theime Thus he saieth Augustines ansvver to Pelagius denying scripture for that it made against his haeresy Nec ideo liber sapientiae qui tanta numerositate annorum legi meruit in ecclesia Christi pati debet iniuriam quoniam resistit eis qui pro meritis hominum falluntur rursus omnibus hic liber tractatoribus anteponendus quoniam sibi eum anteposuerunt etiaÌ„ teÌ„poribus apostoloruÌ„ proximi egregij tractatores qui euÌ„ testeÌ„ adhibeÌ„tes nihil se adhibere nisi diuinum testimonium crediderunt in englishe thus It is no reason that the boke of wisdom which so many worlde 's together hathe bene worthy the reading in the Church of Christe shoulde nowe receiue suche wronge at oure handes bicause it plainely resisteth these felowes that exalt mannes merites aboue goddes grace And agayne this booke is of more authoritye then all thexpositours in the worlde for the noble writers hard by the apostles time did muche preferre this booke before theyme selues who alleaging the testimony of that scripture doubted not but they vsed thereby the witnesse of goddes holy worde Euen so must we tel oure masters that it were plaine wrong to discredet the history of the Machabies which hathe bene in our Bible euer sithe Christes time for holy scripture bicause it hathe an euident testimonie against their faulse beleefe concerning the state of the soules departed which booke is not onely better to be beleued then all Caluins faulse gloses but of more authoritye then all holy expositors Owte of whiche booke bothe S. Augustine and others many haue vsed proofe of their matters as of the testimonie of sacred and holy scripture But oure aduersarye learned not this practise of Pelagius onely for it is an oulder sore and a common sicknes to al deuisers of deulishe doctrine as the skyllfull in the Churchies affaires maye acknouledge For sum there were that other wise could not vphoulde haeresy but by the vtter denial of all the oulde Testament as Carpocrates Ceuerus Manicheus Augusti de haeresib 24. haeres Tertul. de praescrip Iren. cap. 26. libr. 1. Euseb eccles histor libr. 4. De haeresi ad quod vult deum 30. heresi But Marcion and Cerdon reiect al together sauing Lukes gospel Nowe Cerinthus and Ebion make counte of none of all the euangelicall histories but the gospell of Matthewe Cerinthus againe and Seuerus woulde haue robbed the churche of the actes of thapostles A secte called Alogiani do refuse the gospell of S. Iohn with thapocalipse Martine Illiricus Caluine and theire companions that no man being but an haeretique shoulde euer oute pricke theime will shoulder with the proudest and lifte out of our bibles the bookes of Machabies with S. Iames Epistle and more when more nede requirethe The wich epistle as allso the epistles of Iohn and Iudas were once doubted of not as conteining any matter wherof the truethe was vncerteyne but as bookes not knowen to be of lyke force as canonicall scripture in the impugning of haeresies or confirming articles of belefe as al workes be til goddes Church haue published they re authoritye The Churches vse in confiâ—matioÌ„ or publishing off the canonical scripture and declared all thinges in theime conteined to be of the same credet that the spirite of god is and of gospel like truethe And by that authority of the churche what booke so euer be allowed thoughe it was not so taken before yet nowe we muste needes accept it sicut vere est verbum dei as the very worde of God And so be these canonicall epistles and bookes of machabaeis as before is declared Here nowe euery man may learne that it is a very daungerous matter to geue lesse creditt to any of these bookes or wauer in any point of faithe writen in theime for suche felowes iudgements that nowe emongest theime haue lefte vs nether oulde nor newe Testament Suche stubborne bowldenesse hadd these willfull men in manteynaunce of mischeuouse doctrine Whose open impudencie was counted handsom conueyaunce of they re scholers and adherents which were very many notwithstanding the catholike Christian men in all agies bothe meruailed and lamented thiere blyndnes And yet doubtlesse it is not much to be woondered at to see that man flatly forsake the scripture of God who is not abasshed to refuse and condemne that sense and vnderstanding of the scripture whiche the whole churche with all her lerned meÌ„ haue euer alowed and counted most holye Well by the strengthe of this pillare we haue chalenged and saued hetherto for all the barking of bandogges the scripture of God with the knoune meaning thereof And so I trust we shall doo stille from the newe aduersaries by the assured promesse of thassistance of Goddes holy spirite which shall leade vs not onely to the true canonicall scriptures with the sense of the same but allso gyde vs in all trueth necessary for oure saluation Let euery man therefore here take hede how he doubtethe of the knoweÌ„ and certayne sense that the Church of Christe by decree of councell or consent of doctors applieth to any scripture least by mistrusting the sayde sense he go forward vnaduisedly from open deniall of the commoÌ„ A necessary vvarning to fownde a priuat meaning of his owne in the stubborn defense wherof when he shall agaynst the truethe malipertly stande he goeth vnloockely forwarde and at th eÌ„d blasphemously reiectethe the blessed worde and sacred scripture of God as we haue proued the auncyent enimies of truethe to haue doon and as in these newe sect maisters we may to our great dolor see Yet lo eueÌ„ these are they that in all agyes as Vincentius saith flye in they re taulke and teachinge ouer the lawe the prophets the psalmes the gospell That crye oute of pottes and pulpittes nothing but goddes worde the booke of the lorde the testament of Iesus Christ Paule scripture as it may be supposed and as in th ende it is proued to dryue owte of doores Paule scripture Testament and Christ too and not to bring in to the peoples heades or hearts the feare and loue of God the holsom preceptes of Paules heauenly preachinge nor the true meaning of any scripture Who being vrged will rather credet a minstrelles ballat then the Machabeis or best booke in the bible But nowe yowe may see that whiles these meÌ„ thought to saue theyr credets by miscredetting the scripture thy haue wroght so wiesely that they haue lost theyr owne credets bothe in this poynt and in all other for euer And as they hoped by deniall of scripture too cloke theyr erroure they haue woon to theime selues the property of an haeretike by open shewe of they re owne folye That the funeralles of the Patriarches bothe in the lavve of nature and Moyses and Christe had practise in theime for the reliefe of the soules departed Cap. 4. NOwe therfore I haue greate hope to trust so muche of all studiouse readers for that loue whiche they
but yet for answhering in summe parte of goddes iustice and perfecte purging of the same sinfull lyefe past oute of all doubte sharply pounishable for these thinges I say and for the stirring vppe of the feare of God in my selfe VVhy this treatise vvas taken in hande the helpe of the simple the defense of the truethe and thabbatyng of this greate rage of sinne and haeresy I thought good to geue warninge moued theruÌ„to by my freÌ„d also to all suche as be not theyme selues hable to searche owte the trueth of these matters of that temporall or transitory poonishment whiche god of iustice hathe ordeyned in the other worlde for suche as woulde not iudge theime selues and praeuent his heuy hand whieles they here lyeued oure forefathers more then a thousand yere sence cauled it Purgatory The truethe and certeyne doctrine wherof I truste throughe goddes gooddnesse so clearely to proue The mattâ—â—â—he first booke that the aduersary be he neuer so greate wythe the deuil shall neuer be able to make any likly excuse of his infidelitye The argument oâ— the secoÌ„d booke And that so doone I shall bothe open and prooue the meanes whiche the Churche of God hathe euer proffitably vsed for the release of her children from the same punishment to be soueraing good and comfortable for the faithfull soules departed And here I heartely pray the gentle reader who so euer thou be that shall fynd iust occasion vndoubtedly to belieue this article of necessary doctryne euer constantly set forthe by the grauest authority that may be in earthe that as thowe faithfully belieues it so thowe perpetually in respecte of the day of that dreadfull visitation studye withe feare and tremblyng to woorke thy saluation Lett that be for euer the difference betwixte the vnfructefull faithe of an heretique and the proffitable belyefe of the true Catholike Christiane that this may woorke assured paenaunce to perpetuall saluation and his vayne praesumption to euerlasting damnation And thoughe the matter whiche I haue taken in hande be nothing fitte for the diet of suche delicate men as haue bene broght vppe vnder the pleasaunt preaching of oure dayes yet perchaunce chaunge of diett withe the sharpenesse of this eagre sawse were iff they coulde beare it muche more agreehable to theire weake stoomaches Truethe was euer bitter Cyp. epist. 3. li. 5. and faulshood flattering For th one by praesent payne procurethe perpetuall welthe thother throughe deceytefull swhetnes woorkethe euerlasting woe But as for these pleasure preachers theyme selues bicause I feare me they haue indented with deathe and shaked handes withe helle what so euer may be saide in this case they wil yet spourne withe the wordes of the wicked Isai 28. Flagellum inundans cum transierit non veniet super nos quia posuimus mendacium spem nostram mendacio protecti sumus Toushe the common scourge when it passethe ouer shall not tutche vs for we haue made lying oure suckoure and by lying are we guarded Yet when the light of the Apostolike traditioÌ„ shal dase theire eyes and the force of goddes truethe beare doune theire bouldnes theire oune blacke afflicted conscience by inwarde acknowledginge that truethe whiche they openly withstande shall so horribly torment theire mindes that denieng purgatory they shal thinke theym selues a lieue in hell But gentle readers pray for theyme with teares Prayer is thonely remedy ageinst vvil full blindnes that god of his mighty grace woulde stricke they re fleshe with his feare And if my poore payne withe the prayers of vs al coulde tourne any one of theime all from the way of wickednesse it woulde recompense doubtlesse summe of our sinnes and couer a nuÌ„bre of my misdeedes And euer whilest we leyue let vs praise God that in this tyme of temptation he hathe not suffered vs to faule as oure sinnes haue deserued in to the misery of these forsakers To whome if I speake sometymes in this treatise more sharplye then my costume or nature requirethe the zele of truethe and iust indignation towardes haeresie with the exaÌ„ple of oure forefathers must be my excuse and warraunt I will be as plaine for the vnlearneds sakes as I may and the matter suffer And therefore nowe at the first I will open the very grounde as neare as I can of so necessary an article that the ignoraÌ„ce of any one piece may not darken the whole cause Desiring the studious to reade the whole discourse bicause euery peculiare pointe so ioyntly dependethe of the residewe that the knouledge of one ordrely giueth light to al the other And so the whole together I trust shal reasonably satisfye his desire THAT OFTEN AFTER oure sinnes be forgiuen by the sacrament of poenaunce there remainethe summe due of temporall pounishement for the satisfying of goddes iustice and som recompense of the offensies past Cap. 1. AS it is most true and the very grounde of al Christian comforte Ephes 1. Haeb. 9. that Christes deathe hathe payed duely and sufficyently for the sinnes of all the worlde August Euch. cap. 65. by that abundant price of redemption paied vpon the Crosse So it is of lyke crediet to all faithful that no man was euer partaker of this singulare benefite but in the knotte and vnity off his body misticall whiche is the churche To the membres wherof the streames of his holy blodde and beames off his grace for the remission of sinne and sanctification be ordrely throughe the blessed Sacraments as condethes of goddes mercy conueyde All whiche Sacraments though they be instituted and vsed as meanes to deriue Christes benefites Marke the grounde of the cause and bestowe his grace of redemption vppon the worthy receiuers yett lyke effecte or force is not by the meaning of they re first author and institutour employed vppon all receiuers nor gieuen to all the Sacraments That may welâ— appeare iff we marke the exceding abundant mercy that is powred vppon all men at theire first incorporation and entraunce into the housholde of the faithfull by Baptisme In whiche sacrament the merites of oure masters deathe be so fully and largely caried downe for the remission of sinne that were the liefe before neuer so loden withe most horrible offensyes that in this misery man may commit yet the offender is not onely pardoned of the same but also perfectly acquieted for euer of all payne or pounishement other then the common miseries of mankind whiche his propper offenlyes before committed by any meanes might deserue And no lesse free nowe then the childe after baptisme which onely originall sinne brought thether So saithe S. Ambrose by these wordes Gratia Dei in Baptismate noÌ„ quaerit gemituÌ„ Super vndec cap. ad Rom. aut planctum aut opus aliquod nisi soluÌ„ ex corde professioneÌ„ The grace of God in Baptisme requirethe nether sorowe nor mourning â–ª nor any other woorke but onely an hearty profession of thy faith Whereby he meaneth that after oure sinnes
33. and in the .xij. booke of the literall exposition on the Genesis where he hathe the same wordes with more large proufe of the conclusion whiche nether agreeth with the state of Abrahams rest nor yet with the forsaken soules And the name of helle is nowe commonly taken for any one of the inferiour partes where God practiseth iudgement for sinne euerlastingly or temporally thoughe as Augustine saithe it can not be founde in plane scripture that Abrahams happy resting place shoulde be termed Hell or Infernum But I nede not seeke forther in the deape mistery of Christes affaires in the inferioure partes For as I am not ashamed to be ignoraunt vpon whom he bestowed the grace of deliuery so with Augustine or rather with Goddes Church I dare belieue that he loused sum vppon whome he exercised iudgement before And forther maye bouldely auouche that as ther were certaine at his coomming doune not vnworthy after longe paines tolerated to be released in his praesens so there be yet some which by mercy and meanes of goddes Churche be released dayly Not of that sorte whiche died oute of Goddes fauour Bernard ser de s Nicolao Quibus clausa est ianua misericordiae omnis spes interclusa salutis Vppon whome the doore of mercy and the hope of helthe be closed and shutt vp for euer but of the iust departed in faith and piety and yet not fully pourged of all corruption of iniquity Let thenimyes of Goddes truethe comme now and deny if they can for shame that Goddes iustice for sinnes remitted reacheth not sometimes to the placies of poonishement in the nexte liefe let theime withe purgatory rase vp the fathers resting place so plainely set fourthe by scripture beleued of the whole Church and alwaies tought by the holy fathers Yea let theime that will hauno pleace for sinners fiende with blasphemy hell like torments for Goddes oune Sonne with the damned spirites My hearte surely will scarse serue me to report it and yet cursed Caluine was not a fearde to write it and with arrogant vauntes ageynste the blessed fathers to auouche the same That miserable forsaken man sawe that the onely graunt of the oulde fathers poonishmēt by the lacke of euerlasting ioy might of force drieue him to acknowledge that God sometimes exerciseth his iustice vppon those whiche he loueth in the next liefe and so consequently that Purgatory paines might be inferred therevppon therefore he fel hedlong to this horrible blasphemy Caluins blasphemy vpon the article of Christes descention that Christe went not to lowse any from the paines of the next liefe but to be pounished in hell with the deadly damned him selfe for to amend the lacke of his passion vppon the Crosse O oure cursed time O corrupte conditions this beaste writeth thus ageinst oure blessed sauiours death and ageinst the sufficiency of the abundant price of our redemption and yet he lieueth in mannes memory yea his bookes be greedely redde redde Nay by suche as woulde be counted the chiefe of the cleargie and beare bishops names they are commaunded to be redde and the very booke wherein this and all other detestable doctrine is vttered The haeretikes priuely sett forth by bookes that vvhiche they dare not openly preach especially by theire authoritie commendid to the simple curates study that they might there lerne closely in deuilishe bookes suche wicked haeresies as the preachers theime selues dare not yet in the light of the worlde vtter nor maintaine But other be not so farre faullen therefore they must of reason confesse that God by iust correction hathe before Christes coomming visited in the next worlde many hundred yeares to gether the sinnes of those whome he dearly loued Althoghe not onely in all that time the soules of the holy Patriarches felt the lacke of the abundant fruition of the Maiesty but also for sin they bothe then in rest Excepting som that by peculiure praerogatiue haue alredy receyued theire bodyes and nowe in vnspeakable foelicity want till this day the increase of ioy and blesse that by the receiuing of there bodies yet liyng in doust they are vndoubtedly suer of Therfore it is ouer much praesumption to limit the maiesty of God in the gouernement of his owne creatures to the borders of our shorte liefe and allmost it toucheth his very prouidence withe iniury to say that he letteth him skape withoute poonishement for his sinnes that repented not till the houre of deathe as for whome he hath no skourge in the next liefe as he had here if deathe had not preuented his purporse These childishe cogitations can not stand with the righteousnesse of his will that for the first sinne committed doothe not onely pounishe many euerlastingly of the forsaken sorte but also for the same poonisheth bothe his best beloued in earthe and for a time abbatithe the foelicitye of the blessed Sanctes in heauen But I will not stray after these men My matter is so fructfull that I may not roue And thoughe the sectes of these dayes haue so infected euery branche of oure Christian faithe that a man can not well ouerpasse theyme what so euer he taketh in hande yet I will not medle withe theime no forther then shall concerne the quicke of oure cause and the necessary light of our matter That the practise of Christes Churche in the courte of binding and lousing mannes sinnes dothe lieuely set fourthe the ordre of Goddes iustice in the next liefe and prooue Purgatory Cap. 3. THis being then prooued that God him selfe hathe often visited the sinnes of suche as were very deare vnto him let vs nowe diligently behoulde the graue authority of lousing and binding sinnes and the courte of mannes conscience whiche Christe woulde haue kepte in earthe by the Apostles and Pastours of our soules where we neade not doubt but to finde the very resemblaunce of Goddes disposition and ordinaunce in poonishing or pardoning offensies For the honoure and poure of this ecclesiasticall gouernement is by especiall commission so ample Note that it conteineth not onely the preaching of the ghospell and ministery of the Sacraments but that whiche is more neare to the mighte and maiesty of God and onely aperteynethe to him by propriety of nature the very exacte iudgement of all our secret sinnes with lousing and binding of the same Ioan. 5. For as God the father gaue al iudgement to his onely Sonne so he at his departure hense to the honour of his spouse and necessary giding of his people did communicate the same in most ample maner as S. Chrisostom saithe to the Apostles and priestes for euer that they practising in earthe terrible iudgement vpō mānes misdedes might fully repraesent vnto vs the very sentence of God in poonishement of wickednesse in the worlde to coome Lib. de sacer 3. The princes of the earthe haue poure to binde too but no further then the body but this other saith he reachethe to the soule it selfe and practised
with owt doubte ther is none at al. Yff S. Augustine had but saide belike there is no suche meane place in the lyefe folowing mary sir then they might haue picked more matter of their infidelity and yet of that speach determining no certeinty there had bene no greate cause why they shulde haue forsaken the iudgement of Goddes Churche But nowe he so doubteth that he fyndeth more cause to thinke there should be one then that any man might gether vpō his wordes that ther should be none at all No nor he neuer went so farre good reader as to make any doubte of Purgatory paynes for poonishment of sinnes committed in the worlde For in all the same bokes where he hathe the lyke saing and allmost in the very same places he houldeth as a matter of faithe and to be beleued of all Christen men that the prayers of the lieuing doo release som of theire paines in the next liefe And he constantly as all other Catholikes euer did confesseth that the sinnes or vncleane workes of the liuing not duely by paenaūce wyped away in this worlde must be mended after oure deathe all thoughe it be very doubtefull in dede whether there be any worldly affections lefte in mannes mynde vntaken vppe by death and resolution of the body and the soule the care and remembrance wherof might be afterward by sorowe bothe purged and poonished And this to be his meaning and that he termeth here purgatory the griefe whiche a man hathe in losing that whiche he loued in this mortall liefe his owne wordes testifye in euery off those workes in whiche he kepeth this combate with Origenistes Lib. 21. de Ciuit. 26. In one place thus Quod sine illicienti amore non habuit sine dolore vrente non perdet ex earum rerum amissione tantum necesse est vt vrat dolor quantum haeserat amor That which by tiklinge loue was kepte can not be loste with oute burning grefe And looke howe fast the loue of suche thinges did cleaue to mannes mind so farre must sorow burne Ca◠So in the like talke with the saide Origenistes in his booke de fide operibus he foloweth the same signification of Purgatory Haec igitur saith he qnoniam affectu dilecta carnali non sine dolore amittuntur qui sic ea habent in eorum amissione passi detrimentum per ignem quendam doloris perueniunt ad salutem these thinges being by carnall affection loued be not lightly lost with oute grefe and therfore those that thus be affectionate fele losse in parting from theime and so coom to saluation throughe the fyer of sorowe ▪ suche a sadnesse the yonge man that demaunded of our maister the waie to heauen conceiued streght Matth. 19. when motion was onely made of distributiō of his gooddes Who being otherwise in the state of saluation and to be borne with all bicause he was a iuste man and lacked not the foundation of his faith yet the very losse or leauing of his gooddes was vnto him if he cōtinued in that affection a wonderful greate torment and as S. Augustin here calleth it a kind of purgatory the which perfect mē that aesteme al the trasshe of this worlde as durte and donge to winne Christe feele not at all whome the doctoure supposethe therfore to take no damage in the losse of thinges whiche they so litle loued Nowe in euery place where this exposition is founde as I think it is neuer in al his workes lightly but in conferēce with the Origenistes he alwaies addeth that the like fire of sorow may also correct the affectiōs euē of the departed but yet whether it be so or no he coūteth it a quaestiō of probable disputation rather thē any matter of faith ▪ as it is in dede very doubtful whether any such vnordinate affectiō may remaine vntakē vppe after mannes departure which by grefe and sorowe in the other worlde may be in time wholy consumed And further he neuer doubted For in that famous worke of the City of God withe in two chapters of that doubte made of this kind of purgation whiche we now haue declared Cap. 24. li. 21. he vttereth his faithe withe Goddes Churche off that greate torment and iust poonishement of sinfull liefe not sufficiently purged by poenaunce in oure time whiche he calleth the Amending fire and thus he saithe there Tales etiam constat ante iudicij diem per paenas temporales quas eorum spiritus patiuntur purgatos receptis corporibus aeterni ignis supplicijs non tradendos cae It is certeine saithe he Constat whiche is no worde of doubtefullnesse that suche men being purged by the temporall paines whiche theire soules do suffer before the day of iudgement shall not after they haue receiued theire bodies ageine be committed to the torment of the euerlasting fire This he vttereth in the same place where he doubteth of the other kinde of purgation Vide quaest 8. ad Dulcitium as he cōfessethe him selfe to be vncertein of the whole exposition refusing none at all that were agreable to faithe and woulde not helpe the falshood whiche he then refuted In his Enchir where he disputeth ageinste the same erroure Cap. 110. he so little doubteth that he calleth Purgatory damnation thoughe not perpetuall as that whiche might be bothe eased and vtterly remoued by the sacrifice and suffragies of the Churche And thus did that graue author withstand Origen then whose folowers wer as it may be thought very busy and trooblesom in those daies and long after But yet his sure staffe ageinst that erroure was this and the most common defense of all Catholikes that the temporall paines in the next world coulde neuer deliuer the great and greuous sinners that died with oute repentaunce or remission of theire sinnes from euerlasting death bicause that torment was praepared for the smaule offenseis whiche we call venial sinnes by whiche the holy Apostle ment vnder the names of the base substances off woodde hay and straw Ser. 4. de sanctis as these wordes of muche importaunce may wel declare There be diuerse saithe he that misconstruing these wordes of S. Paule before aleaged by ouer vaine security and confidence deceiue theime selues beleuing that if they do build capitall and greuous crimes vppon the fundation whiche is Christ they shall be pourged throughe fire and theyme selues afterward escape to euerlasting liefe but this vnderstanding good brethern must be corrected For those that so flatter theime selues shamefully do begile theime selues For that fiere whiche the Apostle speaketh of in these wordes He shall be saued through fier pougeth not mortal sinnes but smauler offensies onely To this purpose S. Hieroms wordes or the reuerēt Bedes whether you will for ether of theire graue authorities shall serue my turne doo wholy agree in the exposition of this sentence Mortuo homine impio non erit vltra spes In Cap. 11.
thowe so careful for wasting away in thy purgation what shal become of vs where all is drosse and no fine substance so continual sinning and so little sauluyng where the dignity of priesthood wherby thowe conceiued suche comforth is almost worn away his feare was so harty and his meditation of purgatory paines was so ernest that he conceyuith a doubt in respecte of his desertes of wasting away and further castinge in to damnation though he knewe right wel that man admitted to the temporall iudgement of the next worlde coulde not euerlastingly perishe but bicause the paines of the one is so lyke the other the greefe of theime bothe lightly occupieth mannes mynde at once especially where mannes case is doubtefull and often deserueth the worse of the twayne So S. Augustine lykewise after that he had vttered his feare of helle in the prophet Dauids person as I sayde once before streght he adioynethe his request vnto God to saue him from Purgatory paines by the Prophets wordes allso I will recyte his mynd in English In psal 37. O Lorde amend me not in thy anger but pourge me in this lyfe that I may escape the Amending fire whiche is praepared for suche as shall be saued throughe fire And why but bicause they buylde vpon the foundation woodde hay and strawe ▪ men might builde goulde siluer and praeciouse stones and so escape bothe the fyres th one off aeternall poonishment for the wicked and the other whiche shall correct theyme that must be saued through fyre But nowe bicause we reade that he surely shal be saued Note here Christian reader vvhether S. Augustin doubted of purgatory as the lying and vnlerned aduersaryes vvoulde make the simple people belieue therfore that fier is not much regarded And yet let theime be boulde of this that though they be saued by fier it shall yet be more fearse and greuous then any thing that man may susteine in this liefe thoughe bothe Martirs and malefactours haue suffered straunge tormentes Againe in an other place the same holy doctoure vttereth the like saing Whiche I will repeate also that the worlde may behowld the vniust dealing of the contrary part De vera falsae poeniten Cap. 18. that in the booke of theire excuse why they departed owte of the Churche they call it theire Apologie be not ashamed to auouche that S. Augustine sometimes denyed and sometimes doubted of Purgatory Thus he writeth then ageinst suche deceiuers and for the defense of him selfe and the Churches faithe Sed si etiam sic conuersus euadat vitam viuat non moriatur non tamen promittimus quod euadet omnem poenam Nam prius purgandus est igne purgationis qui in aliud saeculum distulit fructum conuersionis Hic autem ignis etsi aeternus non sit miro tamen modo est grauis excellit enim omnem poenam quam vnquam passus est aliquis in hac vita Nunquam enim in carne inuenta est tanta poena licet mirabilia passi sunt martyres multi nequiter iniqui tanta sustinueruut supplicia Studeat ergo quilibet sic delicta corrigere vt post moreem non oporteat talem poenam tolerare Yff a sinner saith he by his conuersion escape death and obteine liefe yet for all that I can not promesse him that he shal escape all paine or poonishmēt For he that differred the fructes of repentaunce till the next liefe must be perfyted in Purgatory fier And this fire I tell yowe thoughe it be not euerlasting yet it is passing greuous for it dooth farre excede all paine that man may suffer in this lyefe Neuer grefe in this flesh coulde be so greate as it thoughe Martirs haue abiden straunge tormentes and the worst sort of wicked men exceding greate poonishments Therfore let euery man so correcte his owne faultes that after his deathe he may escape that pityfull payne So farre S. Augustine By whom we see not only the trueth of our our Catholike doctrine lyuely and vehemently set forth butt to the greate feare of vs all the weght of Goddes sentence and the paine of that vntolerable poonishment as the Churche of his time taught and beleued to passe all mortall and transitory wo in the worlde Wherof The paines of purgatory hath bene reueled to many holy persons it hathe pleaced allmighty God sometimes to geue man a taste by calling summe one or other aboue the common rase of nature oute of this mortall liefe and speedy restoring him from the state of the departed to the company of the lyuing againe Whiche worke thoughe it be straunge in nature thought vnlykely to misbeleuers and contemned of such as woulde extinguishe the spirite of God 1. Tessal 5. yet it hath ben the vsuall practise sence the beginning of oure faithe and religion off the holy Gost so to trade mannes fraylty in faithe and feare of Goddes Iudgements Somtimes the liuing is in traunce or sodden chaunge by Goddes omnipotency taken vppe to the vewe as it weare of the vnspeakeable treasures of the praepared ioyes or extreme calamities of the world to coom So was the Apostle S. Paule he could not tell how him self 2. Cor. 12. called to the behoulding of Goddes maiesty and mysteries vnspeakeable Apocal. 20 So was S. Iohn in spirit caused oftē to behould and praesently in a maner to see not only the affayires of goddes Church til the worldes end but also the happy Seate of the lābe the aeternal ioy of thelect and the euerlasting lake of the damned with the infinite sorowe of all the forsaken sorte And so haue many one sith that time in the same spirite had a praesent taste of all those iudgements whiche by any meanes through the vnsercheable ordinaunce of God be praepared for sinners Ecclesi 46 1. Reg. 28. Sometimes also by the same force of the Spirite the departed haue appeared emongest the lieue as Samuel the prophet to king Saul vttering thinges to coom Or if that were not Samuel him self bicause that practise of vnlawfull artes may be thought not conuenient for the procuring of the Prophettes owne persons appirition Matth. 17. yet Moyses was in dede personally praesent with Christ in the Mounte at his trāsfiguration And as he at Christes cal came frō the dead owte of the bousom of Abrahā so did Elias at the same time coom frō Paradise as S. Augustin affirmeth and wer both conuersant and in talk with Christ and in the sight of the Apostles at once frō whense they departed att Christes appointement Intercourse betvvixt the liue and dead though it be not ordinary yet it is not impossible to theire seuerall abode and rest againe Whereuppon the same holy doctoure confesseth that these rare and meruelous workes of god though they folow not the common order of nature yet they be nether impossible nor vnpractised in Christes Churche Alij sunt saith he limites humanarum rerum alia diuinarū signa
the like is nowe before proued Call vpoÌ„ theim and aske theim in earnest because it lieth vpon thy saluation whether thowe muste geue any credet to the perpetuall agreement and consent of all auncient doctors If they saye yea desire theime to answer first to all these placies so euidently confirming oure purpose that they can not abyde any clowde or couer of mannes sutteltye for theire shifting to any forged sense If they can not yet let theime alleage sum place of any auncient writer theime selues whiche doo expressely denye purgatory or praiers for the deade as we for they confirming thereof haue doone in plaine termes with owte crafte or colour many If they be not able to doo so much yet go further withe theime aske theyme whether they haue any expresse wordes in scripture that denie praiers to be proffitable for the dead not by a fonde gesse of theire own heades corrupt coÌ„sciencies or praeiudicate mindes expouÌ„ded to that prupose but I say by expresse wordes or at least which is liberty enoughe expounded for that meaning by any one man of all the antiquitie If they can alleage thee but one worde of scripture construed of any one I say in all agies to confirme theire vnderstanding to be currant and not framed for theire phantasy to serue the necessity of theire cause be bould to folow theim I would not put theime to the paines to make discourse throughowte all agies churches tymes and doctors as we haue doone but onely let theime to kepe theire credet and scholars and to saue theire honesties bring but one or two of all that euer wrote in the compasse of Goddes Churche and thowe maiste with lesse daunger and better reason folowe theire doctrine But there is no one suche place I assure the good reader neither in scripture doctour nor councell nor contrye nor age sith the world begaÌ„ I wil go so farre in this point where ther was euer stepp of any true worship of God there was praier fownd for the dead also They can not shewe me any forme of ministration in the Christian worlde that was approued whiche hath it not expressely if it be knowne that it was in deede the seruice of any auncient Churche not corrupted by theime selues The same I dare be boulde to auouche for the lawe of nature and Moises bicause it is proued already All theire bragging of thexample of the primitiue Church the massies of other contryes of the doctors of the scriptures of the councelles is but an vntollerable delusioÌ„ and abuse of the simplicity of such as be not skilfull in the authors whome they name For when the matter comes to an isshue when they be harde houlden ether in this or in any other matter theÌ„ the doctors whome they chalenged before the simple for theire partakers were but men then they might erre then they haue learned onely to credit the holy scriptures then there is nothing but goddes worde and booke with theime which elles full faine would haue the doctors consent out of whome it were but a meane place which they would not alleage for theire purpose if it might be fownde Then if deniall of all the doctors iudgements serue not theire turne In accusationem ipsarum scripturaruÌ„ conuertuntur they will not stick bowldely to condeÌ„ne the holy scriptures with all Irenaeus Lib. 3. Ca. 2. But if yowe thinke that I feane of theyme yowe shall see what shameful shiftes the maisters and captaines of the contrary assertion haue deuised for the defense of theime selues I dare say if the studious be but any whit indiffereÌ„t he will leaue their schoole for euer The chiefe Capitane of all these contentious heades lyke an vnshamefast childe affirmethe that the doctors praised and folowed the common errours of the ignorant people in allmose and praiers for the departed Brentius answerethe that Tertulian making mentioÌ„ of yearly oblations for the deceased In confessione VVittenber tooke his error of the hethen vsage of the gentility And Augustin he saithe affirmed purgatory praiers and almose for theime for thaffiance that he had in mennes merites towardes the remission of sinnes In Apologia Melancthon as thoughe he were no man that might erre him selfe saithe the doctors were meÌ„ and discented emongest theime selues As for the vsage of any celebratioÌ„ in the world what roume caÌ„ it haue with these champians Instit de Coena when Caluin coÌ„fesseth in plaine termes that the celebration of the Sacrament hathe bene contaminated euen in a maner sithe the apostles tyme and first planting of our religion and to reduce it to the puritie againe the man frames a newe one of his owne so farre from superstitioÌ„ that it hath no steppe of religion or true woorship of God But well the worde of God it yet safe with theyme there a man may houlde theyme No surely they are as saulsy with the very scripture it selfe when so euer it makethe against theime Brentius before named is not ashamed to saye that he pardoneth the author of the Machabeis of his errour and ignoraÌ„ce And that thowe may see the perfect image of a prowde haeretike Caluine saithe thus as for the booke of the Machabeis I will not vouchsalfe to make answer to it Mercifull God what faithfull hearte or eare coulde abide these blasphemous tonges who of vntolerable arrogancy doo so deface the examples and doctrine not onely of the pillours of the whole Christian Churche whome they impudently for lacke of a more reasonable answere condemne not onely of simple ignoraunce and errour in this point with the residew of the whole faythfull people which surely is ouer muche to say of suche lerned and godly men as they were but allso of wilfull errour and superstition in bearing and maintenaunce of the common ignoration and ethnike persuation of the worlde in theire daies and following the heathen vsage of the gentilitie And yet not content therwith these lying maisters of theire meere mercy be coÌ„tent to offer a pardoÌ„ to the author of that booke for his error which booke the whole catholike Churche of God throughe oute Christiandom taketh for canonicall scriptuture Which arrogancy and passing bowldnesse allthough I persuade my sellfe no vertuous man will in theyme alowe sith they nowe being put to they re shiftes vtterly doo condemne those fathers whose names with great oftentation they often to the simple repeate to make theyme suppose they be not with oute scripture or doctors for the proufe of theire wilfull heresies yet eueÌ„ the very answer it sellfe which they imagine her in to disgrace the doctors and delude the ignoraunt is contrary to it sellfe in sundry points For they one while affirme that S. Augustine and others allowed that erroure which the people by their superstious deuotion hadde before they re tyme broght in to the prayers of the Churche and â—n other while that Iudas Machabaeus did institute it who was before these â—uthors diuers hundereths of yeares
turne home to vs ageine I my selfe seeke no further credit at thy hādes but as a reporter of the antiquity But the scripture requireth thy obedience the Churche whiche can not be deceyued clameth thy consent all the owlde fathers woulde haue the ioyne with theime in they re constāt belefe Yf thow did once feele what grace and giftes were In populo graui ecclesia magna in the graue people and greate Churche as the Prophett termeth Goddes howse or coulde conceiue the conforte that we poore wretchies receiue daily by discipline and perfect remission of oure sinnes which can no where but in this howse be profitably healed thowe wouldest forsake I am sure all wordely welthe and wantons abrode to ioyne with oure Churche ageine And that the name of the Church deceiue the not this is the true Churche saith Lactantius In qua est religio Lib. 4. Cap. 30. de sap confessio poenitentia quae peccata vulnera quibus est subiecta inbecillitas carnis salubriter curat In whiche deuotion confessiō and poenaūce wherby the woūdes of mānes frailty are profitably cured be founde FINIS PRIORIS LIBRI THE SECONDE BOOKE INTREATING OF THE PRAYERS AND OTHER ORDINARY reliefe that the Church of Christ procureth for the soules departed THE PREFACE OF THIS Booke vvherein the matter of the treatise and the ordre of the Authors proceading be briefely opened WE haue now taried very longe in the consideration of Goddes iustice and mighty scourge not only for the euerlasting outcastes but also for the exacte trial of the chosen childrens wayes The behoulding whereof must neades ingender som sorowe and sadnesse of minde and with all as it commonly happeth in oure frailety a certaine bitter taediousnesse bothe in the writer and the reader 2. Cor. 7. thoughe for my parte I will say with S. Paule that it greueth me neuer a whit that I haue in my tallke geuen yowe occasion of sadnesse being assured that this praesent grefe may woorke perfect poenaunce to vndoubted saluation But the wearinesse of that roughe part which might bothe by the weight of the matter and allso by my rude handeling quickely arise to the studious reader I shall in this booke wholy wype away not by arte or pleasaunt fall of wordes whiche in plaine dealing is not much requisite but by the singulare comforte of oure cause In the continuall course whereof we shall ioy more and more at the behoulding of Goddes passing mercy in remission of sinnes and mitigation of the paines whiche iustice enioyned For nowe we must talke howe the fyry sworde of Goddes ire may be turned from his people Whiche Ambros as one of the fathers truely saide beareth a great shewe of vengeaunce and iudgement bicause it is named a fyry sworde but yet knowē withall to be a tourning sword that is gladius versatilis Rupert in 3. c. Genes it shall geue greate cause of comforte againe O sapientes saith deuoute Damascene ad vos loquor scrutamini erudimini quia plurimus est timor Dei domini omnium sed multò amplior bonitas formidabiles quidem minae In orat pro defunctis incomparabilis autem clementia horrenda quidem supplicia ineffabile autem miserationum suarum pelagus Thus he speaketh of Purgatory and mercy O yowe of the wise sorte to yowe doo I speake searche and learne A comparison off the mercy and iudgement off God tovvardes the soules in Purgatory ▪ and that mercy is more that the feare of God the Lorde of all thinges is maruailous muche but his goodnesse farre ouerreacheth it His threatning exceding feareful but his clemency vncōparable the praepared poonishmēts doubtlesse horrible but the bottōlesse sea of his mercies is vnspeakable so saide he Therfore if our sinnes forgeuen were neuer so greuous or oure vicious lyfe so farre wasted in idle welth that space of fructefull poenaunce and opportunity of well woorking by the nightes approching and oure Lordes sodden calling be taken away in whiche longe differring of oure amendement heuy and sore execution must neades for iustice sake be done yet lett vs not mistrust but God measureth his iudgement with clemency and hath ordeined meanes to procure mercy and mitigate that sentēce euē in the middest of that fyry doongion that the vessels of grace and the redemed flocke may worthely sing bothe mercy and iudgement to oure gracious God who in his angre forgetteth not to haue compassion nether withdraweth his pity in the middest of his ire Psal 76. For this imprisonment endureth no longer then our debtes be paide this fyre wasteth no further then it findeth matter to consume this discriet and wise flame as som of the fathers before termed it chastiseth no lōger thē it hath cause to correcte Yea oftē before this fyre by course of iustice can cease God quencheth it with his sonnes bloude recompenseth the residew by oure maisters merittes The motions off Goddes mercy In releasing or mitigation of the payne of Purgatory and accepteth the carefull crie of oure moother the Churche for her children in paine The memorie off Christes death liuely and effectually settfourth in the soueraigne misteries vpon the Altare in earth entereth vpp to the praesence of his seate and procureth pardon in heauen aboue The merites of all sanctes the praier of the faithefull the woorkes of the charitable bothe earnestly aske and vndoubtedly finde mercye and grace at his hande For of suche the Prophet Dauid asketh Nunquid in aeternum proijciet Deus aut continebit in ira sua misericordias suas Psal 76. Will God caste theime awaye for euer or will he shutte vpp his mercy when he is angrie No he wil not Li. 1. de poenit Cap. 1. so saith S. Ambrose Deus quos proijcit non in aeternum proijcit God casteth of many whome he doothe not euerlastingly forsake Then let vs seeke the wayes of this so mercyfull a Lorde that we may take singulare comforte therin oure selues agaynst the day of oure accompte and indeuour mercyfully to helpe oure deare bretherne so afflicted lest if we vse not compassion towardes theime we iustly receyue at Goddes hande for the rewarde of oure vnmercyfulnesse iudgement and iustice with owte mercy The cruell aduersary of man kynde as before he wrought his woorste against Purgatory so here he busely pricketh forward the schoole of protestantes to improue to theire owne vtter damnation and the notable hinderaunce of oure louing bretherns saluation all suche meanes as God by scripture or other testimony of his worde hathe reueled to be proffitable for thabating of payne or the release of the apoynted poonishment in that place of temporal tormente to com Against whiche deceiuers I meane by Goddes helpe in this ordre to trauel First I will proue that sinnes may be pardoned or the debt and bond thereof released in the next worlde then I shal shewe what meanes the holy scripture approueth or thexample thereof a
warraunteth to be proffitable for the soules departed A briefe note of the contētes and principall poyntes of this booke I will open what the principall pillars and in a maner the flowre of all the faythfull sorte in sundry a gies and allmost in all Christian contryes haue lefte in writynge for this poynte I wil declare what they practised for theire dearest frendes priuately and what the churchies of most notable Nations vsed for all deceased in Christes faith in theire publike seruice oppenly I shall prooue vnto yowe that the practise of suffragies and Sacrifice for the deade isshued downe to vs from the Apostles dayes I shall poynte yowe to the firste father of the contrary doctrine and his principall abettours in suche troublesom tymes as suche marchants were to be fownde Ye shall see theym knowen emongest all the holy of theire tyme by the name of haeretikes Yowe shall see theire doctrine improoued and theime selues condemned by the graue iudgement of Councelles bothe Generall and prouinciall for haeretikes Yf any of theime all can say any thing to the contrary off that whiche we vpon so good growndes maynteine he shall be answered with no worse then the very wordes of the holy auncyent writers Finally yf any other thinges be necessary besyde for the declaration of this matter to the simple or for proufe ageynst oure aduersaryes they shall not be omitted as occasion by course and fall of the matter may be geuen All which poyntes being auouched and not proued shall condemne me of arrogancy But bothe auouched and fully proued they shall deserue any reasonable mannes consent and beare testimony of the aduersaryes impudēcy here and witnesse of theire contempte of Goddes approued trueth in the world to coom That there be certayne sinnes vvhiche may be forgeuen in the nexte lyefe and that the deserued poonishement for the same may be eased or vtterly released before the extreme sentence be to the vtmost executed Cap. 1. ANd first that sinnes may be pardoned in the next world that were not in this lyfe forgeuen oure Sauiours owne wordes do teache vs writē in the Gospell of S. Matthew thus Ideò dico vobis omne peccatum blasphemia remittetur hominibus spiritus autem blasphemia non remittetur Et quicunque dixerit verbum cōtra filium hominis remittetur ei Cap. 12. qui autem dixerit contra spiritum sanctum non remittetur ei neque in hoc saeculo neque in futuro I tell yowe that al maner of sinne and blasphemy shal be forgeuen vnto men but the blasphemy of the spirit shall not be forgeuen And who so euer shall speake ageinst the sonne of man it shall be forgeuen him But if he speake against the holy Ghoste it shall nether be pardoned in this worlde nor in the worlde to coom The same thing in sense Cap. 3. Cap. 12. hath Marke and Luke affirming that suche offense shall neuer be forgeuen The which worde Neuer S. Marke expresseth thus in aeternum non habet remissionem he shall not haue pardon as you woulde say in all aeternity by whiche he may plainely seeme to reache further then the limites and borders of this worlde for the remission of sinne And this speache hathe as muche pith and propre force in it as S. Matthewes who expressely distinctly and belike as Christe spake it vttereth that sense of the aeternity whiche passeth the measure of worldely tyme by these wordes Nether in this worlde nor yet in the worlde to come And for that cause S. Marke saith Reus eritaeterni delicti he shall be gilty of an aeternall faulte signifyng that in som case a man might perhappes not speede of a pardon in this lyfe and yet may obteyne it in the nexte But for that horrible blasphemy he in a maner dischargeth thoffender of all hope of remission ether in this lyfe or in the next that is to coom Whiche forme of wordes can nether be founde in scripture nor in mannes common talke to haue any place in suche thinges as extend no further but to the transitory tyme of oure lyfe for in those matters it had ben vsually and truely spoken it shall neuer happen in this worlde And therefore instructing vs that sinnes or the payne due vnto sinnes may ether be released in this world or in the worlde to come he foloweth that phrase and forme of wordes in which man might wel cōceyue the reache of remission and pardoninge of sinnes farre to passe the compasse of our tyme and lyfe But bicause we haue to doo with fickle marchauntes that will not sticke to brast bowldely the bandes of euident scriptures as anone yowe shall see and therefore will as I think little be moued with reasonable and playne gathering oute of the scriptures nor muche aesteme this lyklyhode as ouer smaule a proufe in so greate a doubte therefore I will shewe my warraunt for this construction that thereby the studious reader may see whome the aduersaryes doo so rashly contemne herin and whome we haue as authors in this meaning of Christes wordes nowe recyted that nether they may be beleued with owte reason and proufe nor we miscredited after so good authority of the auncyent wryters as nether they for shame nor we of conscience can denye S. Gregory whose authority I may bowldly vse against theime bicause they mislyke not his iudgement when it may appeare to make for theime as in deede it neuer doothe he doubted nothing to gether of this oure Sauiours speache that sinnes might be forgeuen in the next worlde And thus he writeth for that poynt Lib. 4. dialog cap. 19. De quibusdam leuibus culpis esse ante iudicium purgatorius ignis credendus est pro eo quod veritas dicit Si quis in sancto Spiritu blasphemiam dixerit neque in hoc saeculo remittetur ei neque in futuro In qua sententia datur intelligi quasdam culpas in hoc saeculo quasdam in futuro posse relaxari quod enim de vno negatur consequens intellectus patet quia de quibusdam conceditur sed tamen vt praedixi hoc de paruis minimisque peccatis fieri posse credendum est For certayne smaule sinnes that there is a purgatory fyer before the daye of iudgement we must neades beleeue bicause the trueth it selfe vttered so muche in these wordes Yf any sinne against the holy Ghost it shall not be remitted nether in this worlde nor in the worlde to coom By whiche sentence it is geuen vs to vnderstande that as som offensies be released in this worlde so there may som other be remitted in the lyfe folowing For that whiche is denyed in one sorte the meaning is plaine that of som other kind it must neades be graunted But Onely small offensies be remitted in the next lyfe as is sayde before this is onely to be taken of lighter offensies thus farre spake S. Gregory and proueth lernedly beside by exāples and sondry scriptures throughe