And out of Sozomen that the emperour made a lawe that heretickes shoulde neither haue churches neither be permitted to preach of the faith a good lawe to be earnestly thought vpon and practised in these our dayes nor ordaine bishops or others All these things being set downe in the Bookes of Councils by them deliuered vnto vs who can thinke that Master Bellarmine who alleadgeth this Councill for strength of his cause and that falsely also wherein all things are so direct against him would see the truth if it were neuer so plaine before him The third councill is that which was assembled at Ephesus that also M. Bellar. belike by some wonderful attractiue vertue wil draw to his side The third Councill saith he as Euagrius doth witnesse saith that it deposeth Nestorius by the commaundement of Caelestine bishop of Rome How now master Bellarmine haue you quite fallen out with truth and made a league with falshood haue you purposed still to abuse your reader by most shamelesse affirming that which is not true The counsell said we by the necessitie aswel of the canons as also of the epistle of the most holy father our felow minister Celestine bishop of Rome compelled c. Where is this that master Bellarmine affirmeth Celestine bishop of Rome wrote perchance to shew his detestation of the heresie of Nestorius and they willing to doe him that honour that they would seeme much to esteeme of his zeale in faith that beeing so farre distant in place he would be vnited as it were to them in their iudgement against Nestorius they shew that they were mooued much by his letters and incouraged to proceede against Nestorius But here is no word of any commaundement that he gaue them but rather the contrarie For they call him their felow minister and so acknowledge not him to be a commaunder ouer them Yea and in a mandate to Philip priest vicar or vicegerent to Celestine then bishop of Rome and others sent to Constantinople they tell the popes vicar plainly and his felowes thus Wee will your holinesse to vnderstand that if you despise any of these things neither this holy synode will ratifie it neither shall you be permitted to be pertaker of our communion Yea and before that council directeth euen the popes legate and the rest that if the emperour sent for them they must in any wise be obedient to his commaundement and must not refuse to goe which doctrine were heresie in our dayes but they should not agree with Iohn of Antioch and the rest but vpon such conditions as not the pope the council did set them downe vpon the paine aforesaid And that this Councill was assembled by the Emperours is in many places declared as out of Euagrius that it was at the appointment of Theodosius the younger and after by the commaundement of the most religious Emperours The like is also testified in the superscription of the former mandate that I haue spoken of And it is also worth noting that the councill writing to the Emperours for the credite of their councill doeth not vrge that the pope is head there but indeede they craue that Cirill and Memnon not Cirill onely whom they say the pope Celestine deputed for him be restored to them again that their councill be not without a head but they say that Celestine Archbishop of Rome doth sit ioyned with them there he doth assidere sit I say with them not praesidet he ruleth not he coutroleth not the councill and so it is also said of Aphrica and Illyricum that they assident sit with the councill And out of this that hath beene spoken as also by such other thinges as in that councill are recorded we may gather what truth is in that also that maister Bellarmine alleadgeth of an Epistle sent by the councill to Celestine reseruing the cause of Iohn of Antioch as more doubtfull to be decided by the bishoppe of Rome But as I finde not any such Epistle in that councill so this is plainely written in the report that the councill maketh of their doings to the Emperours that they excommunicated Iohn of Antioch the president of the Apostatas councill and them that were with him and depriued them of all priestly ministery and reuoked all their vnlawfull doings If this be to referre his cause to the pope let the world iudge Then he commeth to the council of Chalcedon and that maketh for him too if we wil trust him but in examining it we shal finde it much like the rest directly against the supremacy of the bishop of Rome For first in the beginning of that councill it is declared that it is gathered by the decree of the most godly and faithfull Emperours Valentinian and Martian who also professeth that he desired to be there to confirme the faith wherein were iudges appointed to moderate their doings and sayings and to conclude their articles not the pope or his legates for they as it appeareth in this councill were at the commaundement of these iudges as well as others but lay men officers vnder the Emperour It will be hard then for maister Bellarmine in respect of some fewe excellent names that may be giuen to Leo bishop of Rome whereof also it may be he was worthy in respect of some good parts that were in him it will I say bee harde by such names to proue his supremacie by this councell which hath almost done what it can in preiudice of any such prerogatiue that he might claime For if it belong not to him to call councils neither to rule in them when they are called he hath but little supremacie ouer others And we see in this councell both these things are done by others and not by him But what doth Maister Bellarmine finde in this councill for the popes supremacy That in that the pope Leo is called the bishop of the vniuersall church This tale hee hath tolde but a little before perchance that maketh him more perfect in it saying that three letters are sent from the East church to Leo bishop of Rome and in them all he is called the pope of the vniuersall church there are indeede foure such letters euen togither to the bishop of Rome and the councill of Chalcedon and in none of them is he called the pope of the vniuersall church but only the vniuersall archbishop or patriarch But there is a great difference betweene a vniuersall bishop and a bishop of the vniuersall church But such misses are smal faults with master Bellarmine Indeede Paschasinus the popes owne legat doth call him pope of the vniuersall church who did also seeke afterwardes by falsifyiug the coppies of the councill of Nice to procure the supremacie vnto his maister and therfore we must not ground our faith vpon his wordes But for that name of vniuersall bishop which is often giuen to the bishop of Rome it is not yet a name peculiar to him as
a great friende of theirs and at this day in great account among them doth tell them namely Caesar Baronius in his history For out of him they may learne that Eleutherius a pope himselfe in a decretall epistle of his written to the bishops of France calleth them vniuersall bishops as Ignatius calleth the bishop of Philadelphia the bishop of the common church and so Gregory Nazianzen speaketh of Athanasius bishop of Alexandria Which Baronius seemeth thus to vnderstand that they ought to haue a care as indeed euery man should haue of the good of the whole church And these names of head of the church vniuersall bishop and such like were doubtlesse at the first graunted to such as were most worthy men in the church in respect of their learning and skill that they had or their trauell and diligence that they vsed to benefit the vniuersall Church And by this meanes was it more commonly giuen to the bishops of Rome then to others because they in regard of the place or city wherein they were had moe occasions of doing good offered vnto them and moe opportunities by reason of his neerenesse to the Emperour to solicite such matters And in this sorte is it giuen for a rewarde of well deseruing and to incourage them that were able to doe their vttermost indeuour to benefit the church But now it is a name tied to one chaire in which for the most part doe sit of the vnworthiest men that are in the church So that if a man consider howe little good they doe in the church and how much hurt wee shall thinke that a ring of gold will better become a sowes snowt then they beseeme that honourable title or it them And as for that which the councill doth write vnto Leo saying that he is appointed of our Sauiour to keepe his vine they speake it not in respect of his being bishop of Rome but in consideration of his excellent giftes of learning and other good graces wherewith God hath indued him And that this is their meaning it doth plainely appeare by those things that afterwardes in that councill they did For if they had meant by those wordes that he as bishoppe of Rome had supremacy ouer the whole church then woulde they not haue giuen vnto the bishop of Constantinople equall priuiledges with Rome and so haue taken from Rome that which Christ gaue as they pretend to the bishop thereof Thus to be short in this one councill we see this supremacy had three notable checkes It was called by the Emperours and moderated by lay Iudges and the bishop of Constantinople made equall to him of Rome The fift councill that is heere alleadged is the fifth Constantinople councill But this can bring litle credite to their cause seeing it may iustly be doubted whether euer there were any such or not For besides that mistrust which the very title of that councill which is in the second tombe of Councils doth worke in them that reade it because it cannot be set downe when or in what popes dayes it was celebrated but that it was about the time of Agapetus Siluerius and Vigilius I say besides the vncertainety of it that there appeareth Functius one skilfull in histories hath noted that this is not once spoken of in the Constantinople histories And therefore it is not likely that any such councell was kept there Neither yet can the rest of the councels alleadged by maister Bellarmine stande him in any steede For we will not deny but after that once the pope had gotten into that proud chaire almost all did yeeld vnto him honour and reuerence some for feare some for flattery vntill they had made him little inferiour to God himslfe And therefore wee iustly reiect the councels that were gathered since his power was so greate and his pride so vntollerable that by some meanes or other hee would be honoured as himselfe thought good And therefore the second councell of Nice which was about the yeare seuen hundred eighty nine the lateran about the yeare one thousand two hundred and fifteene That of Lions about the yeare one thousand two hundred seuenty and foure and that of Florence about the yeare one thousand foure hundred thirty nine are no fit witnesses against vs who doe not deny but that the Pope sometime by faire meanes sometime by foule sometime by flattery sometime by threatning sometime by force sometime by craft and alwaies by euill dealing hath gotten to bee in sorte as yee see supreame head of the Church But we say that he is not so by the word of God which hee claimeth to be and maister Bellarmine promised to proue but he cannot doe it Neither was he accounted in the purer times of the Church to haue that supremacy by Gods word as before I haue spoken Neither would they in any wise permit such power vnto him although he sought it earnestly and shamefullie in the councell of Chalcedon After the councels maister Bellarmin will bring in popes to beare witnesse on his side But honester men then many of them were are not to be heard in their owne cause Yea and although many of them were good men and were profitable members in Christes church yet because they were men they might haue such infirmities as doe follow the nature of man and might especially not seeing the inconuenience and ruine of the church which the pride of that seate hath brought forth ascribe more vnto their owne seate then either in truth they could claime or in christian humility they could take vpon them And for the first popes which all they that write of this matter recken vp in great numbers I trust we shal not hereafter bee troubled with their names because maister Bellarmine hath giuen them a reasonable good discharge For he confesseth that in their writings there are some errours neither dare he affirme that they may not be doubted of and as for the rest of them because wee haue seene euen almost from the beginning of any credite that they had some sparkes of their pride now and then to glitter and burst forth in their importunate seeking or too ready accepting of that that belonged not to them as in equity we are not bound so neither in discretion should we when the cause concerneth not vs but Gods truth heare what they can say for themselues against the same Neither are their writings for the most part any such as that by them wee may iudge throughlie what they did thinke For epistles or letters such are those writings altogither almost which are alleadged against vs are vpon sundry particular occasions written whereby the writers might happely be forced to say more for the credite of that seate then themselues would haue said if that occasion had not beene offered But this I am sure of they for the most part speake far otherwise and more plainely in that point then doe the other
ancient writers of their time and that maketh me thinke that they did speake for themselues and were somewhat pricked forward with a purpose to aduance their seat Therefore letting them passe as partiall in this cause let vs come to this next proofe which is out of the greeke fathers And first commeth in Ignatius who writeth to the church that ruleth for I will admit the worst that Maister Bellarmine or any other can alleadge ont of this place in the Romane region But will Maister Bellarmines logicke conclude that therefore the church of Rome hath supremacy ouer the whole church He must first bring the vniuersall church within the place of the Roman region before that can be Out of Ireny he hath these words For vnto this church for the more mighty principality speaking of the church of Rome it is necessary that the whole church doe come that is the faithful from al places in which alwaies of them that are from all places is kept that tradition which is from the Apostles The wordes as you may see are somewhat hard by reason that he who translated Ireny out of greeke did here as in many other places translate him very darkely But I haue englished them word for word His meaning is that they that come from other places of the world be it neuer so farre off yet doe not alter the tradition that the apostles left vnto them and yet many must needes come thither because that in respect that Rome is the Imperiall citty the church also hath the more mighty principality and so in deciding of causes hath the more reuerence and authority And thus doth he proue that to be true that in the beginning of that chapter he said that it is an easie matter for him that will to see the tradition of the apostles manifested through the whole world because that from whence soeuer they do come yet still they keepe one tradition By this argument doth Ireny confute the heretikes because the tradition of the apostles being kept in all places not only in the church of Rome although because it was best known or most famous he bringeth that for example yet no such doctrine as the heretikes speake of is taught among them But nowe maister Bellarmines vnseasonable collection out of this place is very farre from Irenies meaning That it is necessary saith he that all churches should hang of the church of Rome He proueth first by that which goeth before because principality is giuen to this church secondly of that which followeth because hitherto al in that church haue kept the faith that is in being vnited and cleaning to that church as the head and mother These are maister Bellarmines words But first he saith wrong of Ireny that he should indeuour to proue such necessity in comming to the church of Rome especiall taking as here he doth for a bounden duty For it is maister Bellarmines meaning to make the church of Rome the onely church that must heare all great matters decide all doubtfull questions and commande all other churches But Ireny his meaning is that all other men had occasion to seeke rather of that church then of any other for helpe and direction because that in respect of the greatnes of the citty the church there was in some greater accompt as before I haue shewed but he neuer saide that all were bound to submit themselues to that church as maister Bellarmine and his partakers would haue him be thought to speake Secondly he must speake more plainely what he meaneth by this that principality is giuen to the church of Rome For if he meane that men yeeld great reuerence to the church of Rome we yeelde that in the primitiue church they did so that iustly because the true faith was there sincerely kept but this principality will not please maister Bellarmine or proue his intent And if Ireny had meant that this principality had beene giuen by Christ a man of meane vnderstanding will easily thinke that he would haue spoken it in more plaine tearmes But what neede I to vse many words the place it selfe is plaine For the more mighty principality saith Ireny if he had thought of the supremacy of the bishop of Rome he would haue said most mighty principality For more mighty principality doth but make him better then others in some respect not aboue all others which he claimeth to be So that to proue his intent he must haue better proofe For this will not warrant that soueraigne authority of the bishop of Rome Thirdly that which maister Bellarmine would tell vs out of this place that all churches must be vnited and cleaue to this church of Rome as their head mother hath at all no ground of Irenies words And thus we see howe he doth racke and rent the wordes out of their plaine sence to serue for his purpose which being wel weied of make rather against them and their supremacy Epiphanius is his third witnes who reporteth that Vrsarius and Valens two Arrian bishops being conuerted did go to Iulius bishop of Rome to giue an accompt of their errour and fault But if that proue the supremacy of the bishop of Rome then must Athanasius also haue that supremacy as well as he for it followeth immediatly after that they vsed the selfe same proofes that they repented of their errour vnto Athanasius So that the intent and cause of their going to pope Iulius or pope Athanasius for he is there so called was not to acknowledge his supremacy but as it was known that they had erred so woulde they haue it well knowen that they reuoked their heresie Neither did they craue pardon of their offence of Iulius bishop of Rome which out of Athanasius he endeuoured to proue because he had authority ouer all persons but because they knew their offence to haue beene against the whole church they were desirous that the bishop of Rome for his parte as a principall member of the church but not a head aboue all should not impute that fault vnto them And this is the part of euery christian man or woman hauing made a generall fault whereby many godly are offeuded to make also a publike satisfaction for the same And cannot this be done to pope Iulius but we must make him head of the church Athanasius also his letter to pope Felix is alleadged wherein Athanasius being much distressed of the Arrians and wrongfully dealt withall and not hauing any hope that the greeke Church coulde helpe him the Emperour himselfe being an Arrian the rather to mooue the bishoppe of Rome to pity his case saith thus For this cause God hath placed you and your predecessours Apostolicke prelates in the towre of height and hath charged you to haue care of all churches that you should helpe vs. That God by meanes of Constantine and other good Emperours aduanced high the Bishop of Rome we deny not And we also knowe
here cited by maister Bellarmine Valentinian sheweth howe Leo came vnto him told him of the diuision of the East church and great troubles there For indeede Flauianus a catholike bishop was deposed by Dioscorus and so cruelly handled that he died thereof within three daies Well Valentinian maketh petition to Theodosius That the bishop of Rome may haue place and power to iudge of the faith and of the priests Which request made by Valentinian in the letter which Valentinian confesseth that Leo requested him to write so iumping with that which afterwards Leo in the councill practised may much perswade vs to thinke that he solicited Valentinian the Emperour either plainly or couertly to moue this in his behalfe Well then this being but a request made that it may so be that cannot proue that it was so but contrary And what reason doth Valentinian the Emperour an especiall friend to the bishop of Rome vse to commend his suite Antiquity gaue him principality of priesthood ouer all Wherein I first note that not Christ but ancient custome is pretended to haue priuiledged him And here againe marke howe this agreeth with that which was afterwards in the council of Chalcedon obiected by Paschasnus legate for Leo this bishop of Rome The church of Rome saith Paschasinus alwaies had the supremacy But this his allegation was proued false But the allegations of Valentinian the popes solicitour in this cause and of Poschasimus the popes legate being so like it maketh me the bolder to coniecture that they were both forged in one shop because they haue both one stampe Thus haue I taken a view of all such testimonies as are alleadged by maister Bellarmine out of them that liued within 600. yeares of Christ for to establish the pride of that Romish seat I haue of purpose omitted iii. or iiii by him alleadged because they wrote after the time that Phocas that murthering traitor who killed Mauritius his Lorde and maister for his Empire hauing first killed before his face his wife and fiue of his children had granted vnto Boniface bishop of Rome third of that name to be supreme head ouer the whole church Wherein although I haue endeuoured to be short yet I trust it plainly enough appeareth to them that will not shut their eies against the truth that although the church of Rome had indeede in regard of her constancy in the truth and power which shee grewe vnto by many occasions being in the imperiall citty great authority amongst all other churches and although learned men were by their distressed estates forced many times in their priuat seates to yeelde to that church more interest to meddle in their matters then of right it had yet it cannot appeare by any thing that they bring out of any approued record within the compasse of those yeares that the church of Rome was either by Gods lawe appointed the head ouer others which is indeede the point that they should proue or that by common consent of the godly it was so catholickly receiued And yet if this latter could haue more apparent proofe then euer Rome or Rhemes can afforde in this cause they should gaine nothing but that good men haue either ordained or tolerated such a state Which howsoeuer it might seeme tolerable when many good men possessed that place yet that the church should be subiect to such as nowe for the most part sit in that seat no christian heart can well endure it But now this labour being taken in hand to trie the popes title vnto the supremacy or how he pleadeth or what claime he can make I must needes giue warning to the christian reader to marke how that as maister Bellarmine hath said little or rather nothing at all to prooue this authority of the bishop of to be grounded vpon Gods lawe so be hath not brought one council within the said six hundred yeres or any thing sufficiently materiall out of the fathers of that time to proue that by mans lawe he was decreed so to be but onely somtimes perchance by particular men vsed as if he had authoritie ouer all And shall this be accounted a catholike doctrine that neither God nor man for six hundred yeares after Christ commaunded to be beleeued If there come no better euidence then master Bellarmine can bring without all doubt the pope will be found to be but an intruder into other mens right a vsurper of other mens iurisdiction But master Bellarmine will helpe his former want with a new supply He affirmeth very boldly as hee doth often in other matters that we knowe neither the time wherein neither the author by whom this supremacie had beginning Yet it may be that we shall gesse shrewdly at it But first wee must vnderstand that the roote of this supremacie that is the pride and ambition of heart that was in many of the popes was lying long in the ground before it did sprowt and plainly shew it selfe and when it grew that it might be seene yet was it not perfected in a long time after But it did plainly shew it selfe in the time of Phocas of whome I spake before For he with much adoe ordained that the bishop of Rome should be called and counted the head of all churches as many of the popes frends tell vs and among other Platina A very fitt patron for so proude a prelat And after that the pope had gotten by the emperours decree this glorious title yet he could not presently get quiet possession of the same but the bishop of Constantinople did still striue for that name Vntil at the length they were both content to winke and the one to suffer the other to be be called vniuersall bishop So that both of them had that name and were so called And nowe the bishop of Rome hauing obtaiued thus much in the west church that hee in all councils and meetings was chiefe and that they should submit themselues to him Before it was long hee had taken so good roote aud begane to grow so mighty that he durst alter and chaunge giue to and take from men at his pleasure and to turne all things vpside downe yea and in the end to cheeke the greatest monarchs But of these matters I shall if God will haue better occasion to intreate in the second parte of this treatise Now I will only say that they were comme to such power as Platina writeth of Boniface the eight that they would rather put feare into the hearts of emperours kings princes nations and people then religion And thus when they had bene in increasing and growing in strength for the space of at the least eight hundred yeares at length in the council of Florence we find this their soueraigne and supreme power confirmed in these words We define that the holy apostolike seat and bispp of Rome hath the supremacie in the whole world So that although we cannot perfectly say when this poyson of pride beganne
might get the true copies of that Nicen council from those places making no doubt but if those copies did agree which came from thence they must be most true as they all acknowledge writing to pope Boniface When the copies came they could finde no such thing Is it not then very plaine that the Bishop of Rome his legate vsed false writings for proofe of a bad cause But maister Bellarmine telleth vs that Saint Augustine and all they of they council mistooke the matter being deceaued by ignorance because they knew not what the council of Sardis did set downe concerning that point The question is whether the council of Nice did giue superiority ouer all other to the bishop of Rome as his legates did affirme And it is most plaine that it did not And therefore that which is in the councill of Sardis which if we shall beleeue the booke of councils set forth by Peter Crab a frier and a papist was at the least fortie yeares after the councill of Nice it maketh nothing to iustifie them and excuse their falsehoode that for the decrees of the Nicen council doe alleadge that which was ordained in that council of Sardis And of that council of Sardis it may truly be said as in the Lateran council or at the least in the Tripartit worke added vnto it complaint is made that now adaies it is harde to finde either olde or newe councils insomuch as the authour doth there maruell that the church of Rome hath beene so negligent in that pointe as not to take order for the better keeping of them Augustine writeth of that council of Sardis that is was an Arrian council holden against Athanasius The time also when it was kept is very vncertaine Yea almost al the circumstances argue great doubtfulnes of that council They that write the story of that council doe write thereof so diuersly both for the number of bishops assembled there and also concerning the Arrians being there which some affirme some deny that therby we may learn how little credit is to be giuen to it for to ground any vncertain or doubtful doctrine vpon y â— it might haue credit But that which maister Bel. doth afterwards say is yet more absurd For hauing affirmed that he is indeed perswaded that these canons which the church of Rome alleadgeth for her supremacy are not in the Nicen couecil but onely in that of Sardis yet he thinketh that Zozimus and Boniface two bishops of Rome did therefore name them the decrees of the Nicen council because they were both written together in a booke at Rome the ignoraunce whereof did much trouble the fathers as he saith Can master Bellarmine suppose that those fathers whose earnest indeuour was at that time to keepe the decrees of the councill of Nicen were ignorant what was to be accounted of that council or what articles belonged to the same Or is it likely that the copies of the councill of Nice shoulde bee more perfect at Rome so many hundreds of miles distant from Nice then at Constantinople which is hard by it or at Antioch or Alexandria not so far distant from it Or doth he thinke it reason that one Romish and another vnknowen copie writen perchance with that councill of Nice by some that sought thereby to increase the dignitie of the church of Rome of set purpose to bring it to that credit that it should be accounted as parcel of the council of Nice can he I say thinke it reason that those two copies should correct and control so many of better credit by a great deale then they are No these are but shifts to blind mens eies and indeede but bables for fooles to play withall Master Bellarmine doth also labour in this place very earnestly to prooue that the council had many decrees moe then those that are in the first tome of councils set forth by Peter Crab or spoken of by Ruffâ—nus To what end is all this Forsooth to excuse his holy fathers that they should not be thought to giue counters for gold or lead for siluer But how can hee excuse them for that they added to the begining of the sixt canon that the church of Rome hath alwaies had the supremacie in which false tricke Paschasinus Legate vnto the Bishop of Rome was taken in the council of Chalcedon For it is not the translation out of Greeke of Dionyse an Abbat almost three hundred yeares after that council was kept that Alan Cope speaketh of and master Bellarmine before hath aleaged for his defence that can haue credit against so many authenticall copyes so diligently sought and sent for so carefully examined by so many hundreds of learned men and so faithfully deliuered for discussing euen of this controuersie for Paschasinus hauing alleadged in that councill of Chalcedon for his maister the Bishoppe of Rome the wordes before mentioned was by those copies disprooued And whereas maister Bellarmine doth set downe this as the intent of the Bishop of Rome in the Councill of Carthage that he meant to shew that not onely all men might appeale to him but also that it were expedient for the church that so they should do Marke how directly the councill of Carthage doeth oppose it selfe against the Pope therein in their epistle which hath this title The Epistle of the Affrican Council to pope Celestine bishop of the citie of Rome For whereas master Bellarmine did confesse that the causes of inferiour ministers might be heard at home but Bishops must be heard at Rome this councill in this epistle saith directly contrary vsing it as an argument from the lesse to the greater If say they the causes of inferior clarks by the councill of Nice are prouided for how much more is it ordered then that bishops if they be excommunicate in their prouince shall not of your Holinesse be hastily or rashly or against order thought to be restored to the communion Thy will him to banish from him such as seeke such wicked refuges because say they the Nicene decrees haue plainely committed not inferiour clarkes onely but also the Bishops to their metropolitanes They assure themselues that no prouince shall want the grace of Gods spirit to order these things And that euerie man may if he mislike of the iudgement of them that haue heard his cause appeale to a councill either prouinciall or generall no wordes of appealing to the pope Unlesse a man will imagine say they that God will grant his spirite of triall of matters to euery one and deny it to all assembled in a Councill And further they alleadge that the trueth of matters examined farre from home can hardly be found out by reason that witnesses can not well be carried so farre For as for the legates à latere that should come from the popes side for examination of such matters they vtterly mislike as a thing not to be found in any of the synods of the
doth also shew that it was not deuised in the daies of the humble popes the proud cardinalles who are these their stately officers were not yet found Many other exceptions might be made to that pretended donation and many moe reasons might haue beene brought against it but this that is said had beene more then enough in so plaine a matter had it not beene that many of the popish writers haue pleased themselues so well in their forged follie Hetherto we haue seene howe the popes haue made of the voluntarie suites that the godly made to the bishops of Rome beeing forced thereto by some extremities necessarie subiection and out of their requests they gather a profession of obedience Then also how they gote the decree of Phocas one their side And lastly howe they got the right of confirming the bishops of Rome out of the emperours hands pretending for these and all other their fulnesse of power sometimes the words of our Sauiour Christ But to supply the want of helpe which there they find for in trueth they make not for that excessiue pride of the Bishop of Rome they pretend although without any colour of truth a gift of these and other their priuiledges from Constantine the great But nowe let vs looke further into their practises Did they now content themselues when they had the commaunding of all bishops and had gotten this name that is vnfitte for any man to be called Head of the vniuersall Churches Could they content themselues with this excessiue honour No. They must yet goe one steppe higher For hitherto the Bishoppes of Rome were subiect to the Emperours as may very well bee prooued by their owne epistles Gregory who did so bitterly inueigh against the proude name of vniuersall bishop that Iohn patriarch of Constantinople tooke vpon him him selfe being a bishop of Rome giueth many euident testimonies of this subiection which the popes did acknowledge to the emperors As most notably in an Epistle to Mauritius the emperour hee calleth the emperour his lord very often yea he abaseth himselfe as vnworthie to speake to his lord he being but dust and a very worme He acknowledgeth himselfe subiect to the emperours commanndement that he oweth him duetie and obedience his vnworthie suppliant and seruant I omit many other that were afore him And out of an infinite number of testimonies that hee doth afforde I haue taken but one and yet that such a one as doeth sufficiently prooue what reckoning the bishops of Rome at that time made of the emperours And yet now we see some pride beganne to shew it selfe in the church For euen now was that a great strife for the name of vniuersall Bishop And that yet euen then did this learned father and Bishoppe of Rome acknowledge himselfe to bee an vnderling to the Emperours yea and after that Phocas had giuen the Bishop of Rome that priuiledge to bee head of the Church almost a hundreth yeeres Agatho a Bishop of Rome doeth write two godly Letters vnto Constantine the fourth Heraclius and Tyberius Emperours wherein very often hee calleth them his Lordes professeth his obedience excuseth their not sending some from the Councill to them as they had commaunded yea and themselues to bee vnto the Emperours seely or simple seruants But in the end this seemed a grieuous yoke and a heavy burden They said within themselues we will not haue this Emperour to rule ouer vs we are they that ought to speake who is Lord ouer vs. But this because it was a very hard attempt it must needes be long in working As in deede it was many hundred yeares The first that I remember that did disgrace in any respect the Emperour was pope Constantine who was not ashamed to suffer Iustinian the Emperour to kisse his feete which after grewe to be the greatest office of curtesie that the pope woulde shew to the greatest monarchs to admit them to that base intertainment which also continueth to this day Of him writeth Onuphrius in his annotations vpon Platina Constantine first of any bishop of Rome durst withstand Philippicus the greeke Emperour to his face openly Perchance because Iustinian that was Emperour next before Philippicus had kissed his feete it made him the bolder with his successour The pretence that Constantine tooke holde vpon to withstand the emperour was this Philippicus vpon good warrant out of Gods word did forbid images and commande them to be abolished in which the idolatrous bishop Constantine did withstand him Afterward Leo the third being Emperour and maintaining that good cause against images Gregory the second that was successour vnto Constantine tooke greater matters in hand against the emperour For he tooke from Leo whatsoeuer belonging to the empire the Longobards had left in all Italy An. 729. I report these stories out of Onuphrius a great friend to the pope and Romish church He also in the same place speaking of another pope Gregory the third who was next after the second telleth how he sought for aide of the French against those Longobards For indeede he reiecting his natural prince to whom in duty he was bound the Emperour did seeke as already he had gotten to be aboue al bishops so in the end to be aboue al princes and potentates in the earth Whereof Gregory the third in this place layeth a good foundation in reiecting an old maister for a new friend Yea he doth excommunicat Leo the Emperour and depriue him to his empire as Platina reporteth Thus we see how the pope hath by little and little gotten to master the Emperour himselfe For as in these popes the beginning hereof was laid so afterwards it grewe more and more vntil at the length the emperours were but their vassals and at their commandement But how they vsed this their immoderat power must be afterwards declared if God wil. Now as this vnsatiable ambition must needs be odious vnto and hated of that mightiest monarch King of Kings and Lorde of Lordes to whom al power in heauen and earth is giuen for if he could not abide that his apostles should so much as reason among thēselues who should be chiefe howe much lesse can he abide that they should despise his lieutenants to aduance themselus so did they assure themselues that it would be enuied at and spited of men And here therefore they want not their practises to keepe them in this highest estate to controll and command euen whom they wil at their pleasures First because none should be so bold as to speake any thing against their pride it was made by pope Pius the second periury or against the oath of a bishop to speake and thing against the pope be it neuer so true It may be also that his meaning was to make the pope to be esteemed as neere of kinne to God himselfe as might be For the expounder of the creede in Ciprians works saith the like of God
of Rome But howe will they excuse the slauish seruitude wherunto they brought the greatest princes Saint Iohn offered to fall downe before the Angell but the angell would not suffer him to worship him I am saith he thy fellow seruant worship God But these vile wretches will suffer kings and emperours to kisse their feete Constantine the pope was the first that euer accepted of this honour done to him by Iustinian the emperour And then Stephan the second whose feete Pipin the french king did kisse But afterwards this grew to be so ordinarie a matter that the kissing of an old fooles foule feete is the greatest honour that can be done to the greatest prince at Rome And Pope Steuen hauing gotten into his handes the exarchie of Rauenna whereby he became great in Italy and al by the meanes of the said Pipin whom he also rewarded by making him king of Fraunce thrusting Childrick the true lawfull king into a monastery and intruding Pipin in his roome he now in triumphing manner is carried vpon mens shoulders And he is the first that I knew of any of the popes that thought the earth too good to beare so wicked a lumpe as himselfe was For I trust hee thought it not too base to touch his sacred feet Well the reason of his doings is not for vs to search but he was first carried of mens shoulders Neither will I here inquire of the cause of deposing the right king of Fraunce whether it were iust or not although no cause could make it a iust fact in him that had nothing to doe with it Onely this will I say that where master Bellar. would make the insufficiencie of the French kings to be the cause why either Zachary or Steuen that was next after him did depose the French king from his rightfull crowne yet Platina whose words I rather beleeue then master Bellarmine confesseth that Pipin being greedie of a kingdome sent his embassadours to the pope that he would by his authoritie confirme vnto him the kingdome of Fraunce Whereunto the pope agreed in respect of such former good turnes as hee had receiued of that house And so by the popes authoritie the kingdome of Fraunce is adiudged to Pipin the yeare of our Lord seuen hundred fiftie and three Thus much Platina Whereby it appeareth that the ambition of Pipin and wrong dealing of the bishop of Rome was a cause that Childerick was deposed But to returne to my matter againe we see what pope it was that was first so proude that he could not let his owne legs carrie him But it was set downe afterwards for a lawe vnto which the emperour must be also obedient if he will not be rebellious to the decrees of the church And it is decreed that the emperour himselfe if he be by must helpe to carry that loytring lubber For thus I reade it cited out of their owne booke of ceremonies Although the emperour or any other be he neuer so great a personage be by hee shall carry vpon his shoulders a litle while the chaire and the pope And againe it is decreed in the same place that the most noble lay man shall carry the end or traine of the pluuiall that the pope weareth be it the emperour or any king What a slauerie is this that he by his vngodly and wicked ordinances doth tie princes vnto as though they were his very staues Why should he looke that emperours should be his hacknie horses to cadge him vp and downe Or what reason hath he what warrant out of the scripture What example in Gods booke or of any good man so to disgâ—ace and deface the anointed of the Lord whom he as well as others should seeke by all meanes to honour and reuerence Yet let vs see what more reuerence these proud prelats can suffer to be done vnto them Pipin the new made Frence king did teach the pope a very euill vse For he slattering the pope that hee might make him more frendly to him in assuring him of his kingdome meeting him three miles from his lodging alighteth from his horse and leadeth the popes horse all the way not leauing him vntill he had brought the pope to his lodging It is also recorded that another time the king of England on the one side and the French king on the other performed him that seruice But what neede I seeke for the particular examples This is also a booke case It is alreadie ordered That the emperour shall leade his horse and kings shall goe before him as performing their seruice to this earthly God or God on earth But yet we haue not seene his fullnesse in pride For the emperour if he be by when the pope alighteth must hold his stirop So did Frederick Barbarossa the emperour vnto the pope Adrian the fourth although he had no great thankes for his labour For hee chanced to hold the the wrong stirop the pope was so offended thereat that when the bishop of Bamberg in the name of the emperour had by a pithy oration signified his ioy for the popes presence the pope replied that he heard indeede words of gladnesse but he could not by deedes perceaue any such thing And his reason was because the emperour held not his right stirrop The emperour although angry yet smiling answered that he vsed not to hold any bodies stirrop and that made him the lesse skilfull For he was the first whose stirrop he held And for that time they parted neither of them being well pleased But the next day the emperour made amends for his former offence holding the right stirrop And the same emperour Frederick did afterwards also hold the stirrop to pope Alexander the third a cruel and shamelesse enemie to the said emperour as appeareth by a letter which master Fox in his Actes and Monuments aleadgeth out of Roger Houeden and William of Gisborough In which Letter it doeth most plainely appeare not onely that the Emperour did holde his stirrop for the pope confesseth so much in writing vnto the Archebishoppe of Yorke and to the Bishop of Durham and would haue them to reioyce for the good successe of the church for the church is much increased when the popes stirrop is holden by such but also he cause they said to Moses and Aaron that they tooke too much on them seeing all the people were holy howe great then shall their iudgement be that abuse all euen the mightiest Monarchees at their pleasure Doest thou see O Peter thy successour and thou O sauing Christ behold thy vicar Marke well howe farr the pride of the seruant of thy seruants is gone vp saith an Abbat long since and therefore I trust no Lutheran no Caluenist no Hugonot but a flat papist and yet speaketh this in detestation of the pride of popes and namely of pope Boniface the eight who the second day of his Iubilie apparelled like an
the 2. pag. 6. 12 13. bellarm his 3. and last argum bellarm barren of reasons Peter had not charge ouer the whole church Chap. 13. 14 15 16. Iohn 16. 7. Iohn 14. 16. The spirit is Christs vicar Ephes 4 4. De pontif Rom. li. 1. cap. 9. Verse 11. 1. Cor. 12. 28. Bellarm not so good as his word Stella Iacob Bergom Li. 1. cap. 12. Tom. 2. Luth. fol. 45. A cardinal counteth the Popes supremacie but a toy Lib. 1. cap 13. Bellar. arg out of the Nicen counsel Canon 6. Action 16 The bishop of Rome a forgerer Canon 6. Hist li. 1. cap. 6. Other maner of Popes in those dayes then now we haue Bellar. changeth the words of the canon Concil Constan Histor li. 5. ca. 9. Bellarm. a falfifiâ—â— of antiquitie Concil tom â— The emperour had all the commaunding in that councill Hist li. 5. ca. 6. Yet more falshoode in Bellar. Pag. 588. Pag. 588. The fourth Councill alleadged by Bellarmine Act. 1. Pag. 740. The councell of Chalcedon against the supremacy Bellarm his reasons out of this councill Lib. 1. cap. 12. Act. 3. pag. 858. Act. 16. Vniuersall bishop not only the popes name Annal. An. 187. Epist ad Philad To whom these names belong How these names are now vsed Act. 16. The fift councell alleadged by Bellarm. Concil tom 2. Anno. 552. Later councels are not in this cause indifferent Pag. 14. Act. 16. Popes are suspected witnesses Lib. 2. cap. 14. What maner of writings of popes are alleadged against vs. Bellarm. proofe out of Greeke fathers Lib. 2. cap. 15. Inscript Epist ad Rom. Ignatius answered Lib. 3. cap. 3. Ireny examined Bellarm. arg out of Ireny examined Dog 83. Principality in Ireny how to bee vnderstood Heres 68. Epiphanius examined Athan. Apolog. 2. Athanas epist to Felix pope Bellarm. argu out of Athan. examined Annal. Ann. 187. 2. Cor. 11. 28. Care for power De sententia Dionys Alex. episc Accusations prooue no iurisdiction Epist 52. Bellarm. argum out of Basil Carmine de vita sua Nazianzen examined Epist 2. ad Innocent Ibidem Why the East churches sought to the West Epist 61. Epist 48. Epist 10. Cyril exan â— Epist 18. Locorum Theol. li. 6. cap. 5. Cap. 6. Li. 5. ep 14. ad Nais Forged writings Epist ad Leonem papam Act. 8. Marke what writings the church of Rome alleadgeth for her supremacy Lib. 3. cap. 8. Sozomen examined The church of Rome pleadeth possession not by right Concil tom 2. Liberatus in brâ—uiatio Epist ad Ioh. Codice primo titulo How we deny the pope to be head of the church Tom. 2 pag. 162. Pag. 263 Russin Hist lib. 2. cap. 28. Bellar. arg out of latine writers Why and howe although the latine fathers did reuerence the bishop of Rome Lib 2. cap. 16. Dè Vnit Eccl. alias simp prelat Cyprian examined Contrr Parmenion li. 2. Hom. 85. in Iob. 20. Matth. 23. 2. Optatus against Peters chaire at Rome onely Amb. in epist 1. Timoth. 3. Ambrose answered Platina in the life of Damasus Platina Orat. in Satyrum Bellarmines ignorance or falsehood Athanasius The name of Catholike Lib. 7. cap. 4. De Sacram li. 3. cap. 1. Epist ad Alg. de Monogam Ad Damas ep de nomine hypostas Epist 162. Epist 157. Ad Bonis l. 1. c. 1. Prosper de ingr Prosper examined De persecutionâ— Wandalica Vincent Lyrinens in commonit Vincent wrung to a wrong sense Lib. 11. Epist 2. ad Ioh. papam If he commende his cure how proueth that his power Valentinianus Theodos in praeamb Concil Chalcedonens Leo earnestly seeketh supremacy Supremacy claimed by custome not by gods law Act. 16. Li. 1. cap. 17. Obiect of Bellar. Answere Plat. in Bonif. 3. Omph. annot in Bonif. 3. Plat. in Bonif. Concil Florent Lib. 7. epist 63. Pag. 98. Pag. 112. Bellarmine addeth to Valentinians words or changeth them Bellar. lib. 2. de pontif Rom. c. 17 In Bonif. 3. Cron. Euseb If iurisdiction were had yet it might be lost Exod. 28. 1. Leuit. 10. 1. Priests for their sinnes punished â—um 25. 13. 1. 〈◊〉 2. 30. 31 35 2. Kings 2. 27 35 1. Sam. 2. 35. God left Silo. 1. Sam. 4. Psal 78. 60. Ier. 7. 12. 14 Ierem. 26. 6. Psal 78. 60. Ierem. 7. 12. Ierusalem for sin forsaken and the temple A similitude Leuiticall priests for sin disgraded Ezech. 44. 12. Hos 4. 6. The popes calling is many times by wicked meanes Luke 13. 3. Luke 13. 6. 7. An admonitionâ— to the professors of the gospel Esay 5. Leuit. 26. Deut. 28. 2 Thessa 1. 5 6 7 Praesâ—t in lib. pontif Rom. Bad Popes are as pearles to beautifie the church of Rome The name of the church is often where the church is not Iude. 5. 6. Reuel 2. 5 16. Reuel 3. 16. Rom. 1. 18. Verse 21. 23. 1. Kinb 12. 4. Nehem 13. 26 Num. 25. 1. De pontif Roâ— li. 4. cap. 2. Li. 4. de Rom. pontif cap. 3 cap. 5 That the pope may erre Arg. 1. The spirit that teacheth truth doth also sanctifie Theo. in Luc. 22. Ioh. 17. 17. Ioh. 14. 16 17. Psal 25. 9. 2. Cor. 3. 5. Act. 15. 9. 2. Cor. 3. 18. August de tempore serm 237. Arg 2. to proue the pope may erre De pontif Rom. li 4. cap. 2. Arg. 3. To prooue that the pope may erre Marcellinus Damasus in pontificali Liberius Hieron in cron Lib. 4. de Pontif. Rom. cap. 9. The papists answere not directly to the question whether the pope may erre Bellar. de Rom. Pontif li. 4. ca. 9. Lib. 6. cap. 8. The difference betweene errour and heresie De ciuit dei Li. 18. cap. 51. Contra 2 Epist Pelag. l. 4. 5. 6. A similitude Bellar. de Rom. Pontif. li. 4. c. 3. Popes no teachers Popes doings or sayings may be hurtful to many Luke 22. 31. 32. Peter after this prayer erred Matth. 26 74. De Rom. pontif li. 4. cap. 3. Whether Peters faith failed Matth. 14. 31. Lib. 4. cap. 3. Many popes haue erred Honorius Lib. 6. cap. 8. Lib. 4. cap. 11. The errour of Steuen and other Popes Sigebere chron Plat. in Iohn 10. Lib. 4. cap. 14. What is heresâ—â— in the church of Rome Canus lib. 6. c 8. Arg. 4. that the pope may erre Lib. 4. cap. 11. Lib. 4. cap. 6. Bellar answere again â—his owne doctrine Bellar. chargeth the fathers with vniust dealing Arg. 5. that the pope may erre Si papa dist 40. The difference in opinion amongst papiss Bellar. de Rom. pontif lib. 4. ca. 2. The conclusion of this point whether the pope may erre Iohn 3. 34. Concil Carthaginens 6. Cap. 4 Cap. 6 Cap. 4 Epist concil 〈◊〉 ad Bonif. De Rom. Pontif. Lib. 2 cap. 25. The council of Sardis cannot be alleadged for the Nicen. Lib. 3. cap. 10. Contra Cresco lib. 3. cap. 34. Whether that booke at Rome may by likelihoode be truer than the bookes of the Greeke church Conc. Nicen. c. 6. Act.
Allens which I haue to shew written I suppose with his owne hand to father D. P. Rectour of the English Colledge in Rome hee reporteth that M. George Gilbert came into Fraunce by the reuerend father Robert Parsons and other to kâ—epe himselfe vntill that Day What meane they by that Day What meaneth Allen to write it in great letters as a thing that should bee especially noted and did perchaunce good to him and such other viperlike traitours to thinke of it It was doubtlesse no other day then that which they hoped the rebellion in England the troubles in Ireland the Spanish fleete so long looked for and so much spoken of should haue brought vnto them Against such dayes of mischiefe they seeke to praepare men before by their reconciling as that letter of Bruise before mentioned and many other vnanswerable proofes doe teach vs. And therefore seeing that vnder praetence of reconciling men to God they doe in deede by all meanes possible deuote and tye them to serue the Pope and that insatiable tirant who haue a long time by many wicked and Popelike practises shewed themselues vtter enemies to our estate and Prince what reason can be yeelded why Princes may not by most seuere punishments preuent the perillous purposes of such secret conspiratours and knowen enemies May Popes vse pollicies to get authoritie which by no right they can claime and to keepe it when they haue obtained it as in this treatise it will appeare they did and may not Princes prouide for the safetie of their persons the establishing of their kingdomes and the maintenance of their ancient and lawfull dominions May vsurpers keepe that which wickedly they haue gotten and may not lawfull Kings and Queenes defend their true and right inheritance Or must they suffer such serpents within their kingdomes such snakes as it were in their bosomes Wee cannot let such fugitiue traitours as seeke the ruine of their natiue countrey to wish also that such ready meanes to effect their desires might not be hindred No we cannot hinder their attempting of the same by their seditious pamphlets But wee hope that all Christian princes that knowe these their lewd practises not trusting the songs of those Syrens will before it be too late seeke to preuent the meanes that they vse to bring them to passe Neither need they who cal themselues though vntruely Catholikes and maintaine the Romish religion within their Dominions feare so to doe For Allen himselfe if that bee his answere to the English Iustice dare not say it is a matter yet defined but disputable onely whether the Pope may excommunicate or depriue a Prince in case of haeresie or apostacie and consequently to absolue his subiects from their othe and obedience to him If this be a case yet not ouerruled in the Popes Consistorie or at the least in any general Council then euen Popish princes need not bee afraide to withstand by all meanes that they can such dangerous deceiuers as come in sheepes clothing making shewe of Religion but are in deede rauening wolues secretly working treason In so much as they who fauour but too well the Romish Religion beginne now to know and detest these rouing runnagates whose counsels are mischieuous whose doings are treacherous And because the very ground of this their brag that they suffer for conscience sake is this supremacie of the B. of Rome and his power ouer all not Bishops only but Princes also which they would haue to be an article of religion so to touch the conscience whereas it is in trueth but a matter of Popish pride and ambition for this cause haue I indeuoured in this treatise to proue that it hath no warrant in the word or in the writings of the approued and auncient fathers Neither can al the Iesuites and Seminary priestes in Rome and Rheimes bee able to shew the article of the Popes supremacie to be a Catholique doctrine and therefore it is not to be receiued by their own rules And because it bringeth not a litle light vnto the trueth to know by what practises they are become so great and to what ends they haue bent or how they haue imployed their power which they haue gotten by craft and shifts I haue therefore pointed vnto such meanes as they haue vsed to aduance their seat and to some of their doings whereby it doeth most plainly appeare that their only care hath bin to make themselues great and rich nothing at al regarding the glory of God or y e good of Christs flocke which they say is committed to them And this I haue done by ancient or their owne histories seldome standing vpon the credit onely of our owne writers vnlesse it bee in report of the actes of the later Popes which cannot be reported by any but such as were in or after their dayes But if I had more relied then I doe vpon the reportes of Protestant writers I should haue the example of our aduersaries for my defence This treatise I set forth vnder the defence of your honours name to whom I acknowledge my selfe especially bound in many respects Which to do I am the rather moued that to that inward witnes of a good conscience whereby I knowe your L. is incited with a continual care and vigilant eye to preuent the perilous practises of those busie brokers for that Catholique king as they call him other enemies to this Common wealth might also bee added that outwarde testimonie of trueth confirmed by proofe and practise of the purer times to incourage you with a constant increase in godly zeale to discharge stil the duetie that God who hath called you to that honour hath layde vpon you and requireth of you to the seruice of her Maiestie and safetie of her subiectes Most humbly I craue you to take in good part this simple token of a sincere affection and slender pledge of my vnfained heart And thus committing the happie successe of this my traueile to Gods good blessing to whose direction and defence I also leaue your Lordship in all your doings I humbly take my leaue at my house at Ryton in the Bishopricke of Durham †⧠To such as are learned among our aduersaries who seeme in singlenesse of soule to seeke after the trueth THE Lord is my witnesse whome I serue in my spirite and to whose gaine I am desirous to bestowe my talent and whose glory I studie to aduance by all such meanes as of his mercy he hath affoorded me that I haue not written this or any other treatise because I am desirous to contend for we haue no such custome nor the Churches of God much lesse to purchase prayse of learning wherein vnfainedly I acknowledge my want and weaknesse but onely for defence of the trueth which in this countrey of ours is quite forsaken of many by reason of ignorance in all sortes which hath possessed men through their owne negligence and carelesse securitie of their owne soules health and is
haue said I doe not inioyne you these thinges as Peter who was your bishop But the greatest matter that he espieth in Peter and Paule is that they are apostles And writing vnto the Ephesians he moueth them to depende vpon their bishop as the Church hangeth vpon the Lord and the Lord vpon his father How happeneth that in this reckoning of these goodly couples the Ephesians and their bishoppe the church and Christ Christ and God there is not any mention of Peter or his successour Doubtlesse as yet this conceit was not hatched which yet more plainely maie be seene in that exhortation that he maketh to the Saintes in Smirna to honour God as the maker and Lorde of all but their bishoppe for that he speaketh of their owne bishop the whole epistle sheweth as the high priest the Image of God and the most excellent thing in the Church Nowe I pray yon what account is here of Peters chaire or of his succession Not one word This also in his epistle is to be obserued that hee seemeth to make more especiall account of Paul then of Peter As writing to the Philadelphians he saith Be ye folowers of Paul and the other Apostles as they folowed Christ which it is to be thought he would not haue don if Peter had beene in such account then as since he is said to be Nowe for Iustinus Martir who wrote about the yeare 147. doth neuer so much as make mention of Peter being bishop of Rome although in his second Apologie he maketh mention of Simon Magus how hee was honoured at Rome but not of his fierie chariots destroied by Peter as some doe whereof I spake before Seeing therefore Iustinus hauing so good an occaston and writing and dwelling in Rome as by Hierom it appeareth speaketh not one worde of it there neither yet afterwards in the end of the apologie wherein he sheweth the sinne of christianitie it is likely that Rome was not then knowen to be either Peters chaire or the bishop thereof to bee vniuersall bishop Eusebius writeth of Denis of Corinth who florished about the yeare one hundred seuentie and foure howe hee did write vnto the Romans and yet nothing is there of Peter that he was bishop there but onely that Peter and Paul did plant the church there And in the same place Eusebius reporteth of Caius who as he saith was made bishop of Rome after Zephirinus which Zephirinus died the yeare of the Lord two hundred and twentie that he writing vnto Proclus an hereticke put him in minde of the monuments of the Apostles that he could shew Whereas hee might haue made a better bragge to hane serued for his purpose if hee could haue told them of Peters chaire But as yet there was no such matter knowen As for that which master Bellarmine himselfe aleageth out of Irenie it proueth nothing for him For in saying that Peter and Paul together did found a church there he ascribeth nothing to Peter alone And Tertulian that was about 200. yeares after Christ doth seeme rather to make Clement the first bishop of Rome so litle doth he dreame of Peters chaire or bishoprick there Neither yet doth Cyprian plainly affirme that Peter was bishop of Rome He doth somtime indeede call that church Peters chaire in respect of the doctrine that Peter taught and published which at that time was beleeued at Rome which also perchance he in Rome confirmed by his death As also our Sauiour Christ speaketh of Moses chaire and saith that the priests did sit in Moses his chaire so long as they taught the lawe that Moses from God deliuered to them But as for Moses hee neuer came neere the place where Ierusalem was built to establish any chaire there And thus we see that in all these ancient fathers who liued more then two hundred yeares after Christ for Ciprian florished about two hundred and fiftie yeares after Christ there is no plaine proofe of Peters being bishop of Rome And excepting Ciprians words who if he allude vnto the words of our sauiour Christ as he seemeth to do can make no more for the opinion of the church of Rome then any of the rest there is nothing in them all that hath any likelyhood of proofe of the thing in controuersie But if any man answere that it is no good argument thus to reason Such men haue not written that Peter was bishop of Rome therefore hee was not bishop there I reply that if this that out of them hath beene said doe not substantially prooue that Peter was not bishop of Rome as if the allegations be wel considered of they are strong presumptions yet doe they inuincibly prooue that for this space of more then two hundred yeares they cannot shew of any authentike author that hath acknowledged Peter to be bishop of Rome Yea the first that is aleaged by master Bellarmine is Ireny who liued after Christ not much lesse then two hundred yeares And therefore this doctrine doth easily appeare not to be catholike and the godly fathers which slace haue affirmed that he was bishop of Rome either do so call him in respect of the worke of a bishop which if he were there by his care of Gods flocke and constancie in his truth he did shew or else they teach that which had not bin taught in the dayes next vnto the apostles times A second argument that vnanswerably prooueth this to be no catholike doctrine is the dissenting of y ◠most anciēt authors that they alleage from themselues in this point wherin they affirme that Peter was bishop of Rome For Ireny who is first alleaged of master Bellarnine Tertulian whome in the second place he produceth then also Epiphanius and Dionysius bishop of Corinth out of Eusebius do al with one consent ioyne Peter and Paul together I say not Peter onely so that vnto the one as well as vnto the other belongeth that dignitie by their records And Damasus himselfe a pope I maruel if he would erre in this point saith that Peter came to Rome Nero being emperour which must be at the least twelue yeares after the reckoning that is nowe holden for good in the church of Rome And Eusebius doth aleage out of Origen how Peter in the latter end of his life came to Rome and therefore he is not like to be Bishoppe there xxv yeares This doubtfulnesse and vnconstancie of their deliuering this doctrine is an infalible argument that there was not in those times any catholike doctrine taught of this matter but that men might thinke thereof as they saw cause But now it is no lesse then heresie to denie that Peter was Bishoppe of Rome Now if vnto this that hath bin said we adde the vocation or office of Saint Peter recorded in the holy Scripture that he should be the Apostle of the circumcision whereof that euer he was discharged all the Iesuites in Rome and Rheimes
will neuer be able out of Gods register booke to shew And one the other side that the singular care that the Apostle Saint Paul who willingly woulde not build vpon another mans foundation sheweth himselfe to haue ouer the Romans more then ouer any other euen as if they were his peculiar charge as iu the first and fifteenth chapters of that epistle appeareth I trust there is no man of indifferent iudgement but will thinke that we haue great reason to stay our selues and not rashly vpon euerie shew of the newnesse of fathers to runne and consent vnto such opinions as haue no shew of the ancient antiquitie no agreement among themselues no colour of probabilitie in the worde of God but the contrarie rather Neither is that any answere to my second argument which master Bellarmine doth saie that the disagreement about the time of Peters comming vnto Rome doeth not prooue that he came not at Rome at all For my intent is not directly to proue that Peter came not to Rome as bishop of Rome but that this was not a catholike doctrine for two hundred or almost three hundred yeeres after Christ and this disagreement doth proue that substantiallie So that it must bee another answere that must take awaie the strength of this argument or else it standeth vnaswered Neither is that example that he bringeth of the vncertaintie of the time of Christes death fit to proue the matter in question For all are agreed that Christ died but that Peter was bishop of Rome is not certaine And therefore the thing it selfe beeing doubted of the vncertaine setting downe of the circumstances will make it lesse credited I am not ignorant that godly learned men haue set downe manie moe arguments to prooue that Peter was not bishop of Rome and that maister Bellarmine bestoweth sixe or seuen chapters to answere the same as well as he can But my purpose being to trie as well as I can how catholike their doctrine is I content my selfe at this time with these fewe For to striue what might bee spoken of this matter were an infinite labour But whilest I indeuour to goe forward I am forced a while to stay and muse at the immoderate boldnesse of maister Bellarmine who vpon so weake proofe will make so certaine a conclusion For purposing to shewe the bishoppe of Rome is a vniuersall bishop hee thus beginneth Hitherto we haue plainly shewed that the Bishoppe of Rome is Peters successour in the Bishopricke of Rome Nowe considering with my selfe the weakenesse of the two postes that must vpholde this building I though he might haue something at the least mistrusted his owne cause For if Peter were at Rome and first preached there doth that proue that therefore the Bishop of Rome is his successour But by that meanes all they that came afterward in the places where he preached shall bee all his successours and not onely the pope The second ground of this considerate conclusion is that he imagineth that Peter was Bishop of Rome and so died But the vanitie of his arguments I haue discouered before I trust sufficiently Therefore this bolde assertion I will requite with this Sillogisme and so proceed If it be not certaine that Peter was Bishop of Rome then must this succession of the Bishop of Rome to Peter needes be vncertaine But it is vncertaine as I haue shewed by better reason then master Bellarmine hath shewed that Peter was bishop there Therefore I conclude this succession also must needs be vncertaine But before I begin to examine Bellarmines euidence wherby he will proue the pope to haue supremacie ouer all the church the Reader must bee put in minde of that which before I haue said whereby the very ground of this supremacie is shaken if I be not deceiued namely it is with good reasons I trust denied that Peter had that supremacie ouer the whole church And if he had it not how can the bishop of Rome haue it from him Againe we must consider how this hangeth togither If Peter had that vniuersall charge and was bishop of Rome also that therefore they that doe succeede him in the bishopricke of Rome must in like manner that vniuersall charge But let vs heare M. Bellarmines reasons But the foure first I of purpose omit bicause they are either directed against Nilus his opinion who graunted as master Bellarmine saieth of him that Peter had this vniuersall charge ouer the whole church but denieth it to the bishop of Rome and therefore those arguments touch vs little or else they are answered before in this treatise But he hauing proued after his maner against Nilus that seeing Peter had this supremacie hee must needes haue a successour in the same At the length he commeth to proue that the B. of Rome is this his successor reasoning thus either the bishop of Antioch or of Rome must be Peters successor in the supremacie ouer the whole church But the bishop of Antioch can not chalenge it therefore Rome must succeed in this vniuersall bishopricke That Antioch cannot haue it he shews because Peter resigned that bishopricke before he died I will not here examin or cal forth your witnesses in what place ye find that Peter gaue ouer to the bishop of Antioch which you say hee had But I will aske a question of you by what right he could resigne it ouer and leaue the charge that God committed vnto him and so forsake the flocke whereof you are made ouerseer You must either holde your peace or else tell vs some tale of a bastarde Epistle of pope Marcellus which commaunded him so to doe And is it inough that Marcellus who liued about three hundred yeares after this thing was done should say that Christ commaunded him to doe it and produce no witnesse alleadge no proofe set downe no circumstances Thus we see that this supremacie doeth stande but vpon a tottering foundation It may also be doubted whether if he had a vniuersall charge ouer the whole church he might take vpon him a particular charge either at Rome or Antioch For our Sauiour Christ giueth direction to his Apostles whose charge was vniuersall Goe into the whole worlde preach the Gospell vnto euerie creature For although it is written of some of the Apostles that they were bishops in certaine places yet that is no answere to this obiection because they were not vniuersall bishops and therefore must needes haue their seate somewhere I say in some particular charge For hee that is an vniuersall Bishop and hath allotted vnto him a seate or chaire is vnproperly called vniuersall It were more expedient for him in respect thereof to bee running yea or rather flying then to bee sitting But to answere master Bellarmines argument His Maior proposition is gathered of a false supposition For if it bee not graunted that Peter must needes haue one to succeede him in this vniuersall charge then you see that
new logicke before he can prooue such bad conclusions But then to mend the matter he bringeth in an authoritie that is not to be found in the Author that he doth aleage for it But wee must take it vpon the credit of Thomas of Aquine They shew that they want proofe when they would faine call againe the things that are not to helpe their cause As for Thomas we know welenough his good will to the church of Rome For he would not onely raâ—e out of the earth these sentences of Ciril but also as Canus reporteth of him hee speaketh of one Maximius that saieth much for the authoritie of the bishop of Rome Yea and he findeth much out of the council of Chalcedon In which councill the Bishop of Rome had his authoritie that he sought for much abridged Yet I say Thomas hath found out euen in that council good stuffe to confirme the authoritie of the bishop of Rome that ueuer came to our hands And no meruel for Melchior Canus telleth vs that Gregorie complaineth that in his dayes they were blotted out by heretiks And I pray you howe then did Thomas of Aquine come by them who was after Gregorie almost seuen hundred yeares Thus you may see howe they seeke by forged writings that which by authorities of credit they can not maintaine Well then let fained Ciril goe and let vs see what Theodoret saith He as others before him had done craueth the Popes helpe against Dioscorus And Leo the pope did for him what he could we deny not But yet before the councell of Chalcedon would restore Theodoret to his place againe he was forced by the whole councell to shew his detestation of Nestorius Eutiches and all heretickes although the pope had receiued him to communion before And heere before I goe any further this one note I thinke necessary to be added concerning many of the former testimonies That because they are drawen from the priuate Epistles of men distressed seeking for helpe and therefore they might wel be forced to write with as great humility as they could deuise to write for to obtaine succour it is no reason that these their forced petitions and priuate requests should be accounted as rules for catholicke religion Then commeth in Sozomen in which he mistaketh both the place alleadging the seuenth chapter for the eighth an errour easily committed and the matter For although Iulius bishop of Rome did thinke well of the dignity of his seat yea and in respect of his mightinesse that hee was now growen vnto partly by the goodnesse of former Emperours but chiefly through the dissentions of the east or greeke churches hee was in duty also bound more then others to haue a great care ouer all churches yet that his supremacy was not then acknowledged that very Chapter shall sufficiently testifie For there it is reported how that the bishops of the east churches to whom Iulius had written somewhat sharpely in the behalfe of Athanasius and others that fled to him did make answere to Iulius with a letter ful of tauntes and threatnings and shewed that their churches were as great and as many as his finding fault also with Iulius for receiuing such to his communion and such other things So that wee see that they did not account the Bishop of Rome as supreame head of the church neither doth Sozomen say that Iulius his seat came to that dignity by Christes institution or by Gods law which Bellarmine tooke in hand to proue but hath not brought one testimony of the fathers that can performe that promise They plead as the Lawyers say in possessorio they say they haue it by possession so many haue come to the church of Rome for helpe when they were distressed In thus many cases popes haue intermedled in other bishops charges So they tell vs what they haue done But the question is how iustly by what right law or authority they haue done many of the things that they haue done We would haue them plead de petitorio Let them proue their right For it is true that long since the pride of this seat did beginne abusing Gods good liberality and the fauour of godly princes towarde them still increasing in that ambitious humour vntill they had set themselues aboue all Which authority when they had once gotten they did shew themselues vnsatiable and cruell despising all authority and making their wil to be in steede of law as shal God willing in the proofe of their practise which is the seconde part of this treatise be declared But it doth not followe they haue done this therefore they haue done well in so doing That which is alleadged out of Acutius that Simplician the pope had care ouer all churches is much to the commendation of Simplician that he had so due regard of his dutie but this prooueth him not to haue authority ouer all because he had or at the least should haue care ouer all But I muse what maister Bellarmine meaneth to tell vs a tale out of Liberatus of a namelesse bishop of Patara What matter is it to vs or what strength can it bring to his cause to know what he or other men not knowen in the church of God for their learning iudgement zeale or such other vertues as are necessary for them that shoulde be witnesses in matters of religion doe thinke or say Much such proofe might be had out of the legend of lies But that will neuer proue their doctrince to be catholicke Lastly the woordes of Iustitian in that hee calleth the pope Iohn the seconde head of all holy churches may well bee admitted as in former times that name head was often vsed yea and is still of vs. A man of good dexterity or countenance is called a head man among others although hee hath not authority ouer them But such a head as now the pope is become that will controll all bishops yea depose emperours dispence with Gods word make new laws in the church haue his saying in all matters Iustinian himself could not haue liked And it must be marked that we deny not but a bishop of Rome as also another maÌ„ may welbe called head of the church if they be indewed with such gifts as are to the benefit of the whole church But we deny both that the name is or ought to be peculiar to the church of Rome or the bishop thereof only and also that the authority which by that and such like names he challengeth vnto him is tolerable in him or in any other For indeede our contention is whether the bishoppe of Rome haue supremacy ouer the whole church or not Now excellent names were giuen vnto men in times past as the name of pope Baronius a great papist of our time confesseth was common to all bishops The like he also writeth of the name of vniuersall bishop And Athanasius was called Pontifex maximus
to bring some plaine proofe and not so to stand vpon strange coniectures Againe Sozimus bishop of Rome willed hini to go to a councill at Cesarea and hee therefore saide that hee must needes goe If Sozimus did commaund and Augustine would not stand vpon his right in such a matter where perchance his going might be profitable to Gods church yet that would not make Sozimus head of the church No at that time they did not gather any such hard conclusions For although they would not refuse to do good euen being more imperiously commaunded then reason would yet supremacie as I haue shewed they would not acknowledge in the Bishop of Rome but rather were content to bee at great charges to conuince the popes falshoode In the last two places saint Augustine commendeth the bishop of Rome in that being so high as he was yet he would be friendly to them that were humble or lowe and then confesseth euery Bishoppe to be high yet him to be higher A man may be friend to them that are lower then he is and one Bishop may be higher than others and yet not haue iurisdiction ouer them Higher I say in gifts credite place or many other waies In England we see differences of bishoprickes where yet the one hath not iurisdiction ouer the other Now for Prosper it were hard if his poeticall amplifications should be able to carry away the weight of so great a cause But for his words if he say that Rome is Peters seat in respect of the doctrine that there was taught and maintained as before Optatus and Augustine of whome he was a great follower haue done wee yeelde vnto him Otherwise I leaue the godly Reader to the arguments before alleadged to consider what he should think concerning this point whether Peter was Bishop there or not And where he saith that Rome is made vnto the world the head of pastorall honour wee yeelde vnto that also that at that time there was no church that either more sincerely did keepe that which the apostles taught or had more credit and authoritie amongst other churches then Rome had in respect that she was able and willing to do good vnto many other But where he saith that what by armes shee could not by religion shee hath subdued is not simply true For there are manie that neuer were nor will be by likely hood subdued to Romish religion But in some respect we also confesse that to be so in that religion subdueth the heart and winneth the affection of men to bee subiect whereas that outward force can onely preuaile against the outward man Now for Victor Vticensis who calleth the church of Rome head of all other churches I haue often shewed that it may truly so be called in respect of the authoritie which by many occasions it had goten not in respect of any inrisdiction that Christ gaue vnto it more then to other The next is Vyncentius Lirinensis who alluding vnto the name or indeede rather giuing vnto Rome that name that was commonly giuen vnto it saith that the head of the world gaue testimonie vnto it meaning the council of Ephesus You see saith master Bellarmine that the bishop of Rome is called head of the world Nay you see howe our popes catholiks incroch more and more for that vnsatiable gulfe of the church of Rome which will neuer haue honour and authoritie enough Who euer before master Bellarmine hath called the pope the head of the world He hath wont to be but head of the church But I feare that if his kingdome continue a while Acharonta mouebit hee will keepe a stir in hell also But Vincensius giueth no such name to Iulius bishop of Rome He would not be so iniurious to the ciuil authoritie he had learned better then so to giue to Caesar that that belongeth to Caeser and to God that that is Gods although the church of Rome might quite blotte out of their bookes that lesson for any regarde that they haue to keepe it As for Vincentius his meaning is plaine enough to them that will see the trueth For hauing spoken of sundry places from whence learned men came to that councill of Ephesus first out of the East then also out of the West churches he nameth Iulius bishop of the citty of Rome which citty he calleth the head of the worlde as immediately after he calleth Carthage one of the South and Millaine one of the North the sides of the world But if he had made so very great accompt of the church of Rome as in these daies men would haue vs to doe he would haue had perchance some more regard in placing that church in some other order then to make it almost the last that he mentioneth Out of Cassiodor a senatour and a great officer in Rome maister Bellarmine alleadgeth somewhat You saieth he to Iohn Bishop of Rome sit as watchmen ouer christian people as you are called father you loue all I see nothing heere that can helpe maister Bellarmine or his cause For who euer did thinke otherwise then that the Bishoppe of Rome was a watchman ouer christian people Or who will say that the Pope hath not or at the least shoulde haue a fatherly affection towardes all Well it followeth It is our part to looke to somewhat you looke to all Cassiodor liuing vnder the popes nose is content either by this praising of him to teach him what care he indeede should haue not onely to doe good to the people of Rome where he was Bishop but also as occasions should be offered to helpe others also Or els it may be that hee giueth him greater praise then he deserueth But what is this for the popes supremacy Must not the building needes fall that standeth vpon such weake propes Much like is that which followeth that the seat which is pope Iohns peculiar place is giuen generally to the whole worlde that is as I take it to doe good to all If a Romane magistrate to the bishop of Rome doe extoll more then in truth he may the power of that citty or els tell how farre their benefits doe extende must this be so strained and wrung to prooue supremacie The last testimony alleadged by maister Bellarmine doth so little helpe his cause that if he had done wisely he should neuer haue spoken of it For by that Epistle and others that are set before that councill of Chalcedon it may easily appeare that Leo Bishop of Rome did then bestirre him vsing the discention of the East church as a meane to increase his owne authoritie For it is most plaine and cannot be denied that afterwardes in that councill by his legates he sought the supremacy very earnestly and in sundry of his Epistles disanulleth that the councill did against it And in these Epistles he maketh mone to many to procure Theodosius the Emperour to stand his friend Anâ— in this Epistle
in the church of Rome yet you see we can perfectly enough tel when it beganne to shew it selfe and when it was made an ecclesiasticall drecrees Neither is that of any waight which master Bellarmine alleageth out of Gregorie to the contrarie that the church of Constantinople is vnder the church of Rome For he cannot meane thereby the church of Rome should haue supreame authoritie ouer it and all other churches seeing that no man more then Gregorie inueieth against the name of vniuersall bishop but his meaning is onely this that the church of Constantinople is not of so good account or authoritie in meetings or assemblies as that of Rome Which beeing applied to our question proueth nothing For to prooue that the church of Rome may sit or go or write his name before the bishop of Constantinople is not to prooue him to haue iurisdiction ouer him That which out of Iustinian he alleageth is answered before as that also that hee bringeth out of the epistle of Valentinian to Theodosius sauing that master Bellarmine incrocheth somewhat and taketh more then is giuen him For where Valentinian saith that Antiquitie hath giuen that to Rome master Bellarmine seeth that will not serue his turne to prooue it to haue beene from Christ from whom onely they can claime it if by the lawe of God they will haue it and therefore hee saith not as Valentinian doth that it hath beene of old time but alwayes And so wresteth his words quite out of tune And it is but a foolish shift whereby they seeke to pervert the truth and by these forced gloses to corrupt the words of almost all stories when they denied Phocas first to haue giuen supremacie to the pope he did if you will trust master Bellarmine but declare it and did not giue it Platina saith that the pope obtained this of Phocas to be called and counted head and so doth Sigebert and Eusebius saith that by the consent of Phocas it was so instituted And Beneuenutus Imolensis a storie cōmended by pope Pius the second by his adding to the same the liues of foure emperors saith that Phocas first obtained that Rome should be head of all churches If he First obtained this title to Rome if he did institute it if the pope obtained this of Phocas then let the indifferent reader iudge how vntrewly master Bellarmine saith that Phocas did but declare this thing and that it was before Yea what needed this any declaration of of the emperour if the church had receiued it as a catholike doctrine Or if it be not a catholike doctrine what meaneth master Bellarmine to make so false braggs as he sometimes doth of the consent of fathers in this doctrine And thus I trust I haue layed open the vanitie of the proofe and the weakenesse of the argument whereby they indeuoure to strengthen and establish the tyranous soueraigntie of the church of Rome For if Peter had no such iurisdiction ouer others hee could not giue it to any other If his beeing bishop of Rome haue not any such ground but that it may iustly be doubted of and strong presumptions to the contrarie then is not the popes succession of Peter so certaine as they would haue it thought Yea and if Peter were bishop of Rome and if hee had such soueraigntie howe do they proue that it is bequeathed to them to what person howe in what words at what time in what place befor what witnesses Al which things how weakely they prooue hitherto I haue declared And yet to goe further admitte that Peter had such iurisdiction which cannot bee prooued but I admit I say that hee had it admit also that hee could and did leaue the same to the bishop of Rome which we also iustly denie must it therefore cleaue so fast to that chaire in Rome that it can not for any cause bee altered Must it be so hereditarie to his successours if they had beene his successours that are bishops of Rome that they could not forfet it for any terspasse that it may not be taken from them for any offence God forbid that wee should be so foolish as to tie God to anie place or people to any sect or succession in such sort as that howsoeuer men doe abuse his graces or their owne callings yet still they must haue the place that once they haue gotten and they must serue him in that place whether he will or not as though they had it by euerlasting patent Did not God chuse to be his hie priest Aaron and his sonnes by name Nadab Abihu Eleazar and Ithamar to serue in the priestes office No man can deny it And yet Nadab and Abihu for offering onely with strange fire many greater offences then that are committed in the church of Rome were burnt with fire from heauen to shew that God is not so in bondage to them whome hee hath placed in such roomes that hee must haue their seruice whether hee will or not Yea and didde the priesthoode continue alwayes in Aarons line vntill the very time that the Leuiticall priesthoode was vtterly abolished No verily For Herod set vp priests at his pleasure when he came to be made king of Iewry so that then the line of Aaron was vtterly extinct concerning the priesthoode and they that afterwards were priests were not of the same Where then is the choice that God made of Aarons posteritie to serue him And what greater promise can the church of Rome finde made vnto Peter I say not to them for they had none made then was made vnto Phinehas euen a couenant of the priests office for euer And yet we see this was not onely altered now when the priesthoode was quite gone from Aarons posteritie but also euen long before when the priesthoode was giuen vnto Eli that was the son of Ithamar and taken from the posteritie of Phinehas so that not so much as his sonne succeeded him And concerning Eli the priest the priest the Lord had said that he and his house should haue walked before God for euer meaning in the priestes office But when God saw how Eli did wincke at the great disorders of his sonnes whereby Gods seruice was hindered then hee let Eli to vnderstand that hee would cutte off his authoritie and stirre himselfe vp a faithfull Priest that shoulde doe according to his heart and according to his minde And this was performed when Abiathar was put out of the priesthoode by Salomon and Zadoc was made Priest in his steede And of this Zadoc it is said by God himselfe by that messenger or man of God that was sent to Eli. I will builde him meaning Zadoc a sure house and he shall walke before mine annointed for euer And yet as is before declared the priesthoode was taken from his line also so that there were diuers hie priests that were not of his house If nowe God in his iust iudgement
fathers Thus we see that in as plaine termes as they can deuise this Councill doeth oppose themselues to that which the Bishop of Rome did seeke to obtaine And thus it appeareth how vntruely the church of Rome hath delt very long since to exalt her selfe aboue others and to maintaine her owne pride And how shee hath in the times of those learned fathers beene bridled in their councils Wherein they haue set downe lawes to mitigate and keepe vnder their immoderate affections how soeuer they would sometimes write or speake of them or to them that were bishops of Rome for the peace of the church and the reuerence of the persons being men often times indued with very good gifts and such as by their acquaintance and credit being in the imperiall citie did helpe many that were distressed Now therefore let vs yeld that honour to him onely whome God hath sealed that he be acknowledged the head of his church the lawe maker to his people the sheapheard to his flocke Let vs receaue no other vicar to snpply his roome but that spirit of truth which God our gracious father shall giue and which shall abide with vs for euer But as for them that without any good warrant of Gods word or sufficient calling from God claime to be as kings and loue to liue as lords ouer Gods heritage detest them as the proud off-spring of Corah Dathan and Abiram or rather as the wicked sonnes of Ely that did as themselues would yea as men that are enemies to Gods lawes vsurpers of Christs office despisers of all authoritie abusers of all maiestie and therefore most perillous plagnes to christian princes And thus much to examine how iust a title the pope hath or how iust a claime he may make to be supreame head of the Church The second part of the Suruey of the Popes Supremacie which is a proofe of his Practises NOw that it plainly appeareth in the first part of this Treatise to them that doe not wincke with their eyes against the trueth that this Supremacie that the Bishop of Rome most prowdely abuseth hath not any ground in the worde of God as is seene partely by the weakenesse of their owne arguments and partly because the fathers being assembled together in their generall councils some of them more then foure hundred and fiftie yeares after Christ haue taught vs the contrarie it is necessary for the better vnderstanding of this matter yea for the more detestation of their vniust authoritie that something bee said of the second part of this Treatise which is a proofe or examination of the popes practises But herein I must consider of two pointes First how and by what meanes they got vnto that high estate wherein nowe they are Secondly after what manner they haue vsed themselues in the same In fewe wordes how they haue ruled And because the church of Rome was not sodainely or in one instant aduanced to this place of excessiue pride and insatiable ambition wherein she now challengeth rule and dominion ouer al that professe christianitie it wil not be amisse but a thing very pertinent to this my purpose to see by what steps the pope hath come to such height by what practises he hath attained to such honour Whereas therefore the godly fathers of the primitiue church did many times stand in neede of the help or counsel or comfort of the good Bishops of Rome that were in their times and as occasions fell out were forced somtimes to flee to them for succor who also found reliefe at their hands very often the ages succeeding did interpret this charitable affection and performance of christian duety in these godly Bishops of Rome to be not so much tokens of the loue towards all as of their power ouer all And yet a man may be as good as he will to them ouer whom he hath no power at al. Although therefore we neither can nor will deny that which the Author of the Apologie for the English Seminaries doth so confidently pronounce that the famous fathers called for aide comfort and counsell in their distresses of the bishop of Rome yet iustly we may and for the trueâ—hs sake we must affirme that this seeking for these causes to the bishop of Rome doth not prooue him to haue authoritie ouer all but onely that at such times he had better meanes to helpe the distressed then they that sought vnto him had to releeue themselues But many times the godly are forced to flie for aide as these men did whom the Apology nameth as Cypr. Atha Chrys Aug. Basil Ierom Miletius Theod. to men worse theÌ„ themselues as Iacob to Laban from the wrath of Esau and Dauid to the Philistins to auoide Saâ—â—s rage and Ioseph with Christ to escape the bloudy hands of Herod went into Egypt But if any man desire more particularly to be informed in y e special causes that moued these godly men to make sute to the B. of Rome let him reade that learned answer that Bilson hath made vnto the said apologie he is too wilfull if he be not satisfied for this point Now some B. of Rome though otherwise good men were pufe vp with some prowd conceit of their authoritie when they saw such famous and godly men were driuen to seeke for their help as it may appeare by their owne words if they be their words which go abroad in their name for their Epistles and decrees As Damasus in his fourth epistle writing vnto prosper the B. of the first seat in Numidia and other bishops commendeth theÌ„ that in all matters that may be doubtfull they refer themselues to him as to the head to giue them answere And it is no great maruell though Damasus woulde write or speake much for the dignity of his place for comming to the which he did striue euen to the death of a great number of christians Siricius then commeth next after him who taketh vpon him to threaten to pronounce sentence against such as wil do otherwise then he would haue them And Innocentius writing to the bishops of macedony findeth himselfe grieued and thinketh that that church of Rome to which he telleth them they shoulde haue regard as to their head is wronged because they did not at the first yeelde to his iudgement The like might be said of many other of them Whereby appeareth that they who at the first were intreated by some godly men by such means as God had giuen them to help them in their need at the length tooke vpon them to commaund others to stand to their orders and decrees Insomuch as they also gaue out their decrees which they would binde al to obserue as partly appeareth in Siricius and Innocentius and partly also in others it will be more plaine It sauoureth of too great an arrogaâ—â—y that Zosimus another pope threatneth seuerity if any despise the apostolike authority So did Leo so did pope a afterward
sedition against pope Leo the fifth that made great account of him and tooke the said Leo when he had beene pope but fortie dayes and so gote into the place as Rioche affirmeth by contention and euill meanes But nowe these Romish rabbies I would haue to open me one riddle Platina hauing set downe this historie learneth by this experience that it is most true that dignities are rather dignified or commended by men then men by them As the Censorship saith hee of Rome at the first as a meane office was nothing set by but when the chiefe men of the citie tooke that office vpon them then the greatest citizens thought themselues almost vnhappie if in their life they inioied not that office What Platina meaneth by this I cannot tell vnlesse he thinketh the bishop of Rome at the first was not in such estimation or account as afterwads hee grew to But that so it was I haue before declared For from mean beginning he is now growen to be a captions controler of the greatest princes And this as it seemeth Platina thinketh to be the reason why the bishopricke of Rome which was perchance in the beginning not worth suing for was afterwards by so great contention and fighting sought for And so men haue dignified that seat and not that seat the men And the place hath gotten authoritie by the bishops not the bishops by the place Which in my iudgement doth somewhat ouerthwart that fulnesse of power and that continuall spring of spirituall graces which they would make vs beleeue floweth from that chaire and that power which they say it hath from Christ himselfe Next after Christopher commeth Sergius the third He displaced Christopher by the helpe of Lotharuis the king and sate in his place and cast him into prison Now how himselfe was made pope Platina can tell you who saith that he persecuted Formosus his faction by whome he was before hindred from being pope for hee thought he waited to long for so good a place And thereupon Platina comparing the popes then with the first that were findeth them nothing like For in times past they refused that place being offered vnto them But now saith he they seeke it by briberie and ambition and euill meanes They gaue themselues to prayer and to teach These not regarding Gods seruice giue themselues to tyranous crueltie that after they may the more freely fulfill their lusts wheÌ„ no man dare control theÌ„ Thus saith Platina of them Not long after commeth Iohn the eleuenth a worthie prelate for such a place He was bastard sonne to pope Laudo howe holy his ellection was howe canonically hee was chosen is worth the hearing Theodora a shamelesse harlot that ruled all Rome was greatly in loue with this Iohn as soone as shee saw him And shee hauing for a time inioyed his companie and liking well of the same first made him bishop of Bondnia after archbishop of Raueâ—â—a and lastly bishop of Rome and was not this thinke you a canonicall election But whether this harlot Theodore did violently place this pope which especially belongeth to my matter in hand or that she by fauour obtained consent of the electours it is not certain But by lawfull meanes it is certaine he came not to it There was also another pope Iohn after him thrust into that rowme who although he be not numbred among the popes yet because he was bastard sonne to pope Sergius the third hee is woorth speaking of in respect of the good stocke he came of Therefore Theodora that famous harlot had a daughter maried to Guy Marques of Thuscia her name was Marozia Who following the good conditions of her mother by pope Sergius had a bastard whom she and her husband hauing dispatched pope Iohn the eleuenth by stopping his mouth with a pillow made pope and hee was called Iohn the twelfth Thus did Marozia kill her mothers paramour that shee might make her husbands bastard sonne by pope Sergius pope in his roume And thus we see howe this seat wherein they will make vs beleeue that none can sit but most holy fathers is become a denne for most prophane and godlesse ruffians and rakehels Iohn the twelfth by the their owne account was also intruded into that place by meanes of his father who was thought to bee Albert or Albericke king of Italie But howsoeuer he came to it he when he was in it was such a ruffianly companion and so vicious as that it is written that euen from his youth he was starke naught and was not ashamed openly to keepe harlots So youthfull he was that in him began that by-worde As merrie as pope Iohn He came of a good race For Marozia of whom before I spake was his grandmother And as his entrance was not good so yet his going out was too bad for some say the diuell killed him euen in his adulterie being in bed with an other mans wife some affirme it was the womans husband but that hee was killed euen in his filthinesse all agree And was not this a holy Father Neither did Boniface the seuenth get into this seate the right way but malis artibus by euill meanes as all stories almost speake And of the popes that were about this time doeth the storie called Fasciculus temporum giue this note That in these daies the bishops of Rome were slaine as well as in the primitiue Church but yet they are not Martyrs as were the other Their deathes were like but the cause vnlike And of this pope Boniface the seuenth manie stories report that hee committed theft and sacriledge stealing from Saint Peters Church all the Treasure and Iewels and sold them at Constantinople to make money thereof wherewith hee procured some friendship at his returne with more safetie to sit in that proude seate Among these also may Gregorie the fifth be reckoned who for fauour of the Emperour was made pope or as Platina saieth by the othoritie of Otho the Emperour and as Fasciculus temporum saieth at his request Bergomates saieth the Emperour did will and commaund him to take it vpon him Benedict the ninth entred vniustly and fearing that hee could not keepe the papacie hee solde it to Iohn the Archdeacon But of him I must speake after Siluester the third was intruded either by Symonie or ambition or for hatred of Benedict the ninth Benedict the tenth entered by force and briberie As for Gregorie the tenth how canonicallie he was chosen it may be seene by the olde verses that were made of his election whereby it appeareth that the discorde of the brethren made him who was an Archdeacon before father of fathers For the place I meana the popedome was nowe so much desired and so ambitiouslie sought for that the Cardinals manie times would for a long time bee diuided and could not agree about the chusing of the holie father As immediatelie after the death of
Cardinals to please the people promised to do what they could and asking aduise of one Bartholomew bishop of Bar he gaue counsel that they should choose one for the present to pacifie them that they might haue the name And then going to another place they should chuse another that should be pope in deede Whereupon they chose him to be pope in name Which when they had done hee kept it in deed And therefore Stella and others call him craftie But in craft Paul the third was not inferiour to any who as is reported by Francis Guicciardine a papist too in his historie of Italie that the Cardinals might be the more willing to chuse him to be pope in hope that he would soone be dead did by art iucrease the opinion of weaknesse which by reason of his age for he was lxvii yeares olde they had conceiued of him But for all his feigned weakenesse he liued pope more then xv yeares A longer time then commonly the popes of these latter times are suffered to liue An other kind of cunning also there is when by bribery and gifts they will buy that which their desert can neuer procure vnto them And this symonicall subtiltie was sometime their ladder whereby they must climbe vp into that chaire which is set higher then they otherwise would be able to get into Platina writeth that Formosus gâ—t to be pope by bribery rather then vertue But what speake I of Formosus Bergomates and Stella writing vpon Romanus that was pope soone after Formosus doe shew the practise of popes of those times to get the popedome For of Romanus they say that he came not to it by ambition and briberie as did many of the popes of those dayes I haue spoken before of Boniface the seuenth who stole the treasure and most precious iewels out of S. Peters church that he might be the better able to bride as all stories report As for Benedict the ninth if he solde the popedome Gregorie the sixth bought it In deed Platina and other doe say that he sold it or gaue it ouer let the indifferent reader iudge whether is more likely that he did But Sigebert doeth psaiulie say that this Benedict was a Symoniacke or got the popedome by simonie And in Eusebius his Chronicle it is written that Theophylact belike that was Benedicts name did sell the Papacie to Iohn a Priest And this bargaining and badde dealing made plentie of Popes at this good time For some write that Henrie the Emperour deposed at this time fiue Popes and made a sixth And that the world may see howe good choise they made It is written that one of them Sigebert saith Benedict but Fasciculus temporuÌ„ saith Gregorie the sixt was so vnlearned that hee was faine to get one chosen to say Masse and play the Pope in the church while himselfe might play the pope abroad Now I pray you which of these popes was the heade of the church the praying pope or the playing pope The church that hath so bad heades must needes be sicke of the headach and troubled with a phrensie or gidiâ—es as indeede the Romish church is For it would not otherwise so manifestly oppose it selfe against Christ as it doth By what meanes Clement the third came to be pope I cannot tell But Richard the first king of England made a great complaint of the pope and his court for their symonie And Mathew of Paris reporteth how he emptied the bags and lightned the cariages of Iohn the bishop of Norwich who sought to him to be dispensed withall for a vowe as it seemeth that he had made to go to the holy land But of that kinde of symonie that author complaineth bitterly in many places against many popes I might also speake of the euil entrance of Iulius the second who by his great power which men feared and his bribes that he gaue and promises of bishopricks and such other promotions which he made got to be pope although otherwise a man for sturdie and surly nature loued of none misliked of all But let vs see what other meanes they haue when violence craft and simonie will not serue They haue an Italian figge to hasten them that are popes to giue place to them that would be It is reported by the writers of histories that Damasus the second sent such a hastie messenger to call away Clement the second his predecessour For he thought he taried too long and yet he stayed in that seat scarse nine monthes A litle before Clement was Iohn the ninteenth sommoned in such sort when he had beene pope litle more then three monethes But for Clement Benno the cardinall writeth that hee was rather poysoned by Brazutus that godlesse wretch and that Heldebrand that firebrand of much mischiefe procured to doe many such feats For within thirteene yeares he poisoned six popes Clement the second Damasus the second Leo the ninth Victor the second Steuen the tenth and Nicolas the second So that if any but Gregorie were chosen this Gerard Brazutus was readie straight way to giue him a drinke that did them litle good So â—hat poysoning seemeth at that time to be but a popelike practise if wee will beleeue Cardinall Benno But master Bellarmine endeuoureth as much as hee can to impaire the credit of that history And to that end he gathereth all that he can find out of other histories either in disprayse of Henry the fourth the emperour against whom pope Gregory the seuenth did vndutifully and vnchristianly oppose himselfe And also picketh out all the prayses of Gregory the seuenth to make him seeme another manner of man then Benno reporteth him to be But Benno liued in the time of Gregorie and therefore he could be an eye-witnes of many things He was a cardinall and therefore by likelihood howsoeuer he misliked of the doings of the man yet he would not vntrewly report any thing that might be a staine to that church But if he had written any thing falsly it is not to be thought but that some or other historiographer of those times would haue proued that cardinall Benno had but slaundered and would haue written against him Which master Bellarmine hath not shewed there And therefore that which he hath said doth onely prooue that the emperour had his faults and that the writers of those times would rather lay the cause of Gregories immoderate pride and tyrannie vpon the wicked doings of the emperour then vpon the proud and vnruly affections of the pope Pope Alexander the sixth a sea and sincke of sinne and as it were nothing but a masse of wickednesse was belike very skilfull in this tricke And yet I neuer heard that euer he poysoned any popes but one onely and that was himselfe He came to be pope as other in those dayes by indirect and euill meanes For he bought with mony and obtained by promising the
promotions that he was possessed of vnto others their voices and so was made pope Though he was of so bad disposition as that Ferdinand king of Naples though he were neuer seem to weepe at the death of any of his children when he heard that he was chosen pope wept and with teares said to his wife that hee would be a great enemy not to Italy only but eueÌ„ to al christendome And thus doth Guicciardine and Italian describe him that there was in that man no sincerity shame truth faith religion but insaciableauarice immoderate ambition more then barbarous cruelty a most earnest desire to aduaunce by any meanes his children that were not few som of them as bad as their father Is not this thinke you a popelike prelate Did not the cardinals that sold their voyces to make him pope find out a holy father to sit in that chaire And such are O ye papists such are too too many of the heads of your church of Rome of later yeares But to returne For I haue a litle disgressed to shew his canonicall entrance and his popelike vertues If he entred not by poysening yet he did practise it very much And hee had a sonne Valentine a bastard as hee had many sixe children in all Platina speaketh of who was first made cardinall by his father yet afterwards he turned his cote and became a duke His father and he minding to sup in a garden where the sonne also purposed to poyson Adrian a cardinall that ought the garden this Valentine sent thether bottels of poysoned wine with charge that none should drinke thereof before himselfe came But the pope his father being drie called for wine And because none was brought from the popes pallice Valentines seruaÌ„t giueth to the pâ—pe of that wine thinking his master had forbidden that any should drinke thereof because it was some principall wine As the pope was drinking his sonne Valentine commeth in his father giueth to him of the same wine The father died of the same Wee may note in him Gods iust iudgement For the pope and his sonne did vse to poyson many not so much for reuenge or in respect of their safetie to dispatch so their enemies although euen that is but a cowardly vilanie but to get their goods although they neuer wronged them As the rich cardinall of Saint Angelo Yea euen their dearest frends if they were rich they would serue so as they did the cardinals of Capua and Mantua But that kind of death that they had brought many vnto the pope himselfe then tasted of and the sonne very hardly escaped but his being sicke at that time was a meruelous ouerthrow of his estate Yea we see how they that were conspirers together to poyson many did now shew their skill one vpon another The sonne poysoning the father for he sent the poysoned bottels And the father poysoning the son for he gaue him poyson to drinke And so where some other by poysoning their predecessours made roome for themselues Alexander the sixth by poysoning himselfe made roome for another And if they thinke none of these practises sure enough then will they fall downe and worship him who when he had shewed Christ all the kingdomes of the worlde and the glorie thereof he said to him though they are not his to giue all these will I giue thee if thou wilt fall downe and worship me Platina himselfe who is loth to speake the woorst by Popes vnlesse the truth thereof be so plaine that it cannot well bee denied reporteth of Siluester the second that he gaue himselfe to the diuell vpon condition the diuell would make him Pope Must it not needes be a good head of the Church that is of the diuels owne chusing Cardinall Benno writeth the like also of Iohn the ninteenth who came next after Siuester and of Benedict the 9 who as he saith was by the diuell choked in a wood But I of purpose let passe many of these examples For I haue beene much longer then I had purposed in these practises of the popes to get into this chaire If I should come to the election of popes in these our times is it not as easie to see as the sunne at noon day that there is almost none chosen to that seat but by fauour briberie suite or to please and pleasure some princes or in respect of some faction Is not this the spêciall care that they haue in their elections who is fittest to maintaine their owne pride and most likelie to serue their owne turne Are all their popes chosen now canonically without respect of any thing but to chuse the fittest If the greatest friends that the Romish church hath were so shamelesse that they would say so yet their owne heart within them would tell them that they lie Well then if to bee thrust into that place by others or to intrude themselues if to get it by fighting and brawling by poisoning and killing by bitter contention and strife by craft and falshood by briberie and gifts by murthering and mischiefe To bee short if to climbe into it by helpe of the diuell and by such horrible wickednesse as Christian eares cannot well endure to heare be to enter in at the doore and to be chosen canonically then we will confesse that mame of the popes haue entered well But if this be to come as a theefe and a murtherer then what meaneth the church of Rome so to â—â—ag of their succession which euen by their owne lawes set downe a little before hath so often and so notoriously beene interrupted What meane these factours and brokers for Simon Magus that briber and sorcerer to vauat themselues to be successuors to Simon Peter These are such heads as the church of Rome can affoord vs. These are they that we must call most holy fathers These euen these are they that cannot erre if you will trust the church of Rome And yet in all that they doe there is nothing but erring out of the right way They are like men that pretending to shoote at a marke turne their backe of it and shoote the cleane contrarie way And as they are content to vse any meanes be it neuer so vnlawfull to get into that seat so when they are gotten once into it they are become lawlesse and shamelesse as by some examples shall be shewed Honorius the third did very sawcely oppose himselfe against the emperour Fredericke the second as also did some other of his felowes and did excommunicate him and depriued him of his imperiall dignitie And Bale telleth vs that the cause why the pope delt so hardly with him was for that he defended his owne right in Apulia and Cicily And out of Marius he reporteth that the pope did maintaine and cherish certaine of the emperours rebels and seditious subiects so that the emperour could not punish them as they deserued The names of those traiters were Mathew and Thomas who kept
from him forceably some of his castels and possessions whom when the emperour had subdued they fled to the pope who intertained those traiters against their lord and master Whereof because as he had great cause hee complained it seemeth that hereupon he did excommunicate him But Gregorie the ninth that came next after him was far more cruel then he against the emperour continuing the sentence of excommunication against him which Honorius had pronounced vpon pretence that al his commaundement hee did not goe to the holy land Neither could any reasonable excuse serue to mitigate the mad moode of that Luciferian pope against the emperour For by the emperours letters the contents whereof are to be seene in Abbas Vrspergensis and in Mathew of Paris it appeareth that the emperour was sick in somuch as hauing vndertaken the iorney by reason of his sicknesse hee was forced to returne againe But it is plaine enough to them that marke the sequel that the pope did but picke a quarrel against the emperour that he might inuade his possessions The emperour seeing this saucie pope so cruely and couetously bent against him consulted with some of the Romans with such I say as were of principall account among them how he might bind the people of Rome to acknowledge themselues to be his subiects which he brought to pas Then the pope sent forth against the emperor another thundercracke of excommunication For which his insolent fact the pope by the people was forced to flee out of Rome And durst not returne in two yeares Now the emperour to please the pope went to the holy land as they call it But the pope doth now shew himselfe to haue had no other meaning in sending him to fight for the holy land then Dauid had when hee commaunded Ioab to place Vriah in the strength of the enemies battel and that he and his people should flee leauing Vriah to be slaine of the enemie So the pope commaunded the emperour the sawcie seruant his lord master to fight against y e Turke But to what end Had he any true zeale against Gods enemies Had he a sincere heart and vnfained affection to increase the kingdome of Christ no no. It seemeth he much more desired the destruction of the emperour and intruding himselfe into his dominions then the recouering of the holy land For the emperour being at Acon hauing passed according to the popes pleasure into that land to fight against the Turke the pope by all meanes possible did stay his soldiers and such as were to passe ouer to aide the emperour and fight in that quarrel not suffering them to goe And nowe the emperour being where the pope would haue him he the pope I meane bestoweth huge masses of mony in hiring of soldiers to inuade the emperours dominion stirring vp the traitours before mentioned Mathew and Thomas against him and so subdueth to himselfe that which belonged to the emperour What a godles and shameles parte was this by excommunications to force the emperour vnder pretence of holy warre to leaue his dominions and then most wrongfully to inuade the same And when the emperour being there had made an honorable peace betweene the Christians and the Soldan hauing gotten restitution of certain things that the Soldan had woon he of his good nature wrote vnto the pope to certifie him of these newes which he thought would haue bin ioyfull to al christians But that proud priest as he had before contemptuously refused to heare or admit into his presence the emperours embassadours so did hee nowe reiect his letters and cast them from him he also caused it to be published abroad that the emperour was dead thinking thereby the rather to discourage the emperours faithfull subiectes and to make them yeelde vnto him And to the end that this lying report should not be crossed the pope caused the messengers that brought the letters to be killed Thus we see how Gods vicar beyond all shame and without all shew of reason doth whollie oppose himselfe against Gods ordinance namely the emperor These things are largely set downe by Abbas Vrsp before named but especially by Mathew of Paris who in a letter written to Richard earle of Cornewall by Fredericke the emperor of the report of all the popes dealing with the saide emperour sheweth the principall cause of all this malice that the pope had against him was because he refused to permit the pope to set downe order concerning Lumbrardy for the pope desired to haue that matter compromitted to him simply without any exception or reseruation of any right to himselfe Which if the emperor would haue yeelded vnto and so haue lost Lumbardy as there the emperour doth testifie he might haue wonne the Popes fauour For hee promised him faithfully if the faith of a Pope be any thing worth that hee woulde not onely doe nothing against him but he would also giue vnto him towards he maintenance of his warres the tenth of all christendome The pope also woulde faine haue bestowed a neece of his vppon the emperours sonne Henry which because the emperour would not hearken vnto for his nobles tooke scorne that the pope shoulde make that offer for this and the other cause before alleadged the pope misliking the emperour did picke all quarrels against him and did thrice excommunicate him and as Iohn Bale out of this Mat. Paris allegeth did promise eternall life to al them that would fight against the emperour As if so cursed a creature had it to bestow at his pleasure or as if rebellion against Gods ordinance might looke for so good and great a recompence I might enter into a large and wide fielde of the notorious oâ—stinacie and vnlawful dealing which sundry of the popes haue vsed against their lords emperors But I haue staid somwhat long in this example because it appeareth by the stories that as their dealing against him was lewd and cruel so the cause was their owne priuate matters which caried them with an vndrideled affection to do whatsoeuer they could mischieuously deuise if they had power to put it in execution not regarding what impietie they coÌ„mitted against God or what wrong against man or what disgrace the brought to themselues an their place so they might worke their wil. What should I here speake of the great troubles that Gregorie the 7 Victor the 3 Vrban the 3 and Paschal the 2 wrought against Henry the 4 the emperor excommunicating him discharging his subiects of their obedience they ought to him yea stirring vp vnnaturally his owne natural sonne against him How rude and sauage crueltie was that which Gregorie the seuenth that vnmanerly fellow shewed vnto the emperour at the towne called Canusium when hee made the emperour that was willing to submit himselfe being by extremitie forced therto to wait at his gates three daies continually in the extremitie of a sharpe winter barefoote and bare legged without meate or
drinke and would not admitte that great monarch to his speech The fourth day with much adoe by the intreaty of a gentlewoman who could do somwhat with the pope and at the suite of some others his holinesse forsooth was content he should be admitted vnto his presence And though this y e emperor his submissiō was such as was thought too lowly and abiect by the nobles of Italy insomuch as they purposed to depose Henry the fourth from the empire as bringing a staine to the same by his ouer humble yeelding vnto the popes excessiue pride yet could it not satisfie the pope For he notwithstanding all that the emperour had doone purposed to bestow the empire vpon Rafe ◠of Sweueland And therefore sent to him the crown emperial with this verse written about it The Rocke to Peter this crowne gaue And Peter bids that Rafe it haue This Henry that was most villainously abused by that prowde beast and his successors is he of whome Paulus Langius bringeth the testimonie of Otho Frisingensis that he was the first emperor of Rome that he could find although he marked diligently in reading that euer was excommunicated or depriued of his kingdome by the bishop of Rome For as Sigebertus saieth this onely new doctrine I wil not call it hereste saith he was not yet bred that the priestes shoulde teach the people that vnto wicked kings they owe no subiection Yea though they haue sworne fidelitie to them yet they owe them no fidelitie neither that they are not to bet called periured that stand against the king but whosoeuer obeyeth the king is to be accounted an excommunicate person but he that is against himlis absolued from all fault and periurie If Sigebert had liued in our times what would he haue said when hee should see this new heresie not onely stiffely and stubbornly yet slenderly and verie vnlearnedly maintained for catholike doctrine by that vnnaturall traitor Allen and his fellowes and a new practise also agreeable thereunto put in bre and highly commended to poison shoote or by any meanes to kill such as the popes will say are heretikes as all are that wil not stoupe vnder his yoke Wel about 500. yeres since it was new heresie for it is verie neare so long since Sigebert did write And therefore it is not that poore proofe of Tho◠of Aquine a man that liued in the dayes of corruption or of Francis of Toledo some seditious papist of our time or of that late Councill of Lateran not much aboue 300. yeares since that can make it a Catholike doctrine But to end this storie of Henrie the fourth Paschalis who was not long after Gregorie did not only prosecute the matter with all extremitie against he said Emperour whilest hee was aliue as did Gregorie before him but euen after he was dead they who for good will and that common dutie that we owe to them that are departed did burie him could neuer haue peace or fauour of pope Paschalis the second vntill they had taken vp his bodie and cast it into the fields Is not this popelike charitie Is not this diuelish enuie a most sure demonstration that they are not led by the spirit of God But to bee short this one thing I dare affirme and I proclaime it to the shame of all them that loue poperie that if you search all stories and peruse all Chronicles and call to remembrance all things that you haue read heard or seene you shall neuer find any that professe the name of Christ be they neuer so rude or sauage not any Turke Iew or infidell wil attempt things so vnnaturall so contrarie to the law of God so far beyond the compasse of humanitie as papists doe and wil do yea and many of the popes themselues haue don and thought they might doe Our late daies giue vs so many examples to proue this to be true that wee need not looke vnto these former stories You see how vnereuerently they haue dealt with these most honourable princes And did not pope Alexander the third as intollerably hehaue himselfe as any man could do when hee making the Emperour lie downe at his feete did treade vppon the necke of the Lords annointed which was woorse then to cut off the lap or a peece of his garment for doing whereof Dauid accused himselfe to haue done wrong But this pope I say treading vpon the necke of Fredericke the first of that name emperour did most prophanely and blasphemously abuse these words of the Psalme Thou shalt walke vpon the lion and aspe the yong lion and the dragon shalt thou tread vnder foot Thereby proclaiming that he he neither had any feare of God or reuerence of the supreme maiestie in earth I omit of purpose to speake of Gelasius the second and Calixtus the second against Henrie the fift the vnnaturall sonne of Henrie the fourth Nether do I rehearse the vngodly dealings of these and some other against manie kings and princes Yea I passe ouer also with silence that villainous treason that Alexander the third wrought and practised with the Turke against this Fredericke the first which had beene the finall destruction of the emperour if the Turke had not beene more mercifull then the pope was faithfull For the pope desiring the death of the emperor moued the Turke to dispatch him as he loued his owne quietnes and withall sent him a liuely counterfet or picture of the emperor wherby he might know him if he came into his hands by which also the emperor being taken of the Turks was knowne when he came before the great Turke For hee brought forth the said picture which y e pope had sent him therby prouing him to be Frederick and withall he shewed the popes letter mouing him to destroy the emperor and therby did it appeare to all that heard thereof that the pope was a traitor to Gods cause the emperors person But I am weary of raking in these chanels And this which is already said is I trust sufficient to point vnto the vnreuerent vnhonest vnchristian proceedings which these godles and prophane vgly monsters vsed after y ◠once they came to their height of honor abusing the colour and pretence of religion and holines to hide their violent and bilanous practises And makng that seuere censure and sharpe chasticement which is onely to be vsed in Gods causes and that vpon the greatest occasions as a very fooles bable wherewith they strike euery one that doth not folowe their vnbridled wilfullnesse But their intollerable and impotent pride doth yet more appeare if we consider their dooings nearer home For you see howe after they had gotten that authoritie which long they sought euen as a man that aimeth at his marke so did they practise and deuise what they could against the soueraine maiestie vpon earth as if all their care were bent to bring him lower as indeede they did spoyling him by litle
these summes which they got by ecclesiasticall liuings they had many other wayes to picke mens purses Purgatorie was a gainfull deuise the fire therof did much good to the popes kitchin Pardons were good to no vse but to make them rich that gaue them or carried them Especially those pardons which Leo the the tenth sent abroad They which caried them made the world beleeue that whosoeuer would giue tenne shillings for a pardon should for the same deliuer what soule soeuer he would out of purgatorie Vnder pretence also of fighting against the Turke and recouering the holy land they gathered great summes What should I speake of licenses qualifications dispensations and such like meanes to get money If I should but out of our English histories paint out the greedie worme of that church of Rome you would thinke it were a gulf vnsatiable both the horsleaches daughters in one that alwayes crieth giue giue and can neuer haue enough It is a bitter and grieuous complaint that Frederick the second emperour of that name maketh against the church of Rome shewing how the fire of her auarice is so kindled that the goods of the clargie not being able to suffice they feare not to disinherit and make to pay tribute to them emperours kings and princes Whose words hee saith are sweete as hony and as soft as oyle but they are insatiable bloudsuckers He doth put our countrimen in rememberance of that which Innocent the third a pope had done swalowing after the Romish fashion with an vntoward gaping whatsoeuer was fattest And with many such words hee setteth forth the miserable estate of England which was saith he the prince of all prouinces He speaketh of the time of king Iohn as himselfe sheweth of the which dayes also did the nobles of England complaine bitterly because he did subiect himselfe to the pope and so brought their land into a miserable slauerie And as it were speaking vnto the pope they charge him that he beareth with king Iohn to the ende that all things might be swallowed vp of the gulfe of the Romish auarice Neither is the pope Honorius the third ashamed to confesse this fault by his Otho For in his letters hee confesseth that there can be no dispatch in the court of Rome without great expences and gifts and acknowledgeth that this is an old staine to that church And for to take away this slaunder he his cardinals had deuised a good way as he thought which is that he might haue in euery cathedrall church two prebends and such like of abbeis And this is an other way that the pope hath to inrich himselfe by And very often did the bishoppes of Rome seeke by such means to prouide for their friends or such as would buy their letters So did Innocent the fourth write to the abbat of S. Albans for a kinsman of his for a benefice in Lincolne diocesse belonging to the gift of that church of saint Albans called Wengraue and for the next besides it that shuld fall Yea he did sometime write for children Whereupon there grew a great contention betweene the bishop of Lincolne Robert Grosted and the pope Innocent the fourth whome Alexander the fourth his next successour called the seller of benefices Pope Innocent was so offended with this Bishop of Lincolne for withstanding his lewd and wicked couetousnesse that when he heard that the Bishop of Lincolne was dead hee purposed presently to write to the king of England not to suffer him to be buried in the church but to be cast out thereby to disgrace him as much as he possibly could Besides these they haue yet other wayes to get money They send in their ambassadours or legates which when they are once well setled within the land they send to bishops abbates or such as they knew to be of wealth for so much money as they thought good to get But the least gaine came not to the church of Rome by that vniust decree of Innocent the fourth whereby it was prouided that the goods of clarkes that died intestate should go to the bishop of Rome But it were too tedious a matter to come particularly to euery point of the popes greedines It was a thing generally misliked and spoken against yea this their miserable greedinesse as Mat. of Paris witnesseth was the chiefe cause why the Greeke church departed from the Latine church For an archbishop of the Greeke church comming to pope Gregory the ninth to be confirmed in his archbishopricke by him coulde not obtaine his desire vnlesse he would promise much money He seeing that detesting their greedinesse departed and tolde this to sundry of the nobilitie There were other also that reported as euill or worse of that they had seene and knowen at Rome and so they would haue no more to do with the west church In like manner did the same pope behaue himselfe in hearing the matter betweene Walter elect archbishop of Canterbury on the one side and the king and sundry bishops on the other side And although it were obiected against the archbishop by the king and the bishops that in sundry respectes hee was vnfit namely that hee had defloured a Nunne and gotten children by her and the king was very earnestly bent against him the pope also confessed that he was vnlearned yet coulde not the king and the bishops get the pope to be fauorable in that good cause vntill such time as the kings embassadors fearing lest the pope would make him archbishop of Canterbury that was altogether vnworthy of such a place promised to the pope the tenth of all moueables through England Whereupon the pope being so well hired was content not to place a wicked man in the sea of Canterbury And the pope to shew that it was the reward that made him and that he looked for perfourmance thereof he sent into England to demaund the same and it was graunted according to the promise that was made vnto him These and such other corruptions and extortions of the Bishops of Rome made them so odious to the king of England and his nobles that they thought be defiled and polluted the place where he dwelt And therefore when pope Innocentius the fourth requested the king that hee woulde permit him to lie at Burdeaur in Gascoigne which then belonged to the king of England he and his Nobles thought that it was too neere to England and that corruptions would come thence into England And Robert Grosted B. of Lincolne durst boldly say to the pope and in his hearing O money money how much canst thou doe especially in the court of Rome which as it is said in another place is alwaies gaping alwaies greedie But indeed great sums haue him gathered out of this realme which haue gone to the pope insomuch that king Iohn did affirme to the pope Innocent the third almost threatning him for
their part for all these things are common to the pope and his white sonne the king of Spaine they are their continuall meditations dooth not this sufficientlie proue their cruell malice So that their proude practises and cruell purposes which are two of the fruits of the supremacie of the popes that I haue spoken of are plaine enough euen in our dayes we may see with our eyes the proofe of the same by almost dayly examples But their greedie mindes and couetous affections doe not appeare to vs so plainely as vnto our fathers vnto whom they were an intollerable burthen as I haue shewed before And although we nothing doubt but the fat morsels which they vnderstand their predecessours haue plucked from this land doe make the popes that haue beene in our dayes more eager to get such like againe yet God hauing deliuered vs from the rauening pawes and iawes of that Romish Lion the Lord make vs truly thankefull and in life fruitfull for this his inestimable mercie we feele not the griefe of his exactions But this I trust sufficeth to decalre that the power which the pope vnlawfully hath gotten he vnreasonably abuseth making it a wicked and vngodly meane to crowe ouer princes to fill his coffers and to execute his reuenges And now that the pope was come to that that hee might doe euen what he would to satisfie his proude greedie and cruell lusts he thought it good for him to dwel and continue alwayes in that lawlesse estate And therefore did he not onely striue by all the power and policie that he had and with all his indeuour to maintaine the same for the time present but also did prouide some meanes to maintaine it as hee hoped for euer And to performe this they haue had no small helpe by priuileges and grauntes from princes who at the first when bishops of Rome and others also did applie themselues in some measure to perfourme their duetie were willing to the better incouraging of them to goe on forwardes in well doings and that those worldly things should not be to them any let or hinderance in their callings that were a burthen vnto other they were willing I say to exempt them from such seruices and duties as they required of other to be don vnto them And because that at the first when Christianity began to increase and grow mightie no doubt many that were secret enemies and yet durst not when the Emperors had by law established the christian profession accuse any man for their religion would then lay other faults to their charges and obiect other crimes to bring the Gospel into contempt as appeareth by Tertullian Iustin the Martyr and others that they did when religion was yet professed in corners Now it is not vnlikely but that godly princes to exempt them from such flaunders and reproches would commit the hearing of those accusations vnto such as were of best credite among themselues that when their enemie did see that their accusations were not like to be fauoured vnlesse they were sufficiently proued they might be discouraged from defaming them with vniust reports But howsoeuer these immunities were graunted vnto them at the first or on what consideration I wil not precisely set downe But afterwards I am sure they tooke them as their owne right and that they did alwayes belong vnto them And therefore when as the Emperour would haue taken vpon him to haue iudged of some causes of cleargie men pope Iohn sheweth that hee must not so doe and telleth him boldly but falsely that the almightie God will haue the clearkes and priests of Christian religion to be ordered examined and receiued when they returne from errour not by publike lawes or powers of this world but of bishops and priests Christian emperors saith he must submit their executions to prelates and not preferre them Whereupon the glosse doth gather that the cleargie was neuer vnder the secular power and therfore that all the constitutions that are made that clearks should not be iudged by any but by bishops are but declarations of that their former right And in the same distinction the verie next chapter that pope Iohn is not ashamed to affirme that Christian princes were woont to be obedient to bishops and to how downe their neckes to them And afterwards there is in Gratian a whole treatise to this purpose to proue that as is their alledged out of Caius the Pope no man must presume so much as to accuse before a secular iudge a bishop or any clearke I need not alledge to this end many testimonies These are as plaine as need to be He that would see mo testimonies to this effect let him looke the first question of the eleueuh cause in Gratian he shall see it affirmed with full mouth But how vntruly in a word may be declared And first how false that is which he affirmeth that princes haue alwaies submitted themselues vnto priests there is no colour of truth in it if we examine the shamelesse lie either by the scriptures or by the examples of the emperors and kings in the primitiue church For Moses was the ciuill magistrate and Aaron was the priest Did Moses submit himselfe to Aaron No did he not rather on the contrarie reprooue him as at other times so especially concerning the golden calfe which he caused to be made And did not Aaron in token of his submission to Moses call him his Lord And why did God deliuer the law and the order for all the sacrifices and ceremonies and all the seruices that were commaunded rather by Moses to Aaron and the people Moses being the ciuill magistrate then by the ministerie of Aaron who was appointed to be the priest Did not God hereby testifie that he would haue the ciuill magistrate to haue a speciall regard vnto the things that belong to Gods seruice Was not Abiathar the high priest at the commaundement of Salomon when at the commaundement of Salomon the king he was put from the office of the high priest and the king made Zadocke high priest in his roome But out of manie examples let these suffice for the time before Christ S. Paul when he saith Let euerie soule be subiect to the higher powers teacheth vs that we must not looke that they should submit them selues vnto vs but how sincerely we should obey them And what is meant by the higher powers saint Peter telleth vs that the king is chiefe then other gouernours vnder him And these are the superiour powers which saint Paul meaneth of as if need were might hee proued by all antiquitie If we looke vpon the bishops that were in the time of Constantine and a good while after their stories will teach vs that they as humbly as they could submitted themselues to Emperours and princes called them Lordes intreated them with all submission Yea and Leo the third pope of that name eight hundred yeares after
tempor De authorie coâ—cil li. 2. cap. 19. The church some time headlesse Platina Iacob Bergom Platina Epist Siluer Tom. concil 2. in principio Bergom Platina Platina Act. Rom pontif Platina Bergom Rioche Iacob Bergom â—uic l. 20. in fine Popes chosen by symony and briberie Platina Bergom Stella Sigeb Cron. Euseb cron Fascic tempot Esay 19. 14. Act. and Mon. Anno 1190. Mat. Paris Guic. hist Ital. N. 6. Platinaâ— Rioche bale act Rom. pontif ben de vita gestis Hildeb De pontif Rom. â— 5. cap. 13. bellar obiect against benno Answere Guic. hist Ital. li. 1. A popelike man Guic. hist Ita l. 6 A pope a poisoner poisoned by his sonne The father and sonne poison one another Matth. 4. 8 9. Platina Ben. de gest Hil. Plat. in Honor. 3. Act. Rom. pont in Honor. 3. Abbas Vrsperg in freder 2. Plat. in Greg. 9 2. Sam. 1â— The pope a shamelesse liar A murderer Act. Rom. pontif in Greg. 9. Mathew Paris Hen. 3. fol. 676. The causes of the popes hatred againsit the emperour fol. 673. Paris 1107. In Greg. 9. The vexation against the emperour Henry the fourth Greg. 7. his barbarous pride Sleid. de mon. l. â— Rioche cempend histor Sleid. de mon. l. â— â—geb Cron. anno 1088. The answer to english iustice cap. 4. Malice against the emperour being dead â—rant li. 5. c. 24. Abbas Vriperg 〈◊〉 1106. 1. Sam. 24. 6. funct cro 116â— Psal 91. 13. Gelasius Calixt 2. against Hen. 5. Act. Rom. pontif Alex. 3. The pope a traitor to the emperour Excommunication abused The popes dealings against the regiment in Rome Rob. Baâ—nes in Leo 3. The popes seeke to subiect the citie to them Ioh. Stella in In. 2. brutum fulmen ex cron Hiâ—s A prowde pope C 17. q. 4. cap. â— quis suadente Laying violent hands vpon a clergie man In Innocent 2. Stella â—unct an 11143. cronolog Ioh. 9. 14. Rob. Barnes The popes cruell and godlesle purpose Lucius the second stoned to death Rioche compend hisâ—oâ—ar Plat. in Alex. 3. Plat. Stella Reuel 19. 10. anâ— 21. Plat. in Constan 1. papa plat in Steph. 2. Zachar. Abbas Vrsperg in Pipino an 754. Epit. histor Lib. 2. de pont Rom. cap. 17. Plat. in Zachar. The pope caried on mens shoulders The emperour must carry him Cer. l. sect 2. fol. 35. a. Fol. 26. b. Princes leade his horse plat in Steph. 2. Bale in Ale 3. ex Rob Mont. cion Sigeb an 1164. Sacrar Carem l. 1. sect 5. sect 2. fol. 35. Holding the stirtop to the pope Emperours holde the popes stirrep Rob. Barns Ioh. Bale The emperour held the wrong stirrop The pope is very angry for it Vrsperg The pride of Bonif. 8. August Beneveu in Alberto Act. Roman pontif Rioche Beneuenut ibid. obedience to princes Matth. 22. 21. matth 17. 27. Matth. 20 25 26 Ioh. 13. 34 35. matth 5. 9. math 11. 29. Popes seeke preheminence 3 Ioh 9. matth 23. 6 7. Popes no preachers Plat. in Paschal â— Stella Popelike attire Plat. in Pasch 2. Plat. in Paul 2. Costlines of attire Paul the second did paint his faâ—â— Barns Bale â—inctius The popes auarice maketh him vnthankeful Confyrmation to bishoprikes Archb. palles Vacations Purgatory Pardons Bale in Leone â—â— ex christ mas Holy warres or against the Turâ— Licenses c. Mat. Par. fol. 469. Mat. par fo 373. paris 438. Romea greedie gulfe by a popes confession Gift of ecclesiastical preferments paris 1085. A pope a seller of benefices Paris 1206. Paris 1178. The popes spite against the bish of Lincolne being dead Benâ—uolences The goods of the clearkesâ— nâ—etstate the popes share paris 959. paris 622. The popes couetousnes cause of diuision between the cast and west churches paris 468. paris 474. Bribeue pag. 48â— popes pollute the places where they remaine paris 1068. Paril pa. 1027. pag. 686. Tag 299. The pope had much out of England England the pops garden of delight 〈◊〉 an 1364. Pataleipom Visp fol 321. Christ and his vâ—car compared 1 Luc. 9. 5â— 2 3 4 Luc. 12. 14. 5 6 1. Pet. 2. 1â— Vers 17. fox Act. Mon. ex 2. hist manuscrip Iohn 4. 34. The malice of popes one towards another Rioche Stella sunct anno 900. Iacob Bergom Stella in Be. 4. The cause of Sergius his enemie against Formosus Iacob Bergom sunct an 962. Platina A pope a chiefe sâ—nctius Papiâ—â—s discentâ— doctrine The cruel malice of Iohn Bale Act. pontif Rom. Platina funct Rioche in Hen. 5. Popes dealings with Princes now Popes religion not catholike Gentil examined Concil Trident. li. 1. How councils must be reiected Dialog 3. 1. Iohn 4. 1. 1. Thes 5. 21. Popish practises Priuileges and immunities Cause of many of the immunities Dist 96. cap. â—imperator â—ist â—6 C. Nunâ—uam Caus 11. â— 1. c. Nemo Shamelesse liâ—â— Magistrates commaund priests Aaâ—on Exod 32. 21. â—â—od 28. Apiathar 2. Kings 2. 26 27. Verse 35. Rom. 13. 1. 1. Pet. 2. 13 14. Plat. in Leone 3. Act. 25. 11. Princes may iudge the cleargie The hurt of those exemptions Paris pag. 135. In vita Hen. 3. Iesuites and priests perilâ—ous Rom. 1. 18. Numb 33. 55. Hâ—od 8. â—â—xod 10. Iesuits and Priestâ— the locust Reuil 9. 3. 7 8 9 10. The multitude of clergie men and women Part. 2. 6. â— Rom. 14. 4. Whether the doctrine of supremacie be catholike Peters chaire Ignat. epist ad Philadelph Beware of senâ—narie priests 1. Pâ—â— 5. 3. 1. Pet. 2. 13. Conclusion Exhortation to châ—istian princes Tim. 17.
by the doctrine of the church of Rome be gainsaide without danger of heresie so long as man hath not approued the same The lessons I perceiue that God teacheth vs must not bee counted the doctrines of the church vntill the bishop of Rome or some councill haue set downe some order therein Well howsoeuer the wise maisters of Rome will define what shall be heresie yet I trust they will graunt that hee erred in iudgement because he taught then that which not only the scriptures gainesay but euen the papistes themselues will confesse to be erronious But what should I stand in particular examples If it bee true that both Melchior Canus and Bellarmine confesse especially Canus that both the seuenth and the eight sinodes did condemne as an hereticke Honorius the pope doth it not appeare manifestly thereby that they made no doubt whether a pope might erre or not It is not a question amongst them they heare of his doctrine they condemne it as erronious Neither did Formosus his friends vse any such argument to hinder Steuen his cruell dealings against Formosus or Steuens friends to mitigate the rage of Iohn the tenth against Steuen they saide not thus Formosus was a pope and Steuen was a pope they cannot erre No it is a doctrine of later growth and of a newer stamp Maister Bellarmine answereth that those two councels that are before mentioned did thinke that the pope as a priuate man might erre Wherein although he consent not with himselfe who thinketh that he cannot erre as before I said yet would he thereby if he could take away the strength of the argument But he laboureth all in vaine for how doth it appeare that the councels thought of any such matter There is no shew no likelihoode of it No wordes to induce him so to thinke As for that which he saith of Honorius his letters that they condemned him of heresie because of that which they found in his letters I maruell maister Bellarmine hath so soone forgotten himselfe as to alleadge it Seeing himselfe in the beginning of the eleuenth chapter doth first doubt of the credit of those letters and secondlie he denieth that any error is in the same contained Doeth maister Bellarmine thinke the fathers of those councels to haue beene so simple that they could not iudge of Honorius his writings whether they were hereticall or not aswell as himselfe Or will he imagine that they were so rash that they would condemne him without cause If he in his epistles had no errour as maister Bellarmine affirmeth almost in the beginning of his eleuenth chapter why doth he heere affirme that for his epistles and the heresies which therein he maintained he was condemned of those councels If he were an hereticke as by very many testimonies it doth appeare why doth maister Bellarmine seeke so to free him from that fault and to take from him that staine Euen because he would as wel as he can defend that most vntrue doctrine of the church of Rome that the pope cannot erre And yet their owne law supposeth that the pope may erre and confesseth that for heresie he may be reproued But in this as almost in euery point wherein they dissent from vs they shew how little they are in deed according to their name that they woulde faine be called by For they call themselues catholickes as if the doctrine that they teach or beleeue were catholicke that is vniuersâ—allie receiued And yet in this controuersie they are not agreed how to defend it or what to say of it Gerson of Paris Almain Alphonsus all of them papistes and pope Adrian the sixt himselfe are of one mind Albert Pighius an other papist of an other Bellarmine and his maisters make a third sect And yet these men reproue vs for difference in opinion bragge of their owne vnity and must needs be thought to haue a catholike faith But to conclude seeing the giftes of the spirite whether of sanctification or of truth are giuen vnto men according to measure and not in fulnes for to Christ only God giueth the spirite not by measure and therefore he speaketh without errour Gods words seeing that pope Adrian the sixt hath assured vs that popes may erre and we haue it plainely recorded in their owne histories and confessed by many of themselues that they haue erred lastly seeing they haue been euen by councils condemned of heresie and their owne lawe prouideth and taketh order for popes that doe erre and the Church of Rome is not yet resolued how to defend the cantrarie we may I trust hauing so good warant euen from their owne frends without any note of heresie affirme that popes may erre Yea what is there in them but errour They wander out of the wayes of truth and of godlinesse So that in that accursed companie we may see that to be most true that where there is a boundance of sinne there God iustly may and often times in his iudgements doth cast such into the deepth of errour that they who had no desire to liue according to the light that did shine vnto them in seruing the Lord in true holinesse should be cast into the dungeon of ignorance as vnworthie to inioy that light which they so vnthankefully refused of that grace which they so wickedly abused The matter then being thus that neither Peter had any such iurisdiction ouer the whole church as is claimed by the church of Rome neither if he had it he could or for any euidence that yet is shewed he did bequeathe it to the Romish church and lastly seeing that church if any such priuiledge had beene lawfully to her deuolued hath committed such things as would haue forfeted a better right then euer shee had in that vniuersall authoritie it doth I trust appeare to the indifferent Reader that their claime is vniust their title false and that they haue no colour of interest from Christ whose ouely possession that is that they would haue But it is no new thing in the church of Rome to bring in false euidence to prooue a forged claime They did so in the council of Carthage when by vntrue copies of the council of Nice they sought the soueraignty ouer all other churches For Alipius a bishop in that council affirmeth twise that they could not find in the decrees of the Nicen councill any such thing as they aleaged for the authoritie of the Bishop of Rome Nouatus also another bishop saith we reade no such thing in the Nicen councill The fathers therefore of that council did decree that messengers should be sent to Constantinople Alexandria and Antioch as Alipius had inoued them to get the true copies For they hauing read many bookes of the council of Nice yet could neuer read in any latine or yet in any Greeke copies that they had that which the bishop of Rome his legat did alleage To trie the truth therfore they sent and sought that they