to be partakers of his couenant Fiftly Those which despise the Lord shall themselues be despised saith the Lord 1. Sam. 2. And as he promiseth blessings to those that worship him and kéepe his commandemēts so he threatneth cursings to those that refuse to heare the voice of the Lord and to kéepe his commaundents and ceremonies prescribed for his worship Quod siaudire nolueris vocem Domini Dei tui vt custodias facias omnia mandata eius caeremonias quas ego praecipio tibi hodiè venient super te omnes maledictiones apprehendent te saith Moyses Deut. 28. Let the Papists then consider well with themselues what they haue done in transforming the worship of God into the worship of creatures and seruing him not as he hath appointed but according to their owne deuises and fancies and let them beware that these plagues curses ouertake them not séeing they haue wholy neglected the true worship of God Sixthly Strange tongues are for a signe as the Apostle sayth 1. Cor. 14. not to them that beleeue but to them that beleeue not The Prophet also threatneth as a plague that God wil speake to his people by men of other tongues and in strange languages In loquela labij lingua altera loquetur ad populum istum It is therefore strange that the Papists féele not the hand of God vpon them when they heare scriptures read and prayers said publikely in a language which they vnderstand not and a thing to be wondred at that they chuse rather to liue in this blindnesse then to haue the word of God read in a toung which they are able to vnderstand and whereby they may learne to feare God Seuenthly the very heathen haue oft times chosen to die rather then to sée themselues oppressed by tyrants Yet such is the stupiditie of Papists that they suffer the Pope and his Priests to tyrannize ouer them loading their consciences with intolerable lawes and false doctrine and spoiling their goods by diuers kinds of exactions and endangering their liues by their Inquisitors and massacrers and such like executioners of their bloudie decrées 8. Most dangerous is euery diuision among those of one societie but most miserable it is when they which protesse themselues to be of Gods Church are deuided one frō another For the Church is a house of vnitie and not of dissention But among Papists one holdeth of Benet another of Francis another of Dominicke another of Clare and in no point of doctrine do all their Doctors agree together Superstitiously also they obserue dayes times and distinction of meates and consecrate salt water bread candles and paschal Lambes Finally they leaue the Creator and serue our Ladie Angels and Saints and other creatures Nay for reliques of Saints they worship oft times the ashes relikes and bones of wicked men and reprobates nay of bruite beasts 9. It is an vnseemely thing for those that professe hollnesse to shew themselues examples of all beastlinesse as the Popes and holiest men of the papists are wont to do Therefore séeing the dogs sorcerers whore-mongers murtherers idolaters and lyars shall be shut out of the kingdome of heauen they are not to looke to be admitted without spéedie reformation 10. No Prince liuing vnder the Pope can assure himselfe of his state nor can any subiect that liueth vnder such a prince assure himselfe either of his life or goods For if the Pope haue power to take away kingdomes and to bestow them vpon others how can any King or prince assure himselfe he will not attempt the same when occasion serueth considering his violent procéeding against Emperours and kings in time past and against our late noble Queene against Henry the third and fourth of Fraunce and diuers others And if euery one by him and his Inquisitors declared Hereticke is to lose life and goods who can assure himselfe of either if he acknowledge not his authoritie and refuse his religion 11. No man certes shall prosper that shall follow Antichrists sect or religion If any man worship the beast and his image saith the Angel Apocalyps 14. and receiue his marke in his forehead and in his hand the same shall drinke of the wine of the wrath of God of the pure wine that is powred into the cuppe of his wrath But that new Rome and the Popes gouernment is the image of the old Romaine Empire and that the Pope is Antichrist it plainely appeareth by diuers arguments which I haue declared in my fifth booke De pontif Rom. 12 Those Kings that liue vnder the Pope are but halfe kings For first their Cleargie in diuers cases is exempt from them and next they haue not to do with the rest of their subiects in ecclesiasticall causes O miserable kings that haue fallen downe to worship the beast and haue suffered such base bougerly Italians to take away more then halfe of their royall authoritie 13 We find that no kingdome can long liue in peace which is subiect to the Popes controlment For if the Pope do find himselfe aggréened then both he trouble the peace of the State if the same offend him not but pay what he requireth yet if he fall out with others then must that kingdome make warres at the Popes pleasure By the Popes solicitation both England France Flaunders Spaine and all Christian countries haue endured great troubles The Turkes liue farre more quietly vnder their Sultans then Papists vnder the Pope Finally considering the intolerable exactions of the Pope and his furious inclination to warre and bloudshed and the tyrannie both of the Pope and his adherents it is no maruell if the papisticall people be poore and much wasted Whether then we respect things of this life or of the life to come there is no creature more miserable then a Papist Do you not then wonder that any should like the popist gouernment It were certainely much to be wondred but that experience doth teach vs that the Cimmerians that dwell in darknesse care not for the light and that brutish beasts delight in brutishnesse and base people in seruitude and superstitious people in vanities and superstitions CHAP. VI. Of the contradictions of Popish Doctors in principall points of Religion Of the dissentions of popish Doctors in matters of religion I haue said somewhat before Yet because Papists make vnitie in matters of saith to be a marke of the Church and confidently deny that their Doctors dissent in any point of any moment I haue thought good to insist yet more vpon this point that the world may see not only their miserie that as men not resolued in most points of religion wauer betwirt contrarie opinions but also their notorious impudencie that deny it Therein also both appeare some Papists wonderfull simplicitie that séeing the contention of their Doctors do not vnderstand their differences and séeeing their differences and vncertaintie of popish Religion do notwithstanding sticke fast in the filthy dregs and abhominable corruptions thereof
French king that is the king of Nauarre also will require satisfaction of the Pope and Spaniard that did him this wrong But in the meane while we may sée in this fact of Iulius the arrogance of the Popes that take vpon them to depose kings at their pleasure and to giue away their kingdomes This seditious course of the Pope in sentencing kings was also the sole pretence almost of the Leaguers rebellious stirres against Henry the third in France For when the Iebusites and their faction had declared that the king was iustly deposed then did the rebels take armes against him and ceassed not to pursue him to the death The Spaniards also for the same cause ayded them and concurred with them Likewise the execution of the Popes sentence against Henrie the fourth of France was the cause both of the reuolt of his subiects and of the warres made against him by the prince of Parma and the Spaniards Such a firebrand of warres do we find the Popes sentence to be No sooner was Henry the eight king of England pronounced excommunicate by Paule the third but he sent Cardinall Poole to stirre vp the French King to inuade his kingdome Afterward when he saw that the French could not be stirred to execute his pleasure he caused diuerse rebellions to be raysed against him by the seditious clamours of Masse-priests Monkes and Friars both in York-shire and Lincolne-shire and other parts of England Sanders confesseth that he commanded the Nobilitie and chiefe men of England by force and armes to oppose themselues against the king and to cast him out of his kingdome Principibus viris ac Ducibus Angliae caeteraeque Nobilitati praeeipit vt vi armis se Henrico opponant illumque è regni finibus eijcere nitantur The like course held Pius Quintus that wicked Pope against Quéene Elizabeth of pious memorie for he did not onely declare her depriued of her kingdome but by all meanes sought actually to depriue her of it and that first by dealing with the French and Spanish by force of arms to inuade her realmes and afterward stirring vp and comforting Malcontents and Rebels to set the realme in combustion by ciuill warres Hierome Catena in the discourse of the life of this impious Pius sheweth how he perswaded the Spaniard that he could not otherwise better secure the Low-countries then by ouerthrowing the Queene of England He declareth further how he induced the French to take part against her Likewise did Gregorie the thirtéene send forces into Ireland together with his legate Sanders Sixtus Quintus by all meanes hastened the Spanish fléete that came against England anno 1588. Neither haue they and others ceassed vpon all occasions to séeke her hurt and destruction This therefore is a most cleare case that no Christian king can be in safetie as long as he suffereth Iebusites and Masse-priests to aduance the Popes authoritie and to preach seditiously that the people hath power to put Princes out of their royall seate It is very dangerous also to foster any man within the Realme that beléeueth this seditious doctrine True it is that Papists cast many colours to hide the beformities of this doctrine but these colours are easily washed away as not being able to abide any weather First they alleage that diuerse popish Princes haue enioyed their kingdomes quietly without molestation But we are able to shew more Princes of late time troubled by the Popes practises then they are able to shew to haue liued peaceably by them Furthermore the reason why Popes do not trouble all is because it were not safe for them to fall out with too many at one time and not because their ouer large authoritie is not preiudiciall to all For if the Pope may depose all kings vpon cause then all kings stand in like danger séeing no man can auoide all causes of quarrell Bellarmine lib. 5. de pontif Rom. cap. 6. saith that the Pope doth practise this power for sauing of soules But experience teacheth vs that through his excommunications and sentences of deposition pronounced against diuers kings he hath ruined kingdomes and brought infinite people to destruction both of bodie and soule Theodoric of Niem speaking of the deposing of the king of Hungarie by Boniface the 9. saith There followed of it great slaughter of innumerable people destruction of churches and houses of religion the burning of cities townes and castles and infinite other mischiefes which follow long warres because kings without the hurt of many cannot be deposed His words are these Vndè clades hominum innumerabilium Ecclesiasticorum piorum locorum Monasteriorum enormis destructio incendia ciuitatum oppidorum villarum castrorum nec non infinita alia quae guerrae secum producunt diu vigentia subsequebantur quia non sine multorum dispendio reâ—es deponuntur Emanuel Sa in his aphorismes for confessaries doth signifie that this doctrine holdeth against tyrants only But what doth this reléeue the Papists when those which fall out with the Pope and yeeld not to his most vnreasonable requests are presently by Friers and priests proclaimed tyrants The very Papists themselues cannot deny but that Quéene Elizabeth was much renowned for her rare clemencie and that not without cause seeing she sparcd alwayes those that would not haue spared her if it had lien in their power to haue hurt her and yet they accuse her of tyrannie In the resolution of certaine cases of conscience set out by Allen and Parsons for instruction of English traytors Non gerit se vt Reginam say they sed exercet tyrannidem She doth not behaue her selfe as a Queene but doth exercise tyrannie The like words they gaue out against the French king now raigning albeit he hath shewed mercie to many deseruing none Duke Ernest sending away one that vndertooke to kill the Count Maurice amazzate said he quel tyranno that is kill me that tyrant Others alleage that the Pope proréedeth onely against heretikes and notorious offendors But that is a most notorious and palpable vntruth for no man is more eagerly prosecuted then religious pious and godly Christians as the executions of France and Flanders do shew And if they will not confesse it true in Christians of our time yet can they not deny it in the times of the Emperors Henry the third fourth and fifth of Fredericke the first and second and of Lewis of Bauier who made such confessions of their faith being declared heretickes as the Popes theÌ„selues could not contradict and yet did the Popes excommunicate them and sought to depose them as heretikes and tyrants Likewise did they prosecute other kings and Emperours albeit consenting with them in matters of faith Henrie the third of France of late was cruelly persecuted and murdred by the popish faction and yet was he very superstitiously addicted to popish religion Suppose then that the Pope would procéed against none but heretickes and tyrants yet it is an easie matter
truth and grant al others by her example to beware of the Popes and Iebusits most dangerous practises which neuer cease working mischiefe if they may haue fit oportunitie CHAP. X. That kings and Princes liuing in subiection to the Pope are but halfe kings and demi-princes BUt suppose the Pope and his conspiring and working crew should neither attempt to take away the crowne nor the life from a prince that beléeueth his lawes and yéeldeth to the Pope all that authoritie which he claimeth yet doth he lose halfe his reuenues authoritie and regall soueraigntie For first the Pope shareth the Kings reuenues claiming tenths first fruites subsidies confirmation and disposition of Ecclesiasticall liuings and infinite summes of money for pardons licences dispensations and all maner of rescripts Those which are acquainted with the Popes faculties and incrochments in former Kings dayes within this land and now in Spaine Italy and other popish countries know they are intelerable and no way inferior to the Kings reuenues Nay if a King néed a dispensation for an Ecclesiasticall matter he is forced to bargaine with the Pope and to buy it deare The absolution of King Iohn had like to haue cost him the Crowne of England Secondly not the King but the Pope is King of priests and ecclesiasticall persons Boniface the 8. in the chap. Clericis de immunit eccles in 6. doth excommunicate both Kings and others that impose taxes and subsidies vpon the Clergie He doth also lay the same censure vpon those clergie men that pay any subsidies to ciuill Magistrates which sheweth that he kept them for his owne selfe Alexander the fourth in the chap. Quia nonnulli de immunit eccles in 6. exempteth the possessions and goods of clergy men from toll and custome Bellarmine in his treatise De exemptione clericorum cap. 1. setteth downe these propositions In causis Ecclesiasticis liberi sunt clerici iure diuino à secularium principum potestate That is In Ecclesiastical causes clerkes are free from the commaund of secular princes by the law of God And by ecclesiasticall causes he vnderstādeth all matters which concerne the church and which by hooke or crooke the Popes haue drawne to their owne cognition Againe he sayth Non possunt Clerici à Iudice seculari iudicari etiamsi leges ciuiles non seruent That is Clerks are not to be iudged of secular Iudges albeit they keep not his temporall lawes His third proposition is this Bona clericorum tam ecclesiastica quà m secularia libera sunt ac meritò esse debent à tributis principum secularium That is The goods of clerkes whether they belong to the Church or be temporal are free from tributes of princes and so ought to be He sayth also that secular princes in respect of clerkes are not soueraigne princes and that therefore clerkes are not bound to obey them Now how is the King absolute in his kingdome if he haue neither power ouer the persons of the clerks nor their goods Emanuel Sa in his aphorismes In verbo Clericus in his book first printed and alleaged by him that wrote the Franc discourse hath these words Clerici rebellio in regem non est crimen laesae maiestatis quia non est subditus regi The rebellion of a clerk against the King is no treason because he is not the kings subiect This is plaine dealing and sheweth that the king is no king of the Clergie where the Popes lawes beare sway But because these words be somewhat too plaine therefore in a later edition of these aphorismes set out at Venice they haue for their owne ease cut out the words albeit in effect Bellarmine and others teach so much Their practise also declareth that this is their meaning for Thomas Becket stoutly resisted Henry the second and his parliament enacting that clerkes offending against the kings lawes should answer before the kings Iustices Further he would not agree that clerkes lay-fee should come in trial before them Sixtus quartus did enterdite the state of Florence for that they had executed the Archbishop of Pisa notoriously taken in a conspiracie against the State Xistus quòd sacrato viro Archiepiscopo it a foedè interfecto Cardinalem quoque captiuum fecissent Hieronymo instigante grauissimum Florentinis sacris omnibus interdictis bellū intulit saith Onuphrius That is Sixtus warred vpon the Florentines and enterdited them for that they had killed the Archbishop of Pisa being a priest and layd hands on a cardinall And yet he declareth they were actors in the conspiracie against Iulian and Laurence de Medicis that then ruled the State This was also the greatest quarrell of the Pope against Henry the third of France for that he caused the Cardinal of Guise to be killed being culpable of most enormous treasons against him Now what can Kings do against their subiects if they may not punish them offending in treason Thirdly the Popes do draw many temporall matters from the cognition of the King to themselues and their adherents Boniface the 8. c. quoniam de Immunitat Eccles. in 6. doth excommunicate all those that do hinder matters to be brought frō triall of temporall iudges to Ecclesiasticall courts and namely those that will not suffer all contracts confirmed by oathes to be tried before Ecclesiasticall iudges By which meanes almost all causes were brought before them and the Kings iurisdiction almost stopped and suspended The Kings of England therfore to restraine these incrochmēts made the law of Praemunire putting them out of his protection that wold not be tried by his lawes Is it not strange then that Christian princes should suffer such companions to vsurpe their authoritie and not onely in causes Ecclestasticall but also in temporall to beare them selues as iudges Finally they deny that Christian Princes haue power either to make Ecclesiasticall lawes or to reforme abuses in the Church or to gouerne the Church concerning externall matters All papists do so distinguish betwixt Ecclesiastical and politicke gouernement that they exclude temporall Princes from the gouernement of the Church and make them subiect to the Pope Bellarmine lib. 1. de Pontif. Rom. c. 7. determineth that temporall Princes are no gouernours of the Church Ifthen Christian Princes loose part of their reuenues and part of their iurisdiction and are quite excluded both from the gouernement of the Church and also disposing of the persons and goods of Ecclesiasticall persons most apparent it is that such Princes as admit the Popes authoritie are either but halfe kings or else not so much loosing more then halfe their authoritie by the Popes incrochments How contrarie this is to the doctrine of the Apostles and ancient fathers we néede not here dispute S. Peter teacheth Christians to honour the King and Paule exhorteth euery soule to be subiect to the higher powers Now what greater dishonour can be offered to a king then to take away his authoritie And how are they subiect that pay the King nothing and claime
rather to be found in the Popes bosome then any corpes of Apostolicall doctrine for that is very rife with them With the corpes of Apostolicall doctrine the Italian atheisticall Popes are litle acquainted We tel him further that for trial of any point of doctrine we are not to run to the Popes sea which is as much able to resolue vs as his close stoole but to the word of God reuealed in Scriptures and if there be any difference about a place of Scriptures we are then to compare the same with other places to search the resolutions of Councels of auncient and later Fathers of the Church of England and learned men Prouided alwayes that nothing be receiued as a ground of faith which is not to be deduced out of the word of God Whether then S. Augustine or Hierome or Ambrose or Luther or Caluin or any preacher among vs bring vs the word of God it is to be receiued But if they teach without that we are not necessarily to credit them nor to beléeue them in grounds of faith Out of the Scriptures we learne that Christ hath giuen some Apostles some Prophets some Euangelists some pastors and teachers albeit all particular matters are not precisely set downe So likewise we are taught that these words this is my body are most true that the sacrameÌ„t is Christs body in a mysterie or sacramentally albeit how the Sacrament is called Christs body there may be some differences Likewise out of Scripture we are taught that the King is the most principall man in his Realme and not to be subiect to any other in externall gouernement albeit euery one percase vnderstandeth not the seuerall points of his supreme authority These differences therefore notwithstanding our rule of faith is most certaine Fiftly he would insinuate that as vertue houskéeping true dealing is much decayed since her Maiesty came to the crowne so pride in apparel gluttony drunkennes lechery swearing and other vices are much increased But the man should shew that these vertues are decayed and vices increased in men that are truly of our Religion If he say so then let him name the men that are guiltie of these faults If the men that are guilty be Papists that for the most part are knowne to be carnall and cruel and most vitious he striketh himselfe and not vs. If they be Atheists or hypocrites then his allegation maketh not to purpose This I will speake to his teeth that if our Ministery be no more honest and vertâ—ous then the Popes Cardinals Friers and Masse-priests and our true professors then zelous Papists it were pitie they should liue on the face of the earth Some proofes I haue brought before and more I shall alleage herafter Let Parsons do the like against vs and leaue his hypocriticall ostentation and generall declamation that maketh men rather to wonder at his impudency then to beleeue that he dealeth truly or sincerely Sixthly he very impudently imputeth all the troubles wars and calamities that haue happened in Scotland Ireland Flanders France to alteration in Religion and wold lay the blame wholy vpon vs. But if he looke into their immediate causes he shall find that the mint of this money was the Popes consistorie and that he and his agents are the onely firebrands of all mischiefe In Ireland Gregorie the thirtéenth stirred vp rebellion by the traitor Saunders his legate in England Pius Quintus by his agent Ridolphi and by Morton his messenger moued the two Earles to rise in the North Anno 1569. The same Pope animated the Spanish King to make warres against the Quéene of England and against them of the Low countries The same Pope sent not onely his agents to stirre the French but ayded them both with men and mony Gregorie the thirtéenth likewise sent ayde to Irish rebels The wars of Germanie were enflamed by that butcherly Pope Paule the third To make short all massacres trecheries warres and troubles haue wholy procéeded from their malice against the truth If the Pope and his adherents therfore haue bene troubled so was Herode and all Ierusalem with him at the birth of Christ. If they blame vs for their troubles so did the Pagans impute all their troubles to Christians and their religion But the true cause was not religion but the hatred of impious Papists against religion Finally he saith that if her Maiestie had not altered religion then her kingdome had bene flourishing and secure and that she would haue had issue and her succession certaine and continued in friendship with the Pope and auncient confederates and neither had wars abroad nor treason at home and insinuateth that by reason of alteration of religion al is fallen out contrarie But if Wil Sommer had written this discourse he could neuer haue spoken more foolishly nor impertinently For first I haue shewed that the state of the kingdome for diuers respects was neuer more flourishing Secondly if any danger hanged ouer our heads the same might easily be auoyded if lawes had bene executed against traitors Thirdly it is now apparant to the world that want of issue in her Maiestie hath not hurt vs God sending vs so gracious and magnanimous a king Fourthly his royall Maiestie succéeding in her throne hath declared that she wanted no succession The same act also sheweth that Parsons and all his consorts are a packe of false Prophets Parsons his booke of succession doth also declare him to be a false traitor Fiftly it is a ridiculous thing to tell vs of vnion with the Pope and his mediation of peace For there ought to be no agréement betweene Christians and Antichrist Here the Noddie will storme that his holy Father should be called Antichrist But let him answer my reasons in my fifth booke De Pont. Rom. against Bellarmine and then let him storme while his heart break Sixtly we haue so litle losse by breaking with the Spanish king that all men of knowledge pray that either he may chaunge his former courses or that the warrcs may still continue Finally this land hath no reason either to feare forraine warres or domesticall treasons vnlesse we will vncouple the Popes hounds that come hither to teare the kings Maiestie and State in péeces which I hope he and his Councell of state will looke vnto Whether then we looke into the Church or the State we must needes say that Quéene Elizabeths raigne was most happie And that so much the rather for that all her aduersaries wit and malice doth not affoord any one sound argument that doth any way sound to her disgrace Robert Parsons hath long barked in vaine against her procéedings But he should remember that the end of mad barking curres is beating if not hanging The second Booke shewing the miserable estate of Papists both in England vnder Q. Mary and elsewhere vnder the Popes irreligious tyrrannie weakely defended by N. D. in a leud Libel intitled the WARNE-WORD The Preface to the second Booke THE nature of