theime Thus he saieth Augustines ansvver to Pelagius denying scripture for that it made against his haeresy Nec ideo liber sapientiae qui tanta numerositate annorum legi meruit in ecclesia Christi pati debet iniuriam quoniam resistit eis qui pro meritis hominum falluntur rursus omnibus hic liber tractatoribus anteponendus quoniam sibi eum anteposuerunt etiaÌ„ teÌ„poribus apostoloruÌ„ proximi egregij tractatores qui euÌ„ testeÌ„ adhibeÌ„tes nihil se adhibere nisi diuinum testimonium crediderunt in englishe thus It is no reason that the boke of wisdom which so many worlde 's together hathe bene worthy the reading in the Church of Christe shoulde nowe receiue suche wronge at oure handes bicause it plainely resisteth these felowes that exalt mannes merites aboue goddes grace And agayne this booke is of more authoritye then all thexpositours in the worlde for the noble writers hard by the apostles time did muche preferre this booke before theyme selues who alleaging the testimony of that scripture doubted not but they vsed thereby the witnesse of goddes holy worde Euen so must we tel oure masters that it were plaine wrong to discredet the history of the Machabies which hathe bene in our Bible euer sithe Christes time for holy scripture bicause it hathe an euident testimonie against their faulse beleefe concerning the state of the soules departed which booke is not onely better to be beleued then all Caluins faulse gloses but of more authoritye then all holy expositors Owte of whiche booke bothe S. Augustine and others many haue vsed proofe of their matters as of the testimonie of sacred and holy scripture But oure aduersarye learned not this practise of Pelagius onely for it is an oulder sore and a common sicknes to al deuisers of deulishe doctrine as the skyllfull in the Churchies affaires maye acknouledge For sum there were that other wise could not vphoulde haeresy but by the vtter denial of all the oulde Testament as Carpocrates Ceuerus Manicheus Augusti de haeresib 24. haeres Tertul. de praescrip Iren. cap. 26. libr. 1. Euseb eccles histor libr. 4. De haeresi ad quod vult deum 30. heresi But Marcion and Cerdon reiect al together sauing Lukes gospel Nowe Cerinthus and Ebion make counte of none of all the euangelicall histories but the gospell of Matthewe Cerinthus againe and Seuerus woulde haue robbed the churche of the actes of thapostles A secte called Alogiani do refuse the gospell of S. Iohn with thapocalipse Martine Illiricus Caluine and theire companions that no man being but an haeretique shoulde euer oute pricke theime will shoulder with the proudest and lifte out of our bibles the bookes of Machabies with S. Iames Epistle and more when more nede requirethe The wich epistle as allso the epistles of Iohn and Iudas were once doubted of not as conteining any matter wherof the truethe was vncerteyne but as bookes not knowen to be of lyke force as canonicall scripture in the impugning of haeresies or confirming articles of belefe as al workes be til goddes Church haue published they re authoritye The Churches vse in confiâ—matioÌ„ or publishing off the canonical scripture and declared all thinges in theime conteined to be of the same credet that the spirite of god is and of gospel like truethe And by that authority of the churche what booke so euer be allowed thoughe it was not so taken before yet nowe we muste needes accept it sicut vere est verbum dei as the very worde of God And so be these canonicall epistles and bookes of machabaeis as before is declared Here nowe euery man may learne that it is a very daungerous matter to geue lesse creditt to any of these bookes or wauer in any point of faithe writen in theime for suche felowes iudgements that nowe emongest theime haue lefte vs nether oulde nor newe Testament Suche stubborne bowldenesse hadd these willfull men in manteynaunce of mischeuouse doctrine Whose open impudencie was counted handsom conueyaunce of they re scholers and adherents which were very many notwithstanding the catholike Christian men in all agies bothe meruailed and lamented thiere blyndnes And yet doubtlesse it is not much to be woondered at to see that man flatly forsake the scripture of God who is not abasshed to refuse and condemne that sense and vnderstanding of the scripture whiche the whole churche with all her lerned meÌ„ haue euer alowed and counted most holye Well by the strengthe of this pillare we haue chalenged and saued hetherto for all the barking of bandogges the scripture of God with the knoune meaning thereof And so I trust we shall doo stille from the newe aduersaries by the assured promesse of thassistance of Goddes holy spirite which shall leade vs not onely to the true canonicall scriptures with the sense of the same but allso gyde vs in all trueth necessary for oure saluation Let euery man therefore here take hede how he doubtethe of the knoweÌ„ and certayne sense that the Church of Christe by decree of councell or consent of doctors applieth to any scripture least by mistrusting the sayde sense he go forward vnaduisedly from open deniall of the commoÌ„ A necessary vvarning to fownde a priuat meaning of his owne in the stubborn defense wherof when he shall agaynst the truethe malipertly stande he goeth vnloockely forwarde and at th eÌ„d blasphemously reiectethe the blessed worde and sacred scripture of God as we haue proued the auncyent enimies of truethe to haue doon and as in these newe sect maisters we may to our great dolor see Yet lo eueÌ„ these are they that in all agyes as Vincentius saith flye in they re taulke and teachinge ouer the lawe the prophets the psalmes the gospell That crye oute of pottes and pulpittes nothing but goddes worde the booke of the lorde the testament of Iesus Christ Paule scripture as it may be supposed and as in th ende it is proued to dryue owte of doores Paule scripture Testament and Christ too and not to bring in to the peoples heades or hearts the feare and loue of God the holsom preceptes of Paules heauenly preachinge nor the true meaning of any scripture Who being vrged will rather credet a minstrelles ballat then the Machabeis or best booke in the bible But nowe yowe may see that whiles these meÌ„ thought to saue theyr credets by miscredetting the scripture thy haue wroght so wiesely that they haue lost theyr owne credets bothe in this poynt and in all other for euer And as they hoped by deniall of scripture too cloke theyr erroure they haue woon to theime selues the property of an haeretike by open shewe of they re owne folye That the funeralles of the Patriarches bothe in the lavve of nature and Moyses and Christe had practise in theime for the reliefe of the soules departed Cap. 4. NOwe therfore I haue greate hope to trust so muche of all studiouse readers for that loue whiche they
and finally by comparing of the other meaning whiche to summe might haue bene reakoned apte and mete for that place In all whiche dooing he was as farre from rashe iudgement as our newe doctours be from good aduisement But bicause he referreth vs to the further discussing of the same matter afterward in the named woorke it shal be to oure purpose not a litle to haue this doctours full minde and constant iudgement therein In the xxj booke after muche matter vttered and very depe discussing of the cause he maketh this grounded Conclusion Cap. 13. Temporales paenas alij in hac vita tantum alij post mortem alij nunc et tunc veruntamen ante illud saeuerissimum nouissimūque iudiciū patiuntur Non autem omnes veniunt in sempiternas poenas quae post illud iudicium his sunt futurae qui post mortem sustinent temporales nam quibusdam quod in isto non remittitur remitti in futuro saeculo id est ne futuri saeculi aeterno supplicio puniantur iam supra diximus Temporall paines that is to say poonishement whiche shall haue an end some men suffer in this liefe some other after theire deathe and other som bothe nowe and then Temporall paines in the next liefe as vell as in this But al this before the daie of iudgement that is the greatest and last of all other iudgements not all that be temporally poonished after theire departure com in to paines perpetuall which shall be after the generall daie for we haue allready declared that there be certeine which haue remission in another worlde that is to saie a pardon that they be not poonished euerlastingly that had not forgeunesse in this By these wordes we may be assured that as in the next liefe there be paines endlesse and perpaetuall for the wicked so in the same worlde aftet oure end here there must nedes be som transitory poonishment and correction for suche of the meane sorte as shall afterward be saued And againe he speaketh as I take it of the fyer of Conflagration that shall in the latter day pourge some that be meane and waste other that be wicked and send theime from that praesent poonishment to further aeternall damnation I will recite his owne wordes that ye may perceiue the perpetuall constancy off this excellent mannes minde in this matter It shall also be a testimony sufficient for the vnderstanding of S. Pauls wordes nowe before alleaged Si aedificauerit super fundamētum ligna foenū stipulam Serm. 3. in Psal 103. id est mores saeculares fundamento fidei suae super aedificauerit tamen si in fundamento sit Christus primum locum ipse habeat in corde ei nihil omnino anteponatur portentur et tales Veniet caminus incendet ligna faenum stipulam ipse inquit saluus erit sic tamen quasi per ignem Hoc aget caminus alios in sinistram separabit alos in dexteram quodammodo eliquabit Yf any man erecte vppon the foundation woodde hay or strawe that is to saye worldly affections vpon the groundewark of his saith if yet Christ be in the foundation and beare the greatest stroke in his harte so that nothing be praeferred before him suche may well be borne withall ▪ for the fiery fornace shal come and burne the woodde hay and stoble and shall be saued as the Apostle saith thoughe it be for al that throughe the fyer that fornace then shall parte some to the lifte hande and try forth other if a mā man may so tearme it to the right hand And as S. Augustin taketh these base substances of wood hay or stoble to signify wordely affections and seculare desires so S. Ambrose noteth by the same vaine curious In com super hunc locum and vnprofitable doctrines the drosse of whiche friuoulous matter muche corrupting the sincerity of oure faithe must be separated from the foundation by the fyer of the saide fornace For this is a generall doctrine with owte exception that what so euer be vnderstanded by those light matters whether it be a difformity in liefe or in doctrine that onely defilethe and not vtterly destroyeth the faithe whiche is the foundation nor wasteth the loue due vnto oure Lord what so euer I saie that be it must be tryed oute by the spirite of iudgement and fier Briefly then thus S. Ambrose expoundinge the Apostles woordes He shall be saued by fier In commentarijs super 3. c. 1. ad Cor. wtiteth Ostendit illum saluum quidem futurum sed paenam ignis passurum vt per ignem purgatus fiat saluus non sicut perfidi aeterno igne in perpetuum torqueatur The apostle declareth that he shal be saued and yet suffer the paines of fyer that being pourged by that fyer he may so be saued and not as the vnfaithfull perpetually be tormented in euerlasting fire This temporall torment of the next liefe S. Hierom very fitly calleth A iudgmēt of god ioyned with mercy the continuance whereof or other circunstancies to serue mennes curiosity he dare not define being contented oute of doubt to beleue that certeyne sinners be in greuous torments and yet not with owte hope of mercy ▪ these be that holy mannes wordes in his commentaries vpon the Prophet Esai Cap. vlt et in primum Cap. Ezech in illud vi di quasi speciē electri taulking by occasion of the continuance of purgatory paines Quod nos solius Dei scientiae debemus relinquere cuius non solum misericordiae sed tormēta in pondere sunt nouit quem quomodo quamdiu debeat iudicare Solumque dicamus quod humanae conuenit fragilitati Domine ne in furore tuo arguas me neque in ira tua corripias me sicut diabili omni umque negatorum atque impiorum qui dixerunt in corde suo non est Deus credimus aeterna tormenta sic peccatorum atque impiorum tamen Christianorum quorum opera in igne purganda sunt atque probanda moderatam arbitramur mixtam clementiae sententiā iudicis In englishe We must cōmit this secrette to Goddes wisedom and knowledge whose not onely mercy but iudgemēt and iuste ponishment be paised For he right well knoweth whome how and what time he ought to poonish And let vs onely as it becommeth oure frailety crie owte Lorde in thy furious wrath argue me not nether correct me in thy angre for as we beleue the aeternall damnation and torment of the deuill with the forsaken sorte and wicked that saide in theire harte there is no God so we suppose that vpon sinners and euil men being yet christen men whose woorkes shall be bothe pourged and tryed by fyer shal be pronounced a moderate sentence mixed with mercy and clemency Loe here this worthy writer graunteth there be two sortes of pounishments by fyer one of the damned spirites and wicked men aeternall and an other off certeyne that in
beare vnto truethe that they wyll geue credet to the manifest wordes off scriptur which so plainely do set forthe not onely the benefite that arisethe to the departed by prayers but allso witnesse that there was practise at Hierusalem by oblation and sacrifice for the same purpose by ordre of their lawe Iudas folovved the ordre of the Churche and not praescribed to the Churche any nevv sacrifice or caeremony For otherwise would that good knight so higly commended neuer haue praesumed to bring in any superstiouse new vsage contrary to the rule of that churche nether woulde the priestes at Hierusalem haue offered for the deade with owt contradiction vnder the gouernemēt of so good a bisshop nether would the Author of the booke vpon so light a beginning haue praysed the facte or otherwise made mention of it then as of a newe diuise of the same mā Whom I doubt not therfor rather to haue folowed the continuall coostom of the Churche then to haue inuented any newe vnknowne ordre of his owne Wich may wel appeare at this day by the ceremonyes and sacrificies of the owlde lawe De vniuersa indeorū fide recitatura Grappero in lib. de Eucharist yet superstiously obserued emongest the dispersed Iewes where emōgest other rites of their lawe they offer and make solemne supplication for the soules departed as Antonius Margarita a Iew that forsooke his profession and became Christian witnesseth in a booke that he made of the faithe of the Iewes Where he reportethe owte of they re sacrifice this prayer Deus Animarum fidelium recordetur in paradisum cum Abraham Isaac Iacob alijsque integerrimis sanctis collocet that is Lord remembre the faythfull soules and place theyme in paradise wyth Abraham Isaac and Iacob and other thy perfecte sanctes and holy men And for that purpose they haue a memoriall booke as he saith owte of which the names of the departed are yerely recyted But we muche neede not his report herin for that may well appeare to haue bene vsed long before Iudas Machabeus his dayes For what other thinge dothe that long mourning fasting charitable releuing of the poore and other commō afflictions whiche men tooke vpon theime at the obites of theire frendes and fathers as well in the lawe of nature as afterwarde continually in Moyses time what elles can they meane but perpetuall practise for the rest of theire soules Genes 23. Looke howe religiously Abraham celebrated the rites of his wiues funerall whiche the scripture calleth Officium funeris the office of the Burial which he fullfilled by weeping and lamentation made ouer the corps Nether can I thinke that the office and iuste funeralls stoude in mourning or sorowing with oute praying or other remedies of reliefe towardes the departed seeing especially that office off mourning by solemne dirigies as we nowe tearme theim had place time and ordre by rule appointed to be executed yea and were not ended by many daies together nor at one time nother As it appeareth that Ioseph and his brethern Gene. 50. executed theire fathers funeralls first fourty daies in Aegipte and then in theire owne coontry celebrabant exequias saithe the text seuen daies together So the children of Israell celebrated Moyses obsequies Deut. 34. withe thirty daies solēne mourning in the downes of Moab Not by that weeping which procedeth of priuate affection towardes a mannes frende for that can not be limited nor yet prescribed by rule as all these solemne dirigies wer But questionlesse this office conteined for the relieffe of the deceased almose prayer fastes and teares al which may wel be termed mourning songes or weeping ouer the dead Ecclesi 22. for that time most cōuenient Of which the wise mā geueth this precept Super mortuū plora Weepe ouer the departed And that thowe maist wel perceiue these publike rites of solemne dirigies to perteine properly to the due helpe of those for whome they be exercised Super obit Theod. S. Ambrose doubteth not to affirme that of those burialls in the lawe of nature the necessary obseruation of our Christian daies monthes and yeares mindes kepte for the deade hadde theire beginning saying thus in his funerall sermone made the fourtith daye solemnely kept for the memory of the noble Emperoure Theodosius Eius Principis proxime conclamauimus obitum nunc quadragesimum celebramus assistente sacris altaribus Honorio principe quia sicut sanctus Ioseph patri suo Iacob quadraginta diebus humationis officia detulit ita hic Theodosio patri iusta persoluit quia alij tertiū trigesimū alij septimum quadragesimum obseruare consueuerunt quid doceat lectio consideremus defuncto inquit Iacob praecepit Ioseph pueris sepultoribus vt sepelirent eum repleti sunt ei quadraginta dies Haec ergo sequenda solemnitas quam praescribit lectio Bonus itaque Ioseph qui formam pio muneri dedit cae We kept of late the day of this noble kinges buriall And nowe againe we celebrate his fourtithe daies minde the prince Honorius his sonne assisting vs before the holy altares for as holy Ioseph bestowed vpon his fathers funerall fourty daies duetie euen so doth this prince procure his fathers obsequies And because sum obserue the thirde day and the thirtithe other kepe customably the vij and the fourtith let vs looke vpon the text which readeth thus Iacob being departed Ioseph commaundeth the prouisours of the sepulture to bury him and so they did and made vp full fourty daies in that obite this solemnely then must we folowe praescribed by the scripture Good was this Ioseph that first gaue vs the forme and fashiō of so holy a function By these wordes we see the antiquity of our Christiā dirigies and diuersitie of daies as yet it is vsed in mounthes or twelue-mounthes mindes to haue isshued downe from S. Ambrose time to oures from the lawe of nature by the patriarches praescription to his daies not by mourning and mumchaunse as the buriall of Geneuas booke appointeth Geneua booke appointeth a still buriall but at the holy altares these obites were kepte as with deuoute praiers and sacrifice Whereof in better place I shall speake more anone He alludeth there also to oure dilexi and other psalmes which we yett singe in Goddes Churche ouer the departed But in the second booke of the kinges the example of the holy king Dauid is a plaine proufe that they fasted also for the deceased Cap. 1. Apprehendens Dauid vestimenta sua scidit omnesque viri qui cum eo erant planxerunt Fasting for the departed ieiunauerunt vsque ad vesperam super Saul Ionathan filium eius super populum super domum Israel eo quod corruissent gladio And Dauid taking hould of his garments tore theime and so did the men withe him and they houled wepte and fasted vpon Saul and Ionathas his sonne with the residew of Goddes
whrereupon Goddes truethe standethe Handeling then oure good men as S. Augustine did the lyke say to theyme bouldely that the same Churche which exhortethe the people to pray sor the misbeleeuers doothe geue vs example to pray for the soules departed Vitalis and Pelagius were haeretikes for withstanding the one they must needes be as very haeretikes for refusing the other It was the greatest extremitie that Pelagius could be driuen to by force of Augustines argument to mocke at the priestes prayer made at goddes altare and that which then was so foule an absurditye for those faulse teachers can it-be borne out of oures withe honestie Vitalis the Pelagian had a foule foyle by S. Augustine when he charged him with the contēpt of S. Cyprians authoritye Bisshoppe of Carthage being him sellfe a chyeld of the same Church And shall they go away so smouthly nowe adaies not only with contempt of theire own Englishe patrons and Apostles but with impudent deniall of al the doctors at once that euer were gydes of goddes Churche sith Christes faithe was taught It was of Augustine coūted a singulare arrogācy not to praie in that forme as goddes church and ministers at the altare both praie theim selues and exhorte other to pray and shal it be such praise for our preachers to erecte a newe seruice to be checke mate with the oulde to cōtroele the rites and vsage of solempne supplication in all coontryes Christianed and withe the true woorship to banishe together our fathers faithe I would learne by what Churchies example they haue letfe oute of theire newe fangled phantasticall seruice the offering and praying for the departed One of theyme was so inpudent to say in an open booke that the lyturgies of the fathers made all against the Catholikes and for the proufe of theire faulse assertions Where in sir I pray yow tel-me I would call yowe by your name if I knewe who you were ▪ there you were ashamed of yowr own name I gesse it vvas M. Pilkington of Duresm therfor ye shal lacke the glory of your assertiō But who so euer yow be I pray yowe what affinitie betwixt their office of celebratiō and yours doo yow finde they offer the holy hoste they worship it they shewe it they pray vnto it which of all these doo yowe they blesse it withe the signe of the holy crosse they practise the action vpon an altare how wel folowe yowe these they pray for the deade they make inuocatiō solempnely to sanctes they ioyne with all catholike churcheis in the worlde where is your cause here amēded or oures not plainely proued If theire seruice like yowe so well or at least better then S. Gregories Masse yowe might withe more honestie haue cosed for any one of theim then haue forged a newe one of your owne which in deede is directly repugnaunt to all other rites in the Christian worlde Which yow may wel terme the seruice of contradiction and damnation as one that nether communicateth with the sanctes in heauen with the soules in purgatory nor with the faithfull a liue And being ashamed of the Latine Church yow chalenge an other origine of faith owt of the Easte parte as thoughe your matter wer wel amended if yowe might shake of that faithe and worship which oure contrie in her conuersion first receiued and in which till this day she hathe happely lyued and make the heade of oure holy tradition vncertaine by referring vs vnto an vnknowen origine Euery mā in the primitiue churche counted the spring of his faith more pure and agreate deal more cleare if he could ageinst an haeretike declare by good testimony that his beliefe did at lengthe by iust counte faule into the Romane church So dothe Irenaeus ageinst the Valentinians so doothe Cyprian ageinst the Nouatiās so doth Tertulian and Vincentius ageinst all haeretikes so doothe Augustin and Optatus ageinst the Donatistes so dothe Hierom and all the reste ageinst the Arians All these thought they had a greate vauntage if they cowld by plaine accompt proue ageinst an haeretike that theire doctrine isshued from the bishop of Rome Go whether thowe wilt saithe Tertulian and thow shalt finde sum apostolik seat to instruct thy conscience De prescri aduers haereti thowe hast harde by the Philippos or Ephesus or Rome and there lo fetche we the authority of oure faithe S. Augustine that knewe best howe to fetche an haeterike ouer the coles Epist 165 vrgethe him euer to reduce his doctrine to sum bishop of Rome whē he had him once at that strait then lo he goethe throughe the whole ranke of holy Bishoppes by name to the nōber of xlty wel neare Bring me once an euident declaration that your faithe isshued from any one bishoppe of that sea and then yowe may passe throwe the longe lyne of that succession with owte bracke or any rupture in the world I could make accompt saith Irenaeus of many successions of Apostolik churches but that were to longe onely Rome shal serue that is the greatest the auncientst and best knowne Lib. 3. ca. 3 and by the tradition of that churche confundimus omnes eos we vtterly confownde all haeretikes It is a straunge thing that the fathers hauing store of Apostolike successions did euer chuese owte for the warrant of theire faithe from emongest the rest the Roman seate And nowe when ther is no apostolike churche lefte in the whole world but it that they will seeke to churchies wherof there is nether certaynty Note nor succession when by plaine open dealing we may reduce and most needes referre our faithe to that which was euer of all other most farre from faulshood Bring my faithe once to S. Gregory and the very streame shall driue me to S. Peter and Paule maugre al theire beardes In which ordre of Bishops finde me one that setforthe by decrie any practise of contrary doctrine to that which is next praedecessor did before him mayteine and I will go seeke with the stray a new moother Churche to fownde my faith vpon Yf all be in this succession salfe and sownde what a folly wer it to forsake oure owne mother and springe of our beliefe to seeke other which haue often erred when they stoode and now be almost wholy decaide But yet it is wisdō for fallse teachers with all force to flie from so greate light as may arise to the trueth by the recognising of that sownd succession and going the iuste contrarye way from the oulde doctors faithe it is not to be thought straunge that they directly seeke to ouer throwe that bulwarck which they euer leaned vnto in the stormes of schisme and haeresie The shrewes doo knowe full wel the might of truethe in that seate and succession to haue beaten downe all theire forefathers the haeretikes of all agies They feare theire faule whose steppes they follow They vtter muche malice and tormēt theim selfe in euery sermō in vaine that Church feeleth no sore but in
occasion of idle rest or carelesse affection in his owne time and cause when he may be assured to lacke the reliefe of others to whome in his liefe by well woorkinge he woulde not ioyne before Enchir. Cap. 110. But I had rather ye hearde S. Augustine vttering expressely this meaning of mine in his owne wordes It can not be denied saith he but that the soules of the deceased be relieued when the sacrifice of oure redemer is offered for theime or almose bestowed in they re behaulfe in the Churche But in deede these are proffitable to none but to such as in theyr lyfe deserued that those things after theire departure might doo theim good For there is a state of life that is nether so perfect but it may well haue neede of these helpes after deathe nor yet so very euill but suche thinges may well succour theime after theire departure Mary there is a kind of conuersation so vertuous that it requirethe no suche ayed and an other kind so wicked that those which passed theire former lyfe therin can haue after theire passage no reliefe by suche meanes for by our merites in this lyfe we doo obteine that after oure deaths we may ether atteine to remedy or elles be voyde of al helpes For it is a very vayne hope that any man shoulde praesume to winne that at Goddes hāde after he be passed out of this world which when he was in the worlde he neuer sought nor deserued And a little after thus he makethe all playne VVhen the sacrifice of the altare or elles any kind of almose be offered for all men departed being baptised for the very good they are thankes geuinge for the indifferent that be not very euill they are a mercyfull deliueraunce For the wicked and very euill although they be no succoure for theim which be departed and deade yet they are cōfortable for those that be aliue And to suche as receiue benefite therbie ether cōmeth ful forgiunesse or elles theyr iudgemēt and damnation is made therby sumwhat more tolerable The which sentence allmost in lyke wordes for that it merueilously opened this matter this author repetethe in the fourth question ad Dulcitium and elles very often Wherby the faithfull man may learne bothe howe much and whom these remedies doo relieue And then that the Church in his daies offered sacrifice for all those that were baptised and in the faithe therof departed bothe for that it was vncertaine who had neede therof and allso because euen then when the parties were not nor could not be partakers therof that goddes glory notwithstanding was excedingly sett forth and man comforted therbye Therfore goddes Church in a true sense may be faide to offer sacrifice euen for the holy and blessed martyrs who no doubt by sheedinge of they re bloude for Christes name and defense of vnitie be fully purged in this they re deathe and so perfectly released of all sinne and paine that might otherwise haue deserued punishment and sum expectation of goddes mercy in the lyfe to com For so S. Cyprian and other of his Church offered sacrifice Li. 4. epi. 5. for Celerne Laurēce and Ignatius as he testifieth him self Sacrificia pro eis semper vt meministis offerimus quoties martyrū passiones dies anniuersaria cōmemoratione celebramus For them we offer sacrifice as oftē as we cerebrate the yerly memoryes of martyres For wich kind of perfect men sacrifice is thankes geuing vnto God for theire glory and giftes of grace Tractat. 84. in Ioannem and a kind of intercessiō to theim in our necessities For which cause S. Augustine affirmeth Quôd pro martyribus nō oramus sed ipsi orant pro nobis We pray not for martyrs but they pray for vs. Nowe the sacrifice often celebrated for the wicked also that be not knowē to the Churche so to be is not beneficiall to theyme nether bicause theire noghty lyfe and deathe makes theime vnapte to receiue cōforth therby yet these holy apointed remedies are bothe cōfortable and meritorious to the geuers and procures as blessinges which are not lost Hovv praier vvhich taketh no effect in the departed is profitable to the procurer but turne ageine to the bestowers For the profit of other or the only wil to relieue other is a singulare deserte and meanes of meritte to a mannes sellfe Full truely saide Damascene that this carefull helpe and seruing of other mennes lackes is much like to the paine which one takethe in anoynting with a precious baulme an other mannes body which as he temperethe in his hande to bestowe vpon an other it firste redoundethe in verdure and vertue to him sellfe and then passethe by him to the vse of his neghboure for whome principally it was praepared But notwithstanding this free procurement and liberall graunt of common helpes in the departeds case euen there where it is vncertayne whether they take effect or no the Church yet doth not onely absteine from sacrifice and request for suche as doo openly appeare to sin vnto deathe as thapostle saith but som times for poonishment of certeyne contemptes and disobedience in sum persons she forbeareth these meanes euen there wher she might proffet the departed and peraduēture cleane discharge him of sinne and paine with all Which she dothe by merueilouse graue authoritie to the greate terrour of offenders That by the greuous poonishmēt of certaine many might learne to be careful and wise Greate is the authority of goddes ministers suerly and heuy is theire hande often vpon sinners Actu 5. allwaies to edifie and neuer to destroie What a straunge force had Peters wordes that droue down to death for dissimulation man and wiefe allmost bothe at a clappe what a horrible and dreadfull iudgemēt practised Paule 1. ad Tim. 1 1. Cor. 5. in geuing vpp sum to satan him selfe for sinne howe sharplie did the primitiue churche execute iudgement vpon greuouse offenders whome sum times after many yeres separation from the coomfortable receiuing the sacramentes they woulde hardely admit at theire last ende to the fellowship therof But nowher coulde the maiesty of goddes church appeare with more terroure then in this case when she dischargeth certaine for their punishment of all common helpe by praiers oblation and sacrifice after their departure though they otherwise died in the fauoure of God as I take it and might be of the chosen company that shal be saued And that punishment was nothing elles but a keping of theim in longer correction and paine for theire sinnes vnder goddes scourge in the next worlde for the admonishmēt of others in that case to beware whiles she would not vse her ordinary meanes for theire release A notable example we haue thereof Concilium aphricanū oute of a councell houlden in affrick the decrie of which assemblie S. Ciprian him sellfe with a practise in the excution therof Epist 9. reportethe in the first booke of his epistles Where he willeth
that one Victor who had made Geminus Faustinus being a priest ageynst the ordre taken in the councell of Aphrik thexecutor of his testament shoulde therfore haue no prayers of the clergye nor facrifice after his departure sayde or doone for him For in that tyme of greate persecution suche instant prayers so often sacrifice the scarsity of ministers the peoples necessity required that the priestes shoulde perpetually with oute all exception of worldly affayers serue the altare But you shall heare this blessed Martyrs or rather his wordes together with the councelles ordinaunce Victor cum contra formam nuper in consilio a sacerdotibus dataÌ„ Geminum Faustinum presbyterum ausus sit actorem constituere non est quò pro dormitione eius apud vos fiat oblatio aut depraecatio nomine eius in ecclesia frequentetur vt sacerdotuÌ„ decretuÌ„ religiose necessariò factuÌ„ seruetur a nobis simul caeteris fratribus detur exemplum ne quis sacerdotes ministros dei altari eius ecclesiae vacantes ad seculares molestias deuocet In englishe thus Seeing victor ageinst the ordre taken of late in a holy synod of priestes hathe made Geminus Faustinus the chefe dooer in th execution of his will and testament lett it be prouided that there be no oblation ther wyth yowe for his rest nor yet any prayers in his behaulfe in the churche that the decrye of the priestes before sayde may be religiously obserued and executed by vs. That therby all other oure bretherne may beware by his example how they wythdrawe suche as should serue the author to entangle theim selues with worldely affayres And here nowe oure aduersaryes must be called vpon and asked howe they can a way with this geare The haeretikes called vpon to ansvver whether this light of truethe be not ouer vehement for they re bleared eyes owle light or mooneshyne I trowe or mirke midnight were more fit for they re darke workes and doctryne oure way is ouer muche trodden for theues All this course of oure cause The vvhole matter ordered to oure hands so agreethe with it selfe so standethe wythe reason so vphoulden by scripture so ordered in all poyntes that Momus him selfe coulde practise no arte nor picke no quarelles here For such we must pray for those we must not praye in this case the sacrifice of goddes churche relieueth the departed in that case it is comfortable onely to the liuynge sum men neede helpe aster their death others helpe we neede and not they oures for open infidelles and haeretikes praiers are not vsed for all secrette offendres bicause their case is not knowne to the church of charity towardes her childreÌ„ she opeÌ„ly prayethe sum she poonishethe sum she pardonethe for al she merueilous teÌ„derly carethe This doctrine of truethe is purposely ordered by our elders euery point is touched and tried to our handes What time of the day was it in goddes church say trueth and shame the deuill when holy Cyprian wrote these thinges when the councell of aphrick decried these thinges when victor was punished by lack of sacrifice and prayers at his departure doeth your time of ignorance which yowe haue lymited for your waulke reache vp so highe in goddes howse but I will spare yow to anone your answer is not redie VVhat that holy sacrifice is vvhiche vvas euer counted so beneficiall to the liue and deade The punishement of oure sinnes by the heuy losse thereof The greate hatered vvhich the diuell and all his side hath euer borne tovvardes Christes aeternall priesthood and the sacrifice of the Churche And that by the saide sacrifice of the Masse the soules departed are especially relieued Cap. 8. ANd now we must faule in hand with the good ChristiaÌ„ Catholike for the searche of this so ofteÌ„ named sacrifice so coÌ„fortable to the liue so profitable to the dead and what that oblatioÌ„ is which the holy catholike and apostolike Church hath euer vsed through oute the world for the sinnes of the departed in place of the offeringes of the lawe and that sacrifice which Iudas Machabaeus made and procured at Hierusalem for the offensies of his people that perished in battle Surely it is no other but the sacrifice of our mediatour as S. Augustine termeth it and the offering vppon the altare It is no other then that obltation which so fully and liuely expressethe the death and passion of Christ Iesus Who being once offered by the sheeding of his blessed bloude for the redemption of man kind hath wrought such a vertuous effect not onely in the holy sacraments for the giuing of grace and remission of sinnes but allso hath lefte in a merueilous mistery his owne holy and blessed body and bloode as wel to feede vpoÌ„ for the especial streÌ„ght and comforth of our soules as to offer vppe the same for the remembrance of his death and cleaÌ„sing of our sinnes Not in that wise as it was doone vpon the crosse by the painefull sheeding of his bloude but as it was instituted first in the last supper Where Christ oure God and redemer according to the order of Melchisedech gaue to his apostles and offered to God the father that body which afterwarde was betraide and the same bloudde which was shed after also for the remission of sin beinge with all tearmed by him the bloude of the newe and aeternall testament as that which in the newe lawe shoulde succeade the bloddy offeringes of the owlde testament Whereof God allmighty being as a man woulld say lothesom or full hathe instituted this by his onely sonne as a most pure and praecious oblation and sacrifice to be continued in the Church through out the costes and corners of the rounde worlde Whiche being celebrated in the blessed memory of his sonnes passion and hauing no other hoste nor oblation then that whiche then was offered can be no other sacrifice then that whiche there was made for the forgiuenesse of sinne and redemption of the worlde The which woorthy action of Christes Churche so fructefully applieth vnto vs the benefite of oure maisters death that thereby we may haue comfortable hope of remission of all such misdeedes as most iustly deserued Goddes wrathe and terrible indignation ageinst vs. Now this is that blessed sacrifice which S. Augustin with feare and reuerence termeth in a thousand places of his works the sacrifice of the Altare the sacrifice of our Mediatour the sacrifice of oure price the sacrifice of the body and bloude of Christ the holsom and proffitable sacrifice the sacrifice of Melchisedech The common names of honoure geuen to the holy masse in olde time the new sacrifice S. Chrisostom the Reuerent sacrifice the honoâ—able Mysteries the Fearefull sacrifice Athanasius the propitiatory sacrifice the vnbloudy Hoste S. Cyprian the sacrifice of the Churche the perpetuall sacrifice the meate offering the medicine for our infirmities Iraeneus the pure sacrifice the new sacrifice of the new testament Clement ageine the vnbloudy sacrifice the rationable