Bellarmine himself acknowledges (b) Bâ—ll de Rom. Pontif. l. 4. c. 2. that the Pope may not only err but be a Heretick yea and teach Heresie too if he define without a General Council And when a General Council says 't is certain the Pope may err (c) Concilii Basil Respons Synodal de Authorit Concil general supra Pap. Richer l. 3. c. 2. S. 6. And what that Council says of the Pope is experimentally verified of a Council confirm'd by the Pope as hath been before prov'd Nor is this Doctrine to be rejected meerly because it is notoriously False but more especially because of its horrid Consequences as it opens the door to and gives protection to any other the most palpable Error both in Doctrine and Practice For if this be once granted there is no remedy but we must believe Darkness to be Light if the Church of Rome says it is so Yea a Thomas Becket a Garnet or any other the most execrable Traitor must be worshipt for a Saint when the Pope is pleas'd to canonize him 2. Their Doctrine of the Popes sovereign Power over the universal Church That every Christian under pain of Damnation is bound to be subject to him that no Appeals may be made from him that he alone is the supream Judge over all Persons in all Causes Ecclesiastical but that he himself can be judged by no man This Doctrine hath not only been defin'd by Popes themselves as well as their Flatterers and many hundreds of years together put in execution by them but hath moreover been establish'd by such Councils as are by the Romanists accounted General (d) Concil Florent p. 85â— tom 8. apud Binium Concil Lateranens V. Sess 11. And yet is not only destitute of all Authority from Scripture but much may be found in Scripture against it And not only in Scripture but 't is plain from Church History that the Bishops of Rome in the early Ages of Christianity had no Jurisdiction beyond their own Province that for the first 300 years there were but two only viz. Victor and Stephen that took upon them to censure Persons that were of another Diocess and that they themselves were severely censured for it by other Bishops That the eight first General Councils were all both call'd and confirm'd not by Popes but by the Emperors (e) Richer Hist Concil general l. 1. c. 13. p. 753. Review of the Council of Trent l. 3. c. 1. 2. That the Pope hath been oppos'd in many Councils and many Synodical Decrees have been pass'd full sore against his will (f) As in the Council of Chalcedon the second at Constantinople the Council of Constance of Basil c. That he himself was subject to the Laws of the Church and upon his transgression of them obnoxious to censure no less than other Bishops That no Appeals were allow'd to him by the African Bishops That by the ancient Canons every Bishop did order the Affairs of his own Diocess without dependence upon or Subordination to the Bishop of Rome and that all Causes were finally to be determin'd by Provincial Councils (g) Concil Constantinopol 1 Can. 2. Concil Nicaen 1 Can. 5. That many Popes have been anathematiz'd by other Bishops and many judg'd condemn'd and depos'd by Synods All which and many more things which might be mention'd are plainly inconsistent with this pretended universal Empire of the Pope But if nothing could be alleg'd from Scripture or the Doctrine or Practice of the antient Church to the contrary yet the intolerable Evils which unavoidably flow from it cannot but render this Doctrine detestable to all those who have any sincere Love either to Truth or Goodness For whereever this Doctrine is receiv'd a man must think himself in duty bound to entertain Error and to reject the Truth to put Virtue for Vice and Vice for Virtue in case the Pope require him so to do And that the Pope not only may but for many Ages hath commanded men so to do the sad experience of the Christian World is a proof too unanswerable 3. The Doctrine of the Popes Dominion over temporal Princes That if Kings and Emperors oppose themselves to him or turn Hereticks he may depose them absolve their Subjects from their Oaths of Allegiance and give away their Kingdoms to whomsoever he pleases This exorbitant Power hath been challenged by the Pope for many successive Ages (h) Dictates of Greg. VII Dictate 9. That all Princes should kiss the Popes Feet Dictate 12. That the Pope may depose the Emperor Dictate 27. That he may absolve the Subjects of wicked Princes from their Allegiance Binius tom 7. part 1. p. 362. Richer l. 1. c. 13. And when opportunity hath serv'd hath been frequently put in practice by them So Gregory VII excommunicated the Emperor Henry IV. and gave away his Kingdoms to Rudolphus Duke of Sweden (i) Baron an 1080. n. 8. 12. Gregory IX excommunicated the Emperor Frederick II. and absolv'd his Subjects from their Oaths of Allegiance (k) Bullarium Rom. Tom. 1. p. 89 90. Pope Paul III. excommunicated and deposed Henry VIII King of England and commanded all his Subjects under pain of a Curse to withdraw their Obedience from him (l) Bullar Rom. Tom. 1. p. 514. Pope Pius V. and Gregory XIII damn'd and depos'd Q. Elizabeth and absolv'd her Subjects from their Allegiance (m) Camdens Elizabeth This Doctrine and Practice has been defended by their learned Cardinals Baronius and Perron by their School-men Canonists and by the whole Order of Jesuits Yea 't is no more than what was decreed by divers such Councils as are generally own'd for lawful Representatives of their Church As by the third Lateran Council under Pope Alexander III. (n) Cap. 27. Relaxatos autem se noverint à debito Fidelitatis c. And by the fourth Lateran Council under Pope Innocent III. (o) Si vero Dominus temporalis requisitus monitus ab Ecclesia terram suam purgare neglexerit c. Eadem nihilominus lege servata circa eos qui non habent Dominos principales c. 3. And tho some Romanists are now asham'd to own it yet no less a man than Lessius tells us that if Kings may not be deposed by the Pope then of necessity must the General Council of Lateran have err'd But what can be more manifest than that this Doctrine is contradictory to the Holy Scripture Which tells us in express terms that the King is supream (q) 1 Epist Pet. 2. 13. and commands every Soul to be subject to the highest civil Powers (r) Rom. 13. 1. Nothing can be more repugnant to the Doctrine of the Primitive Fathers who taught that the Emperor was the supream Power on Earth that he was subject to God only and that all other Persons were put in subjection under him (Å¿) Tertull. Apolog c. 30. ad Scapuâ—â—m c. 2. that neither Prophet
Elements such an incredible Change were wrought yet no man can be sure that it is indeed wrought and by consequence that he is not guilty of foul Idolatry The reason is evident because upon the Principles of the Church of Rome the Consecration depends upon such a number of Uncertainties that no man can ever be certain that it is duly made For if he be not a true Priest that Consecrates if he do not pronounce the words of Consecration and pronounce them aright if he do not intend to consecrate but to abuse the People then no Consecration follows and consequently no substantial change is effected And if the Roman Doctrine be true is it possible for the People or for the Priest himself to know that he is a true Priest For no man can be so who is not baptiz'd by a Priest whose intention was right in baptizing him and ordained by a Bishop who intended to do what the Church does And who can tell whether the Priest that baptiz'd him or the Bishop that ordain'd him had a right Intention And can any man tell besides the Priest himself that consecrates whether he pronounces the words of Consecration or pronounces them as he ought when the words are utter'd with so low a voice that none can hear what he says And none certainly but himself and the Searcher of Hearts can tell whether the Priest when he pretends to consecrate may not intend to mock the People Now in these cases no Consecration follows but the Bread remains Bread still and a Wafer only is worship'd instead of Christ And if any say these cases are rare Let a Bishop of the Church of Rome answer (i) Bishop of Minori History of the Council of Trent l. 2. p. 241. Would to God says he they were so and that in this corrupt Age we had not cause to doubt they were many But suppose they are very few or but only one Let there be a knave Priest who faineth and hath not an intention to administer the true Baptism to a Child who after being a grown man is created Bishop of a great City and liveth many years in that charge so that he hath ordained a great part of the Priests it must be said that he being not baptiz'd is not ordain'd nor they ordained who are promoted by him So that in that great City there will be neither Eucharist nor Confession because they cannot be without the Sacrament of order nor order without a true Bishop neither can he receive order who is not baptized Behold millions of Nullities of Sacraments by the malice of one Minister in one Act only So many uncertainties does Consecration depend upon in the Church of Rome that it may seem highly probable that not one Sacrament in an hundred is duly consecrated and by consequence not one Person in an hundred that worships the Host but in so doing according to their own Doctrine he gives that worship to Bread that is due to God only It will not save them harmless nor so much as excuse them to say that they verily believe it not to be Bread but the very Son of God since if they do so their mistake must be grosly wilful there being no such exact likeness between Christ and a bit of Bread that any Man can mistake the one for the other who is not resolved so to do 6. To make a Picture of God is forbidden by God himself in the Holy Scripture Take ye therefore good heed to your selves saith God to the Jews for ye saw no manner of similitude in the day the Lord spake to you in Horeb out of the midst of the Fire lest ye corrupt your selves and make you a graven Image c. (a) Dâ—ut 4. 15 16. 'T is repugnant to the very nature of God who is a Spirit and can no more be represented by a bodily shape than a Thought can It is an intolerable reproach to and infinitely derogates from his peerless perfections It was judged an absurd and a wicked thing by the antient Christians as Cassander confesses and quotes S. Augustin for the proof of it (b) Cassand Consuâ—t Art 2â— We believe saith that Father speaking of Christ that he sits at the right Hand of God the Father and yet it is not to be thought that God the Father is circumscribed by a humane shape that those that think of him should conceive that he hath either a right-side or a left or for that the Father is said to sit is it to be supposed that it is done with bended Knees lest we fall into that Sacrilege for which the Apostle abhorrs those who changed the Glory of the incorruptible God into the likeness of corruptible Man For such an Image of God it is unlawful for a Christian to place in the Temple much more detestable to place it in his Heart (c) Aug. de Fide Symbolo c. 7. Which Words plainly shew what the Judgment of Christians in this matter was four hundred Years after Christ It was condemned by the wiser sort of Heathens as a thing altogether unsuitable to the Divine Nature Yea that very Council which decreed that the Image of Christ and the Saints should be worshipped thought it not only unlawful but absurd and impossible to make an Image of that Being which is Spiritual Invisible and Incomprehensible (d) Concil Nicaen 2. Actione 4 Actione 7. in Epist Synodica ad Constantinum Iren. And Durandus one of their learned Schoolmen says It is a foolish thing to make Images to represent God (e) l. 3. dist 9. q. 2. And yet the practice of the Church of Rome not only now but many Years before the Reformation was to picture God the Father and the adorable Trinity and so generally hath this practice obtained that Bellarmine makes that an Argument to prove the lawfulness of it (f) Bell. de Imagin l. 2. c. 9. For now saith he such kind of Images are almost every where received and it is not credible That the Church would universally tolerate that which is unlawful He says they are almost every where received and that the Church did universally tolerate them but in that he says they are now received he plainly grants that they were antiently rejected 7. Another gross Corruption in the Worship of Rome which rendred the Reformation necessary was the Worship of Images This also the Church of England hath condemned as Idolatrous and proved it to be so by the Authority of Gods Holy Word and by the Testimonies of the antient Fathers (a) Homily against the peril of Idolatry I shall not mention the many Scriptures in which God prohibits and expresses his abhorrency of this sort of Worship and dreadfully threatens those who practise it for that would be to transcribe a great part of the Bible Whosoever can reconcile it with the second Commandment he need not doubt but he may make Perjury and Murther and Theft and false
while they love the wisdom of the World they are more employ'd in the Offices of the Exchequer than in the Works of Christ they adorn their Bodies with Gold they defile their Souls with Impurity they account it a shame to employ themselves in spiritual matters and their Glory is to meddle with those things that are scurrilous Hence 't is said by Catharine of Sienna they as men that are blinded reckon that to be their Honour that is truly their shame contrary to the Canons they keep about themselves Pimps Bawds Flatterers Buffoons such as give themselves wholly to Vanity instead of men that are Learned and of good report And a little after The Bishops neglect due Hospitality by neglecting the Poor of Christ by making themselves fat by feeding Dogs and other Beasts §. 9. and so one Beast feeds another as if they chose to be of the number of those against whom the Lord will pronounce that just sentence I was poor and ye received me not therefore depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire There are few Bishops who are not covetous they take by violence other mens Goods and wastfully spend the Goods of the Church they bestow the revenues of the Church not to pious uses but upon their Kindred upon Stage-players Flatterers Huntsmen Whores and such like Persons they rather make provision for the wickedness of Men than for the necessities of Nature c. This was the complaint of a Popish Bishop in the year 1519. And that the matter was not much mended with the Romish Clergy more than forty years after appears by the speech of the Duke of Bavaria's Embassadour to the Council of Trent In which he tells the Council that the cause of the evils that were risen among them was the bad life of the Clergy whose wickedness was so great that he could not relate it without offending the chast ears of the Auditory (a) Hist of the Counc of Trent l. 6. p. 527. Tho' it may seem strange that the Clergy who by their very Calling are oblig'd to exemplary Purity and Holiness should be so monstrously vicious yet the wonder will be the less if we consider 3. That the vicious lives of the Popes and Cardinals were indeed the main source of that deluge of wickedness in which the inferiour Clergy was immersed We can desire no better proof of this than the confession of Pope Adrian VI. in his instructions to his Legate for the Diet at Nuremberg in the year 1522. Thou shalt promise says he that we will use our utmost endeavours first that this Court may be reform'd from whence perhaps all this evil hath proceeded that as from thence the corruption flow'd to all inferiours so from thence the health and reformation of all may proceed (b) Sleidan Comment l. 4. History of the Council of Trent l. 1. Richer Hist Concil general l. 4. part 2. p. 129. This was a rare confession from a Pope but no more than what the necessity of the thing extorted from him For the Cardinals were by degrees arriv'd to such an excess of Pride and Luxury as was odious and intolerable to all but themselves and those whose vices were supported by them If a man would make an image of Pride says Clemangis he can no way do it more to the life than by representing a Cardinal to the eyes of the Beholders (c) Jam vero Cardinalium qui Papâ— assident spiritus verba tumentia gestus tam insolentes ut si Artifex quisque vellet superbiae simulachrum effingere nulla congruentius ratione id facere posset quam Cardinalis effigiem oculis intuentium objectando De corrupto Statu Eccles c. 10. They trampled upon Bishops who were their Betters nor would they vouchsafe so much as to salute them when they fell prostrate upon the ground to worship them which is more than any King ever assumed (d) Nec pro quocunque Praelato etiam prono adorante eos in terra ponerent manum ad capellum ut salutarent eum quod nunquam aliquis Rex aut Princeps fecit neque hodie permitteret Responsio Apologet. Gallicanae Nationis de Annat non solvend apud Richer l. 2. c. 3. One of themselves more modest than the rest when he returned home laden with the Spoils of Germany being asked in Consistory what the Barbarians so they called the Germans thought of Rome which was so kind as to send them those choice Wares of Indulgences answered That the whole World complained of the Pride and Luxury of the Cardinals (e) Totum orbem conqueri de luxu fastuque Cardinalium Fascic Rerum expetend ac fugiend fol. 203. And can any man think there was not just cause for this complaint who will but consider what vast Revenues were spent upon their Lusts For not two or three or ten or twenty Benefices would suffice but a hundred or two hundred yea sometimes four or five hundred or more were usurp'd by one Cardinal and those not of the poorer sort but the fattest and richest of all And well had it been says our Author for the inferior Clergy had they been content with that prodigious number but the great mischief was that nothing would satisfie them but how great a number soever they had they still more vehemently coveted more (f) Non quidem duo vel tria decem vel viginti sed centena ducentena interdum usque ad quadringenta vel quingenta aut amplius Nec parva tenuia sed omnium pinguissima optima quibus si contenti essent postquam ad summam illam numerosam perventum est nec ultra quaererent prospere cum pauperibus Clericis qui reliquias earum expectant ageretur Sed quantumcunqâ—â— ad numerum aut summam venerint ad â—mptiorem festinant assidue festinant ardentius festinant De Cor. Statu Eccles c. 11. Nor shall we think it strange to hear of such Cardinals when we consider what manner of men the Popes themselves commonly were We need not look back to foregoing Ages in which their own Historians tell us they were Monsters and Prodigies g Hâ—c monstra haec Portenta Plat. in vita Benedicti IV. Such tragical Examples and so devoid of all Piety as neither to regard the Person they sustained nor the place they were in h Non possum non multum mirari unde tragica haec Pontificum fluxerint exempla quam dira pietatis oblivio eorum mentes irrepserit ut neque personae quam sustinebant ratio ab his ulla haberetur neque loci quem tenebant Sabellic Ennead 9. l. 1. that about fifty Popes together did utterly degenerate from the Virtue of their Ancestors i Hoc vero uno infelix quod per annos fere 150. Pontifices circiter quinquaginta à virtute Majorum prorsus defecerint Genebrard Chronograph l. 4. But passing over these let us only consider what the Popes were
Hungarian Bishop pray'd the Hungarians and Polonians That for God's sake and for the Charity every Christian oweth to the Church they would not abandon so honest just and profitable a Cause but that every one would put down in writing what he thought might be constituted for the Service of God without any respect of man not reforming one part but the whole Body of the Church in the Head and the Members (i) P. 5â—8 If from Bishops we ascend to Cardinals tho to their Pride and Luxury and Pomp and Grandeur nothing could give a greater blow than a due Reformation yet to such a wretched State was the Church reduced that many of them did not only acknowledge the necessity of Reforming it but in some measure contributed their endeavours toward it Gaspar Cardinal Contarene John Peter Cardinal Theatine James Cardinal Sadolete and Reginald Pool Cardinal of England were of the number of the Select Council that presented the Articles of Reformation to Pope Paul III. (k) Richer Hist Concil General l. 4. part 2. p. 156. The College of Cardinals at the death of Alexander VI. before they entred the Conclave for the Election of a new Pope took an Oath that if any of them should be chosen he should immediately before the Publication of his Election bind himself under pain of Perjury and a Curse to call a Council within two years for the Reformation of the Church (l) Richer Hist Concil General l. 4. part 1. c. 2. which Oath was taken by Julius II. (m) Id. l. 4. part 1. c. 3. p. 334. who was chosen Pope and when it appear'd afterward that he made no conscience of keeping it seven years having pass'd without any mention of a Council in the year 1511. nine Cardinals who had withdrawn themselves from Rome by reason of his Insolencies by the assistance of the Emperor Maximilian and Lewis XII King of France call'd the Second Pisan Council to that purpose (n) Id. Petrus de Alliaco Cardinal of Cambray wrote a Book for the Reformation of the Church (o) Fascic rerum expetend aâ— fugiend and Ludovicus Cardinal of Arles who presided in the Council of Basil zealously endeavoured it The Cardinals who call'd the first Pisan Council to extinguish the Schism rais'd by the two Anti-Popes Benedict XIII and Gregory XII vow'd that they would to the utmost of their power procure that he that should be chosen Pope should reform the Church and that till a due and sufficient Reformation of the universal Church was made as well in the Head as in the Members he should not suffer the Council to be dissolv'd (p) Richer Hist Concil General l. 2. p. 102. Tho the Testimonies already produc'd are beyond Exception yet behold greater Witnesses than these I mean Popes themselves who above all men in the World abhor'd all Proposals of Reformation as that which would throw them down from their usurp'd Dominion and put a stop to their lawless Tyrannies To such an Excess were the Romish Corruptions grown and so evident was the necessity of reforming them that they were forc'd to confess it who most desir'd to deny it To this purpose Paul III. appointed a select Council of Prelates to collect those Abuses which were most Notorious and Pernicious and present them to him that he might correct them (q) Id. l. 4. part 2. p. 136. Pope Marcellus II. said that he resolv'd to make a severe and intire Reformation but died before he could let the World know whether he intended to be as good as his word (r) Hist Counc of Trent l. 5. Paul IV. who succeeded him promised to reform not verbally but really the Head Members Clergy Laity Princes and People (Å¿) Hist Counc of Trent l. 5. Alexander V. as soon as he was chosen by the Pisan Council promised to set himself to the Work and to chuse good and learned Men out of every Nation to consult with the Cardinals about it (t) Concil Pisan sess 21. apud Richer Pope Adrian VI. was free and ingenuous in confessing the abominable Corruptions of the Church and especially of the Court of Rome and professed that he took the Papacy upon him to the end that he might reform the Universal Church (u) Sleidan Comment l. 4. Richer Hist Concil general l 4. par 2. p. 129 Fascic reâ—um expetend c. f. 173. What Testimony of greater Authority can be desired than these already mentioned unless it be the concurrent voice of the Church representative in a general Council To which I now proceed The first Pisan Council as it is commonly reckoned though it was indeed the second were resolved to reform the Church which Alexander V. as was said before who was chosen by and presided in that Council promised to assist them in (w) Concil Pisan sess 17. 21. apud Richerium apud Binium sess 16 20. The Council of Constance which followed five Years after decreed That the Pope which was then to be chosen should together with the Council or those which should be deputed by the several Nations reform the Church before the Council should be dissolved and the matters about which it was thought fit the Reformation should be made were reduced to eighteen Heads (x) Concil Constant sess 40. In the Council of Basil the Pope gave his Legate full power of concluding all such things as appertained to the reformation of the Ecclesiastical State (y) Concil Basel sess 1. Bin. And whereas there were six things which that Council resolved mainly to prosecute two of them were these 1. That the Church should be reformed in the Head and Members 2. That the antient Discipline as much as possible should be restored (z) Richer hist Concil general l. 3. c. 2. The second Council at Pisa declared That the reformation of the Church was most necessary and passed this Decree upon it That the Holy Synod would not nor could dissolve it self till the Universal Church should be reformed both in Faith and Manners as well in the Head as in the Members (a) Sess 3. apudi Richerium l. 4. par 1. p. 430. Where it is observable That the Reformation decreed by this Council as so highly necessary did extend to Faith as well as to Manners And so did also that which was required by many other great Men of the Roman Communion as shall be afterward shewed when I descend to particulars It cannot be expected that I should ascend higher in the Ecclesiastical State since a general Council is the highest Authority of the Church on Earth by which we see the necessity of a Reformation is confirmed and that not by one single Council only but by four successively three of which were confirmed by Popes The first Pisan by Alexander V. the Council of Constance by Martin V. the Council of Basil by Nicolas V. and so much of it as concerned the Reformation and much more by Eugenius
a General Council confirm'd by another As the Council of Basil confirm'd by Pope Nicolas V. was esteemed a Schismatical and Seditious Conventicle and reprobated by the last Lateran Council confirm'd by Pope Leo X. (f) Binii notis in Concil Constantiens Bâ—ll de Concil Auâ—t l. 2. c. 17. which at Rome is accounted a General Council So that unless Errors become Truth and Contradictions be reconciled when determin'd by a Pope and Council we may conclude that not only the Pope himself but a General Council confirm'd by him hath err'd It plainly appears by what hath been said that those have actually err'd whom the Church of Rome supposes to be her only infallible Guides From whence it unavoidably follows that the Church of Rome hath err'd First in all those Points which have been erroneously defin'd by them Secondly In supposing them to be Infallible I shall not stay to shew of what use Councils either General or Provincial are how far their Authority extends and what great Benefit may accrue to the Church by them tho they be suppos'd not to be Infallible But shall proceed to the next Proposition viz. II. That the Errors of the Church of Rome were not slight and in matters of small moment but so gross and enormous when the Reformation was set on foot that there was a necessity of reforming them This will be evident First By unquestionable Testimonies Secondly By taking a particular view of the Errors themselves First By Testimonies of unquestionable Authority of Persons who could neither be mistaken through Ignorance nor byass'd by Interest or Affection to represent Matters worse than indeed they were But who were on the contrary as well acquainted with the State of the Roman Church as any Persons in the World who were promoted to the greatest Honours in it whose worldly Interests ingaged them above all other men to maintain its Reputation and Authority and who not only liv'd but died in Communion with it Such were their learned Doctors their Bishops and Cardinals their Princes and Emperors their Popes and General Councils tho the two last are not to be reckon'd for single Witnesses but for the Voice of their Church the one being their Church Representative the other according to their Divinity their Church Virtual Of those many which offer themselves I shall content my self to produce a few and those shall be such as were either cotemporary with or who liv'd within about a hundred years of the Reformation passing over those who were at a greater distance from it John Gerson the renowned Chancellor of Paris in a Sermon to the Council of Constance applies to the modern Church of Rome these words of the Prophet Ezekiel Thou didst trust in thine own beauty and plaiedst the Harlot because of thy renown and pour'dst out thy Fornications on every one that pass'd by And in all thy Abominations thou hast not remember'd the days of thy youth Thou hast built thy brothel house at every head of the way and hast made thy beauty to be abhorr'd Behold therefore I will deliver thee into the hands of those that hate thee And after he had told them what were the sad Symptoms of approaching Ruine he advises them to a great and notable Reformation of Manners as the only means to prevent it (a) John Gerson Serm. de â—ignâ—â— ruinâ— Ecclesiae And because saith he some may say that the Church is founded upon a Rock and therefore in no danger of ruin He declares more particularly what were those Enormities in which the Church-men especially needed to be reform'd and then exhorts the Council either to reform all Estates of the Church in a General Council or command them to be reform'd in Provincial Synods that by their Authority the Church might be repaired and the House of God purg'd from all Vncleanness Vices and Errors (b) Declarat Defect viror Ecclesiast The same Author earnestly press'd Pope Alexander V. to set himself to reform those Corruptions and Abuses which as he says were the Plague of the Church and without the removal of which 't was in vain to expect Peace (c) Serm. coram Alexand in die Ascens Domini Nic. Clemangis another Parisian Doctor writ several Books upon this Subject in which he represents to the World the deplorable State of the Roman Church and the necessity of Reforming it (d) De Corrupto Statu Ecclesia de Reparaâ—â—â—â— Ruinâ— Eccles Add to these single Testimonies the solemn Appeal of the whole University of Paris from Pope Leo X. to a General Council in defence of the Pragmatick Sanction In which they set forth how that the Councils of Constance and Basil made many Decrees especially about the Reformation of the Ecclesiastical State as well in the Head as in the Members which in those days especially seem'd to stand in need of Reformation And how among other things the Sacred Council of Basil consider'd how by the antient Fathers Sacred Canons and wholsome Decrees were made for the happy Government of the Ecclesiastical State which as long as they were observ'd the vigour of Ecclesiastical Discipline continued Religion Piety and Charity flourish'd But after that men through Ambition and Covetousness began to contemn the Decrees of the Holy Fathers there follow'd Deformities in the Church many of which they afterwards enumerate and then appeal from the Pope to a future General Council (e) Fascic rerum expeâ—end ac sugiend Richer Hist Concil General l. 4. part 2. p. 84. And 't is observable that this Appeal was made in the year 1517. the very same year in which Luther began to preach against the horrible Abuses of Indulgences If we pass on to Bishops and Archbishops tho their Interest ingag'd them more strongly to oppose it yet we shall find several even among them who were so sensible of the necessity of Reformation that they earnestly call'd for it and endeavour'd to promote it Frederick Archbishop of Salerno Jerome Archbishop of Brunswick and Joh. Matth. Gibertus Bishop of Verona plainly declar'd that they had a great Sense of the Corruptions of the Church by the Articles of Reformation which together with the rest of the Select Council they deliver'd to Pope Paul III. (f) Richer Hiâ—t Concil General l. 4. part 2. p. 136. In a Book Intitled Onus Ecclesiae written by John Suffragan Bishop of Saltzburgh in the year 1519. that is but two years after Luther began the Reformation we have for many Chapters together a most direful Description of the corrupt State of the Church (g) Onus Ecclesiâ— c 19 20 21 c. In the Council of Trent the Bishop of Conimbria said For these 150 years the World hath demanded a Reformation in the Head and the Members and hitherto hath been deceived that now it was time they should labour in earnest and not by Dissimulation (h) History of the Council of Trent l. 6. p. 558. And Dudithius an