verie much deceiued for vnles they deuise some new Grammar vnto themselues vndoutedlie this word According signifieth not the cause But Christ saie they in his last iudgement séemeth to expresse these to be as it were causes for the which the kingdome of heauen is giuen vnto them for thus will he saie I was hungrie Mat. 25 35. and ye fed me I was thirstie and ye gaue me drinke But Christ doth not in verie déed rehearse these things as causes but rather those things which went before Why Christ in the last iudgment will make mention of outward works Come ye blessed of my father possesse the kingdome which was prepared for you from the beginning of the world For the true cause of our felicitie is bicause we are elected and predestinate of God to the eternall inheritance for they which are in this number are in their time adorned with faith whereby they being iustified haue right vnto eternall life But bicause this faith is hidden neither can it be séene and that Christ will haue all men to vnderstand that none but the iust are receiued into the kingdome of heauen therfore reherseth he these outward works that by them it might plainlie be perceiued that righteousnes is giuen vnto men by faith For there is no man which can be so ignorant There be two manie of principles of things 1. Sam. 2 3◠but that he knoweth that there are two foundations and principles of things the one wherby they are the other whereby they are knowne Againe they obiect out of the first of Samuel Those that honour me I honour and those that loue me I loue Here saie they the promise is made vnto the worke But if they would make a distinction betwéene the promise of the gospell and the promises of the lawe they should easilie vnderstand that that place is nothing repugnant vnto our saieng For if we could of our selues satisfie the commandements of the lawe then might it be the cause why the promise shuld be giuen vnto vs but forsomuch as no man is able to performe it all men flie vnto Christ and are through faith in him iustified Then by a certeine obedience begun we begin to worke which although it be not exactlie done according vnto the rule of the commandement yet it pleaseth God and he of his méere liberalitie performeth the promise which was adioined vnto that worke And so those conditions which are adioined vnto the precepts are not vnprofitable for they that are iustified atteine vnto them Neither are these men ashamed to cite these words out of the 25. psalme verse 18. Looke vpon my humilitie my labour and forgiue me all my sins as though our labours and afflictions are the causes of the remission of sinnes But in this place Dauid being in most gréeuous calamities desireth of God to forgiue him all his sins that if he were angrie for his sinnes the cause of punishments might be taken awaie For here is not intreated of labours which a man taketh vpon him of his owne voluntarie will but of punishments laid vpon men by God A similitude We sée also that children whilest they are beaten of their maisters doo desire forgiuenes and pardon If thou giue an almes vnto one that is leprous the leprosie cannot properlie be called the cause of thy compassion or mercie for otherwise all that passed by the leper should doo the same but the true cause thereof is the louing affection in thy mind 32 But they saie moreouer that in the holie scriptures much is attributed vnto repentance which thing we denie not But we on the other side would haue them to vnderstand that repentance is the fruit of faith and that no man can profitablie repent him of his sinnes vnlesse he first beléeue They also boast of manie things touching confession A distinction of confession But thereof we make a distinction for either it is separated from hope and faith as it was in Iudas which confessed that he had sinned Matt. 27 4. in béetraieng the iust bloud and that confession is so farre off from bringing anie profit that it is a preparatiue vnto desperation and also to destruction Or else it is ioined with faith and hope as it was in Dauid and Peter and so it is not the cause but the effect of iustification for it followeth faith Auricular confession and goeth not before it The auricular confession also of the papists is altogither superstitious wherefore we vtterlie contemne it for they obtrude it as a thing necessarie vnto saluation and a cause why sinnes should be forgiuen which they are neuer able to prooue by anie testimonie of the holie scriptures They violentlie wrest this also out of the Lords praier Matt. 6 12. Forgiue vs our trespasses as we forgiue them that trespasse against vs. verse 14. Againe Forgiue and it shal be forgiuen you Ergo saie they the forgiuenesse of iniuries is the cause why our sinnes are forgiuen vs. Forgiue vs our trespasses expounded This their reason as the cōmon saieng is with the one hand stroketh the head with the other giueth a blowe For if the forgiuenes of iniuries should as these men would haue it deserue remission of sinnes then that remission should be no remission for after thou hast once paid the price there is nothing can be forgiuen thée but then hath remission place when the price is not paid And as touching that place we first desire that our sinnes should be forgiuen vs. And bicause that by benefits receiued men are incouraged to hope that they shall receiue other greater benefits therfore this is the meaning of that sentence O Father which hast of thy fatherlie goodnes giuen vs grace to forgiue iniuries vnto our trespassours forgiue vnto vs also our sinnes Now by these words is not signified a cause but a similitude although that similitude be not perfect absolute For none that is wise would haue his sinnes so forgiuen him of God as he hath forgiuen his neighbour the iniuries that he hath doone vnto him For euerie one by reason of the flesh and that infirmitie which it carieth about forgiueth much lesse vnto his brother than he ought for there sticketh alwaies in his mind some offense which although it burst not foorth yet his owne conscience is a sufficient witnesse vnto himselfe that his mind is not verie perfect and entire towards him by whome he hath béene hurt But the former exposition teacheth that the similitude is to be referred not vnto remission but vnto the liberalitie of GOD that euen as he hath giuen the one so also he will vouchsafe to giue the other But whereas it is said Forgiue and it shal be forgiuen that is a commandement and therefore it perteineth to the lawe But thou wilt obiect that this sentence was writen in the Gospell and not in the lawe That maketh no matter The lawe and the Gospell are not separated by
euen without them both they may haue their being and also may exercise their owne actions For they loue they desire they vnderstand euen without bodies 15 Now we must sée what they can doo Two sorts of power of the spirits Their power is of two sorts one in vnderstanding another in working But we will sée what is to be attributed vnto them in both kinds Of the knoledge which they haue That spirits doo knowe manie things we haue no doubt for after the opinion of Lactantius Tertullian Capella Looke In 1. Cor. 12 2. and Plato in his booke intituled Cratylus they be called Daemones quasi 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 à sciéndo that is of knowing Whether they know of things to come But peraduenture you will demand whether they also knowe things to come for the which things chéeflie their counsell is demanded I answere that things to come are not alwaies knowne after one maner First things to come are not knowne as things present but of God onelie for he within his compasse comprehendeth all the differences of times For as Paule saith All things are naked laid before his eies Heb. 4 14. Others doo not presentlie sée the effects of things but by reasons they gather of things to come and that manie waies For first they sée the causes of things and by them gather of the effects which shall afterward followe But of causes some are necessarie and some not necessarie of necessarie are such as be contained in the mathematikes and in the opposition or coniunction of the heauenlie spheres So doo men which be skilfull in the stars foretell manie yéeres before hand what time eclipses shall happen afterward Other causes sometime are not necessarie or certeine for their effects may be hindered and such are those which are called things seldome happening or things that may happen this waie or that waie So the mariner pronounceth of the tempest and the physician of the pulse 16 Then if there be such knowledge granted vnto man How the spirits knowe of things to come much rather must the same be granted vnto spirits For they are not let by the heauines and lumpe of the flesh as men be besides this continuance and experience is a furtherance vnto them For if that old men doo sée manie more things than yoong men doo The old age of spirits then is it credible that spirits which liue for euer doo knowe verie manie things and if they haue bodies proper and of their owne as some thinke they haue such as are nimble and readie The nimblenes of them so that in a verie short space they can flie to and fro ouer all places of the world and make relation what is doone euerie-where And for that cause Tertullian calleth them Tertullian Flieng spirits When they doo these things they may séeme to be prophets bicause they foreshew such things as are afterward declared vnto vs in writing And Augustine De ciuitate Dei saith Augustine that They foreshew these things that they might be accounted for prophets And in his booke De genesi ad litteram he reciteth an historie of a certeine man who as he saith would take meate at no mans hands but at the hands of a certeine préest and that whereas the préest dwelled far off about the space of fiue mile from him he was woont to tell before hand Now is he comming out of his house now is he onward in the waie now is he in the tauerne now is he come to the field now is he at the doore But Augustine denieth that this kind of foretelling is prophesie for if a troope of soldiers should come from some place A similitude the watchman from the top of a tower spieng them comming should declare that within short space they would be there he saith that he neuerthelesse cannot séeme to be a prophet Moreouer spirits may foretell those things which God commandeth them to doo Spirits may foretell things commanded them by God as oftentimes it happeneth for God dooth oftentimes command them to wast and destroie countries And as Dauid saith He destroied Egypt by euill angels So in Samuel Psal 78 49. 1. Sam. 28 verse 19. the diuell foretold that Saule the next daie after should die for he was then in the bondage and possession of the diuell Further when they sée that they haue a bound prescribed them they promise so they may haue some little gift giuen them that they will rage no longer Spirits of the aire An other reason is for that they be placed in the aire and from that region as out of a watch tower they perceiue the influences and euents of things much more easilie than we can They see the scriptures of the prophets Besides this also they sée the scriptures of the prophets and whatsoeuer is doone in the church and although otherwise they knowe manie things yet are they much better learned both by meanes of the scriptures and also for bicause they sée what is doone in the church Wherefore Paule vnto the Ephesians saith Ephe. 3 10. that The hidden mysterie of Christ is made manifest vnto principalities and powers in the heauenlie places And whereas Hermes Trismegistus foreshewed vnto Asclepius that there would be a fall and desolation of idols and lamented the same Augustine saith in his booke De ciuitate Dei that he might vnderstand that by the predictions of the holie prophets Manie times also doo they knowe for that they be present at the counsels of God and are called to execute his commandements For so when GOD was taking counsell to deceiue Achab the diuell stood foorth and promised that he would be A lieng spirit in the mouth of all the prophets of Achab 1. Kin. 22 22 and a certeine other spirit obtained of God to forment trouble Iob. And it is no maruell Iob. 2 6. for the diuell is the minister of God to doo execution Howbeit when they be thus called to the counsels of God they sée what he hath appointed to doo They gather the causes by the effects Oftentimes also by effects they gather the causes of things as if they sée a man liue well and godlie they suspect that he is a chosen of God for good déeds be the fruits and effects of election in like maner if they sée a man to frame himselfe well vnto religion and to knéele deuoutlie they thinke he praieth although they cannot descend into his mind 17 But although they can by so manie waies and meanes knowe things to come Why the spirits are oftentimes deceiued yet are they oftentimes deceiued and that for manie causes first bicause God can let the causes of things God can let the causes how certeine soeuer they be though they be neuer so certeine or necessarie When the children were cast into the burning fornace it was certeine that they should be burned but God did
heauen that some of them be an impediment to others but the will of God can not be hindred by anie violence In old time God ordeined the ceremonies of the Iewes God would once haue ceremonies and afterward he abrogated them afterward he would haue them to be abrogated How then Is not the prouidence of God mutable I answere that In God is altogether one and the selfe-same will but that he fore-sawe from the beginning what might agrée with the diuersitie of times Augustine to Marcellinus saith that A husbandman doth sometime sowe sometime reape and sometime compasse the soile yet we must not saie that the art of husbandrie is therefore mutable Vindicianus saith that A certeine physician ministred a medicine to a sicke man and healed him and that he manie yeares after falling into the same disease tooke the same medicine without the counsell of the physician but when he waxed woorse he came to the physician shewing him the matter and began to complaine of the medicine No maruell quoth Vindicianus then for I ministred not the same vnto thée Now when some men marueled thereat and were of opinion that he vsed some inchantment There is no such matter saith he for now is he of another age and hath other humors than he had when I gaue him that his medicine But shall not therefore the art of physick be like it self Euen so in anie wise God although he foresée all things yet he hath not decréed that all things should be done at one time Things comming by chance A distinction of necessitie Looke part 2. Art 22. chapter 2. and part 3. chap. 1. Art 49. 13 Now let vs come to chance If so be that the prouidence of God be so certeine whether can it admit anie casualtie Here will I first vse two distinctions and afterward I will answere There is one necessitie which is absolute and an other conditionall For when we saie that God is wise or iust we vnderstand that that is simplie and absolutelie necessarie There be other things necessarie by supposition as that which is commonlie canuassed in the schooles to wit that whatsoeuer is while it is is necessarie Christ and the prophets fore-shewed that the citie of Ierusalem should be ouerthrowne therefore of necessitie it shall be ouerthrowne not that this necessitie is in the nature of the citie but bicause Christ the prophets haue foretold it Matt. 24 1. who could not be deceiued Paule saith that There must needs be heresies 1. Cor. 11 verse 19. Matt. 18 7. Christ saith It is necessarie that offenses come For these causes being set downe namelie the corrupt natures of men the diuels hatred towards mankind the end being granted to wit that the elect shuld be tried it is necessarie by supposition that it should so com to passe Two sundrie respects of things Also things may be considered two maner of waies either as they be in act in that case they haue the nature of necessitie for they be no longer indefinite As to write or not to write is by chance but if thou be now in the act of writing it is no more chance but necessarie Wherfore we saie that the knowledge of the senses is certeine bicause the things themselues cannot otherwise be Or else things may be considered as they lie hidden in their causes but séeing causes may sometime bring foorth effects and sometimes not therefore there is no necessarie power of working in them But if those things be referred vnto God the reason is far otherwise Rom. 4 17. For he calleth those things which be not as though they were for he comprehendeth all time and hath neither beginning nor ending All things also which are to come for euer hereafter are notwithstanding present vnto him Here also commeth in the will of God for we must not ascribe vnto him a bare knowledge but such as is effectuall or actuall And by this meanes I saie that the verie things themselues are to be considered as necessarie Augustine In genesi ad literam the sixt booke chapter 15. There be manie waies whereby man and other things might haue béene made by God and those meanes had some possibilitie and no necessitie but this is by the will of God In what respect things be of necessitie and in what respect contingent whose will is the necessitie of things And though such things being referred vnto God be necessarie yet of vs they must be weighed according to their inward and proper causes and so be called things contingent or that come by chance For it is of no necessitie that such as the efficient cause is such also should be the effect 14 If thou demand Why in nature some things be necessarie and other some contingent Whie these two kinds of causes be in the nature of things so as some be limited and necessarie others indefinit and contingent Nothing else can be answered but that God hath laid these conditions vpon all things God bringeth foorth all things and he limiteth and boundeth all things but yet so as he neither confoundeth nor destroieth the nature of things Boëtius in his Topiks saith that Destinie is so called of drawing to and giuing place fitlie for God draweth all things but yet after a sort so giueth place as he disturbeth nothing Euen so things although in their owne nature they incline indifferentlie on both parts yet by God they are made to incline more to one side than to another The will of Saule God maketh things of equall weight to incline on the one side 1. Sam. 9. 16. of his owne nature was no more determined to go than to tarrie but when God would send him vnto Samuel that will began to incline to the one part And therefore God put into his mind the will of his father and brought to passe that the same should effectuallie mooue and persuade his mind and that all other desires of rest and ease if anie were that might haue reteined him at home should be subdued Wherfore it came to passe that the will of Saule obeied the prouidence of God But yet in the meane time the nature of the thing was not violated but that the will of Saule was alike frée vnto either part Hereby it appéereth how necessarie the grace of God is vnto vs. For our owne will as it is all manner of waies corrupted turneth all things to the worser part Also there be manie things which doo dull and blind our vnderstanding that the will cannot easilie followe God therefore propoundeth good vnto our vnderstanding afterward he kindleth faith stirreth vp the will that we doo will the same effectuallie 15 But thou wilt saie How it can be said contingent when it is determined by God Why is anie thing said to be contingent séeing God hath alreadie determined of the one part and so it is made a thing of necessitie I answere Euerie thing of his owne
great euils but also hearing them reported of from all parts of the world yet doo they not praie vnto God neither are they therewith anie thing touched in mind 11 But perhaps some man will saie that fastings bicause they be partlie Iewish and partlie Heathenish may séeme to be farre from our purpose Fastings commended in the new testament verse 2. But that it is not so it may easilie be prooued by the new testament In the Acts of the apostles the 13. chapter the church being admonished by an oracle that Paule and Barnabas should be chosen to visit the cities townes where the Gospell had béene preached first decréed a fast then did laie their hands vpon them verse 23. And in the 14. chapter when they returned home after the accomplishment of their busines in Iconium Lystria and Antiochia they ordeined a fast and created ministers and elders in euerie citie Augustine Augustine in his epistle to Cassulanus saith that When Peter was to talke with Simon Magus at Rome vpon the saturdaie the church of Rome vpon the sabboth daie proclaimed a fast which custome was alwaies afterward reteined Ierom. Ierom in his prolog vpon Matthew saith that Iohn being desired of the churches to write the Gospell against Ebion and Cerinthus who denied the diuine nature of Christ answered that he would doo it if the whole church would first proclaime a publike fast which also Eusebius in his Ecclesiasticall historie dooth testifie Eusebius Paule in like maner in the first epistle to the Corinthians verse 5. the seuenth chapter admonisheth those that are ioined togither in matrimonie not to defraud one another but with consent to giue themselues to fasting and praier In which place I thinke he meaneth publike praiers and also publike fast for fellowship of marriage nothing letteth but that they may be priuatelie vsed But whether he ment publike fasts or priuate it forceth not greatlie Moreouer Christ being asked of his apostles Why they could not heale the dumbe and cast out the diuell He answered Matt. 17 19. Bicause of your vnbeleefe and he added This kind of diuels is cast out onelie by fasting and praier That place is somewhat darke and therefore it shall not be vnprofitable bréeflie to expound it Is it to be thought that by the merit of fasting and praiers diuels are woont to be cast out as they vse to speake for the worke sake it selfe that is wrought Not so What then signified those words of Christ First he said Bicause of your vnbeleefe for if ye had faith as the graine of mustard seed and should saie vnto this mountaine Take vp thy selfe and cast thy selfe into the sea it should obeie you And togither with faith is necessarie a vehement and feruent praier and also fasting bicause a fixed earnest praier not onlie draweth the mind from meat drinke but also from all other humane pleasures and cogitations Wherefore Christ by the effects describeth the cause namelie faith by praiers and fasting And he speaketh of those diuels to whom God gaue a little of their will as though hée should haue said Ye must not liue easilie or idelie if ye will cast out this kind of diuels ye must haue a sure and strong faith which thing he expressed by the effects I meane by praiers and fastings 12 By these reasons testimonies fastings are also commended in the new testament But in them we must beware of faults which verie oftentimes doo happen therein both manie and gréeuous First The faults which are to be auoided in fasting bicause in Poperie are obserued fasts vpon certeine appointed daies without consideration of persons or occasions as a yéerelie ceremonie which at this daie as though it were Iewish is of little force Moreouer euerie man hath added and heaped vp of his owne whatsoeuer pleased him Fastings are brought in without measure and not that which the calamities of times and the more feruenter praiers would require For one brought in seuentie daies fast another sixtie daies fast another fiftie daies fast another fortie daies fast another brought in rogation daies another the ember daies another the éeues of the apostles another brought fridaies fast another saturdaies and another The multitude of fastings haue brought in questions and contentions fasting vpon the wednesdaie But of so manie fasts what profit hath there followed at the length Forsooth a great manie of questions and contentions for a man will scarselie beléeue how manie questions of fastings haue béene euen among the fathers Augustine vnto Cassulanus writeth that We ought therfore to fast vpon wednesdaie bicause Christ was sold vpon that daie and on the fridaie bicause he was that daie crucified But on the saturdaie he much doubted For they of Milane and of the East part affirmed that vpon that daie we should not fast bicause Christ that daie was at rest in the sepulchre Contrariewise the Romans and Affricans and certeine other doo earnestlie affirme that bicause Christ was so debased as to lie in a sepulchre therefore the saturdaie should be fasted Monica the mother of Augustine The mother of Augustine when she came out of Affrike vnto Milane and sawe that the men there fasted not vpon saturdaie began to maruell at the vnaccustomed maner Wherefore Augustine which was not yet baptised came to Ambrose and asked on his mothers behalfe what was best to be doone Doo saith Ambrose that which I doo Ambroses answer to Augustine By which words Augustine thought that he should not fast bicause Ambrose fasted not But what he ment he himselfe more manifestlie expressed I saith Ambrose when I come to Rome doo fast bicause the saturdaie is there fasted but when I returne vnto Milane bicause it is not here fasted I fast not De consecratione distinction 5. in the chapter De esu carnium It is decréed that fridaie and wednesdaie should be fasted saturdaie is left frée And in the same distinction in the chapter Sabbato vero Innocentius Innocentius hath added that the saturdaie must also be fasted But he alledgeth an other cause farre differing from that which we spake of before for séeing the apostles saith he were in great moorning and sorrowe as well on the fridaie as on the saturdaie therefore we must fast In the same distinction in the chapter Ieâ—unium Melchiades decréed that we must not fast on the sundaie nor yet on the thursdaie and he giueth a reason bicause the fasts of the christians ought to be on other daies than are the fastings of heretikes and Ethniks Epiphanius held that Christ ascended vpon a Wednesdaie Matt. 9 15. 13 Epiphanius bringeth a reason whie we should fast vpon wednesdaie namelie bicause Christ was that daie taken vp into heauen for it is written that when the bridegroome is taken from them then they shall fast And this he affirmeth to be the tradition of the apostles where as notwithstanding at this daie we
serue the lawe of God but in flesh the lawe of sinne Also the euents and successes are not in their owne power Gréeuous faults also doo happen betwéene whiles neither are they frée from sin Iohn saith Iohn 1 10. If we shall saie that we haue no sin we deceiue our selues and the truth is not in vs. Iames saith Iames 3 2. In manie things we sinne all But yet this is the difference betwéene the wieked and the regenerate that the wicked doo delight themselues in sinnes they sorrowe not naie rather they be occupied in them willinglie and of their owne accord But the regenerat doo lament sorrowe sigh moorne and perpetuallie crie Forgiue vs our trespasses And séeing they haue the first fruits of the spirit they wish that their last houre were come And thus much of free will Of Prouidence and Predestination THe doctrine of prouidence and predestination is most profitable for in it is shewed the fountaine of our saluation And therfore it coms that we attribute all our goodnes not to our owne selues but to the administration and dispensation of God and in the reprobate we may sée what might also haue béene doone iustlie to vs vnlesse that the mercie of God by his predestination had preuented By this faith that we are predestinate we receiue great comfort in aduersities From hence reasoned Saint Paule to the Romans We haue also out of this ground a certeintie of our saluation which if it depended of most inconstant frée will and not of the stedfast predestination of God should be vncerteine The prouidence of God is his ordeined The definition of prouidence vnmooueable and perpetuall gouernement of all things and by the same especiallie he directeth all things that he hath made vnto their proper ends And therefore it is not a bare vnderstanding but there is also a will added therevnto the which doth direct all things according to the pleasure thereof This power cannot be separated from God For he disposeth kingdoms at his owne pleasure All the heares of our heads are numbered Dani. 2 21. Mat. 10 30. Ibid. 29. Exod. 21 13 Deut. 19 5. Two sparowes light not vpon the ground without the will of the father He that is slaine by chance it is said that God deliuered him into the hand of another Esai 10 5. Princes are in his hand as a staffe and a sawe He beareth vp all things by the word of his power Vnto the Hebrues and Ephesians He worketh all things according to the counsell of his will Therefore the holie Ghost saith Psal 37 5. Cast thy care vpon God and he will support or nourish thee Peter He careth for vs. 1. Pet. 5 7. Zach. 2 18. He that toucheth you toucheth the apple of mine eie This is a great comfort of the godlie that they knowe themselues to be in the hand of God Let the wicked doo what they will they can doo nothing but according to the prouidence of God Acts. 4 27. like as Peter saith in the Acts Herod and Pilate agreed to doo those things that thy hand and thy counsell had decreed to doo And Iob said Iob. 1 21. The Lord hath giuen and the Lord hath taken awaie Those things which séeme to happen by chance are gouerned by prouidence Gen. 45 8. Ioseph said GOD sent me before into Aegypt God saith that he sent Saule to Samuel 2. Sam. 9 16 although it might séeme that he came thither by chance And Christ saith There shall a man meet you bearing a pitcher of water Mark 14 13 The largenesse of this prouidence is declared Psal 139 7. If I shall ascend into heauen thou art there If I shall go downe into hell thou art there also if I take the wings of the morning c. The decrées of this prouidence are immutable Malac. 3 6. I am the Lord and am not changed With God there is no variablenesse Iames. 1 17. Esai 46 10. nor shadowe of change The counsell of the Lord abideth stedfast The prouidence of God dooth not take awaie mans election neither yet dooth it take awaie chance bicause things are to be estéemed according to the nature of the néerest causes Therfore séeing it is nothing repugnant to the will and the order of nature that they be doone as well one waie as another waie the causes may be called contingent in respect of mens choises and the effects of nature Further the prouidence of God dooth not gouerne things but according to their owne natures Wherefore he so gouerneth causes contingent and voluntarie that they may worke both by chance and by will But if the things themselues be referred vnto God there is onelie a necessitie by supposition as there is a necessitie of prophesieng things to come Luke 22 27 and 24 36. It behooued that the scriptures should be fulfilled and it behooued that Christ should haue suffered Howbeit in prouidence there is a greater power than in foretelling of things to come for prophesies worke not vpon creatures as the prouidence of GOD dooth although neither dooth the same violate the natures and properties of the second causes As touching the prouidence of God things are definite or certeine from euerlasting for to him all things are numbered but in our will and mind they be not definite Wherefore yet as touching vs they may be called both voluntarie and contingent although as touching God nothing is by chance or fortune God saith in Esaie Esaie 55 11 Ephe. 1 11. All things that I will I doo c. Paule He worketh all things according to the purpose of his owne will Séeing the prouidence of God is in this wise there is place left for counsels and admonitions and deliberations and corrections sith it hath decréed by these meanes to atteine vnto the ends which it prescribed As when it hath determined to change some euill will it decréeth by these meanes to conuert the same Wherfore these meanes be the instruments of God Predestination is as a certeine part of the prouidence of God Of predestination for the same is the strength and power of God whereby he appointeth men A definition of predestination and directeth them to the obteining of eternall life through Iesus Christ By predestination the natures of things are not changed as touching necessitie contingencie and deliberations as it hath beene spoken of prouidence Albeit that all things are present vnto the foreknowledge and eternitie of God yet the creatures which haue had a beginning are not coeternall with God so as they may be togither with his eternitie Therefore Paule saith Ephes 1 4. that We were chosen before the foundation of the world was laid And of Iacob and Esau it is said Before they had doone either good or euill Rom. 9 11. Iacob haue I loued but Esau haue I hated They which affirme that with God things are not appointed but in respect of
bodie 2 605 b What Earth that is which ought to be worshipped 4 177 b Howe Heauen and Earth shall passe away 3 395 b 396 a What is signified vnto vs vnder the name of Heauen Earth 1 110 b Of an Earth of Iron prophesied by Moses and when the same came to passe 2 251 b Easter Of the feast of Easter celebrated among the Iewes 2 376 a Offenders then released 4 263 b What the Canons decree touching the keeping therof 4 55 b Dissension about the keeping of Easter 3 255 a 4 50 a Of watching in Easter night 3 256 b Traditions touching that feast 3 45 ab Obserued in England 4 5 a Eate What Scotus thinketh it is to Fate and how he concludeth that Angels doe eate indeede 1 118 a Of two kindes of Eating the one of power the other of necessitie and which of them is proper to Spirits 1 88 ab Eclipse Of the Eclipse of the Sunne at Christs death and what Dionysius saith of the same 1 79 b Ed. Education Godlie Education may happen vnto bastards example of Adeodatus the sonne of Augustine 2 238 a The daunger of euill Education of children 4 16 a What the diuersitie of Education and bringing vp is able to doe 1 57 a Eff. Effects Effects which in no case can followe of naturall causes 1 79 b Whether they bee necessarie or contingent 1 175 b Whether contrarie may rise of one and the same cause 3 289 b Excellent cannot but proceed of noble causes as howe 1 156 b Noble causes may sometimes bring foorth vile as howe â—1 156 b Betweene causes and them there is a circuite and howe 2 578 a Some be hidden in their causes 3 40 b 41 a Efficient causes working vpon things couer to bring forth Effects like to themselues in nature as howe 1 176 b The coniunction of causes and Effects is hard to change 4 330 a ¶ Looke Causes El. Elders The office of Elders in the Church 4 8 a Two sortes of them in the Church 4 8 b Elect. The Elect by meanes of their corruptioÌ„ are inuited vnto Christ 2 232 b ¶ Looke Faithfull Election Gods Loue Election and Predestination ioyned together 3 9 a It dependeth not of workes foreseène 3 14 b 18. all 19 b 20 a What things make it certaine 3 48 a It cannot bee deceiued 4 117 b The reasons thereof are vnsearchable reade 3 21 b Wee are willed to giue thankes for the same 3 3 b Why it is extended but to a few 3 21 a Temporall eternall 3 1 b Election of Saul king of Israel doone by lots 1 59 a 60 b 61 a Of Matthias the Apostle 1 60 b Elections The Elections of God are sundrie reade howe 3 1 b ¶ Looke Vocation Elements Elementes are contrarie and that they perish 1 80 b Whethey shall continue alwaies vnappaired 3 397 ab Their nature briefelie described 1 181 b 182 a Elie the Priest Elie is blamed for being so milde vnto his children 2 378 a ¶ Looke Parents Elias the Prophet Of Elias his comming 3 382 b 383 ab 384 b Whether he were pâ—esent with Christ vpon Mount Thabor 3 385 a Whether Enoch and he bee dead 3 380 ab 381 a Of the likenesse betweene him and Iohn Baptist 3 384 b Whether Iohn Baptist were hee who was saide should first come 3 383 ab Howe Enoch and he are sent in these dayes 3 382 b To what ende Enoch and hee were caught vp 3 381 ab Whither he was caught vp 3 371a 378 b 372 b 373 a 370. Opinions touching his returne 3 382 ab Whether hee did well in killing the Baalites 2 386 ab c. 388 a 389 a He defended the dignitie of his office 4 319 b 320 a Whether he remained in the aer 3 371 b Elizeus Elizeus called for a Musician to the ende hee might recouer his right minde 1 22 b He gaue not Naaman libertie to goe to idols as the Papists say he did 2 319 a Howe his bones did prophesie 1 22 b Eloquence A definition of Eloquence out of Augustine 4 27 a The gift of God and vsed of the holy Ghost 3 281 ab Whether it be meete for the Gospell 4 26 b A caueat concerning the same 4 28 a The Eloquence of Paul 4 27 a Em. Ember dayes Why the Ember dayes were inuented 3 251 b ¶ Looke fast and Lent Empusae Of the Empusae which were a kinde of diuelish delusions 1 89 b 90 a ¶ Looke Spirites Emulation Of Emulation what it is and whereof it springeth 2 417 a It hath hope ioyned with it 2 417 b Reckoned among laudable affectes 2 417 b betwixt wooers 2 417 b In things good bad and how it degenerateth into enuie 2 417 b En. End The definition of this worde End out of Aristotle 1 5 a The End of celestiall bodies 1 6 a Of fortitude 1 2 a Of prophesie 1 28 b Of temperancie 1 1 b Of Philosophie Christian godlinesse 1 17 a Of wisedome 1 1 b Of iustice 1 1 b Of good men and of vertues 1 381 b Of good and euill things and what the same is 1 1a 2 a Of humane things manifold 1 4 a In what sense and how diuersely this word End is taken 1 5 a The etymologie of the word 1 5 a Of the End of the first table of the lawe that it is nobler than the second and why 1 8b What End is to be preferred before other endes 2 574a Euerie thing requireth his owne proper End 1 2 b Of what thing riches are the End according to Aristotle 1 5 a How Artes are in power to attaine or not to attaine their End 1 3 a The holy scriptures decree and appoint that there is a principall End whereto men direct all their actions 1 6 b Some certaine End set before all humane things and why 1 2 b How it is prooued that one End is better than another 1 4 a There is the End where the motion and action is finished as how 1 2 b 3 a Whether the End of Phisicke be health 1 7 a Whether that which is ordained to an End be baser than the end 1 5 b The reason why the principall End is to be sought for according to Aristotle 1 9a Why some haue thought good and End to be all one 1 2b It cannot be that there shoulde be some certaine End of al things and why 1 2 b He that would an End seemeth to will those things which serue vnto the ende and is concluded thereby 1 179 ab Of the chiefe End and principal gard of this life 1 5 b Of the most excellent End of maÌ„ in the life to come 1 5 b ¶ Looke Cheefe Good and Felicitie Endes The excellencie of Endes and faculties is as well towards the one as the other 1 8a What order the Endes of Christian actions haue 1 8 b Diuersitie of Endes in humane things and some more excellent than others
there alwayes happeneth some errors as howe 2 242 b God doeth gouerne it and after what sort hee gouerneth the same 1 184 b Creatures suffer punishment together with vs when wee Sinne. 2 250 b Howe the reuenge of Adams Sinne in vs must bee vnderstoode 2 234 ab Howe amplie the word Sinne is to betaken 2 241 b The soule is created without Sinne and howe it becommeth sinfull 2 246 a Voluntarie if wee speake of actuall sinne but not voluntarie if we speake of originall sinne 1 198 a The nature of Sinne is to bée founde in concupiscence prooued against Pighius 2 220 b Whether Christ in remoouing thereof remooued death 3 315 a It remooueth vs from the sight of God and howe miserable wee are become thereby 1 32a Sinne taketh place in the minde onely 1 180 b Against thrée seuerall opinions of men mainteining God to be the author of Sinne. 1 180 ab Whether the first parentes were deade streight way after it 3 325 a God properlie and by himselfe is not the cause thereof prooued at large by P. Martyr 1 181 a Whether he that is guiltie of one is guiltie of all 2 555 ab Diuers definitions therof 2 570 b It maie bee euen where notable vertues be 2 555 ab Whether before it the woman were subiect to the man 2 379a Howe Sinne armed our seruants against vs. 1 â—24 b Who be solde vnder it 2 565 a Howe manifold it is which is knowne by the law 2 575 b One excelleth another 2 555 a Argumentes or reasons to the number of 27. proouing God to be the author thereof 1 178 ab 179 ab 180 a What it is 2 576 a Augustines definition thereof is doubtfull 2 570 b Whether that of Adam or Eue was the gréeuouser 2 490 a 493 ab By what name the Angels that are sent to punish Sinne are called 1 120 b 121 a What remaineth thereof when it is past 3 205 b The knowledge thereof is of two sorts 2 575 b How that which is Sinne becommeth no sinne 2 475 a Sinne distinguished one of necessitie the other of plentie 3 295 b That which is onely sinne and that which is both sinne and the punishment of sinne 2 273 a The degrées thereof from the originall to the fulnesse of the same 2 363 b Remissible two wayes to be vnderstoode 2 272 ab Why it is said to be a punishment 2 273 b Of a kind thereof which though it be doone by compulsion yet it is voluntarie 2 323 a Whether it be lawfull to commit a lesse for the auoyding of a greater 305 b 306 ab It is a priuation or want of that good thing which the law prescribeth 2 271 b Why God requireth of men that they should bée vtterly without it 3 55 a Whether Paul was without it as his spéeches import 3 54 b Christ died not altogether without it 3 42 b 43 a Euen the holiest are subiect vnto Sinne. 3 55 a Who are to be reputed without it and howe 3 77 b 78 b Whether God was the cause thereof in Adam 3 26 a Ierom against Manicheus who saide that we therefore cannot resist it for that we were by nature created euill by an euill God 2 274 a Necessitie taketh not away the nature of it 3 21 b Remissible and irremissible 2 272 a An examination of this definition that it is whatsoeuer withstandeth the lawe of God 2 271 b The horriblenesse thereof set open 2 619 b The proper cause of Sinne is inward to wit the naughtie will of men 1 181 a It is the cause of death where note contrarie opinions confuted 2 246 a 247 a What the first grounde thereof is 4 108 b It lyeth asléepe in infants saieth Augustine and whie 2 224 a By Adam as by the common roote and masse it entered 2 242 a The effects which followe it 3 203 a The diuell no perfect cause but an alluring or perswading cause thereof 1 184 b Howe by Sinne all thinges are subiect vnto vanitie a notable place 2 247 b 248 a Of the guiltinesse thereof or bonde vnto punishment 1 188a God is not the proper cause but the remooâ—ing or prohibiting cause of it and howe 1 181 a Whether that of Adam did any way depend of Gods will 1 204 ab An obiection that if God be not the cause thereof then he is not the cause of althings 3 198 a Why God taketh not away Sinne since he hateth it an excellent place taught by similitudes 1 191 b Howe it is drawen from the nature of the seconde causes 1 189 b It is no imperfection in God that hée cannot make it and why he cannot make it 1 190 ab The proper and true causes thereof particularly what they be 1 190 b Of the subiect whereunto the deformitie of it doth cleane 1 188 ab Thrée considerations touching the proposition that it dependeth on God 1 188 a How God may be saide to be the deficient cause thereof 1 187 a An error that it is no sinne vnlesse it be voluntarie 2 213 b 214 a The Sinne against the sacraments pertaineth to the first Table 2 332 a A reason why man cannot choose but Sinne. 2 254 b Whatsoeuer wanteth his due perfection is Sinne. 265 b Death hath no right where there is no Sinne. 2 217 a The Sinne of imitation cannot be doone away by baptisme 2 216 a It is onely Sinne whereby we resist God and howe generall it is 2 607 b Inclination to Sinne and not actuall sinne onely sufficeth to damnation prooued by a similitude 2 218. Examples of occasions of committing Sinne 1 185 a Why the flesh of Christ is called Sinne. 2 227 b Howe God offereth occasions of Sinne. 1 184 b 185 a An oblation for Sinne is called sinne 2 609 a The Pelagians say that they ought not to be counted Sinne which cannot be auoided confuted 2 239 ab No efficient but deficient causes of Sinne and what they be 1 184 ab A kinde of ignorance in infants counted Sinne by Retiâ—ius an olde Bishop 2 225 ab The error of the Libertines that God doth all things in vs and therefore Sinne is nothing 1 211 a Good things vnto the wicked are occasions of committing Sinne prooued 1 185 a How these words that nothing is to be counted Sinne which dependeth not of election 2 2â—6 ab A verie harde opinion that God shoulde contaminate with Sinne a soule which as yet pertained not to Adam 2 245 b 246 a The Sinne of imitation cannot be done away by baptisme 2 216 a An answere to a false reason that because children haue no actual Sin therefore they haue no sinne 2 239 239 a How Paul meaneth that euerie Sinne is without the bodie 2 469 b 470 a Iosua punished the children for the fathers Sinne contrarie to the common lawe 2 235 b Sinne and death are compared together as the cause and the effect 2 244a Augustines sentence that euerie Sinne is the
brought vs doth reteine vs in the same VVhich method we hauing followed haue distributed all these places into foure parts A PARTICVLAR METHOD OF THE FIRST PART ALbeit that the knowledge of God is naturallie ingraffed in the minds of all men and is also made the more manifest by the things created yet such is the corrupt nature of men as it shortlie vanisheth awaie vnlesse we acknowledge God such as he is in the holie scriptures and doo auoid all illusions and sleights of Satan And in the scriptures besides diuers praises of God first he must be considered in Trinitie and vnitie and secondlie as he created heauen and earth and moderateth all things by his prouidence Wherefore in this first part we haue set downe those places which perteine to the setting foorth of these principall points THE CHAPTERS AND COMMON PLACES OF THE FIRST PART chapter I OF the ends of good and euill among the Christians pag. 1. chapter II Of the naturall knowledge of God by his creatures pag. 10. Whether there be anie yet that knowe not God and after what sort they be inexcusable pag. 13. chapter III Of prophesie and of the name causes definition and effects thereof pag. 17. Of prophets and the difference of them of the meanes to discerne the true from the false and whether and how far foorth there be prophets at this daie pag. 19. chapter IIII Of visions how and how much God may be knowne of men as well in this life as in the life to come pag. 24. What maner of visions the fathers had and whether God or onelie angels appeared vnto them pag. 25. chapter V Of dreames and of the causes and effects of them pag. 32. chapter VI Of the holie scriptures and of the dignitie and profit of them and of the means how to vnderstand them pag. 39. An exhortation to the reading of the holie scriptures pag. 44. Of historie pag. 48. chapter VII * Whether yong and incontinent men c. should be excluded from hearing of the word of God pag. 52. chapter VIII Of lots and of Vrim and Thumim pag. 58. chapter IX Of miracles and the definition and difference of them pag. 62. Whether it be lawfull for the godlie to desire miracles and whie there be none in this our age pag. 69. chapter X Whether it was Samuel or the diuell that appeared vnto Saule pag. 72. Of the nature knowledge power apparitions and answers of diuels pag. 77. Whether and how far diuels do knowe things to come pag. 81. Whether they knowe mens thoughts pag. 83. Of the power of diuels and of their strength in dooing of things pag. 85. What bodies they assume to themselues pag. 87. Of the illusions called Lamiae Empusae and such like pag. 89. Whether it be lawfull to take counsell of the diuell and to vse his helpe pag. 90. Whether we may vse inchantments to take awaie mischeefes pag. 91. chapter XI Of a good intent zeale prescription and custome pag. 92. The meanes to knowe which is a good zeale and which is a bad pag. 94. chapter XII Of the name of Iehouah and of sundrie attributes of God pag. 99. Of the holie Trinitie pag. 100. That Christ being God is eternall 101. That the holie Ghost is one God with the Father and the Sonne pag. 103. How much the remembrance of wrath and the affect of repentance is attributed vnto God pag. 109. chapter XIII Of the creation of all things pag. 110. Of the creation of angels their sundrie names visions assuming of bodies office dignitie order and degrees pag. 111. Of man Pag. 121. Of the soule Ibidem Wherein consisteth the image of God pag. 123. Of paradise pag. 125. The long life of the fathers pag. 126. Of giants pag. 128. chapter XIIII * Of felicitie in generall pag. 132. * Of pleasure and wherein it may concur with the cheefest good pag. 134. Of honour pag. 141. * Of riches beautie nobilitie and such like pag. 145. * Of contemplation pag. 149. * That vertue is not the cheefe good pag. 176. * The causes of felicitie pag. 154. * Whether anie man can bee counted happie while he liueth here pag. 158. chapter XV Of the prouidence of God pag. 167. chapter XVI Whether God be the author of sinne pag. 176. Of three sorts of Gods working about his creatures pag. 181. Of the will signified and the will effectuall pag. 201. chapter XVII How it may be said that God dooth repent and dooth tempt pag. 206. How it may be said that the kingdome of Saule should be established for euer the same being before appointed to the tribe of Iuda pag. 208. A method of the Common places of the second Part. THe second Part comprehendeth the Common places which doo expresse the naturall corruption of all mankind by the fall of Adam the which corruption of humane nature is the more cleerelie discerned by opposing it to the iustice of God which is expressed in the lawe yet so neuerthelesse as by the acknowledging of sinnes we are brought to receiue the grace of God which was made manifest first to the fathers in the old testament and then when the time was come in the Gospell Afterward is set foorth vnto vs Christ the Messias who is the wel-spring and substance of all good things who all maner of waies fulfilled all the parts of our saluation THE CHAPTERS AND COMMON PLACES OF THE SECOND PART chapter I OF sinne especiallie originall and of the deprauing of the whole nature of man pag. 213. By what means the corruption thereof is deriued into the posteritie 231 239. That sinne is the cause of death 243. That by sinne all things are subiect to vanitie pag. 247. chapter II Of free will pag. 252. * Of voluntarie and not voluntarie 280. * Of mans election or making of choise pag. 293. chapter III Of the lawe pag. 297. Of philosophie the comparison therof especiallie morall with Diuinitie 300. Necessarie rules for the interpretation and keeping of the lawe pag. 304. chapter IIII The first precept where is intreated of idolatrie and sundrie kinds of idols 307. Whether it be lawfull for Christians to dwell among infidels pag. 309. Whether it be lawfull to haue teachers which beleue not in Christ pag. 311. Of the suffering of Iewes heretiks 328. What is to tempt God pag. 331. Of curiositie pag. 332. chapter V The second precept which concerneth images their beginning antiquitie and cause pag. 333. Whether it be lawful to expresse Christ the Angels and other creatures in images pag. 340. Whether it be lawfull to place images in churches pag. 351. Of Cherubim and Teraphim pag. 356. Of humane sacrifices pag. 359. Of the establishing of the second commandement whether the child shal beare the iniquitie of the father pag. 362. chapter VI The third precept of sanctification of the name of God and generallie of oths pag. 368. chapter VII The fourth precept of sanctifieng the sabboth daie pag. 374. Of other
and take care of them Vnto which end they are not sent to be lesse honourable than the people but that they should be obeied and honoured of them and yet in these rulers the end is Whervnto Howbeit if we haue regard wherfore these things be doon we will alwaies acknowledge that there is a more excellent end And by this distinction are dissolued the instances now alledged touching celestiall bodies the angels shepherds For these things though they be more woorthie than the end Whervnto yet not more woorthie than the end Wherefore For the shepherd is more woorthie than the shéepe but yet not woorthier than his owne selfe or than his lord if he be a hired seruant or than his familie or citie For he lookes to the shéepe either for his owne sake or else for his lord familie or cities sake In like maner doo the angels and celestiall bodies For they minister vnto vs not for our sake but partlie to please God and partlie to exercise their owne perfection But the worke when it is referred to the actions which went before and hath no further respect is the end Wherefore Whervpon the actions which went before are as Aristotle saith more vnwoorthie than it but if afterward a further end be regarded to wit the vse of the worke the same shal be more woorthie than the worke as we said before touching the habitation of an house when it is referred to the dwelling And the reason is bicause the dwelling is then the end Wherefore and the house the end Wherevnto 9 Also the holie scriptures doo decrée and appoint that there is a certaine principall end That the holie scriptures decree of a principall end wherevnto men direct all their actions wherevpon Salomon at the end of Ecclesiastes when he had in manie words treated first of ends according to the common sort of mens opinions speaking of the feare of God which in the Hebrue phrase signifieth true and sound godlines added And this toucheth all men Eccl. 12 13. bicause men are herevnto ordeined and made that they should worship and honor God And Dauid One thing haue I desired of the Lord Psal 27 4. this will I seeke for that I may dwel in the house of God And Christ saith This is life eternall Iohn 17 3. that they knowe thee to be the onlie verie God whom thou hast sent Iesus Christ But that séemes to be repugnant which Salomon said Eccles 1 2. All is most vaine and but plaine vanitie But this is not in respect it is the appointed end but bicause that men either knowe not the same or else refuse it and séeke for the chéef good else where Wherfore their desires haue an infinite scope neither doo they at anie time rest The vngodlie walke their circuit vers 9. Psal 12. And this is the difference betwéene vs and the Philosophers that they set foorth their end as it should be attained by their owne proper strength and industrie but we decree out of the holie scriptures that the chéefest good cannot be obteined vnlesse wée be holpen by the spirit and grace of Christ 10 Againe it is doubted when Aristotle saith bicause there be manie arts actions and knowledges there be manie ends also whether the proposition may be turned both waies If where there be many ends manie things be also referred vnto them namelie that wheresoeuer there shall be manie ends there be manie things also referred vnto the same ends We answere to the question that this is not of necessitie bicause nature hath oftentimes ordeined manie ends of one and the selfe same thing For example sake the toong is not onelie directed vnto spéech but vnto the relish of tasts also the téeth doo chawe and grind the meat and doo helpe the spéech And by the force of Logicke we not onelie confirme true things but we also confute false Wherefore since there be manie faculties and arts we will grant that there be manie ends and yet by the number of ends the number of things can not bée gathered Likewise we doubt Whether the end of physicke be health and of warfare victorie c. bicause Aristotle saith that the end of physicke is health of the art of war is victorie c. Against which opinion he him selfe writeth in the first booke of his Topicks the 2. chapter and Quintilian in his 2. booke and 12. chapter séeing the end of physicke is not health but to applie all things and to omit none of those things which may further vnto health And if that the sicke man either by the intemperance of his diet or by too much weaknes of nature or by the fierce and intollerable violence of his disease be not healed the physician swarueth not from the end of his art The like is to be said of an orator whose end is to speake all things which may serue to persuade to omit nothing that belongeth thervnto wherfore though he shall not be able to persuade yet if he haue a regard thervnto he doth not straie from his end The same may we saie of the gouernour of a house and of a chéefe captaine Howbeit in dissoluing of this question we are not to take anie great paine For Aristotle in bringing of examples sheweth the matter after somwhat a grosse maner and was not very carefull that examples should alwaies agrée in all points but alledged them as they are vsed of the common people Moreouer although that to heale to persuade and to ouercome doo not alwaies followe the actions of physicians rhetoritians and souldiers yet can it not be denied of anie man but that these faculties haue respect vnto these things indeuor as much as they can to attaine vnto them Lastlie bicause we are in hand with ends How a worke can be the end of an action when it is after the action there is a doubt how anie worke is the end of an action or of an art For if the thing be considered which is made by the artificer the same is the effect therfore not the cause For it behooueth that the cause be before the effect and nothing can be before it self Here doo some answere that the thing made is the end not in respect it is extant and now perfect but in that it was first comprehended in the artificers mind And a thing may be before it selfe in a sundrie respect for it is first pondered in the mind of the artificer before it be in act But I staie not my selfe with this answere for that same knowne forme which is conuersant in the mind of the artificer hath a respect of him that is the efficient thereof for as an obiect it mooueth his mind Besides this it is not the artificers desire to haue such a forme as he hath conceiued in his mind but would haue it to be expressed in the thing and directeth it therevnto as to the end Wherefore the outward thing
it selfe is the finall cause not in that it is extant or brought to passe but in that it hath a respect of good and that either the efficient partie or else his action is made perfect thereby I grant that these things ought first to be vnderstood and knowen of the efficient partie but I denie that these things haue the nature of an end in that they be formes and shapes conceiued in the mind but in respect of those things which they signifie and represent vnto the vnderstanding of the artificer 11 Moreouer Why manie ends are referred vnto one there be manie arts ioined togither vnto one and manie ends also vnto one certeine end that they may reach vnto that for the which man hath his béeing And it must bée vnderstood that as faculties are more excellent among them selues so are also their ends The examples of Aristotle are drawne from the art of those that make bits for horses and of other arts of trappers saddles for horses all which he affirmeth to be conteined vnder the facultie of riding of horses Also of the same art of riding of horses and of all other warlike actions as to ride to shoote to throwe a dart to weare shéelds there is one architectonicall or principall art Whervpon he saith that vnder the art of warre are conteined all these things and it is to be vnderstood that the same principall art or architectonicall facultie dooth command and prescribe vnto those inferior sorts which it hath vnder it and that the end thereof dooth gouerne the ends of them Why art is called power Aristotle in his booke of Ethicks calleth art power respecting saith Eustratius the matter For euen as the matter is power and by power is knowen euen so arts are in power to atteine or not to atteine their end A physician dooth sometime heale and sometime he looseth his labour an orator otherwhile persuadeth and otherwhile bringeth not this to passe Also they are in power vnto contraries as a physician both may heale and may also hurt the health an orator may persuade and dissuade a Logician may prooue and confute Againe Aristotle affirmeth that there is no difference betwéene the woorthines of faculties whether they haue worke for their end or whether they haue action For if a facultie should in that respect be counted more noble bicause after the act it would leaue a worke then would carpenters art be better than the art of ciuill profession whereas felicitie is ordeined to be the end of ciuill profession which felicitie is no worke but an action which would be most absurd since nothing can bée found better or more happie than felicitie And this also we shewed before neither is this doctrine weakened by that former distinction of ends that otherwhile some are actions and that other are sometime works But herein is a doubt that when Aristotle gathereth a worthines of euerie end by the noblenes of the facultie what kind of demonstration this is And we answere that it is of the effects or as they commonlie call it of that which followeth For in verie déede faculties doo drawe their excellencie and worthines from their ends That the excellencie of ends and faculties is aswell towards the one as the other Wherefore since they be made excellent by them to trie the excellencie of the ends by the worthines of the faculties is to procéede from the effects to the causes although this proposition is true which waie soeuer ye turne it For as we saie that the end of the better facultie is the better so likewise we may saie that it is the nobler facultie which shall haue the worthier end 12 Now since the matter is on this wise let vs sée how these things agrée with the holie scriptures Sundrie ends of christians in working First we will grant that a Christian man in working hath manie ends For sometimes he hath herevnto respect that he may call vpon God him selfe that he may celebrate his name that he may giue thanks and such like where he hath respect vnto God without anie meane But sometime he laboreth to restore himselfe and by vertues and excellent actions to recouer the image of God wherevnto he was created Sometimes also yea and that verie often he is occupied in the helping of other men either by his riches or by doctrine or by counsell Wherfore it is manifest that euen of a Christian life there be manie ends which ends neuertheles as we saie haue degrées and order among themselues But whereas Aristotle saith that where the worke remaineth after the act That the works of Christians are not better than the working thereof the worke it selfe is better than the working therof going before it séemes not to haue place in our ends if we speake vniuersallie For when a man being mooued with charitie shall cloth a poore man nourish heale and instruct him it is certeine that after the act he leaueth a worke behind namelie health nourishment or raiment or instruction in the poore man in which kind of works the action which goeth before namelie obedience towards God and the vse of charitie are farre more pleasing vnto God and more to be estéemed than the worke remaining after the act séeing that is transitorie and shall perish What order the ends of Christians haue But how in him that professeth himselfe a Christian the ends which be many may haue an order among themselues it may be perceiued in faith hope and charitie For as the faith is greater and God more knowen by it the more is charitie inflamed about the end thereof in such sort that the end and as they saie the obiect of faith dooth prescribe vnto charitie and so much as the confidence is towards God so much is the loue towards our neighbour Wherefore the end of charitie which is the good of our neighbour is thus conteined vnder the end of faith and so it causeth that the power of faith as touching this matter excelleth and is better than the power of charitie And thirdlie as the faith is firme and the charitie actiue so the hope is more constant and with a stronger patience and fortitude we expect the performance of Gods promises in how much we apprehend those things with a greater faith and haue more fruitfullie exercised our selues by charitie And so these thrée powers namelie faith hope and charitie should bée sufficient vnto that which we would shew But when the order of the table of the ten commandements is set before vs we may manifestlie in them declare the selfe-same thing For the first table hath respect vnto God without anie meane but the other is directed vnto our neighbour And wée must vnderstand that there is a greater dignitie of the first table and that the end thereof is more noble bicause it conteineth the other and hath them vnder it as it were the chéefe builder bicause the end of the latter table is ruled and gouerned
both sides aswell in excesse as in homelinesse 8 But thou wilt saie How good prophets are knowne from bad Looke after in the fift cha art 10. Also in the fourth part chapter 4 art 7. Deut. 13 1. and 18 21. Séeing there be some good prophets and some bad by what marke may the one sort be discerned from the other Forsooth not by garments and apparell of the bodie There be certeine other more sure tokens shewed vs in the scriptures God saith in Deuteronomie that these be two sure arguments of a good prophet The first if he leade not awaie the people to idolatrie and strange gods Secondlie if it certeinlie come to passe whatsoeuer he foresheweth The one of these which concerneth idolatrie Sometimes the predictions of true prophets happen not is vndoubted and certeine but of the second some doubt may be For sometimes the foreshewings of the true prophets haue not come to passe Esaie did prophesie that king Ezechias should die of that disease whereof he was sicke and Ionas said Esaie 38 1. Ionas 3 4. that within fortie daies the citie of Niniue should be destroied and yet neither of these things came to passe according to the prophesie Here the answere may be that those saiengs were not prophesies so much as they were threatnings and that the prophets did foresée those effects according to the causes and when the causes were changed it was no absurditie that the effects changed also In 1. Sam. 2 34 In 1. King 13 17. and in this booke part 4. ch 4. art 8. 1. Sam. 10 2 and therefore the prophets cannot be reproued as liars But that place of Deuteronomie is not to be vnderstood of threatnings but of other prophesies Such is that which Samuel foreshewed vnto Saule that he should méet two men by the waie and take of them loaues and that afterward with him should méet a companie of prophets Such also was that which Gedeon receiued as touching the drie and deawie fléece Iudg. 6 36. And such was that which was foretold to Marie Luke 1. namelie that hir cousin Elizabeth should conceiue Other tokens hath Chrysostome noted vpon the 12. chapter of the first Epistle to the Corinthians Chrysost vpon these words 1. Cor. 12. When ye were Gentiles ye were caried away to dumbe idols There he saith that the prophets of the idols had two certein tokens to be knowen by The diuels prophets fared like mad men For first when they were possessed with the euill spirit they were vexed with vndecent gestures as men rauished out of their wits Further they vnderstood not themselues whatsoeuer they said For the proofe whereof he alleageth the testimonie of Plato namelie that they spake goodlie things but vnderstood not themselues Iustinus Martyr Iustinus Martyr in the end of his sermon against the Gentiles saith that these words be in a dialogue of Plato Plato which he intituleth Menon the which Chrysostome writeth not of but he addeth two things which séeme repugnant one to the other The Sibyls For he praiseth the Sibyls as though they had spoken by the motion of the holie Ghost and as though their prophesies were certeine preparatiues to the reading of our prophets But he saith that their verses were corrupted by the writers and that when the vehemencie of their spirit was asswaged and they come to themselues againe hauing forgotten what they said could not correct them But that is not like to be true if they had béene stirred vp by the spirit of God First Chrysostome saith that the diuels préests were woont to be mooued with scarse honest gestures And he citeth an old poet The vnhonest gestures of the prophane poet wherein this is written Vnloose ye now the king for a mortall man can no longer conteine God within him Wherevnto that is like which is written by Virgil Dame Sibyll mumbling made and strugling strong withstood the charge If haplie so she might the gods enforsing shake from brest But he preuailing still with more and more hir spirit opprest Hir hart hir raging mouth he taming staid and fixed fast 9 Also the diuell dooth oftentimes driue his prophets to hang themselues Prisca and Maximilla hoong them selues as he did Prisca and Maximilla of whom we spake before In like maner the préests of Baal did bore themselues with small pikes And the French Sibyls did geld themselues And Chrysostome addeth as touching Pythia that she was woont to sit vpon a thréefooted stoole and to let in the diuell into hir by hir dishonest parts from thence to giue hir answers And it is no maruell for the diuell is a tyrant and maketh men to behaue themselues shamefullie so that they cannot tell what to doo or saie But the holie Ghost vseth his prophets after an other sort Naie rather will some saie God dooth also compell his prophets Whether God doth compell his prophets Exod. 3 11. Ionas 3 11. Ierem. 1 6. For Moses Ionas and Ieremie did first shun the office of prophesieng when it was offered them yet were they compelled against their wils to prophesie It is true that these holie men did first striue against it but afterward being persuaded by the holie Ghost they tooke vpon them the function For they were not so brought to the executing of Gods messages as though it had béene quite against their wils But the diuell compelleth and haleth his prophets by violence He maketh their toong to runne at randon he wresteth their eies and tosseth their whole bodie after a lothsome maner On the other side Whether the inspired of GOD knowe not what they saie Iohn 11 49. Daniel 2 1. Gen. 41 1. one may saie that Caiphas foretold vnwares he wist not what bicause he was the high préest for that yere And that Nabuchadnezar and Pharao foreshewed by their dreames such things as themselues vnderstood not I answere that those were no full prophesies but onlie vnperfect For in the definition we said that a prophet must be able both to vnderstand and expound his prophesies for they be giuen for the vse of the church which vse is not at all vnlesse there be vnderstanding Thirdly thou wilt saie also Whether they know not what they doo 1. Sam. 19 verse 23. Read part 1 Cap 4. Art 16. Mans flesh is terified at the presence of God Dan. 10 8. Apoc. 1 17. Matth. 17 6. Num. 24 16. that Saule laie naked a whole daie and a whole night I answere that the flesh of man is terrified and weakened at the presence of the Godhead yet that the holie Ghost dooth neither corrupt nature nor yet disfigure the bodie of man In déed all the strength and power of man dooth faile and is weakened at so great a maiestie For so did Daniel so did Iohn in his reuelation fall prostrate to the earth And so did Peter Iohn Iames being astonished at the transfiguration of Christ fall downe
fragrant and such as resemble the common purenes and vsuall forme or face of things Neither are these things neglected of the physicians For euen they themselues as Hippocrates and Galen report doo verie diligentlie examine their patients touching them bicause thereby they can find out the temperature of those humors which lie hidden within the bodie But the cause why men doo perceiue the nature of these motions by vision when they are asléepe and not waking is this for that they are alwaies but small and the sense of them vanisheth as soone as we awake For outward things which are still in our eies drawe vs to stronger motions another waies but being quiet from outward busines we surcease and are frée from the grosser things which occupied our senses Wherefore our phantasie dooth apprehend those sights and likenesses of things Likenesses are rather perceiued in sleepe than waking which humors alwaies raise in vs rather while we are asléepe than when we are waking And that we perceiue small things far better when we be asléepe than when we be awake it appéereth hereby in that we iudge euerie smal noise to be great thunders And if there happen but a little swéet flegme to remaine vpon the toong or roofe of the mouth we thinke that wée taste either honie or sugar or swéet wine or some daintie meates and sometime that wée eate and drinke verie liberallie Wherefore those that be but small motions of humors doo appéere in the time of sléepe to be excéeding great For which cause the physicians may hereby knowe the beginnings and occasions of verie manie diseases Dreames also are certeine signes of the affections of the mind as of desires hope ioie Dreames be signes of the affections of the mind and mirth and also of perfect qualities Wherefore fearfull men doo sée other maner of things than men of courage couetous men other things than they which be in hope also the learned are woont to haue far other maner of dreames than the countrie man or crafts-man hath For euen when we sléepe the mind is occupied about those things which we are continuallie or commonlie dooing There is also another thing to be considered as we are well admonished by Galen Galen that there be certeine kinds of meats which being naturallie cholerike flegmatike or melancholike doo by reason of their qualitie stir vp about the phantasie of men in their sléepe The qualitie of meate and drinke dooth alter the similitudes of dreames as it were shapes and similitudes of things agréeable to those humors although the temperature of the bodies of such doo not of it selfe offend by those humors Which thing also a physician must obserue in dreames namelie to sée what maner of meate the sicke man vsed Yea and wine as teacheth Aristotle being immoderatelie taken dooth in the time of sléepe make manie deformed shapes of things When a dreame is a signe it is referred to the cause namely to those superfluous humors which it betokeneth And then it may also be called a signe of some euent to followe for that from the selfe-same cause that is from the humors which are betokened either health or sicknes may bée deriued Wherefore a dreame as it is a signe of the humor so it giueth also a token of the effect that shall arise of it For of the same cause to wit of the humor ariseth as well the disease as the dreame But yet haue they not relation semblablie one of another For sicknes or health be no tokens of dreames 3 But now let vs sée how dreames may somtimes be called causes that happeneth Dreames are sometimes the causes of those things that we do when one is mooued by a dreame either to doo or to make triall of anie thing As when one is cured of the splene bicause he bled vpon the back of his hand for so he was taught to doo in his dreame And somtimes it comes to passe in learned men that they find out those things which they be in doubt of in such bookes where they sawe themselues in their dreame both to find and to read them But let vs consider the third part of the distinction which we brought Somtimes dreames happilie betoken those things which com to passe namelie when dreames doo happilie or by chance betoken things which afterward fall out That takes place in such matters the cause whereof consisteth not in our selues but is rather distant far remooued As if we should sée a victorie or an ouerthrowe giuen in a campe a great waie off from him or else one that is absent to be aduanced to excéeding great honour These things are ioined togither as the Peripateticks saie by chance and cannot be compared togither either as causes or as signes Euen as when we talke of anie man if happilie the same partie come in the meane while we saie Lupus in fabula The woolfe is in presence And yet the talking with him was neither cause nor token of his comming So therefore these things are said to be ioined by chance and also seldome haue successe For this is the nature of things that come by chance to happen but seldome Who do naturallie for the moste part see true dreames 4 Moreouer Aristotle hath taught who they be that before others knowe manie things aforehand by dreames and this he ascribeth chéeflie vnto such as are idle and full of words next to melancholike and phrentike persons alienated both from their mind and senses Somewhat also he séemeth to grant vnto kinsfolke and fréends For these kinds of men dreame verie much in their sléepe Pratlers in verie déed and idle persons be altogither in their muses whereby they are fraughted inwardly with phantasies and visions And those which are troubled much with melancholie doo by reason of the strength nature of that humor dreame of verie manie things and moreouer are woont to be much giuen to priuate cogitations The phrentike sort also bicause their mind is void both of the knowledge of the outward senses and eke of the vse of reason therefore they be wholie giuen vp to idle imaginations Lastlie fréends doo therfore in their dreames sée manie things of their fréends bicause they be full of thought and care for them All these now rehearsed are woont to foretell sundrie things by their dreames bicause in such a diuers and in a maner infinite sort of dreames and visions it is not possible but that some things should otherwhile happen true A similitude They that exercise themselues all daie long in shooting oftener hit the marke than others which doo shoote but now and then and they which spend the whole daie in plaieng at tables or dice cast manie more happie chances than they which seldome or little sport themselues in that kind of pastime But it is to be vnderstood that those signes The necessitie of effects must not be gathered of dreames which be signes A similitude which be
attributed vnto dreames as touching the first sort alreadie declared are not of necessitie bicause they may be hindered and yet this prooueth not but that they may be signes For this also commeth to passe in the clouds which vndoubtedlie be tokens of raine when as neuertheles they be sometime scattered with the wind before it raine Also vrine hath tokens both of sicknes and health when as yet the effect may be hindred by more vehement causes And the same likewise happeneth in the pulses Yea euen the counsels which we haue purposed and determined of with great deliberation are oftentimes staied bicause of things that fall betwixt by the occasion whereof we cannot procéed anie further Therefore no maruell if the same thing come to passe in dreames séeing they be signes of things not fullie perfected but rather new begun and the weake and féeble motions of humors may easilie be staied by manie other causes 5 Democritus dooth on this wise expound those kind of dreams Democritus which represent things comming by chance and are far distant There is somewhat saith he euer flowing frō the things themselues and carried euen vnto the bodies of them that sléepe affecting them with the qualitie and similitude which they bring with them and he affirmeth that in twoo respects it is more easilie perceiued rather in sléepe than waking First A similitude bicause the aire is most easilie mooued in the night as we sée it falleth out in the water when it is striken with a stone a great manie circles are made with that stroke and driuen a great compasse about except there be some contrarie motion to let But the aire is quieter in the night than in the daie bicause it is not driuen into diuers parts by the confluence of creatures moouing themselues Another cause is for that euerie little stir noise is verie easilie perceiued by them that be asléepe And to conclude this author also dooth not refer the causes of dreames vnto God no more than Aristotle dooth Galen But Galen in his booke which he wrote of diuining by dreams teacheth thus much aboue others when as we sée in our dreames those things which we neither did nor thought of they are not to be referred either vnto arts or habits or custome of such things as came to passe while we were waking but vnto humors This rule séemeth to tend to this end that wée may vnderstand of what things dreames are to be counted signes And hée granteth that these things are better knowne by night than by daie bicause then the soule descendeth to the lowest and déepest things in a mans hart where it perceiueth the more easilie what is there And he tels of a certeine man A certeine mans dreame who being asléepe imagined that his leg became a stone which when manie thought that it pertained to his seruants the same leg of his within a few daies fell into a palsie Another thought with himselfe that hée was sunke vp to the throte in a cesterne full of blood out of which he could no maner of waie escape but that shewed that blood verie much abounded in him and that it was néedfull for him to haue it abated Hée maketh mention also of another which dreamed on his sicke daie that he sawe himselfe washed in a hothouse who shortlie after fell into an excéeding great sweate Moreouer saith he men when they are asléepe imagine themselues sometimes to haue so great a burthen vpon them that they are not able to beare the weight of it and at another time that they are so light and so nimble as if they were running and after a maner flieng All these things saith he are tokens either of the excesse or the want of humors Hippocrates Hippocrates as concerning these things writeth in a maner the selfe-same namelie that the mind in the daie time dooth distribute his powers into the senses and other faculties but that in the night it draweth them into the inward parts and for that cause dooth knowe them the better Yet he saith that there be certeine diuine dreams whereby are foretokened calamities vnto cities peoples and some certeine great men For the expounding of which dreames some there be that professe certeine arts to the which yet he himselfe séemeth to attribute verie little And when by dreames it is noted that the humors offend or annoie vs then saith he they are to be holpen by good diet by exercise and medicines And whether they be good dreames or bad he would haue vs to vse praier When helth is signified we must then praie saith he to the sunne to Iupiter of heauen to Iupiter possessor to Minerua to rich Mercurie and to Apollo But if they be vnluckie dreames praie then saith he to the gods which turne euils from men as to the gods of the earth and other petie gods Wherefore Hippocrates either was or else would séeme to be superstitious but trulie for my part as touching true religion I mislike not naie rather I verie well allow of it that if wée be troubled at anie time with fearefull dreames we should repaire to God praieng him to returne from vs those euils if there be anie that doo hang ouer our heads What is the outward cause of dreames 6 There is another kind of dreames which proceedeth from an outward cause namelie of the power or as they commonlie speake of the influence of the heauen which changeth the aire and this once touching our bodies maketh them of a new kind of qualitie whervpon arise diuers appéerances and forms of things to men asléepe Wherfore there be manie effects that come from heauen wherof it bringeth foorth some in the phantasie and in the facultie or power of imagination The power of the imagination and other some in the things themselues and this may be easilie shewed by an example The raine vndoubtedlie hangeth in the aire or clouds and before the raine fall there is such a change in a crowes imagination that by and by he beginneth to call Wherfore the effects that be in the phantasie of dreamers in the thing doo vndoubtedlie come both of one cause yet haue they great diuersitie by reason of the subiects in which they fall out And no doubt but there is a little kind of liknes betwéene these effects but it is verie hard to sée the maner of this proportion or analogie And if it be agréed vpon that the cause of such effects or affections is in the stars who yet can refer these signes to their owne proper cause that is vnto some stars rather than to others Surelie I thinke verie few I will not saie none are able to doo it And yet besides if they should be referred to their proper starres what can we iudge will come to passe by them especiallie as touching things contingent séeing iudiciall astrologie was euer accounted a most vncerteine art And to conclude the forms and similitudes Why diuination by
kinds of visions which he calleth corporall againe another sort he calleth spirituall which consisteth of shewes or images and haue place about the phantasie or power imaginatiue the last kind he nameth intellectuall bicause they be onelie comprehended by reason and iudgement of the mind But those which he maketh imaginatiue namelie the second sort he sheweth as we also declared a little before that they doo not make prophets and saith that Ioseph was a far truer prophet than Pharao And the selfe-same thing may we saie of the souldier Iudg. 17 4. that in Gedeons hearing interpreted the dreame of his fellowe-souldier to wit that he rather was the prophet than he that had the vision But in this order or degrée of prophets Daniel excéeded all others Dan. 2 29. For hée not onlie interpreted the kings visions but euen when the king had forgotten what he had séene in his sléepe he was able to call it to his remembrance Moreouer he not onelie interpreted what visions other men had but also was instructed from God in things that he himselfe had séene 10 Sometimes also dreams come of the diuell For Augustine in his booke before alleged De genesi ad litteram telleth of one possessed with a diuell which by a vision told the verie houre that the préest should come vnto him by what places he passed And we are not ignorant that among the Ethnicks Somtimes the Oracles of the Ethnicks made answere by dreames there were oracles where men abode all the night to obteine the interpretation of their visions and dreams such was the oracle of Amphiarias Amphilocus Trophonius and Aesculapius In those places an euill spirit shewed them that were a sléepe medicines remedies to heale their sicke folks at which time also they gaue answere as touching other matters And for the obteining of such dreams visions they which came to inquire of anie thing were inioined to vse certeine choise of meates to lie apart from others and to haue certeine daies of clensing And it is said that the Pythagorians abstained from eating of beanes Pythagorians bicause they bred troublesome dreames But our God to the intent he would declare himselfe not to be bound to such things shewed Daniel the kings dreame after that he and his fellowes had besought God for the same by praier But that the diuell can put himselfe among mens dreames there is no doubt since by his helpe there haue béene and yet are many false prophets Augustine Wherevpon Augustine in his booke now before recited the 19. chapter saith that If an euill spirit doo possesse men he maketh them either demoniaks or out of their wits or else false prophets and contrariwise a good spirit maketh faithfull prophets vttering mysteries to the edifieng of others He also demandeth in the 11. chapter of the same booke To discerne betweene the visions of a good spirit and an euill how the difference betwéene the reuelations of good and euill spirits may be discerned the one from the other And he answereth that the same cannot be doone without the gift of discerning of spirits But he addeth that an euill spirit dooth alwaies at the last lead men to wicked opinions and naughtinesse of maners although that at the beginning the difference cannot be perceiued without the gift of the holie Ghost In his 100. Epistle to Euodius when he had asked the same question he saith I would to God I could perceiue the difference betwéene visions which are giuen to deceiue me and those which are giuen to saluation But yet we must be of good chéere bicause God suffereth his children sometime to be tempted but not to perish Aristotle held that God sendeth not dreames 11 But what answere shall we make Aristotle who denieth that dreames come of God for this cause specially bicause he would then giue the power of diuination to the good and wise not to the foolish and wicked men We may answere that for the most part the true prophets which are lightened by God in their dreams and visions are both good and godlie But yet that it may not be thought that the power of God is tied to the wisedome and maners of men God will sometime vse the ministerie of the vngodlie in such things Why God doth sometime vse the euill prophets to the intent the great and woonderfull strength of his prouidence may be declared which is able to vse all kind of meanes Furder as Tertullian writeth in his booke De anima séeing he distributed his sunne and raine to the iust and vniust alike it ought to be no maruell if he impart these gifts also especiallie which are of force vnto mans erudition aswell to the bad as to the good And least we should be ignorant of his fashion the holie historie declares that the verie Ethniks were oftentimes warned and corrected by God in their sléepe Gen. 12 17. So was Pharao the king of Aegypt commanded to restore Abraham his wife againe And in the like sort was Abimelech king of Gerar warned of the same matter Gen. 20 6. And Tertullian addeth that Euen as God Tertullian when he instructeth the wicked in their dreams dooth it to make them good so the diuell contrariwise inuadeth the godlie in their sléepe that in their dreams he may seduce them from the waie of righteousnesse Aristotle thought that God in disposing of his gifts should speciallie haue respect to the wise and to the philosophers whereas Christ our sauiour taught a quite contrarie lesson saieng I thanke thee ô father Matt. 11 25. that hiding these things from the wise prudent thou hast reuealed them vnto little ones And Paule said God rather reuealeth mysteries vnto the simple than to the wise that the calling of God did chéeflie appertain to the poore to the vnlearned to the weaker sort And other argument was that the verie brute beasts doo dreame in their sléepes when as yet no man will saie 1 Cor. 1 26. that their dreams are disposed or ministred by God That same philosopher is deceiued in thinking that if God send some dreams vnto men he must therefore be the author of all dreams God sendeth some dreams but not all which without doubt is farre from our sense For we refer not all naturall things to GOD himselfe as peculiar effects whereby he instructeth men immediatlie as the schoolemen speake of things to come Of what causes dreams arise in brut beasts we haue sufficientlie shewed before And to speake Logikelike it is no good argument that is taken from the particular to the vniuersall affirmatiuelie So that if God suggest some dreams we must not therevpon gather that all dreams aswell in beasts as in men doo come of him For otherwise brute beasts haue the power of hearing neither doo they want eares yet bicause God dooth not send prophets to speake vnto them we may not conclude that he dooth neuer
open to all men as though it were in euerie man either to receiue it or to put it from him And when they be asked who dooth giue grace to them which accept it in such sort as they both desire it and receiue it when it is offered to them they flie vnto frée will and of all these is Pighius the standerd-bearer Wherefore if either thou aske of Aristotle or of them Since felicitie is thus common as ye say how coms it to passe that so few obteine the same Bicause few saie they will learne few will labour few will accustome themselues to honest and good exercises But we will here note a generall and a certeine proposition To euerie nature or kind there is a purposed end the which all that be comprehended in it may atteine And surelie that which Aristotle answered as touching them that haue not their perfect senses be lame and féeble why they cannot be partakers of felicitie namelie bicause of their naturall defect that proposition may be vnderstood when the powers shall be perfect so doo we answer that men cannot now by themselues be perfect bicause nature was corrupted euen from the beginning and that we haue not the powers as well of the mind as of the bodie perfect So that now when we heare these things let vs thinke that we heare Aristotle not Paule or Christ Here haue we thrée things that are spoken of felicitie It is a diuine thing Three things spoken of felicitie it may be obtained by the thrée principall things which he haue alreadie rehearsed and it is common in a maner to all men 29 There remaineth fortune which Aristotle remooueth from the causes of felicitie bicause it is thought vnwoorthie that it should be admitted to open so excellent a gift vnto men But before I shew the reason brought by Aristotle A plaine declaratiō what fortune is I will indeuour to declare what fortune is As it is written in the second booke of naturall philosophie It is an accidentall cause and then it commeth in place when anie thing is ioined to anie man which is author of the effect following vnto the producing of which effect that which is ioined therevnto worketh nothing but onlie giueth sometimes an occasion and the effect may well come to passe without it This is made plaine by a similitude If a man by reason of an ague become temperate we will saie that this fell out by fortune for temperance commeth of the will as of hir own proper cause which will bridleth the affection of lust The ague might haue bin the occasion whereby this came to passe but the cause it could not be And bicause these things to wit the will of temperate gouernement and the ague méete by fortune in one and the same man therefore doth temperance spring by fortune from the ague But it appeareth plainelie inough that the feauer is not by it selfe the cause of the temperance otherwise all that be gréeued with a feauer would become temperate According to this maner of speaking must the sentence of Paule be examined and vnderstood 1. Cor. 8 1. Knowledge puffeth vp Pride which immediatelie preferreth our owne things aboue other mens procéedeth from the will héereby we become vaine and puffed vp And bicause knowledge giueth an occasion vnto some that this is done therefore knowledge is said to puffe vp but yet by fortune bicause in one selfe man are ioined together by chance these two things to wit the desire of passing and excelling others and also some knowledge of things And as these things be ioined together at all aduentures so doth vaine puffing vp procéed by fortune from knowledge Also it hapneth that when vnto that effect which we desire by it selfe and by our owne aduise another effect by chance is ioined therewith then the same commeth of fortune not purposelie whereas we in verie déed sought for another thing As otherwhile it hapneth vnto them that be diggers that they in labouring doo finde treasure when as they onlie intended the trimming of their vines and trées this I saie happeneth by fortune when as the digger sought for another matter neither is the digging the proper and true cause of finding out the treasure for if a man should affirme this he must of necessitie auouch that all diggers doo finde treasures Adde moreouer that all the effects of fortune doo verie seldome come to passe and that contrariwise than falleth out in the true and proper causes which verie seldome are hindred from bringing foorth their effects Which things being so it appeareth and that manifestlie that fortune is repugnant to reason and counsell That fortune is not the cause of felicitie Wherefore it is not méete to attribute vnto it that it bringeth foorth felicitie And so Aristotle concludeth that séeing felicitie is better deriued from the causes before mentioned than from fortune it is méete that wée should determine it so to be bicause it ought to be in the best maner that it can One reason whereby Aristotle prooueth fortune to be no cause of felicitie is this The chéefest good ought not to be referred vnto a vile and abiect cause Felicitie is the chéefest good fortune is but vile among the causes Wherefore blessednes ought not to be reduced vnto fortune being a cause lesse woorthie than others And hereof dependeth the force of this argument for although a noble cause doo otherwhile bring foorth a vile effect as we knowe that the sunne dooth not onelie bréed a man but also frogs fleas and flies yet excellent effects cannot procéed but of noble causes Here we sée that by euident and most manifest words Aristotle excludeth fortune as he that would not number the same among the causes of felicitie and taketh propositions as well out of his booke of naturall philosophie as also out of his metaphysicks the verie which certeinlie he might haue doone in affirming God to be the cause of mans blessednes So that he excludeth from this number both God and fortune GOD as ouer-woorthie and too high but fortune as an vnwoorthie and a more vile cause For it is a most inconstant thing and hath no substantiall ground-worke which neuertheles is so excluded as it can doo nothing about the nature and substance of felicitie and yet vndoubtedlie it can doo somewhat about those good things which helpe vnto felicitie be the instruments therof But if it be of power concerning riches and honours and such like which as it hath béene said doo not a little further vnto felicitie why doo they denie them to be the cause thereof We grant indéed that these things doo accomplish and doo seruice vnto felicitie and doo such seruice as it may not be without them but we denie that it dooth properlie cause the same For it so fareth not that as the lacke of these things may hinder blessednes so if they be present they can performe and bring the same to passe For thou shalt sée manie
happen by fortune For it may be that if thou respect the next causes those things that doo happen both are and are iustlie called things happening by chance for it is nothing repugnant to that cause that it bring foorth as well this effect as another effect that is contrarie therevnto For as touching mine owne will it may so come to passe that I doo sit as also that I doo not sit So then if these effects be referred vnto that cause they shall be by chance for they may be otherwise howbeit as they be subiect to the prouidence of God we must not denie but that they are of necessitie Necessitie of two sorts Wherefore there is granted a double necessitie that is to wit a necessitie absolute and a necessitie by supposition But it may be that those things which by supposition are of necessitie if thou take them without supposition they be things contingent and not of necessitie Esay 14 17. Esaie in the 14. chapter sheweth that the kingdome of Babylon should be destroied which was but a chance as touching the worldlie causes therof for there was no let but that it might otherwise be And yet neuertheles the prophet minding to shew that it should vndoubtedlie come to passe groundeth his reason vpon the determinate will of God and said God hath so purposed and who shall be able to dissanull it The hand of the Lord is now stretched foorth and who shall plucke it backe Wherefore the thing now by this reason was of necessitie And in the 33. psalme we reade Psal 33 11. But the counsell of the Lord indureth for euer and the purposes of his heart from generation to generation Yet they still vrge the contrarie Necessitie séemeth to be a let to the prouidence of God for we consult not of those things which cannot otherwise be Whether necessitie be a let vnto prouidence Forsomuch then as there be manie things in the world which séeme to be of necessitie those that be of this sort séeme to exclude the prouidence of God But héere we must vnderstand in this place that although all things as they haue relation to the purpose determinate will of God being as it were doone and decréed be of necessitie yet as concerning God the appointer and decréer of the act all things are contingent and nothing is of such necessitie in the world but that the same may otherwise be Neither doo we now speake of the definitions of things or of necessarie propositions or conclusions séeing these things are not gouerned by diuine prouidence for they be descriptions of the eternall truth and diuine nature Some there be also which thinke that there should be no euill found in the world if it were gouerned of God by his prouidence For none that dealeth prouidentlie in his works would permit euill to take place But these may be easilie answered that there is no euill to be found that is not either profitable to the saints and furthereth them to saluation or that declareth not the iustice and mercie of God or else that aduanceth not the order of all things and the preseruation of the same ¶ The same place is expounded In 1. Sam. 10 verse 2. 5 But to followe some order herein first let vs search whether there be anie prouidence or no secondlie what it is thirdlie whether all things be subiect vnto it fourthlie whether it can be changed and lastlie whether it may abide anie casualtie of things But before I come to the purpose let vs speake somewhat as touching the signification of the names thereof Wherefore among the Grecians a thing that commeth by chance is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 What is a thing contingent and how manie sorts there be which is of such sort as both it may be and it may not be and whether it be or be not there is no absurditie either against reason or against the word of God It is distinguished into 3. parts of which the first is called by the Grecians 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 bicause it inclineth equallie as much one waie as another The second 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which for the most part vseth to happen after this maner or after that but yet may otherwise come to passe The third is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 bicause it falleth out but seldome and not vsuallie The philosophers assigne two grounds or beginnings of chance one in the matter Two grounds of contingence the which as it lighteth vpon diuers and sundrie actiue causes so it receiueth a diuers and sundrie forme the other in the will whereby our actions are gouerned now the will hath consideration of the matter bicause it is directed and forced by the vnderstanding Augustine in his booke of questions Prudence deuided into three parts quest 31. saith Wisedome is by the philosophers diuided into thrée parts namelie into vnderstanding memorie and prouidence and that memorie is referred vnto things past vnderstanding to things present and that he is prouident Who is prouident which through the consideration of things past and things present can determine what will afterward come to passe But God not onelie vnderstandeth and séeth what will come to passe but he also addeth a will vnto the same For wée affirme not onelie a bare vnderstanding to be in God but an effectuall will also whereby he ruleth and gouerneth all things 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This of the Gretians is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is Prouidence And Cicero in his booke De natura deorum nameth it An old soothsaieng wife of the Stoiks who was of such account among them in old time as in the Isle of Delos she was woorshipped euen for a Goddesse Prouidence worshipped as a God bicause she helped Latona at hir child-bearing But that fable signifieth nothing else but that second causes although they haue some force in themselues yet they bring nothing to passe without the prouidence of God For Latona is nature and prouidence the midwife so that vnlesse this latter be present doo helpe and as it were plaie the midwifs part the other bringeth foorth nothing 6 But now as touching those fiue points which at the beginning I determined to intreat of seuerallie In the first place I propound to my selfe That there is a prouidence that there is a prouidence which thing may be prooued by manie sure and inuincible arguments For first séeing that God is the author and creator of all things and that he can doo nothing vnaduisedlie but that with himselfe he hath his owne certeine and assured reasons therefore of necessitie there is a prouidence For if there be no artificer but that hée séeth the reasons and ends of his worke and conceiueth the waies by which he may bring the same to his purposed ends it were a madnes not to attribute that vnto God the chéefe workeman whome the holie scriptures not onlie teach to be the creator of
all things but as it were a potter Chrysostome in the 19. Homilie vpon the epistle to the Ephesians saith that If a ship though it be sound and well rigged can not brooke the seas without a good maister or gouernour how much lesse can the whole workemanship of the world stand without the care and gouernment of God For if a maister-workeman will not begin to build before he haue deuised in his mind all the parts fashions and fourmes of the building shall we thinke that God hath rashlie without counsell or reason made all things vniuersallie Vndoubtedlie the heauenlie spheares the stars the firmament the aire the water the heate the cold so manie causes and changes of things contrarie and repugnant one to another would fall to ruine vnlesse they were susteined by some gouernour Without care and prouidence our bodie might not be defended from the rigor of the heauen We call those prouident men which being of such excellent iudgement and disposition doo kéepe all the parts of their bodie in their proper office and dutie But God hath the same place in the world that the mind hath in man Besides this the holie scriptures ascribe vnto God the destructions of kingdoms and prophesies and miracles which things doo far passe the compas of our nature And last of all they attribute vnto him the generall iudgement wherein God will one daie render to euerie man according to their works Wherefore we being induced by these and manie more reasons doo conclude that there is a prouidence For we passe not for the Epicureans whose maner of spéech is this Why the Epicures denie prouidence Euen so the powers on high With labours toile are prest The care whereof which on them lie Bereaue them of their rest And this also God walketh vpon the poles of heauen and considereth not the affaires of men These monstruous opinions haue they bred partlie for that they being of grosse wit could not perceiue higher things and partlie being of a shamefull and abhominable life would deuise for themselues this consolation least they should be perpetuallie tormented with the feare of punishments For He that liueth wickedlie Iohn 3 20. abhorreth the light And children when they haue done a fault would not haue either their father to be at home or the maister in the schoole And as touching the first part these things vndoubtedlie should be sufficient for Christians who are perswaded onelie by the word of God without other reason that there is a prouidence 7 But what prouidence is we shall easilie vnderstand by the definition of the same What prouidence is Prouidence is the power of God whereby he directeth all things and bringeth them to their appointed ends In this definition the generall word is power Assuredlie God is most absolute yet for our capacitie sake we saie that there is in him two maner of powers to wit the power of vnderstanding the power of willing For God vnderstandeth and séeth all things and not this onelie but he also willeth all things Héere I will make no néedles disputation whether the will of God be before the vnderstanding or vnderstanding before the will If anie man would knowe these things I send them vnto Scotus and Thomas This power and facultie which I speake of belongeth vnto the qualitie for it is a naturall power The difference is that God by this power directeth all things whatsoeuer either be or hereafter shall be But yet this is not enough for he also conducteth them to their ends But to what ends Euen vnto agréeable ends And those be agréeable which his purpose hath appointed The power is the cause and that things be brought to their proper ends is the effect Here haue we comprehended all the kinds of causes which can be assigned in this matter All the causes of prouidence No efficient cause of the prouidence of God This I speake bicause there can be giuen no efficient cause of the prouidence of God The formall cause is the power of God The matter whereabout are all manner of things whatsoeuer for we in no wise except anie thing But the finall cause is that all things may atteine to their owne ends and may redound to the glorie of God By this definition we sée Prouidence is no bare but an efficient knowledge Acts. 17 28. Rom. 11 36. Prou. 16 1. that the prouidence of God is not onlie a bare knowledge but it is some bringing to effect For as Paule saith In him we liue we mooue and haue our being And againe Of him and in him and by him are all things And as Salomon saith Man may prepare his heart but God ordereth the speach For we are not able to mooue no not the toong being the lightest part of the bodie without the prouidence of God Matt. 10 19. And Christ saith that A sparowe dooth not light vpon the ground without the will of our heauenlie Father And All the heares of our head are numbered Some dreame that God indéed made all these things but after he had made them A similitude cast them off So forsooth carpenters when they haue doone sufficientlie in building of a house they afterward leaue the same but if God should doo so this world would soone come to ruine For a house vnles it be oftentimes repaired and vnderpropped falleth to ruine and decaie If the soule be seuered from the bodie what remaineth but that the bodie will become putrified and rotten Neither are they to be heard which saie that God indéed ruleth all things but that this is nothing else but to minister vnto all things the common influence which euerie thing draweth vnto it selfe This is euen to make God not in verie déed but in name to be the ruler and gouernour of the world Whether God onlie by common influence doo rule all things For if so be that euerie thing according to the nature thereof doo bend and applie vnto it selfe that common influence of God then God followeth the nature of things created where as rather contrariwise all things created ought to followe and séeke after God But they saie that euen as he which throweth a stone A similitude or shooteth an arrowe hath doone enough to haue first forced the same although he himselfe afterward followe not after them when they be out of his hand so it was sufficient for God in that he indued all things with a certeine power although he do not perpetuallie gouerne them But these things be not alike for a stone and an arrowe doo fall immediatelie after that they be shot bicause that force which is in things created cannot be of long continuance Wherefore vnlesse that God should prosecute by his euerlasting care and prouidence the thing which he hath forced the nature of euerie thing could not abide When the Peripatetiks perceiued that all these inferiour things were continuallie troubled they iudged that the prouidence of God was aboue the moone
propertie and beginning is contingent but prouidence which bringeth a necessitie is an outward cause of which nothing ought to be named I knowe there be manie which affirme that those things which can not be done by mans power are brought vnto that passe by God that our will may either choose or refuse them That God worketh our will to choose or refuse and that prouidence goeth no further and that there the prouidence of God staieth and goeth no further but when as God foreséeth what euerie man will choose and what he will refuse his foreknowledge hindreth nothing at all Howbeit these saiengs doo not sufficientlie agrée with the holie scriptures For they teach that God doth not prouide for things that he will forsake them but that as we haue said he may conduct them to their ends and those ends doo serue the prouidence of God For so saith Paule God hath made all things according to the purpose of his will Ephes 1 11. So said God himselfe in Esaie Esai 46 10. All things that I will I doo Matt. 10 29. And Christ saith Verelie euen a little sparowe lighteth not vpon the ground without the will of our father I knowe that Origin Cyrill Chrysostome and others being vrged by certeine manifest places of the scriptures such as these are Luk. 24 26. Luk. 22 23. It behooued Christ to suffer The scripturs ought to be fulfilled do thus interpret them to wit that these things did not therefore come to passe bicause God fore-sawe them but therefore God fore-sawe them Whether things com to passe bicause God fore-sawe them or contrariwise bicause they should come to passe This iudgement of theirs if they spake as touching absolute knowledge could not much be reprehended For not bicause I sée a man writing therefore he writeth but bicause he writeth therefore I sée him writing Howbeit we cannot affirme a bare knowledge in God but we must also attribute vnto him a will whereby he directeth and ordereth all things Yet shall it be true that they say if their meaning be of the effect or as they saie A posteriore that is of the latter For we hereof that a thing is doone doo vnderstand that it was the purpose of God that so it should be Otherwise the scriptures speake verie plainelie It behooued Christ to die Luk. 24 26. Iohn 19 36. It behooued that the scriptures should be fulfilled But how did it behooue By supposition bicause God so for-sawe it not that that necessitie was in the nature of the thing How causes are infinit 16 But peraduenture thou wilt saie that therefore the causes in the nature of the thing it selfe be infinit for that I take not the perfect and full causes in so much as I should haue added the prouidence of God I answere I onelie take the inward and proper causes of euerie thing whose effects bicause they might or might not be brought foorth by them be things contingent But I adde not prouidence bicause the same is an outward cause The which being added it cannot be auoided but that by supposition 1. Sam. 10 3. some necessitie must followe For Saule met with men carrieng of kids bread wine their will in respect of the nature thereof was infinite either to haue giuen him or not to haue giuen him anie thing but God by his prouidence did limit that will vnto the one part They went to Bethel there to sacrifice they met with Saule wearie vpon the waie almost dead with hunger it séemed a courtesie to refresh him this did God put into their minds And if there were anie thing which might be a let vnto this will those things he bridled And these things we dispute onelie concerning the wils of men for otherwise in other things which be contingent I knowe the means be infinite which God is woont to vse Another example of this matter we haue out of the 21. chapter of Ezechiel Eze. 21 23. Nabuchadnezar marched into Syria and when he was now onward on the waie at a place where two waies met he began to consult with himselfe whether it were better for him to lead his power against the Iewes or else against Rabath the chéefe citie of the Ammonits Hée drew lots therevpon the lots did God so frame that he brought him to Ierusalem The nature of the thing it selfe was contingent but the same being appointed of God became a thing of necessitie Gen. 37 28. Ioseph was so sold and carried into Aegypt that as concerning the nature of the thing it might be that either he should liue alwaies in bondage or else that he should at one time or other be deliuered But God sent dreames into the Baker and Butler those dreames did Ioseph interpret afterward he shewed Pharao a dreame which when none of the diuinours could expound the Butler gaue him intelligence of Ioseph and by this meanes it came to passe that Ioseph was deliuered out of prison Wherefore be it thus determined as we haue said that all things hauing relation to the prouidence of God be necessarie but of their owne nature are contingent But thou wilt say Whether effects be necessarie or contingent Shall thâ—ffects be absolutelie called things comming by chance or rather of necessitie Some there be that for the dignitie of prouidence will haue them called necessarie but I would rather call them contingent according to their owne nature Albeit I will not greatlie striue so that the same necessitie be vnderstood onelie by supposition Rightlie did some of the Gréeks name prouidence 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of passâ—ing through bicause it passeth through euerie thing others called it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 bicause nothing can escape it Some will saie that we receiue the opinion of the Stoiks concerning destinie That is not true for they defined their destinie to be a necessitie by a knitting togither of causes and affirmed that the same did ouer-rule euen God himselfe But contrariwise we teach that God gouerneth all things and that he vseth them to his owne glorie But if they affirme that destinie is nothing else but the prouidence of God the question is onlie as touching the word and not of the thing as Augustine else-where hath taught Lastlie thou wilt saie that by this meanes Whether counsels admonitions be taken awaie by prouidence there will be no place for aduisements admonitions and corrections séeing that which God will must néeds come to passe The selfe same thing was obiected to Augustine wherevpon he wrote the booke De correptione gratia Vndoubtedlie God although he haue decréed a thing to be doone yet he vseth meanes in bringing the same to passe He will change the naughtie will of man he vseth admonitions preachings and chastisements For these be the instruments of Gods prouidence so farre is it that the prouidence of God excludeth them In this question we haue set in a maner the roots
and laid the foundations of predestination but of it we will intreate an other time when opportunitie shall serue ¶ I knowe I am misreported that I make God to be the author of sinne but that is not true as it shall plainlie appeare But I onlie indeuour by my doctrine to shew how the scriptures must be vnderstood when they seeme so to affirme Also what Augustine ment who said that God bendeth the wils of men aswell vnto good as vnto euill And in like maner how Zuinglius Oecolampadius and other great learned men professors of the Gospell must be vnderstood when they seeme to auouch the same The .xvij. Chapter Whether God be the Author of sinne out of the second booke of Sam. the 16. chapter verse 22. Looke in Iud. 3 9. and 9 24. and 2. Sam 2 27. and 1. Kings 22 21. and In Rom. 1. 23. IT remaineth now that we intreate of the question In 2. Sam. 17. verse 22. Whether God be the author of sinne For aswell the curse of Semei 2. Sa. 16 10. as the defiling of Dauids concubins â—… 12 â—1 may séeme at the first vew to procéed from God For as touching the curse Dauid him selfe said that it came from God And as touching the adulterie of Dauids concubins it was spoken by Nathan vnder the person of God Wherefore it may verie well be called in controuersie whether God be the author of sinne Arguments inferring God not to be the author of sin And trulie there are verie manie and strong arguments of both sides a good part of them I will recite vnto the which all the rest may be referred God can not trulie rightlie be said to be the cause of sinne Excellent is the sentence of Augustine in his booke of 83. questions God is not the author of anie thing whereby a man becommeth the woorse But no man doubteth that men are the woorse through sinne Therfore God can not properlie be called the author of sinne It is not likelie that God will deforme man artificers desire to adorne their works Further God him selfe generallie in the scripture professeth him selfe a reuenger of sinnes If he be a reuenger he is no author for then he should punish his owne If he were trulie the cause of sinne he should condemne that which he made which thing is absurd Thirdlie it is said that He loueth those things which he made and hateth nothing that he hath made But he testifieth that he did hate sinne therefore he dooth not inforce to sinne To hate and to loue are contrarie wherefore both can not be spoken of one thing at one and the selfe same time If he hate sinne then he loueth it not but if so be it were of God it should be beloued for God loueth those things which he made If God were the cause of sinne he in the bringing foorth of sinne should sinne he that stealeth is a théefe he that committeth murther is a manqueller but far be it from God that he should be either said to sinne or to be a sinner What is else to sinne but to straie from the right end But God is infinite and can not be lead awaie from the end by another greater force He is not ignorant that he can straie from the end for he is most wise And that he him selfe should cause others to sinne it séemeth to be absurd Let vs consider what is doone among these naturall things created by God There be manie efficient causes it séemeth that euerie efficient cause coueteth to make that like vnto it selfe whereabout it worketh Fire if it take hold vpon wood so worketh as those things wherevpon it worketh may be made like vnto it selfe a man dooth procreate a man Thus in things created doo agents worke whie shall we not saie that in Gods dooings his indeuour is to make like vnto him selfe and that therefore he sinneth not The holie scriptures teach vs the same they bring in lawes which stirre vp good works but sinnes at no time If God should prouoke sinne or would it to be doone he should séem to be an hypocrite he should closlie and secretlie doo another thing than he openlie pretendeth Ieremie spake of false prophets Iere. 23 21. They ranne but I sent them not they prophesied and I spake not with them namelie that they should speake this thing Oseas saith Ose 13 9. Thy saluation ô Israel is of me thy perdition is of thy selfe But no man is ignorant that sinne is the cause of perdition If perdition were of Israel then sinne also but saluation and whatsoeuer goeth before saluation is of God If saluation and perdition being the effects be thus distinguished the causes also must be distinguished the one to be of God and the other of man Sin shall procéed of men and vertues of God More manifest is that which is written in the eight chapter of Iohn where Christ speaking of the diuell saith Iohn 8 44. When he speaketh lies he speaketh of his owne if of his owne he hath no néed to be stirred vp of another And againe Iohn 3 13. This is the condemnation of man that light came into the world but they loued darkenes more Iames testifieth Iames. 1 13. that God tempteth no man But by temptation men are prouoked vnto sin wherefore if God were the cause of sin it might not be said that he tempteth not anie man It is concupiscence whereby we be tempted and that is not of God but of the world 2 In the second of Paralipomenon the last chapter there is a speciall place 2. Par. 36 verse 15. where the cause of the destruction of Ierusalem is giuen and ascribed to the sins of the people and in such sort it is so disprooued that God is the author of sin as God testifieth that he would it otherwise wherefore the cause must not be laid vpon God He sent his prophets saith hée betimes in the morning but they hardened their hart Christ wept ouer the citie of Ierusalem he was sorie for the ouerthrowe thereof If the effect displeased him much rather did the cause he wept bicause they so sinned as they deserued vtter destruction If Christ wept who not onelie was man but verie God also he was displeased with sins therefore God is not the authour of sinne Neither can it be affirmed that God is the cause of sin vnlesse we will charge him with tyrannie in that he condemneth men for their sins bicause they haue done wickedlie whome yet after a sort he hath led vnto wickednes Tyrants are woont to set foorth lawes and then to prouide cunninglie that their subiects may commit some thing against those lawes whereby they may punish them Moreouer the scripture attributeth vnto God the iudgement ouer all flesh Gen. 18 25. Iere. 25 31. but how shall he iudge the world of sin if he himselfe haue bin the author of sin In the third chapter to the Romanes
Rom. 3 5. If our righteousnes doo set foorth the righteousnes of God is God vniust for punishing that it may be perceiued how absurd a thing it is that our sins should make to the glorie of God for if they make to the glorie of God why doth he condemne them If the reason be there of force it more stronglie concludeth in this place If God be the cause of sin how shal he iudge the world Also there will séeme to be in him two wils and those one contrarie to the other but in God there is onlie one will if there should be more they would be one against another as touching one and the selfe-same thing so that he would haue vs both not to doo and to doo the selfe-same things We will demand to what purpose are so manie exhortations persuasions and callings to doo well in the holie scriptures All these things will séeme to be vaine To what end did Christ giue warning vnto Iudas Matt. 26 24. if he would be betraied of him These spéeches may séeme to be doone as it were in game But God dealeth grauelie and earnestlie in those things which he dealeth with men Also there would followe a great absurditie for the differences betwéene good and euill and betwéene vertue and sin would be taken awaie God should be appointed the authour of both whereas he being the souereigne good there can procéed nothing but goodnes from him If a man should detest murther adulterie and incest he would saie it is a good work The matter would be brought to such a passe as good would be called euill and euill good yea rather there would be no difference at all betwixt them For through the will of God whereby he forbiddeth and commandeth anie thing we iudge of good and euill but by this meanes we should be void of all iudgement In like maner would be taken awaie the iudgements of our consciences We reade in the epistle to the Romanes Rom. 2 15. that we haue cogitations which shall defend and accuse one another in the iudgement of the Lord. If this other opinion were true we will gather that we should not accuse our selues but God the author There is plentie of excuse for the wicked they will saie Wherefore néed I to repent for this thing séeing God himselfe is the author of it Repentance will be taken awaie and a windowe opened vnto great mischéefes Wherefore shall we giue thanks vnto God bicause he hath deliuered vs from our sins But sin was good It had bin all one to haue lien still in sin We will not lament our sins but rather reioise in them for it is the worke of God it is méete that we should reioise for the works of God If God himselfe be the author of sin praise and reioising will followe but not sorrowe Much will be drawne awaie from the estimation of God if he should be put the author of sin That saieng also which they shew might be brought namelie 1. Tim. 2 4. that God would haue all men to be saued If he will haue them to be saued he vseth good meanes he incourageth not men to sin for sins doo leade men to perdition Manie more reasons might be brought but for this time we will content our selues with these Arguments on the contrarie part 3 Let vs sée on the other part what things they be that might affirme God to be the cause of sin In the first chapter to the Romanes it is written Rom. 1 24. that Seeing the idolaters knew God and would not worship him as God therefore as méet it was he gaue them vp vnto a reprobate sense and vnto shamefull lusts If he gaue them he also prouoked and mooued them In Exodus it is written Exod. 9 12. that God had hardened and dulled the hart of Pharao so that he would not hearken when Moses commanded him in the name of God to let the people depart In the sixt of Esaie Esaie 6 10. He is said to blind the people that they should not see When we powre out our praiers before God we desire him that he Matt. 6 13. Lead vs not into temptation but that he will deliuer vs from euill To what end should we thus praie if these things should not sometimes be No man intreateth except for those things which may be or which doo hang ouer his head or which he feareth will come to passe They are woont to saie that God dooth and willeth these things not as they be sinnes but in respect that they be punishments to chasten him that hath sinned But it is hard to appoint the punishment and fault to be all one thing séeing the nature of punishment and fault is diuers A fault ariseth from the will whereas punishment is laid vpon vs against our will If it be committed voluntarilie then it is no punishment To affirme a thing to be voluntarie and yet vnuoluntarie can hardlie be made to agrée That which is the cause of a cause may also be called the cause of the effect but no man doubteth but that God hath giuen vs a will inclinations properties and effects whereby we are prouoked to sinne If God be said to be the cause of these things why dare we not saie that he is the cause of sinnes That which remooueth the impediments if the thing afterward happen or the effect followe it shall be called the cause of sinne What dooth chéefelie let sinnes Euen grace and the good spirit of God except these kéepe vs backe we shall rush hedlong into most gréeuous crimes Who can remooue grace or take awaie the spirit but onelie God which gaue them If he remooue the lets no doubt but he is some cause of sinnes Also he that ministreth an occasion of anie thing he séemeth to be an authour thereof although he be not the chéefest cause if he giue an occasion he shall not faile to be called authour God knew the hardnesse of Pharaos hart and he knew that he being not holpen by the spirit would be prouoked to sin So The lawe is said to increase sinne Rom. 7 1. if it be not proposed to the regenerate for we alwaies bend our selues vnto that which we be forbidden and couet that which we be denied God commandeth Pharao to let the people go what is this but to offer an occasion that he might be the more hardened We cannot denie but that God dooth minister occasions yea and he not onelie giueth occasions but we can also shew commandements wherein he commandeth sinne We haue in the historie of the kings that Achab was a wicked prince that God determined to punish him in battell he would haue him brought to this by the flatteries and false persuasions of false prophets God is brought in to talke with the spirits Who can seduce Achab There stept foorth an euill spirit which said 1. kin 22 22. I will be a lieng spirit in the mouth of the
God taketh awaie his spirit from weake men who without this be not able to go dooth he not after some sort séeme to be the cause of their fall Wherefore that which they bring will be a weake defense when they saie that God forsaketh men While we would séeme to excuse GOD we laie as gréeuous things vnto him to wit that he is no more a God and while we shun the smoke we fall into the fire If anie things be doone besides the will of God whether he will or no if there be anie effects wherof he is not the cause he is not then the vniuersall cause of all nor yet God An obiection But he compelleth not to fall the excuse will not serue A similitude Admit there be some good man of the house whose familie behaueth it selfe verie ill if he be reprooued he will excuse himselfe saieng I bad them not I commanded them not that excuse shall not be counted lawfull for he ought not to permit that which he could haue hindered Manie times the good man of the house cannot let wicked acts but the power of God is inuincible There be no wils so euill and corrupt but he can amend and make them good Anselmus in his booke De casu diaboli the 91. chapter Why saith he doo we account it absurd that God dooth particular actions by a naughtie will séeing we knowe that he maketh sundrie substances which are brought foorth by an vnhonest action A similitude As when a child is procreated by adulterie That adulterie is euill no man doubteth but that child is the creature of God This séemeth twise to be affirmed in the Acts of the apostles In the second chapter Act. 2 23. Peter saith of Iesus the sonne of God that The Iewes had taken him and deliuered him to be slaine by the determinate will and counsell of God Afterward in the fourth chapter Act. 4 27. when the church gaue thanks vnto God it praieth on this wise Against thy holie sonne Iesus both Herod and Pontius Pilat with the gentiles and people of Israel gathered them selues togither to doo those things that thy hand and thy counsell had determined to be doone With these arguments wherevnto others might be added I will hold my selfe content Of the question 5 Now that we haue set downe the reasons for ech part there remaineth that the question it selfe be expounded Three opinions The first of the Libertines I find thrée opinions the first is to be detested namelie of the Libertins which saie that God is all wholie the cause of sinne and so saie as they affirme all sinnes to be excusable and not to be reprooued because they be the works of God and if anie fault should be they would laie it vpon God This one thing they indeuour namelie to take awaie from all men the féeling of sinne If anie man haue committed murther it is not he saie they that hath committed it God hath doone it And vnlesse that a man so thinke they saie that he is vnperfect and can not allow of all Gods works What can be more wickedlie imagined The diuell could not haue found out a readier waie to hell Let these men go to perdition séeing we can not mend them let vs praie vnto God that he will take awaie these pestilent persons out of the church The second opinion The second opinion is of certeine learned men who mislike not that sense which the scriptures appeare to haue at the first sight They saie that God hardeneth that he punisheth sinnes with sinnes and finallie they grant him to be the cause of sinne but they adde that these actions séeing they procéed from the verie corrupt nature of men so farre foorth as they be of God haue a respect to iustice and that men be not excused because they be inclined vnto these things they laie not the blame vnto God who dooth his part rightlie If saie they it can not be comprehended by reason how he dooth iustlie and we vniustlie we must referre our selues to the iudgement of the scriptures There be manie other things which by mans reason we can not knowe which neuertheles we doo beléeue The third opinion is of them The third opinion which interprete all these places of the scripture by the words He suffered He gaue leaue He permitted or according to the Gréeke He did not hinder it and such like So they thinke that all dangers are auoided 6 But what my iudgement is The definition or hādling of the question I will not be loth to declare afterward your owne selues shall iudge And that the matter may be the more easilie knowen it shall be good to examine it the more déeplie and somewhat I will saie of Euill vnder which generall word sinne is conteined Euill is a certein priuation What euill is of good I meane yet not of euerie good but of such a good thing as is requisite for the perfection of euerie creature which I saie belongeth to the perfection of the thing despoiled A similitude For if we take awaie sight from a stone it shall haue no hurt for that qualitie of nature is not méete for it Euill being a priuation can not consist without good for it must haue a subiect A subiect séeing it is a substance is a good thing wherefore euill can not be but in good euen as blindnes is a priuation of sight it hangeth not in the aire but it sticketh in the eie So may it be shewed by manie other examples But not to depart from that which we haue in hand sinne it selfe depriueth mans action of dutifulnes and obedience towards the word of God These things ought to be in action but when we sinne action is bereft of those good things And action séeing it is a certeine thing it is in his owne nature good wherefore euill can not be but in good Moreouer euill is not desired for it selfe but men doo sinne in consideration of good for vnlesse there appeared some likenesse of good they would not depart from goodnes So great therefore is the power of good as euill can not be except in good and vnto good Wherefore rightlie haue the wise men said that we may grant there is the chéefest good but not affirme that there is the chéefest euill which can depriue good altogither for then it should destroie it selfe It might haue no subiect wherin it should be nor yet outward shew whereby it should be desired To speake now of euill it is distinguished into punishment and fault Fault is called that which we commit against the lawe of God punishment is that which is laid vpon vs for sinne and that also hath a priuation of some commoditie as when God sendeth sicknesse sicknesse is the priuation of health and hath place in the bodie of a liuing creature He sendeth famine and barennesse which is the priuation of fertilitie and it is in the earth it selfe
by a ioifull deliuerance Wherefore the works were all one but the purposes were diuerse For which cause Iob. 1 21. when Iob said The Lord hath giuen and the Lord hath taken awaie he praiseth God as the chéefest cause without whose prouidence these things were not doone and whose prouidence vsed all things to a good end yet dooth he not praise the robbers and the diuell So did Dauid also behaue himselfe he commended not Semei he said not that those cursings were of their owne nature good but turned himselfe to the prouidence of God The worke was wicked yet in some respect it may be called the worke of God bicause he ruled it and vsed it Also it is said in the prophet Iere. 48 10. Cursed be he that dooth the worke of the Lord negligentlie and the worke of the Lord he calleth the affliction of the people whereby the wicked ouerpressed them Wherefore the wicked can not excuse their sinnes in respect of this vse of God for they haue the cause of those sinnes in themselues And euen as Gods good vse of these things excuseth not sinners so on the other part the naughtines of sinners dooth not contaminate the good vse and prouidence of God who can excéedinglie well vse the things which be doone amisse Augustine in his Enchiridion ad Laurentium Augustine chapter .101 declareth that It may be that God and man would one and the same thing It is not alway iust for man to will as God willeth and that God in so willing dooth rightlie but that man dooth sinne although he will those things which God willeth He bringeth an example The father of a wicked sonne sickeneth the will of God by his iust iudgement is that he should die of that disease the vngratious child also would the same but to the intent he may the sooner come vnto the inheritance and be frée from the power of his father God willeth iustlie but the child vngodlie And on the other side he saith that It may be that a man would the thing that God would not and yet that as well he as God willeth rightlie Admit that the father which is sicke haue a good child God would that the father should die the child thorough an honest affection would it not for he is desirous to haue his father liue they will diuerslie and yet they both will iustlie It consisteth onelie in the purpose of the will for thereof dependeth oftentimes goodnes and naughtines But there ariseth a doubt An obiection If that one maner of worke depend both on God and man and that it drawe naughtines from the infection of man and that it hath some goodnes in respect that God vseth it so as nothing may escape God or his prouidence wherfore dooth Zacharie in the first chapter complaine Zach. 1 15. I was but a litle angrie with my people but they helped forward vnto euill that is they passed the bounds That which they sinne séemeth to excéede the prouidence of God so as they did more than God had decréed We answere that It must not be vnderstood that they did more than that thing might serue to the vse of Gods prouidence for there can be nothing at all doone besides the will of God his decrées which be most firme Augustine in the same Enchiridion ad Laurentium 102. chapter saith The will of God is inuincible how then are they said to haue excéeded Not the bounds of the eternall decrée but the iust measure of victorie There be certeine bounds limits and lawes which ought to be kept by conquerers They excéeded that which became them but that they could doo more than prouidence would vse it must in no wise be granted 11 The third kind of the works of God wée call that which is proper vnto the saincts for thereby he most mercifullie bringeth manie things to passe in them Phil. 2 13. for he reigneth he liueth and he worketh in vs both to will and to performe Otherwise in nature we be certeine barren trées we are blind we will no good things The iudgement is corrupted the will and choise is corrupt in those dregs of originall sin but God by his spirit fashioneth his chosen anew We haue from the beginning a nature giuen according to the similitude of God wherevnto should be agréeable to will to choose to doo these things and those things But in that we can not doo good of our selues it hath procéeded of corruption but in that we will rightlie and doo serue God by an obedience begun it is of the supernaturall grace of God Wherefore the first kind of Gods works which belongeth to the vniuersall prouidence serueth not to the question now in hand The second kind of working and the third belong vnto this 12 Although therefore that God doo gouerne euen sins and euils yet he is not properlie said to be the efficient cause Augustine in his twelfe booke De ciuitate Dei the seauenth chapter speaketh verie well as concerning a naughtie will when he saith That euill hath no efficient cause An euill thing hath no efficient but a deficient cause And if anie will search out this efficient cause it is euen like as if he would sée the darkenes with his eies or comprehend silence with his eares which being priuations it is no néed that they should haue efficient causes Yet neuertheles they be things knowne vnto vs for there is all one sense of things that bée contrarie The sight séeth not other than bright things A similitude the eare heareth not other than noises and yet by these senses we knowe euen these things not by the vse of them but by the priuation onlie A naughtie will doth God vse to the ends appointed not bicause he is not able vnlesse it be by these meanes to atteine to that which he will but so it pleased him to declare his wisedome and power that he might shew himselfe able to doo something mediatlie as they saie and immediatelie and that it maketh no matter vnto him whether the instruments that he vseth be good or bad Wherefore let vs séeke out what is the deficient cause of euill actions and among the rest we shall find wicked affections and inclinations The causes of euill actions which séeing they fall awaie from the word of God and from right reason it is no maruell if things that be faultie procéed there-from These be the inward causes of sin but they be rather deficient than efficient causes The diuell also is said to be the cause of sin for we reade in the booke of wisedome By the diuell death entred into the world Wisd 1 24. therefore sin also for death is the effect of sin But yet the diuell can not be called the proper and absolute cause of our sin the reason is for that such is the nature of euerie proper and perfect cause that the same being put the effect doth of necessitie followe
dutie is sometimes doone by contemplation and then that corrupt person hath a will not to loue his neighbour hath a will not to go to the holie assemblie Wherefore we sée here that the act of will and that same action thereof which is the action of nature dooth depend of God deformitie and priuation dooth not so But sometime they be omitted bicause a man dooth not thinke of those things I meane not of a contempt Héere saie I that although there be no action there of that kind yet is there an other which contendeth with right reason He is not mindfull of the holie congregation bicause he will walke about for his pleasure or else vse some pastime and those actions be aduersaries to right working Or if that be no action at that instant yet was it a little before For example Ouer night he would féed like a glutton afterward he could not rise earlie to be present in the holie congregation Wherefore in the sinnes of omission we shall find an action either proper to that kind or else an other striuing with the good motion of the will either which is then presentlie reteined or else that went before 21 God then is the cause of all things How sin is drawn from the nature of the second causes and inferior things according to their owne nature receiue the moouing of the first cause Wherefore if sinne be drawen it is drawen by the nature of the second causes I will make the matter plaine by a similitude A similitude In liuing creatures we haue that power which hath his name locall motion and it mooueth beasts either to walke or to runne and those creatures are mooued according as they receiue their moouing from that locall motiue power but if a legge be defectiue be out of ioint or crooked that motion hath halting in that course ioined therewith but that halting as it is a moouing commeth from the moouing power of the soule as it is faultie and lame it dependeth of the faultines of the leg which was broken And thus it is as touching that continuall moouing wherewith God stirreth his creatures There is indéed a common influence and it is receiued in things according to the qualitie of them so the subiect of deformitie or priuation is of God and the moouing of God sometime passeth through the mind corrupted whervpon the fault of the action is not of God but is drawen from the next cause But what it is that God there dooth and how he gouerneth that deformitie is declared before now we treate of the act which breaketh foorth from our will Wherefore it is rightlie said that the priuation of righteousnesse followeth not the worke of our will and the motion thereof so farre foorth as it is in the kind of nature but as it is in the kind of moouing Augustine in his seuenth booke De ciuitate Dei the 30. chapter saith that God dooth so gouerne his creatures as he permitteth them to exercise and worke togither with him their owne proper motions For God dealeth not alone but as I said before the wicked men and the diuell also doo vse their naughtie endeuor in working But when we saie How the selfesame act is produced by God and by vs. that the act it selfe which afterward through our owne fault is euill is brought foorth by the chéefest cause that is by God and by vs that is by our will how shall we vnderstand this Whether that God doo it wholie or we wholie Or whether it be partlie from him and partlie from vs And héere we drawe this producement to the verie act of our will We answere If consideration of the whole be referred vnto the cause we must speake after one sort if it be referred vnto the effect after an other sort If the whole be referred to the cause so that we vnderstand our will to be the whole cause of the action that it be able by it selfe to worke without God it is not true for vnlesse God would assent thervnto it should not be able to bring foorth action So God although by his absolute power he might performe the worke it selfe by him selfe yet as the course of things is he will not deale alone but will haue the creature to be a doer togither with him by this meanes are neither the will nor yet God said to be the whole cause But if it be referred to the effect it selfe God and the will are the full cause for God and the will make the whole effect although they be ioined togither in action I will shew the thing by an example For bringing foorth of an action A similitude we haue a will and an vnderstanding and our will maketh the whole effect and our vnderstanding is the cause of the whole effect but the one is nigh the other further off How it is that the will dooth all and God dooth all And so is it of the will and of God the will dooth all and God dooth all but one is the first cause and the other is the second 22 As touching the third point the sinne which followeth is sometimes said to be a punishment of the sinne that went before How sinne is the punishment of sinne and so God is said to punish sinnes with sinnes Then if the sinnes which followe be weighed as they be punishments they after a sort be attributed vnto God not that God dooth instill new naughtines or that he driueth men directlie vnto sinning but when he hath withdrawne his gifts then dooth sinne followe whereby the mind is destroied And those destructions those wounds of minds as they be punishments they come vnto vs by iust desart Hereof we reade in the first chapter to the Romans Rom. 1 24. that God gaue them vp vnto a reprobate sense as we haue declared before And that sinne hath the respect of punishment insomuch as it corrupteth nature it is manifest Augustine saith and it is vsuallie receiued Thou hast commanded Lord and trulie so it is that euery sinne is the punishment of him that sinneth This also doo the Ethniks acknowledge Horace saith The Sicill tyrants yet could neuer find Than enuie greater torment of the mind Those euill affections doo drie vp the bones maâ—e féeble the strength doo afflict the minds yet this is iustlie doone for God is iust and righteous in all his waies But if we be depriued of grace we haue deserued the same 23 Wherefore we conclude this question of ours A conclusion of the question and saie that To speake properlie and plainelie God is not the authour of sinne neither would he sinne to be And yet is not God said to be the vnperfecter or the weaker bicause he cannot make sinne for that is not imperfection and impotencie but perfection These things cannot God doo bicause he is the chéefe good and the chéefe perfection naie rather he establisheth lawes against sins he crieth out against them and he punisheth
not that hath he not doon And thus much touching the arguments made vnto the 1. part An answer to the arguments on the second part Rom. 1 24. To the first 28 Now let vs take their arguments which affirme God to be the cause of euill In the first to the Romans it is said that God gaue them vp to a reprobate sense The interpretation is easie he gaue them vp to the desires of their owne hart as afterward he himselfe expoundeth it wherefore these desires were first euill What did God Verelie he permitted them to obeie their owne naughtie desires he himselfe did not euill but in leauing them destitute of his grace foorthwith wicked desires tooke place in them priuation of it selfe followed howbeit God vsed their naughtie desires to the performance of his iustice To the second namelie in punishing of them Exod. 9 12. Of the hardening of Pharaos hart it is sufficientlie declared before In the sixt chapter of Esaie Esaie 6 10. when God saith by the prophet Blind thou the hart of this people To the third that they hearing may not heare and seeing may not vnderstand c. This is two waies to be expounded Ierom for interpreting of these words taketh a place out of the 11. chapter to the Romans where it is said of the Ethnikes and Hebrues The Gentils were in times past vnbeleeuers Rom. 11 30 when ye did beleeue but now they haue obteined mercie through your vnbeleefe While the Gentils beléeued not the Iewes séemed to haue the true worship on the other side when preaching was afterward offered vnto them and they beléeued not the apostles forsaking them turned to the Gentils and so they were to become vnbeléeuers to the end that the Gentils might be admitted vnto grace Thus did God vse the incredulitie of the Iewes and therefore he added Rom. 11 32. that God did shut vp all vnder vnbeleefe that he might haue mercie vpon all Wherfore that same blinding of the vnbeléeuers was The blinding of vnbeleeuers to doo seruice to the prouidence of God which the prophet foresheweth Another interpretation there may be and that more commodious Gods mind was that Esaie should be sent to preach but least hée might be discoraged afterward when he should sée their obstinacie and that they were offended at the word God telleth him before that the same would come to passe The word of God of it selfe hath not this but he iustlie withdrew his spirit and grace from them This word of thine saith he will be an occasion taken through which they shall become more blind be turned awaie from me This must be vnderstood as touching the greater part for there were som good men among them Vnto this end it is declared that this should come to passe that they by perishing might make manifest the iustice of God who of his iust iudgement would make this their blindnes to doo him seruice But that the blindnes came of God we must not vnderstand it otherwise than as touching outward things for he offered them his word by Esaie 29 Another place To the fourth Matt. 6 13. Of leading into temptation Lead vs not into temptation It is so spoken as though God dooth lead some into temptation and by that meanes is the cause of sinne This sentence of the Lord Augustine in his booke De natura gratia the 58. chapter interpreteth To the intent we may resist the diuell we praie that the diuell may flie from vs when we saie Lead vs not into temptation Therefore also are we warned as it were by a grand capteine exhorting souldiers and saieng Watch and praie Matt. 26 41 least ye enter into temptation Wherefore Augustine in that place referreth these things vnto the temptation of the diuell who is able to bring nothing to passe further than God will giue leaue And in the 67. chapter of the same booke he addeth Two maner of waies we prouide against the diseases of the bodie namelie that either they may not happen at all or else if they doo come that we may quicklie be deliuered of them Thus when we saie Lead vs not into temptation we desire that God may turne awaie sinne that it happen not but if we haue fallen and committed sinne we praie him that he will remit and forgiue it The same author against the two epistles of Pelagius in the fourth booke and ninth chapter by the testimonie of Cyprian writeth when it is said Lead vs not into temptation that we be warned of our infirmitie and weakenes For it is said by the Lord Watch and praie least ye enter into temptation the reason is added For the spirit is readie but the flesh is weake let vs not be insolentlie puffed vp In this place temptation is ascribed to the flesh and to weakenes so as God is excluded from being author In his booke De bono perseuerantiae and sixt chapter he saith that Cyprian bringeth in that particle in these words Suffer vs not to be led into temptation for he séeth that the diuell can doo no more than God hath giuen him leaue to doo And God as touching his owne people bringeth to passe that he shall not preuaile but as touching the wicked if he haue the ouer hand God cannot be blamed vnles he will saie he is to be blamed for that he hindered not and that he ruleth euils and vseth them according to his prouidence Here we obiected Whether the punishment and fault be all one that it can hardlie be that the punishment and the fault should be all one For it is called sinne in that it is voluntarie but punishment is alwaies laid vpon men against their wils And how agréeth it Of voluntarie and not voluntarie that voluntarie and not voluntarie should be all one We answer that we may consider our will as touching sinne two manner of waies one waie as sinne procéedeth from thence and is brought to effect by meanes of the same and in that respect it is called a voluntarie thing an other waie sinne is considered as it is in the mind or will and deformeth it and after this sort it cannot be voluntarie for no euill men would haue their mind to be polluted wounded or destroied Wherefore sinne as it is brought foorth from the will being the effectuall cause is voluntarie but as it bringeth in blemish or deformitie it is doone against the will for we would be all perfect To the fift It was added God is the cause of the cause of sinne therefore also the cause of sinne By what things doo we sinne By the will and affections the which God hath brought foorth therfore he is also the cause of the last effect We answer that sinne dependeth not of the will and affections as they were made by God but as they are now corrupted I shewed an example before of halting 30 Besides we said that God remooueth his grace and
wiped out who were written in before the will séemeth not to be constant Read Augustine vpon that place A man commonlie saith Quod scripsi scripsi What I haue written that haue I written and will God wipe out that which he hath written How then are they said to be wiped out The kind of spéech is according to the hope of them In verie déed they were not registred but they thought themselues to be registred But there be some which refer blindnesse and hardening of harts to foreknowledge onelie Howbeit there is not a bare prescience of these things but there is a certeine will of God whereby God cannot foreknowe things to come vnlesse they be such as shall come to passe And those things that shall be or be cannot come to passe or be vnlesse that God with some kind of will will haue them to be or to come to passe Wherefore there is some will of God that preceadeth fore-knowledge he hath a will not to let things and he hath a will to vse them according to his predestinated counsels 33 An other argument To the 19. These tyrants Nabuchadnezar Senacherib and others Esaie 10 5. and. 19 were in the hand of God as a staffe and rod and therefore God séemeth to be the cause of sinne Indéed it is true that they were as a rod and when they had executed their office they were throwne into the fire yet were they not without sense and perceiuing but were mooued forward by their owne naughtie will and therefore are iustlie punished For there is two kinds of instruments as I declared before Howbeit this is no beguiling that God will vse these things yet command that they shall not be doone These men doo them of a naughtie will but God vseth their naughtines Men also can vse well the naughtie actions of their aduersaries and manie times they doo vse them without anie craftie dealing euen to the intent they may take héed to themselues and may shew patience Sometime God vseth sinnes to punish the sinners themselues yea rather he vseth them so alwaies for bicause sinne is alwaies a punishment of the sinner And otherwhile he vseth them for the punishment of others An other argument was To the 20. that God put into the hart of Dauid to number the people Indéed 2. Sam 24 1. 1. Paâ— â—1 1. the scripture speaketh after this maner These kind of spéeches we heare not in the poets but in the word of God Plato might banish poets out of his common weale but we may not driue out scriptures which speake on this wise But how these things must be vnderstood I haue declared before God withdrew his helpe from Dauid he hindered him not he would vse that worke for punishing of the people But it is obiected If God withdrawe his grace hée dooth it iustlie I grant it yet notwithstanding he dooth the same further he vseth the diuell also Ibidem In the booke of Chronicles it is said that the diuell set on Dauid therefore God also did it insomuch as he gaue the diuell leaue But they obiect against that which we haue oftentimes spoken namelie that grace being remooued from vs sinne dooth créepe on of it selfe séeing our owne will of it selfe inclineth vnto it euen as darknes dooth naturallie come after the light is gon God saie they is euen as the sunne bicause his light shineth in euerie place but there be men which conueigh themselues into corners but if his lightening be in euerie place into what corners should men go where that light is not The diuine scripture saith otherwise for it saith of him that abused the talent Matt. 25 28 Take it awaie from him c. Dauid praieth Take not awaie thine holie spirit from me wherefore God ment to vse the sinne of Dauid for punishment of the people And Aeschylus the tragicall poet is by some vniustlie accused who saith that God if he will destroie and take awaie anie he giueth the causes and occasions séeing the scripture so speaketh which can speake against the lawes of Plato but not against the lawes of God 1. Sam. 2 25 For it saith that the sonnes of Helie did not hearken to their father bicause the will of God was to destroie them 1. Kin. 12 15 and that Roboam would not giue eare vnto the elders bicause the turning awaie was of God It was said that If the matter should be thus To the 21. then God should not be the cause of all things if he be not the cause of sinnes It followeth not for although God be not the cause of sinne yet he gouerneth the sinnes which be committed he vseth them and maketh the verie ground-worke so farre foorth as it is a naturall thing But it behooueth saie they that sinne be voluntarie If we speake of actuall sinnes it is true but of originall sinne it is not true Also the first motions which be sinnes are not voluntarie Barnard And Barnard in his treatise of frée will setteth downe certeine degrées of mans nature Men that be blessed in the heauenlie habitation cannot sinne it was in Adam not to haue sinned after sinne committed we cannot choose but sinne So be the damned so be the reprobate and wicked But the godlie regenerate are able not to giue place vnto sinne and bring to passe that sinne shall not altogither reigne in them and this they haue of the spirit of God Whereby it appéereth by this distinction that the sinne of the damned is of necessitie We cannot make choise of anie part without the spirit of God and yet sinne neuertheles For although it be a thing of necessitie yet it is voluntarie but not so voluntarie as we be able of our selues to make choise of the other part which is contrarie therevnto for we cannot haue the choise on the other part but through the same spirit of God In punishing there is no respect what wee are able or not able but what we doo against the lawe of God Sinnes are iustlie punished but there is no respect had what thou art able or not able but whether that which thou dooest be doone against the lawe of God or no. And God dooth iniurie vnto no man Wherfore this obiection is not of force if we respect God If one sée a blind man to be falling dooth not stretch foorth his hand to helpe him or setteth him not vp againe it séemeth to be crueltie To the 22. God séeth a man readie to fall he putteth not foorth his hand it séemeth to be crueltie In whom In men bicause the lawe is prescribed vnto them GOD is not subiect to these lawes Zuinglius This answer maketh Zuinglius in his booke De prouidentia and in his booke De falsa vera religione where he intreateth of merit And although God bestowe not so large gifts vpon the reprobate as he dooth vpon others yet he giueth them manie things
suffer euen those things which Apollo prophesied to be conteined vnder destinie How we put the knitting togither of causes But we as we declared at the first denie not but that things are knit togither as God ordeined and knew before hand yet so as the nature and condition of them remaineth whole and sound For vnto whom soeuer a thing contingent as the Schoole-diuines speake is due they haue the same and to whom soeuer necessitie belongeth with necessitie they be constreined But in verie déed grace which finallie séemeth to resist frée will dooth not take the same awaie To the seuenth but rather helpeth and restoreth it But now we will cease from these matters least we dispute more curiouslie of them than beséemeth christians Let euerie one followe their owne vocation and let vs leaue inquiring more than is requisite about the secret and hidden will of God touching prescience and predestination and let vs followe that doctrine of God which is plainlie laid out before vs in the holy scriptures ¶ Looke another place of the same argument in the addition at the end of this booke Now we thinke it conuenient to ioine vnto this disputation certeine other discourses namelie of Voluntarie and Not voluntarie and also of mans choise and such like Of Voluntarie and Not voluntarie 41 Aristotle in his first booke of Ethiks treateth at large of that which is voluntarie Out of the Commentaries vpon Aristotles Ethiks and of that which is not voluntarie the reason whereof is bicause praise dispraise pardon and sometimes mercie be voluntarie The argument is taken from the consequents Praises and dispraises serue vnto morall knowledge for as commendable maners and actions are to be desired so those which are blame-woorthie are to be auoided Howbeit such praises and dispraises cannot be iudged of vnlesse we knowe whether they be doon with a willing or vnwilling mind Further he added another cause to wit that this doctrine is a part of the ciuill facultie wherto belongeth the making of lawes And lawes set foorth rewards and punishments to the obseruers and transgressors of them it is néedfull therefore that they knowe which be voluntarie things and which be not voluntarie Whether lawes may command things not possible to be performed For men that be vnwilling doo not obteine rewards and they which sinne by compulsion should not suffer punishments Some wrest this reason of lawe-makers herevnto as though they ought to regard this that they command not those things which of necessitie must be doon nor those things which are vnpossible to be doone but onlie those which be in our owne power and that therefore it behooueth them to knowe what is the nature of voluntarie and not voluntarie I knowe in verie déed A definition of lawe that this is the definition of lawe that It is a reason commanding honest things and calling backe from things that be dishonest But that which these men auouch to wit that it commandeth things which be possible I would onelie grant it as touching ciuill laws but not of diuine laws for those require things that be vnpossible especiallie in respect of the state of nature corrupt defiled Howbeit Aristotle vsed not this reson he onlie touched these things which I haue mentioned of punishments rewards Whether the affects of the mind be voluntarie or not voluntarie But whie did he speake of the affects since those be not voluntarie but are naturallie planted in our minds The Gréek scholies answer that albeit as touching substance and root they be of nature yet may they some kind of waie be called voluntarie insomuch as by vse exercise they may be inlarged or repressed Or else we will answer that Aristotle made mention of both of affects I meane and of actions but voluntarie must onelie be referred to the actions The which thing being doone it will also belong vnto the vertues which are conuersant in the affections for those also are gotten by actions which when they be right and commendable must be accounted voluntarie Morouer whie dooth Aristotle saie that somtime pardon somtime mercie must be shewed Bicause we doo not alwaies take mercie on them whom we pardon for a man in defending himself killed him which set vpō him he did it not willinglie he is forgiuen but we take not pitie on him To knowe which is voluntarie and which not voluntarie may serue to the moderating of punishment due by lawe 42 But how the knowledge of that which is Voluntarie and Not voluntarie may helpe to moderate the punishments which laws appoint it may many waies be shewed They which haue committed anie thing against their wils or of compulsion are not punished And in the ciuill lawes there be verie manie titles which prouide remedie in the case of ignorance or compulsion euen as they doo likewise concerning those things which be doone for feare and by craftie collusion and touching them which be vnder 25. yéeres of age c. Also he that is taken with madnesse or frensie is forgiuen yea and a mad man although he kill his father shall not be punished The lawes of God quit the hewer of wood Deut. 19 5. which by chance and not willinglie shall kill an other bicause perhaps the axe might flie out of the helue and certeine cities were appointed for refuge Also Plato in his ninth booke of laws sheweth that manie things are to be forgiuen where the will did not consent So as it greatlie auaileth lawe-makers and iudges of the lawe bicause of giuing punishments and rewards to knowe what is doone voluntarie and what is not doone voluntarie We will speake first of Not voluntarie for in this matter the priuation séemeth to be better knowen than the thing it selfe By darknesse is the light better knowen and sicknesse dooth make the goodnes of health the more manifest The definition of not voluntarie This definition of Not voluntarie appéereth by the reckoning vp of the parts thereof so that it is rather a diuision than a definition albeit that iust and full diuisions haue sometime the place of a definition And we then chéeflie vse them when that which is common to the parts can not be expressed by anie one certeine point thereof Howbeit we must vnderstand that it is called Not voluntarie of these two formes or kinds which be of one signification for euen that which is doone violentlie and vnwittinglie is not voluntarie And we prooue that the diuision of these two parts is rightlie made for Voluntarie which is contrarie to Not voluntarie standeth of two things of knowledge and desire First we must knowe that which we must desire then are we stirred vp therevnto by a motion of the desire But either of these two may be hindred ignorance taketh awaie knowledge and violence letteth the desire For good cause therefore be these two put contrarie to that which is voluntarie Violence is defined what it is after this maner It is a
vehement inforcing which either not at all or verie difficultlie can be abidden But some man will maruell how two things may be set against one for against Voluntarie is set that which is doone by violence and also that which is doone vnwittinglie Herevnto we answer that there is but one set against one constraint or Not voluntarie is set against willingnesse or voluntarie But this vnwillingnesse or not voluntarie is afterward distributed into two parts for it is one thing that is doone by violence an other which is doone by vnskilfulnes 43 And as touching violence That the originall of that which is violent is from without Aristotle saith that the beginning of the motion thereof must be outward for those things which be mooued by an inward beginning are mooued naturallie not violentlie But some cut off the latter particle which Aristotle hath in that place so as that which suffereth or dooth bringeth not anie helpe to that beginning Howbeit those which so saie are deceiued for as we perceiue of a wracke that is made in a great tempest the beginning thereof is outward namelie there be winds waues and stormes but the wracke would not be vnlesse that the shipmen themselues would take out of the ship those things which are to be cast awaie And they which vnder a tyrant are forced to doo things that be shamefull they haue the beginning of their actions from without namelie the commandement of the tyrant but yet those things would not be doone if they themselues would not yéeld to the dooing of them Wherefore it appeareth that these things haue their beginning outwardlie yet neuerthelesse that they bring some helpe therevnto Others thinke that Dooing is there added in vaine for if the beginning be an outward motion then should it be enough if he were named a sufferer for that which is mooued suffereth but doth not We answer It maie well be that the selfe same things which are mooued violentlie Whether those things that are moued violentlie may also themselues haue a doing maie also haue a dooing as instruments for a staffe mooued by vs doth also mooue a stone And in some thick throng where men be pressed when a man is there choked he is crushed by those which stand about him so as they are said to thrust against him although they thrust not of their owne accord but are driuen by others and inforced by the rest of the companie The examples brought by Aristotle are such as one of them is of a liuing creature when against our wils we be caried awaie by men in whose power we are Another is of things which haue no life as when we be caried with the wind whither we would not which oftentimes happeneth to them that be sailers If anie shall demand whether voluntarie without constraint be all one we will answer Whether voluntarie and without constraint be all one that without constraint extendeth further than voluntarie For without constraint agréeth euen to things that be without life but so doth not voluntarie Neither is it required that the first beginning should be a motion in vs for our knowledge commeth of an outward obiect albeit that the same motion wherewith the sense is brought to passe by the obiect is of another order The beginning whereof Aristotle spake is the cause yet not anie cause ye will but onlie the efficient cause And that is vnderstood to be the same which is enough to mooue by it selfe 44 There is mooued a question as touching certeine actions which séeme to be as it were meane Whether those that seeme to be meane actions be voluntarie or not voluntarie and it is doubted whether they be voluntarie or not voluntarie And the question propounded may either be simple or of two parts It is simple if thou shalt saie Whether be those things voluntarie which are doone for the feare of greater euils rather than the obteining of some good honest thing And they declare that such a thing happened vnto Socrates who would not obeie the thirtie tyrants which required of him to kill a certeine citizen of Athens which he would not doo when neuertheles they threatned him that they would kill his father and children And this they sought to the intent they might make him to be a companion and partaker of their most cruell purposes The question also which liketh me better might be of two parts namelie whether those things be voluntarie things which are doone for feare of greater euils or for the obteining of some honest thing which otherwise would not be doon As if a lie be spoken which in his owne nature is filthie it is doubtfull whether it be voluntarie or not voluntarie when it is made for the defense either of his owne life or the life of another man Also adulterie is a shamefull thing which no man of himselfe should choose but if one for the slaieng of a tyrant should to win fauor with the tyrants wife haue carnall copulation with hir that by hir he might haue a readie waie to kill the tyrant the question is whether that adulterie should be called voluntarie And all we knowe what great paines merchant men doo take what things the ambitious sort and those which delight in pleasure doo endure that they maie enioie their ends And they would not abide those things which they doo vnlesse it were for their commoditie Wherefore it is doubted whether those things be voluntarie But if anie man doo doubt which be called great euils Which he called great euils let him looke on those things which be their contraries he shall sée that there be greater good things namelie life chastitie libertie and godlines and he shall perceiue that death breach of chastitie The lesse euils are chosen for auoiding the greater bondage vngodlinesse and such like are the great euils which things be so gréeuous as manie times some shamefull things are committed for the auoiding of them How detestable things are oftentimes doone for the scaping of death may easilie be knowen Cato slew himselfe bicause he would not come in subiection Regulus least he should breake his faith returned vnto his death to Carthage Virginius rather slew his daughter than he would suffer hir to liue violated and a bond-woman And manie such like things haue the holie scriptures Gen. 19 8. Lot rather offred his daughters to be defloured than he would suffer his ghests to haue iniurie doone vnto them on the other side his daughters rather defiled themselues by incest with their father Gen. 19 31. than that the world shuld want posteritie Abraham to shun death commanded Sara to saie that he was hir brother Gen. 20 2. and put hir chastitie in open danger In like maner Iudith with the danger of hir chastitie Iudith 10 11 and 12. went to Holophernes for the deliuerance of hir people We dispute not here whether these things were well or wickedlie doone but we
kind of shamefull things must be abidden for a gret good thing But it is to be considered that when it is said we must sometime suffer shamefull things that must not be referred vnto wickednesse or vnto horrible crimes for those things must not be committed for anie maner of vtilitie or honor but it is onelie said that those things should sometime be suffered which haue some gréefe and reproch As if a magistrate should be bidden to run like a seruant through the common stréets or to weare openlie a womans garment if great preferment and lawfull commoditie be laid before him he will not refuse these things So then they must be verie great matters for the which the like should be doone if a man will be praised for the same I doo not allow the examples of the Scholies for when they shew that these vile things must be suffered they teach that a lie must be made or else that there must be carnall companie with a tyrants wife to the intent hir husband may be slaine For these be sinfull things neither as I haue said dooth Aristotle speake of them neither yet can such things be commended sith that praises doo agrée with vertues and dispraises with vices There be some found of so abiect and vile a mind as they ought for iust cause to be dispraised sith for a iust and honest matter they will not suffer anie thing at all So are soldiers dispraised which forsake their station and they that without constraint doo yéeld vp castles and strong holds And in like maner are they dispraised which are readie to doo anie thing rather than they will be compelled to paie anie summe of monie 47 And it appéereth euidentlie inough whie Aristotle said that Sometime praise dooth followe the suffering of gréeuous things bicause this commeth not to passe continuallie That praise dooth not alwaies folowe them that suffer greeuous things For sometimes neither praise nor dispraise doo in that respect happen vnto them which suffer reprochfull things but they are pardoned And this happeneth when by reason of these things a man dooth that which becommeth him not as when tyrants doo threaten those things or else they shall light vpon vs vnlesse we suffer such reproches as are beyond the power of mans nature there Aristotle saith that we pardon him It is offered vnto men that they shall be burned or be cut in sunder there if they yéeld either in disclosing of secrets or in suffering of anie vile thing they are pardoned And some thinke that in those cases it is lawfull to make a lie Aristotle addeth that neuerthelesse there be certeine things Certeine things whereto a man must not suffer him selfe to be constrained wherevnto no man ought to suffer himselfe to be compelled he ought rather to abide anie thing when he yéeldeth he shall not be pardoned nor excused Wherefore our martyrs be in the right opinion who haue determined rather to indure anie thing than to depart from godlinesse Aristotle bringeth an example out of the tragedie of Euripides for Alcmaeon was not pardoned in that he killed his mother bicause she was lead vnto so great a wickednesse vpon a verie light or rather ridiculous cause Since these actions whereof we treat be mixed as we haue said of Not voluntarie Voluntarie when Voluntarie beareth rule either praise or dispraise followeth them but if Not voluntarie haue the ouerhand and that a man may séeme to haue doone the thing against his will he is forgiuen For those actions which be mixed are so composed of two things as either the one or the other of those things whereof they be compounded may surmount or ouercome And rightlie dooth Aristotle make exception of gréeuous crimes which shall not be pardoned for who will forgiue him which condemneth an innocent which committeth adulterie which betraieth his countrie which for the sharpenesse of torments denieth godlinesse These things can or ought by no meanes to be excused Anaxarchus bicause he would not pleasure the tyrant when he was beaten in a morter with iron pestles said Beat on hardlie Anaxarchus bag So far was it off that he would change his will or yéeld vnto torments And Zeno in his torments bit off his owne toong least through the force of gréefe he should be constrained to bewraie the conspiratours Wherefore there be foure kinds of men which Aristotle speaketh of the first is of them which are commended in their suffering of gréeuous things the second of them which are dispraised the third of them which obtaine pardon the fourth is of them which obteine no pardon 48 Aristotle sheweth of two difficult and hard things which happen Two difficulties about the suffring for honest things one commeth from our iudgement the other from the infirmitie of our strength in suffering or in not suffering of gréeuous and cruell things for an honest cause The first belongeth to the facultie of iudging bicause we are oftentimes ignorant what things ought to be suffered for anie cause whether anie thing must be suffered in the goods of the mind whether in the bodie or in the goods of fortune and againe what maner of things they ought to be that we should suffer or that we should not suffer And rightlie dooth Aristotle saie that this is sometime hard to be iudged for otherwhile this difficultie dooth not happen For all men knowe that wickednesse is not for anie cause to be suffered But Achilles doubted whether he should rather haue wished for long life but yet without glorie by lurking at home or else for famous glorie togither with short life by warfaring at Troie Also a sonne will doubt whether he ought to hold his peace or to betraie his father whom he knoweth to rob his countrie to enter into the treasurie by secret passages in the earth and from thence to steale awaie the common treasure In like maner Dauid will doubt whether he ought to counterfet himselfe to be a foole or rather suffer himselfe to be slaine of a barbarous king The cause is hard to be iudged for sorrowfull things are to be compared with dishonest things neither is it easie for all men to discerne betwéene these things And vertue consisteth in matters difficult Therefore from hence come praises or else if we flie from vertue to vices dispraises Héere dooth varietie of the circumstances increase the difficultie which causeth that we cannot haue certeine rules in those things The other kind of difficultie ariseth of the weakenesse of strength not of iudgement for when we be out of danger or sorrow we sée what is to be chosen and oftentimes we discerne that which is right But when we come to the féeling and experience of gréefe paines and torments we are then of an other mind Whereof also it commeth to passe that when we be in health we giue good counsell vnto them that be sicke but yet we doo not rightlie aduise our owne selues when we are sicke And
but yet one wanteth that is Whereabout vnder which word is signified the matter or subiect of action And when it is said of Aristotle Wherein there be signified two things namelie place and time So that The circumstances are eight in number if we will haue the iust number there be eight of which number this reason may be alledged Bicause either we respect the causes of the action or else we consider the nature or substance of the action The cause if it be efficient then is it named of this circumstance Who. If it be the end then we account it of the circumstance Wherefore Or if it be the matter then we adde to it the circumstance Whereabout Or if it be as touching instruments or the organs we referre it to the efficient cause which before we called Who. But if so be we consider the action it selfe the nature thereof is expressed by the circumstance Whereby But when we consider the measure thereof then haue we the circumstance of time and place which we call When and Where And last of all we regard the proportion of the maner which is a thing belonging to qualitie and is the circumstance that we named How No man saith Aristotle is ignorant of all these circumstances he meaneth of them all at once A man may be ignorant of one or other of them particularlie but none can be ignorant of them altogither vnlesse he be a verie foole for how shall a man haue no knowledge of himselfe This is not generallie true bicause a man may easilie be ignorant of the cause efficient If himselfe be that efficient I confesse it is the harder not to knowe himselfe But euen this also may haplie come to passe that one sometimes minding an other matter may stirre a ship and yet marketh not that which he dooth But that we now speake of is to be vnderstood for the most part Howbeit this subtill point falleth not out in things that are morall The matter is made plaine by examples How circumstances do excuse What did the circumstances excuse Aeschylus the tragicall Poet He in a tragedie did séeme to reueale certeine sacred mysteries of Ceres which thing raised so great a tumult in the theatre as he was well néere slaine He fled vnto the altar of Bacchus from thence he was brought to the iudgement of the Areopagits he pleaded his cause he excused himselfe that he knew not those things to be mysteries and bicause he knew not what he did he was quit Also an other man made a certeine engine or instrument of warre which did cast stones the effect whereof when he was minded to shew he discharged the péece and by a stroke killed a certeine man he excused himselfe that he knew not what he did The circumstance Whereabout which is the matter or subiect of action appéereth by the example of Merope She laie in wait for hir sonne and killed him thinking that he had béene hir enimie when he was hir sonne Héer the error was in the circumstance Whereabout And this example is said to be in Euripides in the tragedie of Crespontes which is not extant Sometimes we know not and that is called the circumstance Wherewith as if a man thinke he runneth with a blunt speare the same shal be armed with a sharpe head Or a man thinking that he dooth throwe a pumice when he hath throwne a stone whereby some bodie is hit or woounded or slaine Otherwise we are ignorant of the end A man for health or for recouerie from sicknesse letteth bloud giueth a medicine or lanceth the flesh and there followeth a contrarie effect for either the partie dieth or he is hurt the ignorance of the end dooth excuse him Also the maner of the action as when a man dooth a thing and would not it holds him excused They which contend one with an other with all the strength of their hands or fingers which is a kind of wrestling and one mindeth to teach the other and thinking to strike but lightlie striketh gréeuouslie he is excused Sith that there is an ignorance in those things that which is doone shal be counted against his will especiallie if those circumstances which are the more principall be hidden from vs. And these circumstances be Wherefore Whereabout or Wherein But Aristotle in his example séemeth to haue omitted the circumstance of place and time that is Where and When. Which is no maruell since they might séeme to be knowne well enough as those which néeded no examples Neither is it required that when manie things of one sort be expounded examples should be brought of all things For it sufficeth that some things be shewed so to be for the examples which make plaine some of those things do serue also for the declaring of other things But least there should be found a lacke of them we saie it may be that some man knoweth not that the place wherein he cōmitteth anie euill is holie otherwhile also the circumstance of the time namelie of a festiuall daie or of a holie daie or of a birth daie may be vnknowne 54 If that which is doone against the will ought to be ascribed to the actions which are doone vnwittinglie while we be ignorant of these particular circumstances there is required moreouer that the error being knowne and discouered the action should be gréeuous and we should be sorie for that which happened to vs vnawares For if this gréefe should not ensue vpon it the action may be called not voluntarie yet shall it not be against the will But héere it is worth the séeing How ignorance is the cause of a thing doone against the will how ignorance can be called the cause of a thing doone against the will This is therefore bicause it depriueth vs of knowledge which if it had béene present that which is now doone had not béene committed or if it had béene committed it had made the action voluntarie Wherefore either it depriueth vs of the knowledge whereon voluntarie dooth depend or else it depriueth vs of that knowledge which if it had béene present the action had not followed And it may be that he which dooth vnwittinglie hath ignorance ioined togither with the act which he dooth What kind of ignorance dooth not excuse and yet he is not vnwilling to that which is doone but rather desireth it wherevpon there followeth no sorrowe afterward when the thing is knowne And this kind of ignorance dooth not excuse him nor yet maketh him to haue doone it against his will As when a man thinkeing to kill a hart killeth his enimie whom he before wished to haue béene slaine and now being slaine reioiseth notwithstanding he then knew not what he did There is moreouer a certeine ignorance which some of set purpose would haue for they desire and choose that they may be ignorant least by knowledge they should be withdrawne from sinning or from pleasurs And this kind of ignorance is greatlie to be
accused much lesse excused There is an other ignorance which is so doone as a man knowing what is right and méet when he commeth to the action neglecteth that cogitation of honestie right and rather considereth his profit and pleasure And this commeth to passe either of a vehement perturbation of the mind or else of some ill habit Neither also dooth this ignorance excuse for he that so is ignorant for lacke of consideration he dooth not that which he might and ought to haue doone Now and then ignorance commeth héereof that a man will neglect to learne or else for that he shunneth labour or bicause he vseth no studie and diligence For euerie man ought to knowe the generall lawes Since therefore euen this man dooth not that which he can and ought he is not to be excused Howbeit in these actions there is something that is Not voluntarie for this ignorance preuenteth actions or the motion of the will which motion if it were present knowledge would not followe The last ignorance is that whereof we treat this excuseth it obteineth pardon and mercie bicause the circumstances are not knowen and for that after the action sorrowe and gréefe doo followe Of that which is Voluntarie The definition of voluntarie standeth vpon two parts 55 As touching Voluntarie the definition standeth of two parts First saith Aristotle the beginning thereof must be inward Secondlie the circumstances must be knowne for if voluntarie be contrarie to that which is against the will and that which is against the will consist of two parts then is it necessarie that the contraries to them must be placed in the definition of voluntarie Hervpon we sée the excellent method of Aristotle for except he had before hand shewed the nature of violence and ignorance he could not so easilie haue defined what voluntarie was Moreouer Aristotle was the rather mooued to write of these things bicause that those things which are doone of angrie men or men that are mooued with desire are comprehended in the definition of voluntarie For both the originall of the dooing is in the man himselfe which is the dooer and they doo vnderstand and verie well knowe the particulars for they vse deliberations and sharpe iudgement either to reuenge or to compasse that which they desire which would not be doon if they were ignorant of the circumstances Wherevpon it is concluded that those things are voluntarie and that those doo erre which haue thought such things to be doone against the will And what mooued them to thinke that those things are against the will it may easilie be perceiued They sawe that it was altogither difficult Why some thinke that angrie and lusting men doo things against their wils to resist those two affections namelie anger and desire as those which are more violent than the residue and therefore they thought that men are constreined by them Wherefore Heraclitus said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is It is hard wrestling against anger And Plato in his second booke De republica saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is Anger is neither to be striuen with nor to be subdued But if there can be no striuing against the same nor that it can be conquered it séemeth to compell and to make that the actions be doon against the will For which cause the same Plato in his ninth booke De legibus saith that An angrie man 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is to saie Is like to one that dooth against his will He saith not that he dooth altogither against his will but like vnto him And Cato the Censor said that he which is angrie differeth from a mad man onelie in time Yea and other men as Euenus haue béene bold to saie that Wrath is much woorse than madnesse But Plato in his treatise of Cratylus writing of desire compared the same to a verie strong bond Wherefore we also doubt not but that these two affections are vehement and of great force but yet that they are not so strong as they cannot be bridled by reason Which we sée come to passe in temperate men and those which be indued with méekenesse and other vertues But yet would I not denie that those actions are more voluntarie which be doon without the inforcement of such affects which neuerthelesse is no cause that these should be excluded from the number of them 56 Aristotle saith that none of the rest of the liuing creatures doo anie thing against their wils no not children The proposition is to be confirmed Those things that are doone by inforcement or by desire be voluntarie That was declared before by the definition Now are other reasons added herevnto whereof the first is this If they were actions against the will neither brute beasts nor children should doo anie thing of their owne accord But those doo manie things of their owne accord Therefore those things are doon against the will The argument is conditionall of the consequent taken to ouerthrowe the antecedent The conclusion is prooued Bicause brute beasts and children since they be without reason whatsoeuer they doo That children and brute creatures doo some things with their wils and some things against their wils they doo it through those affects But how absurd the consequent is hereby it appéereth insomuch as we sée that these liuing creatures and children doo certeine things against their wils As when they be ouercome and shut vp in anie place but on the other side when they be loosed and set at libertie they doo manie things willinglie and of their owne accord They choose themselues meat when they will they enter into chambers dens from thence when it séemeth good they go foorth They defend their yoong ones they flie to their nests and infinite such other things they doo willinglie and of their owne accord They reioise in libertie and on the other side when they be constreined to anie thing it gréeueth them and they are not a little disquieted Alexanders horse Bucephalus admitted no man to sit vpon him but Alexander which without doubt he did not by constreint The elephants doo loue their maisters they obeie them yea they knéele downe when they be commanded But what should we speake of elephants Dogs in a house doo fawne vpon their maisters but doo barke at strangers they hunt chéerfullie they followe those which féed them all these things certeinlie they doo of their owne accord Manie things belonging to this matter might be rehearsed of birds fishes and other brute creatures which are so woonderfull things and are doone of them with so great an inclination that sometimes manie haue thought that in brute beasts there is a will whereby they choose those things which like them most refusing other things which doo displease them Yea and some men haue ascribed some reason vnto them bicause they sée that those things which they doo they doo them with great industrie Which we would not grant albeit as we haue said we must
as consist betwéene two extremes for manie times is set before a yong man the choise of good learning or of chiualrie or of ecclesiasticall function or of the administration of the common-weale First they choose to themselues one of these things which liketh them best then also they choose the means whereby they may excell them But we answer that choise in those ends hath no place as they be ends but as they be certeine means vnto felicitie For an end so farre foorth as it is an end is as Aristotle saith no choise That choise is not opinion Finallie to prooue that choise is not opinion which was set downe in the fourth place the reason is drawne from the obiects Opinion is of all things But choise is not of all things Therfore choise is not opinion The argument is in the second figure taken from the nature of relatiues for the power is referred vnto his obiect Now let vs sée what is opinion A definition of opinion It is an assent of the mind whereby we take vpon vs to mainteine the one part of a thing that is gainesaid yet we auow it not without all feare but somewhat doubting least perhaps the other part of the contradiction should be found true And herein opinion differeth from knowledge for knowledge is a most sure and vnmooueable assent Therefore let no man go about to persuade one that hath knowledge or is a professor of the Mathematicall sciences that a thing is otherwise than he knoweth it to be for it is vnpossible to persuade him therevnto But chéeflie doo Orators indeuour to roote opinions out of the minds of men when they sée that iudges or hearers doo otherwise iudge than they themselues would would haue them Aristotle prooueth That opinion concerneth all things that opinion is of all maner of things bicause men hold opinion euen of things eternall For men haue opinion of manie things concerning God concerning angels concerning heauen and such like things which of the philosophers are holden for eternall Also men haue an opinion of those things which cannot be to wit that there be Chimeras Centaures and such like monsters and that the diametre is equall to the side lines of the quadrangle which cannot possiblie be Also things necessarie be otherwhile subiect vnto opinion for it may be that what one hath perceiued by knowledge another beléeueth by opinion But when it is said that opinion is as touching all things this must not be vnderstood as concerning simple motions or single words but as touching propositions which consist of manie motions or words doo shew that either a thing is or is not Neither yet is there opinion of all these things for there be certeine things which euen of themselues are knowne either to the sense or to the mind As that fire is hot we certeinlie knowe by experiment of the sense we haue not an opinion thereof and that the whole is greater than the part thereof or that we pronounce of euerie thing either that it is or is not which things be called principles we are not led by opinion sith of themselues they are knowne to our vnderstanding Opinion therefore is of all things that is to wit of all propositions which of themselues are not knowne vnto vs. Opinion distinguished from faith Also opinion is distinguished from diuine faith for faith signifieth a firme assent giuen vnto the word of God by the persuasion of the holie Ghost so that it neither staggereth nor wauereth as dooth opinion The Minor proposition of the argument aforesaid is thus prooued Bicause choise is onelie of those things which may be doone of vs wherefore it is not of all things as opinion is Aristotle hath another argument drawne from the parts These two whole things choise and opinion haue not the same parts whereinto they might be diuided Ergo they are not all one For the parts of choise are euill and good but the parts of opinion are false and true opinion And yet this argument may séeme to be weake for we commonlie saie that there be manie euill opinions Ill opinions as if a man thinke that our soules are mortall or that God dooth not by his prouidence care for mens actions Whosoeuer thinke these things are said to haue ill opinions First we answer hervnto that ill is here vnderstood as it belongeth to maners therfore Aristotle saith that opinion is neither euill nor good bicause it is not reckoned among maners But the common sort doo call opinions euill bicause that which is false is euill euen as that which is true is good For those things which are commonlie called transcendent are so ioined one with another that true is good and false is euill Also these opinions may sometimes be called good or euill in a morall sense bicause thorough those false or true opinions men are stirred vp either to good or vnto euill maners That no kind of opinion is all one with choise The next argument is taken from the effects to prooue that it cannot be particularlie said that anie kind of opinion is all one with choise Here we haue to deale with the particular part bicause it hath béen alreadie declared in the whole that opinion choise doo differ Wherefore least anie man might saie They differ generallie and yet it may be that some opinion is a particular choise Aristotle prooueth that this cannot be bicause saith he this is the effect of choise that through a iust cause we shall become men denominated of that qualitie to wit iust men But this happeneth not in opinion and therefore they are by no meanes all one Those things which be here spoken are most euident in an incontinent man for he bicause he maketh an ill choise is said to be an euill man whereas in other matters he may hold an opinion right inough For as touching vertues he iudgeth rightlie and thinketh that it is good to temper him selfe from vnchastitie and droonkennesse yet dooth not choose this he is not called a good man But yet none can denie but that euen by conceiuing an opinion we are become indued with some certeine kind of qualitie since opinion it selfe is a qualitie and euen of opinions doo arise some affects of the mind But Aristotle is to be vnderstood as touching that qualitie whereby we conceiue an opinion and doo make our choise for in choosing of chast things we become chast by choosing of strong things we become strong by choosing of iust things we become iust But it is not likewise true in generall as touching opinion for in conceiuing an opinion of eternall things we are not made eternall nor yet in conceiuing an opinion of anie thing touching iustice are we made iust Howbeit this is true that by true opinions we become more apt vnto vertues and through false opinions more prone vnto vices But opinion it selfe dooth straitwaie of it selfe so soone as it is present communicate vnto
sée that God altogither would that his people should be increased Further albeit I doubt not but that those fathers were not void of sin yet where they may be well defended I would not charge them ouer-much Yet Ambrose writeth somwhat of this matter which I sée not how it may be allowed What Ambrose and Augustine iudged herof For he excuseth Abraham first for issue sake secondlie for the shadowing of things to come lastlie bicause he comming out of Chaldaea reteined some gentilisme This latter reason is not of anie great force for Abraham had absteined a great while neither did he ioine Agar to himselfe of his owne accord but was prouoked therevnto by his wife Sara Yet dooth Ierom vnto Geruntia report the same of Iacob He saith it is obiected that Iacob had two wiues Indéed saith he he had but that was in Mesopotamia and vnder Laban But what answer will he make of Abraham For he vndoubtedlie was not in Mesopotamia What will he saie of Dauid Sith he had his wiues in the middest of Iewrie The licence that the forefathers had must not be transferred vnto vs. Matth. 19. 13 And as touching the third part of that we purposed to speake of namelie whether that libertie may be also transferred vnto vs I answer that it is in no wise lawfull For now hath Christ made manifest that lawe of God and hath called it backe to the first institution Wherefore he that now transgresseth the same dooth against the plaine word of God Moreouer the cause being taken awaie the effect must néeds be taken awaie And the cause was the increase of posteritie wherof there is now no néed séeing God hath now those that worship him ouer all the world But before it behooued that the worshipping of God should be reteined among one people vntill the comming of Christ And it was verie profitable that the same lawe should be expounded by Christ Christ altered not the lawe but reduced sole marriage to the first institution for when as Adam was the first man that had one wife it was méet that Christ the second Adam of whom the same first was a figure should ordeine the marriage of one alone But thou wilt saie that Christ came not to make lawes but to preach the Gospell and to redéeme mankind that therefore it behooued him to leaue matrimonie in the state it was in as well as the sunne the stars and other outward things I answer that Christ made no new lawe but onelie reuoked the old For he onelie declared the will of his father and taught nothing anew Further he tooke awaie sacrifices so that now he is a wicked man that will kill anie beast for sacrifice He also brake the strength of the iudiciall lawes so as no man that is of sound iudgement will vrge magistrates to execute those laws against their wils Neither only did Christ this by himselfe but also by his apostle Paule 1. Cor. 7 2. Also he reuoked wholie that matter concerning diuorsement so that if anie man depart from his wife marrie another he committeth adulterie But thou wilt obiect How the forefathers may seeme to be adulterers By this meanes the forefathers may séeme to be adulterers I answer as I haue said before that God dispensed with his lawe and that therefore they sinned not neuerthelesse the matter being now expounded and declared he that shall doo otherwise dooth gréeuouslie sinne And reuoking hath a respect alwaies to the time to come and not to that which is past séeing such is the condition of all lawes otherwise as concerning the nature of the fact the same vndoubtedlie did apperteine vnto adulterie For the ten commandements haue the same respect to vertues and vices as the ten predicaments haue towards all kind of things insomuch as there is nothing but may be reduced to some predicament or other so there is not anie vertue nor anie vice which may not be reduced to some precept Now then if we stand vnto that second opinion which we haue expounded that there was some vice in polygamie the same must néeds be adulterie And although in plaine reason it were not sinne as in the former opinion I declared yet was it some reuolting from perfection Panormitanus in the title of diuorsements in the chapter Gaudemus saith that The forefathers when they had giuen a bill of diuorsement and had married another were sufficientlie excused of adulterie bicause adulterie cannot be committed but by collusion or by couine And this he declareth by two lawes the one ecclesiasticall and the other ciuill The ecclesiasticall is out of the Triburien Councell as we read it in the 34. cause question the second in the chapter In lectum A man had a wife and she a sister all in one house When the wife was absent that same sister went to his bed Afterward came the husband and thinking it had béene his wife had the companie of hir The Councell absolued the man vpon condition that he did it not fraudulentlie but he was constreined to sweare that he did that wicked act ignorantlie and vnwittinglie And it is called a wicked act not bicause it was so in verie déed but bicause the matter perteined to wickednes Thus the fathers are excused bicause they married not their second wife by collusion for they perceiued that the same was accustomed and vsuall among all The other lawe ciuill is in the Digests Ad legem Iuliam de adulterio in the last lawe but one A certeine man put his wife frō him but gaue hir not a iust bill of diuorsement An other man married hir that was put awaie he was accused of adulterie but he was excused bicause he knew not that there was anie thing lacking vnto a iust diuorse This I speake least it should séeme vnto anie man that Christ accused the fathers of adulterie But if God for propagation sake dispensed with the forefathers as touching his lawe whie wilt thou saie may not the same be doone at this time to them which professe the Gospell séeing if they be compared with the Papists Atheists they be but few in number Howbeit the reason is not all alike bicause it behooued the religion of GOD vntill the comming of Christ to be reteined in one nation onlie Now the succession of godlines is not sought for out of one stocke or line but is spread ouer the whole world The fathers opinion heereof Chrysost 14 To this opinion of mine doo all the fathers agrée For Chrysostome in his 56. homilie on Matth. saith We must not iudge of the fathers according to our owne reason for at that time it was lawfull now it is not lawfull And he addeth that Christ came to the end he might bring vs to the state of angels For now he granteth vs one till we come to that place where they are neither married nor yet marrie wiues The same father in his oration De libello repudij saith
seduced hir ought to giue hir a dowrie and to take hir to wife But it is added If the father will Otherwise he shall onelie giue a dowrie neither shall he haue the maiden to wife against the fathers will And in the booke of Numbers the thirtie chapter verse 4. If a maiden vow a vow and the father heare it and letteth it not the vow shall be firme but if he gainsaie it it shall be in vaine And what is a vow A promise made vnto God Howbeit matrimonie is a promise which is made vnto man If God permit a vow made vnto him to the iudgement of the father much more will he permit matrimonie vnto him séeing it is a promise made betwéene men 2. Sa. 13 13. In the second booke of Samuel Thamar answered vnto hir brother Ammon If thou desire me at my fathers hand he will not denie me vnto thee The custome was then that the daughters were desired of the parents Héere I dispute not whether it were lawfull for Dauid to giue to Ammon his sister to wife Ephe. 6 1. Further Paule saith to the Ephesians Children obeie your parents in all things He excepteth nothing when he writeth so but saith In all things namelie which they command not against the word of God And in his first epistle to the Corinthians the seuenth chapter verse 36. is most manifestlie declared that it belongeth to the parents to giue their daughters in marriage to husbands And that was knowne not onelie by the lawe of God but also by the light of nature Which euen the Comedies of Terence and Plautus manifestlie declare Euripides And in Euripides a maiden answereth Of my marriages my father will haue care séeing these things are not in me to determine Which verse certeinlie so liked Ambrose Ambrose as he placed it in his booke of the patriarchs Further it serueth verie well for domesticall peace for the daughter in lawe ought to be to the father in lawe in stéed of a daughter Contrariwise of rash marriages rise great discords at home And for so much as the father ought to helpe his sonne with his goods it is méete againe that the sonne should obeie his father in contracting of matrimonie In other ciuill contracts the sonne can doo nothing without the consent of his father as appéereth in the Digests De mutuo ad senatusconsultum Macedonianum Wherfore it is méet that the iudgement of the father should be tarried for in so weightie a matter The ciuill lawes touching this point The selfe-same thing haue the ciuill lawes decréed Iustinian in his institutions in the title De nuptijs will not that marriages should be firme without the consent of the parents And in the Digests De statu hominum in the law Paulus If a sonne marrie a wife against the will of his parents the child which shal be borne of those parents shall not be legitimate And in the Code De nuptijs in the lawe Si proponis the case is diligentlie to be marked The daughter marrieth by consent of hir father she afterward being agréeued at hir husband departeth from him after that he returneth into fauour and she marrieth him againe against hir fathers will It is answered that that matrimonie is not lawfull Héereby it appéereth how much those lawes estéemed the authoritie of a father Againe in the lawe Si furiosi children if perhaps their parents be mad or béerest of their wits séeing they cannot vse the consent of them in contracting of matrimonie they shall vse the consent of their tutors 18 So then it séemeth maruellous that christians at this daie determine that marriages are lawfull without consent of the parents What the Canons determine hereof And to couer this they alledge the Canons of the which I thinke it good bréefelie to declare some And first I will make mention of the better Canons which were the more ancient for the later they were decréed the more corrupt they were In the Decrées cause 30. question 5. chapter Aliter Matrimonies are then lawfull when the maidens are desired at the parents hands and deliuered openlie otherwise they are not matrimonies but whoredomes dishonest companings adulteries and fornications Thus decréed Euaristus Nicolaus also at the consultation of the Bulgars Euaristus Nicolaus cause 30. question 5. chapter Nostrates Those matrimonies are firme which be knit by the consent of them which contract them and of those in whose power they are Leo. Leo also the first in the 30. cause question 5. chapter Qualis Then it is to be counted matrimonie when the maiden is by hir parents deliuered vnto hir husband And in the 31. cause question 2. chapter Non omnis A woman which marrieth by the consent of hir father is without blame if anie man shall afterward find fault withall And thus Gratianus concludeth that place Gratian. that he saith In contracting of matrimonie the consent of the parents is alwaies to be required Further Ambrose Ambrose intreating of the place in Genesis where it is written that the seruant of Abraham came into Mesopotamia Gen. 24 47. and found a wife for his masters sonne the parents of the maid when they indeuoured to reteine him longer and he would not tarrie they called the maide and asked hir whether she would go with him After this maner he saith as also it is declared in the 23. cause question 2. chapter Honorandum They asked not hir of the wedding but onelie of the iornieng with him For it perteineth not saith he to maidenlie shamefastnesse to choose vnto hir selfe a husband And the same he affirmed of widows which be yong Although to saie the truth I cannot héerein agrée vnto Ambrose that the maiden was not demanded the question whether she would marrie him Neither doo I doubt but she was demanded as touching both maters For in the 30 cause question 2. chapter Vbi non est we read that There can be no matrimonie where is not the consent of those which contract yea euen in the marriages of the children which are but seuen yeares of age And séeing at that age they are thought to vnderstand somewhat of matrimonie necessarie is the consent of them which contract And bicause there is mention made of spousages we thinke good to note this by the waie that children so contracting ought to be seuen yeares of age for otherwise the parents can promise nothing for them Those children if they afterward being of more yeares shall contract another matrimonie the same is of effect and not the former espousals which yet must be vnderstood if the parents consent to the second matrimonie Moreouer in the 31. cause question the second chapter Tua Hormisdas answereth that children when they contract after this maner ought to stand to the will of their parents And in the Extrauagants De sponsatione impuberum in the chapter Tua it is ordeined that children when they come to ripe age
the intent it should neuer be lawfull for man and wife to be one from an other either by occasion of sicknesse or else for other great and vrgent necessities but that married folkes may vnderstand that there should be no let in them to dwell togither and that they should not shunne to liue one with an other Thou wilt demand perhaps If the vnbeléeuing partie be prooued altogither an Atheist an Epicure which hath no regard of religion so as there is despaire of his saluation whether in that case the partie that beléeueth ought to remaine in wedlocke We answer Certeinlie when the partie married is past all hope of saluation a separation may be made for the effect being remooued there is left no place for the cause All the reason of abiding togither was for charitie sake that the faithfull man might win his wife vnto Christ But bicause it is not lawfull to despaire of anie man while he liueth We ought to despaire of no man while he liueth and he that this daie is an Atheist an Epicure and contemner of religion to morrowe perhaps will not be so séeing God hath the hearts of men in his hands therefore vnlesse there happen to be a manifest and speciall reuelation of the condemnation of such a one there ought not to be a departing But if the same partie in the meane time shal be a blasphemer and a cursser of Christ so as the beléeuer cannot remaine in matrimonie without the contumelie of Christ for perhaps the husband cannot abide to be reprehended of blasphemie or else that the truth of Christ must be defended by confession is it lawfull then to depart Yea verelie for he which honoreth Christ if he doo not deliuer his name from contumelie if he may or at the least-wise passeth not whether he séeme to consent vnto the iniurie doone vnto him he sinneth gréeuouslie and in vaine taketh himselfe to be a christian Wherefore prudentlie dooth the apostle write If the vnbeleeuer will dwell togither with the beleeuer bicause he is not iudged to be willing which dooth detest the religion of his spouse who dooth reuile his GOD with blasphemies and suffereth not that his conscience may rest in tranquillitie and quietnesse This is not to dwell togither but to torment the other partie to raise vp strife and vtterlie to ouerthrowe all domesticall peace 70 Also if it happen that the faithfull partie be weake and perceiueth him selfe by meanes of that matrimonie to fall awaie by little and little from christian religion so that he is almost led awaie from the faith and readie to fall headlong into idolatrie by being with idolaters what shall he then doo He ought not to abide for that sentence must stand sure and vnshaken We must not doo euill Rom. 3 8. that good may come thereof Neither is there anie hope then remaining that the vnbeléeuing partie can be conuerted which was the cause of reteining matrimonie naie rather it now happened contrariwise that the beléeuing partie shuld be put in ieopardie of inclining to infidelitie And this was the reason why God in the old testament appointed matrimonie which was contracted with infidels Esdr 10 11. to be dissolued by Esdras bicause men were by that meanes stirred vp vnto such worshippings as were forbidden so far off were they from winning their wiues vnto the Iewes religion Augustine Augustine in the place now cited reasoneth on this wise For this cause Paule wrote these things for that it was to be feared that if through the Gospell begun the matrimonies contracted should be made void christian religion would be condemned as though it troubled the Common-weales and did cut in sunder honest and lawfull contracts And there was added another discommoditie namelie that the vnbeléeuing partie suffering a repulse of hir husband for religion sake intangled hirselfe with new marriages whereby hir mind might be the more vehementlie hardened in infidelitie and more and more become strange vnto christian religion Which would not haue happened if the faithfull wife had tarried with him All meanes must be attempted before a diuorse be made So as it séemeth good that all meanes be attempted before a departure be had Hereby therefore we sée that Paule dooth giue leaue to depart not for religion sake onelie but in case that the vnbeléeuing partie will not dwell togither with the beléeuer So as he maketh the obstinate will to be the cause of departing rather than vnlikenes of religion séeing he teacheth that the same after a sort might be abidden And it appéereth that the sentence of Christ wherein he onelie excepteth whooredome Matth. 5 32 was not compleat séeing the apostle here added another Three gret doubts 71 Here arise thrée great doubts First it séemeth that Paule laieth open the partie that beléeueth vnto great perill for he persuadeth him to remaine with an infidell whereby he perhaps might fall into idolatrie for it is an easie matter to be seduced of the vnbeléeuing partie But it is answered that it is not so for God being then mooued by praiers will helpe the faithfull partie when he perceiueth him to followe his vocation and that he did not willinglie and of his owne accord procure those dangers Which had béene as much as to tempt God who séeth that he abideth not in this kind of marriage by his owne will or for his owne commoditie sake but that he may obeie the commandement of God and therfore will helpe him Moreouer if it happen that the beléeuer being weake perceiueth himselfe to be led from Christ he hath leaue to depart as we haue instructed before The second doubt is for that in committing of whooredome we therefore sinne bicause we take the member of Christ and make the same the member of an harlot How happeneth it here that sinne is not committed when as we make the member of Christ I meane the partie that beléeueth to be a member of idolatrie 1. Cor. 6 15. It is soone answered that we doo it not he was the member of his wife before Onlie this must be holden that there should be no parting for the Gospell sake There is no leaue giuen to him which alreadie is the member of Christ that he should become the member of an idolatrous woman to marrie with one that is an infidell but it is onelie said that he should not rashlie depart But in committing of fornication we which alreadie be the members of Christ are pulled from him and make our selues the members of an harlot Thou séest that the reason is vnlike Furthermore it commeth to passe that in coupling with an harlot either partie is vnpure as well the harlot as he which hath the companie of hir So is it not in marriage of persons of vnsemblable religion where the one partie namelie the beléeuer is pure For he which committeth whoordome is not onlie mingled in bodie with an harlot but also he consenteth with hir in the
séene or open vnto others So then let them couer their face if they thinke it to be foule or lesse decent But they will saie that it is not the custome in all countries that women should go with their faces couered If this maie not be let them abide the foulenesse and indecencie laid vpon them by God What if so be they had béene borne lame or with a crooked backe Certeinlie they might not haue amended these things but should haue suffered them Let them therefore which be deformed by nature endeuour to make themselues commendable and approoued for their vertue and honest conditions Thus much for answer vnto the places of the scripture alledged by them Now must we confute their subtilties The aduersaries sophismes confuted 70 First they saie that we offend by a false argument A secundum quid ad simpliciter from that which is after a sort to that which is absolute For séeing there be manie things found which prouoke lusts which cannot be denied to be sinne therefore that we iudge all things to be vicious which mooue or stirre our euill concupiscences But this they affirme to be false and bring an instance of naturall beautie which inflameth those that looke therevpon and yet will none saie that there is fault therein To this false surmise we answer that one and the like consideration is not to be had of beautie naturall and of that which is counterfet Bicause naturall beautie cannot be accused of sinne séeing it is the worke of God Againe she that is beautifull by nature indeuoured not to obteine this gift but they which paint their faces séeke it as much as they can that being not beautifull yet at the least wise they may séeme to be such and therewithall discouer their owne corrupt mind and shew signes of a naughtie concupiscence Furthermore they said that we vse a false syllogisme of the accident in that we iudge of the action not according to the nature thereof but according to the accident which followeth the same that is by the circumstances which are about the matter and happen therevnto Two kinds of circumstances Héerevnto it is said that whereas of accidencies or circumstances there be two kinds one common bicause either for the most part or now and then it is separated from the thing and others so fixed and constant as they be not disseuered by these of this second kind mens actions are iustlie and vpon good cause allowed or disallowed Euen as for that it is a thing necessarilie incident vnto surfetting to ouercharge the hart therefore it is condemned as sinne Droonkennesse also Droonkennesse bicause it taketh awaie the hart of man prouoketh him to lust and otherwhile also stirreth vp vnto furie therefore it is accounted sinne This in like maner they haue alledged that sinne is in things An vncerteine rule either by a naturall condition or else by an affection of those persons which vse them but that in counterfet colour there is no euil by a naturall condition but that sinne dooth onelie happen through the corrupt will of them that practise these things Howbeit if we should followe this as a continuall and certeine rule we should defend manie acts wickedlie doone to be things indifferent which neuerthelesse by the scriptures and by the iudgement of sound men are condemned For in adulterie if thou haue respect vnto the condition of nature what else I praie you is there but a coniunction of man and woman Shall we therefore saie that such a coniunction is not sinne Naie verelie it is a most gréeuous wickednesse bicause men are not there coupled with their owne but with other mens The which condition is so annexed vnto adulterie as without the same it cannot be committed Theft also if thou looke vpon the naturall action is to carrie awaie a thing from place to place and to translate it from some one person vnto another But in these actions theft is not committed vnlesse the goods belong to another man and be taken awaie against the will of the owner Wherefore the circumstances or fixed accidents are of so great importance as in them that which is doon is iudged to be sinne yea and in them it resteth oftentimes that the forme of sinne is changed For if that which belongeth to another man be taken awaie from the owner against his will theft is committed but if thou take awaie a holie thing or remooue it from a holie place now it is not theft but sacrilege 71 Moreouer they tooke it as granted that a thing whether it procéed of nature or of art is all of one sort and therfore when there is both a naturall beautie giuen and an artificiall séeing the one cannot be reprooued as a sinne neither ought the other to be disallowed And that the things naturall and artificiall haue one and the selfe-same respect A similitude hereby they prooue bicause the health which is naturall and that which physicians restore by their art A difference betweene things naturall and artificiall be both of one condition and propertie But in arguing in that sort they are deceiued for it is not true that things naturall and artificiall are both of one condition And the similitude brought dooth prooue nothing for the health which is restored by physicians is not artificiall but naturall It is nature it selfe that bringeth foorth the same being aided by medicins and physicke Wherefore the physician is called the minister of nature And if so be that nature doo so faint and be vtterlie destitute of strength the physician can bring nothing to passe But bicause I will not séeme to cauill admit we them to be of one condition then will I aske Bicause naturall beautie dooth prouoke vnto lusts therefore must we studie to doo it more vehementlie by painting and colouring Further it is not true that semblable effects are brought foorth in them both for naturall temperature maketh true beautie but counterfet colours and painting doo make it dissembled feigned and counterfet They contended that the true cause ought to be distinguished and separated from the occasion This will we easilie grant denieng neuerthelesse that which they affirme to wit that we should not iudge of the actions according to the occasions For although it so happen sometime yet is it not alwaies true forsomuch as occasions haue a great force and according to their difference manie things are allowed and also dispraised How great force occasions be of So great respect had God vnto occasions as for them he made manie lawes Wherfore would he haue his people of Israel to méet togither all in one place to sacrifice and to worship Assuredlie euen bicause there should be no occasion giuen of schisme in religion if men had assembled togither in diuers places at their owne pleasure For in sundrie places euerie man would haue serued GOD after his owne mind and not by the prescript lawe of GOD. Neither did he for anie
owne nature ought to be kept sacred and inuiolated This did Lot vnderstand when he would haue put foorth his daughters to the naughtie lusts of the wanton Sodomits to the end they should doo no iniurie vnto them which were lodged with him And this same example did the old man followe which receiued the Leuite with his wife as strangers as it is more at large expounded in the historie of the Iudges Whose counsell Iud. 19 25. in betraieng his daughters although I allow not yet I doo verie much commend the defending of strangers Yea and the Gentiles worshipped Iupiter and gaue vnto him the name of kéeping hospitalitie knowing by the light of nature that God had a singular care ouer strangers and ghests Pythagoras Pythagoras also for this cause discommendeth the swalowes for that they lodge vnder the couering of mens houses and yet will neuer be made familiar or tame vnto their hosts Also there were sometimes certeine mischéeuous houses Certeine mischeeuous houses in the which none might anie longer inhabit as probable writers haue declared and that bicause the customes of hospitalitie had béene broken in them And contrariewise where hospitalitie hath béene well and faithfullie kept not onelie angels Gen. 18. but God himselfe also hath somtimes béene a most profitable ghest Matt. 25 35. Christ also in the end of the world will saie I was a stranger and ye lodged me commending his chosen in the sight of all the world for the vertue of hospitalitie And it is manifest that men in the old time wished that there should be great amitie betwéene the housekéeper and his ghest Lastlie GOD commanded that the Hebrues should not despise the Aegyptians Deut. 23 7. or wholie driue them awaie from them and that for this cause that at the beginning they gaue intertainement vnto their ancestors Wherefore we must conclude by a generall and ordinarie lawe that the customes of hospitalitie ought to be kept inuiolated And this also ought to be firme No lawes of freendship so necessarie but must be brokē when God commandeth that no lawes nor fréendships be they neuer so honest and iust but if God command otherwise they ought to be broken For so long must all these things be of force as they shall be allowed by the will of God Then séeing God had now cast out Sisara and the Chanaanits and would haue them to be destroied no couenants might iustlie be kept with them for we must rather obeie God than giue place to the reasons of men And of this will of God Deborah was both a prophesier and an interpretor She had declared that Sisara was now cast out by God and foretold that he should be sold into the hand of a woman Exo. 32 29. 12 After this manner the Leuits obeied Moses in the killing of their fréends and kinsefolks To whom Moses in the name of God said Ye haue consecrated your hands so farre was it off that they were reprooued for breaking the bonds of fréendship Ieremie also when by the commandement of God Iere. 48 20. he had declared that the Moabits should be slaine curssed those which had withdrawne themselues from that mind He is accurssed saith he that dooth the worke of the Lord deceitfullie In the lawe it is also commanded that none should be spared Deut. 13 6. which did intise anie to idolatrie no not the father nor the mother neither yet he which sléepeth in thy bosome Who séeth not here that the most néerest bonds of fréendships must be contemned if the will word of God be therevnto ioined Abraham was commanded to kill his sonne and that his onlie sonne Gen. 22 2. as touching whom he had receiued a most large promise The promise of God and the naturall loue of the father séemed to be against this commandement notwithstanding against both these being vrged by the word of God he ought to haue killed his sonne So must we thinke that all men although they be of nigh kin vnto vs are sacrifices to God so manie as he commandeth to be slaine Wherefore it is written in the 34. chapter of Esaie verse 6. The Lord hath a sacrifice in Bozra But they which with a preposterous clemencie What happeneth to them that haue a preposterous clemencie 1. kin 20 39. contrarie vnto the word of God will be mercifull let them remember what happened vnto the king of Samaria He when he had spared Benhadad the king of Syria contrarie to the commandement of God was in this manner reproued by the prophet in the name of God Thy soule shall go for his Of benefiting and vnthankfulnesse 13 Forsomuch as iustice and honestie require this In Iud. 12 ◠that we should giue thanks vnto them which haue bestowed benefits vpon vs nature followeth this order that we should conuert the effects into their causes forsomuch as they haue their conseruation and increase from thence from whence they spring This was due vnto Ieptha since he should haue had either the highest place or the next vnto the highest among those that had well deserued of the publike-weale The degrees of benefits For first thou séest some that when they bestowe benefits they haue onelie a respect to themselues So doo shéepheards neatheards and swineheards when they prouide pasture for their cattell whereof they haue charge since therein they séeke onlie for their owne gaine and commoditie Otherwise they haue no loue to oxen shéepe and swine There be others which in dooing of good haue regard both vnto themselues and also vnto them whom they doo helpe For the poore doo serue rich men princes partlie bicause they loue them and partlie to get some commoditie at their hands In the third degrée are those placed which doo in such sort bestowe a benefite vpon anie man as they looke for no recompense of him It oftentimes happeneth that when we sée one in miserie we are touched with mercie and we helpe him which without doubt procéedeth of humanitie Forsomuch as we are men we thinke that nothing belonging to a man but it apperteineth vnto vs. They are counted in the last and chéefest place which benefit others euen with their owne gréefe hurt and losse After this maner Christ dealt towards vs Wherein Ieptha is resembled vnto Christ he redéemed mankind with the losse of his owne life Whom Ieptha after a sort resembleth who deliuered the Israelites vnto libertie and that to his great danger Which he declared by this forme of speaking Iudg. 12 3. I haue put my life in my hands that is I haue not refused to indanger my life Wherefore the Ephramites were most vngratefull for so great a benefite The degrees of vngratefull men The first sort of vnthankfull men is when they requite not good to those that deserue it at their hands The second when they praise not nor allow well of those things which good men bestowe vpon them The
both by inward inspiration and also by outward doctrine bicause he is a louer of the truth neither dooth he suffer that his children should either erre or be deceiued by lies In Zacharie the eight chapter verse 16. it is written Speake ye the truth euerie man to his neighbour Which selfe-same sentence Paule vseth to the Ephesians Ephes 4 25. Col. 3 9. and he commandeth the same to the Colossians But in the latter epistle to the Corinthians 2. Cor. 3 8. he saith of himselfe and of the other apostles that they can haue nothing against the truth Yea and the Scribes and Pharisies being ioined with the Herodians on this wise flattered Christ whom they went about to intrap in his spéech Maister Matt. 22 16. we knowe that thou acceptest no persons yea thou teachest the waie of God in truth Hereby they declared that it is a singular vertue for a noble and notable man to prefer the truth before all things But let these testimonies of the holie scriptures be sufficient at this time 30 It remaineth Of a lie that I now come to treat of a lie Augustine Augustine who wrote thereof to Consentius affirmeth that A lie is the false signification of the spéech And vndoubtedlie of this vice may all those things be spoken by a contrarie position which are before declared of truth And first contrarie to that which Tullie affirmed of truth that that is true whereby things which are which haue béene and which shall be are said to be vnaltered And a lie is that whereby is signified that which is not for Augustine defined truth by the contrarie This vice is so hurtfull that it maketh a man which is infected therewith to reioise and be glad in falsehood The generall word of truth is equalitie Inequalitie the generall word of a lie and the generall of this vice inequalitie And as truth is verie néere ioined with simplicitie so a lie belongeth to doublenesse Truth is a part of iustice but a lie is a part of iniustice By truth the societie of man is preserued but by lieng it is hurt and ouerthrowne But returne we to Augustine who writeth that He is said to lie which with a will to deceiue speaketh that which is false that To lie is nothing else but to go against the mind for liers speake another thing than they haue in their mind But the desire to deceiue is vtterlie against iustice loue and amitie which we mutuallie owe one towards another So then there be thrée things in a lie first Three things incident to a lie to speake that which is false secondlie his will in speaking and thirdlie a desire to deceiue The first part belongeth to the matter of a lie the other two parts perteine vnto the forme 31 A lie is distinguished into an officious lie a sporting lie and a pernicious lie The distinction of a lie And this diuision commeth of no other thing but of the effects or of the ends For this is euermore true that the ends themselues may haue the nature both of the cause and of the effect séeing lies doo either profit or delite or else hurt The end of a pernicious lie is to hurt the end of a sporting lie is to delite and the end of an officious lie is to profit But forsomuch as in vertue Aristotle Aristotle hath respect chéeflie vnto the meane if then in speaking thou excéed that meane Looke In 2. Sam. 16 verse 33. he calleth it boasting but if thou come short he nameth it dissimulation or mocking And in this euill that most of all hurteth bicause an euill or false opinion is ingendred in the mind of our neighbor For which cause it séemeth that the same Aristotle said well that Lieng is a wicked thing A lie is wicked and must be shunned and must be auoided Which we may prooue by testimonies of the holie scriptures For herevnto belong all those things which we rehearsed before for prouoking of vs to speake the truth And there be manie other places dispersed here and there which detest lieng Dauid saith Psal 5 6. Thou shalt destroie all those which speake lies Psal 5 6. There be reasons also which persuade the same whereof one is In a lie is an abuse of signes that in a lie there is an abuse of signes And for so much as it is not lawfull to abuse the gifts of GOD a lie also is vnderstood to be forbidden Moreouer as it is before said a lie is enimie vnto the societie of man For in lieng the vnderstanding of the mind is not communicated vnto our brethren but lies Wherefore séeing by nature man is made vnto societie and communication when he speaketh that which is false he striueth against his owne nature And as Augustine saith Augustine Faith héerein is harmed bicause he which heareth beléeueth those things which are spoken Wherefore that faith which he giueth vnto others words is made void and so notable a thing cannot be hurt without blame And to conclude euerie man by lieng looseth his owne credit for being taken in a lie he shall be euer after suspected of it Wherefore though he would he shall not be able by admonition or correction to helpe his neighbour So the fault that is in a lie not onelie respecteth the losse or hurt of our neighbour but it is in it of his owne kind as manifestlie appéereth by that which we haue alreadie said What kind of lie is most greeuous But among lies that séemeth to be most heinous which is in matter of religion doctrine and godlinesse for in no other thing can guile be more hurtfull and pernicious For if we shall erre therein we be cast from euerlasting felicitie Wherefore Augustine in his Enchiridion the 18. chapter hath verie well written that They indéed sinne gréeuouslie which deceiue trauelling men in shewing them a contrarie waie But they be much more detestable which in lieng about matters of religion doo bring men into error 32 If the thrée kinds of lies should be compared togither I meane the pernicious lie the sporting lie and the officious lie the pernicious lie should iustlie be counted the more detestable Bicause in it are two euils one is the abuse of signes In a pernicious lie are two euils an other is the hurt of our neighbour and that both of the mind that is deceiued which is common to all lies and also of the thing which is lost But as for other lies although they be not without fault yet is the same fault much diminished by the benefit either of delight or of supplie of the helpe A sporting lie And indéed a sporting lie hath in it but a small and slender nature of a lie for so much as the falshood is straitwaie found out neither can it be long hidden from the hearers Augustine Yea Augustine writeth that such lies are not to be counted
these euils be compared with actuall sinnes they doo not so vehementlie and so manifestlie contend against the lawe of God Also those fathers teach vs that these be not called sinnes sauing for that they be the causes and effects of sinnes as when a man saith of his owne writing This is my hand meaning that it was written with his owne hand And men call the cold weather dull bicause it maketh vs dull Such similitudes as these Augustine was wont to vse but then he compared this kind of sinne with actuall sinnes Howbeit it is better to heare the same father when he examineth these sinnes by themselues In the sixt booke against Iulian the 8. chapter It is not saith he no iniquitie when the superiour parts doo shamefullie giue place vnto the inferiour and the inferiour doo shamefullie wrestle against the superiour although they be not permitted to ouercome And in the fift book and third chapter he saith The concupiscence of the flesh against which the good spirit dooth striue is sinne bicause therein is a disobedience against the dominion of reason And it is the punishment of sinne bicause it is giuen as a reward to the deserts of our disobedience Also it is the cause of sinne by reason of the fall of him that consenteth thereto Concupiscence considered of according to three degrees Wherefore hée considereth of this concupiscence according to thrée degrées First by the nature thereof and that he affirmeth to be sinne bicause it impugneth the souereigntie of the mind Secondlie as an effect and punishment laid vpon sinne And lastlie as being the cause of sinne Besides in his third booke De libero arbitrio the 18. chapter he writeth on this wise These things be therefore reckoned among sinnes bicause through them we depart from the forme wherein man was made at the beginning 13 And to declare further that these deformities apperteine not vnto sinne they alledge for themselues the infancie of our sauior Christ whereof Luke dooth write in the 2. chapter of his Gospell And Iesus increased grew in yeeres verse 52. in wisedome and in fauour with God and men And a little before verse 40. And the child grew waxed strong in spirit and was filled with wisdome and the grace of God was with him If he profited dailie saie they it followeth that first there were wants in him and that he was not so wise at the first as he prooued afterward Some haue expounded these things to be ment as concerning the spirit which appeared dailie more and more whome they thinke to be most perfect at the first yet that the scripture hath béene accustomed to saie that anie thing is then doone when it first appeareth Doubtlesse I can readilie condescend and I sée that I ought so to doo namelie that Christ tooke vpon him mans infirmities for our sakes Neither doo I doubt but that his mind had accesse of wisedome according to the proportion of age But the defects in his infancie were not like vnto our defects For as touching ignorance Euerie ignorance is not sinne we must not affirme euerie ignorance to be sinne sith euen the angels are ignorant of verie manie things especiallie of the time when the latter daie shall be But shall we saie that this is a sinne in them Further shall we thinke that Adam did straitwaie know all things No certeinlie Wherefore we call blindnesse of the mind the ignorance that belongeth vnto sinne through the which blindnesse those things be vnknowne which ought to be knowne and whereby things contrarie vnto the truth are perceiued Aristotle in Posterioribus analyticis Ignorance of two sorts distinguisheth ignorance calling one an ignorance of denieng an other of contrarie disposition An example of the first is a rusticall and husbandman who is vtterlie ignorant of the mathematicall sciences bicause he neuer learned them The other ignorance is ascribed vnto him which sometime applied his indeuour to the mathematicals but perceiued ill those things that were taught him so as those things which be true in them he iudgeth to be put contrarie and thinketh the line to be crooked which is straight Wherefore I might be lawfull to saie that ignorance of denieng is no sinne vnlesse it be as touching men of ripe yéeres séeing they be ignorant of things which be necessarie for obteining of saluation Therefore Christ in taking of our infirmities did not receiue sinne into himselfe By reason whereof at his death he felt naturall motions through which he trembled at death but yet those perturbations procéeded of sound and perfect nature not of euill and corrupt reliks of nature Now then the infirmities of Christ were farre differing from our infirmities verse 15. And therefore it is written in the fourth chapter to the Hebrues that The Lord was tempted in all things as we be But the exception is added Yet without sinne 1. Co. 13 11 And whereas Paule saith When I was a child I spake as a child it is ment that one daie shall be voided all that which before was vnperfect and we shall at the last come to eternall life where all things shall be absolute Bréefelie it must be considered that our naughtie motions though they be the first of all are not onelie rude and vnperfect things but that they be also repugnant vnto the lawe of God as it is declared in the seuenth chapter to the Romans verse 14. Where we must not hearken vnto those men which thinke such a thing to be there described by the apostle as the Poets described of Medea who said I see the better I allow the better but I followe the woorser For as I taught a litle before the apostle did not there dispute of ciuill honestie but of the lawe of God the which he called holie iust and honest whose equitie the naturall man dooth not perceiue 14 Also there is much a doo made against vs bicause Christ said Matt. 5 48 Be ye perfect as the heauenlie father is perfect Where neuerthelesse it séemeth absurd that Gods goodnesse being infinit should be commanded vnto vs. Héerevnto I answer that Christ is set foorth as a familiar example for vs the which we ought to follow as much as in vs lieth And thinke not that of him and of the heauenlie father all one consideration must be had throughlie in all respects for the soule of Christ being a part of his humanitie was not immensible séeing it was a creature so as the loue that came from thence was limited and not infinit And therefore in the louing of GOD we are bound to imitate him Certeinlie the heauenlie father although in his owne nature he be infinit yet the effects of his charitie I meane the good things which he bestoweth vpon vs are measured bicause they shall not excéed the order of things created Furthermore I dispute not of this aduerbe Sicut that is As whether it expresse an equalitie in quantitie or a
action both the father and the holie Ghost had to doo for the efficient cause and the action perteined vnto the thrée persons And that may be prooued by the scriptures insomuch as Esaie saith Esa 48 16. The Lord and his spirit hath sent me Gala. 4 4. And Paule to the Galathians When the fulnesse of time was come God sent his owne sonne Luk. 1 35. And in Luke the angel saith The holie Ghost shall come vpon thee the power of the highest shall ouershadow thee And afterward as it is in Matthew Matth. 1 18 She was found great with child by the holie Ghost By these testimonies it appeareth that Christ was sent both by the Father and by the holie Ghost Besides this the sonne himselfe was the cause of his owne comming Indéed that might séeme to be a hard matter that one and the same thing should both be the efficient cause and the effect yet may it be proued manie waies For first as touching sanctification in the tenth chapter of Iohn it is thus read Whom the fathers sent and sanctified verse 36. doo ye saie that he blasphemeth bicause he saith I am the sonne of GOD Afterward in the 17. chapter Christ againe saith For their sakes sanctifie I my selfe verse 19. The verie same may be said as touching the death of Christ for Paule vnto the Romans Rom. 8 31. writeth Who spared not his owne sonne but gaue him for all our sakes Gala. 2 20. And to the Galathians he saith Who loued me and gaue himselfe for me The same also is said touching the resurrection séeing Paule vnto the Romans saith He that hath raised vp Iesus Christ from the dead Rom. 8 11. shall also raise vp your mortall bodies But Christ himselfe in Iohn saith Iohn 10 18. Destroie ye this temple and I will in three daies reedifie the same Againe I haue power to laie downe my life and to take it againe And By him all things were made Iohn 1 3. The same also we may saie of the incarnation of Christ for Paule vnto the Galathians saith When the fulnesse of time was come Gala. 4 4. God sent his owne sonne The same apostle to the Philippians saith He made himselfe of no reputation Philip. 2 7. taking vpon him the forme of a seruant We sée therefore that it appeareth sufficientlie by the holie scriptures that Christ was both the efficient cause and the effect Wherefore there were thrée that came as touching the efficient cause although the worke it selfe did perteine onlie to the sonne Of this matter writeth Augustine at large in his second booke De trinitate the fourth chapter and against Foelix the Arrian chapter 24. to prooue that Christ is both the efficient cause and the worke And as concerning that which Christ speaketh of himselfe in Iohn Iohn 7 28. namelie I came not of my selfe must either be filled vp with adding this one word Onelie as if he had said I came not onelie of my selfe or else it is to be vnderstood touching his humane nature 2 Paule in the 9. In Rom. 9 verse 3 5. Looke par 1 pl. 11. art 3. to the Romans hath an excellent commendation of Christ wherein he expressedlie confesseth the two natures in him ioined togither in one the selfe-same person so that of both natures is made Christ Of the which saith he is Christ according to the flesh who is God ouer all things blessed for euer In 1. Cor. 11 3. His humane nature is declared in these words Of the Iewes as touching the flesh for by the flesh in the Hebrue toong is vnderstood the whole man His diuine nature is most manifestlie described in these words Who is God ouer all blessed for euer The same also is not obscurelie signified in that which is added As touching the flesh for that particle should not haue béene put vnlesse he had had some thing more than the flesh This doctrine the Arrians Mahumetists A confutation of the Rabbins of Mahumet and of the Arrians and whatsoeuer they be that hold that Christ is a méere man doo impugne among the which also are the Rabbins of the Hebrues For euen as by a corrupt interpretation they had corrupted the lawe as touching maners and life which is manifest by the interpretation that Christ made of the lawe and in that he reproued their vaine deuises so had they also depraued the sincere faith of the Messias to come so that they thought he should be a méere and simple man For when Christ demanded of them what they thought of the Messias they made answer Matt. 22 42. that he should be the sonne of Dauid neither had they anie déeper or higher consideration of him Wherefore Christ obiected vnto them the 110. verse 1. psalme where Dauid called the Messias his Lord which could not agrée to a méere and simple man borne of his stocke as they fondlie imagined Ambrose expounding this place affirmeth that These words must néeds be applied vnto Christ sith there is here no mention made of anie other person vnto whome they may aptlie be applied If they will not saith he haue these things to be vnderstood concerning Christ let them shew some other person mentioned by Paule vnto whom they may be referred and if besides Christ they can find none other then let them leaue vnto Christ the glorie which is attributed vnto him by Paule Ambrose indéed confesseth Ambrose that when the father and the sonne are ioined togither in the holie scriptures the father is called GOD and the sonne Lord. And this he saith is doone for this consideration bicause we preach that we worship one God onelie And if we should repeate the name of God we might peraduenture séeme to depart somewhat from that vnitie and therfore are those names so varied But I sée that that rule is not in the holie scriptures perpetuallie obserued Psal 45 8. Heb 1 9. for we read in the psalme as it is cited in the Hebrues Therefore God euen thy God hath annointed thee with the oile of gladnesse Héere for that he intreateth of the father and the sonne he repeateth the name of God twise He saith moreouer that Christ is aboue all Phil. 2 10. is read also in the epistle to the Philippians for there it is written that In the name of Iesu euerie knee should bow both of things celestiall terrestriall and infernall Out of which place no lesse than out of this which we haue héere in hand he gathereth the diuine nature in Christ séeing if he were not God Apoc. 19 10 and 22 8. he should not be worshipped For in the Apocalypse Iohn was forbidden of the angell to worship him I am thy fellowe seruant saith he take heed thou doo it not Matth. 8 2. and 9 18. else-where But Christ when he often times permitted himselfe to be worshipped did plainelie testifie that
that God hath purposed that he will not haue mercie howbeit they are the cause of damnation which followeth in the last time but not of reprobation which was from the beginning The last end of reprobation is the declaration of the mightie iustice of God as Paule hath taught Rom. 9 17. namelie that These vessels are prepared vnto wrath bicause GOD would shew in them his power And God answereth of Pharao Exod. 9 16. Euen vnto this end haue I raised thee vp that I might shew in thee my power A néerer end is damnation which as it is iust so also is it allowed of God And yet the néerest end are sinnes Esaie 6 10. for God commanded that the people should be made blind that they should not vnderstand that they should not heare Least peraduenture saith he they may be conuerted and I should heale them For sinnes although as they are sinnes they are by God in his lawes condemned yet as they are iust punishments they are by him laid vpon the vngodlie for their ill deserts But we must not staie in these néerer ends we must go further that we may at the length come to that end which Paule hath set foorth namelie that The iustice of God should be declared And thus much hitherto as touching the first article 16 Now let vs come to the second wherein must be sought the cause of predestination The cause of predestination Forsomuch as predestination is the purpose or will of God and the same will is the first cause of all things which is one and the selfe-same with the substance of God it is not possible that there should be anie cause thereof Of the will of God may somtime be giuen a reason but neuer anie cause Howbeit we doo not therefore denie but that sometimes may be shewed some reason of the will of God which although they may be called reasons yet ought they not to be called causes especiallie efficient causes But that in the scriptures are somtimes assigned reasons of the will of God may by manie places be gathered The Lord saith that He therefore did leade about the children of Israel through the desert Exo. 13 17. rather than through shorter passages through which he could haue lead them bicause they should not suddenlie méet with their enimies Gen. 2 8. Adam also was placed in paradise to husband it kéepe it And God testified Gen. 15 16. that He would not then expell the Cananites out of the land of Canaan bicause they had not as yet filled the measure of their sins Howbeit although as we haue said the scriptures vse sometimes to bring reasons of the will of God yet no man ought to take vpon him No reasons to be giuen of gods will but out of the scriptures to render a certeine reason of that certeine will of God but that which he hath gathered out of the scriptures For as we are dull of vnderstanding so we might easilie vsurpe our owne dreames in stead of true reasons But that there are finall causes of the predestination of God we denie not There is a finall cause of predestination for they are expreslie set downe by Paule and especiallie when he citeth that of Pharao Euen to this end haue I stirred thee vp Rom. 9 17. that I might shew vpon thee my power but of the elect he saith that God would in them shew foorth his glorie Ibidem 23. The materiall cause also may after a sort be assigned The materiall cause of predestination may after a sort be shewed For men which are predestinate and those things which God hath decréed to giue vnto the elect by predestination as are these calling iustification and glorification may be called the matter about which predestination is occupied This moreouer is to be noted The end thereof is taken two maner of waies that the end may sometimes be taken as it is of vs in mind and desire conceiued and then it hath the consideration of an efficient cause for being so conceiued in the mind it forceth men to worke Somtimes also it is taken as it is in the things and as we atteine vnto it after our labours and then properlie it is called the end bicause the worke is then finished and we are at quiet as now hauing obteined the end of our purpose But we therefore put this distinction that if at anie time we should be asked Whether God doo predestinate men for works or no We should not rashlie either by affirming or by denieng giue hastie sentence for the ambiguitie is in this word For how it is to be vnderstood It may be both true and false that we be predestinated by woorks Ephes 1 4. and 2 10. For if good works be taken as they are in verie déed and are wrought bicause God predestinateth vs to this end that we should liue vprightlie as we reade in the epistle vnto the Ephesians to wit that We are elected to be holie and immaculate and that God hath prepared good works that we should walke in them As touching this sentence or meaning the proposition is to be affirmed But if that word For be referred vnto the efficient cause as though the good works which God foresawe we should doo are as certeine merits and causes which should mooue God to predestinate vs this sense is by no meanes to be admitted It is possible in déed that the effects of predestination may so be compared togither that one may be the cause of the other but they can not be causes of the purpose of God One effect of predestination may be the cause of another but they can not be causes of the purpose of God For calling which is the effect of predestination is the cause that we are iustified iustification also is the cause of good works and good works although they be not causes yet are they means whereby GOD bringeth vs vnto eternall life Howbeit none of all these is the cause or the meane why we are chosen of God As contrariwise sinnes are indéed the causes why we are damned but yet not why we are reprobate of God If sins were the cause of reprobation no man might be elected For if they were the cause of reprobation no man might be chosen For the condition and estate of all men is alike since we are all borne in sin And when at anie time Augustine saith that Men are iustlie reprobate for their sins he vnderstandeth togither with reprobation the last effect thereof namelie damnation But we may not so speake if by reprobation The purpose of God not to haue mercie is as free as the purpose to haue mercie Why the good works foreseene are not the cause of predestination A place out of the second epistle to Timoth. 2. Tim. 2 20. we vnderstand the purpose of God not to haue mercie for that purpose is no lesse frée than the other purpose of
followe in that chapter you shall sée that the apostle draweth those things Vnto what principall points the predestination of God is reduced Rom. 9 21. Ephes 1 9. Rom. 9 18. Ibidem 16. which he teacheth of predestination to these principall points namelie vnto power for he saith Hath not the potter power Vnto purpose or good pleasure for vnto the Ephesians he vseth both words Vnto will for he saith He hath mercie on whom he will and whom he will he hardeneth Vnto mercie or loue for he saith It is not of him that willeth nor of him that runneth but of God that hath mercie Ibidem 13. Also Iacob haue I loued but Esau haue I hated Séeing Paule what cause soeuer either here or in anie other place he giueth of predestination reduceth the same to these foure principall points can we doubt of his meaning Or shall we take vpon vs to giue sentence otherwise But as touching works hée speaketh not so much as one word wheresoeuer he intreateth of this matter but onelie to exclude them Further consider this If election should depend of works foreseene then iustification should come by works that there is nothing more against the scope and meaning of Paule than to put works foreséene to be the causes of predestination for by that meanes works should be the causes of iustification but that doctrine the apostle dooth by all maner of meanes oppugne And hereby I prooue this reason to be firme Predestination the cause of vocation and vocation the cause of iustification bicause the apostle maketh predestination the cause of calling and calling the cause of iustification Wherfore if works be the causes of predestination they shall also be causes of iustification For this is a firme rule among the Logicians Whatsoeuer is the cause of anie cause is also cause of the effect Further no man can denie but that good works procéed of predestination for We are said to be predestinate Ephes 1 4. that we should be holie blameles And God by predestination hath prepared good works Ephes 2 10. in which we should walke And Paule himselfe confesseth that He obteined mercie 1. Cor. 7 25. to the end hee should be faithfull Wherefore if works be the effects of predestination how can we then saie Works be the effects of predestination not the causes thereof that they are the causes thereof and chéeflie those kind of causes which are called efficient causes For that vse of frée will is nothing woorth which they so often brag of as though we haue it of our selues and not of the mercie of God For Paule saith that It is God which worketh in vs both to will and to performe Phil. 2 13. And God in Ezechiel saith Eze. 11 19. I will take awaie from them their stonie hart and will giue them a hart of flesh We cannot saith Paule thinke anie good thing of our selues as of our selues 2. Cor. 3 5. And if we had in our selues that good vse which they speake of what should let but that we might glorie thereof Vndoubtedlie the Lord saith No man commeth vnto me Iohn 6 44 vnlesse my father drawe him And Ierom against the Pelagians verie well writeth that they which are said to be drawne are by that word signified They which be drawne were before vnwilling to haue béen before froward resisting and vnwilling but afterward GOD so worketh that he changeth them This selfe-same thing also dooth the nature of grace prooue for Paule saith that The remnants might be saued Rom. 11 5. according to the free election of grace which is to saie according to frée election for so is the genetiue case after the Hebrue phrase to be resolued 19 Further in the definition of predestination in the first place we haue put this word purpose which séeing it signifieth nothing else as we haue taught out of the epistle vnto the Ephesians but the good pleasure of God Ephes 1 9. thereby it euidentlie appéereth that we may not elsewhere séeke the cause of predestination Moreouer Good works are not the cause of our calling works cannot be the causes of our calling and much lesse of our predestination for predestination goeth before calling And that works are not the causes of calling it is declared by the epistle vnto Timothie God hath called vs saith Paule with his holie calling 2. Tim. 1 9. not by our works but according to his purpose the grace which we haue in Christ before the world was Hereby it most manifestlie appeareth that works are not the causes of our calling Yea neither also are works the causes of our saluation which yet were far more likelie for by good works God bringeth vs to felicitie Titus 3 4. If we should be predestinated by good works the exclamation of Paule were to no purpose Rom. 11 33. But Paule to Titus saith that God hath saued vs not by the works of righteousnes but according to his mercie Further what néeded Paule after this disputation to crie out O the depth of the riches of the wisedome and knowledge of God! How vnsercheable are his iudgements and his waies past finding out For if he would haue followed these mens opinion he might with one poore word haue dispatched the whole matter haue said that some are predestinate and othersome reiected bicause of the works which God foresawe should be in both of them Those men Augustine in mockage called sharpe witted men which so trimlie and so easilie sawe those things that Paule could not sée But saie they The Apostle in this place assoileth this question But it is absurd so to saie especiallie séeing that he brought it in of purpose and the solution thereof serued very much vnto that which he had in hand The questi is assoiled when it is brought to the highest cause Exo. 19 13. And how in Gods name can he séeme not to haue assoiled the question when he reduced that euen vnto the highest cause namelie vnto the will of God and therewithall sheweth that we ought not to go anie further When God had appointed limits at the foote of the mount Sina if anie man had gone beyond those limits he was by the lawe punished Wherefore let these men beware with what boldnes they presume to go further than Paule would they should But they say that the apostle here rebuketh the impudent Be it so but yet this rebuking is a most true solution of the question for Paule by this reprehension prohibiteth vs not to inquire anie thing beyond the mercie and will of God How the question may be said to be assoiled and not assoiled If these men vnderstand such a solution as mans reason may resolue vpon I will easilie grant that the question is not so assoiled but if they séeke that solution which faith ought to imbrace and to rest vpon they are blind if they sée not the solution 20 But let
predestinated are so to be taken as they are foreséene of God and by this meanes they cannot séeme to be temporall Be it so That which is the latter cannot bee the efficient cause of that which went before take them in that maner yet can it not be denied but that they are after predestination for they depend of it and are the effects thereof as wée haue before taught Wherefore after these mens doctrine that which commeth after should be the efficient cause of that which went before which how absurd it is euerie man may easilie vnderstand Further the efficient cause is of his owne nature more woorthie and of more excellencie than the effect speciallie in respect it is such a cause So then Our works cannot be of more woorthines than predestination if works be the causes of predestination they are also more woorthie and of more excellencie than predestination Ouer this predestination is sure constant and infallible how then shall we appoint that it dependeth vpon works of frée will which are vncerteine and vnconstant Things constant and certeine depend not of things vnconstant and vnterteine and may be wrested to and fro if a man consider them particularlie For men are alike prone vnto this or that kind of sinne as occasions are offered for otherwise if we will speake generallie frée will before regeneration can doo nothing else but sinne by reason of the corruption that commeth by our first parents So as according to the mind of these men it must néeds followe that the predestination of God which is certeine dependeth of the works of men which are not onelie vncerteine but sinnes also Neither can they saie that they meane as touching those works which followe regeneration for those as we haue taught spring of grace and of predestination We must not so defend mans libertie that wee spoile God of his libertie Neither doo these men consider that they to satisfie mans reason and to attribute a libertie I knowe not what to men doo rob God of his due power and libertie in election which power and libertie yet the apostle setteth foorth and saith that God hath no lesse power ouer men than hath the potter ouer the vessels which hée maketh But after these mens opinion God cannot elect but him onelie whom he knoweth shall behaue himselfe well neither can he reiect anie man but whome he séeth shall be euill But this is to go about to ouer-rule God and to make him subiect vnto the lawes of our reason As for Erasmus he in vaine speaketh against this reason for he saith that It is not absurd to take awaie from God that power which he himselfe will not haue attributed vnto him namelie to doo anie thing vniustlie For we saie that Paule hath in vaine yea rather falselie set foorth this libertie of God if hée neither haue it We must attributed vnto God that libertie which the scripture sheweth of him nor will that it should be attributed vnto him But how Paule hath prooued this libertie of God that place which we haue cited most manifestlie declareth They also to no purpose obiect vnto vs the iustice of God for héere is intreated onlie of his mercie Neither can they denie but that they by this their opinion doo derogate much the loue and good will of God towards men For the holie scripture when it would commend vnto vs the fatherlie loue of God Rom. 5 8. affirmeth that He gaue his son and that vnto the death and at that time when we were yet sinners enimies and children of wrath But they will haue no man to be predestinated which hath not good works foreséene in the mind of God And so euerie man may saie with himselfe If I be predestinated the cause thereof dependeth of my selfe But another which féeleth trulie in his hart Loue towards God is kindled by the true feele of predestination that he is fréelie elected of God for Christ sake when as he of himselfe was all maner of waies vnworthie of so great loue will without all doubt be woonderfullie inflamed to loue God againe 23 It is also profitable vnto vs that our saluation should not depend of our works For we oftentimes wauer and in liuing vprightlie are not constant Doubtles if we should put confidence in our owne strength we should vtterlie despaire but if we beléeue that our saluation abideth in God fixed and assured for Christ sake we cannot but be of good comfort Further if predestination should come vnto vs by our works foreséene the beginning of our saluation should be of our selues against which opinion the scriptures euerie-where crie out for that were to raise vp an idoll in our selues Moreouer the iustice of God should then haue néed of the externall rule of our works But Christ saith Ye haue not chosen me Iohn 15 16. but I haue chosen you Neither is that consideration in God which is in men The same consideration is not of Gods choise that is of mans choise when they begin to fauour a man or to loue a fréend for men are mooued by excellent gifts wherewith they sée a man adorned but God can find nothing good in vs which first procéedeth not from him And Cyprian saith as Augustine oftentimes citeth him that we therefore can not glorie for that we haue nothing that is our owne and therefore Augustine concludeth that we ought not to part stakes betwéene God and vs to giue one part to him and to kéepe another vnto our selues to obteine saluation Touching saluation the whole must be ascribed vnto God for all wholie is without doubt to be ascribed vnto him The Apostle when he writeth of predestination hath alwaies this end before him to confirme our confidence and especiallie in afflictions out of which he saith that God will deliuer vs. If predestination should depend of works it wold make vs not to hope but to despaire But if the reason of Gods purpose should be referred vnto our works as vnto causes then could we by no meanes conceiue anie such confidence for we oftentimes fall and the righteousnes of our works is so small as it can not stand before the iudgement seate of God And that the Apostle for this cause chéefelie made mention of predestination we may vnderstand by the eight chapter of the Epistle to the Romanes Rom. 8 1. and 8 c. For when he described the effects of iustification amongst other things he saith that we by it haue obteined the adoption of children and that we are mooued by the spirit of God as the sons of God and therefore with a valiant mind we suffer aduersities and for that cause euerie creature groneth and earnestlie desireth that we at the length be deliuered and the spirit it selfe maketh intercession for vs. And at the last he addeth Ibidem 27. That vnto them that loue God all things worke to good And who they be that loue God
their works or merits sake but I will doo it saith he for my name sake From this reason Paule departeth not for he sheweth that God by predestination will make open the riches of his glorie that all men might knowe how little the Iewes had deserued this election of God that the nations being ouerhipped they alone should be counted for the people of God Which thing Steuen expoundeth in the Acts of the apostles when he saith that They had euer resisted God and had bin alwaies stiffe-necked What good works then did God sée in them to prefer that nation before all other nations Ezechiel notablie describeth how God looked vpon the people of the Iewes at the beginning Ezec. 16 3. namelie as vpon a naked damsell and on euerie side polluted and shamefullie berolled in bloud I passed by saith the Lord and when I sawe thee in that case I had compassion of thee What must be doone in iudging of controuersies 25 Further let vs remember what is the scope of the apostle in the epistle to the Romans for if we will iudge vprightlie of controuersies we must not cast our eie off from the scope The indeuour of the apostle was that he might by all maner of meanes commend the grace of Christ And this purpose can nothing more hinder than to affirme that the predestination of God that is the head and fountaine of grace commeth of the works of men And if it be counted a fault in Orators if in their oration they perchance reherse things which would much hinder the cause that they tooke in hand how can we suspect that the holie Ghost persisteth not in that which he began but speaketh things strange from that which he purposed Neither can we make anie other reason of the members than of the head which is Christ Iesus The sonne of God did freelie take vpon him the humane nature Séeing therfore that no man can doubt but that the sonne of God did fréelie take vpon him mans nature for if the question shuld be asked why rather he than anie other man tooke flesh of the virgin Marie There can no other reason be giuen but that it so pleased him For as touching works anie other man borne of anie other virgin might haue had them no lesse than he which was borne of Marie For whosoeuer had had the Godhead as Christ had trulie he should haue doone the selfe-same works which Christ did Séeing therefore that that humanitie was taken of the sonne of God fréelie and of the pure and méere mercie of God euen after the selfe-same maner whosoeuer are the members of Christ As iustification is not of works so likewise is not predestination are chosen fréelie and without anie merits of works Finallie all those reasons which prooue that iustification consisteth not of works the same also prooue that predestination dependeth not of works Now resteth to declare whether Christ and his death may be said to be the cause of predestination Here we answer that Christ and his death is the principall and chéefe effect of predestination Christ and his death is the principall effect of predestination For amongst those things which are of God giuen vnto the elect is Christ himselfe the fruit of his death For whatsoeuer is giuen vnto vs by this waie and by this conduit as it were is deriued vnto vs from God And forsomuch as it is certeine that the effects of predestination may so be cōpared togither Christ as touching his humane nature and death is not the cause of predestination as one may be the cause of the other but vnto none of them agréeth to be the beginning of predestination therefore we denie that Christ as touching his humanitie or death is the cause of our predestination although he be the beginning and cause of all good things which come vnto vs by the purpose of God 26 I am not ignorant that there haue béene some Sentences of manie of the fathers agree not togither as touching this doctrine which haue gone about to reconcile togither the sentences of the fathers with this most true doctrine which we haue now by manie reasons prooued For they saie that the fathers when they write that predestination is of works foreséene by the name of predestination doo not vnderstand the worke or action of GOD whereby he electeth or predestinateth anie man but rather the end and certeine meanes and that as touching them nothing can let but that works may be causes For it is without all doubt certeine that the last damnation commeth of works as the cause and good works spring of faith as from their head or fountaine I sée indéed that the intent of these men is not to be discommended which labour to applie the sentences of the fathers vnto the truth as much as is possible but yet that which they auouch to be true cannot I affirme For there are certeine sentences of the fathers so hard that they can by no meanes be drawne to this meaning It is not true that they saie that all wholie is not of God for they to defend the libertie of our will will not haue all things to depend of the predestination of God and of purpose saie that all wholie is not of God but somewhat also is required of vs. And they expresselie write that God electeth some It is not true also that God electeth bicause of faith foreseene for that he foresawe that they would beléeue They haue also here and there manie other such like saiengs so that I by no meanes can sée how their sentences can agrée with our doctrine in this point Howbeit Augustine fullie agréeth with it Ierom also disagréeth not from it although oftentimes in manie places he agréeth with Origin and others but against the Pelagians he highlie commendeth the sentence of Augustine touching this matter and excéedinglie alloweth his writings against this heresie Séeing therefore that Augustine oftentimes vsed this argument against the Pelagians it must néeds be that the same verie well pleased Ierom now being old And Cyprian as we haue before said manifestlie writeth that There is nothing ours wherefore it followeth of necessitie that it is all of God But howsoeuer it be there is no néed that we should now dispute much as touching the fathers As in all other things which belong vnto faith We must giue sentence according to the scriptures not according to the fathers so also in this question we must giue sentence according to the scriptures not according to the fathers And this selfe-same thing euen the fathers themselues required at our hands which I in alledging of arguments haue performed to my power 27 Amongst the latter writers Pighius being forced by the vehemencie of the scriptures granteth vnto vs that works are not causes of predestination For he confesseth that it consisteth fréelie and of the méere mercie of God with a respect saith he to works I thinke
for that those things which shall be spoken haue much light of that is alreadie spoken The first effect therefore of predestination is Christ himselfe Christ is the first effect of predestination for the elect can haue none of the gifts of God vnlesse by our Sauiour it be giuen vnto them Then also let there be put those effectes which Paule describeth in the 8. verse 28. chapter to the Romans when he saith Whom he foreknew those also hath he predestinated whom he hath predestinated those also hath hee called and whom he hath called those he hath iustified whom he hath iustified those hath he glorified Whereby it is euident that calling also iustification and glorification are the effects of predestination whervnto also maie be added conformitie to the image of the sonne of God séeing that Paule reckoneth it vp as an effect of predestination Let good workes also be added séeing that God is said to haue prepared them that we should walke in them Ephe. 2. 10. The followeth the certeintie or confirmation of our saluation Lastlie is the declaration of the riches of the glorie of God which end Paule manifestlie mentioneth in the 9. chapter to the Romans Rom. 9. 22. Ephe. 1. 6 The effects of reprobation to the Ephesians he writeth That we might be to the praise of his grace and glorie But as touching reprobation if it be compared vnto the first man God from euerlasting decréed to produce him The state of the first man that by frée will certeine grace giuen vnto him he might haue stood if he would and God could haue giuen vnto him greater grace so that hée could not haue fallen but he would not But whether Adam were of the number of the reprobate Whether the first man were reprobate or predestinate or of the predestinate cannot be gathered out of the holie scriptures although all the fathers in a maner consent that he was saued therefore perteined to the number of the predestinate But other men which were reprobated were offered vnto God in a masse of perdition vtterlie corrupted for God decréed to produce them not elsewhere but out of the séede of Adam And forsomuch as by his frée purpose he would not bestowe his mercie on manie which is vtterlie to refuse thereof followed reiection whereby they were left in their natiue sinne Further forsomuch as God suffereth not his creatures to be idle they also are perpetuallie pricked forward to worke for that they were not healed they doo all things according to their corrupt nature which although they séeme somtime to be beautifull workes yet before God they are sinnes Moreouer according as their wicked facts deserue God manie times punisheth in them sinnes by other sinnes as vnto the Romans Rom. 1. ver 24. and 26. Manie are said to haue bene deliuered vp into a reprobate mind for that when they knew God they glorified him not as God But yet as touching the sinne of the first man this is to be considered that sinne could not bée said to haue béene the punishment of another sinne for if it were the first sinne it had not anie other sinne before it and that God vtterlie willed not that sin it cannot be said for against his will how could it be committed And he sawe that he would fall if he were not confirmed with his spirit and with a more plentifull grace hee holpe him not neither put he to his hand to kéepe him from falling Moreouer the diuell if God had othewise willed durst not haue tempted him Furthermore he had appointed by him to declare his goodnesse and seueritie He gaue the occasion when he set a law which he knew should not be kept and also in giuing him a wife which should entise him and finallie the occasion it selfe which as a subiect or matter susteined the priuation of vprightnesse could not without the power and might of God haue béene produced Wherefore it is euident that God after a sort willed that sinne and was some waie the author of it although that it were not a punishment of sinne going before But contrariwise he is said not to haue willed it and not to haue béene the author of it for that hée prohibited it punished it and did not absolutelie will it but for another end neither suggested he of himselfe nor inspired the lewdnesse but the will of Adam not being letted by a more mightie grace of his owne accord declined from vprightnesse There is also brought out of Esaie an effect of reprobation namelie that he will make blind and grose the hart of the people that they should not vnderstand Esaie 6 10. And God oftentimes either by himselfe or by euill angels sendeth cogitations and offereth occasions which if we were vpright might bée taken in the best part but forsomuch as we are not renewed we are by them driuen vnto euill afterward iustlie and worthilie followeth damnation for sinnes and finallie the declaration of the power and iustice of God God is not alike the cause of all the effects of reprobation is the last effect of reprobation all these things followe reprobation although God as we haue before declared is not all alike the cause of all these things 38 But because all the benefits of God which are giuen vnto the predestinate Looke part 2. place 3 art 3. and 7. are referred vnto grace as to their head fountaine therefore let vs sée whether that principall effect of Gods predestination be as some haue imagined set foorth of God common to all men for if it were so then should all men be predestinated and it should lie in their owne power or in their owne hands as the saieng is to be predestinated so that they would receiue grace when it is offered We in no wise saie that grace is common vnto all men but is giuen vnto some The grace of God is not set forth as common to all men and vnto others according to the pleasure of God it is not giuen And to confirme this matter we alleadge these places of the scripture In the 6. of Iohn it is said Verse 44. No man commeth vnto me vnles my father shall drawe him And I woonder that the aduersaries should say Whether all mē are drawen of God that all men are drawen of God but all men will not come As if a man should saie No man can chalenge to himselfe learning or good arts A similitude which is not endued with reason wit and yet doth it not therof follow that though all men haue reason wit all men should attaine good arts séeing that besides those principles studie and will are required So saie they All men are drawen of God but besides the drawing of God there is required that we be willing assent for otherwise we are not brought to Christ But doubtlesse it cannot be that in all those propositions which
of their owne accord and fréelie will those things which they will Paule as we read in the Acts cited that sentence of Aratus In him we liue Acts. 17 28. we mooue and haue our being whereof it followeth The will receiueth such motions of God as he will that the will of man hath his motions of God But if a man saie that it receiueth of God such motions as it selfe before willeth then shall he speake things absurd for then should our will measure and gouerne the influences of God which is furthest from the truth But rather let vs saie that it receiueth of God such impulsions and motions as he will giue and let vs in the meane time marke that God so worketh in our will that it gladlie willinglie and of it owne accord receiueth the motions which God putteth into vs. 57 But how it commeth to passe that God most certeinlie foreséeth things to come Second causes may be doubtfull wheras yet the will of God is certeine when yet the wils of men and manie naturall causes are doubtfull and worke contingentlie it may thus be declared It is true indéed that those which consider things onelie in their causes are oftentimes deceiued For all causes doo not necessarilie bring foorth their effects for somtimes they are letted and otherwise inclined than they were supposed Wherefore men are not deceiued when they iudge of effects lieng hidden in their causes But the foreknowledge of God not onelie knoweth what things shall come to passe in their causes but also throughlie séeth them as if they were alreadie brought foorth and by their causes made perfect And hereof it commeth that we may of the foreknowledge of God infer necessitie of certeintie and infalliblenes and so can we not doo of the nighest causes For when we saie that God foreknew that this or that should be to morrowe we rightlie adde that therefore it shall of necessitie be Necessitie is not applied vnto a thing knowne but as it is foreknowne of God as present and alreadie brough foorth which maketh not onelie to perspicuitie Euerie thing while it is is of necessitie but also to necessitie for euerie thing whilest it is is of necessitie neither must we afterward grant that the thing is of necessitie for that it is not taken in such sort as it was foreknowne of God We doo not defend free-will Hitherto haue we defended the power of mans will which yet we would not haue taken generallie but onelie as touching foreknowledge and predestination For although thereby as it is prooued be not letted frée will yet dooth it not otherwise want impediments or lets for we are borne in sinnes and will we or nill we we are wrapped in originall sinne neither can we by anie meanes wind our selues out of sinne And before regeneration what maner of power soeuer we giue vnto the will of man in things indifferent and ciuill this first we ought to thinke that which waie soeuer it turne it selfe of necessitie it sinneth neither can it doo anie thing which is in verie déed acceptable vnto God neither yet can it giue vnto ciuill works the successe which it purposeth Wherfore Augustine woorthilie wrote in his Euchiridion that the first man by sinning lost the libertie of fréewill This moreouer is to be considered that the wils and motions of the mind and actions euen of men not yet regenerated are directed of God and so directed that by his prouidence they are brought to the end by him prefixed and determined yea also when we are regenerated although after a sort we obteine libertie through Christ yet the same is not full but only begun For the first motions which stir vp vnto sinne créepe vpon vs against our wils which motions we haue shewed to be sinnes And Ambrose plainlie confesseth that Our harts are not in our owne power neither is there anie of the beléeuers which often falleth not when as neuertheles he would faine stand Wherevpon we ought all to praie Forgiue vs our trespasses Matt. 6 12. Gala. 5 17. And vnto the Galathians Paule said The spirit fighteth against the flesh and the flesh against the spirit so that yee doo not those things which ye would Rom. 7. ver 15 and 23. And in his epistle to the Romans it is written The euill which I hate that I doo Againe I feele a lawe in my members striuing against the lawe of my mind and leading me awaie captiue into the lawe of sinne which words cannot bée vnderstood but onlie of man regenerated For he had said In my mind I serue the lawe of God verse 22. but in flesh the lawe of sinne which in no wise can be referred to a man not yet iustified We grant indéed that God could if he would God could keepe vs from al maner of sinne but he doth it not giue vnto men so much aid that they should not sinne at all but that hitherto hath he not doone neither hath he vndertaken at anie time to doo it Wherefore our will is subiect yet to some seruitude which as we desire to remaine certeine and vndoubted so on the other side we affirme that by the foreknowledge and predestination of God the will is not letted 58 Hitherto in this article it is séene what necessitie commeth of the foreknowledge and predestination of God namelie such a necessitie as is not absolute but by supposition which we call necessitie of consequence of infalliblenes and of certeintie but not of coaction And séeing it is so it is now euident that no iniustice is committed of God when he condemneth sinners and glorifieth the righteous For vnto euerie man is rendered according vnto his works so that no man can saie that his sinnes are not his owne works séeing he is not compelled to commit them but excéedinglie alloweth and willeth them Neither are lawes Monitions lawes and punishments are not in vaine admonitions promises punishments in vaine as it was obiected for they are of so much force as God hath decréed they shall be of force as Augustine writes in his fift booke De ciuitate Dei in the chapter before cited For Gods will is to vse them vnto the saluation of manie and although they profit not some yet they want not their end for they helpe forward to the condemnation of the wicked Praiers also are not made vnprofitable Praiers also are not in vaine for by them we obteine those things which God hath decréed to giue vnto vs by them Wherefore this is an excellent saieng of Gregorie in his dialogs that By praiers cannot be obteined but those things onlie which God hath predestinated to giue And how by predestination or foreknowledge or prophesies sins are not excused we are taught by verie manie testimonies of the holie scriptures Christ foretold that Iudas should betraie him Mat. 26 21. An example verelie that foretelling neither tooke away from Iudas his wickednes nor yet powred it
be renewed and to be made the shéepe of Christ before we can followe him for otherwise we despise all gréene bows and callings Augustine addeth moreouer that this drawing is with a certeine oblectation and pleasure The drawing of God is with pleasure so that it is true which the poet saith Trahit sua quemque voluptas that is Euerie man is drawen by his owne pleasure And we are led by the bonds not of the bodie but of that hart and we are stirred vp by a holie pleasure But the definition of pleasure sufficientlie teacheth that first the changing of our corrupt nature is necessarie for pleasure is nothing else The definition of pleasure but an affection or motion stirred vp in vs of things agréeable vnto our nature as contrariwise gréefe or sorrowe commeth of things that are repugnant vnto our nature And now to the end we may take some pleasure by the admonitions of God and by heauenlie preachings Heauenlie things cannot delight vs vnles we be changed as touching nature 1. Cor. 2 14. it is necessarie that they be agréeable to our nature which nature being corrupt that thing can by no meanes be brought to passe For Paule saith vnto the Corinthians The carnall man vnderstandeth not those things which are of the spirit of God for they seeme foolish vnto him and therefore he refuseth them as things contrarie vnto himselfe 4 What is then to be doone that the same things may be pleasant vnto vs To make the lawe pleasant vnto vs not it but our nature must be altered Are the commandements of God to be altered and bended to our lusts No vndoubtedlie our nature ought rather to be changed and regenerated by God And that thing dooth God bring to passe in vs when he through faith indueth vs with his righteousnes and so draweth vs vnto Christ And therefore Paule when he had vsed these verbs of the actiue signification Obeie exhibit or giue your members c vseth afterward the passiue signification when he saith Ye are deliuered ye are made free from sinne Rom. 6 17. ye are made the seruants of righteousnes By which words is signified that insomuch as we liue vprightlie and followe God it is from without vs and commeth not from our selues Although this drawing be the worke of God yet the ministers of the word must vse their indeuour vnto it The end herof from whence vnto By the forme of doctrine he meaneth the Gospell for it is no simple doctrine as is philosophie or lawe but such a doctrine as offereth Christ vnto vs and his spirit and grace whereby is ministred strength vnto vs to performe those things which are commanded And although this drawing be the worke of God yet ought preachers and pastors to serue therein as ministers of God And when we call that drawing a motion the end of such motion both from whence it commeth and wherevnto it tendeth is declared by Paule when he thus writeth Ye were the seruants of sinne Ibidem by which words he sheweth from whence we are drawne But when he addeth that we are deliuered to the intent we should be obedient vnto the Gospell he sheweth the end of our mutation for therefore are we regenerate and brought to Christ that we should be obedient vnto his word Neither did Paule thinke it sufficient in such sort to set foorth his change but he would also declare the maner of the change For when he saith that We obeie from the hart he sufficientlie teacheth that this motion is not violent This motion of God is without violence In Iud. 9. 23. or by compulsion but willing and of our owne accord 5 But here ariseth a doubt as concerning our nature Whether as it is now fallen and corrupt it can resist the grace of God and his spirit that is present I thinke we must determine Of the grace of God are sundrie degrees that there be sundrie degrées of diuine helpe or grace for sometimes there is so great power and plentifulnes thereof as it altogither boweth mans hart and not onlie counselleth but throughlie persuadeth and when the matter standeth in that sort we cannot depart from the right but we become readie to doo that which God mooueth vs to doo Wherefore it was said vnto Paule Acts. 9 5. No compulsion is inferred to the will of man It is hard for thee to spurne against the pricke And yet we must not thinke in such dealing that anie violence or compulsion is inferred to the will of man for it is changed by a swéet motion and conuersion The partie in verie déed is willing but yet so willing as his willingnes is prouoked of God for it is the same will that would but GOD with this effectuall and most mightie persuasion causeth that it would But sometime that vehemencie of GOD and of the spirit is more remisse and yet if we would ioine thereto our indeuour and applie our good will The grace of God is more remisse in vs at one time than at another we would not resist it but rather would followe the warnings and inspirations of him and séeing we doo not this we are said to resist him and manie times we fall Yet must not this be vnderstood as touching the first regeneration but concerning them which being borne againe are indued with grace and spirit For the will of the vngodlie is so corrupt vitiat that except it be renewed it cannot giue place to the inspirations of God warnings of the holie Ghost and the same in the first change of mans conuersion onlie suffereth and before the renewing it continuallie as much as lieth therein resisteth the spirit of God But the first parents while they were perfect if by the helpe of grace how remisse soeuer the same were they had adioined their indeuour they might perfectlie haue obeied the commandements of God Howbeit we although we be renewed grace being somewhat remisse as it is albeit we forgo nothing of our indeuor we shall not be able constantlie and perfectlie to obeie the commandements of God but yet we may be able to conteine our selues within the bounds of vnperfect obedience which thing bicause we doo not therefore we oftentimes sin gréeuouslie fall But whie God giueth not his grace alwaies after one order and continuance but somtimes worketh in them more stronglie and sometimes more remisselie two reasons may be assigned First least we should thinke the grace of God to be a naturall effect which remaineth alwaies after one sort therfore God would for iust cause differ in the degrée and efficacie of his helpe whereby we might vnderstand that it is gouerned by his will and not as we our selues lust Moreouer it oftentimes happeneth that our negligence and slothfulnesse deserueth that varietie 6 And when as the scripture declareth God to be faithfull In 1 Cor. 1. verse 9. it sheweth that he can by no corruption of ours be
formes thereof Also they obiect that charitie hath therfore the nature of a forme bicause it is the end of the precept and whatsoeuer is done without that cannot please God but is condemned as sinne But if this argument be of force wée also will prooue thereby that faith is the forme of other vertues Rom. 14 23. séeing Paule hath said Whatsoeuer is not of faith is sinne Out of the which sentence Augustine in his 4. booke and 4. chap. against Iulian taught that all the workes of the infidels are sinnes These men also bring the saieng of Iames Iames. 2 22. that Faith is made perfect by workes the which maketh nothing against vs for it onlie teacheth that faith is then perfect when it worketh Euen as the Philosophers teach that a forme is not perfect when it is taken as the first act for so they speake but when it is respected as a second act for in working it putteth foorth his strength declareth it selfe Wherefore wée grant How faith is made perfect by workes that after this maner faith is made perfect by workes not that it is either increased or made more earnest by the vertue of workes but through the more effectuall operation of the holie Ghost the which in working declareth it selfe but in time of idlenes laie hid And this is not the propertie of charitie alone but is common vnto all other vertues for vnto this end are vertues giuen vnto the mind that out of them actions might be drawen 30 Moreouer they saie that charitie is therefore the forme of faith bicause by it is the first beginning whereby the godly are known from the wicked And this they prooue by that place of the Gospell where Christ is brought in to saie at the daie of iudgement I was hungrie Mat. 25 35. and ye fed me I thirsted and ye gaue me drinke c. Vnto these things wée answer that the discerning and knowledge of things is sometimes had by the causes by the beginnings of them which they commonlie call A priori that is The knowledge of things commeth partly by the beginnings and partlie by the effects By that which went before and an other is vnderstood by the effects and properties which they name A posteriori to wit By that which cōmeth after Wherfore I willingly admit that charitie is that whereby the godly are discerned from the wicked by the latter knowledge and by the effects but this knowledge pertaineth to vs. Christ otherwise without the same very well knoweth them that be his and setteth them apart namelie by election and predestination the which be in a maner the beginnings causes of our saluation Wherefore that knowledge is had by the effects out of the forme of things which they take as granted we must not grant Neither is there anie doubt but in the last iudgment the saints shall be discerned from the wicked by the workes and effects according as the words which these men bring doo declare The sentence of the last iudgement Ibidem 34. Howbeit if they will haue respect vnto those wordes which the iudge pronounced before time when he said Come ye blessed of my father take the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world they shall easilie vnderstand that there is a more noble excellent knowledge set forth of saluation to be giuen than that knowledge which is afterward added through workes As for the forme of faith if anie shuld be brought in which properly is not lawfull to be done The spirit if anie thing be should be the forme of faith the same should be the spirit For we haue faith according to the portion thereof the more there is of the spirit the more ample faith is present and the more scarsitie there is of the spirit the weaker is faith How Faith excelleth Charitie and so likewise on the contrarie 31 Now lastly there remaineth to sée wherein faith is preferred before charitie and againe what is attributed vnto charitie rather than vnto faith First vnto faith iustification is agréeable the which we affirme ought not to be granted vnto charitie for while we liue here Why faith iustifieth and not charitie charitie is alwaies vnperfect Therefore we cannot in respect of the iudgement of God cleaue either vnto charitie or vnto the good workes which procéed from the same in respect of being iustified and absolued by them Further in the epistles of Paule to the Romans and to the Galathians it is most plainly declared that We be iustified by faith and not by workes The verie which thing the nature as well of faith as of charitie if it be well considered dooth shew for faith dooth further the mind of godlie men toward Christ and toward the vnderstanding and admitting of the promises made concerning him which thing is manifest to be done by the assent of the mind and while that we knowe or vnderstand anie thing the very same we receiue into our selues But on the contrarie part the office of charitie is that it may prouoke and driue the will to shew foorth in action and expresse in sight of the world that which the mind hath receiued And this herein consisteth that those things which we haue we impart and communicate them with others And séeing to iustified is to receiue righteousnesse by imputation it may sufficientlie appéere that the same commeth rather by faith than by charitie Herevnto must be added that if we should appoint charitie to be that whereby righteousnes is comprehended it ought to be granted that we when we returne into fauour with God are not enimies as the epistle to the Romans teacheth For charitie maketh the fréends of God Rom. 5 10. whom soeuer it adorneth and None dooth loue God but he hath first beene belooued of him Wherefore faith in this is to be preferred before charitie that we are by faith iustified We may adde those things Charitie is ingendred of faith not faith of charitie Charitie followeth the measure of faith which we recited before namelie that charitie is ingendred of faith but on the other side not faith of charitie Besides this charitie followeth the measure of faith and is estéemed to be the measure thereof As Gregorie said that So much as we loue so much we beléeue 32. Those things which we haue now recited are more agréeable vnto faith than vnto charitie now let vs sée what things charitie dooth chalenge vnto it aboue faith First it indureth euen in the life to come at which time faith shall haue no place And that is it that faith bringeth vs no cléere knowlege 1. Co. 13 12. but an obscure for now we knowe darkelie and in part but the knowledge which we shall haue in the kingdome of heauen shall be throughlie perfect Wherefore faith shall giue place to a better state but charitie shall most of all appere in the world to come as well towards God as towards
3. Ye be dead and your life is hidden with Christ in God and when as Christ your life shall appeare then shall ye also appeare with him in glorie Inheritance defined Inheritance as it is defined by the Lawyers is a succession into the whole right of the man that is dead And may this appeare to be but a small matter to be made partakers of the whole right of God 2. Pet. 1 4. Certainlie Peter saith that We be made partakers of the diuine nature Here Ambrose noted that it is not in this matter as we commonlie sée it come to passe in the world for it behooueth that the testator die before the successor can come to the inheritance God dieth not and yet may we enter into his inheritance But God dieth not naie rather we that be appointed to be his heires doo die first before possession can be deliuered vnto vs. Christ also first died before he came vnto the glorie which was appointed for him An heire is counted one person with him that ordaineth him Iohn 17 21. Moreouer as touching ciuill lawes the heire is counted one and the selfe-same person with him that maketh him heire Euen so we through Christ are streictlie knit togither with God so as we are now one togither with him according as Christ praied That they may be one as thou and I are one for all things are ours We obtaine this inheritance freely and we are Christs Christ is Gods This inheritance obtaine we fréelie by the spirit of Christ Wherfore the bishops of Rome and their champions the Cardinals and false bishops doo wickedlie which haue shut vp this inheritance of remission of sinnes and accesse vnto the kingdome of God vnder their counterfet keies that they at their owne pleasure might sell the same and either thrust down to hell or send vp to heauen whom they list themselues The description of Christian Hope in the 5. chapter to the Romans verse 5. Looke In Rom. 8 25. and 1. Cor. 13 at the end A chaine Hope and faith haue one and the same propertie not to make ashamed 42 As concerning hope this is a notable chaine and an excellent connexion of christian degrées Of this chaine the first linke is fastned to the post of afflictions in this life from thence the godlie ascend to patience from patience to experience and from experience to hope which hope forsomuch as it maketh not ashamed but without doubting attaineth vnto God which is our principall felicitie is fastened vnto him as vnto the highest linke of the chaine This verie propertie of not confounding belongeth also vnto faith for None that beleeue in him shall be confounded and that for good cause for what can be of more néere a kinne vnto faith than hope The Latine interpreter turneth it Non confundit that is Confoundeth not Howbeit it might be properlie turned Non pudefacit that is Maketh not ashamed A figuratiue speech And it is a figuratiue kind of spéech for Paules mind was to signifie that the godlie cannot be frustrated of their hope for they which are frustrated namelie when things fall out farre otherwise than they hoped for are commonlie ashamed Wherefore Paule by shame vnderstandeth frustration bicause shame alwaies followeth it But the Latine interpreter had respect to that perturbation of the mind which followeth shame for To confound is nothing els but To perturbe or trouble Now if this sentence be true as in déed it is most true namelie Hope dependeth not of our works that this Hope confoundeth not it followeth that the same dependeth not of our workes for otherwise it would oftentimes faile But that it is true certaine Paule declareth not by one word onlie but by thrée and those of great efficacie For first he vseth this woord Knowing Hope is most assured which betokeneth an assured knowledge of a thing He maketh mention also of Reioising which cannot haue place among godlie and wise men but in those things which they assuredlie and firmelie possesse Last of all he addeth that Hope maketh not ashamed And it is not without cause that he oftentimes induceth persuasions of this certaintie bicause from thence chieflie is consolation to be sought for in afflictions When Christ did hang vpon the crosse the wicked railed against him saieng He hoped in God let him saue him Mat. 27 43. if he will haue him let him come downe from the crosse c. The self-same things are laid against vs not onlie by outward enimies but also by our flesh our outward senses and by humane wisdome How can we resist these but by this doctrine of the apostle Hope confoundeth not A remedie against railing speeches The hope which we haue put in the Lord will not make ashamed 43 The Sophisters labour to prooue that hope springeth of merits bicause Paule saith it springeth of patience as though we shuld thinke that hope were giuen to vs by the merit of patience Hope dependeth not of merits But in the mean time they marke not that those things which Paule here by a certaine order disposeth are not so compared the one to the other as causes effects For who will saie that afflictions are the causes of patience And if they be not so why should they more affirme that patience is the cause of hope The scripture most expresselie teacheth Ierem 17 5. that He which putteth confidence in man or in anie creature is accursed for a man of whose promise we depend and assure our selues may either die or alter his mind or els be let that he cannot faithfullie performe that which he promised and to haue confidence in him either for merit sake or by reason of good works is to settle our hope in man wherefore such hope worthilie maketh ashamed But the hope which is fixed vpon God is certeine neither can it be deceiued The Sophisters craftilie go about to auoid this sentence by twoo places of Paule Rom. 8 37. 2. Tim. 1 12. the one to the Romans and the other to Timothie The place to Timothie is thus I knowe whom I haue beleeued and am certeine And the other to the Romans is thus I am assured that neither death nor life nor angels c. By these places they thinke to ouerthrowe the proofe which we haue made bicause they thinke that these words are to be vnderstood not vniuersallie of all beléeuers but onelie of Paule and such other like who had it peculiarlie reuealed vnto them that they should atteine vnto saluation Here is intreated of the nature of hope generallie But these their enterprises are in vaine for here is now intreated of the nature and propertie of hope whereby is manifestlie prooued that all they which are indued with it are sure of their saluation so that they must néeds confesse that they which doubt of their saluation either haue not the hope which belongeth to a christian He
that doubteth of saluation hath not the hope belonging to a christian or else if they haue that hope they must néeds be assured of their saluation But if a man will saie What if I shall be vnwoorthie and therefore God will not bestowe vpon me the chéefe reward I answer that this is a wrestling of the conscience and must be ouercome by hope for the obteinement whereof let vs cleaue fast vnto the word of God such as is this God is faithfull 1. Co. 10 13 which will not suffer you to be tempted aboue your power but togither with the temptation will make a waie out and such like places of the holie scripture wherein God promiseth that he will giue perseuerance vnto his euen vnto the end And to speake bréeflie the hope of the godlie leaneth onelie vnto the goodnes power and mercie of the onelie God This thing Basilius verie well vnderstood in his exposition vpon the 33. psalme when de interpreteth these words Psal 33 18. Hoping in his mercie He which putteth not saith he confidence in his owne proper déeds neither hopeth to be iustified by works hath his hope of saluation onelie in the mercie of God for when he shall consider these things with himselfe Behold God and his reward c. 44 But the Schoole-men haue taught farre otherwise for the Maister of the sentences in his third booke The school-mens definition of hope thus defineth hope Hope is an assured expectation of the blessednes to come comming of the grace of God and of merits going before Which definition how absurd it is especiallie touching the latter part it is manifest in those which are newlie from most heinous and horrible sinnes conuerted to Christ for they vndoubtedlie can haue no good merits séeing before they were void of charitie from which all our works procéed Yet can there be nothing more certeine than that they They that be conuerted vnto Christ cannot be without hope though they haue no merits and works They that be most wicked ought not to cast awaie all hope which be conuerted vnto Christ cannot be without hope Yea Augustine vpon the psalme From the depth haue I called vpon thee ô Lord exhorteth them that fall and those which liue in the depth of euils not to cast awaie hope and that by the example of the théefe and of manie others It may now be demanded of them by what merits hope is confirmed in these men They commonlie answer that merits doo not alwaies go before hope but alwaies go before the thing hoped for And they declare their opinion touching this matter in such sort as they teach that merits go before hope either in verie déed or else doubtles in thought For men newlie conuerted commonlie while they conceiue hope of saluation determine both in their mind and in their cogitation to doo good works whereby they thinke to merit the last reward But what certeine hope can these good works imagined in the mind produce which are not yet wrought For of a cause which yet is not cannot be produced an effect which alreadie is We should rather affirme the contrarie to wit that this godlie will springeth of faith and of hope than that faith or hope should procéed of it as from the cause But it is a world to sée how these men turne themselues when on the one side they saie that hope is an assured expectation and yet on the other side they will haue this to be a most firme doctrine that no man can be assured of his saluation vnles it be speciallie reuealed vnto him by God Here they perceiue themselues to be fast tied and they confesse that it is a hard matter to vnderstand what maner of certeintie the certeintie of hope is Here these miserable men sweat and go to worke and feigne and imagine manie things First they teach The certeintie of hope come of the certeintie of faith that all certeintie of hope commeth of the certeintie of faith and this indéed is not amisse for therfore we certeinlie hope bicause by faith we imbrace the most certeine promise of God But they go on further and saie that by faith we generallie and absolutelie beléeue that all the elect and predestinated shall be saued but that hope maketh vs to haue a confidence that we are of the number of the elect as though hope had a particular knowledge vnder faith that that which was generallie apprehended by faith is by hope applied vnto euerie one of vs apart Wherefore they affirme that this certeintie of hope is by supposition if we be of the number of the elect and doo persist euen vnto the end And this kind of certeintie they will haue to consist of verie likelie coniectures And at length they conclude that the certeintie of hope is lesse than the certeintie of faith 45 But contrariwise we make the certeintie of either of them to be alike The certeintie of faith and hope is alike for looke how much faith we haue so much hope also we haue for faith retaineth not with it selfe anie part of certeinetie which it deliuereth not ouer vnto hope That is a fond deuise which they bring touching application Faith applieth those things which it beleeueth vnto him in whom it is in that by hope they applie vnto vs those things which we haue by faith generallie and absolutelie beléeued For we doo not onelie beléeue that God is good or the father and author of mans felicitie but also euerie godlie man by faith assureth himselfe that God both is and will be vnto him good is and will be vnto him a father is and will be vnto him the author of felicitie Hereof commeth that certeintie of hope And for this cause it is that Paul writeth that It cannot confound And séeing faith hath a respect vnto God as to one that speaketh the truth and hope hath respect vnto him as vnto one that is faithfull and most redie to performe his promises and God himselfe is no lesse faithfull in performing than true in promising we may manifestlie conclude that hope hath as much certeintie as hath faith Certeintie as touching the obiect and subiect Neither can that anie thing more helpe them which they cauill at the length namelie that hope hath certeintie as touching the obiect but not as touching the subiect for when saie they it hath a respect vnto the clemencie goodnes grace and power of God there is no let in those things but that euerie one may be saued and therefore on that behalfe they appoint a grounded certeintie but if a man consider the subiect the mind I meane and will of him that hopeth forsomuch as it is pliable and wauereth and may be changed it can neuer be certeine or sure of saluation But these men séeme vnto me to deale euen as they doo A similitude which in a siege defending their citie diligentlie shut and defend all other gates sauing one which they leaue
people but what shall come to passe that lieth in the pleasure of God They in déed prepare the hart but God ordereth the answer of the toong according to his prouidence Such another weightie reason they cite out of the 10. psalme verse 17. The preparation of the hart of the poore The Lord hath heard the desire of the poore thine eare hath heard the preparation of their hart But in this place these good maisters make two flat errors for first they vnderstand not that which they speake secondlie they cite not the place according to the truth of the Hebrue For the sense is the God despiseth not the praiers of the poore but according to his great goodnes accomplisheth those things for them which they had determined in their mind to desire of him What is the preparation of the hart and this is the preparation of the hart For none that is godlie desireth anie thing of GOD but first he deliberateth in his hart that the same thing is to be desired otherwise he should come rashlie vnto God and should praie foolishlie But these men wheresoeuer they find in the holie scriptures this word To prepare straitway they snatch it vp euen against the nature thereof to establish works preparatorie But now let vs sée what the sentence is after the Hebrue veritie Thaauath anauimschamata Iehoua takin libbam tacschif ozneeca that is Thou Lord hast heard the desire of the poore thou hast prepared or shalt prepare their hart thine eare shall heare Here we sée Dauid doth affirme that God heareth the desires of the saints whom he calleth poore And he addeth a cause namelie because God prepareth their harts God prepareth the harts of the saints to require those things which may serue for their saluation and which please God But by whom God worketh such a preparation in the harts of the faithfull Paule teacheth in his epistle to the Romans and thus he writteth Rom. 8 25. What we should aske as we ought we knowe not but the spirit praieth for vs with vnspeakeable sighes But God who searcheth the harts séeth what the spirit will aske for the saints We sée therefore both by Dauid and also by Paule that God heareth those praiers which are by the impulsion of his spirit stirred vp in them that praie vnto him We learne also of the Ethnike philosophers God prepareth the harts by the holie ghost and that in mo places than one that those are reprooued which without consideration and rashlie doo require anie thing of God But they which professe Christ euen as they beléeue that he is the author of their praiers so also doo they close vp their praiers in this sentence Mat. 6 10. Thy will be done 30 But saie they Ezechiel saith in his 18. chapter Walke in my waies verse 13. and make ye a new hart And Ieremie Be ye conuerted vnto me saith the Lord. Wherefore a man saie they may of himselfe prepare himselfe to the obteining of righteousnes But these men should remember that it is no vpright dealing A conciliation of the place of Ieremie and Ezechiel verse 26. to cite some places of the holie scriptures and to ouerhip and leaue other some vnspoken Let them go therefore and sée what Ezechiel writeth in the 36. chapter I saith the Lord will bring to passe that ye shall walke in my waies And I will giue vnto you a fleshie hart and will take awaie from you your stonie hart Ieremie also in the 31. chapter Conuert me ô Lord verse 18. and I shall be conuerted Wherefore Augustine verie well said Giue what thou commandest command what thou wilt They abuse also an other place out of the prophet Ionas to confirme their error Ion. 3 10. for there it is written that God regarded the works of the Niniuites Of the fact of the Niniuites Behold saie they the afflictions of the Niniuites whereby they afflicted themselues with fastings and cried vnto the Lord the Lord prepared their minds and made them apt to obteine pardon As though it behooued not the Niniuites first to beléeue the word of God before they could either praie effectuallie or else repent them Séeing therefore they beléeued before they did anie works they were iustified by faith and not by works which followed afterwards And God is said to haue regarded their works bicause they pleased him Neither did we euer denie that the works of men being now iustified are acceptable vnto God So often as we find in the scriptures such places which serue to attribute righteousnes vnto our works wée must according to the doctrine of Augustine haue a consideration A rule of Augustine out of what foundation those works procéed And when we perceiue that they spring out of faith we ought to ascribe vnto that root that which afterward is added as touching righteousnes And how fowlie these men erre in their reasoning hereby we may perceiue for that they take vpon them to transferre those things which are proper to one kind of men vnto another Which thing humane lawes will not suffer to be done for A similitude as we find in the Code as touching testaments or last willes If rusticall vnlearned men which dwell out of cities and haue not store of wise and learned men doo make their last willes without a solemnitie required thervnto and without a sufficient number of witnesses prescribed which yet otherwise should be necessarie such testaments ought to be allowed Now if a man would transferre this prerogatiue vnto citizens who for that they haue their abiding in cities haue store of men of vnderstanding he should excéedinglie erre for if their testaments be so made they are refused neither are they counted firme So we saie that the works of men iustified may please God but this notwithstanding neither can nor ought to be granted vnto them which are without faith and without Christ 31 Further let vs marke the accustomed sophisticall and deceitfull kind of reasoning of the aduersaries which the Logicians doo terme A non causa vt causa to wit From that which is not the cause as though it were the cause For they alwaies appoint good works to be the causes of righteousnes when as in verie déed they are effects of righteousnes and not causes For it is as though a man should saie A similitude The fire is therfore hot bicause it maketh hot but it is cleane contrarie for therefore it maketh hot bicause it is hot So also we bicause we are iustified therefore we doo iust things and not bicause wée doo iust things therefore we are iustified Sometimes also they obiect 2. Cor. 5 10. How is to be vnderstood God rendereth to euerie man according to his works that God will render vnto euerie man according to his works wherfore works saie they are the cause of our felicitie But here also as their woonted maner is they are
not vniuersallie Charitie dooth not alwaies followe a seruile feare that charitie alwaies followeth such a feare for we knowe that it otherwise happened in Caine and Iudas but it so happeneth onelie in men that are to be iustified For GOD vseth this meane first to pearse them with great feare of their sinnes and then by it to bring them vnto faith and charitie In the meane time yet we nothing doubt How a seruile feare maie be called profitable but that such a feare is sinne and yet neuerthelesse that feare maie be called profitable not by his owne merit or of his owne nature but bicause of the order instituted by God whose will is so to vse it to our saluation And this thing also we adde that that charitie the more it increaseth in vs so much the more and more dooth it cast out feare not onelie seruile feare but also the feare which men iustified haue For whosoeuer is throughlie persuaded of the loue of God towards him can neuer feare his owne damnation for that doubting whereby we feare eternall punishments is sinne And yet that doubt somewhat alwaies sticketh in our minds for we neuer in this life beléeue so much as we ought nor so much as we should and by reason of this weaknesse of charitie wherewith we should loue our neighbours and bicause of the féeblenes of persuasion wherby we ought to beléeue in God so long as we are in this life we neuer put off all this corrupt feare 34 They also take hold of this saieng and obiect the same against vs Aske Matt. 7 7. and ye shall receiue seeke How this is to be vnderstood Aske and ye shall haue and ye shall find knocke and it shall be opened vnto you But they ought to remember that praiers procéed from faith and cleaue vnto it onelie for otherwise they cannot be heard But I maruell why they left this vnspoken of Whatsoeuer ye shall aske beleeuing it shall be giuen you For by these words it appéereth that whatsoeuer is giuen vnto them that aske is giuen vnto faith Herevnto also they adde a sentence out of Luke Luke 11 41. Giue almes and all things be cleane vnto you But these words may be expounded thrée maner of wais of which yet neuer a one serueth for their purpose How this entence Giue almes c. is to be vnderstood The first waie is to saie that that kind of spéech was a taunt as if Christ would haue said vnto the Pharisies Ye giue almes and ye thinke straitwaie that all things are cleane vnto you which is not so for we ought first to make cleane those things which are within Another waie is which Augustine followeth in his Enchiridion to Laurentius certeine had persuaded themselues that if they gaue almes they should be saued though they ceased not from sinning and their chéefest anchor-hold was these words of Christ Augustine answereth that those words of Christ are to be vnderstood of the true and approoued almes whereof it is written in Ecclesiasticus Eccl. 30 24. the thirtie chap. Haue compassion of thy soule and please God Wherefore thou oughtst to begin true almes at thine owne selfe that hauing compassion of thy selfe thou maist be conuerted vnto GOD and cease off from sinnes and afterward haue thou compassion of others The third waie is this which in my iudgement more agréeth vnto the purpose Christ being at dinner with the Pharisies began to eate with vnwashed hands for which thing when they were offended Christ began to reprooue their ignorance which would haue their dishes hands and all outward things cleane beautifull but as touching that which they had inwardlie that is in their mind they were nothing carefull Wherfore he first exhorteth them to purifie the hart which is inwardlie Which thing is doone by faith for in the Acts it is written By faith purifieng their harts Acts. 15 9. Afterward as touching outward things he addeth Giue almes and so all things shall be cleane vnto you Further Theodore Beza as Theodorus Beza a man of great learning and iudgement hath in his annotations verie well considered Christ spake not of all maner of cleanesse but of that which perteins vnto meate Wherevnto Christ applieth a double commandement one is that they should eate nothing gotten by robberie or stealth another is that of those things which are within that is which are conteined in the dishes somewhat should be taken out for the almes of the poore whereby whatsoeuer is left might be clensed and sanctified But of this there is nothing which may further our aduersaries opinion 35 There are others which thinke to establish this their error by the ministerie of the keies whereby they thinke that men are absolued from their sinnes But they are deceiued for they vnderstand not what those keies are that which Christ commended vnto his church The preaching of the word of God What be the keies deliuered to the church touching the remission of sinnes to be obteined by Christ is the onelie keie to open the kingdome of heauen And if he which heareth his word doo also adioine a true faith and giue full assent vnto those words then commeth also the other keie With these two keies is the kingdome of heauen opened and the forgiuenes of sinnes obteined Wherefore Christ sending foorth his apostles said Go ye and preach the Gospell Matt. 28 29. then he addeth He which beleeueth shal be saued By these few words he expresseth the keies which he deliuered vnto the church In the which words thou shalt find no worke wrought as they call it for Christ spake onelie of the faith of the hearers and of the word of God which is preached But how shall we at length confute this sentence which is neuer out of their mouth Manie sinnes are forgiuen hir Luk. 7 47. Manie sinnes are forgiuen hir bicause c. expounded bicause she hath loued much if the place be diligentlie pondered it will be an easie matter to doo We ought to knowe that some reasons are taken of the causes some of the effects Christ in a few words afterward sheweth the cause of saluation when he saith vnto the woman Thy faith hath made thee safe But bicause that faith was hidden in hir mind neither could it be séene of those which were present therefore putting foorth a parable he sheweth that they loue more which receiue greater gifts of anie And that this woman receiued a verie great gift that is iustification he sheweth by the effects namelie bicause she washed his féet with hir teares and wiped them with hir heare bicause she kissed them bicause she annointed them Which things forsomuch as that Pharisie did not it maie be a verie great token or signe that he had not receiued the like gift Rom. 2 13. Not the hearers but the dooers of the lawe shal be iustified expounded They cite also out of the epistle vnto
it trulie then make they on our side And why dooth this man so much impugne it But if falselie this good end nothing helpeth them to represse the insolencie of men Rom. 3 8. For euen as Euill must not be committed that good may insue so false doctrine must not be auouched to supplant other false doctrine But this man vndoubtedlie is so farre besides himselfe as he saith that this was lawfull for the fathers to doo For in his booke De votis which not manie yéeres ago he set abroad he saith that Augustine De bono viduitatis wheras he writeth that Their matrimonies which had vowed a vow of virginitie or of sole life are true marriages and not adulteries wrote the same for no other end but to persuade Iuliana the widowe vnto whom he wrote the booke that marriages in generall are not euill And so a Gods name he confesseth that Augustine setteth foorth one false doctrine to ouerthrowe another false doctrine And with the like wisdome in the same booke he feigneth that Clement Alexandrinus wrote that Paule had a wife which he thinketh to be most false onelie to prooue that marriage is good and honourable And if it be lawfull so to mingle true things with false and to confound all things when then shall we beléeue the fathers What thing can at anie time be certeine vnto vs but that we may be deceiued thereby Further he feigneth that Paule excluded from iustification onelie the works of the lawe But this we haue before abundantlie confuted and haue taught that the reasons of Paule are generall Yea the fathers sawe euen this also Augustine for Augustine in manie places affirmeth that Paule intreateth not onelie of ceremoniall works but also of morall works But bicause the authoritie of Augustine is I knowe not how suspected vnto our aduersaries let vs sée what Ierom saith He vnto Ctesiphon against the Pelagians vpon these words Rom 3 20. By the works of the lawe no flesh shall be iustified thus writeth Ierom was of the opinion that not alone the ceremoniall works are to be excluded from iustification Rom. 7 16. Bicause thou thinkest this to be spoken of the lawe of Moses onelie and not of all the commandements which are conteined vnder this one name of the lawe the selfe-same apostle saith I consent vnto the lawe of God There are others also of the fathers which teach the same but I now ouerpasse them Let it suffice to shew that this other feigned inuention of Smith is vaine and trifling 87 Thirdlie he saith that they ment to exclude works as he calleth them penall those works I suppose which repentant men doo But to shew how ridiculous this is also shall néed no long declaration For first such works were required of men not that by them they should be iustified before God but onelie to approoue themselues vnto the church that is least they by a feigned and dissembled repentance should séeke to be reconciled Further it is not likelie that Paule spake of anie such works for they were not at that time in vse Indéed Ambrose when he excludeth works from iustification hath herevnto once or twise a respect But we ought not so much to consider what one or two of the fathers doo saie but what agréeth with the holie scriptures Smith addeth moreouer God requireth of men more than faith Mark 1 15. that it is certeine that God requireth much more of vs than faith for in Marke it is thus written Repent and beleeue Here saith he vnto faith is adioined repentance And in another place He that beleeueth and is baptised Mar. 16 14. shall be saued He addeth also that in the epistle to the Ephesians Eph. 5 25. The church is said to be sanctified by the washing of water in the word And that Peter in his third chapter of his first epistle saith that Baptisme hath made vs safe Peter 3 21. And that Ierom also thus writeth vpon the first chapter of Esaie The washing of regeneration dooth onelie remit sinnes Behold saith he iustification and remission of sinnes is ascribed not onelie vnto faith but also vnto the sacraments As touching the first we grant that Christ requireth more of vs than faith for who doubteth but that he will haue men that are iustified to liue vprightlie and to exercise themselues in all kinds of vertues otherwise they shall no◠come vnto eternall saluation Howbeit these are fruits of faith and effects of iustification and not causes But as touching the sacraments we haue manie times taught how iustification is to be attributed vnto them for they are in the same respect vnto iustification as is the preaching of the Gospell and the promise concerning Christ which is offered vnto vs to saluation And verie oftentimes in the scriptures that which belongeth vnto the thing is ascribed to the sacrament or signe And because baptisme promiseth remission of sinnes by Christ and signifieth it and sealeth it in them which are washed therefore Ierom of all other sacraments attributeth this vnto it onelie Wherefore the words of the Fathers ought nothing to mooue vs when as they write thus that Faith alone is not sufficient to saluation for they vnderstand this A rule as touching the writings of the fathers of that eternall saluation vnto which we come not except some fruit followe our faith But of their saiengs we ought not to gather that a man is not iustified by faith onelie And though at anie time the verie same fathers séeme to referre their words vnto iustification yet are they to be vnderstood that their meaning was to expresse the nature of the true and iustifieng faith for it in verie déed is neuer alone but hath euer hope and charitie and other good works The righteousnesse that sticketh in vs consisteth not of faith onelie as companions Sometimes also by iustification they vnderstand that righteousnes which sticketh in vs the which without all doubt dooth not consist or depend of faith onelie 88 They thinke also that this maketh against vs Rom. 8 23. for that Paule writeth vnto the Romans By hope we are made safe Neither doo they sée that hope is there taken for the last regeneration which we hope we shall one daie obteine in the heauenlie countrie for the apostle a little before spake of it And vndoubtedlie we possesse that saluation onelie in hope not as yet in verie déed If there be anie peraduenture whom this most iust and most true answer will not suffice let him followe the interpretation of Origin for he vpon that place saith that Hope is there put for faith which is no rare thing in the holie scriptures But they haue found out yet another fond deuise whereby as much as lieth in them they doo go about to qualifie this word Onelie which is so often vsed of the Fathers namelie that faith onelie hath the beginning and as it were the first degrée of iustification which
it shall be said else-where But admit we should grant these scourges of God to be punishments yet doo they nothing further our aduersaries For so much as they shall be called temporall punishments the which God hath not put vnder the power of the keies that they should be ordered by them séeing God hath distributed them at his owne pleasure and dooth oftentimes turne them awaie or mitigate them according as he is called vpon by the saints and as he séeth them to be conuerted vnto him earnestlie and with true repentance as it may plainlie appéere in Ezechias and in the Niniuits In which sense that may be vnderstood which is written in Daniel Dan. 4 24. Redeeme thou thy sinnes with almes A place of Daniel declared that is to saie thy punishments which remaine by the seueritie of Gods iudgement Or else vnderstand the same on this wise Euen as thou hast afflicted the poore and hast oppressed them that be weake so on the other part God puniâ—…eth not the godlie as a reuenger take thou pitie vpon them So that To redeeme is To put that which is good in the place of that which is euill God punisheth not the faithfull sort like a reuenger iudge but he chastineth them as a father Neither dooth hée alwaie of all men exact punishments after sins be forgiuen for he hath forgiuen manie sins to manie without laieng those punishments vpon them For vnto the théefe he said Luke 23 43 This daie thou shalt be with me in paradise And the Publican which praied Haue mercie vpon me a sinner Luke 18 13 went his waie iustified And Peter when he had forsworne Christ onelie wept Luke 23 62. and was receiued into grace Wherevpon as touching his repentance Ambrose wrote Ambrose I read of the teares of Peter but I read not of his satisfaction Also it was said vnto the man sicke of the palsie Sonne thy sinnes are forgiuen thee Matth. 9 5. neither did the Lord require anie other thing of him 20 They are woont to obiect that the woman which was a sinner Luke â— 37 and 48. did therefore obteine remission of sinnes bicause shée washed the Lords féete with hir teares and wiped them with the haires of hir head and annointed him with pretious ointment They crie out that all these things were satisfactions for sinnes Howbeit these men ought to consider The woman was forgiuen hir sinnes in two respects that our Sauiour shewed how sinnes were forgiuen to that woman in two respects First when he said vnto hir Thy faith hath made thee whole and this waie was a right waie as an effect procéeding from the causes namelie from the mercie of God which that woman comprehended by faith Further vnto the Pharisie which could not perceiue the faith that laie hidden in the womans mind he shewed that hir sinnes were pardoned and forgiuen hir for another cause to wit that séeing he loueth most to whom most is forgiuen and that the Pharisie sawe that that woman loued Christ more than he did he might thereby knowe that she was no longer a sinner but a true iustified woman And he sheweth by tokens of charitie that she most loued him the which tokens she did at his féet The effects of charitie do followe iustification not go before it in the sight of all men Wherefore it is certeine that these effects of loue which these men call satisfactions are not doone before iustification but doo rather followe after the same 21 And whereas these men feigne that soules doo satisfie through paines and torments in purgatorie after this life they are verie repugnant vnto the saieng of Cyprian who in the end of his booke against Demetrianus writeth When we shall passe from hence there shall neither be place for repentance neither yet effect of satisfaction The aduersaries are woont to pretend vnto this their opinion an indeuour of pitie bicause they will not estéeme them to be damned which are departed in the confession of Christ when as neuertheles they should be deteined in some blemish of their sinnes But it is a foolish pitie which dooth driue vs to decrée those things which we are ignorant of whether they make to the glorie of God and cannot be shewed out of the holie scriptures Further we are bound to loue God with all our strength and with all our soule And we ought neither to appoint nor beginne anie thing which we knowe not to be alowed by him or that shall make to his glorie But purgatorie maketh manie to be negligent of liuing well Purgatorie maketh manie negligent of liuing well bicause they suppose that by their riches they may easilie purchase men to praie for them when they be dead The verie which inconuenience followed the opinion of Origin wherein he affirmed that the punishment of damned soules should at one time or other finish Whereby appéereth that this opinion of purgatorie neither edified the church neither yet prouoked men vnto godlie life Manie other inconueniences by the opinion of purgatorie and therefore it was not prudentlie deuised And further by this deuise manie poore folkes are defrauded of iust almes and an intollerable market of Popes pardons breake foorth Also by this abuse is mainteined the slothfulnes of Moonks popish priests who that they may be well mainteined and that through their praiers they may release the paines of mens soules in purgatorie the right heires in vndutifull testaments are skipped ouer so as all things in a maner are giuen to the fat panches of these men Here are all things vncerteine They which iudge that the soules of them that be departed in the faith of Christ be not foorthwith admitted into the heauenlie rest how can they knowe that such persons be tormented by fires Vnto whom also if thou shouldest grant that they are afflicted with flames how will they prooue that they can be holpen by our praiers and sutes 22 But and if we should suffer the suspicions of men to take place perhaps some will be found which for purgatorie will appoint as I may saie an eruditorie or instructing place wherein the soules of infidels which in this life hard nothing of Christ or the soules of rude persons and of infants which were neuer taught may yet there at the least wise learne and obteine an occasion of beléeuing For vnto some it will séeme an vnméet thing that either ignorant men should be damned eternallie or else that those which be not yet adorned with the knowledge of God should be brought into the kingdome of heauen And manie other such things séeing there be an aboundance of errors may be feigned Now haue we séene that purgatorie is no opinion necessarie to be beléeued Further if by suspect opinion it be receiued it hath weake and slender reasons to cleaue vnto and it rather hindereth godlinesse than furthereth the same Wherefore they which be of an opinion that there is
thée to indure it He concludeth that he which flieth séemeth after a sort to boast against God that he is stronger than he and able to escape his persecution But there is none of the godlie so deceiued as he will flie awaie against the will of the Lord naie rather he trusteth to his power and will For the godlie doo knowe how Dauid hath pronounced Whither shall I go from thy spirit Psal 39 7. And whither shall I flie from thy presence Besides this they vnderstand that there is no running of them that be swift and that flieng awaie is denied vnto the féet Eccle. 9 11. vnlesse the Lord be present Dauid Psal 18 34. when he fled from Saule gaue thanks that GOD had giuen vnto him Harts féet They which flie doo not boast themselues against God neither be they iniurious or contumelious but they lament they make their praiers they haue confidence and they humble themselues Another argument of Tertullian How manie notable psalmes did Dauid make when he fled awaie Further he sheweth another reason He that flieth either he is vncerteine of his fall or else if he doo tarie he is certeine If he be certeine that he will denie Christ he flieth in vaine séeing as touching the mind he is alreadie run into the crime of infidelitie But if thou wilt saie that thou art vncerteine why dooest thou not hope well and presume well of the grace of God We answere that they which flie are certeine of God but of themselues they are vncerteine Séeing in their flesh there dwelleth no good thing how can they therof promise to themselues anie good thing They know that God will helpe when they fall among their enimies but they knowe not now whether God will haue them to be taken by them naie rather they presume it is otherwise séeing the way to flie is open for them Which thing godlinesse teacheth to be doone by the will of God séeing God speaketh vnto men not onelie by outward words of the scripture and prophets but also by a facilitie and difficultie of things and occasions And then they plainlie knowe that God would somewhat when necessitie vrgeth or else something commeth to passe with singular facilitie For by these means he hath béen accustomed with the inward inspiration of the spirit and words of holie men to admonish vs of his will 25 Yet he bringeth a forked argument not much vnlike vnto these The third argument To stand stedfast in faith thou thinkest that either it is in thine owne hand or in the hand of God If thou attribute the power of this vertue to thy selfe why doest thou not continue and absteine from flight seeing thou art able to performe that which thou art desirous of But thou reposest the same in God well then thou shouldst haue trusted and hoped in him This argument also we will easilie confute We repose our saluation in God for how can we be constant of our owne selues séeing We are not able by our selues as of our selues to thinke anie thing And we doo verie well to put our trust in God according to our duetie that he I saie in time and when oportunitie serueth will helpe vs. But is should be a rash part to prescribe these things vnto him to wit that we would haue him in anie wise to be with vs either this houre or that and it might iustlie be imputed a fault vnto vs as though we dare be so bold to tempt him But he saith The 4. argument that It is an absurditie to haue diuers effects to be deriued from one and the selfe same cause Which will happen if you make GOD the authour of your flight for without doubt he sendeth persecution therefore it is not like that both flight persecution should procéed from one God But how vainlie they trauell in the argument One and the same cause may worke contrarie effects hereby thou maist perceiue in that they leane to a false ground namelie that one and the selfe-same cause cannot abide things that be contrarie when as the sunne both mealteth and also hardeneth In like maner coniunction serueth as well to make an vnitie as a dualitie Further as touching one and the same respect it might perhaps be granted but according to diuers respects the verie seats can tell that contraries may be deriued from one originall Now séeing that God both stirreth vp persecutions and permitteth flieng awaie we sée that those and the selfe-same men are not both apprehended by the persecutors and escape perill also Wherfore the subiect is not all one they that escape awaie escape from torments But remembring what we haue before spoken we saie that they which flie the sword of persecution escape not altogither frée but suffer manie things in flieng And thus we will grant that the same men haue respect Persecution flight are not things contrarie both vnto persecution and vnto flight But we affirme that these things are not contrarie séeing he that flieth hath a triall of persecution But the rule of contraries is that one subiect cannot receiue them both Now we saie that these be contraries To tarie and Not to tarie or else To suffer persecution and Not to suffer Then as touching the same persecution these cannot both togither insue And so the place before alledged hath no absurditie The fift argument 26 The aduersaries argue that If flieng awaie be granted it followeth in anie wise that the saiengs of the Lord be repugnant one to another Matt. 10 39. For he saith that He which will not loose his life shall verelie loose the same and that He Mark 8 38. which is ashamed of his name before men he will be ashamed of him before God Those things séeme vnto vs verie agréeable to our opinion yea rather the verie words of Christ séeme not to disagrée For he that flieth maketh not more account of his soule than he dooth of the glorie of God naie rather he auoideth persecution that he may serue him the more commodiouslie and with the greater fruit Neither is he led by shame as though he blushed at the name of God séeing he is readie to testifie the same with his bloud when néed shall require But by this meanes saie they GOD should nourish infirmitie and weakenes in his people who is said to strengthen them for they which flie haue a vile and base mind This followeth not of necessitie séeing it is not the part of a strong man alwaies and for euerie cause to stretch foorth his whole strength He expecteth moments and occasions yea he saith oftentimes My strength O God will I reserue vnto thée for thée doo I kéepe it to the intent it may obeie thée The sixt argument Matt. 26 52. Christ saith he refused the helps of the angels and the defense of the sword wherefore doost thou flie We fullie grant that to be doone by Christ the which thou speakest of
reprooue all the wicked And soone after Looking for the mercie of our Lord Iesus Christ vnto eternall life Let it be sufficient that we haue brought these things out of the new testament vnto the which adde the article of the apostles Créed wherin we confesse our selues to beléeue the resurrection of the flesh Further all those places wherein Christ is said that he shall be iudge of the quicke and the dead haue relation vnto this 55 Now that we haue séene the signification of the word and also the definition and haue sought whether this resurrection may be plainlie set foorth by naturall reasons and further haue brought testimonies Of the causes of the resurrection verse 4â— as well of the old as new scriptures now it foloweth that we speake somewhat of the causes thereof It is the effect of faith and it followeth iustification Whervpon it is said in the sixt chapter of Iohn He that beleeueth in me hath life euerlasting and I will raise him vp at the last daie So as God by his power is the efficient cause thereof For which cause Christ said vnto the Saduces Matt. 2â— 15. Yee erre being ignorant of the scriptures and of the power of God And not onelie God the father himselfe but also the holie Ghost is cause of the resurrection For as we haue alreadie said it is written in the epistle to the Romans If the spirit of him Rom. 8 11. which hath raised vp Christ from the dead dwell in you c. Yea moreouer the sonne himselfe which is Christ Iesus is a cause of this resurrection for in the Gospell of Iohn he said Iohn 6 40. I will raise him vp at the last daie And againe Euen as the father raiseth vp and quickeneth Iohn 5 21. euen so also the sonne quickeneth c Further Ibidem 28. They which be in the graues shall heare the voice of the sonne of God and shall come foorth Iohn 11 25. c. In the eleuenth of Iohn I am the resurrection and the life Moreouer there is an argument taken hereof that Christ by his death tooke awaie sinne which was the cause of death Verelie no man doubteth but that the cause being remooued the effect is taken awaie In the first to the Corinthians 1. Co. 15 22 the 15. chapter In Adam all men are dead in Christ all men shall be reuiued as by one man came death so by one man came the resurrection from the dead The finall cause of resurrection is assigned to be 2. Cor. 5 10. That the whole and entire man should be iudged at the tribunall seate of God and should receiue rewards or punishments according as he hath behaued himselfe But the angels although they shall be ministers of the resurrection yet can they be no causes Among the causes of the resurrection to come the resurrection also of Christ is numbered for Paule in the first to the Corinthians verse 13. the 15. chapter saith If the dead rise not againe neither is Christ risen againe and if Christ be not risen our preaching is in vaine But we may argue on the other side Christ rose againe Therefore we also shall rise againe So then the resurrection of Christ séemeth to be the cause of our resurrection which indéed is to be granted but yet not so as that verie action wherein Christ was raised vp and which is now past is the efficient cause that performeth or dooth anie thing which should bring foorth our resurrection but bicause the diuine power and might which is in Christ séeing he is God is reteined still euen as he raised him vp from the dead so will he also quicken vs in due time This we sée come to passe in humane things A similitude For he that is a white man begetteth also a white sonne not that the colour it selfe can procreate but that those beginnings or causes which wrought the begetter to be white do make him also white which is begotten by him Euen so our resurrection shall not be vnlike to the resurrection of Christ Further this must be noted that the diuine actions and heauenlie benefits which are imploied vpon men be as Damascenus saith deriued vnto vs by the flesh of Christ which now should be none at all vnlesse he had béene raised from the dead Wherefore by this meanes the resurrection of Christ may be also called ours bicause without that we might not haue obteined ours Againe if we should like philosophers followe Plato adiecting vnto the foure kinds of causes an Idea or paterne we might saie that the resurrection of Christ was the exemplar cause of our resurrection The finall cause of resurrection is assigned to be that The whole and entire man should be iudged at the tribunall seate of God and should receiue rewards or punishments according as he behaued himselfe And thus much of the causes 56 It followeth that we should speake of the properties and conditions of the bodies Of the condition and propertie of bodies when they shall rise which shall be raised vp The Schoolemen called them indowments or qualities neither can I disallow of those which they haue reckoned bicause I perceiue them to be gathered out of the holie scriptures Howbeit I thinke not that all the properties were gathered by them neither yet may it be for in this life we cannot haue experience of the glorie of the saints but we shall then perfectlie and absolutelie knowe it when we shall come vnto it Immortalitie the first propertie The first condition that commeth to my remembrance of the blessed is immortalitie And assuredlie in the diuine scriptures so often as there is mention of the life to come the same is said to be eternall as being that which shall haue no end Paule saith This mortall must put on haue immortalitie 1. Co. 15 53 and this corruptible bodie must put on incorruption And séeing the punishments rewards which shall be rendered according to the nature of works be sempiternall the subiect or nature which shall be giuen them must néeds be immortall also Furthermore séeing it is no doubt but that Christ destroied sinne and death it remaineth that the life of the saints should be immortall And in the sixt chapter to the Romans it is written verse 9. Christ rising againe from the dead dieth no more neither shall death haue anie more power ouer him Besides in the first to the Corinthians the 15. chapter verse 50. Flesh and bloud shall not inherit the kingdome of God Yet must not these things be taken for the verie nature and substance of flesh and bloud fâ—… they which shall rise againe shall be wholie indued with these things But the apostle hath respect vnto corruption vnto the which flesh and bloud in this life are subiect wherfore he added Ibidem Incorruption And corruption shall not inherit incorruption 57 Vpon this propertie followeth an other namelie that after
lawfull to redéeme the Church it selfe being captiue Another argument also maie be drawen from the ciuil lawes which graunt vnto a guiltie man in perill of his life and that should fall into extreme punishment to redéeme for a price euen his owne bloud namelie by making agréement with the accuser that he should surcease his action And this is in the Code De Transact in the law Transigere And in the Digestes De eorum bonis qui ante sententiam latam mortem sibi consciuerunt in the first law And if it be lawfull for a man through the abandoning of goods and possessions to redéeme his owne bloud why maie it not be lawfull for Churches which belong vnto eternall life to redéeme by their outward goods séeing these things are more of value than corporall life 8 But they saie no man can giue these things because they appertaine vnto the Church and are not in the power of any particular men I answere Neither woulde I that a Bishop or Minister of the Church doe this by his owne onelie counsell and will but that the Church shoulde be priuie and consenting to the same Ouer this let vs imagine that there is some stewarde which gouerneth the goods and possessions of his maister If it happen that he commeth into the daunger of his life or be taken prisoner who will blame the good steward if by selling some of his maisters goods he redéeme him and deliuer him from calamitie If it be lawfull to giue skinne for skinne Iob. 2. 4. all that we haue for the soule that is for the life doubtles it is much rather to be done that we may haue the pure Gospel and maie obtaine eternal life Let vs put the case that there is some Pope created which neuerthelesse is not to be looked for but for example sake let one be imagined Note that will saie vnto our men permit ye me that I maie possesse these Cities and Castels and I will suffer that ye shall haue the Gospell frée The libertie of the Church is to be redeemed that ye shall reforme the Churches as ye will I will not trouble you nay rather I will be fauourable to your indeuours Who woulde not giue these things vnto him Wherefore if anie being put in such or in the like danger doe deliuer anie goods of the Churches vnto Princes they are not straight waies to be accused as though they haue sinned nay rather if they obstinatelie delaie to doe it they maie incurre the suspition of couetousnesse Yet this must they take héede of namelie that they being mooued through Ambition to attaine vnto dignities or Bishoprickes or other spirituall promotions shew not themselues readie either to giue or alienate such goods This also must be foreséene that they giue not vnto their néere kinsfolke and friends those things which they faine that they would not graunt vnto Magistrates and Princes But as things now are in Popish religion I cannot tell what profit it maie be to the Church that so manie and so great riches are possessed by Ecclesiasticall men as they will be called séeing they abuse those goods especiallie against the Gospell and profession of true religion The effect is that in this difficult hard cause I would allow that if it might possiblie be they which haue the gouernment of Churches should not resist Magistrates which pluck awaie such things by force and yet that they should not by their owne proper assent deliuer thē Howbeit if the same be done at anie time in maner forme as it is now described in my iudgmēt it cānot be blamed 9 But as to the other kinde of good that is to wit the true and right faith because the same is the vine of God Whether the true and right beliefe is to be yeelded to the persecuters of the Church it is lawfull for no man to yéeld that vnto anie For nothing must be added or diminished at princes pleasures In this matter verie manie at sundry times departed from the constancie of Nabaoth Verilie there were some weake men in the time of Dioclesian and Maximinianus which deliuered euen the verie holie bookes to be burned Of which offence Coecilianus Bishop of Carthage was greatlie accused by Donatus Whence arose the heresie of the Donatists whereupon arose the heresie of the Donatistes Moreouer vnder Constantius some which otherwise were good Bishops being forced by feare The father of Gregorie Nazianzene subscribed to the opinions of the Arrians among whom was the father of Gregorius Nazianzenus Also manie reuolted what time as Iulianus the Apostata obtained the Empire neither did they faithfullie kéepe the vine of the Lorde I meane the inheritance of their parentes 10 But in verie déede the Clergie and Ecclesiasticall men contend In Rom 13 verse 9. that they by the benefite of Princes are exempted from tributes and customes Doubtlesse Christ vsed not this priuiledge for he prouided to paie tribute both for himselfe and for Peter Mat. 17. 27 Why the Clergie be exempted frō tributes customes Looke after in pl. 13. Art 23. Againe if we looke vpon the Ciuill lawes they are not exempted from all burthen of tributes Iustinianus in déede willed that they should be frée from personall offices as it is in the Code de Ecclesijs episcopes And those are called personall offices which we execute giuing hereunto industrie and labour onely For if the ministers should be bounde to them it coulde not be chosen but that they should be hindred from their function And the same Iustinian séemeth also to haue exempted them from extraordinarie and not from ordinary exactions Yea they are bound to the mending of common high waies and to repairing of bridges Neither doeth the lawe of charitie suffer that when as they possesse landes and manie other things they should withdraw themselues from ciuil burthens and laie the whole weight vpon others 2. Cor. 8. 13 that there should be a burden vpon all others and they onelie discharged Bonifacius the 8. A most vniust decrée of Boniface the 8. a man as the Papistes themselues confesse ouer proude and arrogant in his decrées as we haue De Immunitate ecclesiarum made a decrée wherein he ordained that Ecclesiasticall men be altogether frée from all payment of tributes yea rather he straitly forbiddeth thē that without the commandement of the Romane Bishop none should be so hardie as to paie anie thing to prophane Princes A most grieuous constitution of a most outragious man from whence haue sprong welnéere infinite garboyles and endlesse quarels Howbeit some haue patched it vp with a goodlie interpretation namelie that somewhat notwithstanding maie be exacted of them if Church matters or Religion or common weale be in any extreme danger As though for sooth these men ought not to succour the cōmon weale except when it is in extreme necessitie A Philosopher wittily quipped by Dioclesian I remēber a verie wittie
away comprehendeth in it some voluntarinesse as are the mingled actions whereof there is mention in the Ethickes What maner of Action is Exile for they which so goe from one countrie to an other would shunne greater punishmentes which they should incurre by tarrying in their owne countrie Also vnto exiles they haue ioyned those which vulgarlie are called Banna Banna Betwéene them are perceiued some differences although not great But hereof we reade in the digestes in the Title De interdictis relegatis 2 These thinges being set downe after this manner it will not be hard to enter into the definition Wherefore we will say The definition of Exile that exile is a flying away wherein the guiltie for this cause doe goe from one countrie to an other that they may auoyd the punishmentes of lawes or else suffer them Wherefore it is a flying but not of euerie sorte because otherwhile men doe flie either pouerty or scarcitie of graine or the distemperature of the heauen or else sicknesse the plague but they returne when they will and therefore it was said That they may auoid punishmentes or else suffer them And that latter particle which is added belongeth vnto them which be caried into the Iland or vnto the Mines And whereuppon these thinges beganne it is easie to be shewed The Romane common weale considered of two maner of wais The Romane commonweale either is considered as it was when the libertie thereof stoode or else when afterward it began to be ruled and gouerned by one king So in like manner Exiles were of two sortes to wit one in the time of libertie and an other vnder princes When it was a frée Citie banishment was enough if they were Citizens when the question touched their life But afterward the Emperours commaunded that Malefactors should be caried away vnto the Mines or into the Ilandes Wherefore Cicero in his Oration for Caecinna said Cicero that Exile was the hauen of punishmentes not an execution of death That the Romane Lawes punished no offence by Exile And he added that the citie of Rome by their lawes punished no offence by banishment Neuerthelesse if any would auoyd prysons bondes and other punishmentes those fled into exile as vnto an Altar Neither must it be read vnto Armes Ad aras non ad arma as corruptedlie some copies haue For if that the parties which were guiltie would in abiding at home hazard the extremitie of the lawe the citie should not be so soone taken from them as their life But when they would none of that the Citie was not said to be taken from them but cōtrariwise they were said to leane it And in the fift Philippick Oration he saieth They which were condemned for capitall crimes had no sooner chosen a Citie but they were admitted into it whither they came to dwell Furthermore out of a certaine Oration of Iulius Caesar which is described by Salust in the conspiracie of Catiline it is gathered that the auncient Romans did imitate the Gréekes so that they punished the Citizens with stripes and put the condemned to death After that were made the lawes of Porcia and also certaine other lawes which would not that a Citizen should be punished with death but graunted him to goe into Exile Cicero in his Oration for his house said that Exile was not by expresse name layd vppon them which were condemned but they were forbidden water and fire to wit that by a certaine space of miles they might not inioy the vse of humane thinges And certainelie it behooued Cicero himselfe to be absent fiue hundreth miles from the Citie So then the Citizens of Rome were not by expresse name sent into Exile But as touching the thing it selfe there séemed to be but small difference In déede they were not layd hold vppon but they were constrained to depart except they would liue of the ayre Wherefore so often as thou shalt reade in the histories while the Commonwealth stood the name of Exile we must after this manner interprete the same A kinde of banishment among the Gretians for 10. or 15. yéeres 3 Among the Gretians also there was a kinde of Exile which they called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to wit of ten or xv yéeres which was not laide vpon men because of crimes neither was it counted among punishments neither did it bring any infamie vnto them that were exiled but it did rather moderate enuie The name is deriued of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by which word is signified a shell For there were certaine shels wherein was written the name of him that was to be banished We might call the same a banishment by lot Nor did they onelie liue thus in exile which excelled others in riches fauour and power but also they which excelled in eloquence and wisedome Wherefore Damon the Schoolemaister of Pericles was cast foorth in this respect because he was wiser than the rest Aristides also when at the incitation of Themistocles The banishment of Aristides this kinde of banishment shoulde haue bin decréed vnto him was present in the assembly By whom sate as it happened a certaine man of the Countrie who hauing the right of voyces and could not write praied Aristides whom he knew not that in the shell which he had he would write the name of Aristides To whom Aristides said Doest thou knowe that man He denied that hée knewe him For what cause then saieth he wilt thou cast him out The countrie man said because they oftentimes call him iust but we Athenians cannot abide so great iustice The indeuour in a Citie that no one should surpasse an other The manner therefore was in the gouernment of common people to vse verie great indeuour that none in the Citie should excell Yea and Aristotle in the 5. Booke of his Politicks De conseruando statu Democratico maketh mention hereof counselling that if any man in a Citie should excell ouermuch he should be remooued from thence because such men for the most part woulde beare rule ouer others There is moreouer another kinde of Exile which is called voluntarie A voluntarie Exile and it is not of one forme onelie One is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is for the cause of slaughter yet not of voluntarie but when a man is slaine of one vnwittingly and vnwillingly When this happened they for purging sake remooued their habitation for menquellers haue alwayes bin counted vnpure Wherefore in the Pandects in the Title De poenis in the lawe Aut facta in the Paragraphe Euentus a Lawier saieth that such a kinde of Homicide was accustomed to be purged by banishment And he added thereto the verses of Homer wherein Patroclus saieth Patroclus that hée when he was a childe vnwittingly slue his companion and that his father brought him vnto Peleus to be purged and so the purging being performed a companion was giuen vnto him And in Herodotus the first Booke
but doe rather despise him he looseth his labour séeing through such a contempt he is made blinde But if he be indued with the feare of God he will assent vnto him that rightlie admonisheth Howbeit both parts of the argumēt are easilie refelled He that feareth not God and when the punishment of eternal death is set before him procéedeth in contemning of him procureth vnto himselfe a more gréeuous iudgement harder condemnation But he that is indued with the feare of God will by applying of more vehement spurs hasten with a swifter course vnto the trueth Wherefore such doctrine as this hath no fruite and draweth much losse with it Those things in effect iudge we of the whole cause Now wil we come to examine particularlie the parts and members thereof which we are faine to doe in fewe words and briefelie séeing we haue other businesse in hande which although we woulde we may not intermit This first of all we cannot choose but maruell at that the Anabaptists are affirmed to haue a true mediatour although they beléeue that his flesh was brought from heauen Whether the Anabaptists doe acknowledge the true mediator not taken of the virgin Vndoubtedlie a mediator he cannot be vnlesse he both be and be comprehended by faith according as God hath ordained him and reuealed him in his promises But he decreed that he shoulde haue flesh of men and this he testified by euident and plaine wordes in the holie scriptures So as they which attribute vnto him a heauenly flesh haue not the mediatour promised by God but him whom they haue inuented to themselues and imagined of their owne braine It is obiected that those men doe not sée nor perceiue that such a mediator is set foorth and promised by God as ought to haue taken flesh of Marie What they can sée or what they cannot sée it maketh little or nothing to the matter This doubtlesse are they driuen to beléeue that in the holie Oracles it is left vnto vs for a most certaintie we doe not affirme that they doe sée these things But this be we assured of that not to sée nor professe those things but with full mouth to denie them remooueth them from saluation A iudgemēt as touching the Iewes As touching the Iewes of our times which crie out that they cannot finde by the holie scriptures that Messias is yet come but say that they do beléeue in him as did the Patriarches Prophets and as their forefathers beléeued what will Hadrian iudge Will he saie that they be not out of the kingdome of heauen Let him saie what he will we will saie with Iohn that they be antichrists which say that Christ is not come in the flesh 1. Iohn 4. 3. A blindnesse in those thinges which the scripture teacheth concerning the mediatour remooueth not damnation from the vnfaithfull That blindnesse is laide vpon vs as a iust punishment of former sinnes which when it transgesseth the lawe and bounds of faith it taketh not eternall damnation away They that denie the consequent denie also the Antecedent but rather procureth the same Neither is it truely sayde that it comes oftentimes to passe that they which denie the consequent doe not denie the antecedent for they in déede doe denie this although in words they séeme so much to graunt it For the ouerthrowing of the consequent is so repugnant to the antecedent as they can not stande together But thou wilt say that vnawares they take away the antecedent of Christes humanitie I graunt it but ignorance as touching naturall prophane thinges is counted but a light matter but in articles of the faith it bringeth the extremest and chiefest losse And it is not nowe called ignorance but incredulitie Matt. 1. 25. Luke 2. 7. But that Christ was borne of the virgine Marie no man of sounde religion doubteth but that the same doth belong to the chiefe pointes of faith And for man to be borne of a mother is not onelie to passe through the wombe of her and this euen children themselues doe knowe Further we confesse that he was not onlie borne of a virgin but that hee was also conceiued of her And who I beséech you will say that those things which passe through the wombe are conceiued Howbeit we are not nowe about to bring foorth testimonies of the scriptures whereby the Anabaptists may bee conuinced that it may be shewed to them that the flesh of Christ was receiued of his mother but to the intent wee may prooue that they which denie this which truelie belongeth to a mediatour doe vtterlie take awaie the mediatour himselfe although by mouth and wordes they professe that they beléeue and confesse him A similitude If in anie kingdome a man should teach that we should not for anie cause obey a king and yet neuerthelesse would confesse him to be lawefull king and that he holdeth the same kingdome by right of inheritance hee should as I thinke be punished by death neither should it anie thing auaile him to crie that he séeth not the dependencie or connection betwéene the consequent and the antecedent But they which were wise or had anie knowledge at all of politike gouernement would say vnto him either thou séest or séest not this knitting together by denying this that is the consequēt thou ouerthrowest also the antecedent Neither are the papistes deliuered from the curse and euerlasting destruction in this respect that they thinke themselues to preach no other gospell than that which the Apostles taught and they themselues moreouer denie that they doe sée a iust and effectuall coniunction betwéene their doctrine and that which is accursed Yet for all that these thinges must not in such sort be vnderstoode as though we do not thinke that they sinne more gréeuouslie who reiect and oppresse the trueth which they verie well knowe than they of whome consequentes are denied and antecedentes by wordes and false opinion affirmed but in vaine since these may not consist with the contraries of the consequent These men in déede doe sinne somewhat lesse yet so gréeuouslie notwithstanding as vnlesse they at the length repent them That the Anabaptists haue no true mediator they shal perish eternally séeing they haue no true mediatour but such a one as they themselues haue forged Neither doth Hadrians similitude belong anie thing vnto this matter Whether the Anabaptists doe beléeue in Christ Mat. 26. 27 The Hebrewes saieth hee of a false opinion doe thinke that our Lorde Iesus was nothing else but a méere man and that a seditious and naughtie man Wherefore they being deceiued by this errour did naile him to the crosse which iniurie of theirs although it procéeded of a false opinion yet did it breake out against verie Christ not against a fained Christ So the Anabaptistes when they beléeue and call vpon Christ which suffered for vs which rose againe and by whome sinnes are fréely forgiuen although they thinke that he
sacramentes a great deale more than is requisite and tie the grace of God vnto baptisme interpreting amisse that saying which is in Iohn Iohn 3. 3. Except a man be borne againe of water and of the spirite he shall not enter into the kingdome of heauen Mar. 16. 16. Againe Hee that shall beleeue and be baptised shall be saued Moreouer we heereby gather that they attribute more than is méete vnto baptisme for that we comming vnto them they would not giue vs the Eucharist whereas notwithstanding they dare not denie baptisme vnto your young children because they dispaire that those can haue saluation without it Further they beléeue that young children be indued with faith which neither you nor we doe beléeue who thinke it to be sufficient vnto their saluation that they be indued with the spirite of Christ who is the roote and originall of faith and who at such time as hee shall thinke good will stirre vp the same in them Wherefore since there is no agréement betwéene them and vs in anie of both sacramentes we knowe not why you should from thence take baptisme vnto your children Besides this we thinke good to recken what an offence or stumbling blocke will be giuen to the weake ones of your Church when it procéedeth not of impietie or pride or too much obstinacie but of a great desire of the purer religion and it hath verie good reasons to prooue pastors and elders as much as they can must indeuour to auoid the same What commoditie I beséech you or spirituall edification is had at the length by baptisme ministred of the Lutherans vndoubtedlie your infantes are not in ioperdie of saluation if they die without baptisme forsomuch as neither the grace of Christ nor the effects of predestination must bee tied to outwarde things and sacraments Assuredly we are not to beléeue that the children of the Hebrues which for the space of fortie yeares died vncircumcised did al for that cause sustaine the condemnation of eternall punishment for that had bin verie straunge from the league couenant made with the fathers and also from the goodnesse of God and his promises Neither shall the â—issing of the Lutheran Baptisme be anie dammage vnto the parentes since it happeneth not vppon a contempt of the Sacrament but onely in regarde of the conscience and faith Wherefore wee exhort you my most déere brethren in Christ that ye at the leastwise for a while will abstaine from this kinde of baptisme till yee haue taught your weake ones as you call them that it is lawfull to receiue the Sacrament of the Lutherans For that is either forbidden or is necessarie to saluation or else it is a thing indifferent Necessarie to saluation it is not seeing the grace of God is not tyed vnto the sacramentes But if it be forbidden of God to be doone as we thinke it is so much the rather must yée abstaine from it Finallie if it be a thing indifferent as you may séeme to affirme if we shoulde graunt you euen this yet yee ought not to vse it with offeÌ„ce of the weake séeing Paul in these thinges indifferent woulde haue the consciences of the weake ones to be prouided for and that at the least wise for a time vntill the matter as we doe wishe maie bee made more manifest vnto them Neither must we be vnmindefull of the rule of Paul wherein hee spake of all this matter All thinges are lawfull for mee but all thinges are not expedient 1. Cor. 6. 12 Consider I beséech you with your selues although that the baptisme of the Lutherans shoulde be lawfull yet shoulde it not bee expedient at this time and for your brethren Neither doeth it séeme to be a part of Christian godlinesse onlie to heare and to be willing to followe as much as maie be lawfull by the lawes For otherwhile it behooueth for our brethreÌ„s sake to omit somewhat of that which is lawful to bee doone especallie in those thinges which be accounted indifferent But in the meane time you saie that the discorde betwéene vs and the Lutherans is more more increased And perhappes it is but yet it chaunceth not through our fault for wee doe loue them and manie times would haue accounted them for our brethren which they not onelie haue refused but also haue euerie where in a manner condemned vs and doe indeuour by all meanes to cast vs out of the Church Neither can it be thought that the discorde will bee therefore diminished because you séeke to baptise your children in their ministerie Yea and perhappes your sort will not hereafter through this communion of the sacrament aduenture so valiantlie and constantlie to defende that trueth about the article of the Sacrament as they haue heretofore with great praise vertue maintained it For vnconstant is the nature of man and is not for anie other cause sooner reconciled with them that haue ill opinions than by vsurpation of their Sacramentes These things my brethren did I thinke good at this time to write vnto you as touching this matter the which take yee in good part and pray you earnestlie for our Churches euen as we doe instantly pray for you To the brethren of the Citie of Luca. 47. SInce we together bee all one bodie most déerelie beloued brethreÌ„ in Christ it is wholie our part to coÌ„municate one with an other the affections wherewith wee bee some time mooued especially those which we think may bring any helpe to the coÌ„mon saluatioÌ„ Wherefore I which of long time haue liued ioifully in God because of your coÌ„mendable proceedinges in the waie of the holie Gospell of Iesus Christ all the faithfull giuing euerie where honourable report of you I thought it not néedefull hitherto to incourage you with my letters and therefore I regarded this one thing that I might giue thankes to the heauenlie Father for our aboundant spirituall fruites and to pray that hee woulde vouchsafe to increase the blessing that hee hath giuen you Which to accomplish I was not a little mooued forsomuch as I had at the beginning laide among you some foundations of the Christian trueth according to the will of the heauenlie Father weaklie indéede at that time as I before God confesse yet so as not by my power but by the fauour of Iesus Christ that indeuour whatsoeuer it were brought no small profite aswell to me as to you Furthermore I was delighted herein that after these foundatioÌ„s such as they were were laid you obtained of God other teachers which were more fitte through whose prudent trauell and most syncere doctrine the husbandrie begunne in you did increase Wherefore I reioyced and maruelouslie triumphed for your sakes as for an incorruptible crowne of mine owne neither was there euer anie mention made of you vnto mée but that I was wholie replenished with spirituall gladnesse Of the fall in persecution But nowe when it hath seemed good vnto God to prooue his housholde by tribulations and
2 464 a Ae. Aer Diuerse regions of the Aer 3 371 ab Quieter in the night than in the day and why 1 34 b How for our sakes it is become vnwholsome 2 247 b The worde heauen taken for it 3 371 b It is no place for Gods saintes and why 3 371 b Af. Affect What an Affect is both in man and other liuing creatures 2 405 b Affectes Howe and by what meanes the Affects be gouerned 2 408 b Whether they be voluntarie or not voluntarie 2 281 a The Manichies affirme that god created them euill 2 258 b Some be both honest and profitable 2 408 a Two things to be considered touching thē that folowe féeling 2 406 b The efficient cause of them what it is 2 407 a They belong to the predicament of qualitie 2 411 a Compared to sinewes and how 2 408 a Why they are in some more feeble and in some more vehement 2 407 a Their nature must bee distinguished by their vse 2 410 b Whether they are to be reckened among euill or good things 2 411 b In all though neuer so bad there is something good 2 409 a The euill are repugnant to right reason 2 408 a Which doe spring from the cogitation 2 405 b How they are praysed and dispraised and contrariwise 2 412 a Attributed euen vnto God himselfe and why 2 411 b Whether they be opinions as the Stoiks thought 2 407 b Of some which followe knowledge and of their effectes 2 411 a They are the workes of God and that he requireth them of vs. 2 408 a How Rhetoritians frame themselues in the moouing of them 2 410b Which doe followe touching 2 405 b Whether all are to be condemned as euill 2 407 b Whether they bee violent motions of the heart 2 407 a Whence it commeth that there is a dissenting of them from right reason 2 408 b They are naturally good but accidentally euill 2 408 b 409 a Three things to be noted in moouing them 2 410 b In whom the moderate sort though seeming vertuous are sinnes 2 408 b Some simple and some compounded 2 405 b 406 a After what order the will ruleth them and whether they bee mooued against the will 2 406 b How the naturall sort doe belong to the heart 2 406 b Of tower sorts of men in whome they are contrarie 2 409 a The Organs or places of them what they be 2 406 a 409 ab Of fower which haue their originall from griefe 2 411 ab What the holie Scriptures determine of them in generall 2 411 b Affections After what Affections teares do follow 3 246 a In whom the true for doe most abound 3 298 b They be sinne saith Augustine after baptisme 2 217 b Of which God would and would not haue vs voide 3 179 a 186 a What they of the members are 3 104 a Contrarie in one will of the Godlie at once 2 400 b 401 a 3 278 b The wicked abuse the good naturall sort 2 268 a The Stoikes endeuoured to take away them quite from men 3 296 b A distinction of them and of passions 3 359 a Which Augustine calleth vices 1 1 b It is blasphemie to make God the author of euill ones as Pighuis doth 2 217 ab Of the mind cōmunicated by the Parentes vnto their children the schoolemen confuted 2 241 a Séeing euill ones shoulde be mortified in vs they bée sinnes 2 217 b The soules of the blessed indued with felicitie are not voide of them 2 249 a Whether the saincts were inferiour to the Ethniks in repressing of them 3 296 a The scripture commendeth them vnto vs. 3 297 ab How they fall in God him selfe the fountaine of all felicitie 2 249 ab 3 296 b 1 109 ab Howe they were in Christ sith his soule was blessed 3 297 b Howe Hylarie speaketh of the same in Christ 3 297b Why Christ called them his will 3 298 b The difference betwéen Christs and ours 3 298 a The blessed Angels shal not be vtterly rid of them all in their felicitie 2 249 a Affliction Affliction set foorth by an artificiall comparing of wordes together 3 281a The doctrine of resurrection comfortable therein 3 341 b Afflictions The difficultie of suffering Afflictions 3 276 a Of what happie thinges to come they are tokens 3 274 a God vseth them as medicines and to whome they are not properlie punishments 2 366 ab Causes why wee shoulde patiently suffer them 3 275 b 276 a The fruites of the same 3 273 ab 274 ab 276 ab 282 ab 3 240 b What voluntarie ones belōg not to Christes crosse 3 274 a Causes why God will lay them vpon his 3 273 a The endes why God sendeth them 3 129 b 2 235 a 637 ab Howe the godly both sigh and reioyce in them 3 278 ab The diuerse effectes of them in the good and the bad 3 278 b The consolations of the godly therein 3 85 a 279 b 351 b 352 a 250 b 348 ab Striuing with them signified by the shrinking of Iacobs sinewe in wrestling 3 283 b Why men thinke them to bee tokens of Gods wrath 3 280 b 281 ab Why the Ethniks giue ouer therein and the Saints perseuere 3 279 b Of the Iewes vnder Nabuchadnezar and Antiochus 3 352 b 353 a Ours procéede from sinne 3 129 b Howe to behaue our selues therin 2 620 ab Christ our forerunner in the same 2 620 a 617 b Howe we may wish the temporall vnto sinners 2 399 a How they though neuer so greeuous are extenuated 3 276 b Of the godly are not punishmentes 3 237 a Whether they do naturally worke patience 3 279 a Howe God assisteth vs in the same 3 283ab ¶ Looke Punishment Ag. Age A diuision of mans Age into foure degrées 1 127 b Our Age proued to be the last age 3 341 a The last houre spoken of by Iohn 3 385 b 386 a The common stature of men in this Age. 1 130 b What some haue thought touching the Age of them that shall rise againe 3 359 b The tree of life was a remedie against olde Age. 2 246 b Whether olde Age is to be forbidden or kept from marriage 2 467 ab Al. Alcoran The doctrine of the Turkish Alcoran touching resurrection 3 357 b 358 a All. This generall worde All is to be restrained 3 26 b 27 a 31. 32. 132 b 133 a 397 b 398 a 389 a.b 1 193 b Allegorie An Allegorie of building and fire 3 239. 240. 241. 242 Allegories Allegories are reiected for that they haue no certeintie 2 363 b Nothing can be certeinly gathered by them 3 239 ab With what condition they are to bee admitted 3 170 a Almes Redéeme thy sinnes with Almes expounded 3 237 a 114 b Why Paul chooseth for Almes the day of the holie congregation 2 376 a Christ and his Apostles liued thereupon 4 29 ab To whome the distribution thereof in the Church pertained 4 8 a It must
deserue the title 4 70 b 71 a Cause The difference betwéene Cause meanes 3 52 b Whether one and the same Cause may produce contrarie effectes 3 289 b That which is the Cause of a cause may also be the cause of an effect as how 1 178 a 3 14 b An accidentall Cause can bee no cause say the Philosophers 1 173 a Euill hath not an efficient but a deficient Cause 1 184 a Of a Cause which so worketh that it is also wrought and not wrought of another 3 39 b That which is the latter cannot be the efficient Cause of that which went before 3 16 b One and the same thing may bee both the efficient Cause and the effect and how 2 600 a It is not lawfull for a sound and constant thing to assigne a mutable Cause as how 1 161 b Howe the instruments are affected to the efficient Cause 1 164 a What is the deficient Cause of euill actions 1 184 a God is not the proper Cause but the remoouing or prohibiting cause of sinne and how 1 191a How God may be said to be the deficient Cause of sinne 1 187 a An obiection that if God bee not the Cause of sinne then he is not the cause of all things 1 198 a The highest Cause of causes is Gods will 3 15 a Causes The coniunction of Causes and effects is hard to change 4 330 ab Efficient working vpon them to couet to bring foorth effects like themselues in nature as how 1 176 b Noble may sometimes bring foorth vile effects as how 1 156 b Of naturall Causes much spoken by way of assertion and confutation 1 79 ab How they be indefinite or not limited 1 175 a Betwéene them and effects there is a circuit and how 2 578 a All doe not necessarily bring foorth their effects 3 40 b Some are necessarie and some not necessarie what they be both 1 81 b A difference betwéene them and occasions 2 509 b 510 a In what respects there is no necessarie power of working in them 1 174 a God can let them be they neuer so certaine and necessarie and how 1 82 b We must not depend wholy vpon second Causes 3 258 b They doe oftentimes change themselues in working 1 173 b They are instruments of Gods prouidence 1 173 ab Of Gods sentence according to them 1 110 a Though somewhat forceable of themselues yet vnable to bring any thing to passe without Gods prouidence procured 1 170 a Causes of effectes knowne vnto spirits and how 1 82b The Causes of honour both formall efficient materiall and finall 1 141 b Thrée kinde of Causes deliberatiue demonstratiue and iudiciall and their times 4 255 a Ce. Ceremonie Thrée things in euerie Ceremony of the old lawe 2 580 a Of the Ceremonie of washing the féete 4 211 ab Ceremonies Ceremonies were accidents of the law 2 577 a Howe the prophets ment that they should be transferred to the Gentiles 2 579 a The law it selfe woulde haue them abolished 2 578 b With what charge God gaue them 2 579 b Whether they were vtterly vnknowne to the common people 3 310 a 4 105 b 106 ab Some thing in them firme and perpetuall 2 577a b 375b Why God gaue them which should afterwards be abolished 2 579 b 1 173 b 174 a Whereby it may be gathered that God woulde not haue them longer obserued 2 577 b At what time they were not vsed of the Iewes 2 577 a God himselfe abolished them 2 577 a Onelie one thing pertaining to them commaunded in the tables of the law 2 350 b In what peculiar place they were exercised 2 577 b It is no great matter whether they be vsed all alike in all places of a kingdome 2 324 b Which may be chaunged for edification sake 2 324b The Papists bring in Pauls example to approoue the vse of them 2 320a The fathers in the law were bound to more than we 2 593 b In what respect they are counted detestable before God 1 2 b Of their vse and howe long they should last 1 9 b Howe long they remained after Christs ascension 2 320 b Whether it were lawfull for holie men in the corrupt Church of the Iewes to communicate with them 2 321 b The Nicodemits compared them with the inuentions of men and why 2 320 b Whether the Iewes vnderstoode the promises which were sealed by them 4 105 ab Whether iustification be denyed to be onely as touching them 3 10â—ab 10â—ab 105a The time when they had their beginning 2 579 b 580a Whie they were instituted 4 140 a Iohn Baptist shewed that they shoulde bée abolished 2 579 a Cautions touching them in the Church 4 42 b 43 ab Diuerse Papisticall 4 70 ab Burthens in the Church complained of 4 77 b In what respect Paul was content that they might be vsed 2 320 ab Certaintie Of the Certeintie of hope much spoken too and fro 3 83 b 84 ab The fathers of the Church taught the Certeintie of saluation 3 â—5 a Ch. Chance How things depending of Chance doe fall out to be necessarie prooued 1 175ab Euen the things that to be so 〈◊〉 to come by Chance are gouerned by Gods prouidence prooued 1 17â— b 18â— b 173 a â—…9 a Fortune and Chance are referred vnto vs not vnto God examples 3 3â— ab Why any thing shoulde be saide to come by Chance seeing God hath determined of the one part so made it a thing of necessitie 1 174 b A cause comming by Chance can be no cause say the Philosophers 1 173 a The nature of things that come by Chance what it is 1 34 a What things are saide to be doone by Chance and not of necessitie and contrariwise 1 169a 174 a Whether Gods prouidence take away Chance and fortune 1 168 b 174 a Why in the nature of things some be necessarie and some casuall or depending vpon Chance 1 174 b What the Grecians call a thing comming by Chance and how many sorts of them there be 1 169 b The peripatetiks were of opinion that many thinges come by Chance 1 172 a What kind of games depend thereupon 2 525 ab Howe thinges are saide to be by Chance in respect of God and vs. 1 169 ab The Philosophers assigne two groundes or beginnings of Chance 1 169 ab Change Whether there be Change in God 3 302 a 10 a 37 b In what respect there is and is not 1 208 a Whether it be in the thing it selfe or in him 1 207 a None in him though in mans reason there maie séeme to be 1 109 b 3 49 ab All men but not after one manner confesse it 1 208 b Whether God doeth Change his purpose when man changeth 1 207 b The Change of man commeth not of himselfe but of God 1 207 b Of the Change of all thinges at the ende of the worlde 3 393 a ¶ Looke VVorlde Charitie A definition of Charitie 2 558
that men ought to haue in forbearing wicked workes 2 573 b Intercession Who maketh Intercession for vs in heauen 3 306 b 308 b How it is meant that it is Christ 3 308 b Necessarie to the holiest of all 3 308 a Howe it is the cause of the intercession of the holy ghost 3 307 b 308 a Of the Intercession of sainctes 3 308 a Whether it be auaileable for them in Purgatorie 3 243 a 308 ab Interpretations False Interpretations of scriptures 4 74 b Christ reiected them 4 75 a Inuentions The Ceremonies of the law must not be compared with the Inuentions of men as the Nicodemus doe 2 320 b Inuocation The Inuocation of sainctes vsed by the Papistes is ydolatrous 2 307 b 308 a A good exposition of a place in Iohn against the Inuocation of saincts 2 347 b Io. Iohn Baptist Howe Iohn Baptist came in the spirite of Elias 3 384 b Ioy. Of the Ioy that is ioyned with hope 3 86 a The Ioy which Plato ascribeth vnto the minde defined 1 134 b Is Israelites A difference of Israelites 3 354 a What manner of cause they had against the Chanaanits 4 299 a ¶ Looke Ievves Iu. Iudge Iudge not and yee shal not be iudged expounded 4 259a b 289b Iudges It greatlie auaileth iudges of the lawes because of giuing punishments and rewards to knowe what is done voluntarie and not voluntarie 2 28 a ¶ Looke magistrates Iudgement of God What wee haue to learne by the particular examples of Gods Iudgement 3 386 b It beginneth at Gods owne house 3 286 ab Repentance doth not alwaies chaunge it no not in the godlie 1 207 b A difference of it in one thing and in diuers things one iudgment noted by Augustine 1 198 b Iudgment of the last day of doome Of the chaunge of all things at the last Iudgement 3 393a b what thing shall be then immortall 3 397 ab A certaine foreknowledge thereof naturallie planted in vs. 3 388 a How all shall sée Christ then 2 603 b Thrée markes thereof 3 388 b Who shall come to be examined there 2 626 b How Christ hath knowledge thereof and howe not 3 385 b 386 a Why Christ will then make mention of outward workes 3 113 a It is called mercie 3 53 b 54 a Whether the substance and nature of things shall remaine after the same 3 394 ab 395 a A description thereof 2 625 ab Iudgement of men The parts of right Iudgement in magistrates 4 246 ab Peruerse vsed against Christ and his members 2 625 b 626 a How farre it doth extend 2 626 a Ecclesiastical not taken away by the Gospel 2 532a A distinction of Iudgement 3 63 a Priuate and publike 2 532 a Priuate of two sorts 2 532a From whence priuate Iudgement springeth 2 532a Publike and of going to lawe 4 276b 277 ab After what sort Paul forbiddeth it 2 531 b Not to be giuen vpon all actions and why 2 533 a What Iudgement resisteth faith 3 63 a Why it must not be giuen of men according to first sight 3 13 ab What Iudgement we should haue of our neighbour 3 48 a Thrée thinges whereof we ought not to giue our Iudgement 2 532 b Necessarie in Church Common-weale and housholde and howe 2 531 b 532 a A kinde of Iudgement in brute beasts but not a frée iudgement 2 256 b 257 a What thing should withdrawe vs from rash Iudgement 2 532 a Of the error of Iudgement in it owne obiects 2 407 b What we must obserue in giuing of Iudgement 2 532 a Iudgement without mercie remaineth to him that hath not shewed mercie expounded 4 254 b Iulian. Iulian the Apostataes vaine glorie 2 383 a The confession that he made of Christ 1 13 b Iust Of diuerse that were called Iust whereupon 2 569 b ¶ Looke Righteous Iustice of God and Christ The Iustice of God noted in appointing some to be saued and some to be damned 2 220 b 221 a 3 11 b 387 ab It must not be blamed if the fathers sinnes be powred into the children 2 240 a Whether we abolish it by taking away of Purgatorie 3 245 a It hath no néede of our defence 2 221 b How the Iustice of God is blamed and defended 3 21 ab A time when Christ Iustice was hidden and when it shal be knowne 2 626 b Iustice of man Whether Iustice haue his name of Ius right 4 245 b 246 a Whether right or it be first and foremost 4 246 a Nothing must be doone for teare against it 4 299 b How it is to be ministred 4 246 a Whereto it serueth and the ende of the same 1 1 b Friendship consisteth therein and what if that faile 2 423 b It is as well his good that iudgeth as his also who is iudged 1 142 b The parts thereof rightly executed 4 246 ab Why friendship is more conuenient than it 3 258 a Ciuill Iustice among men but not before God is sufficient 2 408 b Iustifie The signification of this worde to Iustifie 3 89 ab An analogie betwéene the two words to beléeue and to Iustifie 3 89 b To Iustifie from sinnes is the worke of Christ 3 129 b 130 a What grace we ought to confesse to iustifie vs. 3 152 b Whether grace and a weake faith haue the power to Iustifie 2 261 b Wherein grace following works agréeth and differeth from grace before going and that they both iustifie 2 261b God is said to Iustifie two manner of wayes 3 89 ab Iustified To be iustified what it is 3 76 a Whether we are iustified by faith onely 3 108 a Proofes that wée are 3 125 ab How it appeareth 3 142 a Whether fréely before baptisme 3 236 b 237 a What it is to be iustified by grace and by the grace of Christ 3 48 b Whether all the forefathers were iustified by the same faith that wée are 3 151 b Euen to the iustified the vse of the lawe is necessarie 2 576b Why they that be doe pray still for their sinnes 2 266 a Séeing wee be wherfore are we subiect vnto death 3 315 a At what time Abraham was iustified 3 136 a To the not iustified nothing is remitted of the rigor of the lawe 3 140a Not the hearers but the dooers of the lawe shal be iustified expounded 3 116 b Iustification Whereof Iustification commeth 3 99 a The efficient cause the ende and instrument of our iustification 3 125 b What thinges are required thereto 3 105 b Whether it consist in faith onely 3 154 b Auouched by Chrysostome 2 262 b The nature thereof and of prouidence all one 3 98 a Why it is ascribed to faith not to charitie 3 75 b Saluation began thereby 2 260. all 261 a By faith and not by faith 3 60 b Iustification euen in the catechumenie and conceiued sonnes of God 2 261 a Euen after it sinne remaineth in vs. 2 266 a Whether hope and charitie bee excluded
from it 3 155 b 156 a The lawe is not idle no not after it 2 300 a The order thereof in mans reason howe it behoueth to bee 1 16 b The promise concerning the same is not conditionall 3 136 b Howe often it is taken holde of 3 136 a Life and it are so ioyned that oftentimes one is taken for another 3 130 b Whether it may be separated from faith 3 131 ab 132 ab Whether it be ascribed to the sacramentes 3 157 b 158 a Howe diuerslie the fathers vnderstoode it 3 158 a Who they be that cast away the grace thereof 3 160 a Why the fathers attribute it to charitie onely 3 159 a Whether a man being iustified can doubt thereof 3 135 a The effects of charitie doe followe it 3 237 b Whether it be an effect of faith 3 136 b Whether it depend of attrition 3 214 b 215 ab In whome properly it consisteth 3 124 b 125 a It dependeth not of baptisme 4 136 b 137 a What faith bringeth it 3 57 b Predestination confirmeth the doctrine thereof 3 3 b Howe it is referred to Christes resurrection 2 610 a Wherein it séemeth to be declared 2 609 b It dependeth not of mans will 3 28 b Of two inwarde motions thereof 3 124 a One manner thereof in the time of the lawe and the Gospell 2 586 ab Why God woulde that it shoulde come by faith 3 96 a It is shewed by reason that it is of faith not of charitie 3 137 a Whether it bee giuen vs by the promise 3 145 b 146 a Whether in anie respect it depende vppon man 3 123 b 124 a Whether charitie do worke it 3 77 b Whether it be denied to bee only as touching the ceremonies of the lawe 3 103 ab 104 ab 105 ab Vnto whome Paul wrote the doctrine thereof 3 108 a Whether it be by workes 3 93. 94. 95. 96. 97. 98. 99. 100. 101. 102. 106. 107. Attributed by sâ—me both to workes morally good and superstitious 3 102 b Whether it may concurre with workes 3 156 b Howe it is graunted vnto workes 3 147a Goodly works a let or impediment thereunto 1 95 ab Of workes preparatorie thereunto and in whome they bée 2 264 b Howe it would follow that it shoulde come by workes 3 14 b What the Fathers say thereof giuen fréely 3 119 b 120 a.b By faith onelie was proper to the fathers in the law aswel as to vs. 2 584 a It doeth consist of grace not of workes 1 145 b The Pelagian heresie touching iustification without grace 3 107 a Howe Pighius vnderstandeth frée iustification 3 147 b Vnto what thinges hee ascribeth it 3 138 b Howe he prooueth that it is had of loue 3 138 b Smith denieth it by faith 3 147 b 148 a Aristotle vnderstoode not nor beléeued the iustificatioÌ„ through Christ mentioned in scriptures 1 132 ab The difference and order of diuine and humane or Ciuil iustification 2 303 a The iustification of the publicane was not in workes but in prayer 2 266 ab Proofes of Cornelius his iustification when hee prayed 2 260 a The causes and effectes thereof 2 259 ab The doctrine of iustification is the principall point of all godlines 3 93 b 94 a Ke. Keyes What the Keyes of the Church bée 4 108 a 297. 2 a 636 a 3 116 b Diuerslie interpreted 3 218 a Looke Church Ki. Kings Kinges be the heades of common weales 4 35 b Whether they may be deposed by a Bishoppe in a case of offence 4 232 ab Whether they or Bishoppes are superiour 4 22â—b 230 a Why they be consecrated â—y Bishoppes 4 623 b How God reigneth together with the good 4 35 a After what sort the bad must bee obeyed 4 3â— b In what manner we bee all Kings and Priestes 4 12 ab Kingdome terrestiall The Papistes make a diuision of a Kingdome into two partes 4 23â— b The Kingdome was not giuen to Saul by the same couenaunt that it was vnto Dauid and why 1 209 b Two causes why Saul was cast out and Dauid surrogated in his roume 2 209 b Of restoring the Kingdom of Dauid 1 608 b Of the Kingdome of the Iewes and Gods kingdome 3 161 b 162 a Why in olde time the Kingdome and priesthood were committed to one man 4 327 b Kingdomes Whether Empires and Kingdomes are of God 4 228 a Why God by his prouidence transferreth them from nation to nation 2 264a Vnto whome the distribution of them belongeth 4 305 a By what meanes God giueth them 4 306 a What is meant by the distribution of them by Lot 4 305b The cause of their alterations 4 227 b 228 a The Prophets may be a certeine occasion not a cause of the ouerthrowe of Kingdomes 4 237 ab Kingdome of Christ and God Prophesies of Christs Kingdom 2 596 b 597 ab 3 397 a Diuerse errours touching the same in this life 3 396 a Of the Millenaru 3 358 a Whether it shall haue an ende 2 607 a What is meant by his deliuering vp of the same to his father 2 607 a That when it shal be fulfilled the ministeries of Angels and labours of celestiall bodies shall cease and why they now moue 1 120a Who seeke the Kingdome of God 2 598 ab Kingdome of heauen What the Kingdome of heauen signifieth preached by Christ 3 203 b Vnder the name thereof the Church is vnderstood 3 392 a Kinred A definition of Kinred declaring what it is 2 453 a Within what degrees thereof marriage may not be made 447. 448. 449. 450. 451. 452. 453. ¶ Looke Marriage Kisse Of the Kisse of peace and the originall thereof 4 218 b Kn. Knowe How we may Knowe God by the workemanship of the worlde 1 16 a We may Knowe him thrée maner of wayes 1 16 a Two wayes naturally 1 10 b Knowledge physicall Wherein opinion and Knowledge do differ 2 296 a It is either reuealed or gotten by endeuour studie 2 300 b Of certeine affects which follow the Knowledge either of euill or good 2 411 a It breedeth vnquietnesse prooued 1 168 b Wherein the power thereof consisteth 3 137 a Whether the bodie be troublesome thereunto 3 316 b 317 a We are led to the Knowledge of causes by their effects 1 47 a The Knowledge of things commeth partly by causes and partly by effects 3 75 b How particular things ouercom a general Knowledge 3 70 b 71 a Of a Knowledge that may séeme both true and false 3 73 b Of the Knowledge of things to come and to whome the same is graunted 1 81 b Of the Knowledge which spirites haue 1 81 b The Knowledge of the principall end is profitable 1 9 a Our naturall knowledge corrupted 3 166 a Of certeine things which cannot bee gathered thereby 1 17 a The pride of Philosophers noted therein 1 2 a They hid that which they had of God 1 11 a How Philosophie and diuinitie do varie concerning
not separate beléeuers 4 2 b The necessarie coniunction of places and bodies together 3 373 b 363. 364. Places shall bee in the life to come 3 364 a A distinction of infernall places 3 374. 375. 376. 377 Play Manie kindes of play reade in the holie Scriptures 2 525 a No rule in holy scripture concerning it 2 525 a The plaie of Samson though honest yet deadlie 2 528 a Plaies Plaies are generallie founde in the holy scriptures 2 527 a To what intent the ciuill law forbad them 2 527 b Other honest exercises besides them to be vsed and what 2 528 a Reasons diswading vs from them 2 527 b Whether all kinde are to bee misliked 2 524b The fathers condemned stage Playes and why 2 527 a ¶ Looke Games Planets The cause of the motion of the Planets and why they are mooued 1 120 a Plants What life Plants haue 4 22 b Please What women labour to Please men 2 510 a Pleasant The generall cause why any thing is said to be swéete and Pleasant vnto any man 1 140 a Some things are Pleasant naturallie and some things accidentally 1 140 b Pleasantnesse Pleasantnesse in mocking vsed euen of Gods seruants 2 534 a Pleasure The definition of Pleasure 3 46 b 1 135 b Of two sorts and which be commended 2 412a Which is taken of procreation is not simplie euill 2 245 b Of his owne nature it is good and to be desired but not of all things 1 138 b That one extinguisheth and letteth another 1 136 a Whether it must be wished for the life or the life for pleasures sake 1 139 b Aristotles proofe that it is not a motion 1 135 b Pleasure is not strange from felicitie and of what kinde of things it séemeth to be 1 140 a Plato and Aristotle agrée in the subiect thereof though after a sort they disagrée 1 135 b Attributed by Plato vnto the sense 1 134 b Why Epicurus thought that it was the chiefest good 1 133 a A possible qualitie and in the predicament of qualitie 1 135 b All kinde thereof is not secluded from the chiefest good 1 134 a How diuerse men take it in diuerse thinge according as they be affected 1 140 ab The generall cause for the which pleasure in any thing is desired 1 140 a From whence that of the senses springeth as Plato thinketh 1 135a Naturall necessitie being satisfied it ceaseth 1 135a What things are required to the perfecting thereof and how long the same may last 1 136 a The cause why newe thinges doe bréede pleasure and delight 1 136 a Of the pleasure of the bodie the pleasure of the minde called Ambrosia and nectar 1 134 b Whether these thinges tha bée doone for Pleasure be not voluntarie 2 285 a What exercises Christians should vse for their Pleasure and recreation 2 528 a Of taking Pleasure in sinnes and that the godly doe sometimes 2 559 a The reason why God enioyeth one and the selfesame pure and eternall pleasure 1 139 a Pleasures Whether all pleasures haue fellowship with felicitie 1 140 b What by temperance are moderated and what not 2 412 a diuided in kind sith actions doe differ 1 136 a Which haue no excesse neither are to be auoyded 1 139 a What pleasures drawe néere to the nature of the chéefest good 1 139 a Whether they which must be auoyded be verie pleasures or séeme so to be 1 138 b Some pleasures admit excesse othersome admit none 1 137b Of diuerse Romane Emperours that gaue large rewards to such as coulde deuise newe 1 134 a The pleasures of the sicke are greater than the pleasure of them tha bée in health saith Plato 1 135 a Desires of actions being diuerse are the causes that pleasures doe differ 1 136 b Some naturall and sinne accidentall of their contrarietie and the cause thereof 1 140 b 111 a Some be single and vnmixed othersome compound and mixed 1 137 b Some pure vnpure 1 136 b 137 a Some bodily othersome not bodilie 1 137 a How Aristotles opinion touching the grosser sort of pleasures agréeth with the holie scriptures 1 139 b 140 a How greatly they do hurt annoie 1 137 b Diuerse pleasures of diuerse beastes and that diuerse men also haue their diuerse pleasures 1 136 b What pleasures in generall must be auoided and in what respect 1 137 b Galens opinion of gréefes and pleasures in all the senses and how 1 136 b 137 a They are not single but mixt 1 135 a A great number of contrarie pleasures of the common sort and why 1 140 b 141 a Whether the pleasures that spring of contemplation or iust actions do hurt 1 138 a Why those which hurt and are to be auoided are desired of many 1 138 b 139 a Of bodily pleasures how they bee neither good nor bad but indifferent of themselues and howe they change their nature 1 137 a They are pleasures in déed though some thinke them to be but apparant pleasures 1 138 b Why and to what end they were giuen vs of god 1 139 a They are rather good than euil in respect of ciuil goodnes 1 137 b Young and melancholike men are most inclined vnto them why 1 139 Catiline abused them yea euen in tempering himselfe from them how 1 137 ab Galens opinion of the inconuenience of their excesse 1 138 a Augustines opinion touching them and what titles hee giueth them 1 139 a Ciceroes iudgement touching the euils which arise of them 1 138 a Po. Poëms The difference betwéene diuine poems and humane 3 309 a Poetrie Whence poetrie had original 3 312 a Poets Plato banished poets out of his Commonweale 1 197 b 2 550 b Poison Howe poison though it bee naturally euill may be vsed well and to a good purpose 1 182 a In spitâ—e is a propertie against poison 4 127 b Policie The intent of ciuil policie and to what ende it laboureth 1 157 ab Looke Gouernement Poligamie Poligamie or the marriage of many wiues lawfull to whome when and why 2 347 a It is a great corrupting of matrimonie 2 424 b What the fathers of the church iudged touching it 2 426 a Whether it be a peruersnes of nature 2 425b Allowed as a remedie against barrennesse 2 421 b Cardinall Caietans caution or aduertisement for the allowing thereof 2 421 b 422 a A defence of the olde fathers vnder the law in that case 2 426 ab Why it is not lawfull now in the time of the Gospel as wel as in the time of the lawe the faithfull being so fewe 2 427 a 428 ab Answers vnto all the particular reasons making for it 2 428 b 429 a c. What Dioclesian and Maximinian decréed against it 2 424 b The vile ende thereof in Valentinian 2 429 b Why it was not licenced to Adam 2 425 b The arguments and reasons of such as would haue it lawfull 2 420 b 421 ab Therein was hidden a mysterie
in the godlie 1 207b Howe it may be saide to happen in God 1 206 b It restored the regenerate 2 565 a Repentance in the partie oftending must be the meane of reconciliation 2 497 a The cause why certaie times were prescribed thereto 3 208 a Who were enemies to it and who fauoured it 3 206 ab An exhortation to the same 3 226 a The fruites and effects thereof notablie described 3 207 ab Whether the Saintes in heauen haue it 3 216 ab Who cannot possible bee renewed by it 3 206 b Whether it bee a vertue 3 212 a It is the gibbet of the olde man 3 204 a A distinction thereof 3 205 a 207 a What euill followeth by the doctrine of the Papists touching it 3 225b 226 a Defined 3 215 b 204 b Whether faith be a part thereof 3 213a The originall of repentaunce and that God consecrated it in himselfe 3 203 b The three partes of the same sacramentall 3 108 b Why it is called the second table or boord 3 204 a Of one that is a vertue another a sacrament 3 208 b An Heathenish or Ethnike Repentance 3 205 a That the workes of Repentance haue the nature of praiers 3 223 b Certeine names and descriptions of Repentance 3 204 a A confutation of such as could both weaken and take it away 3 205 b It must bee ioyned with Baptisme 4 114 ab Prouocations thereunto 3 354. 355 a Gods offering of occasion to fall to it 3 386 b 387 ab Ignorance with Repentance and without repentance 2 286 a What the Scripture determineth of that which hath the same following it and of the contrarie 2 292 ab Repentance in an adulterous wife reconcileth her to her husband 2 487 b 488 a Howe long a time the trial thereof must last 2 488. v Why publike Repentance must sometimes be renewed 3 247 a Why they that did it were excluded from the ministerie 3 208 a The Repentance of Salomon supposed 3 368b Whether Achabs Repentaunce pleased God 3 225 b 111b How the gifts of God are without Repentance 4 306 b 1 208 ab Representations Representations of God by Images admitted in Christendom 2 338 b By what God opened himselfe in olde time 2 338 a The Scriptures do vsuallie call them by the name of things represented prooued 1 74 a Reprobate The causes why the Reprobate are condemned 3 12 a They are not predestinate and why 3 11 a Whether Adam were of their number 3 26 a The Reprobate are not without some benefites of GOD. 3 30 b Whether the Reprobate doe serue the purpose of GOD. 3 33a Outward calling is common to the Reprobate and the predestinate 3 30 a Why the godlie suspect not that they belong to the Reprobate 3 24 a Note what God doth vnto the Reprobate 3 36 b Reprobation A definition of Reprobation 3 11 b The cause of the same 3 12a Contrarie to Predestination 3 8 a The effectes of the same 3 25b 26 ab Whether sinnes be the cause thereof 3 13 a 25 b 24 ab God giueth signes tokens of it 3 23b 24a Whether God be the cause thereof 3 11 ab 22b 23. 24. 25. 26. The last end of the same 3 12 a A woonderfull example of Reprobation in Francis Spiera 3 23 b 24 a Reproch A definition of Reproch out of lawe and Philosophie 2 528 b What wee must take heede of in suffering of Reproch 2 531 a Whether it is to bee suffered 2 530 a A diuision thereof and that sometimes it is not contumely 2 529 a Reproch is a vice worse than theft prooued 2 530 a Whether Dauid did well in bearing it 2 531 b ¶ Looke Commnely Reproches The Reproches that Christ suffered depend vppon two speciall points â— 617 b 618 a Reproouing Reproouing defined 4 56 b Requestes Why God oftentimes deferreth our Requestes 3 301 a ¶ Looke Desires and Prayers Residents Against non Residents 4 20 b ¶ Looke more in Ministers Resurrection Of the generall Resurrection of the flesh and the ende of the same 2 â—36b From whence soules come to bodies at the ResurrectioÌ„ 3 35 a The doctrine thereof comfortable in affliction 3 341 b Places of Scripture which seeme to prooue that there shall be no Resurrection 3 330 b Of our state after it and betweene our departure hence 1 73a What kinde of bodie wee shall haue at our Resurrection 2 637 b 638 ab 623a 1 25 a It is as it were a certaine newe birth 3 331 b A verie good argument for proofe of the easinesse thereof 1 122 b 123 a The hope of our Resurrection 2 623 b 622 a Why parts of the body whereof shall be no vse shall remaine after our Resurrection 3 360 b Of the condition and properties of bodies at their Resurrection 3 357 b Both of the good and the bad 3 389 ab Vnto whom the hope thereof bringeth great comfort 2 637 ab Christ prooued it by the senses 4 153 b The state of the iust after the Resurrection 3 394 a 352 a Resurrection prooued vniuersall 3 352 a 350 b 369 b. The Resurrection of the deade prooued out of Genesis 2 585a Their argumentes and reasons which denie it 3 330a b 331 a Resurrection after the reuolution of the great yeare 3 328b â—…9 a What action Resurrection is 3 331 ab Semblances thereof 3 335 ab Whether it belong to the bodie or to the soule 3 331 b Diuerse errours touching the Resurrection 3 329 a 396 a 361. 362. 13 a 1 116 ab 1 72b The definition and nature thereof 〈◊〉 331 a 332 a A place of 〈…〉 touching the Resurrection 〈◊〉 â—ded 3 351 b Prooued by tâ—monies of scripture â— Resurrection of the soule in 〈◊〉 respectes 3 332b Whether it depend of celestiall bodies â— 328 b 329 a Notable points in persuasion thereof 3 327 b Reasons drawne from naturall things for the proofe of the Resurrection 3 335 b Wherein chiefely the difficultie thereof is 3 336 b Whether after it shine excell others in glorie 3 389 b 390 a Difference betweene the first and the last 3 333 a Whether the Resurrection of the dead shall bee in Iudea alone 3 350 ab Both of bodie and soule requisite 3 329a b 332 ab The causes of the same 3 348 a 356 b 357 ab Howe in the dead we testifie it 3 322 a The efficient cause of the Resurrection 3 331a Why God did institute the Resurrection 3 328a The olde Fathers must attend our Resurrection 3 324b A place of Iob. 3 340 b 341 ab Of Osee 3 353 b 354 a In the Psalmes touching it expounded 3 342 a Cauils against Daniels prophesie thereof and the same answered 3 352 ab 353 a Meanes vsed that the effectes thereof may come to our remembraunce 3 326 b It is a certaine newe creation 3 360 a Of our age then 3 359 b A satisfying of such places of scripture as seeme to make against it 3
Sufficient to instruct the ignorant 2 355 a The trueth of them hath an euerlasting continuance 1 40 a Se. Secretes We must reuerence the Secretes of God and not carpe at them example of Cato 2 221 a Why it commeth to passe that the Secrets of saluation are hidden from men furnished with arts 1 3 b Sects Diuerse Sectes among the Iewes 3 336 b 337 a Sects of schoolemen diuerse 4 50 a Securitie Securitie defined and whence it springeth 3 68 a Two kindes thereof and of their difference 3 67 b A good and a bad 3 68 b The effects thereof 3 88 a 68 a Whereunto it is contrarie 3 68 a The foundation of all impietie 3 6â— a What is the true laudable Securitie 3 69 b Sedition Sedition defined 4 320 a 322 a How great a crime it is 4 322 b 323 a The kindes thereof 4 320 b The grounde thereof 4 322 b What noble things it taketh away 4 320b 321 a Causes thereof 4 321 b 322a Christ and his faithfull ones charged therwith 4 319 a The crymon of the word 4 320 a Whether all that contend therein must bee accused 4 323 a The ende thereof 4 322 a Those that striue against the magistrate are guiltie thereof 4 323 b Seuere punishments for it 4 322 b 323 a ¶ Looke Trouble Selfeloue Selfeloue a common disease and how it deceiueth men 1 144 a Sense Of the Sense compounded and the sense diuided 3 35 ab What affects do follow the Sense of touching 2 405 b Two things to be considered touching the affects that followe the Sense of féeling 2 406 b The scriptures doe often times feigne Sense motion vnto things without life 2 251 b Senses Of the illusion of the Senses and how many wayes they may bee deceiued 1 88 b 89 a 114 ab The power of vnderstanding can doe nothing without them and the similitudes that we contemplate 1 147 ab Howe they are destroyed and preserued by their obiectes 2 407 a They may take pleasure though they haue not béene offended or remoued from their natural state as how 1 137 a Of the meanes whereby they worke and howe 1 137 a They are the grossest part of the soule and by it we communicate with beasts 1 134 b From whence the pleasure of them springeth as Plato thinketh 1 135 a Of what things they do iudge and not iudge 1 117 a The Senses of touching and tasting are verie néere one another 2 412 a Galens opinion of gréefes and pleasures in them all and how 1 136 b 137 a They are not deceiued in the Eucharist as the Papistes say 1 114 ab The quickenesse of them at our resurrection 3 359 b Christ prooued it by them 4 153 b Lying Senses ministred to the soule by the bodie 3 3â—6 b Separation Causes of our Separation from the Popish Church 4 94 ab 95 a 68. 69. 86. 87. 88. 89. 69 ab It is not of our selues 4 90b Whether the leawd life of ministers is no cause of Separation from the Church 4 85 b A Separation euen in the beginning of the world betweene the good and bad 4 89 a What kind of Separation is a confessing of the Euangelicall trueth 4 88 a Whether any man hath authoritie of himself to vse Separation from his neighbours 4 63 a Of Separation from God whether excommunication bee a token thereof 4 60 a ¶ Looke Excommunication Sepulchres Watchings at dead mens Sepulchres to receiue oracles from them 1 73 b ¶ Looke Graue Seraphim Of Seraphim the name of an Angell and the reason of the same 1 111 b Came flying vnto Esaie 1 113 a ¶ Looke Cherubin Seraphin Sermon How it commeth that at one verie Sermon part of the hearers beléeue and part not 3 141 a Sermons The diuerse hearing of Sermons that therein Pauls rule must be folowed 1 22 a Of vaine and trifling Sermons 2 633 a ¶ Looke Preaching Seruant A Seruant defined 4 316 a The properties and duties of a Seruant 3 162 ab Seruants Howe Seruants must be handled of their maisters 4 314 b What the lawes of God decreed for them in the Iewes time 4 316 b How they are equall and vnequall to their masters 4 314 b Children and they compared 3 143. Whether wee be the Seruants of God 3 162 ab 163 a A difference betwéene the Seruants of Christ and the seruants of the worlde 3 276 b What kind of Seruants the fathers vnder the lawe were 2 595 b Seruice What is saide too and fro of the Seruice in the Church in a strange toong 3 309 b 310. 311. 2 317 b 318 a The ancient Churches had it in the mothertoong 3 310 b No strange toong vsed therein of the Church triumphant 3 311 a Of comlinesse required therein 4 65 b How defectiue we be therein is shewed by a proper analogie 3 162 ab Salomon made a diuision thereof and of his punishment of like for like 2 324 a How all creatures do seruice vnto the godly 2 251 b 252 a Seruitude Seruitude distinguished 4 316 a 3 163 a The originall and cause thereof 4 314 a From whence the name sprang 4 313 b Voluntarie religious 4 315 a ¶ Looke Bondage Seuen The number of Seuen put for any other number 2 237 a It compriseth all the former numbers 1 3a It betokeneth a complete number in scriptures and how 2 362 b It is mysticall and it is a number wherewith God is delighted why 2 374 b By it is expressed the power of the holie Ghost 2 368 a Seuenth day Why the Seuenth day is named to haue neither morning nor euening 2 375 a Of the sanctification thereof 2 374 ab c. What things God hath giuen vs by it 2 374 b How Gods resting thereon is to be vnderstood 2 374 b ¶ Look Sabboth day Sh. Shadowe How the Shadowe accompanieth not the bodie always after one maner 1 142 b 143 a Shame Shame taken sometimes for frustration 3 82 b In what things the flesh reckoneth it 3 261 ab Who are said to bee put to Shame or made ashamed 3 227 ab Shamefastnesse Shamefastnesse is no vertue yet commended 2 412 a Of the excesse and defect which make it commendable 2 412 a Sheepe A distinction of Sheepe 3 281 b Shepherds Watches of Shepeheards 3 256 b Their troublesome life described 4 29 b 30 a Shewbread The vse and end of the Shewbread 4 162 ab Shroue tide The abuse that men vse at Shroue tide 3 255 b Si. Sibyls Of the Prophesies of the Sibyls and what authenticall writers haue thought of them 1 21 a The French Sibyls did geld them selues 1 21 b Sicera What kind of drinke Sicera was 3 178 b 179 a Sicknesses Sicknesses of the minde 3 69 a Sights Dishonest Sightes must be auoided and why 2 481 b Signe What a Signe is and the same distinguished 4 97 b An analogie must bee kept betwéene
it and the thing signified 4 98 b The Signe and the thing signified taken one for another 2 606 b 590. 591. 98 b 609 a 3 279 a Signes Sacraments are visible Signes pertaining to many senses 4 98 a 112 a Why they were giuen 4 104 b Their vse 4 98 b The Signes and things signified oftentimes taken one for another 4 14 a 100 a 168. 169. 200 ab 175 b 176b 172 b 173 ab 135 a Vnto what things they are added 4 98 b 99 a And that a man may sometime prescribe them vnto himselfe 1 61 a How they of the olde restament are taken away and how they remaine 4 101 b Thrée kindes of men noted which vse the Signes of ceremonies or sacraments 4 105 b The Signes of God consist not of things honourable 4 109 b There may be Signes which haue in them no admiration at all 1 71 b Why they and wonders be called lies 1 65 a What manner of faith is to be confirmed by them 1 61 a The difference betwéen them and wonders shewed out of diuerse writers 1 71 b Why the scriptures haue so often ioyned these two wordes Signes woonders together 1 71 b ¶ Looke Miracles Sacraments Similitude The nature of a Similitude and a metaphor 3 351 a Simonie What the decrées determine against Simonie and Simoniakes how the fathers detested it 1 145 a Singing How Singing becoÌ„meth delightfull 3 312 a Vsed much in the time of the law 3 312 ab Whether in Churches it be lawfull 3 313 a 2 504b No precept in the new Testament for it 3 314 b In the East and West Churches 3 313 ab Cautions touching Singing in Churches 3 314 a Sinne originall Originall sinne prooued out of holie scriptures 2 214 ab A Pelagian reason that it cannot hurt the children which be baptized disproued 2 243 a Howe and by what meanes it is taken away 2 233 a Why the children of beléeuers are borne subiect thereto 2 243 b 4 117 a The opinion of some schoolmen touching it in children seminali ratione 2 219b In vs before we haue the vse of light saith Augustine 2 227 b At the time of death it shal be abolished 2 233b Noâ— onely by the imitation of Adams sinne sayth Augustine 2 215 b Augustines opinion that it passeth into the children through the pleasure which the parentes take in the fellowship of nature 2 245 b An obiection touching it confuted 4 135 b The Anabaptistes and wee disagree about it 4 115 b Restraints thereof which otherwise would destroy all prooued by instances 2 230 b Gulielmus Parisâ—ensis opinion thereof by way of similitude 2 230 a Pighius beléeueth that it shal be punished without sensible paine 2 216 a The cause why Augustine calleth it concupiscence 2 222 a 219 a Euery man hath in him his owne 2 365b It is no violent thing and why 2 291 b It is voluntarie proued 2 293 a It suffereth vs not to be maisters of our owne actions 2 565 a It is a punishment and also a sinne 1 181 a It goeth not before predestination 3 24 ab It is neither voluntarie nor receiued by election 2 256 ab How it is against God 2 608 a It goeth before euerie mans birth and damnation 3 24b The soule gathereth it through coniunction with the bodie that is infected and corrupted by the parents 2 231 a What be the conditions and properties therof 2 230 b It comprehendeth all things positiue as how 2 230 a Contrition saith Pighius is not required for it disprooued 2 218 b Two similitudes of Augustine which prooue that wee cannot impart the remission therof to our children 2 243 b Diuerse opinions how it is powred through into the posteritie 2 230 b 231 a What is the materiall and formall cause of it as some schoolemen say 2 226 b Argumentes of the Pelagians for the disproofe thereof 2 234a The manner and meanes of the spreading of it obscure and darke what is determined of the same 2 244 a The Romane church against Pighius doctrine touching it in infants 2 229 a It commeth not by imitation 4 135 b 136 a Innocentius a Pope was of P. Martyrs opinion touching it 2 229 b It is not vtterly rid away no not by regeneration 2 233 b A full and perfect definition thereof with all the causes materiall formall efficient instrumentall and finall 2 224b It is spred in men by séede and generation 2 232 b 233 a Sundrie names thereof set down 2 224 b 213a In extenuating Originall Sinne wee extenuate the benefite of Christ 2 229 b Pighius maketh it rather a bonde than a sinne 2 21â— a God createth the soule pure and cleane whence then hath it Originall Sinne note that place well 2 231 b The remedie medicine appointed for Originall Sinne. 2 232 a A place out of the Corinthes inferred that children draw it not vnto them 2 238 a The seate or subiect of Originall sinne is in the fleshe 2 231 a Why the more auncient fathers spake little of it 2 229 a Pighius against Augustine touching it 2 219b 220 a Wherein it and actuall sinnes doe differ 2 243 a Why Eue transgressing before Adam hath not the same ascribed vnto her but contrariwise 2 242 a Whether God be the author of the deriuation thereof 2 231 ab The matter thereof passeth not away from vs after baptisme 2 243 a Reasons against the Pelagians that it is in infantes 2 243 b 244 a What priuations are meant to be in it 2 229 b By what lawes they which are borne are bounde to haue Originall sin 2 223 a b Whether circumcisioÌ„ tooke it awaie 4 102 a 104 a The difference betwéen it and that which is drawen from the next parentes 2 240 a Two thinges to bee considered there in Originall sinne 4 117 a What punishment is for it marke diuersitie of opinions in this point 2 233 b 234 a What is the instrument whereby it is conueied froÌ„ the Parentes to the children 2 231 a Howe and from whence Original sinne is deriued to all posterities 1 206 a Diuers opinions of diuers fathers touching Originall sinne 2 227 b The guiltinesse of Originall sinne is forgiuen in baptisme 2 243 a Sinne generallie taken The ende of the knowledge of Sinne. 2 295 a That it is a certaine humane action and howe 1 178 b Of two sundrie wayes whereby it maie be destroyed 2 398 a Whether the children suffer punishment for the fathers Sinne. 2 235 a b 236 ab Two thinges to bee considered in euerie Sinne. 2 243 a Basils determination that by reason of Adams wee are not sounde 2 228 a From what Sinne children bee exempted 2 228 b God is prooued to bee the efficient cause thereof and how 1 178 b Not onelie destroieth the minde but corrupteth the bodie 2 240 a Pighius denieth flatlie the want of original righteousnesse to be it 2 223 a In euerie kinde
punishment of him that sinneth 1 190 a That which in it owne nature is Sinne is neuer attributed vnto God in scripture 2 411 b Bernarde assigneth thrée degrées of men the first that cannot Sinne the seconde that cannot but sinne the thirde in whome sinne remaineth but raigneth not 1 198 a The cause of mans Sinne is the will or fréewill of our first parents and how 1 205 b A knowledge thereof hauing not his proper end is sinne 2 265 a That of the damned is of necessitie and yet sinne neuerthelesse 1 198 ab Corruption is no naturall effect of it as Pighius saith 2 220 a Sometime there is none powred from the next parentes into the children originall excepted prooued 2 240 a That God doeth not onely permitte it but also willeth it and how 1 201 b 203. all The etymologie of the worde as it is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and Chataa 2 241 b 242 a Howe it is sayde to bee a thing voluntarie and not voluntarie in vs. 1 195 a The diuell is the cause thereof but not the proper absolute cause 1 184 b The scripture sayth that it had his first beginning from the woman howe then began it at Adam 2 242 b The guiltinesse thereof is taken away after regeneration and those things which remaine are not imputed vnto vs to our destruction 2 233b Sinne is committed through want of saith 3 70 b Man could of his owne nature haue had the cause of it in himselfe though the diuell had not reuolted from God 1 184 b How it is meant that it beganne first at the diuill 2 242 b 243 a Whether in willing against Gods will it maie bee committed oâ— nor examine that place 1 204 b 205 a How Zuinglius is be to vnderstoode that men are otherwhiles by Gods prouidence prouoked vnto it 1 186 a Sinne against the holie Ghost Of Sinne against the holy Ghost 3 239 a Irremissible 2 628 a 3 206 b 207 a Not apparently knowen 4 59 a What Sinne is called actuall and from whence it springeth 2 272 b Whether the punishment remaine after the Sinne remitted 3 237 a 221 a 224 a Howe Sinne is saide to be the punishment of sinne 1 190 a Sinnes Howe Sinnes doe depend on gods prouidente 1 173 b Sinnes are punishments of sinnes 3 â— a b 286 a 26 a 23 a 22 b â—2 a 2 49â— b 493 b 1 2â—6 a 197 b 198 a 2 273 ab God vseth them to their appointed endes and how 3 41 b 42 a All Sinnes are comprehended vnder the name of Infidelitie 3 153 b Remedies for the woundes of them 3 235 b God euen out of them picketh notable commodities 3 186 a Wée must bewaile others and our owne 3 246 b Sinnes doe serue both to predestination and reprobation 3 34 a They must not be measured by space of â—ime as some say 2 539b 540 a No man can confesse all that hée hath doone and why 3 219 b Of what Sinnes wee must repent vs. â—4 204 b Of taking delight in Sinnes and that the godly maie do â—o somtimes 2 559 ab Whose Sinnes are visited vnto the thirde fourth generation whose are not 2 362 b 362 a God punisheth some for others Sinnes 2 363 b 364 a Of Sinnes doone against the first table and the seconde 2 553 b 554 a Sinnes the causes of all our afflictions 3 129 b Difference of them is to be made by the worde of God 2 553 b Whether Sinnes maie so please vs as of them we shoulde take delight 2 559 a All Sinnes are alike 3 141 a 2 555 a 247 b 32â— ab 264 a Howe they are saide to be more or lesse gréeuous 2 553 b 554a Some grosse and some moraliâ—e good 2 559 a Manifest Sinnes and secrete note the doctrine 2 533 a 562 b The weightinesse of Sinnes is to be considered by their obiectes 2 530 a Sinnes not necessarilie linked together as vertues be 2 555 a The grosser perteine to discipline 2 551 b Sinnes of committing and omitting 2 246 b Wee must neuer be lead or driuen to commit Sinnes 2 292 a From what fountaines wee must séeâ—e the causes of them and say them not vpon God 2 27â— a What bee voluntarie as the Scripture determineth 2 293 a Mingled euen with our good workes 3 54 b Thrée degrées of them that be remissible 2 272 b An examination of doctrine which openeth a wide window vnto them 2 264 ab Mens Sinnes compared vnto pitch and how 2 313 a That all haue their weight and from whence 2 322 a God is not properlie saide to reward Sins 2 263b The regenerate maie absteine from the grosser sort 2 274 ab A briefe summe of the thinges which God by his prouidence and gouernment doeth about Sinnes 1 206 b Why they that bee iustified doe still pray for their Sinnes 2 266 a We maie not excuse them by Gods predestination 3 â— a 41 b 42 a How God is after a sort saide to wil them 3 22 ab Howe and in what sort God is the cause of them 3 11 a Sinnes foreséene are not the cause of reprobatioÌ„ 3 12. How they are comprehended vnder reprobation 3 24 ab They deserue punishmeÌ„ts one good workes no rewards and why 1 209 a Young infantes whiles they bee yet sucking doe commit Sinnes 2 224 b Whether Sinnes be the cause of reprobation 3 13a They are â—uried before Gods tribunall seate and how 2 620 b 621 a That the verie actions of Sinnes that is the subiectes of sinnes are of God 1 204 a God directeth them to the performaunce of his counsels and howe 1 206 a An absurditie as some thinke that the latter men shoulde be more miserable thaÌ„ the former insomuch as they should leaue the Sinnes as well of Adam as of all their forefathers two wayes aunswered 2 24â— b 241 a The iustice of God must not bée blamed if the fathers Sinnes be powred into the children 2 240 a How priuate become publike 4 58 a God vseth them of the wicked euen to a good purpose as how 1 199 a Parents must liue purely that their procreation be not partakers of their Sinnes 2 240 a M. Bucers opinion that priuate are deriued from the parents vnto the children and how he must be vnderstoode 2 241 a Some proper and of our owne may be two wayes vnderstoode 2 229 a Priuate Sinnes of the parents deriued to the children are not of necessarie but contingent 2 241 a In considering of them what we must inquire and by what balance we must weigh it 2 239 b That those in parents as the schoolemen say doe not onely corrupt the minde of their children 2 241 a Augustine saieth that those of the next parents are communicated with the children proued 2 239 b 240 a How they do seruice vnto God prooued by similitudes 1 182 a How it commeth to passe that God imputeth not some vnto vs. 2 247 b
Looke Imprecation Witch Who it was that appeared at the call of the Witch 1 72 ab It was not Samuell saieth Augustine 1 75 a Witches Witches haue no power ouer the godly 1 76 b 77 a Lawes of Princes against them 1 19a And such as repaire vnto them 1 84 b 85 a Witcherie Of the force of Witcherie the cause thereof in olde women and vpon whom it worketh most 1 79 b Witnesse These wordes there be three which beare Witnesse in heauen the father the worde and the spirit expounded 1 105 a The thre things which beare Witnesse of Christ 4 113 a How many wayes God is called to Witnesse 2 372 a What wee are taught by being forbidden to beare false Witnesse 2 553 a Witnesses Two famous Witnesses of the Church in the last age 3 382 b VVo. Woman The state of the Woman farre worse than of the man 2 460 b That she is and is not the Image of God and after what maner 1 124 a Why it is not meete that one Woman should be both a wife and a seruant to any man 2 379 ab Why Paule willed the Woman to keepe silence in the Church 2 242 b Whether before sinne the Woman were subiect to the man 2 379 a Women Whether Women may bee in warrefare 4 288 a They taught the people openly 4 7 ab They must haue their head couered in the congregation and why 2 481 b What Women labour to please men 2 510 a Why Women were commaunded to be silent in the Church 4 7 b Women indued with the spirit of prophesie 4 7 a Women circumcised among the Egyptians 4 111 a Why the Women that prophesie are commaunded to couer their heades 4 8 a Whether Women may teach in the Church 4 7 ab What ornaments Women may vse and not vse 2 513b Looke Women what is spoken concerning painting of the face 2 508 ab and so forward Holy Women maintained and releeued Christ 4 29 a Why we be called men why Women as Augustine allegorically saieth 1 124 a Wooers What kinde of emulation is betwixt wooers 2 417 b Woonders The difference betweene signes and woonders shewed out of diuerse writers 1 71 b Why the scriptures haue so often ioyned these two wordes together 1 71 b ¶ Looke Miracles Word of God The difference of Gods worde and Philosophie 1 58 a The preaching thereof hath all men subiect vnto it 4 230 b Howe miracles win credite to the worde of God 1 63 b. The same thing is offered by the worde that is doone by the sacraments 2 635 a Neither youth nor any other is excepted from hearing the worde of God 1 57 b Of the worde of God and hearing of the same reade all the 7. Chapter of the first part The force of Gods worde in the hearers of the same 1 58 a The difference of Gods worde specially in the Eucharist 4 196 ab 187 b It was the worde or Christ that God spake by to the fathers and Prophets 1 26 b The force of the inwarde worde of God in the minde 3 176 b God vseth the inwarde worde and the outwarde and in whom 2 233 a Whether the outwarde or visible signe of Baptisme be altogether necessarie to regeneration 2 233 a Of the word vnwritten and the word written with the antiquitie of both 1 42 b And how to beleeue it 3 70 a Whether it were written before Moses time 4 72 a Whether Christes bodie bee more worthie than his worde 4 214 a ¶ Looke Scripture Wordes Wordes are partly naturall and partly after the minde of the namers 2 590. 591 a Wordes are the principal signes thereof 2 542a b What they be 3 342 b Aristotles definition of them and who abuse them 2 544 b The vse of them 3 304b 4 144ab Certaine Hebrew wordes receiued into the Church 4 215 ab Worke of God How is it true that God rested from worke the seuenth day since he worketh dayly and hourely 2 374 b How it is a strange worke vnto God to punish euils 3 44a That God doeth worke nowe also and by what meanes and how 1 122b That which the holy Ghost calleth euill is no worke of God as Pighius saith 2 218 a Worke of man Howe the selfe same Worke is produced by God and by vs. 1 189 b 190 a Howe it may bee both of God of the deuill and of euill men 1 183 a Howe it can be the end of an action when it is after the action 1 7 b Sometime that which remaineth is more excellent and sometime the action and why 1 4 b An habite in the minde is no Work though it come of frequented actions 1 4 b Whether there may be any Worke of man found that should throughlie please God 2 572 a None good saith Augustine without faith 2 259 a To the goodnesse thereof it is not enough that the same in his owne nature be not euill what then 2 311 b A Worke cannot be made good by an habituall intent 1 93 b 95a The rule whereby it must bee directed 3 118 a How the conscience may make a Worke good or euill 3 165 a A Worke seeming acceptable vnto God may be sinne prooued 2 267 b Of a Worke of man which is in man and yet breaketh not out from his owne strength 1 132b Howe men are saide to Worke together with God 3 13 b 14 a Faith as it is a Worke cannot iustifie 3 60. Of the Worke wrought which is supposed to merite saluation 4 106 b 194 b Whether an Infidell can doe a Worke pleasing God 3 118a A charitable Worke of an Infidell namelie to cloath the naked is sinne prooued 2 267 ab Works of God Howe and after what sort wee must iudge of the workes of God 1 13b Three sortes of them about his creatures 1 181 b 182 a 184 a They doe helpe one an other 2 599 a Of the particular and common workes of the Trinitie ◠599 b Workes of men No place for good workes in the worlde to come 3 368 a Whether it bee lawfull to doe them for rewardes sake 2 573b 574 a What are turned into sinnes 3 152 b 153 a 26 a Faith goeth necessarilie before them 3 154 ab Faith perfecteth and formeth them 3 149 b Whether true faith and they can bee separated 3 131 b 132 ab How the old Fathers of the Church esteemed them 3 121 a They doe serue both to Predestination and Reprobation 3 34a They bee the effects of Predestination not the causes thereof 3 14b What they that defende merites doe thinke of them 3 54 a They after iustification doe profite 3 144a An ill comparison made betweene them and sinnes 3 22 ab They are not the causes of our calling 3 15 a They depend of GOD yet must we not cast away all care of liuing well 3 3 a Whereof good woorkes are signes and seales 3 95 b In whome they are a beginning to
what we are taught therby 74 a Touching constancie therin for religion read the 47. epistle beginning at page 139. A praier to be said in the time of Persecution when flight is intended 70 b 73 b Philosophie and an excellent kind of doctrine it teacheth not 46 a b. Philosophers and Poets how they haue transformed the plaine truth 41 a Physicians that we must seeke for our soules health 21 a b. Plentie and the magistrats charge in such a yeare 157 a Pleasures and idlenes the nursses of vices 49 b The true vse of honest ones 157 a Poets and Philosophers and how they haue transformed the plaine truth 41 a Polygamie of Iacob is not to be accused 154 b Reasons whie it is to be auoided 154 b Pope and how farre foorth we may vse things that were vsed in his church 119 a Pouertie and who vnder the pretense thereof must not delaie marriage 154 b Power of God in our conuersion 108 a b Whether it be in mans Power to change the will 119 b 120 a He gaue them Power to be made the sonnes of God expounded 120 a Praier the remedie against prodigious sights 111 a Of the lifting vp of hands therein 162 b The spirit of Christ doth speciallie stir vp thereto 158 b A forme thereof to be vsed of and for them that be fallen from the true religion 143 b 144 a b Of Peter Martyr against false worshipping of God 251. 252. Common must not be neglected whie 162 a. Praiers that be effectuall 153 b Whether those to saints departed be lawfull 170 b Of some called collects and the reason of their name 136 a Preaching or baptising whether is more excellent 219a b When the outward is fruitefull and how 22 b Predestinate and by what calling God calleth them 115 b Not all which be called are such 131 b The difference betwéene them and the reprobate after they are fallen 143 b Predestination is a part of Gods prouidence 130 b Whie the doctrine thereof is profitable 129 b The order thereof to be noted 116 b Diuerse iudgements touching it 130 b Christ is the principall effect thereof 131 b It bringeth no constraint or violence to mans will 131 b Vnchangeable 130 b 131 a The things due therevnto and causes thereof 152 a b Whether by the doctrine thereof be opened a window to idlenes 131 b Necessarie to be taught in the church 105 a The end thereof 131 a A definition of it 130 b Whether works or what else be the causes therof 131 a Predicaments ten that all things which be are reduced to them 164 b Presence reall in the sacrament spoken of to and fro 243 b 244. c. 139 a b 230 b ¶ Looke Eucharist Preests apparell and préestlie ornaments 30 b Whie they were kept from the innermost holie place 168 a Why their sinne is more gréeuous than the peoples 170 a Two things wherewith those of the lawe were indued 30 a b How manie High preests the Iewes had from Aaron to the building of Solomons temple 31 a Preesthood of Melchisedech 149 b Touching the promises annexed to that of Leui 28 a b Whether all the things belonging to Aarons are to be abrogated 118 a b. Princes must serue God two manner of waies 60 a b Whether it be lawfull for them to flie in persecution 77 b 78 a Their dutie and their misbehauiour 19 a What danger followeth their error 21 b The care of religion belongeth vnto them 60 b 61 a What is to be obserued in the worship we doo to them 157 a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the difference betwixt it and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 106 b 107 a Promises of God of temporall things include spirituall 166 b What those to Abraham doo teach vs 149 b Of them that were annexed to the préesthood of Leui 28 a b. Prophesie what the same is and the affinitie thereof with faith 151 a The spirit thereof giuen to the wicked 104 a Prophets among Gods people euen in the time of their bondage in Aegypt 158 b Why the primitiue church had more than we now haue 151 a b The maner of them in warning men 147 a Prouidence cannot be separated from God and why 129 b Predestination is a part thereof 130 b Why the doctrine of it is profitable 129 b The decrées therof are immutable 130 a The definition of it 129 b The largenes of it 130 a What frute the doctrine thereof bringeth 46 b 47 a It doth not take awaie chance 130 a The vniuersalitie therof 153 b 154 a How it dooth gouerne things 130 a Those things which séeme to happen by chance are gouerned thereby 130 a All things are definite and certeine in respect thereof 130 a It taketh not awaie counsels admonitions corrections c. 130 a b. Punishment vpon the children for the parents done by God 170 b 171 a b Whether it haue power in it selfe to purge sinne 147 b How it is ment that euerie one shall beare that which is due to his owne sinne 170b 171 a Purpose of GOD in calling effectuallie 115 a Q. QVailes why they were giuen to the Israelits in the euening 161 b 162 a Quantitie commeth after substance 207 a Whether a humane bodie can consist without it 205 b 206 a b 207 a whether a bodie consisting of it may be without quantitatiue measure 221 b whether it and substance may be put apart 225 b Mathematicall not reallie diuisible 230 b Whether the bodie of Christ after his resurrection wanted it 221 b 222 a c. Quarels would be at no end if we should giue place to wrath 115 b Question touching the magistrate in certeine cases of iustice 142 a Touching a lawe in Exodus about a deflowred maid 142 a About swearing not by the name of God onelie 142 a Questions disputed of about the Eucharist 175. Vnprofitable must be reiected 89 b R. RAinebowe and what we haue to learne and gather by the same 148 b A shadowe of the couenant of mans redemption therein 148 b Rebecca whether she may be excused in preferring the yoonger sonne before the elder 153 b Reconciliation a key belonging to the church 26 b 27 a Regenerate subiect vnto falling 119 b The state of frée will in them 129 a 124 a b 125 a b 163 b Diuerse defects in them of dooing good 104 b They cannot be without sinnes 125 b They are not onelie méere men but men of God 124 b 125 a 129 a Their acceptable works 129 a Not regenerate and the state of them touching the dooing of good and bad 105 a Their vertues are frutelesse 47 b 48 a Their fréewill 126 a b 127 a 102 a b 163 b Necessitie of sinning in them 105 a b 126 b How they knowe things naturall and supernaturall 103 b 104 a What they can doo in the lawe of God 102 b How their will is toward celestiall things 108 a Regeneration of the bodie 140 b Signified
is the head and fountaine of good order A similitude For euen as God in the nature of mans bodie separated diuers members and placed them in maruelous order The order of the members of mans body the head in the high top of all and therein the eyes like vnto windowes vnder it he put a mouth to receiue meate a breast to containe the inward partes which sustaine life a stomacke for the digesting of meates flankes thighes hammes and féete which things being so set in order doe testifie the excellent wisedome of the Creator But if they be confounded and set out of order they make not a man but a monster Euen so hath he in his lawes reuealed the waie and the measure whereby our actions may be rightly disposed and ordered Trouble taketh away vnitie 5 Furthermore Trouble or sedition taketh away vnitie For the mindes of Citizens are separated and maruelouslie drawen one from an other And that is verie deformed and becommeth not a Commonweale Wherefore Luke in the Actes of the Apostles minding to commend the societie of the Christians Acts. 4. 32. saith They were of one minde and of one heart And this vnitie consisteth in cleauing vnto him which aboue all thinges is one He truelie is the true God without whose feare and woorship the true vnitie cannot be obtained but all thinges remaine torne and rent one from an other Wherevppon Augustine in his Sermon De verbis Domini vppon the Gospell of Luke the 26. Chapter intreating of those wordes wherein the Lord said vnto Martha Luk. 10. 42. But one thing is needefull writeth Giue one thing and thou shalt haue the people that is to say well and rightlie ordered take away one thing and thou shalt haue a route But a route is nothing else but a rude vnrulie multitude By these words we may gather what is the true subiect of this priuation For the priuation standeth not by it selfe nor hangeth in the ayre The subiect thereof is a multitude or a companie of men which is méete apt to be set in order or to be depriued thereof And also to be truely one or to be pulled one from an other If this company be depriued of this order thē is it depriued of peace tranquillitie which chieflie standeth vppon these two thinges 6 This definition of ours doe the wordes of Elias confirme who minding to reprooue Ahab for moouing of trouble said 1 kings 18. 18. Thou hast forsaken God which saying respecteth the priuation of vnitie And his commaundementes which maketh to the priuation of order And thereby prooued him to be a moouer of trouble Paul exhorteth vs to the retaining of those good thinges and of those excellent habites in manie places but especiallie in the 1. 1. Cor. 4. 10 Epistle to the Corinthians the first Chapter saying I beseech you brethren he speaketh to the multitude of Christians which was or should haue bin the subiect of the order of vnitie that ye all speake one thing and that there be no Schismes among you but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 be ye knit together in one minde and in one iudgement He requireth a consent among the faithfull as touching the minde and as touching wordes so much as may be and also as touching workes But as touching workes which here he séemeth not to touch he verie well sheweth in the second Chapter to the Philippians Verse 2. Be ye of one minde agreeing together in one thing dooing nothing by contention and vaine glory A wholesome exhortatiō doubtlesse which hath respect vnto peace and vnitie Also Pythagoras said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the sedition of a Citie must be auoided 7 If we séeke for the causes of this euill The causes of this trouble are two Phil. 2. ve 3 Contention many may be brought In the place now alleaged vnto the Philippians Paul rehearsed two Contention which seemeth to signifie a readie inclination vnto strifes and debates We ought not to obey corrupt inclination Also a gréedinesse of glorie driueth many vnto that point and likewise the desires of pleasures and gaine but abooue all things a diuersitie of faith whereof Ierom spake writing vppon Matthewe in the x. Chapter Verse 34. treating of these wordes I came not to send peace but a sworde where he saieth that for the faith of Christ the whole world is diuided against it selfe Neither is there anie house wherein there be not beléeuers and vnbeléeuers And againe vppon the same Chapter expounding that saying Brother shall deliuer Brother he saith Ib. ver 21. there is no faithfull affection of them whose faith is diuers Plato in the 4. booke De Repub. saith that seditions arise aswel through too much abundance as through too much scarcitie For they which abound on euerie side with riches be of hautie minde and contemne the poore in comparison of thēselues On the other side the poore being despised are stirred vp against the rich and one Citie is diuided into partes This we know happened in the Church of the Corinthians 1. Co. 11. 21 whereas the rich and wealthie would not sit downe at meate with the poore but they ioyned themselues to men of their owne degrée and made daintie and gorgeous feastes among themselues neither did they tarie for the poore But the poore being contemned tarried long and sate by thēselues vsing most simple and poore fare Thereby arose troubles and seditions This as saith Paul is to eate anie thing else rather than the supper of the Lord. Ib. ver 20. There might perhappes other causes also be brought but those which we haue recited are the better The end of troubles There remaineth to speake of the end which if we respect troublesome and seditious men is to ouerthrowe and consume for their owne gaine sake thinges that be well ordered Wherefore Chrysostome vppon the 5. Chapter to the Galathians expounding those wordes Gal. 5. 15. If ye bite and deuour one an other take heede least ye be consumed one of an other saith that sedition dooth at lengh bring consumption and corruption And he compareth the same vnto a mothe which departeth not from the garment vntill it haue consumed the same as much as it can But if we haue respect vnto God and demaund vnto what end he suffereth these thinges to be doone we will aunswere To the intent that they which be prooued may in troubles and seditions be made manifest And whereas they lay hidden before they may now shine aboue others Hereof hath Paul put vs in minde in the first to the Corinthians 1. Co. 11. 19 saying It behooueth that heresies should be that they which be prooued may be made manifest 8 By these thinges which we haue now alleaged the whole definition may be gathered which standeth in the generall word and in the differences and comprehendeth all the causes The full definition of trouble or sedition So as we may say that
trouble or sedition is a voluntarie action whereby there is contention among manie aswell touching ciuill thinges as matters of Religion And there is brought in a priuation aswell of order as of vnitie by reason of the inclination of the minde to the making of strife or for anger for receauing of an offēce or for desire of glorie or of pleasures or of gayne and most of all for the diuersitie of faith or else for too much plentie or pouertie and that to the ouerthrowe of good ordinances and that godly men may shine more and more by the occasion thereof This is a verie full definition I am not ignorant that other descriptions are commonlie vsed as when it is said that sedition is the violence and wrath of the people But here onelie is touched the cause enforcing It is also said to be sedition when the people disagréeing come to hand strokes whereby is shewed that the same is no light motion but a vehement which draweth the matter vnto a conflict Which Virgill séemeth to haue laid before our eyes when he saith And lyke as in a people stout when oft it dooth betide The common sort to make a fray of witte which are full wide Now flyes the stones and fierie flames and furie feedes the fight But that which we brought is a full definition and comprehendeth the whole matter The subiect of sedition Hypostasis Subiectum Concretū There remaineth that we consider of the ground or subiect or concrete as the Legitians speake séeing we haue spoken of the nature it selfe He is a seditious person saith Isidorus in his Etymologies which causeth a dissention of mindes and maketh discordes Yet neuerthelesse not onelie the Authors and heades of that wickednesse are to be accounted seditious but they also which followe them which helpe them nourish and defend them Albeit that they which are the captaines and disturbers of the peace doe sinne much more gréeuously than doe others 9 But the greatnesse or greeuousnesse of this crime dependeth of the excellencie of good thinges which be taken away by it How great a crime sedition is What woorser thing can happen vnto a multitude than if order and vnitie be subuerted Plato in Sophista saith that sedition is the corrupting of naturall knowledge Which that it may yet be more plainelie vnderstood I will bring the saying of Augustine which we haue in the 9. Chapter De Ciuitate Dei where he said that wise men prescribed not euerie companie of men to be a people but that which was ioyned by consent of lawe and mutual participatiō of profit But since that sedition peruerteth lawe and common profit the fault is much more gréeuous than brawling in which the strife is for the benefite of one or two and yet is not common lawe ouerthrowne nor publike benefite taken away Also the greatnesse of this sinne is gathered by the punishmentes as Paul said to the Galathians Gal. 5. 12. I would they were cut off which trouble you Wherefore trouble is méete to be cut off In like manner the Apostle said in the same Epistle to the Galathians Ib. ver 10. Numb 16. 32. 2. Sam. 18. 21. 2. Sam. 20. 25. They which trouble you shal beare their iudgement The sedition of Core Dathan and Abiram was punished by death So was the sedition of Absolon Likewise was Seba the sonne of Kichri stirred vp against Dauid The lawes of men haue reckoned his haynous crime among the offences of death as we may sée in the Digestes De Poenis in the lawe Si aliquis aliquid ex metallo in Paragraphe Authores or Fautores For both those titles are read Of them it is there pronounced on this wise Either let them be hanged on a gibbet or be cast vnto the beastes or else be caried vnto the Iland Euen so is it written in the same title in the lawe Capitalium the Paragraph Solet in the Code De seditiosis the first and second lawes And sometimes they haue the same punishmentes laid vppon them which they haue that be guiltie of treason as we haue it Ad legem Iuliam Maiestatem the first lawe The Canons of the Church haue oftentimes decréed that those which were seditious should not receaue orders And thus much of the punishment and greatnesse of the crime All which contend in sedition must not be accused 10 It is further to be vnderstood that they must not be all accused which contend in sedition For whereas there be two partes of which the one striueth against the other it is of necessitie that séeing they contend about contradictions in thinges repugnant the cause of the one part is good and the cause of the other is euill they which defend a iust cause good lawes and common profit are not to be accounted seditious Contrariwise they which striue against these thinges must be punished Elias and Achab were both in one cōtentiō We must consider which part of those troublers is guiltie By the things which we haue spoken we may discerne the same 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Yet is it better to gather this by the wordes of the Prophet 1. kings 18. 18. Thon leadest the Israelites from the true God vnto Baal and takest away the lawe of the true God therefore art thou thy selfe a troubler But I call backe the people vnto Iehouah the God of their Fathers and I contend in behalfe of the lawes made vppon mount Sinai and receaued by our forefathers therefore I am no troubler nor seditious man Thou I follow thinges contrarie but seeing I defend and maintaine the sound opinion and the better side I am not to be accused of troubling and making sedition And euen this may be lawfull for vs to returne vppon the Papistes when they count vs troublers and seditious men We maintaine the true woorshipping of God and the glorie of Christ we receaue the Scriptures of God we vse the Sacramentes sincerelie as they were instituted by Christ we receaue thrée Créedes we will not woorship Creatures Images or Idols therfore we are no troublers Iustlie are they accused of so great wickednesse which doe all thinges contrarie Happie is that Common-weale or Church which is ruled and gouerned by the word of God And contrariwise vnhappie is the same which followeth the inuentions of men reiecting the Oracles of God Psal 44. 15. Happie is that people said Dauid whose God is Iehouah Whereuppon is concluded on the contrarie part that vnhappie is the people which hath not Iehouah for their God And in that historie of Achab and Helias we sée that that kingdome of the x. 1. king 17. ◠tribes was gréeued with famine and had heauen closed vp And albeit the Papistes be not troubled with famine of outward meate yet are they pined with great penurie of gods word and the light of heauen is most manifestlie shut from them A verie strong Argument it was of the Prophet and by that meanes