part of this sentēce seemeth to forbidde a good deed for it sayth receyue not the sinner Vnderstand therefore that this is spoken by a figure taking the sinner for the sin to the ende that thou admit not any sinne Thus haue you heard the very wordes of S. Augustine which doe very well declare vnto vs as well by the rule as by the first example which he setteth downe that the eating of the flesh and bloud of christ in his supper ought to be vnderstoode spiritually sacramentally and not after the manner of the cannibals which is vtterly voyd of all humanity and good manners as those transubstantiatiers would make vs beleue And whereas the catholickes vphold that this sacramēt ought not to be distributed vnto the lay people but by halfes which they doe terme vnder one kinde the same is expresly cōdemned by their owne canons as hie treason towardes god For you shall here what a canon sayth which is taken out of the decrees of Pope Gelasius It is done vs to vnderstand that some hauing receyued the holy sacrament of the body do abstayne from the cup of the holy bloud which thing they ought not to do for in asmuch as it is euident that in so doing they entangle themselues in I wot not what a kind of superstition they ought to receyue the sacrament whole togither or els to abstayne from it altogither For the deuiding a sunder of one selfe same mistery can not be done without great trechery And furthermore where as the most part of the lay catholikes do content themselues with the receyuing of the sacrament onely once a yeare which is at Easter they are condemned by the canons which declare that those are not to be taken for catholikes which receyue not three times in a yeare These be the very wordes of a cannon taken out of the councell of Agatha The laye people which receyue not the Lordes supper at Christmas at Easter and at whitsontide let them not bee taken ne reputed for Catholikes Thus may all men perceyue iudge with what manner of passion these catholikes are caried away which do so boldly condemne the Protestants as heretiques for their doctrine concerning this poynt of the supper of the Lord and so do spitefully name them Sacramentaries as though they denied this sacramēt For in so doing they do also vnawares condemne their owne cānons which otherwise they esteme so greatly that many of them do attribute more authority vnto those Cannons than to the holy scripture saying that they be the determinations of the holy mother church wherunto they ought to sticke bicause the scripture is to obscure and may be taken both wayes But indede it is nothing so for the scripture hath but one sence which is easy to be found out of a man that is willing to learne by conferring one text with another But the cannons are in many cases quite contrary one to another I know full well that too shift off these contrarieties the schole men say that we must always hold vs to those that were last made But I answer them that that is asmuch to say as we must alwayes hold vs to the worst For euery man of sound iudgement may always easely perceyue that the ancient cannons are better than those of latter tyme. And further to abate the authority of their canōs by their canōs thēselues I say that the cannons do will vs to serch the vnderstāding of the obscure textes of the scripture in the scripture it selfe And those which seeke it elsewhere are the very scholemasters of errour These are the very wordes of a cannon What is more vngodly than to hold an vngodly doctrine and not to beleue those that are most wise and learned But all such do fall into this kind of ignorance as make not their recourse to the wordes of the Prophets to the writing of the Apostles and to the authority of the Euangelistes to learne the knowledge of the truth in any obscure poynt but will needes trust to their own wit And therefore they become scholemaisters of errour because they list not to be disciples of the truth Which cannon in very deede doth deeply in few wordes condemne the scholedeuines that make more accompt of the authority of the Cannons and doctors of the church than of the very text of the scripture which they accompt to be to obscure And true it is that some textes of the scripture are in some places very darke howbeit there is no text so obscure but it may be made playne by other textes of the same scripture Specially if they resort not to the cannons and decretalls but to the Hebrue text for the the olde testament and to the Greeke text for the new testament as S. Augustine doth teach vs who sayth in this wise Such as vnderstand the latine tongue must for the better vnderstanding of the whole Scriptures haue the knowledge of two other languages more that is to wit of the Hebrue and of the Greek to the end they may haue recourse to the very fountayne of the originall coppies when the diuersitye of the Latin rranslations doth breede any doubte And hereto accordeth a Canon which sayth thus Like as the trueth of the things that are contayned in the old Testament ought to be examined by the Hebrue books Euen so the truth which is written in the new Testament ought to be made playne and cleere by the Greek bookes I besech you what can be braied aagaynst this Canon by the whole herd of these Asses which are so bold as to say that the Hebrue and Greeke tongues be the Languages of Heritickes and therefore doe vtterly reiect and condemne them Do they not by the same meanes condemne the canons and auncient doctors And if they condemne them Are they to bee holden for good Catholickes Well let vs come now to speake of the Masse Of the Masse The viii Chapter THe difference betwixt the Masse and the Supper of our Lord is great For the Catholick schoolemen which vnderstand what the masse is for all of them vnderstand it not doe say that it is a Sacrifice whereby the Priest offereth vp the body and the bloud of our Lord Iesus Christ vnto God for the soule health both of the quick and of the dead Which Sacrifice is accompanied with diuers other parcels as accessaries that is to say with diuers prayers and diuers texts taken out of the gospels and epistles of the new Testament and with divers verses taken out of the Psalmes of Dauid and other bookes of the olde Testament and interlarded throughout with many and diuers Ceremonies And this goodly omnigatherū hath bene patched together at many Sondry tymes by dyuers Popes And that is the cause why the Catholickes do put the masse among the cōmaundementes of their holy mother Church For this commaundement Thou shalt heare masse vpō the Sondayes and vpon other feastfull dayes inioyned is the first
still spight of all the corruptinges and darckninges of this world and of the maintayners of them And in very deede God who gouerneth the doings of all men in the world by his prouidence hath reserued still in this miserable world a great number of good and honest mē and of such as loue vertue And like as in the foresayd time of the Ciuill warres among the Romaynes Tacitus sayth that that age was not so barrayn of honest men but that it brought forth some good examples so also may we say that euen in this age of oures how much soeuer it be infected and corrupted yet hath God of his gratious goodnes reserued many still which to follow the pure Religion and vertue haue constantly indured pouerty losse of their goods the cruell murthering of their children kinsfolke and frendes banishment out of their Countrey absence from their houses and an infinite number of other aduersities and inconueniences Which thing geueth vs assurance that our Lord god will alwayes maintayne a certayn number of good men here below which shall imbrace vertue by maintayning good lawes and discipline and follow the light of the truth which abideth inuincible for euer and shall scatter the mistes and cloudes that set themselues agaynst it The worthy iudgement of that great monarch Darius king of the Medes and Persians will neuer slippe out of the remembrāce of men For this king hauing vpon a time made a royall feast to all the Gouernors Captaynes and other Officers of his Dominion which was so great that it extended ouer a hundreth and seuen and twenty Prouinces was contented to heare a disputatiō between three young Gentlemen of Iury that were attendant vpon his own person Of whom the one maintayned that nothing is stronger than wine because that commonly it ouercommeth aswell the great as the small Another sayd that nothing was stronger than a king because that with one only word of his mouth he can make men to be slayne Cities to be razed and Fortresses to be beaten down when he listeth And the third named Zorobabell a gentleman of the bloud royall descended of the line of Dauid vpheld that truth is strongest of all things because it contynueth in force euerlastingly and shall raigne for euer and euer Darius hauing heard this disputation and knowing well how it is most certayne that truth is the thing of greatest strength and of longest contynuance in all the world gaue the prize to zorabable as to him that had been of best opinion and gaue him great giftes and priuiledges aswell for himselfe as for all his wholl nation commaunding that from thence forth Zorobabell should be called the kinges Cosen Which iudgement of this great king ought to be wel considered of all persons and specially of kinges and Princes that they may geue themselues earnestly to the seeking out of the truth in all thinges as well in case of Religion as in Ciuil and worldly affaires and esteeme it more strong and inuincible thā any force of man. For certainly there is neither king nor Emperor fire nor sword payne nor tormēts that euer could quench the truth or ouercome it But forasmuch as in these dayes many men are doutfull in the case of Religiō where they should seeke the truth I will not here forget the rule which the great Emperor of Rome Constantine did set down at the cosicell of Nice in Bithinia for the decyding of the points of doctrine which were to be handeled and treated of there For hauing assembled the Councell together to determine vpon the doctrine that Arrius had sowed at that time When he had made the Bishoppes to take their places euery one in his degree which were to the number of 318. besides the Elders and Deacons that accompanyed thē who were aboue 500. he sate him down among them in a low chaire and made this Oration to them well beseeming his Maiestie and godlynes My Lords and fathers quoth he forasmuch as God hath vouchsafed to put down the cruell Princes by my hand and to geue peace to the world vnder my raign it is meete that you also in this holy assembly should doe your indeuoures to set a stable vnitie and cōcord in the Church For it were to euill an example if after the ouercomming of our enemies the publick peace should now be disturbed by the controuersies and disagreementes of the Shepheards of the Church a thing that would minister occasion and matter to the vngodly to mock our Religion to laugh it to scorn Now then sith we be to treat here of diuine matters we must tak the doctrine of the holy Ghost for our rule and resort to the bookes of the Euangelistes Apostles and Prophets which teach vs what opinion we ought to be of concerning Gods holy law Therfore setting aside all stoutnes of contention let vs seeke the resolution of our questions in the word that is inspired by God. After this short and notable speech made by that great Emperor the Councel was held and the doctrine of Arrius was throughly debated by the only word of God and in the end iustly condemned by those holy Fathers as vtterly contrary to a number of expresse places of the holy Scriptures which auow vnto vs the Godhead and euerlastingnes of the sonne of God which thing Arrius did wickedly deny But I must tell you by the way that in this speech of Constantines we haue three dueties to marke which doe wel beseeme a great Prince The one is to be inclyned to publicke peace and tranquillitie and to procure the maintenance thereof by all lawfull meanes Another is to loue the truth aboue al things chiefly in cases of Religion And the third is to seeke the same truth in the Scripture inspired by God. Now I beseech God of his gracious goodnes to make your Maiesties vertue godlines to shine forth dayly more and more in those holy dueties and to cause your Royall highnes to grow greater and greater in all his heauenly giftes and in all honor and felicitie Dated the 15. day of February the yere of our sauiour Christ 1578. The author of this Apology his Song THe Pope of Rome a thousand Canons bendes Agaynst the Church which doth Gods word imbrace And stoutly forth his own Decrees he sendes The soueraign Lords commaundements to deface Or rather quite and cleane away to chase Presuming proudly for to beare chiefe sway In mannes saluation euery kinde of way He thinkes ere long that noble fort to win And tryumphing aforehand in despight Of heauenly truth he sets him down within Gods Temple boasting euen in open sight Himselfe as God and striues with al his might To maintayne still his Lordly soueraintie Aswell aboue as vnderneath the Skie But thou O Christ our King omnipotent Reach out thine arme and with thy skilfull hand Lay holde vpon the Canons that are bent Agaynst thee by the Romish Tirants band And turne them back at him that hath them
sent To beate his Rampires and his Bulwarkes downe In force wherof he weares his tryple Crowne The time is come to thine immortall prayse That this same Kaytiffe being battered sore With these same Canons of his own decayes And sinking vnder truth to rise no more Lyes beaten down with shame for euermore From day to day forgoing still his strength Vntill his State be wanzd away at length FINIS ¶ THE AVTHOR TO his Booke YE braying Canones which so grounded be Vpon the word of him that raignes on high With thundering noyze let fly your bullets free That men may heare them roaring to the sky But as for you ye Canons whom we see From mouth of brasse to spit out fiery flame Of Vulcanes smoky Forge holde you your peace You bring our Realme to ruine and to shame The others force fond ignorance to cease FINIS AN APOLOGIE FOR the Protestantes IT is well knowen that in these daies there are in Fraunce two sorts of catholickes which are of the Romish Religiō For there are of them that be tractable and desirers and louers of the peace and quietnes of this Realme and such as will not condemne the reformed religion nor those that make profession therof without hearing and vnderstanding them as the others doe but can well finde in their hartes to liue in frendship and fellowship with them and not trouble them in the exercise of their Religion but tary the time vntil God through his grace haue inlightned them and made them to know the errors and abuses which may be in the one in the other and make vs Frēchmen which are now a dayes to wilfully bent apte and willing to yealde vnto reason And there are other some so wilfull and so far run into hatred and enmitie against the reformed Religion and the professors of the same that they preferre their own vnreasonable humors before the peace common quyet of their countrey Yea and euen before the preseruation of the state of the Prince These be they to whom I speake in my Apologie And also to all that are desirous to know in what poynt and for what cause the Protestants do stande in controuersie for Religion against the Romish Catholickes First therfore I desire them all to presuppose that to iudge of a matter before they vnderstand it and to condemne a man without hearing his answere is a thing that ill becommeth not only all Christians but also any other reasonable person For by the law of nature as witnesseth the Ciuil law we ought to heare their reasons and defences whose cause we haue to iudge of therein to doe as we would be done vnto as Nature willeth and commandeth vs And therfore these ouerangry Catholickes which condemne hate and persecute the professors of the reformed religion without vnderstanding it or without hearing them do wel bewray therby that their panges and passions are very strange for that they haue such force as to cause them to forget the law of Nature the knowledge wherof God hath imprinted in the hartes of all men euen from their creation Truly it is a lamentable and beastly thing that a man shold so yealde himselfe to the humor of hatred rancor enuy desire of reuenge such like frenzes as that he should rob himselfe of his naturall wit and cause himselfe to forget the right vse of reasō as you may well see by the doinges of those heady persons I know right well that they haue been accustomed to cloake these passions by saying that the Pope the Counsel of Trent and the Sorbonistes haue long agoe condemned the reformed Religion as erronious and hereticall and that therfore it is to be holden for a resolution that it is naught and to be condemned without farther inquirie of the matter and without any other forme or processe of Law. But hereunto it hath euer been answered as we do still that those which haue thus condemned our Religion haue alwayes been both Iudges and parties And that the professors of the reformed Religion haue not been heard in their lawfull defences So that those which will needes make a president of such condemnations geuē against the parties vnheard be suspected and vncompetent Iudges and do stil fal back agayne into the former fault of condēning men vnheard a thing contrary to the law of nature and shew themselues to be parciall and fond Iudges in that they will needs geue sentence of the thing which they vnderstand no more than a blind man can iudge of colors therfore are worthely noted in way of scorne by that common prouerb That good king of France Lewes the twelfe surnamed the father of his people will neuer be forgotten who being importunatly called vpon by the Bishops and Cardinals of his time to cause a bloudy execution to be done vpon the people of Cabriers and Meryndoll in Prouince who had neither masses nor Images in their churches and were as a remnant of the auncient breede of the Albigions and of the pore men of Lyon which had been all condemned for heretickes did make this worthy wise answere I am a king quoth he ouer my people to minister iustice vnto them which I cannot do without hearing such as are accused I will therfore heare them before I condemne them though they were Turks or Deuils Hereupon it was told the Kinge that the religion which those of Cabryers and Meryndol did professe had bin often before that time condemned for hereticall and wicked specially in the Councell of Laterane Anno. 1179. Vnder Pope Alexander the third in the time of king Philip Augustus and by the Emperor Frederick the second Pope Honorius the third about the yeare 1217 and by Pope Gregory the ninth who entered into the Papacie Anno 1227. But notwithstanding all these shewes and prouocations this good king would not be led from his determination Saying that he would not stretch his conscience so far as to make a president of the iudgements and decrees of those Popes King and Emperor but would heare the answers of the parties accused before he condemned them And thereupon he gaue audience to the Comissioners of Cabryers and Meryndol And when he had heard thē he sent thether Adam Fume his Master of requestes and Ihon Paruyz his Cōfessor to informe him of their life and doctrine Who made report to his maiesty that it was true that those of Cabryers and Meryndol had neither masses nor Images in their churches but that otherwise they were all well instructed yea euen the very litle ones in the articles of the fayth and in the commaundementes of God and that they vtterly abstayned frō al blasphemous othes and whoredome keping holy the Sabaoth day and greatly reuerensing the supper of our Lord baptisme and maryage Which when the king thus vnderstoode he did not only not condemne them of heresie as he was intysed to haue done but also quite otherwise did pronounce with his owne voyce
and bound it with an othe that he did beleeue that those of Meryndoll and Cabryers were better and more honest people than himselfe or any of his other subiectes And what will you infer of this will you say now that this good king was a Protestant or that he mislyked the Romayn Religion I think there is no man so shameles that dares say so For his life and actes do shew that he was very well minded towardes the church of Rome In maintenance wherof he held great warres in Italy against the Venecians and other Princes that vsurped vpon the patrimonies of the Church But he was a good king and did acknowledge that God had put the Scepter in his hand to minister iustice to all his people and not to condemne the accused without hearing their answere nor to iudge of a matter of importance by the consciences of others but meekly to geue hearing to al matters brought before him not to condemne those thinges for euill which may shew themselues to be good I therfore cōclude thus that those which in these dayes doe so presumptuouslye condemne the reformed Religion without knowing any deserued cause or without hearing such as professe the same vnder color of the condemnatiōs done already by the Popes by the councell of Trent and by the Sorbonistes doe shew therby the great forgetfulnesse of their duty of iudging vprightly And that they cary to slack a hand on the bridle of their conscience in suffering it to depende vpon the phantasticall iudgement of others Lactantius Fyrmian speaking to Constantine the great who was the first christiā Emperor did greatly cōplayn and bewayle that the Paganes and Idolaters of his time did condēne the Christian Religion and had it in disdayn without knowing what christian Religion was and without reading their bookes to vnderstand it These be the very words of Lactātius I doubt not most mighty Emperor Constantine but that if this my work wherby I shew that the Creator of all thinges is the Gouernour of the whole world doe fall into the hands of these vnlearned Religious folke they by reason of their great superstition which maketh them too too impatient will assault me with iniuries spitefully fling the booke to the grounde before they haue read so much as the beginning of it imagining that they should defile thēselues with such a crime as could neuer be wyped out again if they should ether reade it or heare it red patiently Neuertheles I beseech them in duty of humanitie not to condemne my wrytinges if it may be before they doe perfectly vnderstand them For if it be allowed by order of law that Churchrobbers Traytors and Poysoners shall speake for thēselues and argue in their own defence and that it is not lawfull to condemne any of them without examination of his cause It is not againste reason that I should intreate those into whose hands this booke shall happen to reade it or heare it read throughout and to deferre their iudgements vntil they haue read it to the end But I know well the wilfulnesse of that kinde of people to be such as I shall not obtayne this suite of them For they be afrayd least the force and strength of the truth should ouercome them and make them yeald vnto vs and to agree with vs That is the cause of their roaring storming least they should heare vs and of their shutting of their eyes least they should see the light which we bring vnto them wherein they shew the litle assurance that they haue in their own fond reasons For they dare neither vnderstand nor enter into disputation because they know they shall soone be vanquished By reason wherof it commeth to Passe that through their shunning of all manner of scanning and sifting of things by disputation They driue discretion quite away And force and fury beare the sway As sayth Ennius And because they are bente to condemn and vtterly to oppres such as they well know to be innocent they be vnwilling that their innocencie should appeare because they deeme it a greater iniquitie to condemne the innocencye that is apparant thē the innocēcy that cōmeth not to tryall Or rather as I sayde afore they are afeard that they should haue no power to condemne vs if they should heare vs. This was the inuectiue which Lactantius wrote against the heathē in his time who condemned the Christians without hearing them Which reason I wil vse against the impatient catholicks desiring them not to shew them selues like vnto those heathen men in being so obstinate as to shutte their eares from hearing and vnderstāding the doctrine which they so condemne persecute without knowing what it contayneth But if those angry Catholicks which oppose themselues as aduersaries against our reformed Religion and so boldly condemn it wold temper their choller passions with such moderation as to geue place to reason and to set naturall discretion in due place and preheminence Truely I durst make thē iudges of this cause and I am wel assured that they would iudge farre otherwise than they haue done hetherto or doe yet And in deed if the loue of truth haue any place in their harts as I beleue it hath I beseech them euen before God and for the truthes sake to vouchsafe to examine this present defence with setled iudgement and to consider of it without affection For I protest vnto them that I will vse such modestie in my wordes as none shall iustly haue cause to accuse me of rigor First therfore I presuppose that betwixt the Romish Catholickes and the Protestantes there is disagreemēt of doctrine in many poyntes yea euen in the most principall as I will shew hereafter But yet neuertheles both the one and the other doe acknowledge generally the vnitye of the person of Iesus Christ in two natures not confounded The holy Trinitye of the Father the Sonne and the holy Ghost and the holy Scripture of the olde and new Testament and therefore they bothe may in this respect be called Christiās howbeit the one more aptly then the other as shall appeare by that which I will say hereafter Now that wee may the better treate of the poyntes which are in question and that all men may the more playnly iudge thereof we will distinctly examine the reasons which are to be considered in this discourse and are commonly alleaged on both sides for the mayntayning of the doctrine of either party and so by comparing the contrary reasons and alegations together the truth will the more apparantly shew it selfe because light is thē most apparant and bright when it is set nigh to his contrary ¶ Of three Maximes groundes or rules whereby a man may iudge of the poyntes of religion which are in questiō The first Chapter FOrasmuch as the whot Catholickes accuse the Religion of the protestantes to be wicked new and heretical and therfore cannot brooke the society of such as professe the same we hope to shew
them euidently that it is not so when we come to the scanning of euery poynt particularly that is in question And for proofe and demonstration of our sayinges we will take for our grounde three Maximes or generall rules which are very certayne and true whereby euery man shall easely be able to iudge whether the same religion is to be reckned wicked new and hereticall or no. The three Maximes are these The first is that that doctrine of Religion whereby God is most honored is the best The second is that that Doctrine which is best builded vpon the worde of God is the moste auncient and true The third is that the Romish Catholickes cannot well accuse that doctrine of heresie which is approued by their own Canones Which three rules or maximes be so cleere euident of them selues that in mine opinion the day or the Sun is not clearer For seeing that Religiō is no other thing than the duty which we owe vnto god It doth folow that that doctrine which teacheth vs to yeld vnto him all dutye and honour and to rob him of no part thereof is a good and true doctrine and that there can be no better Likewise it is certayn that the doctrine which is builded vpon the only word of God ought not to be called new but that we may rather say that it is as olde as the world it selfe In so much that they which doe call it new may not nor cannot so call it in respect of it selfe but onely in respect of their own ignorance for to the ignorāt euery thing that they vnderstand not is new Neither is it to be douted but that it is most true because that God who is the author therof is the truth it selfe and the fountayn of light and wisdome In like maner I thinke that al mē will easily graunt that euen the earnestest Catholickes of Rome can not dispence so much with them selues as to accuse that Religiō of heresie which is approued by their own Canones because the Canones be authorysed by the Popes themselues For the decrees of Gracian from whence I intend to draw the most partes of the Canōs which shal be alleaged were ratifyed authorised by Pope Euginie the third who commaunded that they should be red in the Vniuersytyes and vsed in iudgemēt as they haue bene euer since So that to reiect and condemn the Canons were as much in effect as to deny the Pope and all the Romane Religion But full well I know that hereafter when I shall alleadge the Canons those passionate Catholickes will rise vp and say that there be other canons contrary to these and truly I will not deny but that the bookes of the Canon law are ful of cōtraryeties Yet dare I boldly say and assuredly auow that those Canons which I will alleadge in this booke are of the best and most auncient of al the Canon law which haue proceeded from the best springs fountaynes and from such authors as were most principall in skill and holynes as may easely bee iudged by those that will compare them with their bookes Hauing thus set downe these three Maximes the truth whereof is easelie to be perceaued by euery man of common capacitie yea euen of the grossest sort I am now to apply them orderlye to euery particular poynt And first of all we will treate of Prayer ⧠OF PRAYER The second Chapter THe doctrine of the professors of the Gospell touching prayer is verye playne Their opinion is in effect that we ought to offer our prayers vnto God our maker who is able inough to geue vs whatsoeuer we aske gratious in harckening gentlye to our requestes Who also hath manifested his great goodnes in giuing his euerlasting Sonne to the end that by him our manhoode might haue accesse to his Godhead And therefore they say that in praying to God our creator wee muste alwayes vse the credite and intercession of his Sonne our mediator who may boldly goe to the Father because he is God as he is in the selfsame Godhead and being and disdayneth not also to apply himselfe to men and to be an intercessor for them because he is man as they be Nether is this manner of praying vnto God altogether disalowed of the Romain Catholicks but they wil needes adde thereunto that we must haue also other Mediators and Intercessors to God the Father and to Iesus Christ himself That is to wit the hesaints and the shesaintes which are many in number in their times haue done many a faire miracle For say they if a man would be a suiter to a king in any cause or to his eldest sonne he would not at the first dash preace to their presence but goe to some of their seruants or Lordes of their court And so it seemeth a thing very reasonable and meete that when a man is minded to pray to god for any thing he go first to some of the Celestial court to purchase acces to god to Iesus Christ his Sonne by their meanes and that to doe otherwise were a kinde of dispising of the saints who haue the charge from God to pray continually for the Millitante Church and euery particular person of the same Truely it is not to be denied but that these reasons haue some colour and shew of truth if we shall iudge of God as of man. But hereunto the Protestants reply that we may not iudge of God as of a king or as of another mortall mā for there is great difference God is altogether good and inclyned to doe good But men be they kinges or other are naturally euill and disposed to doe euill both against God their neighbors God vnderstandeth our Prayers assoone as they be conceiued in our harts and before our mouthes doe vtter them But to cause a king to vnderstande our suites we must put them in wryting or tell them by word of mouth and therfore we haue neede of Aduocates to lay forth our cases of Maisters of requestes to preferre our petitions to the Prince or to his councell and of the fauor of great Lordes and councellours to get vs audience and dispatch All which thinges haue no place with god So that to compare the maner of praying vnto God with the preferring of suits vnto Princes is a token that we slenderly consider the greatnes of god And here wee haue to note a proper saying of S. Ambrose which he vttereth in these expresse wordes Those which in steede of resorting vnto God repayre vnto creatures are wont to colour their contempt of God with this miserable excuse That by the menes of those to whō they haue recourse they may attayne to the presence of God as men attayne to the presence of a king by meanes of his officers But I pray you is there any man so mad or so careles of his owne life that he dareth yeald the honor to any of the kings seruantes or officers which belongeth
that in the year 1273. in the time of Pope Gregory the tenth there was a Counsell holden at Lyon whereby was confirmed the prohibition made in the Councell of Lateran vnder Pope Innocent the third in the yeare 1215 which forbad the deuising of any moe new orders of mōks or habites of new religion whereof there had sprong vp a maruelous sort since that time and all new religions which had been inuented after the said Councell of Laterane were disanulled and forbidden What shall we then say of the smokymonkes the Iesuits and the Capussins which are growen since that time To conclude neither the Monkes of old time nor those which haue been deuised alate nor their vowes nor their works haue any ground in the word of God neither doe they behaue themselues according to their own Canons ⧠Of the commaundementes of God. The v. chapter THe difference betwixt the Romish Catholicks and that protestants touching the commaundementes of god is not small For the protestantes accuse them or els the Pope to haue wiped out the second commaundement which forbiddeth Images and to haue cut the last commaundement into twaine to make vp stil the number of tenne And truely it is a great trechery a presumption vtterly intollerable to haue bene so bold as to rase a whole commaundemēt out of the law of the liuing god For if ye marke well the commaundements which the priests pronounce in the saying of their common Masse ye shal finde that Immediately after the first commandement which is Thou shalt honor but the one God and loue him perfectly they haue put the third commaundement which is Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vayne and haue wiped out and ouerskipped the second commaundement which doth forbid to haue Images or to honor them Whiche thing hath beene done of purpose by the Pope and his Adherentes that they might the more easily fill the temples of the Christians vnawares with Idols and Sayntes of both kindes to draw vnto themselues offeringes and obuensions and other like thinges as may be seene by the sequel therof So as in this point the doctrine of the Romish catholicks is contrary to Gods word and commaundement for God sayth Thou shalt make to thy selfe no grauen Image nor the likenes of any thing nether shalt thou doe any honour vnto them Contrariwise the Romish catholicks vphold that it is lawful to haue Images in Churches as they haue and to knele before them and to offer vp candles and incēse to them and to put of their Cappes vnto them Is not this I pray you a direct encountering of Gods ordinaunce and a trāplinge of it vnder foote and a robbing of the creator of his due honour to bestow the same vpon stones and stocks For if they say that they worshyp none but onely God and that the thinges which they do to the Saints and to their Images is but a seruing of thē according to their own distinction of worshiping and seruing The aunswere herunto is both ready and very easy namely that first their own canons which alow the honoring and seruinge of Images doe vse the selfe same terme of worshipping sayinge that Christians ought to honor and worship Images And as for their distinction of worshipping and seruing it canne in no wise serue to excuse thē First because it doth not followe by force of that distinction that it is lawfull for them vnder that pretence to wipe out one of the commaundements of God. Secondlye because this distinction of worshipping and seruing is fond foolishe chieflye in the Application which they make therof For they say that they honor God with the honor that belongeth to worshipping and that they honor the Saynts with the honor that belōgeth to seruing Now who is so very a foole that he doth not perceyue how by this meanes they humble themselues more in their honoring of Sayntes than in theyr honoring of god For he doth more imbase himselfe which serueth than hee which worshippeth or honoreth For as we commonly see great lords can find in their hartes to honour meane personages to whome notwithstanding they will not vouchsafe to submitte themselues to doe them any seruice But yet moreouer this distinction is false As S. Augustine proueth who sayth that worshipping is alwayes taken in the Scriptures for seruice So as by that reckning worshipping and seruing are all one thing And in very deed both in the Scripture and also in the books of the auncient doctors those two wordes are names of one selfe same thing and signify bothe one thing without difference And as for the honoring of Images the same doctor who neuer hard of the distinctiō of worshipping and seruing doth vtterly condemne it saying that those be greater Idolaters which worship the Images that are made by the handes of men Than those which do worship the Sonne the heauen the sea and the other creatures which are made by the hand of God. Agayne the Protestantes say also that the Romish Catholickes haue corrupted the third commaundemēt For by the same god doth forbid men to take his name in vayne But yet doth he not forbidde to sweare by hys name when the othe is not in vayne as when a mā is brought to affirme a trueth before the Magistrate But doth commaund that in such case a man should sweare by his name And truly when in such an earnest matter men affirme the trueth it is an honoring of God who is the truth it selfe to take him to witnes and it is a dishonoring of God and a despising of him if they sweare by any of the creatures Yet notwithstanding the Romishe Catholickes permitte men to sweare in iudgementes vpon the reliques of S. Anthony and by the heesayntes and sheesayntes and other creatures which thing their own canons doe condemne Consider sayth a Canon that our Sauiour hath not forbidden vs to sweare by God but forbiddeth vs to sweare by the heauens by the earth by Ierusalem or by thy head An other Canon sayth thus Thou doost not amisse in vsing an othe well for although that of it selfe it be not good to sweare yet neuerthelesse it is necessary whē a man is to be perswaded in a truth There is an other canon which punisheth those that rēd god in peeces by their strāge othes which now a daies are but to much vsed saying thus If any man sweare by the heares or by the head of God or do vse any such like blasphemy If he be of the cleargy let him be deposed and if he bee a lay man let him be accursed The Protestantes say farther that the catholickes haue so corrupted the fourth commaundement as that by all likelihood their meaning was to haue made it quite away as they dyd the Seconde For God sayeth in his Law sixe dayes shalt thou labor and do all that thou hast to doe but the seseuenth day is the sabaoth of
S. Ciprian all custome although it be neuer so auncient adde receiued ought to be set aside in respect of the truth all custome which is contrarye to the truth ought to be abolished There is yet another Canon which singeth thus In vayne do they alledge custome which are ouercome by reason as though custome were of greater force then the truth Or as though in spirituall thinges we should not follow that which hath bene reuealed by the holy Ghost Certaynly it is a true thing that reason and truth are to be preferred before custome But if custome be confirmed by the truth it ought to be constaÌ„tly kept and retayned There is yet another CanoÌ„ which speaketh fitly of this matter takeÌ„ out of S. Ciprian saying thus The custome that is crept into any place ought to be no impediment but that the truth shold be preferred and get the vpper hand for custome without truth is nothing els but a geuing of contynuaunce vnto error Wherfore let vs leaue the error follow the truth knowing that in Esdras truth getteth the vpper hand according as it is written Truth preuayleth and getteth the mastery and lyueth for euer and shall indure world without end To come to an end I wil adde this one Canon no more For I should not haue done very soone if I would rehearse all the Canones that are to purpose touching this matter And thus sayth this Canon If only Christ ought to be heard then must we not depend vpon the thinges which other men that haue been before our time haue thought meete to be done but rather vpon that which Christ hath done who is before all For we ought not to folow the custome of men but the truth of God specially seeing that he saith by the mouth of Esay the Prophet In vayn doe they honor me by teaching the commaundements and doctrines of men And in very deede this Cannon should make the whole rable of the Canonistes Decretistes Sarbonists Sophistes and others which handell the bookes of the Romish diuinity to blush for shame that they should strayne them selues to vphold the doctrines which haue bene apparaÌ„tly inuented by men For this one Cannon doth arregne them and coÌ„demne them al in few wordes Now to come to an end of this treatise I pray the Romish Catholikes to vouchsafe to looke aduisedly into the poynes hertofore by me discussed and to examine and ponder them throughly and without passion if it be possible For in so doing I am sure that as many as haue any naturall discression in them shall find that the ReligioÌ„ of the Protestants is a farre other thing then they haue hitherto taken it to be or than it hath bine borne them in hand to be And when they shall perceaue that the sayd Religion at the least is neither wicked nor hereticall nor new as euen the most simple may easely discern by the points before treated of it may be a iust occasion for them if they be not strangely bereft of their right wittes to incline to liue henceforth in peace and concord with the professors of the sayd Religion And herewithall I beseech them to haue earnest consideration of twoo thinges The one is that without a good peace and concord betwixt the Catholicks and the Protestants the state of the Realme of Fraunce will not only run wholy to ruine but also come to vtter vndoing and destruction And he that seeth not this is very grosse ignorant For Ciuill warres when they contynue do neuer bring forth other effectes than the changes and destructions of common weales vnles some good and vertuous men that are louers of the common weale doe fortune to preuent such vnhappy and euil destinies by procuring some good and reasonable pacification as the histories do yeald vs infinite examples therof The other thing to be considered of is this That euery perticular person ought to bethink himselfe that he hath a soule to saue and that he ought to seeke the way of his saluation For to what purpose serueth it to haue gotten honor glory riches and other contentments of the world to him that followeth the way of damnation to his own wretched soule Now he that is determined to seeke the saluation of his soule will he say that he is contented to beleeue as his Curate doth beleeue Such resolution were to foolish and beastly Or will it suffice him to say that he will liue as his Predecessors haue done and follow custome That were also a wronge way and is already condemned by the Canones heretofore alleadged Then ought we to determine with our selues to follow the truth and to imbrace the true doctrine of Christ Iesus but lord Sauior or else we shall neuer attayn to saluation And when we be thus resolued we must take heed that our passions doe not blinde the eyes of our vnderstaÌ„ding cause vs to take blacke for white For if we say stil we haue bene led and brought vp in this ReligioÌ„ my father grand fathers which were good men haue died in the same I haue borne Arms and ventred my life to mayntayne it it were not now for my honor to follow the Religion agaynst which I haue fought I am of the opinioÌ„ that there is no ill in the religion that I hould I am now to olde to learne any other and such other trifling excuses we do greatly deceaue our selues for they are nothing auaileable before god with whom we may not dally in this sort For such shiftes of descant serue to no other ond but to trifle our mindes and to lull them a sleep in ignorance and darckenes that they may haue no skill of their saluation when they depart this world What is then to be done that we may come into the path of saluation we must seek the truth And where shall we find it eueÌ„ there whether Christ did send vs wheÌ„ he sayd search the Scriptures The father of all mercy who hath created and made vs for of his owne glory and honor sake geue vs all such grace that being inlightened by hys holy spirit we may be well edified in the pure doctrine of Iesus Christ hys sonne our Sauiour to the ende that being true Christians in name and effect we may liue in good vnitye peace brotherly and christianly loue together in his holy seruice Amen Τελοσ Tit. liu lib. 1. in praefacione Esd 3. cap. 3. 4. Trip. hist li 2. cap. 5. 〈◊〉 â—nne 〈◊〉 be coâ—â—â—â—â—ed wâ—â—â—â—â—t beiâ—â—â—eard speake nun 〈…〉 Molin de mon. Fran. art 154. 155. 156. e. sicut e. excomunicamus Ex. de haeret Aut. Gazaros C. de haret Diu. Inst. lib. 5. cap 1. The pagans condemned the christiaÌ„s without hearing theÌ„ speake The decrees of Gratian authorised by the pope Annal. sur l. an 1168. The old canons are better theÌ„ the nevv We must not iudge of God as of man. Amb. in epist. ad Ro. c. 1. Math. 7.18 1. Iohn 2.1 Rom. 8.32 1.