mention of Mortall sins any iudicious Reader will finde that thereby they vnderstand Peccata vastantia conscientiam or such great and grossâ— sinnes as vsually exclude penitentiall grace from the presumptuous Actour by which onely our sinnes become veniall Likewise seeing euery sinne name it as yee will if yee graunt it once to bee sinne is mediately at least committed against an infinite obiect who consequently requireth iustly an infinite punishment It followeth necessarily that the same is mortall although it were but as idle word which Bellarmine saith were a foolish thing in man to breake friendship for such light offences and can not bee vnderstood in God how it can deserue eternall punishment although in the contrary Christ hath said that euen of such account shall bee giuen at the day of Iudgement at which time onely eternall punishment shall bee inflicted and not a temporall such as they allot to veniall sinnes Wherefore it was requisite that as our Sauiour should haue our nature that in it sinne might hee punished iustly so this nature was to subsist in an infinite person that by it sinne might bee conquered fully But when 〈…〉 himselfe is to bee punished by God according to the merit of his vnpardoned offence the Lord not hauing meanes to satisfie his Iustice on an infinite person to make proportion betweene his Iustice and mans sinne some way hee chuseth an infinite time because the person punished is no wayes match with the partie offended therefore this punishment is truly called Passion but not Satisfaction whereas the infinitenesse of Christs Nature in person made his Passion to bee a sufficient Satisfaction From whence it followes that nothing can bee done by man either actiuely or passiuely in this life nor after the same that can be reputed a condigne satisfaction to God for any one sinne whatsoeuer committed by vs the guilt and whole punishment whereof is perfectly abrogated by Christ the first being imputed to him and the second inflicted vpon him that so all who are engraft in him may be freed from both the merit of his blood and fire of his spirit and not any other Purgatorie effectuating that to vs. Not that by this ouerthrow of that distinction of sinne into mortall and veniall which at last among the Papists becomes also venall that we denie an inequalitie to be in sinnes and so consequently in their due punishments For first wee hold sinnes to bee vnequall in respect of the obiect against which we sinne and so a sin against God is a greater sin then a sin against man and a sinne against the first Table is greater then a sinne against the second Table being compared in equall and paralell acts Otherwise if we compare a sinne in the least part of a Commandement in the first Table with a sinne in the greatest part of a Commandement in the Second Table the latter is more hainous then the first Likewise as a sinne against God is greater then a sinne against man for the essentiall diuersitie of the obiect so the sinne against one man may bee greater then a sinne against another for the accidentall diuersitie of the obiect as in eminencie of place against a King or propinquitie of blood bond of nature against a Parent for although all men naturally considered are alike and the same yet ciuilly and politickly they are not Secondly in respect of the matter wherein wee sinne there is an inequalitie so Murder is a greater sinne then Theft because life is more precious then goods Likewise if we compare sins in the same matter one may be greater then another according to the extent or quantitatiue measure as to kill three is a greater offence then to kill one and to steale 100. pounds is a greater theft then 10. Thirdly in respect of the manner how we offend there is an inequalitie of sinning and so a sinne of malice is greater then a sinne of infirmitie so is that of knowledge greater then that of ignorance As likewise sinnes that consist only in immanent action or thought of the minde are lesse then these that come to transient action being accomplished by the body euery further addition making the sinne more intense in degree And as sins are vnequall so are their punishments God in his distributiue iustice allotting seuerall portions of paine to the seuerall proportions of sinne The priuatiue punishment or poena damni in time degree is alike to all Depart from me c. The posiâ—iue or poeâ—a sensus is partly from an inward cause which is the gnawing worme of conscience whose life is perpetuated in death or from an outward cause which is such exquisite meanes whereby at last the whole man is afflicted decreed by God in his wisedome executed by his power to demonstrate his iustice and is ordinarily called the fire of Hell And as the outward paine of fire primarily inflicted on the body doth worke effectually to afflict the soule so doth the inward paine of the worme which is in the soule worke effectually to afflict the body that as they were brethren in euill and participated in sinne so they may bee coupled likewise and pertake in torment And as the soule hath one estate in her selfe at death independant vpon the body by her seperation from it and another in the body vpon her revniting with it at the resurrection so in the first she suffereth outward paine immediately and in the second by the body mediately In all which the punishment of all is equall in time because in respect of duration there is neither more nor lesse in that which is eternall but the punishment is vnequall in degree Gods iustice hauing a relatiue respect to mans sinne And so although we denie that any sinnes are veniall by nature yet we affirme some to be lesse then others and in a lesse measure punished and so the vniust slander of our Aduersaries affirming that we make all sinnes and consequently all punishments equall may easily hence appeare FINIS Reuel 18.13 Mant. de colam temp Aeneas Syluius ad 1. pereg Ep. 66. 2 Cor. 3. Bell. l. 1. de Purg. c. 15. Aug. li. de trin c. 3. cont Mend. c. 6. * Math. 4.9 Ephes. 6. Bell. l. 1. de Purg. c. 14. Bell. lib. 1. de Purg. c. 1. Et lib 2. c. 6.9 10. Bell. lib. 1. de Indul. c. 9. Ibidem Bell. lib. 1. de Purg. c. 12. Bell. lib 4. de Pan. c. 13. Bell. lib. 2. de Purg. c. 13. Lomb. l. 4. Sent. dist 18. Chrys. in 4. ad Rom. Hom. 8. Aug. Ser. 27. de verbis Domini Col. 1.19 Bell. lib. 1. de Indul. c. 4. 1 Tim. 2.6 Col. 1.19 Iohn 1.16 Acts 4.12 Bell lib. 4. de Poenit. c. 13. Ephes. 2.8 Bell. l. 1. de Purg. c. 12. Bell. lib. 1. de Sanct. c. 3. Philip. 1.23 2 Tim. 4.7 Bell. lib. 3. de Eccles. c. 9. Iob 7.2 Exod. 20.6 Psal. 110.4 Bell. lib. 1. de Sanct. c. 6. Bell. l. 1. de Purg. c. 5. Bell. lib. 1. de Purg. c. 14. Ibidem Bell. lib. 2. de indul cap. 7. Ibidem cap. 5. Bell. lib. 1. de Indul. c. 2. Bell. lib. 1. de Indul. c. 4. Ibidem Bell. lib. 1. de Sanct. c. 3. Ibidem Ibidem Ibidem Bellar. lib. 1. de Sanct. c. 4. Bell. ibidem Iustin. quosi 75 Bell. l 1. de Sanct. c. 5. Cyprian de exhor Mart. cap. vlt. Aug. med c. 22. et l. 20. de ciuit dei c. 15. Prosp. l. 1. de vita contemp c. 1. Ansel. in 2. ad Cor. Bell. l. 1. de Sanct. c. 6. Bell. Ibidem Bell ibidem Bell. l. 1. de Purg. c. 3. Answere 2 Tim. 3.16 c. 2.23.26.28 Iosh. 7. Bell. lib. 1. de Purg. c. 12. Bell. l. 1. de Purg. c. 3. Aug. Confess lib. 6. c. 2. contra Faust. l. 2. c. 21. 1 Sam. last 31. 2 Sam. 1.12 Bell. lib. 2. de indul cap. 13. 1 Pet. 1.7 4.12 Aug. l. 20. de Ciuit. Dei c. 25 Aug. de Ciuit. Dei l. 18. â— 35. Answere â—o Luk. 10.35 Ephes. 1.21 Marke 3.29 Luke 12.10 Answer Bell. l. 1. de purg C. 6. Answer Rom. 6.6 Answer Bell. lib. 1. de purg ca. 5. Bell. lib. 2. de Purg. c. 13. Bell. lib. 1 de purg ca. 7. Answer Bell. l. 1. de Purg. ca. 7. Bell. lib. 1. de purg ca. 8. Answer Iam. 3.6 1 Ioh. 3.14 Answere Answere Answer Bell. l. 1. de Sanct. c. 6. Isai. 45.23 Bell. l. 1. de Christ. c. 13. Reuel 20.7 Iude 1.6 Aug. Epist. 99. ad Euodium Bell. lib. 2. de Purg. c. â— Answer Deut. 29.29 Bell. lib. 2. de Purg. c. 14. Bell. lib. 1. de purg ca. 11. 2 Sam. 12. Numb 12. Hebr. 12.7 Gen. 2.17 Rom. 5.17 Rom. 6.23 Bell. lib. 2. de Indul. c. 1. Bell. lib. 2. de Indul. c. 4. Bellar. lib. 4. de poenit c. 2. Answer Heb. 3.4 2 Thes. 2.12 1 Tit. 1.15 Bell. lib. 1. de purg ca. 14. Ephes. 3.17 Rom. 10.17 Gal. 3.27 1 Cor. 10.16 Bell. l. 1. de purg c. 9. Aug. l. 21. de ciuit dei c. 27. Bell. lib. 1. de Sanct. c. 2. Lactan. l. 7. cap. 11. Cyp. l. 3. epist. 6. et l. 5. epist. 4. Bell. lib. 2. de Purg. ca. 1. et ibid. ca. 18. Aug. confess l. 9. ca. 13. Aug. l. de ciui dei cap. 16. Bell. l. 1. de purg cap. 10. Aug. lib. 21. de ciuit dei cap. 26.27 Enchirid. c. 69. Aug. c. 1. secundi Serm. de consol super mortuos et l. 5. hypognost Bell. l. 2 de purg cap. 1. 1 Iohn 3.4 Rom. 6.23 Galat. 3.10 Hebr. 9.22 1 Iohn 1.7 Galat. 3.10 Rom. 6.23 Actes 28. Hebr. 6.4 1 Iohn 5.16 Bell. lib. 1. de purg ca. 11. Math. 5. Bell. lib. 4. de Poenit. c. 13. Bell. l. 1. de purg c. 5. Bell. lib. 1. de Purg. c. 11. The inequality of sinne or degrees thereof The inequalitie of punishment or degrees thereof
any such thing be as Bellarmine grants and saith posse dubitari et periculosissimum esse definire or else expresly he sayes that except Hell and Heauen he knoweth no third place 5. Last of all themselues say Masse for children dying soone after baptisme who haue not committed any actuall sinne and to whom the whole punishment of originall is remitted and so consequently can not be in Purgatory AN ANNEXE TO this Treatise of Purgatorie concerning the Distinction of Sinne into Mortall and Veniall which is the maine Pillar of this Pyrotechnie and being pulled downe makes the whole Fabricke to fall IF we consider aright what Sinne is of its own nature as Saint Iohn describes it to wit that all sinne whatsoeuer is a transgression of the Law or if we consider what is the proper wages of sinne of whatsoeuer sort it bee as Saint Paul cleares it to wit death or if we consider what is onely able to expiate and doth purge vs from all sinne name it as they will to wit Christs blood and death onely Then surely any such distinction of sinne into Mortall and Veniall by nature will quite evanish and sinne of it owne nature will bee acknowledged to bee mortall solely and to say Peccatum and yet Veniale simply and not Mortale properly will be 〈◊〉 to bee vertuall contradiction and we know that there is no composition of meerely opposites nor construction of mutuall destructiues Yea out of their owne mouth to condemne them how is sinne vniuerâ—ally distinguished by themselues into Veniall and Mortall if the Veniall bee not sinne and that properly and if it bee sinne or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 then of necessitie it must bee as is said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as saith Saint Iohn and the wages thereof as the Lawe threatneth is Gods curse or as Saint Paul pronounceth doome is death So that euery sinne is as a Viper and there is no Viper if wee respect the meere nature of the best of them but shee killeth whom shee biteth yet if one shall light on the hand of Paul shee is shaken off into the fire without any harming but not the lesse is shee to bee feared and accounted deadly of her owne nature although the Apostle be safe Wherefore the distinction of sinne into â—ortall and Veniall ariseth 〈…〉 sed personis From whence it followes That all sinnes are damnable in all men but not to all men all deserving but not all receiuing damnation for to the reprobate no sinne is finally veniall and to the elect no sinne is finally mortall Notwithstanding that there is one sinne which is simply and vniuersally mortall because it is not only punishable but euer punished with eternall death and is that sinne against the Holy Ghost but is no wayes incident to the elect Therefore I call sinne mortall two wayes First by explication and generally and to say a mortall sinne is to shew the nature of all sinne Secondly by way of distinction and specially and so to say a mortall sinne is to designe that sinne against the Holy Ghost in particular and which sinne Impenitencie doth follow necessitate ineuitabili as an inseparable consequent where in all other sinnes it is rather contingent for as no sinne can bee forgiuen without repentance so this sinne excludes possibilitie of repentance and therefore is irremissible and is called Mortall in an eminent degree and neuer becomes veniall not because God in his absolute power cannot forgiue it but because in his iust will hee hath decreed neuer to forgiue it the partie so sinning being euer obdured by his owne vniust action and Gods iust desertion And this is that which is spoken Mathew 12.31 and which Christs beloued Disciple vnderstands saying There is a sinne to death and a sinne not vnto death distinguishing so not betweene some sinnes mortall in nature and some sinnes veniall by nature But betweene one sinne simply mortall in nature and in necessary effect vnto all and all other sinnes simply mortall in nature also but not in necessary effect vnto all and therefore possibly and by repentance veniall through grace vnto the elect Whereas the same sinnes are iustly through want of repentance retained and be comes finally mortall to the obdured reprobate Neither is it to any purpose which Bellarmine alledgeth out of Iames 1.15 that because concupiscence brings foorth sinne and sinne consummate brings foorth death therefore that concupiscence it selfe should not bring foorth death or be a mortall sinne but veniall Where in the contrary it is rather to bee reasoned that Concupiscence being the euill Tree budding or poysoned Spring flowing it is the cause of all that which proceeds therefrom to wit both sinne consummate and death inflicted as from the seed both stalke and each eare comes And in the very regenerate where no consent is thereto as it is called sinne properly and a rebellion against the Law of God Rom. 7.20 23. so the fruit and merit thereof is affirmed to be death vers 24 and Rom. 8.2 and consequently it is of nature mortall Neither is it forbidden in the Law with that restriction of giuing consent thereto but simply it is said Thou shalt not couet and therefore to lust or couet although it proceed no further as Christ himselfe expounds that Precept is a breach of the Lawe and consequently merits death and the curse Neither may we according to Bellarmines owne rule restraine that which God hath set downe more amply And as for that out of a 1 Corinth â— where veniall sinne is desweined saith Bellarmine Ex leuitate materiae wee may iustly say it is leuis probatio and whereas through wanting more solid stuffe for proouing their distinction they haue their recourse then to stubble they may fitly bee compared to that thralled people in the Egyptian bondage who wanting long straw were forced to gather short stubble to themselues to make vp their â—aske which they could not accomplish and for building such stuffe not vpon the foundation but rather thereby euerting the foundation they may feare a fearefull and consuming fire at last But heereunto wee will onely giue them but their owne answeres and fully pay them with their owne coyne Bellarmine then testifies that because by the Builders in that place is vnderstood Doctors therefore by the worke must bee vnderstood doctrine and consequently by Hay and Stubble saith hee is vnderstood curious and vnprofitable doctrine Next he saith That by the fire that burneth this combustible and light stuffe Purgatory wherein Veniall sinnes enter cannot bee meant because it purgeth not the worke but altogether consumes the worke This likewise is but Metaphorically then so called fire but that of Purgatory is reall Et ignis Purgatoriae qui verâ—â— realis est saith Bellarmine non potest opera comburero quae sunt actiones transeuntes jam transierunt And whereas the Ancients seeme to poynt at this Distinction making
Goâ— and Satan whom they say torments the Soule in Purgatorie heauen and hell to be all one But the soules of the godly returne to God that gaue them and are receiued by him as Act. 7.59 Ergo they goe not to the fire of Purgatory Psal. 32.1 2. Blessed is the man whose transgression is forgiuen whose sinne is couered and to whom the Lord imputeth not iniquitie Hence we reason He whose sinne is forgiuen the same is couered saith Dauid and what is couered is not seene and what is not seene is not imputed and what is not imputed cannot by any satisfactory punishment bee punished Therefore saith Lombard as Bellarmine grants Deum tunc tegere peccata quando ad poenam non reseruat And to take away the evasion of meaning onely the eternall punishment Therefore saith Chrysostome where there is grace there is forgiuenes and where there is forgiuenes there is no punishment at all And Augustine on this Psalme saith Si texit peccata noluit aduertere si noluit aduertere noluit punire noluit ne vel agnoscere maluit ignoscere Now to subsume But so it is that the sinnes of the godly are forgiuen couered vnseene and not imputed as saith the Psalmist Ergo they are not by any satisfactorie worke or suffering punished Punishment being euer the worke of Iustice and making the partie punished wretched and pardon being euer the worke of mercy and making the partie pardoned blessed and so being incompatible Psal. 51.7 Purge mee and I shall be whiter then snow Whence we argue If to purge away sinne and to remit be all one as is euident 1 Iohn 1.19 and that none can remit sinne but God onely Mark 2.7 therefore it followeth that God onely purgeth sinne and consequently no other thing can doe so And againe If where God purgeth there remaine not the least spot but the party purged is perfectly made cleane yea whiter then the snow then veniall sinnes and temporall punishments remaine not to be purged by any other Purgatory But where God purgeth there abides not the least spot but the party purged is perfectly made cleane as saith the Psalmist as likewise Isa. 1.18 Ergo veniall sinnes and temporall punishments remaine not to be purged by any other Purgatory And for this cause saith Tertullian Exempto reatu remittitur poena Isa. 53.4 5. He hath borne our griefes the chastisment of our peace was vpon him and by his stripes we are healed Hence we reason If Christ bare our sinnes no otherwise then by bearing the punishment due for them and bare the punishment to discharge vs of the same nam si tulit abstulit then the same nor no part thereof as satisfactory to Gods iustice remaines to be borne by vs for our sinnes But Christ bare our sins but by bearing the punishment due for them and that to discharge vs of the same and therefore saith Augustine Suscipiendo poenam non culpam culpam deleuit poenam Ergo the same nor no part thereof remaines to be borne by vs as a satisfactory punishment Leuit. 1.3.4.5.6 Chap. Expiations sacrifices were ordained for all sorts of sinnes trespasses and vncleannes euen to the touching of the dead But neither was there any sacrifices or seruice appointed for any that were vncleane in Purgatory and such sacrifices also that were for sin were for the guilt thereof Neither amongst all the points and priuiledges of the high Priests office find we that hee had power by indulgence to deliuer any soule from Purgatory Ergo it followes that no such place nor punishment after this life was Ecclesiasticus 3.6 Which our aduersaries hold as Canonicall and which we only vrge to shew notwithstanding how clearely their Purgatory contradicts the same The words are The soules of the righteous are in the hands of God there shall no torment touch them and if no torment therefore not that of Purgatorie Arguments against Purgatorie and to prooue our Assertion out of the New Testament 1 Iohn 1.7 The blood of Christ purges vs from all our sinnes Whence we argue If Christs blood purgeth vs from all our sinnes and that these only are the spots which make our Soules vncleane as the Scripture shewes vs. It followes then that if Christs blood purges vs from them all that therefore no veniall sinnes nor vncleannesse whatsoeuer remaine to bee purged so that there is no other Purgatory at all Nam Purgatorium est semper alicuius rei purgandae Purgatorium To this same sense agreeth that of the Apostle Heb. 9 14. That if the blood of beasts sanctified to the purifying of the flesh much more shall the blood of Christ purge the conscience from dead workes Hebr. 1.3 When hee had by himselfe purged our sinnes hee sate downe Whence we argue If this belongs to Christs office to purge our sinnes by himselfe and that this Priestly office of Christs is incommunicable as Heb. 7.24 is euident seeing as the Apostle saith elsewhere in himselfe all fulnesse dwels and he hath trod the winepresse alone Then it followes That none other can by themselues expiate any sort of sinnes nor as Bellarmine blasphemously avowes that any can be their own redeemer in part But the first is true as is prov'd by the Apostle Therefore the second is likewise infallible To the same purpose is that notâ—ble speech of the Apostle saying He hath giuen himselfe to bee a ransome for vs and therefore not that we should bee a ransome for our selues in any degree Heb. 10.14 By one offering he hath perfected for euer them that are sanctified that is as Heb. 7.25 he hath perfectly saued them Whence we reason If Christ hath perfectly saued his Elect then he hath saued them as well from the guilt of veniall as mortall sinnes and as well from the temporall as the eternall punishment and so left no supplement to be made to his satisfaction by their suffering in Purgatory But he hath perfectly saued them as the Apostle prooues Ergo he hath left no sinne nor no punishment vntaken away and so no supplement to be made to his satisfaction by their owne sufferings in Purgatory To this same purpose is it that the Apostle saith That it pleased the Father that in him all fulnesse should dwell for reconciling all thing in heauen and earth vnto himselfe And of his fulnesse doe we all receiue saith Iohn And by him and not by our selues euen by the blood of his Crosse and not by our sufferings are all things reconciled saith the Apostle Wherefore there is no other name whereby we may be saued saith S Peter but by the Name of Iesus whether in part or whole from veniall or mortall sinnes temporall or eternall punishment For according to Bellarmines preceding rule Non nostrum est restringere quod Deus amplum esse voluit Rom. 6.23 Saluation is a free gift therefore we pay not for it neither by our selues nor
Purgatorie Act. 2.24 Whom God raised hauing loosed the dolours of Hell that is deliuered soules out of Purgatory 1. The words are the dolours of death and not of Hell by which what is meant is cleare out of Psalm 18.4.5 calling the dolours of death the snares of death and by the dolours of the graue meaning the same and by both vnderstanding so the captiuating of death and the detayning power of the Graue wherein our Sauiour by his buriall as Deaths prisoner was inclosed and both which powers by his resurrection hee overcame as by his triumph Hose 13. is euident and as Bellarmine grants Lib. 4. de Christo. cap. 8. and that with Chrysostome and Oecumenius is meant thereby either that by Christ resurrection God loosed the dolours of death that was pained in holding him so long in the graue or else that by his resurrection he destroyed death and all the stinging dolours thereof which accompanied the same And so he makes him do that by the raysing vp of his body there which by the discense of his soule he would haue him to doe here Next if by such words Purgatory were meant then it would follow that Christ should haue suffered in Purgatory seing as is euident Peter speakes of the dolours which his humane nature suffered and his diuine loosed And therefore it was himselfe that was loosed from them as Sampson from his cords at first because it was impossible that he saith the Apostle and not others in Purgatorie should be holden by them And to vse retortion of this place against themselues if they meane Purgatory by these dolours as Bellarmine doth the same is quite vndone because Christ is said not to haue loosed any soules out of these dolours but the dolours themselues whereof it will follow either that there is no Purgatorie left at all or else such a one as is quite dolourlesse and without paine Philip 2.10 At the Name of Iesus euery knee shall bow of things in Heauen on earth and vnder the earth Which last sort seeing it is not the deuils nor the damned that giue voluntary obedience it must be the soules in Purgatory 1. Bellarmine himselfe answeres for vs and shewes that this speech borrowed from Isai. is expounded by the Apostle Rom. 10.14 of Christ comming to iudge all men before whom all the wicked sore against their wils shal compeare and yeeld subiection whereof the bowing of the knee among men is a signe Neither by bowing of the knee could be meant a voluntary subiection for this reason because then it would follow that all the wicked euen in this life gaue voluntary subiection to Christ because it is said That euery knee on earth shall bow As for 1 Pet. 3.20 Bellarmine prooues Limbus patrum thereby Therefore it cannot be adduced likewise to prooue Purgatory neither doth the word Prison in Scripture signifie but only the hell of the damned when it speaks of the imprisoning of Spirits And therefore it is the wicked and disobedient that are said to bee there and so neither the Fathers not the godly whom Christ is not said to haue deliuered the 〈◊〉 but to whom he is said to haue preached by that Spirit whereby hee was quickened which was not therefore his Soule but by his diuine Spirit in the dayes of Noah while they had time then to repent by the meanes of preaching and not after this life when there is no conuersion And for which exposition we haue not onely the clearnesse of the Text but Augustine also plainly with vs and after him Beda as 〈◊〉 grants Iohn 11.43 and Luke 8.55 The soule of Lazarus Maries brother returned and so did the soules of Iairus daughter and the widowes sonne whom Christ raised Now this was not from hell they being godly nor from heauen for so iniurie should haue been done to them Therefore saith Bellarmine Mortui quos exitarunt Christus Apostoli creduntur fuisse in Purgatorio Besides that the secret things belong onely to God and the things reuealed onely to vs there could bee no iniury heere done to the creature whose priuate good must euer giue place to the manifestation of Gods glorie whereto it was created But more peremptorily let Bellarmine in that same Chapter answere this saying Se igitur aliqui sancti redierunt ad corpus non fuerunt beati sed Deus praevidens eorum excitationem distulit eorum beatificationem interim detinuit eos in optimo aliquo loco such as is no wayes a tormenting Purgatory Yea to shew how desperate their cause is and how impudent themselues are in wresting most cleare parts of Scripture to prooue this fiery furnace of theirs Let vs see that place Ex quo saith Bellarmine insigne habetur argumentum pro Pugatorio Hebr. 10.27 For whom remaines saith the Apostle a certaine fearefull looking for of Iudgement and fiery indignation which shall deuoure the aduersaries speaking there no wayes of the godly that are friends as Bellarmine would haue it that for their sinnes after Baptisme must bee temporally punished in a purging fire but of the Lords aduersaries as the cleare Text sheweth which the fiery indignation of God shall vtterly deuoure and of the fearefull iudgement and finall damnation of those who by wilfull apostasie from the knowne truth as vers 25 26. is euident doe tread the Sonne of God vnder foot and count the blood of the Couenant an vnholy thing and doth despise the Spirit of grace which none of the godly euer either did or doth Next to such places of Scripture Bellarmine brings in examples of Scripture whereby hee intends to prooue that the guilt of sinne being remitted the temporall punishment remaines to be satisfied for and wherin because many are remisse in this life therefore a Purgatorie is appoynted hereafter The first examples are of Dauid and Miriam both pardoned and yet temporally punished but hee should prooue that these punishments were payments and satisfactions to Gods Iustice and redemptions of themselues as Bellarmine calles them where in the contrary the Scripture clearely affirmes that God by such corrections dealeth not as a Iudge with malefactors to satisfie Iustice but as a father with his sonnes to manifest his mercy doing it not for any payment to himselfe but for profit to them and not to free them from any Purgatory hereafter but to make them pertakers of his holinesse here Neither auailes it Bellarmine that the cause of Dauids correction is set downe to bee his sinne begun for wee confesse that the sinnes of the godly are the efficient causes of these corrections that God layes vpon them But all our Controuersie is of the finall cause which wee say is for example to others his children and their owne amendment that are chastised and which they say is for satisfaction to his Iustice and redemption of the sufferer himselfe The next instance that hee brings is of death which is the temporall
punishment of sinne and is inflicted vpon the godly not to preuent sinne but for satisfaction to Gods Iustice. Whereto wee answere That to no purpose doth hee instance the common calamities of all men or death of all in generall seeing our controuersie heere is onely of satisfactory punishment proper to the godly in particular which Bellarmine himselfe confesseth the former not to be and so most clearly answeres for vs saying That Indulgences take not away Poenas naturales communes sed illam quae infligitur in foro poenitentiario haec enim est per quam Domino satisfacimus cui succedit nisi Domino satisfiat in praesenti purgatorii poena So that these other naturall and common calamities are the fruites of sinne but not satisfactions for sinne Againe Bellarmine more plainely as yet answeres for vs saying Mortis debitum non erat solum vt moreremur sed vt in morte perpetuò maneremus And this debt by his satisfaction Christ hath so freed vs thereof that death altering its nature to the godly is now but a safe passage to life of a curse made a full cure and blessing ending our fight leading vs to our crowne bringing vs to our countrey to the sight of God company of Angels societie of Saints and coniunction with Christ and therefore so expected with ioy and desired with longing which no punishment could bee Besides that hereby he contradicts himselfe saying that in baptisme the whole guilt and the whole punishment of sinne is remitted and yet sodainely after baptisme many Infants die To say therefore that the death of these is a satisfactory punishment when nothing is to bee satisfied for vnremitted fully is an absurd contradiction His third instance is of violent death inflicted on some as a satisfactorie and temporall punishment after the remission of the sinne as Exod. 32. of those that were killed for worshiping the golden Calfe Numb 14. of those that murmured against the Lord. 1 King 13. of the Prophet slaine by the Lyon and 1 Cor. 11. the death of those that vnworthily communicate We answer that these first that were slaine were manifest Idolaters of whose repentance or remission we reade not but of the iust deserued temporall punishment here and what such merite hereafter 1 Cor. 6.9 Next the others that murmured are called by the Apostle hard-hearted misbeleeuing wicked and disobedient and who as cleerely appeares Heb. 4.2.3 were also excluded out of the heauenly rest that which God remitted being according to Moses desire only their full deletion as God had threatned and their posterities To the other two examples we answer that all that they proue we grant to wit that disobedience and sinne is the efficient cause of temporall punishments but such punishments of the godly are not payments to God and redemptions of themselues So our difference is of the finall cause which is either for example to others to be aware or amendment of themselues or as Augustine saith cited by Bellarmine vel ad demonstrationem debitae miseriae vel emendationem labilis vitae vel ad exercitationem necessariae patientiae Neither read we of the Prophets repentance nor remission nor of the reconcilement of these vnworthy receiuers against whom that are such the Apostle threatneth the receiuing of their damnation Last of all when enforced by truth Bellarmine is made to confesse meritū Christi sufficere ad omnē culpam et poenam tollendam he comes to this shift that it must be applyed by Purgatory and all be it that in baptisme it take away all yet hee saith blasphemously quod deus tantum semel utitur ea liberalitate et postea contrahit nonnihil manum and will haue vs to satisfie for our selues and that for the temporall punishment quod vna tantum si actualis satisfactio et ea sit nostra Whereunto wee answer that wee grant that Christs merit is not auailable to any without application but the meanes are set downe expresly in the word to wit faith by the Word and Sacraments and by which meanes whensoeuer it is applyed it looseth none of its full vertue nor as they blasphemously affirme doth the Lord but once only vse such liberalitie to accept it for as much as it is worth towards the godly like the Pope who neuer but once at his Coronation scatters his copper money amongst the people but Faith applies it euer and he accepts it euer according to the full vertue and value thereof as being sufficient to free the godly as well from the temporall satisfactorie punishment which is the lesse as from the eternall which is the more Besides likewise that the meanes of applying a thing should be actiue and not a passion or torment so neither should these meanes be contrary to the benefit which we enioy by them as who to see should cloose his eie lids applying Gods mercie by the execution of his Iustice pardon by punishment discharge of debt by payment and applying the grace of Christ by a meanes derogating from his grace which is altogether impious and absurd As for his testimonies of Councels and Fathers that he brings in for prayer for the dead out of which hee would inferre Purgatory they neuer proue his point 1. Because this did proceede of an errour that sundry of the Fathers did hold and the whole Greeke Church as yet whom Bellarmine refutes that the soules of the Godly remained till the resurrection in certaine hid receptacles without seeing God 2. Their owne Canon of the Masse prayes for the soules of the faithfull which doe sleepe in the slumber of peace for so are the words Memento domin◠animarum famulorum famularumque tuarum quae nos pracesserunt in signe fidei et dormiunt in somno pacis And yet these soules so long since departed cannot be said now to be in the fire of Purgatory for none could sleepe peaceable or found in so easelesse a bed except they make labouring and rest sleepe and waking peace and torment to bee all one 3. Cyprian testifies that they offered for the Apostles and Martyrs whom yet they thought not to be in Purgatorie and in the ancient Missalls Bellarmine grants that on the day of Pope Leo the 8. canonized Saint the Church said Annuè quaesumus domine vt animae B. Leonis haec prosit oblatio and yet this prayer for his soule imported not by their owne confession that it was in Purgatory 4. Likewise they prayed for the dead for declaration of their loue to them and not doubting that the soules notwithstanding were in blisse already and in that ioy which they prayed for vnto them as Augustines words for his mother Monica plainely manifests et credo domine quod feceris quod te rogo sed voluntaria oris mei approba domine And whereas the same Augustine would seem more plainely to make for Purgatorie in other places againe he either calles it in doubt if