deluded admirers is like those Nurses who wanting Milke entertaine their children with rattles bibs some insignificant nourriture In reality there seemes to be as much difference betwixt the spirituall food souls receive in the Catholick Church that of Protestants as there is betwixt the nourriture a child receives sucking a breast stretched with milke that he gets by sucking a moistned finger Which shall be further shewen in the CHAPTER XXXVII No Houses of devotion nor spirituall Bookes Amongst Protestants G. B. p. 145. A tentation to become Papists is the solitary retired houses among them for leading a devout strict life the excellent bookes of Devotion have beene publisht by many of that communion p. 147. I deny not that is the greatest defect of the reformation t at there are not in it such encouragements to a devout life p. 148. It is not to be denyed to be agreate defect that we want recluse houses But it fixeth no imputation on our Church her doctrine or worship that shee is soe poore as not to be able to mantaine such Seminarys ANSWER This is as pretty a sophisme of non causa pro causâ as I have seene As if the small number of Inglish Catholicks were richer then the whole body of Protestants for we have founded many geate familyes of Religious you with all your industry could never settle one There are reasons for your Churchs being soe unsuccessefull in these attempts without doubt as reall tru as that which you give is false it shall be my worke to lay them out before you The first cheifest reason is a Judgment of God Almyghty uppon you forbreaking up dispersing soe many houses of Piety God was served in those houses he was offended with that sacriledge there fore denyes you that Blessing of which you are unworthy A second each one had rather keepe his meanes to himself then see them passe against his will to another lay family for whome he hath nokindnesse If any give it to God Religion they designe it should continue there which cannot be expected in Ingland as long as the memory is fresh of Henry VIII Elizabeth A third the foundation of your Reformation is inconsistent with a superstructure of Religion or living in community together Men cannot live together without a setled rule or order establisht peculiar to that manner of life proper for it Your Reformation is inconsistent with this it teaching to reject all humane injunctions as contrary to Christian liberty When out of that principle you have taught men to despise all decrees even of generall counsils received by the whole Church confirmed by the practice of many ages how can you hope they should esteeme Rules given by moderne new men A fourth your doctrine denying all merits or Reward due to our actions Hopes of advantage encourages us to labour our industry is dulled assoone as those vanish S. Ambrose thinks the Novatians unreasonable who preacht Pennance denyed the fruit of it l. 1. de Poenit. c. 16. Frustra dicitis vos praedicare Poenitentiam qui tollitis lib. 2. c. 3. Merendi gratia Sacramenti ad precandum impellimur hoc auferre vultis propter quod agitur Poenitentia Tolle gubernatori perveniendi spem in mediis fluctibus incertus errabit Tolle luctatori coronam lentus jacebit in stadio Tolle piscatori capiendi essicaciam desinet jactare retia In hopes of arriving at his Heaven the Pilot steeres his ship the wrastler strives in hope to throw his adversary The fisher casts his nets in hope of catching some fish All these would relent were they perswaded the thing they aimed at were impossible How then doe you expect that men should practice good workes when you teach them to hope for no good from them It were indeede to be wisht that men would serve God for God without regarding any reward But that is a perfection all doe not arrive to And even the best are faine to use some other motives A fifth your clergy is utterly unfit to Direct Instruct such houses our workes have a greater influence on our neyghbour then our words S. Hierome thought it incongruous that a man with a full belly should preach fasting And how can a man preach chastity to others who comes himself from the embraces of his wife if he hath one or hath his head full of Amourettes designes to get one if he be a batchelour It is in vaine therefore that you seeke the advantage of those with-drawing places from the noyse trouble of the world to those Devout Solitudes your lives are not fit for them your doctrine is inconsistent with them your past actions have shut that dore of mercy unto you As for Bookes of Devotion The Authour of the Fiat Lux says you have printed severall such composed by ours under your owne names Soe you hang us cherish our writings as the Jews stoned the Prophets canonized their bookes You owne we have many excellent Bookes All the world sees you have scarce any nor can rationally hope for any For He who writes a spirituall Booke ought to aime at two things the first to instruct the understanding with divine eternall Truths The second to move the will to a hatred of sin a contempt of the world to the love of God above all things The first may be an effect of study but the second cannot be attained unto unlesse the Authour be such himself He must as S. John be (a) Io. 5.35 a Burning shining lyght Burne to God by a tru unfeigned love of him Shine to men by the cleere truths which he delivers He must feele with in himselfe those motions which he endeavours to communicate to his Reader Si vis me flere dolendum est primum ipsi tibi A soul possest with hope with feare with joy with greife with love with hatred in fine with any passion doth expresse not only the thoughts but the passion it selfe with tropes proper by which meanes it not only informes the understanding but also stirs the will of the hearer or reader to like inclinations Reade Seneca's epistles or other morall workes or Cicero's you shall find agreate many excellent Truths Yet I never knew any man the better in his morality for them As they themselves notwithstanding those lyghts were farre from being Good men as you may see in Lactantius l. 3. divin Instit from the 13. Chapter On the contrary the reading of Saint's workes hath a greate force to move us to Good S. Austin l. 8. Confess cap. 6. says some were converted by reading the life of S. Antony severall have have taken serious resolutions of leading a Christian life by reading those Confessions And I have knowne Several moved to love mentall Prayer by Reading S. Teresa's workes to the love of God by using those of S. Francis de Sales This is
can heare him The Divine Scriptures are hygh majesticall in the sense simple without affectation in word they are plaine yet in them are hygh Hills which no naturall wit can surmount They are perspicuous yet full of mysterious clouds which baffle the most peircing eye They are all Tru yet S. Austin (c) l. 3. cont Faust c. 2. Piè cogitantes tantae auctoritatis eminentiam latère ibi aliquid crediderunt quod petentibus daretur oblatrantibus negaretur takes notice of some seeming contradictions which cannot be reconciled with our recourse to God the Authour of scriptures Lesse is learnt by study then by Prayer if Prayer be accompanyed with humility The (d) Psal 18. or 19. 7. testimony of God is faithfull giving wisdome to the little ones or making wise the simple as the Inglish hath it And the Author of our faith glorifyes his Father (a) Mat. 11.25 for concealing his mysteryes from the learned wise revealing them to little ones S. Gregory furnishes us with a fit comparison (b) Greg. ep ad Leandrum c. 4. Instar fluminis alti plani in quo Agnus ambulet Elephas natet of a shallow deape river in which a lambe may wade an Elephant swimme That is in it the simple humble find ground to stand uppon which the Proud loose by it are lost The words are plaine easy but the sense sublime hard not to be reacht by humane industry but by Divine inspiration which is denyed to those who rely on their owne abilityes given to such as recurre to God No bookes of the Sybills nor oracles of the Divills or other humane writing can equall Divine Scripture in this point Another character of Divine Scriptures is the force which accompanyes them workes uppon the hart of those who are well disposed which insinuates its selfe into the will enflames it with the love of God breakeing in pieces the stony hart of sinners Art (c) Ierem. 23.29 not my words like fire like a hammer that breakes a Rocke No precepts of Pagan Phylosophers had this energy I will not assure you ever perceived ether of these two qualityes in reading of Scripture in your workes there appeares little signes of ether or of the disposition which they suppose CHAPTER VI. Scriptures Supprest G. B. Pag. 13. Scriptures being the Revelation of the whole counsell of God written by plaine simple men as first directed to the use of the rude illitterate vulgar for teaching them the mysterye of Godlinesse the path of life it is a shrewd indication that if any study to kide this lyght under a candlestick to keepe it in an unknowne tongue or forbid the body of Christians the use of it that those must be conscious to themselves of greate deformity to that rule ANSWER Here you begin your charge of AntiChristianisme against your mother-Church as the charge is false soe in your managing it you mingle many Errours with some few truths A bad cause is not capable of a better defence I will take notice of some of your most considerable slips leave the reader to Judge of the rest That Scriptures were written by plaine simple men is not tru Was Moses such who was learned in all the learning of the Aegyptians Was David the swette singer of Israel a plaine simple man What shall we say of Salomon to whose wonderfull knowledge the Scripture it selfe beares witnesse Amos it is true was but Esayas was not nor Daniel nor Samuel And who ever was Author of the Booke of Job he was certainly far from being plaine simple for in him are found in perfection Phylosophy Astrology Divinity as a queene gouverning them if Caussinus the Jesuit may be beleived as compleate Rhetorick as in any whosoever And as to the Authors of the new Testament as long as S. Paul S. Luke S. John are amongst them you will never perswade the learned part of the world that your speech is not rash inconsiderate But suppose it tru that they were all plaine simple men what then Doth it follow that what they writ is easy to the meanest capacity for that you intend if you intend any thing Doe you not know that these men were only the Scribes of the Holy Ghost that in a scribe capacity of understanding is not necessary but only fidelity in writing No greate science is necessary in a Printer who only Prints what is given him by an Author the Same of a Scribe who writes what is dictated unto him Now all Authors of Canonicall bookes are the Scribes of the Holy Ghost 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 soe their doctrine is to be calculated according to the Meridian of that Divine Spirit not of their qualitys Take the most plaine simple of them all (a) Amos 1.1 the herd man of Thecue reade him over if you say you understand him quite thorough I will say you have confidence to say any thing G. B. pag. 14. The hardests part of Scripture are the writings of the old Testament yet those were communicated to all ANSWER Some parts of the new are as hard at any of the old viz. the Apocalypse some parts of S. Paul's Epistle are hard to be understood (b) 2. Pet 3.16 Likewise Is it not tru that all the writings of the old Testament were made common to all the Israelits The King (c) Deut. 17.18 was indeed commanded to write to himself a copy of the law out of that which was before the Preists the Levits By which it appeares that even Copyes of the law were not soe ordinary Which may be gatheted also out of the 4. of Kings c. 22. there was such astonishment at the finding reading of the booke of the law newly found in the Temple The tencommandments were common the Pharisys Phylacteryes prove it As for the rest it was divided into Parashots sections read unto the People when they met on the Sabboth as you may see Acts 15.21 And in the second of Esdras cap. 8. And the Same custome is still in the Cat. Church which in her service doth dayly reade some of the new old Testament G. B. pag. 14. What paynes are taken by Papists to detract from the Authority of Scriptures how they quarrel its darknesse its ambiguousnesse the genuinesse of its Originalls ANSWER This is a calumny We all unanimously owne Scripture to be the word of God that no untruth can be found in it Out of its darknesse Ambiguity we shew the necessity of receiving its sense from Tradition not sticking to the bare letter of the Scripture without the sense which is to the letter what a soul is to the body G. B. pag. 15. We complaine of Scripture being too much perused ANSWER Another calumny In all our universitys we have masters of Scriptures who in those I know take place of
men are Alexander in a particular booke sent to his mother acquaints her that he by threates had forced out of an Aegyptian Preist this secret that all the Gods which he with the rest of the Pagans adored had beene men This is cited by Athenagoras pag. 31. S. Cyp. l. de Idol vanit S. Austin lib. 8. de Civit. Deic 27. who names the Preist revealer of this secret Leo. This is confirmed by all those who name the severall countrys of their Gods Jupiter of Crete Mars of Thracia Juno of Argos or Samia Diana of Taurica Chersonesus Dercetus or Atergate a cruel lascivious woman mother to Semiramis of Syria Apollo Venus c. of others Countryes What doth all this import but that they were in the opinion of the Pagans men borne buryed as the rest which argument the Fathers doe commonly use More shall becited when we to speake of Jupiter in particular My fourth proofe is taken from the coufessions of the Gods themselves whome the Pagansadored Tertul. Apolog. cap. 23. p 56. Aedatur hic aliquis sub tribunalibus vestris quem à daemone agiconstet jussus à quolibet Christiano loqui spiritus ille tam se daemonem consitebitur de vero quà m alibi Deum de salso Aequè prodncatur aliquis ex iis qui de Deo pati existimantur nisse daemones confessi fuerint Christiano mentiri non audentes ibidem illius Christiani procacissimi sanguinem fundite Bring out before your tribunalls any person evidently certainly possest by some spirit ether habitually permanently such as are called energumens or transiently as those who as they offred sacrifice did their devotions to the Gods were by them for a time possest let a Christian command that spirit to speake the Truth what he is if he doth not truly owne himself to be a Divil not being able to tell an untruth to such an exorcist althô in our absence he boasts of his being God knocke out that impudent Christian's braines Cypr. l. ad Demetrianum pag. 201 O si audire eos velles videre quando à nobis adjurantur torquentur spiritualibus flagris verboruÌ„ tormentis de obsessis corporibus ejiciuntur quando ejulantes gementes voce humanâ potestate divinâstagella verbera sentientes venturum judicium confitentur Veni cognosceveraesse quae dicimus Et quiasic Deos colere te dicis vel ipsis quos colis crede aut si volueris tibi credere de teipso loquetur audiente te qninuncpectus tuum obsedit qui nunc mentem tuam ignorantiae nocte coecavit Videbis nos rogari ab iis quos tu rogas timeri ab iis quos tu adoras Videbis submanu nostra stare vinctos tremere captivos quos tu suspicis ac veneraris ut Dominos Certè vel sic confundi in istis erroribus tuls poteris quando conspexeris audieris Deos tuos quidsint interrogatione nostraÌ„ statim proden praesentibus licet vobis praestigias illas fallaciassuas non posse celare O that thou wouldst buâ— heare see thy Gods when by the Spirituall torments of our exorcismes they are cast out of thâ— Bodys they possest when they are forced to acknowâ—â— ledge the Iugdment to come at the last day Come tâ—â— us experience the Truth of what we say Aâ—â— seing thou adorest thy Gods at least believe thoseâ— thou adorest or if thou wilt believe thy selfe we will force that same spirit which obsesses tâ—â— body blindest they soul with ignorance of Geetruth to speake the Truth to thee Thou shalt see theâ— pray to us to whome thou offrest thy devotious those to feare us whome thou adorest Thou shâ—â— see these tremble as Captives chained by us whom thou bonourest as Lords Certainly thou wilt be â—â— hamed of thy error when thou hearest they Geâ—â— themselves when questioned by us owne whâ—â— they are even in your presence as not able to coâ—â—ceale their kunning wiles illusions And Minutius Felix in Octavio pag. 2â— Haec omnia sciunt plerique pars vestrum ipsodâ— mones de semeptipsis consiteri quoties à nobis toâ—â— mentis verborum orationis incendiis de corponâ— bus exiguntur Ipse Saturnus Serapis Iupiteâ— quicquid daemonum colitis victi dolore quâ—sunt eloquuntur Nec utique in turpitudinem suiâ—nonnullis praesertim vestrum affistentibus mentiuâ—tur Ipsis testibw esse cos daemones de se verum conyâ—â— tentibus credite adjurati enim per Deum perumâ—â— solum inviti miseri c. Most men even many of yur owne know they are nobetter then Divels whome you adore Your Gods Saturne Serapis Iupiter have beene adjured by the name of the tru only God have bin forced out of the bodys they possest confessed themselves to be foule seducing divils And their Confession was to be supposed tru in point of reason For they that were adored as Gods would Never belye themselves into Divels to their owne reproach especially in presence of them that worshipped them were they not forced Thus is that place Inglishedby W.L. Julius Firmicus pag. 20. Ecce daemon est quem colis cùm Dei Christiejus nomen audierit contremiscit It is the Divel whome you adore he trembles when he heares the Name of God and of his Christ In my next section I will cite Prudentius who says the same in his Apotheosi You may find in S. Austin other fathers severall reasons proving those Gods to be Divels cheifely for there promoting vice by encouraging Poets Fables concerning those filthy Acts related to have been committed by them My fift proofe is taken from the testimony of Protestants them selves The Authour of the whole duty of man pag. 138. I neede seake little of the second Commandment as it is a forbidding of that grosser sort of Heathenish Idolatry the worshipping of Idols which though it were once common in the world yet it is now so rare that it is not likoly any that shall reade this shall be concerned in it Could he have sayd this had hâ— not knowne the practice of Papists to be sâ— different from those of Heathen Idolaters Vossius l. 1. de Idolol cap. 18. pag. 139. Omnes Gentium Dii fuerunt homines All the Goâ— of the Pagans were men Godwin l. 4. Antiquity c. 1. Well deserving men were reputed Gods M. Thomas Prat in his Epistle Dedicator of the Hystory of the Royall Society haviâ—â— fayd that generalls of Armys greate Conquerors wereby the Pagans esteemed Heroâ— he addes The Gods Antiquity worship d wiâ—â— Temples Altars were those Who instructed thâ—â— world to plow to sow to plant to bughouses to find out now countryes Mr. G.B. in this very booke p. 16. The heâ— the commonalty of the Idolaters did formal worship the Image p. 23. The souls of decease men were honoured with divine honour I hope E.S. will not refuse the