ecclesia constituitur ex collectione omnium fidelium vnde omnes fideles orbis constituunt istam ecclesiam vniuersaleÌ„ cuius caput sponsus est ipse Christus Papa auteÌ„ est Vicarius Christi non verè caput ecclesiae vt notat glossa in Clem. ne Romani de elect Quae notabiliter dicit quod mortuo Papa ecclesia non est sine capite ista est illa ecclesia quae errare non potest For concerning maters of Faith euen the iudgement of one that is a meere Lay-man ought to be preferred before the sentence of the Pope if that Lay person could bring better reasons out of the old and new Testament then the Pope did And it skilleth not if one say that a Councell cannot erre because Christ prayed for his church that it should not fayle For I say that although a general Councell represent the whole vniuersall Church yet in truth there is not truely the vniuersall Church but representatiuely For the vniuersall Church consisteth of the collection of all the faithful Whereupon all the faithfull in the worlde make this vniuersall church which cannot erre wherof Christ himselfe is the head The Pope is the Vicar of Christ but not truely the heade of the church as noteth the Glosse vpon the Clementines which saith very well that when the Pope is dead the church wanteth not then an head and this is that Church which cannot erre Out of these wordes I note first that by the opinion of the great Papist Panormitan a meere laye mans iudgement euen in matters of faith ought to bee accepted and receyued before the Popes constitution if that Lay-man bring better reasons then doth the Pope I note secondly that through the wonderfull prouidence of God euen the enemies of the truth the Papists I meane are enforced to testifie the truth against themselues in their owne printed bookes For doubtles this Testimony of this Papist is the foundation of that doctrine which is this day established in the church of England and in all other reformed churches throughout the Christian world I note thirdly that a generall councell may erre because it is not the Catholike or vniuersall church indeed A generall councell therfore yeeldeth not any infallible iudgement CAP. VII Shewing that the holy Scripture is the sole and onely infallible rule of truth IN the former Chapters I haue shewed first that all Bishoppes may erre seuerally secondly that many Bishops may erre ioyntly together when they teach one and the selfe same thing Thirdly that the Pope or Bishoppe of Rome may erre not onely in his priuate opinion but also in his publike sentence and definition Fourthly that Prouinciall Councels may erre Fiftly that generall counsels may erre It therefore now remayneth that I find out and set down some such rule as is infallible and will not in any respect point or clause deceiue them that follow it and leane thervnto Which rule say I is the holy scripture the sole and onely written worde of God And I proue the same briefly first by the written word it selfe which telleth vs plainely that the holy scripture was written by the instinct of the holy Ghost euen as God himself appointed it to be done That prophesie came not in old time by the wil of man but holy men of God spake as they were moued by the holy Ghost That God is not as man that he should lie neyther as the sonne of man that he should repent I proue it secondly by the testimony of S. Dionyse Areopagita whose wordes are these Omnino igitur non audendum est quicquam de summa abstrusaque diuinitate aut dicere aut cogitare praeter ca quae nobis diuinitus scripturae diuinae enuntiarunt In no wise therfore may we make bold to speake or thinke any thing of the high and ineffable diuinity but that onely which holy writ hath reuealed to vs from aboue I proue it thirdly by the verdict of S. Austen in these wordes Ego solis eis scripturarum libris qui iam canonici appellantur hunc timorem honorem didici deferre vt nullum eorum authorem scribendo aliquid errasse firmissime credam Alios autem ita lego vt quantalibet sanctitate doctrinaque praepolleant non ideo veruÌ„ putem quia ipsi ita censuerunt sed quia mihi vel per illos auctores canonicos vel probabili ratione quod a veritate non abhorreat persuadere potuerunt I have learned to giue this feare and honour to those onely bookes of scripture which are called Canonicall that I firmely belieue no author therof to haue erred in any point but yet I reade others so that how holy or learned soeuer they bee I doe not by and by thinke it true because they say so but because they perswade me by those Canonicall Writers or by probable reason that that is true they say The same S. Austen in an other place telleth vs plainely that the holy Scripture is the rule of faith These are his wordes Sancta scriptura nostrae doctrinae regulam figit ne audiamus sapere plusquam oportet The holy Scripture setteth downe the rule of our doctrine that we presume not to be wiser then it is meete and conuenient The Iesuite Bellarmine whose words are most forceable against Papistes because he is the mouth of all Papistes confesseth plainely that the worde of God is the rule of faith that the written word because it is the rule hath this prerogatiue that whatsoeuer is contained in it is of necessitie true and must bee beleeued and whatsoeuer is repugnant to it is of necessitie false and must be reiected But because it is a partial rule and not the totall rule of faith thereupon it commeth that something is of faith which is not contayned in the same Thus writeth the Iesuite Out of whose wordes euerie child may gather that the scripture is the infallible rule of faith For although the Iesuite would make vnwritten traditions to bee a ioynt rule together with the written word whose opinion I haue disproued in my Booke of Motiues yet neyther doth hee neither can he deny but that all must bee reiected whatsoeuer is repugnant to the holy scripture By this my discourse hetherto it is cleare and euident to euery indifferent Reader that neither Fathers Popes nor councels prouinciall or generall are or can bee the infallible rule of faith but the sole and onely written word of God that is the holy Scripture But now remayneth a most intricate and dâ—fficult question who must bee the iudge of the Scripture that is who must determine and set downe what writinges what opinions what preachinges what doctrines are grounded vpon the Scriptures and are consonant to the same againe what opinions what Writinges and what doctrines are not grounded vpon the Scriptures nor are agreeable to the same Hic labor hoc opus est I therefore proceede to the next
will see what is best If it bee done it must be verie short and rather made to describe the man then to vnfold at large his doctrine For if it bee long neither the time nor commoditie of transporting vp and down nor the securitie of doing it can be correspondent That shall bee done on my part which may be This gentle Reader is there whole narration which for the exact examination and confutation thereof I will repeate by particular members one after an other euer adding a particular seuerall answer to the same The Iesuite Concerning the answere to the wrangler I am euen as I was before vncertaine what were expedient The Answere To these wordes I answere first that the Iesuites haue beene long buzzing about an answere to my bookes and haue vsed as great speede therein as hee that shoulde driue a snaile from Paris to Rome For after my bookes haue beene eight or nine yeares in their handes and vnder their malicious censure they are still at the same poynt where they began That is to say they neither haue made neither can they make any answere to my bookes I answere secondly that though the Papists be greatly troubled about my bookes and doe often consult among themselues how to frame some aunswere therevnto yet can they not this day tell what is expedient for them to doe in that behalfe But euery wise man can easily discerne that if the truth were on their side and that they could confute the doctrine laid downe in my bookes they would vndoubtedly performe the same The Iesuite The man desireth nothing but wrangling And besides that which I feare most is that which I haue seene by experience in other his writings that is exceeding and outragious choller The aunswere To these wordes I answere first that if I did but wrangle they might with facilitie haue aunswered me so many yeares ago Secondly that the Priestes and Iesuites are of a verie shallow iudgement and small reach if they can not tell in eight whole yeares what to answere to a wrangler or wrangling disputation Thirdly that the Iesuite as is confessed alreadie can not yet tell what is expedient to be done in that matter Whereupon it followeth of necessitie that it is a matter of great moment and of no smal importance For otherwise a man of rare wisedome and deepe iudgement such as our Iesuites vsually be especially those Iesuites who are elected to be prouincials and rulers of all others within a whole Prouince could not but know in much lesse time then 8 or 9. yeares what were fit meete expedient to be done concerning the answering of my bookes And yet as this great father of wisdom freely granteth he is still as vncertain as he was afore what aunswere were best to be made Fourthly that our father Iesuite lieth flatly vpon his head when he saith that hee feareth nothing more then my exceeding and outragious choller For first he and his brethren do not spare at all to write against their owne brethren the secular Priests who shew more choller in one leafe of paper then I haue done in all my Bookes Againe he and the other Iesuites doe disgorge more choller agaynst the Seculars in the least page they haue written then my selfe haue done in all my bookes Hereof none can be ignorant that shal seriously peruse my booke intituled the Anatomie of Popish tyrannie The Iesuite Whereby he will be moued to vtter not onely vll imperfections which he knoweth of our fellowes but also those things which ought to be most surely sealed vp The Answere I answere first that hereby euerie one may see that the Iesuites and their fellowes are full of notorious imperfections which they feare shall be made knowne vnto the world Secondly that if the Iesuites be guiltie in their own consciences of greater crimes offences then the secular Priests haue discouered to the world then certes they are so farre from being Saints that they are more like the Diuels of hell Thirdly that they haue damnable practises among them which must be sealed vp and not be made knowne vnto the world But hereof Watson the secular Priest seemeth to haue spoken sufficiently in his Quodlibets My book of Anatomie will tell them more Fourthly that the Iesuite doth vnawares confesse me to be an honest man For it must needes bee the part of an honest man to speake nothing of his enemie but onely that which he knoweth to be true The Iesuite The man being past all grace and shame The Answere I say first that it is no maruaile if this lewde Iesuite write thus of me to his felowes couertly seeing both hee and his fellowes write most bitterly and impudently against their owne brethren the secular Priests men of better deserts by many degrees then themselues Secondly they are arrant traitors cruell murderers impudent lyars notorious coozeners full of enuie pride malice and all vices vnder heauen as the secular Priests write of them and consequently this Iesuites tongue can not or at least ought not to be of credite against any man Thirdly all that this rayling impudent companion can truly say of me is nothing else in deede but that I haue renounced lately inuented popish Religion For the olde Roman religion practised in the primatiue church I allow and defend in al my bookes and will perseuere in the same God willing vnto my liues ende It is the superstition and Idolatrie of latter yeares crept into the Church of Rome by little and little the originall whereof I haue proued in my booke of Suruey agaynst which proofe this proude Iesuite can say nothing that I impugne condemne in all my writings Fourthly this rayling fellow hath graunted alreadie that I will vtter nothing of them but known truths consequently I must haue some grace and honestie left by his owne confession The Iesuite Neuerthelesse for this matter as ye shall all agree For I doubt not but so manie and such will see what is best The Answere Loe they that haue consulted how to answere my bookes are not onely many in number but also of the best iudgement and reputation among them For you heare his wordes so many and such will see what is best And yet these men so many and so worthie haue not in so many yeares found out any answere to my bookes But as he truly sayth they see what is the best to be done As if he should haue said the best is to passe ouer the matter with silence as wee haue done heretofore For his doctrine is sound grounded vpon the Scriptures Councels Fathers and the practise of the ancient Church and we are not able to gainsay the same It is better to sit still then to rise vp and fall The Iesuite If it be done it must be verie short and rather made to describe the man then to vnfold at large his doctrine For if it belong neither the time nor commoditie of transporting vp and downe nor the securitie
THE GOLDEN BALLANCE OF TRYALL VVherein the Reader shall plainly and briefely behold as in a Glasse of Crystall aswell by what rule all controuersies in Religion are to be examined as also who is and of right ought to be the vpright Iudge in that behalfe Whereunto is also annexed a Counterblast against a masked Companion terming himselfe E.O. but supposed to be ROBERT PARSONS the trayterous Iesuite Vos Vnctionem habetis a sancto nostis omnia 1. Ioh. 2. v. 20. Determinatio solius Papae in his quae sunt fidei non obligat vt praecise est talis ad credendum alioquin staret in casu quod quis obligaretur ad contradictoria vel ad falsum contra fidem Gerson prim part de examinat doctrinarum consider secunda LONDON Imprinted by Iohn Windet for Richard Bankworth dwelling in Paules Churchyeard at the Signe of the Sunne 1603. THE GOLDEN Ballance of Tryall CAP. I. Of the Vncertainety of Iudgements of all Bishoppes seuerally in themselues THE Prophet Dauid sheweth plainely the vncertainty of Iudgement when he telleth vs That all men are lyers The Prophet Ieremie cryeth aloude that the Gentiles in the end of the world shall come to him and shall freely confesse that their fore-fathers inherited lyes and vanitie S. Paule confirmeth the same telling vs that onely God is true and euery man a lyer The Prophet Malachie sheweth the whole matter to haue been verified in the Priestes of the old Law His words are these The Priestes lips shall keepe knowledge and they shall seeke the law at his mouth for he is the messenger of the Lord of Hostes but ye are gone out of the way ye haue caused many to fall by the law yee haue broken the couenant of Leui saith the Lord of Hosts yea this is it that the Prophet Ezechiel saith Then shall they seeke a vision of the Prophet but the Law shall perish from the priest counsel from the Elders The prophet Esay sayth The priest and the prophet haue erred by strong drink they are swallowed vp with wine they haue gone astray through strong drinke they faile in vision they stumble in iudgement this is it that Michah saieth The Heades thereof iudge for rewardes and the priestes thereof teach for hire the prophets thereof prophesie for money This is it that the prophet Sophonie sayeth Her prophets are light and wicked persons her priestes haue polluted the Sanctuarie they haue wrested the law This vncertainety of iudgement cannot be denied For Tertullian erred Montanizinge Cyprian Rebaptizinge Origen Cerporizinge Nazianzen Angelizinge Eusebius Arrianizinge Lactantius Millenizinge and the like may bee verified of all the Residue The sentence of two learned papistes highlie renowned in the Church of Rome shall conclude my Theame Iohn Fisher the late Bishop of Rochester hath these expresse wordes Nec Augustini nec Hieronymi nec alterius cutuslibet auctoris doctrinae sic ecclesia subscripsit quin ipsi locis aliquot ab iis liceat dissentire nam in nonnullis ipsi locis se planè monstrarunt homines esse atque nonnunquam aberrasse The Church hath not so subscribed eyther to the doctrine of Austen or of Hierome or of any other Writer but that we may somtime dissent from their opinions for themselues haue plainely shewed themselues to bee men and that they wanted not their errours the Iesuite Ballarmine hath these wordes Sine dubio singuli Episcopi errare possunt aliquando errant inter se quandoque dissentiunt vt nesciamus quisnam eorum sequendus sit Without doubt all Bishoppes seuerally may erre and doe sometime erre indeed and doe also sometime so dissent one from another that we cannot tell in the world which of them we may safely follow Out of the wordes of these Writers whereof the one was a learned Bishoppe and a popish canonized Martyr and the other a Iesuite and Popish Fryer who did dedicate his Booke to the Pope himselfe I gather these singular documents First that the Church of Rome giueth euery one liberty to dissent from Augustine Hieromie and other Writers whosoeuer Secondly that the Fathers haue plainely shewed themselues to be men and to haue had their imperfections accordingly Thirdly that many errours are to be found in the writinges of the Fathers Fourthly that the Fathers doe so dissent one from another that wee cannot tell whome we may safely follow These Fathers therefore seuerally may not be iudges in all matters of faith and religion CAP. II. Of the uncertainety of iudgement of many Bishops euen when they employ their wits and learning to teach one and the selfe same doctrine WE finde in holy Writte that the chiefest of the Priestes and people trespassed wonderfully according to all the abhominations of the Heathen and polluted the house of the Lord which he had sanctified in Ierusalem The Watchmen of Ephraim sayth Hoseah should bee with my God but the prophet is the snare of a fowler in all his wayes and hatred in the house of his God The Prophets saith Ieremie prophesie lies in my name I haue not sent them neither did I commaund them but they prophesie vnto you a false vision and diuination vanitie and deceitfulnes of their own heart The same Prophet sayth againe in an other place after this manner From the least of them to the greatest euery one is giuen to couetousnes and from the Prophet to the Priest they all deale falsly Their Watchmen saith Esay are all blind they haue no knowledge they are all dumbe dogs they cannot barke Many of the olde writers taught with vniforme consent that the soules of the faithful departed doe not see God vntill the day of generall doome To recite the wordes of a few may suffice for this time Lactantius hath these wordes Nec tamen quisquam putet animas post mortem protinus iudicari omnes in vna communique custodia detinentur donec tempus adueniat quo maximus iudex meritorum facit examen Yet may not any man thinke that the soules of the iust shal forth with after death haue their iudgement for they are all kept in one common prison vntill the time come when the great Iudge shall discusse euerie mans deserts Iustinus Martyr hath these wordes Neque enim ante resurrectionem vitae cuique peractae retributio contingit Iterum vtilitas latroni quod Paradisum sit ingressus haec finit quod fidei commodum re ipsa percepit per quod dignus reputatus est qui sanctorū caetui adiungeretur in quo vsque ad diem resurrectionis remunerationis reseruatur No man hath his rewarde before the day of resurrection The Theefe by going to Paradise had this benefite that he receiued in verie deed the fruit of his faith by which he was reported worthy of the Fellowship of Saintes where hee is reserued vntill the day of resurrection and remuneration Victorinus hath these
wordes Sed quia in Nouissimo tempore sanctorum remuneratio perpetua impiorum ventura est damnatio dictum est eis expectate But because in the last time Saints must receiue their rewardes and the wicked their damnation it is said vnto them Expectate ye must expect or doe ye expect a while I could alleadge the wordes of Ireneus of Euthymius of Oxigenes and others to the same effect and yet the doctrine taught by these Fathers is this day holden for a flat heresie euen of the Papistes themselues Caietanus a learned Papist and sometime Cardinall of Rome for which respect hee must perforce be of great credite among them doth grauely aduise the Reader in his commentaries vpon the Pentateuch of Moyses willing him to contemne nothing rashlie but to examine all thinges by the holy scripture and to embrace that which is agreeable thereunto although it swerue from the opinion of neuer so many Fathers His words are set downe at large in my booke of Motiues The great Schooleman and renowned popish Bishoppe Melchior Canus confesseth verie plainely that the consent of many Bishops and learned men doth not yeeld a sound argument for mans conscience to rest thereupon The same Canus in an other place auoucheth boldly that though al the Thomists with the Scotists late writers with the olde take part against him yet must he perforce haue the victorie because reason is on his side his wordes are set downe at large in my Booke of Motiues What neede long periods Austen Ambrose Bede Chrysostome Remigius Eusebius Bernardus Bonauentura Maximus Erardus Bernardinus Aquinas Hugo and almost all the rest affirme with one consent alledging expresse textes of Scripture for their opinion that the blessed Virgin Mary was conceiued in originall sinne and yet doth the late hatched nest of Iesuites with other Papistes this day auouch the contrarie for a truth if any man be desirous to know more of this point hee may find it at large in my books of Motiues and Suruay loe these cannot always be iudges in al matters of faith and religion CAP. III. Of the vncertainety of the Popes Iudgement whose faith say the Papistes can not faile ALbeit the Popes Canons and popish glosses thereupon tell vs that it is sacriledge to reason of the Popes power yet by his holines fauour I hope I may set downe without offence to any godly mā what I find in his own popish decrees and that I may proceede sincerely and plainly for the better satisfaction of the Reader I will distribute this Chapter into seuerall sections The First Section Of the manners liues and conuersation of the late Bishops of Rome ALthough the Bishops of Rome bee now a dayes termed by the name of Holinesse yet haue the liues and manners of manie Popes been most wicked most notorious and most scandalous to the Christian world I will passe ouer Pope Stephanus who disanulled all the Actes of Pope Formosus degrading those whome hee had made Bishops and priestes a rare and strange Metamorphosis in the Church of God Pope Romanus did reproue and abrogate all the Actes of Pope Stephanus and Pope Sergius the third did so hate the name of Formosus that he caused his bodie to be beheaded after it was buried and laide in the ground yea hee commaunded his dead corps to be cast into the riuer Tyber as vnworthy to bee interred in Christian sort Pope Bonifacius the eight entered into his popedome as a Foxe raigned in it as a Wolfe and died in the end as a dogge Pope Christopher was depriued of his pontificall dignitie and enforced to be a Monke Pope Bonifacius the seuenth and Syluester the second aspired to their popedomes by Necromancy and Diabolicall meanes Syluester the third obtayned his popedome by sedition and Damasus the second was made pope by violent meanes without consent either of the Clergie or of the people pope Gregorie the fift was by sedition thrust out of his throne and pope Iohn the 18 by tyranny occupied the popedome But I may not let passe to speake at large of Pope Syluester the second of that name the storie is most memorable well worthy for edification sake to bee engrauen in golden letters of the truth thereof no man can stand in doubt For Martinus Polonus the popish Archbishop of Consentina and high Penitentiarie as also the chiefe Chaplain to the Popes Holines hath published the same in writing to the view of all the world Which thing doubtles hee world neuer haue done if he had not thought it a thing necessary to be known Thus therefore doth he write Pope Syluester the 2. was first a Monke a Frenchman borne Gilbertus by name he promised homage to the Deuill so long as he did accomplish his desires which his request the Deuil vndertooke to bring to passe he being very ambitious did so often expresse his desire to the deuill as hee made homage vnto him the Deuill procured him to be made Archbishop first at Rhemes then at Rauennas and at the last to be Pope of Rome for the Deuill knowing his ambitious mind brought him to honour by begrees being made Pope he would needes know of the Deuil how long he should liue in his Pontificall glorie the Deuill aunswered him that he should liue so long as he did not say Masse in Ierusalem the Pope receyuing that aunswere was very ioyfull within himselfe thinking that hee was as farre from death and from the ende of his worldly pompe as hee was farre of in his minde from going on pilgrimage to Ierusalem beyond the Sea But what will yee more The Pope in Lent said Masse in the Church Sanctae crucis which they call in Ierusalem my self know the place Yet the Pope as it seemeth infatuated with pride and excessiue desire of honor had quite forgot the name While he was at Masse O holy sacrifice he heard a great noyse of Deuils and so remembred not the place onely but also his death to bee at hand Hee therefore wept though hee were afore most wicked disclosing his offence to all the companie nothing doubting of Gods mercie withall he cōmaunded to cut away from his bodie all the members with which hee had done sacrifice to the Deuill This hystorie I haue truly set down as I find it recorded by the said Martinus Polonus Archbishop of Consentina a man most deare vnto the Pope so as no Papist can without blushing denie the truth therof me thinks it is an vnfit thing that the faith of all the Christian world should depend vpon the resolution of such wicked Popes Benedictus the ninth as writeth the said Polonus appeared to a man going by a Mill in the likenes of a monstrous beast who had a head and tayle like an Asse and the rest of the bodie was like a Beare And when the man that saw the Monster fled away for feare the monster cryed after him
defensurum perpetuò ei adhaesurum Last of all it is reported of Pope Iohn the 22. that hee publiquely taught declared and commaunded all men to hold that the soules of the iust before the day of iudgement haue not the stole which is is the cleare and facely vision of God And he is reported to haue enduced the Vniuersitie of Paris to this that no man should take degree in the same but he that did first sweare to defend this errour and to adhere to it for euer Thus writeth Adrian who was himselfe Pope of Rome And Alphonsus a mā of good credit with the papists after he had reckoned vp fiue heresies setteth downe this for the sixt heresie that the soules of the iust do not see God till the day of doome ascribing the said heresie to the Armenians as to the authors therof to the Greeks togither with pope Iohn as to the patrones and defenders of the same Here the simple Reader must note well that hee may the better vnderstande this verity and not bee seduced with the colourable Glosse of the Iesuite Bellarmine who seeing the force of this testimonie to ouerthrowe the highest poynt in poperie bestirreth himselfe more then a little in defence of popish faith He telleth vs forsooth if we wil beleeue him that Pope Iohn with all obeysance to his holines bee it spoken erred in deede as is here said but he did that as a priuate man sayeth our Iesuite not as Pope of Rome Which distinction doubles wanteth not onely a good foundation whereupon it should be built but also it flatly destroyeth the playne Text. The reason is euident to euery child First because pope Adrian faith Docuit hee taught Secondly because hee faith Publicè publikely Thirdly because he sayeth Mandauit he commanded all to hold it Fourthly because none could be made Graduats in the schooles which held not this opinion Fiftly because euery Graduate was sworn to defend it and to hold it for euer So then the pope may erre and hath erred de facto euen in his publike decree of faith as well as an other man And that euen by the consent of Adrian who was pope himselfe yea who for learning and knowledge was one of the rarest popes that euer were at Rome Melchior Canus though otherwise he bee a great papist telleth vs plainly that Gerson Almayne and Thomas Waldensis doe all hold this for a constant position that the pope may erre as is already said pope Celestine the third of that name erred as pope and publike person in his iudiciall sentence and publicke decree This to be so Alphonsus aboue named is a constant witnes in these expresse words Celestinum Papam errasse circa matrimonium fidelium quorum alter labitur in haerisin res est omnibus manifesta neque hic Celestini error talis fuit qui soli negligentiae imputari debuit ita vt illum errasse dicamus velut priuatam personam non vt Papam qui in qualibet reseria definienda consulere debet viros doctos quoniam huiusmodi Celestina definitio habebatur in antiquis decretalibus in cap laudabilem titulo de conuersione infidelium Quam ego ipse vidi legi That Pope Celestine erred about Matrimonie of the faithful wherof the one is fallen into heresie is a thing so manifest as all men know the same neither was this error of Pope Celestine such that it can bee imputed to sole negligence so as we may think him to haue erred as a priuate man not as Pope who ought in the decree of euery serious matter to aske counsel of learned men For that definition and decree of Celestine was in the old Decretall Epistles in the Chapter Laudabilem which I my selfe haue seene and read Out of these wordes of Alphonsus who was a man highly renowned among the papistes I note many worthy obseruations First that Pope Celestine erred and that not as a priuate man but euen as Pope and publike person Secondly that hee erred in a verie serious matter euen in a matter of faith to wit that Matrimonie was so dissolued by reason of heresie that the faithfull man or woman might marry againe the hereticall partie liuing which thing sayeth Alphonsus was manifest to euerie man to be an heresie And the late Councel of Trent hath defined it to be so Thirdly that this decree and definition of Pope Celestine was in those dayes enrolled in the Popes Decretals Fourthly that Alphonsus saw and read the same Decree Fiftly that the said decree cannot this day be found among the Popes Decretall Epistles Where I wish the Reader to note by the way that the Decrees of our holy Fathers the Popes haue been such and so much against late Poperie that they are ashamed to bring them now to light If any man desire to know the Popes errors more fully let him read my book of Motiues But now it remaineth that I aunswere to sundrie important obiections whereupon the Papistes would build the supposed Priuiledges of their Popes as that their Faith can not faile and such like The decision wherof God willing shal be performed in the Chapter following The Pope therefore in his publique person is no infallible Iudge CAP. IIII. Contayning the aunswere to sundrie obiections by which the Papistes labour to proue that the Popes faith can not faile The First obiection CHrist prayed for Peter that his faith should neuer faile therefore the Bishops of Romes faith cannot faile nor the Pope erre in his iudiciall decrees The Aunswere I say first that Peters faith quailed when he denied Christ swearing that hee knew not the man For these twaine are the chiefe fruites of faith to belieue with the heart to confesse with the mouth And where eyther of these two is wanting there cannot be a right faith For he that putteth away a good conscience maketh shipwracke of his faith I say secondly that Christ prayed aswell for all the elect as he did for Peter I pray not sayth Christ for the world but for them which thou hast giuen me for they are thine Againe he sayeth I pray not for these alone but for them also which shall belieue in me through their word And consequentlie seeing Christ directed not his wordes to Peter as to one priuate man but as to one representing the whole Church it must needs follow that what soeuer Christ did or saide touching Peters faith must perforce bee vnderstoode of the faith of the whole Church Which faith as I haue copiously proued in my Booke of Suruay shall neuer fayle indeed This my aunswere is confirmed in these wordes of S. Austen Quid ambigitur pro Petro rogabat pro Iacobo Iohanne non rogabat vt caeteros taceam manifestum est in Petro omnes contineri quia in alio loco dicit ego pro his rogo quos mihi dedisti pater volo vt vbiego
came I will it not deny that the West and Occidentall Churches did so greatly reuerence the Church of Rome and many times to appease controuersies and dissentions had recourse to it as to the Mother Churche and auncient Nurse of the Faith But for all this they neuer ascribed this prerogatiue to the Bishoppe of Rome that hee could not erre neyther euer did they acknowledge him to be the sole and onely iudge in questions and controuersies of religion This to bee so one onely testimonie will suffice For S. Cyprian an auncient Father a very learned Bishoppe and blessed Martyr although hee greatly honoured the Church of Rome and the Bishoppes therof for respectes aboue mentioned yet was he so farre from acknowledging the supposed prerogatiue of the Bishoppe of Rome that his faith could not faile or that hee was the sole and only iudge in questions and controuersies of religion that hee flatly reiected his opinion contemned his definitiue sentence and derided his iudiciall decree calling him blinde bussarde and arrogant Prelate The controuersie was this whether they which were baptized of Heretiques ought to bee rebaptized or not The mater and Saint Cyprians words are set downe at large in my Booke of Motiues And the matter it selfe is partly already proued in the Chapters afore going and shall bee more fully confirmed in the Chapters following CAP. V. Shewing that Prouinciall Councels may erre THAT Prouinciall Councels may erre euen in matters of Faith it is so cleare and manifest that famous and verie learned Papistes affirme the same to witte Adrianus who was sometime Pope himselfe Iohannes-Gerson sometime Chauncellor of Paris Almainus and Alphonsus both of them renowmed Papistes For they all hold as the Iesuite Bellarmine graunteth that the infallibility of iudgement touching matters of faith resteth solely in the church and generall Councels this assertion being confessed by great learned Papistes were enough to satisfie the indifferent Reader if more could not be said Saint Cyprian assembled in councell togither with fourescore learned bishops defined against the truth that such as were baptized of Heretiques ought to be baptized againe This decree is extant in the first tome of Councels and is this day reputed for a grosse errour throughout the christian worlde The Prouinciall Councell holden at Iconium decreed with Saint Cyprian and his fellow Bishops that rebaptization was lawfully ministred to those that were baptized of Heretiques The Councell of Sardis erred grossely condemning two Catholike Bishops Iulius the Bishop of Rome and Athanasius the Bishop of Alexandria The third Councell of Carthage decreed the Apocryphall bookes of Tobias Iudith Baruch Wisdome Ecclesiasticus and the Machabees to be Canonicall But the Councell of Laodicea which was confirmed in the sixt generall Councell condemned that decree long before it was made and denied the said bookes to be Canonicall The Councell of Varmes decreed that secret theft should be knowne and tried by the deliuerie and receyuing of the holy Eucharist Which is a notorious error and a wicked decree as the great papist Aquinas witnesseth in his Theologicall summe The Councell of Rome celebrated by Pope Stephanus disanulled all orders giuen by Pope Formosus and the Councell of Rauennas called by Pope Iohn disanulled the Actes of the Councell vnder Pope Stephanus In fine a Councell holden at Rome vnder Pope Nicholas decreed and enforced Berengarius to confesse the same that the true body of Christ was broken with the Priests hands and consumed with the teeth of the faithfull And yet is this a notorious error manifest to all the worlde Wherefore the Popish Glosse to saue the credite of the decree of the Pope and Councell if it would bee addeth these wordes for explication sake Nisi sanè intelligas verba Berengarii in maiorem incideshaeresim quam ipse habuit ideo omnia referas ad species ipsas Nam de Christi corpore partes non facimus Vnlesse thou vnderstande soundly the wordes of Berengarius thou wilt fall into a greater heresie then hee had and therefore thou must referre all things to the formes For of Christ bodie no partes are made Loe the Popish glosse saith plainly which is the truth in deed that Christ bodie cannot bee broken or diuided into partes And for all that the Pope with his popish Councell enforced Berengarius to beleeue the contrarie and to cōfesse the same The Apostles words are these Christ being raysed from the dead dieth no more death hath no more dominion ouer him But certes if the true bodie of Christ Iesus be broken in deede and torne in peeces with mans teeth then doubtlesse must it bee corrupted and Christ himselfe must die againe This veritie doth so gall the Papists that the Iesuite Bellarmine who is the mouth of all the Papists is inforced will he nill he to confesse the truth vnawares These are his owne wordes which I wish the Reader to marke attentiuely Certum est semper fuit Christi corpus incorruptibile nunc existens non posse frangi teri nisi in signo siue sacramento ita vt dicatur frangi ac teri cum signum eius id est species panis frangitur teritur Sequitur verum Christi corpus ibi praesens existens frangitur teritur non tamen inse sedin signo It is and euer was certaine and without doubt that Christs bodie now being incorruptible cannot bee broken and torne but in the signe or Sacrament So that it may be said to be broken and torne when the signe thereof that is to say the forme of bread is broken and torne The true bodie of Christ there present is broken and torne yet not in the bodie it selfe but in the signe thereof Thus writeth our Iesuite most Christanly but vnawares agaynst himselfe if his words be well obserued I therefore note first that by Bellarmines owne confession Christs bodie is now immortall and incorruptible I note secondly that Christs bodie can not now bee broken in deed but onely in the signe or Sacrament thereof I note thirdly that Christes bodie is truly said to be broken as our Iesuite affirmeth because the signe of his bodie is truly broken Out of whose wordes and graunt this proposition is inferred of necessity to wit that Christ bodie is truly said to be present to the faithfull and to be truly eaten of them when the signe of Christes bodie is truly present and truly eaten of them Againe it must needs follow vpon the Iesuites grant and exposition of the Romish faith which is a wōder to bee heard that when Christ vttered these wordes to his Apostles this is my bodie his meaning and the true sense of the wordes was this This is my bodie that is to say this is the signe and Sacrament of my bodie The reason hereof is euident because Christes naturall and true body can no more be truely eaten then it can be truely broken And
report in their Writinges are grieuously offended with them because they will not consent to their vnnaturall attempts for inuasions treacheries rebellions most cruell Spanish conspiracies wherein themselues being entangled and plunged ouer head and eares they endeuour to set the Lay-Papistes on like mad dogges to barke bite and deuoure their ghostly fathers and deare friends They terme the secular Priestes Mal-contentes factious seditious irreligious Apostataes yea knaues villaines and rebels forsooth to Prince George Blackwell king Henry Garnet and Emperour Robert Parsons And all this is done for not allowing say the Priests of a Trayterous Archpriest set vp in preiudice aswell of the Church of Rome as of the common Weale of England And no maruel seeing as the said Priestes doe write the Iesuites came into England by the instigation of the Diuell These Iesuites make it an vsual practise to publish scandalous libels and trayterous Pamphlets eyther without names at all or vnder the names of others or at least by such two letters bare lie and nakedly as may bee applied to many indifferently and no wayes to the true authors of the libels In which kind of coggery Robert Parsons the Iesuite whome the secular Priestes terme a notorious lyer a brasen faced Fryer a known cozener a sacrilegious Bastard an incestuous villain a cursed Fairie bratte and bloudthirsty traytor seemeth to excell all others This goodly Fryer Parsons of whose sactimony more at large in my Anotomie of Popish tyranny hath lately published or caused to be published a most scandalous libell against a godly learned and very famous man M. D. Sutcliffe as also against M. Willet a very learned and graue Writer Which rayling Libel the saide worthy men as I heare haue already confuted to the Libellers euerlasting shame and confusion if he doe not repent in time In the saide scandalous libell and ridiculous Pamphlet the Libeller termeth himselfe E. O. like a masked counterfait Companion as he is indeed and doth in the said impudent libell combine my silly selfe to my disparagement as he supposeth with those worthy men But I repute it to my great credite as who freely acknowledge that I am altogether vnworthy to bee coupled with such famous and worthy Writers That which hee imputeth to me may iustly and with al facility be retorted against himselfe as in due place God willing shall appeare CAP. II. Of the resolution and determination of the masked Companion E. O. THE swaggering diuine and hote spurmate E. O. telleth the Reader in his Preface that hee was once determined to haue adioyned me poor soule to the vertuous graue and famous Writers M. D. Sutcliffe and M. Willet but he altered his purpose if wee may beleeue him for these two respectes First for certaine considerations to himselfe well knowne as yee must suppose but may not in any wise be disclosed to the world Secondly because the confutation of my worthy workes as hee scoffingly termeth them is already vndertaken and must bee published if it shall be thought necessary Thus discourseth this counterfeit companion remember well his words Concerning this determination I thinke it very expedient to notifie to the Reader these fiue materiall adiuncts First that I published in Print to the view of the world my booke of Motiues in the yeare 1593. my suruey of Popery in the yeare 1596. and my hunting of the Romish Foxe in the yeare 1598. In the first of these Bookes I offered publike dispute with what Seminarie in England soeuer no one or other excepted whosoeuer protesting in the same worke to proceed so sincerely as if I could by the aduersarie be conuinced eyther to alledge any Writer corruptly or to quote any place guilfully or to charge any author falsly I would neuer require credite at the Readers handes neither in that booke nor in any other I protested likewise in the saide book that if any Papist in England or else where in Europe coulde truely and substantially confute the same I would once again embrace the late Romish religion thogh I did then and still do hate and detest the same as the mortall poyson of my soule Secondly that about two yeares after the publication of my Motiues I did essoones in my Suruey of Popery challenge all English Iesuites and Seminaries to aunswere my said Bookes promising vnfainedlie vnder my hand that if any of them could yeeld a sufficient answere in their defence I would doubtles subscribe vnto his doctrine Thirdly that all Iesuites and Seminaries notstanding all the former challenges haue beene silent aboue eight whole years and neuer yet durst aduenture to frame any aunswere to any one of the saide bookes and to publish the same to the view of the world At the last in the end of the yeare 1602. a shameles Pamphlet and scurrilous libell is published by an odde masked companion who naming himselfe E.O. hath set a broach a rude lying hotch-potch of Omnigitherum I know not well how to tearme it or what to make of it But I hope in God to turn it topsie toruie ere I make an end Fourthly that if the Iesuites or Seminaries could haue framed any true and sincere answere nay any likely or colourable answere to all or to any one of the said Bookes they would haue done it vndoubtedly and that many yeares ago Fiftly that when the said counterfaite E O. beareth the world in hand that now at the last in the yeare 1603. the confutation of the said books is vndertaken he doth but bestirre himselfe with might and maine to dazell the eyes of the simple Readers and of others that shall heare thereof that they may still bee seduced with Popish Legerdemain from time to time and not behold the Sunne shining at noone tide Who all must receyue in the end the iust reward of their folly euen the flappe of a Foxe tayle I proue it by these euident and insoluble reasons First because he saith the confutation must be published if it shal be thought necessary For I pray you is not this a merry iest The Iesuites and Seminarie Priests haue consulted now for the space of eight yeares fully complete and ended and haue all that time deuised how to frame some colourable answere at the least to all or some of the saide bookes and in the end of the yeare 1602. haue vndertaken the confutation thereof but for all that cannot yet tell whether it bee expedient to publish the said confutation or no. Oh sweet Iesus are these men the great Statists of the world are these men the skilfull Polititians that must manage all Europe are these men our learned diuines are these men they indeed vppon whose doctrine and guiding all Lay-Papistes doe depend and on their shoulders doe hang their soules and their saluation doubtles they may preach this goodly sermon to Wisemen and repute themselues for very noddie and starke fooles Secondly because after E. O. and his complices haue tossed and turned volued and reuolued all the parts
of all my books and played all their trickes and fetched all their friscoles their crestes are fallen their spirites rampant are become couchant and all that they can deuise to obiect against mee is nothing else in the world but one silly falsly so supposed contradiction For can any Wiseman thinke if they had any better stuffe which could better serue their turne or giue more credite to their cause or be more likely to satisfie the peoples long expectation that they would conceale it for my sake and the loue they beare to me No no my dearest they meane nothing lesse They will neuer while I liue publish any such confutation Their own consciences condemne them they know they are not able to performe it I would most gladly I protest before God and the world once see any such confutatiō during my life therfore here once again I challenge Robert Parsons that trayterous Iesuite whom I take to be this masked E. O. George Blackwell that seditious Arch-priest as the seculars tearme him and all other English Iesuites and Seminaries whosoeuer and wheresoeuer daring them all to publish the confutation of my saide bookes They are many in number and they busie themselues with publishing other needles bookes Pamphlets and libels and consequently they must of necessitie and will vndoubtedly accept of this challenge now after so many yeares and after so long consultation and mature deliberation aswell for their owne credites sake as for the consolation of their silly seduced Popelinges if they dare take the matter in hand But alas they haue said all they can and done what they were able possibly to performe CAP. III. Of the notorious lies of E. O. POpe Siricius as Thomas Bell affirmeth was seduced by Satā published wicked doctrine and taught the flat doctrine of the diuell These are the expresse wordes of E. O. whom as it seemeth the Diuell did euen then possesse when hee vttered them For not one of these words taught the flat doctrine of the Deuill can bee found in my Suruey in the place which E. O. hath quoted but these wordes which he of purpose did omit prohibited marriage as an vnlawfull thing This therefore is a notorious and a most malitious lye It is a lye in graine and that a knocker to vse his owne words else where adorned with the name of the Diuell to giue the more grace vnto it And that worthily because the Deuill is the Architect and chiefe workeman in that arte and occupation Where I wish the Reader to obserue seriously that my proceeding in all my books hath beene such and so sincere as the aduersaries for the space of eight whole yeares can but espie one onelie falsly so supposed contradiction neyther that but by belying mee and by falsifying my wordes So then it is hereby most apparant to all the worlde that if they had any iust matter agaynst me they woulde load my backe till my bones should cracke This is E. O. his first lie The second lie of E. O. is contained in these his wordes both Bell and Gough giue the lie to maister Sutcliffe denying prayer to Saints to bee auncient and Gough to Bell affirming that it was not knowne till the yeare of our Lord 370. For both Origen and Saint Cyprian liued before that time This is an other notorious lie as shall bee cleared by an euident demonstration I therefore say first that Vitium Scriptoris the negligence ignorance and ouersight of the Printer hath beene often is the cause of many faults extant in my bookes which I note here once for al wishing the reader euer to haue the same in remembrance This is apparant two wayes first because this number of 370. should haue beene 350. as is euident by the sixt Canon Secondly for that the number of 274. in my suruey is otherwise in my booke intituled the hunting of the Romish Foxe viz. 1215. and so the indifferent Reader may easily perceyue that the calumniation and cauill of E. O. proceedeth of meere malice against the truth I say secondly that the famous popish writer Aquinas surnamed the Angelicall doctor will confesse with me against E. O. to his euerlasting shame in this combat These are his expresse wordes Actus morales procedunt a voluntate cuius obiectum est bonum apprehensum Et ideo si falsum apprehendatur vt verum erit quidem relatum ad voluntatem materialiter falsum formaliter autem verum Si autem id quod est falsum accipiatur vt falsum erit falsū materialiter formaliter Si autem id quod est verum apprehendatur vt falsum erit verum materaliter falsum formaliter Moral actes proceede from the will whose obiect is good apprehended And therefore if falshood bee apprehended as truth it being related to the will shall be false materially but true formally But if that which is false be taken as false it shall be false both materially and formally But if that which is true be apprehended as false it shall bee true materially and false formally Againe in an other place the same Author hath these words Si ista tria cōcurrant scilicet quod falsū sit id quod enūciatur quod adsit voluntas falsum enūciandi iterū intētio fallendi tunc est falsitas materialiter quia falsum dicitur formaliter propter voluntatem falsum dicendi effectiue propter voluntatem falsitatem imprimendi Sed tamen ratio mendacii sumitur à formali falsitate ex hoc scilicet quod aliquis habet voluntatem falsum inunciandi Vnde mendaciū nominatur ex eo quod cōtra mentem dicitur Et ideo si quis falsum enunciet credens id esse verum est quidem falsum materialiter sed non formaliter quia falsitas est propter intentionem dicentis vnde non habet perfectam rationem mendacii id enim quod praeter intentionem dicentis est per accidens est If these three things concurre to wit that the thing be false which is vttered and that there be also a will to vtter falshoode and withall an intention to vtter falshood then there is falshood materially because falshood is auouched and there is falshoode formally because there is a will to speake falsly and there is also falshood effectiuely for that there is a will to imprint falshoode in the hearts of others But for all that the formalitie of the lie is deriued from the formal falshoode in that forsooth that one hath a desire to speake falsly Whervpō a lie hath the name of this that it is spoken against the mind And therefore if any man vtter a falshood thinking it to be the truth then is it a lie materiallie but not formally because the falshood is beside his intention that speaketh it and so it hath not the perfect nature of a lie For that which is beside the intention of the speaker is meere accidentall These are
vnderstande the primatiue Church which is most truly and properly called the ancient Church VVhich Church doubtlesse knewe no Popish inuocation of Saintes as I haue proued in my Suruey For aunswere to which booke or to any of the rest published now many yeares ago neither this hote-spurre mate E. O. nor any other English Iesuite or Iesuited Seminarie dare for their lugges encounter with mee So then there is a sweet harmonie but no discord at all in the writings of maister Sutcliffe of maister Gough and of my selfe In an other place this Libeller sayth that I holde auricular confession to haue beene established in the yeare 254. and doe but proue it by my bare worde onely This is a lie with a witnesse For I haue proued it in the second booke of my motiues and that by the testimonie of Iosephus Angles a Popish Frier and Bishop of Bosana euen in the second to me of that worke which he dedicated to the pope himselfe Sixtus Quintus These are the expresse wordes Ante Concilium Later erat Haereticum negare necessitatem confessionis negantes tamen non erant Haeretici Ratio est quia nondum erat ab Ecclesia declaratum Before the Councell of Lateran it was hereticall to denie the necessitie of confession but they were not Heretiques that denied it The reason is because the Church of Rome had not declared it to be an article of faith In the said second booke of Motiues in the ninth Chapter and fift conclusion the Reader shall finde these expresse wordes Albeit popish auricular confession be so magnified with Papists that euerie one is commaunded vnder paine of damnation to beleeue the same as instituted by Christ himselfe yet was it not an article of popish fayth for the space of one thousand and fiue hundred yeares after Christ. These are my expresse wordes in that place Here I heartily desire all people that are careful of their saluation especially such as are deuoted to the Iesuites and I craue it for the tender mercy of God in the bowels of Christ Iesus to marke attentiuely what I shall sincerely deliuer as I will answere God at the dreadfull day of generall doome I therefore say first that the author of this lewde Pamphlet and scurrilous libell intituled the detection of vntruthes who concealeth his name not daring to auouch it to the world but seemeth to be Robert Parsons the Iesuite alias Bastard Cowbucke expelled out of Baliol Colledge in Oxford for his illegitimation libelling and factious dealing who will affirme or denie anie thing as his owne deare brothers the secular Priestes write of him hath incurred the censures of their church and is become an excommunicate person for publishing this lewde libell and slaunderous Pamphlet I proue it because the generall councell of Lateran celebrated in the yeare 1515. prohibiteth vnder the paine of excommunication to print or cause to be printed any booke or scripture whatsoeuer in any Cittie or Diocesse wheresoeuer vnles the same be first diligently examined by the Bishop of the same Diocesse or by his Deputie and subscribed by their owne hand And it will not serue the Iesuites turne to say or pretend for his excuse that the pope hath dispenced with their sect to print bookes and libels at their pleasure For a generall councell hath power to make constitutions which the Pope is bound to obey but the Pope hath no such power ouer the councell to which he is and must be subiect This doctrine is flatly decreed in two famous popish generall Councels Constance and Basill Yet to this day was it neuer heard of in the world that an inferiour could make lawes to tie his superior or by his owne power exempt himselfe or others from the obedience hee oweth to the lawes of his superior I say secondly that this shameles Iesuite must of necessitie condemne himselfe in his own conscience when he sayeth that I affirme auricular confession to haue been established in the yeare 254. and l proue it by an euident demonstration For though I made mention of the time in three seueral bookes to witte in my Motiues in my Suruey and in my hunting of the Romish Foxe yet did I that but obiter in the two latter bookes referring the Reader to my first Booke that is to my Booke of Motiues In which booke I handled the question indeede and decided it by popish approbation there affirming in expresse wordes that Popish auricular confession was not an article of Popish faith for the space of one thousand fiue hundred yeares after Christ. Which number is set down without figures in that place and so lesse subiect to falshood or corruption But in the other bookes the number is put downe in figures and so more easily subiect to alteration especially seeing my self was distant from the Presse well neare two hundred miles I say thirdly that to obiect to me my reuolt from falshood and my returne to God with remorse for mine errours which this libeller recounteth for want of better matter doth nothing else but argue his owne imperfection and insufficiency to defend the matter hee tooke in hand CAP. IIII. Of the finding out of the endes of the Gordian knot I Say first that Gordius as stories doe relate was first a poore husbandman and afterwarde elected to be the king of Phrygia by the oracle of an Idoll who being made king caused his yokes to be hanged vp in the temple of Iupiter and the cordes to bee knit in such knots that it seemed a thing impossible to vntie or loose the same I say secondly that this masked libeller E. O. or if ye will Parsons that trayterous Iesuite seemeth greatly to fauour Gordius his knot because forsooth as Gordius by the helpe of an Idol became of a poore husbandman a mighty Prince so hee by treasonable plottinges with the King of Spaine forsooth one day of a poore Fryer to be made the Viceroy of England For which end he bestirreth himself to deuise such knots of bloudy treacheries as hee thinketh mans power not able to resist or vntie I say thirdly that all the difficultie in vntying this knot consisteth precisely and specially in this because forsooth I say in my Suruey that the Bishops of Rome were godly men till S. Austens time and long after him and yet withall I doe charge Pope Siricius to haue published wicked doctrine and Pope Sozomene to haue falsified the councell of Nice This is the knot that as our Iesuite E. O. thinketh cannot bee vntied If I can find out the endes of this knot a more large subiect saith he must be prouided for my learning to worke vpon A worthy reward of so mighty a Personage for the vnfolding of one silly knot Well I vndertake in Gods name to find out the ends of this knot expecting that E. O. will for his credites sake performe his promise made herein For the clearing of which difficultie and vnfolding of which knot I desire the
gentle Reader to obserue these pointes with me First that it is one thing to publish wicked doctrine an other thing to teach wicked doctrine publikely The case is cleare and euident Sccondly that Ministers of the Church may be called godly men either in respect of their publike doctrine and preaching or in regard of their good life and holy conuersation For this cause did our Sauiour Christ commaund the people to obserue and doe whatsoeuer the Scribes and Pharisies did preach vnto them but not to doe after their works And he added the reason thereof because saith Christ they say do not Lo Christ reputeth the Scribes and Pharisies both godly and wicked men Godly in respect of their publike doctrine wicked in regard of their sinful liues For doubtles Christ did not commaund the people to obey wicked men as they are wicked but as they are godly that is to say as they deliuered godly doctrine to them Euen so do I say of Pope Siricius and Pope Sozimus that they were godly Bishoppes in respect of their publike doctrine as who neyther taught nor decreed publikely any materiall point of doctrine contrarie to the doctrine of S. Peter This aunswere is confirmed by the vsuall practise of all Papistes euery where For they terme euery Bishop of Rome their holy Father the Pope And this notwithstanding they freely graunt as I haue proued in my booke of Motiues that one Pope entered into the Popedome as a Foxe raigned in it as a Wolfe and died out of it as a dogge That an other Pope gaue himselfe to the Diuell that so the diuell might effect his designements They also graunt that euery Pope may erre in his priuate person and become an Heretike an Idolater an Atheist and whatsoeuer els And so they cannot all be termed holy Fathers in respect of their liues or personall doctrine taught priuate lie They must therefore terme them holy in regard of their publike doctrine agreeable to the doctrine of their predecessors though they be very often wicked in respect of their liues and conuersations So were Siricius and Sozimus good Popes secundum quid but not simpliciter Thirdly it is the vsuall course of holy Scripture to speake of many as of all to terme all wicked when the greater part is wicked and all godly when the greater part is godly This is the constant doctrine both of S. Austen and of your renowmed Papist Melchior Canus But because your Cardinall Bellarmine is the mouth of all Papistes I am content to set downe his expresse wordes so to stoppe your mouthes at this time These are your Cardinals wordes Neque mouere nos debet quod Esaias loqui videatur ita generatim vt omnes homines comprehendat Est enim iste scripturae mos vt loquatur de multis quasi de omnibus Neither ought it to moue vs that Esay seemeth to speake so generally as if he comprised all For it is the manner of the scripture so to speake of many as of all I say fourthly that I speake of the Popes vntill S. Austens time and long after not generally but in indefinitely and consequently my words are and must be true notwithstanding the bad dealing of Siricius and Sozimus I say fiftly that 18. Bishops at the Nicene councel were of a different opinion from the rest yet are the decrees termed the decrees of the Bishops ingenerall So in your last councell of Trent the decrees are published vnder the names of the Bishops there and for all that there were three Bishops that would not agree thereunto I say sixtly that the Iesuites and Seminaries are at their wits end and know not in the world what to aunswere to my bookes The reason is euident to euery childe for that now after many yeares they can finde out nothing at all in any of my Bookes sauing one onely contradiction falsly so supposed And yet to make a faire shew of something they haue hudled vp and iumbled together three places far distant one from another Which supposed contradiction if it were as they imagine would be too deare of a button If they could haue picked out of all my bookes any one thing of moment they would not for shame haue published in a printed Booke such a silly obection as this But the truth must preuaile and wil haue the vpper hand I doubt not but all indifferent Readers will be better perswaded hereafter to belieue the doctrine contained in my bookes especially seeing the aduersaries can say nothing against them in so many yeares but onely that I haue contradicted my selfe in saying in one place that the Popes were godly men till S. Austens time and in an other place that two Popes were wicked men For besides that this is so sufficiently cleared many wayes as the indifferent Reader cannot but perceiue the same it must needes bee most apparant to the world that if the Iesuites or Seminarie Priestes could frame any colourable answere to all my bookes or to any of them they would not doubtles passe ouer with silence all the Articles of Popish faith with the confutation therof set downe in my bookes and busie themselues about one onely silly contradiction and that no contradiction indeed but as they falsly or rather malitiously pretend vnto the Reader Where the Reader if he be wise and indifferent must perforce condemne them and their religion in that they dare not aduenture to encounter with my doctrine which doth touch them and their holy father the Pope so narrowly that many perceyuing it haue renounced both him them and their religion And I nothing doubt but these silly euasions and poore shiftes which they are driuen vnto will be a meane vnder God to cause many moe to renounce all Popish faction euery day more then other To shew the insufficiency of the Iesuites and Seminaries and that they know not possibly what to say or how to deale concerning the aunswering of my bookes I haue thought good to insert in this place the wordes of a letter which the Prouinciall of the Iesuites in England Henry Garnet by name addressed to his fellowes being then in consultation how to frame some kind of answere to my bookes These are the expresse wordes of his letter which by a friend of mine came very lately to my hands The wordes of the Iesuite Garnets letter sent to the rest of his fellowes COncerning the answere to the wrangler I am euen as I was before vncertain what were expedient The man desireth nothing but wrangling and besides that which I feare most is that which I haue seene by experience in other his writings that is exceeding and outragious choller Whereby he will be moued to vtter not only al imperfections which he knoweth of our fellowes but also those things which ought to be most surely sealed vp the man being past all grace and shame Neuerthelesse for this matter as you shal al agree for I doubt not but so many and such