commeth from man will not haue that whiche commeth from one only God and therfore in seeking it outwardly they haue no glory in them selues but rather in an other Sixtus Pope of Rome in his Epistle to the first tome of the Councels He that is doubtfull in the faith is an infidell wherefore let vs esteeme and iudge those which doe commaund vs to doubt of the fauour of God towardes vs not only to contende and striue againste the sentence of the true Catholicke church but also to giue euill counsell to the health and saluation of the church S Barnard in his .5 Sermon in Quadragesima It may be that some doe not seeke through humilitie euerlasting life but as in the trust and confidence of their workes and merits I do not say this that grace receiued doth not giue boldnesse to praye but it must not be therefore that in the same they haue their hope and trust to obtayne it for that only doth giue the giftes promised to the ende that of the mercy of God which giueth those thinges we may hope yet for greater thinges Let then those thinges which doe belong to our only necessities be restrayned the prayer which is made for the temporall thinges and that which is made for the vertues of the soule sequestred from all impurite and vncleanenesse be only attentife towardes the good will of god And that whiche is made bicause of eternall life let it be made or done in all humilitie presuming as he must of the only deuine mercie Grace be with you and peace from God our father and from the Lord Iesus Christe O wretched man that I am who shall deliuer me from this body of death The grace of God through Iesus Christe our Lorde Euen so at this time the remnante is left through the election of grace if it bee of grace then it is not of workes or els were grace no more grace But if it be of workes then is it no more grace or els were workes no longer workes By grace are ye made safe throughe fayth and that not of your selues it is the gift of God not of workes least any man shoulde boast of himselfe Also That we being iustified by his grace shoulde be made heyres according to the hope of eternall lyfe Saint Peter sayth why tempt ye God to laye a yoke on the Disciples neckes which neyther our fathers nor we were able to beare but we beleue that through the grace of the Lorde Iesus Christ wee shall be saued euen as they doe God doth not saue vs of the deedes of righteousnesse which we wrought but of his mercie He which began a good worke in you shall go forth with it vntill the day of Iesus Christ Vnto you it is giuen for Christe that not onely ye shoulde beleeue on him but also suffer for his sake He sayth agayne And as touching the righteousnesse whiche is in the lawe I was without reproche But the thinges which were vauntage to me I counted losse for Christes sake yea doubtlesse I thinke all things but losse for that excellent knowledge sake of Christ Iesus my Lorde for whome I haue counted all things losse and do iudge them but dung that I might winne Christ and might be founde in him that is not hauing mine owne righteousnesse which is of the law but that whiche is throughe the fayth of Christ I meane the righteousnesse which commeth of God through fayth c. I am nowe ready to be offred and the tyme of my departing is at hande I haue fought a good fight and haue fulfilled my course and haue kept the fayth From henceforth is layde vp for me a crowne of righteousnesse which the Lorde that is a righteous iudge shall giue me at that day not to me only but vnto all them also that loue his comming But nowe in Christe Iesus ye whiche once were farre of are made nye by the bloude I say of Christ It is God which worketh in vs bothe the will and also the dede euen of his free beneuolence To as many as receyued him to them he gaue power to bee the sonnes of God euen to them which beleeue in his name which are borne not of bloude nor of the lustes of the fleshe nor of the lust of man but of God. In thy light shall we see light Your eyes haue seene great miracles and wonders and yet the Lorde hath not giuen you an heart to perceyue nor eyes to see nor eares to heare O Lorde giue me vnderstanding open myne eyes for to beholde the wonderous things of thy lawe Gzechiel speaking in the person of God sayth A newe heart will I giue you and a newe spirite will I put into you as for that stonie heart I will take it out of your bodie and giue you a fleshie heart I will giue my spirite among you and cause you to walke in my commaundements to kepe my lawes and to fulfill them As for men they are but vayne if they be put in the ballaunce they are lighter than vanitie it selfe Conuert thou me and I shall be conuerted for thou art my Lorde God yea as soone as thou turnest me I shall reforme my selfe Therefore we gather that a man is iustified by faith without the deedes of the lawe Againe Abraham beleeued God and it was counted to him for righteousnesse To him that worketh the rewarde is not reckened of fauour but of duety But to him that worketh not but beleeueth on him that iustifieth the vngodly his faith is counted for righteousnesse Also for if they whiche are of the lawe bee heires then is faith but vaine and the promise of none effect c. Therefore by faith is the inheritance giuen that it might come of fauour and the promesse might be sure to all the seede that is not to them only which are of the lawe but also to them which are of the faith of Abraham Then being iustified by faith we haue peace with God through our Lord Iesus Christ by whom also we haue accesse through faith vnto this grace wherein we stand and reioyce in hope of the glorye of God. Bicause of vnbeleefe they are broken of and thou standest stedfast by faith Whatsoeuer is not of faith is sinne We know that a man is not iustified by the deedes of the lawe but by the faith of Iesus Christ euen we I say haue beleeued in Iesus Christ that we might be iustified by the faith of Iesus Christ and not by the deedes of the lawe bicause that by the deedes of the lawe no flesh shal be iustified I doe not abrogate the grace of God for if righteousnesse commeth of the lawe then Christ dyed without a cause So ye knowe that they which are of faith are the children of Abraham for the Scripture sawe afore hand that God would iustifie the
walke in we ought then rather to behold the goodnesse which we haue not yet done then those of which we doe reioyce our selues to haue already done and the elect are often times tempted with such vices and oftentimes it is rysen in their heartes to bring them in remembraunce of all the goodnesse that they haue done and to reioyce themselues of the band of assurance But if they be truly elected they will turn awaye their eyes from thinking of the same wherein they doe please themselues and keepe backe in them all the ioy of the goodnesse which is alreadye done and be sorie for those which they knowe to be by no maner of meanes done They doe esteeme themselues vnworthye and they onely do not see their goodnesse which are of all men seene by good example c. Of iustification of Fayth Augustine in the first Quinquagesima in the prologue of the 31. psal TRuly the Apostle Saint Iames in his Epistles hath praised the works of Abraham agaynst those which woulde not do any good and which presume them selues of fayth of which Abraham Saint Paule hath praysed his fayth and yet the Apostles are not contrarie the one to the other but he speaketh of the work which is knowne to all men that is to saye that Abraham did offer his sonne vnto God for to doe sacrifice That is a great worke but that is of fayth I doe prayse the buylding of the worke made vpon the foundation but I doe beholde the foundation of faith I doe prayse the fruite of the good and iust worke but I acknowledge the roote in fayth For if Abraham did those things without right fayth nothing woulde haue profited him whatsoeuer worke it hadde bene Furthermore if Abraham did keepe so the fayth that when God commaunded him to offer his sonne for sacrifice hee thought in himselfe I will not doe it and yet neuerthelesse I doe beleeue that God will deliuer me although that I doe contemne and despise his commaundements Fayth without workes shoulde be deade and shoulde abyde as a drie roote barren and without fruite What then we ought not to preferre workes before fayth that is to say nothing is sayde to be well done before fayth although that they are esteemed of men prayse worthye yet notwithstanding they are vayne And me thinketh that they are like vnto great strengths and vnto the easie course out of the waye Let none then esteeme his workes c. Afterwardes he sayth Let vs not then obiect the Apostle Saint Iames to Paule but the same Paule to himselfe and let vs say vnto him by this worde thou doest suffer vs somwhat to sinne without punishment when thou sayest wee doe esteeme man to bee iustified thorowe fayth withoute workes but thou wilt saye to the same faith worketh by loue How am I so much assured by the same if I doe nothing yea I shall not bee counted by the same to haue trust in the good fayth if I doe not worke by loue O Apostle I doe heare thee wilt thou here prayse vnto me fayth without workes But loue is the worke of fayth which loue cannot be ydle that it doe forsake all euill and doe all the good that it can And what maketh loue Declyne from euill and doe good Praysest thou then fayth without works And thou sayest in another place If I had all fayth so that I coulde moue mountaynes out of their places and yet had not loue I were nothing then if fayth doe not profite any without loue and that there where loue shall be it behoueth that it work for faith worketh by loue howe then is man iustified without workes The Apostle aunswereth O thou man therefore haue I sayde this thing vnto thee that thou doe not presume of thy workes and that thou doe not thinke to haue receyued the grace of fayth thorowe the merite of thy works Presume not then of workes before fayth acknowledge that fayth hath founde thee a sinner and if the fayth which hath founde thee a sinner hath made thee righteous then it doth finde him an infidell whiche it hath made righteous The fayth sayth he is counted for righteousnesse vnto him which beleeueth on him that iustifieth the vngodly Augustine in his booke of the 83. questions 76. Chapter If any man doe departe out of this life immediatly after that he hath beleued the iustification of faith abideth with him and commeth not to him by any workes precedent or going before for it is not giuen through merite but through grace nor through workes following bicause that he is not permitted to be in this life and therefore the two sentences of the two Apostles Paule and Iames are not contrary the one to the other For the one saith that man is iustified through faith without workes And the other saith that faith is dead without workes for Paule speaketh of workes whiche goe before faith and Iames speaketh of works which doe followe faith Origene vpon the Epistle to the Romans 3. booke 3. Chapter The onely iustification of God sufficeth so that he which beleeueth onely is iustified when in deede no workes shall be done by him For the thefe was iustified through faith without the workes of the lawe and vpon that faith the Lorde did not demaunde what that is that he had done before and did not tarry after that he had beleeued what worke he shoulde doe but receiued him as iustified throughe the onely faith for to enter with him into paradise Also that woman which is receited by the Euangelist the which did heare at Iesus feete thy sins are forgiuen thee And again thy faith hath saued thee go in peace But also in many places of the gospell Iesus Christ hath vsed such wordes where he sayth that the cause of saluation is the faith of him which beleeueth Man then is iustified through faith vnto whome the workes of faith serue nothing at all for iustification But where faith is not which iustifieth the beleeuing man when any one shall haue the workes of the law neuerthelesse bicause they are not buylded vpon the foundation of faith although that in appearance they are good yet they cannot iustifie the worke if it be without faith the which is the marke and token of those which are iustified of god And what shall he be which wyll boste him selfe of his righteousnesse when he heareth God and the Prophet saying all our righteousnesse are as a menstruous cloth wherefore the only right glorye is in the fayth of Christ Augustine in his .50 homilies homily 17. Peace be vnto the bretheren and loue with the faith of God our Father and of our Lorde Iesus Christ What hast thou that thou hast not receiued If thou hast receiued it why reioysest thou as though thou haddest not receiued it Did Abraham so reioyce He reioysed of faith what is the full and perfect faith The same which beleeueth that all our
goodnesse are of God yea faith it selfe Againe the Apostle saith I haue obtayned mercie O true confession He doth not say I haue obtayned mercy bicause that I was faithful but to the ende that I should be faithfull I haue obtayned mercie Let vs come vnto the first works of Paule Let vs behold Saule which did wax madde let vs behold him in his crueltie let vs behold him breathing out his threatnings and thirstie after bloude This was the way of Paule Christ was not yet his way what had he in his heart What had he but euill Giue me his merites Whiche if we doe searche his merites they shall bee merites of damnation and not of deliuerance Augustine vpon the wordes of the Lorde Sermon 40. The medecine of the soule is the only propitiation for the sinnes of all that is to beleeue in Christ c. Afterwarde he saith wherefore doe the children of God whiche beleeue in him liue for they are borne of God by the adoption of grace whiche is through the faith of our Lorde Iesus Christ And therefore welbeloued it is not without cause that our Lord and Sauiour saith that same to be the only sinne of which the holy Ghost rebuketh the world to wete because they haue not beleeued in him He would then that the world should be reproued only of that sinne that they doe not beleeue only in him to wete because that in beleeuing in him all sinnes are pardoned he woulde that to be imputed by which all the other are assembled And therefore in beleeuing they are borne of God and are made the children of God for he hath giuen vnto them the power saith he to be the sonnes of God euen to them that beleeue in his name c. Chrysostome vpon the .25 chapter of Saint Mathewe 2. Tome .2 homilye Come ye blessed of my father inherite ye the kingdome prepared for you from before the beginning of the worlde bicause that you haue giuen that which you cannot haue receiue that which you shall possesse eternally for one graine that you haue sowen vpon earth you shall haue an hundreth folde asmuch in heauen For the kingdome of heauen hath not bene created suche as the righteousnesse of man could merite it but such as the power of God might prepare it for if he woulde haue created the kingdome of heauen according to the merites of mans righteousnesse Truely he would haue created it after mans workes but bicause that nowe he hath not ordayned the reward of Saintes according to the reward of men but according to his greatnesse therefore hath he prepared the kingdome of heauen in heauen before that he created the saints in heauen S. Barnarde vpon the first sermon of the Annunciation of the virgin Marie The testimonie of our conscience is our reioycing sayth the Apostle not such testimonie as the proud Pharisey had in his wicked thought and seducing his master which bare witnesse of him selfe whiche witnesse is true which the spirite doth witnesse vnto our spirite For I doe beleeue that this witnesse consisteth in three things First and aboue all things it is necessarie to beleeue that thou canst not haue remission and forgiuenesse of thy sinnes but throughe the indulgencie of god Secondly thou canst not haue any good workes except he himselfe doe giue them vnto thee Finallye that thou canst not merite eternall life for any workes and it must be giuen thee freely c. Afterwardes he sayth For we doe well know that as for eternall life the afflictions of this lyfe are not worthie of the glorie which shall be shewed vpon vs although that one only man doth abide and suffer al. For mans merites are not suche that for them eternall life shoulde be due of right or that we shoulde saye that God doth vs wrong if he doe not giue them vs by reason of them For though I shoulde holde my peace that all merites are the gifts of God insomuch that for them man is more indebted to God than God is to man What is that that all the merites doe in respect of so great glorie To conclude what is he that is more excellent than the Prophete vnto whome the Lorde doth giue so excellent a witnesse saying I haue founde a man according to mine owne heart And yet he had neede to saye vnto God Enter not into iudgement with thy seruant c. Let no man then deceyue himselfe for if he will thinke well he shall finde without all doubt that he can not with ten thousande men go to meete him whiche commeth agaynst him wyth xx thousande But these things which we haue now spoken of are not yet altogither sufficient but wee must the rather holde them for a beginning and foundation of fayth Therefore if thou beleeue that thy sinnes cannot be put or blotted out but by him agaynst whome onely thou hast sinned thou doest well But adde yet one thing more to wete that thou beleeue also that thy sinnes by him are pardoned Beholde the testimonies and witnesses which the holy ghost doth giue into our heartes saying thy sinnes are pardoned thee For euen so doth the Apostle think that man is iustified freely through fayth In lyke maner as touching merites if thou beleeue that one cannot haue them but by him it sufficeth not vntill such time as the spirite of fayth doth witnesse that thou hast them through him Euen so it is necessarie that thou haue also witnesse to wete that thou doest come therevnto thorowe Gods liberalitie For it is he which pardoneth sinnes which giueth merites and yet neuerthelesse doth giue agayne the rewarde For all his testimonies are most assured For as to the remission of sinnes I doe hold the passion of our Lord for a most strong argument For the crye of his bloude hath had greater force than the bloude of Abel in as much as he doth crie in the heartes of the electe remission of all sinnes For he was deliuered to death for our sinnes And there is no doubt but that his death is more puissant and of greater force to doe good than our sinnes are to doe euill As touching good workes his resurrection is an argument for me which hath no lesse vertue For asmuch as he is rysen againe for our iustification as touching the hope of reward his ascention serueth for a witnesse for he is ascended for our gloryfication Thou hast these three things in the psalm saying Blessed is the man vnto whome the Lorde imputeth no sinne And in another place blessed are the men whose strength is in thee Also in an other place Blessed is the man whom thou hast chosen and receiuest vnto thee that he maye dwell in thy courte such is the true glory I say which is within for that dooth departe from him whiche dwelleth in our heartes through faith But the sonnes of Adam seeking the glorye which
ovvn conscience vvhether vve be the ennmies of the fathers or they The auncient fathers haue sayde that the breade of the supper abideth alvvayes breade not being transubstantiated or chaunged I doe demaund of you in good faith vvherefore or vvhat is the cause that they shead dayly so abundantly the bloude of the poore children of God Is it not vpon this only poynte or for this cause that the fathers haue beleeued and mayntayned vvith a common consent as you shall see in that booke vpon the artycle of the Lordes supper I leaue it to your ovvne iudgement Furthermore vve doe reade that the ancient fathers of vvhom these here doe aduance and bost them selues to keepe and mayntayne their doctrine haue broken in peeces the images of Iesus Christe and of the Saintes that haue bene set vp in the temple of the christians saying that it is against the Christian doctrine to haue Images in the Church VVhat is he that doubteth that if the good fathers vvere yet liuing and that they shoulde so breake the Images as they did in that time but that they shoulde be out of hande or vvith all speede condemned as heretickes to be burned yea if they escaped so For vve do see many dayly vvhich doe not escape so good cheape but they haue done vnto them all the torments and paynes that these vvorshippers of the fathers can inuent or imagin Then vvhen you shall reade the doctrine of the fathers contayned in this present booke iudge vvhether it may be confessed and maintayned openly before these vvorshippers of the fathers vvithout daunger of lyfe In the meane time I desire you my deare brethren that ye feare not to abandon your bodie and lyfe for a doctrine so iust holy and good and let vs reioyce in this that vve holde the true auncient doctrine of the Prophets Apostles and Doctors of the Church And as touching you O ye Princes Iudges and Magistrates betvveene vvhose handes this present booke shall happen to fall I desire and require you in the name of the liuing God and of his sonne Iesus Christ our Lorde vvhich hath shed out all his bloud vpon the crosse for the loue of vs that you doe giue right iudgement vpon the poore faithfull people of vvhome your prisons are at this time full through the furor and madnesse of those vvorshippers of the fathers and bee no more the hangmen of that vvicked Vermine for it is not counted a thing honest nor meete among men that the Kings Emperours Princes and Magistrates shoulde bee made the hangmen of beggers Be ye then more ashamed than euer you vvere bicause that you beare the name of God and the povver to gouerne the people is giuen you from God not for to abuse it in punishing the good and defending the vvicked but to maintayne and ayde the good and to punish the vvicked as the Apostles haue taught vs But alas my God into vvhat blindenesse is the vvorlde fallen into to esteeme and thinke that they vvhich holde and keepe the true auncient doctrine are heretikes O you Iudges and Magistrates doe you not see dayly in your prisons the poore children of God to eate and drinke very scarsly bread and vvater and to be cast most vilely and filthily into a lovve dunge on vvith the venimous beastes lying as the poore beastes vpon a little stravve hauing their armes and legges broken vvith the racke Doe you not see I say on the other side those goodly masters vvhich beare such great zeale to the auncient fathers to haue their bellye altogither stuffed vvith vvine and delicate fare coming forth from their bankets and feastes vvith a face as red as fire or like to a Butchers boule comming forth to passe avvaye the time for to examine the poore faythfull people vvhich are not sought for at the table vvhere good cheare is but in a most filthie and darke dungeon they are poore children of God tyed and bounde vvith chaynes vvith a pale face and thinne cheekes brought before those fat bellies and firie faces through their ouermuche drinking and quaffing of vvine and the first vvords they speake is come hither thou vvicked heretick avvay thou dāned seducer of the people thou hast the deuil vvithin thee And assone as the pore children of God did thinke to haue spoken for their defence the fatte bellies quicklye put their hands to their Bible but it is another Bible than the olde olde or nevve testament For they can do nothing but prouide faggots and crie to the fire to the fire vvith those vvicked heretickes I knovve not vvhere they haue learned to doe so Haue they learned that of the Prophetes and Apostles It appeareth no. Neyther haue they learned it of the auncient fathers For they shall finde vvithin this present booke that they haue spoken and done altogither othervvise therefore they declare that it is a rage and a madnesse that they haue conceyued against the truth for to extinguishe and abolishe it vtterly and all those that maintaine it For libertie to speake is taken from vs Those that vvould speake their tongues are cut out of their heades and aftervvardes are burned In the meane time O ye Iudges and Magistrates vvhich haue the publicke charge haue regard from henceforth vvhat you doe in condemning them to death You cannot condemne them to death except ye condemne all the good and auncient fathers to death vvith them VVhat order doe you call this to condemne to death as Heretickes the Saintes and their doctrine vnto vvhom they crye and dayly pray vnto in their Letanie saying O Sancte Augustine O Sancte Cypriane O Sancte Hieronime c. Ora pro nobis that is to say O Saint Augustine O Saint Cyprian O Saint Ierome and so consequently of the other pray for vs And in the meane time they condemne them and their vvritinges and all those that follovve theyr doctrine to be burned as the experience dothe dayly teach vs. Therefore ye that Iudge the people haue a good respect vnto that that you haue to doe for it is not onely vnto vs that you doe adresse your selues but also to the sonne of God vvhich hath sayd vnto vs he that toucheth you toucheth the apple or sight of mine eye The same hath bene vvell shevved to Paule VVhen he persecuted the poore faythfull crying from heauen after him Saule Saule vvhy persecutest thou me he did not persecute him in his ovvne person but he persecuted him in his members vvhich are all the faithfull that beleue in him Euen so my deare brethren vve shall rest in patience and shall not be ashamed to be condemned vvith all those good and auncient fathers of the church and not onely vvith them but also vvith all the Prophets and Apostles Then vvhen you see your selues bound and brought before the Iudges to receiue sentence of death and condemnation against you behold vvith you the Prophets Apostles and the auncient doctors bound vvith you to be condemned in the same
businesse according to the meanes as God hath giuen you that youre successors may haue none occasion to complayne that you haue left them an euill example That they say not after that you are dead vve haue had parents ancesters vvhich haue had great knovvledge of God but they feared more to lose the amytie and freendship of the vvorlde then of God. O hovv much ought you to feare the same for it vvill turne to your great confusion Remember also that vvhich the Apostle speaketh saying if there be any that prouideth not for his ovvne and namely for them of his housholde the same denieth the faithe and is vvorse then an infidel Therefore all faithfull people ought to take god heede and marke vvell those vvordes for it is a great euill to denye the fayth Take good heede you be not an offence to any man I doe meane in doing euil be gentle curteous mercifull the one to the other not rendring euill for euill but render good for the euill Liue so holy that if men vvold punish persecute you that they doe not punish any thing in you but righteousnes and good life And in that doing you shall declare your selues to be the children of god VVatch alvvayes praying that you be made vvorthy to auoyd al things that are to coÌ„e that you may staÌ„d before the son of God after the end of your dayes I beseeche our good God and father which according to his great goodnesse mercy hath done so much good for vs to adopt vs for his children to the eternall inheritance of heauen that it woulde please him through his goodnes to ioyne and knit you in such sort togither my dearly beloued brethren and sisters through the bonde of his holy spirite which by the same will gouerne and leade you to eternall life Amen To the Reader HOVV EASIE A THING it is gentle reader rashly to discoÌ„mend eche one is vnto himselfe a witnesse but how hard a thing rightly to commend few yet the wyser can testifie Therefore to make any great or tedious relation of that which of it selfe is worthy I thinke a thing vayne and superstuous or to commend that which in the very shew is commendable should be to bereeue thee of thy iudgement Notwithstanding least I should be accused and condemned of negligence which I haue sought to shunne and auoyde I determined priuatly to set thy sight openly that this booke hath bene out of the Doctors and Counselles collected carefully composed by the authour pithilye and by the same alledged fitly and aptlye and not onely out of the Doctors but out of the Popes owne Canons culled gratiously whereby he hath not brought a Doctor agaynst a Pope but a Pope with a Pope conferred learnedlye This being rightly wayed and considered I thinke there is nothing left for the more enuious being the motion godly the matter their owne the order fitte and conuenient as an obiect to worke on theyr insatiable minde and desire of reprehension except they wyll seeke and runne to the manners of the author common practises now a dayes to search and prye ouer curiouslye something to animaduert and oppugne and sore agreeued that he hath beaten them with their owne rodde say with Zeuxis contending with Parrhasius when he had seene all now vncouer thy sheete Parrhasius that we may see thy worke Yet least there shoulde growe in their mindes some vndeserued suspition being the authour vnknowen I will endeauour not onely to remoue but to roote it cleane out of their entendement and playnely affirme that which is credibly and sincerely referred to me that he was of manners modest of life laborious of countenance sober and of witte quicke and willing to profite euery one to his power and abilitie Therefore as I iudge and esteeme there is no cause for any one nor yet for the aduersaryes to bee greeued seeing to the one it redoundeth to his vtilitie and the other may not complayne that in disclosing the veritie he paynted foorthe that which he hath worthelye deserued Next to this is the cause of the translatour whome thou shalte thanke that for thy further benifite he hath with good zeale learned the authour to talke in an other tongue and shewing that which before was well spoken to a fewe to be better spoken to a great many rendered it copied out of the French into thy Englishe vulgare and natiue speache Lastly I admonishe the to view and reade diligently the cataloge of the doctors and counselles alledged by the authour which I haue layde downe to the ende thou mightest see for thy emolument what euery one hath bene and what he hath suffred and written and the time he florished wishing thee to ponder the same and loke if they haue thought any otherwyse then truth or fallen into any inextricable error not redily to condemne them as the enuious doe but to ascribe it to mans fragilitie as christians ought and to marke and imprint the same in thy minde not to fall into the like nor to stay on mans sayinges seeing as it is vsually sayde nihil omni parte beaâ—um Nothing meaning mortall thinges is blessed or happy on euery side but to boulster and trust wholy to Gods mercyes who is onely the truthe and the phisition for euery sore Thus much I thought good to aduertise thee gentle re-der of this present booke being as it may be sayde in sight fayre in matter good in effect fructuous and godly wishing and willing thee to accepte gratefullye that which for thy pleasure hath bene penned paynefully Farewell Concussus surgo C. A. The Catalogue of the Doctors and Councels out of the which we haue gathered togither this present booke for the approbation of the Articles of our Faith and to shewe in what time they flourished and were celebrated DIonysius Areopagita a Grecian borne and iudge in the causes of weight at Athens was conuerted by S. Paule when he disputed with the Stoikes and Epicures in the same Citie and constituted byshop there of the faythfull Afterwarde he went into Fraunce and was made byshop of Paris where he was also beheaded by the gouernour Fesceninus in the yeare of our Lorde as Trithemius reporteth 96. and Paulus Eberus Pag. 327. being the ix daye of October vnder the Emperor Domitian in the seconde persecution He flourished chiefly vnder the two Vespasians father and the sonne Hee was called the French mens Apostle and lieth buried in a place in Fraunce called after his name S. Denis a little distant from Paris verye famous throughe the sepulchres of the Kings of that Countrie reade Act. 17. Euseb lib. 3. cap. 4. and lib. 4. cap. 22. Martinus Polonus in the life of Domitian Onuphrius Panuinus in his Chronologie Pag. 14. Gregorius Turonicus pag. 23. Roffin pag. 365. Pantaleon pag. 4. Of his iudgement of the Eclipse of the sunne in the passion of our Lorde reade the annales of Glycas pag. 306. and in his owne Epistle to
vndefiled for whore keepers and adulterers God wyll iudge Iesus Christ allowed mariage for hee and his mother were at the mariage in Cana of Galile Augustine in his treatise of the goodnesse of mariage .21 chap. I dare not preferre the virginitie of Saint Iohn before the mariage of Abraham The historie tripartite 2. booke Chapt. 14. rehearseth or doth make declaration of the Councell of Nice how it hath decreed that Priests ought not to marry But the holy man of God named Pahnutius bishop of Egipt who had his right eye pluckt out and the right leg cut of in the hamme and condemned by the Emperour Maximine to be boyled in molten leade All these great euils did he suffer for the Gospell of Iesus Christ The same holy man seeing that the Councell had ordayned that decree resisted it boldly saying that mariage is honourable and that the companie of his owne wyfe was chastitie persuading the Councell neuer to establishe such a lawe saying that if they doe make such a lawe it will be vnto them a great occasion of fornication Then the Synode praysed the sentence and aduice of that holye man and woulde constitute nothing touching that matter but left it to vse at euery mans libertie not making lawe or necessitie yet notwithstanding the sayde Pahnutius was not maryed This Councell was celebrated in the yeare of our Lorde .328 Platyna in the lyfe of Siluester the first The Councell of Gangres in Galatia celebrated in the yeare of our Lorde 333. hath permitted mariage vnto Priests and hath excommunicated those whiche shall forsake their father and mother and wyfe vnder coulor of religion Distinction .31 Chapter which beginneth Quoniam The counsell of Constantinople the sixt hath in like manner ordayned not to make any vowes not to mary that the priestes which doe seperate them selues from their wyues bicause of their holy orders should be excluded from the communion Distinction .27 Chapter Quidam and in the Canon of the Apostles Chapter .6 The counsell of Anticyra whiche was celebrated the yeere of our Lord .304 like wyse did permit the Deacons to be maryed after that they haue taken their orders Iohn le Maire of the differences of schismes and of the counsells of the Church I founde in the library of the Abbey of Desnay at Lyons in an olde booke that in Fraunce in the time of Pope Formosus and King Lewes the second of that name who was surnamyd the stammerer or stutter the priestes were maryed The Canon of the Apostles saith if there be any which saith or teacheth vnder the title and cloke of religion that priestes ought to forsake their wyues let them bee cursed Long time after the counsell of Nice in the church of the Latines many Byshoppes were maryed among other S. Hilary Byshoppe of Poictiers as wee may see by his Epistle which he wrote being in exile vnto his daughter being a virgin in which Epistle he made also mention of his wyfe the mother of hir A Byshoppe therefore must be fautlesse the husband of one wyfe watching sober modest herberous apt to teach not giuen to wine no fighter not giuen to filthy lucre but gentill abhorring fighting abhorring couetousnesse one that can rule his owne house honestly hauing children vnder obedience with all honesty For if a man cannot rule his owne house how shall he care for the church of god c. Likewyse muste Deacons be honest not double tōgued not giuen vnto much wyne neyther to filthie lucre but hauing the mysterie of the faith in pure conscience and let them first bee proued then let them minister if they be founde faultlesse Euen so must their wyues be honest not euill speakers but sober and faythfull in all things Let the Deacons bee the husbande of one wyfe and such as can rule their children well and their owne housholdes After these wordes in the beginning of the fourth chapter he sayth the spirite speaketh euidently that in the latter times some shal depart from the fayth and shall giue hede vnto spirites of error and doctrines of deuils which speake false lyes through hypocrisie and haue their consciences marked with an hote yron Forbidding to marie Agayne For this cause haue I left thee in Creta that thou shouldest continue to redresse that which resteth and shouldest ordayne Elders in euerye citie as I appoynted thee If any be faultlesse the husbande of one wyfe hauing faythfull children which are not slaundered of ryote neyther that are disobedient that hee bee chosen Obiection Pope Gregorie the 7. Monke of Cluny otherwise called Hildebrande who was Pope in the time of the Emperor Henrie the 4. hath commaunded by letters vnto Otto bishop of Constance that he should forbyd in his Dioces the Priestes to marie and that he doe vnlose or make frustrate the mariages of those which were already maried Aunswere The Lorde aunswered vnto the same saying It is not good that man should be alone Extra de Cle. cons lib. 6. Cap. 1. Pope Boniface the 8. hath permitted all libertie vnto the religious people although they were maried Saint Ambrose in his first booke of Virgins As concerning Virgins I haue no commaundement of the Lorde but I giue vnto you myne aduice If the Doctor of the Gentiles had no commaundement what is he that can haue it And in very deede he had no commaundement but he hath had an example For virginite cannot be commaunded but be desired For the things whiche are not in our power are more to be desired than to bee commaunded c. After that Paule hath counsayled that it were good if we coulde liue vnmaried bicause that we are more free to thinke on God he sayth And this I speake to declare what is profitable for you not to tangle you in a snare but that ye followe that which is honest and comely and that yee maye quietly cleaue vnto the Lorde without separation To auoyde fornication let euerye man haue his wife and let euery woman haue hir owne husbande I woulde wish that all men were as I am but euerye man hath his proper gyft of God one after this maner another after that ▪ c. If they cannot abstayne let them marie for it is better to marie than to burne c. S. Vldaric bishop of Augspurge in the Epistle that he sent to Nicholas the first concerning the forbidding of mariage vnto Priestes The forbidding of mariage was altogither contrarie both to the worde of God the decrees of the Councell of Nice and to the auncient Church After he declareth vnto him the great euilles and daungers which therein were And among other things he declared that which chaunced in the time of Gregorie the first through the occasion of such forbidding whiche constrayned him to chaunge his mynde in that case At a certayne day the said Gregorie sent to his fishe ponde or stewe for to drawe fishe and
good than to make them such For the wicked do profite nothing but the good doe very muche empayre Afterwardes hee concludeth Beholde the murmuring and common complaynt of all Churches they doe crie out that they are cut in peeces and dismembred There are very fewe or almost none whiche doe not feare the stroke or wounde Doest thou demaunde what The Abbots are drawen away from their Bishops the Bishops from their Archbishops It is great maruayle if one can excuse the same In doing so you doe shewe very wel that you haue fulnesse of power but not of Iustice You doe the same bicause that you can doe it but the question is whether you ought to doe it You are there constituted and placed for to keepe and preserue vnto euery one his honour and his degree and not for to beare him enuie and malice In the 34. distinction Chapter Lector Glose and distinct 82. Chap. Presbyter Glose And in the Canon of the Apostles .17 quest 4. Chapt. And distinct 40. Chapt. Si Papa And distinction .96 Chapt. Satis And Chapter Simplici And Incipitis It is written in those Canons that the Popes haue such power and authoritie that they may dispence agaynst the Apostolicall doctrine and agaynst the right of nature and consequently agaynst the Gospell and the worde of god For the Pope hath all the rightes as well diuine as humane in the inwarde partes of his brest wherefore he ought to iudge euerye man and ought to be iudged of none Insomuch that though he should lead a great number of people into hell yet no mortall man ought to presume to rebuke his faultes For he is God which cannot be iudged of men Saint Paule aunswereth vnto the same saying Let no man deceiue you by anye meanes for the Lorde commeth not except there come a departing first and that that sinnefull man be opened the sonne of perdition which is an aduersary is exalted aboue all that is called God or that is worshipped so that he shall sitte as God in the Temple of God and shewe himselfe as God. Saint Hilary in his booke against Auxentius Whosoeuer denieth Christe to be suche as he hath bene preached by the Apostles he is Antechrist The property of the name of Antechriste is to bee contrary vnto Christe The Priestes doe saye that the Pope cannot erre neyther the counsels Iesus Christ hath sayde vnto S. Peter I haue prayed for thee that thy faith faile not Vnto the same their owne Canons doe aunswere in the .40 distinction Chap. which beginneth Si Papa If the Pope doe fall into an error in the in the faith and that he be an Hereticke one may very well rebuke and checke him in his faultes Pope Alexander the .6 speaking once vnto an Embassador of the king of Fraunce vnto whome he had these wordes this fable of Iesus Christe hath gotten vnto vs great riches Sanazarius an Italian Poet in his Epigrammes in the .2 booke Speaking of that Pope Alexander noting the inceste of him with his owne daughter Lucrecia and asking hir Lucrecia wil Alexander desire thee alwayes afterwardes aunswered O wicked case it is thy father Behold the witnesse whiche the writers of his time haue declared of that head of the churche Abbas Vrspurgensis reciteth of Gregory the .7 otherwise called Hildebrand That the common wealth of Rome and all the Churche hath bene vnder him in great danger through the error of newe schismes and not heard of and that he hath vsurped the Papall seate through tyrannye and not by lawfull election The counsell holden at Wormes in the yeere .1080 Affirmed of Gregory the seuenth that it is most true that he was not chosen of god but that hee exalted him selfe without all shame through disceit and money and that he hath turned vpside downe the ecclesiasticall order and that he hath troubled the kingdome of the Christian Empyre and that he hath attempted the deathe both of the bodye and soule of that Catholicke and quiet king and that he hath defended and holden vp the wicked and periured king and that he hath sowen discorde among those that agreed togither and strifes amongest the peace makers and offences amongest brethren and diuorcement betweene maryed folke and that he hath remoued and troubled all that was at reste quiet and in peace betweene the good lyuers We being assembled togither of God agaynst the sayde Hyldebrand preaching sacriledges and fires mayntayning periured persons and homycides or men slears putting in question or doubt the catholicke and Apostolicke faith of the body and bloud of the Lorde being an obseruer and keeper of diuinacion and coniuring and of dreames and a most manifest Necromancyer hauing familiar spirites and for that cause swaruing from the true faith we doe iudge that he ought to be canonically deposed driuen away banished and condemned perpetually if he doe not leaue of his seate after that he hath heard these thinges Benno Cardinall in the life of the sayde Gregorye Amongest many wickednesses that he alledged of him sayde that he alwayes vsed to beare about with him a booke of Necromancye the which was vnto him very familiar and that he did cast through his enchauntments the consecrated hoste into a fire that by that meanes he might faine to haue had a heauenly reuelation against the Emperor Henry Benno alledgeth for witnesse Iohn Byshop of Porta Secretary of the said Hildebrand Platyna in the lyfe of Iohn the 8. And Sabellicus lib. 1. of the 9. Ennead The woman called Iohn the eyght was borne in Englande and hir parents were of Mentz She followed in hir yong age a yong scholler in the studies of learning and profited so well at studie that she was esteemed at Rome amongst the wysest for which cause she was chosen to be Pope thinking that shee had bene a man and was chosen with as great consent as euer was Pope following still the studie that she had learned with hir studie felow At the time that she was chosen Pope she was founde with childe with one of hir owne seruants who perceiuing hirself big knewe so well to prouide for hir great bellye that none coulde perceiue it vntill such time as she trauayled of childe in the open streete and in the open procession vppon the shoulders of those that did beare hir dyed in the same trauayle the second yere after hir Papacie One maye nowe well see whether the Pope cannot erre Platyna in the life of Syluester And Sabellicus Lib. 2. of the 9. Ennead Syluester the 2. was a Monke in his youth afterwards did giue himselfe vnto the diuell as a right sorcerer vpon condicion that his bodie and soule should be his after his death Prouided that the diuell doe helpe to obtayne that that he desireth by which meanes he came afterwardes to be Pope Platyna in the life of Bennet 8. And Sabellicus lib. 2. of the 9. Ennead
vnto whom they shoulde prouide and giue remedie Is it vnto the Gods they doe suche pleasure No for that whiche a man doth by compulsion is not a sacrifice forasmuch as if it be not done voluntarlye and with the heart it is most execrable and accursed Forasmuch as there are but they whiche are constrayned and compelled throughe banishments iniuries imprisonmentes and tormentes which doe it If they bee Gods which are so honored truly for that only cause they ought not to be honored in as much as they woulde be so adored and worshipped they are worthye to be detested of men vnto whome sacrifice is made with teares and sighings and with bloud running downe all their bodie But we to the contrarie require not that any will he nill he shoulde adore and worship our God which is the Creator of all things nor we are not angry if they doe not worship him For we doe trust in his maiestie that he hath also great power to auenge as well those that doe contemne and despyse him as the iniuries and troubles of hys seruants and therefore when we suffer such things so wicked and execrable wee doe not therefore repugne agaynst the worde but we referre the vengeance vnto God. The Prophete Esay sayeth Truth is fallen downe in the streete and the thing that is playne and open may not be shewed yea the truth is layde in prison and he that refrayneth himselfe from euil must be spoyled When the Lorde sawe this it displeased him sore c. The Lorde sayde by the Prophet Ezechel I will deliuer my sheepe from their mouth so that they shall no more be spoyled c. Lactantius Firmianus in his diuine Institutions Lib. 5. Chap. 22. They are not then madde or angry with vs bicause we adore not or worship their Gods. For there are many people that do not worship thē but it is bicause the truth is with vs the which as the Prouerbe is getteth hatred c. Lactantius Firmianus Lib. 5. Chapter .23 Pacience is a principall vertue the which is by the common voyce of the people and of the Philosophers and Orators exalted with great prayse If no man wil denie but that pacience is a soueraine vertue It is necessary that the righteous wise man be in the power of the vnrighteous mā for to haue that pacience for pacience is a volūtary suffring of euils which are done vnto any man or which doe happen vnto him whereby the righteous and the wyse man hath in himselfe pacience bicause that he receyueth the vertue of the which he shall be altogither depriued if he suffer nothing to the contrarie Although that he do no iniurie vnto anye man nor that he coueteth his neyghbors goodes and though he defende not his own goods if they be taken from him by force and violence forasmuche as he can quietlye ynough suffer the iniurie that is done vnto him bicause that he is garnished with vertue It is necessarye that the righteous man be subiect vnto the vnrighteous mā And the wyse be despised of the foole to the ende that the one doe sinne bicause he is vnrighteous and that the other be in seruitude and bondage bicause he is righteous For howe can a Captaine prooue and trie his souldiers if he haue no enimie And yet neuerthelesse the aduersarie eleuateth and exalteth himselfe maugre him bicause that he is mortall and maye be vanquished and ouercome but bicause we cannot repugne and striue agaynste God he himselfe moueth and stirreth vp the aduersaries agaynst his name not for to striue and fight against him but against his souldiars to that ende he maye proue and trye the faithe and deuotion of his vntill suche time as he doth correcte and amend in pressing and beating the discypline whiche was become colde There is also an other cause wherefore hee dooth permitte and suffer that we should be persecuted that is to the ende that the people of God shoulde bee augmented Some desire to know what that goodnesse is which is defended euen vnto death which is preferred aboue all the pleasant thinges and best loued and set by in this world of which goodnesse nothing can drawe them from it neyther the losse of their goodes nor the losse of their sight dolor of body nor anye other tormentes whatsoeuer they be all thinges are much worth but the greatest causes which followed haue alwayes augmented our number The people being rounde about the good christians hearde them saye in their tormentes that they should not do sacrifice nor offer vnto stons made and hewen with mans handes but vnto the liuing God which is in heauen many doe heare that the same is good and true they receiue it in their minds and vnderstandinges Afterwarde as men haue accustomed or vsed to doe in vncertayne thinges when they demaund and enquire within them selues what may be the cause of that perseuerance and constancie many things belonging vnto religion are spread abroade and knowen and declared from the one to the other by the report that they make And by that meanes they are taught who for asmuche as they are good it is necessary that they please Furthermore the vengeance that followeth as it happeneth often hath a greate vehemence to make them beleeue All these causes put togither haue gotten and drawen vnto God a maruelous great company of people S. Hilary in his booke against Auxentius Ambition doth ayde it selfe by the name of Christe The Churche doth feare and compell the people through banishements and imprisonmentes to beleeue hir the which they haue beleeued through banishmentes and prisons Shee dependeth vpon those that doe disdayne to communicate with hir She which is consecrated and made holy by the terror of the persecutors driueth awaye the prestes Shee which hath bene engendred by the running away of priestes doth glory and extoll hir selfe to be beloued of the worlde Shee whiche coulde not be beloued of Christe if the worlde had not hated hir Experience cryeth in all mens mouthes and declareth and sheweth the comparison of the church the which of late hath bene giuen vnto vs and neuer shall be destroyed All that which is not of faith is sinne Chrysostome in his first Tome vpon S. Mathewe .47 homily Chapter .13 Let them both growe togither till haruest come the Lorde did forbid them least while they wente aboute to weede out the tares they should plucke vp the wheate also whiche thing he spake to forbidde the sheading of bloude For if the Heritickes were put to deathe without alliance of peace warre shoulde bee without truce Wherefore he doth forbyd it for two causes the one bicause they shoulde hurte and hinder a little the corne The other is that if they doe not heale them selues they shal neuer escape the eternall and euerlasting punishmentes and tormentes wherefore if thou wouldest amend and in no wyse hurte the corne you must attend and tarry the time