Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	authority_n	church_n	pope_n	2,238	5	6.4146	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A04286	An apologie for the oath of allegiance first set foorth without a name, and now acknowledged by the authour, the Right High and Mightie Prince, Iames, by the grace of God, King of Great Britaine, France and Ireland, defender of the faith, &c. ; together with a premonition of His Maiesties, to all most mightie monarches, kings, free princes and states of Christendome.	James I, King of England, 1566-1625.; Paul V, Pope, 1552-1621.; Bellarmino, Roberto Francesco Romolo, Saint, 1542-1621.	1609 (1609)	STC 14401.5; ESTC S1249	109,056	264

to the Emperours for their Confirmation And this lasted almost seuen hundreth yeeres after CHRIST witnesse Sigebert and Luitprandus with other Popish Historians And for Emperours deposing of Popes there are likewise diuers examples The Emperour Ottho deposed Pope Iohn the twelfth of that name for diuers crimes and vices especially of lecherie The Emperour Henry the third in a short time deposed three Popes Benedict the ninth Siluester the third and Gregory the sixt as well for the sinne of Auarice as for abusing their extraordinarie authoritie against Kings and Princes And as for Kings that haue denied this temporall Superioritie of Popes First we haue the vnanime testimonie of diuers famous Historiographers for the generall of many Christian Kingdomes As Walthram testifieth That the Bishops of Spaine Scotland England Hungary from ancient institution till this moderne noueltie had their Inuestiture by Kings with peaceable inioying of their temporalities wholly and entirely and whosoeuer saith hee is peaceably solicitous let him peruse the liues of the Ancients and read the Histories and hee shall vnderstand thus much And for verification of this generall assertion we will first begin at the practise of the Kings of France though not named by Walthram in this his enumeration of Kingdomes amongst whom my first witnesse shall be that vulgarly knowen Letter of Philip le Bel King of France to Pope Boniface the viij the beginning whereof after a scornefull salutation is Sciat tua maxima fatuitas nos in temporalibus nemini subesse And likewise after that Lewes the ninth surnamed Sanctus had by a publike instrument called Pragmatica Sanctio forbidden all the exactions of the Popes Court within his Realme Pope Pius the ij in the beginning of Lewes the eleuenth his time greatly misliking this Decree so long before made sent his Legate to the said King Lewes with Letters patents vrging his promise which he had made when he was Dolphin of France to repeale that Sanction if euer hee came to bee King The King referreth the Legate ouer with his Letters-patents to the Councel of Paris where the matter being propounded was impugned by Ioan. Romanus the Kings Atturney with whose opinion the Vniuersitie of Paris concurring an Appeale was made from the attempts of the Pope to the next generall Councell the Cardinall departing with indignation But that the Kings of France and Church therof haue euer stoken to their Gallican immunitie in denying the Pope any temporall power ouer them and in resisting the Popes as oft as euer they prest to meddle with their temporall power euen in the donation of Benefices the Histories are so full of them as the onely examples thereof would make vp a bigge Volume by it selfe And so farre were the Sorbonists for the Kings and French Churches priuiledge in this point as they were wont to maintain That if the Pope fell a quarrelling the King for that cause the Gallican Church might elect a Patriarch of their owne renouncing any obedience to the Pope And Gerson was so farre from giuing the Pope that temporall authoritie ouer Kings who otherwise was a deuoute Roman Catholike as hee wrote a Booke de Auferibilitate Papae not onely from the power ouer Kings but euen ouer the Church And now permitting all further examples of forraigne Kings actions I will onely content mee at this time with some of my owne Predecessors examples of this Kingdom of England that it may thereby the more clearly appeare that euen in those times when the worlde was fullest of darkened blindnesse and ignorance the Kings of England haue oftentimes not only repined but euen strongly resisted and withstoode this temporall vsurpation and encroachment of ambitious Popes And I will first begin at King Henry the first of that name after the Conquest who after he was crowned gaue the Bishopricke of Winchester to William Gifford and forthwith inuested him into all the possessions belonging to the Bishopricke contrarie to the Canons of the new Synod King Henrie also gaue the Archbishopricke of Canterburie to Radulph Bishop of London and gaue him inuestiture by a Ring and a Crosiers staffe Also Pope Calixtus held a Councell at Rhemes whither King Henry had appointed certaine Bishops of England and Normandie to goe Thurstan also elected Archbishop of Yorke got leaue of the King to goe thither giuing his faith that hee would not receiue Consecration of the Pope And comming to the Synode by his liberal gifts as the fashion is wanne the Romanes fauour and by their meanes obtained to bee Consecrate at the Popes hand Which as soone as the King of England knewe hee forbad him to come within his Dominions Moreouer King Edward the first prohibited the Abbot of Waltham and Dean of Pauls to collect a tenth of euery mans goods for a supply to the holy Land which the Pope by three Bulles had committed to their charge and the said Deane of Pauls compering before the King and his Councell promised for the reuerence he did beare vnto the King not to meddle any more in that matter without the Kings good leaue and permission Here I hope a Church-man disobeyed the Pope from obedience to his Prince euen in Church matters but this new Iesuited Diuinitie was not then knowen in the world The same Edward I. impleaded the Deane of the Chappell of Vuluerhampton because the said Deane had against the priuiledges of the Kingdome giuen a Prebend of the same Chappell to one at the Popes command whereupon the said Deane compeered and put himselfe in the Kings will for his offence The said Edward I. depriued also the Bishop of Durham of all his liberties for disobeying a prohibition of the Kings So as it appeareth the Kings in those dayes thought the Church men their SVBIECTS though now wee be taught other Seraphicall doctrine For further proofe whereof Iohn of Ibstocke was committed to the goale by the saide King for hauing a suite in the Court of Rome seauen yeares for the Rectorie of Newchurch And Edward II. following the footsteps of his Father after giuing out a Summons against the Abbot of Walden for citing the Abbot of S. Albons and others in the Court of Rome gaue out letters for his apprehension And likewise because a certaine Prebend of Banbury had drawen one Beuercoat by a Plea to Rome without the Kings Dominions therefore were Letters of Caption sent foorth against the said Prebend And Edward III. following likewise the example of his Predecessors Because a Parson of Liche had summoned the Prior of S. Oswalds before the Pope at Auinion for hauing before the Iudges in England recouered the arrerage of a pension directed a Precept for seasing vpon all the goods both spirituall and Temporall of the said Parson because hee had done this in preiudice of the King and Crowne The saide King also made one Harwoden to bee declared culpable and worthy to bee punished for procuring the Popes Bulles

to another Which Charitie as it is very greatly to bee desired of all faithfull Christians So certainely is it altogether necessary for you most blessed Sonnes For by this your Charitie the power of the Deuill is weakened who doeth so much assaile you since that Power of his is especially vp held by the Contentions and Disagreement of our Sonnes We exhort you therefore by the bowels of our Lord Iesus Christ by whose Loue we are taken out of the Iawes of eternall Death That aboue all things you would haue mutuall Charitie among you Surely Pope Clement the eight of happy memory hath giuen you most profitable Precepts of practising brotherly Charitie one to another in his Letters in forme of a Breue to our welbeloued Sonne M. George Arch-priest of the Kingdome of England dated the 5. day of the moneth of October 1602. Put them therefore diligently in practise and bee not hindered by any difficultie or doubtfulnesse We command you that ye doe exactly obserue the words of those Letters and that yee take and vnderstand them simply as they sound and as they lie all power to interpret them otherwise being taken away In the meane while we will neuer cease to pray to the Father of Mercies that hee would with pitie beholde your afflictions and your paines And that he would keepe and defend you with his continuall Protection whom we doe gently greete with our Apostolicall Benediction Dated at Rome at S. Marke vnder the Signet of the Fisherman the tenth of the Calends of October 1606. the second yeere of our Popedome THE ANSWERE to the first Breue FIrst the Pope expresseth heerein his sorrow for that persecution which the Catholiques sustaine for the faiths sake Wherein besides the maine vntrueth whereby I am so iniuriously vsed I must euer auow and maintaine as the trueth is according to mine owne knowledge that the late Queene of famous memorie neuer punished any Papist for religion but that their owne punishment was euer extorted out of her hands against her will by their owne misbehauiour which both the time and circumstances of her actions will manifestly make proofe of For before Pius Quintus his excommunication giuing her ouer for a preye and setting her Subiects at liberty to rebel it is well knowen she neuer medled with the blood or hard punishment of any Catholique nor made any rigorous lawes against them And since that time who list to compare with an indifferent eye the manifold intended Inuasions against her whole Kingdome the forraine practises the internall publike rebellilions the priuate plots and machinations poysonings murthers and all sorts of deuises et quid non daily set abroach and all these wares continually fostered fomented from Rome together with the continuall corrupting of her Subiects as well by temporall bribes as by faire and specious promises of eternall felicitie and nothing but booke vpon booke publikely set forth by her fugitiues for approbation of so holy designes who list I say with an indifferent eye to looke on the one part vpon those infinite intollerable temptations and on the other part vpon the iust yet moderate punishment of a part of these hainous offenders shall easily see that that blessed defunct Lady vvas as free from persecution as they shall free these hellish Instruments from the honour of martyrdome 5. But novv hauing sacrificed if I may so say to the Manes of my late predecessor I may next vvith S. Paul iustly vindicate my ovvne fame from those innumerable calumnies spred against me in testifying the trueth of my behauiour tovvard the Papists vvherin I may truely affirme that vvhatsoeuer vvas her iust and mercifull Gouernement ouer the Papists in her time my Gouernement ouer them since hath so farre exceeded hers in mercie and clemencie as not onely the Papists themselues grevve to that height of pride in confidence of my mildenesse as they did directly expect and assuredly promise to themselues liberty of conscience and equalitie vvith other of my Subiects in all things but euen a number of the best and faithfullest of my sayd subiects vvere cast in great feare amazement of my course and proceedings euer prognosticating and iustly suspecting that sowre fruit to come of it which shevved it selfe clearely in the powder-Treason How many did I honour with knighthood of knowen open Recusants How indifferently did I giue audience and accesse to both sides bestowing equally all fauours and honors on both professions How free continual accesse had all rankes degrees of Papists in my Court company And aboue alll how frankly and freely did I free Recusants of their ordinary payments Besides it is euident what strait order vvas giuen out of my ovvne mouth to the Iudges to spare the execution of all Priests notwithstanding their conuiction ioyning thereunto a gracious Proclamation wherby all Priests that were at liberty and not taken might goe out of the country by such a day my generall Pardon hauing bin extended to all conuicted Priests in prison whereupon they vvere set at liberty as good Subiects and all Priests that were taken after sent ouer and set at liberty there But time paper vvill faile mee to make enumeration of all the benefits and fauours that I bestowed in generall and particular vpon Papists in recounting whereof euery scrape of my pen would serue but for a blot of the Popes ingratitude and Iniustice in meating me with so hard a measure for the same So as I thinke I haue sufficiently or at least with good reason wiped the teares from the Popes eyes for complaining vpon such persecution who if he had beene but politikely wise although he had had no respect to Iustice and Veritie would haue in this complaint of his made a difference betweene my present time and the time of the late Queene And so by his commending of my moderation in regarde of former times might haue had hope to haue moued me to haue continued in the same clement course For it is a true saying that alledged kindnes vpon noble mindes doth euer worke much And for the maine vntrueth of any persecution in my time it can neuer be proued that any were or are put to death since I came to the Crowne for cause of Conscience except that now this discharge giuen by the Pope to all Catholiques to take their oath of Allegiance to me be the cause of the due punishment of many which if it fall out to be let the blood lig●t vpon the Popes head who is the onely cause thereof As for the next point contained in his Breue concerning his discharge of all Papists to come to our Church or frequent our rites and ceremonies I am not to meddle at this time with that matter because my errand now only is to publish to the world the Iniurie and Iniustice done vnto me in discharging my subiects to make profession o● their obedience vnto me Now as to the point where the oath is quarrelled

no absurdities Otherwise it is an easie thing for Momus to picke quarrels in another mans tale and tell it worse himselfe it being a more easie practise to finde faults then to amend them Hauing now made this digression anent the Antichrist which I am sure I can better fasten vpon the Pope then Bellarmine can doe his pretended temporall Superioritie ouer Kings I will returne againe to speake of this Answerer who as I haue alreadie told you so fitteth his matter with his maner of answering that as his Style is nothing but a Satyre and heape full of iniurious and reprochfull speeches as well against my Person as my Booke so is his matter as full of lyes and falsities indeed as he vniustly layeth to my charge For three lyes hee maketh against the Oath of Allegiance contained and maintained in my Booke besides that ordinary repeated lye against my Book of his omitting to answere my lyes trattles iniurious speeches and blasphemies One grosse lye hee maketh euen of the Popes first Breue One lye of the Puritanes whom he would gladly haue to bee of his partie And one also of the Powder-Traitors anent the occasion that moued them to vndertake that treasonable practise Three lies he makes of that Acte of Parliament wherein this Oath of Allegiance is contained He also maketh one notable lye against his owne Catholike Writers And two of the causes for which two Iesuites haue bene put to death in England And hee either falsifies denies or wrests fiue sundry Histories and a printed Pamphlet besides that impudent lye that he maketh of my Person that I was a Puritane in Scotland which I haue alreadie refuted And for the better filling vp of his booke with such good stuffe he hath also fiue so strange and new principles of Diuinitie therein as they are either new or at least allowed by very few of his owne Religion All which lyes with diuers others and fiue strange and as I thinke erroneous points of Doctrine with s●n dry falsifications of Hystories are set downe in a Table by themselues in the end of this my Epistle hauing their Refutation annexed to euery one of them But as for the particular answering of his booke it is both vnnecessarie and vncomely for me to make a Reply Vnnecessarie because as I haue alreadie told you my Booke is neuer yet answered so farre as belongeth to the maine question anent the Oath of Allegiance the picking of aduantage vpon the wrong placing of the figures in the citations or such errors in the Print by casuall addition or omission of words that make nothing to the Argument being the greatest weapons wherewith hee assaults my Booke And vncomely it must needs be in my opinion for a King to fall in altercation with a Cardinall at least with one no more nobly descend●d then he is That Ecclesiasticall dignitie though by the sloath of Princes as I said before it bee now come to that height of vsurped honour yet being in the true originall and foundation thereof nothing else but the title of the Priestes and Deacons of the parish Churches in the towne of Rome at the first the style of Cardinals beeing generally giuen to all Priestes and Deacons of any Cathedrall Church though the multitude of such Cardinall Priests and Deacons resorting to Rome was the cause that after bred the restraining of that title of Cardinall Priests and Deacons onely to the Parish priests and Deacons of Rome And since that it is S. Gregorie who in his Epistles sixe hundreth yeares after CHRIST maketh the first mention of Cardinals and so these now Electours of the Apostolike Sea beeing long and many hundreth yeers vnknowen or vnheard of after the Apostol●ke age and yet doth he speake of them but in this sense as I haue now described I hope the Cardinall who calleth him the Apostle of England cannot blame me that am King thereof to acknowledge the Cardinall in no other degree of honour then our said Apostle did But how they should now become to be so strangely exalted aboue their first originall institution that from Parish-priests and Deacons Priests inferiours they should now come to be Princes and Peeres to Kings and from a degree vnder Bishops as both Bellarmine and Onuphrius confesse to be now the Popes sole Electors su●plying with him the place of a General Counsel whereby the conuening of generall Councels is now vtterly antiquated and abolished nay out of their number onely the Pope to be elected who claimeth the absolute Superiority ouer all Kings how this their strange vsurped exaltation I say should thus creepe in and be suffered it belongeth all them in our place and calling to look vnto it who being GOD his Lieute●āts in earth haue good reason to be iealous of such vpstart Princes meane in their originall come to that height by their owne creation and now accounting themselues Kings fellowes But the speciall harme they do vs is by their defrauding vs of our common Christian interest in generall Councels they hauing as I sayd vtterly abolished the same by rowling it vp and making as it were a Monopoly thereof in their Conclaue with the Pope Whereas if euer there were a possibilitie to bee expected of reducing all Christians to an vniformitie of Religion it must come by the meanes of a generall Councell the place of their meeting beeing chosen so indifferēt as all Christian Princes either in their owne Persons or their Deputie Commissioners and all Church men of Christian profession that beleeue and professe all the ancient grounds of the true ancient Catholike and Apostolike Faith might haue tutum accessum thereunto All the incendiaries and Nouelist fire-brands on either side beeing debarred from the same as well Iesuites as Puritanes And therefore hauing resolued not to paine my selfe with making a Reply for these reasons here specified grounded as well vpon the consideration of the matter as of the person of the Answerer I haue thought good to content my selfe with the reprinting of my Apologie hauing in a maner corrected nothing but the Copiers or Printers faults therein and prefixed this my Epistle of Dedication and Warning therunto that I may yet see if any thing will be iustly said against it Not doubting but enow of my Subiects will reply vpon these Libellers and answere them sufficiently wishing YOV deepely to consider and weigh your common interest in this Cause For neither in all my Apologie nor in his pretended Refutation thereof is there any question made anent the Popes power ouer mee in particular for the excommunicating or deposing of me For in my particular the Cardinall doeth me that grace that he saith The Pope thought it not expedient at this time to excommunicate me by name our question beeing onely generall Whether the Pope may lawefully pretend any temporall power ouer Kings or no That no Church men can by his rule be subiect to any temporall Prince I haue already shewed you And what

cunning Merchants to cease to vent such stuffe for ancient and Catholike wares in the Christian world till they haue disproued their owne Venetians who charge them with Noueltie and forgery in this poynt Triplici nodo triplex cuneus OR AN APOLOGIE FOR THE OATH of Allegiance Against the two Breues of Pope PAVLVS QVINTVS and the late Letter of Cardinall BELLARMINE to G. BLACKVVEL the Arch-priest Tunc omnes populi clamauerunt dixerunt Magna est Veritas praeualet ESDR 3. ¶ Authoritate Regiâ ¶ Imprinted at London by Robert Barker Printer to the Kings most Excellent Maiestie ANNO 1609. AN APOLOGIE FOR THE OATH of Allegiance WHat a monstrous rare nay neuer heard of Treacherous Attempt was plotted within these few yeeres heere in England for the destruction of Me my Bed-fellow and our Posterity the whole house of Parliament and a great number of good Subiects of all sorts and degrees is so famous already through the whole world by the infamy thereof as it is needlesse to be repeated or published any more the horrour of the sinne it selfe doth so lowdly proclaime it For if those crying Sinnes whereof mention is made in the Scripture haue that epithete giuen them for their publique infamie and for procuring as it were with a loud crie from heauen a iust vengeance and recompense and yet those sinnes are both old and too common neither the world nor any one Countrey being euer at any time cleane voyd of them If those sinnes I say are said in the Scripture to cry so loud What then must this sinne doe plotted without cause infinite in crueltie and singular from all examples What proceeded hereupon is likewise notorious to the whole worlde our Iustice onely taking hold vpon the Offenders and that in as honourable and publique a forme of Trial as euer was vsed in this Kingdome 2. For although the onely reason they gaue for plotting so heinous an Attempt was the zeale they carried to the Romish Religion yet were neuer any other of that profession the worse vsed for that cause as by our gracious Proclamation immediatly after the discouery of the said fact doeth plainely appeare onely at the next sitting downe againe of the Parliament there were Lawes made setting downe some such orders as were thought fit for preuenting the like mischiefe intime to come Amongst which a forme of OATH was framed to be taken by my Subiects whereby they should make a cleare profession of their resolution faithfully to persist in their obedience vnto me according to their naturall allegiance To the end that I might hereby make a separation not onely betweene all my good Subiects in generall and vnfaithfull Traitors that intended to withdraw themselues from my obedience But specially to make a separation betweene so many of my Subiects who although they were otherwise popishly affected yet retained in their hearts the print of their naturall duetie to their Soueraigne and those who being caried away with the like fanaticall zeale that the Powder-Traitors were could not conteine themselues within the bounds of their naturall Allegiance but thought diuersitie of religion a safe pretext for all kinde of treasons and rebellions against their Soueraigne Which godly and wise intent God did blesse with successe accordingly For very many of my Subiects that were popishly affected aswel priests as layicks did freely take the same Oath whereby they both gaue me occasion to thinke the better of their fidelitie and likewise freed themselues of that heauy slander that although they were fellow professors of one Religion with the powder Traitors yet were they not ioyned with them in treasonable courses against their Souereigne whereby all quietly minded Papists were put out of despaire and I gaue a good proofe that I intended no persecution against them for conscience cause but onely desired to bee secured of them for ciuill obedience which for conscience cause they were bound to performe 3. But the deuil could not haue deuised a more malicious tricke for interrupting this so calme and clement a course then fell out by the sending hither and publishing a Breue of the Popes countermaunding all them of his profession to take this Oath Thereby sowing new seedes of ielousie betweene me and my Popish Subiects by stirring them vp to disobey that lawfull commandement of their Soueraigne which was ordeined to be taken of them as a pledge of their fidelity And so by their re●usall of so iust a charge to giue me so great and iust a ground for punishment of them without touching any matter of cons● throwing themselues needlesl● 〈…〉 of these desperate straites 〈…〉 losse of their liues and 〈…〉 their Allegiance to the●● 〈…〉 or else to procure the condemnation of their Soules by renouncing the Catholike faith as he alleadgeth 4. And on the other part although disparity of Religion the Pope being head of the contrary part can permit no intelligence nor intercourse of messengers betwerne me and the Pope yet there being no denounced warre betweene vs he hath by this action broken the rules of common ciuility and iustice betweene Christian Princes in thus condemning me vnheard both by accounting me a persecutor which can not be but implyed by exhorting the Papists to endure Martyrdome as likewise by so straitly commanding all those of his Profession in England to refuse the taking of this Oath thereby refusing to professe their naturall obedience to me their Soueraigne For if he thinke himselfe my lawfull Iudge wherefore hath he condemned me vnheard And if he haue nothing to doe with me and my gouernement as indeed he hath not why doeth hee mittere falcem in alienam messem to meddle betweene mee and my Subiects especially in matters that meerely and onely concerne ciuill obedience And yet could Pius Quintus in his greatest furie and auowed quarrell against the late Queene do no more iniury vnto her then he hath in this cause offered vnto me without so much as a pretended or an alleadged cause For what difference there is betweene the commaunding Subiects to rebell and loosing them from their Oath of Allegiance as Pius Quintus did the commanding of Subiects not to obey in making profession of their Oath of their dutiful Allegiance as this Pope hath now done no man can easily discerne 5. But to draw neere vnto his Breue wherin certainly he hath taken more paines then he needed by setting downe in the said Breue the whole body of the Oath at length whereas the only naming of the Title thereof might as wel haue serued for any answere he hath made thereunto making Vna litura that is the flat and generall condemnation of the whole Oath to serue for all his refutation Therein hauing as well in this respect as in the former dealt both vndiscreetly with me and iniuriously with his owne Catholikes With me in not refuting particularly what speciall wordes hee quarrelled in that Oath which if he had done it might haue bene that for

vvith the ciuil obedience of subiects to their Soueraigne in meere temporall causes And that it may the better appeare that vvhereas by name he seemeth to condemne the last Oath yet indeed his vvhole Letter runneth vpon nothing but vpon the condemnation of the Oath of Supremacie I haue here thought good to set downe the saide Oath leauing it then to the discretion of euery indifferent reader to iudge whether hee doeth not in substance onely answere to the Oath of Supremacie but that he giueth the child a wrong name I A B. doe vtterly testifie and declare in my Conscience that the Kings Highnesse is the onely Supreame Gouernour of this Realme and all other his Highnesse Dominions and Counties as well in all Spirituall or Ecclesiasticall things or causes as Temporall And that no forraine Prince Person Prelate State or Potentate hath or ought to haue any Iurisdiction Power Superioritie Preeminence or Authoritie Ecclesiasticall or Spirituall within this Realme And therefore I do vtterly renounce and forsake all forreine Iurisdictions Powers Superiorities and authorities and do promise that from hencefoorth I shall beare faith and true Allegiance to the Kings Highnesse his Heires and lawfull Successors and to my power shall assist and defend all iurisdictions Priuiledges Pre●minences and Authorities graunted or belonging to the Kings Highnesse his Heires and Successours or vnited and annexed to the Imperiall Crowne of the Realme So helpe mee God and by the Contents of this booke And that the iniustice as well as the errour of his grosse mistaking in this point may yet be more clearely discouered I haue also thought good to insert here immediatly after the Oath of Supremacie the contrary Conclusions to all the points and Articles whereof this other late Oath doeth consist whereby it may appeare what vnreasonable and rebellious points hee would driue my Subiects vnto by refusing the whole body of that Oath as it is conceiued For he that shall refuse to take this Oath must of necessitie hold all or some of these propositions following That I King IAMES am not the lawfull King of this Kingdome and of all other my Dominions That the Pope by his owne authoritie may depose me If not by his owne authoritie yet by some other authoritie of the Church or of the Sea of Rome If not by some other authoritie of the Church Sea of Rome yet by other meanes with others helpe he may depose me That the Pope may dispose of my Kingdomes and Dominions That the Pope may giue authoritie to some forren Prince to inuade my Dominions That the Pope may discharge my Subiects of their Allegiance and Obedience to me That the Pope may giue licence to one or more of my Subiects to beare armes against me That the Pope may giue leaue to my Subiects to offer violence to my Person or to my Gouernement or to some of my Subiects That if the Pope shall by sentence excommunicate or depose me my Subiects are not to beare Faith and Allegiance to me If the Pope shall by Sentence excommunicate or depose mee my Subiects are not bound to defend with all their power my Person and Crowne If the Pope shall giue out any Sentence of Excommunication or Depriuation against me my Subiects by reason of that sentence are not bound to reueale all Conspiracies and Treasons against mee which shal come to their hearing and knowledge That it is not hereticall and detestable to hold that Princes being excommunicated by the Pope may be either deposed or killed by their Subiects or any other That the Pope hath power to absolue my Subiects from this Oath or from some part thereof That this Oath is not administred to my Subiects by a full and lawfull authoritie That this Oath is to be taken with Equiuocation mental euasion or secret reseruation and not with the heart and good will sincerely in the true faith of a Christian man These are the true and naturall branches of the body of this Oath The affirmatiue of all which negatiues doe neither concerne in any case the Popes Supremacie in spiritual causes nor yet were euer concluded and defined by any complete generall Councell to belong to the Popes authoritie and their owne schoole Doctors are at irreconciliable oddes and iarres about them And that the world may yet farther see ours and the whole States setting downe of this Oath did not proceed from any new inuention of our owne but as it is warranted by the word of GOD so doeth it take the example from an Oath of Allegiance decreed a thousand yeeres agone which a famous Councel then together with diuers other Councels were so farre from condemning as the Pope now hath done this Oath as I haue thought good to set downe their owne words here in that purpose whereby it may appeare that I craue nothing now of my Subiects in this Oath which was not expresly and carefully commanded then by the Councels to be obeyed without exception of persons Nay not in the very particular point of equiuocation which I in this Oath was so carefull to haue eschewed but you shall here see the said Councels in their Decrees as carefull to prouide for the eschewing of the same so as almost euery point of that Action and this of ours shall be found to haue relation and agreeance one with the other saue only in this that those ould Councels were carefull and strait in commanding the taking of the same whereas by the contrary he that novv vanteth himselfe to bee head of all Councels is as carefull and strait in the prohibition of all men from the taking of this Oath of Allegiance The vvordes of the Councell bee these Heare our Sentence Whosoeuer of vs or of all the people thorowout all Spaine shall goe about by any meanes of conspiracie or practise to violate the Oath of his fidelitie which he hath taken for the preseruation of his Countrey or of the Kings life or who shall attempt to put violent hands vpon the King or to depriue him of his kingly power or that by tyrannicall presumption would vsurpe the Soueraigntie of the Kingdome let him bee accursed in the sight of God the Father and of his Angels and let him be made and declared a stranger from the Catholike Church which he hath prophaned by his periurie an aliant from the company of all Christian people together with all the complices of his impietie because it behooueth all those that bee guiltie of the like offence to vnder-lie the like punishment Which sentence is three seuerall times together and almost in the same wordes repeated in the same Canon After this the Synode desired That this Sentence of theirs now this third time rehearsed might be confirmed by the voyce and consent of all that were present Then the whole Clergie and people answered Whosoeuer shal cary himselfe presumptuously against this your definitiue sentence let them be Anathema maranatha that is let them

vnto the said Arch-priests charge as I haue neuer done to any for cause of conscience so was Blackwels constancie neuer brangled by taking of this Oath It being a thing which he euer thought lawfull before his apprehension and whereunto hee perswaded all Catholikes to giue obedience like as after his apprehension he neuer made doubt or stop in it but at the first offering it vnto him did freely take it as a thing most lawfull neither meanes of threatning or flatterie being euer vsed vnto him as himselfe can yet beare witnesse And as for the temperature and modification of this Oath except that a reasonable and lawfull matter is there set downe in reasonable temperate words agreeing thereunto I know not what he can meane by quarelling it for that fault For no temperatnes nor modifications in words therein can iustly be called the Deuils craft when the thing it selfe is so plaine and so plainely interpreted to all them that take it as the onely troublesome thing in it all bee the words vsed in the end thereof for eschewing aequiuocation and mentall reseruation Which new Catholique doctrine may farre iustlier bee called the Deuils craft then any plaine and temperate words in so plaine and cleare a matter But what shal we say of these strange countrey clownes whom of with the Satyre we may iustly complaine that they blovv both hote and cold out of one mouth For Luther and our bolde and free speaking Writers are mightily railed vpon by them as hot brained fellovves and speakers by the Deuils instinct and novv if vve speake moderately and temperately of them it must bee tearmed the Deuils craft And therefore we may iustly complaine vvith CHRIST that when we mourne they wil not lament and when vve pipe they vvill not dance But neither Iohn Baptist his seueritie nor CHRIST his meekenesse and lenitie can please them vvho build but to their owne Monarchie vpon the ground of their ovvn Traditions and not to CHRIST vpon the ground of his Word and infallible trueth But vvhat can bee meant by alleadging that the craft of the Deuill herein is onely vsed for subuersion of the Catholique faith and euersion of S. Peters Primacie had need bee commented anevv by Bellarmine himselfe For in all this Letter of his neuer one vvord is vsed to proue that by any part of this Oath the primacy of S. Peter is any vvay medled vvith except Master Bellarmine his bare alledging which without prouing it by more cleare demonstration can neuer satisfie the conscience of any reasonable man For for ought that I know heauen and earth are no farther asunder then the professon of a temporall obedience to a temporall King is different from any thing belonging to the Catholique faith or Supremacie of S. Peter For as for the Catholique faith can there bee one word found in all that Oath tending or sounding to matter of Religion Doeth he that taketh it promise there to beleeue or not to beleeue any article of Religion Or doeth he so much as name a true or a false Church there And as for S. Peters Primacie I know no Apostles name that is therein named except the name of IAMES it being my Christen name though it please him not to deigne to name me in all the Letter albeit the contents thereof concerne me in the highest degree Neither is there any mention at all made therein either disertis verbis or by any other indirect meanes either of the Hierarchie of the Church of S. Peters succession of the Sea Apostolike or of any such matter but that the Author of our Letter doeth brauely make mention of S. Peters succession bringing it in comparison with the succession of Henry the eight Of which vnapt and vnmannerly similitude I wonder hee should not bee much ashamed For as to King Henries successour which he meaneth by mee as I I say neuer did nor will presume to create any article of fayth or to bee Iudge thereof but to submit my exemplary obedience vnto them in as great humilitie as the meanest of the land so if the Pope could bee as well able to proue his either Person all or Doctrinall Succession from S. Peter as I am able to proue my lineall descent from the Kings of England and Scotland there had neuer been so long adoe nor so much sturre kept about this question in Christendome neither had M. Bellarmine himselfe needed to haue bestowed so many sheetes of paper De summo Pontifice in his great bookes of Controuersies and when all is done to conclude with a morall certitude and a piè credēdum bringing in the Popes that are parties in this cause to bee his witnesses and yet their historicall narration must be no article of faith And I am without vantrie sure that I doe farre more neerely imitate the worthy actions of my Predecessors then the Popes in our age can be well proued to be similes Petro especially in cursing of Kings and setting free their Subiects from their Allegiance vnto them But now we come to his strongest argument which is That he would alledge vpon me a Panick terrour as if I were possessed with a needlesse feare For saith the Cardinall from the beginning of the Churches first infancie euen to this day where was it euer heard that euer a Pope either commanded to be killed or allowed the slaughter of any Prince whatsoeuer whether he were an Hereticke an Ethnike or Persecutor But first wherefore doth he here wilfully and of purpose omit the rest of the points mentioned in that Oath for deposing degrading stirring vp of arms or rebelling against them vvhich are as vvell mentioned in tha● Oath as the killing of them as being all of one consequence against a King no Subiect being so scrupulous as that hee will attempt the one and leaue the other vnperformed if he can And yet surely I cannot blame him for passing it ouer since he could not otherwise haue eschewed the direct belying of himselfe in tearmes which hee now doeth but in substance and effect For as for the Popes deposing and degrading of Kings hee maketh so braue vaunts and bragges of it in his former bookes as he could neuer with ciuil honesty haue denied it here But to returne to the Popes allowing of killing of Kings I know not with what face hee can sent so stout a deniall vpon it against his owne knowledge How many Emperors did the Pope raise warre against in their owne bowels Who as they were ouercome in battaile were subiect to haue bene killed therein which I hope the Pope could not but haue allowed when hee was so farre inraged at Henry the fift for giuing buriall to his fathers dead corps after the Pope had stirred him vp to rebell against his father and procured his ruine But leauing these old Histories to Bellarmines owne bookes that doe most authentically cite them as I haue already said let vs turne our eyes vpon