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A03335	Mystical babylon, or Papall Rome A treatise vpon those words, Apocal. 18.2. It is fallen, it is fallen Babylon, &c. In which the wicked, and miserable condition of Rome, as shee now is in her present Babylonian estate, and as she shall be in her future ineuitable ruine, is fully discouered: and sundry controuersiall points of religion, betwixt the Protestants, and the Papists, are briefly discussed. By Theophilus Higgons, rector of the parochiall Church of Hunton, neere Maidstone in Kent.	Higgons, Theophilus, 1578?-1659.	1624 (1624)	STC 13455; ESTC S118140	129,351	289

which wee haue not already found FOVRTHLY and lastly wee may obserue that as the mysticall condition of this Babylonian Rome is by cleere remonstrance made by learned and iudicious men notoriously discouered vnto all the World so the hornes of the Papall Beast haue begun to fall from his head his power being thereby much abated and neuer likely to bee recouered againe but one horne after another shall be plucked off Wherefore as I may certainly conclude that the Turke shall not destroy the states and dignities of these ten Kings whatsoeuer Zanchius a learned and profound Diuine did conceiue to the contrary for which he suffered some opposition as in the second part of his Miscellanea it may appeare and whatsoeuer Melancthon himselfe deliuered in his publike Lectures that all Germanie should bee possessed by the Turke and my reason is grounded vpon the Scripture shewing that the ten Kings which arose with the second Beast in Rome shall destroy Rome at the last and therefore if the Turke obtaine their Kingdomes it must be after the fal of the Rome which they must first ruinate so I may very reasonably and probably affirme that the Kings which are alreadie fallen from the Beast the Pope shall neuer returne vnto him againe to giue their power a second time vnto him and to submit their Royall States vnto the Papall Crowne But if Babylon should aduance her selfe in England againe which wee haue no cause to feare nor Papists reason to hope yet that shall not hinder the accomplishment of this worke for Babylon must fall it is decreed by GOD it shall bee performed by these Kings Notwithstanding since Babylon is full of malice and indignation playing first the Foxe to enter into the Lords Vineyard that shee might be a Lyon afterwards to kill the Keepers thereof let vs not be secure in obseruing her courses nor fearefull to sustaine her conflict Let vs be prepared for that which may not perhaps be prepared for vs Wee must not bee wanting to Martyrdome though it may bee wanting vnto vs ne desit animus Martyrio saith Saint Cyprian Let vs not want a mind to die for the truth of Christ hee may be an habituall Martyr euer that is an actuall neuer in preparation of mind not in passion of bodie in will and not in worke as Saint Bernard speaketh of Saint Iohn the Euangelist that hee was a Martyr in will though not in worke whereas the Innocents were Martyrs in worke but not in will and Saint Stephen in both But here let no man deceiue himselfe with a sudden apprehension of Martyrdome as a matter of little difficultie to vndergo but let him consider rather that multi ante persecutionem Leones in persecutione cerui many are Lyons in the time of peace but Harts in the time of persecution as one of the Ancients spake by experience of those times that many who speake gloriously of their resolution appeare cowards in their performance as the historie of Doctor Pendleton and Master Sanders may testifie and finally that they whom God calleth vnto so great a worke shall bee prepared by him with gifts conuenient for that purpose Therfore Saint Ambrose writing vnto his sister Marcella Epist 44. saith modestly of himselfe because God knew me to be weake hee hath not yet giuen the Deuill power ouer my bodie And though I should desire martyrdome and offer my selfe vnto it perhaps he doth iudge mee yet to be vnable for so great a strife and therefore doth exercise mee with other labours and diuers afflictions but hath not tried mee in this kind O the rare humilitie of such an excellent spirit Let vs then by his example bee willing not boasting readie not desirous to dye for the cause of God if Babylon should yet againe try vs in the fire of her persecution before shee come to the fire of her owne ruine And so much of the third point namely the time when Babylon shall be destroyed by these Kings The FOVRTH Question THe FOVRTH and last question concerneth the state of the Pope of Papists and of Poperie vpon this fall of Babylon whether hee and they and it shall come vnto a finall extirpation with Babylon or what may bee conceiued probably of each in the discourse of iudgement and reason by deduction out of the sacred Scripture it selfe This question then hath three seuerall branches as you heare and therefore I will treate of them all in order as it shall please God to assist mee with the celestiall illumination of his blessed Spirit The FIRST Branch of the fourth Question concerning the POPE WE doe not now enquire concerning the Person of the Pope whether a Iohn as many were or a Iohne as one was supposed to be but concerning the State place office and dignitie of the Pope and as hee is the Second Beast in Babylon inuading there the Imperiall Seat and by another forme or colour of gouernment vsurping the Imperiall power as the ancient Fathers doe vsually speake of Antichrist according to the tenour of the Scripture it selfe in this behalfe and as the experience of latter ages doth really verifie and exhibite the truth of their iudgement herein vnto our eyes I answere then that as Bellarmine doth vainely flatter himselfe lib. 4. de Pont. Rom. cap. 4. concerning the time of this ruine of Babylon namely that it shall not be vntill the end of the world and in the time of their chimericall and imagined Antichrist whose reigne enduring three yeeres and an halfe is ended by the second comming of our Lord Iesus Christ as they simply pretend so hee doth delude himselfe and others when he saith that in the time and after the time of her ruine the Pope shall bee called and indeed shall be Romanus Pontifex the Bishop of Rome For the truth is apparant by the tenour of the sacred Booke of the Reuelation that the Papall Beast is the cause of the expedition made by the tenne Kings against Babylon that this warre made vpon Babylon is in regard of the pride oppression and other sinnes in Babylon as shee is borne vp and supported by the second Beast whose Dominion was aduanced by their submission vnto him and shall bee suppressed by their concurrencie against him It is not then a quarrell against the Citizens or the edifices of Rome but against her vsurpations exercised by the Triple-crowned Beast therein Neither had these Kings performed their designe if when they burnt the Citie of Rome the Beast should still remaine Therefore as Babylon it selfe shall fall so the power of her Beast shall be destroyed by these Kings as being coupled and commixed with the same For as the ruine of Literall Babylon was accompanied with the ruine of the Chaldaean Empire so the fall of Mysticall Babylon shall bee accompanied with the fall of her Beast whom these Kings will now permit no more to tyrannize with Papall dominion in the Ciuill or Ecclesiasticall State for as the power of the Beast standeth

MYSTICAL BABYLON OR Papall Rome A Treatise vpon those words APOCAL 18.2 It is fallen it is fallen BABYLON c. In which the wicked and miserable condition of Rome as shee now is in her present Babylonian estate and as she shall be in her future ineuitable ruine is fully discouered And sundry Controuersiall points of Religion betwixt the Protestants and the Papists are briefly discussed By Theophilus Higgons Rector of the Parochiall Church of Hunton neere Maidstone in KENT PSAL. 119.126 It is time for thee LORD to lay to thine hand for they haue destroyed thy Law LONDON Printed by William Stansby for Matthew Lownes and William Barret 1624. TO THE RIGHT HONORABLE SIR HENRY MOVNTAGV Knight Baron of KIMBOLTON Viscount MAVNDEVILLE Lord President of his MAIESTIES most Honorable Priuie Counsaile Right noble and truly Christian LORD SInce I haue presumed to appeare thus in publique and to treate peculiarly of this subiect Mysticall Babylon rather then of any other and finally to recommend this Treatise vnto your fauourable patronage I stand therefore obliged to expresse my Motiues and Reasons in the two former points for the generall satisfaction of others and in the last for the particular of your Honorable Selfe As for the FIRST I am not mooued vpon any oblique respect to take vp the Sword of my Pen in this spirituall warfare I am not vexed with the ambition of preferment nor affectation of applause for I desire earnestly of God that the diuine sentence of Saint Paul may bee deeply grauen in my heart The World is crucified vnto me and I vnto the World Neither am I prouoked vnto this designe out of any spleene or vindictiue humour against the Church of Rome or any person therein and indeed I haue beene so farre from giuing them any speciall distaste that I haue obserued the tearmes of ciuill and morall respect towards some of them to my greater preiudice then I will either bragge or complaine of vnto the World But the true and proper causes are these First I am bound as a dutifull Sonne of my Mother-Church from whose sacred breasts I drew the first nutriment of my faith to succour and comfort her in her distressed estate while the little Foxes of Rome eate vp her Grapes and the wild Boare thereof seeketh to enter into the Vineyard of God And therefore since euery man indued with any facultie of writing should performe his seruice vnto the Church of God especially when and where the contagion of Heresie doth dilate it selfe as Saint Augustine doth grauely aduise I could not bee silent in so necessarie a time for as wee shall answere vnto God for our idle words so wee shall answere vnto him for our dangerous silence Secondly to make some satisfaction thereby vnto the Church of God which being vniustly wronged by my meanes doth iustly challenge this remedie of my paines that the hand which hath hurt her may somewhat helpe her and that as I haue made a wound so I may make a cure againe Thirdly to procure the sweete peace of my conscience towards God that I may heale the wound which I haue formerly made vnto my owne soule Christian Wisdome teaching me to powre some Oile into that to supple it which hath found so much Vineger to fret it and therefore I am resolued to neglect all troubles without that I may find this comfort within Fourthly to exempt hereby all scruple out of their hearts who desire to vnderstand the state and disposition of my conscience in the matter of Religion For as Saint Hierome being vehemently suspected of the infection of Origens errours did therefore diuert that suspition by cleere publication of his mind in writing That they who would not beleeue his tongue in his deniall might yet beleeue his Pen in his refutation thereof as hee doth ingeniously write in this behalfe so I find my selfe very deeply charged in the point of conscience and discretion to giue sufficient notice vnto all the sonnes of my Mother touching my Faith and Religion by some Treatise now to bee published vnto the World and to remayne I hope after my decease as a Record what I doe certainly beleeue concerning the doctrine of faith professed in this Church of England and oppugned by the Church of Rome SECONDLY therefore I haue made speciall election of this subiect concerning Rome and her ruine as being of greatest importance in it self and specially in these dayes For whereas the most vsuall subiects of disputation betwixt vs and the Papists are particular and therefore haue a particular issue of veritie or falshood therein this is of an higher nature of a larger extent and of a more generall effect for that it doth concerne not onely a part of her doctrine but the whole being of the Church of Rome it toucheth not a branch or two but the very root it selfe it reacheth not onely vnto a piece of her building but vnto the very foundation thereof And therefore this disputation viz. Whether and How the name of Babylon in the visions of Saint Iohn doth agree vnto Rome is of singular consequence thereby to confront the audacious insultations of her politike Agents to giue an Antidote against the poyson which they seeke to instill into many vnsetled hearts that so they who are fallen from the truth may bee happily reduced vnto it and they who are falling may be strongly confirmed in the same Now THIRDLY and lastly it remaineth most worthy Lord that I make true remonstrance of the causes which haue bred this confidence in mee to offer vp this little Treatise vpon the Altar of your Honourable fauour I speake not of your descent and extraction out of a Noble Family nor of your high degree of Honour nor of your speciall aduancement in the State for which respects many men apply themselues vnto the seruice and attendance of great persons but aboue all things I am comforted in your sincere and constant profession of the Truth which grace seemeth to be hereditarie in your House as being spectable in all the branches thereof Since therefore Greatnesse and Goodnesse haue mutuall coniunction in your Lordships person I cannot suppose that a Worke of this nature can want your acceptation nor the Author thereof your protection Whereof also I conceiue the greater hope because I haue knowne heretofore by the double testimonie of mine eyes and eares the gracious inclination of your Honour towards mee and that onely for the Truths sake and the Words sake as indeed I haue euer found them to be my most assured and certaine friends that haue affected mee in this regard But if I should need or seeke any externall or farther motiue to induce your Honour to vouchsafe your patronage vnto mee and vnto this Treatise I would not goe out of your owne Family though it must bee from the liuing to the dead but I would intreate it by the deare and precious memory of that religious learned most accomplished Prelate your famous Brother

Nineueh vpon her repentance Should I not spare Nineueh that great Citie Ionah 4.11 Now therefore since Ethnicall Rome is past and that state is abolished saith Parsons for which cause she did beare the name of Babylon and Saint Hierome hath assured vs that Rome by her confession of Christ hath blotted out the blasphemie written in her forehead which point the Babylonians doe greedily embrace to their vnhappy excec●ation since Rome hath turned from her former sinnes and done righteousnesse since she hath had a glorious name by her renowmed Faith after the time of Paganisme Idolatrie and Persecution vnder her ancient Emperours since in our opinion she was a glorious member of the Church and in their opinion shee is still the Head Queene and Mistresse thereof embracing and propounding the truely Catholike Faith and finally since her ensuing repentance hath cleered the score of her preceding sins how can it consist with Gods Truth that in regard of her sinnes so long past and so deepely repented of he should lay a destruction vpon her in the time yet to come for it is yet to be fulfilled and that in so terrible and vnexemplifiable a manner Apocal. 18. Her ruine therefore and such a ruine which is yet to come when her Ethnicall estate is so long past doth sufficiently proue that later sinnes in a future age should renue and reuiue her old name if Babylon euer were the name of ancient Rome according to the tenour of the Scriptures and bring her vnto this lamentable end it being one of the last Tragicall acts of Gods Iustice vpon the great Theater of the world as it appeareth in the historicall predictions of this Scripture Secondly I make farther remonstrance of that position by the IVSTICE of God For he will not punish the children for their fathers sins euery one shall die for his owne Ezek. 18.4 Since therefore Rome is yet to be destroyed this destruction doth not attend her ancient sinnes committed in her Ethnicall estate and done away by her repentance in her Christian estate but for latter sinnes in latter ages wherein she was to beare the scandall of this name and to suffer ruine for the same Innocent Rome shall not perish for nocent Rome not the latter for the former not the Papall for the Imperiall not the Church for the State there cannot bee iniustice in God Shall not the Iudge of all the world doe right Yet I confesse that in succeeding ages God doth sometimes remember the sin of ages past and so it is said of Babylon Apocal. 18.5 God hath remembred her iniquities but in this case latter ages doe renew imitate and increase the sinnes of the former And so I grant that for her old sinnes of Idolatrie Persecution c. renewed afterward Rome shall suffer this ruine as Ribera and Viegas the Iesuites doe confesse Meane while this is the point which I commend here vnto your prudent obseruation If Rome were sinfull Babylon here spoken of onely in her Ethnicall estate which is a plausible delusion she should haue suffered her fatall punishment here threatned during that Ethnicall estate and not in her Christian condition whereas the speciall calamities of Rome since the time of this prediction ensued vpon Christian Rome not Ethnicall Rome by the furious incursions and impressions of the Goths and Vandalls which were castigations of Christian Rome and not of Ethnicall nor Antichristian Babylon whose finall and vtter subuersion being yet to come and neerer vnto the end of the world therefore Gods Truth and his Iustice doe cleerely euince that shee was to bee Babylon againe if shee were so once before and to bee stamped with this hatefull name after the time of her entertainment of Christian Religion and after the expiration of her Ethnicall estate this name arising out of a latter condition of sinnes for which shee should fall and in latter times in which shee should perish by the iust indignation of God and Man And so much for the second remonstrance THIRDLY I make remonstrance of my position by the ingenious and faire confession of two learned Babylonians themselues they also being Iesuites of eminent qualitie publike Readers in their Schooles who by diligent inquisition into the very Text of this Scripture and carefull obseruation of the circumstances thereof oppose themselues against the common errour of their owne side and cleerely deduce out of the coherence of many circumstances in this Scripture that this BABYLON doth signifie Rome not in her Ethnicall estate onely as the Papists doe more ordinarily conceiue but neere the conclusion of the world that then shee shall by her great sinnes deserue this name and therefore come to ruine Neither doe I make vse of their confession because it commeth from aduersaries but because they make it out of the conscience of truth grounded vpon the cleere euidence of the Scripture For I should thinke meanely of my cause if the truth and certaintie of my assertion stood vpon the falshood and errour of their confession and had no better strength to support it selfe The first Babylonian is Ribera a man of no vulgar note as being a Doctor of Diuinitie and professour thereof in Salmantica a famous Academy of Spaine This man wrote a Commentary vpon the Reuelation of Saint Iohn where treating vpon these words Apocal 14.8 Babylon that great Citie is fallen hee proueth by sundry infallible circumstances of the Scripture Apoc. 17. that this Babylon is not the generall societie of wicked men but a particular Citie and finally the Citie of Rome and therefore he concludeth his disputation as I noted before vpon that point in these words Omnia profectò nisi in Romam non conueniunt certainely all the circumstances in the Text cannot agree vnto any other place but vnto Rome alone in cap. 14. num 31. Then he commeth num 32. to explicate the state and condition of Rome in regard whereof this name Babylon and this ruine shee is fallen belong vnto her in this sacred Reuelation And here suspecting the scandall and offence of his owne brethren he entreth vpon this discourse with a preoccupation in this sad and graue manner Offensionem pio Lectori amoueri volo I will that no pious Reader a Romane Catholike that is to say a Babylonian should take offence at my exposition as if it were aduantagious vnto the Heretickes the Protestants who assume vnto themselues an occasion vpon this name of Babylon ascribed here vnto Rome to lay an imputation vpon the Church of Rome and our holy Father the Pope Wherfore num 34. hee saith that this name of Babylon agreed vnto Rome as shee was in her Ethnicall State an Idolatrous persecuting Citie but now saith hee the case is altered for shee is and long hath beene the Mistresse of Faith and the Mother of Christians Then hee addeth immediately Si quando haec eadem fecerit quae Iohannis tempore faciebat iterum Babylon vocabitur if Rome shall commit the same things hereafter which

insisted very long vpon it and so I hasten vnto the fift proofe of my assertion wherewith I will speedily conclude this whole point and with it the first part of this discourse FIFTLY then and lastly I proue my assertion to be true in regard of the markeable corruptions and abominations in Rome for which shee shall bee destroyed by the iust and seuere iudgement of God as Ribera and Viegas doe both confesse vpon the certaine and indubious euidence of the sacred Text. Since therefore all the iniquities and impieties for which Rome deserueth the name of Babylon in this Scripture are pregnantly and notoriously found in Ecclesiasticall or Papall Rome as I will demonstrate in the next and second part of this Sermon wherein we shall behold the similitude betwixt the two Babylons the Mother in East and the Daughter in the West the literall and the spirituall and since the iustice of God will punish Babylonian Rome in her second and latter condition after her Ethnicall estate is past because in this latter condition she will imitate the wickednesse of Rome in her former and so become a Babylon againe as these Iesuites inferre out of the Text and indeed she is now and long hath beene such a Babylon in regard of these iniquities whereof I shall presently intreat therefore Ecclesiasticall or Papall Rome is Babylon truely to bee stiled with that name and iustly to be destroyed for that cause The impieties to be found in Babylon are found in Ecclesiasticall Rome how can she then auoid her title but that shee is Babylon or how can shee escape her ruine but that she shall fall as the Angell doth heere proclaime It is fallen it is fallen Babylon c. Thus now at the length I haue finished the fourth and last interpretation of this name Babylon being the subiect of my Text and contayning the sinne of Rome For as Salomon ascended by seuerall steps vnto his Royall Throne so by certaine gradations we haue passed from one point vnto another till we arriued vnto the true certaine and indisputable knowledge of this mysticall name which in many Ages hath so much exercised the wit of many learned men FIRST some conceiued that this name was imposed vpon the generall societie of the wicked but we haue prooued that it doth belong vnto a particular place SECONDLY some conceiued that this particular place is Rome indeed howbeit in her Ethnicall estate onely which is past long since but we haue prooued that it is Rome in another estate also succeeding after the Ethnicall by the testimonie of learned Iesuits founded vpon the plaine and certaine sense of this holy Writ THIRDLY whereas they lay the scandall of this name and crime thereof vpon the Citie alone but not vpon the Church of Rome and vpon the Citie also after her defection from the Pope but not before therefore we haue prooued that this mysticall name belongeth truly and properly vnto Ecclesiasticall or Papall Rome according to the present condition wherein she continueth after many Ages and shall so remayne vntill her dolefull ruine In a word then this BABYLON is Rome and no other place it is Rome in her present condition also and not onely past it is Rome not onely in regard of the Citie fallen from the Pope but as it is the Papall Seat and flourishing vnder the Pope whose power shall one day fall with her glorie the Whore being burnt with fire and the Beast being destroyed by the vnited forces of the ten Kings who haue loued the Whore and honoured her Beast but shall mortally yea immortally hate them both And now in this explication of Babylon I doe so securely and confidently reappose that I doe not esteeme it probable onely and in such a measure that no Babylonian can lay the like probabilitie vpon any other PERSON except the Pope to be the Antichrist foretold by Saint Paul 2. Thes 2.3 and to bee the second Beast foreseene by Saint Iohn Apoc. 13.11 nor vpon any other PLACE except Rome Ecclesiasticall to be this Babylon in my Text but I esteeme it to be so certaine so cleere so easie and so fairely deduced vnto the vnderstanding of euery ingenious Auditour that no Babylonian though he barke at it shall bite it in sunder nor euer be able with Art Learning Iudgement and Conscience sufficiently to refute the same Here then is place of admiration as well as of commiseration to behold so many blind Babylonians that doe not or rather will not see the truth but run on with preiudice against it and neuer reflect with an indifferent mind towards it abusing their wit to folly their learning to ignorance their studie to vanitie their talent to losse and their time to vnprofitablenesse in this dispute Shall I then inueigh against their courses in this behalfe No I will pray for them with the earnest zeale and tender affection of my heart O Lord open thy truth vnto the knowledge of their hearts and frame their hearts vnto the obedience of thy truth that searching for Babylon they may finde it finding it may hate it hating it may flye it flying it may giue notice of it vnto others that they who are fallen may come out of it and they who are falling may not come into it but liue in thy feare and dye in thy fauour to their vnspeakable comfort through Iesus Christ our Lord Amen The SECOND Inquisition Why this name of Babylon is imposed vpon Ecclesiasticall or Papall ROME THough the greatest difficultie in my Text bee now past for that wee haue now a sufficient notice of Babylon and doe vnderstand that Papall Rome is the spirituall Babylon therein yet wee must discouer what is the conformitie betwixt the old Babylon in the ancient Prophets Esay and Ieremy and the new in our propheticall Euangelist Saint Iohn that the knowledge of the first may conduct vs vnto the knowledge of the second Wherefore though the Iesuites finding Rome to be Babylon in two estates the one Ethnicall and past the other Antichristian and to come as they suppose do here compare Rome with Rome it selfe Rome in the latter condition with Rome in the former and so seeke out the correspondencie of Antichristian Rome with Ethnicall Rome yet I will now disclaime that manner of proceeding and rather follow the purport of the Scripture then the practise of the Iesuites in this kind First because I doe not yet sufficiently conceiue the said twofold estate of Rome in this Chapter as they pretend to be vayled vnder this name of Babylon as if Rome neere twice here intitled with that name but that she is certainly called heere by this name after the extinction of Ethnicall Idolatry and after her reception of the Christian Faith and after the decay of the Romane Empire and as she was to be vnder Antichrist which estate we say is alreadie come and the Papists expect it as yet to come neere vpon the end of the world Secondly because Saint Iohn

of this horrible treason by Sixtus in his Oration pronounced vnto the Cardinalls in his Consistorie to this purpose Bellarmine doth confidently answere that this Oration was neuer deliuered by the Pope that hee liuing in Rome heard no mention of it that the Cardinalls conuersing then in the Court protested that they neuer had any knowledge of the same and so the point is vtterly denied and must bee reputed for a deuice of such as were the enemies of the Church O bloudie Citie it is all full of lyes saith Nahum the Prophet of Nineuch and I may now so speake of Rome for here is lying added vnto murthering impudencie vnto crueltie what veritie then what equitie what conscience can you expect from her Note therefore that amongst some Romish Priests that tooke and defended the Oath of Alleageance though for this cause they haue beene censured publikely in the Sermons of some Iesuites by the name of Wolues such as had no commission to teach to absolue to minister the Sacraments c. as hauing lost their whole authoritie by taking this Oath and perswading others to doe the like to the high preiudice and impugnation of S. Peters Seate from whence it was deriued there was one William Warmington Chaplaine vnto Cardinall Allen vpon the very time that this panegyricall Oration proceeded from that vaine-glorious Pope who by his Pontificiall excommunication deposed our late gracious Queene and now in a solemne speech commended the murther by way of admiration which Clement had perpetrated vpon the sacred person of that vnhappy Prince This Warmington therefore in a booke published for the defence of the said Oath doth freely and ingenuously confesse that this Oration being vttered in the Consistorie by Sixtus the Pope his Lord and Master being then and there present was earnestly requested by some of the Cardinalls to recollect the speech of his Holinesse and to commit the same to writing which he being a man of singular memorie did accordingly performe with the commendations and thankes of the said Cardinalls affirming that to their best remembrance this coppie presented vnto them by Cardinall Allen did truely containe word for word the verie Oration pronounced vnto them by his Holinesse so that this was the originall and Mother-coppie whence so many transcripts were made and issued forth into the publike view And he saith further that his speciall friend Master William Rainolds author of Caluino-Turcismus remaining then in the Low Countries and receiuing a transcript of the said coppie from him conceiued the said speech to bee a certaine approbation of that fact as indeed the forme and matter thereof doe sufficiently euince O Bellarmine where is thy conscience of the truth O Sixtus where is thy tender respect of Christian bloud yea more of Princes and yet more of the first borne and eldest sonne of thy Church O Babylon where is thy shame that darest thus admire approoue extoll without one word or syllable of dislike that ingenuitie is not in thy whorish breast such a murther so wickedly executed and vpon so great a Prince FIFTHLY and lastly the crueltie of Babylon appeareth by her doctrines tending to the effusion of bloud She can depose Kings from their States shee can absolue Subiects from their Alleageance she can bestow Kingdomes at her pleasure shee can stirre vp hostile inuasions shee can authorize secret murthers of Princes by Daggers Poysons or any other detestable meanes as you shall heare in my second Sermon from Mariana a Iesuite as farre from the true nature of Iesus as neere vnto his sacred name Hence it is that many Emperours and Princes in ancient times fearefully obseruing the powerfull incantations of Babylon and that their liues with their estates stood by vertue thereof in perpetuall danger for he may easily take away the life of another that contemneth his owne as many inchanted Babylonians doe were therefore compelled by humane feare to entertaine that vnitie and correspondencie with her in outward tearmes which they hated and contemned in their inward thoughts For as Porsenna the ancient King of Hetruria was induced to spare the life and farther torment of Mutius a confident and glorious Romane who offered priuate violence vnto his Royall person when hee heard Mutius solemnely protesting that the death of Porsenna was certainly concluded vpon by a number of Romanes no lesse resolute vnto that action then himselfe and no lesse resolued to suffer any torment then to aduenture vpon any perill for that end and purpose and thereupon Porsenna desisting from his warres made a peace with the Romanes out of feare and not of loue so there haue beene sundry Princes in former Ages that perceiuing this vehement and formidable inclination in the Romanists to act any villanie and to suffer any penaltie so that they might attaine vnto their desired end to subuert Kingdomes to depose Kings to lay violent hands vpon their persons c. were thereby inforced to submit themselues vnto the Babylonian Monarch rather choosing to liue vnder his tyrannie then to die by his designes Thus also euery man that standeth in speciall opposition vnto Babylon the Mother of Murthers may truly say with Dauid There is but a step betweene me and death 1. Sam. 20.3 Howbeit that should bee the resolution of euery Christian Prince in the behalfe of Gods truth which was the reckoning of vertuous Hester in the behalfe of her people If I perish I perish Yet feare not O Religious Princes it is Gods cause which you maintaine therefore hee will also maintaine you he will defend the defenders of his Faith hee hath a better guard of holy Angels about your Royall persons The diffidence of his preseruation in any ariseth from the imbecillitie of faith not resting vpon his word and promise If the noble aspect of Scipio bred such an awfull reuerence in the hearts of theeues and murtherers that they did therefore rather admire his vertue then seeke his life when they came into his presence doubt yee not but that God will worke such an impression of feare in the hearts of Babylonian Traytors that they shall not dare attempt or at the least not effectuate any course of violence and iniquitie against your sacred Persons Finally to conclude this point of Romish crueltie let no faithfull and sincerely affected Nazianzen an earnest Preacher a zealous Writer a well deseruing Prelate or Minister in the Church despaire of Gods protection though a Murtherer dare vndertake to assaile him in any priuate manner or secret place as sometimes it fell out in the case of that learned constant and glorious Bishop related by himselfe in the description of his owne life Be couragious then in the behalfe of Gods eternall truth feare not the crueltie of Babylon death is the debt of Nature by the desert of sinne to die for Gods cause it is an act of glorie in this World and it hath a reward in Heauen Let thy tongue therefore speake and thy pen write and thy heart pray let

hereafter This consequence Ludonicus ab Alcasar either well perceiuing or vehemently suspecting it to ensue vpon the said confession of his brethren hath therefore cast a new myst vpon the matter drawne a vayle before our eyes contradicted their exposition wrested the sacred Text vnto his foolish and ridiculous fancie as if the state of this Babylon and her fall were past that so wee might not discerne the true Babylon which is now present nor her certaine fall which is yet to come But let mee here speake a word or two for I am to passe vnto other matters touching this learned grando Ludouicus ab Alcasar If this Babylon be Rome onely in her Ethnicall estate and if Rome haue not any other fall but only a mysticall fall viz. by falling vnto Christian Religion from that estate which estate hath now beene extinct neere vpon the space of one thousand three hundred yeres and yet it appeareth in the frame and tenour of the sacred Booke of the Reuelation that no speciall and notable matter of propheticall prediction therein doth interuene or come betwixt the ruine of Babylon which is described historically Chapter 18. there being a prolepsis only or briefe anticipation thereof Chapter 14.8 and the consummation of the world for after the fall of Babylon Chapter 18. S. Iohn proceedeth Chapter 19. to an applause of the Saints for her destruction then Chapter 20. to a recapitulation of things past with a declaration of the generall Iudgement being then shortly to come then finally Chapter 21. and 22. to a description of the heauenly Ierusalem and the happy condition of the Saints therein c. it must necessarily follow that this voluminous Iesuite of Alcasar this man of the Land of Nod in the tohu and bohu the vanitie and inanitie of his large and copious Commentarie vpon this diuine Booke hath left open so wide a gap of one thousand three hundred yeres or neere vpon that space alreadie past besides that time which is yet to come in the state of the Church and of the world without any sufficient matter of Historicall prediction to fill vp the same And yet who doth not perceiue by the beginning and the ending of this Booke that it doth in the passages thereof generally containe a perpetuall and a continued Historie of the Church in her whole decourse euen from the time of Saint Iohn vnto the end of the world Farewell then gentle Ludouicus ab Alcasar with your little wit and lesse honestie and so I returne my benigne and courteous Auditors vnto you againe Reioyce you therefore in this inestimable Booke embrace it with gratitude conuerse in it with diligence admire what you vnderstand and what you vnderstand not admire it the more search it with industrie enter into it with praier despise not the opinion of others presume not vpon your owne let not the obscuritie of some things yet vnknowne make you neglect the vtilitie of so many things and particularly this mysterie of Babylon alreadie knowne therein Read it reuerence it repute it as it is the sacred Oracle of God committed vnto his Church to sustaine her patience and to confirme her faith SECONDLY wee haue great cause to commend Gods goodnesse and to applaud our owne happinesse in the certaine and cleere discouerie of Babylon in this diuine and mysticall Booke For as the Starre did lead the Wise-men to find out Bethlehem where Christ was borne so this Scripture doth guide and conduct vs vnto the knowledge of Babylon wherein Antichrist doth reigne Rome shall not therefore infatuate vs with her glorious title of the Mother-Church for now wee know her to bee the Mother of Fornications shee shall not insult with the faire priuiledge of the Apostolicall Seate for now wee know her to be an Apostaticall Synagogue shee shall not beare vs downe with the supremacie of a Papall Head-ship for now wee know who is the Second Beast intruding vpon the Seate and Dominion of the former with a larger challenge of power extensiuè in place and intensiuè in degree now we know who hee is that aduanceth himselfe ouer Kings and Emperours ouer States and Crownes ouer Church and Common-wealth by his false Keyes and pretensed Swords THIRDLY whereas this Romish Babylon cryeth out vpon our separation from her Societie wee are warranted nay wee are commanded thereunto by the voyce of God himselfe Goe out of her my people and the reason is not there taken only from her sinnes in that shee is Babylon but from her punishment also in that shee shall fall for so it followeth that you bee not partakers in her sinnes and that you receiue not of her plagues of which I am to treate when I come vnto the predicate of my Text. Meane while you may obserue that this Exodus this departure out of Babylon is Corporall and not spirituall onely unto sch as haue Locall communion with her and dwell within her walls but it is Spirituall onely and not corporall vnto such as dwelling in England France c. haue doctrinall communion with her and are members depending vpon her head so that this word her goe out of her importeth not onely her site and place but her societie and errours Goe then specially out of these ô you his people whether within or without her walls whether you bee in Rome where God hath some people euen by the testimony of the Text or whether in any other part of the world And since shee casteth you out of her societie desire it not for it is vnto your owne danger shee doth that for you which God requireth you to doe for your selues And now let mee in a few words addresse my speech vnto rhetoricall Campian insulting vpon the Protestants with his termes of derision and contempt Audito nomine Ecclesiae hostis expalluit saith hee our aduersarie waxed pale when hee heard the very name of the Church as if the Protestant could produce no Catalogue of names for any visible existencie and lawfull succession of his Church which Rome onely hath and the Protestant hath not How shallow weake malicious and vnlearned a pretence this is either against vs or for themselues it is now no conuenient time nor proper occasion to dispute I will attend both as it shall please God in his prouidence to direct mee in this behalfe But vnto Campian I returne my answere truely fairely and pertinently by the verdict of my Text. Audito nomine Babylonis hostis expalluit our aduersarie waxed pale vpon the very name of Babylon it troubled his wit it vexed his heart it is a terrour vnto his soule for hee liueth in that from which hee ought to flye if hee haue any part in Gods people Now as the cause of our separation from Rome is necessarie in many respects and is grounded here vpon such a principle as cannot bee denied so wee need not depart from Rome but because she is Babylon and as she is Babylon as she is departed