Exclusion but when it came to the Lords House from whence the Popish Lords were excluded they shew'd their Fidelity by throwing it out How readily at Monmouth's appearance did the Parliament protest to stand by the King and how freely did divers Protestant Gentlemen venture themselves in the Kings Cause and this they must always upon occasion do if they measure their actions either by the Principles or Practices of our Church Our Author therefore is a great Friend to the King in calling us to learn of our Catholick Neighbours which is to debauch this good Principle and I shall expose to the World some of the Lessons they would teach us at our entrance we must learn that Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction which is a glorious part of the Kings Prerogative belongs to the Pope so strongly does the Test fancy that their Church of right assumes this Power that he ridicules the contrary Opinion as a particular Revelation to the Church of England In answer to this the Replyer has well referr'd to Dr. Barrow and Lord Cook but because some may not have these Books I shall give one or two plain instances Greg. 1. 15. Ep. 11. 56. doth alledge divers Laws of divers Emperours concerning Ecclesiastical affairs as obligatory Rules of practice and divers Laws concerning things Ecclesiastical made by the Emperour are extant in the Codes of Theodosius and Justinian The Christian Emperours took upon them to depose Bishops and Popes thô since the Popes are even with them Constantius banish'd Pope Liberius and put another in his room Otho put out John the Twelfth Justinian deposed Pope Silverius and banish'd Pope Vigilius and the same Emperour prescrib'd Conditions and Qualifications concerning the Ordination of Bishops and subjoyns Si quis autem citra memora tam observationem Episcopus ordinetur jubemus hunc omnibus modis Episcopatu depelli Justin Novel 123. Ca. 1. But if any Bishop be Ordain'd without using our foremention'd constitution we Command that by all means he be remov'd from his Bishoprick Omnes sayes Leo 1. to Theodocius the Emperour Partiam Ecclesiae nostrarum omnes mansuetudini vestrae cum gemitibus Lacrymis supplicant Sacerdotes ut generalem Synodum jubeatis intra Italiam celebrari Leo 1. Ep. 42. nor was this power usurp'd by the Emperours as sometimes loyal Catholicks pretend No quite contrary Semper fuit Orthodoxis piis Imperatoribus c. This is what the Pious and Orthodox Emperours did Justin in Syn. 5. Collat. 1. p. 209. but what 's yet higher Haec says the Councel of Arles Domino Imperatori praesentanda decrevimus poscentes ejus Clementiam ut si quid hîc minus est ejus prudentiâ Suppleatur si quid secus quà m se ratio habet ejus judicio emendetur si quid rationabiliter taxatum est ejus adjutario divinâ opitulante Clementiâ perficiatur Councel Arel 4. ca. 26. Ann. 813. Sub Carolo M. These things we have Decreed to be presented to our Lord the Emperour desiring his Clemency that if any thing be defective it may be supplied by his Prudence if any thing be unreasonable it may be corrected by his Judgement if any thing be reasonably ordered it may by his help the Divine Grace assisting be Perfected So that it seems notwithstanding the blustering the Popes make now it was a revelation to all the Churches of the World in the first Ages that the Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction was in the Temporal Magistrate This also have Papist Kings and their Lay-Subjects justified in England Xenulphus by his Letters Pattents did grant to Abbot Ruchin Quod praedictus Ruchinus c. That the said Ruchin should for ever be free from all Episcopal Jurisdiction whatsoever This was pretty well for a Temporal Prince without Ecclesiastical Power and to demonstrate that he was not singular in assuming this Power this Charter was confirmed by King Edwin and pleaded the 1 H. 7. and allowed and continued till the dissolution of that Abby in H. 8. When H. 1. founded the Abby of Reading the Charter run thus Henricus Dei c. Statuimus tam Ecclesiasticae quam Regiae prospectu potestatis ut c. We appoint as well by our Ecclesiastical as Temporal Power c. In the 25 Ed. 1. by a Parliament held at Carlisle it is declared That the Holy Church of England was founded in the State of Prelacy by the King and his Progenitors the Popes Usurpations complained on and enacted they should not be suffered By a Statute made 16 R. 2. ca. 5. It is declared That the Crown of England is Subject to none but God. Of this opinion was Bracton who wrote in H. 3d's time Omnis says he quidem sub Rege ipse sub nullo sed tantum sab Deo. Lib. 1. ca 8. nu 5. Every one owes Obedience to the King but he to none but GOD. I must give one instance more if it be only to shew the nature of a Begotted Papist Ed. 3. much concern'd that his Subjects would deprive him of his right by Appeals to Rome by a Statute it was made a Praemunire the hearty Begots did so rail and curse at the Executors of that Law that the Kingdom was obliged to make a Statute on purpose to prevent such defamations But when after many struglings the Popes did begin to finger this Jurisdiction as if poyson'd with their touch it immediately swells to such a prodigious magnitude as quite to over shadow and crush all other Powers now 't is Hunc unum c. Pope Pius the Fifth in his Bull that Excommunicates Queen Elizabeth Him alone says he meaning himself he made Prince over all People and all Kingdoms to pluck up destroy scatter consume plant and build c. So that Temporal Princes are but as so many Pagents to be set up and pull'd down as the Infallible Head shall see cause and an Emperour is no more to a Pope now than a Pope was to an Emperour heretofore To prove this the Replyer has given several very true examples to which I shall add That in King John's time the Loyal Popish Barons were in open Rebellion The Pope instead of using his pretended Authority to reduce them to their Allegiance he takes advantage of the King's necessities and will by no means permit him to nominate a Successour to the deceased Archbishop of Canterbury but for so doing the King was Excommunicated this with the King of France his appearing in the Pope's defence incourag'd the Barons to continue in their Rebellion and to calumniate their King with the most approbrious language as Infidel c. that no King ever indured the like finding himself on all hands thus oppress'd his submission to the Pope was absolutely necessary and therefore now tenders him his Crown which the Pope by his Legate received upon this and all but reason the King is Absolved but still the hardy Barons refuse their duty till the King had ratified their Priviledges c. which he was forc'd upon
Reflections UPON THE NEW TEST AND The REPLY Thereto WITH A LETTER OF Sir FRANCIS WALSINGHAM's Concerning the PENAL LAWS Made in the REIGN of Queen ELIZABETH LONDON Printed in the Year MDCLXXXVII REFLECTIONS UPON THE New Test AND The REPLY thereto THE design of the Test is to attack the Church of England's Loyalty and the substance of it is That she owns the King Supream Head in Ecclesiastical Affairs that she began under Ed. 6. and at his Death indeavour'd to set up a Brat of her own and exclude Queen Mary the only Legitimate because she was a Catholick after her Death Queen Elizabeth a known Bastard rais'd this Church again to support the weakness of her Title and no sooner was this Church under her re-establish'd than those Cannibal Laws were Enacted of Hanging the Priests of the living God together with other penal Laws that she Murder'd the Queen of Scots who was the undoubted Heir to the Crown that to Charles I. this Church was faithful but on the other hand to force an Universal Uniformity to her Liturgy c. was the occasion of that War and she now refuses to repeal the Test and penal Laws that the King will no longer trust her and that she should learn obedience from her Catholick Neighbours Thus far the Test To this is reply'd That the Church of England does own the Kings Supremacy and therefore thinks her self more Loyal than the Romanists who rob the King of that part of his Prerogative that after Ed. 6. Death the Kingdom was divided about the Title to the Crown some for Queen Mary some for Lady Jane and Protestants on both sides and while the Title was to them dubious neither party could be charged with Disloyalty That if Queen Eliz. was a known Bastard the Romanists were the disloyal Party in setting her upon the Throne and excluding the lawful Heir which they did by a Popish Parliament sitting at Queen Mary's Death so that it appeared by their own Parliament that Mary Queen of Scots was not lawful Heir and therefore it could be no disloyalty in Executing her for Treason That 't was not the Church of Englands Ambition from whence that War in Charles I. time ensued but from the division the Romanists had wickedly made amongst Protestants by one call'd Faithful Commin and others of the Fraternity then the Author recriminates shews it to be the declared opinion of the Church of Rome that she has power to Depose Princes and gives several instances where very often they have put that opinion into practice Thus far the Replyer The Replyer though he has sufficiently answer'd the Pamphlet yet since Loyalty is almost the onely thing which at this time recommends us to our Princes's Favour he might and ought to have given a more ample account of our Fidelity to Princes I shall now therefore take both the Test and the Reply into particular Examination and shew the defects of both But first I would willingly know what prospect the Author of the Test could have by publishing such a Pamphlet Was it to oblige his Party by drawing us out to expose both their Principles and Practices in point of Civil Obedience which may be with as great ease justly done as we can thrô off that malitious and false charge of his or was it to oblige the King by blowing up these Fears and Jealousies which his Majesty a gracious Father of his Country has us'd means to allay His Majesty tells us we are Loyal and assures us of his Protection the Test tells us we are Snakes in his Bosom and the King will not protect us for my part let this Fellow stare and brazen as he pleases I shall believe the King whatever he would have us think of him When so heavy a charge was laid upon our Church me thinks in reason the Author should have shew'd the World what Convocation or at least what private Doctor of our Communion ever acknowledg'd it as a Principle of our Church that disobedience to the supream Magistrate was upon any score whatsoever allowable that is that we might refuse both active and passive obedience for else admit he could instance that some of our Communion have acted Disloyally it proves no more than that some who have in outward appearance profess'd themselves to be with us were not really so nor did keep up to the Principles of our Church What 's more common than to see a Romanist drunk upon a Fasting Day but unless I hear them justifie the thing as allowable shall I reason from their bare practice that their Church allows Debauchery upon those dayes she has pointed out for Mortification Wherefore the Tests absolute silence herein demonstrates either that he is a great Dunce at Argument or that there is no such thing to be found in our Principles no not from the Testimony of any single Doctor And of this defect the Replyer takes no notice The Members of the Church of England says the Test were faithful to Charles I. but on the other hand their ambition to force Uniformity c. was cause of the ensuing War. He means if to the purpose That an ambition to force an Uniformity in Religion is Disloyalty which is a most admirable Discovery especially since the Church of Rome can so easily clear her self from the guilt of that Ambition If what he alledgeth were true his Reprehension is just like an old Drunkard in a drunken Fit railing against Drunkenness But the Replyer has shew'd him a more probable and natural cause of that War and has well referr'd to that Book of Foxes and Fire-brands which will give a reasonable Enquirer full satisfaction and further from thence well observes what excellent Subjects Romanists make to Protestant Kings We are not now to be surpriz'd with their Tests and such-like Pamphlets we are sensible the glorious Lustre of the Church of England does so offend and dazle their weak Eyes that it must be darken'd though the Fog be rais'd from Hell and therefore thus goes on the Test After Edward the Sixth's death Protestants endeavour'd to set up a Brat of their own to exclude Queen Mary because she was a Catholick at whose death Queen Elizabeth raised this Church to support the weakness of her Title and then they Murther'd the Queen of Scots who was the undoubted Heir to the Crown A Brat to exclude Queen Mary because a Catholick Nay we were more wicked than this for we set this Brat up too to exclude Queen Elizabeth because she was a Protestant for in excluding one we excluded both And if we thought we had power to pull down and put up as the Popes assume why did we not as well put up Elizabeth as Lady Jane The Index Expurgatorius has not yet done the honour of a Visit to our Modern Histories and therefore in them we find that by a Cabal onely of some of King Edward ' s Council he was prevail'd upon by his last Will and Letters-Patents to
refusal to take the same Oath without further Circumstances was made Treason But contrariwise Her Majesty not liking to make Windows into Mens hearts and secret thoughts except the abundance of them did over flow into overt and express Acts or Affirmations tempered Her Law so as it restraineth every manifest Disobedience in impugning and impeaching advisedly and maliciously Her Majesties Supream Power maintaining and entolling a Forreign Jurisdiction And as for the Oath it was altered by Her Majesty into a more grateful Form the hardness of the name and Appestation of Supream Head was removed and the Penalty of the refusal thereof turned only to disablement to take any Promotion or to exercise any charge and yet of Liberty to be reinvested therein if any man should accept thereof during his Life But after when Pius Quintus Excommunicated Her Majesty and the Bulls of Excommunication were published in London whereby Her Majesty was in a sort prescribed and that thereupon as upon a principal motive or preparative followed the Rebellion in the North yet because the ill humours of the Realm were by that Rebellion partly purged and that she feared at that time no forreign Invasion and much less the attempt of any within the Realm not back'd by some potent power and succour from without she contented her self to make a Law against that special Case of bringing in and publishing any Bulls or the like Instruments whereunto was added a Prohibition upon pain not of Treason but of an inferiour degree of punishment against the bringing of the Agnus Dei's and such other Merchandise of Rome as are all known not to be any essential part of the Romanists Religion but only to be used in practice as Love tokens to inchant and bewitch the peoples affections from their Allegiance to their natural Soveraign In all other points her Majesty continued her former Lenity But when about the Twentieth year of her Reign she had discover'd in the King of Spain an intention to invade her Dominions and that a principal part of the Plot was to prepare a Party within the Realm that might adhere to the Forreigner and that the Seminaries began to blossom and to send forth dayly Priests and Professed men who should by Vow taken at Shrift reconcile her Subjects from their Obedience yea and hind many of them to attempt against her Majesties Sacred Person and that by the Poison which they spread the humours of most Papists were altered and that they were no more Papist in Conscience and of Softness but Papist in Pactiou Then were there new Laws made for the punishment of such as should submit themselves to such reconcilements or renunciation of Obedience And because it was a Treason carried in the Clouds and in wonderful secrecy and come seldom to light and that there was no presuspicion thereof so great as the Recusancy to come to Divine Service because it was set down by their Decrees that to come to Church before Reconciliation was to live in Schism but to come to Church after reconcilement was absolutely heretical and damnable Therefore there were added Laws containing punishment Pecuniary viz. such as might not enforce Consciences but to infeeble and impoverish the means of those about whom it resteth indifferent and ambiguous whether they were reconciled or not And when notwithstanding all this provision the Poison was dispersed so secretly as that there was no means to stay it I ut by restraining the Merchants that brought it in Then Lastly there was added a Law whereby such seditious Priests of new Erection were exiled and those that were at that time within the Land shipped over and so commanded to keep hence upon pain of Treason This hath been the proceeding tho intermingled not only with sundry Examples of her Majesties Grace towards such as in her wisdom she knew to be Papist in Conscience and not Faction and Singularity but also with extraordinary mitigation towards the offenders in the highest Degree committed by Law if they would but protest that if in Case this Realm should be invaded with a Forreign Army by the Popes's authority for the Catholick Cause as they term it they would take part with her Majesty and not adhere to her Enemies For the other Party which have been offensive to the State though in another Degree which named themselves Reformers and we commonly call Puritans this hath been the proceeding towards them A great while when they inveighed against such abuses in the Church as Pluralities Non-residence and the like their Zeal was not Condemned only their Violence was sometimes Censured When they refused the use of some Ceremonies and Rites as Superstitions they were tollerated with much Connivency and Gentleness yea when thy called in Question the Superiority of Bishops and pretended to a Democracy in the Church yet their Propositious were here considered and by contrary Writings debated and discussed yet all this while it was perceived that their Course was dangerous and very popular As because Papistry was odious therefore it was ever in their Mouths that they sought to Purge the Church from the Reliques of Papistry a thing acceptable to the People who love ever to run from one extream to another Because multitudes of Rogues and Poverty was an Eye-sore and a dislike to every man therefore they put into the Peoples head that if Discipline were planted there should be no Vagabonds nor Beggars a thing very plausible And in like manner they promised the People many of the impossible wonders of their Discipline besides they opened to the People a way to Government by their Consistory and Presbytery a thing though in consequence no less prejudicial to the Liberties of private men than to the Soveraignty of Princes yet in first shew very Popular Nevertheless this except it were some few that entred into extream contempt was born with because they pretended in Dutiful manner to make Propositions and to leave it to the Providence of God and the Authority of the Magistrate But now of late years when there issued from them that affirmed the consent of the Magistrate was not to be attended when under pretence of a Confession to avoid Slander and Imputations they combined themselves by Classes and Subscriptions when they descended into that vile and base means of defacing the Government of the Church by ridiculous Pasquils when they began to make many Subjects in doubt to take Oaths which is one of the Fundamental parts of Justice in this Land and in all places when they began both to vaunt of their strength and number of their Partizans and Followers and to use Comminations that their Cause would prevail tho uproar and Violence then it appeared to be no more Zeal no more Conscience but meer Faction and Division and therefore though the State were compelled to hold somewhat a harder hand to restrain them than before yet was it with as great moderation as the Peace of the State or Church could permit And therefore Sir to conclude consider uprightly of these matters and you shall see Her Majesty is no more a Temporizer in Religion It is not the success Abroad nor the Change of Servants here at home can alter her only as the things themselves alter She applyed her Religious Wisdom to Methods correspondent unto them still retaining the Two Rules before mentioned in dealing tenderly with Consciences and yet in discovering Faction from Conscience and Softness from Singularity Farewell Your loving Friend F. Walsingham FINIS