mens armures and erected it in the market place yet we neuer reade that he made a Roodeloft or placed the Crosse vpon the altar And thynke ye that Eusebiê° would haue forgotteÌ„ thys which did remember far smaller matters if any such thyng of a truth had bene Wherfore whatsoeuer you déeme of other or whatsoeuer youre owne wisdome be your supposal in thys case is neither true nor lykely to be true PeradueÌ„ture ye suppose that your hote interrogations of Shal vve thynke Folio 47. and constant asseuerations of No man of vvisdome can thinke wyll make vs by and by yelde vnto a lye But we are no children we are not to be feared with rattels ye must bryng better matter than your own thinking and souÌ„der proufes than Siluester hys wryting or els your Crosse shal be little cared for We know what idle tales and impudent lyes of Constantines donation Peter and Paules apparition wyth suche other lyke are in the decrées ascribed to Siluester And thence ye fetche your authoritie that Constantine made a Church in honor of S. Paul and set a Crosse of gold vpon hys cophyne Folio 47. vvayghing an hundreth and fifty pounde vveyght O what an ouersight was thys in Eusebius that writing hys lyfe auauncing his actes suppressed such a notable and famous piece of worke O what a scape was this of Sozomenus that making mention of hys lyttle chappel forgat the great Church But as the Prophet sayth Hiere 10 an Image is a teacher of lyes so must your Imagery be defended with lyes or els they wyll fall to nought I perceiue ye be driuen to very narow shiftes when ye bryng the authoritie of a bishop of Orleance to auouche the auncientie of the signe of a Crosse Swete floures be rare where nettels be so made of But alas what hath he that furthereth youre cause Take away the terme of Legitimê° whereby he calleth it a lawful custome I wyl not contende for any piece of hys assertion I know that it crept not into the Churche first in the tyme of Charles to haue the signe of the Crosse vsed I know the custome receaued in some places was thrée hundreth yeare elder than he Yet not wythout contradiction at any tyme. Wherfore in this and suche other cases wher eyther against the vniuersal Scripture a custome generall is pretended or a priuate custome without the worde established let the rule of S. Augustine take place rather Omnis talia que neque sanctaruÌ„ scripturaruÌ„ authoritatibus continentur nec in concilijs episcoporum statuta inueniuntur Epist 119. nec consuetudine vniuerse ecclesie robâ—â—atu sunt sed diuersorum locorum diuersis moribus innumerabiliter variantur ita vt vix aut omnino nunquam inueniri possint cause quas in eis instituendis homines secuti sunt vbi facultas tribuitur sine vlla dubitatione resecanda existimo As such thinges as neyther are coÌ„tayned in the authorities of holy Scriptures nor are founde enacted in counsels of the bishops nor are coÌ„firmed by custom of the vniuersal Church but according to the dyuers orders of diuers places innumerably do vary so that the causes may scant or not at all be founde whereby men wer induced to ordayne them I thynke that they ought without all controuersie be cut away Then sith the signe of the Crosse of Christ is not commauÌ„ded in holy Scripture sith no more councels haue coÌ„firmed the vse of it then haue condemned it finally sith the vniuersall Church neuer hath receaued it but only some priuate places where the great Antichrist of Rome preuailed nor they themselues able to alleage a iust and lawful cause of thys their ordinance and wyll worship I conclude say that the signe of the Crosse out of al Churches chapels and oratories out of all places deputed peculiarly to God hys seruice ought to be remoued To the fourth Article ANd wheras ye be now beaten from the walles of your greatest forte and runne into the castell ye leaue of meddeling with Roode or Crucifix and fall to defence of the signe mysticall I must lay some battery to thys holde of yours and I feare me not but I shall fier you out That ceremonies wer of olde receaued in the Church and among the rest the signe of the Crosse draweÌ„ with a finger I deny not I do confesse When men were newly coÌ„uerted froÌ„ Paganisme and ech man was hote in hys profession the Christian would not only with hys harte belief and tong coÌ„fessioÌ„ shew what he was but also in despyte of hys masters enimies declare by som outward signe and by Crossing of hymselfe testifie to the world that he was not ashamed of Christ crucified Hereof haue I wytnesse Tertullian in Apologetico and in hys boke de corona militis Wherevpon the fathers of a zeale and deuotion admitted almost in all thyngs this signe of the Crosse receyued it into God hys seruice as a laudable ceremony and wyshed al men to vse it Hieronymus ad Eustochium Demetriadem Prudentius in Hymnis Yet caÌ„ it not be denied but some were to superstitious in thys case ascribing more to the outward signe thaÌ„ to the vertue signified so they made of a well meaning custome a magicall inchauÌ„tment Nor only the simple dyd in thys case abuse themselues but such as had more learning than the rest and ought to haue ben good scholemasters to other taught superstitious and vnfounde doctrine I report me to Ambrose if he be the author of the funeral oration for Theodosius and also to Ephrem de poenit Cap. 3. Et de armatura Spirituali Cap. 2. which effect if we had not séen by experience in our dayes folowe we would not for the ceremony contende so much But wheras we sée the people so prone to superstition that of euery ceremony they make a necessitie that they bende not their hartes to the consideration of the heauenly mysterye but defix their eyes and repose their affiaunce in the earthly signe we are forced to refuse the same For doctrine in this case wyll not preuaile if the thyng that they trusted to be not taken from them So that the thyng which the aunciente fathers in a better age with lesse abuse wer concented to admitte must not so strayghtly be enforced vpon vs in a woorse tyme to mayntayne a wycked error For as Augustyne sayth Non veruÌ„ est quod dicitur Semel recte factuÌ„ Ad Marcellinum Epist 5. nullatenus esse mutandum Mutata quippe temporis causa quod recte ante factuÌ„ fuerat ita mutari vera ratio plerumque flagitat vt cum ipsi dicant recte noÌ„ fierisi mutetur coÌ„tra veritas clamet recte non fieri nisi mutetur quia vtrumque tunc erit rectuÌ„ si erit pro temporum varietate diuersum Quod enim in diuersitate personarum vno tempore accidere potest vt huic liceat aliquid impun facere quod illi non liceat non
quod dissimilis sit res sed is qui facit Ita ab vna eademque persona diuersis tēporibus tunc opartet aliquid fieri tunc non oportet non quod sui dissimilis sit qui facit sed quando facit It is not true that is sayd A thing that was once well done must in no wyse be altered For when the cause of the tyme is changed good reason doth require the wel done thyng afore so to be changed now That where they say it can not be wel if it be changed the truth on the other syde cryeth out that it can not be well if it be not changed For that which may chaunce at one tyme in diuersity of persons that one may do a thing without offēce which an other may not not that the matter is of it self vnlyke but the party that doth it so in respect of diuerse tymes of the selfe same person now may a thyng be done and now may it not be done not that he is differēt frō hymselfe that doth it but the tyme when he doth it Wherfore I like wel that counsell of Gregory which he gaue to Augustine the Monke whō he sent into Englande to plante a Religion Nouit fraternitas tua Dist 12 cap. Nouit saith he Romanae ecclesiae consuetudinem in qua se meminit esse nutrita sed mihi placet vt siue in Romana siue in Gallicorum siue in qualibet ecclesia inuenisti quod plus omnipotenti Deo possit placere sollicite eligas in Anglorum ecclesia quae adhuc in fide noua est in constitutione precipita quae de multis ecclesijs col ligere poteris infundas Non enim pro locis res sed pro rebus loca amāda sunt Ex singulis ergo quibus cūque ecclesijs quae pia quae religiosa quae recta sunt elige hac quasi in sasciculum collecta apud Anglorum mētes in consuetudinē depone Your brotherhode knoweth the custome of the Romish Church wherin ye remember ye haue bene brought vp But my pleasure is that whatsoeuer ye haue founde be it eyther in the Church of Rome or Frenche Church or any other that more may please almighty God ye carefully choose the same and the best constitutiōs that you can gather out of many Churches poure into the Church of Englande which is as yet raw in the fayth For the customes are not to be embraced for the countrey sake but rather the countrey for the custom sake Chose ye therfore out of al Churches whatsoeuer they are the thynges that are Godly religious and good and these beyng gathered into one bundel repose them as customes in the English mennes hartes So that of the wyse it hath bene alwayes reputed folly to sticke to prescriptiō of tyme or place Only the lawfulnesse of the vse hath brought more or lesse authoritie to the thing Wherfore ye haue no aduauntage of me in that I graunted the vse of Crossing to be auncient in the Church For if it had bene well in oure forefathers yet by Augustines rule it might be ill in vs and therfore to be altered And stifly to defende one certain custome without apparant commodity to the Church is by Pope Gregory hymselfe disproued Only I am sory that imperfections of wise men haue gyuen such president of error to the wilfull I am loth to saye that the fathers themselues were not so wel affected as they ought But ye driue me to lay my finger on thys sore and continually to scratch it The tale of Probianus which ye cyte out of Sozomene in the Tripartite history Folio 48. hath small apparance of truth in it For if he adored not the materiall Crosse he was the better Christian for that but if he beleued not the death of Christ then was he not conuerted vnto the fayth at al. For without Christ and the same crucified our fayth is all in vayne Wherfore whē it is sayd that he vvould not vvorship the cause of our saluation either the writer of this hystory doth il apply thys to the worde materiall or you do ill apply it to your purpose It shuld seme to be a tale framed out of Constantinus apparition when folish worshippers of the Crosse would styl haue moe miracles to cōfirme their Idolatry But as theues that haue robbed do leaue alway some marke behynde them wherby they may be knowen eyther what they were or which way they be gone so thys author of yours leaping ouer the pale hath left a piece of hys cloke behynde hym and ye may tracke hym by the foote For if he ment as your deuise that euer since the death of Christ vvhatsoeuer good hath ben vvrought to mankinde either by good men or holy Angels the same hath bene vvrought by the signe of the Crosse then Angels by lyke haue bodyes to beare it haue hādes to make it But Angels beyng ministring spirites Heb. 7. haue from the beginning wrought many vertues for mans behoufe haue bene by Gods prouidence a defence of the faythful and ouerthrowe of the wicked yet can they not make any materiall Crosse such as is set vp in Churches nor yet mysticall such as men vse to print in their foreheades wherfore eyther the collector of this tale was a lyer or you a fonde applyer Howsoeuer it falles out in ryme yet the reason is good But rather of the twoo I would excuse the author who by the Crosse ment Christ hys passion and lay you in the fault which vnderstode him not For doutlesse if there were such an apparitiō to Probianus as I am not yet persuaded of yet that the meaning of it should be such as you say to driue him to the vvorship of a Crosse in earth hath neyther religion nor reason in it Constantine hymselfe which was as newly cōuerted to the fayth neyther was commaunded to do the lyke nor euer dyd it Cyprian Augustine and Chrisostome intreating al of the passion of Christ do vse the terme of the Crosse as the Apostle hymselfe doth Folio 50. b 1. ad Cor. 1. ad Gal. 5. Vt cruxsit praedicatio de crucifixo That when they name the Crosse by a figure they meane the Crucified Notwithstanding I graūt that in ministration of sacramentes and some tyme otherwyse they séemed all to vse a certayne signe of Crosse not signe material Folio 49. but such as mē do prynt in their foreheades shall we therfore be restrayned to that whereof there is no precept in Scripture nor they thēselues yeld lawful cause But admit their authoritie Thynke you they dyd attribute so great vertue to the wagging of a finger That the holye ghost could be called downe the diuel dryuen away by it Thynke you they would haue neglected Churches refused Sacramentes doubted of their health if a priest had not broken the ayre first and wyth hys holy hande made an ouerthwart signe Learne more good ye Puiné than so fondly
Si angeli sacrificia sibi petant fieri adhibuerint signa ac è diuerso alij testeÌ„tur vni Deo sacrificaÌ„dum neque vlla miracula fecerint ijs vtique non illis credere oportet If Angels require sacrifice to be done vnto them and worke signes with all and contrary wyse some other testifie that Sacrifice must only be made to God and yet doe no miracles we must beleue these and not them And in an other place concerning the Maniches he sayth Signa vt vobis credatur nulla facitis Contra faustum quamuis si ea faceretis vobis credendum non esset Ye worke no miracles sayth Augustine to the Maniches whereby ye may induce vs to beleue you though if ye dyd worke such we ought not therefore to credit you And so say I to you M. Martiall you say the Crosse is able to doe thys and that we sée it not no miracles ye worke and yet if ye dyd so straunge thynges as ye talke of we were not bounde to beleue your doctrine For miracles alone are not sufficient Miracles alone no proufe of doctrine to coÌ„firme and stablish vs in a ryght fayth First of all by the lyne of Scripture we must examine the doctrine that is taught vs then if it do agrée to that we must beleue it yea though we haue no miracle at al but if miracles do come beside theÌ„ are the beleuers more established and such as yet do not beleue be made the more attente to heare and haue a way made for them to come to the fayth Wherfore in some condition they be like to Sacraments Miracles in some part lyke to Sacramentes For both are added as assurances to promises as seales to wrytinges And as Sacramentes do bryng no comfort vnlesse they be receiued by fayth so miracles do not auayle except we haue first a regarde to doctrine In this diuersity to make no difference is ouersight to commend the worse and omit the better is falshode Folio 99. a. You are you say in a great perplexitie vvhere ye shal begin as he that sytteth at a table furnished vvith many delicate dishes vvhereof he shal first taste And I maruell that you so fine a féeder will fall to your crambe Ye are come to a garden set rounde about vvith fresh fragrant flovvers yet ye gather but an handfull of nettels for vs to smell vnto Christ by the touch of his hand spettle of his mouth by a playster of dyrt as you call it healed the sicke opened the eares of the deafe restored the eyes of the blinde And why should not the dyrte of the streats be aswell honoured as the Crosse of the altare since the Scripture doth commende the dyrte but maketh no mention at all of the Crosse since better proufe we haue of miracle wrought by the one than euer can be made for the other If any external meanes Thre reasons vvhy miracles shuld not make for the crosse whereby strange wonders haue come to passe be to be had in admiratioÌ„ why not such as Christ and his Apostles vsed the Scripture mentioneth rather than the ydle deuise of man whereof there is no lawful president Agayne if your assertion were true that miracles vvere vvrought by the signe of the Crosse yet were they not only by the signe of the crosse and therefore the Crosse onely according to your treatise should not without the rest be magnified Last of all if it were true as ye shall neuer proue that such things as you alleage were done sometime by the signe of the Crosse yet this can be no reason why the Crosse shuld now be had in estimation vnlesse ye will haue all meanes and instruments of wonders heretofore wroughte as the hem of Christes garmente the spettle and the clay the shaddowe of Peter and napkin of Paule to be likewise honoured and estéemed of vs. But let me come to rehearsal of your miracles Among theÌ„ this is the fyrst And bycause I will haue your truth in allegations appeare I will put it downe as you haue written it Martiall worde for worde in order At vvhat time the vertuous Lady Helena vvilled as the story mentioneth by reuelation from God Euseb li. 10 Cap. 7. .8 Eccl. Histo. to seeke the Crosse of Christ in Hierusalem fouÌ„d after long digging in the mount of Caluary thre Crosses so confuse that neyther by the title that Pilate set vp in Hebrevve Greeke and Latine neyther by any other means they could discern vvhich vvas the Crosse that bare our sauiour Christ a noble vvoman of the city consumed and spent vvith long sickenesse did he at deathes dore c. Ye note for your credite in the margent the place whence ye haue the story and that you affirme to be out of Eusebiê° his ecclesiasticall historie the tenth boke the seauenth and eyght Chapters Martial belyeth Eusebius But this is a shamefull lye For Eusebiê° hath no such worde And this is a better proufe of the vanitie of your historie that where Eusebius in his third boke de vita Constantini maketh mention of Helena and the place it selfe of Christes sepulchre which by the Emperors commaundement was cleansed yet he speaketh not a word of this miraculous inuention of the Crosse Yet he liued at the same time and was more likely to knowe a truth than other Ye be to blame therfore to belye Eusebius In déede Ruffinus in his first boke seauenth Chapter hath the like that ye talke of But what may be iudged of the story shal afterward appeare And firste for the vertue of Ladye Helena thoughe I woulde be gladde to speake as much good of my countrey-woman as I can yet she was a concubine by your leaue to Constance as it apeareth in Catalogo Caesarum Cap. 1. which is inserted into the Ecclesiasticall history Likewise S. Ambrose Ambros de obitu Theodosij calleth hir StabulariaÌ„ a woman brought vp in an hostrie And as for hir superstition which in part I haue touched before it is too euident But whatsoeuer she was let vs goe to hir facte If she found the Crosse a time was when she found it and the same must be after hir conuersion when Siluester was byshop of Rome For otherwise she could not be so vertuous and religious as ye talke of And Nicephorus Nicephorus Li. 7. ca. 40. affirmeth that by Siluester she was conuerted to the fayth For which cause the author whose credite in this tale ye followe doth write the Inuention of the Crosse to haue bene in the raigne of Constantinus the greate But what sayth your Popeholy lawe to thys Reade your decrée In Decre de Consec di 3. Cap. Crucis Eusebius Papa Crucis Domini nostri Iesu Christi quae nuper nobis gubernacula sanctae Romanae ecclesiae tenentibus quinto nonas Maij inuenta est Eusebius the Pope The Crosse of our Lorde Iesus Christ which of late was
at the first gathering of the Church together newly come frō the Gētiles amōg whom the crosse therfore Christ crucified was vtterly cōtēned was thought very necessary that by this outward meane he might drawe them by a little and a little to think better of Christ so to serue him But what is this to the Crosse in Churches Yea what is it at all to vs God spake thys to Constantine He did well to follow him God hath not spoken thus to vs. Wherefore should we imitate it Shall we that haue had the Gospell preached so long amongst vs we and our forefathers stande in néede of such extraordinary aydes as they that neuer knew God nor heard of him Whatsoeuer our néede is through our owne defaulte surely we ought not to haue them God is not pleased with them In .23 Math Hom. 44. For as Chrisostome saide concerning the lyke superstitions as you doe nowe maintaine carying aboute of S. Iohn Gospels keping little péeces of the Crosse of Christ and esteming of such other reliques I may as iustly saye to you that it is a madnesse to séeke after suche things as heretofore haue bene and an impietie nowe to vse them Chrisostome maketh this obiection to himselfe Did not the handekercher of Peter and shadowe of his body passing by preserue them that were sick Thereto he replies himselfe and saith Etiam anteque dei notitia in hominibus esset ratio erat vt per sanctitatē hominū dei potētia cognosceretur nunc autē insania est Yea before the knowledge of God was in men it was reason that the power of God should be knowen by the holinesse of men But now it is madnesse Euen so saye I to you that although in the time of Constantinus the signe of the Crosse as he did vse it was not onely tollerable but also necessary So nowe it is not onely superfluous but in respect of our abuse impious Thus muche for Constantines apparition But whereas ye applie his example vnto vs saying that as he Folio 32. so long as he serued God and honored his Crosse euer had good successe so euen had vve in all conflictes as long as vve serued God truely and contemned not hys Crosse I say that your comparison is not pleadeable eche part conteyneth some péece of vntruth Lyke a hasty hound ye runne at ryot and in making of likenesses ye be to lycentious Constantine was commaunded to haue the signe of the Crosse no maruell then so long as he obeyed if hée also preuayled But still ye put Non causam pro causa Ye impute his victories aswell to the honoring of the Crosse as to the seruice of God whereas of honor done to the Crosse no word was before spokē He caryed it he reuerently spake of it therby to testify his fayth in Christ but he crowched not to it he put of no Cap to it Now for our victories which you say we atchieued as long as vve serued God truely vvith horrible blasphemies contemned not his Crosse Alas ye take the matter all amisse For as long as we so estéemed the material Crosse as you think good we shoulde so long we cōmitted most horrible blasphemies serued not God at al. Notwtstanding we had successes graūted vs such as in matters that concerne this life be not denyed to the very infidels for as Augustine saith Qui dat foelecitatē in regno caelorū De Ciuit. Dei Li. 5. non nisi solis pijs regnū hoc terrenū pijs impijs confert sicut ei placet cui nihil iniustè placet He that giueth blessednesse in the kingdome of Heauen not but to the godly conferres this earthly rayne both vpō the Godly vpon the Godlesse euen as pleaseth him to whom nothing is vniustly pleasing He that gaue empire rule vnto the Hebrewes that worshipped but one God gaue dominion kingdome also to the Persians the worshipped moe Gods He that gaue increase of Corne Graine to the worshippers of him gaue plentie also to the honorers of the Idoll Ceres He that prospered Marius auaunced Caesar He that furthered Nero did good to August On the other side he that gaue empire vnto Vespasian brought in Domitian He that maintained Constantine did suffer Iulian. So that on both sides good successe in this worlde is graunted and we cannot gather a liking or mislyking of God by it Yet if a man shoulde call you to accompt and iudge according to Chronicles recorde you shuld be condemned in your opiniō For when the Crosse was most magnified we had Crosse luck among How came it to passe that the prouerb hath bene Bustum Anglorum Gallia Gallorum Italia Fraunce hath bene the buriall of Englishe men and Italy of the Frenchmen How prosperde I praye you the Catholiques in the North when euery priest and parishe clark came out with a Crosse euery poore souldiour that followed the campe was al to be crost and the onely cause of their Insurrection was altogether masking and crossing I coulde rehearse times more then one when our countreymen haue had smal cause of triumph and yet the Crosse was estemed to When the Normans did inuade the lande not all the Bishops and popeholy clergye with all their Crosses coulde once withstand them When ciuill discords arose within the realm on both sides were Crosses both sides went to wrack Nor you haue cause to condemne this age as cast out of fauour with Almighty God if good successe in externall things be signe of fauour Note If plagues of God had ben frequent among vs and all things had gone backwarde with vs as thanks be to God they haue not if God man both earth and ayre had fought against vs as we by proofe doe sée they haue not yet coulde I with better cause haue imputed it to your wilfulnesse and tirranny ye Papistes which brought men continually to the Crosse of fire then to the foregoing of a Crosse in the coate For why shuld not both heauen and earth crye vengeance on vs since the earth is embrewed with the bloudshed of saincts murthered by you and ayre is infected with breath of you liuing But God hath hitherto for hys childrens cause differde the punishement dewe for your mischiefes Looke for it one daye when neyther Crosse nor Masse shall deliuer you But why doe you falsly abase the goodnesse of our God towarde vs Why doe you spitefully empaire the glory of our Quéene hir prosperous raigne What honor she gat at Leith wtout effusiō of bloud how can you be so impudent as to dissemble What quiet peace what godly frēdship is betwene the realms of Englande and Scotlande purchased now now that your Religion is in both places abolished whereas in the time of popery there was neuer but hatred and mortall warre all the worlde doth sée and iustly may saye that in the time of the Gospell God hath more abundantly blessed vs then euer he did since
as supply theyr roumes For if it be presumed to be otherwyse let it be voide and of no effect But how came that bishops by thys prerogatiue How chaunce that euery priest may minister baptisme the supper of the Lord but only byshops may confirme Only the Apostles dyd in their tyme minister these Sacramentes and therfore by that reason onely byshops should haue that office nowe But are onely byshops the Apostles successors when ye inhibite any of the lay fée to take the host in hys hande thys cause ye alleage that it was deliuered only to the Apostles Papistes contrarye to themselues In thys case ye admytte euery poore priest a successor vnto them But why not in the other Bicause if any be lesse successors to the Apostles thā other they be your bishops But to make a deuise of your own brayne although in matters of religion it be not sufferable yet to make a lye of the holy ghost to falsify the Scripture is more intolerable And is it not a straunge case that the holy father writing the law Gratian collecting it so many seraphicall doctors commenting of it Papistes beelye the Scripture so long vse in all realmes confirming it it should there be written and suffered to remayne that in the Apostles tyme it was neuer red or knowen that imposition of handes was done by any but by the Apostles themselues Why what dyd Ananias He layed hys handes vpon Saul Acte 9. wherby he receyued hys syght was indued with the holy ghost What bishop was he No bishop forsoth In glosa preced Dist Monkes Apostles vicegerentes But a Monke by all lykelyhode For by the cannon law they be alwayes the Apostles vicegerentes Sée you not by thys tyme youre own shame Shal this notwithstanding your cōfirmation be styll a Sacrament hauing nothing else but mans deuises and a sort of impudent lies to support it If it had bene a truth that only the Apostles had layd on hands if it were a good order that only bishops should do the lyke how falleth it out that the popes themselues haue dispensed with the matter Gregory wryteth thus Vbi episcopi desunt Decr parte 1. Dist 95. ca peruenit vt presbyteri etiam in frōtibus baptizatos chrismate tangere debeant concedimus Where bishops want we graunte that priestes also may annoynt in the foreheades suche as be baptised How is thys presumption auoyded howe doth the Sacrament now stande in force But who wyll seke for any reason constancy or truth in popery The example of Christe is pretended Yet Christ neuer bad it Nor the facte of Christ can be drawen to imitation nor their selues wyll sticke vnto it Christ neuer vsed oyle They make it necessary Christe promised indifferently to all the faithfull hys holy spirite They do restrayne it to their owne ceremonies Christ for our behoofe instituted baptisme that we myght dye to synne and lyue to ryghteousnesse They by confirmation haue cutte awaye halfe the effecte thereof The Apostles withdrawe vs from the elementes of thys world they wyll haue vs seke our saluatiō in an oyle box The Apostles vsed imposition of handes which had effect when miracles were in place they wyll haue the same order although they can not haue the same ende The Apostles layed handes but onely vpon some which had the gyft of the holy ghost withall they without respect or differences of persons confirme euery body Therfore it is but a mere tradition and the same neither Christian nor Apostolique In the order of it they be contrary to themselues They wyll haue it necessary to saluation and yet they let many dye without it They say that only bishops are the Apostles successors and yet in other cases they graunt that euery priest is a successor too They affirme that the Apostles gaue them only their president and yet Ananias that was no Apostle is proued to haue done the same They teach that a byshop must only minister it and yet they dispence for a priest to do it And may not we biblers be bold to cal you bablers If only these heresies lyes absurdities were in your proufes of Confirmation they only were sufficient to confirme you fooles But sée a fouler matter of all Christian eares to be abhorred Whyle ye go about to auaunce your inuention ye deface the ordinance of almighty God and ouerthrow the grounde work of our saluation Confirmation a Sacramēt yea a Sacrament worthier thā baptisme For the master of the sentence sayeth Lib. 4. Dist 7. Cap. 2. Sacramentum confirmationis dicitur esse maius baptismo The Sacrament of Confirmation is sayd to be greater thā the Sacrament of Baptisme And afterwarde the cause is added Quia à dignioribus datur in digniore parte corporis bicause it is giuen of worthier persons and in the worthier part of the body For only bishops as is sayd confirme but euery priest may minister baptisme And in baptisme oyle is layd vpon the head but in Confirmation vpon the forehead Where fyrst is to be noted Papistes attribute more to oyle in baptisme than to vvater that ye sticke in one myre styll ascribing more to the oyle your inuention than to the water which is Gods element It suffiseth vs to haue as Christ and his Apostles had fayre water in our baptisme your oyle is better for a sallet than a sacrament Then also by the way ye fall into another heresie For when ye decrée the byshopping of children to be greater sacramente than baptisme is bycause euery priest may christen but only byshops may confirme shewe ye not therein your selues to be very Donatistes Papistes are Donatistes esteming the dignitie of the sacraments of the worthinesse of the minister Yet not only the master of the sentence but also the decrée confirmeth that doctrine Melchiades an author of yours and a Pope sayth Sacramentum manus impositionis De con dist 5. cap. de his vero sicut nisi à maioribus perfici non potest ita maiori veneratione venerandum est et tenēdum The sacrament of laying on of hands as it cā not be made but only of the greater so is it to be worshipped with greater reuerence and so to be defended But O God Diffinition of Popish by-shopping what a strange religion is this A droppe of grease infected and filed with the stinking breath of a sorcerous priest inchaunted and coniured with a few fumbled words to be compared to Christes holy sacrament preferred to the water sanctified by the word of God But this is your maner to depraue the scriptures in euery point corrupt the sacramentes with your owne leauen and let nothing that good is stand in due force for your spirituall pollicies and fresh inuentions Gyue ouer therefore at length the breast of fornication leaue sucking of the dregs of superstition and poperie whereto I persuade my self that rather fond nurses haue inured you than
as we call the Rogation weke The cause was pro terrae motu pro tempestatibus bestiarum incursionibus quae tùm témporis populum contriuerunt For earthquakes and tempestes and inuasiōs of wilde beasts which then did greatly destroy the people The greater Litany was deuised by Gregory Gregorius In dic 6. cap. 2. the Pope Anno. 592. when as the occasion being like as before the superstition began to be more For by reason of a great pestilēce following of a floud the byshop by ceremonies thought to appease the wrath of God and therfore made septiformem litaniam a seuen fort Litany One of the Cleargy another of the monkes one of men another of their wiues one of maydens another of widowes the last of poore and children together These people so distinct into seuen orders should come from seuen seuerall places and then it was thought they should be hearde the soner But in their procession Sigebertus in annum 591. foure score persons were striken with the plage to shew how well God was pleased with them Notwithstanding how thinges of a good deuotion instituted in tyme do grow to great abuse these litanies that you talke of do proue For what the order and solemnitie of them was Concilium Moguntiacum we reade in the councell of Mentz celebrated .viij. hundreth and thirtene yeare after Christe The words of their decrée be these Placuit nobis vt Litania maior obseruanda sit a cūctis Christianis diebus tribus Et sicut sancti patres nostri instituerunt non equitando nec preciosis vestibus induti sed discalccati cinere cilicio induti nisi infirmitas impedierit Our wil is Papistes degenerat from all good order that the greater Litany be obserued of al Christians .iij. dayes and as our holy fathers haue ordayned it not ryding nor hauing precious garmentes on them but bare footed in sackecloth ashes vnlesse infirmitie do let So farre the councell Contrary to which the popish procession is neuer solemne but when all the copes do come abrode and euery wyfe is ready to scratch an other by the face for going next the Crosse And as the deuocion of men is lesse so are the wordes of Inuocation vsed among the Papistes woorse which I shal haue occasiō anone to speake of when I come to the Litany that Augustine the Monke vsed at entring into our lande With you M. Martiall I wyl procede in order Fol. 93. b. The Arrians as you cite out of Sozomenus beyng set beside their Churches at Constantinople had secret conuenticles whether they resorted much lyke to men of your occupation in Englande which haue theyr Masse in corners They deuided themselues into cōpanies and song psalmes hymnes made in ryme after their own guise with additions for proufe and defence of their owne doctrine as popish portusses hipocriticall himnals haue such as you in Oxforde were delited to sing about the Christmas fier Which thing say you the good bishop and vigilāt pastor Chrysostome espying least some of the catholiques allured vvith the pleasaunt casure of the meter and svvete sounde of their ryme should go to their assēblies deuised also certaine hymnes in meter and made them sing them in the same tune that the Arrians dyd vvhereby it came to passe that the catholiques farre passed them in number and in solemnitie of procession For sayth Sozomenus Argentea crucis signa vna cum caereis accensis precedebant eos Before the Catholiques vvent tvvo siluer Crosses vvith tapers or torches burning Thus farr you sir And doubtlesse herein you haue shewed a great piece of skil You haue noted in the margent bicause we shal not forgot it how Crosses and tapers were caryed in procession And is not the Crosse much beholden to you that now make it a candelsticke that now wyl cōpare it to a lynke or a staffe torche or to the pole that caryeth the cresset And may not youre Louanistes greatly ioy in you that can deuise may not we also greatly ioy in them that can ouersée and suffer suche a proufe to go to print Geue me leaue a little to examyne your history First of all that whiche is the chiefe circumstance ye vtterly omyt That the Arrians assemblies were in the nyght Whervpon Sozomenus sayth Lib. 8. cap. 8. Noctu congregati in coetus diuisi that in the night tyme they were gathered together and deuided themselues into companyes And Socrates sayth Et hoc maxima noctis parte faciebant And this they dyd most part of the nyght Agayne where ye say Lib. 6. cap. 8 that the catholiques had two siluer Crosses it is more than ye founde in the text and peraduenture lesse for argentea crucis signa may be aswell many siluer signes of the Crosse as one But what wer those siluer Crosses Such as ye would make the ignoraunt beleue Such as you do vse to cary in processiō If other be so made to credit you yet we do know to much to be abused by you Socrates Socrates ecclesia Hist lib. 6. cap. 8 writeth of the matter thus Ioannes veritus ne huiusmodi cantionibus simpliciorū quisquam ab ecclesia auelleretur opposuit illis quosdamè suo populo qui ipsi nocturnis hymnis dediti illorum studium hebetarēt suos in fide confirmarent Videbatur quidem vtile fore hoc Ioannis propositum verum cum perturbatione est periculis terminatum Cum enim homousiani hymni in nocturnis illis hymnodijs illustriores redde rentur excogitauerat enim argenteas cruces quibus erant impositae cereae faces accensae ad quam rem Eudoxia imperatrix sumptus suppe ditauerat Arriani numero multi and so forth Whiche wordes are in English these Iohn byshop of Constantinople fearyng least by these songes of the Arrians any one of the simple myght be pulled from the Churche set certayne of hys own people against them which beyng also giuen to sing the nyght hymnes might both hinder the purpose of the aduersary and confirme in fayth the mindes of the catholiques Thys intente of Iohn semed to be profitable but it ended with trouble and perils For when the songs of the catholiques in their night tunes were made more notable for he had deuised certayne Crosse pieces of siluer wherevpon were put burning tapers of waxe whereof Eudoxia the empresse did beare the charge the Arrians endeuored to reuēge themselues Here it is euident wherfore these Crosses that you do talke of were had that inasmuch as their assemblies were in the night when lightes were necessary and those lyghtes of theirs The crosses of Cōstantinople could not be caryed on a strayghte piece they would haue a piece to go crosse ouerthwart to set many candels on which being made of siluer the lightes glymering therevpon made a beautifull goodly shewe This is the history Thys was the Crosse these were the tapers of Chrisostomes tyme. But what is thys to
the prayer that God hath taught vs which is eyther thankes for benefites receyued or desiring helpe with trust to be relieued Their Crosses haue displaced Christ Their pictures haue defaced Scripture Their Lay mennes bokes haue abolished the lawe Their holinesse is to forbyd that which God ordayned to be receyued with thankes giuing as meate and Matrimony Their owne workes they mayntayne they let Gods decay Breake theirs and they persecute to the death Breake Gods and they eyther loke thorowe their fyngers or else giue a flappe wyth a Foxe tayle for a little money Then is it easy to be espied what they are Let them dysguise themselues neuer so closely yet by this examining of their natures and properties they wyll bewray themselues Chrisostome commenting vpon the seauenth of Mathewe sayth Si quis lupum cooperiat pelle ouina quomodo cognoscet eum nisi aut per vocem aut per actum Quis inclinata deorsum balat Lupus in aëra conuertit caput suum contra coelum sic vlulat Qui ergo secundum Deum vocem humilitatis confessionis emittit Ouis est Qui vero aduersus veritatem turpiter blasphemijs vlulat contra Deum Lupus est Which is thus in englishe If any man sayth he couer a wolfe with a shepes skin how shall he know him but by his voyce or by his doing The shepe bowes downe the head to the ground bleates The wolfe lifts vp his nose into the ayre barks Therfore whoso euer according to Gods word speaketh with the voyce of humblenesse and confession he is a shepe But he that contrary to the truth blatters out blasphemies agaynst God is a very wolfe That the Papistes are such as it doth sufficiently appeare already so shal it abundantly ere I haue done be proued Therefore I say Beware of Papists To the seauenth Article ALthough we ought not in discussing of a truth ruled ouer by the worde greatly contende what rytes and ceremonies haue of presumption or toleration bene brought into the Church yet that you may sée before your eyes what ill of such presidentes hath insued how one inch graunted to superstition a whole ell hath followed consider a while your Litanies processions Folio 93. b. The singing and saying of Letany you say is coÌ„monly called Procession but Litanies were receyued long before processions did come in place For Litanies what are they but humble prayers supplications vnto God to procure his fauour and turne away his wrath These haue bene receyued in the Church of olde and according to occasion diuersly vsed We reade that when Constantinus the Emperour had purchased peace vnto the Church of God about a thrée hundreth and thirty yeare after Christ then publiquely the Christians repayred together then were there in the congregations as Eusebius Euseb eccle Hist lib. 10. cap. 3. reporteth Orationes Psalmodiae sacrorum operationes mysteriorum participationes gratiarum actiones Prayers singing of Psalmes businesse about holy things participation of mysteries giuing of thankes And that which is worthy to be remeÌ„bred he writeth of the good Emperor on this sort CaÌ„tare primus incepit vná orauit De vita Const li. 4. A notable example of a Prince conciones stans reuerenter audijt adeo vt rogatus vt consideret respoÌ„derit fas non esse dogmata de Deo remisse ac segniter audire Himself began first to sing prayed with the rest reuerently heard the sermons standing on his féete so farre forth that when he was required to set him downe he aunswered that it was not lawfull to heare the precepts of God with slackenesse and with slouth Hilarius also .370 yeare after Christ writeth of the order of the Church in his time thus Hilarius in expos Psal 65. Audiat orantis populi consistens quis extra ecclâ—siam vocem spectet celebres hymnorum sonitus inter diuinorum quoque sacramentorum officia responsionem deuotae confessionis A man that standeth wythout the Church may heare the voyce of the people praying may beholde the solemne sound of hymnes and as the Sacramentes are a ministring the aunswere of a deuout confession Likewise Ambrose Ambros de voc gentiuÌ„ Cap. 4. Praecepit Apostolus fiers obsecrationes postulationes gratiarum actiones pro omnibus hominibus c. The Apostle commaundeth .1 Timoth. 2. supplications prayers intercessions and giuing of thanks to be made for al men Which rule and lawe sayth Ambrose all Priests faythfull people do so vniformely obserue that there is no part of the worlde wherein such prayers are not frequent So that it is euident that Litanies were then in vse although we reade not of any Processions Polidor de inuen Li. 5. Cap. 10. till the time of Agapetus Pope who as Platina reporteth did first ordayne them Anno. 533. although we reade the like of Leo the thirde about .810 yeare after Christ Surely whensoeuer Processions began they were taken of Gentilitie We reade ofte in Liuie that the Romaines in all their distresses would run to euery sere Idoll that they had would goe their circuites from thys place to that place and thinke they dyd acceptable seruice vnto God We reade in Arnobius Arnobius contra gent. Lib. 8. thus much of their folly Nudi cruda hyeme discurrunt alij incedunt pileati scuta vetera circumferunt pelles coedunt mendicantes vicatim Deos ducunt Quaedam fana semel anno adire permit tunt Quaedam in totum nefas visere est quaedam viro non licet non nulla absque foeminis sacra sunt etiam seruo quibusdam ceremonijs interesse piaculare flagitium est c. They gad about naked in the raw winter other haue their caps on they carry about with them old targets they beate their skins they leade their Gods a begging round about the streats They suffer some Chappels to be gone to once a yere some must not be séene at all some a man must not come vnto some other are holy ynough without women And for a seruant to be at some of them is a haynous offence So much Arnobius concerning the Romaines And thinke you not that our Processions with banners displayed and Idols in armes be liuely described here Certayenly amongst the Christened I neuer readde that any vsed Processions before the Montanistes and the Arrians Tertullian Tertullian li. 2. ad Vxorem maketh mention of the one and Eusebius Euseb eccle hist libro 6. Cap. 8. of the other Méete it is therefore that Papistes participating with their errors should also take parte of their idle ceremonies Concerning Litanies as of latter yeares they haue bene ordayned you must vnderstande that some be called Minores the lesse some Maiores the greater The lesse were instituted by Mamertus byshop of Vienna in the yere of our Lord. 469. as Sigibertus or .488 as Polichronicon reporteth The order of them was but a solemne asseÌ„blie of people vnto prayer at such time