to the Bishop of Rome In consequence also of this Title the Pope calleth his Decrees and Canons Oracles Oracle signifieth the answer of God Extra de Maioritate obed Titulo 33. cap. Per tuas Rom. 3.2 11.4 With like modesty hee termeth his Decretall Epistles Canonicall Scriptures Dist. 19. in the Canon In Canonicis the inscription whereof is this Inter Canonicas Scripturas Decretales Epistolae connumerantur The Decretall Epistles are numbred among the Canonicall Scriptures Hee boasteth himselfe to haue all power in heauen and vpon earth in the last Councell of Lateran Sess 9. and 10. and attributeth it vnto himselfe in his booke of sacred Ceremonies Sect. 7 Cap. 6. according to which power Innocent the third in his Bull Adliberandam In retributionem iustorum salutis aeternae pollicemur augmentum which is at the end of the second Councell of Lateran giueth vnto Pilgrims that came from beyond the Seas an encrease of glory aboue the rest Among all these I finde none so odious as that Title which he taketh of being the Spouse of the vniuersall Church which belongeth particularly to Iesus Christ as S. Paul sayth 2. Cor. 11. For I haue married you vnto one man to present you as a chaste Virgin vnto Christ Extrauag de immunitate Eccles Tit. 22. Capite Quoniam in 6 And yet this is the quality which the Pope taketh vnto himselfe in more then thirty places in his Decrees and Decretals and in the last Councell of Lateran And to the end you may know his bookes in what sense he is called the Spouse of the Church Bellarmine who wrote at Rome § Ac ne fortè l. 1. de Rom. Pont. c. 9. sayth that the Pope is the Spouse of the Church etiam Christo excluso Christ being excluded And albeit Christ were not excluded yet in matter of marriage we are not accustomed to accept of a Deputy Whosoeuer would here heape vp places in which both the Pope and his flatterers attribute vnto him that he is aboue the law and aboue all right and that he may dispense against the Apostles nay against the Gospell it selfe that likewise he hath power to dispense with oathes made vnto God and a thousand things of the like nature whereby he setteth himselfe aboue God might well of these things compose a great volume and grieue the heart of the godly Reader who is touched with a zeale of Gods house But this shall suffice to shew that Coeffeteau wrongeth the Pope much in saying that he is called God onely in that sense that Princes are that is to say for ciuill considerations for in all that is abouesaid there is no one thing spoken of ciuill respect all is built vpon consideration of Religion I should haue said against Religion And as little grace hath hee in defending the Popes triple crowne when he is driuen to say that the title of Maiesty is very fit to bee giuen to the holy things For certainly S. Peter was farre more holy then the Pope and consequently ought to haue had the greater Maiesty and yet neyther Peter nor any other Prelate many ages after him did euer weare three crownes or adorned their heads with Diamonds This lustre well becommeth worldly Maiesty but not spirituall holinesse which ought to shine in vertues and not in pretious stones and to appeare rather in Martyrdome then in pompe and to edifie mens hearts in stead of dazeling their eyes yet all the Maiesty of Kings was neuer comparable to this worldlinesse neuer did any of them thinke it fit to weare three Crownes The onely name of this Head-tire teacheth vs what to iudge for in Italy it is called It regno The Kingdome and the booke of holy Ceremonies doth ordinarily so call it to shew that the Pope weareth that Crowne as a King and not as a Bishop or Pastor of the Church The marke of the Bishopricke in the Church of Rome is the Pastorall staffe which they call the Crosier But the Pope carrieth none such as Innocent the third teacheth vs in his first booke of the mysteries of the Masse cap. 42. Because saith he S. Peter sent his Crosier to Eucharius Bishop of Treuers
the Bishops of the world We graunt then willingly that the auncient Bishops of Rome before the corruption of Doctrine and vsurpation of the Monarchie in the Church were successors of S. Peter in the Bishoppricke of Rome onely euen as the Bishop of Corinth was successor to S. Paul but withall we adde this that through the corruption of Doctrine which hath by little little crept into the Church of Rome euery age hauing added and contributed thereunto hee is now wholy and iustly falne from that succession For he may not in no wise be called Peters successor who oppugneth the Doctrine preached by S. Peter and who in the Chaire of verity doth establish a lie The Turke may not bee called successor to the Emperour of Greece albeit he be seated in his place seeing that he is rather his subuerter I would haue one shew me that euer S. Peter preached any other purgatory then the bloud of Iesus Christ or any other satisfaction to the iustice of God then his obedience any other sacrifice propitiatory then his death That euer he gaue pardons for an hundred thousand yeares or drew soules out of Purgatory with buls and indulgences that he euer degraded Emperours that he tooke away from the people the reading of the holy Scriptures or the Communion of the Cup or that he commaunded the worshipping of Images and publique Seruice to bee said in an vnknowne tongue or that he euer constrayned other Bishops to take from him letters of Inuestiture and to pay vnto him Annates Or that euer S. Peter was called God on earth the Spouse of the Church and caused himselfe to be worshipped or that euer he sung Masse or commaunded the Host to be adored or that euer he left off preaching the Gospell or quitted the Crosier-staffe to take vnto him a triple Diaderne If I say they can shew me that S. Peter euer did these things then though the Pope were Bishop but of one Village alone I will willingly acknowledge him for S. Peters Successor but still in the Bishopricke only and not in the Apostleship which ended in his person and is not deriued vnto his Successors in particular Churches THus doth the confession of the King of Englands faith remain firme and vnshaken against which Coeffeteau hath armed himselfe with humane testimonies being vtterly destitute of any authority out of the booke of God For as they that are ready to drowne catch hold on any thing so these men in a desperate cause embrace all defences but least of all those that be good Againe whatsoeuer this Doctor alleadgeth out of the Fathers is found to be eyther false or clipt or vtterly counterfeit This payment is not currant especially to such a Prince who hath consecrated his penne to the defence of the truth But this is not to be imputed to Coeffeteaus disability but to the vnlawfulnesse of the cause vnto which we haue in such sort satisfied as whosoeuer shall examine my worke he shall finde an answere to Bellarmines booke also which he hath not long since made against the said booke of the King of great Britaine with more weakenesse and lesse dexterity then Coeffeteau hath done There remayneth the last part of his Maiesties booke wherein with a straine of admirable wit assisted by the spirit of God hee openeth the booke closed with seuen seales and piercing into the secrets of sacred Prophesies he findeth in the seat of Rome the full accomplishment of the Apocalyps When hate and bitternesse shall be extinguished through time Posterity shall admire both the worke and the person and looking backe into ages past for the like patterne shall not be able to finde any thing to be compared with it We will not feare then to enter into these darkenesses vnder so great a guide for it is hard eyther to stumble or to stray where so faire a Torch doth light and shine before vs. But we must here take breath a while before we enter into this taske For the sudden death of our King like a great cracke of Thunder benummeth our handes with astonishment and troubleth our spirits with griefe and anguish Let vs then giue place to necessity and leaue to write that we may haue leisure to lament and let Posterity carefully bethinke it selfe of remedies and hold it for a thing most certaine that hee that setteth light by his owne life is master of another mans and that there is nothing so forcible to make vs to contemne our owne liues as this new doctrine which by the murther of Kings openeth the way to the Kingdome of heauen FINIS Faults necessarily to bee corrected The first number noteth the Page the second the Line The letter R. standeth for Reade L. signifieth the line in the same PAGE PAge 13.25 r. Siloe 14.20 r. Enfant 17.19 r. Armies l. 24. r. these 20.15 r. villanies 42.13 for that r. as l. 19. r. State 49.25 r. things that appeare are more feared c. 56. l. vlt. r retorted 62.2 r. infinity of businesses 71.3 for or r. and. 74.2 r. differents 79.24 r. in the Bookes of the Acts and Charters 81.1 r. See and in the margent paulum annixus 82.1 r. whom l. 3 r. giue it l. 20. r. Ostia 84.25 r. deuolued 90.27 r. Ruota 91.4 r. fifth part or fifth penny 95.14 blot out he l. 25. r. Distinction 97.23 for alleadged r. already 99.18 make it 560.100.26 r. no wayes for now adayes 101.24 for take r. make 102 17. r. aboue 104.24 for Sinnes r. Summes 106.25 r Bellisarius 107.20 r. Conon 108.4 r. debonnaire l. 7. for to r. doe 110.1 for penalty r. priuity 119.12 Consiglio l. 17. r. retchlesse 125.7 for which is r. with l. 11. r. Augustin l. 25. for as r. and. in the margent Ponticus verunnius 127.20 r. different 136.24 blot out kinde in the marg r. communia debere 140.9 r messieurs l. 12. r. of for or 147.15 r. receiued them 158.2 r. or no more 160.25 r. Nattiers 161.1 blot out the. 168.4 r. Doctors l. 17. madonna 27. Letanies 169.22 for Fathers r. saluation 173.11 r. the brecz-flies 174.9 r. discourse l. 19. r. she for he 177. l. the last r. Antonine 178 27. r. places for phrases 180.18 r. as not being 182.18 r. lauour l. 20. r. washed 188.18 r. but saith 193.11 r no prescription 197.27 for toward r. ouer vs. 203.20 r. out of the 217.23 for ouer turnes r. powreth out of l. the last r. therefore 221.1 blot out the. 229.28 r. they saw well that if they should breake 261.3 for tongues r. Fire-tongs 281.11 r. commanded 300.1 r. meditation 301.8 for defectiue r. wanting 305.4 r. another 307.22 blot out that l. 23. r. should 308.1 blot out bad 309.25 r. with l. 28. r. istud 349.14 for if r. though 369.28 r. Suppositions