as mischeuous doctrine that the power of excommunication is got by prescription And so saies another great Patron of that greatnesse the Priests obeyed the Kings of Israel but contrarily our Priests doe prescribe ouer the temporall power And Sayr proceedes further and saies that though Panormitane be of opinion That one can prescribe in no more then that which he hath put in practise yet if hee haue so exercised any one act of Iurisdiction as excoÌ„munication is as that he had a will to doe all he prescribes in all And there is no doubt but that when Pius the fift excommunicated he had a good will to Depose also 99 From this also haue proceeded all those enormous deiections of Princes which they cast and deriue vpon al Kings when they speake them of the Emperour for though the later writers are broder with the Emperour and chose rather to exemply in him then in any other Soueraigne Prince vpon this aduantage that they can more easily proue a Supremacy ouer him by reason of the pretended translation of the Empire yet it is a slippery way and conueyance of that power ouer all other Princes since in common intendment and ordinary acceptation no man can be exempt from that to which the Emperour is subiect And of the Emperour they say That not onely he may be guilty of â—reason to the Pope but if a subiect of the Pope offend the Emperour the treason is done to the Pope Yea if it be the Emperours subiect and the iniury done to the Emperour yet this is treason to the Pope So that the Emperour doth but beare his person for in his presence hee must descend and in a Councell his â—eate must be no higher then the Popes footstoole nor any State he hunge ouer his head 100 And from hence also hath growne that Distinction Superstitious on one part Seditious on the other of Mediate and Immediate institution of the two powers for Ecclâ—siastique authority is not so immediate from God that he hath appointed any such certaine Hierarchy which may vpon no occasion suffer any alteration or interuption Nor is secular authority so mediate or dependant vpon men as that it may at any time be extinguished but must euer reside in some forme or other And Bellarmine himselfe confesses That as Aaron was made Priest ouer the Iewes and Peter ouer the Christian Church immediately from God so also some Kings haue beene made so immediately without humane election or any such concurrence So that Regal Digniâ—y hath had as great a dignification in this point from God as Sacerdotall and to neither hath God giuen any necessary obligation of perpetuall enduring in that certaine forme So that that which Bellarmine in another place sayes to be a speciall obseruation wee acknowledge to bee so which is That in the Pope are three things His place his person and the vnion of them the first is onely from Christ the second from those that elect him and the third from Christ by mediation of a humane act And as wee confesse all this in the Pope so hath he no reason to denie it to be also in kings he addes further That the Cardinals are truly said To create the Pope and to be the cause why such a man is Pope and why he hath that power but yet they doe not giue him that power as in generation a father is a cause of the vnion of the body and soule which yet is infused onely from God And in all this we agree with Bellarmine and we adde that all this is common to all supreame secular or Ecclesiastique Magistrates 101 And yet in Hereditary kings there is lesse concurrence or assistance of humane meanes then either in elected kings or in the Pope himselfe for in such secular states as are prouided by election without all controuersie the supreame power in euery vacancy resides in some subiect and inheres in some body which as a Bridge vnites the defunct and the succeeding Prince And how can this be denied to be in the Colledge of Cardinals If as one saies the dominion temporall be then in them and that they in such a vacancy may absolue any whom the Pope might absolue If therefore in all the cases reserued to himselfe as namely in deposing Princes and absoluing subiects he proceed not as he is Pope but as he is spiritual Prince as Bellarmine saies and wee shall haue occasion hereafter to examine If that Colledge may absolue subiects as he might this supreamacy and spirituall Principality resides in them and is transfer'd from them to the Successor 102 Certainely all power is from God And as if a companie of Sauages should consent and concurre to a ciuill maner of liuing Magistracie Superioritie would necessarily and naturally and Diuinely grow out of this consent for Magistracie and Superioritie is so naturall and so immediate from God that Adam was created a Magistrate and he deriu'd Magistracie by generation vpon the eldest Children and as the Schoolemen say if the world had continued in the first Innocency yet there should haue beene Magistracie And into what maner and forme soeuer they had digested and concocted this Magistracie yet the power it-selfe was Immediately from God So also if this Companie thus growen to a Common-wealth should receiue further light and passe through vnderstanding the Law written in all hearts and in the Booke of creatures and by relation of some instructers arriue to a sauing knowledge and Faith in our blessed Sauiours Passion they should also bee a Church and amongst themselues would arise vp lawfull Ministers for Ecclesiastique function though not deriued from any other mother Church though different from all the diuers Hierarchies established in other Churches and in this State both Authorities might bee truely said to bee from God To which purpose Aquinas sayes expressâ—ly and truely That Priesthood that is all Church function before the Law giuen by Moses was as it pleasd men and that by such determination of men it was euer deriued vpon the eldest Sonne And we haue also in the same point Bellarmines voice and confession That in that place of S. Paul to the Ephesians which is thought by many to be so pregnant for the proofe of a certaine Hierarchie The Apostle did not so delineate a certaine and constant Hierarchie but onely reckoned vp those gifts which Christ gaue diuersly for the building vp of the body of the Church 103 To conclude therefore this point of the distinction of Mediate and Immediate Authoritie a Councell of Paris vnder Gregorie the fourth and Lodouicke and Lotharius Emperours which were times and persons obnoxious enough to that Sea hath one expresse Chapter Quod Regnum non ab hominibus sed a Deo detur There it is said Let no King thinke that the Kingdome was preseru'd for him by his Progenitors but he must beleeue that it was giuen him by
them to white Saint Chrisostome writes well that the Sinner in the Gospel bath'd and wash'd her selfe in her teares not in her blood And of Saint Peter hee askes this question When he had denied Christ Numquid sanguinem fudit No sayes he but hee powrd foorth teares and washed away his transgression 32 That which Christian Religion hath added to old Philosophie which was To doe no wrong is in this point no more but this To keepe our mind in an habituall preparation of suffering wrong but not to vrge and prouoke and importune affliction so much as to make those punishments iust which otherwise had beene wrongfully inflicted vpon vs. Wee are not sent into this world to Suffer but to Doe and to performe the Offices of societie required by our seuerall callings The way to triumph in secular Armies was not to be slaine in the Battell but to haue kept the station and done all Militarie dueties And as it was in the Romane Armies so it ought to be taught in the Romane Church Iâ—s legionis facâ—leâ— Non sequi non fugere For we must neither pursue persecution so forwardly that our naturall preseruation be neglected nor runne away from it so farre that Gods cause be scandaliz'd and his Honour diminished 33 Thus much I was willing to premit to awaken you if it please you to â—eare it to a iust loâ—e of your owne safetie of the peace of your Countrey of the honour and reputation of your Countreymen and of the integritie of that which you call the Catholicke cause and to acquaint you so farre with my disposition and temper as that you neede not be afraid to reade my poore writings who ioyne you with mine owne Soule in my Prayers that your Obedience here may prepare your admission into the heauenly Hierusalem and that by the same Obedience Your dayes may bee long in the land which the Lord your God hath giuen you Amen PSEVDO-MARTYR CHAP. I. Of Martyrdome and the dignitie thereof AS a Depositarie to whose trust some pretious thing were committed is not onely encombred and anxious to defend it from the violencies and subtleties of outward attempters but feeles within himselfe some interruptâ—ons of his peace and some inuasions vpon his honesty by a corrupt desire and temptation to possesse it and to employ vpon his owne pleasure or profit that of which he is no Proprietary and neuer returnes to his security out of these watchfulnesses against other and reluctations with himselfe till he who deliuered this Iewell resume it againe So till it please the Lord and owner of our life to take home into his treasurie this rich Carbuncle our soule which giues vs light in our night of ignorance and our darke body of earth we are still anguished and trauelledâ— as well with a continuall defensiue warre to preserue our life from sickenesses and other offensiue violences as with a diuers and contrary couetousnes sometimes to enlarge our State and terme therein somtimes to make it so much our owne that we may vnthriftily spend it vpon surfets or licentiousnes or reputation 2 From thence proceeded that corrupt prodigality of their liues with examples whereof all Histories abound honour ease deuotion shame want paine any thing serued for a reason not only to forsake themselues or to expose themselues to vn-euitable dangers but also to be their owne executionersâ— yea we read of the women of a certaine town that in a wantonnes had brought it vp for a fashion to kill themselues 3 Which corruption and Ambition of beeing Lord of our selues euery sort of men which contributed their helpes to the preseruation and tranquility of States laboured againstâ— as first the Philosopher who obseruing that honour and â—ase did principally draw men into this inclination because they were desirous to get a name of during and of greatnes and to escape the miseries which euery day in this life presents and heapes vpon vs did therefore teach That nothing was more base and cowardly then to kill ones selfe so to correct that opinion of getting honour by that Act and to ouerthrow the other opinion of ease they taught Death to be the most miserable thing which could fall vpon vs. 4 And when the Spaniard in the Indies found a generall inclination and practise in the inhabitants to kill themselues to auoide slauerâ—e they had no way to reduce them but by some dissemblings and outward counterfeitings to make them beleeue that they also killed themselues and so went with them into the next world and afflicted them more then then they did in this 5. The Emperors also by their lawes and ciuil Constitutions haue opposed remedâ—es against this ordinary disease by inflicting forfaitures and infamouâ— mulctes vpon them which shold do it And the Church hath resisted it by her Canons which denie them Christian buriall and refuse their oblations at the Altars And with what seuere lawes other particular States haue laboured against it appeares by the law of our nation which esteemes it not only Manâ—slaughter but Murder And by that law in the Eaâ—ledome of Flanders which reckons it amongst the heinous names of Treason Heresie and Sedition 6 And yet it was obserued that this corruption was so inhaerent and rooted and had so ouergrowne our nature or that corruption which depraues it that neither those imperiall lawes nor that forme of a State which Plato Ideâ—ted nor that which Sir Tho. Moore did imagine and delineate thought it possible vtterly to extirpate and roote out this disposition but onely to stoppe and retard the generall precipitation therein And therefore in their lawes they haue flattered our corruption so much as to appoint certaine cases and reasons and circumstances in which it might be lawfull to kill ones selfe 7 And Almightie God himselfe who disposes all things sweetely hath beene so indulgent to our nature and the frailty thereof that he hath affoorded vs a meanes how wee may giue away our life and make him in a pious interpretation beholden to vs for it which is by deliuering our selues to Martyredome for the testimony of his name and aduancing his glorie for in this we restore him his Talent with profite our owne soule with as many more as our example workes vpon and winnes to him To denie him this is not onely to steale from him that which is his by many deare titles as Creating Redeeming and Preseruing but at such a time as his honour hath vse of such a seruice at our handes then to withdraw our testimony from him is as much a betraying and crucifying of him againe as it was in them who by their false witnesse occasioned his death before 8 Saint Iohn saith that the Baptist was not that light but as though that were the next dignity hee came to beare witnesse of that light And when our blessed Sauiour reâ—used to beare witnesse oâ— himâ—elfe those whom he reckons
him vpon doing of any act which depended vpon his owne will he were guiltie of his death if hee refused it he is so also in this case since he can propose to himselfe no such restraint as binds his wil For scruples and things in Opinion and Disputation do not binde in this câ—se Of which we shall haue proper occasion to speake in the next Chapter 26 Let vs then proceede further to that which giues the forme and measure and merit euen to Martyrdome it-selfe which is Charitie And this is not meant onely of Charitie as it is a Theologall vertue and vnites vs in an earnest loue to God which is Charitas patriae but also as from that fountaine is deriued vpon all his creatures which is Charitas viae For so Saint Iohn sayes of this charitable act of which wee speake Greater loue then this no man hath when hee bestoweth his life for his friend Which also appeares out of that History recorded of Nicephorus who being brought to the place where he was to receiue the Crowne of Martyrdome and seeing Sapriâ—ius betweene whome and him there had before some bitternesses and enmitie broke foorth fall downe before him and begge a Pardon and reconcilement was so much elated with this glory of Martyrdom that vncharitably he disdain'd to admit any reconciliation In punishment of which vncharitablenesse he lost his whole hope and victorie For the spirit of God forsooke him and he Apostated from his Faith So that Charitie is iustly esteem'd the forme of Martyrdome 27 And is there any Charitie in this Doctrine or in this act of Refusall Is there any to your self For at least in spiritualibus Charitie begins at home when at once you diuorce that body which your Parents prepar'd from that Soule which God infused and married to it and so leaâ—e not onely to be men and to be Subiects but to be Priests and benefactors to that cause which you hinder by this pretence of louing it How much opportunitie of Merit euen in aduancing the Catholique cause which to you is so certaine doe you loose by exposing your selfe to certaine ruine vpon vncertaine foundations Is there any charitie to the Church or partie or faction which you haue in this Kingdom towards whom the King brought with him so much tendernesse that hee cast in a dead sleepe all bloudy lawes and in a slumber all pecuniarie lawes which might offend aggrieue them Is it charitably done towards them that by your vnnecessarie act their peace be interrupted his Maiesties sweetnesse distasted his softnesse indured and those faire impressions which hee had admitted That ciuill obedâ—ence might consist with your Religion defaced and obliterated And that to all these should succeede iealousies in him imputations vpon them and dutifull solicitations from his Parliament Coâ—nsaile and Subiects of all rankes to awaken his lawes against these suspitious men 28 Was it charitably done of that Priest who apprehending a generall inclination of taking the Oath aduanced it so farre as to make a Declaration that it was lawfull and neuer reâ—ractâ—ng that opinion yet would die in the â—efusall theâ—eof because it seemed not expedient to him to take it then and so to cast snares and tortures vpon theiâ— consciences who were before in possessioÌ„ of a peaceable by his own testimony a iust â—esoluâ—ion 29 When S. Paul vses that phrase he expounds the word Expedient by Profitable and by Edifying And hath the example of his death profited and edified that Church as much as the perplexities certainely growne in Catholique consciences thereby and those exasperations and bitternesses occasioned by all probabilitie in the state by that peruerse and peeuish behauiour may shake and tempest it 30 I doe not thinke that they would haue denied him to haue beene a Martyr if he had beene executed vpon the Statute against Priests though he had before taken the oath If therefore the taking of the oath cannot vitiate and annull martyrdome the â—efusing it cannot constâ—tute martyrdome 31 And if you will make the difference onâ—ly by reason of the Popes Breue which perchance came betweene his first resolution and his last then you reduce your Martyrdome to a more slipperie and more dangerous â—istresse then before For as before you quitted all your benefite and interest to martyrdome for hauing exercised Priestly functions and proclaâ—med and solaced your selfe wiâ—h this that you dyed for refusing the oath so now you waâ—ne â—hat and sticke to a worse title which is obedience to an â—ncertaine and suspicious Breue For for your first tiâ—le which is preaching of the Catholique faith you haue the intire and vnamine consent and concurrence of the whole Christian Church which alwaies confesses that the profession of the Catholique faith is a true and iust cause of Martyrdome though she doe not confesse that that which you teach is that Catholâ—que Faith but for that Title you had also the consonance and agreement of all the Romane Church And for your second claim which is the defence of the Popes temporall Iurisdiction by refusing this oath you had some voices of great authority in that Church to encourage you though farr too weak either to blot out a naturall truth or to make an indifferent or perplex'd point so necessary to you as to dy for it But for this third title to martyrdome which arises froÌ„ obedience to the Breues which are matters of fact subiect to a thousand infiâ—mities nullities who euer iustly grounded a necessity of dying vpon theÌ„ or added the comfort of martyrdome to such a precipitatioÌ„ 32 Thus dooth Aquinas argue against a farre better Title to martyrdome then this is Though virginity be more pretious then life yet if a virgine shold be condemned to be deflowred Occasione fidei Christianae because she was a Christian though all those conditions which we noted in our Sauiors prohibition and instruction concurred in her case That she were no busie body in prouoking That she were persecuted and that vniustly And with relation and despite to Châ—ist and so she suffered aâ— a Christian yet saies he this were no Martyrdome Yet he assignes not the reason to be because she died not but because Martyrdome is a testimony by which it is made euident to all that the Martyres loue Christian faith aboue all things and it cannot appeare by this act of hers whether she suffer this for the loue of Christian faith or for contempt of chastitie But in this acte of dying for obedience to the Breues there is by many degrees lesse manifestation that they die for Christian Faith which is not in question and there appeare euident impressions of humane respects which would vitiate a better title to martyrdome and of such vnnatural dereliction of themselues as I doe not see how they could escape being selfe-murderers but that their other â—reasons and condemnations for them make their executions iust 33 And besides that Bellarmine makes
concoxions enow from the Church to nourish a conscience to such a strength as Martyrdome requires For that which their great Doctor Franciscus a Victoria pronounces against his direct Authoritie we may as safely say against that the indirect This is the strongest prooâ—e that can be against him This Authority is not proued to be in the Pope by any meanes and therefore he hath it not To which purpose he had directly said before of the direct Authoritie It is manifestly false although they say that it is manifestly true And I beleeue it to be a meere deuise only to flatter the Popes And it is altogether fained without probability Reason Witnesse Scripture Father or Diuine Onely some Glossers of the law poore in fortune and learning haue bestowed this authority vpon them And therefore as that Ermit which was fed in the Desert by an Angell receaued from the Angell withered grapes when hee said his prayers after the due time and ripe grapes when he obserued the iust time but wilde sower grapes when he preuented the time so must that hasty and vnseasonable obedience to the Church to die for her Doctrine before she her selfe knowes what it is haue but a sower and vnpleasant reward CHAP. X. That the Canons can giue them no warrant to aduenture these dangers for this refusall And that the reuerend name of Canons is falsly and cautelously insinuated and stolne vpon the whole body of the Canon law with a briefe Consideration vpon all the bookes thereof and a particular suruay of all those Canons which are ordinarily cyted by those Authours which maintaine this temporall Iurisdiction in the Pope TO this spirituall Prince of whom we spoke in the former Chapter the huge and vast bookes of the Canon law serue for his Guarde For they are great bodies loaded with diuers weapons of Excommunications Anathems and Interdicts but are seldome drawen to any presse or close fight And as with temporall Princes the danger is come very neere his person if the remedie lie in his guard so is also this spirituall Prince brought to a neere exigent if his title to depose Princes must be defended by the Canons For in this spirituall warre which the Reformed Churches vnder the conduct of the Holy Ghost haue vndertaken against Rome not to destroy her but to reduce her to that obedience from which at first she vnaduisedly strayed but now stubbornly rebels against it the Canon law serues rather to stoppe a breach into which men vse to cast as wel straw and Feathers as Timber and Stone then to maintaine a fight and battell 2 This I speake not to diminish the Reuerence or slacken the obligation which belongs to the ancient Canons and Decrees of the Church but that the name may not deceiue vs For as the heretiques Vrsalius and Valens got together a company at Nice because they would establish their Heresies vnder the name of a Nicene Councell which had euer so much reputation that all was readily receiued which was truely offered vnder that name so is most pestilent and infectious doctrine conuayed to vs vnder the reuerend name of Ecclesiastique Canons 3 The body of the Canon law which was called Codex Canonum which contained the Decrees of certaine auncient Councels was vsually produced in after Councels for their direction and by the intreaty of popes admitted and incorporated into the body of the Romane and Imperiall law and euer in all causes wherein they had giuen any Decision it was iudg'd according to them after the Emperours had by such admittance giuen them that strength 4 And if the body of that law were but growen and swelled if this were a Grauidnes Pregnancy which she had conceiued of General Councels lawfully called and lawfully proceeded in and so she had brought forth children louing and profitable to the publique and not onely to the Mother for how many Canons are made onely in fauour of the Canons all Christian Princes would be as inclinable to gâ—ue her strength and dignity by incorporating her into their lawes and authorising her thereby as some of the Emperours were And had the Bishops of Rome maintained that purity and integrity of Doctrine and that compatiblenesse with Princes which gaue them authority at first when the Emperours conceiued so well of that Church as they bound their faith to the faith thereof which they might boldly doe at that time perchance Princes would not haue refused that the adiections of those later Popes should haue beene admitted as parts of the Canon law nor should the Church haue beene pestred and poisoned with these tumors excrescenges with which it abounds at this time and swelles daily with new additions 5 In which if there bee any thinge which bindes our faith and deriues vppon vs a Title to Martyrdome if we die in defence thereof as there are many things deriued from Scriptures and Obligatory Councels the strength of that band rises so much from the nature of the thing or from the goodnesse of the soile from which it was transplanted to that place that though we might be Martyrs if we defended it in that respect yet wee should loose that benefit though it be an euident and Christian truth if we defend it vpon that reason That it is by approbation of the â—ope inserted into the body of the Canon law which is a Satyr and Miscellany of diuers and ill digested Ingredients 6 The first part whereof which is the Decretum compiled by Gratian which hath beene in vse aboue foure hundred yeares is so diseased and corrupt a member thereof that all the Medicines which the learned Archbishop Augustinus applied to it and all that the seuerall Commissioners first by Pius the fift then by Gregory the thirteenth haue practised vpon it haue not brought it to any state of perfect health nor any degree of conualescence 7 But though that Bishop say That Gratian is not worthy of many words though in his dispraise yet because he tels vs That the ignorant admire him though the Learned laugh at him And because hee is accounted so great a part of the Canon Law as euen the Decretall Epistles of the Popes are call'd Extra in respect of him as being out of the Canon Law it shall not be amisse to make some deeper impressions of him 8 Thus farre therefore the Catholicke Archbishop charges him To haue beene so indiscreete and precipitate that he neuer stood vpon Authoritie of Bookes but tooke all as if they had beene written with the finger of God as certainely as Moses Tables And hee is so well confirm'd in the opinion of his negligence that he sayes He did not onely neuer Iudge and waigh but neuer see the Councels nor the Registers of Popes nor the workes of the Fathers And therefore sayes hee There is onely one remedy left which is Vna litura And in another place That there can bee no vse at all made